Lil and Dana, Backdated to September 28
Sep. 28th, 2017 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainLil and Dana meet their new roommate. It's rocky for a moment, but everyone makes it out okay.
Lil was sprawled on the bed playing the second-hand DS her mother had gifted her with just before the trip. "It's a long way off," she'd said. "You'll get bored." Then she'd pressed it into Lil's hand and not let go until Lil pulled her into a hug. But she'd only given Lil one game. Eleven fucking hours of travel and all she could do was race Princess Peach around a track. Stupid woman.
But she missed her, and if the game had gotten old long ago, at least it kept Lil from crying.
The door opened. Lil glanced up to see a girl step in carrying a suitcase that almost seemed too big for her.
"I guess you're who the other bed is for, eh?" she said as she looked back down at the DS screen.
Dana blinked at the sarcastic greeting, but quickly shook off the surprise. She set her suitcase near the end of the empty bed, and once satisfied with that, she answered. "I guess so. I'm Dana Scully. Nice to meet you." She walked over to offer her new roommate a handshake.
Lil sighed and paused her game. She reached out and took Dana's hand (it was tiny in her grip) and gave it a quick squeeze. "Lillian Crawley. Don't call me Lillian though, just Lil."
"Lil it is," Dana said, giving her a small smile and a firm handshake. "How long have you been here?"
"A few hours." Lil waved a hand at the battered hockey bag on the floor by the end of her bed. "Haven't even unpacked. Just had a shower and a nap." She flipped the DS closed and sat up because apparently, she was in a mood to talk. Ah well, maybe it would kill some time until there was something to do around here. "Where are you from?"
"Everywhere." Dana moved back and took a seat on her own, and still bare, bed. She shrugged, "Navy brat. What about you?"
Lil smiled, but it was too smug to be friendly. "Somewhere I'm betting you haven't been. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. I'm a Canuck."
"Can't say I've been there," Dana said. Her voice was polite, but her eyes on her roommate were sharp, and wary. She'd been the new kid often enough to be leery of anyone who went out of their way to be smug that quick after introduction. "The U.S. navy probably doesn't get to Yellowknife often."
Stuck up Americans. Friggin' navy couldn't get to Yellowknife so it just didn't count in the 'everywhere'. Lil almost said as much, but in that last hug before Lil had left her mother has whispered a commandment. "Make some goddamn friends, Lil. Real ones." She adjusted her smile into something approaching apologetic.
"Yeah, not unless they patrol lakes I suppose. It's a nice city though. Well, probably more like a small town for most people around here." Lil looked away, unsure of what else to say - small talk wasn't her forte - until she realized she hadn't asked the obvious. "So what got you invited here? What can you do?"
Dana guessed that would be a 'getting to know you' question around here. "Necropathy," she said. "You?"
What the fuck was necropathy? "Uh, I'm invunerable. At least as far as I know, but what the hell is necropathy?"
Invulnerable. Well, that could mean a whole bunch of things, and Dana was about to start asking whens he realized her roommate had asked her a question. A fair question, all things considered. "I can use remnant electric impulses to summon...apparitions, I guess, of the dead."
"Apparitions?" Lil couldn't keep the grimace off her face. "Like, not zombies then. Pictures? And you talk to them?"
"Not zombies," Dana promised. "And...sometimes? Not reliably. So, what kind of invulnerability? Like, are immune to disease and stuff too, or just have super-hard skin, or...?" Sure, she was changing the subject, but she was also genuinely curious.
Funny how a seemingly harmless girl could suddenly turn into someone Lil wasn't sure she wanted to share a room with. Maybe not zombies, but it sounded awfully close to ghosts. She was glad for the question - she could live without knowing more about what Dana could do. "I'm not sure how it works. My doctor had a few ideas, but who knows." she shrugged. "Anyway, I can't get needles, never got a cut, was in a car accident and didn't have a scratch. More than that I'm not sure, but maybe they'll test that here."
"Only if you want them to," or at least that should be the rule. Involuntary testing had some horrifying implications. "But that's lucky. Invulnerability is nothing to scoff at."
"I guess not. I never thought about it that much until that accident; it didn't amount to much before then." It was being tall that had always made people notice her, and though it was beginning to seem a little bizarre, the fact that she was invunerable never had the impact on her that her height had.
Dana guessed that made sense. It wasn't as though she spent much time pondering her vulnerability, after all, why would Lil's life be that difference. "Understandable," she said. There was a brief awkward silence, and so she changed the subject again, "So, what do you think of it here so far? Based on your few hours of expertise."
Lil's sigh was too long, too telling and she smiled to try and give herself cover. "It's okay I guess. I mean, it's really nice, really fancy... but it isn't home."
"Yeah, it almost...feels like a museum," Dana agreed, nodding and smiling in response. "Not like any home I've lived in, for sure."
"How many?" She had no idea what everywhere had meant or how often Navy folk got shifted around. And she'd only ever lived in the same apartment.
Dana crossed her legs, cross-cross-applesauce style, and mentally counted them out as she ticked them off on her fingers. "Ten," she said.
"Jesus. How do you make friends?" It was a stupid question. Sixteen years in the same place and that was a trick she'd barely managed.
Dana's eyebrows went up. "Shallowly, mostly," she admitted, just a hint of dryness in her voice. "I usually just hung out with my siblings."
Lil nodded. "I don't have any brothers or sisters, but me and my mom are close; we did a lot together. Other kids... eh, they're usually pretty shitty anyway. Not worth the bother."
"They're hit and miss," Dana agreed, nodding. "So no siblings, huh? I occasionally have wished I was an only child, too." Usually when Billy was being completely insufferable.
"And I thought having a sister would be okay, but then I'd have to share a room, right? So naw, I'm good." She dismissed the thought with a wave.
Dana chuckled. "And now you have to share a room anyway." It wasn't all that different from what she was used to, fortunately. She'd always had to share a room with Missy.
"Um, yeah." Lil's cheeks were already turning red. She was such an idiot to say something like that. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
"Don't worry about it," Dana said, clearly unconcerned. "I have three siblings, so trust me when I say I've got a pretty thick skin."
Lil nodded. "Good, you're going to need one around me. I make an ass of myself a lot. "
"I imagine that's true of all of us. We're teenagers," Dana said sensibly. "So. Want to explore a little? I don't know about you, but I think I'd like to get a lay of the land here."
"I guess? Beats staying cooped up in here." Lil stood up, forgoing the usual slouch. If her roommate could summon the dead then maybe she didn't need to worry about anyone thinking a few extra inches were odd.
Lil was sprawled on the bed playing the second-hand DS her mother had gifted her with just before the trip. "It's a long way off," she'd said. "You'll get bored." Then she'd pressed it into Lil's hand and not let go until Lil pulled her into a hug. But she'd only given Lil one game. Eleven fucking hours of travel and all she could do was race Princess Peach around a track. Stupid woman.
But she missed her, and if the game had gotten old long ago, at least it kept Lil from crying.
The door opened. Lil glanced up to see a girl step in carrying a suitcase that almost seemed too big for her.
"I guess you're who the other bed is for, eh?" she said as she looked back down at the DS screen.
Dana blinked at the sarcastic greeting, but quickly shook off the surprise. She set her suitcase near the end of the empty bed, and once satisfied with that, she answered. "I guess so. I'm Dana Scully. Nice to meet you." She walked over to offer her new roommate a handshake.
Lil sighed and paused her game. She reached out and took Dana's hand (it was tiny in her grip) and gave it a quick squeeze. "Lillian Crawley. Don't call me Lillian though, just Lil."
"Lil it is," Dana said, giving her a small smile and a firm handshake. "How long have you been here?"
"A few hours." Lil waved a hand at the battered hockey bag on the floor by the end of her bed. "Haven't even unpacked. Just had a shower and a nap." She flipped the DS closed and sat up because apparently, she was in a mood to talk. Ah well, maybe it would kill some time until there was something to do around here. "Where are you from?"
"Everywhere." Dana moved back and took a seat on her own, and still bare, bed. She shrugged, "Navy brat. What about you?"
Lil smiled, but it was too smug to be friendly. "Somewhere I'm betting you haven't been. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. I'm a Canuck."
"Can't say I've been there," Dana said. Her voice was polite, but her eyes on her roommate were sharp, and wary. She'd been the new kid often enough to be leery of anyone who went out of their way to be smug that quick after introduction. "The U.S. navy probably doesn't get to Yellowknife often."
Stuck up Americans. Friggin' navy couldn't get to Yellowknife so it just didn't count in the 'everywhere'. Lil almost said as much, but in that last hug before Lil had left her mother has whispered a commandment. "Make some goddamn friends, Lil. Real ones." She adjusted her smile into something approaching apologetic.
"Yeah, not unless they patrol lakes I suppose. It's a nice city though. Well, probably more like a small town for most people around here." Lil looked away, unsure of what else to say - small talk wasn't her forte - until she realized she hadn't asked the obvious. "So what got you invited here? What can you do?"
Dana guessed that would be a 'getting to know you' question around here. "Necropathy," she said. "You?"
What the fuck was necropathy? "Uh, I'm invunerable. At least as far as I know, but what the hell is necropathy?"
Invulnerable. Well, that could mean a whole bunch of things, and Dana was about to start asking whens he realized her roommate had asked her a question. A fair question, all things considered. "I can use remnant electric impulses to summon...apparitions, I guess, of the dead."
"Apparitions?" Lil couldn't keep the grimace off her face. "Like, not zombies then. Pictures? And you talk to them?"
"Not zombies," Dana promised. "And...sometimes? Not reliably. So, what kind of invulnerability? Like, are immune to disease and stuff too, or just have super-hard skin, or...?" Sure, she was changing the subject, but she was also genuinely curious.
Funny how a seemingly harmless girl could suddenly turn into someone Lil wasn't sure she wanted to share a room with. Maybe not zombies, but it sounded awfully close to ghosts. She was glad for the question - she could live without knowing more about what Dana could do. "I'm not sure how it works. My doctor had a few ideas, but who knows." she shrugged. "Anyway, I can't get needles, never got a cut, was in a car accident and didn't have a scratch. More than that I'm not sure, but maybe they'll test that here."
"Only if you want them to," or at least that should be the rule. Involuntary testing had some horrifying implications. "But that's lucky. Invulnerability is nothing to scoff at."
"I guess not. I never thought about it that much until that accident; it didn't amount to much before then." It was being tall that had always made people notice her, and though it was beginning to seem a little bizarre, the fact that she was invunerable never had the impact on her that her height had.
Dana guessed that made sense. It wasn't as though she spent much time pondering her vulnerability, after all, why would Lil's life be that difference. "Understandable," she said. There was a brief awkward silence, and so she changed the subject again, "So, what do you think of it here so far? Based on your few hours of expertise."
Lil's sigh was too long, too telling and she smiled to try and give herself cover. "It's okay I guess. I mean, it's really nice, really fancy... but it isn't home."
"Yeah, it almost...feels like a museum," Dana agreed, nodding and smiling in response. "Not like any home I've lived in, for sure."
"How many?" She had no idea what everywhere had meant or how often Navy folk got shifted around. And she'd only ever lived in the same apartment.
Dana crossed her legs, cross-cross-applesauce style, and mentally counted them out as she ticked them off on her fingers. "Ten," she said.
"Jesus. How do you make friends?" It was a stupid question. Sixteen years in the same place and that was a trick she'd barely managed.
Dana's eyebrows went up. "Shallowly, mostly," she admitted, just a hint of dryness in her voice. "I usually just hung out with my siblings."
Lil nodded. "I don't have any brothers or sisters, but me and my mom are close; we did a lot together. Other kids... eh, they're usually pretty shitty anyway. Not worth the bother."
"They're hit and miss," Dana agreed, nodding. "So no siblings, huh? I occasionally have wished I was an only child, too." Usually when Billy was being completely insufferable.
"And I thought having a sister would be okay, but then I'd have to share a room, right? So naw, I'm good." She dismissed the thought with a wave.
Dana chuckled. "And now you have to share a room anyway." It wasn't all that different from what she was used to, fortunately. She'd always had to share a room with Missy.
"Um, yeah." Lil's cheeks were already turning red. She was such an idiot to say something like that. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
"Don't worry about it," Dana said, clearly unconcerned. "I have three siblings, so trust me when I say I've got a pretty thick skin."
Lil nodded. "Good, you're going to need one around me. I make an ass of myself a lot. "
"I imagine that's true of all of us. We're teenagers," Dana said sensibly. "So. Want to explore a little? I don't know about you, but I think I'd like to get a lay of the land here."
"I guess? Beats staying cooped up in here." Lil stood up, forgoing the usual slouch. If her roommate could summon the dead then maybe she didn't need to worry about anyone thinking a few extra inches were odd.
