"What in Varst is that thing you're eating now?" Vinny asked Tommy as the two of them enjoyed their first meal alone together since they arrived at the Shadowlands. "I think it's bleeding!"
Vinny peered in closer as Tommy took another bite which he chewed with relish.
"It's a vegetable," Tommy answered, sucking down the juice which seemed to burst forth from it as he chewed. "I have absolutely no idea what it is, but the girl who gave it to me really seemed proud of it. That, or she wanted me to have a whole bunch of babies with her and she was convinced that this vegetable would be that magic love potion to win me over." He laughed to himself and added,"She was pretty cute."
"Did you just say, cute?" Vinny asked with a look that bordered between dismay and disgust. "And, if that's a vegetable, that means that you have no meat in your lunch!" He went on, becoming even more animated, "Tommy, I don't think I should have brought you here. The expectations, the constant attention and the sudden changes all seem so...Sudden! And Weird!" Vinny continued to look concerned.
"I know Vinny," Tommy said compassionately,"there are many things that are quite different about me since I died, almost died, rose from the dead, checked out then quickly checked back in, whatever the Bast happened, who knows?" He thought for a moment,"I don't know what to say to you except, thanks for being here for me. I gotta believe that it's all related, the dying, but not really, finding the crystal and the dreams, I just need to figure it all out and I really think that the people here will be able to help me do that; and I have you to thank for bringing me here." Blue wanted to tell Vinny what he knew of the truth but everything was beginning to confuse him a bit so he decided to wait. "You know, Vinny, it's not just about me anymore, and if we believe what Mojahdii and Sansaa have to say about it, it's not just about this world, so whether I just eat vegetables or not seems like small potatoes." He laughed at his own pun and so did Vinny. "But hey," he continued,"it's time to show you my paintings."
When they got to the tent Blue pulled the cover from the paintings with care,"I really appreciate you not peeking at any of these, Vinny, but I feel like I need to show them to you now." As he said this he pulled one of the light wizard paintings from the stack. Vinny's jaw dropped as he fell a little backward, finding a spot to sit down rather than collapsing outright.
"You painted THAT?!" Vinny said in utter disbelief. "I was expecting to see some crappy, scribbled, messy, ugly, awful thing that I'd have to pretend I liked, but that is BEEZLE, Tommy, Bastin' Beezle! I don't know what in Varst it is, but it's Beezle!" Vinny must have said Beezle about a hundred times before Blue managed to show him the half-a-dozen paintings he had done so far. "Bastin Farbunkle, Tommy, what ever happened to you turned you into a damn genius, you could make some serious snark just selling those bastin' things. The next time you get that crystal to show up, let me hold it. I want to hold it, I want to rub it, I want to get into a bathtub and soak with it." Vinny was beside himself with excitement over the paintings Tommy had done. He had no idea that Blue was an amazing artist before he ever became Tommy but even Blue was unable to separate the inspiration which poured forth from within and the talent he had before the transformation.
"We'd better get these over to the meeting, Vinny," he said, not sure how to handle Vinny's enthusiasm. "Can you take the one on canvas while I carry these watercolors?" he asked, hoping to get moving without too much more discussion regarding his abilities as an artist.
"I would be honored," Vinny said, in all sincerity as he helped Tommy out of the tent with the art in hand.
The two brothers from different worlds walked together toward the hut of Mojahdii. As they got closer to the hut Vinny stopped suddenly,"Hey Tommy, what are you going to do about JumpJuice?" It was a legitimate question which Blue was hoping to get an answer to within his dreams or from the people helping him. He wondered what Leer was doing at the moment and whether or not he was able to break free from the dirty business they both seemed to be mixed up in.
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