driftfleet | 'cause it's better than nothing

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'cause it's better than nothing

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Otono-Tachibana Makie

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(last updated: 1/25/19)

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That was a lot to suddenly take in, to remember all at once but why was that last bit.. well not quite last but it seemed out of place. I saw a younger you, on a farm? Why did you remember that part all of a sudden? You can't have thrown that to the voidfish right?

Dunno. Probably because it was like, a long ass time ago.

[He shrugs and keeps working at the stove, stirring the pot.]

Must've just shaken the memory loose along with all that other shit I apparently forgot.

Maybe? What are you cooking?

[Tim goes over to some of the other objects that caught his attention before and runs his fingers over the cover of the book]

[His ears flick back when Tim touches the book, but he doesn't move.]

Nothing. Not sure - could be an old recipe or a new one. It just is what it is.

[The book calls out to Tim as he touches it. Does he want to pick it up?]

You're not even sure what you're making?

[Tim picks up the book]

Nope, can't see it so...

[He doesn't get to finish the sentence as Tim picks up the book. When he does, the scene in front of him fades...

Picking up the book feels safe and warm, an intensely pleasant feeling of having come home after a long absence. The feeling is soft and gentle and entirely overwhelming until the scenery around Tim blurs away into sunlight. As it comes back, it brings with it a matronly voice that gently chides as she laughs. "Oh, stop it, you."

The new room isn't especially big, but it's cozy. An open kitchen attached to a well-used living room, a round wooden table with six or more chairs crowded in around it. It's obvious that there are more chairs than the table was built for, but somehow it's working out. An older elvish woman, hair rolled back up under a handkerchief is at the kitchen counter as she mixes a cake. There's flour and sugar in bags nearby, eggs in a bowl waiting to be cracked, a glass bottle of milk, and fruit washed and dried. Standing next to her is a young elf - 12 or 13 years old - his blond hair is short and tied back in a small ponytail as he laughs at the older elf.

"Shouldn't make it so easy to sneak a taste then, Auntie." It's Taako's voice, lighter and higher in pitch, but definitely Taako. He isn't as adorned as he is in his older years, but there are hints of it. His clothes are worn and patched in places with mismatched fabric in the shape of stars and he has no jewelry, but he has a flower tucked into his ponytail. And? He's smiling. He's actually happy here and it shows.

"You're terrible. Go crack the eggs the way I taught you." His aunt laughs again and moves the frosting bowl out of his reach. "I'll see who does it better."

He turns away and there's a fritz of static that races from the other side of his aunt's side, something moving but unseen. The entire scene dissolves for a moment into static as Taako looks up, his words eaten by the crackling sound. Then as suddenly as it appeared, it's gone and Taako has the eggs cracked in the bowl. He hands them to his aunt and laughs again, a joke eaten by static.

"You're getting better. You both are. Maybe one day you'll be as good as me." Taako beams and starts pouring the eggs into the batter as his aunt mixes. The static moves again, pressing in against Taako's side, then the entire scene melts away as his aunt continues explaining. "Now the important thing about this particular cake is..."

The scene pauses, and if Tim looks at the book in his hand, he'll see that it's open now and the scene in front of him is the same one as on this page. The memory is preserved here in place of a recipe, like a photograph that could start moving at any moment. There are more pages to the book. Does he turn the page or close the book?

[Tim is quick to turn the page, that patch of static is a mystery he wants to know more about]

[Tim turns the page and the scene in front of him fades away with his aunt's voice...]

---

The warmth of the kitchen is gone. The pots and pans are put away and it looks as if no one has been at the stove in awhile. There's a fire in the fireplace, but even that warm glow isn't enough to replace what should have been here. Instead, Taako - a little older, maybe 14 or 15 - is hovering, concerned, hidden just out of sight in the doorway into a bedroom, ears perked as he listens. There's a large patch of static right next to him, eating away part of the scenery right behind his shoulder. Some cousins are in the bedroom, elves that resemble Taako in the way all relatives look a little like each other. They're older and gathered around the bed, which is piled high with blankets over his aunt while she sleeps, brows creased. His cousins are talking in hushed whispers, but it's loud enough for Taako to hear.

"She's been pushing herself too hard, trying to take care of them--" Suddenly, the scene freezes and reverses with a burst of static. "--trying to take care of him. I can't believe she collapsed in the middle of cooking."

"He's just too much of a burden. She's too old to care for kids anymore."

"We never should have let her take them--" Static. "--him in."

"I knew he was bad news. I knew it."

"Do you think we can send him to another house for awhile? Give her a break?"

"Maybe just one. If we give away both of them, she'll get mad when she wakes up."

Taako doesn't wait around to hear more, his eyes lingering on the fragility that plagues his aunt's once vibrant face. He backs up out of the room and disappears out the door, out to a barn that sits separate from the rest of the house. He climbs up to the loft where there's a little nest built in the straw there, blankets enough for two for some reason, and bags. Static comes up his side, tugging on his arm, and he turns to look at it before he takes it in his arms in a hug. The scene shifts and then there's nothing there and Taako stares at the empty space like he's looking for something - some sort of comfort that will never come. Biting back tears, he stuffs what he can into a bag and then descends the ladder again. Then with one look back at the house, he turns and runs down the road into the dark forest - alone - as the scene bleeds away.

---

[The wagon comes back and the recipe book is out of Tim's hand, back on the shelf. The door at the back of the wagon is open now and color, sound, and motion are back like nothing was ever wrong in the first place. Taako is missing and the pot is off the stove, but outside someone is moving, putting a cake into the oven attached off the back.]

[Tim wiggles the fingers of his now empty hands. He can deduct from that memory that there were two children, not just one. They were going to separate them but then Taako ran and now the other seems hastily blurred over in these memories. He wonders if this has more to do with the voidfish from before.

He wanders to the doorway to get Taako within his sight again but his eyes catch on the hat and he picks that up instead]

[The hat is worn and frayed at the edges, despite being garishly decorated. The smell of burnt wool still clings to it and the memory jolts through Tim as he holds it.]

---

Picking up the wizard's hat sends a thrill of electric energy through Tim's fingertips, magic crackling along the edges. The room blends away to become a cafeteria late at night, just one or two lights on in the large mess hall. It's enough to illuminate two people sitting across from each other at one of the rectangular tables - Taako and a young boy of no more than ten years old with curly hair and glasses. Taako is sitting with his chin in hand, elbow on the table, while the fingers of his free hand drum lazily against the tabletop. The boy is pouring over diagrams laid out in front of him, a wand in one hand.

"So I just....need to keep this form this in my mind. Is that right, sir?"

"Yeah, I mean, it isn't rocket science, Agnes." Taako blows a strand of hair out of his face with a huff. "Memorize the spell and lock it in that big ol' brain of yours. Don't forget a single word of it though. You can do that, right? You're a nerd."

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm a nerd, sir..." The little boy seems a little abashed by being called that, but he still keeps studying. The room goes quiet again as the boy begins painstakingly drawing the magical diagrams from one book to a waiting blank one. "And you know my name is Angus."

"Mmhm, whatever you say, Agnes." Taako reaches over and picks up a pen, correcting one of Angus' lines as he copies the spell from one book to another. "I'll remember your name when you prove yourself."

"Um, okay then." The boy deflates for a moment, then he puffs himself back up, determination rising in his eyes. "I'll work extra hard to show you! I'll be a great wizard someday, just like you! I'll make you proud of me!"

Taako rolls his eyes as Angus goes back to copying the spell with greater fervor, but rather than quip back at him, the elf just nudges Angus' quill gently this way and that, making sure it's all done correctly. When they're about halfway through, Angus looks up at Taako shyly.

"...Why're you teaching me Shield though, sir? I thought, um, we'd work on something a little different tonight? I'm still working on Disguise Self like you taught me. I'm pretty sure I'll get it soon. And then maybe I can start being more useful for your missions, sir."

There's a moment of silence as Taako stares at Angus, the tip of something on his tongue. There's a brief flash of fear as he looks at this young kid, wearing a bracer just like his, barely 10 and already having to face dangers and potentially put himself in death's way. He thinks back on all the close calls he's had, the ones they all have had, even at their ages, and then looks at Angus - his feet barely reaching the floor. The Bureau missions aren't the same as his detective cases and while he might know that, he doesn't realize it - not yet. As quickly as his look of concern appears, it disappears and Taako gives an exhausted and exaggerated sigh, throwing his hands up in the air. "Do you want me to teach you magic or not, Ango?"

"I do! I do, sir! I'm sorry!"

"Then keep copying the Shield spell in your book, dummy, and don't question my motives." Angus goes back to scratching out the spell furiously in his book and Taako resettles at the table watching him, fingers drumming out a monotonous tone against the table as the memory fades out.

---

[The wagon comes back around Tim, the door still open. The drumming sound is still going though and now Tim isn't alone in the wagon anymore - Taako is back and at the counter, chopping herbs.]

Having fun poking around in there uninvited?

[Tim turns away from the hat and the doorway]

I'm not sure fun would be the right word actually,

[He returns to the other side of the table]

Do you know that there is something or rather someone missing from your memories here?

[Taako puts a hand to his chest, feigning a look of overdramatic shock.]

Oh my goodness, you mean that giant ball of static I've been seeing everywhere in all of my memories for a far back as I can remember isn't normal? My stars!

[Then he goes back to chopping the herbs up.]

No shit, Sherlock. Not sure what it is, but there's also about a hundred years or so that're just gone.

[Tim gives Taako a deadpanned look at the sarcasm]

I wasn't sure if you were able to see the static. It could have been possible that whatever has taken that person from your memory has also gotten you to overlook that.. static as it were.

Oh no, trust me, I can see it and hear it clear as fucking day.

[His knife moves a little more aggressively as he continues chopping.]

As long as I don't think about it or hear anything that triggers it, it's easy enough to ignore though.

Is that a none subtle way to say stop touching all the stuff that keeps bringing these memories up?

[Tim moves to the other side of the counter]

More a "be careful what you touch" thing.

[He finishes the herbs and scoops them up in his hand, dropping them into the pot. Taako dusts his hands off and wipes them on a towel hanging at his side, then actually stops to get a look at Tim.]

...Hey, aren't you that sugar glider guy?

I'm Red Robin, not that sugar glider guy... but yes I'm the guy who promised to make you a sugar glider uniform.

Nope, Sugar Glider Guy's how I know you. Red Robin sounds like a burger joint or something.

[Turning back to the cutting board, Taako wipes his knife off on the towel, then spins it in his fingers.]

So, you're here then. Does that mean you've finished the onesies or are they on hold?

Can't Robin just work? or even Red, at least they're parts of my name or code name.

I don't actually know where here is. It's obviously not the Fleet and no the uniforms aren't finished. They're.. a work in progress.

{He seems to consider that, tapping a finger against his bottom lip with a low hum.]

Mmmmnope. SGG, Sugar Glider, Suga' or Suge at the least. Especially until you finish the onesies.

Also, technically this is and isn't Glamour Springs. Welcome to a glimpse of my homeworld.

[Tim sighs and just gives up on the name, he feels like the more of a big deal he makes, the longer the awful nickname will stick]

Your set up here seems very cozy [He goes back to the doorway to look out at more of this Glamour Springs]

[From here most of what Tim can see is the empty amphitheatre, chairs and benches awaiting people who will never come. The town is quaint though, like a modern suburb with buildings that never reach more than two or three stories all made of wood and stone. It's eerily silent though. No animals, no breeze in the trees, no sounds of life anywhere.]

Used to be, yeah, sure.

[Taako mutters that under his breath and slips the knife back into its block. He goes back to the pot and starts stirring it, eyes down.]

It's a good little operation - traveling show so we-- I had to manage my space well.

I did expect more people I guess.

When you said you were a tv chef, I didn't quite expect it to be so cozy? quaint?
You said we though? who else is usually with you?

[He stiffens when Tim catches his slip-up and stirs the pot a little more vigorously.]

Traveling Vehicle show - TV.

[Is that actually what the acronym stands for? Maybe? Maybe not, but it's a nice little distraction from having to answer that second half of the question.]

I was a pretty big draw - some of the best entertainment that came through any town I graced with my presence. Brand name, merch, the whole shebang.

Oh. [Tim laughs] You and I have a very different idea of what TV stands for.

What was your show called? and who else travelled with you? was it the boy that I saw earlier? Angus?

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