jupitergeorge:
♃
“Hot damn, a whole hundred years,” Jupiter said, looking impressed. She’d heard of long-timers like Toni, it seemed there were a few of them roaming about from North Beach, maybe even a couple OG South Beachers too. “How’s that been for you? Like - what’ve you done in a hundred years? I feel like I gotta start making a - like a long-term game plan.”
Back home, she’d been starting to make a retirement plan. A bit late at her age, but now was better than never, Jupiter and Kirk had agreed. But if you lived forever and never aged, why retire? And in the Labyrinth, the only plan to focus on was the plan for now, never for the future.
For now, Jupiter was really enjoying the way Toni talked; everything about it wasn’t just Southern, it sounded olde tyme and incredibly charming. Like talking to a museum dress-up recreationist people, or watching a TV show about turn-of-the-century USA. “Noooo it’s not blowhard, if you got something to say then say it, girl! What else you gonna do here.” She giggled. “Cultural stonefruit. I really like that. You say all the neatest things.”
Jupiter made an ‘mm-mm’ noise. “No ma’am. Maybe you mean, uh…overused?” Jupiter didn’t consider anachronism. “Groovy’s a pretty good word to overuse though!”
These goats were getting out of hand, now with Toni in the pen with them. Jupiter didn’t want to make matters worse with her air-power. She could tickle them but that would only make things worse. Sucking away their air, same. “Hey Toni! You’re earth-powered right? Can you move the earth, maybe sink them into a little basin?”
【 𓆣 】
“Well shit. I may be rounding up jus’ cause I like them big ol’ round numbers. But I trust you’re the generous sort who wont’ accuse a lady of exaggeratin’ fer outta’ some need to impress.” She rolled her shoulders. “Mostly I just done and gone with the flow sort of things. For the first half I’d disappear into the caves for the dry season and come up agin’ when I got all rained out. Can’t do that no more.”
She shook her head. Forlorn at the loss of the familiar. “Spose now tho’ I got some nice mountainsides I can lay out on. There’s some ledges I been scoping out. Prime real estate- none of that lived in tents shit fer me. I don’t want ta be interrupted while I’m napping by some mole-person that wants to collect rent. Nossir.” Toni rattled on happily now, as Jupiter had given her permission.
“Hah! Well, iffin’ you like what I say and you ain’t too bothered by my words being overused I’ll talk your ear off one of these days.” She threw her head back and laughed. Nothing but meridium felt familiar to Toni now. Each new person that came here just had a more alien dialect, more stories that felt beyond what was possible. Which was ironic considering what she was about to do.
“Well, I’m not sure ‘bout making a sinkhole. But let me see what I can go head and wrangle up.” Toni set her feet into the ground. Stance wide as she called up roots from the ground, vines. All of them sprouted from the ground and tying down the goats hooves. The herd all bleated in dismay, trying to tear themselves free from their vegitive prison. The sudden fear response too strong for the typical hunger to set in. “Haw! That’ll get ‘em. Growin’ up like weeds they are. Aw She-it. ‘Spose that means Tommy’ll want me to weed it.”
















