Too Old For This | Fenna + R.N.A. + Haruka | Furniture Car

Fenna Van Daalen

In the before times, Fenna wouldn’t have exactly considered a visit to IKEA a nightmare scenario, though she prefers her furniture pre-assembled and built out of actual wood, thank you very much. Here on the train, though, it just looked all too… normal. It made her jumpy, like something could go horribly wrong at any second. And the annoying little shark plushies… What was up with all the “cute” animals anyway? How about someone who could actually help them get out of here?

Not to mention the damn construction projects! Fenna did not enjoy this sort of thing at all. Trying to follow the bizarre diagrams, remembering which screws are which– she was pretty sure this slat had two holes in the end the last time she looked, but it sure was three now. What was she even building? If she didn’t have a drinking problem already, it would’ve been enough to give her one.

She picked up the instruction pamphlet again, flipping through the pages with a long, bedraggled sigh. …Wait, that wasn’t a human on that page, was it?

There in the pamphlet were little cartoon illustrations of a rectangular robot and a girl with a scarf and a feathery bob cut, lifting an oddly shaped piece of particle board. As if on cue, the two of them happened to be walking by when she looked up again. Why those two? This was the train doing its friendship puzzle bullshit, wasn’t it? But she hadn’t even gotten past step one, so…

“Hey! Robot, uh–” She forgot their name until they turned and revealed it literally spraypainted on their chest. “…R.N.A. And yous, lil’ lady, ovah here!” Maybe if she just… didn’t bring up the smokes, it would be fine.

R.N.A.

Haruka Yukimura

Fenna Van Daalen As if on cue, the two of them happened to be walking by when she looked up again. Why those two?

The RP gods have selected you. Be afraid, Fenna.

Fenna Van Daalen “Hey! Robot, uh–”

Well, R.N.A. knew that was their cue, even if Fenna didn’t remember their na-

Fenna Van Daalen “…R.N.A."

🙂

They turned to look at Fenna.

Fenna Van Daalen And yous, lil’ lady, ovah here!”

Oh, who was this little lady being referred to? Fenna was the tallest woman here, so it could reasonably be any of the ladies she was referring to.

Of course, R.N.A. would quickly make their way over to where Fenna was standing, deciding that whoever this lil’ lady was would be revealed soon enough.

“Do you require my assistance, Fenna?”

Haruka Yukimura “Ah, hello… Were you talking to me? Is there anything I can help with?”

Oh! It was Haruka! Well, R.N.A. certainly wouldn’t complain about being paired up with Haruka yet again. The two of them made a good team, so surely they could assist Fenna with whatever it was that she needed.

“Hello, Haruka. I hope you’re doing well.”

Sure, this was probably overkill, considering Haruka hadn’t gone anywhere since the last car, but saying hello was always nice.

Haruka Yukimura

Haruka wasn’t sure if she’d ever been in a place like this. IKEA had never made it to her part of the world, and the next closest comparison was a warehouse, which was also not the sort of place she’d spent a lot of time. The soft sharks were a little odd, but she got over the confusion quite quickly - she’d seen a lot of odd things by now, after all.

She’d avoided picking up anything so far, thinking that she wasn’t strong enough to do anything more than get in the way, but when she heard someone calling out, she of course had to look around. Little lady, was that her…? Well, there weren’t any other ladies in the vicinity, she supposed, so…

“Ah, hello… Were you talking to me? Is there anything I can help with?”

She didn’t know Fenna well, but the older woman had made a good impression on her back when Abel had been injured. Helpful and decisive.

Fenna Van Daalen

Haruka Yukimura "Is there anything I can help with?”

R.N.A. “Do you require my assistance, Fenna?”

Ugh, this really was the goody-two-shoes gang, wasn’t it?

“Here, look at dis.”

Fenna handed the instruction booklet over so the two could see their likenesses. As they pored over the bizarre illustrations, Fenna covertly poured herself a capful of whatever industrial-grade alcohol a woman like her keeps in a little stainless steel flask in her purse. She’s earned a little treat, it’s fine.

“I’ve been tryin’ ta fit dis damn board on the frame fer like, fifteen minutes now! ’S like the holes are just a tiny bit off, or it’s too long, but it looks like the right size? Somethin’ screwy goin’ on here…”

“But dat’s yous two in the book, right? So’s maybe dis is yer problem now…” She snorted. “Just kiddin’. I’ll help.”

Haruka Yukimura

R.N.A. “Hello, Haruka. I hope you’re doing well.”

“I am, thank you, R.N.A. I hope you’re well, too.”

Fenna Van Daalen “Here, look at dis.”

Haruka took the booklet from Fenna and looked over it with interest. “How odd…!” Well, it definitely was them - both she and R.N.A. had pretty distinctive appearances, after all. Fortunately for Fenna, she was indeed too wrapped up in inspecting the instructions to notice the older woman getting herself a quick drink.

“Hm… I can’t say I have much experience with this sort of thing, but I’m willing to do as much as I can…! Maybe I’d be better with the more fiddly bits than any heavy lifting?”