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]

"Where am I - how am I going to get home -"

[touchedinthehead]

"I'll help you get home, but first we have to help the other people who are cut and - figure out what to do with the knife. Probably encase it in concrete and throw it in the ocean."

[alicornucopia]

"They went that way," she says, pointing.

[touchedinthehead]

"Thank you," says Aldaras, and he retrieves some more water and food and offers it to her. Then, off to - chase down more cut.

[alicornucopia]

Sintre goes with him, staff at the ready.

[touchedinthehead]

It doesn't take very long for them to come across more of the cut. These are less immobile stragglers. The knife, and Aldaras's sister aren't in sight, yet.

[alicornucopia]

The stragglers who attempt to hold more than perfunctory conversations report the same odd painlessness - in their blistered feet, scratched-up arms from tromping through the forest, and what ought to be desperately empty stomachs.

They point the way and take the water they're offered.

[cut_and_dried]

And then, predictably - sister. She does not have the knife in her hand, this time, but she is very obviously alive.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) she seems to be one of the ones in better health. They might have a little bit of trouble poking her with the necklace.

[alicornucopia]

Well, this is what Sintre's for, ostensibly.

He does his best to trip the cut on the outskirts of the group so Aldaras can necklace them. The fact that they don't seem to feel any pain makes him a little casual about doing injury, though he does confine himself to swatting away outstretched defending arms and sweeping their legs out from under them rather than trying body or head blows that will do little to deter someone insensitive to discomfort.

[touchedinthehead]

This method has been working out reasonably well. It continues to work out reasonably well, it's not like the cut are masters of fighting.

[cut_and_dried]

So, predictably - Zevaia gets necklaced.

She makes a screeching sound, followed by, "Fucking fuck, extra fuck - where the fuck is that knife, can we melt it the fuck down, that fucking jackass knife, I want to throw it in a fucking volcano after pissing on it! And - and - and set it the fuck on fire first and - shit!"

[alicornucopia]

"Is that everybody?" Sintre asks. "Who's got the damn thing?"

"Me," says somebody weakly. "Well, I did - I've dropped it - over there -"

[cut_and_dried]

"Okay, I'm setting that stupid - waste of perfectly good precious metal on so much fire, you have no fucking idea, it is going to be melted down into slag when I am fucking through with it."

[touchedinthehead]

"That's probably not going to work," sighs Aldaras, passing out the water and food supplies. It's - really not enough, considering the amount of people, but it's worth the effort. "Considering."

[cut_and_dried]

"Oh, you haven't fucking seen me when I really want to break something, and I really fucking want to break that gaudy-ass piece of badly stylized and cheaply painted bird shit."

[alicornucopia]

Meanwhile, a couple of the ex-cut have fallen into each other's arms and are snuggling each other and petting one another and sound very confused about why they are doing that.

[touchedinthehead]

"Hold that thought," says Aldaras to his sister. "Um. Announcement to - everyone. The necklace that was responsible for uncutting you has the side effect of making you fall instantly in love with another compatible person." Pause. "It's also symmetrical."

[alicornucopia]

The couple in question start making out.

Everyone else looks warily at them.

[touchedinthehead]

"Also, it seems that the knife's side effect is um - inability to feel pain. So uh, you should - probably check yourselves for injuries."

[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.