Krem considered the wavering air, the way it glinted and shifted and bit his lip. He was Tevene, he knew magic when he saw it because back home if you could use it, you showed it off like a tiny dog in a shoulder bag. It wasn't like he was afraid of it, but it was disconcerting. He took a breath, glanced around again and took the plunge, walking forward with purpose and closed his eyes as his foot breathed the point where he was sure that weird crap started.
Krem would find himself stepping into the Everautumn.
As far as the eye could see, spanning in every direction, were tall, chalk-white birch trees spaced evenly apart in unnatural rows. It was a world of eternal inbetween with chilly orange sunbeams streaking down through the canopy. As above was so below, for both the forest's crown and floor were thick with scarlet leaves. It was as though the trunks of the trees were the bones holding this world together. Or perhaps keeping it from folding in on itself.
The whole place smelled like it was waiting for something. For a rain to fall. For something to sprout up from the leaves. For the sun to finish rising or setting, whichever it was. No birds sang and no wind disturbed Krem's hair or the leaves by his feet. And that meant there was plenty of silence for JW's light footfalls to rise above.
He was several trees ahead now, strutting on those long legs, occasionally bending and peeking at the foot of this tree or that tree, making a turn, following another row, stopping to look at his watch, all done with the same practiced ease that he pulled rolls from the oven with.
Krem had a sneaking suspicion that he shouldn't be here. Not that it wasn't beautiful, but...in that it was off. It seemed wrong. Especially since he had just been in snow. And it wasn't as cold here, though if he took a step backward? Maybe he could feel the draft?
Glancing around rewarded him with JW though, and in his nervous glances, he isn't sure whether he should try and call out again or not. It was too quiet, and he could feel that, smell it in the air, that it seemed to be waiting for something.
"James." He said quietly as he made his way forward. "James!" He hissed.
He was practically tip toeing through the leaves. Poor Soldier didn't know what to do with himself.
Unfortunately for Krem, a whisper in these woods may as well have been a wail.
JW, who'd been stooping down to check the mark on another tree let out a particularly ungraceful sound and stood bolt upright, eyes wide, shoulders hunched, and looked very much like a startled deer when he wheeled around to face Krem. Just Wonderful just about soiled himself.
When he saw who it was, JW deflated, but only for an instant.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" It wasn't a shout, more like an anxious stage whisper.
The sound JW made had made Krem jump too. His eyes were just as wide when he looked back at him, two twin deers in headlights.
"I called after you twice before you dipped into- What ever this is." He gestures wildly around them, obviously uncomfortable. He wasn't in armor, and his weaponry was far from here. He's still whispering, but of course it sounds so much louder here.
He continues to cautiously close the distance between them and folds his arms across his chest tightly, shoulders hunched. "Where is this anyway? I wasn't aware you could do magic."
"I didn't hear you," JW admitted. He adjusted his coat collar and closed the gap between them. With a look over his shoulder, JW reached out to take Krem by his and attempted to spin him around on the spot to face the direction he came from.
"I can't. You shouldn't be here, this is no place for soldiers!"
Despite being very uncomfortable, Krem raises an eyebrow. "What? And why should you be here and not me? I'm not going to go stomping around like a big ass. What are you afraid I'll do?"
Or perhaps afraid he'll see, but he's not saying that. He's a good soldier. He does make himself rather hard to move though, eyebrow still raised, considering James. "Though if you truly want me to go, I'll go. Though admittedly I think I'd prefer this to an evening home alone." With a bottle, but he doesn't mention that either.
JW's brows knit together as he realized how silly that sounded when he was talking to a man who could easily wield one of these trees like a club. He let out a puff and took his hands away from Krem's shoulders to rub his bandaged arm.
"It's not that I don't want to see you, you gotta believe me. But this is a Walk. You've...you've never been Walking."
"I'm dangerous," He returns, forgoing the flexing since it wasn't as impressive under a layer of jacket and coat.
Still, he'll turn and put a hand on his waist, watching JW and wondering if he should give in. And yet... "I thought you said you'd like to take me on one. So here we are. A walk." He smiles, looking up at Jim's stupid face with a stupid look on his own. "Are we marching half-step or double time, chief?"
JW hemmed and hawed and finally hung his antlered head. He couldn't say no to that face.
"Fiiine. That's true, I did say that." He lifted his head and met Krem's eye with a stern frown and jabbing him in the chest with a finger. "You do what I say, don't touch anything, don't make eye-contact with anything even if it doesn't have eyes and for the LOVE OF GOD don't eat anything. Alright?"
"I can follow orders, Jim. You don't have to tell me twice." He's still smiling despite Jw's stern look and if he were taller, might have tried for a kiss. It was kind of funny to see him so serious, at least, serious in wanting to keep him safe. It wasn't something that happened often and he found he rather liked it.
Though he was getting a little curious. "You're not supposed to eat anything in the fae realm, right?" Was that where they were?
"And no, not today at least. I stay as far away from the winter court as I can. If you fall between one of these trees you could end up in Faerie or on the moon."
His throat was tight with worry but his chest was also tight with something else. He wanted to seem brave next to the man who went out and fought for peace and safety. JW just stuck his head through random portals for a chance at some cash.
"See this?" JW stopped Krem and knelt down to point at a number etched in the base of a tree. It was a 22. "Step through here and you'll pop out underwater. It's down too deep for me to really do any exploring, scuba gear or no. You'll get the bends."
They traveled on. Another tree, number 8. "This is where I found a belt buckle that got me enough money to fix a hole in my roof."
He wondered if nibbling on an ear would be considered eating something. JW seemed to seriously wrapped up in his concerns to take it as a joke if he asked. He'd wait till later.
"Well I'd hope so. I might tackle Sylvans and giants, but as a soldier I'm not a good tool against magic. I'll leave that to the mage and the dwarf." And he'd hope you'd do the same, JW. He gives the trees a good berth after his comment though, unsure of whether he wants to step between any of them, but the numbers make him curious. "Does every tree have one? Are they all tears in the veil?"
It was a little disorienting to think about. But he's curious, leaning around him, closer, but still cautious. "Which one did you find your antlers in?" Because he's sure that since this place could take them to the faerie realm, one of them must be.
"Mhm," JW nodded as they passed trees 17, 112, X and 32. "I've only marked the ones I've explored though. There's a few trees that have marks that aren't mine. Don't know what they mean. Guess they're just road signs for somebody else."
JW had never met anyone in the Everautumn until today.
His brows fell into a furrow when Krem brought up his antlers. He reached up to scratch the base of one of them, waiting for them to start to become loose so he could wear his winter hat. The wind would start hurting his ears soon enough.
"My own back yard if you'd believe it or not. We can get in here just as easily as they can get out."
A particular tree caught his eyes and JW nearly swung around as he stopped. A foxish grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. This tree was marked with a 1.
"Well here's one we could go in...if you really want to see what's out there."
The idea that it wasn't just JW's roadway made him ever more uncomfortable. He might be putting on a brave face and following, wanting to learn, but this wasn't his territory. Just like his boss, he did not feel magic was any place a man should set his toe in, even if he could benefit from it. He would leave that to the mages and spirits. They at least had some idea of what they were doing.
"That hardly seems fair. Playing some kind of trick on a man on his own property." But before Krem could comment further, JW made a sudden move and he tensed a moment, before he opened his mouth again and that tension bled out.
"Are you going to tell me what's on the other side or will I have to see for myself?"
"Hey, you wanted to go for a Walk. I'll go first it'll make you feel better."
And just like he'd flickered out if sight in the park, JW took hold of the tree trunk, swung around it, and disappeared as though he were passing through a mirror of air.
This world was an expanse of white. Colorful geometric shapes or at least things that gave the impressions of being colorful geometic shapes hung in the air, rose from a horizonless ground, and drifted into one another, colors mixing and phasing. The air smelled like rubber and plastic. Somewhere there was...it wasn't quite music but a strange sort of splatty ambiance that one might expect to hear if a walrus tried to play a tuba.
JW stood bravely before the nonsense, taking it all in, hands on his hips. He cast no shadow here. When he turned to see where they'd emerged from--a literal stop sign rather than a birch tree, he flashed Krem a shit-eating grin.
He said something, but it wasn't clear what because JW's voice had been replaced with muffled record scratches. As he spoke, small blurry arches of color radiated from him and faded out of the visual plane.
Krem followed close after, not exactly wanting to be left alone in the expanse of the wood behind them. Though when he enters where ever they are, he feels he's stepped into some weird drunken dream. He goes to tell JW this, that the whole place made him feel like he'd had more than he should have in the tavern but words aren't coming out of his mouth either. Nothing was exactly clear.
When he went to make some sort of frustrated sound rather than words it came out wrong as well, far more soft, more high pitched. It was pissing him off.
All that frustration might be showing on his face. He doesn't get mad often, but take away his ability to sass and he gets irritated quickly.
JW would have laughed if his voice hadn't suddenly been replaced by a car horn but he was making the motions all the same. The look on Krem's face!
He lifted both hands and waved them in what he hoped was a comforting, dismissive way and then gestured around.
Above, a purple pyramid drifted through a tartan oval and made a sound that smelled like fresh strawberry jam.
The baker didn't want to get too much of an earful so he reached for Krem's hand to lead him back around the stop sign and back into the windless woods, his true voice bursting forth once he was out.
Krem tried to let the frustration go, attempted to to enjoy the purple pyramid, the strange sound that he swore he could smell, but when he was pulled back into the quiet woods, he was thankful.
"I felt like I had walked into a world made of every single time i've ever gotten drunk, laid over each other until they blurred together." At least he was honest.
He'll turn and stare at the tree labeled 1. "I can't say I enjoyed that one, but with the many options you've got here, that's just one of many. Though...it is nice to know I can tell when you're laughing, even if you don't sound like it." He manages a little smile, "Was my face that funny?"
JW didn't let the mention of Krem's alcoholic adventures dampen his grin.
"It was!"
Unless it was a new treat or stupid niche baker meme off the internet, JW didn't often get the chance to see Krem look so baffled. It made him feel smart. At least Krem hadn't seemed afraid.
"I fell into that place by accident as soon as I fell into this place by accident. It's been a long few years."
He waved for Krem to follow him, his path more certain this time. "I was on my way to see if they'd taken the trash out in this other dimension. Sometimes they throw out gold. Melt's down just like our gold too, jewelers like it."
He kept his fear rather in check. It wasn't good to show outwardly. In any case, he supposes it was a good thing he hadn't stayed frustrated. JW was showing him something, he shouldn't be angry about it when he had asked. Even if it had clipped his tongue.
"That must have been some trip. How old were you?" Because he likes being able to get away with putting questions about JW in common conversation and maybe learning more. He follows well enough though, still glancing around, waiting for a sound of danger, a little tense, but JW walked confidently. He hoped perhaps he could do the same on the way back. "That's...convenient. You find any interesting runes or blades laying around?" Because of course he would.
Scratching his chin thoughtfully, JW did some math. He could still smell the jam. His stomach made a pitiful little whine. Jam sounded so good. Jam and biscuits.
"How old was I? It's only bee two or three years." Wow, he must seem experienced! Or. A thought flashed across his mind. Maybe he just looked old. He coughed to cover his doubt and stopped at a tree. "This is it. While we're here, we need to keep a low profile or we'll upset the inhabitants of this dimension. To them? We look like terrors...same as any otherworldly being stepping out of the shadows would look to us."
Krem wouldn't mind Jam and biscuits. Especially if the biscuits were homemade. He's looking at you JW.
"The way you talk about it makes it sound like longer." He can't imagine that, discovering a way between worlds... "Was it hard, coming back after the first time? Especially by yourself." He doesn't say it in a way that might be condescending. He's serious, wants to know, because honestly this place gives him the creeps. "I can admit I wouldn't want to."
Though, he stops when JW does and nods, unsure of how low a profile they can keep, but he's decent at sneaking. He'll do what he can. "I'll follow your lead then."
"I guess now that you mention it, it feels longer..." Tiredness crept into his voice for a moment. "But not long enough. I should be rich by now."
He ducked through the trees and came out...in a very normal-looking back alley. Smog filled the air, cars honked, radios blared, it was night time and misting rain. The leaves that splattered the street with melted newspapers were green. The graffiti on the dumpster wobbled as JW steadied himself.
Once the sudden dizziness faded, JW turned, flipped up the dumpster's lid, and dragged out a bag. His ears reddened and he was glad that the light here was bad.
"Sorry this isn't as glorious as beheading dragons." He ripped open the bag and started sifting through its contents--there were blobs of some sort of organic matter, foreign fruits or meats perhaps, paper-like material covered in unfamiliar symbols, a tin can. There was always a tin can.
Krem laughs, nodding. He knows that feeling. "Some day the chief is going to say something like that. We might not be all that old yet but it isn't the age that catches up to you quickly, it's what you do with your body that wears it down." And with him and the Bull, wielding their large weapons as they do, he was bound to get hurt sometime. He just hoped it wasn't soon.
He follows in after though, quiet, but curious as his own dizziness fades and he leans in close to JW, not at all offended as he looks in the dumpster. "If you ever get to, stand away from where you cut. Their blood can burn your skin if you do it too soon after the kill. Or just fighting it. We don't do those too often, even if the chief loves it. He's...kind of into it I guess. Don't ask if you ever find the chance. It's not worth it."
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theattic2014-11-09 07:23 pm
no subject
Krem considered the wavering air, the way it glinted and shifted and bit his lip. He was Tevene, he knew magic when he saw it because back home if you could use it, you showed it off like a tiny dog in a shoulder bag. It wasn't like he was afraid of it, but it was disconcerting. He took a breath, glanced around again and took the plunge, walking forward with purpose and closed his eyes as his foot breathed the point where he was sure that weird crap started.
This would be an adventure.
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As far as the eye could see, spanning in every direction, were tall, chalk-white birch trees spaced evenly apart in unnatural rows. It was a world of eternal inbetween with chilly orange sunbeams streaking down through the canopy. As above was so below, for both the forest's crown and floor were thick with scarlet leaves. It was as though the trunks of the trees were the bones holding this world together. Or perhaps keeping it from folding in on itself.
The whole place smelled like it was waiting for something. For a rain to fall. For something to sprout up from the leaves. For the sun to finish rising or setting, whichever it was. No birds sang and no wind disturbed Krem's hair or the leaves by his feet. And that meant there was plenty of silence for JW's light footfalls to rise above.
He was several trees ahead now, strutting on those long legs, occasionally bending and peeking at the foot of this tree or that tree, making a turn, following another row, stopping to look at his watch, all done with the same practiced ease that he pulled rolls from the oven with.
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Glancing around rewarded him with JW though, and in his nervous glances, he isn't sure whether he should try and call out again or not. It was too quiet, and he could feel that, smell it in the air, that it seemed to be waiting for something.
"James." He said quietly as he made his way forward. "James!" He hissed.
He was practically tip toeing through the leaves. Poor Soldier didn't know what to do with himself.
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JW, who'd been stooping down to check the mark on another tree let out a particularly ungraceful sound and stood bolt upright, eyes wide, shoulders hunched, and looked very much like a startled deer when he wheeled around to face Krem. Just Wonderful just about soiled himself.
When he saw who it was, JW deflated, but only for an instant.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" It wasn't a shout, more like an anxious stage whisper.
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"I called after you twice before you dipped into- What ever this is." He gestures wildly around them, obviously uncomfortable. He wasn't in armor, and his weaponry was far from here. He's still whispering, but of course it sounds so much louder here.
He continues to cautiously close the distance between them and folds his arms across his chest tightly, shoulders hunched. "Where is this anyway? I wasn't aware you could do magic."
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"I can't. You shouldn't be here, this is no place for soldiers!"
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Or perhaps afraid he'll see, but he's not saying that. He's a good soldier. He does make himself rather hard to move though, eyebrow still raised, considering James. "Though if you truly want me to go, I'll go. Though admittedly I think I'd prefer this to an evening home alone." With a bottle, but he doesn't mention that either.
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JW's brows knit together as he realized how silly that sounded when he was talking to a man who could easily wield one of these trees like a club. He let out a puff and took his hands away from Krem's shoulders to rub his bandaged arm.
"It's not that I don't want to see you, you gotta believe me. But this is a Walk. You've...you've never been Walking."
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Still, he'll turn and put a hand on his waist, watching JW and wondering if he should give in. And yet... "I thought you said you'd like to take me on one. So here we are. A walk." He smiles, looking up at Jim's stupid face with a stupid look on his own. "Are we marching half-step or double time, chief?"
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"Fiiine. That's true, I did say that." He lifted his head and met Krem's eye with a stern frown and jabbing him in the chest with a finger. "You do what I say, don't touch anything, don't make eye-contact with anything even if it doesn't have eyes and for the LOVE OF GOD don't eat anything. Alright?"
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Though he was getting a little curious. "You're not supposed to eat anything in the fae realm, right?" Was that where they were?
My wasn't his boyfriend the daring-do.
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JW turned and started walking again.
"And no, not today at least. I stay as far away from the winter court as I can. If you fall between one of these trees you could end up in Faerie or on the moon."
His throat was tight with worry but his chest was also tight with something else. He wanted to seem brave next to the man who went out and fought for peace and safety. JW just stuck his head through random portals for a chance at some cash.
"See this?" JW stopped Krem and knelt down to point at a number etched in the base of a tree. It was a 22. "Step through here and you'll pop out underwater. It's down too deep for me to really do any exploring, scuba gear or no. You'll get the bends."
They traveled on. Another tree, number 8. "This is where I found a belt buckle that got me enough money to fix a hole in my roof."
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"Well I'd hope so. I might tackle Sylvans and giants, but as a soldier I'm not a good tool against magic. I'll leave that to the mage and the dwarf." And he'd hope you'd do the same, JW. He gives the trees a good berth after his comment though, unsure of whether he wants to step between any of them, but the numbers make him curious. "Does every tree have one? Are they all tears in the veil?"
It was a little disorienting to think about. But he's curious, leaning around him, closer, but still cautious. "Which one did you find your antlers in?" Because he's sure that since this place could take them to the faerie realm, one of them must be.
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JW had never met anyone in the Everautumn until today.
His brows fell into a furrow when Krem brought up his antlers. He reached up to scratch the base of one of them, waiting for them to start to become loose so he could wear his winter hat. The wind would start hurting his ears soon enough.
"My own back yard if you'd believe it or not. We can get in here just as easily as they can get out."
A particular tree caught his eyes and JW nearly swung around as he stopped. A foxish grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. This tree was marked with a 1.
"Well here's one we could go in...if you really want to see what's out there."
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"That hardly seems fair. Playing some kind of trick on a man on his own property." But before Krem could comment further, JW made a sudden move and he tensed a moment, before he opened his mouth again and that tension bled out.
"Are you going to tell me what's on the other side or will I have to see for myself?"
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And just like he'd flickered out if sight in the park, JW took hold of the tree trunk, swung around it, and disappeared as though he were passing through a mirror of air.
This world was an expanse of white. Colorful geometric shapes or at least things that gave the impressions of being colorful geometic shapes hung in the air, rose from a horizonless ground, and drifted into one another, colors mixing and phasing. The air smelled like rubber and plastic. Somewhere there was...it wasn't quite music but a strange sort of splatty ambiance that one might expect to hear if a walrus tried to play a tuba.
JW stood bravely before the nonsense, taking it all in, hands on his hips. He cast no shadow here. When he turned to see where they'd emerged from--a literal stop sign rather than a birch tree, he flashed Krem a shit-eating grin.
He said something, but it wasn't clear what because JW's voice had been replaced with muffled record scratches. As he spoke, small blurry arches of color radiated from him and faded out of the visual plane.
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When he went to make some sort of frustrated sound rather than words it came out wrong as well, far more soft, more high pitched. It was pissing him off.
All that frustration might be showing on his face. He doesn't get mad often, but take away his ability to sass and he gets irritated quickly.
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He lifted both hands and waved them in what he hoped was a comforting, dismissive way and then gestured around.
Above, a purple pyramid drifted through a tartan oval and made a sound that smelled like fresh strawberry jam.
The baker didn't want to get too much of an earful so he reached for Krem's hand to lead him back around the stop sign and back into the windless woods, his true voice bursting forth once he was out.
"Ya like it?"
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"I felt like I had walked into a world made of every single time i've ever gotten drunk, laid over each other until they blurred together." At least he was honest.
He'll turn and stare at the tree labeled 1. "I can't say I enjoyed that one, but with the many options you've got here, that's just one of many. Though...it is nice to know I can tell when you're laughing, even if you don't sound like it." He manages a little smile, "Was my face that funny?"
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"It was!"
Unless it was a new treat or stupid niche baker meme off the internet, JW didn't often get the chance to see Krem look so baffled. It made him feel smart. At least Krem hadn't seemed afraid.
"I fell into that place by accident as soon as I fell into this place by accident. It's been a long few years."
He waved for Krem to follow him, his path more certain this time. "I was on my way to see if they'd taken the trash out in this other dimension. Sometimes they throw out gold. Melt's down just like our gold too, jewelers like it."
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"That must have been some trip. How old were you?" Because he likes being able to get away with putting questions about JW in common conversation and maybe learning more. He follows well enough though, still glancing around, waiting for a sound of danger, a little tense, but JW walked confidently. He hoped perhaps he could do the same on the way back. "That's...convenient. You find any interesting runes or blades laying around?" Because of course he would.
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"How old was I? It's only bee two or three years." Wow, he must seem experienced! Or. A thought flashed across his mind. Maybe he just looked old. He coughed to cover his doubt and stopped at a tree. "This is it. While we're here, we need to keep a low profile or we'll upset the inhabitants of this dimension. To them? We look like terrors...same as any otherworldly being stepping out of the shadows would look to us."
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"The way you talk about it makes it sound like longer." He can't imagine that, discovering a way between worlds... "Was it hard, coming back after the first time? Especially by yourself." He doesn't say it in a way that might be condescending. He's serious, wants to know, because honestly this place gives him the creeps. "I can admit I wouldn't want to."
Though, he stops when JW does and nods, unsure of how low a profile they can keep, but he's decent at sneaking. He'll do what he can. "I'll follow your lead then."
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He ducked through the trees and came out...in a very normal-looking back alley. Smog filled the air, cars honked, radios blared, it was night time and misting rain. The leaves that splattered the street with melted newspapers were green. The graffiti on the dumpster wobbled as JW steadied himself.
Once the sudden dizziness faded, JW turned, flipped up the dumpster's lid, and dragged out a bag. His ears reddened and he was glad that the light here was bad.
"Sorry this isn't as glorious as beheading dragons." He ripped open the bag and started sifting through its contents--there were blobs of some sort of organic matter, foreign fruits or meats perhaps, paper-like material covered in unfamiliar symbols, a tin can. There was always a tin can.
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He follows in after though, quiet, but curious as his own dizziness fades and he leans in close to JW, not at all offended as he looks in the dumpster. "If you ever get to, stand away from where you cut. Their blood can burn your skin if you do it too soon after the kill. Or just fighting it. We don't do those too often, even if the chief loves it. He's...kind of into it I guess. Don't ask if you ever find the chance. It's not worth it."
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