[OTA|MTW]

[please_see_me]

Out in front of the Kashtta, Dusty Baker is sitting on the steps in front of the door, her eyes closed, playing an invisible cello. She misses being able to play, especially when her emotions are so strong she feels like she's going to explode. So in lieu of actually having one, she is playing, humming the melody to herself as her hands run over

Comments

[darkgathersin]

He sees her, watches her and knows what he wants. It's not hard, not hard to figure it out but he wonders for a split second if he should do what he wants, if he should tell himself the story.

Then he thinks of her, of all the wonderful things she does for him, of how kind and good and wonderful she is.

Dusty should find that there's a cello in her hands, a real one that she can play. When she does, the notes will come out in colors around them, twirling and spinning and bleeding into each other.

He can't give it to her for real, can't let her keep it but it's something, a gift for a fleeting moment, an offer of love, even if it won't last.

He settles next to her, folding himself up into a ball and watches, hoping that she might play.

[please_see_me]

Dusty doesn't notice immediately, playing a couple notes that let lilac and yellow swirls out into the air, making her eyes fly open. She takes in the slowly fading colors and the cello in her hands and let her eyes lock on Theta. That would explain it. She smiles widely, and gently sets the bow aside so she can lean over and kiss his cheek.

"Thank you," she says quietly. She understands that this won't last forever, but for a little while it will. For a little while she can tell stories with her hands and her heart and let the music carry her away.

She picks up the bow again and starts playing.

[darkgathersin]

He smiles at the kiss, leaving one against her cheek before she pulls away. Contact, contact is good and on a day like today, on a day where his mind is fogged and his words won't work the way he wants them to, it's nice to be about to touch, to feel and hug and kiss and show people what he wants them to know.

And he wants Dusty to know that he cares about her, that she's a goodgoodgood thing.

he sways a little, not in a bad way, but to the music. he watches the colors and smiles and the dance around them but half the time he's watching her, watching as she enjoys what he did for her. It makes him happy, to know that he can do things like that, to know that he can make her happy.

]She deserves to be happy, and he likes making her feel that way.

[please_see_me]

Dusty plays and plays, segueing from one piece to another with barely a breath in between, the rainbow of colors dancing around them. One day she'll have a cello, and she'll tell Theta stories to go along with the music, and then when she plays for him, he'll be able to see what she sees.

But today, today she plays until her fingers are sore. It's been long enough since she played that the callouses are thinner than they used to be, and she'll probably have blisters on the fingers of her left hand when she's done, but it doesn't matter because this is something she needs, and she doesn't know when she'll get to play again.

Finally, she can't play any more, and she sets the cello aside and practically collapses into Theta's lap, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you thank you thank you..." She might be crying a little - she missed being able to make her music, to bring those deep emotions out of her where they couldn't hurt her, and for him to do something so wonderful for her means more than she could ever put to words.

[nosecretmeaning]

Elizabeth hasn't really been out of her room since the whole thing kicked in, not really. She's been doing a little walking here and there because she gets pent up and frustrated but beyond that? No one but Peter and Neal have really seen her.

So when she puts on her sunglasses and makes it a point to leave her room and go downstairs to get some coffee and spend a little time in the common room, it is with purpose in her steps.

She is going to do this. She is going to do it and not hit her head against a wall in the process, in no small part be3cuae it's only going to make the pain worse.

She slips into the common room and is relieved when the lights are already off. She sighs happily and takes a seat on the couch, curling up a little around her coffee as she s8ips at it.

She's not super drugged up at the moment but she is drugged enough that sitting is probably better than standing at this point.

[archangelet]

Woman in sunglasses, inside, seemingly relieved at the low light in the room? Tay's going to wager she's not the only one who has shiny new medical conditions to deal with.

"Georgia said that UV lights won't hurt," she calls. "If you need lights in your room that won't make you want to gouge your eyes out."

[nosecretmeaning]

She looks up, arching her eyebrows for a moment before nodding. "yeah," she says. "I heard about that. I've just been needing to do a few things outside of my room."

She started a job and she wasn't going to leave it half finished, medical conditions be damned. It's stupid, she knows but it's been what's keeping her sane and she's not really willing to give that up right now.

"Besides, I get tired of being cooped up in there. Then again, I like not having migraines."

[archangelet]

"I know exactly what you mean," Tay sighs. "I'm so antsy I'm doing homework. Fucking hell." She pushes her glasses up to rub her eyes a bit, grimacing slightly at the light that sneaks in around her fingers.

"I just wish I didn't have a ward," she says with a sigh. "I'd just turn nocturnal if I didn't, but Pheebs likes to, y'know, be out with the sun and everything."

[arkham_doctor]

Jonathan is just looking for somewhere quiet to grade lab reports when he stumbles upon Tay. He doesn't notice her right away, as it is fairly dark, but he hesitates a moment when he does see her. She looks vaguely familiar. His best guess is that he's seen her around the school.

Then it clicks that she's wearing sunglasses and he's even more confused.

He can't help his curiosity, and this is the first peaceful place he's found, so he speaks quietly. "I'm not intruding, am I?"

[archangelet]

"It's a public space," Tay points out dryly, completely not answering his question. She'd leave it at that, or be bitchier at him in an attempt to drive him away, except... she's seen him at school. She's not in any of his classes, but he's definitely a teacher, and especially if he's not one of hers, she feels like it would be a bad plan to be a bitch. Even if she really wants to.

"Uh, no," she adds. "I'm just..." she glances down at the books she's been ignoring and rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, "doing homework."

[arkham_doctor]

Jonathan is amused by her answer at first. It's clear that when she recognizes him she attempts to tone it down which, in his opinion, is also somewhat funny. "I see. That's a good thing, I suppose."

He shifts the papers from one arm to the other before speaking. "Migraines?" He asks, still trying to figure out why she's wearing sunglasses, inside, in a somewhat dark room.

He sets the stack of papers down on a table by the window, but he's still listening Tay. The pile of lab reports was just getting heavy.

[archangelet]

"More like a recently-developed eye condition," Tay says, running a hand through her hair. "Though yeah, migraines, too. Fucking sucks."

And no, she doesn't seem to feel at all awkward about cursing in front of a teacher, just being bitchy.

"Uh, you teach at the high school, right? I'm not in any of your classes, but you look familiar."

[shotofdumbidea]

The common room Tay's in happens to be on the way from the kitchen to Georgia's room - and though she's walking with only half an eye on where she's going, the other on the PDA in her hand, she notices someone lurking in a mostly dark room out of the corner of her eye, and lifts her head to check who.

She's not particularly surprised to see that it's Tay. She takes an abrupt detour - it's not like there's anything she needs in her room other than relative darkness and quiet, and this room has enough of both - and sits on the couch facing Tay.

"I'm starting to understand why most people act like they think I'm going to eviscerate them if they say the wrong thing to me," she comments wryly. The sunglasses really do help with conveying certain emotions. Like utter hatred of the world and everything in it.

[archangelet]

Tay laughs, startled into it by that declaration, and shoots Georgia a crooked smile. "Yeah, well. It definitely adds to my air of 'hit man for the Irish mob', so I'll consider it a plus."

She shoves aside the books she's been barely paying attention to and tucks her feet up under her. "So, uh, sorry about the... dog thing. I still feel kinda bad about that."

[shotofdumbidea]

Georgia snorts a little and sets her PDA on her lap so she can retrieve the can of Coke she shoved in her pocket. She only has so many hands, after all, and just putting away the internet the journals for the time it took to walk from the kitchen to her room is just too easy.

"Given that it surprised you as much as it did me," she comments as she cracks the can open, "I think I can forgive you. I'm just not a dog person. At all." If the fact that she pointed a gun at her isn't an indication all by itself...

"You said earlier you didn't know what the Rift did to you. I guess that would be it, or is this some other weird thing?"

[archangelet]

"No, that would probably be it." Tay makes a face. "Maybe you turn into an animal too, then you can be as irritated as I am."

She kind of wants to turn into a dog right now, truth be told. At least then she'd be able to just curl up and think about doggy things, not school and her eyes and how much trouble this is likely causing Phoebe and Mio and the rest of Torchwood.

"Thanks for not shooting me, though."