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The old lady didn't show up until an hour after the initial explosion. Rose would've preferred it if she hadn't come at all; She considered it rather conceited of her to do so.
Unfitting for someone who could be considered something of an old hand at destruction, Jade English relished in seeing the results of her handiwork unfold before her with almost childlike abandon.
There were people, and often drones, to worry about in the aftermath. Rose once commented on Jade’s lack of concern. After Rose had said as much, Jade only barked out a loud, long series of guffaws. She didn't answer Rose then but she did later, two months after the fact, in a thin-walled hotel room in Morocco.
Jade told Rose she knew who would come to the scene, and she knew who wouldn't (much to her disappointment). And if anybody should find her there, she was waiting.
At which point, Rose also began to think of these actions all the more needlessly reckless.
There she was, with a smirk that grew into a full-blown grin when she finally spotted Rose as she swaggered up the hill.
“You actually came!!” she said, positively gleeful.
“You kept me waiting for quite some time, English,” Rose greeted.
Jade’s grin softened, then she let a whole slew of babble bubble up to the surface, loud and clear enough for anyone to take notice. “I didn’t really think you would come! You had me worry there, after your last correspondence! You need to realize that people can’t always read your mind! Stop thinking that they’ll automatically know what you really, REALLY mean when you say stuff like that. Sometimes you get a little ridiculous with your ‘oh I’m putting up walls to protect myself from getting hurt’ bullshit, you know?”
Rose took it all in with only a slight upward tilt to one corner of her mouth, one eyebrow raised for dramatic effect. Ms. English let out a spectacularly undignified huff.
The flames crackled, still alive, in the distance. Rose let out a soft sigh as she watched Jade settle on top of a cluster of a few choice rocks, turned towards the devastation she was surely responsible for, even if no one could prove that within the court of law. Not that the Batterwitch had any need for law or any desire for proof.
Rose decided to join Jade and sat down next to her. Although she had barely exerted herself while traveling there, somehow she thought she could use the rest. She, along with its instigator, faced towards the destruction and watched the flames burn into the night sky.
“I’m getting too old for this,” Rose said, which only delighted Ms. English further. She heard the predictable sporadic spat of giggles and brought her fingers up to her temple to rub at it in an attempt to soothe an oncoming headache.
“You got to keep yourself young at heart if you want to stay in this business, honey.”
“You certainly have been in it long enough to know, I suppose.” Rose granted her that.
“Hell yeah!” Jade crowed, pumping a fist into the air.
This, at least, lightened Rose’s spirits a little. She asked, “Where do you see yourself headed to now?”
Jade had never been good at disclosure. It seemed she liked to keep everyone on their toes, whether they were an enemy or a friend or one of the people actively fighting alongside her. And for her. She always had the unfortunate habit of telling people what she had planned only just before it was put into action, or maybe even after. And Rose hadn't expected anything different this time, but Jade’s natural cheer faded into something unnervingly colder. Tonight, in a hushed tone, Ms. English told Rose, “I’m going home.”
Rose startled and quickly turned to face her, only to find her looking at the ground in a unfocused way that suggested she wasn't even really seeing what was resting before her. Once Jade realized she was being stared at, she jumped into motion once again, whirling her arms about almost comically.
“Oh, it’ll all be okay, Rose! I’ll write you a letter when I get there, I promise! I have to! There are just a few more things I want you to know. Things you need to know, in fact! I swear I’ll-”
Rose couldn't keep herself from cutting in there. She asked Jade, “What, what, what?”
There wasn't any other word she had in her at that moment. It was an unmitigated blow to her pride as a master wordsmith. She stood up and positioned herself right in front of the only person she admired enough to think she could learn something from her. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She said, “Promise me. Promise me you’ll be-“
“I’ll write!” Jade piped up sheepishly.
“No, Jade. I need to know that-”
“Oh, please.” Jade laughed, but it wasn't pleasant. When she finally looked Rose in the eyes, Rose felt her stomach drop out from the weight of the sadness and weariness she could see in that face. Jade said, “I’m old.”
Rose yielded. “Promise me you’ll write right away. Before anything too terrible happens to you.”
“I know! I will,” Jade said, smiling again because this was a promise she could do.
Rose felt the heat of the flames that the wind carried up the hill, pressing against her back. She took a deep breath and prepared herself. When she was ready, she leaned over, bending herself into an awkward position. Jade helped by lifting herself slightly off of the rock she sat on, meeting Rose halfway.
It was an uncomfortable thing to do, and it was certainly an uncomfortable way to do it. Due to the awkwardness of both of their positions, the kiss could only last for about a few seconds, and all too soon it was over. But, for a moment, their lips met and in that moment it was all they ever wanted.