chatime | ✧ — peach iced tea.

Mm. We can head out.

[ if they linger any longer than they really are going to have to awkwardly say bye to literally everyone, which will take forever.

... ]

... and I am.

[ there was no reason to answer the first thing, but here we are. ]

[ for all the times elysium had gotten stupidly jealous over thorns, he is now doing the same thing to docybara. okay.

unfortunately, he just finds it incredibly romantic. and before he can stop himself, he kisses thorns a few more times then laces their hands together. ]

I can't help how others feel. [ murmurs. ] But you're my one and only guiding star, mi luz. When I look, I only see you. And if you aren't there, there's no path forward—nothing.

[ the way if anyone else said this it would sound like a typical romantic hyperbole that you just say because you're in love, but elysium means it as literally as possible. things are so okay.

he squeezes his hand. ]

And you are all of that for me as well. I don't know how I managed before us.

[ he managed just fine, but it's a time thorns would never go back to. ]

[ why speak in hyperbole when you can mean it literally with all your heart? they're on the same page now. things couldn't be more okay now compared to before.

but the real answer to that statement is that they weren't. elysium wasn't. in hindsight, it feels so simple easy to say they shouldn't have wasted so much time circling each other and being overly considerate—but that's just who they were, and to really drive that point home, he spends a few extra minutes kissing and mooning over his to-be-fiancé before they finally set off.

their first stop is the farm to pick up their capybara and bring it back to the inn to load up the cart. they can say their farewells to the farmer while they're at it, only, when they arrive and docybara toddles eagerly toward elysium, its legs give out halfway.

it collapses into the grass with a pitiful little whine, rolling around helplessly.

do not ask how elysium weened docybara off of drugs ]

[ thorns watches this happen.

...

he looks between the two. ]

Doctor?

[ sweats and looks in the opposite direction ]

I don't know anything.

[ okay...

he walks over to their child so he can try to see what's wrong. hello. docybara... ]

[ elysium just stays where he is and watches from afar…

docybara has a tummyache…… ]

[ NOOOOO HIS BABY!!!!

thorns looks over at elysium. ]

Can you go get some medicine? Make sure it's safe for an animal. I don't have time to make it myself.

[ was drugging docybara good for him. elysium does not say this aloud.

docybara, meanwhile, attempts to soothe his tummyache by biting thorns' hand thinking it is something edible. he does not comprehend that gorging himself is precisely what got him into this mess in the first place, nor is he really looking at what he's trying to eat, eyes shut closed. good things comes from hand… (food.) hand food?

they're definitely going to have to say goodbye to everyone because of this. or even stay another day… or two… they can't possibly leave their baby behind for the third time. hm. that is decidedly not the charm. ]

Right. Yeah. There should be some in the farmhouse for the other animals. I'll look for something for pain relief and indigestion.

[ nyooms off so he doesn't have to think about his crimes ]

[ thorns just pets his baby as he waits. is the diet at the farm bad...? clearly, it is the farmers at fault? he currently has no reason to think that elysium did this so it is not crossing his mind.

he waits as his hand gets slobbered on. this really is going to delay them. ]

[ there should never be reason to mistrust elysium ever that's thorns' innocent bbbb.

but he comes back in ten with an armful of different bottles, approaching close enough for thorns to have his pick. he is trying to look as nonchalant as possible. ]

How's the Doctor doing…?

It doesn't seem serious, but there's some discomfort...

[ he kisses elysium on the cheek for being a good vet assistant (he doesn't deserved this), and then peers at the bottles before making his choices. ]

We might have to leave later tonight or tomorrow. We won't get far if he's not feeling well.

[ he does deserve this he worked very hard to find and bring thorns supplies. he kisses him back because he can but also to distract him from thinking about this too deeply…… ]

I wonder how that happened? [ COUGHS ] Is there anything else I can help you with?

Can you pet him? The medicine I'm about to give him will taste bad.

[ the pets can be a distraction...

thorns decides he must be better at feeding his child than this farm was. it was not the farm that did this. ]

[ HE JUST WANTED TO WEEN DOCYBARA OFF OF QUESTIONABLE DRUGS!!!!!!! their child would get grumpy when he didn't get his next hit…

elysium watches this unfold and nods solemnly, primarily focusing on rubbing docybara's belly. ]

If the medicine doesn't end up working out, I found laxatives.

[ docybara may not know what they are, but he does not like the sound of it. he lets out another pitiful whine, quieting only when elysium rubs him more insistently. ]

Shh, shh. We're doing our best so you'll feel better.

[ their child is spoiled ]

[ they are such good parents as long as you ignore that they've abandoned every other child and also that it's their fault this is happening.

thorns nods solemnly... they have to do what they have to do. ]

We can at least start grabbing the things we need from here for now to make leaving easier later.

It'd be pretty awkward to say bye if we end up not leaving tonight. [ … ] But yeah, there are things we can probably get done without looking too suspicious.

[ tears up. ]

Did you want to keep watch of the Doctor?

At least until he seems well enough to move around.

[ he should be fine if he can toddle back into the barn and rest... thorns pats him on the head. ]

I should check how much medicine we have when we go back...

[ elysium tries to leave only for docybara to start whining again. he settles back down.

… ]

I don't think we should be enabling this behaviour.

[ docybara will also get upsetti whenever thorns stops petting. it now associates being sick with getting pampered. ]

[ why is docybara a mastermind

thorns is wondering if he should knock their child out again because it worked so well the first time. yes that first instance is what eventually lead to this but, again, thorns is not aware of that so it doesn't count. ]

I didn't know fatherhood was so difficult.

[ animals are masters at recognising patterns? and docybara has started noticing a few correlations in behaviour here. hmmmm. ]

Yeah? How about we be uncles instead? I get the feeling you'd prefer that.

[ THEY CAN'T JUST CHANGE THEIR RELATIONSHIPS TO THINGS ON WHIM ]

[ they're doing this in front of the baby as well. they can never reach docybara to understand them.

he continues patting... ]

We already called ourselves parents.

[ this also assumes there are people they can foist docybara on during their travels, effectively acting as his guardians at any given time. this argument is so flawed. ]

Do you think we weren't ready?

[ … ]

We didn't even raise him from the start. That sounds more like it—his first parents failed him.

[ okay ]

[ thorns is accepting this explanation despite it not making any sense, but in his mind elysium has a point? it sounds right?

they didn't give birth to this burdenbeast... ]

That's true. I guess we're uncles.

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