The Streets of Fandom to Jono's House, Christmas Day

[spin_kick_snap]

Christmas was still going in full swing at Kathy's place, but when Ronin needed to go out, it was time to go out. Or she'd be greeted with the adorably pathetic picture of a dog clutching his own leash, sitting by her front door, very obviously waiting. And every time she passed without taking him out, he just drooped lower and lower in sadness.

Kathy was pretty sure she was being manipulated by her dog and it was downright embarrassing.

"Yeah, you keep frolicking," she said, trying to sound stern. "This is a business trip only. We're heading right back to the house as soon as your done, you hear me?"

Alluka	It wasn't unusual for Alluka to be out and about around the island, AirTrekking up a storm. But she was supposed to... supposed to be gone by now and everything had gone wrong and she stumbled, again, over nothing but the thoughts she wasn't thinking about, and then planted her hands on her knees and shook her head. She couldn't keep stumbling. She had to find Kathy. That... that was all that was important right now. All that she could do. Alluka had left Kathy's place not long ago, her hair done up in cute, curled pigtails, and wearing an absolutely gorgeous satin and lace Christmas dress. It... had been white. Now it was red, and pink, and slowly turning brown. There was flaky, sticky blood on her face and her pigtails drooped with more of it. Her tights would never be the same. And all of the blood--and worse--was from her Papa. Alluka stumbled again, falling to her knees, scraping her hands as she picked herself up and made her way down the street. Maybe it would have been better for her to walk, given everything, but she'd thought it would be faster this way and Papa needed fast. Her eyes blurred with tears, but she blinked them away as she caught herself on a corner, and spotted-- Alluka choked on her first attempt to call out for Kathy. Her second attempt made it through. "Kathy!" It was freezing and she'd forgotten her coat.
Kathy	Kathy knew something was wrong even before Alluka called to her. Ronin, who had thrown himself into a snowbank like a giant dork just a moment ago, had suddenly popped back up out of it, eyes fixed on a point behind her, his whole body thrumming with tension as he caught the blood scent in the air. Kathy's senses were nowhere near as delicate, but she'd learned to trust Ronin's instincts and had whirled around to spot - Alluka. Kathy didn't think for a minute that she was covered in anything other than too much blood. She'd seen too much blood in her life to ever mistake it for anything more innocuous. She and Ronin didn't hesitate, flying towards Alluka in concern. Kathy actually beat the dog there; sprinting at her top speed to get to her baby sister. "Alluka!" she cried when she there, fractions of a second after Alluka had first called her name. "Oh god, sweetheart, talk to me, where are you hurt?" She'd call Anders. No, she'd pick Alluka up and run with her back to the apartment, it would be faster--
Alluka	All Alluka wanted to do was cry. To fling her arms around Kathy and sob until she felt better, but she couldn't, didn't dare, because Papa was counting on her. He needed her to do this for him. "I'm, I'm o-okay," she stammered, and it was a blatant lie because she was not in any sense okay. But she wasn't hurt, not really, just badly bruised knees and scraped palms. "Kathy, it's Papa! You need to help!" And, even though she was trying to be strong enough for her Papa to depend on her, her eyes welled up with tears again.
Kathy	Was it awful that Kathy instantly felt a little bit better? Sure, Mr. Starsmore had to be in serious trouble for Alluka to be in this kind of state, but Kathy had looked at Alluka and seen what Sarah might have looked like when their father was finished with her in a kind of weird, doubling vision thing and she couldn't lose another sister, she just couldn't-- Ronin finally caught up with them and let out a sharp bark, dragging Kathy back to the here and now. "Okay, honey, okay," she said, shoving those thoughts away, reminding herself that Alluka was fine and it was Jono now who needed her help. "Where's your Papa? Can you tell me what happened as we go to him?" She yanked her coat off and bundled Alluka into it. Between the cold and the blood and the shock, she needed it. "Talk to me, sweetheart." Ronin nudged Alluka's hand with his muzzle, offering comfort and another point of contact.
Alluka	And as soon as that coat was wrapped around her, Alluka started shivering. Maybe it was because she didn't have to keep moving, all by herself, any longer. She blinked at Kathy, then at the dog, moving her hand to pet him, if he'd let her. It helped keep the tears at bay, to focus on how soft his fur was and how Kathy was right there and Kathy had never let her down. Alluka sniffled. "He's at home," she said, scrubbing at her face with her free hand. It... didn't really do anything to clean up her face. "He, he--it's my fault! I didn't mean to, Kathy, but it's my fault and he needs help!"
Kathy	Kathy wasn't going to focus on what Alluka meant by it being her fault. Too many possibilities and honestly, none of them mattered. Not now. "Okay, so let's get to your Papa," she said, kneeling on the sidewalk. The cold instantly seeped in through the fabric, but she didn't care. "Up on my back." Even on her best day, Alluka wasn't as fast on her Air-Trek as Kathy was on her feet. And this was hardly her best day. "He's at home?"
Alluka	"He's at home," she repeated numbly. It took Alluka a moment to register what she was supposed to do before, teeth chattering, she clambered up on Kathy's back, burying her face against Kathy's shoulder. And crying a little, but she didn't let a sound out.
Kathy	"C'mon, Ronin!" she said, whistling low as she broke into another sprint, heading towards the mansion over on Phoenix. She didn't bother saying anything else, keeping all her breath for running. She gave some thought to stopping by her place and grabbing Anders, but that would take too much time. Better to go and assess and call for backup when she arrived. Dante could get Anders anywhere on the island in a heartbeat anyway. By herself, Kathy could run a one minute mile down a flat road. Fandom Island was hardly flat and even Alluka's slight weight slowed her down, but it was still a little less than three minutes before she was skidding to a stop at the front door. It was only partially open and the scent of blood hung heavy in the air. "Oh god," she whispered.
Jono	Beyond the smell of blood, there was a presence, faint, disjointed, devoid of words and twisting in on itself as though struggling to hold itself together, to remain as coherent an entity as it possibly could. There was no pain behind it, so much as there was fear. Worry. A twisting, helpless anger directed mostly at itself, unwilling to allow that anger to be directed elsewhere, for all that he had every reason to. To round the corner into a room every bit as red as Alluka had been would lead to finding the source of that presence, a weak blue flame that had spread across the blood on the floor, stubbornly tethered to what very little remained of the body that had once housed it. He made no words, but the same impression seemed to thrum around them like a mantra, and even the fire didn't seem certain anymore if it was being repeated for his own sake or for Alluka's, now that he could sense she had returned. It's fine. Things would be fine. There was only one person to blame for this, and that man was long gone by now. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine...
Kathy	Kathy followed that weird feeling into that room. And had to swallow hard while trying to take only the shallowest of breaths at the same time. Her heel skidded on blood and if it wasn't for her preternatural balance, she would have toppled over into...where was the line between where 'puddle' ended and 'pool' began? This place was an abattoir. And Kathy was coming perilously close to not being capable of holding it together. Memories crowded up, memories from that year in LA, Christian's voice telling her to smile while an ex sank it's teeth into her skin - Ronin barked sharply, pressing his noise into her hand. When she didn't respond, he barked again, nudging her sideways. That snapped her out of it, letting Kathy push the memories back and her gorge down. Right. She could freak out later. Right now, she had to help Mr. Starsmore. Not that she was sure how. There was barely enough left of him to pick up with paper towels. She didn't think Anders would be able to heal all this. To even try, she'd need someone who could - "Nanika!" Kathy shouted. "Nanika, I want to make a wish! Right now!"

[Preplayed with the wonderful that_oldsaying and furnaceface. Lots of blood and gore, but no actual violence (or misgendering) here, because this post is NOT full of jerks.]

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[that_oldsaying]

Alluka didn't want to go back in that room. She didn't want to and she dragged her feet as she did, leaning around the corner as Kathy just went right into it, to take it in. Alluka had seen it.

And seeing it didn't bother her--not exactly--but what had happened there, between her father and her papa did.

Then Kathy shouted for Nanika, in a voice that Alluka hadn't heard before, and Alluka flinched.

Kathy wasn't like her brothers. Kathy wouldn't make a wish for no good reason. But it still--she flinched, there was no getting around that--but it was Kathy. She was here to help. Alluka had to believe that, even as her eyes welled up with tears, and Nanika gently took over.

Nanika's presence filled the air like malevolent smoke.

"Mean," she said, almost reprovingly, though it could just have been an observation.

[spin_kick_snap]

And Kathy hated that she was bringing Alluka - even Alluka hiding behind Nanika - back into this room, but there was no way she could help Jono otherwise, She sank to her knees next to the guttering flame, holding her hands out to cup it, like she could offer some kind of help or comfort. But she didn't really know what to do. She was pretty sure he was missing parts.

And Kathy? Kathy was just a superball, bright and bouncy and fast and completely useless without her more powerful friends to back her up. She was trying to get used to that, but right now, she was just grateful she had a more powerful friend.

"Nanika, I need to wish Mr. Starsmore well," she said, words practically tripping over themselves in her hurry to get them out. "Please tell me what I have to pay to get a wish. Hurry."

Odds were good that he didn't have much time left.

[furnaceface]

Oh, he probably had more time than anybody figured. But this... this was a terribly inconvenient way to spend it. A smear on the floor, a whisper of fire, conscious of his surroundings but unable to interact with them.

His flame flickered up and around the hands that had reached for it, warm but not burning, and he sent a gentle pulse of wordless reassurance, both to Kathy and to Nanika. Alluka would be asleep now, if Nanika was out. Probably for the best, at least for the time being.

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's okay, Mr. Starsmore," Kathy whispered, aware of how very much none of this was okay. "I've got you. You're gonna be all right, okay? Nanika's here and she'll take care of everything and until then, I've got you."

She wasn't sure how much Jono could understand - hell, if he was even in any shape to understand anything at all - but she just wanted to offer this tiny bit of comfort, this almost meaningless reassurance.

Wanted him to know that she was trying.

[that_oldsaying]

Nanika stared at the tableau unblinking.

If any part of it bothered her, it was impossible to tell. She leaned forward slightly, the motion jerky.

"Why?"

Why should she do anything? Why should she be bossed around? Alluka's feelings on the mess were different than hers and while Nanika was fond of the two men who looked after them, they weren't her family.

But mostly, they didn't like being ordered around.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Why?" Kathy asked, bewildered. She had no idea what part of this scene needed to be explained.

"Because...because..." she stumbled. "Because it's the right thing to do. Because Mr. Starsmore's life is on the line. Because he's always been kind to you and if there's something you can do to save him..."

She realized that she was going down the wrong track. These were Kathy's reasons for doing things, not Nanika's.

"Because Alluka will grieve if you don't," she said. "Because she will keep hurting for a long time if he dies and might never be the same again. You don't have to do it for me, or him, or Dr. Lecter, but because your sister needs your help. And sisters always help each other. Because you love her and she loves him and he is going to die if you don't do something."

[that_oldsaying]

Nanika considered that, tilting her head as she studied Kathy with empty eyes. She took her time about it, since time meant nothing to her and Alluka wasn't very good at time either.

And dying didn't mean much to her—Nanika's body count was innumerable.

But…

"Like Sarah?"

Because Alluka and her had been talking a lot about Sarah, these days.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy flinched. "Like Sarah," she said, her voice an unsteady whisper. "There's an aching void inside me that will never be filled again. The world is a broken place because she's no longer in it."

[that_oldsaying]

If Nanika had been more human perhaps she'd have tried to apologize or explain or even just feel the slightest bit guilty about Kathy's reaction, but Nanika wasn't very human, though she had feelings of her own.

"Like Sarah," she repeated, this time more to herself, a little more firmly. Nanika held out her hands, towards Kathy. "Nothing free."

Sorry, Kathy, but there wasn't getting around that.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy didn't expect one. She didn't know Nanika very well, didn't even pretend to understand her, but she never, ever made the mistake of thinking that Nanika was human.

A person, yes. But never human.

"I know," she said. "Tell me what I have to pay."

[that_oldsaying]

Nanika was silent then, gauging, judging, as she weighed the last wish that had been granted, Alluka's feelings on the matter, and thoughts of Sarah.

Sarah bothered Nanika.

Fortunately for Kathy, the last wish Nanika had granted had not been a major one.

Nanika stretched her hands out further, smiling an empty smile.

"Give me the full nail of your left hallux."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Y-you want the nail of my big toe?" Kathy asked, blinking like that would help her make sure she'd heard and understood correctly. But, no, her anatomy and physiology lessons in high school hadn't led her astray. Nanika wanted the nail from her big toe.

"Fine," she said, bending over to remove her boot and sock. "I can't - I don't have anything - can you take it?" she asked. "I offer it freely, it's yours."

But she didn't have the pliers - and possibly the wrist strength - to just yank it out by hand.