Canon review slowly reviving old muse; (re)voicetest

[common_name]

Not many of us get second chances.

[Her voice is worn and tired, carrying a twinge of something like sadness. As if this is something she's put a good deal of thought into, but has overall been elusive.]

I guess I should be grateful for this one.

Comments

[impetuous]

I think we're all grateful for this one.

[common_name]

[Well, if this is a face she didn't think she'd ever see again. Not after she'd left the castle behind. A face of someone she'd met and grown fond of, someone who'd once earned the beginnings of trust not given easily. A face that represents a history, maybe consisting of parts she'd rather forget.

Nevertheless, she smiles. Small, in her usual fashion, but it's there. Hello, Gwaine. Yes, it's good to see you.]

Some more than others.

[impetuous]

Isn't that how it goes? Remind me one day to tell you of this little town in Mercia. If one person is happy to see me there again, it's one too many.

[common_name]

[She laughs. Quiet, brief.]

Sounds like quite a story. [... If he's inclined, she has time.]

[pokeralice]

It's enough to be grateful for. [ She lights a cigarette, as casual in her tone as she is in her posture. ] Until you find out the real motive behind it.

[common_name]

[It isn't something she's inclined to disagree with; after all her last outing was... well... less than pleasant. (And considering her life, that's saying something.) She takes a moment to light a cigarette of her own.]

I'm trying not think about that for now.

[pokeralice]

Probably best. [ She says this low and with a half-chuckle on her breath. ] It gets dull just sitting collecting dust, huh?

[common_name]

[To match that half-chuckle, she allows a small smile to form before she raises that cigarette to her lips.]

There was a time I might've preferred dull.

[pokeralice]

Yeah, I can level with ya there. [ She takes a long drag on her cigarette. ] Sure beats dancing on bullets.

[common_name]

[Oh, Faye. She always knew she liked you.]

Although that can become dull after a while.

[pokeralice]

As dull as anything gets when there's too much of it.

[ they'd be best friends in an alternate universe where everything didn't suck ]

[both_neither]

I can vouch for that one.

[common_name]

[Of course he would; it's a luxury that people from their world just don't normally have. You screw up, and then you die. It's as simple as that.]

I hope we won't regret it. [... After all, she knows what can happen in a place like this, despite the prospect of being given another chance.]

[both_neither]

Parts of it, maybe. In it's entirety? No, I don't think I could.

[common_name]

I don't think I could either. [She takes a pause to inhale a quiet breath. It's a declaration, a decision that takes some thought, and maybe a slight degree of hesitation.] No matter what happens.

[both_neither]

Too late for regret?

[common_name]

Something like that.

[Perhaps more than most others, he knows the score. It doesn't surprise her that this question is right on target.]

[both_neither]

Hm. [He wonders if she'd regret, now that things had moved on in her absence]

Things have been quiet since you left. [In relative terms, anyway. Spike and Vicious at each other's throat was nothing new, and since that last fight, there's been nothing. He wonders if he should consider that a blessing. He misses her, but he wants Vicious more]

[3nterprising]

So, you get one too, huh?

[common_name]

[In spite of her resolve to try to look at this in a more optimistic manner, to look at this as more of a chance than she'd ever had, there's still a slight, quiet hesitation in her voice when she speaks.]

It appears that way.

[3nterprising]

What are you gonna do with yours?

[common_name]

[Another hesitation, and this time, it comes in the form of a pause. What could she do with another chance? It's something she's never thought about, simply because she's never had the opportunity. And something effectively impossible to happen in her future has never been worth thinking about, at least to her. But now....--

Her voice is even quieter.]

I'm not sure.

[3nterprising]

Well, I hope you use it better than I did mine. There's nothing more fun than cruising around the solar system with a bunch of weirdos and a lunkhead.

[common_name]

[Funny enough, she knows exactly to whom the term "lunkhead" refers. And at that, there's a slight knowing upward quirk of her lips.]

I might try staying in one place for a while.

[3nterprising]

What kind of place?

[common_name]

[It's rare for Julia to allow herself to have dreams; they serve no purpose in her world. Better to focus her efforts on the here and now, what will keep her moving from one day to the next. What will preserve what matters. Conditionals and impossible possibilities generally haven't been worth expending the mental energy over.

... Save for one.]

Somewhere quiet. [A beat.] If I'm lucky.

[3nterprising]

Hm. Good luck finding a place like that.

[begoggled]

[ There is a very loud, frustrated shriek. Because this is how everyone is welcomed back! Ed is not happy, because any tracking she had on one such familiar coding has both appeared and disappeared all the same. Hi, Julia. Ed will notice you soon, don't worry. ]

[common_name]

[That's... rather startling. Yes, startling is a pretty good word for it. Three years of being on the run, of constant glances over the shoulder, would make anyone somewhat unsettled by sudden, startling noises, and even by now, Julia hasn't had time to fully acclimate being away from that way of life. So, consequently, she's just going to be looking around for the source of that noise.]

o hay

[redeye]

An impressive change, considering your disdain of the first.

SCREAM hello :3

[common_name]

[Well. Fuck her life, pretty much. Even if a part of her instinctively freezes at his presence, she refuses to allow herself to be intimidated.]

It's been a long time.

a little bird may have sent me this way :')

[redeye]

Has it?

[ He's always known right where she's been. ... Comforting? :) ]

You're looking well. [ There's an implication of a term of endearment on the end of that - withheld, as actually using it would be gauche, even in jest. But it's the thought that counts, even if that thought is aiming directly for that nails-on-chalkboard effect on her nerves. ]

this little bird isn't rigged to explode, is it? XD

[common_name]

[If that's what he's going for, then it's certainly working. He always has known just what to say, just exactly how to set her on edge. Just as he's most likely able to tell that her attempts to maintain composure are starting to develop holes, even if she's fighting with everything she has to keep them in place.]

I could say the same for you.

0:3

[redeye]

You could.

[ He reaches into his jacket, nonchalant, and PULLS OUT A KATANA TOno, it's just a cigarette box. False alarm. ]

But I would be forced to assume you weren't being genuine, if you did. You understand.

/watches... closely...

[common_name]

[That just went from a few nails on a chalkboard to a whole set of them. Maybe more than one set. She's half-expecting that katana anytime.]

An assumption that can go more than one way, I'm sure. [Yes. She understands.]

/entirely innocent

[redeye]

There are more interesting things that I could lie about.

[ Maybe he still thinks she's pretty. Hm. He doesn't look too bothered about it either way as aesthetics, plainly as he can observe them factually, ultimately mean little to him. Does she want a cigarette? Let's find out. He lights his, then offers her the pack. What a gentleman, this guy. ]

isn't that what they all say?

[common_name]

[Such a gentleman. And what kind of lady would she be to do anything but accept? There's a minute hesitation before she takes a cigarette from the pack, and then turns to light it.]

You always did. [Particularly the last lie he ever told her. There'd been more than two options, hadn't there? She found the third.]

8D

[redeye]

It's a wonder it ever went south, with how much we have in common.

[ Let's be real yo, he's got strong competition for the gold at the Lying Olympics. ]

[common_name]

[A whole syndicate full, really. The Lying Olympics would be much more competitive than the real ones.

In any case, though. She knows this is something she can't argue with. No matter how much time has elapsed, no matter how much a part of her hopes that a future she never thought could exist would bring her out of the cycle of the past, the core of her is someone who can relate to a man like this, practically a mirror image. Cold. Calculating. Willing to let the ends justify the means.

Still turned, she allows a long pause to linger in the air as she inhales.]

A wonder.

[redeye]

A wonder.

[ Echo, or agreement? There's no telling, and then Vicious smiles - a brief, halfway affair that's rusted, the edge of a jagged knife. He inclines his head, polite. ]

It's always a pleasure, Julia. [ A drag on his cigarette. ] With luck, I'll see you around.

[ 'Luck'. ]

Because someone's conspicuous by his absence...

[realfolkinblue]

So take it and run with it.

lmao :')

[common_name]

[That's so like Spike. To just take something as it comes, and not think about the possible consequences. But it pulls a small smile out of her, one that persists for a few seconds before fading away again.]

I think my days of running are over.

<3

[realfolkinblue]

How 'bout a leisurely stroll?

<33

[common_name]

[Is that a proposition, Mister Spiegel?]

It'd be a change of pace.

[realfolkinblue]

[That would be safe to say.]

A change of pace is good once in a while.

[common_name]

[It might also be safe to say that she could accept. Potentially. If he plays his cards right.]

I can't disagree.

[realfolkinblue]

Honestly, I could go for one myself.

[kingunmaker]

My, I would say that depends entirely on what follows the second chance. Being grateful simply for the gift itself can lead down a most unfortunate path.