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It had taken some time, and alot of patience but Kriem had just about finished her first plush companion.

As a sort of nostalgia for the plan she had spent years of her life preparing for she had decided to make a Mad Bear just like she had used at home. The oddly creepy looking bear had empty dead eyes like a fish and a goopy sort of grin. An alternative to the standard cuddly bear that most would know.

Finishing up the final stitch on his ear she cut the thread. It was just about perfect.

"You will be the first of many." She promised reaching up and plucking out a strand of her hair. It began to glow orange and shifted from hair to a long sharp needle.

Sliding the needle into the madbear it took on the same glow for a moment and then stretched out like a yawn.

With a sly smile Kriem helped her creation to it's feet and it wobbled over to the water pitcher picking it up and pouring her a refill.

"Perfect." She adjusted her glasses and let out a sigh of accomplishment. She let her eyes wander around the bar, perhaps it was time for a real drink. Then she could begin plotting her next project.

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"That," Howard says, staring at the plush creature with a mixture of terror and fascination, "is the single creepiest toy I've ever seen. Its eyes are like the grave!"

Oh, Stacy, where it's totally normal for a fifteen year-old to be wandering around the bar with a mug of water, randomly commenting on people's creepy walking dead-eyed teddies.

Kriem chuckled and the bear waved and wobbled in response.

"Thank you, he's called a Mad Bear. I designed him myself." It was indeed one of her prouder moments getting the toy line in stores where people were buying them up eagerly. They were a particular hit among punks and biker types. Delinquents.

Howard can't exactly see why anyone would design something that sits in the overlap between 'soulless' and 'stoned', but well. People have weird hobbies. Very weird hobbies.

"Is it alive?"

"That depends on your definition of alive." She mused sipping the water and setting the cup down. She took the bear by the ear lifting it up and it wiggled and wobbled.

"It doesn't feel pain, but it has basic emotions, and is absolutely loyal." She set him back down and he performed a awkward bow which ended up with his head bumping on the tabletop.

"That's gross. How smart is it?" The little table bump says 'not very', but then again, it could just be uncoordinated. "Do you like, enchant them or something?"

"Something." She answered mysteriously and the Bear wobbled over to the edge of the table to look over it, exploring the world he was only now aware of. "If you would like a demonstration I'll need another doll, or an article of clothing if that's easier."

Howard raises an eyebrow, considering. Something about The Furby Incident(tm) leaves him hesitant to want a living toy, however cool the idea of undying loyalty might be. "Who would it be loyal to? You?"

Because no offense, weird goth secretary girl, but he doesn't want to give you more weird ammunition for your scary toy army.

"It all depends." She explained so casually as if it was common knowledge how these things worked. "If it's an object that has been with you forever and you've treated it well it will be loyal to you...probably. I've never really tried."

But she had a suspicion that she could still command such a thing to bow to her will if she wanted.

"I don't have any of those objects." Maybe his knife, but somehow the idea of her magicking that seems like really bad news. "Is this a pretty usual thing on your world?"

"What a pity." Though the light tone indicated she didn't care either way. She smiled at him, "You could say I'm special. Not everyone from my world is a NEXT, we're the next step in evolution you could say. Everyone else is just...old news."

"That sounds like X-Men." And not in the good way. In the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants way. "So you're just a genetic quirk or something?"

"You make it sound so bland, so boring and small." She sighed, "But I suppose on a ship surrounded by people with amazing abilities it's hard to appreciate the historical significance of the evolution of mankind."

"Eh. Seen one person with laser eyes, you've seen them all." He shrugs. "So I guess you think you're better than the normals, right?"

Edited 2011-10-12 00:20 (UTC)

"In my world? Absolutely." She smiled a poisonous smile "In any of these other worlds, who's to say. Perhaps mankind has evolved to be something admirable rather then the selfish, cruel and frightened masses that I grew to know."

Oh. Well, Howard certainly isn't going to argue with that assessment. "Sounds like you ended up on the wrong end of that selfish, cruel and frightened mass."

"Sometimes the hardest lessons are the ones that make you strongest." Was her simple response. Something that Jake had told her once, like so many of his philosophical musings it played clearly in her head.

"And sometimes they just kill you." Howard taps his nose and takes a drink of his water.

"I've done that as well." Kriem remarked lightly, "It wasn't anything to write home about so I don't plan on doing it again soon."

As if mirroring the conversation the bear took a tumble and landed flat on it's back with it's feet in the air. She disdainfully picked it up by it's ear and set it back on it's feet.

"You died?" His eyes widen a bit. He's heard and seen a few others who died and came back, but it's always fascinating to him. "What was it like?"

He doesn't even glance at the bear.

She smiled in a slightly unsettled way as she thought back to that moment.

That sick twisted act of vengeance and loyalty that caused her to take her own life.

"It was like falling asleep." She answered finally though there was an obvious edge indicating there had been more. "You stop feeling things first, pain, hot or cold, it's like when your so tired your body grows numb and you just. can't. keep your eyes open." She closed her own eyes and let her head nod slightly before opening them halfway.

Her death had been to strike back at those who had taken Jake from her. It was the kind of pleasure that was short lived, and would have been the last thing she felt.

But now that she was alive she felt a pit opening up inside her. One that she was unsure if she could ever fill again.

It would be so easy to go there again. She had taken her own life once before, what was to stop her from doing it again? To hell with the world, to hell with the war.

Howard thinks on that, taking another long pretend drink from his empty mug. It's difficult, drinking water slowly. He drained most of it almost immediately after getting it and has been nursing about a centimeter ever since, torn between warring impulses of 'drink it now before someone takes it' and 'save it for later, there may not be water then'.

"How did you die? How did you come back, even?"

Maybe death feels different for each different universe, or each different person. Kriem's sounds a lot different than Rory's description. Then again, if Stacy just saved Kriem now, maybe she didn't finish dying.

Howard shivers. He thinks about death too much.

"Who knows how I survived?" She asked tapping her glass. The Madbear was back and refilled her drink. It then turned in it's ungraceful manner and offered the pitcher to Howard.

"You could say however, that I was killed by a broken heart." She chuckled politely covering her mouth with her hand amused by her own little joke.

"So you didn't really die," he says bluntly. He takes the whole pitcher and pours his cup to the brim.

"Emo meltdown?"

"Well if you want to be plain and boring about it." She sighed with obvious annoyance at his accusation, "I died of serious internal injuries and refusing treatment." That was the simple way of putting it. The more complex way would be to explain her yanking out all of her lifelines.

"So a martyr emo meltdown," Howard clarifies.

"You could put it like that." She traced her finger along the edge of the glass, because she wished wouldn't but it was just a lack of understanding.

"So who broke your heart? Is he on the ship? Because the ship's kind of a bitch like that. I think she thinks it's funny."

She felt a chill run through her at the concept, "I haven't seen them yet...I haven't seen anyone I recognize. But if they're here I'm sure they'll make themselves known." She glared with a sudden cold sharp dangerous precision. "Wild Tiger and Barnabe Jones."

"Annoying people have a tendency to do that. Then they spam the comms like everyone here cares to know who they are or how they were a big shot back home and can they get a job? instead of just going to the freaking departments and asking." He rolls his eyes. This has been his fourth podpop. "Never heard of them."

"Pathetic." Kriem shook her head with disdain. "I thought it would seem obvious to inquire and do research before just bothering the world with your lack of knowledge." Best to save the communication system for proclamations and the like.

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