--[closed! | incomplete] well hay there roomie! --backdated--

[thebooksaysso]

Characters: Anathema Device ( thebooksaysso ) & Cassandra ( cassie_of_troy )
Setting/Location: Their caravan room
Date & Time: Er. Backdated to Day 9, early afternoonish?
Warnings: None!
Summary: So a former prophet meets the prophecy obsessed.

Comments

[cassie_of_troy]

The last few days had certainly been overwhelming. Generally, Cassandra was good at dealing with overwhelming. After all, within the span of just a few weeks, she had seen the last of her brothers die, her city burn, her own self taken into captivity, her own murder, and her own sudden transport to an entirely different world where half of the people there thought she was a figment of mythology and the other half didn't have a clue in the world who or what Troy was. Still, all of that seemed like a distant memory, replaced now with a new fear: Apollo.

Her encounter with her former tormentor had Cassandra's skin crawling. It was one thing to exist in a world with him, knowing just how terrible it could be. It was another thing to escape his grasp and the reputation she had earned because of it, only to be pulled back down into the depths. At least, that's how she could foresee it for now. And then, of course, there was the matter of all the pretty young girls in the caravan, girls who had no idea. No idea.

As these thoughts swirled through her head, Cassandra did her best to navigate the caravan. She had never seen a structure so grand, and she had grown up in a castle. The stairs looked like they would never end, like they stretched all the way up into the sky. It was a sight.

At long last, she found her way to the room. N-105. She had no idea what to expect on the other side of the door. Nor did she have much understanding of what the protocol was for this sort of situation. Uncertainly, she knocked lightly on the door. "Hello?" she called, in case that wasn't enough.

[thebooksaysso]

Hold on, she recognized that voice, didn't she? With a small frown, Anathema shoved her thoughts aside and rolled to the edge of her bunk, casting a glance down at the door. And not a moment later she quickly slide over to the ladder and dropped to the floor, attempted to smooth some of the wrinkles out of her skirt as she walked over.

"Ah, it's unlocked!" And with an absent wave of her hand it really was, and she shuffled over to open the door and peer out. "Yes?"

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra was already somewhat familiar with Anathema. At least, from what she understood, the woman was familiar with her legacy. And English? Cassandra still wasn't too skill at determining accents, but she sounded somewhat close to a few of the British people she had met in Rowan, so she'd work on that assumption. Not that it really meant anything to her. Still, she liked collecting bits of information whenever possible.

She regarded the woman for a moment, taking this, her first opportunity, to draw logical conclusions about her based on appearances. There were none. She was pretty. Not quite on par with Helen, but then again, who was? Her face indicated a certain measure of worry, but that could be chalked up to any number of things. Most importantly, on the surface at least, she appeared to be Human. That was comforting.

Politely, Cassandra cleared her throat. "I had a hard time finding it," she said carefully. "Anathema, is it? Cassandra."

[thebooksaysso]

So this was the new flatmate. In much the same way Cassandra studied her, Anathema gave the other a brief once over herself, comparing the woman before her to the stories she'd read so often as a child. She looked refreshingly normal. And their earlier conversations had already proved her to be one of the few on board with a fair amount of common sense; the day was looking up already.

"I was starting to think I might have said something to scare you away," she said, a bright smile crossing her face as she pulled the door open wide and motioned into the room. "Come on in, you probably want to get settled."

[cassie_of_troy]

Jumping to conclusions was a dangerous sport, but Cassandra thought she might actually have it in her to like this Anathema. She didn't seem to put on airs. It was a good start anyway. Nodding gratefully, Cassandra stepped into the room, bringing in the few possessions she had managed to scavenge over the last few days. It wasn't much; a cream chemise, blue bolt of fabric, and a pair of faux gold combs, pilfered from the Beast's costume selection, along with her clothing from Rowan and, most importantly, a somewhat borrowed bow with a quiver of arrows, which she wore on her back.

She regarded the room thoughtfully a moment. It wasn't terribly big, but she had been in much smaller. There was something eerily pleasant about the enormous window. What perplexed her the most was the bed. It was of an unusual shape, something she had never really encountered before. It appeared to be two beds, one stacked neatly on top of another. How, precisely, did that work?

Cassandra stared at the bed curiously. "I hope you do not find my presence intrusive," she told Anathema. "I imagine I've been somewhat foisted upon you. I still don't even know how the men running this caravan even got a hold of my name to assign me here."

[thebooksaysso]

"However they manage, I'm not about to question it." The door was kicked shut, and, oddly enough, seemed to lock itself again as Anathema walked away. "Because I'm not entirely sure I'll like the answer if I do."

Her notebook was still on the ground, pages coming loose and stray papers splayed haphazardly across the floor. She collected everything together almost sheepishly and quickly tossed it back into the tattered satchel sitting by the vanity, looked around to make sure everything else still looked at least somewhat orderly. "And you're not intruding at all. It was starting to feel a bit awkward all on my own anyway."

[cassie_of_troy]

"I am glad to hear it," Cassandra said, setting down her things uncertainly in the middle of the floor. Whether or not Anathema minded her presence there, it was still her territory for now and Cassandra would do as she told her, put her things where Anathema said, and live by her rules. It wasn't so bad to be sharing space, really. Cassandra had always shared rooms with other girls before. But they had been of her world. Anathema was different and so the rules would have to be spelled out for her.

Briefly, she glanced curiously at the papers. Not enough to know what they contained, but they seemed dear to Anathema. She wondered why. "I would like to get to know you," she said, almost shyly. Cassandra was never good at making new friends, but they had to become friends. It was the only way they could possibly coexist. And the only way to survive in relative safety. But she would worry about that particular problem later.

"Are you the only one here from your world? Or have friends and companions of yours been brought here as well?"

[thebooksaysso]

"Oh, here." Anathema walked back over and made as if to reach for Cassandra's things, only to stop short, hesitant. Just going and taking things would be rude, wouldn't it? "You can set your things on the vanity, if you like. Or the bed. Whichever you prefer." Just as soon as she cleaned her own items away, more notes and pens and even a few glittering stones being carefully shuffled around and moved to the side of the desk, to allow more room. At the question, Anathema only shook her head.

"No. So far it looks like I might be the only one from my world stuck here...." She never thought she would ever feel so lonely. She had been used to living on her own, after all. Having so many people suddenly fall into her life had been....a little strange. And suddenly losing them.... "But that's alright. That means the others may still be back home, where they're safe."

And that was really all she could ask for. Satisfied with her organization she finally took a seat on the bed, gesturing for Cassandra to go ahead and rest as well. "....what of yourself? Is there anybody else here from world?" She paused for a moment. Then tilted her head uncertainly. "Or worlds, if I remember right?"

[cassie_of_troy]

A soft little laugh escaped Cassandra's lips. It was not an especially merry sound. Indeed, there was no mirth to it whatsoever. It was hollow, more of a release than anything else. "Well remembered." Abandoning her things, Cassandra walked over to the bed and hesitated a moment before sitting down. She left a comfortable space between herself and Anathema, but turned her torso to face her. Cassandra had always observed that the position of one's torso truly determined their interests. If a man, for example, turned his head to look at a woman without turning his heart toward her as well, she was not truly in his interests.

"There are several other people here from Rowan, my second world," she said. "But none of them remember it. I believe they were all drawn here, not from Rowan, but from a point in their lives before Rowan." It was a truly depressing truth. "As for people from my home on earth..."

She hesitated again. She had to. Of course, it was bound to happen. It was necessary to bring up Apollo. But she had not expected to do it quite so soon. "Yes," she sighed. "There is someone from my first home here. Someone very dangerous who I mean to protect you and all the other pretty young woman here from."

[thebooksaysso]

No one remembered....? Anathema frowned again, though she didn't reply. It was hard enough worrying about what might have happened to everybody who hadn't made it to the caravan, but....to be forgotten altogether seemed to much worse. Anathema couldn't imagine what that must have felt like, and she felt a small twinge of sympathy for the other woman.

"....protect us?" But if there was anything to really grab her full attention, those next couple comments were one of them. "Protect us from who, exactly?"

[cassie_of_troy]

There were several ways this particular conversation could play out, and Cassandra had not yet figured Anathema out enough to know which one was most likely. She decided it was best to take things slow, to let Anathema lead as much as possible. After biting her lips together for a moment, she began slowly. "You said, over the network, that you knew of me. From...mythology, as they call it. Greek," the word was painful, "mythology. Before I answer, I should like to know what it is, precisely, you know or think you know about my story."

That was something of a difficult request. Cassandra absolutely hated listening to people try and tell her her own life's story. It had nearly caused an unrepairable rift between her and Ianto, back in Rowan. Cassandra hoped to learn from the mistakes of the past and move forward into this new, uncertain future, but she had to admit it was still difficult to hear. Nevertheless, she had to know, or at least try to understand, what Anathema knew and felt regarding Apollo. That would inform her way of explaining him and the threat he presented.

[thebooksaysso]

"It was one of the myths I read almost constantly when I was younger," she admitted sheepishly, a small half-smile quirking into place. It didn't stay for long, however, her expression falling again as she paused thoughtfully. How to go about this....

"I know that you were given the gift of prophecy because the god Apollo was attracted to you. But then you turned down his advances." Which, honestly, she couldn't blame her for, given the trend most of the Greek pantheon followed in their myths. Her frown deepened as she continued. "And I know that Apollo was, as he usually is in these stories, a complete sod about being turned down, so he...."

But there was something that felt very Not Right about relaying someone else's history to them. Especially one that must have been filled with a number of bad memories, ones she was fairly sure Cassandra must have had brought up with everyone she met. Things she certainly didn't need to be reminded of. Anathema hesitated again.

"People thought you mad when you tried to warn them about your visions. And then Troy was invaded."

[cassie_of_troy]

"A complete sod." There was a moment's pause, then Cassandra did the unthinkable. She started laughing. She supposed she sounded mad, but that was her calling card, after all. What Anathema had said, well, that had been the most poetic thing she had heard in a good many years. Cassandra offered Anathema one of her rare smiles. Much like her laugh, it was rusty, from years of neglect, but it was genuine, she hoped.

"Apollo is many things," she said when she could breathe again. "Arrogant, conniving, cruel, thoughtless, clever, selfish," she paused a moment before adding, "and here. In this caravan."

She leaned forward toward Anathema now, fixing her eyes on the other woman's. Cassandra had deep brown eyes, almost black. When she turned their full energy on anyone, they were like black holes, both captivating and deadly. "I have seen Apollo do great things," she said softly. "And many of them were terrible. Especially where young women are concerned. I have seen him chase unwilling lovers to their deaths, I have seen him carry away girls who were too young to understand what it means when a god parts their knees, and I have seen him smash the skulls of the mothers of his sons against rocks."

[thebooksaysso]

The laughter was indeed startling, but only for a moment. The fact it even seemed to be genuine was reassuring, and Anathema couldn't help smiling, or giving a small giggle herself, thought it faded away as Cassandra leaned closer, continued speaking. It was Anathema's turn to pause.

"....there's a god traveling on the caravan." ....meaning that the Mr. Apollo she had been talking to was really....

....oh dear. She tried to hide it, but a small grimace crossed her face. "The myths don't quite do him justice, then? That's comforting to know. I'll make a note to stay out of his way."

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra wanted to tell her that by virtue of sharing a room with her, Anathema was in a special, precarious position. She had honestly wished Anathema to be ugly. It might have kept Apollo at bay. Now, she had no idea what to expect from him. "I have no idea what to expect from him." Honesty stung, but it was the best course of action.

She pulled back for comfort's sake, relaxing. "A lot of the so-called myths leave out important details. I wouldn't trust them too far." And she left it at that.

"I want to know more about you. I feel as if I need to play catch up now. You know so much about me."

[thebooksaysso]

Anathema nodded, the movement very slight, her gaze falling thoughtfully to the bed. Apollo would only be one more added to the list of pricks she would need to avoid, which was simple enough to do. Or at least, so she thought.

"I'm a witch." She may as well be blunt about it. "Nothing bad, and nothing especially fancy, but I am. I've dabbled on and off in the occult since I was a tiny thing, but....I suppose you could say my main area of interest is in prophecies."