hey mom, dead mom, i need a little help here

[nothingcanstop]

[ ...All of that happened, huh. That's the sentiment each and every week, and it's no different this time. Except, this time they've lost more people than before. Five.

The gathering invitation is slipped under everyone's doors, but it specifies something a little different. ]



[ That's a good two hours or so of difference. Enough time to wander around, for sure.

But, in the garden, at the appointed time, there's a variable arrangement of fresh-cooked food. A good amount of beef stew, some Chinese hot pot, and...watermelon? Just, an absurd amount of watermelon, cut up and set on plates. All the food's set on tables that seem to have been moved from the library, and the ground is littered with blankets, for those who don't want to sit on the grass.

And yes, she did not lie. There is, indeed, a variable fuckton of alcohol. (And coffee, for our underaged.)

This has become routine. But, we're still here. We're still alive. ]

Comments

During

[bolderfell]

Did you eat?

[Oh. Therion's here, actually. Not immediately, of course, but not so late he misses it, either.]

[nothingcanstop]

[ ...That's a surprise. She slid a note under his door, of course. But, that was customary. She was going to bring him some food later. But, here he is. ]

I taste-tested. ...And I had some stew. [ Actually taking care of herself? Novel! ]

[bolderfell]

[Sometimes self-care is nibbling on the kitchen trials of your friends after a raccoon got poisoned in there the night before.]

...All right.

[He sips at his mead, gaze drifting up towards the ceiling. It's a melancholy kind of evening.]

[nothingcanstop]

...what about you? Have you grabbed anything yet?

[ ...with how routine this is. It’s almost nice to talk to him here. ]

[bolderfell]

Stew for me, too. [He's not eating it, for reasons, but still.] Guessing it's Zerinda's contribution. Her food seems the most like what I can get in Orsterra.

[nothingcanstop]

Got it in one. [ We’ll address all that later, maybe. ] You two have sort of...similar homes, from what I can understand. Right?

[bolderfell]

Near as I can tell. Hers seems... grander than Orsterra, at least. [Probably because his game is a single Switch title, while Dragon Age is Dragon Age.] More dragons, more history and legends, things like that. But my world has more in common with hers than, say, Rin's.

[nothingcanstop]

The same level of technology, so to speak?

[bolderfell]

Yeah. Or lack thereof.

[nothingcanstop]

That must be a little reassuring. Not to be the only fish out of water, in that regard.

[bolderfell]

...Yeah. Aela actually felt the most familiar at the beginning. Rhea and Seteth weren't too far off. But it's just Zerinda and me now, I guess.

[nothingcanstop]

...I know how you feel, a bit. We came from different places, but... Sly was the only person here who made me feel a little...you know. Like I wasn't just from the...the mirror-version of everyone else's home.

[bolderfell]

[Oh.]

...Sorry. ...What's it like? Your home.

[nothingcanstop]

...Normal. [ She smiles, just...a little. ] I don't really know how to explain it? We've got...people, who happen to be birds or dogs or cats or...pigs, or whatever, and popular cities and...rural ones. A lot of our city names have puns or...just involve popular species names. I'm from Duckburg. That's just...normal. That's what's normal for me.

[bolderfell]

...The name thing, that's not too different from me. Placenames have to do with what's there. Bolderfall, Noblecourt... that's normal. I could imagine a Duckburg in the Riverlands.

[...Sigh.]

I know it's not the same. We'll get you back, Della. I'll do everything I can.

[nothingcanstop]

[ She offers him a gentle smile. ]

Thanks, Therion. I know I'm not the only one missing home, so...don't worry. I'll pitch in, for everyone.

[bolderfell]

As long as you don't forget to look out for yourself, too.

[He may be kinda-sorta trying on being a Good Boy now, but he will not! Totally recant his beliefs! YOU GOTTA LOOK OUT FOR NUMBER ONE, DELLA!]

[nothingcanstop]

Of course. I want to get home, just as much as everyone else. ...Or... I want to be safe just as much as everyone else.

[bolderfell]

[He blinks.]

...Huh. I never thought about that. That some people don't have much to go back to. They wouldn't stay here, would they?

[nothingcanstop]

Oh, of course not. But...I mean, I... I offered a place to Mira, for one.

[bolderfell]

[...Aww.]

She taking you up on it?

[nothingcanstop]

Yeah. She is.

[ It's pretty clear to see how happy that makes her. ]

[bolderfell]

[Today was awful, like sliding down rock face. Hearing this gives him just enough lift to hold on.]

Congratulations on the new duckling, Della. [Guess what he's going to be calling Mira from now on.] She told me she had some things to take care of back in her world, but with you waiting for her on the other side of it, I doubt she'll lollygag about.

[nothingcanstop]

[ There's no guarantee she'd be a duck, Della almost says, and then has to seriously wonder if humans would become non-human upon visiting her world, so she's going to focus on the part of this that doesn't make her feel like she's got a throbbing headache. ]

Oh, I'm coming with her, no waiting about it. My uncle, well... He's sort of a big deal, where I'm from. I figure if she needs back-up, I can call in the family favor.

[bolderfell]

Now I almost feel sorry for those gods of hers.

[...]

Huh. Never mind. Feeling passed. You show 'em, Della.