Chapter Text
Having a pet is kind of like having a sibling, Kenny often thinks. He fights with his cat about food, about who gets to sit where on the sofa, and he often asks her, “What are you looking at?”. He’d kill for Udon, unquestionably. She sleeps in his bed, and paws at his face when she’s hungry in the mornings. They watch TV together, they eat together, and sometimes her presence truly gets under his skin. But they love each other — That’s what it’s like to have a sibling. A sibling will be one’s best friend and mortal enemy all at once. Siblings know exactly how to make each other laugh, and exactly how to make each other snap.
He lies on the floor, Udon sleeping on his stomach, a cheap notebook filled with bad sketches and a pencil strewn to the side of him. It was Leah who convinced him to start drawing again. She said it was good for the soul; That drawing is more like a friend than a sibling. Something to confide in and rely on. Something he can express himself with, with no fear of judgement. But sometimes, Kenny’s convinced that the pencil can smell his fear. There’s a certain vulnerability that comes with creativity, and vulnerability has never been his strong suit. He’s gotten better at it over the years, but still, he occasionally hears the air around him whispering. Judging, mocking.
Generally, he finds more fulfillment in productivity. Or, at least, things that he can convince himself are productive. For a few months, a little while back, he did nothing but fish. Sitting on the dock, from noon until sunset, any day he possibly could. Sometimes, Willy would join him. He’d act as a mentor, a father, a therapist. The sea did the same. Kenny saw life and heart in the fish that he caught, inspected, and subsequently released. When he caught a particularly beautiful fish, he’d put it in a bucket and take it home. Just for a few days, so that he could admire it. Then, once he started to feel guilty for keeping it in captivity, he’d take it back to the dock and release it. Willy called him empathetic. Kenny thought he was ridiculous. He still does, a little.
If one loves something, they let it go, right? The fish are always going to be happier in the sea. They have sea-dreams and sea-families, probably. Maybe even sea-children. A sea-saloon that they go to every Friday, wherein they play sea-pool and drink sea-beer. Nothing gives Kenny the right to play God, and strip the fish away from that. They don’t belong above the sand. It isn’t their home. Sure, maybe the fish would like to see the sky. The clouds, the way that Venus shines adjacent to the moon on a perfect night. But it might be too much for their fish brains to handle. Humans can barely even comprehend what surrounds them, and they see it every day.
The fishing thing got too emotionally taxing. Evidently, he was getting overly attached to the idea of the fish and their imagined lives. He enjoyed fishing, though. He’s just on a break. He figures should probably hone the majority of his focus onto the farm, anyway. The farm is his moneymaker. The farm is what he’s even in Pelican Town for, in the first place. And yet, he finds himself lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Doing nothing, and finding no fulfillment in anything.
Well, anything except Jas. Kenny’s become some sort of honorary uncle to her, in the past year or so. She’s almost ten years old, now. She likes rocks, drawing, and like Shane, chickens. Shane is busier nowadays, because of the band. The Goblin Destroyers became more successful than Kenny could have ever imagined. Not because he didn’t believe in them, but because it seemed to come out of nowhere. One day they were nobodies, and the next they were teetering on the edge of fame. It’s funny how things like that happen. Kenny had no purpose, until one day he did. He had a brother, until one day he didn’t. Life just seems to happen to people. It can be a good thing and a bad thing.
He has plans with Jas today. Shane is in ZuZu City, and Marnie has business to take care of. In the past, Marnie would walk Jas up to the farm. But she’s a big girl now — She can find her own way. So, Kenny waits, lying on the floor, listening to Udon breathe. Why the floor, he doesn’t know. It just feels a little more freeing than sitting in a spot designated for doing so. It’s his house, anyway. Why should there be rules about where he can and can’t sit? That’s the kind of thing his brother would have said to him when they were kids. Kenny often wonders if his brother would have grown out of that, if given the chance. Instead, he’s stuck in time. A chair-hating, passionately boisterous, slightly moody young adult, forever chained to the bars of Joja Co. and ZuZu city.
Jas will cheer Kenny up. Perhaps it’s a little sad that, as a fully-grown adult, he finds so much joy in hanging out with a child who isn’t his own. Jas is just sweet. She’s a good kid. Independent, intelligent and gentle. Perceptive of the world around her. Shane did, and continues to do, a brilliant job of raising her. Kenny’s not sure he could ever take care of a child so well. He still feels like a child, on occasion, and he can’t even raise himself. There would be no hope for a child of his responsibility. He’s got that cursed Archer family bloodline.
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‘’I wanna go to the beach,’’ Jas says. It’s a hot day. The sun is shining through the windows of the farmhouse, a gentle yet warm breeze occasionally entering through the door. The beach isn’t a bad idea. It would be good for Kenny to get out of the house. But then, he remembers:
‘’I don’t think I have any sunscreen for you, Jas.’’
Jas looks up from her drawing and shrugs. ‘’S’okay. It’ll be fine for a little bit, right?’’
Kenny thinks for a moment, placing his elbow atop his knee and holding the weight of his head with his hand. On one hand, Shane would probably kill him if Jas got burned. On the other, he and Jas can’t stay cooped up in the farmhouse all day. They could stay in the shade. Or maybe they could ask Willy if he has sunscreen, or a hat. He could ask Elliott, but… He’d rather not. He generally tries to avoid Elliott, where possible. It’s not particularly difficult — He’s pretty elusive.
‘’I suppose we could pick some up from Pierre’s on the way to the beach,’’ Kenny mumbles, mostly to himself. Excited, Jas abandons her drawing, jumping up and skipping towards where she left her shoes. Tiny purple sneakers that definitely look smaller because they’re next to Kenny’s boots. They’re a little dirty, but to be expected when she lives in the forest. At least she gets out of the house. Kenny can’t say the same, for when he was a kid. His shoes were always squeaky-clean. A little less so now, though, for obvious reasons.
Before Kenny puts his shoes on, he ties his hair up and picks some coins out of a bowl, shoving them into his pocket. He’ll need them for the sunscreen. Then, he joins Jas on the floor and pulls on his boots, before helping her tie her laces. Shane did try to teach her to do it, but she had trouble picking it up. So, every time Kenny does it for her, he does so slowly, talking her through the process and encouraging her to try the laces on her other shoe. But, she simply can’t do it. Kenny supposes that some kids can’t. It’s alright. No big deal.
‘’You ready?’’ He asks Jas, holding his hand out so that she can pull herself up. She nods, and takes his hand. Hers is much smaller, much softer. They haven’t had to carry the weight of the world yet.
‘’Yep!’’ She replies, then turns around to where Udon is lying. ‘’Bye, Kitty!’’
Kenny chuckles gently. ‘’Yeah. Bye, Udon. We’ll see you in a bit. Don’t get up to too much mischief while we’re gone.’’
‘’She wouldn’t do that. She’s a good girl,’’ Jas assures Kenny. She says it as if she’s known the cat her entire life, but she’s right. Udon is a good girl, most of the time. When she wants to be, anyway.
With laces tied, and goodbyes granted, Kenny and Jas head out of the house. He doesn’t lock the door behind him, because he never does. He has nothing valuable to his name, and nobody in Pelican Town is gonna try and break into the house anyway. Apart from Abigail, maybe, so she has a space to smoke. She’s not around right now, though. She’s gone, with Shane, and Sam, and Sebastian.
Kenny and Jas head down the path towards Pierre’s, not holding hands, because Jas doesn’t need that anymore. However, she’s still significantly shorter than Kenny, and he has to actively slow his pace in order for her to keep up. Otherwise, she’d be borderline running, tripping over the rocks on the uneven path and sweating in the summer heat.
As they walk, Jas talks about anything and everything. Jas is one of those kids who seems timid, until she trusts someone. Once the threshold is crossed, she never stops talking, and always has something genuinely interesting and intelligent to say. However, this time, Kenny isn’t listening. He’s letting his mind wander, not being as attentive as he’d like to be. There’s just a lot going on. A lot on his mind. A million things to think about, and not enough time to think about them all. He often finds himself caught up in such a way.
Sometimes, he wonders if Jas has a difficult time, being in the care of three different people on a regular basis. He wonders whether she feels uncared for, or if the opposite is true instead. He can’t blame Shane, Marnie or himself for the fact, though. It takes a village, and in recent years, Kenny’s become acutely aware of the fact. He has been both the village, and the villager. All he can do is make sure that Jas is safe and happy when under his care. He’s not sure why Shane appointed Kenny into the role of ‘babysitter’, but he’s determined to wear the title with responsibility and pride.
‘’Ah, Farmer Kenny! And not-so little Jas! Welcome!’’ Pierre calls, when Kenny pushes the door of the store open. It seems that Pierre never quite got out of the habit of calling Kenny ‘’Farmer Kenny’’, despite the fact that everyone stopped calling him as such eons ago. It could be worse, Kenny supposes. Pierre could be calling him ‘Kendal’, as Lewis apparently loves to.
‘’Hi, Pierre. Do you have any sunscreen?’’
Pierre nods, and scuttles around the till, disappearing between the shelves of the store. Pierre has a strange energy about him, and never fails to remind Kenny of some kind of insect. Maybe a cockroach, though he doesn’t have the vibe of someone who would be able to survive a nuclear apocalypse. In that situation, Kenny’s sure Pierre would be the first to perish. Quickly, he makes a mental note to discuss the fact with Abby when she’s back. He’s sure she would find it hilarious.
The store feels a little empty and ghostly without Abby’s presence. When at home, she often mans the till for her dad, or loiters around on the shop floor, or will otherwise notice Kenny’s arrival and immediately bombard him with her infectious energy. She is the force that keeps the dust from settling on the shelves, and without her, going to Pierre’s isn’t as inviting of an experience. It becomes more of a chore, and less of a welcome addition to Kenny’s day.
‘’What SPF?’’ Pierre asks, voice raised slightly.
‘’Um... Fifty? Waterproof, if you have it? It’s for Jas.’’
After a brief pause, Pierre appears again, proudly brandishing a bottle of sunscreen, as if he manufactured it himself. Preparing himself for a predictably extortionate price, Kenny pulls the loose coins from his pocket and follows Pierre towards the till.
‘’500 gold.’’ Pierre announces. Kenny sighs internally, counts his coins, and drops them into the coin tray despite the fact that Pierre is holding his hand out. He’s already engaged in too many pleasantries. Despite it, Pierre thanks Kenny, and happily says goodbye to him and Jas as they walk out of the store.
‘’He sucks,’’ Kenny whispers to Jas once the door of the store is shut. She giggles at him, then takes his hand. In return, Kenny gives hers a playful squeeze, then they head towards the beach. It’ll take up the next few hours of Kenny’s day. He’ll have fun, and think about the fish in the sea, and squint his eyes while watching Jas wade around in the shallow and squeal when the seaweed gets stuck between her toes. The kind of thing that will give him purpose, and make his life worth living for a finite amount of time. He just hopes he won’t get sunburnt.