Picnic Time

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Who: Chihiro Fujisaki & Martha Jones
Where: Out at the checkerboard hills
When: The day before the event
Rating: General audiences, but may include discussion of sensitive topics
Summary: Chihiro finally makes good on her promise to take Martha out for a picnic, to show her the archive of the Mirror Network transmissions away from the Mirrors' prying eyes.


If any of the other residents would have seen Chihiro wandering through the halls, dressed as she was and happily chattering with Martha, probably the last thing they would consider would be that the two are engaging in a plot - a secret plot - a secret plot that involved espionage, hacking, and a picnic being used as a front for a clandestine meeting of some sort. Of course, the picnic was also just being used as a picnic.

"I put together some sandwiches and got some snacks from my closet," Chihiro explains, briefly reviewing the contents of her basket before beaming up at Martha. "The drinks I took from the kitchen should still be cold, too... I got them just before coming up here for my procedure..."

Comments

[selfrespecting]

As far as Martha's concerned, they should do what they can to make this look as innocent and benign as possible. This is something they'd been planning since the resistance meeting out in the woods, but for one reason or another they've had to put it off until now. Martha's just relieved that they managed to get it together before the event starts, as who knows what sort of wrench that will throw into things.

She's set her labcoat aside and is dressed in a plain tanktop and a pair of trousers as they wander out of the mansion and into the gardens. Martha's holding onto a basket of her own. "I asked Tohru for a little something, so she made us a few treats for dessert," Martha explains with a small smile. It sounds like they've got everything they need for a proper picnic. Martha even has a blanket tucked under her arm.

"Do you know Tohru?" she asks as an afterthought, glancing down at Chihiro as they walk. "She's very sweet." Martha gets the feeling the two of them would get along.

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"Hmm... Tohru... oh! I've never met her personally, but Alter Ego spoke to her when she first arrived... from what Alter Ego told me, she does sound like a kind person... especially if she made food for us!" Chihiro smiles up at Martha in return. "I have been wanting to make more friends who are girls... but I'm always so nervous about that..."

Once they make their way outside, Chihiro briefly scans the grounds before posing a question to her companion. "Hm... I was thinking that the checkerboard hills would make a good place for a picnic... It's a nice, open space..." Which means, of course, not a lot of places to hide behind for eavesdropping.

[selfrespecting]

If there was one person that no one would ever have to be nervous about making friends with, it was Tohru. Martha shook her head. "She has to be the nicest person I've met here." Not that there weren't plenty of other sweet people around, but Tohru took it to a whole other level. "You shouldn't be nervous to make friends with girls." Not that it would be so easy to turn that nervousness off, she knew. Chihiro was the anxious type.

The checkerboard hills. That was where Martha had originally woken up, and more than that, they'd been the stage for that chess match. Not exactly her favorite place, but she didn't want to kick up a fuss about it, and in the end it was nothing more than a place. No reason to get worked up about it. "That works for me," she said.

[petabytes]

Chihiro hangs her head slightly in response to Martha's remark. "I... I know I shouldn't be nervous to make friends with girls, but, I... I'm just worried... I don't really think I know how... how girls work." Of course, Chihiro indicates them as "girls" rather than as "other girls", making the root of this anxiety fairly clear, at least to Martha, who has a more complete picture of Chihiro's issues.

[selfrespecting]

"How they work?" Martha frowns, because it's definitely a sign of just how severe Chihiro's condition is. She identifies as female, but she doesn't seem to understand what that actually means. "Well, they're just people, Chihiro. They're no different from you, not really."

Chihiro may have a host of problems that the average person doesn't, but that doesn't mean that she needs to ostracize herself from others and question her every move. Chances are she's afraid of being "found out" as some kind of impostor, but if Chihiro says she's female, then that's that as far as Martha's concerned.

"It might be a little bit scary at first, but the more time you spend around other girls, the more comfortable you'll be." Martha offers an encouraging smile as she leads them toward the checkered hills.

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"That... sounds about right, but, still... I've always been afraid that I'll do something wrong, and give myself away... but I'll keep your advice in mind, Doctor Jones..." She fails to look entirely reassured, but offers a sincere smile. "Ah! It looks like we're here..."

Once they arrive, Chihiro gets to work unpacking the things she brought, laying down the blanket, setting out the food and drinks she brought with her. Chihiro's food is relatively simple - just some sandwiches and pre-packaged snacks - but once Tohru's specially prepared desserts come out, Chihiro can't help but widen her eyes, which sparkle in anticipation.

"Oh...! I never realized how long it's been since I've had food like this...!" Indeed, Chihiro has been immeasurable miles from Japan for a few months. Her expression goes soft as her mood momentarily turns to the nostalgic. "They look really good..."

[selfrespecting]

Martha can tell she hasn't really gotten through to Chihiro on that particular subject, but she decides to leave it alone for now. She doesn't want to push too hard. She'll focus on giving Chihiro her weekly shot and if the girl ever finds herself wanting to discuss something with her, then she'll be there.

While the picnic may be one big cover-up for what they're really doing here, Martha finds that it's rather nice. The weather is still good, though if Wonderland follows normal seasons then fall will be on its way soon enough. Best to enjoy the last days of summer, then, and so she stretches out on the blanket.

When Chihiro expresses such delight at what Tohru prepared (some daifuku and other kinds of mochi, along with a pair of onigiri), Martha provides a bright smile. "Right, both of you are from Japan, so this must be comforting for you. If you go visit her at the diner, I'm sure Tohru would make you any kind of Japanese cuisine that you like." That way Chihiro gets the food she misses, homemade, and she also gets to know another girl her age a bit better. Win-win, isn't it?

[crosscompiler]

"Any kind that I like...? That does sound nice... I'll have to be sure I can do something nice for her in return, though!" Chihiro takes her time eating the various desserts, clearly enjoying them thoroughly. "These are so good... I'll definitely need to thank her some time soon..."

It isn't long after Chihiro's finished the desserts when she retrieves her laptop from her shoulder bag. After checking over her shoulder to make sure that there weren't any eavesdroppers about, she powers on the computer. "So... you wanted to see some of the transmissions from the mirror network, right...? If there's anything specific you wanted to see, you can ask Alter Ego - I had the program index and tag all the mirror network posts, so it should be easy to find specific people..."

[selfrespecting]

"I'm sure she would love that." Tohru's not the sort who would ever ask for anything in return, even if she did someone a favor, but that doesn't meant that she doesn't deserve it after everything she's done here. And if Chihiro's going to make a point of thanking Tohru, then that means there's a chance they'll start chatting, and hopefully strike up a friendship. Martha has high hopes.

She eats one of the sandwiches and then one of the rice balls before trying a few of the desserts, which are just as delicious as she would expect. The food's light enough to satisfy without making her feel overly full.

As soon as Chihiro pulls out the laptop, though, Martha switches gears, leaning in to see what's on the screen despite the daytime glare. "Well, I guess we can start by looking for anything from my Mirror..." It's hard not to be curious about that.

[crosscompiler]

"That does seem like a good place to start... I would have asked for the same thing." Turning to the laptop, Chihiro issues a command. "Alter Ego, please bring up the most recent mirror network transmission involving the mirror self of Dr. Martha Jones."

Alter Ego's face - that is, an image of Chihiro's own - appears on the screen for a moment to acknowledge the request, and then shrinks down to the corner of the display while transmission from the mirror network cycle through. After a moment or two, the screen settles on one thread in particular. Looking quite proud, the cheerful A.I. chimes in. "This is the most recent transmission I could find, Master. I've also logged the locations of several other network threads for further perusal."

Chihiro turns the laptop over to Martha, allowing her full control over the computer to scroll through the transmission. "Your mirror self was very kind to me when I was stranded on the mirror side, Dr. Jones... I hope you don't find her behavior too unnerving..." Chihiro glances off to the side, trying not to recall her own mirror's behavior in too much detail.

[selfrespecting]

This is all far more advanced than Martha had prepared herself for, and she's extremely impressed as she watches the program scan through a number of other transmissions before finding the one in question. Martha scoots in to get a better look at the screen and then watches the exchange. It's her Mirror speaking to Whale, which means this was way back during that time when there was the door with the riddle.

Does that mean her Mirror uses the network that infrequently? "No, it's fine," she says to Chihiro, somewhat distracted. What Whale told her is true -- her Mirror's very meek, and apparently not willing to risk herself too greatly to help someone else. Loyal to the Queen, but by necessity only...?

Martha's just thankful that Whale had been kind to her. She glances over to Chihiro and lets out a sigh. "Is the network not used as often over there? This is from so long ago..."

[crosscompiler]

"That does seem to be the case... they use the network a lot less than we do. Either that, or the setup I have doesn't pick up all the transmissions... but I'm not sure why it'd pick up only some network posts and not others..." Chihiro lets out a sigh as well. "It's definitely not a perfect solution, but it's the best I could manage."

"I wonder... do you think the mirrors talk in person more often than we do? Or maybe it's just the opposite, and they prefer to talk to each other less often... it does seem like a lot of them are pretty antisocial, from what I read. My own mirror is... not very pleasant, actually..."

[selfrespecting]

It could simply be that the network isn't used as much over there. Martha's Mirror certainly seems to fall on the antisocial side -- or she keeps to herself, anyway.

"It could be that they don't use it as much because there are no events there. A lot less to talk about, I would imagine." It could be for other reasons, too. Maybe the Queen of Hearts doesn't want them overdoing it. Maybe they noticed Chihiro's security breach and decided to be more careful with what they say over the network.

Martha turns her attention from the screen back to Chihiro. "Have you gone through all of it? Is there anything useful that's ever mentioned, or is it mainly just mundane conversations?" Strange, to think that the Mirrors might get bored the same as they do.