The Park, Thursday Evening

[furnaceface]

It was good, sometimes, to get out and about, even beyond the usual morning jog and so on. Better still to find a place to just sit in silence, to soak in the fresh air - yes, even for Jonothon - and appreciate the... the view of open space above.

...

Okay, that last bit was a touch unnerving. But the park was still there, and Jono had some stale bagels he'd picked up from J,GoB, so he was going to just ignore whatever was going on up in the sky in favour of feeding the ducks. And the occasional flamingo.

Hey, it passed the time.

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[voiceoverdue]

What about osmingos? Did he feed those, too? Because here came one, barreling at him and squawking hello.

And behind him, a Cecil. "Foucault! Be nice!"

[furnaceface]

Jono blinked up with a start, staring at the incoming bird and sort of shoving an entire bagel at it in self-defense.

A moment later, his brain caught up with the situation.

//Foucault?// A pause. //Cecil?//

He stared at the Cecil in question for a moment before ever so subtly reaching up to pat at his neck to make sure it was still there. It didn't hurt to be cautious, okay?

[voiceoverdue]

"Jono!" Cecil beamed at him. "Hello! You're looking very bright today."

What? He'd mostly seen Jono all wrapped up before. He was bright and sparkly like this.

"Sorry about Foucault; he's never learned manners." He thumped the bird lightly on the head and got a bagel-filled, happy squawk for his troubles.

[furnaceface]

//I, what? Oh. Bright--// Satisfied that his head was still on his shoulders, Jono's hands lowered again. //Yeah, I've been trying to lose some of the leather, lately. It's summer, it's too bloody hot for that nonsense.//

Sure, Jono. That was the reason. He nodded toward the osmingo.

//... He's gotten big, hasn't he?//

[voiceoverdue]

The bird was about as tall as Cecil now, so that would be a yes.

"Right?" Cecil rolled his eyes. "He's good for company, but hard to see over when he crawls in my lap. There was this one time there was a thunderstorm, and he got all spooked. I mean, it was nothing weird, just the usual green lightning and slimy rain, but all of a sudden, I had a lap full of bird! It really made it hard to see the municipally-approved TV station."

[furnaceface]

... Only on Fandom Island would Jono only do a brief double-take at the mention of slimy rain.

//Joni does that, too,// he noted, //but she's significantly smaller.//

Okay. He was going to have to ask. He really was.

//Ah... You've grown a bit too, haven't you?//

[voiceoverdue]

"Have I?" Cecil asked. "I guess." He shrugged. "Time. What are you gonna do, right? I mean, for something that's not even real, it's pretty bossy."

[furnaceface]

//Apparently so,// Jono agreed, blinking. //You've been gone a while, then? Here it's barely been any time at all.//

You know, for something that wasn't real.

[voiceoverdue]

"Maybe? Who knows?" Because Night Vale. "Long enough. But, now ♥Carlos♥ is off trapped in that desert otherworld, and everything's pretty much settled at home, and it's just not the same, so I thought, why not come visit Fandom again?"

He smiled at Jono. "Have you been here the whole time? On the island, I mean. And feeding the birds, I guess. I don't judge anyone's lifestyle."

[furnaceface]

Desert otherworld? You know, it was completely possible that Jono had forgotten just how random Cecil's life was. He blinked, and then scratched the back of his head, and then just sort of shrugged.

//I've been on the island the entire time,// he agreed. //I only feed the birds occasionally, though. Been too busy teaching, running the music shop, attempting to get married...//

That sort of thing.

[voiceoverdue]

"Oo!" Cecil grinned and clasped his hands. "You and Doctor Lecter, whose food is to die for? You know," he said with a knowing smile, "we always knew you two were destined for each other. Do you need any help with the wedding? I'm really good at all the chants and bloodletting."

[furnaceface]

Oh, Cecil. Your willingness to help was adorable and terrifying, as always.

//Well, we had one attempt already, and I think there was more than enough bloodletting then to last us for a dozen weddings,// Jono noted, somewhere between dry and wry. //The person doing our music appears to have left the island for some undetermined amount of time, though. If you're up for it, I might tap you in to cover for him in case he's still gone?//

[voiceoverdue]

"Of course!" Cecil smiled. "Just let me know what kind of weather you want, and I'll arrange it all."

[furnaceface]

//I'll talk to Hannibal about it,// Jono replied, a smile in his eyes. //Thank you, mate. I owe you one.//

He owed him more than that, by this point. Really, now.

//So, how long've you been back?//

[voiceoverdue]

"Oh, just a few days," Cecil answered. "I love the void you have here! It's much easier for screaming into during the day."

[furnaceface]

//It's a temporary feature, I think,// Jono replied, squinting upwards. //The island has been bouncing around from world to world this summer. This is something familiar in Night Vale, is it?//

[voiceoverdue]

"Doesn't everyone have the void?" Cecil asked, a bit confused. "Well, the mostly void, partially stars? Wait - bouncing between worlds? Do I need to tie things down? Have you gone anywhere interesting?"

[furnaceface]

//Tying is probably not necessary,// Jono offered, //looking up again at the sky, and then shrugging. //But the island has been to a lot of fairly interesting places. There've been little man-eating teddy bear people, a bunch of talking animals, some... other things.//

It had been a busy summer. Jono had mostly been worried about the wedding.

[voiceoverdue]

Cecil thought about it and shrugged. "Doesn't sound all that interesting, but I guess everybody has their own story."

[furnaceface]

//I suppose they do,// Jono agreed. //I'm missing a lot. There was the restaurant at the literal end of the universe. Every day we'd get to watch all of creation explode... or something like it... and then it'd start up again by morning. I didn't spend any time in the restaurant itself, though.//

[voiceoverdue]

Cecil perked up. "That sounds terrifying! Just the sort of thing to show you just where you stand in the universe. Do you think we'll go back there?"

[furnaceface]

... Only you, Cecil. Only you.

//You'll have to ask the island that one,// Jono replied with a shrug of his shoulders. //So far we haven't hit the same place twice, but who knows how long Fandom'll be at it? We might revisit somewhere, yet.//

[voiceoverdue]

"I suppose I'll wait and see," Cecil said. "So, how have you been? How's everybody else who's still alive?"

[furnaceface]

Oh, there was a painful qualifier, right there. Jono reached a hand up, rubbed at the back of his neck, and then gathered up a small handful of bagel crumbs and started tossing them back out to the ducks.

//I've been well enough, considering my first attempt at a wedding didn't work out and mostly just ended with bodies scattered all about. I think everyone still alive is well enough. Have anyone in particular in mind, there?//

[voiceoverdue]

Well, it was silly to ask how the dead people were. They'd just tell you if they wanted you to know.

"How's Kenzi?" Cecil asked. "And Raven?"