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An exchange of text messages with both her cousin and Zoey, arranging a time to meet Zoey and shooing her cousin away -- they can talk later, once Yael has fully verified and talked with this woman who says she's the other end of the Vow that shaped her whole life.
Thus, on a late winter late afternoon, Yael is out at the farm. She's got on her heavy work boots, her ratty work coat, jeans, worn gloves, and a knit beanie pulled down over her ears. Her frizzy curls have been pulled back into a serviceable braid, and she's standing astride a four-wheeler, hand held up shadowing her eyes, peering out across a field. "Those dumb fluffy fuckshits went all the way the fuck up there, didn't they, Daisy? Didn't they, Zip? Well, all right, then."
"Daisy, away to me now." The older and more experienced dog, a red merle Border Collie with keen blue eyes, leaps off the 4-wheeler and runs off to the right, up the hill, to circle the herd of sheep counterclockwise.
Yael waits a handful of seconds, then adds, "come by, Zip," and the younger dog, another red merle who's been vibrating with desire to Be A Good Dog, springs off to the left, dashing off at full speed to help the older dog bring the herd in for the night.
Well. How else do you handle sheep? Nothing's as efficient and effective as dogs.
Zoey shows up in pickup that makes very little sound other than the crunching of its tires up the road, since it's electric, but also looks like it's actually offroad capable. The thing gets parked at the edge of the driveway, then she hops out, climbs up so she's standing on the edge of the truck bed for some height as she shields her eyes from the sun and peers around, and then jumps back down.
Once on the ground she heads toward Yael at a jog, even if her jog is as fast as, or faster, than many people's sprints. For a fairly small lady she hauls ass, even though she's wearing jeans and a layering of hoodie and denim jacket and work boots. By the time she gets to where Yael is she's pulled her beanie off and stuffed it in a jacket pocket, but she's smiling and bright eyed and barely breathing hard at all.
"It still looks so much like it used to," she says. "Except the trees that got bigger, and a few other things. Still so much mud." That makes her laugh, even as she turns away from Yael to watch the dogs running around.
"Gosh," she finally says.
"Yeah," Yael says. There's a sort of wistfulness in her voice. "I needed to go away for a while, but I did miss the place. It's good to not have the responsibility," she admits.
A second later, she lets out a sharp whistle, calling, "Walk up, Zip!" to the younger dog as he -- much more excited than Daisy -- gets too antsy and starts to freak the sheep out rather than just, you know, herding them. "He's only eight months, he gets excitable," she explains. Yael is clearly paying attention to Zoey -- she keeps glancing at her -- but her attention is still largely on the sheep situation. (The Sheep Situation is the name of my new folk-punk band.)
"Always, always mud. These two will get us sorted in a minute. There's soup in the house if you're hungry." And indeed, here come the sheep, hustling along the track toward their pen.
Zoey heaves a heavy sigh and stops looking around, and when she looks at Yael there's wetness in her eyes that she isn't making any efforts to hide. There's something very sad-puppy about her expression, in fact. "I never wanted to go away at all. Once we had this place, every time I left I just longed to be back. That was only part about the place, though. Part about the place, and the rest about who I shared it with."
She takes out a wrinkled handkerchief from a pocket of her jacket and dabs at her eyes. "That wasn't what tied you here though, was it? So it wouldn't be the same for you. I didn't expect anyone connected to me to still be here. I didn't know the length Leah would have gone to for that promise she made me." She laughs, she smiles, and at the same time she shakes her head. "I don't even know what to say. Except thank you, that I do know I need to say."
Her head turns as she watches the dogs running about. "They're having so much fun, I almost hate to see them finish," she says. "Do you mind if I call them back when they're done?" One thing Zoey is not good at is hiding her thoughts and feelings, so anyone with any sensitivity to other people can probably tell there's more to that question than she says. She asks a little too casually, but she doesn't provide any clues what else there might be.
She turns more fully towards Zoey, offering her a brief, awkward smile and then hopping down from the four-wheeler, reaching to pat her shoulder once, twice. Pat pat. Look, the job was 'look after the farm,' not 'know how to deal with it when the promise ends up fulfilled.' Pat pat. There's something sort of lopsided and soft about that awkward smile, though, and a little wistfulness which tugs the corners of her expression. "Aunt Leah was a... a really cool lady, you know? So I can get that."
Yael turns to look at the sheep as they filter past. "No, no it was not. It was family, though. So in the end, it was the same thing, at least kinda." Her shoulders roll, and she smiles. "Yeah, well. She loved you. A lot. It really -- " She rubs at her cheek. "She didn't want to hand the Vow over to Sarah for good. Like it was kind of a... surrender. Admitting that she'd failed, and you weren't coming back. But, you know... " Her hands spread out. "Lev is the fourth person to hold that Vow, and... here you are, you know?" Her raspy voice winds down to silence for a moment.
"Oh, when they're done, I have to throw the ball for them for a minute. At least for Zip, or he'll bug us all evening." She takes a step back and gestures towards the sheep. "Please, be my guest."
Zoey smiles gratefully when patted on the shoulder. "Oh, yeah, yeah, she was the coolest," she says with complete sincerity. "The best thing that happened in my life. The thing important enough to keep me connected to the world enough to escape from the clutches of the hill folk. It broke my heart to get back and find out how much time had passed." She looks around at the farm again, slowly shaking her head, and brings her closed fist up to her lips.
"She didn't fail." Zoey dabs at her eyes with the handkerchief again. "I did, by not finding a way out sooner. Then again, by not coming back here right away and leaving people obligated to this task for longer than they needed to be. I'm sorry."
She tucks the square of cloth away in her pocket again and turns her attention to the dogs as they finish guiding the sheep into their enclosure. The sight brings her smile back, like she's already forgotten the more difficult topic of a few moments ago, and once it's clear the dogs have finished their task she calls out to them. "That'll do!" Hopefully they actually listen to the new voice, but Zoey definitely has a way with dogs, so maybe they will.
"No, no, listen." Yael had turned to look briefly off towards the sheep -- it's a constant thread to her attention, she just keeps glancing off towards them, checking in like a parent keeping an eye on a kid on the playground -- but her attention focuses in entirely on Zoey now, and she reaches out to gently touch the Changeling's elbow this time. "Listen. None of you failed. Nobody failed in this. You were a victim. So was she, if indirectly. Like, listen. I know what happens -- like, not specifically, but generally -- I know what makes Lost, okay? You got kidnapped. That isn't failing." There's something brief and brittle about the edge of her smile. "One thing I really had to like... get my head around, with what happened to Sarah, to Lev's mom, is that sometimes shit just happens, and nobody did anything wrong, and you just have to like... make the best out of where you are now."
"And it can be pretty good, even if it wasn't what you thought it would be."
Then the dogs are coming over, and she grins down at them as they trot up, tails wagging nearly in perfect sync. Yep, they like Zoey just fine. "You wanna hop on the four-wheeler? They're about to."
Zoey mildly starts when her arm is touched, with her head whipping around to look at the hand and then at Yael. After the briefest pause she smiles in her guileless way and nods her head like she understands. "Thank you," she says. "You're right, at least about not escaping sooner. I still feel like spending years not coming back because I didn't want to be hurt by what I might find is on me, though. It's going to be harder to convince me that's not true. But thanks."
As if the previous set of concerns was immediately forgotten in light of something more positive, Zoey's face lights up and she smiles with every part of her face. "Oh, I've been making the best out of a lot of things. My life is actually pretty good right now, even if it's missing a piece that will probably never stop being important. Fortunately, I'm sure that Leah would want me to be happy even without her."
She hops up onto the four-wheeler with as much ease as the dogs. For someone ostensibly about the same age as Yael's great aunt was, Zoey is sure spry. "Hello you two wonderful waggers," she says in exactly the kind of cheerful voice that dogs love, and she doesn't seem to care the slightest bit if any of the puppers feels the need to lick her face. As much attention and affection as the dogs want to receive, or to give, she seems happy to allow. "Yes, it's very nice to meet you!" she continues with a giggle.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She gives the most lazy and lopsided of smiles, and once everybody is up on the four-wheeler, away they go! The engine rumbles and roars, and mud kicks up around them. She pauses the vehicle briefly to hop off and close the gate behind the sheep, properly, making sure it's latched.
Daisy is a very dignified older lady of a dog, and she casually leans against Zoey like they're old friends sitting on a loveseat together on a porch and watching the children run around and play. Zip, on the other hand? He's absolutely determined to lick Zoey's face the whole way off. If her face wasn't clean before, it is now. Very clean. Spotless. Washed by an enthusiastic pup.
They roll up to one side of the farmhouse, and Yael cuts the 4-wheeler's power, hopping off and tucking the key into the pocket of her jeans. "Let's go, kids. Playtime." Daisy, who is very dignified, hops down and walks alongside Yael, while Zip flails himself off of the 4-wheeler and absolutely capers all over the place, getting under Zoey's feet as much as possible. HEY, HEY, LOOK AT ME! "They're descended from Boris and Natasha," Yael explains, invoking some long-gone dogs, indeed. "I couldn't tell you off the top of my head how many generations, but... the paperwork's in the house. I could show them, if I wanted to." But she doesn't. "Lev does agility with the dogs sometimes. He's been doing it since he was like... six."
"Ah, don't worry about it." A casual wave of a hand dismisses the whole startle factor. "I've always been easy to surprise. Leah used to think it was absolutely hilarious, even if she didn't do it on purpose." She says all this while having her face licked, no concern at all about the possibility of dog tongue ending up in her mouth, which almost certainly happens while being slobberslathered by Zip. Aside from that exchange of words, she spends the rest of the trip giving enthusiastic pets and a ton of cheerful encouragement and reassurance to Zip, and calmer pets and praise for Daisy, meeting both of the dogs where they are and clearly demonstrating for anyone who knows these things that she is very clearly a dog person.
When the destination is reached and dismounting from the four-wheeler is due, she hops down and giggles a bit at Zip's antics. "I should have brought treats," she laments. "I'll remember next time."
She freezes at mention of Boris and Natasha, struck by a sudden sorrow that she's no good at hiding. "Oh those two. I'm glad they still have ties to this place as well, in their way." She sniffles softly, rubs her nose with the back of her hand, and then gives a wide grin. "I would have loved to do agility with Boris and Natasha, but that postdates our time together. It looks like so much fun, both for the dogs and the people! At least, people like me who love running around and working with dogs. I can never have enough excuses for either of those things. Do you think Lev will want to meet me?"
"There are some in the house, but yeah, maybe. These guys are spoiled." Yael opens up the gate and doesn't even need to gesture -- Zip and Daisy know where they're meant to go, and run into the fenced yard behind the house. It's not small -- probably a half-acre all by itself, with mature trees and rambling grass and moss. There's a hammock hanging between two of the trees.
An awkward little smile. "There are others -- their descendants are actually all over the country, now. We keep one or two from each litter, we don't let the bitches breed out, all of it. Leah gave us some strict rules. She really knew what she was doing." Yael waits until Zoey is in the yard, then shuts the gate. Absently, she picks up a ball from a bucket near the fence, tossing it up in one hand and catching it, the bright orange and blue sphere spinning in the air. "You'll have to come and see an agility event with us sometime," she agrees. Zip sits at her feet, basically vibrating. the ball the ball the ball the ball the ball
And then she stops tossing the ball and looks directly at Zoey. "I think he has to meet you, and you have to meet him. You are... the fulfillment of a promise that four generations of our family carried for sixty years. I think he'll want to, yes, but I think that you both need that."
One hand whips the ball across the yard, sending it flying, and Zip running pell-mell after it.
"As every good dog should be!" Zoey exclaims, following it with a laugh, even if the laughter fades when she finds herself in the back yard of the house that was her home during the happiest time of her life. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and the wave of nostalgia that comes over her at the sight of it stops her in her tracks. "Oh Leah..." she says, fisting one hand and clutching it over her heart, then opening her hand and feeling something under her shirt with her fingers. After a few seconds she shakes her head and moves on from whatever thoughts were stealing her away again.
After that comes another smile. "She always did. I was always great at coming up with half-baked ideas, and she was the one with the talent for coming up with the right way to make it actually happen, and then work out." Laughing again she adds, "thinking things through all the way is still not really my strong suit. But I'm glad Lev is likely to want to meet me, not just need to. And I--"
The words trail off when Yael's arm comes back to start the throw, her eyes suddenly wide and her body coiled to burst into action. Yael has seen this look before, probably right this moment in Zip, if not Daisy. Eager anticipation for the ball being thrown. Since Zoey is no better at hiding her thoughts now than any prior moment, the sheer act of will it takes her not to chase after the ball too might be hard to miss. Yael doesn't even have to be looking at her to hear the sound of her gritting her teeth.
"As every good dog should be!" Zoey exclaims, following it with a laugh, even if the laughter fades when she finds herself in the back yard of the house that was her home during the happiest time of her life. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and the wave of nostalgia that comes over her at the sight of it stops her in her tracks. "Oh Leah..." she says, fisting one hand and clutching it over her heart, then opening her hand and feeling something under her shirt with her fingers. After a few seconds she shakes her head and moves on from whatever thoughts were stealing her away again. After that comes another smile. "She always did. I was always great at coming up with half-baked ideas, and she was the one with the talent for coming up with the right way to make it actually happen, and then work out." Laughing again she adds, "thinking things through all the way is still not really my strong suit. But I'm glad Lev is likely to want to meet me, not just need to. And I--" The words trail off when Yael's arm comes back to start the throw, her eyes suddenly wide and her body coiled to burst into action. Yael has seen this look before, probably right this moment in Zip, if not Daisy. Eager anticipation for the ball being thrown. Since Zoey is no better at hiding her thoughts now than any prior moment, the sheer act of will it takes her not to chase after the ball too might be hard to miss. Yael doesn't even have to be looking at her to hear the sound of her gritting her teeth.
"Oh, shit!" Yael blinks rapidly when she turns and realizes what Zoey's expression looks like. "Oh. Um. Shit. I'm sorry."
All of the previous conversation seems to flitter away, just... gone from her mind. The Acanthus brings up both of her hands, and asks, awkwardly, "I'm sorry -- uh -- did I hit one of your Frailties?" Of course she knows what a Frailty is -- she was part of Changeling society for two decades, taught how to fulfill her Oath before she actually undertook it semi-permanently. "Do -- do you mind if I turn on, uh, I can see beneath your Mask, but I don't usually do that without asking, I know some people who get really upset about that... "
"Oh it's fine!" Zoey is quick to say, her smile suddenly returning like she wasn't just struggling against her Wyrd-imposed impulses moments before. "You did, but I knew that was a possibility when I came out here." She laughs. "That one would be more embarrassing around people who aren't familiar with the whole idea, though. I suppose you would get it, so I have less reason to feel awkward about it."
Then she nods eagerly. "Oh, sure, yeah, go ahead. I didn't realize that was something you could do, but if I really wanted to be sure nobody could see what I really looked liked I under here I'd have strengthened the Mask so it wasn't possible." She laughs again. "I suppose that will make a lot of things about me as I am now make more sense to you, too."
"Oh it's fine!" Zoey is quick to say, her smile suddenly returning like she wasn't just struggling against her Wyrd-imposed impulses moments before. "You did, but I knew that was a possibility when I came out here." She laughs. "That one would be more embarrassing around people who aren't familiar with the whole idea, though. I suppose you would get it, so I have less reason to feel awkward about it." Then she nods eagerly. "Oh, sure, yeah, go ahead. I didn't realize that was something you could do, but if I really wanted to be sure nobody could see what I really looked liked I under here I'd have strengthened the Mask so it wasn't possible." She laughs again. "I suppose that will make a lot of things about me as I am now make more sense to you, too."
She could easily just... flip on the combination of Fate and Prime which makes it possible for her vision to pierce the Mask, of course. That wouldn't be difficult at all, but it seems somehow unfair to Yael. Her hands come up, curling easily through the Yantra for the desired effect, and her eyes half-lid for a moment.
Zip comes running back and sits down in front of the two of them, holding his ball in his mouth, his tail wagging eagerly. Yael isn't looking at him, though - when her eyes open fully again, she looks at Zoey, and laughs. It's a sudden, raspy burst of sound with not a drop of malice in it, just a moment of surprise and delight. "Of course you are," she says, before she can really help it, and one of her hands comes up as if intending to ruffle Zoey's ears before her hand stops halfway. "Yeah. That ... does clarify a lot."
Daisy has found her favorite place to lounge in the sun. Zip looks between Zoey and Yael, picks up his orange and blue ball from the ground, and sets it down on the toe of Zoey's shoe. Pardon me, but you seem to have not noticed The Ball, which is available to throw.
Zoey's keen eyes make a quiet study of every motion of Yael's hands, almost as if she might be able to decipher the hidden meanings and the magical working behind them. That study doesn't stop her from keeping her smile in place, and when there's a sudden burst of laughter she only grins the wider for it. "Of course I am!" she agrees with a laugh of her own, and a smile that is now very much like the one that Zip and Daisy have in their happy moments.
Her ears even perk up when Yael starts to reach toward them, then relax when the hand stops. All her posture hovers there for a few seconds, anticipatory and inviting, but Zip distracts her and she looks down at the ball he's put by her foot.
"Okay, okay!" she says with another laugh, then a quick motion of her foot that rolls the ball onto her toes and then kicks it up into the air for her to grab. A twitch of her arm, a twist of the wrist, and she's launched the ball across the back yard for Zip to tear off after, if he so chooses.
Zoey's keen eyes make a quiet study of every motion of Yael's hands, almost as if she might be able to decipher the hidden meanings and the magical working behind them. That study doesn't stop her from keeping her smile in place, and when there's a sudden burst of laughter she only grins the wider for it. "Of course I am!" she agrees with a laugh of her own, and a smile that is now very much like the one that Zip and Daisy have in their happy moments. Her ears even perk up when Yael starts to reach toward them, then relax when the hand stops. All her posture hovers there for a few seconds, anticipatory and inviting, but Zip distracts her and she looks down at the ball he's put by her foot. "Okay, okay!" she says with another laugh, then a quick motion of her foot that rolls the ball onto her toes and then kicks it up into the air for her to grab. A twitch of her arm, a twist of the wrist, and she's launched the ball across the back yard for Zip to tear off after, if he so chooses.
Her hand comes instead to briefly pat Zoey's shoulder, and then she tucks both of her hands into her back pockets, watching Zoey toss the ball for the delighted Zip. She laughs that raspy laugh, warm and rough at the same time, like honey poured on pumice. "So, when you're ready," she says, "I should introduce you to Lev, and the two of you should, ah."
"Figure out if you wanna come back and live here." There's a pause. "It might be good for you both."
Zoey watches with unabashed delight as Zip lives up to his name, a smile on her lips and laughter bubbling up. "Oh, I'm ready," she says. "Eager, even. Living here, though? Huh. That's a thought." Like the possibility never occurred to get before now. "That would be a long commute. I work in Harrison. New Jersey. Maybe worth it."
She pulls her eyes from Zip to look at Yael. "This is his place now, though. He needs to know what headaches he'd be signing up for, and be okay with it all."
Zoey watches with unabashed delight as Zip lives up to his name, a smile on her lips and laughter bubbling up. "Oh, I'm ready," she says. "Eager, even. Living here, though? Huh. That's a thought." Like the possibility never occurred to get before now. "That would be a long commute. I work in Harrison. New Jersey. Maybe worth it." She pulls her eyes from Zip to look at Yael. "This is his place now, though. He needs to know what headaches he'd be signing up for, and be okay with it all."
"Well, that's between the two of you," Yael answers, rolling her shoulders at talk of commuting and the like. She takes a deep breath in and lets it out. "But we've been keeping this place for you, among other things. And -- "
"I'm not a member of the Freehold anymore, but I was. For like... twenty years, you know? And since I gave Lev the Oath, he's been a Shackamaxon member." A small smile flicks across her face. "Look. We haven't been carrying this Oath for four generations to turn you away the day you actually show back up on our front step." She turns slightly, reaching out a hand to place behind one of Zoey's arms in a sort of gentle leading gesture. "Come on. We'll go call him, and get some dinner together. The dogs need fed, too, if you don't mind helping." It's not the words, but the tone she says them in, which puts a gentle end to the topic. She was gone, she's here, this is her home.
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