Closed Space Cadet Solo

april 14th, 2025		friday, afternoon
wc: 1k ish		dhampir | terrible presence
starring: @Colin McCoire		supporting role: @Emily Shephard

It was two weeks to the dot since Scout's birthday, which meant she was already in her post-birthday funk. There was always something melancholic in the air at the tail-end of holidays, and Scout's birthday was a rightful holiday in her mind. Besides, even if her birthday didn't count- April Fool's did! And that was one of the best holidays, it always needed to be celebrated.

Sitting in the library was not how she usually spent her Friday's, but she was still in too much of a funk to want to go and hangout with her friends. Instead, she had a book open on the table in front of her, barely reading the words. Finals were soon, and Emily would definitely praise her for doing something like studying... even if she was just looking at the words rather than actually taking them in.

She yawned, laying her head on the pages of the book. Maybe an afternoon nap would do her good! Yes, then she'd wake up and feel refreshed, ready to study or hangout with Emily!

"Do you, Scout Fu-Hai, take Colin McCoire to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you, Colin McCoire, take Scout Fu-Hai to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

What?!?

Scout's dreams were always a little odd, flashes of nonsensical myths and worlds that just barely toed the line of making sense, occasionally stepping over in a way that would confuse Scout once she woke up. But this might've been the most confusing dream she's ever had.

First of all, Colin?! No way, absolutely no way. She would get giddy if it were Zyair, maybe even blush a bit if it was Casey... but Colin? And secondly, why in the world was she wearing the suit? On one hand, it was good to know that in this hypothetical dream relationship, she would wear the pants, on the other... did that make her the husband? Being a stay-at-home dad like her father was was definitely not in the books, she wanted to work like her mama.

"You may now kiss-"

Before she could even think about how absolutely yucky that would be, the scene changes in front of her. Continuing the arc of Scout being the husband, she thinks she sees the home in her dream. There's one of those old 50's cars in the front driveway, and the house is ripped straight out of an old reality show. The bushes out front are perfectly trimmed with red flowers blooming, and the path leading to the front door is the neatest thing Scout's ever seen.

The door to the house opens, leaving her wishing she had just been been able to stare at the front. The living room is like the rest of the house, although there's weird vines growing inside- but that's not what Scout is concerned about, no. It's the fact that there are so many small babies crawling around the floor.

She sees a much older version of herself, and what she assumes is an older version of Colin, too (it's kind of hard to think of another person with such vivacious white hair), standing over a dining table with ten or more kids crawling around them. There's a cigarette (she thinks) sticking out of her mouth, and the suit she's wearing is perfectly hemmed (although she swears she doesn't have shoes on).

"I can't come help you with the kids, I'm working seventy hours overtime!"

"Well why'd we have so many kids anyway?!"

Just as Scout is coming over the vast "what the hell"ness of the situation, one of the babies turns into a giant vampire. Old-Colin gestures vaguely at the vampire, "This is what I'm talking about! Look at this!"

"Wow, so now you're discriminating against our kids because one of them looks like Dracula?" Old-Scout scoffs. That sentence alone confirmed that the babies crying very loudly were in fact Scout's (as if the vampire fact wasn't enough), and Old-Colin shakes his head. "He is Dracula, Scoutie."

The scene changes once more (to Scout's relief), and she now sees a very old version of herself and Colin, sitting on the porch of a different house. The scene in front of her is starting to remind her of an old muggle movie she remembers watching with her parents, but she couldn't have been older than four when she saw it. Maybe she just remembers it better than she thought she did.

It's quiet, which is a surprisingly stark contrast to both Colin and Scout's personality. There's something.... weirdly serene about the sight in front of her. Her hair is still the same vivid shade of red she always dyes it to, and Colin's hair is still white- and they both look much older than Scout had ever imagined herself being.

"Well Scoutie, we've lived a long life."

"Yeah, do you remember that one cake you made for my birthday? With blueberries? I hate blueberries, and it was horrible." Where in the world is that coming from? Scout did not hate blueberries, she literally had some for lunch. The very-old Colin scrunches his nose and rolls his eyes. For a minute, she thinks she's looking at 14-year-old Colin- maybe her brain just can't imagine an old Colin making such a young Colin face. "Also, I wish I had married Emily instead of you." That was definitely true.

Very-old Colin slaps his knee in the same way an American grandpa would, "Me too!"

Scout's eyes snap open, and she immediately stands up. The memories of her dream are all-too familiar, and she immediately slams the book she was sleeping on shut. No way is she going to try and read, and she definitely doesn't feel very refreshed after that! Disgust fills her mouth, and she rushes out of the library to try and get a long drink of water.

The next time she spots Colin in the hallway, she finds herself envisioning him as both an adult and a grandpa. Nope, nope, she needs to get that idea out of her mind ASAP! Don't they have spells or potions that can erase your memory? She needs to figure out a way to get her hands on one of those before the year ends!