#ebrioniccrest

JADE: -She's on the roof of the Crocker headquarters, pawing slowly through her mobile device. No updates since last night on the bulletin board... she imagines that group is travelling now. It's only a matter of time. Everything is going exactly as they thought.-

DAVESPRITE: -dutifully silent. Until he decides to shuffle and peek from his designated hiding place. Still the size of a canary.- do you often brood on rooftops

DAVESPRITE: i ask while also kicking it on the rooftop

DAVESPRITE: blame the bird part of me

DAVESPRITE: theyre pretty fond of heights i am anyway

DAVESPRITE: i am they and they are me

DAVESPRITE: (caw)

JADE: -squints down at him-

JADE: i mostly brood on rooftops when i know a little bird is watching

JADE: except consider this less brooding and more plotting J

ADE: just in case you forgot youre being held hostage

JADE: -he may or may not be in one of her coat pockets....-

DAVESPRITE: -it's a comfy coat pocket. He hangs and chills, sprite tail hanging out the opposite end.- youre one big bad jade

DAVESPRITE: a mega bad upsized to just plain Big (tm) served with a complimentary side of kickass

DAVESPRITE: cuz lets face it

DAVESPRITE: the irrefutable fact is you were always kickass(edited)

JADE: telling me things i already know isnt going to win you any points

JADE: i figured that out no thanks to you

DAVESPRITE: its no thanks to anyone

DAVESPRITE: not even gpa huh

JADE: of course not

JADE: i had to figure out everything on my own because it wasnt like anyone else was going to be there or honest

JADE: i spent way too much time taking care of everyone else instead of figuring out what i can do

JADE: its no wonder i got so depressed

DAVESPRITE: are you depressed right now

JADE: why would i be??

JADE: im not being held back anymore

DAVESPRITE: dunno

DAVESPRITE: doves gone a month without her mom

DAVESPRITE: kind of sucks someone else is having to watch out for her

JADE: and things will be better for her once i take care of this

JADE: thats what you dont get

JADE: its not enough to just say something

JADE: you have to actually do it

DAVESPRITE: i get it

DAVESPRITE: ive seen it

DAVESPRITE: im still seeing it

DAVESPRITE: im in the moment with you right now

DAVESPRITE: nothing else exists outside just the two of us having a chat

DAVESPRITE: thats how time works in your head anyones head

DAVESPRITE: small real moments that add up to something bigger than yourself

DAVESPRITE: without it were just frozen wonderin whether it was always supposed to be this way

DAVESPRITE: thats how i see it anyway

DAVESPRITE: what are you going to look like tomorrow

JADE: like someone who knows what she's doing

JADE: and stops listening to people who hurt her

DAVESPRITE: -he's quiet a long, long moment. Just listening.- did i hurt you

JADE: -Now she's quiet, too, though she shouldn't be. The mere cause of her silence just angers her more.- you lied to me

JADE: you say you think im strong but even you just think im a stupid little girl

JADE: that you have to hide everything from me

JADE: that i cant handle it or maybe just that you can get away with it

JADE: you dont trust me so why i should i trust you????

DAVESPRITE: you got a point gg

DAVESPRITE: i did hide a lot from you

DAVESPRITE: its more a reflection on my own weak game ass ass assholery than anything lets be real

DAVESPRITE: i dont deserve your trust i aint earned it

DAVESPRITE: but hey

DAVESPRITE: i never lied about why im doing this for

DAVESPRITE: cause that was always you

DAVESPRITE: and jade harleys a better reason to get my ass in gear than literally anything else that was going for me in the old au hah -The laughs sounds so dry. But it's there.-

DAVESPRITE: paradox space can go fuck itself it wasnt going to stop me

DAVESPRITE: this is what second chances are all about

DAVESPRITE: its just...

DAVESPRITE: you

JADE: ...

JADE: grrr...!!!

JADE: you cant just explain away everything like that! thats such bullshit

DAVESPRITE: how do you want me to explain it

DAVESPRITE: you want me to say we were a thing in the other universe

DAVESPRITE: me and jade

DAVESPRITE: and we were the only ones who had each other seeing as john fucked off somewhere in the peace corps

DAVESPRITE: his dad died dave was dead you never got in contact with him again

DAVESPRITE: real soon after that rose went missing didnt know what to do about that

DAVESPRITE: it was just me and you at skaianet trying to keep shit together for the rest of the world

DAVESPRITE: all until fish bitch took over

DAVESPRITE: and then

DAVESPRITE: you were gone too

DAVESPRITE: and there wasnt a single fucking thing i could about it(edited)

JADE: ...

JADE: or maybe you just decided im not good enough for you anymore

JADE: now that i know what i want

DAVESPRITE: thats a whole lot of assumptions to make

DAVESPRITE: point is

DAVESPRITE: i wasnt going to let it happen again

DAVESPRITE: i came here to try again

DAVESPRITE: and ill keep tryin

DAVESPRITE: til theres nothing left of me to try for you anymore

DAVESPRITE: so hey i guess that makes two of us

DAVESPRITE: knowing what we want

JADE: g...rrr... JADE: rrrrRrRrRRrrr!!!

JADE: -her hands rise, clasping the sides of her head and fistfuls of wild dark hair, her growls almost pained in her throat before they rise, furious.-

JADE: BARK!!!!!

DAVESPRITE: -hangs onto the coat pocket as she bark. Then reaches up to pat at her with a bird claw.-

DAVESPRITE: can i come up

JADE: you...!!!

JADE: -She can't stop growling, and all the things in her say OBEY, and her hand twitches until it's abruptly in her pocket, and because it's Jade, because it's still her, the first thing she thinks to do is wrap her hand around the tiny sprite and throw him.-

DAVESPRITE: -promptly flung and none too gently. Gravity isn't a thing he should worry about and with his equalibrium balancing out... he hovers back up in the air. A small ball of light some good distance away, eyes trained on her.-

DAVESPRITE: cant fight it on your own jade even i cant tell you to do that

DAVESPRITE: but i still want to stay with you

DAVESPRITE: til we see this to the end

JADE: RRRRRRRRR...!

JADE: -she's flashing and surging bright rays of green, and she thinks about things she hasn't for a while. SUBMIT, says her brain.-

JADE: im going to find a way to kill you

DAVESPRITE: i know what i signed up for jade -in a small pulse of orange light, Davesprite's form shifts back to his former height. Wings raised and watchful of her movements.-

DAVESPRITE: im here til then

DAVESPRITE: eye on the prize

DAVESPRITE: not for anyone but you

DAVESPRITE: lets go

JADE: rrr stop kidding yourself davesprite!!

JADE: youre not my dave and im NOT your jade!!!

DAVESPRITE: -his heart seems to pound, high with emotion he couldn't articulate. But still DS presses on, despite the way she snaps and snarls at him.- youre the jade im here for no matter how you slice it

DAVESPRITE: my jades gone shes not coming back and i never saw that coming

DAVESPRITE: she didnt

DAVESPRITE: she never got to say what she wanted 

DAVESPRITE: but i do

 DAVESPRITE: im not letting that happen to you again

JADE: i!! dont!! CARE!!!!!!

JADE: -Despite the words, the emotion is clearly high in her as well -- conflict, rage... but something more beneath it all. She lunges for him from the rooftop, like there isn't stories between them and the ground.-

DAVESPRITE: -lunges if she wants, Davesprite swings in the air only to fly at her. Fully intending to collide with her midair.-

JADE: -WELL SHE CERTAINLY CAN'T STOP THEIR MOMENTUM. She's going to straight up tackle him in the air.-

JADE: -DOOF!!! It would almost be hilarious if it weren't so terrible.-

DAVESPRITE: -secures arms around her as they spin in the air. All squawks and feathers and barks. DOOF IS CORRECT. Even with the force, Davesprite holds her. Burying himself with her as if he's truely afraid she'll fall. Wings flap.-

JADE: -But she doesn't. For just a moment or two, they cling together in the air, and then the bright green shocks back to life.-

JADE: -All around them is blackness and the scattered brightness of stars.-

JADE: -And then she shoves him away from her, disappearing in the same glimmer of light they came through together and leaving him in the void alone.-

DAVESPRITE: -lurking in the woods some distance away from the batterwitch headquarters. Shades gleam. There... that's where the prisoners are being kept. Where Jade and Jane are. DS sends a brief message to Hal and Jadesprite about it.-

JADE: -But it's neither Jadesprite or Hal that answer him first. Instead, there's a flash of green light behind him, a growling note too close to some kind of beast.-

JADE: hello davesprite

DAVESPRITE: -the static in the air makes his feathers stand on end but the millisecond she appears, Davesprite whirls to face her. The sword tucked still in his sylladex and out of her sights.-

DAVESPRITE: -he fixes her with a look from behind the shades, taking the sight of her in.- ...this is some noxious deja vu going down right now

DAVESPRITE: you would think seeing it coming would make it easier but nah

DAVESPRITE: still a pill

DAVESPRITE: and im still swallowing it down dry

DAVESPRITE: sup

JADE: i really dont care to hear even more tragic ramblings right now

JADE: did you think i wouldnt notice youve been lurking around here?

DAVESPRITE: i know for a fact that you would

DAVESPRITE: but now youre here and now im here and hey this is crazy...

DAVESPRITE: you know how it goes

JADE: have you come to volunteer yourself for her imperious condescensions army? im sure we could use a sprite

JADE: she might even let you have an honorary position

DAVESPRITE: -raises wings and flaps in place, letting out a very bird-like chortle. Ha.- god i know its all kinds of inapropro but its like were meeting again for the first time

DAVESPRITE: you an evil psychohound and me

DAVESPRITE: some alien ghost hella committed to his fursona i guess its like the neopets forum all over again

DAVESPRITE: whats better than this

DAVESPRITE: its ride or die harley i know you dig the chest feathers

JADE: no thanks

JADE: ive had enough of your issues to last a lifetime, feathers or no

JADE: you could make a good snack though

JADE: im starting to become fond of the taste of poultry >:K

DAVESPRITE: and then by god she vored me

DAVESPRITE: i have to say this isnt the first time ive been threatened in this exact way and thank god

DAVESPRITE: i thought i was going to have to wait for that slot on the geeky supervillain bingo card

DAVESPRITE: hilarious if it werent so fucked up

DAVESPRITE: but i know youve had enough of me every me every dave in existance

DAVESPRITE: ive just not had enough of you yet and im not sure im ever going to be

DAVESPRITE: sue me

DAVESPRITE: or eat me i guess

DAVESPRITE: same principle applies

JADE: -her eyes narrow, bushy hair standing on end with the slightest of static from her own power. He knows too much, and maybe more she doesn't know.- i have a better idea JADE: -in one quick motion she raises her hands and forms her fingers into the vague shape of a square, framing him in her sight... and then she draws them closer, then twisting them into a little circle. It's something she doesn't need to do, but it feels fun and demonstrative, anyway. Of course, as she does this, Davesprite's world grows larger -- as he grows smaller.-

JADE: grrrr... >:K -reaches out to GRABBO HIM.-

DAVESPRITE: -The world gets larger... no he gets smaller. Pocket-sized in such a way he was capable of doing on his own but never by an outside power. He allows her to grab him, SQUAWKING as she does so.-

DAVESPRITE: always comes down to this huh -HK.-

JADE: if youre not going to leave then ill keep you with me

JADE: you know how it is

JADE: keep your friends close and your enemies closer?? -slides a thumb over his mouth.- you really should stop talking though

DAVESPRITE: -The thumb swiping at his mouth is happening but DS does nothing to stop it. Helpless... but also not really. Bleh. He angles his face away to get at attempting to talk again.-

DAVESPRITE: how close are we talkin here -asks with his face squished, squinting an glowy eye at her.-

DAVESPRITE: its a good opportunity as any

DAVESPRITE: why not tell me about yourself a lil

DAVESPRITE: i been dying came all this way to know

DAVESPRITE: who is the hot mom behind the canines and dog breath yo

DAVESPRITE: whos jade now

DAVESPRITE: (ill tell you dogg)

DAVESPRITE: (shes bad to the bone) D

AVESPRITE: jesus christ that didnt even need a segueway(edited)

JADE: -rolls eyes- are you done yet?

JADE: i have a lot of work to do and you have a lot of things to not do -squeezes him once, and then with another flash of green they're back inside the building. It's a fairly nondescript hallway with several doors.-

JADE: i wonder how long youll be able to stay away from the sun? we could find out together

DAVESPRITE: a long long time baby

DAVESPRITE: -is zapped along with her, more or less where he wants to be. He stays tucked in her hand, soft glow bird.- also no im not done yet im just getting warmed up

DAVESPRITE: you want to get down and talk science yet

DAVESPRITE: i have all the time i could want

JADE: -squints down at him.... and then pulls a handkerchief out of her sylladex and drapes it over her hand, and him.-

JADE: -GO TO SLEEP-

DAVESPRITE: -he falls quiet... but only for strategic purposes. Wiggles again and fluffs feathers. Time to get comfortable.-