[crow]

Maple didn't take things the wrong way, even when she probably should have. Or maybe more accurately, she wasn't bothered by passive-aggressive sniping--- or she ignored it, really. That was the most accurate way to put it.

She knew it was there, but she wasn't going to respond to it, because it wasn't worth it. If you had a problem with her, you could say it directly, to her face, or stew on it for the rest of your life. It didn't make much difference to her.

[crow]

She probably had the right idea with her attitude. It was a pity Lacuna couldn't replicate it. At this point, some of the nastiness dissipated from Lacuna, and she sighed for a third time. She was recognizing Maple's concern now. "Yeah," she said, suddenly feeling tired. "I guess I deserve that."

Maple snorted in a distinctly unladylike manner. "I'll say. When was the last time you went outside? For something other than work. Or groceries," she said. Lacuna, who had opened her mouth, closed it again.

[crow]

Maple had managed to head off both the things she was going to mention with those words, almost as if she had read Lacuna's mind--- or knew her habits, as a friend. Lacuna really hadn't gone out for any other reasons lately, that she could remember.

But it wasn't a crime, was it? To stay in. She just... didn't feel like doing much lately, besides staring at her outlines and trying to make something of them.

Right, like Maple was going to take that for an answer.

[crow]

She didn't need to say anything though. Maple was perfectly happy carrying on all by herself without any more input from Lacuna, on this particular occasion. She had come here, after all, to find Lacuna, and presumably to give Lacuna a piece of her mind about her newest unfortunate lifestyle choice. "Come camping with me!" she said. The corners of her eyes crinkled with a smile of delight.

The corners of Lacuna's eyes crinkled too, but it wasn't delight that she was feeling.

[crow]

It was more of a grimace of anticipatory dread, if you wanted to be specific about it. 'Camping'. Well, that was what Maple called it, anyway. What a dreadful word that was.

What it usually entailed, for the record, was a trip in which Maple dragged Lacuna, along with their four mutual friends, into the wilderness. That in itself might not have been so bad, but somehow Maple always had the serendipitous luck of choosing days that turned out to be consecutively rainy.

[crow]

Usually it wasn't just rainy, but consecutively stormy. The year that it didn't rain, there were bugs like you could not imagine.

When they came home everyone had made a game of counting the bites. Maple, who swore she didn't use sprays or anything because the chemicals were bad for the local microfauna, nevertheless managed not to get bitten once. None of them had been able to believe it, except the proof had been staring them right in the face. She'd been with them the entire time.

[crow]

The years where it rained, they couldn't get a fire going, despite having Maple with them, and her swearing she knew how, even in wet weather.

Other things went wrong too. Someone's tent would blow away on the wind, or a tarp would develop a leak. The can opener wouldn't work, and between that and the lack of fire, the only things they could eat were unboiled instant noodles, with seasoning sprinkled on top. If Lacuna had ever enjoyed that kind of snack as a filly, she certainly didn't now.

[crow]

Just the scent of one of those soup packets brought on war flashbacks. She hadn't eaten instant noodles of her own volition, unboiled or otherwise, in years.

Lacuna looked at the calendar. "It's a bit early, isn't it?" she said. And okay, sure, she was just trying to get out of it--- though who wouldn't, given that kind of history? But she was also right on that front. It was early. Hell usually came a bit later in August, sometimes even into September.

[crow]

Maybe they'd avoid the terrors and the rain if they went a little earlier in the year. It was a reasonable theory, to be honest.

But no one ever suggested it. Everyone had entered into some sort of unspoken agreement never to speak of it if they could avoid it, possibly to avoid reminding Maple that it was a thing. They were probably all secretly hoping that next time, Maple would conveniently forget. Never mind that it never actually worked out that way.

[crow]

Maple deflated a little, but not very much. Everyone else's lack of enthusiasm wasn't exactly a secret. "Yeah," she said. "But I mean, it doesn't matter when I ask, does it?"

And, Lacuna thought uncharitably, it also didn't matter what Lacuna's answer was going to be. They were going to go. Giving 'no' for an answer had never really stopped Maple before either, unfortunately.

But the fact that she didn't pay attention to their answers meant that she didn't, in this instance, wait for one either.

[crow]

She already knew what it was going to be, or what she was going to take it as. (For those wondering at home, that was 'no', taken to mean 'yes', in that order.) "Well," said Maple. "You know there's going to be a party down at Pep and Cocoa's tonight, right?"

Lacuna blinked. That hadn't been what she was expecting Maple to say at all. As the words registered, she looked at her calendar again. Maple followed her gaze, then tutted as she saw the results.

[crow]

She picked up the red pen that Lacuna had left underneath, and marked off several days. The one she stopped at was circled with some small, almost illegible note scribbled into the square.

Maple was right, in one sense. Lacuna had known about the party. She just... hadn't thought it was today, because she'd lost track of the days. And she hadn't thought to check if she'd lost track of the days, either, because she felt that it couldn't be so soon.

[crow]

She'd had nothing coming up for quite a while now. Scheduling hadn't been an issue for her.

But Maple wouldn't lie to her about this. As it was, she was shooting Lacuna a bit of a wry smile. "Me and Jack had a bet about this, you know. I bet that you'd forget. I guess I'll be collecting from him tonight."

"I didn't forget," said Lacuna, though her tone was maybe not as convincing as it could have been. "I just... lost track of the time, that was all."

[crow]

"Honey, that counts as forgetting in my book. And his too, usually, though I'll bet he'll try the same thing if he thinks he can weasel out of paying up." Maple clearly had no sympathy for that kind of thing.

But then, Maple woke up at the crack of dawn and went for a brisk four-mile run every morning, rain or shine, before she even had breakfast. That was the sort of person she was. The idea of leeway on technicalities didn't exist for her.

[crow]

When everyone had been in the equivalent of college, they'd collectively sighed in disgust over how healthy her lifestyle was. Thankfully they had each other to commiserate with.

"Right," said Lacuna. It was her turn to deflate. "Well, I guess I wasn't getting much done anyway."

Maple took the opportunity to sidle up to her and peer over her shoulder at her work. Lacuna hastily closed her notebook. She wondered how much Maple had managed to skim in those three seconds--- less than three seconds.