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nyarlathotep-the-dark-pharaoh · 6 months ago

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My dearest Mikhail,

Your letter to René did not find them well. Few can be found well these days. I am one such who can. I am a kind stranger, and since I believe you ought to know, I will recount to you in earnest the recent events concerning your ‘dearest René’.

On Monday, they went to the florist. They purchased a peony, placed it in a vase on the dining room table, and ate alone. Alone except for the peony. I do not mean to imply that the peony was particularly sapient or that a Jubokko could form in such a plant, I only mean to say that in the absence of their usual dining partner, they took deliberate action to place another living thing at the table, Mikhail. René has always been astoundingly sane in that way, haven’t they? Do you remember on your second– no, third date, when you went out to the backcountry to look at the stars? Do you remember how afraid you’ve always been of the night sky? How unpleasant you find the scale of the dark? Do you remember how they knew those stars by name? How they looked unabashed into deep space and understood it? That was when you fell in love, Mikhail.

On Tuesday, Yggdrasil, the plume of life, was born. Many fled east in fear of falling ash. A fair decision, after all, how often does a volcanic plume choose to linger in the air? Entropy demands that it spread its ashes forth across the earth to choke all that dares to breathe the frigid air. Fleeing east is what any sane person would do. René stayed home. They didn’t know what would happen to them. But they couldn’t think east so long as their dearest Mikhail was west. The history channel was on. A man with a British accent whispered to them about Mount Vesuvius. The peony nodded solemnly along. They texted you, twice, but nothing goes in or out of Gore-Texas these days. It got dark early that night. Their dreams smelled of pine, and tasted like you.

On Wednesday, two men entered town. Both were tall, and only one was funny. René looked at the unread messages on their phone and chose to day drink. This required them to leave the home, as you two generally don’t keep alcohol in the house, except for holidays, and natural disasters. Between home and a drink is when they met the two men. The funny one introduced himself as Nigel Throne, and the other did not introduce himself at all. They got along well with Nigel, though, and exchanged contact information by the end of the day. Few people were left in town and they’ve always been in the habit of making friends. Don’t worry, Mikhail, they wouldn’t fall in love with a stranger without inviting you to join. They shared drinks and stories for several hours. As it turned out, Nigel was rather knowledgeable on the less understandable goings-on, and proved a comfort in the face of the unknown.

On Thursday, the Nuppeppō arrived, along with a patrol of Gore-Tex soldiers. René again remained indoors, as the Nuppeppō made them uncomfortable. They watched TV and ate those fruit snacks you keep in the shelf above the fridge, for emergencies. They checked the weather on their phone, and noticed that on Friday, it would rain. They tried to call you. They closed the curtains, as they didn’t want to see the Nuppeppō, and had a creeping feeling that someone was watching them. Rest assured Mikhail, I was the only one watching them. Hours passed, and they felt the faint rumblings of the distant storm. They dreamt of nothing, and woke before dawn to a knock at the door. They drearily limped from bed to meet Nigel at the door. He informed them that the storm was expected to be very bad, and that people were going to the storm shelter in the community center. René thought this was a fine idea and gathered a small satchel of their things and the storm box. Do you remember stocking that cooler with water, snacks, a flashlight, blankets, toilet paper? Do you wish you had put anything else in there, knowing they would take it with them that Thursday night? They slept on the ground, but it wasn’t too bad. Their dream felt like you, and looked like the Nuppeppō.

On Friday, they woke to the sound of an argument. A soldier was bickering loudly with a small group of civilians, which included Nigel Throne. René couldn’t make out what they were fighting about, but they saw how the argument ended. Out from neither side came the second tall man, the one who wasn’t funny like Nigel; with him he had what looked to René like a ring box. Nigel backed nervously away from the other tall man as he placed his hand on the shoulder of the soldier and beckoned him away. René did not see where the tall man went with the soldier, and they didn’t see any soldiers in town again. The tall man remained though, always carrying that ring box with him. They let the sounds of thunder and rain lull them back to sleep. Their dream sounded like tinnitus, and was shaped like a well lacquered ring box. When they woke in the afternoon, ring box on the mind, they resolved to ask Nigel what had happened. They didn’t really understand his response, but it seemed unsettling. “There are some things that even I don’t want to know.” They spent a rainy evening indoors, and headed home alone when it cleared up. They made a bolognese for dinner, even though it was supposed to be leftovers day. They shut the blinds tight, stared at their unreceived messages, and went to bed.

On Saturday, they went for a walk. They spoke briefly with a few neighbors who remained in town, and reveled in the Nuppeppō free streets. Her spawn never stayed when it rained. They went all the way to the edge of town. They looked up at Yggdrasil, the world plume, unabashed, and understood it. Do you remember when you fell in love? Not six feet away was a Jubokko, Mikhail. You were dead if I hadn’t been watching. I gazed at you as you gazed up at the stars that made you so nervous. No Kaidan would touch you as I knew your name. You do not need to thank me. I know you aren’t grateful. They are grateful for you, though. They truly do love you, Mikhail, beyond anything I could imagine. They didn’t dream that night.

On Sunday, they met God in a ring box.

On Monday, I went alone to the florist. I purchased a peony, placed it in a vase on your dining room table, and ate alone. Alone except for the peony. I do hope this letter finds you well.

Your dearest,

Nigel Throne

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genienotinabottle · 2 years ago

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washed off with the rain // nicole & baz

TIMING: current-ish PARTIES: @nicsalazar & @genienotinabottle SUMMARY: baz and nicole run into a wild nuppeppō, and no one is entirely pleased about it. CONTENT: none

The arboretum near Hambry Park would always be one of Nicole’s favorite places in town. She cherished it not only for its beauty, but also for its sentimental value. She made her very first friend –her dearest friend– among those trees.

The walk to the botanical tree? Nowhere near as remarkable, however. A shiver ran down Nicole’s spine as she set foot in the cemetery. Although she wouldn't have to walk a far distance from her parking spot to the botanical garden, it wouldn't be an fun stroll. If she didn’t know better, she’d think someone planned for the cemetery to look gloomy every day. Today, it was covered in a thick dark mist, despite being surrounded by perfectly nice fall evening.

Normally Nicole didn’t like to distract herself before making it inside the garden’s limits, but a foul smell reaching her nostrils stopped her in her tracks. She glanced down, lifting one of her boots. Maybe she had stepped— no, it was clean. So was the other boot. She considered ignoring it, a big ask actually, and just continue her walk, but a figure in her peripheral vision made her turn.

After that, it was a case of putting two and two together. The smell, that wretched odor, was emanating from the other person in the cemetery, who had just made eye contact with her. Right? What else— Normally, Nicole would’ve kept quite. She was known to avoid conflict. She could’ve continued her journey towards the botanical garden. Except this person’s scent was… foul. Which was saying something, considering they were right by the cemetery. They could very well be ill, or worse…dead. She touched the tip of her nose, shrugging her shoulders before blurting out. “What the fuck?”

Nature walks were something Baz enjoyed more than people might expect. Most who knew them assumed they preferred the comfort of indoor life, and while they did enjoy being pampered, they’d been born in a time that was largely without most of the modern amenities people couldn’t live without now. Electricity was still a relatively new invention, and things like technology were still practically infants in the grand scheme of things. But nature? That had been around longer than Baz themself.

It always made for good inspiration, too. They’d sketched most of White Crest over the years they’d spent there, but the thing about White Crest was that it was always changing. More than usual lately, with the strange happenings about town. The fury had spent hours in the woods before moving on to the cemetery, sketching old gravestones with dates they’d been alive to experience. They were particularly distracted by their art today, carefully doodling without much care.

That was, of course, until the stench hit them.

It was an overpowering thing, heavy and putrid. Immediately, Baz’s nose wrinkled up with disgust and they shut the sketchbook quickly, as if afraid the smell might sink into the pages and make a home there. A quick glance around showed one other occupant in the cemetery, the other figure blocked from their view by the twisted branches of a nearby tree. She didn’t look like the sort of person who’d produce such a smell, but the scent was utterly undeniable. Baz made a face at her.

“You’re asking me? They do have showers here, love. You really ought to try one.”

Nicole scoffed in disbelief at their retort, even though, she had made similar assumptions. “Real funny” she grumbled, unwilling to discuss hygiene habits with this strange. All she wanted to figure out was why they smelled so awful. Though judging by the tone in their reply, she questioned if she should even care for this person’s well being. A short dilemma, granted, as she knew better than to deal with this type of enigma all by herself. No, a team up was always the better option.

Nicole approached slowly, taking on the other person’s scent as subtly as could. It was rude to sniff, after all. Her apprehension towards them all but disappeared when she couldn’t place anything strange on them. “Alright. So, it’s not you,” could anyone blame her for thinking it was? “And it’s not me, trust me” she added quickly, before the could interject. “So what the fuck is rotting out there? This isn’t the usual… aroma”. And maybe, if their conversation had started on a better note, she would’ve mentioned her past experiences with tomb raiding, but for time being, it was better to keep her crimes to herself.

With the prime suspect out of the equation, Nicole began musing on other possibilities. Zombies? She vaguely knew their scent could be vile if not fed. But she didn’t have enough experience to spot them or separate them from say, a trash bag. She paced around, eyes darting between the tall mausoleums and the tree branches that had grown alongside them. It was hard distinguishing anything immersed in the mist, but out of the corner of her eye, a shadow appeared. Covering her mouth with the inside of her elbow, she gestured to the creature. It was still partially hidden between tombs. An neglected animal, she considered, though a gut feeling strongly contradicted her thoughts. “Might be it” her voice alerted it of their presence, and instead of scurrying off like a scared animal would, it began to slowly approach them.

The fact that Baz was offended by the stranger’s assumption would come as no surprise to anyone who knew the fury. Truth be told, they had a habit of getting offended by most things. A large chunk of said offense was always for show, though. After a few centuries of living, you did learn to let things roll off you a little easier. But Baz had a reputation to uphold, and this reputation involved being utterly offended by the tiniest slight. They were very good at keeping it up.

Still, it was with curiosity rather than annoyance that they observed the woman as she stepped in closer, watching the way she subtly sniffed the air as she got close. The move proved that Baz had been telling the truth, of course, but it also allowed them to recognize that she, too, was not the source of the smell. The proximity to the stench remained unchanged even as the stranger drew nearer, a sure sign that she wasn’t the cause. “It’s not you,” they allowed begrudgingly, waving a hand in her direction. “It is an unpleasant smell, isn’t it? Certainly not the usual fare, though this town never smells heavenly.” It wasn’t even the rotting fish smell that had overtaken the town as of late. This was something new, and certainly not anything Baz wanted near them.

The woman seemed intent to figure it out, and Baz was content to trail behind her lazily as she investigated. They let her take the lead, of course. In cemeteries like this, things that went bump in the night were all too common, and Baz would much rather let a stranger be attacked than face such things themself. Before long, the pair had stumbled upon… something. It was difficult to make out what it was in the dark, though the scent was overpowering as they got closer. “I think we’ve found our prime suspect,” the fury mused, squinting at it as it approached. It was… Eugh. All right, it was horrifying. All pink and wrinkled, like one of those hideous mole rats magnified to a terrible size. And the smell! The smell was certainly the worst part. “That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen,” Baz winced, “and I’ve seen multiple reality television stars the morning after a night out on the town. What is it?”

“You’d be right…” It wasn’t a hard observation to make, given the monster was now approaching them, carrying its stench along the way. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. But that was a inevitable, considering the town they lived in and the ground they stood on. Still, it was something unlike Nicole had ever seen. All wrinkles and skin folds (at least she thought it was supposed to be skin) with no real shape. Was there a real threat underneath it all? In no way did it look like it was seizing them, preparing to attack. It was difficult, she figured, to find any trace on intention in its faceless shape. Instead, the beast glided towards them as if he was meeting old friends.

“Hey! What if it can hear you? We don’t need it to be angry at us” Nicole chastised them, immediately searching for ears somewhere. In response to their second interjection, she turned around with furrowed brows, trying to decipher what they were saying. “Right…” she licked her lips, wondering if reality TV stars even existed in White Crest. Townsfolk would make for a more entertaining show than any of those TV personalities. However, she had no time to think about any of it since they were standing in front of a horrible creature, and that trumped beautiful TV people. “No fucking clue,” it was an obvious answer, and Nicole took a few steps forward, closing the distance. “I don’t think it has any plans to kill us, though. It might not even see us”. She was curious, as always, about any living being in White Crest, but it seemed… she might have just encountered the most underwhelming one of them all.

“It’s just… here” just like they were, having a stroll in the cemetery. Except it was stinking up the place as it went. Having settled that this abomination posed no danger to them, Nicole turned to suggest they leave it alone. But before she could even speak, the monster flapped one of its lumpy folds, akin an arm, and tried to reach for them. Nicole shuddered, bumping into her companion as she retreated. “Shit. Sorry”.

The closer the thing came, the more disgusted Baz appeared. They did little to hide their repulsion, nose wrinkled and expression scrunched. They even let out an overdramatic gag as the creature approached, turning their head away and bringing their fingers up to pinch their nose closed. “I hope it can hear me!” They exclaimed, raising their voice to further prove the point. “Maybe it’ll take the criticism to heart and find a shower!”

Despite the stench, the woman made a good point. The creature didn’t seem particularly interested in violence, even as it continued its approach. There was no underlying threat to the nature of its trot, no reason to think it meant any harm. The worst it could do, Baz assumed, was stink up their clothes. But of course, that was a fate the fury would very much like to avoid.

“Well, it ought to just go someplace else. Perhaps the ocean, where no one can smell it.” Levi and Marina might have taken some offense to the suggestion, but neither was here to scold Baz for it. Before they could say much else, the creature… reached for them. Baz feld the woman bump into their arm as she scrambled back, and they followed suit, placing themself firmly behind her. If one of them was going to be eaten by this thing, it certainly wouldn’t be Baz. “Do something about it! God, if it touches me, I’ll burn this stupid cemetery to the ground.”

Even if it could hear them, Nicole doubted this pile of gooey flesh had any sort of grooming habits. Disgusting, sure, but probably not by choice. What did she know, really? Maybe its whole purpose was to cause olfactory distress. Upon better inspection, it became evident that it was in fact, made out of real flesh. Her face wrinkled, new thoughts spinning in her head. How the fuck did this came to be?

Nicole held her hands up defensively, putting space between the creature and her. She had to give the stranger some credit for their conclusion, though. Not that she’d voice it out loud. It was possible, considering how everything in town was turned upside down, that it had been displaced from its natural habitat. Whatever good will they won with their assessment, however, was quickly lost as they stood behind her demanding things from her.

“Why do I have to do anything? You’ve hands too, no?” Nicole pushed, forcing them to keep stepping backwards. The further from the creature’s saggy, rotting arm, the better. The idea of arson made her scoff. She had enough experience with that to let it happen. “You’re a little dramatic aren’t you?” the lump of flesh continued to move, unaware of the fright it was inflicting. “Why do we have to do anything?” she muttered after a beat. Turning around, she grabbed their arm and pulled them away from the creatures path. She stood behind one of the gravestones, watching it slowly make its way. It really was just a pathetic little monster minding its business.

“Might give animal control a call… You think that’s a—” significantly less on edge now that they had put some distance between them, Nicole glanced at the stranger. “I mean, they don’t usually deal with this type of… animal”. It wasn’t an animal, of course. But she tried to save face, even if she hoped this person wasn’t one of those who still pretended everything had some logical explanation in White Crest.

“My hands won’t be going anywhere near all that!” The fury allowed themself to be maneuvered backwards, wanting as much space between them and the creature as humanly possible. It wasn’t enough that they’d placed the woman strategically between themself and the blob — Baz wanted to be in a different zipcode from that wretched thing. Though they’d certainly lived long enough to see plenty of it, they’d never been a fan of things like this. Disgusting aspects of the world they lived in, things that smelled unpleasant and looked even worse. One thing they’d enjoyed about the evolution of human society was the move towards cleanliness. If they had to deal with things like this on a daily basis, they would have bought an island for themself by now.

At the (absolutely justified) accusation of drama on their part, Baz put a hand against their chest, doing their best to look absolutely offended. “Dramatic? You think I’m being dramatic? This thing is the worst creature I’ve ever seen upon this earth!” Probably not selling the claim that they weren’t being dramatic, especially not with how loud their voice had become, but the point stood all the same.

Moving out of the creature’s path was certainly a good idea, Baz had to hand it to the woman. They scrambled to make sure that she still stood between him and it, even with the gravestone adding some added protection. The last thing they wanted was for it to brush up against them somehow, after all. “Why do we have to do anything? Because it’s a scourge upon this planet! Because it’s gross! Because I don’t want to live in the same place as it!” But the fury did relax a bit as the thing went on its way.

“What’s animal control going to do? Catch it in a net? I’d rather call someone with a very large knife.” Knowing a hunter would be nice, in a situation like this one, though Baz wasn’t sure there were any hunters in White Crest who wouldn’t take offense to their… status of humanity. Still, it wasn’t as if there were many other people you could call for a thing like this. Levi might kill it for them if they asked nicely, but there was sure to be some sort of price tag attached. “Maybe you should try kicking it.”

Arms crossed, Nicole squinted at the creature. Were they perceiving two different monsters right now? “Okay, that’s not…” she tilted her head. Maybe from a different angle— no, still the same. It didn’t shoot anything, have fangs, or claws or wings. It was pathetic, really. So why not leave it be? “Have you been around White Crest? cause fuck, I’ve awful news for you. Gets way worse than this”.

But yes, it was gross, Nicole conceded. Silently once again. She didn’t want them thinking they were making good points. “Hmm”. It wasn’t enough of a reason to intervene. This monster had barely any interest in them, it seemed. Was this stranger actually scared and just putting on a dramatic display? Nicole couldn’t tell how much of their act was real. If they were scared then maybe, she’d feel more inclined to actually help. Like she always picked up the spiders for Leah.

“Yeah, alright” she grumbled, begrudgingly. Animal control was pretty useless anyway. “I’m not killing it” Nicole scoffed at the mention of a knife. “It’s not bothering us. Except your eyes, I guess. And our noses”. And it was a good thing to never mention the axe she was carrying in her backpack. “I’m not— I’m not gonna kick it,” she doubled down. That’d be stupid. It’d be stupid right? To test the thing… Why did she entertain the thought for a second? This person was a bad influence with all their theatrics. “I’m not… going to do that” she began, hand mid air, stopping them from suggesting anything else. “If you’re that scared we— I can trick into going away. To the woods”.

“I’ve spent plenty of time in White Crest. I’d much rather face something that wanted to eat me than that.” It was, of course, categorically untrue. Not that Baz had been in White Crest for a while — that part was certainly the truth — but that they preferred deadly creatures to disgusting ones. For all the years they held beneath their belt, Baz was still something of a coward when it came to danger. But… yikes. That didn’t mean they liked seeing things like this. They’d need a few centuries of therapy if that thing came any closer, they were sure of it.

Even Baz wasn’t sure how much of their display was for show and how much was genuine. It was something they’d learned early on in their life, before it became an immortal one; if you put on a show with enough gusto, you could begin to fool even yourself. And Baz was full of nothing if not gusto.

The show wasn’t having the full effect they’d been hoping for — if it were, this woman would already be killing the terrible creature and rescuing Baz from the stench of it — but it wasn’t entirely ineffective, either. Sending the creature into the woods wasn’t their favorite solution, but it was certainly far better than allowing it to remain out here in the open where Baz had to see and smell it. “Yes,” they nodded, not a hint of shame to their expression, “I’m terrified. Please, send it away. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”

“Might wanna reevaluate those preferences” Nicole grumbled, mostly to herself. It was pointless to keep arguing. This creepy, horrifying sack of rotting flesh was probably worse than the apocalypse itself to them. She’d be the bigger person and respect this person’s fears. As ridiculous as they were, mind you.

She glanced at them as they spoke, lip twitching in annoyance. Nicole was exasperated by this stranger, just as she was in her inability to figure them out. They were playing with her, she was near certain of. Mocking her. But if they weren’t? Then, scaring it into the woods was a small thing to do for someone. Nicole could do that, couldn’t she? Brainstorming, her gaze had already returned to the creature when she heard her companion’s following sentence. She glanced at them, frowning deeply. What? The words sounded vaguely familiar. It had to be some sort of reference, going by context. But she didn’t have the time to access her very limited reference directory and remind herself why she had the inkling that this was some pop culture thing. “Yeah…okay. Fine,” she drawled, failing to inject the snark she wanted to.

But… How exactly was she supposed to do it? Lure it. Lure it— how? Did it eat? Did it see? “I…” Nicole shrugged, shooting the stranger a helpless look. Why did she have to get into these type of situations? Why did she offer? She rummaged through her bag, pulling out anything that appeared useful. A protein bar. Some change. Gum. Her flashlight. Bear spray. Could that maybe… ? She felt so stupid, coming out from behind the gravestone with— a can of spray in her hand. She covered her nose again, stepping more firmly. There was nothing to be scared of, but fuck if her eyes didn’t water as she neared. Hope hanging by a thread, Nicole pushed the button, spraying the lump with it and waited.

“No, I’m very confident in my choices. Being eaten would be a far kinder fate than this. If it touches me, I’ll have to burn everything I own, just to be thorough.” Their tone was theatrical, their voice loud enough to actually draw the beast they were lamenting against towards them rather than scare it away. Baz, of course, was too busy being dramatic to make note of this.

In any case, they figured they wouldn’t have to worry about the beast long-term. This woman, as annoyed as she might be, seemed willing to scare it into the woods for them so long as they acted as if their fear was real and not played up for the drama. Baz stared at her as she studied them, showing no sign that they were being anything but truthful. She didn’t seem to catch the Star Wars reference — though she was young enough that she may only be familiar with the newer pieces of the franchise, like the ridiculously high budget television shows the kids were raving about — but they decided to let it slide. Given the choice between explaining a pop culture reference and being rid of the skin flap monster, Baz would much prefer the latter.

Though she’d have to figure out how to get rid of it first. The expression on her face told them that she wasn’t exactly confident in her ability to uphold her promise of shooing the thing away, and Baz inched back a little to put more space between the two of them just in case they needed to use her as a distraction to make a quick getaway. They watched, wide-eyed, as she fished bear spray out of her bag and inched towards the creature, leaning forward in anticipation just a little as she sprayed the canister. The world seemed to hold its breath alongside her as the spray shot out towards the lump of flesh, and then —

It scurried back, shaking what Baz thought might be its head as it worked to put distance between itself and the spray. The fury cheered loudly. “Do it again!”

Her jaw tightened at the mention of fire, again. Stopped talking altogether. She wouldn't even let this person joke about such stuff. She was a little bit traumatized, maybe. Instead, Nicole poured her energy on the task at hand.

Somehow, after the initial spray, the creature retreated. Baffled, Nicole examined the can, wondering what was inside that equally repelled a fleshy monster and a bear. And shit— there were more important things than spray ingredients to worry about, and her companion’s voice travelled fast to remind her what was at stake. She did as told. Because fuck it, it was working. And though it wasn’t the most agile of creatures, it crept away and away and Nicole continued to aim at a particular angle that would trick the lump into escaping towards the trees.

By the time she had successfully guided the monster away from the cemetery, there was no spray left. She shook the can, pressing the button one final time until nothing came out. Just in case. After that, she waited, watching the creature’s behavior, making sure it wouldn't return. She turned towards the stranger, eyebrow arched. “There. You good now?” She huffed. Nicole still needed to make it to the arboretum on time, so the sooner she ensured that no further danger was lurking, the sooner she could go about her day.

She didn’t seem to like talk of fire, though Baz was too wrapped up in their own dramatic rambling to notice her discomfort. They were far too focused on the creature and her promise to dispose of it, far too interested in seeing whether or not she was successful. If she wasn’t, they would certainly grow more unruly.

But that, it seemed, wasn’t something they needed to worry about. The bear spray, for whatever reason, acted as an effective deterrent against the beast, Baz’s hands clapping together filling the space with sound that only seemed to scare the creature more as the woman sprayed it again. Its movements were odd, unnatural, but so long as they were taking it away from Baz, the fury didn’t care much what they looked like. They watched as their savior continued to chase the beast until it was waddling off towards the treeline, trailing behind them both like a curious child.

Grinning as the woman turned back towards them, Baz flashed her a double thumbs up. “Lovely,” they confirmed. “You’re my hero, truly. A knight in shining armor! You put Christopher Reeve to shame!”

Nicole stared at them, unblinking as her lips curved into a frown. Now, who was Christopher Reeve? Another reference, surely. But the one famous Christopher she knew, was Columbus. And they couldn’t possibly be… trying to reference him, right? That was pretty damn offensive considering— “I’m no hero” she huffed a humorless reply, almost certain she was still being mocked.

“Right… uh, so I’m gonna—” Nicole put the spray away, rubbing her hands awkwardly when silence settled in. “You keep doing— whatever it was you were doing,” she walked past them, making her way back to the path towards the garden. Only, and only because she had seen their reaction to the fleshy creature, Nicole turned, dropping the annoyance from her tone as she acknowledged them again. “Just… ah, be careful and shit. Not everything out there can be repelled with bear spray” she warned. That monster, whatever it was, had been inoffensive. Unlike the rest of the beasts lurking in the woods. Whether this person pretended otherwise or not.

Having issued her final warning, Nicole gave them a nod of goodbye. What else was she supposed to do, really? She didn’t have in her to blurt out some pleasantry like ‘see you around’. She definitely didn’t want to see them or their dramatics around. A nod. That was all she managed before heading to the botanical garden, where a much less stressful evening waited for her.

#nicsalazar #nicole: washed off with the rain

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