--[closed! | incomplete] well hay there roomie! --backdated--

[thebooksaysso]

Characters: Anathema Device ( thebooksaysso ) & Cassandra ( cassie_of_troy )
Setting/Location: Their caravan room
Date & Time: Er. Backdated to Day 9, early afternoonish?
Warnings: None!
Summary: So a former prophet meets the prophecy obsessed.

Comments

[cassie_of_troy]

"I am glad to hear it," Cassandra said, setting down her things uncertainly in the middle of the floor. Whether or not Anathema minded her presence there, it was still her territory for now and Cassandra would do as she told her, put her things where Anathema said, and live by her rules. It wasn't so bad to be sharing space, really. Cassandra had always shared rooms with other girls before. But they had been of her world. Anathema was different and so the rules would have to be spelled out for her

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I have no idea what a Weishaupt's Illuminati is. Or a Bavaria, for that matter. Or the devil." She shrugged. It was easy to simply be behind the times. "But you disagree anyway." She touched the paper lightly, feeling the words and imagining that she could feel the fingertips of their author, despite the chasm of time between them. In both directions.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't shed much light on that situation. I was the only member of my family with prophecy and it was gifted to me. Not something I would wish on another person." That wasn't entirely true. There was some sort of sick, twisted pleasure Cassandra had derived from being the one who knew. But that pleasure was doubtlessly a reaction to being the one who was never believed.

She reread the prophecy on the page another time. "The chariot. Could that refer to the caravan somehow?"

[thebooksaysso]

"The caravan?" There was a thought, though in the back of her mind she doubted it. She glanced at the book between them, turning the thought around in her head.

"I don't know....neither Cid nor his giant strike me as very serpent-like...." And these prophecies were old. The supposed end of the world came and went, meaning this particular set had to have already happened.

Although, there may have been something to it....

"The chariot will flame...." It was only a slightly worrying thought. "....perhaps we should be careful anyway. To stay on the safe side."

[cassie_of_troy]

"A snake often stands in for something less than trustworthy. I would certainly put Cid in that category. Honestly," she sighed, "what in the world would motivate someone to head up a caravan of complete strangers, at no cost, unless there was something in it for them." She scoffed slightly. "He's not doing this out of the goodness of his heart. There's something more going on, something we must be missing."

She paused a moment, looking up at Anathema. "I'm afraid," she continued, somewhat apologetic, "that I have difficulty keeping faith in people. I've been lied to many times. And men often put their own agendas ahead of what is good and right. All too often."

Cassandra looked down at the page of prophecy again. "Flame is sometimes a symbol of rebirth. Fire destroys life as often as it gives it. There's something to that, perhaps."

[thebooksaysso]

Anathema nodded sympathetically, knowing all too well how lies eventually took their toll. But Cassandra's thought was an interesting one; her hand was already reaching for the pen she didn't have before she realized what she was doing. She quickly set it back on her lap.

"A fresh new world, a fresh new life? That sort of thing?" She had to say, liked that idea even less. "....or if he's being truthful about taking us to see that witch, maybe it's some sort of way back home."

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra nodded slightly. "Perhaps." She gave the prophecy back to Anathema, handling the paper as delicately as if it were a child. "I don't know about the Queen mentioned. My world had many queens and leaders of all sorts. I know yours is quite different. At least, that's what Ianto tells me."

She looked around the room. "Ianto is a friend...of sorts. Welsh. From the year 2008. He and I knew each other in Rowan, although he doesn't remember me here. I may ask your permission to speak with him here, from time to time, if you've no objections. Strictly in a vertical capacity."

[thebooksaysso]

And another small nod, followed by an absent hum in response as her mind started to wander. A singing queen, hm? She couldn't recall any royalty being on board, unless this was a certain other Queen....but then, she hadn't heard a single tune of theirs since arriving, either.

She only seemed to snap back to attention when the other woman spoke again.

"Oh, of course you could!" she replied quickly, smiling. "This is your room as well now, yes? You shouldn't need my permission for guests."

[cassie_of_troy]

She gave Anathema a grateful smile, but she still couldn't help but feel like an intruder in this place. Anathema had been there first, after all. "You must forgive me," she said, "it has been a very long time since I shared a room with any of my sisters." She didn't bother to add that she had been exiled from all of the shared bedrooms of her father's harem. No one wanted to share a bed with a lunatic, even if she was a sister.

Delicately, she cleared her throat. "I'm afraid I cannot conjure up a subtle way of asking this, so pardon my bluntness. Do you have many male guests in here?"

[thebooksaysso]

"Do I--?" The question earned Cassandra a puzzled look. And after a moment, a raised brow.

And hard as she tried to keep it inside, Anathema started to laugh. "Oh, no, you don't have to worry about any of that. You're actually the first person that's been here at all since I arrived."

[cassie_of_troy]

Cassandra afforded her a slight smile. "I didn't mean to suggest anything. I only want to know." She looked up for a moment at the bunk above them, briefly wondering just how stable the entire structure really was. "In Rowan," she explained, "all of the worldwalkers--that's what they called us--were constantly having love affairs with one another. I was only curious. I hope I didn't offend."

She reached up, touching the underside of the bunk all the same.

"As long as I'm being intrusive, I might as well go all the way." She looked at Anathema with a look that she hoped passed for gentle. "Did you leave behind a husband in your world?"

[thebooksaysso]

"I promise it's fine," she said, waving it away with another chuckle. "It's hardly offensive, and probably an important thing to want to know about any new flatmate." It would certainly save on any awkward surprises in the long run. It took a few moments for the giggles to finally die off, but when they did she shook her head. And while her smile didn't leave, there was a touch of homesickness behind it.

"Mm, no husband, no. But there is a boyfriend that I miss dearly." Who was probably worried sick.... For all she knew he probably had half of England on a witch-hunt by now. Or at least whatever was left of that silly little army he was in.

[cassie_of_troy]

The smile Cassandra gave Anathema was all too sympathetic. All to knowing. Because she knew. "I was close to a boy named Cris, in Rowan. He left behind a girl of his own. Lydia. I think he missed her terribly. It was particularly hard on him, since many of the worldwalkers there found the ones they had left behind. For all of the sadness there, I saw many happy reunions."

Cassandra, herself, had never considered the idea of Othryoneus appearing. She felt that door was closed. He was gone and she would never hear the sound of his voice again. It was a sad notion, in some respects. But there was a healthy sense of closure to it. There was no uncertainty. He was gone, hopefully lost to the wonders of Elysium. She could only hope to join him again when she died. He would certainly not come to her.

"One more reason to trust in this witch, for now," she said. "So many people here have something or someone to return to. I only hope whatever evils are out there don't use that hope to their advantage against us."