tushanshu_logs | [OPEN] Like an Unsung Melody

Entry tags:

[OPEN] Like an Unsung Melody

Characters: Zatanna Zatara | Midii Une | Aya + OPEN
Date: April
Location: Various
Situation: Various - specified in starters
Warnings/Rating: None to start; will update if necessary

I - Open Prompts

a - Zatanna
[Keelai's resident Mistress of Magic was in unusually uplifted spirits this month, something which would be noted by anybody familiar with her in the slightest. As she went about her usual Welcome Center chores, she was smiling. Like really smiling. And even occasionally humming to herself.]

[There was also the fact that she was actually doing a bunch of the cleaning by hand, rather than sitting back in a large recliner and reading a book while her magic took over the dirtiest work. That was...different.]

b - Midii
[The 16-year-old girl gave a slightly bow as she prepared to exit the woodwork shop, sending a sheepish, yet clearly grateful smile to the two kedan behind the counter]

Thank you for being so understanding. I truly appreciate it. And please...if you still need anything that important, I'm sure I could find a way to come back and help.

[With that, she pulled on her knapsack--something which she had been carrying around a lot more frequently as of late, and which looked notably heavier with additional books and notebooks contained inside relating to her latest studies--and headed back outside to the bicycle waiting for her, chained to a nearby sidewalk bench.]

c - Aya
[Aya could be most often found at Stark Industries, where her comings and goings seemed so natural to the other workers there that they hardly paid the not-quite-Arteficial Intelligence any heed. Except for the occasional smile and nod of acknowledgement.]

[However, as of late, she had also been traveling to the local college more and more, taking the sky route simply because it was more efficient. Which meant that anyone could glance upward at any time of day and potentially see a green and white figure sailing through the clouds on her way to her latest inquiries. Occasionally stopping upon a familiar or even friendly face.]

II - Closed Promps*

a - (FOR PEPPER)
[With everything that had happened in the last month, Zatanna only just realized it had been far too long since her partner in gelato-related crimes and she had sat down for a good, long chat. A problem which was easily remedied, save for one small change: instead of gelato, she came bearing a large box of cookies. One that quite obviously came from a local baker, as evident by the logo on the side of the box. At least she wasn't bother trying to hide the fact.]

[A knock at the door, and she called out to let the occupants know it was her and that she came with sugar that was mostly meant for Pepper but if they were really REALLY nice, she might consider sharing. Maybe.]

b - (FOR ODYNI)
[It was the initial talk of new Guilds that first peaked Zatanna's interest. This wasn't the first time she had been around to experience some sort of governmental shift in Keelai, and she wasn't even all that surprised. But then the talks continued, and as more and more details emerged, she came upon a bit of a conundrum.]

[Joining the Foreigners' Guild made sense. She was already halfway there with her Welcome Center duties. People were already expecting it. Except...there was the small issue of funding. Once upon a time, they'd been pretty self-sufficient, thanks to the Emperor allotting them funds. Even after the return from battling Malicant in the dream world, when things got a little dicier, they were still supported by Aroyan. Their current relationship with Odyni was certainly far from hostile, but if allying oneself with one guild potentially meant cutting themselves off from another...]

[Basically, there were too many unknowns for her to make a public declaration just yet. It was time for her to play polite diplomat. She even put on a cute button-up collared shirt and bowtie for the occasion, before heading out to the Merchant's Guild to speak with its current representative.]

* - If you would like a closed prompt with any of the girls, feel free to poke me through either PM or at

hina_mun
** - I will be leaving the country for a while starting on Friday, April 14, and hiatuses for ~2 weeks after that. However, I will do my best to get in as many tags until then, as I should be free during the week and part of the weekend.

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[Oh, Pepper definitely got a Look at "a little", clearly not believing her...but whatever. She followed her into the kitchen, setting the box down on the counter.]

Now, before I show you what i have, I just want you to know I could have gone the cliche route and gotten you some rabbit-shaped cookies...

[Because nobody shares her weird sense of magic humor quite like herself.]

...but, no. Most chocolate chip and sugar, but I think they tossed a few oatmeal raisin in there. Or what passes for raisins in this world. I think they might taste better, actually.

[At least Pepper has mostly stopped texting people their next conversations while they're having their present one.

She grinned broadly at the description of the box's contents. Pulling a rabbit out of a box instead of a hat would have been funny, but any cookies are good.]

Oatmeal raisin is the dark horse of cookies, so I'm glad they added some. I think this calls for milk.

[She went to a cabinet and pulled out glasses, then opened the fridge.]

Is there a special occasion I should know about, or are dessert trades an official tradition now?

Oh, you know. I was starting to feel like I was taking advantage of your kindness, so I thought I'd repay the favor once or twice.

And these just happened to be sitting around the bakery I passed by on the way here.

[So a little of both.]

Hey, you were taking all the not-quite-strawberry gelato off my hands, you've been doing me a favor, [Pepper said with a wink.] I'm always happy for an excuse to chat and eat cookies.

[She poured some milk for them both and handed a glass to Zatanna, then peeked into the box. The spoils she'd brought all looked delicious, so Pepper picked one at random.]

Seriously though, time to dish. How's it been with Jack in Keeliai again?

Good. Things are good.

[The answer didn't come too quickly to be suspicious, but there was a certain succinctness about it. Coupled with the fact that Zatanna was suddenly avoiding eye contact...although that could have easily been explained by her own attempt at choosing a cookie. She went for the chocolate chip first.]

He's back at the Welcome Center. It's just like before. Almost.

[That was a little less effusive than Pepper was expecting, and her eyebrows went up.]

Well, it'd be weird if it was 100% the same. I mean, it's been more than a year, right? Picking things back up again is probably gonna take a little time, especially on your end of things.

[She propped herself against the table, considering whether they ought to relocate to the couch.]

Is something specific different or is it just, like, relearning how to live together?

[Zatanna had always been pretty casual whenever talking about her relationship(s). Not really one for mushy sentiments. Which was why, after a moment's pause to consider Pepper's question, she shook her head.]

No, It's not that. It's just...

Never mind. It's kind of dumb, really.

[/absolutely downplaying things]

[Pepper's curiosity was, of course, immediately piqued. She was also a touch concerned.]

I can pretty much guarantee it's not dumb, because you're not dumb. C'mon, this is what girl talk is for. Pull up a chair, lay it on me.

[She didn't pull up a chair.]

[But she did lean back against the counter she was standing beside, her shoulder slumping as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. There were so many of them, and for a moment, she actually frowned. A little. A slight furrowing of her brows.]

When he was here before...even after we got together...I knew there was always a chance that he could disappear. We both saw so many people come and go. But I was convinced that I'd be ready if it ever happened. I wanted to just enjoy the moment, so that there wouldn't be any regrets.

[Here, she sighed inaudibly.]

...but then...he was gone. And it hurt. A lot. And it's not that I'm not happy he's back. I am. It's just...I can't forget about how much it hurt.

[In other words, emotions are making her actually ponder the possibilities of the future, rather than continue to live in the present.]

[Ah. If Pepper's silence and expression following that explanation was anything to go by, she had had similar thoughts about Bakura. If he went home first-- well, she knew what he was going home to, and even the idea of it hurt enough to make her breath catch. Actually experiencing it is something she hoped never to go through.

Her voice was soft when she spoke. Understanding.] I don't think anyone's ever ready for someone they care about to leave, even when they know it's coming. The possibility of going through it twice-- I mean, how can it not be distracting and painful?

[She put her glass down and the cookie on top of it, pushing off the table and resettling next to Zatanna against the counter.]

It's okay that it hurts. Just-- don't let that keep you from enjoying the time you have now, is probably the important thing. Have you talked to him about it?

[The corners of her lips twitched upward, and if she made a sound just then, it would have sounded like a half-laugh, half scoff. Not at Pepper, but at herself.]

He feels bad enough about leaving in the first place. I'm sure the feeling will go away eventually. I just have to...get over it. Or something.

[It's not that she was deliberately keeping it from him. In fact, she was pretty sure, on some level, he already knew. Given their reunion. But her frame of mind was that if she didn't dwell on it much--besides confiding in Pepper this one time, just to get it out there--then maybe it would go away. And they could get back to the fun times.]

[Pepper bumped Zatanna gently with her shoulder.]

It might help a little if you didn't fight with it. Let it hurt, then let it go? I tried not being angry with Gene when I first got here and I had to let myself be angry before I could set it aside and get back to just being his friend.

[Realistically, the fear and the hurt would still be there at a moment's recollection, but that was normal here. Anyone who formed deep relationships with people from other worlds ran the risk that Zatanna did.]

[She was fairly certain Pepper hadn't meant it as a direct parallel, but just in case--]

I'm not angry with him. It wasn't his fault he left.

[Specificity is important, Pepper.]

Oh, no, I didn't think you were. I was just using Gene as an example of something on a similar intensity level where a big time difference was a factor.

[Again, given the difference in respective relationships--not to mention the fact that Gene was from Pepper's world, whereas Jack wasn't from Zatanna's--she wasn't expecting a parallel. But she got Pepper's intentions, and allowed a small smile in gratitude for the effort.]

I'll...work on it.

It's just a little harder this time.

Yeah. I don't think these kind of things are ever easy. [It did make her angry sometimes, with the spell and the caster that had brought them here. Losing each other to the spell's whims was a cruel reward for what they were supposed to have done, and what past Foreigners did do. The anger was pointless, of course.]

Just give yourself time, yeah? Time and cookies and all the gelato I can convince Tony to make.

[Speaking of cookies...before the conversation took too deep of a turn--as if they hadn't already brushed upon some pretty intense feelings as it was--Zatanna leaned forward and picked up another cookie.]

Your powers of persuasion continue to astound me, you know.

[It was one thing to continue joking about getting Tony to make her stuff. But Pepper went the extra mile and actually did it. Every time.]

It's a gift, [Pepper declared loftily.] Being super stubborn has gotten me pretty far in life.

[She retrieved her cookie as well, dipping it into the milk carefully before taking a bite.]

It doesn't hurt that Tony has the metabolism of five people and likes ice cream even when it's way below freezing outside.

[Zatanna had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing aloud at that. All the while, her fingers just barely grazed against the bottom of the pendant hanging from her neck; a snowflake shape hanging from a blue choker-style necklace.]

That's not exactly something I would consider an issue.

[Pepper did laugh at that, though fortunately not in such a way as to get milk up her nose.]

Me neither. It's practically a survival technique, in New York. Ice cream shops stay open and do well all year round because we're all too stubborn to care. The metabolism thing is only a problem because Tony forgets to eat half the time. I swear he'd starve if we didn't remind him.

I know. I remember.

[It had been a few years, but she still considered herself a fellow New Yorker.]

Can't say we ever had that problem with teammates, though. The closest was Kid Flash, because of his speedster metabolism. He had to eat to keep up his energy to run, but he had to eat constantly. And anything. And everything. I'm amazed M'gann never banned him from the kitchen.

Yikes. Yeah, if Tony had to eat all the time and kept destroying the kitchen, we'd have a problem. He's actually able to be in the kitchen without supervision now, which is impressive.

I guess it'd be kinda hard to keep a speedster out of anywhere that's not totally locked down, though. What's M'gann like?

Well, let's see...

Do they have the movie Clueless where you come from?

Uh, yeah. It's been a few years since I watched it, though. Is she like one of the characters?

[A nod. Although it wasn't an exact parallel, considering other factors, it was easily the closest comparison her mind could make.]

The redhead. I forget her name. Especially in the beginning of the movie. That's...pretty close to the kind of cheerfulness I remember M'gann being.

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[OPEN] Like an Unsung Melody

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