[ He feels a strange kind of tightness in his chest, when Lup reassures him that she is trustworthy. He believes her, which is frightening, but also, good. ]

Taako did his best. And I kinda got the hang of it, near the end. Got us out of there anyway. All he had to do was scare the living daylights outta me. But it helped me kind of get a feel for what I ought to be doing. So it wasn't a total waste.

[ Cisco says that last part with a very dry twist of humor in his voice; it's funny, in retrospect. It had been very extremely not funny, at the time. That fear spell was no fucking joke, but it had done what they needed it to do, and all was well that ended well.

He sways a little when she elbows him like that, smiling faintly. It is impossible to stay worried or gloomy, when he's talking with Lup. ]

Yeah. Like I said, I can't really control what I see... but chances are if I'm near somebody, it's gonna be about them. So I've seen the voidfish, and the Hunger attacking, and Magnus and Merle and Taako having adventures, and things like that. That's, um. Kind of how Taako and I first got to be friends. I mean, he's a friendly guy, but you know. He puts up walls.

[ It's odd, speaking about Taako like this. As close as they are, as friends, Cisco doesn't discuss him much with people, precisely because he knows how much Taako likes keeping any sign of vulnerability hidden away. ]

Before you got here... he still didn't know what had happened to you, and all that. I had a vision of his future - of him hearing your voice. So I told him, and he knew you weren't totally gone after all, and that... hit him pretty hard.

[ Taako had made Cisco swear not to tell anyone about that, under pain of death, but Cisco's pretty sure that Lup doesn't apply. ]

It was pretty weird, meeting you and already knowing what your voice sounded like. I probably shoulda mentioned that, sooner. Sorry.