OPEN | Network | I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

((ooc: please, please, please make sure you comment to Bo's opt-in/opt-out post before responding, just so that I'm not accidentally godmoding you to keep her in character, k? I can totally work around opt-outs but my default is to roll with whatever I can with this one))

[ The camera opens with Bo with her stuffed turtle, Stanley floating in the air beside her. She's grinning at the camera because she's in a good mood having seen her crush favorite superhero on the network before. He might not know her, but that's okay; he will. Everybody will, if she can help it. Bo loves people. Good, bad, dubious; she just likes people in general and she might come off as the type who trusts too easily, but the thing of it is she can sense the good hiding in people, even the bad ones, and she knows that everybody is redeemable if they really want to be. She can help. She's good at that. ]

Hi everybody! I'm Bo and I'm twelve. My dad and I just got here a few days ago and now that I've had some time to adjust [ translation: mourn; and yeah, she just called Sirius her dad because he's the closest thing she's had to it in her entire life, so far, even though he's only been with her for two years. That probably says more about the caretakers before him than Sirius himself, but that's really neither here nor there. ] I wanted to say hi to everyone!

[ She points to the floating stuffed turtle. ]

Oh and this is Stanley. I don't have any real pets, so he's gotta do for now. But that's okay, he likes to boogie, so that's good enough for me.

[ At the word boogie, the stuffed turtle starts dancing around in the hair as if on his own. Bo's doing it, of course, with her mind, but that kind of never gets old. She wonders if it ever will. ]

Comments

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

[ Derek is so relieved when a girl this young says she has a dad here. He's always had a soft spot for kids, especially kids in need. He's a dad figure to a lot of kids back home, and maybe a few here too. So from the second her face pops up on the screen of his device he's instinctively wondering if she's being taken care of, looked after, if she needs anything.

Knowing someone is already in that role, makes him simmer down just a bit.

Still, he smiles brightly into the screen. ] Hey, Bo. I'm Derek. I bet Stanley's glad you and your dad are here to look after him. Did all three of you just get here?

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ Bo nods a little. ]

Stanley's always been with me, my mom left him for me when she died.

[ ...she's not great with reading the kinds of things that could potentially make someone uncomfortable to hear when they don't know her very well. Sorry, Derek. ]

It's been a couple of days. I like it here. It's nicer here than where we were. You've been here a long time or no?

[ He feels like he's been here a while, anyway, but it's a lot harder to tell that kind of thing when she's not in physical proximity, so instead of saying, she's asking. That's progress for Bo, believe it or not. ]

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Sorry to hear about your mom, Bo. My dad died when I was a kid. It's not easy.

[ Derek was ten when his dad died. He knows the lasting impact something like that can have on a kid as they grow up. Of course, this just endears him to her even more.

Derek nods. ] I've been here a long time... longer than most of the people here. [ He's seen a lot of people come and go. ]

Where were you before here?

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

I never met my mom. Milton said she left me Stanley, though, so I bring him everywhere. I'm sorry about your dad.

[ Bo's mother died having her and Bo knows that, but that is something she knows makes people uncomfortable to hear sometimes, so she doesn't elaborate. ]

I was in LA for a while and that was kinda fun, and I was in Las Vegas and that was not fun, but that's where I met my dad and Mika, so it wasn't all bad.

[ She pauses thoughtfully and Stanley slowly levitates down to the mattress beside her. ]

Do you miss home? Your team and everything? Or you like it here more?

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Milton's your dad? And he's here with you?

[ Maybe he's getting a little bit confused because he is not psychic at all. He can read cues on a person when they're face to face, but that's as close as it gets. So much information begs a few questions and hopefully explanations.

He watches the doll levitate and isn't so much disturbed by that (he's seen some crazy things here) as he is by the fact that she just asked about his team and she knows nothing about him. ]

Yeah I miss it. But I've made this place a home too. [ Being here so long will do that. He has attachments here. ] What do you mean by team? [ He decides to go that route rather than asking her what made her ask that outright. ]

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

Oh, no. Milton used to take care of me when I still belonged to Orchestra when I was little. Sirius is here with me. He's not my real dad, but he's closer than I ever actually had, so I just call him that. It's easier to explain than Guy I Met in an Apocalypse Who Took Me In and Took Care of Me for Two Years.

[ Her whole life had been such a confusing mess that being magically yanked into that apocalypse ended up being the beginning of most stability Bo's ever had. Even if you include the dimension hops to LA and the here. Sirius got taken away in Vegas, but everybody leaves her. He's just the only one who ever came back. ]

I already like it better than home. I don't think I'll have to run so much. Or at all.

[ At his question, Bo looks appropriately sheepish and her shoulders hunch up a little. She doesn't mean to do that, sometimes it just happens. ]

...sorry...sometimes it's still like hiccups. But I meant your team at home. What's the "bau"? [ She pronounces it "bow" and then she pauses. ] Sorry, never mind. I shouldn't ask questions like that, sometimes I just forget. It gets jumbled a little.

[ex_bloodcakedarmor707]

Hey, some family you choose. I get that. I'm glad you've got Sirius here.

[ He's getting the idea that her life has been a series of speed bumps. It doesn't seem fair because she seems so young to have that many speed bumps. Basically, he thinks she needs hugs.

All of that screeches to a halt when she mentions the BAU, at least he thinks that's what she's asking about, even with the mispronunciation. And he has no idea what she means by hiccups. ]

The bow? The BAU? [ Derek says the acronym the right way. ] How do you know about that, princess?

[preemptiveforgiveness]

[ Of course Matt can't actually see the video, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to work the device. He hears her voice and it makes him smile. Not everyone is pleased to be here, especially not when they've newly arrived. ]

Hi, Bo. I'm Matt. I've been here a few months. So Stanley, tell me about him?

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ She's seen some people were sunglasses inside or when it's not bright outside, sure, and some of them were just doing it to do it. Or to hide bruises. Not this one.

Bo looks a little sad for a second before he asks about Stanley — he feels so complicated; he's been through so much — and then she smiles again. She always likes talking about Stanley. ]

Stanley's my stuffed turtle. I got him from my mom when I was a baby. He's small, like the size of a volleyball and he's green. He's a little bit dirty cuz I've had him a long time and I take him everywhere, but it's not so bad. I'm scared the washer will ruin him, so I'd rather him be a little dirty.

[ She pauses, wondering whether she ought to elaborate. He sounds nice and he looks nice, so she doesn't think he's asking to humor her, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like he has kids, either, like Derek. Well...a connection to kids like that. Again, it get a little jumbled and confusing when it isn't happening in person, so she could be wrong, but she continues anyway, trying to give him as much detail as she can so that he can picture it, since she can tell he can't see it. ]

Sometimes when I get excited or really happy, Stanley floats in the air next to me and he was when I started talking. But then he started dancing. He kind of shuffles around like he's walking on air and he bobs back and forth a little.

Do you like it here, Matt?

[preemptiveforgiveness]

[ Sometimes his sunglasses do hide bruises, but he's relatively bruise free as he hasn't been doing any vigilante anything here. No, he's wearing the sunglasses because people get uncomfortable when his eyes don't focus on them.

She really doesn't need to be sad. It happened a long time ago and he's since dealt with it. He probably does feel complicated though. There's his life experiences, but also the fact that he's pretending to be far more blind than he really is. It doesn't matter much on the video, but in person he has to use a cane that he doesn't need. He can hear the smile in her voice when she speaks even if he can't sense it over the video the way he might if he were in the same room with her. ]

I can't blame you. I'd be afraid the water would ruin him as well. You might try a dry cleaner though. I know they probably clean a lot of stuffed animals. Is he a bright green or a dark green?

[ No, he's genuinely interested. Matt likes kids despite the fact that he doesn't interact with them much. He definitely doesn't have kids, but he spent most of his childhood in an Orphanage so there were always younger children around. He just hasn't had much to do with them in the last several years. Her description makes him chuckle a little. Magic isn't something that he's really accustomed to back home, but he's learned that it's something that's real here so it doesn't surprised him too much. ]

Is it something that happens unconsciously or do you think about making him dance? [ At her question he pauses a little before nodding. ] Some of it. It's very different from home and i still haven't figured it out yet, but yes.

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ She's never thought of that, actually. There is, too, Sirius's magic. She knows he has a spell for cleaning things, she just isn't sure it's safe for Stanley. ]

Really, they do? I thought they just did fancy clothes and stuff. That's cool, maybe I'll ask my dad! [ The question about Stanley's colors makes Bo smile again a little bit. He's engaging in conversation with her when he doesn't have to to begin with just by replying, but by delving in a little further means that he actually maybe likes talking to her. ]

He's both. His body is bright green and then his shell is dark green.

[ The fact that he catches onto what she's saying and seems to already know what she means makes Bo relax a little; suggests he understands. At least, to some degree.

The feeling that he's a little bit like her in his own way digs at her and Bo opens her mouth to ask before closing it again. Derek didn't like it, she reminds herself. People here aren't used to her doing that. She doesn't need to make people uncomfortable around her when she's only just starting to finally reach out to talk to them.]

Sometimes it's both... This time it was on purpose. I can decide when I want to do it on purpose, it's not like when I feel things. That just kind of happens and it's like hiccups. [ In that she doesn't know when to expect it, sometimes, and it just pops up. ]

It's nicer here, you get to relax a little bit more, huh?

[ ...so much for that keeping the hiccups at bay... ]

[preemptiveforgiveness]

[ Maybe they could test it on some other stuffed animals first. ]

Nope. They do all kinds of things. They also specialize in getting stains out of stuff too.

[ He does likes talking to her. He's genuinely interested even if they are talking about a stuffed turtle. ]

Okay. I can see it. [ He nods a little as he does imagine the stuffed turtle.

She might spook him a little, but Matt doesn't scare away easily in general and he's used to being uncomfortable. ]

That's good. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have to control your emotions. [ And then he gives her a confused look because her words are true and he doesn't know how she knew that. Maybe she guessed because it is a small town. It's laid back, but...it doesn't feel like a guess. Matt recovers after a moment. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I--I'm a lawyer back home. It can be a pretty stressful job that takes up a lot of time.

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ Bo decides she likes Matt. She wonders to herself whether he could really see Staley if she happened to actually be in the same room with him, but since she isn't, she dismisses it. It's not really something she's ever tried to do, but she knows there were people at Orchestra who could. ]

That's the thing, I kind of can't… I'm still learning.

[ Something that is admittedly more difficult without Milton, or literally anyone who actually understands how her abilities work. Sirius does try, but he's about as blind to the "how" as she is, so there's only so much he can do.

She can't help noticing the reaction he has, the way he falters just slightly and Bo's shoulders slump a little with apology he can't see. So she tries to go with his derailing attempt. It isn't that convincing. ]

...yeah...lawyer. Yeah that's probably tiring...

» network

[divaricate]

Hi! [Wanda offers the young girl a smile, even though Wanda isn't much in a mood these days to smile much, the girl seems happy and nice so she might as well try to not act like a total depressing buzzkill.] My name is Wanda. Stanley seems very talented.

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ Bo grins, pleased with herself. The compliment to Stanley, whether Wanda realizes it or not, is a compliment to Bo. ]

Hi Wanda, thanks!

[ She tries not to look too excited — she probably fails at the attempt — because Wanda feels...like she's special too, but Derek hasn't liked Bo actually saying anything, she's pretty sure, and she doesn't want to upset even more people the first time she talks on the network. One of these days, she'll learn to just wait until she knows someone and they know about her abilities already, but today had apparently not been that day. ]

Have you been here a long time?

[divaricate]

Not really; I've been here a couple of weeks or so. [Using her powers over a communications device like this is something that Wanda has either not learned how to do, or cannot do -- she's not sure which that might be. But for now the technology acts like a barrier, an interference. However, she can make a couple guesses as to the turtle's movements.]

Is Stanley magic? [That's one.]

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ Bo shakes her head. Stanley drops to the mattress beside her. ]

I was doing that.

[ She doesn't elaborate or anything, because she wants to make sure whatever she's feeling about Wanda isn't jumbled up or flat out wrong — it's never wrong, but the older Bo gets, the more insecure she gets about things that she used to be confident about. Curse of adolescence. ]

[divaricate]

Mine is more visible. Which means it's not as convenient for being sneaky.

[With that, she levitates the device with powers from one hand, and with the other, red wisps dance around her fingertips and she lifts a pen and flips it around in slow circles.]

I've never really met anyone else who could do that.

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ She's going to show Bo what she can do, Bo just has a feeling which is only cemented by the older woman's words. Bo grins as she watches. This is so cool! ]

I never met anybody that could do all the things I can do, but some stuff. Back at Orchestra. Not the moving stuff. And I never saw anybody who did it like that with the red...that's really cool, I like that!

[stillplaying]

[No matter what else Katniss does in her life, she'll always be a big sister first and foremost. Four years isn't much in the grand scheme of things, especially not enough for Katniss to take such a parental role in Prim's life. Prim had only been seven when their father had died and their mother had fallen apart. She had been too young to really take on responsibilities. That had been Katniss' role to play and she never expected her sister to pick up any slack.

Even five years later, the same rule had still applied. Katniss hadn't hesitated to volunteer to take Prim's place in the Hunger Games. That isn't a decision she'll ever regret. Just like she'll never regret her choice to stay in Itinere rather than return to a life in Panem. Prim comes first. Sh'll almost always come first.

Recently, Katniss has started to come out of her shell. It's taken a good year but she's finally feeling comfortable enough to take these steps. When it comes to replying to Bo however, it's easy. The girl doesn't look much older than Prim had been the day of the reaping. She doesn't look much older than Rue. Children can be dangerous yes, but Katniss can't help but smile in response to Bo's video.]

My sister has a pet cat. [Although Katniss and Buttercup will always be at odds, Prim loves him. The children of District 13 loved him. Of course, none of them wanted to drown him as a kitten.] And a goat.

My name is Katniss.

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ Bo smiles back at that, looking a little surprised. It's a good surprise, but all the same. ]

She has a goat?! I never had a real pet before, I was always moving around too much. That's a cool pet to have!

[ Stanley does a somersault in the air and Bo waves at the camera. ]

Hi Katniss, it's nice to meet you.

[stillplaying]

[It's that look of surprise that makes Katniss chuckle. For a second, she's reminded of Rue. The way she maintained a sort of cheekiness in their interaction within the arena even though she had every reason to despair. There's still fondness in her heart when she thinks of the girl, but also guilt and sadness. Rue deserved to live a full life, not have it snuffed out at age 12 for entertainment's sake.

Wherever this girl is from, whatever the reason for her and her father to come here, she hopes that Itinere treats them right. Little girls deserve to be little girls, not pawns to be used by anyone for any reason. She had done her best to shield Prim from the awfulness of their home and keep her sister a child a little while longer. She'd do the same for this girl if there was no one else to protect her.]

It's nice to meet you too, Bo. [She smiles, her own eyes widening with some surprise at Stanley's somersault. She doesn't know what's causing the stuffed toy to float but for now, she chocks it up to Itinere's strangeness. In the time she's been here, that does tend to define a lot.] Maybe you can come over and meet Lady if it's okay with your dad.

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ Bo tries not to falter a little when there's a contradictory set of emotions that feel like they hit her dully at the same time when the woman smiles. Everything is fuzzy online, she reminds herself, it doesn't mean that it's accurate. It isn't always.

...except that it is. Bo's brow creases just a little but she shakes it off and smiles again at the offer. ]

That would be so cool! I'll have to ask him. You don't think your sister would mind?

[ She bets Sirius would say it's okay as long as he meets them first. He let her run with Barry after he met him, after all, and that's way more of a big deal than seeing a goat. ]

[stillplaying]

[She notices the way that Bo's brow creases. For a second, Katniss wonders if she misspoke. She's not all that good at socializing in general but children tend to be an exception. After losing their father, Katniss had practically raised her sister. She likes being around children. They're innocent, joyful. Everything that she tried to ensure Prim could remain as long as possible.

But whatever it is that bothered Bo seems to disappear as quickly as it came. Good.]

She wouldn't. [Of that Katniss has no doubts. Her sister is more fragile than she remembers but her kindness is still a part of who she is.] Lady just arrived here, too. Prim would love the chance to show her off to someone who would really appreciate her. Two someones, if Stanley wants to come, too.

[veryimportantlittlegirl]

[ If only Katniss knew that innocent was accurate but joyful wasn't always so accurate, she might have been a little less self-conscious about noticing that blip in Bo's happy face. She can't control it when other people's feelings hit her or how she'll react to them, but she can control how long she lets that reaction take her over. She's getting much better at that, at least. ]

Stanley comes almost everywhere with me. I'll ask Sirius. Thanks, Katniss!