2019-08-12 - Banned For Life

Oh, this is where Duncan said he would definitely dump bodies. Perfect. He has his hands shoved deep down in his pocket and his traipsing around the perimeter of the pond, occasionally daring to poke at the shoreline with the toe of his sneaker - only to withdraw every time that ground makes a squelchy noise. "I think," while he shades his eyes against the sun, squinting skyward, "that we are gonna have to take a hike up to that bridge. If people stand on the edge of it, they'll totally be able to imagine..." He trails off, making a whistling noise that ends with a splashing noise: ALL THE SUICIDES!

Maddie's perched on the table part of a picnic table, sneakered feet up on the bench. She's currently winding a piece of string around a stick, making something of a makeshift fishing rod. As she does, she leans closer to her knees, watching Duncan as he envisions suicide by bridge-jump. "I like it, it's perfect," she agrees, bobbing her head in a slow nod. "Capitalization off recent tragedy is a sure-fire bet to bringing in cash. I heard there were a couple of guys that hung themselves up there a couple weeks ago," it's a passive remark, eyes lifting to take in the bridge. "I bet they were lovers that couldn't be together so they hung themselves to be together in Heaven." At least, that's what she's going to tell her next ghost tour group.

"Wasn't a splash," Alexander says, blandly, as he ambles up behind Duncan and Maddie. He's wearing a ratty t-shirt with a few holes in it, revealing a white undershirt, black jeans, muddy workboots. One arm is bandaged, and despite his habitual slouch, he's keeping his spine straight to not strain the few bites left on his torso. "More like snapping. People tend to hang, not drown." He looks past them to the bridge itself, making a brief gesture of agreement towards Maddie. "Right. Hanging. Wasn't lovers, though. What sort of money are you planning to make off of the suicides?" It's not particularly outraged, although it IS suspicious.

"Maybe we should tie some rooo--" Whatever Duncan thinks they should tie up there gets lost in the yikesy noise that falls out of him when Alexander materializes in their general vicinity. Right here at the murder-pond. His eyes triple in size when they shift worriedly between Alexander and Maddie, leaving him fading ever-so-subtly back toward where the latter is perched, he'll get there eventually. "The kinda money that's green and spends?" he guesses, equal parts confused and wary. "Definitely not Canadian money."

Maddie whips around when Alexander suddenly appears, the stick-and-string thrust accusingly in the air. No longer a makeshift fishing rod, it's now a pretend dagger, but it meets no mark. Yet. Duncan makes noises and Maddie's whole focus snaps onto Alexander, narrowing as she keeps the stick-dagger pointed at him. "Were you there?" her brows arch, her own tone dripping with suspicion. "At the scene of the crime?"

Alexander stops at the eyes widening and whipping around, his hands coming up, and taking a couple of steps back. He's harmless! Look at how harmless he is, right before he admits being at the scene of the crime, with a nod to Maddie. Then a thoughtful look. "They've called it the Hanging Bridge before then, so...not at the scene of all of them? But the most recent. Yes." A pause. "Hi. Are you both well?" It's a rote recitation of whatever polite greetings are supposed to sound like. A flick of his eyes to Duncan. "Money you can spend is preferable to the other kind." Agreement, not mockery.

Duncan keeps his shit together. He continues to side-eye Alexander like the dude might, I dunno, have some sort of parasitic worm attached to his brain or something, but he does all this without completely melting down. He's even cool enough to rest his hip against the edge of the table next to Maddie, hands still shoved down into the depths of his pockets. "You were there when people hung themselves? Why?" He just seems confused by the question about whether or not he and Maddie are well, so nope; not answering that one.

Eli is out walking. The routes that he tends to take aren't entirely designed to avoid people, but he certainly tends toward quieter areas of the city. The cemetery was the best, but he'd been there yesterday and you start to get a reputation if you spend more time with the dead than the living. Maybe he already had that reputation. Regardless, the sound of voices not far away gives him a brief bit of pause. Walk wide around, or push on through? Today he chooses the path of most resistance and makes his way through the trees and toward the pond.

"As suspected," Maddie remarks when Alexander admits his presence at the most recent Stone Bridge hanging, her eyes narrowing to near thin slits before she opens them wide once more and turns her focus on Duncan. There's definitely something unspoken in this glance, the subtle cock of her head towards Alexander, but she slowly lowers her stick-dagger back to her lap to lay it on her thigh, close enough for Duncan to grab if things get dire. Since Duncan opts to be confused about their current state of being, she answers. "We're about as well as can be expected, Alexander," Maddie says, the way she says his name dripping with a very 'if that even is your real name' sort of tone. "But yes, Duncan's got a point," she looks back to Duncan and even offers him a small, proud smile. It immediately wipes off her face when she flicks her stare back at Alexander. "Why?"

The tone of the way Maddie says his name draws a long, confused sort of stare. Alexander shuffles his feet, his brow furrowing as he tries to puzzle out the reason behind it. Is it that name-stealing doctor's fault? "I don't have any expectations for how well you are," he says, after a long moment, in a tone meant to reassure. But the double question gets a shrug. "Tried to stop it. Didn't succeed all that well. Clearly. And...you're thinking of bringing people out here, and charging them money, to see...the place of the suicides? Yes?"

The noise of someone tramping through the under-brush has Duncan leaning forward and peering in that direction, catching up the stick-dagger and starting off in the direction of that sound directly. He leaves Maddie to answer Alexander's questions, leaving the table or bench or whatever it is, now standing at where he guesses Eli is going to emerge with the stick poised for a thrashing. "Come out with your hands up," he commands, deepening his voice so he sounds impressive - y'know, like someone who isn't five-and-a-half-feet tall and wielding a stick.

The voice sounds about the same time that Eli steps out from between the trees that were previously blocking his view of the pond and the people near the shores. It's enough to get him to stop in his tracks and even begin to raise his arms to the sky. Well, until his eyes register that the voice came from Duncan and that the weapon is indeed a pointy stick. He lets his arms fall back to his side and looks beyond the man toward the other two for a moment to take in the entire scene and lets a tired sigh escape. "You again." He says by way of greeting to the strange man. "No camera today?" He starts walking again, not really terribly threatened.

"Did you now? You tried to stop it?" There's an undertone of disbelief in Maddie's words, but she leans forward to prop her elbow on her knee, chin on her knuckles. She continues to regard Alexander with vast amounts of interest, as though he were becoming curiouser and curiouser before her very eyes. That isn't to say she doesn't notice when Duncan takes the stick and goes to defend her like the damsel she is from whatever's stalking them in the woods, but she'll act particularly threatened if the moment requires. Until then? She blink-blinks at Alexander. "No," that's not what she's doing. "We'll be taking people out here and charging them money to hear the truth of the things that lie here in wait." And, wait a second, she sits up, clearing her throat, to get into character.

Maddie's voice drops to a dramatic, but almost sultry, whisper: "Like the two brothers who's parents told them to never swim in Gray Pond after dark. But it was a warm night, and the pond was cool, the youngest couldn't resist. He jumped in, and something pulled him down, dragging him to the depths below! He was never. Seen. Again." It was a great retelling.

Alexander's eyes track Duncan's brave advance with wariness. Like there might actually be something in the woods other than just another walker in the late summer sunshine that is going to horribly murder that poor man right in front of him. When Eli is what emerges, instead, he gives the man a curt nod of greeting. "Mister Blake. Are you well?" Maddie's acting draws his attention back to her - it's kind of hard to look away, and he can't help the shiver that works its way down his spine, despite the fact that he also looks dubious about the veracity of these events. "You're...good." He probably doesn't mean to be insulting by sounding so surprised. "Is that why you were asking about Shakespeare? Are you actors? And now you're going to...bring people out to hear the truth of Gray Harbor's various things that go bump in the night?" A brief flicker of a smile. "That sounds intriguing. I wrote a murder tour for Mister Gilford. A bit ago. For Halloween."

"I said, hands up or - " Crap. Duncan was going to look so badass with his have-at-you, but his very first attempt to flourish the stick and then poke it at Eli has him jabbing the guy in the underarm, losing his grip on the stick, and shaking his now empty hand uselessly. He takes a deep, deep breath that puffs up his cheeks, looking from the stick to Eli's face no fewer than three times, and finally decides, "I appreciate your sorcery, sir, you may pass." (Read: pls dont beat me w/my own stick rly sry)

This is how Duncan completely misses Maddie's performance over there, which is a shame, because it would've put the stars in his eyes. He's tuning back in to Alexander and Maddie when Alexander is asking still more questions. "You're very nosy," he announces. Kinda loudly. Louder than he intended, anyway.

"Hey, Alexa - " No, he's not looking for anyone to do a web search for him, he's just broken off mid-word by Duncan's attempt to skewer him with the stick. He shifts just in time to have it glance harmlessly and then watches while it tumbles to the ground. Look up, look down, up, down. Finally he leans over and picks up the fallen 'weapon' and extends it toward Duncan. "I think you dropped this. You might need it if Jimmy gets out of hand." He takes a long step to the left to keep himself out of Duncan's range and approaches the pond proper, shifting his eyes between the other two. "Alexander. Sorry. I'm fine. I hope you are too?" He asks with a pointed look from the man and then toward Maddie.

Maddie bends into a half-bow at the waist, more than just a bit of an awkward movement considering she's sitting down, but she accomplishes it nevertheless with just a hint of flourish contained in the wave of her hand. Yes, she's awesome. Put the bouquets of roses at her feet, please and thank you. It's in all this pomp and circumstance that she misses Duncan's own failed attempt at saving her life, which is probably for the best - she might have leaped to his aid! Instead, she just sits up and tucks her hair behind her ear, her smile wide for half a moment, slipping back into a dead stare at Alexander when he questions her again. "Very nosy," she agrees, bobbing her head to Duncan in agreement. "But why do you ask questions you already know the answer to? Perhaps that's another mystery to add to the list of mysteries that shall be uncovered in short order," she makes a motion in the air to Duncan - pretending to scribble something with an imaginary pencil - his cue to 'write this down.' "But yes, Duncan and I recently embarked our newest adventure. DM's Terrifically Terrifying Tours!" She opens her hands in explody-motions with each word, then arcs them in the air outward like a rainbow, as though putting these words on a marquee display. Then, to Eli, she finally looks. "Why are you stalking the woods?"

Alexander's gaze flicks back towards Duncan as he initiates Operation: Stick It To Eli. And fails. A blink. Another. Then just a little shake of his head. "Yes. I'm very nosy." It's utterly toneless and without shame, warming only when he answers Eli. "I don't hear 'It's a Small World' playing nonstop in my head any more, so I think I'm doing pretty well." A beat of silence before he adds, "I'd avoid the carousel at the park for the next while, if I were you." Just friendly advice from one townie to another. He regards Maddie. "I don't. Know the answers. I have hypotheses. But I would like answers to the questions. Were you looking for the," a moment to think about it, "Seven Ages actors? If so, why?" Another look back at Eli at the explodey 'Terrifically Terrifying Tours', like just trying to make sure that he's actually hearing and seeing this.

"Thank you." Duncan tucks the fallen weapon into the belt-loop of his jeans, which makes it a little difficult to use his pockets, but he muscles on through this problem of his own creation. "How do you know Jimmy?" he adds with a suspicious, second-look at Eli; it may be worth noting that he does not seem to recognize the guy at all. "And why're you stalking the woods?" Yes, he nods eagerly to echo Maddie's question, he was totally going to ask the same thing!

Splitting his focus is hard for Duncan, and he looks at Alexander very hard during all the talk of the carousel and the small world, but he never quite breaks through the haze of confusion. The Seven Ages question, though, that gets through to him: "Pssh, you know the answers to that already, 'Alexander Clayton.'" GDI, he has to un-tuck his hands again to make air-quotes around the name.

There suddenly seems to be a lot going on in the midst of Eli's quiet walk and it result in him taking a couple more steps of distance between himself and the other three. He seems to dig his heels into the ground before his legs can force him to escape entirely. He crosses his arms across his chest and focuses in on Alexander to start with. "I - that's good. I haven't been on that carousel in a long time. I wasn't planning on changing that today, but I appreciate the advice?" He replies uncertainly. Blue eyes shift back to Maddie and eventually to Duncan. "I was walking." He offers, clearly a bit clueless as to what else he would have been doing. "Coming here, in fact. Terrifically Terrifying Tours? Of the Pond?" He furrows his brow and looks out toward the water, shaking his head. "Not sure it's going to be a very big seller."

"It's entirely possible that we were," Maddie replies with regards to 'looking for the Seven Ages actors'. Then she lifts a slim shoulder. "Then again, it's entirely possible that the search has been completed. Isn't it?" she pops her brows up higher, lifting her chin as though she were challenging Alexander, before there's a smooth nod to Duncan's air quotes. Eli though, Eli gets a haughty scoff, and she flips some hair over her shoulder. "No. DM's TERRIFICALLY TERRIFYING TOURS!" again with the pops of her hands through the air, the imaginary marquee display, ".. will be touring all over Gray Harbor. There's quite more to this town than just the pond. And I'll have you know that we've sold dozens of tours already. We're a legitimate business," those last two words, legitimate business are spoken with a great deal of firm emphasis, as though she's had to repeat them on several occasions to disbelieving pleebs.

"Why are you doing that?" Alexander says, and it takes clear effort to make it a question and not an angry demand. His stance shifts to something more nervous and defensive, looking back and forth between the two. "Why are you saying my name like it isn't my name? I don't like it." His head ducks and he gives them long looks. "Please stop." He rubs at his chin while Maddie explains to Eli the TERRIFIC AND TERRIFYING LEGITIMATE BUSINESS they have going on. He sort of edges back towards Eli, especially when the other man starts to move away. Giving him a sidelong look like, you wouldn't leave me here with them, would you? But he just can resist asking, "...have you done any research for these, uh, tours? Or are you just sort of making it up as you go along?"

"You tell me!" Duncan does not make the same effort back at Alexander; he is very clearly making this an angry demand, and - since he already has his hand out of his pocket - he shakes his finger at Alexander to underscore his point, here. "Why are we saying your name like it isn't your name. Could it be - could it just maybe possibly be because we are on to you." The pointing finger swirls upward, taps the side of his nose, then finally goes back into his pocket where it belongs and can do no more harm. With a hint of sulkiness, he tacks on after Eli's observation, "You dunno that, it's been my experience that people're eager to have the crap scared out of them by professional terrifying tour guides. Buy a ticket, put your money where your mouth is."

Eli doesn't seem like he's going to abandon Alexander. Yet. He stays where he is rooted and doesn't move away when the other man shifts in his direction. "It does make it sound more legitimate when you have to point out that it's legitimate." He offers evenly and shakes his head just a fraction in Duncan's direction. "I've lived in this town my entire life, sir. I know well enough to be terrified of the place without a professional guide to shine light upon it all." Of course, Alexander's question gets a small frown from Eli, looking toward Maddie as he expects she'll answer. "Too much truth from around here might be a bit too much for the average tourist." However he feels about the side conversation of whether or not Alexander is really Alexander isn't clear, as he doesn't weigh in on that.

"Now now, enough with the theatrics, Duncan," says the actress. Maddie's dark brown gaze settles momentarily on Duncan - and she gives him a dazzling smile - before her expression flattens once more in Alexander's direction. "I'm certain that Alexander Clayton is a respectable individual," the statement is made as though this 'Alexander Clayton' person wasn't in the room, and she was just talking about some stranger. Which may explain why she frowns, FROWNS!, at this Alexander Clayton. "Shame on you," she wags her finger at him, then sniffs as she looks back to Eli and straightens. "There's truth and then there is the truth," she points out unhelpfully, before shifting into the satchel that lays at her hip that has been there the whole time. From within, she retrieves a couple of pieces of plain copy paper, upon which have been drawn some FANTASTIC images of ghosts and a camper in crayon. Across the bottom is written 'DM'S TERRIFICALLY TERRIFYING TOURS!' and in smaller letters below, 'guaranteed to scare the bejesus out of you! Appointments required, text xxx-xxx-xxxx'. Each picture is subtly different form the other, considering it's hand drawn. She holds out the 'fliers' to both Eli and Alexander. "I suggest you see for yourselves. Book now! Spots are filling up rapidly."

"On to me about what, exactly?" Alexander scowls at the angry demand, his own eyes narrowing and voice sharpening. "My name is my name. Alexander Clayton. It is mine." And then Maddie is waggling her finger at him! Outrage! "Shame on me for what, exactly? What the hell did I do to you people?" His growing agitation doesn't stop him from snatching the offered picture and scowling down at it. And then grunting in another bit of surprise. "This is actually well drawn. For crayon. Ghosts." He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. And says, very carefully, and very slowly, "If you were looking for research assistance on some of the local scary stories, then I might be willing to provide it. In exchange for answers to some questions I have about actors." A pause. "And as long as you stop talking about me like I'm not me. It's unpleasant."

Enough with the theatrics, Duncan. He opens his mouth, starts to unstuff his finger from his pocket, but then closes it and just smiles back at Maddie. He's fine. He just pitches forward a little bit to try to see which copies of his awesome art these two are receiving, and he chimes in helpfully, "Oh, yeah. That's a good one. If you look real close, you can see the Veiltures in the tree on that one." Proud of himself, yep yep yep. Oh, and he tells Alexander, like he's a little confused as to how the guy doesn't know this already, "You're the reason all Jimmy's skin got eaten off. Duh?" He glances at Maddie again, for reassurance that Alexander is obviously a dummy for not already knowing, sheesh.

Eli reaches out to carefully take one of the 'cards', looking down at it and then pushing it into the pocket of his pocket. When Alexander makes his offer to help the pair he gains a look of disbelief from Eli and the man doesn't do much of a job keeping his thought inside. "They don't even believe your name is your name and you're thinking you want to hang out with them more. They're a bit cracked, Alexander." He points out. Maybe that's obvious, but it's still likely pretty rude to say it when they're standing right there. He seems to realize this, his eyes darting between the two in question. Uncertain of the protocol for apologizing about calling people crazy to their faces, he chooses silence.

Look, Maddie's going to address Duncan's accusations and Alexander's offer later. Right now, this little five foot nothing brunette is going to hop right off the picnic table and stomp over to Eli, thrusting her forefinger into his chest. "For someone who's so bright," she sneers, craning her head to stare up into his eyes. It is a long way up for her. "You sure don't know shit. About anything." She gives his chest a few firm prods - poke, POKE! - before she continues on. "This town, what we've got, it's enough to put cracks in even the sturdiest of surfaces. And if you aren't a bit cracked yourself, then you're goddamn broke and scrambled. YOU SIR!" she takes a step back, that finger still poised, pointing accusingly. "Are hereby BANNED from Terrifically Terrifying Tours. Good day." Beat. "I SAY GOOD DAY!"

It's a successful performance.

"It's not a deal-breaker," Alexander mutters, to Eli, with a shrug. "I'm a little cracked. People still want to hang out with me. Sometimes."

He's studying Duncan thoughtfully. "Okay." As if he accepts the possibility that he could have been responsible for the skeleton's skin getting eaten off. "Could you tell me how that happened? So I can make sure--" And then Maddie is being MAGNIFICENTLY angry, and he's blinking at her. "A bit harsh. Maybe. I'm sure he meant...cracked in a nice way? At least give him a chance to apologize?" A sidelong look to Eli. C'mon, make nice with the lunatics. You know you want to.

Giggling, Duncan comments to himself, "Cracked. You haven't seen from cr--" There goes Maddie, and his eyes brighten up terrifically, as much because he thinks she's the greatest thing since sliced bread as because she's cracking all over Eli right now. He even claps a couple times when she says GOOD DAY - then looks around, 'cause did he just fail to read the room? Yes, Duncan, yes, he did. The clapping stops slowly, and he'll just be over here, being quiet now.

Eli actually feels badly. It's written all over his body language. His shoulders fall and he leans back against the attack that comes from Maddie. He raises his hands as if he can ward off her anger and the distress written across his features isn't acting. He's keeping it together about as well as he ever manages too, but doesn't seem too far away from turning to run away again. "Look. Wait, please." He swallows, darting his eyes between the strange pair and finally to Alexander before returning to Maddie. "Um. He's right. I should apologize. I didn't mean that. I just - don't always think about what I'm saying. A bit cracked myself. This place has a way about doing that to people." He lets out a breath. "I'm sorry." He says more firmly. "To both of you." Though this seems a bit more uncertain when he glances toward Duncan. He'd tried to stick him.

There's a quick glance from Maddie to Duncan as he bursts into applause, and there is a very clear struggle that suggests it is taking everything that she is in the moment to not start bowing in response to the clapping. But she flashes him a big smile - it says 'thanks for being my biggest fan!' in the brightness of her eyes - though that brightness immediately turns to HELLFIRE when she glares back to Eli. "You should be," sorry, she means. With a flip of her hair, she turns on her heel and marches back to Duncan, "And you should take care of your cracks before you break open completely. Thus the need for Terrifically Terrifying Tours. Knowledge is power, it pours spackle in the cracks and strengthens your FOUNDATIONS! They can't hurt you if they can't figure out what you're afraid of," is her advice. She flicks a look back to Alexander as she takes hold of Duncan's hand, lacing her fingers with his own. "You can come visit us in the camper. Which is currently beside the Cracker Barrel. They have good breakfast. Also we don't have enough money for gas." Pause. "But we will. Very soon. VERY SOON."

Alexander does his absolute best to act like Duncan's giggling and clapping is a normal part of the conversation, and mostly succeeds, although his lips twitch upwards, and he raises a hand to hide it by wiping his mouth. A glance towards Eli. "See?" he asks, deadpan. "Now we're all friends. Right." Spoiler: They are not all friends. His attention turns back to Maddie and Duncan as she goes to join him, giving both of them at flat stare as he works through some things. "Okay. So you're trying to...strengthen people. By throwing spackle into their cracks. So the things they're really afraid of can't be seen. Okay." He even manages to sound like that makes sense. "I'll come visit. The Cracker Barrel does have good breakfast."

"Well, and also." Duncan swings his now Maddie-laced hand happily while he blabbers about things, nodding along with Alexander's summary before qualifying it. "If you hang around with a bunch of people having their spackle scared out of them," the metaphor is so lost on him, "then Things tend not to notice you as much. In my experience." He's so pleased with himself for having something helpful to contribute that he even adds a magnanimous, "You're all right, guy," to Eli. "We're all friends now, like Keeeeelexander says." LIKE BUTTER.

Eli is relieved that everyone seems to be cool. If he realized in any way that it was Maddie just playing things up, it doesn't show. Instead he focuses in on a bit more of the nuance of the conversation, lips twisting in an ambiguous expression while he tries to piece together some of what everyone is saying. "That sounds a bit like surrounding yourself with more people lessens the chance that you'll take a bullet when someone shoots into the crowd. What I'd like to learn more about is how not to be shot at in the first place." He shifts his gaze toward Alexander. "Though, I guess improving your odds is better than nothing at all."

"Well, yes, but.." Maddie flounders just a bit when Duncan makes his contribution to the conversation, giving his hand a bit of a squeeze as he swings hers. "I mean, that's not entirely the purpose. Not anymore, remember?" There's a look to Duncan, a careful one, her smile sweet for him. She even gives him a smooch on the cheek at his smooth-as-butter save. MWAH! Then it's back to Eli and Alexander. "It's entirely different now," their purpose, presumably. "Little lights in the darkness, that's what we have to be. If you overcome your fears, if you have history and understanding, you can't be scared."

It's like it is impossible for all four in this combination of people to be cool at the same time. "Don't do that," Alexander snaps at Duncan. All trace of amusement wiped away, his hands curling at his sides into fists. But only briefly, before he relaxes in a deliberate sort of fashion. "Judas goats don't fare well here." Is it a threat? It might be a threat. Eli's and Maddie's contributions only relax him a little more, as he studies them both in turn, lingering on Maddie for a long moment, lips pressed flat. "Okay." Okay what? He doesn't say. Just continues to stare. Like a creeper.

Leaning toward the careful look and the sweet smile, Duncan takes his time getting there, his brows deeply furrowed while he tries to divine Maddie's intentions then, "Oh! Right! Right. That's not entirely the purpose anymore." Having been mwahed, he flashes his winningest smile among the assembled, though it slips right out of place, and he's left with his hollow expression that fails to light his eyes in answer to Alexander's goats-and-staring. "Uhhhhhhm, so yeah. There's nothing you can do about that," he tells Eli, so incapable of dealing with Alexander that his only solution is to develop a sudden blind-spot. "Or whatever Maddie said about overcoming your fears, that sounds good, you should try that."

"That's easier said than done when your fears fight back." Eli points out in a surprisingly mild voice. Sometimes things are easier to talk about than others - and nothing seems all that threatening right now, aside from Duncan's stick. "Not that after this many years of living here do I think that anything is supposed to be easy. Will your Timid Talking Tours teach us how we're supposed to deal with very real demons? I always thought they'd be much more personal battles and not something you could just share amongst the people." He doesn't sound terribly convinced that Maddie and Duncan have much to offer by way of help. And perhaps at best that they'll make things even worse.

"Don't call him that," Maddie doesn't lose her shit, but the defense of Duncan is for real. "His name is Duncan and he's not a goat. He's a good man," she narrows her eyes into thin slits at Alexander, taking just a tiny step forward and to the side, like she's blocking Duncan from all the judgey judge eyes that Alexander has. "And like it or not? He has a point. Martyrdom is great on the surface but it's never just you they take bites of. It's your mother, your best friend, your boyfriend.." her bottom lip trembles ever-so-subtly. There's no point in rolling, she's a perfect actress, though it is hard to discern whether or not this is actually an act at all. "If you could guarantee the protection of those you love most, you can't tell me you wouldn't at least try. If you do, you're only lying to yourself, and it's not okay to lie to yourself." She absolutely ignores Eli, and just rolls her eyes.

Alexander's judgey judge eyes shift to Maddie, and he narrows his to meet her stare, in turn. But as she speaks, he frowns, shoulders hunching, and eventually his gaze falls away to one side. It's a nice pond, despite the bodies that are probably somewhere at the bottom, so he's just gonna stare at it for a while. "You can't guarantee anything if it's bought by sacrificing others. What's to stop them from just eating what you leave out for them, and then taking a chunk out of you or yours, too, the moment they decide they want to? What are you going to do? Stop, when you know it can get so much worse?" He shakes his head. "Gives them all the power. Don't do it." It's less a threat, this time, something sorrowful to it, instead. His eyes shift back towards Eli, and he gives the man a nod. "Have to learn how to deal with it on our own terms, not theirs. Not just hoping they'll be nice to us if we hurt others for them."

Will their tours teach things? "No?" Duncan is so perplexed now, and relaxes his confusion by laughing dimly. "I don't know what kinda tours you've been taking, but," more nervous chuckling, "I never took a tour that teaches you how to fight with demons. Right, guys? Tours that teach you to - " Hahaha, this is so ludicrous, and he's in the middle of looking to Maddie and Alexander for support when they have their back-and-forth. Sadly resigned, he puffs out a sigh. "Okay well, when you guys become skeletons, just don't expect Maddie and me to adopt you guys. We kind of have our hands full already with Jimmy."

Eli just ... closes his mouth. He doesn't do a very good job of hiding the frustration on his face, but is pretty well convinced that asking more questions just confuses matters even more. He follows Alexander's gaze out toward the pond for a few moments before returning them to the group and giving a slight nod at Alexander's statement. "Seems like making deals would be ill advised." He finally says quietly.

Maddie snorts a tiny bit of laughter for Duncan's sake, an encouraging squeeze offered to his hand as if to say, don't worry! Maddie thinks you're hilarious, it's just SRS BIDNESS right now. The look she gives Alexander is something of a challenge, but also as though she may be seeing him in a different light, considering him for a long while. "You speak as if from experience. As though you have .... seen the light." It makes her frown, and she shakes her head. "I'll not be fooled. You will come to the camper, and we'll see who you really are." To Eli, she tips a look next, narrowing her eyes. "You are still banned. But maybe not for life."

Alexander's head cocks to one side, and his dark eyes flick back to Duncan. "It's alright," he says, with the slightest hint of a smile, "I understand that I have lost my skeleton travel buddy privileges, and will act accordingly." He seems to take heart, or perhaps just strength, from Eli's little nod - these two are enough to make one question one's grip on reality, especially if it's not already pretty tight. There's a warmer smile and a nod in return to him, before he turns back to Maddie. Considering her in turn. "All right." He lifts the ad for the tours. "I'll call the number? When it's convenient."

Confused Duncan is looking at Eli, head tipped, and wondering aloud, "What instrument do you play?" There's a homonym for the word 'banned' that makes his confusion make perfect sense, just so everyone knows. With this mystery plaguing him, he starts walking off, forgetting that he still has Maddie's hand and so she's going to be forced to walk off, too. "You know what I don't know how to do? Tie a noose. We're gonna have to find someone that does, because I can't just ask Siri how to do it on account of all the lists." Listen, he makes perfect sense to himself.

Duncan uses 'perfect sense' one more time, just for good measure.

"I'm sure I'll find another way to fill my evenings. Let me know if you change your mind." Eli says, blinking toward Maddie when it's determined that he's still not to come to their little dramas. He doesn't seem like he's taking it all that hard. "I'll pass my flier onto someone else so they can take advantage, though." He promises. He swings his eyes around the group once more and finally remembers how to move his feet. "I should keep walking. I wasn't planning to be out so long. Good to see everyone again." He says with flatlined politeness. Before he turns to move off he catches Alexander's eyes. "Take care of yourself, Alexander." He offers this with more sincerity. Then he makes his way forward.

Eli's not taking that piece of paper ANYWHERE. As Maddie gets pulled away by Duncan, the little piece of copy paper tugs right out of his hands and flies across the air to Maddie, who snatches it with an accomplished sniff. "See you around!" she calls to the pair.

"That will definitely get you on all the lists, Duncan," Alexander murmurs. "Try the library. I believe they have books on knots." Why is he HELPING? Because he makes poor life decisions, that's why. A smile at Eli. "You, too. We should," a long pause, "get coffee? Sometime. If you want." And then the paper is flying out of Eli's hand and he's twitching away. A frown at Maddie and Duncan. "Rude." Just that. He turns and walks away, going in a different direction from the others. Good thing there are so many directions, or this would be awkward. More awkward.

Duncan and Maddie wander off to learn to tie nooses. Like you do~.