Episode 53 - Rivers

## Rivers

A white fish is cleanly split in half. In between the halves are leaves and vines drawn in red.

### Author

William A. Wellman

Ricou is faced with an ultimatum, Zelda attends to Scoutpost business, and Rick Rounds wakes up. The theme of tonight's episode is Rivers.

***Content Warning:** Al has no skin, Animal death (a fish, but also Heidi as usual), Violence, Death + Injury, Blood, Birds, Gun Mention, Emotional Manipulation, Drowning, Body horror, Consumption of Inedible Materials, Bullying, Child Death (referenced)*

## Intro - A Skull Of Nettles

Nikignik speaks to the Dreamers of someone who is walking down to a river to look for edible plants. They step on something that crunches beneath their feet, and look down to find a corps, having steps on its hand. This causes them to remember, the corpse in life had led them to that river, telling them that 'There's no point left', having made the decision for the both of them that it was time for them to sleep and never wake up. They look down to find their cloths tattered and their ribs exposed, and the corpse looks up at them, emerald fire glowing in his eyes as well as theirs, and he whispers 'hello' to them. They kick him, and he rolls back into the water, his screams silenced as he disappears in the current.

Nikignik sits in a hot spring in the Shuddering Peaks. Beyond the waters was a cabin, having once belonged to Walter 'Walt' Pensive, it now served as a refuge for the runaway lovers of Ricou Chapman and Nolan Thair.

## Story One - To Hold It Gently

Ricou Chapman stands on the edge of the Shuddering Peaks and checks to see if there were any intruders making their way up the mountain to invade his home. Nolan Tahir speaks up from behind him, telling him that he'd liked to have started a garden, but he didn't think anything would be able to survive as it kept getting cold. Ricou asks him if any of the plants on the mountain were to his liking, but Nolan tells him that he'd wanted to grow flowers and vegetables. Ricou tells him that perhaps it would be warmer next month and tells Nolan that he should be wearing clothes in that weather, but Nolan tells him that clothes were uncomfortable, that he felt venerable in them because people could see him, but he found himself wanting to be seen. Ricou tells him that he shouldn't, as his invisibility was what made him beautiful and unique. Nolan tells him that wasn't what he'd meant, it was that he wanted them to have friends, that he knew there were other people like them out there as he'd seen them when they'd attached Solomon Reed's house (see Episode 46 - Teeth), but Ricou reminds him that 'different' didn't mean 'nice', that if he wanted 'ugly friends' he could go back to the Resting Place (see Episode 15 - Cards). Ricou asks him if he was happy with him, and Nolan tells him that he was. Ricou notes Nolan's usage of past tense.

Nolan tells Ricou that it wasn't a reflection on him his desire to meet other people, that he wanted to try new things. Ricou wanders if he jumped off the side of the Mountain if he might land in some pool of water and thus escape this conversation. Ricou tells him that Nolan would know more about living then he would, and Nolan asks what he meant by that, but Ricou dismissed the question, and tells Nolan that the life they were living was a small one, but it was theirs, and that Nolan was all Ricou needed to be happy. Nolan tells Ricou that he understood this and that he hoped he'd come with him, but in three days' time he planned to leave for the forest.

### Interlude - Summer Has Arrived

Nikignik tells the dreamers about summer coming to the Hallowoods, leading to high waters, deadly rapids, and colourful that defied the uniform black of the surrounding landscape. Tadpoles were hatching into young frogs and the Froglin Queen was glad to see them prosper, despite their love having turned for Lolgmololg. The winter horde of Mr. Friendly festered in the warmer weather (see Episode 32 - Automobiles), Big Mikey was out looking for fish to eat, and the howls of the Hording Wolves echoed in the pines at night. The only great change from the summer before was that now there was no fiddle or cello that filled the trees at night (see Episode 47 - Regrets). for better or for worse summer had arrived in the Hallowoods.

## Story Two - Problem Child

Zelda Duckworth sits in a Scoutpost meeting, and Bern Keene announces roll call, saying that they should announce their name and rank, with Violet Keene adding on that they should also say a fun fact about themselves. Bern goes fist anouncing that she was a 'Torchbearer Scout' and that her favourite candy was liquorice. Violet goes next and announces that she was a Torchbearer Scout and that she spoke five languages. The other attendees follow suite in, order being Virgil Kane, Jonah Duckworth, Hector Mendoza, and Zelda, who announces that she was a 'Scrapbooking Scout', to Bern informing her that Scrapbooking Scout wasn't a real rank of scout. Bern commences with announcements. She tells everyone that today they were observing 'Pensive Day' in honour of Walter Pensive (see Episode 36 - Swords), Zelda tells everyone of Al starting school, and of Jonah having found a 'nice man' (Hector) to be with. Violet tells the group that the summer solstice was going to be in a few days, and that they were going to have a bonfire to celebrate. Bern announces that seeing as The RV Gang had left the Scoutpost with a big part of their fuel supply (see Episode 52 - Memories), which was problem one, as well as being down Diggory Graves, leaving them with only three other Mendies that could be relied on, as well as Olivier Song, and Percy Reed.

They discuss the potential of them being watched by Botco, and how this may no longer be the case with Riot Maidstone gone. Bern addresses issue two, being the recent Froglin attack. Violet suggests negotiation, but Jonah tells them that it probably wasn't on the table after his experience with them in Episode 6 - Frogs. Virgil suggests getting the Combat Scouts together and doing an intimidation tactic, referring to how Solomon was able to deter them. Zelda suggests a decoy, and Hector adds on to this by suggesting that they use one of the Scoutpost kids, get them to play the violin to simulate the sound of Solomon's Orchestra. Bern says that they try the decoy suggestions before escalating things. She announces that issue three was they they'd recently been communicated by another settlement called Fort Freedom, who were asking for assistance as they were almost overrun by Froglins.

these is a knock at the door and a woman who Zelda recognises as working at the school comes in and request an audience with her, as Al had gotten in trouble.

### Marketing - A Broken Life Halfway

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik with her marketing segment. She talks to the listeners about virtual reality, about how the technological giants of the past dreamed first of it, to pretend to be in a different place, to try and build a believable world in pixels and code, clumsy haptic gloves and full-body treadmills. But it was never real enough for the consumer to believe, be truly immersed in another dimension, but the world outside was broken, and why would one ever want to meet it halfway. Botco only found true escape, true potential for a happy and productive and joyful life in an inner reality, in dreams. The Prime Dream felt real because it was real within the mind of the user.

### Story Two, Continued

Zelda sets Al's toy drum underneath one of the chairs in the school's conference room and sits down on the other. She tells Al that they weren't leaving until he came out and talked about what had happened, even if he missed story time. This convinces Al to appear, and he tells her that she already knew what had happened as the teachers had already told her, but she tells him that she wanted to hear it from him. Al tells her that he'd just been trying to make friends, similar to how kids in stories did it, but he found that none of the kids were very friendly, as they either ignored him or looked at him like he was some weird animal. When recess came the teacher had put his drum outside, and he saw that all the kids were playing soccer, and he wanted to play as well, but the kids kept kicking the ball through him. A girl had screamed and called him scary, and a boy named Cole had kicked his drum. So, Al threatened to steal their skin.

Zelda tells him that it'd been a while since Jonah was a little boy, and she knew that she should be telling him that what he did wasn't appropriate and to solve his problems with words, but if anyone ever toughed his drum without his permission aging he should 'kick [their] ass'. Al asks if he was in trouble, and she tells him that he wasn't in trouble from her, it was his own trouble. This was going to be something that they were going to work on, these kids were going to be scared of him because they didn't know him yet, but if they did, they'd love to be friends with him. Al tells her he'd try his best, and she picks up his drum and leaves the room, telling him that if Cole ever gave him trouble again, to let her know and she'd teach him a lesson herself.

### Interlude - Streams of Souls and Fire

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that not all life came from water, but humans had an issue with conceptualizing it, being born of starlight and darkness, of storm and sight, of emptiness and the void of death itself. Life was like water however, carried by clouds of chance to rocky planets like mountains, it gathered and bled and poured, and at the climax of its journey it returned to the oceans of the stars. In the light of this torrential path, these streams of souls and fire, who could blame the parasites from dipping their heads to drink, the Industry for building their dams and mills? He didn't, he sat and watched the path of the water, it was it its most beautiful when it met the sea.

## Story Three - Life After Death

Rick Rounds wakes up in a cold sweat confused and disorientated to a rumbling outside of the Overdue Cabin, believing himself to be drowning until he realises the reality of him being in bed (see Episode 44 - Rains). There's another rumble, shaking the cabin, and he gets out of bed, legs immediately giving out and falling over. He wipes the dust from his face instinctively with where his hand would have been there (see Episode 23 - Sunsets), and while he finds it still missing, he discovers twigs have begun sprouting from the stump of his wrist. He starts to tell himself that he was having a fever dream and that none of what was happening was real. There's laughter from outside, loud enough to rattle to roof, and he begins to question if he might be in hell but grabs a fire axe from besides a furnace and charges outside.

He finds Big Mikey, having caught the pike that had attached Rick in Episode 44 - Rains and ripped it in half to begin eating it. Rick yells out that Mikey wasn't real, frightened by his sudden appearance (see Episode 17 - Bogs), but Mikey just looks down at him and tells him that he felt real. Mikey recognises Rick, telling him that he didn't remember him being so small, asking if this was how Mikey had looked to him, and that maybe now Rick was the one in need of a "swimming lesson" (see Episode 17 - Bogs), reminding him that Rick had told him "all you need to do is kick", as he says this kicking Rick into the water of the shoreline. Rick screams out an apology, and Mikey stops, asking if Rick meant it, and Rick tells him he was, that he didn't know what he'd wanted from Mikey, that maybe he'd been jealous, maybe Mikey had been too happy, but he hadn't wanted him dead. He should have learned from that, but he hadn't.

Rick tells Mikey to eat him, rolling over and accepting death. But Mikey tells him that he wasn't hungry anymore, asking if Rick was sick, and Rick tells him that he was, that he though whatever had happened to Mikey was going to happen to him. Mikey asks if Abe was okay, and Rick tells him that he was last he'd seen him, that he still came by sometimes. Mikey asks if there were any books in Rick's house, and Rick tells him that there were plenty, commenting that he thought Mikey couldn't read. Mikey tells him that he'd been practising, and that he'd read to Rick until he felt better. Rick thinks to himself that maybe things could be different for him if he survived, maybe he would go find Polly and fight him head-on, steal his umbrella and set the world on fire with it. Mikey starts to read, and Rick begins to nod back off to sleep.

## Outro - Rivers

Nikignik waxes poetics about Rivers, that even the best of us must grapple with the inevitable direction of life. The channels which one swam through had been carved by a millennium of those before them, but it was only up to them how gracefully they cross the rapids and ensure that the stones do not break them as they fall towards greater waters. Even so, Nikignik tells the Dreamers that he'd been told that he was never content to go where he was told. Even now he hoped that the stories he was telling went against the currents of the universe and formed a new delta, at least slowing that which could not be stopped. Perhaps he would simply shatter against the sharp rocks, but he would rather that than any easy demise.