[open] a friend in need's a friend indeed

[nedofpies]

Who: Ned and OPEN
What: Random encounters & fallout from dream-walking tomfoolery
Where: House 20, the garden, anywhere around town
When: Day 89

It's been a long week. A long, mostly-sleepless, weird week during which Ned has seen far more of his friends' and neighbors' subconsciouses than he would have liked to. Plus, a creepy city made of crystals that everyone seems to have seen, but no one will claim as their own. Shady stuff. Today, he is determined to wear himself out. Perhaps if he's tired enough, whatever mojo the men behind the curtain have put on him won't be strong enough to stir him out of a deep and dreamless sleep.

It's probably a futile tactic, but he can't just do nothing.

So he is a bustle of activity - cleaning the house, walking around town, checking on the crops to see if they are holding up well (carefully, with an eye for any enterprising tigers roaming too close to the edge of the forest), keeping an eye out for new faces and an ear out for rumors of missing ones.

Comments

[dowhatisays]

Charlie kept his promise and didn't go over to Ned's house right away. He did what Meyer said, waited until tempers had cooled a little. All the same, that fear and anger is still twisting in his gut and consequently the smile on Charlie's face as he knocks on the door is airing more on the side of predatory than friendly.

"This ain't a bad time, is it? I was hoping we could haves a chat."

[nedofpies]

Ned is mid-clean when Charlie shows up, complete with bright yellow gloves and apron, a damp washcloth cluthed in one hand, his hair slightly disarrayed. He can tell that something is up right away. Charlie doesn't seem the type who would need to justify his presence, if this were merely a social call. Plus, the words 'we need to have a talk' and all variants thereupon are never a good sign.

So he steps aside and lets Charlie in, a frown of concern on his face. There are any number of things Charlie could need to have a chat with him about. Could it be as simple as the dream of his that Ned had stumbled his way into? Or is this something to do with watching over Meyer while he's injured? Or could it be in reference to what he'd recently learned about those two.

"Please, have a seat," he gestures at the couch, but makes no move to sit down himself.

[dowhatisays]

"Thanks," He takes a seat, a bit awkwardly. This would be so much fucking easier if he was just threatening him. He's insane good at cornering someone on their way home and giving them a good scare. This... he has no frame of reference for.

No point beating around the bush, anyway.

"Meyer told me abouts what yous found out."

[rulebreaks]

Buffy finds herself in the gardens a lot these days. Mostly because they're gardeny and close to the outskirts of this place, and besides, plants don't ask those hard-hitting questions.

Though it does, on occasion, come with the awkward price of seeing someone she recognizes here. It's getting harder to be normalgirl each day she's here tbh.

"Ned." That was his name, right? Boy he was. Taller than he looked on communication devices. "...Hi."

[nedofpies]

It takes Ned a moment or two to recognize her, but once he does, he offers a friendly smile of greeting, waving at her with the hand that isn't holding the watering can. "Hello, Buffy." There's something slightly uncomfortable about her body language, and he wonders if she came out here for a few moments to herself. He feels bad for intruding, but all the same, plants need watering. He starts on the rows that are a comfortable distance away from her, darting up occasional glances but trying to otherwise looking thoroughly occupied.

Still, it would be impolite not to continue the conversation, so he asks, "Been settling in okay?"

[rulebreaks]

"Settling?" she asks, uneasily. But then she smiles. Also uneasily. "No complaints here... tall guy."

A beat.

"I mean pie guy. I mean... Ned guy."

[undomesticated]

She's coming back from a her morning run, jogging up the stairs and opening the door to a bustle of frenzied cleaning. Well, at least that's what it seems like to her. The smell of cleaning products is strong and almost like a slap to the face, and she wonders if maybe Hal decided to come over again and straighten the place out as a coping technique.

Only it's not Hal's scent she picks up; it's Ned's. She pauses for a moment, not sure how he'll take to seeing her after their little dream interaction. It was one thing to share all that in the safety of her subconscious, but in the light of day, she wondered if it had been the best thing. She didn't know much about him other than he seemed sad and that he brought people back from the dead. But he hadn't taken it too badly.

In the dream.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to see if the reality would be better or worse, purposefully moving away from her room and towards the source of the activity. "Hey. Did the dirt in the house say something offensive?" It was an attempt at humor as well as to appease her curiosity as to what had prompted this.

[nedofpies]

"What?"

Ned was lost in his thoughts, so that it takes a few seconds for Riley's words to sink in. When they do he laughs softly, shaking his head. He can't blame her for asking, in her own humorous way, what all the frantic cleaning is in aid of.

"It's a never-ending battle," he explains, gesturing at the half of the living room that is clean, and the half that is as-of-yet untouched. How it's gotten so messy so quickly is anyone's guess. Kenzi, in particular, is a tornado of disorder. His efforts, Hal's efforts, and Daneel's efforts were only just enough to keep the chaos at bay.

He doesn't seem at all uneasy at her presence, after what he learned about her in the dream. If anything, he is more relaxed. The dream had been a good one - more restful than any of the others he had visited this week.

"Have a good run?"

[undomesticated]

"Hey," she said, holding her hands up, "I keep my room clean." Which was generally where she went to eat all her meals or be when she was in the house. But she also took them into the kitchen to clean them and leave them when she was done. Her sense of smell made the concept of trying to have nasty food dishes in her proximity a bit of a hardship.

Her small smile grew a little when she noticed that he wasn't as tense around her now. She nodded. "Yeah, I like to get out in the morning. It's more peaceful and I'm less likely to run into anyone that way. How about you? Are you okay?"

[reluctantsword]

More than anything, Wallie just needs to be out of the house. Today, he's sitting near the crops, whittling away at a piece of wood which he's busily turning into nothing in particular. There's no purpose to this but to keep his hands busy while he thinks.

He's had more than a few peculiar dreams about Shonsu, lately, and that they've been witnessed is uncomfortable.

When he sees Ned, he stops what he's doing and waves a hand in greeting.

[nedofpies]

Ned sees Wallie before he is seen; he is by all appearances intent on his carving, so that Ned contemplates heading in a different direction and leaving him be. But then Wallie glances up and spots him and Ned returns the wave, slouching his way over.

"Whatcha making?" he asks, by way of greeting.

[reluctantsword]

"Oh, nothing in particular," Wallie shrugs. He stops to look at it, a sort of wavy piece of wood that he's working on turning into two wavy interlocked rings of wood. "It's mostly just to keep my hands busy. How've you been keeping?"

He gives Ned a bright smile.

[blackmagus]

Fortescue's taking a walk of her own, to clear a head full of far too many thoughts — both hers and otherwise, in the case of the dreams plaguing the Cape. Jazz walks in front of her, undisturbed, stopping to sniff certain spots that he'd rubbed up against before, claiming the place as his own. To a black cat, one ear only half-there, the concept of their landlords is something foreign; to him, scent determines who owns the place.

She yawns as he stops to rub his chin against a length of pipe sticking out of the ground, smiling in a friendly manner as she spots Ned nearby.

"Afternoon."

[nedofpies]

Ned notices the cat, first. His eyes move up to Fortescue, and he offers her a polite smile that turns warmer and more natural the moment he's looking at Jazz again. What? He just really likes animals. He's been dreaming about his own dog these past few days, and it's made Ned miss him all the more keenly.

So it shouldn't be too much of a surprise when he promptly sits cross-legged on the ground and holds out a hand towards Jazz, if he wants to take a sniff or say hello. He then cranes his head back to greet Fortescue.

"He's yours?"

[blackmagus]

The black cat regards Ned warily for a long moment, green eyes thoughtful, before he approaches. It's not a quick approach, by a long shot, but it's steady, at least. Fortescue watches, chuckling softly and nodding at Ned's question.

"His name is Jazz. Don't worry, he gives everyone that treatment."

As she says it, Jazz reaches Ned and sniffs delicately at his hand.

[mentis]

He hasn't been avoiding Ned exactly. In the same way he hasn't been avoiding his kitchen or ... well, there's a drift you can get. He's just somehow managed to find himself remarkably busy always and therefore has yet to run into his old friend.

But he's coming down from the library at the same time as Ned is walking the street and he has a split second of madness where he genuinely considers throwing himself in the next bush just to hide. Of course that's ridiculous and of course that means Charles can't avoid the fact that okay, yes, he has been avoiding Ned. So he lifts a hand, a polite wave, a smile.

"Hullo."

[nedofpies]

Ned definitely hasn't been avoiding Charles, either. He'd forgiven him, had meant it, but it's not as simple as that. Forgiving Charles is so much easier than forcing himself to not be afraid. That in itself wouldn't be enough to keep him away, except that he knows Charles might well be aware of that fear, on some level, if the two of them spend time together. Ned's not quite sure how completely his powers can shut that sort of thing out.

He's relieved to discover, when he sees Charles exiting the library, that the time which has passed has done some good. It doesn't startle him, seeing the man, and the prickle at the back of his neck is muted, easily shoved aside.

"Hey, Charles."

There is a strange awkwardness between them, apparent to both of them, when they say hello. Ned doesn't want it to be there. He doesn't want things to be weird. He wants to be Charles' friend and forget that anything ever interrupted that. The best way to accomplish this, Ned decides, is just to forge on, to make new memories and layer them tightly over the old ones, stack them high until they are all that he can see.

"Listen, uh... I've got, if you want, I've got a few slices of persimmon pie in the house, if you..." he trails off, gauging Charles' reaction. He'd offer tea, too, but maybe best not to, just at this stage. He and Charles talking in public is one thing; Ned means it to be a sign of trust, inviting him back to his own house.

[mentis]

He understands the offer for what it is and the tight band of worry eases in his chest somewhat. Ned had been a good friend before, Charles had liked spending time with him and speaking with him. Because Ned had been close to being like them that Charles had immediately enveloped him into the little band of mutants he had hoped to help. But there had been more than that. Here Charles had more of a hope at being friends with people who knew what he was. To not have to hide had an intoxicating allure. To have that so thoroughly destroyed had been almost heartbreaking.

To be the instigator, terrifying.

He never wants to be that man and he doesn't want Ned to be that man so he inclines his head in thanks and smiles, soft, ridiculous.

"I have no idea what that is but that would be lovely, yes."

[zen_navigator]

Dirk is not an enterprising tiger, but he is roaming close to the edge of the forest. People keep threatening him with the idea of robotic bears and he's curious to see if they actually exist. Not curious enough yet to actually wander into the forest alone, but enough to poke around where it's probably a little more dangerous than he realizes.

[nedofpies]

Ned doesn't like interfering in other peoples' business when he can avoid it. All the same, when he sees Dirk wandering close to the line of trees, he can't stop himself from calling, "Uh, excuse me!" He trots over a bit closer, recognizes the man as someone he'd spoken to a while back, when he'd first arrived - the man from London. "Look, I hate to bother you and it's probably none of my business what you think you're doing but you really shouldn't go in there by yourself, especially if you aren't armed."

He has a bizarre moment of wondering at his life, that this is the kind of conversation starter which has become normal to him. But saber-toothed tigers are no joke. He's had a recent reminder of how very much not a joke they are.

[zen_navigator]

Oh, hello, random stranger running towards him. Though now that he gets closer, he does recognize him. Another of the ones that greeted him when he first arrived. He raises his eyebrows at the warning. Really, it's expected, given all the warnings he's already had. He doesn't know why this guy expects him to be trotting off into a forest full of vicious robot-bears, though.

"Wasn't planning to. Just wondering if the stories of robotic Ursidae are just that. So far I haven't glimpsed any large animals, robotic or no." Does he sound a little disappointed? He might be. Just a little.

For Daneel

[nedofpies]

Ned's goal of wearing himself out has worked. It's early evening but he feels pleasantly exhausted when he gets back to the house. He doesn't even stop by his own room (how much is it really his room, if he only spends about half his nights there, at this point - or less?), but goes straight to Daneel's. He knocks softly and, when he hears himself given permission, comes in. Shutting the door behind him, Ned flops backwards onto the bed, perpendicular to the way it's meant to be used, contentedly sprawled.

"Hey, you," he says, affectionately, looking sideways at Daneel sitting at his desk, "What're you working on?"

Re: For Daneel

[thezerothlaw]

Ned's comfort in this room, in Daneel's room (though it's still strange to claim ownership on this room), is oddly perfect. Ned should be able to always be happy here, content, comfortable.

"We spoke of my rewriting fairy tales." He's still uncertain about this, whether this is something he should do, is capable of doing, but he's trying. Conflict is necessary for a story, and he understands that, but if has aything to say about it, then he can easily smooth out the things that perplex or bother him about the story.

"I am attempting to alter Beauty and the Beast."

Day 92

[enchangement]

It takes time. Time to reassure herself her dreams are her own, more or less. Time to take the desperate sense of missing and longing and homesickness and turn it into something she can use.

Time to scream at the crashing tide when no one is around.

Because it takes time and time is mostly a real thing, several days pass between the last shared dream and the afternoon Ned's favorite barefoot visitor comes over, suddenly appearing in the building but making sure to create just enough noise for him to notice her from a room away.

"Is that what Digby is really like?" Incredibly kind and terrifyingly intelligent, she means.

[nedofpies]

He's seen River, these last few days, but she hasn't really been in a talking mood. Ned's okay with that. He's been on the other side of that, so he doesn't push her, doesn't shoot her worried looks or ask awkward questions that trail off into silence. He adapts himself around it, keeps up a steady stream of chatter when the two of them are together, about superfluous things. Tries (but not too hard) to make her laugh.

Ned guesses it was the dream that prompted this, but he isn't sure. River has surprised him, before. She was going through some stuff before any of the shared dreams started, too. Or had whatever the scientists done to collide their subconsciouses together had an unintended side effect for River, because of her powers?

These questions drift through his mind over the few days between the dream they shared and when River comes to him and starts the conversation. He is rolling out dough when he hears the floor creak and then her voice asking that question. He brushes his bangs out of his eyes and gets a smudge of flour on his forehead unintentionally.

"Yes. That's exactly what he's like." Ned remembers all of the details of the dream: years and years of it somehow condensed into highlights and compressed into a single night of sleep. "Is that what they're really like? Simon, and Kaylee, and Wash, and the rest of them?"