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 Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:03 pm
Atropos chuckled. "No problem. You should've seen how Candace was shaking when she woke up. She's used to bottling up stress though." She gave Rep a little salute when he said it was nice to meet her by tapping two fingers against her forehead and flicking her hand away. She was grinning, knowing full well Rep actually meant this for once. He was just as shaken as Candace if not moreso. "Nice to meet you again as well. Jerry and Roar should be waking up soon too." Po followed Tracey and Rep into the hallway, leaning against the wall and slipping her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants.
She barked out with laughter at Rep's despair. "Look at your glasses. You'll love 'em."
Candace was nothing but polite and kind do the young woman. She was so adorable. "It's no problem...you remind me of someone I care very deeply for." She was like a blue-haired Molly. It took a moment to remember where to go, stopping only when a loud chime rang through her head. One kingdom had fallen...right. The miasma. Now everyone was being sent to fight...
This made their job so much easier, or perhaps it made it harder. Time would tell. Candace's hand hovered just behind Olivia as her gaze turned to Harrison. She wasn't a pawn, she was one of his main 'court'. She'd be okay.
Though..perhaps they could convince him to forgo the pawn sacrifice and..? No. He wouldn't. Even this fake Harrison wasn't stupid. "We'll let Harrison take care of that..you're not one of his pawns, so you're safe." She led Olivia away then, showing her the way to the showers.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:14 pm
Rep gave Atropos a questioning look while Tracey flat out poker faced next to him. It didn't work as well as it tended to in his head. He took them off and eyed them. Really?! ******** really. Wow. He was almost critically gay in this world. It was embarassing. A cocky camp p***k.
And a cheating scumbag, he thought with a venomous, vicious edge.
"Yeah I was a ******** c**t in this place and I don't normally say that lightly."
The Voice cut in.
So black had fallen and Harrison would be sacrificing pawns. Two less to kill off. Atro got a nod, he was sure he could handle it now. He was back in control. "Lets go back and see if the others are with us now."
He stepped back into the room and spotted Jerry on the floor being harassed by Melvin. Okay that was maybe one person.
Tracey went to look for Ferros, they needed to know everyone was on the same page.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:20 pm
"G-GET OFF WHAT IS EVEN IS THAT TIGER BLUE??" Jerry was wild-eyed as he squirmed like a blanket-worm until Melvin managed to unravel him. Unfortunately, cuddles were not in the equation.
Jerry Collins, the Sun Hunter and the Blue Kingdom hit-man both reeled, and for a moment he simply stared in horror. Everything felt weird, strange, his clothes felt too soft, everything smelled different, felt weird. Neither recognized the sensation of bare shaved arms against soft shirt material and it definitely wasn't what he remembered and... but Harrison was in a coma but he was barking just behind him and Roar was his partner, there was a Star of David at his neck, not a golden whistle but his Weapon, he needed his weapon where was his-
He stared deep into the tiger's blue fur.
He had to have been drugged. Bad Blue. "Bad Blue..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:25 pm
Melvin pulled back, bring his arms to grip the fabric of his hoodie at his chest, and just stared up as Jerry tore himself away and shouted at him. When Jerry insulted Mass, after all his effort, Melvin just shrank.
"It's not bad.........It's lovely...I thought.." Melvin then took the blanket and threw it over his head before a little whine came out.
Breakups were hard.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:29 pm
"I know you don't." Atropos was laughing at Rep's reaction to his lovely glasses, plucking them from his fingers and putting them on her own face. "Whaddya think? Does it suit me?"
She gave a nod at Rep's decision and handed the glasses back. "The others aren't in this kingdom, they'll have to take care of their own. Hope they're together. Just remember...this isn't really Harrison. The real Harrison is somewhere else, and we need to save him. I know I'm going to have to tell Candace this a few times." She was sure Tracey would take care of the rest. Their bonds were important.
Following them back into the main casino area, Atropos looked around to find Candace was gone. Lovely. She'd be okay...she just didn't like not being around her. To not know where Candace was in this strange place was very unsettling for the weapon-turned-'human'.
She found Jerry.
...He could..take care of himself. See? he was already handling it. "Jerry, where's Roar?" A strange look was given to the crying Melvin.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:35 pm
Someone she cared deeply for, Olivia could understand wanting to help another person on those ideas alone. It wasn't always able to be put into practice with herself given how her people had been raised, but nice gestures and acts of kindness were always pleasant to think about. Especially in times like these.
She had tried to ignore those chimes and the announcement that followed, it only brought on bad news. But she could only imagine it would be on the native Blue's mind. Another Kingdom had fallen like Olivia's, she was glad it wasn't this one - one she had just gotten to - but those poor people. And what of the Silvers who had tried to see refuge?
"But, what about yourself and the others?" She asked Candace, following obediently (obviously, she didn't know the layout of the place). It was War, she wasn't stupid. But she didn't like the idea of it, she missed the Truce.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:47 pm
"I... I don't know! I don't-" Jerry's eyes were locked on Atropos now, although couldn't quite comprehend her.
She was Candace's partner, Po.
Atropos.
He remembered more feathers.
And not dancing girl feathers.
"I think I'm losing my mind," He gripped her wrist a bit too tightly. The trauma he had apparently caused not-Melvin was a low priority. Two realities were trying to sort themselves out in an already barely sane mind, and Jerry's grip on the world was shaky.
If he had realized the mental shift his own partner had gone through on his own in the hallway, he might have been reassured. Roar had never been human. He had been an inanimate object for most of his waking life, nested in the back of his skinny partner's mind, and barring that, a hyena like beast of quills and claws. Even the humanoid form his Golem had taken was easier to get the hang of. He stared at strange hands, frozen in place at the suddenly strange amount of digits, his old life stepping back like a dream he was waking up from and slowly forgetting.
The sudden familiar screams from the bar roused him from his own regaining of senses, and he ran to catch up, green eyes narrowed as he glowered from face to face.
Who else had been woken? Who could he trust? Who was just a shadow? He said nothing to Harrison as he tore past.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:48 pm
Serafina shuddered when she heard The Voice again.
Honestly, she was very quickly growing to dislike it, not liking the bad news that always seemed to accompany. While she should have felt overjoyed that they had managed to save their kingdom--Blue would live to see another day, and it would remain that way she was most certain!--there was a deep, nagging feeling of unhappiness with the heaviness that The Voice brought with it as it spoke, and she soon understood just exactly why it was so unwelcomed.
The Voice didn't know what a break was, it seemed, choosing to throw them right from the miasma gathering trials into a miasma-gathering war. The Final Tournament, too? It wasted no time. Was it pressed for time? Certainly, an omniscient voice had all of the time in the world to nag them to kill each other. She wanted to be able to finish her drink and at least get a better change of clothing before she dealt with any doomsday prophecies today, or even doomsday truths as it may have been.
It was a pill hard to swallow when The Voice remarked on the need for sacrifice. If a King did not want to risk himself, he would need to risk one of his Pawns instead, someone like her, or even Gargantuan, or someone else in this room... or two, really. He needed to risk two of them, not one. Would The Boss do that? In the end, it was The Family. It was the whole, not the one. And if one or two needed to be sacrificed to preserve The Whole, that was how The Family worked. Serafina knew that, but she hardly wanted to be in this position in the first place.
As The Voice faded, she reflected, moving to turn inwards on herself and ponder on the possibility of sacrifices. She knew she did not want to sacrifice. If she had sacrificed herself, what then? Forever she would live on in the hearts of their kingdom for providing their King that extra protection to live on while others fought in his name, but she would never know the praises they sung for her, the songs they wrote for her, the parades held in her honor and the potential promotions she may receive for such glory and honor in doing such a thing. She would be dead, forever, never able to really appreciate anything of what she had done. Was it worth it?
Serafina only did to protect herself, and ultimately protect others, but was she capable of protecting the others before protecting herself? Well, certainly, she was a Senator. But to the level that The Voice suggested The Boss could request of them? That she was not certain of, and it left her swirling her drink in her glass, before taking another large, long gulp.
Was this everyone's fate, though?
Had the Black Kingdom suffered the same? The White, the Green, the Gold? Was this what they all had to debate right now, to go through, to decide on and to enter a battlefield they might not ever leave?
Why had she ever volunteered for this?
No, stop. Senator Serafina Arai, these were her people. The Blue Kingdom was her lifeblood, and no matter what kind of backroom deals she had going on, these were the people she would fight for until her very last breath. If she had to, she was ready. There was no turning back now, and besides ... fighting couldn't be any worse than a damn tower.
She hoped.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:57 pm
Candace shook her head. "Don't worry about us. Jerry, Jordan, Rep, me..our partners? We'll be okay." She pet the girl's hair, something she would do for Molly as well. She had to do this. They weren't even real...this was for their own good.
Candace pursed her lips a moment before she finally smiled again and gestured to the doorway that led to the shower stalls. "We'll be fine. Everything will be okay. Clean up, I'll wait here if you want." She rubbed her arm, covering the glowing white flower marking with her hand. She'd use this time to think of what to do.
She needed to talk to Jordan.
Atropos held Jerry's hand tightly, not even wincing at how he held her wrist despite wishing he would let go. It was nothing compared to half the things she and Candace had been hit with. It was an assurance, she was real. She just wished she could assure him of this without him touching her; Jerry wasn't her Candace, he wasn't her Hunter. "You're not losing your mind." She leaned in close, whispering into his ear. "Go find Roar, and then Jordan. Rep isn't doing well with this either, and Candace is bottling up her stress again. Just stay focused, Jerry."
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:05 am
"F-f-focused on WHAT that I... that Harrison th-thinks I w-went to Jail and and and I'm a... a psycho-ycho-ycho-ychopath??"
Thankfully, Roar stepped in, detaching his 'partner' from Atropos's wrist. "Yeah yeah, and I'm a hideous, quill-less monkey. Shut up or I'll shut you up."
That, at least, Jerry could handle, staring at the familiar but unfamiliar face with a pale, wobbly expression.
"Candace!" He shoved Jerry in her direction. "Help him figure out what way's up." To Atropos, his nostrils flared, an animal sort of gesture taking his expressions and movements. "Not even a tail." He hissed.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:22 am
It had been some time since another soul had pet her hair like that, her mother used to do it in times of comfort before she deemed it a 'children only gesture.' Random strangers would do it, to bounce her curls but that was usually a little creepy. This was reassuring, and Olivia really wanted to believe Candace.
She turned to face Candace, her head following the direction to the showers. She nodded once, for understanding and was ready to reply... only to hear her companion's name being called from down the hall.
"I think.. you are needed?" She smiled awkwardly. "I should be fine, if you can point me to the direction of some clothes." That seemed like the only thing she would need. Finding her way back should be easy enough. Candace had things to take care of, and she didn't want to waste too much of her time.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:00 am
"That doesn't matter, Jerry. He's not--" Roar finally removed Jerry from her wrist and she sighed with relief. "Thank you." She told the other man with genuine gratitude, rubbing her wrist until she noticed something. A glowing white flower...that wasn't there before. She frowned but said nothing of it for the moment.
Jerry was shoved and Candace was called for, and Atropos chuckled at Roar's complaint. "How do you think I feel? Calm down. You're going to draw attention and ******** everything up."
Candace heard her name called and looked in the direction it was coming from. That'd been...Roar? Right? Yeah. It was strange hearing his voice with her own ears. It wasn't right. It was all wrong. "I'll find some clothes and have them brought to you." She smiled at Olivia again, giving her a playful wink and tugging one of her curls to watch it bounce back into place. Just like Molly. "Even if you're not of this kingdom, I'll protect you." Even if Olivia didn't understand what protecting her meant. She walked out after that, spotting Jerry not too far off.
"Jerry? What's the matter?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:04 am
"Am I crazy?" He managed weakly once he had managed to stop stumbling and let himself calm down again. "Did... did someone shave me while I was passed out?" There was a lot to take in. His gaping in horror at his bare arms was paused as he stared, transfixed on the symbol glowing on his wrist.
It wasn't a hallucination. He flinched his arm back, studying Candace's face carefully.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:20 am
The bouncing, just like that. Unexpected with a little facial recoil from the act, but thankfully not as weird as usual; she at least knew of the name of the person who was doing it and had spent a little bit of time in their presence.
"Thank you!" She called out as Candace left, smiling all the while. She turned and pushed the door open to the showers and stepped inside. It looked simple enough to operate, nothing strange about it - though, what she expected from the bathroom she had no idea. Not like there was a tiger inside or something. Or odd buttons that shot out wine instead of water.
Just nice clean warm water. And as much as she just wanted to let it all soak in and concentrate on how refreshing it felt. No, of course not. Protection. She had heard it offered a few times. And now Candace, even though Olivia didn't seem as willing to convert as the others. Molan had said Gold was as well, and would allow them not to fight. Two Kingdoms now, or perhaps just two very kind people who were trying to make her feel more at home somewhere.
She let all of it mull around in her head as she let the warm water wash away her grim and grime.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:30 am
Ying's eyes widened as Candace informed her that her wonderful brother was making out with that no good low-life member of the Watch. She tried to hide her horror, but it was just impossible with how terrible the thought was. "Th-Thank you Ms. Candace, I'm going to go find him now," was all she could squeak out.
She darted into the crowd, searching for the brother, finding him with ... none other than Nuk. Ying wanted to scream, punch him, do something, but the situation was just too awkward. Though ... they didn't look like they were in love. In fact, they looked kind of angry.
Just as she was about to say something, Harrison asked for sacrifices. Ying shot a look at her brother. They didn't need words. Her eyes clearly said, "Don't you dare.
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