Roof of the Dorms, Saturday Afternoon

[soniaroadsqueen]

It was cold up on the roof, but Ringo wanted to feel the wind in her face this afternoon. She'd woken up feeling restless, and AirTrek hadn't been able to calm her down like it usually did. She'd taken a long, hot bath earlier in the afternoon, and that hadn't really done it either.

So she'd made a thermos of tea and climbed the stairs to sit on the edge of the roof, looking out over the island musingly. Her dreams this week had been unusually vivid. And while dreaming of Kathy wasn't unusual, dreaming almost exclusively of her was. Maybe that's what had Ringo feeling a little off-balance?

Yeah. That was probably it.

She sipped at the tea and took a deep breath. The cold air seemed to fill her up, mixing with the warmth of the tea and swirling within her. Ringo hoped that spending a bit more time out here was all she needed to settle her mind.

[ooc: Open, of course.]

Comments

[that_oldsaying]

"Ringo!"

Alluka was both delighted, and startled, to see Ringo up here with tea.

Admittedly, she'd come up here just in case maybe Kathy was here, but... but Ringo was good too. She wasn't going to say anything about looking for Kathy though. Ringo and her hadn't had fun back when Kathy had died. It would ruin the day if they fought about dead people being back when Alluka hadn't even had a chance to properly look and hope yet.

"Ringo!" Alluka stopped a couple of feet away from her. "How am I supposed to hug you when you're sitting there?!"

What if Ringo fell?

[soniaroadsqueen]

Like she usually did, Alluka brought a smile to Ringo's face. She gracefully stood up and turned around, taking a step away from the edge of the roof and leaving her thermos sitting by her feet.

"Alluka!" She reached out for that hug. "Is this better?"

[that_oldsaying]

"Much better!" Alluka said, going in for the hug and laughing. "Aren't you scared of falling?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo shook her head. "Not really." She tightened the hug and then released Alluka. "I mean, heights are kind of my thing, you know?"

[that_oldsaying]

"I know," Alluka said, peering over the edge. "But, but where would you jump too, from here?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo stepped over to follow Alluka's gaze. "No real good options," she admitted. "Probably try to catch one of the windowsills on the way down just to break the momentum."

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka looked at the windowsills.

"I don't think I should try that yet," she admitted. "That looks pretty scary."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah," Ringo said with a little grin. "I don't think I'd try that on purpose, either. Like, only as a last resort, you know?"

She shrugged that away, then glanced down at her thermos. "You want some tea?"

[that_oldsaying]

"If it's okay," Alluka said, a bit diffidently. It wasn't like when she offered it to Ringo at the shop. Alluka had a bunch of cups there--Ringo just had her thermos. "I don't need tea, though, if you don't want to share."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo laughed. "Of course I want to share!"

"Um, if you don't mind sharing the thermos, anyway. I didn't think to bring anything to pour it into."

[that_oldsaying]

"It won't be a proper tea party," Alluka said, laughing. "But I won't tell if you won't!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Deal!"

Ringo picked up the thermos, twisted off the top, and held it out for Alluka.

"I'm not as good at making it as you, but I think it's pretty good, at least?"

[that_oldsaying]

"It smells good!" Alluka said, sniffing and humming with pleasure as she breathed in.

She sipped it carefully, in case it was too hot. But it didn't burn her tongue.

Alluka beamed at Ringo. "It is good!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo beamed. "I'm glad."

She put her arms out and spun around, taking in the air and the view. "I sort of felt like tea and fresh air would help me clear my head today, you know?" And it was working!

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka clutched the thermos carefully as she watched Ringo spin. She didn't want to drop it.

"You were thinking about a lot of things?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

That didn't sound much like her, Ringo was willing to admit.

She shook her head slightly. "Not so much thinking as, I don't know." She shrugged a little helplessly. "I guess I just feel like my brain's been distracted, but I don't know what was doing it?"

[that_oldsaying]

"Are you sad about something?" Alluka wondered. "Or maybe bored? Or... or not enough AirTrek?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

That drew a little laugh. "I think I'm getting plenty of AirTrek," she grinned.

"And I don't know." She shrugged again. "I think that's what made it so annoying? Like, feeling like something was there, but not knowing what it was?"

[that_oldsaying]

"I don't think I've ever felt like that," Alluka said, tilting her head thoughtfully.

"Maybe there's something you're trying to remember?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Maybe."

She shook her head. "Well, whatever it is, I feel pretty good right now."

"What about you?" she glanced over at Alluka. "How are your new classes?"

[that_oldsaying]

"I like Home Ec," Alluka said, willing to go with the flow of the conversation. "And I'm learning how to shoot things in the shooting class, but I don't know if I like the teacher very much."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah. He's not very nice, is he?"

It probably didn't help that the topic of the class made Ringo really uncomfortable.

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka shrugged a little.

"I don't know," she said, "I mean, he wasn't mean. But it was weird. First class, he had us draw people we didn't like and wanted us to shoot them. I drew a circle."

Because, seriously. Seriously

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo blinked, then laughed. "Couldn't think of anyone you don't like?" she asked with a fond smile.

[that_oldsaying]

"I--"

Alluka shook her head.

"I, when you teach me, if I'm angry... or, or frustrated... I fail to understand what you're talking about," she said, fumbling for words. "So... so I didn't think... drawing someone, like that, as if I were mad at them... isn't that a bad way to learn?"