Lionel finds his teacher alone in the computer lab, seated behind the lab’s newest addition. Mr. Qualls doesn’t say anything for a long moment after he comes in, and doesn’t even seem to notice him at first; he’s busy, peering curiously at the computer screen, then down at the keyboard.
Finally, he looks up, and a wave of something just shy of recognition flashes across his features. “Ah!” He stands to greet Lionel, walking straight through the computer itself. “Leopold, have you seen? I haven’t the slightest idea how it got here, but I heard Muggles were experimenting with a more portable computer and—ah.”
His rambling pulls up when he sees the cicada shell in Lionel’s hand. And a look that straddles relief and dismay washes down his face. “Yes, I suppose so.”
Mr. Qualls holds out a hand, and despite a general lack of corporeality, the shell does not sink through it. Instead, it changes, becomes a stack of photographs, not quite solid themselves. The actual images in the pictures are indistinct and blurry, and when Mr. Qualls tries to shuffle through them they dissolve into nothingness in his hands.
He sits back in the chair, weight he doesn’t even have pulling him downward, and he’s still. But unlike the last time Lionel gave Mr. Qualls an episode, no lights flicker, and no computers start to smoke. This is a puzzle piece, being slotted into its place. As Mr. Qualls returns to center, his countenance feels that much more whole. Healed, just a little bit.
“Lionel—is it?” He looks up, and for the first time, possibly ever, he seems to be making actual eye contact with his TA. Mr. Qualls chuckles, warmly. “A good kid, my Lionel. Cut from the same cloth, me and him. Too headstrong, too foolish…”
The Muggle Tech Studies teacher sits for a moment, lost again in his own reverie. Time slips by around him, and it almost seems like he won’t be coming back any time soon when Mr. Qualls stands again. He cuts straight through the computers (causing one of them to blue screen and another to open the calculator four different times) to his desk, where an old keychain sits next to an open gradebook from many years ago.
“I don’t know if I’ll…” Mr. Qualls gestures at his head, then down to the keychain, a souvenir photo viewer from WizneyWorld. “But someone should.” He waves for Lionel to take the keychain, though if asked why he wants him to have it, he can’t explain. It just feels like he should have it.
“Thank you,” he says just before Lionel leaves. “I—yes. Thank you.”
[Lionel has received a magic souvenir photo viewer. When he looks through it, he sees a smiling picture of a woman and two young boys with a mop of blond curls at a theme park. This item will have additional effects during endgame which we will expand upon later.]
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peckenpaugh2020-05-24 04:58 pm
Lionel Returns Caleb's Memory
Finally, he looks up, and a wave of something just shy of recognition flashes across his features. “Ah!” He stands to greet Lionel, walking straight through the computer itself. “Leopold, have you seen? I haven’t the slightest idea how it got here, but I heard Muggles were experimenting with a more portable computer and—ah.”
His rambling pulls up when he sees the cicada shell in Lionel’s hand. And a look that straddles relief and dismay washes down his face. “Yes, I suppose so.”
Mr. Qualls holds out a hand, and despite a general lack of corporeality, the shell does not sink through it. Instead, it changes, becomes a stack of photographs, not quite solid themselves. The actual images in the pictures are indistinct and blurry, and when Mr. Qualls tries to shuffle through them they dissolve into nothingness in his hands.
He sits back in the chair, weight he doesn’t even have pulling him downward, and he’s still. But unlike the last time Lionel gave Mr. Qualls an episode, no lights flicker, and no computers start to smoke. This is a puzzle piece, being slotted into its place. As Mr. Qualls returns to center, his countenance feels that much more whole. Healed, just a little bit.
“Lionel—is it?” He looks up, and for the first time, possibly ever, he seems to be making actual eye contact with his TA. Mr. Qualls chuckles, warmly. “A good kid, my Lionel. Cut from the same cloth, me and him. Too headstrong, too foolish…”
The Muggle Tech Studies teacher sits for a moment, lost again in his own reverie. Time slips by around him, and it almost seems like he won’t be coming back any time soon when Mr. Qualls stands again. He cuts straight through the computers (causing one of them to blue screen and another to open the calculator four different times) to his desk, where an old keychain sits next to an open gradebook from many years ago.
“I don’t know if I’ll…” Mr. Qualls gestures at his head, then down to the keychain, a souvenir photo viewer from WizneyWorld. “But someone should.” He waves for Lionel to take the keychain, though if asked why he wants him to have it, he can’t explain. It just feels like he should have it.
“Thank you,” he says just before Lionel leaves. “I—yes. Thank you.”
[Lionel has received a magic souvenir photo viewer. When he looks through it, he sees a smiling picture of a woman and two young boys with a mop of blond curls at a theme park. This item will have additional effects during endgame which we will expand upon later.]
Re: Lionel Returns Caleb's Memory