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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:02 pm
It was all over now. The strange dream-state that had been Tartaros, her brief acquaintance with Doctor Baskov....and Ray. She'd seen from high above what had happened when the Pyrite Crystal had gone off taking Wiseman and the echelon of the Parallel Court with it in the dreadful power. But unlike the ginzuishou, barazuishou, or even the Marcasite Crystal's power there was no guaranteed regeneration after death. Wiseman was gone and Black Lady hadn't had enough power or rage to hold onto her body or her great dark powers. So Blanche Williams had woken up again as Tsukino Usagi in that abhorrent fifteen year old body; nobody had noticed. It was fortunate. So it was that Coralie Williams had shown up with all the proper paperwork to claim her 'sister's' things from Ray Gordon's condominium; Gene had taken the spare key the first time she had come by.
That had been three days ago. Now Allie was standing out in front of the condo wearing nothing but unrelieved black from head to toe in the middle of August, customary odango signaling her out from everyone else as someone different. As if the black didn't do that on its own! Fingers clutched at each other and red eyes welled with tears as she yelled at the building in Japanese. "Idiot! I don't even know what happened, how you got there, and now you're dead!" The black clutch in her hand was raised as if she would throw it through the windows, but she stopped, composed herself and simply stood on the curb, shoulders slumped.
Had there been a photographer at that moment to capture the image, he might have won a Pulitzer. As it was, there was no one to see Coralie Williams and her grief. Or so she thought.
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:47 am
For a decent while, there really was no one to witness the girl's strife, and she was left there for a while, nothing but irate birdcalls and a short breeze to answer to her presence. It was far too nice outside for something like this to be happening to someone: a little too hot, certainly, but the sun was out. The grass and trees were richly green. Life was, in general, very much going on after the hospital had started the slow but sure release of all its awakened coma patients, and it didn't seem to care that Coralie wasn't moving.
Or at least, no one human cared.
Maybe, she heard it, maybe she didn't -- the paced clicka-licka-click of blunt claws on pavement, signaling the arrival of a large dog onto the scene. Coralie might have recognized it as a greyhound, depending on how much she knew about dogs, with a coat made up of splotches of white and rusty red.
It had trotted good-naturedly up to her and proceeded to invade the girl's personal space. Thankfully, it kept all four of its feet planted on the ground while doing so; its owner had done a decent job of teaching it to be relatively polite.
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 11:58 am
Hysterical diatribe interrupted, Coralie had to take a moment to blink at the dog that was pushing its face into her chest to be incredibly startled. Due to her rather diminutive size, the dog even on all fours was almost as tall as she was! The clutch was wedged up under her armpit as hands reached out to push that big head right back out of her body, lightly petting behind the ears. "Hello there. Where did you come from?" Fingers slid down to search for a collar, finding one easily and the pink-haired girl bent down to read the tags.
They were worn, and she wasn't the best at reading the language, but the address was fairly obvious. Perry's address. She'd gone over there enough times for dinner to know where she'd seen this dog before. Returning the dog would be awkward, but could she leave him? "Doggy, you are very much trouble for me. Go home please?" Before Perry came out and found her would be best!
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 12:36 pm
Perry's Doggy did not oblige Coralie's request, and instead plopped down to a sitting position in front of her feet. Whether she couldn't quite parse the girl's broken English or only really ever obeyed Perry was hard to guess. Either that, or she was just plain enjoying the attention too much -- which bore the momentarily interesting question, could the dog recognize the changed Blanche Williams by scent?
Unfortunately, it was too late for "before Perry came out and found her:" he was already outside, a couple of shapeless black trash bags in tow, heading for the large metal cans on the curb. Even more unfortunately, his house and said cans and curb were directly across the street from Ray Gordon's former place of residence, putting Coralie and the dog directly in his line of vision.
It was only a matter of -- now.
A sharp, lilting whistle cut across the street, followed by Dr. Westerman jogging towards the curb. He looked a little worse for wear, a little weighed down, not quite possessing the careless can-do cheerfulness Coralie was used to. "Lady. Hey, Lady!" he called, and whistled again. "Come on, let's leave her alone."
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 12:45 pm
Releasing the head that had refused to do anything but press itself into the unhealthy black of her attire, Allie froze and turned towards the disheveled Doctor Westerman with the most genuine-seeming smile her face could manage. Lord knew she'd put on enough of them for the world, this one should be easy, right? Well apparently emotional trauma did not quite allow for the fluidity of muscles in anything but genuine expressions and it became a halfhearted little smirk. "I am sorry, she...Lady? Came over and I did not know where she lived." Thankfully her voice did not betray the lie; she was at least still skilled in that, though it made her chest tighten unpleasantly. Chibiusa was never fond of having to do unpleasant things, but how did you reconcile a girl at least six years younger than the one that had looked just like her?
You didn't.
Perry was already turning to walk away, leaving Allie as alone and sad as he had initially found her, preoccupied with the disturbance of his own habitat when she called out. "Wait! Ah...did you know him?" A hand pointed to the home she stood in front of, curtains parted slightly to reveal a dark living room devoid of all the cheery personal touches Blanche had added in her time there. "Did you know....Blanche?" The name dripped off her tongue and Coralie held her breath that Perry might say that no, he hadn't known the pretty but sad young woman who had been Ray's 'sister'. That would have been easier. Yet she knew immediately that it would sting and send her running from this place.
Maybe that was what she wanted?
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 2:43 pm
"Don't worry about it, kiddo," was Perry's reply, as he gently hooked his fingers under the dog's collar to pull her away. "The poor gal's been stuck in a tax-paid animal shelter for more than six weeks, and that wrecked her ability to enjoy being indoors." With that, he gave a dismissive wave and a half-hearted smirk of his own, and turned around to leave.
And then froze.
And then carefully turned back again, like a slow-motion rewind of his previous action. "Yeah," he said, casting his gaze over into the window -- did he know Ray Gordon, that was one hell of a question to have thrown at him -- and into what he could see of the stark room inside. "Yeah, I did. Both of 'em. Raymundo was a coworker." Was.
"Lemme take a wild guess." He turned his attention back to Coralie, a dark look about him. "You're related to Blanche, aren't you. And you picked an awful time to come visit."
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 3:33 pm
Had she not been a princess, Coralie might have flinched. There were, however, worse things in life than a friend who technically was not a friend at all being slightly snappy with the repartee. The clutch was brought down to be held beneath tiny hands that were squeezing the shape out of it as the girl lifted her chin just a bit. "I am not visiting. I am...was Blanche's only family. I am here to set her, what is the word, affairs? in order. I am Coralie. Coralie Williams." Her high-pitched voice made her sound eight instead of the fifteen years she could proudly claim, even younger when she stumbled over the unfamiliar English words.
A single pink pigtail brushed the ground as the little teen looked up into Perry's face curiously. "Did you know what happened to her? She was sending me money, and then it stopped. I come to find her, and she is dead. They say she just died in her sleep. But how?" Perhaps he'd also been in the strange dream place? Coralie was desperate to find out anything she could about what might have happened before and since everyone had fallen into the strange comatose state brought on by the Pyrite Crystal.
Eyes turned back towards the house and she sighed. "I am sorry, that is not a polite question. I am just very sad. She was my only family." There was a genuine smile now, a bit sad and ironic somehow as she lightly reached out to pet Lady's head one more time, loathe to leave. Some connections were hard to break.
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Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 12:42 pm
Lady's thin tail spun like a lazy helicopter and she pressed her head into Coralie's hand, whining a bit whenever the petting stopped. Dr. Westerman had his arms crossed over his navy blue plaid T-shirt and he was keeping watch on his dog to make sure she was behaving -- or he was pretending like he was focusing on his dog to make sure she was behaving, one might have thought. He looked like he might have been using Lady as neutral space to stare at while he took in Coralie's words. The dog didn't seem to mind this much, as she started to crowd the girl's personal space again, sitting so close that she was effectively leaning into her right leg.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Perry said with a defeated shrug, arms dropping back to his sides -- one of them stopped midway to prop a hand on his hip. "Some kinda mystery epidemic that knocked out a bunch of people for a few months, and some just got knocked down harder than others. No one's got a clue what it is or if we should still be worried about it." He gave a small, tired sigh to that.
"But it wrecked a great deal of summer vacations and tore up a whole bunch of families, lemme tell ya. And as for the people who got caught up in it..." he drummed his fingers on his hip and his eyes narrowed, thinking. "...it was the damnedest thing. I don't even know where to start."
A pause.
"You said she was your only family?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 9:10 pm
Hands continually fussed and coddled the dog's head as it pressed against her petite body drawing larger and larger smiles from the teenager until she was almost wholeheartedly smiling at Lady. Dogs were the way to any child's heart and girls were stereotypically weak to them. Though Coralie'd grown up with entirely cats, she couldn't help but be fond of dogs as well. It got her through Perry's explanation of the strange epidemic without any strain on her face showing that she knew a little more than he was letting on about the whole thing. Hands patted Lady's head firmly once before Allie stood up and nodded in response to his question.
"My okaa...ah. My mother and father? They died some time ago. Blanche took care of me for a long time." It was amazing how half-truths could sound so amazingly rational. Sure, Blanche had taken care of the fragile psyche that was Chibiusa's mind by shielding it and allowing it to be nurtured back to some semblance of health. All that was gone now, and she couldn't even really summon the strength that had been found in the shadows as Black Lady. Trying to bring a semblance of lightheartedness back to the conversation, Coralie pushed out another smile. "I was to visit soon for my own vacation. I suppose it was ruined as well?" Perhaps not the best joke in the world but well...nobody expected a whole lot from a girl in all-black in August, throwing a hissy fit on the sidewalk.
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:09 pm
Well, wasn't that a story. Here was a teenage girl who had apparently lived a good portion of her life with no parents, and only an older sister to care for her -- and then moved away to America, hell if he knew why -- only to end up dead thanks to one of the bizarre events this city was slowly becoming known for. One he had experienced himself, and in which he'd seen someone die... if they were real, did that mean they were dead in the real world as well? And if they weren't real... how did that explain one of his students showing up, amidst a bunch of bizarre strangers?
This wasn't a good time or place to really think about that in length, however. He had a girl in front of him who either had a heartwrenching past and an extremely uncertain future, or was an amazingly talented con artist.
Lady was usually pretty good at growling at people who were only after his money or his personal belongings.
Perry gritted his teeth a bit at the vacation joke, evidently more concerned than amused. "Okay, so lemme see if I got this straight," he started, scratching the side of his face momentarily. "You gotta figure out your sister's legal stuff... and... then what? Go back home? And where are you staying while you're here, anyhow?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 3:36 am
Coralie was fortunate that while her story was incredibly false, it also rang of truth from various times in her past and her current reality. Both her parents were undeniably dead and buried, and once when she thought her mother had been dead, and her father gravely injured, she'd only had the older sister figure of Tsukino Usagi to care for her. It was not a series of lies she was telling, not really, and it was that that kept Lady at bay and quiet. Added to that was the fact that Allie was neither after the teacher's money nor his belongings; she had more than enough of both for herself. She was more or less after his pity, and had hopefully secured that. Too few people understood what she had been through, and perhaps 'losing Blanche' would net her some of that emotion she so desperately wished someone might feel for her.
Certainly the girl looked pathetic in her mourning clothes, absurdly pink hair standing out almost in shocking difference as she clutched her little purse again. "If she is dead? I cannot go back where I was. They did not take very good care of me anyway, it was...it was not for long? Temporary?" Color lightly tinged her cheeks. "They did not want me after knowing she was dead. For now I live ah..motel? I think? I hope not much more, I do not have very much money left and cannot use hers." Now that was a flat-out lie, she could use Blanche's money whenever she liked; the problem was no one was willing to rent an apartment or give a hotel room to a fifteen year old girl. Coralie had been forced to sneak into hotels and sleep where she could find a room. Sure, she could have gone up to Crystal Academy and waited to find a senshi...but would her cousin really take her in? Helios had not been in her dreams lately, but neither was she sure that acceptance would come from that quarter either.
The Princess of Crystal Tokyo was, for all intents and purposes, homeless.
"Maybe I stay here, do not know. I do not have much in Tokyo for me, and it is very expensive to live there alone." And there were no senshi remaining in Tokyo; it seemed that Beryl was in the mood for expanding her horizons this time! But Perry could not be told that, and embarrassed, Allie simply rolled her shoulders and pet the dog. "I do not know."
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:55 pm
A motel -- a motel?? Perry's grip threatened to loosen from Lady's collar at the shock of that thought; a meager little motel room was just no place for a high school-aged girl to stay alone, orphaned or otherwise. It was risky. Especially in this town, he thought; it was incredibly risky. Who know what could happen, and he wasn't stupid, the most upsetting thing about it was that he really didn't know what could happen in a place like Destiny City. The place wasn't exactly conventional with its dangers. Even if he hadn't seen much of it himself, he'd seen enough. Heard enough, almost-seen enough, witnessed the impact of enough.
In short, the man had long since figured out why his home here had turned up so cheap. Destiny City was weird, and definitely not in a good way.
Perry crossed his arms again. "You know, sometimes expensive is better," he suggested, with an odd little frown. Not that he knew much about Tokyo, but it had to be better than here (and if he'd known that Tokyo had suffered similar -- and worse -- oddities in the 80's, he would have ended up doubly concerned). "But I got a spare room that might be your size, just until you can get things figured out."
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:37 am
It was almost embarrassing, for both of them, the way that Allie's eyes absolutely lit up with naked longing at the idea of staying somewhere remotely familiar that had a real bed. A real bed, a real shower, not having to break into places to sleep since she'd also lost her powers of teleportation with Wiseman's other gifts. Her body language was actually remarkably similar to the dog who strained lightly at her collar to get loose, but knowing that getting loose was probably not the best thing in the world.
Hesitantly Coralie finally stopped petting Lady and stepped back into her little personal bubble of black and pink, considering for a long moment the pros and cons of the offer. There were just as many cons as there were amazing pros, the most amazing one being that Perry was familiar. She could make him bento, he would make his spicy foods, and she could find some sort of normalcy; what happened after things had been 'straightened out' could be dealt with then. If nothing else the princess had learned that you had to live in the moment because the future was so horrendously nebulous. So it was that a smile lit up the face of young Coralie Williams and she even had the grace to blush slightly.
"If that is not a problem with you, I would very much like that. You seem very nice, and Blanche did not have mean people near her." Unless you counted the Doom Phantom...and herself. But what Perry didn't know wasn't going to hurt Allie, not one little bit! Stepping closer again her smile was bright and cheery, a comical pause. "I will have to find a way to pay you, I think! Do you cook? I cook. I can cook for you!" This lit through the girl like a brilliant idea, something like a lightbulb; she was a consummate actress these days, it seemed.
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Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:35 pm
Perry held up his free hand, palm flat and facing towards Coralie, giving a slow shake of his head at her offer. "Hold on there, kiddo, hang on," he said, and his other hand unhooked itself from Lady's collar so he could rigorously scratch between her ears. "I don't want you making me out to be some kinda landlord, unless it turns out you're able to eat a whole lot more than it looks like you can." At that he was clearly sizing her up, and clearly making the morbid mistake that Coralie was a tiny cute little Asian girl, and therefore couldn't eat much.
But he would learn soon enough what one of the trademarks of the Tsukino name was.
"Just stay picked up after yourself, and you'll be fine by me," he continued. "And you might want to get enrolled in a school here, otherwise the truancy fuzz will grab ya."
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 6:39 am
Allie couldn't help herself, she tried very hard to keep a straight face when he asked if she might eat more than she looked like she could, but it was simply impossible! The rabbit-eared buns shook with the childish laughs that centered in the belly before rippling outwards through her whole body. "I am very good at eating! But do not worry, I will not eat more than is my share. I am also very good at cleaning, it is good to know where your things are all the time. Cannot do that if you are not clean!" The comment about a school however, drew the girl up short. Blanche had been far too old to attend a school, and her English had not been sufficient for such a thing anyway. Coralie's language was somewhat better, but there were still quite a few things that eluded her.
Like whatever in the name of the Moon 'truancy fuzz' was!
"Maybe you will help me with that? Or at least to...point me the right way? I do not know much of the school here. Do you do entrance exams? I am afraid I do not know much English to get in a very good school here...." The uncertain voice simply trailed off before there was a shrug and a smile. "It will work out. I am sure." A hand reached down to pat Lady again before the smile was directed back up at Perry. "If you show me where to go, I will go bring my things?" And a good deal of Blanche's, what hadn't been immediately given away from being too unfortunately familiar to the young woman. The only thing kept to wear was the single silver locket that had perpetually been around her neck. It still hadn't opened.
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