farstones; backdated to aug 26th

[ichininyaanshi]

[The last time he used the Farstones, he was making a pretty big deal about the whole dying-of-flowers thing. Kind of embarrassing in retrospect, but -- more anticlimactic than anything.]

[It went just as he'd expected it to go, waking up the same way he had died: alone.]

[That's how he'd wanted it. That's why he'd had no complaints as he'd picked himself up from the cold, flower-laden floor of the Storyteller's Temple, shook the petals out of his sweats, and went home. Slept on and off for a couple days. Scrounged around unsuccessfully for the courage to check which one of his friends had made it and which ones hadn't. No big surprise in any of that.]

[Anyway, this time, there's no melodramatics; Ichimatsu's voice pops over the network in a sigh, and then a simple question:]

Everyone's done dying now, right? So I have a question. Especially for you guys who got kittens from Karamatsu.

Did anyone's pets get sick, too?

[His voice is nasally, as if he has a lingering head cold, but it's far off from sounding like anything from the Overgrowth.]

Comments

[ichininyaanshi]

That's what you get for leaving your stuff out.

[Cool. It looks like neighbor is alive, so that's good, or something. It saves Ichimatsu the nagging of his conscience over he hasn't dragged his ass next door to check on the asshole yet.]

Obviously, I caught the same shit as everyone else. Don't tell me you actually got out of it alive.

[yourattention]

I mean your death price, you furry. [He'd specify what his was, but it actually fucked him up so he'd rather not.] You sound like you have hayfever. It's not an improvement.

[ichininyaanshi]

... feels like it. But I haven't had allergies since I was a kid, so... dunno. Maybe I'm just dying again.

[truly, he sounds beleaguered by the thought.]

... think it'd help if I used our shit? [he'll probably never not be skittish about referring to weed directly.]

[yourattention]

It might? Some people use it for allergies, but they usually use oil instead of smoking 'cause smoking kinda makes the shitty parts of having a stuffed nose worse.

[There's a several second pause.]

. . . Do you want me to, like. Bring over some weed oil?

[Is this what being neighborly is. Is Mister Rogers proud of him yet.]

[ichininyaanshi]

[A few beats of silence in return. His reply comes out a little bit haltingly, more surprised than anything else.]

... seriously? [a pause and sniffle.] ... you don't have to feel bad and do anything just because I died, you know.

[yourattention]

Listen? If you die again, I'll probably have to take care of your stupid cat? Because I'm not a sociopath? And I know your stupid cat is the one eating my chickens so basically I'm preventing the total destruction of my hard work toward becoming the farmhand I was always meant to be. [A beat.] Also I want to make fun of you for being a loser who has allergies in person.

[But, like. In a friend way. Mostly.]

[ichininyaanshi]

[how dare u slander his beautiful princess like that?? But Ichimatsu behaves, working down his temper and instead just making a mental note to stomp through his neighbor's boobytrapped yard in the middle of the night and kick as many chickens as he can reach.]

[But like, also in a friend way? Sort of.]

... sure, then. Come over whenever. I'll make some food or something.

[He probably won't even spit in it.]

[yourattention]

[There's a five minute gap between when Connor hangs up and when shows up in front of Ichimatsu's house, announcing his presence in . . . a typically Connor-esque fashion.]

Can you actually cook? 'cause you're kinda useless.

[is this friendship]

[ichininyaanshi]

[Ichimatsu's greeting is equally cheerful, especially considering he doesn't even look up when Connor appears.]

Shut up. It's not too late for me to sneeze on yours.

[He's referring to the rice he's currently packing into a sheet of nori; a depleted jar of pickled plums sits next to him, and he scoops the last of it into the onigiri before he starts folding it up.]

Unless you want chicken instead.