[video]

[pencilpremonition]

[Becca stares down at the device in her hands, a puzzled expression on her face.]

Is this Hell? But... I'm not dead yet. I've got another week yet... Or did I forget my last days on earth? I don't...get it. I don't get it at all. Where is everybody? And what do I do now?

[She hopes that people will take pity on her and help her because she's fifteen and pathetic-looking. That and her massive entitlement complex, but that's another matter in and of itself.]

Comments

[pencilpremonition]

Younger. He's turning thirteen in January. I'm... [Suddenly awkward.]

[She's due to die before she turns sixteen. But she can't drown in the White River very well if she's not even in the same country as it, not even in the same world as it... Becca's a little lost, and not sure what to think about her upcoming birthday.]

[doctor_dragoon]

[Yukio looks up from his search, curious at her sudden silence.]

Becca-san?

[pencilpremonition]

...Turning sixteen this month.

[Her voice cracks a bit as she speaks, sounding quite strained. The fear is starting to overwhelm her. It's catching up to her that she didn't see coming here ahead of time. She doesn't know what's happening. Her heart starts to hammer, and she reaches up to put her hands over her heart, as if pressing it down will calm it.]

[doctor_dragoon]

[He gets to his feet and steps toward her, obviously concerned. She doesn't look so good.]

Are you alright?

[pencilpremonition]

It's just...catching up to me....

[She takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm back down before she has a fainting spell. It's not working so well.]

[doctor_dragoon]

[Alright, you legit worry him, tiny girl.]

... I'll be sixteen this month, too. [Trying to be reassuring, maybe take the conversation in a lighter direction while remaining close enough to be sure she's not going to keel over.]

[pencilpremonition]

Really? You seem a lot older...

[Fuck politeness. She finds something to sit on (preferably a chair, but whatever's available) and sits. That helps somewhat, and she gets her breathing back under control and lets her hands flop down into her lap.]

[doctor_dragoon]

[There is a wooden chair available, tucked in next to a small desk in the crowded space.]

I get that a lot...

[pencilpremonition]

I'd probably seem older if I weren't so skinny... I've always had to act like a grown up. Who can afford to be a kid in today's world, y'know?

[doctor_dragoon]

I suppose that depends on what world you come from.

... What year is it for you?

[pencilpremonition]

It's 2011? And I'm from Indianapolis...are people really from different worlds here? Why didn't I see this coming...

[doctor_dragoon]

[He nods solemnly.] It's 2010 where I'm from, and 2000 here. Many people here are from the nineteenth century, or from a world that doesn't even fit on a timeline we'd be familiar with.

So you're from America, then? [He's fairly sure he's heard the name of that place before. Or something like it.]

[pencilpremonition]

So that's why I didn't see it coming...you can't see a future that's set in the past....

[Normally she wouldn't be so frank about her powers, but she doesn't expect him to put two and two together about what she's mumbling about. And right now, she's decidedly off-kilter. She's starting to panic about having arrived here in a delayed reaction.]

But this isn't possible...none of this is possible... I have to be at home this week....

[doctor_dragoon]

[Yukio's a pretty smart guy and her mumbles are raising all sorts of questions, but the possible panic attack takes priority. He hesitates for a moment before crouching down in front of her chair, trying to catch her eyes.]

I can't say I understand your position exactly, but remember that you're not alone. We can make things work here until we figure out how to fix them.

[pencilpremonition]

I don't know what's coming now... I always know what's coming... This is totally new for me...

[She looks into his eyes, and it does calm her down. A soft blush comes to her cheeks, and for a moment she thinks more about how handsome he is than her own predicament. Awkward or not, it works wonders to dispel the oncoming panic.]

[doctor_dragoon]

[Urp. There's the slightest strain in his smile as he pushes past the awkward. This is no time to let his girl-fail take over.]

Looks like we're all in the same boat, then. It'll be alright.

[pencilpremonition]

I don't like not knowing what's going on. ....It's scary.

[doctor_dragoon]

You can learn to work past that. Fear can be overcome if you work at it.

[pencilpremonition]

You don't understand...I always know. I've always known... I don't think I know how to live like this...

[doctor_dragoon]

[Cautiously:]

Without knowing you're going to die?

[pencilpremonition]

[She winces.]

It's...something I've had to get used to. It's one of those facts about the world, however unpleasant, that still fucks with you when it changes.

[doctor_dragoon]

[He nods, understanding.]

But do you want to die?

[pencilpremonition]

What? No, nobody wants to...

[Her words ring hollow, and she knows it. She trails off and sighs sadly.]

I would've done things differently if I wasn't gonna die.

[doctor_dragoon]

This place isn't something anyone could prepare for.

[pencilpremonition]

And eventually it'll end with me going right back when I came from to be where I'm supposed to be on Sunday.