|
It being the official day of the Winter Solstice, Sigrun has naturally prepared the back yard for a big old bonfire, pig roast, and lots of drunken nonsense. Come nightfall, the big is indeed well roasted, the beverages both alcoholic and non are plentiful and free, and the huge bonfire at the center of it all is raging quite safely under the guardianship of not one but two Philadelphia firefighters.
Area heaters, probably rented for the event, are keeping things toasty away from the fire, but its still cold out and there's still snow on the ground in places. It is, after all, the middle of winter. So dressing cozy is likely a good idea unless you're cheating with fairy magic. Which Sigrun doubtless is, given her state of dress.
She's sporting a skirt worn over a chemise, a lovely red velvet bodice, covered in hand embroidery of little flowers and fruits. There's a fur stole over her shoulders, but that's it for seasonal wear. And is worn probably just so she can show off her latest briarwolf ill.
She's lounging with all the decorum of a pirate in an adirondak chair near the fire, watching it burn with a lazy smile.
Here's a fact: Teagans like to appear out of nowhere. Here's another fact: that's even more fun when they appear next to Sigrun and lean down to smooch her noisily on her alabaster cheek. They're dressed in a black t-shirt, a flannel, jeans, and boots. Probably also cheating with fucking fairy magic, like a Teagan does. And! They have some sort of mixed drink in a glass.
June is all bundled up, and June all bundled up is adorable. As per the usual. She's from Vermont, so the winters in Philly aren't particularly bad, but she also likes to be warm and cozy, so she's in a warm jacket, a knit hat with red panda ears because the metahumor in that amuses her, and has mittens that are dangling from the sleeves of her coat from strings, but not actually on right now. She's currently bouncing her way out from the house in stompy boots, carrying an American Ninja Warrior travel mug. "Hi!" she proclaims to her boos.
Whoever had invited Jack had been informed that he'd be there 'at some point'.
'At some point' turns out to be nowish, as his bike (he's riding his motorcycle at this time of year?) can be heard purring up the street.
And then one (1) charcoal-sketch Changeling wanders into the backyard, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and his breath fogging the cold air around him.
"Hey," he says to the three already there as he makes his way closer to the fire. "Happy Solstice."
Sigrun returns the smooch to Teagan and gives their backside a swat before they can straighten up fully. "Hey, you." She then leans over the arm of her chair to peer back at June being adorable. Per the usual. "Come get by the fire and get warm! No need for all of that get up, ya silly!" It's Jack's arrival that brings her up and out of her chair, finally. It's one thing to lounge around family, but another to do so around guests. She straightens out her skirts a bit and fixes her hair before clearing her throat and greeting Jack properly, "HAPPY SOLSTICE! There's pork over there, and sodas in the green cooler. I also hid little gifts around the back yard so you can hunt them for Skade. Plus, there's chairs. And us!"
She may be a little drunk already.
They get swatted on their butt and their drink sloshes a little, but Teagan doesn't seem to mind a bit. They're in good spirits, even if they're still (always) armed, Baby hanging at their side from the new leather belt they received. "Hey, you," they respond to Sigrun, a smile cracking their mirror-dark face, and then they grin broadly at June. "You are... so ridiculously cute," they laugh, looping their free arm around June to swing her around off her feet and give her a kiss at the corner of her mouth. "Come get some food and drink, JuneyJune." She gets set back on her feet proper, and the butt-swat passed along.
And then there's Jack. The sound of the bike has them tilting their head curiously, and when he appears? "Ey, Scribbles," Teagan calls across the backyard, opening their free arm toward him in invitation. "What she said."
"I can be EXTRA warm!" June answers with a laugh. "Although that and spiked apple cider mean I'm probably going to start dozing off before long." When Jack comes wandering in, breath fogging in front of him, she gives him an enthusiastic wave and gestures him over to join them all, and then she leans into the hug from Teagan and returns the kiss. "I brought my drink, but food is always a good idea. Anyway, hi Jack! Happy Solstice. I hope you've been well?"
"I'm fucking starving...thank you." Jack makes a beeline for the pork, smiling at Sigrun's slightly drunk antics.
And blushing his scribbly blush at Teagan's, as they pull out that nickname again. He gives them an upnod and a grin before gesturing to the food, because, as he said. Starving.
"Been good - busy as hell, work's picked up with all the Christmas shows..." he trails off and takes a bite of the pork, nodding appreciatively in Sigrun's direction.
Sigrun gives Jack a big thumbs up at his appreciation of the pork. She beams back at him, toasts him with her drinking horn, and then gulps down some more of the mead. Then she slouches back down into her chair again before she loses her balance and flops into the fire or something equally embarrassing. "Yeah, come get warm. Come sit down. That would be awesome." Sigrun is, unsurprisingly, a cheerful and loving drunk. So that's not so bad. "I'm super happy you're here for the new year. When the light starts coming back out of the darkness. It's an important time for me, and I'm glad you're here for it, so thanks." And then she burps.
They grin broadly at all of the reactions from all of the people that they oh no don't think too much about that ... all the people who are here, and Teagan smooches the top of June's head. "You're very silly," they declare, before meandering over to Jack and offering them their glass for a sip. "'s'called driver's punch," they explain, as if that explains everything, and lean over to kiss the corner of his mouth, pork and all.
"It's good to be here with you for another year, Adora," Teagan answers, their broken-mirror eyes glittering in the firelight.
"Oooh, pork!" June says before suddenly veering off that direction to get some food. "I'm glad you're keeping busy, Jack. I haven't gone to a Christmas show in forever. I kind of forgot about them! I used to love going to those plays and movies and stuff when I was a kid." Food and drink in hand, she rejoins the conversation more directly. "If you want, I've got some good mulled mead inside too, I could go get. I'm drinking hot cider right now, though."
"...?" It takes a bit, between the vagueness and the kiss (which sparks another cascade of scribbles over Jack's cheeks and down the sides of his neck) to figure out what Teagan means.
"It - no alcohol, right?" It's an apologetic question. Like he's worried the clarification will be offensive, somehow.
"But - yeah, 's good to be here. And good to be working," he says to June. "Christmas shows pay big because no one wants to work on Christmas. Except me, and the folx who don't celebrate. But it's always a minority, so the payout's pretty nice."
Teagan gets a tentative kiss on the cheek, back.
"I would love some of your mulled mead, Junebug, it'll pair well with my just mead," Sigrun waggles her horn indicatively, all rosy cheeked and grinning. "But I'm gonna hold off for now." Which is probably for the best on account of, you know. She's already pretty lit. Once she's settled back into her chair, she screws up her face and nods her hesitant agreement. "Yeah. I was front of house, but yeah. I don't think I ever really thought about it until now, Jack. That you brought it up."
"I would never knowingly offer you alcohol, Scribbles," Teagan answers, holding the glass out to him. "It's like, cranberry juice and oranges and stuff. Sparkling grape juice. They call it driver's punch because you give it to the people who are driving." They don't seem offended, not a bit, by the question, though their eyebrow does arch up a little.
"Money's good," agrees Teagan, who has never needed to worry about money since they came back from Arcadia. Or never worried about it, even when they needed to. One hand reaches out to pull a chunk of pork right off the pig and put it into their mouth.
"Ooooh, non-alcoholic," June says in response to Jack's comment. "I have some hot apple cider, too! The stuff in my mug is spiked, but the alcohol went in after it was in my mug, the rest of it's untainted. I'm afraid I don't have alcohol freed mead, but I have some honey. Do you want a jar of honey to take home with you?" She gives Jack a grin, but she seems serious about the honey offer, and eager to make him feel accommodated and accepted in his not drinking.
"Celebrating Christmas away from my family feels like a bummer, in a lot of ways. Celebrating the solstice with this family feels great, though. So that's what I'm doing this year. I'm glad that you're able to cash in on the fact that nobody else wants to work, though."
"Oh - oh that...makes sense. Thanks. Sorry." Jack gives Teagan an apologetic look and takes the offered sip. "I'd take a glass, if you're offering to make it?"
Sigrun gets a nod. "Yeah, most folks want Christmas day off, at least, but someone's gotta run the three back-to-back matinees of the Nutcracker for all the families that wanna see it...might as well be me. Even Before, it was never a big deal." He steals Teagan's glass for another sip.
"I might go for some hot cider if I get too cold, but I'm good for now," he says to June. "Your bees doing well then? How does winter work, for them?"
Sigrun is only too happy to grab June up when she comes to plop in her lap. If June were worried about being cold at all, those worries are washed away by Sigrun's mantle and the temperature beating contracts she's got in place at the moment. June's going to be super cozy in short order. Sigrun just plops her chin on June's shoulder and lets out a contented sigh. Followed by another, smaller burp than the last.
"Maybe you can facetime your family back in Vermont, maybe. I bet Glitch can set that stuff up."
"That does suck, Juney. Well, I don't have any family except thi--" And now is when Teagan pauses kind of like something in the back of their brain just froze.
Ever have one of those moments when you're kind of on autopilot around the holidays because your motley has been the only family you've had for years except that's not true anymore and then your Seeming Curse like jumps out of the bushes and beats you in the face?
June nestles in against Sigrun and leans a head on her shoulder. Her eyes drift close and she answers Jack by saying, "they kind of tuck into their hive and huddle together to keep each other warm. Either they make it or they don't, but they're pretty much hibernating at this point." She sounds a bit sleepy, but still conversational. "And I do Facetime and stuff with my family, but that's not the same. I decided to stay here this year, though. I don't really regret it, but I kind of do a little."
Then she pauses and cracks an eye open to peer at Teagan. "You okay, boo?"
"...They do have family now," Jack says to June, as if somehow this explains everything, and he reaches out to put a gentle hand on Teagan's shoulder. Telegraphing his movements, like he might around a skittish cat.
((I'll go ahead and pose, then, and Sig can join us if she feels up to it. :slight_smile: ))
The bluescreen moment holds for a half-second, as Teagan just sort of tilt like an old pinball machine. Their smile slides back across their face. "Yep, fine," they agree, which is a reflexive response from the Mirrorskin who's still not used to trusting people. "Did you want me to make you one of these?" they ask Jack. The hand on their shoulder is just ... received, and Teagan nods their head slowly, like Jack's words wandered into one ear and fell right out the other.
June tilts her head slightly and squints at Teagan, picking up on some signs. She takes a sip of her cider before she says anything, and when she does it's to ask, "how much different is Christmas celebration now from your day, anyway? I bet it's way more commercial now, like everything else." She's watching Teagan fairly carefully at this point, although her tone does its best to hide that she's worried.
"Calling bullshit on you being fine." Jack's voice is soft, and he squeezes Teagan's shoulder. "Remembering you have more of a family than this was kinda a mindfuck, mm?"
A door opens and closes downstairs, and a familiar sense settles over those present. There is An Johnnie in attendance.
"Oh, it's... different. It's much more commercial now. We did presents and it was a celebration, and we did decorate, but I spent much more of the day at Mass." Teagan's distracted broken-mirror gaze wanders around the fire, briefly fixing on June, and then Jack speaks, and they clear their throat. "... hnngh." Their smile thin-lipped, brief, here and gone again. Fun times, when you get a Clarity whack and then a little guilt because how could you forget your kid even for a half-second?
June watches Teagan the whole while, both actually curious about the answer, but also trying to see if they can tell what's going on. "That sounds dreadful," she admits. "But as someone who has never really been religious, any time I got dragged to church as a kid was just a bunch of mind-numbing sitting around, with no good feelings attached, so now I just want to avoid it. Much to my gram's chagrin, unfortunately."
Sigrun is quite drunk, and Sigrun is quite celebratory. And both of these things have Sigrun's brain not hardwired to assume she must by hypervigilant or Bad Things will happen to her friends. Which means she's only proving why she shouldn't let her guard down, not even on feast days. So she just contentedly drinks her mead, hugs June to herself, and smiles like the happiest little norsewoman in the Danelaw. "We did Loo-tren Christmas, don'tcha know. Oh, yeah. Back in Fairmont we'd sometimes drive up to Ulm for the big mass up that way, you know. They do that Hallelujah Chorus and you can feel it in your molars! Super good. Just. Super duper." Sigrun hiccups indelicately. "Gosh."
"Mass is fuckin' awful," Jack agrees with June with a shake of his head. And then he looks to Teagan again. "You...wanna elaborate on that 'hnngh'?" He raises his eyebrows. Sigrun gets a glance too, and a smile as she drunkenly explains her Christmas traditions.
There's not so much footsteps on the basement stairs as the steady approach of Something Wicked, and then the door opens and there's Johnnie, looking around with that perfectly placid mask of an expression.
They'd much rather look over at Sigrun and watch her babble about Loo-tren Christmas, and Teagan just sort of mentally drifts over to watching the shinybright Fairest be a shinybright Fairest, and June being cute and talking about her grandmother. It's Jack's poking and prodding questions that make them roll their shoulders sharply. "I just got confused for a minute, that's all." totally fine, we're all fine here, how are you?
June laughs softly at Sigrun's explanation of the masses she went to and leans to kiss her boo's cheek, since they're snuggled together. "It might be tolerable with you, if there was fun singing. But mostly, I always think of masses as boooooring snoozefests." She beams at Johnnie when she comes in and says, "hey you! There's some warm cider, non-alcoholic, in the kitchen that is only for me and guests. Definitely not for people named Johnnie, even if they're in the mood for a nice warm beverage." She doesn't join in prodding at Teagan, since everyone piling on them is definitely not going to go well, and she knows it.
Jack flinches and takes his hand off Teagan's shoulder, letting it drop to his side as his silhouette flickers again. And he doesn't push the subject, instead upnodding at Jackie, and even conjuring up a smile for her.
"Yeah. And don't touch the roast pig or else, Johnny! You've been... w...arned." Sigrun hurks a bit around that word. But it's fine. She drinks a bit more mead to prove the point, in proper viking fashion. "I should slow down a bit. I haven't been this drunk since..." Sigrun wobbles a bit so that she can peer up at June and consider her furry face in profile, "Last Yule, I think! Well, that's not so bad, I guess." Sigrun lets her hair down infrequently. Even if her hair is presently Very Up And Pretty. (If starting to get wispy from time and alcohol induced hair preening.)
"That's okay. I get confused all the time and it's okay cossamnodda mountebank." Sigrun points this out with a toast of her horn towards Teagan, and hipchecks the point into the boards before stealing the puck and skating away.
Johnnie glances to June as she speaks her way and smiles. "Sure would be a shame if something happened to it," she remarked as a sneaky shadow snuck a cup of cider and cartoon-thief sneaks back to Johnnie with it. She pauses, spotting Jack's flinch, and tips her head, expressing curiosity without demanding answers as a second shadow dramatically wields a knife to pretend to psycho stab the pig as it carves off a snack. Because of course she's got the finesse to manage that. Freshly supplied with snacks, she sidles over towards the rest, piecing together bits. Being confused is okay? Mountebanks, Jack's flinch, Teagan's denial- but there's still a missing piece, and a Teagan who looks like they're actively trying to avoid engaging on that front.
"Hmm."
A moment of consideration and a glance at Jack again.
"No, you'd be better than me at that. I'd probably push when I shouldn't or not engage properly."
June's not wrong. Then again, nobody here is wrong. But Jack's flinch? Now Teagan just sort of freezes, like there's a shadow for them to hide in to avoid the wroth of The General, or they're trying to avoid being detected by a passing sentry. Their hands stay still, fingers splayed, not grabbing for Baby yet, which is, you know, good, right?
June leans to kiss Sigrun again, then starts shimmying their way to the lap's edge to get up. "It's time for a refill for me," she says. "Warm beverages mean warm Junes! Not that there's much problem in that department with fur, coats, and fires, but, you know... happy tummy." She gets up and moves toward Teagan too, where she asks, "can I have a smooch before I head inside?"
"...Teagan." Jack flickers a little more. "They - when they forgot -" He looks to the members of their motley, then back to the Darkling. Like he's not sure how much he's allowed to say, about what he knows.
"Teagan, love?" Johnnie offers as she sips at her cider, watching Sigrun be Sigrun and the delight that she is, and June wiggle out to head inside. "I know that look and it's not one you need here. There's not a single person here whose harm you need to fear. You're as safe as you could possibly be." Stated calmly, with conviction. Then she looks to Jack, listening, while he decides how much and what to share.
Frozen for a long moment, Teagan's head turns a little bit toward Johnnie, and then -- as if they realized it all of a sudden -- they clear their throat and force their shoulders to loosen. Their head turns toward Jack, and now it's their turn to telegraph their movements, a hand briefly brushing his wrist. Comfort, or permission, maybe. Then June's asking for a kiss, and Teagan leans down to grant the tiny red panda toughie the smooch she desires. "Of course."
June rises up on her tiptoes to press her lips to Teagan's lips and pulls the clarity damage out of the Mirrorskin and into herself. There's a wince and a soft squeak from her as it happens, because it comes into her as physical damage rather than clarity, and she teeters slightly as she steps back. "Thanks boo. I'll be back in a few minutes. Anyone else want something while I'm inside?" She does stop to offer Johnnie a smooch on her way, too.
Jack gently twines his fingers with Teagan's, if they'll let him, and he watches the kiss with a smile. And then a frown of concern as it seems to hurt June, somehow, but given that she's treating it like a regular, or at least unremarkable, occurrence, he doesn't comment.
"I'd um...take some cider, if you don't mind. Thanks," he says to her.
There's much going on, and he doesn't barge in too directly, but Glitch is seen peeking out from the house, hovering on the threshold with his usual inscrutable expression. He has a can of soda in his hand and his eyes on Jack and Teagan. Jack gets a tiny nod.
When the Clarity damage just gets -- schlorped out of their body via the kiss -- Teagan suddenly looks rather sheepish. They follow that kiss with a second one, and reach a hand to brush her cheek with their fingertips. "Sorry," they offer quietly. "I think I'd like some cider, yes, and thank you," they agree, and their fingers twine with Jack's. Teagan's cheeks silver briefly, and they nudge Jack with their shoulder. "Thank you, too."
June gives Jack a thumbs up and a smile. "Sure, no problem! I'll come back with a few of them in a minute. Hi Glitch!" she wiggles her fingers at him on her way by, heading inside to get beverages for people, and to check on wherever it is that she got sucker-punched by the Wyrd when she sucked out Teagan's clarity damage.
Johnnie bends down to curl June in a hug and claim that smooch, petting her hair down as she continued past. "I'm fine, no need to worry. And I'm good on cider." She smiles faintly when Teagan looks Sheepish instead of Afraid, nodding faintly and whispering to June. "Well done," before straightening.
"I didn't so all that much," Jack shrugs, but he squeezes Teagan's hand. Glitch's peeking earns him raised eyebrows and an upnod from Jack.
Once the coast appears clear, Glitch steps over to Jack and Teagan and opens his arms, moving to hug Teagan around the midsection if the mirrorskin lifts their arms. Jack may get caught in the hug, though Glitch's arms aren't too long. "Remember before we had June and we'd all just lose our shit and feel awful every so often for no good reason?" he beeps casually, voice soft with static.
The Mirrorskin squeezes Jack's hand, then leans down to kiss the corner of his jaw and murmur something into his ear. Their hand squeezes on his again, and then they let go, offering, "I'm gonna go check on June." But then Glitch is there, and he gets a hug and a kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Yes, I absolutely do remember that. It was a shitty time. I never want to not have a June around ever again, and not just because being a TrueBalm myself is basically the worst."
"Actually, my worst break was recent," Johnnie muses idly. "Though she made quick work of it. I've taken pretty good care of my clarity. Which- judging by my illadvised flirtation with divinity- is not to say the same of my sanity, sadly." She's not sure if anyone's paying attention, but there's definitely more important topics to focus on and a Glitch to welcome and she begrudges them not.
A scribbly blush drifts across Jack's cheeks at that on his jaw, and the scent of an imminent spring rainstorm, so very out of place in the middle of December, grows a little stronger in the air. He nods at whatever Teagan's said, and claps Glitch on the shoulder after he's done greeting Teagan.
"Divinity, mm?" He says to Jackie with a smile.
Glitch lives here, and doesn't need much more of a welcome after returning Player Two's kiss. "You did a good job. Tell June she's hardcore for me." He lets Teagan follow after June and bumps his hip against Jack's in response to the shoulderclap. "Johnnie used to be...a lot more powerful," he murmurs quietly. "If you can believe it."
"Oh, yeah. Divinity. I used to think I was a god. And you thought I was arrogant now," Johnnie jokes mildly, popping some roast pig into her mouth. "I, ah. Put a lot of work into scraping that off my soul."
"Huh." Jack cocks his head. "Sounds like...you're better off closer to us mortals, yeah? Or...mortal-adjacent, I guess...?"
Glitch nods at Jack's sentiment. "Save some of that pig for me, I gotta get back inside. There's a stream I don't wanna miss." He turns to trundle off, then pauses and turns back around. "We should hang out more," he says to Jack, and then to Johnnie. "Both of you. Us. Words." Then it's back into the house for gamer time.
"Oh, I'm mortal," Johnnie admits. "As mortal as any of us. And I'd agree that I'm better off. I have it on solid authority the worst of it was the others in my-" She winces faintly, a strong reaction from her increasingly inscrutable expression. "-pantheon. They were not good influences and I didn't manage myself well."
Jack nods. "Sounds like a pretty awful combination, really. And a good thing that you made the effort to come back from all that."
"It- took... like." She's quiet a moment. "Two years? Three? I don't- remember. It was a long time. And it was just me. Here. By myself. No family, just- blind hope they'd show up if I waited long enough someplace that meant something to them."
"And they did. Yeah?" Jack's voice is quiet, but intense.
She draws herself up with a deep breath and a satisfied sigh. "Yeah. They did. It was a fucking scary few years, but they sure as shit did, didn't they?"
"Sounds like - at least from what I've seen - that they love you just as much, even after those years. I uh." He stops and blinks, his expression flickering a bit like he's just put something together. "You're lucky you had 'em before it, too."
|