bulletinboardspell | Slightly backdated.

Slightly backdated.

[It's early in the morning when a new post on the BBS goes up.]

Guys, it's Louie. I want to see if anyone else knows anything about this. I mean, the weirdest thing happened last night.

I think I went home. Not just for a night, either. I mean, maybe it was some kind of dream, but it felt so real, and I had a weird dream that was definitely a dream. I think. I don't know! That felt pretty real, too.

Has something like this happened to anyone else?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well. He knows that handwriting, and he has a bone to pick with the person it belongs to.]

Uh-huh.

You need to come up to the Valhudor dorms. Now.

[With the whole house rivalry still going strong, especially among the native students, like heck he's going to Dewey's turf right now.]

Um.

[why is he using the angry voice WHY IS HE USING THE ANGRY VOICE]

O ... kay?

[and he'll just .... head over. wondering if he needs to stop making sanity jokes. or if he did something dumb while stuck in Louie's body that he's just finding out about. or ... or ... there's something else he has a feeling he's missing. it'll come to him. eventually. maybe. right? ... no really there's something ... ugggggh, it's right at the edge of his brain]

[Louie is there waiting, in the common room. He looks ticked off, but not furious, or anything. Still, the moment he sees his brother, he drags him over to a quiet corner of room. Fortunately, most of the other students are off at breakfast.]

Were you going to tell me?

[trepidation aside, he doesn't even have to think before he answers. even if he's not sure what Louie's referring to]

Whatever I ... didn't tell you? Yes. I mean ... whatever it is, if I knew something and you didn't, it would have come up eventually, right? Like if something happened that I thought would have made M-

[there's that revelation hitting him like a ton of bricks. he knows exactly what he didn't tell him. and he looks horrified. he can't even begin to make excuses. he knows he screwed up. he knows why he didn't tell him, a million reasons for a million times, and they'd all seemed legitimate then, but none of them are good enough now, not in the face of the look Louie's giving him.]

-- hhh.

[he deflates, curling in on himself without actually moving, somehow. shrinking. he lifts his eyes up to Louie as if to say: "go ahead. let me have it."]

[Louie is fully convinced that he is within his rights to go off on his brother. He should be yelling at him. Going all Huey by leaping on him and punching the daylights out of him. And he is mad - so mad. Like, Uncle Donald levels of mad.

But... He's so tired from the visit (?) back home, from all the uncertainties of having a mother, from... Everything. And Dewey's not doing the Dewey thing, for once. There's not excuses, this time, no rationalizations.]

Ugh.

[He slugs Dewey's shoulder - hard, admittedly - and leaves his wrath at that.]

[his eyes fill with tears - not just from the physical pain, heck no. he knows just how angry Louie must be - they'd all been livid enough when he hadn't said anything about the Spear of Selene. and the fact that all he did was hit him ... that he's so angry that he won't even unload on him, and give him the catharsis of being punished properly for what was, he admits, a massive screw-up ... that might just even hurt worse. that they can't just yell about this for a few minutes and be done.

nope.

this one's gonna follow him.]

....

.... you want me to go now?

No? I guess not?

[He huffs a sigh.]

You weren't supposed to do this again, Dewey! I- Why? Why didn't you say something?

Edited 2019-08-03 02:48 (UTC)

[you know, he wasn't going to give you excuses. he wasn't going to whine. but really? pushing him with the 'you weren't supposed to' just -- no. suddenly he's angry, too, and he whirls around]

Oh, I don't know, maybe because every time I'd begin to think hey this is the perfect time to talk about this, suddenly one of us would be under some dumb misfired spell, or too busy trying not to freak out about thunderstorms, or having fun at the beach that I didn't want to potentially ruin by telling you how YOU weren't sure if you actually WANTED a Mom after all, or - or each other, which, let me tell you, sure made me feel like being just me mattered! NOT. And sometimes - yeah! You know what?! Sooooometiiiiiimes you and Huey got so all up about being better at magic and having been here longer that I kinda liked having something that was just mine. Something that really DID make me more than just The One In The Blue Shirt! I was the one who knew who Mom was. It might not have been much but ... but ...

[he's got nothin'. except maybe crying. he can do that for an encore if there are any takers. no? too bad. He's doing it anyay]

[Dewey’s sudden shift to anger doesn’t just surprise Louie - it makes him twice as mad. Getting in a dig about the thunder is, of course, fair sibling play. But using his uncertainty about their mom against him? Not. Okay.]

You’re so selfish! When are you going to get over yourself? You’re not the only one who people think is someone else, but you are the only one who’s so insulted by it! What makes you think you’re so much better than me and Huey, anyway? And how is it okay to use Mom as... As some kind of trick play in your dumb game of being different?

Get over myself? TRICK PLAY?! You really think this is honestly about me wanting to be better than you guys?

[he could feel his beak burning, and clenched his fists. he really didn't want to hit his brother back. but at the same time, he really did. because they'd known each other their whole lives ... how could he even begin to think he was capable of that? it stung, worse than the slug he'd taken to the shoulder. he isn't even thinking as he raises his voice, but some of the things he's learned in Fantastics are creeping in as he gets louder]

I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO TELL YOU! THAT'S ALL IT WAS!

[the air around him starts to ripple, like heat leaving an open car door]

[Louie is a student of Valhudor, where the focus is on Fantastics. He's actually been paying attention in class, too - part of his note-taking deal with Webby. So when the distraction appears, rippling through the air, he knows what that is.

He hates to admit it even to himself, just now, but he's impressed. He'd even be a little scared, if Fantastics wasn't about illusion and generally not physical, concrete magic.

But beyond that... He believes Dewey. Dewey gets angry, sure, but not like this. And besides... He can hear traces of hurt in Dewey's tone, and it brings some regret.]

Okay! Okay, man, I believe you. Now stop doing that!

[Because the accidental aspect of the magic - that is something Louie hasn't picked up on, here.]

[the ripples subside a little, but he's still angry. the energy is still there, just ... a little muddled by his sudden confusion]

Stop what, yelling? Look, it was - I didn't mean to, but ... [he tries to keep a lid on it, to keep his voice down. it's hard.] ... that was a really awful thing to say, Lou.

No, the - the spell stuff!

[He sighs, though. His own tension is starting to wind down. He's... Still frustrated. But it's not worth all this, not when he has so much he wants to talk with Dewey about.]

I didn't- I mean... Yeah. You're right, it was. I know how important all this stuff with her is to you, and I shouldn't have...

[He grunts, in lieu of an actual apology. Some things are just hard for him; saying sorry when he means it is one of them.]

Spell stuff?? Wait, what?

[he takes closer stock of the situation, and recognizes that tingling at the tips of his feathers he always gets when he does magic properly.]

Aw, phooey. I didn't even - but now there's - how do I stop when I don't know how I started?

I don't know. I've never been able to do magic without trying and really thinking about it.

[He sighs.]

But let's figure it out, okay? I mean...

[If Dewey's willing, he really wants to talk about how weird everything is - was? - back home.]

Right. Cool it, magic. [he takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down the way he does when nightmares wake him up. the ones about the Shadow Realm, or all the what-ifs of adventures gone wrong. slowly, the tingling recedes, and he tackles Louie in a hug. just a little uncoolness to prove they're cool]

[Oh, he hadn't expected a hug, but he's privately really grateful for it. They're okay, then. He just pats Dewey on the back twice, at first, but then he gives him a quick one-armed squeeze.]

So... We've got a mom.

[hugs are good. hugs are the best. and the realization that they can freak out about this together is even besterer. he springs backward, beaming]

I know, right?!

It's so weird. I have no idea how I'm going to get used to it, once we finally get back home for good, but... I'm glad she's okay. I really am.

She's super cool. We went to this place in the mountains with Uncle Scrooge because you and Huey didn't wanna... It's supposed to be this big vault where they hide a bunch of seeds and stuff to grow the world over again in case something wipes out all the plants? And on the way there she actually started teaching me how to fly!

Huh, I'm surprised Huey wasn't into that, but I mean, it's cool that you two-

Wait, she taught you to what now?

Fly. As in the plane!

[this is exciting, right? totally exciting. SAY YOU'RE EXCITED THAT AN ADULT IS TEACHING A PRE-TEEN TO FLY A LARGE VEHICLE LOUIE]

Dohhh boy, that's... That's something.

And I did it, too! I didn't even crash as bad as Launchpad, and we got to explore this really big ice cave with slides. Slides, Lou! It was like going down Neverrest, but better.

...That reminds me. Is there winter here? I bet we could make some killer snow stuff with magic.

You know, I'd say anything sounds better than Neverrest, but that doesn't sound much better.

[He shrugs.]

But yeah, It was winter when I got here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Slightly backdated.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject