Hot Springs

Summary:
March 18, 2015: Zee and Pepper join Partisan in the hot springs for some R&R

In The Mountains somewhere


Characters

NPCs

  • None

Mood Music:
[*<http://insert.video.or.music.link.here>]


Spring is just starting to roll foreward, but this area is largely untouched so far. Theres still snow on the ground, and the air is crisp and quiet. Part is obviously dressed for the place at least, her trademark M-65 and a neat black backpack as she strolls around with a roll of the shoulders. Ak held low in one hand as the other slips that cigarette from between her lips. "If you girls want we can head to the cabin first, or we can just go directly to the hot springs from here. I think I've got some pot at the Cabin, if that interests either of you girls."Pausing as she crests a low ridgeline to look back to her companions. Maybe a quarter mile away sits a cabin, a cute little affair with a small barn like building apparently built directly into a nearby cliffside.
Why did the Partisan bring her AK, well because she's the MFP of course. This one seems a little "dressier" than most,it's been painted with some sort've metallic burnt bronze sort've finish and clad in simple black furniture. She's scribbled "FUCK YOU!" across the receiver of course, like exactly every long arm she's carried since Vietnam."This place used to belong to a guy named Pat Miller, he was an LT before he joined the company. He used the cash he got from selling me this joint to put his kids through college, and started a gunshop in town about fourty miles from here. Real estate was much cheaper in 69' of course, and you wouldn't believe the money floating around Cambodia back then. We were pulling in millions every few weeks."


Pepper Potts imposed on Zee rather egregiously, getting a change of attire as well as the swimsuit that she'd wanted. She's currently dressed casually (for her) in jeans and a sweater under her winter coat, good quality but clearly well broken-in hiking boots making her executive shoulder bag look kind of out of place. At least the overnight bag she hastily packed kind of bridges the gap, being made of leather but still a DUFFEL.

"It's gorgeous out here," she tells Partisan, her cheeks and nose already a bit pink from the cold. Downside of being so pale, really. "And I didn't realize there would be snow. I'm not sure that the hot springs would be warm enough to keep me from freezing." Downside of being so thin, really.


Pepper might think she imposed but Zee knows far better, she offered. She's also dropped through Shadowcrest on their way to grab her swimsuit and few supplies, Zee's bag isn't as 'elegant' as Peppers but it's getting close. The young magi is still wearing black leather trousers, black denim jacket, an apple green tank top along with her high heel knee high boots (black with a few buckles). At her throat, the diamond encrusted collar and at her hip, the emerald Primal Force pendulum.

"It is lovely, Ludie." Zee pulls her jacket closed to ward off the cold "And I think you'll find the springs are just wonderful, Miss Potts." Zee's experienced similar whilst travelling with her Dad.


Partisan nods softly "Have a little faith honey, I'm not gonna let you freeze to death. "and so the direct route, which means bypassing the cabin and popping open the lock and slipping inside to the darkened interior. Part takes a moment to get a lantern lit, before heading in at a fairly leisurely pace. The walls turning from wood to stone, and finally to the raw expanse of cave walls until she stops and hoists the lantern to expose the hot springs beyond. It's almost as large as a proper olympic swimming pool, the water is crystal clear and sending up neat whisps of steam. Its a hot springs in a cave, apparently. "Shit I havent been here since me and Jerry found that silver landmine thing."She hangs the lantern from a chain hanging from the ceiling, and doffs her bag with a smirk. "The Indians thought the spring here was magic, they were supposedly supernaturally purifying. I think that may be bullshit, but this place is great."


Pepper Potts follows Partisan, her expression initally one of curiosity, but changing to pure and simple awe by the time they reach the open cavern with the positively huge hot springs. "…wow." She steps to one side to gently set her bags down as well and shed her winter coat. Because it's NOT cold in here.


Zee looks relaxed as she enters the cavern, the first time in perhaps a while. Sighing happily, she turns in a circle, stops, closes her eyes as she tilts her head back and just breaths. After a few long moments, the young magi murmurs "There's something here, alright, just not very strong." Once she recovers herself sufficiently, she puts her bag next to Peppers. "It's wonderful in here, Ludie, just wonderful."


"I keep a key beneath the flower pot on the porch, you girls are free to come here any time you like truly. Also theres a few guns and things in the basement, but well I can teach you how to use those if you want."Part sets her Ak aside, and dumps her pack. Theres a pair of handguns, three kerambits, and a boot knife to set aside. THen off comes that Shirt to expose both the small knife hanging like a necklace, but also the rest of that ink. That pattern of red and black on her right arm, which goes up well over the shoulder in a full sleeve. Anywho, she slips into a pair've plain black swim trunks and a modest top quickly enough. Then into that water with a sigh. Her pistol, cigarettes and a floating ashtray come with of course. It's, well no you're not gonna freeze in here thats for sure. Luckily the rim of this hot springs does form something of a natural seat, Part slips to the far end of the springs and reclines with a soft sigh. "I never get any chance to come out here, spent like a month straight out here when I first got to America."


Pepper Potts smiles as she starts to change clothes. She was actually kind of smart and put her swimsuit on under the jeans and sweater when she was home, so all she really has to do is shed the over layers until she's wearing a black one-piece with white accents clearly selected as much for comfort as for appearance. ( http://tinyurl.com/pvzp9rf ) With a brief shiver she walks over to step gingerly into the hot springs. "Oh this is heavenly."


Zee wasn't as clever as Pepper and slips out of her clothes into the swim suit she selected. A nice red bikini with boylegs ( http://lnk2.biz/1CysOFU ). The collar and pendulum are still there.

Zee looks like she's in heaven. Whatever she is sensing in the cave, it certainly agrees with her. Pulling her hair up to the top of head in a messy bun, Zee slips into the spring up to her chin and blows out a deep breath "Just what I needed." Turning to Partisan, Zee smiles slightly "The key… I might just use that."


Partisan gets a cigarette lit, before sinking back with a soft sigh. "So Pepper, before you freak out. Hydra thinks it killed me, so there is a bunch of madness going down. There were some news articles about it, folks who follow me decided to undertake some vigilante action in my name. Mainly South America, but I haven't been keeping track."Ashing her cigarette carefully in the little ash tray. "Truth is, they came pretty fucking close. Ripped the wolf out of me, and shot her to hell. Jerry grabbed Zee there, they found a replacement and Zee there saved my life. So now I'm a weretiger, not a werewolf. It's a little wild, and no I really don't know how I feel about it yet but I'm pretty alright so don't fret."


Pepper Potts looks at Partisan a bit confusedly for several seconds. "As long as you're all right." She even sounds a bit concerned. "You'll let me know if there's anything I can do, right?" Her hair was already in a ponytail so she didn't fret with it, though the end of the ponytail is now floating in the water. Maybe Zee had the right idea.


Pepper might note that Zee is pretty quiet on the whole issue. She might also note how much Zee is enjoying with the whole 'communing with nature' thing and the slight tension at Zees eyes with the mention.

"Jericho did call me, Miss Potts." Zee speaks quietly "By the time I got there, the wolf was dead. We had to find a replacement and I had to cast a spell." The raven haired womans enjoyment in the spring is diminishing.


Partisan waves a hand dismissively "Relax, Zee. I'm ok, I just didn't want Pepper finding out from some third party. Consider topic changed, fear not."Rolling her head back to rest against the rim of the spring, before taking another drag off her cigarette. "I found a guy who does leather, and well for the motorcycle gear since you both seemed -so- concerned? He's going to tailor something for me, black leather with red and white alternating stitches for luck. Need to figure out what I'm going to do for shirts, sort've have some boots picked out already I think."


Pepper Potts ohs and nods and almost visibly sets that less pleasant topic aside. "What sorts of shirts would you normally wear with motorcycle leathers?" She's trying to mentally picture it. White buttonups? Probably not. T-shirts? Ehhhh.


Zee shrugs a little, letting the peace of the cavern soak into her. "I wear tank tops and T-Shirt, Ludie…" She indicates the pile by the wall "But I've only just started looking at that… before it was flounces and 'pretty girl' things. "I think you need to keep the design simple, use colours and accents to set it off."


Partisan shrugs "I'll probably just go get some hiking shirts, vertx and Arcteryx and so fourth."Puffing away at that cigarette. "I was just going to roll some like, band t-shirts and be done with it but nah. I've been wearing fatigues since like, vietnam and well I wore nice things. I've got enough beautiful dresses to last ten lifetimes, but I always thought of them as like disguises you know? I was always trying to be somone else when I wore them, so when I put on my regular clothes? I didnt have the energy to try and look like, anything."


Zee kind of gets it and smiles across to Partisan. "I wear a costume, a disguise if you like. Sometimes it's not comfortable and sometimes it is." It's Zee turn to shrug "If wearing those types of shirts works for you, then do it. But try mixing it up a bit, see what the Tiger might like." Zee nods to her own pile of clothes "Just 3 weeks ago, I was wearing sweater dresses and 'cutesy' stuff, today I find I'm far more comfortable in leaather… who knows what I'll find in 6 months?"

Laying out so she's floating on her back, Zee murmurs "Change is inevitable and each of us should learn to embrace it."


Partisan hmmms peering after Zee for a moment. "So did I ever tell you I met Houdini, Well I had dinner with him the one time and then we bumped into one another like a year later when he was just finishing his tour of europe."Partisan stories yo, but at least this time she glances over towards Zee to gauge if theres like legitimate interest here. "Or about the first time I met a Tiger, which I'm pretty sure was some sort of metaphysical Tiger or whatever you want to call it."


"Tell me about Houdini" he's one of Zee's favourites "and then tell me about the Tiger." Zee's voice is slurring, the water doing its trick "Truth is Ludie, I'm worried… that I'm turning dark." Zee's forgotten that Pepper is exploring and may hear part of this conversation.


"He recognized me, only person I've ever had do that. I'd changed bodies seven or eight times since he'd last seen me, and just played it cool. His hands were quick, so were his eyes."Pausing, as Part hunches foreward to get another smoke lit. "Sleight of hand doesn't usually work with me, My eyes are much sharper than a human. I could never follow his though, and he could follow my hands well enough. This is back in the day I was wearing a bladed ring, and he just knew straight away. As for the tiger, well it was Vietnam. I was pulling point deep in North vietnam, just crossed over from Cambodia and we were in a sector where like nobody had maps. We had these super basic charts done by aerial observation, but it's a jungle so they miss tons."Eyes drifting shut as the story continues.
"It was a LRRP, basically hiking many many miles beyond where our helicopters could reach. I slipped through this low ridgeline cave, and the valley was shrouded in mist but I could see shapes there in the darkness. Man made stone structures, and so I slithered down closer and got my map out, place was huge and well you should be able to see it from the air. After a few seconds, I got this feeling in the pit of my chest and looked up. There about two feet away, eye to eye is this tiger bigger than any tiger ought to be. We just stared into each other's eyes for a minute, and came to some sort've understanding. He knew I was just passing through, he knew I wasnt there for whatever that place was. I knew if we fought the death would be mutual, I knew this was just a Tiger doing what tigers do. So on I went, and off he went."Part shrugs a touch, puffing at that cigarette before shooting Zee a look. "Darkness is not the opposite of light Zee, Darkness is the absence of light. Chew on that for a minute."


Zee has set herself upright in the water, still obviously enjoying the water and cants her head as she listens. "Dad speaks of Houdini. I may have met him when I was tiny, but he is a legend, even in the magical community." There's not much more to say on the Tiger, but it Parts comment about dark vs light that has her thinking. "So… if I keep my light alight, so to speak…" Zee's nodding slowly as she does, indeed, chew on that.


Partisan nods softly "Zee I've done so much I'm not proud of that I could make my very own Wikipedia about it."Hey, she used a "modern" term hooray. "That doesnt make me evil, it means I did some fucked up shit before. You keep your light going, and you try to do more good than bad. Everyone slips, everyone makes bad calls, everyone is going to fuck up. You're playing in the deep end of the pool Zee, you're no civilian. Civilian fucks up, they get a parking ticket. We fuck up and somone gets killed, but that doesnt mean we stop doing the right thing whenever we can. This is the deep end of the pool, there are sharks here and blood in the water. Bad things happen."


Zee floats to the opposite side of the pool and rests her arms on the edge, as Partisan speaks. Her face solemn, a degree of sadness tingeing it. "Bad things happen" her lips quirk in a wry smile "And I'm no civilian. I'll keep my light going and try to remember that we all mess up sometimes." That doesn't mean she has to be happy about it.


Partisan smirks "Learn how to fight, learn how to survive anything. Do whatever it takes to stay alive and free. Whatever mistakes you make, can't be made right if you're in chains or in the ground. Figure out what it is -exactly- that you're fighting for, and go for it."Shrugging somewhat finally as she watches Zee absently. "You could always join the CCU if you wanted you know."


"CCU?" Zee's been listening carefully to Partisan. "I'm learning to fight and I'll survive." The young magi may be conflicted about she's using her magic lately but the fact remains she uses it to protect those who can't protect themselves.


"The Chain Cutter's Union, the team me and Jerry made. We both do our own shit too, it's not exclusive or anything. The CCU focuses on people being held against their will, subjects for medical experimentation, hostages, kidnap victims, slave trade you name it. That big warehouse, well theres some of my shit there but that's all primarily for the CCU. Hydra falls in our crosshairs both individually, and as the CCU. You want in, you're good. Give you a chance to work with two folks who've been doing this for a long while, and if you decide to go your own way? No hard feelings."Part shrugs a little and grins. "Pepper, incidentally is a member too. She can see things we don't, and she usually does."


That's news to Zee and she regards Partisan. "Let me think on that." So many new things coming into her life… so many decisions. "It sounds like a good cause… and something I've already been working towards." Pepper and Jeri can probably expect a visit from the young mage. "This is nice Partisan, I'm glad you suggested it." Zee rests her head against the edge of the pool.


Partisan just smiles "I've got plenty of room there, so you'd have space to store stuff that might be dangerous or whatever. A place to train, try things out. Join or don't, you're a good person as far as I'm concerned. For the record, I thought that before you saved my life."Part pauses, snuffing out one cigarette and lighting the next. "Animals are a very good judge of character, and as you know. I'm way more animal than I am human. Knew it when we first met."


"Thank you, Ludie." That does make Zee feel more comfortable and she hopes it stays that way. She's not lifted her head from the edge of the pool… "Yes, I do know… I stitched it back in…" and that doesn't seem to bother her one way or the other. Zee, takes people as she finds them.


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