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XF Holiday: Starry Night
(backdated) Amanda and Darcy have a quiet chat on the beach.
It was a perfect night. Warm air, a soft breeze to take the edge off, the gentle hissing sound of waves down on the beach. And overhead, more stars than Amanda could ever remember seeing. She shifted in the pool lounger and took a sip from the wine glass in her hand and let her head drop back again, staring up at the sky with a kind of wonder.
"Stunning, aren't they?" Darcy asked quietly as she stretched out in the lounger next to Amanda's. She tipped her head back as she settled, eyes tracing the few constellations she could make out - they were so different here, than in the places she'd been while working with Jane - but mostly just appreciating the way they looked, even with the light pollution coming from the resort. "They never look so good at home, too much light, even outside the city as we are, but go a few more hours north and they're just..." she trailed off with a small exhale. "Stunning isn't even the right word. Awe inspiring, perhaps."
"Something like that," Amanda agreed. "The last time I saw anything close, I was travelling with a... friend. Road trip of sorts from Vegas. We stopped to do a bit of stargazing on our last night, out in the middle of the desert in... New Mexico, I think it was. Years ago now." She gestured upwards. "This is even more starry than it was then. Must be the ocean or something."
Darcy took a sip of her water. "New Mexico's got a gorgeous sky, but... yeah, the reflection from the water, maybe. Less of a horizon, more an endless sea of stars. It's really great for perspective. Things feel overwhelming, but when you look up at the sky... some of it's so insignificant." She gave the sky a wistful smile. "This is already better than the same time last year. I'll have to remember to thank Fi for saying 'fuck it' and booking all of us for vacation."
"I think spending the week in a Siberian gulag would be better than the same time last year," Amanda replied wryly. "For both of us - I was up to my ears in stuff to deal with Olivier. Tho' I think you had the worse end of the pineapple."
Darcy shook her head slowly. "Just different flavors of terrible, really. But we both came out the other side alright. Garrison's alive. Olivier's... whatever happens to demons when they get thwarted. Brand's still a raging asshole, but we get intel from it now. Collins is worse and with Essex, but I got sweet secondaries and managed to maintain my relationships despite doing a fear and panic runner. So. Win some, lose some, but we're here and not just desperately treading water. I think we're not, at least."
Amanda didn't answer right away. She was staring up at the sky, fighting the words that kept rising to the top of her mind. Garrison's alive. For now. Her researches in the library of Kamar-Taj hadn't unearthed any way to help him (although there was plenty else she'd been taking notes on as she came across it) and Wong, while solicitous, hadn't been any more successful. "Nope, no treading water, at least for now. Every so often we get a chance to breathe - and it's always a good idea to make the most of it." Maybe she was speaking to herself as much as to Darcy.
Darcy let out a light chuckle before singing out softly, "In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet." That's what the calm felt like, sometimes. The quiet of the eye in the midst of an unrelenting hurricane. A brief moment of respite - a deceptive, sunny yellow sky. "I'm happy to take it while we can get it. There are no guarantees." She struggled with it, sometimes, but she understood. Perhaps better now than she had a few years ago, but to some extent, she had always understood.
"I'll drink to that," Amanda replied, lifting her glass to Darcy. "Take it while we've got it, 'cause tomorrow a new load of shite might land on us."
Darcy lifted her glass at Amanda in return. "Cheers."
It was a perfect night. Warm air, a soft breeze to take the edge off, the gentle hissing sound of waves down on the beach. And overhead, more stars than Amanda could ever remember seeing. She shifted in the pool lounger and took a sip from the wine glass in her hand and let her head drop back again, staring up at the sky with a kind of wonder.
"Stunning, aren't they?" Darcy asked quietly as she stretched out in the lounger next to Amanda's. She tipped her head back as she settled, eyes tracing the few constellations she could make out - they were so different here, than in the places she'd been while working with Jane - but mostly just appreciating the way they looked, even with the light pollution coming from the resort. "They never look so good at home, too much light, even outside the city as we are, but go a few more hours north and they're just..." she trailed off with a small exhale. "Stunning isn't even the right word. Awe inspiring, perhaps."
"Something like that," Amanda agreed. "The last time I saw anything close, I was travelling with a... friend. Road trip of sorts from Vegas. We stopped to do a bit of stargazing on our last night, out in the middle of the desert in... New Mexico, I think it was. Years ago now." She gestured upwards. "This is even more starry than it was then. Must be the ocean or something."
Darcy took a sip of her water. "New Mexico's got a gorgeous sky, but... yeah, the reflection from the water, maybe. Less of a horizon, more an endless sea of stars. It's really great for perspective. Things feel overwhelming, but when you look up at the sky... some of it's so insignificant." She gave the sky a wistful smile. "This is already better than the same time last year. I'll have to remember to thank Fi for saying 'fuck it' and booking all of us for vacation."
"I think spending the week in a Siberian gulag would be better than the same time last year," Amanda replied wryly. "For both of us - I was up to my ears in stuff to deal with Olivier. Tho' I think you had the worse end of the pineapple."
Darcy shook her head slowly. "Just different flavors of terrible, really. But we both came out the other side alright. Garrison's alive. Olivier's... whatever happens to demons when they get thwarted. Brand's still a raging asshole, but we get intel from it now. Collins is worse and with Essex, but I got sweet secondaries and managed to maintain my relationships despite doing a fear and panic runner. So. Win some, lose some, but we're here and not just desperately treading water. I think we're not, at least."
Amanda didn't answer right away. She was staring up at the sky, fighting the words that kept rising to the top of her mind. Garrison's alive. For now. Her researches in the library of Kamar-Taj hadn't unearthed any way to help him (although there was plenty else she'd been taking notes on as she came across it) and Wong, while solicitous, hadn't been any more successful. "Nope, no treading water, at least for now. Every so often we get a chance to breathe - and it's always a good idea to make the most of it." Maybe she was speaking to herself as much as to Darcy.
Darcy let out a light chuckle before singing out softly, "In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet." That's what the calm felt like, sometimes. The quiet of the eye in the midst of an unrelenting hurricane. A brief moment of respite - a deceptive, sunny yellow sky. "I'm happy to take it while we can get it. There are no guarantees." She struggled with it, sometimes, but she understood. Perhaps better now than she had a few years ago, but to some extent, she had always understood.
"I'll drink to that," Amanda replied, lifting her glass to Darcy. "Take it while we've got it, 'cause tomorrow a new load of shite might land on us."
Darcy lifted her glass at Amanda in return. "Cheers."