[...Clive, we regret to inform you that your brother is actually a Magikarp.]
[A smile begets a smile, especially when they're as rare and special as Clive's. Joshua eyes the ball, then his brother, and his eyebrows raise as he holds out his hands for the ball once more.]
Oh? And what dire concerns are these?
[He's only able to ask because of how much of a good mood Clive is in. If he'd expected anything serious, he'd rely on good ol' repression, instead. You know. Healthy coping and all that.]
[ The boys are as fine as they'll ever be. stubborn and self-sacrificing and also dying??? they're ok Clive, who finds himself not actually brooding about the thing that still gives him nightmares, hands the ball over with a light question for a question instead of a clear answer: ]
Have you made friends with Obolus yet?
[ Listen, Clive likes that cranky old coot, but if he doesn't get up off his ass if Joshua ever trips and falls into their gross blighted lake, Clive is going to be very cross with him. ]
[All of the above and therefore fine. They're not fine.]
[Joshua quirks an eyebrow at the question, but gives it due consideration. If Clive is asking it, then there's a point to it, and it's one that Joshua will gladly follow whatever path his brother sets up to uncover.]
We've spoken, yes. He was happy to show me the Argo, as well.
[He considers the ball for a moment, tossing it just a few inches above his hands before he follows up with his own question.]
[ The actual question here would be "I know I punched a hole through you and you probably spent the better half of your adult life recovering from that, but also, did you learn how to swim?"
But also, Clive is trying to keep things lighter than that, so his instinct isn't to self-flagellate before he answers a harmless (?) question. Instead: ]
I'd only wondered if you and bodies of water have made friends yet.
[ And maybe this says a little too much about Clive, that he remembers all of their uncomplicated moments as children with the sort of clarity that most people wouldn't. But, you know. The boys are fine. ]
[ The saddest lil Torchic in the world... Still, Joshua grins that boyish grin, and all remains right with the world.
Right enough that Clive can quip back, that is. ] Not an excuse. I can swim just fine.
[ That's cheating, though, because big fire dog lizard is basically one step shy of being Godzilla, and Godzilla is from the ocean. This tag is basically just metacommentary, and I'm sorry about it. ]
Though I have trouble enough following you on land, and Founder only knows where you'd be off to if I let you roam the seas.
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[A smile begets a smile, especially when they're as rare and special as Clive's. Joshua eyes the ball, then his brother, and his eyebrows raise as he holds out his hands for the ball once more.]
Oh? And what dire concerns are these?
[He's only able to ask because of how much of a good mood Clive is in. If he'd expected anything serious, he'd rely on good ol' repression, instead. You know. Healthy coping and all that.]
[The boys are fine.]
[
They're not fine, but shh.]no subject
stubborn and self-sacrificing and also dying??? they're okClive, who finds himself not actually brooding about the thing that still gives him nightmares, hands the ball over with a light question for a question instead of a clear answer: ]Have you made friends with Obolus yet?
[ Listen, Clive likes that cranky old coot, but if he doesn't get up off his ass if Joshua ever trips and falls into their gross blighted lake, Clive is going to be very cross with him. ]
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All of the above and therefore fine. They're not fine.][Joshua quirks an eyebrow at the question, but gives it due consideration. If Clive is asking it, then there's a point to it, and it's one that Joshua will gladly follow whatever path his brother sets up to uncover.]
We've spoken, yes. He was happy to show me the Argo, as well.
[He considers the ball for a moment, tossing it just a few inches above his hands before he follows up with his own question.]
Why do you ask?
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But also, Clive is trying to keep things lighter than that, so his instinct isn't to self-flagellate before he answers a harmless (?) question. Instead: ]
I'd only wondered if you and bodies of water have made friends yet.
[ And maybe this says a little too much about Clive, that he remembers all of their uncomplicated moments as children with the sort of clarity that most people wouldn't. But, you know. The boys are fine. ]
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[The good news is that the thought doesn't so much as pique Joshua's far too active brain. Instead, he offers Clive a grin that only widens.]
Haven't you learned, Brother? Fire's natural enemy is water. I would fain to make acquaintances, but fear the inevitable betrayal.
[Forget Magikarp, your brother is the world's stupidest Charmander, Clive.]
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Right enough that Clive can quip back, that is. ] Not an excuse. I can swim just fine.
[ That's cheating, though, because big fire dog lizard is basically one step shy of being Godzilla, and Godzilla is from the ocean. This tag is basically just metacommentary, and I'm sorry about it. ]
Though I have trouble enough following you on land, and Founder only knows where you'd be off to if I let you roam the seas.