(Untitled)

[reallyaduck]

Duck's been snoring slightly on a table in the middle of the room, head pillowed on a piece of paper, when -

do you have the resolve, little duck?- she wakes up with a start, shaking her head to get the last wisps of weird half-memory out of her head

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[puckishly]

Unfortunately, while Puck may be possessed of preternatural grace, it is of little use to him when he is not actually paying attention.

Therefore: As he passes, he manages to hit Duck in the shoulder with a rather solid thwack. This, as it happens, is enough to stop him in his tracks with a puzzled and vaguely apologetic expression.

Did he hit ...?

"--Ah, me!" He blinks down at Duck, owlishly and in some alarm. "I do apologize, lady."

[reallyaduck]

"- oh it's okay!" Duck says, waving her hands earnestly in Puck's general direction.

"I walk into stuff and people all the time, I mean, it was probably my fault for being in the way, it usually is, hahahaha!"

[puckishly]

... Did he rattle her brains? Puck peers solicitously down at her.

"Are you quite sure? I should hate to think I have repaid your kindness with naught but a blow."

[reallyaduck]

"M-my kindness?"

Duck looks at him, a faint stirring of danger, danger beginning to flash in the back of her mind. Is he talking about . . .

"Uh, I mean, I don't think I did anything you'd need to thank me for or feel bad about, so . . . it's really okay!"

[puckishly]

Oh, no. He gave her one of those concussions Lilly has mentioned. (As in, don't drop the kids you'll give them a and seriously what is wrong with you do you have a.)

Dammit!

"Do you feel altogether well?"

He lays a hand on her forehead, but isn't really sure what he's supposed to be feeling for.

Baby sock puppets roiling beneath the surface, possibly.

"You do recall, do you not? When our paths crossed before?"

[reallyaduck]

Enormous eyes blink up at Puck from under his hand.

"Um . . . I'm fine! And I remember meeting before really, but -" Come on, Duck, you can pull this off! Remember it's a secret! "- but we didn't talk for very long because you know, um, Princess Tutu came and then - and then, um, well, you know, that happened, so it didn't have much to do with me!"

That was convincing, right?

[puckishly]

... Maybe Duck has that thing Jonathon Crane had where the two of them live in the same body.

Although-- not quite the same. Her power is what marked her, and her magic, and certainly no immediate physical resemblance.

"Why, lady," Puck says, frowning.

"Do you not know that you are she, and she you?"

(She could also just be lying, but that's less dramatic and therefore less fun.)

[reallyaduck]

A frantic squeak: "THAT'S A SE-"

. . . . Duck is the best secret-keeper.

She gulps, and shoots Puck an apprehensive glance. Maybe she could claim she just meant to say that it was a silly idea . . .?

Maybe not.

[puckishly]

"Oh!"

Lying, then!

"A secret?" he repeats, glancing left and then right and leaning in.

"Whatever for?"

[reallyaduck]

"Well if the bad guys knew who I was -"

Yes, that's right, Puck! DUCK HAS ENEMIES. SERIOUS BSNS ONES.

"- then they'd know I was just a d-I mean, that I was just a girl like this and, I don't know, but I think that might be really bad . . . and if Mytho knew I was Princess Tutu then - I mean Fakir already knows, but - he's definitely the only one! I mean it's not such a bad thing that he knows now I guess, it's almost kind of a relief, but - I mean it's not like he even really cared about Princess Tutu to begin with, so it doesn't really matter so much, but . . ."

Duck can continue airing out all her identity crisis issues for as long as Puck will let her!

[puckishly]

Puck blinks, attentively.

Also in some confusion.

"--You are acquainted with Master Fakir?"

[reallyaduck]

"- yeah!" Duck says, blinking.

"You know Fakir too? -- I bet he was mean to you, wasn't he," she sighs, and prepares once again to make a pre-emptive apology on behalf of all Kinkan Town residents.

[puckishly]

Puck laughs.

"Mean?" he repeats. The word does not sound quite as at home on his tongue as it did on Duck's. "Why should he have been? He has ever been quite a pleasant sort to me, and terribly helpful."

[reallyaduck]

Duck blinks.

". . . uh, maybe I mean a different Fakir . . ."

[puckishly]

Now Puck is blinking as well.

"About so high, of long dark hair and slightly scowling mien? The Fakir I know is a dancer, and has about his person at times a particular sword."

He politely does not inform Duck that 'Fakir' is about as weird a name as ... well ... Duck.

[reallyaduck]

"That's definitely Fakir . . . that's really really weird!"

Duck's expression is probably best described as 'flabbergasted.'

"Uh - I don't mean that it's weird someone would be nice to you!" she adds quickly, in sudden fear that this will be construed the wrong way. "You're a really nice person and everything! It's just, I've never seen Fakir be nice to anyone! He's not even nice to Mytho and Mytho's his best friend!"