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'Does the moon look bigger to you tonight?'

The Book of Ataniel

Rat Packers in Search of Better Medication, Part Three



�Oh, fuck me,� Rani groaned. �You�re telling me we all have to leave together?� She�d been hoping she could ferry them across a few at a time, once they located Ebreth and Jack. �Flicker, it starts getting unstable when there�s three of us in the same place at once. I don�t know if I could hold thirteen of us together to save my life.�

�Well, it would be twelve,� Flicker offered. �I can�t help you exactly, but I do seem to be able to move my own self around pretty freely. Khyrisse thinks it�s something to do with me being Deathless.�

�Can you see if Asinus is okay, then? I dropped him somewhere and I couldn�t find him again.�

�I�ll look for him,� Flicker said. �I don�t think anything in here can hurt you unless it comes from within, though.�

�That might be more reassuring if it weren�t the Rat Pack we�re talking about,� sighed Valende.

�Oh, don�t worry, Miz Val. There�s, like, nothing within my head.�

�Hard to argue with that,� Rani conceded.

�We have been able to help each other face Hotel dangers, though,� Mina pointed out thoughtfully. �You killed that su-monster... and then Val and I helped Rani banish them.� Val frowned; she was still pissed off about Mina chewing them out for sleeping together, Rani knew, and resented the younger woman taking the liberty of calling her by a nickname. If Rani kept grudges that long she would have been dead of a heart attack years ago. �I don�t think there�s anything we can do to avoid individual confrontations with our destinies here,� Mina continued obliviously. �But while we�re getting there... we�re probably safest, mentally speaking, in the company of our friends.�

***

�Val!� cried Skitch in relief, as the priestess materialized in front of them. Rani appeared too, and almost fell over; Marty blinked in just in time to catch her. �Am I ever glad to see you!�

�Vastarin?� she said, blinking in surprise at her uncharacteristically depressive brother. �What in Corellon�s name--�

�Some stupid girl ditched him and he�s really, really upset,� Skitch told her behind his hand.

�Some stupid... oh, Vas, no...�

�Whoa,� interrupted Marty, looking around. �Where�s Mina?�

�Shit,� muttered Rani, and sagged into the wall. �This--is bad.�

�It�s not that bad, dear. If you find two people every time you lose one, then we�re making progress, right?� Val offered the half-breed an encouraging smile as she took her mopey brother sympathetically into her arms.

�I know,� sighed Rani. �It�s just that she�s the one with my Prozac. When this emotion spell runs out, all hell is going to break loose in here.�

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'Does the moon look bigger to you tonight?'

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