driftfleet | And On Your Left You'll See a Tourist Mingle

It - yeah, it's really important. I'm still sort of getting - used to it? Erik and Charles are - they're family, but it's different with them, too. More . . . complicated, given our histories.

The found family thing started in Kyriakos for me. Teams were sort of like a second family.

Yeah?

I still don't think I totally understand what that's about. The other worlds, and teams.

I could try to explain it better? But in all honesty, you're better off. And - really, talking to anyone who's been there, you'll hear something different.

Or - talking to anyone from one of those worlds. There's more than one - four, if I remember right. So far.

Well, what if I want to hear about it because it's something you went through?

. . .

What do you want to know? Or - what can I - explain better?

Maybe more about your team? Since they're so important.

Ah . . . let's see.

[he shifts to get a bit more comfortable, head tilting as he thinks about it] My team was Gulgallana. It's - hard to explain it as a whole, because people would come and go a lot, and we had all sorts of people. Some like me, with powers, or - others with magic of some kind. And - a lot of women. Us guys were always outnumbered.

We were close, but not in the same way other teams were. We depended on each other, but we were all pretty independent, too. If you wanted something - like new clothes, or something from home, or - whichever, you had to get a quest for it, and we all sort of did our own thing with that. But when it came to making decisions, we all were on the same page. It made the more difficult games easier.

[a long pause] And - then there was our patron. The - beings that ran the games, the Echoes? Some of them were in charge of a team, and ours was The Rotten - her real name was Katie. We sort of treated her as part of the team more than . . . just there to take care of us if she needed something. She was . . . er, fascinated by . . . romance. [yes that's a nice way to put it]

And just . . . we lived together. [he shrugs] And helped each other out. Especially when - some of us would get difficult memories back. It was a support network.

[ she's going to scootch closer to him, actually folding her hand around his, now, as much as it will go ]

I know, objectively, it wasn't an ideal situation for anyone. But the way you describe it, it doesn't sound like a worst possible scenario. Support networks are important.

[that's right, she still has his hand. He carefully curls his fingers around one of hers]

Mm . . . no, it had it's good points. And it wasn't bad all the time.

I mean - I can't speak for anyone else, but it was - good, for me. To be put on a team, and - have that support. I came out of it a better person.

There's always so much we can learn from the people we surround ourselves with.

That's certainly true. I - didn't have a lot of friends outside of my team and those from my world, but the ones I did were . . . really important to me. It was sort of - mm, it was such a varied place that no one batted an eye at who or what you were. Or how old or young you were.

You know, I think you're a lot more optimistic than you might give yourself credit for.

[that surprises him. He lets out a sound of disbelief]

You just haven't caught me on a bad day.

I would probably say the same thing. I mean, I know I'm optimistic. Probably to a silly degree, but I have my bad days too.

I don't think it's to a silly degree.

I'm - better about it, but I'm sort of - not quite pessimistic, but I sort of hover around there a lot. [he gives her a wry look] But I think that's a side effect of worrying all the time, too.

Probably. I hear that's not good for your health.

I tried the opposite, remember? [but he smiles] I'll take the worrying. Even if certain - people I live with inspire it daily.

Oh?

[his smile goes a little crooked]

You worry about family, right? Especially incredibly stubborn family.

Putting the school back in order isn't the only thing we're working on. For them in particular, they're sort of . . . putting their lives back together. And - not worrying about Charles is just - it's weird to me, after doing it for so long.

I do understand... Sometimes the theory is easier than the practice. Most of the time, anyway.

Most of the time, yeah.

But! Worrying about our friends is what makes us us. Otherwise we'd be the other guys.

Right.

And as unhealthy as it is, the worst I do is lose sleep. [and the smile is back] And that is a requirement of being a scientist anyway.

I sympathize with that. I don't need as much sleep as, say, my sister, but sometimes I'd really like it.

Sometimes I'd like to sleep more, too. But it's easier to catch naps in between work than it is to attempt a full night's sleep.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject