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 Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:17 am
Genevieve Dulac was certain she would die that evening. There were a number of ways she could pass, both natural and unnatural. To distract herself, she began to list them in her head.
For the natural ways she had listed: She could of boredom. She could die of irritation. She could die of infection. She could die of smoke inhalation. She could die of old age. She could die of heatstroke.
For unnatural ways she had listed murder and all the forms it could take in this instance: Someone could shoot her. Someone could shove her in a washer (or dryer). Someone could shove bleach down her throat. Someone could slit her throat with a razor. Someone could beat her to death (Let's not go there, her mind said). Someone could stab her.
The problem was, really, that there's very little to occupy one's mind when waiting for one's laundry to finish washing at a laundromat. Genevieve's washing machine had broken down that morning leaving her clothing half-washed and stiff with detergent and forcing her to use the dingy little laundromat a few streets over.
Genevieve had never been to a laundromat in her life, and she could understand how authors often had their serial killers pick their victims at them. There were only two other people in the laundromat with her at the moment.
One was an extremely large woman who might have been booked as the Fat Lady in Barnum and Bailey's Circus before they went politically correct and decided to call that position the McDonalds' Biggest Fan. Flies had landed on her lips and her breathing didn't even distend them. Genevieve doubted that she was breathing. She could be dead.
The other one was a tall, skinny man with a huge adam's apple and stringy, greasy hair which was a shade between yellow and black, cut in a mullet. He had a magazine which he was reading with one hand. His other hand kept twitching in the direction of his pants. When he caught Genevieve staring he leered and flashed her a look at his magazine. Predictably, it was pornographic.
Genevieve returned to examining her feet. Dragul was in her purse burbling unhappily to be let out. Genevieve would have let her out because she was certain that the little creature would have enjoyed this place, but she didn't quite dare in front of the strange man. She wasn't particularly concerned with the moribund mound of a woman.
Relenting a little, Genevieve unzipped her purse and muttered, "Just look. Don't come out."
There were slightly worse than even odds Dragul would listen to her.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:38 pm
"You didn't have to come with me." the voice of a young male said as he walked through the door to the laundromat. His black hair was falling in his face everywhere and with his piercing and red toned eye, made him look rather much like a dramatic emo stereotype.
"I have nothing better to do with myself though." Another male said, though he couldn't actually be seen yet.
"Then stop whining! I have to get this done or there'll be nothing but piles of dirty clothes everywhere. Now hurry up. The sooner we get the clothes done, the sooner we can go back home." The dark replied somewhat childishly. A rather unhappy looking pink creature glided into the room with it's arms crossed over it's chest.
"Better start cleaning then, Birdy." It muttered, revealing itself as the second voice.
"Raeli!! Don't call me Birdy!" The man snapped at the creature unhappily.
The corsea grinned playfully at the man before looking around the room.
"Why here? It's so... depressing." Raeli asked after a few minutes.
"Sorta reminds me of when I was a kid. Jeeze... I don't feel well... Why'd ya have to drag me around in the sun all day?" The man complained brushing his hair back with his fingers, only to have it fall back in his face.
He dropped his back by one of the machines and started putting his clothes in it. "If I die, I'm holding you personally responsible." He muttered, though to who it was directed at was hard to tell, even moreso when he flicked his gaze quickly to Genevieve then to the machine.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:16 am
Genevieve had been hoping to be able to ignore the new people in the laundromat. After all, it was impossible that they could be normal. No one in the laundromat was normal. She had come to the conclusion that laundromats were secret meeting places for freaks and sociopaths. Not so secret, now that she thought about it. She had been told on numerous occasions, but in her righteous indignation she had not bothered to consider the consequences of stomping down the street with a basket full of laundry.
However, something about the two new entrants caught her attention. Perhaps it was that one of them was a screaming shade of pink and that the other really looked like he ought to be in a music video, rather than a laundromat. Only half in jest she looked around for a camera crew. Seeing none, she glanced first at the still sleeping gelatinous mass, and then at the creepy man with the magazine. He hadn't looked up at the arrival of the two newcomers. She didn't really need to look at his arm's pumping motion to figure out why. Some people were truly foul.
She quickly looked away from Magazine Man before he could notice her gaze. There seemed to be an unwritten rule: When at a Laundromat, Thou shalt Not make Eye Contact unless thou art Abnormal. Genevieve was abnormal, she supposed. How many other carried baby goblins around in their purse? Keeping this law in mind, Genevieve tried very hard not to look at the pink newcomer and his pale companion.
Dragul had no such compunctions. She squirmed out of the top of Genevieve's purse, much to Genevieve's dismay, and floated over to the man's pink companion just as the black-haired man said, "If I die, I'm holding you personally responsible."
That was a statement she could agree with, but she was in the unfortunate position of having no one to blame but herself for this one. However, the statement had caused her to look up just in time to see the fair-skinned speaker turn his head to the washing machine.
Dragul, meanwhile, floated onto the washing machine beside his and hovered there, gnawing absent-mindedly on the long, talon-like nails of her middle fingers. She found near her the razor someone else had used to open a container of detergent and replaced her fingernails with it, munching on it contemplatively. The sharp blade didn't seem to faze her, but neither did it seem to cut her.
"You oda udera?" she asked Raeli?
Hearing Dragul's query, Genevieve automatically translated in her head: You older undera? She hadn't really any idea what that meant, particularly the last word, undera, but she might have misunderstood. It was easy to misunderstand Dragul. She doubted that the pink creature would manage it.
"Dragul, don't bother them," she said wearily. There were still two cycles left on her first load, and then a whole other load she hadn't yet started. "Clearly their day is going no better than mine, and they surely don't need your help with their laundry."
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:47 am
Raeli frowned at the younger creature and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll have you know I grew past undera long ago. I-"
"Raeli!! Don't be such a pain! It's no wonder you don't make friends easily." The man snapped throwing a dirty sock at him.
The creature looked up at him and smiled. "I have friends. But I spose you're right... Birdy..." he muttered looking back at the undera chewing on the razor. "I'm a corsea."
"Goo-wait! What?! I told you not to call me Birdy!!" The man started and ended up desperately trying to defend himself. He turned to Genevieve again and smiled. "She'll be alright. I haven't seen you here before. This you're first time? Not a particularly wise choice." He said running a hand back through his hair. Again it fell back in his face.
He jumped all of a sudden when something landed on his shoulder. It was the sock he threw earlier. He chuckled at himself before tossing it into the machine with his other clothes. "My name's Finch. Mind if I ask what your's is?" he asked before turning the washing machine on.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:33 am
Dragul, nonplussed by Raeli's apparent disdain, repeated, "Co'sea. See. I a'ight Jah'ee-eh. Burdee say so." The plosive B sound was accompanied by a great deal of expectoration, though fortunately none hit anyone. "I goo f'en."
Genevieve lowered her eyes. It would, of course, be obvious that she was not familiar with laundromats to anyone who was. Still, for whatever reason, she was embarrassed. That was patently ridiculous. She made herself look up.
"Yeah. First time. My washing machine broke halfway through a load. As for my choice of location..." She looked around. "It's near my house."
She strangled a giggle as she realized that she was speaking to another person who had received an orb from the Goblin King. Perhaps the society was not so small as she had once supposed. It was a heartening thought. More so when she saw that Dragul would not remain as she was forever. Fond though she was of the little thing - and undera, apparently Dragul was - she hoped that Dragul might outgrow her speech impediment.
"Oh, and I don't mind at all. My name's Genevieve. Pardon my asking, but is Finch your given name? It seems a bit...avian for a humanoid being."
She had no way of knowing, of course, that Finch was not exactly human, and meant in no way to imply that she might have such knowledge, as she didn't have it and didn't even know that it existed to have and so could not even pretend to have it. She had simply said humanoid being because it was what came to mind and it fit better with the avian descriptor than plain old human would have done.
Dragul continued to stare brazenly at Raeli through her swamp-colored eyes. She clearly found the corsea fascinating, and Genevieve wouldn't begrudge her that. Between his coloration, his antler-like horns, and the fact that he had neither legs nor feet he was a bit unusual looking. Of course, Dragul also lacked legs and feet, but Dragul was also considerably smaller.
I finally got around to looking at Raeli's journal to see what I was RPing with. Okay then. Fun.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 5:05 am
Raeli blinked and frowned at the undera looking at him funny. "I'm sure you are..." he muttered suddenly cracking into a grin. He was clearly amused by the strange little creature. "You're odd, you know that? Then again... most are... Do you have lots of friends?" He asked the goblin undera curiously.
"Oh no! Raeli, look what you've taught her! Seriously are you trying to turn the whole underground population against me, just to annoy me?" Finch said with a childish pout. "Near you're house, huh? I'd probably try somewhere different next time. The regulars here are less than pleasant." He said to Genevieve with a smile on his face again.
"Your name's pretty. I haven't heard it in such a long time... Finch is my given name, yes. I have no idea where it came from other than my grandfather. I do know, however that I wasn't named after the bird species." he explained after a few brief seconds thinking about his name and it's origin. "I guess I'll never know how the name came about." He added wondering if she was aware of the fact he wasn't normal.
He felt a little awkward after that. Here he was in this dingy little place, telling some stranger about himself. For all he knew she could be a hunter. He'd been careless and was mentally kicking himself for it. But then, the fact she was caring for one of the Goblin King's creature comforted him slightly. He wasn't sure why, but it did. "So... how long have you..." He started asking nodding slightly to the undera, "You know, been caring for her...?"
[[I thought I recognized Dragul's name. xD -has just checked her journal- I couldn't remember who you'd assigned Genevieve too.]]
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:19 am
Dragul grinned wickedly. She did that a lot, actually, and it rarely had anything to do with her feeling wicked. She just liked to grin wickedly.
"Oh, yeh. Lassa f'ens. I wery odd, yeh. I' fun-abee odd. You wery pint. Ashally. No. Nah lassa f'ens. Jawee-eh, A'droo, Mmmmomm. I meh udder udera though wuns."
As she explained that she had lots of friends and agreed that she was odd, Dragul looked truly wicked, as though she had just gotten away with something supremely bad. Then she corrected herself and was more honest, and then her expression and tone changed. She looked thoughtful and explained honestly that she was friends with Genevieve, Andrew, and Genevieve's mom, but that she had once met other undera.
Genevieve paid little mind to Dragul's conversation. She figured that she'd be getting an earful of it on the way home. Dragul liked to talk and took a great deal of glee in describing every encounter she had to Genevieve, whether it was with a cricket in the yard or with a corsea. Everything was an event worthy of an epic-length description, complete with meandering, wandering, and sometimes even lost points.
"Dragul? She's been with me for some time. Since before Christmas. What about...Raeli?" She hoped she had pronounced the corsea's name correctly. "How long have you two been together?"
"And I'd noticed that about the regulars," Genevieve added with a smile. "I'm not particularly worried for the moment. You're not going to bite me or anything, I hope."
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:08 am
Raeli chuckled and shook his head. "I think you may need to get you're story straight." He muttered ruffling the undera's hair. She was an amusing little character for someone of a younger age. "Do you change you mind like that a lot, or was it a once only thing?" He asked having noted the change of expression and tone as well.
"B-bite you? What in Heaven's name are you talking about? If I was to attack you, I'd do it properly. With like a knife or something." Finch chuckled shaking his head, "Do I look like I'm a psycho or have rabies or something? I can't actually remember how long exactly. A long time. I think it was... October or something when his first care-taker passed the responsibility on to me. She had to leave, see and couldn't take him with." He explained with an odd look while he tried to remember when it was. "It was before Christmas, that's all I really know for sure." He said with a slight shrug, giving up on his clearly unreliable memory.
Finch was loosened again, though his senses were all alert. Could the fact she mentioned him biting her just be a coincidence? He hoped so for the sake of the two creature having their own little discussion nearby.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:29 am
Genevieve's mind immediately back-pedaled and she wished she could do the same with her words. Obviously she had said something wrong. The idea of him biting her had clearly distressed Finch. She had been joking.
"I didn't know you could do that. Pass one of these off on someone else, that is. I think if I tried, Dragul would find a way back."
She was correct on that count. The little undera was fiercely loyal to Genevieve, even if she couldn't say her name properly. She did try. If Genevieve ever tried to get rid of her, Dragul would be deeply wounded and think she had done something very wrong and would keep coming back in abject contrition.
Dragul had no idea what Genevieve was discussing with Raeli's pale companion, however, or she might have grown very distressed indeed. Instead she just enjoyed having her neon hair ruffled. Hardly anyone did that, and she liked it.
"I change my mind loss, bu' da' wus a wuns-on'ee sin'. You ha' lassa f'ens?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:58 am
"I think it was only possible because his original owner was rarely around and at the time we were living together. He always seemed more attached to me, even before the transfer." He agreed with a nod and some thought, "Perhaps that was intended, but I don't really know for sure. Raeli could easily find his way back, no matter where I was. In-built tracking devices or something."
He glanced down at his remaining pile of clothes and let out a faint sigh. He still had half a load to go after the one that was currently in the machine. "You think it'd be easier to use two at once?" He asked aloud to no one in particular.
Raeli thought for a second before giving a slight shrug. "I dunno if you'd say a lot. I'd like to have more than I do, but it's not always something you can help when you're living with someone like Birdy." He said biting on his bottom lip for a second. "We can't really go out a lot during the day, which is when most people are around."
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:13 am
"That would make sense," Genevieve agreed, relieved to be in safer territory.
"Do you know much about these things? I live in near-total ignorance as to Dragul's origins and all that. It can be very frustrating. Particularly when she gets in her strange moods. All I can assume is that they come from another world."
She still felt odd discussing such things, whether in public or in private, with other people. It had been awkward enough with Andrew, whom she had known relatively well - she thought - and he had finally taken pity on her and ceased to ask, but to talk about other worlds with a total stranger...Well, obviously she was doing it and managing relatively well.
"How sad. You canna go ow inna day? Bu' is day nah. Why you ow nah? Burdee no like day?"
Dragul's conversation was very rapid and excited, for she was genuinely curious.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:32 am
Finch seemed to snap out of a trance as if only just realising that he'd spoken aloud before. "Umm... I think they come from an underground world of sorts. I been there a few time on special occasions... Though I can't exactly say how you get there, because I can never really remember. It's a strange place though. Filled with creatures both alike and different from them. What kind of strange moods does she get into?" He asked curiously. He couldn't recall seeing any other undera getting into strange moods, or maybe he just never really noticed.
"Well, he's special. Birdy gets sick if he's in the sun too long and usually sleeps at day time so he can be healthy and active at night. He also says that the sun light hurts his eyes a lot because he's not used to such bright colours and things. I can't really say if he does or doesn't like daytime, because I haven't ever asked him which he preferred." The corsea explained trying not to give any hints away as to why the vampire was so light sensitive.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:49 am
"You've been there? Really? What's it like?"
Despite the fact that she was a legal adult and had been for several months, Genevieve had a difficult time keeping the childlike enthusiasm from her voice. She didn't really succeed at it any better than she succeeded in stopping her eyes from widening at the prospect. She had not been given much to flights of fancy once her mother got sick, but all her old habits of imagining came back at once with the introduction of another world.
"As to strange moods, they're not really strange, just different from her usual. Sometimes she gets melancholy sometimes and she eats oddly, though I know from talking to Jay that not all of the Goblin King's gifts have odd eating habits. Sometimes she tells stories that I've never heard before and I don't know if she makes them up or what. I ask and she says she remembers them."
Genevieve shrugged. She was less comfortable talking about Dragul's oddities. Other than the fact that she was from another world, Dragul wasn't much odder than one would expect most of the time. Certainly she was much less complicated than many of the people Genevieve knew, especially Andrew. That didn't even bear thinking about right now, though.
Dragul, oblivious to the fact that she had been under discussion briefly, listened intently to Raeli. She had never heard of the sun making people sick before, but she, herself, preferred dim lighting and dampness.
"Mebbe I g'ow-uppabbee like Burdee. Sun huts my eyes too alotalot. I dun ge' sick though. You b'ight. You hut Burdeez eyes?"
She no longer spoke rapidly, instead trying to reason. Reasoning did not come naturally to her as a young thing or as a goblin, but she tried anyway. It seemed wrong to her that a person would be made sick by being in the sun too long.
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:46 pm
"Well... I've only really been to celebrations the Goblin King holds... like balls and things. Outside of the ballroom is still quite a mystery to me, but I know it's a lot different from here. It's like... full of magic or something." Finch explained with a shrug. He didn't really know how to describe such an atmosphere.
"Hm... Perhaps her eating habits have something to do with her species? A friend of mine has one that barely eats anything at all... I don't even know if she does eat. As for remembering stories... perhaps there is more to this whole situation than anybody really knows? Maybe they weren't orbs to start with and they had whole other lives beforehand?" he thought out loud. This conversation was really starting to get him thinking. He didn't really know a lot about the underground and it inhabitants and was curious to know more.
"I don't think I do. I don't really know. I've never asked. He hasn't ever shown any problems so I assume not. I doubt you'd grow up to be like him though. He's a special case. He's kind of... got a sickness when he was younger and as a result the sun makes him feel sick." Raeli said with the shake of his head. He smiled and ruffled the undera's hair again. "I hope the sun won't make you sick. It'd not be very nice to live with."
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:57 am
Genevieve listened intently, but she could tell that Finch's experiences, while more than her own, were limited. Still...magic. That was promising.
"That's what I figured, too," she said. "About her eating habits, that is. I mean, I can't imagine that most sorts of creatures can derive any nutrition from buttons and razors and such. With the stories...who knows? I think it might even be that they once had lives, before they were orbs."
The thought had not occurred to her before, but it did make sense. After a fashion. Whomever this Goblin King was, he must be powerful to do something like this.
"But, I wonder, why would the Goblin King bother? And what's he like? Did you meet him?"
Any girl will ask that about royalty. It's ingrained. Genevieve was no exception. Deep down, she wanted to be a princess. She was simply too practical to let that part of her subconscious desires ever come to the light. It would hurt entirely too much.
"Burdee sick? Iss too ba'. Sun na' make me sick. Someti'es i' makes my head hut though. Iffai lookka i' fo' a lotta time. Eyes hut an' head huts an' dun' see goo'. Someti'es i' makes me ss-nee-zz."
The word sneeze was difficult for Dragul, but the more she spoke, it seemed, the easier it was for her. That's not to say she was much more understandable, but she fell into more normal syntax and cadences when she held prolonged conversations because she would pick up on the speech patterns of whomever she was with.
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