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 Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:06 pm
After Regina, James honestly hadn't expected many hits but his tumblr post was getting reblogged semi-regularly and he'd convinced the paper to run his ad for at least two weeks. He was desperate and agreed to let them deduct the cost of running the ad from his meager paychecks from the articles, and advice columns, that he wrote.
Sure, it put him in a tighter spot when it came to money but it was worth it.
Besides, he'd be smart with his student loans and the grant money he'd barely managed to acquire. He had enough to afford it, for now. Worst case, he could squeeze in a part-time job somewhere. Maybe he'd get desperate enough to beg Chase for some work at the coffeeshop, he was good with paperwork.
Chase seemed to hate paperwork.
But he'd received a text requesting to meet up and well, James was estatic that someone responded promptly. The answers to his memory haze were clearly around the corner. He hoped.
So he texted the girl, he assumed it was a girl because the name was Raven and that definitely seemed like a girls name, back and arranged a meeting. Text to Raven Tuesday 11:54 A.M : Meet at Just Add Coffee on Thursday 3 PM, last booth along the south wall. If that doesn't work, let me know. JRC
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Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 2:49 pm
Raven was going out. She was leaving the house, and had sent Chloe off to spend the day with Grandma Draven, and she was going out. Going out to talk to a man about the time when she was whisked away to space and spent those few weeks up there…albeit getting terribly close to Jett, which was a good thing…but still.
She had been trapped in space. It wasn’t a good thing to think about in the long run.
The blonde gave an involuntary shudder and entered into the coffee shop, looking around. Maybe the two of them should have sent selfies to one another…she had no idea who she was looking for, or what they would be wearing or what they looked like…
With a sigh, Raven drew out her cell phone, wondering if this JRC fellow had sent any other messages, perhaps saying where he’d be sitting or what he was wearing or…anything.
But she was not in luck. Not then, at least…so the only thing to do was send him a text and hopefully he had the volume on the phone up, or she could at least see who checked their phone first.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 1:38 pm
The buzzing of his phone had James' head jerking up, concentration shattered and he quickly packed up his school work into the messenger back resting against his thigh. Snatching up his phone, spring green eyes scanned the message before hastily typing a response.Text to Raven Last booth before the hall leading to the bathrooms. I'll stand up. Brunet, green eyes fyi.
Once the text was sent, he set the old phone on the table and slid out of the booth doing his best to keep from looking nervous or anxious, even if that seemed to be a perpetual state for him. To calm his frayed nerves, he leaned against the the booth, hands stuffed in his pockets to give the appearance that he was approachable.
His gaze was fixed on a blonde, who he thought looked like she was looking for someone but he couldn't be sure that she was looking for him. Even so, he managed to smile when she happened to look his way.
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 9:53 am
Raven’s eyes scanned the room as she got the text and she started walking towards the bathrooms, and when she saw…or rather felt someone looking at her, she flashed a smile and began walking a little faster. This guy had brown hair. And was in the booth near the bathrooms…so this must be him. If not. Well. He was doing a good job at pretending to be the one she was going to meet.
She gave a small wave and slid into the booth across the table from James. “I’m hoping you’re the one I’m looking for? I’m Raven. It’s nice to meet you.” The blonde held out a hand and looked the male over, trying to see if maybe she might remember him from her time up in space…but no. Her eyes had been for Jett, and really Jett alone. And Mary too…and…
That other guy. What had his name been…
Well that was a shame. He had been such a good kisser too. Oh well.
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 7:31 pm
Raven slid into a seat and so James did too, knuckles rapping on the table's surface as he smiled at her uncertainly. "Yeah," he said quickly, stretching his hand to take his. The handshake was perfunctory, got the job done but did little to sooth the nerves bubbling in his belly.
He didn't recognize her, but he wasn't surprised. He didn't really remember many faces. There was only one boy he'd really spent any time around - Prosper, James thought his name was.
"It's nice to meet you I'm - " slight hesitation and both hands slipped under the table to wipe sweaty palms against his jeans. "James."
He took a deep breath and offered what he hoped was a more relaxed smile than the last one. "Sorry, I'm nervous. It's been a while since I've done an interview and - " he stopped again, heart thunking in his chest. I'm too close to the subject matter, he thought but didn't voice. "I appreciate you responding to my ad. Can I get you a drink?"
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2016 4:14 pm
“I do like when people offer to buy me things, I have to admit.” Raven grinned, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder and thinking for a moment. “I’ll take a hot chocolate, if you don’t mind…now. What is it that you wanted to ask about? I’m honestly…kind of surprised that anyone is even still interested in all of that nonsense that happened…it was a long time ago now…it feels like decades…”
Had it really been almost five years already? Half the time it seemed like the weeks up in space had been a lifetime ago, and half the time it seemed as though it was only last week. It was a strange sort of nostalgia. “Um. First off though, I have to ask…did you die up there? Do you remember dying…? I did. I do.”
Well. Way to turn the conversation around to a weird point. Way to go, Raven. “Ah. I’m sorry, I guess…that is a strange place to start…sorry. I don’t talk about this much…though my fiancé and myself were both up there. On the uh. Surrounding or whatever those freaks called it.”
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2016 6:04 pm
James couldn't help but chuckle in response as he slid to the edge of the booth and pushed himself up. "Most people do. Free stuff is great." Fingers tapped against the edge of the table while he waited for her order. "One hot chocolate will be ordered and on it's way shortly," he promised.
He'd almost walked away when she kept talking and the tall, lanky man froze swallowing hard. "Consider it investigative interest," he settled on before holding up a single finger in a pause gesture before he made his way to the counter and ordered his drink.
He lingered near the register, since there was no one else ordering, and used the time away from Raven to collect himself. He was still a bundle of nerves worried that the wrong person might overhear but -
He shook his head, cleared his mind. It didn't matter. He needed answers and if he'd learned anything...sometimes finding the truth was an ugly journey.
He returned with her drink, placing it in front of her before he sat opposite of her once again. "I don't - " He didn't know how to answer her. He had died, been one of the first ones to go missing but he didn't remember much of anything after.
"I don't remember dying but I know it happened." The admission took all of his breath with him, the strength seeming to sap all of his energy. "Is that how you two met?" He asked quickly after, determined to move away from his own experiences and focus on hers. "Do you remember how you got there, to the surrounding as the...freaks, you say, called it?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 2:21 pm
Raven sat at the table and watched James get up and walk to the counter. Well…why did he seem so nervous? Why would someone be nervous talking about…something…well, something as awful as being kidnapped like they were. It had been pretty bad but…it could have been worse, right? It always could be worse.
“Thanks.” She took the offered cup and sighed. “Yeah, dying kind of really sucks. I’m not a fan of it, and I don’t want it to happen again for quite a long time.” The blonde took a long sip of the drink and thought of her answer, finally shaking her head. “Well, no. We didn’t meet up there, I had met him when we went to Meadowview together. We just ended up getting really close while we were up there. He saved me from some giant…centipede or something. Some giant monster. It was pretty messed up. But why would he be upset by anything. He’s just…so strong.”
Raven shrugged again and shook her head once more. “I don’t remember how I got up there. I just…I was doing something and then poof. I wasn’t here anymore and I was up there. What were you doing when you got taken?” Her blue eyes lingered on him thoughtfully. “And what’s going on? Why are you bringing all of this up years later? Is everything okay?”
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 9:57 am
"Well, here's hoping to long and prospering lives." He joked halfheartedly. "And I guess lucky you guys for kindling something there I guess?" James hadn't formed a relationship with anyone he'd met in space. All of his interactions had been too brief, fleeting.
He didn't remember the monster, but that was fair. He didn't remember much anymore and he no longer trusted what he remembered.
"Homework. I'm pretty sure I was looking for books for a class or source material." He'd had his camera on him when he poofed but it'd been lost and broken when he died. And with magic being a thing, they probably wouldn't have been reliable source images anyway.
"Everything is fine, I just have some unanswered questions. Need what I consider non-biased recounts of events that transpired."
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Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:20 am
“Well, there’s been a lot of things that have happened to me since then, but I’ll answer any questions you have to the best of my ability, and worst comes to worst, I can ask my fiancé and see if he remembers something better than I do. Or if you want, I can give you his number so you can talk to him as well. He’s a pretty reliable guy and I’m sure he’d be happy to talk to you. I mean, if you’d want to.”
Raven took another sip of her drink and looked back at James. “So…shoot. What do you want me to remember? What questions do you have? I’m ready to go!” He had been doing homework? Well, that was boring. Though, she was one to talk, she didn’t have any idea of what she had been doing. It never seemed really important…but what if it was important? What if that’s one of the reasons she got called up there in the first place?
It was all so strange to think about.
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:46 pm
"No, that's not necessary," James assured Raven. He didn't want to bother someone who hadn't responded to the ad themselves, regardless if they had information for him or not. "I wanted to inquire about what you were doing when you were suddenly displaced, if you remembered much about the travels from space into what I have been lead to believe is a place called - " James hesitated, unsure if he really should divulge the name of the place.
It didn't matter, he wanted answers.
"The Surrounding. It's my understand that many, if not all of us, perished in one way or another, but there were many that um." He hesitated, tapped his fingers against the table. "I get a lot of mixed information about the people who supposedly helped the trapped civilians and I'd like a little bit of input on it from you?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 5:30 am
“The Surrounding…” Raven took another sip of her drink, seeming quite thoughtful. Yes, that had been the name of that strange place in space…honestly she had all but forgotten. “That really does ring a few bells. I had forgotten it even had a name to be honest.”
Now. How much should she really…spill. She didn’t want to seem as though she knew too much, but she knew she had to at least try and say her piece.
“About the people who helped us? That was the…uh.” She pulled a face, as though really struggling to remember. “That was the Naga people right? And the…something about mirrors, I remember that much. Those other ones, the ones in white? They said they were helping us, but it was there place, wasn’t it? They brought us up there. At least that’s how it was explained to me. They wanted to trap us up there or something, like the place was dying and was going to feed on us…I think. I mean, it sure tried to feed on me, that’s for sure!”
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 10:35 am
James stopped looking at Raven so he could focus on jotting down bits and pieces of what she was saying to him. As she spoke his brow furrowed and his lips pursed and that uneasy feeling had wormed it's way back into his belly.
What Raven was saying directly conflicted the information he'd been gathering from other people, but it aligned with his own memories. And yet - something about it felt wrong, like she was lying to him.
Never the less, he pushed aside his mixed emotions and focused on what she was saying.
"Recounts have stated that those dressed in white were not responsible for the sudden disappearance and that they were just as confused as the missing 50-some-odd civilians." He told her almost clinically. "How did those uh, mirror people or the Nage - Negaverse? - people get up to the place? Do you know or remember? "
He certainly didn't, he'd been dead.
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 5:11 am
Raven blinked. Well, he certainly was pretty well informed. “Well…” She paused, giving herself some time to think over what she wanted to say. “All I can really say to that is…the ones in white were the ones there when we got there, or at least it seemed that way to me…and we didn’t get to leave until those in black came.”
This much was true, at least…and honestly she did feel that it was because of the White Moon that they ended up in that stupid place to begin with.
“That place wanted us to die. It needed us as some awful great big sacrifice, and I think that’s horrible. And that place is run by the ones in white, so clearly it had to have been their fault…no matter what they bother saying about it.” The Dark Mirror Court saved her, and clearly they saved others too…so she was incredibly grateful towards them.
“But no, I don’t know how they got up there, the other ones…but I’m awfully glad that they did. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t be sitting here having this lovely conversation with you if they hadn’t.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2016 2:30 pm
It wasn't hard to deduce that Raven was surprised with all of the information that he'd gathered and James wondered if it'd been problematic to divulge so much of his knowledge. He chewed on his lip as she spoke, jotting things down here and there. Occasionally, he'd chew on the tip of his pen before scribbling something else down.
He wished he remembered more of the Surrounding, could better recount what he'd seen and knew but he'd died so early and there was something...uncomfortable about being a ghost that so much of it had been lost.
Not to mention all of those journal entries that had been vandalized.
He still couldn't understand why.
"Do you remember why they were trying to...sacrifice us?" The word sacrifice felt wrong to him, but he wasn't sure where else to lead the conversation.
"There was death, then light, then...not rebirth but..." he sighed, unable to communicate what he wanted to properly.
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