tushanshu_logs | [Closed] Walk Away

Characters: Jack Frost, Oliver Queen / PART TWO: + Kyle Rayner / PART THREE: + Connor Hawke / PART FIVE: + Zatanna Zatara
Date: Following this showdown and Jack's horrible excuse. Exact length of time to be determined.
Location: One of Tu Vishan's abandoned villages (as outlined here) near the shell's edge, a few hours outside Keeliai and by the mountains.
Situation: Taking issue with Oliver's plan of action, Jack has brought him outside the city to see if he can't get his head on straight. Part Two & Three: After their return, there are still some things to answer for.
Warnings/Rating: Ollie's probably not happy, so associated warnings there.

Jack had been out to these areas several times since his arrival, so he flew straight and unerring across the barren landscape, stirring up heavy storm clouds in his wake, pregnant with snow that was only partially intentional, reacting to his emotions. When they finally touched down at the outskirts of a burned husk of a village, Jack dragged Oliver's unconscious form into the most complete building. It wasn't great, but it had four walls and most of a roof and that was good because Oliver was heavy and it didn't help that Jack couldn't stop replaying their conversation in his mind, over and over.

"What if someone starts coming after you the way you're going after these kedan?!"

"Then I kill them."

"Wrong answer."

So when the man awakes, he will find himself under a blanket but sans boots (and said footwear being nowhere to be seen) and Jack sitting in the windowsill, looking out at a thick curtain of falling snow and humming something of a song under his breath.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The winter spirit was silent for a moment, unsure what to say and what he wanted to say, but he finally he found something that didn't sit like oil in his stomach.

"Talk to Kyle first?"

It...was a fair suggestion.

Damn.

"Alright." The fight was slowly leaving her. Enough that she actually turned back around, immediately wincing when she saw the position he'd curled himself into. "Jack, are you okay?" She'd healed as much as she could, but the rules could be different for Spirits.

"I'm all right," he said woodenly though he didn't loosen his position any. "I know I have stuff to do, I just... it's kind of hard to think right now."

A pause and then a plaintive, "Do you think my sweater will be okay?"

Normally, she would have wondered if he was trying to change the subject. Maybe he was. But she'd seen him wear that outfit pretty much every day since they met. It wasn't too far off to assume it had some sentimental value to it as well.

"Once it's done soaking, I have a few different methods that usually get blood out." She glanced over at the basin, then back at him. Sighing inaudibly. "Do you...want me to stay with you a little longer?"

Oliver could wait. For a little while, anyways. Her original purpose for coming over was to make sure Jack was okay. Right now, he was definitely not okay.

"I'd never tell you that you can't stay Zatan-- wait, why do you know a few ways to get blood out of clothes?"

"Because I'm a girl. Don't ask." She made her way back over to the bed, sitting down near where his head was resting. Despite everything, she couldn't help a tiny smile. As if from some private joke. "But there was also my dad. I usually did the laundry for both of us, so if he came home injured, I'd take care of it for him."

Jack opened his mouth to protest (pretty sure that didn't have anything to do with anything) but he wisely decides not to pursue the question, and he turns his head so he's looking up at her.

"I hope that didn't happen too often."

She shook her head. "No. He's a long-distance fighter, so he very rarely gets into those kinds of battles. The only times he ever got hit were whoever he went up against got in a lucky throw or something."

"But he's a magician like you?" Jack said slowly. "I don't understand... why would he be in fights?"

"He is a magician. But not like me. Dad's the greatest stage magician in the entire world. He can pull off illusions even I can't figure out." She didn't bother to hide the pride in her eyes whenever she talked about Giovanni Zatara. "He's also one of the founding members of the Justice League, a group of superheroes who use their powers to help others."

"More superheroes?" Jack repeated, his face drawing momentarily into a frown. But he smoothed the expression out almost immediately; though the burns were healed, the skin where they'd been was still tender.

Instinctively, she reached out with one hand to smooth back a few strands of his hair. Pushing them out of the way to check on the wound. No, just a false alarm. He hadn't reopened anything. Though her fingers lingered a moment longer, lightly brushing through the thick, white strands. Like a mother soothing a sick child.

"What's with the face? You got something against superheroes?" The teasing was so subtle, he might've missed it.

His tightly curled posture almost immediately relaxes at her touch. It's so strange, he spent so long without any kind of contact that he could only imagine how it would feel.

"I hardly know anything about them," he answered. "I didn't know any until I came here."

Seeing him relax, she continued the impromptu head massage. Pausing every so often to rub at her fingers; his hair wasn't quite as cold as his skin, but it was enough that she could occasionally start to go numb.

"They're alright. Once you get to know them." She chuckled softly. It had been the same way for her, too; most of her life had been spent watching from afar. Until that day.... "The adults are a bit too stiff for my liking. Mostly. Green Lantern's pretty cool." Kyle. She didn't dare use his real name, just in case. "And getting to meet the Team was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me."

"I'm glad you like them Zatanna," Jack said drowsily, fingers curling in the blanket reflexively like a cat's paws.

"But they seem hard to get to know, too many secrets. I would worry that I wouldn't get to know the real them... like making friends with someone who isn't really there..."

She paused, but only for a moment. He was right. That was the hardest part about it. Most of her friends were pretty open when it came to people they trusted. She knew their names, and even a little about their lives. Not much, but enough.

Yet...sometimes, it was the closest people to you who felt the furthest away.

"The mystery's half the fun," she told him, and it wasn't a lie. It gave the illusion of sneaking around. Meeting at night. Rooftops. Treetops. At her bedroom window. Exciting stuff. "And you don't have to know somebody's real name to know what kind of person he is."

"I like fun," was the automatic answer as his breathing evened out and before long, he was sleeping much more peacefully than his first sleep (unconsciousness) had been. This was actually appeared restful.

"I've noticed," she replied back.

He may or may not have heard her at that point; his voice was distant. Reflexive. Soon enough, she could tell that his breathing had shallowed and his eyes closed. He'd fallen asleep. In her lap.

Well, then.

She continued brushing through his hair for several more minutes, not wanting to wake him so soon. It wasn't until she was absolutely certain that he was out for the count that she gently guided his head onto an actual pillow. He weighed a lot less than she would've anticipated, but considering her own petite frame, it still took some effort on her part. Once that was taken care of, she slipped out of the room just long enough to grab a few extra supplies from her room. There was still that sweatshirt of his to be taken care of.

When he eventually awakens, she'll be gone. Back in her own room, resting off the loss of energy from healing him. But his beloved sweatshirt will be hanging off a chair. Dry and clean, all signs of blood removed.

[Closed] Walk Away

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