The scrape of a key sounds from the other side of Milliways' front door. A click later, the knob turns to escort a tall blonde woman into the room
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Raylan's at a nearby table, facing the door out of habit. He's settled with a glass of bourbon and a stack of paperwork, keeping a benign tally of the comers and goers in his lizard brain.
When she crosses the threshold, he glances up from his latest report; his eyes stray to her hip, and back to her face.
His smile is small, but it's genuine, and he tips his head in her direction.
She does return the nod, though, deciding acknowledgment is the better option in an unfamiliar environment. Warily, Olivia moves a few more steps away from the door.
Olivia gives Raylan another once-over, sizes up the chair, then -- with an almost palpable air of well, what the hell -- covers the final steps to his table.
"I'm listening," she says, calm, as she takes the proffered seat.
She follows the tip of his head with a glance of her own -- and stops, eyes wide.
It takes a few moments and a very visible wrench before she gives her attention back to Raylan, letting her thoughts catch up to the rest of his words. "Everywhere and anywhere," she repeats. "Meaning?"
Is it localized to one universe? she wants to ask instead, and holds back for now.
The Window is quite a sight to behold, which means he's prepared to sit in polite silence for as long as she may need to process its presence.
"Well, that," he says, with a wry chuckle, "I'm still learning, myself. Mostly, it means you'll meet people from the past, the present, and the future."
His eyes flick toward the counter.
"And not just your own world, or timeline, either. Some folks I've talked to say the Earth I'm familiar with doesn't exist."
Olivia finally tears her attention from the Window. A smile flickers across her face, or something like one: grim and brief, it only lifts the very corners of her mouth.
"I've always been under the impression that soft spots like this caused a lot more harm than good."
"Not...identical," is what she decides on at last. Olivia sets her forearms flush against the tabletop. "What I've seen is more of a direct route between two universes, not a shared space that overlaps multiple worlds."
She splays one hand.
"But the places where travel between universes is easiest, where the...fabric of reality is the thinnest," a tiny hint of a humorless smile returns at that, "are notoriously unstable."
When she crosses the threshold, he glances up from his latest report; his eyes stray to her hip, and back to her face.
His smile is small, but it's genuine, and he tips his head in her direction.
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She does return the nod, though, deciding acknowledgment is the better option in an unfamiliar environment. Warily, Olivia moves a few more steps away from the door.
(Not far enough to make retreat a difficulty.)
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He puts down his pen, and tips back his Stetson, all the better to make eye contact.
"I can explain," he says, mild and amicable, "if you have a few minutes, and don't mind the company."
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But her own voice is friendly enough as she says, "I'd appreciate that a lot, sir."
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He straightens in his seat, and gestures to one of the empty chairs.
"Please, have a seat, and I'll do my best to convince you you haven't lost your mind."
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"I'm listening," she says, calm, as she takes the proffered seat.
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(Unless she's dead, but Raylan'll be damned if he's opening with that.)
"This place, it's Milliways. The bar at the end of the universe."
One corner of his mouth lifts in a grim half-smile; he inclines his head toward the Observation Window.
"From what I've come to understand, it's something removed from space and time, so it pulls us in from everywhere and anywhere."
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It takes a few moments and a very visible wrench before she gives her attention back to Raylan, letting her thoughts catch up to the rest of his words. "Everywhere and anywhere," she repeats. "Meaning?"
Is it localized to one universe? she wants to ask instead, and holds back for now.
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"Well, that," he says, with a wry chuckle, "I'm still learning, myself. Mostly, it means you'll meet people from the past, the present, and the future."
His eyes flick toward the counter.
"And not just your own world, or timeline, either. Some folks I've talked to say the Earth I'm familiar with doesn't exist."
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She doesn't swallow, but damn does it take an effort.
"And it's -- " Olivia searches for the correct way to phrase it, eyes still locked on the explosions in the Window. "Permanent? Stable?"
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"You're safe in here."
A beat.
"I wouldn't be sitting here, taking advantage of a little extra time to play catch-up, if that wasn't so."
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"I've always been under the impression that soft spots like this caused a lot more harm than good."
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There's curiosity in his repetition, intrigue obvious in his eyes.
"You've run across places like this before?"
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She splays one hand.
"But the places where travel between universes is easiest, where the...fabric of reality is the thinnest," a tiny hint of a humorless smile returns at that, "are notoriously unstable."
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"It has suddenly occurred to me just how under-qualified I am for this introduction."
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And speaking of introductions -- she offers a belated hand to him. "Agent Olivia Dunham."
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