Shooting practice and cleaning
Isha was outside of the tower. It was afternoon already, they went earlier to the river again and tried to fish something out. They tried doing it with their bare hands until Jinx fell face first into the water. Isha had rolled in laughter when she came out with a bloody nose and a fish biting it and hanging there, Isha had congratulated her on the catch, Jinx had blown a raspberry at the petulant child, causing the brunette to laugh more.
Jinx was gonna have some target practice with Stinkmaw,so the little bunny had told her mom to wait inside while she worked on her shooting field. She wanted to make it a surprise. So to say she was making quite the rumble with stacking bricks and blocks of hay that she found in a structure that maybe before had been a place to leave animals. Jinx asks if everything was going okay when a really stubborn block fell on Isha's back, she rolled it off of her and put it on the little maneking with broken twigs as arms cause she has pushed the wood too much in between the cracks.
Well they were just…sleepy that's why the arms were sluggish. Yep.
Isha turned her back to her work and before calling Jinx out, she looked at their new friend on the pure white perch. Today the figure had posed with a smile, her golden wings reflecting an array of colors into the floor because of the sun's light going against them. She stretched her fingers to trace the little rainbow it had formed giggling and she could feel the fireworks of Lux’s being exploding, she was happy.
Isha gave the gargoyle a big smile before knocking on the door.
“Took you long enough kiddo, were you hunting yourself for the targets?”
Jinx ruffled Isha's hair smirking while doing tricks with the crossbow she had been practicing. She missed doing spins with her gun and cool flourishes, showing the confidence of someone who knows what to do. She was used to not being in the moment, to lost herself, but behind a gun she had to be present for the trigger, she had to feel that buzzing behind her eyes, that made her feel alive for so long. The adrenaline, the confidence, the strength a little girl like Powder could have never had. But now she knew better, she knew that her confidence, strength was a model for someone, and was intended to protect and not harm, at least not if necessary. She asked herself if this is how vander had felt with the band of misfits, walking on a chomper field without the pin, needing it to set a good bar to follow.
And another voice asked if this is how Vi had felt. She pulled down the string on the mechanisms with the bolt ready, and stood at a good distance from the really ugly manikins with muscle problems. The crossbow was more heavy than a gun, she had to rearrange her hand better on the weapon, she lets out a breath taking the first shot.
The bolt goes straight to the head of hay blowing her lock of hair with the force.
Isha does a round of applause and then offers her fingers. Jinx smiles and do their little pew handshake.
“Stinkmaw is a little more tricky than Pow-pow, It would be good to install some kind of automatisch to not recharge the bolt manually”
[Like is the crossbow carrying it and not your pouch?]
“Yeah, It will be way faster”
She puts another bolt on the contraption and shoots again. Bullseye.
Isha moves her feet and looks at the arrow. Jinx smiles sideways and kneels down putting Stinkmaw in her hands, Isha huffs for the new weight but takes the hold Jinx is making her take lightly with teacher fingers.
“Told you it was different from a gun, the hold is different and the pull too, so you have to let the arrow speak to you”
Isha arches her brow and looks at the bolt, like waiting for some tip from it.
“If you wanna go up, you have to point it with your wrist or it's gonna go really wide. Do you get it?”
Isha nods a little and changes her hold on the thing smiling when it feels right. Jinx and her look at their next victim.
“Pew”
They say it at the same time and Isha pulls the trigger, the bolt flies to the sky and hits the body of the tower. Isha huffs a little for not hitting the hay but smiles when Jinx holds her up cheering on her and she giggles more even if possible when the fireworks start exploding in her heart. Both Jinx and Lux are proud of her shot!
“That 's my girl! Oh you did so well! we have to get you one definitely, you are a natural my little bunny”
A smug tooth gap smirks at her, crossing her arms puffing up her chest proudly. Jinx puts her down and starts stomping her foot to the floor.
“Okey kick shop/found list. Stuff to make some changes to Stinkmaw, new crayons, proper sheets, and a wooden ladder to go up the tower. Anything else kiddo?”
Isha nods pointing then at her hair.
“And something to dyed back your chocolate hair, got it”
Then she points at her arm too were long gone clouds have been
“And for the clouds yes yes, let's get out bags and start our treasure hunt”
Isha runs inside going for their things. While Jinx takes a sniff of the air, so fresh, so different and clean. Not even Piltover had this quality of air. Her spine then felt on fire but she didn't stand alerted, instead she gave a tiny smile looking at that marble of blue.
“Liking the training grounds we have done? I’m sure you had lots of clumsy knights to look at before. Know you have such cool bandits instead! I think is a glow up Shiny…not pun intended”
And she can swear she can hear that awful laugh that sounds like a poor poro being choked to death while a little kid sings a really hard opera.
“We are gonna go shopping again if you heard, don't worry we will not steal…so much. I will, I don't know, offer my job as a repair maid. I kinda have a talent you know, I'm great at fixing things”
She can almost swear as well that a tail contorts in curiosity.
“Yep. So you know, if you ever feel rusty on your joints just say it”
She winks at the statue and after that…monologue? conversation? Isha comes out offering her mom her satchel with the one for hers already on her shoulder.
They both wave at Lux and start walking away to the village.
[..............]
Imagining a grumpy gargoyle could be difficult but not impossible when a blonde mage of petrice was hugging one of her legs glaring daggers at a falcon who was printing at its wings. Her tail was wagging irritated and her wings were making a dome around herself.
Why did she want to blast the bird with a rainbow? There was a smelly stain on her armor and neck.
“Wow, who shit in your parade? You look like a pissed off cat”
“That bird did”
“What? Oh wait, did a bird actually shit on you?”
Lux doesn't respond, Isha falls to the ground on her back tired but laughing maniacally, while hugging her bag to her chest. Lux lets a huff rolling her eyes but smiles a little between her fangs looking down. Jinx is also holding her laughter in for what it seems.
“I’m glad I was able to work as well as a buffoon as a guard, my dear ladies”
“Oh yeah, you really have made us shit ourselves, oh wait is it too soon for puns?”
Isha is crying now. And Lux lands in front of them with her fist to the floor, she stands to her whole height and approaches the jewel girl with a scoff. Jinx smirks up at her with her hands to her hips, not backing away from the blonde.
“I’m sorry but your tone is completely stain big girl, can't take you seriously”
She does a little poke to the armor plate without touching the falcon poop. Lux sighs then laughs alongside the humans.
“Fine, fine. I understand. Did you guys get the things you needed?”
At that, Isha offers her the bag still laying on the grass, Lux takes it carefully and opens it, giving a sniff she can make out the scent of paint.
“Yeah, mostly, we got the paints and chalk when I offered my help to the lady of the stand by fixing some toys she had there, she even gave us a new friend didn't she kid?”
Isha nodded still on the floor, but she put her hands like claws and gave a roar that was a little broken but it was there.
“That was a great one! What kind of friend did you guys acuaried?”
“Put your claw in the bag and fetch it”
“Alright then”
When the light creature put her hand inside she was careful not to break the little jars nor the box of chalk. Then her claws find something soft, carefully she cradles it in her grasp and pulls it out.
A plushie of a white lion with bottom eyes and a knight armor with his mane all tangled but with a large smile with two fangs showing.
“The lady said it was kinda a symbol from some noble family before the family disappeared or something cryptic like that. Isha just asked for it cause he remained her of you”
“He seems really charming, I don't know if i would be able to compete with this new recrute”
Lux smiled and gave it to the brunette when she lifted her arms to take it. The child hugged it to her chest, almost passing out on the grass.
“Okey our queue to enter little gremlin”
Jinx lifted the girl to her arms and Lux opened the door for them. Lux was going to do the same she had done last night when Jinx gave her a tap on the talon with her foot.
“Take my bag too while you are at it, there is a rope ladder in”
Lux gives her a nod and climbs up the petrice stone calmly, enters from one of the holes of the roof and once in the floor opens the satchel, putting down the ladder to the floor below.
She takes hold of the end and the bluenette goes up with the child without any problem.
“Okey is us proof, perfect”
She lays Isha on the bed tugging her in with the blanket and turns to the girl of light who is still holding the end of the ladder.
“You are gonna need something to hold it on”
“Yeah, you think that bashing it in will break the floor?”
“If its precise not, It is made of the same rock my body is”
Lux observes at the stakes she is holding that they are meant to be holding the rope ladder.
“Yeah I kinda gathered that much”
“Advert your eyes lady jewel”
“What? why?”
“I´m going to use my light to carve holes for the stakes”
“No way, I'm averting my eyes from that”
“My lady it could hurt your vision”
“Try me big girl”
“Fine, you are on charge”
Lux pulls out her staff, the light pulls out from her body to the tip of it and then a laser of pure light pulls a hole into the stone, and then another. Perfectly round. The stakes fit perfectly, with some hammering using her own fist they are secure.
Jinx with a little dark dots in the corners of her vision looks and traces the forms of the cut with fascination and then at her finger. The arcane energy really did cut cleanly as fuck uh?
“Are you alright lady Jinx?”
“Yeah don’t worry about me”
“You can’t ask me that. My job as a gargoyle is protection, worrying about your wellbeing and Ishas had become my priority”
Clawed golden joints extend and take her hand, puts it under her mouth and lives a little nuzzle there, her tusks way more softer than Jinx had expected. Lux was really a polished creature, tough but so soft and caring.
“Fine, but don`t worry too much. Now we have to clean you up, pretty sure you are breaking a uniform code or something”
“I would appreciate it a lot it's too smelly”
Jinx laughs and goes to take the canteen they had refilled in the river upon their walk back. She takes a little of her cloak, rips it and dubs it with the water before sitting on Lux’s lap again. She starts to rub the cloth against the plate holding onto her shoulder, out of the corner of her eyes she can see wings ruffling in theri cape state. With a steady pass she travels up her neck, the gargoyle being pretty still so much that Jinx is starting to think that she became an ornament again, but when she presses her fingers more, she can feel a thumping. Her fingers once she has cleaned the stain away lingers on the sound. For Jinx it sounds like a big bell doing their music.
“You do have a heart”
“I do”
“Is singing a lot”
“I’m aware”
Jinx finally looks at marble blue, they doesn't do anything, no one comments of the pink in the blunettes face, nor the light on the cheeks of the blonde. Clawed hands come to trace clouds on skin carefully, and Jinx spines almost crack at the sudden shock.
“Yours too”
“I-Iknow”
“Is this proximity alright my lady?”
“I don't know I…yes is alright”
Jinx lets out a breath and let their foreheads touch, tracing blonde hair between her fingers trying lightly to brush it and take out the knots, while the gargoyle seems to be wanting to paint those blue clouds again.
“They're beautiful, do they have a meaning?”
“mhm? A shot in the blind, a cloudy mind, reaching the sky of limits, they looked cool”
“I’m gonna say the last one is the more accurate”
“Your starting to get me Luxie”
“I`m glad I am, I wish i could spent the days with the both of you”
“We could always change schetcales, be nocturnal just like you”
“Don’t let my routine take away the sun from yours”
“You are already the sun in the dark blondie, Sunrock”
“I’m flattered but you really dont have to do it”
“We will do it on odd days, deal?”
“Alrighty, deal”
They shake their hands on it and do the pew shake by motion. Then they hear Isha's snoring more loudly and come closer to bed. Jinx hugs Isha to her and Lux doesn't go outside this time, she curlers up out of the bed hugs both of them to her chest and drapes a wing over them.
“Good night Lux”
“Good night for both of you”
And with a weird feeling in their stomachs they went to sleep, even Lux closed her eyes alongside the humans. They are not gonna address those weird feelings, not now at least.