in her eyes I saw infinity [private]

[equilibrium]

Lisabeth was afraid. Kip would've been concerned if she wasn't. It made too much sense. Kip themself would die of old age one day, but Lisabeth wouldn't. If she died, it would come in the form of violence.

But it was probably best to keep that information to themself. Lisabeth was already dreading her immortality enough; Kip didn't want to make it worse.

They allowed a soft smile to appear on their lips though. "You're going to see the best your world has to offer," she pointed out gently. "I can't say that you will have an easy life or that the world will always be kind to you, but... humanity is going to grow. They will improve, and when you least expect it, the future will come through for you. Not all of it will be so doom and gloom." Those times would certainly exist. Both World Wars would be harrowing, and depending on where Lisabeth ended up and when -- Kip knew she'd go to a couple different places, but it wasn't like she had her friend's whole timeline memorized -- she might find herself in some dangerous situations. But Kip had already said that her life wouldn't be a tragedy, and they meant it.

Lisabeth still seemed pessimistic, but hopefully that would wane. The woman Kip knew in the future wasn't this fatalistic, so they had hope.

Something was still on her mind though. The Watchkeeper had seen her friend dig her nails into various surfaces like that throughout their time together, and they knew what it meant. It seemed like Lisabeth wanted to ignore it, considering she tried to brush off Kip, citing some made-up excuse that they probably had more important things to be doing, but the brunette shook her head. "I'm right where I need to be," she replied simply. "And if I had to guess, you're still mulling something over." Kip's eyes flicked downwards to Lisabeth's fingertips on her mug and shrugged slightly. "You can ask anything you want. Can't guarantee I'll be able to answer, but you can always ask."

Kip knew she was walking a fine line here. The Watchkeepers weren't supposed to reveal anything about the future to their Earth's inhabitants, and they had already toed that line more than most of her colleagues would be comfortable with. But this was Lisabeth for time's sake. This woman was special, both here on Earth-243 and in Kip's heart. They wouldn't dream of breaking the rules, but maybe they could bend them a little more to reassure a friend.

[eternal]

”You’re going to see the best your world has to offer.”

Lisabeth found herself unable to find a response to that statement. Perhaps it was the loss of her sister, the only family member who had seemed to care for her, that clouded her judgment and made everything appear gray and dreary. But hearing Kip’s reply about how she would at least be seeing some good that was supposed to be present in what she would experience provided just a little sliver of hope.

Kip did confirm her fears, not denying that there would be still some hard times ahead. But she was making the point that the good was just as important and meaningful. Even so, Lisabeth found the darkness to just be so much more suffocating, her grief overwhelming enough to snuff out what little light crept into her life. And then there was the ever-lingering notion that it was all almost neverending, forcing Lisabeth to wonder what value her life truly had.

As a result, and from what Kip could clearly see, Lisabeth did not know who to trust with her heart. But so far, they had chosen not to just clap their hands and be done with the conversation. Instead, she was allowing Lisabeth to ask about anything. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, gazing at Kip while she waited for the trap. Her fingers moved from her tankard to toy with the coins she had placed on the table.

“Am I ever happy again?” Lisabeth murmured. “Am I loved again?” Technically, it was two questions. But to her, they were the most important and burning questions that she felt she needed answers to right now. Perhaps they would be the lifeline she could latch onto in this endless storm, providing her with just enough weight to stay centered.

[equilibrium]

Kip didn't know what they would do if their roles were reversed, if they were the one stuck on one planet for the rest of the planet's lifespan. Earths, especially Earth-243, seemed fine, but they were a Watchkeeper, so they knew too much. Even if someone removed all her memories, there was a part of Kip that thought she'd always remember the Watchkeepers.

And there was a part of them that was always going to remember Lisabeth, even if the blonde would outlive them relatively. Maybe they weren't close at this point in Earth-243's history, but they would be, one day. They too would grow old, just like everyone else Lisabeth would encounter in her extended lifetime, but that didn't mean that their relationship was any less special to Kip.

They weren't supposed to have this sort of fondness for folks on the various Earths, but Lisabeth was different. She was the one person Kip kept coming back to, even if she was instructed to do so. The Watchkeepers sent her to Lisabeth, but Kip was the one who decided how long to stay. As of late, they had found themself enjoying her friend's company, so they had been adding a little bit of extra time into their assignments, lingering on Earth-243 a little longer than planned.

Like now.

Their friendship was the reason why Kip's heart broke when Lisabeth asked two barely audible questions. The Watchkeeper had to take a deep breath to force herself to stay calm instead of instantly jumping to their friend's rescue. But they still smiled gently, all-knowingly. "Without a doubt," they replied warmly. "You'll have your ups and downs, just as everyone does, but..." Their eyes scanned the room again, just in case someone was paying them a little too much attention, but everyone here seemed to be caught up in their own conversations or racing to the bottom of their flagons. "There are points in time where we will meet, and you won't be able to stop smiling. You will be loved from all angles, familial, platonic, romantic, all of it." Lisabeth was going to have more love than most people got in a lifetime, not that Kip was going to say that aloud.

Best not to poke at the newly-opened wound of her immortality and all.

Kip took a sip of their drink as they teetered about the idea of saying something else. By the time their cup hit the table, their decision had been made. "You and I actually become friends down the road," she shared something a little extra, something that absolutely toed the line of Watchkeeper policy, but Kip didn't give a damn in the moment. "I won't be around all the time. I definitely won't be around in chronological order from your point of view. Sometimes I'll know more than others. But we will be friends." The last time the pair of friends saw each other, the last few minutes of Kip's time on Earth-243 were spent just lying in a field next to Lisabeth. It had been a long day, and it had been really nice to take a little while to just exist in their friend's company. She imagined she and Lisabeth would get more of those moments in the future -- both hers and the Kentish woman's -- but they had to move through this uncomfortable conversation first.

And that was fine. This was practically par for the course for Kip's appearances in Lisabeth's life. They figured out where they were in each other's timeline, caught up if need be, and then went about their business.

[eternal]

Against Lisabeth’s better judgment, she was still sitting here. Sitting here, in this pub, across from someone that had been a total stranger to her moments ago. The only family she had ever known was gone forever, leaving Lisabeth’s world filled with so much uncertainty and unknown.

And yet…

Lisabeth was unsure why she had asked those questions of Kip, but here they were. The other had chosen to answer them gently, but even with her softened tone, Lisabeth couldn’t meet her gaze at this time. Instead, she stared off and over Kip’s shoulder, her other senses dulled and drowned to just involve her response. At first, Lisabeth wanted to cut her quickly short and end the conversation once and for all. A part of her felt that she had abandoned all of this in the very beginning, continuing to just wallow in her rage and the rain. Maybe after a while, she would have come to the pub on her own, losing herself eventually to the bottom of a tankard.

But Lisabeth, as she had managed to do earlier, stilled her hostility and permitted Kip to speak once again. Pausing the movement of her fingers across the coins at last, she began to listen to her words. The thought of smiling seemed incredibly far off, if not impossible, but Lisabeth continued to hold any arguments she had inside. She wanted to doubt the answer Kip was providing her, but somehow she believed this woman who was connected to her future. The warmth that was coming from her demeanor and statements softened Lisabeth’s edges further, even with the seeds of doubt that lingered.

The first comment about the two of them becoming friends in time caused Lisabeth to release a light chuckle of disbelief, but now she was looking fully at Kip. Just like being loved seemed beyond imaginable, Lisabeth could only see gray around the concept of having any friends, let alone one. But the more she sat with Kip, this stubborn individual who had forced herself into Lisabeth’s space and brought them to this very moment, the more the remark made sense. For perhaps yet another time, she wanted to cry, scream, and laugh all at once; although now, Lisabeth wasn’t sure exactly why that was.

“Will be,” she repeated quietly. Lisabeth gave Kip a ghost of a smile, which maybe would be the first of many to come. “I do hope you’re okay with waiting on a friendship, as I certainly think I need the time. I will take your words into consideration for… all of this. And thank you… Kip.”

End scene?