Chapter Text
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?” Roj, the larger red fox asks with obvious concern to the smaller red fox. As a bystander, I’ve got to admit, seeing Roj act as Stauf’s guardian is really heartwarming. Even if it happens way too often to be considered normal. Guess that’s what sibling love gets you huh?
“Yes I’m sure.” Stauf replies as he pushes his glasses up. “Limbo and I were already planning to stop by the store, we really don’t mind dropping by the market to get you some extra stuff.”
While the fox brothers do their song and dance, I give into my raccoon instincts and scout the doctor’s office for any possible goodies or shiny objects. Bandages, gloves, hand sanitizer, all decorate the room as one would expect out of a doctors office. There’s even some (what i assume) are family photos. But my eyes rest on the jar of red lollipops. Yummy!
Roj already gave me one for my checkup just now, but I wonder if I could sneak an extra…
But I’m brought out of my trance as Stauf sideeyes me from the corner of my view. He has an expecting glance, looking to me to help reassure his older brother.
“I mind! Although maybe I’d mind a little less if I got some Plumes hehe…” I butt in with a snicker. Stauf gives me a not so subtle death glare, but at least his older brother found it funny.
“Feel free to buy yourselves something nice with the extra cash I’ve given Stauf! You both deserve a treat!” Stauf’s older brother says as he smiles down at us. “Just get home before dark! And look both ways when crossing the street! And-“
“We got it!” Stauf yells back in slight annoyance as he starts to leave, beckoning me to come with.
“Don’t worry Dr. Fuerzgo Sir!” I say as I salute him. “I’ll make sure Stauf comes back in one piece! You never know with him…”
“Shut up and get your ass- butt over here.” Stauf grumbles as he grabs my arm and tugs me along.
Both of us wave goodbye to his older brother as we leave his office. I swear I can hear him chuckle as Stauf closes the door.
We’re barely outside the door before Stauf socks me on the shoulder! Right where I got my shot!
“YEOWCH! What was that for?!” I wince. I forgot how hard he can hit with those twigs of arms he has.
“That’s for acting like an ass in front of Roj!” He scolds me with that stupid look on his face. “You could at least pretend to be somewhat respectful to me in front of him. I don’t need to give my brother more reason to worry about the friends I’m making!”
“Or not making…” I whisper under my breath. I can see Stauf’s face scrunch up before he calms down and tries to be the bigger person by letting it go. So obviously I take that as my cue to press his buttons some more. “Your brother’s so sweet it could give me cavities! Where did all the kind and gentle genetics go when your parents smashed and made you?“
“Disappeared with them I guess.” He replies bluntly as we walk down the hall, past medical workers and patients. I can’t help but audibly chuckle at his response, even if some of the passing workers and patients look at us in mild concern.
“Sometimes I forget you can be funny when you don’t have a stick up your ass.” I shoot back.
Dead parents aren’t off the table when it comes to jokes between me and Stauf. It’s just another part of life the both of us are used to. I think I know more people my age without parents than ones that do. Even in the richer parts of society, people have got plenty of trauma to spare. Well, maybe rich isn’t the right word, Stauf scolds me each time I use it to describe our current social standing.
It’s “working class” according to him. But as long as there’s food on the table and a roof over your head, you’re pretty much rich in my eyes! The city here has a hospital, restaurants, cafes, school, and pretty much anything else you’d want or need. It’d be pretty hard to freeze or starve or… thirst to death here!
Eventually we make our way out of the hospital’s halls and into the city’s streets. While Stauf tinkers around on his Axiom, I take in the atmosphere of the hustle and bustle. People of all ages and species walk around 24/7. It’s kind of comforting to know how easily a person’s exact details get lost in the crowd.
If I look up and behind me though, I can see the hospital’s logo staring down at us in the street below. Resoom really likes to brand their stuff huh?
“Limbo. Limbo” Stauf impatiently repeats as he snaps his fingers together.
“What’s up?” I responded. Still staring at the Resoom logo up above. I’m not gonna give him the satisfaction of making me look his way when he treats me like some pet.
“Let’s get going. I already did all the math for the purchases, so I know exactly how much I’m spending.” He says.
“Did you include my sweet treat in your calculations?” I ask with a cheeky smile.
“I will if you stop wasting time and hurry up.” He replies as he begins to walk to the direction of the shops. I take one last glance to the buildings that tower above us before I follow him.
Resoom really needs to hire a graphic designer…
~
“Man, your brother really sent you out to buy him some antiques?” I ask Stauf as I examine a cup full of pens. Apparently this old rundown shop was the first place on whatever shopping list Roj gave him. “Talk about boring.”
Stauf eyes a red colored fountain pen before gently putting it back where it belongs. “Writing utensils aren’t just useless antiques, we use them all the time in school after all.”
“Yeah but pens and notebooks are one of those things you use at school and nowhere else!” I groan as I follow him deeper into the store. “Yknow, like the Quadratic Equation or Scientific Notation, no one’s ACTUALLY using that stuff in real life.”
“People use that stuff all the time in science and math related career fields!” He answers with an almost defensive tone. “As for the writing utensils though, those are more universal in use. Which is why Roj is asking me to buy some for him, he likes to write his patient’s symptoms and information down on a clipboard.”
Stauf’s finally picked out three fancy looking pens that contain red ink. Trying them out on his own pocket journal he always has on his person. Just when I think we’re about to finally get going from this place, he begins to look through the store’s journals too.
I groan. Loudly. “Just tell him to use his Axiom like everyone else!“
“Well he still uses his Axiom obviously. But having a pen and paper alternative proves to be effective for him. He’s lived without an Axiom for longer than he has with one. I’m sure you’ve had experience living without one.” He replies, trying to keep a flat tone. But I see that slight smirk of [superiority] form.
“Yeah but now that I have an Axiom, I don’t see why I’d ever go back!” I reply with a smug smirk. He just rolls his eyes and groans while I keep messing with him. “Why are you buying him fancy stationary anyway? He’s just gonna blow through the pen’s ink with all that doctor stuff he’s doing, so wouldn’t it be better to buy them in bulk?”
Stauf replies with pure silence as he takes out a leather journal with a singular red stripe across it. Flipping through its blank pages all pretentious like.
“Stauf?” I ask, annoyed with his silent treatment.
He makes his way over to the register, placing the three pens down as well as the journal. He boots up his Axiom with its signature orange screen color to access some Plumes to pay for his purchase.
“So much for talking about life with minimum Axiom use…” I mumble as I make my way over to him.
“I never said that, I just said sometimes people like to have alternatives.” He answers with an annoyed tone of voice as he counts his change. He puts some extra Plumes into the tip jar before he makes for the exit. “Also this store wasn’t part of the supply run, I’m getting Roj a gift. It’s more so the sentimentality of the pens than their long term use.”
We make our way out of the corner shop and back to the street as Stauf neatly puts away the pens and journal in his coat pocket.
I’d probably complain to him about lying to me, but I’ve gotta admit, I’ve lied a lot more times to him than he has to me. Whoops! My bad! Hehe…
And anyways that’s not the part of his explanation that catches me off guard.
“That’s oddly nice of you…” I let slip out without thinking.
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” He sighs, in a tone that’s not so much bothered but tired. “You act like the very idea of me doing something nice is out of the picture.”
“Because it sorta is. You’re always yelling at poor little old me!” I sniffle out dramatically. “Boohoo!”
“Well that’s because you of all people deserve it! You’re always slacking off in class, or bothering other students, or some other bullshit instead of being productive!”
“Well school is boring, can you really blame me?” I shrug. “It’s not like I asked to be there anyway! I guess my test scores were just good enough to get me in.”
“And anyways…!” I add before he can get another word in. “You yell at students that aren’t me too! You’re a good student but sometimes you can be a real jerk too. Didn’t you make that sheep girl cry that one time?”
“I didn’t mean to do that! I was just trying to tutor her and I guess I got a little frustrated…”
“A little is putting it lightly. I remember you were literally clawing at your face trying to keep calm. It was straight out of a cartoon or something!”
“That wasn’t my finest moment…” Stauf grumbles in embarrassment, his tail and ears drooping to match his resigned tone of voice. “I apologized after though. And I heard she aced the test we had the following day. So it all worked out in the end.”
“…uh huh.” I respond with a deadpan expression and barely a nod.
He half sighs and half grunts as he waves his hand, signaling me to follow. This time we’re finally headed off to the good ol’ shopping center I adore so much! We talk, and blab, and yap, and ramble as we make our way over. Sure we could take a port or something, but if we did, we wouldn’t have the time to talk nonsense with each other.
It’s fun to push his buttons I admit. And fine, occasionally he does get a good reaction out of me, I guess…
I could go on for eternity for how short and intense Stauf’s temper is. Yet he SOMEHOW maintains that snooty academic excellence. Teachers and students alike are aware of his quick fuse. I’ve gotta hand it to him, he certainly has quite the reputation in the classroom.
I’ve only known him for about three years. Pretty much ever since I started school again. That’s a pretty short time if we’re talking about the long run, but I’ve gotten used to our little back and forths as a part of this new daily life. I’d consider us peas in a pod!
The other students in our class are always surprised to see someone so lax as me, hanging out with him so often. While the teachers are just as surprised to see a solitary star student like him, befriend a slacker like me. I’m sure Stauf has some smarty pants sounding essay of a response locked and looking, but in my case, I’d say that’s just how the dice rolled.
He just happened to be eyeing me during my first days of school- at this school I mean. Enough to come up and start a conversation with me. And I guess we just kept talking after that more and more.
Also doesn’t help that his older brother is my doctor. So I got to see him occasionally after school while I was still getting my living stuff first sorted out. Guess we bonded over our classes together, and while he waited for his brother to get done with my checkups. A raccoon can get awfully bored and chatty while waiting in that boring office.
After that, us hanging out just became the norm, even years later. We somehow never run out of topics to talk about. No matter how loosely related or stupid.
I’ve gotta admit, it’s pretty great to just be dumb teenagers with him while it lasts…
~
When did I become friends with Limbo again? I think it happened sometime shortly after he transferred into my class some years ago. He didn’t stand out to me at first, that was until I heard about his reputation from the whispers of the adults.
He was an orphan. Which isn’t anything surprising. So am I, although my older brother took on the burden of raising me. I think it would be out of the ordinary if he was one of the few students in our class who had a parent alive.
What surprised me was finding out his academic performance. I couldn’t find out why he wasn’t currently enrolled in school, but whatever aptitude tests he took came back with great results, promising results even! This nobody from who knows where came toe to toe with me in test scores!
Ever since I can remember, I’ve had my snout in a book. With access to Resoom’s educational services, I’ve always strived to make the best use of that knowledge and privilege gifted to me. I’d advance through each and every subsequent grade with flying colors, where my lack of people skills failed, I could more than make up for it in test scores.
So to hear that a student who could possibly contend with me in that regard would be joining our class was more than exciting. Nerve wracking, electrifying, EXHILARATING even!
Well when I finally saw this mysterious star student in person, he barely scored an average 70% on his assignments in class. He’d snooze or zone out during class. I even caught a glimpse of his notebook and it is full of more illustrations than notes!
How the hell could someone like him score so well on those aptitude tests?! I just had to know. So what started as a case study slowly changed into us becoming friends.
And that’s why I’m currently spending my precious Plumes to buy him some ice cream…
“MMFF!” He squeals loudly from across the table as he stuffs a spoonful of the pink treat into his mouth. “This is THE shit! I think I’d die if cotton candy ice cream went extinct.”
“You mean if they discontinued it.” I correct him while pushing up my glasses. “Extinct is for species of animals and plants, not food products.”
“Always so picky with word choices.” He sighs as he licks his lips free of any remaining ice cream. “It doesn’t make that much of a difference if you understood it at the end of the day.”
“Having a good vocabulary is important. It means I’ll never run out of ways to call you a dumbass. Or an imbecile, or a fool, or an idiot, or-“
“I get it, I get it.” He mutters as he makes for another scoop of ice cream. “You’re a dictionary given sentience. Big whoop. You really do put the dick in dictionary.” He chuckles with his eyes closed
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
“What the heck’s that mean?”
“It means don’t be a dick to the person buying you your ice cream or else you can kiss it goodbye.” I grumble. I’m about to point to his ice cream only to see the cup it came in completely licked clean. The putrid cotton candy flavored monstrosity down Limbo’s digestive system in a blink.
“I’ll bite that hand as much as I want if it won’t get me any more treats.” He snickers with a smug expression on his face. He pushes the empty cup my way. “As long as I get my stomach filled for the day, I’m good with pretty much anything.”
He’s got that stupid expression of superiority plastered on his face. He knows exactly how to get on my nerves. God it’s annoying, but at the same time it’s incredibly impressive. I’ll let him win this one I guess…
“Just don’t get too cocky with what you can get away with.” I remind him. “Not everyone has the same patience I have with you-“
“You have ZERO patience with me of all people!” He loudly interrupts. I silently stare at him with slight disapproval on my face while he laughs and waves me off. “But I get what you’re saying, go on.”
“That’s because you don’t deserve any with how stupid you can be!” I take a deep breath before I get back to my initial point again. “What I’m trying to say is, you gotta learn to invest in the long term.”
“The long term can suck my balls.” He interrupts again.
It takes everything inside of me not to scold him again and get off topic.
“The long term is gonna keep you alive.” I mutter through clenched teeth. “Not everyone is as lucky as us. The hand that feeds both of us is Resoom, and it’s our duty to pay that gift forward. We don’t have to worry about survival, about food or shelter-“
“You don’t think I know that?” He interrupts in a suddenly cold tone. It catches me so off guard, I don’t even have time to get angry at his interruption.
“Our life is so cushy and cozy and all we’ve got to do is do well on some tests and stuff.” He says as he traces the rim of the ice cream cup with a singular finger. “It’s such whiplash from what I knew before, it’s still disorienting.”
“Doing more than you’re expected to do is just plain stupid…” He mutters as he lifts his finger up from the cup and moves it elsewhere.
“And that’s why I’m smarter than you” he says as he stretches over the table to point at something on my face.
What follows is him flicking his fingers directly at my glasses and laughing hysterically to himself as I flinch.
Little asshole! I have half the mind to retaliate somehow, but that thought fades away from the sheer volume of his laughter. I’m sure whatever my reaction looked like, it couldn’t come close enough to justify Limbo’s rowdy laughing fit.
His laughter is as annoying as it is pleasant in some oxymoronic nature. I sit there in a stoic and still glare as he slowly catches his breath. Wiping a stray tear from his eye.
“Sorry, sorry…” He chuckles, clearly not sorry at all. “… it’s just, you always kinda scrunch up your face like a sponge whenever you get serious! It never gets old!”
“You take things so seriously, it’s kinda funny.” He adds on, his tone shifting into something more calm and seemingly genuine from his earlier insults. “Life’s going to fuck us in the ass, I know that already. That’s why I take it upon myself to seize any opportunities to slack off and relax.“
“Questionable word choice, but I understand what you’re saying to an extent. I understand that you’re just making more excuses for your laziness.”
“Hey! Both can be true at the same time!” He retorts. “So much of our life is in the hands of forces we can’t control, trying to tame them would be stupid. You’ll learn to go with the flow as you get older, trust.”
“You’re talking as if you’re some wise old sage and not some bum who won’t do his own bed.”
“I could’ve been one before I met you. Or I could’ve been a cool underground rockstar, or maybe even a world renowned chef!” Limbo lists off more and more ridiculous careers and backstories as he taps the table with alternating hands at a steady rhythm.
“Just get to the point.” I say as I interrupt his pointless rambling.
“You’re not very subtle about how interested you are in me-“
“WHAT THE HELL’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!” I shout as I suddenly stand up from my seat. I can feel the passerby suddenly go silent and turn their attention towards us. I’ve even managed to catch Limbo off guard with my reaction.
It takes him a bit to keep talking, as he waits for everyone else to stop staring and go back to their own conversations and what not.
“Even though you always complain about me as a roommate, you’re always going out of your way to hang out with me.” He replies, back to his signature playfulness. “I can see you’re trying really hard to get me to spill the beans about my past for some reason, so I’ll throw you a bone, let’s play 20 questions! Ask me whatever.”
I hate this stupid game. It’s some game Limbo invented where you can only ask yes or no questions. Sure I can get a pretty decent understanding of what little he does let slip, but I’d rather he just answer my questions right out the gate.
“Can I exchange three yes or no questions to ask you an open ended one?” I ask
“That’s not how you play the game smartass.” He sighs. “But fine, I’ll answer an open ended one for… seven yes or no questions!”
“Lower it to five yes or no questions.”
“Fine, I’m too lazy to negotiate. This is 20 questions, not something like Monopoly…” He sighs.
“What the hell’s Monopoly?”
“It’s a board game.” He answers with a smirk. “There goes your first five questions.”
Before I can think, I’ve already spoken. “What’s a board game-“
“It’s a game you play on a board.” Limbo answers before I can take it back. “We’d make pieces from whatever we could find though. Sometimes we’d play with just a piece of paper and a pencil. We made it work.”
This time, I think before I speak. I managed to get some idea about Limbo’s past from that last question, even if it was an admittedly stupid move on my part to ask before properly thinking it through. I should’ve known he wouldn’t play fair.
I clasp my hands together as I think about how I should phrase my last two questions. Sure I could just make a bunch of yes or no questions, but what’s the fun in that?
“When you were talking about board games or whatever, you said “we.” Could you tell me more about those other people?”
He pauses for a little bit, thinking about a response. It only takes him a couple seconds to respond with a simple, “No, I can’t.”
“What the hell do you mean no?! You can’t refuse a question in twenty questions!”
“I didn’t refuse it, I answered it. The answer just happened to be no!” He says with a wave of his finger. He’s smiling, clearly he finds some sort of sadistic enjoyment in my anger. “And that was your last question and answer.”
I should’ve known he’d find some cheap cop out. He always does. Be it assignments, roommate duties, or anything else. It really pisses me off. But at the same time, it’s sort of fun… in a way… I guess.
~
We check in with the receptionist as we walk back inside Resoom. She greets both of us, but I’m the only one to engage in conversation with her. I entertain her with some small talk as Limbo fiddles around on his Axiom. As we make our way inside, I scold him.
“You could at least pretend to have manners when someone’s talking to you.”
“You’re one to talk.” He huffs and rolls his eyes. “If you find her so annoying, why do you always act so nice to her?”
“You’ve got to respect the people above you, even if you don’t personally like them. She isn’t doing anything bad for me to dislike her, her voice just grates on my ears.”
“That was very respectful of you, Stauf…” Limbo nods his head while sarcastically and slowly clapping. “I’ll be sure to take notes on that and apply it in my own interactions with higher ups.”
“Just shut it will you?”
“Nah.” The raccoon chuckles to himself. “Speaking of higher ups, you sure we got everything for Roj?”
“Yup. Lollipops, stickers, firegrass, some gummy snacks.”
“You’d think his shopping list would be more… doctory?” Limbo says as he looks through the bag’s contents.
“Resoom provides him with the necessary medical supplies already. This stuff is just for him. Although he usually gives most of this stuff to his patients. And don’t take anything from that bag for yourself.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it!” Limbo snickers as he takes his eyes off the bulk of lollipops in the bag. “I still have no idea how someone as sweet as him is related to someone so prickly like you.”
“I guess you have a point there. He’s nothing like me, but I still strongly respect him.”
“Do you respect but tolerate him like the way you “respect” the receptionist?” He asks.
“I genuinely respect him! It’s just… I’m not the best at showing it I guess. For all the times he’s been overly doting or somewhat patronizing, I can tell it’s because he really cares. Not that I’ve been the easiest to deal with anyway with my-“
“Anger issues.” He finishes for me. I give him a glare and I’m about to scold him, but I don’t want to prove him right, so I let it slide.
“What you need to know is that at the end of the day, I love him and everything he’s done for me. That’s why I’m trying so hard to become a doctor like him. He’s… my role model.”
Limbo stops walking and stands still, completely silent. That’s not like him so I turn to him with a questioning look before he finally moves again.
“That’s so sweet and sorta corny of you Stauf!” He squeals in the way Roj does. I immediately regret spilling my heart out as Limbo continues his impression of my older brother’s giddy tone of speech. “Prickly little Staufy does have a heart underneath!”
“You can stop now.”
“Fine, fine...” Limbo says with a sigh. “For real though, it is kinda nice seeing you be so nice. I didn’t know you had it on you. Maybe I should tell Roj what you just said about him at my next checkup.”
“Please don’t…”
“Why? Embarrassed?” Limbo teases.
“I’d rather he hear those words from me when I give him his present.”
“Oh yeah! The pens and journal you got him from that store. What’s the occasion anyways? Is it his birthday or something?”
“… I don’t think I’m at liberty to say. It’s personal.”
Contrary to what I’d expect from him, Limbo doesn’t push it further or make an attempt at a joke. He simply just nods and drops the subject. I guess when it comes to his bratty antics, Roj is off the table.
Apparently I’m free game anytime though.
We talk some more nonsense as we walk through Resoom’s halls. Chatting about subjects to study, other students in our class, how I’ll strangle Limbo if he leaves his dirty laundry on the floor. You know, the same old. We eventually part ways as he takes the elevator to head to our room, and I make my way to Roj’s office.
I enjoy the thinking time walking alone gives me. It allows me to reflect and contemplate. It also gives me an excuse to admire the orange sunset outside Resoom’s windows. I’m not a very artistic person but even I can acknowledge how beautiful the view is.
When I was a kit, Roj would compare the color of my fur to the orange sunset when he’d brush it when the day would come to its end. He’d tuck me into bed and stay with me until I finally fell asleep. He’s more of a parent to me than he is a big brother honestly.
Which is why I want to be a doctor so much. I want him to live a healthy long life and be able to help brush his fur when he’s too old to do so himself. I want to pay him back the same way he has for me. He’s pretty much forsaken his whole life for me. Even when his husband died…
It happened years ago on this day, I was still a baby so I don’t remember who he was or anything like that. But Roj fought through the grief and continued to put me as his priority. I only found out his husband was killed by terrorists when he let it slip one night while we ate dinner.
Roj still talks about him like he’s still here. The green lizard is displayed on some of our family photos. There’s even a photo where he’s holding a baby version of me. I can tell Roj loved him a lot.
This world is cruel. Even though Roj’s tried to hide his suffering from me, I can still see it. I wonder if there’s anything someone like me can do to make Roj’s world even a tiny bit happier.