memory theater; accidental video.

[charring]

[It's a room that the video shows. High walls. A window looking down into it from another room where several men in suits stand, staring down at a little girl with blonde hair. It's Charlie. Significantly younger than she is now but still somehow managing to look older than she is.

She has monitoring devices attached to her scalp and there's a man in a full body silver suit nearby.

It's clear she doesn't like the look on his face. He seems afraid of her, keeping her distance.

One of the men from above speaks.

"We ready down there?"

The man in silver answers and one of the men from above speaks again.

"Go ahead, Charlene."

Charlie turns her focus to a metal table. On top of the metal table is a metal tray with woodchips on it and Charlie just rolls her eyes.

"Woodchips. They should have given me something harder."

And then a look of intense focus appears on her face. Despite the fact that she's inside, it appears as though she's caught in a rough breeze. Her hair dances and swirls about her face but her concentration remains the same. Her breathing speeds up some and there's a hum in the air.

The woodchips start to smoke and Charlie keeps concentrating.

And then...suddenly, they're burning. Charlie's eyes shift from the fire she created to the men behind the window and the tray flips, sending burning embers everywhere. The tray bounces harmlessly off of the glass and the embers die out and Charlie's noticed something important.

The man in silver is gone and the door is wide open

Well, then.

She can't tell what the men upstairs are saying. Only that they aren't looking at her so she leaves, sneaking out quickly. She's fine for a few minutes and then...

"THERE SHE IS!"

She's running fast for someone so young, dodging people and singing others, just to get by.

She rounds a corner. Someone's there and they have a gun. It fires and Charlie can't move out of the way fast enough. She gasps, looks down at her arm. There's a dart sticking out of it, red fringe at the end.]

You...bastards.

[Charlie's voice is groggy but so, so angry and then she faints, falling to the floor with a thud. She only barely registers more men in silver suits picking her up before she blacks out entirely and the feed ends.]


[It flickers on again and there's the Charlie the City knows. She's frowning. She has nothing to say. The device gets stuffed under what is probably the laundry Charlie's been folding and there are the sounds of feet walking out of the room and a door slamming quite hard.

The feed will idle out a moment later to the face of one Petrichor sniffing the screen.]

[ooc: it's been almost a year since Charlie arrived and one of her first curses was Memory Theater. Figured she was due. The memory is partly her POV from this and a touch of headcanon for what happened after she walked out.]

Comments

[Action]

[destinedtobeunpopular]

[There's no question when he sees Charlie put the device away; Merlin is out of his house and heading for Charlie's apartment the moment he sees that. This time, however, when he reaches her door, he actually slows down and does knock like a usual person would.

Maybe there's no need for him to be worried about that, maybe it would be okay to just walk in, but he thinks he'll play it safe. Perhaps she just wants to be alone even from him.]

Charlie?

[Action]

[charring]

[Well, that's new. It's enough to surprise Charlie out of her thoughts. Which is a good thing. They weren't exactly pleasant and if the men from that memory were here, she'd have gone right after them.

Okay, maybe she wouldn't have but it sure felt like she would have done so in a second.

She'd been sitting in the living room, the device still half buried under the t-shirts she'd been folding. She doesn't get up to get the door, just speaks.]

It's open.

[Never in her life would she ever not want to be around Merlin. He has nothing to worry about there.]

[Action]

[destinedtobeunpopular]

[Yes, that is a very good thing. Merlin would consider it a success, if he could read minds, although he still considers it a success considering she replies and he doesn't know her quite that well yet. Not as well as he knows Arthur, Gaius or Gwen, or his mother, but...

But they'll get there, he's sure of that.

He steps into the apartment, in silence, and walks into the living room to sit down next to her.]

[Action]

[charring]

[Oddly enough, she appreciates him not saying anything just yet. Charlie even manages a half-smile when she sees him. When he's seated, Charlie leans against him just a bit, her head on his shoulder. She turned slightly, looking at him for a moment.]

I kinda hate that you saw that.

[Not that it can be helped. It just makes her so uncomfortable. Telling him about that sort of thing was one thing but actually having it displayed like that? Ouch. And she's not mad at him for seeing it. She's pissed at the City for showing it.]

[Action]

[destinedtobeunpopular]

[Well, he's found that being silent is often a pretty good thing. Besides, most often it's Charlie who approaches him when she's having it rough, so he's testing the waters.

He shrugs, just a little so as not to nudge her head too much.]

I already knew about it.

[And he's really not sure if she thinks that's a comfort, but he might as well say it anyway.]

video

[godoftricks]

[ His voice sounds very calm. ]

You ought to have killed them before you ran.

video

[charring]

I don't think I could have if I wanted to. The shiny attire? It's flame resistant.

video

[godoftricks]

What is inside them would not have been. I thought you said you desired a challenge.

video

[charring]

I did then. I also wanted something else a lot more at the time. I wanted them to let me see my father.

video

[godoftricks]

Your father?

[ A sudden frown. ] He was a prisoner, like you?

accidental video;

[minigolfandsushi]

What the shit.

video:

[charring]

Fuck.

This isn't...[a sigh.] Welcome to one of my memories, Peter.

video:

[minigolfandsushi]

[Oh shit. He commented, and now he's obligated to continue a conversation and be all sympathetic and crap. He's not averse to offering sympathy -- girl fucking deserves some -- but it would've been so much easier to pretend he just didn't see this. Not an option anymore, unfortunately.]

How are you not an alcoholic?

video:

[charring]

Easy. I don't like the smell. [There is silence from Charlie.] One of the men involved constantly smelled like it. I can only tolerate so much alcohol before the smell gets to me. It's rare I can actually bring myself to get drunk.

video:

[minigolfandsushi]

I think that's the saddest thing I've heard all week.

video;

[candothat]

Charlie? Would you like company?

[There was a time when he would have just invited himself over.]

video;

[charring]

Maybe later? Merlin's on his way here. Thank you, though. I really appreciate it.

video;

[candothat]

Ay--yes, of course, later. You're very welcome.

video;

[charring]

Hey, I have a favor to ask of you, Pavel.

video;

[candothat]

Yes?

[ video ]

[pratful]

[ It only takes a minute for his chivalrous instincts to win out over his utter horror at the blatant use of magic. But chivalry wins and suddenly, he doesn't understand a thing.

Troubled, horrendously so, he opens up a line. ] How old were you? [ he's seen mothers and fathers burned for using magic. He's seen children locked up in prison. But he's never enjoyed it.

Not like his father. ]

[ video ]

[charring]

[Nope. No way. Arthur didn't see this. That's impossible. Right? Charlie's not that unlucky, is she?

Oh, he did. How shitty.]

I was ten.

[ video ]

[pratful]

And they did that to you? [ No wonder Merlin likes Charlie so much. Her and Freya had more in common then the average woman. And he has to admit, his respect has grown just a bit more as well. She never stopped fighting. ]

[ video ]

[charring]

Yeah. That. [Loads more, if the tone is any indication.]

I wouldn't let yourself get upset about it, Arthur. It happened. It's...I mean, it's part of my past so it's not really...

[What a hideous attempt at brushing that off.]

[ video ]

[pratful]

[ oh no she didn't! ]

It's part of your past and made you who you are today. I certainly wouldn't brush it off so easily.

[ ahem ] However... That's no excuse for prying into your affairs. I'll do my best not to do it again. [ How does one apologize without saying, "I'm sorry?" It's the best Arthur can do. ]