voice + action || backdated to father's day

[fervidity]

[At first, not much registers on the journal other than a long bout of nothing but the clatter of someone working on something, It's only after it stops does Kushina’s voice finally pipe up.]

--Here, what about this?

[She sounds a bit nervous and when nothing is said for too long (it’s really like ten seconds) she prompts with an impatient;]

Well? How is it?

Hmmm.... [Naruto’s voice can now be heard, humming to himself as he contemplates something.]

Yup! It’s good!

... Really?

Yeah, of course it is! There’s no way he’s not gonna like it, and even if he doesn’t for whatever reason it’d be his loss, ‘cause we’d get to keep it for ourselves y’know?

[Kushina’s laugh is softer than usual, warmer. There’s a ruffle as she pats down blond hair teasingly.]

Well then, I”ll make extra.

Yosh! [There’s a soft thump and suddenly his voice sounds louder- because now he’s leaning over the journal.] So what d’ya want me to do now?

Do you think you can preoccupy your dad and make sure he doesn’t come in here?

[There’s challenge and humor and something ELSE in her voice as she asks this, it’s always there when she’s talking to or about Naruto, in any case.]

Unless you want to stay and keep helping me... [The sentence trails off and it's obvious she's distracted with something now.]

It’ll spoil the surprise if he comes in now right? Maybe I can get him to go train with me or something.

[There’s a shuffling sound as Naruto chuckles to himself, shortly followed by the opening of a door as he calls back..]

See you later, Mom!

Wh- Hey! Just don’t forget about tonight, ya know?!

[It’s completely silent now with only one person in the house; no laughter or excited chattering over what they were doing to do today or predicting how surprised Minato was going to be later. So she turns to the journal to maybe find someone to talk to and notices it’s recording.

There’s more silence, awkward, until finally a she blurts in a fluster.]

Ah, er! Whatever you heard... you didn’t hear it, okay?

[OFF IT GOES.]

--

[1. Earlier, Kushina is seen rushing around a store, having too much in her arms and dropping a whole lot of it sometimes in her haste. She grumbles to herself and tries picking it back up, but ends up spilling more and making a whole lot of noise. This happens quite a few times throughout the store and as she's shopping--

Until she decides to use her new blue apron as a basket because who uses shopping carts?

2. Even earlier than that, she's a flash of bright red hair running through Luceti at top speed. And since she's had plenty of practice, the wings give her a higher velocity as they beat against her back.]

Comments

[paladinlost]

It was an experiment week, they were poisonous, and I had no other weapon.

[Because he was in the shower, but he won't share that part.]

[fervidity]

Not even a shoe?

[Shoes were weapon of choice with poisonous spiders!]

[paladinlost]

No shoe, no vase, no axe or knife. Otherwise, using the journal would never have crossed my mind.

[fervidity]

Maybe if you just led it outside, it wouldn't have hurt you. You don't always have to kill spiders.

[It's just easier to do 90% of the time, it's true. And poison.]

[paladinlost]

Of course not, but when they're poisonous and as large as my head I prefer not to take any chances.

1/3

[fervidity]

[fervidity]

[fervidity]

...What?

[paladinlost]

Experiment week.

[Seriously, those words explain 99% of the crazy things he's seen over the last two years.]

[fervidity]

[And they do this time as well. Her shock is replaced a frown.]

They experiment on spiders too?

[paladinlost]

I've no idea if that particular species of spiders is natural or a result of a Shift, frankly. But their... presence in the house was predicted by my journal, somehow.

[fervidity]

[A pause.]

-- Maybe not predicted well enough since they caught you in the shower.

[paladinlost]

...No, that part was also mentioned. They merely forgot to pluralize the word when they wrote it.

[fervidity]

[Anddddd Luceti never fails to surprise her.

A longer pause.]

I don't think I'll ever get used to this place.

[paladinlost]

Good. In this world, a dose of wariness and suspicion is always healthy.

[fervidity]

To watch out for those giant spiders?

[paladinlost]

For giant spiders, lava floors, memory modifications, falling moons...

[fervidity]

They're really taking these experiments too far.

[paladinlost]

And yet they sometimes decide to make them pleasant, for an unknown reason. We once had a corn maze for a few days.

[While draftees were getting infected by a zombie plague.]

[fervidity]

They shouldn't be experimenting at all. We're not... things they can just test things on. We're all people, we should have a choice.

[paladinlost]

We should. But why would they care about that, when they have every advantage possible against us?

[fervidity]

They can't be that strong. Maybe we can talk to them or something.

[And bash their faces a little.]

[paladinlost]

They contact us through the journals, every so often. And we've met a few in person. But they usually are well protected.

[fervidity]

There's always a weakness somewhere, that's what someone taught me.

[paladinlost]

The problem is finding it. That part is turning out to be trickier than I thought.