lackingbeauty | ♕ 001 // Action for Route 29

[And really, he doesn't have to say it. She knows she isn't. Who is, anymore, anyway?]

I will.

[Is what she says. "You, too" isn't words- it's just on her face, like every other emotion she felt.]

[There really is one good thing about Torch: she is fast.]

[The bad thing... She has arms which aren't particularly meant for holding a full grown man.]

[After the first disastrous flight with her, he's been careful to keep her at the Circus where she's more happy to come up with new stunts than as a traveling companion. But right now, Joker doesn't much care about the risk. So he just makes her promise- twice- to not pull any death defying stunts before they take off with his good arm wrapped tight around her neck and Angel clinging to his shirt.]

[Normally, he tries to take the time to enjoy the views from way up high. It's nothing like anything he's experienced in England and just another reason to enjoy having a second chance at things again. But this time, he's too lost in his own thoughts to pay anything much mind. There's so much he's going to have to tell her, so much he's going to have to explain- where to start? It really is like stepping into some sort of fairytale dreamland... Fantastical creatures and devious villains all.]

[It's only when Torch snuffs at his hair does he snap out of it and look down far far below them. There it is, there's New Bark. He gives a sharp whistle and jerks his head down towards the professor's lap. They'll land near there- get a bit of coverage. He doesn't want to scare Beast with a giant dragon just yet, after all. Once they're on solid ground and Joker tries not to think about how many times he nearly fell off, he takes in a deep breath.]

[He wants to go running out. He wants to find her and grab her and make sure she's real and- apologize. He shouldn't have left them all on their own. He had to, he's not sure what else he could have done, but... They were his responsibility. Peter and Wendy and Doll and Jumbo... and Beast. Her especially, when she'd been worried so about his leaving.]

[But he can't just run off. He takes a moment to lay his hand on Torch's and Angel's heads, murmuring quietly.]

Stay here, alright? I'll introduce ya come the right time, but need ta steady her first, alright? Keep an eye out for Jims, imagine he'll be here any minute now.

[Two balls are pulled out next, and he releases Claw and Fang. It takes him a moment to decide which one would be less worrying and he settles on Claw. After all, save for the shiny jewel on his forehead, he just looks like a very overgrown housecat. Not purple. It takes a bit of convincing to separate the pair but fortunately it seems the two know when things are serious.]

[So after a good few hours flight and a few minutes chatter, Joker finally leaves the area and takes another breath.]

Alright, Claw, be good ta me, won't ya?

[The Persian immediately gets to work, tail slowly wagging back and forth as it looks for the scent that'd been offered to him on the thick scarf Joker keeps around his neck. It starts to lead him off towards the route and out of the small town. Joker gives a tentative call.]

Beast?

[It was getting late.

Normally, Beast would be asleep by now. But there's normally and there's now, which had very little in common with what she'd call normal. Normally she didn't wake up in a foreign town, with a foreign woman claiming to be her mother (she didn't remember the woman at all, but she knew it wasn't her), surrounded by foreign animals- it was too strange and too sudden to believe.

Joker's voice had been something to ground herself on, focus on, but he wasn't speaking anymore- he was on his way. She was waiting.

Just after they'd disconnected she'd tried to take his advice, because he often had decent advice much as she sometimes hated to admit it, and tried to talk to the people on her... Device. Tried to respond to them remotely civilly, ask questions. But her ability to be respectable in this sort of situation had worn too thin and the concepts shoved at her, (felt like shoved, no matter how gentle the turn of phrase), too befuddling. She'd stopped replying within the hour.

Nerves had worn thinner and thinner as time passed, and though she was too on edge to sleep, no matter how tired she was, she's drifted in to that haze between the two, knees, one real one false, pulled up and her cheek resting on folded arms. Waiting.

It might have been her imagination, just hopeful thinking, but- she thought she heard a voice.

His voice.]

- Joker?

[Got it out, half stood up, when a...

Was that a cat?!]

[If it does anything to help soothe her, once she gets up and is visible, the Persian in question does make a very definite cat like sound. It seems rather pleased with itself... Although considering it is a cat, perhaps that's nothing out of the ordinary.]

[Claw ducks out of the way as Joker rushes past, leaning down to wrap his arm tight around her waist and pull her close. He'd do closer still, if not for the one noticeable issue of him missing an arm on the other side, but he doesn't think much of it anymore.]

Found ya, thank goodness.

[Beast might have found the incongruencies if given a bit more time- the coin on its head, for example, but now, the Persian remains in her head simply a large beast of a feline.

Because Joker was holding her, and he was safe.

Try as she had to hide her worry, Beast's emotions always showed in the end, and she bit in to her lip, shoulders rose sharply, inhaled to try and stifle any weak sounding noise of relief to see him emerge unharmed, but then he was holding her and she didn't have to try not to show how worried she'd been because his shoulder did that for her. She buried her face there, arms wrapping around and squeezing with the same amount of desperation she had the night she'd begged him to leave Father behind-

- Had that only been a day past?

The shameful events between that memory and the current time are enough to make her squeeze even tighter, almost painfully so in an effort to forget. It was fine- even if... Even if Black was with the Yard like Peter said, it hadn't come to anything. Joker was here. He was safe. Except-

The realization was slow, because they'd lived years of their life lacking, he an arm and she a leg, and it almost didn't feel out of place within that embrace. After all, the last time he'd held her this tightly had been at the workhouse, before the distance and the wear and the children and the falseness in his smiles. It felt like this, the last time, but it shouldn't this time.]

Joker-

[Muffled in to his coat, fingers clutching desperately in the fabric at his back to keep her face hidden as she spoke, keep him from pulling away.]

Where's yer arm?

[No- something had happened. No. No. No.]

[It really has been a long time since he's held her like this, or any of their ragtag family. If only he'd known what would happen back home at Father's, if only he'd known he'd end up in a place like this where he'd end up nearly a year away from all his family... He wouldn't have held back from all of them, not nearly as much.]

[No one reflects like a dead man does.]

[Her muffled question pulls him out of all of it, however, but it's one he's been expecting. He presses his face against her hair and takes a deep breath.]

Ain't nothin' for ya ta worry about. Just seemed ta lost it when I got here myself.

[It's a practiced lie, the one he used with Doll. Something in the back of his mind, however, is worried it won't work. Beast has always been able to see through him, it seems.]

[No. If he'd just lost it... How could he be so casual about losing such a thing? Doc had made them all special for them, spent the time and effort to craft to each of their needs... Fittings, maintenance, design... Affording them the attention and care even a nobleman might envy.

Thanks to Father.

Just another thing in a long line of "thanks to Father"'s. She hadn't asked for it, none of them had. Sometimes she finds herself wishing to be back at that workhouse hobbling about on a crutch- she'd do the labor required, she'd live her life with one damn leg if it meant not having to have that man's seal stamped on her inner thigh burning a sick brand in to her fake skin.

But the other part of her knew that wasn't true. That on order to survive she needed that leg, and Joker his arm, and Dagger his foot, because without it they'd wind back right where they started- the gutter. Knew that now she'd had a taste of wholeness that she'd never be able to lie and say she wished she'd never had it in the first place.

No.

Knuckles were white in the back of his coat, unwilling to let go or raise her head even with the doubts she had about his answer.]

When was that?

[People said months, he'd been here months- but that was impossible. She knew that. She's seen him last night. (Last night-)]

[That's the hardest answer, harder than where his arm is. Faintly, he feels Claw pressing against their legs in concern. Cat's a thieving brat most of the time, but he's ended up as family in his own right.]

...Y'know that ol' tale about some ol' tosser who hears music comin' from a ways off and finds a bunch a faeries and trolls and the like all havin' a grand ol' party?

So he stays a while, he does... Only for a few hours, by his count. But he goes back home, ta his little town, and his wife's on old maid and his children all grown up because his two hours were fifty years for the rest a the world...

[Fairytales. Guess they had some truth after all. He takes a breath.]

It was winter when I got here, but it's headin inta fall now... Ten months or so. [She can probably feel him brace himself for the reaction.]

[She knows the story. Faerie rings, being spirited away to the Unseelie Court if unlucky, simply losing your time if you were blessed.

But they were fairy tales. For children. Things adults didn't right believe in- and most of their group with the exception of Dagger and Doll who they'd managed to keep somewhat sheltered, had been adults longer than they should have been. Beast slowly raised her face, though she didn't let go of him. For fear he'd leave her again or vanish she couldn't say.]

Thas' impossible.

[She was sure of that. Wasn't she?]

- I saw ye las' night.

[Wasn't she sure?]

[Just last night... Yeah, their lives are definitely off balance now. Years of growing up with her, side by side, and now all of a sudden...]

I know ya did. But... Impossible things tend ta happen here. Guess all those things they told us when we were little have a bit more truth than we thought, eh?

Maybe ye 'it yer head.

[She didn't want to believe it. If she did, it would mean that she had to believe everything else- that this place truly was separate from their world, that those people on that strange device were right, that those weird animals were real, and that-

He'd somehow gone on a year of his life without her- without them? And none of them had noticed?]

Or-

[Or what?]

Ha! Maybe.

[Wouldn't that be nice? Everything from when he left her, all in his head, all just a bad dream or a touch of madness. Sometimes it feels like he'd take any of it just for the comfort that everyone is okay.]

[Gently, he cups the back of her head and draws her close to his shoulder again.]

If ya want ta think this is just a bad dream for now until we can get somewhere warmer for the night, that's fine too. It's a lot ta take in.

[Its so tempting.

He's warm, and he's here, and he's alright. A selfish small part of her thinks that would be enough- but of course it wouldn't be. They have other family, and they weren't safe. They might not be warm. But wasn't she right where she'd so wanted to be just a single night ago? In his arms, her fingers tangled up in his coat and her face pressed against his shoulder.

Thinking about it only reminded her of what she'd done, (what she'd been made to do, she wants to believe), and hidden from view her skin flushed in shame.

It was tempting to agree. But she strove to be strong even when she wasn't, to support their family, support Joker himself when she saw pain or distance behind his smiles.]

M'not leavin' 'ere till ye start makin' sense.

[Is what she says. But her tone wavers, betrays how badly she'd like to take him up on that offer- to go to sleep somewhere safe and hope the world would make sense on the morrow.]

Ah, there's my stubborn Beast.

[A long long time ago, he can remember hoping she'd grow into the name. Beast. It's a word that makes you think of claws and fangs and a wild, untamed strength that couldn't be beat. It was a name he'd given her with the hope she'd take to it, the memories of her thin and tired form against his shoulder as they waited to die in the gutters of London.]

[She deserved to be the fragile and lovely sort of Beauty women were supposed to be, that couldn't be denied by anyone, but a Beast could keep herself safe.]

[So he says it fondly. Their stubborn Beast. That's right.]

That's gonna be a long while, then. Yer sure?

[Stubborn, and short tempered- she's tried so hard to live up to that title. To be Beast not just within the ring but out of it. Why couldn't she have held on to that sort of nature not hours before? Why had it failed her now of all times?

Hot, shameful tears pricked the corner of her eyes even as she made to disentangle from him, which put a stop to that. She wasn't going to let him see her cry. Not that she planned to let those hints of her own disgrace go anywhere but her eyes- not her cheeks. At least not let them fall.]

... No.

[Regretfully muttered in to his lapel. No, she wasn't any more sure of that than she was of anything else in this place.]

Weather seems like it might become rubbish anyway.

[It's true. He'd gotten a better look from high up in the air, but even down here, it's clear that clouds are gathering a bit more than they were earlier.]

It's... a long walk ta the nearest inn, but there's a quicker way I know of... If yer willin' ta trust me a bit.

Or keep thinkin' this is a dream, that might help. Either way, 'fraid there's nothin' in this town besides a boat that would take us across the way.

[It really might. Now he's starting to regret picking flying partners that are so... flashy and out of the ordinary. He should have gotten a good old giant bird. They were still alarming, but at least most of the ones he'd seen throughout Johto were still mostly birds.]

[Beast didn't respond at first, instead concentrating on the difficult matter of controlling her emotions. Any second string circus member would agree that reigning in her temper was not one of her strong points, but it was the same for anything she felt- except maybe happiness. She was quite good at reigning in happiness and hope, for fear it would be squashed all too quickly or ruined by something more pressing to survival.

A few moments and she managed it though, disentangled from him reluctantly, (so reluctantly), her eyes lingering anxiously on his missing arm. Not in anything like at disgust, (she was far more so), but in fear of what that lack meant. That, and the lie she sensed behind it. Because if he said he'd been here a year... Why hadn't he found something else? Even something makeshift-

But like she had every time until she couldn't stand it any more not a single night hence... Beast kept her mouth shut.]

I trust ye.

[Even if she didn't believe in this place... Or even what he said, she still trusted him.]

[Hearing those three words means a lot- more than he thought they would. It makes his heart hurt. I'm sorry wants to be said but doesn't make it past his lips. Instead, he says something else.]

Thank you.

[He means it.]

[Before he can let himself get sidetracked, he leans down and places his hand on top of Claw's head. The action earns some satisfied purring and he can almost imagine the question the Persian is asking him even if he doesn't understand any of these creatures. He did good right? Something like that, probably.]

We'll start ya off slow. This is Claw- thought ya might like 'im, even if he is a right troublemaker.

[The fact that there was an animal even there seemed to surprise Beast, so narrow had her focus been since Joker's arrival. Her eyes widened as she stepped back, though not out of confusion as to the beast's foreign nature, but because it was... A very large cat. And the large cats she dealt with tended to bite those without whips when whimsy struck them. After all, no matter how trained, they were wild animals. She had a few scars to prove it.]

Joker-

[Hissed, but then he was touching it and it was... Purring? Finally she took in the whole of the animal. One of them mountain cats... ? Tawny and lithe, but-]

... Why've ye got a coin stuck on there?

[What.]

Been here the whole time, and ya forgot about 'im!

[Sorry, sorry, he just... He can't help but chuckle at that, feeling a bit of lightness come back to him.]

Ain't me who thought of it- s'natural. Sorta like how most folks don't walk around with scales, but then there's Snake. Just one a those things that happen.

[He's glad he at least managed to think that up on the way here. Now it's just explaining it's like that for every Persian might be a bit... tricky.]

There're scales 'n there's gold mint-

[Oh hell, no. She's not buying that. She's also smarter than to just touch some animal she doesn't know, though, so she can't confirm it for herself but. That's definitely some sort of coin, right? Some birds had shiny feathers, some sick things had growths... But a shiny gold one?

She does inch closer to it to investigate, however.]

If it makes ya feel even a tad better, I don't know if it's somethin' ya could actually sell like that... Partially 'cuz I haven't tried since I'm pretty sure I'd get me arm torn straight off and I ain't much fancy gettin' two fakes.

[Also, he's fairly certain the police would put him away for good.]

[Realizing he's been inspected, Claw straightens up in a manner that's most certainly arrogant and starts to clean himself like he can make his forehead shine even more. There's nothing predatory in his stance, however- no signs he plans on lashing out anytime soon. Of course... He is a cat, and even housecats are finicky things which might very well lash out for no reason.]

No, it really don'.

[How did that make it better? But Beast was almost happy for the confusion- it was a decent distraction from darker thoughts as much as she hated confusion as well. She recognized a lack of alertness in the animal, it didn't seem ready to pounce...

But she still didn't touch it.

Instead, she sighed, averting her gaze somewhere off in to the woods.]

Pokemon 'r some nonsense?

[The desire to live in denial wasn't the same as actually managing it.]

Got it in one.

[That brings some relief, too. At least she was keeping herself busy... Although he can't imagine it was for very long. It's with that knowledge in mind that he steps closer to bump his shoulder against hers with a wry grin.]

So ya 'ave been talkin' ta some folks. How many did ya yell at, then?

[It's more a tease than any sort of admonishment. He's hardly going to be upset with her when she's been yanked outta England and plopped right inta some sort of strange fairytale land where hardly a thing makes sense at first.]

[She's regained enough to throw herself headfirst in to confusion, but not enough to respond to his banter like she'd normally. To blush or stammer out some excuse, push him back or start fussing at him even though she wasn't really cross with him at all.

Pokemon...

She shrugged, fingers clutching her own elbows too tight for comfort.]

Few, 'fore I got tired a the mad blabberin'.

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