Fu re ru

[apassingafternoon]

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.

Comments

[apassingafternoon]

Matilda nodded, she still didn't know the proper response so it was the best she could do at the moment. "You've found yourself a handsome one, too. You've certainly grown up in the last two years, I'm very impressed."

"Let's not - not go there, okay?" Kaine tried to wave that away with her hand before pressing on so that they could go back to the yak, and then home. "Wei said something about everyone 'seeing what we did for this town' or some variation of that? I wanted to ask you about it, that's all."

"Oh, that?" The elder woman disappeared into her office and came out with ... A triangle of all things. A glass triangle with a faint, dark purple hue to it. "Towards the end this showed up out of nowhere and, for lack of a better way to put it, it just showed us everything that went on. The fight, Claude, all that talk. The whole town saw everything." It was dropped into Kaine's palms. "We messed with it a little, but the worst it does is just show you whatever you want. You ask it to show you what you ate for breakfast and that's what it does! No lies, no glamouring. Is that it?"

Kaine stared at the thing in her grasp and looked vaguely befuddled by it all, more Matilda's quick desire to leave than the apparently magical device. "I - Yes? I think so?"

"Good! Now, I need to find my husband, lovely to meet you Cuthbert, take care of Kaine, as I'm sure you're all eager to return home! You make a lovely couple, just as much as Roland and Nariko!" And with that she was down the stairs. Kaine looked at the triangle, and then at Bert, repeated that process two times before making a very confused squawking noise. She meant to ask him what to do, but that didn't come out.

[askthelookout]

"Great. Just what we need." Cuthbert glared at the little glass triangle. "More magic and mystery. Because it's not bad enough that Al's been laid out by a book and Roland's had a demon rooting around in his head for years. No, it had to get more exciting, didn't it?" Pulling a face, he raked his hair back with both hands and straightened up away from the rail. Caught up in that thought as he was - and really, who could blame him, when he'd seen two-thirds of his ka-tet knocked flat by similar magics? - it took him a moment to register just how flustered she was.

It was probably a bad idea, but he couldn't resist a little teasing.

"She's right, you know," he commented lightly, turning to head down the stairs, and glanced back at Kaine with his dark eyes alight with humour. "We do make a very handsome couple."

[apassingafternoon]

What in the world.

What the fuck.

Why. Just -- Why!

Kaine glared at the glass thing as she held it with a little more confidence. Despite how fervently Bert already loathed it and how irritated Kaine was by how easily it reminded her of the pink thing that had apparently invaded Roland - hadn't that shown him things as well? - the object just sat there, as innocuous as an old paperweight. Just as she was beginning to return to normal, the cogs in her brain finally clearing off the rust and working properly he went and said that to her.

Yet again her face exploded into a display of red, and she didn't meet his eyes, only followed. "What's with you now? Is the sugar getting to your brain?" That was actually a logical explanation.

oh my god bert you are such an asshole

[askthelookout]

"Maybe I just think red's your colour," Bert suggested teasingly, and stuck his tongue out at her. "Or maybe I'm serious. You're pretty. I'm gorgeous. You have to admit, on a purely aesthetic basis, we would make a stunning pair."

He laughed openly and easily, just as if there was nothing darker lurking in that smile, and trailed his fingertips down the bannister as he tripped his way down the stairs. In all honesty, even he wasn't entirely sure of whether he'd been being remotely serious or not. It was a common problem, with him.

"Maybe it's not the sugar," he added, after a moment, and batted his eyelashes at her. "Maybe it's your intoxicating presence. Who knows?"

He is but she's trying to asshole back! Somehow! Kind of.

[apassingafternoon]

"On a purely aesthetic basis we are a good pair." Everything else largely remained to be seen. All signs pointed to the idea that they were kind of terrible at everything but looking relatively good standing in the same vicinity. He was good at making her blush, though Kaine wasn't entirely sure of what that counted for. "Who knows, indeed."

They made it back to the first floor and she tossed the glass between both hands, frowning lightly at it and absolutely refusing to look at Bert. He was just toying with her because he was still upset, she sort of had this theory that he might be out of options now, so he had to default to making fun of her, without knowing that it really sucked to hear the guy you liked complimenting you while not really meaning much of it. Because they were just friends and all.

"You know, I was going to say that if you wanted a break from Alain my room isn't very far off. But it really does sound like all those sweets have gone to your head. My presence certainly can't cause any of this by itself."

And, look at that! Her first attempt at ... Uh, something. Retaliation? Maybe not since it took nearly all the strength in her to say that much. That embarrassing redness was now creeping to her ears and neck.

bless

[askthelookout]

Bert looked back at her with a smile, one eyebrow rising. He looked amused, yes, but there was something else there as well, something almost thoughtful. And when he said, "You might be surprised," it was with a hidden kind of weight behind it. Of course, he immediately ruined it again by saying cheerfully, "Anyroad, I don't know if I should trust your judgement on this. Given how easily we know certain things to go to your head. Sugar. Wine. Compliments."

He cursed himself for that as soon as it was out of his mouth, unwitting cruelty that couldn't be taken back. But uming and ahing over it would only make matters worse, so, as usual, he let the worry slide off him as best he could. "Don't break that thing, will you? Gods know what's inside if it shows you visions and all that bullshit."

[apassingafternoon]

For just one second, one beautiful, rare instance it looked as if she might be taking him seriously. And, as a result of that Kaine might have found it in her to be a little more forthright, to believe the nice thing was saying until ... Until that. The worst of his venom sunk in the night prior so this was like brushing off a gnat by comparison. But even gnats could leave throbbing and temporary marks behind.

What else could she do but ignore it? Not a lot. He was just messing with her. Of course he would prefer to stay with Alain. Even giving the idea a voice had been a horrible idea. "What else am I going to do with it? You think every magical thing ever will kill you, and at least for very good reason, if I let this thing near Nariko she'll just look at every perceived mistake she's ever made and then drink herself to death. And I'm probably somewhat likely to do the same." As the guards opened the doors for them Kaine flinched at the sunlight, but took them towards the gate opposite of the one they'd entered.

"Of course I'm going to break it, Bert. It can't come back with us." And she'd gotten the answer she wanted so what use did it have now? No one would miss it.

[askthelookout]

"Correction. I don't think it'll kill us." He looked serious for a moment, raising one finger. "I think it will do a damn sight worse than kill us, if it's anything like the magic I've seen. I'm not scared of dying. But I am scared of magical trinkets that show up at just the right time, and I don't mind admitting it." That wasn't strictly true. He did mind admitting it. He minded rather a lot, especially when it was her he was admitting it to. But that didn't mean it shouldn't be said. "But last time we tried breaking something that showed us visions, Ro' nearly lost himself to it. And Alain, too, trying to get him loose. And I got left with two empty shells of my friends. There were wolves involved. Also demons." He pulled a face, a little of his humour reasserting itself for a moment. "Can we maybe put off the wolves and demons for at least a few days?"

[apassingafternoon]

"Well, Roland isn't here, and Alain is back at the house, I don't die on this side. Everyone you're concerned with really isn't likely to be assaulted by anything based on distance alone." She tried to say it as simply as possible but there were passing hints of both jealousy and frustration in her tone before she clamped her mouth shut. There wasn't any need to start another fight when they had just managed to get over the other one.

"I want to see my parents and my grandma, and I want to remember what Nariko was like before we left here the first time. If this thing is as bad as you're determined to think it is than taking it back, even for a few days, is a shitty idea. If we both end up at a certain point you and Roland and Alain ..." Would just leave them behind. That was what she was afraid of, here. Even though they weren't likely to make it into the castle without Nariko's voice, Kaine could still see it too clearly. If either of them hit rock bottom too hard than they were fucked. Roland only had so much patience and Bert was really lacking in the emotional sensitivity department. "... I'm breaking it, and you don't have to put yourself through being around for that. I understand."

So she wouldn't be upset if he left her to it. This was Kaine's decision, after all, she had to live with whatever it might do.

[askthelookout]

"Bury it, then." His jaw shifted a little. "I told you. It's not death I'm frightened of. You don't die, but that doesn't mean it can't hurt you." There was no humour in his face now. Taking a step towards her, he grabbed her sleeve. "I know how bad an idea it is to take it back. Hells, even if you gave it to one of us... we've all lost too much. I'd almost be willing to risk it to see whether Rebecca's girls got out alive, to know what happened to our folken, to see my mother and father again... and Ro', he lives half in the past as it is. Let it near him, he'll watch Susan die over and over until he wastes to nothing. I'm not saying we should take it back. I'm just saying..."

He took a deep breath, letting go of her arm, and shook his head. "I'm just saying I don't want to risk you." Then, after another long, deep breath, "Look. We'll take it out of town, break it there. Before Ro' and Nariko get back. It'll be like shooting skeet. But if you break it, I'm not letting it be just you who's at risk. Maybe-heroes together, right?"

[apassingafternoon]

He wasn't playing around this time. Kaine looked at him for a long moment but when she did relent it was a visible shift in her body language. Her shoulders fell and she sighed, nodded gently. "Alright. We can try shooting it, and if that doesn't work then burying is all we'll have left." But either way it wouldn't come back with them and that was for the best. Even if she did kind of want to see Bert's parents, too. He had to get that joking nature from one of them. Without really thinking about it Kaine reached over with her free hand and took his wrist, but found the right gumption to take his hand properly. "I'm sorry. I was being - I was letting other stuff get in the way."

She cleared her throat and was notably unable to look at him. "If we're gonna do this before either of them get back then let's go. The Farcade gate is right here, and Maverick doesn't run his mouth the way Roderick does." It wasn't even a full minutes walk away. Maybe they didn't need to hold hands for that but it, uh, made her fee better. Or something.

[askthelookout]

Bert squeezed her hand, just for a moment, and nodded. She was right. Roland and Nariko would be back soon, and although it felt like betrayal to keep something like this from his dinh, none of them needed the hassle of rehashing the argument. The sooner they could deal with whatever the fuck this was, the better.

"Speaking of letting other stuff get in the way," he started, then bit his lip, pulling a face, and walked on in silence for a moment more before continuing. "What I'm saying is, I'm sorry too. For being such an ass. About this, and about everything else."

And he really hoped she didn't register how rare and precious an apology from Cuthbert Allgood was. That would just be awkward.

[apassingafternoon]

They made it to the gate and, unlike Rodrick, Maverick opened the immense passageway without needing to be told. It briefly occurred to her that all of the gatekeepers had similar names, and that was a little weird! But then Bert was talking and she pulled her brain back into place. The rarity of it was easy to spot, but that didn't mean she'd make a big deal out of it. Instead Kaine squeezed his hand again and smiled at him, a little shy around the edges.

"It's okay." And it was as far she was concerned.

The outside of the gate was a new complete opposite of the one they came through. The lush grass that covered Arpagio and the plains that Kaine lived in died out suddenly here, giving out to hard earth and gravel. To the right was the path that would take them to Farcade, and it's desert was visible even now. To the right a strong bout of mist covered a path that led to an different place. One Kaine hoped to never see again.

"Alright, should I just toss it in the air?" She didn't doubt his ability to hit it so it didn't seem like a bad plan.

[askthelookout]

He nodded, disentangling his hand from hers to reach for his gun. "Like shooting skeet," he repeated, scratching at his forehead with his free hand, and took a deep breath. Not that he was nervous or anything. After all, what could possibly go wrong? "Toss it good and high."

And let this be as simple as you seem to think it will be, he added silently. I'll take the loss of face, just so long as it's not literal.

[apassingafternoon]

"I don't know what that is." But she did know that losing his hand was not part of this deal. Wasn't one-handed shooting a thing? Oh well. Kaine accepted the loss and regarded the thing in her other hand. "But I do know what 'toss' means." But she hesitated for a moment, unsure of actually letting their chance go. Would it really be so horrible to see her grandma? For Bert to see his parents? She almost looked at him and asked to not do this. To not get rid of it, but that was exactly the problem.

Maybe it wouldn't be bad at first but it could become bad really quickly.

"Alright." Time to let the past fall away, at least in one respect. She threw it up and away from them with the vague, but genuine hope that if the thing shattered it wouldn't manage to accidentally kill them.

[askthelookout]

She wasn't the only one hesitant. For a moment, Bert actually froze up, not out of fear, but out of the sudden certainty that they were throwing away a golden chance. Maybe the only chance he would ever have to know for certain what had happened to those girls he'd promised to protect. Certainly the only chance he'd have to see Gilead again.

And then he remembered Roland, empty-eyed and hard-faced, and that sick twist in his gut when he'd seen the pink light under the door, and his hand moved of its own accord. By then, the glass was already falling, but at his best, Bert could rival Roland for speed. His father's gun leapt to his hand, and fired sure and true.

He fired again, just to be sure, and watched the bullets strike.

[apassingafternoon]

The first smacked into the glass and visibly cracked it from top to bottom. There was resounding, loud echo of unnatural sound. It was enough to make Kaine cry out and shove her hands to her ears as if to block it out. The second produced the same effect but at a greater, more unyielding magnitude, her eyes watered and it felt as if her head might crack open.

Kaine fell to her knees while the pyramid did much the same in two, large and jagged pieces, as unhelpful and innocent as a baby's toy. Because it affected her so badly it never occurred to Kaine that whatever the thing was wouldn't have any affect on Bert at all. For him it was probably just the same as hearing a glass break. For her it was overwhelming enough to leave her in confused tears.

[askthelookout]

Bert holstered his gun in one smooth motion, hunkering down at her side, his face a picture of concern. He had no idea what had happened to her - he hadn't felt anything, except maybe a faint chime in the back of hearing - but whatever it was, it had obviously affected her strongly.

He reached for her hands, frowning, trying to meet her eyes. "Hey. Hey, Kaine. Look at me, alright?" All the time, checking her over, his sharp eyes taking in everything, trying to figure out how to help. "What the fuck happened?"

[apassingafternoon]

"You didn't hear that?" The words came out slowly, as if her jaw didn't know how to work and needed to be reacquainted with its new task. "My head," It felt like something jammed in the side of her skull but all of that just felt like too much to say. "I don't know it just ... Feels like I got run over by something." For a good five minutes she did nothing but hold onto his hands once she found the strength to grab them at all. It felt impossible at first but her breathing eventually evened out, her vision sharpened from the blurry mess it had become, and most of all it didn't feel as if her head about was about to be lopped off.

It still hurt, of course, but at least now it was bearable. "That was horrible. Whatever it was." Because she had no fucking clue and while she usually deferred to Nariko about these things, and would to Roland about other matters this seemed way out of their league as a group. "That thing tried to kill me." Or something along those lines. At least it wasn't strong enough to do the job.

so in other news apparently my notifications aren't working :|

[askthelookout]

He held her hands tightly, his thumbs stroking gently over his skin in lieu of anything more comforting he could do. "Tried, but failed," he pointed out at last, his face close to hers, his eyes holding hers. "And we all say thankya. But I didn't feel anything. If it was going to attack either one of us, I would have thought it might have done better to try and kill the one of us who can die. And who was shooting it at the time."

It was impossible not to sound just a little petulant. The entire point of doing things this way had been to try and spread the load, and he found he was more than a little angry that it had hit her full-force nonetheless. For a moment there, he'd been genuinely scared of losing her. And after everything they'd been through in the last few days...

"You're alive," he said, as much to himself as to her, and squeezed her hands lightly. "Can you stand, or should I carry you?"

DW you have one job why are you messing it up

[apassingafternoon]

"I can stand." Probably. She didn't let go of him even as she coaxed her legs into working. They felt odd but she knew that was the result of whatever process kept her from dying. It was a nifty, helpful trick but not without its drawbacks. Even on her feet and mostly back to normal Kaine didn't appear to realize how close they were or that she just wasn't ready to let go of him yet. "That it didn't actively go after you, though …" Didn't that mean that it was possible it was meant to mess with her, specifically? Maybe it didn't have any form of consciousness like the pink thing or Maggie's book.

Kaine looked over at the useless chunks but no matter how hard she concentrated nothing else happened. "I guess it doesn't matter. It's broken, so we can throw one end in the river, and bury the other. It can't work if it's split into pieces." She wasn't entirely sure of that but it felt like a vaguely logical though so there was no reason to not go with it. "Besides, if it really becomes an issue then we know who to ask. It'll just be a while before we get back to her."

That nameless thing had managed to bring a dead person back to life (although with a nasty fine print), and the more Kaine thought about it she had to wonder if Claude had been the prisoner in their situation. If that was really the case then that thing had to know everything about this world and by now Kaine was long overdue for some answers. "Hey, Bert?"

ah they're back now all is well

[askthelookout]

"Hm?" He had let go of one of her hands, but only to grip her elbow instead, to support her better as she stood. He wasn't particularly ready to let go of her, either - not until he was sure she was all right. She still looked nastily pale, and he didn't imagine she was completely recovered by any means. Add her to the list of people with magic bashing in their skulls, sighed a voice in the back of his head, rather sarcastically.

[apassingafternoon]

"I know you hate talking about feelings and all and I'm not going to try and get myself killed for it but I just want to say that I really like it when you actually worry about me because it makes me feel important and you are important and don't be a jerk and start making fun of me again because I said this!" For someone who still looked like shit Kaine did a hell of a job getting all of that out in one breathe while simultaneously avoiding oxygen deprivation. But she added, a little quietly, "... Or at least wait two minutes and then do it."

Because fake-flirting with her right after she went and said all of that would just be cruel and unusual. But it still needed telling. He wasn't the exact source of her recovery but he had helped her focus. What should have taken a half hour took minutes and the only difference was Bert's presence. "We should really figure something out and get back."

And also avoid these implicative emotional pit falls since he didn't seem to like them very much.

[askthelookout]

"I worry about you all the time," Bert said, after a moment, looking mildly disgusted at his own frankness. "Don't tell me I'm important, though, I'm big-headed enough already." And, surprising himself a little, he leant in and kissed her - not a lover's kiss on the lips, but a kiss just above the temple that was at once more chaste and more intimate. Gods, he was going soft. Worse, he didn't even have it in him to mind any more.

"I'll pick up the shards," he said after a moment, clearing his throat. "You shouldn't touch them, I think. Not if they can do that to you. But they can't get through my head, it's bone all the way through." He rapped his knuckles against his head, and laughed a little. "Ro' might know better what to do with them. But if it's broken, for real and true, then we may as well head back anyroad."

[apassingafternoon]

Whether she had accurately communicated her point or not wasn't the real question here. What counted was that hearing that, maybe the inevitable, had a greater and more resounding effect than any lighthearted flirting (joking or not) could hope to achieve. And maybe that wasn't the type of kiss that occasionally flooded her day dreams as if to spite all of the grief and pain they'd been through but it felt just as good.

"Sure." Never mind that in its whole state the thing hadn't so much as buzzed at her touch, which only made its reaction to being 'hurt' that much more unsettling. Even if it was some weird defense mechanism it just didn't explain why it only went for her. She tried to clear her mind of it but the concern wouldn't scrub off. "It looks pretty broken from here."

The guts of the thing, a richer purple than the inside, glittered over stones, but the two bigger chunks stayed right as they were. In just a few hours those littler pieces would be left alone and the thing would never be entirely complete again.

At least they pulled it off.