Loki's warning had done a lot of things except what it was probably intended to do, which was scare her off of Pes. Instead he'd told her just where the horseman was and she'd "borrowed" the first car she could and driven like hell. Pinpointing the field where Loki had done the deed wasn't that hard, everyone was talking about the freak lightning strike, but trying to find Pestilence herself was even hard. Faith had no idea how she was going to do this, she'd just had the sense of mind to bring a tarp, gloves, and one of those surgical masks. A baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants completed her far from normal look because she doubted Pes was going to be in any frame of mind to do her any favors.
It wasn't until she saw the blackened body that the severity of this, and how out of her league she was, sunk in. "Pes, can you hear me? It's Faith. Gonna get you out of here. Fix you up good as new or somethin' like that. Try not to kill me, ok? Won't do either of us any good that way."
Oh hell. That wasn't any good. Pes was barely recognizable as anything other than disease and decay if the plant life around her was anything to go by. She wasn't sure how the hell she was going to do this. "Can you hear me? Twitch or something if you can."
Faith watched the bird with interest, an idea slowly beginning to form. "Got a visit from Loki, self righteous bastard. Told me to stay the hell away from you or I'd end up like this. 'Course that meant I had t'do the opposite. Never was one for followin' orders from men."
On hearing his name, a heavy feeling settled in her chest, but it was nothing compared to the blistered red-raw mass of her skin, her hair flaking off her head in charred clumps.
"Not really worried about that part. But I got an idea. Hang tight, ok? I'll be back." She was in a goddamn field in the middle of freaking cow country and after watching what had happened with that bird, the idea had struck her-- why not something bigger? It wouldn't get the job done all the way, but maybe enough that she could wrangle Pes someplace that wasn't out in the open. She was suddenly glad for the rope she'd brought and it wasn't as hard as she'd expected it to be to bring two of the cows she'd found back to where she'd left Pes.
"Got a little present for ya. Hope you like beef. Maybe a little mad cow."
Knowing she could not induce the cattle to come to her, Pestilence rolled clumsily on to her stomach, leaving a patch of her mangled skin on the grass. With no kind of dignity, she heaved herself forward on her forearms, the grass wilting and giving her an edge of strength.
She stretched out her fingers and grasped the first cow's hindleg, causing it to collapse in a puddle of its own blood, barely a skeleton. The shiver of strength and control it gave her allowed her to kneel up and seize the other cow before it had chance to flee, reducing it to guts and bones.
Collapsing in the ruin, her half-formed face smiled up at Faith. "Good girl."
It wasn't until she saw the blackened body that the severity of this, and how out of her league she was, sunk in. "Pes, can you hear me? It's Faith. Gonna get you out of here. Fix you up good as new or somethin' like that. Try not to kill me, ok? Won't do either of us any good that way."
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Flinching away, she curled up and then shuddered, moaning as the movement sent a wave of pain through her.
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"I...how did you...find me?"
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"Can hardly...reward you now...can I?"
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"Got a little present for ya. Hope you like beef. Maybe a little mad cow."
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"You should...let go...of them. And stand...back."
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"All clear. Do your thing."
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She stretched out her fingers and grasped the first cow's hindleg, causing it to collapse in a puddle of its own blood, barely a skeleton. The shiver of strength and control it gave her allowed her to kneel up and seize the other cow before it had chance to flee, reducing it to guts and bones.
Collapsing in the ruin, her half-formed face smiled up at Faith. "Good girl."
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