wander_in_neutral (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wander_in_neutral) wrote2013-03-01 10:40 pm
wander_in_neutral) wrote2013-03-01 10:40 pm
Entry tags:
What happened at the Minnesota Border..
There'd been something fishy about the state border toll station the moment Tour pulled the bus up. Ever Last, that damned young idiot guard assigned to her school from the Unicorn's court had insisted on traveling with her on the pick up for the two other teachers for the school. Winecask had provided her own transportation for moving out to the remote Nevada school, but Mage Master Bramble and Dedicate Bearhug didn't have that kind of fluid income lying around. Her announcement that she had to go and pick these two up came to everyone at the school, Ever Last had insisted that he come with her as an honor guard. An HONOR guard, the little idiot was barely half her age, and even for a unicorn with enough sense to spell himself human, he still let out too many hints that he was anything but! Whose honor was he trying to protect? His?!
At least she could trust Celadine to run the school while she was gone picking them up. She was a dream mage and one of the best therapists Tour could ask for and trust. Bones of gods, the kids really needed therapy after what they'd been through before her.
Usually the back roads were less frequented by hunters, there was just too much ground to cover to hit every back road and they had bigger fish to fry. That's how things had worked for the last few decades. It'd worked pretty well, honestly.
The first sign that something was wrong was that there was only one lane open at the tolls, besides the instant pass lane. Just one. And just one man operating the booth inside, whose smile made her skin prickle up. It'd been too wide, and in that stubble covered mouth there were human teeth showing, the normal number of them present...but too many teeth shown. Ever seemed to pick up on this as well, and idiot he was it showed openly. His eyes narrowed and she nearly wanted to slap the idiot when he let out a snort.
She bit her lip as the bus pulled away from the toll, and tried not to grind her teeth, "Ever, so help me stars, don't leave you dare get out of your sea-."
The bus rocked slightly as someone attached themselves to her half-opened window and tried to wedge inside with a knife to her face. It was the man from the toll booth, grinning now with his service cap off and armed to the teeth when she looked at him, hands not leaving the steering wheel. As much as Tour wanted to swear, she had to stay calm, rest her thoughts on that bubble of cold logic for a moment. This was a Hunter, capital letter warranted. He had shed the uniform of the toll worker, pray the gods whichever soul he'd taken that from, in favor of something more ambitiously agressive. A chest strap of various knifes, aside from the musebone knife he was holding to her face was over his chest, with a vest strapped with more blades and darts, two swords from one hip and a golden tattoo over his forehead. It looked like a crown, someone's terribly stylized take on celtic design, with clear break in the front.
"Hand over the unicorn, hedgewitch, and you can walk away..." The hunter's breath stank and she couldn't even deny what Ever was as she looked up into the mirror. The idiot was already changing out of human form to...was he planning to FIGHT as a UNICORN? On a moving bus?
The hunter's eyes flicked over as well, the change wasn't as quick as Ever hoped it'd be, and the deranged man licked his lips. "He's not worth as much as you are..."
"Ever, get back..." The hunter's eyes were entirely on Ever who was making to charge. Tour glared at Ever a moment before flicking out the sawed off shotgun she kept loaded with lead, iron and salt strapped to the side of her seat and firing at the hunter. Of course it didn't hit, the fucker only laughed when the shot busted up the muse bone knife and climbed up to the top of the bus. He was on something, selkie blood or in this area maybe satyr horn powder. She hissed between her teeth and tucked the gun down, shifting the bus into a higher gear.
The change of clattering hooves to the slap of naked human feet on the floor behind her made her turn around just a little to look behind her. Well he was fast changing for a unicorn, she'd grant him that much, but Ever was still bound and determined to FIGHT. His clothes hadn't come with this change back to human and now there was a buck-ass naked young man behind her grabbing a scimitar from his things. Thumps came from the roof as the hunter moved around up there, and knives sank through the metal roof of the bus with each new anchor he stabbed for himself.
"Ever, sit down!" She snapped at the young warrior again as he tried opening up one of the windows to..to..WAS HE TRYING TO FIGHT THE HUNTER ON THE ROOF OF HER BUS? NAKED? That...that was enough foolishness, and she floored the gas pedal after shifting to the highest gear the bus had. The speedometer climbed up past forty now, and she snarled at the unicorn with the voice of a drill sergeant. "EVER LAST, you will SIT DOWN AND BUCKLE UP NOW."
He'd gotten halfway out of the window and looked back at her plainly startled as the bus rattled picking up speed. Whatever he'd been expecting from her, that wasn't it, and when she shot him a venomous glare he quickly dropped the sword back into the bus and did as he was told.
"You two think you're going to get away?" The hunter was taunting her from the roof now. Yes, he was definitely ON SOMETHING. She didn't know which clan he was from, but most of the organized clans kicked people's heads in for using on a hunt, and even more for taunting. No one would miss this one, she thought grimly, as the speedometer pushed past sixty with the engine complaining slightly.
"No," She answered softly, though the hunter couldn't hear her. The click from the seatbelt fastening behind her was the last sign she needed before she slammed on the brakes with a lurch and a scream of tires. The jolt threw her forward, into the straps holding her in and nearly into the windshield. She could hear Ever whimper as the straps cut into him as well and the knives disappeared from above them, followed by the figure of the hunter. Who had not been strapped in. Becoming airborne, if only very temporarily and very surprised at this sudden development. Tour couldn't see what happened after that, her head was somewhere inside of the driver's wheel and she was panting as the body hit the asphalt in the road ahead of them with a sickening crunch.
"No. I'm going to hurt you with physics." She muttered under her breath as Ever gulped behind her and she pulled the bus back into gear and to speed again. The man had threatened her and a young idiot in her care. Hunters didn't stop until they were dead. Ever was staring at her as she drove the bus forward over the prone figure, with two bumps to the suspension of the bus. The young unicorn looked green, actually ready to vomit when she stopped the bus some 10 feet away, and unbuckled herself from the driver's seat. He hadn't been prepared either.
"....come on. We'd better bury him."
----------------
It took the better part of an hour. Digging the grave and stripping the hunter of all that he carried. Mostly because Ever kept throwing up, but they got the hunter buried away from the road. And after that they were back on their way through Northern Minnesota, to go through one of the state parks. The weapons got stored in a lead chest and locked with seven locks, none of which anyone had the key to but her. She'd burn them all first chance she got. There was no saving the metals. More plans about what to do were running through Tour's still nervous brain before she caught on that Ever was coughing, or attempting to do so politely.
"...yes, Last?"
"...have...you...I mean..."
"...if you're asking about what happened back there..I've only had to kill in self-defense twice before in my life."
"...oh."
"Get some rest. And for the sake of your dreams, get dressed."
At least she could trust Celadine to run the school while she was gone picking them up. She was a dream mage and one of the best therapists Tour could ask for and trust. Bones of gods, the kids really needed therapy after what they'd been through before her.
Usually the back roads were less frequented by hunters, there was just too much ground to cover to hit every back road and they had bigger fish to fry. That's how things had worked for the last few decades. It'd worked pretty well, honestly.
The first sign that something was wrong was that there was only one lane open at the tolls, besides the instant pass lane. Just one. And just one man operating the booth inside, whose smile made her skin prickle up. It'd been too wide, and in that stubble covered mouth there were human teeth showing, the normal number of them present...but too many teeth shown. Ever seemed to pick up on this as well, and idiot he was it showed openly. His eyes narrowed and she nearly wanted to slap the idiot when he let out a snort.
She bit her lip as the bus pulled away from the toll, and tried not to grind her teeth, "Ever, so help me stars, don't leave you dare get out of your sea-."
The bus rocked slightly as someone attached themselves to her half-opened window and tried to wedge inside with a knife to her face. It was the man from the toll booth, grinning now with his service cap off and armed to the teeth when she looked at him, hands not leaving the steering wheel. As much as Tour wanted to swear, she had to stay calm, rest her thoughts on that bubble of cold logic for a moment. This was a Hunter, capital letter warranted. He had shed the uniform of the toll worker, pray the gods whichever soul he'd taken that from, in favor of something more ambitiously agressive. A chest strap of various knifes, aside from the musebone knife he was holding to her face was over his chest, with a vest strapped with more blades and darts, two swords from one hip and a golden tattoo over his forehead. It looked like a crown, someone's terribly stylized take on celtic design, with clear break in the front.
"Hand over the unicorn, hedgewitch, and you can walk away..." The hunter's breath stank and she couldn't even deny what Ever was as she looked up into the mirror. The idiot was already changing out of human form to...was he planning to FIGHT as a UNICORN? On a moving bus?
The hunter's eyes flicked over as well, the change wasn't as quick as Ever hoped it'd be, and the deranged man licked his lips. "He's not worth as much as you are..."
"Ever, get back..." The hunter's eyes were entirely on Ever who was making to charge. Tour glared at Ever a moment before flicking out the sawed off shotgun she kept loaded with lead, iron and salt strapped to the side of her seat and firing at the hunter. Of course it didn't hit, the fucker only laughed when the shot busted up the muse bone knife and climbed up to the top of the bus. He was on something, selkie blood or in this area maybe satyr horn powder. She hissed between her teeth and tucked the gun down, shifting the bus into a higher gear.
The change of clattering hooves to the slap of naked human feet on the floor behind her made her turn around just a little to look behind her. Well he was fast changing for a unicorn, she'd grant him that much, but Ever was still bound and determined to FIGHT. His clothes hadn't come with this change back to human and now there was a buck-ass naked young man behind her grabbing a scimitar from his things. Thumps came from the roof as the hunter moved around up there, and knives sank through the metal roof of the bus with each new anchor he stabbed for himself.
"Ever, sit down!" She snapped at the young warrior again as he tried opening up one of the windows to..to..WAS HE TRYING TO FIGHT THE HUNTER ON THE ROOF OF HER BUS? NAKED? That...that was enough foolishness, and she floored the gas pedal after shifting to the highest gear the bus had. The speedometer climbed up past forty now, and she snarled at the unicorn with the voice of a drill sergeant. "EVER LAST, you will SIT DOWN AND BUCKLE UP NOW."
He'd gotten halfway out of the window and looked back at her plainly startled as the bus rattled picking up speed. Whatever he'd been expecting from her, that wasn't it, and when she shot him a venomous glare he quickly dropped the sword back into the bus and did as he was told.
"You two think you're going to get away?" The hunter was taunting her from the roof now. Yes, he was definitely ON SOMETHING. She didn't know which clan he was from, but most of the organized clans kicked people's heads in for using on a hunt, and even more for taunting. No one would miss this one, she thought grimly, as the speedometer pushed past sixty with the engine complaining slightly.
"No," She answered softly, though the hunter couldn't hear her. The click from the seatbelt fastening behind her was the last sign she needed before she slammed on the brakes with a lurch and a scream of tires. The jolt threw her forward, into the straps holding her in and nearly into the windshield. She could hear Ever whimper as the straps cut into him as well and the knives disappeared from above them, followed by the figure of the hunter. Who had not been strapped in. Becoming airborne, if only very temporarily and very surprised at this sudden development. Tour couldn't see what happened after that, her head was somewhere inside of the driver's wheel and she was panting as the body hit the asphalt in the road ahead of them with a sickening crunch.
"No. I'm going to hurt you with physics." She muttered under her breath as Ever gulped behind her and she pulled the bus back into gear and to speed again. The man had threatened her and a young idiot in her care. Hunters didn't stop until they were dead. Ever was staring at her as she drove the bus forward over the prone figure, with two bumps to the suspension of the bus. The young unicorn looked green, actually ready to vomit when she stopped the bus some 10 feet away, and unbuckled herself from the driver's seat. He hadn't been prepared either.
"....come on. We'd better bury him."
----------------
It took the better part of an hour. Digging the grave and stripping the hunter of all that he carried. Mostly because Ever kept throwing up, but they got the hunter buried away from the road. And after that they were back on their way through Northern Minnesota, to go through one of the state parks. The weapons got stored in a lead chest and locked with seven locks, none of which anyone had the key to but her. She'd burn them all first chance she got. There was no saving the metals. More plans about what to do were running through Tour's still nervous brain before she caught on that Ever was coughing, or attempting to do so politely.
"...yes, Last?"
"...have...you...I mean..."
"...if you're asking about what happened back there..I've only had to kill in self-defense twice before in my life."
"...oh."
"Get some rest. And for the sake of your dreams, get dressed."