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What is he doing? Pulling the Aunt Ruby card on you? <span class="mu-i">Fine.</span> "Sorry about that," you mutter. "I wasn't really <span class="mu-i">concentrating</span> on whose bed it was."
Madrigal arches her eyebrows. "Geez. Is Hell freezing over?"
"Shut up," you mutter quieter, as Earl plops Buster on the table and pounds you on the back. "Aw! It's no big deal! I've heard it's good for the spine, sleeping on flat surfaces. Guests come first, that's what I think—"
"He was basically asleep on the ground as-is, Charlotte. Not sure he could've <span class="mu-i">found</span> bed." She props her chin on her hand. "Still not as bad as Pa— as Nettie, though. Fucking lightweight. Basically turned to sludge."
"Really?" Maybe you are a little sorry you missed this. "Um, literally?"
"Kinda literally. She bowed out early, put it like that. Didn't even see the teeth necklace."
You blink. "The teeth...?"
"Do you wanna see? It's what it sounds like. Man lost all his fucking teeth—" She points at Earl. "—decided to string 'em all up— how did we even get on that fucking topic?"
"Body parts," Earl says.
"Body parts falling out! Shit, yeah. Like my eyeballs. Crazy stuff, crazy—"
She's probably tricking you here, just like Richard. It'll all turn out to make you look foolish. But you can't <span class="mu-i">not</span> ask. "Um... your eyeballs <span class="mu-i">fell out?</span>"
"Oh! Yeah! Fuck! I never told you about—" Madrigal beams, digs her fingernails into the corners of her eyes, and pops her eyeballs out. Her eye sockets are inky pits.
"Watch the blood pressure," Richard says soothingly.
Gee. Thanks. If he weren't so committed to the bit, he could administer you calming drugs like a <span class="mu-i">normal</span> snake, but instead you get useless platitudes while Madrigal rolls her literal eyeballs around on the table. They are presumably smearing eyeball gunk everywhere, and you're trying not to look, but if you look into her lack-of-eyes instead your throat starts to tighten. So there's that.
>[-1 ID: 12/13]
"Pretty fucking great, huh?" She is unaware of what she's inflicting on you, or she's reveling in it. One or the other. "I don't even know what the point is. Same with the digs. Best I can tell, it just comes free with all the rest of the nightmare—"
"You keep saying that," you mumble.
"Oh! Sorry. Yeah, long story short, I sucked up some spooky... some nightmare shit, basically, some darkness, please don't ask <span class="mu-i">how,</span> and then I kicked Pat's ass with it. And now I can do this! At least for now." She waves the eyeballs between her fingers. "Not sure if it'll stick once I'm back to the real deal, but I'll—"
(2/3)
