learn to {F L Y} (open)

[SIERRA]

Worthlessness.

That's what she felt as she watched them go as they left her behind. Echo, Paul and Tony had gone to look for more supplies on the surface and she had been forced to stay here. Priya wanted to help her friends more than anything, but she had no combat training at all. She could barely hit anything with a gun for god's sake! Tony had shown her how to use one to be able to defend herself if the need arose, but she had not been able to practice since they needed to save all the ammo they could get for when they really needed it.

Priya had turned down any offer to make enhancements to herself, even if it would help them fight back. She wanted to fight this war as herself not as a doll. She never wanted to be Sierra again. She had never agreed to be Sierra in the first place. That bastard Nolan put her here. Just so he could have her since there was no way in hell she would ever be his willingly.

Even with all that, there was some good that she had gotten from becoming Sierra. That was how she had met Tony. The both of them grew closer and closer through their time at the Dollhouse. Priya had never believed in soul mates, but how else could you describe their relationship? They recognized each other no matter what imprint they were given. She couldn't put it into words the extent to which she loved him. It felt like she would always and had always loved him. Priya hated that he would go off on these dangerous missions, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop him. He was a trained soldier and Echo needed all the help she could get. She just didn't want any of her friends to get hurt. They had lost so much already.

Priya wandered into the art room, trying to find something to do to keep her mind off the danger her friends could be in right this second. She had always loved painting, and according to Echo, Sierra did as well. She took a sheet of paper, a few paints, a brush and a cup of water and sat down at one of the tables.

As she opened the brightly colored paints and dipped her brush in the water to begin, she stopped herself and stared at the blank sheet of paper. What was she doing? How could she paint anything at a time like this? The world was going to hell and she was sitting her trying to make pretty pictures with watercolors? She had to be out of her mind. Priya sighed and set the paintbrush down, wondering if she should just give up even trying to paint. There had to something else she could help with right?

[ADELLE DEWITT]

God! I can use a drink right now! Adelle thought as she wondered around the Dollhouse. Since her last bottle of liquor had run out Adelle had this blinding pins and needles sensation all over her skin. It was foreign to her compared to the numbness she felt when she had the ability to drink five or six glasses of liquor in sucession and still be able to keep herself upright and deliver a full retort without wavering. Now everything felt like a different kind of numb. I was a numb she could feel but not express in words, a blank feeling.

Adelle tried to look for things to occupy her mind. To take her mind off the lack of alcohol but in a house that was deisgned to keep the most unstimulating and childlike materials around, there was no way to clear her head. Echo, Paul, and Tony had left this morning, to search for more supplies. She wondered if maybe she should have gone with them, but she knew that she couldn't, she had Topher to look after. On his bad days she was the only one who could give him his mdicine and she knew that if she left, not only would he ever forgive her, but when she returned, who could say if he'd even recognize her. It scared her, the thought of leaving him alone in this world. She felt like she was doing something good looking after him. Like she was keeping him tethered to reality in some way. Still she wondered if things could be better for him.

Seeking solice from her thoughts she ventured into the artroom to find Priya sitting there with a set of watercolors and a peice o paper in front of her and next to the paper was a paintbrush covered with pigment that had yet to be applied. For a moment Adelle wondering if she should just leave. The young woman seemed deep in thought, as if there was a problem she couldn't solve. She almost turned around and went back to the domitories, back to Topher, who would ramble in scienific terms that she didn't understand and make her promise for the umpteenth time that she wouldn't answer the phone. Instead she took a deep breath and took another step into the room.

"Priya," Adelle called her name. "What are you doing?"

[SIERRA]

"Priya, What are you doing?"

The voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the entrance of the art room to see Adelle Dewitt. Priya was surprised to see her, figuring she'd be off taking care of some of the more technical details of keeping the Dollhouse running or taking care of Topher. She seemed to be the only person to be able to calm him down and get through to him lately.

"Adelle. Hello. I didn't see you there. I was -" She sighed, looking down at her blank sheet of paper before looking back at Adelle, "I was just attempting to paint...to get my mind off of everything, but as you can probably tell it didn't really work out as planned."

She stared at the paper again, almost as if a picture was just going to appear by itself. Priya never recalled painting being this difficult before. She had always just painted freely, without really thinking too much about it. "I think its because I feel like I should be doing something else. To help out. I hate not being able to do anything..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to explain how absolutely worthless she was feeling. Priya couldn't believe that she was telling her problems with Adelle. Normally she would take things like this to Echo or Tony, but neither of them were here right now.

(ooc: Sorry Arky, I didn't see you post before I posted! Do you just want to post after this?)

[ADELLE DEWITT]

Priya's paintings were in her medical file. The one from the mental hospital where she had been diagnoised as a paranoid schizophrenic and others were available in her background check. They were paintings with a bird motif mostly, in these lovely warm colors. They would be nice for in the Dollhouse, Especially now. With this place becoming their new residence it wouldn't hurt to make it a bit more homely, to put up a few pieces of art.

Adelle gave Priya a sad smile. "Maybe you're thinking about it too much," Adelle said walking a little further into the art room. "Maybe by painting you are helping. The world could always use a little more beauty."

Priya may not have been the next up and coming contemporary artists when she was placed in this house, but she did know that Priya was talented, talented in her eyes at least, same as Topher, just in different forms of art. I'm not an expert in art Priya, but I do know that paintings have long since provided an insight into history. Maybe if you just paint you'll create something that will outlive us all.

[SIERRA]

"Maybe you're thinking about it too much, Maybe by painting you are helping. The world could always use a little more beauty."

Priya had never thought of it that way. She had always loved painting and being able to express herself through her art. This helped her work through her thoughts and problems, but she had never thought that her art could help other people. She had sold several of her works at her kiosk on Venice Beach to other people, but she never thought that a pretty painting could help someone.

She stared at the blank page and then back at Adelle. "The Dollhouse is already a place of beauty. If you think hanging paintings would help, I'll paint something. I don't know if some of them would even notice the change though," she said as she glanced over at some of the other actives that were still in their wiped doll states. They walked around seemingly without a care in the world while above ground, the world was falling to pieces. They really got on her nerves sometimes.

"I'm not an expert in art Priya, but I do know that paintings have long since provided an insight into history. Maybe if you just paint you'll create something that will outlive us all."

She sighed , looking up at the other woman, "If anyone finds them buried down here. And that's if anyone survives all of this." Priya generally didn't like to see the bad side of things, but in a world like this one, it was really hard to find anything good about it.

[ADELLE DEWITT]

Adelle was not the most positive person nowadays either. It wasn't easy to be positive when someone you care about was slowly withering away from reality. She was hoping for a happy outcome of course, hoping that there would be a place where they could survive in peace, but she didn't have hopes for the world being like it was.

If anyone finds them buried down here. And that's if anyone survives all of this." Priya said.

She sat across the station from Priya like she'd done with so many other actives, just looking at their art therapy creations. The pictures were always so childlike, a line for where the earth met the sky and stick figures for people. Adelle felt proud when they gave a happy narration of these stories, Priya's, or Sierra's, were more troubling at times with the constant black spot.

She'd read Dr. Saunders' reports when Topher had discovered the link between Sierra and Nolan. The black spot representing the bad man, as he was referred to, and the notion that this bad man was Topher Brink. She wondered if those emotions still coursed through Priya, or if once her original personality was restored, all that Sierra was (besides her relationship with Anthony) was gone.

Priya, don't worry about people finding your paintings. Just paint, you have a gift, you should use it.

"The Dollhouse is already a place of beauty. If you think hanging paintings would help, I'll paint something. I don't know if some of them would even notice the change though.

She looked at the cup filled with paintbrushes and pushed it closer towards the artist. We'll hang them up. I am sure people will enjoy them. If not everyone, then a few of them. I don't know about you, but, after a few months of living down here, I am pretty tired of the color beige.

[SIERRA]

"Priya, don't worry about people finding your paintings. Just paint, you have a gift, you should use it."

Priya rolled her eyes a bit at that statement. "Yeah, some gift," she muttered under her breath. "I just wish that it was something a little more useful to us." She wished this not just for Tony or Echo, but for all of the other Dollhouse employees, for all the other dolls, and even for all of the people above ground fighting to survive. Most of them would probably never realize what the tech was originally used for before it went remote. The ones that still had their original personalities, untouched by any tech.

"We'll hang them up. I am sure people will enjoy them. If not everyone, then a few of them. I don't know about you, but, after a few months of living down here, I am pretty tired of the color beige."

She smiled a little and even managed to laugh a bit, which was a surprise in itself. There wasn't a whole lot to laugh about these days. "I'll be sure not to use that color in the paintings then," she said with a smirk. "That color does get old after a while. Maybe we should just repaint the whole house. It would give everyone a change of scenery," she said jokingly. She was sure that would never happen. There wouldn't be much point to it, with the way the world was above ground and all. And besides, she doubted they had enough paint.

(OOC: Sorry this is soo late!!)