when were you happy? (open)

[travailed]

CHARACTERS: Beth and YOU
WHERE: here there and everywhere
WHEN: any day and every day
SUMMARY: open prompts for downtime. if you'd like something specific hit me up at pineappamatic!
WARNINGS: N/A! will update as necessary


i. hello, it's me

[Beth doesn't like the sensation of the mental link, like a lot of people. She feels like it's been enough time that she should be used to it by now, but she isn't. She doesn't mind people seeing into her head, though, as much as she feels like she's infringing on others' boundaries, or inflicting the tangled mess of her mind on them.

So, she's making a point to meet and get to know everyone. Really get to know them, the old fashioned way. Where people reveal information about themselves as they feel comfortable.

It's kind of a tall order, but she's trying.

It could be anywhere: in the rec wing or the nesting deck or just in a hallway. The ice doesn't need to be broken first, either; if Beth makes eye contact with a stranger long enough, she'll muster up the courage to break it herself, stepping forward enough to catch their eye.]

Hi. [Her voice is soft but her eyes are steady. She holds her hand out to shake.] I'm Beth. I don't think we've met before.

ii. push it

[On occasion, Beth can be found in the training wing. There isn't a set pattern to when she shows up; it's more that there are good days and bad days, and on her bad days she feels a need to be productive. She needs to be better. Stronger. She can't get complacent or comfortable. This place isn't any safer than where she came from, it's just a different kind of danger.

The thing is, though, she's small. And she's never had any sort of proper training regimen; most of what she knows is a combination of physical feats made in fight-or-flight situations and what people could teach her in the scant moments of spare time they could find back at the prison.

But she can start by lifting some weights.]

'Scuse me. [She points at a set of hand weights that they may or may not be standing in front of.] Can I get at those?

iv. choose your own adventure

[Hit me with a prompt of your own, or let me know if you'd like to plot out something else!]

Comments

[travailed]

[She lets him. She knows that look; evaluative, a little surprised. She gets it a lot.]

I'm not sure. [There's no reason for her to pretend otherwise. She bends down to pick up the weights and tests them in her hands.] I never counted before.

["Counted" seems like the wrong word, but she really doesn't have a better one. She smiles, just a little.]

Horse feed weighs more than you'd think, though.

[doublesmall]

Not surprising, they look like they're pretty damn big. Can't say I've ever had to see one up close though, so you've got one over on me there.

[He returns that smile as he finds something to perch on, one corner of his mouth quirking up.]

So you must be used to working then, huh. How long've you been at this? [That comes with a little nod toward the weights.]

[travailed]

[This time the answer is a little embarrassing. But still— there's no point in lying. Anyone who watches her try to use them for more than a few minutes would probably sniff it out anyway.]

Couple days, maybe? It's... hard to keep track here, sometimes. [She lifts the weights in a shallow curl, and her smile shrinks, sheepish.] This part is still kinda new. I never used to do it back home.

[doublesmall]

Yeah, well-- there's plenty of shit here I don't think most of us had to deal with back home. This shouldn't be much compared to the whole 'people in your head' business.

[That's still not a very comfortable idea for him, even if he's no longer among the very newest arrivals to the station. Things like training, though, that's familiar, something to focus on that he knows.

But they're all stuck here together, aren't they-- and he remembers when he wasn't experienced, when people gave him the same slightly surprised kind of look he'd given Beth several moments ago. So he watches for another moment, considering, before he adds-]

...if you need anyone to show you the ropes, I've done plenty of this before. You just trying to build up strength, or are you looking to learn how to kick someone's ass if you have to?

[travailed]

[She looks down at the weights in her hands. He's not wrong, except it's backwards. This, the weights and this room and the concept of training in general, is simpler than what she's used to, more straightforward, and almost unsettling for it.]

I know how to fight. [It's a little defensive. This feels like an important point of clarification, to her, even if she muddies it with:] Sort of. ... It's complicated.

[She tries not to think about it. She doesn't want to think about it, and he just mentioned how the "people in your head" thing bothers him. She's crunched bone under her heel before, but she only did it because she'd die if she didn't. She's killed people before, living and dead.]

I guess... I'd want to learn more about how to do it proper. If that makes sense. So I know I can protect myself, even when it's just me.

[doublesmall]

Done it because you had to?

[It's the first thing that comes to mind, with that 'sort of'-- and that, combined with the rest of her answer, bring more of a grin back to his face. Something more satisfied, this time, approving.]

Good. It's a good start. You're gonna be lacking in form, probably, but if you've done it from necessity-- well. It's hard to teach someone how to fight to live.

[They have to experience it to really know how to fight. Just winning isn't enough; it'll never be enough when it matters.]

[travailed]

[That's the first time anyone's ever framed it as a positive before. She nods, small and uncertain. Because she had to, yes.]

I'd rather I didn't have to. [Her tone goes flat; not offended, just stoic. She's also found that fighting to live isn't something you can ever really unlearn.] But... It's not gonna be any safer here than before. So, it's better I practice now than put it off, right?

[More than not wanting to fight, she doesn't want to be a burden. She doesn't want other people to have to put themselves in danger to keep her safe anymore.]

If you're willin' to teach, I'm willin' to learn.