worldisyours | IC Inbox

hi rindo
you got a minute?
i think it's happening

i'm ok i guess
things are just kinda
yknow
scary

rind o,, ?

[ i'm scared. ]

hope you're doing ok
i have a roommate now! his name is sunny
i met your friend too, miss shoka
she just didn't say anything about you so.........
anyway i hope you're alright

IMG.JPEG
hows it look?

Edited 2023-06-20 18:35 (UTC)

i think i might have a team going
cool, right?
i don't know if i ever told you i play volleyball
middle blocker position

hi
my birthday was three days ago haha
i just saw a calendar
so i'm 16 now
i was going to call some people up for pizza or something today
so if you're still around and wanna come i'd like that

[ . . . ]

see you

[So Rindo's spent nearly a month as a flower, and to say he's missed a lot in that time frame would be a comical understatement. It's only the morning after his awakening that he manages to bring himself to check his laptop, anxiety nagging at him as the screen turns on.

The series of messages from Shoyo does very little to improve his mood. He'd missed Shoyo's first changes, even though he was counting on him… This is why he was so reluctant to get involved. Of course he would end up letting him down. …God, he really hopes Shoyo wasn't actually alone for it.

There's… a lot to process here, some names and things that are catching his attention, but first things first, he really shouldn't make Shoyo wait any longer than he already has for a sign of life—not in this place where a lack of response sooner evokes horrible prospects than innocent ones.]

hey
sry i couldnt reply sooner
i was asleep this whole time... [And a flower, but let's leave out the embarrassing, irrelevant details.] its a weird ryslig thing that happens to ppl sometimes apparently
anyway i hope ur okay

[Is Shoyo online? It doesn't cost anything to wait and see. It's not like Rindo feels like doing much of anything besides moping on his bed, anyway. So he rereads Shoyo's messages, and they truly sink in this time, past the haze of guilt that had flooded his head at the sight of his inbox notifications. One thing at a time…

Shoyo found a roommate. That's good—he'd been so worried at the prospect of living alone. But the roommate is Sunny, of all people? Has Basil found him, or is he still looking? Should Rindo say anything? After the Coco incident, there's no way in hell he's ever reuniting people with a shared history again, not without making damn sure they aren't going to try to kill each other on sight first. It doesn't at all sound like something Basil or Sunny would do, but he had thought the same of Beat, too. You can never be too sure, not when a mistake could lead to someone's death. He'll have to ask Shoyo about this, but without giving anything away…

The mention of Swallow stirs up a knot of painful feelings that he pushes away reflexively. "Miss Shoka?" Really? Had she intimidated Shoyo? He can almost picture their interaction, whatever it was. He knows her, he's well aware that she's truly kind beneath all the mean quips, but maybe Shoyo doesn't realize that. And… oh, the timestamp. That… must have been during the mushrooms situation, and just two days after he fell asleep. He didn't get the exact timeline of things, of when the boys died and when the mushrooms got so bad that Swallow and Nanami had to go to the hospital, but… here comes a fresh load of extra guilt. She and the others went through hell, and there he was, sleeping through it all, blissfully unaware, utterly useless.

…He'd never really liked himself much, but right now, there is not a single kind thought about himself running through his head.

The volleyball thing is a lot less fraught… so Shoyo's a volleyball player? Rindo doesn't exactly know much about sports, or care. And… wow, that poster looks bad. The automatic, judgmental thought feels so pathetic in the face of… everything, though. He feels pathetic. None of this matters. At least one of them's found something to make him happy in this miserable place. Good for Shoyo.

Shoyo's turned sixteen, then? Rindo could have sworn Shoyo was younger than that. That'd make him older than Rindo himself, too… or would it? Rindo's birthday hadn't been too far off when the Fog took him… He engages in a bit of mental math. When taking into account the day he was sent to Ryslig, and how long he's spent there, he would have turned sixteen right on Shoyo's birthday. The coincidence would be entertaining, if it didn't bring to mind the mental image of his parents back home, worried sick about him. Sure, add that to the pile of misery, too. Might as well at this point.

Well. Anyway. He should at least start making things better instead of worse for once.]

happy belated bday
sry i missed it

[ it may take a while. some minutes, maybe a few hours. it’s only when shoyo opens up his laptop sometime in the evening when he’s back home does he finally see a message, which was strange because he never really got messages other than the ones from sunny when they’d exchange notes back and forth. when they weren’t sharing the room, at least.

to see a reply . . . from rindo . . . .

it sinks an entire glacier of ice into his gut and makes him gasp so loudly that mochi, the new apartment cake hound puppy, probably jumps from the blanket cluster she’s buried herself in.

there’s only one thing he could say to this as he quickly types back, desperate for a new answer. ]

RINDO?????
YOU’RE ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ah, there it is…]

yeah
dodged a bullet sleeping thru this whole month tbh

[Everyone was happy he'd been spared, but he still felt guilty anyway. It was unfair.]

how r u?

[He's curious about a lot of things, here—Shoyo's changes, whether he got hit by the mushrooms, how he's getting along with Sunny, how he met Swallow… but he'll let the other boy take the lead.]

[ the last text he’d sent was . . . somewhat of a good bye. he thought rindo at the very least didn’t want to speak with him, and at its worst something terrible happened that no one wanted to tell him about. being a plant was none of the above or unbeaten he was expecting, and—

before shoyo knew it, his eyes leak and run and so does his nose as he snorts up choked, sobbing little hiccups in between typing. ]

cryi ng,,
its never late for bday pizza

Edited 2023-06-24 21:57 (UTC)

[Shoyo's… actually crying? Oh no…]

its okay
im okay [Physically, at least…]
id be down for bday pizza sometime [He owes Shoyo that much for making him worry so much, and it'll be a good excuse to go out instead of moping…]

[…]

sorry shoka didnt tell you what was up with me
she was going through a lot

[ he needs a minute. he’s a bit of a crybaby— but in all genuine honesty he has reason to cry . . . ! tears of relief! ]

it’s ok
bet she was real upset
and she still helped me

[ . . . . ]

can sometime be soon?

[Upset about more than just Rindo, to say the least. Painful fondness creeps into his heart at Shoyo's message. Of course Swallow would still help, even despite that.

…Help with what, though? Once again, the timestamp is evocative. Did the changes hit Shoyo while he was out and about…? If that's the case and Swallow found him, then Rindo can at least take solace in knowing Shoyo must have been in good hands. After all, she had been there for him during his own transformation, an unfailing stalwart presence.

Rindo's terribly curious what Shoyo is going to turn into, in a morbid sort of way, if only to know the exact flavor of horrors he will be subjected to and how to best advise him… But a deep sense of sympathy keeps him from outright asking, as he understands all too well the potential reluctance to talk about something so fraught.]

yea im not surprised. shes a rly good person
and sure
i dont rly have anything going on

[…Besides staring ineffectually at the pod Gladion is encased in. The twins have been doing a fine job looking after him; Rindo isn't needed.]

Edited (YOU EVER POST TOO FAST) 2023-06-25 14:28 (UTC)

ok
when exactly
im free whenever

[ anything to see rindo senpai...... ]

Edited 2023-06-26 18:07 (UTC)

um its kinda late rn so
tomorrow ig? lunchtime sound good?

[Lo, a minor miracle: Rindo making a decision in a timely manner!

…Because he feels guilty about making Shoyo cry, and if all it takes to make him feel better is to see him, then how can he not oblige?]

sounds good

[ but now he’s fidgeting and away and squirming around, if he says goodbye now he surely wouldn’t sleep! which means . . .

after a pause, shoyo starts typing again. ]

wanna guess what changes i got?

[Ah, well, here it is… If Shoyo's so nonchalant about this, he must not have been hit by changes too hard yet, right? Rindo knows he wasn't in the mood for guessing games after his own, rapid transformation… And to be frank, he isn't in the mood for it now either—not with something as heavy as monster types, not when that dictates the terms of the whole cannibalism thing…

So, sidestepping the question it is.]

do u know what youre turning into yet?

[ it is all a manner of how one copes, and games does it for shoyo. any kind of game or competition can have something tense feel just a touch better, and when that attempt is rejected (without ill meaning or intent), shoyo feels it like a sinking anchor against his doggy paddling to keep swimming.

there’s still a lot to learn and plenty of new, startling information that has been given but has yet to really sink in. he retreats, types an answer, ]

no
joseph thinks werewolf

[ lays back-flat against his bed, and sets his volleyball over his head rhythmically. it’s the middle of the night, but it’s a game. the laptop screen feels like a nightlight. how many times could he bounce before the next message?

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, (he doesn’t think about it, and feels a touch better). ]

[Alas, Rindo's way of dealing with Ryslig is much different, and he has no idea his response made Shoyo upset. Instead, he's already running through monster traits in his head, wondering what changes Shoyo could have possibly gone through for someone—Joseph isn't anyone he's familiar with—to only suspect Werewolf. It's not exactly the easiest type to narrow down… a lot of its features are shared with many others.

Most importantly, it has a hunting instinct. He winces. That's well outside his wheelhouse as a Nymph. Maybe he could ask Beat for help…]

ill give u my best guess tomorrow if u dont mind getting stared at
ive read thru the monster guide like a million times

[Here, a vague attempt at something like levity. Is this anything?]

[ seventeen. that’s seventeen bumps before the next ping. that’s not a bad number per se, but he did have his sights on twenty. pressing the volleyball snug at his side, he drags the laptop over to his chest, reads (with an extra blink of curiosity—did he just want to do everything tomorrow? that was alright) and types out in turn (with horrible, horrible posture): ]

it’s cool i can stare back
OvO
haha
sooo
i’ll see u then?

[ he had a record to break before getting too sleepy, too. ]

[Do everything tomorrow? Something like that… though Shoyo will soon find that even (especially?) in person, Rindo isn't in much of a playful mood. Guessing monster types is a lot less uncomfortable than changes, at least. Did your spine bloodily burst into a weird draconic-looking crest? Did your legs break to reshape themselves? Did your feet split apart to form talons? (Of course, there are changes far less traumatic than this, but… to guess too optimistically, or too pessimistically—both feel like severe missteps.)

Shoyo's comment about staring is clearly a joke, but Rindo hopes he won't actually do too much of that.]

yup
see u tomorrow
gn!

[…And so, on the next day at lunchtime, Rindo's waiting at their agreed-upon meeting spot.

Shoyo won't have any trouble recognizing him; there hasn't been major changes since the last time they met in person. The green of his skin is vibrant, and yet (perhaps confusingly), the flowers on his heads and arms are… not wilted, per se, but they've seen better days. There's no spark behind his brightly-colored eyes; they look dull and lifeless, casting uneasy glances around in search of a shock of orange hair… assuming, of course, that Shoyo hasn't lost it during his changes.]

[ the next day took forever to turn. maybe it was because it took forever for shoyo to fall asleep, but he was up early (later than his usual 6AM early, but before 9AM) and going about his ryslig adopted morning routine before all clocks hit noon— finally, it was time! lunch!! sometimes, shoyo is seen before he’s heard, but this time . . .

his senses are a touch sharper, and he’s had and entire month to adjust. he could see the nymph far off (green, that’s what he sees first, then features—), and instead of yelling (which he would’ve, had his ears not fallen so sensitive to sound) he waves his arms and jumps up and down, which looks more like excited legs-in-the-air (we are talking full air borne splits) as the teen makes his way over in half-sprint, skips and hops. ]

Rindo Rindo Rindo—!

[ to wrap his arms around rindo’s head in a hug that smothers his face, probably. ]

Rindo!

[ of course he was still excited with the fact that rindo was still alive; the details would have to wait. ]

Edited 2023-07-01 02:54 (UTC)

[Ah, there's Shoyo! …And he's looking every bit as human as he did when they first met. Subtle changes to start with, then? Or maybe invisible ones, like Gladion, who could sense plant signals before anything else?

Rindo's musings are interrupted as Shoyo practically bounces in his direction. Is he gonna—

—yes, yes he is. With Shoyo on a collision course with him, Rindo barely has time to make a single step backwards before he gets tackle-hugged, his back talons growing a few, ephemeral branching roots by reflex to stabilize him.

He stands in stunned silence for a moment, face smooshed, reeling from the energy mismatch and wondering how to react. Eventually he pulls his face away from the embrace, lifting an arm hesitantly to put it around Shoyo's side. The other teen is practically radiating with excitement.

In contrast, Rindo's sluggish. It's not even the month-long plant nap that's causing it; the reason is much more mundane than that—he's depressed. But, well, he's out here now, and he may as well try to put up some kind of personable front for Shoyo's sake.]

H-Hey… Guess you really were that worried?

[For Rindo, June had passed in the blink of an eye, and though he may have been gone for a while, he doesn't really feel like there's much reason for anyone to miss him. As a result, people's effusive reactions to his awakening have left him more than a little taken aback.]

O-of course!

[ he's clinging— but he should come down from there, shouldn't he! as much as hugs shouldn't come to an end, shoyo knows the invisible rule to let down when the ticker comes to zero. his eyes are twinkling with wetness and a burning sting, but the sclera never turns really red— it's got a turquoise tint to it instead.

oh—! ]

Were you watered when you were sleeping? You're kinda droopy!

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, RINDO KANADE. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 4.28.13.9 * rindragon** has joined 4.28.13.9

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<rindragon> 7/1 cw: extreme negativity/low self-esteem

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<rindragon> cw: body horror

ACTION (silly me)

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