|
At the appointed time, Ziv leads Ros from the main Freehold Hollow a short bit down the way, and tap-tap-taptap on one of the knots of one of the thorns. The way opens into a small but well-appointed little Hollow: a small pool surrounded by smooth rocks, big enough and deep enough to swim in but not enough to do laps, with a small cottage off to one side. Cozy, homey, and quiet.
"It could be expanded," Ziv explains, their shoulders hunching a little bit. "Or we could do something that's just for the Old Guard, and leave this for Eko and me. I'm happy either way."
Ros followed along to the little hollow and spent a few moments breathing in the air and looking around before she broke into a smile. Agate capered off to explore the new space. "It's wonderful," Ros said sincerely. "Thanks for bringing me. If we do expand it, I'd want to be careful not to ruin it's cottage charm. I don't actually have a hollow of my own."
They're wearing a short skirt today and a loose t-shirt that says MODEL MINORITY across the chest, and the reason for that quickly becomes clear: Ziv pads over to the water, kicks off their shoes, and settles down. Their legs meld together, into a sleek, dark, eel-like tail. A scribbly pink blush dashes across their cheeks. "I'm happy to share this with you," Ziv agrees. "I spent a lot of time on that feel, so I do want to keep it. But I'm happy to make it fit the whole family better, or work on something new!"
"As long as we can add a stable for Elio and somewhere for Agate to nest I'll be happy," Ros admitted with a laugh. "I can camp pretty much anywhere, no castle needed." She kicked off her shoes and rolled up her jeans so she could dangle her feet in the water. "And there's plenty of room in the freehold spaces for Elio and Agate to stretch their wings and legs when they want to."
"That shouldn't be too hard," muses Ziv thoughtfully, leaning back on their webbed hands and tipping their face up to the early October sky. "Whatever we're adding, I think I'd like to add before it gets cold. I'll probably spin the pool to be hot as it gets colder. I mean, I could shift the whole place to stay warm, but... that's more work, and... I think it would be nice to have that contrast."
She laughed. "I happen to like an Autumn chill and Spring thunderstorms. Winter snow... Warm is nice but variety is next to godliness. Though I wouldn't mind the pool warm all year either!"
"I do too! That's why I wouldn't do it. I mean, I like having it be warm enough to swim comfortably all the time, but... " Ziv waves one of their webbed hands lazily. "If the pool is warm and the air is cold... the contrast will be awesome. Have you ever swum in a hot spring in December?"
Ros shook her head. "I've never had the chance, though I have been to an ice cold spring in a dead of summer! Your way sounds more fun though. My family went on a holiday somewhere in upstate New York, just to get away from the heat and smell in Philadelphia at the time. I couldn't have been older than five or six..." Ros shook her head a little and then spun a tiny little boat from the grass that looked like a tightly woven hull with a little leaf sail. She set it on the water and puffed on the sail so it drifted in Ziv's direction. "I don't actually own much beyond what Elio can carry, and I've hesitated to establish a hollow of my own. I don't even keep that much at my apartment beyond the necessities like clothes and food- things I could leave behind without any real sorrow or loss. I don't really know why. I used to have rooms of things."
They listen to Rosalyn talk, swishing their eel-tail in the water, their face turned toward her. When Ziv makes eye contact, it's very noticeable, since that's the only time when their white-ring irises are visible in their dark eyes. "Maybe that's why," Ziv answers, leaning forward to wiggle their fingers toward the boat, waiting for it to come into range. "Maybe setting down roots for you feels like tempting Them to come and take it away from you." They push the dark shag out of their eyes, adding, "I mean. It's not unusual among the Old Guard."
"Probably," she agreed with a little hmmph of cynical laughter. "And a lot of things seem so superficial now too. I look back and I was nobody. No one remembers my father, no matter how important he was. Certainly no one remembers me. I didn't help anyone, or make things better. I didn't accomplish anything. All my dresses and baubles, my piano-" she waved a hand to carry on the endless list of stuff... It was all pointless in the end. We went through hell and I'd like to think I grew from the experience. No point regressing."
They fish the little boat out of the water, turning it over in their hands, and then delightedly placing it back on the water, splashing at it to push it back toward Rosalyn. "Well, I mean, there's a difference between baubles and setting down meaningful roots, I'd like to think. Eko and I got a little house up in the Northeast, and when I hung up the metal hamsa that I bought at the last Punk Rock Flea Market... it felt like ... I was starting to make a Jewish home?" They stir the water with their tail again, and the deeper currents bob the little boat back toward her.
"Besides, your worth isn't about who remembers you a hundred years later. If it were, the vast majority of people who 'meant something' would be the people terrible enough that history writes about them. Columbus was a genocidal asshole, and Rockefeller ruined so many people's lives."
"Point," she agreed a bit reluctantly. "But I still feel like I'm- was- really shallow. Elio and Agate are my anchors right now, but I want more... If that makes sense?"
Their head tips a little bit to the side, and they smile sidelong at her. "If you were still really shallow, neither myself nor Eko would want to hitch our little wagons to yours. A motley is -- a big deal. It's way more forever than a house or a dress or any number of ... things." Another little swish of tail. "I mean, yes. It's good to want to be more, and to be better. But don't sell you short. Your heart is beautiful as it is, and we see that."
"You're too nice," Ros said with a grin. "And I'm lucky you're willing to put up with me. I'll try to live up to it." (Distracted by baking dinner, sorry)
"Pfffft. Please. You haven't dealt with me during Spring," Ziv laughs. "And I'm sort of riding on the high of finding out my boyfriend is definitely not going to prison, so the next time I drag him out to go dancing, I'll have to make sure that we don't end up in jail together. There's a lot to deal with, when I don't worry about being a lot to deal with."
"Congratulations on him not going to jail! How'd that get resolved anyways? Bribes, magic, or legal shenanigans?"
A vague, sad little smile. "From what I can tell? Just ... the hard work of a person who's currently in what looks like a Clarity coma," Ziv answers, their mood dimming. "The statements from his office imply that when he collapsed, he was looking into the implication that the Proud Boys told the cops who to target, and... that is what basically got the charges dropped and the cops in question fired."
Ros grimaced. "Well all the more reason for me to go in on the oneiromancy rescue team. I've already volunteered for it, we'll get him back."
"I think I'm a little too close to it, or I'd be with you." Also, someone has to run the scene. "I trust you, and I -- actually don't know Lux at all, but if Aaron loves them, they must be a good person."
"I don't know Lux all that well either," she admitted. "But I have friends who are friends. And I can't leave someone lost in the oneiros, I just can't."
"No one should. It's ... I mean, we'd go after someone if they were lost in the Hedge, and the Oneiros is the same." Ziv absently chews on their black lower lip with blunt white teeth.
"Well... yeah. But not everyone has the skills to go chasing down people in the Hedge either. I spent a long time dreaming, and had help escaping it. It's not my favorite place in the world but I still feel like it's one of the duties that I must perform when the opportunity arises. I don't have any real official duties, so I guess it's something I've just appointed myself to."
They listen thoughtfully, absently scratching their cheek with webbed fingers. "It's good that you feel that duty, even if it's something that is -- for lack of a better word -- triggering or remembering for you. That makes me proud of you. And ... do you want official duties?"
"It's remembering, but... in a way that's ok? Like remembering climbing a mountain, perhaps. It was hard, it sucked, but standing at the top I can appreciate having made the journey because now I can throw others a rope every now and then. As for official duties, I've been volunteering with the Rangers since I came out of the thorns. I suppose it could be made official now that my mantle has grown but I haven't given it any thought until just now- and I doubt anyone else to has either." She laughed. "In the future I could see myself serving as a Ghul, I think."(edited)
The smile that blossoms across Ziv's dark-water face is brilliant and gentle at the same time. "That makes perfect sense to me," the mermx agrees. More swishing of the tail in the water. "I'm not a combatant, but I'm pretty good in the Hedge -- at least, as far as finding my way in and out, and being a good healer when people need one. There isn't exactly a job for things like that in Spring, so Joyeux suits me fine, because I like talking to people."
A consideration. "You're very different from most of the Ghuls I've known, and I think that's a good thing. I could very much see you in that role."
"Different how?" Ros asked curiously, splashing her feet in the water a bit, then giving into temptation and hopping up. She shimmied out of her clothes and jumped in. "I've only met ours here in passing, but it seems like an important job."
That's all the encouragement that Ziv needs: the mermx flings their shirt and skirt aside, and slips down into the water. They circle around underneath the water once or twice, as if their body had just lost all of its bones, as fluid as the water itself, then surface, the gills on their neck flexing. "A lot of the Ghuls I've seen in other Freeholds are very... uh... " And then Ziv affects a very stern, drawn face. The face Ziv is making listens to death metal and wears all black leather and spikes without a hint of irony, and has a name like Count Bloodfist. "You know?"
That sent Ros into a fit of laughter and she flailed under the water for a moment before popping up to hold onto the edge. "Well the 'Don't Fuck With Me, I'm a Badass' expression can be useful. Probably more of a deterrent than 'Kiss me, ManMeat! I'm a Priiiiincess.'
They look for a moment like they're going to dive under the water to grab Ros and drag her back up to the surface; a brief moment of panic washes across their face, and then she surfaces laughing, and their expression relaxes a bit. "Well, that's ... I mean, it's a strategy. There's something in being underestimated, or not pegged as having the job you do." Their dark eyes glitter sharply. "Though I do favor the kissable look you've got, so I may be biased."
She smirked. "My vanity agrees with you. I do like beautiful things still. And I can get away without wearing makeup, which is nice."
They lazily swim over to the side, grabbing on to a rock next to her and lazily leaning on it. "Makeup can be fun, if I'm putting up my Mask, I do enjoy it. But ... " A vague gesture with one hand. "You don't need it, that's for sure."
"What about you? Where do you see your freehold career headed beyond Joyeux? To be honest, I'm still fuzzy on what Spring does a lot of the time."
"I don't... actually know? I'd really been drifting for so long, like... I don't know. I'm finally putting down roots, like some sort of kelp forest. Maybe a Maven at some point?" A vague smile from Ziv, then. "Honestly, I was thinking of focusing a little more on non-Lost things. Aaron's been encouraging me to look into becoming a Cantor -- a prayer leader for a synagogue -- and Mearcstapa helped me by getting me papers so that I do exist in the human world... so I've been looking there."
"As to what Spring does? Sometimes I think Spring wonders about that."
"That's ok too though. Maybe Spring's there to remind us to focus on the mortal side of things too. Lord knows it'd be easy to spend all my time in the hedge on patrol and with Elio and Agate if I didn't have a job at the stables to keep me grounded."
"Sometimes I think like Spring is a bit like the Hufflepuff of Courts, which does mean that sometimes we end up with the 'miscellaneous', you know? Not to invoke the work of a TERF, but when we're talking about a group of four houses, and all that." Ziv leans against the rocks, tips their head up to look at the darkening sky. "If our only job is to keep the rest of youse grounded, though... that's a big enough job."
"I didn't follow most of what you just said," Ros admitted with a smile. "But that's ok. I'm not entirely sure that I subscribe to the notion that everyone must have a specific function either. I think it's ok to just be. Obviously a freehold can't be run that way, but not everyone needs a Title either- that's how They define themselves. Every court and courtier has value and worth just by existing."
"Oh, it doesn't really matter," laugh Ziv. "I've learned to make references because that sometimes makes it easier for people to grab on to things I have. I'm not going to disagree. I think a lot of the time it does help us to have structure in our lives, to have something that we need to do, but there's nothing wrong with just being."
"It does feel good to be needed," Ros admitted. "That I can make a difference and people will call on me when they need help."
The mermx wrinkles up their nose in amusement, and laughs brightly. "Well, then, I'll be sure to call on you more often." A lazy swish of their tail in the water -- a self-soothing sort of thing.
"I'd come if you do," Ros said with a grin, then dove under and tried to catch the mermx's fin. Her gold hair was heavier than the water, sinking straight down around her rather than floating even though it didn't seem to affect her over all boyancy.
A laughing shriek that sounds a little like water crashing on rocks, and Ziv darts down under the water, spinning themself around to mock face-off with Ros under the water. Their gills flare at the sides of their throat, and they laugh underneath the water, reaching out to tug on her metallic hair.
Ros was graceful in the water. The Fairest was naturally graceful whether she was riding, running, or flailing ineffectually as she did under under water. She spun, trying to avoid the tug, then kicked up to the surface for a breath before diving down again to tag Ziv.
The mermx doesn't bother coming up for air -- indeed, they seem much more comfortable under the water's surface than on land. They flow easily underneath the water, making the most of the relatively small space in the pond, and their laughter echoes underwater, a sharp dolphin-call sound in that marine environment. She tags them, and they dash back after her, eel-tail flickering in the water.
On her third dive, Ros grabbed hold of their tail, getting a firm grip so every move Ziv made pulled her through the water. She lost some of her air as a laugh bubbled out.
Once they realize what exactly she's doing? Ziv tries pretty hard to pull Ros through the water. They're a wimpy little weenie, though, and have almost no strength at all, so it doesn't last very long. Flail!
Ros had the arm strength to hold on but not the lung capacity and she scrambled back to the surface for a much needed gulp of air before hauling herself into the grass and laying flat as she tried to catch her breath while giggling. "Swimming with you is fun. More fun than wadding in the shallows trying to avoid a tan."
Ziv surfaces after Ros does, because they have to make sure that she's okay! They flop against the side of the pool and grin lopsidedly at her. "I hope it is! It's my favorite thing. I mean, it wasn't, for a bit, when I got back. And ... " A pause, their fingers sort of absently wiggling in the air as they look for words. "I like not to swim alone."
"I should learn that contract and clause that would let me swim like you. Or some elemental water contract." Ros rambled. "I've been thinking more Air since that could be useful with my archery and Agate being airborne but Water would be fun too."
"You could... learn both?" Ziv offers somewhat hopefully. They rest their chin on the rocks, looking across the grass at Ros. "I wasn't, um." And here they pause, looking for words. "I wasn't exactly... accounted for... in The City. I didn't ... start there? And so The City didn't really know what to do with me? I just got... thrown in a river."
"And yet you're magnificent. Fuck Them. They don't know a good thing when They've got it." Ros rolled over and looked back at Ziv. "I should learn both. I have a lot to learn. I've made a list even! But I keep getting sidetracked to learn other things. I just learned the Relentless Pursuit contract in an effort to find Autumn's old king and it hadn't even been on my list!"(edited)
Laughter from Ziv, and they pull themself up onto the land again, flopping down near Ros and keeping their tail. "I think we all have a lot to learn," Ziv admits, curling up lazily on the shore. "And we'll always be surprised by what's necessary. I'm glad you found something that you can learn to do better by your Court, though. That makes me proud of you. Not that I wasn't already."
Ros blushed pink. "Thank you," she said softly, then smiled as Ziv curled up there. "Are you planning on sleeping out here? The weather is nice enough for camping in the open."
"Usually I don't, but if you'd like to, I could," Ziv answers, reaching out to lazily pet the metallic gold hair of one (1) No-Longer-Sleeping Beauty. "It's still nice out. It won't be for long."
"I wouldn't mind staying," Ros said with a yawn. "I think Agate has settled in on your roof, and Elio does his own thing half the time. He's probably trying to sneak in to see Frygg."
Laughter from Ziv, and they flop lazily on their back, turning their dark eyes up to the stars. "If Agate's here to watch over us, I think we couldn't ask for much better. In a bit, I think I'll go get blankets, but... " But for now, here is just fine.
|