|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 10:30 pm
Wordcount 1020
SpringtimeShe could feel it. It was finally here. That glorious time of year when the husk of the old year melts away, the hard soil yielding to soft green shoots of green growing things. Almost as if she herself were one of those shoots herself, she would wake before even the first light of dawn, rolling out of bed with a quite exuberance that would make non-morning people cringe. With a focus that was seen no were else in her life, she slipped into her cloths. A simple white cotton sun-dress that had seen better days. Many better days. In fact it had patches all across it as if in testament to its years of service. patch upon patch of pastel colors across threadbare white cotton.
It was quite obvious the little sundress was a Frankenstein creation, a conglomeration of whatever fabrics she has, stitched with whatever colored thread she had laying about, though with no less of a loving hand for it. Grinning as she ran her fingers along the hem of the skirt, before letting it settle back to place, falling to just above her knees. It would need repair again, but that was part of the fun. When she first got this dress, years ago, it had fallen well past her knees. And lucky ( Or unlucky for her ) the only change she had gone through physically sense then was to grow ridiculously taller. Now she fell into that tall and willowy category... but much taller and she would have to start wearing... heaven forbid.... shorts .
With a repressed shudder she started to dig through her closet, organized to within an inch of its closet life, row upon row of shoes. Glorious shoes. Sandals, heels, pumps. A shrine to female footwear, in all its girly goodness. And tucked into a corner, were the most... well, to be honest they were hideous. A pair of rubber gardening galoshes. At some point in time they probably had a cheerful print on them... if she thought long and hard she would have flashes of memory, and could almost make it out... but now they were a blurred wash of color, scratches, and gouges from years of mucking in the dirt. Just the way she loved them. Wiggling her toes in her boots she grinned to herself, grabbing up a length of ribbon to tie her wealth of hair back from her face, she grabbed her keys, and took off into the brisk morning, the sun itself still trying to wake up.
She climbed into the truck, foregoing her little vespa. She had everything she needed already loaded into the truck anyway. Turning the engine over with a rumble, she pulled into the street, the only traffic yet on the road more likely returning from a night out then rising for the day. She drove away from the city, to the outskirts of the suburbs, turning down a road with well tended grass and shrubs lining it. The road wove through gently winding curves lined with great shade granting trees, somber and looming in the pre-dawn light. Seeing the tree that marked her place, she pulled to the side of the lane and parked, climbing out and gathering the two items from the back, one a wicker basket, the other a large dufflebag with a tray of flowering shoots balanced precariously ontop.
A march up a soft grassy hill.. She knew the way by heart. She could make it in her sleep, she had done this every year sense her childhood. The very first time she had made this trip she had been wearing these same boots, only then they had been so big the rubber sides had nearly made it up to her knees, her tiny feet unable to find purchase inside and making her trip all over herself.
She settled her load down onto the grass, surveying the plants from the last year with a critical eye, determining what could be saved, what was lost to the ravages of winter. With a skillfull hand she pruned and trimmed, tied limbs to lattice with thing string when needed, and when finally, when the sun was finally making its way into the sky, she planted the little bundles of green if the freshly tilled earth below. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, careless of the smudge of dirt and grime of streaked across her face, she flopped down to the ground, her back to a large slab of stone and pulled the wicker basket closer to her.
The sun peeked over the first of the trees, sending streaks of golden light across the grass. Everyone thought she loved spring so much... And in truth it made sense. She loved gardening, she loved the animals that came with it, the freedom of sandal weather. But the truth was, she hated spring, and every year that it came brought new heart break. Every year was a little bit better, but she didn't think there would ever be a year that she welcomed spring with a whole heart. The light crawled closer, until a finger of golden rays curled across the tip of one of her boots, her legs sprawled ungracefully before her. She opened the basket and pulled out a container of berries, a little wedge of cheese, and bottle of water that had been partially frozen overnight, making it deliciously icy now.
No... she didn't like spring at all. She dreaded it. ever sense she was a little girl. She sat in the same place she did every year on the anniversary, ever sense she was a little girl tripping over boots that weren't hers, and many sizes to big. She ate breakfast with her mother, as if talking to a slab of granite were the most natural thing in the world, her long iridescent hair obscuring the words " R.I.P. Maggie Catling, Beloved Wife and Mother ".
This time she told her mother a magical story like she used to when she was a child, a story of magical lanterns, talking cats, and superheros and villains from other worlds who battled for the planet.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 10:31 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 10:32 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 6:20 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 4:41 pm
Wordcount 462 This started out as a post for the Fourth of July ORP... but sense it didn't go anywhere, I figure I would just turn it into a solo.
Fourth of July Bonfire
Evalia Catling had driven past the set up of some sort of part earlier that morning. Sure she knew it was the forth of july, its why she had hit the store so early, only being open for a short while on the holiday. The city really got into it, and she couldn't blame them. The sense of comradery that fell over the city was contagious, and by the time noon hit she had made up her mind to visit the Beach party.
Really, why shouldn't she? She had been working hard at school, and... other things. She deserved a break!! So she dug out her swim suit, which had been sorely neglected this year, threw on a light gauzy summer dress, and headed to the beach on her little white vespa. Even without a helmet. She was feeling reckless.
Even the parking lot had become a party!! She blinked at the sheer amount of people, before deciding to dive in. Just as she was making her way through the sea of inebriated bodies, the first firework went off.
It was amazing, and she found herself staring at them with wide eyes, enchanted like a child, not the willowy 20 year old woman she was. She kicked off her flip-flops at the sand's edge, wiggling her toes as she stepped into the shifting expanse of cool sand. Even as an adult, the joy of stepping directly into sad was something that never quite left her.
She wondered a bit, only half paying attention to were she went, her body swaying with the movement of the crowd, avoiding stumbling drunken people with a deft grace, before settling herself down onto a large peice of driftwood, folding her legs in front of her and tucking her shirt around her knees as she gazed up at the night sky, exploding with violent displays of vivid color.
She stayed like that for the whole show, even as the people strewn about her dosed off into slumber, or joined in taking in the sight of the fireworks. It was only after the fireworks had faded away that she realized she was chilled through, the lazy spray of the sea was pleasant in the warn summer daylight, but in the cool night air it made her shiver. Settling her hair around her like a living cloak she rose, smiling as she had to step over people asleep on beach towels and blankets on the sand, peaceful as napping children, making her way back to her vespa.
She drove home, quiet, though cold. And when she made it home, changing into her pajamas and snuggling down into her warm bed, she was filled with a sense of peace that had been missing from her life the past few months.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 5:24 pm
This solo takes place directly after the end of this Battle with Natron
The Lantern
It was still there. The exact same place she had thrown it hours before. The flame of its candle had burned out, but it was still there, glittering and lovely.
She hated it so much. The day that cursed thing had come back into her life was the day that death had decided to come visit her again. She and the grim reaper were no strangers to each other... her mother had been taken at a horribly young age, leaving her with a helplessly unprepared father, but that wasn't the same as it suddenly lurking around every corner. It wasn't the same as knowing that there were people out there who could literally rip the life right out of your chest, taking an actual glittering physical representation of it right out of your body.
It just wasn't the same.
She had run all the way home, as if she could have outrun her horrible defeat by Natron, as if she could outrun the horrible vision of that poor man's lifeless face, flickering in the darkness behind her eyelids every time she blinked. She had thrown the lantern down right there, on the other side of the door... She had run to her bathroom and promptly emptied her stomach... the first time she had been physically ill in ages, and taken a long shower. Scalding hot, turning her skin red and sensitive, and letting it run until it was ice cold. That had been hours ago.. And it was still there.
She stared at for a moment, her eyes a little to wide, but silent. She walked to it slowly, as if approaching a snake, pausing when she was right beside it... just looking at it. She reached down to pick it up, her hand hesitating right above the metallic handle... and with drew.. leaving it on the ground, its shining metal resting in the soft plush carpet.
She closed her eyes and turned, walking to across the living room, down the hallway, and into her bedroom. She shut the door with a resounding thud, as if trying to make a statement for someone who wasn't even there. She pried her mind away from the thoughts of the lantern, willing herself to not think of anything... Just... focus on the task at hand...
She brushed her hair, training her mind on the simple menial task... brush brush, witch sides, brush brush... She changed her cloths, slipping into a nice comfy night gown... Brushed her teeth... One step at a time, step after step..
She took a deep breath and curled up into bed, but she kept picturing the man from the alley in her mind. Still and cold, with a dull lifeless crystal on his chest. She took another deep breath, slow exhaustion dragging her down into sleep... she cold feel tears leaking out from under her lids, but she was just so tired... she didn't even care.
In a bust of shimmering glitter, the lantern disappeared from the living room floor, reappearing on Evalia's bedside table. She dreamed about the battle from before, trapped in a nightmare, a little whimper escaping her.
But it was a nightmare. In the dream, this time she won. She saved him, and the man had drawn breath, and had been able to go home to his family, to live out the rest of his life happy and filled with any mistakes or accomplishments he was meant to make.
In her sleep, Evalia let out a soft sigh, curling onto her side in her nest of warm blankets, her face still damp with tears, but her face a little calmer, whether it was sleep or the dream... it didn't matter.
The flame on the candle sputtered to life, and illuminated Evalias bedroom with soft light as she dreamed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2013 8:20 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 20, 2015 6:49 pm
Wordcount 732
This solo takes place about a month after the Battle with Merlinite
Cold RemindersIt had been a blissfully uneventful week. No one trying to kill her, no random monsters popping out of alleyways, no starseeds being flung about. Just a normal week. If Evalia tried really hard she could just suppress it all, at least for a little while, and be just a normal girl. Woman, she reminded herself. Her 21st birthday was quickly approaching, she really had no reason to be thinking of herself as a girl.
She smiled to herself. It was still early enough that when she went to the cafeteria for lunch, it was relatively empty. Free from the crowds of students trying to catch a late breakfast and only the first trickling of people trying to get in some food before a long class.
She didn't always eat in the cafeteria, she preferred to sit outside on the grass, but a steady drizzle persisted outside, and it would have made an outdoor lunch a very soggy in devour. And after her run in with Merlinite some months ago, she didn't really feel comfortable in the little courtyard by the science wing. So the cafeteria it was!!
Housekeeping staff were busy cleaning up after the breakfast rush, and as a result only a handful of tables were available for seating. She Picked a spot at random, tossing her little bagged lunch on the table and settling the gauzy folds of her dress around her. She smiled and thought about what she would do for her birthday party. She had a tradition of throwing one herself, and then she usually had dinner later with her father. But maybe she should switch it up this time? It was her 21st birthday after all. Maybe she should do Lunch with her father and have a party in the evening. Wasn't it a time honored tradition of drinking on the evening of your birthday?
She poked idly at her salad, not really eating but more moving the vegetables and lettuces around the plate, lost in contemplation. She didn't even notice when a small group of chatty girls entered the lunch room, grabbing various nibbles and beverages, deep in intense conversation. She didn't notice when the started walking over, or their gasps of shock at something one of them said. She was so blissfully lost in ever day normal human life thoughts that their presence didnt even register till the sat down next to her.
" That's right he was dead. " One of the girls said, nodding her head enthusiastically.
" No waaay, right in public view?! What has this town come to? " Another one said, taking a bite of something from her plate, shaking her head in sorrow.
" Yeah, in the park, Steven said he saw it himself! The guy just plunged his hand into the girls chest and ripped something out like in a kung-fu movie! Only it glowed! "
" Bull-s**t! Steven didn't see anything! If he had witnessed something weird like that he would have been killed. You cant get away from a vigilante like that " Said another skeptical girl who was taking a drink from her soda.
" Well didn't you see the news this morning? They found a body in the park- "
Evalia, who had frozen an gone pale, unable to block out the girls chatter, dropped her fork on the table with a clatter. She grabbed her purse and walked quickly out of the lunch room, leaving her food abandoned as she bolted through the swinging glass doors into the steady drizzle of rain, heedless as she headed towards the labs that she liked to do her homework.
She stopped in mid stride, heedless of the rain soaking her dress, thoughts of the encounter with Merlinite resurfacing... Negaverse agents... Dead bodies... The Park.. Her School.. Was no were safe anymore? Was it to much to ask just to be a normal person? Maybe it was, but she was still going to try. Shaking her head, she pulled out her keys from her little purse and decided to just go home, and take the day off. Collect herself. Try and forget that apparently everywhere in her home was filled with murderers and super natural beings who would rip your star seed out without a second thought. As she got on her vespa and started to drive home, she let the thought of a nice birthday party, a night out on the town to celibrate, die.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 10:18 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 4:44 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 4:47 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:31 am
Wordcount 1005
This solo takes place a about week after the incident on Hugbell's Homeworld / May 31st
Stalling Fate She couldn't believe how late it had gotten. She hadn't been out this late in... well... A long time. Her grades had suffered, and she was tried hard not to flounder in her grades beyond repair. She wasn't exactly the best student anyway. She often had a hard time focusing on school work, which meant it took her longer to get through things then normal. The stress of the past few weeks had been enough to completely derail her train of thought. She jumped at little sounds that before she would never have batted an eye at. She didn't go out after dark unless she had absolutely no other choice... She tried to keep herself to heavily populated areas like classrooms and parks filled with people in the light of springtime. Not dark rooms secluded from the world, separated from everyone by dark echoing halls and lifeless parking lots.
But now, in an attempt to save her dieing GPA she had stayed late in the Botanical labs at DCU. Really it was just a fancy greenhouse with some nice equipment, but it was still considered a la. Her mind, trying to keep itself occupied so it didn't have to think about the events of the past weeks, about starseeds being ripped out from innocent people and their lives being snuffed out forever, about giant bear monsters trying to devour little girls, had decided to focus with such a determination when the bustling lab, filled with other students had slowly grown quieter, as students left for the day. She hadn't noticed the Overhead lights, switch to the bright florescence to make up for the lack of sunlight coming through the glass panels of the greenhouse. Hadn't noticed the house tick away as she stayed safely ensconced in her whirl of unnatural focus, because lord knows she usually had the attention span of a toddler hopped on a years worth of pixie sticks.
When she did notice... It was well past midnight. And she was completely alone. Her school Id with its card slider into the lab would get her through the lab doors and outside without needing a janitor to open the front doors... but still. She had parked her little white vespa in the corner were others who rode Motorcycles or pedal bikes parked their vehicles. It was a long dark walk through an empty campus, eerily quiet in those small hours stuck between true night and morning. And she was completely alone.
She swiped her ID and left the lab, hearing the automatic lock on the door slide home when the door shut. She slung her little messenger over her shoulder and gazed at the front door, pale green eyes a little wide as she fought down an attack of nerves. Shaking her head, mentally berating herself for being silly, which sent the long shimmering tendrils of opalescent hair sliding around her like a cape, she strode to the front door, angling herself towards the alley were her vespa waited patiently. Campus was a safe place, probably the safest place she could be. Cameras and security guards were common-place on campus, and the alleyway she had parked her scooter was only accessible from on the campus itself, the side open to the public blocked off by a high chain link fence. She relaxed as she ticked off in her mind the list of safety protocols she knew the school had, and felt herself relax.
She took a deep breath and stepped outside. the air was cool and refreshing, and she felt it sooth her fears. Sadly though she couldn't shake off that feeling she was being watched. That feeling had been non stop in her life ever sense the incident with Natron. It got less and less as time went on, but right now it was a persistent itch between her shoulder blades, and it made her shiver.
She walked quickly towards her vespa, but her nerves were on fire. Something was wrong. She stopped and looked around the parking lot, still standing on the sidewalk that edged between two of the larger science buildings. She didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean no one was there. She gazed around, and listened. She was being silly-
The sound sound of a shoe on concrete, which she probably would have missed if she hadn't been straining her ears like a person who expected the boogy man to jump out of the shadows.
She turned and looked back down the sidewalk.. only she didn't see anyone.
" Hello? " Oh god even to her own ears she sounded like a horror movie stereotype. This was ridiculous, that was more then likely just the echo of her own shoes bouncing off of the buildings. Even her own voice had echoed back to her.
Her muscles tensed, and in her mind she saw the giant youma she had seen on... where if was that they had been.... She was envisioning such horrible things. Would Natron come out from the shadows? Was it a Monster? Was it some Senshi from the other side of the mirror, who had somehow figured out who she was?
Her hands clutched the strap of her purse, knuckles white, and for the first time sense this had all started she wished for her lantern... in fact, she was a second away from summoning it when another student walked down the sidewalk, stride bouncing in tune with the music blaring out of her speakers. The kid gave her a smile and continued on his way to his old little beater car, probably wondering vaguely why the weird girl was starring at him like he had grown a second head.
Maybe... maybe it was time to come to terms with the fact she couldn't hide from her powered self any longer. It seemed like the universe was slowly taking away her option to not even power up as it were. Maybe she should go back to that world before it sucked her back in against her will.... maybe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:44 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:45 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 6:06 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
