necromanswers | Lup | IC Contact Page

[Honerva pauses for a moment, though makes a soft sound of her amusement in her acknowledgement of the banter in progress. It was about the reaction she had anticipated, anyway, a chance to lighten the mood before she inevitably veered them in another serious direction.

'You have a point.' She replies, in Elvish. See, she's practicing! She listens! Or maybe she just doesn't know the succinct phrase of "touché".]

[Lup grins, shaking her head.]

Well, well, look at you! Still a little formal, and your accent needs work, but you nailed it. Solid B-plus.

It is better than satisfactory, though there is far more nuance to grasp.

[Let alone having enough concentration to allow for the language to be heard at all, the outside factor to all of this. Still... there is warmth in that praise and she accepts it, with a slight dip of her head. To know that the effort alone is still worth something has certainly been part of the 180 degree mindset. And hey, not bad for only a few months worth of practice in between everything else they were working on. There was still far to go.

She closes her eyes again, taking in the soothing properties of the ritual and sensing, there, the progress of the familiar.]

Aside from that, however... I have also wondered, if there is a day that the two of you consider your own. To be... celebrated.

[Even knowing what she does of their history, surely they'd have more context for such a thing than she would, is what she thinks.]

[She snorts at that.]

Implying that every day isn't a valid day for celebrating us?

[Probably not the answer she was looking for, but it's about the level of seriousness she seems to give to that particular subject. Honerva's welcome to push for it if she likes, though.]

[Huh. It had been a while since she had brushed against Lup's walls like that, and to the amusement she only falls silent for a few moments. Perhaps it was warranted; it wasn't fair to ask such a question of someone as changeable as Lup, who had gone through so much.]

I thought it might be... nice, to build a new tradition. If that is something you would want.

Hmmm.

[Lup considers it a moment. Honerva is making an effort, here, and she can acknowledge that much. And who knows, maybe it could be fun. It's been a long, long time, after all.]

I don't know how well the calendar would translate here, but we picked our own when we were 12. [That age, if Honerva remembers, is significant for the both of them, but Lup especially.] Midsummer, the day before the festival- so we'd always have a party, even if no one was around to celebrate us.

[And there was really only ever one person who did. She died a long, long time ago, leaving behind only a handful of good memories and a flawless turkey recipe.]

[The memories of others stand out far more in her mind than her own. Her time spent with Lup's had particularly had left impressions, all overwhelming in the layers of sensation and experience. The remnants of her own life were not nearly as rich, not when they were hardly her own memories. Her husband's impressions of her. That's what it had been.

So now she listens, nodding at the familiarity of the age, the unspoken significance there.]

... I admit that my grasp of any calendar system is not sufficient.

[None of the ones she was accustomed to would be relevant here. She was less certain about... how to create a new birthday tradition, but she wanted it to mean something, going forward.]

But I should like to learn yours. Perhaps we may find a way to determine what would align with what exists here.

Ah, shit. For real? It's been like over a hundred years since I paid much attention to that calendar.

[She'd gotten snippets here and there, while in the umbrella, but it was mostly just to track how much of the year had passed. It's not as if people were always saying what day or month it was when she was conveniently in earshot, and when she'd been lost in Wave Echo cave, alone in the dark, there'd been no way to know any of that. Time had lost all meaning. When she woke in the fleet the old calendar no longer mattered, so this is the first time she'd given it any thought since.]

I can try to remember, but... you might be better off asking Taako for that one. He actually lived in that world.

... I see. Perhaps that is a conversation we can all have together.

[It did concern the both of them, after all, and the whole point was to... make some meaning of time, to build that future, even if it was considerably harder for her and Lup to conceptualize in some ways. And probably not the best for Taako either, losing half of his heart like that and getting smushed back together.]

Might be a good plan. Honestly, anything involving home ought to involve Taako. He's seen way more of the world than I have, knows tidbits about the culture and regions that I didn't get to experience. You can learn different things from him than you can from me.

[And it's not like she's trying to artificially force them together - they can develop their own relationship, on their own terms. But to her, Honerva is family now. Just like Taako will always be. And her family getting along, trusting one another, is always precious to her.]

That is fair. I hope... that he will be willing to indulge in such things with us. Any time a conversation becomes too... in depth for his liking, he's all but racing out of the room.

[Hard for her not to have some wariness at potentially spooking him instead, as much as things had improved considerably between them.]

You can't push Taako, most days. Getting close to him is a trail of breadcrumbs, that's just how it is. It's lucky you've got a long life ahead of you! That'll give you a leg up over most people.

[She gives Honerva's hand a meaningful squeeze, her tone shifting subtly- quieter.]

Try to be patient with him, okay? It's worth it, I promise.

[Honerva falls quiet for a moment, letting the reassurance sink in. Couldn't deny that it was needed, and Lup always just seemed to know, when it was, reading her as if on instinct. For Lup she could be better, because no one else held her whole heart just like this.

She couldn't afford to not be patient, when they had both been so patient with her.]

Perhaps it is because I am eager.

[A smile in the words. Not merely an attempt, but an aspiration, to wait, to endure and not feel as though she was failing in some way.]

I know that in this way he and I are similar. He has his own... choices, to make. But you are with us.

Yeah, I know. But hey, you know what they say! You can't hurry love.

[Her tone shifts back to whimsical, but her words are no less genuine; Taako may not say it, he may not even show it, but he does love, just as strongly and purely as anyone can. His way of showing it is as unique as the rest of him, that's all.]

And I'm not going anywhere.

[Can't hurry love. What a phrase, for the starved of it to live by. She doesn't really know what or who they are that Lup references so often that supposedly say such things. But it is Lup who says it and for it she is still wise, and that is enough for now.

By the end of Lup's words, she's the one who follows that up with the return squeeze of her hand.]

No, you are not. And neither am I.

[The rest of the hour passes by quickly enough, filled with small talk, long stretches of silence, Lup quietly filling the brazier with more incense at timed intervals until the pile is fully depleted. As the last stick burns and fizzles out, and the spell reaches its conclusion, the arcane energy swirls around in the center.

Releasing Honerva's hand, she reaches out and lifts the brazier out of the way, letting the last of the smoke coalesce with that same energy. In a matter of seconds, that smoke forms into a silhouette... and then solidifies, finally, into the shape of a cat.

Ditto yawns, stretches, and rolls over the glyphs on the floor, displaying his belly and pawing the air, making Lup huff a laugh.]

You asshole. You make us wait all this time and the first chance you get, you're covered in chalk.

[She can't even fake sounding annoyed about it. It's just... really, really good to see him again.]

[ It's not so long of a time, as much as it might seem so while in the moment. Certainly a baby lesson on patience, of sensing him there, waiting for the moment of arrival. When Lup laughs, she does as well, mostly drinking in the sight of a reunion. ]

Well, there was likely not much chance of doing that where he's been, was there?

[ She doesn't know. But odd spirit that he is, perhaps he is happy too, in his own way to be drawn forth and to become... companionable. ]

Probably not. Must be hard to come by on the fae side.

[Already sensing her need, Ditto straightens up and pads over to her, rubbing up against her crossed legs, then climbing into her lap, raising his paws to rest on her chest as he leans in to rub his head on her chin. It doesn't take her long at all to give in to his obvious request and start scratching at his head and across his back, pressing her face into his fur. Her voice is hushed, very carefully restrained.]

Hey buddy, hey... I know. I know. Been too long again.

[ Now this was a sweet reunion. It's almost enough for her to sit by quietly and observe them, and drink in the way the bond and affection flows both ways. Clearly, that was also lacking in that other realm where spirits frolicked.

Perhaps there was something healing about watching something... set right. She wants to send for Kova, but they need this moment, she thinks. ]

Lup | IC Contact Page | Hugtopia

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