May 31 21:02:27 106 PA
From Chronicles
May 31 21:02:27 106 PA
Kingsdale - Refuges Retreat
Tuesday evening nears as Vixen making rounds at the refugee camp. She's not been there long. Bringing a few more bits of food she's managed to scrounge up, a slim addition to the supplies from the occasional generous listener. Her camera in hand, more aware from one to the other on who does and does not mind being filmed by her. Those who don't' want to be aren't and those who don't mind she makes sure she gets prime shots as she's interacting with them.
In this moment, a bright young boy is being 'interviewed', Vixen lobbing light questions at him, which he answers in that simple, truthful way of the young innocent. "Thanks, Taylor," she murmurs to him afterward, though the thanks is extended to his mother, who hovers nearby. She nodding back with a slight smile of her own. Vixen rises then, with a light ruffle of his hair before she turns, the camera kept in hand low and to the side, recording what lies before her as she considers the camp at large.
One more wayward soul joins the camp, and he's ostensibly one of the volunteers. Leonard does have at least one commitment remaining comparatively intact, afterall. He moves down along the path between the tents, and might even fall into the shot as it pans, now that he's not actively trying to remain out of it.
Vixen pauses as she sees Leo. Her expression firming slightly. Though she only remains paused for a moment before she moves towards him, the camera handled casually. And just as straightforward as her approach is, her words when she gets to him are equally so. "So what's the status on the wood? About how much do we have so far?" The young woman keeps a casual distance as she asks this, the fingers of her free hand tapping lightly against her thigh.
Leonard's pace slows as he spots her and the camera, and his attention lingers during that pause. Eyes never leave her as she approaches, although the question, simply as it is, isn't immediately answered. A pause to consider and calculate his response, perhaps. "As an estimate, roughly two tons. I've no idea how many buildings are needed, nor how much wood for each, but I'm certain we don't have enough, yet. That's why I'm here, afterall."
"Even if we have too much, that ain't bad," Vixen opines. "Always more to build or trade for." She nods, turning her head to glance around. "Fences.. maybe a few barns and whatever else. I'm thinking maybe we should start another farm or two with these folks. It'll be a way for them to feed themselves and make good for Kingsdale. Then maybe the idiots will realize settling these people is the smart path to take." She half turns, eyes scanning. A rough count of those nearby. Trying to keep tabs, though it isn't easy. More keep coming. "And they keep coming.. I suppose eventually we might have to just start cutting trees too, but as long as we can keep providing wood without that, its faster and easier."
"It's still going to take awhile, Vix." Leonard might have differing ideas on a casual distance, as his reply comes from a few feet closer as she scans the camp. Not offensively near, but nearer. "I can only do so much by myself. A few hundred pounds a day without getting exhausted."
Vixen doesn't seem to notice for the moment, scanning the camp with a soft frown. "Would be simple if each person in the magic militia gave up a cast of the spell once a week for a few months. Minimal expenditure, big results," she murmurs. "Maybe I'll ask the council if they seem reasonable when I go to meet 'em. Which will be soon." Her expression thoughtful as that topic comes up.
At that moment, a young man is pointed towards the pair and almost marches up to Vixen, proffering a sealed note, complete with the Council's mark upon it. He himself is wearing a uniform, the ones the guards there are issued with. "Vixen, I presume?" His words are spoken formally, and he almost salutes but resists.
Leonard looses a soft chuckle. "It would expedite matters, but I don't know if they'd consider it simple enough. Maybe too simple and beneath them, but some might volunteer." His shoudlers roll in a half-shrug, cut short by the sudden arrival, to whom he turns. Presumptions are correct, but he allows Vixen to confirm or deny that.
Vixen sees the man coming and her expression firms a bit. "That's right. And you can relax, I don't got no rank or status to worry about, man." She gives the guy a casual grin as she takes and opens up the note, casually ripping the flap with a slide of finger. She draws the paper out and scans it. Her brow arching slightly after a moment. Her eyes lift towards the young man and she wonders, "You need a response or anything for her?" She lets a response to Leo's words wait for the moment.
The man gives Vixen a blank look, emotionless and formal. "Not unless you intend to refuse." His reply could almost be humour but is spoken in a monotone, with no inflection.
Leonard looks between the two, but remains silent as he's not 'officially' involved in the discourse. He's merely an observer, and so he observes. Vixen's reaction to the missive seems to focus that, as he leans towards her and lowers his eyes towards the note.
"A once in a lifetime moment like this?" Vixen grins despite the man's stiffness. "I'll be there. Maybe we can finally get some work done. Unless there are any other instructions or needs, you can get along. I'm sure you've got plenty to do yourself." She turns her eyes down to the note again, studying it a bit, despite the brevity. Leo's leaning to peek gets him a firm look and the not tilted to have the contents secreted. "You can ask, you know," she notes.
The man nods, turning on his heel and leaving as abruptly as he arrived, the salute repressed once more. He winds his way through the refugee camp, avoiding contact with people, until he vanishes out of sight.
"I suspect it's good news." Leonard promptly shifts his attention from note to her grin, and begins to mirror it, himself. Her firm eye and denying twist of her hand provokes him to complete or repeat his earlier shrug. "What is it, Vixen?"
"Prissy fucker, that one," Vix murmurs once the man is well out of hearing range, her eyes lifted in his direction briefly. Then she looks at Leo. "Attention. Good or bad is questionable, but I'm going to see Arcadia tomorrow. The chick that's been on the council for decades, but don't look that much older than me." Her brows lift slightly, then she folds the note carefully before it goes into her coat and she balls up the envelope, which is stuffed into an outer pocket for later disposal. "This should be interesting.. if she's on my side. But I'll see. When I get there."
Leonard seems to be the optimistic one, for the moment. The grin lingers, although does being a gradual return towards a more neutral expression. "You've the opportunity, at the least. I'm sure you'll make every use of it, to one end or the other. Nothing involving you is ever /not/ interesting, Vix."
Vixen glances at Leo, her lips pursing faintly. "I guess you could say that," she murmurs, her demeanor cooling subtly. "In any case, how this project will go forward gets decided tomorrow. If they don't give a blessing, it's going forward illegally, probably. So I won't hold it against you if you want to pull out then. We'll make due either way."
"Do you want me out?" The bleeding out of Leonard's mirth, or even wit, is no longer gradual. It's rather instant, but it doesn't invert to vehemence, either. His words are rather small, in fact. "I'm still here, and not planning to go anywhere, otherwise."
"No, because what you can do makes this whole thing easier," Vixen replies simply, a slight frown lingering with her. "If I did want you out, I would have told you to get out. When I make a decision, it is made. You know it when it comes because things change. Like they have." She shrugs, turning a bit away from him. "But regardless of what I think or feel, you deserve fair warning. I'm not gunna pretend like I'm not doing something that could get people involved in trouble. Even peripherally. So that's your fair warning."
Now Leonard frowns, with the combination of words and rotation. Still, he turns more towards as much as she turns away. "I've noticed, and I..." The pause is distinct, and doesn't help his frown any. "...thank you for the warning. I should not expect it."
"What were you going to say?" Vixen turns her head, showing her profile as she adds, "Sounded like you were going to say something else. You might as well get it out. Whatever you have on your mind and get it over with. I'm looking to simplify my life a bit as much as it can be with what I'm taking on. Which means airing all the stuff that ain't said."
"What would you like to hear?" Leonard exhales a sigh as he observe that profile. "No, you wouldn't want me to ask that... You're what's on my mind, Vix, but if you're looking for simple, I should probably keep my mouth shut. I've no idea what hasn't been said. As you pointed out, the decision's made, and I'd look even more the child if I questioned it, wouldn't I?" The tone of his final query is not confident enough for it to be rhetorical.
Vixen turns back towards Leo, though that is countered by the lift of her arms, crossing beneath her chest. She moves closer, though it seems more a necessity of lowering her voice to more discreet levels. "Question it why? Are you suddenly going to become the sort of guy I'm looking for? Are you going to act like you really want and need me? Cause as apathetic as you've been, it just reinforces that I made the right choice."
Leonard regards her a long moment before responding, taking in her change of posture and position with a mixed welcome, regardles of her motivation for it. A hand even starts to rise, out of reflex or optimism, but doesn't get far before dropping limply back to his side and his head shakes almost imperceptably. "Suddenly? No. I'm still not even the man /I'm/ looking for. I thought I was closer..." His pause and shift in words are possibly just as effective as finishing the sentence. "It was never an act, Vix."
"Don't have to be an act to be a lie, Leo," Vixen replies evenly, her eyes moving towards that moving hand, though only until it relaxes down again. "Look, right now this is what is best. Maybe you like me, but you don't love me. You don't need me, you're just used to me being there. You'll probably forget all about me once you start doing what you want to do." Her shoulders roll slightly at that as if it matters not, her expression firm. "And I don't want to lower myself anymore to suffering through your exploring, hoping maybe you might someday appreciate me as more than just a comforting presence."
"Very well. You would know what's best." Her firm nonchalance is rapidly contagious, her shrug echoed, though Leonard's reply lacks a snarky bite. He's learned a thing or two in his explorations, at least. "Just a matter of finding new hobbies, then. First on the list of wants is getting the toil done, so, if we're done?" This question is far more rhetorical than the previous.
"And again confirmed," Vixen murmurs, eyeing him for a few moments before she turns. "Enjoy yourself, Leo." And with that Vixen will walk away, the camera that lingered in hand closed and stowed as she goes, heading for her bike, parked at the edge of the camp.
She completes a handful or two of steps before finding a wall before her that was not present a moment ago. Leonard's voice follows her, raised well above the needs to the increased distance. "What do you want, Vixen? To be chased? Pursued? First, you thought I wanted too much, now it's too little. Make up your fucking mind!" As he speaks, he's marching towards her, but nothing like the prior priss with the message. So much for apathy or discretion.
Vixen stops abruptly when the wall shows up in front of her. Her eyes slipping to the side. Her right and twitches up slightly. That cornered feeling rising for a moment. Twitching the fight side of her instinct. But she disguises it by turning again to face Leonard. "I have made up my mind," she tells him," eyes narrowed subtly as she watches him. "I know exactly what I want. And I know you can't give it to me." Confident in that perceived fact.
Leonard's eyes remain fixed on her as he nears, and perhaps the twitch is noted. Another wave of his hand and sibilant syllable and the wall distorts to enompass them both in a nice, cozy dome of energy. "Then enlighten me, educate me. Your humble student awaits your widsom." Oh! There's the sarcastic bite. He must have merely misplaced it before.
Being confined does not aid Vixen's calm. It's easy to see as she glances about when the field deforms, moving around them. She gets tense in stance, a subtle wariness in her eyes as she looks back to Leo. And her answer is a bit sharper. "I already told you part of it. I want a man who loves me. For real, not just likes to hang around with me. Who has eyes for me, not drooling all over himself over other girls. Who doesn't want to shop around, no matter how confident he thinks he is that he won't find better." Her lip curling slightly at that. "I want a man I can trust.. who won't go effecting minds when things get a little rough. Who knows how to talk things out and deal with real life head on without cutting corners. A man who I don't feel I have to cling to, to feel I won't lose him to the next short skirt or deep cleavage that passes his way and flirts with him." Her chin lifts slightly. "Are you that guy?"
"We're talking now, aren't we?" Leonard rolls his shoulders as he begins to work through the list in his own order. Despite the gesture, his edge remains. "The corners were cut for us. Others were eyed, you were touched, along with all the drool. I browsed, and you're the one I brought home. I wanted the same things you did, but to be out of choice, not ignorance. I'm still here, so I must be." Cliche and presumption are added to wit.
"I think you're here because you're feeling how empty your place is right now," Vixen counters, her arms crossed again. "Stings, I bet, but you'll get over it after a while." She turns away again, though obviously can't walk away with the bubble around them. "You go do your browsing like you want. Just don't expect me to be easy when you get tired of that. Or heck, maybe you will find better and there won't be nothing to worry about for either of us."
Leonard's wince confirms her bet as a safe one. His hand lifts once more, this time fully and aimed to come to rest upon her turned shoulder. The bite leaves as quickly as it arrived, but his tone is still firm. Moreso than his grip, at least. "I'd never expect you to be easy, nor do I believe your suggestion. Maybe I would, and maybe I wouldn't. Maybe I'm already tired of looking."
"Leo, just let it go for now," Vixen asserts, her shoulder shifting to be removed from his grip. "I ain't coming back with you right now. We're back to square one you and me. You wanna prove something to me, you got a long road cause I'm not letting no one take no shortcuts anymore. Maybe it ain't fair, but I'm done taking risks like that. Tossed myself to the wind a lot and it never worked. So I'm keeping my feet on the ground. What you do.. that's for you to decide."
"As you wish." The rebuffed hand gesturing dismissively in lieu of falling limp, causing Leonard's enforced delay upon her to end as the field ceases to be. Any sense of claustrophobia is quickly gone, as well. The only other sounds he makes are those of his footfalls moving away.
"Sorry, Leo. You figure yourself out for real. Then you do what is inside," Vixen says without looking back. She does relax when the field goes away, moving on towards her bike. She's got a meeting to get ready for.
