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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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 Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 12:43 pm
Maddie bit her lip to keep from smiling at Niteshade's grumbling stomach.
"No problem," she replied. They both got off the bike and walked it into the garage. Then she led the way upstairs to her apartment.
"I haven't really invited anyone up here in a while," she murmured as she unlocked the door. "You're not allergic to cats are you?" Nervously, she opened the door and held it for her guest. She couldn't really look at him; she was still stinging from her earlier embarrassment.
The apartment was small, the kitchen and living room on the first floor, and an steep staircase led up to the bedrooms on the second floor. The decor was a strange but cozy array customized Ikea furnishings, with almost every free spot on the wall dominated by bookshelves, the books piled in two deep. A cream colored cat with unusually large ears was curled up on top of one shelf, and another fat Siamese with tabby stripes on its dark paws looked down its nose at the humans from the stairs.
"That’s Mohammed and Budah. They're harmless unless you have fish in your pocket. Let me put the kettle on," she called as she hurried forward to the kitchen. "I have snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies. And salmon snacks, but those are for the cats. I--" she turned around and almost ran into Niteshade who had silently followed her closely into the kitchen. She got caught for a moment in his strange, mysterious eyes.
Was that intrigue? interest? the sparkle of intelligent conversation in his eye? Or was he like every other man she'd ever approached, with only one thing on the agenda? Past experience told her that the odds were on the latter, but for some reason she felt like giving him a chance. He had helped her get away from Ishmael, after all.
She shook her head to break his mesmerizing gaze. “I hope you don’t think this too forward. I just thought we could wind down after this stupid, crazy afternoon, what with Puck playing tricks on us and lightening striking and all. I don't know about you, but my nerves are shot.” She laughed nervously at herself.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:59 pm
Just saying here... I got a REAL good smile and laugh from your typo in the third paragraph. Ohhh the images it can tend to conjure.
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And so one sanctum was breached, so to speak. Niteshade took in the furnishings at a glance. All customized and in their specific spots that work. Maddie was one to keep things 'tidy' and 'in its place' it seemed. Another glanced showed not much dust or webs were to be seen. She would seem to like things in their place and with their set function.
Cats... now there was a crap-shoot. He could be allergic, but other times he wasn't. He glanced around the shelves to see the types of books there, after all was it all full of 'trashy romance novels' or sci-fi classics, maybe some fantasy, or histories would jump out, etc. That could tell a bit about a person, sort of like they say a person's music collection says alot about them. Of course Niteshade didn't believe that as his collections were spaced far and wide. His musical tastes went from classical to country to rock to rap to heavy metal to alternative to new age and even to some from other countries where he couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying, but it sounded good together with the music. His book choices tended to be more centralized in the fantasy, sci-fi, comedy and mystery areas. How her place seemed a bit opposite of his. He wondered what she would make of his sense of an orderly mess he sometimes worked with... bet that said something about him as well.
He moved to keep up with Maddie, just in case the cats would cause issues. He eyes scanned a few shelves as he went by... was that some good ole Jackie Collins novels he saw half behind some others? A little smirky smile crossed his lips at that thought, but it passed as she almost turned and ran into him.
"Yeah the theater duo has made the day quite interesting. If you don't mind I'll just sit down for now," Niteshade said as he pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. He rubbed his temples a bit, then reached into his pocket to pull out a small black netbook and flipped it open. After a couple seconds it came up, and he quickly entered some data to his journal and saved it. He thought he saw Maddie glancing his way while getting the food and drinks ready trying to catch a glimpse of what he was doing. He finished his notes and shut it down then put it away saying, "Sorry about that, but I keep track of headaches and such to try and pin down allergies and all for the causes. Don't worry I wasn't tweeting that I was at a beautiful ladies abode or anything, you secrets safe with me."
His facial expression said he hoped it would make her laugh and break the ominous air of the recent events. He actually had some questions for Maddie, if she cared to answer that it. He pulled out the wrapping and took the music box out and set it up on the table in front of him. "So can you tell me anything about this really?"
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:51 pm
What typo? O_O Just making conversation...
----------------------------------------------------
Maddie did laugh, even if she blushed a little at his compliment. Niteshade was so relaxed no matter what happened. While she was bordering hysteria, he was as smooth as his leather trench coat.
“Doesn't matter,” she replied with a smile, gesturing to the notebook. “If you did say anything, I'd deny it and feed you to the wolves.”
Niteshade smiled back and then pulled out the music box again. “So can you tell me anything about this really?” he asked.
Maddie looked at the artifact with a strange mixture of excitement and trepidation. “Not much more than what I already told you. I can't even tell you HOW I know, just that I do. I...” she hesitated, rubbing her arms like she was cold. “I know things...about things...and people. I don't know if I'm super observant or if it's part of this storytelling thing we have going on. No body even believes me.”
The kettle started whistling and she went to turn off the stove and grab two mugs.
“Do you want black-blackberry, jasmine dragon tears, or chamomile?” she asked as she opened the cupboards and rifled through the boxes and cans on her shelves. She pulled down a few books, one a feline veterinary manual, one a romance novel with a half naked bodybuilder on the cover, and a French history reference titled Napoleon Bonaparte, Empereur de la France. She held up the last book with a lop sided smile. “I've spent all morning looking for this. It's actually the reason I went to the library.”
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:29 am
Well then that one helluva invitation then... her instead of here. Good thing my mind disregards what it actually reads and interprets what is meant, else this would be a completely different story.
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'Black-blackberry please," Niteshade responded, "Well after the day I've had, I believe you. I've learned to never disregard your gut when it tells you things, which is why I'm letting you hold on to this."
He sat back in the chair as he pushed the box towards Maddie's side of the table as he continued, "something is telling me you are in more need of this right now than me. I've just used it as a calming item to watch, but I sense something else in what you see it as. Perhaps some other storyteller years ago told a tale where it was merely being held and looked after by me, until you come along to claim it."
Niteshade closes his eyes and rubs his temples again as the headache there is still letting him know it hasn't gone anywhere quite yet. He opens his eyes again hoping the cookies and tea will help, and looks back to Maddie for her response. He wonder if she'll flatly refuse the gift, as it might put her out of her comfort zone. Or would the resemblance to her grandmother's box be enough to overcome that. He really hoped she would take it as he did have some gut feeling she was the one to have it at this time, also it would help him find her if she kept it on herself and they were separated. For some strange reason he could always tell where it was at if he concentrated on it.
Maddie seemed a bit entranced of the box as she looked at it, probably contemplating his offer. He took the chance to get a look at her face and watch the light bounce off it. Shaking himself out his own entrancement, he pulls out his own book from his coat... a novel by Jim Butcher with a scruffy man carrying a sword wearing a trench coat and hat. The words 'Turn Coat' were emblazoned on the front with small print saying, 'a novel of the Drezden Files.' He sat it on the table saying, "my current reading, but hey its why I have such a thick leather trench coat so it can't be all bad."
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:58 pm
ACK! Editing.... sweatdrop
-----------------------------
Maddie smiled at the book. At least their tastes were similar. She looked again at the music box, and rubbed her arms.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with it,” she said. “My grandmother was from Ireland, first generation, and would tell all kinds of outrageous stories about fairies and goblins. When my mother asked her to stop filling our heads with wild tales, she said she couldn’t, that she had to keep telling stories to keep them alive.”
She paused and thought about what she said, remembering how desperate her Grandmother was to relate the exploits of the creatures of her homeland.
Carefully, she continued, “At the time, I thought she was trying to keep the traditions of her homeland alive…wait, that’s not right—that’s what my mother told me she was trying to do!” Outrage flashed across her face. “That lying, manipulative—” she clamped her lips shut and turned around to the brewing tea. “Sorry. I never want to be one of those people who blame everything on their mother, but my mom never understood me or my grandmother, and tried her hardest to make us conform to her ideals. And if I tried to tell her anything that went on today, I know just what she’d say; You’re just being dramatic. Or her signature cop out of any argument You’re just PMSing.”
Maddie took a deep, cleansing breath, and pushed her mother’s criticisms out of her mind. There was a reason she was living on her own with half the country between them.
“Anyway, it just occurred to me that my Grandmother was a storyteller too, and that her stories to us children were her way of keeping all the fairies of her homeland actually living, breathing, and mischief-ing alive! I mean, so many people in Ireland still believe in fairies, and Irish folklore is a HUGE part of western culture. Do you think it’s possible?”
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:17 pm
Is that a bit of blushing I see at the Freudian Slip... redface
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Niteshade stood up and came over to help with the finishing the tea as he contemplated her suggestion. After a moment thinking and sending his mental librarian on a quick trip to try and bring some things he'd read before back to his memory he says, "It is definitely possible. I read something once about how some believe that if there isn't enough people believing in something it will cease to exist. It's the act of belief that provides the living energies to make some things real."
He saw where the cookies were and got them and sat them on the table as he continued his mental search. Sitting back down he took a sip of the tea, and reach for a cookie at the same time Maddie did and his fingers grazed across the back of her hand. He had a quick blush across his cheeks, and pulled his hand back saying, "Sorry about that." The brief warmth and smoothness of her skin, were very pleasing sensations. It was putting him in a more relaxed state, and breaking down some of the normal walls he kept up around himself.
Niteshade got a cookie when it was clear and took a bite while he thought about his mother... he could still see her blue eyes and blondish-brown hair. "Well atleast you can talk with your mother still, it's been way to many years since I've had that luxury," he says remembering some of the fun times when he was a kid. For some reason he felt comfortable around Maddie and wanted to talk for a change, so he continued, "Mine died when I was still young, around 9. I don't recall what happened now, but dad took it really hard. He tried to keep up a facade for me, but I could tell. He wasn't quite the same and though he did lots of things with me there was always the hint of sadness in his eyes. He always said she was the balance to his life, and once that was gone he just couldn't keep get past his grief. After I was old enough to take care of myself and legal, he finally gave in and went to find her in the next realm."
He finished his cookie and tea, a bit still in the past when the mental librarian came back empty handed. He just couldn't recall what it was he was trying to remember so much. "Well anyway, I think you should keep the music box. Something is telling me that you'll have use for it in the future. So what do you think we should do about Frick and Frack back there, I mean if they came to us trying to get our journals will someone else less nice about it?"
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:05 pm
Slip? Me? Just an innocent typo. Just caught up in the moment of inspiration. That's all. Not as if I'm trying to set things up for later in the plot. sweatdrop
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Maddie sat across the table with her own mug of tea. The kitchen suddenly seemed smaller with Niteshade being so suave and charming. When he talked about his mother, she actually felt the weight of his sadness on her own heart.
When he brought up the crazy old man and Ishmael again, she felt uneasy.
“Wasn't it weird that he wanted our notebooks more than our cooperation? He was actually playing us off one another,” she replied, disgusted. “I think he wanted us to waste our energies outdoing one another, and then scoop up all the alleged stored power in our notebooks for himself.”
She felt that strange energy starting to run through her, and knew she was on track with Ishmael's history. There was just something odd about him, and it was hard to pin down. She shook her head with frustration and turned her attention back to the little music box.
“It's...suble,” she said finally. “There have been so many stories told about this little thing that they're all wraping around it like seaweed. It's definitely from Ireland, though...carved by a changeling artisan...in the south.” She shook her head again. “Now I'm getting a headache. How crazy is that?” she looked up with a laugh, hoping Nigel would set her at ease, the way he was starting to do almost habitually.
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:36 pm
Just some small talk, after all it's the small talk that determines many other things. If ya can't small talk, then you'll get board after a while...
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"Yeah how crazy," Niteshade says before standing up and doing his best british accent, "to quote Onslow, 'imagine having to get used to it'."
He then smiled return to his own voice, "don't worry about it. Maybe its the use of the powers, though I've always attributed mine to the allergies and sinuses. But now I don't know. I had a thought, see what you think about this."
Moving to the music box he turns the key and the figure starts moving around the top of it, spinning some here and turning there. No apparent pattern to it as it doesn't seem to do the same thing twice. There was no music coming out of the box, just the dancer movement. At this Niteshade continued, "what if this one, was incomplete. What if there are parts not yet with it, and as such that is why you can't see how it might be useful. Sort of like looking at a puzzle with only the outside and a few attachments done. Makes it hard to see the bigger picture, I'd say."
That must be it, it seemed to fit and feel right to Niteshade so he'd go with it. Just like being here with Maddie felt right. He was the type that had various walls around himself at all times. He would make friendships and possibly deeper things, but he always kept atleast something of himself back always and there were limits to how much anyone was let in. However, with Maddie it felt as though those walls didn't need to be there or that she was like a ghost and simply passed through them all without any resistance at all... he was comfortable around her, atleast unconsciously. And we all know that what he subconscious wants, it eventually gets and sometimes in spectacular ways. The real question was how this would play out...
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:34 pm
Maddie laughed at his Onslow impression, and nodded to herself about his logic.
"Untangling the stories surrounding this thing would probably give a super-computer a stroke," she said, "but it also makes sense that there would be more to this puzzle. I remember my grandmother's music box played music. I just hope we don't have to unearth her to complete the mystery." She laughed nervously. "Anyway, we'd have to go to Ireland to do that..."
She froze with the realization of the truth of her words, and looked at Niteshade. Maybe he'd dismiss the idea. Come up with something better. She fervently hoped he would. It wasn't just the idea of digging up her grandmother's corpse, that part didn't feel right, but as much as she harbored a crush for the mysterious guest at her table, a trans-Atlantic adventure was the sort of thing a Hollywood Heroine would do, not ordinary little Madalyn DeMuir.
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Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 4:03 am
Niteshade just watched the figure move around in its dance, "Now if I was making the items I'd make each unique and not related to the other as a sign of my brilliance in craftsmanship. I don't think the other box would hold the key to this one, though they might be similar. "
When it stopped he came back to himself, he was always like that. His friends called it the shiny-object syndrome. Any neat shiny object could derail Nigel from what he was doing and occupy him for a while. Fire was especially that way, as one watched it flicker and move... Nigel could watch it for hours on end without a second thought.
"I don't relish the idea of digging up graves, it's just plain disrespectful of the dead. However, maybe we can glean some information from your grandmother's box... what do you remember about it exactly? What'd the music it played sound like, what did the figure look like?" Niteshade questioned.
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:37 pm
Maddie let out a slow sigh of relief. She didn't know if Niteshade had misunderstood or if the compulsion wasn't strong enough yet, but at least Ireland was now a last-resort destination, not the next loop on this strange roller-coaster.
She remembered the song her grandmother's music box had played. Slow and sweet, it sounded like a tiny chorus of bells and flutes. Staring at the dancer, she started to croon the lyrics her grandmother had taught her years ago.
"Hail to the mountains, the place of my birth
They'll give me a welcome the warmest on earth
All so loving and kind, full of music and mirth,
In the sweet sounding language of home.
Soon, soon...soon shall I see them, oh,
Hey, ro, See them, oh, see them oh,
Ho, ro, soon shall I see them, oh,
The mist covered mountains of home...
There shall I gaze on the mountains again,
On the fields and the woods and the burns and the glens,
Away 'mong the corries beyond human ken
In the haunts of the deer I will roam..."
She looked up at Niteshade and blushed bright red. She drained her teacup in an effort to hide her rosy cheeks.
"I don't remember the rest of it," she murmured. "I wasn't allowed to sing it as a kid. My mother hated it. She couldn't stand my father's family. It's probably why she left him. She used to say he was irresponsible, but I know she was just being malicious. I mean, my father's a doctor. Doctors aren't allowed to be irresponsible." She huffed in frustration. "Anyway, I can't remember much more of my grandmother's box. I was only 11 when she died. I didn't get to go to her funeral--that was in Ireland too."
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:20 pm
Niteshade listened as Maddie sang the lyrics and a hint of her heritage showed in her voice. When she finished he looked down at the figure dancing still but slowing down, and a feeling started coming over him. It was faint so he didn't pay attention at first, and just said, "I've never been there, though I I did do a couple weeks in Scotland visiting old castles. Never saw any ghost, just cool winds and dark nights."
Something was not right... well multiple things. For one, the Niteshade kept glancing back at the music box like it was enticing him. And second, that slight feeling of compulsion was tickling at his subconscious. He pulls out his current journal and sets it down to begin flipping through it. He stops on the image of the eye from earlier, when the music box stops. Reaching over he starts it back up when the eye on the page blinks and does a quick scan of the area it seems. Niteshade never even noticed it, but the compulsion had dwindled now.
As the box started moving again, he was drawn to watching it. He literally couldn't look away, and merely mumbles, "somethings missing..."
The box for lack of a better term started talking to him. He could almost envision a second figure moving around with the current one. Without thinking he flipped his journal to the next blank page and started drawing what was in his head. when he finished he wrote out a few lines of text that was clawing its way out of his mind to the page.
When he was done he looked down at what he had done, and turned it for Maddie to see a figure that would resemble her grandmother's figure with the following words:
Hail to the mountains with summits of blue!
To the glens with their meadows of sunshine and dew.
To the women and the men ever constant and true,
Ever ready to welcome one home!
He simply says, "Does this mean anything to you?"
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:02 pm
Maddie grabbed the notebook and stared in disbelief. It had been years since she'd seen the music box; she knew she could never draw it from memory, but Niteshade had captured the grace of the elven figure from the tip of the elegant fingers to the braided trim on the hem of the skirt. Her long hair had little rosettes woven into a tiara. It was just as vivid as her dreams.
All at once the memories of sitting with her grandmother and listening to the music late into the night flooded back with vibrant detail. The old woman had told her of all the old creatures--not just the funny leprechauns or helpful brownies, but the goblins and banshees and white ladies, the seelie and the unseelie courts and the Aos Si that ruled what her grandmother had called "the cracks of the world," the unexplored places that the fae could find refuge.
"That's my grandmother's--and the song--but how did you--" She caught herself and set the notebook down on the table. "Of course, you're a story teller, and pictures are worth a thousand words."
She stood up and thoughtfully walked to the far side of the kitchen. She pulled down a cookie jar and pulled out a black money wallet. She held it up to Niteshade, waving it back and forth invitingly.
"My rainy day fund. And I think today counts. So, either I'm going to have a little Bar-B-Q with my old journals to keep Ishmael's grubby hands off of them, and then head out to the Emerald Isle,...OR..." She walked back to the table and put the wallet beside the notebook. "We can go to the nearest pub and drink until this nightmare is over. Because," she held up a warning finger as Niteshade opened his mouth to protest, "Either we really are gifted beyond normal mortals, or I need some vodka fast. I can't seem to decide which is which, but fortunately for me I have a handsome escort to make up my mind for me. So what is it? Guinness or Smirnoff?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:23 am
Niteshade watched Maddie's reaction to his drawing, and her suggestion at either road trip or heavy drinking. Obviously he wouldn't be drinking if it could be avoided, as he didn't relish the idea of puking his guts out. But he would definitely take her is she wanted some, he was used to being the designated driver. As he was comtemplating the choices, he kinda had his mouth on autopilot and said, "Well objects sometimes kind of talk to me. They sort of show me things about themselves and I draw or write about it, atleast that's how I perceive it... I suppose it's sorta like your history telling ability."
Could I just up and take off to Ireland on a whim? It's not like I haven't done it before when I felt the urge, he thinks to himself. Is my passport even up to date? How would we get there, as we'd have to be off the grid to avoid Ishmael and his shenanigans, he continues in thought. Come on, think of the great fun you'll have 'wif an Irish lass on ye arm' one of his mind personas interjects. A very enticing thought, not to mention the fact that it was so epic in nature atleast on the surface. This could be the beginning of the story that descendants tell of great-grand-pa's special journey. Of course he was going to go, he was just trying to convince himself what the rest of him already knew.
"We couldn't just up and leave... I mean who would take care of your cats? Watch your place, not to mention jobs, family and friends. Besides all that, how would we even get there off the grid? I mean I wouldn't want it to be known what I was doing so Mr. Fancy-Pants could try and throw a wrench into it" Niteshade says more to try and dissuade himself than anything from the truth, he was a stubborn one.
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:45 pm
Maddie sighed at Niteshade's logical protests as she considered letting him talk her out of it. She considered the problem of Ishmael for a moment. "I think if we don't use his name, use aliases ourselves, and carefully story-tell our way though customs, we should be alright. Besides, getting straight to Dublin from here is pretty much impossible, even if we are as powerful as Fancy-Pants seems to think we are. So crisscrossing to Vegas, and then to Kennedy airport before actually leaving the country should help slow him down. We'll buy the tickets at the airport so there won't be any residual info on my computer or phone, nothing to tip him off in advance. As far as apartment sitting, my friend has a key and can check up on my cats as long as I'm gone. My job is crummy anyway, so I wouldn't be broken hearted if I lost it--besides, I could just claim a family emergency."
Then Maddie realized she didn't know anything about Niteshade's predicament. Did he have a job he liked, that he wouldn't want to loose for this harebrained scheme she came up with? Did he have other family? A girlfriend? Rare orchids? She had no idea what she was asking of him, and she started feeling guilty for even asking.
"I'm kind of embarrassed that you've seen me freaking out like this," she said quietly as she slid back into her chair. She ran her fingers through her auburn hair and held her head in distress. "I mean, we've only known each other for a few hours, and it certainly has been weird, but I could just be having a panic attack about this whole thing. It's not totally out of the realm of possibility."
She rested her head on the table and sighed heavily. Her voice muffled from talking into the polished hardwood, she continued, "It doesn't matter if this is a horrible practical joke or if I have super powers. Either way, I'm leaving the county. I just hope that the person about to become my new best friend would join me." She raised her head, and looked at Niteshade's concerned face. Squeezing her eyes shut, she confessed in a rush, "You're the first person to ever honestly believe me about what I can do, and so I'm begging you not to abandon me and to come to Ireland with me and figure this out because I think we're both tangled up in a story and we won't escape it until we finish it."
She held her breath and cracked one eye to watch for his response.
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