[muffled spooky scary skeletons playing in the distance]

[geonomy]

Who: You! Me! Everybody!
Broadcast: idk but we've sure got a pretty broad cast of folks eh, eh
Action: HECK YEAH PLANET MINGLE
When: 10/7 until plot update or recaptcha

It's a deep, deep forest filled to the brim with fungi, mysterious life forms, and pitch black darkness. Explore if you dare and discover all these things and more! Just don't get lost...

Comments

[axiomed]

[ Charles gives him a baleful look. ]

[exothermia]

But it seems I struck a nerve.

[axiomed]

I'd like to see you work the VCR, Erik. Since that was the first thing that came to mind.

[exothermia]

[Blithely:] I've never owned one.

[And that's fine with him. The DVD player in Epona had been enough to come to grips with.]

[axiomed]

I'm sure there's some device around that resembles one. We are near some impressive junkyards, after all.

[exothermia]

Please don't dig up an alien VCR just to prove yourself right.

[axiomed]

I'll think about it.

[exothermia]

Well. [If Charles can find something like that, he can do what he wants with it. Erik points over the other man's shoulder with his flowers.]

Do you want to start heading back?

[axiomed]

[ He looks at the sky before glancing at Erik. ]

Yes. Before it gets dark.

[exothermia]

[With a nod, Erik steps around Charles's chair and starts walking, expecting him to follow along. The shadows are starting to lengthen, which hadn't escaped his notice either. Thankfully, they were only about half an hour's walk from the Heron's landing point.]

[axiomed]

[ He finds himself looking back to the forest a few times before the presence leaves him behind. ]

[exothermia]

[At least it's an uneventful walk, beyond some eagle-sized birds flitting through the trees ahead of them. If the undergrowth ever becomes obstructive, Erik cuts it away with his knife, keeping his ears pricked for any rustling that might indicate something large and unfriendly approaching.

After a few minutes journey, he glances over at Charles.]

Have you been sleeping better?

[axiomed]

[ The sudden topic makes him blink and he seems faintly uncomfortable. ]

I have. Not all the nightmares have that kind of intensity.

[exothermia]

[Erik looks away again, letting out a breath. That's enough for him; he hadn't thought about it much beyond the question.]

Mm. [He hacks through another vine in their path.] I haven't been, much.

[axiomed]

You sound unsure of that. Is it a good thing, Erik?

[exothermia]

I don't know. [It's only been the last couple of days. He shakes his head, uncertain why he brought it up to begin with.]

[axiomed]

[ Charles shakes his head. He can think of a few reasons, but it's not his place to voice them. Charles' fears may have calmed but they're still there. The Atroma are still there. Another powerful creature will come along and again . . . ]

Well. Perhaps it's better not to know and just let them pass.

[exothermia]

[They won't pass. He hopes they will for Charles, at least. Instead, Erik rolls his shoulders and sheaths his knife.]

If we find some kind of vegetable here, that should be the first thing we take.

[axiomed]

[ They were doing it again, running circles around each other. He briefly considers pointing that out, but he sighs. Navigating Erik is a skill he's been putting to use for weeks now. ]

. . . Of course.

[exothermia]

[Erik catches Charles's eye for a moment, before turning back to the path. Try as he might to focus on just the physical action, the walking, the twists and turns of their conversation casts a deeper shadow on his mind. Things had been fine, then he'd brought up something that needled them both, and... what? For what? For him to cut off and pretend like he hadn't raised the issue himself.

His jaw clenches in the silence, and he stops walking.]

--no. I'm sorry for bringing it up like that. [And then dropping it as soon as it got too hot for him to handle.]

[axiomed]

Erik.

[ He turns his chair around. ]

I'm not bothered by the topic. I'm not bothered by you bringing it like that, so to speak. But if you don't want to discuss it, then you should just tell me.

I don't read minds.

[exothermia]

[And if he doesn't know what he wants? Doesn't know how to talk about it? He folds his arms across his chest, and it nearly reads as defensive. He bats any number of replies back and forth in his mind, each stranger and darker than the last, before he lets out a sharp huff of breath.]

It's not that. [It's not a lack of want. It's a lack of means.]

I haven't been able to sleep the last couple of nights.

[axiomed]

Only the last couple?

[ That's . . . unusual. Charles mentally tallies up the dates. ]

Not since . . . your excursion in my head?

[exothermia]

No. That's not it. It's likely being in a new system. Having to adjust.

...they do sell something like sleep tea in on the waystations. [The price is exorbitant, but it was there.]

[axiomed]

[ He nods. If Erik says it wasn't the cause, Charles believes him. ]

Is that something you'd like to try? I'm terrible with taking aids myself but that's more due to the way it affects the mind.