eleven. [video]

[experiencedlove]

[ The mirror unfurls on a location it hasn't for some time: the rear balcony of a lakeside house in the southern part of the Gardens. A blonde woman who may be familiar to a few of the more long-term residents is standing there, hands resting on the railing, seemingly unaware of the presence of the Vine as yet. The expression on her face is

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[welljustwatchme]

Hello Caprica. [A friendly smile, but then a thoughtful pause from the nation. She remembers the other woman being here before, even if she can't recall ever interacting with her.]

If it's not too much to ask, how long were you gone?

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[experiencedlove]

[ No, Caprica doesn't think they've ever spoken - but there's something like recognition on her face, after a moment. She must have seen her on the Vine before. ]

I'm not sure.

[ A pause, and then she amends, ] More than a year passed in my world between the time I left here and now. But I don't know if the same amount of time has passed here.

[ She's quiet for a moment, thinking back, recalling memories that are only now coming back to her after so long away. ]

The last thing I remember - there was a storm. Everyone was having strange dreams.

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[welljustwatchme]

Ah... no, that was a few months ago, but certainly not a year. Five or six, maybe?

[She's got her own gap in memories for that time, a good forty years of blissful ignorance of the Gardens before being brought back. If it weren't for how carefully she tried to remember things, and speaking with her friends when she returned, she wouldn't have had the faintest idea.]

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[experiencedlove]

I see.

[ It's really the only thing she can say - and she doesn't know whether she's relieved or not that the length of time that's passed here is less.

She lets out a breath, sits down on one of the deck chairs on the wide balcony, allowing herself a brief glance out over the lake view. A brief glance only, however; the view is a bittersweet one, and she is trying not to get too caught up in emotion right now. ]

It doesn't seem as if anything's changed.

[ That could be a question phrased like a statement. ]

[doihavepanties]

Caprica...

I have to say, that's a pretty exotic name.

[experiencedlove]

[ The comment actually startles a very small laugh out of her. Probably not the reaction Suruga was expecting. It takes a second before she manages to respond. ]

I'm glad you like it.

[ Which is kind of not totally sincere, but she's trying to be polite here. ]

[doihavepanties]

Where exactly did you come from, Caprica-san?

[experiencedlove]

[ She pauses, then. ]

That's a complicated question.

[ You have no idea, Suruga. ]

[esoteric_rose]

Miss Caprica.

[She remembers, and it is strange that the Gardens would return two people of interest to her in such a short amount of time.]

Is it out of line to say "welcome back"?

[experiencedlove]

[ Caprica remembers Grell, too - the recognition is obvious on her face.

The question, though, gives her pause. Eventually she manages a small, uncertain smile. ]

I don't know.

[ It's the most truthful answer she can give. She enjoys the company of the women in the Gardens, and the place in itself isn't intolerable - but she has some lingering resentment over some of the things that have happened to her here. Not to mention that now the Queen has ripped her away from her home just when things had begun to go right for once.

Suffice it to say her feelings are mixed. ]

[esoteric_rose]

[Grell nods, considering that and revising what she could say in light of it. She wants to greet her, but she doesn't want to make this transplantation seem any more cheerful than it is.]

Then may I simply say it's good to see you again.

[Caprica had always intrigued her, yet been one of her vague regrets in the sense that Grell had not tried to reach out and get to know her as well as she could have. Now, that could perhaps be repaired.]

[experiencedlove]

Thank you.

[ The response is more automatic than anything, honestly; Caprica isn't really in an entirely enthusiastic mood, but she supposes that the other woman understands that. ]

Is it too much to hope things have been quiet here lately?

[ They never have been in the past, but she isn't sure how long she's been gone. Maybe things have changed. Maybe the Queen is less careless, less seemingly capricious. ]

[heretolookhot]

Convinced it was a dream?

All kinds of people coming back.

[experiencedlove]

A very vivid dream.

[ She smiles, a little. ]

I can't decide if that's good or bad. That people are returning.

[ Some of the women had seemed to prefer being in the Gardens, hadn't they? ]

[heretolookhot]

It's terrible.

[experiencedlove]

[ She just looks at Santana for a moment, then inhales a slow breath. Her own reaction isn't quite so vehement, but- ]

If I had to choose whether to stay here or go home...

[ She wouldn't stay. It's obvious in her expression. And the people here for whom she might have been tempted to stay in the past are gone now. ]

[mnementomori]

Caprica...

[the woman looks familiar, but it's been a while, and she can't quite place her.]

A lot of people have been coming back lately. Do you have somewhere to go back to? It's been getting cold out.

[experiencedlove]

[ Caprica, on the other hand, recognizes Xion - though it does take her a moment. She hasn't forgotten their conversation, during the storm when they were trapped in the Onsen together. ]

Yes, I should be fine. [ She glances over her shoulder, where the rest of her house is visible behind her. It looks exactly the same as it did when she left, untouched by time - however much time had passed.

The mention of the temperature draws a small frown. She's noticed it, especially since the shirt she's wearing is sleeveless. ]

Is it winter?

[mnementomori]

[if she seems a little distracted, it's because she's trying to sort through the people she's met to pinpoint this one. So many have come and gone since then.]

It's uh--autumn, I think. The Queen made the leaves change color and fall, and it got colder.

[experiencedlove]

So she's learned how to change the seasons.

[ It's an improvement. Caprica would much rather a chilly winter and a blistering summer than the same flawless weather every day, broken only by the occasional bizarre storms that wrack the Gardens from time to time. ]