#(jane thread 01)

[destroyed-ourselves]

@waywardxmuses cont'd from here

"You...You d-didn't bother me." Instead of being annoyed, Jane just studied her closely for a second, brow pinched in concern. Had this other woman been crying? It looked like it. So, Jane pulled her backpack off her shoulder, reached inside, and pulled out some tissues to offer. "H-Here. Do t-these help?"

Okay, so lying wasn't Corinna's strong suit at the moment.

The newcomer slung a backpack off her shoulder and produced a pack of tissues.

So Corinna took one, the smile she'd pasted on turning a little more genuine at the gesture. "Yeah. Thanks. Sweet of you," she said, dabbing at her eyes. The tissue came back spotted with tears and mascara.

"Thanks," she said again, because she wasn't really sure what else to. "Rough day, sorry. I, um. I'm Corinna. Nice to meet you. And... you are?"

[hotstuffxhannah]

@waywardxmuses cont'd from here

Jane blushed. Those gray eyes tracked the other woman's hands. Then the other woman's words caught up to her, and she sputtered. "Oh! Oh, uh--I--I-I just, you--" The other woman hadn't seemed aggressive, just startled. And she'd put the fire out. The fire that she'd summoned onto her hands, like magic. Magic! Jane was startled, too--but also fascinated. And sheepish. Which made her blush even harder and take a polite step back. "Sorry," she squeaked. "Uh. F-For bothering you. I didn't--I didn't mean to." She didn't know about being a good judge of character; she didn't feel like she was good at many things. But--"You just--d-don't seem like a t-threat? And--And I scared you. Um. S-Sorry, again." Her eyes drifted back down to the other woman's hands. "But...how did...h-how did you..." Her voice softened. "That was amazing."

The young woman went bright red and burst into startled stammers — Nice going, Hannah, you scared her — that resolved themselves into an echo of Hannah's own sorry.

"You're good. You didn't scare me, not really," Hannah assured her. "Just been... a little on edge today. Jumpy. It's nothing personal."

And then she just had to ask about the fire.

The smart thing would have been to play dumb. To say I don't know what you're talking about and see if that could be the end of it. The fewer people who knew about her, and about what she could do, the better.

But there was the I trust you. And the that was amazing. Not sentiments Hannah was all that familiar with. Usually it was the opposite. Distrust. Fear.

Hearing this, even from a stranger, even from someone who probably wouldn't say it if she knew the whole story, felt... good. She smiled a little, despite herself.

She glanced around for any other potential prying eyes, and when she didn't find any, stepped closer and lowered her voice.

"I guess it is kind of amazing. Thanks. As for the how..." She held a hand out, focused briefly, and conjured a little flame no bigger than a lighter's that danced at the tip of her forefinger. Nothing so flashy or attention-grabbing as the handful of fire from before. Just a small demonstration.

"...I don't really know what to tell you. It's just... something I can do. Came on when I was a teenager — still not sure why or from where, honestly. Just couldn't do anything all that special most of my life, then one day, almost burned the school gym down by accident.

"Lot less property damage these days, though," she added. "I've had some time to get things under control."

[destroyed-ourselves]

“ Is something bothering you? ” //from Jane

@waywardxmuses' Jane has a question

"Wha— oh! Hey." Corinna straightened up, hoping she didn't look too much like she'd been crying. So much for going somewhere to be alone.

She tried to smile and tried to lie: "I, I'm good, yeah. Sorry. Didn't think anybody'd be in here. Didn't mean to bother ya."

[hotstuffxhannah]

"I know you won't hurt me. I trust you." //from Jane

and weapons don't weep for @waywardxmuses' Jane

After all Hannah Ascher had been through, she didn't scare easy.

Usually. Right now... clearly, she was having an off day. Jumping at shadows. Twitching at odd noises. There was that feeling again of being followed, and people following her very rarely had good intentions. When that bad feeling resolved itself into footsteps she could actually hear, she spun to face them, calling flame to her hand more or less by reflex.

But her pursuer didn't look much like a pursuer at all — a tiny blonde maybe a handful of years younger than Hannah, gray eyes wide like this was all just as much of a surprise to her. Maybe less pursuer and more unlucky passerby. Coincidence.

The fire dissipated from Hannah's hand, but not quick enough for the girl not to notice. "Sorry," she said brusquely. "I didn't — don't mean any harm. You shouldn't have seen that."

But she had. Would she run, tell someone? If she did, Hannah would definitely have reason to fear in the near future.

No screaming, no running. Just I know you won't hurt me. I trust you, and that was as surprising as anything. That was new, someone believing right off the bat Hannah didn't mean them harm. I trust you even newer.

She should have said good, thanks and left it at that. What came out of her mouth instead was, "Trust, huh? That's a lot for a first meeting. You must be one hell of a good judge of character."