For what human ill does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?

[tereixa-zann.livejournal.com]

[Early morning of Sunday, June 27 (day 392)]
[Out in the park]

I smell like beer. Which, since it's oh-god-early on a Sunday morning, sometime between breakfast and church, would be kinda embarrassing if I'd been drinking.

Yesterday was such a soup that I ended up going to bed early (well, early for a Saturday); woke up in the quiet time before dawn and lay awake for a bit watching the wall. There's a blank spot where the blueprint Kent gave me used to be, I used it in the music box, and now Genny's shades-of-grey sketch of my Carousel and the perfect crisp black-on-white Soon. from Management are flanking empty space. Can't really make them out in the dark, but I know they're there.

So I got up and went out and went for a walk,

I went to the Miskatonic because hey--jukebox, how can you go wrong with a jukebox? It helped, it really did. So I was sitting down with coffee to listen to the music when I saw Cain and someone I didn't place heading up the street and not dawdling at all, so I went out to see where they were going and, well, the Abbey is not an unfriendly place so I figured I'd stop by and ask what was going on, or more specifically what broke.

I don't have a lot of experience working with brewing equipment (and there's a faint flicker of guilt, remembering Tez), but a ball valve is a ball valve, right? And cracks and leaks are pretty much the same all over.

So we got the distillery patched up and then cleaned up, and they were nice enough to spot breakfast, and I've got that tired content feeling you get after a good long job. Nice to know I can still improvise, if I need to, even with everything that's changed--and if I can't get what needs fixing, I can still fix.

I'll head home in a bit, but right now I'm just killing a moment in the park. My stomach's full and the tea's keeping me awake and life? Life is honestly feeling pretty good right now. Light a cigarette and stretch out my feet and watch the world go by, and I'm grinning, I can feel it.

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Comments

[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

"I think that he and Alice are good for one another... in a adult supervised sort of way."

"Indeed," I say, raising my eyebrows, because I'm sure Lucien remembers Alice's birthday party. What a mess that was. "They seem to like each other, and goodness knows Alice could do with friends closer to her own age."

"If you can't control the infection, you have to... Yeah, I need to see it. You'll have whiskey on hand, yes?"

"I own a bar, Lucien," I point out, smiling. "Come round any time. Hopefully Micah won't kick you or bite you."

I draw on my cigarette.

"And how is life at the carnival, Zann?" I say. Strange to think how long they've all been here. No stranger than many other things in Excolo, of course.

[docconstantine.livejournal.com]

"They seem to like each other, and goodness knows Alice could do with friends closer to her own age."

"It's good to see Alice is adjusting better to life here in Excolo." I say, remembering the girl she was when she first stumbled here. "As for Micah... hey, has he mentioned a girlfriend to you? He mentioned someone to me when we had that odd snow a few weeks back. Wondering how that's working out for him." I ponder, finding another cigarette and quickly lighting it with a match. "Maybe she can convince him to let me tend to his wounds properly, so I won't have to worry about too much bodily harm." Chuckle a little, at that.

[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

"Oh, yes," I say, and start laughing, because that whole day was bizarre. "A pretty farm girl, what was her name? Danielle? Dani-something. I had to talk to him about making sure they were being safe. It was all quite awkward." I sigh. "I thought, having only married Hermia recently, we'd have a few years before worrying about teaching our teenagers about sex and so on, but apparently not." I smile ruefully.

[tereixa-zann.livejournal.com]

"Settling, which I never thought I would say," I say with a smile that's a bit... well, I'm not unhappy, okay? I'm not. But there are paths worn down on the living lot, now, and we've been shaping the the shadows and sunlight so long that you can see where the grass grows longer or doesn't. It's strange as hell.

They exchange a couple of words about Micah, and I most sincerely hope nothing is going to have to come off (even if I've never met the kid, on general principles I wish that), and then Valmont mentions his girlfriend--

I was drawing in smoke and I've got that funny squashed feeling you get when you need more air but you can't get it because your lungs are already mostly full. It makes it hard to talk, and I wave my cigarette for a second, a sort of hang on now, while I get the words together.

"Danika?" I say a bit thinly. "Have you met her?"

[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

"Yes, a pretty blonde girl, about eighteen or twenty I'd say, so maybe a little older than him but not by much... He seems quite smitten," I say indulgently, then notice Zann's expression. "Do you know her?"

[tereixa-zann.livejournal.com]

"Yes," I say, and then "Sort of?" I mean, he did his level best to break me, I think, and I know what he is, I still feel sorry for him but I know, a perfect malengine beating its way into the shape of the world. Yeah, I guess... "She went out with Genny for a while. Once. She-- oh, boy." I run my hand through my hair, and I'm glad it's warm enough out that I don't quite shiver.

"She likes screwing around with people," is what I settle on, and I look over at Lucien. "She used to have a thing going with Tez before he took off, and she was no good for him. I think she is very bad news," and I look back to Valmont, "and I say that in light of all my fascinating experiences over the last year, and if anyone in my family was calling her girlfriend I would be wondering what to do about it when talking didn't work, you know?"

[docconstantine.livejournal.com]

Valmont and I are laughing and at ease, discussing teenage woes... and Zann is suddenly wound tighter than a spring and making the whole damn bench move with her jittering.

"Danika? Have you met her?" Arch an eyebrow and wait for what will come as Valmont confirms that is indeed the name, and he's met her.

"Do you know her?"

Zann stumbles, and stops to pick out her words...

this can't be good.

"She likes screwing around with people," And pauses to give me a look. "She used to have a thing going with Tez before he took off, and she was no good for him. I think she is very bad news," It only takes me a moment to put two and two together as she continues to talk to Valmont, and I feel myself go slightly cold.

"Shit Zann..." Throw my cigarette to the ground and crush it out, for it suddenly tastes like ashes in my mouth. "You sure? As in, bad news like for Tez, and Wanda, and me and you... His kind of bad news?"

[valmont-vicomte.livejournal.com]

My skin's already crawling after what Zann says, and then Lucien adds:

"You sure? As in, bad news like for Tez, and Wanda, and me and you... His kind of bad news?"

Bad news for Wanda. That means -

"Mon Dieu," I say. My mouth is very dry, and I feel faint.

[docconstantine.livejournal.com]

"Mon Dieu" Look to Valmont, and note the color rapidly fleeing his face. Shit.

I rise and gently take his elbow and guide him to where I was just sitting. Open my bag and find my flask with Verdi's fire whiskey. I don't normally offer it willy-nilly, but right now I think it would be medicinal.

"Here, sip." I sigh, handing it to him. "Don't need you slipping into shock."

Look back to Zann. "So this Danika is... is not what she seems."