driftfleet | It's Party Time [ Open ]

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It's Party Time [ Open ]

Who: Jim Kirk & You!
Broadcast: Nope
Action: Yes, Planet-side @ Alloy Lake
When: Sometime in the evening

While it wasn't broadcasted, between how many people were told and the fact it wasn't exactly a private affair on a very public beach, anyone was welcome to come to this little shindig. Kirk's feelings were mostly that they all could use a break and a chance to relax together as friends, family, teammates, or any other word you chose to assign to the relationships you had on the Fleet. It was a nice break from working in projects too. It was nice to have something to occupy yourself in a creative and useful way, but it was always a good idea to take a break and refresh the brain now and then.

Which was how he came to the idea of a party on Alloy Lake.

He scouted a scrap of land near the water to set up on - beach towels, a cooler with drinks, a mocked up grill to cook some food. He went out later in the afternoon to start with more than enough light to enjoy some swimming, though it would be dark soon enough for certain members to join without being uncomfortable. At which point, a bonfire was built. What? A lack of sunlight is never a reason to stop partying! Especially not with such good company.

_{[ ooc: It's a party on the beach! Make your own starters and have some fun! There's drinks - alcoholic and non - food, a couple of games or make your own, a bonfire later in the night with of course means some kind of smore, swimming, and more. In terms of invite, you can assume you were directly told by Kirk, or told by someone else, or the grapevine. It's open to all, so don't worry to much about it. Have fun! ]}

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[Part of why she makes it to the shore so fast is not having to turn for air during her strokes- amazing how those extra seconds can shave off one's time. The head start didn't hurt, either, of course. When he arrives she's discovering the wet towel herself, holding it up with a disappointed huff, and drapes it out on the sand, dropping the octopus on a rock to dry out. She wanders back over and sits in the surf beside him, toes digging into the sand.]

I didn't know that an underwater near-death experience was on your list.

It wasn't.

[He flicks some water at her from his fingertips and closes his eyes, chest heaving still.]

But now that I almost did die that way, it can't happen again. Make for boring viewing, don't you think?

[She does nothing for a moment, until a flick of her wrist dusts sand across his braid in return. You wanna tussle here, too?]

I'm okay without a repeat. Knowing your luck, something more interesting will come along eventually.

Excuse?

[He cracks an eye open just in time to see the sand fall on his hair and makes a displeased hum in the back of his throat. After a moment, Taako sits up and flicks his head just enough to send his braid over his shoulder with a minor arc of water at her.]

Whose spell was it that caught its attention?

[Actually wait, scratch that. Now that they're both out of the water, he can see the mess her hair has become after their death race under the sea. He holds up a hand to stop her from firing off her inevitable clapback and points to her head.]

Before we get into it - we're doing something about that.

[Ack- water and sand, right in her face, and she closes her eyes to avoid getting it in less comfortable places. She's about to retort that they wouldn't have even seen it if not for her lights, probably, but the second comment gives her pause.

She cracks open one eye at him and points to... her own head?]

That what?

[He sighs and gestures at her whole head.]

You look like someone put a mop in a blender and then threw it into a tornado.

Turn around. I'm fixing it.

[She blinks owlishly at him for a long moment as what he's telling her sinks in. Ah.

Her hair. He's going to do her hair.]

...Ummm, excuse you, I look fantastic as always.

[She turns around to show him her back anyway, mostly so he can't see the big smile she's valiantly fighting to avoid giving herself away. She's never really minded when her hair gets wild like this - she'll just tame it later, once she's showered and has a brush on hand - but Taako used to insist on making sure she was as on point as him when they were together.

She knows his reasons here and now are more self-serving than they used to be, but even so... shit, yeah, she's smiling. Hopefully the curtain of hair half-plastered to her cheeks will hide it for a while.]

Whatever, goofus. I stand by my assessment.

[She turns around and he moves in, drawing his hands through her hair. Her hair is wet and tangled so he has to go slowly, but as he runs his nails through, he teases out all the knots and squeezes out the water. His hair is in a braid, meaning it's tousled but safe. If anything, he'll look like he intended to do a mermaid braid and have some bitchin' waves once it dries out. But hers? She had it in a ponytail and that thing is all over the place.

He doesn't even think as he works. He just pulls her hair out of the ponytail and works through it until it's manageable. Then he partitions the hair out, braiding from her temples back. Her hair is damp enough that he doesn't need a tie right away and leaves the wet plaits where they are. The remaining hair, he pulls up into a loose bun, wrapping the ends around. Then he pulls the braids up around the bun and secures them, weaving them through the hair so it all stays put.

That should keep it up out and the way and stop it from being a total mess while it dries.]

There. Now you look fantastic.

[She almost falls asleep as he works. The lengthy swim wore her out more than she would let on before, the sun's beating warm at its mid-afternoon peak, and his fingers weave through her hair more gently than she'd expected to loosen any tangles and tie her hair into multiple plaits. It's soothing and comfortable and achingly familiar, and the only thing that keeps her from dozing off against him is that she doesn't want to miss a moment of it. She's missed this. She's missed it so much.

By the time he's finished, she's not even bothering to hide the contented smile on her face anymore, but she has a valid excuse for it now - who doesn't love having their hair played with? - and she can subtly wipe the wetness from her cheeks and excuse it away as just trickles of water leftover from their swim. She's not sad. She couldn't be more happy in this moment. (Okay, one thing could make her happier. But wishes don't bring memories back, and she's too much of a realist to pine for it right now.)

She reaches up to pat at the bun of braids tentatively to avoid pulling them loose, then glances over her shoulder at him.]

Well, I guess this is fine, if you're not going to complain. [And then, more quietly,] Thanks.

[Was she....?

No, that's stupid. Who the hell would cry about getting their hair done? He lets her be about it and then flops back onto the beach. He'd dried off a bit while doing her hair, so the cool sand is nice on his warm skin. He feels...good? About helping her? That's weird as fuck, but he can't deny how nice it was to play with her hair. He can rationalize it as being glad she no longer looks like a hot mess anymore since they share a face, but here on the beach, it's pretty obvious they're not the same person anymore.]

Mmhmm. And it's better than fine, homie, you look great thanks to me.

[He yawns and stretches, pillowing his arms under his head, eyes closed to the sun above.]

If you're not gonna take care of that mane, you should let me do it. Like you said - you used to have someone to help you, so I might as well do it. Win me some brownie points with your org.

[Is he...? Seriously?

Stay cool, stay cool. She doesn't answer right away, swallowing any potential tremor or over-eager lilt in her voice. She doesn't want to mess this up when he actually just offered-]

You wanna do my hair on the reg? Heck, if you feel that strongly about it, I've got no reason to say no.

[She shifts quietly to face the water, hugging her knees to her chest. Not quite touching him, but close enough that he can probably feel her there. She's smiling so hard it hurts a little, but she can't seem to stop.]

No offense, but you're kind of shit at it.

[That's probably the most offensive thing he could say, but it breaks a little bit of the tension that is nearly palatable in the air. He isn't sure why she always puts him on edge. Maybe it's the static that invades his thoughts anytime he tries to concentrate on her too much. Maybe it's the fact that she's so familiar despite having only met a few weeks ago. And maybe, just maybe, it's because he feels comfortable with her in a way he hasn't felt with anyone in a long, long time.

And that very fact sets him on edge.

But not being around her makes him nervous in a way he can't account for either. After a moment, he reaches out with his knee and nudges her.]

You better not be planning to shave your head or anything or I'll never forgive you, nerd.

[She leans back to glower at him, sticking her tongue out like the very mature 200+ year-old elf that she is. She is absolutely somewhat offended. She knows how, she just doesn't bother as much as him, that's all! Not that she has to tell him that...]

Of course not! Do you know how long it took me to grow it this long? The hair's staying, so you'd better be ready to work it. No razor's gettin' near this work of art.

[Though in truth part of the problem had been the whole issue of her body literally never changing for one-hundred-years because it just reset annually no matter what... regardless, she likes it long. And he'd liked it long, which mattered more to her.]

Good, because the long look is much better on us.

[He's had shorter hair before and sure, it works, but it's just much more fun to have long hair. There's more you can do with it, more you can play with, and more to hide behind in case shit gets too real. Plus a braid is a hell of a fun way to whip someone in the face when they're being a punkass.

"Oh, I didn't realize my hair was long enough to bitchslap some sense into you."

Such a great line.

He pulls his knee back and keeps lounging. After a few moments pass, he opens his eyes again and glances over at her. He wants to ask her questions, but he'd promised they'd start over from scratch. It's just hard to do that when it's his own face staring back at him.]

So? Since Taako's gonna be making you into a hair goddess more often, what styles you want?

[Us, he says, like they're actually a pair. And she knows why he's saying it - at least, she thinks she does - but it still makes her heart sing. She hums thoughtfully at his question, leaning back to rest her hands in the sand as she puzzles over it.]

Let's see... these braids are nice, up or down. Or a fantasy French braid, different from yours, so people have an easier time telling us apart if we want 'em to. How about a cutesy little up-do once in a while? So it's out of the way in a fight. I use fire a lot, it'd be a shame for it to catch.

[She glances over at him again, with a grin and a cheeky wink.]

Maybe I should just leave it up to the artist's choice, huh?

[He doesn't return the wink or the grin, but closes his eyes again with a shrug.]

Don't you have spell sculpting? If you catch your head on fire, that's your own fault.

[But she has a point. Keeping it up and out of the way is the best plan. Braids, updos, ponytails with a little more flair to them - all of those should work. He can make sure he styles their hair differently on days where they want to be easily distinguished...

Taako frowns suddenly - just for a second - and then the expression flits away. The Director would have his head for being this chummy with their enemy. But he has to wonder if she knew about Lup, and if she did, why keep it from him? Why not tell him one of the Red Robes, the people who created these terrible Relics, was his face twin? Sure, it would have complicated things, but a person with his face running around and doing bad shit? He could have blamed so much on them instead of taking responsibility. "Oh that? Noooo, that would be my evil red-robed face twin!"]

We'll see how your hair dries. If it looks good in waves - which, natch, it will because mine does - I'll do something with it tomorrow.

It looks hella good in waves, believe you me. So we'll have that to look forward to.

[His expression keeps shifting weirdly, and she's loathe to bring on the tension again, but it's hard to ignore. After a moment she glances back towards the water, trying to avoid making it too... weird and personal, since she knows that makes him dance away from it more easily.]

You look like you wanna ask me something.

[It's fine if he doesn't. Most times, she expects he won't. But she's always going to make the offer to him, just in case.]

Awesome.

[Because if his face twin didn't look good in waves, he'd be worried about whatever genetics or spells or whatever she used to look like him. Taako's genes couldn't be anything but perfection - look at him! He was gorgeous. On most days. Getting an octopus thrown in your face had a way of mussing up the hair in not so attractive ways sometimes.

But she offers and he peeks over at her again.]

Yeah, I got a shitload of questions humming around in my head. It's just they're all ones you probably can't answer, ones you won't, or ones not directed at you.

[Why did the Director keep this from them - or more importantly, from him? Why was the Red Robe a central figure in Refuge? Why was that dumb undead nerd following them around being all cryptic and shit?

Taako sighs.]

Besides, I did say we'd start fresh, right? Taako's an elf of his word.

[Mostly.]

I meant more along the lines of "let's not be enemies for no reason because that's stupid and I don't want to", not like, you can't know anything about me ever… but fair point, I guess, buzz buzz static. Not gonna lie, I'd love to say fuck the voidfish's limits and see how to push 'em, because I'm a rebel like that.

[She huffs, a little exasperated, and rolls over to lay on her stomach in the sand to avoid messing up her fancy new hair, head pillowed on her arms. Stupid Fisher, stupid Fisher #2. How the hell did Barry do this for an entire decade? It's similarly frustrating as the helplessness she felt in the umbrella, though that was much worse.]

Wonder if yes/no stuff would still work.

[She says it half to herself. Or would the questions in his head be static themselves?]

Well, there's a reason, but like hell if I can be bothered to remember when we're on a different plane of existence.

[He can barely be bothered to remember when on his own plane. There are a lot of things that don't add up though, enough that make him suspicious of everything. Coming here, meeting her, it's all just added to his paranoia that he isn't being told everything. Not knowing could kill him one day and he is so not about that.

But since she offered?]

Are there two Voidfish?

[Figures he'd start with one she can't fully answer. She frowns, brows furrowed.]

Unconfirmed. Spooky Red Robe stalker thinks there is.

[She pauses for thought, as that one sounds really insufficient, and then adds-]

The voidfish you know says it has a baby, so I'm taking that as a yes.

[Of. Fucking. Course.

It was honestly the only answer he could have come up with after all the clues shoved in his face. The static shouldn't exist anymore and yet there it was clouding his thoughts whenever he looked too far back. It's annoying as fuck and he hates it. He's not even sure if he cares to know what was missing from his memory - he's gotten along just fine without it - but the principle of the thing just ruffles his feathers.]

...How do you know what the voidfish says? All I get is a bunch of humming and noises.

That's how it talks. The humming is music notes, each one a letter.

[She sits up, drawing a crude musical notation in the sand: the notes she'd heard through the umbrella months and months ago when the voidfish had first tried to get through to Magnus, when it and Johann had done that beautiful duet. Back then she hadn't known what it meant any more than they had, but between that and Magnus's confession after Wonderland, it makes so much more sense now.

She draws out the seven note song, humming each note as she goes, before spelling it out since she's fairly certain Taako's never had much interest in music theory.]

E-G-G B-A-B-E.

....?

[He sits up and looks at the musical notes, but they don't mean all that much to him. He's not a bard and while the music is pretty, it doesn't have a whole lot of meaning to him. He remembers hearing it before, Johann saying it was the first time the voidfish had ever sang back to anyone or showed any sort of animation beyond hunger. It was when Magnus had put his hand to the glass and--

What? The? Fuck?

He freezes, looking at the musical notes in the sand and is suddenly acutely aware of how close she is. She's used most of her higher level slots though, so maybe he's safe?]

Were you in the room? How the hell do you know its song?

[A part of her wants to tell him. A part of her is screaming to just come clean at last, explain what she knows and what she's witnessed through him, through the umbrella. To tell him that she's been at his side all this time, trying to protect him.

But then there's Kravitz, and her unprovoked attack.

Then there's the Red Robe stuff.

Then there's the fact that the Umbra Staff only swallows the dead.

The fact that he'd found it next to a corpse.

There's... a lot.

So instead she sighs, quietly, and dusts the loose sand off of her finger, looking back at the water.]

Taako... where do you think the voidfish came from? Why do you think it's erased the relics, and people like me?

[She's not sure if that's a good enough answer - or an answer at all - but he's smart. There are certain pieces that he can put together without her saying it. This way she doesn't have to lie.]

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