text

[witchdaggah]

[ so like.

the text keeps appearing and reappearing. like someone's deleting their post? repeatedly. eventually one sticks, though: ]

NO ONE PANIC
The rat infestation is mine


[ that's it. that's the post. ]

Comments

[courtmagic]

that makes sense. everything's so changed that one inevitably falls back on what can be touched and obtained. old habits, old favorites. that sort of pattern.

the tree just grew there one day. it would have been a shame to chop it down and remove it. so instead i fixed the floor and made sure it had room and we've been roommates ever since.

[witchdaggah]

Yeah!
yeah

[

this is weirdly a lot of information to offer a stranger, she realizes. ]

That's kind of cool like now you just have a place to climb and something to think of as a friend there every day
Used to have a tree in my backyard
it was like... one of my best friends
And yeah
Did you name it

[courtmagic]

didn't know if it had a name or not, so i've been addressing it by a lot of "hey you".
you think i should name it?

[witchdaggah]

Can I name it

[ that was sent at LIGHTNING speed ]

[courtmagic]

do you want to?

[witchdaggah]

Dude yeah!!!!!
Its gotta have a name if its your roommate!
And I would be honored to do the honors
Or whatever?

[courtmagic]

alright then, if you want to, i'll give you the floor.

did you want to meet it so you could pick a fitting name or...how does one go about this?

[witchdaggah]

I mean its your tree
can you not send a picture
Wait are my rats in your room?

[courtmagic]

don't think so, if they are they're hiding well.

i could send a picture if you think that'll capture enough of the tree's spirit for a proper name.

[witchdaggah]

Did you go to Woodstock

[courtmagic]

that was that american music thing, right?

[witchdaggah]

Jeez you really are a gramps
But yeah it was
It was way before my time

[courtmagic]

i don't see what woodstock has to do with you naming this tree

[witchdaggah]

Nothing
Dont worry about it
I'll just come over and make sure theres no rats in the process I guess?

[courtmagic]

you're a real pal, you know

[it won't be too hard to find Merlin's room, though, he's left the door open and he's chilling in there. the sight of a tree from the doorway is a dead giveaway.]

[witchdaggah]

Thats what everyone says

[ not really. mostly they insult her. anyway.

mae is pretty hard to miss. she's the five foot tall cat with a rat on her shoulder.

...she wants to climb the tree. ]

Woah.

[courtmagic]

[Merlin's also hard to miss, with his stupidly long hair and his body flung haphazardly on his bed, messing with his watch. but when he hears a voice, he sits up, taking in Mae -

and then grins.]

Kind of makes too much sense that the mistress of the rats is a cat.

[not the expected giant rat, but hey! who is he to judge.]

Mae, right? That's what the watch said.

[witchdaggah]

[ merlin is




not old ???? he doesn't look old. do humans not age? ]

Yeah, so I guess you're Merlin? No offense but that sounds fake. Also, I'm climbing your tree.

[ off she goes! she just... jumps up... very high... on the lowest hanging branch. ] You don't look like a hippie. I thought you were a hippie.

[courtmagic]

[the tree holds her weight, and he leans back on his hands, watching her and her rat.]

First off, why would I be a hippie? Just because I know what Woodstock is? And secondly, what do you mean fake? There's nothing fake about me.

[except his personality and emotions but we don't talk about that.]

[witchdaggah]

Woah, let's save the philosophical stuff for a later conversation.

[ mae's legs dangle. ]

Merlin's a really famous name is all. It's weird. Guess weird people have weird names. I thought you were a hippie because of the whole tree hugger thing. I guess you could still be one?

[courtmagic]

I'm not a hippie! The tree just grew here! [he has a house, he cleans himself, he doesn't do weird hippie things!] Anyway. It's not a weird name if I'm the one who made it famous, you know. [a few people already know here, so there's no reason to hide it. now Mae can call him amazing as well. (no)]

[witchdaggah]

No you're not. Merlin was a bird.

[ maybe. it's been a while since she read arthurian legend. it was cool back in the day. ]

[courtmagic]

Sometimes I was a bird. Sometimes a handsome stranger. I could have been a dozen things, but that doesn't change who I am!

[magic means anything is possible.]

[witchdaggah]

What, really?

[ a beat. ]

Show me. Show me now.

[ at least she's honest about what she wants. ]

[courtmagic]

...I would. But being in this place cuts me off from a lot of my magic.

[except when the magic in the place was running wild and he had managed enough energy to do stupid things at the time.]