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Squiddo wakes up in a boat she dubbed a baby crib, and all of her bones hurt. Actually she’d be in a lot more pain if all of her bones were hurting, so maybe only like, two hundred of them hurt. But that’s still a lot of her bones. Probably because she slept in a boat and woke up like five times. Why’d she choose to do that…
And then it hits her like the sun through the windows, like the voices down the hall laughing; this house isn’t hers. Or at least, she didn’t make it. The windows and the bed and the bookshelves are Mapicc, the only things that are hers in this room is the boat, and herself. Does she count as a thing that’s ownable? Her labor does at least, she owns her labor.
What the fuck is she talking about. Squiddo climbs out of the boat, and cracks her back. Ouhh. Whatever… fuck her chungus life…
Next item on the Squiddo agenda: Food probably. It’s breakfast o’clock!! Maybe Mapicc or Hannah made something. Her new teammates? Maybe? Still a very fresh thing, but she thinks she’s warming up to them. So far, they’re better than Pili and Bacon.
The voices are probably Hannah and Mapicc, now that she’s a little more awakepilled and thinking. Barely a few steps away is pretty much a lot of what she’s wanted this season: happy teammates and food. Maybe, if she’s lucky, there’s a sense of belonging too.
Squiddo’s halfway into the hall, watching Mapicc behind Hannah, doing something with her hair, and then Squiddo stops. She doesn’t want to intrude… They invited her to the team, she thinks, but maybe that doesn’t necessarily mean they want her to be part of their lives, part of team building exercises, part of– this. They thought she might have an exploit, and she doesn’t.
“Oh my god you are so–” Hannah complains playfully, slumping forward.
“Don’t move, I’m gonna pull your hair out dude,” Mapicc warns, leaning forward with her, both hands still in her hair. “And I’m not even bad! You’re actually complaining about nothing!”
Mapicc makes a motion, and Hannah twitches, which immediately makes him let go, and Hannah’s hair spills all over her back.
“Why’d you let go!” Hannah interrogates, whipping around with a shocked expression, still playful. Mapicc puts his hands up in surrender, and Hannah’s eyes stutter over to Squiddo.
“Because you’d fucking bite my head off if I pulled out any hairs!” Mapicc exclaims back, exasperated. Then he presumably sees where Hannah is looking and spins around, switching to his sword. For a heartbeat, Squiddo thinks they planned to kill her, that Mapicc and Hannah are gonna jump up, have the speed glitch on, and drop her. She thinks th–
“Squiddo!” Hannah greets excitedly, and Mapicc relaxes, going back to an empty hand. He gets out something like a hello, smiling idly, and then Hannah starts talking again, fake desperate. “C’mere. Do you know how to braid? Please say you do.”
Squiddo walks over, and, a little hesitantly, sits down next to them, pulling her arms by her side to take up as little space as possible. She doesn’t want to overstep. She’s– She’s comfortable being herself, but… It’s just– She– she doesn’t wanna upset her teammates. That’s normal.
“I’m not that bad,” Mapicc complains, which makes Hannah smile goofily, facade easily broken. There’s a half beat of silence, and Squiddo realizes she’s supposed to answer. Oops.
“Oh, well I don’t know how to braid. But I can learn!” She offers brightly, and Mapicc laughs.
“Oh my gosh, you guys suck,” Hannah laments, but she’s smiling, so Squiddo doesn’t quite buy it. “I’m gonna have to do my hair every morning. Alone.”
“And after respawns too,” Mapicc adds helpfully. Hannah reaches to the side and whacks him. In response, he curls slightly away, laughing loudly. “Sorry. Sorry, sorry, I’m just trolling.”
“Maybe I’ll be a better learner than Mapicc,” Squiddo continues, burying the hesitance in her chest. No time for that, not when poor, beautiful Hannahxxrose needs help! The poor, beautiful Hannahxxrose in question takes her hair out of Mapicc’s hands, which interrupts whatever mess Mapicc was about to make of it.
“I’m literally a good learner too is the thing,” Mapicc tells them, dropping his hands.
“No you are not,” Hannah immediately refutes, then lifts her legs and spins around. Mapicc’s sitting very blatantly between them. “Move.”
“Jeez, o-kayy, chill,” Mapicc gives way easily, shuffling to the side.
“Sorry Mapicc,” Hannah apologizes, facing him as she moves all her hair to the front, fingercombing through it. She has a lot of hair, actually, now that Squiddo’s looking. “I think Squiddo’s gonna be a better student.”
“What the heck.” Mapicc says flatly, then shrugs and leans back on his hands, flipping his hair out of his face. “You’re actually right, though. I dropped out.”
“Exactly,” Hannah agrees, turning to Squiddo, and then she pauses. “Why are you so far?” She laughs, patting the ground in front of her. “C’mere. I promise we don’t bite– Well, Mapicc does.”
“I’m not even gonna argue with that one, actually,” Mapicc hums, and when Squiddo looks over, he’s fighting a valiant battle composed of head flicks to keep his hair out of his eyes. “Don’t worry though, I won’t bite you guys. Unless you want me to.”
“Ew.” Hannah says, then perks up with Squiddo in front of her, knees-to-knees. “Okay, do you know the basics?”
“The three strands, right? And then the– the like, weaving.” Squiddo presents, mostly confident. Beating Mapicc is now her life’s goal.
“Yes! I knew you’d be better than Mapicc!” Hannah cheers. Mapicc makes a grunt noise, but doesn’t say anything.
“We don’t know that all yet,” Squiddo comments playfully, keeping the chances of disappointment low. Maybe this is the test for her to be officially on the team.
“And I’m not even that bad when you think about it,” Mapicc agrees, and Hannah takes a chunk of her hair to hold it out for Squiddo.
“You honestly aren’t, you just need practice,” Hannah hums, then takes Squiddo’s hand and puts a hairtie on it. “Squiddo. Do you know how to start a braid?”
“Well, I think maybe with a hairtie of sorts,” Squiddo says wisely, flexing the hairtie, like webbed fingers. Like ducks. Both of her teammates laugh, and Squiddo relaxes. This is a lot nicer than being told to not log on.
“You are lowkey so smart,” Hannah tells her, and then shakes the section of hair she’s holding, drawing Squiddo’s attention. “Start here, as like, practice.”
“Yes ma’am!” Squiddo salutes with her hairtie hand, then wiggles, grabs Hannah’s hair, and pulls it through the hairtie.
“You and Mapicc are tied right now,” Hannah informs her with a smile that makes Squiddo’s heartrate pick up a little. “I think you can beat him. Don’t tell him.”
“Don’t– Don’t worry. My lips are sealed, Hannah x rose.” Squiddo assures, looping the hairtie around to secure it.
“Okay. Okay guys.” Mapicc huffs, pushing himself off his hands and leaning forward.
“I’m just kidding, Mapicc, don’t worry. We appreciate you.” Hannah laughs, elbowing him gently. Squiddo keeps her hands steady, and hesitates sectioning off three strips. What if there’s a specific way to do it? What if she messes it up, and then she’s killed brutally forever? “Do you know how to section it off?”
“Uh– Yes.” Squiddo says, but keeps staring. “Eeeerm.”
“Here, lemme–” Hannah reaches over, and sections her hair, fingers lacing over Squiddo’s.
“Thank you the beautiful Hannahxxrose,” Squiddo grins, only partially forced, and does a very intensely intimate hair exchange, fingers brushing and dragging against Hannah’s like a sort of dance. Maybe this is girlhood.
“Of– Of course, the beautiful Squiddo,” Hannah giggles back, then straightens up. “Oh my god I’m gonna mess up your practice, I’m moving so much. Sorry.”
“It’s okay Hannah, I forgive you,” Squiddo smiles, then starts weaving the strands over each other. It’s hard to hold three strands with only two hands, but it’s a lot easier when there’s a hairtie bunching all the hair up.
It suddenly comes as a realization that they’re very close, and Hannah’s alternating between staring at Squiddo’s face, and her hands. It’s– She didn’t… Her, Pili, and Bacon never got close like this, there wasn’t– It’s not fair. She’s been on this team for what, two days? And she’s already sleeping in their house and sitting on their floors and huddling close to their bodies and– And it’s not fair. She was with Bacon and Pili for months, and not once did they do something so– so domestic, so just… loving.
Hannah’s watching her face though, so Squiddo covers that all up with a smile.
…and then she remembers that this is her new team, and she’s supposed to trust them. She does, she swears, but it’s– it’s just instinct. VLC was half said truths and tenseness and awkward conversations and disagreements and a lot a lot a lot of masking.
“Did you sleep well, Squiddo?” Hannah questions openly, breaking the ice, but there’s real care underneath it, she thinks. Not even especially hidden care, and that’s the part that truly has Squiddo’s heart squeezing and stuttering.
“Not really, unfortunately,” Squiddo answers honestly, because this is her teammate asking. Mapicc straightens up, but Squiddo doesn’t know what that means. Was that a rude thing to say..? Hannah asked, right? Did Mapicc not agree with Hannah, does he not care as much? It’s– That’s–
“I’m sure it’s just the new house!” Squiddo corrects, trying to beam at Mapicc. Don’t be mad. Please :smile:. “I’m just adjusting. That’s all. I really do appreciate you guys giving me a house and– I mean, sharing a house, not just mine, is it? I just– I’m getting used to it, y’know?”
Mapicc stares, and Squiddo finishes the braid, but keeps her fingers in Hannah’s hair, staring at it and the strands escaping. Mediocre, but it’s what she can do. She can contribute to a team, they just have to let her.
“I didn’t sleep well either,” Mapicc says after a beat, ignoring her attempts at appeasing him. Is that a good or bad sign..? “My room’s so empty and like– The glass looks cool, but it’s not a very safe idea.”
“Oh my gosh you two,” Hannah huffs, and pulls another hairtie from out of nowhere. “We should sleep in Mapicc’s base, the one with the freaky villager contraption. Do you know how to end this off?”
“I do not.” Squiddo answers plainly. Hannah laughs, then pushes the hairtie against both Squiddo’s hand and the braid, so Squiddo pulls her fingers away just enough for Hannah to wrap the hairtie around them. Another exercise that really shouldn’t be as intimate as it feels. Hannah takes a hold of her hand and guides her, and if Squiddo could taste through her skin like a frog, that would taste like love.
“It’s not even freaky, you’re just– you don’t know how villagers work,” Mapicc argues huffily, then settles. “I like that though. My base is safe.”
“We know. You’re such a good teammate, honestly.” Hannah half-nods, then freezes, blinking. “Sorry Squiddo. Like this–”
“Am I actually?” Mapicc asks, like he isn’t one of the strongest people on the server. Hannah, her hand over Squiddo’s, leads Squiddo through the motions of gathering the strands in the middle, then pushing and pulling the hairtie over a few times.
“Yeah,” Hannah confirms to Mapicc, who probably flashes a toothy smile.
“Thanks!” He says brightly.
“Of course– You see it Squiddo? How you like, have to arrange all the little pieces?” Hannah asks, eyes wide and searching. Squiddo gives a smile that feels insignificant in the face of all the kindness and generosity that’s being shown to her.
“I do see it,” Squiddo says, and pulls her hands away. “Um, was there a reason you wanted me to learn, or was it just for fun?”
Hannah slides the hairtie out, then swiftly undoes the braid. It is just bunched hair on her side, and probably won’t look good on her back. Squiddo looks over at Mapicc, and he’s watching both of them, eyes periodically darting around. A slight anxiety builds in her chest, a feeling that she’s about to be trapped, and Mapicc’s checking to make sure everything is in place, but she tries to push it away. This is her team.
“You’re gonna do my hair now,” Hannah decides, and turns around as she returns her hair to its rightful place, leaving her back open to Squiddo. “I mean– If that’s okay with you!”
“That’s– I can do that.” Squiddo says, glancing over at Mapicc again. This time, he catches her, and smiles, not even super sharply or anything, he just. Smiles. Squiddo looks back at Hannah’s hair. “Do I need to–”
“Oh wait–” Hannah laughs, then spins again, putting herself right in front of Mapicc. Mapicc blinks repeatedly and quickly gets into a proper sitting position, legs spread out wide. “Sorry Squiddo. I forgot, he likes to–”
“I don’t like to anything,” Mapicc cuts her off, smile curling bigger, still closed. ..Um?
Hannah leans back with laughter, falling a little into his lap. “Yes you literally do. Don’t lie to our new teammate.”
“Hannah, think about it…” Mapicc starts, then goes quiet, thinking. Hannah looks at him expectantly, half turned. “...I don't know why i said that, I don't have anything to say. I literally don’t care.”
That has Squiddo and Hannah bursting into laughter, all bright and bubbly and easy. Easy is honestly crazy. Mapicc grins, and switches to a hairbrush.
“You’re–” Hannah starts, then sighs in exasperation and turns to Squiddo with a smile on her face. Mapicc scooches a little back, then puts the brush into Hannah’s hair. “He lovess to do this. It’s actually his favorite thing.”
“In the whole world?” Squiddo asks instinctively, smiling herself. Hannah beams, and Mapicc growls in a way Squiddo thinks is playful.
“In the whole wide world,” Hannah nods, then stops nodding with blinking eyes. “Sorry Mapicc.”
“It’s– Yeah.” Mapicc forgives, face surprisingly gentle and focused. Squiddo is slowly learning that he actually doesn’t talk a lot. Well he– he talks a normal amount, but sometimes he doesn’t say anything more than the bare minimum. It’s interesting. It’s also exhilaratingly comforting to be able to catalog a piece of information like this– to be able to store something new about her teammates in her awesome mind palace.
They go quiet for a minute, and, unlike most silences around VLC, this one feels safe. Just– just safe. Breathing, alive, together.
“I found this out a while ago, but I’m glad I can do it again,” Hannah tells Squiddo, bringing her back into the present.
“What, the– the hair thing?” She questions, tilting her head.
“Why is it a thing,” Mapicc says, but is too focused to put any inflection on it. It’s therapeutic how easy he does it, even though there’s not a lot of knots or anything. Up and through and down, then out and up and through and down again. The hair in the brush parts like little river currents.
“Everything’s a thing,” Squiddo reminds Mapicc helpfully. “It’s in the name, innit?”
“Innit,” Mapicc parrots back absently, then pauses and takes a comb out. Squiddo’s heart might just rupture. They’re so… simple.
“Yes the hair thing. We weren’t teamed for a while!” Hannah continues, speaking to both of them now. She slumps a little when Mapicc puts the comb against her scalp, smiling. “I missed it honestly. We should do your hair sometime, Squiddo, he’s really good at cleaning.”
Mapicc silently puts a hand on Hannah’s side and starts to straighten her up, but Hannah catches on, and does it on her own, eyes widening.
“Sor–” Hannah attempts.
“You’re good, sorry,” Mapicc reassures, almost before Hannah even starts.
“He’s not good at braiding, though?” Squiddo asks, and both of them laugh, although Mapicc is more subdued, locked in on following Hannah’s movement.
“Oh no, he’s never practiced,” Hannah confirms, chilling out. She was lot more still for Squiddo, maybe because braiding is harder than combing. “We should– Mapicc!”
“What?” Mapicc scoffs a laugh, amused.
“We need to get you a horse! So you can practice braiding!” Hannah exclaims excitedly.
“I don’t see how that’s related at all, actually,” Mapicc hums, adjusting Hannah slightly to the side. “Turn left.”
She does, then she continues. “‘Cause horses have long hair! You could practice braiding on your horse– Plus, then you’d have a pretty horse. Think about it.”
“Hannah might be onto something,” Squiddo agrees, trying to embody the eyes emoji. 👀
“No bro, you’re– She’s not onto anything,” Mapicc drags out, then leans away, twisting around to catch a glimpse of Hannah from the front. He looks like a weird, freaky snake. “This is good.”
Hannah looks at Squiddo expectantly. Oh god, was she supposed to be doing something? Was there some kind of secret cue she missed?
“You have to test her hair,” Mapicc says helpfully, picking himself off the ground and moving to the direct right of where he just was.
“Put your hand in it,” Hannah instructs. Squiddo, because maybe that sounds a little weird but it’s her teammates’ weird, runs a hand through Hannah’s hair.
“Oh my goodness,” she says, because it’s very soft. Soft, all fluffy, and she doesn’t encounter a single tangle.
“I did good, right?” Mapicc grins, lips stretched wide and teeth showing.
“Yeah. Yeah, yes, I didn’t– Mapicc, you have so many joys up your sleeve, I didn’t know you knew ball like that.” Squiddo answers honestly, then stands up and steps between her teammates to sit behind Hannah.
“I do!” Mapicc agrees, eyes crinkling briefly. “Hannah likes it too.”
“I love when you brush my hair,” Hannah agrees, finally nodding without guilt. Not for long though, because Squiddo sits down behind her, ready to braid. “And I’m gonna love when Squiddo braids it, I think.”
“Well,” Squiddo starts, putting her hand in front of Hannah, open and making grabby hands. She gets two hairties kindly deposited, so she reels her hand back in. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
“She’s nice, she’ll like whatever you do,” Mapicc informs her, tilting his head up to meet her eyes. Squiddo almost feels overwhelmed, but not in a way that's anything close to negative.
“I will,” Hannah agrees, so maybe Squiddo doesn’t need to prove herself too much here. Maybe it’s okay to just braid Hannah’s hair and do what she can.
And that’s just what Squiddo does. Mapicc’s watching from her side, all warm and steady, and Hannah idly talks about nothing and everything. Somewhere between them, between the supportive wall that is Mapicc and the revitalizing water that is Hannah, Squiddo finishes a pretty good braid.