daybreakacademy | Las Mañanitas

Entry tags:

clifford norman: wilde life

Las Mañanitas

Who: Teto and Cliff
What: It's a birthday
When: November 30th
Where: Around Daybreak and Soliel
Warning: N/A

The sounds of music fill the hall. A gently strummed guitar and a boy, singing quietly to himself.

"Estas son las mañanitas~ Que cantaba el rey David~ Hoy por ser día de tu santo~ Te las cantamos aquí..."

Apparently, France is ahead in time compared to home. It might not even be morning yet in Santa Cecilia. There's a faint hope in his heart, but he doesn't want to give it too much life. Really, it's better just to celebrate by himself. If he hopes for more, he'll be disappointed, but if he just makes this his day, it'll all be fine. Hopefully.

With a candle taken from a spell class and a lighter he most definitely didn't knick off anyone in particular, he stops his playing for a moment and lights the candle up, set beside a random bit of sweets that isn't really cake but close enough. He stares at the flame and then hesitates. He laughs at himself.

"Geez. What am I, a little kid?"

He blows the candle back out without wishing.

He sees someone pass by the door and he calls out.

"Hey! Cliff! I... uh... found your lighter! Hah, yeah! You dropped it, right?"

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Ah, this must be why people keep making him suffer. Flustered Teto is really fun to watch, and for a moment he feels extra smug about how being friends didn't mean you couldn't like each other, argument invalid, but then there's that fun little reminder. Hm... What do you say to a guy who had been certain of his love and inevitable marriage to someone when that someone is now in an entirely different age group, married, and has kind of sort of adopted you?

"I don't know about weird stuff like this, but I don't really get why that fairy can't just...make a version of her, too."

That is absolutely why people make Cliff suffer. Accidentally too, but he's also just easy to rile up.

He lifts his head and he sighs. But, despite that, he's kind of relieved. When he thinks of why not, suddenly, it pulls him from his own wallowing to think of her.

"I don't know. Maybe. But..." He smiles sadly. "I can't do that. Not to her. She's not like me. She had a family. She was always looking after her brothers." He laughs softly with the nostalgia. "I know they're around, and her parents too, I hope, but it wouldn't be the same. I don't want her to feel like that. Lost or lonely. Especially not because of me. Even if she was gonna run away with me."

They'd gotten far. At least in terms of trying to outrun a tracking jaguar monster.

"I can be alone, if she's happy now. I want her to have what she wants. Not just exist because of me. Does that make sense?"

Cliff is quiet another moment, then gently nudges Teto with his elbow, a teasing grin in place.

"Huh, look at that! You can tell it's your birthday with how mature you're sounding. Another year older, another year wiser."

Also, like, a bummer. That's being like an adult baybeee.

The brief bout of maturity breaks as he sputters on a laugh and sways. He moves to bump Cliff back.

"Shut up, Güey," He says.

His cheeks are still colored with the topic, but, he does have that smile lingering.

"The point is, it's better. I miss her but she's fine being Tía Bruja. You'd do the same, right? If someone you liked was happy?

There we go. That's a little bit better. To continue his annoying confidence, he reaches over to pull the gummi worms from the bag, opening it wide enough so he can get one for himself, held in his teeth, and tip it for Teto to easily pick one out, too.

"Yeah... I think so." Which is embarrassing, and hopefully he can pass the pink off as the colder November temperature. "I'd want her to be happy, not hold her back. It doesn't change all we've done together, either."

It doesn't change all we've done together.

He thinks about that, of playing in the plaza, Imelda passing him in the street. He thinks of the way she'd look at him, like she really saw him in a way no one else did, past the torn clothes, past that the music, at him. He thinks of climbing over her the high gated wall around her garden, crashing into the bush, much to her absolute bewilderment and exasperation. He thinks of watching her with her brothers and her family out and about, noting that the pang of jealousy he often felt observing families was dimmed a little by the fondness he saw in her and then felt mirrored in his heart. He thinks of the times when she got swept up in the antics between him and his old friend, and the time it was just them, here, at the school. That time when they were going to take on the world and fate and everything else, just them alone. He thinks of playing just for her and of the dances he wanted but never got to have. He thinks of her, long braid trailed down her back, standing straight, and past the expression that others would misinterpret as being cold, that hint of a smile. In his mind, that smile spreads across her face as she looks at him. Then, as she always had to do, she turns around and walks away, fading into the background of his home that he was always pulled from, that never really wanted him, but he came back to all the same. Because she was there.

"Yeah. Doesn't change anything," He says, and his voice and expression are far off for a moment. It's the only thing sparing Cliff from having that bit of pink noticed. The song he never finished settles in his mind. He should ask his older self if they ever finished it.

Then before, he's too lost and Cliff gets tired of waiting, he snatches out three different gummy worms. He pops two in his mouth, then holds the other one above his lip like a mustache. He shows that off and eats that one too.

"Not as good as Tía's chapulines, but much better for making mustaches with," He declares.

Edited 2021-01-20 22:15 (UTC)

Two useless, soft boys that are head over heels for good Rivera girls. Forget any maturity the two of them might have had seconds before, Cliff is lightly shoving Teto again with a bark of laughter because this is the sort of dumb stuff that reminds him of Kevin, really.

"Nerd." But anyway. "Chapulines are the grasshopper things, right? I was reading to try and find out what they tasted like. Didn't sound bad, but I still think I'd rather have barbecue."

Red meat, red meat.

"Maybe we should have Mrs. Rivera send us her recipe, and we can try to make them? I did Atole."

He sways again and he shoves again, laughing too. Cliff is simply jealous of his amazing moustache.

"Yes! That's a great idea!" They wouldn't be able to make it as it's done on a copal, and it might be hard to find to find where the crickets are sold, but whatever it took, it'd be worth it.

He's also going to have to swipe atole off of Cliff, now that he knows this is a thing.

"You should see some of the street vendors in my home sometime, in the cities. You'd like Barbacoa, probably Al Pastor too." They've got you covered wolfman.

Swiper no swiping, you gotta ask for that shit. Cliff's gotta make it first!! He lets the shove push him a little further out this time, rolling his eyes and humming as he switches to eating another gummy instead of bumping him again.

"Yeah. I'd like to go. Mom's flying me home for Christmas next month, but maybe...early next year. It'd be cool to visit. What's it like in spring?"

"Oh! You're going?"

That surprises him. Is he jealous? Or is he even ready to see his not-home? He decides he'll think about it later, instead pondering Cliff's question. and then laughing.

"It's busy. There's festivals of all kinds in spring, in the streets and around the churches. Then all the tourists showing up too. It's the hottest time, so everybody's going to the beach. And, if you go south at the Equinox, to Yucaton, there are more people going to see the sun shine through Dzibilchaltun. The only times it's not busy, is when you are going through the normal streets, because everyone has left for some place else."

Well... "I mean, Coco's my best friend." And ??girlfriend??, but even if Teto's alluded to thinking that was the case, he doesn't want to just out and say it. Besides, he doesn't know when it will be that he actually does get to visit! He's just throwing the thought out there! Not a big deal!!

Man, Teto's good at this sort of thing. He supposes that going around to where the people were and working to appeal to them meant that he'd know the routines better than most people who just went through it. Héctor observed and felt it. It's...interesting. It makes him remember all over again that this goofy, awkward kid had a lot more going on inside than his impression gave off.

One more gummy, then he drops it back into the birthday bag.

"I don't want to be like every other tourist, but...it still sounds nice. I'll have to ask and see."

He'd desperately need sunscreen, though. Redhead problems... ~~But maybe Coco would do his back, and he could do hers? Wow, now's not the time to think about that one too much.~~ COUGH, ANYWAY. Just gonna clear his throat and pretend that didn't happen, oh look!

"I think this is the parlor up here? I thought it'd be farther than that, but that's the name on the window."

Gotta know where the people are if you're going to busk to them! And with enough tourists passing through, eventually, he had answers for them. The world had a pulse, he thinks. There were rhythms just as any string of music.

"You might look less like a tourist, if you're hanging out with Coco, but you'll probably still get people thinking it a little. Sorry." He smiles apologetically, as though he could help it at all. "But, you probably won't get into the beaches anyway. Too booked. I always just went out to the hills. It's an hour or two away, but there's a stream out there."

Personally, he likes that much better. Even if he hasn't really been to the oceans himself and wouldn't know.

If there was any thought to tease Cliff over his crush, it's gone. He breaks into a grin seeing the parlour, even as his heart gives a little jump for fearing pain pre-emptively.

"All our talking made time go faster," He says. "Come on, come on, let's go!" He hurries for it.

PHEW, thank god, nothing was noticed. Because there had been absolutely nothing to notice! Yeah. Just getting some kid's ears stabbed up! For fun! Having gotten his tongue pierced, Cliff's not concerned in the least, and his stride says as much.

Some activity, but not busy, that's the ideal. "Hey! You guys take walk-ins? My friend Luke told us to come here."

The a chubby man with strong, tattooed arms seems amenable to this -- gives Teto a doubtful eye, but money's money, and his friend there has a piercing so it's probably fine. Plus, he's got the namedrop thing down and everything! Well, okay, more than just being Luke's friend, it's that he can tell Clifford is a fellow lyncanthrope, that runty russet wolf he'd seen around just the other day, and crows think it's funny to play around. Let's! Pierce! Some! Ears!

He holds his breath and the whole time, he grins way to wide to be innocent. They are doing an illegal thing and while that is not technically something he's never done before, the openness of it becomes another added bit of nervousness.

But, things move along and he's settled down in the chair and he's made to sit still and procedure is mostly followed. The needle goes through and his smile freezes.

Much later, with the deed done and two new holes in his ears, he will insist that he didn't tear up. Or yelp. or cringe. He was totally cool and calm and collected. Totally.

He is checking out his appearance in every reflected surface they pass, however. Quite obviously.

"How long did your tongue take to heal?" He asks.

Cliff may have laughed in the moment, but what happens in the salon stays in the salon. No one will know, at least not from him, that Teto wasn't anything but stoic and excited.

"A month." Where he basically didn't talk at home so no one would know he had it. At least Teto doesn't have to worry about that. "Mouths heal faster than the rest of the body, though. That Jay -" Funny, a crow named Jay. "- guy gave me a paper for you, hold on... Looks like six to eight weeks?"

And lots of care and keeping rules, which he'll let Teto read on his own, passing the paper over.

"Six to eight weeks?" He repeats. He looks as though he can't decide whether to settle for calm or alarm, face scrunching as he peers over the paper. Then, slowly, he says, "That's not so bad..."

A lot of rules but he can handle that. Probably. He wanted this, so, he'd take care of it! And then he'll get to try the cooler earrings once he's done with the starters. Maybe by then he'll forget the jitters he had enough to go for something else.

"Hey." He looks up from the sheet, up at Cliff. "Do you think it'd be lame to get a piñata? Or a cake?"

Cliff will be there to help out and remind him that at least he isn't being restricted on what he can eat. He can have whatever candies and cakes he wants! Doubly so because it's his birthday!

"Why would it be lame to do what you want?" What's lame is not being yourself!! Trying to live by someone else's standards! But more helpfully, "I know Carrefour has a nice bakery section and a bunch of other stuff, they might have piñatas. It's worth checking, right?"

"Well, I don't know, it's kid stuff, right?" It does not seem to occur to him that he's still a kid. Still, he brightens at the thought.

It's the thought of having it, more than anything. He wasn't so big on sweets-- a whole cake would be a lot. And then, well, piñatas, he imagined they were more fun than others. But then another thought occurs and his grin turns wicked.

"I know what I wanna do. Is there a cheaper bakery? With, like, really bad cakes?"

"It's not kid stuff. Kid stuff doesn't mean it's bad, either."

He's been having a lot of phone calls from post-nightmare Kevin lately, he's feeling a bit protective of these children dismissing their feelings because they're worried about how it'll look. It's okay to be scared! It's okay to have fun! Do what makes you feel better!

The question pulls his attention again, getting Cliff to just...stare...

"Bad cakes?" What...could he possibly want with bad cakes... "I mean, maybe Carrefour does day-old discounted bakery items since it's the Walmart of this place? But I really have no idea. What's up?"

He looks at Cliff, head tilting thoughtfully. He guesses that's true, but he wouldn't have thought an older kid to be the one to say that. He decides that Cliff is cooler than the others.

He also decides he's not going to say that out loud. Just like he's not going to explain himself.

"You'll see," He says. "Come on. We're going to find the oldest, ugliest cake there." He snickers to himself and picks up the pace.

"Uh, okay."

What gremlin has possessed this child all of a sudden... Well, no, Cliff knows Teto has always been, and will always be, a gremlin. It's just that usually he can make a guess about what kind of gremlin activity is going to go down? This is mysterious. Bad cake mystery...

And he doesn't even get to be told how cool he is. Wow.

Anyway, off they go! To the superstore!

So tragic. Poor Cliff.

As enthusiastic as he is, he does eventually have to trail behind Cliff who has a better idea of where he's going. Entering the store, he half expects those working there to eye him suspiciously. It's all these old habits and memories that just don't match up here.

He takes upon paying for the cake himself at least-- just about past due, a little lopsided and squished, an obscene amount of icing. He offers Cliff no explanation from there, only looking around for some open area that also has a bench. It's there that he settles down and lifts the lid off the thing.

"At home, there's a tradition on birthdays called la mordida. I haven't done it, but I've heard it, when they chant." His wicked smile is turned down on the cake.

He sticks his bare hand right in it.

"We're going to do something different."

He scoops up a gob of the gooey cake and hauls it back to throw.

What the fuck.

"What the fuck?"

He just watched Teto shove his hand in a cake? And he's just holding a bunch of it? And looking in Cliff's direction??

Oh. Oh, what the fuck. He takes a step back automatically, arms raising in a weak defense that was sure to be useless in the face of this new and unusual foe.

"Hey -- Teto, don't you dare!"

It's too late. Cliff's words do nothing to dissuade Teto. And, with Cliff's weak defence, he is most certainly doomed.

The cake is set aloft and to hit Cliff with a great spat of cheap icing and crumbled cake pieces.

Teto, the monster, kicks his feet and cackles.

TERRIBLE. THE ABSOLUTE WORST.

Even with his speed and the sudden sense of foreboding, there isn't enough time to get out of the way, and he's stuck another second staring in absolute disbelief at the sugary mess smeared on his coat. Fucked up, but in that moment he's mostly glad that it's hitting that and not his hoodie.

"Oh, you're dead, ghost boy," he threatens, but as dangerous as his voice is, there's still a spark of amusement there that matches better with the grin curling into place. Cliff launches himself forward to grab a chunk of old cake for himself. Feels gross and wrong, but a kid needs to be taught a lesson on this, the day of his birth.

He could probably shove the whole thing into Teto's chest and handily win, but he's out for fun, not real punishment. Instead, he's going to take the handful and go for the face, in true la mordida fashion.

Las Mañanitas

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