Descent [MC:SM]

4: at least i know i am here to stay

Petra greeted them when they returned. When Jesse asked where the others were, she explained Olivia was taking Axel to a doctor after he'd broken his nose (again) during some playful wrestling in a match at the market, which was apparently a thing in the side streets.

The dog was doing better, eyes brighter, and she pricked her ears as Jesse approached, the bag from his mom in one arm and the bandolón in the other. "We need to feed you, don't we? Let's put this stuff down and Lukas and I will make something."

Petra continued working in the back garden, repairing part of the fence that had broken, the wood deteriorated until it couldn't stand. Jesse taught Lukas how to make pozole, a soup he had all the time at home. They worked side by side, comfortable with each other once more, Lukas taking care of the meat and hominy-- he learned it was a food produced from dried corn-- while Jesse showed him the steps to the red sauce, which included a lot of chiles, garlic cloves, onions, and a little salt.

Lukas felt his nose and eyes burn but said nothing. He was far from an expert in spicy foods.

While the beef simmered in a pot for three hours, Jesse made a broth with some fresh leftover chicken and sat beside Eli as she ate, rubbing her back. She was a messy eater. Already the cut had begun to heal, the potion bringing the inflammation down to a minimum-- she could now stand and followed Jesse as he did minimal chores with Lukas around the hall: sweeping the floors, trying to organize Ivor's basement residence and putting the dry laundry away.

Petra finished and Olivia walked in with Axel, a large bandage taped across his nose, just as Jesse was finishing up. Axel and Olivia hugged him, glad to see Jesse out and about. Axel was so excited about the dog-- he scratched her behind the ears, saying, "We are keeping her."

Lukas rolled his eyes. He would only agree to have Eli if Jesse was still set on having her once she healed.

They ate as a group for the first time in weeks, Axel cracking jokes and telling them how he'd broken his nose for the second time, plus an additional story about his trip to Boomtown the previous week. "Some engineer from Redstonia was there and he teamed up with one of the best griefers, and for the festival they'd created these fireworks that smoke," he said enthusiastically. "In color! It was amazing, I'd never seen anything like it. Plus, it's great to use for flares during the day-- they're still working the kinks out so the smoke disperses properly, and hopefully during the next few months they're going to start producing just the red ones to use as flares."

Jesse watched them talk, a content smile on his face. Lukas's complexion went a little red from the spice, but the soup was really good so he kept eating, listening to Axel finish his story.

"Jesse, Lukas," Axel started, "What's the story about Eli? I know you went out today to investigate something, but that's all."

Lukas scraped the bottom of his bowl with his spoon. "An animal, I believe, has been killing more livestock than normal, so Jesse went to find out what was happening and I followed." He recounted the same tale he'd told Olivia, and Axel and Petra listened with interest, Jesse filling the details he didn't say.

Axel lifted his hands. "I'm no magic-y person, but I think you should talk to Ivor about this when he gets back. It sounds magic-y. At least we've got a dog, though, right?"

Eli barked, thumping her tail against the floor.

Next to him, Petra nudged his shoulder, mildly startling him. The papers, she mouthed. Should I bring them out?

Lukas gave an affirmative, and Petra rose to fetch the maps she'd acquired that day. She stood at the head of the table and cleared her throat. Jesse set his spoon down, looking curious. "Okay, so, announcement. Lukas and I decided we wanted to go on another adventure as a team, and I guy I knew had these maps he didn't want, so I took them. It's got a clear enough layout of the northeast of Boomtown's desert-- the Badlands, I know it's not the greatest place-- and Jesse, Lukas, you're wrapped up in the whole animal-killing thing, but. . . I don't know, it'd just be nice to do something together, I guess."