Participants:
| Scene Title | Terre Sèche |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Liz and Remi have a brief conversation over coffee. |
| Date | January 15, 2019 |
Secure Facility, Kansas City, MO
The past few days have been a bit of a blur — between the screenings and talks and the stitches in her lip and the like, combined with finally truly having a chance to process everything that she’s been through since Christmas, and Soleil Davignon has been exhausted.
Being on solid ground has been a relief, but Remi can’t remember a bit of what happened between arriving at the portal and when she came to in the chaotic aftermath of their travels to a new dimension. And there’s the fact that her ability has just been…gone. Her mind is silent again, much to her dismay, and it’s left her struggling to deal with her own thoughts once again.
She is currently seated at a table, staring down at the food provided and idly poking at it with a fork — her mind is wandering, remembering things, and she looks more than a little distressed. At least she has access to makeup again — despite the stressed expression she wears, her makeup is just about flawless.
It’s one of the few things she feels she can control right now.
Elisabeth comes into the dining area searching for coffee. Like everyone else, she's still pretty wiped out tired. And between months in the Wasteland and months in the flooded world, she's about 15 lbs lighter than she really needs to be. So snacks are a constant right now.
Catching sight of Remi — and having at least caught the basics of what's happened to people she knew before — she pauses, perhaps trying to determine if she has the stamina to manage this one.
Sighing softly, she finds coffee and a couple of granola bars for now, then makes her way over. "How you holding up?"
With her fork, Remi spears a piece of chicken, finally, and brings it up to her mouth, taking a bite. This in itself is an almost religious experience — chicken was rare in the flooded world, as were just about any creature that wasn’t a fish. So when Liz comes up on her, Remi has her eyes close, savoring the mouthful of modern-day dinosaur meat.
When she speaks up, Remi opens blue eyes to peer at her for a moment. She quickly finishes off her bite, washing it down with a soda — a soda — and offers a small, somewhat halfhearted smile.
“Enjoying the food and the warmth. I hadn’t had a proper hot shower in…far too long.” She turns her gaze down to the plate, then. “And I can’t tell you how badly I missed meat that isn’t fish — I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to fish for a good long while.” Then, she turns her gaze back up to Liz.
“I’ve got my new name. Outside of here, I’m to be called Amelie. It’s not too much of a stretch — my grandmother used it as a nickname.” She smiles, gesturing to the seat across from herself.
Nodding slightly, Elisabeth acknowledges the new name. "I'm glad you have something that will be easy to use. I think that's the hardest part of jumping worlds — I haven't actually had to give up my first name, since it's common enough. But remembering to respond when someone uses the last name was a challenge," she replies quietly.
"The people here… they're good people. Some parts of it have been savaged — I'm sure they'll give us all a crash course in recent history to help us along. But… You'll be okay here. It's not perfect. I hope… that you can find a way to be happy."
“It will take some getting used to,” she replies, “but I’ve got a head start on other people, at least.” She watches Liz thoughtfully for a moment, before reaching out to pick up her cup of coffee — another luxury that nobody had back in the flooded world she fled from. She pauses, the cup pressed to her lips as she inhales, before taking a slow sip.
The blonde woman’s next words prompts a wistful look to take over the French woman’s features. “Its…well, you have seen where I come from with your own eyes,” she replies, a shrug rolling over her thin shoulders, her eyes turning to meet Liz’s.
She stomps one foot on the ground. “Solid land wasn’t really a place to be. We went inland to scavenge, but it wasn’t really a place you could go to stay.” The ex-sailor then reaches up, pulling a tarnished old platinum ring with bright diamonds set into it, kept around her neck with a silver chain. “I wish Jasper had made it,” she murmurs in a softer tone. “We were going to get married.”
She abruptly puts the ring away, turning her face to one side and pressing a hand to her cheek, pushing the tears back down — no need to make a scene here.
"I'm sorry," Elisabeth tells her softly, genuine regret in her expression. Could she have done it differently? In truth, she doubts it… knowing that Don had planned to kill people anyway didn't make it better. But she's sorry for the loss of everyone who was lost along the way.
She gives Remi a few minutes to gather herself again, quietly drinking her coffee. Then she asks, "You have some opportunities, I guess, to still perform or whatever you'd like to do?"
The woman clears her throat — and then, in a remarkably accurate American accent, she replies, “The story is that I’m a celebrity lookalike — an impersonator. Lots of people stop me and tell me that I look so much like the late Remi Davignon,” she grins fraintly. “I’m sure I will have plenty of opportunities in theater. I’m really hopeful that New York will have a good theater scene.”
She sets her coffee cup down, picking her fork back up and spearing another piece of chicken. “It’s so surreal, being in a different world. Drinking coffee and eating chicken like it is no big deal.” She keeps up the American accent as she speaks. “I think, wherever I live, I would like a back yard big enough to keep a few chickens in.”
Blue eyes turn to Elisabeth. “What are your plans, now that you’re home?”
Blowing out a small huff of laughter, Elisabeth admits, "I've been so focused the past couple years on surviving long enough to get home, I don't… really have a plan." She toys with her coffee cup. "We've been gone a bit over seven years. A lot's changed. I can't exactly walk back into my old life, even if I wanted to." She glances up and shrugs slightly. "Being a cop was all I wanted for a long time, but … I wasn't exactly suited for it when push came to shove. I couldn't enforce laws that I didn't believe in. And now…" Shaking her head, she says, "Hell, I don't know. I'm sure I'll figure it out. First thing I really need to do is go see my father."
The redhead smiles faintly. “I wonder if SESA would be okay with me returning to France,” she murmurs. “I had a vision of my father’s funeral in this world, and I’d like to visit his gravestone to pay my respects eventually.” She pauses. “I don’t know what happened to my parents in my world. After the flood, I lost communication with them.” Her head dips slightly. “I would have liked to go to France to find them, but the Sayonara wasn’t exactly equipped to cross the Atlantic.”
She fidgets a bit. “I will stay close to you and the other travelers. I…don’t know anyone here.” She pauses. “I don’t even remember getting here.” She occasionally realizes that all over again — the gap in memory is a bit unsettling, really.
That's…. Not something Elisabeth can really address without having to give a whole lot of explanations that even she isn't sure about. "Honestly, I expect they're going to pull the same shit they did last time," minus the mindwipe, she hopes. "Get us on our feet, tell us never to talk about it, and cut us loose to go build a life." She shrugs a little. "I think you'll pretty much be able to do what you want, if they backstop you properly."
This is perhaps the first time Elisabeth has actually sounded a little bitter, but it's a mild tone. She also sounds like she knows what she's talking about with 'backstopping' an identity. "We'll have to wait and see what they actually offer up in terms of getting people settled. Right now, they're just worried about making sure no one is a threat to people here with unknown illnesses or whatever." Her blue eyes are watchful of all the guards, but she doesn't give the impression that she feels threatened by their presence. Just cautious because it's in her nature to be suspicious.
Compared to the Ark, this place is a five star resort vacation — and compared to her old world, this one is paradise. Not perfect, but so, so much better than her home. That’s perhaps why the former starlet is more at ease here than she was under the water. “That’s good,” she replies, nodding slowly. “Even with all that’s happened…it will be nice to start a new life here. I’m enjoying the abundance of solid ground.”
“I haven’t had access to my ability since I got here.” Or since she woke up in the middle of that thing taking over the young Eve. “I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just gone. I still show up as evolved with the SLC tests, but it’s quiet up here.” She taps the side of her head. “I’m starting to get used to it.”
She spears another piece of chicken with her fork, popping it into her mouth.
"Well," Elisabeth muses quietly, considering that tidbit. "It's… possible that whatever the hell it was burned out your ability." That is probably a scary thought for the other woman. "I doubt anyone will be able to tell you for sure," she points out. "We're not even entirely certain what the hell that was." Shaking her head, she sets her cup down and sighs heavily. "Here's hoping that in coming home, I didn't unleash the fucking Kraken." She sounds like she's making light of it, but her eyes don't hold amusement — there is genuine concern for what she and Magnes have potentially done.
It’s a bit scary, facing the possibility of never having her ability return. Thankfully, she’s at least had a few weeks to come to terms with not being a telepath, between being negated and apparently losing her ability. She frowns a bit, reaching for her coffee cup to wash down the chicken. “Whatever it was, it looked like Monsieur Ray’s gun either killed it, or at least messed it up very severely.” There’s at least that, right?
“Whatever happened, just remember that you gave many people another chance at life, oui?” She places a hand to her chest. “Before you and Monsieur Varlane came into my life, I was…tired. I contemplated trying to sail across the Atlantic in the Sayonara, though that would have been a suicide trip.” Remi suddenly reaches across the table, intent on placing her hand over the audiokinetic’s.
“The floods in my world ruined my life. Before the water came, I was an A-list actress. I had awards and a star in Hollywood, and I had many lovely houses around the world. I vacationed in the Maldives and filmed amazing movies all over the planet.” She pauses, eyes turning upward. “The only thing I had after was the Sayonara, and Jasper.”
Then, she dips her head toward the other woman. “Thanks to you, I have a chance to live again. I may not become as famous as I was in my world, and I may have to go by a different name, but I have a chance. I can do what I love again. I can build a life again. Thank you, Elisabeth Harrison, for giving me that chance.”
Everything has a cost. Elisabeth smiles slightly. "You're welcome." Because it's all she can say. The cost of getting home has been great, but she's not so blind as to not realize that a number of people are better off than they once were, too. It's simply a matter of whether what she's destroyed is balanced by the good she's done.
She picks up her cup to sip her coffee, and after she swallows it, she comments quietly, "Not very many people have the chance to make a better life for themselves with an entirely clean slate. I really hope that everyone who came uses the chance to do something they've always wanted to do, something they love."
“I’ll be sure to invite you to any shows that I might put on,” she replies, smiling faintly. That’s assuming she manages to find a place that will take a celebrity lookalike as an actress. “Perhaps I’ll even consider getting a boat eventually,” she adds, tilting her head toward her shoulder. “Even though I love the dry land, I find myself missing the sea a little bit — perhaps I can go back to recreational sailing.”
She sips her coffee, eyes hooding slightly. “Before coming here, I hadn’t had coffee in years.” She smiles faintly. “And a good, long hot shower was unheard of.”
Elisabeth wrinkles her nose. "If I never have to sail again, it will be too soon, I think." She grins at the comment about coffee, though, in complete understanding. "Yeah, me either. I'm going to take a cup back with me for my mother. I'll see you a bit later, okay?"
There's a moment's hesitation and she says, "I really hope you do what you love."
Remi nods quietly, a small smile on her face. “I can’t blame you. It’s…difficult, going from something I’ve known for nearly a decade, to not doing it at all. I’m adjusting.” She smiles faintly at the coffee for Liz’s mother, nodding again.
“I hope you and your family can have the peaceful, happy existence that you deserve.” Though considering who she’s talking to, that might be difficult at best.