004 💗 One Day at a Time [Open]

[ishisstrength]

Who: Justine ishisstrength & YOU!
Where: Coven, Cottage & City.
When: August Catch All
What: General Prompts, Death & Aftermath.
Warnings: See headers.


<i. Sunbathing (NSFW)

[Justine finally feels as if she can relax now that summer has returned to its proper state of warmth.

She resumes her swimming lessons and, between work and other miscellaneous tasks, she decides to soak up as much of the heat as possible, not wanting to risk the chance of another wayward snow storm. Justine can be found either outside of her cottage or at the beach just beyond where the docs are visible, sprawled in a baby blue bathing suit that she'd made out of the lightest fabric she'd been able to find.

The blanket beneath her is soft and dry, allowing her to lay either on her back or on her stomach. More often than not, Justine removes her bathing suit to bask in the direct heat of the sun. She always has a book balanced in her palms with dark, focused, eyes follow the lines of text. Her skin is akin to porcelain and unblemished by sun or scars. Her legs stretch out on her blanket, lean and lovely and made for things that have nothing to do with locomotion. Raven hair curls over her shoulders though Justine can be found fussing with it as she pushes the silky strands out of her face or off of the back of her neck where beads of sweat begin to gather.

Justine has no sense of shame but if anyone looks uncomfortable she will put her top back on and when the heat of the sun feels too warm, she'll wave over a passerby and ask for assistance.]

Could you rub sunscreen on my back?

<ii. Lùnasa - Catwalk

[Justine exhales a soft sigh as she's disrobed and then dressed in the clothing intended for the fashion show. She doesn't mind. In fact, she loves fashion and clothes but this hadn't been her intention when she had come into the city proper. She'd been planning to pick a few things for her roommate and she feared delay, while simultaneously relishing in the soft fabric as it comes in contact with her skin.

She smiles in spite of herself, deciding that a short delay would be alright. It doesn't matter how ridiculous the clothing might be, Justine's styles are suspect, as is her history with costumes and she finds that even the most outlandish pieces of attire have their own charms.

Once fully dressed and her long hair styled to match the dress she'd been put in, Justine waits for her to walk down the catwalk. There is a buzz of excitement in the air though not all of those dressed and waiting appear to be interested in the fashion show. Some look like they wish they were anywhere else in the world but haven't been able to master the skill of teleportation.

She turns to the person nearest her and offers a warm smile.] Are you alright?

<iii. Accidents Happen (Near New Moon – Closed to SQUID)

[Feelings can be dangerous. They're confusing and if left unchecked, are filled with strife and uncertainty. It gets in the way and it is now stopping her from being happy. And she deserves to be happy. Doesn't she? This world is a second chance and she has recently realized that she wants a second chance.

Justine closes her eyes and places her palm over her chest. She listens for the beat of her heart, feeling its vibration against the palm of her hand. In a rare change, she's dressed in white with simple white lace accenting her breasts and hips. The Victorian dress is conservative and yet it manages to grab the eyes of those passing by her. Justine's midnight hair is tied back in a tight knot, displaying the lovely sweeping curves of her jaw and neck. She isn't wearing any adornments, nothing except her beauty to mark her as one of those who had so unfortunately entered this world through the mirrors.

She takes a round-about path before ending up at the doorstep of an acquaintance. Someone who can help her if she has something to offer in return. Justine isn't usually comfortable asking for these things but she doesn't know what else to do.

Her knuckles rap softly on the door and when the door opens, she speaks in a soft voice.] Thank you for meeting with me.

[She hasn't told him all of the details but Justine had contacted him before hand and has collected the items that she thinks she will need. She only hopes to whatever god rules this land that it'll work.]

<vi. To Life (Coven – Closed to Sansa)
Warnings: blood, death, sickness.

[The darkness recedes and Justine finds herself laying in a bed in the Coven's infirmary. There are runes softly glowing around her and her once white dress is stained with dark drops of maroon blood. Her hair is unbound, fanning around her slender pale shoulders in a halo of darkness. Her limbs feel weak and her head spins as the unpleasant sensation of nausea rises in her stomach.

Her hand raises to her lips as she turns to lean against the edge of the bed. Nothing happens but Justine can hear the soft scrapes of steps against the stone floor before a hand lightly pushes her back into bed.] Don't move. [The voice speaks softly as Justine is lifted by pillows and offered a thick rosemary smelling drink. She turns away but the harsh liquid is pressed against her lips until she drinks.

Her stomach settles and her eyes are finally able to focus on the area around her. Justine doesn't recognize any of the people around her except for the familiar red haired girl.] Sansa? What happened? How did I get here?

[She tries to rise again but is thwarted by another of the Coven's staff.]

I have to return home.

<v. In Sickness

[Being sick is awful.

Justine tries her best to stay in bed but she finds the activity boring without sex or something else to do. Eventually she takes to sitting by the large bay windows of her room, pointed out to face the Haven streets. Her head rests against the window frame while the soft summer breeze lazily drifts in from outside. She can taste the ocean on her tongue and wishes she had the strength to return to the beach.

It is finally summer again and she's missing it.

Sometimes she's reading but more often than not she just watches, waving at those walking by and beckoning anyone willing to keep her company while her slender broken frame regains its strength.

She has her reading and crocheting but after spending all last month focusing on those tasks, they don't hold her attention like they used too. Instead she can be seen drawing, always sitting at that same window, replicating anyone she sees passing by on the streets.]

Comments

[hearthebell]

[The shock and confusion gradually begin to clear, giving way to anger and resentment. Goodwill is difficult to grasp for, hard to find for someone like L; the SQUIP was supposed to make it better, and easier, and though L doesn't intend to transmit the thought, the sentiment at least spikes palpably through their connection. They do not have a problem; he does, and it goes by the name SQUIP.

He tries to move his leg. The ice is thick, and his pants and boot protect his skin, but he can feel the chill edging in. It'll take a second to figure a way out of this; warming magic is the exact opposite of his elemental specialty.

I'm coming as fast as I can. What did you DO?]

[fromjapan]

[The SQUIP has simply sat down on its original seat to face her, staring at the still form of someone it genuinely intended to help. This is not going to look good for them.

That sentiment is only sharpened by L's own spike of rage, and the SQUIP sends one in turn, though its anger is chilled and blunt.

I agreed to help Justine try to better control and silence her emotions, and the voices in her head. I assumed it could benefit us to know how to do such a thing, as well, but... the spell must have backfired. Our shared magic was simply too much to properly control in such a delicate situation.]

[hearthebell]

[L knows, because he sees and feels it very close to the SQUIP's own perspective, that none of this damage was intended. As he chips away at the thick layer of ice with the corner of a particularly sturdy hardcover book, he knows that it wasn't malicious... but still, he can't help but be angry, when these things keep coming back to him, when this reflects badly on both of them. If L was already in politics, this would be a scandal; once he makes it there, it still absolutely has the potential to become one.

Tell me, when you intend to help someone, does it ever actually work out that way?

His discomfort and frustration build onto his anger, making him mean. He takes a deep breath, exhaling; finally, some of the ice starts to give at his knee joint, and he bends it to aid the crunching, gradual shatter.

What do you need?

His mind is working, thinking how he can pick up a tarp, some cords, some lye on the way home without it being suspicious... or at least the beginning points for them, followed by creative uses of alchemy and transmutation, perhaps?]

[fromjapan]

[More often than not, in fact. But now isn't a good time for that, we need to deal with Justine.

I believe the common practice for a death is to take the body to the Coven. And it would look better for me. Hiding it would just make it look like a murder instead of an accident.

We need to take get her out of here, and we need to do it subtly to avoid alarming anyone who might see us.]

[hearthebell]

[L's venting, more than sincerely doubting the SQUIP's usefulness. He finally manages to break his leg free, shaking the bits of ice from his pant leg and boot and starting off at a brisk pace, looping quickly back to work. He didn't leave long ago; he can certainly pilfer a few scrolls with minor flaws from the trash, the ones that a skilled etcher can still make use of but are in no shape to sell.

A scroll, a quill, a few quick notes for the kind of inscription he thinks will make this work, and then he is taking the trip in strides and spurts of teleported distance.

Something is off about their magic, though. It feels dizzy, unbalanced, unstable. When he arrives, he practically brings a stormcloud with him... but he also brings things that they could use. He doesn't bother with his coat or his boots, but tosses the scrolls and quills on the table, sweeping through the apartment to find the SQUIP and the very beautiful, very lifeless girl it sits across from. L's gaze lingers on her for a long moment before he addresses the SQUIP, crisply and authoritatively.]

Find me a blanket large enough to cover her, and a straight edge.

[The lines have to be pretty damn precise, after all.]

Bring her out to living room when you have, and make me some coffee.

[fromjapan]

[The SQUIP hesitates for a beat, looking at L as though he's grown a second head. It seems genuinely puzzled by his sudden leap to issuing orders.

But. What it has with L is not the same as an ordinary SQUIP and user pairing. It has to remind itself of that; this is not like what it had with Jeremy. This is a partnership, meaning that they both get to weigh in, despite the SQUIP's preference for total control-- if it intends to keep L willing to listen to it at all, it will have to listen to him in turn.

It inclines its head, and then goes to gather the supplies L requested.

It retrieves a spare blanket from their bedroom; a straight edge is harder to find, but it does find something amongst its magic and potionmaking supplies that will do. It's a straight edge typically used for rune work, but the SQUIP has little use for it; it just came in a kit that it had purchased.

It deposits both of those things, and puts on a pot of coffee... and then it retrieves Justine.

Justine...

It doesn't feel guilt-- not exactly. Regret? It feels... something. It is regrettable, what happened to her. It had no intention of harming her; if it had succeeded, their work on this night could have been beneficial to more than just her, after all. And it seems to recall Connor having affections for her...

It carefully gathers her into its arms, a gentle bridal carry; her slim form is growing cool beneath its touch. It carries her out to the living room, and gently lays her on the couch, brushing the hair from her face.

What a waste.]

[hearthebell]

[L operates on extreme levels. He does well when others are controlling and directing oddly mundane details of his life... but he also seems to thrive on being in a general's position, issuing crisp commands and setting all the pieces in motion in a way that will ultimately ensure that his endgame is a success. There's no in-between; it's one or the other, while it might be simultaneous and delegated to different individuals.

He hops into a perched seat at the table, pulling one of the scrolls in front of him and grasping for the straight-edge once the SQUIP has brought it. He's quick and not terrifically precise about opening a vein, simply letting the blood pool on the tabletop beside him; ordinarily, he probably wouldn't need it, but with his magic as unstable as it is, he's glad for the extra kick, the extra assurance that this will go off without a hitch. He murmurs an incantation, beginning to draw careful lines in an etching for a spliced levitation and invisibility spell. One use is contained in this scroll; one use is all they'll need.]

The coffee.

[He practically barks the order at the SQUIP as he carries the slender body out, surprisingly reverently for a machine, and arranges her on the couch as though she were still only sleeping.]

[fromjapan]

[Maybe its care with Justine's form is because of their former encounter-- a night spent together during Litha, its first and, so far, singular female encounter. Maybe it's because of Connor's care for her, and its unwillingness to cause him any more grief than strictly necessary.

Whatever the cause, it's seemingly startled out of the reverie by L's barked order; it can't help but frown at him. Obeying orders for the more serious requests was fine, but this...

Well, it is part of his process, it supposes.]

Veeery well.

[It does go to retrieve the coffee, fixing L a cup to his typical specifications and bringing it to the living room where he sits, oddly perched, over the body, the living room coffee table.

It offers him the cup, looking over Justine, over the runes L is hurriedly working at... and the blood spilling vividly over his pallid skin.

Humans...]

[hearthebell]

[L doesn't see the frown. He's bent over the scroll, working with accuracy and haste as he uses his blood to accent particular runes. These spells aren't usually combined in such a way, to this effect... but he thought through it all the way home. He knows that for their particular needs, it should suffice.

L's typical specifications for coffee are, like him, fairly ridiculous. Far too much sugar, far too much cream, most of the day's calories crammed into one vibrating energy bomb.]

Can you...

[He stops breathing for a moment, to ensure that a section is perfectly measured and written, then continues as he dips his quill in the pool of blood. He'll worry about a bandage later.]

...please wrap the body in the sheet, making sure that the ends are tucked in so there's no chance of it coming undone? It must be very secure.

[fromjapan]

[Well. At least his manners are better that time.

The SQUIP does as it's been instructed, draping the sheet over Justine lightly, and then tucking her in carefully, ensuring, with mechanical accuracy, that the sheets are bound in just the right way to keep them perfectly secure.

And then it glances at L, at the open, freely-bleeding wound; he's much too thin and in too poor health to just leave that running that way.

It breaks away from the ritual for a moment, fetching a first aid kit from a hall closet, before returning-- though it goes to L's side rather than to Justine, and it opens the kit, fetching some cotton and attempting to reach out, to apply pressure to the wound.]

You're going to make us sick if you don't stop the bleeding soon.

[hearthebell]

[Even when L is caught up in a new theory, a new test...he does try to be at least superficially polite. He glances out of the corner of his eye to ensure that the SQUIP is following his instructions, satisfied that it can trust the machine's thoroughness and efficiency as he continues to work on the fairly involved and intricate scroll.

He startles to see the machine at his side, applying pressure to what is, to him, merely an open inkwell.

In spite of the press for time they have, he is touched. He just doesn't know how to express it. He just tilts his head, clears his throat ambiguously, maybe-nods.]

Perhaps you're right... but we're unstable, as you know. Our magic could benefit from some help. I'm willing to use blood for that help.

[Just as he's willing to do anything at all, to achieve his goal. The SQUIP should now well by this point that incredibly pure drive.]

[fromjapan]

[The SQUIP quietly looks over the setup, the wound it's currently tending; and then it offers L its hand and wrist, speaking evenly.]

Use mine. My physical health is much more stable than yours is... I can take it.

[It has, after all, been doing its best to care for this meat suit it's forced to wear.]

[hearthebell]

[L gives the SQUIP a long, searching stare. For a moment, he considers arguing that his vein is already open, the scroll already underway, and it would be nothing short of a waste to open another vein needlessly when there's no reason he can't follow through with the requirements himself.

But it's a sign of solidarity from the SQUIP. He wishes for those actively, even covets them. Silently, he takes the delicate blade he used for his own arm as the SQUIP continues to tend to his, using a far more gentle and precise cute to bleed the SQUIP.]

We're almost finished.

[Roughly halfway, actually... which the SQUIP can doubtless discern. But it sounds less arduous this way.]

[fromjapan]

[The sooner L's wound is closed, the better. He can't possibly have all that much blood in him to begin with; he needs to keep it right where it is.

Pain is... still a very new sensation for the SQUIP, and a rare one; it encounters it only occasionally, even in this body, so when the cut is made, it's unable to catch itself before its features tighten just slightly, the next breath it draws the slightest bit more sharp.

But then it's over, and the instant passes, and it patiently allows L to draw from it as he needs, bandaging his own wound and then attempting to make itself comfortable.

Blood... it glances at the wound, at the way it easily wells forth and spills over. This is... its blood. It wonders if it has DNA now, just how far this human suit was taken. Could it reproduce? What would such an offspring be like?

A small, yet sharp, surge of something very, very negative shoots up its spine at that thought.

It needs to shed this body as soon as possible.]

[hearthebell]

[To be fair, it's not a ridiculous amount of blood, but L's using it more in practice lately. He seems to recognize that it represents a way to overcome limits, much like caffeine overcomes exhaustion. He's never shied away from anything that can solve a more pressing problem in his life, even if it drains him in the long run.

L wasn't going to ask it to... but the fact that the SQUIP is willing to bleed for this is reassuring. While virtually everything they do comes back around to affect the other through the particulars of a SQUIP Bonding with a user, L would hold the SQUIP somewhat more responsible for the body on the floor wrapped neatly and securely in a white sheet.

He knows her, passingly. They've spoken before; she isn't a forgettable person, and her death certainly doesn't mean nothing, but L is all business as he uses the SQUIP's blood to put the finishing touches on the scroll that can transport her remains to the Coven without drawing attention or inciting panic.

L doesn't believe he overlooked or miscalculated anything. It's a unique spell, created just for this situation, and so of course it's untested... hopefully, it'll go exactly as intended without a hitch. He speaks the incantation to activate the scroll, and at first, it looks as though something has gone horribly wrong. The whole thing appears to shred into ribbons... but on closer examination, it's a length of glowing silver twine, attached to a solid silver bracelet.]

[fromjapan]

[As soon as L is clearly finished, it tends to its own cut, taking quiet notice of just how much more careful he was with it than with himself; ever-inconsistent, it thinks, unsure of his own emotional distance or intensity. Or perhaps it's just a sign of respect.

Either way, it bandages itself as well, glancing between the binding of the cut and the ritual playing out before them. It hadn't been expecting the form that the spell takes, and though the signs of that are subtle, they are present-- a half-startled batting of its eyes, the slightest tilt of its head.

Fascinating.]

A combination of runes, used to achieve a unique effect... very resourceful.

[Compliments issued by the SQUIP are rare.]

[hearthebell]

I do consider it one of my more appealing qualities.

[There's an ethereal quality to the twine; it doesn't seem quite solid, and though L can grasp and tie it, it seems to shift and fade based on the way light is hitting it. He runs it through his hands, kneeling on the floor beside the shrouded body and turning it so that he can tie the cord around Justine's waist.

Once he's completed the knot, both the cord and the body appear to vanish, but the silver bracelet remains.]

Think of this as an invisible kite. As long as we avoid low-hanging signs, the tethered levitation shouldn't cause any kind of notice or stir, but it only lasts for thirty minutes, so we should probably walk quickly.