Sawyer Street

[Jirai]

There is a house on Sawyer Street. Of sorts, at least, but enough of one for the purposes of Agnieszka Kaczmarek, of course. She knows where it is, this girl, but she has not been there this past week or so. It had been an unconscious avoidance, but avoidance all the same.

That ended today.

This morning the girl headed down Sawyer Street, wrapped in cloak and veil, to find her friend.

[channe]

What do you do, when you tell Ariane Carnath-Emory to kill your best friend?

To kill your best friend.

In cases like this, avoidance is a virtue.

Agnieszka still lives at the farm, and still makes the little stone cottages her primary domicile -- but the Sawyer Street address, nothing more than a shack, has become, well, useful. She spends one night a week there, just for the solitude, and -- well. To store things. The address has been useful for herself, and useful for Dominik's purposes. It's not a residence; no Cinnabar's little stone cottages serve as that.

Sawyer Street is something else entirely.

She's closing the door behind her as Rhaena comes down the street.

[Jirai]

What do you do, when you tell the man you love to kill the both of you - and in doing so, to kill your best friend as well?

What do you do when you watch both of their heads explode in front of you, when it's your fault?

Oh, but these are things that she prefers not to think about. There are many of these, and most of them tied into that dream, one way or another.

"Agnie."

The veiled Trader stops but a few steps away from the other young woman.

"How are you, Agnie?"

[channe]

How are you, Agnie.

"Fine," she mumbles.

Her tone's a little flat, although her face betrays -- what? Relief, upon seeing her friend? Anger? Sadness? You needn't fear, Rhaena, as she was rather gentle with Glenn Burnie the evening before, and she won't hold you up to the standards she holds fighters. People who have seen such things before, and, oh, she's had her introduction.

How are you, Agnie?
When you're trying to ignore the dream, but people keep on bringing it up?
When the same person who is giving you the chance of a lifetime also wants to hang your lover by the neck until dead?
When you have Glenn Burnie's name scrawled above your collarbone?

"And you?"

[Jirai]

"I'm... fine." She answered quietly.

Fine. In some ways, that was true. In others, though, it was an awful lie. Just seeing Agnieszka brought back those memories, the ones she had been fighting against. A gloved hand came up, rubbing slightly against her neck.

"I missed you, Agnie." Still quiet.

[channe]

"You should come back to the farm. Mama's making stew." Avoidance. Avoidance. Her hand drops from where it was resting on the door, and she stuffs it into her pocket.

"I missed you, too. It's been a rough couple of days."

[Jirai]

"It has been." That was an understatement.

"Glenn and I had a nice argument with Cinnabar the other day." She could be cheerful, yes. Outwardly, at least. "Did he tell you about that? He said he was drunk when he saw you and couldn't remember." Talk. But at least not about the dream, not yet, not yet at all.

"Anyway, we've the link again, but Cinnabar was mad, even though we found a way where there wouldn't be problems like last time." Talk and more talk. Talking was easier than thinking sometimes, wasn't it? "And Ariane didn't even get really mad, which was a surprise."

[channe]

She bites her lip, and bites back a response -- oh, she and Glenn, again tottering along with their own problems, assuming that Agnie cares. But she listens, there, cleaned up in her new boots and her washed hair, in her shirt and scarf that covers the mapmaker's scrawled name. And maybe there's a bit of jealousy there, too; Rhaena gets a man and a link and a sure future of support, while Agnie --

"Ariane probably doesn't give a shit," Agnieszka says, after a moment. "She's running a damned *castle*. And, yeah, he told me, but not what about. At least you know he's *alive*. And, anyway, it's not like Cinnabar is going to be mad at you two for long."

She turns away from the building and begins to walk down the street, assuming Rhaena will walk along with her.

[Jirai]

For a moment, Rhaena is quite still. For a moment, she considers... But then she is moving, trotting a bit to catch up to Agnieszka.

"...You asked me once, Agnie, and I did. Ask me again, and I will find him again for you." She says quietly. Ask her, Agnieska. Ask this girl anything, for she will do it for you.

[channe]

"You said it yourself. You have a link. Glenn will know. He'll tell Cinnabar. Cinnabar'll find him and hang him. Hell of a vicious cycle, so I can sleep okay at night. Nah. Don't worry about it. He has more fucking lives than a cat." She continues down the road. "Want to get tea?"