Potter's Field

Chapter Seven/Part Three: In the Bedroom

The thing lay gasping on her floor for a second before spitting out, “Silver, it’s me, you nit-wit.  Why on earth did you hit me?”

It wasn’t until his mud-encrusted cane cracked across her shin that she realized who she had just slammed to her floor.  “Mars?” she gaped, falling back against the stone wall, breathing roughly.  She reached down and rubbed her leg.  “You startled me,” she muttered, trying to get her heart rate back to normal.  Noticing that she’d flung The Illuminator across the room, she started to get up to retrieve it before she paused, getting a good look at her landlord. 

A mud covered Mars sat in a heap on her floor, a scowl on his face.  His hair looked more brown than black and dripped with watery mud.  It kept dripping down his forehead into his eyes, making him continually reach up, wipe his face, and push his hair back.   Silver let out a small, breathy giggle as she saw a large beetle stroll confidently across his shoulder and two earthworms wriggle invitingly in his hair.  How had he allowed himself to reach such a state?  And was that a nightgown he was wearing? 

Looking extremely annoyed, eyes glaring, arms crossed, steam almost coming out his ears, Mars growled, “Why did you attack me?”

Feeling less startled and more irritated by the second, Silver huffed loudly.  “Why did you suddenly fall on top of me?  Not your usual mode of entry, is it?”  In fact, Mars had never actually come into her home since he’d given her the first tour.  Highly unusual to have him appear now, especially dressed in such a manner.    

“Yes, well, I couldn’t remember the exact coordinates to the docks, so I had to use you as the focal point of my materialization.”  Mars stood, leaving a muddy stain on Silver’s floor.   Staring in disgust at his muddy form, he started trying to wipe it off before shaking his head at the futility and turning back to her.  “Never mind that.  We need to leave the island.  But first,” he swiped the front of his shirt again, and pushed his dripping hair back, “a clean up, and some clothes.”  He looked at her expectantly.

“What?” Silver asked, rudely.  She was seriously not in the mood for Mars right now, having had enough of him at the mansion earlier today.  She just wanted to sit down and relax with The Illuminator, thank you very much.  She didn’t need some strange visit from Mars to distract her.

Mars sighed.  “Silver, we don’t have time for your teenage attitude problems.  There’s a madman chasing me, so we need to –”

“A madman?  Chasing you?”  Silver perked up, suddenly very interested.

“Yes, Silver, a madman chasing me.  Have you suddenly become hard of hearing?”

Silver made a face.  “Well, it’s just hard to believe that you would allow anyone to chase you, especially a run-of-the-mill madman.”

Mars said nothing for a second, but his lips were pursed, letting Silver know she’d hit a nerve.  Probably quite a blow to his pride.  Mars turned away, obviously offended, making Silver almost feel sorry for him.  Almost. 

“Yes, well, he isn’t a run-of-the-mill madman.  He’s quite ruthless.”  Mars sounded almost petulant.

Wanting to poke fun just a little more, Silver leaned forward and said, “Well, I thought the definition of a madman was ruthlessness, but –”

“We don’t have time for this silly banter.  I need a clean-up and some clothes.  Or can’t you do it?”  Mars raised an eyebrow in her direction, folding his drying muddied arms across his chest. 

Silver glared.  “You know, goading me doesn’t always work.  If you want a favor, just say please.”

Mars turned away and sighed.  “So you can’t do it.”

No, she wasn’t going to rise to this provocation.  She knew she could do it, and that’s all the confirmation she needed.  Silver stood firmly by this thought for about three seconds, but the sight of Mars back to her, and his condescending glance…Growling, she pointed her palm at Mars, making a wiping motion. 

She knew the Mr. Clean spell so well, that she didn’t even have to say the incantation that went with it, though she sometimes did out of habit.  It was such a minor spell, she barely had to tap her reserves of magic.  In fact, why didn’t Mars perform it?  It wouldn’t take that much time from him, maybe like twenty minutes.

With the mud off, she saw, indeed, that Mars was wearing a long, white nightshirt and nothing else. The shirt seemed to swallow its owner in billowing whiteness while Mars’ pale, skinny legs stuck out of the bottom of the shirt like knobby, white sticks.  Despite her anger at his goading her, she couldn’t help letting out a guffaw at the sight of his night wear. 

 He turned to her and smiled, seemingly unperturbed by his state of dress, though she thought his ears looked a little redder than normal.  “Well, looks like some of the magic I taught you didn’t leak out your ears in the night.  Can you summon clothing for me, or do I need to pick something out of your drawers?”

Silver waved her hand wordlessly toward the dresser.  She didn’t see any reason to pass up the opportunity to see Mars in one of her oversized graphic t-shirts and extremely baggy pants.   

Mars walked to the dresser and opened the top drawer, which he immediately closed again as it held Silver’s underclothes.  He opened the second and paused, looking at the contents.  “Is this all you have?”

“Yes.”  Silver barely got this word out since she was covering her mouth with her hands to stifle her laughter. 

Mars turned to her and rolled his eyes.  “Well, you can leave now.  I’ll be out shortly, after I’m more…ah…suitably attired.”

Grabbing her coat, Silver pushed off the wall, toward the kitchen, picking up The Illuminator from the floor before leaving her bedroom.  In the kitchen, she glanced back, and, seeing Mars pull out a large t-shirt and sigh, decided to wait in the entrance cavern since there was no door separating the bedroom and the kitchen.  Mars probably wouldn’t appreciate being able to see her in the next cavern when he tried to dress.