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Having missed the climactic battle to wage war on a different front, Vorpal's taken to the Freehold grounds to see the damage done herself. She's gliding along in her own, impossibly elegant manner, looking about and trying to piece together a feel for how everything must have gone from whatever scars remain done to the battlements, the ground itself, and all other such things.
It's strange to have not been here.
Lif's doing cleanup work--moving splintered pieces of the walls and catwalk over here, dealing with abused gardens there. Because the reward for work is more work, clearly. She has her water bottle open and is trying to be in four places at once, because she can do that, tendrils of water like a jellyfish's tendrils surrounding her as she works, her cowboy hat slightly askew.
"Oh."
Johnnie pauses as he comes upon her, rubbing at her chin in musing. "Yes, I suppose it probably would be better to... actually clean up the mess and not just wander through it like a tourist, huh." She looks round, musing. "Would this be easier with more water?"
"Probably, though too much water could also be a problem in its own right." Lif sets down what they're holding to walk over to Vorpal, holding their arms out in what is clear invitation. "You made it out okay. I'm so glad--I worried about you, you know."
"Well, I mean, how long does it have to stay to be a problem?" asks Johnnie, stepping in to hug Lif for a moment. "And- I dunno if it's accurate to say I made it out okay. I'm okay now, sure. And worry was probably the correct emotional perspective. I probably could have done with more of it, myself." She steps back, hands settling on Lif's hips, searching her expression. "How'd yours go?"
"A little harrowing, but alright in the end. She demanded to see what it is we knew about sacrifice. Annie and I showed her, in our memories. But it felt so real...to be in that state again." She licks her lips, then looks up to make eye contact with Johnnie. "But we were able to get through to her, to get her to abandon the sick tree and take over what had been my sapling. We definitely won."
"Oh. Well, that's good. I don't think I'd have been nearly so useful in that scenario as you. Sacrifice isn't something I've had to do much of," Johnnie quips, trying to keep the positive focus on Lif. "That was you guys? You coaxed her into the healthy tree? That's clever as hell. It was all we could do to extract the lost ones and bolt. I'm glad you all got free without much ado."
"She opened the way for us to get out. She was...something else, there in the end. Wyrdest thing I've ever seen." Lif takes a small step back, touching the crack at their neck and then looking at their fingers quietly for a moment. "But, now most of what's left is cleanup here and whapping Baltimore over the nose with a newspaper."
"Yeah. Everyone else called her just this side of Fae." Johnnie turns her face up to peer into the sky a moment. "Wonder if that's how I woulda ended up if I'd kept a hold of all that power, eventually." She snorts and shakes her head. "Nah. I'd have been worse, I think. At least her core nature revolved around something ostensibly beneficial, even if it didn't stay that way."
"Can I help with cleanup?"
"Definitely. I hardly know what I'm doing, but I figure if I build a pile of trash, someone will figure out something useful to spin it into, hm? And Bailey and I were weeding in the garden earlier." They smirk. "But, uh. I think we managed a pretty solid success with everything, so I'm not mad."
"The refuse is pretty much all just plant stuff right? Couldn't we compost it, or burn it?" Johnnie asks, her shadows creeping off to start plucking up scraps of things that don't look like they belong and working on building that pile of trash that Lif mentioned.
"Composting would be preferable to burning--is there a spot for compost somewhere around here? Are there hedgeworms that break down organic material here?" While the shadows do their stuff, Lif rolls up one pant leg and removes a hatchet that's sheathed against her calf, so she can break down some of the larger pieces of wood into more easily composted sizes. While she's still not all that strong? She's got a good eye for where the weak points are, and actually seems to be handling the wood alright, breaking splinters off easily.
"I dunno," Jackie offers easily. "Not usually in the gardens. If I am, it's providing fertilizer, ha! Bone meal and the like. Hedge plants tend to enjoy a good corpse."
"All plants like something rotting. Fungi, too, they tend to break it down into something the plants can use. 'Decay will feed the bloom'. In Japan, there's even lore that the pink of a cherry blossom comes from the blood of the corpse buried beneath the tree." She seems quite cheery talking about this.
"Ooh! That's pretty darn cool. I knew I liked cherry trees." Johnnie drifts and wanders a little, shifting the reach of the shadows to help gather detritus into a pile.
"You're autumn. Of course something like that catches your attention." They laugh, pausing in their hatcheting to watch Vorpal for a moment with an amused expression.
It's a little disorienting to try to track what Vorpal's doing. Her senses are too keen, her reflexes too sharp, and even split a few ways, it's still a little dizzying to watch her work. Granted, she's not doing anything remotely requiring muscle, but it's still a lot of light work getting done at once. ".... yeah, I am. I should probably try not to forget that, huh?"
"Why would you try to forget that, even?" Lif sheathes the hatchet and moves toward Vorpal--careful not to sneak up on her or anything.
"Oh, I said, I should try not to, not that I shouldn't try to." A minor clarification.
"Fair enough." She chuckles. "It'd be really hard to imagine you in any other court."
"Really~?" Johnnie laughs, turning back towards her and canting her head, one hand on jutting hip. "You couldn't see me as a furious Summer, or a Spring? Winter, I think we can agree, I'd be absurd, but. You've been both those courts. You don't think I'd fit in?"
"You like to fight, I get that, but I think your reasons and what about fighting gets to you differs from your Summer motleymates. You could fit in, though you'd break the bell curve and make me look even weaker in comparison, but it's not where your heart's at home." They reach out to gently boop Vorpal on the nose. "As for Spring...mmm, those would be some pretty dark desires. And your path in the court would probably lead you to being Claviger. I couldn't see you being a Joyeux, Jackie."
"Dark desires..." Jackie grins at the boop. "Joyeux? No. But my first girlfriend I hooked up with not insignificantly due to enjoying cutting her almost as much as she enjoyed being cut." A moment of musing. "That was noooooot a healthy relationship. Though interestingly, not at all for that particular reason." She shrugs. "You're probably right, I suppose. I'm not really an angry person. It's not my favorite drive or tool. I suppose I can see where you're coming from." She thinks for a moment about her Summer Motley. "... yeaaaaaaaah, I see exactly where you're coming from."
“I’m somewhat tempted to ask more about your dating history, but I’m not sure if this is the right time or place for any of that. Or even how much of a right I have to ask, this early on in whatever we’re doing. Are we dating?”
"Oh, I'll share whatever. It's super rare someone takes an interest in the more boring facets of my life," Jackie explains with a grin. "And you have a right to ask whatever you want, just like I've got the right to pick and choose how to answer." The last comment makes Jackie tip her head askance. "Aren't we dating?"
“Is this a date?” Lif shrugs a shoulder. “I mean, we’ve been to a hotel room, and I’ve half a mind to claim a cottage with you for the night later, but that’s more sexing than dating, you know?”
"Huh. I guess that's accurate. I dunno, I haven't really done this in like... close to three years, I think?" Jackie's shoulders roll uncomfortably. She's never the most comfortable discussing her ineptitudes. "And I don't think it counts as a date if we just end up in the same place together on accident."
“Well, just to make sure I’m explicit about it, I’d like to date you. Properly-ish. Take you out to a nice dinner, or some sort of local event. Bring you flowers. Especially if it’s been a while since you’ve done this.” They’re grinning now. “What type of flowers are your favorites?”
Jackie seems thrown off a few paces by that, blinking. "I- don't know, actually. I can't remember if I've ever had anyone bring me flowers. I've, uh. Usually been on the other side of the arbitrary gender role division, on account of not really realizing I had an option. So from that perspective, it hasn't just been a while, I've never done this!" Specific to building a new relationship from this coordinate on the gender plane.
“And is that a scary or an exciting thing for you right now? Just to check, I don’t want to cause problems for you in my eagerness to romance you. Or both—it could definitely be both.” For their part, Lif is clearly already planning; Vorpal can almost see the gears turning.
One of her shadows pops up beside her and mouths something, which she mimics a moment later. "Both." She turns to Lif and nods in unison with her shadow. "Both is good." Jackie smirks. "Or, well. Accurate, not good, exactly. And no, it's not a problem, it's just a facet of exploring a new gender I hadn't considered!"
“I mean, it’s not necessarily a gender thing in itself. A gender role thing, but you could have gotten romanced as a guy too. It happens sometimes.” But Lif laughs warmly. “I hear gay guys tend to manage just fine.”
"Well, no," confirms V, nodding. "Just- figured it mighta been why nobody much went that route? Orrrrr mighta just been that I liked doing the pursuing. Who knows?" She shrugs, at ease regardless of the final conclusion. And I'm sure they do, but the only guy I've ever messed with is Glitch, and the romancing was really more or less handled by the rest of the polycule. Our click was just that."
“I mean, if you prefer to chase me, I’m fine with that. But it might be a nice change of pace for you, this way.” One of her hands slips down to grab one of Vorpal’s and lift it to her mouth for a cool-skinned kiss.
"I mean, I'm sure some nights that's exactly what I'll want to do. I don't want to go chasing anything just now, though. That-" She pauses at the kiss, smothering a giggle. "Gawd, sorry! Just- you're lucky you didn't meet me three years ago or you'd have just smooched your way into a cleft lip."
“I think I’m very lucky to know you as you are today.” Their gaze lifts to Vorpal’s face with a coy smile.
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