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"Do I knohat?" Casper said, starting to get irritated, too
"That you’re a Stranger," Cri sed "Everyone in the caravan knows"
"She’s one, too," Criminy said "And she knows you"
With a pat oncar and slid into a booth next to a nervous and twitching Vil Probably getting an update on the trailer he was going to lock me into later, the sly bastard I could feel his eyes on on
"I don’t understand," Casper said, gesturing to the empty seat across the table I slid in With Crie, the man before me seemed to open up and relax And smolder "You’re from America? Because I don’t think I know you I’m sure I would have remembered" He searched my face, and I searched his, too His face was … very searchable
It was a, inert body and a living, breathingI knew had a shaved head and scrawny areous, like a poetic version of Robinson Crusoe And I couldn’t believe howit I caught aze back up to his face I had to tell hi that gorgeous, ood way to say this, but I’m your nurse in our world You had a o, and now you’re brain-dead I’ures My mom told me that bike would kill me"
"What happened?" I asked I had to know
"I don’t reround one day, naked After the first rabbit bitbranch with me Killed a deer with it, too And then I came across a body without a drop of blood on it or in it I put on his clothes and wandered around until I found the caravan When Master Stain heard on and a job"
"Do you like it here?"
"Are you kidding?" he asked with a laugh "It’s a dream come true I’m a concert pianist, and these people have never heard of Beethoven or Mozart They think I’eous and charentle, bluff sort of way--the coerous allure I liked him immediately and felt at home in his presence, as if we’d known each other forever I leaned closer
"So what’s your story?" He s with e to fiddle withBut I left out the part about hoas supposed to be Criic mail-order bride
"Are you really stuck here?" Casper asked anxiously I got the feeling he wanted me to say yes
"Indeed, pet Are you stuck?" Cri me out of the booth
"What choice do I have?" I called over my shoulder as Criminy’s ar basket of what looked and smelled like fried chicken but was probably extra-crispy bludbunny
I was lances at Casper He leaned back in his booth, s at me with dimples as he flipped a coin back and forth over his knuckles After I fuhed and took over, fillingme to our private booth He lashed the curtains closeda bit faoblet with narrowed eyes "He doesn’t speak to anyone much I think I preferred him when he was sulky"
"I know him," I said, still amazed "I’ve taken care of his body for --his e coincidence"
"I don’t actually think it’s a coincidence, love," Criers I find, if I can use theo ith misfits He found us quite near here, so perhaps locations in your world coordinate so"
"So you took hier?" I asked
"And because of his songs Starting to regret it a bit"
"And did you turn hihed, one sharp note "That’s not a Bludman Whatever made you think he was one of us?"
"The way he’s dressed," I said, feeling confused and silly
"Ah, that," he said thoughtfully "Now, that’s a different story altogether He’s a clever boots, that one You’ll have to ask him one day"
By the tione For Criminy’s sake, I tried to conceal ht with calls of farewell from the carnivalleros, and I adht The constellations were very strange, and, just like the clouds, they see like a broken dinner plate caught in the branches of a far-off tree
We stopped in front of a burgundy wagon so shiny with ht that I could see myself reflected in the still-wet paint It didn’t look like the shoddy car of the ex-wolfboy, and my name wasn’t painted on the side yet, but I kneas mine
"Ladies first," Criminy said with a bow