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“Well, where th’ fuck could he have gone? Its pissin’ down rain out there, and this’s a fuckin’ ghost town!”
An exasperated Victoria turned from the window to stare at the irate Shepherd. “I do not pretend to understand that man’s thought process. But he was being… uncommonly quiet before the rain started. If you are concerned, Mr. Morgan, you could go out searching while the Professor and Inspector decide on what our next stop should be.”
He gazed out the window at the downpour. “…I ain’t got the foggiest idea -where- he coulda gone to…”
“If I may suggest, Mr. Morgan…. You could always just listen for the music. I find that to be a fairly accurate indicator of where Caprice is at any given moment.”
He stared at her for a moment before yanking the outside door open. Sure enough… just barely audible over the rain… the soft noise of a single fiddle playing a plaintive melody could be heard.
“…they are going to be in discussions for a while. I will await your return.”
“What, think ‘m gonna head out an’ get soaked for -him-? Righ’.”
Ten minutes later, a grumbling Shepherd stomped through the mud, following the music that drifted through the air. He was going to shoot that stupid rail-rider, swear to Crossroads…
Rounding another ruined wall, he stopped in his tracks, eyes widening at the sight before him.
Souls. Hundreds of them, of all shapes and sizes, wailed and writhed as they twisted around a familiar figure standing in the middke of a burnt-out building.
Eyes closed, swaying with the music, Caprice played his battered fiddle to an audience of souls, the beautiful melody echoing amongst the desolate town surrounding them.
And, awestruck, the searching Sinner could only stand and watch as the maelstrom of souls grew taller and taller until, with one final note, the music stopped. Like a cord snapping, the souls broke free from the ground, drifting up into the air to gradually disappear into clouds of green smoke that were swallowed by the rain.
There was a satisfied smile on the bard’s face as he turned to walk back, finally spotting his audience. He lit up with a bright grin. “Oh! H-hey there, Shepherd! Didn’t see ya there. Sorry I took so long, that was a lotta lost souls. B-but it’s all good now! Let’s head back.”
Nodding, the Sinner fell into step beside the humming Caprice, eyeing the bard suspiciously. “…don’tcha like havin’ souls around ya?”
The humming stopped abruptly, Caprice turning to gaze at him with uncharacteristically solemn eyes. He gestured to a burnt sign beside the Sinner with a soft “… not these souls.”
Shepherd tilted his head to peer at the ruined sign.
BL…CKWA…ER ORPH…N..GE
“…oh. Yeah, not these souls….”
Once more the grin came out, and Caprice began to lead the way back, whistling a jaunty tune with his tail swinging back and forth in time.
Leading a quietly contemplating Sinner thinking about how there might be more to their whistling bard than it seemed…. And unable to forget that haunting melody that now echoed in his head.