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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[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.]

[It's from somewhere not here -- there. Faerun. It's not from Faerun. It's some weird space fish that eats memories and information and it's kind of cute in its own gelatinous way. Magnus likes it so that's good enough for Taako.

As for why? It's because the Director fed the information to it. Or Johann, but Johann isn't exactly a criminal mastermind. He's more like a stoned garage band musician waiting for his big break that will unfortunately never come because he feeds all his best work to a giant jellyfish. Kind of a non-starter as far as careers go.]

I dunno? Somewhere? Don't tell me you're like some weird voidfish hybrid and you birthed it because that? Is TMI and gross. Mostly gross? I don't want to think about how underneath that face is a jellyfish face. Gross, Lup. Super gross.

[She's hoping her expression in response to that says it all, because her expression is very, very clearly "no, no, no, NO, NO GROSS ICK NO". She actually leans away from him, as if he's embodying the very concept of breeding with Fisher.]

Mmmmkay that's gonna be a no, and also, yuck. But I have met the voidfish before. I think I can tell you that much.

[He gives a cartoonishly large shrug and bites his lip to stop from laughing at her expression. He had to ask, Lup. It was his first conclusion and he has no brain to mouth filter.]

So this egg babe song is just a thing it does?

[He laughs finally, unable to hold it in.]

Magnus is going to be so sad. He thought he was special.

[She opens her mouth. Shuts it. Rethinks her choice of words, carefully.]

He still could be. The squishy fella liked to play favourites, sometimes.

[Magnus, Lucretia... it never loved the rest of them the way it loved those two. Not that they'd put near as much effort into caring for it- her priorities had been very different that year, and after that she'd been too focused on the mission, their research, everything else but a magical jellyfish that, to her (at the time), just really liked art.]

Big guy could probably befriend a wall, to be fair.

[The tension was thinning - still there, but lighter than before. The prickles of fear were still raising the hairs on the back of his neck, but it's a level he can deal with.

He flops back onto the beach and splays his arms out over his head. He's quiet for a moment and then lets out a loud sigh.]

So there's a second voidfish out there. It's eaten all the information about you and, for some reason, a lot of other pretty important shit to me. Which? Rude. But someone had to feed that info to it, so was it you or someone else?

[Oh thank god, that one's easier.]

Someone else. And if you could Zone of Truth me on that one, I'd let you.

[He can only take or leave her at her word on it, since Merle isn't here, but the same goes for any question he asks her, so whatevs.]

[The next question is on the top of his tongue. Who? Who stole parts of his life away? He knows who would feed information of the Red Robes to the voidfish, but his life?

How could she do that? She never knew him until he showed up with the Gauntlet with the other two boneheads and started working for her. How could she know what to pull out of his life to put all that static in its place?

He closes his eyes and drapes an arm over them.]

Figured. [He lets out a raspberry at nothing in particular.] Fucking rude.

You said you aren't trying to kill me, so there's that. Can't ask you about us because that's all shrrkkk shrkkk shrkk. [...And he doesn't want to know who fed his life to the voidfish. He's alone here. He doesn't know if he could deal with that on his own.]

So..............................

[He pops his lips as he thinks. There's so many things that fit into place, but when he looks at the completed puzzle, it's just gray. A big gray sheet of nothingness even though he knows what the picture should be.

Annoying.]

Did you know they have these blue things here named after me? It's weird as fuck, but they're pretty delicious.

[She says nothing to his first comment. Yeah, agreed. And knowing the why and the how doesn't make it feel any better, so she's kind of glad he didn't ask who. She doesn't know how to dismantle Lucretia's betrayal in a way that he might understand; it'll only bring up more questions she can't answer. Getting him to doubt the good ol' BoB will probably just come across as self-serving, anyway.

Every time she thinks she might be able to get them there, it just gets harder. Gods dammit.

Aaaand then he mentions the food and it completely derails her train of thought, for better or worse, so... good job?]

You- what? A blue food named after you? That's news to me.

Mmhm. I'm thinking of suing for them taking my IP, but when I do it, it won't be blue so it'll be better.

[He still has his arm over his eyes, using it as a shield against the uncomfortable knot in his stomach. He wants off this topic. He wants away from the possibility of an unhappy truth staring him directly in the face, even with his eyes closed. It's right there, glaring bright and garish, and all his walls can't keep it away.

So he just turns in a different direction. It's easier this way.]

Crunchy corn shell, spiced ground meat, some vegetables - sour cream and cheese. [He knew some of those things, but the shell was a new idea.]

Gonna need time to reproduce it and make it better, but yeah. Straight up named it after me even this far out in the universe.

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