Unexpected Revelations...
Thorn arrives on Courtney’s doorstep Friday afternoon, carrying a small plate of oatmeal cookies. His movements are slow and stiff, and his hood is up, casting his face into shadow.
Courtney answers with a bundle of blanket on her shoulder. It’s humming. “Hey. C’mon in. You want some hot cider? It’s really good. Or there’s early eggnog.”
“Um, cider’s good…” He eyes the blanket with curiosity, and makes a slight gesture with the plate to draw her attention to it.
“It’s Astara. She wanted to be held. One of Ned’s nexusbabies. Let’s go to the kitchen.” She heads down the hall. “The cookies look good…”
“’S not exactly proper soul cakes, but these’re mostly for the living anyway.” He follows slowly, walking in an oddly disjointed way, like an arthritic old man.
“You look like you’re in pain. D’you want an aspirin or something?” She puts the kettle on while balancing Astara on her hip.
A small fuzzy face peers out at him. “Thrrr?”
“…Orright.” He sets the plate on the table and sinks gratefully into a chair, eyeing Astara in return. “Don’t look much like Ned…”
“Scruffy does. Her brother.” Courtney nabs a box out of a cabinet and gets out some homeopathic painkilling caplets containing willowbark. Then she sits, setting the mogwai on the table. Astara beams at Thorn.
He breaks off a piece of cookie and offers it tentatively. “’Aven’t seen Ned in a while.”
“Mwee!” She takes it in a tiny paw and munches.
Courtney grins. “Oh, now you’re her friend.”
“Thrrn.”
Thorn gives a shrug and a wince. “Ned likes me too. But she’s not really fae, is she?”
“She’s half-goblin, sorta. He was a mogwai when she was, um, created, which is the Chinese equivalent. So, yes and no. Sort of a Nexus faerie. Much less mercurial than Ned, even, though. She and Scruffy like everyone I introduce them to.”
“Oh… ‘m not special then.” Despite his words he does not seem to mind in the least.
“I think you are. “ She pats him, then bites her lip. “Um. On that topic… You wouldn’t be any less special if there were more than one of you. You know that, right?”
Pills halfway to his mouth, Thorn pauses to blink at her. He swallows them with exaggerated care, and gives her a wary look, slow to speak. “Um… orright…”
“Yeah. There’s an alternate of you. He showed up about a week or so ago. He’s older. From Middle Area. He’s… kind of not real well off. I took him to stay with Sarah and Doc Schreber.”
Laying both gloved hands flat on the table, he focuses his gaze on them. “…’ve allus been glad I din’t ‘ave no alternates…”
“Yeah. They’re… not fun. He’s just as secretive as you are, at least. But he knew another me, so he was willing to accept my help and protection.”
There is a flicker of a frown, but his gaze does not shift. “Where’s she, then?”
“He comes from Middle Area. I was afraid to ask.”
“Where’s that? Should I ‘ave ‘eard of it?”
“I saw the alternate of myself from there once. She was soaked with dark energy. Everyone I’ve seen from there is traumatized. It’s a bad place.”
“’Ow d’ye know ‘e’s not a bad me?” The frown deepens.
“I trust him. He’s scared, not aggressive.”
“Could be a trick. Ye can’t trust ‘im.”
“He’s no threat to me, Thorn. He’s a lonely, frightened, middle-aged janitor at a cursed high school. Besides, you don’t lie. Not when asked something point-blank. I doubt any version of you would be different in that regard.”
He worries his lip, a familiar gesture his alternate shares, but the frown remains. “Not outright lie, but… If this other Courtney’s been feeding ‘im dark magic… I want to meet ‘im.”
“I think you should meet him. But I want you to promise not to terrorize him. When we found him in the Nexus, there were ghost dogs after him.”
“…Can ye honestly imagine me terrorizing anybody?” He looks up at last, one eyebrow quirked. With his face in shadow and strained from exhaustion, the expression is not wholly convincing as a claim of innocence. Belatedly he registers the last part of her comment. “Ghost dogs??”
“Not on purpose, but this guy is really jumpy. Yes, but they vanished pretty quick.”
“That could be… bad. Did ‘e say anything about ‘em?” His expression turns to worry.
“No. But I know you don’t like dogs.”
“Nnno… me dad used to set ‘em on me.” The comment is almost offhended, as his thoughts are whirling.
“That’s… really crappy.” She frowns.
“Hum? Wos just trying to scare me…” He scowls distractedly. “I need to talk to ‘im, Courtney.”
“He’s coming to the party tomorrow. Or I can ask him to come talk to you privately.”
“Ye invited ‘im to the party?!?”
“Geez, Thorn. I want to make him feel safe.” Courtney frowns at him.
“Want to see ‘im private, first.” He rubs at his face wearily, inadvertently pushing back the hood somewhat. His eyes are heavily shadowed, and he looks as though he has not slept in days.
She looks irritated. “Fine. We’ll have to go to the city.”
“’S not like that. ‘E could be in danger, and that… could put us both in trouble…”
“Well… we’ll still have to go to the city.” Her expression softens a little. “You wanna go now?”
“I…guess so…” Climbing to his feet seems to be a painful effort.
She turns off the kettle. “I’ll PINpoint us. I have a standing invitation, so it should be okay.”
“…What is he like?” Even as they’re preparing to go, he seems wary and hesitant.
“Very, very timid. Stammers. Seems sweet, though. No self-esteem at all, I think.” She sighs.
“I’m not much like that, am I?” Unawares, he worries his lip.
“Not exactly, no. You both seem shy, but it’s more that you’re humble, and secretive. And stubborn.” She sets her PINpoint and offers him her arm. “Ready?”
“Not really, but ‘m not sure ‘ow to be.”
She nods and hits the button, landing them near the cottage, then goes to knock on the door.
Following stiffly, Thorn pulls up his hood once more. It may not conceal his exhaustion well, but he is still uneasy about showing his white hair outside the Nexus.