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Hey look! Everyone's getting back from patrolling the Hedge. Thankfully, (not to keep saying the Q word) things have been quiet, and so the patrol was quick and painless.
When they got back, Sturm had ducked off into one of the cottages to grab her stashed duffel bag and change into comfortable clothes. She heads back out into the Hollow proper - wearing black jeans, boots, and a Black Sabbath t-shirt with her leather jacket tossed over it - and looking for the group of folks she just finished patrolling with...
That's the thing about Sigrun's wolfhide- it's like a mask. Terribly comfortable, and in the future, everyone will be wearing one. She's lounging about waiting for Sturm to come back, waggling what looks like a pitch-hue glove with curved blades along each finger, giggling to herself for... no apparent reason. Maybe she's tickled that she can punch a cucumber and serve up tea sandwiches afterwards?
Glitch sits near the Nightmare on Elm Street, attention glued to the screen of an old Game Boy. After a few beats, he looks up, attention grabbed first by the slashy glove being wiggled around and then by Sturm coming back changed. "Hey."
The Mirrorskin lounges near to Johnnie, as per the usual. They're sort of in their own head tonight, apparently, head resting on a rock to prop it up a bit, hands resting on their stomach. They might even be asleep, if it weren't for the subtle shift of the colors in their broken mirror eyes toward Sturm when she returns. "Hey, C."
"Hey, T." There's a brief smile, but it quickly disappears behind a frown as the Jotunn sets her jaw. "Jackie. Glitch." She shoves her fists into the pockets of the leather jacket, and her shoulders slump just a tad when she comes to a full stop.
"So. Feels like I spend half my fuckin' life just changing clothes these days. What'd I miss?"
Johnnie's head is in Glitch's lap with her legs draped over Teagan's shins. "Nothin'. Revisiting a prior configuration. These were awesome, but it's hella nice to be able to take them off. Where'd your smile go? And like the whole slumpy thing, is something wrong?" Hyper-alert, hypo-aware.
Glitch keeps his hands fidgeting fast on the Game Boy until he suddenly sits up and turns it off, apparently having reached a very clear stopping point. Tucking it away in his jacket, he looks over towards Sturm with a relaxed expression. "Nothing much. Just Tetris. Not a lot else works in here."
"Is that bad?" Teagan asks Sturm, watching that smile appear and then disappear. "I don't miss the knife-hands, Johnnie, I gotta be honest. I can't imagine sticking with that long-term. It seems like it would be the most annoying thing in the world until you got used to it, both for you and for everyone around you."
Sturm does the tiniest of double-takes when Johnnie just outright asks her where her smile went. "Yeah, knife-hands do not sound fun." She quirks a brow at the shadow - and her eyes move to the Nightmare on Elmstreet cosplay prop.
"Nah, not necessarily a bad thing." She takes a seat near the others. "... and it didn't go anywhere, I was just done smiling." The Jotunn turns up her palms in response and lifts her shoulders - an innocent little shrug. "Probably do it again at some point. If I feel like it."
"Cool! Smile or don't smile, I'm just makin' sure nothing's stopping you from smiling. Do you. It works." Johnnie melts up from around the rest of her motley, stretching and nodding. "No, you're right, Teag. Definitely not something I wanna keep around- but I am delighted I figured out how to pull these fuckers out again. What's that Benjamin Barker line?" She spins dramatically, lifting her clawed hand to the skies.
"AT LAST! My arm is complete again."
That's all the cheese she can handle, though, and she titters as she spins again and bends to kiss Teagan and Glitch on the cheek before offering Sturm a fistbump. "I'm out, folx. Long night, I wanna hit bed before daylight. Do enjoy your evening together!"
Glitch actually grins a bit at the dramatic arm line, then continues smiling after the tiny kiss. "Gnight," he beeps out, before turning his attention back towards Sturm. There's a moment of blank staring before he shakes his head slightly. "Sorry, I smoked a joint while you were changing, it just kicked in. Lemme know if I say anything too weird. Or stare."
They take their kiss from Johnnie, contentedly laying on the grass, and shake their head slightly at Johnnie. "Put your silly bladed hand away before you scare someone, ya goof." Which is an Autumn thing and all, so maybe it's deliberate. "See you at home." They stretch out lazily on the grass, letting out a long sigh. "Come chill."
"Glitch, babe, you're always weird, and I don't notice when you stare. It's okay to be stoned."
"G'night, Jackie. Have a good one." She gently daps her knuckles against Johnnie's - though her eyes keep darting back to the bladed fingers. "Yeah, no worries. Happy to close your jaw for you. Y'know. If you're starting to stare and it goes slack again."
There's a little snort-laugh, and then she leans back onto the palms of her hands.
Glitch snorts in return before moving to crouch down next to Teagan where they're laying, reaching out to them with a rasterized hand. "I know you don't mind, P2, it's Sturm I don't wanna embarass myself in front of," he beeps. "Sturm has good taste in music," he adds, apropos of nothing.
They wrinkle up their nose thoughtfully, glancing between one and the other. "I don't think you can really embarrass yourself in front of Sturm." They take Glitch's hand, bringing his knuckles to their lips for a kiss, and then turn a little so they can prop their booted feet on Sturm's lap. "Yeah, I know she does. What makes you say that? The shirts she gave you and shit?"
Sturm's got no intention of pushing Teagan off her lap, but she does shift - moving just a little bit closer so that their boots aren't resting directly on her thighs - and won't track anything all over her jeans.
"Yeah. Probably not in too much danger of embarrassing yourself in front of me." She confirms Teagan's statement with a little half smirk - which quickly disappears.
Glitch sticks out his tongue, the rest of his face staying flat. "I think I can always manage to embarass myself. I wasn't made for social shit." He waves a hand. "But I'm fine, I'm chill." He turns to Teagan and shifts to sit next to them and lean on the larger mirrorskin. "She likes, like, two of the random bands I'm really into. Sounds like when it comes to music, she's the hardcore one. Been to all the concerts and tours."
A snort from Teagan, then, and they wrap an arm around Glitch, pulling him in close. "Which two random bands?" They scoot a little closer to Sturm, closing the distance between them a little more. They kiss the top of Glitch's hand rather casually; these little gestures are as easy to them these days as breathing.
"Streetlight Manifesto. Was listening to Keasbey Nights when he came over the other day. Then we listened to Dio." Sturm nods slowly. She shifts her position again - a little bit closer - and rests an elbow on Teagan's boots. "Told 'em about how I hitchhiked to see Dio play with Sabbath in the early 90's."
Glitch nods as Sturm explains. He closes his eyes and tucks against Teagan without resistance, head leaning against them as the top of it is kissed. "Mm. Yeah. I never did anything like that. Not before or after anything, you know?" He sounds impressed.
They stretch lazily. "They're the ones who did that 'We Will Fall Together' song, right?" Teagan is and always has been music-obsessed: a playlist as a gift is a sure sign that Teagan wants someone to understand them. "I heard a joke that 'ska is the sound that a thirteen year old boy's brain makes when he finds out he got extra mozzerella sticks,' and it's pretty much perfect. I mean, I like ska just fine, but that's really what it sounds like."
"We could go to a concert. It would be cool. Just gotta decide who. I'm kind of obsessed with Dessa right now."
"Yep, they did that one - it's on Somewhere in the Between. Dunno if you've heard their newest album, but I really like it." Sturm shrugs. Obviously she's a music person, too. Maybe someone oughta give her a playlist. "I'd love to go to a show again." For a moment her face lights up again. "Haven't been to one since... forever ago. S'not really all that fun to come Back and find out that none of your favorite musicians are alive anymore, but..." Beat. "No idea who Dessa is - but you should tell me more."
Glitch curls up tighter against Teagan as they stretch out, seeming to take the encouragement about embarassment to heart. He doesn't look hesitant at all being affectionate in front of Sturm, and gratefully murmurs while they all chat. "Fuck, I don't know if...I've ever been to a concert," he beeps.
"She's a rapper from Minneapolis. Member of Doomtree, and for a while, she was the CEO of Doomtree Records. She kinda reminds me of what Sigrun would be like if she decided to go into rap instead of reenacting and stage combat." Teagan lazily stretches their legs, trailing their fingers through Glitch's hair and occasionally kissing the top of his head. "A lot of her songs are really smart, like they make references that go way over my head because I'm an uneducated lout, but they're... good. 5 out of 6 is basically like... Sigrun's ring entrance music, and Alibi is a Direct Action song for sure."
"Really? Never?" She quirks a brow at Glitch. "Well, then we really oughta go. Streetlight still plays, y'know?"
"Probably I'll have to look into her, then. Which album do you recommend picking up first?" Her brow furrows in an exaggerated way as she tries to picture Sigrun as a rapper. It must be a fun mental image, because she makes a little snort-laugh. "... but this raises an important question. In this Alternate Timeline, what is Sigrun's rap name?"
Glitch opens his eyes at Sturm's reply, and nods. "Guessing you don't have any problems in a mosh pit," he quips, before arching back gently against Teagan while they all talk. "I'm not the one to ask about rap names, no matter what you both say about embarassing myself," he beeps.
The Sprite catches himself, before adding back to Sturm... "I mean, yeah. Yes. I wanna go. Thanks. That just sounded so nice I like...agreed to it in my head."
They think about that for a moment. "Honestly I'm really torn? A Badly Broken Code is really good from end to end, and that's got Matches to Paper Dolls and The Bullpen on it, but Chime has 5 out of 6 and Fire Drills and Velodrome... but then there's also this album she did called Sound the Bells where she did a live show with the Minnesota Orchestra? And that's got these fucking amazing versions of all her songs on it." They stretch lazily. "There's a version of 'The Beekeeper' on it that makes me think of June every time I hear it. It's all about ... like... being human instead of being an animal." Teagan's sort of mentally wandered off. "I guess Sound the Bells, even though it's not how her stuff normally sounds. It's just so fucking good."
"Let's go see Dessa. Or, I mean, whatever Glitch wants to see, I've been to a show before."
"Mosh pits aren't really my scene anymore, but probably wouldn't have problems in one, no." Sturm listens intently - you know, on account of that's what she does whenever Teagan is talking. She nods along, leaving her dumb joke in the conversation behind them. "... so what you're saying is that I should just get every record she's produced, and listen to them all?"
There's a hint of something on her face that disappears in the span of a blink. "... but yeah, I'm down for whatever. Glitch do you have any preferences?"
Glitch squirms and shrugs lazily, already starting to fade but very, very comfy. "NnnnfnnIunno. Streetlight would be killer. Dessa sounds cool too, I'm not picky..." He misses Sturm's subtle expressions entirely, ducking his nose under Teagan's chin and closing his eyes to rest them for just a bit.
"Yeah, I can't imagine you'd have an issue in them. Everyone makes space around the strongest person in the pit. Gotta be nice being the visible safe space if some girl is having trouble, though," Teagan muses, wrapping their arm comfortably around Glitch and tucking him into their side as casually as if they always do this. (They do.) And then they snort. "Yeah, you should get all of her albums. They're fucking amazing. There's a lot of overlap 'cause she redid a bunch of her songs but."
"Yeah, well. Anybody who makes that kind of trouble in the pit when I'm around will no longer be in the pit - or conscious enough to enjoy the rest of the show." Sturm nods as she looks off, frowning again. "... I'll order some CDs from her site, then - and then give 'em a listen." She turns back to Glitch. "I'm sure Streetlight will play somewhere close in the next year or so. They play a lot, but it's hard to get tickets at times." Beat. "Down to look into when Dessa is playing, though, too."
Glitch lets out a little yawn and fidgets in place a tad, ready to just fall aslleep right on Teagan. "Thsoundsnice," he softly warbles, face resting against the Mirrorskin's chest. "Smwher close, next year..."
They laugh softly. "Aaaand there he goes," Teagan offers, shaking their head in amusement and kissing the top of Glitch's head again, petting his arm as he starts to fall asleep on them. "This is basically how he crashes out every day, I shouldn't have been surprised that he fell asleep as soon as he laid down and put his head on my shoulder." Their attention focuses in on Sturm again. "Yeah, like I said. Safe space in a pit. Let's find something cool for us all to go see."
"That'd be dope," There's also a brief flash of something, but it's gone quickly - overtaken by a fond little smirk as Sturm watches Teagan kiss the top of Glitch's head. "Shame we can't go see Morphine - that was who I had on the other night when you came over." Beat. "You probably knew that, though." She rolls her shoulders, moving her elbow from Teagan's boot, and leaning back onto her palms again. "Probably oughta let Glitch pick since it'd be his first show - but who else would you wanna see? Nothin' says we can't see more than one band play..."
"mnot slep yet" comes the soft muttered reply, though Glitch doesn't stir from his spot. He lurks on the barest edge of consciousness, clearly wanting to not drift off just yet and enjoying the company, but too tired and relaxed to resist.
The Mirrorskin squints at Sturm, and nudges her side with the side of their boot-ensconced ankle. "You are a safe place in the fray, C. Don't forget it." They continue to pet Glitch as he hovers on the edge of consciousness, just soothing him. "Close enough, babe. It's okay. When you fall asleep, I'll carry you home like a very cute little sack of potatoes." Another kiss for the top of his head. "Yeah. I like Morphine. 'In Spite Of Me' and 'Rope On Fire' always get me."
"Maybe, yeah." She gives Teagan's boot a playful little swat - and then offers a snort. "Everyone keeps saying shit like that lately for some reason. Always the same thing, too. Don't forget it." Maybe just a bit of cruel irony there, considering the circumstances. "Glad I must've had the CD on shuffle, because if 'In Spite of Me' came on in the middle of that conversation, I'd probably have lost my shit."
She laughs - for real this time. "... and I love that whole fuckin' album. The Night has such a great tone. Dark - creepy at times - but somehow still oddly comforting."
"Well you don't act like you believe it, so we have to tell you not to forget it." Teagan rolls their shoulders lazily, and makes a face at Sturm when she swats their ankle. "Why?" They ask about In Spite of Me. Maybe they didn't notice how the lyrics were lining up.
"It's a hell of a good album, all of it," they agree lazily.
Now that Glitch is asleep and Johnnie is gone, the surly giant can be a silly giant. So she sticks out her tongue.
"Oh, it wasn't like it was relevant to the conversation or anything. It. It's complicated - and don't you go fuckin' repeating this - but it just always makes me kinda misty-eyed n' shit when I hear it." She sorta... scrunches her mouth up - and her brow furrows. "So. Usually skip it when I'm in public and it comes up on shuffle - and I was already having a hard enough time keeping my shit together."
Sturm shrugs.
"Keep sticking that out, someone's going to put something on it," Teagan drolls back at the silly giant, but the corners of their mouth are curling up in amusement. "Doll, I hate to tell you, but I think everyone knows that you have Feelings now." They pet Glitch gently, a sort of unconscious gesture, one they don't even need to think about. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," the Jotunn confirms in a tone that all but says this conversational thread will go no further at this time.
"That's probably not entirely true. Probably still pretty good about keeping the mask in place whenever you aren't around. So. Thanks for blowing my cover. Now I'm a shit Winter. Thanks to all y'all." Her chiding is playful - and her frown wobbles in that way it often does when she's trying extra hard to keep it in place. "... and I'd like to see you fuckin' try - seeing as you probably can't even reach my face."
They give Sturm a long, serious look, as if they might try to push the thread of conversation, but let it drop for the time being. FOR THE TIME BEING>
"Doll. People knew you had feelings before. You just show them a little more now. And that ... I mean, maybe that's just something about being Winter that I don't get, because there isn't anyone without feelings that's still even vaguely human. We all got 'em." Teagan nudges Sturm again. "I'll climb you like a damn tree, woman."
"Was definitely joking, but... Enh. It's just," Sturm sighs. "So, like. Obviously I have them, but I try not to make a habit out of showing people my shit - especially if it's something they might potentially want to use to against me somewhere on down the road." She tilts her head to the side, and tips up her shoulders. As if that perfectly explains it. "... and under normal circumstances, I'd just pick you up instead of havin' you make the trek, but.... y'know. Not yet."
She sticks out her tongue again.
They smile aside at Sturm, a small thing that comes and goes quickly. "I know." And that seems to cover both 'I know that's true about you' and 'I know how that is.' Teagan carefully shifts Glitch's weight on their shoulder, not wanting to disturb him as he drools on the briarwolf leather of their coat. A vague smile slides across their face again, cheeks briefly silvered. "You ever think maybe we've built up way too much hype?"
Sturm scrunches up her expression again. Like maybe she wasn't expecting that question. "Dunno. It's possible that kissing you won't be as nice as..." It looks like it is? She's imagined it to be? "Y'know. Or that shit'll be hella awkward - like A fuckin' Christmas Story - 'cause my skin is literally just fuckin' ice?" She shrugs away the oddly candid moment. "It'll be... how it is. Best not to stress about it until then."
The Mirrorskin licks their lips absently, and looks away across the hollow. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm too hot and it'll be like the way ice skates move, they melt a little bit of the ice at a time." Teagan flashes a wry grin at Sturm. "Sorry. Very rarely, I say shit that I should better leave well enough alone." They sit up slowly, carefully laying Glitch down on the earth, so they can stretch their arms up over their head. "It'll be how it'll be. We gotta get Sig's shield back, first."
"What, you're not satisfied with figuratively melting the ice?" The Jotunn snorts. "Now you've gotta try for literal, too?" There's a very brief - completely uninhibited by frowning - smirk. Someone's pleased with themselves. "Don't have to apologize for it. If I was annoyed by - or... something else - I wouldn't have answered the question." Beat. "... but yeah. We gotta. When is that gonna be - before or after diving into my brain?"
"You should know I have not yet been satisfied where you're concerned," drawls Teagan, rolling up to their feet. "I mean, it was something I maybe should have left alone, but." They lean down and scoop up Glitch, cradling the little emo Sprite against their chest. "After," they state affirmatively. "I don't want you or Sigrun to get blindsided by shit if we can help it." A pause. "Sooner rather than later, okay?"
"Well. At some point. Hopefully." There's a smirk, and thenSturm groans as she stretches. The bruiser climbs back to full height before hiding her fists in the pockets of her jacket. She chews on her bottom lip, nodding. It's an odd sight, considering she has tusks. "Very much not looking forward to that, but." She shrugs. "That's probably a good point. Anyhow. Y'all need a ride back out to the house?"
A small, lopsided smile. "Let's just get it done, then. Be past it." Teagan has Glitch all bundled up against their chest, and nods once. "I'd appreciate it, thank you." They could just step through any door to Downtime, but is that as much fun as getting a ride from Sturm? No, it is not.
"Yeah, I guess so. We'll... do it soon, I guess." Sturm fishes her keys out of a pocket. She knows Teagan doesn't need the ride, but she was definitely hoping that they'd say yes anyway. Y'know. 'Cause it's an excuse to spend more time. "Cool." She smiles. "Let's get goin', then."
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