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[gone_byebye]

Ray's been in the infirmary just about as long as he can handle it. Fortunately, according to the medical types, a Giardia infection nromally lasts between two and six weeks if left untreated. Being shot up with antibiotics left, right and center cut the legs out from under the infection, so he's been released now, as long as he promises to a) wash his hands a lot and b) not drink any more un-boiled river, stream, or lake water, plzkthx. Also not to swim in the lake.

Which is all a long and awfully complicated way of saying that a rather paler and skinnier than usual Ray is in the Bar tonight, at his favorite seat by the Window, with a plate of one of those no-way-in-hell-that's-natural-coloring macaroni and cheese things that come from the good people at Kraft.

He's looking sociable, at least.

Comments

[wyrd-fox.livejournal.com]

And a large glass of the infamous Green Stuff is plunked down in front of him. A neighboring chair is quickly claimed by a certain kitsune with a steaming plate of pure cholesterol.

"All hail Ray!" he says with a grin. "Care to share my chili-cheese-fries, Great One?"

[gone_byebye]

Ray's still a little taken aback by the fact that this 'great one' thing wasn't the product of a giardiasis-induced fever, but he nods. "Okay, sure," he says with a smile. "Good to see you again, Foxtrot. How're you doing, anyway?"

[wyrd-fox.livejournal.com]

"Peachy keen, Boss!"

He scoops up a huge glob of chili on some fries before popping them in his mouth. "And damn glad to see you out of the body and fender shop," he says around the mouthful, then swallows.

"So how long until you're back to 100% and we can kick Peck in the balls so hard they'll be lodged in his sinuses?"

[gone_byebye]

"The doctors say I've still got a couple of days to go before I'm completely up to snuff," Ray admits. "Which is kind of annoying but there you go. Next time I get kidnapped I'll try and grab some chlorine tablets first."

[wyrd-fox.livejournal.com]

Is that a barely-audible growl coming from Foxtrot's throat? Naaaaaah, couldn't be. He must be really hungry and that his stomach. Yep...that must be it.

Riiiiight.

"Good to know," he says, pushing the chili-fries a little closer to Ray. "Something I gotta ask you, though, Big Guy. Given any thought to delivering the challenge to those creeps? Because, if you need a herald or messenger-boy, I got it covered."

His smile isn't quite on the same level as Egon's "I'm Going To Eat Your Skull" expression, but it's close. "And I'd reeeeeeally like to."

[gone_byebye]

Ray reaches for a couple of the fries. "Egon said something about leaving a marker for Peck to spot, but that's as close as we got to anything in the way of an actual challenge," he says. "We probably owe them some warning, though. Something to put the fear of God into them first."

[wyrd-fox.livejournal.com]

FX leans back and actually looks serious for a few moments.

"My thoughts exactly," he says. "That way, there's no weasling at the end to the tune of 'You didn't even give us a chance to patch things up. Mistakes were made, but if you had just warned us, I'm sure we could have come to an equitable settlement'."

He manages a dead-accurate imitation of Peck's voice with that last statement. Apparently, it leaves a bad taste in his mouth, because he reaches for his glass, takes a big gulp and gargles.

"Ugh!" he says. "I need a shower. Anyway, if I'm gonna declare War on someone, I'd damn well better do it right."

[mandercommander.livejournal.com]

Bonzo walks into the part of the Bar where Ray happens to be. Ahhh, the joys of grabbing dinner and running...and of millitiming other posts.

"Ray! Welcome back!"

[gone_byebye]

Ray looks up from the orange stuff and smiles. "Hi, Bonzo," he says. "How're you doing?"

[mandercommander.livejournal.com]

Bonzo smiles.

"I'm doing alright...Petra nearly shot me a few weeks ago, but other than that, I've been doing alright. And you?"

[gone_byebye]

"Nearly-" Ray blinks. "Okay, that I gotta hear. You go first, because my story's gonna take a while to explain."

[mandercommander.livejournal.com]

"Well, we were sparring out back, and I wasn't using my normal style. I was using what Master Dooku has taught me, and she thought I was trying to kill her. So she throws her lightsaber...we were using the replicas from my world...she throws it at me and pulls a gun on me."

And that's all said rather quickly at that.

[gone_byebye]

See the icon?

Like that.

[masterofsoresu]

Obi-Wan approaches the table. "Master Stantz. Or, I suppose I should say, Padawan Stantz," he corrects himself. "Good to see you up and about."

[gone_byebye]

"Actually neither," says Ray with a small smile. "Master Qui-Gon said I passed all my Trials, although they were more stuff done in the field than anything formal. And it's really good to be up and about. Lying in bed gets boring after a while no matter how many books people bring you. How're you?"

[masterofsoresu]

"Tolerably well. And a field Trial is often a truer test than anything in the Temple could be. Mine certainly was."

[gone_byebye]

"In my case it was assisting a friend from here in the Bar with a war in his own world," Ray says. "I've still got the scars. Although I'm not sure if he counted that towards the trial of spirit, or if that was more the work I did with Danny."

[masterofsoresu]

"I don't know this 'Danny', but assisting a friend with a war sounds to me like a suitable Trial of Courage. Though I'd have to ask Master Qui-Gon how he interpreted it."

[gone_byebye]

"Danny's a young man I know- fourteen years old- who's got some extremely unusual powers that come from his having been forcibly melded with a ghost. One of the Bar patrons, a woman named Blodwen Rowlands, the White Rider of the Dark, was able to reach into his mind and call his own inner darkness to the surface. He basically flipped over to acting on his evil, dangerous, sociopathic impulses and went almost entirely Dark Side. I was... well, I had to lock him up for a while until we could figure out what was going on, because the kid was powerful enough to have destroyed most of the Bar, but eventually we wound up going into the kid's mind to help him fight that part of himself down and come back out of it."

[doc-venkman.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Ray. You know how I hate to cut any rest or vacation short, but hope you're feeling a bit better."

Peter then stopped by with a troubled expression, and a notebook of readings and numbers. Namely from the PKE meter and the Giga-meter.

"Took me some figuring, and I had to tone back the sensitivity so it wouldn't blow up, but thought you might interested in this. Remember that bitch who screwed up Danny? She's back, and been busy. I checked today, and it looks the scorched patch is gone. Got some readings beforehand. Must have just happened the other night."

[gone_byebye]

Ray looked up from his food and blinked a few times. "Oh God," he said. "Blodwen? Again? That's not good. What scorched patch are we talking here?"

[doc-venkman.livejournal.com]

"Out back, but I heard we got some rain last night. Was gone today."

Peter nodded, "Yup, Blodwen. Coyote had a run-in with her, and I don't know what happened. Some sort of fight, serious firepower and magic. But Coyote's gone, as in dead, and there was a patch about the size of a person out back."

[gone_byebye]

"Coyote," Ray repeats. "As in- like- Coyote? The Coyote? She actually- damn...."

[doc-venkman.livejournal.com]

"As in the trickster spirit god, yeah. Met them too. Or her, since that's how she appeared at the time. Really nice too. Considered me one of hers too. Since common interests."

Peter added with some sadness, "Jack told me when Giles and I were looking into the patch. Certainly explain some of the spikes that came up on the meters."

[gone_byebye]

Ray exhales, running both hands through his hair. "This is big, Peter, this is very big. The possibility of anybody being capable of taking out an archetypal entity of that nature is just- we're all in a tremendous amount of trouble if something can't be done about her."