Everyone had a mother...

When Alana had gone back to Landfall, she'd managed to beg her way into a spot at community college. It had been less than a success, and living with her dad wasn't making things any better. When she gave up on school for good and joined the army, it felt both inevitable and like the best of a lousy set of choices.

Not that she had much time to dwell on that. One thing about Landfall's military: It kept a girl busy. Alana was almost six months in before she could ask for a day off. She was still trying to decide how to spend it when the idea of taking a quick portal to Earth struck her.

On that whim, she dialed Dante's number. He'd know if there was anything worth coming back for.

( In which the conversation doesn't go quite as expected. )
[OOC: Preplayed with the amazing rebelseekspizza.]

Alana had a kid this weekend, and the kid was weird. For one thing, she wouldn't take off this stupid baseball cap -- which was extra-weird for a kid who came from a planet without baseball. She'd even fallen asleep with one hand holding it tight to her head so it wouldn't come off.

For another, the girl couldn't or wouldn't give a straight answer to any of Alana's questions. Alana couldn't figure out if the kid was lying or just very dense, but it made her uneasy. Honestly, if it wasn't for the wings and the fact she was named for Alana's favorite librarian from back on Landfall, Alana wouldn't have been sure Hazel was hers at all.

They were playing a card game now as Alana made another attempt at figuring out who exactly the girl was.

"So your dad's from Cleave," she said, rubbing her cards together. "Do you have any sevens?"

"No, go fish" Hazel answered. "And he's not from there, I was born there."

"And then we left."

"Uh-huh. With Izabel in a spaceship. Are you going to take your cards or can I have your turn?"

Alana finally drew the cards and shook her head. "And you won't tell me where we went."

"Don't remember," Hazel answered. "I was way little. All I remember is, I took dance classes and Dad wore bandages 'cause he didn't want us to get in trouble. But you worked all the time and somebody threw groceries and then Granny and me left." She frowned. "And we were lost, but then you finded me, and now you keep saying we're always always always going to be together. Except I fell into the blue thing. Are you mad? And do you have any kings?"

"I'm not mad, just confused," Alana promised, and sighed as she handed over her King of Clubs to a satisfied-looking Hazel. "Very, very confused."

Things were likely to go on like this for a while.

[OOC: Closed door, open post.]

It was an excellent day for a lazy morning in bed. Alana lounged on top of her blanket, novel in one hand and bowl of dry cereal at her fingertips.

She was sure at some point she should do something productive -- she'd been having a lot of lazy days lately. But right then, finding out whether the heroine in the book she was reading was going to marry her true love or fulfill her destiny as a dragon-hunter was a much more appealing task than running errands or catching up with her laundry.

[OOC: Cracked door, open post.]

The way Alana saw it, the fight she'd gotten into wasn't really her fault. She'd been minding her own business in whatever creepy 1950s sitcom world she'd woken up in the day before. (Okay, so maaaaybe she'd tried to climb a tower, but could you blame her? They were right there!)

Anyhow, an alien pointed a blaster rifle at her, she took a swing at him, and now she was here. In some neon-and-chrome colored gift shop with a giant watch on the wall and way too many bins of penny candy built into the counter. Startled, Alana took a step back into a giant freestanding display of charms and keyrings -- and sent them clattering to the ground.

"There's one way to get our attention," said a chubby, friendly looking-girl who had bustled over to clean up. "But next time, you could just ring the bell and tell us what you're looking for."

Dimly, Alana heard disembodied laughter. She couldn't put together where it was coming from.

She licked her lips. "Where am I?"

"Okay, maybe you hit your head on that display a little harder than I thought," the chubby girl said, and the laughter pealed again to unsettling effect. "This is Over Our Heads,formerly Edna's Edibles. You want an inflatable animal or a new wave album, you're in the right place."

"Um, I want --"

Before Alana could explain, two other girls came in.

"Natalie, tell Blair she's out of her gourd again," said the tougher-looking of the two, a brunette in a motorcycle jacket.

"Hold that thought," Natalie told Alana, and then turned to the blonde. "Blair, you're out of your gourd again. Now what's going on?"

Blair tossed her cloud of wavy, well-moussed hair. "Jo just doesn't appreciate my latest brilliant idea."

As the girls bickered -- and they were quickly joined by a fourth, a short brown-skinned girl in a loud plaid blouse -- Alana crept slowly backward. "Maybe I can get out of this place without them paying any more attention," she muttered.

And then she stepped on some kind of toy guitar that played loud synthesizer noises when touched.

"... or, maybe not."

[OOC: Open to anybody who wants to join the 80s sitcom wonderland!]

Alana spent her wild Sunday night rearranging her room, upbeat '90 dance music playing as she did. After a few days spent feeling thoroughly bummed about Celia's departure, she had decided to try to salvage a bright side and take advantage of her new single by spreading out her stuff. She pushed the now-spare dresser and nightstand into the back of the closet, hung some artsy posters on what had been Celia's side of the room, and put the beds side by side so it was almost like having one big bed.

She wondered briefly if she'd get a new roomie with the next crop of students but decided not to worry about it too much. For one thing, she figured the school probably wouldn't put a new kid in with a senior. (If being an upperclassman meant anything, it should mean that her single would stay a single.) For another, if somebody did turn up, no big, she'd put the furniture back where it belonged and try not to complain about it too much.

She covered the newly conjoined beds with a big piece of brightly printed fabric and stood back to smile at her handiwork. "Not bad at all," she decided.

[OOC: Cracked door, open post.]

I haven't done one of these since Anders was new, and I'm pretty sure the game will fall apart if I don't get one up at least once a year. So here are my oldbies!

( The deserter-to-be )

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( The runaway mage )

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( The law student )

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( The graffiti artist )

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( The oh-so-mundane )

Man, yesterday had been good, but Alana was calling it now: Today was just the best day. She wasn't as incredibly happy as she'd been the day before, but she felt totally relaxed and nothing was getting to her at all.

Even when her laptop bluescreened and died, she didn't hit it or call it an Earthling piece of shit like she normally would have. She sat on her bed with the computer open in front of her, fiddling around to try to fix it. (If she didn't, that was fine too; it was just a silly computer, and she could always buy a new one.) Her window was wide open, and she enjoyed the breeze and the slight, fragrant smell of spring flowers that wafted into the room as she worked.

[OOC: Open for mood crystalness, but will be SP.]

Alana had been paralyzed by too many unfamiliar choices when she tried to pick a movie to watch with Raleigh. In the end, she'd blindly picked one with high ratings that sounded sort of sexy, but not in a crazy nympho kind of way.

Which was how she ended up jiggling the mouse on her laptop, trying to get Messy Mambo to finish downloading before Raleigh showed up. She'd pulled her hair into a stubby ponytail and was dressed in a cute t-shirt with cutouts for her wings and a pair of yoga pants. That seemed about right for a low-key movie date.

[OOC: Primarily for one, but door's open until he gets here!]

There was cake on Alana's bed when she got back to her room from a morning run, and she could swear she saw something small and green scampering away into her closet.

"You forgot your food" she called into the storage space, even though she couldn't see anything in there but clothes and boxes.

The whatever-it-was didn't answer. Alana decided that finders, keepers went for cake, then carefully moved the cake over to her desk and cut a slice. (Mmmm. Red velvet.)

"Hey," she called into the hallway. "I got free cake, if anybody wants it. Bring your own plate."

[OOC: Open door, open post!]