12647/At Each Other's Throats

At Each Other's Throats
Date of Scene:	01 September 2022
Location:	Jubilee and Noriko's Apt - College House
Synopsis:	Back at Xavier's, Noriko and Jubilee realize why they've been snapping at each other lately. Sabotage!
Cast of Characters:	Jubilation Lee, Noriko Ashida

---

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    How many date nights have been ruined because one of the participants is the put-upon figurehead of a secret vampire nation and has been silently dealing with a suspicious increased, uh, birth rate? This might be the first. While details have yet to emerge, one thing is clear: someone (or someones) are siring new vampires at an incredible rate in Westchester, New York, and has not been taking care of their onboarding. Not only is this incredibly dangerous, but it's also a slap in the face of the one supposedly in charge -- the Duchess. Jubilation Lee.

    And then, there's her put-upon fiance, Noriko Ashida. The hothead mutant speedster has had to put up with a lot of nonsense, but finding out that Jubilee has been secretly dealing with this problem without telling her about it is a new one. In the past, the pair told each other everything, weathered every storm as a team, and kept no secrets. Besides, the magical amulets gifted to them by John Constantine always ensured that they were emotionally in sync -- a safeguard for Noriko's safety should Jubilation fall once-and-for-all to her monstrous vampiric nature. Why was this even allowed to happen? Do they need a recharge or something? They don't exactly have a warranty and didn't come with a manual.

    Back at Xavier's, the door to their shared apartment opens. As soon as it does, Jubilation walks in, expecting fully that Noriko is behind her. The Duchess moves into the apartment with an unusual grace, slow and luxurious like the sway of a cat's tail. Normally, a speedster would be the first one through a doorway, but if she was being honest, Jubilation loves making Noriko watch her. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Nori," Jubilation huffs before collapsing onto the couch. She's still wearing the gothy figure-hugging dress with the east-Asian embellishments that she had on in the cemetary. But, now that the date is over and Jubilee's ruse is revealed, it's unclear. Was she wearing that to make an impression on Noriko or was it for the newly sired vampire she was expecting?

    "...I'm... I'm dealing with a lot right now and I'm..." Jubilation looks up from her spot on the couch. "...I'm just dealing with a lot." Her face shows it. She can't get tired in the traditional sense, but Noriko Ashida should have no trouble detecting the subtle details that betray Jubilation's state. "...They, like, they don't respect me, Nori. It's like... All some kind of weird game. Politics. Like, rumors and... and... Everyone's so nice to me but I can tell they're being really, really mean. It's like I'm too stupid to understand it or something. And, like, well... You know how I ruled that no one would be making new ones in Westchester?" Jubilation runs her fingers through her hair, still managing to pluck out some of the dust left from Noriko's dusting of the late James Butcher the unsanctioned vampire childe. The guest of honor.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Well, they're not /listening/.... I mean, you saw. That guy was, like, all by himself. I only knew about him because of Aldie." Aldie. Aldebrand the Castellan, Jubilee's inherited majordomo. The one she can count on in her vampire court. Maybe. He hates being called Aldie.

    The frustration felt by Jubilation is obvious from her tone, her posture, her expressions. Not being liked is not a feeling she is used to, but it has been happening a lot since she became what she is. "I mean, it /could/ just be some /dumbass/, but, like, I don't know who I can count on so, like, I'm dealing with it myself...," she adds. Jubilation understands the plight of a speedster as much as any normal-speed person could. She knows that if there's an important thing she needs to share, she better just do it all at once as quickly as she can so Noriko can process it all at a speed most comfortable to her. Jubilation Lee is the most interrupted person on campus.

    She's not crying, nor would she gain any comfort from her own hands. But, people put their face in their hands when they're frustrated and overwhelmed, so Jubilee does it now. "I don't know what to do anymore, Nori..." Jubilation mutters into her own skin. She's angry, frustrated, embarrassed, and overwhelmed. She's worried, ashamed, and frightened. Terrified, even, at the possibility that there's some plot against her. And, for some reason... John Constantine's magical amulets are not giving Noriko supernatural insight into any of that...

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko Ashida spirited them home at a nice clip, just fast enough that talk would be futile, so Jubilation's continued outpouring does not faze her.  Her expressions have been muted with the occasional tightening of her jaw and her usually pouty look that comes with concentration as much as it does grouchiness.  Mostly though, she just looks unamused.

Something has been stewing inside the Ashida, hardening.  When they get home, Noriko finally shakes off the rest of Butcher's Final Death from her frame like a dog, but less coordinated and so fast she blurs like she might be vibrating.  It does, however, also end with a little kick of her foot.  It all happens so quickly and ends with a little guttering of the lights and all of the clocks in the appliances get reset.

A part of Noriko hears Jubilation, though she's not really listening.  She zips toward the kitchen in a blink and is already looking up from crunching directly on a giant head of broccoli.  It was literally the first thing in there she found/grabbed and it's one of the few 'finger foods' she can eat without massive cleanup on her gauntlets.  And it's gross...but it lasts longer.  But even sating her angry stomach is doing nothing for her mood, nor does it fully prevent her from opening her big fat mouth as everything within her range seems to rapidly lose power.

"Ju-" Noriko stops herself.  She can feel the ember of anger burning her up inside and when she finally /sees/ Jubilation, bent over, the weight of everything bearing down on her love, she is smacked with the dissonance of their states.

Broccoli thumps to the kitchen floor and power is restored to the robbed electrical lines, flowing where it should once again.  Nori's gauntlet is pressed up against her heart where her amulet should be, bolts veining out from her fist along her chest.

Should be, but isn't.  "Jubes.  My amulet...Take yours off.  Take it off now."  Noriko rushes over and slows to try and coax Jubilation into sitting upright, rubbing Jubes' knee a little as she sits back on her heels before the Duchess in the most unceremonious and yet intimate way, leaning forward in a small huddle.  Anything to knock down the barriers between them, the distance that has suddenly engulfed Nori.  "My amulet is gone."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Beep. Jubilation looks up from her hands to see the blinking 12:00 on the LCD clocks on all the appliances. Uh oh. And Nori's eating broccoli! Jubes takes that to mean that the speedster is getting ready for argument that might require endurance. It's going to be one of /those/ evenings. But, that's not what happens. Instead, Jubilee finds Noriko coming to comfort her. She sits up, a slight frown crossing her forehead, and gently presses her fingers to her breastbone. There's no amulet.

    "What the fuck..." Jubilee tucks her chin inward and looks down at herself. It's gone.

    Jubilation stands up immediately, almost shoving Noriko off so there's nothing blocking her way to the bedroom. Things start going flying as Jubilation rapidly starts hurling clothing across the room. There's a logical explanation for this. There must be! Probably just flung across the room in one of their moments of passion. Clothing gets removed with a lot of haste in this apartment.

    Finding nothing, Jubilation starts looting around in their shared coffin, first in the main area and then in the little nooks and crannies carved inside for storage. Nothing. Jubilation storms back out into the living room and stops in the doorway.

    "They're gone!"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko doesn't do anything to thwart the natural momentum Jubilation has when she stands up.  She just sort of tips back and then gets up to her feet in the vampire's wake.  It's the polite thing to do.  Never cut off a Duchess' drama.  An adage of sorts that becomes more apt by the second as Noriko just lets everything fly (instead of saving things in Jubilation's wake).

"I know," Noriko responds quietly, as if she can feel the void left behind by such a security blanket.  "I feel weird."  She had finally gotten used to the emotional cohabitation, the prickling invasion Jubilation's feelings here and there and everywhere.  Now?

Silence.

"At least yours is gone too."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah..." Jubilation's tone suggests that she doesn't find that detail comforting. If only one of them lost it, that's one thing. Both, though? Well. She sounds suspicious, but there's no clear target. There's nothing obvious to blame, but an explosion of worry and ideas and thoughts bounce around in Jubilation's head, not that Noriko has any insight into that anymore. The fires of paranoia have been long stoked for the Jubilation. Suddenly, the Duchess stomps forward from her position in the doorway on a collision course for Noriko.

    ...And hugs her.

    Jubilation wraps her arms around Noriko and presses cheek to cheek. It's all so clear now. Had they simply gotten used to sharing their emotional registry out in the open like that?

    "I love you," Jubilee whispers into the speedster's ear. It had to be said before anything else.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
All sorts of unflattering emotions wash over Noriko.  She's still angry that Jubilation didn't tell her everything, that she's been shouldering it on her own, going to these little wakefests alone.  But that doesn't compare to how alone she feels.  The anger is the only familiar emotion that isn't the despair of that void.  Her jaw clenches down, but she can't hold her facade.  As soon as Jubilation touches her, no, really before, Noriko breaks from her position and nestles in, tucking her face into the vampire's collarbone.

Electricity prickles at Jubilation's back, a level they've both come to ignore, like a tag from a new shirt.  There's a little crackle and surge when she squeezes Jubes in response.  "I love you too," she breathes.  It's true, in a way, the amulets brought a closeness that cannot be replaced, but they were also like playing life with bumper rails.  "You can't do this alone," she says softly.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I know," is Jubilee's answer. But, as nice of a thought as it is to not be alone for this, alone is what she is. On one hand, she doesn't want to be in charge of the vampires of Westchester, but on the other hand, abdicating would all but seal her fate as a fine layer of dust on the ground. She killed the Malefactor. Just about the only thing protecting her right now is simply... tradition.

    That thought echoes for a moment. Long enough for Jubilee to remember the events of the night. Noriko dusted James Butcher.

    "Nori," she begins. "You killed someone tonight." Sort of. Was he even a 'someone' anymore? If not, then is Jubilee?

    "Are you okay?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"So stop doing it alone," Nori says, so consumed with the only thing she feels like she can deal with.  It's so easy to feel invincible as a speedster.  Even with all of her brushes with death and worse, the speed always seems to carve away some of that hesitance that recent encounters always bring...that extra safety of vigilance.  Time erodes.

Is it odd that Noriko has yet to even acknowledge that she just killed something yet?  Yes.  Very.  Noriko shook James Butcher off like a dog.  "Huh?"  She lifts her head at the sound of her name.

Jubilation's words are like a knell of reality, sound waves hitting her realization she hadn't processed, and was that because she never considered him a being?  Is that within her?

"Something's wrong," Noriko says suddenly, looking a shade green and very confused.  "I can't describe it...It's so weird."  Humans might know the sensation of throwing up, vampires might not remember what the onset feels like given their biological differences.  "He was going to kill you," she gets out eversoquickly.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    It's a feeling Jubilation knows all too well. Her own 'someone' didn't die from his injuries, but the mutant-hater that pulled a gun on Noriko in Washington could just have easily died. Instead, he's kept alive by a series of breathing tubes and medical monitors. Still, that feeling of responsibility hangs heavy and it's not one that ever left Jubilee, despite the details of life slipping more with each coming night.

    "Yeah, I know..." is Jubilation's response. Again. Jubilee pulls back a little and watches Noriko's reaction. Studies her. "I would've done the same." It's different, though. Killing would satisfy something deep within her, like finally scratching an itch that will never go away.

    Jubilation falls silent for the moment, thinking about how different their lives turned out, thinking about the choices they've made together. Things they've done. Things they'll never get to do. "Nori..." Jubilee begins, moving in to once again capture the speedster in her room-temperature embrace. "You just did me a favor," is what Jubes decides to say. "My... enforcer."

    Nevermind the details of the evening. Let the word spread -- breaking of the traditions will not be tolerated in Westchester.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Satisfaction?  No, but it does feel like something written between the lines of Nori's life has come to fruition...surfaced.  She doesn't seem surprised and there is no triumph in her violence.  Only a deep, sullen turmoil suppressed in her eyes with some kind of resolve.

"I know," and Noriko knows, even now that Jubilation would still do the same for her as she did back at that rally.  She knows, "But it's nice to hear."

"Oh sh-This won't go down well will it," the speedster continues to process the ramifications of a mortal, the Duchess' mortal slaying a one of her newly sired subjects.  "Good thing it was Duchess defense."  That's a thing right?

Jubilation's enforcer... "That's not like an official title or anything is it?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Noriko's reminder about the social ramifications of the evening pull Jubilee back towards her personal abyss. If Jubes had her way, Nori would never find out about the nightly humiliations. The sneers. The false smiles. The clever insults disguised as compliments. The vampires of Westchester are the laughing stock of the tri-state area. After all, their Duchess is engaged to a mortal.

    "Oh, they'll get over it," Jubilee replies, managing a little smile for the speedster's benefit.

    "No!" is Jubilation's answer. It's almost a shriek. A far departure from the velvety relaxed tones of just a moment ago. She could never let Noriko bear witness to the things they say about her. About either of them.

    "I mean..."

    Jubes breaks the hug so she can tuck an errant lock of Noriko's hair behind her ear. She smiles affirmatively and even nods a little. "You have other duties..." Her smile shifts to one that's just a bit more private, signaling the innuendo. Nice save, Jubes. Right?

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko tilts her head at the little smile Jubilation paints on, her expression giving nothing.  The sharp, sudden protest from Jubes causes Noriko's brows to lift.

"I wasn't angling for the title you know," which is Noriko's subtle way of saying...well she's not subtle- "What are you hiding at court?  A secret lover?" she teases, in light of the new turn.  Jubes just has that effect, and the playful bend to the moment ushers a small upward curl of the speedster's lips.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah, yeah, I know," Jubilation replies softly. "I'm just... " She falls silent. How long would the web of lies continue? Tonight, both of them were in danger, all because Jubes tried to keep things to herself. Is a lie by omission still a lie? It doesn't matter, Jubes decides. She doesn't want that kind of relationship. She doesn't want that kind of marriage. She was addicted to the emotional connection that John Constantine's amulets gave them... But they don't need them.

    "They call you my pet," Jubilation blurts out, dropping the shield that protected Noriko from the uncomfortable truth.

    "Every night. They ask how my pet is. Who's watching you if I'm not there. If you're house broken." As she goes on, it starts to become clear that Jubilee has just been taking these humiliations on the face. That deserves an explanation. It's not like her to suffer such indignities.

    "And I can't say anything... Or /do/ anything. I can't even act like I hear it," Jubes explains, the enthusiasm draining from her voice with each word. "I just smile... ha-ha-ha..." She rolls her eyes after the impression of her own royal, sycophantic laugh. Dwelling on this is weird. Uncomfortable. Not at all like Jubilation Lee. And so, she stops.

    Noriko gets shoved back down onto their couch and soon finds Jubes on her lap, staring at her. No glamouring. Just Jubilee's eyes. "Listen to me, Nori, listen," she adds, leaving little opportunity for interjection. "I would suffer through that for the rest of your life. I mean, I'm going to. /Happily/. So don't pay it any attention. Okay?"

    Noriko's jab about a secret lover goes, like the sneers and jabs of the Westchester vampire court, ignored.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Considering Noriko has been kept like a pet and even much worse at times, one would think Noriko has a bone to pick.  "Fucking washed up mothballs."  Perhaps Jubilation's honesty and trust has something to do with the fortitude in her response.

"...why?  Why can't you?"  Why can't you stick up for me? her eyes seem to burn back at Jubilation.  "Fucking let them eat cake!"  Apparently ignoring people is not in Noriko's wheelhouse.  "You have to tell them you ordered me to execute that guy.  Otherwise they won't respect you.  They'll say you can't control me and I'm a danger.  That our relationship is a danger."

Jubilation ignoring Noriko's jab stirs a tiny measure of relief Noriko didn't even know was needed until it happened.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Noriko's reaction should have been anticipated. It's so /mortal/. Jubilation closes her eyes and would sigh if she had some air in her lungs reserved for the task. "Nori..." she protests gently. "It's not... I can't just..." It's hard to put vampire politics into words. Why can't she just stick up for Nori like she wants to? Why does she have to take it on the chin every night?

    "Because I'm trying to stay alive," Jubes answers, finally revealing in some small part the danger she's in. Vampires covet power and Jubilee happens to hold it. It's unclear if she can defend it and that has Westchester in a bit of a stir. Every mid-level vampire who out-experiences Jubilee by centuries wants what she has. But, vampire chess is played below the table.

    "I"m not going to tell anyone that. You weren't there," is Jubilation's decision. Easy. Simple.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko knew Jubilation was in danger, but all these years at Xavier's has made her soft.  She met Jubilation and suddenly the world was different again, kinda, at least when Jubilation was in it.  "There isn't some vampire equivalent of laying the smack down or something?"  Now though, Noriko begins to mull over all the ways she could lose Jubilation again, all the ways her unseen enemies can strike.

"That's dumb."  Is Noriko all that wrong?  In the end, it's just a show of her displeasure, but she's clearly accepted it...or has she?

"Oh okay so can you do what I did?"  Noriko's genuinely asking because she has no idea what a vampire can do.  What if Jubes has some hidden rage mode?

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Well, yeah, but... "

    That's what they're doing to me, Jubilee thinks, only Noriko is no longer able to feel it. Jubilation gets the vampire equivalent of a smack-down every night. When you live forever, the best way to hurt you is with words.

    "It's not dumb..." Jubilee gently corrects. "...It's just the way it is. I... I feel like every night is going to be my last one. So, yeah, I pretend like I didn't hear them. Because, if I /did/ hear them... And I don't chain them to the roof of an Arby's to wait for the sun... I'm weak. And someone will dust me. But, if I /do/ that... Then I'm a tyrant. And then they'll /all/ dust me." Jubilation Lee. Xavier's would never say she's a good student. Her friends would never say she's smart. But, there's a small bit of wisdom being shown here, tonight.

    "So, I have to pretend like I don't hear it... But I hear it. I hear it, Nori..."

    "So, yeah, you weren't there. Guy woke up, unapproved, unwelcome, unsanctioned, so I gave him the ultimate heartburn, right?" Jubes explains, nodding her head along with the ruse. "Yeah, I can totally dust some asshole. What do you mean?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I mean pull the tree apart or whatever.  That's all."  Noriko sounds a little worn down.  Politics are her father's game.  A symbol of her father's power.  Noriko has pretended she's poor for politics and at politics long enough to make anyone think she'd be horrible at them.  They aren't wrong per say.

"Well they know that and they are taking advantage of you just the same," Noriko points out, the conflict in her motivations twisting her expressions.  On the one hand, she wants Jubilation safe.  On the other hand, she wants her respected and she wants to zap a vampire or two or three or more.

"Yeah, you did that," Noriko suddenly agrees.  "What if you picked Wendy's?" she asks dryly, perhaps a poor attempt to make anyone laugh.  She doesn't.  "What can I do?"  That's her real question.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Nori, no one is going to go back and check the tree... I'm just going to announce that I did it," Jubilation adds, grinning a little. "Who even cares about the tree?"

    "They'll just be like... Daaaamn, this Dutchess gets her hands dirty. And she's way hotter than the last one." Brow waggle. It's a brief demonstration of her high spirits, as false as they might be. These are not happy times.

    "Nori... Listen..." She leans in and smiles, just a whisper away from Noriko's face. "You're already doing it," she adds. Though, something about that doesn't feel right. Leaving Noriko to just tend to her emotional and physical needs after a long night... isn't a partnership. It isn't equals. It's not what she wants.

    "Nori..." Jubilation pulls back a little. "No. Forget that. Maybe you could... I dunno, figure out if there's anyone here who's on Team Fleeb?" That's right. In all of this backstabbing from within, Jubilee has enemies from without. Tracy Fleeb is running on a campaign that threatens to expose the world to vampires.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Yeah I guess they won't," Noriko mutters, looking confused as to why she would even suggest it. Still, the paranoia is like an itch. She forces a grin and says, "No one cares about the tree." Certainly not her.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Yeah I guess they won't," Noriko mutters, looking confused as to why she would even suggest it.  Still, the paranoia is like an itch.  She forces a grin and says, "No one cares about the tree."  Certainly not her.

"I mean they're not wrong," Noriko plays along with Jubilation's ruse, but she knows she's not fooling Jubilation.  It's the thought that counts right?

As Jubilation leans in, Noriko can't help but reciprocate just a touch until Jubilation's words send her into a tiny slump inside, one she fights physically but ultimately succumbs to.

"Huh?" Nori says when Jubilation gets her attention for the second time.  This time, the speedster grins though.  It's a flash of one.  She clearly wants to remain as cool as her vampiric fiance.  "Yeah.  I can do that."  She knows it would give Jubilation more time and peace of mind.  "You need to tell me things.  This...this can't happen."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "It's not going to happen," Jubilation replies immediately, sounding like someone who has already gone through these laps already. She has been carrying this burden by herself since it all began, trying to shield Noriko from it as much as she can. She has had much more time with it.

    "Thank you," she adds, smiling with an unapologetic view of her fangs. "It's a big help, to be honest. I mean, if I need to be watching my back /here/ too... It would be good to know." It's a joke, right? Maybe.

    "Can we go in there now?" Jubilation asks, gesturing vaguely to the doorway that leads to their room, as though it's Rome. All roads lead to Rome.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko flashes a look of confusion at Jubilation's quick reply, but doesn't pursue clarity, for at least two seconds.  "What's not going to happen?  You telling me things or this whole putting yourself in danger with unstable newborns or..."  Noriko trails off quickly.

"I don't know if it's that serious is it?"  Everything Jubilation says seems to teeter on a knife edge of meaning for the speedster, snagging her up on the meaning and her paranoia.  And just as she's pondering her own question, Jubilation proverbially tugs her along as she's had to do so many times since Nori dusted Butcher.  "Huh?"  She looks over in the direction of the doorway.

"Yeah...I think I want to take a shower first.  A real one," as opposed to some kind of quick sponge down or something, whatever shenanigans she does to stay out of the water as much as possible.  "I don't wake up all shiny and new like you."  But she does /not/ work at all like a human either.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I'm not going anywhere, Nori," is Jubilation's answer to the ambiguity. "No one's killing me. Not Tracy Fleeb. Not the dopes in court. Not even the Slayer." She stops right there, anticipating what Noriko might be thinking about that. Jubes cuts it off before there's a chance. "...Eh, she's not even real," Jubilation adds, shrugging one shoulder. "Just some made up bogeywoman. One girl in all the world, give me a break."

    "No, it's not serious," Jubilee adds with a forced smile. It is serious. There's someone on television talking about vampires. Someone who is connected with the Duchess in a very obvious way. It is serious.

    Somehow, Jubilee is at the doorway that leads to their bedroom, presumably as a pitstop on the way to the bathroom. "A real one, Nori?" Jubilee repeats. "How about a long one?" She hikes her eyebrows, as though doing so might make it more obvious what she's suggesting. A slight smile and tilting of her head perhaps drives the point home even further.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
SLAYER?!  Noriko's eyes are already widened when Jubilation cuts off her response.  "If she's not even real, why are you even telling me about her," the speedster posits.

It's not Noriko's fault if she's always underestimated the Fleebs.  I mean...come on.  But getting to hear Jubilation's sweet lies is a balm, even if it fades quickly...though not yet.

Noriko leaps closer so easily as if she just stepped right into the doorway, now facing Jubilation as she pauses midway through.  "I could be persuaded."  The speedster trails a clunky metallic fingertip up along Jubilation to her chin, letting a little buzz get the vampire's attention before she saunters to the bathroom.

The speedster still prefers Jubilation to remove her gauntlets and sometime later the sound of metal hits the tile.  One.  Two.  A woosh of water and the constant crackle water drops impacting the speedster's unregulated body fill the master bedroom.

For now, their problems can wait.