lifenet | stone phone, mid afternoon on August 8th

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stone phone, mid afternoon on August 8th

[He's far, far too tired to be his normal silly self, as he addresses all his fellow islanders via... rock. It would be inappropriate, anyway.]

Buenas tardes, everyone.

[Ha ha yeah right, is anyone having a good day? Anyone??]

We found a couple pages of another diary out on Umui. It's not a good idea for me to come all the way back, so I'm going to read it out loud. Ready?

[He pauses for a moment before he starts to read, slowly and carefully. At least he has a nice speaking voice?]

That's all I can make out. But, hey, while I'm here... what if this is a curse, not a disease? That could be why those doctors couldn't find a cure. They were going at it the wrong way.

Most of you have been around longer than me, and some of you are more, ah, magically inclined than I am. Maybe it's something you can look into.

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[Like the automatons. Like him, an already dead man. Yes, it has to be a curse. Stupid of him not to consider it sooner, when they learned the robots died too.]

We're from the same world, aren't we? I thought you were an American spider. And I know curses are as real as you and I are. This one's just more dramatic than most.

[But equally as dangerous than the last curse he saw.]

Umui.

Well, we settled in North America eventually, yes.

[Where is Mt. Ebott? We just don't know.]

Perhaps it's a matter for the dead and not the living, then- I haven't dealt with curses as far as I'm aware, but I would have only encountered living magic thus far for... obvious reasons.

[Some part of her wonders if Chara might know more- they were dead for a time, after all. But it might be unkind to ask them if they remember it.]

I see. And where on Umui, precisely?

Wish I knew more, I'm not a curse expert. Death by flowers is new to me. I could find you someone who is, if we weren't stuck here.

[They're all doomed to die for lack of professionals who study these kinds of things. Pity the islanders wound up with useless old Héctor and not a better, more educated skeleton.]

Nope. Not falling for that one, arañita. Sorry.

[Not sorry.]

Oh?

[Muffet's tone is poisonously sweet. Like the flower of a toxic plant.]

My, it seems I've been misunderstood- you sound as though I'm trying to trick you into something. I just thought that you might save me some time spent looking for you. I'm on Umui already, after all, so it would just be ridiculous for me not to visit you.

[Don't talk to him about flowers.

He's tired. Very tired. Why do you have to do this, Muffet? There's none of his usual humor in his voice. Weary old words.]

Look, I'm trying not to spread whatever it is to others. So--[Hang on. She's already on Umui?]

Are you feeling okay?

Then you're a bit late in my case.

[She's not trying to hide it- there's a reason she hasn't left Umui either, not since Arum-25 began making their ominous announcements. Her tone is brisk and her voice is smooth, with only the very slightest whisper of hoarseness to it that might suggest a recent cough. You wouldn't notice it, if you weren't paying very close attention.]

So no, I suppose I'm not- but I suspect I'm feeling quite a bit better than you are, right now.

[Bad news, but not much of a surprise. She's not going to be the last islander who tells him they're sick and he knows it.

Dying friends. It never gets any easier.]

You don't know that. But I'm a long ways off from the mana pool, so... let's rest for now. I'll be there sometime tomorrow.

You just take it easy.

[Look at Héctor, trying to be the responsible one and tell her what to do! When has that ever worked out for him?]

Did you know that I used to be a dancer?

[It's a bit of a non sequitur, this odd little admission in an offhand tone.]

It was never more than a hobby, but I enjoyed it for quite some time, when I was young and still had the time to spare for it.

[Her voice firms.]

It's why I know what someone trying to walk on an injured leg looks like. If one of us is going to be traveling, it should be me.

[She doesn't need to be a former dancer to have seen the crack in his leg going all the way through the bone, barely covered up by his duct tape bandaging.]

Ehh, the dead don't really feel p--[A strangled noise escapes him, cutting him off and proving that's a big fat lie. He can handle constant pain, it's just part of his existence. Unexpected sharp shooting pains, not so much.

It takes a moment before he trusts himself to speak again.]

I'll have to travel back either way, arañita.

[She'd wondered, at first, whether it was truly a wound or simply an odd quirk of his dead state. But the way he walked confirmed it soon enough.]

Meet me halfway, at least. There's no need to put yourself through any more pain than necessary.

[Oh, now he gets it. Haha.]

I'm too tall for you to be carrying me around. It'll look dumb. More like a drag than a carry.

You'd be surprised- I'm much stronger than I look.

Yeah, and I'm lighter than I look.

My feet are still going to be dragging on the ground, admit it.

I admit nothing of the sort- I'm certain you'd fold up quite neatly.

Ah, yeah, that's true. I had someone try to smuggle me across the bridge in a mini-fridge once.

[Pity it didn't work. Magic bridges can't be fooled as easily as people.]

...the bridge?

[That part's new to her.]

Ahh... it's a complicated dead guy thing, don't worry about it.

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stone phone, mid afternoon on August 8th

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We can probably wrap this unless you want to do more with it.

she should see his flowers tho if you want to be cruel

Well, she'll be seeing them in the other thread anyway...

o7

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