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

[witchdaggah]

Dude! I bet you can run super fast!

[ this isn't even the weirdest thing mae has seen and all she can imagine is how fast this jinba can run. so fast. the fastest. move over, sonic. ]

That is so cool! You're like, made for track club and all that. Must be nice to have like... four feet. I just got two. And two hands!

[lumberlady]

I'm no field jinba, but I can run fast enough,yeah...

[okay, that's... a better reaction than she gets from most people, that's nice......]

I don't know what track club is, but.

[witchdaggah]

Track is like.

[ mae gestures, as if physically grabbing for the word. ]

You get together and run fast and there's challenges and stuff. I don't know. I didn't do it. I played baseball in school. And was in a band!

[lumberlady]

[Baseball? Band?]

I guess I don't know it because I didn't go to school, sorry. I'm sure it's amazing, though!

[witchdaggah]

I mean, I guess we could start one here if you think it's amazing? I outran some pretty intense stuff not even, I don't know. Like. [ give her a moment, mae counts off the days on her paws. her toe beans, if you will. ] ] 96 hours ago!

[lumberlady]

So it would just be... racing? I don't think it would be really fair... Mikuni and I would win everything...

[witchdaggah]

[ she'll. get to that but like. first. ]

Who is Mikuni? Are they fast? Can I see you guys race?

[lumberlady]

Mikuni is my friend! He's a jinba, too, but all black- We're the only ones, so you'll know us if you see us!

I don't know if he wants to race, but... I guess it could be fun to see who's faster? He's stronger than me, but maybe I'm faster?

[witchdaggah]

Oh dude they're like, TWO other animal people things here? [ they're a whole population now! ]

Yeah that's the thing though. It's just about having fun with people who have similar interests? That's all a club is. But I want to see jinbas race. I want to see it.

[ i'm sorry she's a womanchild ]

[lumberlady]

We prefer "jinba" to animal people, but. Yeah.

[Konoha scratches behind her ear a bit self-consciously, but... the cat woman doesn't seem like, rude or malicious or anything, so...]

I guess we can ask Mikuni.

[witchdaggah]

Sweeeeet.

[ maybe she can start a betting ring.

oh man. oh man this is the best. imagine all the chaos of people watching a race they bet on. yes. ]

What's your name? [ it's so funny that konoha thinks this isn't rude because mae doesn't even know her name and is already demanding things from her. remarkable. ]

[lumberlady]

No promises, though, I don't know if he's busy or not.

I'm Konoha. What's your name?

[Konoha the chronically-too-trusting-thinking-the-best-of-everyone jinba.]

[witchdaggah]

I mean I can wait until he's not busy? That's fine. You can call me Mae. So next time you see him and he want's to know who was the genius who came up with track club, you can just say "Mae Borowski!"

[lumberlady]

Well it definitely won't be now, for sure- and I don't know if he'll even want to race, but! I'll ask.

[Wow, what a mouthful of a name... Borosuki...]

Can we call it a club if it's only two jinba?

[witchdaggah]

If you want to go by school rules, I don't think so? But I think that school is maybe not for everyone anyway, so you don't have to if you don't want to.

[ that is... as neutral as she can make that, right? yeah, probably. ] You've never gone to school, have you?

[lumberlady]

Not really, no... there's a temple school in the next village, but, they didn't really like jinba.

[witchdaggah]

Wow. Eff those guys.

[ school is maybe not a thing she enjoyed, and a thing that she likes to not talk about a lot. regardless, the fact that she didn't have an option... that the decision was made for him. hm. ]

Did you want to go?

[lumberlady]

A little, I guess... ? You can get better jobs if you know how to write... but it worked out, okay! I got a good job at the lumber yard anyway, so when I'm not helping my parents with the planting or the harvest I'm keeping busy.

A lot of people in the Circle say they come from places where almost everyone gets to go to school, though. That's amazing.

[witchdaggah]

Yeah, I don't know. Not everyone gets to go where I'm from.

[ it's expensive, and sometimes you get stuck with your family's debt or trying to make sure the business doesn't go under or... well, details. ]

I, uh. I'm sorry they didn't give you a choice, Konoha.

[lumberlady]

Oh, no, it's okay! My family is just farmers, it's not like I expected to really be able to.

[She waves it off with a small laugh, trying to dispel the damper.]

It's just nice to imagine fancy worlds like that I guess.

[witchdaggah]

[ no!! it's just like bea!!! argh!!! why does this happen! she's so nice!!! ]

I think you're too like, cool, to not have been given a choice, though. Like, you could have done both. School and farming! I always thought farming would be cool, like I wouldn't need school then... and it'd just be, my dogs, and my cats, and we'd howl at the moon every night.

Awoooooooooooooo!

[ said the cat. ] But like, you could do both, and that's still pretty cool.