Connie is sitting there watching her, but trying not to full-on stare. "You know I f!!~ed up yesterday, right?"
Femtite is clad in a lacy little pink nightie and jazzercise-esque leg-warmers. She turns, eyelids opening lazily, fiery glow fading to the more human amethyst eyes.
Her aura glows pink as she studies Connie’s face.
”Hmm…? I did not know you forni…no………erred yesterday, Connie…” She sits up and scoots over to make room on the bed. “Shall we talk about what it is that’s on your mind?”
Percy reached over and put his, not soaked in tea hand on Max's hand, "Look, we're in this as a team. I made you a promise to do what I can to get your back to how you were before that idol changed you. Don't think i'm going to back out now. Heck even after all of this is said and done you'll still be a member of the team, powers or not."
Max smiles up at Percy. ”Thank you. That means a lot to me.” On a whim, she wraps her arms around the wizard and gives him a warm hug.
He looks up at the construction that's happening on the dorms from the battle the day before and lets out a short sigh. Shortly afterwards grinning and looking at Max. "So, how did you like my portrayal of the dark and daunting Mighty Paralax? Glad i'm not an evil super wizard huh?"
Max laughs. ”You played the role well. A little too well! You definitely looked like you were having fun with it! Definitely glad it’s just roleplaying and not real life!”
"Why would I need time?" Shin asks her honestly. "You kicked my butt, sure, but I was the fool who didn't see through Imagerie's illusion to realize it was really you. It's not as if you tried to kill me either," Shin points out. "But, if I can ask a favor - I need a dose of normal. Was trying to have that before the afternoon turned to chaos. So...tea tomorrow? I just want to talk about school...and someone I like."
"No, we were dating first, then Scorch confessed her feelings to Psyche, and it was unconventional for my time but I suppose it must happen more often now, so we were part of the same relationship together. Then Scorch got sick and shut us out after a few weeks, which left us together until the break-up. When I say dark path, I mean that she was losing herself to her powers. It was rough to admit I was ignoring the problem."
He sighs, grabbing the bag and hiding it underneath a loose roof tile up here. "Anyways, the past is past, and I want to think more about the future. So, last question tonight: What do you think of Bastion as our team name?"
"Mind out of the gutter, Femms, not a fornication thing.
Connie had changed into a long tanktop and loose sleep shorts for her sleepless vigil, so she was feeling a little underdressed in the pjs department, but powered through as she scoooted onto the bed. "No, I just, I mean I know you literally have a rose-colored tint going on when it comes to me, but you get that yesterday didn't go according to the plan, right? Like, when I thought it was just the Dollmaker and some creepy foot-high's I wasn't too worried 'cause I was pretty sure I could shut him down if needed, but going up against two whole-ass members of the Alliance at the same time? With morality off? That's a f@*~ing nightmare scenario, Femms. I thought we might be going up against spooky doll versions of them - tops. I could have gotten you really hurt, and I need you to know that. Also in rose-colored lenses, I do know and believe you care for me and find me physically yada-yada, but I'm objectively the least attractive member of our team. Maybe second least. But mainly the reckless failure thing."
***
"I think it pluralizes badly. It's an issue for the Alliance too, but they at least have Allies... Wait, you were in a committed throuple?!" Connie sat down, hard. "This is like finding out my grandparents swung. Or would be, if I knew who they were" Staring up at him she added, "I'm going to pretend I didn't even acknowledge this possibility later, but I need you to know that being polyamorous does not make you cooler or queerer than me. Especially because I'm in a monogamous relationship with a Pixite, and for her, polyamory is the norm and monogamy is counterculture. Not that I would change anything queer about myself if it weren't to some degree counterculture, but... Seriously?! You?! Two superhero-level attractive girls?! And you?!"
She put her head between her knees. "This is deeply dispiriting.
"...Oh god, you did weird mental stuff, didn't you. Nope. Nope. You're not allowed to ruin kink or weird sexy stuff. What went on in your head, or her head, or drafting off the flickering synapses of other people while they-" She shook her head furiously. "NONE OF IT. You will tell me NONE OF IT."
"I can't believe you're ruining weird sex before I've even had any."
***
"Perce, heh, I hope you're always the most powerful mage in the room. All the love in the world, but I think that it will not be much fun if that ever changes. Shit like the whole Seventh Son thing and all my sympathetic symbolic stuff isn't about it being the only way to work, it's about moving power through channels that have already been carved by generation after generation and millions and billions of souls. People who don't even have to think about that stuff are, uh, rare.
"I'm slinging around something like a 55th percentile magical battery. I can identify paths and connections like no one's business, but when it comes to power? I'm sure Caio's wards and Max's transformation have messed up what they're working with. And who knows with Pixites. But if they had my foci to work with, and knew the techniques, and could juggle and identify the sympathetic signifiers fast enough I could find hundreds of people just at school who could power a spell to my level or better."
As he's accused of 'weird mental stuff', Shin only smiles. And this time it's a genuine, fond smile of remembering something joyous.
"I promise to tell you nothing of what we did in our minds, or in private places," He tells Conflux. "Though the one thing I miss about hanging with Praetoria was going to that tropical island of hers with the whole team..."
He cleared his throat. "Anyways, I don't know much about queerness, so you can still school me on that should the need arise. I don't want to be the guy who doesn't get it. Though I don't think there's anything wrong with being gay or lesbian or polygamous."
Shoulders dropped, brows furrowed, eyes pointed sullenly up, Connie responded as if her words were being dragged out of her by chains. "Polyamorous. Unless you're married, but yes, if you start feeling funny tingles about a cute boy, or start having or recognizing atypical gender feels, I promise to guide, answer, and help. Sigh. This also goes for asexual or aromantic feels, though I assume from that HORRIBLE SMILE that that is not the case."
"Why would I need time?" Shin asks her honestly. "You kicked my butt, sure, but I was the fool who didn't see through Imagerie's illusion to realize it was really you. It's not as if you tried to kill me either," Shin points out. "But, if I can ask a favor - I need a dose of normal. Was trying to have that before the afternoon turned to chaos. So...tea tomorrow? I just want to talk about school...and someone I like."
She nods. "Sometimes after getting into a fight with a teammate -- especially when they're trying to kill you -- some space will allow for processing. Probably helped that you saw me as a doll. >Sigh< First the princess thing, and now Pinocchio.
"All right. Tea time it is. See you then."
=======================
Whippoorwill's apartment is a penthouse suite in the Tower District. It's a clean, spartan living space with open windows affording a dazzling view. When Shin arrives, she's already got the kettle on. She's wearing a baggy pair of sweats and a light tank top. Part of the modifications to her physiology to accommodate her wings included resistance to colder temperatures and an ability to withstand higher altitudes. The chill in the air doesn't seem to touch her as waits on the balcony for the tea to steep.
Femtite stares as Conway bares his soul…
When Conway turns, molten gold tears are streaming down her cheeks. “You… really cared. You knew Connie and I and…” Femtite gives him a warm embrace. She says through her sobs, “You’re really a good boy, Conway… I want you to be happy. I want you to know your friendship made me happy, and I feel so horrible you lost your beautiful collection.
“Just don’t ever hate yourself, Conway. None of what happened is your fault.”
Femtite says, ”Oh, that…
“I flew inside Imagerie’s hollow plastic head. How could you have known they were real people? Do you have any idea how fake a doll’s face looks when you’re one millimeter tall?”
She edges closer, so Connie’s bare thigh will feel the warmth of her own.
“The wooden boy defeated two whole-buttock alliance members, and we defeated him.
“My Bug got scratched; I’m unscathed.” Femtite’s hand gently squeezes Connie’s. “I’m worried about you.”
Femtite keeps her warm hand on Connie’s. She watches her eyes. Does she want to be heard? Does she want affection? Breakfast? Given time to keep her secrets? Fem to flat out ask?
Femtite tries to get a read…
Shin takes the elevator, because it feels more normal than flying up to her place. He's dressed in simple slacks, a white dress shirt and suspenders underneath his new blue jacket. He's happy as he holds up a tin of rice crackers he brought to enjoy with the tea. He liked the new ones that seemed to have a sharp spiciness to them.
"So, how are you feeling today? Any better now that the creature responsible for meddling with your mind is trapped in a magic trash can?" He asks her. "Ah, I probably shouldn't talk shop too much." He's unperturbed by the chilly penthouse, seeing as he's drawing in extra heat from the sunlight to offset it. "So, I'm happy to say that my cover still remains intact at school aside from my teammates, who are accommodating to my needs for privacy. Though I'm wondering if we should have a lesson on the importance of keeping secret identities...dammit, I'm talking shop again," He groans, sitting at the kitchen counter.
"...So do you think the Hierarchs will make it to the World Series? They're really close now..."
Shin just gives her a really, really blank look. "...Yeah, uh, first, I am fairly certain I'm not attracted to men...second, what do you mean by atypical gender feels? I'm definitely...a romantic, though," He comments to her. That is something that he can't help but get swept up in the moment.
Whippoorwill waves off his concern. "I'm fine. Perturbed, but fine. Relieved that nothing worse happened."
When the tea's ready, she pours and serves it, then steps to a recessed part of the balcony where the generally strong winds by being that high up can't reach. She sits down and listens quietly.
"I don't know," she says with a shrug. "I don't follow sports. You know my whole life is 'shop,' so I don't mind the talk. You wanted this time. So, say what's on your mind. Or think about what you want to say for a while. Then say it. I'm here." She sips her tea and gives him time.
Connie screwed her eyes tightly shut. "You know... Trans or nonbinary stuff? Not actually being the gender you were assigned at birth? Mark Weston? Six-Horse Charley? Lucy Anderson? Alan Hart? Lili Elbe? The Public Universal Friend? Dora Richter? Magnus Hirschfeld's whole institute? Albert Cashier? Probably George Eliot... Definitely Lou Alcott... I know you're still playing catchup past the 30s. Whatever, if what I'm saying doesn't ring any bells, don't sweat it. If it does: Gender and sexuality are complicated but also very simple; google's your friend; I'm google's backup. And you don't need to look into aromanticism but it's one word if you do."
***
"I'll be fine, Femms. Not a scratch on me either. I'm just... sorry. Urgh. But that just means I need a plan. Part of me wants to just hole up here in my pajamas, but I don't want to be a drag. Also if I lie here all day feeling sorry for myself I will wind up seducing you to feel better, and I'm saving that for some time when I'm in a much cuter outfit. And have showered... And have confirmed how Pixite reproduction works, but I will use a different segue for that...
"So yeah. The plan for today is to leave this room in a presentable fashion."
"Okay...well," Shin says as he opens the cracker tin, passing out some to his mentor. "Despite the recent chaos, I actually feel like I belong. More so than I expected. It's still a little surreal to me being in a school like Halprep and...well, being treated like everyone else."
He sips his tea, enjoying the flavor - though perhaps he could have brought sweets instead if she was going with a dark brew? "And...getting kind of serious with this girl. She's on the volleyball team. I was actually out with her yesterday before all the craziness. It's definitely hard to find time with her with all my other duties, but for her it feels worth it." He smiles. "...What about you? Have you ever met someone who was worth it?"
Shin looks seriously blown away now. "That...what? That doesn't sound right..."
He has a deep look on his face as he presses a thumb against his mouth, pacing around. "...You're going to have to give me more than a minute. Or maybe a month to process that idea. Wow. How would that work? Have they been everywhere and I just never noticed? Wait, are you- no, no, forget I asked, that has to be a rude question," He says, flustered and out of his element.
"I'm going back to my dorm and going to try to sleep while my brain rebels against this...this new perspective. I'll see you later."
Not that Femtite feels she has been wronged, but she embraces Connie in a warm hug just the same.
“I can easily forgive you, Connie…” For Connie, this may be interpreted as forgiveness for endangering Femtite, but to Femtite, it is for leaving her alone in bed pining.
And even then, she forgives, “…without feeling wronged.
“I mean this, Connie. And since you did say ‘seduce,’ I should warn you: passion is fire. Sex is volcanic.” She points out a human anatomy textbook on a table next to a teacup. “—and entirely vaginal, if you ever want to know how pixites function.”
With a hint of sadness, she talks around pixite reproduction a bit. “I believe Mel the mechanic is my co-creator. I prefer this translation to ‘father,’ I think. Anyway, I don’t know this for a fact. Only that she was in my mother’s first harem and she’s always good to me.
“I’ll be asking her forgiveness for asking her to fix giant gashes again.”
She taps her heart-shaped hair-clip, which appears to be an inch-long toy car scratched by a field mouse.
“I already texted Caio to tell him he is forgiven, so you know. The poor boy is already plenty hurt without having to wonder if I’m mad at him. What happened after our double-date that I now count as not-a-date? Yesterday does count.
“DD was interested in her phone both at the table and outside. I may not be from Earth, but I’m not stupid.”
|
Max smiles up at Percy. ”Thank you. That means a lot to me.” On a whim, she wraps her arms around the wizard and gives him a warm hug.
Max laughs. ”You played the role well. A little too well! You definitely looked like you were having fun with it! Definitely glad it’s just roleplaying and not real life!”
Percy awkwardly accepts the hug and pats Max on the back, "Uh.. yeah, me and my old friend had lots of time to play pretend when we were little, and you know how kids are even creating evil villains to play as so the hero could sweep in and save the day. Then I got my hands on actual magic and well, could actually be a hero."
He clears his throat with another slightly heavier pat on Max's back, "Anyway uh. Should probably get the others together, so we can make our plan to fight the actual devil or whatever."
"Perce, heh, I hope you're always the most powerful mage in the room. All the love in the world, but I think that it will not be much fun if that ever changes. S@#& like the whole Seventh Son thing and all my sympathetic symbolic stuff isn't about it being the only way to work, it's about moving power through channels that have already been carved by generation after generation and millions and billions of souls. People who don't even have to think about that stuff are, uh, rare."I'm slinging around something like a 55th percentile magical battery. I can identify paths and connections like no one's business, but when it comes to power? I'm sure Caio's wards and Max's transformation have messed up what they're working with. And who knows with Pixites. But if they had my foci to work with, and knew the techniques, and could juggle and identify the sympathetic signifiers fast enough I could find hundreds of people just at school who could power a spell to my level or better."
Percy shrugged, "Heh, I guess open flattery and genuine care about your talents aren't gonna crack a nut like you. Though it does make me wonder what would happen.." He trails off eyes darting to the corners of his vision as he leans back and grows quiet for several moments thinking deeply.
'Connie, if you ha-hmm- if you had something like the power I have. What would you do with it, a fraction, or even all like... if tomorrow we swapped places, but you retained your ability to like do all the crazy connections and all that?''Do you want to talk about what happened in the fight you seem a bit ya know off'
'Should we talk about Quincy and all the other bullshit?'
Mind ablaze with questions he started and stopped a few times before managing something. "Hey Connie you know you're like my best friend, and things have been a bit weird between us lately but I have to honestly ask-" He locks up again for a precious few seconds, "-what if 'you' were the most powerful mage in the room?"
|
|
Percy went to check up on Caio since he hadn't seen him around either on or off the school's property for a while. He pulled out his phone and typed out a message for Caio to check up on him and see if he liked the meal he had left.
Percy: Hey dude, don't know if you saw the chicken that I left in your room. Hope you liked it, you down for a game of Magic tonight I think i'm starting to get the hang of it?
He let it sit for three hours before checking his phone again only to see that it hadn't even gone through to which he sent one to the group.
Wiz: Hey anyone seen Caio lately, sent him a text a few hours ago and it hasn't even gone through. Did his phone get smashed in the whole dorm incident or something? Oh.. also hope you all liked the meals, sorry Fems didn't have any micro-shrooms on hand, hopefully the portabella's I left in flux's were sufficient?
"Okay...well," Shin says as he opens the cracker tin, passing out some to his mentor. "Despite the recent chaos, I actually feel like I belong. More so than I expected. It's still a little surreal to me being in a school like Halprep and...well, being treated like everyone else."
He sips his tea, enjoying the flavor - though perhaps he could have brought sweets instead if she was going with a dark brew? "And...getting kind of serious with this girl. She's on the volleyball team. I was actually out with her yesterday before all the craziness. It's definitely hard to find time with her with all my other duties, but for her it feels worth it." He smiles. "...What about you? Have you ever met someone who was worth it?"
A dark look crosses her face. She looks away, her expression unreadable. "No. None that I can say with certainty," Whippoorwill says after some reflection.
She draws in a breath and looks at Shin with a forced smile. "Not that I'm really looking. My life at your age was very different. I probably missed my chance to make a connection then... And now I'm just too busy. And carrying too much baggage.
"And it's all right," she says quickly and reassuringly, moving the topic away from her. "You want to talk about her? Does she know?"
Max sees the text from Percy. She frowns, realizing she hasn't heard from Caio in the past few days either.
Max: I haven't seen him. We should check on him.
Max goes to Caio's dorm room and knocks on the door. When there's no answer, she lets herself in, using her tail to pick the lock. Inside, it's clear that her friend hasn't been home in some time. She looks around for any clues as to where Caio might have been.
There isn't too much out of the ordinary in Caio's room. The first thing of notice is his comms, broken, its pieces all over the place. On the wall, where there is a dusty display case with his medals of the International Mathematical Olympiad (four in total, one being gold, two silver, and one bronze) is cracked, as if something was throw at it.
There are no signs of struggle in the room. His wardrobe is opened and his jacked is not there. Caio's keys are also not present. Max can find Caio's phone tucked between the sides of an armchair and its seat, and it is dead.
A drawer of his nightstand is opened and inside there is a knife, its blade made of silver. Max had never seen this knife before, and it has an inscription. "Nós te amamos. Nós entendemos. Paz e Misericórdia."
On his trash Max can find a crumpled flyer of a party that was supposed to happen on Saturday. There are no food packages anywhere.
Max collects the broken comm and the cellphone. She carefully handles the strange knife, confused by its purpose and concerned by its inscription.
Max: He's not at his dorm. His comm is broken and his phone is here, dead. I'm worried, guys. I've never known him to disappear like this.
Shin is interested in learning more about what his mentor might be hiding. He feels a sense of sympathy for her - unlike him, she can't just take off a mask and uniform and be a normal person. Unless...
He'd work on that idea later, and focused on answering her current line of questioning. "I mean, I don't think I've been careful enough around her. Especially yesterday. Really, I think people finding out I'm a superhero isn't the part that I dread, but explaining all of this 'time orphan' stuff and that there's a man who once was me lurking in the underground. Not sure how to field that to the team..."
He focuses less on asking her for advice at the moment, and more on trying to figure out his mentor and how to get her to open up a little. "I had this interesting conversation with Conflux last night..."
She takes another sip then tries a rice cake. She tries to hide the regret of taking that bite.
"Well, you have less reason to protect your identity," Whippoorwill says after forcing herself to swallow. "If you start building a network of friends outside the life, it'll get more important. Protecting loved ones is the main reason for secret identities, and why we go to such lengths to keep them secret.
"For you, it's a way of getting to experience a normal life. Or at least a life outside of the flights and tights crowd. But consider letting her in at some point. There's a line, somewhere, between being smart to keep your identity secret, and lying to someone about a big part of yourself." Whippoorwill shakes her head ruefully. "And I have no idea where it is."
She arches an eyebrow, showing interest in the conversation with Conflux.
"So, I know I'm not the most savvy at this century's culture and all the nuances, but I thought I had a good grasp of everything until Conflux told me that...uh, well, it still is hard to think about, but that people can change their gender. Like not in a superhero, shapeshifting powers way, although that probably kickstarted things, but in regular people going through hoops and procedures to be girls or boys or something neither-slash-in-between? So I spent the morning combing Clocktower on info and coming up with nothing but a list of powered criminals that are noted to have changed genders. And I am...well, I'm worried," He admits to her.
"I'm worried that they're been around me all this time and I haven't noticed and that makes me a bad person. Or that I'm one because this feels weird to me to just think about. Not about the whole physical aspects, but just like the social and mental stuff. Just if I feel this way trying to understand it, it must infinitely worse for them. And I don't know what I can do about it," He finishes, obviously torn up about this. "I know it's hardly a light topic, so if you don't want to talk about it, I can just see if Conflux can help answer some of these..."
Highly entertained by Shin's meltdown, Connie switched categories and kept shouting names as he retreated, "Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Patsy Kelly, George Cukor, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Abraham Lin-ahh he's gone."
***
Connie's lips compressed to a thin line as Femtite undercut her forgiveness.
"...fine. And seduce doesn't necessarily mean sex, but... Okay, can I get a diagram like actually?, 'cause I've come up with like three different possibilities, but two of them are not human compatible." She thought for a second. "One of them is not really human compatible."
"But uh, regardless of the specific mechanics, I'm guessing Pixites still have pregnancy and that your mom is the one who carried you? Locally I'd expect someone in Mel's position to also be called 'Mom,' but it sounds like it's not really a co-equal parenting position on Nanometeor?
"Glad you're not gonna be too hard on Caio though. Especially after the rough night I gave him. I try to hold a lot of space for messy behavior for people in the middle of something like what Max's going through, but... yeah I need to talk to her still."
***
"I can be the most powerful practitioner in the room any time I want by dining alone, but it's not like I have any incredibly specific plans that I don't have the power for. It would just make my life a lot easier.
...I would probably go to other worlds though."
|
|
Max: He's not at his dorm. His comm is broken and his phone is here, dead. I'm worried, guys. I've never known him to disappear like this.
Wiz: I mean I could come over and see about scrying on him, not sure if his wards would protect him from that, but might be worth a shot. What do you think Horizon?
Percy jotted over a message.
With Percy"I can be the most powerful practitioner in the room any time I want by dining alone, but it's not like I have any incredibly specific plans that I don't have the power for. It would just make my life a lot easier.
...I would probably go to other worlds though."
His expression soured slightly as she avoided his question with another hypothetical and he thought of chastising her for it, but went against it.
"Ah, well.. What all went down yesterday while we were on our little adventure at Knighthall. Never got the full scoop on things."
Whippoorwill pitches her head back and rubs her face. "Oh, Shin. I am not an expert on this."
She orders her thoughts for a while before she begins. "From what I understand, the people we're talking about, to them they're not changing their gender. Instead, they feel like they've always been one way, and their body doesn't match. So, society and medicine and surgical procedures being what they are, can help. It's gender affirming, not gender changing."
She glances away to watch the skyline and her wings twitch, as if wishing for a crisis to take her away from the conversation. She forces that urge away. "If it was just as simple as male-female, that'd be one thing. But when you look at it like a spectrum, it gets more complicated. I was born female, raised female, and identify as female. But some would say I do a very masculine job. Society's come a long way from the traditional gender roles you were born into, Shin. Some people just don't want to be shoved into the expectations of what a man or woman should be.
"You have no idea how many PR and publicist types want to glam me up. And it's all because there are expectations for women to be 'sexy' -- I wall myself off from it because I don't need the distractions."
She shakes her head clear. "Sorry, I'm off on a tangent. Anyway... try not to let it trouble you. Like I said, I'm not the best person to explain all this. My best advice is to be honest about your confusion, try not to judge, and be open to learn. And then? I'll bet they just want to be treated as people."
With a sigh, Connie reported what she saw as the bare bones. "There had been a couple days of slight movement to dolls that were still sealed away, and I was looking into it on Femms's behalf. Turned out that the school used to be broadly warded against the fey, and that a particularly nasty Dollmaking element was taking advantage of that having lapsed. I thought he was just doing creepy predator stuff, picking on the weak, all that goodness. Turns out he had already nabbed Imagerie and Whippoorwill from the Alliance. That escalated things when Femms and I went to grab him. However, escalating things meant that he wasn't being very subtle any more, so with Shin and Caio and I think Steel Guardian? as a distraction, I was able to turn off his mojo.
"Also, Femms and I went on an adorable date beforehand. Very mad that wasn't the takeaway from the day.
Femtite sees Connie’s tight-lipped expression. Ohhhh… I can’t keep doing this to her.
“Wait, Connie… the anatomy lesson can be postponed… I’m sorry. I changed the subject because… I don’t want you to feel sad. I know you feel bad about endangering me, about not having the plan that keeps me safe. I know you want forgiveness and it’s just that I don’t feel like you’ve wronged me.
“And it’s not just that…” Femtite holds both of Connie’s hands. Her eyes start to tear up. “I don’t know if it’s better to invite you to talk about your… pain. Or if ‘inviting’ sounds like ‘forcing’… and the alternative is to stay silent and wait until you’re ready, but then I feel like by not asking, you might think I don’t care, or that I’m oblivious.
“Yesterday on the sofa, learning what your tattoos mean, mentioning your father and switching topics, that time you called yourself toxic… I keep telling myself, ’she’s reaching out,’ and then I hesitate. And the moment passes.”
Femtite gently strokes Connie’s hands, bracing herself for them to pull away.
“And so I do what I know best. I warm your tea. I set the room for you while you’re out—even though I worry whenever you’re out all night! I try to surprise you with a cute outfit that I wasn’t wearing when you left, and I meant to have the Carole and Tuesday soundtrack playing when you came in. But I actually slept this time when, knowing you were in such pain made this the absolute worst night for you to be out! How could I sleep?
“I don’t know if I should be forgiving you or apologizing… can’t we just say we’re flawed, we care deeply for each other and… call it even on the sorries and forgives?”
|
|
With a sigh, Connie reported what she saw as the bare bones. "There had been a couple days of slight movement to dolls that were still sealed away, and I was looking into it on Femms's behalf. Turned out that the school used to be broadly warded against the fey, and that a particularly nasty Dollmaking element was taking advantage of that having lapsed. I thought he was just doing creepy predator stuff, picking on the weak, all that goodness. Turns out he had already nabbed Imagerie and Whippoorwill from the Alliance. That escalated things when Femms and I went to grab him. However, escalating things meant that he wasn't being very subtle any more, so with Shin and Caio and I think Steel Guardian? as a distraction, I was able to turn off his mojo.
"Also, Femms and I went on an adorable date beforehand. Very mad that wasn't the takeaway from the day.
"So there are actual fey just running around the school, willy nilly now? Thats interesting to say the least. Sorry that you couldn't focus on your date... I think things are going a bit weird between max and caio but that's not for me to say."
He sat silently for a while incase Connie had any questions of her own or wanted to talk about anything else, but if she wanted he could leave.
Percy took a moment to think, I could probably just send him a telepathic message asking if he's okay instead of starting a whole other situation again. He found himself dipping back into his room for a bit, getting ready to venture off to another tea shop on East side in way of prepping himself mentally for the taxing conversation about hell they'd have later. Opening his book he followed the fairly simple incantation to bring his words to Caio wherever he might be upon the winds and to his minds' eye.
"Femms, you don't have to stay up every night after me and figure out different outfits that- well obviously I enjoy them, but falling asleep when you're tired isn't a weakness it's just, human or pixite, whatever..."
Connie trailed off while she tried to figure out how even to approach the rest.
"I... I find lying really unpleasant. But there are a bunch of parts of my life that really sucked, and that are hard to talk about. Especially without giving a really negative impression of Dear Old Dad. A whole conversation about Everything would be really, really overwhelming. And unfun. I can't even really picture getting through it all. And I know you won't believe this, but it really might scare you away."
She wrapped her arms around her knees, but kept her face unburied. "If I sucked less as a person, I'd take advantage of that, but I like being with you too much, so, uh, sorry for later. If there's something you want to know, I'll do my best, but... Forgive me if there's something that I just can't talk about in detail?"
You shouldn't.
"...Also, non sequitur, and I haven't even decided for sure, but would you be super weirded out if I got the uh, kiss burn on my neck tattooed there once it heals? I've been taking some progress photos so I can decide where along the healing process I think looks best if I even decide to go through with it, but I wouldn't want to use your lip-print without your permission."
When Whippoorwill glances back at Shin, he's got a notepad and a stubby pencil he has pulled from his pocket to take down notes. "Gender affirming...masculine versus feminine...gender roles? I can see that, actually..." He says, clearly learning new terms and materials.
"...Thanks for talking to me about this. I know it's not what you probably signed up for, but I really appreciate it," Shin tells her. "...So, you didn't like the rice crackers?" He asked. "Probably should have brought sweets instead."
Just then, his comm buzzs, and he takes a look to see what's up. His mood turns as he looks back at his mentor. "Caio's missing. Busted his comm and left his phone in his dorm," He tells her, standing up and grabbing his things. "I got to go. I really wanted a quiet Sunday," He said to her, before texting back to the team.
A full team chat buzzed to everyone (Including SG) from Horizon: He's a magic werewolf, so he shouldn't be too hard to find if we coordinate our searches. Flyers can start canvasing the parks and wilderness reserves near the city. If Conflux and Indarius have some spell they can cast to locate him, that'll help narrow the search down.
Whippoorwill rises to her feet at the news of a missing teammate. "Understood. I'll let the Alliance know, and will be on standby. Good luck," she says.
Seeing Connie opening up now, Femtite’s tone is gentle and soothing as she replies, “It’s not lying to say you’re not ready to tell me. It’s not wrong to say you don’t want to provide further details.”
She can’t help but smile and blush (aura even more strawberry-pink) when Connie mentions the tattoo.
”Wow… our first kiss. First kiss ever in my life, I mean, not counting mom-kisses. You don’t need my permission, but it makes me very happy you would do this! Yes, you may tattoo my lip print!”
Hearing herself, she backtracks, “Mom-kiss, mom, you… yes, you were wondering why pixites don’t have two mommies.
“The monthly cycle is… not monthly for us, in fact. We don’t even have a moon, or didn’t. I suppose the Earth’s moon… never mind.
“The cycle is 40 days. I would be most fertile around day 20. At day 30, my egg would change, and… ummm…”
She shapes her index and middle finger on each hand, forming two Vs. She moves her hands so the Vs are together.
“So, in the final days of the cycle, the… discharge… is especially potent, so I’ve been taught. Volcanic, as I said. And what happens next is not like page 88—“ She points to the human anatomy text. “—not millions of sperm or billions. Just one egg that has undergone metamorphosis—call it a seed—and fertilization of the egg starts as a reverse-cell-division. There’s a whole science on subatomic unstructure that makes sense of this.”
Femtite hesitates, but reflecting on what Connie just said, she feels a little braver.
”So this is where I run into a detail that is hard to share. But I will share it with you, and you don’t owe me your secret in return or anything like that. My thing that’s hard to tell is not as hard to say here as it would be on my own world.
“But… is this topic okay for you? I literally just made group sex boring as science class, didn’t I? Especially since I glossed over the group part. I can only make so many Vs with my fingers.”
"I uh, yeah I missed the group part, though... I'm guessing the group would be mostly around their day 30? If I'm following?
"Okay... Mainly I just wanted to make sure this wasn't like an Asari situation where something that I wouldn't expect could result in... **cough** complications. Aside from fire. Fire is a complication I'm aware of...
"The detail's not that you're already a parent or anything, right? I can imagine that being just a detail to some, but to me that would be, uh, substantial."
Femtite nods regarding Connie’s guess at the ratio, but her eyes widen at the are-you-a-parent question. “No…… not a parent.” She lets the shock subside, then says very gently, “Connie, I have never had a sexual experience. Our kiss is the only physical intimacy I have known.
“As for the days… around day 20, I would be fertile. Another pixite would be able to impregnate me. After day 30, I would be able to impregnate another pixite. And approximately day 40, I would experience menstruation.”
Femtite places a hand over her lower abdomen.
“I have not experienced that either.
“It’s the cost of my power. My mother likes to boast of my ability to become a femtometric particle. Electrons are triple my diameter when I become essentially a spark that sees, moves from sheer will, and repels electrons and protons. My surroundings are a universe of stars and planets that shift their orbits just to get out of my way. I’ve been referred to as ’evolutionary perfection’ on more than one occasion.
“But I’m an evolutionary dead end. I experience no cycles. I will create no children. If Peter Pan were a girl, she’d add a never-gonna-menstruate line to the I Won’t Grow Up song.”
Femtite is disgusted and disappointed, but not surprised. But after her initial reaction…
“What DD did to Caio was awful… and I did get a… as you put it, skeevy vibe from both Kayla and Tiv. I think Caio was troubled too.
“I feel awful that we witnessed that. That it happened. How it happened…” Femtite is visibly upset. She closes her eyes, trying to make peace with it all. “I wanted to thank her for advising me to tell you my feelings. When Horizon sent us two on a mission, I told her I liked a girl. I didn’t mention it was you. I told DD I was afraid that the girl I liked might like boys, or she might want to keep relationships within her own species.
“DD made it seem so easy to approach you. She said to make sure we’re on the same page.” She looks at Connie, a small, sweet smile starting to form. “I was still too scared, but then you used the same phrase: ’Same page.’
“And those words gave me the courage to tell you how I felt.”
With some resignation, she says, “I can talk to DD, if you want.”
Connie leaned over and wordlessly gave Femms a long, tight hug.
F&%*. F@~~ f###ing f%&~. Way to put your stupid f%+@ing foot in your mouth, Connie.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what you might've wanted later with kids, it's not something I'd really... nevermind, but I'm sorry if now it's harder or uh... lots harder."
"You're the first girl I've kissed too. Just so you know. And I haven't done any more than that with anyone."
Femtite’s body warms as she receives the hug, like rays of sunshine on a beach. Pleasant, comfortable… she does nothing to break the silence.
If Connie isn’t sure how Femtite feels about her words, her wide smile should help.
It grows even wider when Connie mentions that first kiss being hers too, and…
“Oh! I am so fortunate to know you, Connie. You are much kinder than you give yourself credit for. Please don’t worry about my inability to procreate. It is… irrelevant, for us…”
Again, her pink aura somehow seems to brighten.
“Also, it comes as a relief that you, like me, have refrained from certain choices. I could not rush into ‘getting physical’ if I wanted to, and I was worried this could make me less desirable—especially after seeing how casual some of our teammates are about more-than-kissing-and-telling. ’Good morning,’” she says in a not-really-that-masculine voice, ”’I was in a three-way partnership and I do not mean a law firm.’” She covers her mouth—aura less pink, but more red at the cheeks. “I am surely not telling you someone’s secret, right? If I know something so personal about a friend, surely you knew already. Umm… right?”
|
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Percy got the pinging return of Caio's response and pulled out his phone as he threw his bag over his shoulder.
Wiz: Hey, just sent him a telepathic message he said he's fine and will be back soon. Gonna hit up the Cat cafe over on east side if anyone wants to join. Also Horizon, we need to schedule a full team gathering tonight, no if's ands or butts got something big that'll require everyone's attention.
With that typed out he started out of the dorm towards the bus station to catch a ride to E32nd, where he disembarked and walked a few blocks down to the Cat cafe. Heading in he gave Mittens a good scratch behind the ear and under the chin before moving to order something to drink.
Max frowns at the text from Percy. She still has a bad feeling about things, but lets the matter drop for now. She does take the knife with her, to ask Caio about it later. She resolves to meet the others tonight at the team meeting.
Horizon: That's doable. Let Caio know about it as well. We'll all meet up at Unity Station tonight. Anyone who can't physically make it can be on comms so they can listen and speak their mind.
"All I wanted was a quiet weekend..." Horizon mutters to himself as he finishes the final set up of their security systems. It was Alliance tech, alerting the team if an unrecognized intruder came onto the base and activating nonlethal capture countermeasures. He hoped that they wouldn't need them, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
He had also set up a med lab in what was once a luggage depot in the station, complete with three cots, medical scanner, a synthesizer for medications and plenty of first aid materials that he felt comfortable knowing about - he needed to make sure there was a back up who knew their way around this stuff as well in case he was out of commission.
It helped with the set up to have those robots from their tactics lesson earlier that week returned to be quite a few helping hands in installing all of the new tech. They'd help with continuing to finish the clean up of the base and to perform basic maintenance tasks. They would also work with the security system, but they weren't combat models so all they'd probably be good for was delaying tactics.
He finishes, and considers...well, he was a little annoyed at Indarius' constant interruptions. Maybe a little petty revenge for his weekend was in order, even if it wasn't all of his fault. Just changing the settings so that all the security systems would ignore Percy still...except the bolas net launcher.
"I really wanted a quiet weekend..."
The team makes its way to the base at the summons of Horizon and Indarius. The base itself is coming together, looking more like something a team of superheroes could use to plan, train and recover rather than an old junked-out rail station.
It's hard to believe it's been barely three weeks since the team first came together, and after the week they've just had, their lives in Halcyon City was going to be a whirlwind.
Once the whole team has gathered, it is Max, not Percy, who steps forward. Wearing an unassuming graphic tee and jeans, the demoness looks the part of a typical teenager, if one can ignore the monstrous features. She looks across the room, a guilty expression crossing her features as her eyes meet Caio’s.
”Hi, everybody. I know that I haven’t exactly been the best teammate these past few days. I’ve done things I regret. I’ve hurt some of you in ways I can’t take back. Nevertheless, I need all of your help. I’ve spoken to Percy already, and he agrees that we are going to need all hands on deck for this.”
Max pauses a moment, sighs, and continues. ”You all know I wasn’t always like this. I’ve been trying to learn who changed me, and why. Well, I finally have a lead. At least two other demons who serve a more powerful master are apparently waiting to meet with me. But, in order to get to them, I need to travel to the literal gates of Hell.”
She pauses again to let that sink in. ”Yes, Hell. I know some of you have been there before. I know it didn’t end well. So I won’t be mad if any of you decide you would rather not do this. But I need to go there, and I will, either with or without you. The more of you I have on my side, the better the chance I’ll actually survive what’s coming.
“So... who’s in?”
Femtite’s eyes widen. “You mean… H, E, double…?” Her amethyst eyes flash as suns. She regains control of her powers and here eyes are humanlike but for the amethyst-toned irises.
“Ummm, is it hot and fiery like in the cartoons?” She turns to Connie with an inquisitive look.
Horizon is definitely blindsided by this request from Max. He looks at her and crosses his arms over his chest. "What's the timeframe on this?" He asks her. "What are the consequences of not showing up to meet them? Is there any way to bring them over instead in a contained environment where it will be safer?"
"I believe you when you say that you need to understand about what caused the changes for you, but before going off to hell maybe we should consider all of our options. If this is something that was inflicted upon you, it stands to reason there may be others who have experienced the same thing in history. The more information we have, the better we'll understand the options." He finishes.
Max nods. ”I don’t know if there’s a time limit. I just received the message last night that theses ‘sisters’ are waiting for me, that they ‘miss me’ and are ‘concerned with the company I keep.’ That’s all I was told. I don’t know what will happen if I refuse their invitation, but I’m guessing it won’t be good. Of course, I’m open to other options that don’t involve going to Hell. If any of them will work.”
Caio arrives at the Union Station, not expecting anyone there, since it was Sunday after all. Seeing Shin working, he waves. "Afternoon Shin. Sorry for being away... I was mad when I went home yesterday and in a stupid fit of rage I threw the first thing that was in my hand at the wall, which was my comm. I think I've lost my phone at some point."
As he walks, he points to the computer. "Mind if I do some research?"
To Horizon's question, Caio adds his own. "Max, you are still trying to understand and control your powers, yet you are still strong... not because of what you was, but because of the demonic power in you. Do you think we can compete with TWO of you, and who knows how many more demons, presumably experienced in using their powers, in their home plane and not weakened by the planeshift to our world?"
"Why you need to go now, and not later? Why not have this confrontation here, where we know the demons are weaker?"
Max nods again. ”Yep, I’m with you. If we can draw them here instead, that would be preferable. But all of this is outside of my wheelhouse. That’s why I need help.”
"And uh, worth remembering. We don't have any need to beat the demons up, right? Like, this is a factfinding trip, so avoiding or running from fights is very much on the table, yeah?"
Connie looked around to see if everyone was on that page.
"It's not the only way a trip to (a) hell can go down, Femms, but yeah, probably fire."
"But... I don't think it's better or anything that I haven't messed around with other people. Honestly, I just haven't been in a place before where that's been something I wanted to pursue. Fleeting moments excluded. A lot of fleeting moments excluded."
Connie shrugged. "I'm more worried that Max is flailing than that she's 'losing petals off her flower' or something... You should talk to her if you want, but there are some-" Connie blinked while she mentally reconfirmed that she wasn't outing Max "-gender dynamics involved that I know she's new to, and that probably aren't big on Nanometeor."
"I can actually help you out with that if you'd like," Horizon tells him. "There's a lot of nuances with Clocktower's operating system seeing that it's got nearly seven decades worth of hardware cobbled together. Makes it a lot less user-friendly but also a lot more secure," He adds. "I'll also need to fashion you a new comm. It's honestly surprising you broke it - they're designed to be able to take getting run over by a tank considering what we're tackling using them."
He doesn't ask what made Caio upset enough to destroy his comm, or where he's been. He's listening without judgement on the boy and waiting to help him out.
"I'll leave the details of the magic involved with Indarius and Conflux," Horizon said. "Let me see what I can dig up on spontaneous demonic transformations..." He says, clearing the last search history on the new terminal connected to Clocktower - which has of all things, a typewriter keyboard that Horizon is able to use with surprising dexterity.
"...Okay, Clocktower's got some stuff. Some of this I've heard about - yeah, back in my time, there was this hero who went by Dust Devil, who claimed he made a deal with a demon for the power to avenge his son. Could transform into a cloud of dust and back again. But it's the oldest case on file of someone getting powers from a demon, at least in modern history. We might find more clues examining his case, but as for true possession..."
Horizon doesn't know a lot first hand, but finds that there were several occasions of demonic possession in the mid- to late-1970s. The reports cobbled together by Clocktower don't all provide the origins of the possession or the demonic entity. Only a small number of them actually seem to have come from an idol or figurine.