strangelyliteral

[Some Background]

[According to Anya, life in Luceti sucked. And not the vampire kind. Even that might have made it more tolerable - constantly being forced to live on the edge of danger. It wasn't ideal, but one got used to that sort of life. Being useful, sort of.

And she had started to adjust to life in Luceti before a certain Slayer opened her mouth about things to come, which shattered everything to pieces.

What was left to do but buck up and try again? When one apartment floor began to feel too crowded, she moved to another. Then to other buildings. Purposefully keeping precious little belongings of her own. Nothing felt right, anyway - all that living and she barely had anything to her name. Halter tops, to keep freedom for her wings. Other clothing she had scavenged since arriving. Anything that could fit in a box.

And there was so much time. Sometimes she spent it in the library, though on the hot summer days she wound up finding a quiet place outside to read them until she felt she was going cross-eyed on the vague hope that she could figure out what she was looking for in there. The pursuit of self-betterment. How could she encourage the people here to partake in trades if she had nothing to offer herself?

Then there was Good Spirits. Usually when Buffy wasn't around. Just because a good bottle of liquor could be a girl's best friend sometimes. It was a lonely lifestyle, but not one she was unused to. It just felt … hollow.]

[Action]

[So on this bright sunny day, with hair newly colored (a nice blondish red), Anya will be doing several things:

- on an early trip to the library, looking up cookbooks and craft books and anything else that may seem useful skill-related;

- in the middle of moving yet again, taking her possessions from building six in search of something new and carting them around in a box, and a backpack on her back. (Of course, anyone not aware of her habits might not realize what it is she's doing.)

- visiting the bar. She needs a drink.

- And anywhere in between. She'll even grab a frozen soda treat from the convenience store. It's almost too hot to deal, so she's cranky. And was that another damn rabbit? She was just trying to find someplace to read, damn it.] -- Are you kidding me?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[At the convenience store, Oscar blinks when he spots a vaguely familiar face. He half-expects her to be putting on more price tags, but that doesn't seem to be the case. This calls for a chat, clearly.]

You're not tagging things anymore?

Prices, right? [She gives a half shrug of defeat.] The plan wasn't working out as well as I hoped it would.

Was no one paying?

Not only that, they kept taking the signs down! How's that for rude?

Really . . . How many signs did you put up?

... Do you seriously think I was counting?

[He tips his head slightly at that.]

You could have been.

[Yes? No?]

Assuming you put prices on rows of aisles, then they must have really wanted to take everything down. It must have taken them a while.

[Amusingly, some of the ones in the grocery hadn't really been fiddled with. It was mostly the other places that had people actively working in them that had been the most vehement about sign removal. Still, that's a lot of wasted work.]

Probably? I mean, I don't care anymore. Well, I do care just - I hope it took them a while. [Huff.]

[He didn't believe that she didn't care to begin with, so he takes the change of answer in stride. He can't really say whether he fully supports her idea, still, but it's always nice to see someone doing what she cares about.]

You should try again later – talk about it over the journal, maybe. You never know who else might be thinking the same thing.

If it were that easy, I think a lot would be different here. But it's not like I have anything else to lose.

Besides more signs? [He nods.] If you think so, it's always worth another try.

So you don't think it's a bad idea? [Because that almost sounds like genuine encouragement. And that's just weird.]

[Thanks, Anya. He's just going to shake his head.] Since so many people here seem to have a lot of time on their hands, work to pay for everything could solve that problem.

Exactly. Normal people don't work for free! People here probably just do it because they're bored. But imagine how better they'd feel if they were earning something? And everyone else just getting by on other people's work would have to stop being lazy and do things themselves, too.

The current system has its benefits, but it's not just the feeling of earning something or not being lazy. Some people need that routine in their life, or they start to wander aimlessly . . .

And are you, wandering aimlessly?

[He shakes his head again.] Not me. It's someone else.

Oh really?

I haven't been in Luceti long, so I haven't really had days where I had nothing to do. There's still more to look at.

You're only as busy as you make yourself.

I'm good at busying myself. [He just spends all of his free time on Walter. Speaking of . . . ] Not everyone is, though.

That's just the way of the world. When push comes to shove you either adapt or evolve or ... get stuck with nothing.

Nothing, huh. But sometimes the world can move too fast . . .

Sometimes. Then you gotta hang on and wait till you can catch up.

That does sound about right. What happens, though, when you can't hang on? You get nothing?

action;

strangelyliteral - 2013-08-04 05:18 (UTC) - Expand

welnares - 2013-08-04 05:24 (UTC) - Expand

strangelyliteral - 2013-08-04 11:28 (UTC) - Expand

[ $ 2 ]

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