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Homewrecker; -for Lydia
Topic Started: Jan 30 2011, 12:54 PM (642 Views)
Vivienne Caldwell
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[blockquote]One day down. At least three hundred and sixty four to go. It was, at this moment, an extraordinarily disheartening and almost nauseating feat for Vivienne to contemplate. What had started out as a day full of hope, and excitement, and eagerness as she faced the challenges of her new position and of reuniting with her older brother after all these years… had crumbled as quickly as could have been imagined. He had unmade her, he had snagged the cord of self doubt and guilt that glued her together and pulled, and she had come apart at the seams. Fleeing to her quarters had been her only option, to protect herself from the stares, to minimize the whispers that were sure to fly around the ship as more came to realize who she was, and perhaps more importantly who she was in relation to Max. She had spent a lifetime being forced to craft the perfect genteel and composed demeanor. She had spent years at the Academy learning how to enact that in a professional manner. Could she, in fact, spend the next year working literally side by side with Max and keep herself in one piece?

She honestly didn’t know the answer to that. Eventually, she had dragged herself out of her room and forced herself to the simulators, knowing that she would need the hours. That had worked, until the literal run in with Commander Rollan. Fortunately, he had been willing to let the moment pass, and finally after an hour of staring blankly at the wall of her room, she had decided that that was literally the last thing she needed to be doing at the moment. It didn’t take her long to get herself dressed, and made up once more, carefully concealing pretty much any sign of her breakdown and tears from the afternoon, and she quickly made her way towards the galley. She knew that if Lydia was not in the galley, she would have to turn around and make a beeline to the personnel quarters directory, but she somehow suspected that even if Lydia was not on shift, she was likely to be found lurking somewhere in the vicinity of the kitchen and galley area.

Making her way through the tables towards the kitchen area in the back of the galley was simple enough, though she opted for taking the path closest to the far wall to keep herself out of too much of the direct line of inquisitive gazes. A new face was always something worth examining, and the last thing she wanted right now was to have someone else that she didn’t know walk up to her and try and befriend her or play at being nice until they had what they were after. More cynical than usual for her, yes, but she was not having the best day in her history. And that was saying something. Sliding just to the side of the line of those that were ordering food or waiting for their plates to be handed back to them, she waited for a moment until she could snag the attention of one of the kitchen assistants that did not seem to be currently occupied. ”Excuse me,” She spoke up quietly, a slender hand raised gently to catch their attention. ”Is Ms. Larson in?” She questioned. It was towards the end of a shift schedule, which meant that even if Lydia was on duty, hopefully she would be available afterwards, or at least interested in something resembling a night out – be it just food, or food and drinks, or just drinks at this point, Vivienne wasn’t entirely sure which she would prefer.

All she knew was that she wanted off this ship. It was going to be a very long year, she thought again, with a slight grimace. [/blockquote]
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WORDS! 632 (short-ish but hopefully will get longer)
STATUS! complete
TAGS! lydia
NOTES! outfit here
INSPIRATION! let her cry – hootie and the blowfish
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3
Edited by Vivienne Caldwell, Feb 1 2011, 02:42 PM.
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Lydia Larson
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It’d been a long afternoon; chock full of lengthy prep and repetition. Though Lydia adored her job, she had to admit that sometimes, just sometimes there was a certain monotony in sticking to regs and cooking the same bland slop for an entire crew. Of course she was then let loose to jazz it up in any way she knew how but that didn’t stop the laborious process beforehand. Some of her hired help for the day were just young Privates being punished for insubordination, but she’d battled through the surliness and by the end of her shift had a veritable army of potato peelers. By this time next week she was hoping to having them singing and dancing in unison. Still, her wall clock had beeped and they were just about done for the day.

“Ok! Listen up! Y’all have been absolutely wonderful.” She said firmly clapping her hands together. “Can’t tell you how grateful I am. You go on now, shift’s over.” Perhaps she’d over judged the newfound team mentality, because she was nearly crushed in the stampede out of the kitchen and was left reeling against the stove. Heh. Those loveable scamps.

Suddenly it was all very quiet. Lydia peeled off her apron and found that her bones hurt in that delightful muscle-achey way, when you knew you’d been using them and using them right. It was actually very satisfying and under other circumstances she might’ve collapsed into her bunk after a hot shower with a good book. But when she crossed thorough into the galley she found that someone was waiting for her instead.

“Vivienne!” She said, a mixture of fondness and concern crossing her face as she approached her. “Hey! How are you?” She’d spent a lot of time that day worrying in equal measure about the younger woman and her wayward brother. And despite reminding herself constantly that she couldn’t interfere, had no right to interfere, that didn’t stop her from coming up with a good thousand theories about how to reunite the two. And it needed to happen soon, that was for sure. Between the expression on the little pilots resigned face and Max’s self-destructive behaviour they were going to send themselves and everyone in close proximity crazy.

“Hmm. In my professional opinion you need sake. Stat.” She announced with a decisive nod. The chef wasn’t a big drinker but it was very clear that they both needed loosening up. Needed some proper laughs. Besides, putting cracks in the repressed girls armour, even alcohol shaped cracks, could only be a good thing.

Pulling off her hairnet she let a pile of chestnut curls loose and grinned. “What say I jump in the shower, you put your happy face on and we rendezvous back here in ten minutes, ok?” It wasn’t so much a question as a request, but she said it with so much sweetness and enthusiasm that she knew she wasn’t likely to have a fight on her hands.
 
Vivienne Caldwell
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[blockquote]It was of little surprise, and somehow comforting, that she could hear Lydia coming moments before she actually came into sight, though the herd of fleeing galley employees in front of her were somewhat disheartening. She slipped quickly back out of the way, flashing a smile of thanks to one of the ones that had heard her inquiry and had waved back in the direction that they had come from. Despite their hasty exit, she could guess that it wasn’t exactly a retreat, if gauged by the chuckles and grins and general sense of camaraderie that could be felt between them, and for a moment, it made her envious. It lasted only a moment, however, as she forced the emotion away, and lifted her head back upright rather than the droop that it seemed inclined to falter into the first second that she stopped paying attention, and she looked back towards the door in wait. It didn’t take but another few seconds before Lydia made her appearance, random flecks of flour and spices and all.

She could not suppress the smile that darted over her features at the warm welcome that she got from the other woman; it was infectious and something that she had rarely experienced in her childhood and youth, nor even so much in her adult life – though she supposed that her own hesitancy to throw herself headlong into every offered friendship along the way had probably had something to do with that one. Lydia, however, who had now only met her a couple of times, did not seem intent on giving her the choice, and she was relieved for that. The expression that accompanied the greeting made her pause, briefly, as she struggled to try and judge just how badly her composure was cracked if Lydia’s concern was that apparent without her having said anything. ”I—I’m fine, Lydia.” She replied, easily, with a smile that was only a tiny bit brittle. ”I had been wondering, if you didn’t already have plans though, if you might be interested in that rain check from earlier?” She asked, doing her best to keep her tone casual and friendly.

It was strange, she decided, in the next minute or two. It didn’t seem to matter how perfectly composed she was, or thought she was at least, Lydia didn’t seem capable of missing a beat. Was she that intuitive, or had she simply had that much experience in judging walking disasters waiting to happen? Then again, there was the fact that she was so incredibly open and non-reserved with her own emotions, so obviously in touch with them in all their depths… that probably made it all the easier to sense in others. ”I think that your professional opinion is absolutely right.” She admitted, somewhat sheepishly, and perhaps a little awkwardly even. She was not used to admitting her own flaws or faults, or letting people see behind the carefully crafted image of studious perfection that she had had drilled into her head since birth. ”That sounds like a wonderful idea, Lydia – thank you. And I’ll do my best.” She replied warmly, with a flickering smile again that was a somewhat feeble attempt at her ‘happy face’. She needed more practice at that one, she guessed, seeing that Lydia did not seem entirely impressed.

”I’ll work on it.” Vivienne assured Lydia as she stepped aside to let the woman pass. Securing her purse back on her shoulder, she stepped back into the main part of the galley to fetch a cup of coffee in the meantime, settling in with it at one of the tables against the wall to wait for Lydia’s return, and hope that no one else decided to try and strike up a conversation with her in the interim. She wasn’t always this antisocial, but she had enough trouble keeping her own thoughts straight at the moment without adding someone else’s to them. [/blockquote]
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WORDS! 656
STATUS! complete
TAGS! lydia
NOTES! outfit here
INSPIRATION! let her cry – hootie and the blowfish
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3
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Lydia Larson
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“Super!” Lydia grinned beginning to make a wild scamper back to crew quarters. She wasn’t gone long, the chef showered like she lived, quickly and with a lot of noise. In fact she was belting out a Chinese ballad so loud that twice she heard a rapping on the door to ask whether she was alright. Then, after arguing her mass of hair into a ponytail and slipping on a yellow polka dotted dress she was pretty much good to go. But not without grabbing a full bottle of cheap sake from under her bed first. She’d got it free at a market with some mass order of sushi and there never seemed to be a right occasion or right person to drink it with. Lydia enjoyed spending time with Max, but she’d never really liked boozing with him. It seemed to turn her from carefree floozy to careful babysitter in the blink of an eye, and besides he had more of a taste for the quality stuff. Perhaps it’d be easier on the other end of the Caldwell scale.

Despite her absolute certainty that she was doing absolutely nothing wrong, Lydia couldn’t help but be a bit jumpy as she sashayed her way back to the galley. Yes, she was well within her rights to spend time with Vivienne and the girl was hurting bad. But that didn’t man she wanted Max catching her. It wasn’t sleeping with the enemy, but until they patched things up (and they WOULD) then it probably still counted as light foreplay.

“H’ok. Herrrre we go!” She trilled as she skidded back into view, slamming the bottle grandly onto a table, complete with a couple of shot glasses. Noticing that Vivienne was perched with a cup of coffee, she snatched it away with aplomb, tossing its contents into the sink with a shake of her head. Coffee was for the needy. Liquor for the almighty. She wanted Vivienne loose and chatty, not stiff and jumpy.

“Now this stuff’s not the real deal, in fact it’s plain touristy crap, but I have it on good authority that its strong and won’t kill us. I mean sure, it’s like we’re drinking in a school cafeteria, but since they caved on my demands for a pastry maker, I reckon my petition for a bar’s gonna be overlooked for the next ten years or so.” Pouring the two drinks with the flair of a seasoned tavern lass, Lydia licked her lips and raised her glass. “Here’s to your first real day on the Shènglì, hon. Good health!” Screwing her eyes shut, she knocked back the shot and felt the warm liquid smack against her taste buds before crawling its way down her throat. It sure had been a while.

“Gaoyang zhong de guying!” She exclaimed in a gasp, before dissolving into a fit of giggles and coughs. “That’s gonna have me floored by seven!”
 
Vivienne Caldwell
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[blockquote]Lydia's return was quickly apparent, the bright flash of color of the dress that surrounded her announcing her presence a moment or two before she skittered back to a stop by the table that Vivienne had occupied. Vivi could feel the hint of a smile return, though it turned into something that was almost a look of protest as the coffee cup was snatched up out of her hands and the contents tossed out. It didn't last long, however, as the distinct thunk of ceramic against the table drowning out any thing that she might have had to say about the loss of coffee. Rather, her lips almost turned downwards, as she hesitated briefly, the inner points of her brows sliding together and creating a thin line between them. She rarely let herself indulge in drink, some out of fear of following in her mother's footsteps of letting it become the fail safe answer to everything, but mostly because she had spent almost all of her life creating the perfectly collected veneer that was her personality and demeanor.

Drinking, especially to excess, was only a fast way to toss all of that, and possibly her lunch, to the wind. Still, with Lydia's exuberance acting just as contagious as her smile, she didn't have the heart to refuse the woman, and offered a smile towards the other woman as Lydia poured each of them a healthy (though why it was described as such when it was rather the opposite she never understood) dose of the sake. "Thank you," She offered, chuckling softly to the running commentary that accompanied the pouring of drinks. "Good health, and good spirits," She added in response to Lydia's toast, before raising her glass and letting it klink lightly against Lydia's. Keeping the cook's warning in mind, she braced herself and pulled the glass to her lips, tossing the drink straight back without letting herself try and sip or smell the beverage first - that was a sure fired way to chicken out every time. Even still, despite the fact that she had been warned of the quality of the drink, there was nothing that could quite have prepared her for the sting, and rush of heat that spread rapidly through her.

She could feel her expression shift, her eyes narrowing and lashes blinking rapidly as she tried to keep her eyes from actually watering, and a pucker pulling at her nose and lips and even her cheeks as the residual sake burned and tingled at her lips and tongue, scorching her throat and eliciting a hint of a shudder as she carefully set her glass back onto the table. "That is --" Vivienne managed to gasp, her words failing her for a moment before she managed a shallow and long breath in, a wave of ice trickling down her throat with the fresh rush of oxygen. "That is... something." She finally managed, with a sheepish smile and a half-giggle, finding herself at an utter loss for words to appropriately describe the drink. She couldn't see this ending gracefully befor anyone.[/blockquote]
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STATUS! complete
TAGS! lydia
NOTES! outfit here
INSPIRATION! let her cry – hootie and the blowfish
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3
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Vivienne Caldwell
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*bump*
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