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[wyldfire]

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[greenpower]

I knew there was a reason I liked you.

[wyldfire]

I'm sure there's more than one.

[greenpower]

I might be able to think of two or three others. You know, if I try.

[wyldfire]

Wouldn't want you to have to exert yourself.

[greenpower]

Hm. See, there's another reason. So thoughtful.

[wyldfire]

They just write themselves, don't they?

[greenpower]

Usually it's not so easy. Must be that I'm properly inspired.

[wyldfire]

Careful now: you're going to make me blush.

[greenpower]

Does that mean it wasn't too corny?

[wyldfire]

Just the right amount of corn. Bravo.

[greenpower]

Glad to hear it. I'm sort of out of practice.

[wyldfire]

Really? You and Harley must have been together for a while if you're that out off practice.

[No judgement in her tone. That happened with long-term couples. Not that they so flirting, just that the kind of flirting changes enough that it's a wholely different creature.]

[greenpower]

Wait, what?

[Ivy's sure she's mentioned Harls—she's her best friend—but the idea they'd be flirting is...

She frowns, trying to wrestle with a thought that won't quite materialize.]

[wyldfire]

Your girlfriend? That's what you told me when we first started flirting.

[And why it took so long for them to bang.]

It's ok. I have girlfriend, too... which I should've told you about when we...

Vex and I have an open relationship - she's got a boyfriend - so it's nothing to worry about.

[Hopefully. Jordana prayed to Gaia that Ivy wouldn't have the same response as Scully.]

[greenpower]

I—sorry, I think...

[Confusion came through clearly in Ivy's voice as she tried to wrap her head around that.]

Harley is my best friend. But we're not...

[Somewhere, she's rubbing her temple, trying to remember when they talked about Harley.]

We're not together.

[wyldfire]

Oh. I didn't realize when you said "girlfriend" you meant it in the straight woman way.

[It didn't make sense. Jordana distinctly recalled a few instances where they talked about Ivy's girlfriend in a way that was certainly not just friendship. The tone of Ivy's voice made Jordana concerned that something was wrong.]

Probably would've jumped you earlier if... [She paused a moment, trying to make sense of what was going on.] I'm sorry if I came on too strong when we first met and you thought you needed to play a girlfriend card to keep me at bay. I'm not often so... I guess in that way I'm more bark than bite.

[Low sex drive and all. And Ivy wouldn't be the first woman out there to use a friend that would roll with it as a significant other when needed. It just... bothered Jordana as it really didn't feel like Ivy would need to do that. She was the kind of woman that would tell a spider goddess to fuck off; the Garou wasn't anyone special or a creepy man that couldn't take a hint. But what other possible explanation could it be other than those? It's not like someone went in and rewired Ivy's brain... right? There weren't spirits around to do that...]

[greenpower]

Did I say girlfriend?

[Jordana doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd get that twisted, especially all things considered. Ivy and Harley are close, but—the thought ends abruptly. But what? Ivy tries to finish it, but she can't quite. They're not together-together, are they?

Fuck, Ivy would know if they were.

But the certainty they aren't isn't there either.

Her mind warps around the idea, like kudzu that's grown around a tree only to strangle it out, leaving the shape behind but nothing living inside.]

I don't feel like I'd say that. It's annoying. And confusing. And something 70 year old straight women say.

[And Ivy is neither of those things.]

I'm not really the kind of person who has trouble saying 'no' to people.

[wyldfire]

I know, but I... I'm trying to come up with an explanation that makes some kind of sense. [Jordana no longer kept her concern out of her voice or her own confusion.]

Because that first time we kissed? As much as I didn't want to, I stopped and apologized for kissing you because you told me before that you had a girlfriend in a way that felt like a boundary being set. "Where were you before I met my girlfriend?"

...I'm sorry. I don't think you're lying to me - it makes no sense that you would - but I'm very confused. So just... let me know if I need to keep my hands to myself in the future.

[greenpower]

I... I do remember that.

[Does she? When Jordana says it, Ivy can almost remember it, like a word on the tip of her tongue or a song stuck in her head with lyrics that wouldn't quite resolve.]

I'm sorry, Jor, I think... [She tails off briefly, the uncertainty clear in her voice. What comes out is:]

I need to meditate. Get my head straight.

[wyldfire]

[Ivy remembered but yet didn't remember. It got her Wyrm senses tingling... it also made Jordana's heart ache, because she didn't know if there was anything she could do to help figure out what was going on. What had this place done to Ivy?]

Alright, carina. If there's anything I can do - even if it feels stupid - let me know. I'm here, Ivy.

sometime later

[greenpower]

[Ivy's voice is abrupt and furious:]

She took it.

[wyldfire]

[Okay, pulling the motorcycle over and approaching this without assumption. Steady and calm.]

What do you mean by that?

cw: gendered insults

[greenpower]

Ever since I woke up the last time, there's been something wrong. Not like the first time I was resurrected, it didn't hurt. It wasn't like something that shouldn't be inside of me. There's been this feeling like something is missing.

[Ivy's voice is level, but fast and fierce.]

Now I've finally figured out what the fuck it was. That bitch took it—either her, or the other one.

There's shit I just can't remember, like the last part of my memory is full of holes, but I couldn't even figure that out until I knew what I was trying to remember in the first place.

[wyldfire]

[The growl wasn't meant to come across the psychic connection, but it did and Jordana clamped down on it immediately. She needed to stay balanced and--

Oh good. Ivy wasn't going to force her to be a Philodox as she'd already considered that there was more than one possible thief about.]

That's terrible. I... [Had gotten into it with Balthiel about removing painful memories without permission. This wasn't that thought.]

I recall the man that could "hear" the spirits in the trees and it was about a random mundane event in their lives. [Like a memory.] Those trees don't come from the Wyrm-Spider.

[Which didn't absolve her, but the evidence was stronger that it was the Wyrm-Void that was responsible.]

[greenpower]

When I get my hands on them, I'm going to rip them into pieces and use them as compost.

[Her temper won't calm down, and it's not doing anything good to the plants around her, wherever she chose to find a little solitude, turning them sharp and hungry.

Luckily she did get away from the settlement proper before she started poking at that wound.

It's not doing great for her zadza, either.]

Whichever one of them did it, they're going to pay for this.

[There's a note of fear behind the anger, but like a lot of it is just straight rage. Whoever did this, they took something from her. They did it without her permission. They took something important, and she doesn't think it's an accident.]

We should check in with the others. I know I wasn't the only one feeling it. Dana, at least.