Food For The Soul.

Ask / RP blog for a Sprout OC, chip!

[flour-and-jam]

Ashes ashes

Dust to dust

I think I found a place for us!

Hello!!! So this is a askblog for a sprout oc called chip! He manages one of the kitchens like a little cafe. He doesn’t do ichor runs anymore.

Basic rules are;

- don’t be freaky, as in no NSFW.

- generally be nice, I have a right to not answer asks

- magic anons are allowed within reason but I can’t guarantee I will answer them.

(Blog is not affiliated nor in support with BlushCrunch Studio)

Have fun!

It’s in my arms, it’s in my arms.

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero gives chip a large smile, large sharp teeth shining and somehow not noticing the slime slowly dripping from abysses cracked cheek and grabs the kettle and placing it on the stove to boil. It turns down the heat for the pot, not wanting the vegetables burning.]

"Thanks chum! Cant believe i forgot the water! Im usually a lot better at this. Well more recently any-waves!"

[Abyss tenses up for a second when chip mentioned 'missing' things but quickly relaxes when he mentions that hes not mad.]

"...Thanks."

[It looks a bit confused at chips forgiveness, it was stealing but he just cares that its not starving? Abyss... doesnt understand... It forces a cheerful look onto its face.]

"Yeah dont worry Ship i do make shore to clean up after my-shell-f! Otherwise thered be... more stains. Trust me ichor is a bitch to get out when it drys, stains anything if left alone for too long!"

[flour-and-jam]

Yeah, ichor is a bitch to get out just about anything. Chip knows from personal experience. He nods in agreement.

A particularly nasty pebble encounter basically ruined his scarf. Turns out yarn and ichor are very hard to separate. After many failed attempts he ended up giving up and letting…. Someone else have it.

‘ it might be stress, it makes you all confuzzled and turned around. I’ve been stressed out and put the species in the fridge and mayonnaise in the spice rack, ‘

He leans a bit on the island, snickering at his own words, finally taking his gaze off Ptero and on his hand for a moment. He doubts it is going to try and hurt him in the middle of cooking. Still, he keeps the knife in his hands, though not pointed at anything.

‘- if you’re coming up here and using my stuff I don’t imagine you got a lot down there. Especially not a lot to eat.‘

… why abyss would choose to live down there is beyond chip, but he chooses not to judge others life choices. If ptero wanted to steal and lurk in a vents like a rat then so be it.

‘ … I don’t blame you for that. I’d rather people survive… one way or another, than not. I was honestly more upset because your existence kinda..surprised me, usually people don’t show up in your kitchen carrying their own… food.’

He gestures to the food abyss is making with the knife loosely.

‘ … how long has this gone on? The whole you sneaking in thing- again, I’m not mad- I just like answers-‘

Chip feels he should remind Ptero that. The fact he didn’t have a clue about any of this was quite impressive in his opinion.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero cackles loudly, clearly amused by chips mess up. It looks back to the kettle, placing its entire hand on the side of it and quickly pulling it back not bothered by any burns it got. Somehow. Abyss turns the burner under the kettle and pours the water into the pot, turning the temperature back up and placing the lid onto it. It turns back to chip, it kind of likes this strange strawberry, doesnt try to immediately hurt it or get rid of it. Still something doesnt sit right with abyss, surely he just wants something from abyss then. Right?]

"To your kitchen?"

[Ptero tilts its head, it doesnt really know how long its been going to this kitchen. Abyss doesnt really have much of a way to tell very often.]

"I want to say a bit more then a year? Im just not too shore chum never been good with time, most clocks ran out of battery or are just straight up destroyed down there."

[Ptero starts picking at its cheek again, still somehow not noticing itself bleeding. Abyss feels tired... it can feel hunger clawing at its insides... no stop that. Abyss can wait, remember to have some manners Ptero! Come on! Just... talk! Yeah keep talking thatll keep its mind off of... things!]

"I mean i found an old computer in one of the warehouses that works somewhat but i highly doubt its 2009! That would mean ive been around for over 20 years! Thats got to be impossible right! Me! Fucking alive for over 20 years!"

[Ptero just laughs hysterically, yeah right like it would ever be around for more then 10 year.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip winces as abyss casually sticks its hands on the side of the kettle. He’s casually stuck his wrists on the burner of the stove a few times but by ichor itself, that’s gotta hurt like hell. Oh yeah- his mistake.

‘ My kitchen- See? Stress messes you up! I guess I’m still frazzled by the dinner crowd, very demanding people I tell you. ‘

… and definitely not because there’s a stranger standing in a kitchen making fucking curry. Yeah. That’s definitely the case.

In all honestly? Chip had clue how long it had been either- at least how long it’s been since the humans abandoned them. He had tried to keep track of the days when all the clocks failed, but eventually everything blurred together into one big long moment broken up by moments of unconscious. He’s given up at this point.

‘ … 20 years? That seems impossible-! it’s probably been five years at worst! What was it? The 90s last time I checked- if it really was 20 years we’d be in the 2000s.

It was hard to imagine the time being anything BUT the 90s. In his head the 2000s meant flying cars and big fancy robots. None of that existed down here.

…

That burn that’s gonna rear its ugly head later bothers him. He gestures to the fridge.

‘ you know- if you need anything- water, aloe, I don’t mind you taking it from the fridge. Take what you need really-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero walks over to its bag and reaches back into it, pulling out a jar full of something kind of orange, probably a sauce. Abysses hands stings slightly as abyss tightens abysses grip on the jar, not wanting to drop the jar as abyss sometimes does and especially not when abyss has eyes on abyss. It cant show anymore weakness.]

"Exactly! You get it! But... the 90s? Huh, i have been down there longer then i thought!"

[A glimmer of fear flashes onto Pteros face for a moment before returning to its usual cheerful although tired look. What does he mean by the 90s... How... How long has abyss been down there? Its only been like 3 years at most right? Dont let your worries show. He could use them, you cant trust anyone you know what happened before. It walks over to the stove once again, putting the jar down carefully as it opens the pot, using its knife to check if they were all cooked through. Happy with the results, abyss grabs the jar again and tries to open it, failing a few times. Damn its hand is being annoying again... Ptero growls as it tries once again, finally getting the lid off bashing its hand on the stove, flinching at the pain and the quiet sound of glass breaking.]

"fuck."

[Growling abyss dumps the sauce into the pot using the knife to stir it in, fuck thats going to leave some cracks. It reaches over and grabs the pan shoveling the meat into the pot as well, giving that a quick stir too before looking over at Chip confused.]

"What the shell is aloe? Some sort of vegetable?"

[flour-and-jam]

‘ Aloe? It’s like, this thing that comes in a dispenser like soap- it makes things like burns sting way less. I don’t imagine sticking your entire hand on that kettle was- pleasant. It’s labeled- somewhere in there, ‘

Chip decides not to go down the ‘how long it’s been’ discussion any further. Honestly? Thinking about time in general made him feel off. Thinking about it to much puts him down a really weird rabbit hole which is hard to get out of once your in- especially all the times this passed since-

Chip would prefer keeping up his streak of having good days. Hes about to beat his record. Focus Chip. Be civil. You CANT start spiraling out of control right now. Sure, he’s pretty certain abyss won’t kill him. But weakness isn’t ideal either, a stranger is a stranger. Even if that stranger is a freak.

He either doesn’t notice the quiet cracking or glass or doesn’t comment on it. The fingers of his free hand tap on the cool surface of the island, a little antsy, just in general. Obscured by the counter, his tail flicks.

‘ I think putting cold water on it also helps- or maybe just holding a cold water bottle for you, it’s in the fridge, I won’t miss it. ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero looks at Chip amazed. This had to be a joke. Stuff that stopped pain was just something people made up for stories right?]

"Wait, stuff like that exists? You arent pulling my fin right?"

[Ptero turns the stove off, leaving the pot alone to cool. It doesnt feel like burning its mouth today.]

[flour-and-jam]

“ why would I? The humans invented and stockpiled a bunch of weird crap before they up and abandoned us. Like hand sanitizer.. anti septic.. and imitation crab? They were bizarre-“

In all honestly Chip has only heard about intimation crab. He’s never tasted it and honestly he doesn’t think it exists. White mean which tastes like crab (…not that Chip tasted crab often. crab was the luxury fought over down here), absurd!

He notes abyss turning the stove off. He’s just come to the realization he never caught it’s name, but he felt it was a bit to far in the conversation to ask, good job Chip.

“ it should be ok the top self, I think, green packaging? About big as a milk carton, like, seven and a half inches-“

It’s a bit of a pain to reach up into those fridges, as they were human sized. Chip mostly put things he didn’t need to often up there, constantly being up and down on his tippy toes killed his feet.

…

Maybe he should offer a stool, as abyss is a bit…lacking in the height department. He didn’t really have a stool due to lack of need but perhaps some boxes he could hunt down could server a good replacement-?

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero looks up over to the fridge, cursing its short stature. Its a pain for abyss to deal with things that are toon sized, let alone human sized. It glances over to the counter next to the fridge, it could scramble up to the top of it and climb the fridge afterwards... But honestly Ptero just wants to eat and sleep, abysses stomach clawing at itself. Not worth the energy.]

"...Ill be fin without it. It doesnt even hurt that badly, plus you reel-y think i can reach that Ship?"

[flour-and-jam]

As much as Chip hates letting someone hurt, he decides not to push it. It’s not like he can walk over to the fishbowl’s side of the kitchen and pick abyss up like it’s a bag of potatoes, well, maybe he could if he put his mind to it, but Chip honestly would prefer keeping his shins, and his arms, and his skin in general.

‘ if you insist-‘

He figures not holding it up anymore will get abyss out of the kitchen faster, and the faster than happens, the faster he can lay down.

‘ Though, good point- I have to be on the very tips of my toes to get up there. ‘

He straightens up, setting the knife down on the island counter, though he keeps his hand close by it, if he were to need it. He doubts he will, but keeping it close is reassuring.

‘ I’m assuming your gonna need something to put that in- I’ve got pretty big ziplock bags in that drawer to your right- the middle one, the ones with the red lines near the zipper are the biggest ones-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Pteros eye widens a little, yeah it would be a lot easier to use a ziplock bag then it trying to take the whole pot with it. Not that abyss was going to steal the pot nooo, well not for too long anyways.]

"Yesss... The bags, the bags that are to my my right, the bags that i totally didnt forget existed. Those bags."

[Cod damn is Ptero tired, its only been awake for... wait how long has it been? Eh abyss doesnt care, Ptero just wants to eat is that too much to ask for right now. It turns and opens the drawer, grabbing one of the bags, looking at the zipper, yup, the red lines are there and it is pretty sure this is large enough for the batch it made. Smaller then usual, abyss notes, did Chip give Ptero a smaller pot? Or is it misremembering previous batches...]

"So Ship, you reel-y going to let me come back around?"

[It doesnt hurt to ask right? Just to make sure, maybe Chip is actually kind. Maybe its safe for abyss here...? Are you really that pathetic? Clinging to the first bit of 'kindness' you get, you cant trust anyone! Ptero... cant trust anyone... right, its not an idiot.]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ In all honesty, I doubt I can stop you. ‘

Chip shrugged. Wait. Crap. That probably sounded meaner than he intended it to. He quickly backtracks

‘ -and, I don’t really mind. At the end of the day it’s just stuff. I doubt this place is gonna run out of food in our lifetime, and there are other kitchens willing to trade me stuff, like I’ve said, I don’t want you- or anyone really, to go hungry.’

Chip has to surpress the urge to yawn. He usually isn’t up this late, Prehaps that’s another reason why Chip didn’t learn about abyss much sooner.

“ if you want, “ Chip offered “ I can leave out the leftovers- if there are any, of the stuff I cook, “

Chip rarely had enough leftovers to reheat and serve the next day, yet to much to eat as breakfast or a late lunch. The leftovers mostly got thrown away. It killed Chip inside a little bit, wasting food. As… alarming as having a vent dweller just being able slip into what is essentially a second home to him is, if the leftovers are put to use, Chip could adjust.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero turns slightly to glance at Chip, its eye full of hope and suspicion, trying to figure out what he was planning before it turns back to the curry, trying to look indifferent about the offer. This had to be a trap. No one would willingly help abyss more then once, but the offer of food sounded so good to Ptero... It ponders over the opportunity as it slowly pours the curry into a ziplock bag, careful as not to spill any. If theres one thing Ptero hated more then anything it was wasted food.]

"Youre right about not being able to stop me Ship!"

[Abyss carefully zips the bag up, bring it and the pot and pan over to the island, looking straight at Chip as abyss carefully slips the curry into abysses bag.]

"...Boat im willing to take you up on this deal of yours."

[flour-and-jam]

Chip watches as the curry is put into the bag, figuring he will just do dishes in the morning. He grabs the knife again, this time turning away from the counter and towards the exit, where the light switches and hooks for jackets and aprons went. He flips off the secondary lights, leaving only the main light of the kitchen overhead. His hands move to untie his apron.

“ Good! The food won’t be going to waste then, it will be a win win for both of us! “

Chip is pretty sure abyss is not gonna attack him at this point. Any weird rat living in places it shouldn’t be would appreciate proper nutrients. It’s better to die due to something more dignified, and not to starvation or food poisoning from.. unsafe food.

He turns back to abyss. Maybe he really should try to get this dweller’s name-

“ I say we have ourselves an agreement now, don’t we? “

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero gives chip a large smile, large sharp teeth shining and somehow not noticing the slime slowly dripping from abysses cracked cheek and grabs the kettle and placing it on the stove to boil. It turns down the heat for the pot, not wanting the vegetables burning.]

"Thanks chum! Cant believe i forgot the water! Im usually a lot better at this. Well more recently any-waves!"

[Abyss tenses up for a second when chip mentioned 'missing' things but quickly relaxes when he mentions that hes not mad.]

"...Thanks."

[It looks a bit confused at chips forgiveness, it was stealing but he just cares that its not starving? Abyss... doesnt understand... It forces a cheerful look onto its face.]

"Yeah dont worry Ship i do make shore to clean up after my-shell-f! Otherwise thered be... more stains. Trust me ichor is a bitch to get out when it drys, stains anything if left alone for too long!"

[flour-and-jam]

Yeah, ichor is a bitch to get out just about anything. Chip knows from personal experience. He nods in agreement.

A particularly nasty pebble encounter basically ruined his scarf. Turns out yarn and ichor are very hard to separate. After many failed attempts he ended up giving up and letting…. Someone else have it.

‘ it might be stress, it makes you all confuzzled and turned around. I’ve been stressed out and put the species in the fridge and mayonnaise in the spice rack, ‘

He leans a bit on the island, snickering at his own words, finally taking his gaze off Ptero and on his hand for a moment. He doubts it is going to try and hurt him in the middle of cooking. Still, he keeps the knife in his hands, though not pointed at anything.

‘- if you’re coming up here and using my stuff I don’t imagine you got a lot down there. Especially not a lot to eat.‘

… why abyss would choose to live down there is beyond chip, but he chooses not to judge others life choices. If ptero wanted to steal and lurk in a vents like a rat then so be it.

‘ … I don’t blame you for that. I’d rather people survive… one way or another, than not. I was honestly more upset because your existence kinda..surprised me, usually people don’t show up in your kitchen carrying their own… food.’

He gestures to the food abyss is making with the knife loosely.

‘ … how long has this gone on? The whole you sneaking in thing- again, I’m not mad- I just like answers-‘

Chip feels he should remind Ptero that. The fact he didn’t have a clue about any of this was quite impressive in his opinion.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero cackles loudly, clearly amused by chips mess up. It looks back to the kettle, placing its entire hand on the side of it and quickly pulling it back not bothered by any burns it got. Somehow. Abyss turns the burner under the kettle and pours the water into the pot, turning the temperature back up and placing the lid onto it. It turns back to chip, it kind of likes this strange strawberry, doesnt try to immediately hurt it or get rid of it. Still something doesnt sit right with abyss, surely he just wants something from abyss then. Right?]

"To your kitchen?"

[Ptero tilts its head, it doesnt really know how long its been going to this kitchen. Abyss doesnt really have much of a way to tell very often.]

"I want to say a bit more then a year? Im just not too shore chum never been good with time, most clocks ran out of battery or are just straight up destroyed down there."

[Ptero starts picking at its cheek again, still somehow not noticing itself bleeding. Abyss feels tired... it can feel hunger clawing at its insides... no stop that. Abyss can wait, remember to have some manners Ptero! Come on! Just... talk! Yeah keep talking thatll keep its mind off of... things!]

"I mean i found an old computer in one of the warehouses that works somewhat but i highly doubt its 2009! That would mean ive been around for over 20 years! Thats got to be impossible right! Me! Fucking alive for over 20 years!"

[Ptero just laughs hysterically, yeah right like it would ever be around for more then 10 year.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip winces as abyss casually sticks its hands on the side of the kettle. He’s casually stuck his wrists on the burner of the stove a few times but by ichor itself, that’s gotta hurt like hell. Oh yeah- his mistake.

‘ My kitchen- See? Stress messes you up! I guess I’m still frazzled by the dinner crowd, very demanding people I tell you. ‘

… and definitely not because there’s a stranger standing in a kitchen making fucking curry. Yeah. That’s definitely the case.

In all honestly? Chip had clue how long it had been either- at least how long it’s been since the humans abandoned them. He had tried to keep track of the days when all the clocks failed, but eventually everything blurred together into one big long moment broken up by moments of unconscious. He’s given up at this point.

‘ … 20 years? That seems impossible-! it’s probably been five years at worst! What was it? The 90s last time I checked- if it really was 20 years we’d be in the 2000s.

It was hard to imagine the time being anything BUT the 90s. In his head the 2000s meant flying cars and big fancy robots. None of that existed down here.

…

That burn that’s gonna rear its ugly head later bothers him. He gestures to the fridge.

‘ you know- if you need anything- water, aloe, I don’t mind you taking it from the fridge. Take what you need really-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero walks over to its bag and reaches back into it, pulling out a jar full of something kind of orange, probably a sauce. Abysses hands stings slightly as abyss tightens abysses grip on the jar, not wanting to drop the jar as abyss sometimes does and especially not when abyss has eyes on abyss. It cant show anymore weakness.]

"Exactly! You get it! But... the 90s? Huh, i have been down there longer then i thought!"

[A glimmer of fear flashes onto Pteros face for a moment before returning to its usual cheerful although tired look. What does he mean by the 90s... How... How long has abyss been down there? Its only been like 3 years at most right? Dont let your worries show. He could use them, you cant trust anyone you know what happened before. It walks over to the stove once again, putting the jar down carefully as it opens the pot, using its knife to check if they were all cooked through. Happy with the results, abyss grabs the jar again and tries to open it, failing a few times. Damn its hand is being annoying again... Ptero growls as it tries once again, finally getting the lid off bashing its hand on the stove, flinching at the pain and the quiet sound of glass breaking.]

"fuck."

[Growling abyss dumps the sauce into the pot using the knife to stir it in, fuck thats going to leave some cracks. It reaches over and grabs the pan shoveling the meat into the pot as well, giving that a quick stir too before looking over at Chip confused.]

"What the shell is aloe? Some sort of vegetable?"

[flour-and-jam]

‘ Aloe? It’s like, this thing that comes in a dispenser like soap- it makes things like burns sting way less. I don’t imagine sticking your entire hand on that kettle was- pleasant. It’s labeled- somewhere in there, ‘

Chip decides not to go down the ‘how long it’s been’ discussion any further. Honestly? Thinking about time in general made him feel off. Thinking about it to much puts him down a really weird rabbit hole which is hard to get out of once your in- especially all the times this passed since-

Chip would prefer keeping up his streak of having good days. Hes about to beat his record. Focus Chip. Be civil. You CANT start spiraling out of control right now. Sure, he’s pretty certain abyss won’t kill him. But weakness isn’t ideal either, a stranger is a stranger. Even if that stranger is a freak.

He either doesn’t notice the quiet cracking or glass or doesn’t comment on it. The fingers of his free hand tap on the cool surface of the island, a little antsy, just in general. Obscured by the counter, his tail flicks.

‘ I think putting cold water on it also helps- or maybe just holding a cold water bottle for you, it’s in the fridge, I won’t miss it. ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero looks at Chip amazed. This had to be a joke. Stuff that stopped pain was just something people made up for stories right?]

"Wait, stuff like that exists? You arent pulling my fin right?"

[Ptero turns the stove off, leaving the pot alone to cool. It doesnt feel like burning its mouth today.]

[flour-and-jam]

“ why would I? The humans invented and stockpiled a bunch of weird crap before they up and abandoned us. Like hand sanitizer.. anti septic.. and imitation crab? They were bizarre-“

In all honestly Chip has only heard about intimation crab. He’s never tasted it and honestly he doesn’t think it exists. White mean which tastes like crab (…not that Chip tasted crab often. crab was the luxury fought over down here), absurd!

He notes abyss turning the stove off. He’s just come to the realization he never caught it’s name, but he felt it was a bit to far in the conversation to ask, good job Chip.

“ it should be ok the top self, I think, green packaging? About big as a milk carton, like, seven and a half inches-“

It’s a bit of a pain to reach up into those fridges, as they were human sized. Chip mostly put things he didn’t need to often up there, constantly being up and down on his tippy toes killed his feet.

…

Maybe he should offer a stool, as abyss is a bit…lacking in the height department. He didn’t really have a stool due to lack of need but perhaps some boxes he could hunt down could server a good replacement-?

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero looks up over to the fridge, cursing its short stature. Its a pain for abyss to deal with things that are toon sized, let alone human sized. It glances over to the counter next to the fridge, it could scramble up to the top of it and climb the fridge afterwards... But honestly Ptero just wants to eat and sleep, abysses stomach clawing at itself. Not worth the energy.]

"...Ill be fin without it. It doesnt even hurt that badly, plus you reel-y think i can reach that Ship?"

[flour-and-jam]

As much as Chip hates letting someone hurt, he decides not to push it. It’s not like he can walk over to the fishbowl’s side of the kitchen and pick abyss up like it’s a bag of potatoes, well, maybe he could if he put his mind to it, but Chip honestly would prefer keeping his shins, and his arms, and his skin in general.

‘ if you insist-‘

He figures not holding it up anymore will get abyss out of the kitchen faster, and the faster than happens, the faster he can lay down.

‘ Though, good point- I have to be on the very tips of my toes to get up there. ‘

He straightens up, setting the knife down on the island counter, though he keeps his hand close by it, if he were to need it. He doubts he will, but keeping it close is reassuring.

‘ I’m assuming your gonna need something to put that in- I’ve got pretty big ziplock bags in that drawer to your right- the middle one, the ones with the red lines near the zipper are the biggest ones-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Pteros eye widens a little, yeah it would be a lot easier to use a ziplock bag then it trying to take the whole pot with it. Not that abyss was going to steal the pot nooo, well not for too long anyways.]

"Yesss... The bags, the bags that are to my my right, the bags that i totally didnt forget existed. Those bags."

[Cod damn is Ptero tired, its only been awake for... wait how long has it been? Eh abyss doesnt care, Ptero just wants to eat is that too much to ask for right now. It turns and opens the drawer, grabbing one of the bags, looking at the zipper, yup, the red lines are there and it is pretty sure this is large enough for the batch it made. Smaller then usual, abyss notes, did Chip give Ptero a smaller pot? Or is it misremembering previous batches...]

"So Ship, you reel-y going to let me come back around?"

[It doesnt hurt to ask right? Just to make sure, maybe Chip is actually kind. Maybe its safe for abyss here...? Are you really that pathetic? Clinging to the first bit of 'kindness' you get, you cant trust anyone! Ptero... cant trust anyone... right, its not an idiot.]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ In all honesty, I doubt I can stop you. ‘

Chip shrugged. Wait. Crap. That probably sounded meaner than he intended it to. He quickly backtracks

‘ -and, I don’t really mind. At the end of the day it’s just stuff. I doubt this place is gonna run out of food in our lifetime, and there are other kitchens willing to trade me stuff, like I’ve said, I don’t want you- or anyone really, to go hungry.’

Chip has to surpress the urge to yawn. He usually isn’t up this late, Prehaps that’s another reason why Chip didn’t learn about abyss much sooner.

“ if you want, “ Chip offered “ I can leave out the leftovers- if there are any, of the stuff I cook, “

Chip rarely had enough leftovers to reheat and serve the next day, yet to much to eat as breakfast or a late lunch. The leftovers mostly got thrown away. It killed Chip inside a little bit, wasting food. As… alarming as having a vent dweller just being able slip into what is essentially a second home to him is, if the leftovers are put to use, Chip could adjust.

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero gives chip a large smile, large sharp teeth shining and somehow not noticing the slime slowly dripping from abysses cracked cheek and grabs the kettle and placing it on the stove to boil. It turns down the heat for the pot, not wanting the vegetables burning.]

"Thanks chum! Cant believe i forgot the water! Im usually a lot better at this. Well more recently any-waves!"

[Abyss tenses up for a second when chip mentioned 'missing' things but quickly relaxes when he mentions that hes not mad.]

"...Thanks."

[It looks a bit confused at chips forgiveness, it was stealing but he just cares that its not starving? Abyss... doesnt understand... It forces a cheerful look onto its face.]

"Yeah dont worry Ship i do make shore to clean up after my-shell-f! Otherwise thered be... more stains. Trust me ichor is a bitch to get out when it drys, stains anything if left alone for too long!"

[flour-and-jam]

Yeah, ichor is a bitch to get out just about anything. Chip knows from personal experience. He nods in agreement.

A particularly nasty pebble encounter basically ruined his scarf. Turns out yarn and ichor are very hard to separate. After many failed attempts he ended up giving up and letting…. Someone else have it.

‘ it might be stress, it makes you all confuzzled and turned around. I’ve been stressed out and put the species in the fridge and mayonnaise in the spice rack, ‘

He leans a bit on the island, snickering at his own words, finally taking his gaze off Ptero and on his hand for a moment. He doubts it is going to try and hurt him in the middle of cooking. Still, he keeps the knife in his hands, though not pointed at anything.

‘- if you’re coming up here and using my stuff I don’t imagine you got a lot down there. Especially not a lot to eat.‘

… why abyss would choose to live down there is beyond chip, but he chooses not to judge others life choices. If ptero wanted to steal and lurk in a vents like a rat then so be it.

‘ … I don’t blame you for that. I’d rather people survive… one way or another, than not. I was honestly more upset because your existence kinda..surprised me, usually people don’t show up in your kitchen carrying their own… food.’

He gestures to the food abyss is making with the knife loosely.

‘ … how long has this gone on? The whole you sneaking in thing- again, I’m not mad- I just like answers-‘

Chip feels he should remind Ptero that. The fact he didn’t have a clue about any of this was quite impressive in his opinion.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero cackles loudly, clearly amused by chips mess up. It looks back to the kettle, placing its entire hand on the side of it and quickly pulling it back not bothered by any burns it got. Somehow. Abyss turns the burner under the kettle and pours the water into the pot, turning the temperature back up and placing the lid onto it. It turns back to chip, it kind of likes this strange strawberry, doesnt try to immediately hurt it or get rid of it. Still something doesnt sit right with abyss, surely he just wants something from abyss then. Right?]

"To your kitchen?"

[Ptero tilts its head, it doesnt really know how long its been going to this kitchen. Abyss doesnt really have much of a way to tell very often.]

"I want to say a bit more then a year? Im just not too shore chum never been good with time, most clocks ran out of battery or are just straight up destroyed down there."

[Ptero starts picking at its cheek again, still somehow not noticing itself bleeding. Abyss feels tired... it can feel hunger clawing at its insides... no stop that. Abyss can wait, remember to have some manners Ptero! Come on! Just... talk! Yeah keep talking thatll keep its mind off of... things!]

"I mean i found an old computer in one of the warehouses that works somewhat but i highly doubt its 2009! That would mean ive been around for over 20 years! Thats got to be impossible right! Me! Fucking alive for over 20 years!"

[Ptero just laughs hysterically, yeah right like it would ever be around for more then 10 year.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip winces as abyss casually sticks its hands on the side of the kettle. He’s casually stuck his wrists on the burner of the stove a few times but by ichor itself, that’s gotta hurt like hell. Oh yeah- his mistake.

‘ My kitchen- See? Stress messes you up! I guess I’m still frazzled by the dinner crowd, very demanding people I tell you. ‘

… and definitely not because there’s a stranger standing in a kitchen making fucking curry. Yeah. That’s definitely the case.

In all honestly? Chip had clue how long it had been either- at least how long it’s been since the humans abandoned them. He had tried to keep track of the days when all the clocks failed, but eventually everything blurred together into one big long moment broken up by moments of unconscious. He’s given up at this point.

‘ … 20 years? That seems impossible-! it’s probably been five years at worst! What was it? The 90s last time I checked- if it really was 20 years we’d be in the 2000s.

It was hard to imagine the time being anything BUT the 90s. In his head the 2000s meant flying cars and big fancy robots. None of that existed down here.

…

That burn that’s gonna rear its ugly head later bothers him. He gestures to the fridge.

‘ you know- if you need anything- water, aloe, I don’t mind you taking it from the fridge. Take what you need really-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero walks over to its bag and reaches back into it, pulling out a jar full of something kind of orange, probably a sauce. Abysses hands stings slightly as abyss tightens abysses grip on the jar, not wanting to drop the jar as abyss sometimes does and especially not when abyss has eyes on abyss. It cant show anymore weakness.]

"Exactly! You get it! But... the 90s? Huh, i have been down there longer then i thought!"

[A glimmer of fear flashes onto Pteros face for a moment before returning to its usual cheerful although tired look. What does he mean by the 90s... How... How long has abyss been down there? Its only been like 3 years at most right? Dont let your worries show. He could use them, you cant trust anyone you know what happened before. It walks over to the stove once again, putting the jar down carefully as it opens the pot, using its knife to check if they were all cooked through. Happy with the results, abyss grabs the jar again and tries to open it, failing a few times. Damn its hand is being annoying again... Ptero growls as it tries once again, finally getting the lid off bashing its hand on the stove, flinching at the pain and the quiet sound of glass breaking.]

"fuck."

[Growling abyss dumps the sauce into the pot using the knife to stir it in, fuck thats going to leave some cracks. It reaches over and grabs the pan shoveling the meat into the pot as well, giving that a quick stir too before looking over at Chip confused.]

"What the shell is aloe? Some sort of vegetable?"

[flour-and-jam]

‘ Aloe? It’s like, this thing that comes in a dispenser like soap- it makes things like burns sting way less. I don’t imagine sticking your entire hand on that kettle was- pleasant. It’s labeled- somewhere in there, ‘

Chip decides not to go down the ‘how long it’s been’ discussion any further. Honestly? Thinking about time in general made him feel off. Thinking about it to much puts him down a really weird rabbit hole which is hard to get out of once your in- especially all the times this passed since-

Chip would prefer keeping up his streak of having good days. Hes about to beat his record. Focus Chip. Be civil. You CANT start spiraling out of control right now. Sure, he’s pretty certain abyss won’t kill him. But weakness isn’t ideal either, a stranger is a stranger. Even if that stranger is a freak.

He either doesn’t notice the quiet cracking or glass or doesn’t comment on it. The fingers of his free hand tap on the cool surface of the island, a little antsy, just in general. Obscured by the counter, his tail flicks.

‘ I think putting cold water on it also helps- or maybe just holding a cold water bottle for you, it’s in the fridge, I won’t miss it. ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero looks at Chip amazed. This had to be a joke. Stuff that stopped pain was just something people made up for stories right?]

"Wait, stuff like that exists? You arent pulling my fin right?"

[Ptero turns the stove off, leaving the pot alone to cool. It doesnt feel like burning its mouth today.]

[flour-and-jam]

“ why would I? The humans invented and stockpiled a bunch of weird crap before they up and abandoned us. Like hand sanitizer.. anti septic.. and imitation crab? They were bizarre-“

In all honestly Chip has only heard about intimation crab. He’s never tasted it and honestly he doesn’t think it exists. White mean which tastes like crab (…not that Chip tasted crab often. crab was the luxury fought over down here), absurd!

He notes abyss turning the stove off. He’s just come to the realization he never caught it’s name, but he felt it was a bit to far in the conversation to ask, good job Chip.

“ it should be ok the top self, I think, green packaging? About big as a milk carton, like, seven and a half inches-“

It’s a bit of a pain to reach up into those fridges, as they were human sized. Chip mostly put things he didn’t need to often up there, constantly being up and down on his tippy toes killed his feet.

…

Maybe he should offer a stool, as abyss is a bit…lacking in the height department. He didn’t really have a stool due to lack of need but perhaps some boxes he could hunt down could server a good replacement-?

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero looks up over to the fridge, cursing its short stature. Its a pain for abyss to deal with things that are toon sized, let alone human sized. It glances over to the counter next to the fridge, it could scramble up to the top of it and climb the fridge afterwards... But honestly Ptero just wants to eat and sleep, abysses stomach clawing at itself. Not worth the energy.]

"...Ill be fin without it. It doesnt even hurt that badly, plus you reel-y think i can reach that Ship?"

[flour-and-jam]

As much as Chip hates letting someone hurt, he decides not to push it. It’s not like he can walk over to the fishbowl’s side of the kitchen and pick abyss up like it’s a bag of potatoes, well, maybe he could if he put his mind to it, but Chip honestly would prefer keeping his shins, and his arms, and his skin in general.

‘ if you insist-‘

He figures not holding it up anymore will get abyss out of the kitchen faster, and the faster than happens, the faster he can lay down.

‘ Though, good point- I have to be on the very tips of my toes to get up there. ‘

He straightens up, setting the knife down on the island counter, though he keeps his hand close by it, if he were to need it. He doubts he will, but keeping it close is reassuring.

‘ I’m assuming your gonna need something to put that in- I’ve got pretty big ziplock bags in that drawer to your right- the middle one, the ones with the red lines near the zipper are the biggest ones-‘

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero gives chip a large smile, large sharp teeth shining and somehow not noticing the slime slowly dripping from abysses cracked cheek and grabs the kettle and placing it on the stove to boil. It turns down the heat for the pot, not wanting the vegetables burning.]

"Thanks chum! Cant believe i forgot the water! Im usually a lot better at this. Well more recently any-waves!"

[Abyss tenses up for a second when chip mentioned 'missing' things but quickly relaxes when he mentions that hes not mad.]

"...Thanks."

[It looks a bit confused at chips forgiveness, it was stealing but he just cares that its not starving? Abyss... doesnt understand... It forces a cheerful look onto its face.]

"Yeah dont worry Ship i do make shore to clean up after my-shell-f! Otherwise thered be... more stains. Trust me ichor is a bitch to get out when it drys, stains anything if left alone for too long!"

[flour-and-jam]

Yeah, ichor is a bitch to get out just about anything. Chip knows from personal experience. He nods in agreement.

A particularly nasty pebble encounter basically ruined his scarf. Turns out yarn and ichor are very hard to separate. After many failed attempts he ended up giving up and letting…. Someone else have it.

‘ it might be stress, it makes you all confuzzled and turned around. I’ve been stressed out and put the species in the fridge and mayonnaise in the spice rack, ‘

He leans a bit on the island, snickering at his own words, finally taking his gaze off Ptero and on his hand for a moment. He doubts it is going to try and hurt him in the middle of cooking. Still, he keeps the knife in his hands, though not pointed at anything.

‘- if you’re coming up here and using my stuff I don’t imagine you got a lot down there. Especially not a lot to eat.‘

… why abyss would choose to live down there is beyond chip, but he chooses not to judge others life choices. If ptero wanted to steal and lurk in a vents like a rat then so be it.

‘ … I don’t blame you for that. I’d rather people survive… one way or another, than not. I was honestly more upset because your existence kinda..surprised me, usually people don’t show up in your kitchen carrying their own… food.’

He gestures to the food abyss is making with the knife loosely.

‘ … how long has this gone on? The whole you sneaking in thing- again, I’m not mad- I just like answers-‘

Chip feels he should remind Ptero that. The fact he didn’t have a clue about any of this was quite impressive in his opinion.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero cackles loudly, clearly amused by chips mess up. It looks back to the kettle, placing its entire hand on the side of it and quickly pulling it back not bothered by any burns it got. Somehow. Abyss turns the burner under the kettle and pours the water into the pot, turning the temperature back up and placing the lid onto it. It turns back to chip, it kind of likes this strange strawberry, doesnt try to immediately hurt it or get rid of it. Still something doesnt sit right with abyss, surely he just wants something from abyss then. Right?]

"To your kitchen?"

[Ptero tilts its head, it doesnt really know how long its been going to this kitchen. Abyss doesnt really have much of a way to tell very often.]

"I want to say a bit more then a year? Im just not too shore chum never been good with time, most clocks ran out of battery or are just straight up destroyed down there."

[Ptero starts picking at its cheek again, still somehow not noticing itself bleeding. Abyss feels tired... it can feel hunger clawing at its insides... no stop that. Abyss can wait, remember to have some manners Ptero! Come on! Just... talk! Yeah keep talking thatll keep its mind off of... things!]

"I mean i found an old computer in one of the warehouses that works somewhat but i highly doubt its 2009! That would mean ive been around for over 20 years! Thats got to be impossible right! Me! Fucking alive for over 20 years!"

[Ptero just laughs hysterically, yeah right like it would ever be around for more then 10 year.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip winces as abyss casually sticks its hands on the side of the kettle. He’s casually stuck his wrists on the burner of the stove a few times but by ichor itself, that’s gotta hurt like hell. Oh yeah- his mistake.

‘ My kitchen- See? Stress messes you up! I guess I’m still frazzled by the dinner crowd, very demanding people I tell you. ‘

… and definitely not because there’s a stranger standing in a kitchen making fucking curry. Yeah. That’s definitely the case.

In all honestly? Chip had clue how long it had been either- at least how long it’s been since the humans abandoned them. He had tried to keep track of the days when all the clocks failed, but eventually everything blurred together into one big long moment broken up by moments of unconscious. He’s given up at this point.

‘ … 20 years? That seems impossible-! it’s probably been five years at worst! What was it? The 90s last time I checked- if it really was 20 years we’d be in the 2000s.

It was hard to imagine the time being anything BUT the 90s. In his head the 2000s meant flying cars and big fancy robots. None of that existed down here.

…

That burn that’s gonna rear its ugly head later bothers him. He gestures to the fridge.

‘ you know- if you need anything- water, aloe, I don’t mind you taking it from the fridge. Take what you need really-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero walks over to its bag and reaches back into it, pulling out a jar full of something kind of orange, probably a sauce. Abysses hands stings slightly as abyss tightens abysses grip on the jar, not wanting to drop the jar as abyss sometimes does and especially not when abyss has eyes on abyss. It cant show anymore weakness.]

"Exactly! You get it! But... the 90s? Huh, i have been down there longer then i thought!"

[A glimmer of fear flashes onto Pteros face for a moment before returning to its usual cheerful although tired look. What does he mean by the 90s... How... How long has abyss been down there? Its only been like 3 years at most right? Dont let your worries show. He could use them, you cant trust anyone you know what happened before. It walks over to the stove once again, putting the jar down carefully as it opens the pot, using its knife to check if they were all cooked through. Happy with the results, abyss grabs the jar again and tries to open it, failing a few times. Damn its hand is being annoying again... Ptero growls as it tries once again, finally getting the lid off bashing its hand on the stove, flinching at the pain and the quiet sound of glass breaking.]

"fuck."

[Growling abyss dumps the sauce into the pot using the knife to stir it in, fuck thats going to leave some cracks. It reaches over and grabs the pan shoveling the meat into the pot as well, giving that a quick stir too before looking over at Chip confused.]

"What the shell is aloe? Some sort of vegetable?"

[flour-and-jam]

‘ Aloe? It’s like, this thing that comes in a dispenser like soap- it makes things like burns sting way less. I don’t imagine sticking your entire hand on that kettle was- pleasant. It’s labeled- somewhere in there, ‘

Chip decides not to go down the ‘how long it’s been’ discussion any further. Honestly? Thinking about time in general made him feel off. Thinking about it to much puts him down a really weird rabbit hole which is hard to get out of once your in- especially all the times this passed since-

Chip would prefer keeping up his streak of having good days. Hes about to beat his record. Focus Chip. Be civil. You CANT start spiraling out of control right now. Sure, he’s pretty certain abyss won’t kill him. But weakness isn’t ideal either, a stranger is a stranger. Even if that stranger is a freak.

He either doesn’t notice the quiet cracking or glass or doesn’t comment on it. The fingers of his free hand tap on the cool surface of the island, a little antsy, just in general. Obscured by the counter, his tail flicks.

‘ I think putting cold water on it also helps- or maybe just holding a cold water bottle for you, it’s in the fridge, I won’t miss it. ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero looks at Chip amazed. This had to be a joke. Stuff that stopped pain was just something people made up for stories right?]

"Wait, stuff like that exists? You arent pulling my fin right?"

[Ptero turns the stove off, leaving the pot alone to cool. It doesnt feel like burning its mouth today.]

[flour-and-jam]

“ why would I? The humans invented and stockpiled a bunch of weird crap before they up and abandoned us. Like hand sanitizer.. anti septic.. and imitation crab? They were bizarre-“

In all honestly Chip has only heard about intimation crab. He’s never tasted it and honestly he doesn’t think it exists. White mean which tastes like crab (…not that Chip tasted crab often. crab was the luxury fought over down here), absurd!

He notes abyss turning the stove off. He’s just come to the realization he never caught it’s name, but he felt it was a bit to far in the conversation to ask, good job Chip.

“ it should be ok the top self, I think, green packaging? About big as a milk carton, like, seven and a half inches-“

It’s a bit of a pain to reach up into those fridges, as they were human sized. Chip mostly put things he didn’t need to often up there, constantly being up and down on his tippy toes killed his feet.

…

Maybe he should offer a stool, as abyss is a bit…lacking in the height department. He didn’t really have a stool due to lack of need but perhaps some boxes he could hunt down could server a good replacement-?

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero gives chip a large smile, large sharp teeth shining and somehow not noticing the slime slowly dripping from abysses cracked cheek and grabs the kettle and placing it on the stove to boil. It turns down the heat for the pot, not wanting the vegetables burning.]

"Thanks chum! Cant believe i forgot the water! Im usually a lot better at this. Well more recently any-waves!"

[Abyss tenses up for a second when chip mentioned 'missing' things but quickly relaxes when he mentions that hes not mad.]

"...Thanks."

[It looks a bit confused at chips forgiveness, it was stealing but he just cares that its not starving? Abyss... doesnt understand... It forces a cheerful look onto its face.]

"Yeah dont worry Ship i do make shore to clean up after my-shell-f! Otherwise thered be... more stains. Trust me ichor is a bitch to get out when it drys, stains anything if left alone for too long!"

[flour-and-jam]

Yeah, ichor is a bitch to get out just about anything. Chip knows from personal experience. He nods in agreement.

A particularly nasty pebble encounter basically ruined his scarf. Turns out yarn and ichor are very hard to separate. After many failed attempts he ended up giving up and letting…. Someone else have it.

‘ it might be stress, it makes you all confuzzled and turned around. I’ve been stressed out and put the species in the fridge and mayonnaise in the spice rack, ‘

He leans a bit on the island, snickering at his own words, finally taking his gaze off Ptero and on his hand for a moment. He doubts it is going to try and hurt him in the middle of cooking. Still, he keeps the knife in his hands, though not pointed at anything.

‘- if you’re coming up here and using my stuff I don’t imagine you got a lot down there. Especially not a lot to eat.‘

… why abyss would choose to live down there is beyond chip, but he chooses not to judge others life choices. If ptero wanted to steal and lurk in a vents like a rat then so be it.

‘ … I don’t blame you for that. I’d rather people survive… one way or another, than not. I was honestly more upset because your existence kinda..surprised me, usually people don’t show up in your kitchen carrying their own… food.’

He gestures to the food abyss is making with the knife loosely.

‘ … how long has this gone on? The whole you sneaking in thing- again, I’m not mad- I just like answers-‘

Chip feels he should remind Ptero that. The fact he didn’t have a clue about any of this was quite impressive in his opinion.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero cackles loudly, clearly amused by chips mess up. It looks back to the kettle, placing its entire hand on the side of it and quickly pulling it back not bothered by any burns it got. Somehow. Abyss turns the burner under the kettle and pours the water into the pot, turning the temperature back up and placing the lid onto it. It turns back to chip, it kind of likes this strange strawberry, doesnt try to immediately hurt it or get rid of it. Still something doesnt sit right with abyss, surely he just wants something from abyss then. Right?]

"To your kitchen?"

[Ptero tilts its head, it doesnt really know how long its been going to this kitchen. Abyss doesnt really have much of a way to tell very often.]

"I want to say a bit more then a year? Im just not too shore chum never been good with time, most clocks ran out of battery or are just straight up destroyed down there."

[Ptero starts picking at its cheek again, still somehow not noticing itself bleeding. Abyss feels tired... it can feel hunger clawing at its insides... no stop that. Abyss can wait, remember to have some manners Ptero! Come on! Just... talk! Yeah keep talking thatll keep its mind off of... things!]

"I mean i found an old computer in one of the warehouses that works somewhat but i highly doubt its 2009! That would mean ive been around for over 20 years! Thats got to be impossible right! Me! Fucking alive for over 20 years!"

[Ptero just laughs hysterically, yeah right like it would ever be around for more then 10 year.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip winces as abyss casually sticks its hands on the side of the kettle. He’s casually stuck his wrists on the burner of the stove a few times but by ichor itself, that’s gotta hurt like hell. Oh yeah- his mistake.

‘ My kitchen- See? Stress messes you up! I guess I’m still frazzled by the dinner crowd, very demanding people I tell you. ‘

… and definitely not because there’s a stranger standing in a kitchen making fucking curry. Yeah. That’s definitely the case.

In all honestly? Chip had clue how long it had been either- at least how long it’s been since the humans abandoned them. He had tried to keep track of the days when all the clocks failed, but eventually everything blurred together into one big long moment broken up by moments of unconscious. He’s given up at this point.

‘ … 20 years? That seems impossible-! it’s probably been five years at worst! What was it? The 90s last time I checked- if it really was 20 years we’d be in the 2000s.

It was hard to imagine the time being anything BUT the 90s. In his head the 2000s meant flying cars and big fancy robots. None of that existed down here.

…

That burn that’s gonna rear its ugly head later bothers him. He gestures to the fridge.

‘ you know- if you need anything- water, aloe, I don’t mind you taking it from the fridge. Take what you need really-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero walks over to its bag and reaches back into it, pulling out a jar full of something kind of orange, probably a sauce. Abysses hands stings slightly as abyss tightens abysses grip on the jar, not wanting to drop the jar as abyss sometimes does and especially not when abyss has eyes on abyss. It cant show anymore weakness.]

"Exactly! You get it! But... the 90s? Huh, i have been down there longer then i thought!"

[A glimmer of fear flashes onto Pteros face for a moment before returning to its usual cheerful although tired look. What does he mean by the 90s... How... How long has abyss been down there? Its only been like 3 years at most right? Dont let your worries show. He could use them, you cant trust anyone you know what happened before. It walks over to the stove once again, putting the jar down carefully as it opens the pot, using its knife to check if they were all cooked through. Happy with the results, abyss grabs the jar again and tries to open it, failing a few times. Damn its hand is being annoying again... Ptero growls as it tries once again, finally getting the lid off bashing its hand on the stove, flinching at the pain and the quiet sound of glass breaking.]

"fuck."

[Growling abyss dumps the sauce into the pot using the knife to stir it in, fuck thats going to leave some cracks. It reaches over and grabs the pan shoveling the meat into the pot as well, giving that a quick stir too before looking over at Chip confused.]

"What the shell is aloe? Some sort of vegetable?"

[flour-and-jam]

‘ Aloe? It’s like, this thing that comes in a dispenser like soap- it makes things like burns sting way less. I don’t imagine sticking your entire hand on that kettle was- pleasant. It’s labeled- somewhere in there, ‘

Chip decides not to go down the ‘how long it’s been’ discussion any further. Honestly? Thinking about time in general made him feel off. Thinking about it to much puts him down a really weird rabbit hole which is hard to get out of once your in- especially all the times this passed since-

Chip would prefer keeping up his streak of having good days. Hes about to beat his record. Focus Chip. Be civil. You CANT start spiraling out of control right now. Sure, he’s pretty certain abyss won’t kill him. But weakness isn’t ideal either, a stranger is a stranger. Even if that stranger is a freak.

He either doesn’t notice the quiet cracking or glass or doesn’t comment on it. The fingers of his free hand tap on the cool surface of the island, a little antsy, just in general. Obscured by the counter, his tail flicks.

‘ I think putting cold water on it also helps- or maybe just holding a cold water bottle for you, it’s in the fridge, I won’t miss it. ‘

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero gives chip a large smile, large sharp teeth shining and somehow not noticing the slime slowly dripping from abysses cracked cheek and grabs the kettle and placing it on the stove to boil. It turns down the heat for the pot, not wanting the vegetables burning.]

"Thanks chum! Cant believe i forgot the water! Im usually a lot better at this. Well more recently any-waves!"

[Abyss tenses up for a second when chip mentioned 'missing' things but quickly relaxes when he mentions that hes not mad.]

"...Thanks."

[It looks a bit confused at chips forgiveness, it was stealing but he just cares that its not starving? Abyss... doesnt understand... It forces a cheerful look onto its face.]

"Yeah dont worry Ship i do make shore to clean up after my-shell-f! Otherwise thered be... more stains. Trust me ichor is a bitch to get out when it drys, stains anything if left alone for too long!"

[flour-and-jam]

Yeah, ichor is a bitch to get out just about anything. Chip knows from personal experience. He nods in agreement.

A particularly nasty pebble encounter basically ruined his scarf. Turns out yarn and ichor are very hard to separate. After many failed attempts he ended up giving up and letting…. Someone else have it.

‘ it might be stress, it makes you all confuzzled and turned around. I’ve been stressed out and put the species in the fridge and mayonnaise in the spice rack, ‘

He leans a bit on the island, snickering at his own words, finally taking his gaze off Ptero and on his hand for a moment. He doubts it is going to try and hurt him in the middle of cooking. Still, he keeps the knife in his hands, though not pointed at anything.

‘- if you’re coming up here and using my stuff I don’t imagine you got a lot down there. Especially not a lot to eat.‘

… why abyss would choose to live down there is beyond chip, but he chooses not to judge others life choices. If ptero wanted to steal and lurk in a vents like a rat then so be it.

‘ … I don’t blame you for that. I’d rather people survive… one way or another, than not. I was honestly more upset because your existence kinda..surprised me, usually people don’t show up in your kitchen carrying their own… food.’

He gestures to the food abyss is making with the knife loosely.

‘ … how long has this gone on? The whole you sneaking in thing- again, I’m not mad- I just like answers-‘

Chip feels he should remind Ptero that. The fact he didn’t have a clue about any of this was quite impressive in his opinion.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero cackles loudly, clearly amused by chips mess up. It looks back to the kettle, placing its entire hand on the side of it and quickly pulling it back not bothered by any burns it got. Somehow. Abyss turns the burner under the kettle and pours the water into the pot, turning the temperature back up and placing the lid onto it. It turns back to chip, it kind of likes this strange strawberry, doesnt try to immediately hurt it or get rid of it. Still something doesnt sit right with abyss, surely he just wants something from abyss then. Right?]

"To your kitchen?"

[Ptero tilts its head, it doesnt really know how long its been going to this kitchen. Abyss doesnt really have much of a way to tell very often.]

"I want to say a bit more then a year? Im just not too shore chum never been good with time, most clocks ran out of battery or are just straight up destroyed down there."

[Ptero starts picking at its cheek again, still somehow not noticing itself bleeding. Abyss feels tired... it can feel hunger clawing at its insides... no stop that. Abyss can wait, remember to have some manners Ptero! Come on! Just... talk! Yeah keep talking thatll keep its mind off of... things!]

"I mean i found an old computer in one of the warehouses that works somewhat but i highly doubt its 2009! That would mean ive been around for over 20 years! Thats got to be impossible right! Me! Fucking alive for over 20 years!"

[Ptero just laughs hysterically, yeah right like it would ever be around for more then 10 year.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip winces as abyss casually sticks its hands on the side of the kettle. He’s casually stuck his wrists on the burner of the stove a few times but by ichor itself, that’s gotta hurt like hell. Oh yeah- his mistake.

‘ My kitchen- See? Stress messes you up! I guess I’m still frazzled by the dinner crowd, very demanding people I tell you. ‘

… and definitely not because there’s a stranger standing in a kitchen making fucking curry. Yeah. That’s definitely the case.

In all honestly? Chip had clue how long it had been either- at least how long it’s been since the humans abandoned them. He had tried to keep track of the days when all the clocks failed, but eventually everything blurred together into one big long moment broken up by moments of unconscious. He’s given up at this point.

‘ … 20 years? That seems impossible-! it’s probably been five years at worst! What was it? The 90s last time I checked- if it really was 20 years we’d be in the 2000s.

It was hard to imagine the time being anything BUT the 90s. In his head the 2000s meant flying cars and big fancy robots. None of that existed down here.

…

That burn that’s gonna rear its ugly head later bothers him. He gestures to the fridge.

‘ you know- if you need anything- water, aloe, I don’t mind you taking it from the fridge. Take what you need really-‘

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero gives chip a large smile, large sharp teeth shining and somehow not noticing the slime slowly dripping from abysses cracked cheek and grabs the kettle and placing it on the stove to boil. It turns down the heat for the pot, not wanting the vegetables burning.]

"Thanks chum! Cant believe i forgot the water! Im usually a lot better at this. Well more recently any-waves!"

[Abyss tenses up for a second when chip mentioned 'missing' things but quickly relaxes when he mentions that hes not mad.]

"...Thanks."

[It looks a bit confused at chips forgiveness, it was stealing but he just cares that its not starving? Abyss... doesnt understand... It forces a cheerful look onto its face.]

"Yeah dont worry Ship i do make shore to clean up after my-shell-f! Otherwise thered be... more stains. Trust me ichor is a bitch to get out when it drys, stains anything if left alone for too long!"

[flour-and-jam]

Yeah, ichor is a bitch to get out just about anything. Chip knows from personal experience. He nods in agreement.

A particularly nasty pebble encounter basically ruined his scarf. Turns out yarn and ichor are very hard to separate. After many failed attempts he ended up giving up and letting…. Someone else have it.

‘ it might be stress, it makes you all confuzzled and turned around. I’ve been stressed out and put the species in the fridge and mayonnaise in the spice rack, ‘

He leans a bit on the island, snickering at his own words, finally taking his gaze off Ptero and on his hand for a moment. He doubts it is going to try and hurt him in the middle of cooking. Still, he keeps the knife in his hands, though not pointed at anything.

‘- if you’re coming up here and using my stuff I don’t imagine you got a lot down there. Especially not a lot to eat.‘

… why abyss would choose to live down there is beyond chip, but he chooses not to judge others life choices. If ptero wanted to steal and lurk in a vents like a rat then so be it.

‘ … I don’t blame you for that. I’d rather people survive… one way or another, than not. I was honestly more upset because your existence kinda..surprised me, usually people don’t show up in your kitchen carrying their own… food.’

He gestures to the food abyss is making with the knife loosely.

‘ … how long has this gone on? The whole you sneaking in thing- again, I’m not mad- I just like answers-‘

Chip feels he should remind Ptero that. The fact he didn’t have a clue about any of this was quite impressive in his opinion.

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero scoffs, rolling its eye at the vent dweller cannibal comment but theres a flicker of amusement in its eye showing its not all that bothered. Abyss begins to pick at abysses cracks on abysses cheek again absentmindedly.]

"I have manners you know, and its rather rude to attack first when theres no good reason too. Besides i doubt i would be able to eat both you and this unpolite intruder before one of you rots."

[It chuckles darkly, grabbing a chunk of meat and tossing it in its mouth, barely chewing it.]

"pretty good. But yeah ive got no reason to harm you let alone eat you chum!"

[Ptero grabs a few more chunks slowly snacking on them while abyss waits for the kettle to be filled, thinking about how to explain what its like for abyss. far better then before it would rather die over and over then ever go back to what it was like with blood]

"What its like down there? ...Whale its rough at times, twisteds can be reel hard to deal with the first while but you learn pretty quick, if you dont you end up dead after all! Food can be scarce at best but you also learn how to deal with that quickly... It can be pretty peaceful though, theres so many places to explore! Like theres just a bunch of books and stuff lying around! Id never seen so much stuff before i ended up roaming those floors..."

[Ptero slowly cuts abysself off, looking away from Chip. It hates thinking about the past. Nothing good comes from it. it just wants to forget everything but if it does itll forget what little memories it has of its friends, its family... it cant lose more then it already has. but is it worth still having the memories of him? she said she loved abyss that abyss was her favorite that she was doing this because of her love... It keeps picking at the cracks, golden slime beginning to drip out of them.]

[flour-and-jam]

Chip seems to get the memo that this fishbowl was not the most stable of all people. Picking at the cracks probably ain’t a good idea- he’s not exactly sure what the golden slime is, he assumes it must be abyss’ equivalent to ichor, which ain’t that great to loose. He decides not to voice it and potentially set abyss off.

…

it always also reassuring things are likely not going to get dicey enough for violence to be needed. He lowers the knife slightly.

Chip figures steering the conversation in a different, light hearted direction would be better. Once the kettle is filled he places it back on the island.

‘ … ah, makes sense… ‘

‘ So I’m assuming your the reason my utensils and smaller ingredients have been going missing. It’s fine if that’s the case. I don’t think you should go hungry. ‘

He smiles a bit, trying to be friendly.

‘ … just, wipe stuff down when your done, okay? ‘

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero grabs the pot and pan and places them on the stove turning it on, walking back to grab the food it prepared placing the meat on the pan and the vegetables in the pot one by one letting each one cook enough before adding the next. Abyss glances back at the sprout, Chip, mentally facepalming. It knew his name started with a C, it really needs to write this stuff down instead of overhearing shit then forgetting an hour later.]

"Chip huh? Maybe i shoal-d call you Ship instead!"

[Ptero lets out a slightly forced laugh, loud and startling but abyss sounds tired.]

"Im just making some curry, simple, warm and filling, what more could i ask for these days. But yeah of course i prepare my food, i like my meat cooked personally but you cant always afford that when you live like i do Ship."

[Ptero turns the burner under the pan off, the meat cooked enough for it, moving to the pot before grumbling. Abyss forgot the fucking water. It grabs a kettle and places it on the island, looking over to Chip]

"Hey chum you mind filling that with water?"

[flour-and-jam]

“ I guess you can- I have another Finn friend who calls me Twig, so it’s welcome.”

Chips a bit unsettled about how forced the laugh is, how tired Ptero sounds. He doesn’t voice that concern though. Maybe he can convince abyss to take a water with it or something.

“ didn’t think a vent dweller cannibal would be all that civilized. I am quite glad I’m wrong. I half expected to have a few chunks taken out of me by now. “

Thankfully there is a sink on Chip’s side. He turns the faucet and opens the top of the kettle, pouring lukewarm water into it. It’s going to take a second to fill.

“ … what’s it like down there? I’m assuming you probably live on the lower floors. I haven’t been down there in awhile. What’s it like? “

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero relaxes slightly but is still wary of him, keeping its eye on him. Abyss just wants to make abysself some food then leave.]

"Ok. Ok I... i can do that. I... can you get a pot n pan then if you actually mean your words."

[It just watches the sprout, not moving except for the occasional twitch of its smile.]

[flour-and-jam]

Pots and pans. Chip can do that. He keeps the pots and pans where he keeps the stuff for the stove, which is thankfully on his side of the kitchen.

He slowly steps over to the stove and oven, keeping his gaze on Ptero. Hes gonna need to look at the pans and pots. But that means looking away from abyss. He is not going to do that. He doesn’t have any evidence it won’t throw the knife in its hand directly at him the second he turns his back.

So he just lead over slightly, blindly grabbing the first pot he could get his hands on. It was a small one. Not that Chip was gonna be giving abyss a big one- he could easily dodge a small pan if things go south.

… oh yeah- abyss needs a pot as well. Is it making some kind of stew- curry maybe?

He grabs a pot- a bit bigger than the pan, perhaps he’s being generous, approaching the island and putting the pot and pan down. If there’s a god out of there he hopes that he isn’t beat to death with the pan or pot,

The food can be a conversation starter. Eases the tension.

‘ … So, the names Chip- and what are making exactly? I’ve never seen a cannibal exactly prepare food before. ‘

He sounds to hesitant to even be speaking.

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero stares at the sprout, clearly not fully believing his words. He could just throw away its food! But itll give him a chance, trying to slow its breathing.]

"You... You arent going to throw it away and then krill me when my guard is dropped. I wont let you."

[Ptero slowly takes some steps back trying to make it not noticeable to the sprout. If things go south abyss can just grab abysses stuff and run, and if it comes down to it abyss can and will tear the sprout limb from limb. It refuses to starve again. Staring at the other toon, hunger and fear in abysses eye, a loud grumble comes from abyss. Shit. Sure abyss hadnt eaten for a few days but abyss didnt think abyss was THAT hungry...]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I am not going to do that- ‘

Chip insists. Hes honestly just trying to hold himself steady. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice the small steps back Ptero takes. He’s not above violence- but he doesn’t know what abyss is capable of or how good it is in a fight, and he’d rather not find out.

There is no way in hell he’s dropping the knife though. He is not that stupid to leave himself unarmed. It’s scared, and hungry. In chip’s opinion people are their most dangerous when they’re scared.

He gestures to the island counter between the two.

‘ … you can stay over there, and I’ll stay over here, okay? Neither of us have to get hurt- because I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think you want to hurt me either. ‘

Chip feels like he’s just rambling. He honestly just wants this thing out of his kitchen.

‘ … look- I can get you the stuff you need and on my side and once your done you can be on your merry way-‘

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero freezes, theres someone here?! It turns to face the other toon, a sprout it had thought would have been gone by now, its breath speeding back up. Fuck. Abyss tries to seen not bothered and cheerful but abysses eye seems foggy like it was barely there. It just looks at the sprout for a while, its mind racing. there shouldnt be anyone here! Abyss could just get rid of the sprout but that would lead to more issues potently cutting off abysses main food source for the past year. It cant lose its food it refuses to starve!]

"Whale h-hey there chum! Fancy sea-ing you here! Im just..."

[Abyss slowly cuts abysself off, glancing back at abysses food for a moment before looking back at the sprout, what if this toon takes it! No surely it wouldnt be that cruel right? Blood was you know she was staving you until you were nearly dead then feeding you bits of your friends you miss them so much why did he do this to you? Ptero growls, scratching at its shattered eye and the cracks around it, it cant think of her! Hes not here anymore! Ptero made sure of that! Did you really get rid of her? you can feel his eyes watching you and his hands smashing you to pieces.. is she really dead?]

[flour-and-jam]

‘ I’m not mad- ‘

Chip insists, lowering the knife after a minute, holding his other hand up to show he’s not exactly armed to the teeth. Why would he be? Sure, cannibalism ain’t the best but it’s not a crime to eat. It doesn’t make any attempt to move closer or of away, remaining fixed in place. Mostly because the last thing he wants is to be lashed out against. He notes that it looks between him and the food, sighing.

‘ … I’m not going to take it. I- don’t fancy that type of diet, in all honesty.

There is a moment of silence, before Chip continues.

‘ … how about we all just breathe? Nobody is going to hurt the other- let’s establish that- I’m not going to hurt you if I can help it and I certainly hope you aren’t going to hurt me. We are both going to be fine-‘

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero opens the fridge grabbing multiple vegetables before walking back over to the island and placing them next to its bag. It opens the bag pulling out... yup thats a dismembered toon in there... Pulling out an arm, probably a boxtens if the purple of it says anything. Abyss places the arm down on the counter and reaches back into the bag and pulls out a knife, looks like one that went missing a while ago, and begins to cut up the arm into messy cubes before cutting up the vegetables abyss grabbed. It looks pretty out of it like it was barely aware of what it was doing, the smile on its face twitching every now and again seeming extremely forced. Abyss finishes the vegetables and it begins to walks over to the cupboard.]

[flour-and-jam]

… so that’s where that knife Chip swore up and down vanished into thin air went. And yep, that’s dismembered toon. He has no idea where the Finn got it and honestly, he doesn’t want to know. He can’t see abyss’ expression, but he notes how it’s actions seem routine without much thought put into it.

… he honestly didn’t mind cannibalism all that much. He just would prefer it happen somewhere out of his sight. The fact it’s seeming to prepare this Boxten as a meal instead of eating it plain implies a level of civilness.

Perhaps it’s not bellow reason…

‘ hey-‘ Chip strained his voice to not try and show any doubt or weakness- that wouldn’t help him right now, but he sounded more uncertain than anything.

He sounds a bit more steady as he continues.

‘ … I’m not mad- just, explain yourself, ‘

With the knife, he gestures to the chopped up toon and the vegetables.

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[twilightzoneptero-r]

[Ptero bangs on the vent entrance again before it quickly prys the grate open and flings it to the side. Abyss dives out of the vent abyss landing hard on abysses feet making a loud echoing clink. It twitches slightly from the rough landing, its breathing seeming to slow a little, before walking over to the fridge, placing the bag on the island counter in the middle of the room, ichor flowing out onto the counter slowly. Abyss doesnt seem to notice Chip yet...]

[flour-and-jam]

After hearing the vent flung to the side, Chip turns around and has to use every ounce of will in his body not to make a sound. A Finn (well a weird looking one- but honestly all of them looked weird down here). In the vents. That’s certainly not a place where a Finn should be. The bag is what sets him off more.

First off, it was getting the counter he had just cleaned a good few minutes before this Finn showed up all dirty- secondly, Chip had concluded that this thing was probably dangerous. Nothing bleeds ichor quite like dismembered toon. Was that a little harsh? Sure. But people who come popping out of vents don’t usually have good intentions.

He decides to just keep back and watch abyss for a minute. Figure out what the hell it’s doing in his kitchen. He moves away as slowly and as quietly as he can, trying not to make any sort of noise. Hard when you can hear your heart rate beginning to pick up. He goes still once again after getting to the other side of the island. At least there’s more distance now, should anything happen.

[flour-and-jam]

[You hear clinking before a loud bang comes from the vents along with something breathing quickly]

@twilightzoneptero-r

The evening crowd had come and gone, leaving Chip by his lonesome once again. He was just doing his finale wipe down of the kitchen for the night. He was relived the voices in his had been quiet for the evening. The dinner had gone well! He caught up with a few regulars, and generally his mood was better than it was before.

When he lays the wash rag by the sink for the light, he genuinely thinks his day is going to go without any more interruptions. He passes off the clinking as just general kitchen sounds.

That was, until a loud BANG made itself known. Chip flinches, and for a second he’s back bellow Gardenview being hunted by those beasts. It’s irrational- it’s probably just a pan shifting in its place in a cupboard, no twisteds come up to the main sections of gardenview anymore. Still, Chip has to remain vigilant.

He inhaled slowly, trying to soothe his heart fluttering in his chest. The vent. It came from the vent- which was close to the oven and stove. One of his hands drifted over to the knife block, grabbing the largest and sharpest knife it could find. He lets it, even if he isn’t entirely sure if he’s just imagining a threat, it felt better to be armed.

…

Oh.

Oh that’s breathing.

Chip doesn’t move, remaining as perfectly still as he could. Things shouldn’t be breathing that fast in the vent. He remains as still and as quiet as he can, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

[flour-and-jam]

Forgot to mention but uh.... I'm also pretty sure that hear and see your thoughts so uh... try to block out any thoughts that would be deemed as intrusive or so.

-Salutations, A soul of a anon.

‘ … now that’s very comforting, I am VERY comfortable in your presence, ‘

Chip’s voice oozes with sarcasm. He slowly picks up the severed arm, wincing as a bit of ichor drips off of it.

Not wanting to look at it any longer, Chip tosses the arm in the trash- not having a good place to put it elsewhere. And perfect- there’s a bit of ichor on the floor. He can just mop that up when he gets the pigs in a blanket cooking. Speaking of which, he ought to do that.

…

‘ I’m sorry- that was mean- this is just, a lot. Developing voices in your head and having an arm thrown at you in the same day? I’ll note that- thank you. ‘

And he’s back to work. Busy as a bee it seems.