Participants:
| Scene Title | Home Again |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | After a stretch apart, Koshka and Sami have some catching up to do. |
| Date | February 15, 2011 |
Chinatown — Brian's Apartment
Lunch has been over for a good hour, the fixings for sandwiches put away and counters wiped down. The apartment is in relative order, the clutter that makes a place a home present but it has that good cleansed feeling. Like that freshly shampooed and vaccuumed carpet feel. Not that the carpets have been shampooed, at least not by the resident teenager, but they have been vaccuumed recently.
The television sits quietly, indeed there's no music playing either. The living room and kitchen are relatively quiet and give the impression that no one is home. Yet Koshka is home. It's early still, so it isn't so rare that she'd be loitering. Lunch has just ended yet she's nibbling on an apple, eyes fixed on the blank tv screen. There isn't a lot to do during the day, and again her thoughts drift around the idea of resuming school. How hard would it be to set up some form of homeschooling?
There’s a click of the bolt lock on the front door and then slowly it slides open. The Brian that Samara had been traveling with lingered downstairs probably to go gas up the car or something, leaving the future missus Winters to step into the apartment all on her lonesome (having assumed that her betrothed is simultaneously here as well). There’s a sharp whistle as the auburn-haired twenty-year-old examines the apartment; she hasn’t seen it in this kind of shape… ever.
She peers around the corner to see the couch and issues Koshka a three fingered. “Hey Lovely! How are you doing?” her eyes trail to the apple and then, quite intentionally she looks away as if the window is the single most interesting thing in the room. “Been keeping busy! Seriously, this place looks amazing! I don’t think it’s ever been this clean, and I mean even when it was first built and no one was around,” she slowly slides her shearling coat from her shoulders to drape it over a chair, leaving her in her t-shirt (normal), blue jeans (normal) and burn-bandaged (not so normal) arm.
The click coincides with a crunchy bite and Samara's entrance goes unnoticed. The girl goes on chewing and staring at the television. She should go to the library and make use of the computers there. That is, if they're still open for the entire public. Getting harder to do things without one of those damnable cards.
Just preparing to take another bite, Sami's whistle cuts through those idle thoughts. Koshka turns and looks toward the door, eyes widening in surprise. "You're home!" she practically crows, abandoning her apple on the arm of the couch while she climbs over the seat to where Sam stands. "You're home! Where'd you go? What'd you do? What happened to your arm?" No, that didn't go unnoticed and the question spills out with the rest.
Sam's lips curl into an easy grin at the greeting and she opens her arms to issue Koshka a hug. It may have only been two weeks away, but it was enough time to make Sam appreciate home, particularly as those two weeks changed everything. Her smile broadens as she takes a deep breath and allows her arms to extend into the ceiling in a tall stretch, the dancer in her enjoying that little reprieve from the long drive.
"Yesssss, I'm home!" she beams as her hands fall flat to her sides again. A glance is given to her arm and then Koshka and then her arm. "Oh," she waves a hand semi-flippantly. "We were just helping Amid with something in another city. The favour is all cleared. And all is well and we are all tickety-boo." She shrugs a little as she motions to her arm, "That is… just a burn. Nothing bad. You know my non-talents." Like cooking. And getting her flesh seared. Darned flesh.
The hug is returned enthusiastically, then Koshka's backing off, hands sliding into her pants pockets. Her grin twists slightly, more suspicious though in a very teasing way. "Business in another city with Amid," she repeats. Apparently she'd heard it before. The girl sighs and shakes her head, grin returning in full.
"But you're back now!" Koshka hops over the couch and reclaims her apple. "I missed you! Brian's fun to have around, but I like when you're here too. It's better when you're here. Do you want some water? Or an apple?" Yes, she's bouncy, excited that the apartment has people in it again.
The suspicion is duly noted, causing Sami's nose to wrinkle a little. "It's all resolved, all's well with the world, and everything was taken care of!" She brushes her hands together like she's dusting them off, removing any excess that may have formed along her hands.
And.. there's the apple again. Her face turns slightly green hued, mostly pale with just a tinge of I'm gonna be sick. Sam closes her eyes while her head purposefully turns to the kitchen, silently considering the offered fruit. "Water.. water is good— " she begins to shuffle towards the kitchen to shake her head, "No thank you on the… " she points towards what Koshka's eating, the very name on her lips would be enough to make her feel ill.
Weird. Koshka watches Sam quietly, concern replacing her excitement. She follows into the kitchen, breaking off to find a baggie to save her apple in. "You okay," she asks, working the plastic gripper open and dropping the fruit inside. "Car sick or something? Too much fast food when you were gone?"
There's a silent nod at the question followed by a gentle reassurance. "I am great." Sami shoots Koshka an equally reassuring albeit fatigued and still somewhat nauseated smile, "Just exhaustion, I think! It's been a long few weeks and more excit— " she clears her throat "— business than a gal can handle." She winks as she traipses into the kitchen to retrieve a water glass only to stop at the sink to splash some water on her face.
After putting the apple into the fridge, doubtful anyone would bother a half eaten apple anyway, Koshka turns and looks up at Samara. A question lingers, she's absolutely wanting to pry for more information, but the evasive answers give tale that she shouldn't. At least not now. Leaning against the counter, the teenager watches Sam, then cracks a grin again. "Guess what! Brian and I are going to Six Flags. Just me and him, we made a deal of no Sami or Daryl. — I would like you both to come with, but… Brian wants to do something fun with me."
With the apple safely tucked away, Sami breathes a little easier. Her colour pinkens, her body uncurls against itself and she hops up on the counter with ease. Yes, all is well with the world again. It's fortunate that it's in Sam's nature to bounce back. "That's good! You guys should go and I don't mind being left behind— " she more generally remembers all of the warnings pre-ride that would actually be relevant now. "Who is Daryl?" her face contorts into a sour expression, "Do I know him?"
"No," Koshka replies. The expression doesn't go unnoticed, but she doesn't comment on it. "He's a friend. We hang out together and stuff, usually in the evenings." She shrugs slightly, color creeping into her cheeks. "You could meet him sometime, though. If you like." Surely Sami meeting him would go over better than Brian meeting him did.
Sami hmmms a little knowingly as a single eyebrow quirks. Her fingers tap against the counter as she bites her bottom lip to contain some unuttered delight that will likely never be fully realized. Her feet dangle above the floor and she nods slightly, "I should probably meet him if you're hanging out with him, make sure he's not a creeper or secretly watching you while you sleep. Like that Twilight kid. Seriously, how a teenaged girl can think that some creeper breaking into her home and watching her sleep is remotely romantic is beyond me." A hand is raised to comb through her hair only to stop, "He doesn't…" she clears her throat, "he doesn't do that, does he?" Suspicion is so much easier to come by than trust.
Koshka almost laughs at the idea of Daryl being akin to Edward. "He doesn't even know where I live. Brian says he's not allowed to know right now." Something she understands, she doesn't want lots of people knowing where she or anyone she's coming to regard as family living, even though having somewhere to go instead of just aimless wandering would be nice. "Besides, if I caught him doing that I'd kick him in the face."
"Good. Just wanted to clarify because not everyone has a secure or sane definition of romance." And then, like Sam has some innate knowledge (that she really doesn't), she cringes, "There's a fine line between romantic and stalker. Just make sure you don't end up with the latter. I'd hate to have to kick mo— ass, especially that of some teenaged— " beat "he is a teenager, isn't he?! He's not some creeper twenty-something guy who can’t attract a woman his own age, right!?" Unknowingly, her fingers have laced together in front of her in a pseudo-pleading position.
Koshka's mouth opens then closes, eyes widening slightly. "You think I… No, Sami. He's my age." Again she nearly laughs. "Little older but… he's still in high school." She fixes a grin in place, hopeful. "Really, he's not a creeper. I don't think he's a creeper. And we just hang out together. It's not like… We haven't done anything, just hung out. Ate pizza and stuff."
Sam leans against the cupboard behind her, letting her head rest against it while it gives absolutely no support for her back. Her hands press into the counter and she shrugs slightly. "What kind of stuff?" What do kids do when there's a curfew to worry about and a world that isn't exactly safe to live in?
"Just… talk," Koshka replies, a little evasively. "Walk around. Sometimes we go out for food." She offers a small shrug, looking toward the living room. Gosh, the couch looks comfortable. "Just… stuff. And I'm always back before curfew."
Sam hmmms again as she rubs her face. "Just talk," she repeats as her tongue rolls over her lips. "Just.. be careful. Teenaged boys.. did I ever tell you about junior prom?" With a quiet sigh, she tries to recount the story, "My date was a guy I had been smitten with for years. You know the type— tall, blonde, all American, athletic… he was cute. Anyways, so I was soooo excited when he invited me to junior prom! SO excited!" Her hands fold into her lap. "I never ended up going though. Tahir gave Ty beats the day of the junior prom because he got wind that my date intended to drug me and— " she waves a hand flippantly, leaving details up to Koshka's imagination. "You just have to be careful. I'm not saying everyone in the world is sekritly evil and out to get you, just that.. hanging alone might not be the best solution." She pauses. "Do you know anyone else your age?"
"He's not… He…" Koshka shrugs and shakes her head. "Just Adisa. We went shopping." Again, not exactly her age, older but still near enough. "I'll be careful though. And I'm nearly sixteen anyway." Not exactly a I can take care of myself, she's wise enough to know she needs watching out for sometimes. "We just go around and talk and stuff. Went to the dome a couple times but nothing bad happened."
"Ah… and how is Addie? Good?" Sami flushes slightly as she realizes she really needs to get cracking on wedding stuff. "She's a good kid, that one. Used to getting her way a lot though." Sam winks following this. "Honestly, Koshka? I was nearly on my own at sixteen thanks to fake-dying. And even then I don't think I really could take care of myself. I was impervious to a lot of things— including being seen, but… there's still a lot to learn. I have a lot to learn." And then she mutters quietly, "Makes me wonder if a person ever feels like a grown up." She frowns slightly, "Maybe you should stay away from the dome? I don't really know much about it, but from the news and what we know has gone on inside.. sometimes it's good not to see the bad stuff in the world?" She shrugs. "It's important to know it's going on, but seeing it— ? If it's bad enough, it's hard to erase the image."
"She's good, loves shopping." Koshka grins, remembering that trip. It was hard not to go overboard and spend lots of money, though she herself needed some new clothes. Sensible clothes. Tilting her head, she looks up at Sam, the grin but a small quirking of her lips. "It was before all the bad stuff happened, nothing recent. Daryl and I went there to see it right after it showed up. Some woman tried telling us off but… Oh man. I scared her good. Touched the dome and pretended I got electrocuted!" It's clear the teenager has enthusiasm for the prank, even if she won't go near now.
The joke isn't lost on Sami, try as she might to retain some measure of seriousness at playing with stranger's feelings. Her eyes virtually laugh, even if she manages to internalize the majority of her jollies by pressing them away entirely. "You shouldn't do that," again, the words drip with that same bemusement. "She probably thought you were really hurt!" Although the picture it paints for Sam edges merrily at the corners of her lips. "But yeah, just be careful." She winks.
"I thought she was going to hit me!" Koshka doesn't try to hide her utter amusement at mischief well managed. "She was pissed when she saw I wasn't really hurt." She reaches out to an imagined field as she had when the prank was first played. As soon as her hand 'touches', she gives a short yell and an exaggerated jerk as though electrocuted, not unlike the display she'd put on two weeks ago. "It was awesome."
Sam raises a fan of fingers across her lips to seal in any bubbling over emotion. "You.. that's.. that's.. " it's hilarious. There's no way Koshka can't tell what Samara is actually thinking in this regard, particularly at the forming laugh lines (not forever wrinkles) around her lips. "..it was.. you shouldn't do that," she repeats. "Just don't mess with people alright? Or.. don't mess with them much." There's quiet homage and respect for the joke, even if it's accompanied by words of reprimand.
The amusement fades a bit, Koshka sobering with a nod. "Yeah, okay," she agrees quietly, hands returning to her pockets and lean against the counter resumed. "So, tell me all about your trip. What'd you guys do or see or anything?" She changes the subject, hopeful.
"Well it wasn't really a holiday. So most of the time we were helping Amid with his… errands." Sami manages to maintain some measure of tact. "Although yesterday we had a romantic dinner amongst the trees on our drive back from D.C… Candlelight. Brian played guitar. He wore a suit. We ate cliff bars and drank grape juice in wine glasses…" her cheeks flush slightly as the smallest giggle escapes her lips only to be followed by that fan of fingers again which, quite conveniently, display her new ring.
"You went to D.C.!" If Koshka looks excited at that exclamation, when the ring is brought into view it's amazing that she doesn't explode. "You have a new ring!!" she squeals pushing away from the counter to get a closer look. "Wow, so pretty. Brian did a good job after he lost your other one." Yes, blame is that easily placed on the man of the house. "That's so sweet and romantic. Oh man… It's so good you two are getting married."
The mention of the ring has Sami's grin growing. She holds her hand out for Koshka to examine closer as she literally beams as brilliantly as the diamond. "Brian always does good. He's one of the good ones~" she virtually sings. "And I'm very lucky. For more reasons than I can count~" She hops off the counter and reaches for Koshka's hand. "Come on. I suddenly feel like I want ice cream. Soft serve. In a cone. I'll treat you~"
Koshka practically swoons over the ring, admiring with an absolutely pleased smile. "He is," she agrees. "And perfectly perfect for you. I still need to go tell your brother that so he'll be happy for you too." She will, you'll see. Turning to grin up at Samara as she takes her hand, the girl nods. "Ice cream is almost as good as admiring your ring."
