Well. Shit.

[thesamurai]

Who: Michonne + 2 closed starters (for Regina Mills and Rick Grimes) and 2 very open starters!
Where: Open sections = beach and bar. Two best things that start with a B.
When: Around the month of December
Rating: PG-13 to start? Yeah, sure.
Summary: Michonne gets the 411 from Regina, confronts Rick, then takes to the beach and drinks at the bar. Typical.
The Story:

☠ Closed to Regina Mills

[ Things really have a way of fucking up at the exact wrong time, and how is it that after a couple years of being here and being alone, two people Michonne loves are suddenly here at the same time, one right after the other? She knows what she's about, she knows where she stands, knows what she isn't going to do (leave Andrea), but it's still a situation. One she's been avoiding. She hasn't even faced Rick because what's the point? He doesn't even know her which should make it easier, but instead she sent a text to Regina asking to meet in a tea room.

It's definitely not tea in the (hypothetical) cups, but she doesn't want to talk about all of this and possibly (maybe?) upset Andrea, and she doesn't want to go to the bar where Rick might be or intrude in Regina's space when she knows her kid is around, so. Tea room. And nothing too hard this time, just a pack of Stella to split between them. ]

Wonderland has the shittiest sense of humor I've ever seen.

☠ Closed to Rick Grimes, post talk with Regina.

[ Well. She can't avoid this forever. Or maybe she could - until Rick got sent home and returned and the situation was even more comically complicated when he came back again. If he came back again. If he ever left at all. After this long with no one showing up and staying longer than a week or two, now it seems like people are sticking and she's remembering, telling herself, she asked for this. For the people from home to stay.

Michonne actually can't decide if him not knowing who she is, is good or if it's making her feel like she's been punched in the gut. It doesn't matter either way, and right now maybe it's good. He doesn't know what's coming. He doesn't even know about Lori, if his initial message is any indication.

Outside of his door once she finds it, she knocks, katana wisely left at home for now, and when he answers, she tries to smile but it comes out a little wobbly. He never looked this unweathered, not once from the moment she met him. And now his hair is more gray in places back home but not in Wonderland because he hasn't lost and lost and lost. She knows she's been looking at him too long so she clears her throat. ]

You don't know me, but. Wonderland's a weird place that brings people from the future, people from the past, even dead people. I'm someone you'll meet. Eventually.

[ This isn't awkward at all. ]

☠ Open; beach

[ Michonne can be found on the beach doing one of two things: running or standing and staring at the water. Sometimes she comes to a dead stop when she's running and finds herself looking out at the water, squinting like maybe she can see something on the horizon, but of course she can't. When she's running and sees someone she knows, she'll veer toward them just to chat, but otherwise, she'll go past unless someone calls out to her.

At some point she winds up sitting, taking off her shoes and digging her toes into the sand, resisting the urge to talk to ghosts. ]

☠ Open; bar

[ The bar is a good place, a safe space, full of her apocalypse family most nights. So, that's where she is now (now that the fear of an awkward run-in has gone away), sitting at the bar and still not going for the hard stuff, just sipping beer. The nicer Stella was for Regina, now Michonne's drinking whatever's on tap. It's development, she's not dealing with this issue at least by getting totally shit faced! ]

Comments

[atanycost]

[ For Rick's part, he's just taking some time to regroup before going out again to poke around. Well, it's not poking, really, but Wonderland is large and spread out, and what he really wants to do is get a complete picture of the place. Maybe it's impossible to ever really get a full layout of the area, but he's not one to leave things half-finished.

But he's been out for a few hours now, so he came back to his room to take a short break before striking out again. It's while he's doing that that he hears a knock on his door. There aren't many people here who would just stop by, even though he's got a handful of new acquaintances, so he's curious about who it might be.

What he's met with is an unfamiliar woman staring at him for longer than is really comfortable, and when she speaks, he finds himself just looking back at her with confusion.

What was that name that other woman he spoke to mentioned? Something starting with an M? It's a long shot, and he's not quite sure how his brain went from point A to point B, but he asks anyway: ]

Your name wouldn't happen to be Michonne, would it?

[ Or maybe it was Michelle. Or Mich- Well, that's the only name he knows sounding remotely like that. Still, it feels awkward saying it, because it really is a long shot. ]

[thesamurai]

[ It strikes her how different this is from baby food in hand and hissing at him to never touch her again. Straightening her back, she inhales and nods. ]

Yeah, Rick. I'm Michonne.

[ She has no plan now for how the rest of this is supposed to go. Shit. ]

Maybe this is a bad idea. But I thought you deserved to know I'm here. Andrea's here.

[atanycost]

[ He's still trying to figure out where to place this woman on his timeline of events, only he's finding that hard to do since he doesn't really know her. But, he does know one thing about her. ]

You know Carl, don't you?

[ And the news that she knows Andrea, who is also around somewhere comes as a surprise. ]

Wait, Andrea's alive?

[thesamurai]

I know you and Carl. And Maggie, and Glenn, and Daryl, and Carol.

[ There are names left out of that - Lori, T-Dog, Herschel, Beth - but she doesn't know if he'll notice.

Looking down for a moment, Michonne swallows, clearing her throat. ]

I said Andrea was here.

[ She looks back up at Rick, wondering if he'll read between the lines. She's here. She's alive here. ]

She did make it off the farm. I found her. In the woods. Saved her life.

[ For a while, anyway. ]

[atanycost]

[ As she says those names, he mentally ticks them off, noting the ones she doesn't mention. He raises an eyebrow at her, wondering at the absence of some of the names of his people. ]

How'd we meet? I figure we must've ran into you at some point on the way.

[ There's a brief pause. ]

You mentioned knowing Carl, but not Lori. There a reason for that?

[ He doesn't really want to know, either, but it's his wife. He has to ask. He has to know about all of them, eventually. ]

So Andrea didn't make it.

[ Of course he's not happy saying that, because if it were up to him, everyone would live. But they thought she'd died, so it's not 100% shocking. If she's alive here, though, that counts for something. ]

But she made it off the farm.

[ He feels strange about being relieved about that, even though he's sad to realize she didn't make it in the end. That's another person who goes on the list of the lost, that he wishes he could've saved. ]

beach;

[chocolatepudding]

[ He likes the beach--there's a quarry near Hawkins, sure, but it's not a beach. There's no sand like this, just awkward gravel, and he's always been told to stay away from it.

No wonder, too, because his last memory of that place is police and emergency vehicles--of ditching his bike and sneaking forward only to see a dead body with a vest the same as what his friend wore being hauled out of the water.

This beach is different. There's no bad memories here, and he's tired of riding around the mansion. There's only so many times he can explore the place before he needs a change of pace.

He doesn't really expect to catch someone staring at the ocean on his own little walk, though. Not in a cool way that reminds him of a comic book cover--not a dramatic pose, but close enough. Dustin approaches her because she seems familiar somewhat, and vague memories of a fellow Lost One ripple through his mind as he clears his throat. ]

You're supposed to wave at the ocean. You know, so it can wave back?

[ He's a comedy genius, clearly. ]

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne glances over at the kid, tilting her head to the side. A little younger than Carl was when she first met him, and she manages a quirk of a smile at his pun. ]

You always walk along the beach, advising people on ocean jokes?

[ There's not a hint of disdain in her voice, and truthfully, this just might do the trick in taking her mind off of everything else happening in her life. ]

[chocolatepudding]

First time. But if there's a job position open for something like that, I can give you my resume.

[ He waggles his eyebrows up and down, lisp apparent but not seeming to bother him in the least, and he turns his gaze on the ground, looking for a rock, or a clam, or something. He feels like chucking something into the water. Mostly just because he thinks it'll be satisfying somehow. It'll definitely look cool. ]

You ever notice that people are always really sad when they're alone on the beach, but really happy when they're with someone else? That's what it seems like in movies, anyway.

[thesamurai]

Have your people call my people.

[ He seems like a kid who will get that it's a joke, and already she likes him. She used to keep as far away from kids as she could but everything's so different now. Listening to what he has to say, she raises an eyebrow. ]

You have a point. Maybe I can be different and say I'm not really sad. I'm not really happy, either. I'm...

[ She gives a shrug like 'eh' if that can be emotion for the moment. ]

Everything's happening and sometimes looking at the ocean feels like it slows it all down for a little while.

[chocolatepudding]

Woah.

[ That's pretty deep. It's deep, but in a way that's far more profound than it is pretentious. He likes that Michonne is already treating him less like a bratty kid--which he can be--and more like a normal person. It's refreshing, and he didn't realize anyone was even doing that until now. ]

You know there's someone in the neighbourhood where I'm from that sold like, scents and candles and oils and stuff to help relax you. Maybe you need some of that.

Bar

[circlejerked]

Well, look what the Chesire Cat dragged in.

_{[Michonne's favorite plucky apostate heralds his arrival at the bar with a greeting for the woman once he notices her there, smiling on approach.]}

We really need to stop meeting like this. What's the occasion this time? Bad news or good?

<sub>[It's not strange to see Anders around the bar or Lucifer's club every now and then; there's only so much fake productivity a person can squeeze out of a day, and when he doesn't have work to fall back on, socializing is the next best cure for cabin fever.

The bar in particular reminds him of home--it's why he likes coming there to spend time with friends and acquaintances, or just to see who's up for a card game or two. Michonne falls into the former category.]</sub>

[thesamurai]

[ Looking over at him, she raises her glass in greeting, twisting a little to see him. ]

You'd think we all learned how to cope the same way, or something.

[ At his question, she clears her throat a little, trying to decide. ]

Guess it's not bad or good. Just...a fucked up thing. And yet, beer tastes great when you don't know what else to do.

[circlejerked]

It's heartening to know liquor is such a universal constant.

_{[Inviting himself over, he stops long enough to lean on the bar next to her seat, angling his head curiously. Speaking of universal constants, fucked up things is another one of those things that doesn't need translating between worlds.]}

So just another day in Wonderland, then? _{[Wonderland, thy name is screwy.]} I'll second that motion--I was just thinking I could use something to wet the whistle and beer sounds like just the thing. You want to talk about it?

_{[Offer's there if she needs it, at any rate.]}

[thesamurai]

Yeah, business as usual for this place. I never thought I'd stop asking for people from home to show up. And I don't know - that doesn't seem like the answer to my particular problem. I'm the one with the issue, no one else.

[ She needs to back track and take a sip of her beer, start over. ]

Woman I loved but never got a chance to tell because she died, showed up. When she didn't disappear immediately like everyone always has, I went for it. We got serious. She's dead back home, this is it, you know?

[ It makes sense, right? ]

But back home I'm with someone else. Guess what Wonderland decided to do.

[ It's not even a question, she knows he'll get that someone else showed up. ]

[circlejerked]

<sub>[Sounds like she's dealing with more heavy thoughts. Anders slips onto a seat, making himself comfortable to listen should she care to make use of his ear again.

He remembers how adamant Michonne had been that this world is better than her old one, that her loved ones would be safer here. For her to imply it's become complicated having people from home here, it must be one thorny issue.

... And that's no understatement. As Michonne describes dead lovers and newer, less dead lovers, Anders lifts his eyebrows.]</sub>

And they're both here now? And this "someone else" remembers you as someone they have some hanky panky with? _{[A low whistle.]} 'Complicated' doesn't begin to cover your love life.

_{[Damn, girl.]}

beach

[shorthair]

[Clementine walks along the beach. She has her gun in its holster, and then her small hatchet, holstered as well in its own case that she wears at her side. She sees Michonne sitting on the beach, near the water.]

Hey. [She steps closer. It's been a hard month. Iris is gone. After Hogwarts, there was this succinct reminder of how she is not a normal kid like the version of her at Hogwarts was, and that includes the whole having murdered someone thing. The waves are near enough they almost hit her shoes. She visited the beach when she was little with her parents.] Checking out the waves?

[thesamurai]

[ This was not a running day, and Michonne's katana is at her side; seems like walker apocalypse people think alike, what with always having weapons. When she hers Clementine, Michonne nods and draws her knees up. ]

I've never been to the beach. Even before everything happened, I never went. I think maybe I should have.

[ She looks up at Clem and gives her a small smile. ]

How've you been?

[ Michonne keeps an eye on her, unobtrusively. She doesn't need someone hovering, she knows because neither does Carl. But that doesn't mean they don't need someone watching every now and then. ]

[shorthair]

[It'd feel like she was missing a limb if she didn't have a weapon on her, and she figures anyone else that came from those apocalypse worlds will feel the same. They want to be ready for anything even if Wonderland's a whole lot safer.]

You didn't? I went once when I was little. Made a sand castle. A really, really tall one.

[She used to have all this creativity in drawing, in making stories, in making whatever she could. She does sink down into the sand, pulling her legs up as she looks out at the waves.]

Okay. Someone I care about, Iris, got sent back home, but she comes from a good home- I mean she doesn't come from one like ours so it's not like- [she's for sure gonna be dead or a walker or something else terrible like that.

it still hurts even knowing iris is probably much better off with her family, being returned to them.]

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne's small smile falters a little at that because she knows. She knows how that goes. ]

Yeah. The crappy part about being here. How long has she been gone?

[ And yeah, it's good that at least Iris gets to go to a place that hasn't gone straight to hell, but still. She's gone. And the part that will always feel selfish is when someone leaves who's from a world not like theirs. That jealousy is hard to cope with sometimes. ]

[shorthair]

Yeah. It's still better than people dying all the time. ...permanently.

[It's still crappy though. Michonne is right about that. She looks up at her with a small ache of a smile. She would have liked Iris to stay, but- but if Clementine still had family, if she lived in a world without walkers again... wouldn't she want to go back too? There's an aggressive selfishness that wants to be angry anyway, that wants to rail against it and fight someone to bring her back.

It doesn't work like that.]

Over a week. Her stuff's gone.

[madehervows]

[There are very few people left in Wonderland who Regina would drop everything for. Henry has been at the top of that list for his entire life, and well, she'd be lying if she said Zelena was above Michonne.

She's third, though.

So when the text comes, she's out the door. Tea rooms aren't their usual hangout, but it's clear Michonne wants the privacy, so Regina just eyes the pack of beer for a moment before taking a seat. Well, if Michonne likes it...]

You're telling me. Do you want to talk or do you want to drink?

[It could go either way and she's fine with that.]

[thesamurai]

[ Taking two bottles, Michonne opens them both then hands one to Regina in answer, drinking about half her bottle in one go. It won't work magic like tequila, but it'll still take the edge off a little. ]

It's fancy beer. Not the cheap shit.

[ She manages a smirk at Regina, knowing her taste is more refined than cheap canned bullshit. ]

Could've gone with wine but that seems too fancy for talking about how screwed up this place is.

[madehervows]

[If it wasn't Michonne, she'd probably leave the bottle on the table and ignore it entirely. But well. She tentatively sips the beer because does she even know how to drink it? Not bloody likely.]

You have a point. It's strange to think there used to be things I liked about this Wonderland.

[Well, there's still one but these two don't need to be any gayer.]

One day you'll get a break, I'll make sure of it.

[Oh, there it is.]

[thesamurai]

[ This is a friendship Michonne doesn't take for granted from the fact that Regina is just here to her actually taking a sip of the beer and trying it. She knows Regina, and that's dedicated friendship. ]

I used to think being away from all the death was enough to make this place okay.

[ Regina's words make Michonne look at her, the gaze is 100% gay but oh well. ]

I just need a damn magic bean or whatever the hell to get me to Storybrooke.

[ Also a way to even remember but you know, baby steps. ]

[madehervows]

Death isn't as cruel as people think it is.

[She knows she doesn't need to say that to Michonne, given the world she comes from and everything she's been through. But she's building to something.]

What happens before and after, though? [Instead of answering with words, she takes a drink to make her point.] But I'm preaching to the choir.

[Regina laughs.]

Trust me, if magic beans worked in Wonderland, we'd be long gone.