(no subject)

[not_his_pa]

[OOM: Now, dearest comrade, lift me to your face,
We must separate awhile—Here! take from my lips
this kiss;
Whoever you are, I give it especially to you;
So long! —And I hope we shall meet again.]

Between two trees that form an arch, William rides through on Les and leading Beaut and once he's clear of the door, stops and stares. The ground is as churned up as pictures of battlefields from the War, but there aren't any bodies.

Everything looks and feels safe, it's hard to believe it's the same place he left. A little black cat and a red tiger kitten poke their heads out of one pocket and meow at him, if they've stopped, there should be food.

He doesn't have a free hand so he says to them, "I know, we're here and safe. Just don't quite seem real."

Slowly he makes his way towards the stables, being careful of the ground as he doesn't want either of the horses to get hurt now. When he gets close to the stables, he'll dismount and take the two horses into their stalls before walking towards the Bar.

(OOC: Catch him riding in, at the stables or walking to the Bar.)

Comments

[ostro_goth]

Teja is by the stable, sitting on a beam with Count in his lap.

The sight of those living horses will never cease to move his heart.

And there is one more!

"Greetings, William Evans," he says, evenly.

[not_his_pa]

"Sir, you're...what happened?"

Myrrh meows louder from his pocket, she knows that smell.

[ostro_goth]

"Ragnarök," Teja says. "And the apocalypse. And Orannis the Destroyer. And then some more of their calibre. But then, they all fell in upon each other, there was a great silent wave of invisible white light, and then, all was ---"

Pause.

"--- well again, and all that had been dead, were alive. And all the monsters were gone."

First and foremost, the horses.

"Kate will be happy to see that horse again."

[not_his_pa]

"I knew things must be bad if Beaut was sent through. Could you take him?"

Myrrh and Horus are meowing as Myrrh wants to show Horus the place he knows. It all sounds terrifying, but also as if it turned out well somehow.

[ostro_goth]

Teja takes Beaut's rein, and gets to work on making him comfortable.

One more horse returned to its stable.

Good.

"Things were bad," Teja says. "Truly bad. But now, they are better again. We are still tidying everything, and there is neither bar nor waitrats, so everyone does their own work, but we all cope. Even if we fetch the tuna and cream for the cats from the kitchen, finding it among the other supplies."

Pause.

"It took me awhile to find how one opens a can."

[not_his_pa]

William dismounts and leads Les into the stable as Myrrh climbs down his pant leg to explore his domain. Horus just keeps peering out at this new world,

"Have you seen my Pa or Katya around? I'll do whatever I can to help get things goin'."

[ostro_goth]

"I have not seen your father, but Katya was fighting monsters as all others were," Teja says. "I saw her but briefly."

[not_his_pa]

"Oh, I hope they're both doin' alright,"

He's missed so much and doesn't know the best way to learn what happened.

[ostro_goth]

"All are well again, worry not," Teja says.

[not_his_pa]

"Good. I took care of Beaut, Miss Barlow should find him fine. Oh and I brought back another kitten,"

Once Les is unsaddled and in his stall, he comes to sit beside Teja and takes Horus out of his pocket, "This is Horus."

[ostro_goth]

"He is tiny!" Teja says. "I knew not that Agilulf and Martialis Romanus give away their kittens that young?"

[not_his_pa]

"His Ma didn't want him and he stills needs to be fed milk, but he's growin'."

[ostro_goth]

"He is a sweet little fellow," Teja says. "Will you take him to your home, or will he roam in Milliways when he is older?"

[ikissdhimbck]

[ooc: I'm heading to bed right after this, but wanted to tag in as a placeholder if that's all right. I can edit or delete later, if needed.]


Kate has spent more time in the stables than anywhere else since It happened. She stayed the night last night, just in case anyone wandered in or she was needed for something. It's almost back to normal now, save for some still-vacant stalls.

Sometime after William wanders in, Kate notices that two of the stalls are full once again.

"Beauty. Oh, thank god."

First things first, the horse gets an embrace. She rests her forehead against Beaut's, breathing in her comforting scent until she nudges her away, nickering for treats. Once she's been checked from ear to hoof, Kate will turn to William.

[not_his_pa]

(OOC: I was hoping you'd tag. :-))

He's a little farther down the stables, trying to repair a slightly damaged stall door as Horus sits on his shoulder and watches the world.

When he sees her find Beaut, he smiles and when she comes towards him says, "I took care of her and she didn't get hurt on her way over."

[ikissdhimbck]

Before another word is spoken, she embraces him.

"I'm relieved t'see you well."

She takes care not to disturb the young kitten on William's shoulder, though the embrace is snug.

[not_his_pa]

The embrace is nice and he hugs her back,

"I ended up in Teja's world, Gotland for about a month. Were you here for all of it?"

[ikissdhimbck]

"A month?"

When she pulls back her hands instinctively reach to cup his face. She looks him over the way a doting mother might, making sure he doesn't look banged up or malnourished. She doesn't linger long; she wouldn't want to embarrass him, after all.

"Yes, I was. I was real scared for the stock there at the end. Can't say how happy I am that you found Beaut."

[not_his_pa]

There's a small scab on his top lip but he's well fed and Horus bats at her hands,

"Yeah, I wasn't sure I was goin' to find a way back here."

[ikissdhimbck]

She breathes a laugh at the tiny paw with the sharp claws, and scratches under the kitten's chin.

"Y'weren't out there alone, were you? An' who's this lil' guy?"

[not_his_pa]

"No, I ended up with Teja's people and stayed and worked with them. There were stables for the horses and I was able to be an extra hand for them. This is Horus, he's from the same family as Myrrh,"

Horus purrs at the scritch and sits down again.

[ikissdhimbck]

"He's awful well-behaved. Is he meant t'be another forge cat?"

She smiles warmly at the little guy, happy to give him attention for a little while longer. Though, her eyes move to William's face.

"I'm real glad y'found your way back all right. Seems everybody is, but I ain't ashamed t'admit I was worried."

[not_his_pa]

"No, he's goin' to be a mouser back in Arizona. I'm glad I did too. Gotland's a nice place but I hated not knowin' what was goin' on or if I'd have a way back. Have you heard anythin' about where my Pa ended up?"

Or Wade but William won't actually ask about him.

[ikissdhimbck]

"An' a fine mouser he'll make, I'm sure."

Her features soften.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen or heard from your daddy through this whole affair. Phoenix still hasn't been back, though. There's a good chance wherever she is, he's with her."

She hesitates before adding:

"Gabriel's gone, too."

[not_his_pa]

"Yeah, hopefully Pa's with Wade in our world. Wade'll do what he can to keep Pa safe,"

It's not something he'd ever let Wade know he thinks but it's true.