[ jade's wrapping the flat section around the iron, curling it. her lips purse. ] I am not sure if I want him to know about... mine, yet? I want to... [ figure out enough that it's not as alarming. dad's the one you go to if the monsters are too much, mom's the one you go to if you want to dissect the monsters. figure out what makes them tick.
jade's interested in the latter more than the former. as much as she loves bigby, she has to admit she wants a scientist's mind at the moment, not a detective's gusto. ] I wanna figure this out first.
There was... a dead man in the second, though. I recognized him.
[ jade irons out another section, larger this time. it turns out she's curling her hair for the evening, apparently. decided on a whim. ] It was Dave.
[ She gives a small reassuring nod to Jade's direction. Her fingers graze the smooth lipstick to her corners, a resounding smack as she pops her lips to evenly spread. It's not disinterest, it's keeping herself from overthinking. From making Jade fearful. So she acts normal. "Normal", she thinks. ]
We'll keep it between us girls. but —
[ Elizabeth freezes when she mentions Dave. A chill cracking down her spine. There's a bit of confliction when your daughter brings up a close friend as being dead. But, she's reminded of this — the odd sensations of vividness that peaks through their mind. The uncloudy notions like a song and apparently a dead teenage boy. ]
... That doesn't make much sense. It sounds like a nightmare. [ She pauses, setting the lipstick down. ] You've talked to Dave today. ...Correct?
[ man, there will be a day jade can perfectly apply lipstick like that under stress. she's just not sure of when. probably whenever she has to put in actual effort towards her appearance. ugh. she pauses momentarily to watch her mother carve red into the corners of her lips, shaping them to her liking, with deep interest. she feels like she's seven again. ]
Yes.
[ immediately. she'd checked asap that dave was okay. jade sleeps like a log, so thankfully a morning text was all she needed to solve that problem... ]
He is perfectly fine and well, but when I saw him in my dre... my nightmare. [ she's right. it's a nightmare and goddamn if jade wasn't happy to see that it was just that. ] He... [ jade lets go of her hair to tag at her midsection in multiple spots. ] Bullet holes... Just... Everywhere.
[ it's hard but she looks determined to get the words out. she hasn't told a soul until now and it's been hard. ]
[ Elizabeth would rather soothe this as a bad dream. Check her closet and tuck her in extra tight — but she can't. With the way Jade's reacts, she feels helpless. There's a chance that she looks for any signs of uneasiness — any twitch of her fingers or sadness in her eyes. Elizabeth's been able to tell the signs by now. Chewing on her bottom lip, she finally speaks up, her voice carrying a bit more serious. ]
It's not Déjà vu, is it? I wouldn't mislead you with a suggestion so simple. [ Any familiar sensations attacking onto the temporal lobe wouldn't be enough to explain the image Jade's speaking of. ] Sweetie — I don't know what it is, whatever you're seeing... there's been a lot going on and —
[ Will she find out the truth? Who knows. But, she clears her throat. ]
We'll find out. I hope. If anything else happens, let me know? Please.
[ jade's always been the kind of child to hide her feelings, if they're negative. she's over the top about her bursts of happiness, with smiles brighter than the sun (buckteeth be damned), but when it comes to expressing sadness, she can rationalize it, bottle it up and put it away.
so her brow furrows and her eyes are a little wetter looking than they had been earlier, but she holds it in and goes back to curling her hair seamlessly. to the average person, it wouldn't look anything more than thoughtful. ]
It is not Déjà vu but, um.
[ jade's not terribly religious, but there is an influence, of course. her mother was raised pentecostal, her father is nebulous but not opposed and generally doesn't judge. as she's understood it, when life ends, there's nothing but heaven afterward. but. ]
It is like I... am remembering something I forgot. It felt important.
[ a short beat and jade breathes deep and slow, staring at her reflection. ]
[ After nearly 18 years of watching Jade's personality grow, change, and develop — Elizabeth still has only a hint of her feelings. She can peg into the fact that Jade isn't telling her everything despite how much she champions onward, trying desperately to keep herself from succumbing to the mixed bag of confusion.
Little did Liz know, she'd know that feeling all too soon.
A hand reaches up, cradling against her daughter's cheek. A thumb runs along the line of her chin softly, brows furrowed downward as that small gesture ends much too soon for the both of them. ]
Like horses and these birds, right? [ Was that reassuring? Elizabeth hopes so, connecting the dots to the big issue at Founder's Day... it means Elizabeth is looking for answers and that is more than some people. ] Right now, this... that didn't happen. Dave's fine, you're... we'll be fine.
[ Elizabeth grabs a tissue from her vanity, raising it up to her lips. Yes.
Jade.
Liz is going to do the Mom Thing and wipe a bit of smudge off your cheek. ]
Mr. Dawes came to me with something similar. In fact, I think... no, nevermind. I don't have anything. But, that's okay... We'll get through this together.
[ not that jade fights against it - despite her shout, too, a grin cracks across her lips, and it's a laugh that echoes throughout the bedroom next. but it's a good reminder, you know, someone to bring her back to earth, nudging her with the knowledge that this is her family here. there's a lot of baggage to the wolfs, and it's understandable why: elizabeth and bigby had hard lives. they were teenagers deprived of normal existences in some way and that's why, jade imagines, they fit together so well. to that end, it's probably not a surprise that jade has her own problems, her own worries. her parents are great at what they do, and this is evidence of that, but teenagers are teenagers.
she's still smiling. ]
I know, we're all okay. I know. Even if it... If something happened to him before, right now, he's okay, and. [ it's unspoken but elizabeth probably knows what that silence means. it's a mutual family trait: sometimes what's not said says the most for them all. even if something happened to dave in this life, she'd stop it. ]
I'll tell Dad about it soon. I want to tell him myself, okay? Mr. Dawes having this problem as well means... you could be next so. Let us know, 'kay?
[ She's passing, joking to the best of her ability despite her worry. It's a mother's nature to worry and when Jade's concerns become this.. serious with no sight of answers, Elizabeth improvises for normalcy. The motherly gesture was to crack a smile. ]
Tell him when you're ready... when things make a little more sense. I don't want him flying off the handle over nightmares.
no subject
[ jade's wrapping the flat section around the iron, curling it. her lips purse. ] I am not sure if I want him to know about... mine, yet? I want to... [ figure out enough that it's not as alarming. dad's the one you go to if the monsters are too much, mom's the one you go to if you want to dissect the monsters. figure out what makes them tick.
jade's interested in the latter more than the former. as much as she loves bigby, she has to admit she wants a scientist's mind at the moment, not a detective's gusto. ] I wanna figure this out first.
There was... a dead man in the second, though. I recognized him.
[ jade irons out another section, larger this time. it turns out she's curling her hair for the evening, apparently. decided on a whim. ] It was Dave.
no subject
[ She gives a small reassuring nod to Jade's direction. Her fingers graze the smooth lipstick to her corners, a resounding smack as she pops her lips to evenly spread. It's not disinterest, it's keeping herself from overthinking. From making Jade fearful. So she acts normal. "Normal", she thinks. ]
We'll keep it between us girls. but —
[ Elizabeth freezes when she mentions Dave. A chill cracking down her spine. There's a bit of confliction when your daughter brings up a close friend as being dead. But, she's reminded of this — the odd sensations of vividness that peaks through their mind. The uncloudy notions like a song and apparently a dead teenage boy. ]
... That doesn't make much sense. It sounds like a nightmare. [ She pauses, setting the lipstick down. ] You've talked to Dave today. ...Correct?
[ I mean, she just wants to clarify. ]
no subject
Yes.
[ immediately. she'd checked asap that dave was okay. jade sleeps like a log, so thankfully a morning text was all she needed to solve that problem... ]
He is perfectly fine and well, but when I saw him in my dre... my nightmare. [ she's right. it's a nightmare and goddamn if jade wasn't happy to see that it was just that. ] He... [ jade lets go of her hair to tag at her midsection in multiple spots. ] Bullet holes... Just... Everywhere.
[ it's hard but she looks determined to get the words out. she hasn't told a soul until now and it's been hard. ]
no subject
It's not Déjà vu, is it? I wouldn't mislead you with a suggestion so simple. [ Any familiar sensations attacking onto the temporal lobe wouldn't be enough to explain the image Jade's speaking of. ] Sweetie — I don't know what it is, whatever you're seeing... there's been a lot going on and —
[ Will she find out the truth? Who knows. But, she clears her throat. ]
We'll find out. I hope. If anything else happens, let me know? Please.
no subject
so her brow furrows and her eyes are a little wetter looking than they had been earlier, but she holds it in and goes back to curling her hair seamlessly. to the average person, it wouldn't look anything more than thoughtful. ]
It is not Déjà vu but, um.
[ jade's not terribly religious, but there is an influence, of course. her mother was raised pentecostal, her father is nebulous but not opposed and generally doesn't judge. as she's understood it, when life ends, there's nothing but heaven afterward. but. ]
It is like I... am remembering something I forgot. It felt important.
[ a short beat and jade breathes deep and slow, staring at her reflection. ]
I will definitely tell you.
no subject
Little did Liz know, she'd know that feeling all too soon.
A hand reaches up, cradling against her daughter's cheek. A thumb runs along the line of her chin softly, brows furrowed downward as that small gesture ends much too soon for the both of them. ]
Like horses and these birds, right? [ Was that reassuring? Elizabeth hopes so, connecting the dots to the big issue at Founder's Day... it means Elizabeth is looking for answers and that is more than some people. ] Right now, this... that didn't happen. Dave's fine, you're... we'll be fine.
[ Elizabeth grabs a tissue from her vanity, raising it up to her lips. Yes.
Jade.
Liz is going to do the Mom Thing and wipe a bit of smudge off your cheek. ]
Mr. Dawes came to me with something similar. In fact, I think... no, nevermind. I don't have anything. But, that's okay... We'll get through this together.
no subject
[ not that jade fights against it - despite her shout, too, a grin cracks across her lips, and it's a laugh that echoes throughout the bedroom next. but it's a good reminder, you know, someone to bring her back to earth, nudging her with the knowledge that this is her family here. there's a lot of baggage to the wolfs, and it's understandable why: elizabeth and bigby had hard lives. they were teenagers deprived of normal existences in some way and that's why, jade imagines, they fit together so well. to that end, it's probably not a surprise that jade has her own problems, her own worries. her parents are great at what they do, and this is evidence of that, but teenagers are teenagers.
she's still smiling. ]
I know, we're all okay. I know. Even if it... If something happened to him before, right now, he's okay, and. [ it's unspoken but elizabeth probably knows what that silence means. it's a mutual family trait: sometimes what's not said says the most for them all. even if something happened to dave in this life, she'd stop it. ]
I'll tell Dad about it soon. I want to tell him myself, okay? Mr. Dawes having this problem as well means... you could be next so. Let us know, 'kay?
no subject
[ She's passing, joking to the best of her ability despite her worry. It's a mother's nature to worry and when Jade's concerns become this.. serious with no sight of answers, Elizabeth improvises for normalcy. The motherly gesture was to crack a smile. ]
Tell him when you're ready... when things make a little more sense. I don't want him flying off the handle over nightmares.