Karolina and River - Backdated to October
Oct. 21st, 2013 04:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainKarolina and River come across each other outside, and end up having a quoting contest.
It was a nice day out. Too nice to be spending it inside, especially when this warm weather wouldn’t last. Soon, it would be cold. Soon, Karolina would be experiencing her first, full New York winter and living here through it would be a whole lot different than a weekend trip or vacationing in Aspen. The thought alone sent a little chill up her spine and had her missing California already!
Turning her face up toward the sun, Karolina smiled, soaking up the warmth. It was like she could feel it right down to her bones and she loved it. It wasn’t a buzz or a hum exactly, more like…like she been bathed in it. Calling up her rainbow-y form, she pushed off the grass to hover a few feet above the ground.
Like Kohaku, and yet not, River followed the sun-prism, the golden warmth. It was a nicer thread than a lot she could find in the stream. All the colors of the rainbow, and River was drawn to her like a moth to a gentle flame. She felt like a moth, fragile, endangered, and just stared at the girl, standing there in a dress and a pair of combat boots, long hair swept by a soft breeze.
Starting to lower herself to the ground, Karolina looked down and let out a startled sound, flying backwards. She laughed at herself and flew closer again, “Hey there. Sorry, you surprised me.” Landing, she turned off her rainbow-y glow and offered her spectator a hand and a friendly smile. “I’m Karolina. I’m new here.”
River watched the hand for a couple of seconds, then put hers in it, but instead of giving it a shake, turned it this way and that, examining it.
Watching the other girl, Karolina giggled. She turned her glow on, little tendrils of rainbow light floating around their clasped hands. “Looking for something?” she asked and then turned it off again.
River let go of Karolina's hand when the glow disappeared, and looked up into her face. "A pot of gold," she replied gravely.
Karolina laughed. She was sure that was the first of many rainbow jokes she’d get from now on. “Sorry, don’t have any of those,” she replied, amusement in her voice. “The only thing that rainbow leads to is me. Um,” she dug into her pocket, “I have a quarter. Is that an okay pot of gold substitute?”
"Does it disappear when you leave it with people?" River asked curiously, eyeing the coin as if the leprechaun magic might make itself obvious to her.
Finding said quarter, Karolina held it aloft. The silver, shiny like it was still new, glinted in the sunlight. “Nope. It’s totally a real quarter,” she answered and offered it out with a smile. “And it’s totally all yours.”
River had been about to say that that meant it was not leprechaun gold (and that made it nothing like what she had been after), but the genuine kindness that washed over her halted her words, and she took the coin, looked up at Karolina, then bit into the coin, as if to check it for reality. "I will treasure it," she told the older girl, and meant it.
Karolina smiled warmly. She liked the other girl; she was really sweet. “What’s your name?” she asked. “I’m Karolina.”
Proper etiquette; introduce yourself. She'd made the leprechaun girl repeat herself, and that was bad form. "River," she finally said as the coin disappeared from her hand. Sleight of hand was easy; she'd learned that trick when she was six.
Karolina grinned at the trick. She’d seen street performers on Hollywood Boulevard do similar things on multiple occasions, but it never failed to impress. “That’s a pretty name. It’s nice to meet you, River,” she told her. “How long have you been at the school?”
"Long enough," River replied, letting her gaze stray from Karolina, although she was still talking to her. Mostly. Maybe a little bit to herself, to remind herself that she existed. "And it's always tea time, so only an instant."
The reference made Karolina smile. “Did you nearly murder time?” she joked. She followed River’s gaze, looking out toward the grounds too. “There are worst times for it to always be, but I guess anything can sour if nothing ever changes.”
"The instant is eternal, immutable and ever-changing," River replied, looking back at Karolina.
“Oh.” Karolina playfully made a face at herself, “Sorry, I don’t know where that one is from. It’s very pretty though.” There was something about it that sounded wistful to her.
"Sour makes you happy, bitter makes you healthy," River explained, blinking up at Karolina.
Karolina looked apologetic now, “I’m sorry, I don’t know that one either. What’s it from?”
River made a face, because that was difficult to answer, for her. "Around," she finally settled on.
“Oh,” Karolina said, nodding and smiling even though she was still confused. “You know a lot of quotes! I’m terrible at that sort of thing.” She laughed at herself, joking, “Which doesn’t bode well for my acting career, does it? So,” she tucked hair behind her ear, “um, where are you from, River? How long have you been at the school?”
Questions about time and space, and quotes. River could do this. "Time and space are finite in extent, but they don't have any boundary or edge."
Another quote Karolina didn’t know, but she’d caught on to what they were doing now. Brow knitting, she thought a moment and then replied, “I could be bound in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” She smiled at River.
River tilted her head to the side, then answered, "To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come..."
This was fun! “Yesterday is but today’s memory, tomorrow is today’s dream,” Karolina quoted back. She smiled at River, eagerly awaiting her reply.
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff," River answered, slipping into the English accent befitting the quote (her time with Eames was paying off), and making it sound conversational rather than quoted.
Karolina wanted to laugh, but didn’t, keeping up the little game they had going. “Time is an illusion,” she replied, using a fairly believable English accent herself. “Lunchtime doubly so.” Her father loved Douglas Adams.
The laugh bubbled up inside River whether it ever actually came out or not, and she was grinning with it before Karolina ever finished her quote. "The only appropriate state of the heart is joy," she explained, still sporting the same accent. "The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it."
Terry Pratchett! Karolina’s father loved him as well. It was a good quote too. She really liked it. “We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are,” she quoted back with a smile.
"And now for something completely different," River replied with a wide grin, eyes sparkling with amusement.
Karolina searched for a reply, but ended up irrupting into giggles instead. “Oh my God, that was so much fun!” she enthused, her smile big. “You’re so good at that! If that had been a contest you totally would have won.”
"I never win anymore," River replied, but she couldn't sound unhappy about it, not when Karolina's bright joy poured from her so profusely.
“Well, you definitely would have won this,” Karolina assured River, grinning at her.
"We both did," River replied, her head tilted to the side and a small smile playing on her lips as she stared at Karolina. So much brightness, so much joy.
Karolina smiled, “I like that!” Her eyes narrowed playfully, “But watch yourself, I’ll get you on the rematch!”
It was a nice day out. Too nice to be spending it inside, especially when this warm weather wouldn’t last. Soon, it would be cold. Soon, Karolina would be experiencing her first, full New York winter and living here through it would be a whole lot different than a weekend trip or vacationing in Aspen. The thought alone sent a little chill up her spine and had her missing California already!
Turning her face up toward the sun, Karolina smiled, soaking up the warmth. It was like she could feel it right down to her bones and she loved it. It wasn’t a buzz or a hum exactly, more like…like she been bathed in it. Calling up her rainbow-y form, she pushed off the grass to hover a few feet above the ground.
Like Kohaku, and yet not, River followed the sun-prism, the golden warmth. It was a nicer thread than a lot she could find in the stream. All the colors of the rainbow, and River was drawn to her like a moth to a gentle flame. She felt like a moth, fragile, endangered, and just stared at the girl, standing there in a dress and a pair of combat boots, long hair swept by a soft breeze.
Starting to lower herself to the ground, Karolina looked down and let out a startled sound, flying backwards. She laughed at herself and flew closer again, “Hey there. Sorry, you surprised me.” Landing, she turned off her rainbow-y glow and offered her spectator a hand and a friendly smile. “I’m Karolina. I’m new here.”
River watched the hand for a couple of seconds, then put hers in it, but instead of giving it a shake, turned it this way and that, examining it.
Watching the other girl, Karolina giggled. She turned her glow on, little tendrils of rainbow light floating around their clasped hands. “Looking for something?” she asked and then turned it off again.
River let go of Karolina's hand when the glow disappeared, and looked up into her face. "A pot of gold," she replied gravely.
Karolina laughed. She was sure that was the first of many rainbow jokes she’d get from now on. “Sorry, don’t have any of those,” she replied, amusement in her voice. “The only thing that rainbow leads to is me. Um,” she dug into her pocket, “I have a quarter. Is that an okay pot of gold substitute?”
"Does it disappear when you leave it with people?" River asked curiously, eyeing the coin as if the leprechaun magic might make itself obvious to her.
Finding said quarter, Karolina held it aloft. The silver, shiny like it was still new, glinted in the sunlight. “Nope. It’s totally a real quarter,” she answered and offered it out with a smile. “And it’s totally all yours.”
River had been about to say that that meant it was not leprechaun gold (and that made it nothing like what she had been after), but the genuine kindness that washed over her halted her words, and she took the coin, looked up at Karolina, then bit into the coin, as if to check it for reality. "I will treasure it," she told the older girl, and meant it.
Karolina smiled warmly. She liked the other girl; she was really sweet. “What’s your name?” she asked. “I’m Karolina.”
Proper etiquette; introduce yourself. She'd made the leprechaun girl repeat herself, and that was bad form. "River," she finally said as the coin disappeared from her hand. Sleight of hand was easy; she'd learned that trick when she was six.
Karolina grinned at the trick. She’d seen street performers on Hollywood Boulevard do similar things on multiple occasions, but it never failed to impress. “That’s a pretty name. It’s nice to meet you, River,” she told her. “How long have you been at the school?”
"Long enough," River replied, letting her gaze stray from Karolina, although she was still talking to her. Mostly. Maybe a little bit to herself, to remind herself that she existed. "And it's always tea time, so only an instant."
The reference made Karolina smile. “Did you nearly murder time?” she joked. She followed River’s gaze, looking out toward the grounds too. “There are worst times for it to always be, but I guess anything can sour if nothing ever changes.”
"The instant is eternal, immutable and ever-changing," River replied, looking back at Karolina.
“Oh.” Karolina playfully made a face at herself, “Sorry, I don’t know where that one is from. It’s very pretty though.” There was something about it that sounded wistful to her.
"Sour makes you happy, bitter makes you healthy," River explained, blinking up at Karolina.
Karolina looked apologetic now, “I’m sorry, I don’t know that one either. What’s it from?”
River made a face, because that was difficult to answer, for her. "Around," she finally settled on.
“Oh,” Karolina said, nodding and smiling even though she was still confused. “You know a lot of quotes! I’m terrible at that sort of thing.” She laughed at herself, joking, “Which doesn’t bode well for my acting career, does it? So,” she tucked hair behind her ear, “um, where are you from, River? How long have you been at the school?”
Questions about time and space, and quotes. River could do this. "Time and space are finite in extent, but they don't have any boundary or edge."
Another quote Karolina didn’t know, but she’d caught on to what they were doing now. Brow knitting, she thought a moment and then replied, “I could be bound in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” She smiled at River.
River tilted her head to the side, then answered, "To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come..."
This was fun! “Yesterday is but today’s memory, tomorrow is today’s dream,” Karolina quoted back. She smiled at River, eagerly awaiting her reply.
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff," River answered, slipping into the English accent befitting the quote (her time with Eames was paying off), and making it sound conversational rather than quoted.
Karolina wanted to laugh, but didn’t, keeping up the little game they had going. “Time is an illusion,” she replied, using a fairly believable English accent herself. “Lunchtime doubly so.” Her father loved Douglas Adams.
The laugh bubbled up inside River whether it ever actually came out or not, and she was grinning with it before Karolina ever finished her quote. "The only appropriate state of the heart is joy," she explained, still sporting the same accent. "The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it."
Terry Pratchett! Karolina’s father loved him as well. It was a good quote too. She really liked it. “We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are,” she quoted back with a smile.
"And now for something completely different," River replied with a wide grin, eyes sparkling with amusement.
Karolina searched for a reply, but ended up irrupting into giggles instead. “Oh my God, that was so much fun!” she enthused, her smile big. “You’re so good at that! If that had been a contest you totally would have won.”
"I never win anymore," River replied, but she couldn't sound unhappy about it, not when Karolina's bright joy poured from her so profusely.
“Well, you definitely would have won this,” Karolina assured River, grinning at her.
"We both did," River replied, her head tilted to the side and a small smile playing on her lips as she stared at Karolina. So much brightness, so much joy.
Karolina smiled, “I like that!” Her eyes narrowed playfully, “But watch yourself, I’ll get you on the rematch!”
