some only had hearts that were brave and true

books-and-bodies

Karen Teller is having a really, really, really terrible month.

(In the privacy of her own brain, she is willing to admit that if ever there were a month that was downright shitty, this would be it.)

Her sister is dead. Not, like, gone to heaven dead, stuck on earth as a ghost dead. Her niece is still a werewolf, and is making progress on her apparent goal of scratching up every piece of furniture in the house. Also she got a D on a history test. Just straight-up got a D, on a history test, because she's been too dead all month to even listen during lectures. And she's too - proud, or scared, or something, to call in her parents for help, so she's just living in this house with a ghost and a tiny werewolf and an elementary schooler and hoping that nothing goes horribly horribly wrong before she graduates.

She has a job. It even pays enough to hire the nanny all day. Which is, you know, super. It starts at six and ends at nine, and is all the way across town, and she can't drive, so when she's lucky she gets home around ten, and she mostly doesn't take a stab at her homework because by that time she doesn't want to do anything at all. She does manage to take a shower, usually, because she's been handling dead bodies, because, oh yeah, she works at a cemetery, which is why it pays so well.

Also, she finds out today, there are zombies. Just, y'know, actual zombies, wandering around the catacombs under the mausoleum, which is probably why the caretaker gave her a mace, although honestly this is a thoroughly ridiculous way to handle this problem and you would THINK, if you knew that there were zombies infesting your catacombs, you would be able to seal them off and move your business somewhere safer, or at least come up with a solution that's less completely stupid than arming sixteen-year-olds with medieval weaponry and expecting them to fend for themselves.

This is mostly what she's thinking about when she takes out the zombie that's about to take a bite out of her coworker's shoulder. She has to assume that the actual contact is, like, instinct, or something. She hits it again, after, for good measure, and again, until its face is completely smashed in, because maybe she can't beat the crap out of this horrible, horrible month, but at least she can make sure this fricking literal walking corpse isn't going to make anything any worse.

"There. Dead zombie. Hopefully it stays that way this time."

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Suzanna Teller

Zana thinks they should run WAY into this forest.

books-and-bodies

"....do you wanna, like, take a walk for a bit?"

not-like-i-care

"Sure."

books-and-bodies

So they can take a walk, mostly following Zana and calling after her every so often to make sure she hasn't run off too far.

not-like-i-care

And eventually - "Zana don't move -"

" - what?"

not-like-i-care

"That's a fairy ring over there. See the - actually it might be hard to see if you can't see paths - uh, if we go there, we'll speed up and be in the fairy world. But this isn't the one at home so I don't think you should go in ahead of us."

Suzanna Teller

"Ohhh. Are we gonna go in?"

not-like-i-care

He glances at Karen. "We can, so long as you're with a grownup. I wouldn't want fairies to think you hadn't any grownups and needed them to take care of you."

"I have grownups!"

books-and-bodies

"...I guess if you think it's safe?"

not-like-i-care

"I dunno anything about this area but even if there are people around we can always just not talk to them. - don't tell them your name, Zana."

"Okay!"

books-and-bodies

She scoops Zana up and heads over towards the fairy circle.

not-like-i-care

They've had some practice from their own fairy circle at stepping through at close to the same second.

It's not empty. There's an elaborately dressed fairy sitting on a tree stump, beaming at them.

books-and-bodies

....she glances at Connor.

not-like-i-care

"Hi!"

The fairy looks between him and Karen. "- hello," he says, apparently not quite sure which of them he should be speaking to. "This is the circle of the Court of the Eastern Lake. What's your court -"

"We haven't got one. It's kind of a long story."

"Perhaps you could come back with us for a meal and then tell it?"

Connor looks to Karen.

books-and-bodies

"...I guess it won't take a lot of time outside."

"That's right" the fairy says cheerfully. "So long as you're with me time'll be passing very slowly back where you came from. You'll have to have something to eat to be able to see the paths to our court and to count as properly with me, though. Do you like raspberries?"

books-and-bodies

".....sure."

Raspberries! Three of them.

not-like-i-care

"I don't actually know very much about how all this works, would this mean I have to get slowed down again the slow way? Because I don't have time for that right now, and I can't really afford it either -"

"I'm really not an expert," the fairy says. "But even if it does work out that way, we can slow you down."

"Right, but like, when the funeral's over we're supposed to head back and if I have to get slowed down the slow way I won't be back until tomorrow morning.

"Or you could stay fast. We could pay the girl for you, if you want that, and you wouldn't need to slow back down again."

"I don't want that."

"You're missing out on a lot."

"So're you."

The fairy sighs and turns to see if Karen and Zana have eaten their raspberries.

books-and-bodies

Not until Connor eats his.

not-like-i-care

"I think I probably shouldn't chance it," he says to Karen regretfully. "I wanna see a real fairy court but I don't want to be stuck fast right now. You could still go, if you want."

books-and-bodies