#jack:lizzie

[ambercast]

where: art festival who: lizzie velnias (@lizzievelnias)

Jack should've been looking where he was going, but in his defense the young woman was quite small and currently covered in an armload of crocheted stuffed animals. When he did stumble into her, he quickly stepped back, shaking his hair out of his face with a frown as he noticed a few stuffies had fallen.

"Shit, sorry," he muttered, bending to pick them up and brush the dirt off them.

[ambercast]

Jack thought that sounded kind of silly, but at the same time she was cute and he had to admit her naming all of them was quite a feat. It almost felt rude not to meet them all if she went to all that trouble. Besides, it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

"Sure," he said with a shrug, moving to stand, ready to follow her.

Lizzie couldn't help blinking in surprise. She wasn't exactly used to people calling her smart. Sure, Winnie did sometimes, but that's what best friends did. Or at least...she was pretty sure that's what they did. Her expression quickly changed as she smirked at the question. "Uh duh, I already named them all. Can't have anyone nameless. Wanna meet everyone? You did help carry them home so seems right to know all their names."

[ambercast]

where: the commune who: lizzie velnias ( @lizzievelnias )

“Hey . . . how are you? The thing at the lake was pretty crazy . . . you doing okay after all that?” Jack asked, having lost her in the crowd that turned to chaos as soon as the tentacle appeared. He’d worried about her despite himself, not sure why she came to his mind first after Yag instead of Fern.

[ambercast]

"That makes sense, I guess," Jack said. "So do I get a shovel?" he asked. "Or do I have to dig with my hands?" He smiled faintly.

She paused in her building to purse her lips and assess the sand mound. "Probably not," she admitted. Lizzie pointed to the bucket not too far from her. "But that's what that's for! Plus you gotta dig for the best sand," she waved a small shovel around. Lizzie may or may not haven taken it from some kids.

[ambercast]

Jack wasn’t sure how to take that, but he smile faintly anyway. “I didn’t learn much in school, so I can relate, I think. I’m still not very observant though. I mostly slept through all my classes.” He was kind of embarrassed about it, honestly, but he literally could not keep his eyes open in school.

She shrugged, relieved to actually be able to do that now that half the weight was off her arms. "Eh, I notice lots of things. I'm kinda dumb but I'm super duper observant. Nothing gets past me," she flashed Jack a grin. "So you better watch out," Lizzie teased.

[ambercast]

Jack looked surprised at that. "You met Jäger?" And he didn't scare you away? It was a thought he'd never say out loud. "He's okay. I mean, he didn't get hurt. He was with me." The way he said it made it clear that he would never let anything hurt his brother. At least, to the best of his ability. "It's just been . . . residual effects, I guess."

That was fair. Lizzie hadn't been worried about Winnie because she knew the other could take care of herself. She probably had fun amidst the chaos too. "Your brother seems cool. Hope he didn't get hurt. I met him at the party."

[ambercast]

"Oh, yeah, hi," Jack said, surprised that she had noticed him there. He was used to blending in into the background. He was careful not to drop any of the animals she handed over to him, re-situating a few in his arms so they were laying better. "Sorry, I'm not really used to people recognizing me."

Glancing around the animals as best she could, she saw that Jack had his arms out. Without warning she dropped about half the pile into his arms, letting out a sigh of relief. They got really heavy after a while. "Lizzie," she replied, before recognition lit up on her face. "Oh hey, you live at the big house like we do! That makes things super easy. Now I don't have to worry about bringing some weirdo over."

[ambercast]

Jack nodded. "That's smart," he said, glad she'd figured it out. He'd been pretty skeptical when he helped her carry everything to the Commune and dumped the armful on her bed. "Are you going to name them all?" he asked curiously after a moment, thinking she seemed like the type, but not sure how she'd keep all of twenty-seven of them straight.

She gave a sheepish smile at the question. "Uuuh kinda? They couldn't all fit on my bed or Winnie's. But! I went to that market place or whatever and this blonde chick was selling these cool looking boxes. So I got a few and now everyone has a home! I just make sure to take turns with everyone. Thanks again for the help!"

[ambercast]

“Uh, yeah I can help,” Jack said with a nod. “Sure. Uh . . . what do you want me to carry?” He stood awkwardly for a moment, arms outstretched to take whatever she wanted to give him. “I’m Jack, by the way,” he said after a moment, realizing he should probably introduce himself.

"Oh yeah, that'd be a good idea huh?" Lizzie bit her lip in thought. "Or maybe you can help me carry them? I really just need to get them set up at our new place. Winnie wouldn't be happy if I brought them all to the party later. Might make her laugh though."

[ambercast]

Jack was a little taken aback by that response, but he guessed people processed things differently. "I'm a little shaken up," he admitted. "I was really worried about my brother at the time, so I didn't really register what was happening until later."

Lizzie tilted her head in confusion. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? The waves the big ol' tentacle made were so fun! Plus like, it was like out of a movie or something, so that was pretty dope. Why? Are you okay?"

[ambercast]

“Um, I think so,” Jack said with a nod, patting the ones he’d picked up before setting them carefully on the pile in her arms. “Uh . . . do you need a bag or something?” He didn’t think it was very safe for her to be hidden behind all the toys. She’d run into him. She might run into others.

Okay, so maybe she went a little overboard on the stuffed animals. But they were so fucking cuuuuuute! And soft. And squishy. It did make it hard to see over her bundle of crocheted stuffies though. "It's fine," she called out over the mass, moving her head this way and that to try and see who it even was she walked into. "Did anyone fall? Are they okay?" Lizzie's voice was laced with hope.

[ambercast]

Jack glanced around as Lizzie waved at him, for a moment thinking she might be waving to someone else. Hesitating, he took a beat before walking over to where she was kneeling in the sand. "Is there enough sand for all of that?" he asked curiously, moving to sit beside her even so.

Sitting in the sand, Lizzie was trying to make a sandcastle when she noticed Jack nearby. Waving excitedly, she urged him to join her. "Wanna build a sandcastle with me? I'm thinking it should have a big ass mote and like lots and lots of towers. For all the prisoners."

@ambercast

[ambercast]

Jack glanced down at his shirt, not having even realized what he was wearing. “Oh. Thanks.” He didn’t really put much thought into what he wore. It was always just whatever he had, which was never much. “Did you find a place for all the stuffed animals?” he asked after a beat.

Lizzie waved enthusiastically upon seeing Jack in the living room. Walking up to him, she stopped and assessed what he was wearing. "Red looks good on you," she nodded sagely.

@ambercast