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[isawallflower]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHEERYCHERRY. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 019.46.820.17 *** CHEERYCHERRY has joined 019.46.820.17 <CHEERYCHERRY> It's Riley! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please leave a message! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please be someone with their priorities sorted out properly!

main: CheeryCherry
anonymous: panthera, aed
retired: gflynn (anon)

Comments

[hairday]

Hey, no problem. Now I completely get how strange it feels to go from always being covered up to... not. That's me & my relationship with shoes right about now.

[icy_veins]

I suppose that's simply another thing shared between those worlds.

[He's slowly, slowly becoming less bitter about it. Some aspects still bubble up through him like an insidious black mire—thoughts of his own naivety, of how easily he had fallen victim to Aunamee, of being separated from Lucius and his children—but here, like this, it's starting to feel... okay. He's not separated from his family, he tells himself, as his gaze turns from Maple and up towards Riley instead.

Eridanus rises again, scooping Maple up with him when he straightens. His claws continue to curl gently against his little furred chin, and though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he's become quite the cat-patting expert.]

You know, I still have Mr. Bigglesworth, [he smiles down at her,] you should come visit him sometime. I'm sure he'd love you just the same as he did before.

[isawallflower]

[ Riley's almost taut, forced pep fades to something softer, more genuine. ]

Hey, it's okay. This is all...kinda something no one could prepare for, you know? We just have to do our best.

[ Okay, not no one but no one like...relatively normal? He seems relatively normal, right? ]

And, like...to be honest, I have, uh...a bit of a hard time relaxing too, sometimes. [ Riley admits this reluctantly, dropping her gaze back to her pouting kitten. ]

[isawallflower]

It's almost as weird and unsustainable as trying to find tops that accommodate wings.
ALMOST because the weird scaly skin's actually pretty tough? It's not super cold or anything, just kind of bizarre.

[hairday]

I thought they'd look cute, either way, though I wasn't sure what colors you'd be comfortable wearing so I just grabbed a whole bunch.

[isawallflower]

[ She waits. Like, maybe a minute, debating whether to say anything. But— ]

Birthdays have always been kind of weird for me. This is actually around when my brother’s would be. My mom and dad made kind of a production of it. No matter how busy they were, they’d drop everything for him. Even if just a few weeks before they were swamped. When I was really little, I think they tried, but the older I got the more it became obvious my parents really only had time for one kid, and
It wasn’t me.

So this really does mean a lot.

[knifemonopoly]

[Heh. His tone's quieter, and you can hear a little bit of a grin in it. Curiously:]

...does having a cat help?

[He knows petting cats is nice. It's nice when they purr! It's really reassuring to have a little meter that tells you "yes, you're interacting correctly with me!" Petting cats is rewarding.]

[hairday]

Listen, I've got a lot of love to give, so don't ever worry I'm wasting it on you just 'cause your parents had a limited supply. I don't always know what to write back and I probably joke around too much, but I always, always care, okay?

[ And he knows all of that took a lot to say, because she literally said it was hard the other day. ]

Thanks for telling me, Riley.

4/16

[digiorno]

[A conundrum: what if you want to pass something along to someone, but don't want to look at literally even one person? Solution:]

riley. do you remember where my tree is?

cw: parental neglect/abuse

[isawallflower]

I don't think I've told anyone this before.
Well, I mean
I've only ever talked about it with Cairo but not a whole lot. Only because she made me.
Talking about it makes it feel like they're listening or

Like they're going to bust in or something.

[isawallflower]

[ Oh, this is. Convenient, actually. ]

The one you were in when


Yes, if it's that one, yes I remember!
Why?

[digiorno]

good. there's something there for you, when you get a chance.

[Hint: it isn't Giorno. He's not there.]

[isawallflower]

What?! What do you mean something for me, I'm supposed to give something to YOU today.

[digiorno]

i'm not sure what you mean. i missed your birthday, so i'm making up for it.

[isawallflower]

[ Maple loves his owner, but he's quickly finding he's growing big enough that it's hard to snuggle into her completely without his tail or legs hanging out of her grasp. Big and burly Eridanus, however, is very easy to cuddle into. He can stretch out his full length and still be happily contained.

He approves, essentially, and he makes that very well known with how loud he's purring. The whole thing has Riley extra giddy. ]

Really? You do? Oh, I'd... I'd love that, if— [ A bit of a sheepish look. ] I...don't suppose you live anywhere near the...the house, the...other one, so...I definitely don't know...where to go, exactly.

[isawallflower]

WHICH you only know about because of the alternate world.
I know what day today is too, you know.

[isawallflower]

[ She hums softly, reaching a finger to Maple, who tries to grab it through the mesh of his carrier with a whine. ]

...Yeah. Sometimes. Makes everything a little less... [ Lonely.

But, she trails off, not willing to say that much, and instead turns her smile back to her guest. ]

So! I'm thinking we get a few spare blankets, turn down the lights, and maybe, maybe, your little bat body will think it's in a cave.

[digiorno]

is this what mutually assured destruction means?

[digiorno]

. . . Mm.

[Not agreeing, not disagreeing. Just a sound of acknowledgment. This is the first time, this moment, that it's truly sunk in for him how the makeup of Riley's family in that other world might affect her in this one. Part of it is unquestionably good. The other part—]

[Not now.]

That part of it . . . wasn't so bad. That part [by itself, in a vacuum] was nice.

[isawallflower]

Mutually assured SUPPORT!!!

Look I'm kinda queasy about this too, but I'll accept whatever you have for me if you accept what I have for you.

[digiorno]

[hmmmmmmmmm.]

i'm struggling to find a flaw in that reasoning. really annoying.

fine. for now.

[isawallflower]

It all became horrible. And...I- I hate some of the...memories it took, my— [ Don't think about it. Don't think about her. ] But, still, you know...

[ It's with quite a bit of hesitance that she continues, very softly: ]

I liked being friends there. Until you told me all this, I— ...I just considered it you.

[isawallflower]

Good! Will you be at the tree? Or should I drop your gift off at your underground house?

[digiorno]

[Just him.]

[He's quiet for a good while after this. Thinking. Instinctively balking in response, then walking around his own distaste at the idea, looking at it from all sides. Truthfully, he's too tired to do this. Truthfully, he doesn't want to talk about it. Truthfully—]

[He sort of wants to tell her again, how it wasn't. How he could never have been that happy growing up unless he was an entirely different person. It just wasn't possible. But he doesn't want to make her sad, either. It's difficult.]

[But also, ultimately, very easy.]

I think the thought of being friends with someone like you in a more normal place was the best thing to come out of the entire experience, for me.

[This is unequivocally true. If he had known someone like Riley before, it probably wouldn't have changed much, but it would have changed enough. It would have meant something. He envies the strange Haruno facsimile that much. They understood each other, he and Riley, in a way that he never did with anyone in his life back home who wasn't a career criminal.]

[Another beat or two, and his smile goes a little wry.] Did you say I was sweet?

[digiorno]

[....]

i was planning to just not be there and leave your present there. but i suppose i can be there.