(no subject)

[hadyougoing]

It's Friday night, and Ava has already changed out of her office wear into sweatpants and an oversize purple sweater. (Her silvery headband is, however, still in her hair, and she likes to think that it and the thin chain around her neck, strung with red clown noses, complete just about any outfit.)

She's curled up on a couch by the fire, munching chips and a sandwich and looking absently at the game of Scrabble she borrowed from the Bar.

It's weird to think of board games as having any relevance to her (after)life, so she may be staring at it just a little too intently.

Comments

[stillbecoming]

"Nice necklace," says Buffy.

It's something Willow would wear, she decides. Maybe on her head. If it were fuzzier, at least.

[hadyougoing]

"Thanks!" Ava says brightly.

With pride: "I made it myself."

[stillbecoming]

"I was never good at arts and crafts," says Buffy vaguely. She squints at the necklace. It reminds her of something, she just can't figure out what. "Did you ever have those things like -- really thin scrunchies that you could weave with your fingers?"

[hadyougoing]

"Thin scrunchies?"

Ava wrinkles her nose and takes a bite of her sandwich.

This rather precludes speaking.

"Mmphnnnfo," she decides, shaking her head.

[stillbecoming]

"I made an oval once," is the thrilling conclusion to Buffy's reminiscence. "Which...is interesting, because they were only really capable of squares."

She swims up out of the haze of misty water-colored memories, and refocuses. On the board game.

"Scrabble?"

[hadyougoing]

"--Yeah," Ava says, once she has swallowed her latest bite of sandwich, and nods.

"I don't know, I was feeling ... nostalgic? Friendly? I have no idea."

[stillbecoming]

Buffy is also bad at Scrabble. In part because she and the dictionary have many disagreements about English.

"Huh," she says. "So are you looking for people to play with, or are you just kind of keeping it company?"

[hadyougoing]

Ava laughs.

"Uhhh-- more of the first one. Doesn't everybody love Scrabble?"

[stillbecoming]

Buffy looks shifty.

"Love is such a strong word. With commitment, and meaning, and possibly shared values and -- anniversaries to remember. Scrabble and I get along fine. It's just, you know --" She sighs. "Every time we get together it ends in tears and dictionaries. That say I'm wrong. And since when is ubermanacle not a word?"

[3nanashi]

Trowa does not comment on her fashion choices.

Or on Scrabble.

He does meet her eyes briefly, though, so maybe that's kind of like a greeting?

[hadyougoing]

Ava's eyebrows arch.

"You mind keeping it down over there?"

[3nanashi]

Trowa glances at her.



"Sure."

Trowa has a really, really good deadpan.

[hadyougoing]

Ava sighs, rolling her eyes. Stupid--

Hey.




"I never got your name," she accuses pleasantly.

[3nanashi]

"It's Trowa Barton."

Data-gathering: will she provide hers in return?

[hadyougoing]

"Nice to meet you!" Ava says.

"I'm Ava."

[3nanashi]

Trowa accepts this with a slight nod.

For Trowa, this is practically extroverted!

[hadyougoing]

She smiles.

"Wanna play Scrabble?"

[ofthosegoodold]

An alternative description for Ava Wilson might be: a dead human who has a distinct whiff of demon about her and yet is decidedly not burning in the depths of hell.

It's the one Applegate would use, if he had any interest in describing her at the moment.

As it happens, he doesn't, but she certainly has his attention nonetheless.

[hadyougoing]

Ava is currently taking a bite of her sandwich!

This is an activity which, in combination with her contemplation of board games, is fairly engrossing-- nevertheless, she has kind of a sixth sense for evil supernatural types these days.

Applegate is, eventually, eyed.

[ofthosegoodold]

Applegate smiles with easy charm.

"Good evening."

[hadyougoing]

Ava smiles back.

"Hi."

[ofthosegoodold]

"I don't believe we've met." He extends a hand to shake.

(Was he even close enough for that a few seconds ago?)

"The name's Applegate."

[hadyougoing]

(Why nnnno, odds are he was not.

How terribly peculiar.)

Ava's eyebrows arch for a moment at his extended hand, before she puts on another smile and shakes.

"Applegate? First name, last name, nickname ...?"

[ofthosegoodold]

Applegate has come into Milliways from the beginning of World War I, and his timeline is strictly linear. This means that, sadly, an explanation invoking single-name people such as Cher or Madonna is not yet within his frame of reference. So after considering the question for a second or two, he settles on,

"Oh, I'd call it a nickname. I'm not very fond of the one I was given."

Of any of the ones he's been given.

[hadyougoing]

"Was it Eugene?" Ava says sympathetically.