Tuesday, September 1st
Just after midnight
The graveyardSurprises me how steady she is walking out there. Picked up something from her just before we left the Tavern; not what the Doc does, burning off alcohol like steam, but maybe something like. Hope she's not sober enough to change her mind, because hell, this promises to be at the very least
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Shake my head, "I'll deal with that," I say, stooping and heaving it back into place. It sinks comfortably back into its old depression, shifts a bit in the soft earth and then settles. The redhead tells me all of this was Tez's idea....why doesn't that surprise me?...and then totters off. Just as well. Useless little thing.
And speaking of Tez. "Least we managed to amuse you. And much obliged for your help, incidentally."
Look at him....her...one hell of a lot shorter in this form. And then I reach out and squeeze one of her tits. "Not an illusion, then," I say cheerfully. A man likes to know these things. "Next time you get the urge to play with dead things...." pause, "...y'know, there really isn't a way to end that sentence well. Just don't."
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"Please. If it's worth doing," (hitch at my jeans, which are in danger of showing him just how much isn't an illusion) "it's worth doing properly. And anyway," - look straight at him, raise a challenging eyebrow - "where would the fun be for me in an illusion?"
"Next time you get the urge to play with dead things...y'know, there really isn't a way to end that sentence well. Just don't."
That's it? That's his grim-and-ghastly-god-of-the-night protection of the dead? 'Just don't'? "Determined to spoil my fun. And your girl sent the person who was buying the drinks away." Look over at Glass. "The pair of you take al the savor out of winning a bet."
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"Determined to spoil my fun," Tez says, and the anger starts rising in me again. Fun, you wretched little-- "And your girl sent the person who was buying the drinks away. The pair of you take al the savor out of winning a bet."
Well, then.
Wanting to heal death, I can understand. Know when it's wrong and leaves them screaming, but I can understand. But raising the dead over drinks and a bet?
I smile cheerfully at Tez--imagine my expression is rather like to the Shuck's right before he tossed Raphael through Wanda's window--and really, he's a god, sure he'll be fine, and swing the spade. Not as hard as I did before, my muscles are starting to knot, but she's shorter than Pelan (hell, she's shorter than me) and I'm not actually trying to take her head off, and there a throughly satisfying tunk! as the blade connects.
Step back a pace or three and keep an eye to her, and a firm grip on the shovel. "Excuse me," I say brightly. "I've a grave to redig."
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Tez must still be pretty drunk, cos it catches him off guard knocking him into Gaueko. I stifle a laugh behind my hand, Tez completely deserved that. Good gods, barring the gore and the smell and well..probably the dead body too, we could take this show on the road and probably make a fortune. "Excuse me, I've a grave to redig." Glass chirps, still pretty damn angry though. "Anything you need my help with?" I ask handing her the shroud and carefully keeping my eyes off Tez and the look on his face. I wouldn't want to laugh and be next in line to get smacked with the shovel of doom, I'm close enough already.
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This was over a bet? They raised a zombie for a bet? That's...well, the idiocy of it more than anything...
And Glass seems to agree. As I watch, a grin spreads across her face - yes, sir, that's my baby - and she clouts Tez upside the head with her shovel. The resulting KA-WHANGGGGGGGG sends birds screaming from the trees, and Tez stumbles right into my arms. And no, definitely no illusion.
"Excuse me," Glass says, "I've a grave to redig."
Tez is upright only by virtue of being slumped against me. "Oh, don't trouble yourself, Glass," I say cheerily, hoisting him up, "I think it's only fair that, considering these two woke the poor fucker up, they put him back to bed." Glance over at the redhead and grin, "Got an extra shovel?"
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Takes me a moment to figure out exactly how I wound up with my face mashed up against Gaueko's chest and my head ringing like a fucking bell. Glass. Shovel. Right. What's with her assaulting me with household implements, anyway? Hell, that hurts. Can't quite get my eyes to focus as Gaueko drags me upright (you watch where you're putting your paws, buddy). And I can't even really fix it in this shape....
Let myself lapse back. Keeping that shape is - not an effort of will, but it doesn't come naturally, and at least this way I can get myself together enough to fiddle with the blood vessels and -
Right. Still tangled up with Gaueko. And with my senses working properly now they're not made dim by being mostly human, I can feel the dark pulse of him again, and the sheer irritation that he somehow always sets up in me.
"I think it's only fair that, considering these two woke the poor fucker up, they put him back to bed."
Look at the churned-up soil of the grave; least it'll be easy work. And while the manic good humour that's carried me through the evening is fading with the whiskey, I've still got a warm glow about me.
"Fair enough. Better to get that thing out of your girl's hands, anyway, before she takes someone else's head off."
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"I think it's only fair that, considering these two woke the poor fucker up, they put him back to bed." Consider Kaeli for a moment, standing there a dozen shades of bruised black in the night. Least she's in jeans rather than one of her skirts, and if sweating and chilling in night air isn't the soundest recipe for health, she's not likely to actually hurt herself with any of it, is she?
"Fair enough," Tez says, and by his voice--yes, he's gone back to being a man. Least his clothes aren't falling off him this way. "Better to get that thing out of your girl's hands, anyway, before she takes someone else's head off."
"Another shovel," I say in answer to Kaeli's question. I hand the spade to Tez and move back so I can snap out the shroud, great heavy sweep of black with a sound like a crow's wing, and lay it out on the ground by Pelan. "And someone to take a message down to the Tavern, as I said." Going to be holding gwylnosau for the man, don't want Iago worrying for my not coming back until dawn.
Dammit, and I need to work tomorrow. Ah well. Coffee and valerian, won't that be a delight.
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"Fair enough. Better to get that thing out of your girl's hands, anyway, before she takes someone else's head off." Tez says, taking the shovel from Glass and walking over to the grave as Glass asks me to get another shovel. "Sure," I nod, "I'll go see if I the Abbey has one I can borrow," I say walking off to the Abbey again. Not ignoring Glass's request for someone to run to the tavern but we can't dig and do that at the same time either, so that will have to wait. Besides, if we send Tez back to the tavern, we won't be seeing him again for the rest of the night.
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Glass just gives it to him without comment and tells the redhead, "Another shovel. And someone to take a message down to the Tavern, as I said." as she lays the shroud out by the corpse.
The redhead decides to spend her time glaring at me before sweeping off towards the abbey, presumably to get another shovel. Smirking, I settle on the ground and light a cigarette, "I'm betting she'll forget to send someone out to the Tavern," I say to Glass, blowing smoke through my teeth. "Doesn't seem bright enough to keep two commands in her head at one time. What do you think?"
The shovel slides into the dirt with a grinding, gritting noise; it's all churned up and loose from the poor bastard's exit. Shouldn't take them long to get it dug out. But the question of what to do with that bloody healer is bothering me. This isn't the first time she's encroached on my territory, and it's getting irksome.
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"I'm hoping she--" See Kaeli coming back with a shovel, alone, and no-one leaving the Abbey to head down to Silk Road either. Not sure if she's too drunk and tired to remember or if the concept of a messenger doesn't suit her or if she's concluded that the thought of keeping Iago informed is something to be avoided. Find I'm not caring which. "I'll be back directly," I say softly through my teeth, heading to the Abbey.
I'm not sure how much of my "Pardon me? Can you spare someone to take a message to the Tavern down on Silk Road? I'd go myself but I can't. ...No, I truly can't. ...Because I am minding the corpse that that idiot schoolteacher and her drunk friend dug up on a bet--and trust me, you want someone minding that corpse tonight, especially as things've been lately--so seeing as I'm covering that you can damn well make sure my husband doesn't worry. ...Iago, the man working bar. Just have him told I need to see to laying out and reburying the corpse and I'll be here 'til dawn. And he needn't come, I'm fine, but he's welcome to if he chooses. ...Thank you," carries back to the graveyard, and I don't really care.
Head back to Pelan and the matter of laying him out. With salt in his eyes and mouth and my not wanting t'spill it, end with lifting him gently a little at a time and working the shroud under him. "Mind if I trouble you for one of those, when I'm done?" I say, glancing at Gaueko's cigarette.
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Slacken off on the digging and let Kaeli do a bit of my share; knee's hurting like buggery where I landed badly coming over the fence. Watch Glass cadge a cigarette off her father and oh, that would be good, got some here somewhere.... Lean on the shovel and light up.
"Look at the two of you. Ain't that sweet."
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"Always have a pack on me," I smile. Think that's the first fucking time she's ever asked me for anything.
And somebody else notices too. "Look at the two of you. Ain't that sweet." Tez grins, lighting one of his own and leaning on his shovel.
I'm close enough to the grave that it's no effort at all to kick that shovel out from under him. Watching him faceplant brings my smile right back. "Smoke when you're done, boy," I drawl, leaning back.
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'S fucking comfortable down here. My knee's twinging still, but knowing that these days I can dull the pain if I want means it doesn't bother me too bad. Shove the spade out from under me and roll over so I can look at him, lolling on the ground close by.
"Smoke when you're done, boy."
Boy? "You know," I say mildly, "you wanted me down here with you so badly, you could just have asked." He's close enough that I could rest my head up against his leg to annoy him, but I figure he'd just kick me in the face. Take a drag and blow the smoke over at him instead. Feel remarkably mellow - raising the dead must be good for me.
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Tez snipes at Gaueko then Gaueko knocks him to the ground and Tez snipes again. I talk back the twelve year old comment, they're more like eight and regressing more and more the longer we're here.
Glass tends to the body and I finish digging the hole, literally not metaphorically, at the rate I'm going I doubt I'll ever be done digging when it comes to some things. I don't mind the work really but all that's happened is starting to hit me and I want to sleep and Cain is going to be worried, if he's not out looking for me already.
I climb out of the hole we dug and sit on the ground far enough away from the gods so if they start going at it (in any sense) I'm out of the way and wait for Glass to finish with the body so we can all go home.
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"Could say the same," I say absent, rewrapping Pelan. "How'd you get from cutting her up to getting drunk and leaving the dead screaming with her, anyway? Wouldn't take her for your type..."
Pelan's too rotted to be washed or dressed; worst and only thing I need t'worry about is not spilling the salt from his eyes and mouth. Sit back on the ground aside him once I'm done, and I'm done my cigarette afore Kaeli and Tez are clear of the grave. Drop down into it, and find myself smiling a touch--almost done, almost right, same waiting feeling I get minding Bluebeard's potions and titrations sometimes save that this I care about. "Pass him t'me?" I say to Gaueko. Don't bother to mention minding the salt.
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And then there's Tez. "You know, you wanted me down here with you so badly, you could just have asked." he says, lolling his head over to my leg.
"Your mind runs strictly on one track, doesn't it?" I sigh.
"Could say the same. How'd you get from cutting her up to getting drunk and leaving the dead screaming with her, anyway? Wouldn't take her for your type..." Glass mutters while working on the body.
"I would wonder that myself. From what I've seen he likes to be on the receiving end." I grin, heaving myself to my feet. Glass is calling for me to pass the body down to her, and I oblige. Carefully, carefully...he's soft enough that things might start falling off, and we don't want to spill that bloody salt. I make sure to hold his head steady until she has him safely stretched out on the bottom.
"Right. He won't be going anywhere now," I say, offering Glass a hand up.
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