fourth ♢ spam

[versusnurture]

[Abigail knows, now, that it's only a matter of time. He's been allowed into the kitchen. He won't show his true face, but one way or another, he'll start working on people. Ripping them apart, one way or another. Making them see too much of themselves until they eat themselves up from the inside, or worse. And she doesn't know, even now, if she wants to help him or if she wants to run.]

[She's tired of being prey, tired of being helpless, tired of being alone and crazy, and most of all she doesn't want people to know - so why has she been telling them? Why did she tell Arkin, why did she let Zane find out? Why is Ben, who has power, letting this happen?]

[She is afraid, so she ties a bright blue scarf around her neck and makes deliberate appearances in several common rooms, the cafeteria, the greenhouse, and the library, a copy of Jane Eyre tucked under her arm. She's quiet when it's appropriate, polite or even chatty when someone approaches her. But there's something not quite right about the set of her smile, to those who know her very well or look very closely, and her heart beats like a rabbit's every time she sees someone new.]

for ben } thursday

[After Riddick finds her, Abigail thinks about the situation for a while. No, she doesn't trust Ben. She doesn't really trust anyone. But Riddick had at least one point: he seems to have decent motives. He seems to care. And maybe that means she's going about this all wrong. Maybe he's more Will than Hannibal. Or like Alana, even: smart and capable but with a part of him that can't see through what Abigail holds on the outside.]

[He has trouble, she knows, with touch. But he's sweet anyway. He cares.]

[She waits for him outside the kitchen, when his shift is over, hands twisting in the hem of her shirt, eyes on the floor.]

Comments

stalking. i mean spam. (no, i mean stalking.)

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Elena has been trying to keep quiet. Timing is everything. In the meantime, she's got a vampire and a hunter to dodge. Which means playing nice and making sure to be publicly seen drinking her pseudo-blood.]

[And oh look. Lunch Abigail is here.]

[She sits down across from Abigail casually without asking if she can. What's she going to do? Tell Elena to fuck off? Big deal.]

Trying to get into a good school or something for when you get out of here?

[She plays with the straw in her glass, swirling the contents a little.]

you def mean stalking.

[versusnurture]

[She doesn't tell Elena to fuck off. Instead, she looks at the glass and its contents, then at the other girl. Or whatever she is.]

Killing time.

abigail loves it. even if she doesn't realize it yet.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Elena arches a brow before taking a slow sip of her blood.]

And that's what you decided to go for. [She shakes her head.] I know I said this place is boring, but that's pretty desperate.

Library

[themissingpiece]

[Arkin is smart, he's a lot smarter than many people give him credit for. It's a risk to speak to Abigail in public but he's been eviscerated once already. And well, most people don't know what he's capable of, even him. He approaches calm and casual.]

Putting up appearances?

[versusnurture]

[She's happy to see him, in a distant way. Even though she wishes he would stay away from Hannibal. He should know better. But he identifies too much.]

[She should use that, shouldn't she?]

[Her smile is brittle.]

No idea what you're talking about.

[Yes.]

[themissingpiece]

Yeah, didn't think you would.

[He takes a seat.]

How you holding up?

[with_my_teacup]

[The barge is a cocktail of stress hormones and sex and fear and all the other scents of mostly-humanity on its best days: it isn't always easy to pick up one note. But everywhere he's seen Abigail Hobbs, there's been that tiny edge of fear-- and that makes him wonder if it's no coincidence she's sitting pretty in such a public place. So many public places. Given what Ben mentioned.] .

Real exciting book?

[He folds himself into a chair bonelessly, big and lazy and graceful like a predator.]

[versusnurture]

[Her eyes flick up to him. Riddick. Works in the kitchen. Works with Ben. Maybe he knows something. That fear-smell flares.]

It's okay. Not the best thing I've ever read.

[with_my_teacup]

[Riddick briefly considers how patient he is and how kind he's feeling. The answer to both comes back 'sort of.']

You mind telling me what it's about?

[godsays]

[ When the CES is being used, or sometimes when he wants to give her something real, Zane takes Dani to the greenhouse and the gardens. He lets her nose around bushes and plants and sometimes give a few experimental nibbles, though he never lets her eat more than a bite or two.

He comes across Abigail here, and Dani makes a circle around Abigail, tentative of the smell of someone she hasn't met. ]

...Hello.

[versusnurture]

[Zane hung up on her earlier. She doesn't know what this means, other than that he's frustrated. That might make him dangerous.]

[But he also has a rabbit with him. This is a really weird and incongruous picture. She looks from him to Dani uncertainly.]

. . . Hi.

[godsays]

Dani.

[ A beat. ]

It's her name.

[ Dani begins to cautiously pick her way towards a plant that is within what she has apparently mentally designated 'ABIGAIL ZONE'.

If Abigail makes sudden moves, she'll run to the end of the leash. ]

[fridgetothefire]

[Anya slides onto a couch beside her in the library, with a bookmark sticking out of Country of my Skull (Subtitle: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa) by Antjie Krog.]

You're pinballing a bit.

[Quiet, frank but gentle. It's a pattern of movement Anya recognizes, if a little sideways.]

[versusnurture]

[Pinballing. Her mouth twists - not a smile, not a frown, not much of anything.]

Any tips?

[fridgetothefire]

Do you want tips on staying safe, or feeling less afraid?

[Delicately, but not lightly. Because they are often different things.]

Library

[halftheman]

[ Sluicing through the library is likely to attract the notice of it's denizens; Harvey watches for dark haired girls, these days. Anya's doing... not better, but not worse, and now Abigail wanders in. ]

[ Well, then. ]

[ He approaches quietly; Two-Face is feeling his druthers, but Harv is the one who manages to speak to her first. For the best, really. ]

Abigail.

You looking for something?

[ Or someone. ]

[versusnurture]

[She is genuinely relieved to see him and smiles, a little vague and distant like she's looking at something far away.]

I don't know. Maybe. Mostly just wandering.

Spam

[secretasshole]

[David hasn't seen much of Abigail since port. Where he... sort of let her wander off by herself and didn't bother to check up on her. Whoops. But hey, he's crossing paths with her now in the library, and he stops, staring at her with his usual quiet interest.]

Abigail.

[versusnurture]

[She conceals her resentment easily. It's not as though she expected David to protect her. Not really. But the way it happened, Zane had to save her. She doesn't want to need to be saved.]

Hi, David.

Spam;

[insolubleriddle]

Hello, dear Abigail.

[As she passes him in the library, Edward leans out of his chair to greet her with one of his characteristically wide smiles.]

What are you up to today?

[versusnurture]

[Dear Abigail. She mirrors his smile with near perfection and veers to sit across from him as though they're fast friends. She folds her hands primly in her lap, raises her eyebrows.]

Conversation.

[warisart]

[It isn't very often that Ben actually feels fatigued. Transgenic endurance is designed to allow the X-series to function for days at a time on little or no sleep without the psychological effects that happen to humans, and transgenic stamina far outstrips the majority of what Ben has had to deal with since coming to the Barge.

But today has been both physically and mentally taxing, and at the end of it Ben feels like he's been turned inside out. Toshiko is behaving oddly, Esther is new yet and more a hindrance than a help, not to mention having to be constantly alert around both Hannibal and Creed. Ben absolutely trusts Riddick in this environment, has been working with him for almost a year now, and they are a good team, each fully aware of what the other is capable of and leaning on that. Aware of where the other comes from and relying on the skills, the lessons they learned there to keep anyone on this wildcard kitchen crew from killing anyone else.

The end result is still that Ben has been using his blurring to fill in the gaps all day, and now he's the last out of the kitchens as he must be, pulling the doors closed behind him. He's aware of Abigail only on the peripheral of his awareness, dismissing her as a threat until he's pulled the key back out of the lock and turned to locate her visually.

Inwardly, he sighs. Outwardly, he doesn't even flinch.]

Abigail. Are you well?

[versusnurture]

[She decides, with shocking abruptness, not to lie at all. At least not in answer to his question. He looks so tired, like Will had at the end, before she knew what was happening to him, and there's a stab of protectiveness and fear that cuts at her heart. She's not a monster, not exactly. She just wants to be, most days.]

No.

[She looks up at him, then down again.]

Ben.

Riddick . . . told me I should trust you. But you know what happens.

[When she trusts people. They fail. They hurt her. They use her. Ben isn't using her for a deal, but she can't trust him. She's incapable.]

[The people she is capable of trusting are always the wrong ones. In a backwards way, that's what shows her that he is worth trusting.]

late but.

[persecutioncomplex]

[If they ever talk, Touko's started to suspect a lot less. Abigail might be as cautious as she is; Touko can feel the walls around her and they're made from the same bricks, but that doesn't mean she's out to get her. Touko isn't out to get anyone, after all, not that she knows.

She doesn't realize how new that idea is to her. She's at the desk again at work, and when she sees Abigail come in, shyly raises one hand.]

[versusnurture]

[Abigail isn't sure why she's okay with Touko. There are more similarities between them than she'd like to acknowledge. That's why, when she waves, she doesn't stop at a wave - just walks on over with a little smile.]

Hi, [she says brightly, then lowers her voice:] Hi.