House of cards, you fall hard

[anjelsword]

Aniki is by the lake, reading under a streetlight as the day winds down. Her expression is... well. She doesn't look like she's enjoying herself. Eventually, just before true dark, she closes the brown-covered book in her hands and sets it on her lap. She stares up at the bugs bouncing off of the edges of the light, going from silhouette to halo as

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[calicoway]

Luke has been watching her since she threw the book into the water. The sound of it splashing distracted him from whatever he was doing in the park. He steps closer to her, but stands at a relatively safe distance as she hacks away.

When she finishes with this round of destruction, he takes another step or two closer to her. He shifts nervously in the grass.

"You alright, darlin'?" It's obvious that she isn't, but he needs some idea of her mental state before he gets any closer.

[anjelsword]

"Grand," she says. She rubs the inside of her wrist over her forehead. "I'm just grand, my lad."

She laughs again, an angry fountain of amusement. She bends over and picks up the book next to her feet. "I understand it now."

Aniki stares at the cover, her lips pulling into a scowl. "Will. That's how magic works, you know. Desire. A wish. That's what Kora always says. Said."

[calicoway]

Luke takes a few more steps toward her when it doesn't look as though she's going to hit him for it. He comes close enough to look at the book in her hand.

"Kora was... your friend then," he asks, because it seems as if he should say something even if it's in no means comforting and even if he has no idea what she's talking about.

It's getting really difficult to resist the urge to reach out and touch her arm now that he's close enough. She is another stranger that shares a familiar face, however, and considering what happened the last time with the Jack-look-alike, Luke is trying to practice some level of self restraint. He doesn't want his touches to make anyone uncomfortable ever.

[anjelsword]

"Still is. In here." She gives the book a jerky little wave. "Do you suppose I'm dead? Or mayhaps just disappeared. Do you think that's what they wanted when they brought me here?"

She laughs a bit at the irony of it. "Oh, the poor lads and lasses."

Aniki quiets a bit, turning the book over in her hands. Softly, she says, "Why me?"

[magelet_daine]

Daine is nearby. She was curled up as a wolf, trying to feel a pack, any pack nearby, but... nothing. Nothing like the wolf packs she was used to, anyway. It made sense, of course, but she couldn't help wanting to try. She has just finished pulling on her tunic and breeches, and is holding her boots, when she hears Aniki's... outburst.

She moves closer, her eyes wide, and approaches cautiously, like she would an injured animal. "Ma'am? Are you all right?"

[anjelsword]

She snorts a bit, looking at the wreckage, and then raising an eyebrow at Daine. "Oh, indeed. I'm right as rain."

Forgive the sarcasm, Daine. She's... well. Had about the same day as you.

[magelet_daine]

Daine hugs her boots to her chest and flushes. Really, Aniki isn't that much older, a couple or three years at most, but... well. "I... I just meant..." She can't really find words, and she grumbles under her breath.

"Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith, I don't think this day could get worse."

Right. Deep breaths. "I'll just... let you be, then... ma'am." She starts to back away, even if she is worried about this woman's... capabilities.

[anjelsword]

Shock and disbelief break over Aniki's face in the same instant. That's just--no. The gods can't be that dead set on laughing at her.

"What... what did you just say?"

She takes a step toward Daine, then glances at her sword, then scrubs at her face in frustration with her free hand. "Wait, lass. Don't go."

[sinsofskin]

Sometimes Leona goes for walks by the lake. It's not a proper vista, not like she's seen in Europe, but it's as picturesque as the American Midwest is probably going to get, and she's not in the least concerned that it's smack dab in the middle of angel territory.

...judging from that display from that wanderer over there, it's a good day not to be concerned.

She wanders up, half-smiling. The CLF would kill for a display like that - and have. Well, then.

"Someone has no fear," she remarks, strolling up and surveying the damage. "What's got you so hot, girl?"

[anjelsword]

Aniki tenses again, eying Leona with the air of someone who wouldn't care about cutting a person in half any more than she cared for the pillow.

Stupid, she thinks. Stupid, stupid, stupid. When's the last time she let emotion carry her off like that?

"Nothing that concerns you." Leona might notice, she might not--but the blue book disappears from the debris without fanfare.

[sinsofskin]

Fighty, this one. Leona likes her already.

"Neat parlour trick there," Leona says, nodding at the wreckage. "Not the sort of thing wise to do in public, but I get the feeling you're the sort that guns for fights. Can't blame you for that. This city's enough to make your blood boil."

[anjelsword]

"What do you want, lass?" Aniki keeps her voice flat, disinterested. She's had practice. Though there are tics--the way she looks Leona over again, with real curiosity this time. The glances past the other woman at the shadows and the trees where someone might be hiding. She shifts, cants her head to one side in a careless gesture.

"Well?"