Chapter Text
|Vine Staff|
Vine Staff watched the sun set slowly into the outline of the sprawling cityscape. In some weird way, it reminded her of the jungle she grew up in, in Thieve’s Den. With the sporadically and cobbled together architecture, and the diversity of the Inphernals who live here made it feel nostalgic to Vine Staff, in a way. Except most everything would not kill her if she touched or went near it, and there were more Inphernals here than she had ever seen in her entire life. It was homely and foreign at the same time. Shroedinger’s Cat, if you will.
It had been a long day at Thieve’s Rest, that’s for sure. Not that anything had happened specifically. More just that time barely seemed to pass as Vine Staff took charge of the cash register and served food and drinks to busy customers for 9 hours. At least now she was alone with her siblings again. It’s always much more peaceful when it was the three of them…except when Shuriken and Slingshot would constantly bicker.
Even if they argued and yelled at each other and promised to never look at the other again, in the end, they’d always be there for each other. Slingshot, Shuriken, and Vine Staff against the whole Inpherno. Well, maybe that’s how it felt to Vine Staff. It wasn’t important, anyway. She lived with her siblings now, and that’s all that mattered. She wasn’t alone anymore. It was a common thing she’d remind herself of now.
“Yo, Sling, got everything locked up now!” Shuriken called to his sibling from the front entrance. Vine Staff turned to where the voice came from.
“And you’re positive it’s EVERYTHING this time?” She couldn’t see him, but Vine Staff could imagine Slingshot rolling his eyes, as he did with practically everything Shuriken said or did.
“Obviously, Sling. I learned from yesterday.” Shuriken scratched the base of his neck.
“You only learned something from leaving doors unlocked because rats got into the pantry.” Slingshot finally came into view, as he padded his way into the front counter towards the cash register. He opened it, sifting through the cash they’d made that day.
“I forgot ONE door was unlocked. It’s not my fault I was tired.”
“You’re tired all the time, so don’t use that as an excuse.” Slingshot pocketed the bux, and grabbed his duffel bag from behind the front counter. He turned to his siblings. “Anyways, you all ready to head home?”
“Yep!” Vine Staff smiled, as she grabbed the strap of her bag slightly more firmly. Shuriken nodded.
“Good. Shuri, lock the door when we get out there, if you don’t mind?” Shuriken knew better than to argue, especially considering that Slingshot was giving him a look he was already way too familiar with. It was very clear that Slingshot was still upset at him for the whole rat situation. Shuriken nodded again.
“Sure, yeah, fine. Whatever.”
The three exited through the back door, Shuriken only stopping to lock it before jogging towards the car. Slingshot slid into the driver’s seat, with Vine Staff in the passenger seat. Shuriken, as usual, sat in the back, where he'd probably take another short nap until they got to their apartment.
Slingshot jostled with the keys to the car, and turned the ignition key to start it up. As the engine revved, Slingshot steered the car out of the parking lot, and towards the busy street that led them to their humble abode.
“So, how was work today, Vine?” Slingshot’s tone sounded much more calm now. For some odd reason, driving calmed Slingshot’s nerves. Or maybe it was just because he wasn’t talking to Shuriken.
“It was exhausting, to be honest. Today felt longer than it should’ve felt.” Vine Staff sighed. “It wasn’t because of customers or anything. I guess today was just off. I dunno.”
“Well, I guess we all have our bad day-“ Before Slingshot could finish his sentence, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
“Oop, got a call. One sec, Vine.” Making sure he kept his eyes on the road, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the answer button, making sure to push the speaker button out of habit. “Hello?”
“Yo, Sling! Can we hang at your place tonight?” Vine Staff’s ears perked at the voice. She recognized it for sure, but she couldn’t quite place her finger on who it was.
“Well, that’s one way of saying hi. Heya, Skate. Why my place, though? Special event?”
“Coil’s in a wrestling championship, and me and Boom wanna watch with you! I dunno why he decided to be in it though, since he’s kinda on the run, but whatevs. Oh, and I’m also in Crossroads for a bit as like, a vacation of sorts. Takin’ a break from my job or sum’.”
“Whuh-what job? You’re unemploy-” An audible shush echoed from the phone speaker.
“VACATION, SLING. Vacation. So, hangout or nah?” Slingshot frowned and pinched the bridge of his cat-like nose. Anyone who knew Slingshot well knew that he hated Coil with a passion, to the point where he’d avoid anything related to him if he could help it. But Slingshot would never say no to a hangout, even at the cost of his own sanity.
Slingshot sighed, before giving a small smile. “Sure, why not. It’s Friday anyway, so I got tomorrow off. When will you be over?”
“Eh, around 6 maybe. Whenever Boom gets off of work. Whichuuuuuuuhh should be soon, considering you an’ him get off around the same time.”
“Alright, then. I’ll let Shuri know when we get home. Vine already knows, I got you on speaker right now.”
“Oooooh yeah! You got siblings, I forget that sometimes-oh, gettin’ a call from Boom. Probably to tell me he’s done. I’ll see ya in an hour, Sling!”
“Alright, see ya.” Skateboard hung up, leaving the car in silence again (aside from the traffic outside.) “Uh, sorry about that Vine. You still wanna talk?”
Truth be told, Vine Staff forgot what they had been talking about, aside from the frustration of being interrupted. She got kinda absorbed in the phone call, if she was being honest with herself.
“It’s fine, Sling. I kinda forgot what I was talking about anyway. We’re almost home, regardless. I wanna change out of the uniform as fast as possible.” Vine Staff itched at her sleeve. She really didn’t like the texture of the uniform, but she had to make do with it. According to Slingshot, ‘they didn’t have the money to tailor a uniform with better fabric’.
“Oh, okay. After you get changed, would you mind helping me set up a snack tray? Boombox and Skate will raid the kitchen if we don’t.”
“Yeah, sure.” Vine Staff said out of habit. She didn’t really want to help. She wanted to rot in bed and not come out till everyone was asleep. But if Slingshot wanted her to help, she couldn’t help but say yes. She wanted to make herself useful, somehow.
“Great! We gotta set it up pretty quickly, considering they’ll be here in about an hour.”
~~~
Vine Staff placed the knife she’d used to cut the cheese in the dishwasher. After she’d changed into her more comfortable casual wear (and sweater), and had begged Shuriken to help her (to little avail), Slingshot had her slice cheese and bell peppers for what felt like forever (aka, 15 minutes). At least with their combined effort, the two had made a nice-looking snack tray…two minutes before their guests were supposed to arrive. Oh well. At least the important part was done.
“That should be good, Vine. Thanks for helping out.” Slingshot grinned.
“It was no problem at all. I just hope there’s enough to last the night.” Vine Staff picked up the plate and set it on the living room table.
“That depends on how invested we all get. I certainly won’t. Speaking of which, are you gonna be watching tonight too? I know when we have guests over, you prefer to be by yourself.” Vine Staff shoulders tensed. She felt bad that she usually avoided people who weren’t her siblings, since she didn’t know how to interact with strangers very well. But she didn’t want it to be like that forever. It sucked being by herself sometimes, and she knew loneliness all too well. What better way to get herself out of that by trying to be around Slingshot’s friends?
She knew who they were. Not by name most of the time, but she saw them a lot at Thieve’s Rest. She knew Slingshot hated someone in that group. And she knew one of them was on the phone earlier. Vine Staff would never admit it, but she was jealous of Slingshot and his friends. They all were so close, yet Vine Staff only had her siblings, the only two Inphernals Vine Staff has been in contact with since her childhood. She wished she could be a part of a group like Slingshot’s.
…So why not give it a go with this? Everything starts somewhere, after all.
“Uh, I’ll try.” Goddammit, why did she say it like that? But despite her shaky voice, Slingshot grinned.
“Awesome! And if you get overstimulated, there’s always your balcony.” Slingshot gave a thumbs up just as a knock came from the door. “Oh, they’re here.”
Slingshot walked towards the front door, unlocking it before swinging the door open.
“Heya, Sling! ‘Sup, man!” An Inphernal with red horns greeted Vine Staff’s sibling. This one’s Skateboard, Vine Staff concluded. There was another shorter Inphernal behind Skateboard, but with green horns this time. If she remembered correctly, this should be Boombox.
Vine Staff had seen Boombox and Skateboard many times before, but never this close. She’d only ever taken a glance at their group from across a room. Whenever they’d been over, Vine Staff was always in her room to avoid interference. But just observing the group was a bit mesmerizing, in its own weird way.
“Hi, Skate, Boombox! Just in time, we got everything set up.” Slingshot let the two guests inside, before remembering that Vine Staff was just kinda standing in the kitchen. “Oh, this is one of my siblings, Vine Staff. I think you’ve seen each other around, since she works at Thieve’s Rest.” Vine Staff waved and gave a slight nervous smile.
“Huh. Yeah, I think I’ve seen you around Thieve’s Rest before! Nice to meet’cha! I’m Boombox, but you can just call me Boom!” Boombox waved energetically.
“I’m Skate. I’m the one who was on the phone earlier.”
Vine Staff could feel everyone’s eyes on her. She slowly tugged on her right sleeve to cover her cursed arm. She didn’t want that to be noticeable, for now. “I, uh, figured. Your voice is kind of hard NOT to recognize.”
Boombox snickered. “You got that right! You’ve got a unique way of talking, Skate.”
Skateboard elbowed Boombox’s arm playfully. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean now, huh?” The two and Slingshot burst out laughing, while Vine Staff just…watched. Is that what friends did with each other?
After about a minute, Slingshot cleared his throat. “Ok, now that we got introductions aside, how ‘bout we get set up? Vine and I made a snack tray, and I got all the blankets out as usual. Make yourselves comfortable.”
“Sweet.” Skateboard and Boombox left the entryway towards the living room, with Slingshot and Vine Staff right behind them.
~~~
Vine Staff regretted joining her sibling about an hour into the competition. Not because of Skateboard and Boombox themselves, more just that they got really, REALLY loud. Even Slingshot, despite his earlier claim, got invested too. Eventually, the noise became way too overbearing, and she excused herself from the room.
Vine Staff knew that she needed somewhere to calm down. Thank the Swords she had the balcony, her designated “calm-down corner”. When the siblings first moved into the apartment, the balcony immediately caught Vine Staff’s attention. It was the only place in the entire apartment that was fully exposed to fresh air, but most importantly, all the noise from the streets below. The noise from Crossroads became a sort of white noise, which led Vine Staff to fall asleep on the balcony a few times by accident.
Over the years, she’d added decorations and plants to the balcony, making it more personalized. Fabrics and rugs were hung from the inner part of the balcony roof. Fairy lights and lanterns hung from the support beams that held up said roof to the wall. Multiple blankets and pillows decorated the floor, accompanied by a medium-sized plush couch. And to top it off, over a dozen plants hung from both the ceiling, off the rails, and on the wooden floor.
Vine Staff slowly shut the door that connected the kitchen to the balcony. She took in a deep breath. The buzz of the street below created a mask that kept out the noise from inside the apartment. Vine Staff plugged in the fairy lights, and turned on the lanterns. The warm lights of the balcony contrasted the now pitch-black sky and the bright neon lights from below.
Vine Staff traced circles on the fabric that covered her wooden arm as she leaned into the plush couch. She hadn’t been out for very long, but she already felt much better than she had an hour ago. She let her muscles slack, and she started to drift off, with the noise of the city around her slowly morphing into what sounded like the bird of paradise’s calls, and the raindrops that plunked against the leaves of the tallest trees.
Well, only until she heard a knock on the balcony door.
Vine Staff lifted her head to look through the glass that was the balcony door. It was Skateboard. What was he doing here?
Vine Staff slowly rose from the couch and slid the door for him. “Uh, hi, Skateboard. Did you need something from me?”
“Oh, not really. Well, I guess, technically.” He itched at his cheek. “Me and Boom are about to head back to his place, but Sling fell asleep and we can’t find your other sibling anywhere. Since you’re the only one awake right now, we thought we’d tell you so you could tell your fam tomorrow or somethin’.”
Skateboard peeked over Vine Staff. “Oh, sweet, your set up’s awesome back here! How long did this take you to get it like this?” Vine Staff moved out of the doorframe to let Skateboard take a closer look.
“Maybe around, uh, a few months? Most of this I took from the house, like that red rug. That used to be in the dining room. But some things like the lights and some of the plants I bought on outings with Shuri and Sling.” Vine Staff answered.
“Dude, that’s peak. Gotta use things that are at your disposal, sometimes, y’know?” Skateboard said. Vine Staff had no idea what he was saying half the time, but she nodded anyway. “Do you mind if I look around for a bit? This does kindaaaa seem like a more personal space, so it’s totally chill if you don’t want me lookin’ around.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t really mind.” Vine Staff said.
“Sweeeeet.”
Skateboard spent the next few minutes taking in all the small details, asking about where Vine Staff had gotten something, and gushing over the way the balcony looked. Eventually, he put his hands on his hips, and stared out at Crossroads from between the curtains and rugs.
“Look, I know I’ve said this, like, a bajillion times, but this is fuckin’ awesome. Like, the lighting’s cool, and the plants make it a lot more earthy. I like what you’ve done to the place.”
Vine Staff fidgeted with her hands, her face red from embarrassment. She wasn’t used to this many compliments before, especially about an area that she had curated to her liking. “...Thanks.”
“I’m curious though. What do you use the balcony for anyway? Sorry if that’s a stupid question…”
“No, you’re fine. I just use the balcony for when I need to calm down. Sometimes I stay out here for a few hours after a long day at work.”
“Huh, that’s neat. I can see how this would be a chill-out place.” Skateboard looked around again before landing on the bigger potted plants that were pushed into the corner to his left. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed them yet. “Oh shoot, these are huge! I don’t think I’ve ever seen house plants this big! What kind of plants are they?”
“These?” Vine Staff walked over to where Skateboard was pointing at. “These are the banana plant and peace lily respectively. Or if you want to get technical with it, the musa acuminata and the spathiphyllum respectively. I’ve had these guys for a while now, so that’s probably why they’re this massive.”
“Dude, that’s so cool. Maybe I should try takin’ care of some plants like this. They could be nice decorations around my place, and it’d give me something to dedicate my free time to.” Skateboard’s eyes gleamed at the thought.
“It’s harder than it looks to take care of a plant though. Especially these plants. They’re native to Thieve’s Den, so it’s harder to keep them alive in an environment they don’t naturally live in. If you do want to take care of plants, it’s probably best to start off with something that’s easy to take care of. Like a monstera or a spider plant.”
“Would you teach me how to take care of ‘em?” For a few moments, the two of them stayed silent, and only the sound of the evening wind and the bustling streets could be heard.
Vine Staff? Teach someone how to take care of plants? Out of all the things she had expected Skateboard to say, this certainly wasn’t one of them. Was she even qualified to teach something like that? Sure, she’d taken care of many plants in her life, even in Thieve’s Den when she’d find a dying flower or bush here and there. But what if those skills couldn’t transfer over to teaching someone? Let alone someone she barely knows.
But…something about it seemed kind of appealing. She’d never met another Inphernal who was interested in plants, even if it was just an initial infatuation with the idea (then again, she didn’t know many Inphernals). She wanted to have people in her life who were interested in the same things as her; to have some common ground. If someone was interested in learning how, then who was she to say no? But she probably should say no. She couldn’t decide.
“Um, you don’t, uh, have to. If you don’t want to. It was just a thought. Sorry.” Skateboard’s voice snapped Vine Staff out of her spiraling thoughts.
“No, no, it’s, uh-you’re good!” Vine Staff assured. “You’re good. Just, uh…give me some time to think about it, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all! I don’t mind!” A faint sound buzzed in Skateboard’s pocket. “Oop, that’s probably Boom. I gotta go, otherwise I’ll get a stern talkin’ to.”
“Oh, okay.”
Skateboard stretched, before walking himself out. He hesitated sliding the door open, before turning around to face Vine Staff.
“I’ll see ya later, Vine Staff. Hopefully.” He waved.
“Goodbye.” Vine Staff waved back as he finally exited. Once he was out of view, she relaxed her shoulders that she didn’t even know were tensed. She sighed.
She was gonna have to sleep on this.