ic inbox;

[nostalgiabomb]

( x )

Comments

[blahnik]

Still small. [ thankfully. ] I had to take her to the vet, but she'll be fine. Already savaging another toy.

[ mr. penguin touched our lives but briefly. :'< ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ rip in pieces your sacrifice will not have been in vain ]

She's cute, by the way.

Y'know, when she's not tryin' to liberate a guy's rib cage from the rest of his body.

[blahnik]

That's not funny.

[ not only because she literally tried to do just that.

dorian better buy his portrait a solid gold frame I'm js. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

Sorry.

[ he doesn't sound it -- mostly because he's not sorry. like, at all. being cavalier about death is the ravager way. ]

She is cute, though. Weirdly enough.

[blahnik]

Don't tell me. You're one of those that would be caught trying to find the raptor pen.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ She can't see it, but she can probably hear the way he smiles. ]

You guys have got raptors?

[blahnik]

[ EYE ROLL. ]

That's a 'yes'.

[nostalgiabomb]

What? They're cool.

[ scientifically proven, probably. ]

[blahnik]

[ so true even claire agrees.

when they are locked up. and not chasing her or her nephews. ]

Our focus groups would agree with you. Unfortunately, they're also too dangerous. Even with our security measures, we had a handler resign almost every other month.

[ claire's voice is a curious mix of brisk and lively. underneath both, a note of pride. a lot can be said about her, not all of it complimentary, but one thing cannot be denied: she loved her job. she was in her element there. and she misses it. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ A pause, then, ]

You know, that's an awfully roundabout way of saying, "They're cool, but damn, are they dangerous.

[blahnik]

Yeah, you're fine.

Anyway, I was calling to check up on you. As first impressions go, that's not one I'm proud of.

[nostalgiabomb]

It's fine, honestly. And I'm not just saying that. I'm pretty sure no one was on their best behavior that night.

[ He pauses, shifting as if to get into a more comfortable position. ]

What about now? You doin' okay?

[blahnik]

[ claire exhales shortly. ] I'm still adjusting.

[ she forces a smile in hopes the gesture bleeds into her tone, makes it more convincing. ]

Seems like every other day something else comes up. [ she laughs. ] The craziness is almost starting to feel normal.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He breathes in through his teeth, wincing a little at that. ]

Yeah, I get what you mean. I'm worried I'm gonna get to a point where I just think, "Oh, is everything on fire again? Must be a Tuesday."

Doesn't make it okay, though.

[blahnik]

No. It doesn't.

But putting out fires is part of it. Just hopefully not literally.

[nostalgiabomb]

--I guess now's a bad time that literal fires have happened, and that imPorts get called in to literally put them out, huh.

[blahnik]

So it's a line of people holding fire extinguishers?

[nostalgiabomb]

Kinda.

Or little buckets of water, when all else fails.

[blahnik]

I'll keep one handy.

Anyway, I should let you go. It's late.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He's quiet for a second, pursing his lips. ]

You-- sure you're good? [ A touch of concern bleeds into his voice. ] It was a pretty rough night for everyone.

If you-- [ he pauses, clears his throat. ] If you needed to talk or-- whatever...

[blahnik]

[ a little pause. ]

There's a bakery near my place. Not that big, but the coffee is decent and it's open until one.

[nostalgiabomb]

If you've got an address, I can meet you there in a few minutes.

[blahnik]

Give me a minute —

[ and address goes here! ]

[nostalgiabomb]

Got it. Meet you there in a few, then.

[ Oh, the perks of being a teleporter.

True to his word, he's there in under a handful of minutes, waiting at the door for her. He looks tired -- but who doesn't, these days? It's practically in fashion. ]

[blahnik]

[ claire is two minutes late at least according to her watch. in contrast, she almost looks like normal. dressed in a soft sweater and long pants for once, makeup quickly touched up. nothing a little ( or a lot of ) concealer won't fix.

her phone, as usual, comes with her. aside from that, she is very much alone. ripley can fend for herself for an hour.

her stomach does an odd flip at peter's staggering familiarity. but it is only the once, which claire takes as a good sign. a weird case of separated twins. that can happen. easy to rationalize. as soon as she is within earshot, she smiles. ]

Hey. I hope you weren't waiting long. [ she rolls her eyes as she comes to a stop. ] Ripley woke up as I was leaving.