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May. 22nd, 2023 at 8:56 PM
[So this is how he gets away with it, then. Cruz, a skeleton, with a skeleton horse, lives in a skeleton of a house with a skeletal barn attached - and he remains unseen, his home apparently abandoned, all the way on the outskirts of this thing that's barely a town.
Well, you do what you gotta do, and Johnnie won't turn down a kind offer of a safe place to stay the night. He can't help but grin at Chrissy having such a good time riding that bony horse as he pulls the bike in through the barn door and parks it to the side, then hops off.]
Hey man, we owe ya for this. Here.
[See, this is yet another reason it's good to stock up on alcohol. He finds their most recent stolen bottle of tequila and pulls it out as he saunters over to their host and offers it in an outstretched hand.]
On us. Uh, if you drink, that is. You do drink, right?
[Normally that would be a dumb question to ask but the guy appears to be actual bones. But, bones that can smoke, without lungs, so he can probably drink without a mouth, right?
That earns a laugh from Cruz.]
I sure do, fella. You don't have to, though. I'm not looking for any kind of repayment, just helping out a couple folks in need.
[Johnnie shakes his head and waves that attempt off.]
Nah, it's all yours. Or if you really insist, we can all split it tomorrow, the three of us an' the rest of your crew. Can't wait to meet 'em. They all skeletons too?
Well, you do what you gotta do, and Johnnie won't turn down a kind offer of a safe place to stay the night. He can't help but grin at Chrissy having such a good time riding that bony horse as he pulls the bike in through the barn door and parks it to the side, then hops off.]
Hey man, we owe ya for this. Here.
[See, this is yet another reason it's good to stock up on alcohol. He finds their most recent stolen bottle of tequila and pulls it out as he saunters over to their host and offers it in an outstretched hand.]
On us. Uh, if you drink, that is. You do drink, right?
[Normally that would be a dumb question to ask but the guy appears to be actual bones. But, bones that can smoke, without lungs, so he can probably drink without a mouth, right?
That earns a laugh from Cruz.]
I sure do, fella. You don't have to, though. I'm not looking for any kind of repayment, just helping out a couple folks in need.
[Johnnie shakes his head and waves that attempt off.]
Nah, it's all yours. Or if you really insist, we can all split it tomorrow, the three of us an' the rest of your crew. Can't wait to meet 'em. They all skeletons too?
Comments
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.]
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.
[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.]
[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.
[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.]
[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.
[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.]
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.
[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.
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.
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.
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.]
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?
He breaks off the kiss and nibbles at her ear.]
Mm. We dunno if they're all skeletons but if they are, they better be riding skeleton horses too. Or skeleton mules. People ride mules too, right?
[What about skeleton donkeys? Can people ride skeleton longhorn cows? Because that would be so fucking Texas he'd - Well, he's not sure what he'd do. Be really excited about it. Try to take one home, maybe, fuck Alex, they can fit a skeleton longhorn somewhere.]
Staying quiet.]
People ride all kinds of things, baby.
[Her answer is distracted, as she breaks off the kiss and slowly works her mouth down along his neck.]
We should go to sleep.
[That's said for her own benefit, and she sighs against his skin as she breaks away.]
I know. I know we should...
[Fuck. She's right, and he's determined not to make their host too weirded out, because he's such a cool guy and for some reason he wants Cruz to like them. Maybe just because he's the only person in town so far who seems to get them, and the only person they've met who they've really talked to about half the things they've been through.
So he sighs, but nods like he's really decided it now, and relaxes his hold on her. Tomorrow, when the guy's out but if they wake up before he gets back in for lunch, then hell, she'll get something to ride, all right.]
Okay. Yeah, time to sleep.
[He'll just lie down right here with her still in his arms, tugged tight against his chest.]
The blankets beneath them are uncomfortable after that lavish bed they just had back in New Orleans, but he's nice and warm and soft against her. The alcohol and drugs in her system work wonders to make her eyes feel heavy, and it's only a matter of thirty seconds or so before she's feeling like she might doze off right away.]
Goodnight, Johnnie. Love you.
[Loves him, and loves this life they have. When she falls asleep, it's with a smile on her face. She sleeps restlessly, thanks to her dreams, but with his arms around her she knows she's safe and those dreams do little more than haunt her. She's so tired that she doesn't start to stir until well into the next day, when the sunlight is streaming through the window and she can't ignore it any longer.]
[He means it, but he giggles a little anyway, both because he felt compelled to say it in Spanish and also because he's just feeling that way right now in general.
It takes a while for him to fall asleep, but when he does, he sleeps soundly. No shitty dreams, no boogeymen, just the comfort of her in his arms and the combined pot and alcohol to keep his mind quiet.
He's awake before she is, but not all that much earlier. Just early enough, though, to get up, poke his head out the door, then investigate the kitchen. What do skeletons eat and drink, other than apparently tequila?
Not a whole lot, is the answer. There's a paltry sack of coffee beans on a shelf that looks dusty, and he can't for the life of him figure out where a grinder is or what it would look like in this time period. There's a jar of cornmeal though, and some salted pork and a bowl full of fresh eggs. Well, hell, those look pretty good.
But judging by where the sun is in the sky, maybe it's better to just wait, so he comes on back to the room to see her squinting against the sunlight.]
Morning, baby girl. You sleep okay?
Other than some weird dreams, yeah. You were a really good pillow.
[But as nice as it is to lay there, squinting at the intruding sunlight, she knows she needs to at least try and get up. With a groan she moves to sit up, and stretches her arms up high before she rubs at her eyes.]
Do you know what time it is?
[It feels still and quiet out here right now, which means Cruz must not be back yet.]
[Definitely not a full eight hours of sleep yet, if that's what she was after, but he can't sit around any more. There's a mysterious locked trunk to open, a town to explore, and soon enough, Cruz and his friends will come on by and he doesn't want to be rubbing the sleep out of his eyes still when they get here.
But the other priority, before she gets a chance to even really do much more than sit up, is for him to come right back down next to her and topple her back onto the blankets with a grin as his hands snake up her sides, under her shirt.]
Nobody here but us right now.
That's right. It's just us, and we behaved ourselves so well last night...
[As his hands work up beneath her top she shivers, goosebumps rising up on her skin. She picks up where she left off last night, her mouth finding his neck so she can work kisses and nips against him. When she reaches the curve that leads to his shoulder she stops, grinning before she lets her head fall back against the blankets once again.]
I think I deserve to get to ride something.
[Him, obviously. God, she hopes he knows she's talking about him.]
Oh, do you?
[She does, absolutely she does. He dips his head low to suck and nibble at the skin of her throat, then lies next to her and tugs, encouraging her to come on up on top of him this time around. It also makes it easier for him to work that top right off her, over her shoulders.]
You think you got what it takes to ride this beast?
[He laughs as he says it. One of those things that sounded sexier in his head until it actually came out of his mouth.]
Her jaw drops when he says it, and she just sits there for a few seconds before she bursts out laughing. Her hands push at his chest and she just shakes her head.]
Oh, I think I've got exactly what it takes to ride and tame this wild beast.
[How she manages to say that in such a sultry tone, she doesn't know. But she laughs at herself right after, even as she works her legs so she's straddling him and is better able to rock and grind against him. It's a little like torture since he's still fully clothed and she can't have him like she wants just yet. Her whine of want is accompanied by a tug to his pants. Those have got to go, and she's too busy focusing on how nice it feels to rock against him to get them off herself right now.]
Okay, pants have to go immediately. He unbuckles his belt, then gets the button and zipper done, but with her on him he can't really get much farther along with that.]
Off for a second?
[Just so he can squirm his way out of his jeans and kick them aside. And hell, while he has the opportunity, he sits up and strips off his shirt, too, then cups his hands around her breasts as he leans in for a kiss.]
These come off too.
[She speaks against his lips, tugging at his underwear. As impatient as she is for him, she moves to be the one to pull them off of him. Which puts her on her knees between his legs, and she has to shift to rest to the side of him for a second to get those underwear off all the way. This puts her at a really good vantage point to just recline and relax, laying over his leg. She's able to easily stroke and lick at his cock like this, and why not do it a little to tease him even more? He needs to get a little harder before she attempts riding him, and this feels like a good way to do it.]