Utterly Mad

Roxanne waited patiently and took note of the little changes here and there. The early morning farm wasn't quite as busy as it would become, with Catnip's foremen going here and there on daily tasks and the workers under them collecting the needed supplies. Several men and women took up seats on a bench press in front of Catnip's picture window and the empty flower box under it, seemingly waiting for their dear artificer to appear. That Catnip could unintentionally instill a sort of loyalty in people was fascinating to Roxanne, now that she took a calm moment to reflect. A result of some inherent quality in the young mechanic? Or was it just the way she had been designed down in X7? A woman approached, rather rudely squeezing past Roxanne and hammering on the door.

"C'mon, c'mon, we ain't got all day! Walker! Are you gonna keep to the schedule or not?" She hollared up at the windows above.

"Sit the f... Heck down Connie, the line starts back here. This lady was here first." A man chastised. "Show some friggin respect yeah?"

Connie huffed impatiently and stormed to the back of the "line." Three men, all Misling, in work clothes, a human woman dressed like a gardener, and another in some kind of utility bathrobe. At least that's how it looked to Roxanne, all strapped up with belts and pouches and pockets but having long plush sleeves and practically dragging along the ground.

"Used to be she was always punctual." One of them men commented.

"Sure, but now that she's back home she doesn't have to be..." Connie sulked back prisily.

"That's not entirely right Connie. This is the first time she's been late anyway, you can't judge the future entirely off the events of the present..."

The door popped open, surprising Roxanne a little, and Kathrine's familiar innocent face peeked out at her. Except there was something different. Roxanne could see her shoulder. Just a bit but, but enough to glimpse the rim of one ovoid spot. On top of that, she was obviously a bit flustered. It was dark inside, but just bright enough to see the general disarray of a coffee table and the blankets on a couch. Apple and Cinnamon, the smells of Autumn, wafted gently from the barely open door in a wave that struck Roxanne and made her feel... Homesick? It only lasted for the moment before Kathrine spoke, and not that strong in the first place. If anything all it really left her with was a warm fuzzy feeling and a desire for some hot cider.

"Um. Catnip will be ready in just a bit. She's getting dressed." Kathrine peeped. She started to close the door, but stopped and looked out at Roxanne again for a long moment, almost squinting. Then, "Catnip!" She shouted in the familiar tone of displeasure she saved for "mean" people. "Ms. Roxanne has been using the infusey thingy again!"

---

A divine spirit waited impatiently as the woman who had summoned it looked over the work he and his fellows had been forced to do knowing very well that if it wasn't up to Sharlene's horribly unreasonable standards, it would once again be put to the torch. She'd done it six times already. The first of these was a veritable palace in miniature, a luxurious abode feature the very highest quality the world's next door could provide. That first and the four likewise exemplary examples of home architecture had been one by one put to the match until the last half assed dumpy example of backwoods cabin construction. It called the spirit and it's fellows, creatures mostly like itself, that it had come to such. The divine spirits were fed up, the krecks were bored, and the lone youthful Mi-go was downright disheartened. It was a being of science, it didn't need this kind of treatment from some meat being with bizarre delusions of power.

Sharlene finished inspecting the cabin from the outside. One door, a window at the back, solid wood construction. The door looked loose in it's frame, not like it was poorly fit, but as though it had been wrenched from it's hinges multiple times and rebuilt. The large picture window at the back was cracked in one corner as though the building had been shifted by force at some point. The whole building leaned ever so slightly in such a way as to give vertigo to anyone who stared too long.

"Okay, good enough I guess." Sharlene said nonchalantly. She touched the door and listened to the sound it made. A long low creak. "Sounds right."

"Madam, I must insist-" began the spirit.

"Shut up, listen. You hear that?" She asked, testing to first step below the door with one foot and making it creak. "Not quite... Hm..."

"Oh by the God's of the five shards..." The spirit moaned.

"Calm your tits guy, it's close enough for government work. This'll be fine enough."

The spirit fumed. Fine enough? After five burned down houses? After so much energy wasted, so much effort. Divine spirits had exhausted their essentia supplies trying to get this arrogant woman's cabin just the way she wanted it. The spirits had walked the planes of existence collecting materials and furniture to please this one picky Australians sickeningly simple tastes. Normally, the spirits would consult with one of their own, the highest and most glorious of their kind. A golden spirit. Unfortunately, the only golden divine spirit present was in league with this heinous witch. Instead they consulted with one another, taking no note of the krecks wandering off disconsolately and the Mi-go shifting it's weight nervously from one forelimb to the other.

"We want to be paid." The spirit spoke up suddenly. Sharlene didn't even spare a glance for the spirits. She seemed preoccupied with adjusting the positioning of a bucket near the door. "I said-"

"I heard what you said and it ain't happening. I don't have any money. What would you even do with money?" She said.

"You do have money." The spirit insisted hotly, "You have a horde in silver. As for what we would do with it, it doesn't matter. Humans use money to buy things, we will do the same."

"Oh right, the blanks. Uh..." Sharlene fumbled, "Those aren't mine."

The spirit screwed it's face up. "What?" It scoffed. It could spot an example of fast talk when it heard one. Sharlene tugged an ear, thinking quick. "Yeah, uh. Gave those away. Just holding onto them."

"We don't believe you." The spirit announced after a moment of silent consultation with the others. "Who have you given them to?"

Sharlene drew a blank, fumbling over the question like a woman treading water. The spirits moved closer, fanning out into a semi circle to make themselves look more intimidating. Fortunately, Sharlene knew better than that. These chumps would no more harm her than they would themselves. At least, she didn't think so.

"She gave them to me!" L called, walking calmly from the end of the beaten path and into sight of Sharlene's clearing. Alongside her was Sylvia and between them they carried a somewhat undersized trunk. Too flat to hold much and having a handle on both the top between the latches, and the bottom between the hinges. The spirits eyed her warrily, and ignored the Mi-go finally getting the hint and skulking off to find something it could reasonably catch and dissect.

"This isn't over Quintero." The lead spirit at last relented. It turned to the others and after even more silent discussion and a glare at Sharlene over his shoulder, vanished into thin air leaving behind a shimmer that faded quickly and oddly left the smell of lemons lingering in the area. Sharlene had already lost interest though and instead turned her attention to the new comers.

"Well, if it isn't Mo's new roasty rodent. Come to try and negotiate for those blanks again?"

L ignored the comment, she hadn't come to be pissed off at a witch who was frankly beneath her or so she told herself. Sylvia though looked pissed enough for both of them. L had come to know the stolid expression Sylvia showed and the fury that hid behind it. Sylvia had only come along because she wanted to watch what was about to go down.

"No. Well, sort of. Do you play cards Sharlene?" She asked smoothly. Judging from the smirk, L judged that Sharlene did in fact like the occasional card game. "I see that you do. How about a wager?"

"What sort of wager?" Sharlene asked, gaining interest. "And what do you have that I could possibly want?"

"Five hands of Texas hold em,'. If I win, I get your blanks." L explained. She'd gone over this with Mohammad the night before, discussing the in's and out's of how it would go and arguing about what L would bring to the table.

"Yeah, I figured." Sharlene said cattily. "But what-"

"What I have is this folding poker table, and this." L cut in, withdrawing from an inner pocket of her lucky jacket a rolled up sheet of card stock inside a paper towel tube. "My debt papers."

Sharlene scoffed, "What the heck would I want your debt papers for? That isn't much to offer, hump bunny, I think you should try again when you've got-"

Again L cut her off, this time adding a dangerous glare to punctuate the fact that Sharlene was getting awfully close to breaking the Mislings cool. "Why don't you actually look at it instead of jaw jacking, Wog?"

Sharlene snatched the tube, incensed at being called such by somebody like this, and read the document carefully. There wasn't so much to look at actually, and Sharlene found it more interesting than at first she'd believed. It read;

"The holder of this document agrees to house, feed, and clothe ELLE ERICSON until the sum of FIVE THOUSAND EIGHTY SIX water marks has been paid to the holder of said document or the courts of Pricetown, until which time holder may dispense with profits incurred by ELLE ERICSON as they see fit so long as share of said payment is made to the courts of Pricetown. After such time as the entirety of this debt is paid to either this documents holder or to the courts of Pricetown, this contract becomes null and ELLE ERICSON judged free from debt slavery."

"My slave papers, in other words." L put in. Sharlene scratched her head at that. It was a ballsy offer and she had to respect that, but Sharlene wasn't really down with the whole slavery thing.

"What's it worth? The number here? What's a water mark?" She asked.

"Water mark is about a gallon of clean water. Or about twenty bucks or so."

A quick burst of simple ars mathmatica brought a number to Sharlene and she scratched her head again. "I guess... The table comes with it if I win?"

"Sure."

"Well... Yeah alright, you're on then." Sharlene mused.

"Excellent." L said slyly, and thought "The fool and her money. First step on your way Elle, just the first step."