apassingafternoon

Fu re ru

Alain was having none of their shit and that was just by the mere virtue of being completely and utterly out of it. Kaine had thought it would be alright to use an extra drop or two but ... Well, it was that or his own exhaustion that kept him out of it. For as much as Kaine wanted to lie around and ignore everyone, tend to her house and hardly the people inside of it Nariko had a point. They were to rest for a week before moving on. The quicker they dealt with the out of the way errands the sooner she could sit in her room for as long as Nariko would allow before inevitably dragging her back out.

Which explained why they were on the road to The Village, or Arpagio as it was now known. The name changed was ridiculous (Aelious must have somehow gotten his way) but Kaine accepted it with a shrug. The journey was a boring one for her, she stuck to Nariko's side a bit tighter, more anxiously than usual but otherwise kept her words to a minimum. She didn't feel like talking, didn't even feel like going anywhere near town and the last thing she wanted was to even heart Cuthbert's voice, which she had already spent the morning blocking out. And yet he somehow felt well enough to come along. Fantastic.

The doors pushed open in their rhythmic fashion and her first question of the day was directed at Roland even though she didn't bother with looking over at him.

"What are we here for again?" They had barely taken two steps in and she was already quite tired of everything, and it showed in her voice, and the fold of her arms over her stomach. If her oversized sweater and skinny jeans didn't make that just as clear then nothing else would.

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"I guess that would make sense if Kaine's sexual history went beyond me, and if dicks didn't vaguely confuse her." That was the very polite way to put things, so if they were really choosing the middle of the day, just outside a gate? Either they were both being held mentally captive by some unsettling creature, or something else was going on. Frankly she was banking on the latter. And it was true that Kaine hadn't thrown up any red flags which might still point to that but it was just ... Right outside? Seriously? If that really was somehow the case Nariko was going to sit her down and have a very involved talk.

For now they could only make their way there and hope neither had gone too far. Aerie was a bitch to travel through from what little Nariko had seen of it, and Farcade was just annoying. "And I'm telling them both you said that." Mostly for the express joy of watching Kaine blush until she verged on fainting. Because a teenager girl who took out Spectres and other monsters with nothing but a sword and luck was prone to fainting from too much blood traveling up her own body.

Roland shrugged. He had no problem with them knowing he'd said that; Bert knew to expect that kind of thing, and Kaine was going to have to get used to it if she wasn't already. If he minded it being in the open, he wouldn't have said it.

"If they haven't fucked," he opined after a moment, "they probably should. It would do wonders for clearing the air." Not to mention that, if he was honest, he thought Bert could really use the release. Kaine he cared about less, but Bert needed something to go on. And, after everything, Roland suspected it wasn't something he could provide. Not right now.

"Right, a seventeen-year-old girl losing her virginity to Cuthbert Allgood, who is actually far more terrifying than you are when it comes to discussing just about anything, will magically clear the air. It wouldn't make anything awkward or strange, seeing as neither you nor your friend are exactly well versed in directly conversing about feelings, and the state of any kind of relationship. The air would be really clear for five seconds and then it would go right back to feeling heavy. Tania and Danielle are around if its really that bad."

That possessed the benefit of stress relief without the inevitable flurry of emotions that Kaine wouldn't be able to avoid. Boys must really process losing that aspect of themselves differently, nothing else could account for how easy it seemed to look from Roland's view. Then again, he wasn't exactly the type to consider multiple outcomes.

"It would stop those looks they keep giving each other, at least. You kennit. The ones where you can practically see them panting." Roland shrugged again, almost philosophically. That was all he had to say on the subject. He just happened to think that the sooner they fucked, the sooner they would have to talk about it, and the sooner that thick tension in the air between them could clear up. When that happened, well, they'd have to figure that part out themselves. All he had meant was that he hoped it was soon.

It was probably lucky he let the matter lie there, since it was only a moment later that the gates ratcheted open, bringing Bert and Kaine into view. Despite himself, Roland let out a little sigh of relief, raising a quizzical eyebrow at Bert.

"No," Bert replied, to a question which hadn't been spoken out loud, and rolled his eyes. "We came across something, thought it best to deal with it promptly. Catch." Digging in his jerkin, he pulled out one half of the glass and tossed it to Roland, who caught it without thinking and looked down at it.

"And this is?"

"Broken," Bert replied, with a shrug. "But it almost took Kaine with it, far as I can make out. It's magical, or was. Figured you'd know best what to do with it."

While it was always going to be better to leave the topic to itself for a little bit even Nariko had to laugh at that comment. Yes, teenage hormones could never be undermined (and there was so much irony in her thinking that) and they were both ... Well, it probably wasn't going to take much more to shove them into the inevitable. It was just that Nariko was more than a little convinced it might end up causing more problems than solutions.

But, again, it really was something they would have to figure out themselves.

As the other two returned Nariko smiled at first, grateful that they were both just fine and notably unruffled. It was a rather short lived smile since catching sight of what they had dealt with wiped it right off of her face. "It was magical. It's useless now." She looked as if she might take the piece out of Roland's hand but stopped herself, sighing halfheartedly as she did so. "I'm guessing Matilda had it?"

"She said it was what broadcasted the back end of our adventure in bullshit land." Kaine answered, but she sounded far more concerned about her friend's placid, near heartbroken reaction than her own face showed. "What is it, really?"

"Like I said, useless. Are we ready to go back?"

Roland gave her a look that said, quite clearly, that he wasn't letting her leave the subject there. But he nodded, tucking the broken hunk of glass into his coat pocket, and squeezed her hand lightly. "Let's go," he said, glancing briefly at Bert - close as they were, that was all he needed for confirmation - and turning on his heel. Over his shoulder, he added a little dryly to Bert, "I thought we'd taken the lesson, so far as breaking glasses was concerned."

"I took the lesson," Bert said, with none of his usual humour. "I also took the lesson that, seeing as you're the one with the looming ka and Al's the one with the Touch, I'm the best choice for shooting the shit out of magical things. And Kaine was none too keen on waiting."

"Why wait after all the trouble glass artifacts have caused? It really wasn't a bad idea." Then again, Nariko hadn't seen the effect it had on Kaine and that was exactly why the younger woman was keeping her mouth shut about it. She and Bert had done something good, that was the takeaway, here! Nariko also didn't take it upon herself to point out that it wasn't something that was even vaguely malicious, but bringing that up might actually tempt Roland into getting her to explain and she didn't want that.

Instead, Nariko took solace in holding hands as they headed back towards the correct gate and their subsequent, traveling yak.

"Hey, so, how about Spaghetti Tacos tonight?" Because talking about dinner appealed to Kaine far more than anything else. Today had been filled with enough bullshit, if the rest was full of the usual, more normal activities Kaine could only be thankful for it.

"I have no idea what half the words you just said even mean," Bert said cheerfully, relaxing a little and tucking his thumbs into his gunbelts. "But I'm sure they're delicious words." It would have taken someone as observant as Bert himself was to see that he was looking at Nariko out of the very corner of his eye, assessing. He had a nasty, sinking feeling in his gut that they had fucked up, and he wasn't entirely sure how badly.

Well, he told himself, rather darkly, one more fuck-up to add to the heap, then. He wasn't running at a particularly good streak, right now.

Roland, for his part, had lapsed back into his usual unreadable silence, striding on down the road with his hand in Nariko's and his eyes ahead.

"A vaguely messy adventure, that's what those words mean." Nariko answered him in part because Kaine was busy grinning, and likely organizing dinner in her head. It made her look uncharacteristically young and bright and that was the other part of it. Whether she knew she was being watched or not Nariko caught Bert's eyes and only smiled at him in a way that was hopefully as comforting as she meant it to be before Kaine piped again.

"Nari, after dinner will you play the piano again? And the song you learned today? And then I can make hot chocolate!" Of course it didn't end there, not quite, Kaine went on and on about plans for the rest of the day but there was a vague sliver of unease in her voice. Bert had enough awareness to identify the possibility of having fucked up but Kaine hadn't, not just yet. So she covered up the looming sense with words and plans even as they made it to their yak.

Nariko, for her part, answered every request as they went along, though whether she understood the source of Kaine's talkative streak was up for debate. Eventually the gate opened and Kaine put herself on the saddled yak as they left the relative safety of Arpagio to return home.

When they arrived back at the house (amid much loudly cheerful chatter from Cuthbert, who was even less willing to shut up than usual), Alain was in the front yard. He had been up for a while now, and had taken the time to wash his clothes; when they approached, he was just finishing hanging them out to dry. He had clearly managed to find the clothes Roland had been using, but what fitted Roland moderately well looked positively comical on Alain, who was far broader and shorter. He had had to roll up the jeans almost halfway, and they strained over his gut; the sleeves of his borrowed blue sweater were pushed up to the elbow, and forced his arms out at the sides.

He hurried to meet them at the gate, his eyes filled with concern, and only relaxed a little when he saw all of them there. "What happened?" he asked, looking between the four of them.

"Stuff, which is normal for going out." Kaine answered rather promptly, her usually placid blue eyes narrowed with mild concern. She had expected some confusion over them being gone whenever he woke - she had no idea if anyone thought to leave him a note, since even Nariko still treated paper like gold - but not this obvious concern.

For the first time Nariko let go of Roland's hand gently, and though she gave Alain a passing smile it seemed she was content to let them talk this out while she headed inside. Kaine noticed it, even going as far as to look away from Alain and at her friend, but stayed where she was. Nariko was likely going to check on Maggie's book, and she could handle that by herself.

"But what makes you think something happened?"

Alain hesitated for a moment, looking rather sheepish and tonguetied. But if he couldn't be honest with them, who could he be honest with? "I heard something," he said, after a moment, his eyes flicking to Roland, then back to Kaine. "It woke me. Something screaming a long way off, but not... not with sound. I figured something that loud had to be big. I was worried." He looked at Bert now, his eyes narrowing as he took in his friend's change in expression. "Something did happen. It's all over your face. What was it?"

"I'd rather like to know that, too," Roland said under his breath, raising one eyebrow, and as if that had reminded him to do it, strode off after Nariko. Bert stayed, though, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as he dug in his pocket for the broken glass.

Kaine waited for Bert to get out his half of the supposedly useless triangle to speak. "It wasn't really all that big, I guess it just sounded that way, and so far it seems like you and I are the only ones that heard it break, Alain. Nariko knows what it is but she's not talking, and that's about the worst sign I can think of." So they had either fucked up substantially or the thing was meant to save a world or house someone's existential being.

"Matilda had it, and it worked like a big projector when Nariko and I were last here." Realizing that neither of them was likely to know what a projector was, she added, "Meaning it showed other people exactly what we were doing, presumably right as it was being done. Does that make sense?" Considering the sizable culture gaps involved it was a genuine question.

Alain nodded, catching the glass as Bert tossed it to him, and held it up to the light. Squinting at it, he said "It sounds like nothing I've ever seen, but aye, it makes sense. And it would explain why what I heard sounded so... pained." He frowned, lowering the glass and holding it back out to Bert. "It all but deafened me for half an hour or more. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be closer. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It sort of tried to kill me, but," Here, her shoulders lifted in an easy, largely unbothered shrug. "Obviously it didn't succeed and that's what really matters." Of course it bore mentioning that there wasn't very much that could make her feel such unbelievable pain. Kaine had gone through limbs being ripped off and snapped back in place and hardly stopped to blink at it, but this thing had forced genuine tears out of her.

"Are you okay aside from hearing it break? Bert worried that the book was eating you alive while you were sleeping." And what she had given him was strong enough to keep him unconscious even if that had been its goal. "Roland, too, now that I rethink his usual quiet during that whole conversation."

"I'm fine. Never thought I'd say this, but Bert, you're worrying too much." Alain laughed a little sheepishly, raking one hand back through his hair, and pushed his sleeves back up.

"I'm worrying just right," Bert retorted, hands on his hips and legs akimbo. "Cry pardon, next time you half-collapse with a magical book following you around for no reason, I'll just wander off whistling." He pouted, but under the usual overblown theatrics, did look genuinely relieved.

Alain sighed. "That's not what I meant, and you kennit fine," he said, in a rather long-suffering kind of tone, then looked back to Kaine. "I've still got a splitting headache, but nothing that won't heal. And I did wake up with the book in my bed, but if it's doing anything awry, I can't feel it."

"Well, that's creepy. Also vaguely reassuring, I guess, but still creepy." Because if it was up to something Alain should have been able to feel whatever it might have been, right? But Kaine and Nariko had very explicitly put the thing in the basement in the morning. "I guess if you're going to be stalked by a magical book then at least it's a relatively polite one." And that would have to be put on the admittedly short list of saving graces.

"I'm going in, do you want something for your headache? That won't make you sleep." Kaine was already untying the strings that bound their purchases to the yak, who had been very docile and accepting. As if to thank it for such benign service, Kaine gave its head a little pet before gathering everything up in her arms to take inside.

"If you wouldn't mind." Alain gave her a rather wan smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "You can fill me in on what I slept through. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I hope I didn't get in anyone's way."

"When I tried to sleep on you, you punched me in the face," Bert replied cheerily, "and then I couldn't punch you back because you were asleep. I really wanted to. Can I punch you now instead?"

Alain gave him a flat, long-suffering look that suggested it wasn't the first time Bert had said something like that, and moved to Kaine's side. "Let me help you with those," he offered, nodding to the packages she was carrying.

The long-suffering look paired with Kaine's own expression of general confusion and moderate exasperation - why would Bert try to sleep on anyone? Was Alain especially comfortable? - must have been utterly comical. She brushed it off with a role of her eyes, chocking it up to the fact that they were understandably comfortable with one another. When Alain came to help her she nodded, but didn't hand him anything particularly heavy, either.

"Aside from the glass breaking, it was sort of a normal day." Well, as far as she was concerned that was the case. Kaine had a way of relating events very frankly, though she referred to the entire affair with Tyler as 'Bert took his anger out on someone else finally so we could be friends again' and Nariko walking away as 'Bert also made Nariko cry but instead of snapping his neck over it she got up and left which was really very impressive, all things considered'.

Through the course of explaining Kaine neatly arranged their supplies in the corner of the day room where it would all be out of the way. As she'd thought, Nariko had gotten a hold of her problematic book one way or another and was at the dining room table with it.

"Basically," Kaine ended, "There were a lot of feelings." So it wasn't as if Alain had really missed anything truly orb-shattering. Hah.

"With Bert and Roland present, I can't say I'm surprised." Alain smiled dryly, looking over at Roland, who had headed wordlessly into the kitchen to make tea once he was sure Nariko was all right. "I'm glad you aren't still angry at Bert. He lets his tongue and his temper run away with him, that's all." Then, as a nasty thought occurred to him, "The person he got angry with. Were they alright?"

It wouldn't be the first time that Bert had messed up their standing in a new place by getting into a fight, after all. And it probably hadn't been that person's fault. If they had left with a broken nose or something worse, someone ought to seek them out and make amends before anything escalated into real trouble.

"The person in question was invading Kaine's space and wasn't taking 'no' for an answer," Nariko answered, because she didn't need to look up to feel the guilty look on the younger woman's face. "It's a miracle Tyler wasn't physically harmed for that alone. I'm not sure that anyone here thinks his punishment was unacceptable, besides, Roland was right there when it happened." So even if things did need smoothing over he'd have done it on his own.

"All of that," Kaine added, more relieved that she didn't have to put the embarrassing ordeal into words. Since Roland was already making tea and Kaine only needed to put a few things in her fridge she was done quickly, and peaked over Nariko's shoulder briefly. What she saw wasn't words or any kind of spell, but a hand drawn picture, one that made her smile and help Roland gather cups, even though he wasn't likely to need her guidance with something that unimportant. At least she knew why that thing was such a gentle topic.

Nariko shut it a bit suddenly though, turning away from the image of her father to look at the cover. It always looked like a dour, frowning face to her, done in heavy silver, from a material she had never been able to identify, surrounded by dark ink.

"You want to know about it? Why it's followed Alain? Just ask."

"As the man in question, I certainly would," Alain said dryly, taking a seat opposite Nariko. "Besides which, I should cry your pardon for taking it. I was hoping to find a way to open the pathway for you and Roland to return, for our ka-tet to be reunited." Sighing, he rubbed his temple and looked around at the unfamiliar little house. "I suppose at least I succeeded in the reuniting. Even if we remain incomplete." Even if Jamie's loss was a great, nagging hole in the fabric of their company, one which sucked at his mind like a loose tooth.

He pushed the thought away, clearing his throat, and folded his hands in front of him on the table. "So, uh. Why is it following me? And why did it bring me here at all, for that matter?"

"Because I was told to, of course!"

Nariko hadn't spoken a word, and neither had Kaine (she was, in fact, staring at the book with an accusing and unsettlingly sort of expression). Even if they had neither would be able to imitate the low, deadpan voice that had responded. Through what could only be magic the book rose up into the air, making itself face level with Alain, but it's dour-faced cover remained unmoving and its voice continued to appear out of thin air.

"Unless there has been some gross error in translation - unlikely for a being that knows all language - in the event of the current matara's death," Here, Nariko raised her hand easily, as she hadn't exactly discussed her own title very much. "I was to protect and minimally serve the individual of Roland Deschain's ka-tet that would be most effective at putting, at highest, mid-grade spells to use. The Touch was most present in Alain Johns, son of Christopher Johns. In the event of his death, Cuthbert Allgood, son of Robert Allgood was to follow. These instructions were given with the explicit intent to aid one Roland Deschain in his ka-given quest." With that little chunk of information expunged the tome invaded Alain's space and gave the distinct feeling that it was trying to peer at him very closely.

"My eyesight certainly isn't what it used to be," There was a tiny inflection there, as if the words were meant to be amusing. "But I do believe that is you, young man."

Alain flinched a little, rubbing his temple with the heel of his hand. Roland had reappeared from the kitchen, and Bert from outside, to stare at the book; the latter had his hand on his gun and his eyes narrowed. Alain shook his head, just a little, glancing at his friend, and Bert let his hand drop, although he looked no less suspicious.

"Then why are you still following me, and not her?" Alain sounded curious, not accusing. "She may have died, but she clearly isn't dead. She's sitting right there." Then, to Nariko, "Cry pardon. That was a little blunt." Back to the book again: "In any case, could you not have given us more help by shielding Gilead, or giving us an escape route others could take as well?"

Although his voice and expression were still fairly placid, there was a bitter edge to both. Just because he had already done his crying, that didn't mean he wasn't still grieving - and just because he wasn't punching people or cutting them up verbally, didn't mean he wasn't angry.

More than just a 'little', but Nariko only waved a hand. No use in getting huffy, the man had a point.

"Frankly, you're more enjoyable company. The inside of your skull doesn't feel like a kaleidoscope of screaming colors. I can be called upon by either of them at any time. Because distance is not an issue I'm free to stay where I please." And that had apparently been with Alain. But in tackling the second question the book finally hesitated, but it also backed away a bit, settling onto the table in an upright position.

"You must understand that I am a vehicle and nothing more. Your gun cannot aim at the correct target and subsequently fire on its own, Sir Johns, I am similarly only allowed to do what I have been tasked with. Nothing more, nothing less. The previous set of orders may have tipped ka to your favor, though in a far bloodier manner, but I was not given permission to make these spells available to you."

While Nariko seemed perfectly content to sit back and let the thing speak, Kaine looked at Bert, but then quickly to Roland. Was it just her or was something off about that explanation? She just couldn't place what it was. "But I was instructed to save the both of you in the moment you spoke your desire, not just Kai and for that I am as grateful as my parameters allow."

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