Haruki's not a frequent visitor to the Wayhouse. In fact he's rarely if ever at all here and he's looking decidedly uncomfortable as he explores the building with no escort in sight. He's allowed to be here? Right?
They don't have anywhere to live right now except their car, and so Teagan is living in their car, or crashing with people on occasion, and has not yet gotten an apartment or established any sort of permanent residence. So that means they have to come somewhere to shower.
Having freshly showered, their feet bare, wearing a pair of boxers and a tank top, Teagan sits on the couch in the wayhouse while their clothes wash. They're leaning forward a little, a whetstone in one hand, sharpening an old, rusty-looking, battered machete. It... appears to be constantly bleeding? The blood never soaks into the carpet even when it drips from the blade, though. Their Summer mantle is heavy and hot, there's an absent patter of gunfire now and again, the crackle of radio static. And the inexorable sound of the whetstone. Shink. Shink. Shink.
All up and down their arms are thick, curling tattoos, and in the bare spaces are sets of five hash marks. Lots, and lots of those sets. And on the back of their right wrist, in a typewriter font? "this machine kills rapists"
Cheerful!
Ziv's been off in Tamarack Falls for a little while - probably in part due to her seeking better housing there. Oooor she just got more or less stranded, and hasn't wandered her way home yet in one manner or another. There is, afterall, the mine to explore and a few other places that are more interesting than the city. There are Changeling things to be done here, that wouldn't quite work in Fort Brunsett.
As it is, there's a thud against one of the doors before bat-girl emerges, wearing an overly large tank top as what's a night gown. She looks bleary-eyed and half asleep, though considering the hour it might be because she's taken a nap and recently woken up, has woken up for a nightly vigil, or has woken up from going to sleep for the night. Being partially patterned after a nocturnal creature, it may or may not be hard to tell.
She sniffs once, blinking in the light, and then staring around the room... before gravitating over towards where Teagan is sitting, for no completely obvious reason. A hop, and she goes to perch on the back of the couch, clawed feet down still against the cushions. No greetings are given, but that might be one in and of itself. Right?"
Haruki startles when he finally realises that there's a person there. He doesn't leap far in the air but... and they have a machete and this is pure horror movie stuff and it's bleeding and why did he even decide to come here and what if they decide to axemurder him. Machetemurder? Is that a thing. Clearly from the blood. And this panic is running through his brain and his eyes and written so plainly on his face. Don't stare, don't stare. And then there's a thud and he startles again and another monster and wait no that's Ziv. He takes a breath, exhales and tries not to run out screaming.
Billy Ray makes his way in, followed by a worktable - a wrought flat topped table with raised lips around the edge, drawers that are opening and closing as if the table is talking as it walks - and that's right, walks, gears and servors made of thorns and metal make up articulated legs. "Y'did drop th' blasted thing cause you wuz distracted," says Billy Ray as he tromps his way in. Sig .45 on one hip, his Hedgespun rapier on the other and he's sipping a beer as he comes in, glancing behind him to make sure the crate he has on the table isn't shifting. "Over here, y'git. Yeah Fitz, ah said git. Y'know how much one of those fancy pants coffees cost?" A pause as he notices others are here, pausing to scratch at his stubble. "Oh, howdy y'all."
“Is someone making some fucking coffee?" Teagan asks. When they look up, their shadowed eyes are even darker and more weary than usual. Squires of the Broken Bough always look exhausted, but today Teagan looks like something the cat dragged in, dragged back out, and then dragged back in again. "That would be great." Shink. Shink. Shink.
Haruki's startling makes Teagan turn their head and stare at him for a long moment. "Seriously, dude, unless you start blabbing about Lost to everyone, or rape someone, or start colluding with Gentry, you have literally nothing to fear from Baby." A beat's pause. "Or if you touch Baby." But Haruki's already seen how Teagan reacts when someone tries to take their token, hasn't he?
The angery shadow grunts toward Ziv, and Billy Ray, but they've already asked: is someone making some fucking coffee? That seems to be all the greetings people get right now. Their silvery face shimmers and shifts in the room's light, features absently rearranging themselves.”
Ziv may or may not be a monster, but she normally doesn't look much like one. Unless someone just really dislikes bats, so there's that at least. For now she remains in her perch next to Teagan, lazing in the aura of the Summer Courtier's mantle with her eyes mostly closed. That is, until there's the sound of the Wizened and his animate table coming along. That causes her to blink both eyes open, and her ears to twitch towards Billy Ray.
For a moment, she merely watches, and then says with a more awake level of excitement, "Oh that's so cool!" She brightens up a little, but then glances down at Teagan. They're given a less than thorough once over, and the Beast hops off of her perch, claws clicking on the floor as she makes her way over towards where a coffee pot is set out. A yawn is bitten back, while she starts to go through the motions. "Are you going to start working in here?" that's sent towards Billy Ray.
Coffee? Haruki knows coffee. "Too much." It's the only answer to a question that likely wasn't even directed at him. "Howdy." He nods. "Coffee. I'm making coffee!" There he has a quest, he grabs onto that. "I wouldn't do any of those things. I'm just going to make coffee. Who wants some?" He shuffles off to indeed make some and well there's Ziv, who he smiles at. "Hi."
"Coffee sounds great if'n y'got some bourbon to slap in that sum'bitch," says Billy Ray to Haruki and to Ziv he adds, "Jes' some scribblin' an' small part work, miss, looked like it was fixin' t'rain out there an old boy Fitz there gets all up in arms when he gets wet, despite havin' a wet proof exterior." Several of the doors open and shut, clattering.
Blood on the blade's edge, continually dribbling. "So I know fuckin' Haruki, magical magician of magic," Teagan says simply, the androgynous creature focusing mostly on their machete. "Remind me. You I met at Cat-22, yeah? Or saw, anyway. I was sorta fuckin' distracted." And that's directed at Ziv. "But you, you I don't know," they inform Billy Ray. "Nah, I didn't think you would, Haruki. Just saying. Unless you do something that's worth a Squire coming after you? This?" And they hold the machete up briefly, spinning it in their right hand and then putting it down to sharpen it again, "This is to protect you. Not to hurt you."
"Um... no bourbon, unless someone else has any. I don't... really carry that kind of thing with me," Ziv answers Billy Ray in an apologetic tone, finishing up the preparation of the coffee for brewing. She turns partially, leaning against the counter where it sits, and smothers a yawn into one wing. She glances aside at Haruki, and wonders, "What are you doing here?" And then, Teagan's getting an answer as she gives a small shrug of her shoulders that sends a ripple through her wings. "We did meet, sort of. I gave you a glass of water. You were busy having a... what's it called... a pissing match with C.B."
"What's a Squire?" Haruki asks. "I mean, like, on Game of Thrones, they serve Knights and things. I haven't seen any Knights about though." Coffee! He is making coffee! Brewing a new pot. Finding the right coffee to use, filling up the machine. "There may be Bourbon in the cupboards, somewhere." But he's not sure where the alcohol's kept and doesn't want to go searching." He blinks at Ziv, wide-eyed, innocent. What indeed is he doing here? Yeah let's skip that question. Oops. Didn't hear. Make the coffee. "Milk? Cream? Sugar?" He starts preparing cups.
"Light brown an' sweeter'n wine if'n y'please, young man," says Billy Ray to Haruki with a wide grin. He hefts the crate up and to one side, pulling out some tools and a few thorns and other implements. "An' no problem, miss," he tells Ziv, "Ain't no thing 'tall. As fer you, nice t'meet ya. Got that whole lead singer hairband thing goin', amirite?" he asks, extending one calloused hand. "Billy Ray Johnson. Lessee, le's hit the high points. Spring, Knight of the Third Hour, inventor, gunsmith, Hedgespinner an' Token maker, beer lover an' medic an' sometimes ass kicker. Greenie recruit. It got an' edge or trigger or fires somethin' or somesuch, ah done perfect the shit outta that thing, y'know what ah mean?"
"I have whiskey in my bag," Teagan offer aside when the conversation about bourbon comes up. "It's not bourbon, but, well, it's booze. There's wine and appletini in there, too. I left the first bottles over at Amanda's store, so I had to get more." They flash a smile at Ziv, then, one that's bright and sharp and just a liiiiittle too wide to fit on their face. The Joker would be jealous of the width of that smile; it goes too too far around their head. "Ah yes. He seemed to be under the impression that I couldn't piss as far as he could. Or that I fuckin' took it at all seriously."
A sniff, then. "Squires of the Broken Bough. I serve nothing except the purpose, which is to keep you lot safe at the cost of everything, including my soul and my life." When they stretch out their hands toward Haruki, palms up, there are wicked, awful, deep scars running horizontally across each palm. "Baby gave me these, when I swore my life to the end in the defense of Lost." A beat. "I just want my coffee black, thanks, Haruki." Look, they even said thanks.
Teagan does take Billy Ray's hand when it's offered to them in turn, mind. "Teagan. They/them. Misgender at your own risk. Squire of the Broken Bough. Sworn only to my Entitlement."
So many words that Haruki doesn't know. "That's a lot of titles." He has questions. He's not going to ask them. And undoubtedly he thinks Knight outranks Squire. Right? "Wow." He says in response to Teagan's explanation of her entitlement. "That's a weighty oath." He pours out the coffee once it's brewed and fixes them up as asked to, then hands the drinks out, taking one black himself.
"There is a Knight over there," Ziv informs Haruki in amusement after Billy Ray introduces himself along with all of the groups he's part of. She inclines her head respectfully, while the coffee pot cheerfully burbles and begins dripping behind her. The exchanges are watched in front of her with partially lidded eyes, once again, and then she blinks when the hand is put her way. Tentatively, she reaches out to curl a wing around Billy Ray's hand and give it a shake, the leathery and elongated fingers surprisingly cold to the touch. "Ziv Allendale. Nice to meet you," she doesn't offer up any titles, or anything like that.
Back to Teagan, she comments, "That's... pretty noble, actually." There's a little tone to suggest she's not entirely certain how to feel about that entire thing, and she pokes her tongue against the inside of her cheek. Finally remembering the state of the coffee cups, though, she says to Haruki, "Not a big fan of coffee."
"It's a big deal th' Squires a' th' Bough," says Billy Ray to Haruki. "When you need someone t'hold a hallway or a Trod against all comers, no matter what, they the peoples. And they'll do it, if yer cause is just. Me, ah jes' invent stuff. Hopefully, ah hope, stuff that makes their job a little easier, yeah? And hell son, don't worry 'bout no fancy titles or whatnot. It's what in here," he thumps his chest with a small hand, the short man nodding. "Knight of th' Third Hour, which is a fancy way of sayin' ah'm a member of this inventin' order. Ah wish ah got the cool knight armor an' princess an' dragons an' whatnot."
"Yes, but because he's a Knight doesn't mean I answer to him. It's not like that, though some people fucking act like it is," snorts Teagan. They set their machete across their knees, rest the whetstone aside, and take the coffee. "Thank you, again, Haruki. Kind of you to make coffee." They have their moments. "And yes, it's a really fucking weighty oath. You don't swear it unless you're out of fucks to give and ready to die, because, like Billy Ray there said, if you need someone to hold a hallway against all comers?" A roll of their shoulders, and then a sip of coffee. Ziv's commentary on the nobility of their oath makes them shrug awkwardly, and their face shimmers liquidly.
"Don't make wishes," Haruki warns. "If you wish it someone might be listening and it might happen and before you know it you're weighed down with armour and rescuing all sorts and being terrorised by dragons. Don't wish it unless you want it and are willing to pay the price." So says the mortal. "Be glad for who and what you are. Can shoot a bullet clean through armour, that's why there's no knights anymore. Well apart from where people can't see them." He nods at Teagan. "You just answer to your oath? Not to anyone else. Serve no master?"
Ziv runs her tongue over her lips while watching the others, ears ever twitching and taking in sounds from different angles. The commentary from Billy Ray about the lack of princesses and dragons gives her a little chuckle, and she notes, "You could probably find them if you um... wanted to." A nod of her head follows after that, but then her eyes focus in on Teagan - perhaps noticing the liquid shifting of their features, one ear twitching to the side, and then down thoughtfully.
"...I wouldn't want to do it," she notes, features starting to pinch into more of a thoughtful expression. Idly she folds her arms around herself, draping the edges of the wings over the opposing shoulders. "Is that what you want then, Teagan? To die?" she wonders.
Billy Ray gets his coffee and digs into his crate, coming out with some donuts and peach cobbler that he sets out. "Ah won't mind if'n y'say no, but if'n it wouldn't insult ya or the weapon, ah wouldn't mind lendin' my professional eye to that weapon there," he tells Teagan with a grin at Haruki and Ziv, "Y'all prolly right."
The Darkling's Death Wish is well known as a part of their reputation, but they don't say 'why yes I desire to die in a glorious fashion, it is a good day to die.' Instead, they say: "I'm sworn to die, and that's what matters. Sooner or later, I'll die, and die messy. If people care about me, they may never know what happened. No closure, nothing." That's one reason to not let anyone ever get close.
Possibly also an excuse.
"No, no wishes, for sure," agrees Teagan with Haruki, and then focuses in on him for a moment. "No Gods, No Masters, Only My Oath. If there were a more experienced Squire, I would likely defer to their experience."
And then? Squinting at Billy Ray with those dark pits of eyes. "... Baby is my Oath-Token," they say cautiously. "You cannot improve her, save on a temporary basis, if you know the ways of Artifice. She is perfect." Everyone loves a rusty bloody machete, right?
"We all die," Haruki says, shivering slightly. "Everyone." He takes a tiny sip of his coffee, sitting down. "Almost everyone." He corrects. "If you trade away your death what if you regret it?" Another tiny sip of coffee. "I don't want to die."
"Sooooo that's a 'yes'," says Ziv, for the first time suggesting that she might in fact be Ignorant rather than outright Oblivious. One of those things is more easily solved than the others, afterall. She looks at Teagan a little suspiciously, twitching her ears forward towards the (more) androgynous figure, especially as they answer what Haruki has said. Several small sniffs are given at the air, and then she moves back over to the couch herself, hopping once more into her perch on the back of it.
Ears then swivelling towards Billy Ray, her face soon follows suit, and she wonders of him, "I've um... been trying to... think of something that might be good for me to use... I mean... I sort of know how to fight with claws," she starts trying to explain herself, the little bit of ~edge~ she'd gathered in her accusation of Teagan gone. Both wings are held up, the elongated fingers with their membranes twisted downwards. "But, not always good with this. Do you um... have any ideas?"
Billy Ray dips his head to Teagan, "Wouldn't dream a' touchin' her, not in that way. An'not everythin' kin be improved upon, yeah? Some stuff, it's a work a' art. No problem if it ain't good iwth ya," he says before he turns to Ziv. "Alright. Y'want ol' Billy Ray's words on fightin' and what makes sense an' what may work and all that?" he asks, sounding clearly interested. "Miss, y'may wish y'asked me to shut up!"
"I don't want to die," Teagan answers wearily toward Ziv, rolling their shoulders absently. "I don't wake up every morning and go 'it's suicide day.' But I've accepted that for all intents and purposes, I am already dead."
Aren't they the most cheerful?
They drop silent again, set their coffee aside, and go back to sharpening their machete.
"Claws like wolverine?" Haruki asks. "Punch dagger things... what're they called?" He's pulling out his phone to google and then hesitates, returning it to his pocket without doing so. "I want to say katar. Freddie's razor glove?" He wasn't asked for his opinion but he's offering it anyway. "And throwing knives! I need a good set of throwing knives. Darts. Electric shock glove. Bzzzt. We're dead, it's the afterlife and nothing's real at all." He sighs slightly. "Which isn't true. Every breath, each and every pain and pleasure, that's life."
Ziv is inching nearer and nearer towards where Teagan is sitting, starting to creep right up into the Mirrorskin's personal space. It doesn't appear to be entirely conscious, though - maybe it's the summery warmth of their aura. Maybe it's something else, but pretty soon Ziv might start getting cuddly if not stopped. And she's about to ask a question when Haruki chimes in with the commentary about different weapons. A blink is given to him, and then she holds up her hands, "I have wings for hands." It's a statement of the obvious, but... entirely possible that having bat wings which are too small to fly might not be the best for most weapons. Unless it worked well with thumbs.
Back to Billy Ray, leaving Teagan blessedly unquestioned for the time being, she says, "Oh... I um, don't mind. Really something I've been thinking about. I'm not the best fighter. I don't think, anyway."
"Alright. An' take what ah say wit' some salt, an' mind what th' Summer here says, he lives an' breathes this fightin' thing. Ah've fought my share but ah ain't no front line battler, no siree. Now," says Billy Ray as he settles into a seat - collapses really, slurping some coffee. "The t'ing with fightin' is this - you in it t'win it. Ain't no chivalry, ain't no honorable man t' man, salutin' wit' scarves. No sir, y'there to survive an' make sure th' other fella knows not t'ever mess with ya again. With that said, we got options. Fer example," Billy Ray unbuckles his sword belt, handing it over to Ziv with the rapier in it. "This be my rapier. Uses servos an' whatnot t'guide yer hand to th' best position fer defendin' an' parryin'. Largely a defense based weapon. Could also, o'course, do firearms or projectiles. With bladed or melee, the lighter it is, th' faster it is, quicker t'react, but tends to do less damage to the other person. Heavier it is, harder it is t'handle, more damage it does. With firearms an' bows, same thing. Y'can have a bow that'll drop a rampagin' elephant but y'gotta have Arnie biceps t'pull it an y'ain't firin' off thirty seconds a minute, ah tell you what. So fer you, y'wanna cater t' yer benefits - ah'm bettin' movement, lightness, speed, right?"
The Mirrorskin doesn't seem much to mind Ziv being in their personal space; it is weird to be this close to them, though. Teagan is just balanced on that cusp of Not Quite Human, Almost More Fae Than Human, and so as their face shifts and shimmers, there's also this palpable sense of no, I'm not okay. I'm not a human being. They stay quiet, sharpening their machete.
Haruki looks at Ziv and blinks with surprise as if this is news to him. "You do?" She does? "Feet claws? Are your wings on your feet too? Would seem stay back? Keep away?" He's maybe a bit unfocused. "Grenades. Fly over, drop grenades." She can fly? He's presuming. And then he's listening to Billy Ray with utter fascination as he speaks of fighting and styles.
Ziv accepts the sheath with the rapier, curling her wings around it and partially sliding the blade out after checking the grip. She soon does so the entire way, careful to keep it pointed away from Haruki and Teagan. No one suddenly wants to be skewered with any weapon, much less a hedgespun one with internal targetting, afterall. "Um, yeah... something light and quick," she agrees to Billy Ray, giving a few testing swishes and thrusts with the rapier. She grimaces faintly, but also looks just a hair enthused. "It would take some getting used to, but maybe not so bad..." she says, as she puts it back into its hilt.
Then, when she's offering it back, she twitches an ear towards Haruki and says, "Wings are too small to fly. Or I'd... well, I'd try that out. But um... I don't know. I've thought about kicking or somethin'... never really tried to balance and hold anything in my foot claws..."
"There's martial arts - fightin' styles - that use a lotta feet stuff. Like that Frenchie boxin' thing, the Tae Kwon Dos, so on. Ah bet th' Summers could help ya," says Billy Ray as he accepts the rapier back. "My recommendation would be somethin' light - rapier, short sword, long dagger. Throwin' weapons ain't bad, like the young fella said, though keepin' enough on ya can be a tricky thing. Course," he muses, "Could do a nice thorn throwin' weapon on the upper forearm, targetting point of aim..." he grunts, digging into pockets to pull out a wallet, useless cell phone, two lighters, pack of cigarettes, gum, multitool, knife, another knife, spork, candy bar, grease pencil and finally a notebook and pen that he starts to sketch and write notes in, muttering to himself.
"There no magic for flying?" Haruki wonders. "Basejumping and wing suits and big gusts of wind. Need something high to leap off of and so dangerous and we can't all be spiderman swinging from the trees. That'd be awesome shooting thorn arm weapon. Can you make it dark? Can you see in the dark? Hear. Echoes. Throwing Knives are good in the dark. But it's a trick to hit blindfolded. Cheat on the stage."
"Um... the only magic I know of, that would let me fly, would make me too small to fight..." admits Ziv, folding her ears back at Haruki's further questions. She tongues the inside of her cheek again, idly beginning to swing her clawed feet back and forth. "I... could probably use the flying suit thing, I guess. It might work out, being able to glide, but it... still wouldn't be very good for fighting. I don't think... Most flying animals are more, uh, agile than that." She speaks as if this is something she -actually- does know about. Unlike most things, perhaps.
Her eyes shift to Billy Ray then, and she tilts her head before agreeing with Haruki then, "I think the thorn shooter is a good idea! It would, um, probably be good to figure out a way to fight, also. But a little shooter sounds -really- cool."
Billy Ray sketches, sketches, sketches. "So here's th' thing. If'n we want somethin' mechanical - technical, y'see - to work in the Hedge, y'got two options. One, a Token, powerful. Rare, hard t'make. It's a quest, a'most, t' make one." he gestures to the sword at Teagan's lap. "Another is Hedgespun. Based on a pattern a' somethin' else, ah twist an' force Hedge magics an' mannerisms into it. That still takes time but more important, it takes research into m'library and likely two or more trips int' the Hedge to get items to figger it out, since it ain't somethin' ah made 'fore. Don't mean you gotta go into the Hedge, jes' means we gotta get folks to go in. Wit' that said, ah'm willin' to start diggin' into this idea if'n you are. Small, compact, forearm based, ranged shooter."
"You could be a superhero," Haruki declares with a smile. Because superheroes wear suits too. "Sometimes, fighting is done or not done or... run away. Hide. Sneak. Avoid being noticed. Fight only when there's no other choice. Aim for the eyes. Distance weapons the best. It must be amazing to be able to do so much." He closes his eyes and takes a breath, his hands getting a bit fidgetty. It's a deck of cards he pulls out from his pocket and starts riffling through.
"I didn't make this one, it was made for me," Teagan points out quietly, and they finish sharpening their machete, and put it away in their backpack, which is lined with leather for the purposes of not being cut through. Obviously. "I earned it with my blood, however." With that said, they push themselves to their feet. "I need to go switch my laundry, I'll be right back." Of course they take their backpack with them.
"I guess so..." Ziv gives sort of a sideways smile at Haruki's words, seeming to be a little uncertain with that topic. She doesn't clarify it too much though, reaching up to cover her muzzle with one wing, and actually starting to chew on the edge of it - she's got needle sharp little teeth. She pauses though, twitching an ear and then gives a faint nod. Back to Billy Ray, while Haruki is fidgetting with his cards, she says, "I... intend to go into the Hedge anyway. When I can, I mean, but it'll probably be a little while. I'm still getting set up here, only recently came up from West Virginia.
"Sure. An' we got 'nuff folks that like adventure an' t'go in there that we ain't got no shortage of folks. No cost, by the way, it's in mah interest to get folks interested in mah wares and whatnot. So the only cost'll be in the Hedge trips themselves." adds Billy Ray. "Y'got a place human-side t'live, job, all that whatnots?"
"Never, ever go alone," Haruki says his eyes snapping open. "It's dangerous in there. Dave's sister died. Trees and roots. Dead. It's a dangerous, terrible place. Not a walk in the park. Not a place for a picnic. It'll eat you up and swallow you whole. You can't outrun all the shadows." Shuffle the cards. "Take friends. Take fighters. Don't take those like me. It ties knots in our brains." He does smile as Billy Ray says he's going too. "As long as you're together. You all look out for eachother."
"Ummm... yeah, but I need to move things around a little. Hoping to find a place, in Tamarack Falls, a little out of the way. Think I have a place in mind though," says Ziv with a slight smile after Billy Ray's further questions to her, folding her wings down over her knees, for now. "So I can... um... actually get set up a bit better. Don't really like living in an apartment." One ear swivels in the direction of Haruki then, with his words, and she licks her lips with a blink. Rather than elaborating on anything he said, she simply notes, "I know."
"Yep, young man's right, Hedge ain't no place fer loners," agrees Billy Ray. "Y'all right handed or left handed, miss?" he asks Ziv, before flipping to a new page and scribbling down a name, phone number, email address. "This here be how y'can reach me. Ah got a store, human side - Hold Mah Beer, gun store, range, archery, firearms, swords, armor, ah c'n do it all an' it's outside city proper so we c'n go all class three an' full auto and what not."
"Good," Haruki smiles at Ziv. "I like you want want you to be safe. It's nice in the quiet away from the neighbours with so much peace. Not that I get much with my brother always around. I'm so looking forward to having a room of my own. Don't try and build a house unless someone knows what they're doing. I wanted to go into the hedge and find a friend forever but it's not safe for me in there. Not worth the cost." He looks at Billy Ray. "Does it sell beer too? I thought it was a beer place. It didn't sound safe."
"Uuuuh..." the question from Billy Ray apparently causes Ziv to stop and think. She looks down at her wings, examining them thoughtfully and curling the membrane-webbed fingers a few times as she apparently thinks. Then, before too long, she says with a flick of her ears, "Right-handed!" She puts them back down on her knees after, before pausing and reaching up to take the offered scrap of paper. "I'll... definitely take a look," she nods her head after, then glances over to Haruki before looking at him fully. "Not... going to build one... just want to um... find a cabin kind of out of the way... and... with a little shed or something for bats. Or... some place with someone that lives out of the way."
"Sounds good t'me," says Billy Ray as he finishes his coffee and grins at Haruki, "Got beer every now an' then - fer my friends, when we celebratin'. Not when we shootin', cause contrary to th' Dukes a' Hazzard, firearms an' beer jes' plumb don't mix. Y'can drink after y'shoot but not 'fore, mah insurance rates 're insultin' enough 'fore ah get a claim fer negligence or whatever nonesense some ivy league suit an' tie wearin' mamby pamby lawyer type throws at me."
"Oh. That's what I should have done." Haruki smiles. "That sounds so nice. Bats like belfries and barns, don't they? And caves and trees and the spooky unlucky mine where people keep going missing. Nathania's got so much land. She's letting me and Itsy build a little place there. Only it's so much work. Itsy's sorting it out when he's not busy with boys." He looks relieved at what Billy Ray says. "Oh that's good."
"...People keep going missing in the mine?" that's what seems to really stand out to Ziv as she flicks her ears, looking concerned now. "I was thinking about going out there and taking a look around..." she admits, a frown coming to settle over her face. Then, back to Billy Ray with an apologetic look, she says, "Oh, it sounds nice! I don't... um... think I'll be doing much shooting though. Sensitive ears and all..."
"The mine, the lake," Haruki says. "The bad side of the river. Don't live near mischance. I was going to go too with my friends but they all left town instead. Or maybe they disappeared too."
"I was warned about the river," says Ziv thoughtfully, before getting up from where she's been sitting. She gives a stretch of her wings and arches her back, and then says to Haruki, "Maybe we can go sometime! Maybe with Billy and them." She gives a look to the mentioned Wizened, but then starts to wander off back towards her room. "It would be a grand adventure."
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