Before 'Eudora.' Own nothing. Please review.

Facilier sat at his stand, shuffling his tarot cards and watching the crowd go by. It had been a week since Odie had kicked him out and he was trying to earn enought to by himself a home. He lifted his necklace up and looked at it foundly.

It was worth it, he thought to himself. out of the corner of his eye he noticed a group of five white men watching him oddly but he paid them no heed. He went back to shuffling his cards and beconning people over to him.

The hours ticked by and by the time he finally decided to pack up he only had three costomers. Getting up, he walked away from his stand. He headed down an alley, looking for a safe place to spend the night. Sensing he wasn't alone, Facilier spun around only to see five people wearing white outfitts with tall white hoods. Feeling uneasy, he stepped back, wishing Odie had told him more about the city before she kicked him out.

"Gentlemen," Facilier said, "how y'all doing?" The began to surround him and he started to feel rather frightened. A blow to the back of the head knocked him to the ground, his vision swimming. His arms were pulled behind his back and bound at the wrists. Rope was tied around his ankles. The men picked him up and carried him to tree, from which a noose was hanging. Facilier started to tremble, realizing their intention. They stood him on the milk crate and slipped the noose around his neck. Facilier swallowed as they tightened the rope around his throat.

"Come on," he said, hoping he could talk his way out of it. "We're all gentlemen here, surely we can work something out." He tested the rope around his wrists and cursed silently to himself. He couldn't aim magic with his hands behind his back. The men looked at him coldly.

"We don't take too kindly to your kind in these parts," one of them said harshly. Facilier could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

"Please?" He begged, panic overtaking him. He choked back a sob. "I'll do anything y'all want, just please!" His pleas fell on deaf ears. One of the men walked over and kick the crate out from under him. He dropped a few inches and the rope tightened around his neck. He struggled, the noose cutting off his air.

Now I know how the gator felt, he thought grimly. He could feel conciousness slipping away. Before he blacked out, the rope was cut. He dropped to the ground, gagging and coughing as his chest expanded to take in air. He looked up and saw what had cut the rope. It was a shadow, which disappearent as suddenly as it had appeared. He swallowed. The shadow hadn't saved him out of the kindness of its heart. Facilier got to his feet and looked around. The other men had left, probably scared off by the shadow. Using his magic, he broke the ropes binding him, then dropped to the ground, curling into a ball and sobbing.

He probably laid there for a good fifteen minutes before he decided to move along. He couldn't go back to the city, the very thought made him want to curl into a ball again and cry. He glanced towards the swamp, an idea coming to him.

Maybe.

Break

The walk to the swamp was worse than he thought it would be. The animals all watched him coldly, remembering what he had done. A few of the gators even lunged at him and he was just barely able to dodge them. Finally, he reached the boat. He climbed the tree and walked into the boat, collapsing to the ground as he closed the door behind him. He sat on the floor, his back against the door, and drew his legs up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around himself and began to cry.

"I thought I told you to leave?" A woman asked. Facilier looked up and saw Mama Odie standing in front of him. He sniffed and wiped the tears off his cheeks, only to have fresh ones replace them.

"C-can I stay?" He asked, his voice cracking. "Please?"

"Go back to the city," she told him coldly. He just shook his head.

"I-I can't," he said. "Please let me stay." She 'looked' him up and down.

"What happened to you, child?" She asked. Facilier shook his head, not wanting to think about what had happened. Sighing, Mama Odie read his mind. He closed his eyes, too distressed to try to fight her out. She left his mind and her features softened immediately. Knealing down besides him, she wrapped her arms around him, taking off his hat and running her hand through his hair, trying to comfort him.

"It's alright child," she said. "They can't hurt you here." He choked back a sob.

"Can I stay?" He asked again. This time, Mama Odie relented.

"Alright," she said. "You can use your old room." He nodded and stood up, walking to his room. He collapsed on the bed, curling into a ball and crying some more. He cried for a good half hour, still shaken by what had happened. He looked up to a hole in his roof and noticed a colection of spoonbills watching him coldly. He swallowed, to frightened to take his eyes off the birds. He knew the animals didn't like him and he knew why. The spoonbills talked amoungst themselves, in a language most would't be able to understand, but Facilier did.

"They should have killed him," one of them said without pity. "He doesn't derserve to live."

"I agree," replied another. "Killing for food is one thing, but killing for pleasure? Dispicable." Facilier curled into a tighter ball as he listened to the birds condemn him. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he stood up and walked to the door. It was locked. She had locked him in. His heart pounded in his chest as he felt suddenly trapped. He fiddled with the knob and cursed, tears streaming down his face. He could feel the birds watching him. Finally, he gained enough control over himself to simply use magic to unlock the door. He left his room, slamming the door behind him, and walked to Odie's room. Cautiously he opened the door and stepped inside. He did a quick mental check to see if she was awake and then he cleared his throat. She sat up and 'looked' at him.

"Why you here?" She asked, startling him with the coldness of her voice. He cleared his throat again, taking off his hat and wringing it nervously. "Well?" He swallowed and asked her something he hadn't in years.

"C-can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked. "Please?" Mama Odie sighed. He may be cruel but he was still her son in a way. She nodded, letting him get in next to her. He curled up next to her and cried on her shoulder. She sighed, hoping it wouldn't continue for too long.

Break

Unfortunately, it lasted all night. Early in the morning he finally fell asleep. Now unable to get to sleep, Odie got out of bed and went to the living room of her boat. She sat down in her chair and sighed. Juju came over and wrapped around her shoulders. She heard someone clear their throat, causing her and Juju to look up. Through Juju's eyes she could see it was Facilier.

"Are you going back to the city now?" She asked him. He paled and looked at the door.

"I don't want to go back," he said pitifully. Again Odie sighed.

"You can't stay here," she said. "Not after what you did." Facilier stared at the door, too frightened to move. He blinked, tears starting to run down his face.

"Don't make me leave," he begged. "They'll kill me."

"They caught you off guard," Mama Odie told him. "That won't happen again." He didn't look convinced.

"Don't make me go, mama," he said, catching her off guard. He hadn't treated her like a mother in years, and he hadn't called her mama in just as long. She sighed again. She couldn't keep him here, but she couldn't make him leave without anywhere to go.

"Juju," she told her snake. "Get me that jar on the top shelf." Juju did as she told him and got her the jar. She opened it and took out a stack of bills, which she handed to Facilier.

"Buy yourself a home," she told him. "It'll give a place to hide when you get scared. You won't have to come here anymore." He looked at the money then back to her.

"Yes ma'am," he said before hesitantly going out the door. Odie watched him leave and sighed, know he probably wouldn't be back.

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