.01 where have you gone my feather-light heart?

[gentlearcher]

Who: Susan Pevensie
Broadcast: Video
Action: Marsiva
When: March 25th

Action/Accidental broadcast
[Susan wakes up, and that is the first thing that's wrong. She isn't supposed to be waking up; she's supposed to be stepping through space and time and returning to the place where she now knows she belongs. Her brothers and sister are supposed to have come with her, and that is the second thing which is wrong: a quick glance to either side of her under the strange light (the third thing which is wrong) shows that though there are other beds, she is quite alone. She quickly sits up, feet swinging to the floor with a swish of long skirts (a forth thing that is wrong), and glances around her. Her voice is tart, anger and irritation (something has gone very, very wrong) disguising a gnawing fear.] What is going on here?

Susan glances around for any clue, but this place is foreign; far more so than Narnia had been. The sterility reminds her of a hospital in better days, the days before the War, and there is a strange, canned smell to the air. There's strength in her step as she strides to the window, strength more than Susan from London and she realizes that the Narnian air hasn't left her completely, and it is a very good thing indeed as standing at the window she suddenly finds it very hard to breathe. Hesitating, she places a hand flat on the cool glass as she stares and stares into a night sky.

She is in a night sky. Impossible was a meaningless word, but it was still the first thing she thought. Since impossible was a meaningless word, and Susan was, at her heart, a very practical person, the first thing she did was turn away from the window. The second thing she did was take a deep breath, gaze darting everywhere for any sign of her family, any hint of a weapon (she'd left her bow back in Narnia, given her horn to Caspian - Caspian - and there was no hint anywhere of the sunshine which followed Lucy, the warmth that was Peter, or the perception that was Edmund, making a joyous raucous in such a sterile, sterile place. She would look for them anyway. Surely she wouldn't have been the one sent off on an adventure on her own. They had to be here.)

After finding someone on the ship to help her, the video purposefully flickers on. The camera is initially too close, and picks up part of a conversation--]

[Deliberate Video]
--like this? [A muffled answer, a shot of light, intent eyes, and then the camera pulls back to frame only Susan's face. She is doing what she can to not reveal the dress.]

I've been given to understand that this device communicates with those assembled here against their will. I am sure this is not an unusual request, but any further information about the nature of this place or how we all came to be here [Is it Magic? It doesn't feel like Magic.] would be greatly appreciated.

...and if anyone has heard of my brothers, Peter and Edmund, or my sister Lucy, I would appreciate you contacting me. [She adds, as if this was not a driving force behind her finding out how to make such a post in the first place.] Thank you.

Comments

[gentlearcher]

[Susan wasn't entirely sure what to say to that without saying entirely too much herself. But then, Nova had known her name before she'd said it. So it felt - strange to talk of understanding the desire for privacy when... well, what had she said? Other versions?]

I suppose... we don't always have a choice about what people know about us and what they don't. Just - how we can respond to it when that happens.

[takeabow]

Yeah... you're right.

Look, you've probably figured out where I'm going with this by now. But I promise I'll try not to be weird, okay?

[gentlearcher]

[How was this possibly not going to be weird? Oh well, what was a little weird, anyway? She was on a ship. In space.]

I think... [A pause as she proceeds slowly.] I think it may not be too bad a thing to have someone who knows me in such a strange place. Or - a bit about me, at any rate.

[A small smile.]

[takeabow]

[ small smile in return ]

I can understand that. But it's out of the way now, so we can just move on.

I'm sorry your family isn't here, though. I miss my sister so much.

[gentlearcher]

Yes, well. [She wavered. On the one hand, it was clearly better for them that they were not in such a purposeless place. On the other.] ...I'm sorry about that too. Sometimes things are best dealt with together.

[And it had always taken the four of them before.] What is your sister's name?

[takeabow]

[ she's wistful and a little vulnerable about this. it's so easy to forget that this isn't her susan... easy to fall back into patterns she misses ]

Primrose. Prim. She's younger than me by four years. I basically raised her, it seems.

[gentlearcher]

That's a beautiful name. [It's easy to see this a very important subject to Nova, and it's hard for Susan to not wish to repay it.] My own sister, Lucy, is four years younger than I am as well. She is the youngest of us.

[She glances out toward the window she hasn't approached again since the first time.] I've no doubt she'd think this a great adventure.

[takeabow]

She probably thinks a lot of things are a great adventure that you wouldn't be too sure about?

[ it's not a presumption based on knowledge. just the context of this conversation ]

[gentlearcher]

Lucy is the sort of person who adventure finds. [She smiles a little faintly. Nova was absolutely right about the other as well. Adventure was not what Susan ever thought she wanted. It had never been what had ever driven her do anything - it had always been about her family, her sense of honor and responsibility to the people that she loved.] She would love seeing the stars like this. I'm sure she'd hear them singing.

[Susan only saw them burn.]

[takeabow]

Yeah... I know what you mean. Prim would manage to only see stars. I have a tendency to only see the space in between.

[ this is why a long time ago we used to be friends ]

[gentlearcher]

[Yes. Susan understands that.]

And what do you see about being here?

[takeabow]

It's... a buffer, the space between. Where we don't have to deal with our real lives, for better or worse.

[gentlearcher]

[Susan is silent for a moment, absorbing that.]

So... you think of this place as a sort of - place of waiting.

[Susan does not like waiting.]

[takeabow]

Yeah, I do.

But I don't know if I'm right or anything.

[gentlearcher]

[She pauses and decides to test, tentatively, the bridge of trust and friendship. Likely she would not have, if she didn't remember the archers she'd trained, stood with, and buried only days before.]

I don't really like waiting when it is without purpose.

[takeabow]

Yeah, me neither.

[ ... realizes she should probably... instill some sort of confidence... ]

We could always use the time to make ourselves better, I guess.

[gentlearcher]

[Su almost laughs at that. She does smile.]

You sound very convincing.

[Don't get her wrong, she appreciates the attempt.]

[takeabow]

[ she also cracks a smile ]

Look, I never said I was a good motivational speaker. They try not to let me speak off-script at home.

I'm an archer, did I tell you that?

[gentlearcher]

[Susan goes a little still at that, listening.]

No, you didn't. [An awkward beat as the rush of battle rages in her memory, the twang of dozens of bows distinct even in the tumult.] Did you find a place to supply you with bow and arrows?

[She'd feel a lot better armed, honestly.]

[takeabow]

My crewmate, Tyrion, is working on one for me. I'm sure he'll improve on it for future versions, if you'd like me to ask?

[gentlearcher]

Very much. [A bit of relief in her voice - just to have something familiar, and a way to defend herself...] Thank you.

[takeabow]

You're welcome. Sometimes it's good to have something familiar. I have a security augment, so I know how to use all the weapons here, but that doesn't really mean I want to.

[gentlearcher]

[Her eyes narrow.] A security what?

[The word is understandable, but rings in a peculiar way in her mind.]

[takeabow]

[ Nova knows this could go a few different ways, so she's gentle, but blunt about it ]

Augment.

[ taps the back of her neck ]

It's an implant. You should just know things you didn't know before.

[gentlearcher]

[Susan's free hand rushes up to the back of her neck. Her brain breaks this down into small, manageable pieces:

- invasion, and all the rage and helplessness that accompanies that; fear
- when did they have time to do this? how long? it doesn't hurt at all...
- how is this possible?]

That's... disturbing.

[She does her best to discard the bits that are currently useless, but the fear and anger lingers.]