Time doors part 2 - gathering

[seesblind]

The shelters were crowded and dimly lit, the stone stairs that took them down into the London Underground seeming to go on forever. It was a situation the residents of the city were used to, most coming with a bundle of woollen blankets clutched in their arms. This wasn’t anyone’s first night in the shelters, at least, it shouldn’t have been.

Corners were staked out, and harsh words exchanged when someone took more space than was rationed. People broke out cold food and finished their dinners, resigned to what had become all too familiar.

It was hard to sleep on the cold hard floors, with so many bodies pressed together. Few managed it, instead they stood together and listened for the rumbles that meant an exploded bomb not far from here. They prayed though prayer hadn’t done much for so many. Everyone wanted to hear the all clear. They wanted to go back to their homes so they could start to pick up the pieces and begin the cycle anew. They hoped that tonight would be the last night down here, but they were sure that it wouldn’t.

Comments

[notyourcaptain]

Short of the lights going out - which seemed like a distinct possibility - this was about as close to Carolyn's worst nightmare as you could get. She was just trying to keep an eye on Prim in the crush of bodies, not wanting to get separated from the girl - her connection to Darrow, and a reminder of Jack. Food didn't seem like a possibility, but Carolyn wandered a little, shoulders hunched and hackles raised, in an attempt to find something she could steal or sneak. She glanced back constantly, making sure she could still see Prim in their spot against the wall.

[seesblind]

There's something about the way she moves that Riddick would never mistake. He's watched her ever since he first met her; on that planet, in Gotham and in Darrow. He could track her in a stranger place than this. What he doesn't trust is the sense of relief he feels at seeing her.

He moves between the people, coming up beside Fry and brushing up against her elbow. "Figured you'd show up sometime. Just keep following me. Can't help it."

[notyourcaptain]

She turns on her heel, starting at the touch even though it's impossible not to brush up against people in this crowd. His touch, however, is very distinctive. Carolyn stares at him in shock, her own sense of relief overwhelming her for a moment. It was why she doesn't think about stepping forward to catch him in a grateful hug, arms tight around his shoulders. They aren't exactly what one might call affectionate around each other, but she doesn't give a shit. Not now, in a dark tunnel full of strangers, with bombs falling overhead.

[seesblind]

“How long have you been here?” His arms wrap around her, holding her for a minute before he lets them drop. It’s his way of saying he’s relieved that she’s safe, that she’s here if he is. He’s better at lies than truth, at manipulating words to do what he wants, but he’s not good at talking when it comes to her.“You alone?”

[notyourcaptain]

Carolyn lets him go too, even though she doesn't want to, and takes half a step back. "No, there's a girl. Prim - she's from Darrow too." She half turns, looking to find Prim in the crowd again, then points when she does. "But she knows about as much as I do, and she's pretty fucking freaked out. Riddick, what the hell is going on?" Because some how, she still assumes he'll have the answers.

[seesblind]

“There’s another woman here. Hanna.” Reminded him a bit too much of Kyra for his liking, but he wasn’t about to tell Fry that. That was another guilty weight he didn’t need on his shoulders.

Riddick turned, looking around them at the people around them. He saw sheep, the downtrodden, people who would do what they were told and not what was needed. What he didn’t see was a reason for being here or a way home, any more than he’d seen one in Darrow or Gotham. “Do I look like some sort of Oracle to you? Telling fortunes and making up stories to help you sleep at night?”

[notyourcaptain]

Carolyn's eyes narrow and she steps back from him, arms folding over her chest. "No. Jesus. I just thought maybe you might know something." Of course he would be like this.

[seesblind]

He raises a brow, wondering what it was that he was supposed to know more than she did. Riddick can’t help but point that out, in his way. “You find any answers yet either?”

[notyourcaptain]

"No-" The defensiveness fades and her arms drop to her sides again, shoulders slumping. "No, I don't know anything. Prim is scared out of her mind and there are...fucking bombs-" Someone glances at her and Carolyn shoots them a glare. "Everyone here is dressed like my goddamn grandmother and it's like...it's like we're back in the past. Even further back than Darrow."

[seesblind]

"People like fighting, no matter when they're from. War always happens." He shrugs, putting an arm around her to steer her back toward the girl she'd pointed at. Prim, not anyone he knew, but likely just more baggage to way them down. "You find a place to stay yet?"

[notyourcaptain]

"No-" his arm is comforting and she has a brief, desperate need to be back in Darrow - or hell, even Gotham - in the apartment they're sharing, curled up in bed. Not in this weird, old fashioned battleground, "we barely had time to figure out which end was up before the sirens went off."

[seesblind]

"Same." Which meant they'd been here about the same amount of time. Strange because he hasn't heard of anyone showing up together like that before, not that it han't happened. "I don't like games. This feels like one."

[notyourcaptain]

"Like we have to survive to win?" What a fun game. Carolyn suddenly looks him up and down, still tucked under his arm. "What are you wearing?"

[seesblind]

“Uniform. Pilot, from what I hear.” It does make him stand out some, but it also gives him an air of respectability. It’s why he hasn’t ditched it yet, willing to tell any lie that will make their time here easier. “Funny. Thought you were the flyer.”

[notyourcaptain]

"A pilot." Carolyn shifts to look him up and down more thoroughly and after a second, she laughs. "Like...military?" Now that was rich.

[seesblind]

"An officer," he says, his lips curving up in a smile as he does. The idea of him being in any military is laughable. "Guess they got me."

[notyourcaptain]

"An officer," she repeats, still laughing. Something about laughing feels very strange in this setting, and a couple people are glancing at her, but the act of laughing is such a relief that she can't care. For just a moment, things aren't tense between them and it doesn't matter that they've been transported to some strange, war-ravaged world. "Jesus-" she actually has to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye, shaking her head, "I like it." Besides, the uniform is pretty hot.

[seesblind]

He raises a brow, but he understands. It's worth laughing at, even moreso than his working as a bounty hunter back in Darrow, it's everything Riddick isn't. "Looks like you didn't get out so good."

[notyourcaptain]

"I'm wearing a goddamn dress," she curses, suddenly not quite so amused, and looks down at herself, "a dress. What am I supposed to do with this?" She picks at the skirt. In another world, it might have been pretty - buttoned down the front, fitting her hips and waist tightly with short, capped sleeves. But here it is just a pain in the ass.

[seesblind]

"It's a good dress," he says, eyeing her up and down with a leering smirk. "Too bad there's no privacy here."

[notyourcaptain]

She stares up at him with a lifted eyebrow and a hand on her hip. "Yeah," she snorts, "like that would stop you."

[seesblind]

"Something tells me these aren't the people to piss off." There's something in this place, a feeling that he doesn't like. It's a tension that's hald barely in check, surprising considering the defeatist exterior. "We should check on the girls."

[notyourcaptain]

"Yeah, I guess you probably wouldn't want to maul a woman in the middle of a crowded shelter," she said dryly, rolling her eyes at him before turning to pick her way back to Prim.

[seesblind]

The problem with this place is Riddick sticks out like a sore thumb. It's dark enough he can keep his goggles off and his eyes narrowed, but there are other things that set him apart than the shine of his eyes. He does his best to slip into the shadows, harder in the crowd. It's still his best defense.

[little_duck]

"So," Prim asks the huge man, her own tiny frame finding it much easier to pick out nooks and crannies in the shelter, "are you from Darrow too?"

She already knows the answer, and knows that if he is from Darrow, then he isn't from Darrow at all. It's possibly just a stopping point.

To where?

[seesblind]

"As much as you are," he says, knowing who she is only because Fry pointed her out. "Darrow and a couple places before that. Maybe this place is just the next. You're Prim, right?"

[little_duck]

She nods, even finding a smile. Unsurprisingly, she's comforted to have him around. Hanna will protect her, but this man, he should be able to keep Hanna from being harmed.

"Primrose Everdeen," she says, and sticks out her hand.

[seesblind]

“Riddick. Richard Riddick.” He gives both the names for once, something he rarely bothers with. Her hand is small in his, and it reminds him far too much of Jack, the same way Hanna reminds him of Kyra. Same person, but two separate memories, both of them depending on Riddick in a way he wasn’t prepared for. “You been anywhere like this before?”

[little_duck]

"It reminds me of home," she says, thinking mostly of that night they'd fled, of standing in the Capitol for the first time with the bombs going off. "But I didn't do too well there, so maybe this time...."

She shakes her head, withdrawing her hand. "I have to make it back to my sister in Darrow."

[seesblind]

There's no reason for him to get home with Fry here. She's the only person he's responsible for in Darrow. At least, she was before they ended up in this place. Now there's Hanna and apparently Prim. "Yeah? Well, we'll get you back."

[beautyof_form]

Adapt or die.

She heard the sound of her father's voice in her ear. Not her father, but the man who'd raised her. The only father should had ever known.

Dressed in clothes that felt like a costume and worryingly unarmed, Hanna kept her back to the wall, her sharp eyes scanning unfamiliar faces.

Whatever happened, she was ready.

[notyourcaptain]

Riddick points her out to Carolyn and so Carolyn goes over. She gets the sense that Riddick would have ditched someone in whom he didn't see any value. Besides, this girl sort of holds herself like Riddick does. Alert. Wary.

She steps up and stands next to her - not close, but near. Carolyn glances at her, looking her up and down once. "Hi." She blinks once and glances back over to where Riddick is keeping watch in the crowd. "I'm Carolyn."

[beautyof_form]

"Hello," she said, her head cocking with open curiosity. "I'm Hanna. Are you Riddick's friend? The woman he expected to find here instead of me?"

[notyourcaptain]

That sends Carolyn's eyebrows up, but she nods carefully. "Yeah, Carolyn." The crowd jostles her a little, so she steps closer, trying to stay out of the way without getting in Hanna's face. "Did you two know each other in Darrow?" she asks, glancing around to where Prim was sitting against the wall, "or maybe Primrose?"

[beautyof_form]

"I met him, but only once," she said, her face lighting up at the mention of her friend, her eyes already scanning the crowd, looking for that familiar shock of pale blonde hair, "Yes, I know Prim. She's my best friend, is she here?"

[notyourcaptain]

"She's here." Something about that smile makes Carolyn feel better. She turns to point over to where Prim is still curled against the wall, looking tired and still pretty freaked out. "Safe and sound, but pretty scared."

[beautyof_form]

"I should go to her," Hanna said, her attention already tugged away by the hope of finding someone she cared so deeply for. Before turning away entirely, she stopped herself, asking, "Did you arrive with her?"

[notyourcaptain]

"I did. She's okay-" Carolyn returns the smile and gestures for Hanna to go on her way. "It's all right. You can probably have better luck with making her feel better than me."

[beautyof_form]

"Thank you," she said, her smile warming, "for looking after her."

The woman hadn't claimed to, in so many words, but if Prim was all right, and this woman had any hand in it at all, that was worth Hanna's thanks.

[notyourcaptain]

"We gotta look out for each other, right?" Carolyn looks back at Prim again, then over to Riddick. Her expression softens just a bit, before she shakes her head. "Especially in a place like this."

[little_duck]

Prim spends quite a bit of her time, at first, just sitting and listening to the people speak. It's reminiscent of Dr. Chase, and she finds it pretty. Her stomach refuses to let her eat any of the cold food they'd managed to find, and so she's sitting against a wall, the cold seeping into her bones.

She will not cry.

She's almost asleep, half-dozing when someone shifts out of the way, and there's Hanna. Her little cry of happiness earns her a swatting hand from the man next to her, but she darts over, all but tackling her friend. "Hanna!"

[beautyof_form]

"Prim!" Hanna cried, her arms closing around her friend, reminding herself at the last moment not to squeeze too hard.

"What are you doing here? Are you all right?"

[little_duck]

"I'm fine," Prim says immediately, even though she buries her face in the crook of Hanna's neck, screwing her eyes shut. "I don't know why I'm here. Why are you here? Is there anyone else?"

It doesn't have to mean anything, she thinks desperately. Strange things happen all of the time.

[beautyof_form]

"A man I met in Darrow, once, and his friend, but I've seen no one else familiar," Hanna admitted, pressing her lips mindlessly to Prim's hair. "Only you. Oh, I was afraid I wouldn't see you again."