athousdandpetalss

[athousdandpetalss]

Hello vinestaff!!! Someone teached me this but

You are such a confident sigma!!! You are cool

she stands there and fidgets with her hands .

" oh ! thank you ? i think ? you too ! "

[athousdandpetalss]

i miss you, sis. the sender of this letter is anonymous, but you know who it came from. not a trace left behind in the surrounding area, just a small item packaged with care. it was a medicine packet, he's left it for you.

vine staff holds the letter with shaking hands , a lump in her throat . shuri , oh , sfoth - what are you doing now ? where are you , dear brother ?

clutching the letter to her heart , she squeezes her eyes shut and murmurs a loose prayer to nobody in specific , to the inpherno , to nature ... let shuri be alright .

she doesn't let herself question whether seeing him again will ever happen and stores the items in a drawer of his things .

[athousdandpetalss]

PLANT MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what plant is.

dis

Oh , hello there!

That looks a bit like Verbascum Thapsus , but I can't be sure from one image.

[athousdandpetalss]

it's my spawnday ..

slingshot is working late and should be back soon , but shuri ..

oh , shuriken , are you thinking of me ? do you remember that it's my special day , wherever you are ? will you be back today with a gift in your arms like it's all okay again ?

[athousdandpetalss]

– Maggie Smith, from "Good Bones"

[athousdandpetalss]

[athousdandpetalss]

[athousdandpetalss]

From February 16 to 17, 1913 Letters to Felice by Franz Kafka First published : 1973

[athousdandpetalss]

— Kriti G.

[athousdandpetalss]

blackberries ; shuriken and vine staff fic under cut :3

all relationships are platonic ofc

she/he/they shuriken

Shuriken missed Vine Staff.

She sees her everyday, but it’s not the same. Instead of running through a nearby field until one of them topples over (the other soon following from laughter), Vine Staff walks through the house at most. Rather than going out to pick blackberries until their hands were purple, Shuriken brings meals up to Vine Staff’s room and later finds it mostly untouched, a contrast to all the times with the blackberries; their faces would be stuffed and they’d eat more than they brought home.

Shuriken never goes out to find blackberries anymore. What fun is it without their dear sibling by their side?

Sitting at the kitchen table, they ponder that thought. It’s been a while since they’ve tried looking for some and maybe getting some fresh air would be a good idea. They were helping at Thieve’s Rest for the majority of the day and left early but still, a walk never hurt anybody.

It was almost 5:00 PM, not too late. Shuriken stands and goes to Vine Staff’s room to check on her, sleeping peacefully. After that, they leave another on the kitchen table for when Slingshot gets back - around 6:00; he’s closing late tonight. Business is picking up; everyone was happy for him. When he first started out he was determined, but with high hopes and low expectations. Now he’s one of the most popular stops in crossroads.

And he’s off, walking to a familiar patch of woodland. The same place he’d been all those times with Vine.

There’s no struggle getting to the berries. Shuri remembers the ground under his feet perfectly. The trees help him with their small details, too - he remembers to turn left at the tall one with an abundance of moss. There’s a lot more moss on the tree than last time.

Soon they’re there, at the bush. Same spot as always, and there are so many! Shuriken bounds towards them with excitement.

Upon closer inspection, most of them are shrivelled up, too old or too young, but that’s no problem. Shuriken was thankful that the plant had anything to offer at all, no matter the amount. After all, the plant was simply living for itself in the woodland, not living for inphernals.

Under the fleeting sunlight, Shuriken collects as many good blackberries as he can. They fall into a rhythm and don’t need to put much thought into it, mind wandering to the memories this area brings.

Soon their bag is full and the sun is setting. Shuriken slings the bad over their shoulder and whispers a “thank you” to the bush before turning and starting home.

When they open the door to the apartment, it’s quiet apart from the low sound of the television. Slingshot is on the couch practically asleep but startles awake when Shuriken steps inside.

“Hey, Shuri,” He greets as Shuriken places his shoes onto the rack. “Did you find any berries?”

Shuriken nods, lifting up the bag. “Yeah, a lot! I’ll give you some.”

Slingshot nods. “That’s good. I think they’re in season right now, if I remember correctly…” He trails off and yawns. “Anyways, how was Vine today?”

“Alright, I guess. I feel like things are gonna get better.” Shuriken says, and doesn’t really know why he does. Maybe he really believes it. “How was your day?”

Sling pauses and scans Shuriken for a moment, and Shuriken knows that he’s looking for any sadness in Shuriken’s tone. Shuriken doesn’t like it and sees it often. He knows that Sling feels like it’s hardest on Vine first, Shuriken second, and himself in last place. It makes Shuriken sad, because Slingshot is as much of a part of this family as the siblings are. It’s hard on all of them and Shuriken just wants Slingshot to know it’s okay to acknowledge that. It won’t hurt Shuriken in any way. He can’t blame him, knowing Slingshot is just careful. Considerate of everyone’s feelings over his.

“Oh, sorry - my day was alright, same old stuff. Nobody complained today, so I call it a win!” Slingshot smiles. “Business was … average. Not busy, not slow. It pretty much stayed the same the whole day, so you saw what business was like in the morning.”

Shuriken nods. “That’s good.” Slingshot doesn’t have a blanket, so Shuriken steps away to grab him one.

Slingshot thanks him and snuggles under it, reaching up for a hug that Shuriken happily returns. “You going to bed?”

“After I say goodnight to Vine, yeah.” Shuriken’s answer is muffled by Sling’s hair.

“M’kay, then goodnight, Shuri.” Slingshot replies, letting go.

Shuriken stands up straight and stretches. “Sweet dreams, Sling. See you tomorrow.”

In their room, Shuriken changes into PJs. Once they’re done, they grab their bag of blackberries and tiptoe quietly downstairs realizing they forgot a bowl. They carefully grab one then turn the TV off since Slingshot fell asleep.

Back upstairs, Shuriken knocks on Vine’s door with the hand that isn’t holding the bowl of fruit.

“Come-” Shuriken hears her clear her throat. “Come in.”

Shuriken opens the door and shuts it behind her. There’s no dish beside her bed which means she went downstairs, washed it and put it back herself because there was nothing in the sink. She’s also in fresh PJs, so she probably did some laundry as well. Shuriken can’t help the smile that appears, both because of simply the presence of her sister and also because she's so proud of her. It’s so hard for her to get out of bed some days, but today she did it and she also did other things.

Vine smiles back and pats the spot on the bed next to her. Shuriken scurries forward, sitting criss-cross next to her and putting the bowl into her hands.

“Blackberries! From the place we used to go, in the forest.” Shuriken explains.

Emotion clouds Vine’s eyes. “I remember that,” She replies. “Thank - thank you, Shuri.”

Shuriken bites the inside of their mouth. “I’d like to go back there again with you,” They add quietly.

Vine looks up to meet her sibling’s eyes. “Me, too.” She pauses. “I’m sorry for how I am.”

“Hush,” Shuri replies. “It’s okay. I know it’s hard for you, so…don’t be sorry, okay? I’m proud of you for what you did today, by the way. I noticed the dishes were clean.” Vine Staff looks like she wants to say something but rethinks it and nods. “Thanks, Shuri.”

It’s quiet for a minute.

“Want me to braid your hair?” Shuriken asks, breaking the silence.

She nods. “That’d be nice. There’s a brush in one of the drawers on my dresser.”

Shuriken nods and reaches over for it. Once they have it, they sit behind Vine Staff and work through her knotted hair carefully and gently.

Vine Staff remembers the berries and tries one. “Wow, Shuri - did you try any? They’re really good.”

Shuriken shakes their head and then remembers that they’re sitting behind Vine Staff. “No, not yet.”

She passes him one and he accepts, popping it into his mouth. “Oh, they are! I expected them to be not really good…mediocre at best.”

Vine Staff shrugs and turns to smile at them. “Maybe it’s just time for some good.”

Shuriken returns the smile and Vine turns back around. Shuriken braids her hair and they talk about random things, snacking on blackberries until it’s time for bed. They fall asleep next to each other and wake up with some purple stains on their clothes from the few uneaten blackberries that fell out of the bowl, but it was worth it.

Next week, Shuriken and Vine Staff go out together to pick new blackberries.

[athousdandpetalss]

Joy Sullivan, from Instructions for Traveling West: Poems; “Instructions for Traveling West”

[athousdandpetalss]

"i don't know if i should . he'll be back ."

she assures herself .

"if you're sure , by the way , about the cafe . i'm always open."

( coughs .. unsure if your sling is roommates with shuri and vine in your blog version so if not u can change the setting !! if you even want to respond to this ask ^^ )

vine staff sits patiently at home , sitting on the couch , waiting for slingshot to arrive .

( @athousandpetalss )

(my sling is roommates with skateboard and boombox! but I can respond to this!)

Slingshot arrived home, her face looked sweaty. She looks at Vinestaff.

“SORRY VINE! I was just… running late after closing the cafe… Man work can be a bit overwhelming…”

[athousdandpetalss]

"me too ."

vine staff nods and draws her arm away again .

"i'm sorry to have .. sprung all this on you so suddenly . it's just .. shocking , i guess . i' don't know if i can bear to be so alone in this house without him , do you need any help at the cafe any time soon ?"

( coughs .. unsure if your sling is roommates with shuri and vine in your blog version so if not u can change the setting !! if you even want to respond to this ask ^^ )

vine staff sits patiently at home , sitting on the couch , waiting for slingshot to arrive .

( @athousandpetalss )

(my sling is roommates with skateboard and boombox! but I can respond to this!)

Slingshot arrived home, her face looked sweaty. She looks at Vinestaff.

“SORRY VINE! I was just… running late after closing the cafe… Man work can be a bit overwhelming…”

[athousdandpetalss]

"no , i mean - i know it's - it's hard for him; with my arm and the curse - he was - is , stressed, and ..."

vine staff shakes her hand and stands up, placing a hand on slingshot's shoulder and gently wiping away her tears with the other.

"...he..yeah. he'll be back. he can't be gone forever."

( coughs .. unsure if your sling is roommates with shuri and vine in your blog version so if not u can change the setting !! if you even want to respond to this ask ^^ )

vine staff sits patiently at home , sitting on the couch , waiting for slingshot to arrive .

( @athousandpetalss )

(my sling is roommates with skateboard and boombox! but I can respond to this!)

Slingshot arrived home, her face looked sweaty. She looks at Vinestaff.

“SORRY VINE! I was just… running late after closing the cafe… Man work can be a bit overwhelming…”

[athousdandpetalss]

"we - we got into an argument , and he - he left . i don't know where ."

she wipes at her eyes and clears her throat , trying not to cry again and instead wanting to comfort slingshot .

( coughs .. unsure if your sling is roommates with shuri and vine in your blog version so if not u can change the setting !! if you even want to respond to this ask ^^ )

vine staff sits patiently at home , sitting on the couch , waiting for slingshot to arrive .

( @athousandpetalss )

(my sling is roommates with skateboard and boombox! but I can respond to this!)

Slingshot arrived home, her face looked sweaty. She looks at Vinestaff.

“SORRY VINE! I was just… running late after closing the cafe… Man work can be a bit overwhelming…”

[athousdandpetalss]

[athousdandpetalss]

( okay !! if you like you can change it to a visit ? )

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help yesterday. Shuri, he - um," she pauses. "He left."

( coughs .. unsure if your sling is roommates with shuri and vine in your blog version so if not u can change the setting !! if you even want to respond to this ask ^^ )

vine staff sits patiently at home , sitting on the couch , waiting for slingshot to arrive .

( @athousandpetalss )

(my sling is roommates with skateboard and boombox! but I can respond to this!)

Slingshot arrived home, her face looked sweaty. She looks at Vinestaff.

“SORRY VINE! I was just… running late after closing the cafe… Man work can be a bit overwhelming…”