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 Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:23 pm
Somewhere between the babble of "oh and I had this super pretty gold haircomb from my dead mom" and "Thane was my summon only he was dogsized instead of scary sized" and "I think I remember why I was craving bananas now", Stormy caught what he was asking. "Oh! Right. Rambling again." She sucked her lips in for a few seconds, then pursed them out to drain a few more dregs from her cup. "There was this legend in that place that said the seven kings used to be one big one, but something happened to fragment them. This thing called The Voice was like their god, and one day it was like You should all have this big fight to see who's the real king, and they're like okay yeah sure let's do this guys. Apparently there was an eighth silver king too, but that guy got axed to start us off."
And on she went, regaling Gale with how the emperor of Edric (the kingdom, she clarified) had called them all to a meeting to pick out his warriors, how she had felt out of place amongst the silkskins as a humble sweeper and how she had to think of silly things in order to pluck up the courage to present herself. "He made me a noble!" Stormy exclaimed with the most excitement seen yet, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Little me! Podrías imaginar?" She then went on to explain how the world worked on miasma, and how their first task was to get as much as they could from the fallen kingdom. Her particular journey took her through a swampy area whose creatures . . . apparently liked to mess with short people. Like painfully mess with. On top of that, the flowers that held miasma like nectar hurt to carry around, so in the end she couldn't bring in as much as she'd wanted to.
It turned out the Black King had fallen next, but after that things got fuzzy in her recollection. She remembered Emperor Mengyao had decreed they go to war with him coming along, and she'd tried to help one of her fellow nobles, and this poison just - just came out of nowhere. "And I died." That was starting to become a thing, wasn't it. The people here had experienced death probably more times than they could count, but they shrugged it off like it was nothing.
In comparison, she still shivered a little remembering it. Alone, mud-covered, choking -
"But we didn't really die. We just got sent to a dream within a dream," she continued, her earlier enthusiasm sinking back into characteristic calm. "A white pillar told me the truth, and I woke up knowing I wasn't real. No memories or anything, just . . . knowing I didn't really exist. None of us did." The Silver Tower had loomed before her, she told Gale, so it was the last place to go; the last place to try and redeem herself for her emperor.
Stormy paused there, chewing the inside of her cheek as she pondered how to proceed. She didn't want to make a fuss, but she also was feeling the impulse to vent to something - someone - other than her journal. But first she ought to finish the story, she supposed.
"The last thing I remember is climbing up all these stairs and then falling. Everything was breaking up, so I think something major was happening," she said softly. "Whatever it was, when I woke up we were all in a void. I think by then everyone knew we were fakes, so there were a lot of goodbyes going around . . . And then we woke up." She set the mug down and picked up a tangerine, half because she was still hungry, half because it gave her hands something to do as they peeled away the skin. "I didn't wake up and remember instantly, but I had a funny dream about . . . almost two days ago where I met her. The fake me. And I think I absorbed her or something because that's how I remember everything." Splitting the fruit in half, she tossed one part into her mouth and began to chew, looking to Gale expectantly for questions.
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Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 7:16 am
It was all somewhat fascinating to listen to Stormy talk about this kingdom (or rather kingdoms, seeing as how she had said there were more than one). Gale listened with rapt attention, every now and then pausing her to prompt her to elaborate on something more, his Death-inclined mind already storing the information she gave him into his thoughts.
Seven kings. Fragments. The Voice. Nobles. The Black King falling. And then -
"You died?" repeated Gale, sounding somewhat startled by this unexpected development. But Stormy went on, and his shock wavered a little as he nodded in understanding, taking another swallow of his hot chocolate.
"So," said Gale, approximately fifteen minutes later, in which time he had drunk nearly all of his hot cocoa and had gotten up only once in order to get himself some fruit, and was now sitting with a small plate of strawberries and blueberries in front of him, as well as an orange. "So there were two of you, in this dream world. There was yourself - the one asleep - and the one actually in the dream world, this....fragment. Like a shard of a memory?"
He shook his head a little, popping a blueberry into his mouth and chewing slowly, frowning slightly. Merlin and Excalibur. This all had to revert back to those specific artifacts. Gale had heard of the Arthurian legends, of course, but to think that they were actual artifacts to be studied...
"So..." said Gale again, and gave Stormy a cautious, careful look. "You're...you're okay, though? I mean, it was probably pretty traumatizing to die, even if it was just in a dream."
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Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:58 am
Being in the Death Division, she would have imagined his questions to only be more detail-oriented or pertaining to the mission itself - maybe something she needed to further expound upon, for example. Not her wellbeing. That was why she had to do all these reports and sometimes go in for an evaluation at the Labs, but it was all clinical - like a general checking in to make sure his soldiers wouldn't suddenly go crazy on a mission. But then, Stormy remembered, friends now. The trainee bit her lip, waffling on how best to respond. Report questions first, she decided; much easier.
"Right. The fragment self I don't think has to be like the real one - or at least mine wasn't - but in a way it's still sorta you. Like, um . . ." Stormy tilted her head, looking for an appropriate metaphor - and then she picked up her pen and opened her journal to a blank page. Clicking it open, she drew a quick stick figure in red and tilted the journal towards Gale. "Say that's you in this world. In that one your disguise could be -" The red lever was flicked back up, exchanged for a blue one that was used to draw a stick figure alongside the first. "- this guy. The guy in charge of the mission - Mark, I think? - I think something happened with his tech because we forgot for a while who we were and became the blue stick person totally. Or whatever color the kingdom was," she amended quickly. "It was still the same person, but it was different enough that they functioned on their own, had their own lives and stuff. Now, I think if you have that dream I had, you meet this other person-fragment and you talk, and then you take in their memories and become a purple person. Still the real you here, but with their memories added to yours."
. . . Maybe that was a bit more complicated when she tried to explain it. It was sort of abstract and strange. "If you ever played Kingdom Hearts, it's totally the Nobody versus Somebody scenario," she added in a hopefully helpful manner.
Now the other questions. Stormy chose to keep her answers casual for the time being, seeing as she was already hogging a lot of the conversation as it was. "I died twice technically," she eventually replied, for honesty never could be overlooked in her case; she could, however, skimp details. "Three times if you count taking the fragment away. That one wasn't me me since we were separated, but . . ." This was turning into a loop-circuited topic. She shut her eyes, popped the other half of the tangerine in her mouth, and chewed until the impulse to continue chasing her own metaphorical tail went away.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:33 pm
It took her a few moments to reply, Gale wondering whether his questions were too prying.
"Er," he said, his face flushing a little. "Sorry. I don't mean, to, er...intrude, as it is. I just like making sure my friends are okay."
But then she started up again, and he gave a small nod, absently shredding the tiny leaves on top of a strawberry as he listened. He leaned across the table a little, squinting at the notebook as Stormy's pen swept across the page, carefully detailing...a stick figure.
<< Hey, whatever works, right? >>
Yup. Works for me.
Gale examined the diagram carefully, already starting to put things into place in the mental files of his mind. Fragments. Kingdoms. Kings. Merlin. Excalibur. Two forms of yourself, merging into one after death. A dream world.
And then his brain caught up with the first part of Stormy's sentence.
"...ah," he said, and gave a slightly wry smile, leaning back. "Mark. Well, that certainly, er...explains actually a lot. Mark's the Division Assistant for Death, right below his illustrious self, Sir Shouts-a-Lot, also known as His Majesty Caelius. Though, to be fair," Gale amended, as he popped another blueberry into his mouth and reached for his hot cocoa. "Mark is, er...not quite into killing people as Caelius is."
But his expression softened a little at Stormy's face, the way she closed her eyes. Gale gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look.
"Hey," he said. "Look, I mean...just so you know - for future reference, I mean, not just today, but anytime you wanna talk about...well, anything at all, even if it's just the weather, I'll be here to listen."
His small smile was hesitant, as though he was afraid she would tell him no, or walk away. "Just so you, er, know," he said again, and hastily busied himself with peeling his orange.
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:47 pm
Did Caelius really shout a lot? She'd seen him in action really only once before, and there wasn't so much shouting as it was super dry sarcasm with heavy emphasis. Wait, wrong detail to be caught on. "Hum . . . Well that's good that he's sane then," she mused as she chewed the other half of her tangerine. Maybe Mark counterbalanced his leader in that regard so not everyone in the division went crazy. He seemed well-intentioned if nothing else, and if Mark hadn't gone in to work out the issue and pull them out, the casualties would have been horrible . . . Though in spite of the morbid thought, she had to giggle a little at Gale's nickname for his division leader. Caelius did have a sort of royal swagger.
It was nice to open her eyes to something other than an awkward stare at her, though even Gale's reassuring look was given a fleeting smile before she averted her eyes and ducked her head a bit, once more self-conscious of herself. She busied her hands forking a kiwi halve to her mouth and bringing her plate closer. "I appreciate that," she answered softly. "Really. I don't wanna do it now, it'd just mess up the mood, but . . . later. Maybe." If it was really going to be an issue, it'd persist until she was forced to confront someone with it; otherwise she didn't want to bother Gale with the tale of a Hunter who was still afraid to sleep in complete silence, let alone deal with nightmares.
That was kid stuff and sad stuff and all sorts of stuff she didn't want to pile on her new friend. Especially considering he was already a specialized hunter who had probably dealt with far worse things than what she whined about.
"You can do the same if you want," she offered in return, pushing the other half of kiwi onto her fork as she glanced at him mildly. "I mean, I know you mentioned Candace and Bix before, and you probably know a lot of people, so . . . you don't have to. But in case they're not available and you need someone, y'know . . . I'm a great listener. Sometimes people forget I'm there even, I sit so still and don't make a sound. Well unless they're one of those types that like a lot of nodding and 'mhmms', little cues to let them keep going. Makes me feel like a bobblehead doll, but if it helps people I don't mind. But I don't think it's intrusion if you mean well." She almost listed an example being, say, an intervention group super-ceding someone's addictions, but that probably wouldn't help the mood either.
It was funny, both of them still fumbling the conversation a bit and using the fruit to try and cancel it out. Stormy had an impulse to throw out a statistic again since it had done so wonderfully last time, but . . . maybe she ought to try the actual conversation making bit more. "Funny you should mention the weather. What's it like normally here on the island?" she prompted, wedging her fork on the large mango piece next to split in half. "I'm guessing snow isn't a normal thing, but does the barrier let you get rain and stuff? Does it ever get too hot to avoid going to the beach even if it has sharks. Does the beach have sharks? Do we have pools while we're on that subject? Or a secret spa or jacuzzi room or something?" These were very important to note okay.
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Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 10:23 pm
"Yes, well..." said Gale, with a slight quirk of his lips upwards in a dry sort of half smile as he slowly peeled his orange, Jinhai murmuring inside of his head. "Mark is...well, he's Mark."
There really wasn't much more explanation, seeing as how Mark was one of those strange oddities of the world that really was rather indescribable - and not necessarily in a good way, either.
Stormy was looking down at her fruit and Gale watched her momentarily before he ducked his own head and fiddled with a strawberry on his plate, absently tugging at the tiny leaves, his cheeks slightly flushed. He was so used to presenting himself a certain way, so used to acting "older," acting as though he had something to prove that he had entirely forgotten how he was supposed to act around someone his own age.
He felt very awkward.
But Stormy's offer, even if it was a little hesitant, made him feel somewhat more relaxed, as though his brain (or maybe it was Jinhai) was reminding him that it was okay to simply let go sometimes. He offered her a small smile.
"I do have Candace and Bix," he conceded. "And they're wonderful, but...they're both several years older than I am. And you're...you're my age," he added, somewhat unnecessarily, his face reddening slightly. "So I mean...it's easier to relate to you, I guess...if that makes any sense at all."
Gale cleared his throat, forked a blueberry into his mouth, and chewed, mostly so that he would stop talking and sounding like a prat.
"Foggy," he answered her truthfully, and smiled crookedly, shrugging one shoulder. "It's foggy a lot. Sometimes it rains, and I don't know about the sharks, but I think there's an indoor pool near the gym? I'm not sure, though..."
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:02 am
OH. Right. Age gap. Her memory was on the fritz thanks to insomnia. "Sorry! Sorry, I forget we're kinda the same age," she mumbled sheepishly. And how rude that was to her first friend! "You act like someone older and professional and I'm sitting here acting like a five year old and . . . y-yeah. No, it makes sense."
She could at least take some comfort in the natural weather being rainy and foggy and all things overcast. And hey, maybe even a pool too! Though Patches had said back when she first awoke from the pods that it needed maintenance . . . Or maybe that was something else . . . She rubbed her head when it began to give a dull throb and winced. Only in the awkward pause did Stormy begin to feel the extent of her sleepless stint; even the bags under her eyes seemed to weigh her down, if only by a little. Again trivia rared its head in spite of her tiredness as a means to fill it. Little Red Riding Hood was the first cartoon Walt Disney adapted. Diablo is the name of Maleficent's crow. Walt Disney's parents were Elias and Flora. Mindless noise to cancel out the awkward. No, that wouldn't do now . . . Friends and all.
After looking contemplative for a short while (over seemingly just the weather, as if she needed to look any stranger), the trainee perked up without warning. "I said I'd talk to you about Disney and Germany and traveling and stuff. Whoops. D'you wanna still do that?" she asked him, her fork dangling with a mango slice impaled upon it. "We could trade stories. Or you could just listen to me I just feel bad that I keep dominating the conversation. S'up to you." And then she began mildly nibbling at the sweet yellow fruit.
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Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 7:38 pm
He cracked a smile that was half a smile, half a I'm not exactly certain what age I am anymore most of the time anyway grimace that he hoped wasn't translatable to Stormy. Gale's face tinged a slight pink, and he coughed into his fist.
"Erm," he said, and ate another blueberry. "I don't think I act that professional - but," he added hastily. "I don't think you act like a five year old either. I mean, you just act like...you. I mean, I know I don't know you very well yet, but you just act...not like a five year old."
What are words, his brain went.
I don't know anymore, went the other half - namely Jinhai, who was just being obnoxious.
Gale's shoulders relaxed a little, this time his smile settling into a comfortable one. "I'd like to hear about Disney and traveling," he said. "When I was a kid I wasn't much of a...kid, really, so I've only seen a few of the Disney movies. Tragic, I know, but there you have it."
He tilted his head a little and ate another strawberry, then waved a hand noncommittally. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "You're not dominating the conversation. And besides, if I didn't want to listen, I wouldn't be here, now would I?"
He smiled again, forcefully shoving Jinhai's cackling laughter out of his head.Ol-j-man WOW LOOK AT THIS AWESOMELY LATE TAG
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Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:27 pm
How do you English again? Seriously, it shouldn't be this hard to talk.
"Right . . ."
< < And now this is becoming ridiculous. Either speak or leave, Hatchling, for time wasted cannot be earned back. > > She could practically feel his claws kneading her mind like an idle cat. < < That is to say, make an impression now or withdraw; having someone in the higher ranks as a friend will be a benefit, but only if you do not make a fool of yourself. > > Though the way he said it, it felt like that was too late to stop.
Stormy picked at her food with a fork with a thoughtful look. She might not be dominating conversation, but . . . "Yoga," she suddenly announced, looking to Gale. "Have you done it before? Any kind? I think we need to stretch out the awkward tension until it goes away and gets smoothed into not-awkward relaxation."
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Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 7:31 pm
Gale's eyebrows rose. "Yoga?" he repeated, a little bemused, but he gave a shrug of his shoulders and forked another blueberry into his mouth, moving the fruit on his plate around until he had everything organized the way he wanted to be. "Can't say I have. I'm, er, not exactly good at anything physical..."
He trailed off a little, his cheeks flushing. How did one talk to girls his own age, anyway? It was like speaking in riddles; he felt stupid and slow, as though he were creating this awkward bubble around himself. It hadn't been this hard to talk to Eva, but he supposed that was because they weren't the same age.
He'd forgotten what it was like to be seventeen.
"Am I making you tense?" Gale asked hesitantly. "Or, er, awkward? I mean, I know I'm...er...not the best companion and all..."
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:03 pm
"It's not that, it's just me," she mumbled to her fruit. Frankly she didn't know what it was, otherwise she would have been happy to explain it. Weird emotional turn? Lack of sleep? Or - no, it was probably because she had tried to be more personal too fast. Maybe that wasn't the right way to make friends. Who spilled life stories within a few days anyway?
She took a deep breath and tapped her plate with the fork. "Yoga is, um . . . It's neat in that it doesn't matter if you're good at physical things or not, since if you keep doing it it gets easier . . ." Wait, that - uh - well, everything sorta was like that. Ughhhhh.
Promptly Stormy forked another mango slice into her mouth, chewed it swiftly, and swallowed, now sitting at attention as she forced herself through the swamp she had created for herself. "It's better if you do it than me trying to talk," she said as a matter of factly, picking her plate up as she stood. "If you want, I mean. It's not, like, fun maybe, but it relaxes you and helps balance your mind, body, and spirit, which I think I need I dunno about you, and also I think it could help heal your hand how is it by the way." Either totally stopped up or flooding with words, this one.
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