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 Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:56 pm
It should have been Kyndall here cleaning up after the drama club meeting and not her daughter but the older woman had another place she needed to be and, after all, Harmony didn’t have to work that night and had a nice new car to take her home. Well, it was new to Harm but still not new. For a while they were both in the honeymoon period, always close and doting as mother and daughter can be, but slowly it faded and now the usual grumbles were rumbling and Harmony went back to her usual detached resentment. Par for the course, really.
She was bent over a stack of props, her mint hair piled up on top of her head in a haphazard mess that looked like it was a style though it was only for function. She was trying to untangle the lights for the production her mother was putting on about King Arthur. Harm deigned to throw her acting chops into this particular play in honor of Camelot. She missed him. She wished she’d see him more often but in happy circumstances. She missed him in that kind of stern father way.
She was pretty confident in the idea that she was alone. The other kids had left for the afternoon and the auditorium was silent. She was humming to herself as she worked, her back turned to the back of the room as she untangled the strand of lights. After this she planned on heading to the park with her camera and snapping a few live action shots or a landscape or two. She missed her camera while she was gone. It was practically glued to her hand now.
Yep. Life was slowly going back to normal, days blurring together to be like they used to be. She couldn't forget space or what happened and never forgot what it felt like to die and fear she'd never see her home again. It proved to her that she did love her mother but it was like a dream. The longer she was in the real world the more like a dream it became.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:10 pm
He had told Kyndall he'd turn up at Crystal Academy to see her, to show his paintings to her, and today was that day. He needed to try and get back to his life as a civial, to try and fit in and be normal. It wasn't easy, his thoughts often drifting or being occupied with other things, but he had to try. But also this was an obligation, something he'd told the woman he'd do and he did keep to his word. So once he'd gotten out of school and dropped by his own home he'd headed here with a few paintings in the trunk, each bundled up in a soft blanket.
The school and campus were...impressive to say the least. A school he wouldn't have minded going to, if it accepted males and females and didn't have dorms. He could have gone to Azure but didn't care for a school with dorms. It would keep him from his plants and severely limit what he could do and when, such as painting.
Finding the theater, with a teacher pointing him in the right direction, he stepped into the theater. That echo that all theaters seemed to have not bothering the artist as he glanced around.
"Kyndall?" He called out, his voice echoing around the room. Someone was humming, so he assumed it was she. And then he spotted the movement, someone seeming to be busy with stage sets. Moving down the isle toward the stage he jumped up onto the stage to help. "Kyndall." He hadn't noticed the hair color, or he'd know he had the wrong female.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:39 pm
"I'm not my mom." A blank, automatic response. She probably gave it a million times. They were a similar height and build with their hair being the only telltale difference. And their clothing. She was still in her uniform from her new school. She missed Crystal but she could understand them kicking her out, thinking the worst while she'd been gone. Hell, everyone thought the worst, including her mom until Camelot brought her news that she'd was alright. She guessed that was what happened when people went missing. Everyone just expects the worst that way they can pretend they're prepared when suspecting turns into knowing. It was a little passive aggressive in the girl's eyes.
Harm put down the lights and turned around, spying the boy and smiling. Cute in an untouchable kind of way. Still, she didn't let much intimidate her or influence her charm. She was who she was regardless of who she was around. She brushed her hands off on her uniform skirt, too high waisted and long for her taste but it would have to do. She hadn't changed cause she didn't have work to go to and she didn't count on company.
"Mom's at her karate class. I stayed around to help out." Not entirely true but it sounded better than she left me here to clean up her mess. "Drama club practice ran a little late. Are you here to audition or something?"
Dear God please let that be a yes!
She imagined him as the dashing knight Lancelot first and not in the title role of Arthur and then shrugged off both ideas because it didn't matter as long as he was in the show. She herself was playing one of the smaller female roles. She hadn't tried for Guinevere on purpose preferring, instead, the more insidious role of Morgan Le Fay. Her part was small in this adaptation - more to provide an example of Arthur's humanity than anything. Though her mom wisely cut out the part where Morgan and Arthur are half siblings. Creepy.
"I'm Harmony."
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:15 pm
Smiling he was surprised to see her alive. He had seen the civilians die. It was a good thing though, he wouldn't be seeing a sad and teary eyed Kyndall. Looking over the form of the younger green haired female, the uniform wasn't one he knew, at least not on sight. He couldn't help but think of how happy Kyndall was to have her daughter back, it was a good thing. Maybe he'd have to go out soon, in the evening, and see her in his powered form.
"What uniform is that?" He asked, not knowing where it was from, he might as well ask. The skirt was too long, wait too high and the colors were less than pleasing. Someone could - should - do something about the color. White was ok, white matched everything, but the rest just needed to be changed.
"No, I was here to see your mother. We met at an art gallery a few weeks back. I told her I'd show her some of my work." A soft but charming smile came across fair features. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard trying to fit back in as a civilian. "That was nice of you to stay and help clean up. "I have the feeling your mother will try and get me into the play though." He really did, it was something he wouldn't put past the green haired woman.
"Alexandre, a pleasure. Would you like some assistance?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 5:06 pm
Her mom hadn't mentioned Alexandre before and she didn't try to hide a slight pout that he wouldn't be joining their production. She was, however, willing to accept his help with these lights. Behind a dark backdrop they shone like stars but right now they were mostly a big pain in the a**. She moved aside and allowed him room to step in beside her to help.
"That'd be great, thanks."
Figures he'd notice the uniform. It was hard not to in all it's plain monotony. She blushed and tried not to show that she was embarrassed. Instead she focused on the lights at hand, uncoiling a large knot, working it one twist at a time until it began to unravel in her hands.
"It's a uniform from the Horizon Institute. It's new and the only place that would accept me when I..."
She trailed off. She didn't talk about her disappearance. Most people thought she was crazy for what she saw and she remembered everything that happened. She could have been talking about anything and left him to wonder what it was she'd done to have to change schools. She'd been on a scholarship when she attended here, her mother on staff helped. They weren't as rich as her attendance here might have implied. She shrugged.
"The uniform's totally lame but I'm getting to know my way around. Sucky arts program, though."
She thought pitifully of her camera's disuse.
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:50 pm
Moving in to help he picked up some of the light strand. Working to untangle it slowly, he was used to helping with um-knotting lights - he did it every Christmas with his parents. Christmas was normally spent with pine needle garland and lights going up, his father and himself putting up the lights on the outside of the house while he and his mother worked on the inside. His father would help with the ornaments and everyone worked on getting the reindeer, which lite up, into some nice position on the front lawn. So it was normally a lot of lights to figure out, so he was good at it by now.
"I wasn't aware a new school had opened up. What's the focus of the school?" Might as well find out now, rather than later and remaining clueless for how long?
"It's ok, whatever got you tossed from your previous school. If your anything like your mother they lost quite the student. Your mother is quite intelligent." Giving her a smile before he found himself laughing. "Another lover of the arts, somehow that isn't a surprise. It's unfortunate however, that your new school lacks a proper arts program. I'd think every school should have a good one, but that's coming from an artist so I'm a bit bias." Or a lot bias, depends on your way of measuring such things.
"The uniform could use a lot of help. Whoever designed it either is blind to fashion or wants everyone to look frumpy. I'm not sure which but either way...they should be fired."
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:27 pm
"It's an institute so I'm assuming it caters more to the sciences. It's a shame, really, since I'm a photographer."
She continued to wrestle with the strands, happy for the help he was providing. He seemed much better at it than she was. And it wasn't that she and her mother never used these. Indeed, their tree every Christmas was wrapped in cheerful lights. But both women couldn't be bothered to wrap them in nice little bundles and mostly just stuffed them in a box creating pretty much the same mass Harmony was facing now. Some habits could not and would never change.
"Oh, it wasn't anything I did." she corrected quickly. She didn't want to give him the wrong impression that she was some sort of a bad girl or anything. That was the last thing she wanted to do in front of a cute boy. "I just missed a lot of school for a while there. I couldn't help it."
She blushed, though, when he complimented her, a heated flush that traveled down her body. When he mentioned being an artist, too, she remembered the paintings he came here to show her mother. She wasn't very good with compliments, especially not from boys despite how well she could flirt. Then he mentioned her uniform and she looked down, fiddling uselessly with the skirt.
"I know, right?" she agreed, examining the hideousness. "It does nothing for my waist and the high waist would normally make me look like I have long legs but the long skirt cancels it out so I'm short waisted and just plain short! It's just...wrong!"
Not that she was especially short at five feet seven inches.
She looked sideways at him. "Maybe...you want to show me your paintings instead of my mom?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:46 pm
"It is a shame. I'm not one for the sciences myself, I don't care for them. Formulas and the like take memorization as opposed to imagination, which I favor." Thankfully his family tended to keep them in orderly fashion when put away each year, the mess other wise would be a horrible mess which would have someone, or several someones, stressing to get it all unknotted so they could get things up as his mother was busy and decorating was designated to a particular weekend. It wasn't really something they could go over, time wise.
"Ahh, I doubted it would be anything to terrible." He knew Kyndall was a teacher and doubted she'd permit her daughter to be the sort to wind up in trouble often, especially enough to get thrown out. Absentees weren't all that bad, there had to be some reason given who her mother was. He figured what it was when he heard, for sure, that it was absentees. It was being kidnapped, damn senshi. They'd gotten her thrown out of her previous school. For a moment one hand fisted the strand of lighters tightly before relaxing.
"I agree, though I never was fond of a high waist, it really does nothing to help with leg length as it normally would. Again, whoever designed it should be fired, clearly they lack a sense of proper fashion." A shake of his head as he spoke. This was normal, this was right, standing here like he was with someone his age and doing something mundane. This was what he should be doing as a teenager, he shouldn't be fighting or...killing. Biting his lip for a moment he dispelled his negative thoughts. He was suffering enough at night, he didn't need to do so now also. Since the Surrounding and his return home he hadn't gone a single one of the three nights without suffering nightmares which woke him in a cold sweat and with wet eyes. If it kept up he'd find a hobby he could invest his night time in to, since returning to sleep was not easy and something he was even a bit scared of.
"If you'd like, once were done here." A nodding of his head, ash blond bangs were brushed from his face. His hair had gotten longer lately, and lacked in split ends thankfully. "I work in water colors and do landscapes, so you know." In case that wasn't her thing, just like modern and abstract weren't really his thing, to put it lightly.
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:03 am
"I've put in my complaint to the faculty but they don't seem inclined to take it under advisement."
Oddly, she echoed his thoughts about this being something a teenager ought to be doing. Since her return she'd spoken to no one about the ordeal. Her mother didn't even know she'd died and Harmony couldn't begin to deal with the idea that one moment she'd been a ghost watching over a battle she had no part of and the next she was solid flesh again. Nothing made sense after that. Of, she could pretend that Wonderland was fading into a dream like it did for Alice the truth of the matter was that she was still in a large amount of shock from the whole traumatic experience. Very much like him.
"I wish I could change it." she responded, continuing on about her uniform. "I tried but was cited for being out of uniform. Can you believe that? Who goes to high school to wear a uniform, anyway? Isn't this when we're supposed to find out who we are and express ourselves as individuals?"
Still, it was the little things she was thankful for. Apply Dapply and that her coffee shop gave her her job back without question. She was surprised they still kept it for her this long. Her manager even burst into tears when she showed up to talk to him. She'd been missed. But it was a little heavy, pretending to be alright all the time to everyone on the outside while feeling so uncertain on the inside. She couldn't talk to her mom about it because she'd been through enough when Harmony was taken. She couldn't talk to Camelot because she barely knew who he was or how to get in touch with him. And beyond those two there was no one who might possibly understand.
Except, of course, for the boy by her side though she had no idea of that while she worked. She packed the untangled strand of lights into a box and looked at him to see how far along he was. He seemed to go about this better than she was and once the task was finished she was in better spirits than she'd started with. She took the strand from him and dropped that in the box, too.
"Well, we're finished and I like watercolors. I have my camera in my car. Maybe you wanna see some pictures?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:35 pm
"Really, you'd think with the arts being popular right now they'd take it under advisement." As culture seemed to be showing the arts in a more popular light as of late. How odd, and truly unfair. "You'll just have to figure something out which you can do outside of school, classes." Perhaps at one of the local universities. It really wasn't fair for a school to lack in art programs.
"A wonder really, considering the uniforms." He stated, once more glancing it over. Really a complaint shouldn't be needed, just one look was all it took. Someone really needed to be fired and replaced by someone who had even a little bit of fashion sense, as whoever had decided on those uniforms possessed no fashion sense.
"I've tried my hand at a camera before, it didn't turn out good at all." Noting the lights were all done, no more to untangle, he watched her pack them away with a light smile in place. Maybe life could go on and somehow he could just accept what he'd done and move on. Maybe it would end the nightmares? If only he could be so lucky, as he doubted such a simple thing would work. It sounded simple but controlling the sleeping mind was impossible. He really just...needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't judge and wouldn't consider him weak but human and in need of help. He knew this but was without such a thing. All he could do was continue to try and be as normal as he could, as he had been previous to this, and fulfill his duties without killing again.
For a moment he felt like sighing, at how impossible it all sounded and felt, but he refrained from such action. "Alright, follow me."
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:41 pm
"Photography speaks to me, you know? It's about capturing a moment, an instant, and seeing the true essence behind it. I understand why people thought a picture captured the soul. It can, in anything."
This was certainly her subject and she could talk about it forever. Taking his arm she led him out of the auditorium toward the parking lot. Obviously, photography was her passion and the rest of it was art. She liked art and she'd always dabble in painting and sculpture but nothing made her feel the same as photography did.
"But what I really wanna do someday is bring back the old pinup shots like back in the day with the Vargas Girls and Bettie Page. Classy stuff, of course, but the stuff that really accentuates femininity. I'm tired of women having to be trashy to be sexy or beautiful, you know? It's just about knowing what looks good and sticking to that. I mean, when did a woman start having to take her clothes off to be sexy?"
Odd statements considering she was talking about Burlesque and part of that was taking off your clothes. But it was a tease. You never saw anything. And the pinups were scantily dressed but everything was covered. She certainly didn't consider modern day sexy shots to be in the same league with the old style. To her everyone these days were talking off their clothes to be seen and back then they kept them on. If one didn't have her thought process it might be confusing but she prattled on happily explaining the difference to him as they walked.
When they got into the parking lot she realized she'd been doing most of the talking and blushed. She hadn't meant to. She found Alex as easy to talk to as her mother had and Harmony did tend to get carried away. She knew that already. She opened the floor for him to do the talking for a while and lead the way to his own car. At least it was still a little light outside and she found she liked Alex a lot. He was a nice boy.
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 3:14 pm
"It's one reason why I appreciate photography, I always have. I will say I prefer black and white, it has a certain class to it. it takes away the color and allows the real, true, picture to be better seen without the distraction of color." It had a quaint and simplistic quality to it which allowed for the picture, it's essence, to be seen best. He could agree, he saw why people thought they took a person soul.
Laughing he smiled bright and nodded. "I quite agree. A nice dress and the proper facial expression can go further than a lack of clothing. It's odd to find another with similar opinions in general." He wasn't sure what it is or why but he had classier taste, he liked the older things when it came to art and views on what was sexy - at least for a woman. His taste in males varied far more. Maybe it was due to his preference sexually.
Listening as she spoke he did see her point. While those styles weren't to his taste, he liked older fashions on females or even long jeans and shirts. He did get what she was saying and he did agree on shorts and skirts and their lengths. It was too short.
"I see what your saying, though those styles aren't to my taste, I do see the point in your words. I don't mind the tight skinny jeans and the majority of shirts. The shorts and skirts I agree, they are too short. If I want to go back in time to clothing I appreciate, for woman, I'd be going way back to the large fancy dresses. But I appreciate the detail in those. For modern fashion I like a lot of the high end dresses and what's...fancy." His taste was rich, classy, and elegant. Somehow it wasn't surprising.
Looking about the parking lot he lead the way toward the black Lexus suv he had. His keys pulled out of his back pocket, a glance to Harmony who was still holding onto his arm, and he unlocked the doors. "I have my work in the trunk."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 2:43 pm
“Class act.” She commented, smiling to herself. A lot of people liked black and white because it looked more artistic, pensive. She’d seen people take a picture of a lawn chair, make it black and white, and call it done. She was no such artist. She liked the black and white medium but she preferred candids. People were infinitely more interesting than things. And facial expressions were the windows to inner thought. She had a feeling, though, that Alexandre didn’t like black and whites because of what she dubbed the “emo” effect. She had a feeling it was all about the classic design and the appeal of the old world. She was much the same liking a majority of the fashion from the thirties and forties.
She shuddered when he mentioned skinny jeans and the like. “UGH! I can’t stand skinny jeans. What happened to buying clothes that fit properly rather than trying to wrestle yourself into something that doesn’t fit? No one looks good in skinny jeans. They make people look too fat or skeletal. The right piece of clothing tailored correctly will make you look a million times better than anything in fashion.”
She had classic tastes, too, it seemed, though more old fashioned than most people thought of. She liked to go thrift store and vintage store hunting for that perfect dress or accessory for an outfit. It occurred to her she needed to learn to sew one of these days in order to tailor things to herself instead of having them altered by someone else. It wasn’t ever expensive. Her job usually took care of all of her hobbies and bills, but she could save more learning to do it herself.
She let go of his arm as they approached his car and a small amount of pink colored her cheeks. It was rare to find a teenage boy with his brand of chivalry. “Alright. I’d like to see them. My camera’s in my car, too.” She had two. An old fashioned thing that she developed the film herself and a modern pixilated digital camera that she used when she wanted to manipulate images or try for more modern findings.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:08 pm
"For some, a rare few, skinny jeans makes them look neither too skinny nor fat. Though it a rare few, it's for those rare few that I appreciate the look." It was hard to find though, especially since it seemed a lot of fat people liked to wear them, as if it helped them somehow. Honestly some people he was sure were blind, even if they lacked one of those sticks or anything else to say they were blind.
"If anything I think a person can buy them and have them tailored. Far too many jeans out there are of that style." So it was almost a case of a flooded market with them so you bought them...you should tailor them to work right. It was what he did, for jeans. He didn't like jeans that were too loose on the leg or in the crotch. So he bought the skinny jeans and altered them as much as need be. They were all designer jeans, Burberry and other labeled brand names.
Right now though he was stuck in his school uniform, which he did dislike. Azure Valley had a nicer uniform, lucky bastards.
"Help yourself, trunks unlocked. I want to check something in the front." He wanted to make sure his phone was still where he'd left it, this damn uniform also lacked pockets.
Under the blankets in the trunk, each of which was soft and varied in color, was a canvas covered in light colors with flowers delicately painted and detailed leaves. The flowers were done carefully by someone who knew what they looked like. Trees and bodies of water, fields of flowers and grass. All well done in soft tones.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:42 pm
He had a point. Fashion often dictated availability and alternatives could be limited. That’s precisely why she preferred second hand or vintage stores. Mostly what was inside was rubbish but occasionally you found something that sparkled. She found a pair of Calvin Klein jeans, for instance, for ten bucks once. It was the find of the day and they fit her perfectly.
She lifted the trunk lid while he moved off into the car and smoothed away the blankets very carefully from the canvases stowed inside. The first painting made her gasp quietly to look at it. It was beautifully done in light soft colors and she could only stare blankly at how they were rendered. Honestly, if she wasn’t entirely sure he was gay she might have been smitten. But a quiet artist with fashion sense just screamed pink team.
It also screamed, however, of a new friend she must have or die.
She slowly worked her way through the other paintings, giving each one equal time and consideration. Her mother would have loved these. When she was done with a new painting she carefully covered it back up and put it back in the trunk of his car. A Lexus. He must be rich. No wonder he dressed so well. She smiled at him, shutting the trunk when she was done, giving it a gentle push to latch it.
“They’re lovely. Really…you have talent.”
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