Alternates - Evy - Sam

[Evangeline Irvine]

When Evy had heard that the Venia had gone through one of the rifts and ended up in an alternate reality, she'd been nothing short of mystified. She'd always found joy in imagining another version of people, and the prospect of actually meeting herself had her practically bouncing off the walls. I wonder if she'll like any of the same things as me? she wondered, skipping along down the corridors. Maybe they could catch a good romantic comedy together before she was sent back to her dimension.

She purposely set off to avoid the meeting room in search of her other self, but by some chance ended up outside the double doors that led to just that. Giggling at the coincidence, she continued on her way. Eventually she ran across the mess hall--not she remembered it being, but it was the mess hall all the same--and decided to sneak in and grab a bite to eat while she was here. Did they still have bread in this dimension?

Upon entering the kitchen itself, however, Evy came skidding to a stop. "Samuel?" she said, blinking at him like a deer caught in headlights. He looked far more laid-back than usual, dressed casually and added something to a pot of what smelled like some sort of cream soup. She tilted her head curiously to one side. "I thought you said you were going to the meeting?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Unsurprisingly, life didn't stop, even when a duplicate of the Venia came through from another universe carrying a whole load of Venia crew doppelgangers. Sam had briefly wondered what it would be like to meet the other versions of himself, Eva and Zoe before he'd dropped hot water on his foot and had to get back to making the soup. A group of people were coming over from the other ship, but at this rate, Sam doubted that he would meet any of them.

Upon hearing the word Samuel, he immediately and inadvertantly ducked slightly, an automatic reflex as it was usually only his Grandmother who called him that (with a feminine voice). But when he turned, he saw that it was, in fact, Eva that had just called him that. Random! "Since when do you call me Samuel?" he snickered, recovering somewhat as he looked at her properly. The outfit was a bit cutesy for Eva, even he had to admit that.

"Me, go to the meeting? Pfft," he snorted, "I'm not sure a chef could really contribute all that much to a meeting like that. Interjecting recipes for muffins in the middle of all the epic plans... I don't see that working. It'd be amusing, but yeah..." He titled his head like hers, looking at her with raised eyebrows, "is the ship on a tilt or something, and I haven't realised?"

[Evangeline Irvine]

"Since when do you call me Samuel?"

Okay, what?! Evy knew it had been a while since she'd had her hearing checked, but really. She had always called him Samuel. In fact, he was the one who insisted she call him by his full name, not any shortened version. Something about maintaining his image, she'd thought. Whatever it was, she'd accepted it a while ago. So this was new. And so was the Irish lilt in which his words came across, which piped up again before she could say anything about it.

"But... you said..." she began stiltedly when he mocked the idea of his attendance at the meeting. Why would he willingly skip out on anything so important. It didn't add up. Huffing a little childishly, Evy placed her hands on her hips and straightened her head. "Why do you always make fun of me when I do that?" she whined, her Aussie accent more pronounced than usual.

[Sam O'Connor]

Australian accent. He hadn't noticed that the last time she spoke. "The accent is new as well..." he trailed off. "Hang on a minute, hang. on. a. minute. You're from the other Venia, aren't you? The one that came through the rift?" That would explain everything. "Wow, you look exactly the same as Eva. Well, nearly exactly the same." He gawked for a moment, then quickly thrust out his hand to her, feeling the need to introduce himself.

"Sam O'Connor," he stressed the Sam part, "so we don't get confused. The word Samuel usually makes me duck and cover, so I wouldn't use it unless you want to see a spectacular show." It was a little strange knowing that the Eva he was talking to wasn't his Eva, but his mind tried to separate them into two different people, making it somewhat easier. "What shall we call you? To make it easier for my tiny man brain."

[Evangeline Irvine]

Oh! So this was the alternate Samuel! That explained so much. "You look just like the Samuel I know, too!" Evy agreed with enthusiasm, eying this version of him over appreciatively. She then felt it necessary to tack on, "Well, except for the hair. And the clothes. And of course the accent. But that aside, you could be his twin!" When he held his hand out, she took it with her own and gave it a dainty shake.

"All right then, Sam," she said, putting the same emphasis on his name as he had to show she understood what he was asking her. She smiled at him. "Just call me Evy, if that's easier for you--it's what everyone else calls me." Taking her hand back, she tripped lightly over to the stove and peered down into the pot. The scent drifting up from it was heavenly, and she drank it in with a content grin.

Turning back to him she asked, "So you're a chef in this dimension, then? How interesting. Where I'm from, you're a liaison for UGAP--and a damn good one, if all the talk you throw around holds any truth to it."

[Sam O'Connor]

The way Evy had said that sentence, he could practically hear the exclamation mark on the end. "Good to know!" Sam said, "no inexplicable piercings, moles or tatoos, anywhere here," he looped a finger round his face, "that's good enough for me." She was definitely a lot perkier than Eva, which was interesting. Not necessarily better, but interesting. "Yeah, apart from that," he nodded, "hang on, accent? What sort of accent does he have?" He couldn't imagine not having an Irish accent. A British one maybe.

"Evy, check," he said, watching her as her nose pulled her towards the pot on the stove. "Smells good, doesn't it?" he grinned. Apparently, Samuel hadn't gone into the same line of work as him. Did he even cook at all? "Liaison for the UGAP?" he echoed, "wow. So I, well Samuel, talks BS for a living? Nice." Obviously this guy was very different to him. Would he even want to meet him? "How about you? What do you do?" he asked, reaching into the cupboard for a bowl, before ladelling some soup into it, handing it to Evy with a spoon.

[Evangeline Irvine]

It was sort of odd, having Sam ask about... well... Sam. But regardless, Evy answered him with as bubbly a tone as ever. "You're American. Your mother raised you in... California, if I'm not much mistaken." Raising a hand abruptly to silence him she asked, "Hold up--you're still half-Ilosian here, right? Or are your parents both human?" Her eyes lit up. "Oh, do you know your father here?" She'd always wondered if he would have turned out differently if he'd grown up with his human father instead of his Ilosian mother.

"Yup, that about sums you up," Evy giggled, stepping away from the stove to lean against an adjacent counter-top. "But you've got a way with words. You could be saying the most preposterous thing in the multiverse, and people would buy into it. Maybe that's why you're so good with the ladies." At that, she smoothed the skirt of her dress a little self-consciously, but then dropped her hands back to her sides when he asked her what she did.

"I'm the Observer aboard the Venia," she explained brightly. "I'm sort of useless with my hands, see, so that made it impossible for me to do much else. And when your squeamish around blood, guns and medicines aren't really the best things to work with, either. But my parents insisted that I get a 'respectable job' and forget about my... ability." She grimaced; being telepathic was a downright curse. "What about your Evangeline? What's she like?"

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam opened his mouth then closed it again. "My mum raised me?" That was a shock that made him stumble a little, struggling to find words for probably the first time in his life. It didn't help that the answer to her question didn't come with any sort of good news. "No, uh, still half-Ilosian, but my Grandparents raised me. I never knew my Mum or my Dad." Well, wasn't that pathetic? He was beginning to sound like a right sad sack, especially when she had looked so happy in comparison.

Clearing his throat, he summoned his cheery attitude back to him, scratching the back of his hand absentmindedly. "I could do with that talent," he said with a slight chuckle, "maybe Samuel should have been a lawyer, or a salesman, he'd make a fortune." He snorted audibly when she said that he was good with the ladies. "You're kidding?! Wow, go Samuel. Maybe I should ask him to give me a few pointers, I'm not exactly a lady killer." Not that he believed anyway. It sounded like his alter-self had a pretty good life. If he still knew Evy, then that was a good start. Judging by the way she primped her skirt, he knew her in more ways than Sam knew Eva.

"The Observer," he nodded, that seemed to make sense for Evy. She was too chipper to be anything else. He laughed again, "okay, you two may look the same, but you and Eva are very different. The Eva I know is fierce - not scary or anything, but I wouldn't want to be up against her in a fight. And she's very adept at using her," he tapped his forehead, "ability, as you so call it. She was taught how to use it by her foster mum, Louise. But, there are similarities. She's still a lovely person, obviously, and you have the same laugh." He loved her laugh. "I'm guessing you had a different upbringing? Do you know your parents?" It would be interesting if she did, if so, he might point Eva in Evy's direction.