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 Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:21 pm
Her gaze was nothing short of apprehensive, never taking her eyes off of the bike, even as she climbed into the sidecar.
She continued to watch it with horror, her hands death gripping onto Seamus’s legs. There was no way she was going to survive this! She’s lean the wrong way on accident and the bike’d beak in two, her side sliding heedlessly into a wall or off a sudden cliff. She knew, she could sense these things.
“H-How far away is this place, anyway?” How long until she died, “Um, ‘cause this makes me kinda nervous.”
Really nervous.
Panicked.
Jeez, Varu was going to kill her once he found out!!
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:49 pm
"Not far!" Murphy answered for her cheerfully. "Just across the City, s'all. We'll be there right quick!"
"In a jiffy, even!" Seamus added, providing his arms as a seatbelt for the poor, misbegotten girl. The bike coughed, choked, snorted, and then howled to raging life as Murphy gunned the handles, leaping forward with a jerk and the squeal of tires burning on asphalt.
The machine picked up speed down the straight-away, faster than any passing bicyclist.
In fact, it kept gaining speed; even as the first turn raced toward them, and the bike wheeled with a screech around the curb.
The brothers laughed as they raced towards what may be their deaths.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:33 am
“Across town?!” She parroted, her mouth wide in shock-- there was no way! Absolutely no way that she’d made it that far! And with how she had seen th--
The bike whirled into gear, zipping off far to quick for the girl to even collect her thoughts. Well, so long as nothing sudden happened, she would be o--
She squealed as the bike flew around the turn, swiveling in her seat to hide her face and clutch at Seamus’ shirt. There was no way-- No way they’d survive this trip at all!!
“Are you guys INSANE!? “ She squeaked out, peeking from her grip on Seamus to hazard a glare at the two, “You’re going to kill me!!”
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:40 am
There was something about men and stupid antics that seemed to amuse the hell out of them. Seamus and Murphy whooped and hollered around every sharp turn, every drift, every fishtail and squeal of tires they put the bike through.
"That wouldn't happen," Seamus reassured her, patting her back kindly. "Luck o' the Irish, right Murphy?"
Another jerk, and the side-car shook and groaned.
"Are we Irish?" Murphy wondered, looking away from the road to check with his brother.
"Mum always said so."
"But Dad said we were German."
"No, no! I thought Dad said we were British!"
"You're obviously mistaken, Seamus. That was last Christmas! I think we're Scottish this year."
"Oh," Seamus commented, looking back down at Tepin.
"Luck o' the Scottish, then!"
The road bounced beneath them, and the hinges connecting car to bike groaned pathetically under the strain.
"Hey Murphy, we ever had two passengers in this car?"
"Nope! Think it'll hold out?"
"Maybe."
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 1:04 am
This was hell. Biking hell. As if the Gods had decided that in some way, some horrible method, one could be eternally tormented by the fear of one loose bolt. That was exactly what these twins were: Hell incarnate.
“Whatever you are, j-just get me there in one piece, please!”
The bike skidded uncomfortably, causing another squeak from the girl as she gripped tighter onto Seamus, “And unharmed!”
She swore she was going to pee herself, at this rate! With how fast they were driving, surely they had crossed town by now! God, with how fast they’d been driving, she wouldn’t have been shocked to find herself halfway across the globe by now, let alone the city!
“Are we there yet?”
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 11:52 am
"Actually-" Seamus began, and Murphy finished with a "Yes!"
Right as the bike's breaks squealed and rubber burnt, and the entire contraption slid to a bumpy and rough stop halfway onto the curb in front of a small smattering of chairs and tables.
Murphy got off, kicked the kickstand down, kicked it again when it didn't obey the first time, and pocketed his keys. Seamus, on the other hand, attempted to disengage Tepin from the front of his shirt.
"Hey there, safe and sound, yeah? Don't worry, we'd never let you get hurt! Valeriu would kill us," he reminded her, even as he gave up on the endeavor in order to stand up as well as he could in the cart, hoisting her up and setting her gently on her feet on the solid, cement ground before legging it out of there himself.
"Hope you've worked up an appetite for the ride back!" Murphy cheerfully exclaimed. Then he bowed, right proper, and opened the door for her - like a gentleman.
"Now come, milady! Bartleby's fine dining awaits. Such an assortment of delectable treats you never did see!"
He closed the door on Seamus' face.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 10:56 pm
She flew forward ever so gently when the bike suddenly stopped, held only in place by Seamus’s arms (She was quite grateful to have them, after all). With a quick nod and a few steps, Tepin entered the building. As soon as the doors opened, her nose with hit with a mix of smells.
Above all else, the smell of coffee.
It smelt good.
“H-hey, so I’ve never been here.” Vale would never let her go get coffee, and he felt that any food made at home was far superior than anything you could buy outside, “So what do--OH!”
It was when that she noticed the door slammed on twin-number-two’s face, rushing to yank it open with both arms.
“Sorry! Sorry! I wasn’t paying attention at all.” Tepin braved a quick look to his face, making sure he wasn’t horribly harmed, “You okay?”
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 11:23 pm
Seamus was not expecting a door to be slammed shut on his face. But knowing his brother's womanizing ways, he probably should have.
Murphy would stop at nothing to monopolize the girl. Even if it meant giving his brother a bloody nose.
Bravely, he wiped away the smear of blood at her concern, grinning reassuringly. "Yeah. Nothing a sandwich and boxing my brother in the ears can't fix."
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Murphy!"
"Nothing, my a-"
"So! Sandwiches," Seamus hastily cut in, leading her over to a large display case, "You just look and pick what you want. They've got descriptions written under 'em, but what you see if what you get. Easy enough, yeah? Then you go to the front, order, and then pick it up when your number's called."
Bartleby's was a self-service place, perfect for the casual diner on the go.
"Come on! Let's get some sandwiches and drinks, and then go to the Look," he suggested. "It's a great place to have a picnic."
Murphy's face lit up in a smile.
"Also a great place to snog," he added, giving a special grin to Tepin.
"Speaking of, that one's eyeing you, mate," Seamus smiled brightly back at Murphy, pointing to the eighty-year-old sitting in one of the chairs. "Better go chat that up while the going's good."
Murphy frowned at his brother.
"Low blow, mate. Low blow. At least I'm the prettier one."
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 8:34 pm
Tepin looked up from face to face, trying to follow their conversations as best she could. Really, it was like trying to watch a ping-pong match. Only instead of a ping-pong ball, they were bouncing insults off of one another.
Sandwiches-- there were a wide variety, all wrapped and cut in half to show their contents to the casual viewer. There were a lot of choices-- Ham, roast beef, turkey, chicken, and all kinds of combinations. It was almost overwhelming! Too many different decisions, and too many things to vomit up on the way home.
A shudder ran down her spine-- she was not looking for that drive. Maybe it’d be better to eat somewhere else. But the Look? That meant driving there and back! Ugh, she was going to be sick!
“Wait- wait-- what’s ‘snog’ mean?” Probably just to eat, “It’s eating, right?”
Yes, that made the most sense; if they were going to go to lunch for a picnic, they would most definitely have to snog their sandwiches!
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 8:58 pm
Seamus covered her ears the moment Murphy launched into his explanation, and only released them the moment he'd shut up.
"Not exactly, Tepin. We'll tell you when you're older." He shot a look at his brother.
"What? She looks old enough to me!"
It was clear who inherited all the morals that come with being born a human. Seamus sighed, and looked down at the charge he'd unintentionally taken to protecting from his brother's villainous ways.
Someone had to do it in Valeriu's place.
"So, decided what'cha want to get?"
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 9:18 pm
She tried to wriggle, tried to hear the explanation. With such vibrant hand motions as Murphy was making, snogging must be the most interesting thing in the world!
And his smile! There was no way that it could be something bad!
“HEY!” She retorted, her frown stern as her mouth formed a v shape, “I’m older! Look at me!”
It was clear that to Tepin, mental age and physical age were one in the same. When one grew, clearly the other must do the same.
“Oh, and roast beef and swiss-- But I’m not done!” She whined a bit at the end, tapping her foot impatiently, “I wanna know what it is! I’m old enough to know!”
Puppy eyes. They were turned onto the Murphy. He at least knew the finer points of life. The moment he got a chance-- he’d let her know just what snogging really was.
Because apparently it wasn’t eating.
“C’mon, please?”
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 10:39 pm
"One roast beef and swiss!" Seamus hastily ordered, "And a meatball sandwich for me. Anything to drink?"
"Don't forget my tuna sandwich!" Murphy added to the man behind the counter, who gave them a look of long-suffering. They were regulars, alright, and had ordered the same thing every week for the past eight years.
As if he would ever forget. He wished he could forget.
"So! Tepin!" Seamus abruptly switched gears, purposefully turning Tepin away from giving the puppy dog eyes to Murphy and ignoring her pleas. "Can you climb?"
It was a strange question, but coming from Seamus, probably had a perfectly logical reasoning behind it. Murphy snorted, motioned to Tepin that he would 'show her later,' and slapped Seamus on the back.
"Of course she knows how to climb, Seamus! Lookit her - tomboy if I ever saw one. That's a tough princess, that is. She's the one what slays the dragon to rescue the Prince," he winked, grinning.
"If by dragon you mean the blonde that's making him mope like a heartbroken kitten-"
"We do not speak its name," Murphy hushed him, making a somber face.
"You don't even know its name."
"Neither do you!"
"Touché."
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 10:54 pm
“Uhh! Coffee!” The one drink that Mixcoatl had demanding the girl drink, “If it’s okay?”
“Yea….?” Confused by this, she hazarded a quick nod to Murphy before diverting her attention back to his brother, “Why, aren’t we just doing to ‘the look’?”
But when the conversation abruptly changed, her expression changed with it. Her face was dark, covered by bangs, as her mouth pulled into a grimace.
“Quinn.” The word tasted like poison, “Is that worthless sack of crap’s name.”
Way to ruin the mood, you two.
“But-- Really, Varu’s getting better. He is.”
Her mouth seemed to relax, though her pose seemed to suggest a nervous agitation.
“Little by little, he’s starting to smile again, don’t worry.”
Even if it took years, she’d be sure that Valeriu could smile freely. She had promised herself that ages ago. Whatever setbacks that that horrible man might have done could be undone through hard work and the right amount of love.
She just needed to keep trying.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 11:07 pm
"And one regular, one sarsaparilla, and one cocoa with caramel!" Seamus added onto their list, doling out the necessary cash in exchange for the goods.
"Why, climbing's very important if we're going to the Look," Murphy explained, gesturing vaguely in what might have been the direction of the mentioned picnic area. "But you'll see. And still getting caramel, Seamus? Really?"
"I like it!"
"It's for pansies!"
"Just because it isn't loaded with alcohol instead--" Their argument, however, stalled at the look on her face, dying down. It wasn't a pretty thing to see a woman so upset, and the two intuitively knew that look. And feared it.
It was the look their older sister often wore. Usually it was followed by pain. Lots and lots of pain. And humiliation!
"Hey, hey. We know!" Seamus agreed, smiling and patting her on the shoulder. "You've done him a world of good, that one. Before he met you he was shut up tighter than a clam!"
"And now he's as shut tight as a clam holding onto a precious pearl," Murphy chuckled.
"That's oysters, Murphy."
"What?"
"Oysters make pearls! Not clams."
They scowled at each other.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 11:29 pm
Oysters or clams or whatever, being called a pearl was nothing short of a compliment! It was enough to tint her cheeks with just the tiniest splash of red. Even if she knew they would have said the same thing when she was younger… It just felt different now, coming from such a different perspective.
With a quick and curt yell (The poor man wanted these brats out of his store for once) from the man behind the counter, Tepin rushed to him, grabbing a sandwich (which sandwich was still unknown) and her coffee. She smiled at it beamingly, before blowing some steam away and taking a quick sip.
“That aside,” It really wasn’t-- she’d never forgive Quinn, “What is the deal with climbing and this Look? OH! And I’ll totally spill this if we get in that bike again.” She raised the coffee to indicate what she was talking about, “So we better just stay here.”
For the sake of my god-given life, I do not want to touch that bike ever again.
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