we travel far and wide

[dark_light]

It has been - a few days. There are long silent snuggles with Kas. There are tentative chats with Helen, which go encouragingly. There are difficult and uncomfortably revelatory conversations with her parents. There are heaps and heaps and heaps of things to catch up on, read, check, look into, so she can regroup, reappear, resume work.

She hasn't slept with Kas since coming home. She loves him, and she'll be feeling like it eventually, but not right away.

She's sort of restless after a few days of not having sex, though. Let's see. There's a couple new Jokers she hasn't tried, although one is not shaped in an Amariah-amenable way. And maybe that's a little too close to what she's waiting on, anyway.

Pattern's boyfriend isn't a Joker and is amenable to being loaned out, she has heard.

[Hey, Jane...]

Comments

[tearingup]

[Not very well.]

[dark_light]

[His soul walked up to you and solicited petting. There are special cases - Jokers in particular are special cases - but the overwhelming majority of daemons literally never do that, and the ones that do save it for their very, very favorite people in the world. And he didn't ask and he did it in front of me, which suggests he's not just checking to see if it's okay - which it could have not been.]

[tearingup]

[Yeah, I know all about Jokers being special cases. But... well, he's Rayne. It's not all that surprising when I think about it. Same reason I knew he wouldn't freak out too hard that I don't have a daemon. I'm not the me he knows, but I'm still me. Rayne lives a very me-focused life.]

[dark_light]

[Okay.]

[tearingup]

So.

Ripper pets the cat.

Rayne stares at Path.

[dark_light]

Path stares right back. Amariah, though, closes her eyes, and prompts Jane to deliver reading material by brainphone while they wait for the local Ripper.

[pythbox]

The kettle clicks.

"Tea's up," says Rayne. He goes and pours two cups, and brings Ripper his, and then he sits down with his own and says, "So how'd you two meet?"

[dark_light]

"He's dating one of my friends," says Amariah.

[tearingup]

Rayne glances at Ripper. Ripper smiles. Rayne raises his eyebrows. Ripper laughs. After a moment, so does Rayne.

[dark_light]

[What just happened?]

[tearingup]

[He wanted to know what this friend of yours thinks of the fact that I've slept with you. I told him she's fine with it.]

[dark_light]

[Reminds me of watching Sherlocks have entire conversations with their posture,] snorts Amariah.

[tearingup]

[Rayne can read me like a book. Always has.]

"Anything you two want to share with the class?" Rayne says dryly.

[Case in point,] laughs Ripper.

[dark_light]

"We're telepathic," smirks Amariah.

[tearingup]

"Ooh," says Rayne. "There's a trick."

"Do I want to know what you're thinking right now?" says Ripper. Rayne just laughs.

[dark_light]

Amariah snorts. [Do you think your alt would care if I looked in on him to see if he's almost here as reported?]

[tearingup]

[Yes, definitely, don't.]

[dark_light]

[All right.] She conjures her own cup of tea and sips it.

[pythbox]

Rayne studies her thoughtfully.

"Why are you here?"

[dark_light]

"Along for the ride. I can leave if I'll only be in the way."

[pythbox]

"Really," he says. "It's a bit much for me to believe that you came back from the dead just to watch my best mate fuck himself."

[dark_light]

"Wasn't planning to supervise that part. Also, wasn't dead."

[pythbox]

Rayne grins.

"Aren't you, though? I know I am."

[dark_light]

"That's between you and them."

[tearingup]

"That means, don't start selling tickets," Ripper says helpfully.

"Me? I would never," says Rayne, mock-offended. Ripper laughs and pets his lapful of purring cat.

Someone opens the front door and walks in.



And just sort of stands there, utterly stunned.