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 Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 1:21 am
 Ra sat at the bench in the gardens, a cigarette in one hand and a book in the other. He had spent three days locked in his room trying to get over the effect the game had on his head and his dreams. For the first night his meds wouldn't even work. He had taken them only to wake up screaming in the early hours of the morning, the familiar image of his Aunt's corpse imprinted on his mind.
Exhaling smoke to the sky he narrowed his eyes and continued to read, totally absorbed in the dark world of Iain Banks.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 1:36 am
 Obsidian was walking through the gardens. After logging off in the Astrology Lab she had had a persistant headache that only seemed to let up when she was moving around and not thinking. It had been so real. Too real. She remembered Covet just as if it had been her who had been thrown through the building and had had to sing to save her friends. But it was just a game. A silly game, nothing more. Rubbing her hands over her eyes as she felt the beginning of the now familiar pain in her head, she tried to dispell it and ran both hands through her long hair. The smell of cigarette smoke caught her attention and she looked up to see Ra sitting with a book and a pensive look on his face. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, his stance so familiar to her. She remembered how he had looked when she turned to face him after logging off, and to be honest, he didn't look much better now. Slowly she walked up to him and sat down beside him.
"May I ask what you're reading?" she asked softly.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 1:50 am
At the sound of Obie's voice, Ra didn't look up from his book until he had finished the paragraph. It was an obsessive twitch he had. Just as he couldn't sleep until he had finished a chapter.
"The Wasp Factory." He said finally taking another drag on his cigarette as he read the last word. Closing the book he looked up and raised an eyebrow. It was definitely Obie, but it didn't look like Obie. She wasn't in her usual hide in the back of the library style outfit.
"Want to join me?" He asked, maybe conversation would take the occasional ringing from his ears.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 1:59 am
"I believe I already have," she said simply, the barest hint of a smile in her eyes as she reached up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear.
"That's a very good book. Very dark. But very well written," she said, glancing down at the novel in his hand. She looked up to him, and studied his face for a moment.
"You haven't been sleeping," she stated, taking in the pallid color of his face and the circles under his eyes.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 2:16 am
Ra nodded and placed the book on the bench.
"It's my favourite. I've read it about five times." He said with a weak smile.
She didn't look like she had gotten much sleep either. He wondered if she had the same problems sine the game.
"I'm an insomniac by decription." He said finishing the cigarette and stubbing it out in a small pocket ashtray he had brought. "I rarely sleep."
He looked out to the distance contemplating whether to bring it up or not. Tuning back he looked into her blue eyes. "I have medication, but since astrology club the other day, it hasn't been working properly." He paused again looking away to take out another cigarette and offer her the packet. "Have you felt ill since?"
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 2:27 am
Obie looked down at the pack he offered to her and swallowed. She shouldn't. She knew she shouldn't. But she reached out and pulled one from the small package. She was willing to try anything to make the insistant pounding go away, though she knew she was well beyond the reaches of any withdrawls. At his question, she looked up to see the troubled look in his stormy grey eyes.
"Yes. It's mostly been headaches and I haven't been sleeping well either. I gather that it is the same with you?" she asked, looking down at the slender unlit cigarette poised between her fingers. She really shouldn't she thought with a mirthless smile on her lips.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 2:43 am
He nodded and took a lighter from his bag.
"I mean, that battle seemed so real." He said lighting her cigarette first and then his own. "I don't think I've remembered the game before. It was so strange."
He shook his head and pushed the ashtray between them.
"Nothing shifts this damn headache, none of my tablets, nothing."
He looked up and watched her carefully, trying to guess which of the characters she played in the game. Someone opposite, like him? Maybe the red haired character with the sword.
"Who do you play?" He asked her blatently. Besides it was just a game, hardly a personal question.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 2:51 am
Obie took a long, slow drag on the cigarette, fighting the urge to close her eyes as she savored it. She let the smoke trail out from between her lips, using the time to think before answering.
"I know I've never remembered the game before," she said distantly, again remembering the feel of flying through the air and her body crashing through the wall of a building. She lifted the hand holding her cigarette to her forehead. It wasn't her. It was Covet, she insisted.
"Maybe you should stop taking the meds if they're not working," she suggested, dropping her hand down to rest lightly on her thigh. "They might be making the problem worse."
She looked away for a moment, raising the cigarette to her lips, then dropping the hand back down to her leg. "Covet," she replied, looking back into his eyes. "You?"
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:00 am
Ra nodded at her suggestion, balancing the cigarette between his lips as he rummaged in his bag for something.
"Mmm. I thought about that. But if I don't take the course I get withdrawals and they're worse than the headaches and the ringing. Then again if I'm still getting the nightmares none of it really matters." He gave a small snort of irritation and pulled a bottle of water from his bag.
He took the cigarette from his mouth and nodded, exhaling into the air once more. The small purple haired character.
"Mecca." He said flicking some more ash into the tray. "The moody little one." He smirked and shook his head. "Such a wierd experience."
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:17 am
Obie looked down at the cigarette guiltily at his mention of withdrawals. She really shouldn't be smoking, she thought bringing it to her lips then reaching out to flick her ashes into the tray. She raised an eyebrow at the mention of who his shu was. That seemed like an odd match. Though she and Covet weren't exactly one in the same, the thought with a smirk.
"Do you understand what exactly happened before that Leviathan creature showed up? I was under the impression that Lune was the AI system for the game. Was she supposed to do what she did?" she asked watching the smoke curl lazily up to disappear into nothingness.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:30 am
Ra shook his head.
"I have no idea. I remember dissapearing and then logging back in, then the monster."
Taking another drag on the cigarette he picked absently at the black nailvarnish on his thumbnail.
"How's life treating you other than the game?" He asked realising it had been a long time since he talked to someone properly. Scarlett was always out dancing, Kayne was busy with his new found hobby and Chii ... well, that was a stone best left unturned.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:41 am
A smile flickered across Obie's lips as she lifted the cigarette to her lips. She crossed her legs and exhaled before answering.
"Wickedly. I've been here this entire time and had my room to myself. Seems they finally found a roommate for me. He's... how should I say this... irritating," she smirked, as that was both an understatement and the complete opposite as well. They had had such an unusual relationship from the very beginning. "He's blind as well," she said her eyes growing a bit distant at the thought of Thanatos. She suddenly remembered the predicament they might be in and extinguished the cigarette. Better safe than sorry, she thought, though she was sad to end her nicotene fix so abruptly.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:51 am
"That good for you too." He said with a small laugh. "Yeah, life's a b***h." He sighed watching her stub the cigarette out. "But I learned that a long time ago."
Yawning slightly he took another drag on his cigarette and watched her again. There was definitely something different about her, what had happened to the sullen girl he's had the debate with in the library. The girl no one had really wanted to be paired with.
He'd be willing to bet she would get plenty of offers now.
"Fancy getting some lunch?" He asked. He had been avoiding food a lot again too. Not something he had done since meeting Chii. Maybe if he had someone to eat with he could manage something.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 4:00 am
"As did I," she smirked in regards to learning about life. She noticed him watching her, but only picked up a lock of her long hair to play with it absently as she looked off. Something seemed a bit different about Ra, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was that his eyes held a certain sadness and she found herself wondering what could have caused it. At his offer of food, her deep blue eyes fell back to his.
"I could stand to eat," she said rising to her feet. She hoped she would be able to she sighed inwardly.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 4:06 am
They decided on the canteen as it was closest and took the least effort to order from.
Practically zombieing his way through the crowds Ra grabbed some juice and an apple. He payed without a word and made his way to one of the empty tables.
"Do you ever get sick of being who people want you to be?" He asked when she joined him.
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