A Sordid Story of Blood & Fluff

24: The Separation

    Powder's body was buzzing with anticipation as she waited for everyone to leave. The opportunity she had waited for had arrived and the Monstress had gone along perfectly with the threats and offers Powder had made. She was waiting for a conformation from Schino that all was well, that things were going as hoped. But aside from earlier, his voice hadn't spoken again. She searched the bedroom a little, hoping to find him hiding behind some furniture or curtains.

    No one was left and Powder was the last one to step out the back way. Scotch was waiting at the bottom of the steps. They looked at one another for a long time, searching for words that weren't completely useless.

    "When she had me pull the revolver out of the vanity..." said Scotch, "honestly, it seemed like a good idea for her to shoot you." Powder couldn't remember him looking so worn-out before.

    "The M was trying to keep me from saying something, and she was willing to go that far to do it." Powder straightened the front of Scotch's shirt. "What did you do with the revolver?" she asked.

    "Tossed it where hopefully she'll never find it again." He looked down at Powder for a moment before reaching into her hair. Something hit the ground and bounced away. "You have pearls..." he said, laughing a little. Powder looked down to see a few of the beads resting on the neckline of her dress, some falling inside. She brushed them away and the pearls could be heard bouncing and rolling around at their feet. Scotch put a finger on the base of her neck, the same place the strand had wrapped around before breaking. It must have left a mark there. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

    "Not badly," Powder said, returning the gesture by tracing a finger over Scotch's stitches. "I can't believe this is it, I think the M is serious. We're all going back."

    "I almost don't want to go," Scotch said, his hand dropping back down to his side. Powder looked up but he barely met her eyes. "If it means losing the memories here, there's a lot I want to forget."

    "But?"

    "But I don't want to forget everything."

    Powder took his hand and played with the griffin joints of his fingers. "If I could choose between remembering everything or nothing," she said, "I'd remember everything."

    "Even though it means the ejections, Cross and your possession? And the staircase and the the things I said to you?"

    Powder nodded.

    "I think you hit your head too hard on the stairs."

    Both of them laughed and then hugged each other tightly. Powder wondered if he could feel anything similar to the glowing waves of chemicals her body released in the embrace.

    "Scotch, when we leave... if we don't have our memories... or if something has happened to you..."

    "Whatever is, already is," Scotch said. "And neither we nor the Monstress can change that." Powder tried to smile. Suddenly a shadow from the door was cast across them both. 

    "Already having second thoughts?" said Puckerz. He had taken the chopstick out of his hair and was tapping it methodically in his open left hand. Something heavy weighed down both pockets on his jacket.

    "Little late to be snatching things, don't you think?" Powder said. Puckerz smiled.

    "This is more than snatching something. I have an experiment." He patted his bulging pockets and they could all hear glass clinking against glass.

    "Don't tell me you're bringing her collection of crystal eyeballs with you," said Scotch.

    Powder caught a glimpse of milky purple. "Are those the bottles from the sewing room? The ones from the glass cabinet?" she asked.