View source for 2020-12-20-22: Here Today Oregon Tomorrow

{{Infobox Log
|name      = Here Today, Oregon Tomorrow
|summary   = A trip to Oregon results in a strange encounter.
|icdate    = December 20-22, 2020 (RP'd from 20-23)
|ictime    = Weekend Trip
|players   = [[Bobbi]] and [[Thorn]]
|location  = The Strawberry Mountain, Eastern Oregon
|prptp     = N/A
|spheres   = [[Traditions]]
|themesong = Alien Observer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb5ZCr3YkM8
}}
[[Category:Bobbi]][[Category:Thorn]][[Category:Logs]]

<b>These logs have yet to be fully edited. '...' on a line by itself represents a time/place skip, though there are a few sections where this marker is missing. These lines will be removed once editing is completed.</b>

         I-5 on a Sunday afternoon heading north is a relatively quiet stretch of road. This being December, most people at that time are heading back to the city from their time in the country which means that most people that care about speed limits are on the other side of the highway. The champagne-colored Subaru roars north through mostly deserted roads, the passenger asleep, the driver...well...she's probably singing along to some tune while she hits triple digits. 
 
         After the previous day's events at the Tent City, Thorn had spent a good portion of the drive asleep, one of the smaller accent pillows from Bobbi's place 'stolen' for the trip up so she could rest her head against the A pillar and the seat, dozing. When they stop, they head in for restroom breaks while the car fills with fuel and, after a little conversation and some high-calorie snacks, Thorn falls asleep again, waking about thirty minutes after to scan the road for interesting stops. Bobbie the Wonder Dog is, of course, on the itinerary for the way back, but the signs pointing the way do get a little squeal of delight from the brunette. "This is going to be so much fun." Thorn says with a grin. "I can't wait to see where you're taking me."

        Having packed two camping backpacks with basic equipment, Bobbi brought them by to Thorn's for the addition of personal effects and food. The four door Subaru isn't quite the slick ride that the BRAT is, but it's a lot roomier and makes for the better choice for a lengthy road-trip. The drive is mostly a straight shot north and with Bobbi's excellent driving skills and a bit of 'luck,' they're able to zoom along the highway doing 120 and sometimes more, cutting a 16-hour trip in half.

        When Thorn is awake, Bobbi is happy to engage and chat with her, pointing out places along the way with significance in her personal history as well as the larger world. When Thorn sleeps, Bobbi is content to enter her own little world, turning the drive into a relaxed meditation and hopefully not spacing out too much. Spotting 'Bobbie the Wonder Dog' has Bobbi looking to Thorn with a big toothy grin and excitement that seems about to burst -- or get them into a collision were she to keep her eyes off the road for too long.

        As they get further North and the elevation increases, the green surroundings begins to shift into something not usually assosciated with the Pacific North West. The High Desert is of course a desert, but one still full of life -- though most of that life seems to be sage bushes, no wonder there's a lot of hippies up here. Pointing out an abandoned and ruined processing plant, Bobbi hooks a right at Lime, OR switching on to another highway and indicating the journey's almost done.

        Eventually the car turns off the highway and onto a barely maintained road. The area here is a bit more green and lush than before, but a fair number of sage brushes indicates they're probably somewhere in the same climate. Directly in front of the car is a mountain peak rising above the tree line, which the car is obviously heading towards. Eventually the road opens up to a number of dirt parking spots underneath a tree canopy. Being right at the foot of the mountain, their trail is a number of switchbacks rising a few thousand feet over a mile or so.

 
         This, quite possibly, is the time when Thorn's dislike of cold temperature will pay off. Yes, while she did pack the usual gear that one might need, working off of a list she found online of all places, and cross-checking it with Bobbi to see if she really needed this or that, the few extra things that she packed will almost certainly be useful the higher they go and the cooler they get. Pulling her knitted hat down over her ears, Thorn steps out of the car and into a chillier than expected environment that is probably going to be creeping closer to freezing once the sun has dipped below the horizon to the west. Still, dressed in clothes similar to Bobbi's - her North Face Jacket a combination of orange and black that clings closely and hangs to about mid-thigh and her legs covered instead of mini-skirt clad - Thorn is warm enough for the trek up the trail, depending on how far it is. 
 
         Hiking boots crunching on the hard-packed parking lot, Thorn makes her way around to the rear of the car to pull out her pack from the hatchback, shrugging into it and clipping the belt arond her waist, making sure it's cinched tight. Her phone, with GPS data of the trail, is there, fully charged, and should last the trek up, the time spent, and the trek back, even though the chances of getting a phone signal out here are pretty much minimal, so it's set to 'airplane' mode, cutting off broadcasts searching for towers. AS of this moment, Thorn, the Virtual Adept, is cut off from the network and, to be fair, she really is okay with it, as long as she's with Bobbi. 
 
         "We'll warm up as we start walking, right? And..." She shivers as a gust of wind comes in from the west, Thorn turning her back to the cold. "I think we should probably start walking before the sun sets. It's gonna get cold when it gets dark and I'd really like to have our tent set up and a fire going before that happens." Pulling on her gloves, Thorn looks to Bobbi, clips a flashlight to the strap of her backpack, and starts along the trail, following Bobbi into the uncharted (to her) wilderness. 
 
         The trail starts out as trails often do, with a simple, leisurely stroll across a grassy plain. Several small piles of snow still exist in the shadow of trees or at the base of small cliffs that are shadowed more often than not, but, as they start getting higher, the trail starts to twist, doubling back on itself as it winds its way up the side of the mountain range, between boulders and debris fields left when the glaciers that were there thousands of years ago melted, leaving the remains of their earth-changing stones in haphazard piles. "I suppose I should thank you..." Thorn says, about halfway up. "For all the working out we've been doing. It's really helped. I probably would have given up about five switchbacks in if we hadn't."

        Getting her backpack onto her back, Bobbi clips on a flashlight and adjusts the straps of her backpack, before helping Thorn adjust hers. Before starting up the trail, Bobbi leads some basic stretches that end in something that might resemble new age meditative prayer. "Ok! let's head up!" Bobbi says in a cheery voice, clearly not letting the unexpected temperature change get to her. It seems like -- and in fact she did -- adjust her core temperature with where she has found herself.

        "Of course," Bobbi says glancing back to Thorn, only a tiny bit in front of her even though she could probably easily be much further ahead. In fact, Bobbi seems to have good awareness of just where Thorn is with her physical capabilities and is setting the pace accordingly. "I don't know how much you you got into those breathing, heart rate, and body temperature excercises," Bobbi notes as she continues the hike, "but I'll show you a few more tricks once we get there. It's a pretty handy thing. Almost no matter the temperature, you'll be ready for it. Which means even if you space out and mispack, you'll at least be somewhat comfortable. Believe it or not, I've done that a couple of times in my life."

        The switchbacks continues for awhile longer until there's a small wooden sign announcing the lake they're nearing. At this point the trail splits off, the path they're taking dipping down just a slight bit. With continues steps, the tree line begins to open up, revealing a beautiful blue lake in front of them and various sized peaks of the mountains around them. The further elevation increase, setting sun, and the fact that they're camping near a lake of glacial runoff means the temperature has dropped a fair ammount from when they started. The workout of getting here, probably has them not immediately realizing the extent of this.
 
         Bobbi's cheerfulness is infectious and, despite the trepedation of the colder than expected weather, the clear skies above promise two things - no rain and cold nights. Hopefully the tent and sleeping gear the pair packed will be enough to withstand the temperature drop! The stretches are performed with the backpacks on, Thorn's legs getting used to the weight almost immediately and her heart rate going to a steady 75 beats per minute, with it steadily increasing as they start to ascend the trail. "I try to practice it every day." Thorn says in regards to the breathing and body control exercises, dogedly putting one foot in front of the other, watching where each step goes so she doesn't accidentally twist an ankle or trip and faceplant on the trail. "As best I can, at least. Cold showers aren't as bad anymore, but I do avoid them most of the time." Tomorrow morning, if she showers? Promises to be a cold one for sure. "Whatever you want to teach me, I'm looking forward to learning. Little tricks like that will come in handy. Like now. I'm carrying some extra cold weather gear in case we need it, though." So there's that. 
 
         The sign brings a sigh of relief when it comes into view, the rough-hewn signpost pointing the way to Little Strawberry Lake. Once it comes into view, though? Thorn just kind of...stops. Just right there, taking in the view of the snowcapped peaks and the crystalline blue lake surrounded by trees. "Wow." She finally stammers, jogging to catch up with Bobbi unless the other woman stopped, her backpack jingling as she scoots to catch up. "This place is gorgeous!"

        "Cold showers?" Bobbi asks, a big grin on her face and a mirthful joy in voice, "have you met someone special you haven't told me about? It's not Mary Belle is it? Totally over that one, myself, but she was cute, so if she floats your root beer, I say go for it!" If Bobbi has any clue of Thorn's real feelings, they're not evident in the way she asks that, but then again, the way she asks this might be a way of concealing and tamping down her own developing feelings.

        "I know, right?" Bobbi says as she unhooks her backpack, letting is carefully drop behind her. Quickly she darts forward and for a moment it looks like that crazy hippie might be about to dive into the glacial lake. Probably luckily, Bobbi stops before the lake, bending down to pluck a little bit of a sage plant, that she then quickly puts in a chest pocket of her jacket. "Got it!" she exclaims as she turns back, doing a little jog back to her pack and lifting it once more onto her back. Turning her back to Thorn, Bobbi explains, "Water bottle's in the top pocket, help yourself. I know of a waterfall a small hike away, but there's also a close by stream I know of, so easy to refill. Once you're ready? We walk around the lake and find a good place to camp. Camping season ended a few months ago -- perhaps knowing this I should have put two and two together on the weather -- so I think it's just us up here. Really its going to be mostly the same all the way around the lake. We'll just want to find a good spot to start and-or-feed a fire."
 
         "Mary Jane? Her? Oh no. No no no, not at all." Thorn giggles, deflecting the question almost as easily as Bobbi did. "Now, that girl we met at the coffee shop today, Min-Ji? She was cute. I haven't tried to pull of a tube top before, but who knows how I'll feel when summertime hits? Still, she's probably not single. At least, if she is, I hope that Dalvin managed to get his tongue unstuck from the roof of his mouth long enough to get something more than her number out of her." Not even pondering if she might be into girls a little bit. Excellent deflection of the question! That's Thorn for you. 
 
         She keeps Bobbi's pack from falling over once it's taken off, standing there with one knee locked, the other relaxed, taking in a deep breath as she prepares to follow Bobbi into the water if she decides to go, letting out a relieved sigh when she doesn't go diving straight in. Even the squirrels would have issues with that! She helps heft Bobbi's pack back on, getting the straps adjusted so they're in the right spots, the weight situated in the small of Bobbi's back instead of right on top and takes the water bottle out, shaking it and taking a big gulp of the ice cold water, blowing out a big breath once she's gotten a swallow in. *Gasp!* "That's good water." she says with a grin, passing the bottle over if Bobbi wants a swig then putting it away in the top pocket where it was before they start on their trip again. 
 
         "I'm ready." Thorn looks around the lake, the quiet almost smothering, like a blanket, the few footsteps they're making crunching through fallen leaves, echoing around the lake. It's like they're on another world. "Let's find a campsite, then make a quick hike to the spring for water. Build a big fire, do a polar bear splash or something, and then run back to warm up. Or something. I'm just happy to...." she trails off. "Just happy to be here with you."

        Bobbi scrunches her nose lightly at the mention of Min-Ji, a light shake of her head. "It was a good line," Bobbi notes as she takes the water bottle from Thorn, "but she's no elf in my book." Opening the water bottle, Bobbi takes a big sip seeming to see no issue in bringing it to her lips -- perhaps shes that comfortable with Thorn, or perhaps she's just discorteous. Handing the water bottle back to Thorn, Bobbi cups her hands around her mouth and makes a larger 'doppler' sound, letting it echo through the area. Satisfying. With a single emphatic nod, Bobbi begins to walk with Thorn. Now that they're off the trail, Bobbi walks side-by-side with Thorn. Though they're not actually holding hands as they walk, their placement is close enough that they almost are, the swinging of their arms synchronized together.

        As they make their way around the lake, Bobbi pauses at one point, turning to her left and going a few feet up the hill. Right there is a spring coming out of some rocks in the mountain. Reaching back to pull out her water bottle, Bobbi takes a few big gulps before passing it back to Thorn. Hands now free, Bobbi cups them under the spring, drinking a bit directly from it, before taking a bit to splash on her face. Had Bobbi not known to stop here, it would have been quite easy to miss this spring. Perhaps the hippie is also into dowsing, you neve know.

        Turning back to face Thorn, Bobbi notes, "I saw a fire pit just a bit further up. You're not supposed to leave those, but we might as well make use of it and then clean it up when we're done. Sound good? Maybe do the other spring or the waterfall next time we need water."

        For a moment it seems like Bobbi might have lost her footing on the hill. But the reason for her quick movements turn out to be wrapping Thorn up in a big hippie hug, an action normally a bit awkard with backpacks, but it's clear this too is something Bobbi has done before. "I'm happy too," she says in a quiet and contented voice, her lips quite near to Thorn's ear.
 
         It was a good line, and passing it off to Dalvin might have given him a shot, but, like Gretzky said, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, and that kid taking a shot on a woman that pretty? Probably wasn't going to happen. Still, thinking about Dalvin is really the furthest thing from Thorn's mind at this point since she's with the woman that she's closer to than anyone in the world. Turning off the trail, the smell of pine needles and the soft crunch of fallen pinecones beneath their feet are the only thing that can be heard, their footsteps in sync as they follow some invisible trail that Bobbi seems to know. 
 
         And as they walk, Thorn just frees her mind, letting the simple ritual of walking through the woods bring her to her center, her breath slowing, her mind wandering in a sort of meditation as they walk. When they stop, Thorn takes the bottle as it's passed, shaking it, her brow wrinkling at the sound of no water once Bobbi's finished it off but, once Bobbi drinks, all becomes clear. With a soft 'ah' sound, she fills the bottle and takes a little for herself in a cupped palm, standing back up and twisting the bottle closed. "Leave it better than you found it. Leave only footsteps, take only memories..." She nods, that sly little smile of hers appearing just as Bobbi turns and tumbles into her, catching Thorn in that big hippie hug that she's grown used to from the dreadlocked woman. 
 
         Thorn gives Bobbi a squeeze, lifting her off her feet a little, backpack and all, and sets her back down again, just holding that hug for as long as Bobbi will let it go and, only when the other woman starts letting go, does Thorn. "So...firepit." She says, still standing close. "You want to do firewood and I'll do tent, or the other way around?"

        "The tent's super easy," Bobbi notes as she drops her backpack by the firepit, "so I'll got that setup and then help with the firewood." Opening up her backpack, Bobbi pulls out a small pouch not much bigger than a laptop and begins to pull out a longer thing pouch and what's presumably a tent, but seems like it would be way too small. From the smaller pouch, Bobbi pulls out a stack of golden titanium rods. The tent does seem incredibly easy to setup, as Bobbi just shakes and twists her hand and the rods begin to take shape into two 'U's connected by an approximately human-sized straight rod. A moment later and Bobbi is crouching, quickly clipping the tent into the rod, letting the tension create it's shape.

        "Ta Da!" Bobbi exclaims, presenting the tent with both hands as if she was the eyecandy on a game show. It's a two person tent the way sitting in someone's lap is a table for two. The tent is maybe the size of a twin bed, rising into a curve a few fight high. Placing a hand to shield her eyes, Bobbi gazes up at the clear sky and notes, "Doesn't look like we'll need the rainfly. If it gets too chilly, we can add it later, but I think we'll be fine. The sleeping bags I have are three-and-a-half season, so they'll keep you warm in basically everything but a blizzard.

        Lifting her hands up above her head, Bobbi closes her eyes and does a little spin in place. Then dropping her hands, letting them momentarily slap against her thighs she says, "Ready to gather. Need a moment or shall we?
 
         To her credit, Thorn doesn't just stand there and watch Bobbi put up the tent. She helps, as best she can, really, by taking the little pouches away, folding them and tucking them in the bigger ones, pushing in tent stakes when she's directed to, and making sure the spot chosen for the tent doesn't have any massive rocks where they'll be sleeping and that the big tarp that goes beneath is stretched out tight. When that's done, the backpacks are placed just so, leaning against a fallen log that is used as an impromptu seat - probably why the fire pit was dug here in the first place - and when she turns back, the tent is pretty much finished. Politely, Thorn gives applause where applause is due and walks over with the sleeping bags, one under each arm. She crouches down to peer inside, then up through the mesh roof before laying the sleeping bags inside, side by side, feet towards the door. "Might be a good idea to at least get this covered. The last thing we want is to get showered with dew in the event one of us bumps the tent after the temperature drops to condensation levels." What she doesn't mention? The close quarters. She has slept with Bobbi...like...for the last month, but this just seems a little more...intimate. 
 
         That she doesn't mind in the least. 
 
         From her spot by the tent she watches Bobbi do her little spin in place, standing when she speaks. "Let's go." Thorn grins. "I saw some fallen stuff on the way over here. With that little hatchet and saw, we can turn it into firewood pretty quickly."

        Bobbi tilts her head from side-to-side as she thinks about this suggestion. "I'll add it when we get back," Bobbi finally decides, "let's gather some wood and then make some dinner. I don't know about you, but I've been working up a good appetite." A flash of realization comes over Bobbi as she exclaims, "Oh!" and crouches down besides her bag. Along with the hatchet, she grabs a stub-handled shovel with a roll of toilet paper around it. "We'll find a place for this as we search for wood," she explains.

        Far enough from the tent, Bobbi thrusts the shovel into the ground, not digging a hole yet but marking a reasonable place. With that, Bobbi begins scampering around, gathering up fallen wood and tinder as well as chopping up additional promising bits of thankfully dry wood. Every so often, Bobbi seems to notice something and whatever it is, it's slowly beginning to fill the pockets of her North Face, making her stomach look like it has the cheeks of a squirrel preparing for winter.
 
         So that's the latrine. Okay, no problem. She's done that before but usually has a small thing of tissues with her for just that purpose. Thorn, during her travels around the camp, focuses most on larger sticks that are more than a thumb in diameter, breaking them with her knee and piling them up near the fire pit in a somewhat haphazard pile. This is all dry deadfall, so once some embers are going, they should be able to keep things burning for as long as they want to without having to duck back out into the darkness of the forest because there's a reason forests, in the olden days, were described as deep and dark. It's because they were. 
 
         One thing that Thorn does have with her, that's kind of out of the ordinary, is a bucket. A plain plastic child's sand bucket that was used to hold things on the inside of her backpack. Once they're settled in and the woodpile is steadily growing, out comes the bucket and, after emptying it of the things inside, she trots down to the edge of the lake and fills it up with water, moving to set it by the fire pit. Just in case. 
 
         Yes, they're wizards, yes, they can deal with things magically if necessary, but better to do the mundane thing. Just in case. 
 
         Other things start coming out of backpacks. A small metal rack that's set up near the fire pit to put things on that they want to get hot. Like a cast iron pan. Like a pot for hot water. Important things. And all the while she watches the hot-pink, mini-skirted jacket woman gallavant around the woods, gathering wood and starting to look like she's six months pregnant. "What are you gathering?" she asks when Bobbi gets close. "Pine Cones?"
Bobbi's BASE MASTERY_OF_FIRE is at least 2

        Bobbi seems to have nearly infinite energy and is having a lot of fun expending it. Despite her lean look, the hippie is also quite strong, making easy work of chop and hauling firewood, helping to building up a sizeable pile. Finished, or maybe jst taking break, Bobbi rocks up on the balls of her feet, stretching her arms way, way above her head, eyes closed and a big smile on her face. Doing this exposes the tiniest bit of belly, the large mounds of forest pocket pickings hovering just above.

        "Nah," she says as she does a little hop, swings her arms and walks over to the fire pit. "I mean, I could get pinecones?" Bobbi notes, trying to think if this is something she do or not, "but for now I was just gathering our dinner. Well, part of it at least. Or, I dunno, if you had something else in mind then these are just our stockpile.

        Taking a seat on the ground, Bobbi unzips her coat, the heavy pockets quickly pulled by gravity to either side. Underneath she wears a well fitting white T-Shirt with thin stripes of primary colors. One knee up and one knee flat, Bobbi leans back at an angle supporting herself with her core muscles. As she does this, she begins to dig through her pockets, pulling things out and placing them to the ground beside her.

        There are young potatoes, a variety of mushrooms, and a variety of herbs and other assorted greens. There is definitey a bounty of food, but it doesn't verge on an obscene or gluttonous ammount. Enough to be their night's meal or to be it's sides with a little left over for breakfast. "Not sure if you had anything in mind for dinner," Bobbi notes as she sits back up into a quick hop that has her quickly crouching, "but I figured this would go good with most things." Standing she dusts off her hands and continues, "I figure we'll cook together, but first do you want to get the fire started or bear proof the camp or maybe do something else or relax while I handle those things. I don't mind either way." Taking a few more steps forward, Bobbi dips her hands in the lake, quickly washing them off and then splashing a bit of water on her face. Inevitably, a bit gets on her shirt, but not to any pornographic degree.
 
         "Well, you wanted to see what I brought, so here it is." The bucket that Thorn brought was her assortment of flavorings and seasonings. Salt, pepper, sugar. Assorted spices. whole garlic cloves. A knife, a cutting board and even four sticks of butter in a plastic bag with dry ice. Oh, and a bottle of hot sauce because hot sauce is a necessary thing for dining, apparently. All this made the trip up the mountain on the off chance that whatever food Bobbi brought might need a little flavoring. Ramen is okay, but Ramen with other stuff? So much better! all this is laid out on a flat rock near the fire pit. "I thought a little spice might be nice for whatever you had. I had no idea we were foraging while we were up here." Thorn smiles and leans over to start building a fire using some dry pine needles as kindling and some smaller sticks to build a pyramid around it, slowly building until larger sticks are laid on the outside. Her pack of cigarettes is brought out from a pocket, the lighter used to spark the tinder at the bottom. She sits back and watches the smoke start to curl up and out....

        "Put the butter away," Bobbi says with a wave of her hand as she stands up and walks back to her backpack. Reaching in she pulls out a white plastic quart container and a foil wrapped package maybe the size of a large softcover book. Making her way back, she places the two items by the forest bounty and then heads back to the woodpile without explanation. No explanation is given for the two items. Working with Thorn, Bobbi helps build up the kindling and then sticks around them. All the time, she keeps a straight face, as if those mysterious items are just no big deal and obviously Thorn would not be curious about them and obviously Bobbi doesn't want to shake Thorn and excitedly explain what treat she's brought with them.

        With the fire started, Bobbi crouches next to Thorn, eyeing the cigarettes. "I had been meaning to ask if you had quit smoking," Bobbi says with a smile on her face, "but now I'm meaning to ask if I might please have one? Pretttttttyyyyyy pleaaaaaaaaase?"
 Thorn does as she's told, the butter going back into the dry ice bag to stay cool, tucked away in the bag made for their foodstuffs to be hung from a tree. They'll sling the bag in a minute, but right now, they're working on the fires and that contaner and the little book-shaped object is beckoning. No label, no shape that's discernable from where she crouches, no outward sign of what's inside. The kindling is given a little poke as the flames start to flicker, the nudge sliding it beneath the rest of the pyramid of kindling and sticks where, with a crackle, it starts to lick on the dry tinder and climb slowly through the wood, catching. She leans back with a satisfied expression, just in time for Bobbi's question to register. "I don't really smoke, you know. Those are just a holdover from when I worked restaurants. A habit. Not the smoking, the carrying cigarettes, I mean." 
 
         Reaching over, Thorn nonchalantly takes the package and taps it against the heel of her hand, one of the tan-filtered smokes popping out of the hard-sided pack. "I've found that, even if you don't smoke, having a cigarette with you opens a lot of doors or, at least, makes people be more willing to talk with you. Need to get your food out on expo faster or need something remade? Make sure you have a smoke to keep the cooks happy. Question for a guy on the street? Hey, want a smoke? Now tell me what you've heard about this thing..." It's offered to Bobbi along with the end of the stick that she's been poking the now growing fire with, the end glowing red, the cinder at the end easily hot enough to light. 
 
         Taking a cigarette for herself, Thorn uses the stick to light hers, settling back to watch the fire sparks raise into the slowly darkening sky. "So...I've gotta ask before I go over and rip those open. What, pray tell, did you bring in those packages?"

        "All of those are very true," Bobbi says with a grin as she takes a cigarette and lights with the end of the stick, "but you left out that occasionally they let /you/ share a smoke with your best friend." Bobbi gives a little wink as she settles down next to Thorn, leaning in to give her a one-armed side hug, and rest her head for a moment on the other woman's shoulder.

        "Oh those?" Bobbi asks as if she just noticed the mysterious objects she had removed from her bag, her head slowly lifting as she turns to look in their direction. "What were those?" Bobbi wonders, perhaps for a moment giving the impression that she really doesn't know, but there's a smile building on Bobbi's face as she does so. Taking a drag from the cigarette, Bobbi slowly exhales the smoke upwards. "Well as I was saying," Bobbi begins to slowly explain, "you want to bring a secret treat camping. Something the other person won't expect, something you probably wouldn't ordinarily eat. Just the right food to have after the kind of big workout we just had hiking up here and gathering that wood." Bobbi takes another drag, and as she slowly exhales, she decides she's finally dragged it out long enough. Tilting her head slightly, she looks to Thorn, a little twinkle in her eye, as she explains, "You haven't lived until you've had TVP fried in duck fat."
 
         "I didn't forget that use of a cigarette." Thorn tilts her head to rest it against Bobbi's on her shoulder, her eyes glancing over without too much head movement. "Doing it right now, in fact." Her one free hand nonchalantly drapes itself around Bobbi's waist, the pair sitting by the fire, enjoying their cigarettes, giving her a squeeze. 
 
         "Oh you." Thorn giggles, playfully smacking Bobbi's shoulder with her knuckles as she pretends to have no idea what's in those packages. Thorn brought her own secret treat with her - one of those little foil tins of popcorn with the aluminum handle you put over the fire to pop. No butter - she's thinking ahead for Bobbi even though she brought butter with her - but TVP in duck fat? She smiles. "That just seems like...sacrelige to TVP." A beat. "I can't wait to try it. I've fried the stuff, and it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in...." And then she trails off, looking at the gathered bounty of morels, potatoes, and the like, all there waiting to be seasoned in that lovely, lovely duck fat with the spices she brought along with. "This is going to be a gourmet meal, I think..."

        Bobbi nods lightly and licks her lips. "That's the pro trick to camping," Bobbi says as she gazes at the pile, "eat better than you do at home. The excercise? The environment? It heightens flavors, so anything you eat will be great, but if you put some real effort into it? Oh, baby. I figured I should eat some animal product, but like some actual meat? I dunno, just seemed better to flavor everything in duck fat. A way to eat healthy while eating decadent." Bobbi cats her gaze to the lake and says, "I might try to catch us a fish sometime tomorrow, if that sounds good?" Bobbi looks to Thorn and wonders, "You ever go fishing or hunting?"
 
         "Fishing, yes. Hunting, no." Threl says. Hunting is something your family has to do and really isn't something that you just pick up. "We'd go to the spillway at the reservoir near our house during the summer and fish for whatever we could pull up. Carp mostly, catfish, bass if we got lucky. Abuelita could make the worst fish taste amazing but this place?" She gestures to the crystal clear lake they're camping at the edge of. "A little salt and I bet the fish would be just /perfect./" Even the TVP in duck fat. Maybe add a little of the garlic she brought to the morels for an additonal level of flavor....Thorn's stomach is almost growling at the thought of it!

        "I prefer fishing to hunting," Bobbi responds as she takes another drag of her cigarette, "fishing is fine, really. Hunting ... I dunno, I get it and I can enjoy it, but ... I'm still not completely onboard with it. I mean, I'm a vegan, so not super surprising I guess." Bobbi chuckles lightly at this, before continuing, "There was this burrito place I would go to when I visited Portland. They made these amazing lightly fried fish burritos with this like sweet and spicy tartar-salsa. I was reading their little sign, and they noted that this is like really early fusion food. Nineteenth century Japanese fisherman in Mexico combining Tempura with burrito."

        Bobbi is once more licking her lips when she hears Thorn's stomach growl. "Yeah, good idea," Bobbi says as she flicks the cigarette butt right into the fire as she stands up. Making her way back to her bacpack she pulls out a small cast iron skillet and a lidded pot, along with a few utensils. Placing these by the food she gathered, Bobbi rises once more to drag over Thorn's bucket. Using the water in the bucket, Bobbi begins to clean what she has gathered, placing it for now inthe pot and skillet. "I'm assuming we'll cook together?" Bobbi calls back, "and I guess once we have it on the fire, I'll start bear proofing things."
 
         Thorn finishes her cigarette about the same time, her filter joining Bobbi's in the malelstrom at the bottom of the campfire. She glances down at her stomach, patting it, content to just sit and watch the fire for a little while but realizing that it might be a good idea to get food going before they get too tired to do anything else. Besides, with the fallen logs on either side of the firepit and the position of their tent, the coals will keep them warm long after they're in bed thanks to the radiant heat. Thorn pushes herself up and adds a few more sticks to the fire, the little metal grate pulled over the fire to be ready for whenever cooking time comes, her own cast iron pan - a small oblong one with high sides that apparently was used for single-serving Chicago-Style pizza, of all things, is put on to start warming up. "You assume correctly." Thorn says, taking her knife and cutting board, studying the morels and potatoes. "What do you think? Cut the potatoes in quarters, then parboil for a few minutes, then fry in the duck fat? And the morels...they're...." she hefts one. "Kind of dainty. Just in half, with a little garlic salt and duck fat to get the moisture out?"

        "Probably do the potatoes whole," Bobbi notes as she thinks about Thorn's suggestions, "they're going to be super soft and creamy, and you can just bite into them, but otherwise I think you got the right idea. I'm thinking that the mushrooms won't take long to cook. Maybe start with a layer of TVP to soak up a lot of the fat and then at the end, cook the mushrooms on top of a bed of TVP, finish with rosemary and things like that? I also got a few random veggies in my bag, as I wasn't sure what we'd find out here, so can possibly add those. With the fat, we're going to want to be pretty slow and precise, as we don't want to dump out excess, so that means either eating it all or turning some into another dish. I brought way more than we need, so we can be pretty free with it, just gotta eat it."

        As Bobbi goes over the meal plan with Thorn, she reaches into her backpack and pulls out some rope. With a toss that's almost too perfect, she managed to get it to loop around a high-up branch. Once that's set, she begins to pull out a small cooler and a couple of bags, both full and empty. Opening the cooler, Bobbi pulls out two ice cold Coors Light Tallboys, and sets them to the side without comment. "Bring your food over here," she calls back to Thorn, "feel free to keep any secrets you want from me, just make sure they go up into the trees. Bears might find them otherwise, and you know what gossips they can be." Picking up one bag, she moves it a bit closer to Thorn and explains, "Veggies are in there if you want to take a look." With that, Bobbi begins work on attaching various items to the ropes to raise them out of bear reach.
 
         Oh, like new potatoes. Thorn rolls one around in her hand, the paper-thin skin promising a crisp bite and an almost nutty flavor, if she were to guess, setting them aside in the pot with a little water to start parboiling now that Bobbi's gotten them nice and clean. "with all this fat, you know we're going to sleep like rocks, right? Might even miss morning workouts." Not likely, but a girl can hope a little, can't she? 
 
         Digging in the vegetables, Thorn finds an assortment that will definitely be tasty once all is said and done. An ear of corn is taken and chopped into four equal-sized pieces, tossed in with the potatoes to cook for a few minutes. An onion is skinned and sliced and tossed into her pan with a little bit of duck fat to start clearing up. Next, a zuchinni is sliced into rounds and added to the pan along with a generous dash of salt and pepper and, once the corn has cooked for a few minutes, it comes otu of the pot and goes into Thorn's pan as well with a sizzle. 
 
         "No secrets need to go in there, Bobbi." Thorn says, stirring her pan with a metal fork. "The butter? Yeah, probably that, but secrets?" She smiles slyly, shaking her head. "I think I'll trust them between you and I, rather than that little bag."
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        "Oh, definitely," Bobbi says regarding sleeping like rocks, "and I'm not too concerned about morning excercise when were doing so much physical activity to begin with. I'll probably want to get some yoga in at some point, though. That being said, I'm not sure how much we'll be able to sleep in, as at some point the sun will be shining and the birds will be chirping. Nature can be quite the alarm clock."

        As Bobbi continues to hoist up food she notes, "Well, I just meant that you might have brought other food surprises that you wanted to have handy or not haev me accidentally see. Not really trying to snoop for it."

        Food in the air, away from potential bear menances, Bobbi reaches into the front pocket of her North Face and pulls out the bit of sage she had clipped earlier. Taking a moment to light the sage and nurture the flame with her breath, Bobbi then proceeds to walk around the camp area trailing a gentle and cleansing smoke. Bobbi's particular brand of Hermeticism draws so much from various new age practices that sometimes it's quite hard to tell when she's wearing her witch hat and when she's wearing her hippie hat, or even what the difference between the two really is.

        Having walked -- and sometimes skipped -- around the perimiter of their camp site, Bobbi places the remainder of the sage scrub against some rocks underneath the hanging food items. Picking up the two cans of Coors Light she walks over to where Thorn is cooking an offers her one. "Smells like you put more sage in there than I would have expected," Bobbi dead-pans.
 
         "Har de har har." Thorn echoes back, rolling her eyes as she does so, having followed Bobbi's trek around the campsite from her spot near the campfire. "The garlic and rosemary on the potatoes, once we get them crisping up, will do just fine, I think, to counterbalance the sage. All that smoke will just give us another level of flavor in every breath we take." And will keep bad dreams and promote good. That's what Sage does, right? She /really/ needs to study. She does take a second to take a small wrapped package from her backpack, adding it to the bear-proof bag, giving Bobbi a wan smile before heading back to keep cooking. 
 
         From the way the meal has been going since Bobbi started her work, it's apparent that Thorn knows her way around a campfire. The vegetables in her pan have a little spoon full of duck fat drizzled over them, a satisfying crackle coming from where the flat parts of her pan meet the flat parts of the vegetables. The potatoes have also been pulled from their parboil bath and set aside to steam, letting their moisture wick off into the air. Once the TVP is done cooking with the mushrooms on top, they'll be nice and dry enough to get a nice brown crust from the duck fat and a little bit of salt. Instead of the heat boiling off the water on the potatoes, it'll provoke that lovely maillard reaction for a different texture and crunch. She's leaving the TVP cooking to Bobbi - her dishes are working well.

        Cracking her beer open, Bobbi notices Thorn making her way to the anti-bear security system, with a smile she tracks the other woman's movement. Once Thorn gets to the security system, though, Bobbi turns back to the fire giving the woman any privacy she might need, having no interest in ruining a good surprise.

        Relaxing and sipping her beer, the return of Thorn seems to jostle something in Bobbi's memory. A quick hustle back to her backpack and then Bobbi returns to the fire. In her hand are two bowls folded flat she quickly pops into shape, along with a metal spork each -- a not /too/ sharp knife on the handle of both.

        Another sip of her beer and Bobbi comes over to take a look at the TVP. The spork is gently jabbed into the edge of one and Bobbi lifts it to take a look at the bottom. "Should be good soon," Bobbi declares, "you did a good job. Thanks for doing the cooking and thanks for joining me out here. Been trying to get camping for awhile now, but it kept falling through. Now that I realize the Universe just had me waiting for you, I don't mind so much."
 
         Yeah, silverware wasn't something Thorn was expecting to need other than cooking, although she wasn't without a couple of pairs of disposable Chinese restaurant chopsticks wrapped in paper. Good for eating, splinting fingers, starting fires, or whatever, it's one of those things that you'll find a use for in the strangest place. After depositing her bounty in the bear pack, Thorn settles back down by the fire to keep the vegetables cooking, stirring them with her knife, some good color starting to appear on them. "There you go, thinking ahead. I was just going to eat out of the pans. Look at you, all classy and stuff." Thorn cracks her beer with a click and a pop of the ring tab, taking a sip and setting it down and out of the way. 
 
         Thorn smiles and glances down at the fire, brushing the side of her cheek with one hand as she surreptitiously tries to hide the blush that compliment - and it was a compliment - brought up. "Good things do come to those who wait patiently."

        "Classy," Bobbi echoes back with a light laugh, "that's a first." The woman after all does have facial tattoos, drinks Coors Lights, doesn't yet know how to use chopsticks, and who knows what else might turn up. Still, in her own way, Bobbi is classy, if noting else because of her caring and her moral stands. Bobbi looks over the cooking food and notes, "I think I'll have /just/ enough room for dessert, but I may have to get you to roll me into the tent afterwards, if you would be so kind?" Twisting lightly at the hips, Bobbi grins, her motion occasionally bringing her to just the right angle to steal a glance at the other woman.

        "Probably is going to get too dark to check out the waterfall tonight," Bobbi notes of the rapidly setting sun. The fact that they're basically in a valley in the mountains should make things quite dark, quite early. "We'll have plenty of time tomorrow, though," she notes, before taking a sip, "there's so much to do in nature, the only way you can really go wrong is if you try to take it all in. Sure, we might do a load more physical activity on these trips, but rushing? That should never be in he cards." Bobbi glances behind her, and then takes a seat on the log, staring out at the lake, trees, and mountains as she enjoys a cold beer.

         High Class, Low Life, that's what niche Bobbi fits in Thorn's view. So classy does fit, in its own way, face tattoos and cans of Coors and all. She's a package that transcends a lot of stereotypes that one may have of hippies, or tattoos. A winning personality does a lot, and the wisdom and concern for others all bundled up into that small package rounds her out. Not as much as this meal might, but Thorn is okay with helping her into the tent. That's what friends do, after all. "I think we can manage to get you all of the ten feet into bed. Play your cards right and I'll even read you a bedtime story." 
 
         Thorn takes finished TVP out to 'grill' a little on the grate, the potatoes rolled into the duck fat to sizzle for a little while as the meal starts to come together. Portions are dished out into each bowl. Slice of TVP, grilled, spiced vegetables, morels, and potatoes. All in duck fat. Healthy? Well, if it weren't for the hundred calories per tablespoon of the duck fat, this would be heart healthy and sustainable! With it? Well, it's going to be a cheat day for both of their diets. A perfect time to do it, though, with the perfect person. Stabbing one of the morels with her spork, Thorn shifts a little so she's sitting right next to Bobbi, hip to hip, and turns. "Say 'ah.'" the spork lifted and presented to feed a bite to the other woman. "Here comes the airplane....bbbrrrrrr." 
 
         With the sun setting in the west, the sounds of the night start to take hold. Thorn and Bobbi are probably the only living humans for miles, and they're so far from the highway, that even the sounds of cars driving in the distance can't be heard. Only the sound of the wind and a campfire crackling, along with the occasional scrape of their spoons against the bowls as they eat can be heard. "We'll get up early and make the hike to the waterfall then. I bet it's beautiful in the sunrise."

        "oooh, a bed time story," Bobbi responds with a big smile, lightly clapping her hands in front of her like a happy seal. As Thorn offers to fly her in food, Bobbi turns her her lightly to the side and narrows her eyes as she eyes Thorn. Its no long, though before she's opened her mouth wide and accepted the morsel of morels with a performative 'chomp.' Having taken the bite, Bobbi purses her lips lightly and exhales slowly to cool off the food already in her mouth. Washing it down with a sip of beer, she notes, "Really good, a bit hot too. Alright, let's get these plates together, not all of our food will be as aeronautically inclined." Lifting up the first plate, Bobbi steadies it with her hands for Thorn to begin to fill.

        "Sounds like a plan," Bobbi says with a smile and a nod of agreement, "I think before that a dip in the lake will be a good way to knock off any remaining sleepiness, and then some." As Thorn serves up the food, Bobbi smiles, her eyes on Thorn more than the plate.
 
         Thorn tilts her head to the side at the clapping, a small giggle following a shake of her head. "Well, good girls get treats after bed and bedtime stories, so eat all your dinner, help me get all our stuff cleaned up, and we'll roll our way to the tents." Good thing they set up the sleeping bags before doing all the gathering and stuff, otherwise it'd be a long time before they get to sleep, and not for the reasons that prevent sleep normally. 
 
         The plates are put together fairly quickly, with each one getting an equal serving of the different foods, Thorn sitting quietly and eating, stealing glances at Bobbi as she eats, blushing a little, and going back to focusing the food in front of her. Boy, this is good. 
 
         She should say something. 
 
         "It'll be a cold dip. We'll need to be sure the fire is going. You may have the training to get your core temperature where you want it, but my little butt'll be chilled to the bone after a quick dip in the lake." She doesn't relish the thought of doing it, but it is something that'll be a memory. Naked in a glacial lake? There's a story if she ever heard one!

        The food served up on plates, Bobbi sits on the log next to Thorn, the fire still going as darkness begins to descend on the valley. Together on the log, their arms press into each other and occasionally get tangled, but they seem to work it out anyway. Occasionally this means it's easier for one's sporkful of food to go into the other's mouth than their own, but this doesn't seem to be any sort of a problem. With turns and giggles and little movements, there legs too occasionally touch, sometimes seeming to take that moment to just rest together for a moment, a pause in their movements.

        "I'll have to work to teach you some more tricks," Bobbi responds as Thorn mentions not being as good at adjusting her core temperature yet, "but we definitely want the fire going. Regulating your body is useful, but you shouldn't tax it unnecessarily, we'll want to dry off as well." Taking a sip of her beer, Bobbi then adds, "Too bad we don't have the sauna out here." Bobbi tilts her head as she glances at Thorn and notees, "I'm /not/ building us a sauna." While it might be quite difficult and labor intensive, there's little doubt that Bobbi could probably figure out a way to build them a sauna in the woods.

        Sitting there, talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and just spending her time with her best friend, Bobbi is quite care free. She feels younger, maybe like a teenager again, transported some carefree time and place that probably never existed. There's just enough duck fat in their meal to give a slightly plausible way for Bobbi to deny the truth of the butterflies in her stomach.
 
         It's an organic thing, the way the pair interact. It's not to the point that they finish each others' sentences just yet, but they are very proficient at anticipating the other's needs, movements, and even thoughts on the rare occasion. Settling against Bobbi, her backside resting on the dry pine needles that make up the carpet of their room for the evening, Thorn can't really put into words what she's feeling. A closeness, sure. A connection. A kinship, even. Two women from remarkably disparate backgrounds normally don't connect like this, but somehow, through all the madness, they did. 
 
         "I'd like that." Thorn says, wiping her plate with the last of a potato, getting all the duck fat into it and offering a bite to Bobbi, taking the last for herself, the meal pretty much vanquished, disappeared into the bellies of the two women. "I may not use it much, but having that arrow in my quiver would be a good thing. I'd rather have it and not need it, you know?" She gives Bobbi's leg a pat, just below the hem of her miniskirt but above the length of her socks - about mid-knee if one were to map it out - and smirks. "I predict tomorrow morning will be echoing with the shriek of two women leaping into ice cold water and hurrying back to the fire for toweling off and breakfast before a bracing hike. Good thing we brought towels." 
 
         At the thought of no sauna, Thorn puts on the puppy-dog eyes, her bottom lip quivering. "But...but...no sauna?" she squeaks, sniffling, /REALLY/ playing it up before she can't hold the facade anymore, a giggle bubbling up as she rests her head on Bobbi's shoulder. "Maybe some day. We'll take another camping trip up here when it's snowy and do it up right. Sauna, bonfire, and a blanket under the stars." Sounds nice to Thorn, and the nervous fluttering in her belly is easily pushed off as being something relating to the impending polar bear splash in the morning.

        Bobbi takes the offered bite of food, pulling it off the last little bit with her teeth. In turn she offers Thorn one of the last little bits of perfectly fried TVP. "Sounds about right," Bobbi responds with a laugh, "the echo here really is something." As Thorn 'begs' for a sauna, Bobbi tilts her head, giving the other woman an amused look, that suggests she's almost considering the request. "That sounds nice," Bobbi agrees of the snow-sauna trip, "the problem with most saunas we experience in the city is that you don't have the same cold before and after. There's something to be said for hopping out of a hot sauna on a moonlit night, rubbing fresh snow on your nude body."

        For awhile, Bobbi just stays there, resting her head against Thorn's, enjoying the quiet of the outdoors. The fire crackles occasionally, and for now the light alters what they can see, but by now the stars are definitely starting to come out above them. They simply need to take the moment to move away from the fire and look them over, see what aligns.

        "Ok," Bobbi finally says, though at first she doesn't make any motion to move. It's another minute before she gently slaps her thighs and lifts her head from Thorn's. "I'll take care of the dishes," Bobbi offers as she takes the plate and spork from Thorn, "the smores fixins are up in the tree if you can take care of that? If not, just rest and I'll get to it after." With that, Bobbi slowly rises, making her way to the water bucket with the dinnerware.
 
         "That sounds nice. I'd like to see...to experience that." Thorn murmurs, shifting a little, now more leaning against Bobbi than the log behind them. "We might not be able to do it here, but maybe a trip to Norway or something would be in order. It's a national sport up there, I hear." She trails off in thought. "I think we should. Not next week or anything, but whenever we can. Its a date." Thorn says with a snicker that gets cut off when she realizes what she said and, more importantly, the implications. Play this off, Thorn. You can do it. "We can..um...get a bunch of girls up here and make a weekend of it. Mimosas, magick, and saunas over two days. Lots of togetherness and the like." Yeah, that's what she meant. Not a date, like, a date-date...like they're on now. Hooboy. 
 
         "Don't wanna get up." Thorn laments, the thigh slap a punctuation that the night will be ending soon, the sound echoing across the lake. She does get up, though, dusting the needles off her legs, making her way over to the bear bag and untying it from it's catch high on the tree, lowering it slowly down to rummage about inside. After the meal they had, a little sweet to cut through the savory is just what the doctor ordered. It doesn't take long for her to find hershey's bars, graham crackers, and vegan marshmallows, either. She sets them aside - enough for both of them - and puts the bag back up in the tree, returning to the fire. Two sticks are claimed and scraped off with a knife, the clean wood beneath revealed instead of the dirty bark that was on the outside, ready for the marshmallow roasting once Bobbi is done...and to make it faster, Thorn moves over to help. Pots and pans, scrubbed in the bucket of hot water, are taken and shaken off before they're laid near the fire to cook by the embers, evaporating any water that might be left over.

        "I might have been born in Norway," Bobbi notes to Thorn, "but I'm not Norwegian. I mean, I wouldn't mind visiting there sometime, but the Norwegians? Their saunas are nothing compared to those of Swedes and Estonians." Bobbi lets Thorn ramble on about the 'date' for a moment, and if she thinks anything of it, she doesn't let on. Instead, once Thorn is done, Bobbi starts giving super basic 'repeat after me' lessons in the various Nordic languages.

        Having cleaned-up the dishes and sent them up to that bear proof lang in the sky, Bobbi joins Thorn on the log to roast marshmallows and prepare the feat of smores, her stomach just barely having enough room for this addition.

        Reaching over, Bobbi gently wipes some s'more mess of Thorn's mouth, and then puts her finger to her own lips to clean it off.

        "Let's check out the stars now," Bobbi suggests as she hops up from the log, "once our eyes adjust, I think we're going to be amazed at what's shown up while we were eating." Once Thorn joins her, Bobbi walks with her around the edge of the lake, finding a spot far enough away fromt the fire that they can let their rods and cones adjust to the night and reveal the stars. With each moment, more and more stars begin to appear as if the night sky was a picture being developed before them. With one hand, Bobbi points out various constellations, taking time to discuss them and their mythology with Thorn. Her other hand takes gentle hold of Thorn's hand.

        There, under the night sky, hand-in-hand with Thorn, Bobbi gazes up at the stars. The constellations are the furthest thing from her mind when she finally quietly admits to herself, "Cancer and Capricorn." Bobbi takes her eyes off the stars for a moment to look to Thorn as if ...

        Looking away from Thorn, down to the lake, Bobbi releases the other woman's hand. "Let's get to sleep," she says, her voice almost sounding defeated as she trudges off back to the tent.
 
         She pulled it off. Kind of. Her rambling about dates with other ladies might have masked what she meant. she hopes, at least. Thorn remains quiet as the explanation of Swedes and their saunas are given, nodding as her hands move almost on their own, stowing things, making sure what little remaining food there is has been placed in the fire where it'll be consumed and won't attract bears. She repeats along with the various nordic languages, a few of the terms causing her tongue to twist into knots the first couple of times she tries them but, eventually, the words come out haltingly. Even the touch on her mouth with gentle fingers, that little dot of chocolate and marshmallow wiped away, causes a soft trailing off, a wide-eyed gaze at Bobbi that doesn't break for a few seconds, Thorn studying the tattooed woman, as if seeing her for the first time. 
 
         Nodding, her gaze moves away from Bobbi to the stars behind. With the fire bleaching their rods and cones, the world beyond appears black and lifeless, with ghosts of trees receding into the middle distance with only darkness behind. She stands and moves with Bobbi, using her other senses to listen for footsteps, for breathing, as Bobbi walks towards the edge of the lake. Over time, the brighter stars become moreso and the black in between lessens to reveal the majesty of the universe above them. She's seen stars before - everyone has - but really seeing them, with someone who knows about them, is a lesson she won't forget for a long, long time. She finds herself reaching for Bobbi's hand as a reflex, almost, her fingers grazing lightly, then clasping tightly, as the astronomy lesson is given. She's smiling brilliantly, turning, tracing the constellations with a fingertip as they're pointed out. "Cancer is....oh, there...right between Leo and Gemini. And Capricorn is...there..." her hand moves, glancing to Bobbi. "Near...aquarius." 
 
         She pauses as her hand is released, a chill from a breeze suddenly becoming more evident. "Yeah...." Thorn says as Bobbi walks of towards the tent, watching the other walk away. She looks down at her right hand, then over to Bobbi. "Cancer and Capricorn..." she whispers. "Let's get to bed."
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SCENE2START

        After her slightly defeated sounding comment, Bobbi trudged ahead and dissappeared into the tent. A moment later the tent is illuminated from inside with a soft blue glow as Bobbi turns on an LED flashlight. Slight movements inside can be seen via the shadows cast on the tent. For the most part, though it's hard to make out what might be going on as the tent is so small. Not the ideal screen for a shadow play.

        With her shoes just outside the tent, inside Bobbi is still wearing her socks, but otherwise has changed into pyjamas. Pale yellow with double scoop ice cream cones. The sloth pyjamas have been laid out -- as much as they can given the size of the tent -- to the side, on top of the silver and orange sleeping bags that have been zipped together. As she waits for Thorn, Bobbi sits up in the tent -- the top of her dread brushing the top of the tent -- and hugs her knees. She seems a bit distant, contemplative. Though there still is a fire going, the cold is starting to be felt for real now.
 
         Thorn waits a few moments for Bobbi to collect herself, making sure the fire is well-stoked, with a domino chain of logs set to start tumbling into the fire pit once the supporting logs burn through. Then, with a look back to the tent, Thorn heads that way. It just being us girls out here, Thorn does her undressing outside, leaving her shoes next to Bobbi's and peeling out of her jeans before she clambers into the tent. It does take a few acrobatic maneuvers but soon she has her clothes off and stuffed into the opposite corner of the tent and her sloth pajamas on, but not before Bobbi is sure to notice her undewear has, of all things, slices of watermelon printed on it. Playful underwear that matches her socks. 
 
         "Thanks." Thorn says as she finishes dressing, peering out the flap of the tent at the world around before carefully zippering it closed, being sure to not snag the edge in the zipper itself. Scooting back, she pulls her knees to her chest and slips her legs into the bag, still chilly at the extremities, but warming up now that Bobbi's body heat is already inside. "Hey, come on." Thorn scoots down a little, patting Bobbi's leg again, giving it a squeeze through the pajamas. "Get down here and get to sleep. Big day tomorrow. And besides, I always like my mornings best when they start with you." She yawns, smacking her lips lightly. "Everything's better in the morning. It always is."

        Bobbi doesn't say anything in response for a long while. Finally she gives a slight nod of agreement to what Thorn had to say. "Just tired," she says softly, "and full." Clearly not the full story, but it's the one she's telling. Flipping the sleeping bag open a little bit, she slide her legs in and then scoots a bit until she's fully covered. Zipping up the sleeping bag around her, Bobbi lays on her right side, her head against a small pillow, her back to Thorn.

        The forest is quiet for the most part, though there are occasional sounds of the noctural elements coming alive. Without the rainfly on, the stars are visible through the tent like a window onto the siddereal. Tonight the night sky is particularly active. Man made sattelites travel in their orbit, slowly through the darkness, while occasional streaks of meteors cut across. Jupiter and Saturn are particularly bright, anticipating their conjunction during tomorrow's solstice when the two will appear as one. Tomorrow will be the longest day of the year, though one that signals that future days will be brighter. Tonight, though is simply anticipation of the darkest day, a peak approached, but not yet rounded.
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SCENE3START
 
         Thorn wasn't one for being empathic - not generally, at least. Sure, she could tell when people were feeling the more intense emotions right off the bat using context clues, but Bobbi, being Bobbi, was generally immune to such things. Over the weeks of being with her, almost day and night, through learning and laughing and just being together, their friendship deepening, she's been able to pick up on a lot more things than she might normally be able to. The excuse of being tired and full? Well, yeah, that's probably ten percent of it, but that other 90? That's what Thorn is thinking about as she gets comfortable in their makeshift bed, gazing up into the night sky. 
 
         After a time, Thorn turns on her side and gives a gentle squeeze to Bobbi's shoulder. Even though she's on her side, Thorn tries to get as close as she can, snuggling down into the sleeping bag, the zipper pulled all the way up. Her free hand goes up to make sure the built in hood covers both of their heads as she settles down against Bobbi, all nonchalant-like, because, for her, for them? It's an every day thing. The thing she wants to do most is to simply wrap herself around Bobbi, like the big spoon, putting her arms around hugging her tight and, in a way, she kind of does. 
 
         A slight shift of her hips has Thorn settling against Bobbi, laying on her right side as well, her legs shifting to brush against, but not entangle. Thorn's hand is resting on Bobbi's upper arm, forehead and cheek resting with that bundled up nest of dreads kind of piled on top of them both. "Goodnight." She whispers, placing a light kiss to the back of Bobbi's neck before yawning and drifting off to sleep.

        As she drifted off to sleep, Bobbi seemed a bit distant, a bit distracted. But with sleep, her conscious mind shuts off and stops interfering. It's not long before the sleeping Bobbi is ending up closer and closer with Thorn. A little wiggle as her body moves closer, her bottom settling into the contours of Thorn's hip as if that's where it's made to go. A light smacking of the lips as a few fingers grap a few of Thorn's, pulling the other woman's arm across her body. A contented smile coming across Bobbi's face, her cheeks lightly chilled by the cold air settling through the tent yet missing their snuggled bodies.

        Above them satellites and meteors continue their motions through the night sky. On the dark canvas of space, the light of stars and planets alike were for countless generations scrutinized and mapped by the human race throughout every civilization in history, and even those that came before it. The connections between them along with their slow movements were given meaning through the various mythic dramas ascribed to them. The original social media of the siddereal were where their heroes and dieties lived, and where they might have been from and one day return.

        It is no accident that the poetics of outter space found their reflection in the poetics of inner space, our inner dream lives. As Above, So Below. The sleeping subconsciouses -- both individual and collective -- are their own kind of stage. A mysterious and precious gift, the most liminal of spaces between mind, body, soul, between myth and reality, between I and you.

        As the first bright light begins to slowly land on Bobbi's face, she smacks her lips lightly, digging her face into her pillow as she pushes her body back into Thorn's while grasping the other woman's arm to pull her body forward into her own. This first bright light would be easy to mistake for morning, an almost white yet yellowed color making it's way through the window of the tent. The next light that finds them begins shift the colors cast upon them into a brilliant almost emerald green.
 
         That moment that her arm gets pulled down, that moment that Bobbi's bottom settles back against her hip; it's like a switch has been flipped. All is right with her world when the other woman's warmth gets that much closer, and the unconscious sigh of delight that escapes as it happens, Thorn pressing against Bobbi, is clear evidence of that. Her warm breath against Bobbi's neck as she dozes, her scent close and familiar, is just what they both needed. The familiarity that they've grown to rely on has been re-established. 
 
         For time immemorial, humanity has gazed to the stars for answers, for characters to populate their fables, for gods to worship, and for meaning. The abstract motion of lights against the darkness became Gods, monsters, villians and heroes - representations of humanity reflected in the stars above. Perhaps in another life, another generation, a tale would be told of the lovers, lost to the stars, their unwavering commitment to each other transcending their humanity and burning into space for all to see, to be used as a lesson of some sort. As Jupiter and Saturn commune for the first time in six hundred years above their heads, so below do Bobbi and Thorn commune in their own soft, sacred way, unsure of the path that they are on but fully committing to where it goes. 
 
         "mmmmph." Thorn makes a sound as the white light penetrates the cocoon of warmth she's found herself in, one eye blearily opening, focusing momentarily before closing again. Maybe it's a dream, this light. It can't be sunrise already, can it? And as the lights transition from white to yellow to emerald green and down the spectrum to a bluish violet color, Thorn finds herself drifting back to sleep, kind of, squeezing Bobbi tightly to her.

        "erngh," comes the lightly moaned complaint from Bobbi as her head burrows further into the pillow, her eyes trying to avoid the brightness of 'morning.' The colors begin to shift more rapidly as they continue to dance across the faces of the two sleeping beauties. The presence of new visual stimulation is paired with the absence of the sonic. The quiet enveloping them is unearthly, whether it's because the wind has stopped and the animals have scattered, or because of some other more all-encompassing and strange phenomena they find themselves in now.

        "ok, ok," Bobbi mutters quietly in the pillow, not making any real efforts towards movments, "I'm getting up." As little awake she was to make those comments, a moment later she seems to be back asleep. "Thooooorn," Bobbi groans as the tides of slumber once more shift, "I'm on vacation ... " With that, some strangeness to the experience finally penetrates into Bobbi's understanding of the situation. Her eyes shoot wide open, only to scrunch up a moment later in reaction to the brightness. A hand pulled out from under the pillow moves to shield her eyes so that she can't take a look at the situation. "Thorn?" Bobbi whispers, her other hand giving the woman a gentle shakes, as she herself shifts onto her back to continue her skyward gaze.
 
         The colors, once they hit the lower end of visible light, start moving back up through the spectrum to the higher intensities, seems to be focusing on the pair in the tent, getting to a level of light that's not entirely uncomfortable and super bright, but not so much as it's something that plunges the pair into darkness. "Gah..." Thorn finally croaks, turning to lay on her back, squinting as the light plays over her face, a hand going up to cover her eyes. "Should'a put the fly on..." 
 
         Bobbi's shake of her shoulder gets a little whine, her hand going up to cover her eyes. "I'm up...I'm up..." a cough. "It feels like we just went to sleep."

        Still shielding her eyes with her hand, Bobbi begins to pull her legs out of the sleeping bag. Her movements are slow and precise, almost trying to be sneaky as her attention remains on trying to uncover the mysteries of those lights. Bright and unnatural, yet in their own way strangely familiar. A part of her mind thinking of all the things she might have slept through and wondering if once more she was finding herself before the lights of Bardo. Though unable to stand in the tent, Bobbi nonetheless makes her way to her feet, crouching low and gazing up.

        "What is it?" she wonders so quietly she might as well have just thought the question. Perhaps this is situation is dangerous, something she should try to avoid, but the most she can do is be cautious and practiced in her motions. For whatever it is, she feels compelled to investigate, to find out, to commune. Carefully unzipping the tent, she tries to peer further and gain knowledge, but this is one of those experiences that you can only know by diving into. A light kick of Thorn's feet with her own -- a warning? an invitation? -- an Bobbi, the wakeful somnambulist leaves the tent.
 
         Bobbi's actions aren't the actions Bobbi normally does in the morning. That's usually cheerful, with coffee and a little bit of sweat from the workout that she had already started on before pulling Thorn out of bed. This is different, and that's before counting the whole 'in the woods' thing that's going on. Sunlight doesn't shift like that unless the leaves suddenly turned to stained glass or something which...probably didn't happen? As Bobbi moves, so does Thorn, sitting up and peering through her barely spread fingers, wishing she had remembered her sunglasses. They're down in the subaru. Dammit. 
 
         "I...I was hoping you could tell me that." Thorn says, swallowing nervously as she's nudged. "Wait, wait!" is whispered urgently as the tent is unzipped and Bobbi heads out into the light. "Bobbi?" Thorn calls, crawling to the entrance and peering out, the swirling lights making it difficult to see anything beyond the tent, the trees beyond, and the fire pit that is still merrily burning along. Estimated time since falling asleep? Couple of hours. 
 
         "Bobbi?" Thorn calls, slipping on her shoes and clambering out of the tent, looking for any sign of the Hermetic mage, nervous. She's expecting wind, but there is none. She's expecting sound, ut there's none of that, either. It's like being in the middle of a dance floor at a rave, with no music at all. Creepy, in a word.

        Not too far from the tent, Bobbi is standing, head tilted-up, transfixed. While the whole of outdoors is now bright in it's own way, there is still some darkness that Bobbi stands in. As if some of the houselights are up and yet some places are bathed in much richer spotlights. Bobbi makes no sound, in fact it seems like absolutely nothing is making a sound at the moment. Yet in time there begins to become an awareness of a low sinusoidal noise existing without direct. The low-frequency of the sound means it is felt, more than heard. A faimilar and subtle pulsing that seems to enter or perhaps exit the body. Normally, there is no such thing as true silence, for in rooms designed for this effect one becomes acutely aware of the sound of one's own body. That is why this sound is familiar, it perfectly synchronizes with the movement of their hearts, but which is setting the tempo?

        There's no seeing stars in the sky right now. The shifting and searching lights surely are bright, but that is not the reason, not the sole reason at least. Just above the trees, and object holds it's position and blocks the nightsky. It is the size of the lake itself. Perhaps that water filled indentation was formed when this object separated itself from the Earth. Perhaps this is where it is meant to land and become part of the Earth. Or perhaps all of this is just coincidence, but do Bobbi and Thorn really believe in those anymore?
 
         Footsteps on dry pine needles, silent, Thorn takes the few steps out of the tent to stand next to Bobbi, turning and really, really seeing what there is on the other side of the lake. She's seen wraiths, ghosts, spirits, and fae running around before her acquisition of Dual Perception, but in the real world? The really real world she inhabits with Bobbi? She's never seen anything like this. 
 
         Standing next to Bobbi, transfixed, Thorn's hand unconsciously seeks the other, gripping it tightly. She has no words right now for what she's seeing there above the lake, scintillating colors mesmerizing and almost blinding at times. Animals are gone, hiding, insects are long in hibernation, and probably even the fish are in the depths of the lake, avoiding the light from what appears to be an....alien ship? Everything Thorn knows says that this shouldn't be happening. All of her mundane education says that there is no other life in the galaxy, but a part of her always thought that might be a little bit of misdirection to keep people from looking too deeply. Finally, she tries to speak. "What...what is it?"

        "I'm not sure," comes back Bobbi's quiet voice, sounds that would have been carried away by the wind, but instead seem much larger because of the stillness. Her hand finds Thorn's and returns the tight grip. Not fearful, just somehow acutely aware that now is a time to hold-on. As they stand there by the lake, holding hands, the darkness ceases to find them. A sensation of floating, being lighter than air, and somehow now that the light has found them, they are. The two begin to rise up, not under their own power and not being pulled. Instead it is like gravity has loosened it's hold on them and the Earth begins to recede behind them, casting the two into the true mysteries of The Universe. "but we're going to find out."
SCENE3END
SCENE1START
 
         Thorn's eyes flutter open, blinking several times before focusing on the work that's happening in front of her. Her hands move almost on autopilot, fingers deftly flicking over pockets to fasten any loose buckle or unzipped zipper, clipping clips where they need to be, and tucking folds in pockets so, while they make the trek back down the switchbacks, nothing will shift, make noise, or accidentally fall out on the journey back to the car. Her hands slow, a soft breath escaping with an exhale as she looks up and around, standing and scanning the campsite for the familiar face she had spent the night with.

        Lifting the water bottle to her lips, Bobbi takes a long drink of ice cold spring water before handing it over to Thorn. Looking around the campsite, Bobbi begins to go through a mental checklist. The firepit is no more, the anti-bear security system taken down, no trash anywhere, and everything looks packed up. Standing with her camping bag resting against her leg, Bobbi watches with a smile as Thorn does any final things she needs to do at the campsite. Furrowing her brow lightly, Bobbi tries to remember filling that water Bottle, because by the temperature and the condensation, it's something that must have just taken place. A shrug as her mind moves on, she's probably just hungry and spacey, it happens while camping. After all they've been out here for ... has been days? a week? just an overnight? Alright, Bobbi, you've been chasing too many squirrels, let's get on the road and get you fed, don't embarass yourself by asking Thorn, just check what your cellphone says once you get reception again.

        "Ready?"
 
         The last of their supplies packed away, the fire pit gets one last bucket of cold water poured over it, just in case, before Thorn's booted foot scrapes the soil over it just a little more. The first rainstorm that comes through in the spring and the pit won't even be a memory, hidden under a month of fallen pine needles and animal tracks. The bucket is stuffed back inside Thorn's pack, the flap pulled over, and then...well, that's that. She stands and looks to the lake, unmoving, for a few moments, the wind rustling her hair as it comes in over the bluffs, studying something that nags at the corner of her mind. It's so strange. She's normally got such a good memory, but right now she can't even remember if they did the polar bear plunge, or even had breakfast. Whatever the case, at Bobbi's spoken word the needle goes back into the groove and Thorn turns with a nod. "Yeah. Let's...let's go." 
 
         Thorn grabs her pack with one hand and walks over to Bobbi, borrowing her water bottle momentarily. She takes a quick drink of the fresh, cold glacial melt water and then takes a short jog to where the spring was, refilling the bottle for the trip back down, tucks it back into Bobbi's backpack. "Can't get that stuff on the way back." she says, her grin appearing for a second, one corner of her mouth faltering and then falling away entirely, like she's having issues with her emotional state. God, it's like she's on thorazine right now - it' so strange-feeling! With a shake of her head, Thorn helps Bobbi get her pack on, making sure it's centered, strapped down, and all of that important stuff. Then she loads herself up, one arm going through, her hips bouncing to heft it on the top of her shoulders enough to get her other arm through, then down and on. "As you lead, Madame."

         *bobble *bobble* *bobble*

         *bobble* *bobble* *bobble*

         *bobble* bobb ...

"Oh shit!"

Turning the wheel just in time, Bobbi gets away with just a blast of the truck's horn and a middle finger from the driver. Turning to Thorn, Bobbi gives her a big toothy grin, well aware that she could have just gotten both of them killed, but hoping it isn't a big deal. Eyes back on the road. Slowly, though, Bobbi's attention once again begins to shift slowly to the right. There on the dashboard is the new Bobbie the Wonder Dog Bobble-Head toy.

         *bobble* *bobble* *bobble*

Eyes on the road, Bobbi.

A light nudge is given to Thorn as Bobbi points out the big sign they're passing by. It would have been hard for Thorn to have missed it, but that's Bobbi, master of the obvious, but a sweet-heart.

Welcome to California

         *bobble* *bobble* *bobble*
 
         Bobbie the Wonder Dog's head leans ominously in the direction of oncoming traffic as the Subaru drifts from the oncoming lane to the correct one, rattling like a headbanger on speed once they're going straight agian. Tire marks were left on the asphalt from the extreme maneuver that kept the pair from ending up a decoration on the front end of a Peterbilt, the Subaru taking the maneuver without complaint or even a wobble from the suspension. Just Bobbie the Wonder Dog. 
 
         Thorn looks over with a smirk at Bobbi, reaching over to tug lightly at one of her dreads as a playful punishment for nearly getting them killed. She's been with Bobbi in vehicles enough to know that, despite the insane driving and high rate of speed, the woman has a knack for being behind a wheel so she's not nearly as nervous as she should be. Still... 
 
         "Didn't..." Thorn looks out the window, back towards a passing mileage sign that helpfully informs travellers that LAS VEGAS is only 217 miles away to the east. "Didn't we..." She turns back to face forward, peering out the dusty window of the Subaru. "When did we go through Nevada?"

        "We're not through Nevada," Bobbi gently corrects, "we're in Nevada." Probably not the answer that Thorn was looking for, but an answer nonetheless.

        *thwap*

        Bobbi gently swats Thorn's hand away form the center console, her own hand then going to the same area. Looking to Thorn with a smile, Bobbi feeds her some of the french fries she was just looking for, and then eats some as well. Hot and Fresh. Bobbi's brow furrors lightly as her gaze shifts off the road and the wonder dog to look at the instruments. Full. Must have just stopped, good thing they got food. Bobbi lifts the iced coffee treat and takes a sip. And caffeine. Just a little snack, though, as they had already decide to get dinner at the 'Little Ale-E-Inn' near Rachel, NV.

        Heh, Ale-E-Inn, Alien. Clever.

        Bobbi furrows her brow as she continues driving.
 
         Thorn absentmindedly takes a bite of the offered fries, accidentally getting Bobbi's fingers with her lips as she takes them. "Than-oo" she says, mouth ful, settling back in her seat, pensive. The answer bothered her, just a little. Okay, not just a little. Yes, they were in Nevada, that is true, according to the evidence on hand but it's just....off. Surely she would have remembered the trip through Oregon? Down the mountain? The stop at Bobbie the Wonder dog? The T-shirts and Bobble head? Right? She's not got some form of dementia that made her forget the last day or so, right? Would she even know? 
 
         ... 
 
         The light is blinding, even piercing through eyelids held closed, and the sense of vertigo, of moving without moving is strong. She struggles against something. Screams. Something wet and furry slides against her lower leg as she's dragged... 
 
         ... 
 
         "I feel strange." Thorn finally says, looking out of the windshield, her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry for being a poor trip companion."

        Bobbi gently kisses the salt and grease off her finger tips.

        ...

        "Wait what?"

        Bobbi pulls a quick U-Turn, more truck horns blaring. A few moments later once things are a little calmer, she explains, "We were heading North, must have gotten on the wrong ramp ... at the ... last ... exit ... "

        Bobbi furrows her brow.

        ...

        Reaching over, Bobbi gently rubs Thorn's shoulder and jokes, "You feel fine to me." Glancing to Thorn for a moment, Bobbi says, "We did a lot of excercise this weekend. Probaby burned more calories than we took in. Then we've been in a hot car all day speeding. I think we'll both feel a bit better once we have something to eat."

        *thwap*

        Bobbi gently swats Thorn's hand away form the center console, her own hand then going to the same area. Looking to Thorn with a smile, Bobbi feeds her some of the french fries she was just looking for, and then eats some as well. Hot and Fresh. Bobbi's brow furrors lightly as her gaze shifts off the road and the wonder dog to look at the instruments. Full. Must have just stopped, good thing they got food. Bobbi lifts the iced coffee treat and takes a sip. And caffeine. Just a little snack, though, as they had already decide to get dinner at ...

        Bobbi furrows her brow.
 
         ... 
 
         "I know you said you didn't want a shirt but, come on, just /look/ at it." Thorn's like a little kid when she gets something in her mind. "It's just a picture of a dog in black and white. You have to look really, really close to even see what it really is. C'mon...." Thorn holds the shirt up to Bobbi, critically. "I really think it suits you." 
 
         ... 
 
         Thorn absentmindedly offers a bite of the freshly-cooked fries to the driver, accidentally getting Bobbi's lips with her fingers as she feeds a few to the other woman, then takes a few for herself. "There you go..." she says with a grin, settling back in her seat, pensive, as the unintended U-turn happens, the car's tires squealing as a perfectly executed J-turn happens, the car headin the other way at increasing speed. 
 
         "Bobbi, we need...we need to stop." Thorn gasps, reaching up to hang on to the handle bolted to the frame of the door. "Something's wrong..."

        Bobbi smiles contentedly while laying down nude in the sauna.

        "I can't believe you convined me to make this," she says with a laugh as Thorns shadow passes over her body. Only it's not Thorn and this is not a sauna.

        Bobbi shivers as she realizes how cold the metal she is laying on actually is.

        ...

        Bobbi's gaze slowly goes from the road towards Thorn, and she gives a little giggle. "I still don't know how I feel about you wearing that shirt," Bobbi says with a grin, "but for now we're twins." Gemini? Cancer and Capricorn.

        *bobble* *bobble* *bobble*

        ...

        Bobbi furrows her brow as she looks at Thorn and then looks around. "Well, we have stopped," she notes in a pacient voice as she points out the door for the Little Ale-E-Inn. "I guess we were going pretty fast, though," Bobbi admits, "so you might feel like you're still moving for a bit. Kinda like when you get home from the beach and you can still feel the ocean."

        ...

        Bobbi is unable to scream.

        ...Deja-Vu, Bobbi thinks. I've already had this dream. Just play dead and you'll get to hear their secrets. It's definitely Ancient Egyptian, but what dialect? Bobbi, you're such a language dork.

        ...

        Bobbi is able to scream.

        ...

        "Ready?"
 
         ... 
 
         She's back in the hospital. Lay still and the drugs will take effect and they'll leave you alone. The anticipation for the shock is agonizing, but the doctor doesn't just do it like a surprise. The orderly is waiting with the wand, standing opposite. Her heart is beating so fast she can feel it threatening to leap out of her chest. There's a warning. There's a mouth guard. She's breathing so fast that she's about to hyperventilate. And when the shock happens, it's almost instantly dark, the only sound her panicked breathing, her heart pounding in her ears. And then lights out. 
 
         ... 
 
         The vinyl of the seats creak as Thorn shifts in it, drawing her hand away from the center console where it was smacked, taking some of the freshly-cooked fries for herself, then feeding some to Bobbi. Bobbi feeds her some of the french fries she was just looking for, and then eats some as well. Hot and Fresh. 
 
         ... 
 
         ... At Bobbi's spoken word the needle goes back into the groove and Thorn turns to her with a nod. "Yeah. Let's...let's go." We've got a long hike and a long drive after it." 
 
         ... 
 
         "Bobbi!?" Thorn calls, panicked, into the void surrounding her, the light slowly building at her feet, enveloping her like a wave, increasing in brightness. She wriggles like a bug beneath a magnifying glass. Something holds her down. The orderly shushes her. "Miss Montoya, it'll be over soon." But it's not the Orderly, but it's something else. A flash of something else, the image re-constituting itself. 
 
         ... 
 
         "Didn't..." Thorn looks out the window, back towards a passing mileage sign that helpfully informs travellers that LAS VEGAS is only 217 miles away to the east. "Didn't we..." She turns back to face forward, peering out the dusty window of the Subaru. "When did we go through Nevada?" 
 
         ... 
 
         The inn is there, the kitchy UFO standing on a plinth outside with a BBQ pit beneath, aluminum picnic tables on hard-packed gravel, the white with blue corrugated steel building standing on the north end of the parking lot, the mountains and blue sky stretching off for miles. Thorn blinks and gets back to work, rummaging in the center console for her phone. "I got it." she says with a grin, flipping on the camera and motioning Bobbi closer to the UFO. "Okay, look annoyed....PERFECT!" She takes a picture of Bobbi by the UFO. A silly memory to share.
Writing reality out to disk. Please wait...
Reality saved. Thank you for your patience.

        A truck horn sounds again, but this time it's Bobbi and Yarden and they're in the BRAT, and it's not moving.

        "Hello?"

        ...

        Collecting firewood, Bobbi finds a strange mushroom. Picking it up, she puts it in the bulging pockets of her hot pink North Face, plans to identity it later.

        ...

        "There's something I've been meaning to tell you, and I think this might be my last chance ... "

        ...

        "We're not through Nevada," Bobbi starts to explain with a grin, "We're in ... "

        Welcome to California

        Truck horns blare once again as Bobbi pulls a quick U-Turn. "We were going North," she explains, "must have gotten on the wrong ramp at ... the ... last ... exit?"

        Bobbi scrunches her face as she takes a bite of fries. Cold and soggy.

        Bobbi looks to the instruments and sees they're running on Empty, except now it's Full.

        ...

        Bobbi smiles for the picture, her gaze lingering on Thorn for a few moments afterwrd. "I gotta tell you about this dream I had," she says to Thorn as they head for the inn, "the second time I've had it."

        ...

        Bobbi is freezing.

        ...

        In the tent, nustled in their sleeping bags, there's a contented smile on Bobbi's face. Her arm drapes over Thorn as they lay on their left sides.
 
         ... 
 
         Another mark on the wall, just below the bed. They never look there, even when they check the room for contraband. Her fingernails are kept short but one little edge is all it takes to put a small mark in the paint. Twenty four. Four fives and four. A little block with another four marks perched out on the right. Orderly. The keys in the door have her freezing, putting another mark on the wall with a little pressure of her index finger. 
 
         ... 
 
         Why is it so cold? Why didn't Bobbi want to share sleeping bags? She didn't like camping. It was cold and the ground was rough and the tent was an old military one that had definitely seen better days. The lake was filled with trash and dinner was just /awful./ This was a bad idea to come here. 
 
         ... 
 
         Thorn looks at the Orderly again, his form indistinct, blurry, like looking at an image through frosted glass. His hands reach for her, pressing something to her forehead, and murmured words can be heard, but not understood. There's a static spark, almost, when the instrument is removed from her skin, a full-body shudder going through her naked... 
 
         ... 
 
         "I'm so glad I convinced you to make the sauna." Thorn leans over to look at Bobbi, the fire blazing, the stones hissing from the heat, their bodies covered in a sheen of sweat. "You think it's time to go jump in the lake?" She grins. "Come on. Last one in's the last one out!" And off she runs, naked, to the edge of the lake to leap in! 
 
         ... 
 
         "Something's WRONG." Thorn says to Bobbi, still in her seat, the Subaru's engine cooling as they sit on the side of the road. "I can't explain it. My head hurts like someone's been rooting around behind my eyes, I can't feel one foot, and I've got all these bruises I can't explain. I know the ground wasn't that hard...was it?" 
 
         ... 
 
         "I do too. I think I've known that for almost as long as I've known you, Bobbi." Thorn holds Bobbi's hands in hers, the roof of Angel Restorations quiet, despite the fireworks happening all around, celebrating the new year. 
 
         Shearing metal, shattering glass, and pain as the Subaru clips the front end of the Semi, sending them cartwheeling into the desert. 
 
         ... 
 
         "Something's WRONG, Bobbi." Thorn says, fear in her voice. 
 
         ... 
 
         Turning the camera to show Bobbi, looking a little resigned at being the subject of the photo by the UFO, Thorn puts her arm around the other woman's waist, giving her a squeeze. "What dream?"


        ...

        Everything is wrong.

        ...

        "We're not through Nevada," Bobbi says with a grin, "We're in Nevada. Now feed me an onion ring."

        ...

        Bobbi struggles to keep her head above water, but it's just not working. Once more she goes under, wondering just why it is that Thorn is smiling.

        ...

        "Was it supposed to happen this way?"

        ...

        As Bobbi looks through the photos, she furrows her brow.

        ...

        "I dunno," Bobbi says to Thorn with a curious look, "you were the one who was saying you had a dream. I can't remember the last time I've ever had a dream."

        ...

        "Have you ever tried to remember something in a dream?"

        ...

        "That's why they remove the organs.

        ...

        "This dream I had again," Bobbi says as she walks to the Inn, "Let's get something to eat and I'll tell you all about it."

        ...

        "Something's WRONG, Thorn," Bobbi says, before she begins to laugh.

         ... 
 
         She can't feel her legs, her eyes are filled with something that burns and smells of iron, sticky, in her hair. She focuses on her hand. Her left hand is on the right. It shouldn't be there. Silly hand! "Get over, here, you..." Thorn grabs for it, slipping off the table, her form shattering like glass against a rock. 
 
         ... 
 
         "They're losing cohesion. Why did you get them both?" 
 
         ... 
 
         The orderly offers a cigarette, Thorn sitting in a chair in a blank, white room. "Just between you and I, Miss Montoya you might not ever get out of here." 
 
         ... 
 
         Thorn screams, struggling. 
 
         ... 
 
         "Onion rings? I thought we ordered fries....humph." Thorn's nose wrinkles as she fishes around in the grease-stained bag for one of the tempura-breaded rings, feeding it to bobbi. Still warm from the fryer, it is. 
 
         ... 
 
        
         The ceilings are glass. The ground is glass. The stars surround them. Saturn and Jupiter in conjunction just above the moon. It's so beautiful.... 
 
         ... 
 
         "Capricorn and Cancer." Thorn says softly, leaning in to kiss Zyra/Bobbi/Vic/Yarden/Bobbi/River. "I know you don't understand why...and, I know I don't understand, but I just know it means we're compatible." 
 
         ... 
 
         Thorn looks into the distance. "I haven't dreamed in as long as I can remember. Little snatches of memory. I forget a lot when I wake up."
 
         "I'm scared, Bobbi." Thorn finds her hand across the void. "I'm so scared. Why are you laughing?"

        ...

        "I can't remember the last time I laughed," Bobbi laughs. She's been like this for hours now.

        ...

        "Scalpel?"

        "Scalpel."

        ...

        "It's ok, I'm here. I'm always here, always with you. Remeber that, ok?"

        ...

        Welcome to California

        ...

        "Did you ever -- ? ... nevermind. Nevermind."

        ...

        "The Pyramids, did you know they line up to Orion's belt?"

        ...

        "The Universe is expanding faster than they thought."

        ...

        Eyes closed, Bobbi lays down in peace. Her body feels strange. Not bad, just strange. The same way she would feel when she was little, right before she got a fever. Everything is the same proportions, but it's like the distance between one end of the tent and the other is the length of the Universe.

        They lay there together, heavenly bodies.

        Heroes who now have a home in the stars.

        ...

        "We're here," Bobbi says as she looks to Thorn, "you sure you're ok? You haven't said anything in a while."
Writing reality out to disk. Please wait...
Reality saved. Thank you for your patience.
Tue Dec 22 11:47:38 2020
 
         ... 
 
         Light, then dark, then light, then dark. Faster and faster. Falling. Swirling. Twisting like a hurricane. She closes her eyes, wants to close her eyes, but can't. Something's keeping them open. She wants to cover her eyes but her arms are over /THERE/ mounted to the wall, moving independently of themselves. 
 
         ... 
 
         "Go tell your Abuelita goodbye, Herminia, go on." Dutifully, a seven-year-old girl in a rose-pink dress hesitantly walks over to give the older woman a light touch on the cheek. It's so cold. "I love you, abuelita." she whispers to herself as the coffin closes. 
 
         ... 
 
         "Pressure's dropping. Give me a pint of packed RBC, type O neg if you can't get her type. Jesus, this guy really got her." 
 
         ... 
 
         The chessboard is set, fifteen moves in, Thorn on one side, the orderly on the other. The scarred linoleum table has seen many meals, many craft nights, and many tears, but right now it's a battlefield. She reaches to slide her bishop across the board to put the King in a position where it'll be taken next move. Sitting up proudly she says "Check!" 
 
         ... 
 
         Welcome to Oregon 
 
         ... 
 
         The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies, were all made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are all made of star stuff. "What does he mean, papa?" "It means you are a way for the universe to know itself, Herminia. Go to sleep." 
 
         ... 
 
         The orderly is there. She's dressed in the uniform that she always is, her hair pulled back severely, her face pinched, her skin a little gray from lack of sunlight. "You should really get out more, Miss." Thorns says from her spot on the bed. "The sun would do you some good." The orderly injects something into her arm and she falls asleep almost immediately. 
 
         ... 
 
         No, you agreed. We agreed to research, not...not this. They only know four dimensions. We're breaking them. I know she glows and got your attention, but there's a purpose for her. For both of them. Taking them out would ruin the entire tapestry. 
 
         ... 
 
         "I always wished I'd meet someone like you, Bobbi." Thorn says softly. "I'm just glad I did." 
 
         ... 
 
         "I love you, Bobbi. For ever and ever." 
 
         ... 

SCENE1END
SCENE1START
        The interior of the Little Ale-E-Inn is quite, mostly empty. Bobbi and Thorn sit at a back table with barely touched food and drink before them. A waitress -- possibly the owner -- cleans glasses, trying to act like she might not be listening. Idly dabbing a few french fries in ketchup. Bobbi finally breaks the silence that's come over their meal.

        "I had this dream again," Bobbi begins to explain to Thorn in a slightly hushed voice, "it's a layered dream, like it's two things at once, but those things are also the same thing. It's like, hmm -- " Bobbi pauses to think and eat the fries she's been toying with. "I'm on this table," she starts to recount, "nude. My eyes are closed and for all intents-and-purposes, I'm dead. Not really dead, but they think I'm dead -- that is the two people working on me, one on either side. So yeah, more like I'm playing dead, as they start to talk shop. Probably dangerous for me to be doing this, I mean who knows why I'm like this or what they might do if they find out. Still -- "

        Bobbi glances around the room a bit, her voice getting a little quieter. "I want to learn their secrets," she explains to Thorn, "they discuss a sort of alchemy of the body that is the main theory behind what they do. See, it's not just our minds that have memory. We have memory throughout us, at like a bodily cellular level. Different parts of the body retain different types of memories, and they have studied this like a science. When alive, we're not fully aware of this, can't access these memories. When we're dead, though, that's when they really come into play. They have something to do with the process of reincarnation. The intermediate states spoken of in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, where we are between life and death and life anew, an accounting of our karma."

        "And I mention the Tibetans," Bobbi continues to explain, "but they're not Tibetans. They're many cultures, and sort of those foundational links we see in the syncretic nature of our beliefs. Because they're also Egyptians, and the process they're discussing is mummification. See after death, we still continue to exist as conscious beings, but we experience our past actions in a more simultaneous and immediate way. As the body decomposes, it releases from it certain memories until all is gone and we return. While that happens, we live out karma, reap what he have sewn, in another land. Not the Shadowlands, that is different."

        It's been called the Western Lands. The Kaballah which represents our reality in 7-Dimensions, speaks of Da'at, the illusory sephiroth. What Crowley called the land of black pyramids that we must pass through. A way through the veil that separates our 4-Dimensions through the higher realms. What those Egyptians found was a 'Spell of Life,' a way to turn that liminal state into more than a transitionary state. A way for their Rulers to Rule once more in this other land, in higher dimensions. The mummification process arrests decay to make this state last much longer than the seven by seven days mentioned of the Bardo. But it's more than that. They removed certain parts of the body to effect that memories and karma the new dead would experience. Among these were memories of their birth and death, making their minds as immortal as their mummified body. More time to then ensure the immortality of the low portions of the seven souls.

        "And you see from what I said, this touches on something universal to our human history. I have mentioned elements of Tibetans, Ancient Egyptians, the Tribes of Israel, but so many more. Think of how many cultures had practiced mummification or created great and inscrutable pyramids. It just ... connects, though I haven't figured it all out yet. Though last time was the second time I had this dream."

        "Oh and Thorn? It looks a lot like an alien autopsy."
 
         The waitress seemed to be happy with the business. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, tips the weekend before Christmas are few and far between, and the pair ordered enough food to clear at least a ten spot for her time. Hopefully more. So aside from keeping drinks filled, she remained well and truly away, eavesdropping on every third or fourth word until the whispering got to where it wasn't easy anymore. 
 
         Thorn idly toys with a fry. It came out crisp but they've been sitting in silence for so long, it's gone soggy, like a thick noodle that she considers eating for a second and then puts back down. "So...whoever these people were, they were studying your seemingly dead body to retrieve the memories that were held in it at a cellular level? I...I see how that could work. I mean, there's no interdimensional accounting of our life that adds or subtracts from a ledger for every event we experience, so it would make sense that we carry the ledger with us, imprinted in our cells, our DNA, the stuff between.... 
 
         the last thing Bobbi said, though, sticks with her. Perhaps it's because of their location, or perhaps it's just her unconcious mind trying to put into context what happened. "Alien Autopsy..." she whispers. "Do you think we...? All this? The lost time, the confusion, the everything? I mean...those mushrooms weren't the kind that would do this sort of thing, right?"

        "Right," Bobbi says with a nod, "that's what I've been thinking. I mean, it's in our bodies, so how does that relate to reincarnation? Well most of the time our bodies are experiencing this world, and along for the ride are our mind and souls. In death, the transitional state, the world is mostly cutoff. Our bodies and their memories become the new world for our mind and souls to inhabit, to make sense of, to learn from. All of those memories simultaneously possible? Bits slowly removed to become the new reality as if they were always the reality. Well, you can see how that would have a lot of effect on the ultimate fate and transmigration of the souls. Whether we rule the black pyramids, find a paradise, or thrash in an inferno of our own making? Whether we learn those lessons delayed?" Bobbi just gives a little nod here.

        "But what I'm trying to figure out if I'm understanding this correctly is why me? Do they know I am not dead? Are they preparing me for this form of immortality? Perhaps a bride to their rulers? Or maybe they want my memories for other purposes separate from me. Maybe they want to remove something from me for my sake, to effect my reincarnation."

        "Perhaps they're lying to me."

        "I remembered picking those mushrooms," Bobbi says as she pats the breast pocket on her hot pink North Face, "but I still have them. So cross off any explanation dealing with them. I mean, it's possible there were other mushrooms in there, some mushrooms look alike, and we were camping on top of the biggest mushroom of all. The experience of psychedelic mushrooms though is strange and hallucinatory, but it is also like one of communing with the mushroom colony. So maybe there's some connection there, but what sort of mushroom colony reaches to the heavens?"

        Bobbi pauses, a smirk coming across here face as she says, "As Above, So Below."

        "Reall, I don't know. My best explanation for myself was that in that 'dream' I was mistaken about being dead, that right now I am experiencing the karma of my body, minus whatever was removed." Bobbi looks around and then notes to Thorn, "but I've never been to Rachel, Nevada before, so if that is what happened, then something was implanted."
 
         "So...so we're not here right now? This...all this?" Thorn looks around the seemingly mundane, substantial space of the Little Ale-e-inn, trying to pick out any discrepencies, and then back to Bobbi, her eyes wide. "This is implanted? Or it could be? I mean...I know there's no way of knowing, for certain, and by even getting into that line of thought, we're steering towards a whole cogito ergo sum thing to determine existence as a whole." It sounds crazy, but the disjointed experiences that they've been having over the past day? It would help explain a lot of things. 
 
         "Why you? I think I can answer the question...it's you, because it's me. Could these...explorers....have seen me and decided I was interesting enough, and since we were so close at the time, picked you up too?"

        "No, I'm not saying that is so," Bobbi says in a soft voice trying to relax Thorn a bit, "I was just sort of connecting random dots I saw, explaining what would have to be true for other things to be true. Frankly, I don't know. What I do know is I had that dream before, I discussed it a lot. I mean, I might be remembering that incorrectly, but the point is as far as I know I can remember an older dream. So what was this newer dream then? A recurring dream? A memory? The actualization of an earlier premonition?"

        "What I do know," Bobbi continues to say, "is that in a dream, you do not have memory in the same way, which can be a traumatic experience if you're trying to remember your past an unaware that you're in a dream. But I can clearly remember things now and I think you can too. That means this is not a dream. What we're experiencing now at least, is something of a different substance. Might it be that liminal space between incarnations? Possibly. But at the same time, it also seems just like the earthly reality I would expect, with a few weird occurences thrown in here and there. And from what I've experienced before? That seems entirely possible, likely even. So maybe we shouldn't go down the rabbit hole of theorizing. Not yet at least, not when we don't have all the data points yet."

        "What do you remember?"
 
         Thorn takes a few moments to collect her thoughts, going back as far as she thinks is necessary before starting to recite their itenerary as far as she can remember, her voice quiet as she speaks. Leaving Prospect in the Subaru with Bobbi driving, Thorn asleep in the passenger seat the first hundred and fifty miles or so. A gas stop on the Oregon border, so they would be sure to make it to their destination with more than a half tank of gas left. The signs for Bobbie the Wonder Dog. Stopping at a gas station and picking out treats like an eight year old given a $100 bill and told to go nuts. The hike up to the camp site. The cold weather. The sky being overcast so the stars weren't visible, the moon pekeing out from behind the clouds for only a few moments as they set up their tent. The fire being built. Bobbi going 'off the wagon' with beef-fat toasted textured vegetable protien. Sleeping in separate sleeping bags, but ending up close together in the same tent for warmth. 
 
         "And then...I remember waking up due to lights in my eyes. From the sun, I thought, and then...not much after that. Putting the campsite back in our backpacks, hiking back, and heading down the trail. Some of the drive. It...it all gets really fragmented. This, here?" Thorn looks to the inn they're sitting in. "This feels like it's part of a movie, or something. Like it's not really happening at all, even though we're saying the words and making the motions." 
 
         Script: THORN turns to look at the doorway for a few seconds, then back to BOBBI. "Ever have a moment that feels like you've done it before?" WAITRESS enters from STAGE RIGHT. "You ladies doing okay? Need refills on water?" (taps notepad with blue ballpoint pen) 
 
         "We're fine, thank you." Thorn says softly, looking back to Bobbi once the waitress retreats to the kitchen. "I'm almost expecting a narrator to come over it all, to announce what's going on."

        "Fine," Bobbi repeats, but something the waitress says seems to get Bobbi thinking. Once she leaves, Bobbi leans in and notes, "Before we left the camp site? I drank from the water bottle. It was full, cold, the outside covered in condensation. I don't remember filling that, but I had it early in the morning. It wouldn't have been from the lake, either, I know better than to fill the water bottle from that."

        Bobbi pushes her food around for a bit as she works to remember. "And like the drive back?" Bobbi begins to say, "I'm trying to remember it all now. I remember being a bit confused, but I sorta chalked it up to hunger, heat, and I dunno, maybe an acid flashback. I mean, from what I've experienced so far, acid flashbacks have always been a myth of the drug war, but ... from what I've experienced elsewhere, I know myths have a way of coming alive."

        Bobbi stops speaking for a moment and begins to feel around her pockets. Pulling out her cellular phone, she switches it on, looking over it for a moment, before she puts it away. "Well," she says at she looks at Thorn, "we've accounted for Sunday and Tuesday, but what about Monday?"
 
         Thorn nods. "I was wondering about that. I mean...the spring was a good hike away, and I think I would have remembered you going to fill it up. And weren't we supposed to go swim in the lake that morning? I know I was whining about it, but I was really looking forward to jumping in, shrieking from the cold, and running back to the fire a few times." 
 
         The drive back was kind of a jumble of memories too, with an itinerary that made absolutely no sense when she thought about it. Thorn rummages around in her bag for her phone, flipping through the photo function to see where they had been. "We left the camp site Monday morning, after the hike and then...I don't know? We stopped for fries and gas at some point, and saw Bobbie the Wonder Dog's place, but now we're in Nevada, more than five hundred miles from there. That's a hell of a detour."

        "The waterfall too," Bobbi notes as she mulls all of this over in the mind, "though maybe that's where we went to get the water bottle refilled. But then why am I not remembering it? Why are you not remembering it? I mean, the duck fat made me sleepy as you said, but I don't think it made us sleep through an entire day. So if we had the water in that bottle, that means we either forgot an entire day -- both of us -- or somehow otherwise 'lost' that day with someone arranging things to make us think we had done things we hadn't." A pause before she continues, "I don't even remember waking up that morning. I remember being halfway packed up and ready to go so that I wasn't even considering what the next step was."

        "Like if we had woken up that morning without remembering the previous day," Bobbi begins to theorize, "then wouldn't we have like gone and done all those things we 'did' the previous day, but couldn't remember? And then ... I mean, the Shirt, the Bobble-Head, so yeah, looks like we stopped to visit Bobbie the WonderDog, but I can't remember anything about that,and I know we were both looking forward to it."

        "This is all a mind-fuck. Maybe were just supposed to not know. I mean, maybe because you and I are ... you know ... like that wasn't accounted for, so we remember more than we're supposed to. Or maybe? Maybe that's /why/ this happened, us being just what they were looking for. 'They.' Already I'm finding it hard to speak of this as if there wasn't some outside actor involved, but I still can't remember. And then that dream a second time? I mean, it fits in mystically, but were they both dreams? Both real? One a dream and the other real? A premonition? A rememberance?"

        "Shit, I'm sorry I suggested this trip."
 
         "They're starting to puzzle it out. This is starting to turn into a nightmare." 
 
         Thorn takes a sip from her water, drawing a long drink from the plastic straw, setting the glass back down on the table, condensation dripping down the sides, turning it so the logo is facing just so. "I was really looking forward to the waterfall, too. And according to my phone, it looks like we did go for a little while, at least. Except...no us." The phone is turned and the pictures on the roll are flicked through. The camp, the fire, each with Bobbi or Thorn's thumb in frame, but the next morning, pictures of the lake, the spring, and several shots of the waterfall itself but, strangely enough, no pictures of Bobbi. Like, at all. Before? Evidence of them. After, on that missing day? Pictures but...no people. 
 
         "I told you the pictures were a bad idea." 
 
         "Maybe it was because of our hobby." Thorn says, putting her phone away. "Maybe it was because of the way I appear to some people. I can't see anyone causing this kind of commotion if they knew what we could do or simply because of the effect this would have. Poke the ant hill to see them run around or something. Or we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." She pauses, looking out towards something to the right of the table. "Maybe it's still going on right now." 
 
         "She's looking right at us. She can't know we're here. How does she know we're here?"

        Taking the phone from Thorn, Bobbi scrolls through trying to make sense of things, trying to see where all of this is pointing to. Looking through, Bobbi glances up occasionally, noting an increasing paranoia in Thorn's words. When Thorn mentions someone looking right at them, Bobbi turns in her chair to see what the other woman is talking about. A moment is spent looking, before Bobbi turns once more to face Thorn.

        "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," she says as she puts the phone down on the table. Reaching across the table, she takes Thorns hands into her own, a smile on her face as she gazes into the other womans eyes. "Something happened," Bobbi starts to say in a gentle and reassuring tone, "and we can try to figure that out, but should we? I could see us driving ourselves crazy, second-guessing everything we think and feel. Never really knowing, but always searching."

        "Maybe its all a lot simpler that that. We spent the weekend together. We had a strange and wonderful time. The stars aligned and gave us something that will be with us for the rest of our lives. What that was? I'm not sure. What I am sure, though, is that it's something we went through together. Something we'll share with each other even when we're old and grey and really can't remember things. I mean, we can try to figure this out, but we don't have to have it all figured out right now. We've got the rest of our lives for that. Even if I have a day I can't remember and another I can't make sense of, I dont want that to overshadow the day that I can remember, the one that makes perfect sense."

        Sensing the presence of the waitress, Bobbi looks to her and says, "Can we have a check?"

        "They took care of," the waitress says as she gestures towards the outside door right as it closes, and then walks back to the kitchen.

        Turning back to Thorn, Bobbi is wide-eyed over what was just said to her, but then she laughs.

        "Come on," Bobbi says as she stands up, taking Thorn by the hand, "Let's check out their gift shop. Find something to remember this by.
 
         And just like that, the weight of what could have been, what might have been, what was, and what was forgotten, taken or put in all just falls away. Thorn blinks and closes her eyes, taking a deep, centering breath, holding it, and letting it out with a soft whistle through slightly parted lips as the worry just melts, like snow on a summer's day. "Yeah." Thorn says with a smile and a nod, squeezing Bobbi's hands. "We'll have to do this again sometime, too, just so we can make a few more memories. Really hit the lake. Really see the waterfall."

        "Memories," Bobbi says with a smile, "I'm looking forward to making them with you."