exsiliumlogs | (open) i don't sleep so well at night

Entry tags:

(open) i don't sleep so well at night

Date & Time: August - Early Sept, all day err day
Location: Training Area, Library, Shops, etc.
Characters: Allison Argent + OPEN
Summary: what do you do when you're a teenage hunter in a new city all by yourself? mostly these things.
Warnings: none atm!

[ a. the arrow goes flying in a smooth curve until it pierces its target. another follows soon after, and another, and another, until allison's exhausted her entire training supply. she watches the last one hit the objects she'd set up with a slightly exhausted, but proud smile. she's been practising for some time now and it pleases her to realize that at least her skills haven't gotten rusty in the time that she hasn't been using them. ( not that she thought they'd be so easy to forget, when each move, every stance was molded into her muscles. ) in fact, some of them might've been better than she remembered and she glances at the bow she'd been using — the one the initiative had given her as a weapon — and wonders if it has anything to do with it. the only way to find out is to keep at it, and the brunette rolls her shoulders as she walks to regather her arrows, currently unaware of any other presence in the facility. ]

[ b. alternatively, she takes to practicing with the knives she'd been lucky enough to have on her when she was brought here. she's gotten some practice with the ring daggers, but she's far from a trained professional and it shows every so often. she's trying though, at least in an effort to make her movements more fluid and less focused on straight up jabbing and/or cutting, and more on learning to use the blade as an extension of her own arm. maybe she'll even attempt to throw one, but there's no guarantee it'll hit its mark. ]

[ c. the training center isn't the only place she finds herself spending her time. even with no school and no supernatural murders to worry about, she can't seem to let herself go without doing a little work. part of it is a result of receiving some troubling and conflicting answers about the place she'd found herself in. it's what makes her decide that she might be better off doing some digging of her own and she starts at the obvious place — the library. if she had her laptop here, it would've been an even better start, but she figures that bringing her tablet with her while she goes through the whatever she could find about this world's history is close enough. ( seriously though, what did the world do before google? )

there's a few books that she can't seem to find, or perhaps just not reach, and in those moments, allison decides that maybe making a friend is in order to help with these sort of things. she finds the nearest person to ask them if they're busy, smiling brightly in an effort to look as friendly as possible. ]

[ d. of course, what's a day or a week or even a month spent without realizing that she was going to have to get some new things to wear? the dress from home was nice, but with the weather here being drastically different from Northern California, she soon found herself wishing for a pair of pants at the very least. she moves through the marketplace with the coins safely tucked away this time and is on her way to try and find a decent looking clothes shop. the wish that she could have her best friend with her is tucked away — because it wasn't as if it'd do any good — as she browses through the offered selection.

one of the things catches her eyes pretty quick, but as her eyes come into contact with someone else's she soon realizes that she's not alone in wanting the particular thing. the only question now is: will she reach it in time for there to be a lack of awkward encounters? ( spoilers: probably not ) ]

[ e. allison's never been much of a coffee drinker, so she surprises herself in walking into the door at the nearest one. lately, it feels like she's been getting less sleep and right now is one of the time while she's yawning and trying to keep from bumping into the local population before they can say anything unsavoury in response. she maneuvers her way past the line and spies the only free spot in the place. it takes a second before she moves towards it, having been preoccupied with trying to rub the sleep out of her puffy eyes and generally not looking like the hot mess that she was kind of feeling like.

when she tries to ask, "is someone sitting here?", her voice comes out hoarser than she'd realized it'd become and coupled with her appearance, she thinks she feels about as awful as she must look. maybe it'd be better to change that coffee order to a tea one... ]

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[ the door in front of her ( 303 ) belongs to the apartment of the woman she'd spoken to a few days earlier and allison quickly double-checks the number one last time. thankfully, the distance from her own hadn't been long, especially considering she's balancing a few things she'd gone out and found to prepare for dinner in her hands. she shuffles one of the vegetables to be tucked in the crook of her elbow and with her now free hand, gives the door a light knock.

hopefully she's on time and someone's actually home. she'd hate to stand there looking like an idiot. ]

Edited 2013-09-03 03:19 (UTC)

[ The apartment is empty, apparently, for the evening. God knows where her housemates have gone, and she doesn't ask questions. Most of the time she didn't understand the answer either.

But she's eager to have a guest, not that she's told a soul, but with her birthday being so close, she was eager for the distraction, and this one was all to easy. Without court life, there was little enough to do during the day other than sew.

So she's all smiles when she opens the door to Allison, still dressed brightly in her long dresses. ]

Lady Allison. I am so glad you could come. [ It still felt strange to be so informal with people, have no one to announce such things or arrange introductions. ] Please, come in. [ she stepped back to let her in, holding the door open for her. ]

[ being addressed in such a manner is still not something allison's used to, so she simply shakes her head with a smile. ]

You can just call me Allison, really. Thanks.

[ she steps slowly into the flat that seems near identical to her own in set-up, although it's obvious that a totally different set of people live here. it surprises her how many things she'd begun to identify as familiar in her own makeshift home until she's walked into elizabeth's and noticed them missing. she waits just a little into the hallway for further instructions of where to put down all the things she'd brought. ]

Your dress is amazing, by the way.

[ Elizabeth nodded, but as ever, she was so slow to ever address anyone informally until she could count them as friend.

All the same, she was pleased with the compliment, smiling for it. ]

I am glad you think so. It is the best I could make, given the materials here. [ It was nothing at all to the dresses she'd had commissioned as Queen. But that was widely kept to herself. That quiet cynical part of mind told her that people were far too easily to impress with the displays of wealth she had for a long time grown used to. ] Sewing is a skill that applies everywhere, so it seems.

[ the girl pushes down the hood of her raincoat while her wolf shakes the water off her coat. she watches allison practice a while, eyeing her stance, her grip and her footwork critically. ]

Is that your weapon?

[ she falters mid-step, caught a little off-guard by arya addressing her. thankfully, the dagger stays firmly in her hand and allison peers over her shoulder with a slightly embarrassed look at having made the first mistake — letting herself get wrapped up in what she was doing and paying less attention to her surroundings. it really was easier when she was handling her bow and arrow, but she'd also been at that a lot longer than this. ]

No. [ she shakes her head as she turns slowly to face the girl who'd addressed her. ] I mean, not officially. They're just something I wanted — [ make that little girl and giant wolf. allison's immediately on her guard and her eyes don't leave the direwolf even as she completes her sentence. ] — to get more practice with

You just started? [ she mentally reasses the girl. ] You'll want to hold them differently. They can't be something you picked up. They've got to be as much a part of you as your own hand.

[ as she talks, the direwolf huffs and noses her pockets for treats. without looking, she removes a piece of dried meat and feeds it to her by hand. ]

No — [ she's quick to interject because she doesn't want to be seen as an underestimated beginner and because its disconcerting to be told how to do something by a little girl. even if said little girl seems to have a wolf companion and allison's not about to do anything until she finds out more about that. ] — I've used them before. Very effectively.

You shouldn't treat wild animals like a pet. [ her voice is low, precautionary as she evaluates the seemingly friendly animal. even if the size of it wasn't worrying, the casual way arya is interacting with it certainly is. ]

She's not a pet.

[ direwolves are no pets nor are they tame. hers is the more savage by far of the two currently present on the island.

yet the direwolf nuzzles the girl's cheek after eating and snuffles at her hair as inoffensively as a pup. ]

[ riku turns his head towards her when she speaks--her voice is different when she's hoarse, and riku's chosen a new jacket. his hair's starting to grow like a weed, starting to hang in his eyes. ]

Someone hasn't been sleeping well. [ ~~what a hypocrite.~~

he settles in his chair and pushes the opposite chair back with his leg so she can sit if she so chooses. ]

[ luckily for her, riku's the only person with silver hair that she knows — not counting his own replica, of course — so there's a smile of recognition on her face as she takes the offered seat. or rather, more or less collapses into it. there's a hint of surprise as if she herself hadn't noticed how tired she felt and the smile quickly switches into a grimace. ]

I almost didn't notice it was you. So, I guess it has been a rough couple of nights.

I know how you feel.

[ he settles and leans in on his elbows, trying to adjust his seating. even when he's destroying nightmares, he can't destroy his own--he still sleeps terribly. ]

Is it this place, or did you always sleep bad?

[She came to the training centre today with the express purpose of looking for Allison, because there's a case tucked under Steph's arm that has an interesting selection of arrows carefully stored inside.

It doesn't take her too long to locate Allison, not when she seems to spend a fair bit of time practicing her archery with the targets.

For a little while, Steph just watches, silent, finding herself impressed by how good Allison is. Maybe she should see if she can watch one of those arrows, one day. At the moment, though, she's just going to wait until the arrows are spent before speaking up.]

You're not half bad.

[She's better than that, but Steph can't help teasing.]

[ allison's just finished plucking the last of the arrows out of the targets when she hears steph. there's actually a smile on her face when she spots the blonde because she's been good company over the time allison's been here. ]

You should see me on a good day. [ if there's one thing she can definitely be confident about, it's her archery. ]

Coming to practice too?

I'd love to.

[Just grinning a little slyly, and that definitely came out a little more flirty than it really shoud, but it's just... Steph.

Sorry, Allison.]

Not quite. [She holds up the case, it looks pretty professional (she "borrowed" it from Tony)] I was looking for you, actually.

[ rude tbh!! except allison's got enough trouble dealing with boys and she's currently content dating herself lbr ]

I hope that's good news of some kind. [ she's eyeing the box curiously because there's maybe one thing she can recall that would have to do with steph and the training area, but she's not getting any hopes up. ]

I only ever have good news.

[This is a bold faced lie but let's hope Allison doesn't call her out on it.

She tilts her head to one of the nearby benches.]

Wanna sit down and take a look?

[ she doesn't even have to know steph to raise an eyebrow at that. it's just a fact of life. there's been far too many instances of bad news in her own life for her to know that much. but she'll keep from commenting and gather her stuff instead. ]

Sit down news must definitely be good news.

[ but yes she will put her things to the side and take a spot on a nearby mat. show her the thing steph!! ]

Atta girl.

[Steph leave her alone.

Maybe she can make up for it by taking a seat opposite Allison, setting the case down and carefully opening it. There are two layers of arrows inside, nestled in hard foam, and she takes the first layer to set it aside, so that Allison can see them all.

They're carbon fibre arrows with an assorted of different arrowheads. They're also colour coordinated, including the fletching, so that Allison will easily be able to tell which is which.

The white one, for example, is ice.]

These are the prototypes, so you can test out what you like and I'll start making bigger batches.

[ LIKE A KID ON CHRISTMAS OKAY. that is the exact expression on her face as her eyes go impossibly wide. even in her own prior experience, she's only dealt with flash bolts. ]

How — where did you get all of them? I mean, you didn't have to! Really.

[ but she's touched the other girl actually remembered this from their earlier conversation. ]

Edited 2013-09-04 03:16 (UTC)

[She might not know Allison that well, yet, but the look on her face makes the effort completely worth it. It's nice, making people happy.]

I made 'em. I work at Contrast Mechanics, and Mr. Stark doesn't mind us doing our own thing if we have some free time. The arrowheads are based off the cartridges in my batarangs.

[And she grilled Helena for details about how arrows should be constructed.]

[ she picks up the nearest one, carefully of course, to examine it closer. ]

This is amazing. [ and there's no doubt in her tone that she really thinks that ] I can't believe you went to all the trouble.

[ she's going to feel like she can't thank steph enough :'| ]

[Allison stawp you'll make her blush.]

It really wasn't that much. I mean- I've never made arrows before, but it wasn't too tricky once I got the hang of it.

[There might have been a few disasters while she was still working things out.]

Well you did a pretty great job for someone who says they're new to this.

[ how many first born children would you like steph ]

Mind if I test this out to see how it holds up?

[ she's practically bouncing and ready to spring to her feet at a moment's notice ]

I'm a quick learner.

[Which is actually true, as long as the thing she's learning is something more physical. The fighting always came easier to her than the detective work, though she's not too bad at the latter these days.]

That's what they're for.

[She even makes a shoo gesture as if Allison needs to be told to hurry up.]

Let's see what they're made of.

[ she's up in the blink of an eye, although once she is, she realizes it might be better to take a few to test drive rather than just a single one. the few that she picks up feel good in her hands; they're sturdy and she finds herself admiring the workmanship that clearly went into them.

but the real test will be how well they hold up in practice.

the white one is naturally the first one to be tested and allison goes through the basic motions of nocking it and drawing it back. it's easy to see how her presence shifts completely and the smile disappears for a more focused, serious look right before she releases it. ]

[Steph doesn't spend much time with archers, so it's interesting to watch Allison shoot, Steph's own expression as intent as the other girl's.

The arrows are well made, well balanced, and they should fly straight so long as Allison is shooting them straight. When it hits the target, ice crackles and spreads, encasing the entire target in a solid block of ice, without doing any damage to it. It traps without digging in, so it can be used on, well, people, without killing them.

She's glad it worked.]

Not bad.

[Steph learn how to give compliments.]

Edited (i can html good) 2013-09-05 01:27 (UTC)

[ allison picks the right woman to ask; standing at 5'10", kate can easily extend her arms to reach for books in high up places many find themselves unable to. however, wherever she finds kate, she's in a different section. lined up on the shelves are religious and philosophical books. some are rather thick in size and their pages a tinted yellowish colour.

she stops her current search to look at the young girl who's approached her. ]

Yes?

Sorry to bother you. I just can't seem to find anyone who works in this place right now.

[ she's trying not to frown at that because it'd really only made her researching a more difficult task for the day. allison turns her gaze to what's probably one of the biggest, fattest books sitting on a higher shelf that she can reach —appropriately titled an abridged history of the united earth. ]

Could I just get you to reach that for me?

It's not a problem.

[ an interesting choice, she thinks. she nods and reaches forward. once she's secured the book in her fingers she brings it down with both hands and hold sit out for allison. ]

Here you go.

[She comes in shortly after, shrugging her jacket off her shoulders. She brushes her hair behind her ear, hair slightly damp from the rain outside, smiling openly at Allison as she approaches.]

Hi, [She exhales, something close to a friendly laugh,] Hope I didn't keep you waiting for long.

Missed a few. [It's when Allison starts returning to her spot that the voice pipes up, and Tess manages a little smile, offering the arrows. She isn't sure much as to how they got overlooked, but they wound up around the area she'd been, so she figured the decent thing would be to get the rest. She was there anyway, what was the cost? She's got her staff tucked under an arm, tilted at an angle so it's not too awkward, but she isn't dragging the darn thing across the ground.]

Gettin' some practice in yourself?

Edited (formatting will kill me) 2013-09-05 02:23 (UTC)

[She doesn't go unnoticed by Aster, who returns the friendly smile with one of his own. Surrounding him are a variety of open books that he's amassed over the weeks spent here. He shuts the piece he's reading now to give her his full attention.]

Is there anything I can help you with?

[ the books surrounding him had been part of the reason she'd approached him in the first place. it was good to see that there were others just as invested as her, although she was only just dipping her toes in. ]

I was actually wondering if you'd seen a copy of records on Exsilium, actually.

[ subtle glance at all the books surrounding him, ahem ]

[ it's early september. ]

[ alisha's at the coffee shop. she's been searching the place for nice little shops like this — she's never really hung out at one before, not back home, anyway. not when there was the community centre, the pub, and clubs. but coffee shops seem to be a nice change of pace — it's quiet, a little more homey, and very, very lonely. ]

[ she's resting her head in the palm of her hand as she looks at her communicator, thinking whether or not she wants to send someone a text when — ]

[ she glances up. she shakes her head. ] No. [ and she assumes: ] You can take the chair. No one's going to be using it.

[ allison can't decide if the expression she glimpses on the other girl's face is boredom or annoyance, but she assumes it may be the latter from the way alisha keeps glancing at her communicator. she'd hate to be the one to just take over the spot if the other girl was saving it. ]

If you're waiting for someone I can— [ she coughs slightly to clear her throat ] — sorry, I can look for another spot.

[ alisha glances up. ] No. There's really — [ no one here. she inhales before smiling, but it's forced upon. ] You can take the chair, seriously. Sit or … [ literally take the chair. why are social interactions difficult? she always manages to fuck it up somehow, even the most basic of can i borrow a cup of sugar? ]

[ but hopefully the now kind look upon her face doesn't cause any more misinterpretation. ]

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(open) i don't sleep so well at night

(closed) - wining and dining with royalty aww yea

/sneaks in to tag this

slides in late also :c

holy crap am so sorry fjsdfjsd life keeps eating me

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a; gently backdates a little

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i'm so sorry this is late! i ended up taking an unexpected break.