(1942-04-21) A Fancy Word for A*hole
A Fancy Word for Asshole
Summary: Something is delivered to Lillie, and Jesse's frustrations boil over. It doesn't take long til' Lillie follows suit.
Date: 1942-04-21
Related: Have a Splendid Day
Players:
jesse..lucietta..

Cotton and McComb, Higsi
Fri Apr 21, 1942


The trees slowly become more sparse as one travels east down the gravel of Cotton Street, moving farther from town. The land is flat here, and the nearby water of Cobb's Creek makes irrigating this land simple and convenient. Irrigation ditches and iron pump stations can be found alongside the road and dividing the different farm fields in the area.

McComb Road begins at Cotton Street. McComb is a one-lane paved road that heads south toward the river, though here it is lined on both sides by more crop fields, barns and the occasional farmhouse.

Weather:
It is spring. The weather is cool and fair.


Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to spend the night out here, but after what happened yesterday (isn't that always the case), Lillie just wanted to get out of town for a bit. Mind you, the property that she has acquired is still very much part of Higsi's town limits, but it's set back from a fairly quiet road that doesn't get much traffic save for pickup trucks puttering to and from the spread-out farmlands. It is the narrow paved road of McComb that Lillie's homestead looks upon, set back a few blocks from the junction with Cotton street. It's a pretty spot with a nice spread of yard, fenced-in, complete with a squat little Victorian-style homestead and a shed. It looks every bit the place where a small family grew and lived… and now, well, it's just a little Irish lass.

The skies overhead are clear this late morning, the sun brilliant and encompassing despite the touch of chilliness to the air. But God above, it's /quiet/; unlike Josie's house on a main street, Lillie can seat herself of the small porch swing and look upon a road that bears little signs of human'ing.. at least for a short while. The house is still ramshackle as she makes sense of her own small belongings and that which was left behind by the former family. But she has two things: a big mug of brewed tea, made with the herbs that vet Styne had given her, and a… small little book, resting in the folds of her pretty house dress. Her brow is a worried knit as she reads a letter of sorts, tresses quivering in the pleasant breeze.

<FS3> Jesse rolls Enhanced Senses: Good Success.

It's going to take Jesse a little while to get used going to the new place; he can find it easily enough after Lillie showed him where it was, but he's so used to going into town! At least this isn't so far out of the way and he can still find a path from the Hills down to here as well. It might be better for most in that he'll hit town less often. Maybe.

As it is, he comes around from behind the house, catching the familiar scent of Lillie as well as the sounds of a normally busy house gone fairly quiet. He takes only a moment before coming around the side of the fence to ask, "Are you gonna be able to get to work easy from here?"

<FS3> Lillie rolls Empath: Good Success.

By now she can recognize folks to whom her sense is especially attuned… no, she can't sense Jesse from afar but when he comes 'round the back of the house and follows the trajectory of the white fence, Lillie feels that flicker in the back of her mind. The typical sensation of the Walkers; perhaps that ongoing sense of concern and worry… maybe some curiousity. But for the most part, that essential Jesse-ness. Lillie's lashes flutter once as she skims the last line of Elizabeth's letter, and she finally looks up to spy young Walker just as he poses his question. The little thrum of excitement that she always feels, at the sight of him, is only heightened these days. Even though the two things that she peruses this morning worries her.. but not for the obvious reasons.

"Hallo, you handsome thing," She calls to him, setting the letter down on the little crude table that she managed to root out of the shed and setting her mug atop it so it doesn't blow away. Her tone is sweet, yet tired.. maybe a touch stressed in a few inflections. Lillie stands, descending the small stoop to go greet him. "I may get a bicycle.. become hell on wheels." She answers, "But there are a couple of farmers who go into town early on the wee hours. Kind people, I could pester the occasional ride."

Coming to the fence, she leans in for a kiss. No longer the quick, chaste little pecks.. Lillie greets Jesse proper.

The greeting is appreciated and returned before Jesse comments on anything else. "I am, apparently, quite fearsome. So get it straight," he teases even as he stays on the other side of the fence for the moment. "A bicycle? Now that I wish I could see. Won't your skirts get all caught up in it?" He guesses it's not so far then if you're riding a bicycle, "It'll be mighty cold in the Winter though…" as he's not too keen on her getting rides with strange farmers.

A snicker as the Empath draws back, fingers clutching the fence. "Terrifying." Lillie says gently, all sunlight and humor. Deep down, though, her sense whispers: push comes to shove, perhaps this young man from the hills /can/ be fearsome. But right now, looking at her over the fence pickets, Lillie would hardly mark him as such. The fact that he found this place, so early on in her time here, only furthers her intrigue at his brilliance. "Come in," She bids. "I have something to read to you." She says, and there in her tone.. that hint of anxiety that wars steadily with her mirth. But not before she laughs again.

"My luck t'would happen to me, right in the town square. Skirts caught, right over the handlebars I'd go… arse up for all to see. Wouldn't that get the gossips full of steam… perhaps I should choose nice underwear." Lillie feeds into the jest, trying to keep her boy's spirits buoyed. She wonders how he's handling Clyde's absence.

"I will make it work.. maybe someday bite the bullet and learn to drive. But for now, with the spring afoot and summer coming.. for I do wonder what a Higsi summer is like.. I'll be alright, love. The sun rises earlier."

Jesse grins at her comment…even he knows he wouldn't normally be called 'terrifying'…under most circumstances. He hasn't really had to show any other side of late…aside from kicking Rod's ass. There's a curiosity at her invitation and statement but he reaches for her hand to be brought inside the fenced area as he's not yet acquainted with the interior part of her new homestead. "Something to read? All right, but I can't stay too long…I gotta get over to the McComb Mansion to work on that some." With Clyde locked up, they're all trying to take up some of the slack. He can't be the only breadwinner!

"Or you could cause 'em to gossip more and wear pants." Some women do, especially those who work on the farms here. "You could get an Indian…one of those motorcycles. Best of both worlds?"

Jesse also adds, "Summers are hot in Higsi…I dunno what it's like in Boston, but you could fry an egg on the sidewalk."

"I will not keep you long." Lillie promises, meaning that in multiple ways. "I have to get into the Diner this afternoon for a few hours, then get back out to Josie's. I stayed here last night." She admits, brow furrowing. The look is lost on the blind Walker, alas. She unlatches the small gate, pulls it open with a groan of tired underused hinges, and guides Jesse in with a gentle hold to his hand. She takes her time, even on this minuscule distance from road to step, and will guide him to sit with her on the wooden porch swing. "Mind this, it's a swing." She thinks to warn, allowing him to feel it out with the backs of his legs or his other hand and seeing to it that he seats himself safely.

"We'll stay out here, if that's okay. It's a disaster in there." Lillie says apologetically, smoothing her skirts and sitting right alongside Jesse on the swing. She relishes the fact that they needn't worry about people gawking at them, judging them. She laughs again at the pants comment, "I will have to look into a few pairs. I will have to do my own yard work here, y'see… the motorcycle may be a /bad/ idea though."

Jesse shall hear a paper unfolding as Lillie's sun-warmed body sits alongside him. "I received a note in Josie's mailbox from Elizabeth Higgins."

Ruh roh.

"You did? Just to see what it's like?" is asked. Although Jesse can't see her frown, he might be able to hear it in her voice. "Everything all right?" Once she takes his hand and helps guide him, he walks in confidently, pausing when she tells him to mind the swing. He takes a moment to both feel it at the back of his legs and use his other hand to steady it while he sits. "I'm fine staying out here and you let me know if you need help with anything inside. You know we'll come help," for better or for worse. The gossips wouldn't like it. "Same with the yard work."

There's a sigh and a frown as she mentions the note from Elizabeth, "Yeah? And just what did she say?"

"I was working here late last night.." Lillie admits, truthfully. "I'm not of a mind to walk the back roads in the dark, so I laid down on one of the beds in there." She smiles then, blushing. "It's a bit weird since.. the family owned those beds… but I had to work with it." A pause… she can't leave everything in the dark. It's not her way to lie to Jesse. "Admittedly, I came out here to calm myself down a bit… I found Clifton having a hard go of things, while on deliveries… so invited him for a walk. We were accosted by a few louts by the river… he took care of it all quickly. But I was full of nerves and I had to keep busy. I came out here."

Leaving nothing from young Walker, Lillie unfolds the letter in her lap. She does not go on immediately, to allow Jesse to absorb what she just told him about his cousin. After a few minutes she looks at him.. if only he could see her eyes, as she watches him.

"Miss Higgins is concerned about your… etiquette. She.. u—um… /sent/ me something… in regards to it. I can't wrap my head around this at all." Lillie answers shyly, finally. First news on Clifton, which Jesse may have already heard… then fallout from his words with Lizzie. Poor guy.

Jesse frowns as Lillie mentions the run-in with some more folks, "Were they on you because of me?" And her association with the Walkers? "Or were they just looking for trouble and y'all were in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Because Rod is one thing and just running into idiots is another.

The frown turns into a look of confusion as Lillie mentions Elizabeth and her concern. "What? How do you mean? What, did she write you because I wouldn't admit to purposefully scaring her Aunt? Bernice is an old biddy and it ain't my fault that she decided that she's scared of me. I didn't do anything, I didn't go near her or touch her and I didn't even step into her house!" He still insists on that. "What'd she send you?"

"Friends of Rod, and they were after Clifton. They tried to get me to leave." Lillie answers honestly, her hand moving to rest on Jesse's knee. "Idiots across the board, I wasn't hurt and they didn't even touch Clifton. It was all dealt with outside of the town, nobody saw…" She tries to reassure him. "I cannot say that it was.. the wrong place at the wrong time. They were tailing your cousin, I think… looking to exact revenge on what happened to Boyd." Lillie pauses, leans back against the swing. One leg daintily kicks at the step, setting the two to swinging gently.

Ah.. there's the hot button. Lillie can feel Jesse's indignation in a full rush, and there is sincerity there; she didn't doubt any of it to begin with. "Bernice is stronger than she appears… she has an older woman's frailties but she has resolve. I believe you, dearheart, I do." Lillie says quickly. "So you both had words, is that it? I could tell by the letter that she was angry… she has lovely penmanship and the dots above the i's look stabbed." Lillie smiles sadly. She leans into the arc of his body some, to try reassuring him that he has her support.

"A… older book. 'Basic Manners for School Children and Taking Responsibility'."

<FS3> Jesse rolls Mind: Good Success.

Jesse gives a little start as the swing is set into motion, but even as he starts to relax, he's back to being indignant. First the fact that folks are after them because of Boyd, and then because of Elizabeth and her antics. "Are you serious?" About any of that? He doesn't know what to be upset at first! "I don't know how to show this town to leave us alone." They need Clyde back.

As far as Elizabeth is concerned though, he continues to scowl. "Oh, she didn't like that I wasn't apologizing. I know Bernice is stronger than she looks, but she wanted it her way and I don't play like that. I didn't do nothing to her aunt, although I almost wish I had. -Then- she'd have a reason to say those things."

He stands quickly when Lillie mentions the the book. "Are you kidding me? Why, that bitch…who the hell does she think she is?"

Oooh.. she can feel it. The indignation is the hardest, and it makes Lillie's heart break just that little bit more. no pity, just honest-to-goodness heartfelt sympathy for what these boys go through. But she also feels badly for Elizabeth, too, though she won't let on to Jesse about it. The girl loves her grandmother, has an absolute storm of emotions going on beneath the sunny facade… and is just bursting to help the Walkers. Too bad the connection to Bernice is too prominent, and worrisome. It's overall such a painful situation.

"I'm sorry that happened…" Lillie trails off, her brow furrowing again as she tries to bite back Jesse's annoyance as she would an abrupt rush of heartburn. Weird analogy to use, but it's that uncomfortable for Lillie who, overall, has been fairly mellow today. As mellow as she can be. Her hand gives his knee a brief squeeze. "You just stick to your guns.. it won't earn you any better regard from her, but … best to try keeping your distance around her. I don't see it going any better. All you can do is maintain your truth."

The swing jostles with Walker's abrupt motion. "Jesse! Please, sit.. don't let her get to you again."

Jesse can't pace…he doesn't know the layout well enough but he wants to be moving. He's fairly vibrating with the need to pace about and get some of that energy out. "Easy to say, but she hangs around Clyde…so she's gonna make herself be around. It's already bad enough dealing with…well, dealing with things, that I'm gonna have to have her thinking that she knows better?" He's not even sure he can eloquently state his frustration at this.

Don't worry, Lillie is understanding enough. She remains seated, feeling as if every nerve is vibrating in her body … especially as she watches Jesse wanting so badly to move, but being unable to. Her eyes look him over top to bottom, noting his frustration. With the letter resting beneath the book, both in her lap, she reaches up with her palms to quickly rub her upper arms. Brrr… and it's not due to a chill. She's actually warm, and getting warmer… she stands, too, and forgets herself. The book tumbles to the step with a 'CLOP' and she jolts a bit, surprised by it. She doesn't even do it the service of picking it up, though she crams Lizzie's note into one of the pockets of her dress.

"/When/ Clyde gets out, why don't you talk to him about it. What he and Liz do.. it's their business… but you're his family and he would want to know about this kind of thing. If /he/ talked to her, maybe she would…. drop it. I don't want to see this escalating." Lillie says in a nervous voice, but still clear enough. "You're a fine man in my eyes, Jesse.. she wanted to help me, I think, but I already know the lay of my mind. Is there anything I can do to help with this?"

Jesse also gives a little jump as the book hits the porch floor. He turns towards Lillie, "What's he gonna do? He can't even stop her from trying to get to our home. He's just gonna get mad at me…even though I did absolutely nothing wrong!" It's one thing when he -knows- he caused trouble, but this is blowing it way out of proportion. "And folks wonder why we're so hated? Because likes like this get spread around."

"/I/ will talk to her again, Jesse." Lillie says quickly, not liking to see him so troubled. The sense grips her tightly, causing her to pace a bit where Jesse could not. Could she be picking up on the very /type/ of his frustration? The way Lillie copes with her own when it's especially bad, she breathes; she speaks phrases to herself in Gaelic; she walks… or just has a good ol' cry. But here, because she lo—-/cares/ so very much for Jesse, she's attuned heavily to him. Why does she want to strike something? Not to assume Jesse is the punchy sort, but his frustration is very… acute. Lillie realizes that she is emoting him, as she walks toward the opposite end of the small porch, looking out across the fields.

Control yourself, girl.

She walks back to the young werewolf, her steps measured and light. Her own. "I tried once to turn her off of going into the hills, I'll try again. But Clyde, I think, has been trying /not/ to scare her badly. If she pushes too hard, I fear that even he will break.. and she will /have/ to listen then." She hopes it doesn't come to that.

Jesse would probably punch something if he could…or rend it with claws. But he's managed to hold himself in, even though he can't move easily. Not yet. The reason he's usually so confident is because he's so familiar with the town. When he's inside places he doesn't know, he has to be more careful for his sake and the safety of himself and others. If Lillie can pace for him, at least it's something.

"Ain't no use in talking. She'll just want to know if you taught me manners. If you've 'tamed me' yet." To Hell with that! "I almost wish I scared her." Not Bernice. That woman isn't worth it.

The Empath's bare foot pivots as she prepares to take another pacing trip across the step, but she stops herself. Instead she watches Jesse, gauging him… much like Clifton had been yesterday, he's tense. Something in his positioning tells her to just hang back for a moment, let him control himself. But then again this step is unfamiliar to him, as if the house… she knows Jesse is so versed in Higsi and the hills. This is new, and it can't help his nerves to be smack dab in the unknown.

"I'm never going to tame you, Jesse Walker, and I'm not about to try. You've enough manners for my liking… any /more/ and that would just be boring." Lillie admits, her voice intentionally calm and sweet, like a caress. Her nerves continue to crackle, meanwhile, gooseflesh erupting along her forearms. Again. Damn this sense.

There's a long moment of silence before Jesse asks quietly, "Do you think I don't have manners?" Sure, he's not as refined as those who live in the city, sure he's had his own run-ins with the law and has his own, unique sense of how boundaries can be pushed. But he's always tried to have the most basic consideration for others even if they don't reciprocate.

A brow quirks, and Lillie tilts her head along with it. "Of /course/ I believe you to have manners. What I'm implying, Jesse, is people who have the level of manners that Bernice's set imply as being.. /ideal/… generally have a stick jammed so far up their fundaments that their tonsils are jiggling. The manners that you read about in books like this." He knows what she's talking about; said book continues to lie upon it's side on the porch. "You have just the right amount.. you have /character/… is what I'm implying." She says gently, hoping that clarifies things.

Pulling her braid over her shoulder, Lillie fiddles with it.. she needs to get rid of this tension. "Don't you be asking me that again, mister." She says again, a little bit of well-meaning fire in her belly.

Jesse is still quiet for a moment before he finally asks, "What's 'fundaments'?" His vocabulary isn't the biggest…nor is it the smallest. But some fancier words aren't quite understood. "I'm not too sure you're fixing things by saying I have 'character' over 'manners'…" but he's not as angry anymore. He can tell she's trying and some of what she says is getting through.

Honestly, Lillie feels badly for Elizabeth… she knows, deep down, that she means so /very/ well.. but there's that clincher. Her grandmother. To ask her to take the side of the Walkers entirely over Bernice would be… no. So, it's a rock and a hard place situation. Does she feel irate over how this panned out for Jesse? Of course. She's not liking that she is expecting Jesse to fall over the place in apology, because Lillie knows — too — that he hadn't laid a finger on Bernice. From the tone of his voice talking about it, his body language, and even what the sense feeds her. So it's a hard thing to stomach…

Lillie almost wishes that she hadn't even brought this up. It would have been a matter of time, surely, til' Walker encountered Miss Higgins again. And—-

Wait, does Jesse still think she's implying that he hasn't any manners? Her own frustration, now, quivers.

"In ainm Dhia!" The girl utters in Irish.. for all the world knows, it's an endearing phrase. "Jesse.. a fundament is someone's asshole." She says tightly, her arms folding over her chest. "You have manners! That's what I'm saying! But you have the character to /back/ those manners!"

Jesse is beginning to calm down but he's still holding onto some of that ire. The unfamiliar words have him frowning, but not in upset. Do they have a different language in Ireland? He thought they just spoke funny English! The explanation gets a twitch of his mouth, as if he's trying not to laugh. "So you'd rather me be rude and unmannered and have character than boring and mannerly?" Now he's teasing her.

The sight is lost on Jesse of Lillie, still irate, picking up the book from the step. Her Gaelic continues to stream as she rants at the scuffed old cover of the book. Did this come from a library? She doesn't even think to look… was it actually Bernice's? Somehow this gives Lillie even more satisfaction. Jesse shall hear a few more Gaelic oaths as Lillie shakes the book once, hauls back… FWOOSH!

Sensitive ears shall hear the book pirouetting through the air, pages flapping in the wind, as the Empath biffs it angrily into the yard and tall grass. HMPH.

A quick little breath in, puffing it out through her nose… slight nose wrinkle. She'll be alright, honest.. especially as she realizes that she is being teased. Green eyes squint at the tiny twist in Walker's mouth and Lillie blinks hard. "Precisely! /Exactly/! Don't you be paying this anymore mind! You just keep being you, you stubbornly adorable creature!" She walks over, giving Jesse a nudge to the shoulder. "Or I'll throw you too, right over the railing!" Now this is in jest.. interesting mental imagery.

"Now that I'd like to see you try!" Jesse's grin begins to show through. "Did you actually throw that book into the yard? My Momma told me not to destroy books…" not that the one on manners means anything to him. He can't read it anymore. At least she didn't send him one in braille, if she even knew about it. "If Clyde comes after me, I'm gonna have you get between us then."

"That book was an exception!" Lillie exclaims hotly.. don't worry, she'll realize the error of her ways later. "It's out in the yard. it belongs out there!" She snaps, and folds her arms again. "I love books.. but that one just.. it upset you. I don't like seeing you upset. There's probably thousands of the damned things in print so what's one lost. People do enough of telling others how to be, we don't need books doing it either!" Harumph!

Egged on by the grin, Lillie narrows her eyes. "Y'ever hear about the power of adrenaline, Jesse Walker? I mean it. Y'keep up with asking /me/ of all people if you have manners, I'll be able to heft you right up over my shoulders and give you the heave-ho! Even Clyde will be terrified!"

"Adrenaline?" He may not know the meaning of that word, but he may. He's quiet for another few moments before he reaches out for the young woman. "Come here…I don't deserve you, you know that?" She's angry…for him? That's kind of the nicest thing anyone's done. "I still don't think you could heft me, much less throw me though. Although I bet the others would like to see that." He does go to pull her close, "But I wouldn't mind if you read other books to me. Not that one, of course."

"Adrenaline.. it's a hormonal reaction. When you're facing a situation where you're highly stressed.. fight or flight.. it's that hit of strength, or energy. You can even get stronger." Lillie explains this briefly to a /werewolf/. He bids her closer and Lillie trails off in her explanation, going to him. She will allow herself to be held if that is what Jesse chooses, head nestling beneath his chin. She smells like lilac, the barest hint of sweat from her outburst, and maybe a bit of dust from the house. Not altogether bad. "Don't deserve the headache, you mean? All the trouble I get into? Or maybe it's because I'm really nice, is that it?" Lillie asks gently, her ire from earlier long gone with the tossing of the book. He mentions her not being able to throw him and Lillie's arms tighten around his waist; she pretends to try lifting. "Wanna try it?"

In seconds, she simply cuddles close again. "I will read a book to you anyday, you just give the word. When there's more time, after all of this resolves… you come on out and help me with the yard, and we'll do just that afterwards. I do so love storytime." She purrs happily.

Jesse is going to have to mention 'adrenaline' to Clyde. He's used to getting stronger when…well…it's not adrenaline. "Well, I think some could say that I deserve the headache, but you ain't a headache. You're too nice to me and I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you one day." But he holds her close, taking in her scent and the feel of her arms about his. "You -are- really nice. Probably too nice. But you're nice in a real way." The tensing of her arms about his waist has him grinning, but he's fairly confident she couldn't lift him.

At least she doesn't try more. "When all this resolves, something else'll come up. But I'll make time to help with your yard and we'll make time for some reading." He smiles some then, "I'll let you choose the story. Just not one from the bible. I can read those myself."

"Y'aren't deserving of headaches, Jesse, no matter what you got up to as a kid. I can well imagine the stories.. that you will have to tell me, someday. It goes both ways. I read you stories, you tell." Lillie says frankly, indulging in this contact before she sets Jesse free to work at the mansion. They yet have to keep things running until Clyde is out… though she is reluctant to let him go. It seems since that afternoon at Josie's, she just can't get enough of him. But Lillie knows, well enough, the importance of duties. Her sense of smell is nowhere near as strong as Jesse's.. but there's enough of it for her to take him in, in turn.

"I'm not always nice. And I prefer to stick to the here-and-now… I can't even begin to wonder where we'll end up. If you think you're going to end up hurting me, then I don't want to think that far ahead yet." Lillie says softly.. maybe a bit nervously.

Her head nods once, felt against his chest. She leans up to give Walker a rather insistent kiss. "Get on over to that mansion, before I don't let you go."

Jesse considers that deal, "I might be willing to agree to that," in terms of the stories. Really, it's more of a reason for them to spend time together. After that afternoon at Josie's, well, he's certainly eager to have an encore. But not today, it seems…and probably not while Clyde is in jail. There's just too much to do.

"You may not always be nice, Miss Lillie…but you're always Good." As if one might trump the other.

He pulls her in some as she leans her head against his chest, but when she gives him that kiss and sends him off to the mansion, he gives a sigh, "All right. If you insist. You be careful out here though, ok? If you want me to set up any traps around your place, you just give the word."

Much as Lillie would love it.. again, she's dutiful. Another part of her character that may or may not endear her to Jesse and his kin: the woman can work. /Hard/. Her eyes close into contented slits, and she nuzzles closer still. Her lips pull into a tremulous little smile at Jesse's words, and it's all she can do to sigh softly. She looks as if she wants to say more, say something… but thinks otherwise. She does not want to come off as too intense.. not yet.

"I promise.. I will be. I'm back in town tonight, darling. At Josie's." Lillie offers, hoping that settles his nerves a tad. "Maybe the traps won't be a bad idea… you come back when you're able to and we'll… talk about it."

A sweet kiss in farewell, and Lillie very reluctantly sends Jesse on his way.

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