savetheearth | [closed] a rock wall we build daily

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[closed] a rock wall we build daily

Who: Chloe Weiss (

betroth) & Blaine Frost (

siesinddasessen)
Where: A yet-to-be-named bar
When: Wednesday night, 11/13.
What: Jo (Blaine) is a bouncer. Chloe looks like she's 13. Hijinks.

[ Really, it's not that unusual.

Over the two-some years she's spent in and out of Locke's city limits, Chloe's made herself enough of an ear and available shoulder to her handful of friends to warrant calls like the one she got tonight. "Hey, Chloe, if it's not too much trouble..." — to talk, of course, and no, it never is too much trouble. Not even with the sudden advent of her numbers rearing into view again, opening up a whole different world, right beside the one she'd always known. Not having enterprise in that was out of the question, but so was forgetting about the things that were currently important. Especially when it's someone she's known for a little under a year, who she'd actually met while they were both waitressing during the holidays for pocket money. She'd gotten the call just on the cusp of evening, before she'd decided to pack it in and call it a night, and even if she was doing just that, there stood a snowball's chance in hell that she'd turn a friend down.

So it just looked like she'd have to learn to balance better.

Luckily, Chloe usually has the foresight enough to keep a change of clothes in her car since she spends the majority of her time during the week so far from home. And also luckily, today is no different, so when she exits her car in front of the club she'd gotten directions for, it doesn't look like she's just spend half the day in class, and another half holed up in the corner of a Starbucks, knocking back Grande coffees and studying until her eyes crossed.

Checking the time on her phone, she approaches the door. Looks like she was only a minute or two late. ]

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Hey.

[There are two bouncers at the door at the moment, one of them chatting away with a few people that have stepped out for a smoke, and it isn't quite clear if he is on duty or not. The second only comes into sight shortly before Chloe steps into the building, a tall woman that the shorter female might remember from the network.

Considering that she has to glance like thirty-five centimetres down at Chloe, that height is probably even more pronounced.]

Your ID, please.

[She's not going to make any remarks on how old the blond looks, but there is no way that there couldn't be doubts about letting her into a place that serves alcohol as a primary business. After eight.]

[ Really, it's become more of a necessity than a nuisance at this point, so Chloe stops just short of running right into the woman who's stepped forward, almost a little too closely. Blinking at the spot where her nose is lined up with this person's sternum, Chloe's eyes go wide and she takes a clipped step backward. That voice...

...is asking for her ID, right. ]

Oh! Of course, I'm sorry, here...

[ Fishing her wallet out of her purse, she digs in the plastic slip cover to pull her driver's license out and offer it up to the bouncer. It's a routine she's used to, but for some reason, as she sneaks a glance up (and up, and up), she feels a little more rattled than she should. ]

[Blaine takes the card, throws a short glance at it, catching the name and birthdate ...and then does not hand it back, instead opting to keep her eyes trained at the other female's face.]

And what would be your name and age?

[You can fake IDs, but it is usually easy to spot for her when someone gives her wrong information orally.]

[ Chloe is used to skeptical looks. Double-takes. Teasing, even. But the gaze leveled at her is completely different from all of that, and it takes her a second to work through her uncertainty. Despite herself, she doesn't avert her eyes. She finds that she can't. ]

What? It's — Chloe. Chloe Weiss. I'm twenty-one, I was born in January, 1992.

[ And that little bit of information is playing second-fiddle to what's actually on her mind. She's certain she knows that voice. ]

Excuse me, but do I...?

[For a moment she grinds her teeth.

That sensation. She has kind of waited for it to happen again, ever since that person who wanted to tell her all about the network told her that it goes with echoes being triggered, even if they don't happen that very moment.

Waited for it and hoped that it would not come, because what if it changes her features in ways that would be hard to explain away? She already seems to be turning into some kind of supernatural creature, but right now that is still easy enough to hide.

And this girl triggered it, huh? Or at least it would seem that way.

She leans in a bit, down, until their faces are only the length of a hand apart anymore. Abuses her position to be ridiculously invasive for a moment, because maybe that can tell her something?

And then leans away again. No, nothing. But it is interesting that the woman seems to think that she knows her.] You can pass.

[She'll find her again later, and if not... she has her name. If the echo is connected to her, she can always track her down later should that not happen tonight.]

Wh — [ Chloe lets out a puff of breath that might've been a question; maybe another attempt at "What?", or "Why?" but neither quite make it.

It's an awkward sense of fascination that keeps her rooted to her spot while she's being stared down. Chloe has decent senses, and this is the point where she could have taken her ID and simply walked past, because she wasn't lying, and it wasn't a fake. But this woman's intent was a little different from what Chloe could have assumed. Even though she's overbearing, and intimidating, Chloe doesn't feel threatened. She feels like she's being searched. Especially when she's close enough for Chloe to study her expression. It's thrown by the dim lighting, accented by the few neon signs hung about, but she rakes over her face anyway, trying to put it to the voice.

Nothing. ]

— I... all right. Th-thank you.

[ After a moment, and the given go-ahead with much less ado than she imagined, Chloe shifts. Without remembering to accept her ID back, she steps out of the way with a glance. What she'd really wanted to say was, "Who are you?", but...

...she was late! ]

[Blaine steps back as well, the ID still in her hand as the blond hasn't accepted it back yet. She will hold it out for her to take, though, dangling down from her fingers at about the spot where her own face was just a short while ago.

Nothing more to say right now, so she won't. Instead, she will just watch those reactions, because they are kind of intriguing. Not what she would have expected, not that she could say that she thought much about what to expect in return. But usually people either cower or get aggressive when she examines them.

She has no issues dealing with either, but this still makes her curious in the blond, beyond the tingling of an echo.]

[ Oh! She twists with a start when she realizes she'd been so caught up in the moment that her wallet was still missing something important.

Blinking her surprise away, face reddened, she reaches out to take her ID back. ]

I would have been in trouble without this. Thank you.

[ Just like that, she smiles a bit and moves off into the bar to finally find her friend. ]

[A few hours later, during her break, Blaine will come inside, scanning the crowd with her eyes, though with the girl's height, she almost doubts that she would notice her. Still, her gaze stops at ever blond head for a moment, only to move on when she notices that it is not Chloe.

Chloe.

She by now knows what struck her.

The woman's name is not Chloe, or at least it wasn't earlier. When they met for the first time ...before. In the place that echoes come from. They must have been kids, and her name was Historia. She wonders how their relationship was. Was that girl, that looks just like a ~~slightly~~ younger version of Chloe, someone close to her, or why would she remember her first of all the things that she must have known and seen in that supposed former life?]

[ She's lost track of the time, a little bit.

While her friend has long since taken off, being lucky enough to live within reasonable cab distance (which Chloe had paid for, thank you), Chloe was sticking around to make sure she was fine enough to drive. The trip was substantial and the roads were starting to frost up, and she'd only had a few light drinks, but she wasn't going to chance it. Luckily, she doesn't have class in the morning.

Through numerous grapevines, she's heard that that the network appears as a normal series of messages to those without numbers, so she sits at a quieter corner of the bar, sipping water with lemon and checking her phone. For all intents and purposes, she may as well be looking at Facebook to the untrained eye. Every so often, her expression will pinch, but the rest of the patrons have long since forgotten about trying to bother her with her civic Good Friend duty over for the night. ]

[When getting closer, Blaine will nod to herself internally. The sound of a voice coming from the other woman's screen, clearly not audible to the person right next to her, is an obvious enough sign of what she is using there.

She almost assumed, considering that echoes typically seem to be caused by other people from the network, at least if they are caused by people...

She'll draw a chair out for herself and sit down across the table from Chloe.] You didn't give me your true name before.

[ Chloe can't contain the slight jump the woman elicits from her when she sits, and her eyes, bright with confusion, dart upwards. She'd been so absorbed that she hadn't even realized she was on anyone's radar, let alone the bouncer with the hard eyes and unforgettable voice.

This person, who somehow knew exactly how to wriggle under her skin.

She's about to reply when her words catch somewhere in her throat, freezing her hands above her phone, fingertips poised to switch the network off. But that, too, is forgotten, when the thud of a heartbeat courses through her, turning her a little pale. Letting a glimmer of fear flash across her face, as if someone had caught her in a spectacular lie.

That is not your true name. What was her name?

Christa. Christa was her name. ]

That's — n-not true.

[ She was... lying? ]

You could try going by you real name, you know.

[She picks up the other woman's phone, throwing a quick glance at the network on it before holding it up for a moment and then leaning over to drop the device in Chloe's lap.]

Just for a while, in certain places, to see what comes out of it. [Because suddenly starting to use a different name in the outside world is a bad idea, but on the network... It's the first time that Blaine has gotten a memory echo, and she wants to hold on to it. Sure, she could claim that it is so the other woman can win some control over the triggering of echoes and all that, but in the end it boils down to selfish "do this because I remember it" reasons.]

What does — that even mean? I'm not...

[ The dismissal of her claim doesn't even come to Chloe easily, when she knows what she's saying isn't right. The sudden drop of her phone in her lap forces her to swallow back her attempts to force out something convincing. Eloquence had never been an issue for her, but all of her words come out tangled as she tries to hide the force of the echo still burning away in her. ]

You're wrong!

[ Though her tone is shaken, she takes the accusation head-on, keeping quiet enough so that this conversation takes place between them, and them alone. For some reason, that was just as important to her. That only this woman was allowed to know. She leans forward to meet her, having suddenly placed her voice. ]

My name is — [ Christa. ] ...i-it's Chloe. Just like you saw it. And you're... I've talked to you once before. Blaine. But it was only once, so... what on earth makes you say that to a stranger...

You don't quite make it sound like I'm wrong.

[She puts her elbows on the table, leaning her chin on the back of one hand, her body tilting forward a bit. Though, to be truthful, she cannot completely answer that question to herself - why does this matter to her, this is a stranger and... well, she is not trolling now, she isn't, and that is just strange.

But Blaine is not necessarily always truthful with herself, and can be a downright - and skilled - liar with others, so that won't stop her from continuing in the same line.

Let her pretend that she is just trolling, just doing this for the reactions. Not because she is curious and somehow feels that that name is important - if she echoed it, and it is the first echo of a memory, too... it has to be important, after all.

And she feels the same, and her voice will drop just a tinge more in volume. Things that belong on the network don't go in public, after all.] You should really stop pushing away what you are, Chloe.

[ Willing herself to steel, Chloe's expression sets, though she still feels the tremble of the memory warring away inside of her. She swallows it. And as if to latch onto some semblance of safety, she retrieves her phone from her lap, bringing to rest level with her heart, clutched white-knuckled in her hands. Chloe takes the action, even when the woman across from her doesn't scare her.

At least not in a way she recognizes. ]

Just... what is it that you think I am? [ She presses her fingers into her phone for emphasis. The network. ] Because of this? Or...

[ On a dime, her demeanor shifts. She's still upset, visible in the knit of her brows, but it's turned towards curiosity. Tenacity. Almost as if it's something she has to know as much as Blaine is trying to get her to admit it. ]

Please, what do you think my name is?

[The taller female will lean back, just looking at Chloe for a moment longer. This was not quite what she expected - not that she had definite expectations, and it almost fits to what she thought.

But only almost. That tone, the expression, are off. Not what she thought. She's not entirely sure how to proceed, but on the other hand it's easy, isn't it? She leans forward, to be heard by the other woman but nobody else.]

Historia. [She grins, her voice still low enough to only just reach Chloe, the sound swallowed by the music to everyone else.] Though you look maybe two years older now than in the echo.

[ It's different from what she'd imagined too, if she was being honest with herself. If 'imagination' could even be said of it, with the clear intent of the new memories. ]

That's wrong too. [ Wrong, wrong, wrong, that's all she seems to be capable of mustering up. But perhaps there's a hint of disappointment there, that their memories hadn't lined up after all. ] That's not the name I just remembered, because of you.

[ Therein lies the crux of the matter: maybe she'd wanted them to coincide, if only briefly. ]

Christa... was my name.

Are you sure?

[It's been a good while since she has been proven wrong on something actually important (that is, things in life, not in school), and she does not appreciate it at all.

Especially here. It seems... somehow, important. More important than it should. It does not feel right, and then somehow it feels right for Chloe to deny her memory. It's good this way, she guesses, to not have connections with strangers forced on her. If nobody is from her world, nobody will remember things about her before she does, and nobody will knows things about her past life that she does not know...

That really is a lot safer. Yes. No disappointment here.]

Absolutely!

[ Even if she sounds distinctly as if she'd like to be proven wrong. Reluctantly, Chloe breaks the gaze she'd had with Blaine. Her voice drops again, along with the slope of her shoulders. ]

I'm sure of it. It was Christa Renz... that's the name that won't leave my head. Like — these numbers.

[ That was the nature of the echoes, wasn't it? But instead of opening up a path that she might've not had to walk alone, it's just set her on a new one. For some reason, as she glances up at Blaine again, it's hard to reconcile. But she's stronger than that, and forces out a steadying breath. ]

Did you... want that to be my name?

I thought it was your name.

[Want... she is not sure, she does not want to dwell on it. It is better this way, really. No reason to mull things over that simply aren't that way.]

She looked a lot like you.

Mm. I've heard that the way I look isn't very unique.

[ She and Brooke looked alike, after all. And that Luci girl. Chloe smiles, honestly and apologetically. At least some of the former apprehension was melting away, and she could focus on the other aspects of the situation that weren't so... close. ]

I'm sorry. I really wanted to help you, if I could. But... we mixed up?

It seems like it.

[And why does she still feel like this is more than just a vague resemblance... if she could just get more information on this girl in her memory. Maybe an image of when she was older.

...it isn't all that unlikely that that will eventually happen. Especially if she keeps interacting with this woman here. ...She's not sure if she wants that or not.]

...Chloe Weiss, it was?

That's right. I felt as though I should have recognized your voice sooner! Blaine.

[ A pause. ]

...I thought you were a boy, over the — um, this.

[ Loosening her hold on her phone, she places it back on the tabletop, gently. An action that she hopes is conciliatory enough, with that kind of a rocky start. ]

How silly.

...Why?

[Not that she doesn't sometimes try to look like a guy. Or that she specifically minds - there are more troublesome things than that, really. But she didn't even try, though the costume was a male...

She won't give any hints as to if she minds or doesn't with her question, just sit there and lean on one hand, look at the other woman.]

Those children. [ ...As if that explains anything. Hurrying along, she motions a little with her hands, a habit she's never managed to ditch. ] The ones I spoke to for the first time, they used 'Mister.' I may never stop learning about books and covers, at this rate.

[ Not that she's overly judgmental to begin with, if at all. But the Network has certainly sent her horizons sprawling, in a sense. ]

They just kept to their costumes I guess. [She leans forward, resting her chin on one hand and grins at the other woman.]

As long as you don't work with humans in your daily life, I assume that confusing covers for the content of books should only be so much of a problem. You don't, right?

[ She smiles, a fair bit too honestly, if not with a touch of guilt. ]

Not yet. It's... mostly horses, at the moment. But one day, I hope to be a help to both.

[ Glancing off at the interior the club as though she's just realized it's still there, she muses. ]

You must see all walks, don't you?

Most.

[She doesn't see particularly many people over a certain age here, and unless with children, she has no contact with seniors in other areas of her life, either. It's one of those things that she knows exist but that just don't tangent her life.

Like parents and taxes.] You don't?

I do!

[ Chloe nods once, with purpose. It's an idea that's important to her, and colors much of her perspective. ]

Or, ah... I have. Giving trail rides to people, or riding lessons. I volunteered more, as well. — Before classes started.

[ Her schedule was busy, but if she could will more time in existence, she would. Even if it was just in the name of giving it away again. ]

...You really like helping people, huh?

[Somehow, she doesn't make it sound like something positive.]

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[closed] a rock wall we build daily

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