#joel&jade 004

[yungimmortals]

moving day | joel & jade

date: august 17th, 2021 summary: yeah that’ll be one vegetarian everything but the kitchen sink (“and yes that includes pineapple, thank you”) pizza

Jade dropped her overfull suitcase on the ground unceremoniously. He’d move it to the bed in a bit, since he planned on living out of it for the next three weeks, but for now she was interested in exploring the cabin that looked like nobody bothered to clean since it was last lived in. With pillows, blankets, and cushions strewn about into some sort of half-collapsed fort, it was at least cozy, despite the need for a bit of a revamp (and definitely a dusting).

The twins had been directed here by Chiron, who seemed less than excited about their arrival. He was probably informed of their stunt by the messenger gods that kept track of them, and the fact that they’d gotten him a PARTY PONIES: OHIO AQUATIC DIVISION shirt didn’t seem to lighten his mood very much. Whatever, Jade was still wearing his. Still, the centaur was nice, and polite, and let them know that this was the cabin that they’d be staying in, and if the twins wanted to find their siblings, most of them lived together in town. That’s right, siblings. Of course Jade was excited at the prospect, but part of her was nervous to meet them. Was one sibling not enough? What if they thought he was weird or didn’t want to interact with him? Whatever. She pushed the thoughts from her brain as she took a seat on her suitcase and let out a huff. “I can’t believe we went all the way to West Virginia and didn’t even see Mothman. We’re going back, since we’re closer than before.” He picked up a pillow to hold to his chest. “I want him to lay eggs in me like I’m a caterpillar and he’s a wasp.”

Ducking out from under a sheet that was tacked up between a wall and the corner of a long-unused bunk, Joel let out a low whistle. "Look how cool this place is, buddy." He reached up to scratch the chin of the bearded dragon perched on his shoulder. Where Jade had brought his stuff in before exploring, Joel had practically bolted into the cabin, ditching his suitcase in favor of exploring the place he'd be calling home for the foreseeable future. 

 He came to a stop in front of a wall of photos in the corner. Or what had been a wall of photos. The paint was discolored in places, sun-bleached from being covered for so long, he guessed. Here and there, a few stubborn pieces of tape still stuck to the wall. There were only a few photographs left and the sun had done a number on them too. "Jay, come check this out," Joel called, gingerly removing a photo from the wall as his twin entered the cabin. 

 When he didn't immediately come over to see the very cool thing he wanted to show him, he wandered out of the half-collapsed fort and back into the cabin's main area— just in time to hear Jade's Mothman discourse. "Oh, eugh. Gross. You would." Joel nudged her shoulder with a laugh. "I'm totally down to go back, just...give me two weeks before I have to get back in a car. My legs thank you in advance. They be achy. Oh, hey, look at this." Remembering the photograph in his hand, Joel let it flutter down to Jade's lap. "Think these were the other kids Chiron was talking about? Sure is a lot of 'em. They can't all be...right? Right?"

Jade grinned up at Joel as he bumped into him. He’d been hoping for a bit of a shudder, but he'd said far worse to him, so it was no surprise that Joel wasn't too off-put. "Yeah, I'm good not having to drive a couple hundred miles to get a bed and a shower." He stretched his legs out in front of him, grabbed the photograph that Joel had given him, and stood, inspecting the picture as he folded over, stretching out his back. "Hmm. You're wondering how much our father, who art on Olympus, got around?" Jade straightened up and twisted his neck to the side so that he could crack it, then reached up to scratch under Toothless's chin. 

 "I don't know. You think they're all here?" Jade held up the picture so that the two of them could inspect it together. "Maybe some moved away? And..." She pointed at two of the faded faces. "Are those the freaking clones? No way I'm related to a clone." He cracked a smile and then pointed at Joel. "Unless twins is a cover up. Who's the original? I call it."

"A shower!" Joel crowed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He lifted the collar of his shirt and took a sniff— yeah he was definitely (over)due for one. "Remind me to do that after we get settled. But heck, we're so close to the moth, the man, the legend. That'll be an easy trip when we feel up to it again. Maybe next time Toothless will pull his weight on the trip, eh?" When Jade cracked his neck, Joel made a face at the sound, as if he hadn't done the same exact thing the moment he'd extricated himself from their car. "He's a god, obviously, he fucks. Weren't the Greeks all about hedonism? Oh snap, that is them!" This was directed at the photo in Jade's hand, faded faces smiling up at him from the no-longer glossy picture. His smile mirrored that of his twin. "I'm the original, you broke the mold. Too cool for us all."

Jade barked a “ha!” at Joel’s description of Mothman, her eyes bright as she looked up at him. “Yeah, and then the Romans created stoicism to balance them out. All killjoys. Definitely do not fuck.” She pointed at Joel and bared her teeth in a grin so wide it was practically a grimace, her eyes crinkling up. “Of course you’d say that. I say I’m the original, you just improved the structure. Better posture, more muscle mass, but you sacrificed the most important part.” She stuck her tongue out. “My excellent personality.” 

 She stretched her arms behind her head as she yawned. “What do you say? We scope out the sibs before we sink our teeth in? Find out what they’re like?”

"Definitely not," he agreed with a laugh. "Hey, these muscles were hard work. Chopping wood really bulks you up. That and carrying Mrs. Wainwright's great dane for a mile when he gives up halfway through our walks but I have to get him back to her house somehow." Joel stuck his tongue out at her in return. "I could never hold a candle to your winning personality." 

Switching his attention to the photograph again, he shrugged one shoulder. "Might be a good idea. I dunno, I'm up for it if you are. Although, I've already got the best sibling right here." He slung an arm around Jade's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. Truthfully, he was excited to meet more potential siblings if there were any to be found. But at the same time, he had Jade. And the two of them had only ever really needed each other. Judging by the state of the cabin, he assumed any of their other relatives lived in town, if they'd stuck around at all. "Think they're all weirdos?"

“I never said they weren’t,” Jade replied breezily. “But that heart... maybe I am the clone. I would’ve left the dog to find his own way home. What can be programmed more easily, empathy for Scoob or a cool ass personality? Robots can be cool...” He trailed off as he considered each of the different options, as if he were actually wondering which of the two of them was a clone. 

“Well, duh, same.” Jade laughed and reached around Joel so that he could pinch his side. He were nervous, but the prospect of something new was so tantalizing it made him ignore the fear of rejection. He snorted. “If they’re related to us, I’d put money on it. Plus, you know, clones and jerks without shadows? Sounds like the right kind of weird.” He ground his teeth together as he grinned once more.

Joel jostled Jade, laughing. "Now, c'mon. You couldn't leave ol' Scooby behind.  He would've howled all sad as you walked away. Robots are cool. You a robot?" He made a surprised sound at being pinched, swatting Jade's hand away. "Truuuue. Y'know, it was the shadow that got me. What were the odds, honestly. I thought we were the only freaks like that." He snapped some finger guns at his twin. At the same time, his stomach growled loudly. "Unpack then food? Food then unpack? I wanna head into town to explore. How expensive do you think it is around here? I've got—" From his pocket, Joel produced a piece of lint, a very crumpled five dollar bill, and the drachmas they'd been gifted. "I've got enough. You hungry?"

Jade snorted and rolled her eyes, a crooked smile clear on her face. "And I would've turned my music up." She shook her head, as stiffly as she could managed and blinked at two different times with her eyes. "No. I am. Hu-man." She smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I knew there were others out there, I believed." When her stomach growled in response, she laughed. "I'm liking option two. We can check out what food they have out in town? Two birds?" She raised her eyebrows at Joel.

"That's some chameleon-type shit," he said matter-of-factly, then flicked a coin from his hand at Jade, trusting them to catch it. His flannel was already tossed over the corner of a bunk and Joel snagged it. Pulling it on over his PARTY PONIES tee,  he surveyed the cabin once more. His expression turned wistful. This would be home for them. This strange town filled with more strange things in one place than they had ever seen before. Joel was desperate to get out and explore. He nodded at her. "Yeah, that sounds solid. Two birds, one drachma. And maybe an extra large pizza."