TRP: Goro, Roddy and Theo (Banites)

[Setting: Day 352. Morningstar Castle.]

Yep, trying to distract himself by fussing over Dad half the day yesterday hadn't done Roddy a lick of good. Soon as he was on his own, his brain started going in circles. What-if, what-if, what-if.

Roddy'd been sulking by one of the fireplaces for a while, and now it was starting to look light enough that people might be out and about. So he set to wandering.

Roddy found Goro first. Roddy made a distressed noise and made a beeline for him, grabbing Goro into a tight hug and trying not to just burst into tears right off the bat.

LINA

Goro saw Roddy coming for him, but it seemed too late to do anything about it, so he just kinda hunched down and hissed through his teeth while Roddy grabbed him.

"Hi," he said, wondering if a there, there would be warranted, too.

ABBY

"Hi," Roddy said. "M'sad," he added after a beat.

LINA

"Oh." Goro patted him on the shell. "Yeah, life's fuckin' sad, buddy."

ABBY

"Not as sad as it could be." Dad had been brought to life. Been Goro who'd done it, even. "You kinda suck at comforting y'know."

LINA

"I was just walking downstairs, minding my own fuckin' business, Roddy," Goro said gently. "Speaking of, you planning on letting go of me anytime soon?"

ABBY

Roddy made another noise and clung a little tighter. "Do I have to?"

LINA

Goro winced. "Uh. What's it worth to ya?"

ABBY

This time Roddy did pull back, glaring at Goro with watery eyes. "I am in almost-mourning and you're trying to scam me for hugs?!" Unbelievable. "Fine then!" Roddy snapped, letting go and stomping down the stairway. "I'll just go find somebody else!" Somebody who did not begrudge comforting hugs and-- and stuff! Which was just about everybody else!

LINA

Goro rolled his eyes when Roddy's back was turned. "I didn't mean it like--ah, fuckin', whatever. You do that." He kept walking, slowing his pace a little to give Roddy a good lead.

ABBY

Roddy really wasn't sure where he was headed, but maybe he was hungry cause he ended up in the kitchen. Well, okay. Sandwich maybe, then? Roddy started clattering around, looking for things, finding them-- forgetting he'd found them and getting himself all worked up over who ate the last of the mustard and then never got any more, turning around to find it on the table.

Something about that was just-- really funny for a second. And then it wasn't. And then Roddy was sitting down, crying again, and thinking about how for a while he'd lost a parent and he hadn't even known.

LINA

Unfortunately, Roddy was in the kitchen when Goro arrived. At the table, bawling. Goro cleared his throat loudly so he wouldn't startle him.

ABBY

Roddy looked up, hiccupping a little cause of the sobs. Oh it was Goro. Again. "I found the mustard."

LINA

"Ah," Goro said. He moved to the counter, intending to find something to shove in his mouth--a sandwich, maybe. Roddy had apparently been after a sandwich, too, but he'd just left the fixings strewn all over the place.

Goro remembered Hansel's suggestion to prepare food for someone else whenever he was making it for himself, to make it easier to put a little effort into it. He looked over his shoulder at Roddy. "Uh. You hungry?"

ABBY

Roddy gave a half-shrug. He didn't feel hungry. He stared at the table, spinning the knife around and around. "Dad died," he said suddenly.

LINA

Goro had really just been asking as a courtesy. It was lunchtime. Roddy oughta eat something. Goro grabbed the loaf of bread and the bread knife and started slicing.

"He sure did, yeah."

ABBY

Roddy kept spinning his little knife, staring at the table. "He's fine now. But he wasn't. I can't... I can't stop thinking about it."

LINA

"Thinking about it won't do shit," Goro said, like he was any better. "No fucking point."

ABBY

"I know that!" Abruptly Roddy folded his arms on the table, hiding his face in them. "I just. I didn't do anything. I didn't even. Even know. He scrubbed at his eyes, taking a few harsh breaths. "Dad died and I just slept right through it. Like there wasn't anything wrong at all."

LINA

"Yeah. Um." Goro sliced some cheese next, laying it out on the bread. "Can't you just... pretend it didn't happen, then? You were asleep. What's it matter?"

He thought maybe he'd have been able to do that, if he'd slept through the whole thing and someone else had brought Hansel back. Just act like it was a bad joke everyone was telling him.

ABBY

"No!" Roddy felt sick at the thought. "It did happen! And I didn't-- I couldn't--" Roddy couldn't have done anything. Goro had though.

Abruptly he got up and squeezed Goro in another hug. "Thanks," he said. "For. For fixing it. So I didn't... wake up to that."

LINA

"Mm." Goro nodded once. It was the last fucking thing in the world he needed thanking for. He'd like to have seen anyone try and stop him.

He kept on making the sandwiches while Roddy squeezed him. He layered some ham on over the cheese, then glanced at the mustard jar sitting on the table. "Uh. You wanted mustard?"

ABBY

Roddy had to take a second to remember what Goro was talking about. Oh yeah. Sandwiches. "Uh. Actually I don't think so? Dunno what I was doing." Roddy took a deep, shuddering breath. Remembered cuddling up next to Dad, feeling the rise and fall of his chest too. Talking, crying, it helped. Roddy's head felt a little clearer.

He let go and patted Goro's shoulder once before ducking back to grab the jar. "Here, you want any?" he asked, offering it over.

LINA

"Not... really," Goro said, taking the jar anyway, since it didn't belong on the table. He gestured to the sandwiches. "I was thinking of grilling 'em."

ABBY

"Grilled sounds good." Roddy said, nodding. Now that he wasn't so upset, he was starting to feel hungry. "Um, thanks. For, the food this time. And... for being around while I cried and stuff. It helped."

LINA

"Oh. Uh, well, good. I'm glad." Goro had just been... existing in the same room and all, so it didn't feel right being thanked for that either, but oh well. The food, yeah, that was a thing. He set the skillet over the stove and tossed a few generous pats of butter on it. Hansel-style.

ABBY

Roddy hummed a little, acknowledging Goro, and fell quiet. The food smells were making him really hungry now, so Roddy backed off. Otherwise he'd be really hovering and that was annoying to work around. "That smells good," he commented. And then frowned as something occurred to him. "Hey you don't cook much right? Are you sure you're not gonna burn it?"

LINA

"I cook more'n you," Goro said, eyes on the sandwiches. "I don't burn shit."

ABBY

Well, that was true enough. At least about how much Roddy cooked. "Maybe I'll get you to cook for me more often so I can find out," he teased, grinning.

LINA

"Maybe," Goro said. That was the plan, anyway. "Long as you don't bitch about how it tastes, or anything like that. I ain't looking to become a gourmet chef."

ABBY

"Oh uh, noted?" That-- was something Roddy may have done. If not warned.

It was about then a knock sounded on the door. Roddy glanced over. "Huh. I'm not expecting anybody-- are you expecting somebody?"

LINA

Goro swung his head around to glare in the direction of the entry hall. "I sure as hell am not." He quickly moved the sandwiches off the griddle (he'd meant what he said--he didn't burn shit), wiped his hands on a towel, and stomped off to the front door.

He called through it without opening it. "Who is it and what do you want?"

ABBY

"Brother Goro? Is that you?" A familiar, wavery voice called. "It's Brother Julius, from the Church."

LINA

Goro was silent for a long time, his mouth hanging open.

"Fuck off," he called finally.

ABBY

"Now--" Brother Julius sounded angry, but quickly cut himself off. "There's no need to be rude," he said, in his nasally imitation of a calm and level tone of voice. "I just came to talk, that's all."

"Hey who is it?" Roddy asked, wandering over with the sandwiches in hand. "Oh, and here," he offered the one that hadn't already been bit into to Goro. "S'good!"

LINA

Goro batted the sandwich away. "It's fucking--some asshole from the abbey." He said that part low, so only Roddy would hear it. Then he called, "Talk about what?"

ABBY

"About how you've been. It's been a while since you've been around. I was worried." Julius sounded more patronizing than worried. "Not to mention the rumors. If you'd let me in, I'm sure we could talk it out, and find some way to put a stop to them."

LINA

Goro unchained and unbolted the door and opened it just enough to stick his head out. He reached one foot back to try and nudge Roddy out of the way, out of sight. Probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot.

Goro fixed Julius with his most disgusted glare. "How the fuck did you find out where I live?"

ABBY

Roddy had started to lean forwards too, and shot Goro an annoyed look when Goro scooted him back. Still he shuffled back, wishing he had hands free to complain that he wanted to see what was going on too.

Brother Julius looked smug. "Oh people talk, you know. Merchants come in, talking about their protectors. Very happy to bring an old cleric along with them to check up on his once-protégé. You've made a name for yourself, Brother Goro."

LINA

"Protege? Are you out of your motherfucking mind? I never learned a goddamn thing from you, except maybe an example of what not to do."

Brother Julius was on his kill list, for sure--most of those church fucks were. But it kind of startled Goro to realize he was gonna have to kill this guy today. Motherfucker knew where he lived. Knew where his family lived. Yeah, no fucking way was Goro gonna let him just walk away with that information.

ABBY

Brother Julius actually looked offended. "I am your senior! I have served the church since before you were born!" he snapped. "I see that Sister Amari never managed to teach you respect."

LINA

Goro's mouth twitched.

Since before he was born. Right.

"You... you know what," he said, voice softening, "you're right. I mean, since you bring her up. That's... that's a good point. I don't think she'd want me talking to you like that."

He pulled back inside a little, looking around the entry hall. Discreetly, he signed danger to Roddy in Nighthand. Kid oughta get the fuck outta here. Goro looked back to Julius. "Would you like to come in, brother? Have a cup of tea?"

ABBY

Roddy stood a little straighter, looking alert and intent-- and also making no move to leave.

Julius looked surprised for a second, and then back to smug and haughty. "Thank you, Brother Goro, I would love to," he said, lifting his chin and sweeping through the doorway, and boldly striding down the hallway. Away from the kitchen.

LINA

"Hey," Goro barked after him, his manners schtick forgotten already. "Stop. Where are you going?"

ABBY

Julius stopped and turned around. "I am headed to the dining hall," he said. "I see no reason to eat in the kitchen, like the common folk."

LINA

Goro cleared his throat. "Well, of course not, brother. It's just that the dining hall is this way." He gestured to it, smiling broadly.

ABBY

Julius had a look for a second. That look of 'I just made a stupid mistake and don't want to admit it'. "Well. Thank you for your guidance, Brother Goro," he said haughtily, and headed that way. He tried not to stare at the big turtle-thing as he passed. And was mostly successful.

Roddy shot Goro a disbelieving look and rolled his eyes behind Julius's back. This guy was a piece of work.

LINA

Goro turned his broad grin on Roddy. "Rodger. Would you be so kind as to brew us some tea?" And he hastily signed, Just go along with it.

ABBY

"Uh, sure." Roddy wasn't sure what was going on, but he was kind of curious now. So he headed off to the kitchen. Goro knew he wasn't all that great at brewing tea either, right? Maybe that was part of it.

LINA

Goro's face was starting to hurt from the fake smiling. How the hell had he managed to live like this for fifteen years? God. Admittedly, he'd only starting smiling for the last ten or so. Still.

He pulled a chair out for Julius. "Please, please, make yourself comfortable. I'm so glad you've come. Um, hah, a funny coincidence--there's... an incident I've been wondering about, and you may be just the man to answer my questions. And I'll answer yours, too, of course. A bit of tit-for-tat, as they say."

ABBY

Julius looked taken aback. "Oh er, I'm sure that I can help." He fidgeted a bit, eyes darting around the room, taking in the details. "You have a very nice castle. Very... lived in. The townsfolk talked like there was a good handful of people living here...?"

LINA

"I rent out rooms to travelers and other itinerants," Goro explained.

ABBY

Julius narrowed his eyes. "Oh. How very kind of you."

Roddy chose that moment to come clattering out with a tea tray. "Here you go," he said, setting it down in front of them. He'd also brought Goro's sandwich along on a little plate, cause it seemed weird to just leave it behind.

Julius grabbed it and set it in front of himself. "Oh I see you brought me a meal as well. How kind," he said, oozing gratitude. Roddy held back from saying anything, shooting Goro an incredulous look as Julius tut-tutted over 'his' meal. "Oh you didn't put any mustard on this. Oh well, I suppose it shall do."

LINA

Goro rolled his eyes while Julius was distracted examining the food. "Glad it's sufficient. Anyway. Brother. This thing I'm wondering about. See, I actually paid a visit to the abbey a few months back. It was kind of favor, kind of freelance work, if you wanna call it that. I was chasing a criminal."

ABBY

Julius's eyes flicked up and narrowed in on Goro again. "Really now?" he said, deceptively mild. "You know there are many of us at the Church that would have loved to say hello, had you given us a chance to."

LINA

Goro suppressed a snort. "Yes, well, you know. Limited hours in a day. Now, what happened is, this criminal--a young man, he used to work for the Sanguine Guild, and he got into a tussle with a handful of older clerics. Were you... one of them, by chance?"

ABBY

"Oh I make it a point not to get into any fights." Julius said. "To old for it, you know. No, I leave the fighting to the paladins."

LINA

"This was clerics," Goro insisted. "But point taken. The reason age comes into it, though, is 'cause the kid--the criminal--he was rambling on about some shit that happened some thirty or forty years ago, so I heard. He wanted to find the clerics responsible. Can you believe it?"

ABBY

Julius eyed Goro suspiciously. "As you said, he was a criminal," he said haughtily. "You never know what to expect from those kinds of people."

Roddy made an offended noise.

LINA

Goro couldn't be bothered to stop and pretend to react to that. He plowed on. "It was something about an elf--a wood elf. Who had a tumor in his stomach. Ring any bells?"

ABBY

"There are many poor and downtrodden souls that come to the Church for help. Too many to recall any specifics," Julius said dismissively. He leaned forwards, "I believe you would have more luck recalling about these 'travelers' you rent out to."

LINA

Too many to recall any specifics. Oh, of course. Goro hated this motherfucker so bad.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Which one you wondering about?" He had to know how much more he needed to hate this guy.

ABBY

"Oh, just your companions in general." Julius put on an expression of concern. "I do worry about you, Brother Goro. I've heard rumors about the company you keep. Very rough, not suited to a man of your calling. You don't let them stay here, with you, do you?"

LINA

"'Course I do. Amari taught me to feed the hungry and heal the sick. If I can put a roof over someone's head when they're cold, why wouldn't I?"

It was the biggest load of bullshit, but he hoped it managed to make Julius feel a little bad about himself, anyway.

ABBY

"Hmm, I see, I see." Julius frowned, stroking his chin as he thought. "Oh Brother Goro?" He pasted on his smarmy, supposed to be friendly grin on again. "You know this journey has been rough on my old bones. A castle like this, you must have plenty of space. Surely you could spare a bed for a night or two while I recover to take the journey home?"

LINA

"No." Goro held his arm up and triggered his springblade. "Fuck off."

ABBY

Julius let out a startled wail and scrambled backwards, nearly falling over in his haste to get away from the sudden sharp object pointing his direction.

"Hey hey! Goro!" Roddy slowly pushed at his arm, attempting to get him to lower the springblade. "Let's uh. Let's not get too murderous here? No real harm done. I'm sure Julius will be perfectly content to promise never to come back, if we let him go, right?"

Julius nodded frantically.

LINA

"Aw, Roddy," Goro said, not taking his eyes off Julius. "I tried to tell you. 'Danger.' I wanted you to get out of here. Didn't want you to have to see this shit. See, the problem is, Julius already knows where we live. That's a problem, even if he promises never to come back. I can't make it so he just doesn't know."

Goro paused and frowned at nothing. "Wait. I can. I can modify memories now."

ABBY

Julius made a gibbering noise and grabbed his holy symbol, slurring out a prayer. A spectral sword appeared, dove at Goro, and flew right over his head to vanish against the wall.

LINA

"Was--was that a spell?" Goro pointed at the direction it had disappeared in, looking at Julius incredulously. "Really?"

ABBY

Julius fired off another bolt. And again missed wildly.

LINA

Goro shook his head and shrugged at Roddy. "I dunno what to make of this. You?"

ABBY

"Uh maybe we oughta just-- take that away before he gets a lucky shot in?" Roddy eyed the weird old cleric. He had his lute handy, cause he always did, so he shifted it to where he could pick at the strings in a little tune. "Hey," he said, imbuing it with magic. "Why don't you hand me that? We're all friends here. Nobody's tried to hurt you."

Julius blinked and swayed, but slowly shuffled over, and dropped the symbol in Roddy's hand. Roddy heaved a sigh of relief, and started to tuck it away-- but then he got a better look at it, and froze.

LINA

Hah. Good quick thinking on Roddy's part. Goro was borderline gleeful as he watched the spell wash over Julius.

Something about that amulet spooked Roddy, though. "What?" Goro asked. "What is it?"

ABBY

"Huh? Oh." Roddy held it up. It wasn't a Helmite symbol-- it was distinctly Bane's. "So uh. Think I changed my mind on the. Not killing him, thing."

LINA

Goro snorted and bent over to smack his leg. "Oh, that's great. Julius, you fuckin' dumbass. You gotta keep that shit hidden better. So, what? You got anything to say for yourself before we do you in?"

ABBY

Julius looked between the two-- and then bolted. Surprisingly fast, for someone who was complaining about being old five minutes ago.

"Hey-- oh what did we expect?" Roddy grabbed his lute again. This time, the spell was more deadly. A lot more deadly, apparently. Julius collapsed mid-run, skidding across the ground briefly, before falling still. "Uh. Did-- did I just kill that guy? In one go?"

LINA

Goro ran after Julius, dropping to his knees beside him and turning him over to see. His first thought was yes, the guy was fucking dead, but then he let out a shaking breath. His eyelids batted open.

Good.

Goro leaned over him, baring his teeth. "I want you to know something, motherfucker. Since there was apparently too many downtrodden souls for you to fucking remember. Thirty-three years ago, there was a wood elf named Luka Voronin who came to the abbey looking for healing. But he couldn't afford to pay much. Came back again and again, and you fuckers kept slapping him with your cheapest fucking spells, knowing it wasn't gonna do shit."

Julius groaned, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Goro wasn't sure he could even hear him. Still suffering echoes, maybe, of the discordant sounds Roddy had put in his head.

Goro sat back. "Well, it's not fucking satisfying if he doesn't listen. I'll have to find another one. Goddamn."

ABBY

Roddy edged down the hallway, shooting the dying cleric wary looks. "Um. Goro? Can you. Can you maybe not-- be so close? He's Banite," he said. "They're really... whacked."

If it was anybody else, Roddy'd say he looked to badly hurt to cause any problems. But this was a cleric of Bane.

LINA

"I lived half my life having to be close to these fucks on a regular basis. You think I don't know?" Goro stood up and kicked him. "This guy ain't shit."

ABBY

Julius wheezed. And Roddy freaked.

He cast his spell again, and this time there was a wet popping sound. A second later, ugly mush began to drip out of the corpse's ears. "Uh. I think I might have just... exploded his brain?"

LINA

"Huh. Well, have fun cleaning it up, I guess. I'll go see if Leigh can help us dig a hole later." Goro wandered back over to Roddy. He held his hand out and beckoned with his fingers. "Hey, lemme see that thing. The amulet."

ABBY

Roddy handed it over, and wiped his palm off on his pants. Made his skin crawl even holding it. "What if we burned it?" he said, staring at the body.

LINA

Goro held the amulet close to his face, turning it over, examining it. "What, the body? Burial's easier."

ABBY

Roddy nodded a bit. That was true. But. "Can we. Can we do it anyway?"

LINA

Goro glanced at him skeptically. "You ever burned a body before?"

ABBY

"No." Roddy wasn't looking away from the corpse. "I just. I'd feel better if he was... ash."

LINA

"Then the answer's no," Goro said. "'Cause you'll do it wrong if you try on your own, and this ain't the time I'm gonna teach you. We're sticking him in the ground."

ABBY

"Why not." Roddy finally stopped staring so he could glare at Goro. "What else is going on that's so important that we can't-- can't take care of this."

LINA

Goro's face screwed up in confusion. "Why's it so important to make him ash? You worried someone's gonna try and raise him? I'll cut off his head, bury him in two places. Problem solved."

ABBY

"I don't-- I don't know! I just don't like the idea of someone like him lying around our home okay?!" Roddy hugged himself, shooting looks at the corpse again. "It'd be better if he was burned."

LINA

Goro still didn't get it. Frankly, he had more reason to hate Julius, and not want any of his fucking parts on their property. Roddy got too spooked by the Bane shit.

"Building a pyre's a lotta work," Goro explained. "Fire's gotta be real fucking hot to burn the body quick and get the bones. You need a lot of fuel, and... hey, I just remembered something. You still got that wand? The Immolation one?"

ABBY

"Uh. Yeah-- yeah I do. In my bag. In my room." Roddy shifted uneasily. "You wanna use that to-- take care of him?"

LINA

"I mean, it's a thought. Instant ash, and all."

ABBY

"Mhm." Roddy nodded thoughtfully. That was an idea. "It might-- it might backfire. Hurt me. I've got lucky so far though."

LINA

"Oh. Well, then, fuck it. Not worth it." He scratched the back of his head and slipped the Bane amulet into his pocket. "Y'know, we could always just dig the hole farther out in the woods. Not so close to home. Could drop him into the river, too. Let the fish eat him."

ABBY

Roddy shifted. He liked the sound of burning Julius, but... maybe dropping him in the river would work too. He might get swept out to sea, far, far away from them, eaten by fishes and sharks and stuff. "I think-- I think I can deal with throwing him in the river," Roddy said.

LINA

"Great. Do it quick. In this heat, won't be more'n a day before he starts to smell. Bet you can throw him on the back of Leigh's mule to save yourself some hauling."

ABBY

"Wh- you're not gonna help?"

LINA

Goro shrugged. "You're the one who killed him. You clean up your own mess. I mean, you can always ask for help as a favor, just don't expect nothing." He patted Roddy on the shell.

ABBY

Roddy's jaw flapped up and down silently a few times. "Life lessons? Now? There's a dead guy!" Roddy waved his hand at the corpse.

LINA

"Death is a part of life," Goro said.

ABBY

"Can you just-- not for once?" Roddy snapped. "You were gonna kill him too! I stopped you! Remember?"

LINA

"'Cause you wanted to do the honors, apparently." Goro crossed his arms and eyed the body. Can you just not. No, Roddy, he sure as hell couldn't.

ABBY

Roddy made a strangled, frustrated noise and stomped off. Not too far, just enough space to where he could lean back against the wall. Taking a minute to cool off, so he didn't just end up yelling circles at Goro.

They'd let a Banite into their home. Roddy'd even stuck up for him. The very thought of it made Roddy feel sick to his stomach. He'd been perfectly happy forgetting that there was a Church of Bane just a few hour's walk from their home. And then one came knocking at their door. Huh, Roddy kinda got why Goro was so upset about that now.

Goro'd headed back to the kitchen, while Roddy was thinking. Roddy spared one last look towards the body and headed back in. "Would you please help me with disposing the body?" he asked. "I don't... want to be alone with it."

LINA

"Oh. Hey," Goro said, pleasantly surprised. "You're asking nicely. Yeah, I'll help you with it. First I gotta eat, though. Motherfucker took my sandwich. Just... shut that door, don't look at it for now."

ABBY

Roddy nodded and shut the door, settling in at the table to wait. "Sorry. About yelling. I was-- kinda freaked."

COYOTE

Theo doodled in her lesson book until she was bored. Mishka was trying to teach her math, but she was already good at it. She wished Hansel would come teach her how to use daggers, or something neat like that. Hansel always knew good things about weapons.

Once Theo was done covering the book in doodles, she padded out of the library and went to hunt for Hansel.

She stopped dead where she was, though, when she discovered the body. Her eyes narrowed briefly as she examined it.

Goro could heal things that were hurt and bring people back to life. He could tell how people died, too, just by looking at them. Theo crouched by the body. She pulled out her notebook and started to write in it.

Age: Old.

Race: Human.

Time of death:

That one was harder. Theo squinted at him. The murder must have been recent, since his body wasn’t squishy or smelly yet.

Recent, she wrote down. The crossed it out. Had to be more specific. That was important. Five minutes ago. She noted the time next to it so that she’d know what time five minutes ago was, later.

Cause of death, she wrote. She squinted at the body. No obvious signs of trauma. But it must have been murder. For dramatic affect, she added, I’ve got a feeling in my gut. Goro said that sometimes. Verdict: He was secretly poisoned.

Satisfied, she got up and went to find Goro and show him the notebook. She walked into the kitchen.

LINA

Goro waved off Roddy's apology. He genuinely didn't give a shit. Roddy freaked out a lot; he was used to it.

He was slicing more cheese for his sandwich when Theo came in. "Hey, kiddo," he said, reaching one arm out to beckon her over.

COYOTE

Pleased she found him, she came over. She set the notebook down on the counter and waved to Roddy.

ABBY

"Hey Theo," Roddy managed a little smile, waving back. "You hungry? Goro's making sandwiches."

LINA

"Ham and cheese," Goro said. He gave her a one-armed hug. He hadn't been planning to grill this round, but now that Theo was here, he supposed he'd have to. Wouldn't Hansel be pleased.

COYOTE

Theo nodded in grudging acceptance. She was about to make a grab for the raw bread and cheese Goro had, but she supposed she could wait.

She prodded the notebook over to Roddy, looking pleased.

ABBY

"What have you got here?" Roddy said, accepting it and looking over the page. Oh. Notes on a dead guy. "Uhhh," he looked from the notebook, to Theo and then up at Goro. "Uh. Theo found Julius," he said.

COYOTE

Theo took the notebook back.

Name: Julius.

LINA

Goro paused what he was doing to look over Theo's shoulder at the notebook. Oh. Yeah. 'Course she would've had to walk by the body on her way in.

He frowned at what she'd written. "Theo--nah, nah." He paused for a second, wondering if there was some kinda ethical concern around teaching an eight-year-old to examine a dead body. Goro really didn't see a problem, but it seemed like the kind of thing other people would get in a tizzy about. Eh, whatever. "Here, baruska. Come with me." He tapped her shoulder and beckoned her to follow him out of the kitchen.

COYOTE

Theo waited until his back was turned, then snagged a piece of ham and stuffed it in her mouth. She trotted after him.

She tugged Roddy’s arm demandingly so he’d follow.

ABBY

Roddy grinned a little, but it fell as he got up to follow. Was showing Theo dead bodies really the best idea? Roddy didn't feel up to questioning it though, so he followed along, getting tense as they came into view of the body.

Roddy hung back, cause poking at dead bodies wasn't his thing, even when they weren't Banite clerics that freaked him out.

LINA

Goro led Theo over to Julius and stopped a couple feet away from him.

"Okay, now, just--hang on." He put an arm in front of Theo to hold her back, like she might lunge for the body otherwise. "First fucking thing you do, motek, when you find a body. Is what?"

COYOTE

Theo frowned and thought about what Goro had told her.

Make sure he’s dead? she said.

LINA

"Nope." Goro raised his eyebrows at Roddy. "You know?"

ABBY

Roddy looked incredulous at being asked. "You do remember I do my best to avoid dead bodies in general, right?"

LINA

Goro rolled his eyes. "Okay. Fuckin', whatever. Theo, when you walk in a room and see a body, first thing you gotta do is make sure whatever knocked it to the ground ain't gonna get you too. You get what I'm saying? First thing is to make sure the place is safe. So let's look around. Make sure there's not a monster, or a poisonous gas, or an angry guy with a club, or what have you."

COYOTE

Theo’s eyes slowly widened. Goro hadn’t taught her stuff like this before.

She started to write it down, then paused guiltily. For some reason, she thought about Bakir for a minute. He wouldn’t like her learning this stuff.

She wished Bakir were here with them and not... wherever he was. Sometimes it felt bad, knowing she was okay and he wasn’t.

Still, she tried to pay attention to what Goro was saying. She scuffed the ground with her foot.

LINA

Goro watched her for a moment. "What's wrong, baruska? Scary?"

COYOTE

Theo shook her head angrily, averting her eyes. She motioned, Sorry. Unhappy, and then motioned to herself.

ABBY

"Hey you know there's nothing wrong with not liking-- this," Roddy said, resting one hand on her shoulder and gesturing to the body with the other. "It's... awful."

COYOTE

Theo slunk down. Bakir would get sad if he was here, she signed. Bakir was the one who taught her to take notes on things. She wanted to show her notebook to him, proudly, when he got back, but— he probably wouldn’t like reading this stuff. Bakir liked... flowers, and trees.

LINA

Goro put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Why? He doesn't want you learning about dead bodies and stuff?"

ABBY

Roddy crouched down so he was more level with Theo. He rubbed her back, and let Goro do the talking for now.

COYOTE

Theo shrugged, still staring moodily away from Goro and Roddy. She didn’t know why Bakir got sad and upset when he saw her messing with this stuff.

When are we gonna get Bakir? she asked Goro.

LINA

"Soon as I figure out where he is." He gave her a squeeze. "Ain't easy. The ocean's a big fucking place. But we got the better pirates on our side, remember? We got nothing to worry about."

ABBY

"Yeah, you've been talking to him pretty regular too right? He's okay." Which, may be overstating it, but-- Roddy was trying to be comforting. "We'll get him back as soon as we possibly can."

COYOTE

Theo nodded grudgingly. She supposed that if they couldn’t find Bakir, she could try, but— she felt so helpless, and angry. She didn’t know how things worked out there. But... in the adventure stories she read under her covers, after bed, it seemed like these things always worked out, somehow.

Her eyes shifted up to Goro. What happens with the dead body next?

LINA

"Not so fast. Did you make sure it's safe?"

COYOTE

Theo scoffed. She prodded around the room a bit, checking corners and doorways.

ABBY

Well, Theo seemed to be-- back to normal. Maybe that wasn't a good thing. Roddy stood back and let her scramble around, refraining from mentioning that he was the one that killed the guy in the first place.

LINA

Goro hid a smile, watching Theo check. Frankly it was a little overkill, but he didn't wanna discourage her. Better safe than sorry.

"Alright," he said. "Step two--you were right. Gotta make sure the dead guy's really dead. You know how to take a pulse?"

COYOTE

Theo cocked her head, then shook it.

LINA

"Here, gimme your hand." Goro held his own out to take hers, and he placed her index and middle fingers over the pulse on the inside of his wrist. "There. Feel that?"

COYOTE

Theo nodded distractedly. She took her own wrist and felt it next, prodding until she found the pulse, then knelt to check the body. No pulse.

ABBY

"So what's the verdict, doc?" Roddy asked.

COYOTE

Murder.

LINA

"How do you know?" Goro prompted.

COYOTE

Theo glanced at the body. He didn’t look hurt. He just had blood dribbling out of his ears.

Theo paused for a long time, then said, Because he’s not old, so he didn’t die of old age. And he’s sitting in the middle of somebody’s house like they killed him. If he killed himself, he’d probably leave like a note. And not do it in the middle of the dining room.

This seemed logical to Theo.

ABBY

"And it's not like it's unusual for us to be murdering people," Roddy muttered to himself. He was beginning to get the feeling that fussing over the body was going to take a while. Roddy was not looking forwards to that. "Good guess, I think you solved it, I think we should dispose of it now," he said.

LINA

Goro snorted, mostly ignoring Roddy. "Alright. Last question. Who do you think killed him?"

This was less outside Goro's wheelhouse of examining bodies medically, but really, making brains drip out someone's ears was a skill only certain kinds of people possessed. Theo oughta learn that.

COYOTE

Poison. Theo cocked her head. Mishka?

LINA

"Ain't poison. What makes you think poison?"

COYOTE

Theo kept her head cocked. What makes ears bleed? Wasn’t stabbed in the ears.

ABBY

Yeah, figured they wouldn't listen to him. Roddy scowled a bit and crossed his arms. "I know what makes ears bleed," he grumbled. Roddy made ears bleed. Roddy made this guy's ears bleed.

LINA

"Sounds," Goro said. "Deadly sounds make ears bleed." He purposely didn't look at Roddy, waiting for Theo to make the connection. "Not poison."

COYOTE

Theo jiggled Roddy’s arm to get his attention, then pointed at him questioningly, eyes narrowed.

ABBY

"Yep, you caught me. I did it. Mystery solved. Can we go throw this guy in the river now?"

COYOTE

Theo wrote down:

Murderer: Roddy.

Motive:

She showed Roddy the notebook and handed him the pen to fill it out.

ABBY

Roddy took the notebook and pen automatically. "Hey-- murderer?! I will have you know he attacked us first! Or, well, tried to. He really was bad at it." Roddy scowled. "And, y'know, he was dangerous," he muttered. "From the Church in Skyport."

LINA

"Someone kills someone else on purpose, they're a murderer. End of story." Goro looked down at Theo, arms crossed. "You live in a family of murderers, kid. And I pray to Mask you never gotta become one of us, but if it ever comes down to someone else's life versus yours, you do what you gotta do. Understand?"

COYOTE

Theo listened, wide-eyed. She slowly nodded.

Bakir's gonna be so mad, she said smugly. He says murder's always wrong.

ABBY

"Yes well, unfortunately life doesn't always give us the option of doing the right thing," Roddy said.

LINA

Privately, Goro wanted to know if Bakir was still gonna be steadfast about that bullshit now that he'd been held captive by pirates for a year and found out his mother was a psycho. But he didn't need to tell Theo that.

He shrugged. "Who's to say what's right or wrong, anyway, huh? Who gets to decide?"

COYOTE

Theo considered this, and pointed questioningly to herself.

LINA

Goro suppressed a snort. Not the answer he'd been looking for, but... actually, he'd roll with it.

He cracked half a smile and pointed to her stomach.

I’ve got a feeling in my gut, she'd written. She was learning.

ABBY

Roddy had a feeling that there were some people that'd disagree. Joan, Amari, maybe others. Roddy though, he didn't know well enough if he disagreed or not.

"The important thing is everybody stays safe," he said firmly. "Well do our best to keep you safe-- but were not always there." Sometimes cause they just wandered off and let Theo fall down a well for not good reason.

COYOTE

Theo grinned when Goro pointed to her stomach, proud. She nodded at Roddy, then clambered onto his back.

She dug her heels in to prompt him to go. Bury, she signed in front of his face. Body.

ABBY

Roddy made sure Theo was settled before replying. "Oh well we were gonna dump him in the river-- but I guess you can come?"

LINA

"Yeah, sure, why not," Goro said. "Having a kid along'll throw people off. They won't think the body-shaped bundle is a body."

COYOTE

Theo drummed her heels on Roddy's shell. She was helping. This was good.

ABBY

Some time later, the body had been successfully dumped, Theo was off to finish writing out the sordid details of Roddys murder or something else equally disturbing, and Roddy had followed Goro into the library.

He fiddled around with a book for a second. Not even reading, just flipping through. He'd really freaked about that Bane thing. More than he'd thought he would.

"I knew a Bane cleric," Roddy blurted. "In the circus."

LINA

Goro looked up from the book he was reading and frowned at him. "Eh?"

ABBY

"I knew a Bane cleric. At the circus."

LINA

"Did you, now." Goro didn't know what to make of that. The creeps were spreading, maybe. Or maybe they'd just always been everywhere. You could find Maskarrans all over the place, after all.

ABBY

Roddy nodded. "She was scary." He stared at his book, continuing to flipping around in it. Remembering it, remembering... her. That wasn't good memories. It put him on edge. "I think-- I think she wanted to kill me?"

LINA

Goro yawned and flipped a page in his book. "Yeah, well, they do that. Banites. It's all their god fuckin' wants."

ABBY

Roddy nodded. Yeah-- yeah that's what they did. Cause that's what Bane wanted. And it terrified Roddy. "Y'know I don't--  I don't think I got over it. Cause any-- any time I get reminded of her I freak and-- and I hate it. Wasn't fair to you."

LINA

Goro blinked a few times at the page he was reading, then looked up at Roddy. "Eh? Not fair to me when?"

ABBY

"Early on," Roddy mumbled. "Skinning people. Freaked."

LINA

"Uh, fuckin' what?"

ABBY

Roddy wasn't being coherent. He knew that. He also knew that all he wanted to do was curl up and hide somewhere. So-- that's what he did.

Roddy bolted for Ombre's little hidey hole, empty right now, and crawled in it, and for good measure, pulled back into his shell too. He poked his head out just enough to say "Sorry," and went right back to hiding.

LINA

"Uh," Goro said again. He glanced around the room, making sure there wasn't some kinda threat he'd failed to notice. "Roddy? You alright?"

ABBY

"No," echoed out from in Roddy's shell.

LINA

"What's wrong?"

ABBY

"I don't like... talking about this. Scary."

LINA

"Well, uh." Goro winced a little. "You could just... not talk about it?" He really wanted to know what the hell the skinning people thing was about, though.

ABBY

Roddy was quiet for a second. Goro was right-- he didn't have to. But, Roddy wondered, if he didn't talk about it, how much longer would it end up festering inside?

Slowly he eased out of his shell, hugging his knees to his chest. "I think-- I think maybe-- I should? Cause I'm... I'm really scared, Goro. But I don't-- I don't think maybe, I should be so scared. I'm, I'm strong now. And I've got you, and Dad, and Pops, and-- so many others, that got my back. We've uh, we've taken down a lot of people. Should be able to take down a, a crazy cleric. Right?"

LINA

"Who? What crazy cleric?"

ABBY

"The Banite, from the circus." Roddy chewed on his lip. "Can you come over here? I'd like--" he gestured vaguely. Hugs, touches-- some form of contact. Something to ground him, remind him he wasn't alone.

LINA

Frowning, Goro got up, came over, and crouched beside the hidey hole. "Were they at the circus last winter? Y'know, with Amren and all?"

ABBY

Roddy's hand snaked out and latched on to Goro's wrist. He took a few deep breaths and focused on answering the questions. "N-no. She got run off when, when I was around Theo's age."

LINA

"Why's she bothering you, then? Sounds like she's off minding her own business."

ABBY

Roddy laughed, even though it wasn't that funny. Goro had a point. Roddy didn't make a move to get out from under the table. "Cause-- cause I knew she was trouble and nobody listened. Cause I told her that we were leaving and she killed Neal. Cause she went out of her way to terrify me for months and. And she did a real good job of it."

LINA

"Alright, well. I mean, yeah, if she shows up again, we'll kill her. Banites ain't shit. Didn't you see what you made of that asshole Julius? You got nothing to worry about, Roddy."

ABBY

Roddy nodded. Yeah-- yeah that was true. Roddy'd done that. On his own. Goro was there but, Roddy'd taken care of it, before Goro'd even had a chance to. It helped. Didn't make it better. "I think, I've been scared of her a long time. Not sure... I remember how not to be."

LINA

"Eh. Shit, kid. You're asking the wrong fuckin' guy if you want tips on not being scared of something. The world's a scary place, you ask me. Hardly a thing in it that can't hurt you some way or another." It occurred to Goro he might not be helping, strictly speaking. "But that's alright. Being scared of shit."

ABBY

Roddy looked surprised. "I thought you weren't scared of anything."

LINA

Goro snorted. "Yeah, well. Where I come from, showing fear's the same as showing weakness. I don't got time to sit around quaking in my boots. Shit to be done."

ABBY

"Huh." Roddy was gonna need a bit more time to fit that piece into the puzzle that was Goro. "Every time I think I'm starting to get you, I find out I don't."

LINA

"Frankly, good. I like to keep people guessing." Goro shook his arm a little to see if Roddy was done holding it.

ABBY

Roddy's grip tightened reflexively. He forced himself to loosen it. "Do you really want me to let go?" he asked. Sounded sad at the idea.

LINA

"Nah, whatever. I don't care. Is it helping?"

ABBY

"Yeah." Since Goro was fine, Roddy even tugged a little. "Help more if you were closer," he wheedled.

LINA

"Ehhh." Goro edged forward a tiny bit.

ABBY

Roddy studied Goro for a second, and then reached over and grabbed his arm more firmly, attempting to drag him under the table. He resisted, which Roddy figured was just surprise, but then he didn't stop so-- Roddy hurriedly let go, scooting back to give him more space.

"Uh? Goro? You... okay?"

LINA

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." Goro sat back a little, rubbing his arm and scowling. "Don't--don't drag me around. 'S'fuckin' rude."

ABBY

"Sorry. Didn't think you'd mind?" Roddy made a mental note. Goro did in fact, mind getting dragged around.

LINA

There was one person in the goddamn world who Goro didn't mind being dragged around by, but Roddy didn't need to know that. "Why the fuck wouldn't a person mind? You can't just... force someone to be somewhere they didn't decide to be. The fuck."

ABBY

"Uh. I guess I never thought about it?" Come to think of it, he'd picked up Larkin that one time and she'd got mad. He'd half-started to with Mishka once, but he hadn't seemed like he'd like that so Roddy'd quit. "I won't do it again," he said meekly.

LINA

"Good," Goro said sincerely. Then he held his arm out, offering it for Roddy to grab again.

ABBY

Roddy hesitated a second, but Goro was offering, so he latched on. "Uh. If I'm gonna talk about my traumatic backstory, I would like proper hugs? Please?"

LINA

"Oh, I don't give proper hugs," Goro said, but he leaned forward to give his sorry-ass version of one, anyway.

ABBY

Roddy snorted and squeezed him tight. "This will work." He had said he'd talk about... what happened, if he got hugs. Now that was causing the anxiety in his gut to flare up again. He started picking at material close to hand, somewhere on Goro's robe. "Where were we again?" he asked lowly. "Before I freaked out."

LINA

"I don't fuckin' know, pal. You just suddenly blurted out something about knowing a Bane cleric."

ABBY

"Yeah, I haven't been all that... coherent. Sorry." Roddy hummed a bit, thinking. "Should I maybe-- start back at the beginning then?"

LINA

Goro didn't know what more there was to say, considering they already had a plan--kill the lady, or whatever. "Go for it, I guess."

ABBY

Roddy was quiet a second, marshaling his thoughts together. "I don't remember how she joined up. Didn't seem important at the time. First time I met her, my... friend, I guess, Neal was introducing us. They'd uh, they'd hooked up. At first I thought she was... okay. Moggie nearly killed me and she-- well, she saved me. I think-- I think I didn't realize she was bad news till she, sorta threatened me with a knife."

LINA

"When you were... a kid, you said?" Goro scowled in distaste.

ABBY

"Yeah." Roddy's grip tightened a bit. "Theo's age, y'know. And... she was kinda sneaky about it too. Unless we were alone, it'd be... jokes. Implied. My par-- the Firnashes, they didn't believe me either. Thought I was just... stupid, I guess. Neal tried to tell her to cut it out but, well, she didn't listen." Neal. Roddy hadn't thought of him in a long time. It still hurt to.

LINA

"Pretty fucked up."

ABBY

"Mmmm." Roddy got quiet. This part was the hard one. "Well. When my magic first came in, it was really... unstable. I hurt people-- first thing I did was knock Amren off a wagon." He couldn't figure out if he was proud of that or not. "Lesaya-- that was her name-- she 'joked' about cutting my tongue out. The Firnashes... didn't say no. Neal did. And then, later, he said-- we should leave the circus together. Next time we hit town, we'd stay behind."

LINA

"Well, first things first, Amren fucking deserved it. Little shit."

ABBY

"Hey," Roddy protested, more out of habit than anything. Then, "Well, okay, yeah, he did."

LINA

"Hate that son of a bitch," Goro muttered.

ABBY

Roddy shifted restlessly. On the one hand, yeah Amren deserved it. On the other... Roddy kinda wished he didn't. "Can we stop trash talking my brother please?" he said. At least Lesaya wasn't complicated.

LINA

"Sure, whatever. You wanna trash talk my mother instead?"

ABBY

"Why would I wanna trash Amari?!"

LINA

Goro rolled his eyes. "Never mind."

ABBY

Roddy huffed. "I was telling a story anyway," he said, a little peeved. "I was at the part where Neal gets murdered."

LINA

"Yeah huh?"

ABBY

Right. Neal getting murdered. Roddy made another noise and squeezed tighter. "Saw it," he said tightly. "She. She tied him up and... she skinned him."

LINA

"Oh," Goro said, practically yelping. Hadn't seen that detail coming. "Uh, yikes."

ABBY

Roddy nodded, grimacing. "My fault," he mumbled. "Wasn't supposed to tell anyone we were going but I told her and then she-- she-- we couldn't even bury him." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the memories. "Too many pieces."

LINA

Goro snorted a little. "That sure as fucking hell wasn't your fault, Roddy."

ABBY

"She was crazy. I knew-- I knew I shouldn't have told her. She's why Neal told me not to say anything. And then I did and he died- he got tortured to death and. And if I'd just kept my mouth shut then..."

LINA

"Why did you tell her, anyway? What the hell possessed you to spill all to the creepy lady?"

ABBY

Roddy made a distressed noise. "She was... being mean. Talking about how nobody cared about me, how she'd... she'd show me what it meant to be Banite soon. And I just... I wanted to show she was wrong. That... Neal picked me. I think-- I think that's why she killed him."

LINA

"Nah. She killed him 'cause she was a fucking evil Banite. End of story." Then he couldn't resist adding, "But seriously, that's why you shouldn't fucking snitch."

ABBY

Roddy pulled back enough to give Goro the stink-eye and punch his arm. "I know that!" he snapped. "Jerk."

LINA

"And yet." Goro rubbed the spot he'd punched. "Still snitchin'."

ABBY

"Joan doesn't count," Roddy grumbled. "Or Dad. Or-- anyone in the family."

LINA

"Amren's your family, apparently."

ABBY

"He doesn't count," Roddy said immediately. Then, "For snitching. I shouldn't snitch to him."

LINA

"Damn straight," Goro muttered.

ABBY

"Still my brother though," Roddy grumbled. He fell quiet for a minute. The story was out and... Roddy wasn't sure if the telling, or if Goro being there was what helped, but something did. It wasn't so big, so overwhelming now.

"You reminded me of her at first," he said suddenly.

LINA

"Fuckin' what?"

ABBY

"You reminded me of her, at first," Roddy repeated helpfully.

LINA

"Fuckin' why?"

ABBY

"Skinning people."

LINA

"I never skinned anybody in my life. The fuck?"

ABBY

"Talked about it though. Sugar Glider, when we were rescuing Sugar? Wanted to send a message, and you and Larkin got the idea of skinning the bodies and hanging them overboard."

LINA

"Oh. Pfff." Goro shook his head. "Doesn't count if they're already dead."

ABBY

"Well-- yeah I guess?" Roddy wasn't entirely sure of that either. "Just... made me wonder. Where the lines were, for you. Think I've got it figured it out well enough though, now," he said.

LINA

"Y'know, Raef's skinned people alive."

ABBY

Roddy jerked back and stared at Goro, horrified. "He hasn't."

LINA

"Oh, yeah, alright. I must've dreamed that." Eh, whatever. Let Roddy have his tiny comforts.

ABBY

Goro was a liar. A very good liar. But he wasn't trying too hard this time and Roddy knew it. "Goro why. Why did you have to tell me this!" He batted at Goro's shoulder, scowling. "Now I'm gonna be freaked out at Raef! I like Raef! I didn't used to think he was scary!"

LINA

"Maybe you're coming at this all backwards, huh? Maybe instead of thinking a person's bad 'cause of what they do, maybe you gotta think, well, this person does this thing, so it can't be that bad."

ABBY

"Huh-- wha--" Roddy stared at Goro in confusion. "I said Raef was scary not bad."

LINA

"Well, then. What's the problem? I already told you, shit's scary. Everything and everyone can hurt you."

ABBY

"I'm not scared of you though! Anymore. Or anyone else in the family for that matter."

LINA

"Kid, I don't know what to tell you. I already said you're barking up the wrong tree if you want advice on not being scared of shit."

ABBY

"I don't know what I want!" Roddy cried, flapping his arms around. And banging his hand on the table, cause it was pretty cramped quarters. "Ow," he said, hugging it and sulking. "Look what you made me do."

LINA

Goro used the opportunity of Roddy moving his arms to crawl out of the hidey hole. He gave Roddy one last pat before he left. "Yeah. Huh. You really gotta work on that blaming people thing. Maybe that's something to tackle another time, though, eh."

ABBY

"Shut up," Roddy grumbled. He followed Goro out, cause he didn't feel like hiding any more. "My dad died a couple days ago, and today I relived one of the worst experiences of my life. I can sulk if I want to."

LINA

"Sulking ain't the same as blaming other people for your problems, yeesh." In fact, for Goro, it usually meant blaming himself for all problems, but that was neither here nor there.

ABBY

"Oh-- just shut up," Roddy snapped. Cause Goro was right but Roddy wasn't about to admit it while he was all riled up.

LINA

"Psh. Yeah, alright." Goro got to his feet and straightened out his robe. He didn't much wanna put effort into the help-Roddy-grow-the-hell-up department more than he already had today. "You come to me when you want help killing something, I guess."

ABBY

"Yeah yeah. I will," Roddy grumbled. "Guess I'll see you around then."

LINA

Goro waved, grabbed his book off the table, and headed upstairs.

ABBY

Roddy wandered around a second, nursing his hand and his sulk. Ugh. "Get over it, Rodger," he muttered crossly. Goro was trying to help. And that was sweet. Roddy was just gonna need a minute to get over how Goro went about it.

Maybe he'd go check on Theo, see if she'd discovered any more dead bodies.

[END]