[img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjExNi5hY2FjZWYuUTJ4aGJtTjVJRkJoZEhKcFkycy4x/burn-out-fade-away.regular.webp[/img]
[@Punished GN][@Atrophy][@FernStone][@Blizz][@AtomicEmperor]@everyone
[code]Kari Wilson's House[/code]
[hr]

Sloane had shot him a dispassionate expression that he met with one of his own, unrelenting. He was familiar with the unhappy gaze of strangers, the other side of the nuisance-friendly-do-gooer spectrum, the kind of people who were more like to shoo their own kids away from him and whisper thngs to their spouses.

[b]"[i]Finally,[/i] some honesty."[/b] he acknowledged Linqian - the girl who'd lost a brother, if he recalled from that argument at the church correctly, and she at least didn't entertain this 'facade' they were anything but associates by necessity at this stage. And unlike the rest, she'd suffered [i]personal[/i] loss in this. A sibling was something he could understand. He'd had a brother once, lost some seven thousand miles away in a foreign country he'd barely heard of. And the thought of Judy's withered face before had crossed his mind before he dispelled it.

She was asking about his situation? Not something h wanted to broach, in light of the RV. This place [i]]would[/i] have been a half-decent waiting spot, if for nothing else then because it was somewhat close enough to St. Portwell while being isolated enough that he was unlikely to be disturbed by anything but wild game to whet his appetite, [b]"Not on the streets,"[/b], he deflected, before shifting onto his next point as the other one, [b]"But respect or not, dead people don't care about what you do with their stuff [i]believe me[/i]. Just don't want Smokey Bear-"[/b] Clancy gestured to the encroaching suburban wilderness outside by lazily jabbing one sleeve outwards, [b]"-or any of the other neighbours calling the cops because you broke down the door, before..[/b]

[color=7B81B3]"No! No, no, I won't stand for this now! Who... What... Why!? Can't we ever get fucking organized? It's just like making plans! Just like it, I make sure I come back for a certain date, I syncronize my cronometer between the two dimensions, I get home on time to texts telling me that things are canceled like Verizon exists in the Kingdom of Molaran?"[/color]

The stranger with peculiarly [i]eastern[/i] features and a dour expression cut off his train of thought. [b]"Kingdom of what?"[/b] He wasn't sure if it was a metaphor, a joke, or something outright tangible. But he was right - the planning department in this group was lacking, and he felt exasperated at having to be the one to tell them - and get no results. Was this why Ashley had decided she was [i]done[/i] with them, dead or alive? From the internat chats they'd shared, he was getting the impression this was almost certainly the case.

And he couldn't help but notice that some of the others were looking at him queerly. The bearded man with the chalice - was that the [i]same[/i] chalice as the one from the dream? And the [i]other[/i] bearded guy, the one who'd dispelled the blinding light that night at the strip club. He wasn't close enough to make out what was being said, but he suspected it would lead to some [i]difficult questions[/i] - he'd deal with those later.

The plan to drink a round of [i]sacky[/i] or whatever it was called seemed sound enough, for the rest of them. At least they had a better lead than just [i]look through the dead girl's things for clues[/i]. He was starting to grow tired of thinking of these people as [i]the bearded man[/i] and [i]the grieving eastern man[/i] - and decided to be blunt about it. 

[b]"You're Sloane. I think I recognise the 'Britney' and 'Adora', but I'm struggling to follow who you are,"[/b] he recited, [b]"There's a lot of names carved in that tree, and Ashley didn't say much except how some people were [i]assholes[/i]. She was [i]family[/i] to me. I [i]want[/i] Father Wolf. He wants [i]you[/i] dead. Does that answer your questions?"[/b]

He wondered if he'd regret that in just a few minutes.