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The sun is down, and Johnny is up. Or he is now, anyhow. He was up earlier, but retreated to the basement to take a nap. That's done now, and he's striding back upstairs with a yawn, stretching. "Heyyyyyyyyyy. Who's around?" Yawn. "Anyone?' Scratch scratch.
"I'm around," June says, hopping off the couch and bouncing across the room toward Vorpal. She's dressed like she often is for hanging around at home, in this case with some pajama shorts and a oversized crop top that's hanging off one shoulder. When she gets to Vorpal she latches onto him with a hug. "Sleep well?"
Who was asleep on the couch? Teagan. They were taking a nap laying next to June, and now they're waking up, sitting slowly up on the couch, wobbling back and forth. "Hnnngh," they murmur, rubbing their hands over their face. "I'm awake, I'm awake," they mumble.
Sigrun keeps daytime hours far more than some of her motley. So she's been out and about it for a while now. So much so that she returns from the forge, having concluded her work from the prior night. In fact, when she wanders back into the sleeping area, she's got a wrapped box in her hands. The package is wrapped in spun linen cloth, natural toned, and tied with a linen string she probably also spun herself. She doesn't say anything, though. She just offers the wrapped present out towards Vorpal.
Johnny tugs June into the hug she's already leaping into, snuggling up with the little spitfire and leaning down to tip her into a delighted little kiss. "And hello to you as well, June. I slept pretty well, I'd say!" Then Teagan is... well, "rousing" themselves with various degrees of success, and he slips a hand into June's to lead her over, no more afraid of her claws than she was of his fingerblades when he had them. "Not sure I believe you on the awake front. But it's good to see you, Teagan." He leans in and smooches the corner of their lips, settling down afterwards and helping June to snug in wherever she likes best.
Sigrun's arrival lights him up in more ways than one, and he twists to look her way, nestling into Teagan and June by necessity when he does. When she offers the present silently, he blinks, surprised, and reaches to take it, settling his hands over hers at first, lingering a moment to offer a surprised, "... thank you! What is this for?" And then he's claiming the present and starting to wind the string and unwrap the cloth. "Did- you weave this yourself, Sigrun??"
June smooches Vorpal, takes his hand, and then joins him in the trip to the couch, where she lets herself be pulled onto Vorpal's lap, to do a snuggle. She's nestled against him as he receives the gift from Sigrun, and she blows a kiss to the Fairest before turning with curiosity to what's being given. "Ooh, neat!" she says "Teagan, look!"
They sit up and lean into Johnny, which is nice. A snuggle is good. Teagan starts rubbing their face with their hands, so they miss Sigrun coming in at first. And then she's there, holding out a present. "Oh! That's what you were working on? You were -- Oh." Teagan is just now awake. Look at that. They sit up and tip their head to the side, watching, a small smile sliding across their face.
"For coming back. For trying for us." Sigrun presses the gift into his hands with a note of finality, and then withdraws her hands from under his own, sliding them into the pockets of her house skirt. She gives Teagan and June both a slightly distracted smile since Vorpal is about to be tearing into her present to him, and there's no small amount of stress involved in that. "I weave all my cloth, yes." Everything she wears around the house? Her hands are responsible for making.
It's enough to know that she made the cloth to opt to keep it intact while unwinding his gift. He takes the long route and uses his comparatively slow meat fingers to do the work. He pauses and looks up when she speaks the reason why. It seems to be distinctly meaningful to him, and he nods, once, before finishing unwrapping the gift.
What he pulls free is a steel knife with a wrapped, brass knuckle style grip. The guard and finger holes are steel, the plates of the grip are of carved briarwolf bone, and the blade? The blade has a blood groove and telltale damascus worrels to it. On the tang is pressed a symbol of three stacked upwards pointing arrows. The triple Tiwaz, a rune of power.
He shifts the blade in his hands, testing its weight and heft with quiet, rapt fascination. "Sigrun, this blade is tremendously well crafted. Tremendously. This is what you've been working on in the forge? For me?"
Johnny doesn't often sound like he's not sure what to say. But this- this sounds a lot like that.
He stands, stepping into Sigrun and curling his free hand into the small of her back and pulling the statuesque woman close. He kisses her first, then- after- breaks to breathe, and murmur, "... thank you. It's gorgeous. Does it have a name?I hope it does, a blade that beautiful forged by hands that skilled deserves a proper name."
June does some added snuggling when Teagan gets into the mix, but mostly she's attentive to the gift giving, which is the important thing going on right now, even if she's not the one who is receiving the gift. Especially if she's not, in her case, because the joy of the people she cares about is so significant to her. "Wow," she says when it's unwrapped and she's had a chance to look at it. "I'm pretty sure that blade... will kill."
Glitch wanders in rubbing at his eyes, clearly just woken up. His hair is messy and he's draped in a brand new oversized black graphic tee. It proclaims in big white block letters: I'M NOT LAZY, I'M JUST IN LOW POWER MODE. He actually pauses in the doorway when he sees just how much Emotions are going on, then traipses out to join the excited reactions. "Unique equipment. Precious."
They're totally sucked in to the gift-giving. So much so that they don't even look aside to where Baby is wrapped in a cloth and sitting on the side table. Usually whenever people talk about weaponry, Teagan looks to make sure that Baby is still Right There. Their smile goes a little soft when they realize the purpose of the gift, and they actually pull in a soft gasp when they see the triple tiwaz. Teagan isn't, like, smart, or educated, but Teagan knows the rune that Sigrun wears. The Sig Rune. You know. Literally. And that's it, right there.
But then June says Doug Marcaida's signature line, and Teagan snorts, amused, leaning over to kiss the corner of the panda's mouth. "You dork." Glitch's arrival gets an arm stretched out toward him. "C'mhere."
"She is called Sigknifr. The Knife of Victory." Or VictoryKnife, more properly. But the norse were not a people fond of extra words when few would get the point across. "Yep. That's what I was working on in the forge. I snuck some bone from the kills the other day to make the handle. And I did the final sharpening on one of their teeth. And a final quench in oil mingled with some of their blood. So. It's forged of the first kills after our reunion." She gives June a wry look at the invocation of Forged in Fire, chuckling despite herself. "I'm glad you like it. Please don't leave again?" She smiles up at him when he steps closer, meeting his gaze with her preternaturally blue and glowing eyes.
Glitch's commentary is spot on, and Vorpal flashes a grin his way as he's added to the pile, and nods slowly at her name. "Sigknifr." He listens to the explanation of the significance of it all, smiling quietly all along. "I adore everything you put into her. Don't worry. I'm not going anyplace. Last time cost me two years. More than enough time on my own, methinks. We'll do things together from now on, if I have my say."
Vorpal is doing great right up until that Forged in Fire quip gets started, and he can't help leaning in towards June in time with the words, mimicking the catchphrase's owner for a moment before bursting into chortles right alongside Sig. He moves back to the couch and pulls Sigrun with, finding a way to make room for her. If that means plopping back into his spot with Sigrun in his lap, nestled against June in Teagan's, and Glitch poised to Tetris his way into the mix?
He won't be complaining.
He's careful with Sigknifr. She gets tucked away safely on the far side of his body from the others.
"Maybe I should leave, if it gets me cool presents!" June says in a way that is DEFINITELY joking, especially when she adds, "or maybe just ask. That's really cool, Sigrun, and it expresses my feelings about Johnny being back pretty well, too. I'm really glad we're all together again. Hi Glitchy!"
"The damascus ought to make her cut better than most. The guard should help you deflect attacks-- armed ones, even --and the knuckles will get you a lot of mileage the way you fight. Also, the forge weld means it should be good for cutting and chopping wood, if it comes down to it. It's as close to an all purpose tool as I can make with what I have in the forge right now." Sigrun is drug along and is happy to be plopped into Vorpal's lap, actually giggling at being so manhandled. She is not one accustomed to being pulled around, after all.
Glitch approaches the growing pile of motley and puts on his best thinking emoji face, finger on his chin. "We're going to need a bigger couch," he beeps. "Maybe one of those big, deep, pit-sectionals..."
He waves to June, almost demure and flattered at the cheery greeting, then considers the players and their positions on the grid. Sigrun in Vorpal's lap, June in Teagan's. He gets an expression on his face, pixels stilling momentarily, like a pet tensing just before doing something very silly.
Then he takes a running leap at the couch, arms flung wide.
"You should not leave." June is trolling, of course, but Teagan's reaction is immediate and visceral, and their arms wrap around her tightly. "You should not leave." They turn their attention to Sigrun when she explains the name, and nods solemnly. "Sig-knife-icant." It flows better when you say it out loud. Sigknifeicant. "It's perfect, Sigrun." When Sigrun giggles? Teagan's smile returns full-force, and they curl in against the other two--
-- and then Glitch.
"Oh noooooooooooo!" Brilliant, bright laughter, the verbal equivalent of breaking glass scattering prismatic light everywhere.
"We could just, you know. Go to Downtime."
"Yes. Please don't leave. I was just explaining last night that I can't do this any longer. The leaving and moving and leaving and moving thing. I can't go back to Minnesota. I can't go back to New York. But Philly is far enough removed that I can... sort of. Have what I used to have. Sort of. I like it here. I like that Teagan likes it here. I just want a place to belong to. I'm tired of bleeding for ground that I don't get to ever see produce the seeds I plant. I deserve to see a harvest." Sigrun's appeal restated, she tucks her head in against Vorpal's shoulder, nestling her forehead against his cheek and becoming the most rare of Sigruns: smol Sigrun.
"Don't you dare," Vorpal says to June, "-or you'll get negative presents. You'll get boxes with empty spots for boxes of Lucky Charms and have to put yours in there or something. I haven't figured out the logistics but it'd be awful and nobody wants that. Plus I'd probably cry."
The descriptions of the ways the knife was designed with him in mind leave him nodding, appreciative of every little facet Sigrun created, but it's that rare, cheerful giggle that leaves him grinning as she slips into his lap proper. "... pit sectionals? Is that a real thiOOF!" Hey! We have a Glitch now, everyone! He laughs and nods along with Teagan. "She IS perfect. Thank you." ... does he mean the knife or Sigrun herself?
"Oh. Yeah, no, I understand. Like, it was awful hollow without all of you, but there are nice things about settling someplace. It's only been a couple years, but most of the locals just hide behind their tails or give me politely terrified smiles when I show up. The Crowns have been significantly more welcoming the longer my Clarity holds and the lower my Wyrd creeps- starting over would be rough."
He quietly shelves his big "I'd follow you guys anywhere" speech. He's learning to read his audience.
"Downtime, eh? Sounds like a messy proposition.."
"I couldn't," June admits, even as she shrinks a little at all the insistence she not leave. "I honestly don't know what I would do without you all. well, other than fall apart, and then move back to Vermont and struggle even more with having to try to hide things from my family. It would be awful." She reaches over to put a hand on Sigrun's leg and gives a gentle, claw-free squeeze. "I'm really tired of moving too, I have to say. I really want to stay in one place for a while. I feel you on not seeing a harvest, even if I'm raising bees, not planting seeds."
Glitch leaps at the couch. Most of the motley has learned to ignore his wilder antics by now as long as he's not running around with a knife. It's for the best, because even trying to restrain himself to a short hop, he sails straight over the couch completely. He bumps into Vorpal and Teagan's shoulders , lands tummy first on the back of the couch, and tips over forward with his legs flying up in the air before falling straight down behind the couch with a loud Qbertesque THUD.
He scrambles back over from the other side and squeezes inbetween Teagan and Vorpal, nearly buried beneath everyone. "We're all ready. We ran long enough. Most of us were running before we found each other."
"Time to face facts. We're a family. We have dogs and a nice house. And we don't live somewhere that has humidity like satan's butthole anymore."
"I do like when it's hot," Teagan admits, adding, "but uh, I recognize that I'm the only one." The Mirrorskin ducks their head down a little bit when Glitch comes flying at the couch, and when he runs into their shoulders, they laugh brightly. "We're all agreed, then."
A pause, and they add a complication into the situation: "Speaking of settling, and family." They look for a good segue, don't find it, and offer: "Laura wants to join Direct Action. She knows it's not a guaranteed thing, she knows it may time. But -- she -- as soon as she found out that we were here permanently, she followed us. Because she -- "
"She doesn't ... work without us, I guess, is the way she put it."
Sigrun's role as smol Sigrun spares her catching any part of Glitch as he goes ass over teakettle over the couch back. She does sit up a bit to peer over the couch back and make sure he's okay before resuming smol Sigrun pose, tucked in under Vorpal's head. "I don't want my opinion to sway anyone one way or the other, but I'm all for it personally." No further words are spoken, at the risk of seeming to be pressuring anyone else. Just her opinion, and that's that. She does reach out a hand and settle it atop June's on her leg, giving it a squeeze of her own.
"Yes," Glitch says, shoving his face inbetween everyone without waiting his turn. "Yes Laura."
June twitches a little at the mention of the dogs, and gets a bit more quiet, but tries to cover that up by snuggling with her partners and closing her eyes. Since she was sitting on Vorpal's lap, she shifts around to be able to lean her head on Glitch. "I like her. We had a nice chat the other morning, and she wants to help me learn to cook better, and we have a lot of things in common."
"Aw, honey," Vorpal murmurs. "We know you never could. That's the joke of it." That to June, of course! "You guys deserve your harvests, and- and now I have questions about how Glitch came to be acquainted with Satan's butthole." Satan's a popular endboss! Surely that's why.
"Mmh." It helps that Teagan specified that she knows it's not a sure thing and might take time. It takes the edge off having to be the No or the Not Yet right this instant. "Well, of course she wants to join. I assume everyone wants to join, every last one of you is hot and awesome. But, ah. I can understand the sentiment, at least. Sorta... been m'life for a couple years."
He notably does not chime in yes or not just now. He focuses instead on rewarding Sigrun's little tuck against him, petting all that pretty hair, leaning into her nuzzle, sneaking her a smooch or two, and finding ways to do much the same for June, little kisses between her ears, squeezes, snugging. "Oh, that's nice, June. We had a... talk..." Yep! It occurred! Teagan heard it!
They don't push anyone to have an answer right now; one hand raises up to pet Vorpal's cheek, and then June's. "I'm for it, personally. I wouldn't be bringing it up if I weren't, obviously. But, like Sigrun said -- I'm not going to try to sway anyone's opinion, or rush things. I love Laura; she's one of my partners and I think she's a winning addition to the family. But. I want to be extra super clear that I'm not going to push anyone to say yes."
"I would like, though, to tell her that we've discussed it, and that everyone's aware, and that coming to a decision one way or another will be a process that will take some time. Not who said yes or who didn't give an answer, or anything. But I know she's anxious about it. Who wouldn't be? And that kind of anxiousness can wear on people. I think that's fair?"
"I think she needs to be proactive and reach out to the motley, you know? Spend time with everyone, join us on hunts and patrols. Let everyone see how she gels with us. But, yeah. I think that's fair." Sigrun straightens up a bit in her seat to lean her head on her hand and rest her elbow on the couch back. Putting her at eye level with Vorpal and Teagan at least. She still doesn't offer any more opinion or information on the Laura front, though. Principled Fairest is principled.
Glitch is happy to be playful right now but he shuts up when it becomes a serious discussion and not just a unanimous agreement on how wonderful Laura is. He nods, having registered his opinion, and agreeing with what everyone else says. Sigrun is a good leader, and he follows her example.
He can tell something is up with Vorpal, if not exactly what, and he squirms in position to rest his head on the taller Lost's shoulder in silent comfort.
"I want to spend more time with her, but I do like her," June says, getting nice and snuggled in and comfy. "I'm definitely not saying no. I'm just resisting the part of me that wants to say yes and try to include everyone, and make sure I'm making a good decision, well informed."
"I'm willing to see how things play out," Vorpal allows. Glitch's reassuring puplean gets a headpat for his trouble. "And I think she's gotten a good start on that, Sig. Just- hasn't been all that long. So I'd be lying to say I'm sure about much about her besides her capability for brutalizing everything in her way."
"I agree with you," Teagan assures Sigrun. "And from what I've seen so far, she has been proactive. She knows she needs to -- make her case, I guess, for lack of a better way to put it, and she has heard the name of our motley, so she's aware that words aren't going to cut it." They play their fingers through June's curls, reassuring themself and her, too. "I respect that about you, JuneyJune." Leaning in, they kiss Johnny at the corner of his mouth. "I'm not expecting you to have an answer right now, except to whether or not you consent to me saying to her what I suggested that I do so. I -- want to be totally clear."
Sigrun decides to have this be the moment she rises up from the cuddle puddle. "I need to wash up and get out of my day clothes. Are we bedding down in the house or over in Downtime? I'm getting sort of sleepy, and could use a nice cup of hot cocoa and a cookie before bed." She peels up off the couch and starts unlacing the bodice she's wearing over her chemise.
Glitch wriggles free of the pile after Sigrun, hopping to his feet and yawning. "I vote Downtime. It has a shower. And a big pillow bed pit. And there can't be invisible dragons or hufflepuffs or whatever the fuck watching us there, so."
"Down-TIME," June starts changing. "Down-TIME, down-TIME." She wriggles about to get up too, while trying to grab Teagan and Vorpal's hands to get ready to drag them along. "I want some big group snuggles, and then maybe some more interactive snuggling too."
"Listen, I ain't about to tell them no," Vorpal states. "Someone else wants to put on the grown up hat and disappoint those two, you go for it, but super mega not it." He laughs as he's pulled to his feet. "Do I default vote for Downtime if I let myself get dragged there?"
They let go of June so she can get up, and then allow themself to be dragged along. "No invisible dragons in Downtime, I promise!" It's not difficult for everyone to get into Downtime -- wherever they go, the motley takes Downtime with them -- everyone just has to spend glamour and do the sekrit knock on a doorway. So one at a time, it's time to pile into Downtime, the real home of Direct Action. "... interactive snuggles, you say?"
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