Impatience

[touchedinthehead]

Aldaras doesn't bring up the knife with Annie again, nor his sister, or various ways she could be hurt. Annie has homework, so she doesn't stay at his apartment too long. He goes back to having nothing to do - there's some more pacing, some quiet freaking out over Annie and her safety, and then he distracts himself with obsessive preparation for taking care of the knife.

He'll - pack with the assumption that he can save his sister. There's lots of non-perishable food, packing as much as possible with the least amount of weight. Water, too, but that one's a bit harder. It's always heavy. Whatever, that's fine, he'll just - obsessively pack some more things. Pack, pack, pack.

Predictably, he runs out of things to do. Except think. Which has become something of a minefield, lately. To keep him from doing something stupid. He can't think about Zevaia, can't think about the knife, can't think about the Dean and how insanely long it's taking him to get the smallest tidbits of information out of him. He can't think too much about obsessive ways to make sure Annie's safe, for fear of becoming some kind of psychotic, controlling stalker or something.

But trying to not think about Annie is a recipe for failure or insanity, so he distracts himself with - what ifs. What would have happened if he'd met her without the necklace's and tracker's side effects combination, what he would have done if she'd asked him to kiss her...

That helps the time pass by faster.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

"And do what about them?" somebody mutters.

[touchedinthehead]

"... Bandage them, don't do anything with broken bones, ask a doctor to check you out when you get home."

[alicornucopia]

"I didn't bring bandages, did you?" asks Sintre.

"How am I supposed to tell if I have a broken bone if it doesn't hurt?" asks someone.

[touchedinthehead]

"I brought some," says Aldaras, "but I was focusing on carrying food and water."

[cut_and_dried]

"You can probably check if it's at a weird angle or something. Or if you have trouble doing things with the body part." Pause. "Also, who wants to brainstorm ideas for how to destroy the knife? My vote goes to 'throw it into a fucking volcano.'"

[alicornucopia]

"I brought dry cement, if there's water to spare to mix it up," says Sintre.

[touchedinthehead]

"We can probably borrow a boat and take it out to the deep ocean and dump it after encasing it in concrete."

[cut_and_dried]

"Or throw it at a nest of rabid fucking badgers or something," mutters Zevaia. "Or maybe we can launch it into the sun..."

[touchedinthehead]

"- Also, there are a few people who had trouble walking, if anyone would like to help, that would be great," says an Aldaras who is only slightly overwhelmed.

[alicornucopia]

"Where's civilization?" wonders someone vaguely.

[touchedinthehead]

"I have a map, there's a town to the east and we're about four days from Drofnfjord."

[alicornucopia]

"I'm going to go ahead and cement the knife now," Sintre says, "if there's no objection."

[cut_and_dried]

"... I can't piss on it first, can I."

[touchedinthehead]

"No," sighs Aldaras. "Please don't. Thank you, Sintre, that seems best."

[alicornucopia]

Sintre has a pair of tongs, too, not fully trusting his gloves. He mixes up his cement, and picks up the knife, and embeds it therein.

[touchedinthehead]

Meanwhile, Aldaras retrieves all immobile cut and finds them ways to - actually move. Mostly by finding other people to help them.

[alicornucopia]

They prop each other up and start making their way towards the nearest town. The ones who were making out earlier hold hands and gaze at each other.

[touchedinthehead]

That's - Aldaras doesn't really know how to feel about that, but they seem happy, so he's just - not going to draw attention to it. He makes a complicated face, instead.

And then he realizes that actually managing to beat the knife is salient information. "Sintre," he says, carefully, "I need to go tell my keeper how we just did it. Watch the knife, please?"

[alicornucopia]

"Sure, I'll wait right here," Sintre says, sitting down.

[touchedinthehead]

"Thanks."

He goes off to go do that, as quickly as is possible without injury. Zevaia follows. They reach the town reasonably quickly, and he asks for a phone and dials Annie's number.

[keep_busy]

"Salutations?"

[touchedinthehead]

"Salutations, it's me - we did it, cut people are now uncut and -" Pause. His voice breaks just a little, and becomes somewhat gooey. "I missed you very much."

[keep_busy]

"Oh thank goodness - is your sister okay - what's going to happen to the knife - when do you think you'll be back?"

[touchedinthehead]

"She's fine, the knife's already in cement and we're trying to figure out what to do with it, and - I don't know yet."

[keep_busy]

"Okay. Well, I'll see you when you get back. Anything else I need to know?"