OPEN | prompt one | RAIN

[wrens]

prompt one | R A I N I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain - and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane.

 

Comments

[reactive]

[ She's probably right. That's the upside to this business. Harvick's father's philosophy of business was to sell people what they need. In good times, people will happily spend huge sums buying what they want and pinch every penny for the things they need. But good times never last forever and when the bad times roll around, a person who sells what people need can take them for everything they have, and they'll swear and bargain and curse you, but they'll keep coming too. That's why Harvick's father got into the pharmaceutical business. With water, Harvick likes to think he's done one better.

That's why he smiles, watching her catch water in her hands, acting like what she's said is sort of a joke and knowing that it sort of isn't as well. ]

Provided we ensure there are enough people left over to continue the species.

[shivs]

[ It's a bit like watching a small animal fascinate on a dancing beam of light on a wall, the way Baby Jane watches her own hand fill with water only to tip it out to dribble in a large, satisfying plish plosh, only to right her palm and do it all over again. When she asks her question of Harvick, she doesn't turn, doesn't inflect her voice in a different way. It's an inquiry, same as all the others.

And, just like all the others, she'll listen to whatever Harvick tells her. ]

Is that what we want to do?

[reactive]

[ Since she's thoroughly distracted now -- or as distracted as Baby Jane ever really gets -- Harvick takes the opportunity to drain the last of his water, screwing the cap back on the bottle and setting it aside before getting up to join her by the railing. He doesn't reach out to touch the rain, but he folds his arms against his chest and leans on them in a way that means his elbows get splashed every few moments by a drip coming off the porch roof. ]

It's important to be reasonable about killing people, isn't it? Kill too many, and we start looking like just any other gang of lunatics, and people will start coming only when they're absolutely desperate. Reputation matters. For our purposes, for the moment, it's better to be seen as relatively safe.