10308/About A Ring

About A Ring
Date of Scene:	28 February 2022
Location:	Jubilee and Noriko's Apt - College House
Synopsis:	With engagement rings exchanged in both directions, Jubilee shares a little bit about Noriko's ring and its unique history.
Cast of Characters:	Jubilation Lee, Noriko Ashida

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Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation has gotten an early start to the evening. It's only 5PM but she has already emerged from her slumber, cranky and impatient. Despite remaining as still and dead as, well, the dead... Jubes still wakes each evening looking like a total catastrophe. She cautiously walks to the window, her thick hair clumped in all different directions. Coffinhead is way worse than bedhead. A message is waiting for her and requires an immediate reply.

    "You tell him to get it to me /yesternight/!" she growls, shaking a raven around in the air with a gentle fist before releasing it to fly out into the sunset. Vampire texting.

    Jubilation rolls her eyes and walks to the dorm-quality couch and flops down onto it. She's wearing a black tanktop and red-and-black flannel-print pajama pants. One leg is bent at the knee and hugged agianst her chest. Jubilee rests her chin on her knee and frowns. Sighs. "Fuck," she mutters.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko has wondered if Jubilation's not so delicate but elaborate raven-conducting was the secret to encoding meaning into them, well more like imagined.  But this is about the time for the speedster's run, which she moved back in her schedule for two reasons, to get it in before a little nap so Jubes can wake up next to her, and it means she's not running when it is dark out, to help buoy Jubilation's wish for safety.

The door opens ever so quietly as Noriko has no intention of literally waking the dead.  She's in a pair of short shorts and a blue tank.  If it weren't for the little squeak of the hinge, she might have gotten in completely undetected.  She blurs her way to the fridge and downs a bottle of orange juice, or starts at least.  The barbarian gets a glass as a second thought, or maybe she spotted Jubilation.  It's unclear whether the change in methods was brought on by that, but Noriko's gaze does catch on the vampire.

"What's wrong?"  Noriko reaches up to wipe a little sweat off her brow from her sleeve, eyes tinged with minor concern.  "Did something happen?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee is startled into action. "Ohhhhhhh, heeeeeeeeyyyy," she sing-songs, manufacturing a smile to put on display. Nothing weird going on here. Nothing at all! Jubilation stands up and heads over towards Noriko, trying her absolute best to accentuate her curves, poke her chest out, and generally offer as much of a distraction as possible as she approaches. She holds a smile for a few moments before scowling.

    "Oh, screw it," Jubilee mutters, dropping the act. She reaches up and pulls the elastic hair tie that once held her ponytail from her rats nest of hair. "I just..."

    Jubilee wouldn't have time to even finish that. The raven returns with a tiny parcel tied around one of its legs, this time flying INSIDE the apartment, flapping around until Jubilation reaches up and catches it. "Took you long enough!" she growls. Jubes yanks the tiny cardboard envelope from the raven's foot. "You dummy!" Jubilation leans in, putting her lips near the raven's face. "Thank you," she whispers so only she and the raven can hear it, before letting it go.

    "Gotta talk to them like that," Jubilation explains, looking over at Noriko so she can explain the cruelty. "Or else they don't undeerstand."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko can spot those manufactured smiles from a mile off now, no matter how masterful Jubilation is, but that's just because of that unfair advantage she possesses in feeling the emotional dissonance their pendants reveal.  She holds an appreciative smile with Jubes, respecting her effort, but obviously not buying it.  "You look gorgeous as always," Noriko chimes, planting a quick-peck on Jubilation's cheek before she is absorbed with the returning raven.

"Oh is that the trick?  I guess I'm too nice to animals."  The teen is, indeed, nicer to animals than people typically, especially ones she's just met.  "I kept apologizing for zapping it.  I thought all your rave-waving did the trick."  She deposits her glass on the counter on her way to wrap her arms around Jubilation's waist from behind.  "Hey, so...did you size that ring?"  Noriko has yet to try it on.  What if it gets stuck?  The last thing she wants is to have to have someone cut it off.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    When those arms gobble her up, Jubilee closes her eyes and leans back, shifting her weight so she's leaned against the speedster. She even tilts her head back so her cheek can drag against Noriko's. As wonderful as it might be to have Noriko come up on her like that, it is the vampire's way to be the seductress, so her movements are all deliberate expressions of her innate need to be wanted. "Mmmm," she mutters, making a point to push some reserved air into Noriko's ear.

    Size the ring. That seems like a bad move for such a relic. "No," she whispers, still leaning back, her neck proudly on display. Without looking at it, Jubilee tears open the tea-stained envelope and offers a metal chain to Noriko. "But I have this for you to keep it on..." She tilts her head and presses her cheekbone against Nori's, like a cat booping its territory.

    "I never got to tell you about it..."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Couldn't figure out how to get my size?" Noriko teases with a light squeeze as she angles her head to Jubes', eyes slipping closed.  These little sensory interactions tether Nori to the moment, to Jubilation's tempo.  Her breathing slows a bit before she nuzzles back at Jubes, even as the envelope is torn open.

"Do you get free raven shipping from Amazon?" Noriko beams as she realizes how Jubilation got this for her, /for/ her.  "Oh, I'll get it," she says, perked up when Jubilation boops.  And by /get it/ she means empty it out of her pocket, because she's not set it down since Jubilation proposed.  She inverts her pocket and plucks it out of gravity's influence as that's just easier than fumbling it out of the pocket.  "Can you thread it for me?"  She opens up the box with the intention of letting Jubilation handle it.

"Oh?"  Noriko looks up from staring at the ring down in the box to Jubes.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    For some reason, Jubilee ignores all of Noriko's joking. All of her pretend guesses. For once, Jubes would be serious. "Would you believe that we are enemies with the vampires of the Middle Kingdom?" Jubilation whispers, turning her head so she can place a gentle kiss on Noriko's cheek. "Asia," she explains, translating the vampire name into the human one. "I didn't know..." She turns to face the speedster, unfastening the clasp on the metal chain. "I guess we're enemies of everyone..." Vampires are only as cooperative as it suits them. Jubilee stares at Noriko, studying her, appreciating her, and even smiling whenever the speedster might catch her. She turns around and begins to thread the chain through the ring she offered to Noriko.

    "This is jadeite... but infused with the blood of Xiang Yanmei," Jubilee explains, looking up to see if Noriko is paying attention. The Chinese name flows from her mouth like velvet. It's as though it has never been said so sweetly.

    "In the Middle Kingdom, the Chinese vampires -- the Kuei-jin -- are the authority...." she explains, carefully moving the ring along the length of the chain. "...But, the Ketsuki... the vampires in Japan, created by the Kuei-jin, opposed the Kuei-jin... They were not succesful, but..."

    Jubilation reaches up with both hands to bring the ends of the chain around Noriko's neck, staring into her eyes as she continues the story. "...Xiang Yanmei... " Jubilee smiles at Nori and briefly drops the flawless Chinese accent. "...'Flattering and seductive'..." It's a translation. "...She fell in love with a Japanese ketsuki.... Kishimoto Izangi... Though their nations were at war..." Jubilation steps closer to Noriko to secure the clasp behind her neck. "It is Xiang Yanmei's blood you wear. Forever proof of a Kuei-jin's love for a Ketsuki..."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"It's an animal thing.  Anything not like you is a threat right?"  Most animals respond this way to the unknown, and Noriko sounds a little sour about that tendency, but doesn't let it linger.   "Wait, you mean right now or your court or?"  Noriko's brain spins on possible meanings, but she quickly shuts up and smiles softly, cheeks flushing quickly when she notices the appreciative gaze upon her.

Noriko most certainly is paying attention, and all of her questions cease as she just listens.  There's something deeply ironic and probably highly satisfying for native Chinese if they were to know their vampiric counterparts were on top.  She lowers her head slightly to ease Jubilation's task, feeling the chain cool across her skin.  "How did you-"  Her breath catches slightly.  "It's beautiful," /that/ is beautiful.  What it means.  Everything.

But the word doesn't feel adequate.  The Japanese girl lingers closer, her gauntlet rising to lift Jubilation's chin slightly as she leans in for a kiss.  Her emotions speak for her, a deep bloom of warmth and affection directed straight at the vampire.  "I probably shouldn't ask how you got it?" she says softly after parting, keeping close.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation's eyes close briefly, just long enough to enjoy that small moment, that instance when she and Noriko join for a kiss. "Unfortunately..." Jubilee continues, looking away only briefly, as though trying to take great care in the telling of this story. It's like she's talking about people she knows and not repeating what she learned in a book or something. "...Unfortunately,. they would be pulled apart." Jubes leaves it at that, doesn't explain further about the meaning, before returning her eyes to the speedster. "...But I think the world is ready for a second try." The story of the ancient Middle Kingdom vampire Romeo and Juliet would have to wait for another night. There's no reason they need to darken this evening with stories that are so far removed that they might be apocryphal.

    "No, you should not ask," Jubilation adds with a forming smile, just as the two clasps of the chain come together. She slowly lets the necklace go, dragging her fingertips along Nori's collar bone as they depart. "There," she adds with a lingering smile. "Perfect."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko frowns slightly when Jubilation reveals things didn't work out, but truth be told, the speedster doesn't seem surprised.  Her eyes drops slightly.  Naturally, she's curious about the details of their fate, but that's something she'll let eat away at her curiosity later.  Now she's just focused on Jubilation.  "Sometime, you will have to-"

"Okay."  So she won't ask.  That doesn't mean Noriko won't investigate!  No decisions right now!  And it's not like Noriko would know how to research it.  But still, the thought of some deeper story behind her ring is...tantalizing.  "I will try not to ask."  She presses her lips together tightly for a split second.  "But-Mayb-"  Noriko stops herself more than a few times until she feels that brush of Jubilation's fingertips.  "Yeah.  It's perfect."  She can't help but bask in that smile.  "I can't believe we're engaged.  I keep waiting for-"  someone to kidnap them again and make it all go away?  No she's not going to say that.  "It's perfect."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee's smile extends outwards, both sets out teeth proudly on display. Years ago, if some student took the long odds on either Jubilation Lee or Noriko Ashida would be engaged prior to graduation, they would be cashing in on some serious money right now. Even more if the million-to-one odds were taken on them being engaged to each other. Nevermind the whole 'vampire blood in the ring' detail. There's no computer on the planet that can calculate /those/ odds.

    "Why can't you believe it?" Jubes asks, her smile unyielding.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
There isn't a shadow in Noriko's eyes, not a shred of doubt, not fear, not sadness, nothing chasing her down.  Just warmth and happiness, a glint with a grin.  "I just mean I've been waiting till it was appropriate...for a long time."  Her voice lowers, eyes darting to the side, hinting that perhaps the amount of time she was waiting might be absurdly embarrassing in polite company...or the company of the sane.  "It's surreal.  It's lovely.  It's magical."  She sighs fast, but pleasantly, indulging as she lets go of the speed and length of the reaction simultaneously.  Then she finishes with a snappily timed but still effervescent, "I can't believe it," as if completing some picture for Jubilation, quite pleased with how neatly she thinks it has come together.

"And I can't believe I'm engaged to someone so fucking kickass amazing as you.  Can't believe it," Noriko softens her voice a little at the end.

"And I can't believe we're still alive long enough to get engaged, in one form or another," Noriko says with a bit of a wry laugh, quite obviously in an imperviously good mood.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee stares back at the speedster, her face eventually curling into a demonstrative smirk-squint. "You know, I didn't take you for the marryin' type... I guess I'm just lucky," she teases, her tone hinting at a warmth underneath her teasing. It's like the same evening that Noriko was brought in to their dorm room for the first time. Imagine what those two would say about this if they knew...

    The speedster's final remark deflates Jubilee just a touch. She suddenly wears an unspoken burden across her face. The burden of evenings spent dealing with duty, bureaucracy, and the petty interpersonal politics of vampire aristocracy. Suddenly, the logistics of marriage slam into her. "...Oh, jeez, this is going to be /complicated/..."

    What notary in their right mind would be willing to stamp /this/ marriage license? One of them has a death certificate.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Jubes," Noriko's tone shifts towards something more serious again for a moment that only gains emphatic steam with every passing word.  "You are my family.  I want everyone to know it and I want to-I guess I am the marrying type," she says with a flashed flush of her cheeks and a bashful grin that never really stays around for more than a quarter of a moment before being destroyed by the touch of deflation she pricks.

"It's okay.  I can be the wedding planner, and you and I can be my customer...and you can even fire me if you want."  Noriko's grin just broadens, slightly open-mouthed.  "But we'll figure it out.  Maybe I can go ask Jean if she can just accompany us to make sure things go smoothly for that bit?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I know what you mean," Jubilation answers, grinning again. It's not hard to follow that line of thinking. She reaches up and rakes her fingers through her own hair, dragging her nails back from the crown of her head. The smile briefly fades away into brief contemplation. Huh.

    "Huh," she says, hesitating a little. Jubilee presses the tip of her nail in between her teeth. "I, uh. Huh. That feels funny." Having her death certificate canceled feels almost as strange as it did to learn that she had one. "Like a betrayal or something," Jubes explains, her smile returning. It's all so silly.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Which part?  Using Jean or you firing me?  This is ex-hausting," Noriko huffs without much genuine commitment given how untrue it obviously is.  She's just looking for attention.  "We have a lot to talk about, but we don't have to talk about it now."  The last thing she wants to do is ruin this lovely evening with logistics.  She wants this memory to stay just as it is.  "Can we crawl up to the roof for awhile to snuggle under the stars?"  They both live restless lives, and there's something about lounging with Jubilation that her body is craving for peace, and now she has her ring.  Noriko arches a brow and flashes a hopeful grin.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Both!" Jubilation answers, totally firing back with an amount of sass appropriate for keeping this little joke alive. She even wags her eyebrows up and down, just once, to put the finishing touches on. Jubes holds that expression, posing like that, until her eyes close and her cheeks rise. An amusing thought has taken over.

    "I swear, Nori," Jubilee teases. "If someone told me that one night I'd hear you say that, /I'd/ say they were crazy." With a big smile, Jubilee tugs at the speedster's gauntlet to lead her towards the door. "Let's go make sure the stars are still up there," she decides, cheeks wrinkled by a toothy grin.