dinosize | anomaly 008 . pairing & spam

[ He spends a long time going over the file before he contacts her. Early life first, then moving on. Coming on the manner of her death is a sudden and brutal shock, and he has to fight down nausea for several minutes before he starts to calm down again. Flips through the list of her victims, trying not to think about the quantity, but just on the reasons. Finally, he breathes out and turns on the comm. ]

[ private to clementine ]

So. I might find someone to teach me werewolf hunting. Is that what you said?

[ spam ]

[ Catch Stephen around with a toolkit, fixing wobbly tables and chairs in common areas and the cafeteria. Feel free to have him fixing something specifically requested.

Alternatively, catch him floating down a river in CES. Chillin'. In a canoe. Like you do.

Also alternatively, he can always be found going for runs, at least once a day, up and down the stairs and in whatever environment the CES provides for him.

He has hardly said a word to his friends since Nick arrived. But he'll be doing his best to pretend nothing's wrong. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He's not entirely sure that he wants to follow, or see, or get tangled up in all of this again. But somehow habit takes over, and without real conscious volition, he finds himself going after Nick.

He steps in and moves sideways from Nick when they enter the room, the same as usual - some ingrained instinct to spread out and cover the entire room, to act as a balance to Nick. ]

I don't... understand.

The intersections--[he ducks inside the model]--mark confirmed anomalies that crossed over into our time. Expanded to include mythological creatures with consistent sightings over the thousands of years.

[he runs a hand down one of the rods.] This represents the underlying structure of recurring anomalies. What it would be like to see time.

You started looking at mythology?

[ This is a surprise. But he's circling it, slowly, trying to make sense of it. Nick's not a physicist or anything; how did he come up with this? ]

Didn't have a choice. [He moves through the model to point out a junction. He taps the spot.]

The anomaly was originally in Egypt. [He points out a sharp curve int he model.] They built this-- [he rifles around for a picture of the Sun Cage, complete with anomaly.] --made out of Magnetite. Moving it moved the anomaly and before we knew it we had a Pristichampsus in the British Museum.

God.

During business hours?

[ He doesn't think so, given the cavalier way that Nick refers to it. But he has to ask. ]

No. Not at first. [He looks like he's about to add something else but he stops himself. Whatever it is, it makes him look sad. He clears his throat and steps out of the model.]

[An awkward moment then he adds.] It wasn't for nothing, Stephen.

[ He's rubbing his mouth, thinking about the implications of influencing the anomalies. Magnetite can't be that hard to get, not for the British government. They could restrict the influence of the past and the future. And with this map, predict the appearance of others...

He glances up, abruptly. ]

What wasn't.

[He sighs, looking away for a moment. It's surprisingly difficult to elaborate on.]

What you did. For me.

And for Helen.

[ He says this grimly. He saved both of them, better or worse. ]

Why are you saying this?

[He brings a hand up to rub over his face, mostly his eyes.]

Because, Stephen, you need to know I didn't throw it away. [He takes his hand away from his face.] But I wasn't happy either.

[ He crouches down. Maybe just to get a better view of the map. ]

How long?

[ How long did Nick live after Stephen died. ]

[He knew he'd have to answer this question sooner or later. Still, it doesn't make it easier. He drifts toward the door leading back into the main office.]

Five months, three weeks. [About the same amount of time it took for his hair to get this long]

You'd think my life would be worth at least a year. Two, maybe.

[He knocks the side of his fist into the door frame, just a dull thump of frustration. There are some things he wants to say. One of which relates to deserving to die but he wisely realizes that will just make things worse. So he elects to say nothing at all and heads back into the main room.]

[instead of talking, he goes to his old desk and pulls an old bottle of bourbon from a bottom drawer. Out of habit he puts a glass on his desk then just forgoes the whole glass thing and drinks from the bottle.]

[ Stephen takes the time to look at the map, again, but he doesn't understand any of it. Might as well be quantum physics. His mind just isn't on par with Nick's is it?

A wave of despair hits him, and he rubs his mouth, looking away. Giving up. ]

anomaly 008 . pairing & spam

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