discord thread with @rebeccakoval
Some of the people whose names were on the letters weren't familiar to Teak, so it took a little doing to hunt out who they were. Fortunately in that respect, the current confuddle and confusion on dear old Mystery-Ass Island worked to his advantage; people were too busy trying to deal with dark and snow and their own securing shelter and warmth and food, that they didn't have the bandwidth to be suspicious when he asked them questions.
And that was how he managed to find out who Rebecca was, and that she lived in some cave. Teak was surprised people chose to live in caves, and when he caught sight of Rebecca, he said as much: "Aren't there bats in there? Aren't you like, grossed out by the guana? Iguana? Wait, what's it called, the special name for bat poop? Isn't it highly toxic to breathe in the spores? I'm Teak, by the way. We haven't met."
He announced this last part with assuredness and a bright grin, certain he was correct. Well, certain enough.
Becca had seen him somewhat in the distance, climbing over the rockier terrain of the Western Cove, stealing glances here and there as she tried to collect her limited laundry pile into a net to drag down to the river for cleaning. Rebecca stood, frowning slightly when the stranger walked to the mouth of the cave, chatting like they were thick as thieves.
She really had to start thinking about making a door for more privacy.
Becca blinked, she didn’t know the answer to what bat poop was officially called. It never seemed that important, but now her focus was back on the cave walls which were cool and clean from what she could see. And maybe if she had been given just a moment of warning she would have been ruffled at the inference her living quarters might be inherently dirty – but Rebecca was taken so off guard by the company and rapid fire observation the most she could do was gape and stare.
“Well…I know an iguana is a lizard. So it’s not that.” She offered quietly, pursing her lips to ask the man just how they knew one another when he clarified that too. They really were strangers. Well, that made Becca feel a little better. “I didn’t think so. I’m Rebecca. Can I help you with something?”
"Right! Iguana lizard. They don't get along with bats, I don't think. But I could be wrong. And this island is weird anyhow so who knows what laws of the animal kingdom got messed up here." Teak shook his head direly at the thought. "Oh, but wait -- you grew up here, right? You were born here or something? Rebecca?"
He shook his head at her inquiry about if she could help him with anything, saying, "Actually, it's sorta the other way around. I, potentially, might be helping you with something. Not to do with your bat poop." Teak looked apologetic. "Sorry, didn't mean to get your hopes up in that respect, but if you choose a cave I figure you're down with bat business."
He gave a thoughtful nod, then shook himself back into the topic at hand. "But! What I'm here for is something else. I think I have something that's meant for you. Did you go out to the yacht that was here?"
“I did.” Becca confirmed, giving a slight nod for further emphasis. Well, even if they technically never met, it was obvious Teak had gone out of his way for something. She couldn’t exactly imagine lizards and bats interacting all that much, but he made a good point – given how weird the rest of the island was, who really knew for sure?
She scoffed, placing a hand on her hip as he brought up the bat poop again. Although he clearly had other things to get to, she couldn’t let the mention slide so easily. “I don’t need help with that. The cave is clean, was uninhabited practically till I walked up.” Her brow furrowed, puzzled when the yacht was brought into conversation. Becca glanced behind herself over to her makeshift mattress, above she’d manage to scavenge a nail, and the locket hung there.
“Yeah I swam out. There was something else, that you got saddled with? How weird. Well, the whole thing was weird, no surprise there or anything…” She trailed off before looking on expectantly at Teak, “Can I have it?”
"You found a clean, uninhabited cave?" Teak regarded Becca for a few long moments. "You sure that's what happened? You just happened to luckily find yourself a clean cave with nobody already living in it for you to have it all to yourself?" He snorted. "Ohhhhhh-kay. I believe you. I'm sure you didn't get somebody to throw out whoever was currently living in that cave so you could move in."
It wasn't really of much importance to Teak except that he kept it in mind for the future: Becca living alone in her apparently vermin-free cave, ripe for the eviction. It didn't matter at the moment.
"Why don't we trade?" Teak said. "Whatever it is you found on the yacht for whatever I found for you on the yacht." He'd noticed the way she glanced into her cave and added, "Don't try to tell me you didn't find anything on the boat. We all did."
“I didn’t need anybody to throw the previous inhabitant out.” Becca scoffed. If Teak wanted to be haughty about it, she could easily follow. “If you really want to know, I killed and buried them back out in the jungle.” A pretty bold face lie, but Rebecca’s expression remained placid and unbothered none the less. Maybe Teak would believe her, and maybe he wouldn’t, and even if he ran to tell, what did it really matter?
She laughed at his suggestion of a trade, picking up one of her torn garments and attempting to mend it with one of the less perfected, handmade bamboo needles she had managed to barter off one of the other islanders. “Sure, I found something, but it’s not for trade. Especially if you aren’t even going to tell me what you have of mine in the first place. Is that how you usually trade for things? I can’t imagine it works very well.”
Becca's claim to have murdered somebody and disposed of the corpse was entertaining, at least, so Teak just laughed and snapped and pointed at her with a wink. "Good one," he said cheerfully. "As if somebody like you is capable of murder. Or burying somebody. I mean unless you're an earthbender? In which case you probably could bury somebody without too much fuss."
She started to return to some task and Teak stepped closer, peering curiously at Becca's sewing venture. "Are you mending clothes? Maybe I could get you to do that for me. Hire you, I suppose. Unless that's what you do for the island, like your ... job, or whatever. How some people have jobs. Like all those stuck-up humps at the farm." Teak rolled his eyes at the thought. Not a single person on that farm (so far as he knew) was bearable.
He patted the pocket where he was keeping the letters. "I've got a few words for you from your dear old dad," Teak announced. "But then it doesn't sound like he really knew you, so I dunno how much dear is involved in it." He bobbed his chin. "Interested?"
Becca shrugged, “Whatever you think then.” She squinted fumbling with the needle and fabric for a moment before tightening one of the stitches. When she glanced up, she hadn’t expected Teak to be closer and blinked in surprise. “Ah no…I don’t do it for the island. I think it’s a bit too haphazard for that.” She held out the clothing so Teak could see the imperfection. “Don’t know if you want that but it works for me.” She cleared her throat, smirking at the corner of her mouth, “What would you barter?”
Rebecca stopped for a moment, finding something to tie her hair up with, “Well, I have another confession – I work on the farm occasionally. Don’t know if I’ve ever been called a stuck-up hump before.” She snorted at the slight insult, not taking it seriously for herself or anyone else who spent time there. Teak could have his opinions, the farm was making the roughness of the island just a bit more bearable at the very least.
She was disappointed to hear what Teak had for her in his pocket. It was like a punch to the gut, Becca sat with the feeling for a moment and then shook her head, “No, actually. Thank you.” She didn’t need some apology, excuse ridden letter. Or anything sappy or anything…mean. She didn’t need anything from the person that had simply dumped her at the jungle’s (and eventually Libby’s) mercy. He had a choice, and he made it. What good would any revisiting do now? “I don’t want anything from him.” Becca’s shoulders heaved with a heavy sigh she made, “So keep it, use it as kindling. I don’t care.”
"It's not like people here can go to a real tailor and get real alterations done so I suppose that's the best available," Teak said, looking at Rebecca's work with a critical eye. "They seem big on mending here. You'd think by now somebody would've invented cloth. Seems like a prett-tty big thing to work on instead of some of the people doing useless things." Teak didn't actually have anybody in mind but he was certain if given a moment he'd be able to list some of those things; he just didn't care at the moment.
He rocked back on his heels, saying "ohhh" when Becca said she was one of the farm workers. "You don't find them all stuck-up? Madi and Emre are soooooo full of themselves. Madi thinks if you don't work on the farm then you're not doing anything at all for people on the island. And Emre's just a dickhead."
When he told Becca what it was he had for her, the disappointment was palpable, and Teak felt himself responding in kind. She just said no, she didn't want it, she didn't care, and he rubbed a hand across his chest as he considered this reply. "Alright," Teak said eventually. If she didn't care, she didn't care, and that was pretty much his entire purpose in talking to her. "See you around."
Becca shrugged, “I mean, you can work on inventing a clever way to manufacture cloth on the island if you think it’d be more successful.” Maybe one day they’d get to that point, but keeping people fed and covered with what they did have was just a tad more important. It sounded like Teak didn’t have much to do though so maybe he’d be inspired.
Her lips thinned in growing irritation as he continued on about how stuck up and annoying Emre and Madi were. It seemed unwarranted, and Becca had hardly welcomed the criticism. “I suppose it takes one dickhead to know another.”
She watched Teak silently take in her refusal of the letter he’d found. Becca wasn’t entirely sure what he had wanted or had been expecting for the personal piece of paper, but he clearly hadn’t gotten a reaction he’d been waiting for. No trades, no tears, Becca’s lip curled into a faint sneer as the realization of Teak’s personal gain angle came clear to her. She gave a slight wave in dismissal, “Bye then.”