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[versusnurture]

[Abigail spends a lot of time with Tyrion, but not all of it. Occasionally she makes quiet escapes, flitting from sight to sight like a songbird. In the end, though, she settles at a coffee shop with newly purchased books - The Violent Bear It Away first, then The Optimist's Daughter.]

[She tells Tyrion where she is, so he won't worry or (more importantly) come looking for her. Every few hours she gets up and wanders the neighborhood, a shopping district. She thoroughly enjoys her anonymity; she hasn't had any for a while.]

private/text | david

Do you like it here? I'm bored.

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[permutates]

[ what would they, come up to his hips

Raven slips inside behind her. The store is a boutique; no stacks of shoeboxes here, just boots artfully displayed on the shelves.

Raven waves over an attendant. ]

Can we see that one, and... that one, and that one, in - what size are you, 7?

[ Raven has a good eye for this sort of thing. ]

And in 8.

[versusnurture]

[This is slightly intimidating, especially given the fact that Raven seems to know exactly what she's doing. Abigail watches the attendant hop around fetching their shoes, then glances at Raven, wondering if it's better or worse that they don't notice her.]

You can tell just by looking?

[permutates]

[ She perches down on a bench. ]

In my world, I'm what's called a mutant. I have a power, to change how I look. [ Saying this so directly gives her no end of apprehension, and she decides, impulsively, not to hide the fact that she's a little nervous about it. ] It's just practice - I'm a pretty quick judge of bone structure. [ Which is one of the less creepy ways of saying she can tell the size of body parts at a glance.

She leans in a little closer to Abigail. ]

I'm from about a half-century in the past of this world. I have no idea what I'm doing. [ She's spotted Abigail's slight trepidation. ] But I was adopted by a really rich family, and, believe me, attitude - and an unlimited credit card - count for a lot.

[versusnurture]

Attitude always counts for a lot.

[There's the faintest hint of "well duh" behind the faux-frailty now. Raven is someone she might be able to learn something from. She's more interested in the attitude than the mutation, though.]

What year are you from?

[permutates]

[ It doesn't surprise her, somehow, that there's something under the frailty. Doesn't Raven pretend at frailty too? ]

1963.

[ She feels that: interest. Intrigue, from the other girl. It, in turn, interests her. ]

I'm Raven.

[versusnurture]

I'm Abigail.

[She smiles, wrinkling her nose a little.]

What part of 1963? A lot of stuff happened that year.

[She did pay attention in history. Enough that she wants to know the differences between her world and Raven's.]

[permutates]

[ The boots are back now, and Raven nudges the correct pair over to Abigail, while trying them herself. ]

Well. Do you have mutants, in your world?

[versusnurture]

[She rolls her eyes, starts tugging the boots on. She doesn't think she's ever held anything so expensive in her life.]

No. Just people.

[permutates]

Is it tight in the calf?

[ Raven can reform how she looks to fit it, obviously, but when she stands in front of the mirror, she sees the flaws in structure. The designer was more concerned with straight lines than how a person's leg actually works - meaning the boot looks very good on a mannequin. ]

Hmm. I don't like it, really.

- In my world, there was a standoff over Cuba. Russians were going to place missiles in, and the United States wouldn't let them. A mutant named Sebastian Shaw wanted to turn it into nuclear war. I was there.

[versusnurture]

Um. A little.

[She glances down at the boots. There's a touch of genuine insecurity about this.]

You stopped it?

[She assumes that must be the case. That Raven is some kind of hero. Why else would she be a warden? Someone with blinding optimism and no self-doubt.]

[Which is why Will wouldn't be.]

[permutates]

I helped.

...I was there, anyway.

[ She doesn't want to overestimate her contribution. Next time, she'll be better. ]

[versusnurture]

. . . So you don't actually think you helped?

[She covers her mouth, abruptly.]

Sorry. That was rude. Just - you don't seem sure.

[permutates]

[ Surprisingly, this doesn't sting that much. Maybe it's because something Raven has already thought about, too much.] It's okay.

I helped. I wasn't all that important, though.

[versusnurture]

It's still more than I've done.