dear_mun | Canon is de Lint's Newford series.

[Geordie.

She knew she missed him, of course. The brief trip home, however dream-like, had made that as clear as anything. But it's nothing compared to seeing him, now.

The only thing that keeps her from going into a giddy whirl is the knowledge that this, like that short return to Newford, was temporary. Still, her grin reaches nearly from ear to ear, wings flicking slightly with excitement at seeing him.]

And miss all the fun, Geordie, me lad?

Edited 2012-07-13 01:59 (UTC)

[ He looks in her direction and gives a faint grin. His hands are shoved in the pockets of his jacket as he shrugs in response. ]

I wouldn't exactly call this fu-

[ The sentence cuts off and he blinks. Geordie rubs at his eyes with both hands. An exuberant Jilly isn't anything new but those wings fluttering behind her are unlike anything he's seen before. ]

Uh, Jilly?

Well, of course not, if all you're going to do is talk about how you're ready to rush off.

[but any further teasing cuts off when he interrupts her and she notices the bewildered look in his eyes]

....Geordie?

You have- [ He pauses for a moment. How to say this? He rubs at one eye again and then shakes his head. He must be imagining this. All of it. ] -wings. They're covered in paint.

[ And that's probably the only normal thing about any of this. ]

They are?

[not 'I do?'

Not that it was remotely unexpected to be covered in paint, but even she wasn't sure how she'd managed to get it there. Except, as the pinions stretch, feathers showing even more as they ruffle under her examination, they look clean enough to her. Though it's not hard to see where he got the impression.]

Oh, they always-

[Oh.

Right. It had taken a long time, but after a year and a half, it took her a moment to remember that she wasn't actually supposed to have wings attached to her back]

Ah...right. You weren't expecting that part.

[ He nods. ] Actually, I wasn't expecting any of this.

All the better for embracing the unexpected. Then at least you can say you aren't surprised to be surprised.

[which wasn't an explanation at all. But, then, he probably wouldn't believe any explanation she did give him]

[ He's not sure he even believes his eyes right now. Jilly has wings. Bird wings from the look of it. That shouldn't be possible. It's all starting to feel a little too much like one of Christy's stories. ]

I don't know, Jilly. I've never seen costume wings look so realistic before.

Edited 2012-07-13 03:01 (UTC)

[it's so him, that she laughs...the kind of laugh that reached all the way to her eyes.]

They're real. Really real.

[If she hadn't had it drilled into her enough as a new feather, all the cycles that had followed had certainly succeeded in her wake. The wings were a point of vulnerability. Something to be protected.

While she wasn't ashamed of them (really, fascinated would be more accurate), she was as cautious with her wings as she was with any other potential weakness. The same baggy shirts that dwarfed her small frame often covered them completely, hiding them from sight. But this was Geordie, and that alone put all need for caution far from her thoughts.

She doesn't even have to think about it as she closes the gap between them, stepping forward to grasp his larger hand in both of hers. Her smile widened just a bit to actually feel the warmth of his palm against hers, another bit of proof that he was real, before she raised his hand and placed it at the arch of one wing]

See?

[ The laugh gets a little awkward grin. The kind he finds himself giving her when she starts talking about crow girls and fairies. She believes it. Christy thrives on it. But Geordie prefers both feet planted in the real world.

Yet, even he has to admit that the feathers he feels beneath his hand are impressive. They don't have that plastic feel to them and the bone lining the arch feels hard enough to almost be real. His deft musician's fingers follow the curve of the arc. The touch is light and gentle. Just in case.]

[Expecting the unexpected.

If she'd taken her own advice, maybe she wouldn't have been quite as startled at just how sensitive the wings were under his hand. In the year and half she'd lived with them, she'd bumped them and brushed against them often enough to know to be careful...but this-

The wing quivers under his fingers and she steps back a lot more quickly than she'd originally intended. If her cheeks are slightly pinker than normal, she's quick to try to redirect his attention away from her own startlement.]

They're... [clearing her throat, just to make sure her voice was clear. Yep. Steady and normal. Moving on, now] a souvenir, I guess you could say. Part of being where I am, at the moment.

[ He's barely has enough time to notice the tremble of her wings before she pulls away. He stands still and looks down at his hand. Then Geordie looks back up at her. His brow furrows with concern and confusion. ]

It's not Halloween yet.

[his response gets equal parts gratitude and frustration. Gratitude, because his distraction lets her focus on him instead of...whatever just happened. Frustration, because...well...it's exactly what she'd expect.]

It's not Christmas, either.

[it's slightly teasing, but also a little bit pointed. She couldn't really offer him more proof without hurting herself, and so she'd just have to wait for him to catch up]

[ Geordie rolls his eyes at the flippant remark. They have months to go before either holiday. ]

That's not the point, Jilly. You and Christy might think otherwise, but things aren't that strange in Newford.

Sure they are. It's just easier to find excuses for it, there.

People don't have wings.

[normally, this would be the place where she'd come back with any number of bizarre occurrences, both real and imaginary; platapai and honest politicians were both fair game.

But this time, all she does is let her wings spread so that they're clearly visible...and clearly under her control.]

[It's a magnificent site, Jilly and her wings. He watches in awe and in that moment he's taken back to another time. Before crow girls and animal men. When a ghost of a girl haunted his dreams and heart. He had memories that shouldn't have existed, of a girl no one aside from Jilly knew. That had been his first real taste with the arcane. And though he'd never forget Sam, it had been easier to allow himself to once again dampen the oddities surrounding his lost love.

Jilly has wings. Like with Sam's disappearance, given the proof, it's now hard to deny. Geordie wants to reach out and touch them again. Somehow, he restrains himself. But for now, he'll accept this truth.

Still, his laugh is awkward. He shakes his head.]. Okay. Not a costume then. Have you told Christy yet?

{There's a look in her eyes...part haunted, part sad..and not at all her usual self]

I haven't seen Christy. Or anyone. Not for... a long time.

[could she tell him it had been three years since she'd seen him? And that she'd forgotten him for two of them? She didn't think she could]

[ The look doesn't go unnoticed. He takes a step closer and reaches out a hand to gently place on her upper arm. Like with the wings, this new bit of news Jilly delivers doesn't make sense. But the instinct to protect, that Riddell loyalty she's always going on about, it's there in full force.]

What do you mean? I saw you yesterday during your shift at Kathryn's.

Edited 2012-07-15 16:00 (UTC)

You did.

[she doesn't know which 'yesterday' this was for him, but she doesn't doubt it.]

But I haven't seen you in...[years. But she trails off before finishing that, giving him a smile as she leans to close the gap and touch her shoulder to his arm, grateful for the contact]

Time's a strange thing, Geordie, me lad. And I've gone and gotten all tangled up in it.

[but that's all awfully dismal and she's too happy to see him, however temporary this visit is, to waste the time on being sad. So she changes the subject...in a manner of speaking]

I met a pirate. You'd like him.

[ Geordie frowns. She's changing the subject on him. While he's generally content to let it go at times, now is not one of those moments.

He squeezes her arm in a gesture meant to be reassuring. But his grip is tighter than he means. He's thinking of Sam again and how he can't bare the thought of losing Jilly like he lost her. ]

How long? How long has it been for you?

[she sighs, but where that tight grip might make her nervous with anyone else, she knew Geordie almost as well as she knew herself. She knows how much he needs to hold on--hold on to a "normal" world, hold on to his uneasy relationship with Christy, hold on to his integrity as a musician. Just...hold on. So, rather than breaking his grip, she just lets the connection sit.]

Over a year.

It's like Joe says about the Otherworld. Some places, time moves real slow, like in Rumpelstiltskin, where you spend an hour and find a 100 years have gone by. And others...like the one I'm in now...you could live a lifetime there and come back before someone had finished blinking an eye.

[ It's only when she begins to talk that Geordie realizes how tight he's holding on to her. His cheeks flush for a moment and he loosens his grip. But he won't let go. Not when Jilly's admitted to being... where exactly? Elsewhere, at least.

For the first time, he really regrets not listening more to Joe. His frown deepens. ] I'd like to think I would have noticed if you disappeared, Jilly. And even if I didn't, you'd tell me.

[her expression only grows more fond as his grows more serious]

Of course I would, you dolt.

But that's just it. You would have noticed. Except...do you remember how it was in that first Narnia book, when they're playing hide and seek and Lucy spends a whole day gone in the time it takes Peter to count to one hundred? That's me. Gone through the wardrobe or down the rabbit hole or however it came about, but I'll be back before you know it.

[at least, she hoped she would] So just you wait. Tomorrow I'll back and I'll have more stories than you know what to do with.

[She sounds so optimistic, so Jilly-like, that Geordie wants nothing more than to believe her. He doesn't remember much of the Narnia books, just that he had been forced to read them as a child and didn't really care for them all that much. But it does sound like something Geordie would talk about in one of his books. A matter he does pay more attention to.

His voice is soft, expression still worried when he lets go of her. He rakes his hand through his hair instead.] You better.

[when he releases her, she shifts her stance so she can link her arm in his once it falls to his side once more...loose, but still connected]

Cross my heart.

[so serious and so worried. She hates to see him like this...and not in the general sad-to-see-people-suffering sort of way. Seeing the darker side of things was something neither of them had to work at. It's why she worked so hard to do the opposite, herself, and why...now...she tries to change the subject again.]

I was shrunk down to the size of your thumb, once. For a week. And that's no kind of fun when these wings don't let you go flying.

[she paused, a grin splitting her features] Or...well... I guess it was still fun, but it's harder than you think it will be, just musing about it.

[It's a little bit reassuring when she links their arms together. Silly, as well. But at least so long as he holds on to Jilly, he can pretend that nothing will happen to her. He can't stand the thought of letting her slip away like Sam did. Not his best friend.

It calms Geordie enough to actually listen to her words.]

They give you wings but you can't fly? [He frowns a little at that.] Doesn't seem fair.

You can learn to hover,if you really work at it. But flying's out. [her voice is slightly wistful. She would have loved that]

But that's the way it goes, right? Magic does what it will. If it went the way we expected, it wouldn't really be magic.

[she'd just avoid mentioning how the wings, themselves, weren't really magical. That and the bar code tattooed at the nape of her neck would only worry him more]

I guess.

[Not that he'd really know. For the most part, he's spent his time avoiding that Otherworld. Jilly might think Newford is a magical place but to Geordie, it's just a normal city.]

I don't exactly have the same experiences with magic that you do.

What about Sam?

[He frowns. That whole experience with Paperjack put losing Sam in a new light. But it's still not one that he's comfortable with.

He gives a dismissive wave.] That's different.

Now you're just being stubborn. [though she says it fondly. He wouldn't be a Riddell if he wasn't stubborn as a mule]

My thing? Really? I'm supposed to write about things, not experience them myself.

Yet here you are, experiencing it yourself. [He frowns for a moment.] Do you have a story that might explain this?

Yes, well. Not everything has to make perfect sense. Or does, for that matter.

And no, I'm afraid I don't. This might become a story of its own, though trying to explain it might be beyond even me.

[ Geordie shakes his head and then brushes hair out of his eyes. There are issues they don't agree on. This is one of them. ]

Most things do, though. The world's not made up of magic like you might think.

You're still going to insist on that now? Here?

Yes. There's an explanation for this too, Christy. Even if you don't have it.

Canon is de Lint's Newford series.

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