It’s that thought that keeps circling through her mind over and over again, as she stands there with the pile of dead incubi and one dead human, and no idea what to do with all of them. Well, she has an idea. This isn’t her first day at the rodeo. But she doesn’t have the car for it. Kendra glances wildly around the playground for a moment, panic setting in under her skin, but she finally closes her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm the panic in her chest and actually takes in the scenario. These bodies were not going to fit in her car. But they might fit in the large pick up truck that is parked not far from there.
She quietly begins to move to each of the bodies, fishing around for car keys until she finds ones that work on the truck in question. Eventually the brake lights of the truck flash and she pumps her fist in air and heads out to pull it closer. It’s not long before the incubi are wrapped in plastic and loaded into the truck bed, and she’s left with Jude’s body. She honestly doesn’t know what to do with that one, because on the one hand, he’s dead. On the other, he’s technically not supposed to be able to die.
It’s a bit of a conundrum on whether or not she should deposit his body in the Glades.
She sighs and settles for setting his body in the front seat of the truck, buckling him in so that he doesn’t flop around. She takes a deep breath, before reaching out to pat him on his still dead shoulder. “I have no idea what I’m fucking going to do with you, buddy.”
And with that, she piles into the driver’s seat and heads off to the Everglades. The drive is mostly quiet, with barely anyone on the road at this time of night, but it’s still too quiet. She keeps glancing over to the unmoving body in the passenger’s seat, ready to start a conversation, before she realizes what she’s doing, clamps her mouth closed and turns her attention back to the road again with a determined head shake.
“Nope. Not doing that. Not going there.” There’s a pause and she rolls her eyes. “And now I’m talking to myself. Good job.”
The next hour or so passes in silence, pulling up to the secluded point where she and her brothers usually deposit of the things they want to disappear. The current at this part of the Glades heads out to the ocean thanks to some magical finagling from a local witch, and there are plenty of gators to chow down on them before they get that far. There’s another hour of silence as she starts breaking down the bodies and tossing them into the water, distracted from her other problems and getting into the rhythm of the work, despite the blood spattering everywhere. It’s almost soothing that part of her that she set out to soothe this evening, even if it isn’t the way she intended.
“Do you need a hand?”
The voice startles her after eons of silence and she nearly jumps off the pier as a result, a loud “What the fuck!” exploding from her lips. She spins around, machete raised high on instinct, but when she sees that it’s Jude she stops just shy of slicing his throat open. Then she breathes.
Then she repeats the question. “What the fuck.”
“I did tell you about the part that I was cursed with living, correct?” he says with a bit of a teasing smirk, almost as though she hadn’t just almost tried to kill him. “I wasn’t going to stay dead for long.”
Kendra grits her teeth for a moment, before pointing the knife at him, but this time more to accentuate her point than actually threaten him. “Don’t fucking do that.”
“Wow, that’s mean of you. I just got back from the dead.” She then punches him in the shoulder, hard. He winces, before holding up his hands as a gesture of surrender, before reaching forward very slowly to take the machete from her. “You’ve had a long night. Why don’t you let me take over while you take a break?”
She considers for a moment, though it seems more like she’s considering whether or not she should stab him for good measure, but in the end she lets him take it. “Fine,” she sighs, before going over to sit on the tailgate of the truck to watch him work. She lets the silence settle for a moment, but after having gone for this long without actually talking to someone, she takes the opportunity to have some noise.
“Does it always work like that? You’re dead for a while, then you come back?”
“Depends on how life threatening the injury is. If it’s not going to kill me, then I have to heal it the old fashioned way.”
“Mmm.” She pauses for a moment, before the weight of what he told her earlier gets to be too much, and she feels like she needs to offer up something in return. She takes a deep breath before just speaking and trying not to think about it too much. “My dad went bad. Real bad.”
He looks up at her for a moment, before tossing an incubus torso into the water. “Many paladins do. They are human, and they fail, sometimes. It is not an indictment on you.”
“Isn’t it?” She looks over at him, and she isn’t sure if she’s asking an honest question or being rhetorical. “All of his buddies used to say that I was just like him when I was coming up. And no one saw him coming.”
The last of the incubus chunks disappear into the water, and Jude comes back to the truck, depositing the machete and grabbing a rag to clean off his hands. “I’ve seen a lot of paladins go bad. And the main thread connecting them? Was that it was their choice.” She looks over at him, and he turns to face her more. “Destiny can play a role, yes, but it’s still a choice. You don’t become a part of a narrative until you choose to be.”
She takes a deep breath, before nodding. “Its just hard to believe sometimes.”
“I know the feeling. But from what I saw today, I think you’re on the right track.” He offers her a small smile in return, before tossing the rag in along with the machete. “Come on. I’ll drive you back to your car and get rid of the truck.” She nods in agreement, sliding off the tailgate to stand next to him. He looks her over and smirks. “It’s a shame about the dress.” He pauses to gesture to the sparkly top, not spattered with blood. “It looked lovely on you.”
She glances down for a moment, before glancing up again with a smirk. “I have another one, in blue.” She then steps away and heads towards the passenger’s seat. “If you stick around Miami, maybe I’ll let you see it.”
He laughs behind her, before following to open the door for her. “Now that is an incentive if I ever heard one.”
panic at the disco, part 5 | paladinverse | 1,227 | round 1, set 6
Judas Iscariot is dead.
Judas Iscariot is dead.
It’s that thought that keeps circling through her mind over and over again, as she stands there with the pile of dead incubi and one dead human, and no idea what to do with all of them. Well, she has an idea. This isn’t her first day at the rodeo. But she doesn’t have the car for it. Kendra glances wildly around the playground for a moment, panic setting in under her skin, but she finally closes her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm the panic in her chest and actually takes in the scenario. These bodies were not going to fit in her car. But they might fit in the large pick up truck that is parked not far from there.
She quietly begins to move to each of the bodies, fishing around for car keys until she finds ones that work on the truck in question. Eventually the brake lights of the truck flash and she pumps her fist in air and heads out to pull it closer. It’s not long before the incubi are wrapped in plastic and loaded into the truck bed, and she’s left with Jude’s body. She honestly doesn’t know what to do with that one, because on the one hand, he’s dead. On the other, he’s technically not supposed to be able to die.
It’s a bit of a conundrum on whether or not she should deposit his body in the Glades.
She sighs and settles for setting his body in the front seat of the truck, buckling him in so that he doesn’t flop around. She takes a deep breath, before reaching out to pat him on his still dead shoulder. “I have no idea what I’m fucking going to do with you, buddy.”
And with that, she piles into the driver’s seat and heads off to the Everglades. The drive is mostly quiet, with barely anyone on the road at this time of night, but it’s still too quiet. She keeps glancing over to the unmoving body in the passenger’s seat, ready to start a conversation, before she realizes what she’s doing, clamps her mouth closed and turns her attention back to the road again with a determined head shake.
“Nope. Not doing that. Not going there.” There’s a pause and she rolls her eyes. “And now I’m talking to myself. Good job.”
The next hour or so passes in silence, pulling up to the secluded point where she and her brothers usually deposit of the things they want to disappear. The current at this part of the Glades heads out to the ocean thanks to some magical finagling from a local witch, and there are plenty of gators to chow down on them before they get that far. There’s another hour of silence as she starts breaking down the bodies and tossing them into the water, distracted from her other problems and getting into the rhythm of the work, despite the blood spattering everywhere. It’s almost soothing that part of her that she set out to soothe this evening, even if it isn’t the way she intended.
“Do you need a hand?”
The voice startles her after eons of silence and she nearly jumps off the pier as a result, a loud “What the fuck!” exploding from her lips. She spins around, machete raised high on instinct, but when she sees that it’s Jude she stops just shy of slicing his throat open. Then she breathes.
Then she repeats the question. “What the fuck.”
“I did tell you about the part that I was cursed with living, correct?” he says with a bit of a teasing smirk, almost as though she hadn’t just almost tried to kill him. “I wasn’t going to stay dead for long.”
Kendra grits her teeth for a moment, before pointing the knife at him, but this time more to accentuate her point than actually threaten him. “Don’t fucking do that.”
“Wow, that’s mean of you. I just got back from the dead.” She then punches him in the shoulder, hard. He winces, before holding up his hands as a gesture of surrender, before reaching forward very slowly to take the machete from her. “You’ve had a long night. Why don’t you let me take over while you take a break?”
She considers for a moment, though it seems more like she’s considering whether or not she should stab him for good measure, but in the end she lets him take it. “Fine,” she sighs, before going over to sit on the tailgate of the truck to watch him work. She lets the silence settle for a moment, but after having gone for this long without actually talking to someone, she takes the opportunity to have some noise.
“Does it always work like that? You’re dead for a while, then you come back?”
“Depends on how life threatening the injury is. If it’s not going to kill me, then I have to heal it the old fashioned way.”
“Mmm.” She pauses for a moment, before the weight of what he told her earlier gets to be too much, and she feels like she needs to offer up something in return. She takes a deep breath before just speaking and trying not to think about it too much. “My dad went bad. Real bad.”
He looks up at her for a moment, before tossing an incubus torso into the water. “Many paladins do. They are human, and they fail, sometimes. It is not an indictment on you.”
“Isn’t it?” She looks over at him, and she isn’t sure if she’s asking an honest question or being rhetorical. “All of his buddies used to say that I was just like him when I was coming up. And no one saw him coming.”
The last of the incubus chunks disappear into the water, and Jude comes back to the truck, depositing the machete and grabbing a rag to clean off his hands. “I’ve seen a lot of paladins go bad. And the main thread connecting them? Was that it was their choice.” She looks over at him, and he turns to face her more. “Destiny can play a role, yes, but it’s still a choice. You don’t become a part of a narrative until you choose to be.”
She takes a deep breath, before nodding. “Its just hard to believe sometimes.”
“I know the feeling. But from what I saw today, I think you’re on the right track.” He offers her a small smile in return, before tossing the rag in along with the machete. “Come on. I’ll drive you back to your car and get rid of the truck.” She nods in agreement, sliding off the tailgate to stand next to him. He looks her over and smirks. “It’s a shame about the dress.” He pauses to gesture to the sparkly top, not spattered with blood. “It looked lovely on you.”
She glances down for a moment, before glancing up again with a smirk. “I have another one, in blue.” She then steps away and heads towards the passenger’s seat. “If you stick around Miami, maybe I’ll let you see it.”
He laughs behind her, before following to open the door for her. “Now that is an incentive if I ever heard one.”