10626/About Those Thule-Assholes

About Those Thule-Assholes
Date of Scene:	02 April 2022
Location:	Sara and Cael's apartment
Synopsis:	Jon freaks out about a minor injury. Cael tells a story about Thule-Assholes. Oh, and she owns a lightsaber now.
Cast of Characters:	Cael Becker, Jonathan Sims

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Cael Becker has posed:
    The flight back from Ohio hadn't taken that long - but getting all their captives safely secured, and filing all the paperwork needed after a mission had taken a while. After all, as the FBI Liaison she has to let the FBI know what they've been up to.
    As a result, it was starting to get relatively late by the time she was back home - and after a brief phonecall to Jon while she cuddles with Bear, she makes her way into the bathroom for her //second// post-mission shower. She re-emerges wrapped in a warm bathrobe, and heads for the cupboards to find her bottle of whiskey. It was time for a nice glass to sip on the couch. She seems oblivious to the new mark on her left cheek as she slowly sips at her drink, one hand on Bear's head, petting and scratching at him. The TV is on - some action movie that she honestly doesn't seem to be paying any attention to. It's just a bit of background noise.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    There's a knock on the door and then Jon comes in, bearing bags of takeaway that smell like they're... Thai? Definitely Thai. "Guess who's open for business again?" he says, beaming as he walks into the living room and presents the bags. "Your favorite, if I recall correctly. I got in just before they closed, and they tried to give me a /discount/. Can you believe that?" He rolls his eyes. He's still not used to the celebrity thing, however minor it may be.

    He hesitates, noting the bathrobe and the sipping of whiskey. "Well... that's assuming you're hungry? I just figured that you'd be hungry, after your mission." A pause. "Everything went well, I assume?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I can eat," Cael confirms, offering Jon a smile of greeting. "It went fine," she promises him. "I was just..." she gestures vaguely with the glass in her hand, "unwinding. You know how it is, after a surge of adrenaline like that. None of us were seriously harmed, except for Wade. But he's Wade, so he's fine." For her own part, a fresh bandage was covering the wound on her arm, hidden beneath her robe. It was well on its way to mending, though.
    After a finally scritch at Bear's ear, she pushes herself to her feet, moving to Jon to greet him with a one-armed hug and a brief kiss. "Thank you for bringing me some noodles. If I didn't know you were the worst - I might be convinced you're the best."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon leans down to return the kiss. "I'm used to all the after-mission domestic business. Food, alcohol, sleep, whatever else. Usually I can't actually /ask/ about what happened, though." He grins, handing over one of the bags. "Is Sara safe now? Or was this just the start of a long--"

    He pauses, and frowns, reaching out with his now-free hand to touch Cael's cheek. "What's this?" He brushes his thumb along the scar there, frown deepening.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Sara's fine. I mean, we haven't gotten rid of these assholes yet - but I don't know that she's in any //particular// danger from them anymore." Cael smiles up at him - though the expression falters for a moment as his hand brushes her cheek. She reaches up to capture his hand, but she doesn't pull it away from her face - instead, she lets both of their hands linger there, as she leans her cheek towards his touch.
    "Just a scratch," she tries to reassure him. "I got teleported unexpectedly - into the line of fire, and got grazed by a ricochet. But I'm fine," she promises.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Yes, but... there's a /scar/ there, Cael." Jon frowns. "I... I didn't know that could happen. None of your other wounds have scarred, have they?" There's worry in his tone; it's clearly thrown him off, just a bit.

    The frown deepens. "You got teleported into the line of fire... and that's /fine/? Cael... not that... well, I know you're going to be in danger, but you seem awfully blase about the whole thing. Since when are you that sanguine about magic, hmm?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "The others haven't scarred, no," Cael agrees. "Even when I burned my hands." How many times now? It's become hard to keep track.
    "Look, I wasn't exactly thrilled about it. But it happened. I was hurt - but not badly, and I'm fine. And honestly, this magic was a lot less... horrifying than seeing people get turned inside out, or crumble into dust, or get into my head and mess with my thoughts. And it helps that I at least accept that magic exists now," she adds in a wry tone.
    She pulls Jon's hand down, away from her face now, so she can tug him towards chairs at the table instead. "Let's sit and eat our noodles before they get cold. Yeah?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon lets himself be led toward the table, but he's frowning thoughtfully as he sets down his own bag and opens it up. He's picked up a pad thai for himself this time, and pulls out the disposable chopsticks, having remembered to ask for them since Cael doesn't have her own.

    "I wonder what was different? Hellfire didn't scar you but a... /bullet/ did?" His brow furrows more deeply. "Is it... /modern/ weaponry, or...?" There's something kind of obvious there but he can't quite seem to pick up on it.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Well - it was a cut, instead of a burn. It bled," Cael points out as she settles into a seat, pulling her own container of spicy, stir fried noodles towards her - with beef, and proper broccoli, none of that weird 'Chinese broccoli' stuff. She digs in with a fork, mumbling around a mouthful, "Though, it's not the first time I've been cut, or bled since I picked up this thing." She washes down the bite with a sip of her whiskey before she muses, "Modern weaponry... metallic weaponry... Does it really matter? It's not that dramatic of a scar. I could cover it with a bit of foundation if I wanted."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "What if there's a weakness, Cael?" Jon gives her a piercing sort of look. "Did Raphael mention a weakness...? I don't recall, but I wasn't privy to every conversation." He sighs. "It's just... what if it's something that could hurt you, badly? What if bullets don't heal as fast? Or at all? We wouldn't know until you got shot, and then..." He trails off, then shakes himself.

    He sits down and starts in on the pad thai with the chopsticks, twirling noodles around them easily. "I'm surprised, as much as you love noodles, that you don't learn how to use chopsticks. They're quite efficient."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I don't recall him mentioning a weakness," Cael answers. "And if bullets didn't //heal// as quickly then I wouldn't have a //scar// on my face, Jon. I'd have a wound," she points out simply. "Yeah?" She fixes him with a pointed look, before adding in a dry voice, "And really. You're worried that the possibility that my wounds might heal at a normal rate is a //weakness//?" She rolls her eyes in amusement at this 'logic.'
    "Besides. That wasn't the weakness I was concerned about."
    Without lingering, though, she swirls up noodles on her fork - lifting it up as she remarks, "Forks are quiet effecient, too."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon glares at her. "In this business? Yes. A bullet wound can fester, can take /weeks/ to recover from if you ever do. My own healing, I've discovered, isn't even just that I heal /faster/... it's that there seems to be no risk of secondary infection, and little long-term weakness. I just..."

    He looks down at the container of noodles and frowns. "I worry," he says softly. "That's all. But I'm glad you're alright." He sighs and shakes his head. "What is it you're worried about, then?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Jonathan Rodriguez Sims," Cael says in a stern tone. Yes, she just inserted a random middle name. Yes, she went hispanic with it. She doesn't pause long enough to give him time to deal with that, however. "Healing at a //normal// rate is not a //weakness//. It is - wait for it... NOR.MAL." She fixes him with an unwavering look for several long seconds, before turning back to her noodles. After another bite, and a sip of whiskey, she speaks again.
    "If one of us falls asleep, we both sleep. Presumably - if one of us gets knocked unconscious, we're both out. ...not ideal in a fight," she remarks.
    "What happens if one of us gets killed?" she asks, glancing aside at Jon. Could it kill the other?

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon gapes at Cael at first, protesting weakly, "That's... that's not... my name..."

    Then he shakes his head, recovering, and says, "Fine, then, 'normal' if you like, but it's still a gap in the otherwise /above average/ defenses the amulet gives you. I thought the whole point was being able to... to go toe-to-toe with Michael and the other angels? 'Normal' it may be, but there's a /reason/ that 'normal' people look to heroes, that 'normal' heroes or soldiers learn to defend themselves /very/ well or use body armor. I don't think it's unreasonable to worry that you'll throw yourself into something expecting to heal from the wound without issue and then... you don't."

    He frowns, and adds, "I would presume something pretty awful, yes. Death, coma, madness. The idea should probably be /not/ to get killed, hmm?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "It //healed//, Jon," Cael reminds him, pointing to her cheek again. "It just scarred - that's all. But it's already healed." And no. She doesn't comment on the fact that she made up a name for him. "And the other wound's healing pretty quickly as well," she adds casually.
    Again, she continues without pause. "Yeah, the plan's not to get killed, but it just- it occured to me, when they opened fire on me, and I had to dive for cover that if the worst happened- that I didn't know what that would do to you. That we never even asked."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon regards Cael quietly for a moment, then says in a very soft voice, "Even if we weren't bound together in our dreams, your dying would destroy me. So... why don't we just do our best to avoid that, yeah?"

    He frowns down at the takeout container, stirring the noodles idly with his chopsticks. "Do you want to ask Sandalphon to undo the tether? I can protect myself in the Archive, now, I... I don't know if we /need/ it. But..." But he's still worried.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "We don't live the safest of lives, Jon. I run around with the Avengers. We have to accept the possibility that we're not going to die old, in our beds, with our loved ones around us. I don't plan on getting killed - but it could happen. ...I'd want you to be alright, if that happened. I mean, I know it'd be hard - but I would want you to //live//." Cael gives him a small, sad - but encouraging smile.
    "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we'll celebrate your hundredth birthday together, but we just don't know."
    She stabs idly at her noodles before adding, "I don't feel the need to get rid of the bond. I don't want to leave you vulnerable prematurely - but I do want it removed as soon as Michael is dealt with."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "That's not fair," Jon murmurs, still frowning at his takeout container. "You fell apart when I died. You fell apart /before/ I died, just knowing I /would/. I had to reassure you, at every turn, that I was coming back, that I was /sure/ I was coming back. So that's... that's not /fair/ to say. Aren't I allowed to be just as scared of the prospect of you dying?"

    He sighs. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt as much, now that I /know/ there's something after. Maybe I'd be more okay than I think. Certainly I probably wouldn't feel as... lost and alone as I did when I thought Martin was dead. But damn it, Cael, I'm allowed to /worry/."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I'm not saying you can't worry about me - and I'm certainly not saying that you can't or shouldn't mourn if anything did happen. I'm just saying that... well. I want you to be okay, because of course I do. I'd want you to live, and be happy."
    Cael gives Jon a small smile as she adds, "I promised you once that I'd remember you, and say your name, and keep your memory alive, yeah? That's- that's closer to what I'm saying. Yeah? If anything ever happens, I just want you to be okay. I want you to know that... all I'd want is for you to find peace, and happiness again."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Well I certainly didn't want you to be miserable for the rest of your life," Jon mutters. Then he shakes his head. "I suppose I just... I thought that... with you wearing that amulet, I didn't really need to worry all that much. That you'd be okay, whatever happened, at least until you put it back."

    He hesitates, then adds, "Maybe that's why I've been... reluctant about the idea of you putting it back? It just seemed like... physically, at least, you'd be safe. But that's hardly fair to you."

    He looks up, finally. "I'll speak your name if you die before me, Cael," he promises. "I'll try to be happy. Try to live. I've already been through that before, with Martin, had that... revelation. No need to worry on that front."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I can still be hurt with this thing. I can still be killed - it's not a guarantee of anything," Cael reminds him - her voice soft, and gentle. It's not a tone she uses too often - and certainly not for anyone other than Jon. "But... I can understand what you're saying. Why you'd feel that way about it." She reaches out towards him, running her fingers over his cheek.
    "That's all I can ask. And I promise you - I'm going to try to live. I'm going to try to come back to you after every mission. I want a future together - I want to find out what that looks like. Okay?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon smiles, and reaches up to take Cael's hand. "I know," he says, just as softly. "I know. I didn't mean to imply that you're getting... reckless." A brief smirk. "No more than I am, at any rate. I just... that's what Michael used against me, in my dreams. Your death. Over and over. He knows I'm weak, in that area."

    He sighs. "I suppose it's the loss of that future I fear more than anything. I know when we both die, it'll be... it'll be /okay/. But not having a chance to... to build something, after all this? That would be... it would hurt. So much. You know?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "Yeah," Cael agrees. "I know. And I believe we'll have that time. I really do. I'm planning on it." She squeezes his hand reassuringly as she adds, "So don't take a silly scar as some grand sign of my mortality, Jonathan Archer Sims." It's Archer now, is it? "Because it's not. It's just a scar, and I don't mind it.
    "Oh hey," she says suddenly. "I have a lightsaber now. What do you think THAT would do to an archangel?" She asks curiously.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "If you're going to give me a fake middle name at least make it make /sense/?" Jon pleads with her, blinking. Archer? Really? He shakes his head and goes back to eating, smirking to himself. She's definitely still /herself/ at any rate.

    "Okay, one: where did you get a /lightsaber/? Two... we could summon one and find out?" He says this almost innocently, but he grins at her. "Perhaps trying out a lightsaber on certain archangels might dissipate some of your anger, hmm?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "I have no idea what you're talking about, Jonathan Francisco Juan Fontina Sims," Cael counters with a mischievous gleam in her eyes - before leaning over to give him a brief kiss. The message was clear enough - do not challenge her, lest it get worse.
    "It was a gift from Wade," she clarifies as she begins to eat again. She scoops up some of the noodles, making an innocent remark just before shoveling a large mouthful in. "We could call Uriel?"
    Chew chew chew.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Fontina is a /cheese/! And it's Italian! I... oh, bloody hell, why do I even argue?" Jon rolls his eyes and leans over to return the kiss. Maybe he's arguing just for the fun of it?

    "Perhaps, in the spirit of scientific inquiry. Particularly if you think it might help your anger toward him. Otherwise, I don't know if he'd agree." He quirks a brow at Cael. "/Otherwise/ you'll just have to test it on Michael, and we're /supposed/ to be trying to avoid violence, I think."

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...it's a cheese?" Cael says. This honestly seems to be news to her. "It's a name..." she insists - though there seems to be some doubt in her voice. "A girl's name." Honestly, she's giving this more consideration than is necessary - but in the end she shrugs it away.
    "I'm not sure if it would help," she admits, moving on to more serious topics. "How many times have I attacked and hurt Michael? Has that really helped?" No. No it has not.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon actually pulls out his phone and frowns as he scrolls through a Google search. "I see no evidence of 'Fontina' as a name. You might be confusing it with something else? Fontaine, maybe? But yes, it's a cheese, rather tasty, really. Nutty and creamy, and it melts well."

    He sighs, and adds, "No, it probably wouldn't help. But... really, a /lightsaber/? Where did Wade get a lightsaber?" He frowns at her in confusion.

Cael Becker has posed:
    "...it's a name," Cael insists quietly. "I mean, really, however many billions of people alive - and you're telling me none of them are named Fontina? There's got to be one." She's setting a pretty low bar for 'it's a name.'
    After another bite of her dwindling supply of noodles she adds, "I have no idea where he got it - but I'm glad he had it. I used it to cut my way to safety after I got teleported to somewhere rather inconvenient. It's pretty handy - especially now that I know how to use swords. I didn't, really, the first time I'd used it."
    Wait. This isn't the first time she'd used a lightsaber?

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon just gives Cael a /look/ and then shakes his head, dropping the subject. He's sure to pay enough for the banter as it is; no need to pile on.

    "Wait... you've used a lightsaber before and you don't believe in /magic/? I didn't even think those could exist." He chuckles. "Maybe you should start from the beginning...?"

Cael Becker has posed:
    "There's not a lot to tell, really," Cael replies with a shrug of her shoulders. "When those Thule-assholes took Sara and we went after her, Wade tosses me a lightsaber, and I use it to cut through the stone where some magical circles were written to disrupt them. We kicked the collective asses of the Thule-assholes, got Sara, and started to run... But they exploded, and the mine tunnels collapsed around us, and for a moment we were trapped and then- suddenly we weren't. Apparently they were hold Sara in... a parallel version of the tunnels, and the explosion shunted us back to reality? Where the tunnels WEREN'T collapsed. ...or something like that. I really don't get it," she admits.
    "And then last night, we killed some more Thule assholes, and Wade tossed me the sword again, and I didn't give it back. Mine now," she remarks brightly.
    "So how was your evening?" she asks, picking more slowly at her food as her supply of noodles decreases.