Tasslehoff Burrfoot is not a thief (tas_wanderlust) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-10-17 22:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, caleb rivers, tasslehoff burrfoot |
Who: Tasslehoff and Caleb
What: Random encounter at the arcade
When: Recently
Where: The arcade
Rating/Warning: Low/none
Status: Complete
Now that Caleb had cut back on the whole drinking thing he needed other ways to unwind after work. He could always go home and play videogames, but his apartment was a bit of a mess at the moment with getting ready for the move. Being home just reminded him that he should be packing and not sitting around playing games. When did he acquire so much shit? He used to just own a backpack full of things. That’s what happened when actually stayed in one place for over a year.
But packing would wait for now. Caleb wandered into the arcade heading over to play grand theft auto. Ironic considering he used to help steal cars in real life but it was what he was good at apparently.
Tas didn't think he’d ever actually spoken to the man on the Network, but he had a great memory for faces and he recognized him nearly immediately. Tas quickly headed beelined for the man. The most interesting friends he had were all on the Network so far, and he saw no reason why this one should be any different. “Hi!” the incredibly short man said cheerfully, holding up a hand for a handshake once he was beside the man. The top of his topknot barely reached the man’s chest. “I’m Tasslehoff Burrfoot! What are you playing?”
Well this little guy sure was friendly. “Hey,” Caleb said with a nod before reaching out to shake the guy’s hand. He wasn’t used to people being so formal, but when they were he could follow suit. “Caleb,” didn’t mean he was going to give out his full name though. “GTA V. Want to join?”
“Oh sure! I don’t really play a lot of video games, but they can be fun sometimes!” Tas grabbed hold of one of the other controller attached to the machine. “Especially when I get to play with someone else who’s on the Network! Do you dream too?”
That was not something Caleb was expecting to hear. Most people he knew weren’t so open about the Network. He certainly didn’t go advertising he was on it when he ran into strangers. “You’re on the valarnet?” Caleb asked with a furrowed brow. He hadn’t memorized on the pictures like Tas had. “But yeah, I dream. I think everyone on there does.” At least that seemed to be the common theme. “What are yours like?” Tas had said too so obviously he dreamed.
“Oh, they’re great!” Tas said cheerfully. “I mean, mostly great. A lot of people die, which isn’t so great. Flint - he was my best friend in the dreams - he just died not too long ago and it was really sad. And my other friend, Sturm, he was killed by another friend of ours.” Kitiara, who Tas wasn’t about to name, given that Kit was also on the Network and probably wouldn’t appreciate that. “But other than that they’re pretty great! There are these evil dragons, and lots of magic everywhere. And I once flew on a dragon. Not the evil ones, but one of the good ones. He was bronze. And one time, I wore this great teleportation ring that brought me to this evil wizard, and he was really interesting! Oh, and I met this great Woolly Mammoth!” He hadn’t actually dreamed of meeting the woolly mammoth yet, but it was one of his favourite stories to tell in his dreams. “And we all live in Solace, which is this town where all the houses are in the trees. Except for mine and Flint’s. Flint doesn’t really like being up so high, so he has one of the few houses on the ground, and he just wouldn’t do well without me so I live with him too even though I’d much rather live in the trees. Oh,” he said, his face and tone suddenly becoming very sad. “But I guess I can get a tree house too now.”
Well that was a lot of information to take in. Caleb wasn’t even sure where to start. However Tas had mentioned his best friend a lot and Caleb could tell he was upset the was gone. Which of course was understandable. It’d be weird if he wasn’t upset about his best friend dying. “I’m sorry about your friend,” Caleb offered. People had died in his dreams too, but most of them were either bad or friends of Hanna’s. Except for Miranda but that was a girl he had known for like a day. Knew her longer as a ghost than when she was alive. It didn’t sound anything like how close Tas was with Flint. “But yeah, maybe you can live in a tree house now. That’d be cool, right?”
“That’d be super cool,” Tas said cheerily. It hurt to think about Flint a lot of the time, but it was easier now to quickly turn his thoughts to something else. “I wish they built houses up in the trees out here. It really is the best way to live! What are your dreams like? Do they have magic and dragons too? A lot of people here seem to dream if that kind of thing!”
“Maybe one will transfer over. If you move into ones in the dreams that is.” He personally hadn’t received a dream gift that large, but he had heard of it before. He shook his head with a bit of a laugh at Tas’ question. “No magic in my dreams,” well for the most part. Ravenswood didn’t really count. “Just a lot of stalking.”
“Stalking?” Tas asked, frowning to himself. “What do you mean, stalking? Like, stalking animals for hunting?” He was aware that that was probably not what Caleb meant, but looking on the bright side was Tas’ specialty.
“I wish,” Caleb didn’t sound bitter though. It was true there was lot to be bitter about. But he tried to keep things in perspective. A didn’t exist here and that’s what mattered. Hanna was safe. Plus it was hard to be bitter around this cheerful little guy. “More like cyber stalking. And my girlfriend being blackmailed and threatened.”
“Oh no,” Tas exclaimed. “That doesn’t sound very fun at all.” Tas frowned. He really didn’t understand these dreams sometimes. With a few exceptions, mostly of the people dying variety, Tas had really enjoyed his dreams. There were magical. He could go flying on pegasi and dragons, he’d met a wooly mammoth, and now his roommate could do actual magic in the real world. But it really was troubling to hear that not everyone had as great of dreams as he did. “I hope you catch the person who’s doing it! You don’t have to deal with any of that here do you?”
“Not that I know of.” If Hanna was getting cyber stalked here, Caleb was pretty sure she would tell him. They had this honesty policy. Plus she didn’t act all secretive or jump every time she got a text so he was pretty sure it was safe. “So if there’s magic and dragons in your dreams, does that make you some kind of wizard?”
“I wish,” Tas sighed wistfully. “How wonderful would it be to just be able to say words and throw some dust and then fly.” Not that he’d ever seen any wizards actually flying in his dreams. Not even Raistlin, and Raistlin was the strongest wizard Tas knew. “But no, I can’t do any magic. My very best friend can though! Not Flint, my best friend from my dreams. Actually, I always got the impression that he - Raistlin - doesn’t really like anyone in the dreams. Except maybe Caramon.” Though he could be awfully mean to Caramon in the dreams sometimes too.
Caleb had actually flown before. With Peter. It hadn’t been the best experience given they were attacked by monkey mutts but still. However he didn’t exactly have the ability on his own so no need to get this guys hopes up. “Raistlin is your best friend that can do magic?” he asked trying to clarify what Tas was saying.
“That’s what I said,” Tas said, giving Caleb a look that clearly said that Tas thought he might be a little bit slow. After all, Tas had been as clear as day. “He can do all sorts of things. Like turn people into cockroaches, and make giant fireballs, and he said that we’re going to send the apartment into space someday, which I think will be a lot of fun. One time, in the dreams, he took down an entire legion of evil firebreathing dragons.”
At least, he assumed Raistlin probably had. They’d been separated ages ago in the dreams, but Tas liked to imagine what his friends were up to when he wasn’t around, and that involved them taking out legions of evil dragons.
That actually wasn’t what he said. But whatever. There wasn’t much of a point in correcting him. Especially when he just kept on talking. Made it difficult to get a word in anyway. “Remind me not to get on his bad side,” Caleb commented with a smirk. He’d rather not be turned into a cockroach or be attacked by a fireball.
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem! He’s really nice.” Of course, Tas had a broad definition of the word nice that extended to grumpy misanthropes. “So how long have you been living here? I’ve been here for over a year now, which is the longest I’ve ever stayed in one place, but it’s hard to just leave when you’re worried you might miss the next exciting thing that happens here. This is definitely the most exciting place I’ve ever lived. Don’t you just love it?”
“About the same amount of time.” Hard to believe he had stayed in one place for so long. Found a home, was no longer on the run. However, unlike Tas he didn’t find this place exciting. If he hadn’t made so many friends here, he’d have escaped the crazy. “Love is a very strong word,” Caleb finally replied. “More like I put up with it for my friends, and Hanna.” No way was he ever leaving her.
Tas frowned. Right, he’d had the conversation before about how not everyone liked this place. While Tas just chalked it up to life having its ups and downs, he had talked to people who were devastated because of these dreams. Killian had lost a hand, and even his friend Alyssa had died during one of the events. But just because bad things happened, it didn’t mean that people had to completely overlook how great it was that the OC was frequently set upon by strange and unusual monsters. “Your friends are lucky to have you around then! Not everyone has friends who stay just for them!”
“It’s a two way street.” Because it was. He was lucky to have the people he did in his life. Especially Hanna. “But anyway, on to the game.”