"I already told you I'm just going to pop over there and be right back!!!"
"No, don't even come. You're going to stay here and keep watch, and I'm going to get some sleep. That's how I can level up without risking anything!!."
"That has nothing to do with the conversation at hand!!!!"
(Going back a bit)
Honestly, I never liked the neighbor on the right. He was a huge jerk who, whenever something went wrong in his life, took it out on others, like the neighbors.
Usually leaving his trash as close to the gate as possible, and in thin bags that, as soon as a dog, cat, or homeless person passed by and tried to open them, the bag would rip and scatter the trash in front of our gate. That was when he simply didn't throw the trash in front of the gate.
That was reason 1. The second reason was the chickens, but the rooster, actually, that thing wasn't even a good rooster. He crowed at very random times, usually at 4 a.m., but he also crowed out of the blue at 2 a.m. or shortly after midnight.
Seriously, it was as annoying as the trash. Since at least he didn't make that every day, but the rooster did almost every day.
And the third reason was the fact that this wretched creature always crowed in the same line as my room, forcing me to be the first to hear him.
But now I'm so happy he built this urban farm. Eggs!!, Meat!!!, and Blood!!! (from chickens) right next door!!!.
Why didn't anyone take the chickens is a good question, but now I'm going to ignore that and go straight there and see if the taste of chicken blood would be better than the taste of their meat.
"Hey hey hey, easy there."
Mari appeared in front of me, blocking me from going to the neighbor's side.
"What's up?"
"I know you think this is a good idea, and under other circumstances it would be, but it's better not to."
"Why? You're not going to say you think it's wrong, are you? That would be so hypocritical considering how many houses you and our parents... cleaned."
"Of course not, it has absolutely nothing to do with this."
"So?"
"How do you plan to defend yourself from potential attacks while you're focused on the chickens? You may have gotten stronger and faster, but chickens are still pretty fast on their own, so imagine that now."
"You will just cover me."
"That's not going to happen."
She said in a very resolute and strong tone.
"Why?"
"Because..."
I waited for her to give a good reason. I doubt she would deny something we both knew could greatly help our family, blood for me, flesh and eggs for the rest.
"....I want to sleep until tomorrow!"
.....
.....
I was an idiot for thinking that!!!!!
(And back to the present)
After almost 5 or 8 minutes of fruitless debate, I was trying to get Mari to let go of my shirt without hitting her or damaging it, since it looks like I'll have to live alone with her for a while. So I tried to reason with her calmly and rationally.
"Can you just let me go, you doll-sized sloth!!! I want to go catch some chickens so I don't have to feel that hunger pangs again!!!"
.... In my defense, from my perspective, I'm being very calm and rational now, and to justify myself, I have 3 points.
1. I had to try flavors that no one should in the last few minutes, while suffering from a stomachache so bad it literally felt like my stomach was being eaten. Now I have the chance to try one of my favorite foods (even if it's not the traditional way), and my sister wants to stop me just so she can sleep again!!!
2. As I already said, the neighbor there was an idiot, so taking one or more of his chickens would also have a little revenge element involved, even though he had probably already killed him (by the way, how did the chickens survive for 3 days against goblins, wolves and who knows what else?).
And 3rd.... Actually, there isn't a 3rd, but I think it could reinforce how much I like chicken, whether fried or roasted, especially if it's fried seasoned chicken. To be completely clear, in this case, the chicken would be seasoned and marinated for a day in the seasoning, then fried.
If someone gave me the option of either eating a bucket of fried chicken like this with a Coke, or a Wagyu steak (the most expensive meat in the world) with grilled organic asparagus and a glass of 30-year-aged Cabernet Sauvignon, I'd be halfway through the bucket and ready to order another before they got halfway through the explanation.
While we were busy discussing how to move forward, two balls of water came flying toward us, hitting us both in the face (well, in my face, since Mari was in pixie form, she ended up completely drenched).
She and I turned to where the balls had come from. Unsurprisingly, Beth was looking at us, leaning against the wall of her tank.
What was surprising was the look she was giving us; it was a "shut up, you two idiots" kind of look (I almost could hear she saying It).
.... Since when can turtles give that kind of look?!
"The magic in the air seems to have also heightened the animals' intelligence and senses. Which is why Lumi and Nawa are more cooperative, and the Cleaner understands me too."
"Of course, this also applies to Beth, and apparently she's the type who prefers silence, so..."
Okay, I get it. I raised my hand apologizing to Beth, and I'm sure I saw her nod before returning to the tank.
After that, we stopped our... heated argument and returned to the couches. Mari took two face towels from her [item box] and handed one to me.
I don't know if they came from one of the houses she looted, or if they were from here and were abandoned upstairs. I'm just glad she has them; I hate the feeling of wet hair outside, especially with the cold breeze up here.
"Okay, let's do it this way. I'll go to the neighbor's to get just one chicken. You cover for me so I don't get attacked while I'm doing this, and in return, I give you my word that I'll stand guard until tomorrow. Lumi, Nawa, the turtles, Cleaner, and even Pomo can sleep if they want or need to (especially Pomo, plants don't even sleep?)"
"Are you serious?"
She asked, wrapped in the towel like a blanket.
"You know how I am when it comes to my word, I don't mess around when I promise something."
And she knows it very well. She's put me through some pretty rough times because of this habit of mine...!
Ha!. Now I get it.
This was all her way of indulging me. Huff, I hate it when she does that, but it's also good to know that she's still the same as always, even with the world this way.
"Aaaaaahhh~, Okay, I accept!"
She said quickly, with a little smile, just the kind you get when a plan works.
"You know I'd do that anyway, right? Why use the chickens?"
"I thought it would be more fun."
Yeah, she hasn't changed at all since the apocalypse, but it's still only the first day (for us), so I still have hope she'll get better... She needs it, and I need it even more!!!