anyone home?

To say Sparrow was done was an understatement. Her logical, back part of her mind, stuffed deep down in its depths as it was, couldn’t find any good reasoning to this. It knew what she was doing was bad. It knew it came with consequences. The front part of her brain was fried, having gone through every emotion it could muster and now running on fumes.

Somewhere above, the sky, like her mood darkened, and a few wet, fat drops of rain struck the sturdy roof of the barn as loud as the locusts landing in the summer. Anything outside felt eons away from this moment, where Sparrow stood over the woman she once loved, her scruff in her maw and not even in the romantic way.

Hanako struggled in her maw and said that Sparrow was hurting her, ”Then stop struggling,” she grumbled out against Hanako’s fur. She motioned at Friar and then to a rough-spun rope that must have been used for livestock at some point. He gave her one moment of hesitation, one second to reconsider, and when she didn’t, he bared his teeth gleefully at her and scampered off to get the rope- this would be a great act in the ballad he was working on.

As the raindrops fell with more frequency, more vigor, the barn’s space filled with noise and humidity, making the atmosphere so woefully thick and stuffy it was hard to breathe properly. Friar returned with the rope and set to hog tying Hana as Sparrow hauled the woman across her own back. At this point, it was becoming hard to find a spot in the barn that wasn’t leaking and the concrete ground began to run rivulets of dust-colored water down into the old stalls and out through whatever holes in the walls it could find.

It took a while, but eventually the woman was secured. Friar hung on to a loose end of rope and looked towards Sparrow for instruction “Save a bit in case we need it for the maw,” she mumbled to Friar, but it was really meant as a warning to Hana. ”And weed the place up as best as you can.”

The weed had been oven of the things she came for, but it was known for its strong smell and she trusted Friar to sweep the floors and burn it and whatever else to cover whatever scents may linger after the rain. Usually she’d wait out the weather, but it provided cover for now and offered to wash away her tracks. Sure, Hanako would be pissed about being tied up and wet, but she seemed to be a glutton for punishment today and at this point Sparrow was happy to let her have her way.

Ears pinned, Sparrow left, taking the same path she always did back to her pack, for to deviate would be to admit something amiss. Friar stayed behind with Pongolo and Beef Sandwich as they effectively partied it up and trashed the place appropriately until the whole thing stunk of herbs and mud and Beef Sandwich’s weird skin oils. By the time they were done, the time of day had noticeably changed in lightness, but the sky still poured one out for its fallen woman. Though they were somewhat loath to venture in the rain, they needed to leave and join Sparrow before something worse happened- whatever that may be.

-Exit Sparrow and co-