Difference between revisions of "2014-09-23 (PostU) And Miles To Go Before I Sleep"

Revision as of 10:28, 26 September 2014

And Miles To Go Before I Sleep
Summary: Sun and Lucas finally go on their date! Who: Lucas and Sun When: September 23rd, 2014 Where: Nowhereto Park - Lakeside	The information contained within this log is to be considered information gained Out of Character (OOC). This information may not be used as In Character (IC) knowledge or in roleplay unless it has been learned in-game or permission has been granted by the parties involved. Questions should be directed to staff. {{{Log}}}
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(OOC NOTE: A mistake in logging happened, and the first part of the scene was unfortunately lost. I have summed up the first part to the best of my ability.)

Today is the day of the date! Lucas and Sun have met up, Sun with a picnic basket in tow. After setting up the blanket, the picnic commenced, along with a bit of idle chatter about the most recent of Sun's drastic personality changes, as well as no lack of bluntness from Sun about her romantically-inclined intentions in regards to the blind man. The meal includes a wide array of salad type meals (potato salad, pasta salad, etc.), with still-warm Philly Cheesesteaks as the main part of the meal.

For his part, Lucas is simply enjoying the taste of the sandwich - Philly cheesesteaks are delicious, and a rare thing to have someone actually make in this place. He laughs when Sun says she'd offer to take him 'outside time and space' and just shakes his head. "S'ok, I've been. Wasn't the best day I ever had. Think I'd rather stay on the ground." Yeah, that's an understandable feeling.

It turns out that Lucas finishes his sandwich pretty quickly, and then he flops back onto the blanket, somehow managing not to crush anything or anyone as he lays back with his hands underneath his head. "So you're sayin your old self still had bad taste in men?" He wrinkles his nose up, and grins, obviously making a joke.

"Can't blame you in the slightest." Sun smiles faintly to Lucas...and promptly shoves the rest of her sandwich into her mouth when she notices Lucas eating faster than her. Hopefully he doesn't notice how unladylike like that was. "It's nice for me, but I think I'm the only one who would feel that way." She lays back on the blanket, on her side so she can watch Lucas with bright blue eyes. He can't really see her, but she can still admire him.

"I guess my old self DID have terrible taste in men, and that certainly hasn't changed, it seems. Maybe it's just because you're the first attractive man I've met in a while who wasn't a customer at my coffee shop." She chuckles, pulling a bunch of grapes out of the basket. One is gently poked at Lucas' mouth, a not-so-subtle hint that there's more to eat. Because food is awesome, and grapes taste delicious.

"Met a couple people what could travel outside space-time. Didn't envy em." Lucas stretches his arms behind him again for a minute, and it is worth re-noting that he is in impressively good shape. If he'd shave off the full, black beard he would probably be decently attractive. As is though, it doesn't quite work for him. At least the rest of him is flattering.

"Well, at least if y'picked another bad date, y'picked one that y'don't hafta wear makeup for, right?" He shrugs, and then blinks at the grape. "Ah... haven't had grapes in forever." So eat the one she's offering you!

The dragoness watches Lucas thoughtfully as he speaks, apparently quite content with this conversation and how it is going thus far. "It is true, I don't have to wear makeup for you, and that's pretty nice. Not too fond of eye liner and mascara, they make my eyes feel strange." At least that hasn't changed. "Probably didn't even have to wear the nice dress, but it felt right, I suppose." She offers a lyrical chuckle.

As he remarks on the grapes, she promptly pops it in his mouth, whether he wants it or not. He can spit it out if he doesn't, and she might not even get offended. "So why are you so down on yourself, hmmm? I seem to notice that you carry a bit of guilt with you." Her hand reaches out, finding his and brushing her fingertips over his knuckles.

"Mmp!" Lucas makes a sound as the grape is popped into his mouth, and he laughs before munching down on it. He has the sense to wait till it's done before talking, at least. "Well, a man's no real man if he can't at least appreciate dressin up." Lucas nods his head sagely, then grins. "S'what I always said. Just cause I can't see it, doesn't mean it's not nice."

When Sun asks him why he's the way he is, though, Lucas offers a small shrug, and his grin shrinks to just a small smile. "Well, y'know how sometimes, y'do somethin y'can't take back?" He shifts a bit, to lean back on his elbows on the blanket, but doesn't pull his hand away from Sun's. "Sometimes the things y'can't take back are the kinda things what can't be forgiven."

Idly, Sun links her finger with Lucas, eyes upon his hands for a moment, before turning up to the man's face. "Well, I should hope you appreciate it. I did get this dress specifically for today, after all." She smiles faintly, watching him with a look of growing fondness on her face. Though his grin shrinks to a small smile, she still gazes fondly at the man, using her other hand to trace the lines on Lucas' hand while she holds it.

She doesn't mention that it's difficult for her to do those things she can't take back. Best not to rub that in, she figures. Instead, she sits up. "I understand that." With her fingers still linked with Lucas', she plucks a grape from the bunch, examining it thoughtfully. "Though I tend to find it best to leave the past...in the past. I have done some unforgivable things in my...time..." She hesitates at 'time', for some reason. "However, I feel there's a point where one can let those unforgivable actions cling too tightly, thus preventing future progress. The past is the past, and nothing can be done to change it...all we can do is move forward, because...for most, at least, forward is all that there is."

With a slightly impish grin, she pops the grape between her lips...and promptly leans down, attempting to give the fruit to the man by way of a kiss.

"For me?" Lucas blinks, then laughs. "All th'more reason to 'preciate it, but I can't rightly say y'picked the right guy for the job." Yeah, even though he probably has some sense of how the dress looks, it's likely to be pretty vague. "Blind guy and all." As he so frequently likes to remind people...

As Sun links her fingers with his, and traces lines along his hand, Lucas makes a quiet sound, and 'glances' down towards their hands. He doesn't look disapproving, but wears a rather difficult-to-read look upon his face. "...Still things I got left t'do, 'fore I can let the past go. What's that poem? Miles to go, before I sl--" Lucas is cut off by an unexpected method of being fed, and he blinks as he finds Sun's lips on his. It's been a long time since he's been kissed, and his beard probably makes that quite a prickly kiss at that. There's a tell-tale quake in his lips, telling that he does like the kiss, before he makes a (delayed) sound of surprise, and gently lifts a hand up in sort of a 'stop' sign. Just because he likes it, doesn't mean he's ready for it.

For what it's worth, Sun seems to enjoy it while it lasts. At his hand motion, she slowly pulls away, smiling. She lets the silence linger for a moment, watching him; her hand still hasn't left his, and won't so long as he continues to allow it. The impish smile is gone, replaced by a warm contentment. He didn't freak out and push her away, at least, so that's gotta be something...right?

Finally, she breaks the silence. "...Sorry, I seem to have acted a bit rashly, there." Despite the apology, her voice is warm, if not happy. Lucas can't see the bright red tinge to her cheeks, but it's rather audible in her speech. "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...and miles to go before I sleep..." She pauses, lifting her free hand to touch his bearded chin. "...And miles to go before I sleep."

It'd be no exaggeration to say that Lucas' face is redder than it was before Sun's little trick, and when Sun pulls away, he clears his throat a bit; clearly she took his breath away. "Ah..." At her apology, Lucas shakes his head, and it's hard to say if he's contradicting her, or just trying to clear his thoughts. When she recites the lines, though, he raises both eyebrows, and smiles a bit. "Good t'know the classics aren't lost 'round here." Strange - he doesn't seem like much of a reader.

After a moment of Sun touching his chin, Lucas slowly sits up with a sigh. "...I gotta make things right 'fore I can start anythin so nice as that." So he admits it was nice. "...Can't do that 'till I find her, and say my peace." ...Her?

"I'm particularly fond of Dylan Thomas..." She pauses, watching him thoughtfully. "And you, my father, there on the sad height; Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light..." She closes her eyes as she recites the last line of the poem, smiling faintly. Another short silence, before blue eyes once more turn to the man, watching him with a thoughtful smile.

"And what if you never find her? Will you hold on forever?" She asks this with an almost amazed innocence to her tone, watching his expression. She still has his hand clasped in hers, and her thumb idly traces over his skin. "What if I could help you? Would you accept? It would be a selfish use of my particular skills, on my part...possibly because, despite being one of the few who can truly say that I have all of the time in the world and mean it, I seem to have a rather large amount of impatience." If he'll allow it, she lifts his hand, planting a kiss on the back of it.

"I dunno." Lucas responds, doing his best not to react to the almost-electric sensation of touch coming from his hand. When one doesn't really have much in the way of human touch for as long as Lucas, prolonged exposure is kind of a delight, so long as it's by choice. "...Always kinda thought the search was my penance, and figured if it took forever, it just meant I didn't deserve t'move on, y'know?"

With a pause, Lucas turns to 'look' towards Sun, and makes an awkward grimace-smile of a face. "Well I guess y'don't." He carefully disengages his hand from Sun's, so that he can lie back on the blanket again, and closes his eyes. "Long time ago, best friend's name was Rachel. I was goin through one heck of a mess, but she helped me through it, kept me from losin myself." Sounds like something a friend would do. "She was good people, and strong, too, but... when she lost control of herself, wasn't no one else what could stop her." Well. That's not ominous.

There's no resistance from Sun as Lucas pulls his hand away, though she does scoot a bit closer. "That seems like a very self destructive way of thinking to me, though I can understand the sentiment behind it, I believe." She tilts her head toward him, then, listening as he starts explaining with a curious expression on her face, watching his face as he speaks. When he pauses, she waits for him to continue.

"In what way did she lose control, if I am not asking too much?" She leans just a little closer, still seated, and hugging her knees to her chest. She seems to be taking this all rather well, reacting more with concern about him than anything else -- despite her proclamation of selfish desires.

There's a little shrug from Lucas when Sun hits the nail on the head about his self-destructive tendency. She's not wrong, but he's not really seeing the problem with being self destructive, either. Not with the guilt he's got. "...She bonded with somethin strong, strong enough t'give her incredible power - power t'do good - but it slowly drove her crazy, until she couldn't be reasoned with no more. And she couldn't be stopped when she decided to take th'world out with her." Oh. Well. Bollocks.

"I killed people before, but never like this, and never so unfair."

The dragoness sits quietly after he speaks, taking in the weight of his statements. After a moment, she shifts, her knees accidentally brushing against his hip as she does so. One hand reaches out, cupping his cheek in a comforting gesture. Then, she leans down, planting a gentle, lingering kiss upon his forehead. "That's not your fault. That's not her fault, either. There is nobody and nothing to blame but the source of that power she gained."

Another small kiss is planted upon the man's brow, before she pulls away, giving him whatever space he may need. "If I was in that situation...if I was that dangerous to myself and others...I would want to be stopped." She pauses again, watching Lucas with a look of quiet introspection. "I would think it a kindness of whoever could stop me, if I lost myself that far. You say she was a good person...don't you think she would have wanted it that way?" She can't help but graze the tips of her fingers over the back of his hand again. "And do you think that she would want you to grieve for her so much? I wouldn't want anyone who I came to care for in pain after my passing...I would want the good parts celebrated. I would want them to live happy, full lives, and remember me fondly. Not the bad parts."

"It's hard t'say." Lucas admits quickly, answering Sun's question with uncertainty. He's visibly trying to avoid reacting too strongly to Sun's touch and affection, too. "Thing is, Rachel would've found a way t'save me. Rachel DID save me from myself. I was less than I could have been, and she paid for it with her life." So did he, more or less, but he's here and she's not, so it's kind of pointless to compare the two.

"...It's not all 'bout her, though. Forgivin myself's not 'xactly easy, either." He pauses, and turns his head, letting his eyes open to 'look' in Sun's direction. "...The mental scarring was... pretty deep. In ways I can't explain, even. Most people say it never leaves ya, right? That it doesn't heal? Most people can at least think 'bout healin." Well. Most people don't have the moment of their ultimate failure permanently scarred into their brain. Lucas has that fairly unique distinction, though.

"You tried, though, didn't you?" Sun watches Lucas with a gaze of concern, her head inclining closer to him so as to more easily enjoy looking at him. She never said she wasn't selfish. "It sounds to ME like you tried..." She frowns, reaching out to gently squeeze Lucas' hand -- though this is much more than a comforting gesture, this time. Her eyes suddenly go dim, far away. Not that Lucas can likely see that part of this interaction.

She's quiet for a long moment, before, suddenly, her gaze snaps back to normal, and she can't help but encircle the man in a gentle hug. "I saw..." She whispers into his ear as she offers forth the most comforting hug she can manage. "You tried...you tried so hard to stop her." She plants a kiss on his forehead. "You fought for her...and you stopped her the only way you could. You didn't fail her...you gave her the release she needed, and saved a planet in the process..." She kisses his forehead again. "If you wish it, I can...arrange something. I can let you speak to her..." Hopefully without killing herself in the process.

At first, Lucas shrugs when Sun says it sounds like he did everything he could. But then, after she starts hugging him, he shifts a bit, and sits up to make the experience less... open to misinterpretation. He makes a small sound at her words, and grimaces. "She needed someone t'pull her back from the brink - she needed a better friend than me." He shakes his head, and sighs, looking a bit dejected. "Not sure I want other people t'see that, y'know. Nothin good came from that day."

"I'm sorry for looking, it just...kind of happened." He may feel his shirt moistening slightly where her face rests. Is she crying? "I know...I know why it happened like it did. Why she asked you to kill her...why it all started." She pulls back, gently cupping his face in her hands. "It wasn't your fault, Lucas...I can say that with absolute certainty that none of that was your fault." She kisses his forehead again. "You were just unfortunate enough to be caught up in it...in something far bigger than you."

She hugs him again, sniffing softly. "You did her a service, Lucas. You saved so many lives...I don't know if you can begin to comprehend how many lives you saved." Seems she knows something that she is reluctant to come out and say.

When Sun pulls back, and puts her hands to Lucas' face, he makes a quiet sound, and moves his hands to his shoulders, gently pushing her back, and keeping her from hugging him again, unless she overpowers him which, frankly, for a dragon, probably not that hard to do. "...Don't care 'bout savin a world. What use's a planet t'me if she had t'die for it t'have a future?" His voice is calm and quiet, but it's also hardened and full of conviction - this is something he's been thinking about for years.

"I made the wrong call. I still dunno what the right one would have been, even now, 'n' that's why I failed her. Too limited, not nearly clever enough. Doc, Emma, hell, even the Cajun prob'ly could've figured somethin out." Doesn't sound like Sun's opinion is swaying the man too much. The demons are always darker when they're yours, though... Somewhere on the muck, Serenity has disconnected.

She pulls away, quietly pulling out a wine bottle and pouring two glasses. One is offered to Lucas. "The phoenix powers she possessed were not as pure as one would hope." She sips at her wine glass, frowning. "She fought Galactus...and he told her about where her powers /came/ from." Another long silence passes as Sun sips at the white wine, watching Lucas' face. "She lost her way because the Phoenix draws its powers from the sea of life yet unborn," She echoes Galactus' words from long ago. "Because using her power /denies/ life to those yet unborn."

She goes quiet, then, watching and waiting. She's probably spoiled her chances with him with this act, but it would be far better for him to know the truth than for her to lie to try and get him. "I again offer...I can arrange for you to speak to her yourself, if you wish..."

Lucas looks contemplative when Sun pulls out a bottle and glasses, but when he smells that it's wine, he shakes his head. Not his kind of drink, apparently. "...I... huh." He doesn't really know why Sun suddenly knows more about the Phoenix than he does, and to be honest, he doesn't really know who Galactus is. It sounds like a strong guy though - you don't get too far in life by basically naming yourself "Galaxy Man" if you're weak. He bets he's really tall. And shiny. Probably really shiny.

"...Didn't know any o' that. See what I mean? Y'know more'n I did after five minutes, and I been stewin over it for years." ... Okay, so that sounds like it did the opposite of help, there. "...Musta torn her up somethin fierce. Poor girl." His eyes soften, and it's pretty clear that he loved her, though he doesn't really seem to be aware of that. "Was too young. Too damn young." Technically, she was older than he was at the time... but he's a pretty good deal older than either of them were at the time, now.

The woman frowns, watching Lucas quietly. The declined wine glass is set atop the basket, as Sun swirls her glass thoughtfully. How to do this without killing herself? That's a good question. She takes a long sip of her beverage, closing her eyes as she ponders this great mystery. "I only know about it because of what I am. Time and space...is a playground, to me. I suppose that is the most accurate description." She goes ghostly quiet again, staring at the white wine with a faint frown. Then, she suddenly downs the wine in one gulp, and does the same for the other glass.

"Forgive me for meddling in your affairs." She reaches out, then, grabbing for Lucas' hand, whether he wants to let her or not. While Lucas can't see the effect of her eyes suddenly glowing like stars in the night sky, he can likely feel that she is doing /something/. Her free hand raises up, fingers splayed, and a window, or perhaps a portal, suddenly looms into the air in front of the pair. And there is Rachel's face.

To ensure that he knows what is going on, Sun uses the same trick she used to show him a mental image of herself, but it instead feeds him a realtime display of what she is seeing.

"Sounds like more pain than it's worth." Lucas' assessment of time and space being a playground would probably be accurate for the average mortal - time travel and space travel are so much less glamorous and exciting than most people think, and such a huge hassle. But then, Sun isn't exactly average. He 'watches' her as she swirls her drink in her glass. When she downs the first glass, he blinks in surprise, and when she downs the second, he opens his mouth to object. But quickly she's grabbing at his hand.

He doesn't pull back in time, and once she has his wrist, he furrows his brow. "That's just 'bout as bad as sayin 'We need to talk', y'know?" The young mutant has a sense of foreboding, but it washes away pretty quickly, when Sun transports Rachel's consciousness through time and space. The moment she lets him 'see' Rachel's face, he swallows, his mouth dries up, and he scrunches up his face further. "This a joke?"

Sun doesn't have to try and convince him very hard. Rachel's eyes open quickly, a rather perfect face with short red hair and bright, bright green eyes. For some reason, long stripes that bear slight resemblance to tribal tattoos start to grow in towards the center of her face from certain angles - odd tattoos that somehow seem like they belong on her face, rather than intrudee. They make her look a bit more feral than she would otherwise. Of course, nothing contributes to that so much as her toothy grin as she sees Lucas.

"Hey, kid. Don't look so ugly, your face'll stick like that." Not exactly soft words of greeting. "Cheer up, you can drop a meaner heel than I'd have given you credit for. You should've seen the newspaper feeds the next day. They were runnin with that moment when your foot was comin down and the phoenix was awakening... oh man. We both looked pretty cool." ... Well, that's an odd way of not bringing the mood down.

"It is not," is the only response that Lucas receives from Sun, who is a bit too busy concentrating on doing what she's doing to have any meaningful conversation. Her hand remains on Lucas', using him as a source for this crazy plan, as an anchor to keep her from losing control of this, and feeding him what she sees. Mostly, she just keeps her eyes on Rachel's face and retains her silence -- though Rachel does get a respectful nod from the dragoness.

There's a moment's pause from Lucas at those words, and then the young man grimaces again, this time a little more irritated than worried. "Your idea of cheerin me up is remindin me of what happened to Manhattan? Y'got a weird idea of comfort." He seems a little bit measured in his response, but the irritation at least seems real.

It doesn't really seem like Rachel has a problem with that, though. "Oh, come on, Tony can buy 'em a new city, but money can't buy an axe kick like that. I thought you were Wing Chun, where did that even come from?"

Lucas puts his free hand to the back of his head and shrugs a bit. "...I dabble, I guess. Is this really what you wanna talk about?" That irritation hasn't left his voice, but there's something about him visually that makes it clear he's relaxing, like his muscles are loosening up a bit.

With a laugh, Rachel shakes her head. "In poor taste? You know, from my perspective, you're beating me senseless right now, so it's kinda on my mind." She pauses, and looks thoughtful. "...I think there's a social justice warrior post in there somewhere." ...Yeah, amongst other things. "Aaaanyway. Good to see everything worked out according to plan. I was getting kinda worried you were gonna wuss out." According to plan?

Rachel returns Sun's nod, and then jerks her head towards the dragoness. "What's up with that, though? You always gave me crap about my tats, now you're hangin out with a girl covered in them? Hypocrisy, man, totally unfair."

Lucas' response is, once more, measured. "...Kinda grew on me after a while."

Sun remains silent, though she does smile faintly at the mention of her tattoos. She doesn't mention that she didn't exactly choose them, she just kind of ate a local girl and stole her looks, with a few tweaks here and there. She plays the part of the silent middleman pretty well, though, letting the two have their moment.

"Oh sure, you tell me that NOW." Rachel's full body may not be visible, but from the motion of her head, eyes, and neck, it's pretty clear she's throwing her hands up in the air. "I go through a full-blown outfit crisis and neuroses, and you wait to tell me you like my tatoos now that I'm dying?" Another inclination of her head, and it somehow is just clear that she's crossing her arms. "I wore make-up for you, guy. Make-up! And a mini-skirt! You could've said something then! You have any idea how embarrassing a mini-skirt is? You can try it next time, see how you like it!" ... Is there actually a point to this rant?

Lucas seems to be wondering the same thing. "...Been 8 years, Rachel. More important things t'talk about than your clothes." He /actually/ crosses his arm, so it's clear he's serious. "Like how you're dead and all."

"Eh. You worry too much. You got some kinda crazy dragon sorceress holdin your hand, and you're worried about some badass that died eight years ago? You got issues, Korbin." Rachel calmly steps out onto the grass in front of both of them, which seems impossible, but the way the grass doesn't bend under her feet suggests that she's not REALLY stepping onto it.

"Real issues."

The dragoness jerks slightly, nearly losing the connection in the process, though she manages to retain her concentration. Instead, Sun just looks extremely interested. That's new and unexpected. "Not really a sorceress." For some reason, that needed to be clarified.

There's a simple dismissive wave of Rachel's hand as she cricks her neck in the afternoon air. "Whatever, magic crazy stuff, not my area of expertise." Her red and yellow longcoat is adorned with spikes on the shoulders and triceps, in just enough places to harken back to 80s punk styles without seeming over-devoted to the concept. When she waves her yellow-gloved hand, tiny flecks of fire seems to flicker outward, a half-real remnant of her death, condemned to burn eternally. "Point is, kid's got some screwed up priorities." She turns a gloved hand to point towards Lucas and sighs.

"You're not gonna find my grave by wandering around that graveyard you know. I didn't get a grave, since I wasn't born yet." ... Time travel? Great. "Which I guess means I'm not dead yet either, so... yeah, figure that one out." She runs one of her hands through her hair, messing it up a bit, but she's not really paying attention to that.

Lucas looks upset again, and his brows furrow into a scrunched-up face once more. "You know, I spent a long time thinkin 'bout what I'd say when I saw you, but I didn't think you'd just go pissin me off. You're not supposed t'talk back and stop me from apologizin."

Shrugging again, Rachel grins. "What, you just gonna spend an hour tellin my grave how sorry you are and how you'da saved me if you knew how? Heard it~. You wanna talk to me, you'd best have somethin better, cuz from where I'm standing, you washed out and became a drunk bum in a hoodie just because you couldn't take the pain. Have some self respect, man, at least get a /real/ jacket." She stretches her arms out to one side and looks at hers for a moment, before looking over to Lucas thoughtfully. Finally, she shakes her head. "Nah, wouldn't look good on you. You're not manly enough for my trench." Hey! ... Truth hurts!

The image in Lucas' mind flickers, as does the actual image of Rachel. Suddenly, this has gone from pushing her limits to being waaaaay too much for her to handle. Sun's grip on Lucas' wrist weakens as she wobbles. "I...I'm sorry...I can't..." She mumbles, her words making her sound a bit on the inebriated side of things. She holds on for a moment longer, giving Lucas one last look at Rachel. "Can't hold it..." Her eyelashes flutter, and a drop of blood trickles out of her nose.

And then, Rachel disappears, and Sun's vision in Lucas' mind dims, before going black. And then Sun slumps, limply flopping over Lucas' lap (and getting food all over her dress in the process), completely out cold.

Well, then. That was a fun date.