smokingtomb | [for boom_kaboom and superfluity.]

Well, he's glad someone feels like he's normal. It's sweet, actually and he'd probably need to hear that. But either way, he's trying to get himself back into normal stuff and while he's hesitant about this, he knows he has his trusty bracelet to keep things in check. He's trusting Matt and Elenore on this one.

"Do I have ice cream? Oh, Bethy. I have three flavors you can pick from." He scoops her up like he always does, heading to the kitchen. "You like my new place?"

One of her arms goes as far around his neck as she can reach. The other is wrapped tightly around her trusted stuffed animal Hairy, who's already had to have an eye reattached once. Despite her iron grip on her toy, Beth is radiating nothing so much as excitement and a general feeling of everything being right in the world.

"You got chocolate? And vanilla? Can I mix them? Please please pleeeeeease?"

"Hmmm lets see." He opens the freezer up and pulls out a chocolate ice cream, along with a mint one and a vanilla one. "I think we can make this happen. Do you want mint, too?"

He's definitely feeling her feelings. It's one of his less controlled abilities, where emotions can transfer, but so far so good. he knows he can't keep himself locked away from the world just to keep it at bay.

Beth pulls a face at the suggestion of mint. "Tastes like toothpaste! Yuck! Why you eat that Uncle Smith? Is that a weird 'dult thing?"

He laughs, pulling the vanilla and chocolate out. "Well, you know, some people have different tastes. And if you ask me, I think the mint ice cream came first. Toothpaste copied it, so we'd wash our teeth."

Grabbing a spoon, he sets her down on the counter. "You wanna see something cool I can do?"

"Didn't work, still gross. Shoulda flavored toothpaste chocolate. Brush my teeth all day if it tastes chocolate!"

At the mention of a neat trick, Beth starts nodding quickly. "Uh-huh! I wanna see, pleeeeeease?"

"Maybe that's why they didn't make it chocolate! Cause we have to do other things besides brush our teeth all day," he grins and hands her the spoon.

"Okay, here we go." He concentrates on the cabinets, opening them up with his TK. That's the easier part. The harder part is when he tries to get two bowls off the shelf. Luckily, they're both plastic, because they go crashing down against the sink. "Whoops!" He laughs. "So close!"

"But we have really clean teeth then!" Beth takes the spoon solemnly, and promptly drops it in her excitement when Smith opens the doors without touching them. She bounces in his arms, shrieking with the laughter of a child who's never been dropped.

The laughter stops abruptly when he drops the bowls, then returns as a fit of giggles. "Oops! Uncle Smith needs lotta practice. Bowls okay?"

The bouncing and the most adorable shriek of laughters certainly don't help with his concentration, but it's all worth it. He definitely doesn't drop her. He giggles as well, then walks her over to the sink to lift up the bowls and inspect them. "All good!"

"You're right, though. I need practice. I'm a little rusty, it's been a while." He carries the bowls back over to the counter, setting Beth down on it as well, then picks the spoon up. "I think that's my favorite one."

She cheers when he gives the all-well on the bowls, pumping her free fist in the air. "Yay, still have ice cream! Can ice cream go through mirrors?"

When set down on the counter, Beth scoots herself far enough from the edge that her back rests against the cabinets. Wrapping both arms around Hairy, she blinks up at her Uncle Smith. "You can use if its your favorite. I use another spoon."

"Hmm I don't think ice cream can go through mirrors, no. Did you want to share with the mirror lady?" He figures its a good a segue into it all as anything else would be.

He laughs lightly as he serves out the ice cream. "The floaty powers, I mean!"

"Darn it. She likes vanilla an' chocolate too, just like me!"

She starts bouncing inpatiently when he dishes out ice cream, resting her chin on Hairy's head. "Ooooh. Can you fly Uncle Smith?"

"Does she?" He scoops out equal amounts of both flavors, then hands Beth her bowl, before he does the same for himself. "Does she tell you everything she likes?"

He leans in and kisses her forehead. "No, I can't fly. That one would be cool though, right? It's cool enough that I can make other things fly, though."

She scoots Hairy to one side before taking the bow, with a soft and carefully enunciated, "Thank you." And then she tries to eat half a scoop in one bite. Half of it falls off her spoon and back into the bowl; the rest in her mouth and down the hatch as though brain freeze is something that happens to other people.

Beth beams up at Smith, chocolate already all over her teeth. "Be really cool! You make me fly one day? Oh, an' you have a big mirror?"

He's not really doing any better on his end, the way he's eating the ice cream too. They might as well both be four year olds. "Oh yeah! One day I'll probably be able to! But I have to practice on bowls first."

He nods, grabbing some napkins and wipes both of their mouths. "Yup. I got a big tall one. Are you gonna introduce me to her?"

There might be an explanation here as to why Beth's latched onto him so quickly as an uncle figure. "I help! I goddess, I do magic when I'm bigger."

She turns her face when he cleans her mouth, so he can easily get both sides. "Uh-huh! She said is okay, she was aspecting that." The word is 'expecting', Beth.

He's quite happy about it. It's the only uncle he'll ever get to be. "What kinda magic are you gonna be able to do?" He believes it, a hundred percent.

He cleans both sides well enough, then tosses the napkin away and goes back to eating, watching her. "She was? How did she know?"

"Dunno. Animals didn't say. Said I goddess and I 'tect them." She pauses, a little frown on her face. "Daddy not magic any more. I gotta 'tect him too."

She punctuates the statement with a huge bite of ice cream, somehow managing not to dribble it out of her mouth. She isn't so skilled as to eat at the same time, and so Beth only shrugs in reply to Smith's questions.

"Oh, yes. You protect the animals," he nods. "That's a very good thing. And hey, no frowny faces. We'll both protect him. He's a strong person though, you know. You don't have to worry about that." She's too little to worry that much.

He takes a few more bites as well, then waits for her to finish. He's looking forward to meeting this mirror lady. Or, anxious, really. "Want some water to wash all that down?"

"Daddy and Papa the strongest! They not magic though. I think its cause they boys. Girls stay magic longer," she says in an earnest stage whisper, as though imparting some great wisdom. She doesn't seem all that concerned, really; a condition equal parts absolute faith in the two men she calls her parents and an inability to fully grasp the implications.

She shakes her head, then remembers her manners. "No, thank you."

"They are definitely very strong. Stronger than me, yeah." He smiles at the thought about girls having magic longer. At least she has confidence in herself. "So what kinda magical stuff can you do?"

He kisses her head, then grabs some more napkins to wipe her hands. "Ready to introduce me to mirror lady?"

"You strong too, but they strongest. Sorry Uncle Smith." Not really. "Um.. I make things look different, an' I talk to animals, an' I see things most people forgot how. And I prettiest!" If there were any doubt whose child she is, the sheer amount of confidence is a great reminder.

Beth offers up her hands to be wiped off. "Uh-huh! Where's big mirror?"

"It's alright. I perfectly accept that." He grins, scooping her up off the counter. "Those seem like really awesome powers. And yes, you are absolutely the prettiest." The confidence is good. He knows it'll get her through a lot.

"Alright, off we go to my room. I have the biggest mirror there cause I like checking my butt out," he chuckles, carrying her to his room.

Her arms go around his neck as she preens. "I be fairest of them all when I get big. Gotta be older first, though."

She giggles, laying her head on his shoulder. "Like Daddy? Daddy hogs the bathroom when he's putting on his make-up."

"I'd say you're pretty darn cute right now, too" Hey, he can't help it. He totally thinks she is. he'll feed her ego probably as long as he's alive.

He laughs and nods, "Yup. Just like that. I'm pretty sure we have the same getting ready time." When they get to his room, he closes the door to reveal the full length mirror on the back. "Here we go. Is that big enough?"

"I cutest, but I gotta be a lady to be the fairest." Someone may have been getting read all the fairy tales.

When she sees the mirror on the back, Beth grins ear to ear. "Is perfect! Just right for mirror lady!"

"Oh, I see. So you got a few years to go, huh. You'll be a beautiful young lady by then." He sets her down and sits in front of the mirror. "Is there anything special we need to do?"

He's a little nervous. This can go well, or not, depending. He's nervous about what it'll mean in the long run too. Or if he'll have to explain any of it to Richard.

"I be prettier than all the princesses then. Won't cut anyone's heart out though, I nicer than that."

Beth plops down in his lap. "I gotta call her. Hope I don't gotta spit on my hands, that gross." The little girl leans forward, firmly planting both little hands against the glass. Her face screws up in concentration, and after a few moments the glass fogs and appears to ripple.

Through the fog, a pair of larger hands appears on the other side of the mirror directly opposite little Beth's. The rippling effect fades quickly.

The fog soon follows, revealing what appears to be a young Asian woman sitting cross-legged on a wooden floor. The room behind her is covered in greenery, plants having overgrown their pots and little trees in larger pots. There's the fabric covered corner of what might be a bed behind her, to the far left of the mirror.

She smiles, a closed-mouth expression that still manages to be warm. "Good job, Bethie. I'm so proud of you."

Lowering her hands to her lap, the young woman looks up from Beth to Smith. "Hi--Smith. Are you freaking out yet?"

His eyes are definitely wide. Really wide. He scoots closer to Beth, putting his legs somewhat protectively around her, out of instinct, but nothing more than that.

"Hi.... hi." Words will find him in a moment. "Not... well... a little, yeah." But he's seen a lot of things. He knows this isn't beyond the realm of impossible. He furrows his eyebrows, leaning in a little closer. She looks familiar. He glances at Beth, then back at her. "Holy sh...whoa."

Little Beth beams at the praise, turning to look up at her Uncle Smith when he scoots closer. "See Uncle Smith? I told you I be the fairest when I grow up!"

The woman on the other side of the mirror smiles, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth that are nothing if not bigger versions of the ones in little Beth's mouth. "That's right honey, we're the prettiest goddesses ever."

The older Beth looks back up at Smith, her expression turning distinctly wistful. She chuckles and waves at him, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Hi hi, Uncle Smith. Do you need a few minutes?"

"Yeah... yes, you did." He's still blinking like whoa. But he gets it now. He totally saw it in her eyes. And that smile, he'd recognize it anywhere.

"Hi," he says again, then laughs, wrapping his arms around little Beth in front of him. "Mirror lady. It all makes so much sense now. Oh my god... hi!" He waves back. "How are you doing this? A portal or something?"

"I be prettiest and strongest and animals love me!"

"There's always someone stronger than you, Bethie," the older Beth corrects the little girl with her name and face. "But if you listen and practice, you'll grow up to be very strong."

The little girl nods and sits down on Smith's lap, laying back against his chest. The young woman sitting across from them both laughs softly, almost giggling. "Something like that. I wouldn't try to reach through the mirror; you might come through and I don't know what that would do to the space-time continuum. I like existing, I don't want to vanish."

"She's right, you know. Or... you're right," he chuckles. "Oh man, this is wild. I don't even know how to put it. It's very cool, though." He snuggles Beth in his lap.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't wanna cause any paradoxes or anything." He pauses, then adds. "I wanted to make sure she was safe, you know? Especially since she asked me not to tell your dad."

"If it helps, you can call me something other than Beth," she offers, leaning her chin in her palm. "I've gone by almost every variation of Erzsébet there is over the years, and a lot of other names too."

She nods, leaning forward slightly. "I remember. I'm sorry I scared you, but I couldn't take the chance that Dad would find a way to shut me out. There are things she--we--had to learn as a child that Dad and Papa can't teach us."

"Well, I can call you Beth and this little one Bethie. I usually do anyway," he smiles. She knows.

He nods, because that all makes sense to him now. He feels a lot better about this whole situation, and about what little Beth has been learning. "You really think he would shut you out?" He thinks about how worried Richard is about sending Beth off to school and having her go through life. "How.. um... old are you?"

The smile that crosses her face implies that she remembers, and quite well.

Beth glances down at her younger self who's been watching the interactions like a hawk. "He might. Neither of you have any reason to trust me, and I can't do anything to prove it without putting myself at risk." There's a faint note of chastisement to her voice, a little like a kindergarten teacher really.

"Uncle Smith! I thought you knew better than to ask a lady her age."

"Oh...well... yeah, you're probably right." He didn't really think about that. He just got excited. He supposes that's why he gets shit from other people, too. "But I could see it in your eyes. You have the same eyes." He tilts his head to look at little Beth, then back up at her older self. "Wonder if I can do telepathy through mirrors."

He chuckles, covering his mouth. "Sorry! Just.... you know! Extenuating circumstances?"

"Eyes can be faked." She leans forward, her voice taking on an urgent tone underneath the softness (which is mostly an attempt to keep her younger self from freaking out.) "Mirrors have so much more in them then your reflection, and most of them will try to trick you. You should never trust anything that tries to convince you through a mirror, no matter who it looks like or says it is."

She pauses, then flashes a smile that's as much sheepish as hopefully reassuring. "Sorry, I'm used to lecturing little Beth. She wants to come through and visit me. You probably won't ever have to know that."

He twists his lip and nods. It's strange getting lectured by Beth. Older Beth. But he knows she's right. He's far too trusting. "So are you telling me not to trust you, then? Cause that kinda doesn't work out for anyone."

Smith does trust her. He can't imagine anyone wanting to make something like this up. "Well, Bethie is a good listener, then. Cause if it was me I probably would have had restraint at her age."

She grins, shaking her head. "I'm not trying to get you through the mirror. I can prove to you that I'm who I say I am, but only if you can promise not to act on anything. You never told me what you saw, so I can't promise that you won't see things that you want to change."

She glances down and side-eyes her younger self, who is all of a sudden very interested in the wall. "She tried, and she's very lucky I caught her."

"I wont act on anything, I promise. I don't want anyone to get hurt or be in danger." That's the last thing he wants and he'll do anything to prevent it. "Okay, I got it."

He pats her little head. "It's always good to listen to your older self, kiddo."

The younger Beth pouts, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I strong, I kick ass."

"I said no, Bethie. Not until you're old enough to understand what you see."

The little girl hrmphs, muttering very bad words in a language older than the country they're in. The other Beth snickers, shaking her head as she looks back at Smith.

"Or worse. I don't know what would happen if you changed anything; maybe nothing. Maybe everything. I'm already changing the past, as close to what I remember my mirror lady doing."

She bites her lower lip, as though to tug at a lip ring she's never had. Then she shrugs, and raises both hands to press them against her side of the mirror. It ripples, just as it did when the little Beth called her.

[for boom_kaboom and superfluity.]

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Aaaand mirror lady

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