The Prison of the Mind

Posted on Tue Jan 19th, 2016 @ 2:44am by Lieutenant Rianna DiMarco & Lieutenant David Windsor

Mission: Strange Entertainment
Location: Planetside

David had been looking for her since he'd gotten off of the ship. They hadn't really had a chance to rendezvous since the triangle, and to be honest... he was worried about her. Finally, he spotted Ri sitting on a stretch of empty beach, lost in thought as she watched the tide.

"I'd offer a penny for your thoughts, but I don't think it'd be enough," He said as he walked up behind her.

Ri tilted her head to the side slightly, her hair half falling out of her trade mark sloppy bun thanks to the wind and the salt air. "What's a penny?" she asked, her chin resting on her knees.

David chuckled a bit, “It’s an old earth currency. It’s an old saying ‘Penny for your thoughts’,” He explained. “I suppose at one point it was somewhat romanticized, saying that you were interested enough into someone to give them money purely for their thoughts,” He explained. “Never understood why it was the lowest form of currency, though…”

Actually turned to look at David with her eyebrows raised and a curious expression on her face, Ri tried to parse out exactly what he’d just said. He never flirted back, so she was sure that it wasn’t that. “Are you asking me what I’m thinking or being.. sweet?”

“… Both, I suppose?” David replied, smiling a bit sheepishly.

“Pull up some sand then. It’s a pretty good view today. The water’s all churny. The sand and sun a warm. Cool breeze-“ The engineer screwed her lips up as she took in the rather overdressed scientist. “‘Cept you’re in long pants so you won’t enjoy it as much. You weren’t prepared to come to the beach, were you?”

“Ah… no,” David admitted, sitting down anyway. “I must confess, I was looking for you… I’ve been… worried about you, since… well… I suppose you know when.”

Wrinkling her nose sourly, the engineer went back to glaring at the water. “I’m functioning, David. Stop worrying.”

“I most certainly will not,” He replied, simply. “I care far too much about you to not worry,” He said. It was awkward, for David, to speak of things such as emotional attachment and feelings. These were not scientific things. They were oddities to him and he always felt like he was stumbling over them like hurdles, but he was certain of one thing: If nothing else, Ri was at the very least his friend, and he’d be damned if he left her alone to hurt. He didn’t even care if she talked about it, he just wouldn’t leave her alone until he was certain – empirically - that she was okay.

The statement seemed to warm her carriage a little bit because the fury of her glare died down and her shoulders drooped. “If mind games were enough to throw me under, I’d already be dead many times over, boss. This is nothing. Honest. I’m just a little.. weighed down with the old. I don’t like to visit all of that. Give me a bit longer and it’ll be right outta my head.”

“If I thought this was enough to do you in, I wouldn’t have a very high opinion of you, would I?” David replied, smiling a bit. “Bearing such things alone, however, can be harder than is necessary. Would you permit me to assist with considering the future and present?” He asked.

Ri blinked a few times as she tried to parse through everything he had just said. Sometimes they were on the same wavelength and everything made sense- like when they were both talking about the stars and the ship and various feats of science. When they were both just being people, the language didn’t quite match up right with both of them being awkward, socially stunted creatures. “You’re talking really pretty, D, but I honestly don’t understand what you’re trying to ask. Are you asking me to talk to you?”

David laughed, then sighed, “I fall back on a ridiculous amount of posh rhetoric when I’m not sure how to address something, and for that I apologize… let me try to say that again like a normal human being,” He said, grinning and blushing a bit, “I’d like to keep you company until you’ve been able to shake your blues, if you’d let me. I even know where to acquire coffee, if you’re interested.” He said, trying again.

“This is the second chance to run around letting loose that you’re spending babysitting my emotional state, you know that? I appreciate it- I really do- but I’m okay. You need to have fun. Be David. Pick on Wesley. Dance with Daisy. Find a smoke shop or something. I’m just not good company right now.” The worst part was, Ri couldn’t mesh out why. She’d spent years hardening up and making herself immune to the idea of thinking back. That nothing physical right here right now mattered or in some cases even existed. And then came the triangle to skew up that definitive line were the unreal became tangible.

“What if I’d rather dance with you?” David asked, simply. “Or just watch the ocean?” He asked. “I’m not one for cutting loose and throwing caution to the wind, my dear. Being quiet on the beach with someone dear to me is more relaxing than any of those other things you mentioned.”

Ri looked down at the sand that her toes were buried in then back out at the ocean again. She didn’t think that he meant to send so many mixed signals, but it was David. He could just be trying really hard to be suave and failing in the most awkward and sweet way possible. Rubbing at her face for a moment, Ri pushed a few loose strands of her hair back behind her ears and sat up a little straighter. “Well,” she answered after a long moment, fighting for something to say that was in no way as confused as she felt. “I appreciate you spending your time with the ocean and I then.”

“I appreciate you letting me,” David replied. They stared in silence for a bit before he spoke again, “I find it interesting how the… I suppose you would call it the ‘energy’ of the ocean is always the same, no matter what world you’re on,” He said, quietly. “I understand the science behind them, and how they work. I understand the physics of it, I understand the logistics of it… but I can’t escape the raw power of the thing.” He said, waxing philosophical for once, rather than scientific.

“Couldn’t you say the same about any base element without an external control making it react differently? The laws of physical nature being what they are and all. They’re dependable, constant. It’s nice. Even the stars change, but here is my ocean.” Ri announced rather proudly. She stretched out her legs to get a little more sun on them and leaned back on her elbows.

“Other base elements don’t roar,” David said with a hint of a smile as a particularly loud wave rolled in.

“Well that’s due to external influence, too. Cresting waves reacting to water temperature and gravitational wells or astronomical pull, strength of the wind, convection energy.. That’s not exactly base nature. If we’re talking about that level of manipulation roaring fires roar. Displaced oxygen roars once you rip a hole big enough that it’s not that eerie whistle as it’s sucked out to vacuum.” DiMarco stuck out her tongue as she proved her point just to be sassy.

David laughed, “This is why I would rather spend time with you than anyone else on the ship,” He told her. “We are kindred spirits.”

Ri fell quiet again for a few moments, obviously deep in thought. ”Yeah we are quite the pair,” she finally said after the pause. Reaching over, she laid just her fingertips atop David’s hand. “Maybe coffee in a bit, huh?”

“Maybe,” David replied, not moving his hand an inch.