The Repairman nodded. Anyone could tell by the rabbit’s posture and manner of walking that he was not only awake for a long time, but also that he was very much not used to it.
It really wasn’t his business. He was just passing by. He had places to be, a Fourth Wall to fix…
He pulled his push-cart over and went over to the other Toon.
“I will be, just gotta shake it off!” The rabbit answered, pushing himself up into a sitting position. “This happens all the time.” He said with a dazed laugh.
“Oh, alright then,” the unnamed Toon sighed, relieved. He picked up a bucket that was lying next to Roger. The bucket had a rather oddly-shaped dent. The inkblot tried to avoid eye contact with Roger.
“Sorry about that,” the Repairman said awkwardly, placing a hand behind his head. He looked up. “I didn’t think that plank was that long…”
“Barrels, right. Floating down a gentle stream in a couple’a barrels… Hey, what’s that sound? Sounds like rushing water and impending doom. There’s no waterfalls around here, is there?”
The sound of the rushing water was thunderous now. But not only that, but the water that was seeping through the boards of the barrel was rather worrisome as well,
Roger noted with growing anxiety
as he looked down at his soaked feet.
Though at the other’s words, the frantic rabbit’s head whipped back up again and he stared at the other with wide-eyed incredulity.
“Acoustics!?” The rabbit shrieked, ears shooting straight up into the air. He didn’t dare peek over the edge of the barrel. He didn’t want to know what was coming. Or to confirm it, rather, for he already knew. So instead, he simply shrunk down to await the inevitable. “I kinda would’a preffered to still be on land. At least we would’a died in one piece then! So thanks a lot!” He stomped a foot into the puddle surrounding their feet, crossed his arms, and covered his eyes with his ears. “Let me know when it’s over…” He whined.
The Repairman’s mind raced, not even noticing the rabbit’s worry as he pulled out his oversized toolbox in their already cramped space. He began to dig through it frantically, oblivious to the fact that the extra weight meant more water was seeping into the barrel and mixing with his inky form.
C’mon, c’mon, gimme something!
He was briefly snapped back to his surroundings by the former Hollywood star’s outburst.
“Sorry,” he sheepishly mumbled, "I don’t know why I thought that would comfort you.“
He resumed searching through the chest, resorting to throwing some helmets, boxes of nails, an inflatable pool, and a baseball bat out of the barrel entirely. His eyes brightened as he saw something, and just as he was about to pull it out, he heard Roger blaming him. The splashing and shaking from the stomp didn’t improve his mood, either. He snapped up to face the rabbit, pointing an accusing finger.
“And whose shenanigans exposed us? I didn’t even know you were there till you blew my easy travel!”
Besides, he thought, we wouldn’t have died either way, right? RIGHT?
He shook his (for lack of a better word) head, trying to push those worried thoughts away. It was hard, seeing as there was a more famous and heroic Toon than he breaking down in front of him. He pulled a large blue umbrella out of his toolbox. Picking up and closing the box, he opened the umbrella, creating a makeshift lid.
“Well… at least we have shielding,” he sighed, “so long as we hold on.”
“Barrels, right. Floating down a gentle stream in a couple’a barrels… Hey, what’s that sound? Sounds like rushing water and impending doom. There’s no waterfalls around here, is there?”
“Just a sec. Almost… done…”
The Repairman had been busy pulling the barrel off the lid. That last nail was a bit of a tricky one; he was pretty sure he would need a new hammer after this.
Finally, the nail popped out and the Repairman threw the barrel behind him, riding the quiet current on the lid. The inkblot happily took in a breath of fresh air, and looked around to get his bearings. The foliage was dense on either side of the river, but it seemed to be thinning out as the two went along, being replaced with mist and a dull roar.
The Repairman jumped as he saw what lied ahead, nearly losing his balance on the small disc he had. He suddenly regretted losing what little shielding he had.
“Erm…Would you feel better if I said it was clever acoustics?”
Siblings-a-Fixin' 