JW is soothed temporarily when he is absolved of blame. For the moment.
He nods and turns to look around at the stuff littering Hanna's table.
"Yeah...well. I don't know if you'd call him a neighbor. He doesn't live in a house that I've seen. He's just kind of...around. You know anything about people with horse's heads?"
He glances back up at Hanna, trying to hide how desperate he's feeling.
"You mean like...an Ipotane? I don't think I've ever seen one. Let alone around here. Most things that have features that are hard to hide don't really stick to big cities, but I mean, I know they have magic." Most creatures like that did, though there were definitely exceptions.
Well, that was something. "Do you think he was trying to warn you and not just mad cause you were eating cursed berries?" Because he can see that too.
Though, that makes him think. Wait a minute. "...you weren't fucking around with the Fae were you? They can look like all kinds of shit. And you definitely shouldn't be eating anything they've been messing with."
"Fae?" He thinks. "You mean fairies? Those little naked ladies?" He holds a thumb and forefinger a relative few inches apart. He's only been at this about a year and a half, so right now Hanna knows one hell of a lot more than he does about the Fae.
"I ran 'em out of this old lady's house once, but you're tellin' me that man-sized horse face man horse was a fairy?"
Hanna just stares at JW incredulously, his mouth slightly open. "What the fuck dude...how are you even still here?"
This guy is going to die. He's going to die and he has no idea. "The fae are a pretty varied people, like. I am shocked nothing else unfortunate has happened to you. Like, where are you even going? What forest is this?" Where does he need to go to put out a shit ton of peace offerings so they don't start attacking random people because of this tiny man?
"Behind my house?" JW answers as though it's the most obvious thing in the world.
He's trying not to freak out.
He feels like he's caught some kind of disease he should have known better than to get and now everybody knows it. JW shifts uneasily and kicks at some paper on the table, wanting to look anywhere but at Hanna's distraught face.
"I reckon it's my job to know about this shit...I'm the new Man on the Hill."
Oh great. His own property and he's butt against the court. You don't shit where you eat JW, how the hell...
"Okay, tell you what we're gonna do. You and I are gonna go buy some fancy cake, I know an Asian bakery a few blocks from here that makes some good shit that isn't expensive, and we are going to offer it to the woods. After we're done, if they decide to accept it, you might get fixed, but we are going to have a serious talk about fucking with fae folk. They don't play around."
JW listens begrudgingly. Right now Hanna was the smartest person he knew and Deuteronomy was miles away. He hadn't been able to find her at the house so as far as he knew she was out gambling with The Boys.
Were they Fae too? They were very strange looking.
"Right...let's do that...and what do I owe you for the diagnosis?" He tugs his wallet out of his pocket and cards through a few very small bills. "Wait. Shit. Put a pin in that."
With Jws money also shrunk Hanna realizes he's also going to have to foot that offering bill too, reaching into his own back pocket to check his wallet. Welp.
"How far is your house?" 25 bucks was enough for the bus and at least a small offering, right?
The tiny man on Hanna's desk suddenly becomes reluctant to divulge this information. He is suddenly very, very tired. He's come so far. He's rode underneath so many busses and cars and on the backs of birds and stray cats.
JW scrubs at the back of his head and actually looks sheepish.
Hanna was just about to put his wallet back in his pocket when JW reveals just how far he's traveled just to be right here.
He's quiet for a moment, trying to just stare at him, daring him to say 'gotcha' or 'ahaha, hilarious, no I'm on King street' But no. He just stands there looking dumb and small.
Hanna would have to map quest that shit to see how long it would even take. He can't just leave him like this, but what the hell dude? "Isn't that like over 24 hours of straight driving? I don't own a fucking car..." He could probably swing train hopping but that would take like two to three days.
"No, no. I've...I can do it, just give me a minute," He's going to have to make up another dead relative to get the time off again isn't he? God, he was going to get fired.
He looks around a moment before standing and walking over to the fridge, a jar of change sitting on top of it. He takes out a couple quarters and sighs, "I've gotta go use the phone down stairs. You uh...want anything to eat while you wait?"
A small human part wants to give Hanna a break. It wants to tell him that they don't have to leave right away. That he isn't getting any SMALLER. But the impatient asshole part of him is much louder and he wants to stop having to tip his head back to see literally anything. He has to remind himself that this is a transaction. Like going to the doctor or buying weed.
The question of hunger gets a cagey, noncommittal grunt out of him. He is very, very hungry but right now that feels like admitting to a failure and he's already fucked up enough.
The mac and cheese on the stove was at least finished when JW had knocked and set aside off the burner. He's not even going to hesitate to grab him a bowl, but judging by how small he is, he isn't sure how much he'll actually want. For easier access he just fills it and grabs a toothpick since that would be more manageable than a fork for someone just as big as one. Setting it on the counter, he heads out the door.
"Here, you obviously don't have to eat it all, I'll be back."
Once the macaroni was next to him and he could smell it, he whined inwardly. Maybe he'd just take a few bites while Hanna was gone.
"Hnn. Thanks." He manages. This is a transaction. But he's still at Hanna's mercy. He'd been pretty concerned when he first knocked. If he got the wrong address and the wrong person beheld a tiny person at their door, all it would have taken was a boot to wipe him out of existence.
God, he's so tired.
JW grabs up the toothpick and stabs at the macaroni. He manages to spear a single ronus like a fish and dunk it in the cheese before taking a bite. Itss kind of overwhelming at his size, but holy shit it's so good after all that traveling. He gnaws on it like a starved wolf and also makes a few starved wolf sounds.
Hanna isn't gone long, he had argued with his manager that his great aunt Jane was very important and no she hadn't died six months ago, that was Mildred, totally different side of the family, god.
He looked a little tired as he had come back up the stairs, managing to avoid summoning Mrs. Blaney again as he opened the door and slipped back into his apartment. Now to pack a few things and figure out how the hell they were going to get there.
"You want to give me your address, I was gonna just put it in mapquest, see what the internet tells us before I totally give up on it and find a fucking road map."
JW looks up, his eyes just a little wild. There is cheese on his chin. This wildness fades though in favor of his Uninterested face he liked to wear when he was hiding how freaked out he was.
"Sure. It's 29 Pecan Dr., Hawksaw Mississippi." He takes another big bite of macaroni. It's so good after his long journey.
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theattic2024-06-07 10:22 pm
no subject
He nods and turns to look around at the stuff littering Hanna's table.
"Yeah...well. I don't know if you'd call him a neighbor. He doesn't live in a house that I've seen. He's just kind of...around. You know anything about people with horse's heads?"
He glances back up at Hanna, trying to hide how desperate he's feeling.
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He folds his arms and tries to think of anything that stood out about the horse-headed man. He'd been pretty heated and not entirely paying attention.
They had been such good berries...
The berries...
"I think it was the blackberries that he cursed. Not me specifically."
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Though, that makes him think. Wait a minute. "...you weren't fucking around with the Fae were you? They can look like all kinds of shit. And you definitely shouldn't be eating anything they've been messing with."
no subject
"Fae?" He thinks. "You mean fairies? Those little naked ladies?" He holds a thumb and forefinger a relative few inches apart. He's only been at this about a year and a half, so right now Hanna knows one hell of a lot more than he does about the Fae.
"I ran 'em out of this old lady's house once, but you're tellin' me that man-sized horse face man horse was a fairy?"
no subject
This guy is going to die. He's going to die and he has no idea. "The fae are a pretty varied people, like. I am shocked nothing else unfortunate has happened to you. Like, where are you even going? What forest is this?" Where does he need to go to put out a shit ton of peace offerings so they don't start attacking random people because of this tiny man?
no subject
He's trying not to freak out.
He feels like he's caught some kind of disease he should have known better than to get and now everybody knows it. JW shifts uneasily and kicks at some paper on the table, wanting to look anywhere but at Hanna's distraught face.
"I reckon it's my job to know about this shit...I'm the new Man on the Hill."
no subject
"Okay, tell you what we're gonna do. You and I are gonna go buy some fancy cake, I know an Asian bakery a few blocks from here that makes some good shit that isn't expensive, and we are going to offer it to the woods. After we're done, if they decide to accept it, you might get fixed, but we are going to have a serious talk about fucking with fae folk. They don't play around."
no subject
Were they Fae too? They were very strange looking.
"Right...let's do that...and what do I owe you for the diagnosis?" He tugs his wallet out of his pocket and cards through a few very small bills. "Wait. Shit. Put a pin in that."
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"How far is your house?" 25 bucks was enough for the bus and at least a small offering, right?
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JW scrubs at the back of his head and actually looks sheepish.
"Ever been to Mississippi?"
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He's quiet for a moment, trying to just stare at him, daring him to say 'gotcha' or 'ahaha, hilarious, no I'm on King street' But no. He just stands there looking dumb and small.
"Are you fucking kidding me dude?"
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He grits his teeth.
"If you don't want to do it, just say so!"
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"No, no. I've...I can do it, just give me a minute," He's going to have to make up another dead relative to get the time off again isn't he? God, he was going to get fired.
He looks around a moment before standing and walking over to the fridge, a jar of change sitting on top of it. He takes out a couple quarters and sighs, "I've gotta go use the phone down stairs. You uh...want anything to eat while you wait?"
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The question of hunger gets a cagey, noncommittal grunt out of him. He is very, very hungry but right now that feels like admitting to a failure and he's already fucked up enough.
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"Here, you obviously don't have to eat it all, I'll be back."
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"Hnn. Thanks." He manages. This is a transaction. But he's still at Hanna's mercy. He'd been pretty concerned when he first knocked. If he got the wrong address and the wrong person beheld a tiny person at their door, all it would have taken was a boot to wipe him out of existence.
God, he's so tired.
JW grabs up the toothpick and stabs at the macaroni. He manages to spear a single ronus like a fish and dunk it in the cheese before taking a bite. Itss kind of overwhelming at his size, but holy shit it's so good after all that traveling. He gnaws on it like a starved wolf and also makes a few starved wolf sounds.
no subject
He looked a little tired as he had come back up the stairs, managing to avoid summoning Mrs. Blaney again as he opened the door and slipped back into his apartment. Now to pack a few things and figure out how the hell they were going to get there.
"You want to give me your address, I was gonna just put it in mapquest, see what the internet tells us before I totally give up on it and find a fucking road map."
no subject
"Sure. It's 29 Pecan Dr., Hawksaw Mississippi." He takes another big bite of macaroni. It's so good after his long journey.