asgardgenesis | 5th Curious Thought [Video]

[ Jim forces his smile to stay the same despite the tinge of sadness that hits him. He nods. ]

Yes, absolutely. I'll come by in a moment, so don't go anywhere, okay?

[ In fact he's already moving, grabbing a jacket and headed for the door. ]

Well, that wouldn't be very polite of me. [She thought aloud in an idle tone, whyever would she leave if he said he was coming to see her?] But oh, ah, yes, I will stay right here, Captain.

Alright. I'll see you in a bit, then.

[ He ends the feed with a smile, then takes off immediately towards the Benatar. He expects the ship to still be there, anyway-- if it weren't then Alice probably would be panicking a whole lot more.

Having lived here so long, he doesn't hesitate to come in, though he stops in the hallway so he can call out. ] Alice?

[Jim will find Alice feeding all four cats and the dog. Above Alice's head is a bowl of food as she tries to get from the counter to where the cats are eating, but Thor is constantly running around her.]

Thor, no, naughty! Down! [She heard her name and looked towards the door.] IN HERE, CAPTAIN!

[ Jim follows the voice, unable to hide a chuckle at the sight. It's so domestic, Jim would be entirely endeared if the whole scene didn't painfully remind him of why he came here.

He reaches out and takes the bowl. ] There, [ He points a finger at Thor. ] Thor, sit.

[ Albeit reluctantly, the dog obeys, still whining and wagging his leg across the floor. Jim looks at Alice. ]

Okay, where do I put this?

Oh! Captain! Good evening. Right over there. [She gestured to the opposite corner from the four cats.] If Thor eats near the kitties he ends up eating their food and kittens need their food after all!

[She patted Thor on the head.]

Thor is a good boy, though.

[She goes back to clean up the mess from getting all the food out and stepping up onto her little stool that had been gotten so she could reach up to the sink with ease.]

Would you like something to eat or drink, Captain?

[ Jim moved to where she pointed, setting the food down and stepping back so Thor could have at it. That way the kittens were free to eat at their own pace while Thor was kept busy on the other side of the room. ]

No, that's okay. I'm not hungry.

[ He helped her clean up, washing his hands and drying them off before he offered her the towel to do the same. Then he nodded to the chairs by the table. ] Can we sit down and talk for a little while?

Oh, ah, yes of course. [Alice looked up at him and then headed over to the table and chairs, not sure what to make of his more somber tone. Was... did he know something about Gamora and Peter? She bit her lip and took a seat, waiting for him to do the same.]

What is it you would like to talk about, Captain?

[ Jim could try and be cheerful or play things down, but the truth was he was going to have to tell her sooner or later, and even with her being so young, he didn't want to lie to her or make her think that everything was alright when it wasn't. ]

I'd like to talk to you about... about Asgard. About how we come to be in this place. How we can arrive from one moment to the next, without warning.

[ He paused, giving her, and himself, a moment. ]

And sometimes... people can also disappear again, go back without any warning as well.

[Alice looked at Jim, waiting for him to say his piece. She gave a small nod, well aware that people appeared at all sorts of random times. She had dealt with people leaving as well, she couldn't keep a housemate back in Honir's dwellings.

She swallowed and looked down, nodding.]

I... made Lord Peter and Lady Gamora disappear too?

[ At first silent to see if Alice would understand what he was getting at (she would, she was bright like that), he was a little stunned by the leap in logic she made. Of course, he had no idea why she'd think that, so he was immediately concerned that she would, shifting on his seat to get closer to her, reaching out to take her hands. ]

Alice! No, of course not! It's-- people just disappear from here sometimes. They go home, and there's nothing we can do about it.

[ He thinks. Or hopes. There's no way to really know for sure. And Peter did tell him what happened to Gamora before coming here... but there is absolutely no reason why he'd tell Alice about that. ]

It's not your fault, Alice. It's nothing you did. Why would you think that?

It's just... [She took a deep breath.] Any time someone moved into the same house as me in Honir's homes, they disappeared in just a matter of weeks. I thought by moving out and living with Lord Peter and Lady Gamora that things finally stopped... but... even they left.

So I made them leave, didn't I?

Alice, look at me.

[ He tugged gently on her hands to get her attention. ]

This is not your fault. It's nothing you did. We don't understand why it happens yet, just like we don't understand why we were all brought here in the first place. But people from other God houses and other places in the city have left too, not just those around you. So it's nothing to do with anything you might have done.

I mean, look at me. I'm from Honir's house. I lived with you there, and I lived with you here, and I'm not gone. [ He smiled at her. ] So I don't want you to think like that, alright?

[She looked up at him and swallowed.

She wasn't sure it wasn't real. She gave a small nod.]

I... do you think Honir will let me move back in? [She looked over towards the animals, how her kittens were all getting baths from Nebula now. She smiled but it didn't stay for long. She swallowed again.]

What... what will happen to Peter's ship?

I'm sure he would, sweetheart.

[ He glanced to all the animals too, his heart clenching in his chest. How could she keep them all back at the God house? Luckily, he had an alternative-- one he hoped she would prefer. ]

But you don't have to. I don't know what will happen to the ship, but-- Mary and I both live on a big farm now, and there are rooms to spare at the house. If you want to, you can come live with us. And you can bring all your friends with you.

[She looked at him and then all around the ship. She knew very well she couldn't stay here alone. Would Peter want her to stay here? Would Peter want her to give the ships to the gods? At the mention of bringing all her friends, she gave a small smile. But then it fell.]

Lady Crawley won't mind my staying with the both of you?

Edited 2020-04-11 02:42 (UTC)

No, of course she won't. I'm sure she'll be glad to have you around.

[ Honestly, he couldn't imagine Mary protesting when it meant that a little girl would be left without a place to live. There was Honir, of course, but having her part with all the animals she was close to when she had already lost two people so important to her seemed like too cruel a blow. ]

You'll have your own room, and we have more animals there that you can meet and make friends with. And Mary and I will be there to help you always, with anything you need. So? What do you say?

[She bit her lip and then slowly, gave a nod. It wasn't that she didn't want to stay with Jim and Mary, it was more... how could she be sure she didn't make them leave too?]

I-I would like that. Do... what should we do with Lord Peter's ship? It can't fly, we can't move it. I- thank you for letting me stay with you, for letting all of us stay with you.

There's nothing we can really do. So we'll have to leave it here, I guess, unless the gods decide to take it away or move it elsewhere. We can come visit and keep the place clean every so often.

[ And it was a good way for her to cope with losing Peter and Gamora, he hoped. Honestly it might be just as helpful for him to deal with the loss of one of his closest friends here. ]

You're welcome, Alice. [ He smiled, reaching out to hold her hand. ] I'll help you pack up your things. And we can look around and see what Peter and Gamora may have left behind, so we can keep it all safe with us.

Pack? Oh... [That... that made it feel all the more real. She swallowed and nodded, unsure what else to do, but her vision got blurry and giant warm tears rolled down her cheeks.

Gamora and Peter were gone. It was finally, properly, sinking in. She may well never see them again. Alice had little else to do but curl up and cry.]

[ Jim nodded slowly, his own face twisting into a pained frown. He reached out when tears started falling down Alice's cheeks, shifting closer to wrap his arms around her in a tender hug. ]

I'm sorry, sweetheart, [ He said, voice shuddering slightly as he fought the urge to cry as well. Peter was such a close friend to him, Jim would miss him immensely-- all the more so when he had no idea whether he'd ended up someplace where he could be happy with Gamora like he had been here. ]

I-I didn't- I didn't even... I didn't get to say goodbye! [She sobbed, her fingers curling into his shirt as she hid her face. Her shoulders shaking with each tear and sob that wracked through her.]

I know you didn't... I know. [ Jim spoke softly, feeling his own voice shake, both from hearing Alice cry and from realizing that, much like her, he'd never gotten to say goodbye either, and perhaps he would never get to see them again.

He pulled her closer and held her in a tight embrace, not planning on letting go anytime soon. It was good to cry, just let all that out. There wasn't much else he could do for her, unfortunately, so he just focused on offering her as much support as he possibly could. He'd save his own tears for later; Alice shouldn't have to deal with that. ]

[Eventually, Alice cries out all there is to cry. She hiccups and merely clings to Jim, not sure what else to do. She knows she has to pack, but her nose is stuffed, her eyes hurt, and her feet feel heavy. She doesn't want to move. Let her turn into a statue right there with a pretty plaque saying "here sits Alice Liddell." She knew it wasn't a very wordy plaque like they were supposed to be, but it got to the point. Sometimes being wordy made things less...

Less mucher. Sometimes being short and simple had all the muchness it needed.

She pulled her handkerchief from her pinafore pocket and wiped her eyes, sniffling.]

I didn't mean to cry so much. [She hoarsely whispered.] I'm sorry I cried all over you.

Oh. Don't you worry about that, it's just tears. It's fine.

[ He smiled reassuringly. ]

Besides, it's good for you to cry sometimes. It's a good way to deal with sad feelings. And it's good that you'll miss Peter and Gamora. It means they were important to you, and that they left a mark in your life.

[ Losing people was never easy, but if it were then they wouldn't have mattered at all. ]

5th Curious Thought [Video]

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