Submission (#6771) Approved

1172 words: +2ec
Including pomu (in this case pomu lantern due to miasma season): +1ec
Eln2472
Ealei AP

Including both general housekeeping and hobby into one hehehe. domestic bfs being domestic. lmk if anything needs updating <3

Vi has no clue how he got here, but Elhain makes dumb decisions easy enough to make. Shouldn’t surprise him that vague promises of gravity-induced danger have no effect on Elhain’s thought process.

“If you slip and crack your head like an egg I won’t be tending your bedside,” Vi tosses up at the wily kittom, arms crossed across his fluffy chest. Despite the words, his tail flickers behind him, quivering a bit with uneasy worry.

Elhain clambers about on their roof, collecting stray manaberries in various cracks and crevices. The mangrove trees that twist and twine around their abode have been depositing the fruits in waves over the past few weeks, pelting their home and leaving imperfections everywhere.

“You’ll just have to catch me if I slip!” Elhain yells down, and lops a berry at Vi. Presumably at his face, but the aim is terrible. The kittom catches the fruit instead.

Bobbing around Elhain’s head is the boy’s pomu lantern, cinched to his waist with a loop of pretty, shimmering fabric. The casing is decorated with swirls of blue and pink, faux stars pinned to the outside.

In comparison, Vi’s lantern looks incredibly boring. He’d bought a standard, cheap casing from one of the seasonal shops down in the wharf city directly below them, not wanting to spare too much of an expense in preparation for the miasma season. The paper shell is muddy brown, and the frame that wraps around the outside is bronze. A small length of hemp rope connects the sleeping pomu to his waist.

Sighing, Vi gives up on being Elhain’s babysitter, and goes back to his own self-imposed task.

The two of them are self aware enough to realize that staying cooped up in their shared home ends in more fights than normal, so housework and errand upkeep play a crucial role in their daily lives.

Living up in the trees that make up Ealei gives them an incredible view with which to be placated by even during the murky new year weather, but the resulting close proximity to their neighbors and the town below has it’s own challenges. Normally Vi dislikes being in other Elnin’s business so frequently, while Elhain thrives in the attention—

Now, though, it’s good to be able to reach anyone in a moment’s notice when it’s too perilous to travel down into town. The two house mates will more than likely give their leftover berries to the gruff, older ‘nin that rents the space directly above them. In return, Vi is socialized, and Elhain gets to bother someone else for a change.

In the meantime, Vi gets back to plucking berries and weeds off their property. Elhain remains a running commentary of inane garbage that Vi mostly filters out. Eventually, the two of them manage to properly harvest everything that surrounds their quaint little tree house.
Elhain peeks over the fronds that make up their thatch roof, pomu lantern floating above him. He watches as the kittom struggles with his overflowing bag of blue fruit, grimacing when a couple tumble out and onto the wooden planks that make up their deck.

Vi sighs. Reaches out with his paw. There’s an immediate sunlight that twinkles in Elhain’s eyes, cresting over the moody atmosphere with ease.

Elhain’s grip is moist with sweat in the humid air, but Vi clasps their paws together tightly. As soon as Elhain’s feet touch the ground, though, he whirls around and swoons into Vi’s chest, pomu lantern twirling and twining in the cord of his own.

“Ah, but I’m just a damsel in distress!”

“Ridiculous,” Vi mutters, but grips him around the waist and hoists him up into a bridal carry anyways. Their lanterns dance in silence around them. “Can’t do anything without you acting up.”

“Hehe.”

Elhain pulls his tote into his lap as Vi crosses the threshold into their shack. The furniture littering the home is haphazardly made and just as carelessly strewn about, making for tripping and splinter dangers alike. Vi maneuvers around the chairs and table in the center of the room, and nudges fallen books out of the way with his toes.

Vi deposits his heavy load onto the bed. The rectangular sleeping mattress is tucked up against the wooden divider leading to the kitchen, and Elhain giggles as he bounces on the comforter. Even more manaberries spill out around him in a sea of blue.

Vi’s own sack goes onto the kitchen counter. There’s much to be done to prep the food into various items—pickled preservatives and jams, fresh baked goods, blue dye—so he gets right to work. There’s a notch they’d bolted into the wall for lantern and coat hanging purposes, so Vi loops his floating companion around it.

Elhain pops his head over the barrier, munching on a raw berry. Vi watches the kittom out of the corner of his eye as he starts out with first a peeler, tearing the soft, fleshy outside off and placing it into a jar. The sun dried peels make for great flavor additives, especially to drinks.
There’s a quiet hush that falls over the two. Comfortable silence isn’t normal for their evenings, but Elhain seems content right now to watch Vi work. Stray drops of juice collect on Elhain’s bottom lip as he munches.

Vi’s tempted to halt his work to wipe it away with a cloth. It’s a ridiculous impulse that he squashes ruthlessly, but not before Elhain catches him glancing down. The kittom smirks, and smacks his lips obnoxiously a few times.

The kittom’s steps are light as he sways off the bed. Floorboards croak with each footfall, until Elhain steps up beside him. They’re both quiet for once as they prep the berries. If there’s something on the other boy’s mind, he doesn’t say so, and Vi would be foolish to try and ask.

Working with his hands has always been soothing, to a point, and today is no exception. Housework is less peaceful, but it’s something to do besides chatter meaninglessly. Even as their paws—and, in Elhain’s case, the entirety of his shirt—get covered with sticky juice, the mess is quickly turned into a pile of preserved peels, and cores left to dry.

Vi pulls the bucket of washing water from the cabinet, and directs Elhain to stick his paws in as well. The mischievous kittom grabs onto Vi’s fingers before he can pull them out, and before he can tell Elhain off, he’s being pulled up to his shoulder into the bucket.

“Dammit, Elhain!” Vi sputters as they bump foreheads. He doesn’t try to move apart, though, not when Elhain moves to nuzzle his cheek against Vi’s. “Such a brat.”

“Just let me spoil you,” Elhain murmurs, laughing when Vi jolts. “Go lay down; I’ll finish cleaning.”

The statement draws Vi’s thoughts to a stop, before—

“The bed’s covered in shit too, idiot!”

(And they do finish cleaning eventually, but not before Vi shoves a couple berries from the bed into Elhain’s laughing face.)