The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Link to article: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.

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text=Fight. Flight. Freeze. Fawn?]]
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When Hana Thompson first picked up photography as a hobby, her parents used to joke with her that "a picture was worth a thousand words." Standing on the edge of the shoreline, she wished that her parents would be there beside her, if only so that she could show them how wrong they truly were.

But she was alone, and had all the words in the world.

With the push of a button, and the //click// of her camera, Hana does her best to capture the scene before her, to have something to remember her brief excursion outside the walls of her containment chamber before the door closes, the light fades, and her world once again fades away to darkness, if they decided to let her out again at all. The mechanics of the camera //whir//, and the dull plastic polygon spits out a photo. She holds it out before her, side-by-side with the natural vista.

Ancient evergreens stretch themselves upwards, as if reaching for the low hanging clouds of the morning. Their old needles sprinkle the ground, shedding themselves of last season's coat for something newer, fresher, to wrap around themselves for the winter. A sprinkling of thin maples add the first drops of fall to the forest's palette, their bottom leaves like chameleons to the cooling nights, morph into tones of red and yellow. She captures a few rays of the sun peeking through the canopy, as well as a pair of songbirds. One sits on a branch, watching the other take flight towards another tree. A hawk circles overhead, watching for an out of place blade of grass or mistimed splash. The water lapping against the stony shore is nearly clear, far cleaner than the muddy docks of Site-19. Tiny fish sit under lily pads in piecemeal schools, waiting for the clouds to block out the sun before the collective travels elsewhere.

It was… peaceful, and Hana could have sat forever, simply resting on the shore, listening to the natural beauty of it all. But as Hana's eyes move towards the horizon, she is met only with the clean white border of the picture's frame. There was no world for her anymore, nowhere else to go. She takes one last look at the photo, at the frame, at the box, and places it in her pocket. She had a mission to do, and there was only one path to lead her forward.

She was whisked away from her room in the late afternoon, long after any of her usual testing or check-ups would take place, and was brought to the docks of Site-19. It was somewhat pitiful compared to the few memories Hana had of the waterfront growing up, with an army of rowboats and rubber dinghies where fishing vessels should have been. Dr. Glass was waiting at the far side of the dock, reading a collection of files, in a boat whose hull was patchwork with duct tape and slimy with green algae.

Hana leaned over the side and dipped her hand in the water as the boat crawled across the lake with its sputtering engine. It had been so long, too long, and she swore she could see a younger version of herself in the wake, smiling as she chased impossibly fast minnows. Her daydreaming was cut short with a bump, and the clearing of Glass' throat.

"After reviewing your performance in [[[scp-6342|Providence]]], Director Light and I discussed your attendance for the upcoming fall semester. We're both on board with the idea, as well as your interest in becoming a full field agent, but we just wanted to see how you would handle yourself in a less… dangerous situation." He handed her a file, motioning for her to open it. After a few pages of neat, black highlighted text, she found what he wanted her to see.

[[div class="blockquote"]]
= [[size larger]]**<<SCP-8166-2 Case File>>**[[/size]]

**Name:** █████████
**Age:** 19

**Description:** SCP-8166-2 possesses physical characteristics similar to --//Rangifer Tarandus//-- //Odocoileus virginianus// (White-tail deer) including: hooved feet, antlers, large ears, nose, and short tail. It is believed to possess a similar, docile nature.

SCP-8166-2 possesses innate reality bending abilities. In present time, these abilities have only provided minimal damage to Foundation facilities, with observations noting minor appearance changes and the creation of food as a majority of ability usage.
[[/div]]

"As such, your mission today is retrieval," he adjusts his glasses. "Just be sure to do your best, alright. If you're unable to complete this now, we can give it another try in a few months when you're ready," he explained.

//Fight. Flight. Freeze. Come on, Hana, you have a job to do. Don't let yourself get stuck here.//

"If this means being able to leave this place, I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Hana says, looking at the treeline ahead of her. A ray of light cuts through the canopy, reflecting a prismatic hue off of rain droplets from what must have been a recent storm.

//Truly//, Hana thinks, //truly they couldn't be hiding something __this__ beautiful in their prison.//

But, the moment of awe passes, and Hana Thompson bows her head before stepping deeper into the woods.

-----

After tripping on a web of roots, getting caught in the arm-like grasp of sapling branches, and swearing she passed the same tree three times, Hana arrives at a small stream she believes to be situated at the center of the island. The area looks somewhat well-travelled, littered with small tracks nearly indistinguishable in the soil, but also with much larger tracks that causes Hana to swallow down a wave of anxiety.

//Deer tracks are small, right? There's no way they dropped me off on an island with a monster.// She takes a deep breath. //Fight. Flight. Freeze. Keep going.//

A trail of grass intermingled with hoof marks leads to a log that rests by a small body of water with a scatter of similar marks imprinted in the mud and scratching white the tops of the flat stream rocks. As Hana approaches the log, she notices a collection of flowers blooming beneath it, with large, plate-like mushrooms seemingly anchoring it to the ground. The bark is smooth, uniform, and there's no sign of rot outside of it. She takes a seat at one end with a //huff//, and dips her hand in the stream, splashing some of its water on her forehead. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices a golden shine from within the log, and sticks her hand in to try to grab it. Her fingers brush the spine of a book, feeling out the words "Fairy Tales and Stories, Translated."

"Well, at least if anything comes after me now, I have something to protect myself with."

She brings the heavy book up to her lap and carefully opens it, cautiously skimming through the pages until she reaches one titled //The Little Mermaid.// After reading a few paragraphs, she stops and turns her head.

"Huh. This isn't the Ariel I dressed up as. This version is so much… darker? Where are Sebastian and Flounder? Where are the singing fish?"

A bush shuffles behind her. Hana freezes, careful not to blink or even breathe enough to give her away.

"Fish do not sing, at least they have not to me. I do not think I would enjoy that in my story."

Hana jumps straight up from the log, turning to face the unknown voice behind her. She takes her camera out from her pocket, thumb hovering over the shutter button. The figure is slightly taller than her and wears a white, patchy dress that doesn't look [[[hoovesandantlers|quite correct on its body]]]. Its eyes, antlers, and the fawn spots freckling its face begin to dimly glow. It squeaks at her reaction, raising its hands and falling to the ground.

//Fight. Flight. Freeze.// Hana repeats. But she pauses. //Or fawn?//

"I am sorry. Please do not harm me, I do not intend to hurt you." It says, with a voice slightly deeper than Hana was expecting. "I know I look like a creature, but please, do not slay me as one."

Fear wells in the creature's big eyes, its pupils dilated. Hana stares confused for a moment, probably a moment more than would be considered polite, fixated on the creature's winding antlers and alert ears. She places a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath and laughing.

"You're… not at all how I thought you would look from the file," Hana lowers her camera, allowing it to hang from its sling. She kneels and holds out a hand. "Hello… deer woman? I am Hana Thompson, but a humble visitor to your island, an anomaly like yourself. I promise to bring you no harm."

The clearing goes silent, as if every other living thing besides the pair had disappeared. The figure eyes her hand, though its expression softens to one of confusion rather than fear.

"What's your name?" Hana continues, attempting to fill the dead air.

The creature looks at her with surprise.

"M-Meri. My name is Meri Clef." Meri chokes out, her voice dry.

"Meri." Hana repeats. Meri's ears flick at the sound. "I like that name. It's a happy name."

"Hana," Meri repeats. "I like your name too."

"Thanks! It means 'flower' where my dad is from." Hana takes a seat on the log, motioning for Meri to join her. After a second of hesitation, she does, though a comfortable distance away. The two sit in silence for a moment.

"Do you feel strongly around me?" Meri shuffles her hands around. "Sorry. There is something about you that is familiar. Like we have met in one of my dreams or at some point in the past."

Hana pauses for a moment, observing her new acquaintance on the log. Her big eyes scan Hana, lingering just too long before looking elsewhere in the woods. She's constantly shifting her hands and legs. Hana can swear that Meri's appearance changes slightly, subtly, before returning to as it was.

"I'm sorry, Meri. Everything before these… past few years is a blur to me. Even now, I can't remember much of the past few months. It was a half life, a way for Hana to dig deeper. "What do you mean you saw me in a dream?"

"Sometimes, I see flashes of images while I am in the Garden." She pauses. "That is the place I go to when I dream. There I can see many stories, both those that have happened and those that have not happened yet." Meri holds out her hand, shaking as she moves it towards Hana. "Maybe I can see yours too?"

Hana's shoulders tense. "I'm, uh, not sure about that. I doubt you'll even find anything interesting there."

"But I would like to read your story. All stories are interesting to me. Each and every one of them has worth, has a place to be remembered."

//Remembered. Remember.//

Hana sighs. "Alright, fine. How does this work exactly?"

"All you need to do is take my hand and close your eyes. We will both enter the dream after that."

Hana smirks. "Hold your hand, huh? Do you do this with all the people who come to your island, or am I special?"

"No one else like you has come to my island before. Usually people do not get this close to me unless I am asleep."

//Oh.//

Hana rolls up her sleeve and begins moving her hand towards Meri. Meri flinches as it approaches, but she steadies it when their fingers meet. She begins to glow much brighter now, and she shuts her eyes while whispering words Hana can make out. Shortly after, Hana closes her eyes, and reality slips away around her.

-----

[[div class="storybook-hca"]]
[[=]]
Water, both necessary for life and
bringer of silent death, washes over a ##83A2C8|pearl##.
There was a time when people would remember this ##83A2C8|pearl##
as a queen, clad in dress and colorful pigment, the ideal.
Through windfall she obtained the source of her power, but
she was too young to see that this blade cut two ways,
that it would ultimately unmake her, as it unmade others before her.

It's easier to notice an End in retrospect, but impossible
for those blinded by ideals to see an End at all.
Her subjects slipped away in droves, no longer coming to see her,
instead forming a massless crowd before her.
They sit in silence, for who can remember their voice? Who is left
to remember their faces,
but the ##83A2C8|Queen##, now cursed to live without them, cursed only to die.

She sinks like lead in the water, the gilded façade chipping away
as loving hands reach up at her from the depths;
the past has come to collect-- piece by piece, body mind and soul,
until nothing of her remained.
When she wakes, she'll only be left with the scars of what she has done.
What is a ##83A2C8|Queen## without her subjects?
What is a ##83A2C8|Queen## to those who can't remember to believe at all?
[[/=]]
[[/div]]

-----

Hana opens her eyes first, panicked. She stares straight ahead of her at her acquaintance on the log. //Flee. I think now is the time to flee before she wakes up.// But she is unable to move. Meri physically strains, fighting to keep her eyes shut, and gripping onto Hana's hand much harder than Hana thinks she means to. After some time, Meri opens her eyes again, bringing a hand up to her forehead. She sways a little, and small beads of sweat dot her face.

"I am sorry if you did not see much, I am not very good at this. I practice with my [[[scp-8166|Uncle]]], but it has been a while. I see water in my dreams too." She begins to shake.

"Meri, I think we should get you something to drink," Hana says, snapping out of her trance. She slowly helps Meri up from the log and walks her a few steps to the stream. Meri cups her hands and begins to drink as Hana holds her steady. "Did you want some as well?" she looks up to Hana meekly, offering a handful of water.

"No thank you, I brought my own," Hana replies, pulling a canteen from her pocket and sitting next to Meri, who scoots away slightly and pulls her legs up to her chest.

"I-- think you smell really nice."

Hana laughs and rolls up her sleeve, offering her wrist to Meri. She leans forward to take a few sniffs before her face scrunches up. She sneezes.

"Bless you." She retracts her arm and rolls her sleeve back down. "Thanks. It's a pomegranate perfume with just a hint of rose. You smell… nice as well. Like rain almost. Petrichor."

Meri blushes, turning her face away from Hana. Her tail flicks. "T-thanks." She looks back at the log and the book open atop it. "I am sorry you did not like the story in my book."

"You don't have to apologize. I'm just used to the newer version. It's a little bit more light hearted. They made an animated movie about it before I was born."

"Moo-vies?" Meri sounds out. "The visitors have mentioned them in passing, but I do not know what those are."

"Meri, how long have you been here?"

"The visitors tell me I have been here since [[[it-s-hard-to-be-a-kid-in-containment|October of 1999]]]." She begins counting with her fingers, resetting once she reaches '10'. "I am 19 years old, if I counted correctly. Did you grow up here too?"

Hana's heart drops, hoping it doesn't show on her face. //A whole life in containment. I'm barely surviving after less than 2 years.//

"I was brought here a couple of years ago after— " Hana pauses. //She doesn't need to know what you did. Don't let her think you're a monster.//

"—they found out I could magically edit photographs. That's actually why I'm here today. Do you know what those are?"

Meri nods. "[[[tinkertailorsoldierjailor|My father]]] told me he carries a small picture around of me." She mimes the dimensions of it. "I do not know how it works, but it is something truly wondrous."

Hana squints her eyes. "Right…"

//She's so… tragic. How has she lived like this for so long?//

"You also seem knowledgeable about stories, Hana. How would you describe yourself? In terms of my stories?"

"Hmmmm." Hana pauses for a moment. "Well, I'm not nearly cool enough to be a wizard, don't get out enough to be an adventurer… oh! I did kill a monster once, if that means anything."

"Monsters…" Meri repeats, flinching.

Hana stands up and brushes the dirt and loose plants off of her. "Well, if we're talking stories, would you be interested to hear about my first adventure?"

Meri nods and unfurls herself. She leans forward, intrigued.

"Once upon a time," Hana begins, "I travelled to this place called Providence. It's somewhat far from here, months if you walk but only a few hours by flight. In Providence there's this magical school, and it was there I learned about a creature called //The Crimson Pincer//." She lets her words hang in the air a moment before continuing. "My new companion-- their name is [[[nevertellneverhear|Vesper]]] and they can tell the future, and I travelled to an island during a storm and found the creature, a massive crab the size of a car…" She pauses. "Think of a crab the size of a really large rock."

Meri nods and mimics the shape of a crab with her hands.

"Anyways, I was able to capture the crab with this!" she motions to the camera, pulling the picture she took earlier from her pocket. "After that, the crab shrunk to a normal size and a bird ate it. The end!"

Hana stops to catch her breath. Meri softly claps her hands.

"That must have been really scary to see a crab that large. When I was younger, they used to grab my fingers when I stuck my hands in the water. You are really brave to have faced that."

"Oh it was nothing, just a normal day, you know?" Hana replies. "What about you, Meri? What do you see yourself as?"

Meri looks to the ground at her hooves, and balls her fists on her lap.

"There is a [[span style="text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #BC3030;"]]##red|scary creature##[[/span]] that haunts me, one that looks exactly like me. I see it in my reflection, and I think that I am that… creature. A monster." She looks at Hana. "That is why they keep me on this island. To make sure everyone stays safe from me."

"I don't think so. You sound more like a princess to me, fit the description too."

Meri's ears perk up. "Y-you think I am a princess?"

"Yeah of course. I mean you lived on an island and read books all your life, all you need to do is talk to animals. I think you're beautiful like a princess too, inside and out."

"I... I do speak to the animals and insects that I call my friends on the island, although, they do not make very good conversation."

"See? What did I say, you really are a princess."

Meri grips the ground and turns away, causing Hana to laugh.

"Why does my face feel this way? Why are my cheeks burning?"

"I think it's because I've put you on the spot," Hana explains. "I'm sorry."

"No, I am okay. I have never spoken to anyone my age before. This is all very new to me."

"No worries, Meri." Hana leans back. "For a while, the only people I talked to were the same few doctors and guards before I went to school, and even then, I don't really fit in with anyone there. You'll get used to it, though. One day."

"Do you think I could come to school with you?" Meri tilts her head. "Maybe then we can not fit in together?"

Hana laughs. "Maybe one day." Meri smiles, and the two sit for a moment.

//They're never going to let her out of here. They barely let __me__ out of here, and I'm not even half-deer.//

"What do your stories say about knights, Meri?"

"Well, in some stories knights go out to slay monsters. They are usually in service of someone, though, and act in accordance with the code of chivalry."

"Do you think I could be a knight?"

Meri pauses to think for a moment. "Well, you slayed a monster, but I am not sure if you follow any codes."

"I don't see why I couldn't, though that doesn't really fix the problem of not having someone to serve."

"W-well, I-- " Meri stammers. "Maybe you could be my knight? They do often try to win the favor of princesses, and since you said I-- and you have certainly won-- "

Hana grins.

"Of course. I promise to uphold justice and order and... whatever else. I promise to be your sword against your enemies." Hana bows deeply, giggling as she does. "My life is yours, my lady." Hana sits back down on the log, motioning a now frozen Meri to join her. She offers Meri the heavy book.

For the next few hours, the pair sits as the sun slowly travels from zenith to just above the horizon. The forest glows with the warm hues of a summer evening, orange and pink intermingling with the verdant leaves and umber pines. But no good thing can last forever, and just as Hana reaches to turn the page--

A voice chimes over the radio. [[span class="comptext"]]"Hana, it's going to be getting dark soon. I'm going to circle back to the shore to pick you up, alright?"[[/span]]

//Oh shit, the photo.//

"My princess, may I ask a small, simple favor?" Hana smiles. "I am in need of a keepsake, something to remember our meeting by today."

"Hm? What can I help out with?"

Hana takes her camera in her hands. "Just need to snap a photo of you. All you need to do is stand still, alright?"

"Will it hurt?" Meri asks, hesitation evident in her voice. "The snapping, that is."

"Not at all, just stand in front of the log, and it'll be over before you blink."

Meri awkwardly stands in front of the log, while Hana steps back to get a better view. The longer she stands, the more she fusses with her hair and the dress, until finally--

"Alright, just look at me." Hana brings the camera to her eye. "Say cheese!"

"Cheese?"

//Click!//

A flash illuminates the clearing, followed by the sound of a picture printing from the front of the camera. Hana grabs the photo and sticks it in her pocket. "Thank you for the--" she looks down, in the grass to Meri doubled over, her hands over her ears. When she finally recovers, Hana offers a hand, but Meri does not accept.

"S-sorry. It is just a thing I do when I get startled. The visitors tell me it is natural and nothing to worry about. Sorry."

The pair walk in near silence to the treeline before Meri stops abruptly, her hooves planted on the edge of the grass and rocky sand.

"Well, Meri. It was nice meeting you. Maybe if we both play nice, they'll let us see each other again."

"It was nice meeting you too, Hana. Please visit again when you can. There are more stories I want to tell you about."

Hana smiles and bows, making her way back towards the shore.

-----

The boat ride back is fairly uneventful. Hana endures a long debrief from Glass, but it's lost on her. All she can think about is Meri. In a way, she reminded Hana of herself when she first arrived on site, at least from what others have told her. There was a profound fear in the faun's eyes, and the way she held and spoke of the stories during their meeting made it seem like all the beasts and villains she read about were going to jump out of the pages to get her.

//Will you be my knight?// The question replays over and over in Hana's head.

For the girl's sake, Hana couldn't say no. It wasn't like she would actually have to protect her from danger; she would remain on that island for who knows how long, and Hana would be a field agent. Odds are the two would never see each other again.

Hana snaps back to reality as she disembarks the boat, and turns her attention towards the site.

//Back to the real world, Hana. No more fairy tales. You're never going to see each other again.//

The faint glows of cigarettes further down the docks catches her eyes. Two figures stand talking to one another. One has a scoped rifle slung over his shoulder, while the other's form shift's slightly, causing Hana to squint through the waves of heat of the cooling summer night. He turns his gaze to her, piercing. He turns around, a third eye staring back at her from his neck, and just as quickly as she notices him, he disappears.

//Vesper wouldn't have mentioned her if she wasn't important, though. Maybe they're wrong about this one. Vesper doesn't know the Foundation. It would be easier to move a mountain than it would be to put us in the same place again--//

"Congratulations, //6317//, you passed."

Hana cringes as she hears her designation.

A woman, clad in black combat vest and tactical pants, stands before Hana, imposing. Her hair is short, slicked back with what Hana can only assume to be the same grease she uses to maintain the service pistol on her hip. Hana looks at Glass, who has already entered into conversation with the woman.

"-- she successfully made contact with 8166-2 and collected evidence. For her first official operation, I think she did a good job." Glass says, his back turned to Hana.

"There's still one more test, Dr. Glass, if I may." The woman says, receiving a nod back from Glass. She turns her attention to Hana once more.

"//SCP-6317, formerly known as Hana Thompson. Has the ability to modify aspects of photography to alter the perception of those as the subject. Came into Foundation care after all but one of her classmates were affected by her abilities.//" The figure coldly recites, as if they were reading it directly from her file. "Are you aware of the punishment for the unsanctioned neutralization of an anomaly?"

"N-no, ma'a—"

"No, //sir//."

"Sorry, ma— sir. Sorry, sir. Look, I didn't mean to do anything wrong." Hana laughs nervously. "It was a storm, and I-- it attacked me first and I didn't actually think I would kill it." The button on one of the woman's pouches //click//s, and Hana takes a deep breath. //Fuck, is she going to kill me?// The woman holds a single, orange pill in her hand, motioning for Hana to take it.

"Some consider this a mercy," she says. "Though I wouldn't necessarily call it pleasant either."

Hana shakily picks up the capsule, slowly bringing it to her mouth. She thinks about running, but she knows the woman would have her on the ground after her first step. So, reluctantly, Hana resigns herself to her fate, letting the capsule dissolve in her tongue. It tastes sweet, almost orangey. She closes her eyes, waiting for her throat to dissolve or a million other terrible ways her life could have ended… but nothing does.

The woman struggles to hold back her laughter, the figure with the rifle joining her in a much more controlled chuckle.

He holds out a cigarette to her.

"For first successful mission. Is cause for celebration!"

Hana takes the cigarette, still shell-shocked from her near death. "T-thanks?" She rotates the cylinder in her hand, unsure of what to do with it. The figure laughs. "Old soldier's habit. Death on battlefield is unexpected, but cigarette is death you can control. Poetic, да?" He mouths something to the woman, and begins making his way back to the site.

She feels a strong hand on her back.

"I'm Senior Special Agent Andrea Adams, Andrea is fine, but I'm still "sir" to you. I'm also your new boss! I'll be responsible for making sure you don't die." She pauses. "Well, while you're not at school, that is. You're more valuable there than you are here, apparently."

"You know, I felt like someone would be talking to me about the crab eventually, but I didn't think it would be like this."

"What? You didn't think that the slap on your wrist would be Vitamin-C?" Andrea leans forward slightly. "Listen," she scans the dock, "if this were a real disciplinary hearing, Clef would be sitting in front of you, not me. Clef's a bastard, and you seem like a good kid, so I thought some ribbing would suffice for punishment. Word of advice: try not to mess up again or else you'll have to meet the old man."

//That name again? Could he be?//

"Be sure to get some rest, Hana. Tomorrow you're going to learn what it means to be an agent for the Foundation." The hand leaves her shoulder, and Andrea gives her a wide grin.

"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life."
[[/==]]
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The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

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