We Tried (afterparty)

[outsidethecircle]

[A couple hours after the trial there may be a note slipped under your bedroom door reading simply in very formal handwriting (actually it's very amazingly neat for someone of her age you might think it's the other Anna)--

I made sandwiches. They're in the lounge if you want them.

-Anna

Anna herself will be found in the study after seeing everyone has enough sandwiches. Where she very sulkily is drawing a boat.]

Comments

[folkscallmewander]

Honey Nut.

[Heihei does not move from Wendy's lap. Now he is in a new place? Is this a food? He pokes at her arm a few times.]

[kindaruledatit]

Honey Nut? [He earns a quirked brow.] ...Alright, I can dig that.

[Her friend has a pet pig named Waddles. This is hardly a stretch to her imagination.

She's kind of hesitant to do anything, mostly due to how much life just kind of sucks right now? Though, when she does finally give the strange chicken a pet, it's... alright.]

Huh, softer then I thought.

[folkscallmewander]

The feathers are a cushion for both the bird and the bird holder. [He grins, closes his eyes, and cocks his head.] It's like holdin' a pillow, right!

[A thin pillow, but a pillow nonetheless. A pillow that opens its mouth attempts to put some of Wendy's arm in its mouth to no avail. So it continues poking at her.]

He does that a lot. It's just a tic of his.

[kindaruledatit]

Heh, sounds like a thing Mabel would say. [she remarks quietly while the chicken tries to eat her. Yup. Kind of like Mabel.]

So, that's just normal for him, huh? [Slowly, she kind of. removes him from her arm whenever Heihei seems to think she might be food.] Seems kind of weird for a chicken to try to eat you.

[folkscallmewander]

Honey Nut is a nervous chicken. If it helps him feel better without hurtin' anyone, then there's no reason to let him stop. Why ruin his self-esteem?

[kindaruledatit]

I mean, yeah. Absolutely. [Gotta protect the self-esteem of a chicken that eats rocks.]

Just don't want the little guy to eat something he probably shouldn't.

[folkscallmewander]

That's why he's got us to look after him. [He reaches over to pat Honey Nut.] He might be hungry. I'll be out for a sec to grab some corn, is that alright?

[kindaruledatit]

Sure! I'll, hold down the fort here. [And this chicken.] You go do that.

[folkscallmewander]

[Wander leaves to pour a bowl of soft corn for Honey Nut. In the meanwhile, the chicken stops pecking Wendy for now and relegates to staring at her with those tiny pupils of his.

What thoughts like behind those eyes? What has he seen to cause that blank stare?]

[kindaruledatit]

[And thus, Wendy is left to her own devices, told to look after a chicken while its owner had gone to get food. At least Honey Nut decided that trying to eat her arm was a fruitless venture, and decided to stare at her instead.

Like, really intent staring. A stare that looks like he's not looking at her, but through her.]

....You're kind of weird. [Is all she can think to say. To this chicken.]

[folkscallmewander]

[Honey Nut cocks his head. Can it understand Wendy? Is it curious about her red hair? It is a mystery.

Wander returns with dinner and slides the bowl onto Wendy's lap. Honey Nut ignores it.]

Hooooney Nut [poke] I brought num nums for you!

[kindaruledatit]

[Her hair is both ridiculously long, and red. Who knows. It's a mystery.

Wendy nods to Wander when he returns.]

Hey, dude. Looks like the little guy didn't explode or anything after all.

[But he's also not... doing anything?]

[folkscallmewander]

Chickens don't normally explode, do they?

[He pets the back of Honey Nut's head and gently presses it downward towards the bowl. Gently. Okay, he's not moving, please chicken little you have to eat. Wander pushes him with a little more force, and he does budge an inch.

With both hands, Wander presses him downward until his beak touches corn. A food. Honey Nut pecks at a kernel.]

There. Now he won't have a case of the rumblies anymore.

[kindaruledatit]

[Wendy watches as this immovable force meets an unstoppable object. Which is the coolest thing she can call a little orange alien trying to get his chicken to eat corn. God how long has she been sitting here?]

Hey, Wander? It's... actually really sweet of you to do this. Uh, taking care of this chicken and all.

[folkscallmewander]

[Wander looks up from his fond observance of the chicken, his large eyes watching Wendy for anything else she may add afterwards. He's been told many times about what a good person he is, how kind of him to help out, but during the quiet aftermath of Karolina's and Mulan's deaths it feels different. He hasn't fixed anything, they're still stuck here, all he has done is adopt a chicken.

A smile.]

Never hurts to help.

[kindaruledatit]

[Sometimes the little things are just enough to help someone through a day. It's been a tough day, a lot of people just lost some good folks they cared about, it wasn't just Wendy. They couldn't bring them back.

But this? She nods. It helps.]

Heh, sounds like something Mabel would say. [There it is again. She sighs.] They went home for the summer, and it already feels like an eternity since I saw them.