Teen and Up

No Archive Warnings Apply

Gen

The House 2022

Rosa (The House 2022) & Elias (The House 2022) Rosa (The House 2022) & Jen (The House 2022) Rosa (The House 2022) & Cosmos (The House 2022)

Rosa (The House 2022) Elias (The House 2022) Jen (The House 2022) Cosmos (The House 2022)

Implied/Referenced Drug Use Afterlife themes Implied Afterlife (Maybe it is Maybe it isn't) Post-Canon

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Chapter 1: Old Friends

A gentle breeze blew through the corridors of The House. It was a cool spring day, the bitter chill of the sea clung to Rosa's fur with a stubbornness second to only her own. The smell of fried fish and rice wafted from Jen's kitchen and into the vibrant hall. Today was going to be a good day.. Hopefully. Maybe.
Rosa was ignoring the sounds of clambering upstairs, the bellowing didgeridoo that Cosmos played each morning and Elias’ strong scent of catnip smoke lingering in the air. They were not irritating, they were not irritating. Just keep telling yourself that. It's 100% okay to be annoyed, yes, but it’s not a problem to anyone. The instrument Cosmos played honestly had a nice tune to it, it’s just every morning being awoken to the noise of what may be comparable to a foghorn… Can chip away at your psyche.

Or perhaps Rosa was being too mean spirited, a stick in the mud honestly. Some days it felt like she’d never begun anew.. Still stuck trying to solely repair this home alone. The vibrance of the morning sun shone through the old window pane. The rays danced with glee as particles of dust drifted lazily through the light. God, she needed to dust the entryway again..

“Morning, dear!” Jen leaned out of her doorway, a warm smile plastered across her face.
“Elias caught us some catfish for breakfast. What a dear he is, you can tell his aura is cleaner than a newborn kitten~”

Rosa lightly scoffed. “Newborns are quite bloody, if I recall.”

“Well, yes.. But their energy and auras are as pure as….”
Jen’s expression hardened, ear flicking in thought. Everyone here had a couple of habits. Jen’s ear flicks if she thinks hard, Elias bites his lip when nervous or concentrating, and Cosmos taps at his cheek with his paw if he’s annoyed.
“Like a.. a pile of snow!”

“Fair enough, Jen.” Rosa was in a better mood today, and humoring Jen was better than souring the day over a silly comment. “Do you happen to know where Cosmos put the rope, Jen? I thought I had it near the entryway but..”

“Oh, he was using a little bit to replace the ropes on his boat, somethin’ about the tension getting a bit weak.. But that old rope is still quite useful!” Jen ducked back into her apartment, shouting just enough to not be drowned out by the sizzling noise of catfish. God that smelled heavenly.

Rosa sighed, shoulders slumping. “I’ll go see him about that, then.”

“Breakfast will be ready in 10~”

------

The nice thing about this home.. Is perhaps the fact if you wish to find someone, you will not have a hard time looking. The floors creaked and the windows always had soft tinkling noises emanating from them as the rain came and went. Rosa learned over the years that these quirks could not be ironed out like a shirt left too long in your dryer. They always found ways to seep back in. So when a board creaked as she ascended the stairs before going to find Cosmos, she found herself grinning even if slight.

This House was perfect, yet still so utterly imperfect.

 

Rosa wouldn’t have it any other way, even if the world drained and the Flood receded. Hell can freeze over for all she cared. The sound of shuffling upstairs ceased. Elias must have stopped what he was doing for now.. Which was probably working on one of the room’s walls again.

“M.. Morning, Rosa!” Elias had a cup of dirty paint water in his paws, the poor black cat was standing in the hall like he’d been caught in the midst of a crime. “I was.. Just working, hah…”
His tone was somber and muted.

Rosa’s tail swished idly, her foot resting on the last step. “Did something happen?”
It came out less as a question and more as a demand. “You seem upset, Elias.”

“Oh it’s, it’s nothing. I just screwed up a few strokes and now I have to redo some key details. You know…” He sighed, ears drooping. “The usual.”

“Breakfast is in 10 minutes. Why not clean up in the meantime, alright?”

“If you’re looking for Cosmos--”

“..He’s outside on the boat, I know, Elias.” She finished his thought before the tomcat could even speak another word. “I just need to get some rope and weigh the anchor. We’re continuing after breakfast so make sure that your boat is docked or we leave it behind, no exceptions.”

Elias straighted, his eyes wide and ever-attentive. “G.. Gotcha.”
His grip had tightened around the cup, an air of urgency filled the hallway like an oppressive smog. “..And if you--”

“No, I do not need any catnip..” Rosa shifted her weight onto the other foot, impatient to go back to the entryway downstairs. “But thank you for the offer.”
The whiskers on her nose twitched, it was obvious that she wanted to get out of what was supposed to be a short conversation. Elias was a good kid, but he was a horrid conversationalist. He was too reserved yet also too open. You could read him like a book yet never see into the bombay past the first 3 pages.

“If you ever do, I can always lend some?” He gave a weak smile, the fur on his face shone in the pale, cheery sunlight.

“Of course.” Highly debatable IF she’d ever even consider catnip.. But that wasn’t important right now. “Now, Elias, I'd love to stop and have a gab…. But I really must get everything sorted so we can be on schedule.”
Rosa quickly turned on the ball of her foot, paw firmly on the railing for support.

“R..Right. Sorry, Rosa.” Elias finally got the hint. His voice squeaked as he tried not to internalize the sharp cut off in the conversation.

“Don’t feel sorry, love. You’ve done nothing wrong, I just do not quite have the time for tea.” That familiar creaking and groaning of the floor returned, as if The House itself sighs and exasperates with each step. Sometimes one would suspect this House was functioning with a mind of its own.
“When I have the time, why don’t you show me that mural of yours.”
The bottom step gave a particularly loud “SQUEAK!” As Rosa finally reached the ground floor. Elias was out of sight now.. Jen’s record player had started up for the day, a delightful echoing music rang through the corridor. The faint sound of a didgeridoo accompanied the harmony.

Well if Rosa didn’t know where Cosmos was, she knew now. Glancing at the entryway, there was a neatly laid pile (or, as neat as one can make) of rope. Tangs of seawater lingered on the coils. Well. At least it wasn’t being tracked into The House… Though if Cosmos could not throw wet rope into the doorway, that’d be splendid.

A sigh escaped her lips. Today was still going to be alright, it hadn’t been ruined. Count to five if you’re upset, Rosa. It’s going to be alright. It took a moment before she opened the front door, the locks always were finicky at times.. Never wanting to unstick. It was on the to-do list, rest assured. Though it was a matter of actually tackling the list is what kept some trivial repairs from ever seeing completion. Jen always called the stubbornness of the door “Giving it the old one, two.” It seemed silly at the time… But now Rosa couldn’t help but try.

One tug.
Two tug..

Three.

TBA