tooprettytodie | For Jessica

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For Jessica

The changing of the island to the old west had thrown off Valkyrie's date plans just a bit. She had actually planned a really cool date with Jessica only to have the entire island screw things up by changing into the American old west. It was like they were stuck in a horrible theme park.

The one saving grace was that she had been able to coax a decent looking outfit from the clothing box, where most of her friends had been stuck in some really horrid dresses.

As it was, with a few days preparation she'd been able to figure out a fairly decent substitute for the date she had originally planned. All in all, it had taken a little bit of hard work and a note to Jessica to meet her closer to 3 o'clock than to one but it was going to be worth it. If things went well, maybe she'd have to see if Jessica wanted to try her original idea once they got back home. In the mean time, she thought this would be pretty fun.

The fact that Jessica was so fun was the only thing keeping Valkyrie from being overly nervous at the moment. This was her first official date with a girl, which was kind of a big thing. Did she like girls? Did she just like Jessica? Are you there God, it's me Valkyrie?

Well, either way, whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon. Unless, of course, Jessica stood her up.

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"No," Valkyrie said, firmly, shaking her head at Jessica. She wouldn't have wanted the short, quippy version of it. This was much better.

"No, if someone asks you, you shouldn't tell them the short quippy version of that. Because it's important for people to think about that, the power and responsibility thing. It means you don't help people because of who they are, or if they're going to appreciate it. You help because you can. That's important to think about."

It was certainly something Valkyrie was going to think about, probably for a while. Surprisingly, the idea of thinking about it didn't fill her with a fear of guilt either. It was almost enlightening to realize she had something important to think about.

"And I think it makes you pretty special. But I already knew you were special, so I should get extra points for recognizing it without knowing why. Not that it's the only special thing about you."

"There's also my fabulous hair," I say, still directing the quip somewhat in the direction of the ground, but getting considerably less mumbly and embarrassed about it by the second. Flattery'll do wonders, it turns out. Or... actually less flattery, more genuine compliments, it seems like, which is going to make me all embarrassed again.

"Um. Thank you. That is- that's pretty swell to hear. Obviously. But, c'mon, look who's talking. You're a wizard detective. Which, even aside from the cool magic, just the detective part, that must mean you help people, right? So you can go ahead and get that special label, too. Along with the points for recognizing mine. Which I am happy to award."

"Yes, and your hair," Valkyrie said with a grin. Apparently sheepish expressions were just as adorable on girls as they could be on guys. At least, Jessica's glancing at the ground was rather adorable.

"And yeah, I help people. But some of that is because it's fun. Being able to use magic is fun. Beating up bad guys? So much fun. Meeting new and interesting people, and non-people, that want to kill you? Surprisingly fun."

Beating up bad guys is so much fun. So much. I catch myself starting to nod along and manage I think to mostly just make it a 'go on' nod and not a 'boy do I feel that, sister,' kind of nod.

"I don't think there's a rule that says you can't enjoy it. If there is, it's a dumb rule. But it's not like you're beating up the good guys, yeah? So the murderous meet-and-greets and the cool magic is, like, a bonus. How'd you get into that, anyway? The magic thing. Did an owl drop off a letter all, 'congratulations, you are magic'?"

"Uh, my uncle died, actually," Valkyrie admitted, realizing how strange it sounded after what Jessica had just said. Sometimes, it was disturbing the parallels she shared with people on the island. Fortunately, this story wasn't really one of them.

"He was a famous writer and... kind of, well, he was kind of a jerk. Very strong-willed and the 'doesn't suffer fools gladly' type. I adored him though and I was definitely his favorite. I'll... let you draw your own conclusions as to why we got along so well."

That was about as close to admitted that she could be a jerk and a tiny bit strong willed as well. And stupid people annoyed her.

"He died and left me pretty much everything. Including the key to stopping these Lovecraftian monsters. Only the servants of the monsters didn't want them to be stopped. So they tried to kill me and I sort of just... fell into it all."

"Clearly the lack of foolishness," I say, to the 'drawing my own conclusions' part of that. Or, okay, the strong-willed kindred spirit bit, but mine works to and is also slightly more date-appropriate, y'know? I'll keep the other one in the bag, unspoken but acknowledged.

"Man, though, that must have been trip. One minute normal, the next minute... Lovecraftian horrors. Not turning and running is a hell of a thing, honestly. Or a hell dimension kind of thing, I guess."

Jessica definitely won points with Valkyrie by not mentioning the less pleasant qualities she might have in common with Gordon.

"Well, they probably would have caught up to me if I had tried to run. And if people are trying to kill me, I'm going to learn to fight back. Plus, I always thought I didn't fit in, like I was meant to be a part of something different so when I finally found out about the magical world it was kind of a relief."

"Learning to fight back is pretty sensible," I say, reaching over to snag myself a drumstick. "Is it hard? Magic? Are wands involved in any respect?"

"No, no wands," Valkyrie said with a laugh. That was one thing she had trouble with on the island, that wand magic was real in some worlds. It just seemed silly to her.

"Well, not really. I suppose someone could make a wand that did a specific spell or something, but they're not required. Necromancers do need a focus for their magic, but I don't know anyone that uses a wand."

"Like a creepy skull? Or a creepy staff with a skull on the end of it?" I say, because turns out there are necromancers. Maybe I should have expected that, magic and all, and it's not like my universe is free of the undead what with the vampires and all.

"I don't know any that have a skull, and Solomon has a cane, but it's just plain black," she said. A skull on the end of it would just be a bit too cliche, which sometimes fit Solomon.

"Mine is this," she added, holding up her hand to show the plain black ring on her finger. "Sort of simple, but fits in pretty well and easy to carry around."

That is kind of stylish and completely devoid of skulls and skullishness, which is promising, but I'm still hung up a little on the part where this means- it means that, right?

"Hold the ouiji board," I say, cocking my head, looking from the ring to Valkyrie. "You're a- wait, I don't want to sound prejudiced against necromancers, I was just assuming they're bad guys with nasty juju, are they not... bad guys with nasty juju?"

"Not exactly."

Valkyrie could understand the sentiment. 'Death Magic' wasn't really a type of magic that made you think that they were out to save the world. And they weren't, they just... okay most of them were really bad.

"I've only studied some Necromancy because- okay, story time. So when my partner and I, the one that's a skeleton, defeated the Lovecraftian horrors, he got sucked through a portal into the world they came from before they invaded ours. So I needed a lot of help to get him back and a Necromancer I knew thought I was their like... chosen one or something, their Death Bringer. So not the Death Bringer, by the way. They use the power of death to control shadows. And they don't go around killing people to get more power, either. Mostly."

"...okay, that's not so bad, then," I say, once I've worked out that it is. Magic people and their portals into horror dimensions. That's what did Doc Strange in, in the end. Magic portal, bam, no more Doc Strange. Add him to the list of that disaster's badness.

"So it's kind of a bad rep from the name. And also that their chosen one is called the Death Bringer. Is it wrong if I'm a little relieved to not be on a date with someone rocking the title Death Bringer?"

I pause, lean out from the shelter a little, holding out my hand to see if there are indeed drops of rain falling. "...especially since your meteorology is on the mark. I dub thee... Rain Bringer."

"Not wrong at all. Especially when it turns out the Death Bringer's job was to kill a third of the population all at once. Basically, clogging the spirit tunnel so that no one could ever die again."

It had upset her when she learned about that. Not that the Necromancers were planning on that, but that Solomon and some others thought that she could be convinced to do that. Did she really seem like the kind of person who could be convinced to do that?

There were more pleasant things to think about at the moment though, such as the fact that it was actually raining.

"Excellent. It's going really pour for a bit, but the lightning further out is amazing. Also, if you're afraid of thunder, I will totally pull the 'I will hold you close' card."

That defintely qualifies as bad juju. Any group who can draw up a 'kill a third of the population' plan and not think, 'hey maybe we should hold up a second here, turns out we're completely wackadoodle,' probably has some deep flaws as an organization.

So I'm more than happy to move away from that particular maniacal plan issue back to the flirting thing. Which is... nice. No, that just sounds indifferent, it's kind of swell. I may be unsure where I stand with respects to relationships as a whole thing, but I can take back flirting. I might not know if its going anywhere or if I want it to, but it's still fun, right? Maybe I'm overthinking, maybe just boil it down to... it's a good date, I like Valkyrie, even if she knows some crazy folks.

"I am suddenly developing an intense fear of thunder," I say, affecting a quizzical expression. "Weird."

"Well, I wouldn't be a very good date if I just left you to cower in fear now, would I?" asked, arching an eyebrow at Jessica before scooting just a bit closer.

Really, she had no idea how to go about this. Usually it was the guy who was the one that wrapped their arm around the girl but since they were breaking down all sorts of gender norms, Valkyrie supposed she should be the one since she was the comforter.

The old yawn-and-stretch technique was right out. Effectively cheesy under the right circumstances, she really didn't think that was necessary here. Probably fortune-favors-the-bold would go best.

Reaching over, Valkyrie wrapped an arm around Jessica and pulled her a bit closer.

"Don't worry," she said with a wink. "I'll hold you close."

Another thing that's new, since obviously in my inherited memories Peter's generally the one doing the arm thing. Not that I think I'm incapable of arm things -- that is a terrible way of putting it -- since I don't intend to be Ginger Rogers at all times. I can lead. Just... you know. Not right now, because I'm still finding my footing.

Which, actually, means maybe I shouldn't be dancing backwards? It's not a perfect analogy.

"I feel safer already," I say, leaning sideways into her a little, shifting my arm out of the way and around her back, which seems like a good compromise on the who-does-what front. "And as it turns out, you're actually a pretty swell date, Valkyrie Cain."

"So are you, Jessica Drew," she said, smiling at the way the other girl leaned against her. It was nice in a way that she didn't have to over think or analyze.

The rain really started to pour down, but fortunately the roof remained leak proof for the time being. Which was good, because the lightning storm off in the distance was amazing. No matter how much magic she saw, nature never ceased to amaze her.

"This is what I was hoping we could see."

The shelter can officially be called a shelter, I think, since we don't seem to be in imminent danger of being soaked. Although given the general level of sweltering heat, that wouldn't be entirely terrible.

Still, shelters in the middle of the rainstorm do have that nice coziness about them. Plus, it's a heck of a view.

"Dinner and a show," I say, watching the lightning strikes. Nature is frickin' amazing. "Did you know each of those is superheating the air around it to be hotter than the actual sun?"

"I didn't know that," Valkyrie said. It was kind of a cool fact and one that could potentially prove useful some day if she needed something that was hotter than the sun. Science was pretty cool.

"You'd think the atmosphere would burn up with that sort of heat."

Surface of, technically, but provisos kind of weaken what is still a neat fact; really, the surface of the sun is still a hell of a milestone to be beating.

"It does, a little!" I say. "Sort of. The heat expands it outwards in a supersonic shock wave, which is what's making that sexy rumbling sound we call thunder."

"So how come it's a rumble," Valkyrie asked, suddenly realizing she had all sorts of questions about lightning that she never knew she had. She felt they were safe to ask too, not common knowledge things she'd have learned if she went to school on the island. Jessica knew them because Jessica was brilliant.

"I mean, other explosions are more of a boom or like a whip breaks the sound barrier and it cracks."

"Good question," I say, warming to my subject, and the chance to drop some science to my captive audience. She seems receptive, that's cool, she even asked the question. I dig it. "Solid thinking. The whip's kind of a good starting point, because it has a tip, right? The end. The thing about lightning is that it's coming from the whole thing, it's a line stretching up to the clouds." I wave my hand in front of us, up and down, then pointing at the top of a convenient lightning strike.

Field trips are awesome. Or... dates with a dash of field trip are. "Which are further away, yeah? So you get the noise from the part closest to you first, and then the rest rolls in gradually."

"Rumble is sound coming at different times, that makes sense," Valkyrie said with a nod. Jessica seemed to be getting excited about the subject, or enjoying it at least. She guess if she heard several sonic booms slightly spaced apart it would sound like rumbling thunder.

"And can you really tell how far away lightning is by counting how long between the flash and the thunder?"

For Jessica

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