exsiliumlogs | and it goes with where you go

Entry tags:

and it goes with where you go

Date & Time: 11/22 / 6:30am
Location: cafeteria
Characters: collette & kate
Summary: tea and breakfast and maybe they'll pretend they have english accents or roleplay as break and gilbert.
Warnings: sadness??

[ Kate barely slept the hours before her breakfast date with Collette. Every couple of hours of rest broken by discomforting twists in her dreams and at one point waking up with a throbbing headache. She doesn't like to take pills, but she pops one so she can actually maintain her focus when seeing Collette.

She showers and slips into her usual black T-shirt and the nice red jeans she's managed to cling to her time so far in Exsilium and strolls into the cafeteria, keeping an eye out for Collette, her chest tight with apprehension. They've finally begun to speak again, but Kate's steered cautiously in their conversations, not out to instigate a fight or upset Collette in any way. There's been enough fighting between Transports for the week. She doesn't say much, just enough to let the other know she wants to try.

If Renee hadn't been sent back, maybe she wouldn't have realized some things needed fixing.

It's impossible to miss that shade of red in the middle of the cafeteria, but Kate waves anyway to signal Collette. ]

'Morning.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( Collette herself looks freshened up, hair wet from waking up much earlier and tackling the problem that was the showers. She hated the down time between bursts of water the most. She was never able to actually get herself fully clean in five minutes, but complaining was pointless. Everyone dealt with the same limitations. It wasn't anything unique, regardless of the extra challenges she tackled to achieve the same ends.

The showers had seats. Things like that are small graces in this world, or beyond it.

Today is warm, casual wear. Collette hasn't owned anything brand name since she arrived in Exsilium, only the almost fits and tailored to fit outfits she'd picked up or purchased along the way. It means fewer bright colors overall, but she's comfortable, and if things are patched, she's still warm.

Her smile is bright as she waves in return, eyes having sought out red like a flag anyway. She's so used to it with Caesar that it's almost startling to find so much more of Kate there than she ever encountered with Caesar. Kate wasn't some kind of giant or anything -- Caesar was simply slight. She wonders if he'll ever hit that growth spurt guys seem to get in their mid to late teens. Wonders if he and Albert look all that alike. She doesn't ask.

Kate is another conundrum. Collette had managed to push their argument to the back of her head, the hurt in thinking she was being told she wasn't needed, that her experiences back home weren't valid for why she could help, and not hinder, people here. The cold and strange conversation they'd had following that, and the radio silence... it's not a one way problem. Collette knows that much, almost surprised by how happy she was when Kate made an overture to her for anything. Any conversation, or any chance to make something right that wasn't.

It's got to work out, one way or another. Knowing she can have a friend in Kate, or knowing that she can't. )

Morning! Man, things don't feel the same without a proper sunrise, you know? I miss those. Sunsets, too... We always had fantastic ones on the West Coast. Any idea if something's on for heating water, or should we track mugs down and pop them in the microwave thing?

( Blasphemy! ... Simple, sweet, structured, swift blasphemy. )

[ One of Kate's many flaws is that even when vaguely aware she's in the wrong, or in the right, and her execution of conveying concern is handled with little tact and rough around around the edges, she isn't always quite ready to own up to it. The swift anger and righteousness she had felt then is her safety net and easier to turn to than letting down the walls she's had to build higher than the sky.

And yet, she can't forget what Collette did for her when she was a scared twelve year old crying for her father and barely able to keep food down. For as much frustration she feels with the children willing to put their lives at risk, Collette gives her a peace of mind she isn't often at liberty to indulge. She thinks in small ways, they're more alike than she realizes, maybe Collette realizes.

It's been a long time. Not all bridges are worth burning, despite the mutiny having her on edge, angry, and undeniably paranoid about who to trust. Collette's entry has soothed over some of those concerns. Slightly. ]

I haven't been up this early since the Academy.

[ Ritually, anyway. ]

Microwave works. What blend of tea is it?

Chamomile.

( She offers an amused smile -- it's a stress relieving tea, no caffeine. Not much help if Kate's not already up and running under her own steam, though great for hydration. )

How long ago was that?

( She redirects her chair with expert ease, rolling toward the proper kitchen portion of the cafeteria, tea in a bag, both infusers in another one. She likes this means of making tea, while tea bags can be easier. It tastes that much better to her. If there's an actual difference or not matters less than the act, and feeling a little like a mad scientist during the brewing! )

About nine years now?

[ Comic timelines are awful things.

Kate follows her closely into the kitchen portion, surveying the spotless counters and what Collette does with the infusers. ]

You got it?

[ Making tea isn't rocket science, but it does feel odd to have someone half her age serving her. ]

If any mugs got left on my level. Weirdly enough, people tend to put everything away in the top cupboards! I had to train Gil to not -- um.

( She considers what that'd been like. )

I've trained a lot of people to start leaving things where I can get to them, and quit moving them around on me all the time!

[ She nods and reaches up toward the cupboards. She remembers where the plates are, but it takes a couple of doors opening to find two good mugs for them to use. They're rather drab, like the cafeteria; they should have kept the decorations up. ]

People or boys?

[ Gil might be a man, but he acts like a boy sometimes!

And then there's Caesar. ]

I'm pretty sure boys are people too!

( She jests, prompting herself into laughing. She has the idea of what Kate means -- it's a clarification of her half finished statement. )

Past roommates, mostly, that's all. Some of the friends who come over more often. Gil moving in after everything in May was probably the weirdest, 'cause he really likes cleaning, right? He thought everything left down on my level was out of place, so when I got home after he'd shown up, everything was a total clean mess!

( It makes her laugh now, moving down to one of the refrigeration units and pulling out a labeled bottle of water. "C" is all it says, so it could be anyone, or it could be hers. She closes the unit, offering the water up to Kate. )

Do me the honors?

[ It's both a blessing and curse for Oz, then; Gil might be his servant and clean up after him, but he might not always be here. Kid will have to pick up the slack on his own should Gil ever get sent back through the Transporter malfunctioning. ]

He means well, though.

[ She takes the bottle from Collette with a nod and unscrews the cap, neatly pouring three quarters of water into both mugs. ]

You can't be mad about people like that. Gilbert, Kevin... that's how they take care of their important people, even when those people aren't there. They're good guys.

( Collette carefully slides the mugs away from Kate with a smile and nod of thanks, moving them along the counter toward the microwave-like unit. It'd have been easier to ask Kate to do this, but she likes having something to do with her hands anyway. Extra time and effort that it takes is part and parcel of learning the particular patience it requires to work with and around Collette.

Eventually, the mugs are in the microwave, and she's pushed in the time to heat the water up to near boiling. )

I'm happy to know them.

So am I.

[ Gil had barely known her — and she had headbutted him meeting him the first time — and he insisted on her going to the clinic. Getting help. Trying to help her. People like that wear their hearts on their sleeves.

She leans against the counter and waits for the countdown to end, fingers curling around the edge of the surface. ]

How've you been? The past few days were a mess.

Between sitting on pins and needles waiting for word of what we're doing with everyone, or hashing out words with people on the Network?

( Collette pulls a face, sighing as the seconds count down. )

I'm good! I really am. I'm glad Chrono and Ahiru and I could help get Vennett out early, before things got super crazy at the end. As for stuff on network...

( Her eyes drift up toward the ceiling There's a smile that haunts her lips, more a memory than anything else. )

I'm still not reading through everything. I've been talking to people where I spoke up and all, it's been mostly good, with some weird elements too. Xerxes thinks you're a hot-head, by the way. ( Her smile turns into something real, her eyes lowering from the ceiling, moving toward Kate. The way she holds her head is still something of a slumped over on her shoulder affair, like it's too much effort right now to hold her head up on her own entirely. ) Someone else said it was cute. It's interesting, seeing who answered, and who didn't.

( Kate being included amongst one of those numbers. )

[ That's all they've done lately, isn't it? Or rather, all they've been doing for months on end. Talking, talking, talking, yelling —

Where does it end?

Her brows creep closely together, her lips pulling back into a tight smile that hardly conveys amusement. ]

And he's a pig for even joking about "conquests".

[ She's never had much tolerance for jokes like that. Be it woman or man, she feels strongly in the right about decking anyone who teases she's "easy". ]

He did that?

( For a moment, she wants to be surprised -- but she remembers having more of a fight with him over being straight with Ada and the dangers of (s e x) than recalling him being pointedly outrageous on topics he knows can be. Xerxes Break crosses lines all the time, trying to ferret out whatever reactions and responses he'll have fed to him. It keeps people off balance. Even knowing it, it wasn't always easy to live with. Tensions between Gilbert and Xerxes were the ones that made her shoulders ache.

Most the rest, from how he yelled through walls to showed up all over uninvited, worked with her sense of humor and enjoyment of him overall. She doesn't choose to remember the anger when Jack had first been brought up, not in light of the eventual explanation. )

Yeah, I can see him doing that. I'm sorry, that's not very nice at all!

( People do a lot of not very nice things around here. The seconds continue to count down on the microwave. )

[ She pries her hands off the edge to fold her arms over her chest as she shoulders fall into place with an exasperated sigh. At the very least, even in a flash of irritation, she hadn't dented or broken off the edge of the counter. She thinks she's managed to pull her punches, among other things, back a notch.

"I should have liked to see the face of Gilbert's latest conquest." ]

Well, he's not the first to make that mistake. [ "That mistake" being her sole interest in women. ] Gil's reaction was worse. Thought he was going to have a panic attack, honestly.

[ However, the fact Collette announced him as a reliable and trustworthy friend of hers gives pause.

She adopts a neutral tone. ]

Do you trust Break?

Edited 2013-11-22 08:04 (UTC)

Sometimes I think panicking is what Bertie does for fun!

( Entirely a tease, paired with something of a concern when it seems to get him too worked up. Still, he's what, twenty something, he's survived that long. He'll probably make it to 30! )

Break? Well... yeah, as long as it's not in conflict with the people he's close to from his world. He's silly, and ridiculous, but he can feel we need to get things done. Kind of a holdover from the home they all want to get back to.

[ The microwave chimes in, temporarily capturing her attention as she turns to it.

Temporarily.

Collette seems to know know that group well enough that pegs Kate's curiosity. "Conflict" is never hardly an attractive word to hear these days. ]

What sort of conflict?

Anything that has them in danger would go first, that's all. Like most people seem to think, with their friends and stuff back home.

( She looks to the microwave. )

The water's ready!

Are they having any problems here?

[ Her neck cranes to look back at the microwave. ]

I'll get it.

[ As promised, she slips her fingers around the handle of the microwave door and pulls it open, cautious not to exert her strength. The heat flows out from inside its small space and she carefully reaches for the mug's handles. ]

( Yes. But those aren't her problems to share, something that has become easier to recognize over the last year and then some. She's been growing up in spite of herself at times. )

Careful! Don't burn your hands on the mugs!

( Slips out first, genuine and somewhat teasing concern. )

As far as I know, there's no big trouble right now. It's just a loyalty thing. I'd say the same about me, if anyone from home that I knew and liked was here. Would you say anything different?

[ She doesn't let her fingers hold onto the mugs for long, no matter how durable she finds herself these days. She lets them rest on the counter. ]

Maybe.

[ Very likely, though. For Kate, however, she doesn't know any of the other Gothamites as well as she would like. Dick's the closest she had to a real friend and ally and he's thirteen here.

She doesn't know how Dick feels toward her anymore, not after recent events. She folds her arms, leaning against the counter while she surveys Collette for something that's not detectable on the surface; as if staring at her will give her the answer she's looking for. ]

You said you trusted me.

( Collette feels like that's a weighted statement. It's not a question, not that she can tell. Her eyes turn toward Kate's face, away from where the tea rests in infusers, from the mugs she's moved out of the microwave. )

Yeah, I do. What's up?

( Invariably, it feels like something might be. Wishful thinking? She has more than enough wishful thoughts over the days. Another would hardly make undue impact. )

Edited 2013-11-29 04:42 (UTC)

[ Which begs the inevitable question: ]

Why?

[ It's not only Collette; for all the kids who seemed to come to her for guidance or even a general talk. She's never had to deal with kids on a level like this frequently. She's saved kids before, but never dealt with them at length. It was normal and the same as anyone else unless she required information for a case.

And Collette tells the network at large she trusts Kate Kane.

"When it comes down to do or die, who do you trust here to make decisions to pull people through, and not leave people stranded high and dry, or freeze up and fall into inaction?"

Those words haven't left her thoughts since. ]

Edited 2013-11-29 04:57 (UTC)

( Collette blinks. It's not the sort of question she expects from an adult. She's getting more and more used to that, but it still gives her pause, like she needs to consider.

She doesn't take long, though. Collette speaks as often from the gut as any place logical. )

You've been through a lot, and you keep going. You really did come when I asked you to, for something you didn't know was important or not, and you never told anyone else what happened. You keep up with your training and that's a lot of discipline and stuff most people here don't think about. I don't know, you're also willing to work with Caesar. Not all adults would be, since he is kind of rude, but he does know what he's talking about. Working with others, listening to them... that's all important stuff!

( She tries so hard to explain. )

[ She finally reaches for the mugs again, lowering one for Collette to dip the tea infusers into.

Her expression is cautiously neutral, but for once it's difficult to maintain. She resists the urge to frown or sigh, or even a simple twitch of the brow. ]

I never meant to burden you with that.

[ Twelve, twenty-two, thirty-two, it doesn't matter; Collette shouldn't have had to deal with anyone so emotionally volatile. She's never been able to make peace with what happened and Collette can't fix it. No one can. ]

I haven't been completely honest with you.

Edited 2013-11-29 06:05 (UTC)

( Collette dips the first infuser in. )

Are you planning to be now?

( Total honesty. There are parts of that Collette doesn't think she'll ever be able to easily agree to, like with what Kevin and Isaac know, not even her own boyfriend. )

It's not a burden. People's stories, they're never burdens for me. I can carry a lot more than you think on these shoulders I've got! Plus, check out the wheels!

( She knows burdens, knows what it is to feel one, to be one, to be considered one by people she's never even met. Stories, kids, friends, hurts, happinesses, things she can own and say she's influenced or touched or helped, those aren't burdens. They're inclusions. At least in her mind. )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject