*Chris' POV*

I had been having a relatively relaxing night, for once. Mick had been taking the time to show me some of those finer points that the others didn't see the value in yet. I figured I would learn them by heart, and show everyone else when they were ready.

Mick had all manner of little tricks, like a strange movement he made at the end of sharpening all his throwing knives that he swore up and down made them last longer and fly more true. He was in the middle of showing me a different motion for handheld knives when Angelo burst through the door, breathing hard like he had needed to work to get here. But Vinny was nowhere in sight.

By count of five, every Assassin in the building knew and was silent. By count of ten, all were armed and had melted into the shadows, awaiting instructions. Well, except for Mick. Mick had to have balls of steel, as he didn’t appear flustered in the least to have an out-of-breath Assassin bounding in the door, missing his less-experienced colleague. Mick just stood there and wiped his knife off.

Ang didn't wait for Mick to ask him what was going on, thankfully, as it turned out. Ang shouted out, "Shady dog, I need the beanpole posthaste!"

Fuck! Everyone went back to whatever they were doing, except me. I wasn't relieved. I jogged over and stood next to Mick, and didn't even get a chance to say anything before Ang started talking.

"I overheard the Second Officer of the Night Watch talking with his new ward at Commons, it's their Night off. He's bringing her by to introduce her, unofficially, on their own time, and I thought you'd like to know. Especially given that she is apparently also his woman-"

My eyebrows shot up and I exchanged a knowing glance with Mick. Apparently Mick also remembered what a rabid animal Andrew could be around-

"-as Vinny swiftly learned today when he got caught eyeing her extremely ample chest." Mick and I both groaned.

My mind started to run swiftly. Should I assemble my erstwhile group of companions? Do I even want to mention the whole ‘Motionless’ thing or is that too weird for a Watchman? Should I ask the guys to look exceptionally productive? Or look casual and approachable, friendly? But not too friendly, definitely not interested in bosoms!

Mick frowned, rubbing his forehead, while I fretted. Mick eyed Ang. “Is Vinny at the Healer’s Tent?”

Ang shook his head. "The Second Officer didn’t actually lay a hand on him, Mick. I told Vinny to stay back until they've been here awhile."

I probably had seconds until they arrived! Who knows how far ahead Ang managed to get? I looked around, starting to panic, and saw each of my Motionless brothers caught my eyes.

Thankfully, they had been nearby! I mimed two fingers to my eyes, then to each of them, then pointed at my chest, as though at a large set of breasts, then shook my finger and head vigorously. They all looked at Angelo, confused (not having heard Angelo's explanation of events), and he just did something similar.

I looked to Ghost, desperately miming tits and then shaking my head furiously, still trying to be discreet. Ghost looked at Josh, who decided to mime massive boobies at both him and then Ricky. Soon they were all doing it. Shit!

Mick laughed, seeing our antics. He spoke softly, at first. “Well, it seems Andrew has calmed a bit, with age and time, if Vinny is not injured… yet, anyway. But Andrew is a good Officer and I don’t want the Guild to be the source of any trouble.”

Of course, Mick looked at me, making me all the more determined to make that cocky, arrogant, aloof bastard, Andrew, the perfect and beloved by all, my best friend in the entire world if it killed me! Then Mick surprised me. He almost never yelled, so it spooked me when he shouted so loudly, it rang through the whole building.

“Everyone, listen up! We’re going to have a guest with a big bosom! No one is to eye her chest appreciatively, or I’ll let her beat you to death, got it!?!” There was dead silence in response. No one moved for minutes.

If the company coming to visit were the Second Officer and his Fae ward, Mick would have gotten good-natured, hearty laughter in response. But Mick was well aware that we would know that his threat carried an edge. Assassins were wiser than most about being afraid of what went bump in the night, because that was where we stayed, too. Some things, though not seen often in these parts, rattled the loudest of all in the dark, and were terrifying, almost unstoppable.

We weren’t supposed to know anything about this woman, but we were Assassins, it was our job. We all knew she was a Dark Mountain Elf hybrid that had murdered a villager in Merry Willows, pinned Big Pete, and had given one of the best swordsman in the Tribe a run for his money, if not outright defeated him (we were split in opinion on whether Andrew’s goof truly counted as Andrew having been bested), and now he was with her?

She had beaten him so badly, even apparently while splinted, Andrew had gotten a concussion and needed Healing! And yet, Andrew was with this Amazon woman? Of course I wanted to look at her breasts now, they had to be amazing, if he was willing to take that kind of violence! She had to be a walking goddess!

Everyone was beginning to get back to whatever they had been doing, but Mick just looked at me. He narrowed his eyes, his lips making that thin line that unnerved me. “Mick, I-“

He held up a pale, lined hand and shook his head. “Chris, Andrew is a very passionate man, about everything he cares about, but especially about love. When he lost Juliet, he lost a massive part of himself. He finds passion and purpose again on the battlefield, on the Watch, defending the Soul, and not really anywhere else.” Mick paused, choosing his words carefully. It made me nervous.

I had no idea why the fuck Mick was telling me this. “Listen, Chris. I know you, too. You are a born leader that has only improved with practice; and a good man, a good Assassin. Maybe one day you will take my place. But let me tell you this, Chris: your intentions here are false.”

I felt a hard ball of fear form in my stomach. I didn’t even know what Mick was talking about, but I suddenly felt like I’d been found doing something I shouldn’t be. He just kept talking, quietly, so no one else could hear. “You don’t genuinely want to be Andrew’s friend, you haven’t actually done a single thing to try and bring him out of his misery and self-imposed isolation, have you?” I numbly shook my head. I had thought I was being respectful…

“No. You just want the rumor that you are a bad guy, that you are rivals, to go away. And between an Assassin and a Watchman, the Assassin will always be the bad guy, the dark horse. You have to get used to that, Chris. People will always invent things, whatever they want, they love drama. If you let seeds take root in your heart, they will grow."

What? What was he talking about? He snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Focus Chris! You don’t like looking bad; it bothers you.” Something inside twitched. At least some part of what he said was true. Shit.

Mick patted my shoulder. “I love you like a son, Chris, but you really are just concerned about yourself here, your image. That’s nothing to base a friendship on, that’s bullshit. If I were Andrew, I’d knock your teeth out, no bosom-viewing required.”

I felt like there was more to it than that, a lot more. That I really had tried to bring Andrew out of his shell before, on a few missions. Hadn't I? That I had a genuine desire to get along with him better, now that it seemed likely that we’d be working together even more frequently, what with the crazy business going on with the Trolls. But… When Mick dispensed words of wisdom, there was no questioning it. So I just nodded. “Thanks Mick. May I take a few moments to reflect?”

Mick nodded. “Until they get here. I imagine he’ll want to introduce you. If he does, devils’ bunions, eyes up, kid!”

Notes

"Shady dog" = 'you can relax and come out of hiding, but don't go far, we have matters to attend to'

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as a quick reminder, here's a link to the Character Book I've been working on for this book.

i just recently finished up the Chapter for the Assassins (has some nice background information as a bonus):
Character Book for Night Watch

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as a fun thing, here is a link to the new tumblr i've started:
my tumblr 'anathemadvm'
it will not have stories, just pictures and videos from concerts i've been to, with maybe a few little bits of other things

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speaking of videos, here are some i took at the hawthorne theatre the other day, when i went to see Particle Son, Toxic Zombie, Dead Animal Assembly Plant, Relapse Symphony, and Wednesday 13:

Toxic Zombie play 'Toxic Zombies'
this was the debut (i believe) of their new lineup, and they did not disappoint! i am always too shy to introduce myself. (can you see it, 'hi, i'm a fan-fiction writing veterinarian, is that weird?') but i did talk to one of their buddies, who was selling merch, and she was very nice to me. i have seen them three times now, and they are fucking awesome, always put on a super-solid, super rocking show. my main regret is that i can never seem to get a good video that really shows how awesome they are, which sucks. i can totally see these guys becoming ultra-famous dudes and taking over the horror rock world: get on the bandwagon and say you were there early on!


Dead Animal Assemby Plant play a song that is good and awesome
so, i had never heard of these guys, and i was afraid they would be, like, insane vegans or something. maybe they are, who knows? i mean, i'm a vegetarian, i can roll with it. but they didn't leap off the stage, and if they had a song called 'death to veterinarians,' i missed it, and it wasn't on the cd i bought. but my point is this: they fucking rocked me, guys. like, so hard, i was like, 'where the fuck have i been?' i felt like a total ass that this band has been in portland, and i had no idea. i had the same experience with toxic zombie a while back. now i feel like the biggest loser in the world. (i hereby ask all awesome bands declare themselves and submit their work to me at once. i prefer no more surprises, please. i'm getting too old for this shit.) like, these guys could, again, take over the world. that kid is like a crazy little star, running around with his knife microphone. naturally, when the time came where i could have had my cd signed, (as i am painfully shy), i ran away and hid, peering curiously from afar. highlights included the drummer's daughter hitting what appeared to be a tiny little high-hat wearing a mask that said, 'daddy's girl' on it that looked like rotten flesh. awww!

Most of 'Keep Watching the Skies' by Wednesday 13
the sound is bad, but the show was sooooo good! i was so happy! i love wednesday 13! they played 'i love to say fuck,' which i was not expecting (is it stupid that i had no idea they would play murderdolls stuff?), and i love that song! i watched the arch-rival get thrashed, and i made attempts to defend a lady in a walker from a mosh pit who decided that she wanted to sit in an area where a mosh pit normally forms (as a fairly disabled person, i feel qualified to say that was a terrible idea). props to the guy from particle son who helped me form a barrier for the lady! my entire right side is bruised though. i am way too old for that shit, but sometimes, when the big, buff guys aren't willing to make a barrier around a disabled person, us weak people have to do it, right?

notes: i was running out of space on my phone so i didn't get anything of relapse symphony, other than, right after they came out, bret von dehl spat on my face (i think inadvertently). i was none too pleased, and i believe my expression must have conveyed that to him, as i noticed that, from there afterwards, me made an effort to spit either on himself & catch it, or to fling it backwards in a very creative fashion. i was impressed enough i forgave him. while relapse is not really my thing, they REALLY put in a lot of effort and played hard, PLUS they covered motorhead and the ramones! they played to a very tough, very critical crowd.

unfortunately, i missed almost all of particle son, so all i can say is that i thoroughly enjoyed their final song, very classic industrial/rivethead stuff.