❂ open!

[thoughts]

Who: river & you!!
When: over the first week of december!
Where: nocwich and castle thorne
What: exploring nocwich for that good cross-faction CR and then a week later when river's canon powers return with a suckerpunch
Warnings: possible mentions of human experimentation, torture, and child abuse. there are content warnings for canon themes and an opt-in/opt-out post for her psychic abilities over here, please check it out!

☾ backdated - nocwich

[ being new to abraxas - alarmed and terrified at being stolen away, having spent the first day traversing castle thorne in a daze as she tried to accept the reality of this world - there is no small amount of trepidation as she steps through the portal to nocwich. as far as the theoretical physics of it all, a portal is more outlandish than teleportation, which makes more sense from a logistical standpoint. although she's not a fan of the molecular deconstruction of her body just to be reassembled elsewhere, so maybe a magic portal won't be so bad...

anyone by the castle thorne portal might hear her mumbling about this for a long while before she finally takes a deep breath and steps through.

more than the notion of magic being real how is magic real, river's main curiosity is the fact of being allowed to go to nocwich at all. she isn't used to her captors being willing to let them leave, even if it's on a tight leash. nowhere close to freedom, but it falls to the back of her mind the moment she finds herself in the bright and lively nature of oleuni square.

with no money to spend and no inclination to buy anything in the first place, river spends her time just wandering around looking at everything with eyes the size of saucers. with a staunch lack of propriety, she'll pick up anything she's curious about and may or may not put it back where it belongs. she watches the performances on stage with rapt attention, stares a little too long at any non-human folks walking about, and otherwise seems to float about in a happy daze as she wanders alone through the streets.

might be best she's not left unattended for too long, lest she overstay her welcome and disturb the locals. ]

☉ current date - castle thorne

[ despite her early misgivings and intense mistrust of those what brought them to this world against their will, there is so much about the castle that excites the childlike wonder that encompasses river in her entirety. it's stunningly beautiful, and she spends a lot of time aimlessly wandering around ( generally barefoot ) as she takes in the architecture, hangs out in the gardens, and puts her fingers all over anything that even remotely looks magical.

more often than not, it looks like she's having fun. she might get shy or suspicious when people approach her, especially any of the thornean mages, but she does well enough to explore with a brightness to her features.

in many ways, it's a blessing of her eyes being closed, her mind shut to the influx of noise and chaos that ordinarily floods her senses. river knew better than to hope the silence might stay forever, but it still catches her by surprise when the moment comes during breakfast on her eighth day. like a tidal wave crashing over her, the thoughts and emotions and worries and fears and secrets and everythingeverything around her overloads her senses.

anyone in the dining hall might hear a loud scream and the clatter of dishes as river flings herself out and away from the table. she winds up on the floor, eyes wide and shaking like a leaf in the wind, ready to be blown away by the slightest breeze. she rambles in distress, seemingly without seeing anyone in front of her even as she sees everything. ]

No, no no no. No! You can't - you can't be here, you can't! Qǐng shàngdì liánmǐn - stay away!

[ tears in her eyes and screams in her ears, river may be hard to console as she tries and fails to fight back the rising tide of panic. let's just hope nothing sharp or pointy finds its way into her shaking hands... ]

[ ooc: as a reminder, hover over any chinese text for a translate, and please hop on over to her opt-in/opt-out post to let me know how you'd like me to play her psychic abilities around your character. feel free to reach out to me at ragemarshmallow on discord or varooooom if you want to plot anything out! 💚 ]

Comments

[beautifullies]

[ If Claire knew what River's life had been, River would find herself with someone instantly willing to be a mother-figure, if she wanted such a thing. Many things get to Claire, but none more than those who were treated cruelly, especially young. ]

At least humanity had to build their own settlements this time. But four hundred years is a long time to never come across another planet of sentient beings, especially considering...well.

[ Claire looks around; the fact that they're all on Abraxas and not from the same places means everyone's home is out there, somewhere in the infinite expanse of space. ]

No beings have ever found Earth from my point of view, but perhaps something out there is searching as well, thinking the same things we are.

[ River's question is simple but broad, and so many answers tumble through Claire's mind at once that she has to shake her head just a little to clear it. ]

From traveling, I miss seeing how varied the planet could be. Snow and mountains one moment and then, a hundred miles in one direction there's a desert. Sunset on the coast and being able to see the sunrise on the horizon. Or hiking until you think there's no point and you're going nowhere, only to break through a clearing to the most beautiful landscape you've ever seen. Those are things I haven't experienced since I was probably around your age.

[ Exhaling, she tries to come up with a better answer than something so broad. ]

Right now, in this moment, it's people I miss. My husband, our children.

[ Bree of course, but Fergus too, and by extension, Marsali, which means grandchildren to miss. Can she miss something she hasn't experienced yet? ]

[thoughts]

[ it's a salient point and river looks around when claire does. the notion of werewolves and vampires hasn't quite sunk in yet, but it's undeniable in the features of folks that walk past, along with the colorful variations of summoned she's encountered. it's hard to believe - but she's always thought the same, or at least hoped for it, because the idea that humankind are the only sentient creatures in the entire 'verse just seems so incredibly lonely.

she turns her attention back to claire for her answer though, her eyes gleaming a bit at the vivid descriptions. she wishes she could see it for herself; the tams weren't exactly the hiking sort. ]

Lots of nature on most planets too, but they were all modeled after Earth. The Liàngmèng likes to say we improved upon it. A copycat can't compare their art to the original and say it's better.

[ again, that note of flippancy for terraforming, and perhaps a bit of wistfulness that she won't ever get to experience earth-that-was for herself. family, though - maybe that's another unattainable thing she may never see in her lifetime. ]

Do you wish they were here? Or are they safe, back home?

[beautifullies]

[ This question has come up more and more often for Claire, and each time, she feels like her answer changes a little. She used to be ardently against it, now she isn't so sure. There's plenty of hesitation for River to infer this is a delicate question, but there's consideration being given for an answer, not a careful avoidance. ]

I honestly don't know. There are things at home that are just as, if not more dangerous than some things that have happened here. There's the American Revolution to look forward to, so when I leave here, am I going to a less dangerous place? My husband will be forced to fight, our family will be uprooted and scattered for who knows how long.

[ It makes her nauseous to think about, that she could still be a widow, that her daughter could be attacked, that so much could happen while she and Jamie tried their damndest to be on the right side of history. ]

I think for as long as I'm here without them, a part of me will always want to go back. But if they were here, we'd have to have a long conversation about this being our permanent home, even if we could go back.

[ It might be too soon for River to be able to tell, but Claire wonders the same. ]

Is home dangerous enough that you wouldn't mind everyone you care for being here?