aterat | Don’t change that channel!

Entry tags:

Don’t change that channel!

Who; Mono and anyone
What; Practicing his powers
Where; Around the city
When; Mid-March
Warnings; None to start, I think! I will update if something comes up.
Note; If you would like something specific or have an idea, you are welcome to talk to me about it. I am also open to writing personalized starters or doing other stuff, just drop me a line over on the plotting post or send me a message on discord @ WhimsicalSpook#8219

Mono was just finishing his last delivery for the day, the bag slung over his shoulder now empty, and he had plenty of time to spare. Time the boy had taken to making sure he had before the sun went down to spend practicing with his abilities. Mono still wasn’t fond of them for obvious reasons, but he was serious about learning to control it better. Especially to avoid hurting those around him, or letting it get out of control like it had before. The signal that he always gave off was clearly around to stay, stronger than before he went back…

But the rest of it was getting easier, thanks to help from Illyana, giving him advice and ideas to try out. More experience never hurt, though, and he wanted to make sure he didn’t forget things in between meetings with her. So after work on days when he didn’t meet up with someone else were reserved for this. He would find his way to a quiet back-alley where no one would be disturbed by his messing about with stuff, and would get to work.

Practicing the whole… portals through televisions was obviously still not happening, and Mono had been staying away from the mirrors that almost acted similarly (because his reflection in those was scary)… But everything else that was on the table. At least on smaller, careful scales.

‘Skipping’ as he called it, was easiest. His form blurring and stuttering as he walked and went from one end of the alley to suddenly a few feet further with an unnatural glitching quality, like a tape that wasn’t quite playing right. The boy would go back and forth like that a few times, until he felt a little more confident with it, before moving on.

‘Tuning’ was… A little more difficult. He could remember how big and powerful he’d felt after… The Man in the Hat was defeated, the way buildings had creaked and stood taller around him as he gathered his energy to make a final skip to the tower. He wasn’t sure if he could do that, reverse the wear on a worn, crooked building as he was now. Mono was pretty sure he’d only been that strong because of what happened and how close he’d been to the tower. How desperate he’d been to save his friend.

Though… The opposite of ‘fixing buildings’ had nearly happened when he returned to Aterat, he supposed.

Still, he hadn’t managed anything quite to that scale since his return, and he suspected it was from being in the Tower for so long. Now that he was cut off, it wasn’t quite so strong. So he focused on stacks of run down, soggy crates. Trying to make the leaning tower of boxes go back to standing tall. Though, that day, the bottom crate had kind of collapsed instead under the strain. Cracking and splintering, sending the rest of the stack tumbling. “Aw… Nuts!” A window rattled just slightly in its frame as the natural signal he generated fluctuated in his frustration. Then he sighed, and it settled.

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Ignis couldn't help but smile. Any time he could get that boy to look forward to something and not worry was a small victory in his mind. There were plenty of things that he had stored up and had kept meaning to throw away since the house had been done for quite some time now. But for some reason or another it never got done. Well now was the perfect time to take those things out of the little stash pile (which wasn't so little in reality) and help Mono out.

As far as the tv's went, Ignis' mind was working. Maybe he could ask Raimon for a tv or if he could somehow purchase one or two. That wouldn't be an issue. But he had a question. So he looked at Mono thoughtfully. "So you can enter a television set? Might I be so bold as to inquire as to what you do there?"

Curious advisor was curious.

Mono would absolutely appreciate it, given how hard he was trying to get better at things. The less chance of him breaking things that actually mattered to people, really important things, the better. Plus, if it was actually stuff they were planning to get rid of, the kid might feel like he was helping out with that!

“Yeah, it’s okay to ask stuff. You never get to know stuff if you don’t ask.” He responded with a little nod. Although the question gets a proper pause as he tries to think of how to explain the televisions and what was inside them. Fussing with the brim of his hat a bit, he finally decided where to start. “You know about teleporting and stuff? They kinda work like that for me, mostly. I go in and then I come out at the next nearest TV. Used it to get away from stuff a lot back in my world, but it was only me and the other me that could do it.” The Man in The Hat looked kind of funny (or scary) coming out of one compared to him, though. Since he was all grown up and big.

“I think I could probably get better at picking where to come out if I practiced, and maybe make them connect to each other, but there was kinda a lot happening, so I didn’t really have much time to do that.” So it was mostly a matter of going in one television and popping out of another, hoping that it wasn’t a television in a dangerous place.

Ignis listened before replying with a nod even if he fought a smile at Mono fussing with his hat. "I am rather familiar with teleporting. Back home my king could do such a thing, although he couldn't warp through television sets." Warping was amazing and Ignis was always impressed, even if he never said as much. What a rush that must be to be able to do such a thing.

Every time Mono mentioned something bad about back home, Ignis found a tiny part of him being angry in a protective way. Even if this boy wasn't his own, the royal advisor found himself thinking that way. And with the way Nida looked at the lad sometimes, that was rather obvious there was a deep bond between the two as well.

"Practice makes perfect as they say." Ignis replied with a fond smile once Mono explained about the television sets. "So I expect these tv's must be on and operational? Or can they be off?"

This was more info so he could talk to Raimon. Ignis would never give Mono's secrets away, it was just so he knew to ask for something in particular or not.

“That’s what I heard too!” So it had to be true, right? People wouldn’t just say something like that if it weren’t at least kind of true… He hoped. Sometimes practicing seemed like a never ending experience of trial and error (heavy emphasis on error), though… But he liked to think he was starting to get better, at least with certain aspects of his powers.

Mono nodded quickly at the question. It was a good guess! “Yup! The TV I go into and the one I pop out of both gotta be on, so even if I knew which TV I wanted to end up coming out of, if it weren’t on, I’d end up at the next one instead.” The boy dug into one of his oversized pockets. Reaching around one of his hats for something of a large plastic rectangle. A remote control. The universal remote!

At least that’s kind of what it was. It worked with any television where Mono was from. Since he couldn’t control where he came out exactly, only guessing where based on how close one tv was to another, narrowing it down by making sure the right TV was on and any other nearby one was off saved him a lot of trouble. “I found this in one place I was, so it made it easier if a TV was too far for me to reach to turn on when I was trying to get to that place instead of somewhere else.”

Ignis couldn't help but smile at Mono stating he'd heard the same thing. The boy quite frankly tugged on his heartstrings and he had yet to bring a certain conversation regarding this boy. But that conversation would have to be brought up for the two to be present at the same time. Mono was older after all and Ignis wanted the boy to have a say.

He listened to Mono go on about his abilities and then surprise registered on his face as Mono produced a television remote and he nodded, not making any attempt whatsoever to touch it.

Green eyes studied the thing and he looked at the other briefly as he went into his explanation. "Then I suppose there's only one thing left to do and that's to pay a visit to the merchant master Raimon."

That way they could see what could be done.

Mono’s eyes widened a bit at that. He hadn’t really considered actually asking for televisions from the guy in the market. Which maybe was a little silly of him to have forgotten, but it did make sense. Maybe with his mysterious stuff getting powers, he could bring some old televisions to this world for practice! “I never thought of that!” The boy paused, tilting his head slightly. “He’s supposed to be really good at getting stuff, I heard. I dunno if it would be expensive stuff to get though?”

Ignis smiled with a nod. "I've heard the same. And that is the first person I will be visiting him first thing in the morning. But as far as cost, I will see what can be acquired."

That meant he'd have to pay the merchant a before work, but he'd do that for Mono's sake. "How many do you think you would require?"

Cost he would deal with and of course it ran through his head. But he wanted to make sure he got what the boy needed. Ignis would do anything he could to accommodate Mono and his needs.

How many… Mono paused to think about that. One would be kinda pointless, there’d be nowhere to go. Two would work, but it didn’t leave much of a challenge for practice… It seemed like something important to get right. “I’ll think about it and let you know later? Like after supper, maybe.” Because food was always important at the end of the day, and he has a feeling his practice was over for now.

"After supper is perfect." Ignis agreed. He had no idea how all of this was going to go, but since Mono was the expert on this, letting the boy take the lead was more of a fruitful venture then him standing there in the Master Merchant's store debating without a real clue.

"Are you hungry now then?"

The question was answered first by a small growl from the boy’s stomach, before he sheepishly nodded as he moved away from the old crates. “Kinda yeah, I guess!” He had gotten so focused on practicing that he supposed he might not have noticed he was getting hungry… And now he was hungry, so maybe practice time was done for the day.

Ignis smiled as he heard the boy's stomach rumble. "Are we doing the grilled cheese again? Or would you prefer something else?"

And then it occurred to him to maybe pack a small lunch of snack for Mono for when he would be out training.

Something other than grilled cheese? If one had the option of grilled cheese, they took the option of grilled cheese! At least Mono thinks so, as food goes… Grilled cheese sandwiches were pretty close to the top of the list under apple turnovers. “Grilled cheese sounds really good! Maybe with some soup to dip it in?” He added with a little hopeful note in his voice. With all the rain and stuff, it was pretty damp and chilly. Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches were perfect on days like this!

"Soup and sandwhich." Ignis mused thoughtfully as they walked. He heard the hopeful tone and smiled at Mono. "Well we can completely go with that. While I'm preparing it, we'll have you get out of those wet clothes and warm up so you don't catch cold."

Those things were a wonderful idea and Ignis always tried to let Mono lead as far as food went. He didn't need another Noctis on his hands and wouldn't that little shit of a king be mad to know such a thing. Oh well, things ran differently here and that was that.

The child was more subdued with his reactions than most kids, but he definitely seemed more eager than usual at the confirmation. “Thanks Ignis, that’ll be really good.” He gave the man one of his clumsily tilted smiles as they left the alleyway behind in the direction of home.

The mention of getting something dry to wear and warmed up indoors is also a good point, and a good reminder. The boy was pretty practical and responsible for someone his age… But there were things he needed to be reminded about, if only because it wasn’t a constant option for him before. Like being able to change clothes when you needed to instead of just finding somewhere safe to hide out and hope that they dried out quickly, or alternatively just putting up with the damp cold feeling indefinitely. “That’s a good idea. It’s been raining so much lately it kinda reminds me of the Pale City. I hope the weather gets better soon.”

"I'm happy to be of service." Ignis replied easily. And really he was. He wanted to help Mono and of course Nida as much as he could. The royal advisor mused that when he first arrived all he did was basically sit around and wait to go home.

Now of course he had another home here and dare he think family and friends. That was still a topic that he and Nida would have to hash out and bring up to Mono in the future, but the two of them helped Ignis more than they would ever know.

Smiling at Mono now, the advisor couldn't help but nod. "I'm rather fond of the rain, but only when I can view it safely from the inside of the house, or from the windows at work or even on the porch."

That was a project he needed to get done. He wanted to put a swing out there so that they could sit out and enjoy the evening. But that was in the future. Right now, he kept an eye out for the boy and worked on getting them home safe.

Mono appreciated both Ignis and Nida. The fact that they gave him a home and were there for him went a long way to helping him feel a little less like a problem for everyone. Like he was accepted somewhere, which he couldn’t say he felt before in his own world. The boy still found them kind of confusing at times, but that was simply a difference in life experiences, he thinks.

“You like watching the rain?” The boy looked up as they walked along. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever like the rain… Not when it reminded him so much of that other place, but it was interesting to think other people actually liked it. It was better than watching television probably, at least based on what he’d seen of people watching television in his world. “I guess it might not be as bad if you’re inside.”

"I do." Ignis replied. There were so very many stories he could get into about how the dark and the rain were a recipe for disaster back home. Sometimes it seemed that was when the really nasty monsters spawned and set about attacking the lads. And some of those same fights had proven rather difficult.

However, none of that was going to be shared with Mono because the boy had enough sorrow and pain to deal with.

Smiling slightly at the boy as they neared the house, the royal advisor nodded. "Inside where it's safer and warmer. And there's the added benefit that there's always good food to be had within those same safe and warm walls."

It was something that Ignis prided himself on.

Mono could definitely see the sense in that things were a lot less sad or scary if you had a warm, safe place to sit and relax… Especially with good food. So if someone had those things all the time, then it probably was a lot easier to enjoy bad weather, like big loud storms.

“That would make it nicer. It always kinda feels better when you’re inside and you know there’s no bad stuff around. Especially if there’s some kinda snacks and people you can talk to.” That was also a big plus to things here. There were actual people he could spend time with and talk to… It was a good distraction when things were bothering him or something got unsettlingly close to reminding him of his world.

Ignis let out a small laugh at the mention of snacks. Since Mono mentioned it, he would definitely set about making those snacks along with the toasted cheese sandwiches that were so well loved.

"Yes, friends and family have a tendency to help with simply being around. And food is always a welcome companion to that wonderful company."

He of course meant Mono and Nida since they were all here together. But he refrained from mentioning such a thing because things hadn't shifted into that particular paradigm as of yet.

"I take it home with Nida and I feels safe?"

The question gets a curious tilt in his head as they walked along, glancing up at Ignis curiously. Was it not obvious that he felt that way about living with them? If he didn’t, he would have left a long time ago, and he would have definitely run away from the House of Solace if he’d been shuffled there when it appeared. Then again, maybe things like that weren’t obvious in other worlds, so the boy finally nodded. “Yeah, of course? It’s kinda nice being there with you guys. Never really had a home before, and nowhere that felt safe.”

Sure, he still worries sometimes about messing it up and making them not like him anymore… But that hadn’t happened yet, and it was starting to feel like it might be okay to relax about the idea.

Ignis was just one for clarity. Emotions confused him at times because he was more of a thinker. After all, it'd been Nida who initiated their very courtship because Nida's words and actions that night had been nothing short of confusing.

"That's good to hear." That reply came with a smile at the boy. "And safe is where you'll be kept." That was a promise that Ignis and Nida both would keep. They knew all too well how this world could turn upside down and how their own lives had done so.

"If you ever require anything, all you need to do is ask."

Because either he or Nida would undoubtedly help out, no matter what it was.

Mono nodded to the promise, because he trusted both Ignis and Nida to be honest with him. As long as… he didn’t give them a reason to decide otherwise, the boy supposed. That, unfortunately, was some residual anxiety left behind by the one person he’d trusted a little too much. But Ignis and Nida would be different. He had to hope that… People here would be different.

And if he had it his way, he’d make sure they were safe, too. Just like they made sure he was.

Mono glanced up at the comment, though, stirring from his thoughts with a little tilt of his head. “Okay, I’ll remember that… I don’t need much, though.” He never did. The clothes that Ignis, Nida and even Tommy had helped him out with were all nice. But even that was something he wouldn’t have really thought of himself. Though another well-timed grumble of his stomach brought another clumsily tilted grin to the boy’s face. “Except maybe that sandwich.”

(ooc: If you would like to wrap this due to the age I again totally understand, thank you for your patience ;; <3 )

Ignis had kept walking, his thoughts were a right jumble as they were from time to time. Nida's reluctance to make this a permanent legal thing with Mono made him avoid talking about the situation that he wanted to speak about. So he continued to keep his mouth shut regarding it.

Hearing the boy speak now turned his attention to the lad and Ignis smiled so that nothing seemed amiss. "I thought you might say as much. Still, the offer is there if needed."

And then he chuckled as he got to the front door and opened it. "Of course. Let's get you inside and fed in that case, shall we?"

(ooc: You are always welcome! When you're feeling up to it, let's do something with these two and at some point Llewellyn! But feel better first, there's never any hurry or rush!)

Mono would definitely keep the offer in mind as requested, and maybe one day he’d take Ignis up on it. One never knew, after all, what this world was going to throw at them next or how the boy himself was going to react to certain things in this place. One day he might think of something he needed, and for once he might not go looking for it himself and actively ask for help first.

As the door swung open invitingly, Mono offered Ignis one of his clumsy, tilted grins. “Okay, thanks Ignis!” He responded finally, hurrying inside to get them in out of the damp weather and into the comfortable warmth of home and grilled cheese sandwiches.

(ooc: I would definitely love to work on some new stuff soon! Especially with these two, they’re always interesting :3c ! maybe it’s time for Mono to ask Ignis for help finding something he can use as a weapon like the hammer he used to have? )

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Don’t change that channel!

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