(no subject)

[continuousgroaning]

WHO: Tina Belcher and YOU
WHERE: At any of the Porters between imPort cities
WHEN: September 2nd, midafternoon
WHAT: Tina has a mini breakdown and starts cycling through the Porters in an attempt to force them to send her home. Sorry to anyone she (perhaps literally) runs into!
WARNINGS: None

Tina can't do this any more.

It's been a whole month, and her mom still isn't back. The directory says she's there, but Tina can't help but feel like the more time passes, the less chance there is that she'll reappear, and one day she'll be gone from this world, and Tina will remain stuck here. Just like Taako, and Max, and Lucretia, and now Merle had all gone. Talking to the school counselor, distracting herself, none of these things seem to be working well any more.

Magnus, she figures, is probably due to be sent back next. And then who will it be? Archie? Red? Iris? Lance? Keith? Everyone she's grown to care about here, one by one?

So Tina concocts a plan. At the back of her mind, she knows it's a stupid one and it may get her in serious trouble, but she has to do SOMETHING. She doesn't bother saying goodbye, because she knows someone will stop her, and if it does work? Well, people Ported out without the chance to say goodbye. All the time. They don't have to know she's trying to do it deliberately.

Tina calmly rides her bike to the Porter in Maurtia Falls... then goes through to Heropa. Then turns right around and goes to Nonah. Then De Chima, and back to MF. Over and over. At some point, she figures, it has to send her home, back to her family, so she can forget about this place and be 13 forever and not have to make any more hard choices. It takes a while before the guards catch on to what she's doing, there are whispers about stopping her, detaining her until a guardian can come pick her up, but though they don't know the specifics, it's plain she's not well. And Tina's not hurting anyone; plus she travels to Heropa so much, she's a familiar sight at the MF Porter, and is known to the community as generally being well-behaved... so they keep their distance for now.

If she bumps into anyone- literally or figuratively- she'll stop to talk, and maybe let them convince her to go home.

Comments

[kanyounot]

Kanan is maybe not quite so familiar at the porters, but a couple of people know him by sight, especially in Maurtia Falls, and he's registered, which means he usually gets left alone, or - if someone is well-meaning but doesn't know him - they might try to assist him in and out, sort of thing.

It's a little surprising, though, when he walks up to the porter and out pops - a kid, nearly bowling into him.

"Whoa, hey - Tina? In a hurry, there?"

He might not be immediately recognizable to her - what with his short hair and beardless chin, but she's smart. She can figure it out.

[continuousgroaning]

"Oh! I'm sorry. I was just..."

Her voice trails off, and she stares at Kanan a bit, trying to place him, before she sees the closed eyelids, remembers the sound of his voice, and smiles sheepishly.

"Sorry, Kanan. My... my mind is wandering and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

She's a terrible liar, always has been, so she hopes Kanan won't be able to detect this in her voice.

[kanyounot]

Unfortunately for Tina, Kanan can definitely sense when a teenager is bluffing.

Honestly, it doesn't take a Force user to figure it out.

"And yet, you seem to be in a real hurry. You late for a meeting?" he asks, keeping his voice light.

[continuousgroaning]

Tina is SO bad at lying. She can pull it off sometimes if she has time to sell it, but trying to lie on her feet or in a situation where she'd feel guilty about it? Not so much.

"Uhm, no, I was just... uhm, I. Went through the wrong porter. Yeah."

OK, so maybe she should have thought this plan through better. Including how to deal with running into people she knew.

[kanyounot]

Hm. Yeah. Not as hostile as he's used to from teenagers when he questions what they're really up to, but obviously hiding something.

He reaches out, almost tentative, to put a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on, hm?"

(She's so lucky Kanan has so much experience with Ezra and Sabine.)

[continuousgroaning]

When Kanan does so, Tina lets her shoulders slump a little bit, and through sheer force of habit, she looks away, not wanting to meet his eyes, despite his inability to see her.

"... I keep going through the Porters over and over again. Hoping that if I do it enough times, random chance will send me home."

[kanyounot]

He feels for her. She doesn't deserve any of this - she deserves to be at home, safe with her family, to have a normal childhood. Like every kid in the universe, but of course, Kanan is far from a stranger to kids who have their lives disrupted in often-terrible ways. It leaves its mark, always.

It left its mark on him, too.

"Ah, kiddo, you know that's not how it works," he says sympathetically. "Besides, what if the porter malfunctioned? You know how finicky they can be." She'd be more likely to get injured than sent home.

"Would your mom want you to be doing this?" he asks her.

[andtherevolution]

Wait, is that Tina? Utena waves to her, but she zooms by so fast that she must not notice her. Huh. She shrugs, and goes back to her book...

...when she sees Tina come down the street again. What the hell?!

"Hey!"

Utena's waving more aggressively, trying to get her attention this time.

"Hey, Tina!

[continuousgroaning]

Tina almost considers pretending Utena isn't there, but as it almost always does, her own polite nature wins out and she turns to greet her friend. However, she definitely seems distracted, like her mind is elsewhere.

"Hey," she replies simply.

[andtherevolution]

Utena doesn't waste time with a greeting, and asks, "Where are you going? I swear I just saw you like... a minute ago."

[continuousgroaning]

"Oh... uhm... I think... I got turned around?"

This is said unconvincingly, like Tina herself knows that it's a story that can easily have holes poked in it.

[andtherevolution]

"Uh-huh..."

Utena side eyes her for a moment, before she perks up and claps her hands together. She's practically beaming right now.

"Well, if you're lost, why don't I give you some directions? Just tell me where you're going, and I'll point you in the right direction."

[continuousgroaning]

Tina sees that facial expression, and after Utena speaks, whatever commitment she had to the lie breaks and she bursts out,

"Well, I'm not sure, unless you can tell me how to take the Porter home. That's where I'm trying to go. Not to Maurtia Falls, my real home."

[articulations]

When Tina decides to stop off in De Chima mid-way through cycling through the Porters, Leia is right there in her path on her way to using the Porter to head over to Nonah. It helps to be Force sensitive, to get that naggling warning feeling like a tightening hook behind the navel that pulls her out of harm's way last minute.

Leia nearly stumbles in hurriedly stepping back and straightens when she sees who it is.

"Tina..?"

[continuousgroaning]

Tina seriously considers just ignoring Leia and keeping on going. A few people have recognized her by now, and she hasn't said anything, simply kept going like she was in a hurry. But this time, she just can't do it; she's getting tired, and nobody has earned her being rude or snippy.

She pauses, smiles at Leia, though it's a little forced.

"Oh! Hello, Leia. I hope I didn't bump into you."

[articulations]

"No, it's alright. I was able to step out of the way in time." She returns the smile, though hers isn't forced. It's a smile that shows she's pleased to have run into the young girl. "How have you been? I've been so busy with work, I haven't had the chance to keep in touch. I'm sorry for that."

[continuousgroaning]

"I've... been better," Tina confesses quietly, suddenly feeling more and more unsure about her airtight plan. But she doesn't need to confess what she's up to. Not just yet. "And hey, I understand. It's been a rough couple of months for everyone. Uhm... well, my mom's been missing for a few weeks. Her name's still on the network, but nobody's seen her."

[articulations]

"Oh, Tina." Her expression falls somewhat. She'd only met the girl's mother once, spoken with her over the network, she'd been a nice woman. "It should be reassuring to know that many go missing but their names stay listed. They all usually return, have hope. I left and came back. The same for Han."

[continuousgroaning]

"Yeah," Tina replies quietly. "It's hard to not keep checking the network constantly, just in case. But I know it has to have been the Porter or... whatever taking her, because she would've contacted me, if nobody else. So I'm just... trying to keep busy. Keep living normally and not stopping because of it. I don't know what else to do."

[h2no]

One of the times Tina exits the Porter in Heropa, Archie comes out just after her. It's not clear just where he came from, but he reeks a little of low tide. Gross. He waves happily at her as he's about to leave to go through the security stuff, then-- notices her turning back around. He has no idea of what she's doing, of course, but he calls out to her regardless.

"Yo, T!" he says, as normal. "What's up, you pick the wrong one?"

[continuousgroaning]

Tina winces internally when she runs into Archie- because he's one of the few people she feels like she can't even try and lie to. She pauses as she approaches him, but she can't meet his eyes, and doesn't even try and make up some excuse or confirm his guess.

"No. I'm going through them over and over til one of them sends me home."

[h2no]

His expression goes through... quite a few emotions inside a few seconds. It's clear he's not sure whether he should take her seriously, whether he should, how to react, how to feel. He blinks Noctowlishly a few times-- "Oh," he says, helpfully.

Finally, his brain catches up.

"--That's not, Tina... come on," he continues, putting a hand on her shoulder and nudging her along with him. Not forcefully, but enough that makes it clear he's not gonna let her run back around.

[continuousgroaning]

Tina stiffens when he puts a hand on her shoulder. She could keep going, she knows. Make herself intangible, turn around then become solid and go right back through the Porter, continue on this cycle until someone stops her, she goes home, or she accepts that what she's doing is likely pointless.

"... Okay," she finally replies, with some reluctance, reaching up and wringing her hands.

[h2no]

When they're clear of the Porter room, he lets go, taking on a little more of a concerned expression and tone. He had to make sure she wouldn't run back.

"You wanna get somethin' to eat? Portin' around like that's gotta be hungry work," he asks, though it's clear in his tone he's not going to let this rest.

[continuousgroaning]

Tina briefly turns and looks back at the Porter, but it's clear that some of the fight has gone out of her, now that they've gotten a little physical distance.

"Uhm, yeah... yeah, that sounds good," she says distractedly. Her face is now burning with embarrassment. "...What was I thinking?" She hadn't meant to say that aloud, but out it came.