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“Well, that day was pretty good! We managed to find some more food, at least!”
Tisha carefully nudged their bag of goods underneath the rusty door while Shrimpo held it open, before crawling in herself. Shrimpo quickly followed suit, rolling his eyes at her.
“We spent half of it hiding from a twisted Goob. I wouldn't exactly consider that good.”
Tisha sighed, subtly rubbing a bruise on her elbow she gained when Shrimpo had to shove her out of range of the twisted’s deadly grasp. “Well, we can't exactly be picky down here,” she started, moving down to unpack their bag, “It's not exactly a safe environment. We're lucky we didn't encounter more, to be honest. Now come help me put these away.”
She heard a huff somewhere above her, followed by mumbling that sounded suspiciously like “I hate having to organise supplies” before Shrimpo dropped unceremoniously beside her and started pulling things out. All things considered, they’d been pretty successful on their “daily” excursion. They'd found enough food to last them a few days, if they rationed it properly, alongside a few medical supplies and another blanket for their makeshift bed. Tisha took out the soft fabric, folding it neatly and efficiently before moving to place it besides the rest.
“This soda’s probably flat,” Shrimpo grumbled bitterly to himself, holding a can to the dim, flickering light, “I hate flat soda.” That didn't stop him from quickly cracking the can open and downing the whole thing in one big gulp.
A few days (or, what they thought were days. It was hard to keep track of time down here.) ago, Tisha would have scolded him for wasting supplies so flippantly, but she’d since softened. They had enough supplies right now to last them a while, and they both deserved what little comfort they could get, so she stayed quiet. Instead, she moved back to the bag, picking up their newly-gathered food rations and tucking them away in the cupboard Shrimpo had managed to drag to the elevator. She then picked out a few things for their nightly meal, before wordlessly passing Shrimpo his portion.
They ate in silence for a while, exhausted from running and hiding all day. The sound of contented chewing and crinkling wrappers filled the dingy elevator, a nice change from the pained gurgles of the twisted toons that roamed outside.
Eventually, Tisha pulled out a small protein bar from her pile of food. Her eyes lighting up, she held the bar up to Shrimpo.
“Hey, it's cherry flavoured! I used to eat these all the time back before Gardenview shut down! Goodness, it's been ages since I've had one.”
Shrimpo paused, looking up at her curiously. “You used to snack on… protein bars?” He said, frowning at her.
“Er, well, sort of?” Tisha rubbed her head sheepishly, “They weren't so much of a snack as a main food source, really.”
She watched his brow furrow down slightly. “... Protein bars aren't a full meal, freak,” he said after a moment.
“I know, but they were just… the easiest thing to eat, especially in-between cleaning sessions,” She sighed, finally moving to unwrap the bar, “They're quick, and they have a lot of nutrients in them. Not a perfect substitute, but good enough for my purposes.”
“That’s stupid. How long does it take you to just.. eat a sandwich?”
Tisha held up her hand, quickly finishing her mouthful before speaking, “Oh, too long!” She paused, “Well, usually only 10 or so minutes. But that's precious time I could spend dusting the shelves, or mopping up the floor, or-”
“I think I get the point.”
Conversation died down after that, and the two finished their meagre dinner quickly. Wordlessly, Tisha began picking up the empty food wrappers and putting them into a plastic bin that stood near the unused shop hatch. Shrimpo watched her from his place on the floor, and Tisha swore his permanent scowl looked… softer than normal. Only slightly.
Once the elevator was cleared of litter, Tisha moved over to the sparking operating panel. She squinted at the flickering letter display, trying to discern what it read. After a few minutes, she was able to make out the letters [AS_R_’S FL__R].
“...Ah. I think I know our next stop.”
Shrimpo grunted as he pushed himself off the floor, coming up behind her to look at the panel too. After an awkward pause, he muttered a small “damn”.
“I should take stock of our energy drinks,” Tisha began, “There’s a higher likelihood a Twisted Astro shows up here, so we’ll want to make sure we don’t-”
“You should sleep.”
“Huh?”
“You look like the living dead. They can probably see your eye bags from the top floor.”
There was a lengthy pause in which Tisha did her best to refrain from commenting on Shrimpo’s harsh (but somewhat accurate) observations. All the while he stared her down, almost as though he were trying to intimidate her into sleeping.
“Er… While I appreciate your concerns, Shrimpo, I really ought to do this before we arrive-”
“Oh my god, I’ll count the stupid soda bottles,” Shrimpo groaned, “I’ll even write it down somewhere. You’re welcome.”
He began guiding Tisha down to their makeshift bed tucked in the back corner of the elevator. Confused, she sat and stared at him as he picked up the folded blanket and tossed it at her, before shuffling away. The cupboard’s hinges squeaked slightly as he swung its doors open, pulling out their current supply of soda cans and bottles.
Shrimpo turned to look at her from where he sat across the elevator. “Get some rest. Seriously. If you’re dragging your feet tomorrow I’ll abandon you.”
A small smile tugged at Tisha’s face. She leaned back into the assorted mound of cushions, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
“Goodnight, Shrimpo,” she called out softly.
As the slow rumble of the elevator lulled her to sleep, Tisha could’ve sworn she heard a quiet voice call out “Night, idiot”.