03

[windyheir]

[Today on the plane, anyone who is near the beach-area will get a 2-for-1 deal! Two teenage boys happen to be playing on the beach, though you might have to stretch the definition of 'play' here. John is happily building a pretty sweet sand castle, while Dave is sitting on top of a palm tree and watching him.

Also, John has somehow managed to swap out his usual clothes for some blue swimming trunks and yellow sandals, while Dave is being a party pooper and kept his usual attire.]

Are you going to sit up there all day? There's sandcastles to be built!

Comments

[moveslikestrider]

[Dave huffs, nose skyward before he fixes John with a stare.]

On one condition, bro. I'm sticking to this. Got it?

[windyheir]

No way dude, you can't walk around on a beach like that! You'll get sand in your shoes.

[moveslikestrider]

That's because you've got the skill of a rabid badger. Tromping all over the place. Getting it everywhere. I'm smooth and flawless. Not a grain in these sweet converse.

[windyheir]

Yeah right, I bet there's all kinds of sand in your shoes, and you're just trying to act cool so nobody suspects it.

[moveslikestrider]

What was that? I'm John the derp and I can't prove it? That's right.

And it hurts right here, [He raps his chest.] when you doubt me. Shaking my head here and sighing. Thought I knew you, man.

[windyheir]

But it's my job to doubt you. Everyone else is all like "oooh Dave Strider ooooh" and too busy swooning over how cool you are. It takes a true friend to say what he really thinks.

[He cares, really.]

And anyway, even if your shoes are clean now, they'll have sand in 'em by the time we're done building our castles.

[moveslikestrider]

[Dave keeps staring not unlike a vulture. Then he comes down, climbing slowly down instead of lazily floating his way to the sand.]

So? Bet they won't.

[windyheir]

There's only one way to find out.

[John continues to work on his own sand castle, and at this point he's gotten to shaping the towers.]

[moveslikestrider]

[Rather than answer, Dave keeps climbing down and sets his feet in the sand, all cool kid and with a bit of dramatic flare via the cape.]

[windyheir]

It would have been more dramatic if you had jumped down.

[moveslikestrider]

Felt like shimmying down like a monkey, got a problem with that? [He steps over to where John is and sits on the sand, feet tucked up under him.]

[windyheir]

And here I thought you had a thing for birds, not monkeys.

Here, help me make these towers.

[moveslikestrider]

No the feathery assholes just followed me around demanding the last crumbs of my lunch. Dave, Dave, they cried give us your shit. And I went fuck no, this is my only meal today. That's when they busted out their three hundred and tried to kick me off the roof.

[windyheir]

Wow, what dicks. You'd think they would go for worms or something.

...You know, I was wondering. Before the other-you prototyped himself in it, your kernelsprite was a bird with a sword in it, right?

[moveslikestrider]

[Dave faintly tensed.] That was Jade's fault. She was asleep and put something weird in the kernelsprite.

[windyheir]

[Sorry bro, he sometimes forgets that time shenanigans are difficult to deal with.]

Even the sword part? Because it seems pretty odd for a bird to just have a sword through it.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Mu was just passing by, but the sight of the boys slows him down. He may look just a wee bit harried.]

Having fun?

[moveslikestrider]

Don't know what you're talking about. No idea how that happened.

[moveslikestrider]

[Looks up from where he's fashioning a tower on the sand castle.]

Sup, Mu. Egbert wanted to fix his boredom, I'm just along for the inevitable wave.

[windyheir]

[John had been giving Mu a friendly wave, but that wave slowly dies off as he sees the familiarity going on here.]

Wait, you two know each other?

[lamb_of_gold]

I see.

[He steps a little closer, careful to keep sand out of his shoes and doubly careful not to jostle anyone.]

We do indeed. I met Dave before you arrived here.

[windyheir]

So someone just happened to prototype a sword into your kerelsprite. Right.

[moveslikestrider]

He told me about some interesting stuff when I arrived. Gave me a bit of a run down of what's around.

[The tower gains a bit of detail.]

[moveslikestrider]

Bird and sword happened at the same time. No idea how the sword got in the bird.

[windyheir]

You know, Mu helped me when I first showed up too! Wow, I never knew that we both knew the same cool guy this whole time!

[windyheir]

Well however it happened I guess it worked out in the end, Davesprite got a weapon because of it.

[lamb_of_gold]

'Cool,' hm?

Ah, but from what I've seen here, if I'd known one of you, I'd have met the other before long anyways.

[This is his way of confirming you two are friends and not just making the castle to stave off mutual boredom]

[moveslikestrider]

Yeah, and he is wicked with it. Bro knows how to swing it.

[moveslikestrider]

[That gets a laugh out of Dave.]

Yeah, because I'm always pulling the derp's bacon out of the frying pan.

[windyheir]

You know, I never got to ask: what's it like with lots of different yous running around doing stuff?

[windyheir]

Hey now, sometimes I'm the one pulling YOU out of the frying pan. That's how palhonchoism works, you know.

[Two teenage boys probably wouldn't make sand castles out of boredom anyway. This is a special friendship here.

Psst, Mu, you should help with sandcastlebuilding too.]

[lamb_of_gold]

[Alas, Saints don't do sandcastles - just cryptic messages on the beach.

However, John's retort just makes Mu smile and shake his head.]

The real question isn't how much trouble you save each other from, but how much you get each other into, I think.

[moveslikestrider]

Same as anything else you just know where you're going next.

What's it like being able to blow people away?

[moveslikestrider]

Yeah, gosh John way to focus on the negative shit there. Wagging my finger at you dude. [As if he didn't bring it up in the first place.]