Abigail Hobbs (
versusnurture) wrote2013-11-09 10:54 pm
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seventh ♢ private + spam
private, thursday } ben
[She wasn't lying or exaggerating or being overdramatic: she meant what she said. To Ben, and to everyone. She needed time. She did understand, does understand, the differences between there and here. She knows that Ben is on her side.]
[It's just that she needed time to remember the Ben who came before the one who let other people hurt her, the Ben who is kind and doesn't like being called a good person. She remembers him now. And, true to her word, she gets in touch.]
[The video clicks on to reveal her on her bed. Everything is tidied now, a good indication that she is at least stable, if not necessarily stable in a good place. She's holding the teddy bear he gave her, making it kick its little feet.]
I bet you've never carved a pumpkin before.
spam, saturday } nathan
[Abigail doesn't realize she's affected. Not yet. After this, she's going to go hole up in her room and pretend she's invisible until the urge to be super super nice goes away. But for the moment, she's going to do her job.]
[Which, right now, means re-organizing everything that exists in the art room. All the paintbrushes go in cups by order of size. She finds herself thinking fondly and only fondly of Hannibal, for the first time in a month, of the way he keeps things perfectly tidy, and wonders if he would be proud of the work that she's doing here. The oddness of that thought doesn't occur to her.]
[Whenever Nathan shows up for his shift, or she happens to notice him, she gives him one of her brightest and most genuine smiles, the kind she ordinarily saves for the known-as-damaged, for Harvey or Ben or Arkin. For Elena.]
Hi.
[She wasn't lying or exaggerating or being overdramatic: she meant what she said. To Ben, and to everyone. She needed time. She did understand, does understand, the differences between there and here. She knows that Ben is on her side.]
[It's just that she needed time to remember the Ben who came before the one who let other people hurt her, the Ben who is kind and doesn't like being called a good person. She remembers him now. And, true to her word, she gets in touch.]
[The video clicks on to reveal her on her bed. Everything is tidied now, a good indication that she is at least stable, if not necessarily stable in a good place. She's holding the teddy bear he gave her, making it kick its little feet.]
I bet you've never carved a pumpkin before.
spam, saturday } nathan
[Abigail doesn't realize she's affected. Not yet. After this, she's going to go hole up in her room and pretend she's invisible until the urge to be super super nice goes away. But for the moment, she's going to do her job.]
[Which, right now, means re-organizing everything that exists in the art room. All the paintbrushes go in cups by order of size. She finds herself thinking fondly and only fondly of Hannibal, for the first time in a month, of the way he keeps things perfectly tidy, and wonders if he would be proud of the work that she's doing here. The oddness of that thought doesn't occur to her.]
[Whenever Nathan shows up for his shift, or she happens to notice him, she gives him one of her brightest and most genuine smiles, the kind she ordinarily saves for the known-as-damaged, for Harvey or Ben or Arkin. For Elena.]
Hi.
[ Private ]
He's reading when the feed opens and once he sees the source, he's quick to activate his own side as well. So quickly in fact that he's still stretching out from where he'd been curled up himself, small and close and curved over the book he'd propped against his tented knees, silent and rapt.
He doesn't smile because he doesn't smile, but his eyes are bright and warm - and then confused, but curious.]
Hello, Abigail. No, I have not. I've never had reason or occasion to do so. Have you?
[ Private ]
Yeah. It's what we used to do for Halloween. Me and my mom mostly. It's the best part. You carve out the top part around the stem and take it off, like a lid, then pull out the inside. Roast the seeds and use the rest of it for -
[A slow blink. It's a pumpkin. Ben doesn't make pie. It doesn't matter if they use all of it or not. Let it go.]
[She glances up at the camera again, sort of shyly.]
Anyway. You take out all the gross squishy parts and make a face in it. Or some other kind of picture. It doesn't have to be a face.
[ Private ]
He considers this for several long moments, as though the information she's giving him is something critical, something to be memorized and examined. He's aware of the existence of pumpkins, even vaguely recalls others doing something of what she's describing last year around this same time. He is also, of course, aware in the way that he is clinically aware of quite a deal of the holiday that has passed a week prior.
Finally:] Pumpkins are gourds. [Just to check that they really are on the same subject. Then:]
They are meant to be decorations, yes? Or is there some other purpose for them? I've read about Halloween and the traditions surrounding it, but I find the translations are not always accurate from text to application.
Or perhaps I merely misinterpret. This happens as well.
[ Private ]
Yes. Pumpkins are gourds. Like squash and melons.
[She smiles at him and tucks her legs under her.]
And on Halloween they're decorations. You put a candle inside and it lights up whatever you carved into it. It's really pretty.
[ Private ]
[This promptly, because whatever it is in her that has brightened, it calls to its like in him. And in him, who has seen what she's describing without taking much notice of it specifically, that brightness comes in the play of shadow and light, the definition of the warmth in the world by the darkness hemming it in.
He's shifted to sitting cross legged in the chair, and now he leans his elbows on his butterflied knees, his book closed over his finger and forgotten where he's left it in his lap.]
Has something reminded you of this tradition?
[ Private ]
[She remembers things that Ben never would, walking the dark between houses illuminated by yellow light through the scraped-orange walls of pumpkin flesh, skittering closer to decipher their meaning. They couldn't do something like that here, she knows. They could never make it dark enough, at least physically. But there was some strange camaraderie in being shadowed shapes passing in the night, faces covered, tripping over rocks and roots and weeds.]
[There was always someone to guide her, back then. Now she reaches her hand out to Ben, and he is always there.]
I think . . . a couple of things reminded me. [She pushes her hair behind her ears, settling the bear against her knee so that she can make little fluttering gestures with both hands.] I wear - faces that aren't mine. Not so much since we got back from there. It's mostly just been me. But mostly, I do, and I was thinking about that and I thought of Halloween and dressing up and . . .
But mostly, I think it's just that I missed you. And I like doing things with you, because you're my warden and my friend. And I don't . . . think that my mom would mind, if I did something with you that used to be our tradition, hers and mine. She'd like you.
[She would worry, maybe. But she would love Ben in the end.]
[ Private ]
The moment he understands that the faces she claims to wear are not literal faces, it all clicks into place and he straightens slightly with a kind of eagerness that is subtle, difficult to discern. She hides herself to keep herself safe. She does not present as a soldier, as a civilian, as a human, but other things. Harmless. Whole. Weak. All things that she is not, but that others would like to see her as, so she lets them so they look no deeper.
He is less certain what to do with the pleasant surprise that coils in his chest when she says she missed him; a moment later he understands the importance, of course he does, although it might seem strange for him to comprehend that when so many other things that run parallel to it are mysteries to him. He considers it carefully, along with the implicit offer, and finally makes a decision.]
I have missed you as well. Would it be more acceptable to teach me how to carve a pumpkin if I were to offer to share something with you in return? A private tradition for a private tradition.
[ Private ]
[As it stands, she smiles so hard when he straightens up, when he considers everything she's said in serious but not solemn silence, that her eyes crinkle at the corners, that her cheeks hurt.]
It'd be acceptable either way.
[But she thinks that maybe he's teasing her, just a little, and shrugs just once in delight.]
But now I want to know. So yes. Please.
[ Private ]
[Now he does glance down at the book, noting the page number and setting it neatly aside before returning his attention to her, eyes bright.]
Where and when, Abigail?
[He has stopped concerning himself with whether people will like him or not; often the answer is not, and there is little enough he can or is willing to do to change that. It matters little to him, now that he is no longer alone in the world and dependent on one other person to translate it for him. That Abigail believes her mother would have liked him is not a statement made to soothe him, anyway.]
[ Private ]
[But then she hesitates. There's a snag in this plan.]
I don't know where to get a whole pumpkin.
[ Private ]
Where, Abigail?
[ Private ]
My room.
[She can, at least, set out newspapers on the desk.]
[ Private ]
[There's more of it, the not-smile in the splitsecond between when he leans over for the communicator and when it actually clicks off; he doesn't waste time after that.
Abigail cut off just before she told Ben about pies, but the truth of the matter is that he'd been collecting some of the pumpkins from around the ship just before they disappeared, intending to see if Riddick cared to experiment with baked goods and breakfast foods. He realizes when he arrives at the kitchens that he knows what to look for in a food item for the ideal, but not a pumpkin to carve for decorations.
In the end he decides the standards must not be too far off, selects two, and carries them to Abigail's cabin. He doesn't bother being anxious. She's decided she's at least willing to try to be around him again, and he will trust that.
Hands full, he calls through the door instead.] Abigail.
[ Private ]
[So she opens the door without hesitation. In the time between when he hung up and when he appeared, her smile has barely faded, and it comes back in full force when she sees him with a pumpkin in each hand.]
Ben!
[Another tiny shrug of happiness. She's not surprised to see him, obviously, just pleased. She holds the door open.]
You can put them on the desk if you want.
[A beat, and then, because she shouldn't hug him, she shoves all of her enthusiasm at seeing him again into:] Also, hi.
[ Private ]
Hello.
[He hesitates several long moments, unsure if he should say or do something else. The answer is that he probably should, of course, but he doesn't know what so he clears his throat gently and glances around. He does put the pumpkins down on the desk, less because he wants to and more because she indicated he should; that and he recognizes what the newspaper is likely for as soon as he sees it while marking the other differences in the room.]
Is one each sufficient? There are three more in the kitchens.
[ Private ]
[She realizes as she says this that she doesn't know what she wants to carve anyway, so having several would probably be silly. Besides, her desk isn't big enough for more than two, and Ben said he had something to tell her, too.]
[Perching on the corner of her bed, she looks up at him eagerly.]
They're good ones. [Well, they're okay. But she's not that picky about pumpkins, frankly.] Which one do you want?
[ Private ]
If Abigail doesn't know what she wants to carve, Ben has no clue what he's even supposed to be imagining. Faces, yes, or something else, he doesn't understand fully what falls into an acceptable category and what doesn't; in turn, he thinks for a moment of requesting criteria by which to make an informed decision, but he understands this is meant to be recreational.
Cautiously, he looks back at Abigail.]
I do not have a preference.
[ Private ]
[So she doesn't hesitate. She just pushes up off the bed and leans over the desk again. It's easier to pick for someone else than it is for herself. She chooses the one that's a little heavier, seemingly more solid, and turns to put it closer to Ben on the desk.]
That one's yours. [Firmly and irrevocably his. She doesn't give him an option, because she thinks this choice is okay for her to help him with. If not, he'll correct her. She's pretty sure of that, too.]
I don't know if the knife you gave me will work. We'll have to take turns, if you're all right with that.
[ Private ]
His fingertips are light but deliberate as he explores the smooth, almost waxy skin, marred here and there by the rougher warts and imperfections of anything that grows in the dirt; the sandpaper, almost-painful spurs of the stem; the irregular regularity of the grooves running vertically down the sides. She mentions the knife and, after a tentative rap of his knuckles on the pumpkin underneath his hands, he blinks at her.]
Likely not. [Then, realizing she had detailed more than just the single step - carving, there isn't only carving, there's something inside, seeds and something "squishy" - he presses his lips together.] What tools will we need? I will retrieve them from the kitchens, if they are there.
[ Private ]
[She'd like to think she's learning how to do that, too. But, she knows, she has a long way to go.]
[The question registers after a short delay, and she glances from Ben's hands up to his slightly consternated expression.]
Um, a big knife to cut out the top. A couple of smaller ones to do the carving. And - big spoons for the insides. Probably some towels too. And a bucket?
[ Private ]
So he wonders, but he doesn't ask. Instead he listens to the list and then steps away.]
I can do that. I will be back as soon as I can.
[And he is. He leaves, heads up to the kitchens for the majority of the items, and ends up retrieving the towels from his own cabin. Everything is neatly rolled, stacked, and secure in the requested bucket when he returns, the big French knife and the pair of smaller paring knives folded deliberately into the towel to avoid the sharp edges being dangerous to transport. He places the bucket on the desk between the pumpkins for inspection, glancing expectantly at Abigail.]
[ Private ]
[She plays it now, because it makes her feel happy, and because it's fun to do things with music playing. It's right as Ben comes back that she realizes how long it's been since she did anything purely for its own sake, because it makes her happy - since long before her father's obsession with protecting her became violent. She did things for other people, to save face, to cope with the tension and wrong-feeling-ness of her own home, but not just because.]
[So she seems a little off-kilter when she catches Ben's expectant look and steps toward him hesitantly, but catches herself on the upbeat (-two-three), smiling at him by the next bar. She's doing things for herself now.]
[She takes the French knife and lays it next to Ben's pumpkin, then points a vague circle around the stem.]
You have to cut the lid off. Like the lid of a jar. Not gently, but carefully.
[Or you'll ruin the meat.]
[ Spam ]
She smiles, and his theory remains unchallenged to his knowledge. He doesn't smile back, but only because he doesn't smile. She's off kilter, but he makes a note of it, and thinks they all are. Thinks it would be worse not to be.
He picks up the knife when she puts it down, eyes tracing the path her finger sketches, fingers loose and comfortable around the handle but without intent.]
I understand. It's hollow. [After a moment he pulls the pumpkin closer, sets the point against the waxy skin. Presses it through, carefully and smoothly, until he feels it give and starts to cut the circle as instructed. His attention remains on what his hands are doing, pressure and counter point, the harmless preparations of gutting a vegetable.] This is something all civilians do? This is... normal?
[ Spam ]
It's something that people in the United States do at Hallowe'en. It's something my family did. So it's . . . [She worries her lip and then settles on:] Common.
[But nothing her family did could really be classified as normal, even if it appeared normal on the surface.]
It's expected.
[That seems closer to the truth. It was a thing they were supposed to do, so they did it. For most of her life, they even wanted to.]
You're doing it right, anyway.
[ Spam ]
Put that way, he understands exactly why there is such a difference.]
What are your designs of choice for such a project? [It doesn't take him long to close the initial cut, nor to set the knife down and carefully lever the lid off using the stem. He's distracted for a moment, peering inside, startled by the scatter of seeds strung together in flesh webbing. He pauses, eyes tracing everything he can see, before he sets it down carefully and reaches to touch the bits of pulp sticking to the underside of the piece he pulled off: this is why the bucket, he understands immediately, and glances up at her.]
[ Spam ]
[When he looks inside, he seems surprised and then blooms with understanding. It makes her grin, and she peers inside, too, even though she knows what's in there, maybe getting a little too close in his personal space but too excited to register it.]
Gross, right? Sticky. But like I said, the seeds are good. And pie.
[She backs up at the question, frowning and trying to remember.]
I . . . used to make faces in the pumpkins. Scary ones or mean ones. My mom always made them smiling, but I thought that was dumb. You're supposed to be scared on Hallowe'en.
[A small, bittersweet smile.]
Maybe she was right, I don't know. I think I might just . . . make designs this time. Something pretty for the light to show through.
[ Spam ]
[Ben doesn't really react to her lean, except that he waits until she's backed off again to move himself. Now that he can see the interior of the pumpkin, several of the items she requested make a lot more sense and he's moving: he strips off his field jacket to keep the long sleeves clean, twisting to hang it on the back of a chair instead. Down to his t-shirt and BDU pants, he glances over at her as she speaks.]
I don't understand why anyone would choose to be scared. [A statement of fact, not any kind of judgment. Simple, honest. He looks at the pumpkin in front of him even as he reaches to move the bucket, begins to spread out a towel under the one he's already cut into. Then he picks up the knife again and reaches for the second one, more confident this time but no less careful.]
Unless it is because of the certainty of feeling safe despite it. Of knowing whatever caused the fear is not a viable threat. I think I would like to make a design as well.
[ Spam ]
I think that has to be right. Unless you know nothing can hurt you, being scared is - it's the worst thing.
[She pulls the pumpkin he already opened up towards herself and starts tugging out the insides, dumping them in the bucket. Besides a curious look sideways at Ben, she focuses most of her attention on feeling the cold eeriness of the inside of the gourd, the way it squishes between her fingers.]
[It's fun. She's having fun.]
What design are you going to make?
[ Spam ]
[Also simple, honest, his voice gentle in a way he normally isn't. They both know down to their core that being scared is the worst thing. Being powerless and choiceless. Ben doesn't stop, now, to acknowledge it more than that on either end, letting it stand for them both. His eyes never leave the work of his hands.
Soon he's setting down the second lid beside the first and, gazing sidelong at Abigail a moment after her own glance, watching what she's doing. He picks up the other spoon he brought and begins mimicking her, careful at first, then with more confidence.
He is learning. Ben likes to learn.
Constellations. [He states it definitively enough, but then there's a knife-quick glance up as if to check if that's right, if it's okay. He lifts his head then from his work, and leans to look more closely at hers.] What is the goal of the next step?
[ Spam ]
Constellations. [She says this with some wonder: it's an excellent idea, and she's never considered it. But his question confuses her, and she looks up at him for clarification.]
The carving, you mean?
[ Spam ]
No. [He holds up the strings of pumpkin guts, trailing off the end of the spoon and over his knuckles.] How much do we remove? What is ideal?
[ Spam ]
[She grins at him. He looks silly, just holding the pumpkin's soft parts like that. Like a friend, but better than a friend. A friend who knows all your awful secrets and holds them in the warmth of his hands with no fear, no flinching.]
As much as possible. The more that stays in, the more quickly it goes bad. And you want it to last a while, so you can look at it for longer.
[ Spam ]
[He feels awkward just sitting there, but she's smiling at him, happy, and that makes him happy too.
He smiles back by dropping his eyes away, turning his head slightly, glancing back up. Away again to his task. Two spoonfuls more of seeds and innards make it into the bowl beside his knee, then he looks up again from craning his neck so he can see better down inside.]
Did you have somewhere in mind to display them?
[ Spam ]
Maybe the art room? If that's okay. I would say the CES but they might disappear, and someone might accidentally kick them off the deck into space. Like a soccer ball.
[Soccer gourd. These are serious concerns.]
no subject
So he knows Abigail only from what he's said to Ryan: she's quiet and she wears what she's seen (or done) around the eyes. The flood is knocking his usual judgment a bit off-course, but it doesn't actually affect his behavior with her at all, and all this means is that he smiles back, as genuine but at lower wattage. ]
Hey. You in charge?
[ A little joke, one single revolution in the curve of his smile, but also a reasonable question. She certainly knows more about the workings of the art room than he does. ]
no subject
Yep. That's me. Queen of the art room.
[Harvey would probably like that. Except for the 'art room' part, maybe. She turns her back on the excruciatingly-organized paintbrushes and steps toward him curiously.]
Are you looking for anything specifically or just figuring out the place?
no subject
He sticks his hands in his pockets, shrugs in a way that makes his shoulders smaller. ]
Just gettin' my bearings. Jesse'll be back when he's better.
no subject
[This is both a double standard and not. She manipulates her words and posture to gain trust. But then, she's also been hurt enough times by comforting men who lie that she wouldn't care about double standards even if she could see them.]
[This is her right.]
[For now, she's imbued with something along the lines of inability to mistrust - which could be dangerous in the long run, but in the long run she'll realize what's happening and retreat to her room. Instead of which, she just purses her lips at Nathan and nods demurely.]
Then I am in charge.
Did you volunteer or just sort of get stuck with it? [A pause, and then, low and conspiratorially:] You can say you got stuck with it if you did, you know. I'm not really a fan of art therapy if you want the truth.
no subject
Well, if you want the truth--
[ Dun dun dun. ]
Nah, I asked for it. Not art--therapy, 's not really my area, just art. [ He shrugs, and if this were active manipulation it would be quite a feat of 'aw shucks, ma'am,' but it's actually just this hard to articulate. There's a reason talking effectively about art generally requires a degree. ]
I like it. Can't do much with it, but--how colors hang t'gether, how t'lay 'em out...I get that.