Contemplating Fast Food

[sleepy_fire]

Ace hadn't really said much at the little welcome meeting. It was great and all, getting their excited out and repeating what they'd found out. More like been 'told'. He wasn't sure if any of it was true

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[just_like_nii]

Fletcher was starting to plant things.

He'd claimed a portion of the garden for himself, and in separate plots he was growing assorted grains and vegetables. He was starting out small; he didn't want to grow too much at once only to find out that he'd calculated some variable wrong. First, he was going to gather data.

So, he'd planted a few seeds of a few basic things. Right now, he was watering his plots; he didn't notice anyone nearby.

[sleepy_fire]

Ace had been expecting other people to be here. He'd been expecting other adults and had run into several.

But so far he'd only run in Mao. Not many children.

For a long time he just watched, tracking the little kid with his eyes as he moved between the plants. He kept his voice soft, crouching down a few feet away. "Hey there, whatcha doing?"

[just_like_nii]

When Fletcher heard the voice, he jumped slightly, spilling water from the can. He turned his head to see a man standing there, and smiled just a little. "Um, I'm watering my vegetables. I'm growing some so people will have real food to eat, you see..."

[sleepy_fire]

"That's a great idea." He smiled encouragingly, watching the kid. "You're a bit young to be alone here, you got family around?"

[just_like_nii]

His smile faltered for a moment, and he shook his head. But he was quick to add, "I have a lot of friends, though. And I'm sure my brother's in one of those pods. He just hasn't woken up yet."

It ached when he said that, but he ignored it. He was busy now. He couldn't deal with that pain, so he'd save it for later.

[sleepy_fire]

"It's good to have friends." He winced a little at the soft admittance. "My brother too. I'm sure they're both in there, and they'll wake up soon and wonder why we were so worried about them, huh?" He smiled again, reassuring.

"That's what she said, right? We're all here because we're either related to heroes, or we're heroes ourselves. And I don't know about you, but my brother's the hero. I'm just a guy."

[just_like_nii]

Fletcher's smile came back. His voice stayed quiet, but he nodded. "I don't know about 'hero', but my brother's the strong one. I'm just here so he won't be upset, probably."

[sleepy_fire]

"Yeah, me too. We're in the same boat." He smiled warmly at the kid, keeping his own voice gentle and quiet. "I'm Ace, you?"

[just_like_nii]

"I'm Fletcher," he said, and returned to his watering. "Did you wake up recently, Mr. Ace?"

[sleepy_fire]

"It's nice to meet you, Fletcher." He grinned, easy going and friendly, and considered the question. "Yeah, this last wake-up period. Still getting my legs under me, getting used to this whole situation, kinda insane, isn't it?"

[just_like_nii]

"Yeah..." Fletcher was coming to the last plot now, a plot of carrots. Once he finished that, he stood up straight, hands folded behind his back with the watering can. "It's really confusing for everyone at first. Especially the part with the goo... But it's not that bad here most of the time."

[sleepy_fire]

"The part with the goo was really confusing, though the part with the tentacles was weirder. I can handle a bit of whale snot, it's the sentient tentacles picking me up and tossing me around like a child's doll that really messes with my head." He smiled at the kid, relaxed and easy. "So do you always stay in the garden, or do you go other places too?"

[just_like_nii]

"I guess that was weird." He hadn't really thought about that part much, but everyone did seem to think it was strange. "Um, I work in the science department too, and I spend time in the Sensoriums and the city too." Especially the Sensoriums, once he'd figured out that it could make copies of people.