"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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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.