first roll, first exposure

[strangeandunusual]

[the morning of the 18th, before Aziraphale's little "miracle", the mirror turns on to show Lydia, sitting outside on the balcony of the apartment she shares with Mal. those who met her at the arrival ceremonies saw her with her hair down, but today she's pulled it up into a wild, riotous ponytail like a gothic palm tree]

Um, good morning. I'm Lydia, and I've never used anything like this before. Mal says it's like a "smart phone", but I'd never heard of that, so bear with me.

[there's an awkward pause. the morning breeze ruffles her hair and the black poncho she's wearing. which she may or may not have made out of one of her spare bedsheets because she didn't want to wear the same thing two days in a row.]

Anyway. The Dreamfinder, he said we have to get jobs in order to buy stuff. I know there's a decent amount of food in my kitchen, but we're gonna eat through what I know how to cook, pretty fast. So I'm going job hunting. If anyone wants to join me, I'll be downstairs in like, half an hour? I just need to finish my cereal and brush my teeth. Or you can meet me here at room 3A. Just knock first.

Comments

[strangeandunusual]

"There's a Neitherworld, where the ghosts live, but they have to haunt places for a while before they can move on and go there. I'm not even supposed to know that, but I guess dead people have authorities, just like the living."

She shrugged. "The Handbook said the waiting period was so that they could keep up with expansion and dimensional resource demand. And then there was a lot of talk about paperwork. It was pretty boring. Adam said being dead is like being alive, but with more paperwork."

[guitar_hero]

"That sounds absolutely hideous." Who would want to die only for there to be a million rules. "You're supposed to rest in peace, you know. Free from the constraints of the mortal world. What's the point of dying if you're going to end up right back to where you started?"

[strangeandunusual]

"I didn't even think of it that way." She frowned, then lifted her bowl, now devoid of cereal, and drank the sugar-infused milk that remained. "They must be able to rest, though. I mean ... if we hadn't moved into their house, that would have been pretty peaceful for them. All they ever really seemed to need was their house and each other."

She sounded wistful - maybe a little jealous.

"Anyway, I hope there are places that'll hire me. I've never actually had a job before."

[guitar_hero]

"That's a nice kind of love, isn't it?" He sounds a little wistful himself. Even though he's sort of got that. He has his TARDiS, and really that's all he needs. A home and a heart all at once. He misses her sometimes. Especially now.

"Oh I'm sure there's somewhere. If you need I can pose as your older brother and convince them to let you on. They'd never buy me as a dad."

[strangeandunusual]

That made her laugh, but she was smart enough to know she probably shouldn't make the grandfather jab. Instead, she licked her spoon clean and pointed it at him. "I'll give you one even better: you can be my super cool uncle."

[guitar_hero]

"You've got it." Finger guns. "One super cool uncle just as ordered." And then, he holds out his hand. "Brofist?"

[strangeandunusual]

She's more of a high five girl, but she'll give him one. "Totally. So what kind of job are you going to get?"

Once he finishes his breakfast, that is. Then they're totally taking this coffee to go.

[guitar_hero]

He's just about done actually. He's a bit of a sneaky eater.

"Don't know. Something that'll keep me occupied. Too bad adventurer doesn't pay well."

[strangeandunusual]

"Not in money, anyway." She gave him a knowing smile and took a swallow of her coffee. She was still easing herself into drinking it... She'd only had a few cups before this one, and the bitterness under the cream and sugar was just starting to be enjoyable. "There's got to be something. And even if there isn't, we could get something random and do it together, and make it fun. Like in sitcoms."