open ✘ the bird you'd sworn you'd given up.

[thehighestwing]

Here's a face you haven't seen in a while, Chicago.

It may have only been months, but for Phoebe Donovan it's been a full year

Comments

[ohshiny_tomatos]

Parker is wandering down the street away from the Kashtta tower when she sees Phoebe. She stops and her head tilts a bit at the sight of the girl. They hadn't had time to get especially close before Phoebe left, but they had talked several times and Parker didn't dislike her. Not that there are many people Parker dislikes in Chicago, but that is not the point here. The point is that she sees someone she knows, someone she knows shouldn't be here, and she doesn't know what to make of it.

She also doesn't like that Phoebe isn't the happy smiling girl she remembers. She's hesitant at first, but then she speaks up.

"Hi Phoebe."

[thehighestwing]

Phoebe whirls around, and the face is familiar, but she can't place the name at first. It's been a year, and the place she went to didn't have many good things at all. She stands there for a moment, lacking the usually bubbly reply that she'd have had under any other circumstance. Mostly because she's trying really, really hard to remember and she fears for a moment she can't.

It may have only been several times, but Phoebe always used to remember a face and a name. Not to mention, their several interactions were always memorable in their own way. She remembers. The woman running from thugs and guns.

"...Parker?"

[ohshiny_tomatos]

It hasn't been nearly that long for Parker. She doesn't know much about where Phoebe went, but she knows that she was sad that she left. She knows that other people were even more sad that she left. She also knows that Phoebe was very nice to her, and she wants to return that. It's what people do around here. She's people now, isn't she?

Parker nods. "Didn't you leave?" No, she's not one for beating around the bush.

[thehighestwing]

"Yeah," Phoebe answers once she can find her voice, her hand tugging at the long sleeve of her shirt. The fabric brushes just past her wrist. Something's missing. There's a hole somewhere that keeps scratching at her, and she's terrified that it's the ward link. It's gone. She knows it's gone and it has been gone for a year, but she hadn't been allowed to really know until now.

"Yeah, I did. I've heard of it happening to a lot of people, but I honestly... never thought it'd happen to me."

[trappedbyhate]

The narration is not going to question what Mio is doing out at this hour of the evening. Perhaps she's picking up some take-out from a nearby restaurant. With only three active Torchwood members, Mio really hasn't had a lot of time to do any cooking for herself lately

[thehighestwing]

Phoebe also looks noticeably more tired-looking.

Older, though it's more evident in her eyes than anything else. Physically, she looks like the same old Phoebe, even if she's not, not quite. She hasn't yet processed she's fallen through a Rift yet again, and it isn't until she hears the sound of a very familiar voice she's jolted back into the present. She almost sways in place, and then she lets out a disbelieving sound, something close to a choked laugh. "Mio? Oh my--"

She starts to smile, eyes bright, and then she's running.

She runs and she keeps running until she's standing in front of Mio, stopping shortly once she notices the bag of food. She shakes her head dazedly, staring perhaps blatantly. She'd begun to think she'd never see Mio or any of them ever again, and yet here she is, right in front of Phoebe.

"What date is it?" she asks breathlessly.

[trappedbyhate]

Mio puts the bag of food down so there can be hugs. All of the hugs.

"June 14, 2011," Mio answers. "How long has it been for you?"

[thehighestwing]

Phoebe hugs her gratefully, her arms slipping around Mio. She doesn't answer immediately. She lets herself be comforted by Mio's presence, for the time being.

And it helps.

"A whole year. It was 2012 where I ended up. I was starting to think I'd never get back."

[stillaboyscout]

Vaughn does this thing at night. He is very aware of how possibly stupid it is, but he does it anyway because he's been here long enough and he's vaguely indestructible and goddammit, he's a boy scout.

He goes out every night and walks a radius of three blocks around the Kashtta in each direction. It doesn't really do anything--there's no way he can be in all places at once. But it gives him peace of mind at the end of the day.

So as he's making his rounds, he notices someone standing in the middle of the street. Which. In Chicago is a baaaaad idea.

"Excuse me?" he calls, crossing between parked cars on the streets. "Excuse me! Hello? Are you alright?"

Yeah. His boy scout senses are tingling. Or something.

[thehighestwing]

Phoebe's jerked away from her reverie at the sound of a honk. The light has turned green and a car wants to speed past, and at first there are only headlights and the persistent reminder she is not where she was only minutes ago. She moves to the side, closer to where she heard someone speak.

Vaughn's frame becomes clearer to her, and Phoebe determines she isn't conjuring this up, and it's not some sort of dream. It's real. It's happening. She's in Chicago again.

"I'm--" she stops abruptly, shaking her head. "I fell through another Rift, I think," she says dazedly, swaying in place.

"What's--can you tell me the date?"

It was already 2012 where she was, and still to this day, she doesn't know where exactly she went.

[stillaboyscout]

Vaughn freezes. Another Rift? That means she knows how this all works, that she's been here before. That's a step-up, for her at least. Sure, there's confusion, but it's better for her than people who have absolutely no idea what happened to them.

"The date?" Vaughn remembers being green-rifted--well. He remembers coming back from being green-rifted. The time loss is disorienting. "June 14. 2011."

He meets up with her in the road and gently takes her by the arm, leading her back to the sidewalk. "You're in Chicago, Illinois," he explains. She sounds American, but if she knows about Rifts, lord only knows what kind of Riftverse she came out of. "Where did you come from?" That's the best basis for Vaughn's explanation. The number of universes out there is almost limitless--so many it hurts his head to think about. It's best to establish what is different for her so she can get adjusted as quickly as possible.

[thehighestwing]

"Oh, geez," Phoebe says, swaying to the side in surprise. She had been aware Rifts worked this way--she could've only been gone a day for folks here and it could be much longer for her--but it's still something else entirely to experience it. She's not sure how to process it, and she can only be grateful it wasn't more time that was taken from her. "It was June 14th, 2012 where I ended up. I was--it was a whole year."

For her. She can't be sure how long it was for Xander and the rest. Probably only months but still.

Still.

Phoebe lets herself be led, and she flashes him a thin, but earnest smile in gratitude. "I was born in this one. I mean, I've lived here my whole life. I'm an angel and I never thought I would step through one of those Rifts but ... I did. One day, out of the blue. It was so creepy. Now I know how you guys feel."

[knowmycall]

"Someone's lookin' a bit lost."

Fletcher, who is on his way back to the Kashtta after an outing for some sushi, stops a few feet in front of the girl. He really hopes she's not new new, because he doesn't want to be the one to explain the whole rift-thing, but he can't just walk past without helping.

"I don't suppose you'd mind gettin' outta the street before someone runs you over, aye?"

[thehighestwing]

Phoebe startles in place, lifting her head to gaze up at him.

"Hi," she breathes out, and he seems familiar but she can't place from where. It's possible anyone would look familiar to her now, and she can't determine if it's yearning or her just being misplaced. She starts to walk, feet dragging on the pavement, and she places a hand on her stomach. "Sorry 'bout that, I was just... not here a moment ago."

Wrinkling her nose. "Stupid Rifts. Can you--can you tell me the date?"

[knowmycall]

Ah, crap. At least she knows about Rifts? That's a definite bonus.

"June fourteenth," he says, taking a few steps toward her to make sure she's not off-balance. "2011. You're in Chicago, and my name's Fletcher."

[thehighestwing]

"Aw, fluck," she says under her breath. Yes, fluck. 2011. That was a whole year she was gone. Or at least, it was a year for her. This is so confusing.

"Oh, hey! I remember you. You're the guy that saw my underwear."

That's probably not the best way to introduce yourself, Phoebe.

if this isn't okay, let me know. also, semi-serious Shawn tag *GASP*

[pwnspatrickjane]

Phoebe Donavan is a face that Shawn Spencer hasn't seen in a very long time.

They weren't particularly close when she was in Chicago, but she was a face that he did enjoy seeing, and frequently at that. They had a similar sense of humor, a similar outlook on life, and generally speaking she was just fun to be around.

Chicago needs more people like that, in Shawn's opinion.

Then Phoebe disappeared, and it seemed like Chicago had lost something. Something that makes Shawn doubletime, trying to keep up with it, and most of the time he feels like he's failing, but he tries. He tries to bring that brightness to the world that Phoebe had and Chicago so desperately needs, and it allows Shawn to sleep a little easier at night, knowing that at least that much is true

IT IS TOTALLY OKAY, as has been discussed. We love you, Shawn. :D /SNUG <3

[thehighestwing]

It's been even longer for Phoebe.

A whole year, to be precise, and she'd been all but ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat. Of course the moment she decides to give up is the moment she'd be sent back. Of course. The sights and the sounds and the noises are all familiar to her, and she registers them all at once. She's here and she doesn't feel like she's here yet.

It's all very strange and very bizarre and far too existential for her to get a grasp on.

She isn't expecting Shawn.

She isn't, in fact, expecting anyone. She stands there in the middle of the street, as if glued to her spot, incapable of doing anything else. Her feet won't move. Her legs won't budge. Her heart's racing, and that's the only part of her that seems to be in constant motion, thrumming painfully against her chest. She's brought out of her confusion once Shawn pulls her into a hug.

"Omigod. Shawn?" Phoebe's arms loop tightly around his neck and she releases a soft, breathless noise that sounds suspiciously like a laugh

<3

[pwnspatrickjane]

Shawn just hugs her tighter. He knows there's chances for tricks in a place like this, but this is real. That's what Shawn's putting his faith in at the moment, and he just wants to keep his friend close.

"Same here," he sighs, rubbing her back lightly. "You just disappeared one day. No one knew what happened to you."

Well, there are assumptions -- the Rift leaves room for that -- but there was no proof, and if he has nothing else from his father, he believes in the evidence more than anything else.

[thehighestwing]

"I tried getting back," she says into his shoulder. She isn't keen on letting go of him just yet and clings on just as tightly. The irrational side of her fears if she lets go she's going to fade away again, leave without a trace.

Nothing but a poof.

"I was walking back home and then... suddenly I was somewhere else. For a whole year. I started to think I'd never be pulled out and now I'm... here. How did you know how to find me?" she asks, lifting her gaze up at him. Her eyes are wide and surprisingly frank.