Video/Potentional Action. Abandoned amusement parks are dope.

[shoplifter]

[Some of you might get worried calls from Linda, Laura's tormented case worker.

The general questioning is: "HAVE YOU SEEN LAURA I HAVEN'T FOUND HER IN HOURS I'VE LOOKED EVERYWHERE."

But then, a Laura entry pops up sometime later in the day:

Her, looking curious, with the telltale signs of vegetation outside of city limits behind her.

She points the camera at the setting of the abandoned amusement park, some disappointment soon to be prevalent in her tone; she'd sneaked out and headed off to the Abandoned City or whatever people call it, mostly to get away from society and sort of marinate in her own thoughts. It's one of those months. Or many of those months. As much as she's tried adapting and appreciates her freedom, sometimes you just need to step away from it all and have your own time.

... In places Linda tells you not to ever sneak off to, of course.

Sue her, she never listens to her authority figures. She's not scared of monsters, anyway; she's already killed two getting here. It's why she's got some tar-colored blood on her sleeves and knuckles.]

We should repair this. I don't know what it is, but it looks like -- a fun place. Some of these have... strange wheels... and cars on railroads. ¿Para qué sirve? Do people who move trains practice here?

[She wanders around, her footfalls echoing in the isolated place. There's a rotted up old booth where you 'shoot' guns for prizes, but the signs are pretty overgrown with vines. She picks up a fake rifle and aims it at the blank target board beyond her, smacking on some bubblegum thoughtfully.]

Is it a place for soldiers to practice, too? It is very colorful for a soldier, but we had some color, too. They liked to put cartoons on the walls. Maybe there are cartoons on walls here, too... Maybe there are lights that make it bright. Like Vegas.

[..... Aha.

She points the camera up, up, up, toward the highest point of the ferris wheel.]

I think you see everything if you climb to the top.

[... I'mma climb to the top.]

[Feel free to have any ACTION threads as well; she's just wandering around, really, enjoying the quiet.]

Comments

[winscenario]

[ Jim wouldn't blame her, honestly. Part of him had worried she might be scared of heights, but evidently that's a moot point. Laura doesn't strike him as the type of girl to be scared of things that scare most kids anyway. ]

Oh... pretty high. Past the clouds, all the way up to the stars. [ He points a finger upwards, but doesn't even direct the shuttle towards the sky. ]

[shoplifter]

Are we going to go all the way up?

[Obviously this is the first thought that springs into her head.

She's never seen a star up close. It sounds interesting.]

[winscenario]

[ Well, they wouldn't get anywhere near an actual star, but it would seem as though she was right among them, so. Close enough. ]

Not if you don't want to. [ He hadn't even entertained the thought. Leaving the atmosphere can be pretty intense, and he doesn't want to overwhelm her. ] Do you want to?

[shoplifter]

... I'm not scared.

[That's pretty much a 'yes', if her settling back comfortably in her chair wasn't response enough.]

[winscenario]

[ He raises both eyebrows and cants his head, letting out a faint huff. She's not gonna hear an argument from him. ]

Alright, then. But no chickening out. [ With that he goes through a few switches and system checks, then starts getting the shuttle to fly higher and higher, aimed straight to the clouds, steadily picking up speed the farther away they are from the ground. ]

[shoplifter]

I am not a chicken.

[Spoken so seriously, bless. But then she watches with eyes as wide as saucers, quieted by the distance and speed. It's not so much blatant fear as it is astounded hyper-vigilance now, like an animal unsure if a situation is actually dangerous. Once the whole traveling thing is a bit less obvious, she relaxes a bit.]

........

Can I go to the window?

[winscenario]

Of course not. I... [ He chuckles, shaking his head. ] Never mind.

[ You cute precious girl, Laura. When you're not stabbing things and killing assholes anyway.

Jim watches her, as though he's worried she might unbuckle herself or move too much, or even freak out a little. She seems fairly quiet and calm, though, and when she relaxes, so does he. ]

Not yet. Give me a moment to get through the clouds, and then you can. Alright?

[shoplifter]

[A firm nod. Alright then.]

I have never gotten to see the clouds until recently.

... It is weird to be in them.

[Things sure have changed.]

[winscenario]

Really? And where were you that you didn't get to see any clouds?

[ The speed keeps increasing as they fly farther away from the moon, pushing past the clouds now until they're above them, with a pretty spectacular view of them just below the shuttle, stretching over the moon almost like a blanket of cotton. Above them it's dark, the stars are bright, and Laura can see the planet they're orbiting too. ]

You can go to the window now, it's safe.

[shoplifter]

[She moves toward the window, eager to see the outside.

... It's really pretty. And it makes her forget to respond for a moment as she takes it all in. A hand moves and carefully touches the glass, eyes scanning. So this is what space looks like. She had already been so alarmed at the sight of a planet for a moon, but this? This is even more glamorous a shot. Ah — the question, right. Her voice is level, conversational, matter-of-fact:]

We were in cells; we weren't allowed outside.

[Most people aren't familiar, but she asks anyway.]

Do you know a place called Transigen?

[winscenario]

[ Turning the autopilot on leaves Jim with a little more freedom, and since now they're pretty much just orbiting the moon it's not like he needs to be paying as much attention. He unfastens his own seatbelt and gets to his feet, stepping closer to the window and standing next to Laura. ]

No, I don't. [ But if they're keeping kids locked away in cells, then he can already tell it's not the kind of place he'd like. ] Will you tell me about it?

[shoplifter]

[She considers the stars for a moment, reflecting on her life the last eleven years.]

It was supposed to be a company that performed 'pediatric cancer studies'. [She's heard it said so many times, especially by nurses who felt mortified by what they'd walked themselves into.] ... but they lied. They were making babies and raising them there. Like me.

[She glances at him.]

They hoped they could make mutants that could be trained into weapons.

Things they could sale later.

[winscenario]

[ He can't even claim to be surprised at how horrible all that sounds. He still is surprised by the details— well, 'shocked' is probably a more fitting word. He tries not to react to it much, but his eyebrows knit together, eyes widening as he stares down at Laura. ]

They were doing what?

[ That's barbaric. More than barbaric— it's unthinkable. That any sentient species would be capable of that is completely beyond him. Knowing that it was humans doing it no less makes it even worse somehow. ]

You're not— you're not there anymore, are you? Back in your world?

[shoplifter]

[She shakes her head, not looking at him.]

No, we ran. They were shutting the 'program' down.

So they were going to shut us down, too; the nurses helped us escape. [She holds up her hands, looking at them thoughtfully. He seems so mortified on her behalf — but it leaves her to wonder...] It does not bother you, that I am this? A weapon project. I could be a danger to your ship.

[winscenario]

[ Well, he is mortified. He's even more mortified when she tells him how they were just going to kill a bunch of kids because the program was being shut down. ]

You're not a weapon. You're just a girl.

[ He touches her shoulder carefully. He's not being condescending; he is well aware that she likely could wreck the whole shuttle if she wanted to. But she won't, he's sure of that. ]

But no, it doesn't bother me. [ He smiles down at her. ] Being good isn't about what you are. It's about what you do.

[shoplifter]

[She stares at him for a moment. Months ago, she would have thrown him facefirst into a panel for that hand on her shoulder. She knows now. Not all touch is to hurt. Not all strangers are the same as those who put these metal blades in her arms.]

What if you've done things that aren't good?

[She looks unsure; she's killed men before. Gotten people killed by accident, just from the fact that they've helped her at the expense of their lives. And the Munsons, they hadn't asked for any of that. She'd...]

[winscenario]

[ Well, that's good because Jim really likes his face and he'd rather it didn't get smashed into a panel.

Besides, he drops his hand soon after. Not everyone's as open to touch and proximity as he is, and he's conscious enough to respect that and keep that in mind. ]

We've all done things that aren't good. Some people have done really bad things, but... [ He shrugs. ] Everyone deserves a second chance.

[ Well, barring a few cases, but he doesn't think that's the case with her. ] I'll bet you've done some good things too.

[shoplifter]

[She thinks for a moment — good things? — before a helpless expression settles across her face.

Her face is small and uncertain, as if perhaps there's something tremendously wrong with her:]

I don't — know if I have.

[winscenario]

Never helped anyone out? Saved someone who was in danger, or... made someone smile or laugh?

[ It's a stretch. She hasn't had much of a life outside those facilities she told him about, he can guess that much. Maybe she just hasn't gotten a lot of opportunities to be good yet.

He lowers himself so he's crouching next to her. ]

But— even if you've never done anything like that, it's alright. It's never too late to start doing good things, you know? If that's what you want to do. Life's full of opportunities to change.

[shoplifter]

[... It is hard to think of things she's done. Good things, anyway. She helped a man who was about to get beat up once... She's given a friend some ice cream. Another some candy. It doesn't feel like much when there's a river of blood in her wake before. Good people, bad people, 'it's all the same'. She fidgets with her sleeve, not quite looking him in the eye.]

I just don't want to be a monster.

[winscenario]

[ Jim is a little too idealistic at times, granted— and he knows it, too. But this time around he thinks he can be forgiven that. She's just a kid, and he's hardly going to tell her she's bad, no matter what she's done. Especially when it's obvious she already blames herself more than enough for those things. ]

You're not. Being a monster means you do bad things because you like doing them. That you hurt people just because you like to see them suffer. Is that what you do?

[ He pauses, settling his weight on his knees, and gesturing his hands between them. ] Would you hurt me right now, just because you can?

1/2

[shoplifter]

.....

[She shakes her head.]

I would not.

[shoplifter]

[And then, after a moment, her lips twitch, teasing.]

Maybe punch you if you did something very mean.

[winscenario]

[ Jim grins and chuckes at that. Funny thing is there probably was a time in his life when she’d have wanted to punch him, and rightfully so. ]

And I’d have deserved it. Mean people are totally asking for it. That and when you’re defending yourself and other people, still doesn’t make you a bad person.

[shoplifter]

[She's appeased by the answer, at least. Even if she's uncertain in her path, in what people make of her or what she is in general, this sort of thing is admittedly something that sets her more at ease. But she should probably clear the air about one thing, in case it happens and he's caught off-guard.]

... I do have claws.

I like to use them on candy machines most of all, not on people.