(Untitled)

[odunham]

Though she could hardly count herself among the hardier island citizens, Olivia had been around long enough to know not to trust anything that popped up over night, especially when it all seemed to do nothing but want to entertain the island

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[dreambigger]

It's almost funny to Eames, how more people seem to be not enjoying the sudden appearance of carnival rides and the like than those who actually are. Maybe it's just a trick of perception, the people he's come across and the fact that it's more noteworthy, less natural, but it certainly looks like that's the case. At least this time, though, no one's pointing a gun at him. It's the little things that count for a lot.

"Impressive," he says, head tilting in the direction of the booth, as he closes the distance between himself and Olivia. For someone he only met at a party, he still remembers her well, and he's never been able to help being curious. "You alright, love?"

[odunham]

It took a moment, a beat for Olivia to rip her mind away from memories that weren't hers and another to remember the voice, but she was ready with a half a smile when she turned to Eames. She was hardly the type to express her feelings to someone close to her, let alone a man she'd met once with a voice that felt almost too smooth and easy to listen to.

"I'm fine," she responded, but added a little shrug to acknowledge that she was lying and didn't want to be rude about it. "Apparently I'm not as out of practice as I thought I was."

[dreambigger]

If there's any dishonesty in her initial dismissal, it isn't Eames' place to comment on. Everyone has their triggers, and if hers is a rather good show of target practice, well, there's got to be a reason. It's not like he's without his own, remembering well how he tried to say he was fine when he fell in the snow and lost the reliability of his totem.

That isn't for thinking about now, though. He smiles, crooked and understanding, chin lifting in half a nod. "I wouldn't have thought you were out of practice at all."

[odunham]

"It's nice to know my skills haven't gone rusty," she said, and while they felt as alien as the tattoo still branded on the back of her neck, hidden by her hair, it was comforting to know they were there.

One of the very, very few positive things to come out of that entire nightmare.

"Enjoying the carnival atmosphere?"

[pylean_cow]

"Remind me to never, ever get on your bad side," Fred says as she comes across Olivia at a shooting booth.

She's not usually one to just start conversations with people that she doesn't know that well-- at least, not on the island-- but she and Olivia have talked a few times, and Fred knows her through Dr. Bishop. Plus, it's kind of hard to not be so cheerful that you want to talk to everyone when you have a ball of cotton candy the size of the one Fred's holding.

[odunham]

"I have to remind myself of that sometimes," Olivia replied, not bothering to clarify when she turned to give Fred a smile, mentally distancing herself from the game and all it entailed. She still carried her gun around in her backpack with her from day to day, but it'd been so long since she'd fired it that shooting those targets was as reassuring as it was discomfiting.

She lifted a hand up to point at the cotton candy, and she could practically feel her teeth ache. "I see you're enjoying yourself?"

[pylean_cow]

"No, mostly just the food," Fred replies, because she hasn't really gone on any of the rides yet. She's not entirely sure that she will; she doesn't exactly trust the roller-coasters in a dimension that sent them a plummeting space station.

"It's a safe bet now that it's probably not poisoned. Though, I guess there's still a chance that it'll turn everyone who's eaten it into monkeys in a few days."

The damage already done if that's the case, Fred pulls off a large piece of cotton candy and stuffs it in her mouth.

[odunham]

"Monkeys," Olivia repeated, looking slightly concerned as she reconsidered the funnel cake that seemed to sit like a stone in her stomach. "That's a new idea. I figure if everything's working out just fine today, we're only being buttered up for something horrible this Halloween."

She blamed her continuing boredom for the hint of excitement she got at the thought of any sort of action at all.

[onlyforthedream]

There used to be street fairs and carnivals that would crop up in the city when I was a kid, but mostly there was Coney Island. This isn't quite like that- the noise is different, none of the rides are made out of wood- but watching everyone indulging in the festive atmosphere is...

Well, it's kind of strange. I guess I'm still new here, relatively, but all of this appearing out of nowhere is jarring and strange. Still, I wander around, hands in my pockets, taking it in until I spy Olivia at what looks like an old peashooter range.

"I think you win some sort of improbably sized stuffed animal for a performance like that," I tell her, coming up at her elbow and looking over the array.

[odunham]

"Well, let's see," she said, looking over at Steve to give him a smile in greeting before turning back to look over the choices. "I think the giant panda looks the least terrifying of the bunch, don't you?"

[onlyforthedream]

I frown, looking over the options.

"You're not wrong." Most of the prizes are remarkably ugly.

"I have to say, I may have liked them as a kid, but now this all just seems... loud." I offer her a thin sort of smile.

"Think I'm getting old."

[odunham]

Olivia bypassed the many giant stuffed animals and picked out something smaller, some sort of unicorn stuffed toy she thought about giving Luna. Or, if it proved to be too young a gift, then it would end up in the children's office.

"You and me both," she said, putting the unicorn next to her Raggedy Anne doll. "But I hear doing things like playing carnival games helps with that. Have you tried any yet? Some of them are quite fun."

[needthepractice]

The amusement park sounded like the best way for her to move everything that had happened since everyone had gotten those powers, the ones that had disappeared as suddenly as they'd arrived. She wasn't surprised by the fact that it had taken her a while to reconcile the way that her past - and her future, more accurately - were finding a means through the dimensions, or however it was people arrived here, to catch up with her. But she knew she needed Castle to get through it, and pushing him away hadn't solved anything. They'd come here together tonight as a way of putting their argument behind them, and so far, it seemed to be working

[odunham]

"If you find a way, let me know," Olivia said, happy to look away from the paper targets and every false memory she wanted to bury and never think of again. "It'd be nice to keep from getting rusty without wasting what precious little ammunition I have."

[needthepractice]

Beckett frowned in thought, her lips quirking slightly as she considered that downside. "I hadn't thought of that," she admitted. Luckily, she hadn't had to use her gun so far, whether it had been down in Rapture or otherwise, but she only had the few bullets in her clip, and she wasn't about to waste them.

"Maybe we can snag a couple of these, use them instead," she suggested, picking up one of the plastic guns.

[odunham]

Olivia gave Kate a sly smile, and she picked up a gun as well, giving it some thought. "It's not considered theft if there technically isn't an owner, is it?"

[bloggedabout]

Erica was having a blast. She was fairly certain that she was going to regret the sheer amount of process sugar that was coursing through her veins come the morning There'd also probably be a little regret about her chosen combination of fried foods and rides that made the pit of her stomach drop. But for now she was fine.

Laughing and smile and holding cotton in her hand as she watched the game. "Nice one," she complemented, meaning it. It was a carnival game and while she typically put guns in a 'use only if necessary' category that didn't mean that she couldn't give praise. "When I tried it, I think I wound up embarrassing everyone around me."

[odunham]

Olivia looked up with a start, so caught up in her own thoughts that she'd forgotten to expect spectators of some sort. She covered up her discomfort with a smile, and gave the girl a shrug. "The embarrassment always happens at first, it's kind of unavoidable."

[bloggedabout]

"Ah yeah, but I don't think that makes it any less embarrassing. It just means you're part of a pretty large club." Erica joked more than willing to accept that a normal person couldn't be good at everything and if she lived without mastering some carnival games it would probably be alright. "But you're pretty good. Do you secretly practice or something?"

[odunham]

"I'm in the FBI," she answered, which, as far as Olivia was concerned, was explanation enough. She'd hardly ever received acknowledgement for something she considered a necessary part of her job, which made the memories from Her all that more jarring.