sixthiterationlogs | make the choice to choose

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make the choice to choose

WHO: Ashley Magnus
WHERE: South Village, by the water
WHEN: random Mornings throughout the month
OPEN TO: Everyone
WARNINGS: Updated as needed

un: magnus

One more day of this normal routine and I'm going to fucking lose it. South Village. By the mill. Sparring partners needed before I go fucking nuts without work. Any morning from dawn until lunchish.

Ashley never thought about how much of her life was spent constantly on the go. Even in her downtime, she realized she wasn't likely to sit around long, coming up with reasons to get out and move. It's a restlessness that she took for granted when she had the Sanctuary work to do, and an entire city to traverse. Not to mention abnormals to contain, especially with the uptick because of the Cabal before this place.

Now if this place is Cabal or not, she doesn't know, but if it is, they already know what she's capable of so there's reason to hide it.

Mornings start with a run, heading out further each day, taking new routes, trying to not only learn this place but learn every path she might need for any reason. Not to mention the creatures, the resources, anything to keep her on her toes and know what she might need no matter what happens.

By the mill she practices with the few weapons she's gathered, using them in various ways so she knows the heft and weight of them in case. Everything is in case, even if here she has no idea in case of what. There's only so much a person can practice alone, so she hopes sending out that message will draw a few people to practice against. Will keep her on point, not to mention meaning she could get a chance to know more of those here. It's already been eye opening, and she's curious what else this place holds.

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She's just finishing up her run, wearing scrub pants and a sports bra that probably was once someone's tee shirt. It let her work out and be comfortable, despite the cool air. It did little to hide the bruises she bore. Tiny ones here and there, a large one on her forearm, another on her hip, just visible on the edge of the pants. Some were yellowing, one on her arm much darker. None of it seems to bother her though.

Glancing up, she smiles as she wipes her brow with her arm. "I feel that I can use any training I can get, so yeah. That would be awesome." She pauses though, considering it. "What planet is it from?"

The bruises are a bit worrying, enough so for Beverly to give Ashley a quick glancing over. The young woman looks like she's moving well enough. She isn't favoring anything, so for now Beverly is willing to let it go.

"Qo'noS," Beverly answers, pronouncing it like Chronos. "So it's not my native culture, either. But I was learning from a friend who is a part of that culture. Hopefully, that will help me teach you." She laughs a little, as though she's just taken a shot at herself. "It's supposed to be used as a form of meditation and a way to clear your mind so you think less and just act in the heat of battle. I'll show you the basic forms and then we can slowly work towards connecting them. How does that sound?"

An unwillingness to back down has always helped Ashley when it comes to her job, in being able to track anything, seek them out, and to not find herself ending up bleeding and broken on the ground.

The flip side of that is that in pushing herself, she doesn't pay attention to how hard she's gone until later when the marks show, but she is loving all that she is learning. Bright eyes, smiling widely as she listens and nods to that.

"That sounds amazing, so definitely. Of course, I mean, who says no to learning alien tai chi or something?'

A quiet laugh bubbles up through Beverly's throat and she smiles. "Very few people, apparently," she agrees, settling into the opening stance. "Just mirror what I'm doing and if you have any questions while we're going, feel free to ask. I'm not a Klingon, so I didn't grow up with it, either, but I'll teach you what Worf taught me."

She waits until Ashley settles into the first stance before she slowly slides into the next one. Waiting until Ashley mirrors that one, she moves into the next and then the next. Beverly keeps the pace careful and slow at first, making sure her student has at least the general grasp of the movements before she moves on to the next. When they finally make it to the end and Beverly links the last motion with the first again, she stops, shaking out her arms a little bit.

"How did all of that feel? Ready for one more slow run through?"

"Later I really want to learn more about the species," she admits. It's just too interesting to pass up the chance to learn all of it, after all. It's how her life has been before this place, and anything that feels familiar makes her happy.

Moving into the position, shifting as Beverly did. In shape from her work and practice at home, she finds it easy to follow along with the movements. Even though some of them are different than the ones she knew before, yet there's something about them that lets her relax into this and none of the rest of her life's changes. The idea familiar and yet different enough it requires her focus.

Sighing a breath out as the routine ends, considering that and how it makes her feel.

"It's kind of cool how things are like sort of familiar, even if not the same." But the concept feels familiar enough for her. "And sure. Let's do it.."

Beverly laughs softly and warmly. "If you're looking for an expert on Klingon culture, ask Jean-Luc. He knows more than I do." Beverly knows enough not to be too Terran-centric about things and Klingon culture is fairly fascinating. Even so, Jean-Luc has an insider's perspective that even she doesn't have. He may or may not be willing to share everything he knows.

She nods at Ashley's assessment, pleased at how quickly the young woman picks it up. "Worf taught Mok'bara sessions to those of us who were interested. I've been doing it for years and it does help me clear my head at times." For all that she knows Worf has an important place on Deep Space 9, she has to admit that she misses him.

"One more slow run-through and then we'll try to put them all together."

"So there's more than just you here from your world?" She can't help but to ask, all things considered and with some of what she's already learning. "Is that normal? I ran into the same thing though not sure how entirely welcoming it makes me feel, but working on that. Noticed others too have people here they knew." Quite a few now that she's actually thinking about it.

She's still considering that connection. It's always been something her mother has expounded on, explaining why she has so much interest in abnormals but seeing it on even a grander scale is both daunting and interesting.

"Sure. I'm curious how it flows at the right speed."

"Right now, I think it's just the two of us," Beverly says with a nod, settling back into the first stance. "It seems to vary universe to universe. Mine used to have... well, two others and I think some from a separate reality. I didn't get a lot of time to really talk to anyone except Nerys and Julian. Both of them were from the same universe Jean-Luc and I are from."

Waiting until Ashley mirrors her motions, Beverly continues, keeping up the conversation as she leads Ashley through the steps. At least as long as Ashley seems comfortable with multitasking. Worf might complain about their talking, but Beverly figures a little talking won't hurt now.

"Mok'bara is always slower than you think it should be," she admits. "It really is meant entirely to ready your body and mind for combat. It's meditative in the sense that it helps you clear your mind so that if you need to use one of these moves, you won't have to think about it. You'll just react." For Beverly, she uses it more for meditation than for actual combat, though she has to admit the combat training part is definitely a good thing to know.

Ashley settles just slightly behind Beverly and to one side, enough so that she can watch what Beverly's doing as Ashley learns the poses properly, wanting to get them right and not just imitate the general stance.

"Does people returning here happen often? I know some have mentioned it."

Her thoughts turn that way often, though she isn't sure what would change with her mother there, but it makes life seem easier to think about with Helen there.

"I hadn't noticed it but is there a lot of need for combat here? A lot of people seemed trained for it."

Beverly hesitates in her answer, knowing that Ashley likely wants to know in the context of her mother. There isn't much good news Beverly can offer her as far as that goes.

"It has been known to happen," she offers after another moment. "No one I personally know has left and then come back. I think it's a bit more rare than we hopeful few like to admit." Her smile is apologetic. She wishes she had better news than that.

"Not in a general sense. We're mostly forced into survival situations here, so there isn't much combat unless something goes on the rampage like a wendigo or a badger. Mostly, it seems like people learned combat skills from their own universes and offered those skills to the other people here." Like she's doing, for instance. "Most of the combat I learned was as a Starfleet officer. We're... mostly an organization of scientific and peaceful exploration, but we are technically still military, so combat training was an absolute requirement."

It's hope, at least there's that. Ashley smiles a bit, tight though it is. "Well, least there's that," she says, nodding. "And if not, I can handle this. Not like I didn't have training for it."

Except she didn't. Not really. Not has she ever been used to living on her own either, nor is she doing that here, but that's another point. Ashley can figure this out and make it work for her. Without or without Helen. Even with Druitt there.

"So kind of like the Sanctuary. We were there to help, to learn, but then Mom had people like me in case they weren't as willing to be helped and kept from hurting others. Got it." And it made sense. How many were straight out trained for survival without the military? Militia types, and likely that wouldn't do well with all this place is.

"On the bright side, you're not alone. A lot of things are easier to handle with support," Beverly points out. Ashley may be the only one from her world, Beverly hasn't exactly met Druitt yet, but at least Ashley isn't fully isolated. She has friends and people who care about her. At the very least, she's stuck with Beverly checking in on her every so often. It could be a lot worse.

"Something like that. It is interesting that so many people from so many varied backgrounds have even one thing in common almost across the board. Makes you wonder what overarching game the Observers are playing."

"It's helpful," she agrees with a nod. "Glad for that fact, even if some of it is confusing." Because dealing with Druitt isn't easy, but she's determined to not let it get to her, and to try and learn the things she's always wanted to know. "Not you," she rushes to assure Beverly. "Just some things, like emotions and people from home."

Which between those two, it is all a bit weird, but she's not one to give up. Especially just because things get weird.

Ashley makes a sound, a bit of a harumph. "I wonder that all the time. Especially the more I talk to people with military backgrounds, or something like it."

Beverly chuckles warmly with amusement. She raised a son, so she knows well how tiresome mothers and motherly types can sometimes be. She wouldn't have been too offended if Ashley had needed space.

"Believe me, I understand. Sometimes even the best people from home can come with a lot of complications."

She pauses for a little as they work through another pose. "Anything you want to talk about?" she offers gently, settling back into the next Mok'bara stages. It's up to Ashley if she wants to say anything else, but the offer is there if she does. Beverly will listen and support.

Ashley moves with the way Beverly does, the same poses, the easy way that she shifts and changes her pose. It's easier to focus on the Mok'bara than it is to focus on her thoughts. Not that she can stop them.

"Did my mom ever mention anything to you about a man named Druitt? Do you know him?"

Beverly has to think about the name for a few moments. It doesn't ring a bell at all from what she remembers of what Helen has told her and she knows she hasn't met anyone by that name here.

"No, I don't think so. Is he someone you know from home?"

Ashley considers that, what implications there are to her mom not mentioning him. She must have thought he either not a threat, or that he was not a problem in this place.

"We did. He knew my mother back when she was in school," she admits. "He's here now. Why I'm curious if she talked about him. He told me he hadn't been here long."

Beverly can think of many reasons why Helen wouldn't have mentioned Druitt. They were fairly close for as long as Helen had been here, but even so neither of them had delved into everything in their lives. There were plenty of personal things Beverly hadn't told Helen.

So she gives Ashley an apologetic smile in answer. "He may not have been here long enough to have overlapped a lot with Helen," she says gently. But if he knew Helen during her school days, that means a lot. "What's he like?" And what has Ashley so confused about his presence?

She falls silent a moment, considering how to answer that. "He was, from what I've been told, an adventurer and kind of a scientist and researcher as my mother was." Pausing again, realizing another question might come before more about Druitt.

"If I assume you knew about my mom and her age and you don't, I'm going to feel bad," she admits.

Beverly's lips curl upwards with amusement. "Don't worry about it. We didn't talk about a lot of gritty life details." At least not until Beverly ran into that mist and started spitting out everything she was thinking. But they didn't get to talking about a lot of Helen's life. "She once called herself old, but I never asked if that was what she felt or what she chronologically was. The distinction didn't really seem to matter. I assumed she's been through a lot."

It wouldn't have mattered to Beverly at any rate. Human lifespans were increasing over the centuries and she's been around enough half-humans and other species to understand that differing lifespans exist. Knowing that a human had a longer lifespan than expected would hardly have been a novelty to her.

Edited 2019-01-13 18:37 (UTC)

It reminds her of when Ty was there, telling him about this. Knowing that she should and yet finding herself nervous about outing his nature. If things have changed, then should others know? Yes, someone besides Ashley needs to know. She knows that. If anything were to happen, someone needs to know.

"She is older than most live, and she wasn't the only one. She lost some of those friends, but two have come back into our life. One is Druitt. He's here now, and, well, he's my dad."

Well there's one thing down. It's a slow start, but she's never sure how to approach this, but Beverly is someone that well could help her if it's needed.

Beverly doesn't watch Ashley as the girl tells her the story as much as she just listens to the inflection. The pieces she gets from all of this suggest that something in there is more than a little uncomfortable for Ashley to talk about. After a few moments pass, Beverly finally glances at Ashley to see if she can catch any body language signals.

"I'm guessing that isn't an easy thing to handle," she says quietly. She might not have experience helping people deal with parental issues, but she's going to do her best to help Ashley through this, whatever it is.

"Given she didn't tell me until he had like bounced into our lives and threatened my life to get what he wanted? Nope, wasn't easy at all," she says, tones a bit more animated, a lot of emotions there she still hasn't really coped with, and won't ever get a chance to in her life.

"But... Look. I'm telling you this because I think everything is okay, and it's not going to be an issue, okay? He's... changed. Again, and from everything I can put together? It wasn't his fault. Technically. Well, the kidnapping me to get what he wanted, was, but that was ..."

She sighs, knowing she's rambling on. "The abilities they gave themselves came with a price sometimes. For Druitt it amped up certain aspects and desires. I worry sometimes, especially since you can get the same ability in the bunker, that it could happen again. The last time it happened he went down in history as one of the most infamous serial killers ever."

Nope, it didn't get any easier admitting it, especially here. They weren't close, but she didn't have the anger towards him she once did, or towards her mother. Things changed, and she knew that.

She just couldn't take the chance with everyone else if they changed back again.

There are a lot of questions Beverly could ask at this point. She could ask what serial killer Druitt was, just to see if her universe's Earth history knew of him. She could ask what kind of ability he had. Or any of a number of other things. Instead, she focuses on something else, something more important than satisfying any kind of curiosity.

"If there's a chance at all, it's better that someone else be aware," she suggests, with an understanding nod. "Thank you for telling me. I'll keep it quiet, but if anything goes wrong, I'll do everything I can to help." She can fight if she needs to and she has enough training and skill to keep her head in a crisis. If anything happens to go wrong with Druitt, she is at least armed with the knowledge to be prepared.

Ashley nods then, heaving out a sigh at that. "Exactly. I had told Ty before, mostly because we were sharing a place and if he got weird about it, I wanted Ty to know." Mostly so Ty might not bait him and cause an issue.

"And it's possible it won't? I mean... I don't know real details if he's been killing since then, or how many total there were. I just know..." She considers this, the things Beverly has told her about her own world and what might be similar. "In my world? Police are still trying to identify Jack the Ripper, and he makes up half my DNA," she says, closing her eyes just so she doesn't roll them hard enough to sprain anything.

make the choice to choose

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