Weird-looking, half blind, spook wrangling world-walkers that smoke.

[goldeneyeball]

THREAD DIRECTORY

One Fine Day
A Taste of the Future
Pumpkins
Aches
Trauma 50% Off!
I Got a Disease and You're the Cure
Taco Night
Buck Eyes
The Turns Have Tabled
JW and Ginko's Fancy Dinner Date
You Know What They Say When You ASSume...
Sit, Stay, Beg

Comments

[goldeneyeball]

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."

[onegreeneye]

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.

[goldeneyeball]

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."

LET'S MIX AN UPPER AND A DOWNER, IT'LL BE FUN.

[onegreeneye]

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."

[goldeneyeball]

"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.

[onegreeneye]

"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."

[goldeneyeball]

"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.

[onegreeneye]

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."

[goldeneyeball]

"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?"

[onegreeneye]

"Not really. Just how they developed; 's not really a conscious choice on the mushi's part. 'S pretty interesting... kind of a problem, though."

'Kind of'. That's one way of putting it.

[goldeneyeball]

"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."

[onegreeneye]

Ginko glanced up again, raising an eyebrow. "How big of a building is that?"

[goldeneyeball]

"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..."

[onegreeneye]

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.

[goldeneyeball]

"Amazing? Like something you'd have to see to believe? It's even heated inside."

[onegreeneye]

"...Yeah. That." He gave a soft, sheepish laugh, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand.

A moment later, he paused. "...We've got food out here, right? Should probably eat."

[goldeneyeball]

"Right, right." He leaned backward and reached into his bag again. He'd brought all the important stuff down with him. He didn't know if Japan had bears and he wasn't about to find out.

"Trailmix." He tugged out the bag and offered it to Ginko. "And we've gooot...bread. And jerky."

[onegreeneye]

Ginko took the bag, only looking into it for a moment before pulling out a handful of trailmix.

"What's in this?"

He said, immediately before shoving it into his mouth without waiting for a response.

[goldeneyeball]

"Looks like it's got--" ... "Nevermind. You'll figure it out."

He helped himself to a few strips of jerky at once and shivered. Nice as the fire was, it was still winter. A real winter. With snow. Runaway crush or no, bodies in closer proximity were just warmer so he shuffled around the side of the fire Ginko was sitting on.

"Hi."

[onegreeneye]

"Hey."

Ginko chewed up and swallowed his mouthful of trailmix, taking another gulp of coffee before setting down his mug. He sat there for another few moments, staring into the fire, and, without even really thinking about it, started to lean against JW. He was warm and he was there, screw it.

"'S freezing out here."

Probably wouldn't be quite so bad if he hadn't spent a couple hours sitting at the bottom of a cliff in the snow, but whatever.

[goldeneyeball]

"Mhm." JW tried not to grin too hard.

But then Weed Brain kicked in and something occurred to him.

"Say, Clover...we're in Japan. Yeah? From way back when. How is it...you and me both speak perfect English?"

[onegreeneye]

Ginko frowned, his brow furrowing. "I'm-- what? I don't even know English, I've been speaking Japanese this whole time."

A few seconds' pause as that sinks in.

"...Are you speaking English?"

Yes, Ginko, that is what he was implying.

[goldeneyeball]

JW leaned away a little just so that he could crane his neck around and look Ginko in his remaining eye.

"No shittin'? And of course I am! I'm from the middle of Tennessee, I don't know a lick of Japanese! Well. I guess I know how to say goodbye. Say-yuh-narrh-a."

Close.

[onegreeneye]

He stared at JW for another couple seconds before letting out another snort of laughter. "Well, whatever's going on, I think it'd be better for us both if you stuck with English. Definitely pretty strange, though; it's sounded to me like you've been speaking Japanese all this time."

And yet somehow he'd never thought to question it. Huh.

[goldeneyeball]

"Well let's hear you try to speak another language, smarty pants!" He grinned and bumped Ginko with his shoulder. "That's so wild."