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 Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:08 am
It wasn't for several days that Amie bothered to wonder who Jareth was. She had settled into a routine, quickly assimilating Bonnie into her life. Within a week it was if he had always been there. He came with her when she practiced, which soothed him -- sometimes he even hummed along. And when she wasn't practicing, she talked to him. She hadn't really talked to anyone since her friends had graduated.
Amie's roommate, Jess, never bothered to say anything about it. She'd walked in once while Amie was talking to Bonnie but had only grabbed something and left. She probably thought it was another toy Amie had and that she was playing. Jess had never liked the collection of toys Amie kept in the room.
Amie was sitting on the edge of her bed with Bonnie in her lap, stroking the surface of the orb. She found it settled him. Bonnie still didn't like his name, but she found that he didn't make any wiggles of discontentment while holding him this way.
"i'm so glad you're with me, Bonnie. You're a wonderful friend. I'm so glad..." she stopped and realized that She had forgotten who the letter was from. She gently set Bonnie on her pillow and took the letter from the shelf over her bed, reading it again.
"Who's Jareth?" she said aloud. She didn't notice Bonnie wiggle.
She sat at her computer and looked through the student directory, sorting my first name. Several Jareds, a Jaremiah, Jarett, but no Jareths. "Hmm... oh, he's cute!" she said, noticing the picture of one of the students. She continued on, wondering who the kind person was. A secret admirer? that would be strange.
Bonnie hummed to get her attention, but she didn't hear him.
She looked through last names but didn't find anyone who might use "jareth" as a nickname based on that. She tapped her chin and thought.
Bonnie managed to get himself out of the little dent in the pillow in which he rested and rolled off the bed, landing on the corner of the comforter which lay on the floor. He rolled and bumped into Amie's foot, then backed and bumped again, forcing her to look down.
"Oh sorry cutey! I'm ignoring you!" She bent down and lifted him, setting him in her lap again and stroking him while she thought.
Bonnie released a hum that could only be understood as a sigh.
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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:54 am
It wasn't for another week that Amie finally started to understand that Bonnie was trying to communicate with her, not just wiggle cutely. Though she had to admit that, if anything, the idea that he wanted to say something was even more cute. It made her smile.
It happened in the morning in between breakfast and her first practice session. Amie was in a habit of returning back to her dorm after breakfast anyway, since she had nothing else to do. But now she actually looked forward to it. She was very protective of Bonnie and didn't want to take him out very much. So she came home and sat on her bed and stroked him and talked to him.
It was really more talking to herself, but she liked the idea that the orb was alive -- which meant it could have sympathy that her dolls and toys couldn't.
Bonnie was vibrating very slightly, a sign of contentment, Amie had come to realize, when Amie's ramblings came back to the subject of Jareth, which she often did. It wasn't like her to wonder on something she didn't understand, but this was somehow different. "I wonder where this Jareth is from?"
Bonnie, for his part, had become very frustrated with Amie's obliviousness to everything, and emitted a loud, sudden hum to express his frustration.
Amie paused and regarded the orb with wide eyes. That... had meant something, she finally realized. Bonnie was now vibrating less, and his hum rose and fell slightly in waves.
"You... you know who Jareth is?"
Bonnie veritably bounced, clearly showing affirmation. He was beyond excited that he was finally getting through to her. Over the course of the days he'd been with Amie he had grown very fond of her. She always gave him plenty of attention and took care of him. She was a fantastic musician and her playing always soothed and cheered him. He wanted her to be happy in kind. And now that he had a way to reach her, maybe he could help.
Amie squealed with glee. Maybe she was crazy, but Bonnie was clearly talking back to her!
"Who is he?" For a moment it escaped her that Bonnie couldn't do more than hum and move a little. He clearly couldn't answer a question like that in any way she would understand.
Bonnie vibrated, pressing back and forth against alternate legs. He didn't know how to express a description.
Amie realized what was happening finally. "Oh, yeah. Hmm... Maybe you can tell me where he is, or how to contact him. I need to thank him for my best friend!" She lifted him gently and set him on the pillow. She went to her desk and pulled out a map of the city. Setting it down on the floor. Then she lifted Bonnie again and put him on the map. "Can you show me on the map?"
Bonnie sat still. Jareth was NOT going to be found on a map of Dublin. But he could be found. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to try it. He rolled across the floor and gently bumped into the door a couple times, then he pulled back slightly, stopped, and hummed, waiting for Amie.
"Out the door? why can't you just show me?" Amie knelt, gazing at him. Bonnie just sat there. "Ok, but be careful, adn don't get too far ahead of me." She stood reluctantly, and opened the door. Bonnie rolled out carefully. Amie was worried, but had an excitement in her too. This was going to be an adventure.
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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:26 am
Amie grabbed her sweater, struggling to force her arms in although one of the sleeves was inside out and giving her trouble. She followed after Bonnie for a few steps, then realized that the door to her room was still open. She sighed in exasperation and returned to the door, closing it with the one arm she'd managed to clothe properly, and then ran to catch up to Bonnie, who was halfway down the hall.
Bonnie rolled steadily till her reached the elevators. He paused at the entrance to the stairs, but he was completely unsure if he could go down them without damaging himself. Despite the fact that he found Amie overprotective, he really didn't have any desire to hurt himself before he emerged from the orb. He finally rolled under the elevator buttons and waited there.
"Oh, the elevator. Up or down?" Amie asked.
If Bonnie had eyes, he would have glared. For one, she wasn't looking to him for the answer, but staring at the buttons. For another, he thought it was obvious they'd be going down to exit the building. He rolled over and nudged her toe.
Amie had the decency to blush. "Down I guess, huh?" She pushed the button and a moment later the doors open. She followed Bonnie in and pushed the button for the lobby.
Bonnie confessed himself excited. He wanted to see the labyrinth again. His speed began to increase slowly as he led Amie out the front doors and used the handicap ramp to reach the sidewalk. By the time they had passed a couple buildings, Amie was having to jog to keep up.
"Slow down!" she complained. Bonnie tried, but it didn't last long and he was soon zipping through the feet of other students as Amie puffed to keep up.
"Bonnie! I..." Amie's mothering was cut off as she shrieked. Bonnie entered an intersection of crosswalks just as two bikes approached. Bonnie skidded to a stop just as the cyclists seemed to notice him at the same time. Rubber was left on the pavement as they swerved and braked, losing their balance and falling in to each other. A nearby pedestrian was somehow pulled into the pile and and Amie lost site of the orb in the confusion.
She dashed forward with a sudden burst of speed, calling out Bonnie's name over and over. She lurched to a stop as Bonnie extricated himself from the mess. The cyclists and pedestrian were yelling at each other, and Bonnie rolled as stealthily as he could to move away.
"Come on, Bonnie," Amie said quietly, realizing that they might come to their senses and blame her for the accident. She reached down. "We should go back to the room."
Bonnie wanted to show her the labyrinth though. It was where he came from and honestly, he truly wanted to share it with her. And so he sped up, rolling away before she could catch him, knowing she'd run after.
He rounded a corner and entered a small area behind a building that backed up to a large stone wall, He disappeared into the shadow just as Amie came toward him.
She began to chastise him, but then stopped. There was a hole in the wall, just big enough to crawl through. But as she looked, it seemed to stretch on into a tunnel. She couldn't see the street. She stood up. The wall was about 10 feet high, but she could climb on some nearby crates and look over. The street was there. The wall was only about a half-meter thick. Cars sped past noisily.
She climbed back down thoughtfully and sat in the gravel next to Bonnie, stroking him as she considered this. Bonnie was clearly magical. She'd never said so seriously, but it was clear. So why not more magic? He wanted her to go through this tunnel. But she wasn't sure she was brave enough.
"Is... is it safe?" she asked.
Bonnie hummed soothingly.
"Ok then, let's go. But slowly, I can't crawl fast, ok?"
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