Dresden: The J.J. VS. Inigo Heart to Heart Reconciliation Feels-a-thon 2017

Inigo shook his head slightly once again. "Give me a moment to get my swords." Having said this, he took the last couple steps to his car and opened the trunk. Inside were three swords - his father's longsword, his mother's rapier, and the latest addition: the piece of the scythe. Thankfully, the last of these was tucked under the lip of the trunk, so it was not visible to Juliet. Giving it a brief glance, he looked away and took out his other two, wrapped them in a towel, stuffed them in a very long bag, and shouldered it. "You said twenty minutes from here, right? That's walking, yes?"

"Yeah," she turned and led the way, starting a slow pace to let him catch up. The fact that Inigo decided to grab his swords was both something that didn't surprise her and something that still made her uneasy. What should have been a leisurely hike now felt like unofficial Vanguard business and she had no weapons on her aside from a pocket knife. She hesitated to take a sip from her thermos, but decided instead to cap it for now and hung it on her backpack.

Inigo noticed Juliet was acting uncomfortably. Guessing it was probably the swords, he spoke up. "Sorry I've got to bring the swords; being defenseless and jumped by a ghoul is not an experience I care to repeat, though, so now I always carry them when going on hikes."

"Ain't that big a deal," She said, quickly twitching a smile as she carried on.

"Perhaps not," Inigo shrugged, "but you seemed to be a little displeased by my bringing them, so I thought I'd explain why. Unfortunately, everything I've done has painted a target on my back." He continued forwards in silence for a brief while. "Not that you should have much to worry about there." He hastily added, "We've tried pretty hard to downplay the importance of a good chunk of the Vanguard - generally those who would be easier to isolate and harm, and wouldn't have as easy a means of fighting back. You and Holland, for example, we've worked to keep information on hidden."

"Dude, you're rambling again," she hastily added the moment he finished his thought, after a bit of a pause, she continued, "I mean... yeah- I understand... Like, I've had the whole people after me thing before I joined up-... Vanguard's enemies are on another level though so... yeah, thanks."

Inigo shrugged, "It really is the least we could do. Anything less would be criminally irresponsible." He thought for a moment, "To be honest, at this point the Vanguard's enemies are mostly my enemies. I make most of the calls, I'm ostensibly in charge, so they're mostly targeting me. Wouldn't blame them even if I wasn't so 'important', mind you. Nomei's a powerful white-court vamp, Ellie's the Fall Knight, Allie is Adam's grand-daughter, Frederich... nobody in their right mind would attack him. Makes sense to go after the guy who's only got the pointy bits of metal."

After they trudged on in silence a short while longer Inigo snorted in humour. "We do make a strange lot, don't we?"

She snorted, "We're a bunch of magically inclined fuckwits. Strange is the kind way of saying it. I don't think anyone 'really' gets the smooth intro to our side of the world... Like, I sure as hell didn't and I feel none of ya did either. One of the reasons the drugs eased the blow was... well..."

Inigo continued on in silence, letting Juliet continue.

She let the silence linger well past awkward. Problematically, the internal struggle of whether or not is was something she even wanted to talk about niggled at her. Eventually she grabbed the thermos again and took a sip before putting it back, "You wanted to discuss- what's-her-name?... Katherine."

Inigo nodded. "In part, yes. I also wanted to discuss what happened with you back there." Inigo looked around. "But that should probably wait at least until we reach the privacy of the forest. I doubt anyone would listen in, but it's not the kind of thing to just idly chatter about. While that waits, I've got a question for you, and it might be important for everything else. Why are you in the Vanguard?"

She was quick and blunt with her response, even a little bothered, "Because you can only clean up so much before you need help. I picked a fu-uuuuuuck ton of fights with the kind of motherfuckers that just want to cause trouble. Eventually, punching them meant they punched back- sometimes they bring knives and spells-slingers to send a message. Got myself fucked up a few times," she laughed a little, "try explaining away a bloody nose and knife wounds to the cops. Ain't easy."

She flexed a quick pained grin, "Vigilantism's easier when you're Superman; but fuck, like, even he has the Justice League. Some shit's just not something one magically inclined fuckwit can handle."

Inigo shook his head. "I know that's why you joined. I'm asking if that's the only reason you're still around. Are you here now only because we're a means to your ends?"

"Well..." she started, pausing briefly to think about it a second, "Kay, are you implying something? Like, I don't know if you were there or not but there was a fucking time loop we survived through."
Juliet turned her head fully to look at Inigo with offended eyes, "Why do you suddenly think I don't care about you guys or- y'know?"

"I didn't think that for a moment until earlier today. I was worried when you told me you thought I'd run away from a problem and knowingly let a member of this group suffer because I didn't want to face my mistakes." Inigo looked at Juliet with a serious expression. "If you really think that poorly of me, then there must be more to your sticking around - people don't generally stick around when they hate their boss, and by your own admission, you hated me, so, what is it?"

"Are you still on that?" her eyes hinted a bit of pity, "Dude, that's just how people are. Stupid shit happen; people make stupid decision and then other people give stupid responses. No shit I hated you after that, but I moved on, like a normal person. Yeah, Nomei and I had a feels moment to help sort it out, but I decided that what we had to do was more important that how I felt about you. I only say I'm not sure about you know is because I don't know how much you trust me. After that Kathy thing, I think being uncertain is kinda fucking rational, I mean-"
She paused for a second to check her bearings on the road, "Like... y'know I could have just said 'piss off' and not have this talk right at the front door? Would have been easy too. Perfect excuse what with my being naked n'shit."

"You still don't get it. There's no room for any of that here. If you have a problem with someone, you take it up with them. If you need an intermediary, you get one. You don't just sit by and wait to 'get over it', because sometimes it doesn't happen." Inigo spoke quietly, but with conviction. "Of course I'm still on that. You think I'm talking to you about this because you hurt my feelings? You just told me you were capable of hating someone on the team while still being ready to go out and be on the front lines, being trusted to block blows that could kill others. That is deeply disturbing, to say the least." Inigo looked ahead, glad to see that trees were finally approaching them. "You're concerned I don't trust you? You're right, I don't. Not right now. I don't trust you to be focused on what's happening, and I don't trust you to protect anyone, especially not yourself."

"Except I will protect people, because that what others expect from me- cause it's my job- cause I expect it from myself- cause I actually like protecting people- cause before I joined up with this bloody group I didn't have ANY FUCKING VALUE!-" she stopped herself short when she realized she'd raised her voice. After noticing a shiver in her hands she pulled out her thermos and took a sip, "Sorry..."

"For what?"

"Yelling- come on, at least pretend you're paying attention."

"Juliet, I'm always paying attention." Inigo looked over at the figure of the girl walking beside him. "You told me why you wanted in the Vanguard, but do you know why you got in?"

"If you're bringing it up, I'm guessing it wasn't because I stopped a railgun shot with a piece of glass?"

"You think we'd throw any kid in life-or-death situations just because she has some talent with magic?" Inigo asked, cocking his head slightly.

"It was rhetorical," she enunciated every syllable.

"As was mine. You're not the only one capable of sarcasm, you know." Inigo kept his tone even and measured, giving no indication of how he felt. "But if you're that uninterested, I don't have to say."