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The Direct Action house is not that hard to get to from the Freehold Hollow -- with a little jaunt through the Stable Trod, stepping through a small Hollow which has an figure underneath the blankets in the sleeping area, snoring little digital snores -- and out to a colonial in one of the isolated little green spots in Philly. They literally don't make 'em like this anymore.
Teagan steps out quietly through the closet door that leads into the living room, glancing back over their shoulder toward Sigrun. Apparently! This is where they count on Sigrun to lead a little bit, because they are a little freaked out. To put it mildly.
The Direct Action house is even easier to get to when you're there already, which is what June is. She's lounging on the couch with a textbook that she's reading through (about Fire Science), wearing shorts and a tank top that says "I FLEXED AND THE ARMS FELL OFF".
When the closet door opens she perks her head up. "Teagan! I thought you came out of the closet ages ago!" she exclaims, because some jokes only get better with repetition, right? She's already putting her book aside and hopping up for greetings.
Teagan isn't the only one freaked out. Bailey follows along several steps behind the others, as if afraid of getting too close. Their hat is still pulled down a bit low over their face, and their stitches are tight, making their lips wider and narrower. Their dirty cowboy boots clu-thunk lightly against the floor as they step through the hedge gate, and they pause just past it to look around, taking in the house with some uncertainty.
June's voice draws their attention, looking at the little fluffy panda girl with a nod in greeting.
"Hey, Junebug. I dunno if you've met Bailey, but this is Bailey. Bailey, this is June Desrochers. She's part of our motley and the most terrifying of all of us." Which is why Sigrun advances forward to offer June a hug and a kiss on the corner of the mouth. "June, we're going to order grub in, whatever Teagan and Bailey want. We've got reason to believe Bailey may be one of Teagan's kids! I'm going to see what I can google up, here. I'd change into my sleuthing clothes, but the house dress will have to do." She deposits herself onto the couch, stares down at her phone, and pokes her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration.
No one will be seated while a Summer attempts to research a question using technology.
"I did, I did." And when Teagan doesn't even tease June back? That may, indeed, be a red flag for the red panda. "Uh. There are sometimes a lot of people... here. So we can... talk some more... later, too. This is -- these are -- the people who put me back together." They stride over to June and scoop her up into a huge, tight hug, letting Sigrun do all of the explaining. The Mirrorskin is just going to bury their face in June's red, curly hair for a minute and take a deep breath before they go to hang up their coat and their machete. "Hey, JuneyJune. This -- is. Yeah."
June comes to a sudden stop when she sees Bailey, and then she takes a couple of steps back and lifts her hands above her head like she's trying to make herself look bigger. After a second she says, "it's you again! I thought you might have left town." She leans into the hug from Teagan and slowly turns to look up at them. "Wait. One of your kids? We shared time over there. Huh." Another brief moment. "That must be a lot for you both. Definitely seems like we should order some food."
Bailey looks over to stare at Sigrun as she just... comes right out with it, then shifts their weight between their boots a bit. "Mm. We know each other," the scarecrow replies when introduced, turning back to stare at June. "Heh. Thought about it, but decided to stick around for a while longer. Good to see you again."
That's what Sigruns do. They come right out with it. "I booped them both with my brain armor, but that's a short term thing. I wanted to make sure I got them both to you so they could talk and you could keep an eye on them to make sure nothing lands too too hard. You know?" Sigrun keeps poking at her phone, and then chirps, "Ah! Here we go. So. Pennsylvania phased out hangings and went to electrocution during the time we're looking at, and there's no listed judicial hangings of women that I can find. However, when I cross-referenced for lynchings, I..." Sigrun just realized she may have happened upon Teagan's dead name and clears her throat, "...There's a report of a woman hanged for the murder of a Ramon Vargas. I'm. Not going to say her name. But." Sigrun offers the phone towards Teagan and Teagan alone. Good thing they learned how to read, right?
When June puts her hands up over her head like that, Teagan suddenly snaps their head toward Bailey. Wait, their possible kid is making June instinctively react defensively? June? "Yeah, I... " And then Sigrun keeps talking, and Teagan just sort of... sits down in a chair, their coat hung up, and grabs for their machete at their hip like they're grabbing for the edge of a life raft. "I haven't heard that name in a very long time," Teagan says quietly. They tilt their head to look at the screen that Sigrun offers, and nods a very small nod. "Yeah."
"Uh. Yeah. Good to see you again too," June says, and for once she doesn't sound entirely sure about that. Usually June's pretty enthusiastic about new people. but usually there not people who make her think about her Durance. In any case it doesn't sound like a lie, it just sounds more perfunctory than typical. Then there's talk about Teagan's life before, pretty heavy talk at that, and she turns her attention back to the earliest of her partners. She stares a moment before going to sit down on the arm of the chair and lean against Teagan. "I'm not a Joyeax," she says to Sigrun. "But I can help clean up some of the psychological damage, if it comes."
Bailey doesn't sit. They remain standing, only a few steps away from the closet, as if planning on using it to dart away at the smallest sign of danger. They focus on Sigrun as she searches on her phone, staring rather intently.
The name makes their brows crease up in thought, burlap on their forehead wrinkling. But even though they focus, the name doesn't bring up any other emotional reaction. When Teagan confirms that it's their story, Bailey's arms cross over their chest tightly.
"It got any pictures?"
"I'm afraid not. This is just a database of executions and lynchings here in Pennsylvania. We could probably do some more research now that we have a name, but." Sigrun ticks her head aside at Teagan, "That's really up to them now, you know? I did my part. Short of a maternity test, this is about as conclusive as we're likely to get." Sigrun closes her phone up and slides it back into her skirt's pocket. (Of course it has pockets!) "Teagan, do you want to order food? And Bailey, you can sit down and relax if you want. I know this is a lot. Do you want something to drink?" She looks to June lastly, now that she's aware June needs monitoring too amid all of this. "Should I call a Joyeux, June? I can. I just figured-- I didn't know."
They hold on to the handle of the machete, as if hanging on to Baby -- still sheathed -- is the only thing that's keeping them from falling into some sort of hole in the universe and disappearing. And then June is there, and they carefully set the machete down on the table on the opposite side of her, so she doesn't accidentally touch the weapon. Teagan leans into the red panda for a moment, and then Bailey asks if there are pictures.
"You order food," Teagan tells Sigrun, sort of distant and calmly detached, like someone who's half sleepwalking. Bailey asks for pictures?
Teagan can do them one better.
The Mirrorskin puts their long-fingered hands over their mirror-dark face and pushes upward , smoothing their palms over their face, over their hair, like they're in a shampoo commercial and rinsing out their hair. Their Mask solidifies into place, muting their strong Summer Mantle and changing their skin from that black-mirror to a tawny brown. Smoothing their hands back over their hair, it turns from ink-black and cut short and ruffled to long, mostly-straight, raven's-wing black. Their face loses its sharp edges and softens slightly, feminizes just a little: all the edges Arcadia gave them fall away, and the face is nineteen, at its oldest, not Teagan who looks like they're in their thirties, and their eyes, when they open them again, taking one deep breath, are dark brown, and they are eyes Bailey has not seen in a hundred years.
"No, no," June says with a shake of her head. "I'm fine. Actually, seeing Bailey mostly just makes me feel hungry, so the fact that we're ordering food is probably good," she says with a toothy grin, becoming a bit more like herself. "Not hungry in the sense that I think Bailey is food, of course. Just... I don't know. I'm ready for dinner." She trails off a bit and turns to stare at Teagan when they put on a new face. Or an old face. "Huh. That's just not quite right..."
Bailey's lips had twisted with disappointment when Sigrun said there were no pictures, but nodded in acceptance. Of course it couldn't just be that easy.
Or, apparently, it is.
Bailey's eyes go wide, their arms slowly unfolded to drop at their sides. The immediate recognition is unquestionable. But this isn't the look of relief that comes from seeing a long lost loved one. It's a look of guttural horror, and dread, as seeing Teagan's face Before doesn't bring back memories of a happy family and a loving mother. It brings back the memory of watching their mother's face fall apart into sticks and straw and bits of metal.
The scarecrow staggers backwards, knocking violently into the wall, then sliding down it, breath coming quick and labored. Their stitched together hands lift to rake over their face, yanking bits of stray straw out of their burlap skin in the process.
Sigrun's typical impulse at a time like this is likely not going to be helpful, so she does not run over and hug Bailey super tight. What she does do is look to June, expecting her to do something. "Bailey? It's okay, sweetheart, we're all still right here in the living room." She makes a motion of her hand at Teagan, a 'cut it out' or 'quit it' style motion of her hand at her neck. Then she's edging nearer to Bailey hesitantly.
It takes only as long as it takes Teagan to drop their Mask, which is to say, no time at all. The face Bailey saw fall to pieces disappears, the mirror-dark face with its fractured eyes returning. The instinct to push up out of their chair and run to this person that they know is their kid is cut short right around the time they're on their feet, which leaves Teagan just ... standing there wobbling. They make a sort of helpless sound in the back of their throat, and look at June. June is good at peopleing??? PLEASE HELP????
June is already hopping up too, when she sees the way that Bailey is reacting. "Hey, yeah, Bailey, we're here. It's 2020. You're in my living room. Everything's fine." She comes a little closer, but she doesn't reach out to touch yet. She asks, instead. "Is it alright if I put my hand on your shoulder? It might help you feel grounded in the present, and it will also let me help you."
Bailey rocks, hat tipping askew as their hands turn over, staring at the traces of straw caught on their palms. Their hands shake, and they start gripping handfuls of more straw sticking out of their skin to hank out with increasing frenzy, as if trying to find traces of something else under their skin, something real.
Their hands still, briefly, when June crouches in front of them. The panic is still there, chest rising and falling quickly. And while no tears actually flow out visibly in their mien, the burlap under their eyes is turning darker as moisture soaks down into it from the stitches that make up their eyes. For a moment they don't say anything, seeming to have trouble forming words while lost in their shock. "S'not fine," they finally manage to sputter out. "S'not fine. It's just straw."
Sigrun moves to Bailey's other side and kneels down carefully, hiking up her skirt a bit in the process. She lays her skirt back down around her knees once she's settled down beside Bailey, not crowding them and not yet touching them, but present like the fairy godvalkyrie she moonlights as from time to time. Fairest, yanno. "The straw belongs inside of you, honey. You're hurting yourself. Please. Count down from ten and take a deep breath in and a deep breath out. You can't eat pizza if you're pulling straw out of yourself." She tries. Not well, but she tries.
Quietly, Teagan crosses the room after the other two do, and they kneel down in front of Bailey, resting their hands on their knees. This would be easier if they could pull out some ... song from Bailey's childhood, some little memory to center them, but they can't remember Bailey at all. Everything they've constructed for themself is from external information -- and when they remember that? Sitting a few feet back from Bailey, Teagan calls low, high, low, whistled as quietly as they can. "You aren't going to fall apart into straw and sticks, Bailey. My Fetch wasn't real, but you are."
That whistle calls Oso, who pads up alongside Teagan from nowhere, as hedgebeasts can. Teagan rests a hand on Oso's head and murmurs something to him in Spanish; the pup pins his ears back, and quietly scoots forward toward Bailey, warbling gently.
June sits down by Bailey, legs crossed, and holds a hand out toward them. "It will be fine," she says. "Here, take my hand. You're in a safe place. Nobody is going to fall apart here."
They try to do as Sigrun asks, holding their breath for a moment but not quite getting to ten before they pant out another couple quick breaths. But they stop yanking out handfuls of straw, hands tilting to let the pieces fall to the ground.
Their head turns up hesitantly towards Teagan, relieved to no longer find the face of their mother staring back at them. The assurance that they're real seems to help calm them, just a little. Enough that when June holds out her hand, Bailey slowly accepts it with a weak grip. The other hand moves to pet Oso once he gets close enough, a rote action more than a conscious one. Because of course the dog needs to be petted.
Sigrun is no match for Oso. So she surrenders her side of Bailey to the dog, giving June an encouraging smile as she does so, and giving Oso a scritch on his buttspot. Then she retreats back to Teagan to slide an arm around their waist and tuck them in closer for a squeeze. She goes on her tip toes to rest her chin on Teagan's head as she does so, too. This can't be easy for anyone, really. And she's allowed to hug Teagan, so. Hugs happen.
Oso scoot scoot scoot on his belly until he's up next to Bailey. It may be rote pettings that the dog gets, but he, too, was devoid of love and pets for a very very long time, and he drinks up attention and love. With a gentle warble, he scoots in close and puts his chin on Bailey's shoulder, sniffing at their cheek, letting out a gentle 'boof.' Another little warble is words, this time: "Can not-the-boy play?"
Teagan misses that bit of speech, as they're busy wrapping their arms around Sigrun and burying their face in her braids. Sigrun is definitely allowed to hug Teagan, and they just kind of... hang on to her right now. A lot of their gestures in the last few hours have been about ... trying not to fall apart.
June takes Bailey's hand in hers, squeezing gently while being careful of the claws. "It's going to be fine," she says again, as the damage to Bailey's sanity is healed and June winces in pain that she mostly conceals. "You're at my motley's house. You're safe among us. We're going to get some food. I'm seriously in the mood for pizza. What do you like on yours?"
The scarecrow exhales a long breath as their mind suddenly clears, the stitches on their face loosening to let their face relax. Their breathing starts to slow, and while not completely calm, their composure is slowly returning. "I... I dunno... Ain't ate too much pizza... Whatever's probably fine," they mutter distractedly, food the least of their concerns right now.
They huffs out a breath as Oso nudges and leans into them, their head turning to nuzzle into his fur, an arm draping loosely around the giant pup. Accepting comfort and offering less rote, more purposeful affection, scritching behind his ears slowly.
Sigrun continues to hold onto Teagan for as long as Teagan needs holding on to. There's not much she can do about the present state of affairs beyond this, so she sticks with what she's got. "Why don't I run out and pick up the food. It'll be faster. Plus, it will give you two time to talk." With June there. "June? Do you want me to call a healer while I'm out? I can swing around and give them a ride, even."
"Oso wants to know if you can play," Teagan says, on kind of a delay, as they hug tighter on to Sigrun, mashing their face into her braids. They take a deep breath in, let it out. "I want a white pizza," they tell Sigrun. Not cheesesteak? Are they just trying to not get made fun of? (Maybe.) A kiss for the corner of Sigrun's mouth, and they finally let go of the Valkyrie. A little tip of their head toward June, a small smile. They know what it means when she winces a little like that, and what it costs her to heal people's heads.
"Let's not start with pineapple then. It's pretty controversial," June says with a laugh. "Most pizza's pretty hard to complain about, though." She smiles. "I'm glad you're feeling more yourself now, though." She turns to tell Sigrun, "nah, no need. I'll be fine in an hour or so, I'm pretty sure. Or a few minutes in Downtime. Thanks for worrying, but it was nothing major."
"Yeah... yeah. M'fine," Bailey assures June softly. "Thanks..." They look down at their straw-stuffed stitched together hand for a moment, fingers flexing. Another breath, this one deeper, and they offer Oso a small smile. "Heh... yeah. Yeah. We can play." Bailey pets the dog for another moment, then pushes up to their feet slowly. Still shaken, but not shaking anymore.
Hesitantly, they look back to Teagan and stare quietly, a lot of emotions clearly playing out in their mind, and no idea where to even start talking about them.
Sigrun gives another tight squeeze to Teagan and plants a kiss on their lips before slipping away and grabbing her keys and clutch from the sideboard. Yes, she's going to get pizza in Philly dressed like an iron age peasant. It's Philly. They're used to it. "I'll be back in a jiff, then. June, call me if you decide to change your decision, there. Okay?" There's more clarity rolls in store, no doubt. "Love you!" She ducks out the door to go and be useful in some capacity.
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