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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 12:45 pm
Tibbie was surprised to see a car in other Ashdown, but not as surprised as she was when she waved at it and it obligingly pulled over. The door had opened welcomingly and, well, surely that was a good sign, right? So she'd scooted into the backseat, Madam Nibbs jumping in gracefully after her. She'd tried making small-talk with the driver but that'd been a no-go - possibly because she was a rubbish conversationalist, but also possibly because the driver didn't seem to be, well, entirely human. There was a human sort of shape, definitely, but every time she turned to look out the window she just sort of... forgot the person's features. That wasn't a human tell, was it? And sure she was a bit forgetful occasionally, but not that much. Where the car was going she wasn't entirely certain - for a while they just seemed to be cruising around, but the soft purring of Nibb under her hand calmed her fears. It'd be alright as long as they were together, surely, and the driver hadn't seemed malicious so far. After a while of driving they stopped and she scooted over to see where they were only to see- "åh!" Quickly opening the door, Isobel waved frantically at the other girl on the sidewalk beside them. "Hello! Are you human?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 1:43 pm
Temperance had watched the car drive closer, face set in a puzzled frown. She'd never seen a car. Maybe it was some sort of taxi - just for this place. Though, if it could get her back to the real Ashdown, that'd be perfect. There comes a point in a girl's life when she remembers all the home work she needs to do. Ugh, responsibility. Whatever she had expected, it wasn't a cheerful greeting and the door opening to reveal a girl. Temperance blinked. "Um, yes. Human. Are... are you?" She placed her hand on the door and bent to peer into the car. "Where are you going?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 1:53 pm
"Yes, yes!" Gathering her kitty up into her lap, she patted the seat next to her. "Come in! I haven't seen anyone else here except, um-" she lowered her voice with a glance to the driver's seat- " the driver." Then she paused, blinked and tsk'ed at herself; "åh, that sounded a lot more ominous than it should be, didn't it? They're very nice, the driver, or at least I think so. But," coming back to the other girl's question, "I'm, ah, not quite sure where we're going." It was admitted with a sheepish shrug as she scratched Nibbs under her chin - the loud purring of the cat was audible over the soft sound of the driver's electro-punk music. "Do you have anywhere you want to go? Maybe we could go there! I'm sorry, I don't know very much about this other Ashdown, so I can't recommend a place. Are you a regular?" There was a shy, hopeful smile on Tibbie's face as she posed the question.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 12:28 am
She took a deep breath and slid into the car, pulling the door shut behind her. The worst that could happen is that she would die, and while Temperance didn't want that to happen, no one got anywhere by being so cautiously they stagnated. She reached up to pat her bun. She;d been out walking aimlessly, as usual, but at least she wasn't in her pjs this time. If people slept naked, did this alternate Ashdown have then show up nude as well? "I'm Temperance. I, um, don't really have anywhere I want to go, except home. I've got homework." She grimaced. "But I don't know that this, um, driver, takes requests? I've been here before... The library, the cinema - do not recommend that one, the park here is nice. Very benchy." Benchy... Temperance groaned internally. That wasn't even a word! "Usually I just walk around at random until I go home. I need to start bringing an umbrella, though." She frowned. "Have you come here before?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 11:27 am
"I'm Isobel, or Tibbie, and this is Madam Nibbs, the best kitty in the world," she smiled warmly at Temperance - Nibbs only kept half an eye on the other human, not too worried. "That sounds about right though, I've tried requesting different places but they only brought me to you." Mentally she noted the locations that Temp spoke of for later use; if this was going to become a regular thing, she needed all the info she could get. The car started up again without a word from the driver, once again driving them around with no discernable purpose. "Only once - well actually, maybe twice? I went to a, um, ball at the Court of the Sorrowful One that might have been around here, and then a bit ago I was out for a walk with Nibbs and we ended up here. We met a very nice man named Rylan, though!" She laughed lightly, "I probably need to start bringing an umbrella around with me too, getting drenched all the time is no fun. I still don't know a lot about this place though - Zac said there were dangerous creatures here, but the only dangerous beings I've seen about have been at the ball. Have you seen any?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 4:50 pm
"Tibbie? I don't think I've ever heard it short like that - only Izzy. It's cute." She reached out a tentative hand to Madam Nibbs. What an imposing name for a cat; Temperance felt like she should curtsy. Temperance paled at the mention of the ball. "I think... I think I saw you there - at the end." She paused. "You know Zac?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 1:01 pm
"Thanks," she grinned softly. "My grandma was named Isobel and Tibbie was what she was called as well, so I guess it's kinda inherited. My mum's side of the family is mixed Welsh and Scottish, hence the 'o' instead of 'a'. I like it this way better, so I reckon I got lucky. 'Temperance' is eminently nice too! Do you have any nicknames?" There was a great amount of curiousity in her voice as she cocked her head to the side, waiting for an answer. The tortie didn't growl, but her ears flattened considerably as the hand started moving towards her. There was a wariness in her gaze and Tibbie gently reached out to intercept Temperance's hand before it got too close; "sorry," she said, smile sympathetic, "Nibbs isn't really fond of people other than me. She'll, um, tolerate being touched but she'll tense up and she doesn't like it very much. It's been a hard lesson for my mum to learn," she finished with a grin. At the talk of what had happened at the ball she sobered, though. "Yeah... he's eminently great! He helped me a lot with Nibb. And at the ball too, obviously, I don't think I could have found a way out on my own. I was all out of sorts which, um, probably isn't too surprising, considering..." Gesturing in the air with one hand as she trailed off, she ended in a small smile that wasn't near as happy as the previous ones had been. "I saw you too though, at- yeah." Unsurely, she paused for a moment before continuing; "you were very brave, you and Autumn."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:13 am
Temperance moved her hand back sadly. "No nicknames, really. Sometimes Temp?" It had been so long since she'd pet a cat, but she preferred it if the cat actually wanted pets. She couldn't help giving Madam Nibbs a sad look, however. "Zac was who I went to the library with. He, um, soaks up information like a sponge." She smiled. She hadn't talked to Zac since that night, though. But her smile fell again. "I... I was doing my job. I think you're probably the only person who'd say 'proud'." Temperance breathed in deeply. "I just didn't want anyone else to... to die." She quickly waved her hand, trying to disperse the feelings of guilt that clung to her like cellophane. "Anyway, uh, this place mimics Ashdown. So anywhere there is, here is. Did you want to go somewhere?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:01 am
"Temp is cute," Tibbie said and blushed mightily as she realised exactly what she'd said. Bumbling on, "um, she might like you more if you brought her treats sometimes. She's really fond of freeze-dried chicken - I've got some at home you can give her if you ever come over! Or if we meet up on, um, purpose." She could imagine he would; Zac was eminently smart and capable. Mentioning that Temp had been brave seemed to have gotten her a bit out of sorts though and hesitantly Isobel reached out to lay a comforting hand on her arm. "Doing your job is brave too, in a dangerous situation. I don't- I don't think it gets any less brave just because you have training." She thought on the question for a moment before shaking her head, "I don't know, the park maybe? But if it's all this grey-" she gestured out the window- "perhaps there's not much point. If you want to go home though, I think that's what we should request?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:15 pm
Temperance blushed - she knew what Tibbie meant, but, still. And it felt okay, normal to blush over something so silly. Even in this weird other world, with what had happened, she felt grateful to Tibbie for injecting a bit of normalcy. "That's not..." That's not what she meant. Temperance meant the people who disagreed with her decisions, not that she'd made them. She sighed. "The park is still pretty, even if grey. It's, um, plant-y. Though it's always wet. Why don't you ask our driver and see where we end up?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:36 am
"That's a good idea," Isobel beamed at Temp before leaning forward to speak to the driver, making sure to keep a grip on Nibbs so she didn't fall off her lap. "Excuse me, mister driver? Would you maybe consider driving us to the park? Or, um, someplace fun and pretty?" There was no verbal reply, but she thought she saw a nod, so satisfied, she leaned back in her seat and gave Temperance another smile. "Well, um, I don't know if 'fun and pretty' is really obtainable in a place like this, but I reckon it's worth a try, right?" Her hand was absentmindedly petting Madam Nibbs, but, unhappy with being shifted so Tibbie could lean forward, said kitty gave her the stink-eye before moving into the space between Temp and her and pointedly started grooming herself.
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:04 pm
"Pretty if you like rain, maybe." She eyed the cat carefully. "I think Madam Nibbs got fed up." Temperance's fingers twitched; she so wanted to pet the cat, but she also did not want scratches. Then, rather abruptly, the car stopped. Both doors opened on their own. "I... well, I guess this is our stop." Temperance unfolded her long legs and stepped out of the car. It was not the main park, but something smaller that greeted them. It was lush and green and tall trees lined where the miniature park was bordered by buildings. She frowned and looked at the street signs. "You know, I think this is just an empty lot regularly. Wanna go inside?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:36 pm
Isobel and Madam Nibbs followed Temperance out of the car, the latter more elegantly than the former - Tibbie made sure to call a 'thanks for the ride!' to the driver before closing the door after them. "Åh, is it?" Curiously she surveyed the small park, the little Madam winding around her shins. "That's kind of neat - I didn't know the places could be like, different? I thought it was the same, just-" she gestured at the sky- "all rainy and grey instead." But she couldn't say no to an adventure. "Yeah! I want to see it," she smiled at Temp, cheeks a bit red and one hand going to put a lock of wet hair behind her ear. "It looks a lot more colourful than I thought it would, to be honest. In a good way! It's still pretty even here."
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 11:15 am
"Who knows - maybe it's an echo of how plant-y it used to be?" This alternate Ashdown didn't necessarily make a lot of sense; Temperance was learning to just roll with it. It still rained, but maybe the trees would halt some of that. "I've never tried to, um, eat the plant life - so I can't recommend that - but going inside shuoldn't hurt." Temperance smiled at Tibbie and pushed aside the leaves of a bush, ducking into the area. It was funny - in Ashdow, this pace was fenced off, and she could see the fence. Here, it was just overgrown with drooping plant life. Once past the bushy barrier, it opened up a bit. She wouldn't call it a clearing, but it was not dense and easy to walk to around in. "Want me to take a picture so you can, I dunno, start a weird-Ashdown scrapbook?" Temperance held up her phone. At the far end of this miniature park, something seemed to twinkle.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:38 pm
"That makes sense," Isobel nodded. "Well... as much as anything here makes sense, I suppose." She was glad the older girl was taking charge - getting in otherdriver's car had just about taken up her bravery count for the day. Returning the smile, she followed Temp through the bushes and into the - well, whatever it was. "This could almost be a park," she noted, eyeing the flora around them with curiousity. "Although it doesn't look there's been very many people involved in shaping this - but some parks like that look! So it sorta fits." A glow caught her eye at the end of the park, but as she turned fully to look whatever it was was gone. "What?" She asked, distracted, before coming back to the conversation at hand. "Åh! Yes, sure - if you don't mind?" Her smile was shy but she moved to stand in front of what she deemed the prettiest of the nearby flora, Madam Nibbs following her at a sedate pace before settling at her feet. "Like this?" She struck an awkward peace-sign pose, stiff and unsure of herself. The little Madam was in full swing washing a paw.
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