an absence of hope

“ WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! HOLD UP A MINUTE THERE! ” came the voice of a loud and overly tall man, sprinting right towards where Anemone stood like he was about to tackle the poor girl. “ Can’t you read the sign?!?!?! No food or drinks allowed! Gimmie that shit! ” he yells out, snatching the very crepe she was eating.

“ You wanna take a look around? Then be my guest. Just don’t pull this sorta stunt ever again! That’s how you get ants. You don’t want ants, right? Thought so. ”

It’s hard to tell whether this was his strange attempt at a power move, or the man simply being stupid again, but there he goes shoving the entire crepe into his mouth and eating it like some feral animal just dying for a meal.

Look who’s gonna stain things now, dumbass.

Anemone stood there, mouth agape, completely in shock at the man and how he had so rudely taken her treat. She couldn’t believe it, especially when she really was just minding her own business for once. So, she immediately became full of rage.

“What the hell was that for?! Who do you think I am?! I’m not some stupid klutz that’s going to spill food all over your stupid store?!”

She leaned forward, trying to snatch the crepe back, only for the man to somehow shove the whole thing in his mouth at once. 

          WAS   that a giant… flying squirrel just now ?  

          Granted, it did nothing remotely close to flying, but it’s the first animal that came to mind as it ran beneath the bench— right between her ankles, in fact. Had that been food in its mouth… ?  She’s barely had time to process any of it by the time the animal’s incredibly loud owner ( ? ) caught up; indeed, Hakuno had been in the process of leaning over to peer under the bench herself. The girl’s shrill voice, however, has her immediately shooting her legs upward onto the bench in a crossed position. 

          What was that she said just now ?  Weirdo stranger germs… ? 

      ❛   Is that a big problem around here… ? The weirdo stranger germs, I mean.   ❜

Anemone was wrangling her pet with one hand when both the pilot and Gulliver paused to look up at the unfamiliar girl, as if they both just now noticed her for the first time.

“...”

“Well... obviously!”

Anemone finally spoke, smooshing Gulliver’s fat body to her side as the behemoth of a badger gobbled down the stolen food. 

aiba://     aiba paused. what is she doing? was it not clear? the ai could almost hear her own correction, like a scolding mother. or, rather, the screeching halt of a rewrite.

…

this was not a jelly fish. this was no somnium. logic applies here.

“this… this is a cafe. this is a CHAIR, isn’t it.” drats. the ai stood straight, looking over her shoulder at the spark for herself correction. “i am INVESTIGATING this stool. it… simply looks like a jellyfish. ANYONE would make such a mistake. yes.” 

Anemone continued to stare, perplexed by the other girl’s strange behavior.

“Yeah... duh. Of course it’s a chair.”

She blinked in confusion. Jellyfish? Anemone looked back at the chair, leaning down at an odd angle to get a better sense of the chair the two of them were now discussing. Anemone figured the chair did sort of look like a jellyfish, but...

Anemone had quickly begun to roam about the shops that she could, so it was no surprise that she would inevitably find her way to the store owned by a certain someone. Despite her interest in the wide variety of fashion that the island had to offer, she hadn’t quite grasped the standard protocol of not eating when entering stores that sold things that could be stained. 

@bahalucswell​

aiba://     “its a…” aiba stared intently at the cafe stool, dropping down to a squat next to it as to meet the… thing face to face. long legs, a bubbled convex top with some resistance. “JELLYFISH. how is it able to survive this far away from the water?? IMPOSSIBLE.”

Anemone was busy stuffing her face with sweets when some stranger appeared, busying herself with the unoccupied seat beside her. She paused for a moment, eyebrow cocked.

Although the badger was mildly obese, Gulliver could run remarkably fast. Anemone’s heels clicked behind him, even as he ran with (presumably stolen) food in his mouth.

“Gulliver!” Anemone shrieked, chasing after her beloved pet. “Get back here!”

Gulliver did not listen to his owner, perhaps because he was being greedy about the food he wanted to eat, and instead ran under a nearby bench. Anemone was soon to arrive behind him, totally ignoring the other girl who was actually sitting on the bench.

Her memories before awakening in that taxi, before that scarily large opening within the earth, were hazy. She had been in her room on that ship, theEND staring down at her. Gulliver had been sleeping beside her, and that crumpled, dried, dead flower had been in her hands. It was gone now, and she wondered what had happened to it. Had one of Dewey’s little attendants thrown it away when she wasn’t looking? No, they didn’t enter her room... they didn’t bother her unless they had to. Dewey did the same, and she was thankful for that if not anything else. Then, there was... him. 

Dominic Sorrel. Dominic, he... he had ran away, all after talking so big, like he knew everything about her, like he could actually help her or understand her. Anemone scowled. He wasn’t beside her, and she didn’t need someone as weak as him.

Gulliver chirped within her lap, and the two of them arrived at whatever their destination was. The driver helped her with her things, which consisted of a cellphone, a pamphlet, a wrapped box, keys to somewhere, and... Gulliver. The driver didn’t attempt to pick him up, though, which was probably for the best. She carried the rest of the things in her hands, her dress unfortunately not offering any pockets.