|
Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2015 17:42:06 GMT
Jonah listened quietly to her answer, his face showing no signs of what he was thinking. Well, that wasn't necessarily true. Clues to what he was thinking were everywhere but it took someone who knew him incredibly well to tell what it was. The ever so slight arching of a brow, the briefest hint of a down turned lip, a ghost of a smile visible for only a second, they were all almost imperceptible hints.
So he was right then, she was far too young for the burdens placed on her. He had just turned 20 and was only 3 years older than her but still he couldn't imagine having to deal with all those people all the time, stressing to try and make sure everyone was okay. He scooted over some, pulling some of the large blanket free of himself, offering it to her. "You're colder than me." Was all he said, making no comment on what she'd said about wanting her life story. He didn't really want it, or need it and he certainly wasn't going to ask for it. But he would listen if she offered it.
"I'm 20." His short response came after a brief silence while he pondered through his own thoughts.
|
|
District Thirteen
bisexual
Sexuality
Airron won't leave me alone
Relationship Status
District 13 Military Commander
Occupation
|
Angel
Offline
Virginia time
Tag me @jasminforte
|
|
Post by Jasmin Forte on Feb 17, 2015 18:11:15 GMT
Jasmin grabbed a fistful of the blanket and draped it around herself. "Thanks," she said curtly, and then pondered, "you look older." Must be the beard. Makes Nixon look older too. She thought. She leaned into the high, air-stuffed mattress to rest her back. "You can go ahead an' sleep. I'll keep an eye on things." She wasn't too great at sleeping, anyway. It was no bother.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 18:41:34 GMT
Jonah shrugged his shoulders slightly, not saying that he didn't feel tired. To those who knew him, the shrug would have said it all. If Jasmin didn't understand, she'd just have to try. It usually took people a couple weeks before they were really comfortable talking with him. He was used to it and honestly, he didn't mind it. It made people have to try harder so only the people who really wanted to know him ever stuck around long enough to learn how.
"Everyone says I look older. It's the beard." He said after a long moment of silence between the two of them. Sleep wouldn't come for him tonight, he knew, not with the pain coursing up and down his leg. He didn't mention any of that either though. There was nothing more either of them could do for his leg, no point in bitching and moaning about it.
|
|
District Thirteen
bisexual
Sexuality
Airron won't leave me alone
Relationship Status
District 13 Military Commander
Occupation
|
Angel
Offline
Virginia time
Tag me @jasminforte
|
|
Post by Jasmin Forte on Feb 19, 2015 23:12:48 GMT
Jasmin sat in almost complete silence for several hours, occasionally beeping in for random checks with her soldiers or wrapping her hair in various knots. First a standard bun, then a french braid, then dutch, then four strand until her arms were as sore as after a cardio work-out. The feeling of fingers intricately creating various styles was soothing. It was almost as good as sleep.
Almost.
--- TIME SKIP --- Everybody loved a good party. Especially a group of homesick, always-working soldiers. While they were at war, it was all work and no play - much unlike being at base, where everything was much more relaxed and food wasn't rationed so meticulously. It wasn't really much of a party besides the bottles of alcohol piled on the kitchen table. Whiskey, beer, and a teeny bottle of wine for the faint of heart.
Everybody was gathered 'round the kitchen, buzzing with anticipation and delighted conversation. There were no decoration, no cakes or appetizers. It was a party for the underdogs; the men away from home - away from children and significant others.
Pike was hunched in a corner, pouting partially because he wasn't allowed more than a glass of wine (when he was once a stealthy whiskey shooter), and Delainey close by, grinning like a venomous snake, waiting for her opportunity to strike at the table of alcohol.
The only thing that was missing was the woman of the hour, who'd spent the last hour locked away in her room. Nobody was quite sure of what she was doing (cleaning her guns?) (Doing her hair?), but they didn't seem too fazed. They were just enjoying the atmosphere, even with the full house they had, including the newcomer, a deadly quiet man with an envious spout of blonde facial hair.
It'd taken Pike and another soldier to get Delainey from practically leaping on him. However charming she was, her flirtation was...unconventional.
Pike was just about to pound on her door, his fist cocked, but the door pulled back. "Hello!" Jasmin said, grinning as she slipped past him, pointedly attempting to whip him in the face with her long, higher-than-the-clouds pony tail, tucked neatly at her neck. He wrinkled his nose and gave her a gentle shove. He hadn't seen her so perky in awhile. The mood coursing through the house seemed to be uplifting to almost everyone.
He quickly assessed her face, brows raised as he took long strides beside her. He was surprised to see that her eyes were dark and smudgy with shadow, her lashes coarse and dark, and her complexion even and subtly bronze. She didn't wear much make-up nowadays, as anything that was dark or unnatural was against dress code.
Jasmin adjusted her shirt, which would've been considerably baggy and masculine if not for the knot tied at the front of it. It wasn't quite cropped, especially above the mid-waisted, fashionably loose, cuffed denim pants. Her feet were bare, besides a pair of knit grey socks that fit like a glove but warmed like a slipper.
The past week had been something hectic - especially with another mouth to feed. There'd been a significantly diminished food supply the past few weeks, so anything Jasmin could do to brighten their dreary days, she did.
She silently snailed into the doorway between the kitchen and living room, her shoulder leaned into the frame. "Don't wait for me, y'all. Pour yourselves a drink." She greeted, wrapping a hand around her pony tail to smoothen it.
"Hey, wait a minute, wait a damn minute. Ain't this a celebration for the Commander here? Shouldn't we, like, have a toast or somethin?'" Delainey spoke up. She had a way of gathering people's attention.
A murmur of approval rose, and everyone slid a glass toward them. Some shot glasses, and some well-crafted wine glasses. After the toast, the party really picked up...
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2015 22:00:09 GMT
Jonah had been more than hesitant about following Jasmin back to her people's place but with the condition his leg was in, he couldn't afford to refuse. It was either that or lose the leg, which he couldn't afford. He'd been taken to a soft raven haired woman as soon as they'd arrived and activity had exploded, people running about in all directions with an excited air. The commander was back and she'd brought a silent giant with her.
He'd learned quickly that the raven haired woman was Kestrel and she was under the protection of Pike, a sickly looking but solid man who was always hanging around almost protectively when the doctor was treating him. She was horrified with the burns but she'd been saving some Capitol medicine for something really bad like this and so, she's been able to patch him up. He got on well with Kestrel. She was quiet and kind, reminded him of someone he'd loved, someone he'd lost. Everyone else, he could have done without. Delainey frightened him a bit actually and he kept finding himself looking for Jasmin but the commander was a busy woman.
Now he found himself slightly gawking at her in awe as she stood beautifully in front of her gathered soldiers. Hers was an unconventional beauty, but a strong and vibrant one. Everyone gathered seemed bursting with excitement and then they decended on the alcohol and Jonah lost sight of the fierce woman he'd shared a bunker with. He leaned back against the far wall, staying back and away from the thronging crowd of alcohol drinkers. A small figure with long dark hair detached from the group and danced it's way towards him. A glass of whiskey was pushed into his hand, soft smile thrown at him, and then she was dancing away, two glasses of wine in hand where she joined her lover. He looked down in shock, surprised the doctor had remembered what he'd said about being a whiskey lover in one of their short conversations while she treated him.
He grinned, shook his head, and took a long drink.
|
|
|
Post by Jasmin Forte on Mar 6, 2015 22:46:06 GMT
Jasmin tried to let Jonah adjust with as little guidance as possible. She figured it was the last thing he wanted. There wasn't room for coddling. Even children had to learn the ways of war. She was quiet for awhile, just smiling with a dreamy sort of air about her - that is, until the party tricks started. A lot of the soldiers came from rickety pasts, so they'd picked up a few tricks along the way. Nothing fancy, just mainly balancing shot glasses on their heads and playing with small flames.
It was all mediocre, cheery games...
until Delainey decided to one-up the tipsy soldiers. She'd produced a butterfly knife - all smooth, oil spill looking chrome and dangerous blades that flipped like lethal hinges of a scissor. A wide circle had gathered around her. This was extraordinary. Hardly any of them had played with any gang-related weapons.
"Jesus, Delainey, what're you going to do with that? Flip it at someone to scare them off?" Pike choked on his laughter. He was impressed, but he didn't show it. Not for something so violent.
Delainey set the blade down in a flash and butt her elbow into Pike's ribs - albeit gently. She wasn't as cold and she looked. And damn if she didn't have a soft spot for that kid.
Jasmin eyed the knife pensively, then looked up, a smile tilting her mouth upward. She snagged the blade while the gang member was still distracted. She clutched one of the handles and launched it into the air with precision, letting it float and curl with several metallic "clicks" above her, her hand reaching out to snag a handle quickly. She hesitated a fraction of a second and nearly dropped it when the blade skimmed by her index finger, dangerously close.
"Damn, J. Where did you learn that?" Delainey beamed.
The blonde shrugged, uncharacteristically quiet as she danced the blades around her fingers without much thought. She had little to no skill with knives in combat, probably because she'd jogged her memory with pointless scare tactics. "A friend." She finally said, not trying to give away her past affiliation with a once-murderous gang.
A few "what the fucks?" and hearty, slurred chortles raised from the circle.
"But you still couldn't hit a tree five feet in front of you," Pike teased, earning another burst of laughter. None of them had ever felt so comfortable with teasing the higher-ups. This little celebration was helpful for more than just the tired soldier's spirits.
Jasmin snapped the blade shut, eyeing Pike with ferocity, her brows raising with contempt. "That's cute. You want to be the tree so I can test that theory?" She cracked a smirk, eyes glossed from her buzz. She felt a sort of melancholy from setting the blade down, but she couldn't really isolate herself all night and twirl the twin blades, especially not with Jonah - the black sheep - present.
"Hey, I'm personally not afraid of a little girl." Pike teased. Even though it was entirely satirical, it earned him several side-eyes from the female soldiers.
"Kes, put your boy in place before he gets his skinny ass beat by seven girls."
Jasmin mentally counted the number of girls present. "Eight." She corrected.
"Yeah, but you don't count." Delainey waved a hand at her dismissively.
The blonde's jaw fell. She put her hand to her heart, attempting to appear stricken. She inched toward Jonah. "Jonah probably thinks I count as a girl!" She scowled, settling a respectable distance from the bearded man.
"Wellll, he also doesn't know you," Delainey sipped her whiskey like it was a warm mug of hot chocolate in an, 'oops, I did it again' motion, her eyes rolling.
And then the conversation dissipated, and several more emerged. The Commander chose to stay quiet and focus on her drink. She didn't want to appear too inebriated, but she was feeling the buzz strongly. Her tolerance had dropped several notches. It felt like her first time drinking. "You consider me a girl, right?" She finally asked Jonah, tapping one of her feet to give herself something to do.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2015 22:33:40 GMT
Jonah watched all the happenings with an amused and easy air, a deep chuckle rumbling up from his lips every now and then at something someone did. He still wasn't exactly comfortable with everyone there and everything that was happening in his life. He'd been severely injured by the acid fog and he was still recovering. Even with Kestrel's medicine, it would be a slow one. So he was stuck here with all these people that he barely knew but it wasn't so bad. He liked a lot of them and most were nice enough.
He chucked again, his eyes turning to look Jasmin over, a crooked grin finding his lips. She was the only person he was really comfortable with despite not seeing her much since their return. She'd helped him when she didn't have to and that was something he respected and trusted.
"Yeah, kind of, anyway." He teased with a grin in a clipped tone. It would be hard for most people to tell that he was even teasing.
|
|
District Thirteen
bisexual
Sexuality
Airron won't leave me alone
Relationship Status
District 13 Military Commander
Occupation
|
Angel
Offline
Virginia time
Tag me @jasminforte
|
|
Post by Jasmin Forte on Mar 8, 2015 23:22:13 GMT
Jasmin bat her lashes and narrowed her eyes, which would've looked ridiculous if she hadn't been half-sober. "Oh, ha-ha," She almost butt into his shoulder gently, but she decided against it. She didn't know the extent of his friendliness toward her. "You should smile more-" She said with a nod, and then slithered off toward Pike and Kestrel. She was intercepted halfway there by a heavy-lidded brunette.
The two girls smirked and ducked through the crowd, which didn't seem to stir anyone's attention. But there was a look of worry in Delainey's eyes. "C'mon, I'll see if I can dig up another knife for you," She said warmly as they passed Jonah.
Jasmin pulled away for a half-second to grasp Jonah's arm. "Go talk to people! Kestrel and Pike really dig you," She shifted her gaze toward the couple, who were lovingly arm-in-arm, swaying and grinning like they were the only two people in the room.
I wonder if I'll ever feel that way again, Jasmin thought, an overwhelming mass of sadness suddenly looming over her head like a rain cloud, dousing her with drops of memories. She forced her eyes away from the two and followed Delainey into her room she'd been sharing with Jasmin.
They left the door cracked, but were mindful to keep quiet. The commander was seated on the bed, swinging a knife with mild enthusiasm, her eyes deadset on her finger's movements, but her heart in the conversation. She wiggled her toes and pushed her feet over the edge of the bed so she could sit upright. Pulling herself up, she met Delainey's gaze.
"Hey, Jas? What if Nixon decided to take Felix and his siblings out...what if he were to hypothetically," Delainey warned, stretching her arm out at a straight angle, her hand flat in a "calm down, calm down" sort of gesture, "kill them as a warning to the Capitol? What if... he made that decision?" She folded her balisong knife and tossed it onto the bed, replacing it with her iced glass of whiskey.
Jasmin's mouth twisted in a knot, like she was deep in thought. But the answer came to her without any consideration. She waited a few beats so she wouldn't seem to be too cut-throat. "I'd kill him, and the alliance would be over." Blood for blood. She thought, ice creeping her veins. She set her knife down, massaging her arm (like it would help warm the ice that ran to her heart.)
She looked up from the folded knife, expecting a response, but instead all she saw was an object flying by her head. She craned her neck slowly, eyes narrowing at the shattered mass of glass that was littering the floor, clear across the room. She's got a good arm. She noted mentally, her lips paling as she whipped her head back toward the fuming brunette.
"Don't you ever give me that shit, you fucking psycho...ughhh..." Delainey clenched the fist the glass had just been in. "You won't have the chance to put a hand on him."
"He trusts me. He loved me," Jasmin kicked her feet. She wasn't trying to instigate an argument - she just had a moment of drunken weakness, "nobody'd have time to react. It wouldn't happen, anyw-" She was beginning, tone pointed and sure, but she never got to finish, because the criminal was lunging at her, arm cocked.
And a fist connected with her face.
Meanwhile, Pike had dragged Kestrel over to Jonah after meeting his friend's gaze. It didn't take much dragging, considering her softness toward the gentle giant - a different softness from the rest of the soldiers, except, perhaps the Commander. He'd never understood her ability to read people.
But he couldn't help but feel an inkling of restrained jealousy. He didn't really have any problem with their companionship - it was just his protective nature to keep his flower in battle armor safe. He had an arm draped loosely around Kestrel's collar bone, and a mostly untouched glass of wine in his free hand. He wanted to diss it so he could have another hand on her, stroking her arm or grasping her hand...
"So," he quipped, "how do you like it here? Taking to any of the girls? I heard Delainey's into y -" He couldn't pretend to be serious any longer. A feeble snort escaped him. "Hell, she'd go after an enemy soldier if ya' didn't stop her. What? Was that rude?" He asked with fake concern, and then cracked a grin.
"I'm just kiddin'," He stated, "how're you holding up?"
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2015 19:02:32 GMT
Jonah watched as Kestrel and Pike made their way over towards him, his eyes lingering on Jasmin as she left with Delainey before turning back towards the approaching couple. He looked Kestrel over even as her delicate hand lifted, lacing her fingers together with Pike's hand that was draped over her shoulder. He turned his eyes to Pike and gave him a slight grin as the pair came to a stop in front of him.
"Nah, not interested in any girls right now." He said, trying to keep his tone light but it was hard. Whenever these kinds of topics came up, he had the tendency to get dark and shut off. He had a past that not many people knew about. Almost no one outside of his immediate family knew and he was never very happy to bring it up to them.
"And I'm holding up just fine. Thanks to all of you and your lovely doctor of course." He said, nodding towards Kestrel with a smile. Whiskey had a way of loosening his lips and making him a bit more friendly than usual, even though it would take several, several, more drinks to get him drunk. He was no lightweight by any means. Weeks and weeks of angry, depressed, binge drinking had provided him with a high tolerance.
Over the sounds of the party, something reached his ears. Just a slight banging in the direction Delainey and Jasmin had disappeared. He frowned slightly and waited politely for Pike and Kestrel's response before he held up a finger.
"Hey, excuse me for just a second. I'll be right back." He promised with a slight smile and nod of his head. Jonah pushed off the way and shouldered his way through the crowd, a giant parting a sea. He traced Jasmin's path, disappearing through the same doors and then coming up short at the scene he saw.
|
|
District Thirteen
bisexual
Sexuality
Airron won't leave me alone
Relationship Status
District 13 Military Commander
Occupation
|
Angel
Offline
Virginia time
Tag me @jasminforte
|
|
Post by Jasmin Forte on Mar 11, 2015 21:04:15 GMT
Pike looked to the "lovely doctor" of theirs, brows furrowing. "He said more than three words to me. Goddamn, I'm good!" He certainly was oblivious to the muffled crash, or maybe it just didn't strike him as odd. With Delainey around, accidents were frequent, as she was always getting into things. He nestled his face into her neck, pressing a kiss to her jugular.
Jasmin recoiled almost instantaneously, ripping her body off the bed. She bypassed the glass with grace, socked feet sliding on the floor. Ordinarily, she'd be inclined to punch her back, or use some form of violence or venom; but in her inebriated consciousness, she chose flight instead of flight. Her hand grasped her nose, which was leaking sticky crimson pain. A sting flew through her nose, tearing through to her temples, fading out to a throb along the way. "You said hypothetically-" She said with an even sort of anger.
"Is that your plan? To kill everyone that doesn't adhere to your idea of justice?" Delainey was vehement, her anger calculated and viscous.
"What?" Jasmin spewed the word with as much passion as a native German speaker, "this is war, Delainey."
"War isn't killing innocent Capitol people in a science unit! Some of them were innocent. This - this is why children aren't in charge where I come from!"
"But you aren't inclined to choose a side, or even do the right thing. You're a gangbanger, Delainey," Jasmin was talking from under her hand, liquid pooling through her fingers. "I had to save the prisoners in that building!"
Delainey made a disgusted sort of sound. "Just stay away from my family. Everyone around you dies one way or another."
"Get out. Get out, Delainey, or I'll end this alliance and y'all can fend for yourselves. You can come back tomorrow. Just... get out, now-" the hand clasped over her nose was trembling now. She heard a sound of heavy breathing, and her head cocked toward the sound. "Hey." She said lamely, already looking several notches calmer, the dark of her eyes fading into it's caramel candy glow.
Meanwhile, Delainey was gathering her jacket, her hair swiping Jonah's arm as she stomped out of the room without any extra coercion.
"She's a mean drunk sometimes," Jasmin didn't want to remove her hand from her nose and risk staining Kray's old shirt. She couldn't let go of some of his possessions, not as easily as Felix's. It wasn't so much as easy to let go as it was near impossible to return to her old house. She felt numb; unsure of what to say to Jonah that'd explain herself. To the military and the District inhabitants, she was seen as a heroine, but to some of Delainey's people, she was but a crazy little girl that'd grown up with little guidance. They thought of Nixon as a person of high status, but the two in many ways were one in the same.
But where one was all brute force, the other was quick-thinking
Where one was cruel, the other forgiving
They were Yin and Yang, and that's why the military chose the alliance. The dedication between the two groups outlived their differences - but it didn't stop the bickering.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2015 1:44:10 GMT
Kestrel laughed softly and looked up at her lover with a look of pure adoration in her eyes. These days she had a certain glow about herself. Some thought it was the glow of love. But certain others, such as Jasmin and herself, knew it wasn't that. She was pregnant and she hadn't told Pike yet. The knowledge weighed down on her, guilt filling her chest.
"You are great, live, the best. If anyone could get the giant to open up, it would be you." She praised in a soft purr, nestling herself against him at the same time a drunken soldier passed by and grasped her shoulder in a friendly way.
"Here, Kes, have some whiskey. Be a real woman." He slurred drunkenly, sloshing a drink of liquid at her. She laughed softly, retreating further against Pike.
"Oh no, I can't have any alcohol." She laughed, pushing the man gently back along into the crowd, not even noticing her slip up.
Jonah just stood quietly in the door way, his bulky frame taking up most of it. His dark look was centered on Delainey, watching and waiting until she left before he was willing to say anything. The girl swept past him and then he slowly stepped into the room.
He looked over Jasmin for a moment. "You okay?"
|
|
District Thirteen
bisexual
Sexuality
Airron won't leave me alone
Relationship Status
District 13 Military Commander
Occupation
|
Angel
Offline
Virginia time
Tag me @jasminforte
|
|
Post by Jasmin Forte on Mar 12, 2015 2:08:05 GMT
Pike rolled his eyes at the soldier, but something like warning crackled in his eyes. He knew how drunks could get, and although the man had good intentions, he couldn't help but remain predatory. He wasn't over-bearing, nor overtly jealous by nature, but he constantly felt the need to assert his love, for he didn't know how much longer he'd have the opportunity to hold her.
Every second they were apart frightened him. Smooth, confident, hearty Pike was terrified, terrified because he'd once been everyone's right-hand man, but now he could barely take care of himself.
He lifted his head, bushy brows flicking upward. "Why? Is this a medic thing, or a diet thing?" He was still as beautifully oblivious as ever. "Do what you want. We don't need alcohol to have fun." He added after a pregnant (ba dum tsss) pause, lifting a pallid hand to dip a lock of hair behind her ear in a way that somehow made his words feel all the more genuine.
Jasmin thought about nodding, then reconsidered and lifted a heavy, tense shoulder. She let her eyes scan the room, blood slicing into the crevices of her palms in a way that was chillingly familiar. She stooped down to her dresser and fanned through a drawer one-handed, taking a moment to produce a limp, chestnut brown towel. She quickly snapped her hand away, replacing it with the fluffy cotton bath towel. She held it firmly to her nose, letting her head dip forward, the leftover fluid seeping in a light creek onto the fabric. She swiped her hand across it to wipe the blood away.
"'M okay," She said, voice gauzy through the mushed up towel. She pulled it from her nose, which was tipped pink but no longer bleeding. It'd been a crooked hit, so her nose was still aligned. "Just don't take anything people say here to heart. Half of it sounds awful, but there's stories behind everything. It took me awhile to understand that myself - until I had to..." She searched for a way to continue, her eyes rolling toward him, "...had to do somethin' like that myself. We all have reasons."
Away from either two parties were a band of soldiers, clustered around the holographic television set. Normally it was kept off when the Commander was around, to keep her from catching any news on her family's glowing smiled and shared affections with the enemy. But tonight, they were too wasted to care. They wanted to make fun of the Capitol news anchor's unrealistic complexions and mime their wailing, chirpy drawls.
But ir'd be a good thing they did turn it on soon enough...
|
|