Mace

[seeyousoonthen]

Savannah smelled. She smelled of horse and hay and sweat and dirt. She smelled of sunlight and salty ocean air. Her ride with Ranger had been wonderful, just what she'd needed. She hadn't seen a trace of Scott. In fact, she hadn't seen him at all in four days and today she felt she could breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe he was gone. Maybe she wouldn't see him again until the end of next month when she could make him go away and be done with him. In truth, he was wearing her down.

She had thought she'd go to the Hub for a glass of wine to relax and unwind but she caught the scent of herself and decided she'd rather clean up and change her clothes first. She headed from the barn to the compound, a smile on her face, a real one. She smiled and greeted everyone she passed and stopped when she came upon Mace.

"Well hello to you, stranger," she said.

Comments

[youlosetrack]

Savannah looks brighter than Mace has seen her in a while, and that's enough to work up a brief smile in return. Missy practically wiggles her way out of the crook of his arm, and he sets her on the ground before she falls on it.

"Hey."

[seeyousoonthen]

She bent down to pet Missy as the little dog danced around her ankles.

"Hey there, sweet pea," she said before looking back at Mace.

"So how you doing, honey?" she asked. She didn't expect a deep answer, Mace wasn't that sort of man, but she truly did want to know.

[youlosetrack]

Mace slips his hands into his pockets, shoulders rounding as he gazes at the ground. He hates the question, and thankfully hasn't heard it too much. It's normally easy enough to brush off, but he makes the mistake of looking up at Savannah again. "Not great."

[seeyousoonthen]

She worried her lip a little between her teeth and nodded. Her blue eyes were wide and full of compassion.

"I thought not," she said, reaching out to run her hand along his arm. "I've got a good ear if you want to talk about it."

[youlosetrack]

"I know you do," Mace admits. She's definitely easier to talk to than Searle and his intense gaze, but Searle's been dead now for a year and it's no use thinking of him. Or anyone else from the Icarus II.

"I may need a drink first."

[seeyousoonthen]

"You know, I was thinking that, too. It was tough to decide whether I wanted to go to the Hub or inside. How about I buy you a drink?"

Not that she had to buy anything- the Hub didn't work like that. But she had all these hours from working in the children's office and really only spent them on cookies and, lately, drinks.

[youlosetrack]

"Deal," Mace says with a nod. Though she'd have no problem walking the distance he scoops Missy up, preferring to have her close. "Hub should be fine."

[seeyousoonthen]

Savannah gave a nod at that and headed off through the maze of buildings. It was a regular little town and she loved it. It had become home, though she still missed Lenoir every single day.

In the Hub she took a seat at the bar and waited until they had their drinks and she'd taken a sip of her red wine before she thought she might press him a bit more.

"So..." she said, her head tilted toward him to listen.

[youlosetrack]

Mace takes a drink from his glass, ignoring the prompt for a moment as he savors the beer. He's not ready to talk about it, but it's not like that's going to change any time soon, so might as well make it now.

"She was there when I showed up, did you know? She saved my life."

[seeyousoonthen]

"I didn't know that," Savannah replied softly. It was the hardest part about being here, she thought. Losing people. So many came and went that it was difficult to cope with, but she chose to focus on the joy of having friends while she could. It was a difficult thing to do sometimes.

"I wish I could help, Mace. All this time and I still don't know what to say when someone disappears on you."

[youlosetrack]

"There isn't much to say," he agrees, and this is probably because he doesn't really want to hear all that it gets better with time crap. Shit happens, and he'll deal with it as the days pass. "But trying helps."

[seeyousoonthen]

"When Peter disappeared I'd like to have just died," she admitted, then took a large swallow of wine. She knew she should go slow and enjoy it. She never sat about to getting drunk. But now...well, the dizzying warmth made it easier to think about things like this.

[youlosetrack]

Mace looks at Savannah, first trying to decide whether to take her seriously, then deciding that doesn't matter. She'd felt it, and he isn't in a position to judge her on it. "How long did you feel it?"

[seeyousoonthen]

"Oh, I don't know. I still feel it, sometimes real bad. He was my first good friend here. I don't think you ever really get over missing someone special," she said, just being honest.

"But it's not so bad now. Now I think about him fondly and remember good times. Living together when he and Shari fell out. Doing things together. Parties and just...stuff, you know? Life. Now it doesn't hurt most of the time."

[youlosetrack]

"Most of the time," Mace says, and that's the part he takes issue with. He isn't sure he'd rather spend time cooped up on a spaceship for over a year again, but at least then he'd felt nothing when he'd come to the conclusion that they were alone and he would probably never see his family again. He still knows that's true, that he won't get to see his sisters get married and have kids and live in a world with a blazing sun. (Because Capa had to have done it. He had to.)

"Think I'd like that part to happen now."

[seeyousoonthen]

"I know, honey," she said sympathetically. "I know."

There was nothing to say to ease the hurt and she knew Mace was naturally taciturn. There would be no long, heartfelt conversation about the loss, she was sure. He was a man of few word though she got the impression that he felt deeply and kept it all to himself.

"Have you lost anyone else here that you were close to yet?" she asked.

[youlosetrack]

"Shari's the first," Mace answers. There have been people he knows that he hasn't seen again, but nothing like this.

[seeyousoonthen]

"The first is the hardest," she said softly. "But that's true for the worlds we come from, isn't it? A first love or a best friend. Losing someone from your life always hurts. And it's rough when you miss people who aren't here like family."

It was was real sad to think about and the happiness she'd felt on Ranger slipped away. Her smile faded and the light in her eyes died as her mind wandered to her momma and daddy...and for the first time in a while, John.

[youlosetrack]

It's true; thinking of his sisters or his parents hurts. It's not a very present emotion, but a dim sort of pain, something left behind with Icarus. Mace takes another long drink, and when he looks over at Savannah, he frowns. "You okay?"

[seeyousoonthen]

She managed a tiny smile and a nod.

"Okay enough," she replied. "I'm...tired. I'm tired of seeing Scott and I'm tired of not getting to talk to my momma."

And every full moon made her ache to her core with the thought that she'd never see John again. The elation she'd felt when she'd first seen Mike had only proven to her that she would never get over that first, sweetest love of her life.

[youlosetrack]

The whole visions thing bugs Mace, and bothers him more that Savannah has them. Nothing he's learned of her makes him think she deserves anything like this at all. "Have you talked to someone about it? The council seems to be on top of it."

[seeyousoonthen]

"Oh, yes. I've been to a few meetings and I've talked to John a bit. And Kate is teaching me how to defend myself," she replied. "But I don't know that I'll need it. Scott was never mean or anything. In fact, he was sweet as pie up until...well...until that night."

[youlosetrack]

"You may not need it, but it's good to know it," Mace says. He doesn't even come close to touching the mention of what that guy did, because he knows he'd end up in jail if he ever had the misfortune of meeting him in any way. "Who's Kate?"

[seeyousoonthen]

"Kate Freelander. She's my friend," she replied, a smile brightening her up from the sorrowful look only moments earlier. "She takes care of Lilo...have you met her? She's this little Hawaiian girl who is so adorable. And amazingly creative."

[youlosetrack]

"I haven't," Mace says, but there are lots of kids running around. He doesn't really notice them enough to tell each other apart. "I don't really get along with kids."

[seeyousoonthen]

That made her laugh softly. The idea of not getting along with kids was so foreign to her. She just loved them, everything about them.

"Maybe you just need to spend more time with them. You should come to the children's office some time. They're really wonderful, you know. They see the world a whole different way."