(I don’t know it’s 4 am and I’m just following whims.)
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E-plier carefully picked the oranges from his tree, putting them in a basket. This batched look delicious! The peels always tasted so much better when they were really bright orange!
He moved to the other side of the tree and gasped. The basket fell out of his hand.
One of the branches was snapped in half.
Ivyplier came strolling over. “What do you want? I’m busy.”
E-plier just pointed at the branch.
Ivy’s annoyance faded, and he frowned with genuine sympathy. For the tree more so than E, truth be told.
He went up to the branch and lifted the end not attached to the trunk. It was nearly entirely broken off, hanging only by a strip of bark.
“I don’t know how it happened! I filmed a POV Tik Tok yesterday right there, and it was fine!” He messed with his necklaces. “Can you fix it?”
Ivy blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I’ll try. And then I’m going to hunt down whoever did this and shove actual poison ivy up their-”
“Ah, there you are, me lad!” Magnum squeezed through the door and walked over. “What be with the long face?”
Magnum had to bend over double to see the low-hanging branch. “Oh, I’m sorry, lad.” He put a comforting hand on E-plier’s shoulder. “Would it help if I told you that the robot one be making jams out of all the oranges you keep collecting?”
E-plier lit up a little. “It would, actually. Oh, I could use that in a Tik Tok! POV: Making you a sandwich with fresh jam... perfect! Thanks!” He ran inside, leaving Magnum and Ivy with the tree.
Ivy was focusing on trying to heal the branch. “I think I know who did this.”
“Aye? Who would that be?”
“Wilford,” Ivy growled. “Look, there’s new bullet holes in the fence behind the tree. I bet he shot it.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Magnum sighed. “He’s wild with his guns. Never a good quality in a shipmate! Aye, they might be good in a fight, but you won’t be singin’ the same tune when they fill the sail with holes.”
“... Sure, whatever you say.” Ivy rolled his eyes when Magnum looked away. He’d never understand the pirate, preferring the ocean to land. Land was where all the plants were! And who the hell liked seeing a bunch of blue more than a bunch of green, anyway?
Well, there was seaweed. And coral. But those were out of Ivy’s expertise.
“Should we have a talk with him? He upset the young lad, after all.”
Ivy scoffed. “Have a talk with Wilford. Yeah, that would go well. Let me know when you need your leg trunks fixed after he blows them up or something.”
“... Ye have a fair point.”
“Yeah. I know. I’m the only smart one around here.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but whatever helps ye feel good about yourself.”
“You’re lucky I’m focused on the tree right now, or I’d root your feet to the ground.”
Magnum pat Ivy on the head. “I’m sure ye would. I’ll be off now, the doctor said I need more oranges in my diet anyway. Something about scurvy.”
He squeezed back through the floor, leaving Ivy alone. Well, alone n terms of human company, anyway.
“I still don’t understand why you like E-plier,” he aid to the tree.
The tree remained silent. They tend to do that.
“No, I get that he takes care of you. But he’s irritating.”
The leaves rustled gently in the breeze.
“Whoa, okay, no need for that amount of anger! Geez...”
