High Above [Jackal]

[Vriska]

And if you say this life ain't good enough

I would give my world to lift you up

Adjusting to the life of a ruler was proving to be difficult.

Put another way, Vriska was starting to suspect she was going insane.

So what if she wanted to sell the secrets to how how the city worked? A quarter of it had just fallen out of the f8cking sky! They couldn't afford to rebuild! She wanted to move the Sky Rim into the gap? But she was about to fill it with thieves and vandals! Free trade with the world below? Portals to replace the antiquated cannons? It would only open the city up to filthy land-dwellers and hybrids! Hey, wait, where are you taking me? Let me go! Aaaargh crunch.

After that one they'd learned to be a little more tactful in their outrage. In a way that was worse.

And then there were the people. They came in scores, some begging for audience, some demanding it. Some left happy, others left furious, others spent the night in the dungeon. Already they were throwing around words such as 'dictator' and even 'tyrant'.

Iron-fisted Vriska Seraphine hadn't been to the surface in a month.

She was too busy trying to preach the glory of stairs. Without stairs, she told them, certain people without wings can't get to the higher tiers of the city. There would be dire consequences if stairs were not built, and soon. She'd warned them about stairs.

Today was special, though. Today Vriska would be visited by a ray of sunshine. Her kindasorta friend it was complicated but she wanted to jump her bones, her commander's sister, Jackal.

Shayu.

The throne room was empty. Blessedly, blissfully empty. At first Vriska had managed to fidget on the throne, trying to look regal. But what if that was too intimidating? The last thing she wanted was to scare Jackal away or put any kind of pressure on her. She got up and started pacing, trying to think about this. With every step her hair, brushed and combed until it was smooth and soft as a silk sheet, slowly curled into its default mane of wild curls. Maybe she should have come to Jackal. Would that have been too forward? Was the throne room the right place to start this? What was she even starting here? Would Jackal even come? Was she late? Has she gotten the message?

This would be a long wait.

[Jackal]

x x

Sæglópur

Jackal was beginning to wonder if freedom suited her. Or rather, if freedom to walk about in chains did.

She'd grown used to being away from cities. From people, greedy and small. She'd met such great people, sometimes, like Vriska, but then she had tried to find some sort of normal existence in Castle Town. It hadn't been easy. People still thought of her as a killer--or wild, or a monster, or all three--and those that didn't know her still saw a freak. Everyone saw Minish, after all, but not Minish like that. She'd thought she could maybe try and get some real clothes and wear those around, before she'd just settled on her old cloak again, in frustration. Better that way, so she could hide what she was. She'd found such hiding was necessary. Being able to see her brother again had been ... more difficult than she'd thought, but she had still felt such a great pain leave her heart when she'd seen him again. To know that she'd been able to bring herself back was rewarding. And to know that Rwaht had wanted to see her for all those years, had never believed what so many people had said ... it meant the world to her.

Then Vriska had gone off to the City in the Sky. Jackal didn't resent that. But it had made it hard to keep caring about the world of men. She preferred the wild. She preferred a world where no one could tell her what to do, because she was stronger than anything that might stop her. She missed her world, the one where no one constantly scrutinized her. Truth be told, she was nervous about going to the City in the Sky. Here, there'd be no escape if she found that the walls and eyes were too much. She didn't like walls. And she hated all those eyes.

Especially the Oocca. Puffed up feathered fools. They were so concerned with the property of wings that when they saw hers they all but squaked themselves to death. Yes, she wanted to say, they're on my arms. And look, they can cut, too. They'll cut those pretty feathers off your wings, and then we'll see how yours look without their plumage.

She was only slightly bitter about it. She'd hated the stares in Castle Town where people thought she was something dangerous--they weren't entirely wrong, but she wasn't a beast. She loathed it here, where people thought she was part of some sort of second class. Her cloak was wound tightly about her, enough that most people only saw a typical Minish, with strange ears. No need for them to know about the rest of her fun bits until it was absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, when she'd arrived at the castle, she had been point-blank refused entry, no matter what she had said. She'd come very close to threatening the guards, before she realized she had nowhere to run if they fought her, and she didn't think Vriska would appreciate it if Jackal slaughtered her guards on the steps to her castle, since Vriska had been so opposed to Jackal slaughtering criminals in their slaughterhouse.

So instead of doing that, she'd snuck in. Part of her powers meant that she could control the movement of shadows, so she'd ensnared her own shadow--no one would miss it--and then used it to cover herself in darkness, slipping into the castle at night, and then hiding away by clinging to one of the parapets until the daytime came. It wasn't hard; her feet were incredibly strong, and could anchor in to a good spot for hours at a time. It bothered her that it was particularly batlike, but she tried not to think about that too much. It was just a part of her. Once daylight had come, she'd snuck into the castle walls, moving behind guards, through the gaps in their vision, and clinging to the ceiling and moving about up there when need be. What was amusing was that since the Oocca were so used to ruling the air, they didn't spend so much time looking at the floor. Before long she'd been skulking about on the ground level like a common thief. It was simultaneously deeply depressing to know that she'd been able to penetrate to the depths of the castle's throne room without being discovered. She'd crawled along the ceiling and found a shadowed corner, and hid herself there, watching silently for hours while Vriska held court. It was clear that the Oocca did not approve of their new leader, at least not yet. That made Jackal angry, but she let the anger melt away. It would do no one any good.

She watched as the last callers filtered out, leaving Vriska on her throne, no doubt expecting Jackal. The new Oocca Lord started to pace, her carefully combed hair shaking into that infinitely adorable, tangled mane of hers. She realized, after a while, that she'd been staring at Vriska for a long time. Too long. She grinned, and let her fingers go from the hold she'd found, letting herself fall completely upside-down. Her cloak was tied around her waist, one end of it wrapped around one ankle so that it didn't fall over her head. She took a breath, then let her toes let go, stretching out with her arms and flexing her wings, using them to glide down to the throne room. She was still plummeting like a bullet, of course, but she had control of the fall. She went down sharply, and wound up landed right in front of the throne, gracefully folding her wings back and front-flipping so that she landed in a bow before Vriska. Only the extremely durable--but light--quality of her bones kept it from being dangerous. It hurt, of course, but pain was an old friend to Jackal. She looked up and smiled.

"I always did have a knack for dramatic entrances. By the way, your security is awful."

[Vriska]

At Jackal's landing, Vriska jumped back with what could, by people with a death wish, be described as a loud squawk. She'd been around too many Oocca too damn long.

It took her a while to compose herself and not just stare at the woman she'd most wanted to see since she first found herself on the throne. "Noted," was all she managed to say. It took her a moment to realize she should say something else. She shook her head and smiled for the first time in weeks. "I keep forgetting how amazing you are, Shayu. Thank you for coming. How've you been?"

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal grinned--an action which quite rightly scared most people senseless, but the lack of bared fangs was noteworthy here--and stayed bowing, resting one hand idly on her raised knee and examining the claws on her other hand.

"I've been well enough," she said honestly, purposefully leaving out all the things that had been less than favourable. Vriska didn't need to hear about that, not now. Honestly, she felt a little ... uneasy. The City in the Sky was a strange place, and she hadn't seen Vriska in a long time. For a while she wondered if Vriska would even care much that they'd met, or particularly remember her. Most people did meet an abundance of others in a short timespan, after all. What had seemed so significant to Jackal might've been nothing more than a Knight's duty in Vriska's case.

But now that she was here she didn't quite think that was the case. She even remembered Jackal's name. Hearing someone use it still sent a sort of knee-jerk reaction of how did you hear that name who are you fiery threat etc. etc. through her head, but it was nice to realize that she actually wanted this person to know her name. Even use it.

"I guess I miss nature. But that's natural. Cities stink," Jackal commented, wrinkling her nose. And if the Oocca thought they were different BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUNNY JOKE. She started to get to her feet, shaking out her hair and untying the knot she'd made around her ankle. Her cloak still looked like some sort of hilariously dramatic skirt, but she kinda liked it. Either way, she undid the cloak and tossed it on the floor, perhaps forgetting she was in a throne room. She stretched and yawned, baring those wicked fangs, then smiled as she looked at Vriska.

"So how has leadership been treating you?"

[Vriska]

Jackal's smile made Vriska smile. How did she do that? It was like magic. Jackal stretching did entirely different things to her that momentarily wiped everything else off the table and did unspeakable things on it. Vriska wondered what she must have looked like, just standing there kind of staring openmouthed as all the control she'd been building up in her brief tenure as Lady of the Oocca was stripped away by this one girl.

"About as well as I've been treating it, really," she said at last. "I'm sure it'll come around to see my side of things eventually."

Vriska had an idea. She grabbed Jackal's hand and led her away. "Come with me."

The path they took was simple, their destination was not. Vriska led Jackal to the royal gardens. Though 'gardens' was an understatement. The palace was at the heart of the city, and from it flowed eight rivers in all directions. The source of those rivers was here: A tremendously deep lake, large enough to sail on, that would never run out of water and would never be anything other than pure and crystal-clear. There was a forest, and flower-paths and fields and animals.

This, at least, Vriska did not mind owning.

She turned to Jackal. "What do you think? Worthy of the hero of Castle Town?"

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal didn't say anything, but she wondered if this was best for Vriska. She was strong, but she would never be fully accepted here, and if she was, it would only be after incredible hardship. Moreover, there had to be the threat of rebellion beginning to bubble. People were panicking, trying to deal with a tragedy, and they'd be looking for someone to blame. Jackal didn't intend to let that happen. She didn't know what she could do, but she just knew she was going to do something.

Then Vriska grabbed her hand, and Jackal blinked, following along without any real objections. She assumed--or at least hoped--that Vriska knew what she was doing. When they got there, though, Jackal's eyes went wide, and she walked a little ahead of Vriska, her hand still loosely in Vriska's. Her mouth hung a little open, and it slowly turned into a smile, and she squeezed Vriska's hand.

"This is beautiful," she whispered, walking towards the lake. Then she thought about what Vriska had just said. Hero of Castle To--oh. Jackal blushed a deep red and stammered, "Wh-what do you mean?"

[Vriska]

Vriska smiled, sped up and walked a little bit closer to Jackal. "Well, a white demon shows up out of nowhere and starts killing innocent people only to be stopped by a big black shadow-breathing dragon. News like that gets around. You're a hero."

Walking on her toes, Vriska reached up and gave Jackal a little kiss on the ear. "You're my hero."

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal, normally cool, calm, collected, and so badass that it was her fighting style, was blushing and stuttering like an embarrassed schoolgirl. It would have been exceedingly unwise to point this out. She laughed for a long time, a sort of nervous, stuttering giggle that sounded so idiotic that when she realized it she was even more embarrassed and oh Goddesses. Then Vriska kissed Jackal on her ear.

Vriska had no way of knowing this, but Jackal's ears were extremely sensitive. She sort of shuddered and a hilariously content look washed over her face and out of her mouth came the highly intelligible,

"Hehehehehehehehehehehe okay dammit don't tell anyone about that."


After her little fit she sort of patted her ear down with her finger, and closed her eyes, before she said,

"Heroes don't have to run away from a brigade of Hylian Knights after saving the city, remember?" She shook her head and opened her eyes. "That was a long time ago, anyway. It doesn't matter. I'm not made of hero-y stuff."

[Vriska]

It was starting to dawn on Vriska that she might just kind of maybe possibly have a little huge crush on Jackal.

It started when she'd realized Jackal understood what it was like to not fit in anywhere even better that Vriska, and she fought to control herself and do good and she was so beautiful and she still had to hide everything she was and the way she moved and the way she talked and the look on her face when Vriska kissed her ear was the cutest thing the had ever seen and she was being so silly and she just had to kiss her again.

"Shut up," she ordered her and let go of her hand. "Just shut up and kiss me." And she reached up and grabbed Shayu's head moved up and kissed her again or tried to anyway but their noses bumped and Jackal's fangs clacked against Vriska's shark-like teeth but she tilted her head a bit and slowed down and f8ck propriety because suddenly it was perfect.

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal didn't know why, but suddenly, she panicked. Her limbs seized up and when Vriska pushed their heads together in the beginning she was just sort of too stunned to do anything about it, her overlong fangs clashing with Vriska's mouthful of daggers.

whatwhatwhat

Her brain started to shut down, and suddenly she grabbed Vriska by the shoulders, pulling her lose, kissing Vriska hungrily, suddenly getting more aggressive before--

Woah calm down. She blinked and got her head back in order, calmly taking a step back from Vriska. She realized that her eyes had been glowing, though now it was fading. She saw there were marks on Vriska's good shoulder, from Jackal's claws. She backed away slowly, taking staggering steps. She'd almost forgot who she was again, but this time, it had been different. It wasn't rage, or cold, predatory cunning that had triggered it, but something else entirely. And she'd hurt Vriska.

"I ... I'm sorry," Jackal muttered, looking at her claws. On one of her hands, there was just the barest bit of blue blood dripping from the nails. She smiled apologetically, trying not to let the worst of it get to her. It was just one of those little fun bits of life. There'd been nothing she could do about it.

There never was.

[Vriska]

Vriska's twisted hybrid heart at rest beat three times for every one human heartbeat at rest. Now, with Jackal kissing her with just as much want as Vriska was and she pressed herself close and was taken she could have sworn it was going to explode in her chest and she could die happy because she was kissing fire and fire was kissing back.

Five sharp electric shocks to her system pulled her back down long enough for her to realize that something was spiraling out of hand and as Jackal's grip tightened she moaned into her mouth and wasn't quite sure if she should break off or carry on and risk being torn apart because each one was equally bad but the last one was much more tempting and wait where did she go

It took Vriska a moment to get back down to earth even though they weren't technically on the ground focus here her shoulder was starting to burn and there were little blue stains appearing on her royal suit which was okay because it was a ghastly garment anyway.

As Jackal stepped away Vriska followed her because she still didn't really want to stop touching her and was wondering if she'd ever be able to keep her hands off her ever again. "Don't be," she told her. "It's not so bad. I'm the one who should have kept control of myself."

Taking Jackal's hands in her own, Vriska looked her in the eyes. "Every hybrid is different in some way. You've got a stronger predator instinct, I grew a new eye and am allergic to shellfish. And I'm not sorry. You're worth so much more a scratch or three."

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal laughed a sort of self-conscious, poisoned laugh, and waved her hand, the one that had some of Vriska's blood on it. The look on her face was sad, sadder than she normally let it be, but at least she stopped backing away. That was something.

"Predatory instinct? Try all the instincts. Whenever I get too angry, or ... well, whenever I'm around you, every now and again something just sort of shuts off," Jackal explained helplessly, waving her hand as she spoke. She didn't want to admit it, but something in her was trembling with a mixed self-hate, nervousness, and sadness. She was starting to realize that she had no way how to comport herself in regular society where you had to touch people every now and again, mostly because she was barely capable of touching people without injuring them.

"You're the first person I've met in a long time that's, well ... someone I feel like I want to know. Someone I don't want to stop knowing. But I don't know if I can even be around people, Vriska. I mean, just look at me," she said, flexing the wings on her forearms to demonstrate. "I mean ... back at Victor's hideout, I didn't even stop to think about killing all those men, and I nearly killed Victor himself just because I was so ... well, wild. You were the only thing that helped me back. Maybe I'd be better off back in the wild. There, I didn't have to worry about hurting anyone."

It sounded like the stupid melodrama of a child even as she was saying it. But it rang of truth, and she hated that. She just didn't know what to do.

[Vriska]

Vriska just shook her head. "I refuse to get into some kind of d8ck-measuring contest with you about who's the biggest freak with the biggest issues." It had taken her a while to learn that those always just put everyone in a horrible mood and sort of ruined what had the potential to be a wonderful day. Vriska reached up and put her one still-living hand on Jackal's cheek.

"I want you here, now, and nowhere else because when you're around I don't want to gut-shoot everyone who looks at me wrong. I don't want you hiding in some forest because your place is right here, right now, with me, and if I can hold you 8ack from ramp8ging then you can 8loooooooody well see th8t I'm your 8est option. Sh8t." As Vriska let more of her feelings bleed into her voice her accent had started to show, turning her words into a tangled mess of extended syllables and clicking B's and the closest thing to a bird's whistle her hybrid mouth could produce.

She took a moment to control her breathing, clearly embarrassed, and drew back from Jackal's face and crossed her arms. "I want to know you too," she said, carefully enunciating each word. "You are an amazing woman, Shayu, no matter what you tell yourself."

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal laughed again, but it was less ironic. Now she just sounded amused with herself. She found a rock and walked over to it, sitting down and smiling. It was a strange smile, but not a sad one.

"Thanks. You're right. It's just ... a part of who I am. No sense getting all woe is me over it. It's just that sometimes it comes at me when I'm not expecting it, I guess, and I ... react poorly. It's not nice to find out you just cut someone you care about," Jackal said, staring at her claws again. But she was still smiling. She supposed it helped that sometimes Vriska's throat decided to go belly-up on her, too. That was the worst thing, somehow. Not any of the freaky body stuff. But the fact that sometimes her voice just wouldn't make the noises she wanted to. She would never be okay with that. She grimaced.

"It's not Shayu I worry about. It's Jackal. The fact of the matter is that there is a part of me that's a big bloody dragon. Full stop. That can complicate some stuff. But you're right. I shouldn't dwell on it or mope." She got off of the rock and walked back over to Vriska, a curious, intense look on her face. "You're a great person, Vriska. I'm glad that I've met you. More than glad. I haven't done the whole 'be around people' thing in years, but I'm glad you get to break me in." Suggestive smile eyebrow wiggle.

[Vriska]

Vriska was proud of Jackal's progress. She knew from experience that dwelling on your past would only drag you down and keep you there. You could not hope to defeat Vriska in a feelings-off. She was simply the best there was. "You think this is bad? One time I jumped on a grenade. I don't mind a couple of scrapes if that's what it takes to make this work." She caught herself and quickly added, "Whatever this might be, I mean."

She waved her hands in a sarcastic dismissal. "You think being a dragon complicates things? You should have seen Rwaht when he first realized I can see through clothes." She laughed at the memory, then added, "That's totally a thing I can do, by the way."

Vriska stepped closer to Jackal and put one hand on Jackal's waist and another on her hip and smiled. "I guess we're going to spend a lot of time together, then. Breaking you in, breaking into you, I'm up to anything. Well, mostly anything."

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal smirked.

"There's definitely a this. What it is, I have no idea. Like I said, I haven't dealt with things that talk in too long," Jackal admitted, but she thought she had an idea. She was attracted to Vriska, at least. And attraction hadn't been something that had ever been much of an issue with Jackal. She'd always had more important questions to answer. Like, "Where is food coming from?" and "Oh God what is that anyway?" Then she laughed and pointed at herself. "I don't think we'll have the same problem."

At the contact, though, Jackal did seize up again, so used was she to any contact at all being an active threat. She slowly relaxed, while simultaneously marshalling her brain into normalcy with nearly all of her willpower. The result was that she looked more grim than Rwaht at a funeral. She realized it, and tried to smile. It came out really forced.

Wonderful.

She backed away a little slowly and smiled sheepishly, trying not to make Vriska think she was bolting or something.

"I just think I might need a little, uh ... time to adjust. To everything." She tried to be clear, from her tone, that she wasn't ... running away, or rejecting her, but just trying to do things right. She wanted to be sure she'd be able to reel herself in. Her claws weren't the most dangerous thing on her, and no matter what Vriska said Jackal wasn't about to let herself hurt her.

[Vriska]

Vriska really needed to learn to keep her hands off of Jackal before she put her off for good. She couldn't keep the disappointment off her face, though, but it soon turned into a smile. She wasn't running, and Vriska could work with that. There was a 'this' to work with. It was incredibly reassuring. "It's alright. I understand."

It was then that she saw it. A streak of white life fell out of the sky and landed a ways behind Jackal. The incident report from when that creature had let loose in Castle Town hadn't left that part out. But there wasn't anything it could possess here, right? "I saw something. Wait here." Giving Jackal another quick kiss, Vriska left to take a look.

What Vriska found was a softly glowing flowerbed, and in it was growing a perfectly crafted (grown?) metal rose that seemed to flicker and glow as if it were on fire. It was one of the most beautiful things Vriska had ever seen. Cautiously, Vriska knelt down and picked the rose with her left hand. It wasn't even rooted, just spiked into the ground. Vriska got the sense that those thorns wouldn't just prick, but rend. It was beautiful and hypnotizing and seemed to radiate sharpness. Each perfectly shaped leaf ended in a razor edge.

It reminded Vriska of someone she knew.

She found Jackal again, hiding the flower behind her back until she was close before bringing it out and offering it to Jackal. "Look what fell out of the sky. The perfect present."

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal knew that Vriska was disappointed, but she also knew that Vriska had dive-bombed a grenade because it seemed like a smart idea. Vriska probably would've let herself get ripped to shreds just for the chance to make out with her before she realized "Oh God the pain and serious trauma."

Then something fell out of the sky. Of course Jackal started towards it, having already fought off one of the things, but Vriska went first. Every instinct in her body ordered Jackal to quite sincerely tell Vriska to shove it and go first, but then she thought that she should, perhaps, respect Vriska's decision. She was supposed to be a leader, after all. She was contemplating what exactly to say before Vriska kissed her again, which had the effect of sort of reducing her thought patterns to yesyesyesdammit get a hold of yourself. She waited impatiently as Vriska went off towards the shard, crossing her arms and tapping a finger impatiently, listening intently for the first sign of trouble.

It didn't come. Vriska did, though, holding her hands behind her back and wearing the look of someone thoroughly pleased with herself. When she revealed what she'd been hiding, she produced a strange, coiling metal flower in her palm. Something in Jackal felt an innate attraction towards it. She had no idea why, but she just ... felt some part of her resonating with it. A hand inched towards it, slowly.

"Is that really the sort of thing that you should just give away to someone?" she asked wryly, but still her hand moved closer to the flower. It responded to her touch. She put another hand on it, wrapping her hands around Vriska's. She laughed, and smiled. "I think it likes me." The flower moved out of Vriska's hand and onto Jackal's. "Thank you, Vriska. It's beautiful."

[Vriska]

"Well, you're not exactly 'someone', are you?" Vriska smiled, and her face lit up when Jackal accepted the gift. She was, she reflected, unreasonably happy about this, considering it was just some weird-ass flower that fell out of the sky, but Jackal liked it and loved it and that was all that really counted.

"You're beautiful, and now I'm going to kiss you again." She moved slower this time, taking the time to do it right, bringing one hand to the small of Jackal's back and another to the back of her neck as she closed in. It lacked the ferocity of the earlier kiss, but in a good way. It was a melting together that let Vriska languish in the sweet, exquisite moment when their lips met and the heat of Jackal's skin set her on a slow burn.

[Jackal]

x x

Kyoku de Ajia

Jackal kept the flower in her hand, watching it sway and writhe, somehow its movements seeming ... pure, and natural. As though each movement of the flower was carefully orchestrated not to harm her, but also carrying the threat of slaughtering the wrong hand. It was incredible to watch. She looked up from the flower and at Vriska and smiled. She had no idea what the thing was, but she decided she would just appreciate its beauty. Complications were, sometimes, pointless.

Jackal still froze--dammit why did that keep happening--when Vriska moved towards her, but this time she was ready, and Vriska knew better than to charge at her like a hungry sexram. The flower still cupped in her left hand, she raised her right to Vriska's shoulder, making sure not to hurt her, this time. When her lips met Vriska's, she didn't exactly know what to do, but just ... eased into it. A warm, deadly fire burned in her as she kissed the beautiful hybrid girl, and she felt the animal in her threatening to overwhelm as she found herself wanting more, but she controlled herself. A low, purring sound, accented by reptilian clicks ushered out of her throat, but it wasn't as twisted or broken as usual. She was a creature of disparate parts, and Vriska was one of the only people she'd ever met who could unite them.

After a long moment, she opened her eyes, tilted her head back, and smiled. She buried her head next to Vriska's, in a motion that probably wouldn't be abundantly clear to the other woman, but made perfect sense to Jackal's half-animal mind.

"Your hair smells great. Being Oocca Lord has its perks," Jackal said, laughing lightly. For once, she was happy, and it wasn't complicated, or painful. She was just happy.