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 Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:06 pm
The eve set warmly through the tops of the trees, fanning a filigree pattern across the ground. God rays painted the air in liquid gold as mist rolled in for the night’s company. Bugs chirped a symphony to the rhythmic footsteps as Alois and Alexis crossed the long stretches of boisterous grass in the Rider Waite forest, and the trees closed in around them with the slowly fading brilliance of an early sunset. Heat still clung to each branch, wilting the otherwise perky leaves and coaxing dewey perspiration out of the pair who walked through the area. Alois’ normally voluminous wefts deflated and clung to his face as he continued to wipe away new sweat.
I hate summer, I hate not showering nightly, and I hate how damned long it takes to find Other Ashdown, he recited coldly. His distaste for the elements formed a mantra that he marched to while searching on in silence. Conversation between them was abandoned some time ago when it became abundantly clear that Alexis’ unique brand of response was composed solely of quips and slights. He favored it seldom.
Finally he drew to a halt at a blackened husk of a tree, standing clear sentry among its healthy brethren. He paused then, and spared a pair of glances in its direction. The charred bark reflected no light back at them, but between the two splintered shafts of his trunk, he witnessed a world characterized by steady showers through a heavy mist. „Zis will do,“ he spoke at last, and sat upon one of the ancient, gnarled roots arcing out of the ground. He motioned for Alexis to do similarly, or as is their way, ignore his direction entirely. „I need to speak wis’ my fetch. I assume he is to replace you, but he would know more clearly.“ He found no energy left within himself to explain further. „Uh… Fetch?“
They hadn’t long to wait - soon an individual just as black, just as gnarled in his echoes of brambles, but far taller and more looming in his corpse-like demeanor. No eyes remained save for the charcoal basins that might form their sockets, but a gleam-white smile cut stark across his face. While he boasted wide shoulders, both long arms and legs resembled hollow, ductile bones more than the robust limbs one would expect of such a frame. He looked top-heavy for how large his shoulders remained, but his balance was uninhibited. Both arms curled together like branches more than hands.
„I WAS EXPECTING YOUR CALL. IT’S BEEN TWO DAYS SINCE WE MET.“ The creature leaned as if accosted by a breeze, then straightened after. Thick brambles jutting from its head remained in place. „WHAT DO YOU REQUIRE?“
„Zis one wants to be a noble. I’f agreed. But, I only haf’ my experiences to go off of - I’m not certain how zis would progress. I assume you would haf’ to replace her, and zen… We take her srough zere?“ He finished, pointing toward the swath of misery between the halved husks.
Rath half-turned out of politeness more than genuine curiosity - or perhaps it was just habit? „YOUR FATHER BEQUEATHED ME TO YOU. I AM THE FETCH TO SERVE AS YOUR LIAISON IN THE COURT. YOUR TITHE REQUIRES A NEW FETCH. I WILL ACQUIRE ONE.
YOU ARE A YOUNG NOBLE. I KNOW. I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR EYES. I MISS HAVING EYES LIKE YOURS.“ The creature smiled, but Alois failed to place the notion as a wan smile, a warm smile, a sarcastic one… He started to suspect the act was one of routine poached from a life long since departed. „YOUR TITHE WILL ACCOMPANY YOU. THEY DO AS YOU INSTRUCT UNTIL THEY ARE READY FOR THEIR TESTS. THEY DO NOT DECIDE WHEN THEY ARE READY. YOU DO. THEIR FETCH WILL WANT TO CONTEST FOR THEIR LIFE WHEN THE RITUAL OCCURS. THE WINNER KEEPS THE LIFE. THE LOSER DIES IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER.
IT IS SIMPLE. VERY SIMPLE. DELIGHTFUL I MIGHT SAY. I CAN FIND A FETCH NOW. INSTRUCTION WILL WAIT UNTIL LATER.“
Alois simply stared at the creature, then looked to Alexis. „Does zat make sense to you?“
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:22 pm
Alexis, in any other circumstance, would have ignored Alois' instructions - to sit, to follow - but for all they wanted to mouth off more than they had already, Alexis was aware of the risks (to a point, to a point) and what they were going to do. If they were going to serve Alois (the words sat rotten in their head), they would have to listen.
So they listened, and they sat, and they said nothing upon Rath's appearance except to furrow their eyebrows and frown ever-so-slightly. Taking in all the information, rapid-fire as it was, was difficult -- their mind ached to wander, to think about nothing at all or to think about something so simple as movement -- so they tapped fingers against the broken wood in rhythm, sleeves covering their hands almost entirely.
"Think I got it," they spoke up at last, casting an interested eye up at Rath and trying not to show their fear (mistake, mistake, this was a mistake -- but it wasn't, it wasn't, they were going to help Autumn, it'd be better this way). "Most'v that I already picked up at the ball. ...'n I'm not a 'she', Scholz. I'm a 'they'." Their teeth shone in the light. "I know you don't care, though."
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:42 pm
“A ‚zey‘? Isn’t zat plural in Englisch? Schizophrenic, or?“ He eyed Alexis suspiciously. Nothing about them suggested schizophrenia but he couldn’t be certain. Drugs evidently did wonders. For all he knew, they could be on the illicit ones.
„Alright,“ he started, then paused to gesture toward Rath for a name. The creature waited, smile frozen in place, for Alois to continue. The German only furrowed his brow. The silence of a beat grew to span moments, and crossed into the territory of awkward. „What’s your name?“ He asked, finally.
„RATH.“ He answered faithfully.
„Rat’, find us a fetch to replace zem,“ he stressed with a glance in Alexis’ direction. „I don’t know what parameters you haf’ to pick from, so pick whatever one suits you. Zen I suppose I’ll haf’ to take he- … Zem home wis’ me. Once we get you settled, I’ll speak wis’ zis fetch on a few ideas.“ He glanced to Rath, who looked somewhat stiffer than before.
„RATH.“ He corrected mildly. In turning his back to them, he paused briefly. „YOUR WILL BE DONE.“ Afterward, he returned to Other Ashdown in short fashion.
Alois sighed and settled for picking at the gauze wrapped about his arm. His sleeve remained pushed up on the left side and his natural inclinations urged him to shift it downward over the gauze, but he didn’t want to risk it. He allowed his focus to remain on his arm even while he spoke toward Alexis. „I don’t know how long zis will take. I imagine we’re going to be stuck togezzer for some time in zis endeavor, if my experiences are any reflection. You’re a stranger to me, and doubtless I am to you too. So, Alexis, tell me about yourself. Why ‚zey‘? What means somesing to you, besides Autumn? And why does Autumn mean anysing at all? Gif’ me your story. Spare no detail,“ he added, as he glanced toward the steady shower between the split trunk. And please, for ******** sake, don’t let it be boring.
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 2:56 pm
"'m not crazy," Alexis snapped back, barely restraining themself from a physical lash forward -- in the sudden heat of emotion, their teeth raked their lip again, opening a shallow line of blood that they wiped off on their sleeve. It was easy to see where the bloodstains might have from, now. "'m just -- not a boy or a girl, alright? Haven't ever been. If you want to call me a 'he' or whatever, that's -" they stopped. Paused. Took a deep breath.
"...'s not fine, but. Whatever. Bigger problems."
When Alois turned to asking them about their life, their choices, Alexis' fingers twisted - tangled - untangled, nails digging pale crescents into their already-pale palms. "...I don't really have a lot here. I'm a runaway, I guess. I got in an argument with my parents back in February, and woke up on a train' headin here." Their smile was forced. Painful. "******** 'em. They were assholes. 's part of why I want this, though. The fetches ******** up what you have, right? I don't have anythin'. Nobody I'm close to, nothing I spend money n' time on -- I'd die for Smith, though." Their gaze was distant. "She's saved my life at least twice. I gotta pay her back for it. I'd kill for her, too. N' I know she'd hate that if I told her, so I don't."
Alexis took a deep breath, then, not particularly used to speaking for that long -- they already looked uncomfortable, speaking in depth like that, but it had been an order. They were doing this. They had to do this. "...n' I figure I should probably tell you -- I'm, uh. Partially blind in my left eye. Everythin's blurry in part of it, and some spots I can't really see at all."
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:02 pm
“I’’ll call you ‚it‘,“ Alois determined quickly. „It’s a middle ground.“
Alois leaned into the tree, and his clothes collapsed in on themselves betraying his lanky frame. While he did not share Rath’s large shoulders, they found some resemblance in their propensity to simply disappear when turned sideways. The rest of his forced-upright demeanor vanished when he entrusted his weight. „If I were a fetch,“ he started, and for the moment his gaze wandered into the trees where greens dappled with golds swayed gently in the evening breeze, „and my sole goal was to make your life a living hell, zen I would bring your family back into sings. Zen I’d ruin your relationship with Autumn. Everyone has somesing to lose, child. You stand a better chance zen most, but you can’t deny zat your independence and your relationship wis’ Autumn are at stake here. I hope you’re sincere about zis.
„Not zat zere’s much chance to back out anymore.“ He looked to them then, eyes steely as he searched for expression. Did they worry still? Did they find the means did not justify the end? Were they, like most, predisposed to place great value on relationships as emotionally-driven creatures?
„My Father… Well, I’m starting to realize he’s not truly a father, but,“ Alois drew a breath, „he was right on some accounts for how he handled sings, I sink. He’s a very Occam’s Razor kind of man - pick ze pas’ wis’ ze least assumptions, ze most straightforward - and zat has its merit. As you can tell, however, I don’t believe zat simplicity is bliss. We are complex creatures, so why should our treatment be anysing but? What I mean to say is, what I endured in my time wis’ Ezra is only part of what you will face, ultimately.
„But, if I am right about zis, zen you will come out better zan any of us ever did. You will be wors’ to Autumn a tausend-fold more zan you are now. Any damage wrought by ze fetch will be ingested, changed, and reincorporated into a greater whole.
„And you will be ze first.“ He paused for a time, looking them over in how they seemed more a head atop a swath of clothes than a real figure. This strange creature, just as bizarre as his fetch, came over train from a fight with their parents. They had, at minimum, that much in common. Perhaps that was where the similarities would end. Would it matter, ultimately? No, he decided. It may be best if I refrained from seeing myself in it. That might overcomplicate things.
„Is zere anysing else I should know about? Hopes, dreams, aspirations?“
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Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:14 pm
"'s really not," Alexis scowled, but saw no further point in fighting the statement. They'd been misgendered before by everything from their family to a nightmare deer -- what was Alois, really? (They should have kept their mouth shut. 'She' was better than 'it'. But he wasn't going to listen now.)
"My family doesn't want anythin' to do with me." Alexis went quiet, curling in on themself, hands abruptly stilling. "I still use my ID and my bank account. They wanted to track me, they'd know where I was. But they don't. Can't blame em." That reaffirmed their resolve, looking back up at Alois, eyes hard; mouth set into one firm line. "Not really. I just like stayin' alive. That's it."
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:21 am
“I’m sure zat will change.“ He knew not how, but fetches harbored a knack for finding worst-case scenarios in life. Was that simply the nature of living someone else’s life? For the first time since the party, he found himself wishing that he failed his tests. Perhaps then the question would be answered. Unless he could convince Rath to tell him…
Rath, the one who just arrived through the tree with fetch in tow. Long, stick-thin legs stepped over the splintered remains with ease. Behind him, a much more meek fetch stepped upon the split trunk, hands pressed to chest in an old-fashioned display of surprise, and touched down next to Rath. This one lacked the black, branching protrusions that dominated Rath’s body. „A NEW FETCH FOR THE ASSIGNMENT. I HAND-PICKED THIS ONE. I THINK YOU WILL FIND SHE IS QUITE SUITED TO THE JOB.“ That ubiquitous white smile appeared once more.
„Sanks, I guess. So zat’s it? You’ll be h-… zem now?“ A hand pressed to the back of his neck, he looked up at the pair.
„We have a spot of downtime after coming through Other Ashdown.“ She bowed her head in apology. „It’s unavoidable, I’m afraid. I’m terribly sorry. I’ll be able to take on this lovely doll’s looks in a couple minutes, however. May I, Lord?“
Lord. Who could’ve dreamed that one up. „Yes, do whatever it is you do. Come, Alexis. I’ll start putting you to work.“ He stood then, and brushed the tree debris from his backside. „And Rath, you’ll come too. Or just… Show up however you do. Wear my face if you haf’ to.“
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 10:56 am
Alexis merely frowned when they gazed upon the fetch who was to redesign their life - she seemed meek enough, perhaps too meek, but there was little doubt in their mind that she'd be able to imitate them perfectly. After all, if she gave the game away, her fetch nature would be clear -- and through Autumn's distress, they knew it had been impossible to tell the nature of the first set of fetches.
It was what they wanted, after all. Nobody had to know except them and Alois.
They stood up, hands shoved in their pockets, hair tangled. "...Yeah. Let's go, Scholz."
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