driftfleet | Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

[.....

oh

ho

HO

A slow, sly smile crawls across her lips, and she leans in as much as she can in the air, her eyes bright and mischievous, ears quirked skyward.]

I think you should totally invite Kravitz.

[UGGGGGGHHHHHHH

Taako rolls his eyes as she leans in, leaning back away from her. This is the last thing he wanted. He's been careful enough and hadn't told or even mentioned Kravitz to Magnus and Merle (especially not Merle), and yet here he keeps slipping up around her. It's annoying and he blows in her face to get her to move away.]

I need someone who can cook and help me in the kitchen. Can't trust that it'll be him.

[She just keeps on grinning, rolling over slowly to bat her lashes at him upside-down. It's touching for him to imply that he trusts her in the kitchen with him, even if they've cooked together enough for her to already know that, but calling him out will do her no good. At least, not on that part.]

Ooooh, but wouldn't he look so dashing, dressed up all fancy for a shindig? If you need the kitchen help, I'm sure he knows how to stir shit, or move food from tray to plate. Or maybe you could get away with two assistants?

He's always fancy - I don't think he owns anything but his goth accessories and Reaper shit.

[Which is fine by Taako because Kravitz looks hella hot in all that, but sometimes it does make him wonder if the guy knows how to relax.]

And I don't need two assistants. [Even if it would be nice, getting to spend time with Death that didn't involve dying or...you know, having to act like everything is normal when he acts all weird. Sometimes Kravitz just looks sad whenever he looks at Taako, like Taako's done something wrong or said the wrong thing. He doesn't know how to deal with that, so he hasn't been - but that doesn't meant it hasn't been happening.]

Look, do you want to come or not? I'll ask Carl to be prep monkey if you're disinclined.

Booooo, lame. [Lup purses her lips and blows a raspberry at him, but with a shrug she finally relents.] If the other option isn't the Dapper Skullman, then fine, I'll do it. But y'know... if we swap in and out of the kitchen, they might not even notice that there's two of us.

[That's totally a way to sneak two people in, right?]

That's the weird thing - the grooms? They might.

[He wrinkles his nose at the thought of not being able to use the one thing having someone with an identical face is good for.]

They're werewolves. I think they can tell by the smell - which is offensive as fuck until you remember they're part animal. Kinda like how Kova knows whether it's you or me feeding him.

[But he's glad to be on this weirdo subject than the one of his pseudo-sort-of-kinda relationship with Kravitz. It's still up in the air to Taako, even if Kravitz seems like he's already gone all in.]

What the fuck, seriously? Geez, that ruins all of the fun.

[Hopefully they only smell as much as Kova does and not, like... supernatural shit. Or undead shit. Hoo boy.]

Alright, fine. I didn't really want to dress the same or have to explain why we keep switching outfits every ten minutes, so whatever. I'll find myself a sick-ass red dress and you have to dance with me at least once, that's my only condition.

Right?

[He sighs and then sits up suddenly when he notices the end of his fishing rod dipping ever so slightly toward the water. Not a bite, not yet, but something is testing the waters.]

Nothing slow, weird, or sappy - and your dress can't outdo mine or I'll die. I'll die, Lup. Equal levels of awesome, got it?

[She snorts at the very suggestion. A slowdance with her brother at a wedding? Just thinking about it sounds weird. Maybe if it was one of theirs and they knew, but even then, she'd rather do some fabulous choreographed beat, just to show off to everyone.]

I kind of assumed we'd hit equal levels of awesome automatically, but if you wanna go all out, let's go shopping after you're done your fishing trip.

Fair, fair, but I had to make sure.

[The dipping stops and Taako sighs. It's getting past the point where he's going to get any good hits anymore so he pulls the line up and checks it. Yeah, the bait is half gone, but not enough to get to the hook. Little bastards.]

I'm done now if you want. The fish are't biting anymore and the ones I got need to get back on the ice - ironically. Want me to meet you in town once I'm done putting them away?

[She hovers over to the bucket, peering inside with furrowed brows.]

Not much of a catch... maybe the magic in the water makes them smarter than your average trout. Anyway- yeah, I can meet you in town.

[She rolls back over and pulls a scrap of paper free, jotting down a location and passing it his way before kicking off back into the sky.]

I'll be in the area, so toss me a quick Message when you get close.

[He grumbles something about a wolf scaring the fish away, but shrugs. He doesn't want to think of intelligent fish. Eating closer to sentient animals seemed gross and he looks in his bucket. Good enough for a small fish fry for his crew, but nothing spectacular.

He grabs the scrap of paper and gives her a quick salute as she heads to the sky.

It'd be faster if you taught me how to Fly now!!

[But she's already gone, so Taako does it the old fashioned way and trudges his way out and back to the shuttle.

It takes him a bit to get the fish settled and then get the fish smell off him. Cleaning your catch was the one downside of fishing, the upside being that he had some awesome filets back at the First Breath marinating for dinner now. He showers and freshens up, the changes into something less fish-worthy and more shopping-oriented. A low-heeled boot in case they have to walk everywhere, a bag for holding stuff, a miniature chest in case they have to steal stuff, some money, and then the boots.

He hems and haws for a bit, then puts them in their own bag, loosely tied off with a ribbon. He can saw that was how the store wrapped it when he got them and maybe she won't care that the bow is a little sloppy. It's not like he's going to wear these again after she debuts them at a wedding. So sure, might as well just give them to her. It's not like a present. It's more like... a.... "I don't want to wear the thing you wore to a wedding" ...thing.

Stupid.

He take the bow off and slings the bag over his shoulder. The trip to the rendezvous point is relatively short after all the time he spent agonizing over a dumb ribbon, so he lands just outside of town and treks in. A quick Message like she requested and he starts lounging on the rim of a frozen fountain, glowing blue despite being all ice.

Time to wait!]

[Lup isn't too far behind; she'd puttered around for a while in a tavern, indulging in some music and the local cuisine while she takes the time to make a copy of the Fly spell. Since she'd spent most of the day running around in the snow, she also makes a quick pit stop at a cute boutique to have her hair washed and styled, so she doesn't look like a bedraggled rat next to Taako (who is bound to be all gussied up by now). She tells the stylist to come up with something fun, and ends up with a pair of crown braids woven high over the curve of her head, with the rest of her hair falling in loose, bouncing curls. It looks amazing, and she takes the girl's name for when she inevitably returns for round 2.

She knows his routine pretty well after a fishing trip - he'd done it plenty of times over the many, many years they've wandered the universe together - so she knows what time to leave so she can be near the designated meeting place. His Message spell is returned by a cheery confirmation, and within a minute she turns the corner and waggles her fingers at him as she approaches.]

Look who's ready to party.

[He kicks his legs to throw himself up into a sitting position and then gives a whistle when he sees her. That hair? Hella on point. He gives her a small clap as she approaches.]

Veeery nice. Where'd you get it done?

[Because the likelihood of her spending that much time and effort on something is there, but not very high. She's not quite the patience it would need from what he's seen.]

There's this place a few blocks over- I'll show you on the way back to the shuttles. The girl worked magic with her fingers, I swear, though I didn't do an arcana check on her.

[Probably would've been rude. Anyway, the mystery makes it more fun.]

I'm thinking I might wear this to the wedding, if it matches the rest of whatever outfit I pick, so I want to take it for a test drive.

Even if it doesn't, if she can work magic, she might be able to match the hair to the outfit.

[Whichever one ends up being better, he's pretty sure they can get the other one to work with it. Lup isn't as fastidious about her fashion (or as brazen) as he is, but she still has a great sense of it. She's usually just more into comfort while Taako will throw comfort to the godsdamn moons if it means looking fly.

He stands up, then swings his bags around on his shoulder. Taking one, he holds it out to her.]

As promised, by the way. You got my half of the deal?

[She smirks, flipping a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and holding it out to him as she accepts the bag.]

Was there ever any doubt? One Fly spell, as promised. Don't drink and drive.

[And she's gonna look at those boots because oooh, the illusion was a tease and she needs to see them in person.]

[He likes to pretend he isn't a nerd about magic, but he spent most of his early life devouring any and all books he could get his hands on. Any spell, any incantation, anything he could use was studied and pored over until he had it memorized. He's been looking for books on magic here and there, but there's nothing quite like finding a new spell from the same magic system as home.

He takes the paper from Lup and hands the boots over, just as eager to read what she's written as she is to see the shoes. And she'll be pleased, he's certain, because the colors are more vibrant in real life, the leather softer, and the sunset gradient better when seen in person. He regrets having to let them go, but she'll get more use than he will out of them.]

Pfft, now you know I have to do that, right? I wonder if I'd get arrested for that here.

[With the spell in his hands now, he whips the paper open and starts reading through what it takes. It's not terribly complex, but it will take him some time to practice and perfect. Which means he'll need some alone time to do that so he doesn't look like an idiot as he learns a new spell.]

[Yeah, she knew he'd be hype about it, which is why she'd gone fishing for the boots- to give him some time to look it over, too. Not that she can blame him, anyway. She's just as eager to learn spells, and she sort of envies him. It's been so long since she'd gotten to add a new spell to her book.

The boots definitely live up to the hype, making it a worthy trade, and she immediately plops down on the edge of the fountain to draw them out and get a full view of them, running her fingers lovingly over the soft leather surface. And the inside is- ohhh, it's even softer there! Those are gonna feel great on her feet.]

Shit, babe, you're gonna have to up your illusion game because these are a hundred times better than you made them look. Holy shit, I love them. Good luck getting these babies back!

[They'll be in her closet, of course, free for the taking, but she's not going to actively hand them over. What good, good boots, hot damn.]

[He holds a finger up to shush her, eyes never leaving the page.]

Excuse you; my illusion was just what I needed to get what I wanted.

[And he knows they're great, but he isn't all that concerned about getting them back. They were going to be hers anyway and now he got something out of it, too. He finishes studying the spell and then pulls his spellbook out, opening it to a new page to press the sheet in there for safekeeping. He'll need to spend time copying it into his book later, but that's a thing for the night when it got quiet and after he finished his four hour Trance.]

You have them until the wedding at least.

[After which, Taako will find some excuse or another why he didn't pick them up again until he just "forgets" and they become Lup's shoes.]

So now that you have them, we can better match 'em. You ready to see what they got for us?

[By the time he's done reviewing the spell, she's finished examining the boots and tucked them back into the bag, slinging it over her shoulder and shooting him a thumbs up.]

Hell yeah I am. That shop over there looks like a good place to start, yeah?

[She points over to a clothing boutique at the corner of the plaza, the front decorated with a set of colourful outfits of varying fashion in the window.]

[He glances one his shoulder to where she's pointing and nods. It seems good enough! Stores around here are decked out for the season, so they have some good stuff out. People's spending tended to uptick at Candlenights, so they had nicer things for sale.]

As good as any, I guess.

[He tucks his spell book into his bag and then looks at Lup for a minute before he breaks into a run.]

Last one there has to pay!

Wh- you bastard! Heels in snow, heels in snow!!

[She may not be wearing the new red boots, but the ones she's got on now are built for style, not track and field. Between her staggering and skipping through the slush, and his initial head start, he definitely has the upper hand in getting to the shop first.

Good thing she still has a decent backlog of earnings after their last heist...]

Gotta be prepared!!

[He zips on ahead, heedless of the snow since she's got nice shoes on and he was smart enough to wear flats. The only problem? He's too busy looking back over his shoulder to make sure he'll get there first and he absolutely misses someone coming out of a shop.

And he collides right into them like a goober and spins around, sliding to a stop. He's got enough dexterity that he doesn't go down, but if she needed an opening, there it was.]

Shit! Sorry! Watch yourself!

[Lup's decreased speed and fumbling in the ice suddenly becomes a perk, and she straightens up her posture to glide across the slippery part like a champ instead of crashing the way he did. She smirks and waves at him as she passes by.]

Thanks for the heads up~!

[...And then proceeds to misstep and slide a little too far, the heels proving detrimental to the whole concept of stopping on the ice; she makes a last-second grab for a signpost near the shop entrance, but her hands slide over the frosted metal surface and she sails right past the door. Try again, Taako!]

Fuuuuuck-!!

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