Bits and Pieces
14
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Bits and Pieces Chapter Fourteen
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta…
Maxwell Pink, Dracena and Greywolf are loverly and
wondermous for archiving/hosting. J
I may redo the hat one… Morgan:
*glomp* Readers/Reviewers: Thanks for
reading/reviewing as you can.
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Kurt paced
furiously, almost able to ignore Amara skulking past him into the dining
room. “I don’t fucking believe it!” he
exploded as she slipped into the cavernous, wood paneled room.
Amara
sighed and turned to face him. “I don’t
care.”
“That’s
just what Rahne said! I don’t think she believed me but it’s true! He’s in
there with HER!” Kurt jabbed a finger
furiously in the direction of the library. “Consorting!”
Amara
decided not to say anything and fixed him with a *look*, one that had struck
fear into the hearts of her servants on Nova Roma.
up speed, his tail lashing furiously. “You
are scattering my pile of trash,” she said firmly.
are having a snit.”
“I’m not
having a snit!” Kurt protested. “I’m
having a fit of righteous indignation!”
Rahne padded
into the hall behind Kurt, stopping short as she saw the burgeoning temper
tantrum. Sniffing hard, unable to truly
stop crying, she snapped, “Would you stop being so damned self centered?”
Amara bit
back her usual automatic response and jerked her chin at Kurt.
“He says
Mark is in the library with Mystique,” Rahne replied, giving Kurt a glare.
Kurt
growled, his fingers curling in anger. “Don’t
treat me like I’m stupid,” he snarled. “Mark
is in there with Mystique. She showed up
with a suitcase!”
“My
suitcase, to be exact,” Mark’s voice proceeded him down the hall.
moved as if she were a predator. Which,
Kurt supposed, was very true.
Kurt’s eyes
went wide, then narrowed in an almost feline manner.
spring from his finger tips and his hackles did not rise.
stopping, “help me in the kitchen.”
“Was?”
“I need
help putting the dishes away. If we stay
busy, it won’t seem so long before we can go see Jean.”
Mark eyed
her appraisingly. “When you’re done in
the kitchen, I’ll see about taking you up to the hospital. It’s bound to be a
while before they say she’s cleared for visitors and I’m sure you want to be
there when she’s able to see people.”
“If she is,”
Amara muttered, turning away and delving into the wide open space that was the
dining room. The table had been pushed
against the far wall and the chairs upended along it’s surface, making the
entire room seem like one of those Napoleonic ball rooms where people wearing
too much powder and too much boning would spend hours in witty conversation,
slowly dying of lead poisoning.name="_ftnref1" title="">
Rahne and
Kurt rounded on her at the same time, both seemingly forgetting the presence of
the librarian and his companion. “What?”
they both said in the same tone, fraught with barely controlled fury.
“I said, if
she is. As in if she is cleared for
visitors.” Amara was aware that it was
one of the few times in her life when she felt very scared of people she cared
about. Kurt and Rahne were fixing her
with twin glares of anger, rage and grief.
Rahne’s eyes were filling with tears again and Kurt was visibly trembling.
badly she wanted to turn away from the faux pas.
Mark
cleared his throat gently. “I think now
is a good time to remember the cultural differences present in this
school. Kurt, Rahne, go to the kitchen.
Amara, sweep. Now.”
Mystique and shrugged slightly. “Today
is apparently more chaotic than expected.”
“I’m sorry
to hear that one of the students is ill,” she replied, raising a brow at Kurt’s
glare. “I chose a poor time to
visit. I hope that you’re able to
retrieve the rest of your luggage on Monday and this bag will be enough to get
you through the weekend…” She smiled tightly at Mark, nodding to the students.
“Nonsense,”
Mark decreed, offering his arm chivalrously.
He did not know if he was doing it to get a rise out of Kurt or because
he honestly liked this woman. Either
way, he decided, both were valid reasons at this point.
Kurt bit
his tongue so hard he tasted blood. Once
Mark and Mystique were clear of the hall, he rounded on Amara. “Don’t say that
sort of thing! Jean is going to be fine!”
Rahne
nodded half heartedly. “It’s just indigestion, most likely,” she offered.
havin’ a heart attack but the doctor at casualty said
it were acid reflux, give ‘er some pills and send ‘
tense, making her words roll over one another and tangle.
Amara
remained silent, turning her back on the duo.
She could not explain her feelings, only that she knew Jean would not
return to them as she had left. Death,
she thought. The only time I feel this
way is when Pluto stalked the earth, she thought, taking up the abandoned broom
and pushing at a small pile of debris half heartedly.
behind her but she did not turn to face him.
“What?”
“Amara, I
apologize for snapping. But you just don’t *say* things like that!
strong…”
She did
turn to face him then. “How many
eighteen year olds do you know who have heart attacks?”
A/N Jean, explained.
A bit. And a hint of smut.
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white powder they used to use on their faces and hair was heavily lead based.
The red lip and cheek tint had a nice heavy dose of cinnabar, further
compounding the slow death aspect of make up.
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reason, Rahne sounds like a friend I had in college who was from