The Life and Times of Brenda Triton

[Who was this? Why were they here? Randall hadn’t thought Hershel knew anyone - as bad as that sounded. After the forest, and presumably everything that came after, Randall had assumed that his friend - or ex-friend, it seemed - would have gone out of his way to avoid people entirely.]

“ I - I swear, it’s not what it… probably, looks like.”

[His voice was a little slurred from the nervousness of whoever this might be. Robber? Roommate he was unaware of? God forbid, a wife? As long as they didn’t attack him, Randall imagined he’d at least be relatively alright.]

[That voice didn’t sound like Hershel. Was it a thief? No, a thief would look more... Brenda lowered the light. She squinted at the figure inside.]

“Then explain yourself.”

“You’re not Hershel, you’re not Nate... who are you?”

          Let’s see…What was his favorite this about Earth? Looking around for a moment, the little Ag thought and thought, before decidedly looking back up at the woman. “The sky! Interlasia doesn’t have a sky.” he chirped. With it being a big ship instead of a planet, there wasn’t exactly a natural atmosphere to speak of in order to create a sky.

          “I did it to protect Ferrox.” It’s said without a second thought, a small grin creeping back onto his face. “Ferrox is my…what’s the word for it…older brother! Ferrox is my older brother!”

“Is Ferrox also from Interlasia?”

[Interlasia must be the ‘planet’ that he came from. Considering how he looked, it was hard to imagine how it must’ve looked like. Probably someplace more ‘water-like’? He did have a vaugely squid-like form to him.]

“Ah! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Triton.” [ He gave a small bow of his head and straightened himself out. ] “Yes, I would like to speak to him. This involves a strange report I’ve obtained, so I decided to come and investigate.”

[ The Colonel fixed his glasses and carefully stored the map back into his uniform. ] “Well, it’s certainly better than having to continue wandering around, only to be on the opposite side of the city.” [ He paused and cocked an eyebrow at the mention of ‘Bucky’. ]

“…My apologies for questioning this, but…. 'Bucky’?”

“Bucky owns many boats, and he specializes in moving all about the canals! He’s the closest we have in Misthallery to a local bus line.”

[Actually-- it’d be a good idea to get a more formal public transportation system installed in the city. Unfortunately, the town’s repairs were taking up most of the money so there’s not much that could be done. Brenda made a motion with her hand, so that he’d follow her to the closest ‘boat stop’.]

Put a flower in my inbox to show your muse's feelings for mine, anon or not:

AMARANTH: Broken-hearted

BEGONIA: Warning

CARNATION (YELLOW): Rejection

CYCLAMEN: Parting

LAVENDER: Distrust

LILY (ORANGE): Hatred

MARIGOLD: Jealousy

GERANIUM: True friendship

SUNFLOWER: Gratitude

TULIP (WHITE): Forgiveness

VIOLET: Loyalty

ZINNIA: Memories

DILL: Lust

MIMOSA: Secret admirer

PEONY: Shyness

ROSE (ORANGE): Fascination

ROSE (RED): Passionate love

SYCAMORE: Curiosity

“Hm?” [ He heard a voice speak up and turned to look at the woman that called out to him. Jade fixed his glasses and slowly walked up to her. ] “Ah, yes. I certainly am. I’m looking for Misthallery’s Town Hall to speak with Clark Triton. If… there is one, of course.”

[ The Colonel straightened himself out a bit and gave off a warm smile. ] “I am Colonel Jade Curtiss, and I’ve been sent to investigate a few towns here in the area. This so happens to be my first stop of many.”

“You want to speak to Clark?”

[Now she knew that he wasn’t a tourist. Most people only went to the town hall to just take pictures! But to actually talk to her husband? Why would a Colonel need to talk to the mayor?]

“I think I can help you with that! I’m Brenda Triton and I’m Clark’s wife! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Colonel.”

[She just hoped that he wasn’t here to talk to Clark about war or a military occupation of Misthallery... But that’s odd: why didn’t he have any kind of badge?]

“Just a bit. I mean, I remember bits of people and places I know, too much about plants to be normal, and one specific plant that moves and is bigger than I am tall, but the memory issues are only minor.”

[It was said not unkindly, but with enough sass to tell that it upset him a bit. He just wished he could remember everything - it would make things so much easier on him.]

“Ooh - that actually sounds very nice~ I don’t recall if I’ve been eating properly cooked meals, just quick things that don’t take much effort. Or things that just don’t involve cooking. Something hot sounds delightful~”

[It seemed that he was at the very least somewhat aware of Physis. She really should count that as a blessing, but Brenda didn’t lower her guard.]

“I imagine that you must’ve been eating whatever you could find. Perhaps if you are well-nourished, you’d be less sleepy... There’s really no way to know other than to give it a try!

“Oh? Would you, now~? From what I remember - ha - there’s a good number of plants in there. Sectioned off and carefully put together - must’ve done it a while ago, from the looks of it. Some of them are in… containers? Like big fish tanks, but set up to mimic certain terrains and climates. Think I spent a lot of money on it, from the look of it…”

[Not that he minded. He’d been delighted to find he had more plants. The way the people acted was a bit creepy, but only in the way that he didn’t remember who they were, so the familiarity they spoke with threw him off.]

Good thing you know what I mean, though, because I don’t know how I would have explained it better than that. I don’t know how I got it, or when, just that I clearly have possession of it.”

“Of course! You seem to be having just a bit of problem with your memory, but it’s good that you have friends to help you remember, right?”

[Brenda nodded, and she turned around. That was that, then. First, she had invited the man over for dinner. And when she promised something, she liked delivering.]

“Alright, alright - it’s not as though I’ve got anything better to do. And also not like I’ve actually done anything the past… probably several weeks, beyond sleeping and buying food.”

[He’d have to buy some more later, thinking on it. To his recollection,, his stores were lower than he’d prefer.]

“I’ve been… good, considering the sheer amount I’ve been sleeping. Not very productive, but whatever makes winter pass by faster, I suppose. Following the first question - no not really, sleeping every day for the past several kind of prevents any ability to meet people. And your third question - do you mean the plants in my flat or the warehouse I apparently own down by the docks? Because the former is doing surprisingly well considering the sheer amount of sleeping I’ve been doing, and the latter seems to be run by people I may have hired? They did greet me something like a boss… Or a master. Strange people.”

“--Hershel?”

[The way he described his apartment and his warehouse-- there was something odd about it. Not to mention-- the people he talked about.]

“I think I know what you mean! If you don’t mind, I would like to go visit your warehouse sometime soon.”

“That depends on the breed and if they’re a boy or a girl, I’d think. Or I might just adopt one and keep the name they have. I hafta decide what breed I’d want. Definitely not a beagle, though. They’re too…rowdy. And I don’t want a small one, either. They live longer, but I’m scared I might step on ‘em.”

And he’s a big man with big feet, so that’s a rather real concern.

“I suppose that makes sense... sometimes, when you see a dog you can immediately imagine what sort of name they should have!”

[Certain dogs seemed more of a ‘Cerberus’, others more like ‘Duchess’.]

“Maybe, but these days eating something ‘substantial’ makes my fatigue worse. The cold, maybe. I wasn’t this tired when it was warm.”

[At least… he didn’t think so. Had he been?]

“You - that… that sounds nice, actually. You don’t have to, I’d be fine with returning home and sleeping for the next… well, week, running my current track record. I still don’t really recall too much though, so I’m not sure what sort of conversation I’d provide…”

“No, no! I insist! It’s not everyday that we get visitors, anyway!”

[A guest would certainly bring a little cheer home! Not to mention, she wanted to know more about what Hershel had been up to lately.]

“Ha, lively. I’m only lively because I’ve been sleeping the past… what, week now? Maybe? I’m not sure, I’ve lost track of time to be quite honest, I might’ve been asleep for longer for all I know. 

And I’m… honestly not sure. Taking a walk? Planning some grocery shopping?Enjoying my wakefulness while it lasts, I suppose.”

“Oh dear...” 

“Then if you don’t mind a helpful suggestion, I’d recommend you go eat something substantial that will fill you with energy!”

[Then again-- eating too much would only make him drowsy.]