[oom: Dinner with captainryan]

[hell_in_highheels]

[from here]

River arrives in the bar just before seven in the evening, and secures a table for two in a cozy corner of the bar.  She's dressed casually, wearing her favourite Irish sweater, jeans and her tan field boots.  But she has to confess, she's spent a bit more time with her hair and her face.

For as interesting as Richard is, he is also a good looking man.

She orders a glass of pinot noir, and waits, watching the faces in the crowd.  When she sees him, she smiles broadly and holds up a hand.

Comments

[hell_in_highheels]

She sighs and looks at him, still smiling. Another few moments and the headache should pass. She waits until it does to continue.

"Yes, well. I'm tricksy that way. You'll have to do better next time, won't you?"

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

He kinda wishes he hadn't asked for mint, now. He's curious what she smells like when she's smug.

"Such as pay ahead of time. I'll make a note of it." He can't decide if he should be irritated or impressed.

He'll settle on bemused for now.

[hell_in_highheels]

"Still up for that walk?"

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

She's offering to let him back out.

He hesitates a moment before he says, "The jungle sounds like the perfect way to warm up after that freeze."

[hell_in_highheels]

She didn't realise she'd been holding her breath when he answers.

"Come along then, Doctor Livingston, and let's see if we can't do something about that."

She pushes back her chair and stands, considering offering her hand. No, once rejected is enough she thinks. She'll stand on this small victory.

She waits for him to rise before heading toward her door. The view on the other side is a wood panelled hallway, with marble floors and light coming from somewhere far above. Sunlight.

"My office is just this way. I still have the portal mounted from when I first discovered the place."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan shivers as he steps through the door like all of his hair just stood on end only he knows it hasn't moved. Scents are...muted? He's not certain, but he knows it's not the same as the bar. Or any other world for that matter. It's the first time he's stepped through a Door and not felt a shift in the moon. What's always been the most noticeable change before is now conspicuous just by its absence.

Welcome to being digital, Ryan.

He meant to leave a note, he remembers belatedly, in case he's gone longer than he expected. But who is there to look for him anymore?

"Lead the way, River," Ryan says finally once he's adjusted.

[hell_in_highheels]

She smiles and nods.

"Hallo River." There is a young girl with wide eyes and long brown hair standing in the corridor. She was not there a moment ago. "There's new information in sector seventeen, quadrant thirty four. Unlicensed acquisition?"

"Hallo CAL. No, this is Captain Ryan. He's visiting from Milliways and he's with me. Say hello to CAL, Richard."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

For a moment, he's reminded of the stone angels.

Then he's nodding a greeting. "Hello, CAL," Ryan says dutifully, not liking that the program? AI? Can show up whenever it pleases with no warning whatsoever. He can understand why it's scentless, but shouldn't it knock first or something?

Also, who programmed it to look like a child? He'd ask, but it's a question he's not certain who to address to.

[hell_in_highheels]

"Hallo, Captain Ryan. Licensed acquisition noted. Welcome to the Library."

And she's gone as fast as she came.

"Sorry, I should have warned you. CAL is modelled on the daughter of one of the Trust's managers. She died at a very young age, and her data image was put into the Library as a humanising influence, and also so that she could read stories for the rest of her days. She's become so much more than that."

"Here we are." There's a glass door with River's name on it, and a string of letters after it. The brass knob turns under her hand and opens on a room with dark hard wood floors, a gargantuan desk with a data terminal, and a library table overflowing with books.

An arch at the far end of the room opens on a glass domed solarium, filled with hanging plants and trees in planters. And behind the desk is a window seat that looks out on an ocean view. Half the window seat is filled with books.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

And now he's reminded of the Red Queen. At least this AI is friendly. So far.

Ryan surveys the room impassively, taking note of potential exits and potential weapons.

Old habits die hard.

"Does she keep track of where each book is?" He asks, regarding the massive piles.

[hell_in_highheels]

"She literally is the catalogue. She's also a little girl. It's strange, I know, but you get used to it after awhile."

He's taking this all rather well, she thinks, only a large part of her wishes they were still tucked up at that table, just the two of them.

No matter. She promised him a cloud forest.

She starts in the middle of the table, searching through a stack of books. "Let's see, where did I -- ah yes! Here it is." She pulls out what appears to be an encyclopaedic volume, bound in faded green leather. She turns and sets it on a ledge on the wall and steps back to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

"This part never gets old."

The book stretches down and out, morphing into an archway. Beyond the arch, he can see a walkway stretching away into the mist, a great green bower stretched over head. A warm breath of air reaches his skin and he can smell the forest.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan watches, head tilted caninely as the new portal appears. This part is new for him. He moves forward a shade cautiously, drinking in sight and smells as he just barely sticks his head out.

He was never in a jungle as a werewolf. There's a lot to smell in this new territory.

"That's incredible," he says after a long moment.

[hell_in_highheels]

If the mint has worn off, he can also smell River, incredibly pleased with herself and pleased to give him something new and exciting.

She steps back a bit to remove her heavy woolen sweater, revealing a simple white tshirt beneath. And curves previously hidden by the bulk of the wool.

Of course, it's just too warm for the jungle. She drapes the sweater over a chair at the table and then joins him. "I've turned the book's narration off, so let me know if you'd like to hear it. You can have it vocal or subvocal."

A flash of iridescent blue flies overhead.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Finishing off the Everclear helped clear the mint out, though he's still catching it underneath the ripeness of the jungle.

And, of course, her scent.

"Subvocal?" He queries, tracking the bird until River's movement distracts him. He takes in her new look for a moment before looking out over the jungle again.

He still hasn't quite stepped out yet.

[hell_in_highheels]

River stops even with his shoulder, looking out onto the bridge, her hands in her back pockets.

"The vocal text is like a tour guide, speaking about whatever it is you're looking at. The subvocal text, well... The knowledge is simply there. You see a flash of blue and you recognise the Resplendent Quetzal."

She steps out onto the bridge. "We're three hundred feet above the forest floor here, so do be careful of the edge."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan nods, following her scent out onto the bridge and drinking in the view.

"I'd rather not have either," he decides, looking at her. The vocal would be intrusive; the subvocal is just creepy. He arches an eyebrow at her.

"Don't you think it'd be distracting?"

[hell_in_highheels]

A smile ghosts across her lips as she nods, meeting his eyes again.

She cocks her head to one side and circles in front of him, walking backwards down the path. She doesn't speak, letting the voices of the forest envelope them.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Ryan tracks her, not following just yet. He cants his head, just watching.

She looks good. She smells good. His head moves forward a bit, seeking...something. But he rights his posture as he takes a step forward. There's nothing to hunt here.

Not yet.

He follows her down the bridge, steps smooth and silent against the wood.

[hell_in_highheels]

She waits for him, letting him close the distance between them a bit before turning on her heel and leading the way. He can hear her heart beating quicker.

She cocks her head so she can listen to his footsteps as he follows her deeper into the mist. Soon they've gone far enough that the mist closes in between them and the portal. Birds call in the distance, and there is running water somewhere below. Rain drips on the leaves and she's trying to breathe normally, knowing he can hear her agitation.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

He's not hunting her. He's not.

It might be fun, though. He can hear her, skittish, somewhere in the mists ahead of him. The rain's wetting him, turning his dark shirt black, making her scent harder to catch.

This isn't a game, he tells himself even as he slips forward. He can't- he just met her for fuck's sake. It's not even training warring with instincts, it's experience. This won't end well. It never ends well.

It's been a long time.

[hell_in_highheels]

River keeps walking, knowing he's behind her, listening to him. Being in the bar has sharpened and awakened senses she long thought dead.

She feels light headed, and focuses on keeping her steps even. There's a bit of sway in the bridge as she passes the middle, and she can tell when the first support is coming up as it firms up beneath her feet.

There's also a dry spot under the awning, perhaps five feet square. She pauses there, waiting for him, leaning her hands on the guide rope, looking out into the canopy.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

He moves with the sway, barely noticing. He's keeping his pace controlled, neither slowing nor hurrying after her. He's not stalking, only prowling a bit, searching for her.

Her profile appears in the mists before him, not quite where he expected it to be. He hesitates, standing out in the rain, blinking water from his eyes. He can't smell her from here.

What is he doing?

He doesn't know.

[hell_in_highheels]

She doesn't need to turn to know he's there. Watching her.

She holds her breath and lets it out as a long sigh. Patience, she thinks.

Something catches her eye in the foliage. There's a spot of orange on a broad leaf. She shields her eyes, and points.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

He blinks at her, slowly, before turning his head to look. Small, bright, and orange, the frog sits in the rain. His head tilts caninely as it croaks and Ryan blinks water out of his eyes again.

It's a bit silly to stand out here in the rain, isn't it.

He turns back to River and steps under the canopy, circling around behind her, breathing in her scent that fills the small dry space over the wet wood. He settles into the space on her other side, carefully not touching, carefully close enough to lean on.

If she wants.

[hell_in_highheels]

She does. Very much so.

But he's pulled away from her twice, and she thinks she couldn't bear it if he pulled away again. No, this time is different, she thinks.. This time he came to her.

She closes the distance, her chin lowered, hiding her smile. She leans against him, lightly at first, giving him room to pull away if that is what he wants.