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.
Ginko followed JW in, watching curiously as he put the towel in the microwave. He jolted a little when the appliance started up, his eyes widening slightly as it hummed and glowed. He took the towel with some hesitation, more out of his lingering surprise at the microwave than anything. But... it was definitely warm.
He set the towel on his shoulder, holding it against the point that used to be shoved out of place. "Thanks... that does feel a little better."
JW allowed himself to puff up a little when his final gift proved useful. He gathered up a few more aspirin in a ziplock bag for Ginko and handed it over before holding open the back door.
"We're racing the sun now, let's get a move on. I don't want the unseelie folk to catch you with me and decide you're a target too."
Down the hill they went and the woods welcomed them with stretching, scratchy arms.
"The faeries. They're not like your mushi...well. They're still mysterious and powerful, but less animal and more human and that's what makes them so dangerous."
Down the pigpath and beyond the metal skeletons.
"There are two courts--the seelie and the unseelie. Basically assholes and colossal assholes. They all love games and they all cheat. Don't accept any food from them, not ever, or you'll land yourself in the emergency room getting your stomach pumped."
He ducked under a branch and shook his antlers, freeing them of the leaves he didn't manage to clear.
"So be careful if you decide to come out this way and look for your mushi. If the faeries learn about it, if they don't already know, one might disguise itself and try to lead you down a sinkhole or something equally terrible."
The tall man bristled with paranoia. The sky was purple by the time they reached the pines that parted Ginko's world from James's.
"I'll keep that in mind, then." He watched James curiously; he knew a bit about his history with faeries, of course, but this made it even more clear that there was still a lot he wasn't aware of.
He slowed to a stop as they reached the gate, glancing at JW again. "You want to come through for a bit, or head back?"
JW watched the space between the trees and had a short internal battle. Finally, he shook his head.
"I should head back. I'll come back again soon--with daylight to spare!"
He gave his fellow world-walker a wave before shoving his hands into his pockets. He would wait until Ginko was out of sight, to make sure the portal didn't suddenly decide to act up and tear him in half, before turning and picking his way back through the woods.
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theattic2015-08-13 03:59 pm
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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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He set the towel on his shoulder, holding it against the point that used to be shoved out of place. "Thanks... that does feel a little better."
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"We're racing the sun now, let's get a move on. I don't want the unseelie folk to catch you with me and decide you're a target too."
He really, really didn't.
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"Right. You... mentioned that term earlier, didn't you? 'Unseelie'. What does it mean?"
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"The faeries. They're not like your mushi...well. They're still mysterious and powerful, but less animal and more human and that's what makes them so dangerous."
Down the pigpath and beyond the metal skeletons.
"There are two courts--the seelie and the unseelie. Basically assholes and colossal assholes. They all love games and they all cheat. Don't accept any food from them, not ever, or you'll land yourself in the emergency room getting your stomach pumped."
James grimaced at the memory.
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He was tempted to ask which kind the one that gave JW his antlers was, but that struck him as rude.
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He ducked under a branch and shook his antlers, freeing them of the leaves he didn't manage to clear.
"So be careful if you decide to come out this way and look for your mushi. If the faeries learn about it, if they don't already know, one might disguise itself and try to lead you down a sinkhole or something equally terrible."
The tall man bristled with paranoia. The sky was purple by the time they reached the pines that parted Ginko's world from James's.
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He slowed to a stop as they reached the gate, glancing at JW again. "You want to come through for a bit, or head back?"
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"I should head back. I'll come back again soon--with daylight to spare!"
He gave his fellow world-walker a wave before shoving his hands into his pockets. He would wait until Ginko was out of sight, to make sure the portal didn't suddenly decide to act up and tear him in half, before turning and picking his way back through the woods.