10452/Paranoia and Insecurity

Paranoia and Insecurity
Date of Scene:	13 March 2022
Location:	Athletics: Triskelion
Synopsis:	After Khopesh practice, Cael and Jon try to reassure one another about their various fears and insecurities - with some level of success.
Cast of Characters:	Cael Becker, Jonathan Sims

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Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael's bruises, and possibly fractured bones, had healed quickly after their fight with an actual dragon - something she'd very much come to appreciate it - meaning she was ready and able to join Jon in the Triskelion's gym for another training session with his khopesh. SHIELD's advanced tech had made getting a blunted but durable and properly weighted version of the sword a breeze, and Cael has run him through drills using the weapon, and sparring sessions going up against various types of melee weapons from any number of sword designs, to spears, to a replica of her own axe. She was a firm and demanding teacher, and didn't hesitate to knock Jon on his ass, or leave him bruised from blows she snuck in with her own weapon. She was also encouraging, though, offering praise, and pointing out areas where he'd already begun to improve.
    She also tends to end on a high note - so when Jon manages to pivot around the thrust of the spear she was currently using, and score a glancing blow across her back, she calls an end to the day's practice. "Good. Get yourself some water - you look flushed," she remarks, offering Jon a broad smile of approval. "The hours you've been putting in are really starting to show."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon is a quick learner, not least because he's weirdly tolerant of getting knocked on his ass. He's been like that from the start of their sparring sessions, often laughing off his own incompetence and asking for guidance or help. If anything, his main frustrations seem to come from not having outside examples to look at; with hand-to-hand he used to spend time outside sessions watching videos and reading about techniques and then trying out that knowledge in their morning sessions. He clearly approaches learning combat techniques like he approached learning medicine and psychiatry and everything else he's studied in his life, with a combination of theory and practice and a willingness to look stupid asking questions.

    Today he came in grinning brightly, announcing that he'd figured out an outside source of knowledge about the khopesh--the Archive. Many of his ancestors had training with the weapon, after all, so evidently he spent some time last night lucid dreaming, finding memories of battles and training. It's hard to say whether that actually helped or just let him /feel/ better about the whole thing, but he's been more confident at the least.

    As Cael calls an end to the session he grins at her and goes to casually refill his water bottle with magic and then take a long drink. Why use the tap when he can call up perfectly hydrating water with a thought? "It feels like one of those things where knowing something adjacent helps, like learning Portuguese when you already know Spanish. The stick-fighting footwork isn't the /same/, but it's similar, you know? And a lot of the general concepts about where your center of gravity sits are pretty universal."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael nods in agreement. "Yeah. Learning your first melee weapon is the trickiest. After that... it comes more and more easily." Her water bottle had been filled the old fashioned way - from a tap, but it's just as hydrating as she takes a long draught from it, letting out a satisfied sigh. Sparring was thirsty work - and satisfying work. It was almost (aaaaalmost) as fulfilling as getting behind the wheel of something dangerously fast.
    "You're picking it up fast - and once you've got it down, well... There won't be many out there who really know how to react to or counter that thing. Who runs into a //khopesh// in their sparring practice?" she asks with an amused grin. "Take any edge you can get."
    As she says that, though, her expression falters, looking momentarily uncertain as it makes her think of her //own// edge - that amulet.
    Maybe not //any// edge.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon chuckles. "Well, that rather depends on who we run into," he notes, as he checks over his sword. "Our current opponent, for instance, is probably aware of every weapon style invented on every planet in the universe. And even discounting him, there's plenty of people running about with ancient knowledge. So... I'm not going to get cocky." A pause. "Not about /that/, anyway. I seem to get cocky in general; don't know if you've noticed."

    He puts the khopesh back into its case, then looks up at her, quirking a brow. He didn't quite catch the faltering expression, but he can feel the uncertainty. "You okay? You're doing really well, umm... you're a good trainer," he notes. "I don't think I'd be doing so well without your help."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Huh?" Cael asks - wondering, briefly, what prompted the moment of praise - before putting two and two together. "Oh- no, not that. I just... I'm not sure about the amulet. Not sure how much it might, or might not be clouding my thinking, or changing me, or- I don't know. It just worries me, is all." She gives him a small, uncertain smile, and takes another drink from her waterbottle, before she goes to return her sparring spear to a weapons rack on one side of the padded floor.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon watches her walk away, frowning and biting his lip for a moment. Weirdly enough, he feels less certain about this than sparring, just now; he's still trying to figure out the boundaries of giving Cael support and advice as opposed to being a stand-in for her therapist.

    "Did something happen?" he asks after a moment. "Or is it more of a... general thing?" His tone is soft, but worried, distinctly different than it had been.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Sorta," Cael answers as she returns to his side - taking up a position propping up the wall, with one foot lifted to rest back against it. "I mean - I've only been using it to fight the angels up until now, but I was visiting the Avenger's Mansion when some trouble came up, and I used its power to fight a... giant red slug thing that had sucked some people in? And it felt... good, you know? To be able to make a difference like that. To be more on par with the rest of them. And for a second I thought... 'why //should// I give it back?' But I don't really know if that's my own thinking, or... this thing. Trying to get into my head, trying to get me to keep it, and use it," she points out.
    "And besides which, I didn't used to be so- I mean. I was doing undercover work before, racing, and looking for kids I could //save// from that life, and now I'm just- I'm always looking for the next fight. Is it because I got hurt? Or because of this thing?"
    Her voice is quiet, but sounds calm enough while he expression remains a little tense, but carefully schooled. Internally, though, her anxiety and uncertainty rages, as she stands there with her arms crossed, her gaze directed down at the floor a short distance in front of her.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon considers that for a long moment. "Well," he says slowly, "you said when you picked it up that you wanted to be sure you gave it back. But things /can/ change. So, potentially, if it could help, if you're realizing that you could do more good with it than without it... maybe you keep it. I mean..." He huffs out a breath. "Power isn't inherently bad. It's what you /do/ with that power that matters. You want to help people, you want to have the power to help people. Does putting it back actually help anyone else?"

    He frowns thoughtfully. "I mean, I'll put it this way--would you suggest to any of the Avengers that they should go back to what they were before? That Captain Rogers shouldn't have gained his abiliities, that Mr. Stark should put up the Iron Man suit, that Sara shouldn't be joined with the Witchblade? Are they going to do more good in the world that way? You /used/ to do undercover work, and racing, and looking for kids you could save, sure, but things /change/, Cael. People change. I... didn't renew the lease on my office. I'm not taking patients anymore, unless the Chief asks me to directly. I'm no longer a therapist--because there are /plenty/ of therapists out there, but only one Archivist. Putting the amulet back wouldn't help the world, I don't think. It means a weapon for good is sitting there unused."

    He glances at Cael. "Now... whether you /want/ to be using that weapon? Whether it's good for /you/? That's another question entirely."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael turns her head towards partway towards Jon, watching him out of the corners of her eyes, a faint frown on pulling at her lips as she considers his words. "So - what? It doesn't matter if it's changing me, if it's influencing me, as long as I use it for good? And if it continues to make me more reckless? More violent? If I start seeing violence as the only possible solution - again and again?" she asks. "Does none of that matter?" she asks bluntly.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "That's what I meant by 'whether it's good for you,'" Jon points out drily. "Look, I've dealt with this sort of question a /lot/ over the years. Our society tells people--particularly people who aren't straight cis white men--that power is inherently bad and dangerous. That power inevitably corrupts. The deal with that amulet was that it would make you seek out battle once a /month/ at most, but from the start you've been kind of inherently worried about taking on outside power. I'm just saying... if it wasn't magic, would you be so worried? What do you think Sam's wings are, or the Iron Man suit? Just outside power, and it always comes with a price."

    He sighs, and reaches out to twine his fingers with Cael's. "It's okay to feel like you don't want to pay that price. It's okay to say you don't want to be reckless and violent. It's important to consider whether it's the amulet or whether it's /you/, though. And to consider /why/ you don't want to keep it." A pause. "And... ultimately, you told me to make you put it back, so unless you take the amulet off and /then/ say you want to go ahead and keep it, I'm going to insist that you put it back. But I think it's worth considering why you think it affects you so much more than a gun does."

    He regards her quite seriously. "Trust me, love--having the power to kill /always/ changes the equation in anyone's mind. So the question I'd ask is whether you're afraid of the amulet, or afraid of yourself."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Once a month, //at least,//" Cael corrects pointedly. "If I don't fight at //least// once a month... It'll force the issue, or slip the chain.
    She squeezes Jon's hand - and then pushes off from the wall, so she can lean up against his familiar warmth instead, taking in his scent with a deep breath.
    They should probably both hit the showers.
    "Sam's wings can't get into my head. The wings don't //influence// me like that. I really don't know... if the amulet is doing that or not. I don't know if it's just - everything I've gone through lately, and it just giving me the opportunity to- to be more direct. Or if it's changing me and exerting influence over me, and I don't really know how to figure out which is true. And it worries me."
    She lets out a sigh before adding, "I just- I don't want to become the sort of person who thinks violence is the only solution - even if I am fighting for the right side."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon wraps his arms around her and sighs. "I'm not helping, am I? You don't need therapy--I'm sure Caldwell can help you work through this. You need your boyfriend to support you and reassure you. Sorry. It's... is it bad if I admit I /like/ that you can fight alongside me, fly with me?"

    He strokes her back and says, "I don't think /you/ will ever be that person, love. If you're asking me to keep an eye on you while you're still holding the amulet... then I will. If you're worried that you can't be as effective without it... I don't know what to say, because you /won't/ be, in combat. But that's not the only thing we have to deal with. If you want me to peek into your head and see if you're still... /you/... I can do that."

    A pause. Then, "If you just need me to listen to your worries... then I can shut up and listen."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "To be fair - I //do// need therapy. But right now... I just want you." Her arms wrap around him in return, as she tucks her head in against his chest. "...I like fighting alongside you, too," Cael admits in a quiet voice. She loves the fights - and it's one of the things that's started to worry her. Should she relish fights this much? Wasn't is a //bad// thing to feed on violence like that?
    As he offers to peek inside her head, she tilts her head enough to peer up at him, watching his face as she asks, "You could do that? You'd be able to tell... How much influence it has over me?" That would ease her mind considerably - if he could reassure her that she was, in fact, still fully in control.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Quite possibly, yes," Jon says, looking down at her with a grave expression. "But only with your permission, and only so far as you're okay with. That's what I did with Martin the other day, to be sure the thing that sold him that new arm hadn't affected him." He's alternated training with the prosthetic and without; he has a much harder time using magic while wearing the prosthetic, since it interferes with those energy flows. He can summon his water easily enough, but shields and enchanting the sword don't work at all. Today it's with, so he looks normal enough.

    "There's nothing wrong with enjoying fighting, love. So long as it's not your first or only resort, so long as you're doing it for the right reasons. Killing... that's different. But you know... the Amazons, they do /enjoy/ fighting. They train all the time, get good at it, so they can fight without killing unless they must." He grins down at her. "Maybe you should go talk to Troia, hmm? She knows all about relishing the fight a little too much."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "You did," Cael replies - remembering the way Jon had closed in on Martin, and gazed into him. "I really hadn't thought-" Magical solutions come so unnaturally to her, she hadn't really even considered the possibility.
    "I trust you, Jon - and there really isn't anything I've kept hidden from you." After all, he's started out as her therapist, and he'd quickly earned her trust. "I'd feel better knowing for sure - one way or another."
    She quirks her lips with a wry smile as she adds, "And maybe I should talk to her - if she's got the time. You said... she was helpful to you, in everything we've been going through?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon nods. "She was. She helped me figure out a lot of my own... moral and ethical stances, even if I don't always agree with her. She helped me understand Michael, as well. And Project Gozer was her idea. I have no idea what she'd think about the amulet, but it might be worth getting another opinion."

    Then he pulls back a little, reaching up his left hand to touch Cael's face gently. "You sure you're okay with this?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael tilts her head into his touch, closing her eyes for a moment, and then opening them again to meet Jon's gaze. "Because it's you - yeah. I trust you completely, Jon," she answers simply - reaching out to take his prosthetic hand in her left hand, and giving it a squeeze. "I need to know."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon actually takes a moment to remove his prosthetic, setting it aside and then pulling the power of Ma'at around him, to help him be certain he can do this as well as he can. His clothing changes, the wings and circlet with feather appear, and his eyes glow teal.

    He turns back to Cael, takes deep breath, and lets down his own mental barriers. He's not a supremely powerful telepath, but Cael's trust helps, as does his transformation. He peers into her eyes, looking down as deep as he can to see what effect the amulet is having. Because of the way his telepathy works, there can't help but be some backwards transfer. His fears and worries, feelings of inadqueacy, craving for recognition and acceptance, all come through. Front of mind is, naturally, worry for Cael herself, and a terrible fear of losing her. Lurking beneath all of that is something he's barely aware of himself: a fear that, when this is all over, the world won't need nor want him. That someone else will take the credit, that he'll be pushed out of his place. He /likes/ being important, as much as it bothers him sometimes.

    He sighs as he peers at her. "The amulet is nudging you... but only slightly. Mostly, this is you. The amulet helps you feel less vulnerable, more powerful... and given everything you've gone through, with Michael, you relish that feeling of power." A pause. "And you have anger issues, but we already knew that." He smirks at her briefly, before letting the wings and circlet disappear.

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael hadn't anticipated getting her own glimpse into Jon's mind, and for a moment it causes her breath to catch in her throat, as she tries to sort out the strange sensation. It was almost a feeling of disorientation, a moment of wondering where she ended, and he began. Relief floods her at his words, and she moves closer again, to wrap him into her arms. "Thank you," she murmurs quietly.
    "It's not enough for me to trust you, is it? You have to trust me, too. Thank you, Jon..."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The mental contact ends with the disappearance of the wings, leaving less confusion about personal identity. As Cael speaks, Jon furrows his brow. "What do you mean, love?" Then his eyes widen. "Oh. Oh, did you... sense my emotions, too? I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

    He looks away, but wraps his arm around her regardless. "Trust is hard, sometimes," he murmurs. "I'm working on it."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "It's alright," Cael answers. "You don't need to apologize."
    She lapses into a brief silence, before commenting in a seeming non-sequitor, "I ran into that kid again - you remember the one? Roy Harper? Talking to him was... elucidating. Like having a mirror held up - you know? Kid's looking for his place. For acceptance, belonging... I told him he was in the right place for it."
    She takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly before she adds, "There aren't words for how much it means to me to have found that. For the way you and Martin have both- I wasn't looking for family. I honestly just assumed it was something I was never meant to have. I'm not used to- to having people who have //my// back like this. Who care about //me.//" Not just that she's one of their fellow agents, or officers - Jon and Martin value her. Cael Becker.
    "I know I don't always make things easy, but I just- I wanted to say... I wanted to say how much that means to me."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I love you," Jon says softly, pulling her close. "I love you enough that I walked away from... peace, and relevance, and... everything I want for /myself/ alone, to come back with you. And don't think... I'm not resentful, at all. I'm grateful. It just... brought a lot of things to the surface, is all."

    He hesitates a moment, then says, "Like... how I can't seem to trust that even Martin values me for /me/. That I'm accepted, that I belong. And some of that... is just me. Something I need to work on. I'm trying to figure out... why. Is it that I don't accept myself, or that I long for something I don't have...?" He shakes his head. "I don't know. I'm working on it, still."

    He sighs. "I love you, and I will no matter what you do with the amulet. That passion, that craving for excitement, that's part of what I love about you, and it's going to be there whatever you do."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Why else would we value you?" Cael counters. "Why else would I let you hold me, and touch me like I do? No one else gets to." Sara gets the occasional hug - and Alis as well, when she's corporeal, but no one else.
    "I love you. And I accept you whether you have wings or not. Magic or not. No matter what. And maybe someday I'll get used to the idea that- that we found each other, and that- that I was lucky enough that you, and Martin, didn't just push me away when I thought- when I was so certain you had every reason to do so."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "We've both been there," Jon says softly. "We both had difficult lives, and had trouble accepting ourselves and each other. We both understand that people can push others away because they're scared. And we... try very hard not to do that, although it doesn't always work." He chuckles, and then sighs.

    "My trouble knowing people accept me for /me/ is much like yours accepting that you have a family. It's... new, and it's hard, not least because I'm only just accepting /myself/. It'll take time. But we've been patient with each other thus far. I know you'll be patient with me."

    He looks down at her. "Have I helped any, with the amulet? Should I give you Troia's number, perhaps?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Well. You keep pushing me to accept that I'm loved and welcomed... and I'll do the same in return," Cael suggests. "Since we're both such stubborn idiots.
    "And yes - you've helped," she promises, giving Jon a brief kiss as a show of gratitude.
    Or maybe just because she can.
    "It's good knowing my thinking isn't being all twisted around. It's... a frightening thought for me." And no wonder, given what Michael had done to her. "But maybe I should still talk to Troia. If she's got the time for me. I'm sure she's pretty busy."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Takes one to know one," Jon agrees with a grin.

    To the question about Troia he shrugs. "Like I said, it might be worth getting another opinion. Or you could ask Caitlin, I suppose, she's an Amazon too. Just... someone who doesn't have the biases I have. Knowing you can heal, that you're not as vulnerable... it takes a weight off my shoulders. But you made me promise to make you put it back, and I'll hold to that promise unless you set the thing aside and /then/ tell me you want to keep it. I'm just... not a remotely neutral party in the matter, you know?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "But knowing I'm not as vulnerable... I take more risks," Cael points out flatly. She never would have closed in on a //dragon// without the amulet to back her up. She's not suicidal after all.
    "I'll talk to whichever of them have time for me," she agrees. "...it does help to have people to talk to about this stuff. People who can understand where you're coming from. We live such strange lives..."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "It's only strange if you're not used to it. Seeing the way Agnes reacts to things like smartphones and television, as opposed to magic, has been... enlightening." Jon sighs. "Perhaps that's some of my feeling of... not quite belonging anywhere. Magic is literally in my blood, it feels easy and commonplace in some ways... but both you and Martin struggle with accepting it."

    He frowns. "On the other hand, the people I know who know magic, who use it and know it well... I don't always feel like /they/ accept me. So I feel... torn, in a way. Not even because you can't do magic, but because neither you nor Martin have the... fascination with it that I do. If I felt like the other mystics I know accepted me, perhaps it wouldn't be so... difficult."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I know you know this already, love - but we don't have to share each other's interests. I bet you'd find it equally baffling if I started going off on the benefits and drawbacks of various cars, and why precisely I went with a C6 Corvette, or why I chose an S1000 RR as my motorcycle," Cael remarks in a teasing voice. "Hell, at least I think magic is real now, and I no longer thing you and Sara have deluded yourselves," she points out with a snort.
    Shifting so she's beside Jon, one arm still around him, she asks curiously, "You once told me you didn't feel entirely like... well. I don't remember how you put it - but essentially that you didn't think //male// really described who you are?" She tightens her arm around his middle for a moment before asking, "Are you still figuring that out? Or have you got it all sorted out in your mind now?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Still figuring it out," Jon admits. "What it means for me, what pronouns I want to use. If I even care to change that, at all. Gender... is a confusing business. And my body's changed somewhat, mostly things I notice, but... I merged with a female deity and felt perfectly fine with that." He shrugs.

    After a moment, he adds, "Cael... I am /literally/ genetically different from you. I'm homo magi. And every other homo magi or descendant of Atlantis I've met, besides Agnes... has shunned me, in one way or another. Imagine, I suppose, how Lydia would feel if every mutant she'd met had looked down on her or abandoned her."

    He shakes his head. "It's not... it's nothing you can fix, love. It's nothing I /want/ you to fix. I suppose I just wanted you to know why it's hard, sometimes, why I can be... bitter and resentful."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Alright. Well... Keep me updated, hmm?" Cael suggests with another little squeeze. "Where ever you land in the end. The only thing that matters to me is that you're happy, and comfortable with yourself. And anyone who has a problem with it can fuck off."
    She listens to Jon talk about the other 'Homo Magi' - a thoughtful frown on her features before she asks, "Are they... jealous? Are they threatened? Or do you just have the shittiest luck? Because... totally not biased here," she blatantly lies, "but I think you're pretty brilliant. And you've done a lot of good for the world, at the expense of your own wellbeing."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I mean... you could ask them. Two of them are members of the Justice League Dark." Jon shrugs. "Maybe it's because I didn't always know? I don't know. Maybe Atlantis was just a shitty place and its descendants are awful people, I don't know." He sighs. "I need to let go of it, I suppose. Working on that."

    He eyes her for a moment. "You really mean that, don't you? That I'm brilliant, and so on. If I told you in return that I thought you were quite a worthy successor to Scathach would you laugh at me?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah, well... I'm pretty stubborn, and determined - and I've had motivation in spades," Cael points out, not without some degree of embarrassment. "Still. It's luck alone that I'm not here... and locked up somewhere paying for my past. I'll take it, though."
    It's that thought - the luck that gave her a second chance - that makes her miss what she //used// to do with her life. But once her face got out on the news... there wasn't a path back to it.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon regards her for a long moment, then says softly, "Maybe you should think about what you want to do, now that things are... different. I think you could do good work as a full-time member of the Justice League Dark, regardless of whether you keep the amulet. And obviously there's your work with SHIELD. But... your life's changed. What you want to do going forward... it's worth thinking about."

Cael Becker has posed:
    The flare of emotion coming off her in response to that question is akin to grief as she looks away - off to the side of the room. "I loved my work," she admits quietly. "Helping some of those kids. Showing them there are other choices. Trying to close down those organizations before more lives are lost. I- I'd want to keep a hand in that, somehow. Make sure there's always //someone// going undercover... and finding the kids who can still be saved. Even if I can't risk being the one to do it myself, anymore."
    As for the rest of it - there's a frown on her features, and uncertainty in her eyes as she asks, "What place have I got with the JLD? Especially without the amulet. You of all people know how little I know about magic."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I know how you feel," Jon says softly. "I spent almost half my life training for and then doing the work I've had to walk away from. But like I told you... helping you made every penny I spetn on that education worthwhile." He smiles down at her.

    "Cael... you're /already/ working with the JLD regularly. You come with us, you face threats, you ask questions we don't always think to ask. You get us to think about things in terms of missions instead of just... making it up as we go along. Who would you even say is a regular member, hmm? Who's been /showing up/?" He looks at her quite seriously. "If I have a choice between someone whose magic is strong but will disappear at the first sign of true danger, or someone who can't perform magic but I know has my back? I'll take the latter, every time. The Justice League Dark isn't about fighting threats /with/ magic. It's about protecting the world /from/ magic. And sometimes that requires different ways of thinking about a problem."

Cael Becker has posed:
    Cael looks aside at Jon now, studying him, and clearly considering his words seriously - despite the consternation showing on her features. "You really mean that," she remarks. "I- But I don't even understand magic. Protecting the world from something I don't even understand..."
    But she has been already. Hasn't she?
    "I- I've mostly been- I mean, this fight was //personal.// And it was important. ...how would others feel on the subject? Do you think the other members would agree with you?" she asks - sounding baffled by the very idea.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I mean, I could ask them, but I suspect they'd agree." Jon sighs. "Cael, much of the time whatever starts someone on a path like this is personal. That doesn't make it any less important or noble a fight. And like I said, you bring a different sensibility to the group. Sara's law enforcement, but she accepts magic more easily than you do."

    He smiles at her. "Sure, you're a skeptic... but that skepticism, it's /helpful/. You've forced me to have concrete plans when sometimes I might have just... winged it. And I mean... if I'm still out there dealing with this stuff, can you really tell me you're going to stand aside?" He raises a brow.

    "Think about it, anyway? I want to... we need to have a solid core, you know? A group that trusts each other."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "And that's why she fits in better!" Cael protests. She lets out a sigh, then pulls Jon down towards her, so they stand for a moment, forehead to forehead. "I'll consider it, though. Alright?" she promises. "...and you know I'll always have your back, no matter what. Just like I know you'll always have mine."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon presses his forehead to Cael's and smiles. "I know. That's the deal, right? We have each other's backs."

    He stands there for a moment longer, then says, "We should probably hit the showers, hmm? Are you coming over tonight, or are you going to spend some time with Sara?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Well... depends, what's for dinner?" Cael teases, giving Jon a smile growing on her lips as she remains there for a few moments longer, in comfortable proximity to Jon.
    When she pulls away she adds more seriously, "I'll have to check and see what Sara's plans for the evening are, but- I was thinking of spending the night in my quarters here at the Trisk?" she says in a questioning tone - her way of obliquely asking if Jon would join her for the night.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon considers that for a moment, then nods. "I can come over," he says. "And I /suppose/ we can eat noodles if you /absolutely/ insist." He smirks at her, briefly.

    "I love you," he says. "I really, really do. Noodles and all." Isn't he just the worst?

Cael Becker has posed:
    "And I love you too, Mariposa," Cael counters. "Royal Godliness and all," she teases. She gives him a brief kiss then adds, "Maybe when we both stick less - we get Agnes and take the pup's out for some fresh air. Hrm?" After giving him a gentle push, she retrieves her thinks so she can start towards the ladies' locker rooms. Because of binary societal gender concepts.