lydiascreams | [024. I was looking for a breath of a life]

[Public Video]
[When Lydia shows up on the video, she's sitting in her entertainment room, her dog Prada in a Santa hat is sitting right next to her, obediently looking at the camera and she looks pretty happy. Not kinda-crazy-there's-a-flood-or-something happy, but genuinely so.]

As many of you know, and maybe some of you don't, I've been organizing events for the passengers, so we can all hang out together, get to know each other better. And also relax.

Things have been crazy lately, and it's been a couple of months since the last one. But now, with the holidays, I figured it would be the perfect time for us to have another movie night.

Like promised last time, we'll be watching Star Wars episodes 4, 5 and 6 this Sunday, the 28th.

Everyone interested let me know so I can get a common room set up and make sure we have snacks and everything we need. You can RSVP with me, or leave your name at the sign up sheet I'm leaving in the dining hall until tomorrow night.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Thank you for all the gifts, they were wonderful.

[Private video - pack + extended pack]
I don't think I have to say that your presence is required, right? Especially yours, Scott. [And yes, this is part of her master plan to see how he's acting around Kira. But also, she knows how much it means to Stiles that he actually watches these movies with him.]

[Private video - Stiles]
[Her face softens as she starts her message to him. What she wants to talk to him about isn't actually great, but she's hoping she's found a way to say it that she won't hurt his feelings or make him feel bad in any way.]
Hey, are you busy?

[Post-marathon spam - Scott]
[Scott's reaction to Kira during the movie marathon was-- subpar, at best, in Lydia's opinion. Well, no, it was actually pretty terribly awkward. She's not sure what exactly is going on with him because while at some points he was definitely looking at her like he wanted to say something, it was pretty obvious he was holding back.

She knows she'll have to give Kira her verdict soon, so she needs to figure things out for sure before she gets her hopes up even more and ends up getting her hurt because she somehow misread something. Which sounds absolutely ridiculous, but she's not going to take chances.

Which is why she sent Scott a message and asked him to come meet her up on the deck.

She's already there, sitting down on one of the chairs with Prada laying down on her lap. It's pretty quiet and she makes a mental note to come up here more often.]

[ooc: Open Spam: if you want Lydia to nudge your character into going to movie night, feel free to run into her somewhere on the ship. Can be the dining hall, or the hallways. The library, etc.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Who's your friend? He's a handsome little guy...

You're the best, Allison. I missed him so much. [She reaches over to rub Prada behind his ears.]

Thank you. He seems perfectly comfortable here, I think he still thinks we're home.

It's the way your room smells...but that's just an opinion.

[From a werewolf girl who is really getting comfortable with herself.]

We should arrange a playdate with Duchess! See how they get along...she's not afraid of dogs, she gets mothered by Duke's all the time.

A very educated opinion, I'm guessing. [And it's very good to see just how comfortable she is.]

Are you sure that's a good idea? Prada hasn't been around other dogs before, let alone other animals. I don't wanna scare her. [Anymore than she's already scared.]

[Allison understands the concern, and feels inordinately warmed by Lydia's concern for Duchess.]

She's actually doing better. Brownie accepting me is the only reason Duchess let me near her at first, but she's starting to thump at me in the middle of the night so I'll let her sleep in my bed again. Means she wants to be close to me.

We can take our time. I'll visit you and Prada so he can smell her on me, that way when we introduce them the scent of rabbit won't take him by surprise.

[Duchess has two moms now, right? Besides, she knows her dog can be very territorial, despite his size.]

I told you she just needed some time to get used to being around you again.

I think that's a good start. I can bring him over some time but not let him in the same room as her? And I'm assuming he'll be pretty intimidated by you. He hated Aiden, but he was mostly terrified of him. [He hated Jackson, too, but he wasn't a werewolf when he used to come over.]

The dogs I've met so far haven't been afraid, per se...I guess even a Beta werewolf is an Alpha to a domestic dog. Brownie and Bonnie...Tig's new dog...they seem to know I'm not human, but they aren't scared I'll hurt them. They...well, sort of treat me like a stronger packmate.

[Which suits Allison just fine. She has no designs on alphahood. If she's strong enough to look after her packmates, she's content...and happy to fight for them rather than die for them.]

It's a good idea. When Prada is over to start, I'll set Duchess up in her pen in my bedroom. Then he can sniff around all he wants until he's comfortable with her scent before we introduce them. And vice versa...Duchess can figure out the smell of new dog doesn't mean someone's coming to eat her.

They're also bigger dogs, right? I think Prada feels very intimidated because of his size. But I think he'll be okay with Duchess eventually. We have a good plan.

[Lydia smiles at Allison for a moment then looks down at her hand for a second, at her new ring and pauses. She takes a deep breath and reaches for the communicator, making their conversation private.]

I need your help with something.

[The pet talk flies right out of Allison's mind as she peers at Lydia, noting the filter in place and nods without hesitation.]

You know asking is a moot point: I'm going to help you. What am I helping with?

Relax. It's nothing-- life or death. [For a change. She should probably have started with that.

She'd say it's just boy stuff but it's not that simple. Because it's not just relationship drama, it's not just hurting someone. It could influence Jackson's graduation and she knows it.

She smiles again and reaches over on the coffee table, at one of the bags she brought over from the dining hall.]

I got Jackson's Christmas presents and-- they were all so boyfriend-y, Allison. Probably more thoughtful than most things he gave me when we were actually together.

...OH.

[Because that is life and death...or at least life. It's teenage drama, and it's kind of nice to have that to worry about instead of demons and pack business, but...Allison gets it, instinctively.

This is about protecting a packmate.]

Does he know that you and Stiles are...together? I mean, I haven't really talked to him much. [Since Jackson's arrival sort of led to their first fight, and all that vodka...]

When is he from, sweetie?

He's from-- right after he died. After Peter and Derek killed him to get rid of the kanima. [Lydia purses her lips together and hesitates because there'll never be a time when the memory won't upset her.]

The last thing I said to him before he showed up here was that I still loved him. And I care about him, I always will just-- not like that. [And that's where things get more complicated.]

He doesn't know, exactly. When the mirror version of Stiles was here, he and Jackson got into a fight. That Stiles told him we were together and while I didn't say we weren't, I just reminded him that that Stiles was talking about his own Lydia.

[She sighs and leans back against the couch, shaking her head.]

I don't wanna hurt him, Allison. And I don't wanna push him even further away from everything he needs to graduate. But I won't hurt Stiles, either.

[...wow. Just...wow. It's a mess, and Allison is a little startled to find that her own love life suddenly seems way less complicated.

It provides a moment of grim amusement, but she shoves it down, looking thoughtful for a moment.]

Maybe you should start with something that...well, he should face if he wants to graduate. And, at the same time, you can make sure he understands you two aren't together.

Tell him about London. Tell him about what he did to you...don't vilify him for it, make sure he understands you aren't angry now, but understanding his future might be good for him. Keep him from making the same mistakes. It's also a gentler way of saying that you've...moved on from him.

[Lydia listens to her carefully because-- as much as she's confident that she can approach most situations analytically-- she knows this is a rare exception. She also knows that for as experienced as she is with guys, and most things relating to them, Jackson isn't an easy person to deal with, he's never been. And her relationship with Stiles is so different from anything she's experienced before.]

I think he's aware that we're not together by now. When he first arrived he-- wasn't. [The way he looked at her, and touched her, it was obvious.] But I do need to find a way to let him know how much time has passed for us. And how his life is now, for us. And that we've both moved on. [Because talking about his past certainly didn't seem to help.]

And, I'm thinking of asking Stiles to help me by not being obvious when Jackson's around. I just-- wanna make sure I do it in a way that he understands it's not because I'm ashamed of him, or of being with him, in any way.

[024. I was looking for a breath of a life]

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