But the ghosts that we knew {OPEN};

[youfallback]

Who: Carolina and you!
What: Training at all hours of the day. Like sane people do. c:
When: 0400-1200 and 1400-2200 (the gym), 1200-1300 (the kitchen), 2200-2300 (the kitchen)
Where: The gym and the kitchen
Rating: PG-13 maybe for language and/or violence


[Most nights, Carolina couldn't sleep. The near-constant feeling of not being secure or safe enough to shut her eyes kept what adrenaline she had left pumping through her well enough to keep her awake. That said, she can't run on fumes all week long and when she does sleep, she dreams about home. About twin voices screaming her dead mother's name in her head, when plugging her ears only amplifies the sound. About a teammate taking two axes to the chest, from a soldier Carolina had never trusted, never wanted to trust. About another teammate grabbing her around the neck, yanking the AI chips from the back of her neck, tossing her from a cliff like a piece of garbage. About waiting in the snow. About never being good enough. About throwing a lighter.

It's one of those nights when her body forces her to sleep long enough to recharge enough of her battery to somewhat function, but the nightmares don't stay away. They never do. And she wakes up early, in a cold sweat, shaking, screaming. It's enough to keep her awake for another couple days, she hopes, that her body got enough to last her. Two days awake is always too short a time, but she can't get herself to stay awake longer and the four hours or so of sleep are always too long.

So, she's out of bed in an instant, tugging her armor on before all but sprinting down to the gym at 0400, needing a distraction and a purpose to her life.

Or what she could call a life in guilty conscience.]

(ooc: I will have open threads, just tag wherever! Just specify the time please so there can be multiple threads per location. c:

Current threads: South's is around noonish. Church's is before 1400. York's is at 1400. )

Comments

[youfallback]

[Carolina watches him as he panics and looks through his journal. Well that answers the question of whether or not he knows Allison. That desperation is all too familiar and she pales as she watches him.]

No, she isn't here. [She watches him and it just hurts, remembering that reaction too clearly.] Sir, she isn't here right now.

[Because they don't say goodbye in this family.]

[originalcopy]

Right... of course not.

[Because, why the fuck would she be. The disappointment and pain is all to easily to cover up with annoyance and ire. It's just easier to be angry than to be hurt.]

Look stop calling me 'Sir'... it's fuckin' creepy.

[youfallback]

[She furrows her eyebrows at him, not exactly suspicious but not entirely innocent either. His young age explains why he doesn't know why she calls him sir, but it's not something she wants to say out in the open in the hallway.

So she nods a moment.] Director Church.

[originalcopy]

[He takes a step back.]

What? No... Why would you?

[Memories from Holly Peaks come back to him, things he'd been trying to ignore... York had called him 'Director', Delta called him 'Dr. Leonard Church' and both called him 'sir'. Wash telling him he hadn't really died... He shook his head.]

It's just Church.

[youfallback]

[Carolina frowns further at him. She knows there's a blue soldier in the Castle, the Alpha, but this person here definitely looks like her father. There's no mistaking it at all.]

Sir. I can't call you that.

[originalcopy]

Well you'd better fucking try.

[He considers trying to move past her, get back on his way... He needs to get back to Stark Tower to think. He needs to talk to Delta, no scratch that... he just needs to get away.]

That's my name... not 'Sir' or any other bullshit. Church, that's it. That's all it's ever been, that's all it will ever be.

Just Church.

[youfallback]

[She pales a little, considering her options as well. She knows there's another person named Church in the Castle. She'd talked to him over the journal, but she'd shouted so much his voice just got lost in it all.]

You become the Director of a Sector III group called Project Freelancer. You married a woman named Allison who died in the war. You have a daughter, likely very young right now.

[She watches him for any reaction.]

[originalcopy]

[It's like listening to some Twilight Zone parody of his life... Yes, he wanted to marry Tex but she left him to join Project Freelancer and he signed on to try to be with her. He's just a private in the simulation army Project Freelancer ran for testing.

Confusion gives way to indignation. He's had enough. Clearly Carolina's gone mental.]

Ok, that's enough bullshit for today, thanks.

[He waves dismissively and turns on his heel. If he can't get past her, he'll just go back the way he came.]

[youfallback]

[Carolina furrows her eyebrows but isn't about to let him just walk off. She knows he can be something of a jerk sometimes, but this is surprisingly familiar. It takes a second before remembering there's another Church. The Alpha.]

You're the Alpha, then.

[Which makes her extremely glad that she didn't blab about her relationship to the Director.]

[originalcopy]

[He pauses, shoulders tense and hands balled into fists. Why did she keep calling him that?!]

What the fuck are you babbling about?

No, you know what... I don't care.

[Yup, just going throw up his hand and keep walking away. If can put some distance between them, he can get a minute to think.]

[youfallback]

[Shit, she's not about to let him leave. She stalks after him, doing what she can to not only not allow distance but will also try to step in front of him.]

[originalcopy]

[Shit, he tries walking faster but then she gets past and in front of him. Forcing him to stop short to keep from running into her.]

What the fuck is your problem?!

[He takes a few steps backwards before turning to go the other way.]

[youfallback]

You look like the Director, you have the name of the Director. [She follows him again, just as painfully persistant as York had been in Terre Haute.]

You were based off of him and you know--- How do you know Allison.

[originalcopy]

[He's clearly starting to get agitated by this point.]

Go Away Carolina!

I don't have someone else's name, I have my name!

I don't know if you're just a damn psyco or if the castle thought it would be fun to fuck with your brain... but I'm nothing like that Director asshole.

[He's not even touching the rest. He just wants to get the hell out of this situation. She wasn't supposed to be able to tell him from anyone else here.

He continuing to try to walk away.]

[youfallback]

[Carolina will try to run ahead of him and cut him off again. When someone says they know her mother, that's not something she'll easily let go of.]

How do you know Allison.

[originalcopy]

Get out of my way!

[He's going to try to get around her, keep her from blocking him in again.]

[youfallback]

[Carolina will still try to block him again and demand,] How do you know Allison.

[originalcopy]

What the fuck does it matter to you?!

[He glares at her. He'd just shove her out of the way if she wasn't in armor.]

[youfallback]

[There's always been a list of priorities in Carolina's life. Honoring her mother's memory somehow wasn't above her father, but someone else who looked like her father is nearly enough to shift those priorities.] Tell me.

[originalcopy]

[Church looks away. He's stressed and angry and the last thing he wants to do is talk about Tex.]

Just let me go Carolina.

[youfallback]

Tell me how you know Allison and I won't bother you again. [Carolina doesn't realize that she's not in a position of power here, that she can't go making deals and expect people to accept them, but this is her mother they're talking about.]

[originalcopy]

Fuck you.

[Church is going to try one last time to get away from her. The stress is starting to get to him, wearing him out.]

You want to know so bad, go talk to Wash or York. I'm done.

[youfallback]

[He's not the only one who's a little stressed right now, but Carolina doesn't see either of their stresses as important right now. This is her mother.]

They don't know Allison. You apparently do. [Carolina will do what she can to step in front of him again.]

[originalcopy]

Of course they do you stupid bitch!

[One last desperate burst of rage and he' left feeling exhausted. His shoulders slump. He's not going to bother trying to get away.]

I just... I need to go.

[youfallback]

They can't. She died years ago. Before the Project.

[Carolina shakes her head at him, her gaze intensely focused on him.]