queenoflogs | (no subject)

Characters: Jessica + Anyone interested
Date: Present day, present time
Summary: Homesickness + Denial + Magic Dirt = an exciting new feature on the landscape!
Warnings: Mild angstmuffinry?

So, magic dirt. You grab some, you think about the thing you want, and boom, done! Woo.

At least, that's the theory. Possibly it was a bad idea for Jessica to try to develop something while she's stressed and freaking out because the full weight of her situation finally hit. Because now, she keeps trying to make something fortressy, but all she comes up with are things from home.

Beige wallpaper.

A soft peach couch with frayed arms and an old antimacassar.

The carpeted stairs with a stubborn purple stain.

A varnished wooden board with pegs bearing leashes.

She frowns, furrowing her brow, and tries to will everything to take the shape her brain wants, not the shape her heart does. Mind over matter, right? Right.

Stone, thick and solid.

A tower, tall enough to see all the Gardens.

Off-white painted walls with a border of pink flowers.

A desk with a lamp attached, and a built-in holder for pens.

A window with yellow blinds, sunlight streaming in.

No, no, no, stop it!

Her room ignores the orders, sweeping up and over her.

There's a stone tower in the garden, with a window at the top. There's a fully-furnished bedroom inside.

There's a Jessica seated on the bed, hugging a pillow and crying.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sephiroth nodded. So this was Jessica's room. Sephiroth had not had a particular personal bedroom as a child, and her current quarters back home had little in the way of ornament. This kind of room was not very familiar to her.

"I didn't realize one could make things with the soil that one did not intend." It was different than the Materia she'd tried to create, which had been warped. She found the idea intriguing, but she saw that it could also have unfortunate consequences. "Were you having difficulty focusing?" Her tone was dispassionate, but she gave Jessica a sympathetic look.

"....yeah." She smooths down a wrinkle on her comforter. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I've been here for a while, I should be used to it." She scrubs at her eyes again, sniffling.

"Sorry. I know I'm being weak right now."

"There's no need to apologize. You miss your home. I can understand. I miss mine as well. Sometimes reactions to stress are delayed, that's all." She was well-acquainted with the phenomenon, having witnessed a variety of responses to combat.

A sigh explodes from her throat, and she lets herself fall back on the mattress.

"I guess..."

Looking out the window, she adds, "I'm gonna have to get some more dirt now."

"I'm certain of it." She smiled.

"I can get some for you, if you'd like. I'm able to travel very quickly, and I was considering getting more for myself."

She sits up quickly, about to speak.

And then clams up and looks down.

She spends a moment looking for the right response around her newly-reconstructed room.

"I... guess that'd be OK. If you don't mind."

I wish I could go with you... I wish I was better.

Sephiroth made no move to leave. "There's no need for me to go now. If you're having trouble concentrating, perhaps you should rest for a day or two before making another attempt."

With a sigh, she squeezes the pillow again. "Yeah, probably... Now watch something bad happen while we don't have a fortress."

Sephiroth shrugged. "There has been no fortress for all this time. It can wait a few more days. If something happens within that brief time, it will be the Queen's fault, and not yours. I'll do what I can to protect people."

She tried to find a use in Jessica's creation. "You could use this place as a residence, despite the fact that it's somewhat inconvenient at this height. It's a defensible position."

She... honestly can't think of a good argument against that. Which, of course, doesn't make her feel better emotionally, but at least she can accept that she wouldn't be universally reviled if some catastrophe were to come up before the fortress was around.

"I... might." There's something very comforting about having her room, even if it's fake and her real home is... forever away. "I could set up an elevator. Maybe even set up the fortress around it, since this was going to be the spot for it, anyway. It'll be kind of weird, I guess, but... it's something."

Being able to plan and focus helps a bit. At least she feels less like crying now.

"um..."

Sephiroth nods her agreement, pleased that Jessica is recovering. "With the soil, it should be easy to add an elevator. It would be a good idea to have such a vantage point within the fortress. You could easily see over the walls and observe the enemy. If you resided here, you'd be the first to spy danger and could warn others."

Jessica seems to want to say something else. "Yes?"

"Yeah, that was kind of the idea, before... y'know, I fucked everything up." She half-smiles, ruefully.

She's quiet for a moment, tracing the pattern on her comforter with her eyes.

"Thanks."

"It was a fine idea. Any mistake you made was due to the unreliable nature of the Gardens, and it can be remedied."

She waits as Jessica pauses. "You're welcome. Is there anything else I can do?"

"No, I guess not. I..." She takes a breath, then sighs. "I'm just going to... stay here a while."

Sephiroth does not go just yet. "Do you need any food?" She gives a small, wry smile. "I still have my Pie Materia."

She smiles a little into the pillow. "Pie would be appreciated."

On her world, few people, if any, have a comparable mastery of Materia. In spite of her dislike of the "novelty" materia, she has a near perfect understanding of them now, and she can control them. She withdraws the Pie Materia, and with a nearly imperceptible movement, creates a few pies. Appearing in midair, they tumble a short distance and land on the desk. "I trust that is enough. Unfortunately, I have not made any Chocolate Materia since we last spoke."

"You're good," Jessica announces, uncurling herself to inspect the new magic pie bounty.

"I guess I'll have to suffer chocolate deprivation a while longer. Pie's an acceptable substitute. Probably slightly better for me, too. Fruit and all."