video, mid-october

[wolfcut]

Is this thing — how does —

[ Let there be video of one sorry looking rat holding his pearl as far away from himself as possible. Somehow, he looks even more disheveled than usual, with eyebags practically to the floor.

Those who recognize him might also notice his fur is looking extra wispy today. Perhaps even a bit see-through? That’s different, isn’t it? ]

Okay. Okay. Does... does anyone know Sleep Powder? [ There’s some unbecoming desperation in his voice. He’s just asking for a friend here. ] Yawn, maybe? Or — fuck, what — Spore?

[ Anyone with a keen-eye will likely note that he’s also not at the Spire, but the Archives. Lum Berries are more than welcome to bump into (pass through?) their new rodent problem if they so wish. ]

And no, a punch to the head won’t work.

[ Ghosts are immune to Fighting-type moves, as it turns out. ]

Comments

[edgewater]

[ for a second, parvati hesitates. okay, so, by her calculations, she's definitely just heard something that she shouldn't. but given how absolutely incoherent bigby is now she can't actually tell which part.

this entire thing feels utterly ridiculous and she can't even brush it off as some kind of weird adreno-induced dream this time. she takes another step back, just to be store and then--

WHACK!

down comes gigaton hammer directly onto his head, alongside and extremely loud --] SORRY! [ --you know, as one does. ]

(1/3)

[wolfcut]

[ That hesitation is hard not to notice. It’s obvious she’s still thinking about it. ]

They’re a Pelipper, if you’re wondering. Looks sort of like a Pelican?

[ He’s playing it as cool as one can with a migraine as deep as his is. After centuries of keeping secrets from coming out, all it took was a few nights of no sleep in this mess of a body to throw all that experience out the window. ]

(2/3)

[wolfcut]

[ His ears twitch when she finally steps back without a word, only for them to completely fall flat as she winds up her hammer high. It’s definitely much, much bigger than he first realized.

What the fuck was he thinking again? ]

Uh. Actually, Parvati, maybe we—

[ Down it comes. ]

(3/3)

[wolfcut]

[ He reacts as any rodent (or Looney Tunes character) would, trying to jump away before it flattens him out completely, but too little too late. Luckily, Bigby’s not prone to yells or screams, but that grunt comes close enough. He stumbles back, seeing Staryus until he finally topples over.

Surely that’s that? ]

Nnngh...

[ No, it’s never that easy with Bigby. Still somehow awake, now laying on the floor with another concussion. Looks like that might be a 2HKO move for him. ]

[edgewater]

[ parvati crosses over to him, cringing. like, really cringing. she leans over and sighs, brow scrunching apologetically. ] By the Void, this might be one of the worst ideas I've ever had...

[ that part's a murmur, mostly muffled by her already putting her hand over her mouth in sheer embarrassment. at least this couldn't be mistaken for an attempted murder by brute force bludgeoning now? no, parvati, don't focus on that-- ]

Uh... do you want some help, Mr Bigby?

[wolfcut]

[ Don't beat yourself up about it too much, Parvati. Bigby's already taken enough of a beating as it is. When she offers him help, he looks at her before closing his eyes. ]

Just... give me a second. [ Maybe he can just pretend he passed out for a minute or two. Though, try not to point out how he looks like he's about to fade away at any moment. ] Honestly, at this point, it was worth a shot.

[edgewater]

You sure? [ she's holding out one of her hands now.

she's massively overthinking it in her head regardless, a fact that may or may not be apparent on her face depending on how willing bigby is to expend his limited brain power on that sort of thing. ] We can, uh, go back to Six's place if you want? Since we both seem to be crashing there anyway?

[wolfcut]

[ When Parvati asks one more time, his frown deepens until he looks up at her again. While his expression starts to soften, he still lets out a sigh, finally taking her hand to get back up. ]

... Fine. [ He winces a little when he's fully on his feet. ] Hard to beat laying on the floor, but I guess his couch'll do.

[edgewater]

I'm sure anything soft is better than the floor, Mr Bigby. [ parvati's eyes give him a quick once-over to make sure she didn't batter him too badly out of habit, before squinting the moment she realises she has no way of being able to tell on a non-human body. ]

C'mon. I might be able to put on a hot drink before he gets home and I have to explain all this.

[wolfcut]

You get used to it. [ As one normally does.

Before following, he reaches for the alcohol to drag along behind him, yawning all the while. It takes a second for him to register what she's talking about. ]

Honestly, he'd probably get a kick out of it. Not like I'm actually dead or anything.

[edgewater]

Yeah, but ain't this a little awkward? Odd way to meet someone no matter how you spin it, anyway. [ parvati offers a shrug as they walk. ]

[wolfcut]

... Is it? When this whole place is as odd as it is?

[ Hard to tell if he's being serious or sarcastic. ]

If it helps, you can drop the mister when you talk about me. We're past keeping things formal at this point.

[edgewater]

Huh? O-oh. Right. Sorry. I just do that with everyone out of habit, heh. [ she's been trying to get out of it, to be fair. ] And I dunno, the place I'm from's pretty weird-like. Supposedly.

[wolfcut]

Mm-hm. [ He sizes her up a bit from the corner of his eye before taking a swig from the bottle. ] Well, try me. Competition around here is pretty steep.

[ The fact that Perrin and Flamebringer both come from some post-apocalyptic hellscape puts their worlds at the top of his list currently. ]

[edgewater]

Well all right. [ she pauses for a moment, pulling a face. ] I'm from the Halcyon system -- in space. About ten years away from Earth, at skip speed. Way more than that if you're slower.

[ parvati's aware that what she's describing has begun to sound like the summary of a drama serial to almost everyone she's spoken to. ] And you?

[wolfcut]

[ ... Alright. That one's up there on his list too. ]

Just Earth for me. New York, specifically. [ If that still even exists for her. He pauses to pull out a seed to chew on in between his words. ] So you, uh. Fly a spaceship or something?

[ He can't even drive a car. This is immediately going out of his depth. ]

[edgewater]

Maintain it. Our computer does the flying, she's real sweet once you get to know her. [ parvati's been wondering where bigby hides all of this stuff for the past minute now. ]

Earth, huh? Lotta people from Earth. Different Earths, though? [ she's thinking back to a conversation she had with perrin. ] That's doing weird things to my head. No point dwelling on it.

[wolfcut]

[ He just grumbles mid-bite. Not that he knows it yet, but in about twenty years, computers will be the bane of his existence. ]

Different Earths. Different times. You get used to it.

[ He gives her a flat look. Him, a rat with a hunger problem, talking to a pink gremlin with an oversized hammer. ]

... Plenty of other things to dwell on around here anyway.

[edgewater]

I'm still getting used to the whole thing. Two months ain't gonna do much to remedy that. [ at least she's not lonely, that was one of her biggest worries. she probably won't ever be lonely again. ]

What do you do when you're not, uh, being sleep deprived and concussed?

[wolfcut]

[ Six months won't either — is what he would like say, but knowing how new she is to all of this just keeps him quiet. ]

... Quests, I guess. [ Which have also left him concussed, if not worse. He rubs the back of his head. ] Sometimes I help with kitchen duty at the Spire. Or I just hunt.

[edgewater]

[ she offers a sympathetic smile at just how disheartening his tone is. ]

You help in the kitchens? What sort of stuff do you make?

[wolfcut]

I don't make anything. Sanji's the chef, but I'm the one with thumbs, so. [ Kind of a reverse Ratatouille situation, that one. ] It's been soups and stews lately. Easy to serve a whole guild, but he experiments. The tail curry was pretty good, if you were around for that one.

[ If nothing else, Oran probably has the best food at this point. Also, he's somehow sliding into talking about meat with a newcomer again. When will you learn your lesson, old wolf? ]

[edgewater]

[ don't worry parvati's eaten things on par with laios probably. ] Stew's been pretty good. I've been having it with bread, kinda reminds me of home. Might swing by to see if I can help make a casserole, if we can just do that.

[ she lets out a small sigh, tiredly. ] What kind of tail was it? From a big Pokemon outside?

[wolfcut]

I'm sure Sanji'd appreciate it. The more thumbs on deck, the better.

[ Bigby does not realize how good of a pun that is considering Sanji's profession back home. He lets out a little yawn. ]

Slowpoke, actually. Those weird little pink things on the beach. They shed their tails naturally, so.

[ He's hoping that's enough indication that no, they don't have to kill them specifically for food. Suddenly, his nose twitches as his head lifts slightly. Seems like they've almost made it back to the apartment. ]

[edgewater]

[ parvati tilts her head to the side. ] That's so efficient... [ said mostly to herself. cost cutting corporation brain gonna cost cut. she doesn't find it especially weird either way, but she's already fascinated. ]

Is that how you get the bread too? [ parvati no. ]