"Should probably get goin, then, huh?" She leaned down and grabbed her axe, hooking it into her belt before he thought she was going to attack him. "You're welcome for the save, by the way."
Boy, underground people sure were impolite! Juno watched him vanish into the trees, took another look around to assure no one else was planning on sneaking through, and then pulled her trap down fully. She would have to fix the netting anyway.
After she gathered up her things, she headed back to her father and informed him of the encounter. Solanus looked... surprised, if not a little incredulous at the suggestion that some boy from the underground had made his way up to the surface and actually spoke to her, but Juno couldn't tell a lie even if she wanted to.
"They're not meant to be up here, sprout. If you see him again, best be careful." Was his only warning, knowing full well his stubborn daughter would end up doing whatever the hell she wanted either way.
Enough time passed after that incident that Juno assumed it was a one-off interaction when she saw no sign of the boy. So she went about her usual business in the woods while her father worked - singing another song to herself, this time while skinning a rabbit she had managed to catch.
Tox's training continued, but they didn't come back to the surface for another two weeks, and then three after that. It was a hassle to get up there, what with hidden passages and doors requiring complex spells to open, leading to caves on the surface where they sat invisible so no one would find and meddle with them. Besides, it wasn't like taking a boy up was a top priority.
And the work remains boring. He hopes this isn't what all spywork is like. He thought it would be infiltration and stealth and thievery and poison and classified information. Instead they're just wandering around in the woods, marking stuff on a map. Is this actually important, or are they just telling him it is?
He also assumed the run-in was a fluke, so it's a surprise to hear her singing again. He freezes, considering his options. In truth, he had thought about their first encounter for days afterward, picking it apart in his mind. It was such a strange experience, and the way she didn't fit the stories he'd been told about surface dwellers made him curious about her. He wanted to know more, but figured he'd never see her again, so tried to put it out of his mind.
So when he hears the singing, there is the urge to give it a wide berth so he doesn't get in trouble, but what's stronger is the urge to walk toward it. The call of a siren.
He's stealthier in the woods now, and he creeps through the brush quietly to find a spot where he can see her, but she can't see him. This goes well, at first, and he watches her for a little while. She's skinning an animal, or something- so she's a hunter, then. Or maybe all her people hunt, but then why would he only be seeing her out here?
He's still astounded by how big she is, too. His people are small, thin, pale. Even Tox is a bit big compared to the other kids, and he's a foot shorter than her.
He wants to get a closer look, so he shifts, moving around the edge of the clearing to another bush. This is when he missteps and a stick cracks loudly beneath his foot.
She sang her song and cleaned her kill, the fur separated from the meat so it was not wasted. She was about to pick up a second rabbit when the sound echoed into the air, sending birds flying from the nearby trees. Juno was on her feet in an instant, skinning knife in hand, and turning toward the sound.
"Someone there? I ain't the one you wanna ambush out here..."
He narrows his eyes as she immediately brandishes her weapon. Quite different from when they first met, but this time he has the jump on her, so it makes sense. He draws his own dagger, but holds it at his side.
He waits for a few long moments, thinking. Does he really want to look behind this curtain?
... Yes.
He clears his throat, intentionally but subtly drawing her attention to him. He steps forward, enough to be visible, but still in the treeline.
"If you weren't always singing, it might be harder to ambush you."
"Sure can." But people rarely ambushed others here in the woods, so she hadn't been able to test the theory much.
She laughed. "Not exclusively, but I hunt. Most of us learn to, when we're young. And since my Pa is working, I should at least contribute somehow. You know how?"
Her Pa? Do surface-dwellers use baby talk to refer to the people who bred them?
"No..." He gets closer, looking at her kill. A rabbit. He's never seen one in real life. "There aren't many animals underground. Rats and frogs and salamanders, mostly. We eat a lot of mushrooms." He is so sick of mushrooms.
"What kinds of animals do you hunt? Are there bears here? Wolves?"
"Frog legs are good. Why not eat more of those?" She suggested, offering the rabbit for a closer look. "There are bears and wolves, but we usually stick to hunting things like rabbits and deer." She laughed. "Bears kinda tough to take down, even for us."
"We do. A lot of them." Some people even breed frogs... Underground farming is a whole thing and he doesn't pretend to understand it. He eats what he's given. "And rations." Nutrition bricks and paste and the like. Awful.
His eyes widen at the mention of bears and wolves. So they're real...
"Are they as huge as people say? The size of a house?" Clearly the information they get about the surface is... Limited. He pokes at the rabbit, examining it curiously. "Is this a rabbit? What does it taste like?"
It's not a complicated process after skinning the creature.
"Juno." She replied cheerfully. "You know, I really didn't expect to see you again. And my Pa said I shouldn't be talking to you. But you don't seem so bad."
Juno. He likes that name. He's entranced for a moment by the juxtaposition between her cheery smile and the carcass in her hands, but then he shakes his head quickly.
"You told your Pa about me? It's supposed to be a secret! What even is a 'Pa' anyway?"
"Secrets still a secret between family. He's my dad." Duh. "No one else knows, but he was wondering what I was doin' out here for so long before, and I ain't going to lie to him."
She shrugged. "I've been in worse situations. One time I went off for three days, got lost in the woods, and showed up with sticks in my hair, and a new set of clothes from an old woman I met along the way. She mighta been a witch. I don't know."
"Like. Literally?" she asked, sounding slightly alarmed.
She rotated the rabbit one more time, just to check that it was fully cooked, and then pulled it off the fire. She slapped it down on a flat slab of rock and handed it to Sebastian. "Here. Don't burn your fingers."
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Date: 2025-10-22 03:18 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-10-22 02:51 pm (UTC)From:"... Thanks, I guess," he says flatly. He takes one more perplexed look at her before turning to disappear into the trees.
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Date: 2025-10-22 03:34 pm (UTC)From:After she gathered up her things, she headed back to her father and informed him of the encounter. Solanus looked... surprised, if not a little incredulous at the suggestion that some boy from the underground had made his way up to the surface and actually spoke to her, but Juno couldn't tell a lie even if she wanted to.
"They're not meant to be up here, sprout. If you see him again, best be careful." Was his only warning, knowing full well his stubborn daughter would end up doing whatever the hell she wanted either way.
Enough time passed after that incident that Juno assumed it was a one-off interaction when she saw no sign of the boy. So she went about her usual business in the woods while her father worked - singing another song to herself, this time while skinning a rabbit she had managed to catch.
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Date: 2025-10-24 10:33 pm (UTC)From:And the work remains boring. He hopes this isn't what all spywork is like. He thought it would be infiltration and stealth and thievery and poison and classified information. Instead they're just wandering around in the woods, marking stuff on a map. Is this actually important, or are they just telling him it is?
He also assumed the run-in was a fluke, so it's a surprise to hear her singing again. He freezes, considering his options. In truth, he had thought about their first encounter for days afterward, picking it apart in his mind. It was such a strange experience, and the way she didn't fit the stories he'd been told about surface dwellers made him curious about her. He wanted to know more, but figured he'd never see her again, so tried to put it out of his mind.
So when he hears the singing, there is the urge to give it a wide berth so he doesn't get in trouble, but what's stronger is the urge to walk toward it. The call of a siren.
He's stealthier in the woods now, and he creeps through the brush quietly to find a spot where he can see her, but she can't see him. This goes well, at first, and he watches her for a little while. She's skinning an animal, or something- so she's a hunter, then. Or maybe all her people hunt, but then why would he only be seeing her out here?
He's still astounded by how big she is, too. His people are small, thin, pale. Even Tox is a bit big compared to the other kids, and he's a foot shorter than her.
He wants to get a closer look, so he shifts, moving around the edge of the clearing to another bush. This is when he missteps and a stick cracks loudly beneath his foot.
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Date: 2025-10-27 12:02 am (UTC)From:"Someone there? I ain't the one you wanna ambush out here..."
no subject
Date: 2025-10-27 03:26 am (UTC)From:He waits for a few long moments, thinking. Does he really want to look behind this curtain?
... Yes.
He clears his throat, intentionally but subtly drawing her attention to him. He steps forward, enough to be visible, but still in the treeline.
"If you weren't always singing, it might be harder to ambush you."
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Date: 2025-10-31 02:33 pm (UTC)From:"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna stop on the chance someone's wandering through. What're you doing up here again?"
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Date: 2025-11-03 05:10 am (UTC)From:"Working, as before." A.K.A. none of your beeswax.
He sheathes his own dagger, confident he can draw it quickly in the case that the situation turns on him, and wanders closer.
"Are you a hunter?"
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Date: 2025-11-05 08:31 pm (UTC)From:She laughed. "Not exclusively, but I hunt. Most of us learn to, when we're young. And since my Pa is working, I should at least contribute somehow. You know how?"
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Date: 2025-11-06 04:30 pm (UTC)From:"No..." He gets closer, looking at her kill. A rabbit. He's never seen one in real life. "There aren't many animals underground. Rats and frogs and salamanders, mostly. We eat a lot of mushrooms." He is so sick of mushrooms.
"What kinds of animals do you hunt? Are there bears here? Wolves?"
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Date: 2025-11-12 10:42 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-11-20 12:57 am (UTC)From:His eyes widen at the mention of bears and wolves. So they're real...
"Are they as huge as people say? The size of a house?" Clearly the information they get about the surface is... Limited. He pokes at the rabbit, examining it curiously. "Is this a rabbit? What does it taste like?"
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Date: 2025-11-20 10:19 pm (UTC)From:She laughed. "The size of a house? Uh, no. I mean, don't get me wrong, they can get pretty big, but not that big."
"You ever have chicken? Like that, but earthier. You want to try some? I could roast it up for you."
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Date: 2025-11-20 10:38 pm (UTC)From:He hesitates, then checks his tracking device for Damien's location. He's still far away.
"Okay." He nods. He's hungry, and he really does want to know what it tastes like.
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Date: 2025-11-20 10:41 pm (UTC)From:"Don't think I ever got your name."
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Date: 2025-11-20 11:00 pm (UTC)From:"Uh... Sebastian." That's definitely not his name. But it is the one he chose for espionage purposes. "Yours?"
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Date: 2025-11-22 02:47 am (UTC)From:"Juno." She replied cheerfully. "You know, I really didn't expect to see you again. And my Pa said I shouldn't be talking to you. But you don't seem so bad."
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Date: 2025-11-22 03:24 am (UTC)From:"You told your Pa about me? It's supposed to be a secret! What even is a 'Pa' anyway?"
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Date: 2025-11-30 05:26 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-11-30 06:15 am (UTC)From:He's clearly not too mad though, since he sits cross-legged on the ground with her, still watching her cook.
"How badly did he punish you?" Because of course she must have been punished for talking to a cave-dweller. Or even just for being gone for too long.
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Date: 2025-11-30 06:20 am (UTC)From:"For what?" She asked, confused. "Talking to you? He didn't. Just said to be careful."
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Date: 2025-11-30 06:43 am (UTC)From:"You were gone for a long time talking to a strange boy from underground and all he said was be careful?"
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Date: 2025-12-07 03:30 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2025-12-07 07:23 am (UTC)From:Which reminds him to check his device for Damian. Still not close yet.
The smell of the rabbit cooking is making his mouth water. Real meat, more than just frog legs, is rare in the commune.
"I'm so hungry," he murmurs.
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Date: 2025-12-11 03:48 am (UTC)From:She rotated the rabbit one more time, just to check that it was fully cooked, and then pulled it off the fire. She slapped it down on a flat slab of rock and handed it to Sebastian. "Here. Don't burn your fingers."
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