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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:22 pm
Asking Lanna to stay put was like asking Brian to be nice- it just wasn't going to happen. The foxfire remained at Belladonna's heels, blinking and looking a bit put-off. Wry u no lap? D:< Was glitter really better than cuddles?
Her huffy expression disappeared in the darkness. Had it not been for the Christmastival lights lining the room and the dim red light of the alarm clock, it would have been pitch black within Mort's room; no windows allowed for natural light to filter through. Yet even with some light sources still on, the witch would be able to pick out several stars plastered to the ceiling just above the bed, the kind that glowed in the dark if given time to soak in light; well, that would explain why the lights had already been on before she got there. Behind each star was a post-it: T, R, G, and O. One also held the final index card.
Congratulations! Hopefully you completed the riddles in order and didn't accidentally come across this note ahead of time. Take the letters to the edge of the Not-So-Forbidden Forest west of the river. I'll be waiting at its edge.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:31 pm
Belladonna really should have known better than to ask Lanna to stay, so she wasn't altogether too surprised when the little pup followed close on her heels. But the witch really and truly hoped the little thing would keep out from underfoot as she grabbed a chair from the desk and hoisted herself up toward the stars. "Look at me, I'm Mort. I'm so tall I can stick stars on the ceiling, no problem!" Belladonna teased to the absent Mort as she peeled the stars off and pocketed the post its. She meant it in all fun, but she did almost wobble off the chair at one point. Finally she took down the index card and put her feet on a stable surface once more. Whew! Not prepared for a lack of riddle, Belladonna's eyes widened considerably when she realized that her quest was almost over. She let out a loud squeal of delight and emptied her pockets of the remaining treats for Lanna and gave her a good (if hurried) scratch behind her ears. "Thank you for your help, you precious creature you!" The witch cooed. Belladonna almost opened the bathroom door to make sure she looked alright, but remembered at the last moment that Brian was still in there and probably very angry. Well, she'd just have to go out with the glitter still on her face. It didn't matter! Mooooooooort!!!!With a giant smile plastered to her face and her apron pockets full of letters, Belladonna raced out of the Undead dorms and across campus to the west side of the Not-So-Forbidden Forest. It had taken her much longer than she had expected to solve all the riddles, so hopefully Mort wouldn't be forced to wait too long, but the witch certainly did look a regular Alice the way she was running across campus. That and the dress helped too.
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medigel rolled 1 10-sided dice:
9
Total: 9 (1-10)
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:37 pm
(( Now let's see how prepped Mort is! Rather prepped by the looks of it. ))
Yipyipyipyip~ dlfkjlfkjsdlfkjslkfjsdlkfjsdTREATSSSSSSSSS. Lanna would be busy for quite a while with these and, after seeing the witch off the foxfire immediately went to devour the goodies where they landed, not wanting to go near the door again - not for a while at least.
~ ~ ~
Belladonna would not have to go for very long before she spotted Mort, mostly because his clothes made him stand out some against the green. Much like her, he had attempted to cosplay the infamous Mad Hatter, though with more haphazard attentions: little resources and even littler money led to corners being cut. Still, though his overcoat was a drab and ratty brown, his pinstripe pants were smudged and showing wear, and his shoes were more "rotten pumpkin" than "Halloween orange", the hat at least looked similar to the original - large, wide-brimmed, and stitched together from different patterns, it was like a beacon she could espy and be led by.
He was at the moment leaned against a tree, one leg sprawled out while the other remained propped up. One hand was lightly touching an older generation eyePod, and as she approached she would be able to hear one of the more current techno sounds playing through the headset about his neck: the battery was over halfway out. Sometime between the set up and the waiting, Mort had apparently fallen asleep; it had been mentally exhausting to get the things he'd needed, and the planning itself had taken a large portion of it. The far-too-large hat had slipped over Mort's face and obscured it, leaving only wisps of blue hair poking out to prove it was him.
Like anyone else would decide to cosplay Hatter today of all days.
He didn't stir as she approached, so deep in his haze-dreams as he was. Unconsciously he mumbled something about "brains".
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:03 pm
The moment Belladonna spotted the top hat, she could have screamed in joy. Maybe it was all the running, or maybe her intuition was high, but for whatever reason she simply didn't make a peep. Instead she kept running until she got close enough to see that... Mort had fallen asleep! Belladonna slowed her roll, until she finally only tip toed forward. As if she hadn't felt like Alice all day, now she really felt the part. Alice was always sneaking up on people and surprising them, so it would be difficult for the witch to not accidentally scare the zomboil into an unfortunate and startled wake-up. Honestly she felt a little bad about making him wait so long, but she figured he had at least partially prepared for such a thing. Of all things, Belladonna certainly wasn't the best at riddles... It was lucky he hadn't given her anything harder, or she never would have figured them out! In any regard, the witch approached quietly and lowered herself before him, as close as she could get without actually crawling into his lap. His hat was perfect, his entire outfit was darling and had his hat not been obscuring his face, she would have kissed him awake. (How he known to dress up like the Mad Hatter?! He was a doll!) But, she managed to restrain herself and instead only looked at him for a moment. How should she go about waking him? He had been oh-so-romantic all day that she couldn't just shake his shoulder and expect him to awake. Instead, she did the next best thing. Careful to be slow and not wake him abruptly, Belladonna gingerly pulled the hat off his head and finally pressed one, soft kiss to his forehead. "Wake up sleepy head, Alice had come for her Hatter and wants to know why a raven is like a writing desk." She told him in a soft voice as she set the hat in her floofy lap.
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:12 am
Like minipet, like owner. Mort was slow to stir and even slower to sit up, joints popping with almost every movement. Rigor mortis had been settling in, making his body stiff as a board. []b"Mrrrr . . ." Blearily a hand came up to try and locate the hat, it was so bright in here. Wasn't it on his head? Nope. Who took -
His eyes finally focused on the ghoul. Drowsiness was shrugged off as he sat up against the tree and gave one quick yawn, grinning cheekily from ear to ear at her costume with pleasant surprise. He knew Bells liked dresses, but he hadn't imagined she liked costumes too! "Haven't the s-slightest idea. What took you, Alice? Your clock's two days slow." He pulled a small pocket watch out of his coat and tapped the broken glass: it was stuck at 6:56PM. "Now, for the last part!"
Putting away the watch, he slid from the band on his hat two last post-it notes, offering M and ?. "N-Not exactly a riddle, but bear with for last puzzle. Have been collecting letters, yes? Now is time to see what they say. Have been asking the questions, but now is time for A-Alice's say. Five words I-I ask."
M O E H O T P W I T R G O M ?
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:11 am
As he woke, the witch watched him with a giddy face and a few escaped giggles. Last time they had rested together, it was she who had fallen asleep and she hadn't gotten the distinct pleasure of watching him wake. But now she did and for some inexplicable reason, Belladonna absolutely loved it. "Two days late?!" She replied a little impetuously, her little accent coming in full force now. "I asked you to fix it for me, but you just put jam in it!" Belladonna finally drove herself into a fit of giggles before she sat back and looked at him more seriously. The last puzzle! Ooohhh Hecate, it was a real doozy. Maybe Mort needed to just go back to sleep. Riddles were easy, riddles had one answer and could easily be figured out. But letters? Those were more difficult... Belladonna took a deep breath and fished out all the remaining letters from her apron pocket and spread them out on the grass in the small clearing she had made between them. There were so many! And five words? Yeesh, that made things more difficult... That meant that the words were small... ALRIGHT. Let's get to work! HOP TO ? Eeeerrr, Belladonna couldn't get any other words out of that, so she figured that wasn't it... WIT MOTH POGOM ? That probably wasn't it either... That was also only three words and she needed five. Hrrrmmm! She'd also forgotten that extra 'e'.... OH. Maybe... WITH ME TO GO ? Looking much better! But that sentence didn't make any sense... The witch quickly rearranged the words before she focused on the last word. Porm? Morp? Romp? GO WTIH ME TO ROMP ? Belladonna stared at the letters for a long time. Romp? That didn't make any sense... What kind of romp did he... "Oh..." GO WITH ME TO PROM ? For a long moment Belladonna stared at the words, her eyes wide and her mouth frozen in a small, uncertain 'o'. "You want me to go with you... To prom?" The witch squeaked out as she looked up at Mort, her eyebrows a flinch away from crumbling into sadness. This wasn't a joke, was it? Because, really... She really wanted to go with him! She'd never gone to a dance with a boil before... "You really want to go with me?" It wasn't said with indignation, or suspicion, just with sincere curiosity... Ol-j-man OK. I edited the end a bit... I know you're on, so dunno if you'll see the first or second edit. XD
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:42 am
"It was for your unbirthday!" he countered with a laugh. Sleep? Mort would do no such thing now that she was here. He didn't want to miss the series of faces Bells made as she slowly unravelled his puzzle. The zomboiled smiled to himself, breakinh into a n amused snort when she had assembled ROMP. That wasn't the plan today, even if he /had/ had the gall to joke about her going to his room naked.
Yet in spite of his confidence and chill factor, Mort was still a tad nervous. Never before had he done something like this - it was rather dragged out to boot. Who in the world posed riddles and scrambled words to ask one question he already figured the answer to?
Mort of course. Mr. Make It Complicated. But he had wanted to make his first "asking out" memorable since, well, texting was terribly lame. At the least he was in control of his stutter, which was a good sign and only added to his confidence factor.
When at last Bells had puzzled out his question and posed one of her own, he pushed his glasses up with a chuckle. "Well it /was/ a toss up between you and Greg. He's quite the life of the party a-after all. If you say no, he gets the privelege. Or Lanna if she says yes. N' you know she would." ((OH LOOK PHONE POST. Splitting it a bit so it doesn't shut off on me. Will quote when done~))
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:20 pm
Another moment passed as the witch stared at the letters, in a bit of disbelief. Mort had gone through all this trouble... He had set up an elaborate set of tasks and riddles and thought everything through... Just for her. If the witch were a bit more weepy (well, more so than she already was), she might have cried. But instead she shook her head ferociously and grabbed up his hands into both her's. "Yes. Yes, I will got to prom with you."Grinning like a fool, Belladonna reached up and placed the hat back onto his head before she leaned in for a romantic kiss worthy of all the swelling, dramatic music she was sure was playing somewhere. This was more than perfect. This was everything she had ever dreamed of and more. No one had ever asked her to a dance, and certainly not prom! There was no one else she'd ever want to go with. While Lanna would be a fun partner, nothing would beat showing up in a fancy dress with her beloved Mort. Speaking of fancy dresses! Belladonna took a gasp and let go of his hands to dramatically press her own to her face. "My goodness! What will we wear? Its Masquerade themed, so something like that... But oh my! We need a theme! Mort, do you like anything in particular?"Errr, that was an awfully vague question, but for whatever reason the witch didn't retract it. Hopefully he understood that she meant something like the Swan Queen and her Prince, or the wonderfully tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, or even perhaps Queen Gwenevere and her dashing Knight Lancelot. So many options! Belladonna was nearly vibrating with the excitement. But, wait! There was one last question... "What was in the box with the Cheshire Cat smile? I didn't open that one..." It was true! She had completely forgotten about it in her haste to reach Mort and find out the secret to all this. Ol-j-man SUPER DEDICATION FOR THE FEELS. Yesssss.
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:47 pm
If he had any tension left over from his less than comfy bed, it left him when she said yes. It didn't matter that he was sure she would say it: it was a thousand times better to hear it. The much-too-large hat descended over his face as they kissed, and with a mindless hand tilted it back to cushion his head against the tree as he pulled the witch closer. It wasn't quite a symphony in his ears playing, but the hum his brain gave was audible.
When Belladonna came up breathless, Mort reluctantly let his hold slacken so she could breathe, chuckling a bit at how she looked with her hands pushing on her face. Right, masquerade..."M'not a big fan of masks," he said, poking one of his glasses's legs. "Hard to keep both on. /COuld/ go blind, buuuut would rather not, th-thanks." Still he didn't want to make them stick out something sore just because of that pet peeve. He made a thoughtful sound, already sketching in his inner eye how to make prescription masks. "Otherwise, n-not picky. Could go Victorian. Is what masquerade is based on, right? Mrrr, bad time to be broke..."
Mort blinked when she brought up the box. "That? Er, had a card saying was wrong but photo of kittens for consolation."
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:12 pm
The moment he pulled her closer was the moment Belladonna decided she really didn't need to breath all that much. All the pent up excitement and adoration she had accumulated for the boil throughout the day came pouring out and with a deft hand she grabbed his hat and nearly tossed it to the ground next to them. Only one last semblance of reason steadied her hand enough to simply lay it aside. But that was about where reason ended as she pressed one hand to his jaw and the other tangled into his hair. (She had a fixation with boy's hair. It was a failing of her's she'd never try to rectify.) But, the witch still couldn't hold the kiss for altogether much longer. She tossed one last passionate press to his mouth before she pulled back and heaved a breath. Oh. Air is so nice! She thought a little light headed, as she sat back on her floofy petticoat and skirts. "Oh. That's right! I suppose a mask would be rather difficult to wear along with glasses... Hhhmmm..." For a long moment Belladonna considered her options. It would be totally ridiculous for him to go blind, and it would also destroy all her hopes of getting to wear a pretty dress. If he couldn't see it, what was the point?! Think, think, think... "Victorian is always wonderful. Maybe now would be a good time to go steampunk! Gasp! Let's be a Steampunk Knight and Princess!" Already the witch could see it in her head, them both decked out in finery. Maybe she wasn't entirely sure how she would make him very visibly a knight, but she'd figure something out, she was sure! "Broke? Oh don't even worry about it. I'll cover the cost. Mother and Papa will be more than glad to foot the bill, especially if it means I'm participating in school." The witch inserted a hand wave that meant nothing more on the subject should be discussed. "Oh. Good thing I didn't get anything wrong, then!" The witch cackled at her own cleverness, but heaved a happy, content sigh. This was all so wonderful. "Is the glitter still on my face?" She asked with a push from her fingers that made both her cheeks bunched up, much like a chipmunk's. "And how is your zombie squirrel? Has it popped yet? What'd you name it?"Now that the riddle was over, the witch couldn't contain her joy and let it spill over in the form of questions.
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:41 pm
Mort's brow furrowed a bit at the covered expense. "You sure? Do they know a-about me yet?" How would she explain the materials for a suit otherwise? The idea of her parents knowing and not his own mother was a bit disturbing; well, he'd have to rectify that before prom. He also didn't like accruing debt, which generosity or not he would see this as. Though if he wanted a chance to let them look epic, beggers couldn't be choosers...The sensation of her hand through his hair calmed him some, and he was almost lulled into a half-asleep state when she mentioned their previous idea for clothes.
"Almost forgot steampunk!" Mort cried, face palming himself. FOR SHAME. Glitter coated both his hand and cheeks now from Bella's kiss, which answered her question on that front. Mort passed her brief "wat" look as to why she had painted glitter on her face in the first place before attempting to wipe it off on the coat. He only succeeded to spread it around more - well at least the drab coat now had a little flair! "Yes, yes, let's do that. Could do knight n' princess, yes. Mrrr, really wish wasn't broke now. Want to make it perfect for debut . . . You, er, don't happen to have sketchbook in that apron, do you?"
Because he didn't feel like moving again from this position.
Asking after the minipet, Mort slid a hand under the coat (and she might catch her pin on his shirt while doing so) and produced the acorn from an inner pocket. "Wiggles sometimes," he said, smiling. "Try to keep around n' case it helps. M'gonna name him Lancelot, to keep the theme you started." Don't ask how he knew it was a he: he just did. "So, uh, d-did you like the set up?" Mort asked, putting the acorn back inside. "Never did something like this before, see, so was an experiment. W-Were riddles too easy, too hard, annoying, or...? Know Underland isn't e-exactly land of riddles, but could't make up nonsense as puzzles or else it'd be hard to follow." He looked expectant for feedback of any sort.AyeAvast Home once more and edited to be more cohesive. 8D;
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:38 pm
Eeeeeerrrrrrr.... The witch bit her lip and averted her eyes for a moment. "Aaahhh, I haven't exactly... Mentioned it to them. I mean, its not like they don't know... I told my sister Hemlock, and she's probably mentioned it... But I'll be telling them tonight." Or maybe tomorrow. But soon, definitely very soon. Of all things, her parents would be... Conflicted. Happy because their little girl was finally, finally in a steady relationship. But at the same time, they would be... Probably less than thrilled that she was dating an Undead. It wasn't as those they hated them, far from it. It was just... Well, Mr. and Mrs. Divine were a bit traditional. They preferred Demons or other Reapers, but weren't by any means racist. Just, very steadfast in their ways... The face palm usually would have brought about a laugh from the witch but she was mostly distracted by the glitter. It just got spread around like little stars, Belladonna loved it. She looked at the coat for a moment, but finally cracked a smile when it looked much prettier. "If you want to do something else, please let me know! But steampunk would be lovely... And please, darling." Belladonna placed a hand to his cheek and gave him a big smile. "Don't worry about the cost. But I'll definitely make you help me. You'll at least earn it." She offered him a wink before she looked down at her apron. Unfortunately, she didn't have a sketchbook with her and would have to do some designs later. "In a bit we'll go back to my room and do a few designs. But not now. Right now, we're going to sit here on this lovely evening." A devious smile crossed her face as she leaned forward and gave him a kiss. This was too perfect to leave yet. Suddenly curious as to his movements, Belladonna watched with wide eyes as he fished out the pet. (She was overjoyed to catch a glimpse of her pin, he really meant it!) "Lancelot? That's awesome! I, um, actually named him Galahad because of this, erm... Online comic I read about a zombie without a name. The main character was always coming up with crazy names for the zombie and Galahad was one of them." The witch shrugged. "Your room was amazing! It was gorgeous! I absolutely adored it. The riddles were perfect, just hard enough to stump me a little bit... A few of them I only guessed because you left me clues. Like the stars! And Underland was perfect. I love, love, love Alice in Underland. So it was beyond amazing. I... I've never had anyone do anything so beautiful and kind like this just for me." Toward the end, her voice took on a softer quality with a bit of vulnerability. And she was being incredibly vulnerable in that moment.
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:23 pm
"Mrr, web comic? Don't think've heard of that one," he replied, intrigued about anyone's incorporation of his kin. "What's the name?"
In D&H some spells required verbal or somatic components to be able to cast them. While not the same materials usually listed, kissing, holding, special phrases like "in a bit", and glitter seemed to be achieving an effect - who knew, maybe they were effecting a minor mind reading spell right now. Mort was delirious enough from happiness to allow impossible thoughts like this go by without anything more than a grin, even if glitter was a devil to get rid of. He didn't believe in coincidences. Maybe most of him wasn't thinking when putting a theme to it, but somewhere in a less damaged part of his brain he must have made the unconscious assessment to move towards the famous Alice and her chaotic trek through Underland after seeing the willful witch in comparison.
In either case, he rolled well enough to pepper a bit of swag decided to play it up for possible brownie points after the kiss.
"Mrrr, took only a few seconds to decide on Underland - heroine goes on adventure defeating evil Red Queen n' befriending animals along the way? Sounds like your cup've tea." Mort smiled and gently poked her nose. "That, n' even look like an Alice in that dress~ Thought for second was in haze-dream when you woke up me up, like idea had come to life and was dragging to rabbit hole - n' really, it did in the end since it took a while to finish up. O-Only you're much[/i[ prettier than the original Alices."
To be honest Mort was bracing for at least one critical comment about the more open-ended portions of his experiment (such as Lanna not making it to Bella's room, leaving his room unlocked, and the riddles themselves). The stream of compliments he didn't know how to handle, so the zomboil gave an awkward sort of twitch of a nod, a little bit of a bruised flush to his cheeks evident. It was clear they were in A Moment the second he heard Belladonna's voice grow soft, but sadly Mort had little experience with Moments, let alone how to handle one after the hurtle of praise. "Heh, n-not as beautiful as library bill probably accumulated from all the printing," he answered with a self-depreciating smile, finding it easier to start that way. "B-But, ah . . . Wanted to make first social outing together be memorable. N' figured why not make more than just dance that - why n-not all steps leading up to it? Is, er, least I could do."
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:00 pm
"I don't read many, I think one of my old grammar school friends told me about it... And um, it was something about a boy's name? Hanna is Not A Boil's Name, I think..." The witch waved it off, a little embarrassed by it really. Web comics were so... Geeky! Not that being a geek was bad, it just... Really wasn't her thing. Besides, the web comic hadn't been updated in over a year, so she tried not to recall it too much... It had been rather good. As for the shower of compliments, Belladonna had the grace to blush a little and lower her lashes for dramatic effect. "Oh, you know me too well." She chided with a small giggle. But honestly, how many more brownie points did he need?! What else could she do to show him just how wonderful he was to her? He already had her school pin, which now Belladonna almost regretted giving to him since she probably should have kept for a more special occasion. Sneakily she placed her hands on his chest, surprised when he poked her nose and using it as an excuse. Really, she placed one over her pin just to feel it there. No, she was glad she'd given it. It was a rather large step that maybe she should taken a little later, but it would have happened regardless. So Belladonna only smiled up at him. "You're much handsomer than the original Hatter." Of course, it was now that Mort seemed a little hesitant that Belladonna remembered one unfortunate part of his plan. "Um... Just so you know... Errrrr...." The hand over her hidden pin left his chest to nervously touch the underside of her cheek as the witch cast her eyes about while she thought of the proper way to phrase all this. "For the towel riddle... Um, when I got to your bathroom Brian had um... Made himself home on the next clue and I might have had to fight him to get it. He's ok! But... Probably.... Very... Very angry... Sorry." Whoops... At least that was the only thing that went wrong! "Well, it was very kind of you. I'm most suitably impressed. And excited! I've never been to prom! It'll be such fun! The dressing up and the company and the dancing!" Honestly, it was a wonder Belladonna didn't have the poor boil up already and wad forcing him into a waltz.
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:19 pm
Remember that "wat" look from before, when he noticed the glitter face paint? It was back again. "Brian?" Mort echoed with consternation. "Jackdamnit, two weeks've nothing, then of course interferes on the one day . . . Aghhh." He bumped his head against the tree trunk behind him with a sigh. "M'sorry about that. Will deal with him later for it. Didn't bother you too much, did he?" It was very clear that he couldn't give less of a care after the dragie's health. Not like a "very, very angry" Brian was much different from the usual one.
With the initial rose-hued romance parts mostly out of the way, Belladonna's reminder of what proms really were made him wince. Or maybe that was from the rattling of his loose brain after hitting his head against the tree. "R-Right. Should, er, let know now that am not quick on feet," Mort said. "N' don't do well with loud noises. Or bright lights. M-Makes agitated." The more he listed, the more self-conscious he became until her compliments about his appearance and character judgment were all but buried under it. "I-If helps, though, never been to prom either. Only was at Scarentines party, n' that was mellow." And something of a blur thanks to the Hunter fight prior to it.
A couple of friends he could happily chat with, and even on-one-on with strangers worked out alright. But put Mort in the midst of a bunch of students and the impulse to blend in and shut up would hit harder than a sack of bricks.
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