the zest chronicles

Once Warpus had left the night prior, Lokeii had failed to find an alternative place to stay for the night, deciding to just spend the night cleaning out the rubble from the explosion and bringing it all back outside. He did so begrudgingly, strongly debating just leaving Warpus with the mess and running off to Tragedy Town. Although, he had already found himself carrying out the rubble before he even came to a decision.

It was late into the night when he finally cleared enough room to walk without worrying about stepping on something sharp. He set out his now dust-covered blanket and unsuccessfully tried to sleep, unable to rest since he had already been awake half of the night. He opted not to sleep, instead choosing to manically sweep away the small bits of debris that still remained. He felt more productive without the oppressive heat and sun, making the most out of the lack thereof while he could. When the sun finally did rise, he found himself exhausted, dozing off inside the bunker on the tattered remains of the blanket.

Warpus hadn’t strayed far from Spawn that night. Not wanting to make the trek to Piss In Ton and back, they rested at a halfway point they and Krim had made in the Nether. The outpost didn’t have the same luxury of a bed and fresh food their home did, but the preserves were fulfilling enough, and they found a few books laying around that they had been meaning to take back home and forgot to.

It was hard to keep count of how long they spent there, and eventually lost track of time, simply resting for what seemed like an appropriate amount of time.

They put off their trip back to Spawn, regretting in retrospect their offer to help Lokeii fix the house. The Nether always felt like a surreal escape from the real world. Keeping track of time was hard, as not even its inhabitants followed a day and night cycle. It was like a safe pocket dimension for them to hide in.

Lokeii then ended up waking up a few hours later when the sun was well into the sky. He was a bit surprised that he was still alone, but a bit grateful for it as well. The day before had been unpleasantly tense, and he wasn't sure why he agreed to see Warpus again just a day later. He hadn't touched the seedlings he had been gifted the day prior, and considered putting them to use before they dried out. The chicken he had been given was also hanging around, now free range after Lokeii had witnessed the agony it was under from being tied to a post. It poked around the basket more than a few times, and he had to shoo it off before it ate the few seeds he was given. He took the basket with him outside and decided he might as well plant the seeds, trying to scout out a suitable area for the crops.

Warpus was beginning to worry a little about how much time had passed, and decided to finally head back to Spawn. They begrudgingly willed themself to enter the portal and come out the other side to Spawn. The area was as quiet as it had been the past two weeks, and it seemed the only people that had been to visit were Lokeii and themself.

Wondering where he was, they ducked into the bunker, hesitantly calling out when they saw he wasn’t in the immediate chamber. When didn’t reply, they wondered if he finally decided to just give up and leave.

However, Lokeii heard them call out, as he wasn't too far from the bunker, and wandered back over. He peeked around the corner, and considered the fact that they were probably relieved that he seemed to be gone.

"Hi," he said when he saw them, coming out from around the back of the bunker. He had the basket with him, and the chicken had been idly following him and waiting for him to drop any seeds.

“Hi,” they said back, turning around to face him. “What are you..two..up to?”

The state of the bunker was the same as they had left it, except the floor was now spotless of debris. It was the emptiest the bunker had been for months, rid now of even the original rubble back from when Party City was blown up. It made them feel a bit nostalgic, and hopeful seeing their own home beginning to clean up. Lokeii watched them look over the bunker with something other than disgust at his work for the first time, and it made him feel a bit better.

"I'm looking for somewhere to start planting these," he said, lifting the basket up, partly to show it to them, and partly to keep it out of the bird's reach.

“Oh, yeah that’s a good idea,” they replied, “Those should be fine to go anywhere. They like the hot weather.” The two of them moved away from the bunker, and their eyes wandered around the landscape, searching for an ideal garden spot. “Did you have anywhere in mind?” They asked.

"I didn't want to put it anywhere that it'll get trampled, that is if anyone came around anyway," he said, looking around idly for a suitable area while the chicken followed them from a distance. He eventually pointed out a small untouched patch near the stables.

"What about there?"

“Hmmm. It could work.” The area was just about the only patch of grass that wasn’t a pathway or being used for some other purpose. “The stable is slightly in the way, though…It’s a shame no one ever used it but us,” Warpus murmured. The thought of Krim brought on a whole load of emotions that they had been purposefully avoiding. Now routine, they shoved it from their head and asked, “Did you ever own a horse? I’ve never seen you with one before.”

"I didn't," he said. He wasn't too fond of the animals, they were a bit intimidating. He watched their expression change as they looked over the stable, and wondered silently what about the topic of stables was so upsetting to them.

"If you don't want to do it here, we can do it somewhere else. I don't want to get in the way of any..." he paused, thinking of the least intrusive word to use, "...memories... you have here."

“No, it’s okay. I was just wondering if it would be better to take the whole thing down,” they responded. They scanned the area again, hoping for a spot to jump out at them. “What about over there,” they extended a finger out in the direction of the old farm. It was a little further away than what was convenient, but the ground was more conditioned for crops than other areas.

"That looks good," he said, but internally agreed that it seemed a bit far away. He walked over to the area and set down the basket, once again shooing off the chicken when it got a little too close.

"What exactly is in here, again..?" he asked, motioning towards the random sprouts and seedlings in the basket.

“Mostly vegetables and succulents. There’s a few flowers mixed in too. You can probably grow a couple of these inside the bunker actually. When we make the sunroof there should be enough light coming in for them,” Warpus responded, “Do you know how to plant them?”

Lokeii kneeled down to the basket and picked up one of the succulents to examine it a bit, "I think so, but I've never seen something like these ones before," he said, holding it up a little to show them.

"If it's more productive to work on the bunker, though, I could leave the farming for later."

“No, it’s okay. I was going to leave you to work on this while I started on the frame for the roof,” they said. Truth was, they just wanted some peace and quiet while they worked. They had learnt they got things done much better and faster by themself.

"Oh, right," he said, setting down the plant, acknowledging that it was probably better that he didn't try out his carpentry skills again any time soon.

"Well if you need help, I'll be here," he offered, "otherwise I'll keep myself busy." He swatted off the chicken again, who had successfully grabbed one of the seedlings while he wasn't looking. They nodded. 

“Are…You going to keep that chicken around, or does it need a pen,” they asked. So far, all it seemed to do was cause mischief and grief. They were starting to regret bringing it along. “We can make it a pen if you want.”

"It's alright," he said. He would feel a bit bad just locking the thing up. "It's growing on me I think, it can stay around."

They didn’t question it, deciding instead that they would have to come up with a name for it later.

“Okay then. I’m heading back to the bunker. I’ll see you later,”

"Alright," he said, watching them go. He turned back to the assortment of seedlings and the empty plot of land. The grass there was already sad and shriveled, so scraping it away wasn't difficult. With the dirt revealed, he started trying to sort the plants into categories of which ones looked similar.

Warpus wandered back to the bunker, spotting a few more patches of grass that they now, regretfully, thought would have worked better for the garden bed. The timber Lokeii had picked out the previous afternoon was still sitting outside the entrance, alongside a selection of nails. They sighed, looking at the wood he had chosen. Warpus hauled it back to the depository and selected a more appropriate type - this one slightly lighter and more limber. They would spare him the long winded explanation of why this wood was better. They themself were no better just a couple of years prior. Lokeii had watched them bring the wood back and exchange it, a slight frown on his face.

They started work on the frame, building directly onto the remnants of the original roof, and reinforcing the parts that needed reinforcing. It didn’t take them too long, as most of it was just making sure it was level and nailed together properly.

They stared for a long time at the gap in the roof, figuring out how to start it. They had created some plans in the outpost, before coming back to Spawn: metal rods would fit through the earth, between the wood - which mapped out where the sunroof would go - and on top of that, would sit a layer of dirt. The bricks would be set in a mixture of sediments and cement at the very top, and on the inside of the bunker, a thick layer of wood would separate the inner part of the roof from the supportive dirt. The issue with what Lokeii had done was not just the sloppy cement work, but the lack of supports holding up the roof. It had been difficult for Krim and them to renovate it, and they wouldn’t be lying if they said a bit of magic was involved in maintaining its stability. But now they faced the task of keeping it intact naturally, and they were only half sure their idea would work.

Happy with their plans, they lugged up the spare rods from downstairs into the foyer. They were not so happy to find that putting them in place would be a two person job.

-

Lokeii busied himself separating the flowers from the vegetables, setting the succulents aside because he wasn't too sure what they were. Regretting not having procured any tools, he used his hands to ease up the soil a bit and planted the plants into neat rows based on which seemed to be of a similar species. He stood up from the ground and somewhat-begrudgingly walked back to the bunker in search of a bucket, as the soil was extremely dry and in need of some water. Warpus watched as he happened to appear in the doorway the very moment they, unfortunately, needed him.

“Hello, again,” Warpus greeted him. They noticed his hands, and the rings on them, were now covered in a film of dirt. He still bore the same exasperated expression they saw him with when he first stepped into the sun. They would have to find him a hat, they thought, suddenly noticing the absence of his old one. “Are the plants done?”

He blinked a few times when he entered the shade, feeling basically blind at the drastic change in light.

"Oh, yeah. I need water for them, so I'm coming to look for a bucket." He saw the metal rods that were scattered across the floor, along with the reinforcements they had already put in place.

"It already looks a lot better," he said, unable to help but feel a bit impressed by how easily they were able to rebuild it much better than what he had done earlier.

“It’s still a long way off from being done,” they responded, hesitating slightly before they continued, “I actually was about to ask for your help.”

"Oh," he said, not sure how else to react. He was surprised that they would need him for anything considering his past work.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Putting these rods in place," they started. "But we should do the plants first." They automatically included themself in the 'we', it not crossing their mind to ask if he needed help or not.

"Right," Lokeii said with a nod, a bit surprised that they would willingly include themself into his plant endeavors.

"Do you have a bucket anywhere? It doesn't need to be big, we only need a little bit of water."

They cursed. "No, not that I recall."

They thought on it a bit longer, before commenting, "Actually, there might be one around, in one of the abandoned buildings." Warpus suspected there was one at Averie's, but they weren't quite ready to visit again - not after their last interaction. "I wonder if there's one in Alder's old house," they mused. They had no qualms about stealing from them. After all, any bucket they found lying around likely belonged to themself originally anyway.

"Do you think they would mind if we took it?" he said with a tone that clearly indicated that he didn't care much for them and wouldn't mind causing them some grief.

"Chances are if they have one, it was stolen anyway. I don't think they'll be around for a while, either," they said grimly. They led him outside and up the hill the bunker was built onto. It had withstood a lot - once upon a time it had been home to both Alder and Azel's houses, and at some point, a railway that had now become defunct. They would have to be wary of any more renovations they undertook. As they passed the aquarium, they wondered briefly what happened to Azel.

Lokeii carefully followed their steps, feeling some unease as they came up to a small door implanted in the ground. He had never actually seen Alder's house, and what he was looking at only made him more confused.

Warpus pushed the door, and when it didn’t open, they pulled it. It was jammed shut, and only budged when they placed their foot on the grass next to it, then pulled. It swung open, covering both them and Lokeii in a cloud of dust. They hadn’t thought to bring a torch, but reassured Lokeii that there was natural light inside, before entering.

He watched them go with a great amount of hesitation. He wasn't very keen on climbing down into the hole with them, and was still brushing some of the dust off of his shirt.

"Maybe I'll stay up here," he said before they got too far.

“Oh, alright. I’ll be a minute,” they replied. They clambered through the door and into the claustrophobic tunnel. Their eyes adjusted slowly to the light, and they were suddenly glad Lokeii decided to stay back, as it meant they wouldn’t have to worry about him bumping around in the dark.

They stepped cautiously out the tunnel and into Alder’s shelter. They knew it would be empty, but they still couldn’t help but be cautious. Like their own bunker, it was built underground and into a hill, but the sections of sagging roof suggested it wasn’t built with nearly as much care in mind.

The place made them jumpy, and they felt a sense of dread as they looked around. It freaked them out that this place lay abandoned only a few meters from their own house, and they wondered just how much of their activity Alder had spied on through their shared walls.

After a few minutes of poking around the dim cave, they finally spotted what they were looking for. They grabbed the bucket and hastily exited the way they came. When they reemerged, Lokeii considered offering a hand to help lift them out, but decided against it. He couldn't help but notice a knot of cobwebs that were hanging off of their shoulder, and pointed it out once they came back up.

"You've got something on your shoulder," he said, picking the web off of their shirt and letting it drop to the ground. They flinched at his touch, and watched as the cobweb fell to the ground. 

“Thanks,” they said, unsure how else to respond. “We should water the plants now,” they suggested, brushing past what just happened.

"Yeah," he said, and then followed them as they started towards the lake to get the water. He was a bit confused by their reaction, and frankly a bit embarrassed, but took their approach and decided to ignore it.

As they neared the lake, Warpus handed Lokeii the bucket. They stopped at the shore and watched as he crouched down to fill the pail. When it was halfway full, he stood up again and showed them to the small makeshift garden.

Using his hand to more gently pour the water, he knelt and took small scoops of the water and poured it onto the seedlings and dry soil. It was uncomfortably silent for a bit, so he busied himself with the gardening.

The garden was looking surprisingly good, and for the first time this week, they felt like they had nothing to correct him on. They didn’t have much else to add, and as the silence set in, their gaze began to wander. They spent less time around that end of Spawn, but everything appeared to be exactly the same as it was a year ago. They could spot the village not far away, and in front of it was the ugly scar of Gravity’s house.

"There," he said, standing up and shaking the water from his hands, "I'll keep this extra water to water them tomorrow."

He glanced at them, noticing their gaze was elsewhere.

"I can help you with the rods, if you still need it."

“Actually, I’m a bit tired,” they said, looking up. “It’s about noon now. We could break for a bit then start on the rods?”

"Oh, sure," he said, "it is a bit hot out," he admitted, although it was, once again, not much of a secret.

“Great. I’m going back to the bunker then. You can join me if you want,” they said, starting to walk off in the direction of their old house. He sheepishly followed them back to the bunker, not too sure where else he would go if he didn't want to sit out in the sun. He followed them down the steps, careful not to step on any of the stray debris.

They sat down with a sigh against one of the walls, away from the stray sunlight poking through the roof. Their sleeves were starting to roll down again, and rather than pushing them back up, they decided to take off their jumper all together, placing it next to the satchel they had brought with them. Lokeii decided to sit down against the wall as well, albeit leaving quite a bit of distance. Warpus dug around in their satchel before taking out a small bundle of dried fruits, wrapped up in a cloth. They looked at Lokeii, who had followed them back like a stray dog, and wondered if they should offer any to him. He glanced back at them and their food more than a few times, fiddling with his rings in an attempt to seem busy. He wasn't sure why he followed them, feeling awkward in the silence. As they went to take a bite, they made the mistake of looking up at Lokeii. He seemed as though he was waiting for something. They tentatively asked, “Do you have lunch?” to which he mumbled something that sounded like a ‘no’ and looked away again. The selection of fruit sitting in their lap was slim, and they weren’t even sure they had enough for themself. They sighed and asked, “Would you like some of mine?”

"Only if you have extra," he said, feeling a bit pathetic by asking for some, "I can go looking for food later if you don't." His mood seemed to shift when they asked, and they couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. So far they had been treating each of their interactions as if they were strangers, and not two individuals with a complex and confusing history.

They hadn’t dared think about letting their recent teamwork turn into a friendship. There was so much standing in the way of any possibility of that happening.

Still, they halved their meal and handed it to him, saying, “It’s okay, you can have some.”

He paused slightly before he took it, surprised.

"Thanks," he said, genuine gratitude in his tone. He turned back to himself and ate one of the dried fruits, grateful that he wouldn't have to spend another evening eating the scarce plants he could find around the area. They said nothing to each other and ate their meals. Warpus went through it quickly, and with nothing more to eat, they simply sat back against the wall and waited.When Lokeii finished, he glanced back at them again from the corner of his eye. Unsure what to say, he sat back as well.

"Thanks again," he said quietly, "I appreciate it."

“It’s alright,” they responded plainly. They didn’t have much else to say, defaulting again to silence. Lokeii gathered himself and stood up, dusting himself of nonexistent crumbs.

"I wouldn't mind getting back to work now, if you still want my help."

“Good idea.” They stood up too, leaving their sweater and satchel behind on the floor. They walked over to where the rods lay and began to explain the plan. He nodded along but his expression remained confused.

Warpus directed him to the end of the first rod, and with a timed heave the two of them lifted it above their heads and into the gap in the roof. Standing on a precariously balanced stool, Warpus fastened their end of the pole into the already existing section of roof, ensuring it was attached firmly and wouldn’t slip out. They switched places with Lokeii and did the same to his end, sliding it into place. They stepped back to observe their handiwork. A large metal rod now connected the two furthest ends of the hole, intersecting it like a bridge.

They continued to order Lokeii around, and the two of them got to work with placing the remaining rods perpendicular to the first, fixing each in one place.

By the time they were finished, Lokeii was exhausted and sweating. He pushed his overgrown and scraggly hair out of his face, grumbling to himself about what a pain it was. He turned back to Warpus and looked up at the rods.

"Are we done, then? I can try to help if you want to do anything else today."

“Yeah,” Warpus huffed, fitting the last rod in place. They looked over their work and responded, “Unfortunately that’s all we can do today. I’ll have to mix up some cement for the next part.” They sighed, thinking about all the moulds they’d have to make and the materials they’d need to collect.

“I don’t think we can begin until next week, honestly. I have to make some plans and gather resources,” they said. “If you want, you could help me set things up over the next week or so.”

"I wouldn't mind," he said, "I don't have much else going on."

“Great.” Warpus searched their bag for a piece of paper, and messily scribbled something down. “Just follow these ratios,” they said, handing him the scrap paper. “Keep them separated if you can.”

They paused. “You said you’ve never ridden a horse, right?” He took the paper and looked at it, endlessly confused.

"Uh, no... I haven't," he mumbled, trying to decipher their scribbles.

“Okay…” They murmured. “You might have to travel a bit to get these materials, and it would be inefficient to lug them back one bag at a time.

“I can teach you to ride one of my horses if you like? That way you can carry more and don’t have to worry about as many dangers on the road.”

He frowned at the thought, looking up from the list.

"Maybe, I'm not a huge fan of horses," he said, wanting to find a way out of the horse-riding lessons, "I'm sure I could carry them myself, even if it takes a while."

“Hmm…I’m going to need to mix at least a tonne of mortar. You realize that’s going to be over fifty bags of sand and gravel?” They did some more calculations, “More actually, because we need sediments for the cement in the middle layer.”

"Oh," he said, frowning, "that's going to take a lot of time." They took the paper back briefly to write the approximate amounts and then handed it back.

"I can learn to ride a horse if I need to. Whatever you need me to do, I guess."

“It’s your choice. I’m going to be coming in and out of Spawn over the next few days, so I can put aside some time to teach you,” they offered, getting themself packed up and ready to leave.

"That might be helpful," he admitted. He watched them get packed up and silently wondered where he was going to sleep that night. "I can try to learn, I just might be a little slow."

“Sounds good,” they responded. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning then. Try to find yourself some more…Suitable clothing. If you have none I can find something of Krim’s for you,” Warpus told him. They thought it would be a shame to see his fancy clothing dirtied.

"Oh, uh, I don't really have anything else to wear with me. I don't mind wearing this,"he said. The thought of wearing some of their supposed spouse's clothes was also a bit off-putting.

"Are you sure? I might have something of mine, though it may not fit..." They offered.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about it," he assured them. Even if it was unconventional, he was a bit fond of his outfit.

"Okay. I'm heading off then. I'll see you tomorrow," they said, waving goodbye. "Don't forget the ice is downstairs if you need."

Lokeii waved goodbye as well, making note to go check the basement later.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."