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 Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:44 pm
Snow shook his head, dismissing his guardian's query.
"I have my doubts. However, you have always been here for me," he grasped the pendant that Telemine gave him and smiled at Magnus. "Is it not time for me to do something for you?"
Marinae blushed fiercely, and looked away from her charge. How had she, of all people, ended up raising such a sweet kid?
"Well," she blustered, trying to regain her usual snarky composure, "you better not get in friggin trouble, since I'm not there to pull your a** out of the fire!"
He smiled and waved as he walked through the gate.
~~~~
Memory World Day One
The first thing that Snow noticed about his surroundings was that temperature had dropped into the freezing range. The air was unnaturally clean smelling and dry. A sharp wind rushed by, chilling him to the bone despite his normally heavy clothing.
'I suppose that the weather is punishment for my lack of preparedness,' Snow groaned as he lifted one foot out of what was obviously a snowbank. He certainly didn't dislike his namesake, but it was definitely a hindrance in any situation. And with the clock now running, he did not need any extra obstacles.
Testing the air again, he noted the rich smell of pine. He could safely assume that he was in a wooded area, since the scent was particularly strong.
Now if only he could figure out what significance this area held, he would be in good shape. However, as far as he could remember, Mari had never mentioned anything about a forest. She had refused to speak much about her past other than the obvious fact that she had died at some point. The fact that she had agreed to this little escapade showed how much she had grown close to him. Either that, or she was really that desperate to gain a physical body.
This train of thought was soon interrupted.
"HEY!" a female voice cut through the air. He could hear footsteps crunching in the snow as the speaker ran closer. Since they had alerted him to their presence, Snow assumed that they meant no harm. He turned to face in the direction from where the voice had come.
"May I help you?" he asked, giving his best friendly smile. The person slowed to a halt a few feet in front of him.
"What's a kid like you doin' up here?" they asked, voice loud but friendly. More crunching noises followed, making Snow wonder if the person had changed their position.
"I...am not entirely certain where 'here' is," Snow admitted sheepishly. After all, the more information he had about this place, the more likely he would be to find his missing guardian.
"Ah, now, don't tell me you were blitzin' without a watcher!" the person exclaimed, laughing. "You kids are all the same, bein' reckless and not listenin' to those who know better! What if you'd ended up on Eight or somethin'?"
Snow processed this statement for a moment, before coming to the conclusion that "blitzin'" had something to do with a form of teleportation and that the juvenile delinquents on this world would often do it without permission. It made sense, in a strange sort of way. He couldn't make heads or tails of the Eight bit though.
"I suppose it is my own fault for being...er...reckless..." Snow said carefully, shrugging. Let this person think what they wanted, it was probably for the best.
"Well, you certainly picked an odd off place to land in!" the woman laughed again. "Honestly, landin' in a snowbank on Three is one of the worst places to end up most of the time. Lucky we're out here havin' a shoot or else ya might be stranded for quite a time!"
"A...shoot...?" Now this, he couldn't make heads or tails of. He had heard a bow and arrows in context with shootings. Was there some sort of execution going on? That might have something to do with Mari's end, although he strongly doubted it. She had always admitted to dieing of hypothermia.
"A photoshoot, darlin'!" she said. "The modeling agency wants a spread for the latest winter fashions, so we're doin' it for them right here!"
She moved closer, apparently deciding that Snow wasn't a threat.
"Do you like magazines, darlin'?" she asked, leaning in close. Snow backed up a step, not liking to be in that close proximity to a stranger. She didn't follow, but laughed again.
"I can not say I have ever been interested in magazines," he admitted. Of course, since he could not see the pictures, there was no point in him ever obtaining one.
"Can't say that I blame ya," the woman admitted slyly. "Some of them are pretty darn indecent if ya ask me. But we're pretty much just to show off clothin' and not any body parts, if ya know what I mean."
Snow blushed, trying not to make a face. He had a feeling that people were on a mission to embarrass him, not that it was difficult to do. He somewhat resented that quality in himself and wondered again if it was Mari's fault.
"Y'know," the person said thoughtfully, moving closer to him once more and circling around back of him. Snow felt the urge to turn around and act as though he was watching them, but decided against it in order to avoid appearing nervous.
"I know what?" he snapped, getting somewhat annoyed. This woman was wasting his precious time keeping him here.
"Don't get your knickers in a knot, doll," she said dismissively. "I was just gonna say that you don't look half bad yourself. We could use another cute guy in the shoot so I was just thinkin'...well...y'know..."
"I...see..." Snow considered the option carefully. The gate was supposed to put him in a good position to find his guardian. Perhaps going to this shoot would give him the direction he needed to go in. It could also be a waste of time...however he doubted the existence of coincidence in this place.
"I suppose it could not hurt," he finally agreed. The woman let out a yelp of delight and grabbed his arm. Snow stiffened, surprised at the touch.
"Perhaps you could tell me your name now that we have become better..." he gave her the 'look' which usually worked well due to the odd quality of his eyes. The woman laughed sheepishly in response.
"Well, gosh, I guess my mouth ran away without my manners, eh?" her voice actually got softer for the first time, as she let go of his arm. Snow supposed that being outgoing was a good thing for some people, but it certainly could cause a headache.
"The name is Piqui McGill, chief photographer for all the worlds fashionistas!" she said cheerfully, her voice increasing in volume. He heard snow crunching again, and assumed that she was doing some sort of cute or cool pose to emphasize the introduction. Somehow he did not regret the lack of visuals in this situation.
"My name is Snow," he said curtly, giving a wry smile. "I lack any significant title, so please forgive the brevity of my introduction."
"Sarcasm much?" Piqui returned, snorting. Snow wondered if this woman had any contact with his guardian. They certainly had a familiar turn personality. Since this was a world created by Mari's memories, this Piqui had to have some significance at least.
"Shall we go to this...shoot?" he asked quickly, deciding not to grace her query with any sort of answer. After all, he was in a hurry.
"Then let's go!" she chirruped. He heard her turn in the snow and start walking off towards the left. Shaking his head, he followed the sound of her footsteps.
~~Much later~~
Snow sat on a pull out bed in one of the trailers, which thankfully had a small heater in the corner. He was sharing the trailer with the other male model, a friendly man going by the name of Oriole. He had been introduced to more photographers, set designers, make-up artists and wardrobe managers than he could possibly keep track of, and he certainly didn't intend to. After all, he would probably never encounter these people ever again after the test was over. It was actually somewhat sad in a way.
They had told him to arrive at the main area of the shoot shortly after daybreak. He had already asked Oriole to wake him up, so he wasn't afraid that he would be late. And, even if he was, there was a possibility that the session wouldn't take place. He hadn't heard all of the details, but one of the models had run off early in the morning and had yet to return. From what he had gathered, nobody was really worried about her, since she had a habit of going off on her own. It had just been mentioned in passing though, and he hadn't pressed on the matter.
In retrospect, he probably should have. After all, an independent model who was possibly lost in the snowy mountains had a ring to it that resonated of Marinae. He supposed that he could ask in the morning, nobody wanted to be out in the snow after dark, himself included. Pulling off his boots and placing them at the foot of the bed, he swung his feet under the covers and settled in.
Hopefully tomorrow his search would yield fruit.
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Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 3:16 pm
Memory World Day Two
Upon Oriole awakening him at the crack of dawn, Snow decided that mornings were definitely not his cup of tea. Marinae always let him sleep as late as he had wished, so he really was not used to waking up at a specified time. Perhaps, if she was involved with these people, it was a reversion from a time in which she didn't get any sleep at all? In any case, Oriole nearly got a thunderbolt to the head before Snow realized where he was and who was shaking him into consciousness.
Quickly pulling on his boots, he staggered outside the cold air hitting his face like a slap. Scowling, he pulled his jacket tighter around his body. Even Mari couldn't manage freezing temperatures like this in her worst moods, a fact that he was now eternally grateful for.
Hearing the soft hush of multiple conversations coming from his right, Snow headed in that general direction, thinking it a safe bet. All things considering, you would think that somebody would figure out that he was visually impaired and give him a guide. He wasn't THAT good at hiding things, at least according to his guardian, who could catch him in a lie in a matter of minutes.
Reaching the group, he heard Piqui greet him in her usual boisterous fashion. Waving his greetings, he waited for the woman to approach him.
"Looks like we aren't shooting today either," she bemoaned, letting out a sigh. "Her royal majesty is still off trouncin' through the woods. We're givin' her another day before we send out a search party, but we still can't shoot without her."
"Then why do you not search for her now, so that you may start shooting immediately?" Snow asked. Surely such delays would be costly!
"Well, I wouldn't wanna catch our resident ice queen in a bad mood," Piqui muttered darkly. "She's been in a real irritated state lately, a real female doggy if you know what I mean. I certainly would not want t be the one to find her if she don't wanna come back."
Snow nodded in agreement.
"But I think that my camera needs some exercise!" she exclaimed happily, mood switching in an instant. Snow heard the rustling of clothing with movement, then a clicking and whirring sound.
"Aw, and here I thought I'd surprise you!" Piqui loaded her voice with false disappointment. "You didn't even blink!"
"Blink?" Snow asked, confused.
"Y'know with the flash?" she prodded back, sounding a little confused herself.
"I am not so familiar with camera equipment," Snow said carefully. He was hoping that it did have something to do with the camera, and not with the 'flashing' that Marinae had taught him about. Somehow he doubted that Piqui would do something like that, though, no matter how outgoing she may be.
"Oh, come on, everyone knows what the flash is!" she shot back. "You'd have to be blind or somethin' to miss it!"
Snow flushed. Well, that would explain it. It was something visual.
"Somethin' wrong hon?" Piqui asked, sounding concerned. "I didn't insult ya, did I?"
"Oh, not at all," Snow returned quickly. He didn't want to lose his primary source of information due to an misunderstanding.
He could hear Piqui coming closer, probably to get a better look at his eyes. Sighing, he gave into the inevitable and decided not to look away.
"Ah, you are, aren't you," she stuttered. Snow laughed inside, this was probably the first time in quite a while that this woman was at a loss for words.
"Please, it is nothing." He shook his head, smiling. It was not a thing for the other woman to worry about. "So then, shall we exercise this camera of yours?"
"We shall, we shall!" Piqui exclaimed! She hooked one arm around his shoulders and pulled him off towards the crowd. As they left, Snow couldn't help but look back behind him. An odd, perhaps unfounded, feeling, but he could swear that someone was watching him!
~~Sometime later~~
After several photo sessions with Piqui and the two remaining models, the four of them found themselves in the dining area, a large trailer reserved for eating. Besides Oriole, the other model was a girl named Diana. She seemed nice enough when she got her way, but had a bossy streak a mile wide. She also smelled like somebody had dropped her into the world's smelliest perfume vat, so Snow was doing his best to move as far as he could away without insulting her.
Next to him, Snow could hear the constant clink of cutlery against china as Oriole shoveled food into his mouth. Piqui and Diana were conversing about how horrible dinner was, Diana doing most of the complaining, which Pique acknowledged her complaints. Snow pushed the food around his plate, not really hungry enough to experiment with the instant food that was the common fare for the traveling photo agency.
He only had one more day after this to find his guardian in this world, before their only chance was lost. He was, quite frankly, getting very nervous. With his disadvantage, and his lack of leads, he wondered if he could really accomplish the near impossible. And, on top of that, there was that constant nagging feeling that somebody was watching him.
As the others excused themselves, Snow allowed Oriole to lead him back to the men's trailer. Basking in the warmth inside, Snow flopped down on his bed. He kicked off his boots, allowing them to fall haphazardly on the floor next to the bed. Closing his eyes, he used his arms as a pillow to cushion his head. How could he possibly sleep when he had so much to worry about?
Suddenly, he heard the trailer door open and felt a rush of cool air. Soft footfalls echoed on the floor, and he felt the presence of a person hovering over him. The soft, familiar smell of lilies wafted towards him in the breeze from outside.
As he opened his eyes, the person turned away to exit the trailer. Quickly, he grabbed his boots and turned to chase them. Exiting the trailer, he heard the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow to the left and ran after them. He wasn't letting his mysterious watcher escape this time!
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Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 3:46 pm
Memory World Day Three (Midnight)
Running through the woods, Snow did his best to follow the sound of footfalls ahead of him. Of course, the person did try to walk softly at some points, but very little could fool his keen ears. He could also hear the sound of strongly running water ahead, and doubted that the person would be able to cross it more quickly than he could catch up to them.
After another minute of running, the close feeling of trees fell away, and Snow assumed that they were entering a clearing. The footsteps ahead of him slowed to a halt and Snow slowed his own to match. He could hear them breathing heavily with the exertion of their run. Shaking his head, he drew closer to his target.
"Well then?" he asked of his quarry. He certainly was out for answers, and he had a feeling that he had finally found them.
"You're awfully persistent," moaned a very familiar female voice.
"I learned from the best, Marinae," he responded lightly, crossing his arms.
"So you've heard of me?" she drawled, finally catching her breath. He heard a loud crunch as she sat down heavily in the snow, probably tired from dashing about all day.
"Who has not?" he shot back.
"Was Pi complaining about me again?" she said with a snort. Snow was willing to bet most anything that she was rolling her eyes. "She deserves it, y'know, for coming up with such a stupid image for me."
Recalling what Piqui had said earlier, Snow decided to prod furthur.
"So you do not enjoy being the famous ice queen?" he asked, somewhat surprised. One would think, that with her pride, Marinae would enjoy being called royalty.
"It just isn't me," she sighed. Snow could hear her tracing patterns in the snow with her finger. "I may be difficult to deal with, hell, I know that. But I'm not a cold person."
"Dignity does not suit you either, Miss Spy," he teased. She let out a small barking laugh in response.
"Ease up there, tiger! I was just curious as to who the cute new guy was!" she returned with a volley of her own teasing. Snow fought down another blush. Even in the memory world, she still knew all the right buttons to push!
"But still, the image of the cold, standoffish woman just doesn't suit me!" she concluded loudly, slamming her fist into the snow with a loud smack. "I'm sick of people thinking I'm untouchable because of that stupid magazine! It was fun at first, but..."
"You wish to leave do you not?" Snow finished her statement, nodding. That would make sense, considering his guardian's reluctance to speak of her past career. If she did not enjoy it, she definitely wouldn't talk about it.
"Definitely," Mari said decisively. "In fact, I'm planning on heading down to the village tomorrow and blitz off world. My uncle has a place on Two where he'll let me stay for a while until I find something to do."
"That makes sense," Snow said, considering her choice with a sort of dread. He knew that this was just a world borne of memories and that it had no bearing on the future. However, he was quite sure that tomorrow would bring the snowstorm that would cause his guardian's untimely demise.
"Y'know," she said offhandedly, "all those photos with pictures of models lookin' all icy and beautiful bore me to tears. They all look so fake and idiotic, don't you think?"
"I would not know." Snow shrugged. If he couldn't see the pictures, there was no point in having his opinion on them. He was fairly sure that Mari was right, though.
"Aw, c'mon, get an opinion, would you?" she yelled, obviously irritated with his lack of decisiveness. He heard her stand up and walk over to him. She shoved a paper in his hand.
"This is what people should be looking at, not a bunch of emotionless dolls!" she said loudly. Snow pretended to look at the picture, wishing that he truly could see what it showed. He nodded at Mari, who patted him on the back.
"Well, I guess I better get going soon," she said slowly, sighing. "Can't let the others catch me here, they'll be draggin' me back post haste."
She began to walk away, then paused for a moment.
"See ya later, blue!" she yelled back, then ran off into what he assumed was the forest.
"Much later..." he muttered, clutching the photo she had left him with. He turned around once he felt a pair of eyes boring into his back.
Are you ready? Telemine asked. He nodded in response.
"Let's go home."
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Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 4:16 pm
Memory World Aftermath
After Snow had followed Telemine through the gate, she had whisked the photo out of his hands. The dream jester smiled as she saw what the photo featured. Marinae was flashing her best grin at the camera, grabbing two other people by the neck in a giant bear hug. One hand was clenched in a fist while the other flashed a V-for-victory sign just barely in the frame of the photo.
Telemine had to admit, Marinae certainly had a personality all her own.
Holding the photo close to her chest, she allowed its power to gather into an orb of light. Moving forward, she offered it out to Marinae's aura.
This strength, once yours, I now return, she intoned. Marinae's spirit coalesced around the orb of light. There was a bright flash as the girls new body took form. Snow, overwhelmed by the wildly fluctuating energies, did his best to remain conscious.
A young child, or at least half of one, hung in the air. Her tail whipped from side to side as the energies died down around her. Snapping her ruby eyes open, Mari examined her new body critically.
"Well, it's not perfect, but at least it's something, right?" she finally admitted, giving a grin.
Indeed, Telemine agreed.
Snow smiled gently at his guardian.
"Welcome back," he said warmly. She hesitated only a second before floating over to him and giving him a big hug around the neck.
"Thanks."
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