(closed) september (wtf how) catch-all

[spellslots]

who: taako + others
what: catch-all log for september shenanigans
when: what it says on the tin
where: everywhere~
warnings: none rn

Comments

🐰🐰🐰

[spellslots]

[In the end, Taako only ends up napping for about half an hour of the two hours he gave Hana, between explaining everything to Lup and the Cisco showing up and things like showering and trying to remember how to be a functional person again. In the interest of keeping up appearances, he's changed from the lazy clothes he threw on post shower into a pair of cute yoga pants (does he even do yoga? probably not) and a brightly coloured shirt, as well as putting his disguise self spell back on.

There's also a bottle of red wine on the coffee table, along with two glasses, his own has already been topped up at least once.

It doesn't take him more than a few seconds to open the door when Hana knocks, and he greets her with an easy smile that's only a little forced. Even with his glamour on, he looks a little tired.]

Hey, bubbale, come on in.

[He's half-braced for a hug, in case one comes, but he won't protest it if it happens.]

[bunnyhopped]

[ Hana, for her own part, has shown up in sneakers, floppy socks, leggings, and a light sweatshirt loose enough to have one of the sleeves stylishly off her shoulder. You know, super casual, super comfy.

Watch out, though, because she is absolutely coming in for a hug as she steps in through the doorway. She has the vague notion that he is injured, so she tries not to go in too tight with it, but it's definitely a hug. Just a brief one before she pulls away and holds up the bag with their ice cream (three tubs, including one for Lup!) inside of it. ]

Are you ready for the best ice cream in the Quarantine?

[spellslots]

[Hug it is! He even mostly returns it, maybe just a little loose, enough that can be explained away by the fact he might still be a little sore from all that mess.

Once she lets go, he loosely winds an arm around her shoulders so he can lead her inside.]

Ready as I'll ever be. One day all the shit I eat is gonna catch up with me.

[It already has, honestly, but not to the point that he cares enough to alter his lifestyle.]

[bunnyhopped]

[ That's a decent hug. Hana would give it, like, a seven? Though that's already impressive given Hana's caution and Taako's soreness.

She follows easily, at least, although she does manage to shrug a shoulder beneath Taako's loose grip. ]

Well, you have to live the way you want to while you still can. So, ice cream!

[spellslots]

Before the slow march of time catches up with us all?

[what.

He leads Hana into the living room, giving her a little squeeze around the shoulders before he lets go to flop on the couch, casual as anything.]

Lup's, uh, doing a thing. [Talking to Lucretia. Taako knows, but he isn't happy about it.] You want some wine?

[bunnyhopped]

[ well, look, time may not be as slow of a march for Hana; sometimes she can be acutely aware of just how short her life may end up being, in spite of herself, but that's not something she needs to dwell on at this moment. At this moment, it's time to have ice cream and, apparently, wine with Taako.

She flops down on the couch just shortly after him, pulling the containers of ice cream out of the bag and setting them on the table along with the disposable spoons she'd gotten because eating this shit right out of the tub is apparently going to be the MO for tonight. She frowns a little upon learning that Lup isn't around, because she'd kind of looked forward to getting to hang with the both of them at once, but Things are important, so in the end she merely nods at Taako. ]

Sure, but don't give me as much as you're having. Someone has to stay alive in case you need to get all tucked in later.

[spellslots]

[He opens his mouth to protest that point about staying alive re: alcohol but considering he's maintained a pretty steady state of Slightly Tipsy since he and Lucretia opened their canisters, he probably can't say a whole lot on this particular topic. So he shuts his mouth and uses mage hand to pour two glasses, not going too over the top with either of them.]

So, hey, how've you been? Any weirdness with that whole bed nonsense?

[That's a sentence that makes sense.]

[bunnyhopped]

[ Hana is already beginning the inevitable process of fusing into Taako's couch even as she watches him pour the glasses, and by the time he's even asking his question with— well, those sure were some words— she was already slumping down a little. ]

Kinda? I mean, I woke up and there was a guy in my bed and that was already kind of weird, but ended up fine, and then I thought what were the chances of it happening again? And then, bam, a few nights later, someone else ends up in my bed again.

[ s h r u g ]

What about you?

[spellslots]

I nearly got murdered, which was fun.

[He says it with a lazy sort of grin, as he mage hands a glass over to Hana, as if he isn't really bothered by the whole situation.

Rin probably wouldn't have killed him. Hopefully.]

And, uh, had a couple people climb into bed with me. Kinda weird but, not the weirdest shit I've ever run into it.

[He's still kinda messed about finding Magnus in his bed but that's a problem for Future Taako.]

It was some kinda drugs, I think? Cisco took a blood sample and got a positive on something, but we couldn't work out what.

[bunnyhopped]

[ Her eyes go wide but at the same time— she can easily imagine how someone might almost murder someone in such a circumstance, especially considering that she might have mauled Jason out of her bed if he hadn't stirred first. anyway...

Her eyes narrow as she holds the glass of wine up to her lips and then takes a sniff of it, as though she knows anything about wine. Mostly she wants to know if it smells sweet. ]

I heard it was something with drugs, yeah... Well, I'm glad you're alive, though. I guess it was really just awkward more than anything, for me. I tried telling this one guy he was lucky to have ended up in bed and cuddling with me, but I don't think he got it. [ SIGH. when people just don't appreciate how lucky they are. ]

Anyway, you know Cisco!? I just met him not that long before the fire stuff went down. He's cool!

[spellslots]

[It's a schiava, because of course Taako would have wine that tastes kind of like cotton candy.]

You want me to knock some sense into the asshole? I would've appreciated the cuddling.

[Not in a weird way he's just affectionate with friends, and Hana is hug shaped.]

And yeah, he's like-- Cisco's my dude. [Cisco was in the apartment like an hour ago and spent ten minutes petting Taako's hair until he felt better.] Is he helping with your mech and shit?

[It seems like the kinda thing Cisco would be into.]

[bunnyhopped]

[ Bless you, Taako. Both for the wine and for validating Hana. She laughs easily, tossing her head back a bit. ]

Well, only if I get to punch whoever almost stabbed you in bed!

[ And whoever hurt him more recently, but she hasn't gotten to that yet. But more importantly, Cisco is a mutual friend of theirs and how awesome is that!? So many awesome people in one social circle, Hana herself included. ]

And yeah, he's helping me with his mech, and he helped fix up my suit 'cause I got the leg part ripped during the fire. He's such a nice guy!

[spellslots]

[Taako waves off that offer for punching, because he's not even remotely annoyed at Rin about it; the reaction was totally understandable and they parted on decent terms, so... no punching needed.]

He's pretty fucking great. [He says it casually, but Taako is very fond of Cisco.] We've been working on like, some kinda lightweight body armor for me, cause I can't cast spells and shit in full armor.

[In retrospect, that would've been useful like three hours ago.]

cisco saves the day

[spellslots]

[Ninety percent of the texts that Taako sends to Cisco are either dumb memes or stupid shit he thought of after four glasses of wine, but today's text had been a slightly more interesting: You wanna watch me fuck shit up?

Which was, in a rough translation, an invitation for Cisco to come hang out while Taako practices his spells out beyond the wall, since the damage he can do out there is relatively minimal. It's not like Taako really needs to practice, but he figures it's smart to stay on top of his shit, and it never hurts to let off a little steam now and then. In the interest of not spending an hour travelling to a decent spot, Taako catches a cab to Cisco's lab and greets him with the standard Taako greeting.

AKA two incredibly over the top coffees.]

Have you got shit you wanna bring? Cause, fair warning, we're gonna teleport our way there.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco does his best not to overpack or overprepare. He smiles to himself, remembering when Taako had invited him out past the wall that first time, to show him that warehouse full of old machinery Cisco could salvage. Thinking back... that had been the day they really, properly started to be friends. Not just acquaintances, not just mutual people in Eddie's life, but friends with one another. Cisco had told Taako about his powers, and about that vibe of Lup's voice...

Back then he'd brought everything and the kitchen sink; this time, he has only a light backpack with some candy, a water bottle, and the prototype gauntlets he'd started to put together. If they're going to be out in the middle of nowhere, and if shit is already going to get fucked up... what better place to test them out, for the first time?

Cisco takes one of those absurd coffees from Taako (there is so much whipped cream, and it tastes like it has about five shots of espresso in it, which tells Cisco that Taako knows him very well, indeed) and says: ]

's all in here.

[ And he jostles the small back on his shoulder, beaming and admitting: ]

Tried to pack a little lighter this time.

[ Together, the two of them drink their coffees, gossiping as they do - new people they'd seen around, drama on the network, etcetera - and when they are finished, Cisco braces himself. Taako has teleported him once or twice before, within the city. Once had been to be flashy, the other out of laziness. It means that he knows what is coming; still, he reels a little when suddenly they are somewhere else, surrounded by the noise of birds scattering from the trees, startled by their sudden appearance.

Cisco adjusts the strap of his bag, looking around and asking: ]

You know how far out we are? Couple miles?

[ It's just curiosity, not paranoia... well maybe a little bit of the latter. Cisco just likes knowing where he is. ]

[spellslots]

[At some point Taako's going to teach Cisco wizard magic just so he can cast Leomund's secret chest and avoid having to carry shit everywhere, but for today the backpack is at least a little less over the top than last time.]

Uh, we're closer to the outer barrier than the inner one, didn't wanna like, accidentally kill anyone on the Perimeter Guard if they were traipsing around.

[franciscoramon]

Gotcha. Definitely a good precaution to take.

[ Cisco looks around; based on how loud the sound of the waterfall is, and the fact that he doesn't recognize anything near them, he has a rough guess how far to the southwest they must be. This area is more vegetation than ruins, by this point. He wanders over in the direction of a fallen tree, covered in bright green moss and hundreds of tiny mushrooms. Cisco clambers up onto it; it's far enough from the ground that his legs dangle a little as he settles in. ]

So! Let the fucking up of shit commence.

[ And he beams at Taako. It's nice, just hanging out, doing something a little more exciting than eating pastry and watching bad TV. But he's also excited to see whatever kind of magic it is that Taako wanted to practice. He's seen so much small magic from Taako, but he's never really had an opportunity to see him pull out the big guns. Cisco really, really wants to see the big guns. ]

[spellslots]

[Taako, who has known Cisco for a while now, kind of guessed a while ago that he'd be into seeing spells that can do some serious damage, which is why he's working a little outside his normal playbook, right now.

It means he actually pulls his spellbook out of his bag before tossing the leather satchel aside, holding it open to a page with one hand, the umbra staff in the other. After a few quick gestures with the umbrella, and a word spoken in Elvish, and shit gets real.

A whirlwind, ten foot in diameter and thirty feet high forms in the sky and touches down at a point amongst the trees, ripping up small plant life and a handful of rocks as it swirls violently. With another gesture, Taako sends it moving to the left, away from them both and picking up more debris as it goes. A handful of birds burst out of a nearby tree and go flying away, at which point Taako casts a glance at Cisco.]

Oops?

[franciscoramon]

[ They might be far enough away from the whirlwind that it didn't come close to hurting them, but it certainly kicked up enough wind to toss Cisco's hair in the breeze, and he pulls a lock of it away from his face distractedly, keeping his eyes fixed on the devastation in front of them.

It's thrilling and terrifying at once, seeing that vortex of wind go through those trees, ripping up bushes and tearing off a branch here or there. Cisco thinks immediately of weather wizard, but he had just been on the comms with Barry, then. He hadn't actually seen the tornado. And this is so much more intense than Twister had prepared him for. And to think, that Taako had just caused that, had said a few words and just created all that havoc.

When it moves away from them, sending birds scattering, and eventually dies down, Cisco realizes that he is clutching his face in both hands, utterly transfixed with delight. ]

That was. So. Fucking. Dope! [ He turns shining eyes on Taako, beaming, asks: ] Has it got a name? Please tell me it's got a totally deceptively chill name like 'Gentle Spring Breeze' or somethin' like that?

[spellslots]

[That's a pretty great reaction; Taako can't help but preen a little in response, apparently proud of himself for causing a ridiculous amount of damage to a bunch of trees. Take that, nature.]

Oh, it's got a name, you'll love this one. It is, wait for it... [The look on his face seems to suggest this is gonna be very impressive, but maybe Cisco knows Taako well enough by now to be suspicious of this.] Whirlwind.

[Taako grins, then shrugs.]

Wizards aren't very creative, are they? Present company excluded, obviously.

[franciscoramon]

[ He can tell Taako's setting him up for a disappointment even before he gives the name, but even so... ]

'Whirlwind'? Seriously? Damn, that's next-level boring.

[ Cisco hops down from that fallen tree, walking over in the direction of the damage that Taako had done with the spell. It is mostly still, now, but there are still some leaves falling, a couple cracked branches that are just now tumbling their way down. He squints through the trees, trying to gauge just how far it had reached, mentally wondering just what a spell like that could do to an enemy. ]

Present company oughta sit down one day and decide one new names for some of these spells, because no way is 'Whirlwind' worth all of that.

[ Cisco leans down, scooping up some kind of weird, less-prickly alien pine cone that had been shaken loose by the spell. He wanders back to that fallen log and hops up again, saying: ]

What else you got?

[spellslots]

[With a grin:] Big hurty boy sounds like, way better, right?

[While Cisco is inspecting the damage, Taako shoves his spellbook back in his bag, since he knows what he wants to cast next and has a better grasp on this particular one. Then, after a second of deliberation, picks the bag up and hooks it onto the branch of a nearby tree.]

Hold onto your butt, my dude.

[Taako crouches down, using the umbra staff for balance as he holds one hand out over the dirt. After a steady breath, he curls his hand into a fist almost as if he's straining against some invisible force.

About fifty feet away, the ground splits with a slow crack as a trench starts to form in the area. It's going to take a little while, but he wanted to try this out and see how it went.]

[franciscoramon]

Big hurty boy. That's the name now. Whirlwind who.

[ Cisco is pretty sure that Taako just said to hold on in order to get Cisco hype for whatever spell he was going to do next. Just in case, though, he reaches out and gets a good grip on the mossy bark of that fallen tree he's sitting on, waiting in breathless anticipation for whatever is going to top the first spell.

At first, it doesn't look like much, and Cisco wonders for just a moment if Taako is pranking him, or if the spell has failed somehow. Then he hears that crack, sees movement on the ground some distance front of Taako. It takes a moment for him to realize what that movement was, to see the ground shifting and splitting apart. It jut grows, and grows, and grows, and Cisco murmurs a quiet: ]

Holy shit.

[ The trench just keeps getting bigger, and Cisco waits, glancing between it and Taako, looking for any signs of alarm, but Taako seems to think that this is all going as it should. ]

[spellslots]

[Things that Taako is going to do later: cross out whirlwind in his spellbook and write big hurty boy instead, just for kicks.

For now though, he's focusing on the spell as the ground keeps tearing itself apart, and it's all going perfectly well until about fifteen feet down, when something shrieks and Taako's spell goes dead. The shriek is unsettling enough, but suddenly losing grip on his magic like this is a new and very strange experience.]

Fuuuuck that's not good.

[Without even thinking, Taako gets to his feet and gestures at Cisco, planning to cast a shield on him, only to find that it also doesn't work.]

Okay it's getting worse! My magic's not working.

[A clawed hand, wreathed in shadow, suddenly grips the edge of the trench and Taako does not hesitate to run over to where Cisco is, grabbing onto his arm.]

Let's go let's go let's go!

[franciscoramon]

[ That first shriek sends a chill down Cisco's spine, and he sits up straight, peering down into the darkness of that trench. He looks to Taako, who is standing very still, and at first he thinks it has to be some kind of joke. This is what the spell was building towards, or else he'd used some little cantrip that's probably called 'create terrifying shriek to scare the pants off your friend' or something of the sort. Except it goes on too long. The little of Taako's face that Cisco can see from his angle is too pale, too genuinely freaked out.

By the time Taako is gesturing his way and nothing happens, Cisco's heart starts to race. He slides down off the log and hits the ground, just before that clawed hand appears from the trench. It all happens so quickly - the hand, and Taako saying his magic isn't working, and the horrible sinking realization that they are in real trouble. If Taako's magic isn't working, they can't teleport out. They are far from the city, from any help. Cisco doesn't even have a weapon with him...

...except that he does, kind of. Before Taako can pull him away, Cisco bends low and grabs his bag, throwing it on his shoulder, and then the two of them are running. Cisco looks over his shoulder and sees a creature emerging from that tear in the ground, and he just has an impression of long black spiky tendrils, and flying, and awfulness.

The two of them sprint some distance before Cisco yanks Taako with him behind a tree. He carefully peers back, trying to see if the creature has followed them. As he does, he asks, in a harsh whisper: ]

What the fuck IS that thing? Have you ever seen one before?