Bingo Brownie!

[shayna611]

Elderberry #13. Spirit Link
with Hot Fudge, Whipped Cream, Malt, and a Brownie
Story : knights
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1252
Word Count : 5465
Malt Prompt : Bingo - whipped cream + flowers + a kiss + (Molasses) Living Dead + brownie

So, this was supposed to be Molasses - Living Dead, and certainly there are demons in it, but well, not much more significantly than in any other piece, so last minute I have affixed it to a different prompt that I think is more suitable.



Arms folded, Kairn glowered at the set of interlocking sigils laid, not in the usual chalk, but in something dark and glossy, over the floorboards. "Just what do you think you’re doing?" he asked the figure on his hands and knees in the rightmost ring.

One slender finger tracing over the inner webbing of the circle to the left, Sethan made no move to look his way. "Ephram was on to something," he said.

Kairn’s scowl deepened and his arms tightened as he shuffled back a pace from the whole affair. "Master Ephram got himself killed doing this."

"Only because he was careless." With still not so much as a glance, Sethan waved a heavily smudged hand his way before resuming his inspection. "And I seem to recall someone taking a board to his head."

Kairn winced. "Thanks, I needed that reminder." He cocked his head and tried to muster a stern tone. "So you know better, do you?"

That got his attention. Sethan splayed his hands flat over the dark lattice and offered Kairn a tight lipped grin. "Of course."

"And you’re going to put yourself into a rat?" Arms still knit, he gave his whole body a bit of a shrug in the direction of the central form and its lifeless inhabitant.

Features folding into a look of disgust, Sethan shook his head. "Of course I’m not going to put myself into-" He settled back on his knees and waved him closer. "Will you just get over here and help me?"

Kairn edged in, peering cautiously at the trio of sigils as if the whole thing might leap out and nab him. The rodent corpse lay in the central, most intricate ring. Sethan knelt in the right. The left stood suspiciously empty. "So," he said, eyes set on that final ring, "what am I here for? To take care of things again if it goes wrong?"

"That won’t be necessary," said Sethan, lazily inspecting the lines that flowed about the body, layer upon layer of tiny detail laid upon the well-worn wood. "I don’t intend on putting my neck on the line for this."

Kairn paused, bent near double at the drawing’s edge. "Then-"

"You’re going to join me," said Sethan.

"I- What?" He snapped upright and staggered back a step, arms unfolding to point and flail at the floor. "You are not putting me into that-"

A hand closed over his outstretched arm. "Just get down here already." Sethan gave him a pull. Kairn staggered forward, teetered, and came crashing to his knees in the left circle. Hands thrown out to break his fall, he landed right on target, palms down and fingers spread over the intertwining arcs where form met form.

Before Kairn could move or sputter out so much as a single coherent word of protest, Sethan slammed his own hands into place along the ring. The lines flared in a burst of crisp, white light that enveloped them both.

Blinking, Kairn whisked his hands from the floor and brought them to his face. Trembling fingers groped their way over his ears, his cheeks, his throat, as he stared, open mouthed, at the construct. Clearly still a fair distance in front of him, the rat wobbled and shook. It dragged one tiny paw beneath itself and then another, claws rasping against the wood with a force that brought Kairn's hands back to his ears.

He turned to scowl at Sethan as the demon rat took up a slow waddle about the ring. "The hell was that?" When he found his voice, it echoed painfully against his ears. Dismissing it as nerves, he shook his head. "Next time you want a test subject, you ask."

The strange reverberations continued, as if his words repeated themselves a hair apart. Eyes on the rat, Sethan was grinning like a fool, and Kairn swung at the air all the harder. "Did you give any thought what you might have-" Sethan was hearing none of it. Kairn glared at the hobbling rat. "At least it didn’t work."

"Ah," said Sethan, his voice echoing as well, "but it did."

"What?"

Still fixated on the demon, Sethan lifted a hand Kairn’s way. "Shush for a moment," he said.

"But-"

"Listen."

"But I don’t-"

Sethan’s smile faded; his brows knit. "You wouldn’t, would you?" He sighed. "Maybe," he said, snatching the thing by the tail, "we need to send it a bit further away." The rat squeaked and squealed, a hollow approximation of its living voice, as Sethan hoisted it into the air. He rose and strode to the door, wriggling beast dangling from his fingers, every step ringing out in a double slap.

The door swung in, and Sethan leaned out. He craned his neck to peer up and down the hall, reached out his arm, and tossed the rat to the floor, where it landed with a loud thump and went, scrabbling and scratching thunderously, along on its way. As calmly as if it were a bit of rubbish he’d just cast into the hall and not a demon, Sethan turned back around and shut the door.

"What did you just-" said Kairn, his voice no longer echoing.

"Shhh." Sethan set a finger to his lips.

Kairn frowned but held his tongue. The scratching continued, not from beyond the door, but from nowhere, as if it were in the air right beside him. The shuffling scrape of nail on wood rang out, as clearly as if he’d had his head to the floor. "Can you hear that?"

"Of course I can," said Sethan. "That was the point."

"But-" he said, hand still worrying at his ear as the thunder of boots overpowered the claws.

Sethan silenced him with a glare. "Shhh!"

The booming tread grew nearer, if such an interpretation could be applied to a sourceless noise. Just as he thought it could get no louder, it ceased.

"What the-?" Reida's voice rang in his ears with the same odd detachment as the rest.

There was a disembodied squeal and a snuff, and the footsteps resumed. "Have to work on the volume," Sethan murmured, with a frown at the lines all about them.

"I'll say." Kairn rubbed at his throbbing temple.

The door swung in, the ghostly echo returning as the impact it made with the wall reached the rat's ears and his own. Planted in the frame, the construct wriggling madly as it hung by its tail from the thick fingers of her outstretched hand, was Reida.

She thrust the squealing beast Sethan's way with a scowl. "Is this yours?"

Sethan edged between the sigils and the newcomer as if he might block the forms with his slender frame, and offered a slick smile. "Kairn here was in need of a little remedial lesson and-"

The rat still dangling from her grasp, she elbowed past him, and Kairn backed hastily away as she shot him a dark look. She stooped low over the forms, and he found himself holding his breath, waiting for her assessment. "That hardly looks remedial to me." Her brows knit and her nose gave a sharp upward turn. "Is this…what I think it is?"

"Perhaps not quite," said Sethan. He wound a hand about the squirming construct and swept it from her grip.

She shook her head at the forms and clucked her tongue. "I never would have suspected, not even of you."

Kairn looked from one to the other, both broadly grinning as if this were all some terribly clever joke between the two of them, the demon rat worming its way, still with that impossibly loud rustling and snuffling, between Sethan's fingers. He opened his mouth to demand an answer, but closed it again with a huff, as she planted a hand on top of his head.

"Experimenting on your little girlfriend here," she said, roughly tousling Kairn's hair.

"But-" he squeaked, eyes darting to his friend.

"Please," said Sethan, brushing them both off with a wave. His other hand swooped and swayed to keep the creature cupped in its palm from escaping. "It was a perfectly harmless spell."

Reida's fingers tightened on Kairn's scalp. "Does Berwyk know?" she said.

Sethan scowled. The rat squeaked, and Kairn winced as Sethan's fist closed over its furry little body. "Of course not." The scowl deepened as Reida's grin widened. "And you will keep it that way." He waggled a finger in her direction.

"Right," said Reida. She let loose of Kairn to snatch the rat back from Sethan. Kairn threw his hands to his ears as it let out a cry. "If you show me what you’re doing." She shoved a thumb beneath the creature's chin, snapped its head back with a quick twist of her hand, and tossed the limp body into the center ring, before turning to Kairn. "Back in your spot."

"But-" He cringed under twin stares; one dark, one pale, both threatening violence. With a sigh, he settled back into place.

Reida took up position in the right sigil. The two dropped to their hands and knees, and Kairn closed his eyes and splayed his fingers over the lines. With a pop and a rush like a breath swept over his spine, the sigils snapped to life. Reida scrunched her nose as the rat dragged its paws beneath it with the same deafening scratching and scrabbling as it had before.

It hobbled across the ring, head swaying precariously on its disjointed neck, the rasping of its nails accompanying every twitching, faltering step. Reida blinked a time or two, a grin slowly spreading as she studied the creature. She leaned in closer, and closer still, eyes darting between Kairn and the rat, lips curled back over stark, white teeth. Crouching down on all fours, her nose just above the wobbling furry body, she puffed her cheeks and blew a short gust at the construct's head. A rumbling filled Kairn's head, as of a great wind through a tight tunnel, and he slapped a hand to his ear with a scowl at the girl. Fingers massaging her own ear, Reida shot him back a toothy grin.

"Brilliant," she said, the word echoing in the rat's ears before it reached his own.

"I try," said Sethan.

She scooped the creature from the floor, turning it over this way and that to poke and squint at its head. Kairn rubbed in vain at his temples as the loud squish of tissues and gnashing of rodent teeth bombarded him. "Any idea how far it works?" she said, words bordering on unintelligible in their rapid reverberations.

"I couldn't say," said Sethan, edging closer, arms folded, to peer over her shoulder at the squirming rat, "seeing as someone had to go dragging it back in here right away."

"Of course," she said. She glared at the beast a moment before breaking its neck once again with an earsplitting crunch. The furry body cast aside, she rested her hands in the central ring to study the lines. "I see the basic form is a lot like the one Ephram botched." She traced a pair of broad, sweeping strokes through the air with her nose.

Sethan shifted from foot to foot behind her, following her gestures with the slightest turn of his head. "The foundation is the same, yes."

Reida crawled back a pace and brought her hands to the edge of the ring where Kairn sat, and he quickly scuttled out of the way. "Is it necessary that it be done in tandem?" she said, brushing a hand over the slick, dark lines. "I mean, some of us don't have handy little girlfriends about all the time."

Kairn scowled but held his tongue, and Sethan slid between them. "No, not at all." He bent low to wave a finger over the edges of the forms. "You might wish to adjust the width of the second ring for a solo attempt, but it should work." He shrugged. "It merely seemed more efficient to test it and gain a second perspective at once."

"Good thinking." Settled back on her knees, Reida gave her pockets a thoughtful pat, moving from one to the next before procuring a crumpled bit of paper from one at her hip. "Mind leaving this for me to copy?"

Sethan shrugged. "As long as you clean it up."

"Of course," she said, a bit of charcoal now in her grasp. "We don't need anyone else finding it." She gave the corpse at her side a thoughtful frown. "I take it the ears need to be left intact?"

"For now," said Sethan, arms once again folded as he and Kairn watched her brush thin, dark lines across the page. "I'm sure we'll find a way around that if we play with it a bit."

"Oh," said Reida, without so much as a glance up from her work, as black webbed its way beneath her hand. "I was supposed to tell you, for Master Tarek..."

"Oh?" said Sethan.

"Not you." The paper hit the floor and she turned, with a scowl, to jab the stump of coal Kairn's way. "Your girlfriend." Kairn's eyes narrowed as her gaze settled on him. "He wants you to fetch his robes from the laundry."

"Why do I get the feeling those orders had nothing to do with me?" Kairn said.

Reida sneered, the charcoal turning slowly between her fingers. "Why do I get the feeling you'll find something in your bed if Tarek doesn't get his robes?" She slid her tongue over her lips, the corners lurching higher, and tapped the charcoal to her chin. "Something with pincers this time, I think." She offered Sethan a wink as Kairn's jaw dropped. "I'd lay off him tonight if I were you."

Kairn chewed the air a moment, jabbed a finger her way. "One of these days," he said. Reida snorted.

The back of Sethan's hand smacked his shoulder. "Like you mind going to the laundry."

Kairn turned his glare on his friend. "That's beside the point."

Grinning, Reida lifted both her hands and snapped her fingers in a crude approximation of claws, and Kairn swallowed hard.

"You're coming with," he muttered to Sethan.

Sethan shrugged. "If you want."

Rows of lines, laden with garments enough to clothe a small army, occupied the rear corner of the grounds. Kairn ducked beneath a row of dangling cloth and looked about.

“Kairn?” Elsie’s gold-framed face peered out from behind a sheet, one hand holding a corner to the line, the other clutching a mound of wooden pins. Her eyes set on him and her lips split wide in a smile.

“Elsie,” he said, returning her smile, his fingers worming their way into his hair.

Sethan swept cloth from his way and stepped through behind him, and the smile faded from Elsie’s face. “Sethan.”

Sethan offered a grin but said nothing as he slid into place beside Kairn.

“So,” said Elsie, her smile tight as she forced it back into place and her gaze trained on Kairn, “what brings you two here?“

Kairn clawed at his scalp. “Do I need a reason to come see you?” A choking sound from beside him. Kairn snapped up straight and pulled his hand from his head. “Robes! Right. Master Tarek, he, uh... he wants his robes.”

“Of course.,” she said, pink touching her cheeks. “This way.”

Kairn followed her, weaving between the lines, Sethan on his heels. Along the wall stood a table, baskets, heaped with clothes already folded, scattered before it. A pair of girls at the table, each with the corner of a sheet in her hand, looked their way. A smile for Elsie, barely a glance at Kairn, they both settled on Sethan. One tipped her head behind the cloth and uttered something to the other as she peered at him over the top, and both girls flushed.

Kairn shot Sethan a look. Sethan, hands in his pockets, not sparing a moment for the ogling girls, raised a brow. Kairn shook his head.

“Over here,” said Elsie. She bent to pull one basket and then another from under the end of the table. “Master Tarek,” she muttered to herself, frowning at the contents of each. “The green ones?”

Another pair of girls was staring. This one around the edges of a tablecloth strung on a nearby line. One had the gall to point. Her friend swatted the offending hand down and both covered their lips as their cheeks flared. Sethan dragged the toe of one boot through the grass with a yawn and gave his nose a scratch, and Kairn shook his head again.

“Kairn?” said Elsie, rifling through the contents of a basket. “Tarek’s are the ugly old green things, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” said Kairn. “Sure.”

She fished a pair of olive sheets from the pile and unfurled them. “Two?” she said.

“Sure,” said Kairn, wondering if he should have asked Reida for details.

The pair had now been joined by a third, venturing peeks at Sethan around every corner of the sheets they could fit their heads, swiftly ducking back out of view as if Sethan might turn and smite them for their attentions. Sethan, busy with the examination of the contents of one of his pockets, had yet to notice, or perhaps he had and he didn’t care; Kairn wasn’t sure which option was worse.

“Kairn?”

“Hmmm?” He blinked. Elsie was holding out the robes. “Oh. Yes.” He shook his head, blinked again, and relieved her of them.

“You know,” she said, the flush returning to her face, “you don’t have to have a reason to come see me.”

“I don’t?” said Kairn. “I mean, I don’t.” He tossed the robes over his shoulder and stuffed his hand back into his hair. “I… maybe I’ll come by tomorrow. After class.”

Elsie smiled, dark eyes wide and gleaming. “I would like that.”

Sethan gave a loud sniff, and Kairn turned to glare at him. He pulled his hand from his pocket and made a none too subtle pinching with his fingers, and Kairn rolled his eyes. “Tomorrow then?” he said to Elsie.

“Tomorrow,” she said.

Robes slung over his shoulder, Kairn ambled over the lawn. Sethan walked beside him, no burdens to carry, the back of one thin hand worrying at his nose.

Sethan's shoulders lurched with a violent wave of sneezes. He jerked his foot from the ground, a clump of scraggly purple flowers popping up in its wake.

"The soap?" said Kairn.

Sethan nodded and sneezed again, another burst of petals erupting about his heels. He gave the dainty blossoms a violent jab with the toe of his boot. "Damned nuisances."

"Aww," said Kairn. "I think they’re rather pretty." He bent to retrieve one of the more fortunate blooms from its battered stalk.

Sethan scowled but stepped aside as Kairn plucked another flower from the grass. "Why don’t you take them to your girlfriend then?"

"She’s not my-" He hastily righted himself, the delicate bits of purple and blue slowly twirling between his fingers, and a warmth crept to his cheeks. "Do you think she’d like to be?"

The remaining flowers received another angry swing of Sethan’s foot. "How should I know?" he said, petals grinding under his heel. "I’m not the one who spends half his time mooning about over her."

"I do not-" Sethan fixed the flowers in Kairn’s hand with a cold, blue glare, and Kairn’s face flooded crimson. "Alright, alright," he said, "maybe just a little."

With a shake of his head and a twist of his foot that smashed the last traces of purple into the green, Sethan set back to walking. "Sometimes," he called over his shoulder, "I don’t understand you at all."

"It’s normal, you know," said Kairn, the pair of flowers bobbing and swaying in his grasp as he hurried to follow. "Caring about other people."

A derisive sniff sounded ahead, or maybe it was still allergies. "Anything that makes one behave like that," said Sethan, "I think I can pass on."

"It’s not fair, you know." He tossed the blooms aside and thrust his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"What’s not?"

"The way they all look at you." Purple and blue fell away beneath his feet. "You wouldn’t even have to try."

Sethan turned his head, features twisting in disgust. "Not like I care to."

Kairn rolled his eyes. "You know," he said, "sometimes I actually have to wonder if it really is my pants you’re interested in."

"You wish." Sethan turned around, a smirk on his lips as his eyes slid slowly from head to toe and back. "Either way," he said, another sniff as he continued on his way. "I just don’t see the point."

"You wouldn’t," said Kairn, forcing his fists to the depths of his pockets.

Sethan spun round again, gesturing broadly with his hands while backpedaling over the lawn. "I mean, say you finally get one," he said. "She’s as hopeless over you as you are her." With a much labored roll of his eyes, he threw up his palms. "Then what?"

"If I need to explain that to you, you’re sadder than I thought."

Sethan sniffed, turning back to his previous pace. "It’s not like you can spend all your time in her pants," he said. "She’s going to expect you to listen in between."

"As if that would be worse than putting up with you," he muttered.

Sethan shot him a grin, which swiftly died as another sneeze brought another burst of foliage at his feet. Neither boy said a word, leaving the flowers to lie. Sethan swept a hand across his nose, stuffed it into a pocket, and walked on. Shifting the robes on his shoulder, Kairn hung back a pace, dragging his feet through the grass.

"She is, you know," said Sethan, some distance later.

"Is what?"

"All hopeless over you."

"I thought you said you didn’t know?"

Sethan shrugged. "As if anyone could miss it," he said. "You’re completely pathetic, the both of you."

They were clustered all together along the fence, skirts rustling, hands waving, a crowd of silhouettes against the stones. Kairn hung back, a bundle of stalks overflowing in bright red blooms in one hand. He frowned and squinted into the twilight, struggling to pinpoint Elsie’s golden locks among the bobbing heads.

He squeezed the bouquet, cleared his throat, and edged closer. “Uh… Elsie?”

One head shot up from the rest. "What is it?" said Elsie. There was a whispering among the other girls and Elsie cast them all a vicious look that set them to twittering behind their hands.

"Could you..." He clutched at the flowers, grinding the stalks between his fingers. "Would you come with me?"

A fresh wave of laughter swept through the group. Elsie smiled. "Of course."

"I... uh..." He fished the bouquet from behind his back, the heavy blossoms teetering on battered and broken stems. "I brought you something."

"Oh, Kairn!" A warm, pink glow spread over her cheeks as he thrust the fistful of flowers her way. "These are lovely."

"N-not half as lovely as you," he said, his own face burning. He threw a hand to his mouth as if he could catch the words he'd already let fall. The laughter rolled through her eyes before it tumbled from her lips, and Kairn choked out a nervous laugh as well. "I'm a complete fool, aren't I?"

Her gaze flicked to the flowers clutched before her and back to him, her mouth still set in a broad smile. "You're adorable."

Kairn thrust a hand through his hair and returned the smile as best he could, the warmth in his cheeks growing. "I guess Sethan was right, then."

"Oh?" Her soft lips pursed, one slender, gold brow arched, and the laughter fled her eyes.

Fingers grinding at his scalp, he swallowed hard. "That you, er... you like me."

"Yes..." She eased a bit. "I, uh, suppose he is." The flowers shifted to one hand. They dropped behind her back, and she edged closer, a grin sliding into place along full, pink lips. "Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get your attention?"

Her skirts brushed his hip, lavender teased his nostrils, and he stumbled back a pace. "You have?" He choked, took a breath and tried to straighten himelf. "But why would you want to-"

Fingers wormed their way, soft and warm, between his own. "You're sweet," she said, closing the distance between them once more. Kairn stared, open mouthed and speechless, at their interwoven hands. Elsie shrugged and squeezed him tighter. "You could do with a better choice of company, but otherwise I don't see what's the matter."

"Sethan's not so bad," he said, voice cracking. A fresh blush touched her cheeks as he lifted their hands to appraise them, his thumb slowly sliding over her fingers. "You get used to-" He frowned and shook his head. "Why am I talking about Sethan?"

She was so close now, he could feel the warmth of her beside him, spy every flicker that passed the depths of her wide, dark eyes, trace every line that crossed the breadth of her lips. "It's just you and me and the stars,” he went on. “And you really like me, when all this time I thought-" Those lips swept nearer, her eyes wider still, and his throat grew thick. "What are you doing?"

Her hand caught his cheek, a dozen stems pressed to his flesh, petals tickling his ear. "Stopping you before you make any more of a fool of yourself."

"What? I-" Her lips struck his, a light awkward brush. "Oh." She let go of his hand, brought hers round his neck, and pulled him in for another attempt. He opened his mouth, lips fumbling against her own, breath passing between them, until she pulled away, blushing and grinning. Kairn blinked for a moment as the world righted itself about him. "Oh."

Elsie rocked back on her heels, the rumpled bouquet falling to her hip. "Believe me now?"

"I don't know," said Kairn, his hand chasing hers as it slipped away. "I think I could do with a bit more convincing."

"Oh?" Her hand returned to his, and he caught hold and pulled her in. Laughter played over her eyes as he drew her close, all the stars above reflected within, a thousand points of light that all converged into one deep, shimmering haze. The scent of lavender hovered all about her, and the faintest traces of soap and linens, comforting and strange all at once. He breathed deep, took her into his lungs. She craned her neck and their mouths met, with more confidence this time, though they still groped their awkward way over one another until, slowly, they moved as one, breath held, eyes shut. Kairn swung an arm around her, slid his hand down her back, and pulled her tighter still. She settled against him, all softness and warmth, intoxicating. His lips pulled harder, his lungs straining, burning. All else dissolved into nothing, the whole world reduced to the girl in his arms. Until Elsie broke the illusion, tearing away with a scream, flailing a leg at the empty air beside them.

"What?" said Kairn, panting, his heart pounding against his breast.

Elsie jabbed a finger at the ground. "Something," she said, her breath returning in the same jagged gasps as his own, "just ran across my foot!"

Kairn scowled at the bare shadows about their feet. "What?"

"It's..." She clasped a hand to her breast. With a roll of her eyes and a heavy sigh, she tipped her head at the wall behind him. "It's just a mouse."

"Right," said Kairn, sighing himself, "just a mouse." He froze, blinked, and ran a hand through his hair. "Wait. A mouse?" He spun around and stalked over to the wall. The creature made no move to flee. He dropped to his hands and knees and pressed his face right before it. The thing just stared back, past him, through him, its beady little eyes completely vacant, nose twitching, a patch of skull exposed between its ears. "Of all the..."

"What" said Elsie. "What is it?" He snatched the construct by its ratty tail and hoisted it into the air. It dangled, without protest, from his grasp, bare ribs exposed to the air. The mouse held at arm's length, he set back towards the path. "Where are you going?"

"To deal with this," he called over his shoulder. "I'll be back." He lifted the demon, held it in front of his face, swinging before him with its glassy stare, and glared back. "I do not appreciate this at all," he muttered to the thing.

Finding Sethan wasn't hard. Light still shown from the windows of the lab, and when Kairn thrust open the door, mouse brandished in one hand, he barely glanced his way before returning to the forms splayed across the floor.

"This isn't funny," said Kairn.

"What?" Another fleeting glance, cursory, bored. Kairn's fists clenched and his eyes narrowed as Sethan continued idly painting his lines.

"This." He tossed the construct at his friend. It landed with a soft thump at his knees and hastily drew itself, skittering and scrabbling, to its feet.

"What?" said Sethan again. He wrapped a hand around the tiny beast and scooped it from the floor. "Oh." He eyed the bare skull, the patchy sides, and his lips quirked into a grin. "No. No, this isn't funny. It's hilarious."

Hands on his hips, Kairn closed the distance between them. "Woiuld you grow up already?"

Sethan turned the mouse over, shaking his head as he prodded its half fleshed, half skeletal body. "How did Elsie take it?"

"Like you don't know."

The grin spread even wider. "Might we pretend, for a moment, that I don't?"

"What is the matter with you anyway? Are you that jealous?"

Amusement not fading in the slightest, Sethan raised a brow. "What do I have to be jealous of?"

Kairn rolled his eyes. "You can't tell me you've really never thought about getting your hands on a girl."

Sethan shrugged. "I've thought about it. I don't see the point."

No answer to that, Kairn folded his arms and watched in silence as Sethan continued his detached examination of the construct. It gnashed its little rodent teeth and flicked its whiskered nose. Its paws swung at the air as he hung it by the tail. Long moments passed, Sethan never looking his way, all his attention coldly focused on the floundering mouse. Kairn swallowed hard. "This isn't about the girl, is it?" he said. "This is about me."

Sethan waved a hand his way, and the demon squeaked as it bobbed from the other. "Don't flatter yourself."

Kairn threw up his hands. "Gods forbid someone else might ever be good to me. Then I might not put up with your crap anymore."

"I think you're reading too much into a dead mouse."

"You sent the thing," said Kairn, aiming a finger his way. "What am I supposed to think? If you're not jealous, then what? Bored? Is making my life hell as much an amusement to you as it is to everyone else?" Sethan's grin never faltered, and Kairn's hand began to shake as he waved it about. "Curious, maybe? Is it so unthinkable that a girl might like me that you had to see for yourself? I would have told you, you know. And, anyway, I thought you didn't care."

"I don't," said Sethan. He rose to his feet, the mouse's tail still hanging between his fingers. "It's not my mouse." Kairn fumbled to cup his hands beneath the thing as Sethan let it fall.

"What do you mean, it's not your mouse?" He scowled at the creature rolling and squirming about in his hands. "Of course it's your mouse."

Sethan clapped a hand over his shoulder and tipped his head to meet Kairn's eye. "It's not my mouse."

"It's not your..." He closed his fists over the tiny, furry body and it let out a squeal. Squeezing it firmly, he brought its beady little eyes up to his nose, tipped back its head, and brushed the fur from its ear. "I hate you," he said, loudly enough that he hoped, wherever she was, she would flinch.

Sethan shook his head and made a snapping like claws with his hands.

"Ugh" Kairn hurled the mouse across the room. "One of these days.." he said. It slid down the wall, hit the floor with a splat, and went scuttling away. "You know, I really don't understand why she cares."

"Nor do I." Sethan gave his shoulder a pat. "Nor do I."