halfnhalf | 005 - Action/Voice

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005 - Action/Voice

[Today marked a big day for Teddy Altman: He's eighteen today. If he were back in New York, he could vote in elections, own a credit/debit card of his own, and not have to groan over papers and applications that had a little note for people who were under eighteen. He's pretty much an adult now.

He still kind of feels like a young teenager who has no idea what he's doing, though, so he can't help being a little disappointed when he wakes up and doesn't suddenly feel like a man with a plan who knows everything and can do anything.

After gently being coaxed outside by Billy, Teddy decides to do all the things he usually does, seeing how Luceti is sorely lacking in ways to celebrate a milestone year like this. He wanders and chats up store owners, from the bakery to the weapon shop to Seventh Heaven to even the general store. He gets himself a large meal for lunch, as is customary for a guy like him, and orders his favorite just for today. He visits the library and reads up on whatever new comics they have, and that's where he gets lost in thought enough to open his journal and ask a question that's been on his mind since the day began.]

When someone turns eighteen, do they do anything special? It's a pretty big thing for teenagers in America; you can vote and get drafted and pretty much be considered an adult by the law. But does it mean anything in other worlds? Call me curious.

[He goes to the Battledome after that to simulate a basketball game – just to watch this time, not to participate. The 1992 East Regional Final, Duke verses Kentucky, one of the most suspenseful games in history and something that Teddy had watched on YouTube, but certainly not like this. It's no wonder that he's particularly hyped when he walks out. So much so that he takes to the sky as soon as he's outside, deciding that he'd rather take the joyride home rather than plain old walking. He's still a teenager, and he still feels pretty invincible even without that adult knowledge he was expecting, so why not?

Teddy might not feel any different, but it's still a pretty special day.]

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[Oh, there he is. Mia plants a smile on her face as she approaches the table.]

Happy birthday, Teddy.

[He's already turning down the music when he hears her footsteps, so once she reaches it, he looks up at her with a smile of his own.]

Hey... thanks. I kind of forgot you'd know about it. [What with him trying to push the whole Rogers thing to the back of his mind and hopefully out of it as possible.]

... How are you doing, anyway?

I'm fine. [Not her typical sort of answer, and the smile flashes very fake for a second.] Even if I didn't know about it, I would want to find a way to celebrate with you, especially for one so special in your world. Do you mind bringing your lunch with you somewhere?

[Try as she might, Mia could not seem to devise a present that worked well for him. She decided to try something a little different.]

... Nah, I don't mind. Let's order and go.

[It takes no time to get his food, for Mia to get hers, and the two of them to head out. During that time, Teddy observes her, just as he's always done even back home.

Mia might be trying hard, but Teddy can easily tell that something's wrong. Something's really bothered her, and it's eating away at her. Rather than force her to open up, though, Teddy opts to gently get it out of her, or at least wait until she's done with what she wants to do with him before asking about it. Why ruin the day, and the mood she's trying to keep up, by poking around about it?

So he smiles while he watches, talks about what he'd done so far and how things are with Billy. What he imagines would've been done back at home in his world, Billy and his family gathering for a little family party, and not even mentioning his own family. Whatever she might listen to; even with the experiment that made them siblings, Teddy's found it so easy to talk to her about pretty much everything.]

[Maybe in some ways she knows how obvious she is. There are a few people to whom she is not a closed book, after all. Listening, not talking, is the order of their walk, and Teddy has more than enough to say to fill her voice's absence. If things with Billy are well and no one is causing him any trouble, all the better.

Their end destination, which she reaches for his elbow to steer him toward when he starts to head the wrong way, is the battledome.]

[He hadn't known where they were supposed to go, so it's no surprise when she takes his arm to lead him in the right direction, and he goes along with her without any resistance. And... huh. He hadn't really been expecting the battledome.]

The battledome? Don't tell me my present's another training session...

[In answer, she just grins at him, more real than any previous smile has been so far. Only once they're inside, headed for one of the simulator rooms, does she say anything.]

I thought very hard about what to get you. Nothing seemed very useful or appropriate, in this place where we can have almost anything we ask for. [Anything but freedom.] Close your eyes.

[Teddy lets out a small "heh"; right, anything they could ask for. Anything except freedom, except home, except friends from their world, except the chance to go home.

But today isn't the day for bitterness and sadness. So he shuts his eyes, one hand moving to hold Mia's shoulder.]

All right. Got them closed.

Good.

[The door opens with a rush of cold air, and Mia leads him inside only to close her own eyes to the feeling of snow on her face. False or not, it quiets the turmoil in her head.]

Now open them. [And, when he does:] I thought I would take you on a journey instead. A small one.

[The buildings surrounding them are snow-covered, quaint little wooden things. It looks like a village, all right; through the middle runs a half-frozen river.]

[The blast of cold air makes him scrunch his face, though he still keeps his eyes close. Mainly because of that cold air, but at least he's being obedient.

He keeps them squeezed she for a moment longer even after she tells him to open them, and when he does, he... does not recognize where he is. But it looks medieval, and she just said they're going on a journey, and if she's going to lead him on an adventure, then he'll happily take the cold. It doesn't bother him that much, anyway.]

A journey, huh? I'm always up for that. [He gives a slow smile as he looks around, noting vaguely that it's somewhat familiar. Not enough to make a lightbulb go off in his head just yet, but all the same.] Where are we?

[There are people, of a sort, though they do simple things and are rather automatic about it. They won't talk to either of the visitors; they're like scenery. It was the best she could do.]

Welcome to Imil, Teddy. [When she looks up at him, she is visibly apprehensive.] I hope this will serve in place of a tangible birthday gift.

[It takes all of Teddy's shapeshifting to not immediately light up, exclaim an "OH", and ask to see everything in the village - he hadn't recognized it because he didn't have a bird's eye view of the village, which is what the player would see. But now that he knows...

Oh my god, oh my god, he's in the home village of a character he liked quite a lot when he played the game so long ago!

But - no. He does light up, his smile becoming a bright grin, as he steps further into the village, looking at the people doing their things and the snow, and the layout, and god, it's so obvious now that he knows. His excitement, however, is only partly from fanboyish delight; most of it comes from the fact that he's seeing the home of a friend.]

Imil... Oh, Mia, that's your home, isn't it? [He turns to her and, almost without thinking, reaches out to take her hand and pull her with him as he moves further into the village.] You've got to show me everything! And - Yeah, it's a great birthday gift!

[It surprises her so much by taking her hand that she smiles, and laughs, because the look on his face is so ecstatic. Visiting her 'home' felt like a selfish gift, until now.]

This is the best I could do. [After months of working on it and trying to make it right, it still isn't, but it is close.] It's a little cold for a picnic, but we can eat in the sanctum. No one will mind.

[It is sort of her home and thus, her rules.]

You'll have to lead me there, then. It's way too cold to try finding it myself.

[Even though it's really not that cold to him. He does know the way, now that he knows what this place is. But how suspicious would that look?

So, Teddy lets go of her hand to gesture in front of him. Lead the way, boss lady.]

It isn't far. [Keeping her half-secret smile, she takes his hand instead, leading him from the town gate along snow-lined paths to the sanctum. To home, such as it ever was - where she worked and where at the very least it felt like she lived. They pass the small cemetery, headstones marked with Weyard's alphabet but marred enough to be unreadable, even for Mia, and then she holds open the door to a hushed and warm building.]

[Teddy looks around while she leads him, taking in all the sights and the people who move silently about, a lot like... well, a lot like how they moved in the game, with no real purpose except to be talked to. Except in this case, he's pretty sure they won't say much. Still, it's amazing, and there's so much detail that he could never get out of a collection of pixels on a screen, sometimes even making him stop to make out a word, see if he can read the words on the headstones, or look at the texture and craft of something. There's something strange about analyzing a friend's home like this, but such is the mind of a long-lived fanboy.

Once they enter sanctum, Teddy can't help letting out a relieved sigh. He might not mind the cold, but warmth is so much better.]

You've got a really beautiful home, Mia.

[It is so obvious he's excited that she doesn't feel even a little bit bad anymore about not having a real, tangible present for him. Mia leads him to a table with space on it, grabbing a candle to light a few more that she passes. It's dark in the sanctum on calm days as it is, but with the clouds and snow it is darker still.]

Thank you. I'm not very good with making things using the machines so this took me a long time.

They are a little hard to use. I'm kind of used to technology like that, so it's a bit easier on me. But I'm no programmer, either.

[Once they reach the table, Teddy sets the food they got for themselves down on it, idly hoping that the container they were in kept them warm against the chill of the snowy air. He rubs his hands together a few times as he looks around, taking in all the detail from another angle. It's a lot darker than it was in the game...]

What is this place, anyway?

This is the sanctum. It is where I work, at home in Imil, with my two apprentices. [She allows herself a tiny wistful sigh.] They aren't here right now, of course. But people who are injured, or sick, or cursed, can come here for treatment - or send someone, so that I may go to them instead.

So you've been doing this for forever, huh... You've done some really great work here.

[If ~~the game~~ her work in Luceti is anything to go by. Teddy leans back in his seat, opening up his container to reveal the stir fry he ordered just for his birthday, then glances up at her from other the rim.]

If the same thing happened to you, where would you go?

[Mia got a cheeseburger, and Kurt Wagner is entirely to blame for that particular love. She isn't much of a meat eater ever but something about the whole experience...]

If I was hurt or sick? [Something dark crosses her face in stages.] Until a little while ago, Alex would have helped me, and my parents before that. Now, my apprentices could. I would rather they helped the rest of the village while I rested on my own, though.

[Teddy raises an eyebrow, noting that name. Alex, huh? He remembers him being a thing in the game, too. Although his sprite was a little too pretty for him to take seriously.

But that's neither here nor there, as Teddy was getting somewhere with his question.]

What about here? If you were hurting in a way that wasn't physical?

... Like right now.

[That is one dangerous level of emotional awareness. Both of Mia's eyebrows go straight up, because she didn't expect anything nearly so perceptive out of him today. Yet here it is.

What answer is there but the truth?]

I'm much more stubborn about that kind of pain. Sharing it is...not something I think I should do while others are also hurting.

[Teddy's been observant all his life, going to even greater levels when he realized he had the power to change his shape and mimic other people if he wanted to. He's still young, and he still has a long way to go, but it's made him have a keen sense of awareness of when a smile is faked, when someone puts on a cheerful facade, when the tone of someone's voice is off. To notice them is crucial to someone like him.

He pushes his food around, then sets it down on the table before reaching out to place his hand on Mia's shoulder, giving it a gentle, supportive squeeze.]

I'm not hurting or anything, Mia. You've listened to me all this time, you helped me when I needed it. It's just the two of us here. You can rely on me, too, if you want.

[Sometimes, especially after they were family for a while, it is very hard not to forget that he isn't that much younger than she is. That in another time and place they would be, for all intents and purposes, in the same peer group, with similar responsibilities and expectations.]

It is your birthday. [She says it quietly, like she's trying to soften difficult news.] I would never color it with sadness that way.

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005 - Action/Voice

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