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Who: Croix and Fang, Croix and Akko
When: Deceur
Where: Around town
What: Some long awaited meetings
Warnings: N/A

Croix was... beside herself, to say the least. The matter she and Chariot had discussed privately was still weighing on her, keeping her from focusing on other, important matters, like masterig magic and finding a bonding partner. After all, if she couldn't resolve her relationship with one woman, what business did she have setting one up with someone else?

That didn't mean she was content to stay at home and brood, however. She was still out and about, but more or less going through the motions. She could still be seen at the coven, studying magic but failing to absorb much of it, or being out in the town, doing some business or others.

Some days, she could be seen at the Purramid Cafe, as though she were trying to make something happen. But nothing ever did, and most of the time, she ended up sitting alone, failing to be social. Yes, she was handling all this quite well indeed.

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Edited 2020-12-07 01:22 (UTC)

In a cat cafe, once expected, well, cats. The starry little sphinx cubs were certainly the draw of Purramid, but today they had a guest. A heavily-scarred black jaguar—obviously a Turnskin by the beaded jewelry it wore—joined the lot of them, seemingly babysitting the kittens when they weren't with other patrons.

And by babysitting, corralling them whenever they wandered to the door, or playing with the little cubs (mostly by virtue of being pounced on or her tail batted at), or used as furniture by sleepy sphinxes.

She'd watched Croix, for a little while through the day, and once the unoccupied kittens seemed tuckered out enough to be sedentary, Fang padded into the back to quite literally change.

She reemerges soon after, dressed warmly from neck-to-toe for winter, and the same brightly-beaded bangles and necklaces and the dark fur crawling up the back of her neck a testament to being the same beast from before.

"You mind?" Fang asked, touching the empty chair on the opposite side of the table. Closer, there's a gruesome burn scar ringing around Fang's neck, and among her many necklaces was a signifier of a certain constellation.

Croix is so absorbed in her own world, she doesn't really make much note of Fang's presence. As such, when the turnskin approaches her, she's quite literally taken by surprise, looking up with a start.

Recognition soon dawns in her eyes—both of the woman and of the signifier. She narrows her eyes for a brief moment, before forcing a smile, and nodding.

"Not at all," she said.

Fang takes a seat fluidly as if she'd never seen the momentary narrowing of Croix's eyes, leaning back and crossing a leg, her foot waving idly.

"Saw you've been here a while lookin' like you're havin' a hard time with something. Thought I should check in."

Croix watched as Fang took her seat, before sighing and untensing herself.

"You could say that," she said. "You're right, but... it's a very personal matter."

She settles her gaze on Fang, doing her best to smile in a friendly matter. "Now, I do believe... I saw you in a dream, once. Before coming here."

It had been from a distance, and only briefly, but Croix was confident she'd seen this woman before.

"Yeah, those right messed nightmares. Hell of a time for the mirrors to go scoutin' you out. It's not always that bad, promise."

How could she forget? The nightmares shook all the Mirrorbound, drawing from the worst of their demons to fuel the dreamscape. Something almost apologetic passed over the Turnskin's face with her words, and after a beat the corner of her mouth crooked up.

She offered her hand in... probably a handshake. If a handshake was offered by someone that'd freshly learned the concept, and by watching more than doing. The angle of her hand wasn't quite right, but it wasn't too off.

"Name's Fang. Figure I owe you that much, considerin' I know a lot more about you than you know about me."

... Ah. That explains a great deal. Croix instantly tenses up again, though she accepted the handshake.

"Fang, hm? I take it you're Chariot's Fang, then," she said.

After a moment, she added pointedly, "Nice necklace, by the way."

Edited 2020-12-08 03:15 (UTC)

"She's my Bonded, yeah," Fang added. Croix's statement wasn't untrue, but the wording of it... Turnskin pride could be very sensitive, in certain respects.

But the follow up directed her attention away, and with a faint Hm? Fang glanced down, picking at the numerous adornments around her scarred neck. One of brightly colored glass beads, a crystal pendant, a bit of antler, the enchanted metal tag with stars... Her smiles grew just a little softer. Each had their meaning.

"Which one? Gifts, the lot of 'em. Guess something about me just screams 'give me a necklace.'"

Croix sighed a little, drawing her hand back before answering.

"The one depicting the constellation," she said. "It's the Southern Cross, isn't it? That... just happens to be the one I'm named for."

Fang's eyes widen a fraction, a little telltale sign of surprise, if mild. Pensively, the turnskin took the steel charm between her fingers, idly brushing her fingers across it in thought.

That... made sense. It shouldn't surprise her, honestly. But that one little detail, considering the history of Fang and Chariot's relationship... Well, wasn't that a messy little detail. Not that Fang minded, but Croix?

Fang shifted in her seat, leaning more of her weight against the back and running a hand through her hair as her gaze flicked back up to Croix's.

"Well, isn't that awkward." To put it mildly. "Chariot left out that little tidbit. Just said it was related to the one she was named after." Fang's hand scratched through her hair one last time before settling back on the table. "It'd be a hell of an insult to try and play that off as a coincidence, so I'm not gonna bother."

She had a hunch Croix was smarter than that. Just a little one.

Croix let out a short "Hm" as soon as Fang gave her response, then sighed, looking down at the table.

"My apologies if I seem hostile," she said, with sincerity. "I just... I'm trying to navigate where I fit in all of this now that I'm here, and everything that comes at me just raises more and more questions about my place in it."

A pause, before she continued: "But I doubt that's your fault."

Fang acknowledged her with a wordless hum, hanging an arm over the back of her chair and cocking her head a bit. After a moment, she smiled.

"You sure about that? That 'more questions' bit, I mean."

Croix raised an eyebrow, looking at Fang with a mixture of confusion and concern.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

The Turnskin's smile crooked up more at the corner, and she shifted to lean forward in her chair to take off the necklace in question. Then, Fang held it out by the chain in offering.

Fang didn't say anything of the enchantment on it that would make it feel like Chariot was right there, beside her.

"So you see it, and think you're being pushed out, that it? Look at it from another angle."

Croix stared at it before taking it, and instantly felt flushed. She did indeed feel Chariot's presence, but she didn't know how or why. Only that it made her feel warm in a way she didn't know how to describe.

"Are you saying... this symbol is some kind of statement about me, too? Because she seemed certain she wouldn't see me again, when we first met in the dream..."

Fang's crooked smile stayed firmly in place. How could it not, knowing what she did about these two? Knowing what drew her to Chariot, and what drew Chariot to Fang, in turn?

"Yeah, she was. Convinced you were forever lost or whatever, and she still hung that reminder around my neck. Sounds a hell of a lot like she was always thinkin' about you, to me."

And that the two of them were awfully alike, but that might be overkill.

Croix... couldn't help but crack a smile at that, bringing a hand to touch the symbol. After a moment, though, the self consciousness returned.

"Thinking about each other... it was never our problem," she said. "I'm not proud to say that my thoughts towards her weren't always warm."

She sighed, and reached out to hand the necklace back. "How much do you know about me? Because being reminded of me... means being reminded of being hurt, too."

Edited 2020-12-10 02:35 (UTC)

At last Fang's grin finally mellowed, but didn't leave completely. She accepted the jewelry back, content to just hold it in her hand for now.

"I know that you and Chariot were close when you were younger, and didn't see each other for a while there. I know that both of you didn't mean for things got outta hand. That you don't give a damn what anyone thinks once you set your mind to somethin'. That you and I make the same kinds of mistakes."

The way that Fang once again lounged in her seat and her casual tone probably didn't match the gravitas of her words.

No, Fang's posture didn't match her words, but Croix was beginning to figure out that was natural for the woman. Her words were sincere, it seemed, at the very least.

"Do you know then that I hurt her?" Croix said, unable to meet Fang's gaze. "That I took away her ability to fly? That I endangered her life? Because those are things you can't take back so easily."

Fang doesn't answer immediately, her smile finally falling away. The expression that replaces it isn't a scowl—it isn't much of anything, actually, but pensiveness and watchfulness.

It's a Turnskin's instinct to bristle when those they cared for were threatened; at the same time, thorns of guilt crawled under Fang's skin as the words I took her ability to run caught in her throat. And to make it all messier, a bittersweet empathy glued the tangle all together.

The silence drew out for several beats along with the stillness that had settled over Fang. Eventually, she exhaled in a way that wasn't quite a sigh.

"So what? Yeah, you can't take that back. Sure as hell didn't scare Chariot away, did it? Sounds like she made that little memorial necklace despite all've that. Don't get how you think you're provin' me wrong here."

Gods, they really were alike.

"..."

Croix looked up and stared at Fang, jaw hanging open slightly, for several moments; almost as long as the other woman had been silent herself. Finally, it gave way to a sigh of her own, as she struggled to put out the right words.

"Maybe it's not Chariot I'm doubting. Maybe it's myself, and the idea I deserve to be with her."

Fang waited; she had to gently discourage a wandering kitten with her foot in the meantime, but she was patient.

Sort of.

"Doubting yourself is one thing. But take it from me: chasin' what you think you deserve's a load of shit. The world isn't fair, not to anyone. No one gets what they deserve." Chariot, for example, Fang thought. "So why should you give a damn?"

Fang briefly glanced away, looking out the window the bleak winter day outside, and when she turned back to Croix, her voice was gentler. Not gentle, but still.

"That's the thing about guilt, yeah? It keeps you from movin' forward."

"Chasing what I think I deserve is what got me where I am today," she said, sadly. "So... you're likely right about that."

Croix pondered a moment, before nodding, resting her chin on her folded hands. "Guilt... it's almost as hard a thing to overcome as one's own hubris. But you're right. What am I... what are we spinning our wheels for?"

Her expression became determined. "I... I need to talk to her."

Fang made a pleased little sound, some of the ease coming back to her expression. She tilted her head a fraction again, observing the other woman. "You know, much as I love Chariot, you're a hell of a lot quicker to get right to it. Refreshing, really."

Then again, few people had an emotional labyrinth as elaborate as Chariot.

"Not sayin' it'll be easy, or that you oughta rush it. Just... keep movin' forward. If you feel that bad about the whole mess, then do better next time, right?"

It's always more complicated than that, but Fang never believed in getting dragged down by the details. Life was about learning and carrying on another day, the way she saw it. Sometimes it helped to be reminded of that.

"That's one of the things I both love and find frustrating about Chariot," Croix said with a small laugh. "But... you're right. I still don't know what I'm going to say to her, but I have an idea of what I need to do."

There's a pause, before she continues. "You know, you're very generous towards someone who loves the same woman you do. I suppose I should be thankful."

The corner of her mouth crooked up, and Fang shrugged. "Way I see it, you were here first. I'm the one that barged in. That, and..."

The Turnskin trailed off, glancing out the window again. Her voice sobered. "I know how this is gonna go. Us Mirrorbound, the lot of us are on borrowed time. Wish I could go and promise Chariot I'm always gonna be there, but... I'm not. I've got to go back to my world, no matter what. How messed up would it be to get in a possessive huff over someone I've gotta leave one day? That's not right."

"..."

That... was certainly somewhat sobering. She was silent for several long moments, trying to come up with something reassuring. Something that would counter what she was saying, something to provide a little bit of hope for Fang.

But she couldn't come up with anything.

Finally, she said, quietly, "Then I hope you're prepared to make the most of what time you have with her. She deserves it."

Fang made a small sound, too brief to be anything amused. The irony of that, and agreeing with it, after the talk they had about deserving things.

"Yeah, sure am. I'm done livin' with regret." Fang looked back at Croix. "Hope you two feel the same."

But, well. That was the challenge with Chariot. She had to quit the self-flagellation, first. After a beat, Fang reached out to place the necklace in the center of the table.

"Why don't you hold on to that for a few days, while you go and figure everything out? I'm gonna want it back, of course."

Croix's eyes widened as Fang offered her the necklace. Then, after a moment, she nodded, and reached out to take it in her hand.

"I'll be sure to take good care of it," she said. "Thank you. As for not living with regret..."

She sighed.

"That's the eternal struggle. But rest assured, I'll do my best."

Edited 2020-12-07 01:22 (UTC)

Akko noticed Croix in the class because, of course, she did. Her former professor is simply not someone who is able to easily hide or blend in. In her own way, Akko is much the same, but she does sink a little lower in her seat and try to hide her ears behind the book propped up on the desk in front of her. No one else pays her any mind (since she's not actively doing anything), but she thinks the coast is clear by the time she sits up. And what do you know? That weird danger sense that comes with being a Puca was accurate! Croix was seated and seemingly not paying Akko any mind.

And, okay. She feels a little bad ducking down and hiding like that. (Akko usually only does that to a professor to avoid a scolding.) But she's not sure this is really the best place to have a conversation with Croix. It's probably better to have it somewhere a little more private, where they can hash things out without worrying about other people looking or overhearing (intentional or otherwise). She'll try to catch her after class and ask if she wants to go somewhere not the Coven. And she'll do it all casual-like. Like, "Hey Professor Croix! I didn't know you were here! Let's get some coffee." Yeah. She could definitely pull that off. It's not like Croix knows that Akko's been having Chariot's anxiety rattling around in the back of her mind through the Bond for how long now? Which, frankly, that's getting to be a bit much. Akko knows it's not really her place to say anything and she gets that it's hard to have a conversation with Croix because of, well, everything, but yeesh! That's a lot of worrying over something that could probably be resolved by just talking?

These are among some of the last thoughts Akko has before she... Well, she just drifts off.

Old habits die real hard. And everybody's used to her doing this by now, so no one tries to nudge her awake as a small puddle of drool starts to form on barely written notes.

By the time the class is over, Croix is content to just collect her notes and move on. That is, until she catches sight of someone she wasn't previously aware of, proving her powers of observation aren't totally limited by the trouble plaguing her heart and head.

In any case, she recognizes this girl, even under the effects of a monster transformation, so she smirks to herself and wanders over. Once she's nearby, she'll make her presence known:

"Miss Atsuko Kagari. Falling asleep in class, are we? My, this is quite nostalgic."

Akko wakes with a start, upon hearing her name. A squeak on-par with the animal she now shares a form with couples with a blurted out answer for a question that was asked just before she nodded off. The answer is...well, it's like a quarter right. She didn't hear the whole of the question, most likely.

There are, of course, a few looks from some of the students filtering out of the room. Not all of them are empathetic and kind; most of them actually roll their eyes and continue on their way while Akko's ears pin back and her cheeks turn a little pink.

"Uh..." she looks up at Croix. "Hi?"

Belatedly, she realizes there's a little drool on her chin and quickly reaches up to wipe off with the back of her sleeve. She clears her throat.

"I wasn't sleeping! I was focusing really hard on the book."

Which she promptly closes so there's no chance for a pop quiz to catch her in that lie. You know, because she makes it so difficult to catch her in one.

That... all earns a bit of a chuckle from Croix. She's more amused than anything, and isn't the type to test Akko or anything... at least, not when she isn't feeling like toying with her, any.

And besides, she has more than enough ammunition in that area to start with.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not your teacher, here, just another student of magic. Besides, I was hoping the two of us could talk... Miss Aiko."

Most would probably realize that the jig is up and come clean at that point. But while Akko realizes that the jig is up, she also casually tries to avoid it. She laughs a little nervously, ears staying low.

"I know it's been a little while, but it's Akko," she says, casually avoiding eye contact by putting her book away into her bag. "Not Aiko."

"Yes, of course," Croix chuckles. "And the young woman I spoke to on the network when I first arrived was definitely someone else entirely. Indeed."

After a moment, her tone turns serious.

"And how have you been, Akko."

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