"So she said you'd be a terrible parent." Â "Di" was watching the cave entrance. Â Maybe standing guard, maybe watching the weather. Â Maybe doing both.
"She wisnae wrong." Grumbled the giant near the fire. Â "Ended up carting you and Jekky up to the spine as soon as I could walk under m'own power. Â Took better part of a year."
"Grandma didn't seem surprised."
The giant snorted a cloud of smoke and sat up enough to hunch over the coals of the fire. Â White smoke and burning sparks leaked out his mouth as he spoke again."Not t'see you two, no. Â Wisnae happy t'see my face. Â Her n'me had n'ugly talk afterwards."
"About?"
"About how I should be dead an how she didn't like dead people wandering intae her hearth."
He plucked an ember from the blaze and held it against a soggy leaf wrap that might have, in a bad light, passed for a cigar. Â In truth it was more of a sodden mix of other dog ends welded together with spit and tar. Â It caught fire, after some work, but it took a lot of fussing before the coal was tossed back into the flames.
"Feel like you get that a lot." Muttered Di as thick, black, oiled plumes joined the white whispers and wisps that had been floating above her towards the open sky outside the cave.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Â But you two needed family and the one you'd had juss broke open, so frankly I didnae care. Â Old biddy could go stuff her n'her traditions. I didn't intend t'ae stay." Â The giant shifted onto his back and started blowing smoke rings at the ceiling of the cave in a building fit of irritation.
"Told her to teach yez two what yez needed. Â N'here yez are w'ae a gun popping dragon skulls with lead balls n'there's Jekky, a fullblown brass Brass Singer." Â He barked a second word after the title. Â It was sharp, bright, full of warmth and spreading heat that threatened but never pulsed over into true burning ignition in the skin and ears. Â Where it passed sparks flared bright and threatened to dance in the smoke, burning to a bright nebula of light and fire that died as Hammer snapped his jaws shut on the sound and tore the breath out of it's brief life.
Di watched, a pair of red eyes following a living word crawling and dying in the air in a matter of seconds. "You used to sing. Â Used to sing a lot. Â Jekky got his habits from you."
"I did a lot of dumb shit when I wiz a kid. Â You two among em." Â The giant rolled onto his side and tipped ash off the cigar, lungs still leaking smoke. "Spark Shamans are expected t'sing n'dance n'do a lot...but Ash Singers. Takes a lot t'manage it as a Singer. Â Jekky's got more colours n'his soul. Â I'm mostly red with a hint o'orange." Â A chuckled followed that admittance. Â "Had t'explain red t'some chumps a month or so back. Â Was a lil drunk. Â Mighta used the actual word fir it on em. Â Shoulda seen them watch the thing dance in their damn brains."
"Outlanders tend t'have that reaction. Â Most don't understand Language" Â Di's own voice had some skill, a liquid twist of the tounge slipping the capital letter's importance into the enunciation.
"N'us  Spine dwellers ain't much of a fan of mages, which is why no one trusts Brass Singers.  Diplomats my ass.  Kid's like you, juss wears fancier clothing and kin lie when sommat asks if he killed someone."  Hammer suckled unhappily on the pipe as the other hand came up with the length of blue steel and brass fitted wood that was the Fire Arm longrifle.  "Surprised I ain't loaded this, put the barrel in m'mouth n'pulled the trigger yet.  S'a fuckin disgrace."
"Will make sure to tell him that." Â Di was sighting down her own rifle, at something far, far away. Â "Can you stand yet? Â You've eaten enough dragon meat to kill someone your size."
"Yez know how I work kid. Â Burn a lil hot. Â Need a lotta fuel. Â Thankfully yez not a completely shit shot. Â Didn't snap m'ankle off."
"Good, because if we don't get hobbling the search party down there is eventually going to spot this place." Â Down, far, far away, ants that were people skittered on the road, around the crater, around the corpses, around the strewn caravan wreckage.
"N'after m'clear you n'Jekky'll haul Trouble in n'get called hero.  S'bullshit."  He popped his head up off the cave floor to squint at her back. "But as I figgure I ain't in  a position t'ask fir a rematch.  Grab the lantern.  I'll pack 'ere.  We'll start putting distance between us n'the vultures."