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 Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:33 pm
It was something he kept even from Jake, his brother, his cook, his right hand man. Tock wasn't too proud of it, either, but he still had to do it. Sunday night was the night he met with Ahja by the mountain, to give account.
He wore only a pair of pants, torn and ragged looking, that showed more skin than it covered and hinted at the green loincloth he wore underneath. He didn't look happy as he got there, even though some interesting things had been happening over the past few days.
He wondered just how much she would tell him. He didn't plan on telling her anything, himself. At least, not about the cabbages. Or about Neme. She would be sent to the ship soon enough.
"I'm here," he called when he got to their regular spot.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:43 pm
It wasn't any easier for the leader of the Lost Children: the only person who knew of the meetings was Toby, who understood why they happened, and why they had to happen for his leader's peace of mind. She came alone - it was rarely that Toby followed along, although he was probably somewhere in the vicinity - with the basket that seemed to be welded to her arm, full of edible plants and roots that she had picked on the way.
"Your trousers look awful," she said, which was apparently her greeting. Her nose wrinkled. "They want patching. Are you all right? Are m - are the kids all right?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:48 pm
"That's the problem with stealing clothes," he said shamelessly. "The only ones your group makes that fit are for that fatass boy, and they're too short and too wide around the waist. They get caught on s**t." He always seemed to curse more when talking to Ahja. He didn't even bother to ask why.
"They're still alive," he said, sitting on a rock as if it had been placed there just for him. "I've got more than half of them pulling their own weight for meals. Hell, just last night I had eggs, thanks to Gwyn."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:53 pm
"Well, she was always good at cliff-climbing," said Ahja with a touch of slightly sad pride, setting down her basket. "But you let her go when it's slippery and she'll end up with a broken neck - I don't know why I'm telling you, as you'd let her go anyway. Take your pants off and I'll fix them: otherwise you'll just go steal more. Are you too stupid or lazy still to make your own clothing? If you did, they would fit." (Just as Tock swore, Ahja's tongue got acidic. She didn't bother to ask why.)
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:56 pm
"If I let you do that the brats will wonder who did it," he said, not moving. "I can't sew, and none of them will do it. It'll open up questions I'm not willing to answer."
He looked at her. "You've gotten thinner. You baby those little shits too much and forget to eat." Not that he cared, he told himself. It was just an observation.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:07 pm
"They're my brats," she said, a little fiercely. She crossed her thin arms over her equally thin chest and sat down on a stump a little way away from him: she took one of the roots out of the basket and started to pull useless bits of leaf off it. "I eat when I'm hungry. You rip yourself to shreds over that silly pirate ship and you don't even care if you're hurt. I'll be burying you one day."
Since she said this every time, it was an old and tired threat. "Mickey left one of her necklaces behind," she said without preamble. "I found it a few days ago. Just throw it in her things. Okay? It was so long ago I don't think she'll even remember."
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:11 pm
He held out a hand for the necklace, used to this sort of thing. "Yekki is a bit homesick," he told her. "Word is he cries in the middle of the night. He might be coming back to you sooner or later." That actually happened a lot. A kid would think they were ready to get out from under the thumb, but not be able to hack it when it came time.
"The ship ain't gonna kill me, you know it as well as I do. Stress is going to do you in, though." He smirked. "If you die I'll have to get a second ship to fit all the little bastards."
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