Logs:Don't Bash The Messenger

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Don't Bash The Messenger

When one does a favor for the Fae...

Dramatis Personae

Mila, Rick, and Volya. GM: Loa

4 August, 2008


Thank you gifts to be delivered... Volya, Check.

Location

Volya's Van, North Shore

Plot(s)

Plot:Pixie Season


A once-wider footpath leads to the wooded area on the backside of a private farm adjacent to the Anahulu River. There sat a 1973 Econoline cargo van. It was impossible to tell the original color with Bondo body filler, rustoleum, and primer. The front grill was removed, as was the engine behind it, and the frame rested on cement blocks. The inside of the van offered a large bed and the passenger seat was removed to allow room for clothes to hang. There was evidence of recent work done both inside and outside the van. The windows were all in good shape, save for a back window which had a swamp cooler instead. Several walkway were covered with rough stonework leading to an outhouse and tree hung rods complete with opaque curtains, outdoor sink and old refrigerator cabinets used for smoking meats

Outside, The deep blue night sky is clear and cloudless, and the stars glitter. A warm breeze blows from the mountains. The leaves of the trees and bushes rustle in the breeze. Crickets, bugs, and other random dark-roaming creatures sing throughout the night.


Never say that Summer doesn't try to help. Whatever Rick was doing, frankly it doesn't matter, because Curiosity is a necessary thing for humans. You can ask any Fae. Rick can remember feeling curious about seeing a few fireflies, or lightning bugs depending on the dialect. Pretty little greenish lights pulsing in the darkness, seemingly random, but never close enough to surround him. And the fuck if they didn't lead him into a river and the mud along its bank. Rick almost lost a shoe there. He did lose a shoe, he was just lucky enough to be able to retrieve it. And the fireflies were more than happy to continue their favorite game, leading a hapless human into areas unknown, likely to be eaten or worse. Seriously, had the rope been like 3 feet longer, it may have killed Rick. Cliffs rose to either side of the river, creating a valley, and Rick found himself passed an honest to god outhouse in the woods.

Natural wood charcoal and mesquite smoke scented the air as Volya played with an old fridge smoker, letting out a gleeful cheer as she closed to the door once more. A porch light of sorts, illuminated the area as the barefooted demi-nymph danced and spun. "I should not be wired, but here I am, wired." The woman took a gasp of breath, coming to a stop to stair at the open doors of the van, her nature print gypsy skirt still making again her legs, and a pink spaghetti strap tank top hugged her torso. "Why are you still awake? There are waves..." She pointed down river, "They are coming, right now from afar, and they are whispering." Vee altered her voice to be more gruff. "They better bring on that hot Hawaiian chick, because I want her on top of me, then I wanna be like, all up on her. Maybe slap the ass if she gives me a chance." The changeling broke out into giggles.

Mila was sitting on the edge of the van's step to, with her brows raised as she looked at Volya, grinning. "Pupule wahine, I would sleep, if you didn't make it smell like you were burning down a forest outside the door, neh? Besides, I've got way too much sleep lately hanging out with you here in the Van that time forgot." She chuckled, and while she might have been ribbing the hippy with her happiness overflowing, the smile and adoration on Mila's face when she watched Volya was more obvious than even a complete dolt could have missed. "If you want me to sleep... you should come help knock me out, and give me something to do to get tired."

Mila was dressed in a comfortable looking set of somewhat loose, black shorts that didn't stretch all that far down her fairly buff legs, leaving the muscular lines of them nude all the way to her bare feet. For a shirt, she had on a simple, Oahu High T-shirt in deep blue with the Oahu High logo and its classic Hula dancer emblazoned in a coral orange. Her hair was down, looking like a somewhat unruly set of blonde and brown hombre waves that had likely been visiting the ocean too many times in the last week to look anything less than bleached out.

It is certainly an odd feeling to be following a bunch of fireflies, but what the hell, right? He's not exactly a stranger to odd feelings. He doesn't usually //follow// them, but things are not usual anymore. So he did, and luckily came through with both shoes intact and on his feet again. Another thing he has not lost is a backpack, but being on his back, it was less likely to get stuck in the mud.

He comes upon the scene eventually, though when he sees Volya dancing, he stops. Not far enough away not to be noticed, though, and certainly close enough to hear what's being said. He looks from her to Mila, and reaches up to scratch his head. "Uh, hey," he says, and he lifts a hand in greeting. He glances behind him briefly, before he looks their way again. "I can come back if you're busy."

Volya gave Mila an incredulous stare, "Time has not forgotten this van, nor has Mr. Iona. His wife had insisted the oil light was on for a little while. She also felt it was an eyesore and insisted he get rid of it and move it back here. Here is where I found it, and why I asked to stay." Happy bell-like giggles poured out of her, cutting off as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't want you to sleep... But I'm more than willing to try my best." A throaty laugh escaped her, "And I was not burning down the forest... I feel like an awful lot of tears..." Her eyes widen at the thought when the forest offered a greeted. Volya let out an alarmed scream, "MILA GRAB THE BAT!" The woman gained surprising speed on her way to the van before launching herself in a dive past Mila. There was some scrambling, then Vee fell silent for several seconds. "Busy? Uhh... Maybe?" Another pause, "Babe?"

Mila looked at Volya and waggled her brows. "You're so emotional you realize I could just say something and that would be the end of it, right? Could just like whisper one little word.. or one word that means something gets bigger and it'd be ALL over?" Mila was DEFINITELY teasing Volya now. Of course, any idea of teasing fled the building when Mila's head sharply turned to the side and she saw Rick, of all people, walking up to their van. Her eyes widened and she let out a bright, amused laugh as Volya went diving past her into the van. She shook her head and lifted her hand in a steady, motionless wave to Rick. "Aloha ahiahi, Rick. Did you catch some freaky wave that brought you up the river to us, or are you just some sort of hapless wanderer in the middle of the night looking for smokers that might have extra food left in them?" She glanced back behind her at Volya and winked. "It's just Rick, kamehameha. You don't need a bat for that. You just need an Aloha and maybe some jerky or something, we have both. Maybe you could come back out?" Turning her attention back to Rick, Mila continued her smile. "You aren't interrupting, Rick, we're just used to mostly no one coming around here. Usually they find us at my place, since it's right there on the beach and I have a strict no curtain policy."

"Whoa!" The mention of bats has Rick holding out his hands in front of him as though to ward the prospect off. Would that it were that easy. Mila takes care of it, though, and he relaxes. "Yeah. I mean, I hope you don't need one." He does smile then. "Aloha," he adds as he starts forward again, this time stopping at an easier distance for conversation. "No," he continues when he does, "I was actually looking for Volya." He glances back again to where he'd come from, in the direction of those green fireflies. Or at least where they were. "I got something for her. Like, a present." He shrugs the backpack off his shoulder, "I know that sounds weird, but hey, I'm kinda weird so it works." The smile widens then to more of his usual one as he unzips the main compartment.

Volya let out a nervous laugh, eyeing Mila from inside the van. "Random Ricks showing up at the back of Mr. Iona's farm. It's going to be embarrassing if someone ends up being shot." There was another throaty laugh as she stared at Mila. "There is a word for that, you know. Easy... Mind you, I'm not complaining about it the moment." She cleared her throat gently, "Maybe a little bit now." Crawling past Mila, Volya swept the bedding with her hands, inching her way back out of the van until her feet found the ground. Straightening up, she scratched and teased her wild greenish blonde hair, performed a half-spin to face Rick and put on a smile. "I apologize for trying to find my bat as the first reaction. I've been a tiny bit on edge as of late... And I misplaced my pig sticker..." Her eyes trailed to the side of the van and back to Rick. Her brow wrinkled as she regarded the man for a long moment, her mouth opening and shutting in two false starts of sentences. "Uhh... It is not my birthday, and..." Her eyes narrowed, "Does your gift explode? Because that would be the cherry to go on top of my month."

Mila, as she was still sitting essentially in the entryway of the van as if it was a chair, reached out and slinked her arms around Volya's waist, tugging her back, so the blonde was sat solidly onto her lap. "Don't worry love, I don't think Rick's the type to bring explosives. If he is, he probably knows I'd live through it and I wouldn't do well with someone singing a single hair on that beautiful head of yours." She looked up at Volya and grinned widely, after she tucked her head under the much taller blonde's arm so she had a vantage point. Then, she turned her attention to Rick and eyed his bag as he got into it. "I'm not sure if weird covers everything we seem to run into lately. Maybe weird's the new normal and we're all just here getting acclimated for the transition for us all to become full time abnormal people." She winked to Rick and squeezed Volya a bit tighter, a hug around the other woman's waist. "Just give a whistle if you're under the impairment of some sort of weird thing and you're about to blow up a bomb, neh?"

"It's all good, girl," Rick says with a shrug and a grin. "Long as I get a warning so I can get the hell out of here before you swing." He pulls out a box from the bag, and in the dim light it looks like it's made of fossilized flower stems or something of that sort. It doesn't seem explosive, but one never knows. "Nah, no explosions," he continues, setting the bag down next to him so he's just holding the box, and he looks over to Mila with a little laugh of his own. "I don't //think// so," he adds, before he opens it so that they can see.

Inside are four egg-like objects in various shades of pink, shining as though with some inner light. "They're for rescuing the pixie," he says, before he tips his head to the side. "I think. She wasn't real clear on that. I think she kind of, like, forgets stuff sometimes." 'She' is not expanded on, but there's a softer smile when he talks about her, whoever it may be. "I guess there were four of you, but you're gonna have to tell me who the other ones were 'cause she didn't know, she only knew you. So you can have first pick." He holds the box out to Volya.

Volya gave out a happy sigh as she was pulled into Mila's lap, shifting her hips to find the perfect comfy. Putting her arm around the back of Mila's neck, the blonde looked back to Rick. She nodded in agreement with Mila, "Strange is the new black... Pink? It may be the new pink." The woman sobered for a split second as her eyes moved between the two. Her eyes narrow as she listened to Rick. "Okay... I may have to open my skull and massage my brain." She took a deep breath, her nose twitching before she whispered to Mila, "You smell great, but that's not helpful..." Clearing her throat, she stared at Rick. "Alright... I need some guarantee from you that in revealing the other individuals, that they came to not harm due to the Pixie rescue... It's that or..." She stared at the four glowy pink eggs. "Those are very pretty... And I love the box."

Mila curiously leaned in against Volya and eyed Rick, along with a box he was holding. "That's.. a really, really cool box, Brah. Like... is that seriously made out of flower stems?" Mila was obviously drawn to the packaging of the gifts more so than the gifts, until she saw the pulsing coming from the four eggs. "Uh." She blinked, then looked at Rick and raised her brows. "Wait. That's for Volya because of the whole Pixie thing?" she looked up at Vee and smiled slightly, though the color had started to drain from her face. "Really?" She licked her lips, with a suddenly dry tongue, then cleared her throat. "Huh."

"Oh, right," Rick says, and he laughs, though it seems to be at himself more than anything. "She said that the winter one promised that she wouldn't tell, you know. The cold guy." He may not know much about his newfound place in the world, but he has managed to grasp that saying the names of things actually does have power. The last thing he wants is for the cold guy to show up here. "So you're good." He continues to hold the box out, and adds, "It's nice, right?"

His gaze shifts to Mila with another grin, and he nods. "Think so," he confirms, and he might have said more, but her shift in expression has him tipping his head to the side, his smile fading into something more confused. "Yeah," he says. "Really. You don't like them?" And though he's just the messenger, his tone seems to convey some sense of responsibility for what he perceives as a somewhat un-enthused reaction. Whether real or imagined.

Volya nodded in agreement with Mila, "I'm at this terrible juxtaposition of thinking the box is so very cute and awesome, then there's the plant slavery aspect of it... But it doesn't smell like death and pain, so I have to be cool with it." Her blue eyes lingered on the stones, "Wait, are those... Uhhh..." A breathy giggle slipped out, "That's sort of like bombs... Oh dear g--" The woman shifted on Mila's lap as she clung to the woman, "O-okay. One second." Leaning back, she reached along the van wall, shifting around a blanket to get a sock. "And clean." The woman bumped Mila with the sock, "Maybe you should handle it... I need to text... Someone..." Oozing off of Mila, Vee leaned across the bed to pluck a cellphone from a cable. "I'm just going to ask you straight, Rick... Delivery service is payment to the other actor or what?" The woman's cheeks were downright rosy.

Mila stared at the stones, then looked at Rick, then looked back to the stones. The giddy movement of Volya on her lap wasn't entirely unnoticed, but the surfer girl was kind of lost in whatever land of the instantly shocked she was stuck in. As the sock was handed over to her, Mila blinked, looking at the white garment so bright against her dark legs, and then looked back at Rick. "Rick." She managed to speak a little, though her mouth kept moving and she couldn't make any other sounds. "Uh. Vee, I don't think we can accept this, this is like... Big Deal stuff. Not like, here have a pretty necklace kind of stuff. How in the hell do we accept a gift like /that/?" She plucked up the sock and started running it through her hands, back and forth, stretching the fabric a bit. "Rick, that's the most amazing thing, and you have FOUR of them. I just... I know it's for Volya and I don't have a say if she accepts it.. but. Holy... Akua you know what I mean?"

Rick's eyes move to Volya, and his brow furrows, the confusion getting even more evident with the last question. "Huh?" he finally asks, squinting a little bit as though he could divine what was meant by it, but apparently he cannot. "What other actor? The other people who went with you? I don't know, you gotta tell me, yeah?" The guess as to the meaning ventured, he turns back to Mila, and the smile from before has faded completely. "Well, yeah," he says. "I mean, I don't have 'em. They're not for me. I guess if you don't want it, I could, like, give it back..." He doesn't sound at all sure that he actually can do that -- or more likely, what would happen if he did. However, he does add, "I think because you all gave her pixie back. Her kid. So, you know." You get a kid, and you, and you.

Volya slid back to the edge of the bed, just staring at her phone. "Uhh... I..." She blinked a couple of times, opening her mouth to take a shaking breath. "Thinking is not really my... State?" Looking to Mila, she tilted her head. "Let's go with feelings right now. Not my feelings, because those are..." Flattening her hands, she 'flew' it into the air until it was apparently lost. "She had four of these, sitting around... And she thought, HEY! These are nice and feel about perfect..." Volya hummed an unsteady note, "It doesn't feel like something you turn away without pissing off someone to no end. The alternative is this individual forcing me to take something else at whichever point she decides to do so... That feels like a bad plan." Her fingers white-knuckled on her cell as she looked to Rick. "Alright, so I would giving you the names of three people. Are there questions for them as well? Because this feels like a debt thing you'd end up owing me, Rick."

Mila opened and closed her mouth. "It's seriously an honor to get one of those. Like... an insane honor. It feels like bigger than most of the things I can think of that would honor someone. Way bigger." She rubbed the sock along her jaw, mainly because it was in her hand, and she was rubbing her face with her hand. "I'm not gonna say you should say no, Vee. I'm just saying, that's like... Heavy." She swallowed, then looked at Rick with a slowly broadening smile, her eyes lightning up a bit. "Man, you lucky freaking brah, brah. You're handing people the chance to create a child out of all the love in their hearts, formed into... a baby." She pressed her empty hand to her heart and looked at the guy, shaking her head. "You must feel like the coolest fucking stork on the planet, neh? This is bigger than a thank you card, though, Vee's right. Is there like.. something we have to give back out of it?"

Rick doesn't put the box away, just waits there while they talk through it. A hint of his smile does come back, though, at Mila's words. "Kind of," he admits. "I mean, if you guys want a baby together, this is gonna be how you get one, right? That's pretty cool." He glances down at the eggs, then back up at them. "I don't //think// so," he continues. "But I know she doesn't tell me everything. I don't know if it's all on purpose or if some of it she just forgot." There's a look cast at his shoulder then, for whatever reason. None of us have any idea, surely. But his eyes find Volya then, his brow furrowing at the mention of debt. "No questions," he says, "except if they're gonna take 'em or not. I don't know if that means I owe you or not. But if it does, I guess I do. I don't have a lot to give, though, so you might end up disappointed."

Vee's head rotated slowly as she stared at Mila in silence as she lifted herself onto her toes. Her eyes went big and she focused on Rick. "I'll tell you a secret about Summer. We don't forget. Sure, it may seem like details slip out of place, but the emotional weight of memory is like, ALWAYS, there." She gestured to Nick, "So you recognize that each one of the four of us involved in the pixie rescue are to be gifted a l--" The woman moaned the rest of the vowel, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. Vee took silent for a moment, drawing her forearms to press against the mounds under her shirt. Blinking her eyes, her pupils blown. Humming a note, she continued, "From me, you are to get names... So in exchange, I offer a deal to be swear on our power. I will give you the names of other three so you can make your deliveries. I may go so far as to organize a meeting on neutral ground." She took a deep breath, "In exchange, you will not reveal, in any way, the identities of those individuals to the length you would guard your own True Name from foes. Do you accept these terms?"

Mila's breath caught slightly, and she nodded. "I mean, yeah, you're right there. But it's more than just that, Rick. It would work between any two people. Like.. any two. Anywhere, as long as they did the whole ritual thing together. Which is kind of stupid simple." She eyed the eyes, her attention taking in each, individual pulsing glow of light and crystal. "They're utterly beautiful and what they create is beautiful." She chewed on her bottom lip, then looked at Volya, listening to the statements Vee made. Mila hugged the sock to herself for a moment and just nodded. "That seems fair, is it fair to you, Rick? And Vee.. if it is.. you need to choose which one." Mila pointed at the box, though she kept her hand close to herself, so she could only point in the general direction. "Because it's a gift for you."

Rick nods, as though he's filing this information away -- it clearly makes sense to him with what he knows about it, which is admittedly not much. He waits to be told his debt, though when it comes, his eyebrows raise. "Oh," he says, as though he's surprised. "Well, yeah. I mean, wasn't gonna say anything anyway." He smiles, looking back at Mila for a moment. "Yeah, they are. If you want a baby, then congratulations." And then his eyes return to Volya, and he shifts the box so that he can offer her his hand to shake on it without dropping it. "Deal."

Volya made a growl sound, clenching her eyes shut. "I'm not trying to be a bitch here, Rick. I mean I am, but I'm also not. I can't put the three others in more danger than I already have. And I also recognize that I'm putting you in danger as well... By telling you, you could use this knowledge against them, but you are also endangering yourself. We may not shoot the messenger, but if anyone else knew that you knew..." She opened her eyes to look at the stones, visibly leaning back from them before gesturing to them. "That is capital worth robbing you for. Hide them, and tell no one. And be careful." Her expression turned somewhat pained, and she nodded. Willing herself forward, she took his hand and shook it. "Is there anyone else here? Is there anyone else here? Is there anyone else here?" And thrice she asked the question, giving Rick a sheepish smile, "Also a bitch move on my part."

Mila just kind of waited, like she was almost holding her breath. It took a few moments, then she cleared her throat and raised her hand, eyes wide. "Uh.. I'm here?" She shifted a little nervously in her seat, like she couldn't quite stop herself from answering the question, or maybe like she felt completely as though she had to, and wasn't quite willing to fight against it. She coughed a little and shook her head. "Not telling anyone anything, though, about who was there with you, Vee. I'd be a pain in the ass to interrogate, too."

"I don't think you're a bitch," Rick replies quickly, holding out his hand -- luckily it's now empty. "I don't know anything about this. So I gotta learn it, so thanks." He does seem to be considering just how much over his head he's in now, but he smiles, too, and sincerely. He shakes the hand a couple of times, before he adds, "Just me. Well, and Cymbeline but she doesn't really talk yet anyway." He taps his ear then -- maybe it will be enough of an explanation, since they know Isaac and his brood.

Volya leaned forward, and whispered in Rick's ear, three names, well four to include herself for completeness. Taking a step back, her eyes went to the eggs once more. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she gave a nod, smiling like a goof. "I think that's the one..." Her eyes moved back to Mila as she drew in a shaky breath, "Coral speaks volumes to me." And she picked out the one that was the most coral from the box, a tear falling from her eye. "Damnit..." The woman took the egg to Mila, Vee started shaking with nervous energy, "Sock... Please." The woman waited until Mila readied the sock and Vee could slip it in. She shook her head, a tearful laugh failing from her. "I really am... I'm so totally wreaked from--" She sniffled, then pointedly sniffed at the air. "Rick? Are you hurt? Oh right, Cymbeline... I think children don't actively try to get their parents murdered... Torture maybe, but not murdered." Vee exhaled a long groaning breath, bouncing on her toes. "I'll send him a text... Or call him. It's really late though."

Mila snickered softly, looking at Rick and waggling her brows. "She can be, but then, can't we all?" She watched Volya speak to the tiny mote in Rick's ear, which meant poor Rick got to deal with a beautiful nymph speaking into his ear, and this seemed to amuse Mila beyond the average. When Volya chose the most coral colored stone in the box, Mila looked at her and shook her head softly, smiling like a total dork. "Don't cry, baby, you're gonna make me cry, and then my face will fall off." Mila held her breath again as she lifted the sock up, scrunching it down a bit so that the egg didn't have far to travel til it reached the toe of the garment. She stared into the sock at the glowing, pulsing, rather beautiful crystal and swallowed, remembering to breathe again. "Man, it's so beautiful. It's one of those things that makes you want to touch it, like your heart knows it's supposed to be touched." Mila smiled softly and unfurled the sock, wrapping the little crystalline egg up safely. "I have no idea where to put this for safe keeping, but it needs to be somewhere no one knows about but us, Vee." She looked at Rick and gave him a warm, really startlingly so, smile. "Mahalo, Rick. Your gift is an honor and even the Gods would be humbled by it."

Rick can't help but smile at the whisper -- it's the same and yet not the same. Similar. And as we all know, he's into Summer. But he just nods when she pulls back, and even he looks a little brighter-eyed than usual at the whole exchange. Hopefully he'll be forgiven. He shuts the box again once the egg has been picked, and places it carefully back in the backpack. "Nah," he says a little more thickly than usual, and he reaches for the backpack to put it back on. "I'm good. I hear you on the torture, though. Just be prepared. I think the human ones are a lot more work."

He reaches up to rub his eyes -- he just got something in them, okay?! -- but Mila's smile, too, makes him grin despite the emotion. Or maybe it's all one in the same, two sides of the same coin. "Glad you like it," he says, as per usual understated and not very eloquent, but heartfelt nonetheless.

Volya choked out a few strained laughs, just causing the tears to fall freely. "I'm trying to, I swear." Vee started fanning her face and thumbed over her shoulder. That was code for moving out of line of sight, and force herself to focus on the phone in her hands to thumb out a text message to Wren and sending it off. "Uhhh... Do you know where Atworth Acres is? It's mostly neutral. I sent him a text to gather the other two... I don't know where they live, and this way you don't have to go door to door." Exhaling a long moaning breath, Vee fanned her eyes again, swallowing at the knot in her throat. "Be careful, Rick... And--" The words locked in her throat as she moved to lean over Mila, digging through a container to grab a marker and leave the cellphone in the van. Heading over to Rick, she knelt down, and gently brushing his hand before taking it to write her number on it. And the second she was done, she wrapped her arms around him to squeeze him in a hug. Her arms going around the ribs to avoid any stress to his shoulder. Breaking out into laughter, Vee gave the man another squeeze before releasing him and stepping back. Tear trails on her cheeks, she smiled, offering a vague gesture with a wave of her hand, indicating the pack.

Mila nodded to Rick and smiled. "It's not as easy as all that, one of us has to carry it just like a normal baby, and it'll come out just like that, and grow up just like that. It works the same if you do it with two animals. It'll make the animal that would happen because of the both of them. Or monsters. It's why they're so dangerous. You can literally create a hybrid of two of the most dangerous things in the world, and it'll be born, and grow to be raised however you raise it." She held the sock a little closer to her and reached her hand out to pet down the back of Volya's thigh as the woman cried a bit. "It's ok pupule wahine, you can cry. I'll just join in after we don't have someone who can see it happen and then live to tell the tale." Her eyes were obviously shimmering a little, making the rich, chocolate brown look shiny, but she hadn't quite gotten to the point that they'd spilled over. "Seriously though, you're giving people a gift that is probably above and beyond anything they'd ever thought they'd have in their lives, or even hoped for."

Rick nods at that, replying, "Thanks, I appreciate it. The island's small but it's not //that// small." He was going to say something else, too -- surely it would have been amazing, whatever it was. It's stopped by the number written on his hand, though, and then the hug. Mostly the latter. He's tense at first, the sort of stiffness born not only of surprise, but maybe of one who isn't necessarily used to that sort of contact and perhaps isn't entirely comfortable with it, either. It's just a few moments, though, before the non-injured arm goes around her, too, returning the squeeze briefly, but again, with genuine feeling. "Thank you," he says when it breaks -- for what, he doesn't say, but there are probably various things at the moment.

He steps back then, carefully shouldering the pack and looking back at Mila. The significance of what she says is not lost on him. "I'm kinda glad I'm just the delivery boy," he says with a little laugh, before it fades, though just into a smile, and he shakes his head. "It's not really me, though," he admits. "I just do what she tells me to do. But I think that's the good part this time." He lifts a hand to them then, and adds, "I'll see you around." With that, he turns to head back the way he'd come, one present lighter.

Volya held a wash of emotions as the spilled out in a giggle, offering Rick a couple shakes of her head. "Being a good news messenger is way better... Sorry about the bat thing..." She gestured to the van, "I usually expect a boar running through here. But go. Good luck, and godspeed. I weave some spell together to protect you, but I still can't get gasoline soaked matches to light." The next laughed spoke volumes of her exhaustion, and whirlwind of insanity in her mind. "He knows you'll be by... Expect some stress levels? Maybe. It's hard to explain it words right now." Her brow wrinkled in thought, as she managed a laugh, reaching back into the van to a hankie to dot her eyes. Looking back to Mila, her goofy smile returned. "Trying to behave... I swear." Shifting over, she leaned over to rest her head on Mila's shoulder.