|
The Hollow which will become the motley's, perhaps, currently houses one (1) mermx. Ziv has turned off their phone - because who wants the calls they might get in the Hedge? - and is currently lounging in the water by the small cottage. The stars have come out, Ziv is naked in the water with their tail slowly swishing back and forth, and they're humming to themself, as they often do. When otherwise not occupied, they sing. A wandering tune, nothing specific.
Rieko's been out and about all day, so this might actually be the first time Ziv has seen her all day. When the Oni comes in off the trod, she's wearing cuttoff overall shorts over a black bikini with white earbuds in, but there're a couple unusual differences about her physical appearance. Little horn nubs have begun to sproud from her forehead at the base of her first set, and the root of her hair has begun to lighten to an off-white. Whatever the cause of the change might be, she's still wearing a broad grin as she approaches Ziv with her guitar case and cowboy hat in hand.
"Howdy, Sea Sparkle."
They're not surprised, exactly, because Eko warned them ahead of time. Ziv stops singing to themself and eyes Rieko up as the door opens, admitting her from the Hedge, and their grin widens. "More powerful every day," they tease, flashing her a sharp little grin. "You look hot as fuck, Cowboy. You didn't tell me you got a new hairdo also." They push away from the rocks and swim a few lazy strokes towards Rieko. "Very, very approved."
"Hairdo?" Rieko reaches up for a lock of her hair, and holds it up in front of her face. "I do?" Her face is scrunched up in an exaggerated expression of confusion, and she sticks her tongue out. "I'll take more powerful, though. All the better to take care of you, and keep whatever Motley we build safe."
She sets the guitar case and hat down on the bank of the little pond before tying the old Bowie knife into her hair, and then proceeding to strip out of her clothes. 'Cause goddamnit nobody's gonna tell her to wear a swimsuit to swim in her own her Partner's hollow.
"Mmhmm. The roots of your hair have gone white. Well. Almost white. Not grey, like... white. It's pretty." They tread water in the pool, watching her strip off with an appreciative eye. Waiting. Their hands stretch out toward her, webbed fingers wiggling. "And you will. You and Ros will keep us physically safe, and I'll keep us mentally safe, and ... entertained, I guess!"
"Rosalyn can pick some of the bastards off from afar, and I'll keep y'all both safe from anything that manages to make it past her volley." Thankfully, nothing else seems to have changed about Rieko's appearance beyond her horns and hair - and now that she's finished stripping completely, that much is apparent. "I think we can probably keep ourselves entertained. Or at least work together to make the matter of entertaining ourselves an easier burden to carry." Her snake-like tongue flits out and she wiggles it jusy before stepping down into the pond.
"I don't think you need it, but I could teach you to fight, too. If that was something you were interested in..."
"I wouldn't mind getting better at getting out of the way, but I think, in general, I'd prefer to leave the fighting to the two of you and then myself be ready to heal you both, or put your brains back together. Deal with the fallout." They watch her entry into the water with delight, and then they swoop in on her, flinging their arms around her neck. "I think we probably can entertain ourselves, yes."
'Ourselves' is a handy plural which can contain any number of people.
Rieko wraps her arms around Ziv, pulling the little merm against her chest, and squeezing them tightly. "I figured that would probably be your answer," she leans in and presses her lips against theirs. Y'know so they can make sure nothing changed about her lips. It's all in the name of science. When she breaks the kiss, she offers a broad grin. Yep. Her fangs are still the same too. "Rosalyn mentioned that I should try to talk to Bailey about possibly joining our Motley, too. Apparently her little gryphon companion has been following around Bailey's mount like a little lost puppy and she's worried they might not want to be separated."
Two cowboys? That seems like a good idea...
One kiss, and then another. For science! Gotta be sure! Ziv drapes themself against her, arms wrapped around her neck and tail curled around her. "I appreciate you offering, and I should probably armor myself in some fashion for going into the Hedge. That part would be smart." They kiss one fang, too. Silly mermx.
"Who's Bailey? I mean other than someone who Rosalyn's mount likes."
"Bailey is that other cowboy I met in the Summer Hollow the other day," there's a little giggle-snort as Ziv kisses her fang, and she sticks out her tongue. "They're a little gruff, but they're a real pioneer-type who seems real comfortable in the Hedge and outside of Civilization. They're the one that's gonna teach me how to shoot. In exchange for how to sword." There's a beat. "They're also pretty fuckin' ancient, too. Probably from at least 1900 if I had to make a guess."
They snap their blunt teeth at her forked tongue, a most ineffective and almost silly threat. "Oooh, right, the other cowboy! Well, I hope they don't mind if there's only one person I call Cowboy." There's a slow wink as they drape themself casually against her, snuggled in close. "How to sword," Ziv snickers.
And then they blink once, twice. "Rosalyn's from a long time ago, too, isn't she?"
"I doubt they'd mind, but honestly I haven't spoke with them enough to know for sure. I told Rosalyn I'd hang out with them more, and then maybe float the idea, so." She gestures to the water around them. Hah. Get it. Floating???
Rieko's brow furrows as she tries to think back to what Rosalyn had said during the Rose Pruning. "Yeah, I think she mentioned that her house was turned into a museum, and that her dad was a politician? I feel like she's probably gotta be from somewhere around then, too, right?" A beat. "She does this weird thing where she addresses all her text messages as if they were letters. It's kinda cute, actually."
Rieko wouldn't know it, but Rosalyn was wearing a Flapper dress the other night at the hot spring.
They snicker at Rieko's pun. "If they do mind, then maybe we can't be friends. Because Cowboy is your special name. I'm sure they won't mind if they understand, though." Ziv stirs their tail through the water lazily, and kisses Rieko idly, as though for punctuation to their thoughts. Then their tail wraps around her again.
"She was wearing a dress like from when I was little. Well, a little before. That's why I ask," explains Ziv, who notices and knows about things like dresses, and indeed, that's why they asked. "So maybe," they suggest, "we can be The Old Guard. Like that movie we watched on Netflix."
"Oh," Rieko tilts her head to the side. "I guess I don't know a whole lot about dresses. Clothes in general, really, if I'm being honest." She lazily paddles off towards the center of the pond, bringing Ziv with her. "We could be like the Old Guard. That's actually pretty funny now that I think about it. I didn't realize how... time-lost we all are." There's a little giggle-snort. "Or did you mean literally naming our Motley The Old Guard? That might be weird if we ever like someone that's from a more recent point in time than us."
"Nuh uh," answers Ziv, being dragged along with Rieko. What a brat they are, just going 'nuh uh' like that. "Even in the movie, The Old Guard finds a new baby immortal. It would fit right in with the theme. Yes, that's my suggestion. We should be The Old Guard."
"The Old Guard," Rieko repeats the name. Just. Letting it sit on her tongue like a sommelier at a wine tasting. She tilts her head from side to side. "I kinda like it, but I get the feeling it might grow on me. Rosalyn and I had been calling ourselves the Old Lady Club, so I'm sure she'd appreciate the sentiment at least..."
"And I'm not a lady. At least, not all the time. Sometimes I could be a lady, if I wanted to." They pause, adding, "Now I want a corset and a ball gown. I'd look really good in a corset." Ziv swishes their tail happily in the water, adding, "it'll grow on you. I actually already like it a lot."
"You would look really good in a corset. We should remedy the fact that you don't currently have one," Rieko flashes a devilish grin but scrunches up her face after a few seconds. "Though it'd be really hard to get you out of it quickly..." A beat passes. "I'll text Rosalyn tomorrow and see what she thinks about it. It'd be pretty thematic, at least - and you know me, I'm a sucker for a strong theme."
She leans in and gives Ziv a chaste little kiss. Right on the nose. Boop!
"You though about where we might want to start looking for apartments? I love the Hollow and all, but I feel like living here all the time is going to be the cause of me growing another dozen horns." There's a bright, bubbly laugh from the demon. Y'know, because she doesn't know that she is definitely going to end up with twelve horns.
"Oh, no, actually, they're pretty easy to get someone out of if the corset has a busk on the front. The hooks." They pause and add, "Seducing people at Renaissance Faires for food and crash space is child's play when you sing like I do. Just flash a smile and sing a few lines about the fair and winsome maiden or the dashing rogue and you're on."
Ziv's shrug there is shameless. We all do what we must to survive. They smooch her chin after she smooches their nose. Boop!
"I think probably we should talk to Rosalyn before we settle on anything. Even if she doesn't live with us, it'll matter. And maybe Aaron, too, considering recent events."
They add, in a whisper, "A dozen horns would be hot, babe."
Rieko flashes a little scandalized look, and offers a mouthed "oh my." Her mock-shock melts away to a snicker as Ziv kisses her chin, and she reaches up for her new pair of horns to poke at the new spurs of keratin poking up from her forehead.
"Wait. Recent events?" She quirks an eyebrow at Ziv. "Did something happen I don't know about? Or did I know about it and then forget?"
They pull themself out of the water, using her shoulders for leverage, and kiss the tips of those new horns. One, two. It's a little bit sweet and chaste and a little bit obscene, and they slide down her to flutter their eyelashes at her.
"The thing where Aaron hasn't been sleeping at his apartment because of the potential threat from Proud Boys, and Chewie has been staying with Lux, who I'm sure is perfectly nice and all but still Aaron hasn't got his dog, and I'm sure things like that will happen in the future because we live ridiculous lives, so having a place that is safe for all of us is a good idea, and also, Aaron will know better than we will if an area is extra bad. Like worse than the rest of Philly."
"Oh, duh." She rolls her eyes, and there's a little snicker as she mimes bouncing a palm off her forehead. "Sorry, I misunderstood which line of conversation we were on. We should absolutely talk with them regarding the apartment. I thought you meant the name of the Motley."
Rieko maneuvers herself in the water so that she's floating on her back, and Ziv's sitting on her stomach. Y'know like a little otter. Even though she's really more of a post-otter kind of gal. "That's... probably smart," Rieko purses her lips in thought, staring upwards at the sky. "We're gonna need a really fuckin' big place, though. With room to grow. At that rate, we're probably going to have to think more along the lines of houses rather than apartments."
"I mean, if he learns how to do Oaths like we kind of vaguely talked about and decides he wants to hitch his wagon to ours, then great, but also... " Ziv shrugs, sliding up onto her stomach and sprawling lazily. "I should tell him at least. I think he might like it because he feels like the old guard in the queer community. I dunno. Maybe Ros wouldn't like having a wizard in our family."
They consider this. "Maybe we should look for a house. If we have a motley, our money will come easier. Maybe we could find a place out by the Wissahickon." Those aren't cheap places...
"It's adorable to think of Aaron as old in pretty much any context," Rieko snickers again, and a low rumble of thunder echoes off somewhere in the vague distance. "He's just such a little baby compared to us."
Rieko takes a deep breath at that, and is silent for a moment. "That's true, I suppose. I don't know what kind of cash Aaron brings to the table, but we'd better hope the Wyrd takes pity on our finances or we'll never afford one of those fancy places on the money two people bring in by busking."
"Sato Rieko," Ziv says quietly, squinting up at her. "When are you going to learn that you can't hide your feelings from me? Out with it, whatever it is."
She scrunches up her face at -- not only the use of her full name, but -- the correct usage of her full name.
"I'm trying not to let it bother me, but it's bothering me." She chews on her lower lip. "Buying a house is just... a very big, very permanent step, and I'm afraid of that. I've lived in a van and owned six things for nearly ten years now. So."
"... it's a big step."
They did pick up on that from Yoshitsune, and they've been doing their reading, thank you very much! She scrunches up her face and they lean to smooch her nose. "Cowboy," they sigh, and curl up on her.
"It is a big step. And we don't have to decide on it right this moment. But of the two things - swearing a forever Oath and buying a house - one of them feels more permanent to me. If my house I buy on my identity that Mearcstapa makes up for my doesn't suit us anymore, that... isn't a big deal to me. But if it's a big deal to you, we can wait, can think about it."
"Yeah I guess," Rieko's usually bubbly expression twists into a grumpy little frown. It's an unusual look on her, and she doesn't wear it nearly as well as certain other people do. "It's just. Taking an oath to keep and protect people I care about is..." She splashes idly with a hand. The tattooed one, specifically. "I can always run away with y'all. Getting fresh IDs and buying a house is a lot. It's putting down roots and tying myself to something, and I... haven't really done that before." A beat. "... and I'm a little afraid of the fact that it worries me so much."(edited)
Oh no, not a grumpy little frown! This requires kisses! One kiss, two kiss, red kisses blue! "It is a lot and I fully support you working your way through your feelings about that before I start looking through Zillow for houses. If it worries you, then let's figure out exactly why, so we can address that. If you want to have a life with us, we're going to have to either commit to a nomadic life... or commit to a life where we stay, and address our fears about staying in one place."
It's hard to be grumpy when you're getting kissed. Honestly. Just the absolute worst. There's a little growl in her throat -- well, maybe it'd be more accurate to read it as a purr -- that builds from a low rumble, and she splashes at Ziv a little before breaking into a smirk.
"Yeah," she offers a sigh. "That's fair. I don't know how a nomadic life is going to work out for someone like Aaron, who legitimately seems to love this city. Or Rosalyn, who seems pretty tied to it one way or another through her family's old home." A beat. "... but. If we hold off for a little bit, I'll work on figuring out why I feel so weird about it."
"Aaron will never leave Philly unless he's really really gotta, it's true. And legally he can't right now anyway. Pending felony charges and all that." Ziv kisses her again, just for good measure, and flutters their eyelids at her when she splashes them. Like being splashed with water will bother the mermx! It's delightful.
"And Rosalyn... i don't know enough about her to say. But I think... maybe... let's do what you say. And maybe it'll help you to talk with someone who isn't me about why you reacted that way? I'm glad to talk to you, of course, but... maybe it'll help you to get other feedback. Maybe Aaron, maybe a different Spring."
"Maybe, yeah." Rieko shifts her position until she's floating upright again, rather than on her back. She reaches up to ensure that the Bowie knife is still securely tied into her ponytail. She clears her throat. "We should probably get out of the water before I get all prune-y, huh." There'a a beat. "... and I think I'd like a distraction so I can get some distance from that feeling, and then hopefully I can look back at it and see the scope of the thing."
"Oh, right, you get very pruney," agrees Ziv, and then they fling their arms around her neck, leaning in to nibble at her jawline. Their legs flow into being, the tail ceasing to be, and the Siren purrs low in their throat, "Then carry me off so I can distract you."
|