lifenet | voice; dec 10

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voice; dec 10

Tch... this place sucks as much as ever.

[The voice that filters over the network sounds like it belongs to someone who would rather be doing literally anything else. Which is accurate. Ichimatsu doesn't exactly do public speaking. Hell, he hates even answering the phone back home with every strand of his DNA - which says something, considering he's got five other peoples' worth of DNA to speak of. But this is the fastest way he can think of to deal with his situation. At least he doesn't have to show his face; no way would he be able to do this then.]

[There's a slight sound of crunching snow in the background.]

Hey, all of you. Not that I'm gonna stop anyone, but don't bother going up into the snowy areas. It's cold as hell and there's suspicious-looking berries everywhere. Stupid-looking monsters, too. Dunno what the hell any of 'em do, but I'd stay away from all of it if I were you. You'll probably die.

[Why, exactly, Ichimatsu himself is up in the higher elevations of Ensō... he doesn't seem to feel like sharing. He wouldn't even bother pretending to be a good citizen and put this warning out at all if he didn't have an ulterior motive. The crunch of his footfalls pause.]

... oh, and if you recognize this voice, let me know. If you don't... then don't worry about it.

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[Was he really expecting them to leave?]

[They haven't seen him in months. They could seek him out of their own accord, but the result there would likely be that they end up missing each other, which would only create more delays, and so when he says it might take a while, the Drifter denotes a list of things that they can tend to that will not require that they travel very far from the house.]

[Some of those things involve pruning the garden plants. It's a lengthy task, but the stationary nature of it has forced them to be better about patience, the way Ren taught them. The way that Ichimatsu taught them, in some ways.]

[His silhouette is, from a distance, unmistakable. Jyushimatsu's is one they've grown accustomed to, but the difference between them is as stark as the disparity between night and day.]

[At once, the Drifter stands. They dart forward in a chain of dashes that flash shadowed afterimages in their wake, skid to a halt just in front of him in an act that risks showering him with sand and dust. Their eyes are dark and assessing and they look him up and down as though asserting to themself that he is, in fact, quite real.]

[He appears to be. It would be best to empirically verify that, but - they're not sure how well that would be received.]

[Words seem inadequate. They generally are. The Drifter is not good with words.]

hello

[He's known the Drifter for a while, so in some regards, it'd make sense that they've changed in their own way over the time they've known each other. But change is subtle, and easy to miss over time. There's no single instance when it's more stark to Ichimatsu than this exact moment.]

[Despite himself, his mouth works into a slow smile behind the mask. Sure, it's nice to feel wanted... but more than that, they sort of remind him of an excited cat dashing towards a person it likes. That may not be the most flattering comparison, but for Ichimatsu, the types of fondness he feels for the few things he cares about in life are nearly indistinguishable.]

[Drifter falls in that category.]

Hey. Long time no see.

[He uses one finger to pull down the mask; his jawline is still peppered with stubble, the exact same as it had been before. If he truly did go home at any point, he never picked back up his civilized grooming habits. A beat passes, and as vulnerable to overwhelming feelings of awkwardness as Ichimatsu is - something about Drifter seems to erect walls of immunity from that particular discomfort around them.]

Thanks for waiting.

[Does he mean short-term, or long-term?]

[Yes.]

[They reach up and tug at their mantle very slightly. It is the closest to a self-conscious gesture that the Drifter generally gets.]

has been some time

[They didn't want to miss him. Didn't want to leave, and return only to have found that he had passed through and gone on without them. Did not want to force him to wait for them. They assume he means in the short-term, because the long-term is something so much beyond their control that it does not occur to them that he would be referring to that.]

[They cannot control death, or whether or not they stay, after all.]

[Ichimatsu makes a low sound of agreement. He'll find some way to make it up to them... eventually. His choice in the matter notwithstanding, it's his responsibility as the idiot who left a friend behind first. For now, though, he's taking mercy on the both of them and sticking to the present.]

Sorry. Took me forever to get down from the mountains. [He withdraws his hands from his pockets, displaying them out in front of him: they're still a tinge red from the prior cold.] ... but I figured you'd wanna see me in person. I know how this shitty place plays tricks all the time.

[So he says; but it's not just altruism that drives him. The opposite holds true, too.]

yes

[The possibility that it could have been some trick, some hallucination...well, it wasn't off the table. It isn't now. They glance at his fingertips. Human physiology is difficult to track as it is still, on some level, a biological system with which they are fairly unfamiliar, but they're certain by now that the pinkish tint to the tips of his fingers isn't ideal.]

would like to come in?

[It is at least marginally warmer inside, at least.]

[He would, actually. He's curious about what kind of place his friend has tied themself down to. Though, he knows well, it's probably not so much the location itself as it is the person who lived here. He's assuming they met the same fate that so many people seem to. The same one he, apparently, met himself.]

[Drifters attaching themselves to people. And in lieu of people - places. Seems like they've got it just as bad as he does, these days.]

... is it okay? It's someone else's house. Doubt they'd want a stranger going in.

they are not here
have not been here for many months

[Perhaps that gives away more than they meant it to - the confirmation that he is not the only friend of theirs who has disappeared in recent (or not so recent) times, and that he is not the only one who has left a hole in their life because of it.]

taking care of it
should they return

[The Drifter has no guarantees of this.]

[They know that there are no guarantees.]

I see.

[That's all he says about that. He's in no position to judge a loner for deviating from their ways, and even if he were, he has no desire to. He doesn't know a lot about his friend's story from before they came here, but there are plenty of reasons to drift. Not everybody runs away because they're afraid of being left behind first.]

[They're sticking it out. Again, a kind of tenacity that Ichimatsu could never dream of.]

[For now, though - he's grateful.]

Well, if you're sure they wouldn't mind.

would not mind

[They can't imagine the Knight minding meeting new people, hypothetically. Hypothetically...because they're no longer here. But they had seldom expressed cold or callous behavior to anyone they had not known.]

an ally of an ally
an ally all the same

[Transitive property, and such.]

warmer inside

[As he looks a bit cold. Inside isn't very well-furnished, and mostly bereft - the Drifter has done very little to rearrange the Knight's former possessions, and they mostly keep their own belongings set apart.]

["Ally". Out of a clinical respect, then? Obviously that's not the only reason, but he doesn't disagree with the sentiment, either. It's hard to imagine the kind of person that the Drifter couldn't get along with, but whoever made their home here was probably an alright person if his friend respected them enough to keep up their place.]

[Come to think of it, Ichimatsu wouldn't have minded if someone had moved into his nest while he was gone, either. Especially if they annoyed the crap out of his neighbors. No, that's probably the wrong reason, isn't it?]

[When Drifter expresses their concern, roundabout as it is, Ichimatsu smiles.]

I'm alright, you know. But thanks. [his eyes flicker past them, to the garden.] Lead the way.

ok

[They comply without further protest. They could take him to the garden, though some of the plants there, they know, are poisonous. Just outside, the bees hum contentedly in their house, a backdrop with which the Drifter has become a little too accustomed.]

[They're not sure if the obvious has occurred to him yet. It has occurred to them, but they've not felt that they have necessarily earned that. All the same:]

have seen your brother?

[He follows behind at his typical, slow pace, eyes quietly sliding about his surroundings. The garden, obviously, is the main point of interest that keeps attracting his gaze. He wonders what kind of plants the former owner used to keep. He's not so nosy as to invite himself over, though; he simply studies it from a distance.]

[Well - the garden, and of course, the Drifter.]

[He's well aware that close scrutiny makes them uncomfortable, not to mention the fact that his stares often look like glares. That's why someone like him waits until their back is turned. He's not bothering to ask; he'd rather make the observations himself. Their complexion, their gait, their posture... he takes time to note whether they're still favoring one side, too.]

[They ask a question of him. His reply is a beat delayed.]

Jyushimatsu? Nah. Not yet. I've heard from him, though.

good
was asking for you

[They've gotten better at recognizing different humans, and recognizing the relation between certain ones. And Jyushimatsu would be the fourth of his number for them to have met. Even with the overt similarities between most humans, those likenesses had been glaring.]

[They currently move easily enough. They're no longer injured in any discernible sense. Not outside the usual hemorrhage in their lungs.]

[Again, he doesn't reply immediately. Ichimatsu watches his friend move along, and then his eyes finally move away.]

[They seem like they're in good health. Or, well - not particularly worse health than usual. As good as he's ever seen them. It's a relief, certainly, to see them holding up. Ichimatsu isn't particularly the type of person to expect and hope for the best. Still...]

[Months and months.]

I heard from him while I was already on my way here. It's fine, though. He lives nearby, so I'll go meet with him right after this. [he sounds sincere, and not terribly anxious.] ... thanks for asking. I'm sure he's had it rough, too.

not here as long as you

[So he hasn't...endured the same things that Ichimatsu has. They would think that a mercy, considering what they all had to contend with. These past few months have not been ideal, but they have not been...]

[Few things in this world are ideal. They have survived, and they will continue to survive.]

still recent

[In the broader context.]

[And thank fuck for that. If Jyushimatsu had gone through half of what these shitty islands have thrown at the rest of them, Ichimatsu would've happily set the entire archipelago on fire. While not anxious currently, "anxious" doesn't even begin to describe how he feels overall about being the elder brother in this situation now. He has to try to keep Jyushimatsu out of trouble as much as possible.]

[He can't even pretend that he'd prefer being alone, though. Not anymore.]

Sure. But he's not like you and me, you know. He has no issues getting attached to people right away... so naturally, he gets lonely easier, too. I'm a bit worried... but I feel better knowing you were looking out for him.

[If only a little. It's not like he expects the Drifter to babysit his grown-ass man of a brother.]

["Looking after him" seems a stretch, but they're not sure how best to address it. They haven't not been keeping an eye out for him, after all. But they are only one person, and otherwise occupied a great deal of the time.]

[Something of which Ichimatsu is probably well aware. Is it manners?]

[They ought to be honest.]

as much as possible
has seemed well

[As well as one can be, in a place like this, at least.]

... yeah, I know. It wasn't your job or anything, but I know you would've helped him if he needed it. So... I'm grateful. That's all I'm saying.

[What he isn't mentioning is that he recalls visiting that shitty dream-island before arriving, where Jyushimatsu himself mentioned having met the Drifter. So, even though he doesn't know their actual dynamic - or if they've even developed one yet - he knows that his friend and brother were at least aware of each other's existence.]

[And, because he feels like he knows both of them reasonably well, he knows there's no way either of them would fail to extend a hand if the other needed it. Thinking he's that particular connecting point is a weird feeling, but he brushes it mostly aside. Two good people meeting is a good thing, regardless.]

Anyway, I can't stay long. But I have some stuff for us.

us
?

[Their head tips to one side. They can recognize a deliberate change in subject when they hear one, and it's easier to pay attention to that than it is anything else he's said. Those awkward, stumbling attempts at sincerity are not always comfortable for him, they know.]

[They have acknowledged it. More concerning now is the odd turn of phrase he's used.]

Yeah, 'us'. You know, to share?

[Or is it the 'stuff' they're worried about? Maybe he's giving off the wrong idea here..... he's not being a criminal right now, ok.]

It's nothing special. But the garden out in the stupid monkey village is still mostly alive, so I picked some herbs for tea. Drink some with me.

[Well. As if they're about to say no to that.]

ok

[Perhaps they're too eager to agree. But it's been...some time since they've seen him. They have been forced, in more ways than one, to slow down from their relentless and nigh unceasing drive to always get things done.]

[And besides. Is this not worth celebrating?]

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voice; dec 10

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