Participants:
| Scene Title | Land of the Living |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Returning to the land of the living to avoid the land of the lost… |
| Date | December 1, 2010 |
Pollepel Island — Brian's Room
Welcome to the Brian Room.
It's close to evening, whether before or after the sun has gone down, he's not sure. He has his room to himself, however. And he's making use of it. Several Brian's populate the room. Sitting on a matt, Brian has a book in strange characters on his lap. Most likely cantonese. Several books are stacked near him, some phrasebooks, and some language dictionaries. Two toes are hooked over his shoulders.
The second Winters wearing only sorts, is doing decline pushups. Sweat is dripping from his forehead, as the second man pushes up and down. The third Brian's back is pressed against the wall. A copy of Unlocking Evolution in his lap. His finger on the page, Winters seems to be studying intently. Most likely for a cure to ghost-ism.
Speaking of ghostism.
Having just left Paul in the mirror playing a board game with Lucy. After Paul had sworn up and down he wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of said game (and really, why would he— it's still early enough he shouldn't?), Samara had taken to wandering; she's been too concerned to leave the kid's side for the last few days, but slowly it's become reality. Very slowly. Her existence is one she wouldn't have wished on anyone.
While it may be polite to knock before entering a room, with no tangibility to knock with Samara literally walks through the door, the mirror on the wall immediately catching her silent figure. Little attention is paid to the room at first, yet her cheeks flush a pale pink, however, at the notion of the three Brian's. By the time she notices she's invading on their?his? privacy, she's already near the center of the room. Slow steps backpedal like she believes she'll make too much noise if she bolts for the door.
"Fuuuuuck me."
The shirtless Brian's chest collapses on the cold floor. Immediately squirming from the frigid cold, the exhausted Brian scrambles to get off the cold stone. Like a fish out of water, Brian flops for the matt. Throwing himself on top of it, Brian immediately splays out. "Fuck my cock off." Brian groans harshly, rolling to his side and breathing heavily.
The Brian who's shoulders were being used simply stretches them out for a moment. Other than that, he and the Brian with the Evolution book don't recognize his existance at all. Sometimes Brian wishes people could see how he hangs out with himself. It would be a big teaching tool into how his ability works. The three ignore each other completely, and only interact with each other like one would with a piece of furniture.
Reaching out to grab OttomanBrian by the shoulder, WorkOutBrian pushes himself slowly to his knees. And then with another shove, he gets to his feet. Leaning forward, he pants heavily, going to look at the mirror he has brought in the room. Starting to flex and check himself out, he suddenly stops when he spots another person in the mirror with him.
This might be the only time Samara will ever see him redden. Or maybe his face was already like that. But it doesn't last long. Smirking, his hand swings up to splat where she is on the mirror in greeting. "Hi." He grunts.
If Samara was pink before, she, like workout Brian, is all-out red such that even her ears are flushed. She's stopped dead in her tracks at the greeting, and, in the frame of the mirror, Brian is issued a very hesitant, mildly apologetic, wave. Her lips curl into a timid smile wrought with that same apology, although the reason for that is entirely different; he conscience has been eating her about Paul and everything that happened.
Her head turns to glance at each of the Brians in turn. While she might not be 'up' on abilities in general, she finds this whole replication thing fascinating, not that she'd admit that aloud… but then she admits nothing aloud… it's a good thing she has an expressive face. In fact, her head tilts a little as she contemplates how exactly the replicates communicate with each other, whether doing multiple things at once allows them all to have the same knowledge, and whether one chicken sandwich would satisfy the hunger of all. Yes people, she is all about the important details.
Her lips twitch to the side as she glances back to the mirror, signing that which her expression has already foretold, 'S-O-R-R-Y
"You're fine." Brian assures her as he remains doubled over. Hand pressed against the mirror, he lowers his head, chin to chest. The breathing is still heavy. Finally pushing himself up, he continues to try and catch his breath. Sooo, Reading Brian will take over the talking.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you Sameye. I feel really bad about that. I shouldn't have yelled at you. And I'm very sorry. I hope you can forgive me." He doesn't look up from his book. Workout Brian is doing the eye contact for the team.
"You have no reason to be sorry." Reading Brian continues, "I should have researched more. Done more thinking about it. I pressured you and Paul into the situation. It was my decision, and it is my responsibility that Paul is stuck. And so again, I am very sorry I cursed at you." With that said. "So believe you're not dead now? Can I say 'I told you so' yet?"
Between the talking Brian and the eye contact Brian, Samara doesn't really know which to look at, her gaze shifting between them. There's a brief shake of her head, she won't accept it as his fault although she'll accept the apology just the same. Sam shrugs slightly at the apology before flippantly waving a hand, 'It's nothing'. She issues him a lopsided grin, even if it's still not wholly reassured. She feels badly about it all. And the whole sleeping thing has been an adventure the last couple of nights, not that she's really let herself sleep. And by not sleeping? She manages to keep them in one place for better or worse. Of course, it also yields itself to dark shadows under her eyes. She rubs her eyes.
The questions are met with an upturned gaze, mischievous smile, and a nod. She believes it. 'H-A-R-D T-O B-E-L-I-E-V-E' she pauses before adding 'B-U-T Y-E-S'. Her grin turns lopsided as she points to the book and shrugs.
"So I mean. It sucks, that Paul is a ghost. But it's got to be exciting for you, right? To know you're not dead? I mean. Yeah. You have to be embarrassed that you haven't taken a shower in four years but.." Workout Brian finally catches his breath and turns to face her in the mirror. "You have to know you'll be out of this soon. We know you're a phaser now. So it's only a matter of time until we figure out how to undo this. So.. I mean. Aren't you excited? You're going to be real again!"
Folding his arms over his chest, he tilts his head back and lets out a light sigh. "So. Let's hear it. What is the first thing you're going to do when you're alive again? And.. First thing you're going to eat. And.. umm.. first thing.. you're going to.. um.. I don't know. Give me a bonus first thing."
Brian earns a sheepish grin as the crimson lets up on her face, returning her to that ghostly pale colour. There has been a part of Samara quietly thrilled at the notion of actually being really real, not just some immaterial soul destined to wander the scope of the world for ages to come, but someone capable of tangibility. The comment about her not shower brings a momentary scowl over her features before she's glancing at the ceiling again. Her lips twitch to the opposite side in careful consideration.
Her head tilts a little at the question before glancing down at the same clothes she's been wearing for four years. The first answer is simple enough, God-willing, 'SHOWER' She signs one letter at a time. The next question brings a wrinkle to her nose, 'DEPENDS IF WE ARE STILL HERE. JUST EATING SEEMS LIKE A MIRACLE.' The sensations of food on her tongue, of chewing, of tasting… these are simple pleasures the living take for granted. 'PIZZA IF I HAD A CHOICE.' The last bonus thing has her taking pause. Her smile softens some before she's signing, 'HUG YOU.' Her cheeks redden again.
"Awww, Sami." He smiles shyly, clasping his hands below his waist. He kind of curtseys and shies away from the mirror. "You gave me shiveries." Of course it's an act, but the brightness of his smile really does indicate that he appreciates the letters. "I can't wait til you have a voice. Watching your letters for five hours, is awesome, don't get me wrong. But I'm just excited for conversations that don't last an entire year." He smiles sweetly into the mirror before hurling his body around. Back to the mirror he looks where she would be. And with another of his replicants perspective he is able to get eye contact perfectly this time. "I wonder if you'll be really hungry when you unphase. I will do my best to get you pizza. I could use some pizza. " Letting his head tilt back, he purses his lips.
"There's a guy on the mainland who I kind of know. Old Brian was good friends with him. And I think I have enough memories that I can bullshit a relationship with him. He runs a safehouse. I was thinking about moving back to the city."His hands go out to gesticulate his true meaning. "Well I mean partly. I'll stay on the island too, of course. But you know go back. Since you can't be in two places at once." He gives a shrug. "Do you want to come with me? I don't know maybe there's someone else we can talk to back in the city to figure this out." He gives a shrug. "And then I mean you're not out in the forest if you fall asleep. We'll be in the city and you and Paul can get back to me easier.. You need to sleep." He insists, at the end.
The cheesy reaction to her bonus question earns Brian an overly emphatic roll of Sami's eyes, although she does sign in response, 'MY FROG VOICE, YOU MEAN?' before winking and shaking her head just a little, if only to clear it of scarlet like some kind of reddened etch-a-sketch. The smile remains through it all, even with the eye roll. It twitches into a tighter smile at the notion of pizza and the idea she hasn't eaten in four years; in many ways, she expects to be starved.
The eye contact has a calming effect, something wholly unexpected, but present thanks to nearly none of it aside from that which Rue could offer. The question though has her smile fading some,t urning reflective. If she's honest, then there's no way she can last much longer on such little amounts of sleep, and she doesn't want Paul waking up somewhere she can't figure out how to get them home. With these things in mind, she issues Brian a nod, the truth is, she's wasted enough time as a ghost.
It's time to return to the land of the living.
However that may come about.