"Weeell..." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as they waited for the light to change. "You don't have any ID on you...and he miiight be able to tell you aren't from around here."
That just got a vaguely confused stare. "And... what would happen?"
As someone who's used to wandering around and clearly not being from anywhere he goes, the idea that that might be a problem struck Ginko as a little strange.
"In America, you have to go through a whole bunch of--" Red tape wouldn't mean anything to Ginko. "Gates and...approvals in order to visit, let alone live here if you're from another country. You need something called a passport and to get that you've got to have a birth certificate and a bunch of other shit."
It was one of the less glamorous parts of the future.
"Now, Bugle--that particular cop, I don't think he'd give you trouble if you were with me. But if somebody else caught you alone, they might, I dunno, try to deport you."
"...That sounds... complicated." That was about the best word he had for it. It seemed kind of needlessly complicated, frankly, but for all he knew there was some reason for it he just didn't have the context for.
(Though, to be fair, it wasn't as if Ginko knew a lot about how immigration or identification worked in his own time and country to begin with.)
He sat back again with a lopsided shrug. "But, alright. I'll try to keep from... being deported."
"Yeah, it's complicated..." His worried frown finally turned back into a sneaky grin. "Luckily, we got inter-dimensional tree gates on our side. I could show you all sorts a' great stuff so long as we don't get caught."
The buildings thinned on either side of them and the van passed between vast pastures of cattle before taking a wide turn into a forest.
"Right. That makes things a little easier." He offered a small smile in reply, adjusting his hold to keep his shoulder steady as the van started moving again.
As they kept moving, the land shifted again to what he was a little more used to. Ginko kept looking around, though, apparently no less interested in the woods and farmlands than in the futuristic town.
"The whole magic thing is kinda secret...just like I tried to keep time travel a secret from you."
JW, you could become a wonderful history professor but no you use this rare gift to pick up guys.
The trees rushed along either side of them and were gone again. Soon they came to a highway packed with roaring cars, trucks, semis, and more. Nothing but soybeans stretched either way. JW pulled out onto the road and started to head west.
"She's not too far now. I wish they'd fix the roads...oh hey!"
He turned the radio up slightly as The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" began to play.
"Makes sense. Could cause trouble otherwise." One person talking about strange things that those around them don't understand always seems to make things complicated.
And then they hit the freeway. Ginko jumped a little as the first semi roared past, pressing back against his seat and staring wide-eyed out the window. He barely seemed to notice as JW turned up the radio.
JW grinned at the radio, almost humming along with the song.
And then he saw poor Ginko's face. He casually turned the music up a little louder.
"Yeah it's--busy this time of day! Don't worry, they all stay on their side of the road. There's laws and markings and all that good stuff."
Somewhere a car honked.
Soon enough they came to a long gravel road that turned off the high way and ducked back into the forest they left behind a ways back. The bustle of the four-lane faded behind them and soon more and more roads began to appear. Houses too--little houses, big houses, some were trailers backed by sprawling, muddy horse pastures. Dogs barked and cow ponds reflected the sky.
"Right. Good." Ginko nodded, but kept staring suspiciously out the window.
He relaxed a little as they left the highway, watching the houses and pastures go by instead. The gravel road meant he needed to try a little harder to keep his shoulder still - the pills JW gave him certainly helped, but it was definitely getting worse as time went by, and he couldn't avoid wincing occasionally whenever the van hit a particularly notable bump.
Soon the houses thinned and the driveways grew longer and longer. They entered the neighborhood of those who did not want to be bothered and that is where they came upon Vidia's trailer. It was situated on the furthest back corner of a weedy property against a tree line. The place was squat, white, and decorated with a vegetable garden that was empty, a collapsed above ground swimming pool, a ramshackle internet tower, and lastly, the beehives. They stood in a neat row, all six of them, near her door.
Vidia did not like salesmen.
JW honked twice, waited, and then honked once more. The storm door opened and a small, squat woman (much like her house) in a faded NASCAR t-shirt with brown hair and one false leg peered out. She broke into a grin when she saw the big black van.
"Never saw a bird that could drive!"
"You're hilarious." JW killed the engine and hopped out. "I did bring you an injured animal though. You know anything about jacked up shoulders?"
"A thing or two." Vidia's attention moved to the passenger's side window. Her brows lifted at the sight of his hair. "Where'd you pick him up?
"A few centuries back. Come out, Ginko, she's harmless."
Ginko stayed silently in the van as they talked, examining Vidia's house for a few seconds before turning his attention to the two in front of him.
When JW called him out, he gave a slight nod and, after a bit of fumbling, managed to get the door open. Then, after more fumbling, he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the van.
"Hey, uh..." He winced a little, shifting his hold on his shoulder again. "Good to meet you."
Vidia looked Ginko up and down again now that he was out of the van.
"How dare you be so tall," she said to him before holding out a hand for Ginko's functional one. "Vidia Kamora. I don't have a degree, but I'll see what I can do. What happened?"
"Fell." JW said quickly, leaving out the somewhat embarrassing circumstances. Or he thought they were anyway. It wasn't an injury to be proud of--nothing like being attacked by a wild future beast or injured by some future weapon. No, it had to be a terrible thing from the beginning of man himself.
Stairs.
Vidia scratched her neck as she thought. "I'm guessin' you want me to whip you boys up a spell."
"If it's not too much trouble."
Meanwhile, a lazy honeybee landed on the collar of Ginko's shirt and investigated him.
Vidia squinted at Ginko one more time. "Well, the girls like him. Come inside. And don't touch anything."
She quickly bustled inside, letting the door slam loudly behind her.
JW let out a huge breath he'd been holding in and propped his hands on his knees. "She didn't mention a trade at all, her bees must really like you."
"Ah... sorry." He sounded as if he was kind of used to apologizing for his height, even if he wasn't used to people being quite so blunt about it. "Name's Ginko." He shook her hand, a little awkwardly, and didn't add to JW's description of the incident.
He glanced at the bee on his collar, watching as the tiny insect clambered over the fabric before glancing up as Vidia hurried back into the house. He turned to JW again curiously. "The bees, huh."
"The bees." JW couldn't help but roll his eyes. Vidia was a good friend and JW was a nosy creature by nature, but man, there were some things he just didn't want to know.
He led the way inside. The trailer was well-lit and smelled strongly of potpourri. The overhead fan was going even in winter and every available surface was packed with NASCAR memorabilia. Cereal boxes, model cars in various states of construction, posters, framed photos of famous races, collectible plates. It was everywhere.
An enormous St. Bernard named Dale Jr. snoozed under the kitchen table and didn't so much as twitch an ear when the men entered. Vidia was hovering over an electric crockpot.
JW eyed the dog with obvious discomfort and went so far as to edge Ginko forward so that there was something between him and it. Still, he craned his neck to get his friend's attention. "So what are you making?"
"Beanie Weenies."
"For Ginko's arm!" JW struggled to rein in his irritation.
"That won't take near as long as these beans will. Sit down."
Once again, when their surroundings changed, Ginko found himself distracted by... well, everything. And Vidia's home had a lot to be distracted by. Ginko, of course, had no idea what NASCAR was, but that just raised all the more questions in his mind about the memorabilia surrounding them. He glanced briefly between JW and the dog when JW nudged him forward, but Dale Jr. was far too busy sleeping and everything else in the room far too interesting for him to be all that concerned.
He gave James a very slight, asymmetrical shrug. He wasn't looking much less strained himself, really, but he could wait. And ask more questions in the meantime. "What are Beanie Weenies?"
"It's like...sausages. In beans...with sauce..." JW offered with a grimace. He didn't particularly dislike beanie weenies but his fuse was running short. Why was she just fucking around? She had an injured person in her kitchen!
Vidia continued puttering away over her pot, adding dashes of things and humming pleasantly to herself.
JW coughed loudly.
"I can whip up something for that cough, too, but it'll cost you."
JW sucked his lips inward and finally sank down into a chair, keeping his feet as far away from Dale Jr. as possible.
Finally, once the beanies were weenied, Vidia brought the whole mess over to the table and sat it on a ceramic cooling tile shaped like a race car. Two bowls and two spoons were supplied and then she disappeared into the back. When she returned, she had a small purple crystal in one hand and a pouch in the other. She offered Ginko the crystal.
"You hold this and don't break eye-contact with it."
Ginko didn't move to sit down until JW did, dropping into another chair with one hand still clasped over his shoulder. He sat there in silence until Vidia returned with the crystal, and he reached out cautiously to take it, glancing briefly and questioningly at Vidia before shifting his attention to the crystal with a nod. "Got it."
The crystal pulsed with a soft light as it sat quietly in Ginko's hand. Vidia inspected his shoulder and coaxed the bee that had ridden on his shirt onto her hand before shooing it out an open window.
"Mmmm, you had a nasty fall? Looks it. You keep watching the crystal." She opened the pouch and pulled out a single starlight mint and popped it into her mouth before she set to work. The witch placed her fingers in a shape around the mushi master's shoulder and made a sucking sound with her mouth and drew her fingers away. Slowly, slowly, the pain seeped out into the air as something thick and ugly like smoke but oily at the same time. JW's eyes widened as he watched it happen but he didn't want to do anything that might get Ginko's attention.
Then, in a flash, the smoke fanned out and shot in all directions, thinning, thinning, until it was barely visible. Suddenly, in a swift, violent motion, Vidia grabbed Ginko's shoulder and wrenched it back into place with a wet popping sound. Like stretched elastic, the grimy smoke came rushing back in and with it, came the pain. It throbbed and settled into Ginko's bones.
"There." Vidia dusted her hands off. "Damage is fixed, but it'll still hurt like the devil for a while, 'course. You like that rock? Friend of mine from the internet sent it to me. Has a little battery in the bottom."
JW opened his mouth and then occupied it with the beanie weenies before he could say anything he might regret.
He kept his eyes fixed on the crystal, not letting himself look away even as he noticed the pain in his shoulder fade away, seemingly out of nowhere. In many ways, Ginko could be a difficult patient. But, when it came to vaguely-or-entirely magical things, he knew better than to fidget or make things difficult.
Ginko didn't even let himself look up when Vidia shoved his shoulder back into its socket, even as his expression shifted with an automatic, purely instinctual flinch that didn't move beyond his face. When the pain all rushed back, though, he couldn't suppress a sharp, choked hiss, curling the fingers of his now-functional hand against his leg.
"--Thanks. Uh, yeah, it's... it's nice." It made a good distraction, he would certainly give her that.
JW cringed when Ginko did, but heaved a sigh, glad that their trip hadn't been wasted after all. He'd hate to put his new friend through THE FREEWAY just for some crockpot baked beans.
"Oh, it's no trouble! You're a friend of Jim's and if you can put up with him, you must be a strong spirit!"
"Why does everyone say that?" He rested his chin on one hand. "I'm not that bad. I do my taxes, I only steal sometimes, I've never thrown a body in a lake..."
Suddenly, Dale Jr. Appeared and put his big slobbery head on Ginko's lap.
"Ah ha, Dale." Vidia sat down and waved her finger at the dog. "Hotdogs aren't for hot dogs." When she turned her attention back to Ginko, she was grinning. "Magic's not free, you know. You have to tell me a story."
Ginko gave a quiet snort, even more strained than his usual non-laughter, as he prodded experimentally at his shoulder. It definitely still hurt, that was for sure - but it was also very definitely back where it needed to be.
"Well, that's good to hear. Throwing bodies in lakes is usually a bad sign." He cut off in surprise, looking down at Dale Jr. After a couple seconds, he lay a hand hesitantly on the dog's head.
He glanced up a moment later, raising his eyebrows slightly. "A story?" If anything, the demand seemed to catch his interest more than his concern. "Sure. Any particular subject in mind?"
He raised an eyebrow slightly, but nodded and grabbed a fork. Like hell he was going to turn down free food, anyway. "Alright, let me think." He had a lot of stories, that was for sure. He kept one hand on the dog's head as he ate and considered what to say.
"...Well... once, a few years ago, I came across a town that was covered in rust."
For all that Ginko seemed to hesitate when it came to basic social interaction much of the time, storytelling seemed to come as easily to him as breathing. He described the strange illness, the young girl's plight, as smoothly as if it had happened yesterday.
The both of them listened in rapt attention--Vidia because she adored a good story and as a witch, learning about far away lands was all part of the job--and JW. Ginko just got this look on his face as he wove his tail and something about it was so frustratingly endearing. He wanted the white-haired man to talk about him the way he talked about the interactions between mushi and men and JW realized just how bad he had it as his spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl.
Could he ever compare with that?
The scarf around his neck suddenly felt like an ox yolk.
"It's getting dark," JW said suddenly when Ginko's tale had ended. "If we wanna get you back to--you know-- before the unseelie folk come out, we should get moving.
Vidia lifted a brow at him. She didn't know what was going on but she knew there was something. "Rudolph here is right. He's got a bit of a bead on him from the friendly folk."
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theattic2015-08-13 03:59 pm
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As someone who's used to wandering around and clearly not being from anywhere he goes, the idea that that might be a problem struck Ginko as a little strange.
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"In America, you have to go through a whole bunch of--" Red tape wouldn't mean anything to Ginko. "Gates and...approvals in order to visit, let alone live here if you're from another country. You need something called a passport and to get that you've got to have a birth certificate and a bunch of other shit."
It was one of the less glamorous parts of the future.
"Now, Bugle--that particular cop, I don't think he'd give you trouble if you were with me. But if somebody else caught you alone, they might, I dunno, try to deport you."
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(Though, to be fair, it wasn't as if Ginko knew a lot about how immigration or identification worked in his own time and country to begin with.)
He sat back again with a lopsided shrug. "But, alright. I'll try to keep from... being deported."
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"Yeah, it's complicated..." His worried frown finally turned back into a sneaky grin. "Luckily, we got inter-dimensional tree gates on our side. I could show you all sorts a' great stuff so long as we don't get caught."
The buildings thinned on either side of them and the van passed between vast pastures of cattle before taking a wide turn into a forest.
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As they kept moving, the land shifted again to what he was a little more used to. Ginko kept looking around, though, apparently no less interested in the woods and farmlands than in the futuristic town.
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JW, you could become a wonderful history professor but no you use this rare gift to pick up guys.
The trees rushed along either side of them and were gone again. Soon they came to a highway packed with roaring cars, trucks, semis, and more. Nothing but soybeans stretched either way. JW pulled out onto the road and started to head west.
"She's not too far now. I wish they'd fix the roads...oh hey!"
He turned the radio up slightly as The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" began to play.
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And then they hit the freeway. Ginko jumped a little as the first semi roared past, pressing back against his seat and staring wide-eyed out the window. He barely seemed to notice as JW turned up the radio.
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And then he saw poor Ginko's face. He casually turned the music up a little louder.
"Yeah it's--busy this time of day! Don't worry, they all stay on their side of the road. There's laws and markings and all that good stuff."
Somewhere a car honked.
Soon enough they came to a long gravel road that turned off the high way and ducked back into the forest they left behind a ways back. The bustle of the four-lane faded behind them and soon more and more roads began to appear. Houses too--little houses, big houses, some were trailers backed by sprawling, muddy horse pastures. Dogs barked and cow ponds reflected the sky.
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He relaxed a little as they left the highway, watching the houses and pastures go by instead. The gravel road meant he needed to try a little harder to keep his shoulder still - the pills JW gave him certainly helped, but it was definitely getting worse as time went by, and he couldn't avoid wincing occasionally whenever the van hit a particularly notable bump.
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Vidia did not like salesmen.
JW honked twice, waited, and then honked once more. The storm door opened and a small, squat woman (much like her house) in a faded NASCAR t-shirt with brown hair and one false leg peered out. She broke into a grin when she saw the big black van.
"Never saw a bird that could drive!"
"You're hilarious." JW killed the engine and hopped out. "I did bring you an injured animal though. You know anything about jacked up shoulders?"
"A thing or two." Vidia's attention moved to the passenger's side window. Her brows lifted at the sight of his hair. "Where'd you pick him up?
"A few centuries back. Come out, Ginko, she's harmless."
"I'll beat you with this leg."
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When JW called him out, he gave a slight nod and, after a bit of fumbling, managed to get the door open. Then, after more fumbling, he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the van.
"Hey, uh..." He winced a little, shifting his hold on his shoulder again. "Good to meet you."
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"How dare you be so tall," she said to him before holding out a hand for Ginko's functional one. "Vidia Kamora. I don't have a degree, but I'll see what I can do. What happened?"
"Fell." JW said quickly, leaving out the somewhat embarrassing circumstances. Or he thought they were anyway. It wasn't an injury to be proud of--nothing like being attacked by a wild future beast or injured by some future weapon. No, it had to be a terrible thing from the beginning of man himself.
Stairs.
Vidia scratched her neck as she thought. "I'm guessin' you want me to whip you boys up a spell."
"If it's not too much trouble."
Meanwhile, a lazy honeybee landed on the collar of Ginko's shirt and investigated him.
Vidia squinted at Ginko one more time. "Well, the girls like him. Come inside. And don't touch anything."
She quickly bustled inside, letting the door slam loudly behind her.
JW let out a huge breath he'd been holding in and propped his hands on his knees. "She didn't mention a trade at all, her bees must really like you."
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He glanced at the bee on his collar, watching as the tiny insect clambered over the fabric before glancing up as Vidia hurried back into the house. He turned to JW again curiously. "The bees, huh."
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He led the way inside. The trailer was well-lit and smelled strongly of potpourri. The overhead fan was going even in winter and every available surface was packed with NASCAR memorabilia. Cereal boxes, model cars in various states of construction, posters, framed photos of famous races, collectible plates. It was everywhere.
An enormous St. Bernard named Dale Jr. snoozed under the kitchen table and didn't so much as twitch an ear when the men entered. Vidia was hovering over an electric crockpot.
JW eyed the dog with obvious discomfort and went so far as to edge Ginko forward so that there was something between him and it. Still, he craned his neck to get his friend's attention. "So what are you making?"
"Beanie Weenies."
"For Ginko's arm!" JW struggled to rein in his irritation.
"That won't take near as long as these beans will. Sit down."
JW shot Ginko strained, apologetic look.
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He gave James a very slight, asymmetrical shrug. He wasn't looking much less strained himself, really, but he could wait. And ask more questions in the meantime. "What are Beanie Weenies?"
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"It's like...sausages. In beans...with sauce..." JW offered with a grimace. He didn't particularly dislike beanie weenies but his fuse was running short. Why was she just fucking around? She had an injured person in her kitchen!
Vidia continued puttering away over her pot, adding dashes of things and humming pleasantly to herself.
JW coughed loudly.
"I can whip up something for that cough, too, but it'll cost you."
JW sucked his lips inward and finally sank down into a chair, keeping his feet as far away from Dale Jr. as possible.
Finally, once the beanies were weenied, Vidia brought the whole mess over to the table and sat it on a ceramic cooling tile shaped like a race car. Two bowls and two spoons were supplied and then she disappeared into the back. When she returned, she had a small purple crystal in one hand and a pouch in the other. She offered Ginko the crystal.
"You hold this and don't break eye-contact with it."
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"Mmmm, you had a nasty fall? Looks it. You keep watching the crystal." She opened the pouch and pulled out a single starlight mint and popped it into her mouth before she set to work. The witch placed her fingers in a shape around the mushi master's shoulder and made a sucking sound with her mouth and drew her fingers away. Slowly, slowly, the pain seeped out into the air as something thick and ugly like smoke but oily at the same time. JW's eyes widened as he watched it happen but he didn't want to do anything that might get Ginko's attention.
Then, in a flash, the smoke fanned out and shot in all directions, thinning, thinning, until it was barely visible. Suddenly, in a swift, violent motion, Vidia grabbed Ginko's shoulder and wrenched it back into place with a wet popping sound. Like stretched elastic, the grimy smoke came rushing back in and with it, came the pain. It throbbed and settled into Ginko's bones.
"There." Vidia dusted her hands off. "Damage is fixed, but it'll still hurt like the devil for a while, 'course. You like that rock? Friend of mine from the internet sent it to me. Has a little battery in the bottom."
JW opened his mouth and then occupied it with the beanie weenies before he could say anything he might regret.
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Ginko didn't even let himself look up when Vidia shoved his shoulder back into its socket, even as his expression shifted with an automatic, purely instinctual flinch that didn't move beyond his face. When the pain all rushed back, though, he couldn't suppress a sharp, choked hiss, curling the fingers of his now-functional hand against his leg.
"--Thanks. Uh, yeah, it's... it's nice." It made a good distraction, he would certainly give her that.
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"Oh, it's no trouble! You're a friend of Jim's and if you can put up with him, you must be a strong spirit!"
"Why does everyone say that?" He rested his chin on one hand. "I'm not that bad. I do my taxes, I only steal sometimes, I've never thrown a body in a lake..."
Suddenly, Dale Jr. Appeared and put his big slobbery head on Ginko's lap.
"Ah ha, Dale." Vidia sat down and waved her finger at the dog. "Hotdogs aren't for hot dogs." When she turned her attention back to Ginko, she was grinning. "Magic's not free, you know. You have to tell me a story."
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"Well, that's good to hear. Throwing bodies in lakes is usually a bad sign." He cut off in surprise, looking down at Dale Jr. After a couple seconds, he lay a hand hesitantly on the dog's head.
He glanced up a moment later, raising his eyebrows slightly. "A story?" If anything, the demand seemed to catch his interest more than his concern. "Sure. Any particular subject in mind?"
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"Surprise me." Vidia propped her chin on her hand. "Something tells me you have more than enough. You could spare one little story. Eat your beans."
"Yeah, eat your beans," parroted JW. It was almost a warning.
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"...Well... once, a few years ago, I came across a town that was covered in rust."
For all that Ginko seemed to hesitate when it came to basic social interaction much of the time, storytelling seemed to come as easily to him as breathing. He described the strange illness, the young girl's plight, as smoothly as if it had happened yesterday.
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Could he ever compare with that?
The scarf around his neck suddenly felt like an ox yolk.
"It's getting dark," JW said suddenly when Ginko's tale had ended. "If we wanna get you back to--you know-- before the unseelie folk come out, we should get moving.
Vidia lifted a brow at him. She didn't know what was going on but she knew there was something. "Rudolph here is right. He's got a bit of a bead on him from the friendly folk."
"They're not friendly to me."
"Because you're a jackass and a thief."
JW rolled his eyes and stood.
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