♪ EXEC_09/. ♫

[fallbythesword]

[Jacqli appears on the Plane looking even more smug than a cat who caught the canary and the mouse in a single pounce. She's carrying a Hymn Crystal, a brilliantly shining fragment of colorful metal and sparkling crystalline energy. She gives a breath of a laugh, smirks down at the crystal in her hand. It should be obvious just from the way she's behaving that she's up to something.]

I told those fools that I know what I'm doing.

[But anyone paying close enough attention will see the tiniest crack in her expression, the smallest trace of wariness. Because truth be told, she's about to do something that's going to open herself up more than she's ever wanted. And no one had better figure that out, or so help her...!

She looks up, glances around.]

Now, where is he...?

Comments

[decrypts]

[ any time he happens upon jacqli when she has that look on her face, he gets the feeling that he might need to be worried about something. ( because let's face it … she's a pretty intimidating little thing when she wants to be. when she isn't too busy tsuning at everything that crosses her path, that is. )

he happens across her just as that last little bit comes out of her mouth, and regardless of whether it's him she's looking for, he's going to treat it as such. ( why do you put up with him, huh? )

york grins on his approach, gaze slipping to the crystal she holds and remembering another time when she had come to the plane with such a thing, though … those had been completely different circumstances.

he hopes. ] Not lookin' for me, are you?

[ of course you are! ]

[fallbythesword]

[Nope. No need to worry. She's not about to use the song in her hands to take over a major security droid. Oh wait, yes she is. ..... What?

She turns when she hears him, watches his gaze flick down to the crystal in her hands, and she... hesitates, actually. But with the smallest little shake of her head, she looks up to him.]

Yes, actually. I need a you to do something for me. [Pause, for thought...] The mansion, or the bathhouse...?

[decrypts]

[ girlfriend … what on earth are you about to do?

( york … haven't you learned yet that asking that kind of question is a bit dangerous? jeez, boy.

he doesn't ever think he'll be used to jacqli asking him for things, because it's never happened before, thank you so much, so when she pipes up with that, he doesn't quite know what to say.

so he'll just be looking at her blankly for the span of a couple of seconds before he figures out how to make his mouth work again. ] You need me to do somethin'? [ what fresh hell is this. ]

Uh … okay. I get to know what it is first before I agree, right? [ waiting for delta to bring in his two cents' worth of input in three, two … ]

[fallbythesword]

[Save the day. :|b

She quirks an eyebrow at his skepticism. She can't blame him, if she's honest, but still.]

Yes, I do. It's something I can't do by myself. And of course I'll tell you what it is before you agree. How else would you know what I'm asking you to do?

[Duhhh, York~~ ... but the faintest crack of a smirk says she's only giving him a hard time because she can. because it takes her mind off of the gravity of things jksdlf]

But not here. Somewhere private. I suppose the mansion is closer... [She starts that way, motioning over her shoulder with her free hand for him to follow her.]

[decrypts]

[ well, when you put it that way …

he at least feels a little foolish for asking such a thing – because he really does trust her, when it all comes down to it. she just has a way about her, sometimes, that's more than just a liiiiittle bit mysterious and he knows it's entirely on purpose. ( and he knows she's giving him a hard time just because she can. he wouldn't expect anything less from her, truth be told. )

follow he does, keeping in close enough to peer over her shoulder at the crystal, just this side of perplexed. ] Lemme guess … it has somethin' to do with that thing?

[ good job, master of deduction! ]

[fallbythesword]

[She has to be mysterious. She doesn't want to go around giving herself away all the time, thank you very much.

She holds the crystal up a little higher, so he can get a better look at it.]

Yes. It's a hymn crystal, and it has a song inside of it. I need that song.

[More deets when you get inside. Promise. Please don't make her spill deets where someone else could overhear djfkaljs guh.]

[decrypts]

[ unlike some people who tend to be open books ninety percent of the time. gotcha.

he doesn't ask any more questions, just because he can tell that she doesn't want to divulge too much right off the bat – so he keeps quiet, and instead inspects the crystal further. ]

… Is it normal for songs to be kept in crystals like that?

[ he still doesn't really understand song magic. forgive him. ]

[grip_on_reality]

[Menzies spots Jacqli from a short distance away, and she immediately makes her way toward her. her arms are crossed over her chest, her posture tense and her expression weary today; she looks like she's under too much stress to be casual. but she still gives Jacqli a curious look when she sees that crystal--and the woman's eyes searching the Plane] Looking for somebody, Miwa?

[fallbythesword]

[She notices how tense Menzies seems, returns the curious look with one of her own as she nods.]

Yes, I'm looking for Agent York. I'm sure I'll find him eventually. [She tilts her head to one side.] You look like you've exhausted the last of your energy.

[grip_on_reality]

[she frowns thoughtfully] I 'aven't seen 'im today, but I could try to radio 'im, if you want. Have 'im meet you 'ere.

Ah, yeah. [since it's Jacqli asking, the rigidity of her posture relaxes a little; she's comfortable enough to let some of her exhaustion show] It's...a very long story. Large-scale attempted alien coup. [she pauses, thinking about how much to say--and how to do it succinctly. after a moment, she goes into what she hopes is a short but descriptive enough explanation, her voice flat and factual so as not to risk letting out the emotions she's been keeping bound up tightly] They started by targeting people they considered threats. I was one of 'em. [her mouth twitches a bit. she's still not quite sure how to feel about that] Honestly, when you find 'im, you can tell Agent York thanks for me again. If it weren't for 'is healing unit, my blood would be a different colour by now.

But... [and her expression darkens] Between Manchester and London, the assassinations and the attacks that followed, 179 people died. It's over now, but... [she sighs wearily] It's been a hell of a time.

[fallbythesword]

[She shrugs, dismissive.] Waiting doesn't bother me. It means I can take more time before going back to my world.

[Besides, she'd rather listen to you - and that's exactly what she does! Though her expression doesn't change much in the duration, except for her eyes slightly narrowing.]

I'll tell him, but I'm sure he knows. [Figures you probably said it yourself, even. Humans are odd about that.] It's a good thing you're still alive, and that it's over. You're sure about that?

[Lives lost? It happens. No comment.]

[grip_on_reality]

[she nods, not planning to push Jacqli with help she doesn't want. but she gestures at the crystal in her hand] What's going on, anyway?

[at her comment about York, she shrugs, smirking faintly] He does, but it's not like it doesn't bear repeating. I still owe 'im. [whether he agrees with that or not] Unless you think it's a bit much for 'is ego? [because any time York comes up, obviously there has to be teasing]

[but she winces at the implication that things might not be as finished as she thinks. scowling slightly in apprehension, she ventures:] Well, sure as I can be. Those responsible are in custody or...part of the death toll. [guess which one her attacker is!] The BBC's no longer under alien control, and UNIT's already put out a cover story for the whole mess. 'opefully that's one disaster all wrapped up, but I suppose you never know.

Otherwise, I've gotta find a new place to live, but that's not exactly Earth-shattering, is it? [not for anyone other than her, anyway. with a tired sigh, she adds:] Just figured I'd get some sleep 'ere before I get back to work on it. [which is clearly why she's wandering the Plane...in order to sleep]

[fallbythesword]

[She waits for Menzies to finish before she answers anything for herself. And even then, she still has a few things to say first.]

Maybe you never know, but it sounds like a safe assumption anyway. That's good. [Beat.] I don't know how anyone actually finds somewhere to live, so I have nothing to offer there. But you probably have that under control.

[Hey... wandering before sleep can lead to some good sleep, if you ask Jacqli~ No judgment here.]

As for this... [She nods at the hymn crystal.] It's a song. I plan to use it to get us around a particularly annoying security drone. Actually, it will allow me to assume direct control over it.

[tayori]

[ this may be the first time he's voluntarily involved himself with the affairs of anyone else on the plane since he and yosuke had first started coming here, but he's been thinking that it would probably be a good idea to get to know some of the others here – especially ones that have been coming here for quite a while.

he doesn't know how long jacqli has been traveling back and forth between the plane and her reality, but there's a certain look about her that says she knows this place, and knows it well –

and to be perfectly honest, the shining fragment she's holding in her hands is a point of interest that he would like to more closely inspect.

yu peers at her from a distance, close enough for her to hear him when he speaks up but not too close so as to be invasive of personal space, and he coughs to clear his throat, to bring attention to his presence. ]

What is it that you know you're doing?

[fallbythesword]

[She knows this place very, very well. One day, she'll share with someone else just how connected she is to this place - that database she can access with a wave of her hand... But until then, it's her little secret.

She looks up at Yu, casual as anything, and puts her free hand on her hip. She's always initially skeptical of new people. This is no exception.]

Overriding the coding on a security robot. [Beat.] A very large security robot.

[tayori]

[ sometimes, secrets can be good things. and with knowledge of something like that, being connected to this place's database –

maybe that is something she should keep to herself for just a little while longer.

his own gaze is carefully contemplative, the response she gives him not really one he'd been expecting. ( mostly because she doesn't look like someone that would know anything about coding, but then again, hasn't he begun to learn that appearances can be deceiving? ) ]

That sounds like it could be complicated. [ a beat for himself, as well, and he points at the bit of metal she's holding. ] Was it worth the trouble?

[fallbythesword]

It won't be. Once I use this hymn crystal, I'll have exactly what I need to make it stop.

[She follows his pointing, cocks her head a little to the side as she looks the crystal over for herself.] But... yes. It's definitely worth the trouble.

[tayori]

[ aha.

every answer she gives him is just as cryptic as the one before it – possibly because he has no idea what she could be talking about in the first place – but so as not to be too particularly invasive, he keeps his questioning to a bare minimum. ]

It looks like a paperweight …

[ hey. you've played the game.

he has some really interesting observations sometimes.

leave him be. ]

[fallbythesword]

[Good. Don't go asking questions, don't nose into her life. She has to do her best to keep people on the Plane from mucking up her world even more than she's allowing with these mergers, and all. How's she supposed to help keep the planet from dying if this place keeps changing things? Ugh.

But that's a whole other set of incredibly conflicting and very troublesome thoughts that Jacqli likes to pretend aren't really issues. (She's so very good at that.)

A... paperweight.

Congratulations, Yu Narukami, you just got Jacqli to snort in amusement and crack the faaaintest of smirks.]

It's lousy as a paperweight. Too light. I bet I could toss this thing pretty far.

[classed]

[ hey, look who it is!

and what have you got there –

zack steps in, probably just a little too closely, hands braced on his hips as he leans in to inspect that shiny thing she's holding. ( boy, this is none of your business, don't start asking questions. ) ]

That looks important. [ how much do you want to smack him by now? ]

[fallbythesword]

[djsfkla oh my fucking goddess it's you why

She takes a few steps back, glaring up at him while she does so. Dude get out of her personal space what the hell even is wrong with you :|]

It is, for the moment.

[To answer your question: she wants to smack him a lot.]

[classed]

[ because he's going to be everywhere for the foreseeable future and you're just going to have to deal with it.

he backs up a bit when she does, because he does, belatedly, realize that not everyone doesn't particularly care what that thing called personal space is, but he's still grinning, still looking at what she's holding in her hands.

nothing is wrong with him! what's wrong with you? ] What is it?

[ the phrase 'mind your own business' doesn't mean much to him. except when genesis bumps his way into the dmw and gets in the way of limit breaks he actually wants!!!! ]

[fallbythesword]

[Okay. Fine. Fine, she can deal with it. Really. ... She might twitch a little on the inside, but she will behave. Just don't give her any good reasons to set your hair on fire.]

A hymn crystal. It contains the knowledge of a work of song magic from my world, and I'm going to use it.

[She reserves the right to slip into smartass not-answers if you keep this up.]

[classed]

[ pretty sure it's written somewhere that he has to make everyone twitch on the inside upon meeting them for the first time.

and he's still keeping up with the tradition, apparently, because he could probably give you a running estimate on how much he still makes angeal twitch on a daily basis.

he's just curious! can't a guy ask questions about things he doesn't know anything about without getting smartass answers?

she has his attention, though. there's not a whole lot of what she's just said that makes sense to him, so unless she wants him to keep asking asinine questions, she can feel free to explain more in-depth anytime she likes. ] Ahh, that sounds pretty neat. [ yes, he did just say neat, you leave him be. ] We have magic where I'm from, just not … in the form of songs. [ because he assumes that it's exactly what it sounds like?? ]

[fallbythesword]

[She kind of almost feels bad for this Angeal guy. Then again, if he sticks around voluntarily, she probably doesn't have too much to feel bad for.

And well, he's not... wrong ??? It kind of is exactly what it sounds like ??? Sort of. Anyway, "neat" is still a valid way to put it. He's off the hook there, at least.]

Well, at least you have magic at all. There are a lot of people here who don't even know about that. [Smirk~ And if it's a little smug, she can't help it~]