Dream On

Quite some time, Eve notes, and feels a flicker of doubt in her chest. Was it possible she was the only one here because of a dodgy letter? Karen’s smile was encouraging, but Eve still felt her heart stutter at the mention of printing. Besides the nightmares, Eve barely knew what the files contained herself. She had a feeling, but… if life had taught her anything, it was that feelings weren’t always as clear-cut as they seemed.

“One word, huh?” Eve parroted, doubtful of her own ability to sum it up. As little as she knew of the details inside, Eve knew herself. Even at her most recent stint with MI5, she’d kept a similar binder below her desk, slipping in copies of anything that sparked her interest. It was never filled the way this one seemed to be, but the unlabeled standard-issue cover and haphazard organization of it meant one thing: she was never supposed to be looking into this, not officially. It was a passion project.

Eve met her eyes gratefully when Karen ushered them onward, giving Eve some time to think before she answered. “Only if I’m buying,” Eve agreed with enthusiasm, keeping pace. Hopefully she had enough American bills in her purse, but Eve wasn’t above bribing the bar to take pounds if she had to. She couldn’t help but smile at Karen’s antics, all confidence and verve; If the name Page wasn’t enough, her attitude certainly lent itself to someone who worked at a ‘chronicle’. Eve looked to the ground as they walked.

Would she be putting her in danger just by telling her? What if the people she’d spent her past life investigating were behind the letter? They were powerful, Eve remembered that much. And here… suddenly Eve felt spectacularly unarmed. Vulnerable. It wasn’t something she had considered in her life before Woodshore, but remembering what she did now, she felt incredibly stupid for not carrying a weapon.

“A pattern,” Eve settled on eventually, eyes only briefly able to meet Karen’s. It was vague, but slightly less of a cop-out than 'classified’, and slightly more detailed than 'everything’. “But it’s… personal.” She felt she owed the woman more than that, and above all, the desire to talk about it swelled in her chest. Despite worrying they would endanger Page, the words built up under her tongue. 

Never particularly good at self restraint, Eve takes a leap of faith and hopes to land on common ground.

“There were a series of kills across Europe, and I was looking into them as sort of a… hobby. And a job. Unofficially,” Eve attempted to explain. She could tell she sounded desperate, but whatever, maybe she was. If she was fated to wake up to a headline about some freak harassing a reporter with crackpot theories, she might as well get a good night out of it. “I’m still… trying to piece it together.”

Karen did not rely on her heart a lot, knowing it was a bad thing to go on your heart’s instinct alone. She focused on what her head had to say, the facts at hand sometimes mattered more than what her emotions told her to do in a moment of uncertainty.

Oh, if she knew about Eve’s love of passion projects, Karen would be her new best friend. She loved to do all sorts of things, get involved in things and make them her own to pass the time. They could get along famously. Her smile never left her face.

The job had come with her fake life, and she had kept at it when she woke up, so to speak. A dream come true, working at a paper and seeing people read what she had to say. What better way to help the residents than to report on the place they were stuck in?

Weapons were not usually Karen’s thing...but she would weild a gun if she had to. She had shot and killed a bad man before, and she would do it again if she had to. Survive, that’s all she had known for some time before being brought to this new place.

hope was enjoying a walk when someone walked up to her to ask her a question for the new paper . hope wasn’t quite sure how to answer for a minute . she thinks for a moment . “ quite honestly i don’t know how i feel about this  place “

— upon feeling the tap at his shoulder, LAWRENCE turned around with a wide-and-pleasant smile. he did not mind at all that his morning stroll was to be delayed. if it meant that he could talk to someone, and to help them out, then he was more than up for the task. “certainly,” he informed KAREN, as she approached him, and he paused in his footsteps. the man leaned against the silver-tipped cane, to offset some of his weight, so that he could pause in his motion more comfortably. “it would be my pleasure.” if she did not have a specific prompt, then he figured that he could share whatever it was that he had an opinion about. “woodshore has been quite kind to someone like me,” he said, with a quick bob of his head. “while i find it to be mysterious at times, it has become like a home to me.” perhaps not quite home with a capital H, but… it was getting there. and the location itself could not be faulted. not entirely. it was his ex-wife and his daughter… who he was missing the most. “i feel grateful that i feel SAFE here. and even more, that several residents around town seem to have been given second, even third, chances at life ITSELF.” 

— SARAH flinched, at the feeling of the stranger’s fingers upon her shoulder. soon enough, though, the woman persuaded herself to settle. she understood that she was not in imminent danger— she was not in ANY danger, for that matter, but sometimes, she sure felt as if she was. her instincts kicked up faster than her head did, at times… but most of all, she took that to be a GOOD thing. otherwise, if a stranger did intend her harm, then she would not be prepared to defend herself against them. thankfully, she managed to offer the other a slight smile— the look was tired, but it was simultaneously polite enough. “what sort of comment are you looking to RECEIVE?” the blonde-headed female asked. she did her best to keep the noticeable degree of suspicion out of her voice. if this person was not simply a writer, then sarah’s comment could be wielded against her, at some point, down the road, right? what if someone high in the mysterious government overheard her? “i am coming from the event down at the BEACH,” she decided to say, figuring that was a safe enough subject. “the weather has been lovely, and there is plenty for people TO DO.” 

He gently clasped the hand and shook it in greeting, then took the card handed to him and examined it for a brief moment before nodding. “Right. Will do. Thank you, Miss Page. I’m John Watson.” He muttered, stuffing it into his back pocket before nodding. “I’ll admit, this place is… Promising. I just hope it’s enough.” He remarked, a wistful air to his comment.

“excited?” nicole echoed, a little surprised at that. was anyone really excited to be here? most people seemed to tolerate it, but she knew majority of people would rather be home in their own worlds, rather than thrust together in this one. and actually, some people disliked being here very much, and those were the people nicole spent most of her time dealing with when she was on duty. “—-nicole.” the redhead added when the other asked her name. “i–guess so? my girlfriend is here, and her sister.” was wynonna a ‘friend’? who knew, but close enough, she supposed. 

he recognized her voice immediately – she was a hundred yards away, asking strangers about their thoughts on woodshore. she never did having a problem talking to people, karen page. she was sociable like that. matt approached her with some trepidation – how would things be different in this world? would she remember him as vividly as he remembered her? but there was no point in allowing these concerns to stop his movement. when he was a few feet behind her, he said, “i have a few comments on woodshore,” he said. “like the fact that it suddenly seems a lot friendlier.” he offered her a grin – it was cheeky, which was predictable. “hey, karen.”

——— ✲ﾟ.｡₀:*charles xavier && karen page

People came and went throughout his venture through the aquarium so rarely did he look up to take notice who was around him. Most were aware of him and made the effort to keep their distance, one of the many perks of being like this. It made him feel like he had the place to himself at times if he cold tune out the thoughts of others.

But musings aside, he would look up as the voice finally reached him. Turning to her and looking around briefly as if to make certain she was speaking to him, he offered a warm smile as he answered. “I can’t complain. I mean… no one’s bothered me and I haven’t had much trouble in general at all. It is rather odd that none of us can leave, but I guess one could be trapped in worse places,” he reasoned.

He extended his hand, lightly shaking her own. “Charles. Charles Xavier. You’re the first journalist I’ve met here in Woodshore. Sometimes I forget they even have a paper.”

Karen was respectful of space, keeping a polite distance between them even as she sought a comment or two from the man. She always disliked it whenever someone got in her face, so she did her best to be nice about her methods of interviewing people.

For once, she thought of that fact, of how none of them could leave. She did not mind it, because for now she didn’t want to go anywhere when she had a nice life in front of her. No one was trying to harm her, her social circle was still small so her friendships were intimate. Overall, she could not complain, so she agreed with the man about there being worse places.

Paige had been looking down at her phone. She was texting one of her co-workers about a case they had coming in. She needed advice on the kid who had been in and out of the system for years now. Paige had just hit send to her co-worker and felt the tap of her shoulder. “Oh, sure!” She smiled. “Well, I haven’t been here extremely long but I do love it here. It’s like a fresh new start. It’s beautiful, almost everyone is nice and there is some pretty great food around town.” 

“Oh, wow, that's–” Eve lets out a chuckle as she takes the paper, smile more genuine than it was before. “Thank you, Karen.” Her eyes gleam with interest, the intelligence operative in her revving up. A journalist was a wealth of information, and Eve was hungry to learn everything she could. “Eve Polastri. I take it you know the area,” Eve observes, trying to stay casual. She can feel curiosity pushing her to ask about memories and headaches and mysterious letters, but she keeps the questions burning in her throat for now. Don’t want to scare her off.

“I’d love that, if it’s not too much trouble. I was actually hoping to look through some files,” Eve hedges, gesturing to her bag. “But they aren’t… public, yet.” Or ever, ideally. She glances at Karen’s face, searching for a flicker of recognition for the situation. Eve had never been a journalist, but there had to be some similarities, right? Investigative work was just reporting without the… reporting, part. “Is there anywhere you might go, when you have a story like that?”

“You’re welcome, Eve.” Karen nodded when Eve spoke about the area, a grin hinting around the corner of her lips. “I would go to the Chronicle, the newspaper here. They could print up a nice story.” It was true, but since the files were deemed private, she did not know what the scoop was. Should she ask? “I have been around for quite some time, so I know some places better than others.” Her shoulders rose and then fell in a shrug. “Mind if I ask what the files contain? Just a simple word will sate my curiousity for now.” She was hungry, too, but for now she would it in.

( Hair as red as fire set against ice cold snow, a thin frame elegantly draped in furs, a smile hiding the heart of a brave warrior ) –– && it looks like sansa stark has finally arrived in woodshore ( though she originates from game of thrones ). although known as QUEEN IN THE NORTH back home, here they are a twenty-three year old college student, known to be BRAVE, but SELFISH. they were coaxed here with the promise of FAMILY. they remember BEING CROWNED QUEEN. ( ali, sophie turner, uw dorms)

frank knew that karen was bound to have some kind of reaction to seeing him –– she had seen him in a light that he was almost certain no other person in the entire city of new york had. still, his jaw clenched when she embraced him suddenly, muscles frozen for a moment before he returned the embrace, one muscular arm wrapping around her considerably smaller frame. it was good to see her again, even if it was dangerous for her. “yeah, i’m here,” he chuckled gruffly. his arm fell back down beside him as he looked down upon her. she looked the exact same, all sunshine. “no one’s trying to kill me, so i guess things are looking up for me. what about you? what are you doing here?”

For the majority of her time, Ariel had been enjoying the beach. She’d found the waters different than what she was used to but the cool waters always found a way to make her feel comfortable. Today was no different, though the beach was far more crowded than she would’ve liked. With the tap to her shoulder, however, Ariel turned and looked at the stranger with a pleasant but confused look. “Comment? What kind of comment?”

Piper’s memories, or dreams?, had been putting a real toll on her. A lot of it was like deja vu. But that was something that her sister, Phoebe, was better in tune with. But to Piper these dreams felt extremely real and that was something that she knew as a witch was a sign of something. She sighed, because all her life she just wanted to be normal. Not socially awkward. Not a witch. But of course here she was - a witch. Who was now in a life that felt… fake? Almost as if she was in ANOTHER fake universe. Oh God flashbacks of when the Source of All Evil put her into a fake universe without her powers, but that time he put her and her sisters in an Insane Asylum.

She was so deep into her thoughts that she didn’t noticed that she was about to collide with the person. She stopped herself from colliding with the other, not even sure if her ‘freeze’ power would even work in this universe. Or if her powers would be active without the power of three bond in this universe. “Oh! Sorry, I have a real bad habit of not watching where I am going lately.” She said almost comically. She turned back towards the other and gave a soft look. “For my stupidity, how about you come to my nightclub tonight. Free entry and drinks for you.” She offered up with a bright smile on her face.

Karen had adjusted quite well to this new place, once she woke up from her fake life, of course. Her muscles clenched, her body freezing when she was almost ran into. A smile lit up her face as she listened to the woman apologize and offer a treat in exchange for the incident. “You have a nightclub? Is it the Lux?” She tilted her head slightly as she wondered who the woman was. “My name is Karen Page, I work for the Woodshore Chronicle.” She didn’t want to just take a free night out on the town, wanting to give something back for Piper’s kindness. “I couldn’t just do that. How about an interview about your nightclub in exchange for the drinks?”