open post: averageness

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally's first clue that it hadn't been a dream was that she'd woken up alone in her room.

Nowadays, she and Gideon have been sharing a room, so that Tally can protect her from ever finding a body alone again--and maybe conspicuously leave out some clothes that fit Gideon but aren't, like, ratty black pants. That day, though, she'd woken in an empty room, gasping from something that felt like a nightmare, but somehow more vivid than real life.

Without even getting dressed, she'd run for the woods to confirm what had happened. Horror had flooded her when she found the knife-mark, exactly where she remembered throwing it yesterday. It was true. She'd been Special. She'd been awful. She'd seen and felt the world with more harsh clarity than she'd ever thought possible. She'd hit Gideon.

Tally had collapsed onto the stump, gripping her own arms to make sure her familiar, average body was still there.

Over the next few days, Tally doesn't sleep well, and people getting swapped out for a second time doesn't help. People might find her wandering the mansion like a zombie, or in one of the kitchens, contemplating getting drunk. She's not as put together as usual, either, but of course on her even bedhead and sweats look beautiful.

Comments

[summerdude]

Okay, this takes Magnus aback! He blinks. "Why would I be mad at you?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Just because I was rude when we first met," Tally explains. "I know it was a long time ago, but I'm used to people holding way worse grudges than you."

[summerdude]

"Were you?" Magnus asks; he's forgotten on purpose since they're friends now and anyway it would be a dick move to hold something someone says on their first day against them. "Oh, you mean the ugly thing? I understand it now, it's whatever."

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally laughs a little, disbelieving. "I guess you really aren't in perma-puberty. He told me that, too."

[summerdude]

"I am twenty-five," Magnus says, bemused. "Practically a crumbly myself -- oh my gods, Tally, speaking of, did I tell you I tried to call Hanguang-jun Hanguang-jun-la, too?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Oh my god," Tally says, giggling. "As if he's in your clique, or something."

[summerdude]

"You said he hated it when you did it so I thought I'd see for myself!"

[tallyyoungblood]

"And did he?" Tally can't help but smile.

[summerdude]

"Yeah, he super hated it," Magnus laughs.

[tallyyoungblood]

"Do you try to make him mad a lot?"

[summerdude]

"No," Magnus says, and tries to explain both why he called him Hanguang-jun-la and why he doesn't try to make him mad a lot: "He's got, like, dad vibes or whatever."

[tallyyoungblood]

"Right. I guess I just never thought my dad could get mad. He just didn't care that much about a lot of stuff." Tally bites her lip. "I guess it was the lesions."

[summerdude]

"Mine either," Magnus admits. "But like, he's literally the god of peace, so."

[tallyyoungblood]

"How much of his power and stuff do you get?" Tally asks, curious. The only thing her dad had given her was his squinty eyes as an ugly, allegedly.

[summerdude]

"Um," Magnus frowns, thinking through the question. "Some?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"What's the bubbliest thing you can do?"

[summerdude]

"What, like... genre of ability is 'bubbly things?'"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Bubbly means, like, 'good,' in this case," Tally says. "Like, what do you enjoy doing?"

[summerdude]

"Um, like, making out with Alex, but that's not really an ability I inherited from my dad," Magnus says. "Neither is exploring with Galahad or Alex or Gu Xiang. Sooooooooo..."

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally rolls her eyes. "So superpowers aren't even fun, and the rest of us have nothing to be jealous of?"

[summerdude]

"Oh, I mean, I guess I can do some useful stuff," Magnus says. He looks around, shrugs, and says, "Come on. Follow me."

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally wishes she'd brushed her hair, but she follows anyway. "Where are we going?"

[summerdude]

"You'll like it," Magnus promises, and starts leading her down to all the doors in the basement. The door to the adult-sized playground is still clearly marked and leads to the right place, and Magnus does a little crow of triumph as he swings it open.

[tallyyoungblood]

"Whoa!" Tally's mouth falls open. "This is totally bubbly! I thought they only made these for littlies."

[summerdude]

Magnus grins. "I thought you might like it," he says, and then, "Okay, check this out. I didn't get this from my dad, it's one of the glow-up things I got dying." Then he leaps on top of the top of the roof on the tallest structure in a single little jump.