(Untitled)

[angela_edmunds]

Angela is sitting by the lake again, reading. She had a book in her bag when she came here. Oddly enough, it's one of her mother's: Dealing with Unfortunate Circumstances: A Guidebook for Coping by Kim Bauer. It had come out just before she was taken, and she'd intended to read it for a while. No time like the present

Comments

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Oh hey, a book."

Claire is coming back from the hospital, on her way to food, but instead she pauses totry and read over Angela's shoulder.

[angela_edmunds]

Angela startles a little, then grins at the other girl.

"Hi. Yeah, not something I'd read if my Mom hadn't written it, really."

But she can almost hear her talking in her head.

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Your Mom writes?"

Claire sits down, clearly interested. "What kind of thing?"

[angela_edmunds]

She shows her the cover and title. "Self-help. Mom's been through enough that she knows all about it."

She smiles a little sadly. "I miss her a lot."

Along with the rest of her family.

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Yeah, I miss mine," Claire says, looking at her feet, then up at the other girl. "But that's because I'm sick of looking after her dog."

That's a lie.

[angela_edmunds]

Angela's guessed that she's almost the only one who had a stable family life here.

For a given value of "stable".

She grins. "Yappy little dog, or yappy big dog?"

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Little," Claire says. "He's a Pomeranian. Hangs out by that little rock tent down the road?"

She points towards the mini-camp she, Toph and Sokka call their own. "Mom was keeping him as a stud, and now he's a scruffy muddy guard dog."

Who the mun keeps forgetting about so doesn't see enough action.

[angela_edmunds]

"Does he work as a guard dog? Or more like an alarm system?"

She's always thought that Pomeranians were really adorable.

She misses her cat, too.

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Mostly an alarm," Claire admits. "But Toph is one scary twelve year old. Once she's awake nothing can attack us."

[angela_edmunds]

"I don't think I've met Toph. At least not yet. I'm sure I will eventually."

She grins again. "Oh, by the way, I'm Angela." She sticks out her hand.

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Claire," says Claire, reaching to shake it. "You can't miss Toph. She's the tough little blind girl who could probably kick the ass of anyone here just by throwing rocks at them. You've been sleeping in the bunker?"

[angela_edmunds]

"She sounds pretty awesome." Angela nods. "Yeah, I've been sleeping there. It's not bad."

At least when she can sleep, it isn't.

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Toph made it," Claire explains. "In like - a day. And I thought people on my world had creepy powers."

[angela_edmunds]

"Now that's really impressive. Oh, do people on your world have powers too? They don't on mine. I keep wondering why I'm here, I'm like the only mundane in this place."

She's good natured about it. But she has to wonder why the multiverse likes to toy with her so much.

[lilmsmiraclegro]

"Not everyone," Claire says. "No one in my family does - my adopted family, anyway. And you're not the only one: my boyfriend's from Toph's world and he has no powers."

Except the power of super kissing.

"Neither does Steph." Who is probably a good kisser, but Claire hasn't tried her out.

[angela_edmunds]

She grins. "Yeah, but Steph's Robin. That sort of counts in my book."

Click. "Oh, you're the one having the cookie battle?"