| Logs |
2010 November 08
| Neverneverwhere |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
| Realms: Taps Logs |
Conspiring, Corn Liquor, and Crystals
Suraksha is very careful as she stands in the moving wagon, uncertain how well healed she is yet. As she stands she checks with Joe: is everyone else healed up by now? To her (admittedly interrupted) memory, she was the most damaged of the caravaneers. She grins as she adds, "Figure I might as well see if I can find Joan first, too. After all, she's going to want to check me out anyway, and if I fall over on the way to her then at least I'll be right near the person who can patch me up again!"
From Joe's description, Sura has healed faster than some of the others. Buddy is still patched up and grumpy, but doesn't seem to be doing too badly. "Joan's driving the wagon, actually. This one."
Suraksha grins with conspiratorial cheer at Joe, "See how clever I am? All I have to do is outrun a single wagon to get to my goal!" She laughs, then catches her breath and winces with a rueful expression, "Ow. Not that clever." She grins tiredly again, then checks herself -- is she wearing anything still? She has been dressed in a loose cotton tunic and loose pants with a drawstring waist. They're both a sort of soft rose color and are rather too large for her.
When she winces, Joe reaches forward past her to open the window that looks out onto the driver's seat, saying, "I'd suggest waiting 'til we stop."
Suraksha murmurs a touch breathlessly, "Works for me!" and tries cautiously taking the few steps forward in the moving wagon so she's by the little window. She eyes it thoughtfully, wondering if she's up to wriggling through it -- no, wait. She should change clothes first, if she's going to try that. No sense in shocking anyone here by being in bed-clothing. She rests her hands on the lower edge of the window, the tunic's long sleeves covering all but the tips of her slender fingers, and murmurs softly, "Joan? I'm awake again. Joe says you wanted to check me."
Joan looks over her shoulder briefly, casting her eyes quickly over Suraksha, "I do. But not while we're traveling. You stay put till the next stop." She raises her voice, "Joe, hop down and get her some water!"
Suraksha blinks, then grins, her reply briskly obedient, "Yes'm!" She adds amusedly, "You sound like my godsmother." She looks over her shoulder, checking to see if her little duffel of goods is here, so she can clean up and change clothes too. "Joe? Did my stuff get brought here?"
Joan has turned back to the road, "I figure all mothers, no matter what kind, sound sort of similar after a while." She raises her head, "Grab her bag from Sabrina's while you're gone, Little Joe!"
Suraksha chuckles at that, murmuring amusedly, "Sounds about right to me." She smiles at Joe, her eyes bright even though she's still tired from being wounded, and adds softly, "Thanks, Joe." To Joan she adds, "I'm going to go sit down... unless you need me here?"
It abruptly occurs to her that she's rather giving away her excellently educated background by her way of speaking. She's pondering how to hide that when it hits her: it doesn't really matter here, does it? Sabrina speaks in a very East Coast accent, and no one seems to mind. Further, trying to fake a less educated accent could be seen as either mocking or ridiculous... and draw even more attention to her. She decides not to worry about it. She'll have to be careful to not let any of her Hetaera training slip through here, though -- that, she definitely doesn't want to have cause issues.
Joe flashes Suraksha a grin and says, "Be right back." Joan snorts, not looking back, "What I need you to do is sit your little rump down and rest."
Suraksha laughs at that, "Yes'm!" and gently closes the little window before she heads back to her bunk. She wonders how long it's been... about a week, she's guessing, as she carefully lifts her shirt and checks her wound. The wound is nearly completely healed. The fact that there's anything at all left of it speaks to the gravity of the injury. Suraksha gives a small sigh of relief at that, then glances around thoughtfully for a sharp cutting implement to clip out the stitches.
Joan's wagon is organized in such a way as to make things very easy to find. The scissors are exactly where one would expect scissors to be. Everything is also well-cared-for, and none of it is new. Those things that are patched or repaired are done so with great skill. Suraksha looks relieved at that. She scoops up the scissors, settles down carefully so she won't be jostled and stab herself, then gently works the stitches relatively loose so she can cut them more easily. She's not sure if she'll be done before Joe gets back, but she intends to get all the stitches removed... so she starts as soon as she can.
Joe's return is heralded by a slight but sudden dip of the wagon's floorboard. The boy is swearing under his breath as he opens the door, "Damned loose boot sole... Joan's gonna give me hell for jostlin'." Suraksha catches herself at the sudden lurch, relieved she'd planned for that so she didn't stick herself. She looks up at Joe and smiles, then goes back to her careful snipping... so focused that she's not really considering his likely reaction to seeing her both cutting her own stitches -- and with her shirt half pulled off.
Joe goggles at her and lowers his voice, hissing, "Stop that! Oh, Joan will be so mad!" He crouches easily next to her, not seeming bothered by the shirt being half-off -- at least not more concerned than he is with her trying to take out her own stitches.
Suraksha blinks as she looks up at Joe, "What? Why would she be angry? It's been at least a week, after all." Happily she adds, "Look, I'm almost healed!"
Joe is peering at the wound and blinking, "Or not..." He sits back on his heels, balancing easily. It's similar to the way Suraksha has seen sailors moving with the waves on ships.
Suraksha grins cheerfully at Joe, "See? I'm not stupid, Joe -- I wouldn't have done this without reason." She neatly clips out the last stitch, then sets down the scissors, "There! Did you find my backpack all right? I'd really love a chance to clean up and change clothes, if so?"
Joe is wearing the backpack and he nods abstractedly, shrugging out of the straps, "It was in Sabrina's wagon." He shakes his head and whistles through his teeth, "I know you're... not human, but I ain't never seen anyone heal that fast."
Suraksha blinks at Joe... then self-consciously pulls the tunic back down, glancing around a bit guiltily, "Umm... is that going to be an issue?"
The boy asks, "You healing fast or you not bein' human?" Suraksha nods unhappily, her golden-eyed gaze on Joe troubled as she holds a hand out for the backpack. Joe hands it to her, "Of course not! Buddy heals fast too. Just not that fast."
Suraksha looks faintly relieved at that, although she still looks incredibly self-conscious. She sits silently for a moment... then simply shakes her head as she starts searching through the backpack. She's going to have to be more careful, clearly. She pulls out a washrag, her small soap, and some fresh clothes, and asks quietly, "Did you happen to get a bucket of water too, by any chance?"
Joe says, "The bucket is on the footboard. You look worried. Mind if I ask why? You don't have to answer."
Suraksha hesitates, then says carefully, "I... I'm trying to fit in, Joe. I mean... well, I didn't know this was astonishingly fast healing. I'm worried about what else I'll do that makes me stand out. I don't want to be so strange and different that people are uncomfortable with me, you know?"
Joe duckwalks backward to give her more room, "Fitting in 'round here isn't hard at all. You just have to pull your weight and not be too nosy." He smiles wryly, "I am pretty curious myself."
Suraksha's small smile is still a bit worried, "Ahh... yes, so am I. I really want to know, for example, what was in that damned wagon that almost got me killed." She starts brushing out her hair, adding, "Could you bring the bucket over here, please?"
Joe reaches out and pulls the bucket inside. He also checks the window and pulls over it a heavy canvas curtain painted with a scene of rolling hills. When he speaks, his voice is low, "I asked Sabrina a couple of questions."
Suraksha has a long, thirsty drink first. With the rest of the water she cleans up, using a neat economy of movement and lack of splashing that shows she's done this before. She smiles hopefully at Joe, "Does she know?"
Joe is a good boy and he carefully turns around, putting his back to Sura so he's not simply staring when there is flesh to be seen. "She was saying that she's pretty sure Corbett isn't going to deal with those guys again. She actually said 'Corbett isn't likely to take chances on Kiwis again.'" He hurries on to say, "She's not normally one to use terms like that. Kiwis, I mean. She likes to say people are people."
When Suraksha's done with her bath she is clean, her hair is plaited neatly back, and she's in fresh clothing. She sighs in relief, "Much better!" then smiles at Joe, "Do we do our own laundry, or what? I would like to return the borrowed clothing clean, if possible. Umm... also, is it rude of me if I go ask Buddy for something to eat? Or is it all right to do that in the middle of traveling, like we are?" Curiously she adds, "So... what's a ki-wee?"
Joe takes that to mean she's done; he turns around, pulling a canvas pouch out of his smock, "I grabbed something for you: jerky and bread. Ain't much to be had while we're moving." Suraksha brightens at that, accepting the pouch with thanks. She tears into the jerky, carefully ripping it apart into smaller pieces before hungrily consuming it. The bread suffers the same quick fate as she waits for Joe to answer her last question.
Joe grins, "Buddy usually has some snacks 'round, so it's not rude. It's just likely to be slim pickings. Everyone takes care of their own clothes, and Sabrina would like it if you washed her jim-jams before returning them." The boy settles on the bunk, "Well, one kind is a fruit, but I don't think that's what she's talking about. The ones she's talking about have a lot of tattoos on their faces and arms. I think there's another name for them, though. Originally they were from somewhere a long way off."
Suraksha nods thoughtfully as she neatly rolls up the sleeping clothing, tucking it into her backpack for later cleaning. Slowly she says, "Tattoos... you know, there were some sailors I saw once that had a lot of really striking and unusual tattoos... tattoos that were similar enough that they seemed to all come from the same place. They came from a place called New Zealand on the other side of the world... although I could see they were good people. They weren't the only ones with facial tattoos on the docks, of course." She grins as she adds, "They have a great name for their home -- they call it, um..." she pronounces the name carefully, "Aotearoa! Heh... some of them used to give me sweets and say I reminded them of their daughters back home. They did have sort of nice, normal, dusky skin like mine. I've no idea where Old Zealand is, though."
Joe grins a little bit and says, "I don't think these guys came from there. Or if they did, it was a long time back. Usually you can tell when someone's from somewhere else. These lot sounded like they were from the City by the Bay." The boy laughs, though it's quiet, "I don't know that there's anything you could call normal."
Suraksha grins cheerfully at Joe's laugh, "True! But as a child I thought my family was the norm, of course. And you're right -- the Aotearoans had a really lovely, lilting way of talking." She muses for a bit, then adds thoughtfully, "So if these ones whose cargo is on the wagon aren't the nice folks I knew, but they look like them... could these folks be exiles, or banished?"
Joe's eyes are bright with mischief, "Maybe! I mean, you have to be pretty bad to get exiled, right? Or, well, sometimes... we've had a couple folks join us who were banished from narrow-minded places. But... maybe they've got us smuggling treasure?"
Suraksha laughs and bounces a bit where she's sitting on the bunk, swinging her small bare feet, "How exciting! Is there a way to go check? I mean, if we peek at it, is that okay instead of asking questions?"
Joe glances at the canvas-covered window and lowers his voice again, "I tried. Peeking, I mean, after the accident. But I couldn't see in -- and it's locked down hard."
Suraksha looks a bit disappointed as she nods, "All right." She thinks a bit, then sighs gustily, "Well, fooie! How else might we find out?"
Joe grins again, eyes bright even in the dimness of the wagon, and reaches into his shirt again, bringing out a leather hip flask, "You want to thank Sabrina, right?" Suraksha nods firmly, her eyes sparkling with interest as she watches Little Joe. The boy hands her the flask, "Tonight, take her this. Get her talking. I think she's grumpy and she'll talk. It's nothing bad, just a little liquor made out of corn."
Suraksha tilts her head thoughtfully at Joe as she accepts the flask, "Promise this won't harm her at all?"
Joe says, "No more than any other liquor." He looks injured, "Sabrina's like a sister to me! I wouldn't hurt her!"
Suraksha grins, her eyes lighting up again, "All right! Thanks, Joe." She thinks a bit, then adds, "Can you help me tonight before that, by showing me where and how I can wash the clothes too?"
Joe beams and doesn't quite bounce. Quite. "I'm happy to show you the ropes!"
Suraksha thanks Joe happily, then curls up and naps until night. At that point Joan grouses at her for cutting out the stitches -- despite her being almost completely healed -- and she apologizes nicely and thanks Joan for taking care of her. After that she asks if she can go wash the clothes she borrowed, promising to be very careful and to rest if she feels at all dizzy. She admits she's likely to sleep very well and be more hungry than usual still for a few more days, but also notes some gentle exercise will help her heal as well.
Joan growls at her, promising to confine her for an entire week if she overdoes it, but releases her under her given oath of good behavior. Suraksha is indeed careful, following Joe to where she can wash the clothes, and then hanging them to dry. After that she has a very large dinner, gives Buddy a careful and grateful hug, then heads with Joe to find Sabrina.
Suraksha talks Joe into bringing his guitar. He's strumming gently as Sura settles down next to Sabrina, then grins and shyly offers the flask to the other woman, "I wanted to say thank you, Sabrina, for caring for me. I really appreciate it. Also, your jammies are drying on the line right now."
Sabrina's wagon has a glowing brazier set up outside and some ingenious folding seats. Sabrina herself is brewing what smells like chamomile tea over the coals and accepts the flask with an expression of pleased surprise, "It's not a problem at all. You helped take care of us. Besides, you're one of us now. And I wasn't using those pajamas anyway. When I don't have... company... I have a very comfortable flannel nightshirt."
Suraksha flushes with pleasure at Sabrina's words, her eyes shining, "Thank you, Sabrina! I, um... well, I was a bit worried I'd scare people, you know? That's really reassuring to hear."
Sabrina uncorks the flask and smells it. She pours herself a cup of tea and adds a dollop from the flask before saying, "Do you drink tea? It's easier to get than coffee and this won't keep you up all night." Joe is carefully not watching. He hasn't yet developed the knack of watching casually when he's feeling avid.
Suraksha nods happily, "I would love some tea, please!" She grins ruefully, "I'd better not have any of the drink, though, or Joan will wallop me."
Sabrina laughs, eyes dancing in the low firelight, "You say that like you think you're joking. Joan is a mother and she sees us all as her children. And where Joan's from, there is no such thing as too big for a spanking."
Suraksha accepts the tea with pleasure, then giggles and nods, "Oh, I know she's not -- she sounds disturbingly like my godsmama, you know?" She grins and says no more on the subject, simply sipping at her tea and humming or singing along with Joe and Sabrina, while she and Sabrina drink their various drinks. The woman has a lovely singing voice and Joe plays rather a lot of ballads that cater to it. Sura enjoys singing with with the two caravaneers, relaxing and waiting until Sabrina's had a cup or two. When Joe pauses at the end of a song at that point, Sura sighs and smiles ruefully, "Awful glad I healed up fast. Wish I knew what I almost died for, though. Ah, well." She has another sip of tea.
Sabrina clucks her tongue, "Corbett knows how hurt you were, too. He only seems like a leather-tough son of a gun. I suspect that those Kiwi bastards are likely to get the rough side of his tongue, at the very least."
Suraksha gives Sabrina a curious glance, then covers a giggle, "Men that name themselves after a fuzzy fruit?" She knows how easy it is to get giggly when drinking -- and how one's inhibitions tend to fly out the window once the giggling starts. She's happy to gently encourage that, instead of getting Sabrina so schnockered that she has a horrible hangover tomorrow.
Sabrina laughs at Sura's comment and says, "I shouldn't be calling them that, should I? They're not really, anyway. Their ancestors were, I'm sure. This lot call themselves the Long Cloud Boys."
Suraksha nods interestedly, her voice puzzled, "The Long Cloud Boys were the ones who gave us the cargo? Are they a gang, then? Were they the ones who attacked us, or was that someone else?"
Sabrina says, "No. The ones that attacked weren't tattooed, and the Long Clouds are picky about the tattoos -- rite of passage and all that. They don't call themselves a gang, of course." She grins and nudges Joe gently, "But boys often think they're being clever when they aren't quite." There's some playfulness in her tone and Joe laughs, going a little pink, as if that's the punchline to some shared story.
Suraksha tilts her head thoughtfully, "Tattoos?" She relates her musings about the Aotearoans she knew, then checks with Sabrina to see if they're similar. At the woman's confirmation, Sura says perplexedly, "But... those were nice people! Were these not good men? Could they have stolen something from the untattooed guys?"
Sabrina arches one brow and smirks a little. It's a charming smirk; a lady-like smirk. "Did they seem bright enough to have control of something that requires an iron-bound wagon to transport? No, I think the Long Clouds sent them."
Suraksha blinks startledly at Sabrina, "What?! Whoa. Who are the Long Clouds, that they have so much pre-Dying Off weaponry and gunpowder?" She frowns at her tea, thinking hard and trying to remember anything her mother might have said about some tattooed group in the San Francisco Underworld.
Sabrina laughs again and finishes off her tea. She eyes the flask speculatively and then tucks it away. The next cup of tea is unadulterated, "What they are is not as clever as they think. If you're going to play the 'my shipment was stolen' card, they need to have done it farther out from the city. And they shouldn't have sent someone that would try to get to a load of pure quartz with an enormous powder bomb."
Suraksha's eyes widen at that, and her voice is low and thoughtful, "Pure quartz... oooh, like they use to make those -- those things, those tools that help Taps be stronger?"
Sabrina mms and nods, then winces, "Damn... yes. That stuff. But... just don't mention to Corbett that you know. Let him tell you himself. It's actually... truthfully, I've never seen a chunk of it as big and clear as what's in that wagon."
Suraksha gives Sabrina a worried look when she winces, "Of course, that's not a problem. But are you all right, Sabrina? That drink isn't giving you a headache, is it?"
Sabrina chuckles and sips her tea, "No, but I just realized that I'm babbling like a debutante at her first ball. Not that it matters, really. I think you've proved yourself, but Corbett likes to be the one to tell people things."
Suraksha smiles and leans over to offer Sabrina a gentle, one-armed hug, "It's all right. I don't want either of us to get into trouble -- I'll keep my mouth shut!" She grins at Joe, adding, "You too, Little Joe, all right? Please?" Joe puts on his most innocent smile and makes a motion like he's turning a lock inside his mouth and tossing away the key. Suraksha giggles and thanks him, then cheerfully persuades them both to keep strumming and singing -- she enjoys harmonies, and Sabrina is clearly trained in music as well. Sura is also both surprised and pleased to hear Corbett will likely confide in her. Perhaps more than anything, that makes her feel like maybe she truly has been accepted.
That night Suraksha stays with Sabrina, who is a charming but insistent hostess. The next morning, after Corbett and Joan both visit and pronounce her fit for light duty, she's given over to Joe's tutelage. The boy is friendly and seems to have taken a genuine liking to Suraksha. She soon learns more about him, starting a decades-long friendship. Corbett, a day or so later, shows her the shipment she helped save, but assures her he's more concerned that she helped save his people. He also assures her he has a long memory and knows a lot of people -- the Long Clouds aren't likely to take in another caravan leader in such a way.
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