116. [Video/Action for Lake of Rage]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[It's been a few weeks since Heather's terse text post regarding her father-- hardly the longest period of time she's gone in between network posts, but she certainly hasn't been overly talkative.]

[When the video comes on though, it's partially obscured by a fuzzy blue blob-- the 'Gear has been placed on a clothes rack, pointed to view the next aisle over. Specifically, it's showing the back of a shaggy brown head. Henry Townshend, taciturn photography and unsuspecting victim, is slowly picking his way through a rack of swim trunks.]

[Amid the jangling of clothes-hangers, something appears in the corner of the screen.]

[That something is a pair of hands, and between them-- stretched like a rubber band-- is a Speedo.]

[There is a pregnant pause, probably for the sake of letting the network audience take it all in.]








[Then the hands let it fly.]


[Henry lets out a howl and claps a hand to his head as the speedo bounces off of it with a rubbery twang.]</sub>


HEATHER!!


_{[The camera jostles and the feed ends.]}

Comments

[sitdownbecider]

Heheh... yeah.

[AJ, however, isn't really one to pretend things are okay when they aren't.]

Hey, uh, Heather?

[foolishwren]

<sub>[That's because AJ is honest.]

[Heather... well. She's honest too, in her own way, but it sure doesn't fit the classical definition sometimes.]

[All the same, Heather's gaze becomes a little sharper.]</sub>


Yeah? What?

[sitdownbecider]

I just wanted t'apologize for some of the stuff I said before. It was an emotional time an' some of what I said just--

It just wasn't appropriate.

[foolishwren]

... Yeah, it wasn't.

But you weren't the only one who said some crappy stuff.

So I guess I'm sorry, too.

[sitdownbecider]

Why don't we just put the whole thing behind us?

What's more important is makin' sure you're feelin' better.

[foolishwren]

Putting things behind me has always had a tendency to come back and bite me in the butt later on.

_{[She says this with a sort of wry smile, though. She doesn't want to hold a grudge. Applejack has always been a good friend and no matter how angry she'd been... she doesn't want to wave goodbye to that friendship.]}

... I'm not really feeling all that much better, I'll be honest.

But I can fake it till I make it.

It's how I've always done things.

[sitdownbecider]

Well... if you feel like you'd rather do this in person, you can always head down to Azalea. A nice dinner always makes me feel better.

[foolishwren]

... I'd take you up on that, but after... after what happened, I don't really wanna leave Henry and Crow behind. And dragging them all over the place with me isn't something I wanna do right now, either.

... You understand, right?

_{[The fear that she'll come back to the hotel and just find them GONE is nothing new, but it's always worse after a fresh loss.]}

[sitdownbecider]

I'll give you a raincheck, then.

[foolishwren]

Sounds good.

... Honestly, I'm a little surprised you're still willing to give me the time of day.

[sitdownbecider]

You kiddin'? If I cut ties every time somepony told me t'pound sand, I wouldn't have many friends left.

Part a' friendship is admittin' when you go overboard, an' being able t'forgive those that do.

[foolishwren]

I guess so.

So... thanks.