lifeaftr | How do you want to do this?

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How do you want to do this?

Who: Molly, Beau, Nott and Yasha
What: Grouping up for hug piles & shitty feelings
When: Backdated to after September intro + after memory share
Where: Beau's 'house'??? + whatever saner place they live in later
Warnings: Snarkiness and emotional distress

I

He's not alone. That's both a blessing and a curse about this place. Now that he's more sure that the three others are not dead, Molly can breathe easier. Compartmentalize his own fucking feelings and just going with it was not healthy but it sure was working right now.

It was more important to rearrange their group dynamics.

When they finally all met up and followed Beau to her home, Mollymauk didn't expect much. He had seen some other sad little places, a few even without roofs - but this definitely took the cake.

"You have got to be shitting me," he says with a look up at the monkey nest. How were they even supposed to get up there, Beau? Not everyone was a monk, and even if Molly could do a fairly decent handstand he was no dex monster like their current token human.

They could probably toss Nott up there if they tried, but come on. What would happen if they were hurt? (Drunk.) Or tired? (Drunk.)

II

The last days were.... crazy. Just absolutely fucked up. The shared memories were bad enough, and he was fucking lucky to have not shared anything difficult. Good memories, even, of things that seemed to be a damn long time ago even if it had been just over a month. Others, though... fuck, it must have been some nasty stuff.

That's why he knows it's serious when Beau and Yasha look so damn stricken, one day. His red eyes narrow in concern, and he gets up from the floor where he had been sitting to go meet them.

"You both look terrible," Molly says honestly, which is a not-so-discreet way to ask them what's wrong.

...and how could he fix it?

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Hey, don't imply she hasn't stumbled back here wasted and slammed her head into the floor instead of making it into the hole. It's happened. Sometimes this occurs.

"Okay, maybe this was a better idea in my head." Seeing them all individually made it look a lot more feasible that they could all get in this thing. Hell, all of them have clustered under a cart before, her space wasn't that small. Except... maybe it is. Plus, the size is only one of their problems, considering the current menagerie they had assembled there.

"Look, we can get another ladder-- you try running security when you can't trade watch shifts, okay!" Don't judge her, she has seniority around here. "It was fine for me."

It doesn't look very big either... Yasha squints up at it, then looks at the other three, as if sizing it all up. Perhaps it's larger than it looks once you get up there? The lack of a ladder of any kind is a bit much though. Leave it to Beau to go ahead and nest in the trees like some kind of bright, teal bird.

"I don't know..." she says, "I think I'd prefer something a little closer to the ground, you know? Just in case."

One of them could fall out in the night? That would be pretty bad. She gets the appeal of wanting to be up high but Molly could get drunk and fall out; Nott could get drunk and fall out... there are a lot of factors at play here.

"I don't see what the problem is," Nott says, arms folded, looking up appraisingly at the oversized nest. Nott tilts her head, squinting at it. She can easily imagine herself curled up in a corner in a tree nest. It's far away from the water. It's in a relatively safe location, given the dangers of the islands. It's the perfect location to hide things from prying eyes.

Frankly, it's amazing Nott didn't pick it out herself. The added bonus of there being no ladder is fine with her. She's fairly acrobatic, herself.

Besides, yeah, worst comes to worst they can just chuck her up there like she's Wolverine.

"I like it. It's homey."

Molly glances down at Nott and then shakes his head a little bit. "Not all of us are as small as you, my friend, and we can't all sleep on top of eachother."

Even if Beau would definitely like that if she could sleep on Yasha, he's sure. However, in such close quarters with all their clothes on and their weapons around, it was going to suck after a day or two - and not just because he usually slept in the nude like the glorious bastard he is, but because it was going to start to stink really quickly.

Was it possible to wash things in salt water? Molly has no idea.

"Okay, okay, I can see the guard thing being a problem." Fine, he'll cut her a minimal amount of slack for that one. "This is not going to work for all of us, though." Nott and Beau might manage, but Molly was a needy bastard with a codependency issue and really didn't want them to split up in any way.

Not even to camp under the tree.

"I mean, I could sleep on top of some people." Beau would be utterly remiss if she missed that one, even though she's sure it hasn't truly gone unsaid. But she shrugs as she looks up at it. "I mean, we could use it as a storehouse or something. Most people just leave it alone since they can't get in. Or at least no one's bugged with it that I've noticed."

But she's also pretty sure she'll go stir crazy if they have to do this for the foreseeable future, so maybe a move is necessary. She crosses her arms, trying to think of an alternative.

"Uhh, when I got here a dog showed me a place with some shacks and stuff. They're kinda terrible, but they're bigger. Closer to people, though. Nearly everybody lives over there."

"I think I would be uncomfortable to sleep on," Yasha says, and does not look at Beau when she says it because she is not trying to single anybody out, inappropriate comments or otherwise. Besides, sometimes she gets too hot at night and it's difficult to cool down when Mollymauk has draped himself across her like a tapestry. She can't imagine having all on them go to sleep on her, that would be tricky.

"What if..." she says after a beat, and a direct squint at Beau specifically for the dog comment, what, "we find a bigger place for all of us to live together and keep this one just in case? Like a back-up house... or a secret hideout."

And if they have to go be closer to other people... they have to be closer to other people. Not much they can do about that.

"If you guys really don't want to pile up on top of each other like the world's worst stuffed animals," Nott sighs, shrugging, "then I guess there's no choice."

She doesn't make any mention of them staying in separate locations, even though she quite likes this tree nest. It doesn't even cross her mind as an option. The Mighty Nein always has to be together.

"I just want it to be known I don't know how I feel about being a goblin and living around tons of people who are basically hardcore survivalists at this point." It's not enough of a reservation for her to say she doesn't want to live in a bigger place, but it's something to remind the others of. Sometimes it can be easy for the others to forget Nott needs to hide, is all.

Nott chews a bit at her claws, a bit nervous about the idea of a shack. What if it's too big? What if they all have separate rooms? Can she sleep without someone there at her side?

"...a dog?"

Sorry Yasha, he's gonna go for the dog thing over anything else first. That was weird, after all, and it seemed like they had made up their mind already on the 'finding a new place'.

Nott's comment is a bit sobering, however, considering he'd been called a demon here already. What kind of bullshit would people think about her? As far as the people Molly has met so far, they all had seemed human. (At least on the outside.)

"Nobody's gonna touch you," he says, glancing down at Nott. He can't fix what assholes think, but he can at least made sure that they do not get to her. "We should check around what people think around here about more colorful folk."

Shack, beds, racism. Sounds like a plan to him.

Well someone picks up on the dog, meaning Beau can use her retort. "It was a magic dog! It's fine."

She quickly tilts her head towards Nott, though, because she does bring up a good point- one she kind of has an answer for. "When I showed up, somebody pointed me to another blue person around here thinking they might be Jester. I think you're not the only one who doesn't look human. Also, there's no laws here? So if someone says shit to you we can knock all their teeth out and take their shit and there's probably no consequences."

So basically, just kick the shit out of anyone with a problem. Beau gestures up to the treehouse, finally addressing Yasha's point. "I don't see why people would come around here if they haven't before anyway. This can be like, our chill zone for hiding shit. Or just a place to lay low if we beat up the wrong guy."

"I've met a magic dog." Oh, Yasha's joining in now too. Perhaps the islands are populated with them or something. "She helped me find Ensō."

And if everybody is more or less fine with magic wolves, they should be just fine with goblins. She glances at Nott, and folds her arms comfortably across her chest. "We can always find somewhere to be on the edge of town, you know? We can take care of ourselves, so... no need to be in the middle of things." They do better when they're on the outskirts, anyway. More room, easier to get away if they need to. Besides, Yasha prefers to live where it is quieter.

"And... Beau is right. If anybody tries anything, we will be there for you. What is the saying? 'Talk shit, get hit'." And she gives her knuckles a crack on one side.

Beau is dealing with this in the way she deals with everything, which is to say poorly. She's already taken a few sneaky swigs from Nott's flask, and when that isn't available, she still has her wineskin with some memories of home. It's just as bad to remember them as it was anything in that stupid dream that was probably real, so what does she have to lose?

That said, catch her on her back on the floor, her limbs stretched out like a star. "Thanks, asshole, glad I called the shit police." She rolls her eyes whether he can see it or not. "Really needed that update."

Yasha by contrast is standing impassively by the corner with her arms folded across her chest. Molly might be here now, but looking at him is only making her think of Beau's terrible memory... to make it fair, she's just avoiding looking and talking to everybody. A moody silence hangs around her; every so often her eyes dart across to the wineskin Beau is abusing, but other than that she's lost in her own thoughts.

She knows Molly is probing because he wants to help, but she just feels like being quiet right now. There's not a whole lot he could say that will erase the image of him broken and bleeding from the backs of her eyelids. She grunts noncommittally, and shrugs a shoulder.

While Nott didn't re-experience the memory in question, she's had her fair share of things to think about. She's curled up in the corner, on some straw she's gathered up like the world's worst cat bed. Her back is leaning against the wall, her hood is up, and she's clutching her flask with both hands like a lifeline. Of course, she's not gripping so hard that Beau hasn't been able to reach over and pluck it from her fingers every now and then, but Nott lets her.

After all, Nott's had kind of a shit month. The mess with that Caleb... ghost-thing, which is how she's decided to finally think about it in retrospect, has left her quieter than normal since his disappearance. She can't help thinking, in some small way, she made a choice she didn't want to have to make, even as she tells herself it was probably not real. She doesn't know if she believes it either way.

Quietly, she drags herself to her feet and ambles over to Yasha, and holds out her flask. Yasha's not drinking, but she seems about as moody as Beau, in her own way.

"Really though, by the looks on your faces, it seems like Beau has the right idea."

He can read Yasha pretty easily by now, so Molly tries to give her some space, tail curled in her direction like an open hand but otherwise not pressing. It's difficult when all he wants to do is check on her, but whatever happened put her in that bad quiet state.

(The soft quiet state was so much better.)

Instead he has Beau to butt heads with, which is what he'll do. "You're welcome," he says sarcastically and bops his boot against her's, rolling his eyes a bit. He wants to jab more, but his heart isn't in it when they look so bad.

Instead he glances at Nott and then flops down beside her. "After all the bullshit that's been going on lately, we're all going to end up alcoholics." Like they weren't halfway there already - or fully, in Nott's case. It was the only thing that took the edge off or they'll be even worse than they already were.

He had to think of something to ease this tension, but it felt fucking impossible in a place like this. Maybe they could go kill something large, in lieu of bath houses and bullshit.

She makes a noncommittal "eughhh" noise when Molly kicks her, flipping him the bird but otherwise staying right where she is. What you need after big trauma is some alcohol and sometimes a good fuck, and maybe we won't talk about what happens when a ghost who keeps hitting on you to get your attention and you think is attractive won't leave you alone for a week and a half. Sometimes, things happen. That's just what's up.

"Look, I'd advocate for getting the fuck out if anybody knew how." After all of this, she'd like to go back to fucking around where she knows the whole world isn't gonna fall out from under her. "This place is all kinds of fucked up. If it can just make you see whatever it wants, we have no idea what's really happening."

Oh, yeah, she'll have that. And she does soften a little when Nott passes the flask up to her too, because Yasha is aware of what she's been through lately. Honestly, none of them have had it easy upon their immediate arrival here, have they. Uncapping the flask, she drinks steadily from it for a good ten seconds, then passes it back with a sigh. Strong stuff, but it helps. She drops her hand onto Nott's shoulder for a moment and squeezes gently, as a little sign of solidarity.

"... Thank you."

Her voice sounds a little rusty. She clears her throat and finally glances at Molly, though her attention shoots off of him and onto Beau almost immediately. She has a few ideas, but she's reluctant to officially put herself into the conversation. What she really wants is to be alone for a bit, but she has a feeling none of them are about to let her walk out the door whatever the reason.

Nott isn't sure if she should say anything when Beau brings up the... hallucinations, or whatever they are. She was the one that was a liability only a week or so ago, and she still feels pretty guilty about that. Especially since she's not even sure whether she really wants to get the fuck out, only a few days after she was ready to end it all to return to Caleb.

Is this just a side road? Nott doesn't want to even wonder whether she thinks it is or not.

Nott clears her throat and takes a swig herself.

"Alcoholism's gotten me this far," Nott mutters, somewhat dryly. She then unceremoniously crosses the room towards Beau and curls up on the floor at her hip like a touch-hungry but noncommital cat.

Nott presses her own face into the ground. She just wants to wallow a bit, okay.

Molly watches their pathetic little group of people and his heart aches so much it's almost like the glaive is in there again. This wasn't right. Whatever was going on, he wasn't having it. Not when Yasha looked so broken and the two others were suffering in their own ways. He doesn't need to know what they saw, what they shared. He's not stupid, he can read between the lines.

"Okay, no, fuck this."

Out of all of them right now, Nott had the right idea. Molly's just gonna take that and go with it. He throws his hands out in a dramatic and exasperated gesture where he's sitting, beckoning the rest of them to join him.

"Fuck all of this, we're having a group pile."

They were all on their last nerves and the only thing that would work was some physical contact. Shit was going to fester if this went on, as much as he wanted to respect their need for distance... fuck distance, too. This was his little family now, and Mollymauk Tealeaf was not about to let them break.

"Come on, get over here. I'm not kidding, we're having a chill-out pile and I'm not taking no for an answer." Get into the hug pile, people, or he'll make you.

Honestly, everything that's happened in the last month makes her feel a little guilty. She got complacent when she showed up here- sure, she made some connections, talked to some people, figured out the lay of the land. But the Storyteller was gone and the world seemed easy. There wasn't anything to show that this place was going to start hallucinating and seeing people and people dying and just-- all of it. Her information was wrong. It's not fair.

She tilts her head up from the floor, though without the rest of her body it just looks like a head appearing over her sprawled body. "What do you think that's gonna fix? You poking my eye out?"

Fight her, Molly, fight her right here. That would let off some actual steam.

The problem with this idea, of course, is that Yasha is not so sure she wants to come and sit with Beau after everything that has just gone down but at the end of the day she is stubborn, and it's so much easier to be the first to move, to come and sit next to Molly on the ground. From there she can sit and gather her hands into her lap and look at them, and benefit from the way their shoulders are gently touching. That's enough, for now. She still feels tense and wound up, and doesn't want any extra contact that she herself isn't initiating. Hopefully this is obvious from the way her shoulders hunch, and her expression grows moody, like a storm.

"He is trying to help, Beau," she says lightly, and doesn't look up. Her voice is calm, but her jaw is set.

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How do you want to do this?

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II

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