Quoted By:
"I-I-I didn't know it had a name... um... I can take a stab at it? If I..." Beetles fly off you, diving down Gil's neck. He shakes his wrists out, then finds a box of matches in his pocket.
"Would you like a light?" Richard says.
Gil wavers. "Sure...?"
The match is lit by Richard's snake-shaped lighter, the flame's glow showing through the webs of Richard's fingers. Gil takes it and holds it up hesitantly— "I think your manse would be optimal," Richard says— then waves the match around, back and forth, back and forth. In its little trail, the blackness peels and drops away, leaving a criss-cross of color— of pink, mainly, and some green, widening until Gil blows the match out and sticks his arm through and rips a whole door-sized hole out, revealing a hillside at dawn.
You go through it. Gil's manse is dewy and cool and smells how early summer smells. Weeds crunch under your feet. You don't see any changes from last time, until you see the hammock at the top of the hill, then the other hill— the one with half a building on it. Ah. You don't know if Gil looks anxious (well, his beetles do) because it's his manse or because Richard told him off or because it's Gil.
>Engage in normal non-complicated activity? (Pick up to 2.)
>[1] Make Gil show you around the place. Aggressively compliment his design choices.
>[2] Make Gil show you his siphon prototype. Pretend to be interested in the boring technical details. Tell him he did a good job.
>[3] Get drunk. Is it healthy that you do this almost every day? Or ladylike? According to your Aunt Ruby, no. But your Aunt Ruby never had to deal with the stuff *you* have to deal with every single day, so she can go suck eggs. (Also... you haven't gotten drunk with Gil since you met him, unless you count fake mind-splinter darts-loser Gil, and you don't. So there's that.)
>[4] Beeline for the hammock and take a damn nap.
>[5] Some other activity? (Write-in.)
