( ett • voice & video )

[enflame]

( At first there's not a video feed, just a very simple yet disgruntled question: )

Does anyone around here know how to knit? I feel like I have to be missing something.

( In an effort to illustrate the point, there's suddenly a telepathic video stream attached, showcasing what appears to be a muddled ball of yarn; someone may or may not have resorted to trying to rub or melt it together because knitting is obviously just some type of witchcraft.

Hands attempt to pull it apart to showcase the expert craftsmanship that went into this mess -- there's also the sound of rain, as well as a small voice in the background that keeps shouting FUCK! over and over again with varied levels of intensity. The culprit is a chubby Elto baby that's crawling around just out of sight, a thick stick grasped firmly in their hand. )

Lisko! No bad words! -- Regardless, I have a suspicion that the problem is more so with the type of...materials...since they don't want to stick together no matter what I do.

( Or Emil's just an idiot, which is only somewhat more likely. )

Comments

[lalliho]

[It's true, ugh, he does say a lot of cute things, doesn't he... Rats. The rest of this, though...!]

Me? I don't talk.

[He says, talking.]

How dare you.

[enflame]

( Don't think he didn't notice! Emil sets Lisko on the bed (who seems a little started from whatever Day Dad just did; they need time to process this information they've gleaned) to take the neck of the bottle Lalli's pointed at him and push the opening towards its owner. )

Words. You said words right now.

[lalliho]

[Pssht. Whatever, To prove his silence and innocence, he takes a drink.]

If I talked, I'd choke, stupid.

[nyeh nyeh.]

[enflame]

More talking! That's --

( Oh that's literally in his brain...that took him a second. Now Emil has to question his entire reality, thanks. )

No, words came out of your mouth before! I've been watching!

[lalliho]

What are you doing watching my mouth? Weirdo.

[You know, not giving a fuck and having fun is kind of...fun! Huh. What a world.]

[enflame]

( this asshole, oh my god )

...! It's not on purpose! I'm talking to you, so I'm looking at you!

( This isn't even a gay thing and yet you insinuate weird things!!!!!! )

[lalliho]

[The bottle lightly clacks against his teeth as he ducks to hide his smile.]

Mmn.

[Sure, sure. He believes him, just doesn't care when he has to poke and prod at his teeth to make sure they're all there. Feels about right. Neat.]

You're just mad Lisko listens to me. I taught them "kiss", that can be innocent. Maybe. Sometimes.

[enflame]

( Rude...don't hide it! Emil could have born witness to a rare Lalli smile! )

I'm not mad...they listen to me, sometimes! And I know it can be innocent but... ( Emil leans in to whisper about this problem that's haunting his mind: ) If they say that other word in public and they only know those two, they'll sound like some deviant!

( PEOPLE WILL THINK HE IS SOME DEVIANT!!!!! )

[lalliho]

[This problem is so much funnier post-alcohol and when Emil is the one panicking, he thinks as he instinctively leans in and whispers as well.]

We'll teach them more words and they'll forget. What do you want to teach them now?

[enflame]

( Bless, Lalli being sensible. He's got the simple solution!! )

...all words? What would be the most useful -- oh, they should know our names! Think about Lisko saying your name when you came home!

( He reaches behind him with the ironic deftness and luck of a drunk person and grabs a hold of Lisko, still blankly staring with their mind's gears turning. He holds them up to Lalli, making sure they're at eye-to-eye level. ) Lalli! Lalli, Lalli!

[lalliho]

[Oh no? Oh no, it's a little cute.]

La-lli.

[He helpfully points at himself. Lalli! And then he'll point at Lisko.]

Lisko. Lalli! [Him again, look!] Lalli, Lalli...

[kinda inane]

[enflame]

( Lisko follows his pointing finger as it moves between the two. It's hard for Emil to watch this familial bonding display, but he's smiling like an idiot anyway.

Lalli, Lisko. Lalli and Lisko. Lisko and Lalli. They finally gain the courage to try these impressive words, slapping their chest with their hands. )

La! ( Lisko has decided they're Lalli instead; let's switch. )

[lalliho]

Nooo.

[Bad. Man, teaching babies stuff is hard... Lalli pats the ground next to him and gestures for Emil to release the beast.]

You show them. It doesn't work right if they copy what I'm doing, I'm Lalli, not them.

[enflame]

( okok Emil lets Lisko go and she slithers other to sit where Night Dad has suggested. She is Lalli and she can follow directions. )

Lalli. ( He points at him. ) Lisko. ( He points at them. ) Lalli. Lisko. Lalli. Lisko.

( He points at Lalli again without saying something, expectantly staring at the learning lizard. They look between dads before papping Lalli's leg under his blanket hoard. )

La! La. Lala. ( Like...that's close enough....Emil's going to die laughing. )

[lalliho]

[omg they said Lala

his heart]

Good. [And to demonstrate his pride, he leans over and lightly pecks the top of their head.] Lalli kiss Lisko.

[Look at all this good vocabulary!! Now he can point to Day Dad.]

Emil. ...Dad? What do you want to be?

[enflame]

( OH NO....HIS HEART. Emil goes from laughing to whatever emotion is swelling his heart to flustered. Dad...dad!! No, that sounds too weird. He's too young to be a father in the literal, spoken sense. )

Just Emil is fine. I'm Emil. Emil. ( Annunciating slowly so they can try and grasp the sounds.

They seem to not be able to fully put their tongue around li/il sounds, but they do like how one letter feels when they try to make the sound with their mouth. )

Mm! Mmmmmmmmmm. Emmmmmmmmmmm. Em. ( Lisko wobbles over to slap at his leg. She's dubbed this one Em for now. )

[lalliho]

[Very good!! So good. He clumsily reaches forward to pat them on the back.]

Good Lisko.

[Gosh... He's so used to shoving his emotions down to the very bottoms of his boots, but now they're all swelling up and threatening to overthrow his collected demeanor. A hell he'll hate tomorrow, but right now he's just so??? emotional? Okay, he can keep it together.]

...Good Lisko, good Emil. Mmn...

[Time to make his mouth do something that isn't talking.]

[enflame]

( Join the world of the soft, Lalli. Emil observes him with a bemused expression, glad to see he's settled into some sort of mood that's not so rigid. Alcohol might be a blessing after all, even if he wishes it could be more natural.

Lisko reiterates their new vocabulary to themselves and also to their parents; Lala, this is Em. Em, this is Lala. Em, you're Em. Lala, you're Lala. Despite the cuteness of this, and the relief that they aren't swearing anymore, Emil's focus is entirely placed upon his blanketed, naked, drunk softy of a friend. )

Lalli...you like this, don't you? ( And to think he wasn't interested in this initially; Lisko. His mind, moist with whatever booze the old island inhabitants deemed appropriate for spiritual offering, rolls around with past events -- from Denmark to the land of lizards. There's been so much negativity, but also good moments...it's good to see Lalli having any good moment he can get his hands on. )

[lalliho]

[I just want it on record that he's wearing underwear!!! Now that that's settled:]

Mrn?

[He blinks up again, squinting like he's having trouble focusing, which...he is, thanks, but still.]

Which "this"? Depends.

[does it......]

[enflame]

( Okay, 95% naked. Splitting hairs. )

I don't know...this? ( He was unspecific before because it's hard to put things like this into words when you're settling into a haze of drinking. Not that he could eloquently describe what he means sober, but that's Emil. )

With Lisko and everything. You seem more comfortable than usual. Unless you're just drunk. If it's the former, then that's a good thing! I'm happy for you.

[lalliho]

[Lalli trails his gaze down to happy lizard baby contentedly babbling, hissing, and papping. It was true that he was feeling weirdly warm and tingly from the alcohol, but...]

...I don't know. I guess? They aren't as bad as I thought...and doing stuff with you is nice. [Still, he sighs.] I dunno, feels dumb. Saying this stuff? It's like being comfortable is uncomfortable, most of the time. Pfh, stupid...

[enflame]

Being comfortable is uncomfortable... ( Emil's brain swishes this around in motion to the drink he's staring at and swirling in his dingy cup. Even without being inebriated, this doesn't really make sense to him. ) I...don't get it.

( The only thing he can vaguely think of is when you sit in a nice chair for so long your butt starts to hurt; that's comfortable and uncomfortable.

Speaking of: here's a long-awaited appearance by that meat Lalli brought home. It's only just beginning to char, so Emil grabs a hold of their meat fork thing???? and flips it over, causing the fire to crackle and pop. Watch out, Lisko! They're suddenly reminded of the meat too and excited about a substantial dinner, standing closer to the splash zone than need be.

Let Em scoop you up while he's at it. You need more Day Dad time. )

[lalliho]

[Ahh, hmn... How to explain it when he can barely grasp the concept himself. He leans forward to watch the pair, elbows propped on his knees so that he can hold his chin on his palms. Good thing Emil didn't mind holding onto that wiggle worm. Or...cooking dinner. Or talking with Lalli and his unusual thought process. A darling, darling boy...]

It's not something I'm good at. Being comfortable. S'when I am, um... It feels wrong? Like there has to be something I missed. But right now, it's not like that. Just feel kind of wordy and dumb. And like my face is not my face. That's weird.

[ -- oh wait, he was saying something else.]

An' I'm wordy and dumb, so I don't wanna talk about being comfortable, because what if that's wrong? It's gonna go back to how it was... Like that time, with the fish, and before the lizard.

[enflame]

( Lisko continues to babble words to themselves, still inserting small fucks in there every once in a while. Emil's too distracted to notice, instead focusing intently on Lalli, not wanting to misunderstand a word -- his brain has other ideas, but he's trying pretty hard. )

Oh, so you are drunk. ( There's no other reason to not be able to feel your face...well, it is a little chilly in here. Nowhere near Nordic cold, though.

Despite his slogging brain, Emil knows what Lalli's referring to. ) Maybe you feel comfortable because there's really nothing wrong going on. That's not stupid. The only dangerous thing is rain, and that's simple enough. ( The sounds of the large droplets make up part of the outside white noise as they hit the soft, wooden roof. ) I doubt it's anything like that time.

I like it when you talk a lot. It's nice to listen to.

[lalliho]

[Thrown off by the realization that he's drunk, Lalli isn't prepared for...basically anything Emil says, though he manages to keep it together until that final baffling blow.]

Nice to -- pfft.

[That's...ridiculous... Thankfully his hands are already close to his mouth so no matter how clumsy his fingers are, he can spread them to give gappy coverage over his stupid smile. Felt way too unnatural to let it go completely free.]

Okay. You're the only one who ever does… Besides Lisko. Sometimes.