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 Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:55 pm
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The Wonderland dream clung to her more than she liked. Normally Piper was much better about not letting things phase her, like stupid clones and burnt class credit cookies and feelings, but that? That just seemed to want to keep ahold of her for a lot longer than anticipated.
It was worse than when her hair got a case of static electricity.
Still, it was easier to forget if she threw herself into her schedule again: classes to attempt caring for, homework to neglect, jogging at the gym . . . At least they weren't gone long. Her minipets seemed just fine, if a little ruffled from being out of her care for a day, nothing else had really been disturbed . . . And now she had a mission: figure out who the hell Big and Blight were. It didn't help that one, in hindsight, was familiar--well it did since it meant she'd hopefully recognize him on sight, but it was really annoying to have something on the tip of her tongue for that long. As for the other, at least she had a name.
Ignatius. Who the hell named their fool kid something like Ignatius?
Anyway. Time to get some fresh air and cash in some slave time! Making sure the lovelies had some treats, Piper headed out the door and pulled out her phone.
Smerdle Text to Brenleyyooooooo b ren u busy cuz i got a sotry u wanna hear
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:17 pm
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After waking up to the shocking boom of open house fireworks, Brenley had remained in his room for several days, soaking in the solitude he needed to balance his discomfort. It was always physically tiring mingling with so many people, and although he'd technically been dreaming, he'd had to interact with those puppets for what felt like days on end this time. Even when he had deemed himself ready to face his peers once more, he'd continued to remain indoors instead, oddly captivated by the mobile phone he'd largely neglected since his mother had purchased it for him before school began. He tried not to think about how much it reminded him of his Pocket Card. He tried not to think about Wonderland at all, but it was pretty much all he could think about.
When Piper's text buzzed him out of his spookie clicking trance, Bren's first impulse was to slide the phone under a pile of papers on his desk. Where he'd merely felt a strange mix of contentment and anticipation at the thought of seeing her before, he now felt like hiding under a rock as well. So many memories shared inadvertently... It was all very embarrassing.
It took him a little more than a minute to realize that he was simply too curious to let a bit of horrifying shame keep him from seeing her or, for that matter, making good on his promise. He hadn't forgotten that he had lost their spar, and he still had... well... slaving to do.
He retrieved the phone from under the schoolwork mountain, flipping to the window her text was in and tapping out a quick but neat:
Ol-j-man Text to PiperNo, not busy. I'll come outside.
Bren then pulled on his shoes, ran a comb through his hair, and ventured downstairs.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:41 pm
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Smerdle Text to Brenley:kkkkk im under the big weeping willow cutie wink
Just to see if he reacted.
She was lounging, more like. It was slowly starting to get hotter in Halloween, which was a great excuse to stop wearing her heavy coats, shed a few layers, and pretend it was the middle of the year and somewhere warm. Like a beach. Damn, she hadn't had toes in the sand since forever . . . Maybe it was time to visit the fam again, see if she couldn't convince them that she had been good enough (read: managed to get to second year) for a little reward.
No more heavy coats when possible, she decided. It reminded her too much of that caterpillar class, even if they did get some swank wings and armor from it--hence her usual skin-showing attire for the day. She missed the feeling of an extra pair of limbs, though, as she leaned against the trunk of the weeping willow, rubbing her back against it with a wistful sigh. No flying there either. Man that place sucked when she really thought about it.
Tucking her hands behind her head, Piper decided to pass the time by singing what he could of Katy Scary's "Dark Horse", because it wasn't going to do to be bummed by the Wonderland stuff before Brenley got there.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:07 pm
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He did react to her text, possibly even in the way she might have wanted, but thankfully he was probably still too far away for her to see his faint, twitchy-lipped grin. Bren was largely expressionless by the time he reached the tree, and the tinge of color creeping back down his shirt's collar could have conceivably been caused by him simply being in a hurry.
At the faint sound of her singing, the boil slowed down, both not wanting to interrupt and curious to hear more. Bren wasn't familiar with the song, nor could he recall having ever heard her sing before. He reached her lounging spot and leaned over it in such a way that he would have blocked her sun had she not already been in the shade.
"Cutie?" he asked, moving on quickly when he felt his cheeks begin to go pink again. "I suppose it's better than... many other things you might have called me." Bren stood up straight, clasping his hands behind his back. "I heard you singing. It's nice." He swallowed. "So, um, you said you had a story. Or a 'sotry' really, but I assumed..." Best greeting ever.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 9:19 pm
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Hmph. "It's better than nice, bet slave, it's damn awesome. Get it right."
Piper winked, pleased she had an effect. "So, what, you don't like B-Ren?" she teased. "B-Meister? B-Diggy-D? Bureneleeeee~ Maybe while you're my servant, I should give you a fancier name. How's Bootler sound to you? Or maybe Fancypants! Or Thesaurus--yeah I looked that s**t up, who's smart now?"
She cracked herself up.
"Jack, Bren, sit down and quit acting so cute." Piper stopped reclining so lazily herself, brushing bark out of her hair carefully. "And smartassy," she added with a little look. "Yeah, I got a story. You get a funky dream, too? Like 'Welcome to Wonderland, hey have some fun in this game by the way we can murder you and replace you, also queens' bullshit kind of thing?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:45 am
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"All right. Better than nice," he agreed with a nod. He had seen the sort of future his unconscious mind had mapped out for her even before he had actually heard her sing. Surely he could concede that she had skill without seeming too complimentary. The lonely, pathetic personal futures he had created for himself made him want to keep his distance, to get away from the friends who would leave him behind, but even at his most self-defeating he realized severing ties would only bring about those futures more quickly.
Brenley took a seat nearby, growing more and more comically disturbed at each new nickname she rattled off. He was saved from further comment, however, by her questions regarding Wonderland.
"Yes," he replied quickly. He had hoped that she would come to see on her own that he had been there with her for large parts of their dream just so that he wouldn't have to be the one to tell her. Confronted with it now he stalled, glancing away as she looked at him. "I had it as well. We probably saw a lot of the same things." He turned to face her again, ready to admit that he had been... Biggie... but he could only let out a thoughtful hm when he realized he couldn't recall the phrase they had agreed to use to identify each other. He wished that forgetfulness extended to some of the other experiences he'd had there.
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:05 pm
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Her squinting continued as Brenley spoke, then a little longer after. Obvious, he said. She was obvious. And he decided just to let her go around without one word about who he was. Maybe it wouldn't be as big of a deal as it felt right now in two weeks, but Piper was stung by the revelation that he tried to keep a secret from her.
"I thought you were familiar in there. So, what, you thought it'd be cool t'trick me or somethin'?" she asked, a scowl starting to form. "Not cool at all, Bren." In hindsight, it should have been obvious to her who Big was, even down to his username. But, as her memories liked reminding her, why would she ever be that smart?
Piper crossed her arms. "I'll give you points for tryina drink with me at the tavern," she grumbled. "Didn't think you'd have the balls for that. Why didn't you tell me, huh? I would've liked to know I actually knew someone in that crazy a** place."
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 9:18 pm
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"No, Piper. I didn't want to trick you, exactly. I didn't set out to deceive you." Bren looked at her for a long moment, lips pressed together as he carefully chose his next words. Even with some thought behind them, they were still rather pathetic. "I felt... cool not telling you. Like a spy or something. Or a different person." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't tell anyone I said that. Or if you're going to, let me know who you've told so I can stay far away from them forever." He looked away into the trees, muttering almost to himself. "It sounds absolutely absurd when I say it out loud."
The boil turned back a short time later, slightly more composed. "The thing is... it worked. I did have some... Okay. I don't think I actually want to discuss my figurative genitalia, but... um... I felt more confident. And if it makes you feel any better, I think I guessed who Ruth was too. I'm pretty good at puzzles." The corners of his mouth shifted slightly upward. "I hope you didn't feel too alone anyway, with Big and Blight there when everything got... weird?"
Ol-j-man seriously how much can he talk this whole post is eye searing
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:08 pm
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She had to take a moment to get this straight. So Brenley had kept his identity secret because he felt . . . cooler as a mysterious stranger. Piper didn't actually know how to take that news, because on the one hand that was actually kind of cute (and because a more confident Brenley did make things interesting, in hindsight), but on the other she was still supposed to be mad at him for all but lying or omitting the truth or whatever that phrase was for this.
She settled for continuing to make faces at him.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you're such a smarty pants cool guy," she grumbled, lightly shoving him with her foot. "'Cept really you're just a nerrrrrrd. How about cluing me in next time, Werelock Holmes? Not all of us have brains zombies dream of." It was an unstated fact at this point of how little she used her critical thinking skills, but comparing them to his was just begging for a bad time.
Then something occurred to her.
"Weird, yeah, like with all those runaround memories n' stuff . . . D'ja catch any of mine?" Piper asked with far too casual a tone.
Smerdle shhhhhhhhhh /touches gently <3
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 4:56 pm
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"Hm," he murmured, clearly pleased by what he chose to take as several compliments on his mental faculties. Judging by her sour face, they weren't, but her words were still gratifying. That was, until she mentioned the memories she'd inadvertently shared and he began to recall his own. Everyone had grown away from him. Left him. He had to assume that his personality had something to do with that. "I really am sorry," he added. "Again."
As far as Piper's memories were concerned, they were largely an out-of-context jumble, though he did recall specific instances of disappointment and triumph over things that he supposed he could understand being disappointed and triumphant over. He hadn't thought about it much at the time, but if he saw hers, surely she had seen his too.
"I might have," Bren admitted, equally casually. "But those weren't real, right? Some of them, at least?" He knew that a couple of his hadn't been all that factual, but, to be honest, his phony futures had probably been more embarrassing than the truthful looks into his past. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all.
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Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:46 pm
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The humor dropped from her face faster than a dubstep bassline.
"They were," Piper replied flatly. Suddenly Brenley's little act wasn't so cute. Some of those things had been private moments back in the chaotic final fight, and if he saw them then . . . Shiva, maybe that Blightning guy had too! Maybe others beyond that! s**t!
The mage grew uncharacteristically uncomfortable for a moment, withdrawing her feet and sitting crosslegged, almost seeming sheepish even. It was one thing to have the queens invade her personal space and her head and completely another to broadcast the process. Worse, they tended to be the kind of memories that didn't show her being the super badass cutie she projected herself to be. And Bren got away without her getting so much as a peek in return. How many had he seen? Which ones? Heck, it didn't matter. She grew huffy and crossed her arms as well, glaring at him like it was his fault for this whole mess.
"You're gonna pretend you didn't see them, bet-slave," Piper instructed. "Any've 'em. My life is my life, thanks, I didn't go all nosey into yours. Hell, I barely know anything about you, and we wrote for, like, what, a while?" She tried to make this out like it was something to be proud of, not prying into his business like that, clearly marking her the better (wo)man.
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:54 pm
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"Yes. No! I won't say anything," he said, remaining perfectly still as she curled in on herself. Though it might have seemed that he was afraid she would bolt if he made any sudden movements, he was actually more concerned that she would hit him if she noticed him right now. "Your secrets are safe... not that I have anyone I would tell. I don't even really know what I saw anyway."
Bren finally risked some movement, unfolding his sleeping legs and making a face as the blood rushed back into them. "I didn't do it on purpose," he muttered. "And if you're feeling so... violated about it, just... ask me whatever you'd like. A memory for a memory. Even though I couldn't tell you exactly how many of yours I shared or how many of mine you did. As you've pointed out, I am your slave. Fair and square." At some point while he had been speaking, his arms had crossed over his chest and his voice had gone sour. He seemed to notice it then, and he glanced at her, loosening his personal embrace and leaning back on his hands with a faint shake of his head.
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 8:46 pm
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Didn't know what he saw, huh? Maybe they only got fragments after all. Maybe she was just getting huffy for no good reason. But Piper's hair remained a little puffed out regardless, if only because Brenley's tone had gotten sour and she didn't like it, plain and simple. She wondered if threatening to beat his sorry a** in a spar again would make him have second thoughts about it, and her mouth parted halfway to vocalize it rather heatedly.
But speaking of second thoughts . . . she supposed he was right. It wasn't like she'd asked to watch that Ignatius kid's stuff about sucky reading skills or whatever either. Her scowl softened, though Piper still said in an embittered tone, "That place really, really, really freakin' sucked," to sum up her thoughts on the matter. As much as she thrived on drama, she wasn't going to stir the post just because she was angry about it. At least not with a friend.
She hoped that term still applied, because going beyond that was still murky and unknown territory with Brenley: a whole new damn Wonderland.
"Sorry," Piper muttered, quickly adding a, "bet-slave," so that it didn't look like she was getting too soft. "I just . . . really, really don't like how it messed with my head n' stuff. Like with all those clones and that 'bot going all 'we can replace you anytime you die just b-t-w'." She shivered a little, keeping her arms crossed. "Some of that stuff I don't like rememberin', y'know? Or even just . . . Ugh, it was so stupid. Sorry."
That one sounded more genuine.
"Look, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to." Maybe Brenley was just as averse to spilling details as she was. "I'm not gonna be, like, 'oh we're not friends 'cause I dunno what your favorite color is' or some s**t. We're still cool."
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