lowestclass | IC INBOX

Annyeonghaseyo, Jinwoo.

[ The voice and the language will be familiar to him, though the combination will not be something he would be expecting.

Lapis found another of those odd little pamphlets, and there is one person she can ask for help with this new language. ]

I know, ah... Very basic Korean now. Could I ask for your help with it?

[ There's some stops and starts, but she's doing her best with the knowledge she has. ]

Sooo...

[ Lapis is nice enough to keep her voice soft... er than usual, considering how soft-spoken she usually is, just in case he's still feeling the after-effects of dragon blood. She recalls still suffering the day after, when she went through something similar - ]

How're you feeling?

[ It's been a very, very exhausting few days but things have slowly calmed down now. There's still issues with sleeping and worrying about waking up back in that place - but she's with Jinwoo, they're mid-way through one of the movies he picked out and for now she doesn't have to think or worry.

Though... why does this suddenly popcorn taste iron-y? Also why is there suddenly a lot of pain, did she get a kernal or something -

- Nope, somethings wrong and she jerks away from where she was leaning against Jinwoo, hand over her mouth. There's way too much blood right now, and she's not risking it dripping everywhere. While she trusts him completely, she doesn't want to get blood on his stuff. ]

S-sorry, give me minute...

[ Or some sort of muffled, garbled variation of that.

She's making a beeline for the bathroom now, managing to remember to use her ability to heal up... whatever the fuck just happened. She bit her tongue, but surely it shouldn't have been so -

- Oh. Hmm.

Checking in the mirror sure does reveal she has fangs now. That explains it. ]

[Hey, you know who's also not safe from sudden deluge of messages from Fugo? It's you, Jinwoo!!!]

Hey, Jinwoo, just checking in since it's been a bit.

Jinwoo?

Oh goddamn it this is just going to be an everyone problem isn't it.

Hey can you let me know when you see this? We're kind of in a situation here back in the city.

Update: Situation more or less taken care of. Hopefully this goes through now... Still holding up okay?

Hello, Jinwoo.

Are you free?

[There is an attached address.]

Here is my new address. You are welcome to stop by whenever you wish for tea and snacks, as I have little else to occupy my time besides resting.

There is something I'd like to discuss with you when you're able. In person, preferably.

[BEEP BEEP HELLO, ONE CALL FOR SUNG JINWOO. I REPEAT, ONE CALL FOR SUNG JINWOO.

It is probably not who he's expecting, all things considered. Ayato was not expecting to make this call, but now... well. He feels it's necessary.]

Jinwoo, I apologize for this sudden call, but- will you be available anytime soon? To meet in person.

There is- [A pause, not hesitation, but perhaps a way to word himself that doesn't make poor Jinwoo sweat bullets.] I've come across something recently and would like your input, if you're available. It's important.

[There, that's... not as bad, hopefully.]

[ he's tone is noticeably tense when his speaks, his jaw set unhappily as he looks over teresa's post again. ]

You've seen her post, aye? Goes without saying be careful around her. That woman is dangerous and not just because of her association with the Order.

[ She had been at the forge, when she saw Teresa's arrival. She had wanted to check up on things, while Blade was recovering still.

She's fairly certain she dented the scrap she threw at the wall when Teresa told her they were watching her. Lapis can deal with a lot, she can, but... Not this. Not the thing she was dreading most staring her in her fucking face.

There isn't much of an opening to this message, but considering what's happening Jinwoo will probably know what it's about - the tremble in her voice will give it away anyway. ]

I... spoke to Teresa. She said my growth were of "keen interest" to them. I thought... I didn't think I was...

[ All she did was kill, like everyone else in the fucking Order, so why- ]

I feel sick.

[ With how things have been so tense in the city it's a relief that they can just get away from it all, even if it's for a couple of days. Especially since Jinwoo managed to get vouchers for a spa day, which Lapis deeply appreciated and feels like is sorely needed at this point. This can just be a day where they focus on themselves, before they go back to facing whatever is looming on the horizon. Things will only get more difficult in the future.

But god, Lapis did not expect to be so nervous about Valentines Day. Anxiety buzzes under her skin as she debates even how to give her gifts to him; should she wait, should she not, is there any unwritten rules about this...

... Okay, no, she'll be worrying about this all day if she doesn't do this now. They still have time before needing to actually go anywhere, so she retrieves the gift from where she had hidden it within the hotel room before approaching him. Right. Here we go. ]

Ah, before we go anywhere... [ She's getting flustered already and she hasn't even handed it over yet. But she holds out the gift box, with two gifts tucked inside.

The first gift is a selection of coffee truffles tucked carefully in one corner and the second is another, smaller box. Inside is a pedant, handmade with thick wire twisting and twining around an amethyst stone in an intricate pattern. Some fidgeting reveals that the edge of it can be pulled to the side, revealing a hidden blade - not a full dagger, but still a usable blade all the same. While she wants to make a proper dagger for him one day, she's still working her way up. ]

Um, happy Valentines Day...

[ Why is this is so embarrassing, why is it for all her powers have evolved she still can't just sink into the shadows and hide - ]

[At some point in the midst of work, Edward bumps into Jinwoo’s side, catches him briefly, and murmurs:]

Meet me on the rooftop in an hour.

[And then he’s off to help out backstage.]

[ The sight of another one of those posts on the network fills Lapis with dread, her heart dropping to see another of app users has been kidnapped; eyes glued to her phone as they sit on the couch. All to find who killed Teresa, all this for that horrible woman.

But... Something seems to click into place, as she recalls the two new Guardians. Especially Douman. Suddenly the fear and panic and distrust makes sense, a fog suddenly lifting, and anger is quick to rear up. ]

... I remember. Douman, I remember him. That... vile bastard, of course he would do something like this!

[ Her phone is certainly creaking under her grip now. ]

[ It's a relatively normal morning in their household - quiet and lazy, with the only movement being Lapis grumbling quietly when there's a knock on their door. While she had tried to ignore it, and was doing a pretty good job of it, it's insistent enough that she eventually untangles herself from the sheets and Jinwoo as she goes to answer it.

Some moments pass once she shuffles away with a yawn, and when Jinwoo eventually opens his eyes?

A little face is staring back at him, who beams in delight when they see their other new parent has awoken. Say hello to the new baby!! ]

[ It has been an incredibly difficult few hours - Lapis is only recently up and moving again after recovering from her injury, and everyone is just... exhausted and aching. It all brings the realisation that the Order has had enough, and will deal with them and the others by any means necessary. It was only a matter of time, really, between the lack of pay and radio silence. But that doesn't make any of this any better.

The room they've been given in the Ghost City is nice, secure and comfortable - which is especially welcome after everything they've been through. They're clean and changed into clothing more in-tact and less bloodstained, and Lapis tries not to wince as she takes note of the sleeve wrenched off her old dress. The memory brings back that horrible ache, so she tries not to think about that.

Her focus instead goes to Jinwoo, where he sits upon the couch in their new room. He's been holding himself together, but she also knows him - knows him well enough at this point to tell when he's really, really not okay. And he absolutely isn't right now.

But she doesn't say anything, instead simply sitting next to him and reaching an arm around his shoulder, tugging him to lean against her. A silent reassurance, and a gentle encouragement to let out everything he's holding in. ]

[Randy Orlando isn’t a worrier.]

[If he was, he’d remember all the times in Florida he had to take Jinwoo to the hospital. He would’ve sweated when Jinwoo was assigned to Kaisou, and would’ve spent time pouring over casualty reports to see if something happened.]

[But Randy Orlando is just a dude, and even if he did do those things, he’d never admit it.]

[Anyway, Jinwoo gets a text, out of the blue, in late July.]

Hey little man, remember me?

[ With the post up by the Zodiac employee confirming the road to Asgard is almost ready, it's hard to ignore the anxiety now buzzing through her. She sits on their bed (at least they managed to build that) and looks through her phone, checking her Soul Device is prepped and in place, before going through it again.

This is it. Tomorrow will end with the Order changing in a fundamental way. And they will finally be free.

It will finally end, they just need to fight for it. ]

... How're you feeling?

[ Considering Jinwoo's last birthday was aboard an old boat in the middle of the ocean, Lapis was determined to give him something better this year.

She had made sure to make his favourites for breakfast, though as he was eating she insisted that he doesn't look outside into the yard. Under no circumstances. And she would know if he did! The skeletons that came with the now permanent Halloween decorations also kept an eye... sockets... on him. Lapis has long since stopped questioning how they moved when they weren't looking.

But it's a thing she's been carefully setting up for the past couple of days, and now she just needs to set up the finishing touches. It's only when she's done does she lead Jinwoo outside, hands covering his eyes as she steers him in the direction of the surprise.

Once her hands move away, he'll find that a section of their yard has been converted into something like an outdoor theatre - a simple screen and projector set-up, along with bean bag chairs, blankets and soft lighting for when it gets darker. And, of course, drinks and snacks she's made. ]

It's... I know we have the theatre inside, but since the weather is still nice I thought we could do something a little different...

[ Her shoulders hunch a little now, almost embarrassed. She's never really done this much for a birthday before, not for someone who isn't her dad, so there's the worry of too much or maybe this isn't the right kind of thing or - ]

I-I've gotten a couple of movies, so you can pick what to watch...

[For the holidays, Zhongli delivers a gift to Jinwoo in a wood and velvet box: a handcarved red jade letter opener with a brass handle.]

[ On Christmas day, Jinwoo will be given a couple of carefully wrapped parcels. One of them contains a crow feather dagger she’s been working on, something that matches the style of the necklace she crafted for him all those months ago. Alongside that is a makeup organizer and one handmade plush of best boy Tank - it's not amazingly made, she's still getting used to it so he's a little wonky - but it's still soft and shows him in all his glory. ]

[ With Christmas looming on the horizon, that meant that their... very halloween-y goth house needed to have some decorations put up. And Lapis may have still leaned towards their goth aesthetic anyway, with a combination of usual decorations and things more their aesthetic. She just thinks it looks neat.

And one decoration Lapis wanted to put up, that she didn't last year, was mistletoe. Last year she and Jinwoo only just started dating some months before and maybe it was a bit much, but this time! This time she could do it and see if she could catch him out with it. Not that they need an excuse to kiss each other, but it just seems like a fun little thing to do -

- Though it seems like they're on the same wavelength again, considering that's a sprig in a doorway she hadn't hung up. ]

... I wonder if I should be upset you caught me first.

[ She knows he's lurking nearby, waiting for the chance to strike. ]

[ There's something wrong.

Sure Lapis has zoned out at times, when she's extremely tired or drained or just having a bad day, but this feels... different. Like she's not entirely all there. She doesn't feel solid, more like she's just drifting throughout the day. Maybe she's still feeling off after transforming into an actual dragon a few days ago...

Except a cup slips right through her hand while she's in the kitchen, the crash of it causing her to wince before she unconsciously reaches down to clean it. But she can't... pick the shards up. It's like she's a ghost.

Hmm. That's inconvenient. ]

Ah... I dropped something in the kitchen, so don't come in here yet!

[ There's been a crow following her.

Usually Lapis wouldn't mind - she has a particular bias towards crows considering who she's marrying - but this one isn't normal. She can sense something off about it, and it sounds like it's threatening her when she listens to it. She doesn't draw much attention to it beyond glances, but she does make sure to tell her father and Jinwoo about the creature; considering their pact binding them together so closely, her fiancée would've seen how this crow tended to hover around.

Yet today, there was nothing. Which didn't soothe her in the slightest because now clearly things are going to escalate, it just depends on when and how. The answer comes to her when she dreams that night; it'll all be a haze when she wakes up, but there's the feeling of something coming after her. It tries to attack her but -

There's the sound of loud squawking in their bedroom, the sound becoming chocked as the demon that tried to launch a sneak attack is instead grabbed and choked by a tail - Lapis having grabbed it before it could reach her. She slowly detangles herself from her partner as she sits up, glancing over her shoulder at the demon still in her grip. ]

So you're the thing that's been bothering me...

[ Being attacked by a crow demon, of all things? Yeah, she's pretty offended right now - the only one she would consider an actual crow demon is the man laying next to her, who probably got woken up by all the commotion. ]

[ Since leaving the Order for good, lazy mornings have started to become more and more common. Where there's nothing demanded of them, no missions looming over their head, no phantoms in the corner breathing down their necks. There's no need to be on guard or sleep lightly in case something happens - in case a sudden mission is dumped on them or something tries to attack while they rest.

Now Lapis can crack an eye open, still groggy from sleep, and simply debate if she wants to close them again. There's no work today, so no need to get up right away, and she's semi-certain it's still early... Or early for them, nocturnal as they are. One of the investments she made for their bedroom were blackout curtains, which is still one of the best purchases she's made, but it makes it hard to tell what the time is. And she doesn't want to move either, perfectly content and warm where she's curled up against Jinwoo.

... Sometimes she does wonder if she's dreaming though. That she'll close her eyes and wake up back in her old, empty room in Asgard - but every time she blinks she's still here, in her home and with the love of her life laying next to her. It's enough to make warmth swell in her chest, threatening to overflow; but she doesn't want to wake up her fiancé either. So she just lets herself curl closer, a hand reaching up to play with a few wayward strands of hair - if she's gentle enough, maybe he won't wake up... ]

voice | un: laluna, late July

voice | un: laluna, the day after Jinwoo's trip

action

un: violetsmoke; text; 11/15

text; un: freelancer; 11/22

voice; un: tsubaki (before all the shit with Blade)

voice, un: reaper.

voice | un: laluna

action!