Jude, being very used to dead animals, did not even notice the bird. The life had since drained out of it, rendering it useless for his sort of magic, and the smell was not particularly strong. Smell as a sense was not very high the list of senses. Nausea and fever continued to conduct their background symphony, while the beginning of a dehydration headache began to coalesce. The adrenaline of the accident was fading into a crash of exhaustion.
He wanted a do-over. He wanted to wake up and start at the beginning of his adventure, when he had been mapping which places to go first, and he wished he had put this place at the bottom of his list.
He cracked his eye open again when Near spoke. Stupid to argue, he thought to himself. Stupid to argue with a stupid man. Of course reason was no match for the uninhibited anger of a sick drunk. "You tell yourself that," Jude croaked back. "You're an idiot." He still lacked the smooth presentation of his keepers, the ones who were able to frame magic and monsters and space and time in a way that dissolved resistance, but now he at least conceived of resistance. He had never before known that people could really disbelieve what had always been so manifestly true for him.
Knowing nothing of concussions, the warning was lost on him. "You're so annoying. No wonder you were in that house alone." Because no one wanted to come with him, Jude thought. No one would come even if Near asked. Even the dog ran away once she had the chance.
He wanted a do-over. He wanted to wake up and start at the beginning of his adventure, when he had been mapping which places to go first, and he wished he had put this place at the bottom of his list.
He cracked his eye open again when Near spoke. Stupid to argue, he thought to himself. Stupid to argue with a stupid man. Of course reason was no match for the uninhibited anger of a sick drunk. "You tell yourself that," Jude croaked back. "You're an idiot." He still lacked the smooth presentation of his keepers, the ones who were able to frame magic and monsters and space and time in a way that dissolved resistance, but now he at least conceived of resistance. He had never before known that people could really disbelieve what had always been so manifestly true for him.
Knowing nothing of concussions, the warning was lost on him. "You're so annoying. No wonder you were in that house alone." Because no one wanted to come with him, Jude thought. No one would come even if Near asked. Even the dog ran away once she had the chance.