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<Angel> ::the cathedral bell rings eleven as the small group slips towards the gated hillside. Small mausoleums dot the graveyard along with dozens of tiny white markers. Towards the back, fenced off from the main yard, is a clump of graves marked by plain round stones with no names carved on them:: * Dawn looks over the cemetery, his eyes darting from one shadow to another, looking for movement, or any sign of an ambush. Seeing no blazing paladins with flaming swords blocking his path, he glances at Jewel. "Well?" * Jewel nods, her eyes slightly unfocused, one hand curled lightly around her pearl pendant. "Stay close to me-- within a few yards. Just in case." <Angel> ::there seems to be a caretaker of sorts. a small building near one side of the graveyard has a candle burning inside.:: * Dawn nods and glances at Dusk. Dusk nods toward the caretaker's building. {Should we ask?} * Dawn scratches at two-day-old stubble and considers. "Anything obvious leaking from over there that could give us an edge, Jewel?" <Jewel> ::shakes her head and responds slowly, attention obviously elsewhere:: I'm... covering us. Can't... do that... and check at the same time. <Dawn> Damn. ::he eyes the building, and looks at the rather vast collection of anonymous graves.:: We can't waste all night looking. Might as well. ::With his right hand, he holds the blade of a crystal knife, and leads them toward the shack. He peers unobtrusively into the window before committing to a knock:: <Jewel> ::whispers:: Wait... * Dusk raises his eyebrow at Jewel. * Jewel bites her lip and switches to hand-speech. {Stay quiet and...} her fingers pause as she tries to think of how to say the next bit, {don't think of anything for a moment. I can find him.} * Dusk looks at Dawn. {Don't think of anything, she says. Should be pretty easy for *you*, but what am I supposed to do.} * Jewel ignores their banter and blinks a couple of times, pulling a bit of cloth out of her bodice and concentrating on it. <Dawn> ::gives his partner a dry look:: {You could think about all the very clever things you've said to me in the last few years. That should keep you good and blank.} * Jewel beckons to them, following a pull only she can feel from the cloth she holds in front of her. She pauses at the foot of two fresh unmarked graves, one beside the other. <Dawn> ::whispering:: Which one? * Jewel cocks her head, and the hand holding the fabric swings towards the left. She points. * Jewel tucks the fabric away again and curls her hand around her pendant once more. * Dawn nods, then reaches into his shabby cloak and retrieves a number of digging instruments. He passes one to Dusk, who gets busy. Dawn hefts his own shovel, then eyes Jewel. "Can you concentrate and dig at the same time?" * Jewel shakes her head slowly. <Dawn> Damn. Try to keep your eyes open as well as your mind, then, right? ::he doesn't wait for a response, but sets to work opposite Dusk.:: * Jewel nods, looking from the other fresh grave to the caretaker's house to the jail and back as she listens to them work. <Dawn> ::It is tedious, hot work, despite the cool night breeze. After a time, Dawn pauses to mop the sweat from his face.:: Join the Guild, they said. Never work again, they said. Fuck. ::Obligatory bitching accomplished, he goes back to work.:: Jewel. You get any feel for how deep he is? I'd hate to learn the hard way that they bury 'em shallow and don't bother with a box. * Jewel is slow to respond to Dawn's question, but after a moment, she retrieves the handkerchief again and steps back a few paces, even with the grave. She points downward at an angle. * Dawn eyes the angle of her arm, calculating shrewdly. "All right. Back to the umbrella trick, then." <Jewel> Umbrella... trick? ::her hand moves back up to her pendant, and she checks around them again. <Dawn> Aye, umbrella. Covering us from whatever they've got coming down. * Jewel smiles faintly and nods. <Angel> ::after a bit more time, Dawn's shovel bites down on a shoddy pine box:: * Jewel starts at the hollow "tunk" behind her, and reflexively glances around. * Dawn winces briefly as his shovel strikes, then gestures to Dusk. Once found, the box is fairly easy to uncover. Dawn pops his head out of the hole long enough to look around, then summons a very weak witchlight. "We going to have to haul this stupid thing out of the ground, or can we open it in here?" * Jewel is torn between wanting to look and not wanting to see how they might have desecrated the supposed body, and opts to keep her eyes topside. * Dusk is not an engineer. He shrugs and waits for Dawn to answer his own question. While he waits, he leans on his shovel and pants. His breath steams slightly. * Jewel shivers and glances again at the other unmarked grave. * Dawn works things out to his own satisfaction, then wedges his shovel under the lid of the pine box. "Jewel? All clear? This is going to be fucking noisy." * Jewel looks around one more time and them looks down at Dawn with a nod. * Dawn takes a few deep breaths, lays his hands with Dusk's on the shovel's handle, and together they rather laboriously pry the lid off the coffin. <Angel> ::indeed, Dawn is correct. The screech of nails against cheap wood is unpleasant and loud:: * Jewel winces at the sound and bites her lip, squatting down so that, if they've attracted attention, she won't be *immediately* obvious. <Dawn> ::Once the box is open, Dawn and Dusk manhandle Angel's body out. Dusk climbs out of the grave and hauls him up onto the grass.:: <Angel> ::the body is... less than pleasant to look at. For one, whoever buried him apparently decided he was more in need of a dead man's clothing then a dead man, so Angel is dressed in only a pair of short undertrousers. From the looks of him, he was not well-treated while in prison, being covered with bruises and whipmarks. His face is caught in a rictus of pain and shaded an unnatural color of purple:: * Jewel swallows hard and does not look, feeling a little like Orpheus. * Dawn clambers out of the grave, pauses a moment to catch his breath, then begins shoveling the dirt back in, mumbling incoherently under his breath. * Dusk pulls a small vial out of his pocket, holds it up to the meager starlight to double-check that it's the right one, then unstoppers it and pours it carefully into Angel's mouth, working the head and neck to be sure he swallows it. <Angel> ::for a long moment, nothing happens:: * Angel coughs suddenly, hoarsely. His eyes open, but appear to see nothing, rolling madly. * Dusk grabs a corner of Dawn's cloak and yanks. Dawn looks around to see Angel's blind stare, and wordlessly switches places with his partner. "Mace. It's Dawn. Wake up, boss." <Angel> ::hoarsely:: The child... the child of the sun... * Jewel keeps her eyes turned outward, tears starting in the corners of them at the sound of her husband's voice. * Dusk turns from the work of filling the hole, his dark gaze intense. * Dawn crouches at Angel's side, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his crystal knife. <Angel> Born... ::he coughs again, a thin froth on his lips:: born to the one, child of the other. The sun returns to his god. * Angel shudders, then closes his eyes, the purple fades from his face, to show a single bruise covering him from left eye to chin. He takes two deep breaths, then opens his eyes again. A muddy sort of awareness can be seen. <Dawn> ::gruffly:: Boss? <Angel> ::blinks:: Dawn? * Dusk nods once and starts shovelling again. <Dawn> Aye. Got Dusk and Jewel with me, too. Glad to see you made it. <Angel> What? Where... ::he shakes his head, then visibly flinches:: What th... gods, that hurts. <Dawn> Only way to get you out without endangering our inside man. You're going to be in a world of hurt for a few days, probably, though. <Dawn> Jewel. You had any indication that we're being watched? <Jewel> N--no. ::she's trembling a little, and keeps half-turning her head to look down at them but catching herself at the last moment to keep her eyes topside:: <Dawn> Then drop it for a minute and come over here. You don't satisfy yourself soon, you're going to break and endanger us all. Try to be quick; Dusk and I can't keep up defenses very long. <Angel> ::with exquisite politeness, he turns his head:: Excuse me a moment. ::Angel heaves his guts into the half-filled grave:: * Dusk grimaces, and throws down a hasty few shovels of dirt. * Dawn politely picks up a shovel and helps Dusk, to allow Jewel and Angel at least an illusion of privacy. * Jewel gives a last glance around and half-climbs, half-stumbles over the diminishing mound of soft earth, finally allowing herself to look at Angel. * Angel turns to look as she spills loose soil over his legs. "My lady?" * Jewel gasps at the whipmarks and bruises, gently touching a hand to the uninjured side of his face as she stares into his eyes. {My lord!} <Angel> I... ::he stammers, uncharacteristically at a loss for words:: ... I'm glad to see you. ::he is shivering slightly in the night air but oblivious to it:: * Jewel beams at him, wiping wetness from her eyes. "I'm glad to have my heart back. It was careless of me to lose it." She removes her cloak, still warm from her shoulders, and drapes it around him, sliding an arm around his waist to hold him close. <Angel> ::hisses slightly but leans into her warmth. For a long moment, he is silent, then in his normal bored tones:: Took you long enough, Dawn. What the *fuck* did you do to me? * Dawn pauses, leaning on his shovel and panting. "Killed your ass. Just to prove I could." He grins. <Angel> ::hoarsely:: Just as a note, this is the *second* time I've died. Can I just stay dead next time? This coming back thing gives me a terrible headache. * Jewel gives both of them a dirty look. "*No.*" * Dawn snorts and goes back to his shovel. "And get out of working? Fuck that." * Angel looks around. "Damn, you're serious? Buried and everything? No wonder I feel like half-cooked gizzard." * Jewel makes a show of tucking her cloak around Angel, carefully avoiding what marks she can see. "You're not getting away from me that easily, either. I warned you." <Dawn> Aye. Soon's we've got the hole filled up again, I'll take us all home, and we'll get cleaned up and have a beer and swap stories. ::he pauses to glance at Angel:: They took Shiver and Ear, for fucksake. <Jewel> ::glances around, putting her hand back to her pendant again:: News will keep. We've been lucky so far, but let's not tempt it. <Angel> ::nods slowly:: Although I expect that if I heard noises in the graveyard, I might think twice before wandering in. <Jewel> Some wouldn't. ::meets his eyes, her own slightly unfocused:: People... like me. <Jewel> ::shakes her head, frowning at herself:: News later. * Angel leans on his hand, then winces again and swears in a low, steady voice. His curses are fluid and colorful, ranging on the unclean sexual habits of the majority of the Purple Dragons. <Dawn> Aye. ::kicks at the remaining loose dirt, then puts his and Dusk's shovels away back in his cloak:: * Jewel darts a concerned glance at Angel, but goes back to keeping watch. * Angel leans the other way, pulling his arm up to his chest. "Forgot. Broke my wrist." * Dusk helps Angel stand. {We get back, I've got something for the pain.} * Dawn pulls out his crystal dagger. "Everyone ready to go home?" <Angel> ::takes a deep breath:: Free air is a good start. * Jewel nods vehemently. * Dawn and Dusk both nod knowingly, but don't say anything. Dawn breathes out a phrase of magic, and the group disappears. |
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