"Sa Machine Ailée" et autres histoires

[nonoko]

Pour l'instant j'ai exploré tes publications du mois de mars, et j'avoue que j'ai continué les lectures qui concernent un certain marin....je suis très contente que tu aies développé le passé de Mendoza, dont tu nous avais donné un aperçu, et j'ai toujours plaisir à me laisser bercer par ton style. Et c'est drôle, parce que le passé du papa trouve un écho dans mes affabulations, comme quoi, tel père tel fils... mais c'est une autre histoire.

[Sandentwins]

Pour l'instant j'ai exploré tes publications du mois de mars, et j'avoue que j'ai continué les lectures qui concernent un certain marin....je suis très contente que tu aies développé le passé de Mendoza, dont tu nous avais donné un aperçu, et j'ai toujours plaisir à me laisser bercer par ton style. Et c'est drôle, parce que le passé du papa trouve un écho dans mes affabulations, comme quoi, tel père tel fils... mais c'est une autre histoire.

#MendozaBestHusband
En effet, les coincidences arrivent. Mais qui sait? C'est la vie.
Allez. Prends donc ces quelques croquis conceptuels pour te remercier de ta lecture.

Enemies to Lovers to Enemies

Babies.

Chapter 9: Numbers

“I'm sure it will be great.”, Esteban said after a time. “I think that...it's about time, anyway.”

Tao nodded, still staring ahead.

“I'm a little scared of how she'll react, though. What if...what if she's not ready?”

“Then at least she'll know how you feel. Isn't that what matters?”

Under the setting sun, the two friends were having a decisive moment. Sitting on Esteban's wing, contemplating the view of the rivers and lakes below, Tao was nervously rubbing at his fingers. It was so strange for Esteban to see this side of him, he who was usually bursting with confidence; needless to say, it made him feel weird. But that was what was happening, right now.

“I want to make sure it's the right moment.”, Tao admitted after a time of silence. “I only have one shot.”

“You don't. You've got your whole life ahead of you to try again, if it doesn't work now.”

“But what if she says no? I can't possibly try anything again if she does...”

“Well, at least you'll stop worrying about your perfect proposal plans, and you'll just carry on like it never happened.”

Tao sighed, letting his forehead rest in his hand.

“We can't just pretend it didn't happen. We'll both know it, and it's going to be super awkward.”

“How does that change anything? Even if things happen, we keep moving on. That's what I did.”

The grim reminder seemed to strike Tao somehow. Esteban needed a moment to remember that it wasn't the best topic ever to mention. But why hide the truth? Everyone had grown accustomed to his death, and he was still with them, so it's like nothing ever changed, right? It didn't feel like a big change for him. He's long grown past it. Nothing had changed, nothing.

“It's not that easy.”, Tao eventually said. “It's like breaking a mirror. You can put the pieces back together–”

“–but you'll always see the cracks. I know. You already told me that.”

Esteban let the light wash over his wings, enough to appear in a smaller form and sit next to his friend. As usual, something in Tao's expression changed subtly, something like fright that he tried to hide. Esteban was used to it as well, he knew that he was nothing but a ghost of light now. So what? He couldn't do anything about it, so why focus so much on it?

“Look.”, he tried. “You love Zia, right? And you want to make sure she's okay for the rest of her life?”

“Yeah...but what does that…?”

“Then do it. Go for it. Ask her! If you don't, you'll never know if it's possible. Imagine if you died tomorrow? You'd have all sorts of regrets on your mind, and you'd never get the chance to know her answer.”

At the mention of death, fright definitely took a hold of his traits.

“You don't have to be so grim, you know? I won't die tomorrow.”

“Well you never know.”, Esteban shrugged casually. “I mean, I didn't.”

He was rubbing salt in the wound, he knew it. But if that's what it took for Tao to make the best decision of his life, then he'd play all the dirty tricks in the book, and dirtier ones even.

“I don't want to marry her because I might die someday.”, he said eventually. “I want to because I love her. Because I care for her. That's different.”

“But that's just as valid a reason.”

He heartily pat Tao's back, and it only succeeded in making his shoulder feel all warm.

“If you care for her, you'll know that she cares about you too. You're all she has left in the world, now! It's time you step up and make it worth her while!”

“Is that your way of motivating me?”

“Is it working?”

Tao looked away for a moment, head tilting in thought.

“...a little.”

“Then it is!”

He stood up on the wing, fists clenched in determination.

“Come on! Every minute you spend here ruminating your feelings is a minute you spend away from her! Are you going to ask her hand, or what?”

“Well, yeah! That's what I was going to do, you know!”

“Then why don't you do it?”

Tao stood up in turn, taking a deep breath. It was so strange to see how tall he's gotten over time, in the span of seven years, he's grown so much that Esteban's head was only reaching his chest. He's changed a lot, too, and it was satisfying to witness: since Esteban couldn't change anymore, watching his friends had been his catharsis. A painful catharsis, that reminded him that while everyone was growing up, he was stuck.

“I'll do it.”, he said with determination. “I'm going to ask for her hand.”

“Will you, now?”, Esteban teased.

“I will!”

“Really? You won't chicken out at the last minute?”

“I won't!!”

“Then go and do it!!”

And he slapped his lower back in encouragement, but his forearm broke away in a cloud of light that left no physical sensation whatsoever. Tao shuddered, like a bucket of hot water had been thrown at him, but quickly regained his composure and slid down the Condor's beak. His feet landed on the ground and his eyes on the camp in the distance, and he took another breath as Esteban landed nearby.

“I don't want you to regret it.”, the latter said. “Go, do it, achieve your dreams! Go forward, don't look back!”

“I will. Thanks, pal.”

And he stepped forward. But then, he stopped, and looked back at him.

“Hey, Esteban?”

“Yeah?”

His confidence got tainted with something like hesitation. It was obvious he wanted to say something, but couldn't bring himself to.
[…]

Read the rest at https://archiveofourown.org/works/23790 ... s/57454651

[Sandentwins]

Chapter 10: Stories

The lights of the city were starting to put on their show, illuminating the darkness of dusk with artificial stars. It was a sight one wouldn't find that fascinating, unless they came from a whole different century; needless to say, Esteban was thoroughly gasping in awe at the wonders of electricity. Guess some things just couldn't be ignored, Tina thought as they landed.

Since the Condor couldn't use its cloaking device at night, due to lack of sunlight to reflect, they had to land out of sight. Luckily, there were more than enough national parks and mountain areas to hide in and still be within walking distance of town.

“We'll be good here.”, Tina said, observing the surroundings. “The trees will shield you from view.”

“Let's just hope no curious Instagrammer comes around. We almost got spotted back then.”

“I'm sure we'll be fine.”

The fresh air was good on their lungs after an hours-long flight, and to stretch her legs definitely was needed. Tina took some steps in the grass, spinning her arms a bit to ease the tension.

“Where will you go for the night?”, Esteban asked, appearing on the Condor's beak.

“Not sure. We should stay near, just in case.”

“In case of what?”, Leon scoffed. “We can't fly away at night.”

“Well, still. We're in an unknown place, we don't know anyone and we have to lay low.”

Even though it was getting a bit cold. Maybe she should put on a sweater or something, if she remembered to grab one.

“I don't think you understand the chance you're missing on.”, he continued. “See this town over there? That's Mexico City! We're on an unsupervised trip out of the country, right in the home of fiesta, and you want us to miss out on the fun?”

“We can't exactly afford to have fun, remember? We're supposed to lay low!”

“Look, you do that if you want. But you said it yourself: you've never left the States. Now you've got a golden occasion, mind the pun. And you'd just let it slip?”

“This isn't a leisure trip!”

“He's not wrong, you know. Leisure is an important part of the journey. You should enjoy yourselves some more.”

He pat Tina's shoulder.

“Especially you, Tina. You've been in a lot of stress today, why don't you relax? I can keep the Condor safe.”

“...I really don't know...”

She was starting to doubt, but Esteban wouldn't let go.

“Come on, you're children! You've got to have fun while you can. Especially since I can't anymore.”

“Do you have to always say things like that?”

“If that makes you agree with me, yes.”

He chuckled like a kid. Guess he still was one, after all.

“Besides, you won't be alone.”, Killa's voice said, before she appeared next to her son. “Esteban's right, but this place remains unknown. The least you can use is some adult supervision.”

“Are you sure you're okay with this?”

“Of course I am! I want you to enjoy yourselves. The journey matters as much as the goal.”

“You heard the lady. Let's go already! I'm hungry. I want some real tacos.”

Seems like everyone was against her.
[...]

Read the rest at https://archiveofourown.org/works/23790 ... s/57491203

[Sandentwins]

Chapter 11: Echoes

“I'm not sure this is a good idea.”, Leon reiterated. “We don't know what he wants.”

“I know. But we don't have much else to go on off. If he can help us, it'd be great.”

Morning was rising slowly, illuminating the Condor's frame and warming up the cabin. It felt nice to have some warmth in these otherwise chilly days, if only to ensure they could take off later if they needed to.

“What'd you think Esteban?”, she asked the Condor who's otherwise been silent.

“He says he knows about the Solaris, so I'm tempted to say it's worth a shot. But people helping us are a double-edged sword. He could try to hurt you and get the treasure for himself.”

“I thought there was no treasure?”

“That wouldn't stop pilferers and graverobbers.”

Tina looked away, knowing very well Esteban's stance on the matter.

“You could come with us and see for yourself.”

“I'd rather not. His lack of reaction to Killa's form was strange to say the least; I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to seek immortality as well.”

“Think he's an alchemist from the Order of Whatwasit?”, Leon pondered.

“The Order was disbanded. At least, that's what likely happened...”

“It could very well leave something behind.”, Tina said, looking up from her Internet search. “I wouldn't be surprised if there were still descendants of alchemists alive today.”

“There's always descendants. How could these people get married? Being part of a super-secret order isn't exactly the best thing to put on your dating profile.”

“They'd marry one another, I guess. There were women amongst the Order, right?”

Silence befell Esteban for a moment. Tina looked up.

“Guess that's a no, then?”

“Sorry, I was lost in thought. I didn't get acquainted with everyone there, but I knew there were some. One in particular, I knew well.”

“Ooooh, Esteban had a girlfriend?”

A hand of light popped out of the wall to flick Leon in the face.

“Ow. Right in the dignity.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if she had a family. With everything we've run into, it's possible.”

“Think we might run into kids of your old friends?”, Tina pondered.

“I ran into you two, so I'd say it might happen. Some of them might have passed down useful things.”

“Five centuries's a long time to pass down stuff. There's always gonna be one down the line that sells it all online for drug money.”

“Not all heirlooms are physical, you know.”

“Well those can also be sold, you know.”

He was joking of course, but Tina felt a pang of guilt nab at her.
[...]

Read the rest over at https://archiveofourown.org/works/23790 ... s/57589603

[Sandentwins]

"She looked at the page like she wanted to read the words, but also to see something behind them. Like they were one of these patterned images that'd reveal a 3D shape with enough focus, she tried to spot the hidden meaning they concealed. She focused on what she was feeling, hearing, on the rough feel of the paper under her fingers, on the footsteps around her, on the color of the washed-off ink. This wasn't reading, as much as it was something else. Something entirely else. Something that she wouldn't have believed in a week ago, but that was entirely possible.

Her heart was beating to her ears. Her arms felt tired without she knew why. Was stress catching up to her? Did she too have a guilty conscience about something? She tried to ignore it, but the more she focused on the paper, the more it came to her. Lights danced in front of her eyes, soft lights like Esteban's when his consciousness rippled across the Condor. Her heartbeat was becoming louder, faster, like she was about to have a panic attack. She tried to calm herself, to stay composed, to just write down what was appearing in these moving lights, as the beat kept going, banging away, banging without stopping like a metal drum. The lights got obscured, and the banging turned into a deafening ringing that had her cover her ears, as everything around them filled with smoke. She looked down at her book, worried that she hadn't copied it all down, but the signs appeared to her clear as day.

Fire. Within. Eyes. Dragon. See. Way. Show. They were the same letters as she's already seen, they were nothing but sounds; but she knew, she knew they were meant to be read as such. She just knew it, it was an unwritten rule, and she knew it. The message was there, unclear as night but readable, and it was up to her to know what it meant."

[Sandentwins]

Chapter 12: Phantoms

Leon picked a cigarette butt off the ground, and tossed it to her.

“Quick thinking, what's this one?”

Tina caught it in her hand, and immediately a wave of stress and sorrow hit her.

“Wow, that's a sad one.”, she said. “Likely going through a divorce. And a pack a day.”

She dropped it, soon before she was tossed a piece of plastic wrapper that fluttered in the air.

“Strawberry cookies. Starving, lots of hunger. Definitely stolen change.”

“I don't get it. How do you do that? Did you get powers or something?”

“It's not powers! It's just...I know where these things come from, that's all!”

“Like, you get visions?”

“It's not that, it's...it's feelings. Like, my eyes tell me that it's a piece of plastic, but my hands tell me it comes from a pack of strawberry cookies that was bought with stolen change! I tell you, I just know it!”

“You think some of Joey's junk did it?”

“I barely touched any of it. No, we'd better ask Esteban.”

She picked a weed from a crack in the ground, and nothing happened. Guess it didn't work with everything. She then touched to a random wall, and her back prickled like she'd just leaned against slightly rough concrete. No visions or words; only sensations. Flashes of memory that weren't hers, like she was peering into something else's soul. Well, if pieces of plastic or walls could have souls, that is.

“At least, now that means my own powers can grow.”, Leon said proudly. “It's only a matter of time!”

“You seem very sure about yourself.”

“Why wouldn't I? I'm the Chos–”
[…]

Read the rest at https://archiveofourown.org/works/23790 ... s/57659737

[Sandentwins]

Chapter 13: Caution

“We're going to jail!”, Leon shouted. “We're soooo going to jail!!”

“Calm the fuck down, you idiot! We're not going anywhere!”

“But we killed him! We killed the guy, orange!! And now the cops are onto us! I don't want to go to jail, I haven't even had my first kiss yet!!”

“Will you kids shut it!?”, Joey groaned.

He stood up quietly, rubbing his forehead. Leon sighed in relief.

“We thought we killed you!”

“Ah, you didn't! But I nearly died from shock there!”

He dusted himself off, unable to take his eyes off the freshly-revealed Golden Condor. The mere sight of the beast has been enough to make him pass out, so much that Leon freaked out about how they killed him somehow. Luckily, he seemed to get better now.

“I can't believe it!”, he exclaimed. “I go in expecting a car, and you bring me a flipping pájaro dorado! What is this!? What- how-!?”

“It's a long story.”, Tina cut in, feeling the long chain of explanations she didn't want to give. “Let's just say it's a needed piece for the quest we're taking.”

“That's how we got here! Pretty nifty, huh?”

“How the fuck. How in the fuck did you get this thing!?”

“Again, very long story.”

Joey approached the bird, mouth agape and eyes wide. It was obvious that he's never seen anything like this before, and was maybe thinking he was dreaming. He touched to the foot of the Condor, and warm metal assured him that indeed, this was all real.

“I can't believe it...”, he repeated, completely dazed. “A great golden bird…all my life I kept useless junk, and these kids bring me a frigging great golden bird...”

He caressed it like it was the greatest of treasures, his hand scrubbing off dirt from the Condor's shiny husk.

“How...how in the world can that be happening? Where did you find it? And- don't tell me it can fly!?”

“It can. But...not very well. We thought that maybe you'd know how to repair it.”

“Repair it!?”, Joey exclaimed with a nervous smile. “Kid, have you seen this thing? Do I look like I know what it's made of, or how it runs?”

“Well, you're a mechanic, right? You know vehicles!”

“I don't know fucking golden planes! I can work on cars or trucks, but the biggest thing I've ever done is an eighteen-wheeler! Not a motherfucking plane!!”

“Wow, mom would definitely kill you if she heard you speak like that.”, Leon chuckled.

Joey sent him a dark glare that made Leon shudder.
[...]

Read la suite ici https://archiveofourown.org/works/23790 ... s/57701548




and yes joey is a himbo.

[Sandentwins]

"Inside looked a little better than the wounded exterior. Leon took his usual seat, and the dashboard lit up.

“Sup, Esteban.”

“...who's that? Is that the repairman you told me about?”

“Yeah! Meet Joey. He's got a garage full of stuff.”

“...who are you talking to, kid?”

The man approached the dashboard, wanting to look it over, but a burst of light suddenly rushed out and blinded him. When he opened his eyes again, he was on the floor, and a hologram was looming over him with angry eyes.

“What are you doing here!? You've got guts, trying to steal the Condor!”

“What the fuck!? What's going on!?!”

“Esteban, calm down! He's not an enemy!”

Esteban blinked, and his hot light calmed down a little. He stepped back, and Joey crawled away in fear.

“I'm sorry. I...I thought he was someone else.”

“Dude, you have problems.”

“What the fuck is this thing!? What's going on!?!”

“That 'thing' is Esteban, and he's supposed to help.”, interrupted Tina, climbing aboard. “And he will help, because this is in his best interest, won't he?”

“I have a feeling you're trying to tell me something.”

“Oh, do you now?”

She helped Joey get back up. Poor guy was obviously shaken, and likely a bit blinded too.

“I hope this is alright.”, she said softly. “He's not mean. He's just...a but traumatized.”

“I'm not!”

“This is definitely not what I expected. I don't do haunted vehicles, you know!”

“And you don't do planes either, so they cancel out, right?”"

[chaton]

j'ai du mal à comprendre : de quoi Esteban est mort ? D'un coup de couteau ?

[Sandentwins]

j'ai du mal à comprendre : de quoi Esteban est mort ? D'un coup de couteau ?

"Le Dernier Vol du Condor" est la suite de "Sa Machine Ailée", que tu trouveras en page 1, et qui montre les débuts de la non-vie d'Esteban. Si t'as l'impression de manquer quelque chose, t'y trouveras sûrement réponse. Du reste, je préfère pas te spoiler.