what in the longdark spitting-pit is that

when_spoken_to

"It doesn't seem promising," Emma admits. "Holly? Do you want to look by the river?"

inourhead

Holly has to look through their notes to find 'river'. When she's found it she shrugs.

when_spoken_to

Emma looks around. It's getting dark. "We should probably go back," she says reluctantly. "But if I don't buy anything, my parents will be suspicious. Let's stop for something quickly?"

joyful_soul

"Holly and Crystal need their charms!" Jenny points out. "Buy them bracelets!"

honestly_determined

Alli rolls her eyes. "And then get yourself something too. Otherwise your parents will still be suspicious."

when_spoken_to

Emma finds herself a new pair of gloves, since her mother had been complaining that hers were wearing out, and then they all head into a jewelry store. Shortly, Emma has two bracelets. She didn't get them in the traditional elemental colors, since Holly and Crystal haven't identified with one; she just picks Holly's in a light wood and Crystal's in a darker wood.

She offers them to the girls. "For you," she says. "Your coins, see?" She points at the charms with the blessing symbols.

inourhead

Holly puts a bracelet on each wrist, then, glancing around the marketplace:

"Mouse?"

honestly_determined

Alli looks around. "What, you want to buy a mouse?"

inourhead

"Mouse, mouse, mouse. Mouse sleep. Mouse not-see, mouse - more mice."

honestly_determined

"...Emmaaaa, translate please."

when_spoken_to

"She uses them to make herself stay awake or heal blind people or whatever, and so she needs more?" Emma tries. "The mice seemed okay when she woke me up, though, I guess it's not like... immediate mouse death."

joyful_soul

"But the cute mice!"

honestly_determined

"What, seriously, you were hiding from them earlier."

joyful_soul

"Well, now they're cute."

when_spoken_to

Emma rolls her eyes and ignores them. "We can look," she tells Holly doubtfully. "I don't know of any places that sell mice, though."

inourhead

"Mice or -" Vague gesture. "Small, eat small. Mice good but -" Vague gesture.

joyful_soul

After some searching, it's Jenny who finally locates the store with some caged gerbils in the back. "Aren't they cuuuuute," she purrs, scooping one up to cuddle it.

inourhead

Holly picks up a gerbil.

It promptly falls asleep in her hand.

She puts it back.

honestly_determined

Ali peers at it. "Cute," she says grudgingly, "but I like the mice better. These are too... fluffy."

when_spoken_to

"You're weird," Emma tells her matter-of-factly.

joyful_soul

"There is no such thing as too fluffy," Jenny tells her indignantly.

when_spoken_to

While Jenny and Alli bicker happily about the ideal fluffiness level of pets, Emma tunes them out and looks at a much more alert-seeming Holly. "You saw the gerbil, touched the gerbil, are you good now?" she asks. "Or do you want to buy one? More?"

inourhead

"Mouse not - like gerbil," says Crystal. "Mouse, gerbil -" She mimes claws and bares her teeth.

when_spoken_to

While Emma has no doubt that this is perfectly true, she doesn't have any idea how that works with Holly's- whatever it is she does. "Um," she says blankly. "Claws," she supplies the hand gesture, and "fangs. Sharp," she uses her canines to attempt to demonstrate. "So- gerbil not like mouse- gerbil good? Gerbil bad?"

inourhead