Rebirth Decline 16 - Orb 1

[canistricari]

The people of this place are so funny!

[ Coyote, in his ordinary form, sits on his nicely made bed in Angela’s house. The orb is angled so that you can see behind him a window, and the heads of villagers passing by beyond it. The angle is clearly purposeful, the orb held by his tail somehow. ]

Such tiny lives they lead, haggling over the price of food. Don’t they know they could get it for free? Such strange creatures you humans are, making everything so complicated!

[ He plucks something up off screen – a dead squirrel, it was laying on his bed – and throws it into his mouth. ]

Everything is so simple, if you just stop thinking about it too hard.

Comments

[bondsoflove]

Nothing is free.

[canistricari]

Not in the true sense of the word. But money is an entirely human concept! Hahaha!

[bondsoflove]

But true freedom is what matters.

[canistricari]

Ha! Can you have freedom, when you're trapped by the ways of your human world?

[bondsoflove]

I can damn well try.

[canistricari]

Will you? I'd like to see that very much!

[bondsoflove]

I'll serve my purpose or die trying.

[It's all he was ever going to do. The cryptic little creature can mock him all he likes.]

[canistricari]

That doesn't sound like freedom to me! [ Oh, he will. ]

[bondsoflove]

It's my choice. My path.

[shadow_sage]

[She doesn't think much of them, either. Still...]

I doubt that buying food is the sole focus of their entire lives.

[canistricari]

It hardly makes any difference to me what your path is. [ He gives an exaggerated yawn. ]

[canistricari]

Oh no, they tell stories too! Not as good as the stories about me, but still good!

[shadow_sage]

[She considers this for a moment.]

There is more to life than hunting food, anyway.

[canistricari]

Oh yes, so much more! It is sad that they spend so much time worrying about it.

[shadow_sage]

Because people who spend their time pursuing other things still need to eat.

[canistricari]

But they make it so complicated! It's so much faster to just take the food you need.

[shadow_sage]

It's faster to take anything you need. At first. But if you just take the food, then the people who gathered it for you won't bother bringing it to the market in the first place. Then, instead of spending a little time there haggling over it...or stealing it...you'll have to either find your own or go out looking for people who have it.

It wouldn't take long before all you did is look for food to steal, because it would take most of your time to find it. And then all you'd do with your life would be the basic necessities of survival.

Haggling over something you can get yourself might seem like a waste of time to you, but I have better things to do than spend all day finding a meal.

[canistricari]

Who said anything about stealing? It's hardly my fault you're bad at hunting!

[shadow_sage]

Even hunting takes time, focus, energy that could be applied elsewhere. Division of labour is the basis of any civilization.

[canistricari]

But when it is too divided, everything becomes too complicated! So boring! Nobody knows how to fend for themselves anymore!

[shadow_sage]

I have travelled to hundreds of worlds, met dozens of different species, and spent time with advanced synthetic lifeforms. It's not exactly boring.

[bondsoflove]

Good. You won't get in my way.

[Glaring at his pillow.]

[canistricari]

Only dozens? Such a small number! Do you ignore the creatures on your own planet?

[canistricari]

Why ever would I get in your way unless it was fun? You aren't any fun at all.

[shadow_sage]

Advanced species. Those capable of communication. If I were to list the non-sentient species I've encountered, it would take a great deal longer.

[canistricari]

What a lonely world you must live in. So sad!

[shadow_sage]

Surely, you can try harder than that.

[canistricari]

Try? What exactly am I trying to do?

[bondsoflove]

I'm not here to be fun.

[canistricari]

That's good, because if you were I'd say you were doing an awful job!

[shadow_sage]

Insult me, perhaps, but certainly insinuate superiority. I've yet to hear any vaidation for this save insults, however. Bad ones. So either way, I'm sure you can try better.

[canistricari]

Why, I was only making conversation! I'm hurt.

[bondsoflove]

You're noisy.

[canistricari]

I am! Ahahahahaha!

[shadow_sage]

[She'll wait; she grew up around politicians, so that isn't very terribly moving to her.]

[canistricari]

[ Coyote is a little bit insane (like most politicians) but doesn't care in the slightest what people think of him (unlike most politicians) so she will be left waiting a very long time while Coyote finds something or someone else to entertain him. ]

[shadow_sage]

[Liara's okay with that, for now...but she's certainly going to keep an eye out, now.]

[brokenpiece]

[ Oh :(

And she was making him some food... ]

Are.. you still.. hungry?

[canistricari]

I am always hungry! [ He can't say no after making a speech about how awesome free food is. ]

[bondsoflove]

What's so fucking hilarious?

[canistricari]

Life!

[ Excuse him while he literally rolls on the floor laughing. ]

[bondsoflove]

Are you high?

[canistricari]

Go away, you're no fun at all.

[bondsoflove]

Gladly.

[Orb goes dark.]