poly_chromatic | ( 01 ) ( video / action. )

[ when the video clicks on, it shows a teenager — not uncommon in and of itself — looking distinctly bemused, not wet and somewhat out of sorts. what can be seen of his surroundings show him to be near the fountain, like most new arrivals, although he doesn't look especially surprised. when he speaks, his tone is primarily level, whilst his accent belies his british origins — southern english, with a noticeable undercurrent of welsh. ]

The last time I was here, I was greeted by a multitude of redheads and a blonde. I also, as it happens, momentarily believed myself to be Alice, although rather than having taken a tumble down a rabbit hole, I found myself the victim of a short drop into water. This time, I find myself in possession of all of my faculties and wholly dry. Alas, there appears to be no redheads in my immediate vicinity — recognisable ones, that is — or the solitary blonde bearing a cup of delightful coffee with an awful name. [ a beat. ] If it helps, I could go for a short paddle in the fountain and recreate my arrival from before; the sympathy and pity were quite welcome.

[ there's another pause, albeit a longer one, and the humour briefly fades from his expression and is replaced by a rather marked lack of surety. ] Tessa—. [ nope, nevermind. refuge in the familiar; awkward conversations can come later. ]

I wonder, will I have to spend my first night under a bush again?

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For better or worse.

And did you think it was better, in your case, or worse? [ She knows she would not enjoy to lose her memories of the City. ]

Would you wish to be without any of your memories? [ he doesn't bother leaving pause for her to respond; he's certain he knows the answer. ] But I daresay it was for the best. What good would knowledge of this place do? It wouldn't help.

It would, perhaps, if one had learnt something about oneself. [ Such as: She is not a monster. ] But it would surely complicate matters.

Have you learnt something?

I may have.

[ And if her voice goes a little distant and a little cool, well: one of the things she has learnt is that Will truly has been cruel to her, and that she may not be a monster, that the fact that she is not human but a Downworlder is not reason to look down on her. ]

[ he recognises the tone, of course — it was the one he'd been hoping for and aiming for. Before. ]

It's only to be expected, given the length of time of your stay.

Edited 2012-01-20 23:38 (UTC)

Indeed.

[ But despite it all, despite what she has learnt, she still has not completely given up on Will. Perhaps she has become smarter about it and less likely to let cruelty pass, but she has not given up on him. ] If you do not wish to sleep under a bush, there are beds at the youth center.

I'm familiar enough with the city, Tessa, unless it's changed exponentially.

Then I will not bother you any further. [ If he does not want her suggestions-- if he does not want her, she will not force them upon him. She may not have given up on him, but that does not mean she has to try and try and try again. Perhaps she will, later, but not now. ]

That— [ it shouldn't be a surprise — all considered — that tessa interpreted it in such a manner. ] If you wish.

[ She did not wish for any of this, and she cannot let that go unsaid, not with his hesitation giving her hope again - foolish hope, and will she never learn? ]

It seems your wish more than mine, Will.

[ quietly: ] Enough time — events — have passed, Tessa, that I can only apologise for — before. I can't imagine it prudent to explain why, not here, not with things as they are, but you'll understand when you need to. What I wish hasn't anything to do with it.

[ tessa can only stare at the screen for a moment, helplessly, replaying his words in her mind; an apology was truly the last thing she expected from Will.

there's so many questions she wants to ask: why is it not prudent to explain, will he explain regardless (Tessa wants to understand, but how can she if he doesn't explain, if he's so unreadable), what does he wish for? And does he truly mean his apology, will it bring change or will things simply go back to the way they were ]

Will--

[ she doesn't know what to say ]

Edited 2012-01-22 09:27 (UTC)

Yes, Tessa?

[ he wants to explain, in a manner of speaking — it'd be easy to, with the knowledge that all memories of this place are lost upon returning, but that's exactly what it'd be: easy. the curse, everything about it and his actions don't exist separate enough from everything else that has happened for him to want to explain about them and them alone. tessa is fond of questions: the barest of answers wouldn't suffice, and so he imagines he'd prefer to say nothing at all.

explaining would take away a degree of free will, create an expectation that because something has already happened (will happen), it should happen again; a conflict of feelings. and what if jem were to arrive? or if she were to leave and return?

but then, he wonders, is not saying tantamount to lying? a deliberate obscuring of the truth? ]

—Later, maybe, but not now. [ not so soon.

the corners of his lips quirk into a small smile — a force of habit. ] After all, didn't you just say that you weren't certain you'd like to know of the future?

Edited 2012-01-22 09:45 (UTC)

Is an explanation for past behaviour the same as telling me of the future, then?

[ it's not what she wants to say, doesn't even come close to asking all the questions she wants to ask, it does nothing to express what she feels, but it is something to say, at least, and right now she cannot make sense of her own thoughts and emotions. ]

It changes things, doesn't it? Or are you trying to say that the past exists alone, devoid of influence on the present or the future?

Of course not, but while one may influence the other, they are hardly identical.

[ she's beginning to think perhaps she would not mind knowing of the future, his and hers and that of everyone else she knows, if it meant understanding ]

[ which is more or less the point. ] Not now, though, Tessa. Please.

[ another thing she did not expect at all. when she speaks, her voice is far softer than she meant for it to be: ]

Of course. You've only just arrived.

[ she hesitates before the next words ] Is there anything that you need?

[ Is there anything she can do for him, that she can help with? He will decline, she knows he will, but what she knows of Will also never involved an apology. ]

No. [ it's force of habit, really, to decline help unless necessary. of everything, he supposes he dislikes the self-sufficiency the least, but— ] The City has everything, does it not?