Outside the dorms- Saturday morning

[notconflicted]

Sia was ready to write this last week off entirely. She didn't like feeling out of control of herself, she didn't like doing stupid things because of that (she didn't like doing stupid things, period), and she was more than ready to repress as necessary and move on.

She was starting by taking Vitor for a walk, without any worry of running into people she would have to watch herself around or feeling like she was doing it because she had to do something. She'd gotten him trained well enough that walks weren't the spastic ordeal they used to be, but he still had this compulsion to chase the squirrels that she hadn't managed to break him of yet.

"Would you stop?" she said. "It's just a squirrel. They're in my room all the time."


[Guess what this post is for!]

Comments

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

Years of training had given Syanna more than her fair share of poise. But out here, with none of her teachers - or her mother - watching, she felt free to shove her hands down her pockets and walk with just a little hint of a saunter.

Don't tell anyone.

So that was the way she was standing as she observed the girl who would become her mother, patiently waiting for the right moment.

Right... about--

"Here, boy."

[notconflicted]

And just like that, Vitor had a new friend! Or at least, he was really excited about meeting her, and trotted over to her as close as his leash would allow to say hi.

"He's a bit excitable," Sia said, a bit apologetically. She was still working on that with him, too.

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"It's okay," Syanna promised her. She offered Vitor one of her hands to smell. "I've met one of these before. Slightly bigger, actually."

[notconflicted]

"At least it hasn't seemed to give you a negative opinion," Sia said, watching Vitor sniff the girl's hands and making sure he didn't start jumping as his way to say hello. "I don't think I've seen you here before."

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"I'm playing truant," Syanna admitted. "Just busting out from under my teachers' yoke to sniff around here. Sounded interesting. Probably dangerous."

She ruffled the fur on top of Vitor's head once he was done sniffing.

[notconflicted]

She'd missed the interesting and dangerous stuff, though Sia wasn't about to say that as then she'd have to explain it. "So we have a reputation, you're saying."

Which didn't really surprise her. How this town didn't make the news, Sia had no idea.

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"I don't know about that," Syanna said, shrugging her shoulders as she turned her attention away from Vitor. "But you and dad were pretty clear about that whole interesting-and-dangerous business. So frankly, you really don't have anyone but yourself to blame."

She was enjoying talking to her mother like that, yes.

[notconflicted]

...She had heard that right, yes?

"Excuse me?"

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"You're my mother," Syanna replied, then jabbed a thumb back towards the park. "There's a portal to two decades from now. That's how I came in."

[notconflicted]

What.

No, seriously. What.

"I should have expected this," Sia said. "I really should have. What's your name?"

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"Syanna," she volunteered. "And yes, really, you should've." She was a little disappointed.

[notconflicted]

"You'll have to forgive me. There are still some things that are very new to me."

Like this. Definitely this.

"Is your father here?" She dreaded the answer to that a little, but she had to ask.

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Syanna responded, glancing over her shoulder. "But he's... well, he's on the other side of the island right now."

[notconflicted]

Somehow Sia knew this was all going to go to an uncomfortable place. Wonder how she could guess that. "Have you seen him already?"

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"No, I heard you, so I came straight here," she replied, looking back towards Sia. "Couldn't resist the dog."

She was a little confused now, but she wasn't about to say that.

[notconflicted]

"Vitor has the effect on people," Sia said. "I do have to ask who he is, strange as that is to say."

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

Syanna had heard enough stories in her youth that she wasn't terribly surprised. "Atton Rand," she said. "If he's already calling himself that."

[notconflicted]

Well, there went her hopes of avoiding him for a week so it was easier to ignore that anything had happened. She was careful to keep her reaction totally neutral, though.

"He is," she said, and couldn't help but ask, "...Really?"

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

Syanna looked really amused. "Yes," she said. Because this was funny.

[notconflicted]

Sia made a little "Huh" noise, because this was weird to even think about. "I apologize now for... everything, really."

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"Mom, I came here half because dad says you look funny when you're confused," Syanna replied. "Really, don't worry about it."

... Hon, that might not be what Sia was talking about.

[notconflicted]

She wasn't even sixteen and she was being called 'Mom.' It was so weird to be Sia right now.

Also, no, that wasn't what she was talking about.

"That was your reason?"

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"Among other things," Syanna said. "It seemed more interesting than the rest of my schedule for the day."

Again, she understood why they were necessary. That didn't keep her from vastly preferring flight class. Vastly.

[notconflicted]

She sounded like Sia a couple years ago, but Sia hadn't been able to go through a portal and skip things. She sort of wished she had.

"So you're here for the day?" Ha. Hahaha.

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"Weekend," she said smoothly. "Information brought to you by inexplicable wiring into my brain." Beat. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if something suddenly went terribly wrong."

[notconflicted]

"Don't say that. Enough strange things have happened lately that we don't need anything else going wrong," Sia told her.

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

Syanna shot her a look. "Well, now it definitely will," she said with an exaggerated sigh. "We should go find dad."

[notconflicted]

this would go well.

"If you know where he is, lead the way," Sia said.

[suited2conflict.livejournal.com]

"He's just on the other side of town (http://fandomtownies.livejournal.com/6796205.html?mode=reply#add_comment#add_comment)," Syanna said, as she turned to walk in that general direction.

She was just grateful he wasn't playing hide-in-the-Force again.