[ There's no time for sorrow right now, because today, you see, is the best day ever.
Like a lot of mornings (or, some mornings, anyway, you're rarely the one actually awake first), you’re shaking the shoulder of someone awake. She’s familiar, looking almost exactly like you - but her hair is shorter, her body more feminine, and also currently asleep.
“Is today the day?”
You grin back at her. You’ve brought the dankest breakfast imaginable - all the proper food groups: waffles AND pancakes, double carbs, eggs scrambled exactly the way they should be, bacon, french toast, a mimosa. You’ve outdone yourself, which is saying something considering you have a very long history of outdoing yourself constantly, every day.
“It’s today.”
The rest of the day is kind of a blur - it’s strangely empty on this planet, there’s no other souls here but the ones you know, but you don’t register that as strange at this point - you’re taking some truly dope naps, you’re pranking another of the crew, you’re blasting apart the DMV with some sickness fireballs — mostly, what you remember, is the laughter, the ease of it.
The next part comes more clearly into focus, because the smell of the special birthday turkey your aunt had taught you how to make sharpens it to a point. You’re sitting across the table from her - your reflection - and she’s smiling in a way that’s unlike her. It’s soft and gentle, instead of all fiery delight.
“You did good, Taako. I… here in a couple days, Barry and I are going to do something, and, I want you to be there for it. We’re— don’t freak out, promise me.”
You think you respond, but you don’t remember what you said. You just grip the (red) robe you’re wearing in your hands, twisting them tightly.
“We’re gonna become liches, Taako. And that sounds— that sounds way scarier than it actually is, but… we’re- we’re going to take our living essence, our… souls… and combine it with our magical essence and… we’re gonna become something… new. Something… something powerful. And… we’ll still be Barry and Lup, I’ll still inhabit my body— unless I’m killed— and then things are going to get a little spooky, and, it should stick. If we do this, the next cycle, we’re still liches. The— the risk is— it’s hard to combine your soul with raw power and keep your mind right. You need something keeping your feet on the ground. An… emotional anchor. And when I go all ghosty, I need to have things to remember to hold on to who I am. Today is… it’s gonna be one of those memories.”
You think you’re panicking now.
“Barry already gave me a day. And… I love him, Taako, with all of my heart, but you… I needed a day from you, because you are my heart. You know that, right?”
And it’s that. That’s the part that that seems the most in focus here. It rings in your head, and you grin and smile and joke-
“Well, lemme just say, bearing all that, I’m really happy I saved one last surprise: …this very large bottle of Grey Goose. I— now don’t— I know— it wasn’t too much, I conjured it, again, but it should still get the job done.”
But under the table, your legs are shaking so badly you’re scared you’re going to give yourself away, and your heart is pounding so loud you think she might be able to actually hear it, and you can't actually breathe, and that you might just die and not in a cool lich way—
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2/2
Date: 2020-10-28 02:14 am (UTC)Like a lot of mornings (or, some mornings, anyway, you're rarely the one actually awake first), you’re shaking the shoulder of someone awake. She’s familiar, looking almost exactly like you - but her hair is shorter, her body more feminine, and also currently asleep.
“Is today the day?”
You grin back at her. You’ve brought the dankest breakfast imaginable - all the proper food groups: waffles AND pancakes, double carbs, eggs scrambled exactly the way they should be, bacon, french toast, a mimosa. You’ve outdone yourself, which is saying something considering you have a very long history of outdoing yourself constantly, every day.
“It’s today.”
The rest of the day is kind of a blur - it’s strangely empty on this planet, there’s no other souls here but the ones you know, but you don’t register that as strange at this point - you’re taking some truly dope naps, you’re pranking another of the crew, you’re blasting apart the DMV with some sickness fireballs — mostly, what you remember, is the laughter, the ease of it.
The next part comes more clearly into focus, because the smell of the special birthday turkey your aunt had taught you how to make sharpens it to a point. You’re sitting across the table from her - your reflection - and she’s smiling in a way that’s unlike her. It’s soft and gentle, instead of all fiery delight.
“You did good, Taako. I… here in a couple days, Barry and I are going to do something, and, I want you to be there for it. We’re— don’t freak out, promise me.”
You think you respond, but you don’t remember what you said. You just grip the (red) robe you’re wearing in your hands, twisting them tightly.
“We’re gonna become liches, Taako. And that sounds— that sounds way scarier than it actually is, but… we’re- we’re going to take our living essence, our… souls… and combine it with our magical essence and… we’re gonna become something… new. Something… something powerful. And… we’ll still be Barry and Lup, I’ll still inhabit my body— unless I’m killed— and then things are going to get a little spooky, and, it should stick. If we do this, the next cycle, we’re still liches. The— the risk is— it’s hard to combine your soul with raw power and keep your mind right. You need something keeping your feet on the ground. An… emotional anchor. And when I go all ghosty, I need to have things to remember to hold on to who I am. Today is… it’s gonna be one of those memories.”
You think you’re panicking now.
“Barry already gave me a day. And… I love him, Taako, with all of my heart, but you… I needed a day from you, because you are my heart. You know that, right?”
And it’s that. That’s the part that that seems the most in focus here. It rings in your head, and you grin and smile and joke-
“Well, lemme just say, bearing all that, I’m really happy I saved one last surprise: …this very large bottle of Grey Goose. I— now don’t— I know— it wasn’t too much, I conjured it, again, but it should still get the job done.”
But under the table, your legs are shaking so badly you’re scared you’re going to give yourself away, and your heart is pounding so loud you think she might be able to actually hear it, and you can't actually breathe, and that you might just die and not in a cool lich way—
And then it’s over.]