Excuse You I Had Vows to Keep

[hollystrike]

Who: Katie and you!
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: Vanquish / Iskaulit
When: Today!

[Last thing Katie remembers is literally dragging a troll's battleaxe through a town on the verge of rioting, a large collection of stray cats nipping at her heels.  (Look, life is complicated.    Don't ask.) 

Waking up to absolute stillness after that?  Disconcerting, to say the least. 

There's a dreamcatcher above the bed she's lying on, crafted with familiar wool and laced with magic, and it's the familiarity that pulls at her memory before she rolls over to see a collection of woolen dolls.  That she crafted, she remembers suddenly.  She'd forgotten.  When did she--?

Then she's out the door and into the hallway, wide-eyed and disoriented.]  No, no, no--

[It's the Fleet.  Worst possible timing, oh my god.  Or someone's god, anyway.  You can find her in the halls or in the blanket fort, much beloved and missed cat winding around her ankles as she... starts pulling the blankets down and folding them neatly into a pile.  Goddammit.]

-----

[And much later, a video broadcast, cheerful British accent warped slightly by a little American influence--]

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.  Do we still have a theatre?  A fox park?  If all else fails, I suppose people would consider me old enough to drink for once.  [It's not a familiar face, except for the same bright green eyes.]  I have all the time in the world to waste, and I'm new.  Tell me where I can waste it?

[She'll be on the Iskaulit anyway, trying to match old-new memories with what she finds and feeling more than a little displaced.  Find her pretty much anywhere.  Later, she'll head out to the hotel and the planet, but that's a different post.]

Comments

[goldenglasses]

[Vash didn't mean to stare at the young woman he sees as he heads to work at the Space Bar. His eyes glance over her and mark her down as a new arrival, but wait-

His eyes return to Katie's face. Eyes tracing the lines of her face. The way her eyes sit and the colour. The curve of her lips and the point of her chin. Taking it all in. Honestly, if it was possible here for him to leave it was almost like returning to a town he hadn't visited in years. Returning and finding the children grown now and doing the jobs their parents once did.

Only he hadn't left the ship for years and he had only seen Katie a little while ago. This couldn't be her.

Mother? But Katie seemed a bit to old for this to be her mom. Sister?



...cousin?


...aunt?



Staring is fine as he tries to figure this out, right?]

[hollystrike]

[She's standing outside the Space Bar, actually, wondering whether she should go in or try Malum instead. Just this young woman with a mess of dark curls and an overlong shirt over baggy jeans and heavy workboots, hands in pockets.

Vash's hair catches her eye straight away, and she blinks at him a moment as recognition sets in. Hard to forget that hairstyle. Or that coat, for that matter. (And yet she did, for years and years and years--)]

Hello.

There ought be a fee for staring so hard, you know.

[goldenglasses]

[Vash shakes his head and laughs. Not even going to bother to act like he wasn't staring.

Even the voice seemed a bit like Katie's might in a few years. Once puberty hits. If this really was a relative then Katie sure was going to be one good looker when she gets older.

This one sure was a cutie!]

Sorry! I didn't mean to stare! My heart was simply held captive in your beauty and my eyes were becoming stuck as well!

video;

[huaaaaagh]

[Huh. Someone who was gone for a long time, maybe? The theater's too recent to be considered something noteworthy enough to "still" be around.]

The theater's fine. As far as I know the fox park is, too, but I don't really go there, so I can't say for sure.

If you know how the fleet works already, uh... we just reached this cool hotel that has plenty to keep you busy, if you like that kind of thing.

video;

[hollystrike]

Kirito!

[It's a much quicker recognition, and she peers at him across the feed.]

...you look a lot bigger than I remember. How tall are you, anyway?

video;

[huaaaaagh]

[??? do I know you]

Bigger? I don't think I've grown or anything since I got here... I'm 172 cm.

[Should he do feet? How do you convert? Or does he need to remeasure himself?

...Wait why does this matter!?]

video.

[collegedropout]

[Sam just... stares. Long and hard and surprised, genuinely.

He remembers Katie like this. He remembers — from when he was... yeah.

He remembers.

It's just, um.]




Uh.

Hey.

[.... You remember me, right? Good ol' me?]

video.

[hollystrike]

[By the utmost relief that suddenly clouds her features? Yeah, it's safe to say she remembers you. SAMMMMM IT'S BEEN SO LOOONG]

Where are you?

video.

[collegedropout]

Oh, me, I, um — uhb.

[Hear me stammer, I am gobsmacked by you being not a bitty.]

I'm in the Iskaulit, at the bar.

Do I... make you a drink, or, uh...

[omfg you're a woman i'm spooked]

voice »

[steeledskin]

The park remains, my lady. [ something about those eyes draw her in. it's not that she recognizes the woman, exactly, but... ]

Have you been absent long? [ whoever you are. ]

voice »

[hollystrike]

[Tsk, tsk. What did she say about asking questions? Katie's about to retort as such when her eyes narrow. The voice is vaguely familiar, but it's been so long--]

A terribly long time. Centuries to someone, I'm sure.

Are you shy?

voice »

[steeledskin]

Not shy, no. Only careful. [ ... ] It's no sin to be careful.

Text;

[aigue]

[Well, those eyes look familiar....]

As repulsive as it is, the fox park still exists
And you are...?

Text;

[hollystrike]

Jimi Hendrix.

I've changed over the decades, as you can see.

[People should really pay attention to her warning about questions.]

Why do you find it repulsive?

Text;

[aigue]

Now that would be a face worth seeing

Indeed
You aren't quite as cute anymore

Personal preference
I don't like seeing what humans have done to my kind
Or the fact that they think locking them up in some piss poor mockery of their real home is perfectly fine

voice

[experiencepoints]

The fox park still exists. It'll be here as long as I am.

[She's proud of this one accomplishment of hers, okay.]

You left for a while, I take it?

voice

[hollystrike]

[This one voice she doesn't really recognise at all, and Katie frowns. Hopefully you aren't someone she's forgotten entirely, that would be rather rude.]

It depends on who you ask, I suppose. 'A while' is very specific.

Are you secretly the fox park in disguise?

video

[sonofgold]

[There's something familiar about that face, but Al can't quite place it, not til she begins asking about Fleet things.]

... Katie?

video

[hollystrike]

[Count yourself lucky you missed her flying around the Vanquish earlier in a grumpy af mood.]

... possibly. Does money rely on the answer?

video;

[arcanepower]

[A discerning squint.]

Have you been here before...?

video;

[hollystrike]

No, I was lying about that part, sir. Never been here before in my life. I just wanted attention.

[Oh goodness, the ears. You bear a whole bunch of fae hallmarks for the nobles, you know? She tacks on the 'sir' just in case.]

You seem familiar. From one of the courts...?

Iskaulit

[bb_wolf]

[Bigby doesn't use his eyes as much as his nose and she still smells just the same to him. Or close enough to be unmistakably the same kitten.

He goes somewhat neat the fox park to find her, staying away so he doesn't terrify the little creatures but close enough to be ever so clearly seen.]

Hello, Kitten.

[hollystrike]

[Now, there's a scent and voice that stir up memories.

Bigby was complicated. She liked him plenty but for his friendship with Sascha. But she's seen plenty more greys in the world by now; too many, and she'll never quite forgive the world for it. Be that as it may...

She's older. She can deal with these things in less than absolutes.]

Hello, Bigby. [She does them both a favour by distancing herself from the foxes, and her voice is warm.] Will you call me Cat now? It seems less fun, somehow.

action;

[geonomy]

[Now, Clay's been helping take care of Katie's cat along with Alphonse. So when he opens the door with a bowl of food, he stops short when he sees some woman folding up Katie's blankets just like that. She looks... familiar, but - is it Katie's mom? Aunt? Well, whoever it is, they're messing with Katie's stuff, so he frowns while setting the bowl of food down for the kitty.]

Hey, look, I'm really glad to have you on board, but one of my crewmates arranged the blankets like that, so could you leave those alone until she's back?

action;

[hollystrike]

[...baw, Clay. You're defending her territory in her absence and feeding her cat, all in the same minute. Best captain. It softens the frustrated expression as she peers over at him, blanket still in hand.]

I would. But I think she'll appreciate it more if I rearrange the room. She's far too tall to crawl under all the blankets at this height.

[Hah. She smiles a little.]

...how long has she been gone, Clay?