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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 20, 2013 18:27:43 GMT -8
The sun had just barely come up on the crisp, misty woods of Salem. It was late October, less than a week away from Halloween. Silence rested with the shadows along every nook and cranny, shoved away by waking birds and drifting beams of sunlight peaking through cracks in the trees. The city was far away, so even now, when tourists were bounding through the town in search of ghosts, it still felt as if the residents of the woods were on their own plane of existence.
It was still very early, of course - before six, perhaps. The house was warm, inviting, and, for the most part, still dark and asleep. Sleeping bags and quilts were strewn throughout the house, on various bits of furniture and floors. It had been a long night, trying to clean this place and make it spotless for the family of its resident, flying in around noon today.
The small light in the kitchen, the one by the stove, was currently on, and was so far the only light on in the house. Sitting on the counter and bent over a crossword puzzle was a blonde boy. Behind glasses, a look of frustrated determination plagued his face as his eyes scanned the clues and the almost entirely blank puzzle.
"Five letter word for 'execution loop'... three letter word for 'part of a skirt'... ugh..."
His socked feet were tucked neatly under him, and his tee shirt hung loosely, covering his underwear. A blanket was draped across his shoulders, and beside him was a small bundle of multi-colored scarves.
He didn't understand it. He knew he used to be good at these, and that was probably what hurt the most about it. It was like no matter what, something was going to keep him down, even if he could walk like a normal human being (for the most part) now. Something always had to be wrong.
The cat in the living room, almost adjacent, stretched, yawning, and threw a contemptuous glance in the direction of the sleepers in the room from his perch on Liz. He had been uprooted already, earlier in the day, having originally fallen asleep on the boy now in the kitchen. But, alas, he liked Liz... and he really liked the fact that she was warm...
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Post by Alastor on Nov 20, 2013 22:15:57 GMT -8
The light struck the blinds in the master bedroom just perfectly to shine in the face of the home's owner. With a groan, a young brunette girl climbed out of her bed, tossing aside her blankets. She stepped out of her room, gently moving on the tip of her toes to avoid waking her company, and into the kitchen.
"...Ryan, it's barely morning." May told the boy, her eyes catching the boy as he sat on the counter. "Why're you even up?"
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 20, 2013 22:53:58 GMT -8
"Good morning to you too," he replied, eyes still glued to the puzzle. "I made you and the others some coffee. I couldn't sleep - you know that."
He looked up finally, to watch her over the rims of his glasses. He gained a soft smile, and set down the puzzle (albeit hesitantly) to pick up the bundle of scarves, presenting it to her.
"Also, I couldn't wait another day. Happy Birthday."
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Magica IC
Nov 21, 2013 7:27:14 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by Adlai Stevenson on Nov 21, 2013 7:27:14 GMT -8
"Okay, lemme see . . . right right right, get the cauldron to a low bubble, check . . . stir slowly for ten to fifteen minutes in a counterclockwise motion, check . . . wait for fire salts to set, stir vigorously until contents reach a rusty orange color . . . wait a sec, is that a rusty brown or--"
Goody Saltonstall keeled backward over her stool with a rather embarrassing yelp as the frothing contents of her cast-iron cauldron burst into flame, the dull-hued concoction glowing an incandescent, electric blue, like an overchlorinated swimming pool. It smelled putrid.
"Not this time, fucker!" Goody exclaimed with a vengeance, stumbling to her feet and scooping a portable fire extinguisher out from behind her cluttered desk, smiting what looked to be a scale reenactment of the Fat Man over Nagasaki coming out from the cauldron with a few too many concentrated blasts of flame-retardant foam. The mushroom cloud of blue fire collapsed on itself in a steamy, smoky mess.
"Crisis averted," Goody murmured to herself, fanning away the noxious fumes from the large brewing pot. The liquid, through all the foam and residue, retained the same bright blue color it had turned before exploding outward.
Goody sighed. Trial and error made this whole witch thing not nearly as fun as she liked it to be. Hopefully, the landlady wouldn't mind the smell.
Pulling her cell phone out from her oversized Salem State sweatshirt, the witch-in-training dialed the number of a friend that night be able to lend a hand. Besides, Liz hasn't been doing anything too special lately, right?
Goody swore beneath her breath as she took a look out her apartment window, watching the sun rise over the horizon. Shit, another all-nighter?
She hoped Liz wouldn't be too upset with her calling so late . . . err, early, that is.
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Post by Alastor on Nov 21, 2013 12:44:45 GMT -8
The girl looked down at the bundle of scarves as she grabbed them.
"A week early?" She asked, her eyebrow raising as she looked up at the boy. She looked back at the gifts as she tugged at the scarves. The binding came undone as a leather bound book slid off another onto the floor with a loud thud.
The girl looked dumbfounded and moved as she picked it up, setting the other on the counter. A spell book, for sure. And more importantly, it was the first volume of Potions Obscurica- a notorious rarity that'd alluded the girl since her teen years.
"...You shouldn't have." She told the boy, looking up at him.
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 21, 2013 15:26:01 GMT -8
"-I know, I know, it's really early. But they came in the mail yesterday, and it was a pain in the ass to hide them yesterday while we were cleaning." He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward to watch her. As she stared down at the books, his face lit up. "You like them? I remember you talking about this one, so when I saw it on Ebay I had to jump at the chance to get it!"
In the living room, the girl's chest buzzed. The cat jumped on his perch, startled, before a hand reached up to hold him back down and calm him, the other reaching into her shirt to grab the phone.
"Hello?" Liz's voice cracked as she answered, eyes still shut. She prayed it wasn't a collections agency or something, especially so early.
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Post by JW% on Nov 21, 2013 17:06:05 GMT -8
Kyle was having a dream. He wasn't sure what dream it was, as he was rousted from bed with a knowledge that something wasn't right, but he liked to think it had been a good dream. Maybe one where he had been flying. A lucid dream perhaps?
The room was dark, of course, and had rather poor chi flow. He'd studied the feng shui of the house and found several points simply lacking. His bed was one of those unfortunately, being a tepid pool of energy with hardly any flow. Plus mildew. He had curtains over the windows to block out the light, and mirrors to make the little L shaped aisle that was left after he put his cot in the L shaped room.
As he got out of bed he heard his grandfather start breathing again. Or rather start snoring again, like a proverbial log. That might have been it. His grandfather often stopped breathing in the middle of the night, and he could hear it every time.
Staggering through the hallway into the living room, the sound of his grandmothers oxygenation machine overrode everything else but the snoring. He moved to adjust the fire in the fireplace, adding another stick to keep the house warm. Or at least keep his grandmother from turning on the gas heaters and huddling around them shivering. He knew she had poor circulation, but sometimes he thought she just missed crouching over a cauldron while there was a blazing fire beneath it.
The cauldron was out on the law rusting from rain water. He was debating turning it into a water feature come spring, thanks to the massive crack down the side of it due to an unforseen lightning strike that he was not to ask about.
In the kitchen his various machines were either kicking on, already at work, or waiting for their timers to tick down. There would be fresh bread from the bread machine, coffee, and other good things for breakfast when it came time. Kyle ignored the kitchen however.
"Did I wake you?" His grandmother asked, sitting in her rocking chair with knitting on her lap. The tubes for the oxygen machine which went in her nose were dangling off the side of the chair rather than anywhere they would be helping anyone breath through the night.
"Did you sleep?" He asked in reply, noting that her bed, which had been moved out into the living room, hadn't been touched since he had made it the afternoon before. Her chair was right beside it, letting her look out the window at the darkness.
"As much as I ever do." She replied, sitting hunched over in her chair, blankets wrapped about her having fallen off to live gaps where chill air could seep in. The scarf... or maybe it was a blanket?... she was knitting looked notably longer this morning, but her hands shook so much that she was missing loops. It might unravel under it's own weight at this point.
"Breakfast will be ready soon, and grandpa will be getting up in an hour." Kyle said.
"I'll turn on the news then." She controlled the remotes in the house, having something like five of them sitting on the bedstand beside her chair. Not that anyone in the house paid any attention to the television. Kyle had his computer in his room, and everyone else would just sit there and let the noise become background droning. Every so often one of them would complain about the political situation, and half those times they'd be jumping to conclusions that the news on TV didn't remotely support.
And this was his life now. Kyle went back to his room to get properly dressed.
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Post by Alastor on Nov 21, 2013 22:16:54 GMT -8
"-I know, I know, it's really early. But they came in the mail yesterday, and it was a pain in the ass to hide them yesterday while we were cleaning." He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward to watch her. As she stared down at the books, his face lit up. "You like them? I remember you talking about this one, so when I saw it on Ebay I had to jump at the chance to get it!" " Like them? Ryan, I've been looking for these since I was fourteen!" The girl pulled the boy into a hug, pulling him off the counter and giving a him a kiss. "Thank you thank you thank you!"
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 21, 2013 23:34:07 GMT -8
"-I know, I know, it's really early. But they came in the mail yesterday, and it was a pain in the ass to hide them yesterday while we were cleaning." He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward to watch her. As she stared down at the books, his face lit up. "You like them? I remember you talking about this one, so when I saw it on Ebay I had to jump at the chance to get it!" " Like them? Ryan, I've been looking for these since I was fourteen!" The girl pulled the boy into a hug, pulling him off the counter and giving a him a kiss. "Thank you thank you thank you!" He was pulled off the counter, stumbling into her and hugging her close (and using her as a leverage, but that was a given). He closed his eyes. "I'm glad. But I'm sorry I couldn't wait to give them to you a little later." ((Short post right now. Will add more for Kyle in a few more posts, and when everyone else posts)
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Post by Alastor on Nov 22, 2013 15:05:38 GMT -8
" Like them? Ryan, I've been looking for these since I was fourteen!" The girl pulled the boy into a hug, pulling him off the counter and giving a him a kiss. "Thank you thank you thank you!" He was pulled off the counter, stumbling into her and hugging her close (and using her as a leverage, but that was a given). He closed his eyes. "I'm glad. But I'm sorry I couldn't wait to give them to you a little later." ((Short post right now. Will add more for Kyle in a few more posts, and when everyone else posts) "Why would you be sorry? These are wonderful!"
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lovely corte
Persistent Member
Lindsey Looseflaps
HE LOOKED AT ME! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!
Posts: 1,402
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Post by lovely corte on Nov 22, 2013 17:14:52 GMT -8
Late to rest, early to rise.
With the sun angling directly into her eyes, Lena groaned and flailed her tattooed arms wildly as she attempted to protect herself, mostly her eyes, from the searing pain of having to wake up early. She had hoped to sleep in, watch television and relax with her grotesque, Jester companions.
Murmuring, Lena pulled on her blankets only to find that four grotesque, rotund bodies piled on top of each other were attempting to take the warmth. With a loud grunt, she threw her blankets off and stood up, clad in her birthday suit, revealing her tattooed form.
Throwing on an old shirt and some boy cut shorts, Lena wrapped her companions up, kissing each on the forehead and padded into the kitchen, expertly navigating columns of packing equipment and boxes. She held a coffee pot, filling a mug.
"Nnnngh... why did you wake us up, ya' fuckin' bitch?" One figure grumbled, waddling into the kitchen. His round formed knocked over boxes. "I was sleeping."
"Good morning to you too." Lena said, bringing the companion close and pulling on his hair playfully, kissing him on the forehead. She handed him a mug and filled it. Her speech was lined with an obvious Swedish accent. "Go wake up the others, Wetfoot. We have things to do today."
"Later. Gassy's asshole flew open and I couldn't handle it." He continued. "Gotta' stop feeding that fat cunt."
"Maybe." She said, before she rummaged through boxes. "Help me find some jeans."
With a groan, he went about his master's command.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Nov 23, 2013 10:14:55 GMT -8
In the living room, the girl's chest buzzed. The cat jumped on his perch, startled, before a hand reached up to hold him back down and calm him, the other reaching into her shirt to grab the phone. "Hello?" Liz's voice cracked as she answered, eyes still shut. She prayed it wasn't a collections agency or something, especially so early. "Hey babe!" Goody said, half-aware of the volume of her voice as she fixed herself a pot of coffee. "Sorry this couldn't wait, I know it's, uhh . . ." she paused. Late or early late or early late or earlyyyy ". . . not the most convenient time, at the moment, but I was wondering if you could lend me a hand with some, umm, things." The cauldron continued to bubble slowly. "And stuff." It looked like it was sentient all on its own. "Yeah, things and stuff. Come over when you can, if you can. Thanks!"
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 23, 2013 10:24:37 GMT -8
"...What sort of things." Liz asked pointedly, sighing and starting to lift herself up while still clutching the cat to her chest. "I'm over at my brother's girlfriend's house right now... I can try to come over now if it's urgent."
"Still, I gave them so early and all." The boy looked over May's shoulder now,through the door and into the living room to Liz getting up. "Well... I guess we're not the only ones up now, at least."
He pulled himself away from May then, readjusting the blanket around his shoulders and moving over to the cabinet. Standing on tiptoe, he grabbed down a few mugs, and looked over to May with a grin as he started to pour them all coffee.
"See? I'm getting better! I didn't fall over that time!"
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Post by Alastor on Nov 23, 2013 15:46:24 GMT -8
May quickly tensed up as she watched her boyfriend try and grab the mugs from the cabinet. She quickly moved closer to provide any possible support, giving a sigh of relief as he grabbed the mugs and set them on the counter.
"Ryan, please don't do that."
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 23, 2013 16:11:36 GMT -8
It took the boy a second to realize how concerned she was. His face fell, and he looked back down to the coffee he was pouring.
"I-I wouldn't have dropped them," he assured, dodging the real issue here, before begrudgingly saying, almost under his breath, "And... I-I wouldn't have fallen either."
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lovely corte
Persistent Member
Lindsey Looseflaps
HE LOOKED AT ME! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!
Posts: 1,402
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Post by lovely corte on Nov 23, 2013 16:34:39 GMT -8
After toppling over several uniform, perfectly stacked boxes, Wetfoot returned with black skinny jeans, torn at the knees through overuse in one hand and her more 'sensual' underwear. Quickly pulling herself into the skinny jeans (with a lot of effort, gut sucking and some upper body strength), she turned to address her newest issue.
"Why do you have my underwear?" She asked, purposefully throwing her accusatory tone around. She knew why. As grotesque as they were, men (in the anatomical sense) they still were. With all the urges this accompanied. "Answer me."
"You know." Wetfoot countered, uncaring. With a huff, Lena snatched them out of his hands. "Hey! Bitch! You weren't even wearing them!"
"There's... tissues and my laptop!" She groaned, throwing her underwear on top of her counter top. "I have to go, I need to go get my ink. Tell the others to unpack this shit."
Throwing her phone at her, Lena caught it and kissed Wetfoot on the forehead before she threw on some boots and began to walk out the door, already in the middle of calling her 'supplier'.
"And don't you get your... you know, all over the lapto- May?" Lena said, holding the phone to her ear and waiting for a response. "Maaaaaaay~!"
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Post by Alastor on Nov 23, 2013 18:40:01 GMT -8
"I know, I know." The girl sighed. "It's ju--" The girl's voice was cut off then by the sudden ringing of her phone on the high counter. She quickly grabbed it, answering as soon as she saw Lena's number on the screen.
"Good morning, Lena." She greeted the caller. "Already needing a new batch of ink?"
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lovely corte
Persistent Member
Lindsey Looseflaps
HE LOOKED AT ME! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!
Posts: 1,402
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Post by lovely corte on Nov 23, 2013 18:52:48 GMT -8
"Yeah. I just finished up on myself and I thought that since I was in town anyway, I might as well come around." Lena said, stepping out into the early morning and stretching. Using one hand to comb through her hair, Lena hopped into her car. "I'm driving up now. It's not too early is it?"
"When can I give you one, May?" Lena asked, holding the phone in her ear as she sat in the driver's seat. She had always been safe about driving, preferring not to drive about town with one hand on the wheel and the other on the phone. "A nice tramp stamp?"
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Post by Alastor on Nov 23, 2013 20:05:52 GMT -8
"Nono, it's not too early." The girl reassured, having brewed another batch of the ink a few nights before. "And no tattoos. You know I hate them."
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lovely corte
Persistent Member
Lindsey Looseflaps
HE LOOKED AT ME! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!
Posts: 1,402
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Post by lovely corte on Nov 23, 2013 21:04:22 GMT -8
"Sweet. Thank you, May-May." Lena said, taking the phone and switching ears, playing with her lip quietly as she listened to the girl speak. She broke out into laughter, her intelligent eyes scanning the area as she looked for her keys. "But you'd look really good. Come on. Let me put some angels or a rose around your chest."
"Really frames the boobies." She continued. "Anyways. I gotta' hang up. I'll drive over. I don't have hands free and I don't want to be that bitch. So, I'll see you in ten? 'Kay. Bye. Love you."
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 24, 2013 0:12:29 GMT -8
While May got onto the phone, the boy moved back to his crossword puzzle, looking over everything again, taking in the squares and clues into his head-
"Noose!" He cried, triumphant, scribbling it down quickly.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Nov 24, 2013 12:11:45 GMT -8
"...What sort of things." Liz asked pointedly, sighing and starting to lift herself up while still clutching the cat to her chest. "I'm over at my brother's girlfriend's house right now... I can try to come over now if it's urgent." "Okay, so, remember when I said I was really close to making progress on that, uhh . . ." Goody bit her lip, straining for words. ". . . gardening project? Uhh, yeah, that, I think I've really, really made a lot of progress. Come over if you can."
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Post by Alastor on Nov 24, 2013 12:34:45 GMT -8
May sighed as she hung up the phone, quietly tiptoeing out of the kitchen with her mug of coffee. She carefully stepped over her pet cat as she went down what some would call an impossibly long hallway. The girl quickly opened one of the six doors on the right side and stepped inside.
There was a vague sound of her beating something down as she stepped out, holding a vial of clear goop in a tightened two liter bottle.
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 24, 2013 13:11:20 GMT -8
Liz rolled her eyes, moving to stand up and pushing the blankets aside. She groped blindly around the floor with her feet, attempting to find out where her pants and sweatshirt were. Upon finding them, she pressed the phone to her shoulder and started tugging them over her hips.
"Sure," she snorted, "I'll be there in like... half an hour. See you then."
She shifted the phone to her hands, turning it off and shoving it into her pocket while zipping up her jacket. She nodded to May as they walked past each other. When Liz entered the kitchen, she was forcing her hair into a scrunchie at the top of her head, and her adopted brother was once again bent over his crossword. She glanced towards him, taking one of the mugs of coffee and rubbing her eyes.
"Goody called."
"What about?"
"She's gotten into some trouble I'm guessing. Probably made her teddy bear sentient again. I thought she learned from that last time, but I guess I was wrong. I'm heading out, I'll be back later, okay?"
"Sure thing. Have fun!"
"Don't leave without someone else, okay? I'm leaving your jacket, chair, and meds. Don't forget to take them today again, either, you blacked out last time, remember? And remember to sit down. Don't push yourself too hard, I don't want you-"
"I've got it, Liz," the boy looked up then, and gave her a smile. "I know. Now go help Goody, she actually probably needs you today."
Liz gave a sigh, nodding and leaving the kitchen - being followed by the black cat out the door and to her car. She didn't mind it. Mason was still very attached to her.
She drove off through the muck of the forest, through the mist, and into the streets of Salem in her silver SUV.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Nov 25, 2013 7:21:23 GMT -8
As all of this was going on there was one more that was still sleeping, a young Half-Indian witch peacefully snoozing, snores coming out of her mouth like powerful gusts of wind. It was hard for the air controlling witch to actual control her breath.
Amrita began groaning at all the noise, and stepped out into the hallway, "Why are you guys being so loud?"
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Nov 26, 2013 18:10:08 GMT -8
Liz rolled her eyes, moving to stand up and pushing the blankets aside. She groped blindly around the floor with her feet, attempting to find out where her pants and sweatshirt were. Upon finding them, she pressed the phone to her shoulder and started tugging them over her hips. "Sure," she snorted, "I'll be there in like... half an hour. See you then." "Thanks, babe!" you could hear the grin on Goody's face as she ended the call, placing her cell phone on the nearby counter top, along with the fire extinguisher. With a breath, she looked back at her cauldron, a vague sense of defeat about her. It wasn't an unfamiliar taste, and in the field of witchcraft, it was something she drank straight from the carton. As the foul mixture simmered, the witch-in-training sidled over to her small, but cluttered bookshelf, a personal library filled to the brim with notebooks of various sizes and weights, as well as the occasional raunchy vampire romance novel. With a bit of a tug, she pulled one out from the farthest corner, a smaller book - leather-bound, pages aged and torn, some undecipherable (at least to the untrained eye), and coated in dust. Goody scrubbed the dust away with a sleeve-covered hand, flipping to a dog-eared page, yellowed and smudged by time. The book, one of many, was her grandmother's. While the others were chock-full of useful tips, information, and recipes for spells, hexes, and potions of varying effects, this one in particular was her personal diary. Or one of them; this one went from Christmas of 1944 (likely a gift, she'd wager) to some undated time in 1946. The notes were one thing; they were her true mentor, the master to her apprenticeship, the only gospel she could pledge fealty to. But her diaries and journals were her legacy. It was the only thing that was left alive. Hopefully, not for long.
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 26, 2013 18:40:36 GMT -8
The drive through Salem never really felt long. Sure, from May's house nestled deep in the woods to Goody's more urban house it was longer than an average drive, nearly fifteen minutes, but it always felt much quicker than that. Liz usually attributed it to the fact that the average bubblegum pop song, like those on a Pink Floyd album, melded into the next and made it hard to tell just how many songs had passed on the radio.
It had, in fact, been around four songs, a mixture of the now-typical Icona Pop, Cher Lloyd, Miley Cyrus and other young female popstars, by the time Liz pulled into the driveway, shut off the station, and hobbled up to Goody's doorstep. She squatted down, grabbing the spare key from underneath the loose door frame, and went inside.
The smoke was the first thing she noticed, and that immediately set off her alarms. Clutching a hand to her face, she called out, "Goody? Are you okay in here?"
The cat, who had followed her, bounded inside to see the girl looking through a book.
"She's reading a creepy book that looks like the Necronomicon. Define your value of 'okay,'" the cat, if it was possible, rolled its eyes, hopping up onto the table with some difficulty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The blonde popped his head out of the kitchen, smiling over at Amrita.
"Sorry, I didn't realize how loud we were. Did we wake you up?" He listened for a moment, before seeing May. "Hey, is it okay if I take a bath before we go pick up your parents, and all? I won't take long."
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Post by Alastor on Nov 26, 2013 18:46:50 GMT -8
"Yeah, sure." The brunette said as she walked past the blonde, not even paying attention to him really. "I've got to give this to Lena."
She held up the bottle with the sludge in it, waving it slightly as it slushed around as she opened the door.
"I'll be outside if you need me." May concluded, stepping out the door.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Nov 26, 2013 19:00:14 GMT -8
"No I'm good," Amrita said sighing, " I mean I didn't have to stay the night... Sides I'd have been woken up by Mom's familiar yowling at this hours I had stayed home. I swear to God if I ever get a familiar it'll be something really quiet."
She began combing through her bed head with her fingers, "So what are you guys up to at this hour?"
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Post by Penny Royals on Nov 26, 2013 19:04:21 GMT -8
"Liz ran off to help Goody, it was an emergency," He replied, going to May's room to grab a towel and his clothes, "I couldn't sleep, and May's being May." He shrugged. "So, all in all, a pretty normal time." He paused outside the bathroom door, deliberating. "I'll be back out in a little bit, if May's not back by then. Maybe watch some TV? I dunno what's on though..."
After a second of glancing awkwardly between her and the living room, he entered the bathroom, shut the door, and started to fill up the tub.
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