Deerington inbox

[droptheious]

FROM: SUBJECT: FERN Ooo slang part the second FERN i think we just shared electrons, because i'm feeling a covalent bond between us LANCE Pidge, I need your help. I gotta send a meme to Chloe but ... DIPPER Hey Varian. You know those crazy alchemy bombs you used... PETER Hey Varian, this is Peter. Um, Peter Graham. USAGI Soooooooo~ How'd the date go? MAKO Varian— Checking in. SHIRO i think one of us put a chicken patty in my toaster EDDIE Hey. We need to talk. MELIUS 𝐻𝒾. 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒾𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝒾𝓇𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓇𝓉 EDA Hey, kid. I... owe you an apology. LUZ Valentines MAUL I have a proposition for a project I think you'll be interested in USAGI I LOVE YOU FERN DUDE you still have your bandana! BUZZ Morning. I heard from Fern you wanted to go out into the blizzard. FERN dude your profile changed USAGI Ruby told me about the breakup. GLITCH Varian, I'm gonna go live somewhere else for now MAKO A "nerd" is somebody smart... MAUL Gifts FERN heeyyyy quick question FERN Christmas is coming up!!! CHLOE god who the FUCK ever thought emojis were a good idea??? KRISTOFF Varian,It's getting colder so I thought you could use this FERN heyyyy Variable RAPUNZEL okay not to put you on the spot but... EDA Potion time NEO Dude, I can mine antidote shit here! GLITCH Got this in my basket. EDA hey smart kid TEN Hallo ADAM Hey, k-- uh, Varian. I just wanted to check in USAGI I'm sorry I worried you and fainted on you yesterday. AMARA i lived, bitch NEO Debatably good news, asshole USAGI Hey Varian! It's Usagi OSCAR I'm sorry, Varian. Tell me what you need FERN a dark past huh MAUL Varian. I am in great need of your assistance FERN Varian VARIAN I CAN EAT FOOD USAGI How much moon essence do you have? USAGI VIVI-KUN, VIVI-KUN GUESS WHAT GUESS WHAT! RICHIE well I promised FERN A TOTALLY INCOMPLETE LIST OF OOO WORDS 'N SLANG GLITCH VARIAN ARE THERE BUGS IN THE WATER?! USAGI To help with restless nights and the... VIRA-LORR Little alchemist. I have a gift for you. MARTIN Hi, Varian. This is Martin. I wanted to reach out... USAGI Hi Varian, sweetie! I have a question for you. GLITCH varian I need to talk to you. it's important. USAGI I need you not to panic after what I tell you. FERN dog you have so many vests IRONHIDE HONK HONK USAGI ... I'm sorry I couldn't help you better, Varian EMERALD Hey, V. Not that I care that much or anything... FERN tell me when you're alive FERN Varian i stabbed two people AMARA hey weirdo i have something for you FERN is the Rapunzel in town your Rapunzel? PENNY Salutations!! You do not know me, but my name is Penny Polendina YANG Hey, is this Varian? I think we've met once before. FERN hey can we talk FERN you told ruby MAUL Surviving another year is always an occasion worth celebrating USAGI Hey I wanted to apologise USAGI VARIAN-KUUUUNNN!!!! FERN birth MAUL Look what just arrived for me. KATHERINE Do you want to get paid to make more purple goo things? FERN ok i know you're good with plants but what about animals FERN dog interested in means girls or guys

TO: SUBJECT: USAGI So. Maul dropped by, he's got his memories back. ADAM I'm worried about Shiro FERN Hey handsome OSCAR You've been weirdly quiet lately FERN Guess what I haven't told you lately? USAGI Hey. I'm back from the dead and I feel like trash. FERN I made meatloaf that may or may not poison us! Emerald Hey. I know you probably don't want to talk to anyone right now... BELLA Hey Bella. You've dated someone who's a different species to you right? BILL Hi, Fern mentioned you were interested in interdimensional portals... FERN Aw, your pictures are nice! KURT Hey. Are you around? RICHIE Is it just me or is Eddie acting weirder than usual? QROW Hey. Checking up on you. EDA Hi Eda. Hope Ruddiger found you okay. GLITCH Hey. What happened between you and Maul? LUNA Luna- I uh... I think I need your help EDDIE So hey, I finally worked out how to replicate the Antidote OSCAR So, I noticed Ozpin has shown up. ROGUE Hey, I managed to replicate the Antidote KURT Hey. We're back. None of us are dead. QROW Uh... hey. How are you guys holding up? PETER You gave Ruby the haunted dolls GLITCH Hey, Bud. Sorry I tried to murder you with a robot KURT I'm probably the last person you want to talk to... JON I'm sorry I attacked you JON Stay away from Fern. FERN Hey you still haven't got me those baking ingredients FERN Okay so the Betties are upping their war... USAGI Hey. So. Update. NEO You tried to bury her alive? SERIOUSLY? USAGI Emotions are really difficult FERN OH MY GOD YOU HAVE ONE TOO FERN Okay this better be to Fern this time. WYNONNA So guess who got into the fridge and ate literally everything in there.

code by cawaii

Comments

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[droptheious]

[Eventually, he manages to pull himself out of his panicked self-realisation spiral to remember Fern is still sitting there. After pouring his heart out to him, and oh. Oh geez. Confusion gives away to a touch of sadness. Maybe a different time, a different shuffle of the cards. He rubs the back of his neck, heaving out a shuddery breath. Wow, Okay. Yeah. That's- that's sure a thing. ]

Oh... okay. That's- this is a lot for me to process.

[He definately should have gone with the cave idea.]

I'm uh.. I don't know. It's- it's nice to know? I... yeah. Maybe in a different time... I don't know. I'm not- I'm not really sure about almost anything right now.

[He's never had anyone tell him they have feelings for him in his entire life and now there's two of them at once. Like. Is the universe laughing at him? Is that what this is? That he has to hurt someone he cares about because of this. He ruffles his hair, trying to displace the growing anxiety. He's never had to turn anyone down before. He honestly never thought he'd have ONE person give a shit about him enough to want to be with him, let alone two. He has no damn idea what he's doing. ]

I- I'm sorry, Fern. You mean the world to me, I... I wasn't lying when I said that. You really are the best friend I've ever had, but- but that's where it stops. And it's not because you're not good enough or... I don't know. Geeze, I don't know how to put this. I just don't feel the same way. I'm sorry, though. Like... really, really sorry. I didn't realise.

[laminae]

[Fern isn't sure what to expect here, and but you're a guy is so far down the list that he's stunned. That kind of thing has never been a big deal in Ooo in general, and Finn was always staunchly of the opinion that people should be able to be with whoever (or whatever) they want. Honestly, he would've thought the whole grass thing would be a bigger barrier than being a guy.

It doesn't really matter in the end, though. He sits there listening to Varian stumble through a rejection that manages to be even worse than Flame Princess's.

Of course. This is the only real outcome that could have happened. He's a failure, and a loser, and rejection is the only thing he should ever expect out of life. There way no other way this could have ended. He gets that. He got to be so much more as Finn, and even as the swords, but that isn't how Fern's existence can ever play out. He's going to be a loser until he stops existing.

It still hurts. It feels like his chest is caving in on itself, and he doesn't say anything to Varian as he just shifts, sitting down properly on the porch so that he can hug his legs to his chest and drop his forehead onto his knees. From his calves and ankles roots reflexively slither out, causing some of the porch's wood to crack as they burrow into it.]

[droptheious]

[Varian knew Fern could have reacted to this any number of ways. Fern was pretty unpredictable by nature. Hell, a part of him was prepared to stop him going after Ruby again. Shutting down isn't... ideal, but it's also not the worst way, either.

Varian heaves out a sigh, staying where he is, still sitting, but giving Fern his space, too. He almost reaches out to touch him, but then thinks better of it, folding his arms together instead. This sucked. Emotions sucked. Being a teenager was the worst. ]

...I'm so sorry. [And his tone is honest. Real. He truly is sorry. ] The last thing I've ever wanted to do is hurt you and it's what I keep doing. I- I guess I really am a pretty terrible friend.

[Nothing new there, really. He's just going to repeat the same mistakes forever.]

Maybe if things had been different... I don't know. You never know. I just- I'm sorry. And I can understand if this has destroyed what friendship we have left. I mean, I don't want that, at all. Not ever. B... but I understand.

[He doesn't know what else to say, how to fix this. He doesn't think it can be fixed.]

...Do- do you want me to go?

[laminae]

[Fern remains dead silent and still, an easy feat to accomplish when you don't need to breathe. It isn't even clear if he's listening at this point, since he doesn't give Varian any kind of acknowledgement that he has.

He isn't. He's folded up inside himself, just listening to the self-loathing that's playing on repeat in his head.]

[droptheious]

[A little frustration blooms in his chest- at Fern shutting him out completely. At not even giving him an answer. He instantly feels guilty for the emotion, to add to the pile of guilt digging into his chest already. This is what he does. He just destroys people. He's terrible.

He considers just... going, but he doesn't. Because he can make a damn solid guess about what Fern's doing to himself. If he was left alone like this... well, like he was once upon a time, things went bad real fast. Worse. So he stays put. ]

You're not gonna believe me and you're probably not even listening to me, so if I'm speaking into the void... whatever. This isn't on you. It's- it's not your fault. Just so you're aware.

[He sighs, moving slightly so he's still sitting, leaning against the barrier of the treehouse. ]

I'm just... gonna stick around so you're not alone. No talking needed. You're welcome to push me off if it makes you feel better. [He cranes his neck, hmmm.] Though please aim for the bush.

[laminae]

[Fern still doesn't move, doesn't give any indication he's more than a person-shaped shrub. He stays that way for a full hour, just sitting there, wallowing in his misery. It's a harsh pulse against his nonexistent eardrums, over the course of the hour getting louder and louder.

He's never been good at being Fern, whoever that is. He knows that. For a split second with Varian he thought things had changed, but he was mistaken. He isn't any good at this. He isn't any good at - existing. Being a person. Being swords had been fine.

Being swords had been more than fine. Both of those swords had a purpose, were (mostly) appreciated by their owner. Both were good at what they did, and he wants to go back to that. He wants to go back to feeling like he belonged in the same existence as everyone else, instead of some abomination that's somehow managed to jam itself into reality. Like a two-dimensional cut-out trying to live in a three-dimensional world.

He wants to be swords again.

That thought settles down in his mind, coats it like a sticky webbing, letting him come to a realization after a time. He might not be able to do that but something else might be an option. At the very least, it'll make him feel better.

It's his roots that move first, twitching and retracting back into his legs as he abruptly stands. He doesn't pay Varian any mind as he moves over to the edge of the porch and hops off. He lands hard on the ground, then sets off towards the nearest bus stop.]

[droptheious]

[Varian is at least, patient here. He's not always the best at it- he has too much nervous energy for that- but wait he does. Mostly churning in his head everything that's been said to him. There's still so much for him to get his mind around. There's a lot of self-realisation here and that's taking the forefront. There's also the panic that Fern has feelings for him and he has no idea how to process that.

Not well, clearly, given how everything is going right now. He doesn't know how to make it better, though. He doesn't know how to make it all make sense in his head. He just... doesn't get it. It was hard enough accepting Ruby had feelings for him, two people is... near impossible.

Does no one realise what a mess he is? He might be keeping a lot of his past secret, but both Fern and Ruby know who he was, what he did. They know he's not the safe bet by any means. And yet, here they are. He doesn't understand why they do this to themselves.

Fern stands and Varian stands with him. He doesn't think Fern is a threat to anyone any more (or at least he hopes not) but the boy might well be a threat to himself. And if he got himself hurt or killed because of this, because of what he's said... Varian doesn't think he could carry that. That's a weight too heavy. So he follows, silently, keeping about a few feet apart, brow furrowed in worry. ]

[laminae]

[Fern at least has a goal in mind right, and that has to be better than wallowing in his own misery. He ignores Varian's movement that he catches out of the corner of his eye, still intent on shutting him out. He can't deal with him right now, he honestly doesn't know what he'll do if he tries, so he focuses instead on the one thing that still feels like it's within his grasp.

He doesn't go into town. At the edge of the forest he turns and heads to a bus stop, stopping and waiting there for that weird massive cat to arrive. While he's waiting a sword forms in one of his hands, and after he's entered the bus and sat down all he does is stare down at it with a hard glare. It's a comforting weight to him, like a limb he's lost that's returned.

When they arrive at the forest Fern steps off the catbus and immediately heads into the trees, ignoring whether Varian is still following him. At this point it's clear he's intending to hunt down something, and it doesn't really matter what. The giant snake is preferable since the spiders still wig him out, but at this point he just needs to hurt something and those two things are the safest option.

It isn't spiders or snakes that he comes across, though. After several minutes of walking a soft laughter can be heard through the trees, lilting and pretty. Fern heads in that direction, hoping whatever that is, it's something he can go after.

Eventually the trees open to a small clearing, and sitting there is a... woman? What? She's looking over at the two of them, still giggling.]

[droptheious]

[He's already leagues ahead of Varian's usual coping mechanisms. Varian's a damn good wallower- which is probably for the best. It's when he stops wallowing that things start to get dangerous for other people. It's likely that thought which keeps Varian following Fern.

Though, admittedly, he's less worried about other people and more worried about what Fern will do to himself. He's not thrilled to be back in the forest- he's nearly bit it a couple of times in here already, after all. He follows close behind still, right up until the giggling. And the weird woman. Varian stares at her for a moment, then looks at Fern.

It's enough for him to finally break the silence that's been hanging over them like a shroud for well over an hour.]

...Well, that's not creepy at all.

[laminae]

[If Fern felt like he could even acknowledge Varian right now he'd agree. The forest is already a place heavy on magic and danger, so even though this lady appears normal to him he's wary. His gut is right on the money too, because as he takes a few steps closer her giggling stops. She shifts, then she extends.

As she moves her antennae are revealed, along with chitinous segments more reminiscent of a bug than a human body. It almost looks like she's standing but no, she's stretching, still looking at them, and in a split second she's lunging in their direction with an absolutely baffling amount of speed.

Fern isn't expecting that, and barely manages to dive out of the way, into a roll that leaves him down on one knee, clutching his sword tightly.]

[droptheious]

Ten on the doom scale!!!

[Varian will provide some colour commentary if Fern participates or not. It's just how he rolls. He gets the hell out of the way when she lunges, already pulling out a sticky bomb- launching at her to keep at least a few of those awfully spindly legs in place- she's still got PLENTY of reach, though as she stretches out and sweeps his feet out from under him as he tries to bolt to a safer distance. ]

[laminae]

[If this stupid centipede was just a little slower Fern would be snapping that the sassy commentary isn't helping, along with a few other choice words about being followed when he wants to be alone and following him into what is obviously an incredibly dangerous situation is a real boneheaded move when he isn't even a fighter, but -

Okay, that's more than a few words. And Fern doesn't have any time to think about any of that anyways, because that centipede-woman is dangerous. She's way too fast for a lone human to take out head-on, and as he watches her knock Varian off his feet she snarls and lunges.

He slams into the centipede, interrupting her attack. She's still too quick though, catching herself with her legs and skittering out of range of his sword before he can get a hit in.]

[droptheious]

[Is Varian even slightly sorry that he's here? No, he absolutely isn't. Still, he'd rather not die by creepy bug lady- that would be a pretty awful way to go. So he's glad Fern is around to at least stop her from doing that.

Though Fern might not have managed to get a good hit in, the distraction is enough for him to sit up, grabbing an ice bomb from his pack and tossing it her way. One half of her body freezes up - from the way she's screeching and struggling, it's not going to hold forever, but at least it should give Fern an opening.

Yay teamwork? ]

[laminae]

[Teamwork! That ice makes Fern's life infinitely easier. He sees the opening Varian gives him and doesn't hesitate to take it. His feelings right now doesn't matter, getting rid of the thing trying to kill them is.

He gets in close, at first trying to drive his sword directly into her for a quick killing blow. That... doesn't go so well, her shell covering is harder than steel and his blade bounces off.

Okay, fine. Plan B. He barely avoids an attempt from her to chomp down on his head, the ice keeping her (mostly) still starting to crack.]

Get more bombs ready!

[He needs her still so he can get a hit in, though he knows he can help a little with that. His next strike is aimed at where one her legs connects to her body, slicing cleanly through the opening between her shell-like armour.

Great, that works, so he ducks and dodges, trying to cut off a few more legs. She can't move if she doesn't have legs left to move with, right?]

[droptheious]

[Varian winces as Fern's attempt at a killing blow doesn't work. Damnit, of course.]

The carapace is too tough. [Thank you, captain obvious. ] Let me see if I can weaken it. You- you might wanna stand back.

[He grabs two bombs and hurls the first at her chest. Once again, ice blooms across it, freezing her in place- almost immediately after, Varian hurls some Flynnoleium at it. The resulting explosion is... quite the thing, and while impressive, it doesn't do a lot of damage- but it does, at least, create a crack in her armour- not a lot, but maybe enough for Fern to work with.]

[laminae]

[Fern nods and quickly backs off, giving the centipede a few haphazard swipes with his sword to ensure her attention stays on him to make sure Varian has enough time to do his alchemy.

... And he hates to admit it, but he's totally impressed at how cool that explosion is. It makes his insides twist a little, and he has to push that feeling down to focus on the fight. When he sees the crack in her carapace he lunges in, slamming his blade into the opening. The centipede screeches as he cuts into her heart, and in her death throes she uses two remaining legs to shred into Fern's shoulder.

But it isn't enough, they've got her. She wails a few moments later, and collapses onto the ground. Removing his sword, Fern stumbles backward, keeping an eye on her body just in case this is a fakeout.]

[droptheious]

[Varian is honestly glad it worked- as with most of his inventions, it was very fifty-fifty if it would fail completely. It worked better than he expected, even. He watches Fern finish off the centipede- impressed by the skill as he always is.

But then she injures Fern in her death throes and nothing else matters any more. He quickly moves over to Fern's side- not really caring how Fern reacts to it. If he lashes out, so be it. ]

Your shoulder- are you okay?

[laminae]

[Fern is grateful it worked as well. That thing was fast and he still isn't anywhere near one hundred percent thanks to the death flu. Despite coming out here to specifically fight something, he's glad it wasn't drawn out.

... Still, he didn't get the satisfaction he usually does when he wins a fight. Probably because he couldn't do it own his own, he needed help from the person he wants to be far, far away from.

He tenses and looks away when Varian approaches.]

I'm fine.

[He isn't, obviously. He shoulder is a mess and now that they're out of danger his body is twitching and trembling with the strain of keeping him together.]

[droptheious]

[Varian's brows knit together as he fights the urge to roll his eyes. He steps a little closer, eyeing up that wound.]

Yeah, I don't know if you think I'm suddenly blind or something, but you this is obviously not fine. You're hurt. So- what can I do to help it? And don't say "nothing" or do that shutting me out thing because I am so past being in the mood for that.

[Farn could have got himself killed and that... well, that's a thought that hurts more than anything else. There are more important things at stake here. ]

So just let me help you, okay?

[laminae]

[As Varian steps closer, Fern steps back, his sword retreating back into his palm. Once it's gone he reaches up, holding his hand protectively over his injured shoulder.]

I don't want your help!

[He can't stop himself from snapping that. Better than shutting down, right? He makes a frustrated noise, taking another step away, and another, until he's reaching the nearest tree so he can lean tiredly against it.]

I'm already humiliated, why do you wanna make it worse??

[droptheious]

[The anger Varian has been working on keeping a lid on since... god; since Fern first stopped talking to him finally starts to surface. He's got a short fuse at the best of times, but he's been trying to keep a level head throughout all of this. Because nothing ever good happens when he loses his temper. But Varian is far from infallible. Even he has a tipping point. He's frankly amazed he's got this far. ]

I'm not trying to humiliate you! I'm trying to help you because you've been hurt. Because, hey, guess what, I still care about your wellbeing. Sorry if that doesn't fit in with this idea of yours that I don't- but it's the truth and you're just going to have to live with that.

[He hates this. He hates this so much. He's worked so goddamn hard on being a better person. On being a better friend, and it's still not enough. There's always somewhere he fails at- where he's not good enough. He's so damn tired of falling short of people's expectations of him. When will he be enough? Just... him?]

Look, I'm sorry that this didn't turn out the way you wanted it to. I- I can't just force feelings out of the blue like that. I didn't say it as some sort of attack on you. I mean, hell, you literally dropped that on me right after I told you I was dating Ruby. Like "surprise, here's some other stuff to mess with your head too, enjoy!".

[And he knows how Fern will react to this. He knows. He's lived in the self-loathing Fern does- most of him STILL lives in that mess. He's been slowly getting better, but he's nowhere near good yet. Not even close. ]

And this isn't me saying that you're a bad person or- or that you're not good enough or anything else you want to throw at me. I didn't even realise this was a thing until just now. I have a whole lot of stuff I need to process that I didn't even realise about myself and I could honestly live without being made to feel like the worst person ever because I don't know how to handle it yet.

[At some point, he realises he's been pacing and stops, folding his arms and heaving out a sigh. This is why he spends his time with adults back home. Other teenagers are complicated - he can bearly handle his own mess, let alone other people's. The anger at least fizzles out of him- gone as quickly as it came.]

You know what, fine. Hate me, ignore me, do... whatever you like. I'm sorry I'm not ready to... to deal with any of this right now. Girls, boys, both, I don't know. But will you at least for the love of god let me help you with your arm instead of letting yourself stand here injured in the woods? Because I will not be able to go through you dying again.

[laminae]

[Despite his own outburst, he isn't expecting for Varian to respond in kind. Nor is he expecting Varian to go on a whole tirade that undoubtedly has to be some measure of cathartic for him. If Fern was getting even only half of that he'd be prepared to snap back and start a whole argument, but through it he's shifting from embarrassment at needing help, to anger at getting yelled at, to a sinking sensation of self-loathing as Varian makes it utterly clear just how awful he's making him feel.

And then finally back to embarrassment because wow, he really can't do anything right, can he? Just about every single step he's taken today has been wrong, even the ones he was absolutely sure were right. The only thing he's done without completely screwing up was that fight, and now that it's over it's right back to making everything worse. Good job, Fern, good job.

His anger visibly dissipates by the time Varian has finished, replaced with a deeply mortifying shame. He doesn't even try to respond, he just stares at Varian for a few seconds longer before looking away.]

....

[Then he drops his hand from his shoulder, so that Varian can get a better look. It isn't the worst injury he's ever suffered, but there's been a chunk taken out and the torn grass still isn't knitting itself back together.]

[droptheious]

[Varian watches him as he relents. He can make a good guess about what's rolling around in Fern's head. Hell, he doubts half of what he said even sank in. He knows Fern is likely taking whatever he did listen to and turning it in on himself like barbs in his own heart.

He knows this because he'd do exactly the same thing, in Fern's position. They really are too alike and that... that's dangerous, sometimes. Still, Fern drops his arm and Varian lets out a slow breath. Okay, good.

He comes forward, gently taking hold of Fern's arm to take a look at it, trying to see why the grass isn't knitting together like it should. His brow furrows, concern evident in his features.]

Has it been doing this since you got back? Is it still a side effect of the death flu? Or has this happened to you before?

[laminae]

[This is weird and uncomfortable and what's making it worse is he wants to say something, but he can't figure out if that something is an apology, more yelling that'll help him dig an even bigger hole he's managed to make, or just a bunch of incoherent, frustrated noises. So... nothing is probably a lot better than all of those options, at the moment.

He still doesn't want any help but he knows that pushing Varian away even more will only make things worse, so he just keeps on looking away and letting him poke and prod and do whatever. The grass at the injury twitches and sharpens a little, though not enough to do more than a papercut and certainly not enough to get through Varian's gloves.

Fern just... tried to focus on answering those questions, like he's hearing them from Doctor Princess back in Ooo. They're very clinical.]

It's... probably a side effect. Whenever I die here I have a hard time not - .... [Geez, this is the worst.] - Not falling apart into a pile of grass for about a week. The only other time that's happened was my fight with - with Finn. And that's only 'cause his prosthetic arm had a rotating blade. And a 'fatality' setting.

[Because hearing some more details on how the fight that might have killed him back home is totally not a horrible thing to bring up right now of all times, and all.]

[droptheious]

[Varian has been busy studying the grass, he's spent enough time with Fern now to at least understand some of the properties of his friend's body. But this is still a concern. It should be fixing itself, and it's not. He stills, as Fern speaks- his shoulders tensing as he talks about the rotating blade. One hell of a thing to put on a prosthetic limb, really. Why would ANYONE have that unless it was premeditated? ]

...And he used it on you? Way to be a psychopath, Finn. Wasn't a big fan already, great to know he's still the worst.

[He turns, rummaging in his backpack and pulling out a little vial. He looks at it for a moment, chewing his lower lip thoughtfully. Then, carefully, he shows it to Fern.]

Look. I've been working on something. It's... not much. Just some Nitrogen and Potassium, a touch of Phosphorous; it can help plants grow. I don't know if it would actually do anything for you. But it's worth a shot... you know... if-if you want.

[If you trust me is the unspoken part, there. Ever since Fern died, he'd been trying to find something, anything that might help Fern and his... specific needs. He wasn't human. It wasn't like a bandage or antibiotics. He had to think outside the box. ]