unpocoloco | Daybreak IC Inbox

[He tries. But he's laughing and giving Maverick a slight shove to his side.

There were different kinds of smart and stupid anyway.]

That's true. I think this might be the first time. We're usually just running into each other in places we're not supposed to be.

[In Imelda's hallway, hiding in the woods...]

Proud of you, by the way, taking care of that all. But you knew that.

What is this "we" bullshit? Pretty sure it's always me finding you creeping around, old man.

[Aside from, you know, that whole land of the dead thing.]

Yeah. 'Course I knew that. [But now he's smiling in a different way, softer, because he might have known it but it doesn't mean he doesn't like hearing it, too.] Turns out not all your advice sucks! Which is a fucking relief. You're a proud parent, after all.

Oh so, we're only a team when something good happens, I see how it is.

[He's joking of course.

He laughs even louder then.]

That's right! The proudest parent in the world. Good to have it recognized.

[Proud to be a parent. Proud of his girl. Proud of the kids who aren't even his. Not a deadbeat anymore but someone worthwhile. It feels... really good.]

Hey, no one wants to be on a team with the suspicious guy...

[It better feel good. Mav doesn't hand out these pleasant words for his health, or anything.]

Um. So... [Awkward again... Because it's no longer about the rush you get from good news or making progress at stuff.] Covered that I know where to find you... Problem is I was thinking about maybe changing where people find me? With all the shit that happened... Do you, uh. Do you think that would be a good idea?

[He laughs, but as Maverick loses the teasing note, so does he.]

I think, mijo, that you should do what makes you comfortable. And honestly, after that scare, I think you being in a different room is a more comfortable thought for me.

[And if he feels more at ease with it, he can't imagine Maverick wouldn't. He just might also have doubt and guilt in there.]

It might give you space at the very least. Whether you're still together or not, in some cases that is the right thing.

Where were you thinking to go?

[He gives the slightest nod as he listens and thinks. It had felt like the right thing, but as blatantly as he goes "fuck it, I do what I want" every day of his life, Héctor was right that there was doubt there. There was doubt in most things Mav did. He was just usually better at hiding it.]

Mama's got an apartment in town, but it... I dunno. Maybe it's because it wouldn't really be getting space, or just it feels like a fucking step back? Plus it ain't exactly private, I mean, my room doesn't even have a fucking door. [Anyway.] I was thinking the inn? Long as Mama's cool with it, I can fucking work when I'm not in school to make up for taking the space. Can't imagine she wouldn't let me.

It's not a step back to know your limits. Or to make it clear that he's got to earn back your trust.

[Imelda could tell him that.]

But having a door does sound better. Probably feels more independent that way too. And I also can't imagine your Mamá would say no.

You going to tell people where to find you or keep it more hush?

[Isn't it funny how quickly Mav forgets when the situation is turned back around on him? Still, with the reassurance his voice picks up a bit again.]

I was thinking about keeping it quiet, but then I fucking thought, hey. If I tell people, I can fucking make 'em help me move my shit out, and depending on what floor my room's gonna be on, that would be fucking hilarious. You're exempt, you literally have no muscles.

[He smiles again, glad to hear Maverick's not completely closing off. Even if he's guising it in taking advantage of them.

He barks a laugh.]

You don't think these guns could handle it?

[He holds up an extremely skinny arm.]

But alright, if I get out of helping you move, I'll bring the pizza and drinks, how's that sound?

[He sees that arm. It earns a mocking snort of laughter.]

I ain't gonna be doing it under the cover of night, guided only by the light of the fucking moon, you know. Not that I won't take late pizza and drinks. Of fucking course I'll take pizza and drinks, who the fuck do I think I am?

[So rude. Even if he's apparently amused by it.]

I think you're the kind of guy who will take late pizza and drinks. [He says with a pointed grin.]

Tell me what you want on it and all that. It's not like you'll be sharing with me so don't hold back. Oh, and where to go of course. You can text me the address when you figure that part out.

[but who wouldn't, really????]

Sure -- hey, speaking of which, what the fuck happens when you eat? I've seen you drink, so it can't be impossible.

[He makes a face.]

Ah. Yeah. I don't like to do that.

[Just thinking about it... Eugh.]

I can. Especially if I need to fake it, you know. But, well, put it like this. If you leave a drink in the open it usually just evaporates. If you leave food in the open it uh. Well, it rots. And if it's with song that's already sort of off it rots really fast. Eventually, I get sick. Extremely sick. Like second to my death, sick. It's horrible. I learned the hard way.

[For once, it's him that's shuddering. He shakes out his head.]

Anyway! I find I can manage if it's something really small that doesn't rot. Like, say, bar peanuts. And on the flip side, any drink with dairy is a big no. And juice. Juice is bad. I tried like a spoonful of ice cream once with this girl who went here, Orihime, and it didn't go too bad but I also mostly choked on it and called it quits. So, no food. Unless it's a kind of... spirit... thing. You only find that stuff in the Outlands though.

Edited 2019-09-30 14:10 (UTC)

Ew. Fucking gross...

[His face also says "ew". Ew??? Ew to all of that. He's never going to hang around an eating Héctor. Oh, but...]

Spirit thing like maybe some hawk kid went around giving food offerings to corpses of his prey, and then somehow, somewhere else all Outlandsy some weird transitional shit happens...?

Yeah.

[For once he agrees.

He lifts a brow.]

Toby's offerings? I... huh. I don't know.

Whenever we did find anything it wasn't a whole set up deal, just weird plants, occasionally something else... well, you could tell, because if we picked it up, it got this kind of glow to it. We could eat or drink it, even skeletal, and it'd just be gone. But we could taste it somehow. It was pretty cool. But, ah, I don't know about it all being offerings for us. You have to remember, mi familia and I, to this world we were just missing. A couple of posters around a bus stop if that, probably forgotten after a few years. No grave, no shrine or offrenda, no offerings. Never really tested it out.

Mmm.

[So if anything, it was a natural offering of the earth, not one actually prepared. He'd like to know if that weird bird freak's offerings actually did anything without having to trigger another round of hauntings, though. More importantly than that, though -- ]

I wonder...if that's something we could cultivate in the greenhouse. Need weird Mist shit in the soil, probably, and other environmental fuckery, but if it's plants -- I mean, that's the whole fucking point of a greenhouse, yeah?

[He blinks.]

Grow it here? Ay, that would be pretty cool. [He turns his chin up thoughtfully.] It's nothing I need, I don't get hungry, or even thirsty, since I'm all magic at this point. But it'd be nice. And pretty useful in actual offerings too. Plenty of spirits around who are just looking for some way to connect back to the world.

[But then he sighs.]

It's hard to find though. I'd sooner find my family out there than another one of those. Nevermind finding a way back out.

Maybe. You dunno what the fuck it all does, though -- and fuck, man, even if it's just some treat, that's worthwhile. Not like the school doesn't spring for other luxury shit.

[But... Hm. Yeah, compared to other people, people that had laughed and cried with him, it would be a pretty low priority, huh?]

What about, uh... I mean, there was that bridge covered in petals, right? You said you'd been to that place -- did you get out on that bridge...? Something like that would make a good connection point. Like a bifrost.

That's true. Maybe it helps us last longer. Who knows.

[But he says it with a laugh. He's not really expecting daybreak faculty to care.

Another laugh follows.]

That's, haha, no, no. It felt familiar but I think that was just... you know, imagining things. Dreams pulling on what I used to see around home on día de muertos. I'd always wished, while I was out there, that we'd all be able to find some sanctuary, some place to rest and call home. My actual return from death was more just waking up underground and then a lot of panicking, digging, and even more panicking. Not very glamorous.

[Yeah... Daybreak sure does suck that way. Still, Maverick's thinking about it, and how he could maybe turn something like that into a project. It'd be a substantial way to appreciate what Héctor's done for him while also sticking to his resolution to focus on academics.

Ah, but even if his future still feels like a nebulous joke, there's more depressing things to focus on.]

There should be...something. You know? Even some artificial bifrost or portal shit some wizard concocted... But I guess something like that's some kinda necromancy that should be monitored.

Something, si. Even a shantytown would be wonderful for those guys if it was just solidly defensible. They can't all come here, even if they tried. For some it's too hard to trust after running so long, some are just too weak or damaged to shift like I do. And some are young and normal kids grow too fast for the dead to pass.

[He sighs and shakes his head.]

And yes, I imagine it would be no small bit of attention needed for something like that.

[He chews the inside of his cheek, because his bitter thinking of no one pays attention to the homeless unless it's to get rid of them, kids are tossed out all the fucking time isn't...exactly helpful. Bringing them here with the promises of safety and a life, only to have them live on the streets so they can hide might be realistic, but it wouldn't be an upgrade or right. Even if someone were able to run some sort of shelter...]

Mm. They couldn't fucking leave Soleil, and they couldn't make it in Soleil with how fucked up the economy of this place is, so what would the fucking point be...

[Maverick could have said it. It would be true. Dios, he knows it's true, he'd spent the year after homeless, he's been on the street even when he was young, however brief it was. But it's different for the dead and trying to hide several dozen skeletons in the sun.]

Well. I can say at least that "making it" isn't on any of our radars. Kind of a moot thing with the dead. But, I don't know, there's no rest in the Outlands. Only for little bits of time. It's not enough. We don't get to mourn, the kids don't get to play. Things happen a lot out here but there's always a breath after. I mean, look at us right now. Out there is just like the hunt only it never really stops.

They can't be here. I know that. But I still wish I could think of something.

[Yeah. This is something out of his depths, which makes him frown and stubbornly want to think on it more. He hates having to admit defeat, acknowledge he's not good enough even with all his efforts, and that he might never be good enough. He ends up digging out his cigarettes and lighter with a frustrated sigh.]

...Hard to imagine shit just...being like that. It wasn't too bad for me, but I know plenty who had it rough in a not fun way. Pretty fucking weird to just go back to school today, nothing ever happened, none of you certainly tried to fucking kill one another, nope. Seriously, what's with that shit? They really think that won't make this as fucking bad as it is, if they pretend?

Honestly I... I don't know. A less generous guess of mine is that magical society is just that bad at dealing with these things that they think that's the best way to do it-- which wouldn't surprise me because they really are that bad. Sometimes half of what I do to help in night classes is explaining to born mages or other beings that normal people don't do things like that. It's like they're thinking, if we keep them moving we stave off any breakdown, which, yes, it does, but it builds.

[As the two of them both well know. He shakes his head.]

But that's a guess. The best one I have is that they don't have a better idea of what to do and maybe keep an eye on everyone better when they're back in class. But it was bad. I thought I was having some kind of belated breakdown from my hollow days until everyone else went even more nuts.

[He scrubs at his face a little. Then blinks at Maverick.]

Oh! Hey! That reminds me. You said you had healing magic now, right? Can I ask how that works? Cause, obviously I'm fine enough I can carry on as I am and los médicos are extremely busy right not, but you know, if there were a quick fix...

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