Participants:
| Scene Title | I Had This Weird Dream |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A shared dream inspires a conversation. |
| Date | December 4, 2010 |
Treats! Brian has helped himself to a few.
The cleanup after the meeting is going pretty slow. Mostly because Brian is handling it by himself. Well, Samara is there to help. But she isn't the most handy at cleanup situations presently. Stairs are stacked, the table is pushed over towards the wall. One last cracker is picked up and quickly placed in his mouth.
Turning to the last few straggler chairs, Brian steps forward. Glancing down at his tie, he adjusts it before looking over to the mirror. "I think that went well." He offers, giving a light shrug. "I think I pissed off Gillian a little. But.." He glances this way and then that. "She says she can trust Kaylee. I don't feel like we can. I.." He pauses, looking at the mirror as if trying to decide something in his head. His brows knit, his tongue swims around his cheeks as he ponders the situation. "I used to be close. With her? Because she was in this group with this really evil man. His name's Adam Monroe. You hear that name you turn the other way. I was trying to get closer to him so I could kill him." He smiles brightly at the mirror, as if expecting her to be judgmental. "So.. I kind of tried to manipulate her."
"Which I guess you could say makes me the untrustworthy one, not her. But.. I used to be with this organization called the Company. Which has been turned into an even worse thing kinda.. Called the Institute.. And I know the Company knew about her. That's why I think we need someone completely off the record." He pushes his hands in his pockets.
Lowering his chin to his chest. He stares at a piece of ground for a moment before looking up to square himself against the mirror. "Does that make sense?"
Where he expects judgment, Samara only looks shocked. Not so much judgmental as stunned. Somewhat perplexed she watches him in his work, helpless to do anything remotely useful. But even the shock wears away a little. Quietly she watches him as he describes his life, making no effort to actually respond or question, instead, just listening. Her eyebrows escalate at the comment about trying to kill someone; it's a world she's never even had to live in…
It's an odd way to be, but she can't easily interject anyways. Finally, when he asks the question she nods a little. It makes sense based on what she's seen of this world, these kids.
At this she issues him a soft smile as her gaze falls to the floor, 'YOU WANT THE BEST FOR THESE KIDS. IF YOU DON'T THIK KAYLEE IS IT, THEN DON'T GO WITH HER. FOLOW YOUR GUT. IT COMES FROM A GOOD PLACE.' It takes a long time for her to get it out and she misses a few letters here and there thanks to user error. Spelling on the fly isn't her forte. Her reflection attempts eye contact with him and a gentler smile, more reassuring this time.
Watching her features, Brian's features go somber. Giving a little nod, he goes to grab the back of another chair. Lifting it and stacking it on one of the chair piles he waltzes back to parade himself in front of the mirror/samara. "It might be that I'm just uncomfortable being around her. I had a girlfriend at the time. Who eventually I asked to marry. I just felt guilty I guess. Even though it was fake, just to get close to Adam. But still. She makes me feel shitty inside." Brian gives a helpless whatya gonna do shrug. He laughs a little at her last few signed letter-words. "You are so convinced I'm a good guy. That's cute." He smirks.
Grinning a little, he lowers his head once again and cocks it to the side. His teeth remain bared as his hand reaches up to scrub at the back of his head. Scratching a little with his lips still a grinnin' he decides it's time to change subjects. Matching the odd mirror eye contact his hand drops and he sways a little on his feet. "So.. I had this weird dream this morning." As soon as he mentions the word dream, his eyes shoot to the glass to watch for a reaction.
Samara shrugs a little, she can't help it if she's an optimist, it can't be easily beat out of her. Her cheeks blush a little at the notion while her head shakes and her eyebrows knit closer together, following a overemphatic roll of her eyes for extra emphasis. 'YOU LOOK OUT FOR KIDS. I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE WOULD THINK YOU AREN'T.' It's an honest enough response. That and he didn't believe she was dead when she'd been so convinced, that in itself is hard to combat even with new information. And obviously, the auburn-haired girl suffers from some form of confirmation-bias… believing she was dead for four years.
Her face reddens further at the comment about the dream and her hazel eyes widen momentarily— a kind of deja vu experience, but pressing her lips together, she tries to seem casual enough. Her gaze shifts away from the mirror, as if avoiding eye contact that's nearly impossible to find in the first place. Finally, she manages to sign back, 'I HAD A WEIRD DREAM TOO.'
And that's all he needed. Even without his Company Agent training, Brian would be able to confirm what he thought with her movement. A little smirk plays at his lips, turning his back. Letting Samara look at his back so he can hide his smile he pretends to be cleaning off the coffee table for a moment. Swish swish.
Straightening back up he takes a few steps back towards the mirror. His emotions are wiped clean from his features though a light smile tugs up. His own dream is completely clear to him. Having others that are awake is advantageous to remembering dreams.
"So. Lighthouse is going to be a part of Ferrymen. You know what that means? Ferrymen. That's like.. The resistance. You'll be a part of the resistance. We're all allies here. Helping each other out however we can. That means using our abilities and skills. For however we can help." He pauses and looks up to the mirror to see if she is starting to grasp what that insinuates. "So. Once we get you unstuck.. I mean. If you're sticking with us, you won't only be with the Lighthouse. You'll be a Ferryman. And.. With your ability. I'm pretty sure people will ask you for help. Ask you to do things. I just want that to be clear." He states in a completely matter-of-fact tone.
There's more profuse blushing as Brian cleans the table, in fact, there's so much blushing that Samara turns from the mirror, taking a few steps away from it, and allowing her back to only be seen in its reflection— like she's occupied with something else (also it feels vain watching her reflection). But when he straightens back to the mirror it takes her a few moments to look back, but she's beet red. Like it or not, she's terrible at hiding her thoughts in her expression, but then, that's also her primary mode of communication.
She shoots him a lopsided grin, even with her reddened skin. The seriousness of his words, however, allows time for the colour to drain. 'WHAT KINDS OF THINGS?' she signs back, unable to visualize what could be involved.
"I don't know. I… I kind of have always done my own side thing. I work with this guy named Cardinal a bit. He's one of those guys you see in movies. Someone who knows about everyone, knows about everything. He collects information. I…" He glances this way then that. His voice lowers to a whisper. "I broke into the Pentagon." He arches his brows, bringing his hands up as if letting her know she should be impressed. "And got away with it. I had such a perfect plan, no one even knows that it happened." He gives a little clap and smiles proudly. His eyes drift off, trying to think of something else. "I stole something from this big lab. A person. I stole a person. Liberated him more like it. But.." He gives a little nod. "What I'm saying, I might ask for your help. Ferry might ask for your help. And it would probably involve your power. Like I don't know. How easy would it be to break into high security buildings with your help?" His head tilts back as he thinks about how great it would be.
Looking down, he smirks a little bit as the color drains from her face. "Anyways. What was your dream about?" SMILE.
There's no denying that in her current state, Sami could have easily walked into the pentagon. Stealing something would be freakishly complicated. Setting people free though— liberating them— that draws a smile. Maybe this ability thing could be cool, if she ever could figure out how to work it; she'd rather not get stuck like this again. 'I WOULD LIKE TO HELP. WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD ISN'T GOOD.' Dead or alive, she's seen how the knowledge of the evolved spread like wildfire.
The question though reddens her cheeks again, a lot less this time. Her eyes narrow slightly, pseudo-suspicious at what he's asked. She turns on her heel, hiding her own face from that mirror momentarily before turning back to communicate. 'YOU WERE THERE. AND THIS REDHEAD. YOU RODE AN ELEPHANT.' She swallows as her eyebrows escalate, 'WHAT WAS YOURS ABOUT?'
"I wonder.. I wonder if you would be able to phase other people." He scrubs at his stubble. "That would be very handy. No. But really, I broke into the Pentagon. I feel like you're not impressed enough. I had to plan for a long time, I kidnapped this lady named Tracy Strauss, employed a body snatcher, we walked in and stole secrets from a five star fucking general!" Winters expounds, throwing his hands out, this better get a good reaction.
Looking at her fingers as he signs he smirks a bit. "Oh you were dreaming about me that's sweet." When she asks what his was about his answer is quick, "Giant lizards. Then what happened? What did I do in your dream? Who was this mysterious redhead. What did you do in your dream?"
'YOU JUST WALKED IN?' Samara's nose wrinkles as her own head tilts, that seems like an impossibility. 'WHY STRAUSS?' There needs to be more to this story, but it is impressive regardless. 'AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN INVISIBLE! I BET I COULD WALK THROUGH THERE AND NO ONE WOULD EVEN SEE ME.' The Pentagon story earns Brian a lopsided toothy grin.
The dream talk, however, brings the colour back to her cheeks, but her gaze turns a little skeptical. Her mouth opens to counter, but no words come out, not even in Sami's uncoloured, phased existence. 'I FELL IN THE SNOW.' She did. It's not a lie, but then… something seems a little odd being questioned so thoroughly about her dream, almost like— her eyes narrow further.
But then, the risk-taker in her pushes her forward. 'I KISSED YOU.' Her hands rise to her cheeks now, which against her hands are warm to her touch.
"Strauss had a meeting in the Pentagon. I snatched her off the street. Knocked her out. Took her to a hotel room. Then raped her." Brian says in absolute deadpan. He watches the mirror for Samara's reaction. His features break into laughter after a moment though. "Just kidding. I took her to a hotel room and had an old friend of mine switch.. bodies. My friend and I then bluffed our way into the Pentagon. I was her bodyguard. We went into the meeting, got the information and walked out. Then we took a video of Tracy using her ability. And killing someone. Which happened to just be a copy of me." He chuckles a little bit. "So she won't ever say anything." Tucking his hands into his pockets.
"Oh. I'm sorry you fell in the snow." Then the risk-taker comes out. His smile grows slowly, ebbing up his cheeks. "Oh." He pipes out. Watching her quietly. The silence ensues, letting that smile linger he doesn't really do… anything else…
"Yeah. I don't think anyone dies as much as me." Brian murmurs. Watching her move around nervously, Brian sort of mirrors her movement. It isn't in a mocking way, yet his hands fish around in his pockets and he sways back and forth. Looking to the side he then looks back at the mirror for the sign language.
"How was it?" He asks with a light smile. The way he asks, he's not likely asking about how the disappearing was.
Samara's cheeks flush further at the question, and the motion continues. Her hands are removed from her pockets and set to comb her hair into a loose ponytail with that elastic around her wrist. She opens her mouth to actually say something, but it closes again— much like in that dream, the irony of it all not altogether lost on her. Her lips twitch into a soft smile, not toothy this time. Her eyes look down at the floor, it's more comfortable to watch the ground. Eventually though, she forces herself to look up. Her eyes close gently for a moment as her shoulders are made to relax, while her head nods ever so slightly, 'NICE.' That's the only word to describe it.
Her hands are returned to her pockets as she rocks on her feet. 'I HAVE NO FRAME O' she doesn't finish this particular train of though, stopping her spelling mid-word.
Watching her quietly, Brian flits his eyes down to the floor. Looking back up, he watches her letters then turns his back. "I thought so too." With that he goes over to the table to start cleaning up the coffee table.
Wait. What? The words have Samara absently chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyebrows knit together as she rocks on her feet again. Now she's perplexed. Her eyes narrow slightly and her head tilts as she mouths the word, 'How?' there's no signing on this one, just that soft smile and furrowed brow.
"Delia.. The redhead? She's a dreamwalker. That's her power. She floats around dreams. I guess she has the ability to have people dream together. Because I had the exact same dream." Brian murmurs softly. "You fell in the snow, I twirled a spear in your face and looked all angry.. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I was confused. Delia just keeps running around all over the place..And then…" He smiles softly.
'I KISSED YOU,' Samara finishes the thought, referring to the end of their shared dream as her hazel eyes watch him carefully. She shrugs about the spear, it was a dream and snowy and cold and she could speak, there's no need for apologies here. 'IT WAS CONFUSING' especially early on. She swallows as her smile turns a little sheepish, 'BUT I WANTED TO KISS' she points at him. With another flicker of a smile she raises her chin ruefully, 'AND I DON'T SOUND LIKE A FROG. NOT EVEN KERMIT.'
"No. You don't sound like a frog." Brian says, disappointment clear in his voice. Brian then goes to bend his knees. Falling back some, he catches himself with his hands. Folding up his legs criss cross apple-sauce. Placing his hands in his lap, he smiles up at her in the mirror. "That was your first kiss." He murmurs quietly, the NO FRAME O wasn't too hard to translate. Though it did take a little bit. "And it wasn't even real." He lets out a short exhalation of a laugh. "I wasn't kissed til I was like twenty one. And I never died.. So you still beat me." He leans forward to pat the floor. Motioning for her to sit with him.
"So when I asked you the first thing you would do when you got back into your body and you said hug me." He grins a little at the mirror. He lowers his chin for a moment. "Well.. If Gabriel's going to take a look at you. If anyone could fix it, it's him. So I think it's safe to say, that this could be one of your last nights as a ghost. Maybe your last ghost night. We should do something special."
Again Samara shrugs, he's right— she 'died' at sixteen, and her brother beat up her date to junior prom which essentially meant no date for junior prom. She's long since over that though. With an inaudible laugh of her own she sits with him, mimicking that cross-legged posture. 'HAVEN'T BEAT YOU YET. AS YOU POINTED OUT, IT WASN'T REAL,' she shrugs and holds out her hands in a 'what ya gonna do about it?' motion.
A glimmer of hope twinkles in her eyes, more than anything she'd like to be real again. Really real. Tangible. Alive. She's been a ghost for so long, it's hard to think of her life as a tangible being. Her eyes attempt to meet his gaze as her lips twitch to the side in a thinking expression, considering what a person should do as a ghost— a list she was certain she'd exhausted within the first week of being 'dead'. 'WHAT SHOULD WE DO?'
"Well it was kind of real. I felt it." Brian murmurs, hands going to grab at the tips of his shoes. Pulling on his shoes, Winters leans forward. "Don't be all sour like that. 'As you pointed out'.." His mockery of 'her' voice is done as a frog would sound, naturally.
Allowing his gaze to meet hers, his hands drumb on his shoes idly. "I have no idea what we should do. I ran out of ideas after monopoly." He admits, giving a light shrug. "Doing fun things requires tangible thumbs… Which you soon will have!" He rejoices, throwing his hands up happily. "Yaaaay."
Samara just shakes her head, she refuses to believe herself sour rather than merely matter-of-fact. Of course, she'd played the role of 'dead-girl' fixing everything on her bucket list in order to move beyond this life to the next one. She shrugs again with a big grin. It's strange to think that in the not distant future people will see her in her entirety. 'IS IT WEIRD THAT THE IDEA OF BEING SEEN AGAIN IS A LITTLE SCARY? OR THAT EATING AGAN IS EXCITING? OR THAT I WISH I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO TOUCH ANYTHING AGAIN? AND THAT I FEEL TOTALLY INADEQUATE TO LOOK AFTER PAUL EVEN THOUGH I HAVE?' It's a lot to spell via letter and more than once she flubs the message, signing the wrong letter or missing one here or there.
She lets all of these random thoughts disappear though, instead giving Brian a dual thumbs up. With a smirk she tilts her head, 'I'M GLAD I STOPPED YOU FROM SMOKING,' she signs back.
"It makes sense. It will be weird. Scary. Even. And I would be excited to eat again too. After four years of no sushi." Winters murmurs, sounding very sad for her. "You're not inadequate. You're.. twenty now? You're very adult." Brian informs her, smirking a little. "You never even finished highschool." Brian marvels for a moment. "You are so far off the grid it's ridiculous. Someone who's been dead for four years. Legally dead." It seems like he may be thinking about this for the first time. "You are…. Lucky." He glances up to her, before blinking. "I mean. Not about being disconnected from the world for four years but.. Sorry." He decides to end on, giving her an apologetic look.
The last sentence she signs has him laughing. His eyes rise up to make eye contact again. "If I could kiss you without tasting dirty mirror glass, I think I would."
Yup, Sam's 20 now, four birthdays come and gone since the day she watched her own funeral. 'I HAD ONLY JUST LEARNED TO DRIVE.' She'd been slow on that one and had only gotten her license months before. Her smile fades a little as her head tilts again with another shrug of her shoulders. It sucks having been disconnected for so long. 'IT'S WEIRD. LIKE I DON'T EXIST ANYMORE. EVEN WHEN PEOPLE CAN SEE ME, I'LL BE INVISIBLE FOR YEARS TO COME. A NEW VERSION OF ME. AND FOUR YEARS IS A LONG TIME TO DISAPPEAR. IN A WAY IT'S BETTER FOR MY PARENTS TO THINK ME DEAD. THEY ARE PROBABLY GETTING OVER IT NOW. FINALLY.' She'd watched for awhile, hung around letting them catch glimpses of her in the mirror; it was too hard for both them and her.
His last comment has her leaning forward and pressing the nothing that is her lips against his cheek. Even if there's nothing to it, the gesture remains.
"You don't think they would be amazingly happy to see that you're alive?" Brian asks, frowning at her slightly. "I mean. I get what you're saying. And, yes I still think your brother is a douchebag. However I know.. That is my parents suddenly popped up after twenty four years of thinking they were dead.. I wouldn't be mad because.." And now he's playing pretend. "Oh man, dad I just got over you. You asshole. Now I'm going to have to open up this relationship again." He looks back at the mirror. "I really don't think that would be their reaction, Sameye."
"I think they would be so happy they would cry little happy Sammi tears." When she leans forward, his eyes flick to the reflection. Turning his face he goes to return the intangible kiss. Trying to kiss nothing is.. discouraging. Yet he does it for the symbalance of it anyway. He can't help but let out a little laugh from the absurdity of it.
There's another flicker of a smile at the notion, 'MAYBE.' Her gaze flits to the side, 'MOM WOULD BE. MOM IS AMAZING. LIKE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO CAN BACK FROM ANYTHING. DAD WOULD BE HAPPY I THINK, BUT NOT LIKE MOM.' She stifles a laugh though when her thoughts move to the youngest in her family 'ADISA IS SO SHALLOW SHE'D PROBABLY BE CHOKED AT GIVING ME MY CLOTHES BACK. I GOT SO MAD WHEN SHE RAIDED MY CLOSET.' Samara shrugs, it seems like a silly thing to be upset at now. 'AND TAHIR CAN BE KIND OF A JERK. BUT HE ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR ME.' Her cheeks flush again. 'MAYBE I'LL TRY TO GET HOME AFTER IT ALL.'
She shoots him a smile at the weirdest non-kiss in the world, chuckling lightly under her breath. 'SO WEIRD. THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO I GUESS.'
"I'll go with you." Brian offers. "I'll take you home. Be there with you when you come out of the closet. The death closet. Slash evolved closet." Grinning broadly he laughs a little bit. "I'll take your clothes back for you as well. At the last sentence she signs he smiles gently. Leaning forward he places his elbows on his knees. One arm pivots forward, a single pinky coming out.
'You will?' Samara mouths back to Brian. 'I ALREADY LIVE IN THE WEIRD. GUESS A LITTLE MORE CAN'T HURT ME.' With a wink, she shoots him a broader grin as her posture imitates his, her pinky finger attempting to lock with his. She speaks aloud, over-annunciating the words so it becomes obvious, 'Pink swear?'
Moving their hands up slowly so that they can maintain the lock, Brian goes to kiss his own thumb. Because obviously if his pinky breaks away from her incorporeal one, it doesn't count. And he will totally be able to back out without any guilt or anything. "Pink swear." Winters reitirates firmly. He allows his hand to go back to her intangible mouth so she can kiss her own hand. "Of course I'll go. It'll be fun. And maybe your brother can get me on TV."
Kissing her own hand softens Samara's smile again. Her eyes alight and her eyebrows arch. 'Thank you,' her lips move slowly around the inaudible words. She stifles a snicker at the notion of Brian on TV. 'I CAN BARELY IMAGINE TAHIR ON TV. HE WAS IN THE ARMY LAST I HEARD.' She grins, 'BUT I GUESS YOU COULD AT LEAST BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE. YOU COULD LIKE WATCH YOURSELF ON TV WHILE FILMING.'
"That would be great." Brian seems rather happy at that. Now that they are done pinkie swearing. Brian's hands go to the ground and he pushes himself up. "I should take this mirror back to the room and get all the kids asleep… Which takes two of me." Standing up fully, he puts his hand out as if to offer her help up. But he laughs at that a moment after. "Just kidding." Dropping his hand he allows her time to stand up. Going to grab his mirror, "Try not to dream about me tonight." He murmurs, picking up his mirror. "Give me another kiss I can't feel." He grins, patting his cheek.
Samara ambles up from her sitting position. 'AND I NEED TO WATCH PAUL,' so he doesn't drift away in the course of his dreams, although, chances are she'll just anchor herself to him then at least he'll have a chaperone. Her smile grows as Brian pats his cheek. Slowly, like in the dream, she rises on her tip toes and presses her non-lips against his cheek. She strains as hard as she can, recognizing that it'll make her virtually useless in time. Her faint touch feels like the brush of the wind rather than an actual touch.