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There was food. Then there was burping, and then, there were sleepy babies.

So it's been decided by consensus to sleep right here in the park, with Sokka curled protectively around his sleeping nieces, Sokka not far off, and Jack keeping the first watch.

He likes keeping watch on his own. It affords him time to sing softly, two eyes, two ears, a Reading sense and his brain otherwise focused entirely on his surroundings.
Then there is a flick, and a girl in front of him. And with a flick she's gone.

It's enough though, for Jack to see what he's dealing with. A Secret Keeper.

He scrambles to his feet and nudges the un-babied Sokka with his foot.

"Wake up. We're getting company."

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Jack moves conservatively, ducking a sting from behind and cutting it off without turning.

"Seems to be true," he says to Marie, acknowledging the touching reunion.

"We talk later, aye?"

"Sure," she says lightly, and the one word comes from about three different places, chopped-up and broken.

Marie is an excellent distraction for the triffids, even if she's not a combatant in the strictest sense. They tend to lash out at her, and inevitably miss.

"Either of you fine-- fellows," and there's a detectable pause before she gives them both that label, "want a ride to Kansas?"

Sokka snorts with laughter when two triffids lash at Marie and get their stings tangled together, yanking each other off balance.

"What's Kansas?"

Jack smiles widely at Marie.

And cuts those two triffeds in two in an arc that would have gone through her middle were she still there.

"What he said."

"Someplace," she says, moving smoothly from one side of the last triffid to the other without passing through the intervening space. It stings empty air where she was when she began speaking.

"Not here. And here doesn't look too hospitable to me."

Pause.

"Someplace safe."

"Safe," Sokka says eagerly, "safe is good. I like safe."

The last triffid's sting is removed almost scientifically, the meteorite blade cutting through the stem as if it's butter. Sokka peers at it, slightly disappointed that nothing more dramatic happened, and then slices a few more times through the bole and shaggy roots of the thing just for good measure.

"You like safe, right, Jack?"

Jack sheathes his cutlass, but keeps his gun in his hand, peering at Marie thoughtfully.

"This means trusting your casting, no?"

"Casting?" It's clear she doesn't know the ter, but-- "You can trust it, yeah. Whatever you want to call it. I've been ferrying people around this damn continent for some time now and I ain't let one of them down yet."

True, if Jack can see past the way Marie is ostensibly using her eyes to look around at the dead triffids.

Sokka crouches down to inspect the dead triffids, peering at their stings, and lets them argue.

Jack knows stuff. Jack'll pick the right thing.

Jack's still grinning at Marie, and then at the reunited family. It's that, above all,that convinces him her intentions are honourable, and he nods.

"So let us try this Kansas place."

"Right then." She holds out a hand to each of them. "Let's go."

Sokka gets up, but he doesn't take the offered hand, and the narrow stare he gives Marie is more than a little suspicious.

"What about, um, that guy?" He gestures at the family and the girl with them. "We're just gonna leave them here?"

"Girl's only got two hands," Jack points out.

"What he said."

And if there's a hint of subtle amusement regarding that 'he', it's probable only Jack will notice.

Jack winks at her, and is about to say something else, whenthe family reunion (http://community.livejournal.com/shatterverse/16095.html?thread=1370591#t1370591) catches his attention.

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