in the woods somewhere

“I’ve dealt with worse.” 

Given every twist and turn of his life thus far, Binx knows there have been — and will continue to be — others who make for worse company. Naveen isn’t so bad, as far as Binx is concerned. Sure, they happened to get off to a rough start, but it certainly seems like Naveen isn’t half as obnoxious as Binx recalls. 

“But if you’d like to compensate me for my time, a home-cooked meal wouldn’t hurt.”

This is nothing more than the calm before the storm. A reprieve before the chase begins yet again. There is nothing soothing about the careful touch at his abdomen, for the bandages wrapped around his torso may as well be wrapped around his neck. At least then, there would be no false pretenses. Achilles’s mere presence is warrant for concern, and the very wound he’s helping bandage is one he inflicted. 

“Can’t bring me back in pieces, can you?” Binx sounds every bit as bitter as he feels. “Might as well break a leg while you’re at it. I doubt the witch will care.”

The familiar churn of anxiety and fury, bubbling up in his chest, work against the serenity needed to heal the wound. It will patch itself up in due time, but that’s apparently time Achilles would rather spend hauling Binx off . And carrying a bloody body around is cause for concern, if their travels take them through bustling towns.

But if there’s one thing that is absolutely certain, it’s that Binx will recover quickly. He will regain his strength and make a run for it, just as he always does, and this twisted game of cat and mouse will begin anew. 

If anyone could find a cure, it would surely be Sarah. After all, she and her sisters were to blame for his current predicament. Yet even her magic falters where Winifred’s excelled, and no potion or spell can apparently undo Binx’s eternal youth. At the very least, though, Sarah has tried to right this wrong. “You did your best,” he relents. “It’s more than either of your sisters can say for themselves.”

“Not your fault?” Binx bites back a harsh, shallow laugh. Her lack of accountability is so abhorrent, it’s almost amusing. As it stands, focusing on his anger is all he can do to will back tears. “Who else am I to blame for my pain? I’ve no family to speak of, no place to call home, because of you. Each day is a new nightmare I’m forced to endure. Every night is spent plagued by nightmares. As long as I am cursed to roam this earth, you will be solely to blame for my personal hell.”

At first, Binx struggles to pin down Renfield’s sour demeanor. Part of him wonders if he’s done something wrong, somehow offended him, but there’s an arm around his shoulders and he’s tucked nicely at Renfield’s side. Binx doubts that they’d be so close if one was mad at the other. Still, he can’t help but have his doubts. 

It’s only when his gaze follows Renfield’s that he puts two and two together. Just moments ago, he’d been deflecting the unwanted (albeit flattering) advances of an especially friendly baker. Though the man has clearly moved on to someone else, Renfield hasn’t. His gaze still lingers, as if he expects the man to come back or Binx to trail after him. 

“He’s not my type,” Binx says, hoping to ease his worries. A playful grin tugs at his lips, and he has to hold back a laugh. “Between you and me, I prefer a man who knows his way around dirt rather than dough.”

she  could  fell  his  pulse  racing  against  her  fingertips  ,  causing  her  venomous  smile  to  grow  .  the  fear  excited  her  more  than  it  should .  who  would  have  thought  that  after  all  this  time  —-  after  all  the  effort  spent  searching  for  him  —-  that  he  would  just  appear  before  her  ?  the  universe  was  working  in  her  favor  .   she  sucked  her  teeth  at  his  words  ,  lowering  his  hand  but  not  letting  go  of  his  wrist  for  fear  of  him  fleeing  again .  ❝  fine …  i’ll  let  go  of  you  ;  after  you  hear  me  out .  ❞  she  had  to  think  quickly  or  he’d  surely  escape .  there  wasn’t  much  she  could  do  without  attracting  attention .  ❝  i  can  bring  her  back .  ❞  she  slowly  let  him  go  ,  bring  her  hand  back  to  her  side .  ❝  your  sister .  i  can  bring  her  back .  ❞  she  had  become  quite  the  skilled  liar  in  the  last  half  century .

Few subjects could elicit an immediate response like Emily’s death. The moment Winifred mentioned his dearly departed sister, he perked up ever so slightly. “You’re bluffing,” he insisted. “What, now that you’ve found the source of eternal life, you believe yourself capable of reversing death?” Then again, if she’d achieved immortality within Binx, who was to say she couldn’t do the opposite? The chance to have Emily back, to perhaps give his life in exchange for her own, was tempting. “Why should I believe you? Why would I trust the monster who cursed me to this fate?”

“Sunbathing. How nice. We’ll have to do that sometime soon.” Aravis chuckled, reminded of her days spent at Lasaraleen’s—where the two would do nothing but lounge on their chaises while eating and enjoying the river side view they had. Aravis, of course, could have done without her friend’s idle chatter of gossip, though. “I know, why don’t you spend the night and in the afternoon, we can do just that? My villa is quite lovely and you’ll have the privacy in the world!” She suggested, hands clasped together in excitement. “You’re going to have the greatest time, Binx.”

Against his better judgement, Binx decided that a day or two in Aravis’s good company wouldn’t hurt. A boisterous, albeit tiresome celebration would, at the very least, make it hard for anyone to keep him pinned down in a throng of partygoers. “I can only hope that I have as much fun as you’ve imagined me to,” he sighed, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I can’t stay past tomorrow evening, though. Places to be, people to avoid, all of that good stuff.”

In the rare, fleeting moments of peace, Binx always found himself falling into the same old traps. Dwelling on his sister — on her death, mostly — and the lifetime of loneliness stretching out before him. He knew not of his parents’ fate, though could only assume they’d passed on. Knowing they might be with Emily made his anguish less palpable, but only slightly. Most of the time, Binx had no one to confide in, instead bottling up every last wretched emotion and trying to get by another day. 

Except when he found himself in Orpheus’s company. That was when realized he wasn’t quite so alone. As it turned out, there were others in similar circumstances. Carrying on while their loved ones had long since passed. When he was in need of somewhere to hide, Orpheus was usually his best, albeit temporary, bet. 

“I brought some bread,” was the first thing out of his mouth. He merely stood by the front door, carrying a few loaves of fresh bread. “I...passed by a bakery on my way here. Thought I’d repay you for your kindness somehow.”

“Of course,” Aravis nodded solemnly, aware of the validity in his statement. “And what is fun for you, you lazy house cat?” She giggled, wrapping one arm around his waist as her eyes twinkled with adventure and mischief. “A challenge worthy of my time!”

“Sunbathing,” came Binx’s immediate response. “Getting a good scratch behind the ear doesn’t hurt either. You’d be surprised how easy it is to please a house cat.” Then again, a simple moment of tranquility was something he found exciting. Yet as he caught the gleam in her eye, which foretold all the antics to come, he decided to live just this once. “Something tells me I’m in for a wild ride tonight and I’m not sure if I should be excited or scared.”