Out on the Preserve, Sunday morning (NWS)

[nadiathesaint]

Out on the preserve, sleeping quietly in a tent, Nadia dreamed:

She was looking into the mirror, but the face looking back wasn't her own. She reached out to touch the glass and the reflection's fingers met her own as she watched its features meld and change, from male to female.

She picked some mascara and slowly, carefully applied it to her lashes, as though she was not entire familiar with the process. Some of her lashes stuck together, but that didn't matter, just now.

Fingers reached out, hit the play button on an old stereo, and music filled the space.

Once the make up was finished, she reached up taking down a shining, slightly fuzzy box and lifting off the lid. Inside was hair. Lots and lots of hair, of all different colors and styles. She plunged her fingers in, feeling the soft fibers slide over her skin.

Who should she be, today?

Anyone, really. Though, she knew, eventually, she'd have to turn back to herself.

She woke up blinking and sighed. She couldn't have had one of those dreams while they were trying to figure out the ghosts. Oh, no, she had to have an almost completely useless one like that.

If she ever saw her father again, she was going to throttle him with her bare hands.

Comments

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter opened his eyes and scanned their tent before looking at Nadia. No threatening shadows on the tent material, and Nadia wasn't grabbing for a weapon. Right. Just a nice night's camping.

"Good morning?"

[nadiathesaint]

"Morning." Nadia couldn't help but smile at him. "How'd you sleep?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter smiled back. "Well, with good company. How are you feeling this morning?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia stretched, then winced slightly as her arm twinged. "I'm okay." Annoyed, still, that she couldn't have had a more useful dream, but at least they finally got rid of the demon and the ghosts.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Good." Even if Walter did catch the wince. Dislocated shoulders didn't let you forget about them quite that easily. "We have the day to laze around, or did you want to rush back to the dorms to check on people?"

[nadiathesaint]

"I'm sure everyone is fine." Because there was no way she was rushing out of here to a place with that many people just yet. She rolled over to dig through her backpack for her ibuprofen. And discovered one, lone sleeping pill. "Aw crap. So that's what that was."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"What's what what was?"

What? He just woke up.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia blinked, attempting to follow that statement, then just mentally shrugged it off. She held up the lone pill. "I'm supposed to have two of these left. I told Lucas to grab a painkiller out of my bag yesterday. And I just dreamed that he was a girl."

It wasn't exactly rocket science.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter snickered. "You mean Lucas is a girl, today?" He started laughing harder, which, for the record, is a little on the painful side after last night's hijinks.

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia smacked him lightly. "It's not funny!" Even though she was trying to restrain giggles, herself.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"It is so!" Walter was trying to picture Lucas as a girl. He was probably incredibly deadpan about it. "What did you dream?" hh

[nadiathesaint]

"He was a she and she was putting on make up and a wig." Nadia gave up on restraining the laughter. "She didn't seem very worried about it."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"He hardly needs a wig," Walter said between chuckles. "I have a feeling he'll take it better than I did."

[nadiathesaint]

"I think you handled it very well."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I was quite put out the first time," Walter admitted. "But the second time was better."

[nadiathesaint]

"Well, the first time you weren't expecting it. And you were dating someone who wasn't as . . . flexible as some."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter rolled onto his back and looked up at the tent fabric. "Yeah." He was silent for a moment before looking back at Nadia. "I'm much happier with you."

What did that say about him, he wondered.

[nadiathesaint]

"I'm glad. That you're happy, not that you're with me. Um, not just that you're with me. I'm glad being with me makes you happy?"

Now where the hell did that babble come from?

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Uh huh. You're glad. I'm glad." He rolled over on his stomach with his body pressed in a line against hers. "Now before we get too distracted, what were you actually looking for in your backpack?"

[nadiathesaint]

"Painkillers," Nadia muttered. "Dislocated shoulders suck." Almost as much as cracked ribs, but she wasn't about to bring that up.

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

He kissed the shoulder closer to him. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

[nadiathesaint]

Did he know a magic cure for an achy shoulder?

"Take my mind off of it?" Speaking of minds being off of things. . . . "What happened last night? How did that tentacle sneak up on you?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Taking her mind off of it was an extremely pleasant order.

Then there was the subject change, which was not so pleasant.

"A ghost. Did we ever figure out if they were really who they looked like, or just created by the demon?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia frowned, rolling onto her back to take the pressure off her shoulder. "I don't know. I think they were just created by the demon. Why? Who did you see?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter closed his eyes and rested his chin on his folded arms. "My father."