Chilly Boulder, Wednesday Afternoon
Well, their Fandom was phasing with a new one and while Kathy couldn't remember how long it would take before theirs overtook this one and destroyed it nor how many times this had already happened in the past (though the flickers were lingering longer now than they'd been this morning, so odds were high the process was a quick one), she knew to
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And, you know, part of him was maybe hankering for a fight.
He actually managed to walk right past the Chilly Boulder at first, distracted by a flash of pink up ahead, but he registered what he'd seen through the window a moment later and backed up so sharply that he nearly left Val behind.
She looked -- like she might've just come back from a zombie apocalypse. Of course she did. If it weren't weird fog day, Eliot might've burst into the shop and scooped her up in a hug with no warning. And, really, he exercised only the barest fraction more caution than that, stopping just inside the door post-burst.
"Kathy? That really you, darlin'?"
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She pushed herself up with a grimace of pain and tried to flash him a smile. It didn't sit well on her, like muscles that hadn't exercised in too long. "I could be asking you the same thing."
Except it wasn't. It was this new world's Eliot, not the one she saw skulking about the town sometimes.
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There was . . . something, though. Nothing distinctive, just a feeling. She wasn't his Kathy.
That didn't make it any less incredible to see her, though.
"I'm me," he said, taking a few steps closer. God, she looked rough, and that grimace physically hurt, but he still wanted to grab onto her and not let go. Val caught up and hid behind his legs, another sign he should stay cautious. "I ain't the one who left. How'd you get here?"
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"Fandom being Fandom," she said, also staying on her side of the table. Her hand fell to her side, where a knife was strapped to her hip, hidden under the long flannel shirt she was wearing. It looked like Eliot and sounded like Eliot, and they were flickering in and out of a new reality, but only an idiot let someone get too close without making sure they were still a person.
Bosses sometimes still looked like people. Sounded like people. Acted like people. Until the teeth and claws and knives came out and the screaming began.
"Yesterday I was on my island. Today I'm here. Mostly. Sometimes I blip back home." Home was said with a tired bitterness so old she didn't even know it was there. "Don't know how much longer that'll keep happening though."
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... which he promptly forgot about as soon as he made it into the door, heart thudding in his throat. He'd spent the last eight months trying to get that face and hair out of his mind, and now --
"No," he said, not realizing he'd even spoken.
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Anders was more confused than ever.
"I -- I'm not upset about ice cream, Kathy."
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She stood up, legs visibly trembling for a moment and then sat back down. And with that reminder, her face hardened again. "Then what is it?"
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"Kathy!"
If she'd been in less of a hurry, she might have noticed some of the not-so-subtle things that were "off" about her senpai, but she was in a hurry. She wanted to be hugging Kathy as soon as possible.
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Instinct had Kathy moving before conscious thought could process the blur of motion coming at her. Usually, that meant DANGER INCOMING, which meant that getting the fuck out of the way trumped whatever pain she might feel and damage she might do. She could worry about that kind of thing later, when she was able to be pleased that she had a later.
She dove out of the chair and tucked herself into a roll, then bounced up onto her feet. Her cry of pain didn't stop her from yanking out her knife, her eyes darting around for the best way out. Maybe she could lead the creature behind the counter and make her getaway while it was busy with the cashier...
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"I." What was she supposed to say to a reaction like that?
She swallowed. "I'm sorry."
After forcing herself to take a couple of deep breaths, she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her arm and turned toward the door again.
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"I...Ringo?" Kathy asked, peering at her, blinking almost like she couldn't believe it. "Ringo?"
And then she abruptly sat down on the ground, her legs protesting mightily the activity of a few moments before.
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Neither did his dog, who came in close on his heels, getting them dirty looks from the servers. He'd been out on a run when he'd abruptly heard giggling and the island had oozed out of existence around him briefly.
It had come back and nothing had happened but...
He was going to pretend he wanted ice cream. Rufus studied the selection doubtfully while Dark Nation looked around, his tentacle and tail both shifting uneasily.
Dark Nation didn't like the fog either.
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Not that Kathy knew this guy or why he was in the store. Her interest was snagged by the way he sort of resembled Dante, at least before Dante had gone all creepy-luchador, but that interest soon palled in favor of his dog. Seeing Val earlier had reminded Kathy how much she used to like dogs. "Hi puppy," she said, waggling her fingers at Dark Nation, a rare smile lurking around the corners of her mouth and in her eyes.
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"Go say hi," he said, still studying the ice cream.
That was all the permission Dark Nation needed and he trotted over eagerly, tail wagging furiously. New people! He loved new people!
... Even if they smelled kind of sad and weird.
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"Hi there," Kathy said, immediately bending over to greet the puppy. "Hi there, hello, how are you?"
Nope. Not close enough. With a groan, Kathy got out of her chair and lowered herself to the ground, to better pet the dog. And it was only then that she noticed the tentacle--which had her freezing in place and wondering if she could get her knife out before the dog reacted. Were people turning into hollows already? And did it affect animals? Dammit, Kathy wished she could remember!
"Nice boy, don't kill me, it's okay, I'll take care of you."
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