RE: The Gradual Massacre (GBS2G4) [Round 6: Tidal Cove]
10-14-2013, 09:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-14-2013, 09:54 PM by MalkyTop.)
Holly didn’t accept the invitation until she was sure that yes, the strange little lady meant both of them, including the one currently painting her porch with whatever the hell kept coming out of his mouth.
Delphine assured her that it was alright by going out, dipping her fingers into the purple gunk, and dabbing it on her lip. “It’s only silk,” she said to Holly, who now felt like joining Algernon in barfing. “I can clean it. I’ve got something he can drink.”
Frankly, Holly didn’t think Algernon could drink anything with this constant stream of purple strands pouring out of his mouth. But still, she propped him vaguely upwards once more and led him inside, hoping that he wouldn’t drip on her. It was difficult getting him into the chair, but eventually she got him in a position where he was leaning rather than falling and that was good enough for her. It was good enough for Delphine too, who turned around with a steaming something-or-other and pressed a spoon into Algernon’s mouth with all the practice of a recent mother. Algernon recognized medicine when he saw it and somehow managed to get it down his throat. Holly watched him as he sighed, choked violently, spat out a large glob of silk, and gently slammed his head against the table.
“Woah,” Holly cried out, her arm jerking automatically to Algernon’s shoulder. For a few panicky seconds, she thought he had been poisoned; but then Algernon flopped a sweaty arm upwards and attempted to shove her away. He didn’t have quite the force to do so, but Holly let go to be polite.
“I jus’ wann,” he slurred, turning his head slightly against the filthy table, “gouda sleep.” And with that barely intelligible request, he closed his eyes and made the face of someone who wasn’t quite unconscious, but willing to give it a shot.
Nothing was coming out of his mouth anymore, so Holly turned her attention back to her surroundings and wrinkled her nose. Was this a voodoo hut? It looked like a voodoo hut. Tasteless and filthy and full of disgusting, useless reagents that did nothing but besmirch the idea of magic. And unfortunately, it smelled like one too. Lovely. Delphine turned around from a bubbling pot and Holly forced an impassive face.
“Would you mind telling me why you were expecting us?”
“I wasn’t expecting you,” said Delphine with one long shrug, “you simply weren’t a surprise.”
Holly restrained herself from shaking the old woman until her bones fell apart. “Okay. Why weren’t we surprising, then?”
This had no answer, and as Holly waited, Delphine only glanced at a grimy little sheet. Her restraint was beginning to fade.
“What’s that?” Holly asked as she clenched her hands behind her back.
Delphine shot a secretive smile. “It’s a recipe for – “
“You know what, never mind,” said Holly, who was definitely not going to be drawn into some explanation of voodoo drivel, not now.
Algernon turned his head and groaned. His hands bumped the table as he struggled to get them to his temples. Instinctively, Holly said, “Go to sleep.”
“I caaaaaaaaaaaan’t,” said the muffled voice of Algernon. “Too much noooise.”
“Are we too loud? We can – “
“Nnnnnoooooooooooooooo,” said Algernon, and Holly remembered why she hated children. “Not that, too much noise in my head.” Like limp tentacles, Algernon’s arms gestured towards the air where his head would have been if it wasn’t face flat on the table. “I’m feeling people. In my head. It’s like flowers if flowers were heavy. And in my head. And also loud.” With his explanation done, his arms flopped back onto the table with a damp thwap. Holly could only stare.
“That made no sense. At all.”
Algernon burbled out something that was a groan and a sigh at the same time. “Is this telepathy? I think this is telepathy. I might have telepathy.”
“Why,” said Holly, glancing towards Delphine accusatorily, but the voodoo woman was at her large pot with her back to her.
Algernon presumably tried to bop the worm on his head but missed and his fist wavered over his shoulder instead. “Turn it oooooooooff. Stooooooooooop.”
This was going nowhere. Holly turned towards Delphine with great reluctance. “Do you happen to have some extra clothes I could have?”
-
The clothes were about as shitty as she had expected and didn’t fit well at all. It sagged in all the wrong places and in general made Holly feel profoundly old. But it was dry, or at least drier, and probably more practical. There wasn’t any private spot Holly could go to change, but Delphine had offered to hold up a blanket in front of her and Algernon didn’t look to be fully conscious anyways and it wasn’t like the tiny cottage was rocking a lot, just bobbing a little. While she was at it, she cleaned herself off as well as she could. Which wasn’t very well, considering her surroundings.
“I don’t suppose you have anything for him?” Holly asked, gesturing towards Algernon before actually looking towards him. In the time she took to change, he had gotten out a rather damp bottle of wine and was now trying to drink it while keeping his chin stubbornly on the table.
The bottle popped out of his grip with a worryingly disgusting sound. Holly’s prepared lecture transmuted into something between a ‘yeeurgh’ and an ‘eeew’ and she immediately set it down out of Algernon’s reach to wipe her hands.
“Givit back.”
“No!” Holly barked, dipping her hands in the basin of ocean water that Delphine thoughtfully provided. “I already have too many shitty problems, I don’t need a drunk idiot on top of that!”
“But it’s haaaard,” he sobbed, arms reaching for the bottle. The next instant, a toy claw appeared in his hands. Holly knocked it away. It also detached with great reluctance.
“Look, you had telepathy before and you weren’t like this! Can you just stop acting like a child?”
“’S not th’ same,” Algernon mumbled. “Back then, ‘s like she was just…tellin’ me stuff. Now, ‘s like I’m full of people. Four people is too much people to be full of. I hate this.” And with this declaration made, he fumbled for his bag. Holly confiscated this as well.
“’She?’” Her first instinct was to glance towards the worm on Algernon’s head. She tried to tell herself that it was just her imagination that it looked like it had somehow drilled further into Algernon’s skull. Then, her mind caught on something else. “’Four?’”
Let’s see. Countess, stupid voodoo lady, herself. “Is that including you?”
Algernon managed to shake his head, which was only impressive because his chin was still glued to the table. Holly turned towards Delphine, who had turned her attention back to her dumb recipe for whatever the shit. “Who else is here?”
Delphine responded with a broken grin as she held up a really shitty-looking and waterlogged doll. Holly stopped bothering to hide her contempt.
“Yeah, okay. Thanks. C’mon Algernon, let’s find a way to get outta here.” Holly pulled Algernon up by the sleeve and resisted the urge to wipe her hands again. His arm felt strange underneath the fabric, with a weird sort of consistency that was unnatural for arms, at least as far as she was aware of. Thankfully, Algernon was loads better at standing upright than he had been a little while ago. He made for the wine again but Holly transformed it into a burst of recklessness that filled her up with a cozy warmth. Slinging both their bags over her shoulder, she dragged him out, still careful to hold the sleeve. Delphine watched them leave, looking as surprised as when she had received them, that is, not at all.
“It will be good if you all left sooner rather than later,” the voodoo woman called out helpfully, making it apparent that by ‘left’ she wasn’t just referring to her house. Holly grabbed a bottle of something or other on the way out as soon as the old lady turned around again. Hopefully, it was something really important.
Once outside on the sand, Algernon started to protest. “Wait a sec, I can’t walk like this.”
“Walk like what?” Holly asked, even though Algernon was getting into a bad habit of giving her decidedly unsatisfactory answers, or at least answers that she really didn’t want to hear. In response, Algernon struggled to kick off his shoes, which came off with a slimy thok. It was only then that Holly noticed that they were practically overflowing with grey-purple gunk.
She let go of Algernon and tried to back away and peer closer at the same time. Algernon squirmed under her scrutiny. “Are you sweating silk?”
Delphine assured her that it was alright by going out, dipping her fingers into the purple gunk, and dabbing it on her lip. “It’s only silk,” she said to Holly, who now felt like joining Algernon in barfing. “I can clean it. I’ve got something he can drink.”
Frankly, Holly didn’t think Algernon could drink anything with this constant stream of purple strands pouring out of his mouth. But still, she propped him vaguely upwards once more and led him inside, hoping that he wouldn’t drip on her. It was difficult getting him into the chair, but eventually she got him in a position where he was leaning rather than falling and that was good enough for her. It was good enough for Delphine too, who turned around with a steaming something-or-other and pressed a spoon into Algernon’s mouth with all the practice of a recent mother. Algernon recognized medicine when he saw it and somehow managed to get it down his throat. Holly watched him as he sighed, choked violently, spat out a large glob of silk, and gently slammed his head against the table.
“Woah,” Holly cried out, her arm jerking automatically to Algernon’s shoulder. For a few panicky seconds, she thought he had been poisoned; but then Algernon flopped a sweaty arm upwards and attempted to shove her away. He didn’t have quite the force to do so, but Holly let go to be polite.
“I jus’ wann,” he slurred, turning his head slightly against the filthy table, “gouda sleep.” And with that barely intelligible request, he closed his eyes and made the face of someone who wasn’t quite unconscious, but willing to give it a shot.
Nothing was coming out of his mouth anymore, so Holly turned her attention back to her surroundings and wrinkled her nose. Was this a voodoo hut? It looked like a voodoo hut. Tasteless and filthy and full of disgusting, useless reagents that did nothing but besmirch the idea of magic. And unfortunately, it smelled like one too. Lovely. Delphine turned around from a bubbling pot and Holly forced an impassive face.
“Would you mind telling me why you were expecting us?”
“I wasn’t expecting you,” said Delphine with one long shrug, “you simply weren’t a surprise.”
Holly restrained herself from shaking the old woman until her bones fell apart. “Okay. Why weren’t we surprising, then?”
This had no answer, and as Holly waited, Delphine only glanced at a grimy little sheet. Her restraint was beginning to fade.
“What’s that?” Holly asked as she clenched her hands behind her back.
Delphine shot a secretive smile. “It’s a recipe for – “
“You know what, never mind,” said Holly, who was definitely not going to be drawn into some explanation of voodoo drivel, not now.
Algernon turned his head and groaned. His hands bumped the table as he struggled to get them to his temples. Instinctively, Holly said, “Go to sleep.”
“I caaaaaaaaaaaan’t,” said the muffled voice of Algernon. “Too much noooise.”
“Are we too loud? We can – “
“Nnnnnoooooooooooooooo,” said Algernon, and Holly remembered why she hated children. “Not that, too much noise in my head.” Like limp tentacles, Algernon’s arms gestured towards the air where his head would have been if it wasn’t face flat on the table. “I’m feeling people. In my head. It’s like flowers if flowers were heavy. And in my head. And also loud.” With his explanation done, his arms flopped back onto the table with a damp thwap. Holly could only stare.
“That made no sense. At all.”
Algernon burbled out something that was a groan and a sigh at the same time. “Is this telepathy? I think this is telepathy. I might have telepathy.”
“Why,” said Holly, glancing towards Delphine accusatorily, but the voodoo woman was at her large pot with her back to her.
Algernon presumably tried to bop the worm on his head but missed and his fist wavered over his shoulder instead. “Turn it oooooooooff. Stooooooooooop.”
This was going nowhere. Holly turned towards Delphine with great reluctance. “Do you happen to have some extra clothes I could have?”
-
The clothes were about as shitty as she had expected and didn’t fit well at all. It sagged in all the wrong places and in general made Holly feel profoundly old. But it was dry, or at least drier, and probably more practical. There wasn’t any private spot Holly could go to change, but Delphine had offered to hold up a blanket in front of her and Algernon didn’t look to be fully conscious anyways and it wasn’t like the tiny cottage was rocking a lot, just bobbing a little. While she was at it, she cleaned herself off as well as she could. Which wasn’t very well, considering her surroundings.
“I don’t suppose you have anything for him?” Holly asked, gesturing towards Algernon before actually looking towards him. In the time she took to change, he had gotten out a rather damp bottle of wine and was now trying to drink it while keeping his chin stubbornly on the table.
The bottle popped out of his grip with a worryingly disgusting sound. Holly’s prepared lecture transmuted into something between a ‘yeeurgh’ and an ‘eeew’ and she immediately set it down out of Algernon’s reach to wipe her hands.
“Givit back.”
“No!” Holly barked, dipping her hands in the basin of ocean water that Delphine thoughtfully provided. “I already have too many shitty problems, I don’t need a drunk idiot on top of that!”
“But it’s haaaard,” he sobbed, arms reaching for the bottle. The next instant, a toy claw appeared in his hands. Holly knocked it away. It also detached with great reluctance.
“Look, you had telepathy before and you weren’t like this! Can you just stop acting like a child?”
“’S not th’ same,” Algernon mumbled. “Back then, ‘s like she was just…tellin’ me stuff. Now, ‘s like I’m full of people. Four people is too much people to be full of. I hate this.” And with this declaration made, he fumbled for his bag. Holly confiscated this as well.
“’She?’” Her first instinct was to glance towards the worm on Algernon’s head. She tried to tell herself that it was just her imagination that it looked like it had somehow drilled further into Algernon’s skull. Then, her mind caught on something else. “’Four?’”
Let’s see. Countess, stupid voodoo lady, herself. “Is that including you?”
Algernon managed to shake his head, which was only impressive because his chin was still glued to the table. Holly turned towards Delphine, who had turned her attention back to her dumb recipe for whatever the shit. “Who else is here?”
Delphine responded with a broken grin as she held up a really shitty-looking and waterlogged doll. Holly stopped bothering to hide her contempt.
“Yeah, okay. Thanks. C’mon Algernon, let’s find a way to get outta here.” Holly pulled Algernon up by the sleeve and resisted the urge to wipe her hands again. His arm felt strange underneath the fabric, with a weird sort of consistency that was unnatural for arms, at least as far as she was aware of. Thankfully, Algernon was loads better at standing upright than he had been a little while ago. He made for the wine again but Holly transformed it into a burst of recklessness that filled her up with a cozy warmth. Slinging both their bags over her shoulder, she dragged him out, still careful to hold the sleeve. Delphine watched them leave, looking as surprised as when she had received them, that is, not at all.
“It will be good if you all left sooner rather than later,” the voodoo woman called out helpfully, making it apparent that by ‘left’ she wasn’t just referring to her house. Holly grabbed a bottle of something or other on the way out as soon as the old lady turned around again. Hopefully, it was something really important.
Once outside on the sand, Algernon started to protest. “Wait a sec, I can’t walk like this.”
“Walk like what?” Holly asked, even though Algernon was getting into a bad habit of giving her decidedly unsatisfactory answers, or at least answers that she really didn’t want to hear. In response, Algernon struggled to kick off his shoes, which came off with a slimy thok. It was only then that Holly noticed that they were practically overflowing with grey-purple gunk.
She let go of Algernon and tried to back away and peer closer at the same time. Algernon squirmed under her scrutiny. “Are you sweating silk?”