TRP: Goro, Leigh, and Marion (Closet Skeletons)

Word Count: 10446

**Izzy:**

[SETTING: Day 188. Shepherd Hills, the Granger Farm.]

Leigh had gotten up early -- gotten up first, as he always
did, and stoked the fire before Marion came out of her bedroom. Hansel followed
soon after, gently, quietly pulling away from Goro, and the two of them bundled
up to head out to tend to the animals. There had been something about Goro
making friends with the goats, the night before, but it was sweet of Hansel to
not wake him. He'd come a long way.

Marion tried to not wake him, either, as she began getting
breakfast ready.

**Lina:**

Goro woke up disoriented, not sure where he was. And when he
remembered, he wondered how the hell he'd managed to sleep late, through Hansel
getting up and leaving. And that made him remember he'd left his knives
downstairs, which meant he'd been sleeping alone, defenseless, and so deeply he
probably wouldn't have woken up until an intruder had their blade at his neck.

He sat up and kicked the covers off, annoyed.

Someone was downstairs, moving around in the kitchen.
Marion, if Goro had to guess. He climbed out of bed, pulled on the clothes
Leigh had lent to him, and tore around the bed in a growing panic until he
found Hansel's note. He tucked it into his pocket and tried to pat his hair
down into something half respectable.

He climbed downstairs and stood awkwardly at the edge of the
kitchen area. "Morning."

**Izzy:**

Marion looked up at the creaking in the loft, frowning a
bit. When Goro came down, she glanced up again. "Morning. I didn't wake
you, did I?"

**Lina:**

"Nah, nah. I woke myself. I'm a light sleeper."
Fuckin' usually, anyway. Goro walked over tentatively. "Can, uh, can I
help?"

**Izzy:**

She waved him off, then went back to counting out slices of
bread for toast. "Hansel's out at the barn with Leigh, if you'd like to go
meet up with them."

**Lina:**

"Um. Nah. I can be more useful in here, I think, yeah?
Less... muscle required."

**Izzy:**

She smiled a bit, and nodded to a sparse basket of fruit
sitting on the counter. "You can cut up some apples, then. We need to eat
them before they go brown."

**Lina:**

"Oh, yeah, sure. You got a knife?" Mine have all
had blood on them.

**Izzy:**

She gestured to a drawer. "Silverware's in there."

**Lina:**

Goro picked out a paring knife, took the bowl of apples, and
sat down at the table. He glanced up at Marion every now and then as he cut
them. Manners. How did you have good manners? He'd learned church etiquette
inside out, and how to schmooze people he didn't like, but he was struggling to
remember if Amari had ever given him tips on how to be a good houseguest. If
she'd tried, he'd probably been all, Aw, why bother, I'm never gonna need that.

"Thanks again for letting me stay," he said. That
was probably a start.

**Izzy:**

"It's no trouble." She glanced over her shoulder
briefly, giving him the same slight smile. "I was hardly going to turn you
away in the cold."

**Lina:**

"Psh, you'd be surprised. Some people did. On my trip
over here, I mean. But I guess I see now where Hansel gets his big heart
from."

**Izzy:**

"Mm. It's the ears, likely." She didn't look up
this time, kept working. "Why you were turned away, I mean."

**Lina:**

"Oh. Jeez. You think so?" He paused his
apple-cutting to tug at one of them. "Huh. In the city I'm more used to
getting shit from--I mean, getting trouble from elves than from humans."

**Izzy:**

She nodded, and was quiet for a beat, then said,
"Skyport -- right? Are there many half-elves and half-orcs there? Hansel
mentioned tieflings, too. It's really just humans, around here. Always has
been."

**Lina:**

"Yeah, lots. You see all sorts there. Hell, one of my
housemates is a tortle. One of Hansel's kids. Your... grandson, I guess."

**Izzy:**

Marion gave a pleased scoff. "That's good."

**Lina:**

"Yeah." What was good? Having a tortle grandson?
Okay, whatever floats your boat, lady.

But: Really just humans. Always has been. Huh. That much was
clear just from this little trip of his, and it sure as hell raised some
questions. Questions he was hoping to ask her anyway. He should probably be a
little delicate about it, though. "So, how was it for Hansel, growing up
here? Half-orc kid. He doesn't really like to talk about his childhood,
much."

**Izzy:**

"Oh." Her voice turned distant. "Well, then I
would think you can make a guess as to why."

**Lina:**

Goro chewed the inside of his cheek. "I mean, sure.
Yeah. I told him last night I didn't even want him to stay here now."

**Izzy:**

"I don't blame you."

**Lina:**

Goro cut up another apple, popped a piece in his mouth.
Chewed, swallowed. "What about... what about his dad? Who was he? You said
it's pretty much just humans."

**Izzy:**

Again, she was quiet for a moment, hands busy.

"Is it important to you? To know?"

**Lina:**

Goro thought for a while. He fiddled with another apple
piece before eating it.

"Yeah," he said. "It's... it's hard to
explain. I didn't know my own dad, and my mom's gone now, so I have no way of
knowing. It's kind of a dead end. I hate wondering stuff. There's a lot of
things I wonder about Hansel, 'cause he won't tell me or because I have enough
sense not to ask. It's hard, though. He means so much to me, and... I get to
know these little pieces of him, and..."

Goro shrugged. He wasn't sure he could make a coherent point
out of it all.

**Izzy:**

"Hm." She seemed to think this over. She stopped,
finally, her back to him, hands still. "Frankly, there's -- there are only
little pieces of Hansel that I know, either. And I think he has good reasons
for making it that way." Her fingernails tapped against the counter in a
line. "He doesn't know anything about his father, and I have good reasons
for that. Do you understand?"

**Lina:**

"You don't want me to tell him anything," he
guessed.

**Izzy:**

"Right. It would only upset him."

**Lina:**

"I don't want to upset him, that's for sure." Goro
did plenty of that on his own.

**Izzy:**

"Of course. I don't think that you do." She nodded
to herself shortly and went back to work. "We should talk, some other time
-- about what you know, and I don't."

**Lina:**

He raised an eyebrow. "Some other time?"

**Izzy:**

"Well, he's been gone for twenty years," she said
mildly. "I'm assuming we won't be able to cover all of that and whatever
you want to know about his father before they come back in."

**Lina:**

Goro started to grin, then forced it away. He cleared his
throat. "Yeah, I mean, good point. I'm here for a few more days, so."

**Izzy:**

"Mm. Well." She hesitated. "Hansel's father
was -- a half-orc, or -- he had some human blood. Maybe not half, maybe less. I
never asked. People just saw tusks, and called him an orc. They did the same
thing to Hansel."

She paused, then went on: "His name was Yehuda."
Her Orcish pronunciation was excellent -- precise. "His family were
traders, merchants who roamed around. They stopped here to trade, and the
caravan split up -- they were going to establish a permanent trading post
outside of town, which -- well, some of the people in town were in favor of,
but others ... weren't.

"I was young at the time. I'd never even seen an orc.
My father told me they were dangerous, but I, ah -- I didn't listen very well.
They were different, being from so far away, and I was fascinated, so I kept
sneaking out to visit with them, at night mostly. They were ... very kind to
me. I remember badgering them with rather invasive questions." The smile
was audible in her voice. "I wanted to push it, and see if my father was
right, but no matter what I asked, they mostly seemed to find me entertaining.

"And, well. Yehuda was around my age. Hansel ... looks
more like me, unfortunately, than like him, but you understand. He was very
gentle, and quiet, and very clever, and, ah -- well, I was smitten. But when my
father found out, it became ... a problem."

She stopped again, and tapped her fingernails against the
counter, looking down.

"People stopped being a fan of the orcish trading
outpost outside of town. And the orcs coming into town to buy drinks and food,
somehow. Commerce stopped mattering, so much. Things changed overnight."
Her tone turned very calculated and cool. "And the next night, Yehuda was
dead. And the next night, the orcs had gone. And soon after, I'd been married
off to Elijah -- to Leigh's father."

She went back to work, and went silent.

**Lina:**

Goro bit down on his lip so hard, it was numb when he let it
go.

He was very gentle, and quiet, and very clever--

Well, of course he was. Of course he was.

Goro slid the bowl of apples out of the way. His heart was
heavy. He leaned forward onto the table, resting his head on his arms.

"I'm sorry." His voice was strained. He was
apologizing as much for his reaction as he was for what she'd been through.
"Oh. I'm so sorry."

It did something weird to him, hearing the story of how this
person he loved so much had come into existence. It was... a slim chance.
Marion and Yehuda hadn't known each other very long. Goro had the strangest
urge to thank her, but it wasn't like she'd done it on purpose.

"You must have been so... fucking... terrified, raising
him here."

**Izzy:**

"Yes," she said simply. "All the fucking
time."

**Lina:**

"He's strong now." Goro sat up again. "He...
he fought three men off for me, barehanded. Armed men. Because one of them
punched me. He ran them off." He laughed weakly. Maybe not the greatest
story, but he'd leave off the bad parts, because it proved his point anyway.
Sounded a little more like something a mother could be proud of than killing a whole
pirate crew.

**Izzy:**

"He was always strong." She sounded proud, but it
shifted to caution. "I ... had to tell him to be careful. He didn't know
his own strength. I was so worried he would hurt Leigh by accident -- Leigh was
so small, and sickly." She took a breath, and her voice evened out.
"When Mishka was here -- and with you, too -- Hansel's so affectionate.
I'm just glad I didn't go too far, telling him to be careful."

**Lina:**

"Oh, god. Yeah. He's so fucking loving, it's... psh. I
don't know where he gets it all. It's good. He's so good. He's so good,
Marion." Goro almost added You did good but he wasn't sure that was
strictly fucking true, or if it was just how Hansel was going to turn out no
matter what. In any case, it actually felt better to sing Hansel's praises to
someone who loved him than it might have felt to rub it in his stepdad's face.

**Izzy:**

She laughed, once, and quietly said, "I'm afraid he
didn't get it from us. It must have been in the blood. I'm just -- relieved he
has it at all."

**Lina:**

Yeah, as expected, then. In the blood. "He's strong but
he's... so gentle, too. Yeah." Goro looked down. There was one apple he
hadn't cut yet, so he pulled the bowl back over and set to work.

He shook his head. "I never got that shit, with orcs
being dangerous. I mean, I got it, I sure knew that was what people said, even
in the city. I grew up on the streets, and like I was saying there was all sorts
there. Lots of humans, tieflings, lots of half-elves and half-orcs." He
snorted. "Never saw a high elf street kid, though, I'll tell you that
much.

"Anyway, there were a couple half-orc gangs, and
everyone was scared of them, 'cause they were the strongest. I was a scrawny
kid, couldn't defend myself for shit, I just had running and hiding. And I
thought, well, if everyone's scared of the half-orcs, they won't go through 'em
to get to me, right? So I made friends with some of them. Just kinda hanging
around during the day, talking. I picked up Orcish that way. And it was so
stupid, you know, I realized, everyone acting like orcs are evil. Those guys
were the same as anyone else, maybe a little more harsh on outsiders because of
how they got treated. But they were always nice to me, long as I didn't cause
trouble. And, yeah, there were a couple times when I needed help, so I went to
them, and they'd just fuckin'... glare off whoever was giving me shit."
Goro smiled to himself, thinking of it.

Ah, hell, he'd started swearing again. Well, Marion had said
fuck, so maybe it didn't bother her.

**Izzy:**

Marion didn't say anything for a beat, then laughed again --
more genuinely this time -- and commented, "So you're telling me this
thing with half-orcs is a pattern in your life." And quickly, to cover up
any accidental offense, she added, "I'm sorry to hear about how you grew
up. And about your parents."

**Lina:**

"Pff. Is it? Not like I fell in love with any of them
before your boy." Sheesh, she sounded like Hansel, that time he said Goro
was a weirdo or something for hanging out with tieflings. Goro ate another
apple slice, and talked with his mouth full. "Also it's not like I went
after him because he's a half-orc. He came after me. I didn't even see it
coming. Hit me like a bag of bricks. Uh, not, uh, literally." Well, kind
of literally, one time. But that wasn't relevant.

**Izzy:**

"I should hope not," she said dryly, and paused.
"Well. I'm glad for that, too, then. I mean -- it has been twenty years. I
guess he had time to pick up some sort of people skills from somewhere along
the way."

**Lina:**

"He's amazing," Goro insisted. "Everybody
loves him."

**Izzy:**

She glanced down, head tilting enough that her smile was
visible. "Good. Good."

**Lina:**

"He looks after everybody. More than he should, even.
He's always trying to do right by people. I mean, I almost wish he'd stop sometimes,
look after himself for once." Goro shook his head. "He just scowls at
me when I try to tell him that. But it's fine. I'm learning how to trick him
into taking care of himself. Slowly but surely. Where's he get the stubbornness
from, you?"

**Izzy:**

"Mm. I expect so." She kept grinning. "People
say that orcs are fierce and uncompromising, but that was always more me than
Yehuda. Suppose that's why the rumors of my family having orc blood already
started back up again when I was young." She shook her head and wryly
said, "Only explanation for my behavior, clearly. Must not really be a
human."

**Lina:**

"Eh?" Goro laughed. "What the hell were you
up to that shook people so bad they thought you couldn't be human?"

**Izzy:**

She snorted. "Ah, well, you know. Tiny pastoral town.
Generally the kids didn't make friends with roaming orc tribes, or camp out in
the dangerous woods for nights on end and tame wild animals, or run around like
wild things themselves every time there was a thunderstorm." She paused.
"Hansel was always afraid of storms, though. Maybe he got that from
Yehuda."

**Lina:**

Goro's smile faded. "Yeah? Was Yehuda afraid of 'em
too?"

**Izzy:**

"Oh, I don't know," she said absently. "I
just know I always loved them. The feeling in the air, the sound -- you know.
I'm not sure why Hansel would be so afraid. Do orcs have better hearing than
humans?" she wondered. "Maybe they just hurt his ears."

**Lina:**

Goro was silent for a while, wondering what, if anything, he
should say.

"There's a story behind that," he said. "But
I don't think it's my story to tell. You should ask him. But maybe not right
away."

**Izzy:**

She looked over her shoulder for the first time in a while,
frowning. "A story?" She thought for a moment. "But he was
afraid of storms well before he left home. Why would you know ..."

Then she turned fully, leaning back against the counter and
wiping her hands on a towel as she studied Goro.

"You know," she said slowly, "the night
before Hansel left home, there was a terrible storm -- the worst one we've ever
had. It was the only time I've ever been frightened of thunder. Hansel was ...
lost, that night, and he left the next morning before I even saw him again. But
Leigh said he looked -- changed. And you know --." She tossed the towel
onto the counter and crossed her arms loosely, still watching Goro closely.
"Leigh was different after that storm, too. That was when his health got
better. But he doesn't like them, since then, either.

"Was there another storm like that?" she asked
bluntly. "Did something happen to Hansel?"

**Lina:**

Goro ignored her question, only half registering it at all.
He cocked his head at her. "Leigh got better... after Hansel left?"

**Izzy:**

Her frown deepened. "Well, I don't think it was because
Hansel left. I always just thought there was -- something odd about that storm.
You didn't answer my question."

**Lina:**

"Uh, sorry. Yeah, uh." He blinked a few times.
"Yes, there was another storm like that. We've got a... problem, with
Hansel, and storms. But... Marion, I'm sorry, I think Hansel should be the one
to tell it to you, I really do. That, or, hell, I guess you could ask him if he
wants someone else to explain, but I doubt it." He fumbled for something
reassuring he could add. It's fine. We've got it under control. He's not gonna
get hurt, or anything. But all of it would be a fucking lie.

**Izzy:**

Marion's shoulders tensed, and she raised a hand to press
her knuckles against her lips. She blinked rapidly, then swallowed, and pulled
her hand away a bit. Her voice was strained. "I see. I see. Is he ... all
right, then? He hasn't even told me why --." She let out a breath and
closed her eyes. "He told us this story about some ... guild you're
fighting, and how he doesn't think he can help with it, and he came home
because he wanted to help us instead, but when he got here he was -- so upset,
and Mishka said he vanished in the middle of the night, and -- I don't know
why. Did something happen? Is there something I should be --." She laughed
hollowly. "Is there anything I can do?"

**Lina:**

"Hah. You're asking the wrong person. He doesn't let me
help him, so I wouldn't have a clue how you could." Goro stared at the
table, trying to rein in his anger before he started saying shit that wouldn't
be appropriate in front of Marion.

"The only thing that happened--the reason he left in
the middle of the night--it was 'cause we had a fight, and he thought I was
gonna go behind his back and do something, but..." But he didn't give me a
chance, I didn't know he was that upset, I barely remember what happened in
that conversation, I was drunk and I never drink. She didn't need all the
details. God, it was freaking him out again, thinking about it. One quick
glimpse at the hidden list of things that would make Hansel leave him. And Goro
had crawled halfway across the fuckin' world to find him, felt like, and Hansel
had said, You weren't supposed to come after me.

"Sorry," Goro said, realizing he'd trailed off and
been staring into space.

**Izzy:**

"No," she said quietly, and turned back to the
counter. "No, there's nothing to apologize for. He was always -- very
emotional, and very good at making out like he wasn't. Always difficult to
help. That was our fault." She sighed. "If anything I should be
apologizing to you."

**Lina:**

Psh, well. He wouldn't argue with her there. Letting your
son be treated like a fucking farmhand when he was still a child, sending him
off to search for his little brother and then not coming after him when he goes
missing, his stepdad fucking resenting him for being good at shit--yep, sounded
like a recipe for guy who wouldn't accept help.

"One thing," he said. "If there is a storm.
He might... need some space. Might take off for a while. Just trust him, okay?
Don't try and stop him."

**Izzy:**

She didn't respond right away. "If ... if you think that's
for the best."

**Lina:**

Now he was having second thoughts. If Goro and Mishka had
been able to talk him down, maybe it wasn't for the best for Marion and Leigh
to just let him fuck off. "Well, I don't actually... argh. I can't explain
it. I'll have to talk to him about it first, or something. Maybe there's more
you can do to help him. Just... let me. Let me."

There was another item for his to-do list before he left,
then. Fucking convince Hansel to tell his mom everything.

He bit his tongue for a moment before blurting out what was
on his mind anyway. "Probably not asking too much, though. Letting him run
off on his own during a storm." He drummed his fingers on the table.

**Izzy:**

Marion stopped and looked over her shoulder again, eyes
narrowed. "Excuse me?" she said coldly. "My son is home for the
first time in twenty years and he keeps staring at the door. I'm doing
everything I can to treat him gently and not scare him away. The last thing in
the world that I want is to let go of him in a goddamn storm, when I know that
he's afraid, and I didn't ask you why because I don't think you'd answer, and I
respect that -- but that doesn't make it an easy fucking choice."

She turned her back. "I'm not losing him again,
Goro."

**Lina:**

That surprised him enough to make him shut his mouth, but
not for long. "What changed, then? What was different last time? You just
took him for granted then?"

**Izzy:**

She took a sharp breath like she was about to say something,
then stopped, and sighed it out. She leaned her hands on the counter. "I
didn't --." Another sigh, and she quietly said, "He didn't run off in
the storm. It came up after he had left. But yes -- I took him for granted. He
was capable, and Leigh was missing, so I sent him to search the woods while
Elijah and I searched elsewhere. I had -- no way of knowing what would happen. But
we found Leigh, and when the storm cropped up, I went to look for Hansel. But
that storm came up --." She snapped her fingers. "So fast. And so
hard. Lightning struck -- all over the farm, setting fires to the crops and the
barns, spooking the livestock, the rain washed the fences out -- we could have
lost everything. I had to stay.

"I thought," she said, "I thought, Hansel
will be safe in the woods. I thought, He'll be afraid, he'll be terrified, but
he knows the woods and he'll be safe. I thought I would be able to talk to him
afterwards and comfort him, and then I didn't see his face for twenty goddamn
years." He voice shook. "I never thought that I would be able to save
everything else and lose him."

**Lina:**

Well. He sure as shit had nothing to say to all that.

God, it was... so much fucking easier to just shove every
bit of blame on people. Paint them all one color. But it never did work out
that way. Well, maybe with Elijah. Goro was still pretty thrilled at the idea
of digging up his corpse.

"Does he know that? Does he know you tried to look for
him?"

**Izzy:**

"No. I don't know." She ran a hand through her
hair. "I don't know -- I haven't brought that night up. Seems like a bad
idea." She cleared her throat and busied her hands again. "Leigh has
-- an easier time talking to him. Maybe he mentioned it. I don't know. I'm not
interested in making excuses for myself to Hansel, I'm just trying to do better
by him this time."

**Lina:**

After a moment, Goro nodded. "I'll talk to him. See if
I can convince him to tell you... what you need to know." Wasn't feeling
too fucking optimistic, truth be told, but it'd be worth trying.

Goro ate another piece of apple and watched Marion at work
in the kitchen for a while. After a nice lull, he asked, "So what are you,
a damn druid or something?"

**Izzy:**

"Hm? No. There's ... one who lives outside of
town?" she offered.

**Lina:**

"Eh, you know, all that stuff about... taming wild
animals, and spending days in the woods, and loving storms." Goro smiled
at her crookedly. "Sounds like some druid shit."

**Izzy:**

"Oh. I suppose it does." She shrugged it off.
"The townsfolk just took it as proof of my orcish heritage," she said
sarcastically. "No, no one in my family has ever had any magic. Well,
Leigh does, a bit."

She snapped her fingers a couple more times.

"He can make little sparks."

**Lina:**

Goro's eyes widened and he leaned forward. "Eh? No
kidding?"

**Izzy:**

"Mm. I thought maybe sorcerer blood back in the family,
or something -- but that's all he's ever been able to do." She glanced
over her shoulder, quizzical. "You're a cleric. Magic doesn't -- hurt,
normally, does it? To cast? He says it does."

**Lina:**

Goro drew back, frowning. "No. I've never heard of it
hurting. Er, well, I know a sorcerer. Mishka. I could ask him. Never seems to
bother him, though." He thought for a moment. "How long's he been
able to do that? His whole life?"

**Izzy:**

She paused. "Hm. No, not when he was very small. Once
his health improved. I assumed it had something to do with that."

**Lina:**

Goro squinted. "Huh. Say, what was wrong with him
before? When he was really little. What kinds of health problems?" He
snorted and added, "Ah, god, that sounds morbid. You could call it a
professional interest, I guess. Curious about what runs in the family,
health-wise."

**Izzy:**

"Oh, are you and Hansel planning to have kids?"
she asked dryly.

**Lina:**

"Fuckin', hah hah. Sometimes those childhood illnesses
can resurface, you know? You got me worried now."

**Izzy:**

"Don't be," she said, amused. "Hansel was
always very healthy. Leigh was just, ah -- small, for the longest time. Very
prone to getting sick. Fevers, all the time. I had a hard time getting him to
eat enough, so he never had the strength to fight it off." She glanced up.
"Then after that storm, he just -- it was like it fixed him."

**Lina:**

"Wild," Goro said. And most assuredly not fucking
natural. "When I said I was worried, by the way, I didn't mean for Hansel.
I meant for Leigh. He's been, what, healthy as a horse since then?"

**Izzy:**

"Mm." She nodded. "Can't think of a time he's
been sick since."

**Lina:**

"That's... huh." Goro really fucking wanted to go
ask Leigh some questions now, but it'd probably be rude if he just bolted out.

And that reminded him. He'd wanted to get some advice on not
being rude.

He pushed himself up from the table. "Excuse me for a
minute. I've got some religious duties I usually get to first thing in the
morning, and it's kinda nagging in the back of my head."

**Izzy:**

"Oh. Of course, don't let me keep you."

**Lina:**

He grabbed his pack from beside the front door and climbed
the stairs to the loft. He sat on the floor and set up the makeshift altar he
used on the road, with a wooden figurine and incense burner. Hopefully Marion
wouldn't mind the smell, but he wouldn't keep it burning for long. He took out
his prayer book and flipped through, considering what magic to prepare himself
for that day.

Information gathering, was what.

After finishing his prayers, he snuffed out the incense, closed
his eyes, and Sent a message to Amari. Hey Ma. How do I be a good houseguest
for Hansel's mom?

Her reply came not a moment later. Wash dishes, put out
flowers, leave things a bit nicer than when you came. Tell Hansel and his mom I
said hello.

Marion seemed like the kind of lady who wouldn't let other
people wash her dishes--not unlike fuckin' Amari, for that matter--but the
flowers, sure, he could do that. And maybe he'd straighten the throw rugs or
something.

He climbed back downstairs. "By the way, my mom says
hello. Uh, when I told her I was coming here. She told me to tell you
hello."

**Izzy:**

Marion blinked. "That's ... very nice of her." She
hesitated. "I thought you said your parents were gone?"

**Lina:**

"Oh, yeah, well. She's not my real mom." Hey, that
actually felt... kinda shitty to say. What, like the other lady was more real?
"I mean, she is, she's not my birth mom. She's the cleric who mentored me,
and then she adopted me. Her name's Amari. I bet you two would get along."

**Izzy:**

"Ah. Well. That's good. That you have her." She
cleared her throat.

**Lina:**

"Understatement of the century, right there. Hey, uh,
looks like breakfast's almost ready? Should I go get your boys?"

**Izzy:**

"They'll be in when they're done. You can go check on
them, if you want, though."

**Lina:**

Nice of her to give him an out like that. "I think I
will. Take a stab at making friends with those goats, maybe." Goro had one
more thing he wanted to check with her, but he intentionally made it look like
a last-minute thought, getting all the way to having his hand on the door
handle before he turned back around. He gave her a cheeky smile. "Alright,
I gotta ask. The orc blood rumors."

**Izzy:**

She snorted, but looked amused. "I don't know if it's
true or not. Not the kind of thing my parents would have admitted to, if they
had known for sure." She shrugged. "But it's been a long-standing
rumor in this town about my mother's family."

**Lina:**

Goro made a silent ooh with his lips.
"Scandalous." He winked at her, then opened the door and slipped
outside.

Long-standing. Heck. That was something. Goro whistled to
himself as he walked to the barn.

**Izzy:**

"It's not that funny," Hansel grumbled.

"I think it's pretty fuckin' funny," Leigh said
solemnly, bandaging the bite on Hansel's hand, then broke into a snicker.

"Fuckin' goats."

They both glanced up when the barn door opened.

**Lina:**

"Hey," Goro said, approaching them. Immediately he
noticed Leigh wrapping a bandage around Hansel's hand. "Oh, what..."
He glanced sideways at the goats, then back at Hansel's hand, then put his own
hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. "Happened."

**Izzy:**

Hansel waved it off. "It's fine."

"The goats' blood feud over Hansel feeding them
happened," Leigh intoned.

**Lina:**

Goro's eyes were watering from trying not to laugh.
"That's terrible. You... you need some healing?" He snorted and
doubled over laughing.

**Izzy:**

"I'm gravely fuckin' injured over here," Hansel
deadpanned. "Your bedside manner needs some fuckin' work."

Leigh managed to stop snickering and say, "Yeah, Goro,
he's dying. Look at him." He poked Hansel's face. Hansel didn't move.

**Lina:**

"I am prepared to administer last rites," Goro said
solemnly. He took Hansel's hand and gave it a kiss, then snorted and started
giggling again.

Then he looked up into Hansel's face, remembered suddenly he
now knew his father's name and what he'd done for a living and that he was
quiet and gentle and how he'd died, and nothing seemed quite so funny anymore.
He pushed in for a hug.

And he was gonna fuckin'... carry this with him to his
grave, apparently. Or maybe just Marion's grave. Or maybe he'd cave the moment
Hansel brought it up, if he ever did.

He probably wouldn't. It was fine.

**Izzy:**

Hansel raised an eyebrow. Maybe Goro was still shaken up
about the shit last night. Leigh hadn't really given him much of an answer --
just something about telling Goro how the townsfolks felt about orcs. Made it
sound like Goro had been asking, which checked out.

He gave Goro a squeeze and kissed the top of his head, while
Leigh went back to feeding the goats unbitten. "You okay?"

**Lina:**

"Mhm." Goro closed his eyes and let himself be
held for a moment, swaying a little in Hansel's arms. He cracked one eye open
and watched Leigh feeding the goats.

"Hey Leigh," he said. "Your mom told me some
interesting things about you."

**Izzy:**

"Really?" Leigh reached to ruffle one of the
goats' ears. "Was it about how I can feed goats without dying?"

**Lina:**

"Hah." Goro gave one last appreciative snort.
"No, no. It was about how, uh..." He held one of his hands out, still
leaning against Hansel, and snapped his fingers. "You can make sparks with
your hands."

**Izzy:**

"You can fuckin' do what?" Hansel said.

"Oh. Yeah." Leigh straightened and rubbed his
thumb against his fingertips for a second, then snapped -- an arc of blue
electricity jumped between the fingers, leaving a strong singed scent hanging
in the air, and the goats reacted immediately, scattering away from him.

He shook his hand and sent them a guilty look. "That's
it, though. Fucking hurts, too." He flexed his fingers.
"Silvanus."

Hansel's arms tensed around Goro.

**Lina:**

Goro stared at Leigh's fingers, wide-eyed.

Fuckin' sparks, indeed.

Goro glanced up at Hansel, then back to Leigh. "She
said, uh... what was it. You started to be able to do that around the time
Hansel left. Just, outta nowhere, huh?"

**Izzy:**

"Uh." Leigh met Hansel's eyes and winced, a little.
Hansel looked away, but shrugged slightly, and rested his chin on top of Goro's
head. "Yeah. Kind of." He checked Hansel's face again. "Hey, uh.
Han, you wanna go wash that bite and grab breakfast, and Goro can help me
finish up?"

A bit reluctantly, Hansel nodded. "Sure." He
kissed Goro's hair and and slipped a hand down to hold onto Goro's until he was
out of reach, then broke away and headed out the door.

Leigh waited until it was shut behind him, watching, then
looked back to Goro. "Hey," he said tensely. "I wouldn't bring
up the whole Hansel leaving thing, all right?"

**Lina:**

"What, in front of Hansel? Pretty sure he knows it
happened."

**Izzy:**

He grimaced. "Yeah, pretty sure he doesn't wanna
fuckin' think about it, though, you know?"

**Lina:**

"Oh, don't worry." Goro waved him off. "I'm a
fucking champ at talking about things Hansel doesn't want to think about. He's
used to it."

**Izzy:**

"Hm." Leigh kept frowning, and turned back to the
goats, holding his hand out and clicking his tongue softly to lure them back
over.

**Lina:**

"So, tell me what's up with the little light show,
there." Goro snapped his fingers.

**Izzy:**

He shrugged, not looking up. "Yeah, I mean. Like Mom
said. Started happening after -- Hansel left."

**Lina:**

"And is that all you can do? That the extent of it, I
mean?"

**Izzy:**

"Yup. Real fuckin' impressive, I know." He
scratched a goat under the chin and stood back up. "I don't know, I try to
not even do that much. Like I said, it hurts." He rubbed his fingers
together again and held the hand out to show Goro little scorched marks on his
skin where the electricity had arced.

**Lina:**

"Ah. May I?" Goro reached out to take his hand.

**Izzy:**

"Oh." He pulled back. "Nah, I don't need
healing. Thanks, though."

**Lina:**

Goro shrugged. "Hardly costs me anything, but... maybe
that runs in the family." He smiled. He couldn't quite think of how to
make the questions going through his head sound natural, so he decided he'd
just get to the fucking point. "When's the last time you had a storm
around here?"

**Izzy:**

Leigh gave him a look. He kept rubbing his thumb and fingers
together absently. "Just the other night. After Han showed up. Wasn't a
bad one, though."

**Lina:**

Goro opened his mouth. "I--uh--huh." He glanced
toward the barn doors, his drive to dig up more information from Leigh
momentarily forgotten in his worry over Hansel. Wanting to see if he was okay.
Fuckin', obviously he was, though. "Do storms ever do anything to
your--funny little magic trick? Smells like lightning."

**Izzy:**

"No," he said slowly. "Y'know, I meant what I
said about telling you whatever I could. You don't have to beat around the
bush. I'm guessing Mom told you about the storm, that night before Hansel left
-- how fuckin' bad it was." He waved his fingers. "Yeah, that was
when this started happening to me. And I know it did something to Hansel, too
-- you know, I used to think, the way people in town are -- maybe when he was out
in the woods alone, someone threatened him, or hurt him, and that was why he
left. But --." He shook his head. "He told me outright that didn't
happen. But something fucking did. I know it did. I know that wasn't a normal
fucking storm. And if you know something about it, you need to fuckin' tell
me."

**Lina:**

"Ah. Uh. Hmm." Goro rubbed the back of his head
and looked at the ground. "Any particular reason you need to know? Leigh,
look. I'm on your side, alright? But your brother, he... he'll beat me around a
bush if he gets wind I told you everything. I'm just saying, give me something
to work with here. Why should I tell you?"

**Izzy:**

Leigh gave him a hard look. "You should tell me because
he's my fucking brother, and if the same thing happened to both of us --."
His jaw tensed and he glanced away, then back, and more quietly said, "Do
you mean that? Would he beat you?"

**Lina:**

"Oh. Pff, no. I didn't mean literally." He paused,
then added, "Don't think that'd be so fucking bad, though. Like he gets
mad, he hits me, and that's the end of it. Sure as hell beats running off in
the middle of the night not telling me when I'm ever gonna see him again."

That was probably more than Leigh wanted to hear. Goro
kicked at a clump of dirt on the ground. "Anyway, uh, I think you just
gave me the exact trick I need, so thanks. Let me talk to him, alright?"

**Izzy:**

Leigh stared at him, frowning. He opened his mouth and shut
it, and looked away, back to the goats. "Sure," he muttered.
"All right."

**Lina:**

Goro nodded goodbye to him and walked out of the barn. He
spotted Hansel up ahead, nearly at the house, and started running after him.
"Ahuv! Chatich! Wait up."

**Izzy:**

Hansel slowed to a stop, looking over his shoulder at the
sound of Goro's voice. It was odd to hear him using orcish, somehow -- Hansel'd
just gotten the hang of that infernal word. Nice, though. He liked it.

He pulled his hands out of his coat pockets to wrap an arm
around Goro's waist as he came close enough.

**Lina:**

"Hey, uh, listen." Goro let himself be pulled in
close for a moment, then he took a step back and put his hands against Hansel's
chest. "I'm gonna say something that's gonna make you want to punch me.
But, I know it's gonna make you want to punch me, and I'm saying it anyway,
that's how much conviction I have in what I'm about to say. You got it?"

**Izzy:**

Hansel narrowed his eyes. "... Right."

**Lina:**

"Alright." Goro grimaced in anticipation of his
reaction. He looked him in the eye, braced his hands on his shoulders, and
said, "You've got to tell your mom and Leigh about the Gruumsh
thing."

**Izzy:**

"No. What the fuck." He wanted to shrug Goro off
and keep walking, made himself stand still instead. "Why the fuck would I
do that?"

**Lina:**

Goro imitated Leigh, rubbing his thumb against his
fingertips, then snapping. Then he mimicked Leigh's voice. "'Oh, fucking
hurts, though.' What the fuck was that, Hansel! You've gotta fucking tell him
what the fuck's going on--did you know he stopped being sick once you left?
After that storm? I don't know what the hell the connection is, but there's
fucking something, I've just got a fucking feeling. You can't leave him in the
dark."

**Izzy:**

"I --." All right, that was pretty fucking
reasonable, but still. "Look, I'm still in the fucking dark, here -- the
hell good is it gonna do to say oh, yeah, by the way, guess for some reason you
got -- fuckin' storm magic from Gruumsh, or some shit." He shook his head
and glanced over Goro's shoulder, back up to the barn. "It's not like the
shit that happens to me, all right -- he's been okay for twenty fuckin' years,
he doesn't need me to fuckin' -- make shit weird. Won't make anything better,
that's for goddamn sure."

**Lina:**

"Mm. Mhm." Goro nodded slowly. "And weren't
you, by and large, okay for about eighteen fuckin' years?"

**Izzy:**

Hansel's jaw clenched. That wasn't fucking fair. It wasn't
fucking wrong, either, and he knew he couldn't argue with it, which made him
want to just turn and walk off, pace around, take a while to think it over by
himself.

He knew he shouldn't walk away from Goro, though. Not even
if he did plan to come back -- couldn't just storm off without saying anything,
and right now about all he felt like he could say was fuck you, fuck off. Had
to stop doing that.

All right, then. Fine. He guessed he was going to walk and
think, and Goro would just have to come with him.

Silently, he bent and planted his shoulder against Goro's
stomach and hefted him up, and started towards the woods. That'd be good.
Always easier to think out there.

**Lina:**

"Wh--uh." Goro twisted around as much as he could,
trying to see where Hansel was carrying him. The fucking woods, apparently.
"Uh, Hansel?" Maybe he wanted more privacy. Okay, but Goro could
fucking walk. "You know, I can fucking walk. Are you dragging me off to
snap my head off somewhere? Nice of you to not want to get blood all over your
mom's yard, I guess."

**Izzy:**

Hansel snorted. Fuckin' Goro. "I'm not gonna fucking
punch you," he muttered, more of a delayed reaction to the thing Goro had
said before, about knowing Hansel would want to and saying what he had to say,
anyway.

He wondered if there was anything he could do at this point
to convince Goro that he would never want to hit him, but he shook his head --
that wasn't what he was supposed to be thinking about.

Guessed this did look and feel a bit more like a fucking
kidnapping than anything else, though, so'***he shifted Goro down into his arms, like the way he'd carried him to bed***
the night before. That was ... nicer. Wasn't putting him down, though.

**Lina:**

"Oh. Alright." Usually when Hansel carried him
like this, it was more... kinda... romantic, but Hansel didn't look like he was
in a romantic mood. He still looked like he was planning to bite something.
Goro was tempted to pull himself up to Hansel's face and start kissing him,
soften that look a little, but it might not be the time for it.

He took in their surroundings as Hansel carried him deeper
into the woods. "So I guess we're just... taking a stroll..."

**Izzy:**

"Mm." He kept walking. After a minute, he said,
"Look. I know you're fuckin' right. About Leigh. I just -- gotta fucking
think about this."

**Lina:**

"Ah. Got it." I'll shut up now, he almost said,
before having the good sense to realize it would be better if he actually just
stopped fucking talking right there.

Amari said he did all his work through words, but Hansel
needed quiet to think. That was fine. Goro could give him that. No problem. He
ground his teeth while he waited.

Ah, he had to fucking say something. "If it helps, I
could tell him for you."

**Izzy:**

"Nope," he said immediately, then hesitated.
"I mean, fuck, maybe."

He came to where he knew the windfall had been -- chopped up
for firewood or rotted away at some point in the years he'd been gone -- and
finally stopped, and let Goro's feet down to the forest floor, keeping his other
arm around his shoulders.

"Look. What if. I mean, I'm gonna be here, for a while
at least," he tried. "So if something fuckin' happens, I can handle
it. Don't have to fuckin' -- bring it up before then, freak him and Mom out."

**Lina:**

He sounded uncertain, scared almost, and Goro thought what
he needed first of all was a hug--so he hugged him. He held him tight for a
moment without saying anything, then turned his face to the side so he could
talk without it coming out muffled.

"The day Luci came, when we went to the circus. I was
really fucking glad I already knew. Because when I got home, and I saw you
standing there and you had that weird look in your eyes, and I heard the
thunder... I wasn't scared. Because I knew what I had to do. I didn't have to
waste any time trying to talk to you, or figure out what was happening. I just
jumped into action, and I knew we had it. I knew we'd be okay. And,
alright--" He let out a weak laugh. "Wasn't my best fight, and
eventually I was so fucking stunned it felt like I couldn't move, but... the
point is, it would've been so much worse if I hadn't known what was going on.
Imagine if I'd had to just sit there, wondering why, thinking you were just
fucking attacking me over and over."

**Izzy:**

"I'm not --." He realized they were talking about
different things. Hansel's concern was what if Gruumsh comes for Leigh --
Goro's was what if Gruumsh comes for you while you're here and they don't know
what to do.

Which was definitely fucking worse. There was no fucking way
that Marion and Leigh could fight him off -- the Runners had barely managed it.
But Goro and Mishka had both managed to talk him down, and he figured -- well,
he remembered his mom holding him and calming him down when he was little, but
if he was already electric, if he couldn't be touched, and she didn't know what
to say --

"All right, but what --," he tried again, and
tightened his arm around Goro. "But what if I tell them, or you do, and
then -- they're just fucking scared of me, 'cause they should be, and I have to
-- leave -- I just fucking got here and I just fucking got them back and
--."

**Lina:**

"Hey, hey, hey." Goro put his arms around Hansel's
neck and pulled him down to kiss him, then pressed their foreheads together.
"Hey, slow down. Have you fucking met your mom? 'Cause I have, and that
woman's made of steel. Hell, she's probably gonna fucking sign up to go murder
Gruumsh with me, when she hears. They're not going to send you away, dummy. They
love you. Everyone's on your side, alright? As soon as you let them in."

**Izzy:**

"Sure, but --." But. There was a fucking score of
objections he could make. But maybe I should just leave anyway. But I'm just
putting them in danger. But maybe I should just hide in the woods, crawl in a cave
-- but maybe I should just do what I came out here to do in the first place --
but --

And but you're not on my side, but --

But -- he made himself breathe. Closed his eyes for a second
and opened them again to study Goro's face. Seven seconds in, seven seconds
out, like Mishka whispered when he woke up with night terrors. Worked on the
day terrors, too, as long as someone was holding onto him.

"All right. I -- fucking guess." The fucking idea
of it, though, of sitting down to breakfast and telling the two of them all
about how an orc god took control of him sometimes, and made him kill the
people he loved, and it might fucking happen to Leigh too, and what the fuck
would their mom do then --

"I don't think I can," he mumbled.

**Lina:**

"I'll help you." Goro gave him another quick kiss.
"I'll talk, or I'll hold onto you while you talk, or we can go back and
forth--whatever you need. And if that's not enough, we can get Mishka to come
back out here, and he'll help too." He smiled. "I mean, we might have
to fucking stop him every thirty seconds, with the fucking embellishments he'd
be adding, but you know."

He slid his hands down to Hansel's face, cradling it.
"You can do it. Hey, listen to me. This is important. You suffered so
fucking much, for two goddamn years, thinking you might have had a choice.
Thinking it was your own fault. If--look, I don't know what's going on with
Leigh, but god fucking forbid if shit gets worse with him--he should know,
Hansel. Tell him. Tell him what he needs to know."

**Izzy:**

Hansel wondered, on a scale of one to ten, just how fucking
cowardly it'd be of him to ask Goro to tell them while he just hid in the
woods. Goro could use that spell to tell him when it was over. He'd have to
convince himself to come in, then, though -- or Goro would have to come get
him, maybe, which, fuck -- that would only make him feel worse. Couldn't just
keeping fuckin' ducking the responsibility.

Maybe Mishka would help. Or then he'd just fucking get
caught up thinking about their crew, and how he'd --

All right, no, they didn't have to know that part. Right?
Sure. Just bare basics. Which were ... something. Mishka would be able to help
talk him through that -- but -- Goro probably could too. He was fuckin' great
at talking.

"What --." He hesitated. It was all the same in
his head -- it was hard to pull apart. "What d'you think they need to
know. Exactly."

**Lina:**

"Uh. Everything?" Goro winced. "D'you wanna
hear how I'd put it?"

**Izzy:**

"Fucking everything?" Hansel pulled away, giving
him a horrified look. "You want me to fuckin' tell my mom and little
brother about -- no. Fucking no."

Red sky at dawn, blood in the water, red on his hands, blood
in his teeth, red in the clouds, blood on the decks.

Deep breaths. Clear skies. Calm seas. He closed his eyes and
grit his teeth, hissing through them.

**Lina:**

"Alright, alright, come here. Neye, neye." Goro
tried to tug Hansel back down, to hold him tight again. "You don't want to
tell them what happened on your old ship, I'm guessing."

**Izzy:**

"I sure fucking don't," he growled through his
teeth, shrugging Goro's efforts off. What possible fucking good would it do to
lay out the most awful fucking things that'd ever -- he got that feeling he
hadn't had since the ship to Calisham, the feeling that Goro was just fucking
with him, that for some fucking reason Goro just wanted to draw him in to hurt
him as much as possible -- and he knew it didn't make any sense (deep breaths,
clear skies), but neither did what he was fucking suggesting.

Everything. Everything was too goddamn much for Hansel to
handle. He couldn't lay out every horrific, gory fucking detail for them. He
couldn't do that to his family or to himself -- he fucking couldn't.

**Lina:**

"Hansel." Goro took a step back, clinging to
Hansel's hand on the way so he wouldn't think Goro was just letting go. This
wasn't good. Goro was losing him--he was breathing heavy, and he had a faraway
look, like in his mind he was back on that ship, or in the aftermath of it more
likely.

"Alright, we won't tell them that part, then."
Goro tried to think what he could say to get Hansel grounded again. Snap him
back to where he was. He gave Hansel's hand a quick squeeze. "Hey. Stay
here. You gotta tell me about these trees." Goro waved at the branches
overhead. "They got names and shit, right? What kinds of trees are
they?"

We're far from the sea. So far from that old ship. Different
place. Different time--you've got pesky little me with you now. I followed you
all the way out here.

**Izzy:**

Hansel forced another breath through his teeth, squeezing
his eyes closed. He wanted to fucking bolt. Knew he shouldn't -- that it wasn't
a solution -- but couldn't stop the spiraling thoughts of what if I just run
and none of them can find me again and I just hide somewhere until the next storm
or just --

But Goro squeezed his hand, and he managed to open his eyes
to stare at Goro in confusion. He didn't see what -- what trees had to do with
anything -- but the information tumbled out of him anyway, choppy and puzzled,
almost instinctive.

"What? Fuckin' ... broad-leafs. Maples. Oaks.
Beeches." He shook his head like he was breaking through to the surface of
a frozen lake, felt the shiver run through him. "What's it fucking matter?
They're fucking -- trees. What?"

**Lina:**

"How do I know which ones of 'em are good to eat? If I
get lost in the woods."

**Izzy:**

"Y'don't fuckin' -- eat -- trees --." Hansel gave
him an incredulous look, then realized -- Goro was just trying to distract him.
Make him laugh, maybe, or force him to settle so that he could take care of the
useless fuckin' city boy. And they were a long ways out -- if Hansel bolted he
bet that Goro might not be able to make it back safely, so kind of a valid
concern.

He was ... trying. He really was. He wasn't fucking Hansel
around, even if he was kinda fucking around -- it was a sincere effort.

All right. Seven seconds in, seven seconds out. Hansel
rubbed at his face, pressed his hand against his closed eyes until colors
danced behind his eyelids. He squeezed Goro's hand back.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. I get it."

**Lina:**

"Hey, I mean, I ate some leaves once. When I was a kid,
and couldn't find anything else. I threw 'em all up later, but. You never
know." Goro smiled and stepped back in close. "Hey, speaking of. You
never got your breakfast. You ready to head back in? We don't have to... tell
them anything. Just eat breakfast."

**Izzy:**

Hansel shook his head, still covering his eyes. "I
fuckin' ... I need a minute. You go." Actually, fuck that.
"Nope." He dropped his hand to curl both arms around Goro again and
pull him in tight, lifting him up a little and resting his face against Goro's
shoulder. "No. Changed my mind. Stay here."

**Lina:**

"Psh. Like you could've got rid of me anyway."
Goro clung to him just as tight, kissing the side of his head. "Take as
long as you need, ahuv."

**Izzy:**

"You are goddamn difficult to shake," Hansel joked
weakly, muffled against Goro's shoulder. After a beat, he added, "Thanks
for that, shemeshi."

**Lina:**

"Mm. How'd you think you were gonna hide from the sun,
huh? What, you gonna run away to the Underdark next? Bad news, I've been there
too." Another kiss. "I'll come find you anywhere."

If you want me to, he almost added, but... nah, the mood he
was in, he cared less about being wanted, and more about making sure Hansel
would always be okay.

**Izzy:**

Hansel laughed quietly. Fucking Goro. Fucking relentless.
"Yeah, I'm gettin' that fuckin' impression." He should say, I'm sorry
I ran. He should say, Won't happen again, but he knew he couldn't promise that,
and there wasn't much point in apologizing just to do it again.

So he said, "Listen," instead, and hesitated, but
carried on: "Listen, I -- have a real fuckin' hard time -- trusting
people. I trust my crew to, y'know, have my back when we're fighting, and shit,
but -- it's different with you and Mishka, you know? I don't ..." Fuck,
why was this so goddamn difficult. "I don't fuckin' mind physical pain but
the two of you can -- really fucking hurt me. And he has before," he said
quietly. "And -- I don't -- actually think he ever would again, and I
don't fuckin' think you would, but -- I fuckin' ... forget, sometimes. And then
I think -- all I can do is leave. And I don't fucking think about it hurting
anyone because everything feels goddamn fake and --."

Eldath, he sounded fucking stupid. Why was he even saying
this.

"I just mean," he tried, "you know, sometimes
-- I just need you to ... fucking remind me. That you'll fuckin' chase me down,
and why. That's all." And automatically, before he could stop himself, he
added, "Sorry."

**Lina:**

And then I think -- all I can do is leave. And I don't
fucking think about it hurting anyone because everything feels goddamn fake and
--

Oh, hell if that didn't sound fucking familiar.

"No, I--I get it," Goro said. "Boy, do I
fucking get it. That's why I ran into the woods that one night, you know? And
almost wanted to again last night. That feeling of, well, everything's fake
anyway, why's it matter. Hell, I don't even have the Mishka excuse. I'm just...
like that." He ran his hands over Hansel's back. "Maybe we just need
to know that about each other. That if we run, it's because we forgot. So yeah.
I'll chase you to the ends of the earth, Hansel." He squeezed his eyes
shut. "Will you chase me?"

That felt like jumping off a fucking cliff, right there.
Hoping he'd get caught.

**Izzy:**

"Yes." Hansel gripped Goro more tightly.
"God, yes. Fuck. I just think --." Sometimes I think you don't want
me, don't want me to chase you, don't want -- but he'd kind of had the idea
that Goro got it, felt the same way. He just needed to hear it. Maybe hear it a
fucking lot. Keep hearing it. "I just -- need to know you want me to. I
just fucking want you to be okay and I think -- y'know, that -- being around me
isn't what's fuckin' best for you, but -- if you want me --." His hands
turned to fists in Goro's clothes; he made himself not clamp down any tighter
because he thought he really might break Goro, if he did. "I'll fucking do
anything for you. I'll go anywhere."

**Lina:**

"I do! I do fucking want you. And I need you too,
but--hah, you know, Amari told me it's better to be wanted than needed. And I
wasn't really sure I agreed with her, but... god, I can kind of see it now,
what she meant. Yes, I want you to chase me. And you want me to chase you. That
is better, isn't it? That sounds fucking amazing."

**Izzy:**

"Right, but -- y'know, maybe," Hansel offered,
"we could ... fuckin' try to not need to be chased, too. Give that a
fucking shot. Preempt it and shit. Right?"

**Lina:**

Goro laughed, burying his face against Hansel's neck.
"I mean. Well. The way I'm feeling at the moment, I can't fathom ever
running away from you ever again, so... yeah, sure, I'll give that a fucking
try. I'm feeling bold. Let's give it a go."

**Izzy:**

"All right." Hansel choked out a laugh. He did the
same fucking thing -- thought I could never leave them, I could never run away
from this, then fucking did exactly that. Wasn't sure how much promising to
never leave could mean, when that was always what he fell back on.
"Yeah."

**Lina:**

"You feeling any better?" Goro leaned back to run
his hands over Hansel's face and give him another kiss. You feeling... up for
something? he almost asked, considering they were out there in the fucking
woods where no one could see, and Goro hadn't been laid in close to two weeks.
But Hansel obviously wasn't feeling up to much. He seemed... weighted, like he
was carrying something heavy. Which, Goro supposed, he was.

"No rush," Goro added. "Take as much time as
you need, and I ain't going anywhere."

**Izzy:**

"Bit," he managed, closing his eyes and leaning
into Goro's touch. "Yeah. Let's just -- stay a while longer."

[END]

Title: Closet Skeletons. Summary: Goro learns about Hansel's
biological father, Yehuda, from Marion. He also learns that Leigh's health
improved after the first storm that Hansel heard Gruumsh in, and that he
appears to have mild lightning powers since then. He convinces Hansel to tell
his family about the Gruumsh thing.