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

[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. ]

[wolfcut]

Yeah, I guess...

[ Weird take.

Hard stop. ]

... What?

[edgewater]

You know. Bred.

[ she blinks twice. oh. ] Wait, is it not actually a meat--

[wolfcut]

Is bread not — no, it's not meat. What the fuck?

[ If he was less tired, he'd be a bit more tactful about this. He also has yet to meet a Fidough, for the record. ]

How do you get bread back home?

[edgewater]

...worms?

[ she's shrunken back a bit in embarrassment. thankfully for the both of them, they still have their silly pearls, so bigby gets to see the glorious bredworm. ]

[wolfcut]

Worms.

[ What in the Frank Herbert's Dune. Just as Bigby gets a peek at those little critters, Parvati might just hear his voice reading over a description of a sandworm. Visuals from Bigby over the pearl are a rare occurence indeed.

But yeah, he also reads sometimes. His eyes narrow at the image now in his head. ]

That's— [ Honestly, not as weird as he thought it would be. He presses a paw against his forehead. ] ... No. We make it with dough. Flour. From wheat.

[edgewater]

Well no wonder it tasted a lot nicer.

[ not much different, but still better anyway. she raises a nonexistent eyebrow at the sand worm description. ] That sounds like a monster made up for a serial. That's cool.

[wolfcut]

[ He gives her a look but decides to let that comment go. Not like wheat would be in abundance in space anyway. ]

... Huh? [ Oh, right. That damn thing is still on somehow. He pulls the pearl out of his pocket. ] Yeah, for your sake, I hope they really are made up. Not exactly what I'd call loaf-sized. [ He scrunches his nose at his pearl with a soft growl. ] So what sort of aliens do you have then? There's gotta be more than... bredworms.