(Untitled)

[a_lioness]

Dreams about Roger used to make Alanna worried, angry or cold. The latest astounded her, left her speechless as she reviewed each word and gesture and sound, true, but the worst that could be said of it is that since the dream, Alanna has been annoyingly quiet and introspective

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[trigger_man]

There's a familiar face sitting nearby, though maybe a little more lined and thin than the one Alanna's known. Then again, it's been a long time since the last time Jack and Alanna actually talked, so some changes are expected, right?

[a_lioness]

Absolutely. Alanna's face has changed, too, at least a little. Years spent out of the bar and three children are written in the faint lines near her eyes and a few extra scars scattered around her arms.

She looks up eventually, shaking herself, and looks around.

"Hi," she says to Jack, eyes widening in surprise.

It has been a long time.

[OOC: Eeeee, yay! I'm heading to bed soon, but are you ok with slowtime? *hopeful*]

[trigger_man]

Jack's head snaps up at the greeting, quickly taking in the look of surprise and recognition on her face.

Someone else who recognizes him; or rather, someone else who knew the version of him that had been in the bar before. Well it can't go as badly as the last time someone thought he was that other Jack Bauer, which had been his fault.

He struggles for the right way to acknowledge the greeting, but not lead her on.

"I take it you know me?" he says, finally. Probably not the best possible reply, but he's not sure there really is one that doesn't sound awkward.

[ooc: Definitely! :D This should be interesting.]

[a_lioness]

"Jack?"

Alanna starts to scrunch up her face, makes herself stop. The way he asked that question and the way he's not responding in kind with any sort of familiarity suggests someone who is used to being mistaken for someone else, or, as can only happen here, another version of himself.

Sometimes it becomes very evident that she has been here a long, long time.

"I'm Alanna," she explains, guessing it's necessary.

What tricks is the bar up to now?

[trigger_man]

"Alanna," he says with a nod and a slightly grim smile. "I take it you knew...the Jack that came in here before?"

[a_lioness]

"Yes, I did."

She pauses, momentarily at a loss for words.

"This must be very strange for you. But yes, we worked together from time to time."

[trigger_man]

"'Strange' is a pretty good word for it. You worked together?" he asks, tilting his head slightly and looking at her carefully.

She doesn't look like anyone he knows from CTU or his world, so either that was different for the other Jack as well, or she's talking about in here.

[a_lioness]

"Security," she replies, shifting so he can see and she can indicate her badge.

A careful smile.

"I've come across this before." Quite recently, actually, with Angel. "I'm sure I will again. Milliways.

"How long have you been here?"

[trigger_man]

He checks the badge, a flicker of suspicion crossing his face before he manages to cover it. That first instinct to not trust those in authority is hard to check, even though he knows that here, unlike out there, it's most likely paranoia.

"He worked on Security? Seems kind of like a busman's holiday to me," he says, clenching his right hand as the muscles have stiffened up. "I've been here...a couple weeks, I think? Kind of easy to lose track of time in here."

Particularly when your internal sense of time is shot from almost two years of not knowing what day it was, or what time of day. It almost feels like the rest of the world has passed him by while his life was on endless repeat.

[a_lioness]

Watching him closely, Alanna nods in agreement -- to the latter, not the former.

"It is, yes."

Beat.

"Busman's holiday?"

Her eyes drop to his hand, noting the clenching, and she frowns slightly.

[trigger_man]

He notices her frown, and places his left hand on top of his right, just in case she can see the scarring on the back of his right hand from where she is.

"Sorry. It means a vacation where you end up doing the same thing you usually do at work," he says.

[a_lioness]

She sees something, and has enough scars of her own to make a reasonable guess at what he's hiding.

It's on her list of possibilities, anyway.

"Ah." A wry smile. "That I understand well."

For no apparent reason, she turns one of her hands over on her knee; the palm is a labyrinth of silvery scars, moving out toward her fingers.

"I liked him. You. In case you wondered," she adds, expression softening. "Are there any questions you'd like answered?"

[OOC: Augh, so sorry for vanishing. The flu got better, then worse again. Apologies!]

[trigger_man]

He looks down at her hand as she turns it over, spotting the scars there, the looks away before it seems like he's staring. He'd be uncomfortable with someone staring at his scars, after all.

"Do you know how long he'd been coming in here? I have a feeling that there are a lot of other people that know him that I haven't run into yet."

[ooc: UGH. No worries. Hope you're feeling better now!]

[a_lioness]

Alanna doesn't mind. The way she sees it, she earned those scars and each one speaks to her success.

Better to be alive and scarred, than dead and smooth-skinned.

"Several years, I think. Can't be positive, as I lost a few years myself, but I believe it was quite a while," she says, almost apologetic. "It will probably keep happening. Then again, many people have moved on."

[trigger_man]

"Well, that's something at least." Even though from what he's heard so far things were very different for that other version of himself, Jack still doesn't like the idea of other people in here knowing that much about him already, when he doesn't know them at all.

Considering what Malcolm Crowe had said, part of him is curious exactly how things were different for that other Jack Bauer. Part of him, however, has a feeling that knowing isn't going to be anything of a comfort, particularly from what little Crowe had said.

"So what does Security do in here? Other than break up fights, considering this is a bar."

He's kind of hoping that's all they do. He's not sure he wants to be stuck in a place that has bigger problems than that.

[ooc: my turn to plead for clemency for tagfail. The last few days have been made of suck.]

[a_lioness]

Alanna snorts.

"Watch and attempt to dissuade patrons from doing anything stupid. Sometimes it works." Beat. "Sometimes we solve murders."

Once. Okay, twice.

[OOC: No worries at all. *offers tea* I am perfectly happy with slowtime!]