Jessica gives a pleased snicker with herself as she's shoved away. "What?!" she exclaims through her laughter as she lazily stumbles to the side, playfully swatting Yan Sun's hand away. "I thought you like my smell, kitty cat." she teases as she scoops the TV remote up off the dresser. She seems to be in higher spirits than usual as well. Especially considering she was on the business end of a hunting rifle not too long ago.
#Mallory'sHomestead – August 21, 2019
Yan Sun rubs her nose with a grimace, but she can't keep the grin off her face for long. She sits down on the edge of the bed with a bounce, palms pressed against the mattress and feet dragging side to side across the carpet, enjoying the softness after a long day in boots. "I told you this was a good idea! I was right, admit it!" she exclaims with a big smile as she watches Jessica fiddle with the remote.
Jessica gives a small raise of her brow as she looks to Yan Sun, unwilling to give her an inch. "There is still more time for her to be coming in here in the middle of the night and slice open our necks." she warns. Her gaze turns to the remote briefly before another thought comes to her. "Maybe she poison our foods, mmm?" she suggests as she settles back into the open doorframe. She leans her head to the side to cast a quick glance out
into the hall suspiciously, as if to see where the old woman is. When it seems like the coast is clear, she looks back to Yan Sun, speaking in hushed tones. "Now she is just waiting for us to get weak." she says as she turns on the TV, remaining in the open doorway like a sentry.
The television turns on and Jessica is quick to lower the volume. Whatever may have normally been on at this time- on this station- is replaced with the same thing that's been running for two days. Coverage of the Collector defeat. It's the tail-end of an exploitative piece, focusing on interviews with the relatives of those lost to the Collectors. "...don't understand why someone didn't do something sooner. Why-... why the Alliance didn't do
something sooner." a grieving father says into the camera, eyes glassy as he turns his gaze downward.
Yan Sun rolls her eyes at Jessica's suggestion. "At least I'll die comfortable..." she muses as she lets her upper body fall back against the bed, spreading her arms wide and letting out a yawn as she stretches. Her hands come to rest on her belly, head turning to glance at the TV as she hears the news coverage, her smile slipping away as her gaze lands on the screen.
Jessica snorts and gives a roll of her eyes at Yan Sun's response. She opens her mouth to respond, but the broadcast grabs her attention. The grin on her face begins to slip away as the interview comes to an end and the clip of the now-infamous video that the media has been plastering all across the galaxy takes its place. Chunks of debris spill across an asteroid field as the remnants of a ship far too familiar for Jessica's liking
haunts the background. It's enough to cause a lump in her throat. The past few days have done a good job of helping to push those memories aside, but just seeing the hive-like chunks of ship floating through forces the thoughts to come rushing right back. She instinctively licks at the roof of her mouth, that taste hitting the back of her throat like a truck. "I knew that they are just a bunch of pussies." she offers softly, eye
Yan Sun swallows, watching the broadcast in silence. Her gaze soon turns to Jessica, studying the side of her face as her mind goes to the files she went through. The footage. The report. The fact that Jessica was right there in the middle of it all. It had been on her mind a lot. She still didn't understand half of what she'd seen and read, and the code was completely alien to her. Unlike anything she'd ever seen. She hadn't even begun to
make sense of it. Jessica's words bring out a soft snort, and she reaches out with her right foot to stroke the side of Jessica's leg when she sees the look that has returned to her face.
Jessica's gaze remains fixed to the screen, standing in profile from Yan Sun, leaving mostly just the right side of her face visible as she watches the broadcast. The news anchors speak about the Collectors in the past tense, but most of their droning is lost on Jessica. She just focuses on the video being displayed. The floating city they had escaped from, torn to pieces. They had set off explosives that barely put a dent in the place,
yet here it is, ripped asunder. The Collectors were the monsters under the bed that she grew up hearing stories about. The boogie men her brother terrorized her with when she was younger. The reason why people in the Terminus just... disappeared. They were terrifying. But the reality was a whole lot scarier than the ghost stories. Ever since her return she was unable to shake that feeling that they were on their way. And with
the way the others had talked it seemed like a foregone conclusion. Like it was only a matter of time before they arrived at Aite. At her home. And now... they're gone. The thought causes her to pull in a deep breath. It's been a while since she last shaved. The dark stubble growing in along the right side of her head makes the burns more prominent. More visible. Just small patches of scar tissue where hair won't grow anymore.
The foot running along her leg causes her to tear her attention from the television- away from her thoughts- and turn it on Yan Sun. "Mmm?" she hums, trying to hide away whatever feelings her expression may have betrayed as a hollow smirk returns to her face. She shifts positions, putting her back to the opposite side of the doorframe and underhanding the TV remote at Yan Sun, aiming to land it on her stomach. "What you are
looking at?" she taunts. And, just like that, those worries- those memories that surely haunt her- are tucked away. Pale, milky eye replaced with a lively brown. Burns hidden.
Yan Sun lets out a faint 'Hungh!' as the remote hits it mark, wincing and pulling back her legs. She lets out a quiet whine before sitting up, and, a moment later, getting on her feet. "The shower!" she replies, eyebrows rising in a goofy expression as she points past Jessica towards the bathroom door. "Let's get rid of this stink, yeah?" she suggests as she heads over to her bag, crouching down and digging around for shower supplies.
Jessica gives a low snicker as she nails her target. Yan Sun's recommendation causes her to cast a glance back over her shoulder towards the bathroom door across the hall. Gripping the doorframe, she leans back and peers out down the hall in the direction the old woman disappeared down. A nice hot shower sounds good right about now and, when she returns to her previous position, the grin on her face turns a bit more sincere. "What? The
other night was not enough? I am thinking that I did a verrry good job cleaning you." she muses through a smug grin.
Yan Sun retrieves her toiletry bag, opening it up to check everything is there. Shampoo, check. Conditioner, check. Shower gel, check. Razor, check. Shaving cream, check. Hooray! Jessica's words bring out a faint blush. "Not sure that's the first word that comes to mind..." she mumbles with a slightly flustered snicker before standing up and suppressing the grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You coming?" she asks with a nod towards
Jessica gives an innocent little shrug of her shoulders- not that anything she does looks innocent- in response to Yan Sun's first statement. "Is not my fault you are such a dirty slut." she responds. Her question prompts her to give another quick glance towards the bathroom door. A nice hot shower sounds good right about now. One with Yan Sun even better. But she's not about to make it that easy on Yan Sun. Where's the fun in that?
So when she looks back to Yan Sun she spreads out a bit, leaning her right shoulder and tipping the top of her head against one side of the doorframe and extending her left hand to press against the opposite side, effectively blocking Yan Sun's path. "What it is worth to you? Mmm?" she asks.
Yan Sun fails to stop the embarrassed smile that crossed her lips. "That... was not what-... shut up..." she mutters. She goes to step out into the hall only to have Jessica block her path, ending up quite close to her as she stops with a blink. "Uhm... wh-... what?"
Jessica gives another small shrug. Just a small bounce of her shoulders, fingertips of her left hand pressed against the opposite side of the doorframe. "You are wanting to take a shower. I can stop you from taking a shower. Because you are a pussy, and I am much bigger. And much... much meaner." she explains non-chalantly, her grin widening. She stands up a bit straighter as if just to remind Yan Sun that she is, in fact, the larger of
the two and peers down at Yan Sun. "This means I am having something you want." She taps her head against the doorframe a few times. "A way through this door, yes? So...?" she asks, brown eye scanning across Yan Sun playfully, "...What do you have that I want? This is how Aite works, kitty cat." she adds, as if it's just a fact of life here, completely out of her hands. She has to play by the rules.
Yan Sun holds her toiletry bag closer to her body, shrinking back slightly as her gaze remains locked on Jessica's face, chewing her lower lip as she listens. The final question causes a small, surprisingly cocky smirk to appear as she tilts her head. She puts on an exaggerated thinking expression. "I... could think of a few things...?" she muses aloud, implants lighting up as her left hand reaches out, index finger tracing along the skin
just above the top of her pants. There's a familiar tingle to her touch, at least once her fingertip is on unburnt skin. A miniscule electric charge and micro-scale mass effect fields working in unison to intensify her touch. Some of the most advanced and expensive tech in the galaxy put to a ridiculously frivolous use. Her smile widens. "Thing is, though... I don't like to play by the rules!" Zap! A sudden shock, not even close to
being dangerous, but certainly enough to sting a little. Hoping to have created an opening she tries to slip past Jessica and dash for the bathroom with a mischievous giggle.
Jessica gives a small raise of her left brow as Yan Sun's finger runs across her skin. She pokes at her back teeth with her tongue, feigning boredom. But as the fingertip crosses over onto unburnt flesh where nerve endings haven't been burned away and touch isn't dampened by scar tissue, she flinches. A fact that she tries to cover up by shifting in place and inching closer to Yan Sun. When she begins to speak up again, Jessica gives an
unimpressed, "Mmm?" before Yan Sun gets to her point, punctuating it with a zap to her belly. It's not the pain so much as the surprise that causes her to jolt to the side, teeth clenched. It takes her a second to realize what happened but, once she does, she surges after Yan Sun. "You bitch!" she exclaims, her words tinted in frustration at having to keep her voice down.
The bathroom is immaculate and lit by only a single, dimmed light in the center of the ceiling that seems to be left on as some sort of night light. There's a panel beside the door for increasing the brightness and for activating a set of lights that line the mirror over the sink. The floor is composed of large, white tiles. A small turquoise rug is just in front of the door to ensure nobody tracks water into the hall. A matching, fluffy
turquoise cover is over the lid of the toilet as well. Even the handle of one of the three toothbrushes that line the sink is a gaudy turquoise color. As is the shower curtain... And the small stack of rags on the shelf just to the left upon entering.......... And the small stack of towels beside them.................. Someone really likes turquoise.
Yan Sun brings a hand up to her mouth to muffle her laughter as she flees Jessica. She spins around upon making it to the bathroom, only to quickly realize her mistake - there's no way the door is going to close before Jessica catches up to her. Instead she opts to swallow her laughter, lips a thin line and choked snorts sounding as she she puts on what is probably the worst attempt at an innocent expression in galactic history.
Jessica barrels towards the bathroom, hand reaching for the door as soon as it's within reach to keep Yan Sun from shutting it. Once she's ensured she can't be locked out, she slows to a stop. She remains in the doorway for a moment, menacing grin on her face. "What is your plan now? Mmm?" she taunts as she steps into the dim bathroom, hand reaching out to close the door behind her. She takes a step forward to approach Yan Sun, gaze
traveling down her as she reaches out with her left hand and plucks playfully at the bottom of Yan Sun's shirt. She runs the tip of her tongue along the bottom of her teeth as she lifts her head to meet Yan Sun's eyes. "Is nowhere else to go." she adds, giving an exaggerated, slow pan to her left and right.
Yan Sun crosses her arms defensively, the bag dangling loosely from her right hand. She offers a slightly awkward shrug as her gaze darts around the unrelentingly turquoise bathroom. "Well... I... uh..." Nope, she's got nothing. She backpedals as Jessica moves closer, expression shifting from goofy, feigned innocence to slight nerves as her gaze lingers on the look on her face.
Jessica brings her attention back to Yan Sun, grin still on her face. "I try to make you a deal, kitty cat." she reminds. "But now you are trying to take what I have and give me nothing in return. This is... not good." she informs gravely. She looks back to her left hand that's picking at the bottom of Yan Sun's shirt, absently tugging at it. "You see, if I am letting you get away with this then everyone is thinking that I am a pussy."
she continues, gaze flicking up to meet Yan Sun's briefly. Her right hand relieves her left, taking its place pulling, stretching, and playing with the material of the shirt as her left hand moves to take the bag from Yan Sun's hand. There's no force to the action, as if she expects Yan Sun just to release her grip on it. "So now I get to take whatever I want." Her shoulders rise and fall again in a small, condescendingly
Yan Sun 's arms remain crossed as she does her best to put on an unfazed look. Her shirt is the one she bought at the market, a simple black tee with a Galaxy of Fantasy print. Her gray hoodie is unzipped overtop it. As ever, Jessica commands her full attention despite her attempt at nonchalance. There's no resistance as the bag slips from her grip, far too distracted by Jessica's oh-so-regretful explanation of how it must be. "What-... what
do you want...?" she asks quietly, trying to keep her voice steady. Much like the woman that has her cornered, her appearance has gotten a bit disheveled as they've travelled. Without a shower and dryer, her hair is considerably less vibrant, and it's getting time to buzz the side. There's also the longer-term issue - she hasn't dyed her hair once since coming to Aite, and the roots are all natural black as they come in. At least the
contrast is mitigated by the fact that it was a gradual fade to start with. A bit of the intensity has been lost over time in the rest of her hair as well. If only they had her color out in the Terminus...
Jessica's grin grows at Yan Sun's question. Jacket and boots left at the front door and floofy hat tucked into one of their bags some time during their meal, she's left wearing the same white thermal shirt and olive green cargo pants she's been for the past couple of days and a pair of thick grey wool socks. The pants, as seems to be her style, hang loosely off of her hips. She drops the bag to the floor, watching it as it hits the
ground with a dull thunk. "Not that." she says, meeting her eyes once again. She lifts her left hand back up to cup Yan Sun's cheek, thumb gently tracing along her lower lip. Her right hand lowers from Yan Sun's shirt to the top of her pants, thumb picking at the button.
Yan Sun 's gaze flicks over to the bag as it drops to the floor, but her attention is right back on Jessica a second later. As she feels the hand on her cheek and the thumb brushing across her lips a quiet, flustered shadow of a laugh escapes, little more than an exhale. She's completely frozen in place, as if afraid to move a muscle. The hand playing with the button on her jeans doesn't help matters, and a faint blush soon returns.