riverviewlogs | OPEN | the waves still crash on the bonfire ash.

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OPEN | the waves still crash on the bonfire ash.

who: skye & you, hopefully.
what: getting settled? getting hype? what's soon to be the usual, probably.
when: throughout the month of may.
where: city-wide!
warnings: none yet.

✈ in memoriam.

( she doesn't want to mourn. not like this, anyway. skye has too many guilt-laden memories that hang off her ribs to let them free into this city yet; she's half-convinced she'd light too many lanterns and burn the place down. so, instead, she opts to observe. she finds a quiet place off to the side where she can draw 8-bit patterns across the lantern someone had so helpfully placed in her hands and thinks back to all the people she'd left behind.

she draws a pattern on one side, jagged lines that don't quite meet so much as attempt to cross each other out, and hides a name in the blur of ink in the middle. trip, four letters, but they're hard enough to write as it is. another side depicts the layout of the bus, a messy blue print from an untrained hand. the lines are thickest for a square off to the side; not her bedroom, but the sparring room. a place that left her mourning for something that had never been real in the first place. ward. what could have been.

at one point, someone approaches her, lighter in hand and ready to help lift the lantern up into the sky. there's a beat of hesitation before she shakes her head, fingers clutching reflexively over the paper between them. )

No, I think I'm going to keep it, actually.

( is that weird? it might be weird. )

Is that okay?

✈ in officio.

( they offer her a job. well, to be more specific, they tell her to find her own work, which seems a lot more real than anything else thus far. she's not used to having things handed to her, anyway; the idea of having to find her own work seems much more skye than playing cheerful worker drone and just going where they tell her to.

not that she really has to try, anyway. the city seems more than happy to request software codes — mostly inconsequential things, housekeeping projects that likely are a little too blase for anyone they might keep on staff full time, but skye doesn't mind. it puts money in her pocket and boredom on the back burner, the former of which she prefers and the latter of which is probably better for the city.

as a freelancer, though, skye doesn't have an office. there's no official place for someone to meet her or come calling; ultimately, it means that everywhere becomes her office. depending on the day or her mood, she calls a few places "home away from home" — the coffee shops, of course, with their comfortable seating and plentiful selection of baked goods; the local university's library, naturally, and its expansive collection of quiet working tables and reference materials; and in a twist, the local gym, where skye can scout for someone she might want to approach after hours, in the hopes of filling up all that precious free time.

she thinks may might even be proud of her for that. sparring voluntarily? who would have thought. not skye, that's for damn certain, but she's trying new things. like talking to people, for one. such as: )

Hey — ( hey you, no, that's rude. ) — listen, can you hand me that?

( "it" could be anything. a lamp, a book, a muffin someone dropped on the ground. go crazy. get weird. make things happen. )

✈ wildcard.

( y'all probably know the drill. if you want something particular, please shoot me a pm and let me know! ♥ )

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Ah, that explains it. I don't go searching for state secrets so much as the closest pizza joint in whatever city I happen to be running through.

[ It's true the wonderful world of science isn't nearly as fascinating to Wally as it is to his former mentor. But with having so many 'Flash Facts' dropped on him by Barry over the years, some of the so called proper terminology has stuck with him in spite of only possessing a passing interest in the subject himself.

He's perfectly content with letting her introduction pass by outside of flicking a finger at himself and muttering his own first name in a sort of automatic response. Which is good because she doesn't waste any time getting back to the topic at hand. ]

Plenty of people. Both here and back home. Even some with those type of powers. [ He briefly wonders if one of those powers is directly relevant to this discussion, but he has no desire to pry as she appears to be more comfortable pretending this is all hypothetical. ] You could say I grew up in that world.

[ That doesn't make him some sort of expert, though. That has always been more of Barry's area as he's able to explain the most complicated of concepts with a clarity that makes it easy for people to understand. It's one of the reasons he's such a great teacher. Wally has always been more of a feeler, and that's a lot harder for him to convey to others. ]

My advice to a person in such a situation would be for them to get a feel for their powers, to see what they can do. It's not something that would be easy, and could be more than a little terrifying, but learning to control them is the best way to avoid those kinds of accidents in my experience.

So you're not — ( a pause as skye considers the right way to phrase it. ) — the only one with powers, then. I don't know what you'd call it.

( and why would she? if things were hypothetical, skye would have no reason to know a term like that outside of science fiction. superheroes, mutants, alien invaders — the phrasing was superficial at best, and wholly inaccurate and potentially misleading at its worst.

but this? this conversation isn't going where she thought it might. she can't help but feel a little uncomfortable. the longer he talks, the less confident she feels in pulling off this innocently curious uninvolved third party act; the less confident she feels, the more the anxiety and nerves begin to bubble up in her chest, damning emotions like lava itching to explode from the volcano. too much nervous energy leads to the slightest of trembling in her fingers, though she does her best to hide it by curling them around her arms. if wally's sensitive to it, he might pick up on the vibrations that seem to echo from her skin. )

So like driver's ed for caped crusaders. But I'm pretty sure this place wouldn't want someone to accidentally take out a building or something for superhero class.

( even the thought makes skye's heartbeat pick up a bit. it's a sweet concept, testing and learning and controlling, but not one she's quite keen on trying any time soon. there's too many risks. )

[ Wally picks a little at the food in the container before plopping a piece of a peach-like fruit into his mouth. He may not be the biggest fan of fruit in general, but there's something particularly sweet about this one that has him making a low satisfied sound once he's done swallowing before he dives back into the conversation. ]

Back home they call us metahumans. Real creative, I know. But here? We call it like half the population. I'm not actually sure of the exact number, but there are a lot of people with all sort of different abilities in this place.

[ He's about to have another tasty treat, but the piece of fruit stops just short of his lips this time, as his brow furrows. He feels... something. He isn't quite sure what, so he slips into speed-mode, and it makes it seem like the whole world around him has slowed to a crawl.

Skye has no idea what he's doing, it will take her a few minutes to even finish whatever word she's currently saying while she drawls out the syllables if he stays like this, but after a relative moment, he discovers the source of the strange feeling as he can practically hear the vibrations coming off of her. It's something the Flashes are inherently attuned to to some extent, their own phasing abilities relying on them vibrating their molecules at just the right frequency, and that could explain why he picks up on it where others might not.

Time goes back to moving normally as he pulls himself out of speed-mode, his expression radiating the same friendliness as before while Skye finishes what she's saying, the only clue things aren't the same on his end being he is no longer holding the container of food having deposited it on the bench while in speed-mode in case he has to spring into action. ]

They probably wouldn't appreciate that. Outside the walls can be pretty dangerous with the monsters and whatnot, but there's a few places out there that could serve as an impromptu training area. [ a beat before: ] Y'know, if someone who was capable of something like that showed up here.

[ Trying to keep up the pretense this is all hypothetical seems silly at this point, but with her potentially being on the edge of having one of those accidents, he's willing to play dumb if she allows it. Of course, the way his green eyes slowly drift down to look at her fingers holding her arms trembling ever so slightly is a dead giveaway he knows. ]

Probably shouldn't sign up for those classes then.

( the vibrations start small. it's only a hundred bees, at first; they swarm through her veins, their collective buzzing gently echoing along her bones, just enough to leave her limbs trembling as her lips flatten against each other into a firm line. it's like trying to dam a brook, but the more she fights the sensations, the stronger the current gets — by the time her attentions catch hold of the now-missing fruit cup, panic swells in her throat, her heart sinking in her chest like an anchor thrown into a riverbed. )

I mean — ( but her train of thought runs off course as swiftly as his movements must have been, leaving her agape and confused and nervous in a way she hasn't felt since arriving here. she's never been good at subtlety, of course he's caught on. ) — yeah. If. If I had powers, I mean.

( it sounds weak, she knows. it's sounded weak from the start, but she's tried her best to soldier through. not that it's done her any favors, though; it's left the rumbling in her head growing louder by the millisecond, and the more skye tries to steady herself, the more acutely aware she becomes of wally's concerned, patient, quiet gaze. like she's as obvious as a bull in a china shop, but he's willing to play along with the crazy girl who's getting ready to unleash a natural disaster.

no wonder she's starting to feel a little light-headed. with a grimace, skye wavers ever so slightly, reaching out to lean towards... well, something. the bench, the man standing in its general direction, maybe the floor. she misses, though, and stumbles a step or two. thanks to the abrupt disruption, the vibrations increase; her eyelids squeeze shut for a moment as if to block them out. )

Fuck.

( so much for pretense. )

[ Wally's eyes widen the moment Skye begins to waver, and by the time she takes her stumbled steps, he blurs to her side so he can place one his arms around the middle of her back and uses his chest to support her shoulder in an attempt to steady her.

He thinks she's having some sort of panic attack at first, but the way he can literally feel the vibrations coming off of her now thanks to their close proximity has him concerned she might be on the verge of having one those accidents she talked about any second now.

An accident that could potentially take out a building if what she alluded to earlier is correct. Fuck would seem to be an accurate description of the situation.

Deciding they can't risk such a thing taking place within the city, he mumbles a quick hold on, before he hooks his free arm underneath her knees and scoops her up so he can speed her out of the Quarantine as fast as he can. Skye doesn't have any time to protest the act if she wanted to, because a fraction of a second later, the two of them come to a stop in a small clearing in the jungle somewhere on the other side of the moon in their gym clothes. ]

Are you okay?

[ An incredibly ridiculous question made even more so by the fact he is still holding her in his arms. ]

( she's always prided herself on being quick with the upkeep, on being able to adapt to new situations and keep on trucking even when things get weird. she's managed to survive through dozens of foster homes, through the strange black hole that had been her first few years on the streets, even through the bizarre reality of shield purgatory — but finding herself blinking in a new forest, cradled by someone else's arms holding her upright, when she didn't have so much as a memory of stepping through a door... well, it's a lot.

is she okay? skye swallows hard, rumbling echoing in her ears, and shakes her head. ) No. ( not that she needs to say it. even before the syllable drops from her lips, the ground that should be beneath her feet begins to shake, leaves falling from the tree branches around them without even a hint of a breeze to move them. )

I'm not — you should —

( you should go. before he gets hurt. before she winds up hurting someone else, someone who's only been nice and polite to her, who doesn't deserve the damage that seems to come in her wake. )

I can't control it.

[ Wally is finding it a little difficult to keep his balance with the ground trembling beneath him like it is. They are running out of time. He has to think of something, anything before he and the woman in his arms find themselves buried beneath a lot of trees. The only thing he knows at this picosecond is that he isn't leaving her no matter what she says. ]

Don't worry. I'll think of something.

[ The sureness in his voice is only matched by the determination in the emerald eyes looking down at her. He sucks in a breath through pursed lips, racking his accelerated brain in attempt to come up with what his next move should be. The only firm conclusion he comes to is that he is so far out of his depth here. Maybe he shouldn't have sounded so sure.

That line of thinking leads to him resorting to asking himself the same question he always does whenever he finds himself in an overly difficult situation; what would Barry Allen do?

The muscles in the arms holding Skye suddenly twitch, as if he's preparing to take off again, before he gently sets her on the ground, a comforting hand staying on her shoulder while he kneels beside her on the shaky earth. ]

Okay, um. Whenever my powers got out of control, my uncle used to tell me to take a few deep breaths and start focusing on listing things that I love. I know it sounds silly, but maybe you'd like to humor me?

[ His words are as light as they are hurried in an attempt to present a level of calmness that he isn't really feeling. He knows this is a long shot, but talking her down is exactly what his mentor would try to do in this situation. And if it doesn't work? Well, some people don't call him the Fastest Man Alive for nothing. ]

( things she loves? the reality is stark, and admittedly a little sad — at first, skye's mind goes blank, struggling to come up with anything that feels real. she's tempted to rattle off cheesy things, sarcastic quips of things she likes just to get him off her back, but the genuine concern in his eyes stills the words before they can spill past her lips.

she's quiet; instead, her attention goes to steadying the rapid, shallow breaths that run back and forth across her mouth, trying desperately to calm herself before anything irreversible happens to someone who very much doesn't deserve it.

eventually, though, she manages to come up with something. it's not quite as sincere and meaningful as my family or my friends, but it means something to skye, and she has to think that counts for something here too. )

Belonging. ( she winces a bit, waiting for a laugh that — much to her surprise — doesn't come. ) The feeling of... I don't know, of being part of something. A place where you mean something, where it matters if you show up or not.

( her palms splay out over her face, pressing against her eyes for a brief moment as if to quell any wetness that might be threatening to bubble up beneath. crying would be ridiculous. she won't be that person. )

I love... I loved being part of a team. God, that's so — so ridiculous, but I did.

( and then they decided that people like her were dangerous creatures, and skye had watched that thing she loved fall away from her, just like every other place that had ever been home. )

I loved them.

[ The act of Skye bringing her hands up to her eyes has Wally turning his head away from her to look off in the distance. Partly to give her what little feeling of privacy he can while staying by her side, partly because he doesn't want her to see the emotion that flickers across his own face.

Everything she had rattled off in response to him prompting her to list the things she loves strikes a chord with him. He could easily see himself mentioning the same exact things if their positions were reversed.

The sense of belonging is something he has yearned for ever since he escaped the Speed Force back home to find out he was nothing more than a forgotten memory thanks to the villain Abra Kadabra having erased his existence from the minds of everyone in the world. He struggled mightily to fit into a place that had easily moved on without him.

The only real and certain thing in his life during that time was his friends on the Titans. The team and their friendship provided him with a feeling of purpose that was otherwise missing, but even that was taken away in the end as the Titans were forced to disband. Despite everything, he would freely admit how much he loves them to anyone who would listen.

He eventually blows out a heavy breath, pushing whatever sentimental thoughts that are rolling around his head out with it, and turns to look at her with a reassuring smile that can only be described as genuine. There will be no judgment here whether she has managed to compose herself or not. ]

I love those things, too. Well, not your team specifically. I mean, I don't actually know them. But I'm sure they're great. [ a beat before: ] What I'm trying to say is that I get it. At least as much as anyone can get it.

[ The pace in which the leaves are falling off the trees has slowed and he has noticed the energy building up underneath the soil below them has begun to ebb a little. It may be a little premature to say, but it looks like he can score another point for Barry's teachings if he can continue to keep her relaxed and focused. ]

They are great. ( the words are accompanied by a strained laugh, huffed out with a small shake of her head as her fingertips drag across her eyelids. there will be no exposing of the tears that have pooled there today. ) They're... the best thing that ever happened to me.

( and it's true, it really is. coulson plucking her out of the void instead of throwing her into the nearest shield gulag had been a blessing skye hadn't really been able to process when it was happening; it had taken her arrival here before she truly understood the magnitude of that generosity. her time had been short, but it had been full; from may's tutelage to the friendships she'd forged with jemma and fitz, to even the rise and fall of her so-called relationship with grant ward... there had been life in her time there, a life well lived and love sincerely felt. to lose it so suddenly and without warning, and at no real fault of her own — )

Or they were.

( the sorrow swells up in her chest, hot and dangerous like lava bubbling up through a supposedly dormant volcano, and skye swallows down the first cry. she's learned to hold those back, but with the repression of her emotions comes the strength of the quake beneath them. maybe it might behoove her to consider letting loose, ironically enough. )

Now they don't want anything to do with me.

[ Wally opens his mouth, about to ask her why they would do something like that, before he snaps it shut without saying a word. Her developing powers, the panic in her eyes when she realized he had noticed them at the gym. It's more than enough for him to jump to his own conclusions for better or worse.

He remembers John and Clarice telling him they come from a world where people (mutants they are called, he thinks) are singled out and targeted simply because they have abilities they didn't ask for. That, instead of offering these people the help they need to deal with their powers and everything that goes with it, the government would rather just lock them up and throw away the key.

Wally knows firsthand the potential damage powered people can cause and the blood they could spill. But he also knows of all the truly great and heroic things they can accomplish if they are just given the opportunity. The idea that people, much less so called friends, would discard someone for something they have no control over before even giving them a chance...

The thought this might be what happened to Skye has his own anger bubbling up to the surface, the most visible manifestation of it being the small sparks of bluish-white lightning flickering around his eyes since he's still tapping into the Speed Force in case things go south. Usually, the lightning is a sign he's actively using his powers, but in this instance, it's the result of his emotions about to get the better of him.

Knowing losing his cool isn't going to help anyone, he tightly closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths to squash the gathering storm inside him until the lightning effect fades away. Now with his own emotions reigned in, he opens his eyes which are wholly green again and begins to lightly rub the hand that was previously resting on her shoulder up and down her back in what he hopes is a soothing act. ]

You don't have to worry about anything like that happening here. And we'll figure this whole power thing of yours out. Together. I promise.

[ He doesn't know how much a promise from someone she just met several minutes ago means here. All he knows is it's a promise he fully intends to keep if she lets him. ]

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OPEN | the waves still crash on the bonfire ash.

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my apologies, the flu is a monster.

no worries!!

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