Live and Learn

She struggles for a few minutes longer - she doesn't have the best track record on waking up in safe locations - but eventually she stops.

Somewhere in there, the last of the cataracts fade away.

Somewhere in there, her left hand gets with the program and covers River's own.

"... Well. This is unexpected." Her voice is rough, but intelligible, as she attempts to figure out how, exactly, she got here. ... With River and Ryan. ... It's going to be a long day, isn't it?

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It's good to see her recovered. It means Ryan probably won't have to worry about Spoon on top of everything else. He circles around the couch to stand behind River, hands on her shoulders.

"What happened, Ace?" He watches her carefully. "Who was that woman?"

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Some of the tension fades from her body as she watches her friend heal. She puts a hand on Ryan's, her eyes never leaving Ace's face.

"I had to use the tranq gun," she says, almost apologetically.

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She nods, with a wry (if a bit lopsided) grin for River.
"Felt it. Took all the snap out of... well. Everything." Which is rather the point of a tranq gun. She can't be angry with River - she did tell River to gun her down, if something like this should happen.

She just didn't think it would happen with Blodwen.

"Her name's Blodwen. She's evil. Definition of, actually. Lord, I need t'tell Spoon t'keep Cora home."

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Blodwen. He commits that (and the cloying scent all over Ace) to memory.

"What can she do?" What are they up against?

He makes no apologies for the interrogation.

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And that would be another reason why River brought Ace here.

Because Ryan would know what to do.

"Do you have a way to send a message to him? Can Bar do that?"

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"... Well. Her skill set seems t'have changed since she was last in. Since I thought she was dead, I suppose any skill set is an achievement." She huffs, rather put out. She was ready to take out Blodwen as she met her last time - this new variation is a lot harder to take out, it seems.

Bugger.

"Just keep away from her. S'me she knows t'target, mostly 'cause she can get at Raven through me."

River just gets a look of bewilderment. Why would she send a message to Spoon? She can tell him in person.

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"We're dead," Ryan points out mildly. Dead doesn't mean much in Milliways.

"And that may no longer be true," Ryan says flatly, "since River involved herself. Is she likely to come after her for rescuing you?"

His tone and scent are both tamped down: what little gets through is worry.

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A message would be instantaneous, as opposed to waiting until she could get back to Spoon. She's thinking of Cora's safety.

River catches his scent and her grip on his fingers tightens.

"I hardly rescued her, love. I mean, I had to shoot her with a tranquilliser gun." To Ace. "And if I'm not mistaken, you were actually deceased for a short time there." She raises an eyebrow in question.

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"She never went for Wash... M'brother, Wash, he's run interference before. She never went for him, s'far as I know." Of course, Wash never threatened Blodwen either, but Ace still doesn't have the details on her rescue. But now she just looks a bit sheepish. A little uncoordinated on the left side.

But mostly sheepish.

"Um. Did I not mention that before?"

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"No," Ryan says.

Dryly.

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River shifts uneasily. "I may have... said something."

She looks up over her shoulder at Richard.

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"... Why have I a really bad feelin' 'bout this?" Ace asks, somewhat rhetorically. Honestly. She goes and dies, and people start acting crazy.

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Ryan's with Ace on this one.

"You didn't mention this before," he says tersely, craning his neck a bit so he can look down at River.

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"I just said that -- if she'd hurt Ace, that I'd see her -- ended."

She tries to make her tone light, but it doesn't really work.

"She called me 'goldeneyes'."

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Ace facepalms. It's pretty much the only appropriate answer. Well, that and:

"River, I can't die. Last time I checked, you can. Here, anyway. Only one of us should be threatenin' big bads."

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"Goldeneyes?" How would Blodwen know that?

"If you can't finish them off, you shouldn't be threatening such people either," Ryan chides Ace.

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"Well it hardly matters now," she chides both of them.

"What matters is that you have an enemy who is far more powerful than you had anticipated, and I seem to have put my foot in it. It's hardly the first time. Ace, who is this Raven?"

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"He's my brother. He's also the dumbass who let Blodwen destroy his body. An' he gave me a headache tellin' me this."

...

Wait, was someone here expecting a normal explanation?

"If Coyote isn't helping him, I'm goin' t'beat on her, an' won't that be bloody embarrassin'?"

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Hardly the first time? Should he be expecting this to be a repeating occurrence?

"Does that mean they can't stop this Blodwen, either?" He's assuming Raven's power level is up there, if he can exist without a body.

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River pats Ace's hand and rises, heading off to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

"Raven, and Coyote. They're trickster gods, aren't they?" Sometimes it's nice to have a bit of an academic background. "I know I don't recognise the name Blodwen."

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"She's Welsh, I know that much. Calls everyone 'cariad', which has utterly ruined the word for me. Venomous little bitch." The last travels back towards 'snarl' range, because Ace? Will never, ever be a fan.

"An' don't ever call him a god. He hates it. Really an' truly."

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Blodwen took out a god? Jesus, what chance do they have?

Ryan settles on the edge of one of the chairs, thinking hard.

"She's powerful. I can think of a few people, here, who may be able to help, but. You attacked her, yes? That won't help with Security."

Not that Security usually does much anyway.

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"Security wasn't around, or I'm sure they would have interfered. It's why I brought you here, instead of the Infirmary."

She's busying herself with tea, also thinking hard.

"Ace. Really, who is she? I mean, the more we know about her, the better prepared we can be when she makes her presence known again."

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