2025-02-15 - Meeting Pinky

Theo is seated on the couch in the living area, which he and Jett share. He's in a black hoodie and gray sweats. White socks on his feet.

His hand is in his hoodie pocket because it looks like he is feeding something in there. Pinky's head pokes out to eat the chocolate kiss that Theo had in his palm. His free hand goes to stroke the rabbit. "You are the cutest animal I ever did see. We need you and Spicy to have another playdate."

Yes, he's talking to himself even if technically he is also talking to the rabbit who finally comes out of the pocket it was hiding in.

Jett hasn't been home a whole lot. He's had a few days where he's crashed out in his room after a long shift or working at the forge and sometimes he only grabs a bag and heads right back out. It's the new norm. He's pushed himself. He's seen some success because of it.

Jett slept the night in his room so his usual rustle and getting in a shower was made. After he's gotten dressed, he comes out of his room to head toward the kitchen, towel wrapped around his neck still. He's in a flannel button up with long black sleeves of sweater below and black jeans with holes in the knees. His hair is still wet and doesn't look like he's put a comb through it, not that combs work well anyway with the additional feathers floating throughout.

He looks over toward the living area while he grabs out the orange juice and pours himself a glass. The solo conversation over there is a little worrying and Jett slides the juice back into the fridge before he grabs a protein bar and heads toward the living room. "You good?" he inquires because he did just hear Theo like talk to himself.

Then.

"Oh shit. One of those..." he regards the magical floof with a raised brow, all the questions going unasked but asked with that arched brow.

Theo has been doing his own thing. He's got a firmer schedule now and has always gone for work Thursday through Sunday. This means he always comes home late regardless of whether Jett was home or not. Theo and Jett are likely like two ships passing each other through the night. Likely knowing the other one exists with dirty dishes in the sink or something like that.

But today, with it being Saturday, knowing he will have to go to work soon, Theo had just gotten up with that bed head of his and everything; he is indeed relaxing on the couch with One of those. He looks up when he hears Jett. "One of those things?" At first, he doesn't get what Jett is saying.

Once Pinky is done eating the chocolate, he lifts the rabbit so Jett can get a better look if he wants. "So far, I have figured out that Pinky likes sweets and it likes to snuggle. It also doesn't like to be too far from its partner. It was a godsend that Lee and I happened to be in the same place simultaneously. Happened to be working the same wedding at the Ornamental Gardens. This poor baby was stuck in a bush."

He then does that annoying thing that some adults do with their pets, and he's doing the whole baby talk thing with Pink. Yes, Theo is smitten as he smiles at the little animal. Pinky is not as pink when Theo first found it. It looks like the pink is fading. But it's not so noticeable yet. This island is weird.

It happens. Schedules are ever changing and Jett has his own work to do now besides other things. He tries not to be too much of a burden on life here at the apartment when he is back, keeping his shit mostly organized. The odd dirty dish or two gets forgotten about when passing out on the couch.

Jett opens the wrapper on the protein bar (of late if there are groceries around the house it's less about junk food and more about real healthy shit) in a crinkling annoying fashion before he leans up against the island and gestures with the said protein bar at the nugget of fluff on Theo. "Yes, that, what you have there... the fluffness..." Jett then takes a honking bite out of the protein bar, saying around the chewing, "One wiped me out. I was road kill for a literal minute to avoid squashing it."

Then Jett's expression goes to exasperation, "You named it." His eyes roll to the heavens, since he knows what that means. He pushes over toward the couch then to get a closer look at this 'Pinky' thing, "Whose Lee?" He asks and doesn't expect that he'll ever know since there's a ton of employees at the park. He grabs a cushion on the couch with orange juice and protein bar in hand, smirking at how Theo handles the creature. "A bush huh," he regards the thing only scrunching his nose when Theo starts to make baby talk with the thing, only to laugh, "Yo, that's sending me." He grins as he chomps another piece of his protein bar out of it's wrapper and into his mouth.

"I am not sure what the official name of it is." Theo looks down at the pink fluff in his hand. "It sure does like to snuggle. That is why I have been wearing hoodies lately. If I try to let it go do its own thing, it cries at me. Not the same way when we first found it and its partner." The we he is referring to We must be him and Lee.

A brow raised because Theo was paying attention to what it was that Jett was telling him, and he winces. "Yeah, they have been popping up everywhere. I can see that happening." Shaking his head. "Glad you are okay and was not turned into roadkill. That would be sad." A finger comes to stroke the back of the rabbit. "Such a weird color." He murmurs. Looking back up at Jett, "Don't worry, I will keep it in my room with the door closed when I am gone for the day, so you won't have to worry about being roadkill in here."

Nodding a bit when Jett comments about him naming the creature. "Yeah, I guess I did. I grew up with dogs, and we named them right away. It seemed fitting to do the same with this one. I couldn't go around calling it nameless. So Pinky it is." Wait till it goes dove grey. The name Pinky will really stand out then.

"Do you want to hold it?" He doesn't push Pinky towards Jett when he comes on the couch. Or invade his space in the asking. "Oh Lee? He's one of the chefs. Just came here in November. I believe he said he worked at Chapters?" He doesn't remember as he shrugs. "Can't-miss him he has long white hair. Said his hair changed to that color after New Year's."

He doesn't always understand the slang that Jett uses and tries to understand as he says, "Is it bad that I am talking to it like it's human?"

"I'm not sure ... there would be an official name for them?" He considers the pink fluff, "So I guess I can forgive that you named it something." He looks rueful when he says that, "What are you going to do when you have to work?"

"Yeah? Have they?" He clearly hasn't kept up with the forums lately, but then he's been busy with a whole crap load of business stuff on top of everything else. "Yeah I was alright, nothing serious just a little road rash." As for it being sad he considers that with a little shrug, "Maybe." A beat, "The ones we found were like magenta." He confirms there was a duo located as well.

Jett scrunches his nose at Theo having grown up with dogs, "I hate dogs..." he spits out and it's not likely the first time he's made it clear he doesn't like dogs, "All the power to you though." As for the color that it was he asks, "Well I guess it fits."

The offer to hold it has him looking at the thing side ways, so much side eye. He shakes his head, "It's okay man. It looks comfortable where it is." Maybe he has an aversion ot big eyed cute things. "Oh yeah? If I see a guy with long white hair maybe I'll remember who it is," he nods over the hair change, "So we weren't the only ones. I guess there's boat loads of us who experienced a change. I wonder what ever happened..." He thinks, "Did you end up going back to the shipwreck?"

Jett is only using Gen Z lingo, since he was one. He rakes his fingers through his feather hair as he takes another bite of his bar. He answers Theo with a little smirk, chewing, and then once he swallows he uplifts one shoulder, "I wouldn't say 'bad' cause it's who you are; prince charming over there." He leans his head back and slouches into the cushions, relaxing for a moment and crinkling the wrapper of his protein bar to eat the last chunk of it.

There's a small shrug as Theo looks to the bunny, who looks to be nibbling at his fingers. But he's also paying attention to Jett as he talks.

"I am going to keep it in my room and close the door. I have left it with sweets, and it seems to do just fine with that. I know better than letting it have free rein of the place. I'm not rude like that." He smiles in Jett's direction. "I'm still figuring it out."

Nodding at the talk of boatloads. "Yeah, it is the norm now. At least the ones who were here before the New Year. We do get new employees constantly or tourists as it is. And some? They have not changed at all. That surprises me, but it is what it is. Random at best."

"I have not returned to the shipwreck since I went with our group last. I did take a diving lesson with Roman, Peyton, and Joshua. Roman was the instructor. So if there is another opportunity, I hope to be better prepared."

A snort at being called prince charming. He shakes his head, and another flash of teeth is seen towards Jett.

"Alright well, if it gets out, it gets out," Jett remarks with a faint shrug, "I'll try to keep the sugar and sweets where it ... may have difficulty getting it? I don't think they can fly right? Or climb?" He side eyes the fluff of pink. His hand flies up to protest the rude remark, "I didn't say you were." And then he nods, leaving it at that.

"Some still have nothing," he considers that with a scrunch of his nose, "I wonder if they feel left out. I mean, so many of us have at least something..." he crunches the wrapper in his fist and pockets it for now in his flannel button up, "Yep, seems random enough."

"Oh yeah? Roman. I met him actually," he half smirks, "Random encounter at the diner. We started exchanging notes about boards." He considers the opportunity to go down again, "I think I'll take a hard pass on that. That was a scary moment for sure."

The flash of teeth causes him to roll his eyes with a smirk in place. Then, "So other than the new pet... how's things?"

Theo makes a note in his head to lock the door to his bedroom when he leaves for the day. If the door is locked, there should be no escape. He's already running a list in his head of things he might need to get for this newfound pet. He doesn't know. It is all new to him. Having only dogs before, this rabbit, even with the pink and the funky eyes, is much smaller than any dog. Save for a toy dog. He's so busy with his thoughts that it takes him a moment to return to earth and listen to what Jett tells him. "I have not see it fly or climb. Just hop around." If he has a flying rabbit in his hands? Don't tell him. He's better off not knowing.

"Maybe the island is still waking up. What with the shared dreams and then that shipwreck? There were three ships down there. But I didn't get a good look since it looked like you were drowning, and I was trying to be helpful." He shrugged and then nodded when Jett said he would stay on land.

"Cool, cool." That comment was about knowing who Roman was. "Rowan told me I should get you to teach me how to skateboard when we had that get-together at the park."

Another shrug, "Same old. Same old. Just living the life you know?"

"That's a relief," Jett responds once Theo breaks away from his mental reprieve enough to answer him. Jett finishes up his orange juice and puts the glass on the coffee table before he sits back with his hands going into the pockets of his button up, slumping back into the cushions with his eyes half lidding.

"I was drowning," Jett confirms with a very flat tone as he side eyes Theo, "I wasn't putting on an act. That was the first time I've ever scuba dived. Roman was not surprised by the outcome." From Roman to Rowan. Jett tilts his head at the idea that Theo wanted to skateboard, "You and Josh both." His lips twist a little, then he looks ahead as he asks, "You got a board?"

"Yeah. I know," he leans his head back further so his chin is jutting out, eyes closing, "A bunch of my valentine day product moved during the weekend. I sold a lot stuff; mostly the junk with hearts on it." His eye peaks open as he looks over toward Theo, "I could really make a go at selling my stuff."

"I did not imply that you were putting on an act," Theo tells Jett Easy enough. "I was trying to help you, but you declined my help, which I can respect." He has not approached Jett with his magic ever since and has kept his distance from his roommate. "No argument here."

Looking down and petting Pinky as he listens to Jett speak. Attention is focused on the one sharing the couch with him and the alien rabbit. "I don't know if I actually want to skateboard. Rowan and I were conversing, and I complimented you on how well you were doing out there." Slight smile, "Including the dare I gave you. It was pretty great." It really was, and Theo will give praise where it is due. "So no, I do not have a board. I need to look at them. I imagine I'd have to get a really basic one if I follow through on it. Danny has me running and doing all sorts of wild things right now."

Theo laughs when he says that. "He told me if I come out every time he texts me to do so for a work out? He will turn into any animal I want him to. I saw him change into a wolf. That was so cool. I am so amazed at those who can do that. I sometimes wonder if that would happen to me. I kinda doubt it."

Shifting a little in his seat, his gaze falls back to Jett, "What is stopping you? If this weekend sale went well, you likely have a future in it."

"If you mean declining your help mid-drowning, then yeah, actually, that's fair because I wasn't thinking right at all," Jett rolls his shoulders up, "I feel like that's the definition of drowning."

The question is which is more alien in that moment? The rabbit or Jett? Jett folds his arms across his chest, resting his phone in the corner of his elbow as he idly slides it on and starts to surf through whatever; IG by the looks of it. He side glances over at Theo for the admission that Theo is undecided if he wanted to skateboard. "It's not something you should get into if you don't know if you even want to? Like it's not something you can just do over night you know? You gotta dedicate yourself to it and you recall how many times I came back here bruised up," Jett has been working on it for a whole year and he's still fails a lot, "I'm shocked I only broke a few fingers." As for what Danny has him doing, Jett looks back at his phone, flicking through things.

"Nothing really," Jett says with a smirk, "Time? Between work and the forge, I am missing my free time harrrrd." He kicks out his feet and crosses them at the ankle, while hearting some photos on IG.

"No. I get it. You don't have to explain yourself. I probably would have done the same thing if it was me." Theo tells Jett. "Hey, anytime you don't feel like you have control of a situation and water is involved? Yeah, that is drowning. I imagine it is the worst feeling in the world. Feeling trapped and not being able to feel free. That kind of stuff. I am sorry you experienced that. That is no fun."

"Well, I know I'm gonna do Ice Hockey, so I should maybe focus on that along with the running. You are right." Theo agrees with Jett. "But I might still look at the boards anyways. They do look cool to me. Lots of artistry on some of those boards." Nodding at the talk of being bruised up. "You love it. I think it gives you a freedom of sorts. I don't know. I might just be talking out of my ass or something. Almost like surfing I imagine. All I really know is how to tell stories and sing for an audience. Never really got into sports even if they look interesting." Looking down at the fingers that might have gotten injured. "I had a friend who had to wear a splint for a long time and even did physical therapy and is still having issues. I am glad to see that is not the case with you. Even if it was something tells me you'd still ride."

"If working your own business is your end game, I am certain you'll find time for it. Yeah, not having any free time is hard, especially when it's missed."

"It kind of was," Jett murmurs about it being the worst kind of feeling, "It is definitely up there on the list of worst feelings in the world. Starving is pretty bad too." With his protein bar and orange juice finished, he was slowly turning his face toward the kitchen as if contemplating if he wanted another thing to tide him over. More food is always Jett's motto.

Ice hockey nets a nod of understanding from Jett but he is not going to pry into that further either, instead, "Yeah that's a lot to learn, on top of scuba? You're taking on a bunch of new things. It's cool. I'm glad to see you broaden your interests." He nods at the matter of skateboard shopping, "If you want I could help you with that. I'd say a classic board if you're wanting to do tricks. There's other boards, like the long board, which is just better for riding distances and surfing the streets." As for the artistry on the boards he notes, "Those tend to be the expensive ones and damn sad if you scuff 'em up." He grins, "I just plastered mine with stickers." Jett fingers a feather in between his fingers, eyes flashing toward Theo, letting it go with a silent assessment. "Yeah," he agrees, "I'd still ride." And about the other meaning behind it, he nods, "I belong, you know. I fit. I can do it well and it makes me forget about everything else." He looks over toward Theo, "Probably like your singing."

"Yeah, that is my end game. I want to be in charge of my own life!" he cracks an ambitious grin, his eyes alive with the enthusiasm for it, "Losing free time will be worth it." He looks over toward Theo, "I'll never eat out of a dumpster again; I promise you that!"

"See. Nothing to worry about. You got goals, and you are seeing to them." Theo says to his roommate.

"You got a group of folks down at the skateboard park and a business you can delve into. Food in your belly and money in your pocket. What more could you want? Sounds like life is good for you. I'm happy for you, Jett. You went through trials, but it looks like you are winning in the end." A smile at the end of his words.

"You don't have to go back to the life you once had. Your future is bright and the only thing is to go up from here."

"Yeah, I mean that's more than I had last year," Jett lifts his chin up and closes his eyes as if the memory was running down his face like rain, which it wasn't, he was just soaking in the greater change that's transpired since and then he thoughtfully shakes his head, "Kind of crazy."

Jett looks over at Theo then when Theo mentions the good things. "Yeah, things are looking up for sure."

"I can't go back. I know that. I can't," Jett stubbornly repeats with more of an internal demand than anything. He side glances at Theo, "What about you? Goals? Things you're looking forward to? Did you figure out anymore about your magic? I feel like my earth magic is ... somehow ... more than it was? I don't know, I haven't figured out anything new yet but it just feels like... louder? If that makes sense?."

Theo is stroking his snuggle bunny as he listens to Jett. His attention is not divided, even if he's petting the rabbit. A glance is given to Jett, and he catches how the other closes his eyes in memory. Not interrupting Jett. Just simply listening. Not rushing in to fix things like he would try to in the past.

Theo's gaze is on Jett when Jett opens his eyes to look at him. "Just remember that when you do have a hard day. Maybe make that your mantra or something." He laughs quietly when he says that. He actually still wears the bracelet that Jett has given him. The bracelet has been its own form of a mantra for himself.

"Me? No goals. Nothing I am looking forward to at the moment. My magic has gotten stronger. I do not think the empathy part of it because I think it is as maximum as it's going to get. But my illusions. I was able to trick Peyton at the laundry mat into thinking a moldy sweater was actually a cashmere one. I was amused by it. I left the sweater on top of the washing machine after. So, whoever that sweater belonged to? Maybe they would be surprised, too."

A brow raised at the mention of Jett's magic being louder. "Do you mean stronger? Is it getting easier for you?"

"I feel fucking fantastic," he grins outwardly and inhales a deep breath, "Yeah. I will use that as a mantra or something."

"Aww man you should have taken the moldy sweater," he explains, "I could have tested it to see if I could get rid of ... it? Like the mold part. I wonder if that'd work." Jett shakes his head a little to flick out his hair and feathers, running a hand through it and raking it back, "You think the magics have a maximum? I haven't thought about it that way. That is kind of a bummer if you think about it." He fingers one of the feathers, playing with the vane. His mind travels miles away, like he was dissociating but not in a bad way.

"You should have something to look forward to," Jett inspires over toward his friend with a warm expression on his features, "Take it from me. You need something to hold onto to get through the bad, so you always want to like focus on something to look forward to. Even if it's a small thing." He nods toward the bunny, "Like that little pinky there."

"Me? Oh yeah. No, I mean louder. Like, I can hear the earth and the stones and the..." he clarifies, "like not physically hear it? It's like I can connect to the stone. It like has a hum to it, but the sound doesn't come through my ears. It's like I can feel it." He nods, "The earth magic for sure is easier. The other things? I haven't improved those at all..."

Nodding when Jett says he will use the expressions he's been using as a mantra. Theo is, again, just simply listening. It is what he does best. That is what he likes to think.

"In case you haven't noticed, you haven't been around. But I guess the next time I see something moldy, I will throw it in your room for you to investigate." Laughing as he says that. "If you can take the mold away? I imagine you might not have to do laundry as much and probably save on food." He shrugs. He can't even picture having the ability to get rid of mold. He puts up with it.

"I don't know if the magics have a maximum, but I'm just guessing. My empathy, for example, has not changed for me at all. It is still the same as when I first got here." He attempts to explain.

Glancing down at the bunny and nodding. "You think you will find one of these? I guess they are ok after their first meet-up. This is a lot of responsibility." He shakes his head as he says that.

"Wow, that is pretty cool. So you bonded with stone. That is interesting. I have not used my magic in a while." Shrugging as he says that. "Not sure I understand the purpose behind them."

Jett lofts an eyebrow at Theo's sentiments only to break into a small smirk and a soft chuckle, "At least text me to warn me if that's the case." And as for the investigation of taking the mold away off something he shrugs, "Who knows right? I haven't tried it so there's a good chance it won't work." His lips tweak a little bit, "Worth some further digging anyway."

Jett side glances at Theo again, pushing up off the couch with his phone sliding into his pocket and his steps taking him back to the kitchen - big surprise there. He starts to rummage through the cupboards until he drags out what looks like a box of cereal; cinnamon toast crunch! He grabs a bowl and makes himself up some, retrieving the milk from the fridge and dumping some in. He puts the milk back prior to grabbing up the bowl, spoon, and meandering back over toward the couch. "Yeah maybe it doesn't? Maybe it depends on how we practice with it? That would explain my earth magic for sure."

"Well I'd say one found me? I took a dive because of one, as I said earlier. I think we... decided to keep them..." Jett shrugs with a little eyeroll, "I named mine Swayze." He mixes the cereal around and shrugs, "I don't know? Are they? Where did they even come from I wonder..."

"That's one way of looking at it," Jett considers the expression of being bonded to the stone. "I use it like every day..." Jett states about the magic, "Like the earth magic. The other stuff? Yeah not... that skillful yet at them." He starts to crunch away at the cereal, stating between, "You'll figure it out."

"Sure I can do that." Not that Theo plans to do that. But if inspiration strikes Jett will get a text that he has a present waiting for him. Theo would do an illusion first just in case Jett gets grossed out seeing a moldy item in his room. "Yeah, test your magic and see what you can do." He agrees as he listens to Jett. "I mean, most of your earth magic has been to make jewelry, right? Things that you are crafting with your own hands?"

When Theo lifts his bunny, Jett will see it's going gray. "This just started. I don't know why. So maybe we don't end up with a pink rabbit but a gray one. Gonna be strange calling it Pinky. I should have picked a better name." He snorts as he says this. A roll of shoulders and a shrug. He also has no idea where the rabbits came from. "Maybe cause spring is coming? And rabbits like to bring new life with all the fucking they do? They did seem happier when they found their partner. I'm wildly guessing here. I have no answers. I am as clueless as you. I saw somewhere that one of you could keep both of them. Makes sense since yours is not here unless you are hiding it." Another glance to see if that is the case.

"I always do. I am not worried." Bringing Pinky back to his lap.

Jett snorts at Theo's response, the snort coming with a slight tug of his lips to curl up at the corners. Then he answers in the affirmative, "Right, it helps me make jewelry. It speeds up the process so much!" He extends his spoon holding hand outward into the air as if conducting music with it, "The ability is fantastic. What would take someone ages to like shape and mold by hand it takes me an hour or two to get it right with the precision I want - sometimes less depending on what it is."

He looks over toward the graying rabbit thing around a bite of cinnamon toast crunch. "Maybe? But I mean like, Pinky is kind of a name anyway. Like did you ever see that show with the two mice? Pinky and the Brain? It's like that. It doesn't have to be pink to be Pinky!" He's fully assured of that. Then he laughs at the comment of rabbits fucking and very nearly chokes on what's in his mouth, having spit some of it out because Theo just deadpanned the shit out of that sentence in a specifically Theo kind of way. Once he's regained some composure he clears his throat, giving a little pound to his chest and states, "Yeah. Swayze is with the other magic pet parent."

"I have no idea how earth magic works but I believe you." Theo looks over at his roomie. "I think it also brings you joy. Joy is always a good thing as far as I am concerned. Keeps your hands busy too."

He's still looking when Jett mentions Pinky and the Brain. "I think I might have seen some clips on YouTube?" He won't swear to it, but takes time before bed to review the apps.

Theo, being Theo, does not even know what is so funny to Jett. Sometimes he does not get the humor and shrugs. He thinks he knows and makes a comment. "Fucking is a natural act. Animals do it all the time. It makes sense that these rabbits were crying for their partners before reuniting. That is not backed up by anything but observation."

A brow raised, "Need some water? You gonna live?" Nodding at the talk of Swayze being with the other magic pet parent.

"You would have to," Jett says with an impish smirk as he considers Theo around another spoonful of cinnamon toast crunch, "Yeah, it helps."

The cartoon is nodded too around his eating of his cereal. Jett may have also watched it on youtube at some point in his scrolling endlessly on his phone; the phone has become such an addiction that he even thumbs at it now with it balanced on his leg while eating cereal - that's called multitasking, legit.

Jett snorts a little at the continued talk of fucking is a natural act, though he does it with some caution still registering in his expression. "Good theory," he states, simply.

He waves his hand at the need for water, wheezing out, "Not dying."

And shortly after his alarm on his phone goes off, which he promptly swipes at. He shovels in the remainder of his cereal as he pops back up off the couch, juggles his phone into his pants, and slurps the milk up as he goes to deposit the bowl and spoon into the sink. He gives it a quick scrub off with the rag there and the soap before he towels it off.

"We should go grab a bite on the midway after shift or something sometime and hit a few rides," he invites to Theo, making it an open ended thing with no specific time and place.

"Sure sounds good to me," Theo says, easy enough, as he rises off the couch with Pinky. "I should think about getting ready for work anyways. It was nice talking with you, Jett. Have a good rest of your day."

With his free hand, he offers a high five and then moves back down the hallway to his bedroom to put Pinky in and get himself ready for tonight's Storyteller Corner.

Jett meets the high five as he's on his way by, "Later!"

He hurries into his shoes and gathers up his skateboard and bag to head out.