Useless Until Proven Useful. (Rivers)

[Rivers]

"Synchronize is just a fancy word I use for you getting used to the feeling, but I suppose to some extent its about the tunnels getting used to you." He admits with a shrug.

When she smiles he grins at her and says "you've got a good smile when you actually decide to use it." He tells her, though not in the flirty manner he usually used. This was more of a genuine compliment before returning to the task at hand. Rivers watched as she tried to make the tunnel and shook his head.

"Hmmm, maybe I'm not explaining it right. The tunnels are a magic that changes your view of the world, and how you have to think about it." Rivers explains and tries to figure out the right way to word it, he did not often find himself at a loss for words so this was an strange experience.

"The very act of picturing 'nothingness' means that you are picturing something there. The act of making a tunnel is about creating the contradiction that while two places are far apart they are in fact also directly connected. I usually think of it as everything in the world being right next to each other." Rivers says making some motions that don't really help to explain the point with his hands.

He considered trying to trick her into using it or trying to have her imagine Kail was beside her, but neither would work for a couple of reasons. "Using the tunnels is like using a social mask, you need to be able to effectively convince yourself that two things that are far apart are next to each other and you need to make a point where they meet. That is what the tunnels are."

[Serenity Caine]

She blushed slightly, accepting his compliment. Well, thank you Sir.. She glanced back over to the empty space while he spoke, trying her best to concetrate on his words. Focusing on nothing, is something, so really, she's focusing on nothing. Imagine the two places had no distance between them...

When he compared it to a social mask, she glanced at him sharply, eyes wide for a split second. Right.. Got it.. She sighed and shook her body out again and started straight ahead. Imagine the space right in front of her, and the space before the house, had no distance between them, as the gap between who she was, and acted as, seemed to be. They met in the middle, a common ground on which she both acted and told the truth.

Serenity closed her eyes for a moment, and took a step forward, visualizing that there was no gap, no spaces, and that she was at the other end. Whether or not she was, would be determined when she opened her eyes.

[Rivers]

Rivers watches as a flickering tunnel appears in, but when Serenity steps forward she would find that it was difficult to move through the tunnel, like walking through a mesh, but when she comes out the other side she would suddenly drop 3 feet, having come out 3 feet above her destination.

Rivers sits on a nearby rock and suddenly she would feel a tunnel open below her and the two of them were back where they started.

"Not bad," Rivers had to admit, " you've got some talent."

[Serenity Caine]

Serenity opened her eyes as she felt herself falling. She landed on the ground with a huff, but found herself moved again, at Rivers will. She blinked and glanced up at him with a sigh. It was going to be a long night. Potential is nothing when the mission is tomorrow- we both know that. But thank you. She stood up, and brushed herself off, turning to her place again. She needed to do this.

Serenity took a breath, visualized it again, imagining herself and the portal on the ground so as not to fall again. She kept her eyes open, and walked through again, hoping she would make it through. He said she had potential, and that meant something.

[Rivers]

When Serenity tried to walk through this portal she should find herself beginning to walk through it, but suddenly herself on her back in the dirt where she had tried to put the portal. Again a moment later she would find herself in the clearing with Rivers shrugs his shoulders. "I highly suggest not trying to walk though a portal too small for yourself. They tend to do strange things when objects touch their edges." He explains, not going further into detail.

But he can't help but find himself slightly amused. He found himself looking forward to all of this being over. With time Serenity could probably get good at this, and once they had Claire back and Aria returned maybe they could turn this band of misfits into a real team. He couldn't help but feel a new tale beginning to weave itself before him.

"Sorry to distract you Serenity, but what do you want to do after things die down a bit?" He asks her curiously.

[Serenity Caine]

Well that was simply confusing. She shook her head and rubbed her face to not get tired. She could feel the events of the day slowly starting to creep up on her, tiring her mind slowly. She paced for a moment, trying to concentrate, figure out a way in her mind to do this properly. She didn't know the woman she was helping save, but that didn't matter to her for some reason- which was odd. Serenity rarely helped those around her when she did know them, let alone with she didn't. Little by little, she was changing.

Upon hearing Rivers' voice she looked up, blinking out of her focus. After this dies down? I assume you mean the hunt on the Fated, or whatever this turns out to be. Serenity sighed and plopped back down on the grass for a moment, taking advantage of the speaking to sit.

What do I want to do... I want to find a purpose Mr. Rivers. Ever since I've been in this world, I've done nothing but wonder what would happen if I could go back home. I've done nothing to help myself learn to live here- Nothing but deny that I have to. Mr. Rivers, I want to be apart of something, learn things, learn to protect myself, to be able to survive on my own here... Rather than have to jump and rely on another- which is becoming increasingly difficult when I've only acquired two friends since being here... That being Mr. Lancaster and yourself. She sighed and pushed a stray lock of hair back. Honestly, I just want to move on. She looked up at him once more, an honest look on her face. She hoped he understand what she meant- moving on. Leaving her old life behind her.

[Rivers]

Rivers lets out a hearty laugh as Serenity complains about how the edges and their effects were confusing. He holds back the urge to make a comment about how stunning she was in that pose and instead simply watches her with a placid smile on his face.

"Just because I made it look easy does not mean it is. Though admittedly I grew up with the tunnels, you're actually picking it up faster than I did." He admits sitting back and looking at the sky. He takes a deep breath of the clean forest air as she talks. He agreed with her, in fact by enlarge he found he empathized with Serenity more than most of the others, probably because they were somewhat similar in a way that the others weren't.

"Please stop calling me Mr. Rivers" he requests before going on. "You know Serenity, I think I understand what you are saying. It's tough when you first arrive in a new place, I honestly envy people like Kail and Aria who seem to blend in effortlessly." He lets out a dark chuckle as he thinks about something. "If I was more talented, or as skilled as they were perhaps my trips across the many worlds I've been to would not have been nearly so arduous." He muses as he looks over at her.

When she says she wants to move on he suddenly appear before her crouching, she would be able to feel he'd simply made a tunnel under himself and 'fallen' through it to arrive upright before her. His gaze was both curious and intense as he sits crouched less than a foot away. "I think moving on is good, you need to find something new to live for if you've lost the old, but if you ever want to talk about the past feel free to spill it out. Your history, and your old home are still a part of you, it's natural to miss them, but everyone has to deal with change at some point. Embrace it and I'm sure you'll do great." He tells her, his eyes carrying a look of complete confidence in his words.

[Serenity Caine]

She nodded her head at his words, smiling to herself that she actually was doing good- sort of. She let out a soft sigh, and arched her eyebrow at him. My apologies, M- Ahem... Rivers. She smiled meekly, and looked away. It was habit for her to refer to people as such, keeping it formal until she knew better, or they asked her to stop. Rivers had been the first person to do so. Serenity was still getting used to people calling her by her given name. For years she was used to "Miss Caine" or "Madam." This world was so different, but she'd grown a bit fond of it, she had to admit.

Her hazel eyes made their way back to his face while he spoke, and she felt herself connect with his words entirely. She didn't think anyone understood why it was so hard for her to survive in this world, so the fact that Rivers seemed to helped her feel better about it, if only for a little while. Sir, you are plenty talented- She cut herself off, finding her words far more forward than she had intended, not realizing the meaning they could hold until they were out of her mouth, causing her to let out a small laugh. When Rivers appeared in front of her, she stopped herself, her mouth hanging open for a moment. He was good at that.

At his words, a smile sped slowly across her face, and her eyes remained on his for a moment. Thank you Rivers. No one has ever allowed me to trust them before, if that makes any sense. You're the only one I've even spoken of my past too. She let out another small laugh, harsher this time. His words stayed with her, and she knew they may use them as motivation later. Once this all calmed down, she would need to find a purpose, and this time she would actually look.

[Rivers]

"You don't need to apologize to me." He assures her, though as he sits in front of her watching her smile an idea pops into his head.

"I am glad you have decided to confide in me. If you are ever wondering about a piece of my enigmatic past, feel free to ask." He tells her, playing it as a bit of a joke, but meaning it. Rivers saw no reason to hide things from someone who was being so open with him.

As he crouches before her he leans in closer and says. "Well then, time to put what I've given you to its intended use. Where do you most want to be right now? Picture it in your mind and on the map." He encourages, now close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin. He smells vaguely of mint since he had used it to shower after his ordeal.

[Serenity Caine]

She smiled and nodded once more, having no doubts she would ask him things as the night progressed. But where did she want to go? Well, aside from Taverns and this little place, she'd only been to a few other places, the moon temple, the library, and... Serenity closed her eyes, keeping her smile on her face. She felt Rivers' presence quite close to her, but it didn't faze her- he smelt good, so she hadn't a reason to complain.

She remained in the grass, but she focused her mind hard, picturing the Springs clear behind her eyes. Out of all the places she'd been, it seemed like the nicest to say the least- she had no other intentions than that, as her brain was currently a one way track, being late as it was.