Tragic Humbling (Jade and Luca)

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Tragic Humbling ✧

Jade was never really connected with her Gypsy blood, she knew that was a part of her blood but she resonated with the Ice in her veins much more than the sand. When it came to the ice lately she had been using her abilities and her fighting skills for self interest. She had the sin of greed flowing through her veins, so any job she could get that would pay her well she took it. Never questioning the clients and the worth they truly had, all she could see was the green. If anyone wondered why she was so money hungry it was something she didn’t care to share with anyone, not even her parents, or Davidson, the only other person who had gotten past the shield she kept up.

When her father came to her informing her that there was something he needed her to do, that Luca and his convoy were going to be traveling through a nearby city, where the neighborhoods held some uncertainty when it comes to gypsy. Vega asked her to help out, and it was something she couldn’t outright refuse, since her father was the one to support her in her journey to become a Valkyrie. Agreeing to help Luca, after all they were all family. Lucky for her there was only one job she had booked in those few days, one she could probably convince another to take. It was just good pay.

Jade was taken to the convoy due to her fathers help with the wind. Thrown slap in the middle of the convoy, the vibrate colors dancing in fire light. “I will never get use to that.” She groaned as her stomach flipped a few times before settling. Looking around she decided to move towards the group. “Luca?” She called out, she had never met the man before this time, since the twins never seem to be in the same place. “Sorry can you point me to Luca?” She asked one of the Gypsy women who were making dinner for the large group.

[Luca Rahotep - Council]

Pain.

It was always what greeted him first before The Wind. Tieing him in his spot where he lay. Until The Wind would come to break those binds of pain. This morning was different though. For the Gypsy King hadn't been to sleep at all. Instead, he toiled over which path the caravan should take. Yet no matter where they went they'd be in more danger than usual. There would be no problem if everyone here were gypsy but many of the people living and traveling with the were their own species. Windless. And this made traveling more difficult than before. You would never hear the king complain. He welcomed their company because the more that joined meant the better The Gypsy's reputation must be getting if they're so willing to be with them.

Luca loosed a sharp breath from his nose. Looking away from the map as he wiped his very dry and tired eyes. They were severely under protected. Ever since Spade and pack packed their things life just felt much more hostile and dangerous for the caravan. Everyone was feeling it. Realizing maybe they judged and blamed Luna too harshly. A fact in which Luca knew to be true. All the hate. Blame. And anger the gypsies threw her way should've actually been 

 at him. Luca was to blame for everything Luna was hated for. Yet when he told his people no one accepted it. He'd take her place in that regard if he could. If it meant the world would stop and see her as the good and beautiful person she still was. 

Again he huffed. A bit louder than before. Rising to stretch and get away from his thoughts. And this map.

"Dammed every way we go." 

"Then it's a good thing I'm here." 

Luca's face lit up as he spun around. And even though all that could be seen of the man who had just entered the king's tent was his silhouette he knew who it was. Luca pulled Vega into a tight hug as soon as he was in arms reach. "You're a terrible right hand!" the two laugh softly as their embrace ends. It had been years since they'd seen each other and for Vega, it was clear The King hadn't slept. He sighed. Rubbing his beard as he looked down at the map. "Ah." he understood Luca's stress in a matter of seconds. And so a frown pulled down his features as he sat with his king. His cousin. 

Though the music played. Though the people danced. Though everyone seemed so happy and carefree. There was fear. And there was always fear. But this time it was a lot more present. Sitting right behind everyone's gaze. Trembling in the whispers in The Wind. You didn't even need The Wind to hear or see. 

You just needed to look. Pay attention. 

Mama wasn't paying attention to anything but the food before her. Aimlessly stirring the pot. Because even she was scared. But her fear was different. Her fear was a foreboding feeling. A warning of a bad omen. And just as a chill ran up her spine Jade's question registered. She took a breath and turned to look who had asked such an odd question. But then snorted. "You look just like my sister your great grandmother Nadiya." she wiped her hands clean. And though she wanted to pull her grand niece into a hug she restrained. She remembered when she had done that to Vega when he first arrived. 

And how one simple hug did more harm than good.

Suffice it to say it was awkward though. Hell, she probably hugged Devon when she threw Luna and him into that wedding. "Madam Serena. But everyone just calls me Mama." she smiles and takes her hand. "I'll take you to my son. Your dad is already with him." A sea of faces pace them by but none were of Mama's children. They were all gone with Spade. Which meant no familiar faces for Jade. 

"I don't- I don't understand." Luca's brow pinched together. "The Wind brought you here to use. So you saying you can't stat doesn't make sense. Saying you can't leave however does. For that is how our god works." Vega was quiet. He wanted to stay and go at the same time. But he couldn't be in two places at once. And he promised his wife he would come home and be with her for a while before The Wind needed him back. Of course, Luca understood that. He just didn't understand how The Wind would let him go after bringing him here. And then his answer walked into his tent holding Mama's hand. 

He missed the opportunity of seeing Jade as a baby. Call it fear. Or his own PTSD but he kept his distance from her and Lorenzo when they were babies. And often when someone recalled a heartwarming story about how he cared and took after them. He had to remind the storyteller that it wasn't him. But Luna. Which no one believed him. Or Artemis. Which everyone believed and who should be here now. Both men stood out of respect when the ladies entered. "The Wind didn't bring me." He looked at Jade like he always did with such love and pride.

"It used me to bring you her."

Luca smiled. And as Mama let gently let go of her hand Luca offered everyone to sit. "I'm needed back outside." Mama couldn't wait for a reply as she waved goodbye. She had left the food unattended. But as she left a wild Gypsy appeared. Wrapping their arms around Jade's torso from behind. Hugging her tightly. And then picking her up and swinging her around. "Vice! Put Jade down!"  Luca shook his head with a light chuckle. And so Artemis surprisingly listened. "I can't stay. But just wanted to possibly help Jade get settled in before the Caravan leaves."

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Tragic Humbling ✧

The colors, the vibrancy, the dancing it was all something she didn’t feel attached to as she watched members of her family she wasn’t close to interact with one another. Crossing her arms trying to understand how the gypsy made their way around with all this carefree and boisterous behavior. Her eyes moved to Mama then as she finally got someone to talk to her. “Nadiya?” she questioned her eyes bore into the woman. “You must be Mama right? My Aunt?” she felt her brain trying to connect the lines in that moment of the times she heard her father talk about his side of the family.

As she came closer Jade tensed waiting for the hugging fest her father warned her about. Kinda shocked that she instead took her hand and started to guide her towards Luca. “Of course he is.” Her father really couldn’t just let her do the job he asked of her in peace. With a sigh she fell in line keeping up with the way they gypsy Mama seemed to rush her through the crowd. “Are these all family members?” she asked curious as most of them didn’t look like she thought they would.

As the flap to the tent opened she walked in and her eyes moved to her father first as her hand slipped from Mama’s both her hands going to her hips and all the attitude that graced her from her mothers blood she scoffed at Vega. “How could you not be home taking care of baby number 57 with mom?” she scolded her father as if they were the only two in the room. To be fair it was her grandmother was the one that told her to always give him hell and she took that as the chance to do so freely. While she may look like a Gypsy, she was clearly cold as Ice.

“Ah yes the magical wind that steals people.” She scoffed in a joking tone really not wanting to offend anyone but she felt the tension in the tent. It was something she would catch onto as her keen eyes always looked for people that were stressed. As she watched Mama leave feeling arms wrapped around her and picked her up she laughed out knowing who it was from her younger years. “Vice!” she called out lightly as she felt her feet hit the floor only to turn around and throw herself back on the Gypsy. Vice had a way with even the most stubborn of people. Vice even broke down Libelle walls easily. Sliding back to her feet she gave a chuckle to the room. “I don’t take up much space. You shouldn’t worry too much about that.”

Her eyes moved to her father then, “You should go home though for real. Mom I am sure misses you and is ready to pull her hair out with the triplets.” She moved over and gave her father a hug. A rare thing for the pair and if he told anyone she gave him a hug she would deny it. Looking to Luca that coldness of the ice in her veins came full force as her eyes looked the king over. It was as if she could read the lines of what happened between Luca and Luna though no one knew the story. She just knew that the tension was palpable in the tent. “So you and your people need some protecting?” She asked as her wings snapped out from her back as the Valkyrie magic seemed to shake the tent. It was clear she was being a bit of a show off, maybe even trying to get under his skin.

[Luca Rahotep - Council]

Mama loosed a soft but hearty chuckle. 

"Not all are your family by blood, but every caravan is your family." 

"Something worth storing inside your heart."

Her words held a physical warmth to them with an icy aftertaste. S if she foreshadowed what only she and The Wind knew now. 

The tent was quiet once it was left with just Vice, Luca and Jade. Odd for Vice to be so... So quiet. But when the tent reverberates from the force unsheathed from her back Artemis face palmed. Groaning to herself in the background.  But Luca. Luca didn't budge. His tired gaze never lifts from the map set before him. Like a meticulous cheese game in which he was losing. His face filled with stress. Fear. Doubt. He opened his mouth but with a soft breath huffed his wavering and questioning thoughts away.

Who was he to question why The Wind chose Jade? 

A King?

A seat warmer?

A placeholder?

"The Valkyrie Queen is my significant other." he rubbed his eyes between his thumb and forefinger. The sting of his fatigued dry eyes caused them to water and run. "Arrogance will lead to nothing good. Take this as a word of caution. " He looked at her for a moment, and then again his gaze drifted to the entrance of his tent right before a voice called for him letting him know he was needed. He rose as did Vice. "Others won't be so nice about it." he continued his words. He held the tent flap open for both women with him. "We leave in the morning, you should try and get to know everyone tonight. Many are excited to meet you." at last he gave a charming smile. "I'll be right with you!" Artie's eyes turned to crescent moons as she smiled through her words. 

They waited for her to go. To be swept up in the wave of motion much like her mother had when Artemis lured her to them years ago. Waited until she was out of earshot and the words were drowned out but the heartbeat-banging drums. 

"You haven't told her." Luca crossed his arms over his chest and dropped his head. 

"No. How do you tell a Valkyrie their favorite cousin is dead?" Artemis frowned and when The Wind blew she was gone. 

Leaving only Luca and Jade as witnesses that she was ever even here. 

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Tragic Humbling ✧

Jade always felt a slight twinge along her spine when the wind blew as if it was going to take her away from everything she loved even though she was never blessed by the sand in her blood they were more like pebbles. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting to come out of Luca's mouth but it wasn’t the fact that Astrid was his girlfriend. “Oh? Really?” She had met her a handful of times, clearly closer to her grandmother than Astrid. “Interesting… Was it love or a bond to bring the at odds species together?” She was curious now.

She let her wings fold back into her back for a moment, if his girlfriend was Astrid why did he call her to protect his lot then. “Sure, Sure.” She dismissed his warning as she looked over towards the tent entrance rolling her eyes. If all he was going to do is lecture her, why was she here? “Excited to meet me?” She wondered as she gave a shrug. Hating being surrounded by people but reminding herself that they were family in the end and she would do her best.

“Vice,” she sighed as she moved towards the tent entrance. “I want my jacket back next time I see you.” she laughed out moving out of the tent to be swept up into the party that was played out that night. She did her best to dance around the fire but found herself overwhelmed. When the moon was high and she saw the chance to duck out she did. She found herself by a tree.

She looked over to the group that never seemed to tire, pulling out her phone looking to see if Davidson had messaged her. Nothing though. She sighed as she looked to the moon for a long moment letting the calmness it offered wave over her. Needing that moment of just hearing the laughing and joy in the background. Her phone went off in her hand and she looked at it giving a groan.

‘Need you. -Vic’

‘Can’t -Jay’ she replied.

[Luca Rahotep - Council]

Her arrogance and dismissal of his warning was disheartening, to say the least. If it were up to him he wouldn't keep her. 

If it were up to him he would never rely on her.

A strong ache in his heart caused a pained look to cross his face. As his eyes remained on his map. 

"Love." was the only answer she would be getting out of him. In regards to her prying into his relationship. And so he gave that dismissive tone right back at her. And Vice just... Sat there. Quietly watch her family hate each other in silence as they always did. The faces changed but that turmoil always remained. Whether siblings against siblings, niece and uncle, or mother against daughter. The feuds this family always seemed to get into were like some sort of generational curse. 

But Vice couldn't interfere. 

Not any more.

So she sat and watched in silence. Nibbling on the inside of her cheek. "You have to tell her." Luca's gentle urge pulled her from her heavy panic. "I know... I know..."

Vice stayed at a distance at first. Watching her cousin take in the ambience. It was a blessing to see Jade take it all in like that. One she could cherish and take with her... Which made this all the harder. She took a deep breath and draped the jacket over Jade's shoulders. Its smell mixed with Vice's and another's. "I forgot it at a close friend's house. So I think she washed it when she gave it back." oh the lies we tell the ones we loved. Vice didn't look at Jade or her people. Instead, she opted to look up at the sky. 

Wishing to feel a breeze that ruffled through Jade"a hair but not hers. 

"You're not here to take your father's place." there was something unusually heavy in her voice.  "And Luca didn't choose you. I did because you're taking my place." she looked at her with a sad smile. Taking her hands in hers and making her sit on the floor with her. "I made a deal with someone and uh... Well, I don't have a lot of time left... So." The Wind began to pick up and somehow seemed to flow right through Vice. 

Like she wasn't really there. 

"This is the last time we'll see each other." she was trying to be subtle and ease into things. But the ferryman was calling. And Hades was never known to be patient. "Jay-Bird... I'm not really here anymore. I haven't been for a long time. Uhm..." She swallowed hard as tears came to her ever vibrant emerald gaze. She felt it and she knew Jade was witnessing it. Watching her fade away like she was never here, to begin with.

"I've run for so long. I just wanted to know if you were happy. I just wanted to know if everyone I love would be okay." she sniffled and lit out a choked chuckle as her tears fell. She pulled Jade into a tight hug. "I love you."

"Hades calls. The ferryman waits."

And so, The Wind's Dandelion was gone. 

She was everyone's Vice but to her everyone was the love of her life.

[Jade De La Vega-Ryoko]

✧ Tragic Humbling ✧

Love had a funny way of walking the line of hate. So he only muttered in a dismissive tone which made the young Valkyrie roll her eyes. “It's rare, better not mess it up then.” She shifted her weight from one to the other. Sometimes moments like this where family was a pain in the ass made Jade thankful her mother didn’t have family to pile onto the clusterfuck. Yet her mother was a breeding factory it seemed with no end in sight on when it would close.

Tense was something she ran from, hence why she always left Davidson behind when it became tense or was all too much. So escaping the tent from it made the weight that wished to sink her into the sand lift. The airyness of the Gypsies was something she loved to watch, they seemed so care free and full of joy. Part of her envied them as she was far more Ice then Sand. As the Jacket was placed on her shoulders she reached up to hold on to the ends. “Thanks, I was only joking, you can keep it if you wish. I just needed to get out of the tent or a bit.

Her shoulders felt tense all of a sudden when the heaviness left the lips of the most precious among them. She couldn’t recall a time she ever heard such inflection in Vice’s voice. “Taking your place?” The question caused her to arch her brow as she was lowered to the ground under Vice’s influence. “What are you saying?” She felt her chest tightening as the panic sat in. She felt the need to fly away to avoid the heaviness of this serious moment.

Beholding Vice she could feel a sudden sense of hollowness. She knows the answer long before it leaves her lips in reality, being a creature that carries warriors to their realms of death. Only a fraction of Vice was sitting across from her, her soul was elsewhere. “No…” she felt the tears building up in her eyes. “You…You can’t be gone! I would have felt it if your soul left.” She shook her head in anger as she felt a tear slip over. She knew it to be true, yet she would not accept this.

Hugging her back tightly yet it wasn’t a warm embrace as it had always been. She was one of the only people she let pass the ice wall she built high. “I love you.” She whined out as the tears fell quickly from her eyes, “Hades?” she asked softly, a realm she can find her way to. “I will see you, even if it's only in my dreams and memories. I will always love you, Arty.” Like a gust of Gypsy wind she was gone. It was so quick, so sudden.

Her wings shot out and wrapped around herself as the tears refused to fall. She had no idea how long she had stood there sobbing into her own hands and wings. As her wings slowly folded back she rolled her shoulders back, looking over her shoulder to the tent where Luca probably still sat brooding, or was he mourning Vice? She turned to venture back over when her phone went off yet again.

‘Now. or D will suffer. -Vic’

Jade paused as she read the message. “Shit.” She muttered to herself before looking around, the gypsy seemed to be settling in for the evening. Surely she wouldn’t be missed. She would make it fast. Be back before any of them woke up. ‘Addy? - Jay’ she typed back as she jumped up letting her wings catch the air and take off towards the location Vic sent her.