[OPEN] d o g g o s

[burndownforwhat]

WHO: Jen, her dog Zwei, and onlookers
WHERE: Around the town, in the parks
WHEN: After returning to the real world, before the October event
WHAT: Just a girl jogging with her dog (pretty simple! tag in however, or lmk and I'll write you a custom starter)
WARNINGS: Corgis have been shown to be difficult to resist, proceed with cuteness. I mean caution.

[ things have finally calmed down enough that Jen resumed her typical daily fitness routines. that included the morning and afternoon jogs in the park with her dog Zwei hot on her heels. during both trips she'll be dressed for the gym and carrying a small bag for her water bottle, towel, and so on. sometimes she'll have some bruises on her arm and legs and then in the same day they'll be gone. weird!

of course when she's not on her way to or from somewhere, she'll store her items on her motorcycle and just have a leisurely run through the nearest park, throwing a stick or a ball for her corgi companion to fetch. it may just land close to someone, or Zwei has chosen to investigate someone entirely new who was looking his way - or not. he has a mind of his own after all, which leaves Jen chasing after him to go over and say hi and apologize to whoever it was he was apparently bothering. ]

Comments

[burndownforwhat]

The memories. [ she says without hesitation. Jen was thinking something like that might come up and she was glad that she knew Vera and the situation well enough to be able to say it with complete confidence. ] The memories are real. I still have them, even if they're hard to dredge up and don't match my own experiences.

They're all we have to go on. [ Jen flexes her right hand's fingers, tips clacking together. ] No. They're what I have to build on. I'm not going to forget her. I don't care what Retrospec or anyone responsible has to say about it.

[heiroglyphs]

I hope the memories are real.

[They've all been fucked with so much, and not just lately. Things have only gotten worse for everyone in the longer time goes on.]

How do I know that I'm not the one just conjured up from nowhere, and the Vera you know isn't the one who's always been here? Yin could just be a bad dream for you for all you know.

[burndownforwhat]

I know, because... [ Jen takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh. ] Because I believe she was real.

[ she looked to Vera, determination showing through in everything she said and did. ] The last few months have been full of dreams and things like it, but all of what I experienced had this weight to it. The burden of reality. Of consequences of my actions in those dreams carrying over into the real world. Into the lives of the people around me, and my own life.

Maybe that doesn't make sense to you. And maybe I'm crazy. But it feels true even if I can't put my finger on the how or why. I may never be able to explain it, and you don't have to believe me, but my promise still stands.

[heiroglyphs]

You're right. [She sighs, turning away from the girl to lean back against the bench, arms crossed.] You're probably crazy.

[It must be nice to have that kind of conviction, to believe in something because you feel that it's true. But Vera still isn't sure. All of this could be real, or none of it. If our perception can change at a moment's notice, how can we be sure of anything?

She turns back to Yin, Jen, doing her best to muster a smile.]

But I want to believe you badly enough that we can be crazy together.

[burndownforwhat]

[ for the briefest moment, Vera's statement had Jen worried. she was ready to just call it quits and start over again, somehow, but when she saw that smile it looked encouraging. ]

That's what everyone else thinks about us anyway, isn't it? We've left "normal" behind long ago.

[heiroglyphs]

Doesn't mean you can't hope that "normal" comes back some day.

[She scoots against the arm of the bench, kicking one leg up over her knee.]

...Okay, so. You're my yoga instructor?

[burndownforwhat]

That's true... [ though she thinks that's highly unlikely at this point, unless someone makes a big breakthrough on the how-and-why of all this actually happening. Jen won't press the matter. they have enough to deal with right now. ]

Mmhmm. I'm, uh, in something of a tight spot with not having work and waiting on school grants to kick in for this semester. So you're helping me out a little in exchange for lessons to loosen you up. [ Jen makes an idle gesture. ] There's the training we haven't gotten much in yet, either. To help us stay in sync.

[heiroglyphs]

Loosen me up, huh? Well it's not exactly ballet, but I'm sure I can manage.

[So the other Vera was helping Jen financially while she was waiting for her school money to come in. But she had been told that she was a mean, selfish person. Just what was she expecting to get out of this relationship?]

So we're actually training together? That's good, I have no idea how comfortable you are fighting, and I need to make sure I don't get rusty.

[burndownforwhat]

[ Jen nodded, because she already knew Vera could keep up with her in their routines so far. she might even be able to ramp them up soon. which brings them to the fighting... ]

Yeah, heh, you've already scolded me for being reckless with my new abilities after you helped to unlock them. My Aura. Do you remember that night...? [ okay so there's a lot of that to remember, in general, but hopefully only the very important stuff will come to mind and not the somewhat awkward stuff. ]

[heiroglyphs]

I know that I only have so much control over what you do. I'll just have to believe you know the difference between "reckless" and "suicidal".

[But "that night", did she have to be so vague? It almost hurts to try to recall memories from the last couple of months. It's all so fuzzy, and it hardly seems real. She closes her eyes, crossing her arms tight against her chest.]

You... needed my help to unlock your Aura. [She purses her lips, trying her best to logic her way past the gaps in her memory.] It took a lot of effort, but we pulled it off.

[burndownforwhat]

I'm trying not to push my limits but when it's the choice between me getting hurt and someone else, I think the choice is clear. [ that's a lot-winded way to say "I'll try, but no promises". she's been saying that a lot lately. when she isn't making actual promises. ]

Yeah, that was it. It was late. You used your Aura to jump-start mine. Now everything works pretty much how I remember it.

[heiroglyphs]

Mn. [She opens her eyes again.]

I can kind of remember the feelings more than the actual events. I think... emotions ran pretty strong at the time?

[burndownforwhat]

[ she reached down to pet Zwei, who seemed to be content with listening intently to the exchange. it offered a good distraction from looking right at Vera, too. ] You did slap me before we tested it. And then kissed me after.

[ ahem. ] So, yeah. You could say that.

[heiroglyphs]

Oh. Wow. I-I...

[She uncrosses her arms so that she can clasp her palms n her lap.]

That's a little bit out-of-hand.

[burndownforwhat]

[ time for hair fidgeting! ]

You can say that again. But! It worked. That's the important part, right?

[heiroglyphs]

[God, that just raises so many more questions.]

I'd suppose so, though I'd want to run some tests to make sure you're working the way you're supposed to be. The last thing we need is your Aura drying up when we need it most.

[burndownforwhat]

That's fair, but I'd say I was run through my paces in that fight with the giant floating death cake just a bit after that all happened.

Do you remember when I told you about that, on another late night visit? [ or, for that matter, what other information was shared that night. ]

[heiroglyphs]

Floating... death cake.

[Sigh.]

Wish I could say that's the weirdest thing I've heard of, though that's pretty high up there. Why, did something happen?

[burndownforwhat]

It was. A complicated situation. [ understatement of the year. ] It happened before the city went all digital, so things have been more or less put back to normal now and I don't think many people got hurt. I wouldn't worry about it happening again, either.

Let me just say it was a lot bigger than the two story robot Team RWBY fought and I still came out on top. [ that isn't a point of pride; it's meant to be a reassurance. ]

[heiroglyphs]

Bigger doesn't always mean stronger, you know.

[Speaking from experience...]

[burndownforwhat]

I'm not talking a difference of a few inches, Vera. More like a few hundred feet.

[heiroglyphs]

My point still stands.

[Crossing her arms.]

But... good work, I'm glad you didn't get seriously hurt and at least now we know your Aura is working. Maybe we can practice a bit with that too?

[burndownforwhat]

[ and she'll just let that point go, since it didn't apply for the moment.

Jen nodded. ] Yeah, sure. That was the idea in the end. We just need to find somewhere private enough where there's plenty of space to move, too. Bigger than a wrestling ring for sure. [ like an empty warehouse or something comes to her mind. ]

[heiroglyphs]

[She exhales slowly.]

I... may have a place that we can use. It's not exactly at warehouse, but it should be fine so long as we don't get too crazy.

[burndownforwhat]

Really? Great! I think we should start slow anyway so that shouldn't be a problem.

[ bork! ] And hey, Zwei can come along too. He's really good with fetching towels.