[ Ben hadn't been thrilled with the total shutdown of other facilities and rooms that GOOP FESTIVAL had caused. He'd gone through his quiet morning routine and walked all the way to the library, only to tug fruitlessly at the doors for a few minutes before a robot appeared to yell at him about some sap-related holiday.
But he gave in and let himself be shepherded, and he had to admit, once he got there, that Goop Festival does have its charms. It's nice having a lot of the people he's come to know in the Anchor all close together; besides, those hot sap drinks are pretty great. He drinks a couple before he realizes they're not not drugs of some kind. He feels floaty and warm and calm, even as he's taking out his phone and texting to warn Klaus to stay away from the stuff. Hopefully giving him a heads up won't just make him more tempted to have some.
Still, Ben is really trying to be supportive, to help his brother manage his addiction without hovering constantly and treating him like a misbehaving child. So he resists the urge to fuss, and wanders through the trees instead. He's sucking a piece of sap candy when he spots a familiar horrible hat, a familiar pale hand waving in the air, hears a familiar soft voice.
Ben comes around, settling himself on the ground near to Cole, but not interrupting, waiting for him to pause before he asks: ]
Can you really talk to trees?
[ Honestly at this point he wouldn't be surprised. Plenty of cultures believed that trees had some kind of spirit or sentience, and if anybody here could have a chat with an orchard it would be Cole. Wordlessly, Ben holds out the handful of little hard sap candies that he's been eating from, offering one to Cole. ]
no subject
But he gave in and let himself be shepherded, and he had to admit, once he got there, that Goop Festival does have its charms. It's nice having a lot of the people he's come to know in the Anchor all close together; besides, those hot sap drinks are pretty great. He drinks a couple before he realizes they're not not drugs of some kind. He feels floaty and warm and calm, even as he's taking out his phone and texting to warn Klaus to stay away from the stuff. Hopefully giving him a heads up won't just make him more tempted to have some.
Still, Ben is really trying to be supportive, to help his brother manage his addiction without hovering constantly and treating him like a misbehaving child. So he resists the urge to fuss, and wanders through the trees instead. He's sucking a piece of sap candy when he spots a familiar horrible hat, a familiar pale hand waving in the air, hears a familiar soft voice.
Ben comes around, settling himself on the ground near to Cole, but not interrupting, waiting for him to pause before he asks: ]
Can you really talk to trees?
[ Honestly at this point he wouldn't be surprised. Plenty of cultures believed that trees had some kind of spirit or sentience, and if anybody here could have a chat with an orchard it would be Cole. Wordlessly, Ben holds out the handful of little hard sap candies that he's been eating from, offering one to Cole. ]
Hey, Cole.