Practice makes Perfect

[heartofasun]

"Tails."
"Tails."
"Tails."
It didn't take an astute observer to realize she wasn't just beating the odds of probability, she was calling them correctly before they landed. Time, after time, after time. The coin she was flipping might look familiar to any Andromeda crew still on board. Dylan had given it to her, back when she was purple. And still had a tail. It was a fun game she played. Messing with the right influence at the right time. Only this time it was with a coin and not people. That way Dylan wouldn't get mad at her.

He didn't understand. How could he, he was organic, mortal, trapped within his own limited perceptions and understanding. Still, that was part of the reason she needed him. He wasn't just any ordinary mortal. She needed him. All the possibilities, all the best possibilities, circled around him. She just had to get him to understand her methods were necessary. He needed to trust her. "Tails."
"Tails."
Trance flipped the coin onto the back of her hand, the motion practiced and almost boring. "Tails."

Comments

[dreams_dont_die]

Dylan's been watching, before he approaches her.

Of course he's been watching. There's no missing Trance in a room, even though he's gotten used to her no longer being purple by now. She still stands out, with those horns and that head of hair and, yeah, okay, the leather she wears.

What stands out even more, though, is the dance of the coin as it spins again and again through the air, to be caught and slapped back onto her hand.

He'd taught her how to do that, once upon a time, even given her a coin, maybe that very same coin, to play with. Of course, he hadn't had quite the run of luck she's having. And anyone who believes that's just luck doesn't know Trance.

Whatever difficulties the two of them have had, Dylan can't keep the amused smile from his face as he pulls out a chair and settles down at her table.

"I make that six in a row," he says, his voice wavering somewhere between amused and awed.

[heartofasun]

"Actually it's 57. " Trance commented back, not losing her concentration, looking up and smiling at him. "Hello Dylan. I think it's time we talked, don't you?"

There were things they had to do in this universe, things they had to do back home, and right now, with the strain and fragmentation between them, those plans weren't getting done. Trance was not getting closer to her Perfect Possible Future. And that future started stopped with Dylan.

She tried to make it work without him. It didn't. She needed him. And Harper, and Tyr and Beka. They all had roles to play. Integral roles. Even Telemachus. She could make that work. The pieces could be put into play.

"Do you remember when you gave me this coin?" Trance stopped a moment and held it up.

[dreams_dont_die]

He let out a little chuckle.

"57. That's incredible."

If anyone had asked him, he'd probably once have said that was impossible -- or, given possibility and probability, unlikely -- but that was before he knew Trance. Trance, who could just happen to pick where he'd been held captive, out of three hundred and eight possibilities. Trance, who'd rescued him using no more than a button to tell her who held him captive.

He rolled his shoulders and leaned forward, forearms pressed against the table.

"Of course I do," he said. "We were on the observation deck and, as I recall, you were telling me how very not-impossible picking the right planet to rescue me from was when I'd been arrested by the Arazians. I was flipping it, and you asked me about the game."

He's less certain, now, than he had been that she hadn't known about coin tossing.

[heartofasun]

"Actually, it's getting boring." Trance responded, although she kept flipping the coin. Giving Dylan a smile, Trance thought about how much Dylan had grown since they met. How much he'd accomplished and hopefully how much they would accomplish together.

"You have questions." Then she stopped flipping. "Would you like to ask them?" Trance asked, wondering if he would voice them now or wait.

[dreams_dont_die]

Trance had one of the most interesting definitions of 'boring' Dylan had ever encountered. What to him seemed like marvels of foresight and probability were to her so commonplace she could shrug them off. Or, more likely, such parts of who and what she was that she chose to dissemble rather than reveal them.

He'd noticed that almost as long ago as he'd noticed the remarkable talents she had.

"You're not guessing what it's going to show," he said slowly, as though he hadn't heard her question. "You know. Which means either you're predicting the future, or manipulating the coin toss."

He laughed. "No wonder Harper owes you so much money from playing poker."

[heartofasun]

"Harper owes me so much money because he gets carried away and doesn't make smart bets. " And of course, she was cheating." Trance gave him a knowing smile, and wink. Tails. Tails. Tails.

"Why can't it be both?" Trance asked him, wondering why he thought it had to be one or the other. It was interesting, the questions that Dylan chose to ask her. Skirting the issue, but not quite skirting it completely. More like grazing. A scratch. To see what would happen? Was this Dylan being careful from his military training or was he just honestly not ready?