Catnapping - OTA

[death_from_above]

Who: Spark and whomever
Where: All around the train
When: After the mission, before the platform
What: Spark being introspective while trying to pretend he's still just... Spark
Warnings: Angst, possible violence mentions.


Spark often claimed that he slept through missions to explain why he was absent from them, so he was free to have Gar or Privateer Pirate show up. But this time he actually had slept. He'd been sleeping a lot since that world with the fake lives, that one that felt so much like a storm from Nautilus.

But he was....

Lonely. That was it. He was lonely.

He was more settled now than he had been after the fish world, but he was still barely eating and avoiding people. Or had been. He just...

He wished Adrien would show up here. Or The Doctor would know who he was. Rose. Nino. Connie. Nita. Kirika. Dominic. Greg. Donovan. Luna. He'd even take Jacob or Gabriel at this point, though each had their issues. Of course if he was bothering with wishing... Quilt.

He shook himself and walked through the train, looking for someone who needed a cat to snuggle with, or tell their problems to. Or a friendly face from Nautilus, since none from his real home or Paris were here...

Comments

[sevenyearsasleep]

“Me being happy isn’t important.”

[death_from_above]

"It is to the people who care about you. Or do they not matter?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

“If they love me, they understand. It’s not like I’m never happy, or anything.”

[death_from_above]

"Do you want the people you love to be happy?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

“Shadow told me I need to be more open about my feelings. I used to hide them more…”

Link shook his head. “I know what you're getting at. No one is happy all the time. That would take a lot away from real joy. My friends want me happy not faking it.”

[death_from_above]

"I never said fake it. Seeesh. But there is no problem with being happy often. As Donovan used to say all the time, happiness is more infectious than anything save a smile."

[sevenyearsasleep]

“He sounds a lot like a mask salesman that I know.”

Which, unfortunately for Spark, raised a bit of wariness on Link’s end.

“I do like to make people happy. I try to help people whenever I can…and that makes me happy too.”

[death_from_above]

"It sure doesn't seem to make you happy from what I've seen."

[sevenyearsasleep]

“I don’t always wear how I’m feeling on my face.”

Link gave a lopsided smile. “Sometimes, it’s just good knowing you helped. Helps keep the bad memories at bay.”

[death_from_above]

"Well sure, but some of us help by smiling and cheering people up, you know."

[sevenyearsasleep]

“I’m better at doing things. I’m not so great at pep talks.”

He shrugged. “Guess that’s why the train takes all sorts, right?”

[death_from_above]

"Pep talks are easier."

[sevenyearsasleep]

"Gosh, I don't think so. It's so much easier to do something than just to talk."

[death_from_above]

"Talking just needs your face. Doing means running around. Carrying. Doing. Exhausting."

[sevenyearsasleep]

"No one wants to hear me talk," Link said earnestly. "Listen, maybe? But, not talk."

[death_from_above]

"Why not?" Because you're too serious and a downer? Not that he was saying that.

[sevenyearsasleep]

Link shrugged. "Why would anyone care?"

[death_from_above]

"Why wouldn't they?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

“It’s not important.”

Link hesitated and then said in quieter tones, "I can't tell someone all about my troubles when they aren't being entirely honest with me."

[death_from_above]

"Why wouldn't it be important? And besides, if you're admitting you're not telling me everything, isn't that the same thing you're accusing me of?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

“No, you’re lying to me. I’m choosing not to share. I’m telling you that I don’t want to talk about it, because you’ve been lying to me. There’s a difference.”

[death_from_above]

"You think I'm lying to you. Doesn't mean I am," he grumbled.

[sevenyearsasleep]

“I’m confident you are. I’d probably have believed you if you didn’t also say you couldn’t use Bending.”

The Ascended knew that much was baloney.

[death_from_above]

"Wait... your so-called proof that I'm lying.... is that I said to you the same thing I have said to everyone since I arrived in Nautilus? The fact that I'm consistent... makes me a liar?" What... what kind of logic was that?

"I'm a cat. Talking is my magic. Have you ever heard of a cat learning magic? Your answer to my saying I don't Bend isn't 'maybe the talking cat is right and he can't Bend' and isn't even 'maybe he was so lazy he never bothered to try, despite being.. you know... a CAT' it was 'well I can Bend, so clearly the cat is lying'? Unless you mean lying down how is 'so clearly the cat is lying' ever the first answer?!" His jaw might be hanging open a bit.

[sevenyearsasleep]

“You’re a Wakened. All Wakened can Bend. Being a cat doesn’t mean you’re not a capable person, Spark.”

Link busied himself with cleaning up.

“Speech isn’t that strange either, at least, not where I’m from…”