"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."
"Devious." He glanced to the fire as Ginko spoke and imagined the Kagebi being what caused so many people back home to resort to burning hillsides. He knew it was to clear things out so they could plant, but the idea was still there. "So this Kagebi, it thinks?"
"I'd say so. It's not like ya'll got a walmart you can just run down to...that reminds me." He broke into another grin. "I gotta take you to walmart. It's like a market that's inside one building."
"Huuuuge!" He leaned up and spread his arms out, spilling most of his coffee. "It has everything. Food, clothes, building supplies, medicine, things to clean your house with, plants, live animals..."
Ginko listened with clear interest, his one eye wide. "Seriously? That sounds..." He trailed off, looking vaguely concerned for a moment. Crap, what word was he going to use.
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theattic2015-08-13 03:59 pm
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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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'Kind of'. That's one way of putting it.
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