beingdifferent | First little lie ♰ Keep me breathing as the water rises up again

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First little lie ♰ Keep me breathing as the water rises up again

[The first image the camera captures is a pair of large brown eyes, blinking sleepily before widening. They dart back and forth as their owner pulls the communicator back, showing a small pale face framed by dark curls, mouth curled into a frown. Zoom back a little more and the starry expanse from the deck is visible in the background.

The girl in the foreground bites at her bottom lip, licks it, looks around again before frowning at the communicator. She pulls it up closer, staring at the screen, and speaks one word with a distinct note of fear in her voice.]

...Mommy?

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Yeah, totally. I can do that.

My name's Chris.

Chris is a good name. Mine is Esther.

Do you know where I am?

Yeah, it's not a bad one.

Esther? Okay. Cool.

You're up on deck. Give me a second, I'm coming up from the way bottom of the ship.

This is the deck? It looks just like a planetarium.

I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait.

Yeah, it looks like that all the time. Pretty cool, right?

Sit tight, I'm coming up now.

It's pretty, but it's so big. [She moves a little further from the rail, quite literally sitting tight.]

Okay.

[As promised, Chris wanders up on deck, looking around for the little girl up near the rails]

Hey, Esther?

Chris?

[She uncurls and gets to her feet (in patent leather Mary Janes and old-fashioned knee socks), standing no taller than his chest when she gets to his side. Formal as a princess, she extends a small hand to shake.] Hello, I'm pleased to meet you.

[Chris doesn't think much of it; he's used to people from different times and eras, and Esther's dress makes the boy in the back of his head from the steampunk breach feel more at home. He stretches out his own hand to shake hers]

Hey, yeah. Nice to meet you too. You know what cabin you're in yet? There should be like a key or a name on the door or some way to tell.

[Good manners despite his swearing. That's reassuring.]

No, I don't. But my door at home has my name on it.

Okay. So we might have to walk around for a while trying to find it, but whatever, it'll at least get you accustomed to the Barge.

You eat yet?

That's all right. I don't mind walking if it isn't alone.

Not since lunchtime.

Yeah, being alone sucks. But I mean, the good news is you're going to get parented. A lot. Seriously, be prepared for the amount of people who want to mommy the fuck out of you. If you don't get tired of it, it's kind of awesome.

What're you hungry for?

Is that true? Neither Mommy or Daddy are here for me now, but someone will still want to take care of me? [Esther considers this with a tilt of her head.] Like at the girls' home and the orphanage?

Do you have spaghetti?

Yeah, it's true. Seriously, I've got more pseudo-dads than I know what to do with.

And fuck yeah, we've got spaghetti. Don't know how I'd live otherwise. C'mon.

[He holds the door open to the lower levels of the Barge]

So you were in an orphanage?

And they just ask to take care of you?

Good. [She smiles and, before passing through the door, reaches up to take Chris's hand.] I'm glad you're helping me.

Yes, back in Russia. In America they call them children's homes.

Mainly they want me to know that if I run into trouble, they've got my back.

[Chris blinks, making a small noise of surprise at the back of his throat because wow, totally not expecting that. But it's not unwelcome; he takes Esther's hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze]

Hey, I mean. No big deal. We've all been there.

Yeah, 'orphanage' has sort of this negative connotation, not surprised they call them something different.

Do you run into trouble often?

[She sounds much less worried now that her hand is in his. It's reassuring to walk next to someone, and despite his foul language he's been kind to her. So far, he feels safe to be around.]

Thank you.

It makes people think no one takes care of us. The Sisters at the children's home were very nice, but not as nice as my mommy.

Oh, yeah. All the time. It's been a really tough week lately, you've no clue.

Hey, no problem. Seriously, I know people sometimes here are all "fuck inmates, they're criminals", but for real, most of the people I like are guys like me. Inmates.

You've got a mommy now? Sweet.

Has it? What's happened?

Do they really say that about inmates? I thought they were here to help us.

Yes! And I used to have a daddy too.

My boyfriend got his ass beat because of some shit I said to the wrong guy.

Some of them. Not all. Most of the new wardens do, until they get with the program.

Used to? What happened to him?

How terrible! [This time, she's the one to squeeze his hand.] What on earth could you say to make him do that?

The more I hear, the less friendly this place sounds.

He and Mommy fought a lot, and he found another lady he liked better.

[The squeeze helps, a little. Breaking up with Cassel still hurts]

People don't need an excuse to kick the crap out of each other. I just woke him up on the wrong side of the bed.

Yeah. It's a redemption ship. It's not supposed to be friendly.

That's fucked. I'm sorry.

But they should. No one should hurt anyone, but hurting people for no reason is what only the worst people do. [She parrots it as if it's a Sunday school lesson she's been made to memorize.]

But how can you get better if everyone is so awful?

I didn't like her and neither did Max. Now we get to live with Mommy all the time.

Yeah, well, you know how it is. You're this big tough guy who's used to being in charge of the pack, then you die and get kicked down to being a goddamn inmate, and then you're just looking to lash out at anyone who wants to fuck with you. I should've just steered clear.

Seriously, I don't even know.

That's cool. You like your Mommy?

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