o2 | Dictation/Action

[nohalfway]

[ Ellie is silent for a moment, before sighing. ]

I give this place about twenty points just for not being too high on the bullshit meter.

And I get there's a price for making wishes, but still?

Here's the bullshit: I've got something to celebrate, and from what I've gathered in those "days of old" stories before the world ended? You get a cake when you've got something to party about. I already spent a wish on a pizza party, and since I'm basically trained to not trust anything, I won't let myself go any further.

So.

Baking. How does one accomplish it, and where the fuck does one start?

Comments

lol forgot to click post hours ago...

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess chuckles, mostly at how Ellie apparently takes to beer like a fratboy, and she digs the cupcake tray out of the oven drawer.]

Pour the cake mix into the bowl.

lol whoops

[nohalfway]

[ Done and done. Ellie tears open the box like a kid on Christmas morning, pouring the mix in and ready for the next part. ]

Uh... Eggs now, right?

i'm bad

[dog_eat_dog]

One egg. It only makes like two dozen or something.

it's ok, so am i.

[nohalfway]

Alright...

[ One egg. Cracked egg, right? Something that Ellie can safely say she has never done. Quickly, she washes her hands, patting them dry with a nearby rag before grabbing the eggs on the counter. Carefully, she takes the egg, eyeing it cautiously. ]

[ One. Two. Bam. Ellie smacks the egg against the bowl too hard and it comes crushing open, shell cracked all over her hands and counter, egg not even close to the mix in the bowl. ]

[ She makes a long sound of disappointment, groaning. ]

Fuuuuuck, really?

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess sighs and moves over, one hand on Ellie's shoulder to guide her over to the sink. A tinge of irritation pops into her voice, mostly from the anxiety of seeing food wasted –– something she still hasn't kicked over the months.]

Ellie, for fuck's sake. It's an eggshell, not steel, you don't have to hit it that hard.

[nohalfway]

Augh, I'm sorry. Shit, now I wasted a fucking egg.

[ She feels just as bad about it. Ellie washes her hands again, repeating the process by grabbing yet another egg. ]

Careful...

[ Ellie is much more gentle this time, successfully cracking the egg and hesitatingly opening the shell to let the contents out. ]

A-hah. There.

[dog_eat_dog]

We'll survive.

[Tess resumes her role as supervisor, just directing and watching.]

Half a cup of vegetable oil next.

[nohalfway]

[ Ellie sighs. ]

I'unno, I need a drink after that egg-loss. It's got me pretty...

[ She takes another big gulp of her beer, then slams it down. ]

Beat.

[ Eyes glancing at Tess. Ah. Ah? Got that egg pun? GOT IT? ]

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess's eyes narrow slightly. She even purses her lips a bit, ostensibly because she wasn't humored but it but moreso to keep herself from smiling at such a bad joke.]

Haha. Cute.

[nohalfway]

[ Yes. Greatest feat ever known: she got Tess to laugh. Even if it was a little bit, nice to know the woman is capable of it. Ellie finds herself laughing in turn. ]

Meeeeeh, shitty one, I know.

[ But funny nonetheless. Ellie proudly grabs the bottle of vegetable oil and begins to measure it out. ]

[dog_eat_dog]

What's with you and puns, anyway? The only people I ever knew who liked puns were like... old guys with kids.

[nohalfway]

[ She snorts. ]

Because they're stupid. Kinda like they're so dumb, they're genius. Or something like that.

[ Ellie snags the empty box again, searching through the directions to see what comes next. ]

Riley got me a pun book for shits and giggles ages ago and they kinda stuck. Sorta became a tradition for us, so she kept finding them for me.

I've got tons.

[dog_eat_dog]

So I've seen. They're all over your room.

[Or were at one point, anyway. Tess measures out the requisite cup of water, given that she's nearest the sink, and she passes it over towards Ellie carefully so it doesn't spill.]

How long have you and Riley known each other?

[nohalfway]

[ Ellie takes the cup of water carefully, pouring it into the bowl. Hey, now they're cookin'! Not too bad so far. ]

Uh... I met her when I was thirteen. So I guess a year or two.

[ Not counting the, you know, her dying part. ]

I got transferred to the military school she was holed up at after I wasted my three strikes at a different one. She was a total dick to me at first, but we grew on each other.

She sucks at poker, though.

[dog_eat_dog]

Decent amount of time in our world, I guess.

[She's had longer relationships go sour, though. Like her and Marlene.]

I'm glad you get a second chance.

[nohalfway]

[ Ellie laughs softly, smile on her features as she starts mixing the contents in the bowl. ]

Yeah...

Me too.

Place isn't so bad. Not as much of a shithole as I thought it'd be.

[dog_eat_dog]

Yeah, because back in Boston, you ever thought you'd one day live in paradise? It's the furthest thing from shithole possible.

[nohalfway]

[ She laughs. ]

It's so corny, but yeah. Never thought I'd make it into anything close to paradise since I had no fucking clue what it was in the first place.

[ And she looks up to Tess, smiling. ]

Here's another bit of corny: it's... Real cool to see you again.

[ Her gaze goes back to the cake mix. ]

You know, I got to thank you and all before shit hit the fan, but not personally. You were the nicer one when we started moving.

I'm sure Joel's real happy to have you around again.

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess finds herself looking away for a second, if only to process. She'd never really imagined herself or what she did through Ellie's eyes, only Joel's –– Ellie was still cargo, then.

Then, with a somewhat braced look, she replies:]

You're welcome.

[A pause.]

Joel's... well. I should probably thank you for taking care of him now that I can't. He needs someone to keep him busy, to keep him going, and as far as I've heard, that's exactly what you did.

[nohalfway]

[ Waxing sentimentality is something that isn't practiced often where they're from. You take what you can get and move forward, but damn it if Ellie didn't learn to hold close whatever she can grasp. The smile fades when Tess returns the sentiment, not out of negativity but a flash of memory. Tess was Joel's partner for a long time up until Marlene got involved, until Ellie got involved. ]

[ She still can't help but feel like that's somehow her fault... ]

It wasn't just me.

[ She grabs the cupcake tin, reaching over for the wax cups and setting them into each slot. ]

I mean, I know the whole thing wasn't easy for him. He could've just dropped me after the whole fiasco and gone home. But he covered my ass for a whole year.

He's the only adult next to Marlene who didn't... You know. Give up on me.

[ Idly, she continues to stir the mix. ]

I know I'm a handful. I mean, shit, [ A laugh. ] I got moved from like three different military schools after getting into fights, stealing, tons of shit.

Even when he did try to give me up to someone else, he backed out. Tried for me. I really owe him for that.

[dog_eat_dog]

He's a good man.

[They may not be good people overall, but he's a good man to her, at least.]

There aren't many people I would have asked to do something that hard. I mean, I didn't know how long it would take for him to get you to the Fireflies, but he didn't want to take you outside the Quarantine Zone, let alone all the way out West, but...

[She shrugs.]

Kids. For someone who loves kids as much as he does, he wants nothing to do with them most of the time. It's almost better that you're a little shit, because nobody else would take the time to get him to open up.

[nohalfway]

He's a dad.

[ Ellie shrugs. Talking about Sarah is obviously a really difficult subject for him. She knows she must have died a long time ago, but Ellie can tell the wound will probably never heal for him. And she gets it. ]

I mean, that's my guess. There's really no talking about it with him. Joel mentioned Sarah a couple times after I found out about her. I'd think once you become a parent, that doesn't ever change.

Maybe. I don't know.

It's hard to tell how he sees you? He's been really... Different since.

Well... Stuff happened.

[ David. ]

[dog_eat_dog]

[She nurses her beer for a moment, eyes unfocusing as she falls into thought. She'd never asked Joel what he'd told Ellie –– she'd just always assumed he would fall silent about her the way he was silent about Sarah, about Tommy, about everyone else, saying something only when drunk or dreaming. Tess isn't hurt by it –– she knows Joel will still think of her, and she doesn't need to be some faceless part of his past to Ellie –– but it hadn't really troubled her before.]

No, that's how I've always thought about it, too. Once a dad, always a dad.

But yeah. [A dismissive wave.] I wouldn't expect him to have talked about me much. I guess it's been pretty weird for you to see him so... domestic.

[nohalfway]

[ There's a bitter laugh there, and it's a prelude to Ellie stopping her actions to take part in her drink again in turn to Tess. ]

He never wants to talk about anything. Probably because it's fucking tough to face.

I think that's why he never talked about you or Sarah. Too hard for him to deal with.

[ A heavy exhale follows her taking another drink. ]

And yeah, it's really fucking weird.

[ She makes pause to think about it, really taking in just how much Joel has changed in the last year. It took a huge turn in the winter, after he'd gotten hurt. After she'd been stuck on her own for days trying to keep him alive and keep them safe, which she ended up hanging by a thread in the end anyway. ]

Can't say I don't like it, though. I guess if I ever did have a dad, this is what it'd feel like--

[ And she shoots a look of embarrassment, nearly dropping her beer. ]

Oh fuck, don't tell him I said that, okay?

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess nods.]

I won't.

[And then, after a thoughtful pause:]

Neither of us are really likely to talk about the past, especially at length, but the long story short of it is that he and I have known each other for about fifteen years. And in that time, I haven't learned much about Sarah, either.