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[Snowpocalypse] Frozen Lake (S 1.8)
To Silica,
It's late morning while the three of you, you and the two Rats, are walking across the ice. Who woke up last? One-Footed is quietly suffering from the cold, Nose is not so quiet. He's been asking for some ice, just some to get through this.
Let's see how things are really going for you.
When you take a group across the frozen lake, picking the best path, roll +Sharp. On a 10+ you make it through without any big troubles. On a 7-9 pick one, things happen and you have a chance to show your stuff to get through this. On a miss choose one and it's clearly your fault.
* the ice is finicky. you run into cracks, collapse, or other dangers.
* the weather turns bad and you get stranded, separated, etc.
* your companions are having trouble. You have to spend one barter worth of supplies to get them through, or leave someone behind.
It's late morning while the three of you, you and the two Rats, are walking across the ice. Who woke up last? One-Footed is quietly suffering from the cold, Nose is not so quiet. He's been asking for some ice, just some to get through this.
Let's see how things are really going for you.
When you take a group across the frozen lake, picking the best path, roll +Sharp. On a 10+ you make it through without any big troubles. On a 7-9 pick one, things happen and you have a chance to show your stuff to get through this. On a miss choose one and it's clearly your fault.
* the ice is finicky. you run into cracks, collapse, or other dangers.
* the weather turns bad and you get stranded, separated, etc.
* your companions are having trouble. You have to spend one barter worth of supplies to get them through, or leave someone behind.
Comments
What kind of shit are they hauling? A sled?
Leading the others, I'm not bitchy about it but I don't spare any venom if I see them doing something stupid. I'm otherwise friendly, if they feel like chatting I chat, but left on my own I'll be singing some music from last night, even getting some of the words right, too.
I help One-Footed a little more. She's being quiet and putting up with it. Nose is bugging me. I'm not one to talk but if you can make it without the drug you're better off. "Ice'll fuck you up Nose, this isn't even an especially cold day..." I raise my arms and turn to gesture at the expanse, just wearing my shirt and jeans, of course, "shit you're the only guy here... put up with it." I don't want to listen to him whine the whole way.
xp(2)
Nose mutters, sort of to himself but loud enough for you to hear, "Ice hasn't fucked you up..."
One-Footed tries not to need help, but walking on ice up here, with the wind and all, it's tough for folks from Underlake. She slips and falls a few times. So does Nose, but well, you're ignoring that, right?
Nevertheless, the trip is about five miles via the path you chose, so you arrive at the Pier around noon. Here's the question. You can try to climb around and up onto the Pier, or come round to the gate.
Climbing in is sneaking, and dangerous. Using the gate means bribing guards with your stuff.
What do you do?
They need some better gear, "you need better gloves, One-footed, those things are letting the wind right through, huh? And your boots are shit Nosepick... pound shitload of little nails through the soles from the inside... might help. And bend your fuckin' knees when you walk out here..." I give them actual advice, I don't feel the cold but I fucking know it... hear everyone fucking complain about it. And why do people always give me cold weather tips?
What? Bribes? Getting them here was my deal, I don't pay their fucking bribes... aren't they hauling some shit?
"Gate's up top... you can sneak in from under but if you're caught it's not my problem... Squirrel give you somethin' to tip off the gatekeep?"
One-Footed listens close about the gloves, nodding, even though she didn't say anything about her freezing fingers. When you mention putting nails through his shoes, Nose laughs incredulously, "Are you for serious? That'd ruin my only pair! When would I take the nails out? And then... you mean they stay in?"
When you tell them about the gate, One-Footed says, "We got guard trade. You comin with us? I means, you're ar guide back, yeah?"
Pfft.... fine. "Yeah, I seen sledders do it, ok? Double sole or somethin' works. Better to have real ice crawlin spikes but how many of those have you seen for sale? Whatever man."
But we get back to business.
"Yeah, sure I'm comin'... gotta wait for you right?"
One-Footed grins, "I'll take ya to the Maze, Silica. Ever been?" She picks up the pace, heading towards the shore gives her some confidence and a goal.
Nose follows after, "The Maze is stupid, One-Foot. Waste of barter."
Have you ever been to the Amazing Maze at Navy Pier?
I shrug, ignoring Nose's attitude, "haven't been... what's the deal with that place anyway?"
One-Footed snickers, "Nose is a dumbass, its hella fun. Theyze got crazy mirrors and lights, an a wobbly-makin machine and all kinds of music. Ya can get lost in there, if ya aint careful."
"I wish you'd get lost, Onefoot." Nose says with a laugh. He's just kidding, you're pretty sure. "You just like the puking dude."
"Hell-to-the-no, I don't" One-Footed replies, shocked that he'd suggest it, "You're fucken dumb!"
This all takes place as you come up to the gate. Big Gnu sees you down there. ose offers up the toll, and the platform is lowered down for you. One-Footed elbows you gently, "You're comin, right?"
"Music?" actually gets me excited, i wonder what kind of music but before I know it we're at the gate.
"Yeah, I'm comin' for sure," I step up on the platform and hold the cable or whatever with one hand.
I am curious what the heck a puking dude is, too. Sounds funny.
(puking dudeis at 6:47)
The Funhouse Maze is in remarkably good shape after the Big Freeze. Several of the mirrors are cracked, some of the music is a bit warbled at times, but overall, it's rather alot like the video above.
We pick up at the puking dude. One-Footed is howling with laughter when you come into the room with the statue of a guy hunched over a barrel. The colored lights and the sounds of him hurling make the gushing of the fountain look really gross. Nose grabs One-Footed after a moment and acts like he's going to pull her into the puking path.
You're the only three kids in the place right now. One-Footed laughs a bit until she realizes what Nose is doing. She calls out, "Silica! Help me!" She's still laughing, but her tone shows alarm. Who wants puke on them? Even fake puke?
What do you do?
This place is crazy. I actually enjoy the damned thing, why have I never come here? The music kind of sucks but at least it's music. I laugh at the funny reflections, at the stupid decorations. And actually kind of have fun with these guys.
The puking guy is fucking hilarious! "What the fuck is that supposed to even be?" I joke, not knowing why such a thing even exists.
But yeah, I go to help One-footed, hopefully it's all good-natured, I go kind of grab her and pull her away, laughing with her. "Gross! Don't get puked on!"
Turns out its horseplay, nothing serious. You drag One-Footed away from puking dude. One-Footed howls with laughter again, "Who knows? They say you can spit in it and make a wish, though!"
Nose lets go and he walks over to the bucket, closes his eyes, then opens them and spits. One-Footed follows, does the same.
What about you? Want to wish for anything?
Joking around with these two kids has made me feel pretty carefree actually. The cheesy music and the lights and the weird puking thing makes me crack up.
I walk up to the barrel and put my hands on the edge, I watch it puke a couple times, laughing out loud the second time, you just gotta! Then I lean over and spit in the water between pukes. Fuck, I can't think of anything to wish for so I just fucking spit, then look back at the others like it means something.
Then the stupid thing pukes again and I shake my head, laughing. I walk over to One-footed, feeling pretty happy, "I like it here," I say, pausing a second to look her in the eye with a little smile.
It kind of means a lot actually. But that's about all the words I have for her... she wouldn't understand anyway.
One-Footed grins back, and says, "Too bad we can't stay, right?"
Nose takes off at a run, "Come on, LOSERS! I'm doing the tumbling rollers! Race ya!"
One-Footed waves him off, like "screw you and your race". She explains, "Can't be at the Pier after dark, or there's trouble..."
What happens to non-Pier kids caught out after dark, Silica?
I kind of want to race him, you know... but she's probably right.
"Yeah wait up, Nose, we need to head back before it gets cold," I follow, but walking. A couple more minutes won't hurt us, but I don't want them to get stuck out on the ice. That would suck for them.
I haven't seen it but I heard that you can get 'napped and shipped over the lake if you get caught up here after dark. Not sure if that's true though... pickin' you up off the street to sell you sounds kind of crazy.
Maybe it was a trick, because as you walk, One-Footed jogs past you, laughing, "She's last now! Ha ha, can't catch me! C'mon Silica!"
In this room are three brightly painted cylinders that are the only paths to the other side. The cylinders are rotating, like oil drums, rolling, or wheels or something. You have to move down one of them while it rotates around you. You see Nose ahead on the right one at the end, he just fell and nearly rolled up with it. He crawls out to the other side, laughing.
What do you do?
"Hey!" I call out and chase her, a grin on my face. A little sheepish at having been tricked... but it's all good.
One-Footed crawls through the center cylinder, not even trying to stay on two feet. The thing pulls her up a bit, and she tumbles around and around a couple times. You're able to pass her up and come out on the other side first. Nose is there, smirking.
"Nice work. You've got really good balance, Silica." He says with no discernible malice, just stating a fact, maybe a compliment. He doesn't even seem to gawk at you like most boys do.
One-Footed finally pulls herself out of the cylinder and collapses on the bright blue painted concrete floor. She's laughing so hard she can't catch her breath for a moment. She finally gasps out, "Think Ize gonna bea pukin dude!" But she's not really sick.
What do you do?
That was pretty fun. "you're pretty quick on your feet when you're not on the lake, man," I say to Nose, hopping out of the tunnel to land on both feet. Truth is I am pretty quick and I guess I do have good balance, but I'm not especially strong. I don't work out, though I do use my feet a lot, guess I could walk all day if I had to, or run a pretty fast couple of miles. Just not going to win any arm wrestling matches. Or fights for that matter.
One-footed hits the deck and I laugh with her. "You shoulda seen your face!" and I make a funny face and feign turning over and over...
I'll help her to her feet, actually offer her a hand if she wants it. Most comfortable I've felt in a while... maybe Hadden did... fuck. I am a kid to him, huh? Well that sours my mood a touch but whatever. I'm miles away.
"They have a marketplace up here, right? Let's stop in then burn outta here."
You head out of there to the market, which is pretty tightly regimented. Space is a premium here, the Pier is a good place to live. Sure, lots of guards, and they get their way, but still, it's safe, right? For locals, at least.
What are you looking for at market? Food, pretty things? Clothes? Just a way to waste time?
Ok, so I'm going to browse the market, find someone dealing winter gear, salvaged shit from the snow or whatever. Going to find a good pair of winter gloves, about my size, and a pair of crampons... someone out here must make 'em. I've seen people wearing them, welded out of sheet metal then bent round to fit the feet with a couple straps.
Little embarrassing for me to look for winter gear, but whatever.
And yeah, I'll try to be discreet about it.
Sure, shopping in a market is no problem. Let's say that the gloves and crampons and some other stuff you find is a barter. What do you have over as your barter, and what's the other cool thing you picked up?
Sure. Let's say you're chatting up Jib, an older dude who pockets a little ice and swaps out your .45 for a sweet little 9MM
"Hey girlie," Jib says with a grin behind his scraggly beard, "Aint seen you around afore. What choo gettin all this shit for? You obviously don't need it. heh."
None of your fucking business, is what I think. But I say, "banga's for me, but I got some 'am friends need some gear, allright?" I slide the forty-five with the magazine taken out over his table to him. "We got a deal, man?"
"Ayup." Jib says, handing the 9mm to you and snatching up the 45. He peers at you, "Lissen, girlie. You got anything else for trade? I can move your ice... if ya got any. But the other folks round here, they'll snatch yer shit and leave ya hangin."
"Headin' back to c-town so I'm good... allright... but I'll keep an eye on my shit."
I take the pistol and check it out, loading the clip and trying the action. Hopefully it's an easier pull than the forty-five. It's probably obvious watching me that I'm not very proficient with the gun, like... I have to fiddle with it a bit to get it loaded.
When I'm satisfied I throw the crampons and gloves into my backpack, the gun into my waistband and catch up to the others.
Jib almost seems like he's going to help you with the slide action, which is smooth, just takes the right angle. But then he seems to get that you're touchy, and doesn't.
You catch up with Nose and One-Footed. They're eating fish jerky from their packs. Nose hands some to you, "Got a new gun? Is it mag? Can I see?"
One-Footed is absent-mindedly chewing, staring up at the big wheel.
"I wanna climb up there an touch Heaven," One-Footed says to nobody in particular.
What do you do?
"Yeah, uh... sure..." I was just putting the gun away and instead take it back out. I don't hand it to him but I show it, "It's allright, you know... little nina' just in case." Then I return it to its spot.
I take the jerky and rip off a nice piece to chew it, following One-footed's gaze up the old wheel. "Wonder what it looked like all lit up and spinnin' like... you know. It's supposed to turn round," I point my piece of fish up at it and twirl the end like it's following the thing turning.
"But you know, you should come 'scraper climbin' in c-town with me sometime," I suggest... fuck did I just suggest we hang out back at home?
One-Footed looks over at you, gives a little smile, not too broad, just, you know, subtle. "Yeah? It spun round? Looks like a pretty pizza cutter. People live innit?"
Nose punches One-Footed in the arm, "No, dumbass! Its a ride, you could see the end of the lake! I shit you not, you never listen to Squirrel's stories, always staring into nothing."
A beat passes, and now he's looking up, too. Like normal, One-Footed doesn't take Nose's bait. She says quiet, "Ize a pretty good climber, Silica. Bet I ken out-climb ya."
I stand there a second, looking out over the ice... I know somewhere inside that this is a bad idea. We need to get moving.... like, it's not nearly night yet but... but fuck it. I bite.
"That aint fuckin' happening!" I tease, sticking the rest of the jerky between my teeth and running for the wheel with a laugh... this time I have the head start.
One-Footed squeals when you take off and runs after you. Nose lopes behind, he's not having any of that. She's a bit too bundled up for speed, so you beat her to the wheel and start climbing up. Lucky she has gloves because this would hurt like a bitch as you start working your way up.
Want to give me an Act Under Fire to beat her?
Act under fire:
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 4, 1. Total: 6)
Turns out, just because you don't feel cold, it doesn't mean the ice isn't slippery. First, you miss a bar, nearly fall. Then, when you try to adjust your grip, you wriggle against a jagged piece of one of the cars, and rip your shirt and cut yourself. It hurts a lot.
One-Footed, gloves and all, doesn't get as high as you. She slips and falls about fifteen feet. Nose tried to grab her or catch her or something. She twisted her ankle, and her hurt his wrist.
Well, you're pretty sure he hurt his wrist, he's holding it funny. But he isn't complaining, which is weird, right? He bitched the whole way here over nothing. Now, he probably sprained something, not a word.
One-Footed laughs a bit ruefully, "Well shit, Silica. We both lost. Score one fer the wheel. Wheel o' Pain!" She points up at it, "Fuck you, Wheel o' Pain!" A few locals give her odd looks, some stupid hick Underlaker. But she just grins at you and Nose.
Nose says, "We goin back now?"
"Fuckin..." yeah damn it. I get back down to my feet, bleedin' on myself. Damn...
I walk over to them, hissing between my teeth at the pain, "you guys all right? One-footed, are you ok on the ankle? We got a long walk ahead and I guess I'm supposed to be in charge," I shrug and laugh a little, like I know that's kind of a joke, "and Nose, seriously... let me see your hand, ok?"
I hold out my hand to have him show me. Definitely going to check him out.
One-Footed shrugs, "I'll be alright. Don't worry bout me, I'll keep up. I don't never give up, kay?" She's trying to look badass and tough.
Nose scowls a bit, he suddenly doesn't want to seem weak, either. Probably following One-Footed's example. He holds out his hand when you pull rank on him. You may act like it's a joke, but he doesn't think so. The wrist is bruised and a little swollen. Nedd called this kind of thing a sprain. He needs, of all things, some ice. But rest and compression, too.
What do you do?
"Ain't worried about'cha, just don't wanna carry your ass home, girl!" she is badass and tough. She gotta be to live.
I hold Nose's wrist between my cool hands and look around, thinking. No more fucking around, he's right, its not a joke.
"Ok we aint stayin' here overnight, I heard enough stories... so we got to move out. Gonna suck," I start heading towards the gate. How bad am I cut? Don't need stitches or some shit do I?
"We watch each other ok? No bullshit... we straight?"
They nod. The joking time is over. They follow you to the gate and out. Nobody is gonna stop three snot-nosed kids from leaving.
Out on the street, One-Footed asks, "Back out to the lake, right?" They have an empty sled now, not weighed down by their packs because they traded off their load.
"Yeah," I answer simply, not much else to say until we get out of this place.
I wait until we're a good ten, fifteen minutes outside of the pier and out on the open ice to stop. I set my pack in front of me and crouch down to open it. I ain't saying too much. The accident at the wheel kind of took the jokes out of us and this is kind of serious.
"Hey c'mere you guys," I wave them over with a hand near my ear and wait for them to come near.
I pull out the pair of gloves I bought, handing them to One-footed. "For you, ok? Hope they fit."
Then the crampons, I pull the pair out, clanking together. "Gimme a foot," I say to Nose, if he does, I fit them to his shoes... if he wants to do it himself that's fine too.
They come over, not sure what's going on. Then, you just up and hand them these things, and it's so weird, the looks on their faces. This tangled up mess of shocked, and grateful and awed.
"Silica..." One-Footed starts off. "I can't... I can't afford these." She's putting them on as she says this, like maybe she thinks it's a rental. Hell, maybe it is, right?
Nose looks down at the crampons, like they're some weird device of torture, but he gives you a foot, like he'll trust you that much, why not? Then you fasten it on and he's stamping his feet back and forth, testing it, looking at you, not sure what the hell is going on.
What do you do?
I get the other foot set up and watch him test them in the ice. Should be night and day for him, "how do those feel?" I ask simply before zipping closed my pack and standing up, tossing it back over my shoulder.
One-footed might see the unusually soft smile on my face as I pass her. I hold out a bare hand to touch her newly gloved hand, just a touch. "It... was fun today... with you guys, ok?" I take a couple steps and I feel something tight in my chest. Shit...
"And you know... I can't... can't have you slowin' me down allright?" Don't get attached... Silica you know better... But fuck it... it feels good.
One-Footed mouth hangs open for a bit, listening when you pretty much say its theirs, a gift. Not in so many words. But she gets it. She wiggles her fingers a bit, grins at you.
Nose stomps around, "I'm not gonna slow you down. Not with these! Man, I could tear a guy's face off! This is badass, Silica!"
Then, you all trudge on, right? I mean, no need to just stand around. One-Footed, who is living up to her name now, she's slowing you down pretty bad. She won't even whine, but that ankle is obviously hurting.
After maybe a half mile, you're walking slightly ahead with Nose, when he says, "Silica... think we could stick her on the sled and pull it?"
I look back at her struggling. She's bad ass if anyone, that much fucking hurt and not a word out of her.
"Yeah, we can do that, sit your ass down on here, girl," a smile, I'm just trying to lighten the mood a little. I know she doesn't want to admit she needs it.
One-Footed looks pissed, a little hurt. She draws back on unsteady legs, she's been sweating hard to keep up. "No way! I aint gonna ride on a fucken sled! I'm not givin up! I'm just... I'll keep up!"
"No, you won't, dumbass," Nosepick says with surprising concern, despite his mean nickname. "Just let me pull you. I won't tell nobody."
One-Footed glares at both of you, "No! I aint a quitter! Just fucken go on, we got the jingle and shit. I'll make it on my own."
What do you do?
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 5, 1. Total: 8)
xp(3)
I totally understand why she doesn't want to... hell, I'd have trouble admitting I need help. Guess I still do. But she's slowing us down dangerously.
Spending my hold:
How can I get her to let us help her without making her feel like she's giving up.
Well, you can tell from how she's reacted to Nose's teasing that she'd need to feel like he wouldn't mock her for this. Also, she wouldn't want anyone, especially Squirrel, to know.
"Ok, look... I said we gotta watch each other..." I look out over the ice, "One-footed, we were fuckin' stupid, ok? Climbing that thing... that's how you got hurt..."
"Now, I don't want Squirrel on my ass about that... right? So I can't have you limping in on a busted foot. Let us pull you in, once we're in sight of the cave you're on your own feet, ok? Not a word about it to anyone, cause if I have to go explaining how we got hurt I am not going to be fuckin' happy. You're good with that, right Nose?"
Nose nods, "i only make fun of you when you look stupid, dumbass. You're hurt. That's different."
One-Footed scowls, nods, then sits down on the sled.
You and Nose are pulling One-Footed along. The ice flows shifted a bit, and along a cracked ridge, you find something odd. A yellow jacket. A lonely, little yellow coat. It strikes you as familiar.
It looked just like the one you saw in Fronstide's mind. It was Nollie's.
What do you do?
I catch the color right away, anything brightly colored on the lake immediately catches the eye. I'm surprised I hadn't seen it on the way but there in the lee of the ridge maybe I missed it.
"Hold up a second," I say, trotting up ahead to where the yellow coat lays discarded. Could this seriously be her coat? She did die out on the ice... this ice.
She got this far...
I go to it.
Nose stays with One-Footed and you pad up to find the little coat. It used to be real nice, now its covered with bits of ice and it is partially frozen. Wouldn't take much to chip it out.
Looks like this:
What do you do?
Yeah, I'll chip it out. "Gimme a minute..." I say to the others, kind of distractedly. I just have to rescue the coat.... I know it, I know it'll fit me.
I get down on my knees and chip at the ice with my knife, I feel the fabric where it's showing. It's familiar even. Some part of me feels nostalgic, like... you know, this is my old coat. Like I've found something I'd lost.
Now this isn't something I usually try to do... it's just something that happens sometimes... you know how I saw through Wonky... into him, that time? It happens with people when I get too close. I see through them, it's hard to describe but they become... particles. Motes of light and dark of different hues... they dissolve away and it's beautiful actually. Like walking through a billion glittering and drifting snowflakes... but sometimes it turns terrible. They grow too dark and cold I feel so... so alone... or they grow bright enough to blind.. or worst of all is when they notice me, and coalesce into terrible forms... and surround and chase me and I know they mean me harm... I don't know what they are... but sometimes I just have to get away you know? Get out here on the ice...
Finding my old coat... that makes me see it again. I'm glad there's only a few people here.
I open my brain.
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 4, 6. Total: 12)
It's amazing sometimes, like I'm walking through the snow and it's all around me, and the world goes silent... sometimes I can reach out and catch one of those little glittery motes and bring it to my chest or my ear, and feel what it means, or hear it whisper someone's innermost throughts in my ear. It's always different, really... I don't know what it means really, but I think they're people... or pieces of people.
I don't even know if it's real.... really. If I look too long it always goes bad though. I think there's something out there which doesn't like me looking.
You feel a deep connection to this coat, Silica. It's yours. You're her, and she's you. Frontside Indy Grab was right. He was right about you and Nollie, somehow both of you are... connected? The same? Opposite halves of the same whole? Soultwins? Hard to say, but you see the mote that is her, and it dances around a mote that is you. Falling from the sky and twirling about, bouncing off each other, sometimes merging into one mote, sometimes drifting apart.
As long as you're looking for her, Nollie isn't dead, right? You feel that. Her body, that's long lost to the ice and snow. But her? She's alive in you, Silica.
The dancing lights which hover around the coat sparkle there in the corners of my vision for just a few moments as I pull it from the frosty ground. I hold it to my chest, breathe deep close my eyes for a second.
I never knew before the this... whatever it is can linger like this. Was I led here somehow? It was like a memory, really. I just knew.
Then I remember I'm not alone, turn to the others, "uh.. this...." I stand, holding the coat between my hands in front of me, almost bundeld up, "this used to be mine... I... never thought I'd find it again."
I smile a weak, melacholy smile and shake the frost from the coat, still surprisingly vibrant after all this time.
I put it on, and return to the sled.
Nose looks surprised, like "how the hell did you up and find it out here?" But he doesn't say anything. You're the boss out here in the biting cold.
One-Footed says, "Its pretty. Looks good on ya." She looks much better now that she's off the bad ankle.
After a couple more hours of walking, you get near Underlake. Probably a good time to change things up, with the sled, at least.
What do you do?
Yeah... we get One-footed up out of the sled, she's looking a lot better on her feet. Few hours of rest and hey, the cold is at least good at keeping swelling down right?
So we walk towards Underlake. It'll be nice to get some rest, listen to some music. Wonder if Hadden's still around? Nah... he probably took off, he's usually pretty busy makin' deals and shit.
Whatever, I'm satisfied. We got the job done... that's good enough.
I walk with One-footed, in case she has trouble I want to be there. Of course I don't tell her that.
Nose picks up the sled with his good hand when you guys start the long walk down into the sewer entrance to Underlake. One-Footed is limping, but not as bad as before. She looks over at you, "These gloves... they're real nice, Silica. You, uh... you want some food when we get back? I got some fish, too much really."
Ahead is the big door that remains shut with a guard on it. It's to keep riff raff, animals, and ice storms out. You've been the riff raff before, but now... not so much, right?
What do you do?
Yeah, pretty nice to have the gates opened for me for once instead of slammed in my face.
"Sure, fish sounds good," hard to imagine having too much, but I'll take it. I straighten my yellow jacket and unbutton it as we cross the threshold of the gate. For some reason I buttoned it up after putting it on, maybe it felt better that way.
Then I ask, "How long you worked for Squirrel? He treat you good?"
One-Footed grins when you accept the offer for fish. You pass through the gates, and she and Nose both lead you inside towards their place. One-Footed answers, "I've always done work for him an the rest o' the family. Use to work the ice tunnels deep when Ize little. Squirrel brought me outta there to mine, but now, I guess we're runnin shit back an forth. He's alright. We eat good, music's fun."
They seem to know these twisting tunnels like the back of their hands. Sometimes, it's like they're little ants in a hill. One-Footed gives you a sly look, "You wanna work here? Bet he'd take ya. We could run sled back an' forth."
"Hell yeah!" Nose cuts in. He's been eavesdropping, of course. "We could see the pukin dude a couple times a week! He could be your new boyfriend, One-Foot!"
She glares at him, "She the hell up!" She moves over to slap him, and he dances out of the way, laughing. She laughs, too.
You come round the corner to see somebody you'd hope you might. You've been thinking about him lately, right?
Please go here.