15606/Lost and Found Her

Lost and Found Her
Date of Scene:	13 August 2023
Location:	Breakstone Wilderness Campsites
Synopsis:	Monet finds Noriko to make good on her word, which was kindly given in the first place. Noriko finds out where Jubilation is living, both try not to be vulnerable in front of each other, both fail.
Cast of Characters:	Noriko Ashida, Monet St. Croix

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Noriko Ashida has posed:
The sun is getting on in that golden hour when it's strutting it's glorious backside to the other side of the planet, glimmering through the leaf speckled branches as if winking.  Somewhere between the campsites and the nearest manmade bathroom, Noriko is lying on her back along the trail.  Her gauntlets are folded along her stomach, more staggered to pull it off.

The speedster got done with her work ages ago and let the powers that be know that she'd be out here if anyone needed her.  She couldn't imagine who, unless some kid blows up the mansion.  If that happens, good luck!  Noriko will probably realize too late.  She's lived long enough to know that super speed doesn't solve everything, and sometimes, makes some things a bit worse.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It's taken a bit for M to track down Noriko. If only due to how frequently the girl zooms along and rarely stays in one place. So she's not had luck in hte last day or two actually finding her. Noriko does not have a phone, and attempts at contacting her telepathically do not go well due to the girl's attention span. So when she's actually been in one place for more than a few minutes, M actually is able to track her down.

so as Noriko lets them know where she is, Monet goes to fly over towards the location. Quickly broadcasting a telepathic message to NOriko <<I'm on my way. I have fulfilled your request>> Before Noriko gets bored and zooms off again!

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko yawns, wondering if Monet gets any notion of a yawn when someone does it, if there's some subconscious leak that would reach out and rib her somehow just a little bit.  She smirks softly.  The young woman is not fond of telepaths, but she doesn't give M guff about it, for whatever reason.

Anyway, it really is longer to Noriko as she's enjoying the stillness of life at her natural velocity.  If she lets go in the right places, it can feel like falling into a photograph.  That impossible solitude.  Her mind drifts back to the fireworks the night she first kissed Jubilation and what they must have looked like.  Only losers open their eyes when they kiss, and she wasn't going to be one of them.

Suddenly, Monet slips into view.  Nori had been zoning out, though it will only appear to be a normal reaction.  She gets up onto her feet.  "Hey...Is everything okay?"  Her eyes race over Monet's features to get social clues even before a word can be thought or spoken.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
And then Monet is going in for a landing and lets out a sigh and looks over at Noriko appreciatively as she goes in. The fact that the girl is staying calm and is not all over the place makes this much easier . But M made a promise to her, and she has intended to fulfill it.

"Yes, I was able to find where your fiance was staying. She's safe and all right. She has normal hideous taste in music, a tendency to leave the front door open and forget about passerby, but she is fine, safe, and seems to be doing well." That's the important information that she was required to pass along.

She goes in for a landing. "I wanted to tell you as soon as possible." A promise is a promise.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Yeah I know," about the music, and the way Noriko says it hints that it might be a lost cause that the speedster cherishes.  No matter how much Noriko is playing it cool, it's clear she's hanging on M's every word.

"As long as she's not inviting random strangers or anything in.  Was there...anyone else there?  I mean that you might have noticed?"  Noriko's mind flashes back to the person Jubilation called right before she split.  This unknown person who she could call at the drop of a hat to save her?  "Doing well how?"  Her mind flits off to extrapolate a thousand different possible answers to that question and her stomach turns.

"I'm glad she's okay," Noriko says, realizing that she feels lighter with relief, though not light.  "Thank you. How did you find her?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would shake her head, "No, not for several blocks. She seemed to have the neighborhood on lockdown and the location she's staying seems to radiate something rather offputting when it comes to keeping people away. The location was generally isolated and there were no signs of any others present. She appearsto have at least intimidated any other vampires within the area so they are behaving or keeping the peace."

She takes a breath over and continues on. "She said that there had been some trafficking in mutant blood that she had put a stop to. Given the lack of retaliation over such a thing I presume strongly that any members of the.. Court are in general terrified of her i fshe's cut down on their business. She was relieved to hear that you were all right but did not voice it. And I found her by.. Listening to some complaints of people about her singing carrying along."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
At first there is a hint of surprise in Noriko's features only evident by the lack of some defensive or off putting expression.  She just absorbs what Monet says.  That /Jubes/ must have intimidated the other night creatures.  There is a bittersweet stab at hearing it.

"It's probably a lot easier to intimidate once you've stopped playing house with your food," Noriko explains.  "So she's probably safer now than she ever has been."  And every fiber in Noriko's being wanted to blast away Jubes' court haters but she also just wants Jubes to feel respected.  To be respected.  She tries to hold back a flood of tears and it causes an awkward pause.

"That whole resurgence of mutant blood interest was probably my fault.  I was poking around to see if any of the lowlifes knew where she was or could track her down for me."  And Noriko didn't really have many contacts aside from knowing where the baddies hang out since she runs by them all the time before they can slither deeper into shadow.

"Thank you for saying that," that Nori's alright?  Probably, she doesn't clarify.  "For everything...was it Backstreet Boys?"  She's aware of her fiance's predilection for retro everything.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would give a timid smile over at Noriko, "No, Spice Girls." Still better than Hansen or Justin Bieber. But M has clear limits for tolerance. "I am going to tell you where she is." She goes to give a telepathic infodump to NOriko of the location where Jubilee is and how to get there - rather than a map or verbally which Noriko might just skim over and lose track of. So the location is there unless Noriko is resisting M giving her the place and how to get there.

"I have fulfilled my obligation to the both of you. And I am going to give you a suggestion. You two both clearly deeply care about one another and concerned about the other's well being. You both are in a state where you are safe and there is no significant threat to either of you. You have to go to her and talk and work things out. You both love one another deeply. I don't have to read either of your minds to tell that. You both miss one another deeply."

M takes a breath, standing firm. "You have to go to talk to her and try to work it out for both your sakes. She can't use an excuse that she's putting you in danger anymore. ULtimately it is your decision, and it will be hard and involve a lot of pain if you do. It is your thing to decide if you want to try and sort it out. It is also something you can decide is not worth it and will be too painful and risk severing any connection you have. But you both love one another." M trails off.

That's something she has no particular right to make any decision on. Given her own abandonment.. She shakes her head.

"You cannot push one another away eternally. Do not abandon what you have going." Her expression is clearly in the showing that she did.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko's mind seems to latch onto location details rather easily.  Nothing supernatural or anything, but it's clear some parts of her mind have had to adapt to keep up with her body like a homing pigeon.  "Oh," she says when she locks it into her memory, like someone who misplaced something precious and it was in front of them the entire time.

The speedster's eyes get a little redder as Monet speaks and there might be a small puddle of high velocity tears are being swiped off to gather in their peripheral vision on the ground.  UGH NOT IN FRONT OF M.

"I know."  But.  But.  "She deserves better than me, someone willing to compromise and support her.  I mean she-she's given up so much for me."  Sure in the throws of their fighting Noriko might have vindictively picked up some kittens, but that was in the moment.  "I have something I need to do."  Besides say she's sorry?

"I just hope I don't screw everything up again-Was she wearing her ring?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would look over at Noriko - making a point to not show that she's noticed the tears to give the girl a bit of dignity when it comes to that. "She deserves /you/. ANd you deserve her. Do not denigrate yourself or her. You both have put enough blame on yourselves as much as it is. You won't get over it if you don't maek the atetmpt. You are both incredibly stubborn and self sacrificing and think you're acting to protect the other one. You won't resolve it without yelling at one another over it and making aemnds. Your relationship is worth fighting for. You cannot give it up as you both are too stubborn and feel too much guilt."

She shakes her head, "I could not tell. Her attire did not give me a glimpse to say." Not confirming that Jubilee didn't have the ring on - just that there was no way to tell. "I.. I was happy with someone that I had great feelings for. That had them for me. When I was in a bad state I was abusive to them and attacked them in ways that hurt them beyond measure. I will always regret it. What I inflicted on them. There is no going back to the way things were for it. I will regret what I have done the rest of my life and I hurt them too much, mentally and physically, for them to ever give me another chance. They are happier with another than they are with me. I will regret what I have done the rest of my life. Do not make the mistakes that I did and drive away the one you care for. You are never alone."

That is the most vulnerable likely that Noriko has ever seen M. Even more than when she talked about what her brother did to her sisters.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko was hopeful M might have noticed if the ring was there, but she knows if she really wants to know, she has to go herself.  "Well it hasn't shown up in the mail yet," she attempts to shield herself from her own vulnerability.  A part of her hears Monet, but also there's a part of her that makes her wish she could easily fold her arms across her chest.  Yeah, who wouldn't say all those things.  This is just who Monet is.  A nice person.

But when Monet begins to share her own tribulation, it pierces through Noriko's veil of hardened ego.  Her expression softens, then melts as little rivulets of tears begin to flood the valleys of her cheeks, becoming small rivers, then deltas.  It all happens so fast, and she can no longer see Monet in front of her, but the word 'alone' is hardly uttered before Noriko has wrapped Monet up into a buzzy hug.  The sensation is odd and more than a few people might find the low grade charge discomforting to say the least.

"That sucks."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
And then Noriko is over close to her and gives her a hug. THere's no stiffening over from M at it. No resistance. She just lets it and accepts it. Her own arms timidly go up to weakly wrap around the other girl. She, like Noriko would, would forever deny crying. "They will never forgive me or feel anything for me again. And I will always blame myself for what I did. And.. Please, if you can find it in yourself do not abandon her. YOu will regret it the rest of your life. Confronting it will be extremely painful. But if you do not you will always regret it. Fight for it and do not give up." She does not ask NOriko to promise her or demand she do it.

The decision is Noriko's and Noriko's alone whether she wants to do it.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko's hugs don't ever last longer than they should, only because sometimes they last longer for her anyways, at least perception wise.  She also has the ability to notice right when someone seems to be done with a hug, perhaps because the shift is so obvious to her.  After she gets some reciprocation in this case, that's when /she/ herself is done with the hug.

"I don't plan to," Noriko says quietly before pulling back and straightening up.  "I'll do whatever it takes.  I didn't ask her to marry me just to save her.  I don't know what she thinks, truly, but I really do want to spend as long as I can with her..."  She takes a deep breath and lets it go, measured.

"I should take a shower."  Yeah Nori definitely needs one.  Her expression offers momentary contriteness to M.  "I smell like...everything."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod, "Yes, you should." M's moment of vulnerability has ended, and her mask is back fully in place. Her arrogance has returned. She has given up her weakness now. Noriko will do what she has to do. What she feels is right. And she will make it work. Or at least she will know she did everything she could to try. Monet gives her a nod.

She has done what she said she would. Her favor to each girl, her obligation.. Is now paid back to them. As the words are said,s eh is going to float away and fly off.