"Hm. Guess that makes sense. But it's not as if people die out here all that frequently... most who are going to be out here a lot know how to deal with it."
He was quiet for another few seconds. "I take it you haven't, then?"
"Not unless the undead count." He held the crutch up and turned it over a few times in his hands before shuffling over to Ginko on his knees and laying it beside him to measure.
Gosh he was tall. Gave JW a good run for his money. Hngg.
"Though there aren't any mountains near where I live either."
"Thanks," he said automatically. If he'd blinked, he would have missed it. The antlered man held his head a little higher. "I can still trim it down once you test it out." He flopped back down and sat, legs straight out in front of him. His jeans were soaked from the snow by now but he didn't like looming over Ginko. It felt weird.
For a moment he ran out of things to say. As soon as he thought of something and opened his mouth, his stomach interrupted him again. "So...you use that for winter camo?"
"Hm? Oh." He glanced upward at his own bangs, lifting one hand enough to push his fingers through his hair, unusually careless about whether he ends up exposing the black pit of his empty eye socket.
"...I'm not sure what I would be trying to camouflage against, actually. Not like it's going to fool the mushi."
"I dunno...people...wild animals?" What kind of wild animals did Nowhere Japan have? JW was cut off by the sight of that hole in his head. There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that wasn't a growl. Was he going to end up like that one day?
"Don't guess there's any hiding from something invisible..."
"Guess so... don't usually want to hide from people these days, though."
Somehow, through a combination of barely catching that break in JW's speech, and noticing where his hand was, and years of experience, Ginko realized that the place where his eye should be was in full view. His hand jerked away from his face for a moment before brushing his hair hurriedly back into place and dropping by his side, his fingers curling nervously against the ground.
"Sorry. Usually better about keeping that covered up." He frowned slightly, staring for a moment at the roll of paper and plant matter held between the fingers of his other hand. "...What's in these?"
"Hey, it's fine. I'm just not usually on the other end of this kind of thing."
He was the one who got stared at back home. Everyone thought he had jaundice. And of course he continued to stare at the man's hair where he knew the socket was. He couldn't unsee it now.
"Weed." A shrug. Then he realized that probably wouldn't mean much to Ginko. "It's just...a plant. Helps with pain. Has some side effects. Isn't very legal so don't go wavin' it around in public back home."
Ginko gave a soft hum of acknowledgement at JW's reassurance, but he didn't look much less uncomfortable over the whole thing. Letting people know he was missing an eye was one thing, but inadvertently giving them a nice, clear view of that pit? That was quite another.
"Side effects, huh." He gave a quiet huff. "That explains a lot..."
He looked up the slope again with a frown, then back to JW. "Think we should probably go?"
Ginko nodded, getting the crutch under one arm and taking hold of JW's hand. He struggled to his feet, wobbling a little and hissing through his teeth as pain panged through his leg.
"--Seems to work alright." He kept a tight hold on JW's hand, not really in any shape to be too shy about physical contact.
JW suddenly realized how not-cut-out-for-this he was when Ginko nearly yanked him back down onto the snow. He scrabbled backwards and took hold of another sapling nearby to help pull him up.
"Hup! Good. Good to hear. Lemme grab our junk and we can get out of this pit." With one hand on his traveling buddy, he stooped down to start putting things away. The smoke was finally hitting him and he didn't feel nearly so worried. He'd stopped imagining Ginko's leg falling off anyway.
"Right. That's good." God, he felt awful. His leg didn't hurt as much as it might have without the weed, but it still hurt, and he could still feel the cold working through his limbs. Not to mention that he was hungry now. Why this.
Ginko grimaced slightly, leaning heavily on the crutch as he waited for JW to finish packing up so they could start making their way back up the cliffside.
JW slung the pack on, moved into position so that Ginko could lean on him if needed, and began the trek.
The smoke did little to warm him from the inside out and he couldn't think of anything to talk about until the sides of the gully started sloping enough to suggest they really could get out. Then it was around the side and up the hill.
"We can crack open that instant coffee when we get back to the fire. That'll be nice. How you makin' it?"
He definitely did lean on JW - he wasn't really sure how long he would be able to stand upright if he didn't, honestly - but he tried to put enough weight on the crutch not to bowl his friend over entirely.
"'M alright." There was an audible, pained twinge to his voice, through the slur of smoke and exhaustion. But he just tightened his grip on JW's hand a little and did well enough at keeping pace with him. After a few minutes, he found that his head could rest pretty easily and comfortably against the antlered man's shoulder, and so there it stayed.
The hair that ran down JW's neck stood on end. Don't read into it! Ginko was hurt and high. And while JW managed to restrain himself from interpreting it as some kind of sign, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the hell out of it.
Mostly enjoy the hell out of it.
Oof. Ginko was heavy.
When their tent came back into view he heaved a relieved sigh. "Alright, mountain man, think you can make it these last few steps? I'm gonna get the fire going again."
"Yeah. Think so." He finally made himself let go and depend just on the crutch to keep him upright, finally making his way over to sit down heavily just in front of the tent.
He figured it wouldn't be too hard to actually get in there from here, and he really just wanted to not be standing up right now. He grimaced, prodding idly at his leg to be sure he hadn't popped any stitches on the way up.
He gave Ginko a pat on the shoulder before trotting up ahead. The ashes had stayed mostly dry so it was easy to get the fire going again. JW pulled out the kettle and some mugs along with the bags of shitty gas station instant coffee.
"Looks like we got our adventuring in early, huh? Methinks you're done for the day."
Ginko crossed his legs carefully after a few seconds, satisfied that his leg wasn't going to start bleeding all over the place again. Probably.
"Mm. Yeah, think so." He sighed, leaning forward a little and resting his elbows on his thighs as he watched JW get out the supplies. "Would've been nice for it to be a... little more planned."
...Wait. That sounded weird. "I mean, I wouldn't've planned to fall down that cliff, I meant..." He gave another frustrated sigh and shoved his fingers through his hair. "You know what I mean." Goddammit, words.
JW looked up from rationing out coffee mix and snorted. Wow, that stuff was hitting him pretty hard, wasn't it? It was kind of cute. He reached forward to pap Ginko's face.
"I getcha. Here, this coffee oughtta knock the edge off."
The sudden contact got a slight jump, coming as even more of a surprise than if Ginko had been together enough to see it coming. Fortunately, though, he was also slowed down enough that he didn't actually move too much.
When the coffee was ready, he took a mug carefully, staring into it for a moment before taking a sip. At least he knew what to expect this time.
"...Sorry this all got so messed up. Wasn't s'posed to go like this."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. It's just part of the adventurer's lifestyle! I've had my ass kicked by the wilderness several times."
JW sipped his own coffee and watched the fire, glad to have the heat sinking back into his bones. He could feel his fingers again and wash them clean of blood in the melting snow.
"Are there mushi that live in fire?"
He knew one way to keep Ginko happy. Ask about his favorite thing.
"Well, so've I. Just doesn't usually happen while I'm s'posed to be spending time with a friend."
The coffee and the warmth of the fire gradually worked through him, and eventually Ginko had enough energy to shiver again. He pulled his good leg up to his chest, wrapping his free arm around it and resting his chin on his knee.
He stared into the fire for a few moments before nodding. "Sort of. One kind that disguises itself as a flame, too."
"I got to see a shooting star, lucky me." He grinned and propped his chin on his hands. It faded a little though into attentiveness as Ginko shared more of the mushi world with him. To be fair, he was interested and he listened to most of it, but he mostly just stared at Ginko.
He looked so fond of the weird invisi-shrimp. JW didn't think he'd ever described the spooks he saved people from with anything like affection.
As usual, Ginko seemed wholly unaware of JW's fascination - perhaps more so for his own state. He just went on with his explanation, gesturing with his free hand as he continued.
"See, the Kagebi start out in sort of a-- a larval state. They look like weeds at first, and they grow fast, too... choke out all the other plants in the area, scare all the humans into trying to get rid of them. 'Course, they can't be pulled up or anything... all connected, so they'll just grow right back." He taps on the ground for emphasis.
"Eventually, they'll set it on fire. That's what the Kagebi needs to... to change into its next stage of life."
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theattic2015-08-13 03:59 pm
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He was quiet for another few seconds. "I take it you haven't, then?"
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Gosh he was tall. Gave JW a good run for his money. Hngg.
"Though there aren't any mountains near where I live either."
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He watched as JW checked the length of the crutch, his gaze drifting over the cradle carved out of the top. "...'S pretty good."
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For a moment he ran out of things to say. As soon as he thought of something and opened his mouth, his stomach interrupted him again. "So...you use that for winter camo?"
He gestured to Ginko's hair.
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"...I'm not sure what I would be trying to camouflage against, actually. Not like it's going to fool the mushi."
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"Don't guess there's any hiding from something invisible..."
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Somehow, through a combination of barely catching that break in JW's speech, and noticing where his hand was, and years of experience, Ginko realized that the place where his eye should be was in full view. His hand jerked away from his face for a moment before brushing his hair hurriedly back into place and dropping by his side, his fingers curling nervously against the ground.
"Sorry. Usually better about keeping that covered up." He frowned slightly, staring for a moment at the roll of paper and plant matter held between the fingers of his other hand. "...What's in these?"
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He was the one who got stared at back home. Everyone thought he had jaundice. And of course he continued to stare at the man's hair where he knew the socket was. He couldn't unsee it now.
"Weed." A shrug. Then he realized that probably wouldn't mean much to Ginko. "It's just...a plant. Helps with pain. Has some side effects. Isn't very legal so don't go wavin' it around in public back home."
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"Side effects, huh." He gave a quiet huff. "That explains a lot..."
He looked up the slope again with a frown, then back to JW. "Think we should probably go?"
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Plus side to this stressful situation JW did not realize until just this moment: EXCUSE FOR HAND HOLDING.
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"--Seems to work alright." He kept a tight hold on JW's hand, not really in any shape to be too shy about physical contact.
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"Hup! Good. Good to hear. Lemme grab our junk and we can get out of this pit." With one hand on his traveling buddy, he stooped down to start putting things away. The smoke was finally hitting him and he didn't feel nearly so worried. He'd stopped imagining Ginko's leg falling off anyway.
"Tent's not too far."
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Ginko grimaced slightly, leaning heavily on the crutch as he waited for JW to finish packing up so they could start making their way back up the cliffside.
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The smoke did little to warm him from the inside out and he couldn't think of anything to talk about until the sides of the gully started sloping enough to suggest they really could get out. Then it was around the side and up the hill.
"We can crack open that instant coffee when we get back to the fire. That'll be nice. How you makin' it?"
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"'M alright." There was an audible, pained twinge to his voice, through the slur of smoke and exhaustion. But he just tightened his grip on JW's hand a little and did well enough at keeping pace with him. After a few minutes, he found that his head could rest pretty easily and comfortably against the antlered man's shoulder, and so there it stayed.
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Mostly enjoy the hell out of it.
Oof. Ginko was heavy.
When their tent came back into view he heaved a relieved sigh. "Alright, mountain man, think you can make it these last few steps? I'm gonna get the fire going again."
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He figured it wouldn't be too hard to actually get in there from here, and he really just wanted to not be standing up right now. He grimaced, prodding idly at his leg to be sure he hadn't popped any stitches on the way up.
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"Looks like we got our adventuring in early, huh? Methinks you're done for the day."
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"Mm. Yeah, think so." He sighed, leaning forward a little and resting his elbows on his thighs as he watched JW get out the supplies. "Would've been nice for it to be a... little more planned."
...Wait. That sounded weird. "I mean, I wouldn't've planned to fall down that cliff, I meant..." He gave another frustrated sigh and shoved his fingers through his hair. "You know what I mean." Goddammit, words.
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"I getcha. Here, this coffee oughtta knock the edge off."
LET'S MIX AN UPPER AND A DOWNER, IT'LL BE FUN.
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When the coffee was ready, he took a mug carefully, staring into it for a moment before taking a sip. At least he knew what to expect this time.
"...Sorry this all got so messed up. Wasn't s'posed to go like this."
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JW sipped his own coffee and watched the fire, glad to have the heat sinking back into his bones. He could feel his fingers again and wash them clean of blood in the melting snow.
"Are there mushi that live in fire?"
He knew one way to keep Ginko happy. Ask about his favorite thing.
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The coffee and the warmth of the fire gradually worked through him, and eventually Ginko had enough energy to shiver again. He pulled his good leg up to his chest, wrapping his free arm around it and resting his chin on his knee.
He stared into the fire for a few moments before nodding. "Sort of. One kind that disguises itself as a flame, too."
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He looked so fond of the weird invisi-shrimp. JW didn't think he'd ever described the spooks he saved people from with anything like affection.
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"See, the Kagebi start out in sort of a-- a larval state. They look like weeds at first, and they grow fast, too... choke out all the other plants in the area, scare all the humans into trying to get rid of them. 'Course, they can't be pulled up or anything... all connected, so they'll just grow right back." He taps on the ground for emphasis.
"Eventually, they'll set it on fire. That's what the Kagebi needs to... to change into its next stage of life."
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