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[brandishes]

( Now, the face might be familiar enough to the people here when it appears over the network, but Beth doesn't realise just how popular her face is here just yet. She's quite happy to bring it out for the world to see, tired as she might feel, and even if it feels like the effort of mustering a smile might just do her in completely right now she still musters a twist at the corner of her mouth that is, at least, a gesture close enough to pass. )

So, this place is wild. ( The voice is accented, but not heavy, Canadian if anyone knows to listen for it. More prominently, she speaks with a tight jaw, clipped with a slightly mocking drawl to the words. If nothing else, that should set her slightly apart from the other lookalikes floating around. ) Who've I gotta kill for a decent cup of coffee, huh?

( It's supposed to be funny - and she's smiling as if it was - but something is just...off. It's not quite far enough off of a grimace to be a real grin, the muscles twitch in her jaw like she's clenching her teeth, and she seems incredibly distracted despite the fact that she's obviously chosen this moment to make her post. Finally she gives up the act, face falling into a neutral expression as she huffs out a breath forceful enough to blow the sprawling hairs out of her face. )

Also, I could do with...another go of that arrival 101 if anyone's got a minute.

( There's another pause, another attempt at a grin, and then a weak wave: )

Thanks.

( And with that, she's out. )

Comments

[brandishes]

Yeah, well- ( What's she supposed to say, sorry? It's far more complicated than a word like that, and she drags a hand over her face quickly while she tries to play catch up with the shit going on here. ) Welcome to the front line.

[coppelganger]

[ Sarah laughs. She can't help herself, though there isn't much humor in it. She laughs because that shit is exactly what the Beth in her head would have said. ]

I'm—it's been a while, since then.

[brandishes]

( Now that's a shock... )

How long is a "while"?

[coppelganger]

[ Well now that would require a real understanding of Orphan Black's timeline, which I don't have, but— ]

A while. Months.

[brandishes]

( Good thing she's already sitting down, because that's really not what she's expecting to hear. Days, maybe a week max, but months? It's a shock, to say the least. )

Okay. ( She exhales slowly, swallowing before trying to smile sightly. It's a poor effort. ) Was-I mean, is everyone okay?

[coppelganger]

I... [ Christ, she can't even think of who Beth knew about and who she didn't. The German, Paul, Art, of course... ]

I can't do this over video. Sorry. Just—fuck.

[brandishes]

No, listen- ( She has about a thousand questions, all of which are fighting for importance right now, but she gets the feeling that maybe launching them all on Sarah right now might not be the best play. Still, there's an urgency when she speaks, she can't let her go just yet. ) just...I need to know. Does everyone know I'm dead?

[coppelganger]

[ Sarah goes quiet for several moments. That's a weirdly complicated answer, no thanks to her own shitty impulse decisions. ]

Yeah, they know.

[brandishes]

( She sighs again, in relief this time, and flops back in her seat. That shouldn't really be great news, ordinarily, but Beth looks like the weight of the world has just been taken off of her shoulders. )

Oh, thank god.

[coppelganger]

[ Which only makes Sarah look more uncomfortable. ]

Yeah, real great.

[ She should hang up. But maybe it's better to do this now. Make it like ripping off a band-aid. ]

Look, Beth. You're not gonna like me. I did something incredibly— [ Here she swallows, unsure of the right words. ] Incredibly fucked up, alright? I was dealing with my own shit and I didn't know anything about us, what we are, but that doesn't make it better. Makes it worse, actually.

[brandishes]

( The word is out, it's public knowledge that she's dead - and if that's the case, then Evie Cho has to know. The people she works for, they have to know. The sheer relief she's getting from that is so consuming that it's hard to focus on what Sarah's saying, but 'fucked up' gets her attention. )

Hey, I know all about fucked up. ( That's supposed to be funny, but it's grim enough that even Beth's smirk falters. ) Honestly. We all make shitty choices, Sarah, it's the life. What could you have done that's so awful?

[coppelganger]

Not like this. Someone will see it.

[ MK is probably watching this already. ]

[brandishes]

Okay. ( She's confused, and it comes out in her tone of voice, but it's hardly the first time she's dealt with the skittish or cagey types. #coplyf et cetera. ) So, meet me somewhere then. Where's close for you?

[coppelganger]

I live near Nonah. Where are you?

[brandishes]

Practically neighbours, look at that. ( now is not the time for jokes. ) That's where they've put me, Nonah.

[coppelganger]

Oh, great.

[ Somehow she sounds less than thrilled. But a minute later she texts over the address of one of Nonah's slightly less seedy bars (look, Beth had nice shit in her nice apartment, Sarah's guessing she wouldn't appreciate a total dive). ]

Meet me there in an hour, unless you've got other shit to do. [ Hope springs eternal etc etc. ]

[brandishes]

An hour it is. See you later, Sarah Manning.

( Unfortunately, Sarah's life is literally never lucky, and nothing more pressing comes up in Beth's afternoon plans. Fast forward one hour, and she's already sinking a beer while she finds a place quiet enough to sit and talk. One of the booths towards the back will do well enough, and she picks up another drink before getting comfortable in her seat.

She's finished the first bottle and moves on seamlessly to the second when she sends a text in reply to the one that had given her the address, just: )

Booth, back right.

[coppelganger]

[ Beth isn't the only one pregaming this particular meeting, except Sarah's doing it with bourbon instead of beer. She doesn't think she could handle this sober. When she gets Beth's text, she slides off her stool at the bar where she's been sitting with her hood up and her head down, invisible to everyone. As she makes her way to the back booth, she remembers to pull the hood down so Beth will be able to see her as she takes the seat across from her. ]

Hey.

[ She can't help looking closely at Beth as she settles in her seat, taking in the way the other woman is sitting, what she's drinking, how her hair is done. It's... strange. Like looking at herself when she was pretending to be Beth, except for these little glitches, things she didn't do 100% the right way. Stuff that someone unaware of the clones wouldn't notice, but things that Sarah does, right away. The way Beth's sitting, there's something about it that she didn't have down exactly. She was too proper when she was acting as Beth, not slouchy enough. Huh. ]

[brandishes]

( Whether or not Sarah actually does appear out of thin air is debatable, given that Beth is a. not entirely sober and b. fairly wrapped up in her own little world, but she starts slightly all the same. Not enough to be dramatic, just noticeable as she immediately starts scrutinising just as much. It’s definitely the girl from the train station, and there is a part deep down inside of Beth that twists slightly in guilt. She should have taken the time to say- well, something to her.

She could have taken the time.

But that’s neither here nor there now, she can hardly change the past. Still, it’s a little weird to be looking at one of the witnesses of your death, and when she realises that she’s staring Beth quickly clears her throat and tips her head back, both to drain the last of her beer and break the eye contact. )

Hi yourself. ( She smiles as she sets the empty bottle down, picking the corner of the label as she pauses for a moment before raising her eyebrows at Sarah. ) So… what’s so shady you’ve got to tell me in a bar?

[coppelganger]

Not in a bar. Just not over the network.

[ For a minute, Sarah doesn't say anything else. She has to tell Beth what she did, or someone else will—Cosima, she's sure, through either a misguided attempt to smooth things over or pure accident. After all, how are they supposed to tell Beth half the shit that's gone down since she died without eluding to the fact that Sarah was acting as her for a good chunk of time?

But it's hard. It's hard because this is the first time she's spoken to Beth where Beth doesn't already know what she's done. Which is just... insane. Makes Sarah seem completely mad. Doesn't change the fact that it's true, though. She's never had to admit it out loud, find the right words. Finally she downs the rest of her drink in one burning swallow and says, ]

I took... your life. [ There. It's out, she's said it. Can't take it back. She wants to look down, avoid eye contact, but some part of her forces herself not to look away. She owes Beth that much. ]

[brandishes]

( So, there’s a number of reactions to this in rapid fire:

The first, she thinks that Sarah is taking responsibility for her death, and Beth actually scoffs slightly. There’s a number of people that could be considered ‘responsible’ for her death, she supposes, but it certainly isn’t the girl she left gaping on the platform.

The second, she wants to console her on this. She does, as much as she wants to dismiss the thought, feel guilty for how she left Sarah there. That’s no way to find out you're a genetic identical, after all.

The third, where she realises that this might not be exactly what Sarah is trying to say, and her brows start to furrow, confusion slowly etching into her face, and…

and then Beth gets what Sarah is telling her. At least, she thinks she does. )

You… ( She doesn’t mean to frown, but she does all the same, and she severely regrets the empty bottle in front of her as she stares down the neck of it, swallowing hard. ) You don’t mean- what are you saying exactly?

[coppelganger]

[ Sarah runs a hand through her hair, flustered, ashamed. She wants another drink, but can't bring herself to hail a waitress and have someone interrupt the conversation. Instead she holds onto her empty glass and stares at it as if she can will it to refill by itself. ]

After you jumped, I stole your bag off the platform. It seemed like you had money. It was only supposed to be for a day or two, but shit... [ she finishes weakly, ] Happened.

[brandishes]

You took my life.

( For a second she can't tell if she wants to laugh or shout. Really it's some kind of cosmic joke, right? That she'd just happen to cross paths with someone who would- what, exactly? Steal her stuff? Pretend to be her? It feels like a sledgehammer has just swung right into her solar plexus, and finally she does settle on a laugh.

It's an angry, bitter little sound, and it takes a remarkable amount of self control not to lash out right away. Not now, Beth. )

What the fuck? Do you fleece every dead body you come across?

( Okay, so maybe that's lashing out a little. )

[coppelganger]

[ She winces. It's not like she wasn't expecting this reaction, or one very like it, but actually hearing the anger in Beth's voice is still not pleasant. ]

No. Just ones that look like me. [ It's a little bitter, too. Even now, after all this time, she's still reeling over the way Beth left her—alone, not knowing why. ] It was just gonna be til I could go to the bank and empty your accounts.

[brandishes]

Oh, okay.

( Is the sick feeling in her stomach the alcohol or the conversation? The money ( Alison's money, actually ) is the last of her worries, because if she didn't die then-

well, it's around this thought that Beth gets angry )

You stupid-- Do you even-- I-- ( She's losing it like clinically as she desperately grapples for the words to explain just how monumentally fucked this move was, but instead the words just catch in her throat and she bangs the bottle down on the table in place of anything more unsavoury, like tossing it directly at Sarah. It feels mighty tempting right now. ) What shit happened, Sarah? Exactly. I need details.

( So help her God, if anyone died because of this... )