Log - OTA

[byeeeeeeeee]

Who: Hunter + Flapjack, and you
When: January
Where: All around
Summary: Flapjack wants to be creepy. (Flapjack is not creepy.)
Warnings: Blanket CW for child abuse, animal abuse/injury; talk of gun violence


[Don't look now, but there's a bird standing on your windowsill staring in - a small, scarred, bright red cardinal.

Or maybe you hear something scratching or pecking on the glass and...oh. He's supposed to fly away before he's seen. Crap. Perhaps the panicked flurry of feathers is unnerving?

Or are you being followed by a persistent chirp that is trying so very hard to be menacing?

Or maybe you are lucky enough to witness a white sheet struggling and flopping between trees before dropping to the ground. A sad little lump is trying to find its way out.

No matter what or where, Hunter is nearby - hiding just under the window, tucked up in the bushes, crouched behind a tree - ready to swoop in and grab the cardinal should anything go wrong.

He'll cradle his bird in his hands and Flapjack will chirp at him, and he'll sigh.]

I'm sorry, but you aren't very intimidating.

Comments

[friendsfordinner]

Exactly. Their intentions don't mean shit if you can get what you want out of them.

[byeeeeeeeee]

[He gives it a little more thought, then sighs.]

Fine. Do you want to show me where the library is?

[friendsfordinner]

Happily.

[ Victory for Hickey!

A stupid victory, but victory nonetheless. ]

I need to return a book anyway. Give me five minutes and I'll meet you outside.

[byeeeeeeeee]

Alright. Five minutes.

[He nods, collects his bird, and moves around to the door to wait.]

[friendsfordinner]

[ And less than five minutes, Hickey pushes open the door, meeting Hunter outside as he gives him a little nod. ]

You've already talked to Eda, yeah? [ He starts to walk in the direction of the library, just assuming Hunter's going to follow. ] She was worried about you.

[byeeeeeeeee]

[ He jogs after Hickey until they're side-by-side.]

Yeah. We've talked.

[A light scoff, and then,] So I've heard. Wonders never cease.

[friendsfordinner]

So what, are the two of you not that close back home? [ he asks, a little frown on his face. Weird. They seemed close enough in his mind. ]

[byeeeeeeeee]

No. We were... [He makes a vague gesture with his hands. He doesn't want to say enemies.] ...on opposite sides until recently. Most of what I knew of her came from other people.

[friendsfordinner]

Huh.

[ Again: weird. ]

I wonder if it's cause the two of you are from the same world. Things are weird here, if I had that small sliver of familiarity, I don't know how I'd feel if I lost it.

[byeeeeeeeee]

Oh. Maybe...

[His steps slow some.]

I...hadn't thought of it that way.

[friendsfordinner]

[ Hickey shrugs. ]

I don't think it's something people think about until they end up dealing with it.

[byeeeeeeeee]

[From his last conversations with her, Hunter would really like to believe Eda wasn't just worried about and nice to him because they're from the same place. But now that thought is going to take up space in his head.]

I suppose that's true. Is anyone from your...place...time...here?

[friendsfordinner]

[ Hickey shakes his head. ]

Most people here are from my world but a few hundred or so years into my future. It's...odd.

[ He'll admit that much! Because hoo boy it is very odd. ]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[Coming from a different time must be as disorienting as coming from another world. He can only imagine.]

I guess a lot would have changed over three hundred years.

[friendsfordinner]

You're telling me, [ he laughs, shaking his head. ] First month I was here was basically spent getting used to the things everybody else knew about already.

[byeeeeeeeee]

[He nods, fervently agreeing.]

I spent several months in another part of the Human Realm prior to arriving here, and I'm still finding new things to be confused over.

[friendsfordinner]

[ There's a pause before Hickey asks, ] What's the thing that confused you the most? Me? The fucking internet.

[byeeeeeeeee]

We have something like that on the Boiling Isles. [Though the Human Realm seems to have a much more robust system, and he still isn't sure how it works.]

Cars. Humans have built an entire infrastructure just to accommodate metal boxes on wheels!

[friendsfordinner]

[ Now that? Hickey gets. ]

Bloody hate cars. Why not make the city so you can just walk to everything? That's how it's done back home, why not here?

[byeeeeeeeee]

[Hunter nods emphatically. Cars were...okay. But they took up a lot of space, and a lot of space was needed to accommodate them.]

It's too bad humans can't fly. I bet they wouldn't need to drive or take transport worms all the time if they could.

[friendsfordinner]

[ Wait a moment. ]

People can fly where you're from?

[byeeeeeeeee]

With their palismen, yes.

[He rubs a finger over Flapjack's little head. They won't be doing any of that here.]

Well...Unless they have wings. [Like Eda.]

[friendsfordinner]

What the hell? How come I didn't know that! Why aren't you flying here?

[byeeeeeeeee]

We need magic for that. Can't get magic without feeding one of those things.

[Which is why Flapjack was trying to be scary at the window.]

[friendsfordinner]

That's not a problem!

[ Just keep feeding them! No biggie! ]