(no subject)

[souffle_girlek]

So there's a girl with one hand in a bowl of ice water and the other holding a fork that she's using to deconstruct a rhubarb pie, while reading her book, which is propped up against the napkin dispenser.

It's been a moderately horrid day. Time spent with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is called for.

Comments

[not_his_pa]

William stops when he sees the her and turns around, "What did you do to your hand?"

[souffle_girlek]

"I was trying to fix a car engine. I guess I should've let it cool down more."

And, you know.

Not crunched the car against a wall.

Details.

[not_his_pa]

"Is the ice enough? You don't want a burn to get too bad."

[souffle_girlek]

"It doesn't seem to be getting any worse. It's mostly... singed, I think." She thought it was more like a starship engine.

[not_his_pa]

"Long as you're sure, the pie smells good. Did you make it?"

Oswin seems to have a pretty good idea of what she can handle.

[souffle_girlek]

"Yes! Though, the bottom crust's a bit soggy. Haven't worked out how to do that bit right yet. It's better if you just... cut it off." She admits, making a face.

[not_his_pa]

"Soggy can be good in pie, gets all the nice flavors."

[street_sparrow]

"Have you hurt yourself?" Gavroche asks, pausing to eye the ice water in mild concern.

[souffle_girlek]

"Singed myself a bit. Comes with being clumsy." And trying to repair and/or survey the damage on something she doesn't entirely understand, which didn't help anything.

[street_sparrow]

"Want me to fix it up?" he offers. "Minor injuries are easy."

[souffle_girlek]

'Say what again?' says her expression, as she gives him a deeply dubious look.

[street_sparrow]

"Healing", he says with a grin. "You must've met people here who can heal. Unless you've only just arrived."

[souffle_girlek]

"As far as I know, healing is part of being alive - healing or, y'know, not an dying, right?" She asks, already sounding pretty sure that's not what the kid is talking about.

Also, still deeply, deeply dubious about the whole thing.

[awesome_binomial_theorems]

Moriarty refuses to be the kind of person who reacts with abject horror at the slightest suggestion of injury to Oswin. Refuses.

Which is why when he approaches, it's with as-subdued-as-he-can horror. "Have you injured your hand?"

[souffle_girlek]

"Singed myself. A bit. More like a burn, but it's not that bad, really." See that face, Moriarty? That's the face of someone who gets herself into trouble and forgets that it's a bad idea. Frequently.

"Just... taking precautions."

[awesome_binomial_theorems]

"How did you burn yourse - baking, of course," Moriarty says, sitting down. Sitting down at Milliways is always a slightly precarious thing for him, what with the amount of folding of limbs he has to do to fit into booths, but he manages to settle in next to Oswin okay.

"Should I take you to the infirmary? Is it a serious burn?"

[souffle_girlek]

"Well, ah. No. Not baking. Have you seen the cars downstairs?" One's slightly more dented now. "And I really don't think it's that bad, it's just..." She pulls her hand out of the water, drying it, albeit a lot more carefully along the outside line between wrist and pinky.

"Bit of a klutz today."

[awesome_binomial_theorems]

Pause.

"What's a car?" Moriarty asks, momentarily derailed by this New Taste Sensation.

[souffle_girlek]

"Kind of like a carriage, but it doesn't need anything to pull it - it has an engine inside to make the wheels go." And it usually helps to have a driver who knows what they're doing, but that's just details, right? Right.

[hasthehighground]

Clint glances at her hand, then her book, then pulls out the chair across from her and settles down, putting his peanut butter & jelly sandwich in front of him.

"Hey," he says, easily. If she wants to keep reading Pride & Prejudice, that's fine. He has coffee. (And the sandwich.)

[souffle_girlek]

"Hey! There's pie, if you just... ignore the bottom crust. I haven't quite gotten the hang of that yet." It's soaked through and barely cooked, not exactly what she was going for.

As for the book... she's lost count the number of times she's read it. The fact it showed up in her mental escape pod speaks volumes.

[hasthehighground]

He breathes a laugh. "Sure, once I get lunch out of the way."

Clint tilts his head at her hand, curious, taking a bite of his sandwich.

[souffle_girlek]

She sees the look, and... hey, Clint, remember Clara's 'I make so many poor life choices' expression? Oswin has one too. They're... pretty much identical.

"So, at some point, I should learn how car engines work too." It's kind of hilarious, how she says 'too' like she has this driving thing already figured out.

[hasthehighground]

Clint takes a drink of coffee first. "You didn't read the manual first," he says, less disbelieving and more I-really-should-have-expected-that. "How bad is it?"

[souffle_girlek]

"... There's a manual?" She asks, sounding sheepish. "By which I mean, totally, definitely, yup."

She holds up her (dripping) hand for show and tell - she's definitely toasted it, but at least (for now) she's avoided blistering. She got off lightly, considering.