riverviewlogs | First light, a second chance [semi-open]

who: Ava and Friends
what: Catchall log for September
when: All month
where: Around town
warnings: Will warn if anything comes up, etc

I. You'll never make it to the great unknown [Open]

[It takes a little bit of research, some casual words to a few people before she's certain that touching the SkyTram system wouldn't have the possibility of feeding back into the city. Well, she's reasonably certain, at least. If there's excess she should be able to divert it into the fence. Enough distance to hopefully keep from overloading anything if she loses control or misjudges. Her precautions aren't perfect, but she makes an attempt at least.

And then one late night there's a blue light that traces along the lines of the SkyTram system in the Abandoned City. It's a test; gives her a feel for it. And there's something attractive about the sight of it, the current of blue energy that traces through the woods, the overgrown underbrush. But no fire, nothing catches, just a streamer of light in the darkness. And then she lets it fade: she's got work to do. Some of the lines sparked to life, some need more than just power. She can do this.

She needs this. She spends a lot of time out here these days, erratic hours, working too long. Sliding along the rails in the sky, or dangling precariously from one of the bullet cars, blue light in her hands. She identifies the easiest one to repair that first night. While it's still definitely a project, she wants to get one up and running. In a way, it's sort of a penance for the fire, too. Like James had said: make up for it.]

II. 'Till you keep your eyes open [Closed to Bucky]

[She's really good at overworking herself. She's got a direction, and it's so easy to just throw herself into it. Do what she can, make a list of questions she needs to ask Tony later, and keep pushing herself. It's physical, tactile, and she's always liked that. Things in her hands. And much like Loki had suggested, it's an outlet for her powers, even if it's not enough doesn't entirely dim that feeling like she might explode, but she doesn't really like to admit just how hard coping with it is.

There are some nights where she doesn't make it back to Bucky's couch, and instead ends up curled up on the Tram car she's working on. Just a nap, is what she tells herself. She's just going to close her eyes for a second, and then she'll be better at parsing out the right angle for the coils. They'd been knocked out of alignment, and she needs to fix them before powering the system will make much of a difference.

But five minutes turns into an hour and more. She's honestly not getting enough sleep, scared of her own nightmares, of the power that crackles just under her skin. It makes it difficult to get a good night's sleep. Even out here, she shifts and turns every so often.]

III. So show me your fire, show me your heart [Closed to Steve]

[It's one of those days when she's up early, before the sun, intending to hit the gym. She doesn't always catch Steve, but today she does, sees him in the kitchen as she leans against the counter, duffle bag over her shoulder and sipping at a mug of coffee in between her hands. She likes hitting the gym before stopping for breakfast, but coffee makes her feel alive first thing in the morning. Black, with a little sugar as a relic from a few years accustomed to coffee machines with sugar packets and only powdered creamer on the lucky days.]

Hey, morning.

[There's a smile and an easy wave of her fingers. She's not actually a morning person, but she tries to avoid the crowds. Or just, well-- other people is the more accurate statement. Avoid the looks from being too fast, too good, or the way her eyes sometimes glow if she doesn't watch herself very carefully. Alone is usually best. But with Steve, well, a lot of those concerns are less present. And she does like sparring; the other Steve was pretty fun when they managed to meet up for it. So she's interested, at least.]

You hitting the gym?

IV. Wildcard

[If you have an idea, toss it at me. I'm always up for plotting either via PM or Plurk at

natalia_vdova. I'm totally willing to toss up starters for anyone interested. Ava is fairly antisocial, but I'm always up for pushing her to interact with people. She draws and dances and skulks around outside the wall and she likes the gun range.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ever since their talk, in the middle of the night, still surrounded by the scents of smoke and ash, where Ava had looked at him and said I'm not a kid, Bucky has tried to give her space and hasn't pried too much about her project. It's good to have something to do, he knows that, so he usually tries not to worry if it keeps her out at all hours of the day and night. Still, one night she doesn't come back at all, and Bucky can't sleep anyway, so he throws on his Perimeter Guard jacket over his sweatpants and t-shirt, pulls on some boots, and heads out to the abandoned city to see if she's just working or if something's happened.

The fresh night air is nice anyway.

It's not hard, out here, to find where she's been working. This outer part of the city is just that, abandoned, and it isn't hard to find the signs of recent human activity. Poking his head into the tram car, he glances it over, calling in a soft whisper,] Ava?

[If it had been almost anyone else, Ava would have been on her feet about as soon as his boots hit the metal, definitely by the time he said her name. But his voice is safe, cuts through that instinctual panic, and so all he gets in response is a groggy murmur from the redhead curled up on one of the less-ruined seats. It's a visceral kind of trust, doesn't even trust Natasha in quite the same way.

She's in a tee-shirt with her jacket pulled up over the small ball she makes there like a make-shift blanket, head pillowed on her elbow. She's working on the coils and the alignment of the magnets, which hasn't been easy. Her tech familiarity is more hat she can do with her powers and spy tricks, engineering is a bit out of her normal playground, but she pushes herself anyway.

There's a murmured sound of what might be his name.]

[Bucky isn't sure how much he deserves this kind of trust, that sort of instinctual trust that lets you sleep through the approach of a certain person over others, but he doesn't think about it right now. He leans in the doorway of the tram car for a moment, glancing over the scene. When he steps inside, it's carefully, to keep from moving or disturbing any of her work.

He keeps his voice soft, a hint of laughter in it as he whispers again,] Ava? C'mon, that can't be comfortable.

[There are some charts laid out, things she'd been able to scrounge up, diagrams of the rail lines. There was nowhere near as much literature as she'd have liked, but she was making do. There was also some of the parts she'd had to remove in order to get to the coils. Her long eyelashes flutter and she looks across at James blearily. She hasn't been sleeping well, but that's hardly a new problem.

She yawns, body curling in a little tighter.] 'M not done. Just--

[Her words a little slurred from what's clearly exhaustion, and she seems pretty out of it, words trailing off. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, been up before dawn and stayed out all night working on whatever she was doing with the SkyTrams.]

--Just for a minute.

[While he glances over the diagrams and parts, he leaves them be. He wouldn't know how to go about fixing any of this stuff, or he might offer to help. Right now, though, his concern is getting Ava back to the apartment to sleep, where it's at least safe. Out here in the abandoned city, there are still monsters that pop up unexpectedly, if not as many as out beyond the outer fences.]

You're worn out. C'mon, let's go back to the apartment and you can sleep. What kinda guy would I be if I left you out here to eaten? [He teases quietly, leaning down to rest a hand on her shoulder.] Do I gotta carry you?

[Ava's still trying to work through this stuff herself. But, Tony's helping a bit, so she's making progress. She knows a fair bit of science, but the practical, hands-on stuff was mostly spy stuff. And the SkyTrams need a bit more work than just power. But, well, she'd wanted a project. And she's far more willing to ask for help than give up.

She murmurs a little, just a little drained, but she blinks up at him, a touch of something almost a smile that curves her lips.]

Wont get eaten, it's metal. They wouldn't make it through the door. [Teasing a little in return, yawning as she shifts into the contact of his hand on her shoulder. The idea of curling up back at the apartment did sound nice, but she was still only half-awake.

She just kind of leans in toward him and hums softly.] Couch does sound better.

[It's a big undertaking, but he gets needing something to do. The perimeter guard is that for him, leading rescue expeditions into the forest and the jungle, patrolling the fences. If this helps Ava, he's not going to discourage her from it.

He snorts at the sleepy mumbling.] Some of these things are pretty determined, you know. Metal wouldn't stop 'em. [He coaxes her up a little farther and turns around, stooping down. Piggy-back style is probably the easiest way to take the walk.]

C'mon, your couch awaits.

[What she'd meant about the metal was that it was conductive, which meant that anything stepping foot in that tram car she didn't want there would not have a great night. But, she doesn't feel a particular need to clarify, to remind him that she's dangerous. So she just murmurs in quiet acceptance.

James coaxes her up, stooping down, and her slender arms wrap loosely around his neck. She's never actually had a piggy-back ride, but it's easy enough to figure out how to position her body; knees lightly pressing in at his waist as she lets him take her slight weight.]

Thanks.

[A soft whisper, because she does appreciate the things he does for her.]

[After the fire, he's very aware that she's dangerous, he does make the connection, but at the same time, who knows how things would go if something very large or something resistant to electricity and heat and fire found her out here. It's easier to play it off as teasing.

He hoists her up easily, her weight almost nothing, the flesh hand hooking under her knee to keep her secure. He leaves his metal one unencumbered in case they do un into anything, though he doesn't think they will. It had been a pretty quiet walk out here, the night still and cool, the planet beyond the moon a soft indiscernible shape in the sky. He starts the walk back, sure-footed in the dark.] Anytime.

First light, a second chance [semi-open]

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