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."
Ginko, of course, was totally unaware of JW's plight. Having finished his story, he nodded - and scooped another few forkfuls of beans into his mouth before standing up. Free food.
"Right." He would ask what 'unseelie' meant later. For now, he gave the dog another pat and stood by with a look of faint amusement as the other two bickered.
Dale Jr. wagged his tail so hard that it scooted one of the other kitchen chairs out of place. New friend, new friend, new friend!
Vidia held her hand out for a shake from Ginko while JW skirted all the way around them to keep away from the dog. He ducked outside and gave the bees a wary look before taking stock of where the sun was. They could make it.
He thought more and more about what other dangerous things he had in the house. That railing was going to be his first project once he saw Ginko home. The creaking of the storm door pulled him out of his thoughts as Dale Jr. and Vidia saw Ginko out.
"Ready? We can stop by the house and grab some more medicine before you go, if you want." He couldn't keep the hunch out of his shoulders.
He shook Vidia's hand, a little awkwardly, thanking her again for helping with his shoulder, before heading out the door.
Ginko walked up to JW and considered his question for a moment before giving a slight nod. "...Yeah. Might be a good idea." He was certainly relieved to have use of his arm again, but damn it hurt.
It wasn't until a moment later that he frowned a bit, examining JW uncertainly. "Is something wrong?"
"Just tired," he lied and led the way to the van. He cranked the engine and gave a last squint at Dale Jr as the huge dog pressed his face against the storm door.
Back through the trees and onto the highway, JW drove with scrunched up brows. He had to do something to make Ginko's first trip to the future worthwhile. He could set his crush aside for twenty minutes to do that at least.
"I'll send some aspirin back with you--the bottle has instructions on it. Shouldn't hurt you though, they even give it to very young children."
"Alright. Thanks." The road was a little less alarming the second time around, at least enough that Ginko could afford to pay a little more attention to what JW was saying.
He hesitated a moment before adding, "Thanks for taking me here. I know it could've gone better, but... I'm glad I visited."
He'd been about to lapse into silence for the rest of the ride after assuring the other man, but what Ginko said surprised him so much that he glanced up from the road.
"Oh..." A wobbly grin made its way onto JW's face as he faced the road again. "There's so much more I could show you when--if you ever want to come back. We don't have to go down any stairs."
That did it. A grin befitting of a jack-o-lantern took over the antlered man's face as they turned off onto the woody road that led back into Hawksaw proper. The buzz of the town had slowed since their visit to the grand high Bee Queen of the wildwood. The sky was turning orange by the time the big black van wheezed and heaved its way up onto the hill.
Deuteronomy was stretched out in the front porch swing with her head on the arm rest. She flagged her tail once in greeting.
"It's certainly faster." He won't say anything about which mode of transportation he thinks is better. He stepped out of the van, raising a hand to wave briefly at Deuteronomy.
"I hope your witch helped you out because Shirley's hoppin' mad that you chose the bee lady over her." Deuteronomy's words oozed and she grinned, in love with her own evil.
JW refused to look at the house behind them as he hopped out. "It did work. In fact, it was done in under a minute and we had enough time for stories and dinner." JW stuck his nose in the air as he strode past her and through the front door. "Here, I wanna give you a hot press for your arm."
He was quick to gather up a towel and led Ginko into the kitchen where he made a huge show of shoving it into the microwave. The machine came to life and hummed loudly, lit from within like a mouth to Hell itself. Then it dinged and JW handed over the towel.
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theattic2015-08-13 03:59 pm
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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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"Right." He would ask what 'unseelie' meant later. For now, he gave the dog another pat and stood by with a look of faint amusement as the other two bickered.
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Vidia held her hand out for a shake from Ginko while JW skirted all the way around them to keep away from the dog. He ducked outside and gave the bees a wary look before taking stock of where the sun was. They could make it.
He thought more and more about what other dangerous things he had in the house. That railing was going to be his first project once he saw Ginko home. The creaking of the storm door pulled him out of his thoughts as Dale Jr. and Vidia saw Ginko out.
"Ready? We can stop by the house and grab some more medicine before you go, if you want." He couldn't keep the hunch out of his shoulders.
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Ginko walked up to JW and considered his question for a moment before giving a slight nod. "...Yeah. Might be a good idea." He was certainly relieved to have use of his arm again, but damn it hurt.
It wasn't until a moment later that he frowned a bit, examining JW uncertainly. "Is something wrong?"
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Back through the trees and onto the highway, JW drove with scrunched up brows. He had to do something to make Ginko's first trip to the future worthwhile. He could set his crush aside for twenty minutes to do that at least.
"I'll send some aspirin back with you--the bottle has instructions on it. Shouldn't hurt you though, they even give it to very young children."
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He hesitated a moment before adding, "Thanks for taking me here. I know it could've gone better, but... I'm glad I visited."
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"You are...?"
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Don't worry about 'if', JW. The things he saw today pretty well outweighed the dislocated shoulder; his mind was made up.
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Deuteronomy was stretched out in the front porch swing with her head on the arm rest. She flagged her tail once in greeting.
"Sure beats the pants off walkin' doesn't it?"
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JW refused to look at the house behind them as he hopped out. "It did work. In fact, it was done in under a minute and we had enough time for stories and dinner." JW stuck his nose in the air as he strode past her and through the front door. "Here, I wanna give you a hot press for your arm."
He was quick to gather up a towel and led Ginko into the kitchen where he made a huge show of shoving it into the microwave. The machine came to life and hummed loudly, lit from within like a mouth to Hell itself. Then it dinged and JW handed over the towel.
"Should be nice for the walk back too."
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