Dreaming

[mid_nite_green]

She back among the poppies from hell, dressed in a Dorothy outfit. that's the first clue she's dreaming. The second?

"Not everyone can wear a Glinda dress and own it."

Comments

[green-shield.livejournal.com]

She blinks.

"None of that was the Black Mercy, was it?"

[damage-girl.livejournal.com]

"Maybe one, but that says something, right? Haven't you seen enough to know that answer, or don't you like it?"

With a pat to her own skirt, she 'poofs' away the fairy-tale clothes to street clothes. "Life is like apparel. Sometimes you need different functions, and things can change without the old one being worthless."

[green-shield.livejournal.com]

"Not a matter of like," she mutters in awe. "It's that it made sense. It's all starting to make sense."

[damage-girl.livejournal.com]

"When I came back, something Sand said made sense, but I didn't know how. I left it alone. Then a dream started clicking things for me, but I lost it too quickly. Some are better at reading the signs than others. I know now there's folks that see way more than me.

"What you keep forgetting is that you're good at taking care of people. You made the skills, not the other way around. You can weather 'different.' How else would you have survived life on base?"

[green-shield.livejournal.com]

"You," she admits. "I...remember something Roy - Arsenal - said on the whole matter that was pretty similar. More snark though. I waffle on it. I think the thing I'm worried about in all this is losing what I was always taught mattered the most."

She looks down. "For you, the Outsiders were about finding your soul. I thought I had one, but...I do have one. It's just everything I've ever been taught mattered is either wrong, or has this lens on it. If I take off those glasses, I'm not sure how I'm going to see." She tilts her head. "Did great things for you. I'm not you."

[damage-girl.livejournal.com]

Tara never will give herself enough credit. It's endearing and frustrating. Corrine grimaces, then smirks. "If you actually bought that act of mine, you're worse than I thought," she says.

"Tara, I had to fight everything I'd ever been taught mattered, too. It wasn't easy or pleasant. In the end, I learned it wasn't all wrong. And what's wrong with life through that lens, as long as you know and recognize that there's more? Of all the things in the world, you could be a firefighter, or a cop, or a figure skater. You chose to be a doctor, but it doesn't mean you're ignorant to other skills, or somehow deficient because those aren't the paths you chose. It's called adapting--"

She leans into Tara and nudges her playfully with a grin. "Like, that 'cope and move on' thing you nailed through my skull? A little like that?"

[green-shield.livejournal.com]

That path feels more and more chosen for her. Nona Renee was sick, and she had to care for her. The family saw security within her skills and preached them often. It's what she's doing as a doctor which is completely unexpected.

Tara is not a touchy-feely sort. In her dream, she takes Corrine - her guide - around the shoulders. She leans in and rests her head on hers. Amazing thing. She can smell her hair. She never bothered to get closer then she had to to treat her teammates then what was needed to heal. Bad thought. Selfish. "Stop swearing I'm the smart one."