beingdifferent | Fifth little lie ♰ And you delivered me from danger then, pulled my cradle from the reedy glen

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Fifth little lie ♰ And you delivered me from danger then, pulled my cradle from the reedy glen

[Five and a half days have passed. Esther checked and rechecked the dates and times, going over the posts on the network and pondering recent events. It looks like she's missed some excitement; apparently she's not the only one who's slipped into a coma lately, or indeed undergone other changes. It looks like there are some people she needs to seek out soon.

But first things first.]

It's been six days that I slept. Does everyone get sick like this on the ship? Sleeping so long is meant to be very bad for a person. And it makes you very hungry and thirsty as well! [She crosses her arms and huffs, her breath batting a curl away from her chin.] This is very strange and I don't think I like it.

But maybe it is better than waiting. Why do some inmates find their warden immediately when others take so long? How come it's so hard to get home?

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'Ey Esther. Barge comas - they're a thing, I'm afraid. I'll pop up with a tray if you give us a minute. Need owt else?

Thank you. I would like that very much, whatever you bring.

Does it mean there's something wrong with me?

No problem, lovey. No, it's just a thing that 'appens. I've got a sort of vague theory about it, but it's unprovable and a bit nuts; I think it's a reaction of the Barge to people who reach a kind of marking time state of mind. Maybe.

[She's knocking a couple of minutes later; she's brought a tray with a variety of snacks, nibbles, fruit, fruit juice and bottled water.]

[Esther opens the door and looks up at Iris with the grateful puppy-dog eyes of a hungry waif, reaching out to beckon her in the little bedroom.]

Oh, thank you! It all looks so good. Would you like to share?

What did you mean earlier, about the state of mind marking time?

Thank you, petal.

[She's not really hungry, but she brought plenty, so she sits down and peels a tangerine for herself.]

...Well, it's 'ard to put me finger on. The barge is alive, though. It's not unlike our timeships, and those can put their passengers into suspended animation if they need to. That's the feeling I get from Barge coma patients; and I just spent a week with one in me bed, so I got a better look at the process than I liked.

Thank you, Iris. [The pun makes her smile, and she takes an apple slice and a cup of grape juice, sipping delicately as she listens wide-eyed.]

If the Barge is alive, what does that mean the Admiral is?

Why did you have a comatose person in your bed?

No one really knows. But 'e keeps 'is promises.

[She grins.]

Well 'e weren't comatose when 'e got in. A bit unsettling, that were.

Every time? That's not what the redheaded lady seemed to think.

[She nods, casual, as if she knows all about sharing a bed.]

You must have been very frightened.

Aye, I don't quite know what 'er problem was. She might not've been too careful what she asked for; Admiral does 'ave a dodgy sense of humour sometimes.

[She says that with a smile; Iris enjoys the Admiral's sense of humour enormously.]

I was. I knew about Barge comas, but it's still ...unsettling.

[She was afraid he'd disappear in his sleep; but Iris remembers she's talking to a child who just came out of a coma herself, and doesn't say so.]

Some people say the same thing about God.

[Iris seems the type to enjoy everything enormously. For one brief moment Esther wonders why it is, in particular, that Iris seems to enjoy her.]

But your friend is all right now?

Aye. Every god I ever met 'ad a dodgy sense of humour and all. One of their few redeeming features, in my book.

[Iris is nearly always smiling by default, but when something touches her hearts it becomes luminous with joy; this happens now.]

Yes, thank goodness. Large as life and twice as ...something. Babs is still down, but one out of two makes all the difference to me not going loopy. And it's easier with Babs; she disappears at least I know she'll be all right.

Edited 2013-10-06 14:36 (UTC)

[The plural affronts her. Esther does not have good understanding of the Bible but she has faith in what it does say.] There's only one.

[Still, it's hard to be mad when Iris is radiating happiness like the proverbial bluebird. It doesn't entirely win her over but she tilts her head, more curious now than offended.]

What happens when she disappears? How does that happen?

That's what most of 'em say.

[She wasn't going to mention disappearances. Oops.]

...Sometimes people disappear from the boat. Wasp did some data analysis and noticed that people who've 'ad more than one coma are more likely to disappear. Far as we can tell, they get dropped back to where they come from; but as you might guess, that's bad news for a lot of passengers. I've tried tracking people back after they disappear and I've not always been able to find 'em. So I worried a bit, while 'e was down.

Then, which ones have you met?

[Esther's brow furrows in thought, nodding along with Iris' explanation. None of it is welcome information, and the idea of being dropped back where she came from, right into that frozen pond on the Colemans' property, makes her gut wrench. But she keeps up appearances, thoughtfully adding just one question.] How can you track people down once they leave?

There's one on board: you've seen that Loki? 'E's from your world, or a variation of it. Not the first version of 'im I've met, either. And Anubis, once; nice bloke, actually, if you overlook 'is table manners. Horus counts, too, technically, though she - he - well, that's a long story and I'm not sure it actually 'appened any more. I suppose you were thinking of the Judeo-Christian one? We 'ad one of 'is angels as a warden for a while.

Oh, I've got a timeship. Actually, she's a bit more than that, these days.

But they're not meant to be real. Not real like God, that is. None of them are meant to be true. [Her reasoning sounds all the more childlike when she says it aloud. She's not sure if that makes it more or less correct.] When did the angel leave? Did he say why?

You have your own Barge, and you stay on this one?

Well, yes, that's in the nature of gods. Castiel just up and left; said 'is dad wanted 'im elsewhere. That's all the reason 'e needed; you know 'ow angels are.
This ship's a lot bigger'n mine; she's on a scale I can't even really see. Running an operation like this from me own ship ...I won't say impossible, but it's not a job I'd much like to tackle, 'specially when this one's already going.

I like it 'ere. I like the people, and the adventures, and the work suits me.

Edited 2013-10-06 15:50 (UTC)

He wouldn't stay? [She doesn't know how angels are, personally, and isn't sure what it says that he left -- or that he was there in the first place.] Can you take people home on your ship?

Have you had one?

Once or twice.

They're more worrisome for everyone else.

Who worried about you?

Edited 2013-10-16 10:36 (UTC)

...I don't really know.

Next time, I will worry about you.

[she smiles faintly - warmly.] I'd like that.

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Fifth little lie ♰ And you delivered me from danger then, pulled my cradle from the reedy glen

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