Arcane Sequence: 1987 (WLW)

November 26th, 1987: Thanksgiving Day

This novella contains mature language.

Something stank. Really fucking badly. Jaime twitched her nose toward the scent and realized it was wafting in from the kitchen. Was Yua really doing this? How could someone so tasteful make such a foul smell? After a long day of canvassing the latest victim's neighborhood and the locations she frequented most, Jaime wasn't expecting to wind down with her evidence files, beer and whatever rank smell now filled her nostrils.

She tossed her case notes onto the sofa and made her way to the kitchen, the smell stirring her stomach. She spotted Yua at the stove and couldn't stop the laughter in her chest from billowing up. Her face was scrunched up as she dipped the tip of her tongue into a spoonful of something previously unknown to mankind. Then again, Yua was a woman, so who's to say this wasn't exactly what happened each time she tried to cook.

Yua looked up with her tongue still stuck out and Jaime made the sudden realization as to how akin she was to a small kitten. In the words of the great Yua, this warranted further investigation. She hurriedly sucked her tongue back into her mouth and straightened. "Sorry. I just wanted to make you something nice as a thank you and... Well..."

"Fitting." Jaime examined the mess Yua was calling food and tried not to let her fine nose cause a frown. It didn't work and Yua pouted something fierce. Her chin even started trembling and Jaime felt just as bad for her as she did her own nose. Still, when had she been known to let someone off the hook? "Are you sure this isn't a ploy to poison me since I basically ran your family outta town?"

Yua's lips quivered like she was trying not to smile. Challenge accepted, Doc.

"Is it entirely inedible?" Jaime grabbed one of Yua's cooking stick things, whatever the fuck they were, and started poking at the blackish blob. "Maybe we can pick enough of the crispy--"

"Shouldn't you be on your way to pick up your younger sister?" A perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised with Yua's last word and Jaime could see her armor breaking down with every hitched breath she took. "And on that death trap you call a--"

"Sexy and surprisingly safe ride? Yes. And I didn't hear any complaints yesterday. I also prefer the organ donor nickname more, by the way. Makes it more thrilling, yeah?"

"If you say so, and I was too busy hanging on for dear life. Regardless, I thought you said your family was out of town."

"They were meant to be, but," Jaime stabbed the blob, picked it up on the end of the sticks and dangled it in front of Yua, chuckling as she cringed away. Even she was scared of her own otherworldly creation. "The new wife came down with a stomach bug."

"Oh my, will she be alright?" Yua grabbed Jaime's wrist and led her and the blob over to the sink. "Garborator."

"Huh?"

"The garbage disposal, I mean."

Jaime laughed at that one, but quickly got back to topic. "She'll be fine. I doubt it was an actual stomach bug. Are you sure you want to put this shit down there? What if not all the pieces get garbled up and we have a real gelatinous blob apocalypse on our hands?"

Yua scowled at her, and then shot her a face that Jaime was sure meant for her to quit while she was ahead. Jaime dropped the gook into the sink and waved her hands in the air in surrender as Yua turned on the faucet and disposal.

"What else could it be aside from a stomach flu?" She called over the machine.

"Dad doesn't believe in contraception."

Yua's eyes went wide, then something was set off in her as she turned off the water and disposal. She was like a totally different person and if it hadn't been for her mouth remaining closed, Jaime would have expected to see drool. She snorted and began to make her way to the door, Yua fast behind her.