"I like to think of myself as something of a poet on my good days," she said with a bemused twist to her tone. What was life if not a chance for a little playful banter? She certainly enjoyed adding to a conversation a little wit or wonder. The stars above helped.
"It's funny... I don't really wish I had more time. I just suppose I wish that I had not squandered the time I had to now the way that I did. But, a girl has to learn these things the hard way sometimes." Right hand strayed to left, feeling over the fingers. There was a memory there for a moment before she sighed. "I suppose this place is a new beginning for as long as I'm here. Yes?"
There were a few faces she hoped never to see here. Those would be painful. Especially as most would not remember her, and the few who would... well, awkward might have been the best way to speak of the few relations from her birth world.
"In a way it is I suppose. A chance to learn from what we've done, and yet not be entirely trapped by it."
Not expectations being tied to a family name, no limitations, a chance to put their mistakes and misguided decisions behind them. They would be able to move forward and learn from what they had done, and could make a better choice from having learned those lessons. At the touch, she looked down focusing on the other's hand, something about the touch hinting at there being a story there. But Caitlyn wasn't going to push, rather she would let Chloe open up about what she wanted when it was the right time.
"But that doesn't mean that it's the end of who or what we were before either. Just a chance to grow in a new way, free from the constraints of where we were before."
"Oh, I will always be the very girl that grew up in that vineyard with their best friend so very long ago," she said wistfully. "You can never truly stick a fork in that part of me." For whatever reason, she chuckled at that. The woman had a bit of a dark humor about how she'd died to a dinner fork though she rarely explained the joke.
"But I think perhaps I'm a bit wiser than I was once, more discerning of whose wisdom I trust and what it is that I seek to live for. I've spent too long as someone's blade. I won't anymore. I am my own." She glanced over and winked. "It can be freeing, knowing that I don't actually answer to anyone for not serving them anymore."
So she'd been a soldier of some sort then; it was strange that the similarities were starting to come out. She'd recently learned about being a bit more discerning about who she trusted as well, and in whose advice and wisdom she followed. If it was something she'd learned earlier, perhaps many people wouldn't have paid the cost of her ignorance.
"And in knowing that you're not being used for some hidden agenda. Yes."
Taking a few steps forward, Caitlyn let her hand slide from the other's shoulder before wrapping her arms in front of her. She had been arrogant, stubborn, so angry and blinded that she'd just listened to the poisoned advice from Ambessa and now Piltover was going to be caught in an all-out war. And yet she'd escaped here before the gates could be stormed, before the full consequences of those choices full caught up to her. Though her eyes had been opened.
"But it's not answering to who I was under that is the problem, rather those who I was supposed to serve, to protect and defend and yet failed to do so."
Their problems and regrets weren't quite the same. Of course, that was intrinsically the difference between an assassin and a soldier. The only protection she did was in killing the person before they could cause harm according to her master. But there were still similarities. She smiled to herself and watched the woman getting to her feet, cocking her head a little.
"I suppose mine stems more from the blood I've shed, the lives taken or harmed that perhaps should not have been. But their ghosts linger in their own way in my life. Still... we can face those ghosts if we choose here. I've been doing that for a while now." Weird that that blasted island had helped.
"Perhaps you will have a chance to make amends. Most of those I shed the blood of were... not the sort I'd ask forgiveness from." She tended to kill awful people.
"I suppose we'll see. There may be a chance for a lot of things here to be set right, but then there may be the chance to experience new things as well. To learn a bit more about ourselves and other people that we might be able to learn and grow from."
She looked back towards the other,
"Who knows, we might even get to name a few new constellations."
"Mmm we could, at that. Does anything in the night sky strike you as looking just a tiny bit like anything?" She was looking up after returning the woman's gaze. It was all too easy to come up with shapes, but she was curious what sorts this woman would see, what she'd seek out. It could say a bit.
Caitlyn had learned and practiced identifying trends and seeing patterns since she was young, and she had a relatively keen eye from the years she'd spent working on her marksmanship. So, looking at the sky, she was able to take in the view fairly quickly and began to try to make connections and find anything that might be easy to recognize.
"This reminds me of being a child, and looking up at clouds and talking about what they looked like."
Only with clouds the image was always fleeting, with the stars it was something a bit more permanent. Spotting a cluster of stars Caitlyn pointed out to them, tracing a shape over them.
"There, that group looks like a rabbit that's racing across the sky."
Like the rabbits she used to track and hunt in the snow by her family's lodge. Back when things were simple.
She nodded as she looked at it. The ears were the telling thing. Her own hand pointed to behind the hare, where a long trail of stars spanned the sky, seeming to link with a triangle at the end. "That one almost reminds me a little of Serpens back in my world. A serpent. Though it is easy enough to find a long trail like that. I just have to link it to a head. Still, if there is a hare, ought it not have one it chases or who it is chased by?" she said, musing a little and rising and standing along with the other woman.
"Freedom is never quite without its perils, is it? Always one chasing after."
"Perhaps. It's be nice to be able to pause for just a bit though, to stop having to chase after something, or worry about something catching up to you."
How long had she been chasing after Jinx, and now that she was in custody, she questioned whether the chase had been worth everything that come with it. Esepcially now that she'd found herself as the one being chased and pursued. Inevitably waiting for when she would be caught.
Shaking her head she tried to push the thoughts away, it wasn't something she could do anything about, not here and not now.
"Well if you're going to call yours Serpens, I suppose I should name our rabbit."
"I certainly think if we're picking names out, I should get one and you the other... Serpens feels a little like being back at home so I'll keep it. What will you call your furry little friend?" She giggled a little. It was childish in a way but a good way to take their minds off of things.
"And don't you worry. I have a feeling we have all the time in the world for this little pause." How long had she been on the island? Five years? Six? There was time again.
"Well since they're always running across the sky, how about Dasher? Or maybe Harelyn?"
She was horrid at naming things, often coming out a bit too literally, or putting far more thought and effort into it. Plus, coming up with something on the spot also put her at a bit of a disadvantage also.
"Both are fine names," she said, walking up slowly. For how she'd reacted with a bit of a start when Caitlyn had touched her earlier, she seemed just as willing to initiate touch herself. A hand reached over to pat on the woman's arm and she considered for a moment. "Which do you like more... It is your choice after all."
To the other question though... she smiled a little sadly and winked. "What I want does not matter. I'm dead, my dear. I only live because I'm here." A little giggle followed and she let her smirk broaden. "Why not enjoy the extra time I have, whatever form it takes?"
Caitlyn's eyes widened a little at the revelation. Chloe was dead. . . did that mean that, no she was certain that she'd gotten out of there. She had seen to everything in the aftermath. She looked around for a moment, trying to figure it all out, but then Chloe had sounded so relaxed about it. Eventually, she just let out a breath, placing her hand onto of the others.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but yes, at least you have a little time now. Hopefully, it can be one that's a bit more pleasant, that you can enjoy."
Still, Caitlyn's curiosity did get the better of her.
She considered that for a moment. "Another day, yes. Not here." There were ears. she wanted to choose what people learned about Atia and her island. If anyone. "But don't worry your pretty little head about it. I am quite at peace with my passing, I assure you. I just think of this as a new lease on life."
It had also been five years. It was easier to cope with being dead when you had years to do it in. Trained counselors helped too. She winked. "Perhaps you'd join me for dinner tomorrow? Away from the crowds?"
It was a bit open and exposed, and there was no telling if there might be someone listening in. Besides it was a nice night, and they seemed to be having a pleasant time admiring and naming their own constellations. It was peaceful, and Chloe's assurance that she was at peace with the events that had happened was enough to put Caitlyn at ease for the meantime.
"I'd like that, but where? I certainly don't have anything that would make for a decent meal."
"Oh, why don't you stop by my place in this case? I'm not really that great of a cook, but I suspect we can at least convince them to let us have something better than appetizers," she offered with a bemused smirk on her face. "We can worry about impressing or poisoning each other with cooking soon enough. Let's just take advantage of our hosts for now."
She made quite a few assumptions about those hosts, but she suspected this one was safe.
"I'm not the best cook either, but I can manage something simple. But if something was already prepared that would leave us more time to talk and spend time getting to know one another."
It would also probably be a lot more filling and there wouldn't be the matter of who would have to clean up afterward as well. Caitlyn would have felt uncomfortable thinking about having left a sink full of dishes or something to be done for later.
"Oh we are a pair. We can burn down my kitchen next time for fun," she said with a bemused giggle. Reaching into her clothes, she pulled out a small pad and scrawled the directions on it along with a time right around the dinner hour. "It was ... nice to meet you, Caitlyn. I do hope this is the beginning of something interesting."
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chiming
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Date: 2025-02-15 05:19 am (UTC)From:"It's funny... I don't really wish I had more time. I just suppose I wish that I had not squandered the time I had to now the way that I did. But, a girl has to learn these things the hard way sometimes." Right hand strayed to left, feeling over the fingers. There was a memory there for a moment before she sighed. "I suppose this place is a new beginning for as long as I'm here. Yes?"
There were a few faces she hoped never to see here. Those would be painful. Especially as most would not remember her, and the few who would... well, awkward might have been the best way to speak of the few relations from her birth world.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-16 01:35 am (UTC)From:Not expectations being tied to a family name, no limitations, a chance to put their mistakes and misguided decisions behind them. They would be able to move forward and learn from what they had done, and could make a better choice from having learned those lessons. At the touch, she looked down focusing on the other's hand, something about the touch hinting at there being a story there. But Caitlyn wasn't going to push, rather she would let Chloe open up about what she wanted when it was the right time.
"But that doesn't mean that it's the end of who or what we were before either. Just a chance to grow in a new way, free from the constraints of where we were before."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-16 04:41 am (UTC)From:"But I think perhaps I'm a bit wiser than I was once, more discerning of whose wisdom I trust and what it is that I seek to live for. I've spent too long as someone's blade. I won't anymore. I am my own." She glanced over and winked. "It can be freeing, knowing that I don't actually answer to anyone for not serving them anymore."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-17 02:24 pm (UTC)From:"And in knowing that you're not being used for some hidden agenda. Yes."
Taking a few steps forward, Caitlyn let her hand slide from the other's shoulder before wrapping her arms in front of her. She had been arrogant, stubborn, so angry and blinded that she'd just listened to the poisoned advice from Ambessa and now Piltover was going to be caught in an all-out war. And yet she'd escaped here before the gates could be stormed, before the full consequences of those choices full caught up to her. Though her eyes had been opened.
"But it's not answering to who I was under that is the problem, rather those who I was supposed to serve, to protect and defend and yet failed to do so."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 04:22 am (UTC)From:"I suppose mine stems more from the blood I've shed, the lives taken or harmed that perhaps should not have been. But their ghosts linger in their own way in my life. Still... we can face those ghosts if we choose here. I've been doing that for a while now." Weird that that blasted island had helped.
"Perhaps you will have a chance to make amends. Most of those I shed the blood of were... not the sort I'd ask forgiveness from." She tended to kill awful people.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-19 03:07 am (UTC)From:She looked back towards the other,
"Who knows, we might even get to name a few new constellations."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-19 03:30 am (UTC)From:Almost like a starry rorschach blot.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-19 03:44 am (UTC)From:"This reminds me of being a child, and looking up at clouds and talking about what they looked like."
Only with clouds the image was always fleeting, with the stars it was something a bit more permanent. Spotting a cluster of stars Caitlyn pointed out to them, tracing a shape over them.
"There, that group looks like a rabbit that's racing across the sky."
Like the rabbits she used to track and hunt in the snow by her family's lodge. Back when things were simple.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-20 04:30 am (UTC)From:"Freedom is never quite without its perils, is it? Always one chasing after."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-21 05:49 pm (UTC)From:How long had she been chasing after Jinx, and now that she was in custody, she questioned whether the chase had been worth everything that come with it. Esepcially now that she'd found herself as the one being chased and pursued. Inevitably waiting for when she would be caught.
Shaking her head she tried to push the thoughts away, it wasn't something she could do anything about, not here and not now.
"Well if you're going to call yours Serpens, I suppose I should name our rabbit."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 05:47 am (UTC)From:"And don't you worry. I have a feeling we have all the time in the world for this little pause." How long had she been on the island? Five years? Six? There was time again.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 04:13 am (UTC)From:She was horrid at naming things, often coming out a bit too literally, or putting far more thought and effort into it. Plus, coming up with something on the spot also put her at a bit of a disadvantage also.
"But is that what you want?"
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 04:26 am (UTC)From:To the other question though... she smiled a little sadly and winked. "What I want does not matter. I'm dead, my dear. I only live because I'm here." A little giggle followed and she let her smirk broaden. "Why not enjoy the extra time I have, whatever form it takes?"
no subject
Date: 2025-02-27 10:09 pm (UTC)From:"I'm sorry to hear that, but yes, at least you have a little time now. Hopefully, it can be one that's a bit more pleasant, that you can enjoy."
Still, Caitlyn's curiosity did get the better of her.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?"
no subject
Date: 2025-02-27 10:37 pm (UTC)From:It had also been five years. It was easier to cope with being dead when you had years to do it in. Trained counselors helped too. She winked. "Perhaps you'd join me for dinner tomorrow? Away from the crowds?"
no subject
Date: 2025-02-28 06:23 pm (UTC)From:It was a bit open and exposed, and there was no telling if there might be someone listening in. Besides it was a nice night, and they seemed to be having a pleasant time admiring and naming their own constellations. It was peaceful, and Chloe's assurance that she was at peace with the events that had happened was enough to put Caitlyn at ease for the meantime.
"I'd like that, but where? I certainly don't have anything that would make for a decent meal."
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 05:12 am (UTC)From:She made quite a few assumptions about those hosts, but she suspected this one was safe.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-04 02:08 pm (UTC)From:It would also probably be a lot more filling and there wouldn't be the matter of who would have to clean up afterward as well. Caitlyn would have felt uncomfortable thinking about having left a sink full of dishes or something to be done for later.
"What time? And just where is your place?"
no subject
Date: 2025-03-04 04:15 pm (UTC)From:(OOC: What do you say I start a new thread?)