Poor Unfortunate Souls - Octopus' Garden
Apr. 17th, 2018 01:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_topaz posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsTopaz learns a valuable lesson - When you skip school, you get stuck going with the Sefton siblings to fight a giant squid.
The music was blaring in the basement library, as usual, and Topaz had finally gotten somewhere with Clint’s never ending piles of science books. She was actually feeling pretty good about it all.
So of course someone would knock on the locked door, loud enough to be heard over the music. “Blimey,” Topaz grumbled, turning the music off and walking to the door. “Does no one understand what loud music and a locked door-“
The words died abruptly in throat when she saw Amanda and Kurt standing in the hall. Jesus. Sefton family intervention? “What’s up?” She asked, trying to sound as normal as possible considering the chaos behind her involved several floating books. She snapped her fingers and they immediately dropped with a thud.
"We got a distress signal," Amanda said, without preamble. "We need your help." Possibly a bit abrupt, but with things the way they'd been with Topaz, she wasn't sure how else to proceed.
"We have to go to Florida", Kurt followed up. "Someone has taken Phoenix and Namor."
“Uh.” Topaz looked between the two, her expression somewhere between bemused and an almost smile that had no joy in it. “Yeah, unless that someone needs their library organized, I’m probably not the right person for this.”
"We disagree", Kurt said calmly. "You are very much needed in this. Namor was sick, before he was taken. Even if they mean him no harm, he may die."
"There's magic involved," Amanda said. "And I need you to be there." She met Topaz' eyes. "I can't do it by myself."
Topaz, surprisingly, held steady, keeping Amanda's gaze. "You don't need me," she said before turning away - only to stop halfway to closing the door when her eyes fell on her laptop. "Hang on. Florida?" She looked back, her expression slightly sharper. "Not the Bermuda Triangle, is it?
"Penny for the clever lady," replied Amanda with a faint smile. "Got it in one. They were checking up something about missing boats and ran straight into a giant squid of all things."
"We need all the help we can get", Kurt reiterated. "Especially those who know a thing or two about magic."
Topaz kept her eyes on her laptop, chewing her bottom lip. "All right," she said finally, stepping back and going to the office to get her jacket.
***
"What shall we do with the drunken sailor, what shall we do with the drunken sailor..." Amanda's warbling was off-key but very cheerful as they approached the marina where they were to meet. She had her arm looped through Kurt's and was skipping every now and then. "Whoo! Talk about a buzz! Gotta love the party places!"
Kurt was looking down at her, utterly bemused - he'd seen this before, but not usually to this extent.
"Try to remember why we are here through the buzz, please?"
Topaz was walking silently beside them, hands in her pocket, looking every bit the kid with an embarrassing relative. For a moment she forgot herself and looked at Kurt to exchange a smile. She caught herself and quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't see.
He had seen, out of the corner of his eye, and returned a small hopeful smile, even if she wasn't looking at him any more.
Amanda poked her tongue out at Kurt. "Like I'd forget. 'M not that buzzed. 'Sides, who's the professional here?" It was accompanied by a playful head toss. "Now, where's this boaty mcboatface got to?"
"Boaty mc..." He shook his head at her. "We are all such professionals here. This way."
"I think you lost all credibility as professionals when you brought me along," Topaz murmured, probably low enough that they wouldn't hear her. She wasn't trying either way.
"Totally professional." Amanda started humming the Drunken Sailor again. "You'd think, after all this time, people would get that the Bermuda Triangle is not a holiday destination," she said, interrupting herself as her thoughts jumped on a new topic. "'S always been fucked up weird there."
"Are the stories true?" Kurt asked with mild interest. "Of boats vanishing, never to be seen again?"
"It's fifty-fifty," Topaz said without thinking. "People exaggerate, but fucked up things definitely happen. Seems to have hopped up more lately, been a lot of talk about it on a forum I watch."
He listened to that with interest. "Has there been any speculation, or plausible guessing, as to why?"
Topaz shrugged, keeping her eyes ahead. "Magic. It's one of those new age-y Wiccan forum type places." She didn't exactly roll her eyes, but the action was clear in her expression and voice. "Most of 'em are frauds but I've talked to a few - no real names or letting people know where I live or anything, don't worry - and I'm pretty sure they're the real deal. Apparently there's been weird lights and weather happening lately - more so than usual. No one's actually gone, of course, but that just means they're not completely mad."
"But we are!" carolled Amanda. "Mad as a boxful of badgers, we are!" She skipped ahead to point at a nondescript boat moored in the marina. "And there's our boat! Boaty McBoatface, here we come! Last one on board is a rotten egg!"
Topaz raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Kurt for the first time. "Too late to go home, isn't it?"
The music was blaring in the basement library, as usual, and Topaz had finally gotten somewhere with Clint’s never ending piles of science books. She was actually feeling pretty good about it all.
So of course someone would knock on the locked door, loud enough to be heard over the music. “Blimey,” Topaz grumbled, turning the music off and walking to the door. “Does no one understand what loud music and a locked door-“
The words died abruptly in throat when she saw Amanda and Kurt standing in the hall. Jesus. Sefton family intervention? “What’s up?” She asked, trying to sound as normal as possible considering the chaos behind her involved several floating books. She snapped her fingers and they immediately dropped with a thud.
"We got a distress signal," Amanda said, without preamble. "We need your help." Possibly a bit abrupt, but with things the way they'd been with Topaz, she wasn't sure how else to proceed.
"We have to go to Florida", Kurt followed up. "Someone has taken Phoenix and Namor."
“Uh.” Topaz looked between the two, her expression somewhere between bemused and an almost smile that had no joy in it. “Yeah, unless that someone needs their library organized, I’m probably not the right person for this.”
"We disagree", Kurt said calmly. "You are very much needed in this. Namor was sick, before he was taken. Even if they mean him no harm, he may die."
"There's magic involved," Amanda said. "And I need you to be there." She met Topaz' eyes. "I can't do it by myself."
Topaz, surprisingly, held steady, keeping Amanda's gaze. "You don't need me," she said before turning away - only to stop halfway to closing the door when her eyes fell on her laptop. "Hang on. Florida?" She looked back, her expression slightly sharper. "Not the Bermuda Triangle, is it?
"Penny for the clever lady," replied Amanda with a faint smile. "Got it in one. They were checking up something about missing boats and ran straight into a giant squid of all things."
"We need all the help we can get", Kurt reiterated. "Especially those who know a thing or two about magic."
Topaz kept her eyes on her laptop, chewing her bottom lip. "All right," she said finally, stepping back and going to the office to get her jacket.
***
"What shall we do with the drunken sailor, what shall we do with the drunken sailor..." Amanda's warbling was off-key but very cheerful as they approached the marina where they were to meet. She had her arm looped through Kurt's and was skipping every now and then. "Whoo! Talk about a buzz! Gotta love the party places!"
Kurt was looking down at her, utterly bemused - he'd seen this before, but not usually to this extent.
"Try to remember why we are here through the buzz, please?"
Topaz was walking silently beside them, hands in her pocket, looking every bit the kid with an embarrassing relative. For a moment she forgot herself and looked at Kurt to exchange a smile. She caught herself and quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't see.
He had seen, out of the corner of his eye, and returned a small hopeful smile, even if she wasn't looking at him any more.
Amanda poked her tongue out at Kurt. "Like I'd forget. 'M not that buzzed. 'Sides, who's the professional here?" It was accompanied by a playful head toss. "Now, where's this boaty mcboatface got to?"
"Boaty mc..." He shook his head at her. "We are all such professionals here. This way."
"I think you lost all credibility as professionals when you brought me along," Topaz murmured, probably low enough that they wouldn't hear her. She wasn't trying either way.
"Totally professional." Amanda started humming the Drunken Sailor again. "You'd think, after all this time, people would get that the Bermuda Triangle is not a holiday destination," she said, interrupting herself as her thoughts jumped on a new topic. "'S always been fucked up weird there."
"Are the stories true?" Kurt asked with mild interest. "Of boats vanishing, never to be seen again?"
"It's fifty-fifty," Topaz said without thinking. "People exaggerate, but fucked up things definitely happen. Seems to have hopped up more lately, been a lot of talk about it on a forum I watch."
He listened to that with interest. "Has there been any speculation, or plausible guessing, as to why?"
Topaz shrugged, keeping her eyes ahead. "Magic. It's one of those new age-y Wiccan forum type places." She didn't exactly roll her eyes, but the action was clear in her expression and voice. "Most of 'em are frauds but I've talked to a few - no real names or letting people know where I live or anything, don't worry - and I'm pretty sure they're the real deal. Apparently there's been weird lights and weather happening lately - more so than usual. No one's actually gone, of course, but that just means they're not completely mad."
"But we are!" carolled Amanda. "Mad as a boxful of badgers, we are!" She skipped ahead to point at a nondescript boat moored in the marina. "And there's our boat! Boaty McBoatface, here we come! Last one on board is a rotten egg!"
Topaz raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Kurt for the first time. "Too late to go home, isn't it?"
