I know I expect too much and not enough all at once [W3, Wednesday]

[zerotohiro]

[Thinking about it, Fie had told him something very important a week ago that he's been sitting on for some time.

"If your instincts are good, trust them. If you think something feels off, don't just immediately pursue it on your own, think it through."

His instincts are usually pretty good. It's how he figured out everything about the fire, figured out his microbots were being cloned, figured out how to break himself and make himself into something better. But even Hiro has to admit that he's out of his depth and he needs to check himself before bolting off into action. The last thing he wants is to get himself killed before he gets his answers that could help everyone else.

So. The note in his pocket is a surprise. It's something he's thought about and something he's still puzzled over the next morning when he wraps himself up in his hoodie and jogs down the beach. He's probably going to overheat and collapse one of these days, but after the contents of said-note he's not really eager to remove the jacket either.

It doesn't take him long to find Fie near the jungle again. Somehow he's figured there are only a handful of places she'd be and it's with a small sense of relief that he approaches.]

Morning. Wanna go for a walk? [Look if they keep moving, there's less chances of being overheard. This is a great plan.]

Comments

[sylfied]

[ is Fie expecting company? Nope, but her surprise at being approached isn't very visible, either. So instead, she straightens up and looks directly at him.

It seems like he wants something more than a walk. ]

Where are we going?

[zerotohiro]

[A shrug.] There's really not a lot of places we can go we haven't been yet, but it's never a good idea to patrol around the island, you know? Just in case. I've been sort of doing that since last week. We can head toward the volcano and make our way back to the beach?

[sylfied]

Mm.

... Okay, I don't mind.

[ look, she's lazy, but she's also athletic?? Don't judge her??? ]

[zerotohiro]

Cool, c'mon. [And off he goes leading the way again toward the volcano part of the island instead.] I'm not used to so much...nature. So maybe I'm still getting used to that.

[sylfied]

You'll get used to it eventually. At least it's a little more helpful than the nature back home.

[ Fie settles a pace behind him, because walking side-by-side just seems odd. ]

[zerotohiro]

Are you from a place where the plants attack, too? [He seems okay with that, though it means turning a little over his shoulder to keep an eye on her and also make sure she can hear him.]

[sylfied]

Plant-shaped monsters, anyway.

[ damn acerbic tomartians. ]

[zerotohiro]

Huh. So the monster thing is true. [There's a nod. Okay, cool, he can roll with that.] Who knows? Maybe the jungle's full of plant monsters just waiting for the right time to spring up and eat us.

[sylfied]

Maybe. I'm not equipped to fight them, but that's probably why you should stick to the path.

[zerotohiro]

Sticking to the path? Smart idea, just sort of a boring one. [But he's doing just that anyway.] What about you? Ever think about venturing off of it?

[sylfied]

Yeah, but I don't trust this place. I don't have my weapons, and I'm pretty sure someone impulsive will try exploring without any kind of plan and we'll see how that goes.

[ If she had weapons? Maybe. Combat links? Definitely. But Fie knows better. ]

[zerotohiro]

Good point. We have a lot of impulsive people on the island. [Says yet another impulsive person.] If it does happen, that'll at least mean there really is more than meets the eye on this island. We already know the Chiefs can do whatever. Plus there were those hallucinations last week...this week's kind of already weird, too.

[sylfied]

...? What's wrong with this week?

[zerotohiro]

Well. [How to explain.] Laura tried to burn my hut down with a shoe full of maggots, and someone left a horoscope in my pocket. So. That's kinda weird.

[sylfied]

I don't know what you did to make Laura so mad, but someone putting things in your clothes is probably weird.

[zerotohiro]

I think it's something Yona did, actually. It was Yona's shoe Laura threw. [Are we not going to talk about the clothing thing? Maybe not. He's curious if Fie will ask herself.]

[sylfied]

[ ... well, that makes more sense. Yona's about as cute and optimistic as Nino.

She is silent for a few seconds, though. ]

... What did it say? The horoscope?

[zerotohiro]

[Save Yona and Nino tbh. But there's a hum as he recalls.]

"The cigarette burn mark on your arm may fade over the coming days and will be replaced by a tattoo of a young lady swathed in roses. A tasty beverage will be coming your way this week -- something to look forward to."

Seems pretty bogus, you know?

[sylfied]

[ Fie, for a minute, looks genuinely confused as she tilts her head. ]

Did you get a burn on your arm?

[zerotohiro]

Not yet. [And he sure hopes that stays that way.] I already checked and I haven't been near a flame yet.

[sylfied]

... mm. It doesn't sound like anything too threatening. More like someone made it up and tried to make it sound mysterious.

[ But why? ]

[zerotohiro]

And then magically shoved it in my pocket. Makes as much sense as everything else. But even if it doesn't make sense or means much...I thought about what you said. About instincts and taking a step back.

[sylfied]

[ ... oh. So he'd actually taken that to heart? Fie's more or less used to people discarding her advice here, so she looks surprised momentarily... and then recovers. ]

What are your instincts telling you about it?

[zerotohiro]

Mostly that it's not something I should ignore. Maybe if I just found it out of nowhere, sure, okay, but it came to me specifically even if I don't know why yet. So...it's not something to ignore and it's something that might mean more later this week. But I don't want to tell everyone in case it actually means nothing, so...I'm only asking a few people about it. I didn't even think it was like a horoscope until someone else mentioned it.

[sylfied]

I guess... just keep an eye out. It doesn't sound like something you need to search out, and if any of this ends up happening, maybe we can get a few more clues from that.