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She sat back against that table, looking at the array of people around her. From the weird pastel fuck he saw skipping down the road to obviously heavily armored folks to farm hands. It was strange seeing so many people in one place, a tad overwhelming and disorienting. The lights were bright, blinking every so often.
A person stands on the podium as he clears his throat, calling for other attention. He starts to blabber, something about rules, what's waiting on the other side so Miigwen tunes him out, picking at their nails, flicking away some dirt, wishing they had taken that window of time for a shower. Miigwen hears something about missing folks in the area and tries to tune him out, one name slips out of his lips, but the other freezes time.
“Ummm, how do you pronounce this? Something, something Hardy?” His face twists until someone runs up to him, whispering the name into his ear, and Miigwen already knows what name is going to spill from his mouth, “Oh Siqiniq Hardy!”
One voice crawls up his spine. A memory of bad. A photo in his hands, “See that? That's your scapaʔ, and your kayə, then right here next to me, up your bad, is your ʔəpus Siqiniq!”
Over that another voice of a memory plays, Bad showing her his switchblade for the first time, “Now be very careful,” Miigwen jumped back as the blade came swinging out of the handle, carefully Bad handed it to her, “Here's how you hold a knife alright?” He chuckled, “I remembered the time I protected your ʔəpus Siqiniq with this! We were backed into an alley, some bullies were trying to take our lunch money again. Haha! How silly about that now, But there we were surrounded, and I took out this blade! And you can I bet I sent them back to their mommas screaming!”
And another on top of that one, this one on Bads hip, sucking on their thumb, looking at a door, “Get out of here Nanuq. Your lucky sk̓ʷuy and bad aren’t here. With the shit you’ve smeared on the family name, I'm surprised you came back. I don’t care if the disease is at our doorstep, I still wouldn't let you in. It’s another mouth to feed, you and your snotty toddler. Your just another liability.”
Yet another, Bad’s voice trembling, “Make sure if you ever find your ʔəpus, you’ll protect her for me?” As cold metal is pressed into their hands.
A snap.
Miigwens head reels back for a second at the fingers in his face, “Your Miigwen Hardy right? We were calling your name, go stand over there. You know there's someone else here with the last name Hardy,” He laughs, “Maybe your related or something!”
Miigwen stands, making sure to shoulder-check him hard enough that he stumbles back. She mutters something as she moves to stand next to the pastel freak from earlier.
Related?
Related his ass.
For once, she was gonna break Bads rules.