ᴛᴇxᴛ / ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ( open )

[shrinkage]

( ACTION | from the pool up to floor 6 )

[ the first thing ray wants after he drags himself out of the pool is to follow his instincts toward home. his feet leave wet sloshes in a path behind him up to the sixth floor, dressed in a drenched set of coveralls, work boots, and a STAR labs cap with the brim in the back.

the people he passes moving through the halls in a haze are fuzzy but familiar. he smiles back and says hello-- and even gets names right now and again. but he presses on, excusing himself after brief exchanges.

he lets himself into room 004. lets it feel like he's where he belongs. lets the water soak the carpet as he stands hesitantly in the doorway, waiting for a weller welcome in one of two flavors. ]

...Hello? Hon? Kurt?

( TEXT | anonymous )

could wonderland actually be our real homes?

( ooc | feel free to run into him at a place of your choosing in the mansion, if you'd like )

Comments

[shrinkage]

Hmm, sort of. Like, there are some things I'm sure of.

[ which is comforting. he takes a sip of the frilly latte he'd instinctively ordered, and makes a face. ]

But then once I'm in the moment, it doesn't sit right. Like, I never order coffee like this at home. Too fancy.

[middlefinger]

Really? But I've seen you order coffee like that here a lot of times -- you practically live off the stuff.

[not that she's judging, everyone has their vices and god knows she has plenty of those.]

[shrinkage]

I totally thought I wanted it, too.

[ fuckin what even, wonderland. he will at least try it one more time. and makes another face. ]

I dunno. This is pretty gross. Maybe my tastebuds got reversed on the way in.

[middlefinger]

[wynonna hands her cup to him -- despite her love for sugar and things that are terrible for her she surprisingly drinks her coffee black.

sometimes simplicity is key.]

Here, try this and see how that tastes to you.

[shrinkage]

[ just the one sip smoothes all of the tension out of him, and ray hums his approval. ]

That's way better, dude. [ he hands it back, wrinkling his nose. ] Aw I'm gonna have to taste test everything now...

[middlefinger]

[wynonna looks at him carefully as she takes it back. something is obviously going on with him, and at the very least he seems aware of it. having met his mirror before she has no reason to think it's that guy pretending to be him -- but what exactly happened when he got sent home she's not sure of either.

she takes the coffee back.]

Because you have conflicting ideas now about what you do or don't like?

[shrinkage]

I had a bran craving when we were in the coffee shop.

[ not a total lie but it's totally a crappy deflection he's hoping will work. at least until he has a handle on some answers. and also the question he should be asking. ]

I took one bite and kinda threw up in my mouth a little.

[middlefinger]

Yeah that's cause bran is gross. I can't imagine why anyone would ever crave it.

[bran is too close to being healthy for her, and that cannot abide. ]

Is it just food stuff or do other things you like feel jumbled up too?

[shrinkage]

[ he suddenly looks embarrassed, but nods. and then admits-- ]

Some guy got really weird on me earlier. He knew me but I've never seen him before in my life.

[middlefinger]

Do you think it's one of those time things? Like he's from further down the timeline than you and you haven't met him yet? Or is it something different?

[she knows that can happen, that even if people are from the same world they might remember different things.]

[shrinkage]

Yeah, maybe.

[ but again that instinct to tell wynonna the whole truth presses ray further. and he winces, because the man's actions obviously mean he'd thought ray was a mirror. ]

He tried to force me to look at my reflection.

[middlefinger]

He thought you were your mirro? [wynonna makes a bit of a face at that.]

Look, I've met that douche and while you might be a little off right now you're not like him.

[shrinkage]

[ he'd been ready to get worked up about all of this but it doesn't happen. wynonna's reassurance makes him feel a little more solid on his feet, actually. he lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and it wooshes out of him in relief. ]

Thanks, Wynonna. [ hang on-- ] You met him? Oh my god, are you OK?

[middlefinger]

Oh yeah -- I'm fine. It was while the Red Queen let the mirrors out mingling with the rest of us -- even if he had tried something it wouldn't have done anything then.

[which she mostly knows because she also met Doc's mirror and discovered he was a revenant -- and tried to shoot him only to discover at the time Peacemaker was useless. ]

[shrinkage]

It's not the physical stuff I'm worried about.

[ well. it's not all he's worried about, anyway. ]

He uhm-- you should be ready for how he is. Just in case he's taken a liking to you.

[middlefinger]

Take a liking to me? [that surprises her, somehow, maybe because doc's mirror hates her and refuses to even use her name. instead it was just the little heir.]

[shrinkage]

He used to harass a friend of mine. He's kinda good at it.

[ he puffs out another deep breath. he's not the most reliable narrator, but this is true of the behavior he did see, at least. ]

And she's gone, so there's probably a good chance his attention shifted to someone else.

[middlefinger]

Well, I'll be sure to be careful -- and I'm used to a little harassment, I can handle it.

[ which is probably not something that should be said casually but considering her experiences back in Purgatory... ]

[shrinkage]

[ her confidence makes him smile, and nod. ]

And next time you can shoot him in the face on sight.

[middlefinger]

[wynonna smirks a little at that.]

It is comforting to know next time I see a mirror my gun won't shoot gumdrops at people.

[a beat, and then:]

I tried to shoot Doc's after discovering it was a revenant -- it didn't go very well.

[shrinkage]

[ frowny face! ]

What do you mean?

[middlefinger]

Revenant -- like the demons of Wyatt's kills.

[which means Doc's mirror...was a version that ended up killed by Wyat. it also means that as a revenant, Wynonna is the only person who could kill Doc's mirror. it feels needlessly cruel, in all honesty, but that's probably the point.]

[shrinkage]

Oh, right. Crap.

[ the extra info jogs ray's swiss cheese noggin, but he shakes his head for good measure. an old (new?) instinct kicks in and he smirks again. ]

You gumdropped him? You must've been so pissed.

[middlefinger]

Yep -- hit him straight in the forehead. Asshole laughed at me for that.

[it wasn't a fun experience, to say the least, but it felt good to talk to someone other than Doc about it]

[shrinkage]

[ he can't help but chuckle in a bit of pity. but he lets the amusement fall off, and fixes his friend with a look. ]

You OK?