A reminder to not count your Earths before they've hatched.

[chiron_survivor]

It is not unusual to find Adia in the Plaza. She is there frequently enough, sitting in front of a Nexus terminal or fixing herself a cup of coffee. It is not even unusual to find her accompanied by pokémon. This time it's only one, a large bird that stands nearly as tall as she does. It stays close to her seat, keeping a watchful eye for suspicious characters.

What is unusual is the expression on her face.

Adia has come to the Nexus upset before, but this is different. All her nervous energy is gone, replaced with a washed-out, nearly lethargic appearance. She's holding a children's drawing in her hands, staring at it for long seconds before folding it along well-worn creases. She picks at a corner, staring into the distance, then unfolds it and starts the process all over again.

This goes on for several minutes until Bucky, wise bird that he is, gently nudges her with his beak. Coming back to herself, she blinks and looks around, remembering where she is.

"Something... something bad happened back home. A lot of people are... really upset. And losing hope. How do you come back from that?" She looks down at the picture and whispers, "How do you learn to hope again?"

Comments

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Of course. I want to help any way I can." The physical ask is nothing for Amelia, but that's not the point in this. Adia wants the emotional support of not having to carry the heavy weight of what's felt like a futile hope. And if that's not something the rogue understands all too well, then she doesn't know anything about the multiverse.

Exhaling a silent breath, she gives Adia's hands another squeeze and then fixes the woman with a concerned look. "What will you do after this?" she asks softly. "Will you go back to your ship? Or do you want to stay here a little longer?" If Adia wants to hide until she feels she can face what waits for her on her world, then the rogue will happily help her to do so. Coffee, ice cream, wine - whatever Adia wants, Amelia can provide.

[chiron_survivor]

Although the offer of help is left unvoiced, she senses it all the same and smiles softly, giving the rogue's hand another grateful squeeze. After a thoughtful pause, she finally replies to her friend's questions. "I'm going to the library. I, um... I think it's time I told someone in the Fleet about the Nexus. Someone who can use this place to make a difference. But I want to do some research first. I'd like to have as much information as I can before I spring this on someone else."

It's not going to be easy. Years of keeping the Nexus a secret from everyone will be a tough habit to break. But now that Adia has made peace with the lack of a livable Earth in her universe, she needs to think about what she can do to help.

Her Fleet needs all the help it can get.

At the mention of the library, Bucky grumbles and ruffles his feathers. He had been silent all this time, watching Amelia with slowly decreasing suspicion until he was more or less feeling neutral about her presence. But he does not like the library. It's too much of a maze to fly in and he hates getting shushed. "Ary," he complains. Can't they walk around a little first?

Adia laughs a little and reaches up to smooth out Bucky's feathers. "Would you like to walk with me there?" she asks Amelia. She's in no hurry to part ways with her friends, feathered or not.

[rogueinladysclothing]

The corner of her lips tug up into a smirk. "The library is one of my favorite places," she says slowly. "I think I could manage a walk over there with you." And offer her company further, if that's what Adia wants. It's easy enough to be a silent, but present, companion, if that's what her friend needs right now.

Being mindful of the large feathered creature, Amelia gets to her feet, still holding onto Adia's hand unless the other woman pulls away. This physical comfort thing may be difficult for her, but this isn't about her right now. This about Adia and what she needs. So, if her friend wants to hold her hand? The rogue will keep holding onto it. "Would you like a direct path over there? Or would it be all right if we take a detour through a the park and gardens next to the library? Some of the late summer flowers and fauna are spectacular."

[chiron_survivor]

"Mine, too," Adia replies, her smile softer at the edges. It's been a true refuge in the sometimes unreliable safety of the Nexus at large. If only there was a free coffee machine within the building itself, then she'd never need to leave.

Rising when her friend does, she gently withdraws her hand once she's standing, but stays companionably close. Amelia has already done so much for her by taking the drawing off her hands. She deserves to return to her comfort zone.

"I'd like that," she says with a small smile. "The detour, I mean." She'd never turn down a chance to see nature, even cultivated into a garden. Bucky seems amenable to the idea, too. It'll give him a chance to stretch his wings.

Have a pretty picture of a place I've been! :D

[rogueinladysclothing]

Amelia can't quite help the way her muscles relax or her posture returns to its usual proud state when Adia lets go of her hand. She's so unsure of reaching out to someone like that and every time she does it, she feels like she must be doing it wrong. Having her hand back, and with no contact with anyone, again, the rogue can carry herself without any worries. It feels good, even if some small part of her feels bad for being this way with someone who obviously cares for and respects her the way Adia does.

"It's beautiful, and feels very remote from the rest of the Nexus despite being next to the library. I'm not sure many people realize it's there." And, even better, the flowering trees are in full bloom this time of year, making it the most relaxing place Amelia can think of in the whole of the Nexus. It seems like Adia could use that right now.

Smiling back at her friend, she leads them away from Plaza in the general direction of the library. As the tall, familiar building comes into view, she turns from the paved road leading up to its doors down a small path beneath a tall willow tree that's slightly obscured by chest-high grasses. The path itself isn't quite wide enough for them to walk side-by-side, so Amelia steps forward to lead them. As they get farther in, the grass reaches over their heads, completely obscuring their view of what's ahead as the path winds about aimlessly. Finally, it opens out into a Japanese style garden, with not a single other soul in sight.

Once she's made it out from the path, Amelia steps aside to let Adia enjoy the view. She doesn't speak or ask the other woman's opinion, instead allowing Adia to take it all in at her own pace. This is a detour, after all, and such things should never be rushed.

it's so beautiful! Where is it?

[chiron_survivor]

If Adia notices the other woman returning to a more comfortable stance, she doesn't seem to mind. Her own posture is improved over the unhappy slump she had been in earlier. But there is still something fragile about the way she moves, like someone who has spent too long on a ship trying to lose her sea legs. Grief for a lost planet has taken a toll on her.

As they make their way towards the hidden garden, Bucky takes to the sky, circling overhead, ever vigilant to what might lie ahead. Adia looks up at him occasionally, comforted by his presence, even as she implicitly trusts Amelia to guide her without fail. The wind makes a pleasant whisper through the tall grass, and for a moment Adia is struck by a strange feeling of deja vu. But she has never been to this part of the Nexus, never strayed from the path leading to the library. Why should this be familiar at all?

But then, when she reaches the garden, with its carefully sculpted splendor, that warm familiarity disappears, replaced with pure wonder. "It's beautiful," she whispers, taking it all in. She can't help but wonder who created the garden, who now tends to its manicured lawns and artful arrangements of plants. These questions are a welcome change from her own plaguing troubles. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it..."

Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens :3

[rogueinladysclothing]

A bright smile pulls across the rogue's lips as she watches Adia take in the sight of the gardens. It's much like her own first reaction of the place was: Full of wonder and awe at how a place so beautiful could be so perfectly hidden from the rest of the Nexus. It makes one ponder how many other places like this might exist in this place between worlds.

"Nor have I," Amelia admits, taking a step closer to her friend. "I didn't even mean to find it when I did. You can't see it from even the highest windows of the library, but apparently stumbling home, utterly exhausted and with your nose in a book, will lead you to interesting places when you step outside the walls of the place." She chuckles softly at the memory, not feeling ashamed at all to admit this to her friend. It was completely worth it to find this peaceful place, and even more so to share it with Adia when she needs something like this the most.

"Now you can come here anytime you'd like. There's plenty of quiet spaces to read and because it's so hidden, very few other people ever come here." For those who enjoy solitude, it's the best find in the Nexus. "Of course if you'd like company, you only need to text me and I'll be here."

[chiron_survivor]

Amelia's explanation earns her a quiet laugh in return. "I've done the same thing a few times," she admits. "I'm glad you ended up here..."

The garden may not be visible from the library, but Bucky's bird-eye view spots it easily enough. He swoops down in slow circles and lands on the railing of a wooden bridge not too far from where Adia is standing. He takes a critical look around, but finds nothing to concern himself over.

It's a dream come true for an introvert like her, a beautiful outdoor space she can retreat to when the pressures of being social are too much. "Thank you for sharing this with me," she says, looking up at her friend and giving her a warm smile. "And offering your company." It's an offer she won't abuse, although she supposes that Amelia wouldn't be opposed to a quiet afternoon of reading together, followed by a stroll through the gardens.

"I wish I already had something to read. I hope I can check out the books I need."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Me too," she admits. "I love coming here when I feel the need to get away from it all." True, there are many spots the rogue can get to that allow her to be alone, but this is the only one that feels truly isolated and insulated from the remainder of the Nexus.

She gives Bucky an acknowledging nod before turning back to Adia. "Maybe we can take a little stroll to find the perfect reading spot and then head into the library to find a book or two to read?" she asks. "If you'd like to be left alone, I can also find another place to read and leave this place to you. Your first visit should be exactly as you want it to be."

Places this beautiful deserve to be enjoyed in the way that makes the most sense for the first time visitor. If Adia wants quiet alone time, then she'll have it. Amelia wants her friend to feel better, which means taking queues from her rather than making a decision on her behalf.

[chiron_survivor]

"Oh," she says, ready to agree with whatever suggestion Amelia makes first. She was so kind to share this secluded place with her.

But it has been a long afternoon in the Plaza, talking to others about her problems, and though she knows the rogue would be perfectly happy to stroll in silence, Adia needs some time to think to herself. It was torture, before, being alone with her thoughts, especially those of Caspar and a future that couldn't exist. Now, with that drawing safely in Amelia's possession and a slowly growing idea of how she might use the Nexus to save her people, she needs time alone to think and plan.

"I think I'd prefer to be alone, if that's all right? I need to think about what I'm going to do before I start looking up anything at the library." She only worries a little that she's being rude for turning down company. Amelia has made it clear that she understands.

"Brave," Bucky announces. Adia gives the bird a fond look.

"Not completely alone, I suppose." She couldn't shoo him away, even if she wanted to.

[rogueinladysclothing]

Can't hurt someone's feelings about a suggestion if they're the one who made it. Amelia nods in answer to the question and then huffs a small laugh when Bucky speaks up about Adia being left alone. "I understand completely, and I wouldn't want to be the third..." She pauses for a half second, frowns, and then gives a half-hearted shrug. "...something. I'm sure you know what I mean." At least that's the hope. Modern turns of phrase still aren't really Amelia's forte.

"I'll leave you to this beautiful place and a book or two. And if you need me, you know how to reach me." She smiles softly at her friend, offers Bucky a respectful nod, and then turns to head up the small hill back to the path out of the garden. "Good luck, Adia," she calls over her shoulder as she reaches the small opening in the tall grasses. "I'm sure you'll find your hope when you least expect it."

[chiron_survivor]

As far as Adia is concerned, she can never be too careful with other people's feelings. "Wheel," she fills in helpfully, with a small smile. "And you wouldn't be. Once Bucky gets it in his head to keep an eye on me, it's impossible to send him back home, unless I text Steve." Truthfully, having Bucky as a silent sentinel is better for her nerves than not. She doesn't have to worry about not giving him attention, he'll keep his post regardless.

"Thank you," she says again, returning her friend's warm look. Amelia should be proud of herself, she's helped her so much. She would have likely kept staring at that drawing for who knows how long, sinking ever further into despair. Now she has her resolve back, and a quiet place to work out what she was going to do with it.

Bucky returns the rogue's nod with one of his own. Her kindness has not gone unnoticed by the large bird. Adia waves goodbye, mulling over the rogue's final words as she takes another look around, deciding which path to travel first.