[Crane approaches one of the single armchairs, seating himself with poise and grace. His hands together in his lap. Fingers slide together and clench gently. He looks relucant to accept more than what he is expected to be given.]
[ Once the tea is poured, Claire lets it steep and remains standing while she does. She's casually leaning against a table, arms loosely crossed over her chest. She's at ease here because it's home—even if it isn't. ]
My name is Claire. Claire Fraser. And this [ She looks over at the house proper. ] is Lallybroch.
Dr. Crane. And that's a wonderful name. Does it mean anything in particular?
[He pauses for a moment, repositioning his hands, discomforted by being the only one inhabiting a chair but unwilling to share it. So he masks it with a light, affable tone.]
Lallybroch is another Gaelic word for'Broch Tuarach' which means 'north facing tower.' My husband was Laird Broch Tuarach, so 'Lord of the North Facing Tower.'
[ No longer though, and she knows it pains him. She wishes he could see this, at least. ]
[One word mirrored. One situation altered upon its end; travelling from one world to a whole new other. A foreigner within both. Crane leans back against the chair and lifts his head in curious thought.]
I find myself uncertain which country is the pan and which is the fire.
Here, indeed. I'm simply trying to live a quiet life no different than I would have with my husband.
[ As if they ever lived a quiet life, what a joke. More like they both dreamed of it. Turning, she finally brings the tea once she's satisfied it will taste its best, and hands him an earthenware mug. With her own, she sits across from him comfortably. ]
I always wanted to be settled. Here is where I thought it would be, eventually. But I'm glad to see it again, even if it is only a memory.
[Crane reaches out and cradles the mug between his hands, delicately grasping in a manner that won't burn his fingers. He watches the steam and settles into a comfortable silence. There is more to think about than tea and company.]
I am glad it offers some comfort, then.
[His words come after a while. Unfinished, as he has more to say.]
But in this world everything becomes more than a memory. It seems to adopt a life of its own, doesn't it?
[ Claire isn't uncomfortable with silence, at least not with this particular silence, and she merely watches the flames in the hearth. But then he speaks again and she hums, giving his question consideration. ]
If it's real to me now, and it's as real to you, then the answer is yes. Everything in the Horizon becomes a sort of alternate life to the one we're living. Some might—and I'm sure do—argue being here is better, because we can create what we want.
[His eyes take in the grounds, every crumbling inch of stone and every swaying blade of grass. Each idealised and imagined into life to mirror a life worth living.]
But where is the challenge? The satisfaction of overcoming adversity and earning one's place in the world? Life might as well become a game of who can sprint the fastest through this wonderful field.
[Or away from a crowd of children. He continues watching the flame burn within the hearth.]
[ Claire agrees, to a degree. But she can't help but empathize with those who find a reason to stay in their makeshift reality. ]
Because of a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was war, I was separated from my husband, Jamie, for twenty years. Before arriving here, we'd only been reunited for a bit over a year, and most of that was spent searching for a kidnapped nephew. Now I'm without Jamie again, and I must admit that being home is a comfort.
[ And she could stay here, and sleep in the room that's a poor replica of the space they shared, if only because there's no way this reality can capture the essence of a person. ]
That being said, a sense of balance is important. As you say, life must be lived. And for as odd as it is that we're on this star, there are still things to do.
[Crane listens attentively. He collects his thoughts without opinion or judgment.
This is something he had not envisioned doing - listening to other people's traumas - yet he knows this is precisely what he would and will always do. In this makeshift reality or out in the world. Perhaps it is a comfort.]
Indeed. There is much for both of us to be getting along with.
[ Claire would, at any time, listen just as attentively. She never minds that, and doesn't mind offering advice when asked.
Thinking about her plans for Solvunn, she smiles and actually brightens quite a bit. ]
I've just discovered my first bit of magic. I can grow plants; only from a seed to a sprout for now, but think how much more could be planted and harvested, if the crops have such a head start? Beyond that, I've built bee hives and I'll try to set up some sort of clinic once a week for anyone to come with their medical issues that need to be addressed.
[ It's surprising to her, how quickly she's found her day full with a routine, but it keeps her busy, and she's grateful. ]
[His nose wrinkles at the mention of magic. Seeds that sprout in a day? Crops that don't require a full turn of the seasons? He can hardly believe it two weeks later.
Honestly, this world is insane.]
To establish a practice? I am more than aware there are plenty of individuals who will benefit from both physiological and psychological attention. But I've just got here. I'm still trying to settle in.
[An insane world, indeed. Maybe he'll fit right in?]
[ If he asked, she'd demonstrate, but his reaction is understandable and she laughs softly, though not at him. ]
I know, I was resistant to the magic as well. The first time I saw someone actually do magic, I'm not sure my mouth closed for hours afterward. There are people here who can heal others with a touch.
[ That's difficult for her at times; she's more than glad magical healing is something that exists; she wouldn't advise someone come to her when another could heal a wound in an instant with no lingering pain. Claire seems to be almost antiquated in Abraxas. ]
A practice is a good plan. Although I can't help thinking of Lucy, Charlie Brown's sister. Five cents for psychiatric advice.
[ Unsure if he knows what she's referencing, Claire moves on. ]
I only mean because here, you may have your work cut out for you. It won't be boring, in any case.
[Crane collects his tea. Comics? He hardly reads those. But he is familiar enough with popular culture to recognise a name or two; to know she is referencing something.]
Good. Life must never be boring, after all.
[The challenge of living is surpassed only by the challenge of his work. He sets his cup back upon its saucer. Oh, the challenges of work and life. How he loves both.]
I'm certain there will be plenty to poke my fingers into.
[Magic. Minds. His work had always been to explore and understand the latter.]
Quite, in fact, my talents were needed badly only a few weeks ago. A man's hand was shattered and there was no one to use magic to heal him. It took four hours, but he's healing.
[ There had been so many awful injuries, she knows every healer—magical or otherwise—had worked tirelessly, all over the factions. ]
You managed to avoid something that took all of us by surprise.
I've seen a lot, Dr. Crane. Things that I would very much like to forget if I could. But it was nothing like what I saw happening to the taken.
[ Putting down her teacup, Claire leans forward with her elbows on her knees, keeping his gaze. ]
I was allowed to see via magic what was happening. Human sacrifices, organs sacrificed. Before I was cut off from the connection, a man was having his eyes gouged out.
[ He doesn't strike her as the type to scare, and she isn't saying this to do so. ]
When I arrived, I had a false sense of...not security, but it all seemed so tranquil. Especially in Solvunn, and then as it turns out, the main perpetrator was living there all along. I'm not telling you any of this for shock value, only to explain that there's an underbelly, and I don't believe anyone knows how dark it is, exactly.
[Ritual sacrifice. Horrors of the body. Mania of the mind.
He keeps her gaze and reveals nothing of why all three are familiar. Memories of physically restraining patients, controlling them with psychotropic medication. Driving his experiments insane. Sacrificing their hope for recovery. Sacrificing their lives.
It takes him a while to deliberate on what he's learned. To fashion a response and murmur in consideration.]
How profound is the mind? Deeply. I would not worry about figuring out how deep the rabbit hole goes. That it exists is worry enough.
[Hardly comforting but he doubts she scares easily.]
Quite, and I'm sure that isn't the last we'll see from the depths. The tension between all of the factions has been high for a long while now, from what I understand.
[ But they can move onto better topics, perhaps. ]
I've had good luck meeting kind people since I've arrived, and someone from home has even appeared, though I'm not sure I necessarily would have wished it on him. In any case, there've been good moments here and there.
[ Claire smiles to indicate 'here and there' is only a joke, there have been more nice moments than she can count. ]
[Crane smoothes his trousers and adjusts his hands in his lap. The depths of humanity is one side of the coin, their achievements the shining example of the other. There is plenty to talk about in both cases.]
Same as anywhere, really.
[He looks inside himself, distracted.]
Regardless, I am glad you have found yourself some appropriate company. The soul does long for the comfort of home, after all.
At the very least, a well-known familiar face. For me, at least, this isn't the first time I've had to figure things out in a place I never intended to be.
[ Looking at the hearth she watches the flames as she chooses her words before her attention focuses on him again. ]
When I was much younger, or perhaps not much older than you are now, I traveled in time quite by accident. I knew no one, I was lost. A stranger in a familiar, yet unknown place.
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No, thank you. Tea is fine.
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My name is Claire. Claire Fraser. And this [ She looks over at the house proper. ] is Lallybroch.
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[He pauses for a moment, repositioning his hands, discomforted by being the only one inhabiting a chair but unwilling to share it. So he masks it with a light, affable tone.]
This house, I mean.
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[ No longer though, and she knows it pains him. She wishes he could see this, at least. ]
We, apparently, live in America now.
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[One word mirrored. One situation altered upon its end; travelling from one world to a whole new other. A foreigner within both. Crane leans back against the chair and lifts his head in curious thought.]
I find myself uncertain which country is the pan and which is the fire.
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[ As if they ever lived a quiet life, what a joke. More like they both dreamed of it. Turning, she finally brings the tea once she's satisfied it will taste its best, and hands him an earthenware mug. With her own, she sits across from him comfortably. ]
I always wanted to be settled. Here is where I thought it would be, eventually. But I'm glad to see it again, even if it is only a memory.
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I am glad it offers some comfort, then.
[His words come after a while. Unfinished, as he has more to say.]
But in this world everything becomes more than a memory. It seems to adopt a life of its own, doesn't it?
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If it's real to me now, and it's as real to you, then the answer is yes. Everything in the Horizon becomes a sort of alternate life to the one we're living. Some might—and I'm sure do—argue being here is better, because we can create what we want.
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[His eyes take in the grounds, every crumbling inch of stone and every swaying blade of grass. Each idealised and imagined into life to mirror a life worth living.]
But where is the challenge? The satisfaction of overcoming adversity and earning one's place in the world? Life might as well become a game of who can sprint the fastest through this wonderful field.
[Or away from a crowd of children. He continues watching the flame burn within the hearth.]
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Because of a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was war, I was separated from my husband, Jamie, for twenty years. Before arriving here, we'd only been reunited for a bit over a year, and most of that was spent searching for a kidnapped nephew. Now I'm without Jamie again, and I must admit that being home is a comfort.
[ And she could stay here, and sleep in the room that's a poor replica of the space they shared, if only because there's no way this reality can capture the essence of a person. ]
That being said, a sense of balance is important. As you say, life must be lived. And for as odd as it is that we're on this star, there are still things to do.
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This is something he had not envisioned doing - listening to other people's traumas - yet he knows this is precisely what he would and will always do. In this makeshift reality or out in the world. Perhaps it is a comfort.]
Indeed. There is much for both of us to be getting along with.
[He lightens with curiosity.]
Have you made any plans?
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Thinking about her plans for Solvunn, she smiles and actually brightens quite a bit. ]
I've just discovered my first bit of magic. I can grow plants; only from a seed to a sprout for now, but think how much more could be planted and harvested, if the crops have such a head start? Beyond that, I've built bee hives and I'll try to set up some sort of clinic once a week for anyone to come with their medical issues that need to be addressed.
[ It's surprising to her, how quickly she's found her day full with a routine, but it keeps her busy, and she's grateful. ]
And you? Any plans so far?
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Honestly, this world is insane.]
To establish a practice? I am more than aware there are plenty of individuals who will benefit from both physiological and psychological attention. But I've just got here. I'm still trying to settle in.
[An insane world, indeed. Maybe he'll fit right in?]
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I know, I was resistant to the magic as well. The first time I saw someone actually do magic, I'm not sure my mouth closed for hours afterward. There are people here who can heal others with a touch.
[ That's difficult for her at times; she's more than glad magical healing is something that exists; she wouldn't advise someone come to her when another could heal a wound in an instant with no lingering pain. Claire seems to be almost antiquated in Abraxas. ]
A practice is a good plan. Although I can't help thinking of Lucy, Charlie Brown's sister. Five cents for psychiatric advice.
[ Unsure if he knows what she's referencing, Claire moves on. ]
I only mean because here, you may have your work cut out for you. It won't be boring, in any case.
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Good. Life must never be boring, after all.
[The challenge of living is surpassed only by the challenge of his work. He sets his cup back upon its saucer. Oh, the challenges of work and life. How he loves both.]
I'm certain there will be plenty to poke my fingers into.
[Magic. Minds. His work had always been to explore and understand the latter.]
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Quite, in fact, my talents were needed badly only a few weeks ago. A man's hand was shattered and there was no one to use magic to heal him. It took four hours, but he's healing.
[ There had been so many awful injuries, she knows every healer—magical or otherwise—had worked tirelessly, all over the factions. ]
You managed to avoid something that took all of us by surprise.
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[One moment to sip his tea, one more to savour its scent. He sighs quietly and sets it back upon the table. He shakes his head.]
What you descrive. It sounds like an awful mess.
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[ Putting down her teacup, Claire leans forward with her elbows on her knees, keeping his gaze. ]
I was allowed to see via magic what was happening. Human sacrifices, organs sacrificed. Before I was cut off from the connection, a man was having his eyes gouged out.
[ He doesn't strike her as the type to scare, and she isn't saying this to do so. ]
When I arrived, I had a false sense of...not security, but it all seemed so tranquil. Especially in Solvunn, and then as it turns out, the main perpetrator was living there all along. I'm not telling you any of this for shock value, only to explain that there's an underbelly, and I don't believe anyone knows how dark it is, exactly.
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He keeps her gaze and reveals nothing of why all three are familiar. Memories of physically restraining patients, controlling them with psychotropic medication. Driving his experiments insane. Sacrificing their hope for recovery. Sacrificing their lives.
It takes him a while to deliberate on what he's learned. To fashion a response and murmur in consideration.]
How profound is the mind? Deeply. I would not worry about figuring out how deep the rabbit hole goes. That it exists is worry enough.
[Hardly comforting but he doubts she scares easily.]
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[ But they can move onto better topics, perhaps. ]
I've had good luck meeting kind people since I've arrived, and someone from home has even appeared, though I'm not sure I necessarily would have wished it on him. In any case, there've been good moments here and there.
[ Claire smiles to indicate 'here and there' is only a joke, there have been more nice moments than she can count. ]
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Same as anywhere, really.
[He looks inside himself, distracted.]
Regardless, I am glad you have found yourself some appropriate company. The soul does long for the comfort of home, after all.
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Home isn't strictly a place for me. I grew up nomadic and lived that way until I was thirty or so.
[ Setting down her teacup, Claire looks up at him, curious. ]
Do you have anyone from home you would want here? Not that I wouls wish all this on anyone, necessarily.
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There is a man I respect. One who educated me on the inner aspects of human behaviour. His company here would be interesting if nothing more.
[Seeing Ra's here would certainly be fun.]
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[ Looking at the hearth she watches the flames as she chooses her words before her attention focuses on him again. ]
When I was much younger, or perhaps not much older than you are now, I traveled in time quite by accident. I knew no one, I was lost. A stranger in a familiar, yet unknown place.
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He lifts a brow as what she said rises to the surface.]
That sounds like quite the table.
[Travelled in time? Is everyone in this place insane?]
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