TRP: Goro, Hansel, Mishka, and Roddy (Cell)

December 15, 2018

**Coyote:** at 7:03
PM

[Setting: Day 150, after the circus live session. Hansel,
after being possessed, was knocked unconscious. Mishka and Goro watch him while
Luci sleeps.]

Lucienne had fallen asleep nearly an hour ago. Goro leaned
against the bars, chin resting on them, watching Hansel intently. His hands
were curled tight. He didn’t seem to notice or care about the cut on his face,
still bleeding.

Mishka kept busy.

He dragged a mattress downstairs and worked it into the
cell. He brought blankets. He brought a kettle of tea that Hansel liked in case
Hansel woke. He brought cups. He brought a pillow for Goro and set it beside
him, which Goro ignored. He brought a blanket for Luci.

He checked around the entire castle several times. No
enemies. No monsters. Nothing. Safe. Safe.

He told Joan what was up. It was fine. She was on-guard. She
was guarding the top of the castle in case anything happened. She had healing
magic. She was fresh. It was fine. It was fine, it was fucking fine, and all
Mishka had to do was go sit down and wait and Hansel would wake up and then
Hansel—Hansel would either be possessed or he wouldn’t—

(What if he woke up still fucked up? Needed some kind of
contingency. Alright. He’d take Hansel to the Sanctuary, and maybe they would
have some kind of mind-healing magic there, and if not, then fucking fine,
Mishka would go on another fucking quest. Mind-healing magic. He could do that.
Seven breaths in, seven breaths out.)

He caught himself on the doorway outside the dungeon. Once
he had his breath, he went back into the dungeon and sat down, his back against
the wall.

Goro was still fucked up.

Fucking… fucking Goro. Mishka pinched the bridge of his
nose. Mishka was going to make that motherfucker heal himself.

**Lina:** at 7:21 PM

How did one go about killing a god, anyway?

Maybe Joan would know. She was the one who told Amari that
Helm was dead. If Helm could die, Gruumsh could die. And then--problem solved.

Goro watched Hansel, but the bastard never moved. He kept
breathing, though. Goro tracked every goddamn breath.

Mask... Mask was a little guy, Goro knew. Plenty sufficient
for his own purposes, most of the time. But could he take down Gruumsh?
Probably not. Who the fuck even was Gruumsh, anyway? Besides the orc god;
besides some asshole who was too big for his britches.

Maybe Iomedae could do it. Hmm, hmm. Put that in the notes
to ask Joan.

Goro was never sure if other gods could hear him, or if they
listened, but he prayed anyway, to Gruumsh or Talos or whoever the fuck.

You keep your nasty little nose out of places it doesn't
belong. He's not yours to play with and he never will be.

He probably shouldn't taunt a god, just like he shouldn't
have taunted Diva that one time. But for fuck's sake. Something had to be done.

You don't like it? Do something about it. Why don't you hit
me with more lightning? Wah, wah, wah.

If Hansel woke up now, and was still possessed, he sure
fucking could hit Goro with lightning. Hm. Could probably kill him, too. Goro
was still pretty fucked up. He could taste blood in the back of his throat,
feel the stiffness of swelling in his left eye when he blinked. Parts of his
skin, on his chest and shoulders, were still burned, stinging where they rubbed
against his charred clothing. So much the better. It kept him awake, kept him
mad.

**Coyote:** at 7:23
PM

"Hey," Mishka said. "You. Fuckin' Goro. Hey,
I'm talking to you." He snapped his fingers. "You can heal yourself,
right? Got enough charges?"

**Lina:** at 7:23 PM

"Nope. Fresh out."

**Coyote:** at 7:24
PM

"Right, right," Mishka said. "Why'd I fuckin'
ask. I'll go get Joan, then. Is that what you want? You want me to go get Joan
and make her heal you?"

**Lina:** at 7:24 PM

"Joan's busy, ain't she? Leave her be. And be quiet,
you'll wake up Luci."

**Coyote:** at 7:26
PM

"Look, if there's a fight, y'need to be healed. Fucker.
Making this difficult. Are you actually out of charges?" He squinted at
Goro. "I can't goddamn tell with you, I just automatically assumed you
were lying. What about that wand? Not the death wand, the other one. The one
that doesn't murder you."

**Lina:** at 7:27 PM

"The Foxtail wand. Ombre gave it to me. Yes, it's
fucking out. It has four charges. I healed myself, I healed Luci, I healed
Larkin, and I healed Hansel. And if you're following along real closely, you'll
also know that means I can't heal Hansel any better once he wakes up. So if
Joan has magic, she should fucking save it. Any other questions, Captain?"

**Coyote:** at 7:31
PM

"Oh, no," Mishka said. "No, you are mistaken.
I adore Hansel. Fucking light of my life. My heart and my soul and my hand. In
some cultures, you know, they say that when each soul is conceived, it's split
in two, and each body only has half a soul. And the other half of me--that's
Hansel. Anyway, long story short-- healing Hansel? No, he's staying injured. We
need to be sure we can knock him out again if we have to."

Mishka's eyes were unfocused as he talked, voice fading into
a mutter.

Then he focused on Goro again. Fine. Healing Goro could
wait. Joan might be hard to find right now, and she might need her healing
later, yeah. Had to be smart. Practical. Not time for sentimental shit. Maybe
when Luci woke. Yeah. Luci could... yeah.

**Lina:** at 7:34 PM

For the first time, Goro tore his eyes from Hansel, to look
over his shoulder and scrutinize Mishka. Laying it on a little thick, or what?
Fuck's sake. Oh yes, you're the most special, and of course you love him the
mostest-mostest. What a tragic little love story the two of you have. Goro felt
ill. He turned to watch Hansel again.

**Coyote:** at 7:36
PM

Mishka checked around. All alone. Just the two of them. And
Lucienne appeared genuinely asleep, genuinely resting.

"Hey," Mishka said, more quietly. "Are you
alright?"

**Lina:** at 7:39 PM

"Oh, I'm fuckin' superb. Glorious. Transcendent. Why do
you ask?"

Hansel had said Goro should tell him if Mishka did something
that fucked him up. That was never going to be necessary, though, because Goro
had decided in that moment to never get close enough to Mishka to get fucked
up. Granted, that had been his plan already. He was doing a great job.

So fuck Mishka for actually sounding concerned.

**Coyote:** at 7:46
PM

"Because I'm fucking concerned, you jackass. What, is
that not clear? Y'boyfriend there knocked you unconscious twice today."

**Lina:** at 7:48 PM

"No." Goro's head whipped around again.
"Fucking... Talos or Gruumsh or someone knocked me unconscious. And what
fuckin' of it? I'm awake now, aren't I?"

**Coyote:** at 7:53
PM

"Okay. Well," Mishka said. "Full disclosure,
I am losing my fucking mind. That person there, I love that person, and he-- he
might not-- I mean, what if he doesn't-- what if he doesn't fucking wake up,
you know? And I assumed-- I-- the two've you--"

I've seen the way my husband looks at you, Mishka thought to
himself. I've seen the way you look at my husband. I went to see you once you
got back from Calimport and you were in each other's arms. I'm not blind. I
assumed you cared about him. How are you not having a goddamn mental breakdown?
Are you having a goddamn mental breakdown? Let me help you.

Mishka grit his teeth.

"I assumed you were also concerned," Mishka said.
"And I assumed perhaps you were also upset."

**Lina:** at 7:56 PM

"I am fucking--" God damn it. Luci. He lowered his
voice. "I am upset. I am concerned. Putting it fucking mildly. What do you
mean, what if he doesn't wake up? Why wouldn't he wake up? Asshole."

**Coyote:** at 8:05
PM

Look at me, Mishka thought. I know you're upset. Talk to me.
I like you. I like the way Hansel likes you. I'm on your side. Let me goddamn
help you. Talk to me. Fucking look at me.

He missed the way Goro used to look at him. Mishka gritted
his teeth again. Goro had avoided him since coming home from Calimport, and
Mishka couldn't guess why. He must've done something wrong. Made a misstep.
Fucked up. He wanted to pull Goro into his bed again, and talk to him, and ask
him three questions and get three questions back. He wanted to get drunk and
make terrifying mistakes he never actually ended up regretting.

"Fuck off," Mishka said instead. "I'm on your
fucking side. I love him too. Jackass."

He grabbed one of the books he'd brought, flipped it open,
and started reading.

**Lina:** at 8:18 PM

Goro spent a few minutes calming himself back down.
Relatively speaking. From a boil to a simmer, as it were.

"So, you wanna help me kill a god?" he said.
"Since you love him soooo much and all."

**Coyote:** at 8:21
PM

Mishka turned another page in the book without looking up.
He stared at the page. He was too angry to focus enough to read it. Then, after
a long moment, he looked up.

"Y'know that thing I said about teaching you
manners?" he said.

**Lina:** at 8:21 PM

"Do you want to help me kill a god, please?"

**Coyote:** at 8:24
PM

"Haha. No, that's not what I meant. I mean, don't talk
about how I love my husband in that shitty tone of voice," Mishka said.
"See, when y'say it like that, it sounds a bit sarcastic. As if you are
suggesting I do not, in fact, love my husband. Your tone of voice, you see,
implies sarcasm. Fuck you. As if it's in question. I don't question your
goddamn feelings."

And he went back to his book.

**Lina:** at 8:28 PM

Goro loosened his grip on the bars slightly and fell back to
sit on his ass. He was so fucking tired.

"'As if it's in question,'" Goro repeated.
"Some people seem to think it is." Wasn't sure it was time to drop
Jonn's name, yet. He didn't want to sound like a goddamn loon who took the
things Jonn said at face value.

**Coyote:** at 8:29
PM

Mishka looked up. He stared at Goro over the book for a long
time.

He dog-eared one page, closed the book, and set it down.

**Lina:** at 8:32 PM

Goro raised one eyebrow. Hell, no time like the present.
"Heard you tried to get him to kill himself."

**Coyote:** at 8:46
PM

Mishka felt all the air leave his chest, like someone had
physically hit him. “Is that what Hansel told you happened?” he managed.

Fuck. God. Damn. Fuck. He thought he’d—cleared the air about
that, already. He wasn’t making excuses for himself, but that wasn’t what
happened. Factually. It wasn’t. And he’d explained that, and explained his side
of things, and what it had looked like. It was still bad; really fucking bad;
Mishka had no illusions about himself, he knew he was a fucking parasite.

But he’d thought Hansel had believed him.

It was insane to Mishka that Hansel would still believe
Mishka had tried to taunt him into suicide. It was insane that Hansel would
still… come to his bed, and kiss him, and call him ahuvi, and protect him,
while believing that Mishka had done that. But maybe Hansel would. Hansel,
apparently, had believed it the entire time the mess with Diva was happening,
and he’d still kissed Mishka then, and held him, and protected him. Mishka
hadn’t explained until long afterwards.

Mishka rested his head in his hands. He was going to have to
fucking fix this with Hansel, somehow.

**Lina:** at 8:58 PM

"It's what Jonn said happened. Hansel didn't deny it.
Well..." He sort of had. "He didn't deny it very well, let's
say."

**Coyote:** at 9:00
PM

Denied it. But not well. Maybe like Hansel half-believed it,
then? Seemed unsure?

"Well, Jonn," Mishka said, flicking his fingers
dismissively. "I'm sure he believes it."

**Lina:** at 9:02 PM

"Maybe tell me what fucking happened, and then I can
decide if I believe it."

**Coyote:** at 9:04
PM

"Why?"

**Lina:** at 9:07 PM

Goro put his hands in the air and looked around the room,
like he thought it was obvious. "So I can decide if I want to kill you or
not. Now, don't get me wrong." He held up a finger. "I'm not going to
kill you. You'd probably roast me if I tried. Plus, it'd make Hansel sad, or
whatever. But I'd like to know whether I want to kill you or not."

**Coyote:** at 9:26
PM

Mishka stared at Goro, again, this time… eyes a bit wide. He
was so fucking caught off-guard he couldn’t stop the split second of emotion
that crossed his face.

Then he closed it off again.

He thought of the way Goro had carefully avoided him since
Calimport. He thought of the way Goro had shrunk away from him on deck of the
Sugar Glider. He thought of Goro sitting beside him outside the estate, saying
Why wouldn’t I be scared of you? He thought of Goro lying in bed with him
inside the captain’s quarters of the ship. Looking at him softly. Saying I’m
just sorry to hear you killed him, because I would’ve liked to had a go at it.

He thought about Goro taking his wrist and saying Show me
how you want me to touch you.

He thought about the fact that he’d slept beside in bed with
Goro while Goro was armed, in the same room, right there, could’ve killed him
any fucking time.

Goro stared him down. His eyes were that same flat, intense
shade of gray they always were. Fucking unnerving. Mishka had fucking liked it.

So I can decide if I want to kill you or not, Goro had said.

It felt like being kicked in the teeth. And Mishka didn’t
fucking know why he kept talking to this kid, why he kept coming back to him,
after getting kicked in the teeth so many times. Mishka took a breath. Mentally
re-evaluated everything. Shifted Goro back into the unsafe category, put a
fucking lock on it. Too dangerous.

Goro kept catching him off-guard. Since the very first time
they met. Mishka just wished he didn’t fucking like it.

"Fine," Mishka said. "Then decide you want to
kill me. I don't give a fuck."

**Lina:** at 9:39 PM

What in Mask's name. Mishka looked like Goro had actually
managed to spook him. Was fucking true, what Goro said, that Mishka could fry
him easily if he tried to hurt him.

Maybe Mishka just... hadn't considered that Goro would ever
do that to him. And that'd been true, up until--oh, about three days ago.

"Let's not be so hasty," Goro said. "I've got
no reason to want to kill you if it's not true. The thing about me, Mishka, is
I get a little bit... protective. Some might say overly protective. Some might
say, oh, you know, murderous rage, if somebody tries to hurt the people I love.
Hence, you know." He smiled and pointed at the sky. "The god killing
stuff."

He'd told Mishka he loved him, once. In the warehouse.
Mishka had been there, and Goro had shouted it to the whole room. He hadn't
exactly been in the mood to carefully pick apart each individual in front of
him and decide Love this one, not that one, that one only sort of. They were
his team, and he loved them, period. Mishka was included.

Mishka was... maybe, sort of, definitely included while they
were sailing to Calimport. But Goro had talked himself out of that, thinking it
had only been a fling. Granted, he'd thought the same thing about Hansel, and
look what fucking happened there.

Hansel had warned him about Mishka, though. Mishka was not a
safe person to love. Goro would sure as hell like to find out why.

"So tell me, please? I'd like to hear your side of the
story. Jonn's full of shit."

**Coyote:** at 9:41
PM

Mishka set the book down again, pushed himself up, and
walked out of the room.

**Lina:** at 9:43 PM

Fucking hell. Goro was going to have to Zone of Truth all
these assholes one day. He turned back toward Hansel and rested his forehead against
the bars. Out of the corner of his eye, noticed the pillow Mishka had brought
him. Fuck, it looked comfortable.

**Coyote:** at 9:47
PM

Mishka walked back into the room a minute later with a
bottle of brandy. He sat down, cross-legged.

He'd calculated it out on the walk while he was grabbing the
brandy. Goro was badly hurt right now. If he did, in fact, snap and try to
strangle Mishka, he'd be easy to fight off. Hansel was unconscious, which meant
he didn't have to listen to this conversation, which was good too.

This was good. If he was going to fucking explain, he might
as well do it now. Made tactical sense.

He sat down and took two shots. "I'm not gonna be
fuckin' sober for this conversation," he muttered. "For the record,
this isn't gonna make me look better. Frankly, it's just gonna make me look
worse."

**Lina:** at 9:50 PM

Goro frowned. He shifted around so he was sitting facing
Mishka. After a moment, grabbed the pillow and propped it behind him, cushioning
it between himself and the bars.

**Coyote:** at 10:09
PM

Mishka thought about asking: What did Hansel tell you? But
that would just be a delaying tactic. Better to just… fucking get it over with.

Mishka found his tongue. "Hansel and I were married
for… a few months," he said. "Less than a year. And then… and then I
left him, yeah, or he left me, or—it doesn’t fuckin’ matter. I drove him away,
but it still fucking hurt he left.

Mishka turned his head. “And then his ship wrecked, and I
thought he was dead. For three fucking months, it was my own personal hell. I
thought I’d done it. I thought I’d killed him. I grieved. My husband was dead.
And then...” His gripped tightened on the bottle. “Months later, I found out he
had survived. In Skyport. Fucking avoiding me. Avoiding me, when I
could’ve—when I could’ve helped him. But he was-- half-dead, somehow. Wasted
away, and catatonic. I didn't know what had happened. I tried to speak to him
and bring him back to me so I could help him. I left him notes. I left him…
fucking poetry, and fucking flowers. And he wouldn’t even look at me.”

He paused. This part was harder.

"And then Kheman came to me,” Mishka said.

His voice rasped. “Kheman told me told me that Hansel had
murdered and ate the entire crew." He hated revisiting this. "When I
was younger-- it's not important, maybe it doesn't matter, it's not a.. fucking
excuse... but when I was younger, y'know, kids in my family, they get their
fortunes read. They used to tell me I'd be an adver-lese. Dunno if you know
that word, it's rude. The literal translation is wolf-fucker, dog-fucker, but
it, ah. Refers to elves who... lie with orcs. Orcs, y'know, they're the enemy,
they're adver. Cannibals and rapists and murderers."

He took a deep drink of brandy and wiped his mouth.

“My whole life, everyone told me I was sick,” Mishka said.
“I was told the person I loved as a fucking murderer and a beast. And then
Hansel murdered and ate my entire crew, and for… for the first time, I believed
it.”

He capped the bottle and put it down. “And I still fucking
loved him.”

He put his head in his hands. “I hated myself for it,” he
said. “I was angry. I’d let him touch me. I still wanted him to touch me. I
wanted to break things. I wanted to be in control, stop thinking about him, so…
I lashed out. I figured if I hit hard enough, he'd show his true colors and
lash back and then I could hate him.”

He let his hands fall again. No point in hiding his face.
Wouldn’t make it better. "But he didn't react, wouldn't even fucking blink
at it. I sent him letters and he didn't respond. I threatened his son and he
walked out of the room without even glancing at me. None of it seemed to affect
him." Mishka made a small, angry noise.

He caught his breath. "And then he... came to me, and
he told me--'

It'd be easier if you just fucking killed me, Hansel had
said.

"He came to me," Mishka said. "And he told me
I should just fucking kill him already. And once I realized what I'd done to
him, I couldn't fucking do it anymore."

**Lina:** at 10:13 PM

Goro said nothing. He let Mishka tell the whole story and he
didn't react at all, careful to keep his face completely neutral.

He watched Mishka intently.

"Hm," he said at last.

**Coyote:** at 10:21
PM

"And then I broke down, and I explained everything,”
Mishka said. “And he kissed my hair and told me he'd help me figure it out.” He
looked at Hansel through the bars. “I didn’t know about the voice in the storm
or the fact something had possessed him. I didn’t fucking know, Goro. I didn’t
even ask. I didn’t give a shit. All I knew was that I had my husband back and I
was so fucking weak I couldn’t keep away anymore, even if we hurt each other.
Maybe it's fucked. I don't know.”

He put his head down again. "And then the Diva thing
happened right after, and... the first fucking thing you both did was come
right for me."

Don’t be afraid, Hansel had said. I’m gonna get that thing
out of you, Hansel had said.

When Goro killed him, saved him, and brought him back to
life, Mishka had been fucked up. He was completely incapable of making himself
do things like eat and sleep. He had panic attacks every time he was alone. And
Hansel had just... been right there, protecting Mishka like nothing had
happened.

Mishka wasn’t in control of this any longer. He was
helplessly infatuated with his husband, always had been, and always would be.
Even knowing Hansel had murdered and eaten their entire crew, Mishka had
crawled into Hansel’s arms and hidden there until it was safe to come out
again. Believing, against all logic, that Hansel wouldn’t hurt him.

Made no sense. But he was sick of trying to talk himself out
of it.

**Lina:** at 10:27 PM

Goro tried to tell himself it was all the stress of the day
catching up to him. Almost dying a couple times. The fear of what was going to
happen to Hansel. The fucking anger, even, at whatever god he was going after.

But the truth was, crying was apparently just something Goro
did, now.

He held Mishka in his gaze, unblinking, for as long as he
could. Until his eyes were burning and he thought he was going to choke. Then
he swiped at the first tear that escaped, pulled up his knees, and buried his
face against them.

**Coyote:** at 10:31
PM

Mishka sat up involuntarily, before he could catch himself.
What? What had he done? Why was Goro crying?

He wet his lips. "Ah," he said. Don't ask if he's
alright. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. "Are you-- are you alright? What's
wrong?" He checked around the room. Still no threats. Hm.

**Lina:** at 10:40 PM

Goro shook his head. He lifted his face from his knees and
sniffed, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand. "I wanted you to...
I wanted you to say you'd hurt him. That you ruined him on purpose."

He hid his face again and took a few shaking breaths. His
heart pounded. He didn't know why he was saying this, except that it... felt
like a release, to get it out. Something heavy to let go of. "I wanted to
know you were wrong for him. Horrible. Because then maybe he'd leave you,
and... love me instead." He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head,
wiping away a few more tears. "I know there's no instead. I know he can
love me too. But... not like he does you."

He curled up again, hiding in a cave made out of his arms,
and shuddered while he cried.

**Coyote:** at 10:48
PM

For a split second, Mishka thought: That was fine. He was
horrible for Hansel, and Hansel was going to leave him. These were facts. Goro
would be happy with that.

But then he just sort've... skipped over those thoughts.

He didn't have the time to feel sorry for himself. There
were other, more important things happening. He kept watching Goro, instead.
Goro was upset. Goro was fucking crying. Mishka set the brandy aside. He
shifted over to sit next to Goro, testing to see if that reaction was okay, if
Goro pushed him away.

**Lina:** at 10:50 PM

Goro sat up abruptly, eyeing Mishka warily, blinking to
clear his eyes.

**Coyote:** at 10:54
PM

"Hey, hey," he said. "Neye. Come here."
He opened his arms a little. "You can still shank me. Maybe some other
time when you're not half-dead. That'll be good, right? You can have Hansel all
to yourself, then. I mean, you'll have to make it look like an accident,
naturally, but you're clever, maybe you'll find a way."

**Lina:** at 10:57 PM

"Please shut up," Goro said, as he scooted closer
and rested his head carefully on Mishka's shoulder.

**Coyote:** at 10:57
PM

Mishka snorted. He wrapped his arms around Goro. "You
can't tell me what to do. You're not Hansel."

**Lina:** at 11:02 PM

Being in Mishka's arms again felt... strange.

So familiar, but entirely different now, too. Well, not
entirely. Goro could feel himself giving in, relaxing into that strange comfort
he'd come to know so well on the trip to Calimport. Comforting in the way that
being rocked by a ship in a storm was comforting.

This was an unusual case, he told himself. Hansel was hurt,
in more ways than one. Both Goro and Mishka were upset about it. What choice
did they have, but to hold each other?

That was all. That was all.

**Coyote:** at 11:15
PM

Mishka kissed the top of Goro's hair. Hansel always did
that, and Mishka had always liked it.

Goro was half fucking dead. He thought about the dagger in
his boot, the rapier at his hip. Dimension stepping; he could do that too, if
he had too. Fireball the kid, if needed. Dagger. Rapier. Teleportation. All
good. Goro wasn't safe, but it was fine. Mishka would just stay awake.

He started working through ideas. He'd casually considered
the idea of having some threeway fun in bed sometime, if he and Hansel started
sleeping together again, but that was out of fucking question, now. Well,
actually. Maybe if Goro was tied up again. Helpless, no weapons, and naked.
That might be okay. That sounded pretty fucking good, actually.

But that thing that had happened on the ship--

That wasn't happening again. Mishka tightened his jaw. Goro
had wanted to believe it. Goro had wanted to believe that he'd ruined Hansel on
purpose so Hansel would leave him.

Goro had wanted to hate him enough to kill him.

Goro hadn't wanted Mishka to have a reasonable story. Goro
preferred the version where Mishka got shanked in the middle of the night.
Fucking... fuck.

It was fine. He'd deal with it. Goro loved Hansel. That was
good. At night, Hansel could go to sleep with Goro, sometimes; Mishka could
share. Mishka would have the bedroom to himself. He'd lock the door tight and
shove a door under the handle and not fucking think about it.

**Lina:** at 11:33 PM

He felt heavy, and warm.

A sense of security, laced with anxiety. No, no he was not
safe right now, there was something wrong. It was... Hansel, he was hurt,
and...

Goro jerked out of his doze with a gasp, sitting up straight
and looking around. Footsteps. He'd heard footsteps. But Roddy and Luci were
still sound asleep, Hansel was out, and Mishka was sitting right next to him.

"Did you hear that?" he said to Mishka. God, it
was fucking cold. "Was there somebody in here?"

**Coyote:** at 11:34
PM

"Hear-- what? No." Mishka was on his feet in an
instant. He began checking around the room.

**Lina:** at 11:38 PM

Goro's hair stood on end, and he chafed his arms. God,
hadn't Joan said something about... ah, and he'd just laughed her off.

He'd have to go apologize to her, once he got the chance.
His skin was crawling. Whatever it was he'd felt didn't seem to be here
anymore, but he was pretty damn sure there'd been something.

He shifted around to face Hansel again, make sure he was
still breathing.

**Coyote:** at 11:40
PM

"Ha," Mishka said. "Joan said something about
a wraith in the woods. Keeps saying she smells something undead. Maybe it's in
the castle now."

**Izzy:** at 11:47 PM

He thought he heard thunder, a low distant sound, but it
faded as he woke. It was quiet. He was on his stomach, in a bed, but it was --
cold and damp -- not the castle -- not his ship -- and fuck, fuck, everything
hurt. He cracked an eye open. No, it was the castle. All out of focus, but --
the dungeon. Bars.

Yeah, that was fucking smart. God, he loved these
motherfuckers.

His eye drifted closed again. Every part of him felt heavy.
Fuck, he was in so much pain. They'd done so fucking good. What a fucking
relief.

He remembered every fucking second of it. It'd been
different this time. He'd been -- awake. Not fucking starving to death and half
out of his mind already, he guessed. It hadn't helped him fight against it --
maybe -- maybe a bit, at the beginning. He wasn't sure. But he was clear, this
time, that he hadn't fucking wanted to hurt his crew. The thing in the sky --
it was responsible.

Hansel hadn't murdered his friends.

He coughed, and choked on blood, and started laughing --
half-crying, but laughing, hoarse and quiet and broken as he covered his face
with one hand. Ah, fuck, that fucking hurt. God. Fuck. It'd been smart of them
to not heal him, but still, fuck.

**Lina:** at 11:52 PM

Goro jolted to attention, shifting back into a crouch. He
gripped the bars so hard his knuckles turned white. And he watched. Oh, please.
Oh, please.

Hansel could kill him. If he attacked him right now with
lightning, or grabbed for his throat through the bars, he could kill him.

"Hansel?" he whispered.

**Coyote:** at 11:56
PM

Mishka’s breath caught. His pulse was pounding so fast it
felt like his heart was going to burst.

Wasn’t fucking time for sentimentality. Plan. Stick to the
plan. He moved away, far enough from Goro so that if Hansel lashed out with a
lightning attack, it would only hit one of them.

He dug a list out of his pocket.

December 16, 2018

**Muse:** at 10:13 AM

Roddy had been trying to sleep. Fitfully dozing in in starts
and stops. And then he heard noises and sounds and- that sounded like Hansel.

He didn't think he'd ever gotten up so fast in his life,
bolting over and clanging into the cell bars. "Hansel? Are you back to
being you? You're not still gonna try and kill us all are you?"

Had left the Gekker back in the other cell. Spells were low.
And Roddy didn't want to help hurt his dad again.

**Izzy:** at 11:59 AM

Hansel's laugh faded. He dragged his hand away from his
face, shifted a little so that he could see with both eyes, which -- fucking
hurt, unsurprisingly -- and didn't even help much. Still fuzzy. Everything
beyond the bars was unfocused.

There were other shapes, person shapes -- curled up and
lumpy, one standing back, but closest -- right against the bars -- he thought
one was Goro. The rough shape of him. And Roddy, more distinctive, his voice
but not the actual words filtering through.

Hansel reached out vaguely for them, instinctively.

**Coyote:** at 12:10
PM

Hansel reached out his hand towards them. Mishka thought: He
needs me, he fucking needs me, need to hold him, check him over. Mishka wanted
to lay Hansel's head in his lap and wipe away the crusted blood. Give him water
and wash away the grime and sweat.

He wanted to hold Hansel and whisper that Hansel had done so
well. Wanted to whisper: I saw you fighting it. I love you. I love you. Look at
me. You did so well. I have you. You're safe.

He didn't, though.

Plans. Practicality. "Hansel," Mishka called
quietly through the bars. "Neshama. You are safe. You're in the dungeons
beneath the castle. I need you to respond, alright? You took a blow to the head
during the fight, I think, and you were possessed. I want to make sure you're
all there. I need you to tell me who you are, and who I am, and where we
are."

Hansel hadn't responded yet. Mishka wanted to fucking
believe everything was okay and Hansel was back to his regular self, but there
was a chance something had gotten fucked up.

**Muse:** at 12:23 PM

That looked like Hansel. Roddy jerked at the door, rattling
the bars- but it was locked. Where were the keys? Roddy let go and started
looking around frantically- didn't see them.

A second later Mishka's questions penetrated the panicked
fog in his brain. Right. They- still weren't sure Hansel was back to being
Hansel. This was worse than the Diva-thing, at least with her you knew. Gruumsh
or Talos or whoever-this-was... Roddy sank down back by the bars. Watching,
waiting, hoping that his dad was back to being his dad.

**Lina:** at 12:41 PM

Goro stood his ground, heart beating faster. He shifted
subtly, preparing himself to get up and run.

None of his spells had worked before. Everything he'd tried
had failed.

**Izzy:** at 12:55 PM

Hansel's fingers curled. Another voice. Mishka. God, he
hadn't hurt Mishka; motherfucker had dodged right away from him. Hansel
couldn't tell if he fought like himself, or -- like something else. Couldn't
feel it. But if he'd seemed like himself then all that time he and Mishka had
spent sparring, learning the way each other moved -- might've saved Mishka's
goddamn life. He'd been so close. Hansel could have crushed him.

He should spar with all of them. Help them. For when it
happened again. It was going to happen again -- he was going to fucking be
prepared this time.

Sounds were still coming to him underwater. Mishka sounded
calm and he thought he heard his name, heard neshama, but the rest was just
noise. He wanted to tell them -- that he was okay. That he was so fucking
relieved, and grateful, and he loved them so fucking much.

It came out as a groan in the back of his throat. Couldn't
concentrate. He closed his eyes -- couldn't fucking see anyway -- trying to
find some words, trying to make his body work again. Felt like he was the one
who'd been electrocuted.

He managed to mumble, "Motek."

**Muse:** at 1:01 PM

That wasn't- that didn't answer Mishka's questions. But it
sounded like Hansel. Roddy glanced over at Mishka, doubt and fear reflected in
his eyes. "Do you think that's- him?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

**Coyote:** at 1:03
PM

Fuck. Mishka felt like all the air was dragged out of him.
Maybe it wasn't okay. He hadn't realized he'd been hoping. He'd believed, deep
in his gut, that Hansel was okay now, but maybe he really wasn't.

Maybe. Maybe.

Goro was out of magic. Mishka knelt beside the small girl
resting against the wall and shook her gently. "Lucienne. Child. I need
you to do something very specific." Voice calm and level. "Hansel is
awake. We're not certain if he's all there or not. I need you to heal him, but
only a little. Twenty percent, let's say. Can you do that? Without going into
the cell or touching him? It isn't safe."

**Izzy:** at 1:49 PM

Lucienne woke at the gentle contact, dazed but quickly
coming alert. Roddy was by the bars, now, and Goro exactly where he'd been when
she'd drifted off. She hadn't rested enough to recover her magic, but yes --
yes, she could do this. She nodded and uncurled herself from around her staff,
dragging her feet the couple steps over to the cell.

Hansel was awake. That didn't mean anything, or -- or she
didn't know what it meant. He wasn't moving, and his eyes weren't open, but he
must have shown some sign of life, before.

She sniffled and tucked her staff into her elbow as she
pressed her palms together to murmur in Celestial. She hadn't thought to use
it, during the fight, to try calming or commanding him; she'd been too busy
trying to keep his friends from dying. Furtive prayers and grabbing at Goro's
robe when he fell unconscious. Hansel would be so upset if he died. That was
all she'd thought.

She caught herself with a hand against Roddy's shell as
channeling the magic drained her a little bit more.

- - -

Hansel felt magic trickle into him -- barely anything, like
a bandage on a severed limb, but something. The world became a little clearer.
More painful, of fucking course, but he could hear the constant drip in the
dungeon now, still far away, and when he opened his eyes again he could see
more clearly. Roddy and Goro, and Luci between them, and Mishka, holding back,
looking tense.

They all looked tense. Waiting on him. Ah, fuck. He'd tried
to say something before but now he wasn't sure it'd actually come out. He
flexed his fingers again -- fuck, yeah, still felt charred -- and tried again.

"Hey," he croaked. "M'okay." Seemed like
a bit of an overstatement, but he figured it was what they needed to hear.

**Lina:** at 1:54 PM

Goro sprang to his feet and grabbed for the handle to the
cell door, shaking and rattling it like he'd lost every bit of sense remaining
in his head. He knew it was fucking locked. "Who's got the keys," he
said, and swung around to yell it at everyone. "Who's got the keys?"

**Muse:** at 3:23 PM

That was Hansel. Roddy whirled around- barely remembering to
catch Luci as she seemed about to fall over. "Yeah! Let him out! I don't
have the keys!"

**Coyote:** at 3:25
PM

Mishka let out his breath. He glanced at Hansel-- seemed
himself. He didn't talked when possessed. Not possessed anymore. It was okay.
It was okay.

He pulled the keys out of his boot and unlocked the door,
then stepped back, stepped aside for the other two. Important thing was that
Hansel was okay. He'd let them go first. Mishka watched the entrances and exits
to make sure everything stayed safe.

**Lina:** at 3:27 PM

Goro stepped back to let Roddy go ahead. Eyed Mishka warily,
arms crossed. Took another step back.

**Muse:** at 3:29 PM

Roddy was oblivious to any tension between Mishka and Goro
and charged ahead, crouching down by Hansel. "You are okay right?" he
asked. "You don't look okay." Still looked really beat up from the
fight- Roddy should go get his lute and do some healing- but he wanted to make
sure Hansel was okay first. "You're gonna be okay," he said instead,
trying to find a less-injured area to pat reassuringly.

**Izzy:** at 3:31 PM

Hansel winced. He wanted to hug the kid, but he didn't have
it in him right now. "All good," he mumbled. "You hurt?"

**Muse:** at 3:33 PM

"Kinda- no, no I'm fine." Not supposed to lie to
Hansel- but this was a reassuring lie that was okay right? Assuming Hansel
hadn't noticed his abrupt correction. "It's- you're fine. I'm fine.
Nobody- nobody died and that's the important thing."

**Izzy:** at 3:35 PM

"Yeah." He closed his eyes and reached out to
absently pat whatever part of the kid he could reach first. "S'gonna be
... fine. Did good, Roddy." Fuck, he was tired. Talking wasn't supposed to
be tiring. "Real fuckin' proud."

**Muse:** at 3:37 PM

"Hansel?" Roddy grabbed for his wrist, trying to
find a pulse. Still- still there. Right. Good. Just- sleeping again. That was
fine. Oh- Mishka, Goro and Luci were still hanging around. Roddy turned around
to face them. "He's um. I think he's sleeping again."

**Coyote:** at 3:46
PM

"Alright." Mishka let his breath out.
"Alright." This was good. This was way fucking better than Mishka had
hoped.

"Here's the plan," Mishka said, in a calm, level
voice.

His eyes shifted to Luci. "Heal Hansel. About halfway,
at this point. I think it's safe enough for that. Heal Goro too. All the way,
if you can. We're going to need him if another fight breaks out."

He pointed to Roddy. "You. Help me carry him. We'll get
him up to his room." Only one entrance and exit to Hansel's room. They
could lock him in there if they had to. The doors in this castle were solid oak,
and the hinges were iron. "After that, someone watches him at all times.
Not fucking all of us, alright? One or two people at a fucking time, so the
rest can rest and guard and eat and get things done."

**Lina:** at 3:55 PM

Goro waved Luci off as Mishka and Roddy lifted Hansel and
carried him out of the cell. "I'm fine," he told her. "Heal
yourself, and if you've got magic left after that, save it."

**Coyote:** at 4:14
PM

Lucienne did as she was bid. Mishka staggered a little under
Hansel's weight; Mishka was still at full strength, but Hansel was fucking
heavy.

Roddy caught most of it. He had a determined look on his
face. Mishka helped guide the body up the stairs through the trapdoor, but...
Roddy carried him, mostly. Mishka rested his hand on Roddy's a moment, fondly,
without quite thinking about it. They took the body to Hansel's room and set
him in bed.

It all worked out. Mishka collapsed in a chair, so fucking
relieved.

He closed his eyes. He remembered how when Diva had
possessed him, they had all scattered, shouting different things, lost, no
plan. While Mishka wrecked the ship.

That's not what happened this time. They'd worked together
and taken Hansel down. This new disaster felt different. They were a team now,
somehow. They each had a goal. They each had a function.

They could do this.

They could save Hansel.

[end]

Final Title: Goro, Hansel, Mishka, and Roddy (Cell)

Suggested Summary: While Hansel is unconscious, Mishka tells
Goro the full story of why he lashed out at Hansel, and why they got back
together. Goro breaks down and admits he's jealous. Hansel wakes up; he's okay,
and the party is concerned.

December 15, 2018

**Coyote:** at 7:03
PM

[Setting: Day 150, after the circus live session. Hansel,
after being possessed, was knocked unconscious. Mishka and Goro watch him while
Luci sleeps.]

Lucienne had fallen asleep nearly an hour ago. Goro leaned
against the bars, chin resting on them, watching Hansel intently. His hands
were curled tight. He didn’t seem to notice or care about the cut on his face,
still bleeding.

Mishka kept busy.

He dragged a mattress downstairs and worked it into the
cell. He brought blankets. He brought a kettle of tea that Hansel liked in case
Hansel woke. He brought cups. He brought a pillow for Goro and set it beside
him, which Goro ignored. He brought a blanket for Luci.

He checked around the entire castle several times. No
enemies. No monsters. Nothing. Safe. Safe.

He told Joan what was up. It was fine. She was on-guard. She
was guarding the top of the castle in case anything happened. She had healing
magic. She was fresh. It was fine. It was fine, it was fucking fine, and all
Mishka had to do was go sit down and wait and Hansel would wake up and then
Hansel—Hansel would either be possessed or he wouldn’t—

(What if he woke up still fucked up? Needed some kind of
contingency. Alright. He’d take Hansel to the Sanctuary, and maybe they would
have some kind of mind-healing magic there, and if not, then fucking fine,
Mishka would go on another fucking quest. Mind-healing magic. He could do that.
Seven breaths in, seven breaths out.)

He caught himself on the doorway outside the dungeon. Once
he had his breath, he went back into the dungeon and sat down, his back against
the wall.

Goro was still fucked up.

Fucking… fucking Goro. Mishka pinched the bridge of his
nose. Mishka was going to make that motherfucker heal himself.

**Lina:** at 7:21 PM

How did one go about killing a god, anyway?

Maybe Joan would know. She was the one who told Amari that
Helm was dead. If Helm could die, Gruumsh could die. And then--problem solved.

Goro watched Hansel, but the bastard never moved. He kept
breathing, though. Goro tracked every goddamn breath.

Mask... Mask was a little guy, Goro knew. Plenty sufficient
for his own purposes, most of the time. But could he take down Gruumsh?
Probably not. Who the fuck even was Gruumsh, anyway? Besides the orc god;
besides some asshole who was too big for his britches.

Maybe Iomedae could do it. Hmm, hmm. Put that in the notes
to ask Joan.

Goro was never sure if other gods could hear him, or if they
listened, but he prayed anyway, to Gruumsh or Talos or whoever the fuck.

You keep your nasty little nose out of places it doesn't
belong. He's not yours to play with and he never will be.

He probably shouldn't taunt a god, just like he shouldn't
have taunted Diva that one time. But for fuck's sake. Something had to be done.

You don't like it? Do something about it. Why don't you hit
me with more lightning? Wah, wah, wah.

If Hansel woke up now, and was still possessed, he sure
fucking could hit Goro with lightning. Hm. Could probably kill him, too. Goro
was still pretty fucked up. He could taste blood in the back of his throat,
feel the stiffness of swelling in his left eye when he blinked. Parts of his
skin, on his chest and shoulders, were still burned, stinging where they rubbed
against his charred clothing. So much the better. It kept him awake, kept him
mad.

**Coyote:** at 7:23
PM

"Hey," Mishka said. "You. Fuckin' Goro. Hey,
I'm talking to you." He snapped his fingers. "You can heal yourself,
right? Got enough charges?"

**Lina:** at 7:23 PM

"Nope. Fresh out."

**Coyote:** at 7:24
PM

"Right, right," Mishka said. "Why'd I fuckin'
ask. I'll go get Joan, then. Is that what you want? You want me to go get Joan
and make her heal you?"

**Lina:** at 7:24 PM

"Joan's busy, ain't she? Leave her be. And be quiet,
you'll wake up Luci."

**Coyote:** at 7:26
PM

"Look, if there's a fight, y'need to be healed. Fucker.
Making this difficult. Are you actually out of charges?" He squinted at
Goro. "I can't goddamn tell with you, I just automatically assumed you
were lying. What about that wand? Not the death wand, the other one. The one
that doesn't murder you."

**Lina:** at 7:27 PM

"The Foxtail wand. Ombre gave it to me. Yes, it's
fucking out. It has four charges. I healed myself, I healed Luci, I healed
Larkin, and I healed Hansel. And if you're following along real closely, you'll
also know that means I can't heal Hansel any better once he wakes up. So if
Joan has magic, she should fucking save it. Any other questions, Captain?"

**Coyote:** at 7:31
PM

"Oh, no," Mishka said. "No, you are mistaken.
I adore Hansel. Fucking light of my life. My heart and my soul and my hand. In
some cultures, you know, they say that when each soul is conceived, it's split
in two, and each body only has half a soul. And the other half of me--that's
Hansel. Anyway, long story short-- healing Hansel? No, he's staying injured. We
need to be sure we can knock him out again if we have to."

Mishka's eyes were unfocused as he talked, voice fading into
a mutter.

Then he focused on Goro again. Fine. Healing Goro could
wait. Joan might be hard to find right now, and she might need her healing
later, yeah. Had to be smart. Practical. Not time for sentimental shit. Maybe
when Luci woke. Yeah. Luci could... yeah.

**Lina:** at 7:34 PM

For the first time, Goro tore his eyes from Hansel, to look
over his shoulder and scrutinize Mishka. Laying it on a little thick, or what?
Fuck's sake. Oh yes, you're the most special, and of course you love him the
mostest-mostest. What a tragic little love story the two of you have. Goro felt
ill. He turned to watch Hansel again.

**Coyote:** at 7:36
PM

Mishka checked around. All alone. Just the two of them. And
Lucienne appeared genuinely asleep, genuinely resting.

"Hey," Mishka said, more quietly. "Are you
alright?"

**Lina:** at 7:39 PM

"Oh, I'm fuckin' superb. Glorious. Transcendent. Why do
you ask?"

Hansel had said Goro should tell him if Mishka did something
that fucked him up. That was never going to be necessary, though, because Goro
had decided in that moment to never get close enough to Mishka to get fucked
up. Granted, that had been his plan already. He was doing a great job.

So fuck Mishka for actually sounding concerned.

**Coyote:** at 7:46
PM

"Because I'm fucking concerned, you jackass. What, is
that not clear? Y'boyfriend there knocked you unconscious twice today."

**Lina:** at 7:48 PM

"No." Goro's head whipped around again.
"Fucking... Talos or Gruumsh or someone knocked me unconscious. And what
fuckin' of it? I'm awake now, aren't I?"

**Coyote:** at 7:53
PM

"Okay. Well," Mishka said. "Full disclosure,
I am losing my fucking mind. That person there, I love that person, and he-- he
might not-- I mean, what if he doesn't-- what if he doesn't fucking wake up,
you know? And I assumed-- I-- the two've you--"

I've seen the way my husband looks at you, Mishka thought to
himself. I've seen the way you look at my husband. I went to see you once you
got back from Calimport and you were in each other's arms. I'm not blind. I
assumed you cared about him. How are you not having a goddamn mental breakdown?
Are you having a goddamn mental breakdown? Let me help you.

Mishka grit his teeth.

"I assumed you were also concerned," Mishka said.
"And I assumed perhaps you were also upset."

**Lina:** at 7:56 PM

"I am fucking--" God damn it. Luci. He lowered his
voice. "I am upset. I am concerned. Putting it fucking mildly. What do you
mean, what if he doesn't wake up? Why wouldn't he wake up? Asshole."

**Coyote:** at 8:05
PM

Look at me, Mishka thought. I know you're upset. Talk to me.
I like you. I like the way Hansel likes you. I'm on your side. Let me goddamn
help you. Talk to me. Fucking look at me.

He missed the way Goro used to look at him. Mishka gritted
his teeth again. Goro had avoided him since coming home from Calimport, and
Mishka couldn't guess why. He must've done something wrong. Made a misstep.
Fucked up. He wanted to pull Goro into his bed again, and talk to him, and ask
him three questions and get three questions back. He wanted to get drunk and
make terrifying mistakes he never actually ended up regretting.

"Fuck off," Mishka said instead. "I'm on your
fucking side. I love him too. Jackass."

He grabbed one of the books he'd brought, flipped it open,
and started reading.

**Lina:** at 8:18 PM

Goro spent a few minutes calming himself back down.
Relatively speaking. From a boil to a simmer, as it were.

"So, you wanna help me kill a god?" he said.
"Since you love him soooo much and all."

**Coyote:** at 8:21
PM

Mishka turned another page in the book without looking up.
He stared at the page. He was too angry to focus enough to read it. Then, after
a long moment, he looked up.

"Y'know that thing I said about teaching you
manners?" he said.

**Lina:** at 8:21 PM

"Do you want to help me kill a god, please?"

**Coyote:** at 8:24
PM

"Haha. No, that's not what I meant. I mean, don't talk
about how I love my husband in that shitty tone of voice," Mishka said.
"See, when y'say it like that, it sounds a bit sarcastic. As if you are
suggesting I do not, in fact, love my husband. Your tone of voice, you see,
implies sarcasm. Fuck you. As if it's in question. I don't question your
goddamn feelings."

And he went back to his book.

**Lina:** at 8:28 PM

Goro loosened his grip on the bars slightly and fell back to
sit on his ass. He was so fucking tired.

"'As if it's in question,'" Goro repeated.
"Some people seem to think it is." Wasn't sure it was time to drop
Jonn's name, yet. He didn't want to sound like a goddamn loon who took the
things Jonn said at face value.

**Coyote:** at 8:29
PM

Mishka looked up. He stared at Goro over the book for a long
time.

He dog-eared one page, closed the book, and set it down.

**Lina:** at 8:32 PM

Goro raised one eyebrow. Hell, no time like the present.
"Heard you tried to get him to kill himself."

**Coyote:** at 8:46
PM

Mishka felt all the air leave his chest, like someone had
physically hit him. “Is that what Hansel told you happened?” he managed.

Fuck. God. Damn. Fuck. He thought he’d—cleared the air about
that, already. He wasn’t making excuses for himself, but that wasn’t what
happened. Factually. It wasn’t. And he’d explained that, and explained his side
of things, and what it had looked like. It was still bad; really fucking bad;
Mishka had no illusions about himself, he knew he was a fucking parasite.

But he’d thought Hansel had believed him.

It was insane to Mishka that Hansel would still believe
Mishka had tried to taunt him into suicide. It was insane that Hansel would
still… come to his bed, and kiss him, and call him ahuvi, and protect him,
while believing that Mishka had done that. But maybe Hansel would. Hansel,
apparently, had believed it the entire time the mess with Diva was happening,
and he’d still kissed Mishka then, and held him, and protected him. Mishka
hadn’t explained until long afterwards.

Mishka rested his head in his hands. He was going to have to
fucking fix this with Hansel, somehow.

**Lina:** at 8:58 PM

"It's what Jonn said happened. Hansel didn't deny it.
Well..." He sort of had. "He didn't deny it very well, let's
say."

**Coyote:** at 9:00
PM

Denied it. But not well. Maybe like Hansel half-believed it,
then? Seemed unsure?

"Well, Jonn," Mishka said, flicking his fingers
dismissively. "I'm sure he believes it."

**Lina:** at 9:02 PM

"Maybe tell me what fucking happened, and then I can
decide if I believe it."

**Coyote:** at 9:04
PM

"Why?"

**Lina:** at 9:07 PM

Goro put his hands in the air and looked around the room,
like he thought it was obvious. "So I can decide if I want to kill you or
not. Now, don't get me wrong." He held up a finger. "I'm not going to
kill you. You'd probably roast me if I tried. Plus, it'd make Hansel sad, or
whatever. But I'd like to know whether I want to kill you or not."

**Coyote:** at 9:26
PM

Mishka stared at Goro, again, this time… eyes a bit wide. He
was so fucking caught off-guard he couldn’t stop the split second of emotion
that crossed his face.

Then he closed it off again.

He thought of the way Goro had carefully avoided him since
Calimport. He thought of the way Goro had shrunk away from him on deck of the
Sugar Glider. He thought of Goro sitting beside him outside the estate, saying
Why wouldn’t I be scared of you? He thought of Goro lying in bed with him
inside the captain’s quarters of the ship. Looking at him softly. Saying I’m
just sorry to hear you killed him, because I would’ve liked to had a go at it.

He thought about Goro taking his wrist and saying Show me
how you want me to touch you.

He thought about the fact that he’d slept beside in bed with
Goro while Goro was armed, in the same room, right there, could’ve killed him
any fucking time.

Goro stared him down. His eyes were that same flat, intense
shade of gray they always were. Fucking unnerving. Mishka had fucking liked it.

So I can decide if I want to kill you or not, Goro had said.

It felt like being kicked in the teeth. And Mishka didn’t
fucking know why he kept talking to this kid, why he kept coming back to him,
after getting kicked in the teeth so many times. Mishka took a breath. Mentally
re-evaluated everything. Shifted Goro back into the unsafe category, put a
fucking lock on it. Too dangerous.

Goro kept catching him off-guard. Since the very first time
they met. Mishka just wished he didn’t fucking like it.

"Fine," Mishka said. "Then decide you want to
kill me. I don't give a fuck."

**Lina:** at 9:39 PM

What in Mask's name. Mishka looked like Goro had actually
managed to spook him. Was fucking true, what Goro said, that Mishka could fry
him easily if he tried to hurt him.

Maybe Mishka just... hadn't considered that Goro would ever
do that to him. And that'd been true, up until--oh, about three days ago.

"Let's not be so hasty," Goro said. "I've got
no reason to want to kill you if it's not true. The thing about me, Mishka, is
I get a little bit... protective. Some might say overly protective. Some might
say, oh, you know, murderous rage, if somebody tries to hurt the people I love.
Hence, you know." He smiled and pointed at the sky. "The god killing
stuff."

He'd told Mishka he loved him, once. In the warehouse.
Mishka had been there, and Goro had shouted it to the whole room. He hadn't
exactly been in the mood to carefully pick apart each individual in front of
him and decide Love this one, not that one, that one only sort of. They were
his team, and he loved them, period. Mishka was included.

Mishka was... maybe, sort of, definitely included while they
were sailing to Calimport. But Goro had talked himself out of that, thinking it
had only been a fling. Granted, he'd thought the same thing about Hansel, and
look what fucking happened there.

Hansel had warned him about Mishka, though. Mishka was not a
safe person to love. Goro would sure as hell like to find out why.

"So tell me, please? I'd like to hear your side of the
story. Jonn's full of shit."

**Coyote:** at 9:41
PM

Mishka set the book down again, pushed himself up, and
walked out of the room.

**Lina:** at 9:43 PM

Fucking hell. Goro was going to have to Zone of Truth all
these assholes one day. He turned back toward Hansel and rested his forehead against
the bars. Out of the corner of his eye, noticed the pillow Mishka had brought
him. Fuck, it looked comfortable.

**Coyote:** at 9:47
PM

Mishka walked back into the room a minute later with a
bottle of brandy. He sat down, cross-legged.

He'd calculated it out on the walk while he was grabbing the
brandy. Goro was badly hurt right now. If he did, in fact, snap and try to
strangle Mishka, he'd be easy to fight off. Hansel was unconscious, which meant
he didn't have to listen to this conversation, which was good too.

This was good. If he was going to fucking explain, he might
as well do it now. Made tactical sense.

He sat down and took two shots. "I'm not gonna be
fuckin' sober for this conversation," he muttered. "For the record,
this isn't gonna make me look better. Frankly, it's just gonna make me look
worse."

**Lina:** at 9:50 PM

Goro frowned. He shifted around so he was sitting facing
Mishka. After a moment, grabbed the pillow and propped it behind him, cushioning
it between himself and the bars.

**Coyote:** at 10:09
PM

Mishka thought about asking: What did Hansel tell you? But
that would just be a delaying tactic. Better to just… fucking get it over with.

Mishka found his tongue. "Hansel and I were married
for… a few months," he said. "Less than a year. And then… and then I
left him, yeah, or he left me, or—it doesn’t fuckin’ matter. I drove him away,
but it still fucking hurt he left.

Mishka turned his head. “And then his ship wrecked, and I
thought he was dead. For three fucking months, it was my own personal hell. I
thought I’d done it. I thought I’d killed him. I grieved. My husband was dead.
And then...” His gripped tightened on the bottle. “Months later, I found out he
had survived. In Skyport. Fucking avoiding me. Avoiding me, when I
could’ve—when I could’ve helped him. But he was-- half-dead, somehow. Wasted
away, and catatonic. I didn't know what had happened. I tried to speak to him
and bring him back to me so I could help him. I left him notes. I left him…
fucking poetry, and fucking flowers. And he wouldn’t even look at me.”

He paused. This part was harder.

"And then Kheman came to me,” Mishka said.

His voice rasped. “Kheman told me told me that Hansel had
murdered and ate the entire crew." He hated revisiting this. "When I
was younger-- it's not important, maybe it doesn't matter, it's not a.. fucking
excuse... but when I was younger, y'know, kids in my family, they get their
fortunes read. They used to tell me I'd be an adver-lese. Dunno if you know
that word, it's rude. The literal translation is wolf-fucker, dog-fucker, but
it, ah. Refers to elves who... lie with orcs. Orcs, y'know, they're the enemy,
they're adver. Cannibals and rapists and murderers."

He took a deep drink of brandy and wiped his mouth.

“My whole life, everyone told me I was sick,” Mishka said.
“I was told the person I loved as a fucking murderer and a beast. And then
Hansel murdered and ate my entire crew, and for… for the first time, I believed
it.”

He capped the bottle and put it down. “And I still fucking
loved him.”

He put his head in his hands. “I hated myself for it,” he
said. “I was angry. I’d let him touch me. I still wanted him to touch me. I
wanted to break things. I wanted to be in control, stop thinking about him, so…
I lashed out. I figured if I hit hard enough, he'd show his true colors and
lash back and then I could hate him.”

He let his hands fall again. No point in hiding his face.
Wouldn’t make it better. "But he didn't react, wouldn't even fucking blink
at it. I sent him letters and he didn't respond. I threatened his son and he
walked out of the room without even glancing at me. None of it seemed to affect
him." Mishka made a small, angry noise.

He caught his breath. "And then he... came to me, and
he told me--'

It'd be easier if you just fucking killed me, Hansel had
said.

"He came to me," Mishka said. "And he told me
I should just fucking kill him already. And once I realized what I'd done to
him, I couldn't fucking do it anymore."

**Lina:** at 10:13 PM

Goro said nothing. He let Mishka tell the whole story and he
didn't react at all, careful to keep his face completely neutral.

He watched Mishka intently.

"Hm," he said at last.

**Coyote:** at 10:21
PM

"And then I broke down, and I explained everything,”
Mishka said. “And he kissed my hair and told me he'd help me figure it out.” He
looked at Hansel through the bars. “I didn’t know about the voice in the storm
or the fact something had possessed him. I didn’t fucking know, Goro. I didn’t
even ask. I didn’t give a shit. All I knew was that I had my husband back and I
was so fucking weak I couldn’t keep away anymore, even if we hurt each other.
Maybe it's fucked. I don't know.”

He put his head down again. "And then the Diva thing
happened right after, and... the first fucking thing you both did was come
right for me."

Don’t be afraid, Hansel had said. I’m gonna get that thing
out of you, Hansel had said.

When Goro killed him, saved him, and brought him back to
life, Mishka had been fucked up. He was completely incapable of making himself
do things like eat and sleep. He had panic attacks every time he was alone. And
Hansel had just... been right there, protecting Mishka like nothing had
happened.

Mishka wasn’t in control of this any longer. He was
helplessly infatuated with his husband, always had been, and always would be.
Even knowing Hansel had murdered and eaten their entire crew, Mishka had
crawled into Hansel’s arms and hidden there until it was safe to come out
again. Believing, against all logic, that Hansel wouldn’t hurt him.

Made no sense. But he was sick of trying to talk himself out
of it.

**Lina:** at 10:27 PM

Goro tried to tell himself it was all the stress of the day
catching up to him. Almost dying a couple times. The fear of what was going to
happen to Hansel. The fucking anger, even, at whatever god he was going after.

But the truth was, crying was apparently just something Goro
did, now.

He held Mishka in his gaze, unblinking, for as long as he
could. Until his eyes were burning and he thought he was going to choke. Then
he swiped at the first tear that escaped, pulled up his knees, and buried his
face against them.

**Coyote:** at 10:31
PM

Mishka sat up involuntarily, before he could catch himself.
What? What had he done? Why was Goro crying?

He wet his lips. "Ah," he said. Don't ask if he's
alright. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. "Are you-- are you alright? What's
wrong?" He checked around the room. Still no threats. Hm.

**Lina:** at 10:40 PM

Goro shook his head. He lifted his face from his knees and
sniffed, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand. "I wanted you to...
I wanted you to say you'd hurt him. That you ruined him on purpose."

He hid his face again and took a few shaking breaths. His
heart pounded. He didn't know why he was saying this, except that it... felt
like a release, to get it out. Something heavy to let go of. "I wanted to
know you were wrong for him. Horrible. Because then maybe he'd leave you,
and... love me instead." He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head,
wiping away a few more tears. "I know there's no instead. I know he can
love me too. But... not like he does you."

He curled up again, hiding in a cave made out of his arms,
and shuddered while he cried.

**Coyote:** at 10:48
PM

For a split second, Mishka thought: That was fine. He was
horrible for Hansel, and Hansel was going to leave him. These were facts. Goro
would be happy with that.

But then he just sort've... skipped over those thoughts.

He didn't have the time to feel sorry for himself. There
were other, more important things happening. He kept watching Goro, instead.
Goro was upset. Goro was fucking crying. Mishka set the brandy aside. He
shifted over to sit next to Goro, testing to see if that reaction was okay, if
Goro pushed him away.

**Lina:** at 10:50 PM

Goro sat up abruptly, eyeing Mishka warily, blinking to
clear his eyes.

**Coyote:** at 10:54
PM

"Hey, hey," he said. "Neye. Come here."
He opened his arms a little. "You can still shank me. Maybe some other
time when you're not half-dead. That'll be good, right? You can have Hansel all
to yourself, then. I mean, you'll have to make it look like an accident,
naturally, but you're clever, maybe you'll find a way."

**Lina:** at 10:57 PM

"Please shut up," Goro said, as he scooted closer
and rested his head carefully on Mishka's shoulder.

**Coyote:** at 10:57
PM

Mishka snorted. He wrapped his arms around Goro. "You
can't tell me what to do. You're not Hansel."

**Lina:** at 11:02 PM

Being in Mishka's arms again felt... strange.

So familiar, but entirely different now, too. Well, not
entirely. Goro could feel himself giving in, relaxing into that strange comfort
he'd come to know so well on the trip to Calimport. Comforting in the way that
being rocked by a ship in a storm was comforting.

This was an unusual case, he told himself. Hansel was hurt,
in more ways than one. Both Goro and Mishka were upset about it. What choice
did they have, but to hold each other?

That was all. That was all.

**Coyote:** at 11:15
PM

Mishka kissed the top of Goro's hair. Hansel always did
that, and Mishka had always liked it.

Goro was half fucking dead. He thought about the dagger in
his boot, the rapier at his hip. Dimension stepping; he could do that too, if
he had too. Fireball the kid, if needed. Dagger. Rapier. Teleportation. All
good. Goro wasn't safe, but it was fine. Mishka would just stay awake.

He started working through ideas. He'd casually considered
the idea of having some threeway fun in bed sometime, if he and Hansel started
sleeping together again, but that was out of fucking question, now. Well,
actually. Maybe if Goro was tied up again. Helpless, no weapons, and naked.
That might be okay. That sounded pretty fucking good, actually.

But that thing that had happened on the ship--

That wasn't happening again. Mishka tightened his jaw. Goro
had wanted to believe it. Goro had wanted to believe that he'd ruined Hansel on
purpose so Hansel would leave him.

Goro had wanted to hate him enough to kill him.

Goro hadn't wanted Mishka to have a reasonable story. Goro
preferred the version where Mishka got shanked in the middle of the night.
Fucking... fuck.

It was fine. He'd deal with it. Goro loved Hansel. That was
good. At night, Hansel could go to sleep with Goro, sometimes; Mishka could
share. Mishka would have the bedroom to himself. He'd lock the door tight and
shove a door under the handle and not fucking think about it.

**Lina:** at 11:33 PM

He felt heavy, and warm.

A sense of security, laced with anxiety. No, no he was not
safe right now, there was something wrong. It was... Hansel, he was hurt,
and...

Goro jerked out of his doze with a gasp, sitting up straight
and looking around. Footsteps. He'd heard footsteps. But Roddy and Luci were
still sound asleep, Hansel was out, and Mishka was sitting right next to him.

"Did you hear that?" he said to Mishka. God, it
was fucking cold. "Was there somebody in here?"

**Coyote:** at 11:34
PM

"Hear-- what? No." Mishka was on his feet in an
instant. He began checking around the room.

**Lina:** at 11:38 PM

Goro's hair stood on end, and he chafed his arms. God,
hadn't Joan said something about... ah, and he'd just laughed her off.

He'd have to go apologize to her, once he got the chance.
His skin was crawling. Whatever it was he'd felt didn't seem to be here
anymore, but he was pretty damn sure there'd been something.

He shifted around to face Hansel again, make sure he was
still breathing.

**Coyote:** at 11:40
PM

"Ha," Mishka said. "Joan said something about
a wraith in the woods. Keeps saying she smells something undead. Maybe it's in
the castle now."

**Izzy:** at 11:47 PM

He thought he heard thunder, a low distant sound, but it
faded as he woke. It was quiet. He was on his stomach, in a bed, but it was --
cold and damp -- not the castle -- not his ship -- and fuck, fuck, everything
hurt. He cracked an eye open. No, it was the castle. All out of focus, but --
the dungeon. Bars.

Yeah, that was fucking smart. God, he loved these
motherfuckers.

His eye drifted closed again. Every part of him felt heavy.
Fuck, he was in so much pain. They'd done so fucking good. What a fucking
relief.

He remembered every fucking second of it. It'd been
different this time. He'd been -- awake. Not fucking starving to death and half
out of his mind already, he guessed. It hadn't helped him fight against it --
maybe -- maybe a bit, at the beginning. He wasn't sure. But he was clear, this
time, that he hadn't fucking wanted to hurt his crew. The thing in the sky --
it was responsible.

Hansel hadn't murdered his friends.

He coughed, and choked on blood, and started laughing --
half-crying, but laughing, hoarse and quiet and broken as he covered his face
with one hand. Ah, fuck, that fucking hurt. God. Fuck. It'd been smart of them
to not heal him, but still, fuck.

**Lina:** at 11:52 PM

Goro jolted to attention, shifting back into a crouch. He
gripped the bars so hard his knuckles turned white. And he watched. Oh, please.
Oh, please.

Hansel could kill him. If he attacked him right now with
lightning, or grabbed for his throat through the bars, he could kill him.

"Hansel?" he whispered.

**Coyote:** at 11:56
PM

Mishka’s breath caught. His pulse was pounding so fast it
felt like his heart was going to burst.

Wasn’t fucking time for sentimentality. Plan. Stick to the
plan. He moved away, far enough from Goro so that if Hansel lashed out with a
lightning attack, it would only hit one of them.

He dug a list out of his pocket.

December 16, 2018

**Muse:** at 10:13 AM

Roddy had been trying to sleep. Fitfully dozing in in starts
and stops. And then he heard noises and sounds and- that sounded like Hansel.

He didn't think he'd ever gotten up so fast in his life,
bolting over and clanging into the cell bars. "Hansel? Are you back to
being you? You're not still gonna try and kill us all are you?"

Had left the Gekker back in the other cell. Spells were low.
And Roddy didn't want to help hurt his dad again.

**Izzy:** at 11:59 AM

Hansel's laugh faded. He dragged his hand away from his
face, shifted a little so that he could see with both eyes, which -- fucking
hurt, unsurprisingly -- and didn't even help much. Still fuzzy. Everything
beyond the bars was unfocused.

There were other shapes, person shapes -- curled up and
lumpy, one standing back, but closest -- right against the bars -- he thought
one was Goro. The rough shape of him. And Roddy, more distinctive, his voice
but not the actual words filtering through.

Hansel reached out vaguely for them, instinctively.

**Coyote:** at 12:10
PM

Hansel reached out his hand towards them. Mishka thought: He
needs me, he fucking needs me, need to hold him, check him over. Mishka wanted
to lay Hansel's head in his lap and wipe away the crusted blood. Give him water
and wash away the grime and sweat.

He wanted to hold Hansel and whisper that Hansel had done so
well. Wanted to whisper: I saw you fighting it. I love you. I love you. Look at
me. You did so well. I have you. You're safe.

He didn't, though.

Plans. Practicality. "Hansel," Mishka called
quietly through the bars. "Neshama. You are safe. You're in the dungeons
beneath the castle. I need you to respond, alright? You took a blow to the head
during the fight, I think, and you were possessed. I want to make sure you're
all there. I need you to tell me who you are, and who I am, and where we
are."

Hansel hadn't responded yet. Mishka wanted to fucking
believe everything was okay and Hansel was back to his regular self, but there
was a chance something had gotten fucked up.

**Muse:** at 12:23 PM

That looked like Hansel. Roddy jerked at the door, rattling
the bars- but it was locked. Where were the keys? Roddy let go and started
looking around frantically- didn't see them.

A second later Mishka's questions penetrated the panicked
fog in his brain. Right. They- still weren't sure Hansel was back to being
Hansel. This was worse than the Diva-thing, at least with her you knew. Gruumsh
or Talos or whoever-this-was... Roddy sank down back by the bars. Watching,
waiting, hoping that his dad was back to being his dad.

**Lina:** at 12:41 PM

Goro stood his ground, heart beating faster. He shifted
subtly, preparing himself to get up and run.

None of his spells had worked before. Everything he'd tried
had failed.

**Izzy:** at 12:55 PM

Hansel's fingers curled. Another voice. Mishka. God, he
hadn't hurt Mishka; motherfucker had dodged right away from him. Hansel
couldn't tell if he fought like himself, or -- like something else. Couldn't
feel it. But if he'd seemed like himself then all that time he and Mishka had
spent sparring, learning the way each other moved -- might've saved Mishka's
goddamn life. He'd been so close. Hansel could have crushed him.

He should spar with all of them. Help them. For when it
happened again. It was going to happen again -- he was going to fucking be
prepared this time.

Sounds were still coming to him underwater. Mishka sounded
calm and he thought he heard his name, heard neshama, but the rest was just
noise. He wanted to tell them -- that he was okay. That he was so fucking
relieved, and grateful, and he loved them so fucking much.

It came out as a groan in the back of his throat. Couldn't
concentrate. He closed his eyes -- couldn't fucking see anyway -- trying to
find some words, trying to make his body work again. Felt like he was the one
who'd been electrocuted.

He managed to mumble, "Motek."

**Muse:** at 1:01 PM

That wasn't- that didn't answer Mishka's questions. But it
sounded like Hansel. Roddy glanced over at Mishka, doubt and fear reflected in
his eyes. "Do you think that's- him?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

**Coyote:** at 1:03
PM

Fuck. Mishka felt like all the air was dragged out of him.
Maybe it wasn't okay. He hadn't realized he'd been hoping. He'd believed, deep
in his gut, that Hansel was okay now, but maybe he really wasn't.

Maybe. Maybe.

Goro was out of magic. Mishka knelt beside the small girl
resting against the wall and shook her gently. "Lucienne. Child. I need
you to do something very specific." Voice calm and level. "Hansel is
awake. We're not certain if he's all there or not. I need you to heal him, but
only a little. Twenty percent, let's say. Can you do that? Without going into
the cell or touching him? It isn't safe."

**Izzy:** at 1:49 PM

Lucienne woke at the gentle contact, dazed but quickly
coming alert. Roddy was by the bars, now, and Goro exactly where he'd been when
she'd drifted off. She hadn't rested enough to recover her magic, but yes --
yes, she could do this. She nodded and uncurled herself from around her staff,
dragging her feet the couple steps over to the cell.

Hansel was awake. That didn't mean anything, or -- or she
didn't know what it meant. He wasn't moving, and his eyes weren't open, but he
must have shown some sign of life, before.

She sniffled and tucked her staff into her elbow as she
pressed her palms together to murmur in Celestial. She hadn't thought to use
it, during the fight, to try calming or commanding him; she'd been too busy
trying to keep his friends from dying. Furtive prayers and grabbing at Goro's
robe when he fell unconscious. Hansel would be so upset if he died. That was
all she'd thought.

She caught herself with a hand against Roddy's shell as
channeling the magic drained her a little bit more.

- - -

Hansel felt magic trickle into him -- barely anything, like
a bandage on a severed limb, but something. The world became a little clearer.
More painful, of fucking course, but he could hear the constant drip in the
dungeon now, still far away, and when he opened his eyes again he could see
more clearly. Roddy and Goro, and Luci between them, and Mishka, holding back,
looking tense.

They all looked tense. Waiting on him. Ah, fuck. He'd tried
to say something before but now he wasn't sure it'd actually come out. He
flexed his fingers again -- fuck, yeah, still felt charred -- and tried again.

"Hey," he croaked. "M'okay." Seemed like
a bit of an overstatement, but he figured it was what they needed to hear.

**Lina:** at 1:54 PM

Goro sprang to his feet and grabbed for the handle to the
cell door, shaking and rattling it like he'd lost every bit of sense remaining
in his head. He knew it was fucking locked. "Who's got the keys," he
said, and swung around to yell it at everyone. "Who's got the keys?"

**Muse:** at 3:23 PM

That was Hansel. Roddy whirled around- barely remembering to
catch Luci as she seemed about to fall over. "Yeah! Let him out! I don't
have the keys!"

**Coyote:** at 3:25
PM

Mishka let out his breath. He glanced at Hansel-- seemed
himself. He didn't talked when possessed. Not possessed anymore. It was okay.
It was okay.

He pulled the keys out of his boot and unlocked the door,
then stepped back, stepped aside for the other two. Important thing was that
Hansel was okay. He'd let them go first. Mishka watched the entrances and exits
to make sure everything stayed safe.

**Lina:** at 3:27 PM

Goro stepped back to let Roddy go ahead. Eyed Mishka warily,
arms crossed. Took another step back.

**Muse:** at 3:29 PM

Roddy was oblivious to any tension between Mishka and Goro
and charged ahead, crouching down by Hansel. "You are okay right?" he
asked. "You don't look okay." Still looked really beat up from the
fight- Roddy should go get his lute and do some healing- but he wanted to make
sure Hansel was okay first. "You're gonna be okay," he said instead,
trying to find a less-injured area to pat reassuringly.

**Izzy:** at 3:31 PM

Hansel winced. He wanted to hug the kid, but he didn't have
it in him right now. "All good," he mumbled. "You hurt?"

**Muse:** at 3:33 PM

"Kinda- no, no I'm fine." Not supposed to lie to
Hansel- but this was a reassuring lie that was okay right? Assuming Hansel
hadn't noticed his abrupt correction. "It's- you're fine. I'm fine.
Nobody- nobody died and that's the important thing."

**Izzy:** at 3:35 PM

"Yeah." He closed his eyes and reached out to
absently pat whatever part of the kid he could reach first. "S'gonna be
... fine. Did good, Roddy." Fuck, he was tired. Talking wasn't supposed to
be tiring. "Real fuckin' proud."

**Muse:** at 3:37 PM

"Hansel?" Roddy grabbed for his wrist, trying to
find a pulse. Still- still there. Right. Good. Just- sleeping again. That was
fine. Oh- Mishka, Goro and Luci were still hanging around. Roddy turned around
to face them. "He's um. I think he's sleeping again."

**Coyote:** at 3:46
PM

"Alright." Mishka let his breath out.
"Alright." This was good. This was way fucking better than Mishka had
hoped.

"Here's the plan," Mishka said, in a calm, level
voice.

His eyes shifted to Luci. "Heal Hansel. About halfway,
at this point. I think it's safe enough for that. Heal Goro too. All the way,
if you can. We're going to need him if another fight breaks out."

He pointed to Roddy. "You. Help me carry him. We'll get
him up to his room." Only one entrance and exit to Hansel's room. They
could lock him in there if they had to. The doors in this castle were solid oak,
and the hinges were iron. "After that, someone watches him at all times.
Not fucking all of us, alright? One or two people at a fucking time, so the
rest can rest and guard and eat and get things done."

**Lina:** at 3:55 PM

Goro waved Luci off as Mishka and Roddy lifted Hansel and
carried him out of the cell. "I'm fine," he told her. "Heal
yourself, and if you've got magic left after that, save it."

**Coyote:** at 4:14
PM

Lucienne did as she was bid. Mishka staggered a little under
Hansel's weight; Mishka was still at full strength, but Hansel was fucking
heavy.

Roddy caught most of it. He had a determined look on his
face. Mishka helped guide the body up the stairs through the trapdoor, but...
Roddy carried him, mostly. Mishka rested his hand on Roddy's a moment, fondly,
without quite thinking about it. They took the body to Hansel's room and set
him in bed.

It all worked out. Mishka collapsed in a chair, so fucking
relieved.

He closed his eyes. He remembered how when Diva had
possessed him, they had all scattered, shouting different things, lost, no
plan. While Mishka wrecked the ship.

That's not what happened this time. They'd worked together
and taken Hansel down. This new disaster felt different. They were a team now,
somehow. They each had a goal. They each had a function.

They could do this.

They could save Hansel.

[end]

Final Title: Goro, Hansel, Mishka, and Roddy (Cell)

Suggested Summary: While Hansel is unconscious, Mishka tells
Goro the full story of why he lashed out at Hansel, and why they got back
together. Goro breaks down and admits he's jealous. Hansel wakes up; he's okay,
and the party is concerned.