8032/Sitting In a Tree

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Sitting In a Tree
Date of Scene: 28 September 2021
Location: Jubilee's Apt - College House
Synopsis: Noriko visits Jubilation and tests her other defenses and her skills. They talk. Jubilation shows off.
Cast of Characters: Noriko Ashida, Jubilation Lee




Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko hasn't been able to sleep.  With Jubilation's new schedule though, it was no surprise to anyone when Noriko shifted what parts of hers she could.  She'd stay all night and go back for naps, but the optics wouldn't be in their favor.  Wait...that's something she should totally try and pull off!  Maybe find the balance.

The speedster is standing under Jubilation's bedroom window outside, pale moonlight illuminating the wall she stares down and the tree behind her.  Noriko rubs her hands together.  "I got this."  She's wearing her cargo pants and tank top.  She blurrily reaches up to tie her hair back away from her face and then takes off at the wall with a burst of speed.

Noriko counts her way through her own math equation as she heads up, one foot, two, three.

"SHIT!"  She isn't going to make it, she didn't use enough velocity, so she does the only thing she can to at least land on her feet.  She springs away from it, forgetting about that tree and that lovely branch.  HELLO BRANCH!  Noriko grabs it and ends up hanging outside of Jubilation's window with her back to it.

"This must be what it feels like to be Jubes," she realizes softly.  "...only a lot shittier at it."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Huh? What? Jubilation stirs in the cardboard box that has become her makeshift coffin. The SHIT! from outside causes Jubilee to sit up suddenly, arms crossed in front of her chest, and open her eyes. She turns towards the window and frowns. Nearly every item in the apartment has been used to barricade her interior bedroom door since the apartment's main entrance got Nori'd. Anyone wishing to get in and express their religious views physically would have to use the windows. Jubilee springs out of the box and walks over to the wall next to the window. She tilts her head to the side so she can peek from the edge.

    "Nori?" she questions, eyebrows hiking up. Jubilee opens the window as wide as it can go. "What are you /doing/?" She sticks her head out and looks left, right, and then down.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"WALL-JUMPING," Noriko says as if she had just found the Holy Grail.  "I just wall-jumped Jubes."  That's about all she can process, stranded out on the branch.  "I was going to run up and grab the ledge.  Didn't work out."  BUT SHE WALL JUMPED.  If only Jubes could see Noriko's face and the massive grin she's sporting.

"I was seeing if it was possible for someone to get up."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    A smile forms on Jubilation's face as she shakes her head. "Okay, hang on..." she says. Jubilation reaches up and starts gathering her hair into a ponytail and ties it off with an elastic tie worn on her wrist. She steps up onto the bottom edge of her open window and crouches there, perched like a gargoyle. Jubilee leaps from the window, arms extended. As soon as she grabs hold of the branch, Jubilee shifts her weight so her momentum causes her to swing forward and backward until she's able to gracefully pull herself up onto the branch.

    Now crouched on the branch, Jubilee smiles down at Noriko. "So. What did you learn?" she asks sweetly, still smiling. "Besides wall-jumping."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Hang on.  Well first Noriko has to adjust her grip, which seems pretty easy.  "Ha," she says dryly.  Little does she know what is coming though.  Noriko can't see and she's no ready for the sudden extra flex in the branch.  Her hands slip, but there are things one can do...like, scrambling for friction like a cartoon character that Noriko will swear by even if it can rip up your hands.  This is not one of those times where Noriko's hands are ripped up, but she does blurrily scramble to get purchase again like a disrupted cat.

"That I need to have more velocity when coming up the side, but I think it's doable...and that bouncing around is, kinda really cool," Noriko admits, smiling up to the vampire above her.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation nods her head at that. "The uneven bars," she explains. That's the name for the somewhat bouncy horizontal bars used in gymnastics routines. She grins and reaches down with her hand. "Let me help you up," Jubilee offers. Being pulled up by one hand on top of a tree branch might normally be precarious, but Jubilee has the balance of...well, Jubilee, and the strength of a vampire.

    "Come sit with me."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Oh.  Cool."  Noriko doesn't hesitate.  Her grip is starting to fail her anyways.  Stupid gauntlets.   So the speedster reaches up to grab Jubilation's forearm, monitoring the situation at a higher velocity though getting pulled up goes off without a hitch.

Noriko moves without as much fear as a normal person would which is easily noticeable when Jubilation lets go of her hand and she she pivots to slide down to a seated position, somehow finding just the right angles all in a seemingly single fluid motion as if merely redirecting her momentum.  Her feet dangle, relaxed.  "Thanks for the lift."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee pulls Nori up by the forearm, as though they were connected by a history of trapeze. When Nori comes to a seated position so easily, Jubes grins, fangs sparkling. "See? You're a natural!" she exclaims. Jubilee shifts onto the branch, legs dangling next to Noriko's. The 'thanks' from the speedster draws a blush from inside Jubilation's cheeks. An actual blush. The romance of sitting up on a tree branch in the moonlight is not lost on her.

    "No problem," Jubilee whispers, eyes suddenly darting away as she struggles to contain her smile. She rubs her knees with the palms of her hand. Perhaps Jubes was struck with Cupid's arrow tonight because the words that come next reek of his handiwork. "I missed you," she admits.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I watch you a lot," Noriko says with a little smirk.  She does, but she's certainly not studying Jubes' moves per se, so there is a ring of truth to Jubilation's words.  Things are different for the speedster.  Some are easier.  Some are harder.  The speedster buzzes with the little kick of happiness that comes from finding something that is fun, her eyes shining.

The speedster draws in a few deep breaths, smelling the air, feeling the crisp chill of the night across her arms.  She looks up at the moon.  Noriko sighs.  Between both of their schedule staggered educations, the extra distance feels even worse now.  But then, something shifts.  Her dark gaze drifts to Jubilation with a particular warmth.  "I missed you too," she says, as she leeeeeeans closer on the branch for a kiss, unwilling to take both hands off of the branch for now.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation's eyes lower and her smile widens. "Yeah..." she says softly. "I mean, you think you get away with it, but..." She tilts her head so she can look right at Nori. "...You don't." She raises her eyebrows and continues smiling, as if delivering the final blow of sass. Take that, her face is saying.

    The branch creaks as both Noriko and Jubilee lean towards each other. Jubilee plants a chaste kiss on Noriko's lips -- something brief and sweet -- as the tree branch might not be able to support anything further. When their lips part, Jubilee opens her eyes and smiles. "So," she begins. "What's it like having all the other kids thinking you're the bravest girl at school?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Creak schmeek.  Oh how Noriko wants to lean into it.  Oh how it is a bad idea.  FINE TREE!  You win this round!  Noriko liiiingers and then finally relents, leaning back to give the tree a load off.  The laws of physics are mighty, even for those who have mastered them (Noriko has not).

"Uh, well, I thought that would automatically get me reclassified as the craziest girl in school, but apparently there's still other people who place higher than me on that list."  Xavier's is a strange school.  "I feel like I don't have to work so hard at telling people to fuck off.  Like.  Before, I guess I seemed more...approachable?"  THAT'S YOUR FAULT JUBES.  "Approachable by association," she zeros in on it.

"How does it feel to be dating the so-called bravest girl at school?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee's eyes lower, oh so briefly, as she's reminded of her supposed approachability. Or, more accurately, her former approachability. "Yeah, well, no one wants to get near me now," Jubes complains. She tries to pass it off casually, but it's clear that this is something that bothers her greatly. She once shined so brightly in the company of others but now they're too frightened to associate with her. "...Except you." Jubilation lifts her gaze to Noriko again. Except her.

    The tree branch groans again as Jubilee scoots closer to the speedster. "Happy. Very, very happy," she whispers. Creeeeeeaaaaaak...

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"You just need to find the cooler kids.  This is a great test for who is worth talking to, maybe."  Noriko thinks of the people who will likely fuck with them.  "There are plenty of teens somewhere who are cool enough to give no fucks."

Noriko blushes as she's singled out by the vampire, a grin ready as the tree branch protests Jubilation's traveling.  "Ooh," Nori intones softly, "Good."  She makes Jubilation get cloooooser and then gives her a little playful kiss.  "Soooo.  Is it possible for you to go around during the daytime at all?  Maybe, push your bedtime a little?  I was thinking we could go look at some coffins together...assume false identities, pretend someone is going to die.  We could work on disguises too."  Noriko has strange ideas of what would be fun.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "It's not like they let you take the coffin home, right?" Jubes questions, frowning gently as she plays that back in her head. It's not exactly something you can go pick up at the mall. "We don't even have to pretend, Nori. According to the State of New York, I'm dead. I think they have my death certificate around here somehere. It's not easy to get that reversed. It's taking /forever/..."

    The suggestion that she might go out during the day draws out a horrified gasp. "What? The day?" she cries out. "No!" Jubilee squirms uncomfortably on top of that protesting branch. "Why would...Why would you even suggest that?" Given how she's not a pile of ash, it's clear that Jubilee has not seen the sun at all since her transformation into the living dead. Still, something about it horrifies her to her core, drawing out a natural fear. No one has ever instructed her that she can't go in the sun. She just knows.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I don't think they do, but you never know.  We could say we want it for an art piece or something," Noriko shrugs.  "That may be a little easier than trying to bluff a body.  Yeah I bet it is hard to find the forms for reversing a death."

"How do you think we'd see coffins together?  No place is open at night Jubes.  Not like that kind of place."  Noriko presses her lips together.  It's not that she hasn't noticed that Jubilation has played some kind of mortal game of The Sun Is Lava since she died.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "See coffins together?" Jubilee repeats. She blinks her eyes a couple of times and then laughs for a second. "I always thought we'd be shopping for other things together before a coffin." The smile that comes with that laugh doesn't immediately fade. Jubes basks in that idyllic fantasy for as long as she can. It keeps getting shorter and shorter with each passing night.

    "I guess...I..." Jubilation frowns and looks away as she is overcome with shame. "I...I kind of assumed you..." Jubilation stops talking as soon as she recognizes what she's about to say. Without setting out to do it, Jubilation assumed that Nori would take care of these details for her in perpetuity. Like a vampire's familiar...

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Shopping for things like whaat?" Noriko fishes with arched brows for a moment before squinting in playful scrutiny.

But then Noriko realizes by Jubilation's reaction that she misread the situation.  "I just thought-maybe you'd want to sleep in your bed before..."  Yeah she assumed a lot.  "It's not that.  I'm happy to take care of it."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Color returns to Jubilation's cheeks again. "I...Nothing," she answers. "I mean, Halloween costumes, obviously." The only thing obvious is that she wasn't thinking of Halloween costumes. A horrifying thought: she'll be a teenager forever, doomed to flip-flop between awkwardness and extreme confidence at a moment's notice.

    Jubilation manages to find her smile again, though. "Thanks, Nori," she says quietly. Jubilee might not exactly know what a familiar is and Noriko might not be one, but she knows she can count on her and that's enough.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Oh.  Halloween costumes, obviously."  Noriko just shakes her head, but doesn't pry any more.  She shoots Jubilation a soft grin with a fond look.  Mmmhmm.  Forever off the hook.  Noriko is just in too good of a mood to feel the need to pick and pry.

"Do you have any preferences?  Anything you want me to take with me when I go get one?"  The coffin that is.  "You can show me if you have drawings or lists of features or whatever...You know I'll always do this stuff for you though right?"  Always.  Always isn't forever, but that's not a luxury Noriko has.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah, I know... It just doesn't feel right," Jubilee answers. "Just, I feel funny about it, like, I know it's wrong but I can't explain why." She shrugs her shoulders. Her Dark Passenger would not hesitate to turn Noriko Ashida, or anyone else for that matter, into a familiar. It's for that reason that Jubilee is uncomfortable at the thought of Nori doing errands for her. Deep down, she knows that it's the natural order of things, just like she knows she's supposed to drink the blood of the living. But, she never was one to always do what she's supposed to.

    "Oh, I don't care... Find something you like," Jubes replies with a smile, turning to look at Nori again. "In case you sneak in during the day. Even a refrigerator box would be an upgrade. Besides, I don't think it matters much... I've just been passing out as soon as the sun starts coming up." She can't help it.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Jubes.  If you asked me to get you a mattress before all of this, I would.  It's no big deal.  I'm bored.  All the time.  If it feels that horrible then when we blow this joint, I'll just make enough money so you can hire a personal assistant to boss around or use one of those chore apps so you don't feel so bad," she says with a smirk.

"I think it matters.  I'll take care of it.  Just because you're sleeping doesn't mean you're sleeping well."  Spoken by the person who doesn't know what healthy sleeping should look like for either fo them.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    And then Jubilee says something chilling: "I don't think I'm sleeping." She raises her eyebrows and tilts her head to watch Noriko's reaction to that. She shrugs her shoulders. "I guess I can't know for sure, but... I don't think it's sleep." After all, if she wasn't walking and talking, everyone would say she's dead. So, is that what happens to her during the daytime? Spooky!

    When we blow this joint. That brings a big fangy smile to Jubilee's face. She nods her head eagerly, as if to say 'keep talking about that!' It's not that she has anything against Xavier's. Xavier's saved her life. It's just that she has spent a lot of time thinking about what would become of their lives when they're no longer here. What will her life be like with Nori?

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Resting.  Whatever.  You know what I mean Jubes....Do you, see anything?  When you go in your box?  Like...dreams or anything?"  Noriko doesn't expect anything, but she's learning and she has no basis for what is normal for a vampire.

"I wish we knew another of your kind so we could pick their brain, figure out what is nothing to worry about."  Noriko tilts her head at the fangy smile and grins.  "We'll just find jobs we can do at night or...whenever we want."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    What does she see? There's an answer to that but it's not one that Jubilee is eager to share. "I'll tell you some time," she offers, her eyes shifting to watch Nori's reaction with some hope. From her expression, it seems that it's a more serious question than perhaps Noriko realized and, for one reason or another, Jubilee doesn't want to answer it just yet.

    Jubilation tilts her head so her cheek is resting against Noriko's shoulder. They've been through so much together, shared in so many firsts. This is just one of those things. Jubilee falls quiet, chewing on Noriko's wish that they know another vampire who can explain things. The vampire bites her lip, unsure if she should say it. The truth is, Jubilee has a lead on where she might find other vampires and she's eager to go, but she knows Nori would want to come with her. It's just too dangerous.

    "...Yeah. That would be great," Jubes agrees quietly. She's a terrible liar and it's obvious she's hiding something in those words.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Sure," Noriko brushes it off, registering Jubilation's reluctance.  "I was just curious."  The speedster shifts so she can lean back against the trunk, pulling her knee up closest to Jubilation so she can face her more.  It's only a for a moment for Jubilation, but the speedster shifts back when she realizes the new position takes her further away from the girl.  In the end, she reaches to take Jubilation's hand and smiles at the girl rests her head on her shoulder, completely unaware of the struggle Jubes is having.

Noriko sniffs out the reticence in Jubes' volume immediately.  Her eyes dart to the girl before she can think of how to approach it.  "What?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee looks up and to the left, as though doing so might aid in her thinking. As though it might summon some memory that would help her out here. If she mentions her lead on the other vampires, she's absolutely certain Noriko will insist on accompanying her and Jubilation would never lead her into a supposed vampire nest. There would be no reasoning with the speedster, Jubes figures. No amount of 'it's for your own good' would be satisfying.

    But what about a half-truth? What about a lie of omission? She doesn't have to share her plans to seek out this alleged group of vampires just a mere two hours away by bus! She can keep that part a secret, right?

    "I might have a lead on some others," she admits.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Might?  What is it?  Where'd you find it?"  Congratulations Jubilation, for becoming the sole focus of your speedster girlfriend's curiosity and concern.  She can't help but be /excited/ for Jubilation.  Maybe if Jubes meets someone else like her she won't be as isolated, she thinks.  People who get it.  Infinitely hot people?  Are all vampires so hot?  Noriko wonders between moments as she watches Jubilation, one of her all time favorite pastimes.

"Who are you taking with you?"  Noriko knows Jubilation.  They never hide their schemes, but their paths of research diverged at some point.  They used to share everything, so any little dip in sharing kind of...well it's quite obvious.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Every question seems to draw Jubilee further and further away. "I..." She stares down at the ground, leaning into her supernatural vision, tracing paths over each blade of grass, each irregular clover, each shadow and highlight. She might describe it like a television with its sharpness turned all the way up, though hazy and foggy like an impressionist painting in some ways. The world looks the same and, yet, different to her vampire eyes.

    "I can't tell you," Jubilee mutters. And that's that.

    "And I'm not taking anyone with me," Jubilee adds, lifting her gaze to meet Nori's. "I don't think that would be a good idea." Jubes sinks. She has betrayed Noriko as well as herself.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
By the time Jubilation actually says something, Noriko knows this isn't an easy answer.  That there are /reasons/ for whatever is about to be said, for why she wasn't told.  But the knowledge of it doesn't steal away from the iciness she feels for a moment, like Jubilation just poured a bucket of ice water on some part of her.  Feeling a little deflated, she says, "Okay.  Will you at least tell me when you go?  And we have a check in time and everything?  Just because you can't tell me doesn't mean I can't help.  That we don't have plans for if something happens."  It's clear, she certainly doesn't want to be left in the dark.  "Please?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Sometimes people can surprise you. Jubilee would have bet anything that Noriko would insist on going with her, but that's not what happened. She stares at the speedster with hiked up eyebrows. One side of her mouth curls up into a gentle smile. "Of course," she answers. With that assured, Jubilee feels comfortable to explain.

    "I don't think it would be safe for you. You're easily the toughest person I know, but... But this is different," Jubes continues. She brings her hand up and gestures to herself, pressing her fingertips against her chest. "They won't hurt me," Jubilation says with some confidence. She's nervous, of course, but there's no reason to show that. Besides, if she's in a social environment without the hangups of the living, who knows what she could be capable of? Jubilee is a wolf that's allowing herself to be kept in a cage.

    "Besides... I don't think they'll be too happy to meet me if I bring a---" Jubilee searches for the word. "Human." Noriko isn't really a human, but vampires are unlikely to care about the distinction between human and mutant.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I know...I don't think me being there would help you.  I'd be distracting, frustrating, or possibly get hurt.  There's no way for me to go and hideout undetected since I'm pretty sure you can smell me or hear my heartbeat or all of the above.  Plus it'd be rude.  Show up with a juice pack no one can drink?"  Noriko lets out a little sharp laugh at that.  "You should put your best foot forward.  I'd be a wet blanket when no one could catch me," she says with a wink.  But her mirth fades a little...

"Jubes...what if they don't like that you aren't feeding off of humans?  What if there are laws and stuff for vampires?  What if we aren't allowed to be together?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
     Jubilation stares. Stares. STARES. Nori is taking this really well! Jubes was so sure they'd get caught in a back-and-forth about who needed to protect who. Jubilee insisting that it's dangerous for Nori to be there. Nori demanding to go so she could make sure Jubes was okay. Jubilee was so sure it would just be an endless disagreement, each of them competing over who could be more protective of the other. But that's not what happened.

    "I /can/ smell you... It's... It's the best smell," Jubilee admits with a smile. Most vampires would probably say that, no, it's not, but it's Jubilation's absolute favorite. "...And, yeah, I can hear your heartbeat, too... When it's slows down..." She places her hand on the speedster's knee. "When it speeds up."

    "And you have this little vein in your neck that pulses...." Jubilee lifts her hand and makes a pulsing motion with her hand. "Oh, god, you have no idea... It drives me /crazy/!" She rolls her eyes and lets her smile hang open as she thinks about that.

    But then, Jubilation's smile fades with Nori's.

    "Who gives a fuck?" is Jubilation's first answer. "My body, my choice. More for them, right? Listen. In life, I was the /coolest/. Everything I did was the new tradition!" She waggles her eyebrows up and down. "What makes you think that I'm any different in death?" Jubilation smiles a big fangy smile.

    But then... Jubilee leans forward towards Nori and stares into her eyes. "Anyone who would /dare/ keep us apart will know no end of suffering. I will devote every waking moment of my existence to bring pain to those who would come between us." There's a darkness in Jubilation's eyes that has never been seen before. It's just a flicker that dances momentarily before going out. "You belong to me, Nori," Jubilee adds softly, a smile returning. That's a very vampirey way to describe it.

    "And I belong to you." But that isn't.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko isn't ask musky as other humans, it's true and whether that's a byproduct of running around all the time or more likely, some kind of adaptive ability from her powers, she just kind of smells like...other things mostly, to those with senses sensitive enough to pick up such crazy trace scents.

"Caaan you hear it-" but Jubes beats Noriko to the punch, giving her a little inspiration with that hand on her knee.  The speedster's heart takes off.  "Ha.  Advantages."

Noriko might have said something, but Jubilation has the spotlight and the speedster has no desire to make her shine any less.  Instead, she leans back against the drunk to enjoy it in repose, smiling as she pulls her knee up to lay open to the side closest to Jubilation.  When Jubilation leans forward, Noriko's dark eyes never falter, fixed to hers in a different way than someone enthralled.  It's the same resolve that Jubilation possesses.

"I know..."

"-but that's not what I meant.  Jubes you are the coolest.  I pity anyone who would think otherwise, but I mean, what if there is someone stronger?  I just want to be prepared so you aren't forced to do anything you don't want...both of us don't want."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee opens her mouth to protest. To argue. 'No one is stronger than me' is the sentence that's just waiting to spill out. It's the Dark Passenger. Jubes keeps those words back, swallows them, and takes a moment longer to form her response. "...Noriko..." she begins softly. "No one can keep me from you. You..." Instead of repeating it, that she belongs to her, Jubilee chooses another way to say it that should no doubt be familiar to Nori. "...You're my someone."

    "I get what you're saying... But, seriously, no one can come between us." She looks away for a moment, unsure if she should proceed. Ultimately, she decides to just say it. "Nori..." Jubilee turns to face the speedster again. "You know how you asked me what I see when I..." Die. "...During the day?"

    "I see you. When the sun comes up and I die again... I see you." A smile forms. "Just like the first time."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I-"  But Noriko doesn't want that to have to be the /only/ way Jubilation sees her.  "Just make sure you know what you're walking into okay?  And talk to me...share things with me, even if you think it's going to scare me or make me angry.  I don't give a fuck.  I'll be even more angry if you don't," she thinks, but she knows it will just look that way...really she'll be hurt.

"That's all I'm trying to say...I-"  She hasn't really reacted to the fact that she's burned into the retinas of her dead girlfriend's dreams.  That gateway. The thought stirs her, but she doesn't want to process it.  Later, she might absorb the insinuations, but she's not focused on that.  "I want you to see me as I am now too.  Something you can touch," she says with a strange possession of self.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    They're not dreams. Every day, when the sun comes up, Jubilation Lee dies again and it's memories of Noriko Ashida that flutter on by as she waits to rise. These are the same images that she drowned in as she laid on the side of that highway and slipped away into the night. "Nori... I'll be okay," she offers. "Really. These... I need to find them. I need to know what I am. Why. I..."

    Jubilation reaches out to pull Nori into a hug. To touch her. She has that balance, that confidence, to reach out while sitting on the branch. It's okay if Nori needs to hang on. "I... I was afraid you would try to follow me to them. But... You surprise me every night..." She squeezes the speedster and digs her chin into her shoulder. "I want to go inside now. So I can surprise you."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I know..."  Noriko tries to sound like she can really believe it through and through, but she can't help the knots in her stomach from the tug of war and the worry.  Jubilation isn't wrong.  There are parts of Noriko that want to fight her, tell her she's coming, but she knows she will lose and it will just push Jubilation further from her.  She knows...suddenly, as if the wisdom was there all along and she just hadn't acknowledged it till she was forced to stumble into it before.  This time, she gives her head some respect and her heart the acknowledgement.

Pulled into the hug she says, "Well I really want to follow you...but I'd cramp your style.  I smell," she tries to smooth over her own emotions as she leans into the hug.

"Okay how do we get inside?  What's the challenge?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "You wouldn't cramp my style," Jubes corrects gently. "I just don't know what they would do if you came." She's not acting in line with her nature and Jubilee knows this. She knows that she's fighting a battle but doesn't know how many vampires choose to do the same. If she were to bring Nori along and explain that she's not food... would they commiserate with her? Would they share stories of their struggles with being in love with their food? Or would they shun her? Would they cast her out because her love of Nori is a demonstration of weakness? Would they simply attack Noriko? One of those outcomes is more dangerous than the other.

    "The challenge..." Jubilee repeats, tapping her finger against her chin. "Well, you have a choice. You can try to jump to the window. That's kind of tricky, maybe, and you don't have much you can do if it doesn't work out...."

    "You can try to climb down the tree and then just come inside the normal way..." Jubilee adds. "Or..." She smiles. "You could just..."

    Suddenly, Jubilation's body comes apart. Her form starts to flow outward into the air as she transforms into a thick, grey mist. The mist expands and floats towards the open window. As soon as the majority of the mist is inside, it begins to condense into the vague size and shape of Jubilee. Her features start to form in this shape until, finally, there she is. Jubilee waves to Nori from inside the College House apartment.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Is it weak to fall for your sushi, ramen, or pizza?  NO! NO I TELL YOU!  It's just incredibly misunderstood, and likely Jubes would be too.  "It was a joke Jubes.  I know it's physically impossible for me to cramp your style.  I'm too cool."

"Hmmm," quickly slides into a, "-whaaa?"  Noriko stares at the vapory vampire and quickly decides to hold her breath, hands over mouth and nose instantly.  She's seen vapors travel, sprays, sneezes, all sorts of horrible things.  Inhaling her girlfriend is not high on her list of todos.

But even before Jubilation fully materializes again, Noriko is jumping up and down outside.  "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!  LIKE-" QUICKBREATH "-HOW DID YOU FIND OUT-" and she begins buzzing off words faster than discernible.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation leans out the window. "I don't know!" she replies with a big grin. "I thought maybe I could turn into a bat, you know, but I think that's just bullshit. I turn into a fart." Jubilation closes her eyes and laughs.

    "Are you going to stay out on that tree all night or...?" Jubilation gives Noriko an expectant look and shrugs her shoulders. She turns away and starts walking deeper into the apartment and further from the window.

    Just as Jubilee is about to leave eyeshot, she can be seen pulling her shirt over her head and tossing it across the room.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"A bat?  That would have been great.  Hmm.  Does this-"  Noriko laughs at the thought of Jubes as a fart, but then wonders what she /actually/ smells like, and then remembers she wants to avoid inhaling her girlfriend.  Still, she keeps thinking about the possibilities and then she's interrupted.

"Huh?"  Oh.  Ohhhh.  Noriko's eyes widen and suddenly, without fear, as if the world of physics were somehow her blanket, she launches head first at the window, arms outstretched for the image before her, sailing gloriously through the window only to THUMP on Jubilation's floor and violently scramble to stop from sliding into the barricade.

SECOND THUMP!  Noriko looks up to Jubilation from the floor.  "Hi."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Bats are the cliche thing, right? Well, as far as Jubilee knows, she can't turn into a bat. Maybe she can, who knows, but all signs are pointing to 'no.' Instead, she can turn into a mist, which is still pretty useful!

    When Noriko leaps through the window, Jubes turns her head to look at the speedster from over her shoulder. Both arms are crossed over her chest, as though to shield herself from the immodest situation she created. In reality, she's just trying to play her part. She's not at all ashamed.

    "Hi..."

    Jubilee reaches up and undoes her ponytail. After shaking her hair out, Jubilee smiles. "My door doesn't lock anymore -- which you know -- but I don't think anyone would dare come in..." With that settled, Jubilee reaches out and offers her hand to Nori. She needs to explain how she feels about the speedster and there's honestly just one way that expresses it best.