Grasping Futures

"God, if I knew the answer to that I'd fuckin' tell you. That old man can barely give you a clear answer if you ask him what time it is, let alone some shit like how he sees the world. My guess is real hazy considering he's drunk off his ass all the time."

Of course, Alex could have said something about her brief tangent, but he really didn't even know what he was supposed to say in response to something like that. That'd be like if he just talked about that time he was in Hawaii a few years back, it didn't really seem like it'd be something to go around telling people.

"Honestly, that's half the reason I figure I ought to go see him. Last time I was around he told me I was stupid and that I oughta go figure things out. At the time I just told him he was stupid and then we went back to drinking, but nowadays I figure I oughta let him know he was right."

"I hung around, we drank, he taught me how to make fire come out of my hands. Real good time, honestly."

Alex snapped his fingers to briefly display a small wisp of Maiden Masher's violet flame, but dispelled it just as quickly. He tried not to use it more than he needed to these days. Not like he couldn't control it, he honestly had better control than ever. He'd just gotten a little more responsible since he turned into a family man.

"Think I was there for like half a year? Maybe a little longer, might've been closer to a year. First few weeks he mostly told me to fuck off and beat my ass for coming near his waterfall, but I stuck around til he got bored, then we'd drink it off til we passed out. Then in the morning he'd tell me to leave and beat my ass again. Eventually we drank enough that he told me to help him make more, so I figured I was in."

Pulling a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lighting it rather normally with a lighter, rather than with his own flame, Alex continued after a quick pull.

"So anyway, I try and light the fire for him with a couple sticks and all that, get things going, and he told me something about killing me if I put that dirty bullshit anywhere near his alcohol. He did the ol' fire move, then just started showing me how to do it. Guess he'd also count as a man of action, huh?"

"Huh?"

Honestly, Alex hadn't ever thought nearly that much about the situation. Far as he'd been concerned, it was just because the old man got sick of telling him to fuck off.

"Well, maybe you're right. I dunno. I guess I'll just ask him about it when I get back there, worst comes to worst he calls me fuckin' retarded and we drink about it. Honestly, I already got more than a few questions for him, so that's one more for the list."

Stepping over a particularly large snake in the underbrush, he continued to reminisce about the days he'd been here, some way simpler times. Maybe he'd tell the odl man about how much'd changed, but then again, who knew if he'd actually give a shit?

"Nah, I'm good. Don't end up this tough without puttin' the ol' body to work, you dig?"

With that, Alex simply stepped off the cliff with all the casual air of going out to get milk. After all, he'd been through way worse than all this, a little fall wasn't gonna hurt. Even if he did nothing at all to lessen the impact, worst thing that'd happen was just a dent in the forest floor. Not that he suspected she could even hear him, given the sounds of the jungle and his own rapid descent, but Alex couldn't help but call back up to Calypso as he fell.

"You comin' or what?"