108th Page

[guybirdcrap]

You're still in the Baumine Mines. Get your asses moving before rats of unusual size go looking for a meal. It's dark and scary and the structures are old and dangerous. Don't die.

[Mission: Make it out of the mine]

Comments

[armedarchaeologist]

Uh.

I mean, if you want to. This is basically about as far out of my depth as demonology is.

[actually further out of his depth?]

On the bright side I don't see how you could actually make things worse, so I'd say go ahead with. Whatever you're going to do.

[foodporn]

[SOMEONE APPROVES OF HER PLAN]
[clearly that makes it foolproof]

Bo to the rescue. Back in business.

[skips ahead to catch up with eeyore]

[armedarchaeologist]

[oh, she's adorable.]

[this couldn't possibly go badly.]

[...]

[vala flashback.]

[rhymeswithdesign]

[stupor.]

[plodding.]

[foodporn]

Okay, tell me about your problems. I'm ready to listen. Narwhal away.

[rhymeswithdesign]

[brushes past.]

[foodporn]

Not so fast?

[rude, traumatized guy. grabs his arm]

[works a little succubus juju to get him to chill his tits]

[rhymeswithdesign]

[stops. shivers. looks at the hand on his arm.]

No, Ellie—

[wait what? no, that's not right.]

[looks up hand to arm to shoulder to face. stares.]

Judith?

[also not right.]

[foodporn]

Bo.

[slides hand down to touch his hand, keep contact so that he gets a steady stream of succuvalium]

You're scaring me.

[awesome therapist]

[rhymeswithdesign]

Bo. [blankly.]

[looks at cave. looks at cardboard standees.]

Ah. Yes. Bo.

[turns hand over. pauses. pulls back.]

You're not a vampire and I'm an idiot.

[foodporn]

[smiles, relieved when he's not mumbling about nurgls or talking about saints anymore]

You're not an idiot.

[at least not as much as you apparently think you are]

[rhymeswithdesign]

I am genuinely not a demon hunter, you know.

[if anything the shitshow in Dead Nun Cave should have shown that nicely.

now, he hates the kind of person who's like 'ooh, i can't be racist, i've got black mates,' but. well. ]

I think I remember vaguely saying something to that effect whilst i was off my tits. [so to speak.]

[foodporn]

What does it matter?

[judgment free zone. safe room.]

You're too hard on yourself.

[rhymeswithdesign]

[gives her an odd look because really, but then again maybe she's keeping the succubus thing under wraps for a reason. like the actual demon hunters.]

I suppose it doesn't matter, love.

[shrugs, pats down pockets. stops. caves.]

Most of the time I just ignore my faults and everything works itself out.

[foodporn]

[she doesn't even consider herself a demon or a monster. she did at one point, but she's had to grapple with it a lot and generally comes out on the mentally stable side of things. so no, she's not concerned about whether or not he's a demon hunter]

Until they build up and explode and you go catatonic and repeat crazy stuff like a broken record player in a horror movie you mean?

[rhymeswithdesign]

That hasn't— hadn't happened in a long time.

[foodporn]

What happened?

[to make you such a fuckin mess]

[rhymeswithdesign]

Ah—

[looks at the cave wall. it's not quite the same 10,000 yard stare.]

I did a very stupid thing. I called a demon by the wrong name and a child and all of my friends paid the price.

[but you know his name now, don't you.]

[that's an unnerving expression.]

[foodporn]

Paid the p...

[like the nun price? the dead price?]

[ah... well. nobody's perfect.]

[rhymeswithdesign]

Dead. Took ten years, but the last of them died this week. Well. This week on Earth at any rate.

[looks back at bo. shoves his hands in his pockets.]

So that's what happened. The short version, at any rate.

[foodporn]

...I'm so sorry.

[it's not often she looks actually somber but dead kids brings it out in her, so she reaches forward to touch a hand to his arm in a comforting gesture]

[rhymeswithdesign]

I did mention the part where it was my fault, didn't I?

[doesn't move away, though, because he's still a selfish bastard at heart.]

[foodporn]

I know what it's like. To be responsible for something so horrible. But you can't-

[looks down to her feet and regroups]

You can't just carry it around with you forever. It's not doing you any good. It's not doing them any good.

[rhymeswithdesign]

It'll do me a lot better to get home and spit in the bastard's eye, that's for certain.

[and by spit in his eye i mean kill him horribly.]

[wait.]

You—? [deeply puzzled look.] What on Earth would you muck about with?

[foodporn]

You weren't so far off with that vampire guess of yours, let's just leave it at that.

[she's still sussing out her own stance on her personal demons]