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Who: Taako, otawg (open to all w goods)
What: 'i can't believe Taako invented wal-mart'--Zero
When: 8/16 and on? if you want the full inventory
Where: The ruins
Warnings: Spicy

The meeting with the shitty god-rabbit had clarified not a whole lot, if Taako is being honest. But one thing is clear, they (this entire island of randos) are in it for awhile, so they (Taako and Lup) need to be in it to win it. And on this island, winning it means selling anything you can get your hands on for anything that might be useful. Their ice cream social had been moderately successful, and the horrible hustle elves are doubling down on their established niche, now that they realize the full stakes.

To that end, you can peruse an up-to-date inventory here. During daylight hours, there is a very good chance you can find a makeshift setup of warez, with the tired but socially effervescent elf responsible close by. There's existing stock, in very limited quantities, of small things. There's a list with everything else. The wood sign just says 'Got Stuff?' as kind of a preliminary; the argument re: naming convention is ongoing and bloodshed may be imminent. Bring your A-game hagglewise, and remember that a neutral feedback is the same as a negative.

[I should clarify, you can thread with both twins but the default setting is Taako unless otherwise specified! Up 2 you! Not fussy!]

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If Ren is perturbed to hear anything Taako said, he's not much better off. These are definitely some of the saddest words that ever got said, that's just objectively true even if Taako is a little ungrounded from the realities of it. So that's pretty much definitely a no then, on the just...general existence of other people, families? Fuck. That's, that's a lot to take apart on short notice. He winces, just a little, but throws his pack over his shoulders gracelessly to disguise it.

"Yeah, those are pretty good uh, family things. It's not all looting and games, for sure." And that's all he's got to say on it for now, because unlike Lup that is how he lives his life. Too bad they're fresh out of porridge and beds, so looting and games will have to be it for now. What else do families do? Maybe something terrifying will chase them and cement this nascent, placeholder bond. Welcome aboard, Ren. He and Lup probably need to have a talk about this, but it probably won't be a long one.

"I don't think either of us has a hundred year game in the tank right now, homie. How about just til it gets dark?" Their new urchin doesn't have darkvision, probably. What a shame. He orients himself toward the exit of the ruins, but waits for his companions to collect themselves. Waits for Lup to take the lead, while he has eyes and ears for any followers. Casa de Trust No One, here they come. "Then you can have some dinner, if you want."

Yep, alright, that long pause as Ren is trying to remember seeing literally any sort of family is, wow, that's not great, and Lup really wouldn't have hated being wrong about her suspicion. They came across a couple of unpopulated planes, those were always pretty depressing places, and some with just a couple of survivors. But even those still had some kinda society going, people going about their day, kids playing in the streets and all? And somebody must have taught Ren a language, and reading and games. But whatever, that's enough backstory for now, neither her nor Taako, she's real damn sure, need any more reason to take this kid under their wing. There isn't anything they can do about all of that anyway, they can't Temporal Chalice their way into a less shitty childhood for this urchin. She briefly makes a horrified face into her knapsack before strapping it shut and shouldering it, grabbing her umbrella.

As she walks past Taako to take the lead out of the ruins, she glances at him with kind of a baffled but relieved smile, like she's aware this is getting super out of hand somehow but glad that he seems to be just as willing to roll with it. His offer of dinner seals it, this is their urchin now. "Oh yeah, cooking's another great family thing," she agrees enthusiastically, looking over her shoulder to make sure Ren is keeping up. "We're the best at that, like objectively? So you stick with us and you'll pick up all kinds of tricks. There's probably more family things we're just not thinking of right now, too."

"If the moon is full, we can play longer." If they aren't tired by then, that is. Nightfall is a compromise she can get on board with and it's clear by her attempt to extend this playdate that she's looking forward to it continuing on. Not for hundreds of years, but maybe like 9PM. They may not have another opportunity to play for awhile, if not ever. They haven't even begun and she doesn't want it to end. They don't have to worry about this stray needing a cue to follow them, as she trails a few feet behind Taako. Though the unexpected offer of a meal afterwards throws her minimally planned day through a loop and it kind of sounds like, just now, they maybe-

offered her a place to stay.

She plays the words around in her head again. And again. And a third time for good measure. It's easy for her to misunderstand people and it feels like this is one of those times. She quietly repeats the words aloud to herself-stick with us to see if hearing them again helps clarify anything. Nope. Sure doesn't. Because it would be too good to be true, that someone other than Seto would offer their company or would accept having her around. Drifter felt like an exception on her arrival and to hear it again, from these two, is surprising. And makes her feel like there's something she's missing all the more.

She doesn't know how to ask her next question, so she relies on the age old method of fumbling until it works. "You'll let me," A pause. "Be with you? To learn family things?"

Taako is running out of wince-ful interjections to think vehemently in response to shit Ren says. Which, considering, is impressive. That's, she's already really attached to this hide n seek idea and they haven't even started, he can hear the not wanting it to end and it's out of proportion, that's kind of a lot of pressure, here. It would be an alarming specter of attachment and responsibility, if she hadn't said so many truly sad things, and if Lup weren't here. Whatever, Lup has it entirely right, he's bemused but committed, nevermind that he didn't really think it through. Like, he didn't set out to steal a child, but he's not a quitter. Actually, he is, but, well.

Yeah, he doesn't miss her repeating Lup's words either, thanks elven hearing, and her fumbled question is louder but not at all, like, better. Wow. That's on into like, a new plane beyond tragic. Still, smart of her to clarify, he tells himself, so he can think at least on some level that it's not all incredulity in there. He bites his lip so he doesn't just start saying a bunch of shit, a rare success on that front. "I mean...yeah! Why, uh. Why wouldn't we?" Nope, nope, not as successful as he thought. Lup, help.

Lup hears his call for help just fine in his high-pitched tone of voice like he's just as startled as Ren by all this, but for once she doesn't know how to bail him out either. Because she didn't miss the kid's incredulity either, repeating her words as she's doing the unfamiliar mental math of someone offering her safety and companionship, and... family things, shit. That feeling from earlier is back, like her heart's breaking but it's just making her more determined to look out for Ren. This sure went from 'wanna play a game some time' to 'welcome to the fam' in 0.6 seconds, but what the hell, right? Why not, actually, for real.

"Sure!," she chirps before Ren gets a chance to tell them why they wouldn't take her in, which is probably the help Taako was looking for, so Lup continues to be the best at this actually. "The camp's big enough and we're pretty good on food, and like, looting lessons and games are gonna be easier if you're close by, right? Just don't mind this lazybones over here snoring and sleeping in all the time," she adds with a wink at Taako, as she pushes into the underbrush and leads them on one of several trails towards their hideout.

Taako's question is taken literally. Thankfully, before she can wrack her brain to come up with the multitude of reasons they wouldn't-shouldn't, Lup chimes in and brings her attention back to the topic at hand. Food, treasure hunting, games-it sounds too good to be true. They have no reason to continue offering this much. Hide and seek she got on board with in a heartbeat-it's easier to believe they would play a temporary game with her than offer a place in their camp. They aren't the lab techs charged with keeping her healthy for the project. They aren't Seto who promised to protect her. She's nobody to them. But here they are, saying it's okay for her to just be there, eat a meal and stay the night with no strings attached.

"It's okay if he snores," She hesitantly starts, focusing on what's clearly important here. "If he wakes up, then it's okay. I don't mind that kind of thing."

As long as Taako stays alive, he's allowed to snore. That's a fair trade, isn't it? It's not an outright acceptance, the sudden offer makes her wary, but her desperation for some form of safety and the memory of Seto lingers in her mind. She took a chance on him and he made her lonely life brighter. Taako showed her kindness, even as she tried to steal his bag. Drifter protected her on their journey to the ruins. All of them made her day easier. It's okay to take a chance now, isn't it? She waits until Taako moves before starting to trail behind them.

CONGRATULATIONS? You have now have +1 urchin. Good job.

Yeah, clearly that IS what's important here, though Taako feels like he maybe doesn't understand, entirely, what Ren is getting at? And maybe that's for the best? He's really developing a feel for when he's walking over a potential sinkhole of a revelation. So he snipes at Lup instead, but it's just the sound he makes, it's background noise, delivered around an easy grin. "Hey, we're twins, remember? If I snore then so do you, that's just science. Why would you even lie like that, and to a child, no less."

He does pick up on the fact that Ren hasn't just blindly agreed to the offer that they didn't even fully intentionally make, so maybe the real adult here was the urchin they found along the way. At the very least, props for being a little wary, and they didn't even have to teach it to her. He falls back in their little marching order to Ren's side, and for once it's not just because he's trying to slither his way to the back of a party so he doesn't feel that itch of having someone behind his back. Lup's doing a good job with her urchin handling checks, but he's got his own proficiency to add.

"Listen, you're welcome to hang out as much or as little as you want. Both of those, you know? We're not gonna like, set you a curfew," are they, Lup? Nah. "You don't have to be nearby, or, or learn stealth and stuff, if you don't want to." She can get away, and she can prioritise that over their worrying about her (Lup, for the record, cannot do this). This is reassuring, right? Nah, of course it is, having options is always reassuring, that's what they're for, nesting in. Her life has sounded pretty not great so far, but that doesn't mean there aren't aspects of it she might like to hang onto. "It's just there if you want it. We're not here to harsh anyone's gig."

It's clever of Taako to fall behind in line next to Ren, because now Lup can't employ the ol' snapping branches in his face trick to get back at him for his back talk. Well played, bro. Though it might also have had something to do with Ren's uncertain response to their offer, which is fair enough. It is a whole lot to dump on someone sort of accidentally, who obviously hasn't encountered a lot of kindness before, or just, people in general, even. That one's on Lup, defs, and her terminal lack of a filter between her emotions and her mouth. She's never thought of it as a problem so much as, maybe a challenge, mostly for her brother to handle.

And he's doing so admirably now. She's following the conversation with pricked ears as she picks their way through the jungle, grinning affectionately to herself. Look at this big softie of an elf, reassuring a scrappy kid like a pro. Her first impression was right, Ren has him wrapped around her finger real good. Shame she can't drag him for it, because she's right there with him. So she keeps quiet for once, with the unspoken understanding that he said everything better than she could've. The rest is up to Ren. Though she can't help throwing a doofy grin over her shoulder back at Taako anyway.

Choices and options are a new luxury for Ren and in the presence of adults, she was uncertain how it would continue. There was a certain worth to knowing what families were like and listening to how they banter, watching their every move and gesture to each other and understanding there's an unspoken level of comfort between them that she knows she's never felt long enough to fully grasp. It's why she just wants to watch. Seto and her may have come close to that point, she thinks. But they weren't family. It's not the same.

And as Taako speaks, she realize they aren't like the doctors that planned out every hour of her day. They aren't like the lab techs that told her where to sit, where to stand and how long she could play with blocks before they would shove her into a machines for the good of the project and-

They aren't like that at all and maybe it's Lup's smile that settles the few worries that remain in the wake of Taako's explanation.

"It can be like that?" The smile returns to her face quicker than before and her fingers loosen against the straps of her bag. And it's not a real answer yet again, in the sense of saying 'I'll stay' or 'I don't want to be alone anymore' which are the words itching to come out, but-

"Can we draw together tomorrow?"

Shit dude it sure can be like that. He nods and grins back, indulgent, magnanimous, absolutely not a sign anywhere on him that she's said anything remotely red flag-esque, again. Whatever the opposite of 'like that' is, Ren's been in it, and he is just, man, it's like he's a clairvoyant as well as a wizard. But only about bad shit, and only a little bit, and that's maybe the worst.

"We're on island time now. Why not?" He shrugs, artfully casual. Is that meant to be a test, see how unwilling to impose order on their new charge these elves really are? Kind of a shitty test; he can only imagine what gremlin artistic endeavour entails, but it's probably buckwild and he's preemptively here for it. This island is still objectively shit, but at least it seems like a good deal for Ren. Honestly, a civilised kid would probably be worse off, here.

Taako picks up the pace a little, an unobtrusive shift in case Ren is gonna get spooked by the attention. He's still playing all of this by ear, but this, at least, he should have a better grasp on than some. "Be nice to do something that isn't work. What's even the point of being a wizard if you still have to do things?" See, games and drawing will obviously be a welcome distraction.

It's become increasingly clear that there's always a wealth of complex meanings and feelings behind the things Ren says, stuff she has no words for or doesn't know how to put out there where other people can see them. Good thing she's rolling with two very quick learners now. She still hasn't said she wants to stay, but she's smiling again, and thinking about tomorrow, and having hope for better circumstances, and that's just as good. They've begun to earn this lonely girl's trust and it's gonna be a cold day in hell before they let her down.

Even if drawing isn't exactly either of their strong suit. Takes too long to get any good at it, better leave it to real artists, people like... well, people who paint entire portraits and effortlessly catch their subjects' whole personalities, capture moments in time like some kinda magic. But for Ren, Lup will sit her ass down long enough to manage some scribbles. "Hell yes, arts and crafts. Sounds like a sweet day off for sure," she grins and shoots them a thumbs up.

As they trek further into the forest, Lup makes sure to point out some inconspicuous lengths of string here and there, tied to wind chimes hidden in branches, and it's not long before they reach a spot where the suffocating density of the jungle lets up a little, bright reflections of a nearby pool glittering between the trees in the distance. A decently sized tent made of rough tarp is tucked into the underbrush, fire pit in front, a hammock strung up close by. Defs not as glamorous as the twins would like, but they've had worse. "That's home," Lup declares with a little flourish like her presentation is gonna make it less shitty than it really is. "Kind of a fixer upper? We're working on it, maybe add like a tennis court or something." Maybe start with indoor plumbing. "Go on, have a look around while we get our inventory stashed away, then it's hiding and seeking time."

It does help when he moves away. That allows her look at the forest around them instead of concentrating on his actions. Being within sight is enough to ease most of her worries about being alone. A secure escape route is enough to quell every other fear in her for the time being. Big rocks, glass-all things to avoid if she's got to run. If they have to run.

The gesture Lup makes-the thumbs up-distracts her. She doesn't know what that means and looks down to hand, making the her own thumbs up and letting it fall without a word. And she listens intently when the strings are pointed out, taking care to note where they are and how to get around them. To her, these are intricate little warning signals. Impressive, even, and she wonders if they would work on ghosts too. This bit of security must be why they feel safe in one place.

That's home and her eyes light up like she's looking at a castle for the first time. There's a shelter-a house that's a size she's never seen before and-

She dumps all the contents of her bag to the ground so they can shuffle through for their items among the garbage. Apparently carrying them here was the beginning and end of her helpful nature. Hopefully nothing broke? It's probably fine. She doesn't seem concerned about it because she's stumbled upon the greatest treasure of all-a grody little elf camp.

"Families live in a 'home'. I know about that. The bears lived in that kind of place too." And she hovers by the tent first, poking her head in to see what's crackalackin in there. Only to get distracted by the hammock out of the corner of her eye. That's weird. Why put a blanket(??) up like that? Maybe it's to shield them from something? To test out that dumb theory, she kneels under it and presses her hands against it from there. It doesn't fall. Doesn't do much of anything. "Do you hide from the sun here?"

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