(Im finally wringing in the towel for this one, its been sitting in the drafts for three months, my ass cannot finish it sorry)
They really need to clean out their bag at some point, this is getting ridiculous.
Bird shifts through their satchel, looking for something that shouldn't be nearly as hard to find as it's becoming. They have to clean it out at some point, because really, how much can one glorified purse hold? Too much, apparently.
"Whatcha' looking for?" Oxeye asks. Discreetly glancing at the contents of the bag.
"Nothing much." They reply.
Oxeye opens her mouth to reply, but promptly closes it as two more people arrive at their place by the fire, taking seats on the logs next to the former.
She waves at them. "Hey, peeps."
"Hey Anna, Ez." Bird says.
Oh- Anna's here. They should probably actually try and find the thing now, considering she meant to be the one receiving it in the first place.
"Hi Oxeye, Hi Bird." Ez waves back.
Faded arrives a few seconds later. He and Anna exchanging greetings. Bird pointedly chooses to ignore the blood on him. That's a problem for another day and a later Bird, or never. Faded just- does that sometimes, it's fine.
"Anna, by the way, I have something for you. I forgot to give it to you yesterday-"
They totally should've found it before saying that. They told themselves that they should find it before saying that.
They dig through their satchel as conversation continues around them. It seems muffled in comparison to the shuffles of metal and wood and paper as they search for their gift. Digging down to the bottom of the bag.
They have a house, they don't need to keep this much in their bag. They don't need this much on hand, at all times. They don't even know what half of these things are.
"You got something for me?" Anna asks, after the conversation seems to have died.
At that moment, they find it, hidden between a crumpled piece of paper and what looks like a long wilted flower (Why did they even put a flower in there. Why did they think that was a good idea?)
"Oh yeah, found it!" They pull it out, holding it like a crown in both of their hands.
It's a string bracelet, in all different shades of blue. Bird had found it in the maze, a week or so ago. It was tattered, mostly, loose ends sticking out, and the colors being all dirty, but it was nice, so they didn't want to leave it.
Bird has only learned how to weave about a month or so ago, and they had never tried it with a bracelet, but it was worth a shot. It turned out pretty alright. They guessed.
It fit more like a loose ring then a bracelet to them. But it had yet to fall apart, so that had to count for something.
"I found it in the maze and fixed it up. It's fine if you don't want it-" Bird says. "It just reminded me of you, kind of."
Anna says nothing, only staring at it. The longer the silence stretches on, the heavier the item begins to feel. Their hands shake, as if it's taking everything they have to continue holding the string up.
It is, a little bit.
They aren't sure what it is their worried about. Something about the silence had a way of making them overthink nothing. Giving them time to think of every outcome in their head. The bad ones always making their way to the front.
Anna wouldn't do anything. Anna's nice. They know that, they swear they know that.
Bird looks at the grass below them. They prefer to stare at things that can't stare back at you.
"I- I really don't mind if you don't want it. You can say no. It's fine."
They feel like they're bracing for something. Their mind fighting between giving excuses or apologies or staying quiet and simply waiting for what would happen next.
