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ᶾ 001 ; open } { when are you gonna come down?
WHO: Allison Hargreeves + YOU
WHEN: July 1-14
WHERE: Traveling around
WHAT: An arrival + some monthly shenanigans.
WARNINGS: N/A but will edit if that changes
july 1st - an arrival (ota)
july 6-7 - a ghostly interlude (ota)
july 10th - the thing you want most (ota)
WHEN: July 1-14
WHERE: Traveling around
WHAT: An arrival + some monthly shenanigans.
WARNINGS: N/A but will edit if that changes
july 1st - an arrival (ota)
Allison Hargreeves is having a very challenging day. Nothing is going as it's supposed to, and she's a little peeved about it.
Not that she should be surprised at this point, that Five trying to time travel them somewhere landed them somewhere else. But she's not thrilled by the idea of being alone again, having to start over again, having to find her siblings again. All she had wanted was to get home to her daughter. And now, after the explanation she was given by Kasra, Claire seems even further away.
Still, she plays with the small bit of quartz she was given as she makes her way through the crowd, intending to make the best of a bad situation. If Reginald Hargreeves taught them anything, it was how to survive. She hangs Luther's locket around her neck, tucks Claire's photo carefully into the middle of From Earth to Moon, and begins wandering through the caravan to see who she can meet and what she can find.
If you happen to cross her path, she'll greet you with a smile, taking the time to introduce herself.
"Allison." She smiles. "Have you been here long?"
july 6-7 - a ghostly interlude (ota)
Allison's never tried to rumor a ghost. She's never really had the opportunity. Ghosts were usually Klaus's department, so she doesn't even know if it would have worked. Right now, though, she wishes she had a bit more than fact.
One night, she stumbles away from a pair of soldiers, starting to come to ahead. As a result, she loses track of her footing in the dark. She forgets where the edges of the cliffs are, only wanting to stay clear of the spectral trouble and finds her way to the precipice of a ravine instead. She feels her balance slip, arms waving in the darkness (Five is going to kill her if she dies like this), but before she can tip over the edge, she feels a presence at her back.
Wide wings stretch out behind her, a physical form forcing her back onto the path. She turns once she settles on her feet again, safe and sound on the ground, and looks back at the tar-covered creature that's become increasingly familiar.
She meets it's eyes, before nodding in acknowledgement. "Thank you."
The harpy doesn't acknowledge her one way or another, before it flies off to do whatever it is it does.
Sometime later, it also might drop off a dead animal for her to eat, almost like a cat leaving their owner a present. Allison, though, is convinced that it believes she can't take care of herself.
(It might be right.)
july 10th - the thing you want most (ota)
The person Allison had wanted to see, more than anyone in the world, was Claire.
Even when she was trapped in 1961, building a life for herself with Ray, Claire never strayed far from her thoughts. She never thought she would have something so tethering beyond her siblings, something that draws her back, no matter how far she wanders or how into herself she gets, but she finds herself, as the caravan moves along, coming back to the photo that she arrived with. She can't help but feel herself wanting to apologize for failing her, even though this particular stop isn't her fault.
She hadn't intended to study the tar so closely. It just keeps coming up, over and over again. The same substance appeared in the temple where she arrived and the hands of the ghost general, and now it seems to be everywhere. Part of her should know better, should be able to see the trap, but she misses her daughter so much she never stands a chance.
She sees Claire's face everywhere she goes, and by the time Claire becomes a fully formed tar construct, Allison is lost, hook, line and sinker. Claire extends a hand to her, luring her further out into the canyon to search for something she can't put a name to.
Part of her knows it's not real. But she can't find it in her heart to say no.
july 1st
As soon as they stopped and he saw the opportunity, he broke away to get some air with some vague excuse that he was going to scout ahead. His impulse was to be gone in a flash before anyone else could notice. -- It was halfway to the cliffside that he lingered long enough to catch a glimpse of someone in the middle of the crowd that immediately halted him in his tracks.
Allison?
He had a faint memory of the last time he saw her. Logically, he knew it was most likely a hallucination brought on by extreme stress during the attacks, but the image of her lifeless corpse was too scorched in his mind to erase. Now she looked alive and well, and he thought he might have seen her smiling.
How was she here, of all places? Even though he had been convinced that he would find the rest of his siblings, it never once occurred to him that they would find him first.
By the time he comes up behind her he's able to put on a reasonably calm front. He can't totally ignore the part of him that expects her to vanish in thin air the moment he clears his throat, but he works up the nerve anyway. Head held high with his hands in his pockets, as if he's been expecting her miraculous reappearance any day now.
"I guess I can't say anything about keeping us waiting."
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It took less time for her to find him than the last time they stranded themselves in another place via time travel. The more of them they manage to find, the sooner the world will probably end and they'll find a way out of here. It's becoming the pattern of their lives.
However, she can't be too happy to see Five, because, well, it's Five, and also she's still a little angry about being stuck down in that cavern in the first place.
"What the hell happened to the briefcase getting us home?"
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"It didn't work." Obviously. And he gets how frustrating that is, really. He trusted Herb, and his family trusted Five that they could. Either they were double-crossed, or they were intercepted. He's not going to go into all his theories right now, he just takes a breath and continues.
"I hung onto the briefcase, but it's broken." Probably beyond repair. For some reason, he's been too stubborn to get rid of it. "Somehow it scattered you all through... well. Whatever this place is. But I'm sure you already figured that out."
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Still, the anger flags just as quickly as it appears, knowing that unlike the last time they got scattered, this is a bit beyond Five's control. She just takes a breath and tries to focus on the present. What they can control?
"Are the others here? Or is it just you and me so far?"
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"I found Vanya. The others are still missing." Before Allison can ask, he clarifies and glances over his shoulder. "She's fine. Just at the other end of the crowd."
There's a few things he'd like to know before they get to the rest of their family reunion though. As happy as he is to see her, people are usually more... restrained when they arrive here. Now he's suddenly wondering if she can rumor the undead. Or maybe it has something to do with the warlord they killed in the siege.
"How long has it been for you? Did you land here?"
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Because Five is right. They have to be here. It's just a matter of determining where.
"Not long, I don't think?" It's hard to say, honestly. "I woke up in some kind of temple, and after enough wandering around, something grabbed me and dropped me into the caravan."
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Doesn't help that he's finding it harder to focus when he's putting so much effort into just appearing normal and functional. Otherwise he might have more to say on the bizarre odds of her finding their convoy that happened to be passing by at the time. Instead he stares at her for a few seconds and gives a nod.
"Lucky for us." That means she might not have even come in contact with any of the undead, or anything else they left behind when they joined the convoy. There's a lot to fill her in on. He tried controlling information to only what's relevant with Vanya, but it's a more daunting task after how poorly that went.
"I've been here over two... or three months," he frowns deeper now that he's lost track of the exact days. He'll remind himself as soon as he looks back at his notes. "Vanya showed up on a ship about a month after I did. So at least it's not as large of a gap."
And Allison's appearance proves that it wasn't a fluke to find Vanya. He hopes. -- Belatedly, he looks her over, scrutinizing slightly before he asks.
"You're not hurt?"
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Which is a boon. If it took her over a year to find Klaus, and Five found them in two months, then they'll be able to track down Klaus, Luther and Diego in no time. Then they'll be together again, at least, even if they won't be able to find a way home right away. She's beginning to value that more, the consistency of always being known by the seven of them, for better or for worse.
"I'm fine. Karsa, she found me and caught me up on everything. She ..." She pauses, and turns to face him. "Considers you a 'small, sullen child.'" Which she clearly finds incredibly amusing.
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He only has a second to be relieved that she isn't injured when she mentions Karsa. Of course she was the one who got to his sister first, and he doesn't put it past her that she hoped that comment would get back to him.
"You probably shouldn't listen to everything she has to say," he replies with obvious (very mature) restraint at her amusement. He's well aware of that woman's grudge, and it's a very mutual feeling. "Or anyone else, for that matter. Don't get confused. We're only traveling together because we have no other option."
Unless she wants to rumor the entire party. Which, for the record, he's not against.
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That's the impression she got, that Karsa was a leader of some kind. She's not saying that she would follow her every word blindly, but she seems to know more about what's going on than anyone else she's met so far.
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"Technically." And she 'technically' did come to their aid during the siege, then found his sister. He frowns, but refuses to backtrack. "She works for our benefactor. I don't know what makes her so invested, but she insisted on coming along."
There are a few in the group he could point out as having proved themselves to a certain degree, and still more that he has various deals with, but at the moment 'trust no one' is a good blanket rule. That should cover him until he has the energy to go through it.
"Fortunately, you have others you can rely on."
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She can't help but be curious with how high their contact with those involved go. Does their benefactor make regular appearances, or do they just sit on their lofty tower and make Karsa do all the heavy lifting? Because that sounds like someone she'd like to get in a room with.
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"Not yet." Though Five has been trying to track him down since he first heard of him. His relationship with the man has been... evolving. Getting him in a room with his sister would actually be really helpful on that front. "I've learned a few things about him, but I still don't have his name or his exact location. He prefers to go by 'the Merchant' when he addresses us, but he can be hard to contact directly."
Might as well see what she knows already. Then let Vanya fill in the more emotional gaps he's sure he's missing in their reunion.
"What else did Karsa tell you?"
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She is a bit disappointed that that's all they have on their benefactor, but it's fine. They can dig into things more as they go.
"It mostly involved catching me up on what I might have missed so far." She pauses. "Did you rob a bank?"
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"Travel is expensive." Can he help that his ability makes it extraordinarily easy to get inside a vault? He couldn't anticipate everything that came after, but it's really not a big deal. Almost a humorous anecdote at this point. "We're well funded for the immediate future. That's all you need to worry about."
Mostly because Five kept a good portion of the loot hidden from the rest of them so it hasn't been entirely depleted. He was exhausted for days after that, he's not trying to go through it again. -- And he'll be changing the subject now.
"We survived the worst of it. I'm hoping there aren't any other undead warlords where we're headed, but we'll find out soon enough."
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It's not like Allison can't say she's done worse. Dear old Dad instilled all kinds of unsavory skills into them over the years. And if they needed to get out of town, then they needed to get out of town. You do what you have to do.
"Just trying to gauge what'll be expected of us."
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"... I wasn't taking orders from anyone. I just took advantage of an opportunity." This isn't some organization he decided to join. He may owe them some cooperation, but in the end his only loyalties are to his family. "We're cargo to them. We're expected to facilitate our expenses and not die in transit."
Oversimplifying. He frowns and glances back to the caravan milling about. Like he's trying to decide what's important to tell her, while avoiding the fact that he lost control of the situation and he's been fighting to get it back ever since.
"I know you didn't sign up for a detour." Then he's looking at Allison again, and the weight of responsibility returns to him. "I'm going to get us back one way or the other, but not until we find everyone. In the meantime, I could use your help."
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Five puts a lot on his shoulders when it comes to time travel and the like. A side-effect from having to work alone for so long, she assumes. But they're family for a reason. Whatever help he needs, she's ready to give it.
"What do you need?"
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That's what makes his answer sound all the more selfish.
"What I need is a break." Before he loses his tenuous grip on sanity. Or maybe he's just tired and it's causing him to make mistakes. That Allison is the one who had to come to him is proof enough that he's slipping. "But since that's not in the cards, I could really use some backup. There's too many people I need to keep an eye on, and I can't be everywhere at once."
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Get married.Still, she nods with the actual request. "I can do that. Anyone in particular I need to look out for?"
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When he looks to the crowd to see who is in the immediate vicinity, an old man in the distance catches his eye. As he scans the area, he swears the man keeps looking their way. But he was supposed to have his memory wiped; he shouldn't remember what he did to him. Supposed to. So why the hell is he still hanging around?
"... Aside from anyone getting close to Vanya, yeah." He keeps his eyes on the man, waiting for him to him look away, then turns back to his sister. There's too many people around to not be overheard, so he just nods. "I'll make you a list and point them out as we go."
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Though she will pause on that because what are we deeming getting close to Vanya, Five? She knows how things with Leonard ended, but that doesn't mean they can keep Vanya from having friends.
"And define getting close to Vanya. Because she's allowed to have friends, Five."
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"Of course she is." Even as he says it, he seems less than thrilled with the idea. Not because he wants her to be unhappy, or that he hasn't learned his lesson about limiting her exposure, but because he knows her options. "I just like to know who they are. It doesn't always pay to be associated with me."
That goes for Allison too, but he's not so worried about her. Of all his siblings, she's perhaps the most capable of handling anyone who might have ill intentions, without escalating the entire situation. Vanya hasn't had enough time to adjust, and he's concerned about what she might be keeping from him. It's been a long time since they were kids who told each other everything.
"She's been doing well," he cuts in before she can respond. His concerns aside, he shouldn't make it seem like there's an immediate threat. "Practicing her powers. I didn't give her enough credit."
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Given the series of events that got them here, they've discounted Vanya far more times than they should have. Allison has her own regrets in that department, but she's glad to hear that Vanya is figuring it out.
"But it's good that she's figuring things out." She'll go see her soon. Just to have a look at her sister for herself.
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"It's good to see you." There. He asked her how she was, filled her in on what she needed to know, and told her how their sister is doing. He's checking all of the boxes. "I have no idea how you found us, but it was considerate that you didn't make us go out of our way."
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