hellawrath | IC Inbox

He's not wrong, she actually has to do a double take and stare at him judgmentally to really drive home how dumb what he just said was? How could he make her cognitively process something so lame? She thought he was her brother!

Anyway, "I mean you were pretty p.o.'d when you were a bird, dude." Man, the possibility that this bird is a person continues to look more likely than it really should. "Can't you just like, talk to it? Turn into a bird and ask it where its parents are, Taako, it's the responsible thing to do." And they're all about that shit here at child labor central.

Now he gets to be offended in a whole new way, which is pretty impressive, considering the last few minutes. Like she gets to lecture him on responsibility, he is so good at being responsible, shut up. "Birds are dumb, Lulu! I can't ask this bird shit. The responsible thing would have been for you to get Detect Magic from your bunny-buddy."

He goes to scoop up the bird and then stops, hands hovering with more concern than he'd care to admit. Who the fuck is this bird. "We can't just leave it here, right? Nah, we can't."

[Guess who's next on the list? The five minute mark barely hits and Ren's back on the phone after her talk with Uncle Taako, ready to hit up someone that's too brave for her own good. The are you okay messages are mostly directed towards [1] problem elf with a penchant for coming back with injuries.

So here she is, ready to mother hen the heck out of someone who definitely doesn't need it, but is getting the full brunt of it right now immediately.]

Aunt Lup-

[Then silence? So much silence, like she needs to get a whole gigantic breath in before her verbal onslaught.]

Are you okay? Did you bring enough food? Does your fire still work?

Shepard can't help a bit of a smirk as she looks up at her friend continuously deny needing help.

"Oh of course you can. Any time you want. You'll probably decide to come down soon, right?"

She flexes her arms a bit, showing off her biceps for fun. It's been awhile since she felt this playful but there's something about Lup that brings it out in her again. Lights a flame in her heart, if you will, from a fire she thought long dead.

"When you do, I'll be here. Though... since you're so sure of your position up there, you wouldn't mind me touching this tree at all, would you?"

Her smirk grows as she gently touches the tree. She's not shaking it. Yet.

[You know Ren is really doing everyone a great service, with these calls? At least this way the twins can't actually kill each other over the goddamn metal detector. It's ceasefire time when Ren is on the line.

Though the obvious concern is a bit much, Lup almost feels bad for making the kids stay home and worrying her like this. But it's fine! They're fine. This'll be educational, probably. And it's just for one night.

Lup picks up instantly anyway.]

We're still good here, pumpkin! Nobody's starving yet. Or ever! And uhhh, lemme check-- [Ren may hear a very quiet woosh and then... a distinctly Kravitz-sounding swear in the distance. But what matters most is that Lup sounds very pleased.] Yep, still works!

[The sound of a fire blazing to life and the cursing are probably coincidental, unrelated instances that happened to align perfectly in this moment. The point is Lup's fine, her magic works and Kravitz is okay too.

It occurs to Ren that she should've painted cats on their knees before they left. Maybe offered Solgaleo's stuffed protection. They're not real cats and couldn't totally keep them safe, but it would've helped. Oh well, she'll make a note of that. This won't be the last time they bravely trek into the unknown.]

Okay, you should check it a lot. That'll keep scary things away from you.

[A pause, and then-]

Can you make your fire into a cat?

Check the fire a lot, Ren's orders, got it! [Said loud and clear, almost as if to make sure everyone in the vicinity hears it too. Her question gives Lup pause though.]

You know, I don't think I ever tried? You got me there. How about I practice real hard tonight when we make camp, and I'll have a cool trick to show you tomorrow?

[A part of her truly hoped Lup would have an immediate response along the lines of I can make 200 cats, but this is the next best thing. Her voice is free of worry when she speaks up, excited and happy about the lightshow to come.]

Okay! Can you make a toy for Hot Boi too?

[A fire toy]

[And the fantastic ideas just keep on coming.]

Oh man, like a toy that's on fire? [Great minds think alike.] What do you think he'd be into?

Okay that's fucking rude and Shepard knows it, flexing like that. She better have a permit for these guns! Maybe Lup should come down and check it out. Like, the permit. She's just, judging the distance down, is why she's staring like that. It seems pretty appealing anyway, the floor.

At least until Shepard touches the tree. Oh hell nope! It takes her a second, but when Lup catches her drift her ears snap back defensively, eyes narrowing and she's clinging with renewed vigor, thanks.

"You wouldn't."

Something he can fly with.

[Doesn't Kravitz like birds?? Does Hot Boi like him?? Or tolerate him? Can she combine this knowledge and ask Lup to make something incredible??]

A stuffed Kravitz-[Pause]-a stuffed fire Kravitz-[Another pause]-a fire scythe.

Lup stares intensely down at her and Shepard feels her grin widen just a bit, and she flexes just a little more before lowering her arms again. Shepard hasn't always been the sharpest on the romantic uptake, but she knows that sort of look, at least.

And when Lup tells her she wouldn't, Shepard looks up at her with a completely stoic face for one long moment. Then she slams that motherfucking Renegade option and begins to shake the tree.

MOTHERFUCKER

Lup puts up a not inconsiderable fight, but all the horrified clinging in the world isn't enough when she really had been getting pretty tired up there. It takes an embarrassingly short amount of time for her one remaining arm to slip, for her aching midsection to call it quits and, off she goes. No time to even get the umbrella into position for a Featherfall, just one murderously betrayed screech as she tumbles down.

Roll to catch six feet of flailing elf, homegirl.

[Yes he likes Kravitz, to Lup's eternal and long-suffering disappointment. You do your best raising a child and they still make terrible life decisions, how fucked up is that. Like these?? Suggestions???]

After a stunned second, she lets out a horrible breathless burst of laughter.] A stuffed fire K-- What? A fire s-- fire scythe? [Curse her entire brain for already considering how fucking badass Hot Boi would be with a fire scythe???] Okay but like, what are we gonna do if Kravitz arrests him for being cooler than him?

Edited 2018-08-08 23:34 (UTC)

We'll break him out.

[Would Kravitz do something like that? Does he have the power to put a phoenix in jail? She thought that was an Ai'tuoh exclusive shenanigan, but if this is a real threat, they need to have a backup plan.]

Lobstar can help us. It knows about things like that. I'll see if it knows how to talk while you're gone.

[Maybe the lobster's shy!! It might know how to speak a language they understand and simply needs some time to open up. Well, that time better be now. She's gonna yammer at it all night long.]

[Is this a bad time? Probably.]

[Still, they look for her all the same, one of a very small margin who may be able to help them, right now. She's probably busy, or perhaps not... back yet, but that's fine.]

[When they do find her, they won't take up much of her time.]

[She's keeping busy, but that's hardly the same as being busy. There's just, a lot to do, is all. Spoiled meat needs replacing. Orphaned pets need returning to their owners. Firewood needs stocking up.

Wilted petals of various colors and sizes need to be removed from every nook and cranny of camp with extreme prejudice.

She's just heading out to fish, basket in bandaged but finally functional hands, when she sees Frisk approach through the underbrush. The last time she'd seen them, only a few days ago? She'd placed their tiny blooming body on an altar of wood, into the crook of Tim's lifeless arm, Chara resting on the other side.

They look much better now, obviously. There's bright relief shining in her eyes, one worry less weighing heavily on her heart, though it's not quite enough to bring a smile to her face. She's just very tired.]

Hey there, pe-- [on second thought] peanut.

[A sweep of their eyes over her form as they approach, not subtle. If she's bothered that they're checking her for things that are, thankfully, no longer there, that's a consequence they'll simply have to shoulder. A small wave, coming to a halt in front of her and opening their mouth to speak.]

[Then the corners of their eyes crease, glancing around them. Small fingers flex, signing faster then they normally would, for someone relying on the world's translator and not a natural affinity.]

I need to talk to you. Privately.

[... Well that relief lasted about as long as a fart in the wind, thanks. That look they give her, checking her for injuries like it's their, their responsibility, it's-- One ear folds back, flicking uneasily. Something's up.

And whatever hint of a smile may have tugged at her lips at the sight of them alive and whole, it drops completely at their silent message. Their signing, their body language, the sense of business-like urgency in their not-words-- She's practically looking for a smile on their face that doesn't belong there.

But that's nonsense, that's utter horseshit, that better not be what's happening? The familiar feeling in her heart of a note ringing out to find its match better be wrong.

She lets the basket drop to the ground and steps forward to their side. Holds out her hand for them, because Frisk would take it happily.

Won't they?]

Alright. Let's walk.

[They delay in taking it, for a heartbeat. Two. Then a small hand slips into her own, fingers curling stiffly as they take the lead, almost trotting in order to keep her larger strides at a fast walk.

They won't speak until they're absolutely certain there's no one else close enough to hear them, their voice entirely Frisk's, but the accent and sharpness completely not.]

Peanut?

[Motherfucker. That hesitation was all she'd needed, all she'd feared. This is-- this is bad. This is an outrage, a horror, like they haven't fucking suffered enough-- But all she can do is to keep her grip on their hand loose, barely touching as they lead her through winding paths away from camp.

As she keeps the fury and renewed grief and the weariness of the past week locked up inside of her, twisting and guttering silently until they decide it's safe enough to speak.]

Thought I'd give something new a whirl. Are you both there?

[Holy fucking-- She's dead. She's dead and she has ascended and Ren is going to plan a goddamn jailbreak, like she fucking?? had that ready to go??? Unbelievable. Incredible. What a dark horse contender for Best Island Criminal. She's so happy.]

The lobster is a-- Holy shit, it's a jailbreaking mastermind! 'Course it is!! Get-- learn all its secrets, honey! Get it! [She's laughing so hard she's having to drape all over Taako for support.]

[That laughter is all the moral support she needs. The meaning of life, the value of one's own being, the mutual desire for freedom-that lobster and her are gonna bond and she's going to find out all its secrets. Hot Boi will never have to worry about scythe jail.]

I'll 'get it', Aunt Lup. Four twenty two two, over and in.

[And the rock goes blissfully quiet. Enjoy hell island, ya dinguses. She's got a job to do.]

1d20+3 = 18

Shepard continues to shake vigorously as she waits for Lup to tumble. She's got a lot of moxy, this one, but she's no match for gravity. When she sees Lup falling down she moves quickly, stepping back just enough to hold her arms out to catch her. Her arms go down for a brief moment, a small grunt of strain coming from her mouth, but she easily bounces the woman up into the crook of her arm so she's carrying her bridal style.

She smiles down at Lup with a spark of mischief in her eyes, shifting her around so that her grip is strong.

"I think you're the biggest coconut I have ever gotten from this island."

Her smile becomes warmer as she looks down at her longer.

"You all right? I hope I didn't aggravate any of your wounds."

[Her tone is crisp, but there's still plenty of relief to find there. She knows. They don't have to attempt an explanation, letting their hand drop from hers as their shoulders visibly lose some tension.
This is why they came to her.
There's no reason not to open Frisk's eyes, though they have to squint against the harsh lighting of the sun. Maybe someday, when the world deems it reasonable to give them a moment to exhale, they'll remember to request a pair of sunglasses for their Partner.]

No. [The child confirms grimly, fingers running over the hilt of their knife. Or, their knife, sheathed at their hip.] I don't know where Chara is.

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