raisetheearth | Network, Action; Open and Closed prompts;

Entry tags:

Network, Action; Open and Closed prompts;

[A - Network; Video; OPEN]

[Lily greets the Network with a smile and a nod. Though there's a few scratches here and there, she seems to have survived the dinosaur mishap in one piece.]

Hello, everyone. I hope that everybody who ran into the trouble in Gateway is doing alright, or at least hasn't suffered too badly. We seem to have been able to help get those things herded into one place, at least - it would seem Mr. Factor has issued some help in building up more permanent ways to keep them captive, for the time being.

Between that and the other strange things, however... that goop from last month, ghostly apparitions in Shephard's Haven, and... [She taps her chin and frowns just a little.] I saw a report, a sighting in Locke City of... well, snakes. Large, pink stone snakes, like the ones we fought a long time ago.

[She shakes her head.] That seems impossible, though. The giant snake was killed just as long ago...

[Not to mention Proud.]

I wonder... has anyone else seen anything of note? All of this stuff is happening in such close proximity, it's got to be connected in some way, but it's escaping me.

[B - Locked to Winter; Action]

Gateway City is fine and everything, but Lily's starting to get more than a little homesick. The dinosaurs were under control, and she enjoys having certain people and family in close proximity, but... They'd made a new home in Shephard's Haven, right?

In some way, it feels like they're running again. She can't blame Winter for the fear she expressed, and she can't lie and say she doesn't worry about something similar. What she'd be faced with there... The likes of Dark Precure, or Sabaaku...

A part of her wants to go back, to force the hand of whatever's messing with them this time. To see what will happen and conquer it.

Lately though, she's been rather adamant about a number of things to Winter. She's had to put her foot down in some ways, and expressed great worry in others. She worries a little bit, that she's pushing things. Certainly, it's within her bounds to worry about this stuff, but... she doesn't exactly want to make herself unbearable to work with, either. Bleeding heart that she is, even if she believes herself right, she feels a bit bad about it.

Which may or may not explain the bouquet of flowers sitting in their room that she's finishing tidying up.

[C - Wild Card?]

[Lily's around Gateway City anytime from the Incursion Event until around now; if you wanna run into her on the streets or anything, feel free!]

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As much as Winter might feel like she's at fault, Lily feels just as well that it weighs on her equally. It should, right? If her significant other is uncomfortable, it's her responsibility to do something about it, so she figures. Though a part of her feels like she's not done enough - putting distance between them and the problem doesn't solve it. They've learned that the hard way over the years, and a piece of her knows that's a cycle they can't repeat.

She gives a tiny jump as the door comes open, having been focusing on the flowers and her thoughts. Two things that usually go hand in hand rather well.

Lily spins on one heel to greet Winter, giving a small nervous laugh.

"Oh, nothing much!" she says, and then idly waves a hand to the flowers. "I... know you haven't been in the best mood, so... I thought I'd get something bright and colorful to cheer you up!"

Not to keep her out of any self-imagined dog house because she's worried she's stuck her foot in her mouth at any point over the last couple weeks, no. She wouldn't even.

Oh, is that what it is? Winter giggles, walking over to join her and take her hand. "You know, I'm not mad at you. But I appreciate it, all the same. They're beautiful." She can read this particular mood like a book, and while she feels bad that she caused it, she doesn't want to completely dismiss it, either. "I've made some bad choices this last month or so... I don't disagree with what you've been doing. I've always said, if you don't like something I'm doing, pull me back. So I don't mind. I asked you to keep an eye on me, for the rest of my life, and I'm not going to pout over it."

Thinking back to the last few weeks, she sighs lightly, leaning across to let her head rest on Lily's shoulder. "I've kind of been an impulsive bitch," she admits quietly, "and I need to stop and think things through a little more. You deserve better than that... I deserve better than that.?"

"N- no, I didn't think you were, but..." Lily makes a little sound, as if she's not sure what to say, though she's not, entirely. "I know it's what I should be doing, that you'd... rather I did than didn't, I just don't want to be too overbearing and it's been a rough month and I thought you could use something nice and--"

She's rambling. She realizes it, and quiets down as she feels Winter take her hand, and then place her head on her shoulder. It's relaxing for a moment, and she lets herself breathe, until Winter talks again, and Lily frowns. A hand goes up, to the back of Winter's head, and she sighs.

"Don't you dare call yourself something like that," she says, a little sternly. Lily would destroy someone else on a good day for calling Winter something like that, so it's pretty awful to hear it coming out of the woman's mouth herself. She then continues in a softer voice. "I just... want you to take care of yourself too, Winter. Whether that means not keeping things from me to try and protect me, or... remembering everyone you have around you to help you. Be it me, or Jasmine, or Raye, or whomever. I bottle all those worries up too much myself still sometimes, so I didn't do you any favors hitting you with one thing after another, either..."

Edited 2015-08-29 05:48 (UTC)

She doesn't mind Lily rambling, so much - it means she's relaxing with her again, which is good after everything. They've gone through quite a bit this last month. For a little bit, she'd worried about the pressure it'd put them under, but... things seem okay now.

Until Lily takes issue at Winter's choice of words for her attitude, and she flinches briefly when the rebuke comes out. Frowning, she waits for Lily to finish, since she's apparently already stuck her foot in her mouth today. "I'm working on that, still. I know we had this talk already. I just... changing is hard, after everything we've gone though. I think it's normal to bottle things up, when you get to be crazy strong like us - we can handle everything else ourselves, so why shouldn't we be able to take care of one or two little things?

"But you're right," she goes on. "That's not what our relationship means.. that's not the side of myself I want to show you. I want you to be able to count on me for anything, whether it's a big thing or something tiny. And I don't ever want to make you sad. I'll be able to make you that promise soon... so just hold on a little longer, okay?"

Lily notices the flinch and just about does the same herself. The very last thing she wants is for Winter to feel even worse about herself here, and it prompts her to raise a hand to the other woman's cheek. She lets out a breath, and in an attempt to be comforting to both of them, lowers her head briefly for a quick kiss on the lips. She doesn't let it linger long, even if she'd just like to and forget the necessity to talk, but she hopes its enough to get her message across.

"Mm, I know it's hard. I know you're trying. I'll hold on for as long as I need to, forever if I have anything to say about it... I'm sure you could pick out a laundry list of stupid things on my end, too. But... so long as you realize all that, so long as you can trust me with all those problems, no matter what it is... I think I'm good. I want those problems, Winter, because they're a part of you."

She smiles a little. "I know you'll do what's right, in the end. I just want to be able to worry about you, or else I'll worry worse. If that makes any sense." She laughs a little, her eyes shifting a bit. "And... part of that is, I think... after seeing everything this last month, knowing everything will continue to follow us wherever we go..."

Lily gives a slight sigh. "Winter, we... can't run anymore. I don't want to give up what's ours. Even if it's tough, or we have to face things we're afraid of. We'll get through it. I'm certain."

Winter lets herself relax again a little bit, as Lily kisses her - that much at least means they're still okay for the moment. "At least I don't snore," she manages lightly. "I think you'd be less happy with that." Still, she doesn't want to joke too much, and she shakes her head after a second. "You can worry. I'm never going to begrudge you that. But you're right. We can't run from these things... they'll chase us, if we try. So we need to pick a place... and we need to let ourselves own it. No more running away. I want to go home." The last comes out with a little bit of a request; it's been a little while since they ran from Shepherd's Haven, and while she's still in agreement that Locke is probably a bad idea, their home in New Zealand is still home.

"We're in this together. So... I'll figure myself out. We'll figure this out, okay?"

Feeling Winter relax lets Lily relax, and she nods. "What if I told you that you do, and I was just too nice to point it out?"

She's joking, of course. Right? She feels herself able to smile anyway, so that much is probably a good sign. "I've always said my home is just where my family is, but... I want us to be able to be a family, too. And to do that, we need to stick to our guns. Whatever that entails, but... after all this? I think we're strong enough to do just about whatever we set our minds to. So... we can do that. I'm positive of that, because I have faith in you, in us, and everything we've built up until now."

Oozing sappiness, that definitely shows Lily's feeling better.

"Then I'd call you on it," she follows easily. "You underestimate the power of recording oneself at night." Nope. She definitely doesn't snore. Probably. ~~There's always the possibility of Lily doctoring the recording, but she's not going to think about that.~~

Still, Lily's happy, so she can take it easy. She just needs to not make any careless decisions. "Wherever you want to go, I'll be right beside you. Whether that's because we're going on a trip, or we're going home, or we're going to war. That's my place. That's... where I want to be. We'll carve out a place for ourselves. I want to prove that faith is well-placed. So... yeah." The eloquent speech she'd have produced otherwise dies in her throat, unneeded, and she just smiles and lets herself lean a little more heavily against Lily.

"We're okay?"

Lily lets her lean, and is happy to do it. It's a comfort she's come to expect, and... she's not really sure what she'd do without it. She gives a slight chuckle. "Well, none of us are perfect." A beat. "Except you, I suppose."

She pulls back just slightly enough, so that she can look down at the shorter woman. "We're okay. We'll always be okay, one way or another. I'm pretty sure about that, or we wouldn't have gotten this far. I'll always be there to catch you... so long as you let me." Her eyes sparkle a bit, and she nods. "As much as I love seeing your parents, I think home sounds pretty good, right now."

It's an odd kind of support she's come to depend on - maybe it's a weird holdover from when she'd nearly been killed in the far north - so Winter lets her walls down as Lily yields. "As much as I'd like to preen over that, I know better. If nothing else, I have a weakness to a certain girl with purple hair and enough patience to handle anything I can throw at her." Accurate enough, even if there are a lot of other things she'd mention if she were being honest.

"I'll try not to rely on my own parachute too often," she concedes softly. She knows what happens when she lets herself solve problems she doesn't have the courage to stand up to in the first place. "I'll be depending on you, then. In... more ways than one." Because she's made up her mind on their next move, but it's one that's going to eat at her. "So... if it's all the same to you, I think it's high time we packed our bags. Beds in Gateway are as comfortable as ever, but there's something to be said for sleeping in ours." Although she's going to have to get used to sleeping under a dozen blankets again. Stupid backwards seasons in opposite hemispheres. "Mama will understand. Papa will probably say something stupid so she doesn't say something she doesn't mean." She grins; Rick hasn't changed in a year's time, and his general disposition toward his daughter's partner is about the same, too.

Edited (Whoops, that city is asploded.) 2015-09-10 03:53 (UTC)

"You say you know better, but I also expected that. Modesty suits you, you know." She brightens a little more. "I think I'm fine with that weakness, though." Because really, it's not like Lily's any different on that in turn to the person she's holding.

"Just remember I'm depending on you, too. We keep each other upright. It's what we do." She lets out a breath and nods, her smile widening. "But... good. I'd like to get back before too much dust has had the time to settle on everything there. Anything else that sees fit to bother us can shove off, then." Don't worry about the cold though, Winter - after the last few weeks, Lily's probably got more than enough things pent up you probably won't have to worry about it much, at least not right away. She lets out a breath - relief overcomes her, and she looks as happy as a clam.

"I'm sure he will, but I'm not too worried, there. I think I understand her a whole lot more by this point than I used to."

At the very least, Lily and Winter's mother have a decided mutual interest towards the young woman's well being.

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Network, Action; Open and Closed prompts;

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