undergrounds | Butterfly in Blue: Catchall for June

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Butterfly in Blue: Catchall for June

WHO: Mako & YOU
WHAT: Mako does stuff everywhere
WHERE: Everywhere; Hillingdon, near East End, etc etc
WHEN: June!
NOTES: Wanted: Full Moon Woofs, Shifters, Fae, um...witches...no. Everyone.

1. HILLINGDON

Mako lined each piece of the engine up just-so, cleaning, polishing, greasing, fixing each one up until she was satisfied with the way the whole fit together. She didn't care if she has streaks of grease here and there, this was her favourite thing. It was just some old junker but since her arrival she'd been working on it piece by piece, rebuilding it not because it was someone's but just because it was something to do in between the moment she spent out on the road with Gipsy. The itch never left, that driving need to find a fae but so far, no bites.

Soon, though.

She had some books which she spent most evenings going through but nothing beat mulling things over while rebuilding an engine of a vehicle someone had given up on. Mako hadn't spent much of her savings on much of anything but buying parts for a neglected MGA? That was worth a splurge. Besides, it was going to be the splashiest of reds when she was finished with it. Putting the engine back together and getting it back into the car itself was the best kind of puzzle and once she was done, she sat there grinning.

"Much better," she said, checking hoses and lines. "You'll run better than you ever did before, won't you?" There was way too much body work to be done but she had all the tools, really. It really was bare metal at the moment but she'd sand and polish and fix it until it shone. She was mostly in the bonnet, fiddling around with the last placements when she realises she's not alone anymore.

"If you would, please hand me the cloth over there and the socket wrench next to it, please?" she asked, her voice a little muffled.

2. A PARK NEAR HILLINGDON

Training was something she did every day without fail, usually in the early mornings. It's usually Aikido or a mix of, well, a little bit of everything she knows. Much like her love of mechanical engineering, Mako's love of martial arts was something she couldn't deny herself. It was a part of her normal routine and had been since she was very small. She had a set of bushido fighting sticks she pulled out each morning near dawn to work with, secretly hoping she'd get a partner if they were up and willing. Today was the same as the last, her movements precise, her energy unwasted as she moved through kata after kata, flowing from one motion to the next. She was an athlete, deadly with her aim as she chased imaginary enemies down and finished them off.

Mako paused after her first set and rolled her shoulders as she bounced on the balls of her feet, itching for a good sparring session. It was there in the way she centered her gravity as she came down. She wanted to play so badly.

"Chasing shadows," she grumbled as she sheathed her 'sword', "is not very satisfying."

3. A PARK NEAR EAST END

Mako had been watching the blue butterfly for about an hour with a concentrated expression on her face as it flitted from place to place but never strayed from the area of grass Mako had laid herself in. Her hair was damp, drying in the wind as she lay reading about fae and the best ways to approach them. The butterfly was suspicious, more so when it landed on her nose and fluttered there as Mako froze, practically cross eyed.

Should she move? Catch it?

Stare at it until she was sure it was not fae? It could be.

"I see you," Mako said in a super quiet voice.

A few minutes passed with the butterfly still sitting there, gently fluttering its wings.

"Are you fae?" she finally asked in the quietest of whispered. "I could use some fae help, please."

4. Wildcard: Anywhere you want! Mako's everywhere.

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"Still looking for help?"

The arch tone belonged to a familiar white shape as Mogget sauntered up in cat form, pausing in the grass about a foot away to watch the butterfly perched on Mako's nose. It was just a butterfly. She wasn't going to get anywhere talking to butterflies.

She knew that voice and she wrinkled her nose a little. No one else had just that tone of voice. Honestly, she had enjoyed the last conversation with him and was sorry the price was so high.

"I am. Still."

The butterfly flutters away and she turns on her stomach to peer at him with a bright smile.

"Hello, Mogget. Are you well? I wish I had fish for you but I do not."

He sits on his haunches and looks around for a moment to make sure that no one else nearby is looking at them. "That is a great shame but not unexpected. The same could be said of your situation. How goes your search?"

He wonders what other avenues she has tried since they first talked. That's about 70% of the reason he's approaching her today. The other 30% is because last time they met she gave him fish. But of course he couldn't expect her to happen to be carrying any here in the park.

"It is comparable, yes," Mako says with soft laugh. "I would have fish for you if I knew I would be meeting you. It is a good to be polite, especially since I know you like fish a great deal."

She scrunches her nose a little bit at talk of her fae search.

"I have names and places, books and more books, but I am doing what I can to cross reference. From all of the research, it is not as if any fae could take this...this...collar off me. The strength must be equal to the one who cast it. So, I must ask of an older fae, I think." She let out a soft huff of a sigh.

"It is little wonder none of the other fae I have encountered would not touch it. I am afraid, a little, of the price I will have to pay to be who I really am."

His eyes seem to sharpen at the mention of a collar. Does she know why he wears a collar? Perhaps the reference is unintentional. Regardless, he knows exactly what she means. Such bindings have specific conditions to undo them.

"Yes, there would be a price." She's right about that too. "You know there is an avenue you can pursue. It remains open."

He means the avenue of Circle Daybreak, pledging herself to the witches in return for their help. She would become a familiar like himself, but she would regain her powers.

Mako nods solemnly.

"If I must," she says quietly, "I will. And thank you for offering, as always. It is a choice, Mogget, which is more than some get. I find it difficult knowing that such a pact would force me to be at odds with Hillingdon, so I will try my best to find a way that is amicable as many as possible."

Her smile has faded a little but it's still there, if a bit wry.

"I can hope for the best outcome, at least."

"You can," he agrees, though he'll say no more than that. He finds it unlikely to say the least that she'll be able to find a solution that doesn't carry a steep price. But as she says, that is her choice.

Getting up, he stretches one of his back paws and then pads forward, almost brushing past Mako as she lies down in the grass. There's no point in trying to convince her further. He can see that her mind is made up, for now.

"It's not a fae."

Eames is leaning against a tree, waiting for his dog to locate wherever the ball he'd thrown had landed and bring it back, and ended up watching this girl talk to a butterfly. It's an amusing show, to say the least. Mortals are so ridiculous, whole boroughs teaming with fae and this one chooses to lay in a park and talk to insects.

Still, better than summoning he supposes.

"Well, it could have been," Mako says carefully and honestly, sliding a glance toward his voice without moving. "I wouldn't want to offend it if it were one. That seems like the worst thing to do when one wishes to be helped by power that does not wish to be found most of the time."

Her nose scrunches and the butterfly finds the air. Mako stays where she is, peering at him from the grass. Her charm seals her tight, so not even her sense of smell is anything better than the best of humans. He's just a guy leaning against a tree but it's telling enough that he knows of fae.

"At least, the kind I need does not want to be found."

He laughs softly at the comment about offence — she's respectful at least, that's a rare trait in mortals these days — but that's less interesting to him than what exactly she wants a fae for.

Eames cants his head, "and what kind do you need?"

"The kind that can undo the charm placed on me that prevents me from shifting my shape," Mako says without hesitation. "Everything that I have found says it must a fae of equal standing to the one who placed it on me, so, I suppose that must be an elder one than any I've encountered."

"You could end up paying a pretty steep price for that kind of thing," Eames gets a little distracted by Boxer coming back with his ball, and he crouches to take it. He's still addressing Mako when he talks though, voice light and conversational. "Fae that old don't last by doing things free and easy."

"I know," Mako says softly. "The price should have been paid by my parents a long time ago but they were killed before that, I assume, could happen. I was ten and I still remain bound. Honestly, I'd hoped it would have been set with an age but it wasn't."

Mako smiles at the dog. She can't help it, she likes them almost as much as she does cats. It's a little silly.

Eames spends a few moments petting the dog before he stands to throw the ball, watching Boxer bound off after it.

"So you don't know who's the fae behind it?" It's a rhetorical question, obviously she doesn't, "undoing someone else's magic is a pretty steep request."

"I don't," Mako says anyway, "and if that fae had said where they were, I would have found them. I have been nearly everywhere I can feasibly go in the last five years, save perhaps the most remote places. There's no word I've heard of the fae who bound me. London may be my last chance before my adoptive father dies."

Oh, a sense of urgency. Eames nods in understanding, a sympathetic frown on his face, and the next question he asks comes with a hint of concern. Maybe even worry. Those fae are dangerous, don't you know?

"So is this a 'no price too steep' kind of thing for you, or...?"

"Perhaps," Mako says fearlessly. "It depends on what the price is. I will be free one way or another but this is for my family and there is no greater thing than that. The fae, too, have family they would bargain for but my father would never let me ask that he be cured. My promise to him was to unbind my birthright and I will not fail that promise."

It's like telling a seller at the market that you need something they have, admitting that kind of desperation, and Eames wonders if she'd be so forthcoming if she knew what he was. Though part of him suspects this one suffers from a case of terminal honesty.

"Oh-- forgive me," Eames blurts suddenly, shaking his head at how rude he's being, "asking all these invasive questions and I haven't even introduced myself." He smiles, gesturing to himself, "I'm Eames."

"I am Mako Mori," she says with bow. Honesty itself was important to Mako, lying was only necessary when there was no other option available. She could skirt around the truth when phrasing things but it still felt wrong.

"They are not particularly invasive. I offered the first question, the rest followed from that. It's a fair exchange."

Full name and everything, good lord. And if that's her idea of a fair exchange, they're going to get on famously.

"Maybe I can help you," he starts, and part of him has to thank Boxer for his timing when he comes back again with the ball. It's hard to seem dangerous when there's a dog vying for your attention, even if it's a rottweiler, and Eames has to crouch again to pet him and take the ball and generally keep him happy while he addresses Mako, "I couldn't say for sure, but I might be able to handle that binding of yours."

Mako takes her time in answering, her word choice deliberate and careful, like the neat way her spine straightens as if a cord has been drawn taut.

"If you can," she says evenly, quelling the leap of excitement that rose so it would not so easily show in her face, though her curiosity remains,"what would be a fair price? I would rather not kill or lie if it is all the same to you."

Her dark eyes fix on his face and she is still, quiet, and most of all patient. There is no rush for an answer to a thing like this. It comes in its own time, like the butterfly, like this fae's arrival, even. She has been more patient than anyone she has ever known. She will be patient and she will be still.

Eames watches her carefully out of the corner of his eye, watches her body language. He loves this part, the caution while they try to decide if dealing with a fae is worth it. The mortals always want it so much and then when they're faced with the chance to make that deal, then maybe it's a bad idea.

He raises his eyebrows and puffs out a soft laugh, shaking his head at the question.

"Well I can't say I have something in mind, this is all... Well. It's not as if I was thinking I'd run into someone needing divine intervention when I decided to take the dog for a walk." He says with a hint of wryness, gesturing a little airily as he searches for something she could give him in exchange, "what if I just... Call it a favour? You can pay me back when I think of something?"

"Do you mind if we complete this at Hillingdon?" Mako asks quietly. "When that charm is removed, I have a feeling I may shift quickly and I want Daryl Dixon to be within reach. Is that okay with you?"

It is not so much about the 'bad idea' as it is the host of things that could go wrong. From her research, Mako knows that the fae put great power into words. Being careful is something she must be. It is the thing that keeps her safe.

"Are you talkin' to a bug?"

In general Girl tried to keep to herself. Don't cause any trouble and there wouldn't be any trouble. Insinuating someone might be losing it certainly qualified as starting trouble. But she'd already seen some weird shit since hitting London and this was just absurd enough to break her self imposed rule.

She stands several feet away, backpack slung over her shoulder and boombox tucked under her arm. Girl cocks her head to the side, frowning. "Ain't none of my business, but bugs don't usually talk back."

"I might be, a little," Mako said with a soft laugh that startled the butterfly enough that it caught the next wind out. "But things are not always a bug even if they seem to be very bug like."

She sat up and bits of grass came with her, clinging to the blue streaks in her as well as the darker parts.

"You never do know if that bug is something else entirely until it talks back or flies away. It's been hanging around for awhile, I figured I ought to ask."

"Might need to explain what ya mean by that. I ain't ever seen a bug be anything but bug like." She narrows her eyes for a moment before taking a few steps toward the woman. She doesn't smell like anything Girl is used to, which means next to nothing with how little Girl has experienced. Still, it leaves the teenager confused.

"What'd you think it would be, other than just a butterfly?"

Cutting through a park isn't how Ghoul thought he'd be spending the first half of his day. His idea of a good morning is staying in bed until it physically hurts to remain lying down, but he's been restless lately. There's too much going on, too many negotiations between the pack and other factions. He figures he can get a head start on this latest round. Somebody's bound to be awake somewhere in Hillingdon House.

He gets a little sidetracked, stopping to watch Mako work through her routine. He doesn't know what the hell all of that is, but it looks pretty impressive. And dangerous. "They're probably afraid you're gonna beat their ass." Haha.

"Do you wanna spar?" she asks, an eyebrow arching. "I find it really interesting to see how other people fight and it keeps me on my toes, so to speak. Fair warning, I won't take it easy on you if you do spar with me." She nodded and there was a spark of glee in her eyes.

"With or without the fighting stick. Your choice."

Oh, that'd be fun. He's never fought with a stick before. He takes a step forward, grinning wickedly and holding out a hand to try this stick-thing...

But then he suddenly stops, his face falling as he answers her with an unsure hum. "I dunno. Maybe not." He's not so worried about her permanently damaging him; he's pretty resilient due to what he is, but be hasn't had a lot of practice in restraint.

Usually when he fights someone, he's out for blood. And he generally gets it, especially if they're unfortunate enough to not also be a werewolf. "I kinda got an unfair advantage. And I don't fight real nice."

"It's alright. I've fought and bled before on the mat. But it helps if you don't see it as a fight." She throws the second stick at him with a smile and a shrug.

"It's more like a conversation. Just with sticks and fighting moves. I've done this since I was a child and I am very durable."

Well, if she insists. She's grown, she can make her own decisions. And if she's decided she wants to spar against a werewolf (even if she doesn't technically know), who is he to tell her no? It's not like he'll actually be trying to kill her or anything.

He doesn't make pole-catching look graceful, but he does manage to snag it out of the air. "Never had a conversation with a stick before." Try everything once, right? He moves in, experimenting with the damn thing to find the most comfortable and natural way to hold it. "Okay, so, like this? And then we just, like, go?"

"Mhm, see how I hold mine? Try and mirror it." It's a lesson and she falls into the role of mentor easily. She's trained others before and it's an intuitive thing, now.

"'Kay." Ghoul takes a moment to peer at her carefully, ending up in a decent mock-up of how she's holding hers and how she's standing. "We got any off-limits?" No throat or eye shots, he assumes.

But he regularly targets knees, elbows, and ankles, so it's good to check. She'll likely end up with at least one of those bruised if the option is on the table.

She cocks her head slightly.

"Not really but we're not fighting for a kill, obviously, so holding off on that would be a good thing." She shrugs a little, rolling her shoulders. "But then again, I've never fought a wolf, have I? This could be pretty interesting. I guess this is where you show me how you fight and I show you how I fight. Somewhere in the middle, we'll find a moment where we're working together."

Mako was ready to play and she bounces on her feet a little in anticipation, all smiles.

"Too early in the mornin' for kills," he agrees with a solemn nod. He's prrrrrobably joking... He doesn't give her much time to think about it, though, before he smiles as well and says, "Okay. Let's try it."

Maybe it's best to start off simple. He rushes forward, taking a swing at her ribs- it's a nice, safe broad area, and he of course doesn't use his full strength. The hard hits will come later, after they've warmed up a bit. Even so, as basic as things are starting out, he seems to be decently fast.

Having better than average reflexes can be cool sometimes.

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Butterfly in Blue: Catchall for June

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2 (because we're going to need 2 ambulances)

lmao

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