beyondtheline | Tornadoes and skeletons and nacho dogs, oh my

Sounds like a plan to me, Redmayne.

[Cruz almost croons the answer, as he takes off his hat and sets it down on Chrissy's head. It falls down over her eyes, and she has to pull the hat back enough that it rests at a weird angle. He's the coolest cowboy to ever exist.]

Are they all skeletons?

[She asks from beneath his large hat, both hands still resting on it to adjust it on her head.]

You'll see for yourself tomorrow.

[Yeah, because she and Johnnie are known for their patience. She just shrugs and keeps both hands on that hat as Cruz heads over to the bike to help Johnnie with the bags so they can head back toward the house.]

There's a room in the back over there. Already got some blankets in it. You can lay them out and settle in, and I'll get a fire going in here.

[His hat is plucked right off of Chrissy's head, and she doesn't mind that at all. It was nice while she wore it, but she wants one of her own.]

[Maybe he shouldn't be, but the potential for a whole band of skeleton cowboys makes Johnnie awfully excited. He trots right alongside Cruz with one of the bags in hand, and lets him lead the way into the little run-down house.]

Okay, but are you all dead?

[Cruz nudges open a door barely attached at the hinges, and sets the bag he's carrying down inside the small spare room, which looks like it's mostly being used for storage. A handful of thick blankets are stacked in a corner, and along the wall are some old but well-maintained lanterns, and a large locked trunk.]

We playing twenty questions now? Make yourselves comfortable.

[Somehow, there's humor in that toothy smile. Johnnie huffs, but then sets to work unfolding blankets into something that will do as a place to sleep. While Cruz tends to an old wooden stove just in the other room, he can't help but eye that trunk. A lock is an invitation to open it. Do skeletons ever sleep?

He'll wait. For now, he pulls Chrissy to him and gives her a better kiss, the one she deserves now that he's not all riled up.]

You can have all kindsa shit when we get back, but I don't think we got room for a horse.

[She grins against that kiss and laughs, the sound muffled by the contact.]

Don't worry. I'm only asking for a dog.

[Smirking, she cups his cheek and gives him a kiss so he can't argue with a much smaller animal than a horse. After seeing a ghost horse, it would be hard for a regular living horse to compete, anyway.]

He said to make ourselves comfortable, but we probably shouldn't get too comfortable.

[She teases as she pulls away, so she can take a minute and look around the little room. It's definitely not the fanciest place they've stayed, but it's cozy. And having blankets on the floor won't be all that bad, especially not when they can cuddle up together and he can be her pillow. For now though, her attention shifts over to that trunk in the room. She walks right over to it and jiggles the top a little, like it will come unlocked for her.

The desire to not be a terrible houseguest wins out and she stops what she's doing, shrugging a little as she goes to get a couple more blankets to lay out.]

What, you don't wanna knock his house down with me thumpin' you into the wall?

[He gives a snort of a laugh, then watches her fondly for a moment before stepping away to see where Cruz got to. Yeah, they'll sleep eventually, but he still has questions.

Cruz is building that fire, feeding it small pieces of wood, when Johnnie walks over. The main room of the house clearly serves as kitchen, dining room, and hangout spot all in one judging from the few rocking chairs and the small card table. Cozy little space, and packing a lot into one little place to live is familiar anyway.]

Hey. What time d'you an' your boys usually ride out? We've been up all night, an' I don't want us to mess up your schedule.

[Cruz shakes his head.]

Don't worry about that, son, get your sleep. We head out at dawn, only a few hours away, but we'll be back here for lunch. You two can join us in the afternoon if you like.

[Works for him. He's not ready to sleep yet anyway, so he sits himself down in a worn wooden rocking chair and drums his fingers on the arm.]

Sure. Another question for ya, then. One a' the guys we ran into earlier said somethin' about a war here?

[Cruz turns from the little fire he's got going, but doesn't look for long.]

What time did you say you were from?

[Chrissy steps out of the small guest room just in time to catch that. She looks a little uneasy as she crosses the room and goes to sit in one of the chairs. ]

We didn't.

[She softly answers, shaking her head. Her butt is only in the chair for a second before she gets up and goes over to sit across Johnnie's lap in his rocking chair. That's much better. ]

But I guess it's pretty obvious we don't belong here, huh?

[Cruz snorts with amusement, but doesn't say anything right away.]

Obvious is one way of putting it. The fact you're not from around here sticks out more than you want it to. It's mighty dangerous, coming through someplace that lynches people like us just for daring to be as close as you two are.

[The look on his face is definitely sad as he turns to glance at them curled up together in the chair, before he returns his attention squarely on the fire.]

[He was about to wave her over anyway, and so when she comes to sit he loops his arms around her waist and rests his chin on her shoulder. The whole scene is oddly comforting - an old rocking chair in an old house, a little fire going in a wood stove, his girl in his lap. The town outside might as well not exist.

Cruz gives an annoyingly vague response, but at the same time, he addresses Johnnie's real concern, which isn't the politics of it. And maybe he's imagining it, but it sure sounds like Cruz has some too-personal experience with the exact issue he mentions.]

Shit, man. Well, we're not planning to stick around any longer than we have to. You know, though? Not just about people not staying gone when they die, but I mean, time an' all that? We've met other ghosts, but never ones who, uh, are kinda un-stuck from any particular time.

[Satisfied with the fire, Cruz stands up and takes one of the other chairs, which creaks as he sits down in it.]

Can't say I know much, just that you're not the only ones I've ever seen. Long time ago there was another, a young little thing, too young to be on her own. She looked real lost. Never did hear her whole story, but we got her fed and got her some clean clothes. She vanished before I got to check up on her again. All I heard was she was from California but over a hundred years in the future, and didn't know how she got here.

[He rubs fingers against his chin, then shakes his head.]

Wasn't sure what to make of that, I'll be honest, but she never gave me a reason to think she was making it up, or that she'd lost her poor little mind either. Hope she found wherever she was going.

[Chrissy goes very still and tense while Cruz talks. She quickly gets the idea that the girl he's talking about was younger than she was, and frowns at the idea of there being kid ghosts out there all alone.]

It was really kind of you to help her. And help us.

[Because she knows they must look so out of place and almost scary to everyone here. But Cruz looks past that and to the heart of the matter: that they're a young couple that just need a place to stay.

She grows more content after that, because she's warm and Johnnie's holding her in his arms. they're pressed close, and nothing out there in the big wide expanse of the universe is going to take him away from her.]

I don't claim to know much of nothing about what happens after we die. But you're safe here, until you're ready to move on.

[Chrissy smiles, and relaxes back against Johnnie.]

We're from California too. Isn't that weird that the girl that came here before was from there too?

Is it? You tell me. What's going on in California that means young folks like you die early and wander, restless and far from home?

[Johnnie can think of a few ways to answer that. He frowns as he watches the fire.]

Lotta people in California in our time. Lots more than here. And a lot of 'em aren't happy in life, you know, everyone's just tryin' to get by. Some go find ways to make life less shitty, some get fucked over by other people who trample everyone around them to try an' claw their way to the top of the shit pile. An' that's everywhere anyway, not just California.

[Man, he wants a drink. Or to get high, actually. He taps his hand against Chrissy's thigh.]

Hey babe, you wanna split a joint? I got my lighter if you wanna go get one.

Yeah, that sounds good.

[She whispers, her hand briefly pressing over his. There's a moment where she almost pulls away right then and there, but she decides to guide his hand up to her mouth for a quick kiss to his knuckles. She pulls off of his lap right after, and disappears to the bedroom to go through their bags.

When she comes back out, she's carrying that bottle of fireball in one hand and a joint in the other. Both are passed over to Johnnie, and she waits for him to situate before she makes herself comfortable again on his lap. Cruz watches them closely, and she thinks it's weird that she can tell he's looking at them with something that resembles longing.

Maybe he understands what it's like to love someone as much as they clearly love one another.]

Have you always lived here alone?

[Cruz doesn't answer right away. It's obvious he doesn't want to say anything at all.]

Here? [He finally shrugs, trying to keep his tone even.] It's just me and Duke. Things were different back before we wound up like this.

[It feels rude to press for more, so she just nods and waits for Johnnie to finish lighting up so he can get the first hit and pass the joint to her.]

[Yeah, ouch. Poor guy. He has to set the bottle down on the floor for a second to light the joint and have a hit from it, then offers it to her so he can have a gulp of the Fireball. Hell, maybe this'll knock him out so they can wake up a little sooner than otherwise.]

Shit, man, people are fucking awful to each other, all for fucking ego bullshit. Here, you want a drink? Some pot?

[He can't actually get up, and he's not about to ask Chrissy to budge, but he's also not going to not offer, that would be shitty of him.

Cruz lifts a hand to decline, though.]

Not right now. But that tequila will go nicely with lunch. How long have you two been together?

[Chrissy is so grateful she has the joint because that means she has to take the time to smoke before attempting to say anything. That question is a difficult one, because it feels like they've been together for years. She knows that's not the case though. But the truth of the matter is, she's lost track of how long they've been together.]

Sometimes it feels like twenty seconds. [She tries to play it off lightly, laughing a little as she expels smoke from her mouth.] Then other times it feels like twenty years. But I guess it's probably only been about...

[She trails off, trying to figure it out.]

A month? Does that sound about right, Johnnie?

Somethin' like that.

[Less than that, decidedly, but it also doesn't matter anyway whether it's two weeks or three or four. They've lived every moment of those days together, and those days have spanned centuries. No point adding them up too carefully.]

Just seein' the country before we get back to LA. Hopefully in the same time I left from, otherwise, I dunno what happens. I still got lots to do at home. Got some assholes to kick off the top of the shit pile.

[He chuckles a little and takes the joint back for another hit, but then his expression sobers again.]

It's not like this at all at home, when an' where we're from. I mean, it ain't perfect, wouldn't pretend otherwise, but at least in California, nobody gives a fuck if they see people like me an' her together. Or if they do, they keep it to themselves. 1967. I dunno when that change happens, but it's coming.

[She plucks the joint from his mouth and takes a hit for herself before putting it back into his mouth with a laugh.]

It's even a little better in 1986, if that helps.

[Her voice is a whisper, like she's almost afraid to speak up and mention what year she's from. She had made it sound like they're from the same place and time. When that isn't really the case, but it doesn't matter because even though she's never been to California in 1967? That's her home. She knows she'll love it.]

How is it you died, exactly?

[Chrissy wheezes out a cough, suddenly becoming uncomfortable.]

Someone killed me. It wasn't...very nice.

[Deciding that's enough of that, she curls up on Johnnie's lap and rests her head up against him. It's been a while since she thought about or had to talk about dying. The subject always leaves her in a mood.]

[He gives Chrissy a little squeeze around the middle and then picks up the bottle of Fireball for another drink. Stuff's dangerous, one of those things it would be too easy to drink a lot of too fast.

Anyway, he doesn't owe this guy his own explanation, but he has no problem offering it. The actual how of his death didn't turn out to be the worst part, ultimately.]

I got dragged off an' murdered by these two half-witted thugs workin' for a guy who didn't care for me too much. Fuckin' overdosed me on vide noir. An' I'm telling you that so if you ever hear about that shit from someone else who comes your way, you know to stay the hell outta anything to do with it.

[Cruz contemplates the both of them for a long moment, then shakes his head.]

Death can be a real lonely thing. I'm glad you two came across each other. The folks I ride with will get a real kick out of you two. You'll have to show them that two-wheeled machine, too.

The motorcycle?

[Chrissy lifts her head a little, but doesn't bother sitting up completely. She's way too comfortable.]

Maybe Johnnie can take everyone on rides?

[It comes out a question, because she doesn't want to say he will do it. She also knows enough to figure he's not going to let anyone else drive it. Anyone but her, obviously.

Her head lifts completely so she can give him a little smile, a sort of begging look that hopes he'll say yes. Cruz is being so nice, and she can only imagine his friends are as well.

She stares his way just long enough to make her laugh a little, and she's soon grabbing that bottle of fireball for a big swig. It's strong cinnamon, enough that she shudders and coughs as it goes down. A little more of this, and she'll be sleeping really well tonight.]

Oh, sure. Long as I got enough gas to get outta here.

[He shrugs. "Everyone" is maybe too many, depending on how many people there are, but the grin on his face indicates he has nothing against showing his bike off while he can. Plus, the mental image of having a cool badass cowboy skeleton on his bike makes him laugh a little. Or maybe that's the pot working its magic too, just a bit.

And it seems like Cruz brightens too, though that face is hard to read. But man, the guy seems like he's prone to some sort of wistful sadness in their company and that sucks, a badass skeleton dude shouldn't have to be sad about shit. He wants to ask about his girl, wants to ask if there are any cute lady skeletons, but decides the topic is done for now and that that's for the best.]

So hey, how d'you guys manage to hang around here without people freaking the fuck out? 'Cause I gotta figure, the average person probably doesn't much like seein' a skeleton on a skeleton horse around town.

[Cruz tilts his head just a little at the question, like he's asking one back.]

People don't see us. Or when they notice us, it's like noticing a gust of wind that shakes the pines. What I don't understand is why they see you two.

We can't figure that out. Because people don't always see us. And sometimes people do, but they look scared of us. Like they can see we're ghosts.

[A fact that's a little disheartening, because she doesn't have any idea what they must look like to those people. Do they look like skeletons? Can they see how she bled from her eyes and how her jaw was torn from her face? Do they notice the black mark on Johnnie's face more pronounced, like the vide noir is clawing its way out of his skin? She's thought a lot about these things, though she probably shouldn't. But it leaves her wondering how Cruz sees them now, especially when he seems to be studying them closely.]

People tend to see what they want to see, I suppose. I know the flash of who I saw when you two first approached isn't the same as who I see now. You two are something special, alright. Found one another and can travel through time on that motorcycle of yours.

[Again, he sounds wistful and manages to look sad. Chrissy really feels for him, but instead of asking she just takes another drink from the Fireball before passing it back to Johnnie and taking the joint instead.]

We've been through a lot together. So we're really lucky to have one another.

[Is that just like rubbing salt in whatever emotional wound he has? She feels bad the second she says it, and bites her lip. Cruz doesn't seem bothered by it though, even though he still seems sad.]

You're a sweet girl, Chrissy. Maybe too sweet for the likes of him.

[Cruz laughs and jokes instead of letting that sadness show anymore, and jerks a bony finger toward Johnnie like they're old friends capable of ribbing one another.]

Man, you don't even know the half of it. She's too good for me.

[Honestly, he finds it hilarious that Cruz is the kind of guy to make a spot-on joke of an observation like that after knowing them all of a few minutes. He snickers and leans in to give Chrissy a kiss, tasting cinnamon on her lips.]

Y'know, I know a guy back home who, every now an' then, you see him for the dead man he is. Blink an' you miss it, or just outta the corner of your eye. But to everyone who knows him he's alive as the day before he died, otherwise, except you can't fuckin' kill him, now. So what's that make him, huh?

[He has no answers to offer, but he's enjoying rambling as thoughts get muted by the alcohol and the weed. He'll have to slow down though or this guy is going to have to drag them both to bed.

Cruz looks interested in this, but only as a curiosity. He, too, has to just shrug.]

Maybe it's something in the water over there in California. Next I know you'll tell me you have vampires and witches, too.

Oh! No, the witches are in New Orleans. We just saw somebody who did a spell on us so we'd be able to stay together.

[Which probably sounds like a lot to tell a skeleton cowboy, and when Cruz just sits there in stunned silence she tries to explain a little further.]

There were these huge monsters in one of the towns we stopped in. Like giant ones that came out of the ocean! And they attacked us and knocked me back through time. So after Johnnie drove around forever and found me, we knew we had to try something to see if we could stay together even if there were really bad things that wanted to tear us apart.

[He doesn't have eyebrows, but it sure looks like Cruz is raising eyebrows right now. He whistles too, an impressed little sound.]

Guess I'll just be waiting to hear about the vampires in California.

[Which of course, makes Chrissy gasp and laugh.]

If there actually are vampires anywhere, I think we'll be able to find them.

[She's feeling light and giggly, in a perfectly warm and happy mood. So she doesn't think anything of turning and biting at Johnnie's neck like she's a vampire herself.]

[And of course, Johnnie's immediate reaction is to loll his head back with his tongue hanging out of his mouth like she's sucked the remaining life out of him. But that lasts all of about two seconds before he's laughing and playfully batting at her to get her to stop.]

Every few fuckin' days it seems like you do that to me, what the fuck? You secretly a vampire?

[Okay she's probably only done that once before, and it was funny then too. He dissolves into a fit of laughter, and yet it isn't enough to stop him from reclaiming the joint and having one last hit from it. The thing's barely a stub now, he doesn't get much anyway, but clearly it's worth the effort.]

Man, those fish things were so fucked up, though. Hey, you guys don't have weird monsters out here, do you? Other than the asshole people.

[From the sound of it, they totally count as monsters.

But Cruz shakes his head, and from the look of it he's mostly now just trying not to laugh too much or alternatively get too wistful about their dumb antics.]

No. Just us, roaming the hills and valleys right out of sight. The people here make up their own Los Cucuys without needing real ones. The African folks have their legends too but as far as I've seen, the white men are more frightening and far more real than the monsters back in their old country.

Yeah, because white men are the worst things to ever exist.

[She grumbles beneath her breath, only to realize a second later how ridiculous it is for her to be saying that. She blushes and ducks her head, but tries to just shrug it off as Cruz laughs at her.]

What's a Los Cucu..Cucuys, anyway?

[That only makes Cruz laugh at her more, and she turns almost purple as she sits up in Johnnie's lap. She's tipsy and high enough she practically tumbles out of his lap and onto the floor in the process. She winds up half in the rocking chair with him, hanging onto his arm for dear life.]

Did your parents ever tell you stories when you were a child about a monster that would come get you if you didn't behave?

[He's clearly amused, and Chrissy nods as she tries to pull herself back up into the chair.]

Uh-huh. God.

[She probably wouldn't have been so forthcoming with that answer if she wasn't high as a kite, but Cruz barks with laughter.]

Not exactly like that, little lady. More like something that goes bump in the night. A boogeyman.

[Johnnie meanwhile is in the middle of trying to grab Chrissy before she can fully spill out of his lap, and laughs just as loudly as Cruz at the God comment. Yeah, that sounds about right to him.]

El Cucuy comes in the night to tear out your eyeballs an' eat 'em, or hangs you from your toes if you stole candy from the store.

[He helpfully adds. No, his parents were never huge on that particular superstition but he's absolutely familiar with it.]

Maybe he'll come poke out our teeth for not goin' to bed on time. I think it might be time for you get under some blankets, babe.

[If she's so intent on falling down, might as well give in and let the floor have them, that's what he figures.

And seeing how they're both quickly devolving, Cruz gets up to offer a hand - to Chrissy, right now, primarily. She'll likely need the help to get out of the chair without falling on her face.]

You two are really something. Get your sleep, and I'll be quiet heading out of here right as the sun rises so as not to wake you.

[She takes hold of that bony hand and lets Cruz help pull her to her feet, but soon she's reaching for Johnny's hands to pull him out of the chair.]

Thanks for letting us stay, Mr. Cruz. We'll be really quiet so we don't wake you up.

[Not that she'll be dreaming soundly with thoughts of El Cucuy on her mind, but maybe the drugs will put her in a pleasant, thoughtless place. They shuffle their way into the room they'll be sleeping in, and Chrissy stands there for a minute looking uncertain.]

Should we just sleep in whatever we're wearing now? I don't want to get my teeth poked out because I'm used to sleeping naked now and I shouldn't do that when I'm a guest in someone's house.

[Johnnie had thought he was doing pretty all right with his intake, but man, walking with her in one hand and the remainder of the Fireball in the other sure tests his coordination. He stumbles his way into the room and manages to set the bottle down, only for it to fall right over, but hey, it doesn't spill, the cap does its job and anyway there isn't that much left. He looks at it and figures it's not worth picking up.]

Yeah, I try not to sleep naked in someone else's house. Never know when you gotta climb out a window.

[Or any number of other normal things. Besides, changing sounds hard right now. At best, he sits himself down so he can get his shoes off, then holds his arms out to her to join him.]

[There's something about his answer that makes her grin for a second. What could they possibly do that would make them need to escape out the window? It's not something she really thinks on for long though, because she's wobbling as she takes off her shoes. She steps onto the blankets to join him, and finds her way right into his arms.

It would be rude not to kiss him when they're this close and he's so warm, but she's careful to keep it chaste because this isn't their house and they're not alone here. ]

You know what? We're really lucky. We get to ride with skeleton cowboys tomorrow. Do you think all their horses are skeletons too?

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