2017-05-04: The Door Was Open

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<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

It's not so much that a city like Port Timney goes quiet at night, more that everything dampens down to a dull roar. Port towns are busy towns, wherever you go -- and sailors don't stop just because the sun sets.

Even in the wake of a monster invasion.

More ordinary people probably do turn in once darkness settles in, though -- especially after an expedition earlier in the day to a certain nearby cave. It'd be the normal thing to want to rest up.

Right?

There's a knock on Lily's door, at a certain inn temporarily largely occupied by the many Drifters in town.

Seconds later, Josephine, having tried the door and found it open, just lets herself in. Perhaps surprisingly, she's fully geared up for hitting the road -- bag, rifle, Penelope and all. Dropping her bag inside the door, she casually kicks the door closed behind her.

"Lily. We need to talk." She looks, uncharacteristically, dead serious. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Is it Lily's imagination that there's a pall still over the town, even as it keeps the liveliness of a port's business? She couldn't particularly say. She thinks about it, though. The darkness has settled, and Lily for her part is already in her room, having avoided speaking more with any of her companions on the way back from the strange Hollow they visited.

For that matter she didn't bother stopping to eat. She went straight here, straight upstairs, and remained there.

But there's a knock at her door, and as she stands beside a window, she turns to look. She considers whether to bother answering. And then...

"Wait--" The door is opening and Lily looks around for something to cover her hands, but finds nothing, tense when Lily looks at her.

It doesn't last for long. Lily is dressed more for sleeping, wearing black with long sleeves and a long skirt, her hair down and her eyes as golden as ever. She looks... Dull, compared to usual.

"I should've double-checked the door lock," Lily comments in an almost bored tone, before she shakes her head and sighs.

Her hands that she wanted to hide have those same strange lines and patterns on them as before, albeit no longer covered by makeup. She steps away from the window, towards the small table by the wall.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" She seems unconcerned. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

Josie stares.

That's... interesting, actually.

So she hadn't been seeing things. And what's more...

Reaching behind her, Josie turns the lock in the door with a soft click. "...I don't want anyone else coming in here," she says, as if by way of explanation. Her gaze remains steadily on Lily as she undoes the harness for her rifle's holster next, sliding it off and leaving it too to rest inside the door.

"Just what did you think you were trying to do?"

Leave it to Josie to get right to the point. Penelope fluffs up a touch on her shoulder, hunkering as if agitated.

Josie's dark eyes narrow. This is probably the second time, since the caves, that Lily would have seen the usually easy-going archaeologist as anything except good-naturedly playful. "Cutting your arm like that... Do you know how much damage you could have done to yourself, girl? There was no need for any of that!" She approaches Lily, her gaze briefly lingering on the younger woman's hands.

These, she makes no comment on. Yet.

"Let me see your arm. I'm heading out, but I wanted to check up on you, first." She gestures with her left hand, as if to suggest that Lily roll up her sleeves and show her how it's healing. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily isn't happy about her hands being stared at; it does little good for her mood, a small note of despair finding her eyes pointed towards the ground. She looks up again at the click and the explanation, inclining her head slowly to acknowledge it. The rifle goes down. The question...

It is right to the point. Lily generally prefers it when people speak that way, rather than drawing it out. Penelope ruffling up makes her frown when it' combined with Josie's question.

It's strange to see Josie like this, but of course she'd have to have another side to her. She's seen other sides, just not this one. In the meantime she reaches the table, bare feet padding along the floor until then, as she quickly finds there's no need to offer some water to be polite.

But does she know? She doesn't even bat an eye except to look down and then up as Josie moves closer. She waits through, for the next statement; it feels like a lecture, not something she's accustomed to often anymore. And yet...

Her eyes widen at Josie's request. "What?" She asks, and hides her left hand behind her back. "No," she answers immediately, alarmed, shaking her head. "I'm a medic, I've treated much worse than that cut. It's nothing to worry about. I'm /fine/." Though she obviously lost a lot of blood at the time. ...And during the ensuing battle.

She isn't wearing thick enough bandages to show through on her hands, though.

"I thought it was the most efficient course of action at the time. I didn't know everyone would..." She trails off, and frowns. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

Everyone's got more than one side to them. It's all just a matter of how to bring that particular side forth.

It's not quite 'on the warpath'. But it might be a hint of things to come.

As if almost drawing upon Josie's own feelings, Penelope's black shining eyes squeeze shut as Josie approaches Lily, nearly intruding upon her personal space.

Lily refuses to show Josie her arm, hiding it behind her back.

Josie looks Lily straight in the eyes, frowning. "Lily, do you think I was born yesterday?" The girl's obviously hiding something -- probably how badly the wound is healing, to judge by her evasive posture. "...Show me your arm. There are some Crest Sorcerors in town if you need it looked at." She plants one hand on Lily's shoulder. "Don't be stupid about this."

'It was the most efficient course of action'.

Josie slowly inhales a breath, through her nose, straightening a touch where she stands. "Okay. 'Most efficient'? ...Okay." Her grip tightens, slightly, on Lily's shoulder. "...I'm serious now. Don't ever let me see you doing something 'in the most efficient way' like that again." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

It might be a hint; Lily is already drawn up about herself in demeanor, deadened before this conversation even started. She doesn't particularly want to be talking about this; she certainly doesn't want someone this close to her personal space. It makes her more tense than she was before.

Lily's topaz eyes flicker between Penelope and Josie, the most sign of life she gives. She makes her answer. And yet...

Josie is staring into her eyes and asking that question. Lily's teeth settle together, her mouth closed and flat. Josie knows something is going on. ...And Josie is bigger than her. Her fingers heat up, as she thinks through what she has to do--

But Josie's pressure at her shoulder is notable, nearly painful. She stares up at the other woman. "You don't..." It's frustrating, mostly. Thinking of words to make this work. She hasn't shown her arm.

She's backed into a corner here, and she knows it, however muh she might like Josie. Josie's not going to let it go. Her fingers curl into fists. "I don't think..."

She lets out a sharp breath, all at once, turning her head quickly to the side and pulling her hand from behind her back. "Fine. You want to see it? Fine."

It might not be a surprise that she sounds angry, because her movements jerk as she grabs the cuff of her night-dress and drags it backward. Her skin is pale, completely unmarked by wounds. There isn't so much as a redness or a scratch where the gouge earlier was, though those strange symbols on her arm take up that whole space, stretching up her forearms.

"You see!?" Lily answers, turning to stare into Josie's face, "I'm fine! I /knew/ I would be fine! There's no God-damned reason to worry about it! Do you understand!?"

Her breathing is up. She waits for an answer. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

Most people, when backed into a corner, lash out. To an extend, Josie had sort of been counting on it.

And to an extent, also sort of 'not'. Live by impulse, die by impulse.

She's seen Lily angry before. Despite how she usually seems, the younger girl is fully capable of normal emotions. She's just subdued in the extreme -- much like someone else Josie used to know.

Though, she can't really say that those two were 'alike'. By comparison, she can't say in the slightest what Lily's motivation is in life, other that to hunt down that machine. And also by comparison, Lily had just looked 'deadened' moments ago, like a lifeless doll, almost.

It's not true now. Lily's anger is a tight, compact thing, but when it explodes, it explodes. Josie releases her grip on Lily's shoulder, taking a step backwards as Lily pulls up the sleeve of her nightdress and finally exposes her arm.

"Fengalon's teeth," Josie swears, staring at the unmarred -- save for those symbols -- expanse of Lily's arm.

Lily hadn't left her room since they came back. Josie's /certain/ of that. There's no way she could have seen anyone.

She grabs for Lily's wrist, with her right hand. A slight wince, by her eyes, colors her otherwise intent expression briefly. "Let me see--"

She prods Lily's arm with her left, apparently for the moment ignoring Lily's protestations that she's 'fine'.

"You 'knew you would be fine'...?" Josie voices at last, releasing her grip on Lily's arm. "Lily, what the hell is going on? These aren't Symbology tattoos." She pauses. "And it's impossible to heal yourself with Symbology." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Some of those emotions are right now; she hasn't shared her motivations. She hasn't shared all that much about herself at all. Or she hadn't, before.

When Josie releases her grip Josie rolls that shoulder as if to flex away from the restriction that was tehre a moment ago. Then, she shows her arm... And she waits for Josie's reaction.

Lily doesn't bother looking down at herself, at her arm. It doesn't matter; she knows what's there, what isn't there. She watches Josie staring, watches her swear like Lily herself did just a moment ago, and unlikely. Lily hasn't left since they came back. Lily didn't see anyone.

Lily spots the wince and narrows her eyes, but then she hadn't been inclined to check everyone over the way she would have liked. Josie asks, but she's already grabbing; it's easy to take.

"I said--"

Josie prods, and there's no sign of wound unseen, either. The symbols are faintly cool to the touch, apart from her warm flesh.

And Josie asks questions that Lily was afraid of.

"..." A sigh, as Lily's anger starts to fade, go down to embers again. "I don't know," she says simply, helplessly. "I know some of it, but..."

Lily looks up to Josie's eyes, "I knew I would be fine because I can heal myself. I've been able since I was a child. And these aren't Symbology tattoos at all; I don't have any of them, because I'm not a Symbologist. I don't know what I am. Some kind of thing, I guess."

Dully, she adds, "So you know my secret. I want you to know that if you tell anyone, you may as well have shot me in the heart yourself."

She glances to the side, crossing her arms. "...It doesn't matter if I get a little hurt. It's... bothersome, for someone to worry about it." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

No makeup comes away to smear on her gloves. It's as if the wound hadn't been, a clear result of magical healing. Only Crest Sorcery was capable of such a thing, or so she'd thought.

And those markings...

Never, not even once, has Josie seen something like that before.

Josie's obvious anger from before is gone. Her expression now, with her lips pressed tight and brow creased, is more one of concern than any sort of fury. Or even shock. Because, Lily just seems to withdraw again and says she doesn't know.

"Lily..." Her expression only softens further.

Some kind of thing, is it.

Josie slowly takes a breath, exhaling it equally as steadily out through her mouth. "Lily, look at me." She reaches over, moving to plant both hands on Lily's shoulders. "Look at me. It's alright. I'm just happy you're not hurt."

And she smiles, though it's bittersweet and decidedly lopsided. "Hey, now. Do you really think I'd go and do that? I'm a little hurt!" She shakes her head. "A girl's gotta have her secrets. But, when it comes to something like this, tell me, okay? I was worried sick about you."

Her expression grows a touch more firm again, lips pressing thin. "Even so, though... You've got to take better care of yourself, okay, kiddo? You can't stop other people from worrying about you. Sorry. So, don't make them worry so much." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily already washed off the makeup on her arms. There was little point in keeping it, after everything that happened. But that's something different; the truth is that the wound /is/ going. The markings, though...

They shine, oddly, when the light catches them the right way. They aren't any kind of tattoos.

Lily, aside from her arms and hands, can see that Josie's anger isn't on display anymore, but finds herself looking without really saying anything about it. Josie seems concerned in a diferent way, and this time it doesn't make the younger woman angry--it more makes her uncomfortable. She still doesn't look.

Not until Josie sets hands on her shoulders, which makes her jump a little bit, and asks her to. So she does. She does, in time to see a smile, if a Josie kind of smile. "Yes...?"

Ah.

"I didn't think..." A pause. "I'm sorry." Lily hesitates, studying Josie's expression. "I..." Frown. "Why are you suddenly not angry...?" She sounds slightly bothred by it, though only slightly. "I'm sorry to have worried you. I... Honestly wasn't expecting everyone to be so concerned. It didn't strike me as important."

Lily watches Josie's eyes and this time she settles into a haunted look, one that hints at how much she's seen. "If I don't give all that I can... The people I care about will die again. I can't... Hold back. I already failed them once." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

The marks are definitely a mystery, but not one that Josie is intent on -- immediately -- following up on after.

There are more important things at hand at the moment.

"Lily," Josie mock-laments, "I don't know if you think too much or not enough sometimes. ...Apology accepted, though." That smile only broadens a bit, if remaining so for only a moment.

"Why would I be angry right now?" Josie asks, honestly and openly dumbfounded. Then she sighs. "Kiddo, I really have a ton of questions about your parents at this point..." She shrugs, a movement that causes the still-hunkering Penelope -- perhaps determined to not get involved with any of this, or just used to this sort of thing -- to shuffle over to the side a step and half-squint one eye open at Lily.

And again, all Josie can do is /sigh/. "Kiddo. I guess it's different for you, but of course it's important." Briefly, she closes her eyes, as if to calm herself. Her gaze is that much more intense, as if staring straight through Lily once she opens them again. "I saw you cut your arm open -- how do you think that looked? Bart and Leon too -- how do you think they felt? You heard them, right?"

Ah. That's the heart of it. Once again, Josie's gaze softens a touch.

"What good's that if it eats you up?" Josie pats Lily on the shoulder once -- with her left hand. "Look, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life," except for the times when she totally has, "But you gotta put yourself first. Alright? It's great you can do that -- it explains a lot, honestly. I'd been wondering. But what do you think happens when you rush off and get yourself killed? Who's going to protect the people important to you then?" Her hands slide from Lily's shoulders, and Josie steps back, finally vacating the younger girl's personal space.

"Just think about it. That's all I ask." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily frowns briefly, as Josie mentions how much she thinks or doesn't. It doesn't last for very long though; just long enough for Josie to accept her apology, and while Lily doesn't return her smile... Well. She does watch her for an extra moment.

Until the question. Josie asks why she would be angry and Lily lifts an eyebrow before shaking her head. She doesn't get it. Lily, that is, and she sighs at about the same time.. Until the matter of her parents. "What about them?" she asks, looking again to the squinting Penelope. It could be any number of things; she apparently still owes Penelope a boon.

But when Josie sighs again, she looks back to the older woman. The intensity of that gaze is a surprise when it comes; it holds the black-haired woman's attention for the moment, transfiing her. The question though prompts a momentary and clear pang of guilt. "I... Yes, but..." She can't quite answer it for a moment, her gaze falling.

She stiffens at the touch on her shoulder, and looks up again. She remembers full well that Josie is willing to tell her how to lead her life. But that's only part of what she says.

"I--" 'Just think about it.' Lily pauses, and closes her moth again, pressing her lips together before she turns to the side. "I'll... Try to think about it," she offers, grudgingly. "But I don't know that I can do that, and putting myself first isn't what I do as a soldier."

Well, she's an ex-soldier, technically.

"...Or it isn't supposed to be. I did it too often already. I don't..."

She sets a hand up to her forehead. "It's been a long day. Look, I..." Pause. "Can I ask /you/ something?" She pauses again, waiting a moment before, "Can you not... Touch me so much? It's not you. It just makes me uncomfortable from people in general. Especially not when I'm not wearing my gloves." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

By now Josie's got a fairly good grasp of Lily -- not perfect, but she understands how Lilies typically work. Lily isn't the smiling type, and that's fine.

"Hm? Oh, nothing much, just wondering how they raised you..." Josie says, with a brief wave of the hand. "It was a joke, honestly..."

Lily most definitely owes Penelope something, at some point. It's hard to tell exactly what the bird thinks of much of anything, but if anything... Lily's vow has not been forgotten. Penelope will have her pound of flesh... or seed, anyway.

That look might just be a reminder.

"I know all about bad habits," Josie says, smiling in a crooked but seemingly sympathetic manner. "Look, that's fine too. But just remember you have people who want you to come /back/ too, okay? Protect yourself so you can protect them." Slightly, she shakes her head, as if to say, 'you darn kids'.

"Sure?"

Josie tilts her head to one side, as Lily goes on to explain...

"Ohhh. Okay, sure! Don't like to be touched, huh?" She waves a hand through the air, not /exactly/ apologizing for having either invaded Lily's personal space and made her uncomfortable, or having touched her without asking repeatedly. "That's fine."

She glances down at Lily's exposed arm, then, watching the marks that seem to slightly glint in the light. Then she looks back up, a for-once unspoken question in her eyes.

'What are those'? 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily looks blankly at Josie for a moment at first, and then blinks. "...A joke," she repeats. "Well, all right." She was willing to consider mentioning a little bit about them, and indeed says, "I don't talk about my parents much anymore."

Adoptive parents, as she's mentioned to Josie, of course.

That bird is too smart for her own good. Or maybe too smart for everyone else's good. Eventually Lily will have to think of something.

Bad habits? Lily wouldn't call her own habits on this front bad, which is part of the problem. A wrinkled nose suggests a little bit of that, if Josie can read her expressions so well by now. "People, plural," Lily repeats softly, as if this is a new idea. "You sound like my training. You can't tend wounds if you're dead." Lily shakes her head. Somehow that doesn'tentirely sell her. But she doesn't actively tell Josie to pound sand, either.

Instead...

"Yeah, that's right," Lily answers when Josie explains outright what it sounds like she says--and is right. Lily doesn't bother to wait for an apology, "It's uncomfortable. If there's no other way I'll deal with it, but..." A shrug. "...Like the earrings didn't bother me."

Lily didn't seem to care about the blood then, either.

But Josie asks without asking aloud, and Lily looks down before pulling up her other sleeve. "These..." Lily shakes her head. "I don't know. They appear when I use my magic. It used to be that they would disappear after casting. Immediately, or soon. But a few months ago, after I fought Gryndille... They remained. They have ever since."

"I've never seen anything like them. I don't understand them. But I don't know what I am, either."

But Leon looked as surprised as anyone, at the time. "What else would you want to know?' 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

"Fair enough." Especially considering that Josie talks about her parents (assuming they exist and she didn't spawn somewhere fully formed) 'never'.

Penelope, meanwhile, appears content to wait for now. Later, there may be a reckoning.

It's a look that only prompts Josie to grin a little wider. "Yeah, plural. Whether you like it or not." She's fond of Lily, in her own way, and it was clear that Bart cared about her, too. Leon, meanwhile, goes without saying.

One hopes, at least.

"And your training was right. Care about yourself first and work from there."

It's selfish, sure, but if there's one important lesson that Josie learned very very early on in life... you can't put other people first.

It's probably just as well that Lily's not about to wait for an apology, though. She might be waiting a long time getting one -- a real one, and not just words for the sake of words -- from Josie. "Still, that's fair. I'll keep it in mind, okay?"

...Lily sure hadn't minded then. Now Josie knows why.

"Hmmm." Josie folds her arms, tilting her head to the side. "A mystery, then. I sure haven't heard anything like this before -- hell, I've only heard rumors about people who use magic without Crests or Symbols. Guess they /were/ true. Have you asked anyone else about them?" Probably not.

"It might just be normal for this... whatever it is."

Josie unfolds her arms and shrugs, then.

"Nope. I don't have anything else. Just that I'm heading out. There's not much else I can do for now, so I was thinking I'd see if I could have any luck hunting down those creatures." She smiles, wryly. "Penelope doesn't want to go back down those caves, and otherwise I'm just cooling my heels or poking over more of these reports fruitlessly. I'm going to go do something, and maybe earn a few Gella in the process." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily doesn't mind talking about her parents in theory; it's a complex subject for her though. ...Or rather, it's a simple subject that brings up complex feelings, for reasons having...

It's a long story. "Another time," she says instead, and doesn't look back to Penelope. This could be a mistake.

Josie's grinning wider and then and Lily sighs at Josephine's assertion. There's a suggestion that maybe that's true. Or a statement, "...I don't want a bunch of people to care about me. It's too much responsibility." She grumps a little as she says it, though she looks up at Josie a moment later and there's just a little bit of appreciation in her eyes for the older woman who she'd like to make a friend of.

If nothing else, she lets Josie get away with a lot. Like advising her like this. Care about herself first...

"Second maybe," she answers smoothly and a little low. She might have a certain amount of stubbornness... Or someone she has in mind.

Josie answers, and it's good enough. Lily inclines her head. "All right. I appreciate it."

But the matter of mystery catches her flexing her fingers. "I hear rumors," she acknowledges, and shakes her head. "As a rule, I don't; if the wrong person gets told... Well, my parents taught me that there are people interested in using someone with powers like mine. Now that I'm older I can defend myself... But there's no need to invite trouble. It would risk Leon. It would risk me finding a fate worse than death, though I don't know what."

A pause, "...But I showed an apothecary. You might be right, that this is normal, but it wasn't like this when I was a child. I've been using magic since before I can remember, and it wasn't like this."

Whatever this is.

Lily watches Josie thoughtfully, and inclines her head. "...I'll be going back down there. Not tonight, but I have to know. Especially now that..." She trails off, "Well, now that I've shed blood on that place. It bothers me." A shake of her head, "Regardless, take care of yourself. If you get too injured, drag yourself back to me. I don't have to limit myself to medical science with you anymore."

"As for me... That apothecary prescribed me some medicine that might help with my problem. If you don't need anything more from me, I'm going to take it and stay unconscious for the next few hours." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

Penelope is patient. Penelope can WAIT.

From the way the edge of her mouth twitches, it's clear that Josie's fighting -- and just barely managing -- to keep from laughing a little at Lily's response. "Too late for that, I'm afraid!" she comments, resting her left hand on her hip briefly. Aaaaand then Josie can't hold back on it forever. "...Hee hee, you're adorable when you're grumpy," she teases. "I bet he thinks so, too."

Second, maybe.

Josie sighs, as if in mock-lamentation once again. By now she's a far cry from the woman who stormed in earlier -- but perhaps that's Josie's way: to let go of things and go with the flow, as free and fickle as flowing water. "Second, huh... Well, that's good enough, for you."

Hm. Now that's all an interesting bit of information. Despite Josie's own backgrounding in the arcane arts, it's also something she hadn't heard much about. "Guess that'd explain why it's just rumors," she breaks in to comment, once.

Well, that, and: "...Fate worse than death, huh..." This is coupled with a frown.

That's right. If /this/ part is new, then something's changed.

It's just that this is entirely, completely, outside any realm of knowledge Josie has on the subject, so... all she /can/ do is shrug, slightly, and shake her head. "I guess so... Maybe some sages might know more, but it'd be hard to ask." Without Lily tipping her hand, that is.

Lily says she's heading back down there, at some point. Josie just presses her lips thin again. "...Well, it /is/ your life," she admits, sighing /once more/ at the folly of youth, perhaps. "Still, watch your back, and don't go alone. Stay safe and remember what I said. No more stunts like that! Okay?" In lieu of a pat on the shoulder, this time Josie gives Lily a quick thumbs-up.

"As for me..."

Josie turns, ambling back towards the door. "I think I've said my piece, and I was going to get going sooner rather than later." It's dark, but that suits her fine. Stooping, she reclaims her things, strapping the rifle holster back into place. Stirred from her rest, Penelope unhunkers, shuffling to first stare up at Josie, then to swivel her head towards Josie. The bird stares, vacant and yet somehow menacingly, for a moment.

The door unlocks with a click.

"Watch yourself. And tell Leon I said goodbye."

The door opens and closes, and Josie's gone.

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