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 Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 1:22 pm
He hummed in agreement. "Yeah, it did. And when it didn't... suck... it was very, very strange." He recalled giant desserts that had temporarily turned him into a rabbit, a wedding ceremony that he was fairly certain hadn't been terribly accurate as far as most weddings were concerned, and a rather intriguing, but entirely cosmetic, set of cat ears. For every one thing he found fascinating in hindsight, however, there had been five to ten talking trees, jabberwocks, and little ghouls transforming into writhing death monsters and dissipating everyone within range.
"I would hope that we don't find ourselves in situations like that very often, if ever again," he said. "Then again, there are some pretty jaded Hobs around here, so we probably won't be so lucky." He might have suggested that they just up and leave the school before they wound up irreversibly changed, but wasn't changing irreversibly what school was all about? She had seemed so proud of her diploma too, in that memory he wasn't supposed to share or even think of ever again for as long as he lived. He wasn't about to dissuade her from getting the education she wanted, let alone leave Amityville himself.
"And it's not..." Bren waved his hand slightly, shrugging off anything she felt she needed to apologize for. "I'd be a pretty bad friend if I wasn't okay with you being upset." He bent his knees, drawing his legs closer again. "Here, I'll start small. My favorite color is that orangish-brown that the leaves turn right before they fall. And I like to sing sometimes. Not in public."
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Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 3:32 pm
"Well that's just great," she huffed. "Whatever. I can handle whatever wants to come over." Maybe. It took Piper a while to get over the Wonderland, though . . . Meh. It was just a stupid dream thing anyway; look, they were even getting past that in one conversation!
She did have to arch her eyebrows at Brenley's reveal, though. Well not so much the color--orange was sort of popular around her area too, at least around deciduous trees--but the fact that he actually liked to sing. "If that's the case, I should show you my place some time," she told him with a little smile. "Wightwood. Real deep in the forest, y'know, 'cause the . . .'wood' part and . . . stuff . . . Uh, anyway, we get all sorts of those colors if you wanna check it out."
Her crossed arms began to loosen as the smile evolved into a sly look. "So, you like singing, huh? You never mentioned. What sort've stuff?"
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 7:54 am
The truth was, he hadn't even been thinking of her singing when he'd mentioned his own, he'd just chosen the first of his hobbies that came to mind that he had also never shared with anybody else.
"It's nothing, really. Ritualistic stuff that goes with..." He gestured at his legs where his tattoos were hidden under looping strips of cloth. "Different songs for events and achievements, among other things. I don't know anything particularly modern." He swallowed, a close-lipped smile lingering for a second before he spoke again. "I won't be entering any scareoke competitions any time soon."
Bren fidgeted, beginning to understand just how uncomfortable deliberately sharing his life could be. "Wightwood sounds lovely though. It's nearly barren where I grew up. Sandy. Nice in its own way, but never green." He nodded, finally looking at her properly. "Maybe I will come by someday, just to see it." It was rather strange that he'd never had any particularly harrowing experiences back home when they seemed so common here. If he'd been forced into Wonderland or that odd void where he'd met Hel, he might have been more prepared.
"You never came across anyplace like that dream world growing up though, right? I wonder what's... wrong with Amityville. It does come across as slightly eccentric in the news, but I thought that was just because it was near the city."
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 10:36 am
Her head tilted curiously as she listened, hair pooling over her shoulder. "Yeah? Never say never, Bren," Piper said with confidence, even though he hadn't actually used the word. "Maybe I'll get you on stage with me for a duet just 'cause one day~ But your fam does that sort of stuff too, huh." Always with tradition, always with the rituals.
She patted the markings on her legs and then her arms in turn. "Each name's got a pattern over in Wightwood, back from, like, when all the clans were warring and stuff. The Blackes' had feather stuff since, like, owls and birds and stuff ran in the family and all. The Vatis', Mom's side, used this swirl stuff for just magic in general, but normally means like the wind and water." Piper's tone soured a little. "Eventually I'm supposed to be covered in s**t. Stupid old pride stuff back home even though there's no wars anymore. Go around without them and it's like, Oh no, I can't tell what her bloodline is 'cause it's not freakin' stamped on her face, is she ashamed or something?"
Then, realizing she was probably getting a little too into it, Piper backed off and made a dismissive motion with her hand. "Anyway, nah, never had this sort of stuff back home. It's kinda...outta the way, so I thought this stuff was normal?" she admitted. "I dunno. Weirdest thing that happens in Wightwood is if you start hearing the trees talk and there's no spirits around pranking ya. Being in the sand sounds kinda boring, though, no offense. Unless it's like the beach or something..."
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 12:19 pm
The boil scratched at his leg, letting the air clear a bit after her small, but no less unexpected outburst. "Interesting. Ours aren't really meant to be seen by anyone we're not close to. Theoretically. But sometimes I don't feel like wearing pants." He ran his hand over the ground beside him, freezing when he realized what he had said. "Shorts. I wear short pants when I don't feel like wearing long ones, not..." He cleared his throat. "Mine will go up my torso and end over my heart." Of course, the heart rune was only added for a particularly momentous occasion, one that he was told he would be able to identify when it happened. The expectation was a little nervewracking. What would be important enough to hold in his heart forever?
"And it is boring," Bren sighed. "Terribly so. But I had books," he added sheepishly. "And magic." And dreams of Amityville. And his mother. She had been rather stifling, actually, but he hadn't realized just how stifling she was until he'd gotten away from her. "You're welcome to come see it someday too though. You can definitely leave again right away. Get back to more entertaining places." He chuckled, but it faded fast.
"So. You're okay?"
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 3:00 pm
She snickered as he stumbled over his own words. "I did notice that. And the hair cut. Now you're not so ghouly, congrats~" She even golf-clapped a few times for Brenley's benefit. But the idea of only going up to the heart seemed odd. Why stop there? Granted, blank skin in general was strange to Piper who, as a first year, only had the minimal amount and felt rather naked for it despite being around people who couldn't care less.
She might or might not have overcompensated now that she was a second year.
"Ehhhhhh...Only if you give me the quick tour," she replied, fidgeting at the idea. It wasn't that she minded visiting so much as it was her being feeling out of place and awkward, which always bred a little attitude out of her to compensate--and which would probably lead to some less than pleasant first impressions; apply that to family and add whatever the hell else her feelings did and it was just waiting to make her look awful. That and just...sand. Eh. Give her trees and shade any day.
But hey, he chuckled! That's kinda something given his usual stoicism.
Brenley's question gave her pause, and she fiddled with her choker for a moment, scratching underneath. "Yeah," Piper decided. "Yeah, I'm good. Nothing real bad happened in the end aside from, like, all that memory stuff. Annoying, but I'll get over it. I mean, I know I'm me and you're you, whatever dumb name you pick--I mean, BigIdea?" she teased. "Really? But that's what matters, right? None of that really happened, and I didn't get what was going on half the time, so really it's like...a really bad drug trip or something anyway, I think. I mean bringing up old stuff was stupid, but it's done. I-D-K." Piper shrugged. "Not gonna make me jaded or whatever those hobs are. You?"
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 9:33 pm
He bore her teasing without direct comment, though his faint smile and the periodic shakes of his head seemed to suggest that he found her gibes amusing. On the subject of his hair he had little to say in his defense. It had knotted beyond repair following a stretch of particularly intense sciencing coupled with an odd trip to a warehouse, so its fate had been out of his hands. The name he had chosen, on the other hand, was fitting and wonderful and she was obviously jealous. He did have big ideas and he knew how to use them. One day he would be known for them, if he didn't dissipate permanently first.
Brenley nodded when she turned his question on him. While Wonderland had been disturbing in many ways, for him it hadn't matched the Tear for embarrassment. He had been lost as a follower of Longing, comically ineffectual mentally but quite an adept fighter. As much as losing spars stung, he definitely preferred brains to brawn. All this most recent out of body experience had shown him was how truly pathetic his life had the potential to become. Luckily, he still had plenty of time to change things.
"I'm all right," he finally replied. "At the very least, these other worlds are preparing me to be ready for anything." He sat silently picking at invisible imperfections in his clothing for a while, and when he looked up at her again it was with clear curiosity. "That Ignatius boil. We should find him as well."Ol-j-man timberlake river of apologies ;;
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 11:48 pm
"Yeah, I guess so . . ." He seemed alright, unless Blight--Ignatius (lame)--was in the same vein as Brenley's thinking and had just played up a persona. As much as Piperacted like some of Wonderland wouldn't bother her, though, there were sill just a few lingering things. She figured it'd be alright to toss them up as asides, just to be sure it didn't make her look stupid or anything.
"Got to say, though, dying was weird," she commented with a frown, letting her choker be and crisscrossing her fingers in her lap. "I mean, I'd never gotten dissipated before. Guess you're right about the preparing part, huh." Piper remembered in the panicked few moments she had been alone in the bar that she had fired off quick, frantic messages at both boils and was particularly glad her skin tone made blushing harder to detect. Not that concern for Brenley was anything to be blushing about.
Signs of doubt filtered through her expression. "You think that place is gone for good, though?" It had seemed that way towards the end, but Piper didn't know technology too well, let alone advanced stuff like this. "All that stuff about queens and clones and all . . . Just, brr, y'klnow."
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 2:13 pm
"Dying there to that... thing... yes, that was very strange. I mean, I had dissipated before, but it hadn't been like that." The lightning that plagued Thunder Road had ended him instantaneously, but even that rather violent death had been gentle compared to the Alice monster's devouring and bisection. He could appreciate the methodical way the not-so-little ghoul had rid herself of threats, but there had been a measure of glee there too that he couldn't understand at all.
"I hadn't thought about what might have happened to that place once we left. I guess I hope it faded away once we weren't there to populate it. I was just happy to wake up after..." Bren cleared his throat as he reluctantly called up the memory of that second death. He had managed to force it to the back of his mind for the most part, something he was discovering he was remarkably good at. Had he not, he might have still been in his room now, trying to get over what he had seen. "After my clone burned me to death," he finally finished. The boil laughed once. It was not a happy sound.
"The only thing to do if that world still exists somewhere would be to stay awake forever to keep it from taking over, though I don't remember falling asleep before any of it began." He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly through his nose. "Hopefully, if we ever find ourselves in a place like that again, we'll be there together. And since I promised I won't keep my identity a secret next time, you'll know I've got your back, at the very least."
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 12:27 am
Burned. More brr. For a moment there was real sympathy in Piper's eyes as she recalled how her clone had, rather callously in her opinion, sliced her in half, and she cringed at the mirthless laugh. Still, in a strange way she was glad she hadn't been the only one who had been caught in that situation, forced to watch herself be her own executioner. That sort of thing was the real stuff of nightmares.
"You better be there," Piper grumbled, trying to backtrack away from soft feelings and doing the job only half-right. "You owe me lots, B-Ren. Like, lots. I mean, I'm always gonna be there when there's action. That's, like, obvious. And maybe that stuff's not really your thing, and that's cool too I guess. But, I mean, yanno . . . I'd really appreciate knowing you were there, if you are."
The words came out like she was pulling teeth. No, more like if she was trying to perform for her family, because there was an undercurrent of nervousness there she hadn't meant for.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 1:46 pm
He might not have enjoyed action as much as she did, if at all, but the boil knew he wasn't likely to lose his curious streak any time soon. At some point he had also learned that being curious around Amityville tended to get you mixed up in the action anyway. If nothing else, this recent involuntary excursion had driven that home rather insistently. Brenley looked over at Piper and nodded, intrigued by her urgency.
"Yes," he assured her. "If I'm around when you are and there's... action... I'll fight with you, for all the good it will do. And if I can't find you or don't recognize you for whatever reason, I'll keep looking until I do. Somehow." Bren considered reaching over to give her arm a pat, but in the end, he decided against it, even though she did seem noticeably out of sorts. Instead, he tried to interject some levity into the conversation. Had his voice not possessed a touch of amusement, however, he might have sounded accusatory instead.
"How much do I owe, exactly? Am I your bet slave for life now?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 8:55 pm
"Well, maybe if you didn't suck so much at fighting I'd feel better," Piper teased him, pushing past her inner awkwardness towards something more familiar. Still, Brenley was being sincere. She found herself reaching out and patting his shoulder in thanks, though her hand quickly withdrew.
The opportunity to keep him even longer as a bet slave was very tempting . . . And yet for some reason, Piper found herself less inclined to extend it, even though he did essentially lie to her about his identity. Maybe in spite of her efforts, she was going a little soft. "Uhhhhhh . . Yanno what, don't worry about it right now," she waved him off airily. "I'll thinka somethin' to make you pay me back later. You do another stupid move, though, and I'll really lay it into you, 'kay? Like--" Her hand extended again, this time as a fist, and lightly punched Brenley's arm with a little grin. "Got it, B-Ren? You a skinny-a** practice dummy, but it won't stop me from knocking you down a few notches."
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:21 pm
He swayed in place under the force of her punch, a part of him proud that she hadn't caught him off guard and that the movement was all for show. "That sounds fair. And I'll have you know I've been practicing. A little. I might not be such a willing punching bag next time."
Brenley went silent again for a second or two, reaching up to absently rub at the spot she had pat and hit. Even though he knew that he shouldn't want to be her slave for any reason at all, he kind of liked that it gave her an excuse to stay connected to him, even if it was a little demeaning on his end. "Well. I'll be around whenever you decide to cash in." Hopefully, that hadn't sounded too grasping.
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