hadriel | [VIDEO] 🔥 ONE [Backdated to 7/30]

[Ellie, on the other hand, has basically the opposite problem.

She's so emotionally drained; just tired in every conceivable way. Despite her usual caution when it comes to the caves, Ellie can't help but find the offer tempting. Maybe lighting some evil fuckers up will make her feel something other than a dull ache.]

If there's gonna be a gang, I'm signing up. Fuck it, if it's just gonna be you and me, I'm still signing up.

[Humans are so weird. Lup squints a little at the screen of her phone, staring down Ellie with a look that can only be perceived as judgmental. Though she has quite a few adult human friends now, Lup doesn't completely understand the whole human growth rate or why they consider themselves fully grown when their bodies haven't even finished developing yet. Elves don't reach adulthood until they're about a hundred, believing that maturity only come once they've had enough worldly experience to be considered mature.

Granted, Taako and Lup didn't have the standard elven childhood experience, but that doesn't make it any less weird to think this five year old is talking like an adult to her. Weird.

She grins either way, head tipping curiously to the side.] I've heard it's a little dicey down there, you sure you're up for it? I don't want to lead a kid down there with no way to defend herself. Besides, y'know, me.

[Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my god. Ellie grits her teeth so hard that it hurts a little. Well, she wanted to feel something, and here is a veritable bouquet of aggravation and annoyance just!!! Blossoming!!!!

Also this elf lady person is hot. But that's definitely not important right now.]

What the fuck, I'm not a kid? I can handle myself, or I wouldn't respond to this in the first place. And I'm not an idiot. I know how to make molotovs. That's what you're doing, right? I can do that. I just wanna set some shit on fire, okay!

[Others may have looked down on Ellie for her outburst and used that burning teen anger to completely write her off, but Lup just goes quiet, giving the girl whatever space she needs to explode. And boy, explode she does! And the elf can't help it! The longer Ellie rants, the wider her smile gets.

A quick call and Lup can already see a bit of her younger, more angry self in the girl.]

Alright, alright! That's a feeling I can def relate to, so whatevs. You're in. Team Girls Lighting Shit on Fire can commence.

[To be belittled or condescended is definitely what she expects (and yet, even knowing this, she can never control her outbursts), but Lup surprises her. In a good way. The best way.]

Wait, really? [She just comes alive with enthusiasm.] Fuck yeah!! When are we doing this? Now? Oh shit, uh, I'm Ellie!

[That's The Lup Way™! (Disclaimer: do not operate heavy machinery while under the effects of The Lup Way™)]

Yeah, really! Get your shit together and meet me in front of the cave entrance. You have twenty minutes before I start without you. Bee-tee-dubs, I'm Lup.

Right, yeah, okay, whatever, I've got it together! I'm coming!

[Her backpack, always ready to go, gets slung over her shoulder, and she leans back in frame to shout happily and nonsensically:] Lup!!! [And then she's gone.]

Goin' on a monster burning spree, huh? Yeah, I guess they can't all be worlds with water slides. Gotta make your own fun somehow.

[ Gotta burn off your unholy rage somehow. Holy crap, who let a bee into her bonnet. ]

I'm gonna sit this one out, though. What fun's a monster hunt if you don't have any cool spells to blast 'em with?

[Lup's fury stutters briefly in the face of Merle. How much does he know? He remembers her, clearly, but does he know the full extent of what Lucretia did?

Okay, so maybe the smart thing to do would be to ask Merle for more info, to fill in some of the gaps that Taako may have purposely left out, but that would have to come later. She's a little too invested in burning off this fury of hers. So Lup huffs, irritated, though it's not directed at the dwarf.]

I could really use a water slide or a hamster habitrail world right about now. [It was surprisingly difficult to be mad when scurrying around through those long plastic tubes. Was that why hamsters always seemed so content?] But the caves'll work fine for now.

And hey, no sweat. I got this on my own. [And she's more than a little eager to just get right into it, but Lup just has to know.] How long has it been? Since, uh, since you lost your powers? [Connection to Pan, powers, it was all the same.]

[ Both very good complicated questions. Internally and externally. Merle keeps his tone jovial enough. The whole thing is a complicated issue to work around, in that it's not very workable. He's doing all the work he can to not think deeply on it or at least to not feel very deeply about it, which has served him well. ]

Ohhh, you know, since about five minutes before I got here the first time. Tried to put in a call, found out he's out of office. Disconnected. Or maybe earlier that day? But Wonderland was a shitshow, it's hard to figure what was Pan and what was lich stuff in there.

[ Thats how powers and gods work right, it's a dice roll. ]

But you-- I'll tell ya, I bet being on the other side of that dang door isn't helping any anyway. Even if they actually brought Pan over, home's kinda screwed.

That sucks. [To put it bluntly. Lup's not much for comfort, but the thought of her own powers just going poof one day is a pretty sobering thought. Granted, she clearly made the right choice in class, since no shitty god can just disappear and take her magic with it, but she still feels for her friend. Losing that connection to something he's had for over a literal century can't be as easy as he tries to play it off as.

But then again, if there's ever been someone who just tries to go with the flow, it's Merle.]

Though about switching up your deity? I mean, the gods here suck in a major way, but maybe you'd at least get a little something-something going.

[ Lup and Taako have the good brand of comfort. The Merle brand. The "that's rough, buddy" brand. Merle likes it better; it's familiar and easy to handle. ]

I mean, as much as I think about anything.

[ So like, almost never. These gods or wacky liches or whatever haven't made a good track record for the ol' Tres Horny Boys lately. Then again, John and his crummy philosophy did the entire crew worse than that, and he was still pretty good company. ]

Would be nice to throw another Zone of Truth out there, though. I'll figure out who's in charge of what. Ask about the paperwork. And if there is paperwork, you and Taako can burn it.

[The reminder of Merle's favorite spell is just enough to drag a grin onto Lup's face again, her eyes rolling up though there's a genuine affection there beneath her teasing.] Oh yeah, cause you never know when we'll need to forcefully drag the truth out of someone here. [except...] Hm, think a good ol' Zone of Truth would work on the gods? Cause we could just ask them how to leave. Or how to kill them...

[oh shit, maybe Zone of Truth will save them all, after all.]

Taako and I have the fire, you just bring the kindling. We'll have a giant bonfire and roast marshmallows and keep the rest of the neighborhood up all night. It'll be a real blast.

If anyone's got a zone truthful enough, it's your buddy Merle. I'm not outta practice yet!

[ local man asks god for magic over the phone, does whatever he's supposed to do to get it, immediately attempts to parley with them. more at 11. ]

I don't doubt it. [Merle could take a few years off and still have cast more Zone of Truths than anyone else through all of existence. If Guinness is a thing, he'd get his picture in there right along with the man who had like forteen surgeries to look like a tiger.]

So, before I hop off to go light shit up, anything special you want from the caves? Mags got his shark dick, so I guess it's only fair to ask.

Hmmmm...

[ He's not not gonna think about it, come on. ]

Think they've got any of those Highlights magazines piled up out there?

If not, will some Zoobooks work?

[ Zoobooks. Gross. That's the basic equivalent of another monster out there in the caves, right? ]

Beggars can't be choosers. I'll take whatever they got.

[Well, she'll either bring him back a cool animal magazine for cool people who dig animals or the burned through leg of a weird monster. Same thing to him, apparently..]

Righto. I'll keep an eye out. Catch ya on the flip side.

Hey, don't go too far in!! That's how you get lost for like weeks.

[Excuse the mother henning, but this is exactly how it happened to him. And if he lets Lup disappear into arguably the most dangerous part of Hadriel for longer than she wants to, he is going to have to explain it to Taako.]

Actually, hang on, I'm not letting this happen without me supervising it, if you get lost I'm gonna feel like the worst.

[Yep. Back to the caves it is, then. Here comes the party tank, Lup, hope you're ready.]

[And absolutely no one wants that job. Lup disappearing a second time would be a nightmare scenario that Taako may not bounce back from.

Lup huffs, irritation spiking. She loves Magnus dearly and doesn't mind him tagging along as their tank and general ruffboi, but she hates to think that he's doing it to supervise her. She is a grown woman and a bomb-ass evocation specialist. Whatever they find in there, Lup's confident she can handle it. Though that overconfidence has certainly gotten her killed more than once in the past.] I'm not going to get lost, thanks.

If you don't want to join in the fun, don't. Ellie and I can handle ourselves just fine. [Yes. The tiny human child with no super-worldly powers will be totally safe.]

Edited 2017-08-13 21:00 (UTC)

[Magnus makes static noises with his mouth as he is visibly hurrying over to her location as they speak.]

Krrshshhh, sorry, what's that? I can't hear you over -- kzzzrrttchh -- all this cave interference! Kchcshh! I'm in a tunnel!

[He keeps it up the whole way there and shows up in no time. He can do cardio, okay. He can run. He hangs up as he nears her.]

I couldn't hear you over the phone messing up, but I could have sworn you said something about Angel Knives doing this with you? She's pretty dangerous with a knife, but I can't see her holding her own against a horde of yetis or what the fuck ever. Even if she's got magic fireballs behind her. ...Especially if she's got magic fireballs behind her.

[Lucky for him, Lup rolls a stunning 3 at seeing through his bullshit, so maybe cave interference in Hadriel actually is a thing. Which, you know, would be really annoying considering the whole damn place is a cave.

Still, Lup is there waiting, typing furiously at her phone when Magnus finally appears, her attention shifting upwards to him only when her spamming texts are finished. Ellie's still nowhere in sight, but her legs aren't nearly as long as Magnus'. It must take her a lot longer to get around.]

You mean Ellie, right? [Shit, Angel Knives might be the best nickname she's ever heard. What the fuck.] Hey, the girl wants to come and I'm not going to stop her! She's got some aggression to get out and I can absolutely handle anything she can't. [For a woman who holds grudges as long as she can, Lup's anger burns out fairly quickly, her irritation with Magnus already replaced with the excitement of getting to kick some monster butt in the caves. So Lup saddles up to the man's side and nudges him playfully in the side.] And, I mean, nothing's going to get through you, right, The Hammer? Between the two of us, she's in the best possible hands!

[Right. Nothing's gonna get through him. As much as he wants to try to hide it, Magnus wears his emotions on his sleeve, and the fake smile he attempts mostly just looks pained.

Yeah, sure, he takes the big hits, but... that doesn't mean Taako and Merle haven't taken them, too, while he's been fighting alongside them. Especially after Wonderland. He can't be everywhere.

Magnus draws the axe at his side and spins it in his hands.]

Yeah, sure, I know both of you well enough by now that I know I'm not gonna talk either of you out of it. Just do me a favor and don't do any spells that make it impossible for us to reach the monsters without falling into a pit of tentacles or whatever, Taako and Merle are the fucking worst about that.

[He's the fighter. He fights. That's just how it's gonna be.]

What's got you so eager to kill stuff, anyway?

[Lup has always loved working magic. She loves how fucking awesome it looks while she's using it and loves how it can sometimes take just a single spell to fully fuck up their opponent's whole day.

But Magnus spinning his axe so casually is pretty much the personification of cool. Twirling a wand just doesn't have the same effect. Lup needs an upgrade.]

Just avoid the flames and you'll be fine. My magic's more direct than Taako's. [Point and click, baby. Not much room for bullshit.

Magnus' question isn't exactly a surprise, but Lup's reaction to it is. She automatically opens her mouth to tell him it's nothing, or to throw off the conversation with a joke, but instead the woman pauses. He may not remember her, but Magnus has been as accepting of her as if he did have all of the memories of their century together. She hasn't exactly thanked him for it, that's not much her style, but Lup appreciates his warmth and acceptance into their circle more than anything.]

Taako kind of laid down all the deets from your guys' future on me. [She idly kicks at the ground with the toe of her boot.] So, y'know, been feeling a bit pissed off about the whole thing. What he was--[she pauses, before revising.] What all of you went through. It's bullshit.

[The grass is always greener, huh?]

I just hope your aim with fireballs is better than Taako's.

[Granted, the man had more than a few shots before deciding to decimate the tree Magnus was drunkenly attacking, so maybe things would've gone better otherwise. Hard to really say.

But then Magnus sees Lup open her mouth, probably to deflect like he expects, but she hesitates and he stops to give her his full attention. He figured it'd just be a matter of, you know, the usual stuff he's pissed off about, here. Mostly to do with the gods. He doesn't know what went on while he was off lost in the caves or whatever, but he figured it was probably that.

But then she explains, and Magnus is intensely reminded that she's from his past, somehow. Those erased years, the ones that were just static as the Temporal Chalice reviewed his memory. The things he was starting to vividly remember before he regained a proper body.

He doesn't really know what details Taako shared. His first thought is that she must be talking about Wonderland, but... Magnus already mentioned all that, and she was concerned, yeah, but that probably would've lessened the blow if Taako went into specifics for her.

This is stuff Taako should've told him, as soon as he and Merle came back. But Taako's never been the most open guy around, and Magnus can hardly fault him for that. He never mentioned Julia before her appearance in Hadriel. They've all got baggage.

It's just that he has no context for what Lup was missing. Is it from his future, too? Or is it from that period of his past that's completely missing? After a period of silence, while Magnus tries to process what Lup is saying, he finally decides... he needs to know. And if Taako or Merle aren't gonna tell him, and if Lup is feeling particularly honest...]

What did we go through?

You'll find out soon enough, won't you? [But the confidence in her curling grin should hopefully provide at least a little reassurance that she's not going to set him on fire. Not accidentally, in any case.

The tone between them shifts while they wait for Ellie, Lup's hands dropping to rest at her hips when his question comes. Maybe it's Lup's fault that she just assumes that Merle and Taako have updated their friend on everything. They've all gotten so much closer in the time gap between her and them, so she doesn't even consider that both of the other men are too damn stubborn and emotionally stunted to have not filled their closest friend in on their shared future. She has no way to know that, as strange as it is to consider, she actually knows more of the whole picture than Magnus does.

So Lup assumes she doesn't need to go into the specifics on why she's so pissed. Magnus has to know it's about her memory being ripped from Taako and the effect it's had on him for the last decade being without her. She shrugs her shoulders and gives him a soft look, the corners of her mouth tipped downwards.]

Just everything. Luce erasing your memory, splitting you guys all up, bringing you back together to do the whole relic retrieval thing. Her pretending to not know you and just, I dunno, playing the role of boss. It's all sorts of fucked up.

[Magnus hears her words, or at least he's pretty sure he does. He understands most of them.

Luce ... bringing you ... together to do the whole relic retrieval thing. Her ... just, I dunno, playing the role of boss.

The rest he felt he heard, but once they processed in his brain, they became indistinguishable from radio static. He doesn't know what to do with the information he was able to glean from what she said, and he just stares at Lup, looking purely lost.

This is something Taako would be able to understand, isn't it? Or he couldn't have told her about it. Taako and... maybe Merle, too. Lup. All three of them know something important, something upsetting to Lup if not all of them, and Magnus can't even comprehend what it is.

Magnus feels alone in a way he hasn't felt since Taako and Merle disappeared.

He attempts to salvage what he could understand, tries to make sense of at least that part of it.]

...You know the Director too?

[It's new information, yeah. But he suspects there's something deeper to her just knowing the Director.

And he suspects it has something to do with the red robe she was wearing, when she arrived, emblazoned with an emblem that had a garbled word of some kind on it. The same red robe Barry was wearing.]

[Even if Lup was aware of the static and garbled words that entered Magnus' mind, she wouldn't be able to do much else to further explain herself. Even a universe away, the voidfish's powers seem to continue their hold on him. It would be so much more fascinating if it wasn't so damn frustrating.

The look Lup gives him should be enough to clue Magnus in as confusion settles between her furrowed brows, the woman's head tipping to the side at his question. All through her conversations with Taako so far, her brother hasn't referred to Lucretia by anything but her name. The same goes for Merle. The Director hasn't played any role in the retelling of the future that Lup's been hearing so much of, but it might help fill in some blanks that she hasn't been able to fill in alone.]

Who? [Considering what she'd just said, the leap is easy to make.] Do you mean Lucretia? [It's so distant sounding. So hard and detached. Would that be the persona Lucretia had to play as their boss in this fucked up mission of hers? Pretending to meet them for the first time, looking her brother in the face while knowing she'd taken the memory of his twin from him? Lup doesn't mean for her question to come out so sharp, but there's more than a little hint of heat behind her tone now.] Is that what she told you guys to call her?

[Who was Lucretia before she was the Director?

Magnus doesn't know. She's always been the Director. Always been their boss. At least, as far as he's aware.]

Yeah. She's the Director of the Bureau. Our boss.

[Lup seems offended by the notion, but Magnus can't understand why. There's something about Lucretia's role in this that is bothering her, that bothered Taako after he came back. Like Taako found out something, whatever Barry was trying to reveal to them, and he didn't... couldn't tell Magnus.

Like Lup can't tell him now.

He shakes his head.]

No, it's... It doesn't matter. Obviously I can't figure out what's going on here.

[He sighs and glances back toward the tunnels.]

You wanna let off some steam?

Waaaaait!! Wait for me!

[It's as Magnus begins to turn to the caves that Ellie comes tearing into view, kicking up dirt and grinning widely. She skids to a halt in front of them, panting heavily.]

I fucking made it!

[It's still so weird to hear that Lucretia had been posing as their boss, trying to employ her own family to come work for her shitty organization while they couldn't remember a damn thing about her or one another from their one hundred year journey. The thought just burns through her, so when Magnus asks if she wants to let out some steam, Lup is already turning to barrel into the caves and blast the first thing she sees.

But Ellie's voice carries as she races towards them, small but surprisingly quick, and Lup turns back to greet her, forcing a smile that's a little too toothy to be sincere. She should probably be grateful that Ellie's turned up now instead of ten minutes earlier, but the elf is just ready to fill her senses with someone she understands instead of all of this emotional crap.]

Sup, kid. Ready to get to work?

Edited 2017-09-10 18:33 (UTC)

[Ellie comes barreling in, and Magnus, though he still has his misgivings, is glad to see her. Hopefully he can make sure nothing happens to her and she doesn't get in over her head.

Either way, her arrival breaks up the tension, which is more than welcome right now.]

Hey, Angel! We almost started without you!!

[He grins at her, holding up his axe.]

[She's too pumped to really take note of the heavy atmosphere. Ellie grins and nods at Lup, then sticks her tongue out at Magnus.]

Better not have! You guys would be fucked without me.

[Teasing, of course. Magnus she knows can hold his own, and Lup- well, she gives off that impression, too.]

Oh, shit, one thing- [Ellie tugs some bag off, and unzips it to show off a bunch of alcohol soaked rags in glass bottles.] What are you guys making fire with? I don't have a lighter.

[Oh. Oh. She's so fucking cute.

Lup doesn't necessarily mean to come off as a smug asshole when she's only just met this girl within the last hour, but there's just no way her grin was anything but self-satisfied, curling and wide. Without answering, she holds up a hand and casts produce flame, summoning a flickering flame to her palm.]

Need a light, hun?

[Magnus sees Lup showing off and folds his arms, pouting.]

Yeah, I guess she never told you, Lup's part explosion. She was born when a high elf got down with a salamander, conceived instantly in a night of passion so hot it formed a volcano right then and there.

[He looks very jealous when he says it, despite the fact that it's 100% made up off the top of his head.]

[As Magnus speaks, Ellie is just zoned out and gaping, eyes wide and focused on the flame flickering in Lup's palm. When she arrived here, a sight like this would have made her yelp, freak out, turn accusatory and scared.

But since then, she's seen a lot. A boy with fluffy, stupid blonde hair and guns he could summon with his bare hands. A woman who walked out of the belly of a beast, burning and easy like it was just another day. An offering of magic food left behind by a talking skeleton.

So once she's done being stunned, she grins, and belatedly laughs at Magnus.]

God, that's so cool. It doesn't burn your hand?

[Despite being like a fifth of his size, Lup elbows Magnus in the side and grins up at him at his pout.] Mags, I feel like you're trying to rib on me but that description is so fucking sick, I don't even care.

[Hello, my name is Lup and I'm part explosion. Yeah, thanks, she's keeping this.

On the other side of things, Ellie is gaping up at her like she's a god. Lup could get used to this kind of attention. She flicks her long hair over her shoulder, look at that poise.] Not in the slightest, sis. [And because she is just burning up under this attention, Lup winks down at Ellie.] I'm part explosion, can't burn what's already burning.

[Suddenly, Lup is very grateful that Magnus didn't have memories of their years together, cause he'd have a lot of embarrassing stories that revealed otherwise. How many times had she singed off her own hair accidentally in the past?]

[VIDEO] 🔥 ONE [Backdated to 7/30]

video; im not here im asleep

shhhh go to sleep

continues my streak of tagging u past midnight

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shall i jump into the action thread down bottom w magnus??

video;

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here i am a year late

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