08-06-2019, 02:39 PM
Things seemed to return to normal after their aborted attempt to go to the concert. Strangely, she didn't feel all that bad about missing it. Amelia was well enough- and insistent enough- that she ended up leaving less than a day after she woke up. Jacinda could have forced her. The girl was still weak- she wouldn't even have broken a sweat. But that wasn't her way. Sometimes you wanted to hole up somewhere to lick your wounds and heal. That was how she came to this safe house in the first place. So she was gone.
@"Rune" was welcome to stay as long as she liked. Jacinda had made a promise and meant to keep it. How, she didn't know. She'd have to put some feelers out. Hell, Amelia- clearly not merely Atharim IT- might help. They'd need to look at footage where Seth was last seen and go from there. Needle in a haystack, but there it was. Maybe beat some trees among the other Atharim laying low. She wasn't sure where Hood had gotten off to. Too bad. He was a good one to have with you. Never mind how hot he was. He was good. Real good.
And of course there was @"Tenzin". Her partner. Quiet, mostly, but when she spoke it could be sharp or funny. Or sometimes both. There was an...untamedness about her. Something wild. It wasn't helped by her bone or teeth necklace or her mass of hair tied up into a thick braid and the full sleeves on her arms. A lion, that one. Mountain lion, anyway. She wasn't exactly big. And Jacinda loved her for it. It was refreshing to work with someone who lived honestly, playing no games, no politicking. She'd seen it on occasion. Not really back home. But since coming to Moscow- and especially after joining the Archangels in the 1st Canticle- she saw it. The way people tried to suck up to her, as if her position meant anything other than she was tasked with taking out gods only. Or she saw the way they tried to cause divisions. She and Yoshi had been the only non-natives to join and it had ruffled a few feathers. She wondered if that was why Barovsky always seemed to take issue with how she did things. Maybe someone had planted a bug in his ear.
None of that was an issue with Ten.
That evening she was sitting on the couch idly perusing the news, looking for something for them to do. A hunt of some kind. She wasn't sure the Archangels still existed. She supposed she should reach out to the other Canticles. But for some reason, it just didn't hold any appeal. Being part of the group had been great. But she didn't like deferring to others. She and Ten could decide together. That was fine. But a team without her at the top- or part of it, anyway- just wasn't her thing. Not since Regan.
The name brought on feelings of anger and shame. Toward him certainly. But also at herself for not having seen the truth. For not realizing what a monster he was sooner. Making excuses for him. It made her ill that had been so fooled. And yet...she knew she had been a child. Only a child. How does a 12 year old know what the truth is? Especially when all her information came solely from him? She looked at Tenzin. She hadn't even realized it until speaking with Rune, the contrast between Seth and Regan. She had seen love in families. Jill's sister Sari and her kids. She had been a surprise, Sari. Jacinda had thought she was the problem- why Jill couldn't just be free live as she wanted. More to the point, why they couldn't just be together. It had been her dream, there at the end, hungering for the love and family that surrounded her. And yet it turned out to be Jill herself was the problem. She remembered the way her heart had shattered. Long ago and no longer potent in her memory. But she remembered. There was a hole there, now.
Could she share all of this with Tenzin? Part of her wanted to, to extend a questing...whatever to the woman, to share the painful realization that had hit her only a few days ago. Jacinda knew she wasn't being her normal self. She was trying to mask it but she was sure Ten had picked up on it. She had a nose for that kind of thing.
She opened her mouth and then shut it again. She was about to speak when her wallet vibrated. She read the message and all thought of talking vanished. An inquisitor looking for Nox Durante. Wanting information. Interesting. It had come full circle. She looked at Ten again. She had met her that night, after their fight. She passed her wallet to her. "Looks like I'm needed. You wanna come?"
@"Rune" was welcome to stay as long as she liked. Jacinda had made a promise and meant to keep it. How, she didn't know. She'd have to put some feelers out. Hell, Amelia- clearly not merely Atharim IT- might help. They'd need to look at footage where Seth was last seen and go from there. Needle in a haystack, but there it was. Maybe beat some trees among the other Atharim laying low. She wasn't sure where Hood had gotten off to. Too bad. He was a good one to have with you. Never mind how hot he was. He was good. Real good.
And of course there was @"Tenzin". Her partner. Quiet, mostly, but when she spoke it could be sharp or funny. Or sometimes both. There was an...untamedness about her. Something wild. It wasn't helped by her bone or teeth necklace or her mass of hair tied up into a thick braid and the full sleeves on her arms. A lion, that one. Mountain lion, anyway. She wasn't exactly big. And Jacinda loved her for it. It was refreshing to work with someone who lived honestly, playing no games, no politicking. She'd seen it on occasion. Not really back home. But since coming to Moscow- and especially after joining the Archangels in the 1st Canticle- she saw it. The way people tried to suck up to her, as if her position meant anything other than she was tasked with taking out gods only. Or she saw the way they tried to cause divisions. She and Yoshi had been the only non-natives to join and it had ruffled a few feathers. She wondered if that was why Barovsky always seemed to take issue with how she did things. Maybe someone had planted a bug in his ear.
None of that was an issue with Ten.
That evening she was sitting on the couch idly perusing the news, looking for something for them to do. A hunt of some kind. She wasn't sure the Archangels still existed. She supposed she should reach out to the other Canticles. But for some reason, it just didn't hold any appeal. Being part of the group had been great. But she didn't like deferring to others. She and Ten could decide together. That was fine. But a team without her at the top- or part of it, anyway- just wasn't her thing. Not since Regan.
The name brought on feelings of anger and shame. Toward him certainly. But also at herself for not having seen the truth. For not realizing what a monster he was sooner. Making excuses for him. It made her ill that had been so fooled. And yet...she knew she had been a child. Only a child. How does a 12 year old know what the truth is? Especially when all her information came solely from him? She looked at Tenzin. She hadn't even realized it until speaking with Rune, the contrast between Seth and Regan. She had seen love in families. Jill's sister Sari and her kids. She had been a surprise, Sari. Jacinda had thought she was the problem- why Jill couldn't just be free live as she wanted. More to the point, why they couldn't just be together. It had been her dream, there at the end, hungering for the love and family that surrounded her. And yet it turned out to be Jill herself was the problem. She remembered the way her heart had shattered. Long ago and no longer potent in her memory. But she remembered. There was a hole there, now.
Could she share all of this with Tenzin? Part of her wanted to, to extend a questing...whatever to the woman, to share the painful realization that had hit her only a few days ago. Jacinda knew she wasn't being her normal self. She was trying to mask it but she was sure Ten had picked up on it. She had a nose for that kind of thing.
She opened her mouth and then shut it again. She was about to speak when her wallet vibrated. She read the message and all thought of talking vanished. An inquisitor looking for Nox Durante. Wanting information. Interesting. It had come full circle. She looked at Ten again. She had met her that night, after their fight. She passed her wallet to her. "Looks like I'm needed. You wanna come?"