riverview | audio ☂ un:liches.get.stitches

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audio ☂ un:liches.get.stitches

[Good morning Riverview. America's favourite wizard is here with an announcement.

America's favourite wizard is also doing his first audio only post, because he looks like shit and he's out of spell slots to cast Disguise Self.]

So, uh, what's up, my dudes? I'm gonna cut to the chase here, cause most of you aren't complete idiots and have probably noticed that some weird shit is happening and that weird shit, while not my fault, is thanks to some fucko in my world messing with magical items, so now we're dealing with the consequences.

[That fucko is Magnus, who he's throwing under the bus on this, although not by name at least.

There's a very audible sigh from Taako's end of things.]

Here's the skinny: an item with control over time has gotten its shit messed up in the portal, and that's why people are suddenly like, babies or whatever, and the folks here don't really, uh, well they don't know how to fix it. They don't know enough about the chalice, and I don't know enough about the portal, so... so we're asking for help. I'd put money on arcane knowledge getting us the furthest, but at this point I'm willing to take input from anyone who knows their science shit, too, as long as you're not gonna try to tell me that magic doesn't exist. I can guaran-fucking-tee that I'm not in the mood.

[Someone hasn't slept in two days because he's been trying to figure this out, worried about both the chalice itself and the potential that a part of the light existing in this universe could lead the Hunger to it.]

The big thing is that it needs to go back, we bring that shit all the way in here and it's gonna break pretty bad for a lot of people and this stupid cup has given me enough grief that I'm super ready to never see it again in my entire life. Anyone who wants to help should get in touch with the dudes running the portal, but if you got questions I can field 'em. Heads up, you'll get better answers if you promise me coffee.

[He's doing his Good Deed of the week, he could at least get some caffeine out of it.]

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I'm not feeling too jazzed about it either.

(Thinking of having to face somebody affected so deeply by her actions is making her hands tremble; she clenches them into fists, and exhales, biting her lip.)

Out. Should I come and meet you somewhere?

[It's so tempting to say something scathing, but he doesn't have it in him. Maybe if he hadn't spent the last few weeks being reminded how much he cared about Lucretia, but he has, and being cruel to her, even when she remembers what she's done, is beyond him.]

Come on back to the apartment, I'm gonna assume you remember where it is.

[Since she doesn't seem too shocked by what's happening; she must have some vague memories of the Quarantine.]

Thankfully. I'll be there in ten.

(When she shuts off the feed she sits for a moment, her face completely in both hands. How is she supposed to deal with this? She probably should have opted to avoid him after all; too late now.

The walk back to the apartment is a very tense one. Lucretia is trying to rehearse what she's going to say in her mind but keeps getting stuck on a plausible explanation for everything. Her behavior, her plan. How do you explain away something like this? If there is some magic combination of words she could say to express both how deeply sorry she is and keep from hurting Taako at the same time, she can't think of it.

She still has her key for the apartment. She lets herself in with extreme trepidation, running a hand anxiously up the back of her head and into her hair. It's white, now. She had examined herself all over in the mirror the day she had changed and determined she actually looked pretty cool, all things considered.)

Taako?

[In retrospect, the amount of coffee he's consumed was a terrible idea, although at least it gives him something to blame for the jitters, as if he isn't well aware they're really because he has no idea how to handle anything about this situation.

He wants to be angry, he'd wanted to be angry when he first saw her, but it feels like the time for anger has long since passed. The problem is that he doesn't know what emotion that leaves him with.

The network serves a good distraction, it stops him from fussing uselessly about the kitchen, but the device is switched off as soon as he hears the door open. He hadn't been hovering completely at the door, but he's close enough that he's there just after she calls his name.

Looking at her feels like a slap in the face, but he tries to keep his expression steady.]

When?

[When is it, for her?]

I just sent you out to look for the Chalice.

(It's fitting, isn't it. Lucretia smiles, but it's tight, forced. She can't quite meet his eyes. His attention on her feels like a harsh spotlight.)

Who did you say was messing around with the artifacts back in your time? (Because they're, like, double fired, whomever they are.)

Of fucking course.

[He scrubs a hand over his face, then turns and starts towards the living room, not a dismissal of her, just a "I need to be sitting down for this".

There's no illusion hiding what he lost in Wonderland, but then, she knows what Edward and Lydia were capable of.]

I meant us, when we made the damn things.

[It's hard to say they did the right thing, after they've lost so much.]

Gotcha.

(She hesitates, then follows him through to the living room, standing awkwardly in the doorway. She's actually a fair bit taller than him, now.)

Yes we... sure did the damn thing, huh. (There's a small part of her that is triumphant in knowing that he is, in fact, from a point past the cycles, but it probably isn't a good idea to bring that up just now. She's a little afraid of knowing exactly when he's from.)

[He claims one of the armchairs and the pillow that was on it, hugging it to his chest as tries (and fails) to look as if he's actually relaxed.]

You know why I couldn't tell you, right? If we remember anything from this place...

[Changing things could have dire consequences.]

Of course.

(She comes into the room slowly, sinking onto the couch, back straight.) I only... wish I could do something. (She gestures uselessly, staring at a fixed point across the room, away from Taako. She might not regret what's happened, per say, but there are... certainly things she would change, if she could.)

About any of it.

[Whether she means it or not, the whole thing feels hollow to him, because it's not... it doesn't undo what was done.]

You took Lup.

[She knows it, but he needs to say it, let the weight of it sink in. Anything else, he could've forgiven, but Lup... Lup was everything.]

I did.

(It's hard to look back at their century long journey and then towards the future and realise that the way that everything had ended up slotting together had been all according to plan. She had very much intended for this to happen. Perhaps she should feel horrified with herself, instead of numb.)

[A long time ago, Lup promised him that nothing could change how important they were to each other, but neither of them expected Lucretia to do what she did.]

You could at least fucking apologize.

(She looks at him then, finally. Her expression is caught somewhere between disbelief and upset, brow furrowed.)

Would it help? (She is so deeply, intensely sorry for what has happened to Barry and Lup. Surely he knows that.)

I'm sorry, Taako.

[He wants to yell at her, he wants to get worked up into a good rant to pour all this anxious, negative energy into something other than himself.

But she says I'm sorry and it feels like a weight bearing down on his chest.]

I really didn't wanna fucking do this. I could deal with it, when you hadn't actually done all the things I'm angry about, and it's not gonna even last because of the stupid chalice, but this is- this is shit.

[It's dragged up everything he was doing his best to keep buried.]

(She nods, and sinks back into the couch with a sigh. He looks so distressed, and it's breaking her heart to know that she caused this. That at some point in her future, she will do this to him.)

I'm sorry, (she repeats, staring down at her hands, the rings on her fingers. The raised veins on the backs of her hands that make a strange roadmap down to her wrists. She's not sure of what else to say. She wants to tell him something stupid, like I wish I hadn't, or maybe we could change it, but they both know such sentiment wouldn't amount to anything, or even necessarily be true.

Above all she wishes somebody else were here to be with him. Somebody else from his time, so he wouldn't be alone with all of this.)

Is... is there anything I can do?

[The second apology feels a little more real, but it doesn't fix anything. Nothing can fix what's been done.]

We gotta fix the portal, then we can just never deal with this entire mess.

[Avoiding the problem is the best way to deal with it, obviously.]

You have to deal with it, though.

(She sighs, and puts her face in her hands for a moment, pressing her cold fingers against the backs of her eyelids as she thinks.)

I'm happy to help fix the portal. God, I wish I had my staff.

[He almost has to bite his tongue to stop himself saying something about that stupid staff.

It's not quite the power of love, like he joked, but it was in front of them the whole time.]

Half the library is in my room, all the books I could grab on the portal, I'll go get 'em.

[As far as he's concerned, there's nothing more they can say about what Lucretia has done, not if he wants to keep calm, so they better get to work.

But first he needs like, thirty seconds to himself, and going to get the books from his room is a good excuse.]

(She hardly needs to nod before he's on his feet and disappearing into another room. Well then. This is going pretty much as expected. She knuckles her eyes wearily, then gets up off the couch, linking her hands behind her back as she waits.

Hopefully they can get the chalice back through the portal smoothly, and– and forget that this happened? In her case, at least. It seems so unfair. If only she could sit down and write herself a note for when time reverses back, just as a warning, just so she won't be going into the future so blindly. So Taako won't have to carry the weight of her betrayal around alone.

She's lost in thought when he returns, staring at a fixed point in the distance, her brow furrowed.)

[It takes longer than it should for Taako to get the books, because he needs to sit down on his bed for a few long seconds and just breathe, until he can lock down the anger and frustration and grief. They need to focus on fixing this, and there's really nothing he can do to change what Lucretia did. Getting upset about it, being angry about it, that doesn't help either of them. Logically, he knows that this must be difficult for her, too, but it's hard to have much sympathy when she made her choices.

Once he feels a little better, he gathers up the books, along with a few of his own scribblings, and brings them back into the living room, dumping them all on the coffee table.]

So, the portal isn't exactly magic, more like some kinda natural phenomenon. Used to be alive, but now it's just doing its own thing I guess. We can't just throw some spells at this shit to fix it.

[He wishes it was that simple.]

(Lucretia comes over to look at the little pile of information, slowly scanning all of his own information. She'd always been meaning to take a better look into the portal and how it worked, but she had been so distracted by her new surroundings and the people to talk to.)

Used to be alive? In what context, exactly?

(She plucks a book off the table and flicks through it with her thumb, speed reading a couple pages. Can't just throw some spells at it to fix it, huh. Well, that rules out a lot of what she's bringing to the table.)

I'd tell you if I could, that was all I got from casting legend lore.

[It's nice to just say the spell and know that Lucretia will get it, without having to spend half an hour explaining to someone that no he doesn't know where the information comes from, or that he can't expand on it more.

It isn't enough to make him forget his unease, but... it's better than nothing.]

Okay.

(It's too bad this has happened before she could make a proper inquiry into the portal. Lucretia eventually shuts the book, staring down at the cover, thinking.)

Maybe I could use a shield to nudge it back through.

I gave that a shot, but you're better at shields than I am.

[Especially since Lucretia managed to both learn and improve a cleric spell, despite being a wizard.]

I am.

(She's not being entirely facetious; she's actually secretly quite proud of how powerful she's become. It's nice to know her foray into abjuration spells isn't going to be time wasted.)

That might be the best way to get it back through without damaging it. (God forbid somebody tries to destroy it.)

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