The Stairways, Saturday Evening

[wannabehunter]

Gas-mask in hand, Jo was prepared to go spend the night hunting monsters, but first she been back to her room to get one more vitally important item. Her camcorder, because someone had to keep alive the traditions of capturing your classmates under the effects of hallucinogens for posterity.

[For one in particular, but otherwise open.]

Comments

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

After being guided back to safety by Rose, Edmund had absolutely promised he was going to sleep off this whole hallucinating thing. Problem was that by the time Rose was gone, he'd forgotten about that promise and went to get a sandwich instead.

That was why he was sitting there on the steps eating something that approximated a sandwich. It was rather messy and in a bowl, so it was hard to tell.

[wannabehunter]

"Hey, Ed," Jo said when she saw him. "Feeling a bit less hoarse today?"

Yes, she thought she was funny.

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"That's funny, because I was a horse," he said, stating the blindingly obvious as he snickered into his sandwich bowl. "Why don't you ever turn into anything?" Clearly, the fog drugs in his system were improving, because he didn't think Jo was an alpaca like he'd thought Rose was.

[wannabehunter]

It looked like someone was a happy drunk. Jo kept her hand from straying towards her camera.

"I turned into a doll once," she offered. "I was very perky."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry I missed that," Edmund said with sincerity. "Where are you going?"

[wannabehunter]

"It was a couple of years ago," Jo said, before adding "I was going to go hunt some monsters."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"On your own?" Edmund shook his head. "It's not safe out there alone. And there's the fog, which makes you see and hear and taste things that aren't there. You shouldn't go out tonight." He sounded more worried about her than he would usually let on.

[wannabehunter]

But how could Jo kill monsters if she didn't go out?

"You know about the fog fist hand, huh?"

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"Well," he said matter-of-factly, sandwich bowl discarded beside him because clearly he needed his hands to make his point. "On Tuesday afternoon a locker caught me unawares and then I was Somewhere Else and it was all very complicated. I got out of there yesterday morning and then I went out into the fog to get away from the locker, but I didn't know the fog was bad or anything because, well, it's fog, you understand." He took another deep breath. "So then I went out into the fog and got my sword, which Rose has now, and I was fighting all these things that wanted to get too close and weren't very friendly looking and, to be honest, pretty aggressive. And then I came inside about twenty minutes ago."

That was a yes.

[wannabehunter]

Well, that explained the bowl of what was obviously Hangover Food.

"Still coming down?" She wasn't going to ask if anything of these things that attacked him had been inanimate objects. She wasn't.

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"I feel fine now," he reassured her. "But I haven't eaten in a while, so I thought I'd have a sandwich before bed, but the bread was all soggy, so I needed a bowl." He paused a moment. "You look very tall standing up there like that."

[wannabehunter]

"Okay, know I know you are," Jo said, because she was aware that she was not particularly tall. She sat down next to him. "Less tall now?"

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

He gave her a once over look and nodded, satisfied. "Less tall. Much better." Since he was not only the King of Narnia tonight, but the King of the Non Sequitur, the next thing he said came out of nowhere. "You're leaving school soon, aren't you?"

[wannabehunter]

Jo nodded. "Graduating this spring. Might stick around for the summer though."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"I don't want you to go."

[wannabehunter]

"After this long, I'm not sure I want to go either," Jo admitted. "But it's still a while off, especially if I stay for the summer."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

Edmund nodded. "I don't know how long I'm here. I was told Aslan is running out of patience with me." Well, that was a liberal interpretation of the message. "So I could be here until graduation or any time before. I want to go home, but I'll miss running into you at random intervals every few weeks or so."

And there was the seriousness gone, replaced by specificity that couldn't really be taken too seriously.

[wannabehunter]

Jo snorted. "I'll try to run into you at random intervals more frequently, then."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

He frowned. "Hopefully we won't run out of things to talk about. That's always worrying."

[wannabehunter]

"As long as you keep turning into horses, I don't think that'll happen."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"No no no no noooo," Edmund shook his head. "No more horses. No more animals. No more small children claiming I'm their father. No more turning into a small child myself. I have most certainly had my fill. I'm afraid we're going to have to resort to general small talk or find a topic of common interest."

[wannabehunter]

"You've totally just jinxed yourself."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

"I'm under the influence," he claimed. "It doesn't count."

[wannabehunter]

Jo shook her head. "That's what they all say."

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

The hallucinogen in his system, combined with having something to eat, was easing off slightly. "Allow me this one thing. I could do plenty of things today and probably quite rightly explain it away as being under the fog's influence. I was talking to a rubbish bin earlier. See? I would never have done that or told you about it if the fog didn't have something to do with it." In fact, he didn't know it yet, but he was probably going to wake up tomorrow quite angry with the fog because of that.