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 Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:04 pm
Out to Sea Polly had gotten Tock and Jake to blow up their ship. Chloe had handed them the lunches that they had made, and now they were on their way, out to see, to find this treasure of Austin's. "So, how do we know we're goin the right way?" Kaeden asked. "You gotta go this far north, then go west," Austin said, pulling out another compass, this a cheap thing that he had bought when they were getting the ship. "Lemme see this one," Polly said, grabbing the compass that hung from Austin's belt. "I got a theory. We might not even need the map, right?" "But, it's a map to the treasure. Of course we're gonna need a map. How else are we gonna find out where it is?" Kaeden asked, giving her a skeptical look. He crossed his arms and waited though, looking at Austin. That was his compass Polly was messing with. Austin was thinking. "Okay," he said, handing over the compass. "You want the treasure, right?" he asked. He seemed like he was being nice, but really he just wanted to see if it worked. "We'll compare what you say to what we got wrote out, alright?" he asked as she opened the compass. For a moment she glared at the compass as it turned round and round, not settling on any one direction. Then it slowed down, facing out to sea. Kaeden edged closer to them and peeked over Polly's shoulder. She was shorter than him too, after all. He watched the compass dial spin, then point off in some direction. He looked out to sea and saw-- Nothing more than water. He sighed. Were they just going to follow it, like Austin did in the store? What was up with it, anyway? "It's north," Austin said. "Start paddling!" "I'm a girl! I shouldn't have to paddle," Polly complained as she grabbed one of the oars. She was still complaining as she started to paddle. "You gotta paddle too, you know," she told Kaeden and Austin. "If I dont, you're going to have us going in circles," Kaeden replied, taking another oar and a seat beside Polly, then he started to paddle too. It didn't bother him in Austin didn't paddle. He was the captian. But at least he wasn't stuck doing it alone. "You gotta paddle too," Polly told Austin as they started towards the horizon. It would have been romantic, if any of them even knew what that word meant. As it was it was just a lot of work. "Not enough paddles," Austin said, his eyes focused on the list of directions they had come up with as well as the cheap compass. "And I'm the pirate, you know. My job is to steer, not to paddle." "'Nd if he paddles, we'll be off again, and going circles again," Kaeden added. Again, he didn't mind it. "And someone needs to make sure we're goin the right way," he added. "You're such a pushover," she muttered, paddling more. "We want to go to the right slightly," Austin said, eyeing his notes. There was nothing in front of them, for as far as the eye could see there was no sign of land at all. "We're probably gonna have to dive." "Better than going in circles and gettin lost at sea," Kaeden muttered back. Last thing they needed was a mutiny so soon into the trip. They could do that later, like he had seen in movies. Polly had to look at her hands to figure out which way was right. She had never really paid that much attention to right versus left, to tell the truth. It was more in her nature to go straight ahead. "That means Kaeden's side," Austin told her without even looking up. "What's the compass say?" She looked at it. "The same," she said. "I want this." "As I recall," Kaeden said, working more on his side to turn the boat slightly, "You threw that compass out, saying it was junk and broken and you didn't want it. Austin took it, so it's his," he said evilly, enjoying this fact. "Yeah, yeah, but half the time it doesn't even work for him," she muttered, still paddling. She wanted to get there just as much as the others did! "You think we'll get there soon?" "Maybe?" Austin offered. "Maybe?" she repeated. "Possibly?" "Oh great, so, we don't know how far we should paddle?? What about the broken compass...? Didn't it do anything that first time it worked, and you got to where you wanted?" Kaeden asked, complaining now. The sun here was hot, and they had nothing really to protect them from it. "There's not a thing that tells you how long it'll take rowing to get there," Austin muttered, flushing a bit since the heat was starting to get to him, as well. "This isn't a game, it's a real life treasure hunt!" There was a cloud in the sky, it seemed to be getting closer. "This one's starting to act funny," Polly said as the compass needle started swaying back and forth. "It is? ... Did it forget what we want?" Kaeden asked, leaning over to look at it now too. They were still out in the middle of the ocean, so it was likely they'd have to dive... hopefully it wouldn't be -too- deep a dive. He didn't notice the cloud in the distance. "We're not supposed to be there yet, though," Austin said, looking at his instructions, then glancing at the compass. He scowled. "Let's go a little farther--" The needle jerked, then turned backwards abruptly. "It's there," Polly said. "Right? It's got to be there!" Kaeden started to back row so that they were in the right position. Then he looked at Austin. "Alright, Captain, what ya wanna do now? The other compass said this is the spot. What'd you think?" he asked. Frankly, he was just tired of rowing! And his arms needed a break. "There's nothin' here," Austin said. "There's nothin' here! Nothin! It can't be a treasure if there's nothin' here!" He yelped as Polly stood and shed her clothes, revealing her loincloth swimsuit. "I'm goin' in!" she said, and promptly jumped over the side. "You said we'd have to dive, probably, for it. So of course it could be here. I just hope we don't all drown tryin ta get it," Kaeden said, looking over the edge where Polly vanished. As a boy, he could just stripped his shirt and gone in to the water(who needs shoes on a boat, anyway?). Austin scowled. "Well someone's got to stay with the ship," he muttered, not budging from where he was. Underwater Polly was going deeper and deeper, since the water was so clear she could see everything around her. It was gorgeous, with coral floating on the water, fish swarming around her in all different colors. And there, in the distance, was something that looked like a sunken ship. Kaeden gave a sigh and slumpt his shoulders. "This means I gotta go down there and make sure she doesn't take a treasure with out us known, don't it?" he asked and started to shuck his shirt. Oh how trusting he was. "Right, well, don't row off without us!" he added, then dove in to follow Polly. "Like she could hide the treasure in that loincloth of hers," Austin muttered sarcastically once the other boy was no longer within hearing distance. Polly had his trick with her tail, she had learned it from her dad. She was motoring her way through the water to the sunken ship, completely oblivious to how there were no living things around it. Gold glinted in her eyes, they were so focused on the treasure she would surely find. Kaeden hadn't paid a lick of attention to the loin cloth Polly wore, just that she had fast hands. He shouldn't be so negative... Not that he was thinking that, as he went deeper into the water. He saw the ship, and the tip of a feathered tail vanish and started to follow. He was more curious about the ship than the treasure that was really hear. But then, Austin and Polly were more into gold. He was more into adventure. "Do you come to free me?" a voice whispered in Kaeden's ear. "My child, you bring me great joy." The water seemed to swirl around him, bubbling slightly, as if a living thing surrounded him. Polly had no idea what was going on behind her. Her eyes were glued to the ship. It was only because of that that she saw the sharp, deadly curve of a shark's fin swimming inside. Huh?? Kaeden stopped his swimming, looking around him in the water. He could have sworn he heard something, and felt something different in the water. But no, he was underwater, it was the sea, deep sea and not like what he normally swam in. There was no way.... He shrugged it off, only barely noticing as something touch and 'settled' in the back of his mind. If he thought of it later, he'd have to figure it out then. He started to swim for Polly again. Polly was still, barely kicking her feet to keep in one place. And there was a shark heading straight for them.
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 6:58 am
Shark Bait The shark was coming straight for them. It was a big shark, coming to find out what had entered its waters and to see if it was eatable. A wide grin curved at Kaeden's lips as he saw it ahead of them, and his hand went for the knife that was on his belt. So, the shark wanted to come and play, huh? Well, let it! He'd show that shark that he wasn't he master of the ship! He was! Polly was torn, at first, but when it headed for them she started to swim away, intent on not being eaten. She didn't see the grin on Kaeden's face until it was too late and he was already being approached by the shark. Above, lounging in the raft with a bored look on his face, Austin stared at the broken compass once again, watching it twirl round and round. He had no idea what was going on just beneath him. Kaeden didn't back off. He couldn't back off even if he had wanted too. Instead, he made a jab towards the shark, intent on getting the thing. Shark fin soup would be good for dinner, now wouldn't it?? It could have been the feeling he gave off, or it was the simple fact he made a lung towards the oncoming, yet curious predator, either way, it turned around to swim off. Good thing too. Kaeden's supply of air had run out and he couldn't hold his breath any longer. He choked and made a quick swim for the surface. Polly was shocked. She only followed him because she didn't know what else to do. "That was amazing!" she said the moment they broke the surface. "And you're insane!!" Austin, completely oblivious, was now fishing over the side of the raft. Kaeden gave a cough before blinking at Polly. "Wha...?" he asked her blankly, then looked at the knife in his hand. What was he doing with that? He only vaguely remembered a shark.... "Um, let's get out of the water, right?" he asked, putting the knife back with an oddly detached feeling. What just happened? "You ran it off!" she said, obviously respecting him a lot more than she had before. "But we can't get out, we still got to get the treasure! It was in the ship, right?" The ship that the shark had been quite attached to. Not that she was thinking about that. Treasure filled her mind. "Polly, there's a shark in that ship. If we go back, the shark will come out again," he protested. That was a big shark! And he was feeling odd, as well. Not quiet himself. She stared at him. "So this is it? This is the end of our treasure hunt? We just get run off by a shark?" The water seemed to be growing hotter, and it wasn't because someone had just peed. "That SUCKS!" Kaeden pushed away from her and the hot water, frowning as he tought. Then he grinned slowly. "Ya know... if we get Tock out here, I'd bet he'd take on the shark and get rid of him," he said slowly. "If there's a shark," Austin said from behind them, "you might want to get into the ship before it comes. You know, since this could probably be taken out pretty easily?" Polly sighed. "Fiiiiine." And climbed into the raft. Kaeden blinked and wasted no time getting into the raft as well. Then he started to wring out his tail over the edge of the raft. "So, now that we know there's a shark, we gonna get Tock to help us? Or we gonna figure out some other way of getting rid of the shark?" "I," Austin said, "have a better idea." Then he grinned, showing off his teeth which he hadn't brushed for over a week. Polly rolled her eyes and grabbed the paddle. "What's your great idea?" she asked him. "Well, we have two copies of the coordinates, right? So that means we can sell them twice." "Alright. So we're abandoning it all together," Kaeden replied. "Or, at least for now. But.... if we sell it twice, who else are we gonna sell it too?" He grabbed the other paddle, not looking at any of the others. For some reason he felt annoyed. There was no reason to be annoyed, but he was. Oh well, it was probably Polly's reaction to having given up. But there was a shark! What were they gonna do about that? "The fairies," Austin said, looking quite satisfied with himself. "And if we're lucky the shark will choke on Silva, die, and it'll be easy to get the treasure." Polly scowled. "More likely Silva will kill it and take all the treasure for himself." "Silva wouldn't buy a map from us," Kaeden said to those thoughts. He had no doubt that Silva would probably kill the shark, however. "Heck, I doubt he'd even think it was the real thing. He already knows you, Polly, and that you and Austin want treasure more than anything. And the other pirates know Polly and her treasure love. Why would they take a map from us?" he asked them seriously. Then smirked. "If you're gonna sell it to anyone, then sell it to one of the fairies that isn't Silva," he said. "For the pirate brats, Austin and I can sell it off ta them." For some reason, he really didn't want to return to the ship and it wasn't because of the shark. "Deal," Polly said, grinning. "Now let's get back to shore." "Right," Kaeden answered and started to row. He didn't want to be here any longer and he was starting to feel tired. It was probably the swim, and being out at sea with the hot sun. Yeah, that was it. "I think," Austin said. "That I could go for food and a drink before we do the selling part." "You just don't want to deal with the pirates," Polly muttered. "No, I'm perfectly fine dealing with pirates. I'm just a bit parched, is all. What was down there, anyway?" "A ship and a shark," Kaeden answered, looking at their bags. "You wanna eat before we start rowing back? Or once we're on the beach?" "We're leaving the shark behind," Polly said, grabbing her oar and starting to paddle. "We can eat when we get to the beach." "I'm a bit surprised, though," Austin said. "I've never seen you worried about something like this before." "It's got more teeth than my DAD," she said simply. "We're bite sized, ya know," Kaeden added seriously. "One chomp and we're gone!" He didn't say a thing about what Polly said he did. He didn't even know why he did it! That was stupid. But... it also felt nice, with her praising him like that!
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:29 pm
Cat Toy Tock leaned back, munching on his sandwich and resting one large arm along the top of the treasure box he had picked up from the pirate kids. They had been far more willing to pay for the coordinates than the fairies had, but in the end, the fairies had dished up some serious coinage, as well. Life was good as a pirate. "They should be getting back soon," he said. "Think they actually got the treasure?" "Probably not," Jake admitted. "Hell, there's probably no treasure to get." "They are out in middle of the ocean. I doubt that they could hold their breath long enough to get whatever it is they were after," Chloe added as she took a seat. "I just hope they don't get lost out there." "True," Tock said. "But I had more important things to do than to go looking for the treasure itself." He smirked slightly, looking around their camp on the beach, then at the trees not too far away. "You want to build a hut here?" he asked suddenly. "We could stay there on the weekends, unless we want to take the pirate ship back." "Why not just bring tents and things like that?" Chloe asked. "If you build a hut, someone will probably take claim of it while we're gone. Camping gear we can just take back and forth." Then she thought of all the things they'd have to take, and how heavy it would be. "Nevermind, that would make things easier. They do miss it here, don't they?" "Yeah, they do," he said as he stood. "I'm going to check the wood out, you two have fun while I'm gone!" Then he was gone, leaving the two cooks sitting there stupidly as he searched for good hut making material. "And just what is that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked irritated and gave a glare at Jake. Tock was his best friend, after all. He should know! "How the hell should I know?" Jake asked irritably. "As if I want to be stuck here with you. It's bad enough I'm stuck sharing a kitchen with you all the time." But he didn't get up to follow the other male, nonetheless. Tock whistled cheerfully as he made his way into the woods to look around. He hadn't ever seen this part of the island, not that he could remember, and it was interesting to-- Something landed on his head, sharp, needle like talons trying, and failing to pierce his skin. But he jumped in surprise, regardless. "What the hell??" Oblivious to what was happening in the woods, the two argued. "Well then, get your own kitchen! There's only room enough for one cook." Especially with a lady like her! And she did move her weight around that place too. She gave a huff, then looked back at sea. So she was worried about them! They were just kids... Tock reached up, plucking the catbird off of his head and earning a chirrup of rage in return. "Huh," he said, carrying it by the scruff to the others, ignoring the fact it was trying to kill him. "Check this out, guys!" he said. "It's a Polly bird!" The tiny raft finally appeared on the horizon, heading for the beach. "Ah! There they are!" Chloe said when she saw the raft. Then she looked back at Tock and the cat-bird thing. "Tock... what the hell is that? You don't plan on taking it home, do you? It's trying to claw your eyes out!" "Yeah?" he asked, turning it so it was looking at him. It suddenly went still, no doubt horrified as if it had just realized what it had been fighting. "I think she's cute," he said. "Looks a lot like Polly, don't you think?" It let out a helpless little chirp, and wet itself out of fear. "Tock! Now you're scaring the poor thing!" That she just accused of trying to claw his eyes out. She grabbed a towel and walked over to them, wrapping it around the cat-bird, being mindful of wings and claws. "But ya know, she is a cute thing. In that wild, Polly sort of way." she added. The little gryphkit looked at Chloe, as if wondering if she was fair game, then thought better, letting out another chirrup. She was the same size as a house cat, if not a bit smaller. She didn't look anywhere near full grown. "Wonder what it was doing out here," Tock said. "I didn't see any signs of others. Probably abandoned." "I'm hungryyyy!!" Polly shouted as soon as they were close enough to the beach. "Food!" "And what about those sandwiches I had ya'll make?" Chloe asked, holding the gryphkit with one hand, reaching up to scratch it behind the ears with another. "We ate them," Kaeden answered back. Once the raft hit the shore, he got out to bring it on the beach. "I want chicken!" Polly said as she got out. "With barbecue sauce! And potatoes! And--what in the hell is that thing?" she asked, her attention on the catbird that Chloe was holding. It chirruped at her, as if greeting a long lost friend. That settled it for Tock. "It's our new pet, Fyre... Fyrebird." "It attacked Tock and now he wants to make it a pet," Chloe muttered, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, we can have that once we get back. For now, we'll have something else cooked over the fire." She sat the bird down and went to wash up to cook. It promptly squirmed out of the towel and looked towards the trees for a long moment before heading for Polly. "It looks like a cat," Polly muttered as Austin got out of the ship. "I hate cats." "It doesn't look like a cat," Austin said. "It looks like a... um..." He cocked his head slightly. "A..." "Cat," Polly said again, irritated as it rubbed against her leg, then caught sight of her tail. "But it's not a cat," Kaeden said, coming up to them and looking at the gryphkit. "It has wings. And feathers... and a beak. Cat's don't have those things," he told her. He didn't notice where Fyrebird was looking. In her irritation, Polly's tail was waving back and forth. The little gryphkit watched it with fascination, then pounced, grabbing it between its front paws and purring loudly. Polly about jumped out of her skin. "Get it off! Get it off!!!" she yelled, trying to shake it off her tail. Austin did what any cousin would do at this time. He started laughing his head off. Kaeden stood there and stared. "You... have got to be kidding me," he said after a moment of watching thing. Big, bad, bossy Polly... was scared of cats?! He snickered, then started to laugh as well. "Get it off!" Polly wailed as the gryphkit rubbed against the feathers of her tail with a very loving purr. "It's gonna bite me! I HATE CATS!" "It's not gonna bite you," Tock said with a sigh. "Look, she likes you!" "I hate her!" Polly snapped, turning to look at the gryphkit. Then she yanked her tail away from her, glaring at her darkly. "I don't want her." The poor gryphkit looked at the tail, then at Polly. Then pounced the tail again. Chloe sighed, looking over at them. "Unfortunately, she chose to stay, rather than run off. So I think you're stuck with her. Kaeden! Get the cat-bird thing off her!" Kaeden was still snickering as he walked up to that the cat away from her, and end it trying to attack her tail. "She probably things your tail is some kind of feather toy," he teased, picking it up. "I don't care," Polly growled. "Keep her away from me." "That was priceless," Austin said. "I can't even breathe!" he added, breaking into more laughter. "Wish I had a camera!" he added, roaring with laughter now. "It was, wasn't it?" Kaeden agreed with a big, stupid grin on his face. He held up the gryphkit, looking her over and smirked. "Alright Fyrebird. We're gonna keep you," he told her. Of course, it was probably to torture Polly. "Oy, Chloe, do we got something to feed her?" Chloe sighed, looking over at her boy. Where did she go wrong? "We are NOT going to keep--" "If I might intrude," a very familiar, and unwelcome voice said from the trees. Silva flew out into the open, fingering his toothpick with a slight smirk. "I came to get my gold back." "Wha?" Kaeden asked, looking away from the gryphkit and to the fairy. "But, we ain't done nothing!" Yet. They were going to sell to the fairies... But they just got back. "Tock's over there," Chloe pointed in the way of the croc man, then going back to her food making. "The coordinates still work," Tock said as Silva headed towards him. "The kids didn't get the treasure." "Who's to say there's even a treasure to get?" Silva asked. "There IS a treasure!" Polly said. "The shark was keeping us--" She was stopped as Austin's hand slammed over her mouth. At the same time, Kaeden did likewise, dropping the gryphkit. "There's treasure there! We just couldn't get it," he said, though wither it was true or not, he wasn't for certain. It didn't matter though, right? They got paid for it! Sortta. "Shark, huh?" Silva said. "Interesting. So is what Nack said true? Are you coming back during the weekends?" "Yeah," Tock said. "We are." "Good," Silva said.
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:06 am
The Gypsy Witch: Polly meets Orli again while hunting down the crone that cursed her to try and get her good luck back.
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 6:20 pm
Gator Hunting: Polly meets Josh and drags him along on her quest to catch a gator as a pet.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:43 am
Pretty Fish
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
--------------------------
The Aquarium had kicked Polly out twice before Tock caught her crying, stormed in, and dumped a small pile of gold coins on the counter with a dark, promising expression. It was now accepted that Polly was free to visit the aquarium for the rest of her life, if she so wished.
Technically, although they tried not to mention this to Tock, he had built an entire wing for the more exotic fish with pure pocket change. Now everyone knew Polly, Austin, Kaeden, and the rest of the pirates by face, and if a new worker ever said anything about them waltzing in and out as they pleased, they were quickly silenced.
That was why Polly was sitting on one of the padded benches in the biggest aquarium room, her chin resting on her knees, her arms hugging her legs to her chest. She was happy there.
"Polly!" Rory said, seeing the red-head and the unmistakable feathered tail. Aurora had been taking her baby sister to the aquarium. Lucky for her, that's where she found her old, childhood friend. She hadn't seen the girl since she was running away.
Rory pushed the stroller towards the girl. "Man, I haven't seen you in a long time. How are you? How are things?" she asked.
Rayne was hugging an octopus that they had gotten in the gift shop as she was pushed towards another new person. Orange-red eyes looked at this girl and her two tails were curled up around her.
Polly glanced up, then down at the baby, her mind racing as she tried to figure out--"So Chris and you had a baby?" she finally asked, since it was the most obvious (to her) situation. "She doesn't look like either of you, though. So you got a new boyfriend?"
Chloe had gotten her watching soap operas, and the effects were horrendous.
"What? No!" Rory started to laugh. "No, this is my baby sister. Her name's Rayne," said the teen, taking a seat with Polly. The stroller faced them now. "Rayne, this is Polly, another friend of mine."
"Ello," Rayne said, cuddling her toy more. Wow this girl has some bright hair! And the beads... she liked the beads.
Polly grinned at her, that old, brilliant grin that lit up the room. "Do you like fishies, Rayne?" she asked. "I think they're great. They remind me of home." She glanced at the glass walls, watching as a big blue one swam past with a slightly longing expression.
"Fishies! I likes fishies!" Rayne said, leaning in her stroller to see them more.
Rory had to make sure the thing didn't tip over. "This is her first time here," she said. Poor Polly was still home sick, huh? Now that sucked.
"Really?" Polly asked. "This is my favorite room in the entire building! My Dad paid for it, but they can't really post that on a sign or anything, cuz it was pirate treasure that did it."
She pointed at an angel fish. "That one's named after me, you know!" The irony of that statement must have gone over her head, though, because she sounded quite proud of the fact.
Rory caught it, though and grinned. "Seriously? Awesome! And your dad paid for the place? Does that mean you get in here for free? Man I wish we could," Rory said, shaking her head.
Rayne wiggled out of her stroller, then walked up to the glass. "Ooohhh, fish has your name? Cool!" the little fox girl said, beaming back at Polly. The octo was still in her hands.
"Yep, her name's Polly, too," Polly said, nodding. "They haven't named a fish after Kaeden yet, but there's an octopus named after Austin! It's cuz he keeps getting into stuff he shouldn't."
"Octopus?" Rayne questioned, looking at her toy again. Then held it up to Polly. "Octopus! Austin!" She had no clue who Austin was, but that didn't seem to bother in her in the slightest.
Rory snickered as her baby sister looked back at the fish. "Yeah, that fits him. Do Jake, Tock and Chole have fish named after them?" she asked, looked back at the water.
"They don't got an alligator," she said a bit sadly. "So there's nothin' named after Tock. But Chloe picked a puffer fish! She thought it was cute." She looked at Rayne, grinning. "Chloe's a hippo. She's very proud of it, too."
"Chloe can cook, too! I remember her making desserts back when you guys were at the house," Rory said, thinking back to when they call came over for a visit... and to see Pollys new dad.
"Maybe Kaeden should be a clown fish," Rory added, tilting her head in thought.
Polly laughed. "I would SO do that, but he swore if I ever named a fish after him without his learning he'd tell everyone where I kept my candy stash," she said, shrugging. "But I'll tell him you said so!"
She looked at the fish again. "We're going back to the island for the weekend in a few hours, so it's kind of silly to come here."
"Na, not really," Rory replied. "You get to see the fish without having to hold your breath. And it's nice here, anyway." Then she looked back down at her friend, concern in her green eyes. "You doing okay, though?"
"Rory, my Dad bought me an aquarium," Polly said, grinning at the other girl. "Well, as good as. Just because he caught me crying cuz they kicked me out. I'm good. And we go back to the island on the weekends, so I've got both worlds."
"Oye! Polly!" Austin said as he came into the room. "I had an idea."
"Oh great."
"This one's got promise!" Kaeden replied, talking with Austin, hands in his pockets though he was grinning. He liked this place and was glad they could come in whenever.
"Good," Rory replied before turning her attention to the other two. "Hey guys!" she called out to them.
Rayne looked over now, distracted from the fish.
"But you got to come with me," Austin said, only briefly waving at Rory before he grabbed his cousin's hand and dragged her out. "I gotta show you somethin'. Somethin' important."
Well, somewhat important. To be honest he had been walking and walking around the town trying to figure out what in the hell he was going to do with the deed, and then he had seen it!
"Hey Ror," Kaeden replied, turning to follow the other two. "Don't worry," he told Polly. She should probably worry, if he said something like that to her.
Rory looked at Rayne, then picked her up. "We've got a detour, squirt, let's go. We can come back," she promised, setting the baby in the stroller, then following them.
"We had a lil... diversion this morning," Austin told his cousin, still tugging her by the hand as they left the aquarium and went down the street. "It led to us being the owners of an old, creepy house, see? But it's not on the water, and who wants something not on the water?"
"Not me," Polly said, earning a knowing nod.
"So we went around the town and came to--" he pulled to a halt in front of a crowded, dingy looking orphanage. "This."
"An orphanage," Kaeden chimed in, looking at the place.
"So, you've got an old house, and something to do with an orphanage?" Rory asked, not clueing. So she was just a little lost. Rayne didn't have a clue, she just held on to her octopus, watching what the others were going to do.
He patted his pockets, searching and eventually finding the deed. "I can't do it," he said, honestly, holding it out to Polly. "An' I won't let Kaeden do it, either, cuz it goes against my every belief to give somethin' away, but--"
She was staring at the kids, knowing she had seen that same, homeless look on her own face before, remembering the tears she had cried as she was left behind. "Polly?" Austin asked.
"Hey," Kaeden told her, on the other side of her. "You're gonna like this, so, ya know, don't go sobby on us, 'kay? Just let him finish." Then he looked to Austin to finish up the tale.
"I get it already," Polly snapped. "And I ain't sobby," she added, yanking the deed away from Austin. "I'm the captain," she added arrogantly as she strode through the gate and into the building to give their booty away.
Kaeden snorted at this, shaking his head. Then he looked back at Rory who'd followed them. Then at the baby. What's with people and babies, lately? "Who's that?" he asked.
"My little sister, Rayne. Rayne, these are Kaeden and Austin," she said, pointing them out.
Rayne just started at Austin. Then pointed at him: "Octopus!"
"Oct--oct--OCTOPUS?!" Austin demanded, shocked enough to lose his usual lazy expression.
"Octopus!" Rayne repeated, holding up her toy octo.
Kaeden chocked, then started to laugh at Austin's expression. He did't have a fish to be teased with, after all!
"We were at the aquarium," Rory explained. "And Kaeden? The clown fish is you."
That made the other boy stop laughing. "Hey now!"
"It fits!" Austin said, distracted from his new nickname. Then Polly walked out of the building, her hands shoved into her pockets, a slight grin on her lips.
"Done," she said. "C'mon, guys, we've still got time to watch the fish before we leave for the island."
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 2:10 pm
The Scent of Magic
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
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"Why are we here again?" Kaeden asked, hands in his pockets as he looked down the sidewalk. The weather here was finally warm again, no longer winter. He had decided he didn't really like winter. Everyone was inside more often than not, which created problems. At least they could go to the island during the weekend!
"Polly wanted to take a walk," Austin said, his hands in his pockets, his walk lazy and unconcerned. He had gotten to the point where he followed Polly when there was nothing else to do. She tended to bring up opportunities as well as entertainment just by being Polly.
"I'm looking for the witch," Polly called over her shoulder to them. "And it smells like peppermint... and..." She didn't know that it was magic she was smelling, but she had smelled it before. Unconsciously she linked it to the witch.
"The witch?? The one that cursed you? Why?" Kaeden asked, looking at the redhead now. Where Austin and Polly went, he was sure to follow. Half because of the entertainment, half because he knew something would happen around them. It was a fact of life, really.
"She's gonna take this stupid curse off of me," Polly snarled, then abruptly stopped and turned down an ally. "This way."
Austin looked at the ally, then back down the street where they came from, knowing that there was more to steal behind them than there ever would be in front. He was about to protest when Polly disappeared in front of his very eyes.
"Woah..." Kaeden said, seeing Polly vanish. "Hey, think it's like the hidden door that takes us to the island?" he asked, already going for the ally. He wasn't good at stealing things, so he wasn't looking for such opportunities.
Besides, that funny feeling that he got now and again had been leaving him alone. He had no clue how to explain what it was, so he didn't even think on it.
He walked into the ally as well, not even waiting on Austin.
When Austin still hesitated, Polly's hand shot out of the nothingness, grabbed him by the shirt, and hauled him inside.
They were standing in the street in front of a gift shop. There was a sign over the door that hung on a pole jutting out of the building. It swayed slightly in the wind and proclaimed the place to be "Lucky Charm, INC."
"Huh," Kae said looking at the store. "It's a hidden gift shop? Why would someone want to hide a shop?" he asked curiously. Then he looked to Polly. "Your witch is in here? I thought she roamed in allies."
Polly looked at the place a bit blankly, confused as well. "I dunno," she finally admitted. "It don't look like she'd be here. It's too fancy. But I coulda sworn--"
"You're not a dog," Austin said. "Your nose wasn't made to smell out old ladies, savvy?"
"I don't get the smell thing either," Kaeden said, still looking at the shop. "But... let's check it out. I mean, it's a hidden shop. It's gotta be hidden for a reason. Let's find out, there might be something in there, anyway," he said, starting for the door. Curiosity was eating him alive at the moment.
"But it smells--" Polly insisted, not knowing why her senses seemed to have gotten more powerful, but knowing they had. "It's like... crisp, sharp air, with a hint of a--a shock to it. It's like--"
"Money," Austin said, patting her on the head. "It smells like money. And I think it's about time to get us some."
"Polly? Explaining what it smells like to us isn't gonna help. Not if we can't smell it. And you're not a dog, either, so don't worry about it," Kaeden said, heading for the door of the shop and starting to open it.
They could at least see what was in here, after all! Maybe Austin would find another map.
Austin looked around, his eyes narrowing on the girly accessories and toys that filled the room. Then he noticed the jewelry. Casually he headed for that, leaving the others to do what they wanted.
The store seemed empty, but there was always the chance there were camcorders, so Polly decided to take a more roundabout way, glancing around and stopping at the toys.
Then she stopped, her heart thudding hard against her chest as a toy gator in a pirate outfit caught her eye.
Kaeden didn't bother to follow Austin, knowing that too many kids in the same area would get attention. Instead, he went down another isle. This place did look like girls designed it.
He stopped though, seeing Polly frozen in place. "What's up?" he asked lightly, heading over. Maybe she saw something useful, after all.
"Nothing," she said a bit too sharply, turning away from the toy. The smell of magic was so thick that she had to fight the urge to sneeze. "Just some stupid toys."
She moved on, not even daring to look back at the toy in question. Idly she stopped by the candy section, wondering why none of the brands looked familiar.
"Riighht," Kaeden replied, but he didn't feel like pressing the matter. He started to turn, only to stop, spotting the gator toy in the pirate suit. He smirked, reaching out and picking it up. It looked like Tock. Sortta.
"Put it down, Kaeden," Polly said, not looking back at him. "It's too big to steal and isn't shiny."
She slipped a pack of gum in her pocket, then casually walked on, her movements too smooth for even the camcorders to catch.
"Who said I would? I just thought it looked like Tock, that's all," Kaeden said, shaking his head before he put it down. He had wanted to look for a hippo one, but that would be silly.
It was curious, though. This shop was small, so, why wasn't there someone at the counter, keeping an eye on things? He wandered back through, going for where Austin was again.
Austin twirled the round jewelry holder, eyeing the pieces behind the plastic wall with a casual glance. "I," he said finally, "don't think any of this is real gold."
"So then, it's not worth it, huh?" Kaeden asked, coming up behind him. Then he decided to point something out: "I don't see any one working here. There's no one saying anything about us being here."
"Yeah," Austin said. "And I don't see any cams, either," he added, looking around. "Grab whatever's light and looks expensive and let's get out of here."
Kaeden looked to Polly to see if she agreed with this. Something didn't set right, however, in doing this. It was... too easy. But he went to see what he could get.
Polly grabbed a few things and headed out the door, not liking the smell of the place, not liking how Gator Boy just suddenly appeared in front of her, either.
"You shouldn't," a ragged looking blonde man said, stepping in front of her and blocking her escape.
She jerked, looking up at him in surprise.
Yep, he knew something was wrong. "Shouldn't what?" he asked however, playing the innocent. He wasn't too good at it.
"Oh, you know what I'm talking about," he said. "You're pirates, after all. Especially you," he added with a glance at Austin. "And you're right, none if it is real gold." He stepped into the building and Polly was forced to take a step back, looking up at him with mounting rage.
"I have something for each of you," he said. "But you haven't earned it yet."
Kaeden gave him an odd look. "You... have something for us?" he asked, suspicious now. He didn't like this guy who, without being in the room, knew what they were up too.
And Polly looked like she wanted to fry him right now. Boy he hoped not.
"That's right. But you can't have it after trying to loot my store, I'm afraid," he said. Then he snapped his fingers.
They were standing in the street they had started out in. Their pockets and hands were empty.
"... Damn," Kaeden muttered, sticking his hands into his now empty pockets and pulling them inside out. There was no hope of anything being left. "You know, I think I've decided that I don't like magic. In any shape or form."
"That makes three of us," Austin said, patting Polly's head, then jerking his hand away to blow on it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 11:53 am
The Clam Hunt: Orli and her brother come over to talk to Polly, clam hunting commences and Polly and Austin realize that there might be a connection between the witch and the charm store.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:01 am
They couldn't find it. For the first time since they had realized the shop was there, they couldn't find it no matter how hard they searched. In irritation Polly had let Orli go home and headed back for the ship with her cousin.
It was a long trip back, because Polly insisted on kicking every rock she saw on the way there. Austin was much more reserved. He shoved his hands into his pockets (well, two of them, the boy had a ton of pockets to choose from) and walked silently as he thought.
"I don't see how there's a connection," he said finally.
"There's a connection," she insisted. "They smell like the same bad magic!"
"Yeah, but there's a lot of magic around here," he said. "Practically everything is magical around here."
She went silent, kicking yet another rock as she refused to verbally agree with his statement. "Where's Kaeden?" she asked abruptly.
"He went out somewhere or other with Chloe," Austin said.
"Damn."
"What's it matter?"
"Maybe he's the reason we could find it!"
"Why in the Bermuda Triangle would he have something to do with us finding the shop?" Austin asked.
"He was with us when we found it."
"Yeah."
"And he wasn't with us when we didn't!"
He snorted and patted his pockets again, pulling out a flask of water and taking a drink. She stopped, looking at him, then reaching for it. "Where'd you get that?" she demanded as he held it out of her reach.
"Dunno," he lied, keeping it from her. "Found it."
"You did not," she said, standing on tiptoe to get it. She was too short. He was almost a foot taller than she was.
"If I said I found it, I found it," he told her, smirking slightly, his cheeks flushed a bit.
"You stole it off of a homeless guy, didn't you!"
"Might have," he said, taking another drink.
"It doesn't smell like water," she said, sniffing his breath. "That's alcohol!"
"It's water!"
She snorted. "You're going to be soooo busted when Jake finds out," she told him. "They're gonna beat you bad."
"I won't feel a thing," he said, capping the flask and slipping it into its pocket. He actually had thought it was water, funnily enough. It was just golden brown water. That tasted funny.
"That old guy smelled like death warmed over," Polly said. "Now you just smell like death. Maybe we should warm you up, huh?"
"No!" he said. "My gloves still have burn holes from the last time you did that!"
"Then gimme the flask," she said, holding out a hand. He hesitated, then reluctantly handed it over. "Kids can't have this," she told him.
He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like he was mocking her. She gave him a dirty look and slipped the flask into her ratty bag of treasures. She never even noticed the sparrow etched on the side of it.
Far behind them, in the shadows of an alley, a homeless old man opened his eyes. A tiny smirk pulled at his lips as he pulled out a piece of paper. There was a single black dot on the paper.
The first step to getting the boy's soul had been taken.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:16 pm
The Map
Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen
--------------------
There was a gigantic map that hung on a wall in the public library. It was around all the of books on the world, atlases and things like that. It wasn't too popular of a place to be, unless you had a book report on the world.
At the moment, there was a boy with a skunk tail, staring up at the map. He stood on a foot stool that allowed you to get up and personal with the map. The map was now decorated with many, many sticky notes.
"You sure you wanna go?" Austin asked his cousin. "It sounds lame."
"I'm not sure I wanna go," Polly said. "But she might come in handy later if I keep playing nice." She scowled as they walked past the doorway of the library, then stopped, backing up. "Hey, I found Kaeden!"
"What? Seriously? He's been missing all day!" Austin said. Then he looked up. "What in the hell is he doing in a library?" he asked as Polly dragged him inside.
One thing was for certain: Kaeden wasn't doing a book report. He blinked, looking around as if trying to figure out where he was... and why the hell he was even here. Then he saw the two. "Oh, hey, what's up?" he asked, trying to fake that he knew why he was here.
He also noted the stickies on the map.
"What's up?" Polly asked. "You're the one that's in the library," she said, earning several dirty looks from the librarians.
Austin, on the other hand, was leaning close to read the sticky notes. He didn't even seem to notice the other two.
"Yeah, but what brings you by?" Kaeden asked her, letting Austin look and think Austin like thoughts. He didn't even try to guess at what the other boy thought. "I.. I came to look at the map," he so lied.
"She wanted to drag us to a party," Austin said, still not looking up from the notes. "But I think we have a treasure map here."
Polly jerked. "Seriously??" she asked, getting yet more dirty looks and a few "hush!" from people around them.
"Austin..." Kaeden started, then lowered his voice greatly. "Don't tell me you wanna take this map now??" he asked and looked back up at the map. At least no one asked about the notes! He had no idea how they got there.
Then he looked back at Polly. "Also, I am not going to any parties," he added.
"Course not," she said. "We've got a massive sized treasure map. But where'd it come from?" she asked, digging through her pockets and pulling out the note from Orli. She looked at it for a moment and it started to crinkle, turning black before it burst into flames.
"Young lady!" the librarian said, shocked. "You cannot light things in a public library! Someone get the extinguisher!"
The panic that this caused gave Austin the time he needed to cut the massively huge map down and roll it up. "Gimme a hand, Kaeden," he said as Polly let the flaming piece of paper hit the ground.
Kaeden didn't even hesitate as he started to help removing the map, being careful of the stickies. Well! At least Polly fire thing came in handy for things other than camp fires! Again the skunk boy assumed the role of follower, but he wasn't about to take command with this thing. Hell, at least he kinda sorta found the map!
"Young men, stop right this--" The librarian jerked as a rack of magazines lit up, her eyes wide with shock as she raced to save them, and Polly and the boys sauntered out of the library, their stolen map in hand.
"See? I told you the invite might be entertaining," Polly bragged.
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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:05 am
The Ocean Area: The pirates are looking for treasure right off the shore of the beach party!
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:19 am
"It's a date," Polly said as she dragged Tock into the aquarium.
"It ain't a date," the big gator man said. "You don't date your old man."
"I can date my old man if I want," she said irritably, waving away the ticket kid. He was new, so he didn't realize who they were.
"Excuse me, but you really need to--" the teenager said, chasing after them.
"Need to what?" Tock asked, enjoying anything that got him off the topic of "dating" as he turned to glower down at the boy.
"To um, get a tick--"
Tock reached into the large trench coat pocket, pulling out a worn looking strip of paper. "See this? This means I can fire you if I want. Now get out of the way."
"But--" The teenager was dragged away by a manager, who apologized profusely as he went.
"Now," Polly said, turning so she was looking up at Tock, a smug smile on her lips. "We can have a peaceful date. You have to buy me dinner after this."
Tock gave in. Of course he did. It had been a while since he had seen Polly in a good mood. "Okay, okay," he muttered, reaching out and shoving her bangs out of her face with a finger. "But you ain't dressed for a date. We'll go get you some clothes after this."
"You're not gonna stick me in a skirt, are you?" she asked with a look of disgust.
"I only date girls," Tock told her with an evil grin. "Not tomboys."
She gave him a dirty look before hauling him into the halls of aquariums. It was comfortable here, especially since there was hardly anyone there at this time of day. The gentle blue light that traced over Polly's skin highlighted how pretty she had gotten.
His hand dropped onto her back, a protective, possessive move that would keep her from getting lost. He would never, ever tell her that she was the most important person in his life. She would never let him live it down.
"Kinda surprised," Tock said. "Usually you're off running around with your crew."
"Meh," Polly said. "They're okay."
"Most kids your age don't wanna be seen with their old man."
"You're a lot cooler than most old men," she said, leaning into his side as they watched the sharks swim past. His hand moved from her back to her shoulder and he let her stay there as long as she wanted.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:53 pm
The Pirate Games: Polly steals compass, loses it, Todd finds it, Austin finds them, Jordan causes trouble. ORP
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:01 am
The morning rose bright and early, she could hear people yelling at each other outside of the houseboat, but that was a usual thing. Early mornings were popular around her home. What wasn't usual was the fact that her bed seemed half as big as it used to be. Layla sat up, staring down at herself with shock before climbing out of the bed and heading for her mirror. She had grown again. She broke into a grin, racing out the door-- And there was no one there. She frowned, her long ears twitching slightly, but she knew her dad's snoring. He wasn't home. "Dad?" she called out, even though it was silly. "Dad? Where are you?" She stopped, catching sight of something gleaming on the porch of the houseboat. It glowed like fire under the early morning sun, and she reached down, scooping it up. For a long moment she just stood there, fingering the hard, smooth object as she tried to figure out what it was. "It's a dragon scale," someone said from over her head. She glanced up, raising an eyebrow slightly at the sight of a wild looking female with bright orange hair. "I'm Polly. We live a few boats down from you." "Then why are you sitting on my roof?" Layla asked. "Cuz I saw what happened," she said, dropping off the roof and onto the deck with a swagger. "Your old man was kidnapped. Here, the dragon left a note." She handed over an old piece of parchment. "I can't believe you slept through it, though, he was loud as hell." Layla took the note, irritated at that comment but secretly wondering the same thing. Then she stared. "I can't read this," she said finally. "Yeah, well you try writing on this tiny piece of paper when you're the size of a mountain," Polly said, shrugging. "But here, hold it up to the light like this." She lifted the note, letting Layla look. "I'm guessing this is for you," Polly said as the note lit up with a map. "To go save your dad." "Then give it to me!" Layla snapped, reaching for the map. "No way! You know what this means?" Polly demanded. "This means you're going to a dragon cave, and dragon caves mean booty! So pack your bags and let's get going already!" "Give me the map," Layla said coldly. "This isn't some grand adventure, you freaky flame head, this is saving my dad!" "Sounds like a grand adventure to me!" Polly said, grinning shamelessly. "Besides, how are you going to get across the ocean?" "I--I'll sail!" "You need a crew," Layla said. "I've got one. You don't." Layla's expression went dark. It was true, though. She'd seen the other girl's houseboat before. There were pirates living there. "Only as far as across the ocean." "Sure. Whatever."
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