"You're joking. You have to be," Mackie noted as Lyn stepped off the train platform and almost immediately headed down the steps into the grass
below.
"Why would I be joking? I asked for your help with setting up a few modern conveniences at my home. This is where it is," she said, as Mackie
followed her. As she did, the younger girl looked about, somewhat surprised nonetheless.
Paragon City was, for lack of a better term, rather homey to Mackie. Though areas like Atlas and Galaxy were smaller and more spread out than she was used to,
most areas had a comforting level of urban sprawl to make her feel comfortable. Mackie had grown up (or remembered doing so anyway) in large cities all her
life, so the massive skyscrapers and variety of artificially constructed buildings were comforting. This, however, was exactly the opposite. Rolling hills
extended in a variety of directions, often liberally scattered with trees, ponds, or the occasional boulder. In the distance, she could make out an actual
forest, though smaller than the natural maze of Perez Park. Alongside it was a small lake, and as she hiked behind Lyn, Mackie's eyes soon found the
somewhat odd contradiction that was what looked like a yurt(how she remembered the proper term for the odd tent, she didn't know. History'd never been
her strong suit.) made of modern fabric materials. If she didn't miss her guess, the structure could be broken down in about ten minutes by a single
person, and otherwise resistant to anything short of a direct lightning strike, in terms of weather. Against Paragon's rather mundane weather conditions,
it was unlikely anything natural would threaten it.
Meanwhile, however, Mackie froze at the sound of grunting and odd animal-like growls coming from the forest. Looking over, her eyes widened as she saw a small
group of various animate stones, plants, and mushrooms walking about, planting smaller seedlings of themselves as they looked about. Lyn noticed her gaze and
followed it, before shrugging. "Don't worry about them. They don't come out on the grasslands much, and if they do, I can handle them again,"
she noted, a thumb sliding the blade of her katana slightly out of its sheathe so Mackie could see the gleam of the folded impervium blade. "Really, as
long as you stay out of their herd patterns, they're pretty harmless."
"You move around in here?" Mackie asked, blinking.
"It's why I have the tent," she smiled. "No rent, and no problems about the place not being authorized for habitation due to the threat of
Devouring Earth attacks like building a cabin would cause. The biggest trouble I had was doing the research to identify the stuff they grow so I didn't
accidentally eat any of it." At Mackie's confused expression, she smiled. "Well, I have to get food somewhere, and it's harder to identify
non-Devouring Earth plants than it is to make sure a deer or rabbit isn't infected."
"But....why?" Mackie asked, looking at her as she bent down to work on the generator Lyn'd asked her to help make sure was weatherproofed.
"I mean, rent isn't that expensive in Paragon, even if you're doing full time heroing....this seems like
a lot of work just to avoid paying that."
Lyn sighed as she sat down across from Mackie, her sheathed blade lying across her lap. A glance up confirmed that her expression was entirely serious as she
started talking. "Maybe. But....Mackie, do you ever feel....squeezed? Constrained by stuff like Steel Canyon and the rest? Not while we're fighting or
anything, but other times. Just when you go in there casually."
"No, not really," Mackie said, checking some wires for proper insulation coatings.
"I do," Lyn replied, as a gust of wind caught her ponytail. "Most people are like you. Buildings are just that, buildings. Structures people
live in. Even if Steel's too close for them, there's always Skyway or Talos....but to me....it never felt right." Her expression was almost
troubled as she continued. "The Sabres feel right. My blade feels right.
Being a hero feels right. They're as natural to me as sleeping or breathing. But living in the main areas of
Paragon never did. There was always something off. I told you briefly when we went out riding a few weeks back that I felt....at home...out there. That felt right. But unfortunately, land developers know it does. Getting space to actually buy a house or something out there is
expensive....I could never really scrape together the funds, and I don't intend to lean on your sister's charity," she noted. "Even if she is
bankrolling the group out of some sense of obligation to the greater good or something, I don't want or need hand holding. The Sabres isn't a day job
to me. It's like....being with relatives. Family, however distantly related. I wouldn't feel right being taken care of and paid for just because of
what I was born into or the bloodline I came from. I'm just another girl. I don't deserve an unfair advantadge because of that."
She pulled out a sharpening stone her blade probably didn't need as she began running it along the edge with practiced ease. "But then I came here. We
were rescuing some scientist from the Devouring Earth and....despite the fact those monsters are insane and so are their leaders, I felt...something. I
don't have the clearance to enter Eden and see if it's the same way, but here....here felt right. Even if
it's harder or more trouble than it's worth, I wouldn't live anywhere else in Paragon. I've always, always relied on my instincts, and they
tell me this is where I should lay my head....the same way they tell me the Sabres are where I belong," she said softly. "A little inconvenience is
worth that sort of certainty that sinks into your bones, don't you think?"
Mackie watched Lyn as she glanced off at the sun starting its slow descent over the distant treetops and nodded silently. She didn't understand the other
woman's perspective, but for a moment, she could see what she meant. The sight of the dark emerald haired woman in simple, functional clothing framed
against the sun and the surrounding verdant greenery seemed about as natural as her sister at work on her various projects in the Silky Doll, or sitting beside
Priss in a casual moment. The two just...went together in a way that Mackie admitted she didn't have words to explain.
"Yeah...I think so," she said, before bending back to work on something in her element.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
below.
"Why would I be joking? I asked for your help with setting up a few modern conveniences at my home. This is where it is," she said, as Mackie
followed her. As she did, the younger girl looked about, somewhat surprised nonetheless.
Paragon City was, for lack of a better term, rather homey to Mackie. Though areas like Atlas and Galaxy were smaller and more spread out than she was used to,
most areas had a comforting level of urban sprawl to make her feel comfortable. Mackie had grown up (or remembered doing so anyway) in large cities all her
life, so the massive skyscrapers and variety of artificially constructed buildings were comforting. This, however, was exactly the opposite. Rolling hills
extended in a variety of directions, often liberally scattered with trees, ponds, or the occasional boulder. In the distance, she could make out an actual
forest, though smaller than the natural maze of Perez Park. Alongside it was a small lake, and as she hiked behind Lyn, Mackie's eyes soon found the
somewhat odd contradiction that was what looked like a yurt(how she remembered the proper term for the odd tent, she didn't know. History'd never been
her strong suit.) made of modern fabric materials. If she didn't miss her guess, the structure could be broken down in about ten minutes by a single
person, and otherwise resistant to anything short of a direct lightning strike, in terms of weather. Against Paragon's rather mundane weather conditions,
it was unlikely anything natural would threaten it.
Meanwhile, however, Mackie froze at the sound of grunting and odd animal-like growls coming from the forest. Looking over, her eyes widened as she saw a small
group of various animate stones, plants, and mushrooms walking about, planting smaller seedlings of themselves as they looked about. Lyn noticed her gaze and
followed it, before shrugging. "Don't worry about them. They don't come out on the grasslands much, and if they do, I can handle them again,"
she noted, a thumb sliding the blade of her katana slightly out of its sheathe so Mackie could see the gleam of the folded impervium blade. "Really, as
long as you stay out of their herd patterns, they're pretty harmless."
"You move around in here?" Mackie asked, blinking.
"It's why I have the tent," she smiled. "No rent, and no problems about the place not being authorized for habitation due to the threat of
Devouring Earth attacks like building a cabin would cause. The biggest trouble I had was doing the research to identify the stuff they grow so I didn't
accidentally eat any of it." At Mackie's confused expression, she smiled. "Well, I have to get food somewhere, and it's harder to identify
non-Devouring Earth plants than it is to make sure a deer or rabbit isn't infected."
"But....why?" Mackie asked, looking at her as she bent down to work on the generator Lyn'd asked her to help make sure was weatherproofed.
"I mean, rent isn't that expensive in Paragon, even if you're doing full time heroing....this seems like
a lot of work just to avoid paying that."
Lyn sighed as she sat down across from Mackie, her sheathed blade lying across her lap. A glance up confirmed that her expression was entirely serious as she
started talking. "Maybe. But....Mackie, do you ever feel....squeezed? Constrained by stuff like Steel Canyon and the rest? Not while we're fighting or
anything, but other times. Just when you go in there casually."
"No, not really," Mackie said, checking some wires for proper insulation coatings.
"I do," Lyn replied, as a gust of wind caught her ponytail. "Most people are like you. Buildings are just that, buildings. Structures people
live in. Even if Steel's too close for them, there's always Skyway or Talos....but to me....it never felt right." Her expression was almost
troubled as she continued. "The Sabres feel right. My blade feels right.
Being a hero feels right. They're as natural to me as sleeping or breathing. But living in the main areas of
Paragon never did. There was always something off. I told you briefly when we went out riding a few weeks back that I felt....at home...out there. That felt right. But unfortunately, land developers know it does. Getting space to actually buy a house or something out there is
expensive....I could never really scrape together the funds, and I don't intend to lean on your sister's charity," she noted. "Even if she is
bankrolling the group out of some sense of obligation to the greater good or something, I don't want or need hand holding. The Sabres isn't a day job
to me. It's like....being with relatives. Family, however distantly related. I wouldn't feel right being taken care of and paid for just because of
what I was born into or the bloodline I came from. I'm just another girl. I don't deserve an unfair advantadge because of that."
She pulled out a sharpening stone her blade probably didn't need as she began running it along the edge with practiced ease. "But then I came here. We
were rescuing some scientist from the Devouring Earth and....despite the fact those monsters are insane and so are their leaders, I felt...something. I
don't have the clearance to enter Eden and see if it's the same way, but here....here felt right. Even if
it's harder or more trouble than it's worth, I wouldn't live anywhere else in Paragon. I've always, always relied on my instincts, and they
tell me this is where I should lay my head....the same way they tell me the Sabres are where I belong," she said softly. "A little inconvenience is
worth that sort of certainty that sinks into your bones, don't you think?"
Mackie watched Lyn as she glanced off at the sun starting its slow descent over the distant treetops and nodded silently. She didn't understand the other
woman's perspective, but for a moment, she could see what she meant. The sight of the dark emerald haired woman in simple, functional clothing framed
against the sun and the surrounding verdant greenery seemed about as natural as her sister at work on her various projects in the Silky Doll, or sitting beside
Priss in a casual moment. The two just...went together in a way that Mackie admitted she didn't have words to explain.
"Yeah...I think so," she said, before bending back to work on something in her element.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."