unforgiven ➽ a Halilintar-centric fic

05 | what more can i ask

Dinner was less hassling of an affair than Air envisioned it to be.

Halilintar, after scooping his portion of porridge and stew and dumping half a shaker of pepper into his bowl, retreated to the sanctuary of his own room and hasn't been seen since. Whatever frustrations the man had, he was taking it out on his taste buds.

Tok Aba, the old man, who'd Air had seen earlier, was outside with Daun and Cahaya. Which left Api and Air in a stranger's dining room, slightly burnt stew and porridge on the table, staring awkwardly at each other.

The stew tasted like a regular stew, if not a bit bland. If either of them caught a floating vegetable limb in their bowls, they keep quiet. Api however, was on an excavation, digging out all the visible garlic he could fish out from his portion.

"This," Api muttered, sniffing at his spoon, "is just like how Taufan would make it."

Air snorted. Out of all of them, Api had the worst tolerance when it came to spice. In turn, he also had the most sensitive palette that allowed him to detect trace amounts of ingredients.

"Garlic's fine in my books," Air said. "It's certainly better than the cafeteria's Sushi Sundays. Last time I made the mistake of eating there I ended up growing a new set of teeth."

"Pfft." Api scoffed, finished putting all the garlic cloves from his vegetables into a paper towel. Then he paused, blinking. "Wait, that's a joke, right?" He grimaced when Air said nothing. "Right?"

"Eat your garlic, Api."

"They give me bad breath and we haven't gotten new mouthwash. We're rooming, so pick your poison."

By the time they were done, the three sat side-by-side on the porch, Tok Aba in the center. The pair were covered in dirt and compost, but the elder didn't seem to mind, occasionally swatting away flies.

"Tell me," Tok Aba said wistfully, eyes fixed onto the night sky, "you're Gempa and Taufan's students, huh?"

Daun nodded, kicking his feet. "You know them?"

"Why, yes. They're my grandchildren."

For some reason, that was more believable than him being Halilintar's grandfather. Daun could totally see Tok Aba patting kid Gempa and kid Taufan's hair for a job well done, while kid Halilintar would definitely try to bite his hand off.

"What were they like, before they joined TAPOPS?" Cahaya chimed in.

"Loud and rowdy. There's not a single day with them where I get peace and quiet." Despite his words, Tok Aba's tone was one of fondness, recalling pleasant memories that took him back into a simpler past. "They were always looking for trouble, sticking their heads into places they shouldn't be. There was one time where Taufan nearly destroyed half the island because he was given bad milk."

"Bad milk?" Daun blinked incredulously. "Was he lactose intolerant too?"

"No." Tok's lips pressed into a firm line. "He was drugged. By an alien, if I might add."

Daun's face slackened in surprise. "Oh." He tilted his head. "Doesn't Taufan control wind? How did he almost eradicate half the island?"

"I don't recall. At the time, we were hidden underground, taken a safe distance away from the destruction. Gempa protected us while Halilintar confronted Taufan – by the time it was over, all that was left of our homes were debris and rubble, then it was all rebuilt in mere days.

"Sometimes, I fear of the destruction they are capable of. So much power left in the hands of three young children, and why? They have only grown stronger since, but I'm thankful to know that they haven't the slightest intent on misusing them. Gempa and Taufan are off in TAPOPS helping others, and Halilintar's back here looking after me and the business...

"I'm a lucky old man, aren't I? It's not everyday you meet such righteous children, much less three."

So they were already capable of that level of power when they were mere children. Like chicklings whose feathers that have yet to dry, they were already destroying islands when they should have been focusing on their homework. Meanwhile, Daun's still struggling in reeling his own powers in, so his plants don't eat his reports and he'd have a terrible excuse when it's due.

Both Daun and Tok Aba turned to the sound of an abrupt sneeze.

"Why tell us this?" Cahaya spoke up, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "You've only known us for half an hour, at best."

Tok Aba chuckled. "Consider yourselves humoring an old man," he said. "With no one in the house, it can get terribly lonely."

"Mister Halilintar's in the house," Daun pointed out. "Does he not want to talk to you?"

Then again, would it really be out of character for him?

"He's not one for small talk, but he does tolerate me." Tok Aba put his hands on his lap. "I choose not to disturb him; his work is already strenuous enough. He leaves the house at 4 in the morning and only comes back by 9 at night. He goes out at 3 if it's Friday, because that's the day where we get groceries. What more can I ask of him? He takes care of me without complaint and shoulders the family business. I'd help him, but my age is catching up."

Great. Now Daun is feeling all kinds of guilty. He always had a soft heart, and he had a hunch that if he so much as spilled a drop of water in front of Halilintar he'd feel as if he killed a man.

He could see Cahaya in the corner of his eye, and the light elemental had resorted to display his response with an indignant scoff.

Tok Aba put a hand on both their shoulders, causing them to tense up and straighten their spines.

"Forgive Halilintar for me, alright?" he pleaded.

They responded with a hesitant nod, though Cahaya was most definitely only humoring the human, sparing him from his true thoughts.

If Tok Aba saw through his lies, he didn't point it out.

"Now, let's go have dinner, shall we?"

From the windows in his room, Halilintar glowered at the three silhouettes down by the porch, shuffling and talking amongst each other.

He had an urge to pull the curtains over the glass panes, only because he was tired of seeing Tok Aba resolve his own battles for him. He was getting too old for his grandfather to play mediator whenever he had a scuffle with someone.

No one else should even be getting involved in the first place.

In the end, he didn't close his curtains. He laid back into his chair, spinning a pen in his fingers as he returned to counting the day's finances for the next day.