Cayden Yarrow (mutable) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2019-01-12 16:20:00 |
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JANUARY 12
TEDDY LUPIN ✦ NYMPHADORA TONKS
TEDDY GOES TO MEET HIS MOM G WITH A DASH OF ANGST COMPLETE |
The notice had been more of a surprise than reasonable. There were plenty of people here that were dead at home and he’d already met his father. But Teddy still felt his heart stop at the sight of her name. He’d waffled then for a while, there in the library. Paced. Oberon had stayed sprawled on his back on the countertop, half-heartedly watching him but mostly licking his paws with casual disinterest. Teddy didn’t want this to go like it had with his dad. Where he’d needed to drink first just to work up the nerve. But without the buffer of having already talked to her over the network, he felt more awkward and uncertain of himself than he had with Remus. What should he say? What if she was like Ginny and wanted nothing to do with him? What if… Oberon followed along behind him as he headed for the housing area. Halfway there, of course, he realised he hadn’t the foggiest where to go and ended up spinning slowly in circles for a moment. Abruptly, he made a hard turn to head for the Heart complex, but ran smack into a passerby instead. “Oh, Merlin, I am so sorry. I’m not--” Oberon meowed loudly at his feet and Teddy finally looked up to see he’d run smack into his own mother. “Oh. It’s you.” One minute she was picking up a strange coin that she'd thought was dropped by the bloke she was following and the next, she'd woken up in a strange bed (which was a first, thank you very much). Then the whole speech from weird ghost lady combined with a bunch of her clothes that were suddenly a lot cleaner than they were -and- organized into closets and drawers suggested there was a whole lot of magic in this place. She'd thumbed through the tablet as best she could, as she wasn't really sure how to use it, and kept asking the ghost for directions until she was finally able to find maps and resident directories. She'd recognized a few names, some of which were complete surprises that she'd known were dead from the previous war, others she'd never heard of. This didn't seem to be a dream, though, so she'd followed the map out of the building and towards whatever this Intake place was. At least maybe she'd find a few more answers there, but first she was mostly just looking around and taking it all in when she'd found herself in a collision with another person. "If I had a knut for every time I've heard that," she noted, smiling. Something about him was achingly familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She squatted down to give the cat at his feet a few skritches while addressing the fellow she'd run into. "Don't worry about it, I run into things all the time. It was likely just as much my fault as-- listen, do I know you? You seem familiar, and I promise I don't say that to every bloke I run into." “I, uh…” Teddy was generally calm and collected in most instances, but meeting both of his dead parents was apparently a test on how well he could keep his emotions level. He managed a shaky smile as he watched his mother pet his cat; Oberon, in turn, rubbed his entire self on any part of Tonks he could reach. It was uncharacteristic, to say the least, and made him feel weirdly vulnerable out in the open as they were. “You don’t know me, no,” Teddy finally managed. His hair was a dark purple today and he resisted the urge to pull at it anxiously. “I mean, I don’t think you do. Unless it’s after April fourteenth, nineteen ninety eight for you...I’m sorry, I’m not really sure how to do this.” Giving the cat a few more rubs behind the ears, Tonks stood back up and winced slightly. "Yeah, the ghost lady said something about twenty nineteen and I had hoped maybe she was a bit mad. Ninety-five for me, I'm afraid. Do we run into each other like this on April fourteenth, nineteen ninety-eight?" She grinned and rocked back on her heels, taking this guy in. She liked his hair and his cat, but she wasn't sure what he had to figure out how to do. "Do what? No obligations, mate. We both seem healthy enough after that run-in. I'm Tonks, by the way. Nice to meetcha. For the maybe first time." Teddy blinked a few times and dropped his gaze. It was probably for the best that she hadn’t just given birth to him. She’d probably go back, looming death or not. And even if she stayed in Atlantis, there’d have been a mountain of awkward and angst waiting for her here, with his dad and their unconventional family. So this was good. This was fine. “I’m Teddy. It’s..it’s nice to meet you too,” he said. Oberon sat at his feet with the standard ‘I’m going to leap at you now, better catch me or face the consequences’ body language, so Teddy prepared himself to catch the cat. From there, Oberon climbed up on to his shoulder. The purring in his ear at least drowned out some of Teddy’s internal doubts. “April fourteenth is my birthday,” he shrugged. And because there was really no way to say it without it being weird, he just smiled apologetically. “I’m your son.” "Bloody hell, really?" asked Tonks, a look of astonishment on her face. "That explains the good looks and the hair. Named you after my dad, then?" Now, while she'd have to come to grips about how she'd have a son within the next three years on her own time, the evidence here was clear and if anything, she was never one to ignore evidence. With refreshed enthusiasm, she looked Teddy up and down again, reaching over to pet the cat on his shoulder again. "You're like me? Brilliant! Putting it to good use, yeah?" she laughed, absolutely thrilled with the idea that she had a family. Her parents would be (or were) no doubt happy as well, because from what she gathered already, he was respectful and friendly and honestly in the wizarding world they needed a lot more of that. “Oh, uh, yeah.” Teddy smiled a little easier. There was still tension in his shoulders, but it was less about anxiety and more about the weird cat sitting there. “I mean, yes to the name and the being like you.” He gave in and pulled a little at his hair, though it was just a light tug to bring attention to the changing hue as he cycled through the rainbow and settled back on purple. “I don’t want to throw too much at you too fast. I know this place is a lot.” A dry swallow did nothing for the sudden lump in his throat. He really didn’t want to be the one to tell her what happened to her. “But you’re going to learn a lot of terrible things whether I like it or not, so hopefully...this part is good.” "I've already had to learn a few terrible things, whether I liked it or not," answered Tonks, frowning a bit. She knew what the Order was up against, and she knew she'd left right in the middle of it. The ghost told her that time wasn't moving on without her, at least. She still woke up from bad dreams on occasion. "Knowing you exist makes it easier, though. So yeah, this part is great." She'd smiled when he rotated his hair colors, refraining from mirroring it on her own to give him a chance to shine. It really did make her heart flutter a bit, seeing a bit of herself in someone else. "I'm a good mum, right?" Teddy didn’t want to be the one to tell his mother about her death, but he also didn’t want to be the one to lie to her either. He settled for a vague truth that fell somewhere in the middle. “I’ve never doubted your love for me.” His chest ached even saying that much, but he still mustered up a gentle smile. Taking Oberon off his shoulder, he held him in the crook of his arm and gestured towards the nearest buildings. “Could I...maybe show you around a bit? I have to get back to the library soon, but I don’t want to just drop in all...hey I’m your son you haven’t actually had yet, bye.” Tonks' mouth quirked up into a true smile, her hair brightening a bit along with it. That was pretty much the best response she could've gotten, honestly. She chuffed him on the shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'll keep questions to a minimum, right? You're not in interrogation and I don't wanna mess up havin' you one day," she added, shoving her hands into her pockets and looking out across the landscape. This place was already pretty impressive and if it kept getting better and better like this, she was good to stick around. It couldn't get any better than meeting your own future kid, right? |