15369/Where's Jubilee

Where's Jubilee
Date of Scene:	12 July 2023
Location:	Under a Westchester Bridge
Synopsis:	Noriko goes looking for Jubilation in all the wrong places...except one wrong place turns out to be right.
Cast of Characters:	Noriko Ashida, Jubilation Lee

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Noriko Ashida has posed:
Where's Jubilee?  It's not a game Nori ever wanted to play in the vampire kingdom in the little county of Weschester.  Trying to find Waldo amongst a sea of New Englanders would be easier than finding a vampire amongst its kin.  THEY'RE ALL ALIKE!  Pale, emo self-interested assholes.  Okay they aren't all emo.

But Noriko's quest to find her fiance-? (at least she thinks so, though the ring's ashes might be in the mail)-has lead her to a place she's been interested about anyways.  She's heard whispers at court and elsewhere of a place that deals in vampire blood, amongst other substances probably....place, people.  Who knows.  Noriko was just told where they pick up customers (and possibly product, though she wasn't told that) and she'd been meaning to accidentally stumble upon it anyways, well some part of her has.  Something itches along her veins.

"You aren't good for business human," a vampire known as Bartholomew spews.  "The smell," as if the living were just as odorous to him as people teetering on the precipice of old age are odorous to everyone, living and dead.  Something about being left out on the shelf for so long probably only smells delectable to the Grim Reaper.

"Mutant," Noriko corrects, but it's so fast it comes out as 'mute.'

"What did you say to me?"  Bart is suddenly in front of Noriko, his fangs bared just so he can lick one as he cocks his head down at Noriko.

"I said 'mute.'"  Noriko has no idea how it's being heard.  "Are you fucking dumb /and/ deaf?  I-"  What she was going to say was she just wanted to know if he knew where the Duchess is or if you knew someone who could find out for her, to name his price.  But that didn't happen, because while Noriko was so focused on trying to be slow enough for him to understand her, insultingly slow, Bart grabs her by the throat, lifting her up to slam her against the cinder block wall under the bridge (Bartholomew's 'office' if you will).

The speedster's body is frailer than one might expect of a mutant with super speed and she gets the wind knocked out of her, dazed, and unsure of how much time is passing or has passed as things around her swirl quick and slow.

"Actually, maybe you are good for business."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The Requiem court was formed in the late 18th century to handle various aspects of the newly formed Great Vampire Nation of Westchester. For hundreds of years, each member had a small slice of the pie to deal with and would advise the Duke on matters of the state. After replacing the Duke, Jubilation Lee found The Requiem to be an annoying hurdle between her and whatever she might want to achieve. One positive thing they've done for her is make her aware of Bartholomew's little business operation. They didn't mean to, of course, but vampires have great hearing.

    Jubilation's plans had been to visit several of the other pop-up vampire businesses in the area, ask them for their support with an upcoming tourism initiative, and then make her way to Bart's place for a surprise inspection. When word got to Jubilation that a certain blue-haired speedster was spotted in that area, her plans changed. Bart would be her first stop.

    Bartholomew's crooked smile grows as Noriko falls to the ground after hitting the cinder block wall. "Heh, heh," he chuckles before dragging his tongue against the tip of one of his fangs again. "I think... you're just...what my customers are lookin' for...." He approaches the fallen mutant like a snake comes upon its prey. He takes this slow. He wants to enjoy this. "But...first. I gotta make sure..." he adds. Bartholomew cocks his head back, mouth wide open, and hisses.

    Noriko would see this sleazy creature bringing his fangs down towards her neck with no shortage of evil glee in his eyes. And then... wide-eyed surprise. A hand belonging to someone behind Bartholomew curls around his shoulder and comes around his neck. Pink, glittery nail polish has been neatly applied to each nail. Bartholomew gags as he's violently pulled backwards and away from Noriko.

    "This one belongs to /me/!" a voice shouts. It's menacing. It's scary. In an instant, the emotional landscape of the room chills. It's... Jubilee.

    With a sudden blur of vampire speed, Jubilation and Bartholomew appear at the adjacent wall. She is pressing the other vampire against the cinder blocks, one hand clutching his neck. Bart, once the predator, is now the prey. He's terrified, staring at Jubilation with wide eyes. "I think it's time you close up for the night," Jubilation snarls. If there was any question about what she is, that question is answered. She is a vampire. Nothing else. She releases Bart's neck.

    Relieved, Bartholomew moves away from the wall, stammering various apologies and courtesies to the duchess as he recovers. He starts to frantically collect his things to leave, just oh-so-happy that he's actually going to live to see another night. Except, he's not.

    Bartholomew's relief turns into horror. He stares down at his chest, utterly shocked at seeing the wooden stake's point piercing through him. He stares at it, blinks a couple times, and screetches as his body begins to fall apart and disintegrate into a lumpy pile of grey dust. Jubilation tosses the wooden stake onto the pile that was once Bartholomew.

    "Cyke," she says to it.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko Ashida coughs for air and reaches for her neck where Bartholomew gripped her, but she's not in control of the situation.  Bleary and confused turns to fear when she sees the world rush by her in spurted blurs.

"No," Noriko grits out as if possessed by some stubborn, guttering fire that refuses to die, even though it will.

Suddenly those fangs are close, and they aren't /her/ fangs.  Jubilation...just wanted to find Jubes, Noriko thinks right before she assumes she'll be drained dry.  These bottomfeeders aren't too bright about their business opportunities.

Jubilation...

Lingering in that moment before death, or perhaps it was the cinderblock to the head, the world crawls, and so does Noriko, a first for her.  It feels like two parts of her are at a disconnect, shifting over different parallel planes as she wills her body to move...and waits.  Waits for those teeth.  Waits for death.

Let's just say she has plenty of time to come to terms with what she's done in this life.

Just when Noriko's considering whether she can be asleep by the time Bartholomew plunges his teeth into her...

Jubilation.  Who glides in like an angel of death.

Noriko stumbles as Bartholomew is wrenched away from her.  She blinks rapidly and shakes her head before getting up.  She tries to focus on the fight, but then all of the sudden it is all over.  There's ash, there's a stake, Jubilation, even a throwback one liner!  She almost missed it.

"Jubes-"  Her mouth opens and closes rapidly for half a second then super slow as she tries to make words come out.  It's...odd.  "I-You saved me..."  She might be in shock.  She settles for a grin, realizing articulation is not her strong suit right now.

Tears have tracked the speedster's cheeks from thinking she was going to die and unable to do anything about it, and like most people who have gone through a traumatic life or death experience, she most certainly feels closer to her rescuer than maybe the situation warrants.

It's all in the eyes.  That kind of glassy look.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    And, just like that, it's over. Jubilation stands victorious over the sleazy clump of ash. She shifts her weight to one hip and puts her hand on it, as though trying to seem more Jubilee-ish. The terrifying monster that had filled the room with its presence just moments ago is gone. It's just Jubilee. Without warning, a bit of pink peeks out between her lips and slowly grows into a respectable bubble. After it pops, Jubilee pulls it back into her mouth and resumes chewing. She's been practicing.

    What would happen now? Would she yell at Noriko for coming here? Accuse her of being a vampire blood junky now? Or, worse, a degenerate fang-banger? It'd be understandable, considering how her access was cut off cold turkey, but that's not what happens.

    Jubilation takes a step forward and slowly reaches for a small cut on the speedster's temple without thinking. The instinct to comfort her, to care for her, briefly took hold. Before Jubes can touch Nori, she retracts her hand and even takes a step backwards. She reaches up and rakes her fingers through her own hair, awkwardly glancing down at her sneaker. She even lifts her foot a couple inches, as though she might be inspecting it.

    "Oh, yeah, it's, like, not a big deal or anything..." she replies quietly, not looking up from the elaborate way she laced her Heelys sneakers.

    She's not wearing the ring.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
God she's so cool, Noriko thinks briefly, remembering the first days she noticed just how cool her roommate was...in lots of ways okay!  A real, lasting blush comes to Noriko's cheeks as her mind leads her down memory lane.  The detour of thoughts are both shattered and replaced with more challenging ones when Jubilation reaches to touch her, but that's it, only reaches.  In that moment, it feels as if something is severed.  She knows some loving instinct was smothered, and that kind of intrusion of intimacy that /their/ family has is, is it no longer?

I did this, she thinks, but of all things, the one thing she's been telling herself, when she finds Jubes, is not to cry.  Don't cry.  You're the asshole Nori.

"Yeah...you were just on a stroll under the bridge," Noriko scoffs, but everything is a little bit shaky, a little bit played up.  "Are you following me?"  If Noriko was a little bit more on her game, maybe if she hadn't been bonked, she would likely realize that this isn't the only question she should be asking.  She should also ask if Jubilation is having her followed.  Instead, the beginnings of a flattered smirk appear.

Don't cry.  Don't cry.  Don't cry.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Noriko's insult would receive an immediate comeback, or at least it would appear so. A speedster's relationship with time would drag the moment out and reveal Jubilation's real reaction to it. Stroll under the bridge? Noriko didn't just call her a a name -- troll -- in the heat of the moment. She wrapped her insult and handed it over so Jubilee could open it up herself. It required some thought and setup. Jubilation looks up from her shoe. While vampires are normally excellent at subtly, it's impossible for her to hide her body's involuntary responses. Jubilation's shoulders rise slightly as her chin tucks inward. Her lips disappear into her mouth. This lasts only for an instant, but the speedster's forced to watch just how much hurt she caused with that comment.

    Jubilation frowns. "Following you? Yeah right," she replies with no shortage of sarcasm. She even rolls her eyes for good measure. And now it's Jubilee's turn to fire back.

    "Oh, right, so, like, what, are you coming here to get fucked up, then? Are you a V junkie now?" Jubes accuses angrily. She gestures towards the various vials and pouches that Bartholomew was unpacking before his untimely end. The current trend is a couple drops of vampire blood diluted with heroin. It's called V.

    Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
WHAT'S HAPPENING?!  Noriko's woozy brain screams when whatever came out of her mouth seemed to be received by Jubes.  One moment things were so cool.  Now they aren't.  Jubilation's response brings Noriko back down to earth, but the speedster struggles with the journey.  She flails helplessly inside.

Don't cry.  Don't cry.

"Whatever..."  Part of Noriko doesn't want to argue Jubilation on how she was right there, right when she needed to be.  It's too much to think about and her head is pounding a billion times a second it feels like like some war drum hopped up on steroids.  No, it doesn't make sense.  Little is making sense.

"I came here looking for /you/."  Noriko says it with such conviction that it's plausible she might not actually realize how ridiculous she sounds.

DON'T CRY.

Noriko thought she'd have more to say, but she doesn't and just keeps her lips firmly placed together as if in resistance of what onslaught is to come, though her brow just makes it all look like resting bitch face in the end.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Okay..." Jubilee says. Her response is simple, but her tone is ambiguous. It's not the same angry tone from a second ago. It's just neutral. She looks away, staring at the threshold that separates Bartholomew's little setup from the rest.

    Jubilation hesitates for a moment before turning back to look at Nori. She blinks, but it's long and drawn out. She remains silent until her eyes finally open again.

    "Stop looking," Jubilation replies gently, lingering in that ambiguous place between a whisper and normal speech.

    Those are the last two words from Jubilee before she turns and walks out of the dust pile's store.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko is left dangling from some proverbial edge after Jubilation's ambiguous response.  She squints at Jubilation as she continues to resist the inexorable swelling wave of emotion inside of her.  She waits.

But the world that comes to her, the one waiting for her on the other side of those two words, it's one she could never be ready for.

Stop looking.  She is speared in place.  And Jubilation is gone.