soak up the sun [jamie]

[MEREDIA AUDREY ROTH]

Being close to the water always gave Meredia an overwhelming sense of balance and peace, although she didn't know why. Surely there had to be a cluster of happy childhood memories that included spending time at the beach with her family, or something important that had happened, but she knew that thinking too hard about things she couldn't recall wouldn't bring it back. Over the years, she'd gotten used to the limits of her memory, and knew that sometimes, giving in wasn't admitting defeat or letting Stefano, the playful little nickname she'd given her brain tumor, win. It was just admitting that she couldn't control everything, and there was a simplicity in the loss of control that other people just couldn't grasp. One thing Meredia did remember is the note right by her apartment door that said: “Don't get wet, and if you must go in the water, DO IT ALONE.” This morning, that sign had made her giggle, because she didn't know what would have possibly possessed her to write such a thing. Her first thought had been that maybe she had some sort of weird water allergy, like the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz or something. As far as she knew, that kind of thing didn't exist outside of stories, but she knew better than to disregard her colorful post-its.

Since she was far away enough to avoid any splash or mist from the waterfall, Meredia pulled out her notebook and a pen and began humming to herself. The company she worked for wanted three new songs by the end of the month, and so far, she'd developed one and a half, and was planning on starting the second. A tune had been consistently in her head all morning, and while normally, she liked to write where she could be near her keyboard (in her apartment), sometimes it helped to be out in nature. The crashing of the waterfall acted almost like a drum beat in her head, and Meredia found herself tapping along with her fingers against the stone wall where she was seated. As the words came to her, she sang them quietly to herself and wrote down the lyrics in her notebook as she went along. Most of the time, it was easy enough for inspiration to come, but she had to make sure she wrote everything down in case she forgot it the next day. Part of why she preferred to write at her keyboard was because then she could write down chords along with the lyrics instead of just the basic tune in case she forgot how to play piano or something. That had only happened twice, but after it had, she started to get pretty paranoid since she wasn't sure if the song she had forgotten had been something brilliant or one of her more sub-par works in progress.

”And I've hit a speed bump in this song,” Meredia sang quietly when she got stuck on the second verse. After she hummed a few more bars of the tune in her head, she heard footsteps behind her. A pretty redhead was walking toward her with a purpose, and had a smile on her face, as if she recognized Meredia. The mermaid squinted a little, waiting for recognition to hit her, and sighed, preparing to have to give an explanation when she was finally approached. For a moment, she debated waving, but decided against it, not wanting to give false hope. Maybe this would be someone that she'd already told about Stefano or her little problems. She pulled her planner outside of her bag, just in case, because she'd stopped carrying her diary around after she lost one that she felt was very important for some reason. Meredia looked for the colored tabs that meant different things: green for positive events, red was for negative ones, yellow was for people. At least she was organized. The redhead got closer, and Meredia gave her a friendly smile, and put down her pen, waiting for the women to speak and say something that would hopefully give her some kind of clue on how she should proceed.

Meredia had gotten really used to explaining herself to people and repeating herself over and over throughout the years since her initial diagnosis, but it still got so exhausting. At least most people were pretty understanding. Nobody wanted to mock the girl with a tumor.

[/justify]
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OUTFIT:[/color] Here!

[JAMILA KALIANE ADRASTOS]

Jamie looked out the window that morning and could absolutely not believe her eyes. There. Was. Sunshine. She’d sped through her bath-tail and all- and thrown on her clothes in a hurry, yes, even the flowery corset- she had a formal-y home thing later, and she figured she might as well get some of it out of the way early- loose black crop top and foldover Converse. A beanie had graced her quickly-drying curls as she’d grabbed her cigarettes, keys and wallet and rushed out to the car. One could not be kept inside on a day like this.

Once she reached the car though… well, she honestly had no idea where she wanted to go. Somewhere outside where she could enjoy the weather, obviously, but where? She lit up as she started the adorable little car- a white Toyota Yaris hatchback- and zipped out of her parking space onto the main drag outside the apartment complex, tapping her fingers to the song on the radio. Fuck it, I’ll just drive until something catches my eye, she thought, making turns at random and fiddling around with the stereo as she puttered. Eventually, she made a turn onto a path that she didn’t really recognize, but it looked nice. Well-manicured lawn, pretty bushes, lots of flowerbeds that hadn’t yet bloomed, but held lots of promise. Huh… what was this place she had found? She hit the turn-off for the parking lot and hopped out. Why the hell not?

Gravel crunched under her shoes as she wandered in the direction of the sound of running water and quiet singing. She didn’t recognize the song, but that didn’t mean anything. Why? Because she wrote songs, and she knew that most people wouldn’t recognize her stuff before it was popular either. Also, it was lightly probable that it was just a song she didn’t know, despite her trying to verse herself in most of the musical world. When she crested the top of the hill, she saw a very familiar face and grinned. Well I’ll be damned. Meredia. Haven’t seen her in ages. Jamie knew her fellow mermaid pretty well. Knew she wrote songs- which gave them something to bond over, besides the whole ‘half-fish’ status- knew she had a little memory problem (okay, kind of a big memory problem), and that she was big sweetheart with pretty good humor, despite all of the curveballs life had thrown her. As far as Jamie was concerned, she’d be good company for a sunny day like this one.

Her steps changed to something slightly more purposeful- since she actually had a goal now- as she finished her walk to join Meredia on her bench. ’Well, hello my little amnesiac. Do you remember me at all today? Also, I know it’s not really amnesia…’ Her words trailed off as she looked at the brunette’s face, who was clearly drawing a blank. Ah well. Jamie would just have to impress her again. No biggie, since the rocker was in the business of impressing women just as much as she was in the business of making music. ’I’ll take that as a no… Well, I’m Jamie, and there should be a note about me somewhere, since I’m pretty fantabulous.’ The redhead had met Meredia on a very good memory day, it seemed. She’d gotten details about the other woman, like the note-taking, and the song-writing and the brain tumor- affectionately named Stefano, maybe as a way to bring light to an otherwise gloomy diagnosis- and some other fun stuff. Mer was a cool person, honestly, but some part of Jamie couldn’t bring herself to have any desire to date or sleep with a chick who wouldn’t remember her, though she was pretty and fun. It would damage her ego too much, somehow. Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t thoroughly enjoy a warm afternoon with her, now did it?

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clicketh for clothes!

[MEREDIA AUDREY ROTH]

The mermaid felt a wave of relief wash over her when the girl who was walking toward her ended up being someone that she knew. However, there was always sadness coupled with that realization because it meant that she had forgotten, and she would either need to explain why she didn't remember or hope that she knew the person well enough to have already explained it before. The latter happened to be the case with the redhead in front of her, and the anxiety from forgetting turned right back into relief. Really, forgetting people was the hardest part about living with a brain tumor. She could handle forgetting her keys a million times, or having to write everything down and keep her personal space incredibly organized and cataloged. Writing in her journal had become more cathartic than a hassle like it had been in the beginning. Now, writing in it every day was more of an exercise in what had happened and recalling the day's events than it was about having a record to fall back on just in case she woke up and her mind was completely blank of, say, the past week's events. That had totally happened before, and it was awful.

The redhead called her an 'amnesiac,' and Meredia furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, not sure of what exactly she had told the other woman now. She certainly didn't have amnesia, but decided that the woman seemed playful enough to be joking. It was clever, because 'tumor' just sounded so lethal and awful, and Meredia knew that. It was a subject that she didn't like approaching with people, because she really hated being pitied, but it was a necessary evil, and she had the hopes that one day it would get easier, or she'd stop caring about the reactions she got over and over again. Most of the time, she forgot telling people anyway, so there wasn't any real reason to dwell on such matters in the present. ”Not amnesia, just Stefano. But it's good that I don't have to re-explain myself, and I'm sorry for... you know...” Apologies had become a bit of second nature, and she found that most people didn't really want her apologies, because the situation was beyond her control, but she always liked to do them anyway.

The redhead seemed to be understanding about the entire thing, and Meredia was happy about that. The mermaid wondered if they had made plans or something to hang out again, and she'd blown them off or something because she didn't remember. Usually, she tried to keep better track of plans that she made and people she met, but sometimes when she had spells of forgetfulness mid-day, that didn't end up happening. Or she'd get caught up in work, fall asleep, and then the entire day would just be gone. Even though her methods had become much more advanced since her original diagnosis, they still weren't foolproof. ”Listen, we... um, we didn't make plans to get coffee or anything, right? This is just a random run-in with two people who've met before?” As she waited on Jamie's answer, she rifled through her things to get her planner that had notes on people she'd met in town recently. She flagged down all the green tabs for guys and started looking through blue ones for women, and finally found the note.

Jamie: gorgeous redhead, songwriter/plays in a band, sings, really fun, should make plans to hang out sometime.

”Found it!” Meredia said excitedly, pointing to the note in her planner, but then closing it before Jamie could sneak a peek. Sure, there was nothing scandalous about the little note Meredia made – at least, not concerning her, but she liked to have some advantage when usually she was so vulnerable. ”I'm afraid it's top secret, though. But, I don't think that should bother you too much since you already know how 'fantabulous' you are.” Meredia could be cheeky, and rarely got comfortable enough with someone to let that side of herself out, because interactions were so difficult for her. Jamie seemed to be understanding of the entire situation, though, and didn't pity her or judge her for her shortcomings. Also, it seemed like they at least had a little bit in common, and people could run a long way on a little bit.

”What are you doing here, anyway? Enjoying the fact that the sun is actually visible and it's not freezing?” Now that they'd gotten over the initial hurdle, Meredia would be more than happy to spend an afternoon with Jamie if she didn't have other things to do. Sometimes a little bit of random fun was good for inspiration.

[/justify]

[JAMILA KALIANE ADRASTOS]

Jamie had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised to see Meredia at the fountain. It was an unexpected upgrade to her day. Okay, yeah, the fact that the other woman didn’t remember her wasn’t necessarily the most ideal situation for their chance meeting, but Jamie was cool with it, given the circumstances. Could the other woman help that she didn’t remember the perfectly wonderful Jamie Adrastos? No, which was the only reason it was forgivable. The first time they’d met, Mer had lost herself about an hour into their introduction Q & A. It’d been disconcerting, and for just a moment, Jamie had thought the other woman was playing a joke on her. A streak of pink had colored Meredia’s cheeks then, after Jamie had accused her of it, and the redhead knew it was no joke. They’d talked then, about Stefano and Mer’s memory problem, which they both seemed to be learning about, as the other woman educated herself from the notebook she kept handy before explaining it to Jamie. It was interesting, but the song-writer (something else they’d learned that day) had seemed pretty candid and relaxed about it, which amazed the rocker. But that was just Meredia, somehow more carelessly happy than even Jamie was.

’Don’t worry ‘bout it. Stefano’s a brat, I know. Can’t be helped. ‘Least you seem to be having a good day in spite of him. Good for you.’ The redhead grinned at her newly acquired companion, pleased with the company. It didn’t seem like Meredia got the whole ‘don’t worry’ part of Jamie’s response though, looking lightly shamefaced and asking if they had made failed plans at some point. The singer chuckled and shook her head. ’Nope. Not very good at rolling with my acceptance, huh? I mean, I can get why, but you don’t have to worry about it with me, honest. I’m not gonna be offended or anything. This is actually totally random. Oh, and not gonna go all vindictive-harpy-bitch on you.’ Her feet tapped in a measured rhythm on the concrete beneath the bench they were sitting on, always working on something musical in her head. She even went so far as to tell Meredia about her own note in the notebook. She couldn’t help her laugh- loud and infectious- as she mentioned its ‘top-secret’ nature. The silly woman didn’t know that Jamie had helped her write it. Summing up Jamie had proven to be a challenge that they’d brainstormed over together, but the mermaid was content to let the other woman have her unspoken advantage. ’Well, since you didn’t run away screaming or make super-awkward-face, I’m gonna assume it wasn’t anything too terrible… Which is a safe bet, I’m guessing.’ Her slim ginger eyebrow rose in amusement as she looked at Meredia, who seemed just as tickled by Jamie’s logic, and willing to concede the point. After the light round of teasing though, Meredia asked the redhead what exactly she was doing in that particular place.

Granted, it was an unusual locale for Jamie to visit, given her propensity for riskier or more active pursuits, but there was no way that Meredia remembered that at that moment, given that she didn’t remember Jamie at all. ’Essentially that, yeah. I couldn’t stay inside when it was so obvious that the sun wasn’t staying inside. Of course, a lack of plan just had me driving around looking for a way to spend the day outside. I spotted you, and here I am. Serendipitous happenstance.’ Sometimes, the fact that the rocker knew such a wide variety of words seriously threw people off. Jamie decided to revel in it and increase other people’s vocabulary, instead of dumbing herself down for their benefit. Luckily, Mer seemed to have no such problem. ’So how ‘bout you, Mer? What’re you doing out here besides soaking up the sun?’ Jamie glanced back down at her fellow musician’s little ‘station’ then, noting the notebook and bag and pens… ’You’re looking mightily productive on my lazy sunshine day, I gotta say… What is it you’re up to?’ Her head tilted as she waited for the answer to the current mystery, causing a waterfall of red to cascade down her shoulder. Jamie was always curiously aware of her hair, knowing it to be one of her most eye-catching features, and using it to her advantage when she could. She was just… quite proud of it, even though the spectacular color or texture had not been her gift to bestow upon herself. Something she really did have to thank her genetics for… Boo. She hated to thank her family for much of anything if she could help it.

[MEREDIA AUDREY ROTH]

The mermaid almost busted out laughing when Jamie referred to Stefano as a 'brat.' Really, he... well, it was a brat, and Meredia knew that. However, she'd given her tumor traits that made him a little more humanoid because somehow, that made it easier than thinking there was an abnormal growth in her brain that made her forget things. If she was going to live with an inoperable tumor for the rest of her life, why not personify it? Besides, Jamie certainly didn't seem to think that it was too weird, since she was joking about it in a manner than suggested she found it endearing. At least, that was how Meredia hoped she saw the quirk. Her mother had been the first one to try to get her to be optimistic about Stefano's existence, because at least it wasn't going to kill her. No, operating on him would kill her, so she was better to just deal with the memory loss and leave him alone to roam her brain like a free-range chicken without the consistent range of motion. Every year, she went back for scans and tests, just to make sure that it hadn't moved or grown, or other complications hadn't arisen suddenly that would put her life in jeopardy. Every year, she secretly hoped that they'd find some way to separate her and Stefano for good, but every year she got the same response. No movement. No growth. No change. No surgery.

”There's sun! How could I not be having a good day? It seems like forever since I've seen the sunshine. Or maybe that's just the memory playing tricks on me again. I remember it seeming like a very long winter,” Meredia said, because it really had. Every day, when she woke up to check the calendar and remind herself about things like day of the week, season, month, she recalled wishing for it to finally, finally be spring so she could see some sunshine. Sunny days really were her favorite, and Maine was beautiful in the spring when things were starting to get green again. There was more nature in Manuka than she was used to, as she had grown up in the concrete jungle of New York City. It wasn't unpleasant, though, and places like the waterfall gave her lots of quiet, serene locations to write her music when she wasn't getting the creativity flowing from sitting around her apartment.

Jamie eased her still swirling mind by telling her that their meeting today was a random happenstance, and she had nothing to worry about where ditching plans unknowingly was concerned. That was good. Random was good. ”I'm so relieved, you don't even know. Also, you're way too pretty to ever be a harpy, Jamie.” Meredia said, getting her reference of the mythological creature. From what she could tell, Jamie was really nice, genuine, patient, and these were all good things. They were good qualities of someone she'd actually want to keep in her life, so she was counting her blessings that Jamie didn't seem to want to run away just because of Stefano and all keeping him around entailed.

Meredia closed her notebook and joked about her description of Jamie, refusing to tell the other redhead what it said. Sometimes, she liked to feel like she was in the know, since it was so rare that she actually was. ”All good things, I promise. Y'know, it might be cheating, but whenever I meet someone I don't particularly take a liking to, I just don't write them down. It's not foolproof, but chances are more than likely I'll forget them, so it's no great loss.” Meredia laughed, thinking that she was incredibly amusing and hoped that Jamie wouldn't think she was a bad person because of her little confession.

She learned of the reasoning behind the other redhead's bumping into her and figured that their reasons were very coincidental, and only helped to bolster her natural belief that everything happened for a reason. Meredia knew that she could use more friends in her life, since she didn't seem to have many. Her parents were her closest relationship, and her thrice weekly calls to them kept the connection strong with the new distance. ”I'm glad fate decided to favor me today. I guess it figures that luck screws me enough,” Meredia gave a quirky little smile, because really, she was joking. She'd come to terms with the hand life had dealt her, but if she couldn't make light of it, she'd end up living with it in the darkness, and she knew that. Jamie commented on her productivity, and the mermaid looked down at her notebook where she kept track of the lyrics she created on her writing days.

”Writing, actually. So yes, productive. I'm a songwriter. Just got a new contract...” Meredia said, then felt the strange feeling of deja vu that she never ignored, because usually that spoke volumes about the pieces she was missing. ”You already knew that, though. You already know quite a few things about me. Um... what have I already told you? So I'm not repeating myself all day, if you don't mind.”

Meredia poked Jamie in the shoulder playfully, then added a final comment. ”If you remember.”

[/justify]

[JAMILA KALIANE ADRASTOS]

Okay, okay this was totally bad, but Jamie always felt incredibly lucky that she didn’t have to walk any miles in Meredia’s shoes whenever she ran into her fellow mermaid. So to speak. Come on, having an inoperable brain tumor that incapacitated your memory banks whenever it felt like it would suck. Maybe you’d learn to adjust, sure, and maybe even do it well, like Mer had, but damn what a poor fate to be handed. That may have had something to do with why Jamie was so cool to her, one of those, ‘glad I’m not you’ things, but mostly it was just because the little songwriter was a cool person. Made it easy. If she’d been an asshole with a brain tumor, Jamie just would’ve been a bitch and ignored her in the hopes that she would be summarily forgotten. Turned out that she was summarily forgotten anyways, but they were reconnecting on a good Jamie note. Sunshine tended to bring the Maine residents together under a common desire. Most of them, including herself, appreciated the rain and the moisture in the air- her pesca-, um peskier side really appreciated it- but she had to stay indoors on those days, for fear of the fishy consequences. It made her wonder if that bothersome Stefano ever made Meredia slip up and flash the world a scalier thing. Probably not, as she hadn’t heard anything about the ‘forgetful mermaid’ on the news. Here though, she might have done it accidentally in front of somebody safe who would help her… A mental shrug dismissed the train of thought her brain had decided to hop on as she renewed her attention on her recent company acquisition.

’Ah ha. Like-minded once more. We had more in common than I guessed ladybird. I have… no idea why I just called you that. Rolling with iiiiit. Wait, nope, I got it. Birds migrate in the spring. Warmth for the ladybird.’ She giggled and shook her head at herself, nudging Mer gently with her shoulder before speaking again. ’You’re not wrong about that though. Winter lasted entirely too long. My cold-blooded self was most displeased. Hence, being out here now.’ Having the weather be Jamie’s draw rather than some missed plan visibly settled the other woman’s nerves. Another reason Jamie was glad to not have that particular burden. Oh, sure, she had more than most people’s, but she was grateful for the little things sometimes. Like not having a brain tumor. And a complimentary woman in her presence.

’Well, I know that, but thank you Miss Meredia. Also, I’m much more water than air. I’d get all dry and unappealing flying around all day. And a beak? On this face? Horrid. Can you imagine? Ick. Speaking of which…’ Smoking was bad habit, yes, but at least the redhead was consistent. The pressed-paper box emerged from her inner jacket pocket, along with a Zippo that she adored, allowing her to light up. ’I know it’s terrible, and probably bad for my voice, but I like it. It’s a mystery. And we never did talk about how you feel about cigarettes… So? Verdict? Not that it’ll stop me if you hate it or anything…’ That was probably one of Jamie’s most controversial personality traits, that impulse to always be herself. She wouldn’t bend for pretty much anybody. Her mother had… well, ‘frowned upon it,’ was putting that response mildly. It didn’t seem to bother Meredia though, Jamie’s blatant self. Maybe it was refreshing, since so many people tip-toed around her? J didn’t know, but then, it wasn’t really her business either. Like the note wasn’t supposed to be, but still was. The little tidbit Mer divulged to her regarding the notes didn’t used to be her business or knowledge, but now? Oh, now it was funny. ’Oh my god, that is so brilliant… But I thought you had a tag system for the bad meetings too?? I don’t remember which friggin’ color it was, of course, but still. One of those has to be a bad thing,’ she said, gesturing lightly at the notebook, well, planner, still gently clasped in Meredia’s hands, a question and confidence both in her eyes. They had enough in common, that Jamie would do the same thing in her position, and she was almost certain that her companion had mentioned it, albeit briefly, during their last meeting. At least Mer was happy with their current meeting. Jamie was glad to brighten her day, just a touch more.

Except, to Jamie’s ears, Mer sounded a little less pleased about what fate had dealt her than she claimed. Never one to play gently, or coyly, J forged ahead. ’Feeling a touch bitter, my friend? It’s cool. We all get that way. ‘Least today doesn’t totally suck ass, right? Tomorrow could be better, or you could get screwed worse. We’re all hanging by fingertips awaiting that decision, even us with the good memories.’ The mermaid generally seemed to be surprisingly well-adjusted to her situation, letting most control go and rolling with the punches. But during a couple- legitimately two- moments, there had been this glimpse of a slightly-angrier Meredia who felt cheated out of normality. It was sad, and Jamie only hoped that she could sort of, in her brusque way, help her to avoid dwelling on it. Something about the other woman reminded her of Antala, a little. That may have contributed to her liking Mer, and the slightly-protective feeling she had around the other woman. Not that Mer needed taking care of, really, but J just liked to make sure she was okay. And writing was definitely something that Meredia was okay with.

’Yeah, yeah, brat. Fellow musician, here. Fan of your creations, actually. You got a biggish contract with a fairly new artist… Um, love sushi? Lived in New York most of your life. Outside’s good for the writing when you hit a block. Anything I can help with?’ she asked, genuinely interested. She wasn’t half bad- HA!- with the music stuff, and enjoyed being a helpful member of a composition team. She better be good with the music, shit, her mom had forced it down her throat enough. It was probably one of the few things she hadn’t hated having her mother insist upon.

[MEREDIA AUDREY ROTH]

There had only been a few circumstances that she had written down that made any sort of history of interactions with people who were actually accepting of her memory problems, and even fewer situations where people would be willing to help her play catch-up and recall events that were already discussed. Meredia had learned the hard way that lots of people thought the habit of repeating oneself was annoying or obnoxious, but she just couldn't help it. Whenever she got into a second interaction with someone that she couldn't recall right away, they weren't ever really mean, but sometimes brusque or acted in a way that they were hurt that she'd forget them. Sometimes, it was a blow to the ego, and try as she might to let them know it wasn't intentional, the idea of having a friend that would need constant repetition wasn't that appealing. But Meredia made the best of what she had, and knew that she had made serious progress since her initial diagnosis. Jamie seemed to be the kind of open-minded person that she'd like to keep around in her life, so she made a point to keep better notes of this interaction so Jamie wouldn't have to do so much recapping when their paths did cross again.

”Ladybird, hmm? Well, it's certainly not the worst nickname someone could create for me,” Meredia said with a soft laugh. ”I actually kind of like it.” Meredia liked Jamie's explanation, too, and found that the redhead certainly was able to make her smile. Even though she was a pretty happy, optimistic person most of the time, she had her down days just like anyone else. That was why she wanted to try to find people that she could surround herself with and could trust to bring out the best in her instead of the worst. Jamie seemed like she definitely stood a chance at being one of those people. Because she had memory problems, Meredia could be a little too trusting, and if she got into a friendship with someone who wanted to exploit her problems instead of try to help her out and boost her up, well, that could definitely turn disastrous. Jamie continued to talk about Meredia's memory, including the fact that winter truly had been as long as she'd thought originally when she first got a hit of sunshine. ”I'm ready for sunny days and no rain if we're lucky. Speaking of... where do you go to get... well, your inner fish on?” Meredia asked, genuinely curious. As far as she knew, she didn't have other mermaid friends, and Jamie was one of the first that actually knew about her and was of the same species. Her parents were, of course, but they were both in New York and couldn't exactly go swim with her anymore in the safe places that they knew.

”No, we're certainly not creatures of the air. Beaks just wouldn't work out with aquatic features,” Meredia joked, appreciating that Jamie was lively, spirited, and funny – it was certainly working to make her day improve more and more as their conversation continued. Then, Jamie mentioned smoking and Meredia felt an internal pull – she couldn't remember if she smoked, didn't think she did it often if she did, but checked her book to be sure. She knew that smoking was very common in New York, and even her mother, the famous Broadway star, had admitted to bumming one of a cast mate outside the stage door on more than one occasion. ”Please, I'm a New Yorker – we're not fazed by much. Actually...” a quick peruse through her book and she found her 'facts' page about herself and a section that explained certain feelings she might have at random, but not know what they meant. There it was: “if you smell cigarette smoke or see someone smoking, don't panic if you feel strange – you smoke sometimes, and if you want to indulge, don't feel bad about asking. Most smokers are pretty good about sharing.” ”Apparently, I'm feeling the urge myself. Can I bum one?”

As they continued to sit and chat, Meredia told Jamie about her little 'system' and was glad that the other woman didn't think she was a bad person for leaving some people out entirely. Actually, she even knew some things about her system already. ”Color coding is just easier. Bad meetings are... here, orange. Red seemed cliché.” Meredia said, pulling on one of the orange tabs, and reading out the first entry. ”March 2nd, met a guy at the coffee shop who cut me in line, was incredibly rude to the person at the counter, and when I apologized for him, proceeded to call me a 'bitch' and walk away with his drink. He's tall, really blue eyes, handsome, but in a rugged sort of way... swears a lot.” Meredia closed the book and looked at Jamie. ”I didn't get his name, so I could have left him out, but the description alone is sometimes enough to jog a memory.”

Jamie caught onto Meredia's bitterness as soon as it passed her lips, and Meredia sighed. ”I can't be shiny happy all the time, but today's nothing to be bitter about. I got to see you again.” She smiled brightly at what she hoped would be a new friend, and then they got on the subject of talking about what Jamie knew about her, which turned out to be quite a few things.

”Is it weird that I like sushi when I'm sort of one of them?” Meredia asked, honestly curious. ”I miss New York all the time, and the new contract is going fine. I actually got to see one of the other bands I write for perform in Manuka not too long ago. Hearing my songs that way... it's always a little surreal,” Meredia said, then blushed a little when she remembered that Jamie said she was a fan of her work. ”We could collaborate, definitely! Maybe we'll come up with something you can sample with your band,” Meredia said, then handed her page of lyrics and notes scribbled in the margins over to Jamie so she could give it a good look.

[/justify]

[JAMILA KALIANE ADRASTOS]

Jamie had to respect the way Meredia kept her life in order. It had to be a supreme struggle, some days, to keep everything together. It was hard enough for sane, regular people to keep their shit straight, let alone someone with the issues that the cute little mermaid faced every day. She had good days and bad, certainly, but her bad days… the very thought of what a bad Meredia day could be like would make her shiver. And Jamie wasn’t even a particularly controlling person, but she liked having control over her own life. Like, a lot. It was part of why she rebelled so hard against her mother’s tyrannical rule. Part of why she encouraged it in the rest of her family, too. Oh, and that had gotten her so many reprimands in her life. So many. The thought- the memories, really- made her giggle. She’d been a particularly naughty creature during some rather important events… yeah. Much trouble and punishments had ensued after that. Totally worth it. The redhead wondered if Meredia had ever rebelled in her life… wondered if she’d ever had cause to. Probably. Everybody did. There had to be something that the young songwriter hadn’t been particularly fond of growing up, some rule that she found to be more than a little ridiculous. Jamie just had no idea what it could possibly be. Certainly not the nicknames the redhead found herself bestowing on her friend.

’Yeah… I don’t even know. I rolled with it. Sometimes word vomit can be fun and fruitful. I kinda like it too… maybe it’ll stick.’ She grinned and shrugged, totally at ease and unconcerned. Turning out to be a surprisingly good day. Of course, her impromptu plans usually turned out that way. Flying by the seat of her pants without expectations had its benefits, fer sure. All she expected was fun, and in turn, fun rolled her way. It was a nice exchange. And the spontaneity of the whole thing was always amazing. To be tied down to routine and schedules and shit might’ve made her crazy. Well, crazier. Funny then, how she sometimes had the unconscionable and totally unreasonable desire to run her family… The power and prestige and pressure that went along with it held no appeal, but the ability to help the second generation? To give them something to look forward to when they visited the main house, rather than something to dread? To give them a safe haven? That appealed to her on so many levels. She felt so bad for the lost ones like her sister, torn between what they really wanted and how they were ‘supposed’ to behave. Her mother was a terrorist. And Jamie had told her as much, more than once. Still, she had that crazy woman to thank for her strength as a mermaid- in part, at least- and she could at least be grateful for that. ’’Inner fish?’’ Jamie laughed, tickled by the turn of phrase. ’The ocean, usually. There’s the pool in that rinky-dink gym, of course, but the natural saltwater always feels better.’ She bit her lip and tilted her head, curious if Meredia had a note for the question she was about to ask. ’What kind of fish would you say you are, anyways?’

She nodded, with a grin, at her friend’s assessment. No, they were water-babies, hardcore. Didn’t need any bird appendages. But the redhead did need a smoke. Her ‘New Yorker’ friend didn’t care, and even went so far as to ask for one of her own. Jamie nodded, handing over the pack and then the lighter after she took a small drag on the little white cylinder of paper and tobacco. ’Didn’t know you smoked, ladybird. Is that new?’ Her slim eyebrows arched in curiosity. It wasn’t that she cared, overmuch, but it was an interesting detail that she wouldn’t have guessed. Especially not from a fellow musically-inclined critter. It was incredibly bad for her, and she knew that, but it didn’t stop her. Rebel, remember? Part of the reason she’d picked it up in the first place. She wondered why Mer had… Sometimes, she wondered quite a few things about her little brain-pressured friend. Nosiness, also an incurable disease. But her mermaid friend was always good about answering her questions, even if they were probably too personal.

’You’re anti-cliché? Cute. Unless you put red for the romantic ones… totally contradictory.’ The rocker grinned, teasing her companion lightheartedly before she actually read off one of her little negative encounters, and Jamie’s brow furrowed, trying to figure out if that was anybody she recognized. ’It sounds like a good system, but I’m sure there are some loopholes, huh?’ Nothing was perfect. Even though Mer had lots of practice, some things had to fall through the cracks. Maybe that was what contributed to her having cranky days like anybody else. Jamie tried to avoid feeling that way as much as possible, but she couldn’t blame any person for not feeling like they could fart rainbows every single day. Days she dealt with her mom sometimes made her more cantankerous and bitter than usual. Her friend had a point though- maybe a little pointed out by Jamie herself- that today was a good day. Something to smile about. Though her reason made the redhead crack up, before she gave a little bow. ’Well, of course. I’m spectacular. Shininess is practically required when I’m around.’ She gave a little wink, took another light drag on her cigarette, and leaned back a little more on the seat, absorbing the sunshine like a plant as she listed things she knew about Meredia already. Her companion’s responses were, of course, adorable. ’Nah. Sea creatures eat sea creatures. Big fish eat the little fish. Capisce?’ A smile and an eyebrow wiggle, and she let Mer continue her response, nodding her understanding every now and then. ’Yeah, totally get that. Saw some kids- ha, kids- do covers of a couple of ours, and my brain was like, ‘naw man, that ain’t right…’’ She chuckled and shrugged, knowing it wasn’t quite the same sensation, as Meredia designed songs to be sung by other people, but it was similar. Still, she liked her fellow mermaid’s stuff, and was curious to see if she could help at all, and happily perused the material she handed her. ’Definitely. This one, not quite our speed, but the one a couple pages back? Could definitely be worked in our direction. Still, just ‘cause I’m a rocker doesn’t mean we can’t solve this little block. What’s the issue?’

[MEREDIA AUDREY ROTH]

Being around Jamie just made Meredia happy, because for the longest time, she had all but given up on having real friends. If it wasn't one thing, it was another holding her back – before she had been diagnosed with her tumor, she remembered reading about kids at her school either teasing her or trying to be her friend just because her mother was a famous Broadway actress who had won Tony awards. That wasn't a reason to be friends with someone, and proud as Meredia was of her mother's accomplishments, she wanted people to just like her for who she was. Part of the reason why she hadn't wanted her mother to use her pull and connections to get Meredia her job and some of her contacts when she became a songwriter was because the young mermaid wanted to do it on her own – and while her mother had helped a little, Meredia could honestly say that she had accomplished the vast majority on her own. Then, there was the whole mermaid thing, which was a secret that she really had to guard, memory or no memory. She had to decline pool parties and trips to the water park with her classmates, with other 'friends' she made as she made her way through high school, because as beautiful as her tail was, nobody would understand. No humans would, at least. The mermaid thing wasn't a big deal with Jamie, because the redhead was one, too. And even though Meredia hadn't told Jamie much about her family – at least, as far as she knew – she was fairly certain that she hadn't broached the whole 'my mom's super famous on Broadway' topic. And even if she had, Jamie tended to go toward a completely different genre; the other mermaid was much more rock and roll, and while Meredia dabbled in just about every genre, she appreciated someone with talent and commitment to just one.

Jamie had already given her a nickname, and Meredia thought it was a pretty adorable one, even if it made references to birds, which were pretty far from the aquatic creatures that both women actually were. ”Either way, at least it's original. Most people just shorten my name to 'Mer' when they actually do give me nicknames. So I'll give credit where it's due.” Since she had a chance to be around another mermaid that wasn't related to her, Meredia was pretty open about talking about it and asking the necessary questions, such as where she did the whole swimming or being in water thing – Meredia knew about the mermaid island, Neath De'Ar, because they used to vacation there as a family since she was little, but she hoped there were more places than that. ”Do you ever go to the island? We used to spend summers there when I was younger, when my parents could get away. It's nice. We could go sometime, if you'd like. If you remind me.” Then, she teased about her memory again, because Jamie wouldn't let her get down about herself, and didn't seem to mind the playful self-deprecation – Meredia wasn't really being down on herself when she was joking around; it was just a way to make light out of the darknesses. ”My inner fish... um... I have a Post-It for that, I'm sure. Coded, of course. In case I leave all this somewhere. Hold on.” Then, she searched through her planner, looking for the more vague references in the back. Then, there it was, a very large dolphin sticker on the back of the planner, and she grinned. She hadn't remembered, of course, but that... that was awesome. She showed Jamie the little sticker with a grin. ”I'd say dolphin-like. What about you?”

The nicotine cravings when Jamie mentioned smoking weren't new according to her notes, but many things had a tendency to be new to the mermaid that really weren't. However, she did remember her note about it, and even asked to bum a smoke from the redhead, who was cool with sharing. Her adept hands handled the pack of cigarettes and the lighter that Jamie gave her, and she pulled one out of the pack, balanced it between her lips, then flicked the lighter until she got a proper light, inhaled, and sighed. ”Yeah, that's good,” She exhaled, a long stream of smoke escaping along with her spoken words, and then she turned back to her friend, handing the pack and lighter back before acknowledging her question. ”Sometimes? Um, there's a note about it – if I get cravings because someone mentions smoking or is smoking, I shouldn't worry, because it's a random thing for me to light up now and again. And also, it says that asking is okay, because most other smokers are cool with sharing. So, thanks.”

Again, Jamie made her laugh, and Meredia took a long drag on her cigarette before responding to the whole 'anti-cliche' thing. She tried to avoid them where she could, but it wasn't always possible and she knew that, too. ”At least you think it's cute and not pretentious. And 'romantic' ones are usually few and far between, for obvious reasons, but they're blue.”

From there, they moved onto music, which was really something Meredia could have used help with, given that she'd been stuck on the same line of text for a good long while, even before Jamie had shown up. Now, she was actually looking forward to getting stuff accomplished because she liked collaborative work with other artists, and from what she had read of Jamie's work, the girl was talented. The other mermaid was looking over her stuff now, and Meredia felt a little bit nervous, but not because she didn't think she was talented, but because it was always a little nerve-wracking to have someone else who actually knew what they were doing look over your stuff. Unless you were just a cocky asshole, of course. Meredia looked at the song that Jamie chose and grinned: one of her favorites. ”I kind of dabble in every genre out there, so I try to keep things at a wide appeal, but that one... I was actually hoping for a rougher edge. And I think you'd be good for that.” She grinned and took another drag, thinking that hanging out, sharing a pack of smokes, and doing some music stuff with Jamie would end up being the perfect way to spend her day. She handed the other mermaid the page she was working on, and frowned a little. ”As for this one... I had a good thing going when I started, but now I lost where I was trying to go with it. It's a lighter vibe, but it's almost... melancholy. I don't know, what do you think?”

[/justify]

[JAMILA KALIANE ADRASTOS]

‘Original.’ That was certainly something Jamie had been called more than a few times in her life. Her mom liked to call her less-polite versions of the word when the mermaid was being particularly rebellious and difficult. When Attina got onto one of her, ‘why must you do that?’ tirades, Jamie sat there and giggled, getting herself slapped several times for her misbehavior. Attina didn’t take kindly to Jamie’s recalcitrance. Never had. But her mom had this odd desire to let her children be themselves in the same vein that she wanted them to be her puppets. Made for some odd interactions. And some mixed messages. But whatever the case, they’d all turned out alright. All messed up in their own ways, but still, decent people. Probably radically different from what their mother had originally intended them to be, as well. For Jamie, that was like a badge of honor. A title she wore with pride. ‘The Rebel.’ So having Meredia call her original was something she quite appreciated, nodding her head in affirmation. Granted, she hadn’t been calling the mermaid herself original, but the nickname she’d bestowed upon her fellow fish-lady. It was enough. Could one give unique nicknames without being unique themselves? Probably… Jamie was just gonna choose to ignore that little bit of problematic logic. Meeeh. Wasn’t a huge issue to fuss about, and she knew Meredia meant that in the nicest way. Girl seemed to always mean things in the nicest way.

Jamie could honestly say she’d not yet encountered Meredia having a bad day… but maybe the woman just stayed at home on the days like that. ‘Mama said they’ll be days like this…’ Yeah. Um. The mind of a musician. There’s a song for every occasion. Even this one, it seemed. It was not really relevant to the conversation, but it just popped into her head, and suddenly she was humming it, nodding in response to Mer’s words, and chuckling to herself. ’I shorten yours to ‘Mer’ too, honey. It’s convenient. And come on, ‘Meredia’ just has so many syllables…’ She winked at her companion, clearly teasing. ‘Ladybird’ only had one less syllable than her friend’s actual name, but it just flowed quicker. ’Although I do appreciate the creativity points. No musician should be without a few of those spare in her pocket.’ They were just a bag of interesting, weren’t they? The little mermaids. Of course, Jamie wasn’t that little. She was five foot nine, how little could she be? Bigger than Mer, that’s for sure. Meredia, the little mermaid that could. Jamie admired her spirit. But she also wondered how, in an age of oblivious humans, the woman who couldn’t occasionally remember her own name worked the whole ‘mermaid’ bit. So yeah, she asked. And they started talking about it. And the island. Jamie had lost count of how many times she’d been to that damn island. Gods. So many stupid… well, meetings and conventions and parties and schmoozing and pretending. Granted, she had some good memories there, but most were stuffy, oppressive things, that made Jamie learn her desire for the power to change things. Something she’d never have, but it was something she wanted. Things needed fixing. But there was no reason to spill all of that out onto Meredia. ’Yeah, been there plenty of times. Mom’s got a great bit of land over there. Not that we’d stay there. But we can certainly try going, romp like wild fishies.’ Which brought up the topic of what kind of sea creature Mer was. And then what Jamie was. A dolphin for Mer. It was appropriate…

The redhead chuckled, nodding. ’Fits. Can you do that squeak thing without your tail??’ she asked, opening her eyes extra-wide in faux-eagerness, like a small child. Yeah, she was fuckin’ with her, before the question was turned back around, and Jamie made a little ‘duh-nuh, duuuuh-nuh’ series of sounds, the typical Jaws theme. ’A shark. Not a great white like the beautiful man from Jaws, but a tiger shark. I actually have, um, here…’ She slid her jacket down her shoulders and pushed the collar of her shirt down, doing an interesting little twist and wiggle to show Meredia the top of her tattoo, a tiger shark head that rested on her shoulder. A whole passel of them continued the trek down her spine, in a variety of species, but a tiger just so happened to rest on her left shoulder. It was something she was rather proud of, actually.

There wasn’t a whole lot Jamie wasn’t proud of, to be honest. She was very much of the ‘be yourself’ frame of mind, and damn the rest of the world. Within reason. Herself just happened to be a smoker. Which, really, she wasn’t proud of, but she didn’t hate it. Yeah, it wasn’t good for her, but it was just… it was a part of her right now. At least she was more courteous about it than most, even offering to not, if it bugged her friend. Which it didn’t; Mer even wanted one for herself. That piqued Jamie’s interest, and they were off to talking about other notes that kept the mermaid’s life on track. Had to hand it to her, woman had learned how to cope rather well, even mentioning little details like, ‘most smokers are sharers.’ The redhead nodded at her thanks, kind of waving it off. It wasn’t a big deal to her, to hand over one of her little white death sticks. Why deprive somebody else? Meredia was an adult, fully capable of her own decisions. Like leaving people in or out of her little notebook, depending upon impression.

’I don’t know if you could be pretentious, even if you tried… but defying cliché in a good way I cute, rather than stuck-up, and all ‘lookit me, I’m special.’ Blue. I like it. Mighta done like… yellow, personally. Idk why. What’s yellow for you?’ Her head tilted with the question, honestly interested, until they moved on to talking about music, which held a little more- okay, a lot more- of Jamie’s interest. After receiving the little wonderbook, the mermaid flipped through it, browsing, finding a couple she really enjoyed, and actually pegging one that Mer had intended to give a ‘rougher edge.’ ’Then I applaud you. ‘Cause some song writers find it a little challenging to branch. I can do most of ‘em, but rock fits us best. And it’s kinda my favorite, so that’s what we decided on. Maybe later, we’ll diversify.’ Yeah, she got a little white ‘n’ nerdy when the music came up. Couldn’t help it. Shut up. Giggles wouldn’t solve anything. She read the sticky song a few times over, finally getting what her fellow fish was talking about. ’Yeah… it’s a little mellow. Did you wanna try and run it back to bright, or take it somewhere else?’ Jamie tried to hum a little of it, based on the chords that sat underneath the words, and shook her head. ’Hum it for me? Or sing it. Sometimes I can do better auditorily.’