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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Mar 22, 2011 9:25:28 GMT -5
Okay. My family’s blasé banter about ‘otherworldy’ (evidently not so otherworldly) stuff was a bit jarring for me to hear. Seeing Jackie actually sniff the air was equally as disturbing. Not because she did what dogs do - lift her nose and take great big whiffs. No, it was a much more subtle movement than that, not all that noticeable, like when humans notice a scent and gently take it in. It was just weird to remember that Jackie, like me, had an extraordinary sense of smell and now, there was a known reason for it.
As attention turned to Tara in the wake of Jackie’s questions, I leaned over the table a little to listen. And somehow, just like that, my sister with all her forwardness discovered the piece of information which I had been guessing at since I had first met Tara – her species. Raven? She...she can turn into a bird? My mind raced. Tara could fly? Man, was I jealous! If I was going to choose some super power, flying would be high on my list. Hell, shape-shifting in general, as long as it was into something cool. But flying...geez, if I could fly, the things I could see and do! I had loved being Peter on Heroes, hanging from wires and doing the stunts that I was allowed to do (after a lot of badgering). But none of that compared to literally being a bird. I saw her in a whole new light all of a sudden, with added complexity and even more mystery than before. I couldn’t deny that my extra abilities were cool, though the tail was odd and my eyesight was pretty average, maybe a bit below average, but Tara’s abilities were just fantastic. What would it be like to change one’s form completely? Or to soar the skies, unfettered and at peace?
“Man, that’s awesome,” I breathed. “It gives a whole new meaning to ‘bird’s eye view’,” I quipped. Jackie laughed and nudged me with her elbow. “Well, don’t forget how cool we are too,” she grinned. Mom’s question about the collars stopped me from making a comment about hanging off trees with our tails. I scowled as dad showed a renewed interest in my collar, and I batted his hand away.
I was a bit horrified when Tara tactlessly told my parents just what the collar did. In fact, I was speechless, and I put my head in my hands while Jackie sat there and made stupid jokes. All of a sudden, the jokes weren’t funny anymore. Oh, it wasn’t Tara’s fault. After all, everyone said something tactless one time or another out of ignorance, myself included. “...Milo?” dad added when Tara didn’t reply to his question this time.
More silence. Even Jackie didn’t say anything; she just looked at me questioningly. “Well they made the collars for criminals originally,” I lied. “But they all had the shock option.” “That’s a weak lie,” mom said, annoyed. “But, well, if you don’t want to tell us...” “Hey, don’t guilt trip me,” I snapped. Dad looked displeased, but I was feeling rather rebellious. “Whatever,” I sulked. I turned in my chair and folded my arms, rolling my eyes and sighing. “ Geez, Milo, how old are you, like...oh wait, you are like, sixteen,” Jackie smirked. “But anyway, don’t change the subject. This shit with these collars is starting to sound pretty...um...what’s a good word for it, insidious? Yeah.” “God, I was happy to be past the teenage years, now I’m stuck with a teenager again.” Mom gave an exaggerated sigh. “Who has the remotes?” dad repeated. His cold tone immediately silenced everybody. I shrugged, then shot Tara a look. It was my duty to explain it. They were, after all, my family. If anyone wronged us, we tended to get loud and kind of nasty, even when the person who had been hurt didn’t want to talk about it. Mom and dad would rage for hours and hours, even if it was a simple matter like a friend not giving us a birthday card one year.
“How selfish!” mom would rage. “Don’t bother with that person again!” “I don’t care,” I would mumble, before making some excuse for the friend. “Don’t make excuses for them!” And so on. And that was why I didn’t feel like saying anything right now.
“Okay, I’ll explain. Basically, um...well you could say that their history is a little different to ours. I was only there a week. They put me into school, man I’m so glad I never have to go back there again.” Boy, was I wrong. “Oh ha ha, high school? Aww, I can tell my friends my little brother is in high school, and they’ll think I’m like, in my early twenties!” Jackie giggled. “You don’t age, what are you complaining about?” said mom. Dad ignored them both, keeping his eyes focused on me. He was sitting in a patch of sunlight, streaming in through the window, so his eyes looked golden, like a cat’s. I fidgeted and continued. “Anyway, I had a school history book where...where I was staying, and I read up on it out of interest. Basically, certain...non-human peoples announced their existence in the medieval times. Or like, some weird wizard guys. Humans subjugated them all. Enslaved them. And I guess when I showed up, slavery was still happening. Hey, before anyone yells, let me finish, you asked me to talk, I’m fucking talking.”
Nobody told me off for swearing, but I could tell they were struggling not to talk. “Anyway, I got there, the government caught me, and ... well you don’t have to be a slave to have a collar. There are a lot of ‘free’ people too. They have less rights.” I cringed a bit; my mom’s stare was now even more formidable than my dad’s. They were furious. “I was pretty confused, and easily grabbed off the street. I had no idea where I was, you have to understand. I couldn’t have gotten away, not really.” Why was I getting defensive? “So yeah, they put the collar on me. It’s legal, they said. And then they gave me away as a slave. To some weirdo couple, but they adopted me instead. I know, really weird. But this law was being passed. It was due to be passed next week...in that world. All slaves were to be freed, but we would still have to wear collars, like the free non-humans.” I didn’t go into detail about the indentured servants part. I also didn’t mention the fact I had been put on a leash a few times; no need to humiliate myself further. “I mean, I would still be stuck with the people who legally own me, because even if they didn’t own me anymore, they were my legal guardians. It was shit; the whole time I was there, I just felt fucked over, because I have parents, y’know. You guys. And I wasn’t some kid, I was an adult, and I couldn’t tell them that for fear of being...”
I almost said ‘cuffed about the head for lying’, but I bit my tongue. Gerard wasn’t always a dick, but he didn’t have as much patience for kids as Mauve did, or with people in general. Once, at the mall, I had seen him lift a hand to strike a guy around his age in anger, but he had managed to stop. Not without a lot of effort. I was probably a bit of a handful to be honest, so in some ways I couldn’t always blame him for whacking me, even if I resented it. I climbed out of the window at night just to be rebellious, I spoke back to Gerard and I stole alcohol from him. I never acted out much when Mauve was there. I even resorted to graffiti, once; I had never done it as a kid, had never had the desire to. In Wonder City, I had had so much anger to express, and spraying angry pictures and song lyrics had been almost therapeutic. Gerard had caught me red-handed (literally) when I had tried to sneak in that night. All of this in one week.
As expected, my parents were shocked and outraged. They roared over the top of each other and over the top of my voice, and Jackie joined in, her face red. “What the fuck, who the hell dares do that to my son?!” mom shouted. “Unacceptable! If I ever get my hands on...” dad threatened. “And what did they do to you, then?!” Jackie asked Tara. “Outrageous!” “Hey, hey, calm down!” I growled, anger rising. “Just let it go, will you? I’m here, I’m safe. Tara is safe. That’s what matters!” It took some time for them to relax a little and sit down. Dad shook his head and closed his eyes. Mom rubbed her temples. Jackie defiantly muttered something under her breath about jackass Neanderthals and the violence of the human race. “For god’s sakes, this is just...I don’t really know what else to say,” said mom. “It’s...” “Not really that unbelievable, if you consider humans in general,” said Jackie. “Look at their history. Look at ours. Our kind have never owned slaves. We have, admittedly, been to war, but only because our lands were being encroached on forcefully. That’s right, isn’t it?” “Sure is,” dad agreed. I felt totally ignorant. I knew none of this. “Milo, Tara – tomorrow, we’re going to find a way to get those collars off. What they symbolise is...well, I just won’t have it. I think we all need to just relax and rejoice that you are home.” “Yeah, that totally sounds good,” Jackie agreed. Mom also nodded.
Jackie went to the fridge, and predictably, she took out a whole bunch of beers. Jackie was a heavy drinker. I usually had a couple of beers each night, and I had gone through a stage when I was younger where I had, like everyone else, been a bit of a heavy drinker at times, but Jackie had always enjoyed an excess of booze. “Wait...you’re both underage,” Jackie said. I nearly said something scathing, but she laughed. “Geez, relax, I was just joking. Well, not about you, Tara, but it’s up to you if you want one; I won’t dob you in.” “Don’t be obliged to drink it either,” dad said firmly, giving Jackie a look. “Hopefully, they have some soda or milk or juice in the fridge, and there’s always water. But I won’t deny you the beer either. Just don’t feel pressured; Jackie’s harmless, really.” “Ahh, that’s better,” I said after taking a swig. “I had to steal alcohol from Gerard. Um...the guy who adopted me,” I clarified. “You know, it’s still twenty-one there, that sucks, right?”
((OOC: Well I figure they’ll go back home a bit after this. Do you want to reply first, or do you want me to keep posting so you have more to reply to? Maybe his parents are adamant about ‘telling him everything later’, over dinner maybe, rather than now – saying he should clear his head, and they could go for a walk together and vanish back into the other world again? Happy to add it if you want, or wait til my next post.))
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Post by tessa on Mar 28, 2011 2:29:52 GMT -5
I fucked up.
I seriously fucked up-- you know?-- I mean I should never have said anything. I was shocked, my eyes were wild and they jerked from speaker to speaker. Of course I couldn’t really look at anyone while Milo explained our situation. What would they think they did to me? Bad things had happened to me but nothing compared to what could have happened, right? I mean I consider myself lucky, even more so now I have the support that Milo provides for me. I didn't want his family thinking I was some sort of weird sex toy, which was why I looked almost terrified when his parents started up, and blushed at Jackie’s comment.
“Nothing happened. I really am just a waitress...I go to school.” I explained hastily. Why did everyone assume that slavery for women meant ‘sketchy’ things? I guess it made sense. What embarrassed me more was how concerned she seemed about it. How was this even possible? They cared about me. What the fuck? I see now where Milo got all his good manners and how he was always so kind and gentle with me while still being human. It was just an odd feeling, knowing I could very well be stuck here for a long time and yet having these people here who obviously cared about me and whether I was happy and well it was just...weird. But in a good way, not a bad kind of weird. I felt uncomfortable knowing that someone else’s family was there for me, or any family.
My father died when I was young. He was arrested for attacking and killing a human who had hurt my mother, I don’t know what happened to her but I suspect rape because she killed herself shortly after she was attacked. It sounds tragic I know but I was only little when it happened so I don’t really remember. Her suicide was actually one of the reasons people began paying attention to what was happening to us, the abnormals, and brought attention to human crimes against us. My father was distraught. I remember screams and cries from him, begging her ‘no’. I wish I didn’t... but I do remember years and years of watching his obsession grow, watching his soul die in front of me as he chased down that murder. But none of that tragedy mattered to the court, and nor did it matter that no investigation was held to bring justice to my mother. The trial they gave my father, however, was long and drawn out but in the end my father was sentenced to prison, where he was killed. He had not been given the death sentence. The jury actually tried to get him a light sentence because I needed a parent. They couldn’t just hand me off on someone could they? Child labour was illegal so the people they gave me to would have to feed and clothe me for nothing. My father was murdered in prison when I was in foster care. I was called in to identify the body even though they knew I was his and he was mine. It was a cruel trick I think. ‘This s what will happen to you if you try to avenge him,’ it said behind the police mans trained expression, ‘be afraid. You can’t beat us. You can’t beat the humans’. And they were right and I think it was at that moment I fully became a slave. It had done wonders to tame me and my views towards them. I never spoke about it. I identified the body and started my fulltime career as a slave right then and there.
So my family life was short and even then it was nearly nothing at all. I spent a lot of my time with my foster mother who treated me like a pet until she died, and then when they tried to find something to with me while I was still under age (which was nothing) I went on a self destructive binge of tainted drugs and dick-head boyfriends who used my house for their one-night-stands. So have I ever had permanent friends, or family? I’d say no. Before now I would say that it didn’t matter, that I didn’t need all that. But that would be a lie. In fact, Milo’s family’s reaction to this made me very happy. I didn’t think they would care so much. Jackie’s little comment meant more than anything to me, and I turned to Milo with a look of a person who had too many emotions to know what to do with. Like a baby who laughed for the first time and didn’t quite know what it had just done, what it meant and why they did it, but desperately tried to replicate.
Milo’s fathers declaration about our collars made me blush. What they symbolised was terrible to them but to me it symbolised the only real thing I understood about my life. Of all the things that I had gone through in my short little life one thing remained the same, that thing I clung to even though I knew it was a lie, a trap, a dangerous hole to fall in. I knew I would never be more than a slave, never be expected to be more than just a dumb broad-abnormal to be protected and guided and taught. I believed in paternalism more than people who claimed to practice it because it was the only thing I knew was true. I might have brown hair now, maybe one day it will be red, but despite that fact I would always be a slave. I could change into a man, but I would be slave still. What did I have if I didn’t have that? It’s a sick and disgusting way to live your life, I know. It’s bad. I should be all over being freed but I never thought it would happen or how I would feel and now I was scared. Of course I wanted to be freed, of course I hated being a slave and of course I wanted this just as much as anyone. But it was all I was up until then, and so what would I become when I was freed?
Mostly, though, I was excited. I grinned broadly at him. The thought of freedom grew on me, quickly. “Thank you very much!” I said quietly, and then grinned at Milo. I took a beer and sipped on it.
“I’m good. Those ‘legal aged’ drinking laws were enforced on humans more than us.” The humans wanted to make it seem as if they were good models for us. It was stupid. After a few beers I slid up to Milo and hugged him. Beer back then was stronger I guess, I mean, I would never use alcohol as an excuse to say I wasn’t in my right mind and that’s why I was hanging off of him. No, not that I hadn’t felt overwhelming urges to sit in his arms and hug him and kiss him even before I had started drinking. Fuck man, I felt really, really dumb. But it was awesome for a little bit.
“Can we go for a walk?” I asked him. “I’m feeling a bit tipsy.”
Nice excuse. I was afraid, a little, about what he thought I wanted to do. I had this hopelessly romantic image of us sitting on a hill looking up at the stars under a tree. It was oddly girly of me and I was a bit shocked. I smiled gently.
“It’s nice out...”
((OOC: I thought Tara might want to try to actually talk to him. Maybe open up to him or something. like 10% alcohol 90% her actual emotions acting on this one. But before she has a chance they're gobbled up by the vortex? Hope the post was okay))
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Mar 29, 2011 8:33:35 GMT -5
Oh sure, Tara was lucky enough to get a hold of alcohol where she had come from, but my adoptive parents had been strict about things like curfews and alcohol. They had given me a lecture about drugs already, even though I had no interest in them. Not that they had known that. I’d quickly gotten bored of marijuana when I’d tried it a few times.
My eyebrow rose a little at Tara’s sudden friendliness. Not that she wasn’t actually friendly, but now she was behaving a bit more extroverted. She took a step towards me, and in that split second before she hugged me, I wasn’t sure what I expected her to do. It wasn’t that I thought she was drunk; it was just the way she was looking at me, and it took me a moment to click that the alcohol had gone to her head already. I had only had two beers, and I guess I hadn’t noticed just how many she had had. I put my arms around her awkwardly, glaring at Jackie who was smirking over Tara’s shoulder.
What was Tara doing? Man, she smells good, I thought, but I would never take advantage of her like this. Was she really that drunk? How much had she had? “Hey...yeah...a walk, um, that might be good,” I agreed. I needed to clear my head, and this was the excuse I needed. “You’re gonna go for a walk?” mom queried, her stare intense and questioning. “I suppose,” I shrugged. “We’ll be back soon.” I shrugged at her as Tara turned her back. “I need some fresh air, anyway.”
I studied my family for a second. Dad swirled his beer, dark eyes betraying some concern. Jackie was mostly nonchalant and faintly amused. Mom, well, mom didn’t seem incredibly confident about me leaving, and to be honest, nor did I. Suddenly, I didn’t want to leave them at all. My throat tightened and I felt my eyes sting a bit. They just looked at me silently, the three people who meant the most to me. Don’t be silly, you’re where you belong, you know this place, it’s all familiar, I reassured myself, but the anxiety ate at me as I gave them a very fake smile and walked with Tara to the door. “We’ll be back soon,” I promised, my voice coming out overly cheerful. Was there any way to politely tell Tara that I just wanted to be here, with my parents and sister? A moment ago, I had needed to get away from all the questions, but now I felt like I was a little kid again and at my first day of preschool no less. I didn’t go very many times; they home-schooled me and taught me to read before I went into grade one. It had taken them that year to help solve the anxiety issues, and I had actually done pretty well in my first year of elementary school. I felt myself draw back into that nervous state of mind momentarily, and it took a bit of effort to look away and close the door. Something just didn’t feel right.
I should have listened to my instincts.
The weather outside was a direct contrast to my mood. That is, looking at it from a general ideological point of view. Everybody got sick of the constant sunlight, including the beach goers, the people who got winter blues and the people who hated the wet and cold. But anyway. It was bright, cheerful and sunny – as expected. Two squirrels bickered nearby over a branch and tree hollow. “I was here first!” “Liar, my scent is all over that hollow!” “You came here and rubbed your fat tail all over it while I was looking for acorns!” Their fur bristled aggressively, and I found it in me to smile once more. I could have sworn that one of them put his hands on his hips like a person. Man, they had been here in the suburbs observing humans for way too long.
“What do you think of California? Hell, what do you think of 2011?” I asked Tara almost shyly. I desperately wanted her to like this place. After all, she was going to have to live here, whether she chose to go to Canada or not. It was 2011 all over the world. Secretly, I hoped that she would stay with us. It was a selfish thought: she needed our help, which meant that she would have to stay. I acknowledged that I was also thinking of myself; hey, I’m not perfect. I really, really liked this girl. But above all, whatever she chose, I wouldn’t stand in her way. I would feel crappy about it, even hurt if she left, but whatever made her happy would make me in some ways happy too. I kept these thoughts to myself.
It wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been before. The sun was beginning to sink, although we had a couple of hours of sunlight left. Despite my earlier sentiments about the cloudless weather, there was the definite scent of rain on the wind. It wasn’t yet visible, but I knew it was coming and would be here by morning. The turn of the season often betrayed itself to me in ways other than the appearance of the plants or the date on the calendar. The dates were just a formality, after all. The smell of Fall was and still is one of my favourites. I can’t quite describe it to you, except to say that perhaps it encompasses an eclectic range of both subtle and cloying scents: the chemical processes of plants, ripening fruit, rotting leaves and even the scents left behind by animals.
Sharing my world with Tara was both a drama and a joy at the same time. I knew that we were being followed by the paparazzi. It was only a matter of time before the police and the media would want to see me as well, and of course my work and contacts. I already had demanding text messages from my publicist, but I didn’t want to deal with her right now, even though I was aware that I was being extremely rude by declining to respond. I had turned my phone off, and it lay for the moment lifeless in my pocket with my wallet.
We reached the park again, which was a little quieter this time apart from the people following us. They were only this interested because I had been missing, and presumably they would forget about me as soon as they had something worth selling. Tara might keep their interest for a tiny bit longer, but I wasn’t a high profile actor anyway. The wildlife wasn’t as quiet, however. They sensed the onset of evening as strongly as I did, and as birds began to seek roosting places for the night, small mammals and lizards bravely skirted the edges of the bushier areas in search of food.
“I get the feeling that you’ve got something to tell me,” I smiled at Tara. It couldn’t be anything bad, surely, judging by her general demeanour. She was definitely tipsy, I could see that now. I had been too distracted earlier to pay much attention to what she was drinking or that her movements had become more exaggerated. I found a park bench and brushed dirt off it with my tail before letting her sit. I sat beside her and resisted putting an arm around her slender shoulders, although I turned my head sideways to smile shyly at our closeness. I forgot about our observers like the infatuated idiot I was, and I shifted a little closer.
“So, what was-”
I didn’t finish. I straightened up, looking around, all senses alive as the air began to teem with energy. Dread filled me, and my mouth opened slightly in fear. It was happening again. “I think there’s going to be an earthquake,” I said weakly, even though I knew damned well what was about to occur. The earth did begin to shake; I often felt the minor quakes that nobody else detected other than the seismologists using their technology, and I generally sensed them before they hit as well. But this was different...
“It’s okay, we’re okay,” I lied to us both as the earth rolled and bucked beneath us. The treetops swayed gently above us. Car alarms fired up, and the water began to ripple and spill over the water feature wall. It wasn’t an enormously strong quake, and we didn’t realise now that the epicentre was right beneath us. I felt my heart pounding painfully as the quake died off gradually and the energy began to concentrate in the air. I stood up, clinging unabashedly to Tara, torn between being frozen in terror or fleeing.
Bizarrely, a couple of the more brazen vultures exited the tree line where they had stupidly stayed, evidently trying to take advantage of our stunned silence. They snapped some pictures, and I gaped at them in wordless horror. “Mr Ventimiglia, who is your girlfriend? That was some quake...” “Why do you look so young?” “Is that a tail?” “My, she seems unique...” More energy gathered above us. “Go away,” I urged. “You’re...it’ll get you too...” I turned to Tara. “We should run; I know you sense it too. Like last time, it sort of hung in the air invisibly, then it just...” My face paled at the memory. I took her hand, and we prepared to run, but another jerk jumped out in front of us. It astounded me that they couldn’t sense the danger that they were in. Humans were so blind, so senseless...
There was no outrunning the son of a bitch. Blinding light streamed across the space above us in all directions, followed by a tearing, cracking sound, like the beginning of another earthquake. As if on cue, an aftershock followed, sending a photographer sprawling. He was the first to go; a tendril of light snaked towards him, caressing his back almost gently before spreading like a net over him. It lifted the screaming man into the light until he disappeared. As we went to run, I felt my collar heat up. I should have noticed the difference in its energy before now; the collar always emitted energy which I could sense, but I had kind of grown used to it. I was suddenly jerked backwards, as if a great big burning hand had grabbed my collar and was dragging me backwards. The light had attached itself to the collar. I fought it, running against it and trying stupidly to break the collar in desperation. Tears streamed from my burning eyes; the light was too bright, enveloping me until I was blind to my surroundings.
I don’t remember anything about the actual portal ride. The next thing I knew, I was flung onto a wet, muddy surface, thankfully landing on my back. I didn’t open my eyes right away, shuddering slightly as the cold water seeped into my clothes. It was unpleasant, but I was afraid to move. This has to be a dream...this whole thing is a fucking dream... Something which sounded suspiciously lupine howled in the distance. It was joined by another, lower howl, and they formed a melody which drifted in the chilled breeze towards me. Finally, I sat up. Mud clung to my back and arms, making my skin itch. I scraped a bit of it off with my fingers, curling my lip in disgust. I stood up and took stock of my surroundings, my heart sinking. This sure as hell wasn’t California, or if it was, it was quite a bit out of town. It was night time, and there was no moon out, which meant that the stars shone very brightly in the sky. A sea of tall grass...no...reeds or rushes...swayed gently in the cold wind all around me. The land seemed relatively flat, and from what I could see, there were large expanses of open water, although I couldn’t tell if it was deep water or shallow and muddy like the pool I had landed in. It was a marshland of sorts, with very few trees except in the far distance. My ears picked up the presence of frogs, insects and unidentifiable mammals or birds, and the place smelled strongly of plants, water and rotting plant material.
In the distance, I could make out a tree line. The marsh seemed to run forever in all the other directions, the visual only broken by looming mountains. My eyesight wasn’t perfect, so I wasn’t entirely sure I could rely on it, or even on my sense of direction since I had no goddamned idea where I was going or even where I was. I decided to make for the trees. The rushes proved to be inhospitable territory, and my feet kept sinking into the mud, which weighed my already wet shoes down. I came across several nests and had to leap aside to avoid being cussed at and bitten by irate water fowl. Unfortunately, the mud sucked my shoes away at some stage and I wasn’t game enough to dig around for them, so I continued on barefoot. Eventually, I made it to solid ground. The rushes and pools of water gave way to tufts of grass and rocks, and the smell of the forest became a little stronger. I could also strongly smell snow though the skies were clear. I walked in a state of dull fear, knowing that I was nowhere near California. It all smelled so different, and I could hear the constant song of wolves in the distance. We no longer had wolves, just the odd coyote further south. They called to each other, signalling a hunt. It was bizarre to realise that I could understand what they were ‘saying’ to each other, and it would take some getting used to; being cussed at by a female duck or whatever was also an enlightening experience.
The woods masked my true location. I guess I knew where I was, really, even if I stubbornly denied it as I walked. My footsteps were almost soundless, and my feet had by now grown kind of numb because it was pretty cold. I had fantastic night vision even if I didn’t have amazing general eyesight, and I made it through the trees easily enough without disturbing too many animals or plants. I nearly felt sick when I broke through the trees and nearly stepped out onto a main road. The source of my feelings was a sign which stood not ten feet away, which said: “Wonder City, 165 miles”.
I grew miserable and sat by the road, tired, cold, depressed and hungry. Tara was nowhere to be seen. I would have smelled her. Nor were the camera guys who I knew had been pulled through as well. I felt a spark of rage and frustration, and as a car hovered on by at breakneck speed, I tossed a rock at it. I didn’t expect it to hit, and I was pretty disturbed when the car stopped in its tracks rapidly and turned around. Damned futuristic ... bastards! A pretty pissed off man with unruly black hair glared out at me. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” he snapped, eyes scanning me up and down. He leaned further out of the window. “What are you doing all the way out here?!” “Lost,” I mumbled. He and another guy got out of the car. They looked to be perhaps in their mid twenties, both clean shaven but very casually dressed. I assumed they were well-off, because even my untrained, ‘primitive’ eye could tell that this car was an expensive model in this day and age.
“We can’t leave him here,” said the other guy, who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and carrying a half-drunk beer. He scratched at his wavy blonde hair and shrugged. “Too true, that,” said the first guy. He touched his companion on the arm, and I realised that they must have been a couple. I also detected a bit of an English accent, though not strong. “You want a ride?” “I...really? You’d actually give me a ride? I’m just a slave,” I said, echoing surprise that I would have expected more from Tara than from myself. I guess I was feeling very sorry for myself. “Where have you been? Slavery was banned last week.” “...ah.” Had I been away from this world for a week? It had felt like half a day... “It wouldn’t matter, anyway. You’re still a person. We don’t believe in slavery, never have. Well, get in then. What’s your name? I’m Barry and this is Logan.” “It’s Milo, and thank you,” I said in relief, though I felt as though I had been kicked in the chest. I knew I shouldn’t have left. Why the fuck had I left my family?! Logan took a swig of his drink. Thankfully, my nose told me that Barry was sober. I got into the back seat, and neither of them made a big deal about how muddy I was or all the grass and leaves attached to my clothes. They respected that I didn’t really want to talk, and they mostly just sang along to the radio and to songs I frustratingly didn’t recognise.
I tossed up whether I wanted to be dropped off at Gerard’s place or at Tara’s. It had taken a while to get back, and my anxiety had almost hit breaking point. In the end, I decided to go to Tara’s place, but, as luck had it, Gerard had decided to show up at the exact same time. I had no idea how he knew where she lived. He looked as though he had just arrived, and he looked very bored, glancing at his watch every now and then. I didn’t see him at first. “Here we are,” said Barry. “Hey, how can I repay you?” I asked seriously. “We don’t live that far off,” Logan shrugged. “It was no big deal.” “Just stay true to yourself, no matter what happens.” Barry clapped me on the shoulder. I would have begged them to let me back in the car if Gerard hadn’t spotted me a moment after my first observation of him. “Milo!?” Gerard jogged over to me. “Oh my god...we’ve been so worried!” Was he just saying that because of Barry and Logan? Barry seemed pleased; he wished me well and left us to it, and I didn’t have the heart to drag them into it so I let them go without more than a second thanks. As soon as they were gone, Gerard began his usual interrogations.
“Jesus Christ, Milo, look at you!! Where have you been?! Mauve is beside herself with worry, you ungrateful little...” He clenched his fist, and I knew that he wanted to strike me, but he was holding back. I wondered if hitting your children was illegal. After all, he was legally my guardian, even if I was no longer his slave. They had never really called me a slave to anyone anyway. Still, maybe he would be warier now. I could only hope. “I knew you’d come here! I knew it! I’ve been waiting out here, knowing you might show up sooner or later...” “How did you know where to look?” I demanded angrily. “Man, that’s totally just crossing a line.” “Don’t give me that, boy!” He did go to cuff me this time, but he only managed to clip my ear as I dodged away. He grabbed my arm instead of pursing the strike and began to pull me towards the car. “My wife is...she really cares about you,” he said, his voice shaking with rage. “And look what you do!” “You don’t even know the circumstances!” I protested, but I felt guilty nonetheless, and I wanted to throw up, feeling a bleak sense of hopelessness again. “I need to find Tara!” “You can see if she’s home tomorrow. God knows what you’ve both been up to. I hope you at least had safe sex. Do we really need to have this conversation? Y’know what, when I was your age, my father told me that if I got a woman pregnant, he wouldn’t support me, because it was my own goddamned fault.” My eyes widened, then I sat back and folded my arms, resolving to stay silent.
When I got home, Mauve instantly rushed me into a hot shower, calling through the door to make sure I was alright. She smothered me in hugs, but I could feel her silent trauma. I had really hurt her. I hadn’t meant to. She just didn’t fit the stereotype for a corporate businesswoman; she definitely had a maternal instinct, but I suspected that Gerard had no idea how to deal with kids. Or anyone for that matter. “Can your species even catch a cold?” she pestered, hovering over me as I ate warm soup. I sighed. “Don’t think so,” I shrugged. I’d become ill from fatigue before, but it hadn’t really been a cold. I wasn’t sure what a cold felt like. I swallowed another mouthful of the delicious stuff and suddenly felt humbled by Mauve’s generosity. She had been given me as a gift, and yet she treated me like she would a son. I looked up at her, almost unable to meet her gaze. I resented this life so much that I took it out on everyone, including Mauve. “Thank you,” I said softly. “I’m...I’m really sorry. That’s all I can say. I didn’t do anything bad, though. Nothing like that. I’m just...” I shrugged helplessly, suddenly wordless again, and went back to eating. Mauve put a hand on my shoulder and didn’t reply; she instead settled into deep thought beside me.
((OOC: Hope this is okay, especially as I had the slavery thing already abolished by the time they got back? Can change if you want. I actually felt a bit sick writing when he left his parents, like truly anxious and upset. It’s because my parents are leaving for China soon and it’ll be a very big change for me. Kind of anxious about it yet excited for the challenge in a way. Weird. Hmm so I’ve had some of the paparazzi come too, for humour’s sake. I’m tossing up with the idea of having Jackie there too, but wanted to ask your opinion first? Jackie or no Jackie? If so, she’ll be 19 I think, Tara’s age. She’s 2 years older than Milo so stands to reason that if he’s 17, she’d be 19! Haha!))
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Post by tessa on Mar 31, 2011 4:29:27 GMT -5
It was a disaster.
“Yes I do. I like this place a lot, Milo.” I said, grinning stupidly at him. “I like...your family, and stuff...”
I held onto Milo’s arm as we walked through the park, feeling a bit tipsy as I had said but I was much less ‘all over’ him as I was in the house. The fresh air helped but I wanted to be close to him still as we walked through the city I had never been to, and a world I didn’t belong in. I felt more sober when I was drunk than when I wasn’t. I was less tense and more open to him than usual. Usually I felt like I was shutting him out and in all honesty I was. But hell, I was stuck here, I confessed my stupid little crush... what was there to lose by trying to show him I had some sort of human emotion? I mean, would it kill me to be a human being for a bit and possibly keep a good guy around? I’m not like some other idiots who go out and keep getting abusive boyfriends. I am dead serious when I say I want a better life for myself. Luckily Milo showed up though because I was about ready to give up that day he came to sit with me after school.
So when we walked to the park I was totally thinking romantic cuddle on the lawn. Shut up-- I was drunk and stupid, okay? I didn’t know why I thought that was going to happen. Now that I look back on it perhaps I was making Milo a bit uncomfortable. I sat down on the bench that he had so graciously cleared for me. What a fucking gentleman...and I mean that in a good kind of way. I caught myself smiling at him. What was I going to tell him? I planned on telling him everything about me because, you know, that’s what drunk morons do.
But then the disaster happened. I think I was more upset about it than I anticipated. I panicked, and I mean flat out freaked. I stood and stared into the paparazzi and then at Milo and then at the paparazzi and then back at Milo. I knew it was going to happen and I felt absolutely useless. I could sense his distress and it scared and depressed me. God I was so... I just wanted to somehow have some sort of super power to make this stop. Maybe it was a dream? Had I passed out? No. I hadn’t. Milo had a better idea; running.
Running seemed like a logical choice but when I started to run I felt my legs buckle under me as if I had already been running for an entire day and body couldn’t handle it anymore. I fell hard to the ground and lost my grip on Milo. I could feel my stress levels, terror and sadness, grow as we separated. “Milo! Milo!” I called out to him as the world slipped out from under me and dragged me along with it.
The only thing I remember between then and the time I woke up was a searing pain and the smell of drenched hay bales, then storming around swearing "Arrg! Fuck me sideways! Fucking landed in a hay bale, for fucks sake, god fucking damn it!" for a bit until I settled down and closed my eyes against the hay. The second thing I remembered was waking up caked in mud. I stood and scratched at my skin, flicking bugs off of me. My hair was a tangled nest on top of my head and I walked around, delirious in the setting sun. I walked a while longer until I made it to a small grassy field I think, which led me to a tree, which I collapsed against and passed out on after emptying my stomach. I lay down and slept for a long time. Bodies were not supposed to be put through that, I was sure, especially not drunk ones. Alternatively, maybe I’m just a fucking pussy.
The next time I woke up I remember vividly. I remember being scared and lost, woken up by someone calling for Milo and realising that it was me. I vomited again, making this pitiful whimpering noise, the kind of involuntary sound you make when you’re violently ill. I shook like a scared jack rabbit, rubbing my arms to get them warm again and looking about for my bearings. I was not too far from the city so I started walking.
I reached the city in about an hour or so. People saw me but no one came to pick me up. I knew a short way to the bus stops and picked up a bus, sitting in silent thought. Where was Milo? Was he okay? Where did he live? I wished I could see him. What if he was dead? I sunk low into my seat on the bus, not noticing the person watching me from the front of the bus, then standing to walk up to me.
“Tara!”
I looked up and found my face was buried into a man’s chest and it wasn’t Milo. It was that guy who threw me into the lake. He squeezed me tightly.
“I thought you had drowned---” “What?” “I thought I killed you! God Tara I am so, so sorry... please forgive me!” “Look, Jason, I—“ “Let me make it up to you. You look awful, do you need a lift home, and my car is parked at the arena.”
What the fuck was going on here? “O-okay...” I said, letting him take my hand and lead me off the bus, across the street and to his car parked at the arena.
“So how come you aren’t...you know...”
“At the bottom of the lake?” I asked bitterly. Jason nodded. “Well...” I said, explaining what had happened on the way to my place. He stopped to buy me lunch, which was kind of him, and dropped me off at my apartment, fussing over me like an old woman. He must have felt pretty bad for what he did. So he should, but I was still touched by it enough to thank him. He shook his head and told me to call him if I needed anything. Did he have a crush on me? Weird. Speaking of crushes, I picked up my phone and dialled Milo’s number. The voice mail got me so I said,
“Milo? Where are you? I’m safe and I’m home but I’m exhausted. Please call me back, I’m...worried.” I said, a bit sheepishly. I flicked the phone off and sighed to myself, lay back on the couch. I wanted someone to be there with me and almost considered calling Jason back. But I wanted Milo, not Jason. I curled into myself and stared blankly at the wall again. Alone, cold, dirty.
Thats how I knew I was home.
((OOC: this post might not be the best but it helped clear my mind. Was having a bit of a crisis. But I hope its okay.))
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Apr 1, 2011 9:32:14 GMT -5
Mauve was thankfully right near the phone doing some taxes or whatever when Tara called. Having showered and eaten, I was now sitting on the couch, my mind a little numb. How could this have happened? Why was I back here? What the fuck was going on? And pretty importantly...where was Tara? Portals had a nasty way of separating people, and I was sure as hell that more than a few people had crossed through it. “What happened to your skateboard?” Mauve asked about a minute or so before the precious phone call. I lifted my eyes from a small patch on the ground, wondering what had prompted her to ask. She shrugged at me. “You didn’t come home with it, and you always have it with you. You’re kind of attached to it...” It was my turn to shrug. “I lost it,” I said, bitterness lacing my tone despite my efforts to sound nonchalant. I had only just noticed, really. Of course, I hadn’t taken it with me when I had gone for a walk with Tara. It had reminded me of home, and now it was back where it belonged, in my house at home with my family, my dog, and everything else familiar to me.
“I’m sure we can get you another one,” she said amiably. It was then that the phone rang. Mauve picked up the earpiece and attached it to her ear. “Hello?” she said, but I could still hear the dial tone. She frowned and pulled the piece off. “It’s playing up again. Milo, would you go and-”
“Milo? Where are you? I’m safe and I’m home but I’m exhausted. Please call me back, I’m...worried.” “Voice mail,” Mauve muttered, but she looked curious, especially when I practically leapt off the couch. “Milo was that a friend of yours? Gerard … said that he thought you might be over a girl’s house that the school said you often spent time with.” “That was Tara,” I said breathlessly. “I better call her back...” “Use your cell phone to call her in your room,” Gerard said from the doorway. “You’re grounded again, unless you can give me a legitimate explanation for what happened.” “Grounded?” I blinked at him. This man who thought he could play father to a kid whose history he frankly knew nothing about – he was a fucking fool. “Seriously? I’m like, sixteen...” Or twenty-nine.
“Go to your room,” Gerard sighed, pointing. “Go on, don’t play games with me again. I’m getting so tired of it.” “Just do what he says, or we’ll be up all night listening to his grouching and your whining, Milo,” Mauve said in exasperation. “Gerard, you can take your foul mood elsewhere as well. I have work to do.” “I never whined!” I protested. “You did now. Just go.” She pointed. I obeyed her, but mostly because I wanted to call Tara back. Gerard and Mauve, however, deemed it appropriate to talk about me behind my back, and I left my door ajar to listen in while rapidly texting Tara to let her know that I was safe and would call her back in a moment.
“He’s resentful, can you blame him?” Mauve was saying. “He was taken as a slave and given to us without his consent. He’s a teenager, not a four-year-old. It’s not going to be easy for him.” “He has what, two years left with us? He’s not a slave anymore. Not that he ever was under our roof. But what this law means is that at eighteen, he can go as he pleases...again something we had agreed to even without the law. Two years is all that I ask.” “I know you never wanted a child...” “But you did. And that’s important to me. He’s an ungrateful-” “If you heard how polite he was to me, I don’t think you would be saying that. He’s a complicated kid, and personally I think you provoke him. He clearly has a lot of issues, probably stemming from his treatment since coming here. He hasn’t been here that long.” Gerard sighed. I heard him moving around the kitchen. “I don’t know how to deal with him. He runs away with some girl, and he rebels every chance he gets...I’m surprised he hasn’t been beaten by someone for speaking out of turn. He’s damned lucky that that law got passed when it did...” “Yet as I said, he’s strangely articulate and polite for someone his age. He’s complex. Just give him time.” I imagined Mauve putting a hand on Gerard’s arm to relax him, and I suspected she held a lot of sway over him. I thought about what she had said, and I just felt like sitting down and crying, but calling Tara was more important right now.
I went to sit on my bed, and I dialled her number. I hated the unfamiliarity of this place; its scents, appearance and weird gadgets. I wonder what Jackie would think of all of this, I thought. Not that I’d ever wish this kind of existence on her...this life...this world. “Hey, Tara?” I said when someone answered. “It’s Milo...oh man, I was so worried; I’m sorry, my cell didn’t wanna work for ages. I’m so glad it’s working now. It was slow to work last time I came through a portal as well. Are you okay? Hey listen, I could try sneak out of you want...I’m grounded again, go fucking figure. But I can get out.”
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Post by tessa on Apr 2, 2011 22:43:55 GMT -5
My collar blinked at me in the darkness but I didn’t acknowledge it as it made the off-white walls of my living room a pale red—black—then red again. The light hurt my eyes so I shut them and turned into the back of the couch and plunged into darkness and quietness.
The dust and mould made me sneeze once but after that I was comforted by the smell. My hand reached up and towards the back of the couch, searching for the old towel I kept there. When I felt it I brought it over my shoulders and protected myself from the breeze that leaked through my window sill. I sighed in the warmth and my body relaxed for the first time in a long time.
It was also fairly quiet despite the normal din of noise outside my apartment door. I could just imagine; there was Yancy, arguing with Flora again about finances and how they were to be distributed; other women laughed and just down the hall some people were cheering for a hockey game. Someone announced that I had returned and a few people wanted to come in and see me. Hell no, I groaned and tried to hide even more into the couch, until I heard Eddie kindly ordering them to leave me “the fuck alone”. They would find out tomorrow what happened to me.
They had something to tell me, Flora whined, she said it was important. I didn’t think much of it, it was probably some sort of story about her clientele that I had no interest in hearing. “You can tell her later. We can all tell her.” Eddie assured her. All tell me what? I wondered sleepily. The fuck with it, I wasn’t going to bother with them, I was tired. Not knowing where Milo was or if he was okay made it more difficult for me to sleep fully than the nosy people outside my door, but I managed to pass out sometime between the time I called Milo and he called me back.
My phone woke me up. I think there is some sort of part of my brain that told me it was important to take the call. I wasn’t upset when I woke up and rubbed my eyes that my phone had woken me. I knew who it was before I even knew who I was. Sometimes I wake up and things are not what I thought they were. I almost half expected to be back on Milo’s world. “Milo.” My phone announced when I picked it up and asked who was calling. “answer” I ordered, and the sounds of another person on the other end of the phone made me smile.
“Milo?” I asked, just to be sure. Yeah it was him, and as I felt a wave of stress escape me I could feel a wave of sickness come over me as well. My face heated up, my joints hurt, every movement and sound made my skin crawl as if a million little bugs were nipping and pulling at my skin. I placed my head in the palm of my hand and closed my eyes as Milo explained. I had to understand he was still sixteen, and still living with his adoptive parents. I couldn’t expect him to get in trouble...not now that I took him seriously. Besides I wanted his “parents” to like me a little bit so we could see each other still. Not that they could do anything once he turned 18 mind you, but I was a good three years older than he was. Wouldn’t you be a little sceptical about that too? I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn’t see that.
“I’m sorry to hear you’re grounded,” I croaked, my voice cracking as if to announce my cold. I sniffed, “but you need to just wait this out a bit. Don’t do anything stupid. Stay home, get some rest...” I sighed, hating being all ‘responsible’ and shit. I was only doing it to help Milo anyway. I didn’t have the energy to deal with more drama if his “parents” caught him over at my place after having been gone for...god knows how long. I leaned back on the couch and looked up at my ceiling. “Not that I don’t want you to come over, I do, I just don’t want you to get in trouble at home is all I’m saying.” I couldn’t help but wonder if he needed the time away, or maybe just to hang out or something. I sighed again, more from being stuffed up than being exasperated, and smiled for a moment. “but if you want to come over my only request is that you wait until your parents are asleep...and bring coffee.” I suggested, “We can watch movies and relax and talk. I want to know what happened to you and why we got separated...so I will see you soon. Okay? Bye.”
I said, not giving him much of a chance to agree or disagree. I think I forgot to wait for an answer. My head was swimming and I was delirious. I needed to clean up. I went about the house and picked up a few things, took out the trash and ignored the others in the building, and when I became too exhausted to do much else I forced myself to crawl into the shower and wash myself. No use in being gross and muddy when Milo came over, even if you could expect it from my place. I fucking hate that he had to see me live there, now. I didn’t think much of it at the time. At the time I thought it was completely normal and acceptable. I didn’t give a shit, as long as I could move around and sleep in it. I scrubbed my hair a few times and changed into clean clothes, dried my hair to keep from getting more sick, and then, feeling warm, clean and dry, I flopped back down on the couch and stared at the ‘old’ television the apartment had gotten me for my birthday a few months ago. Wasn’t that nice of them? I never watched it, until now when I flicked it on and drifted in between sleep and consciousness as Eddie guarded my door like a dutiful, loyal watch dog. Which he kind of was, since he was half dog and a shifter like me. I wondered what they had to tell me... but it didn’t matter. Milo was coming over.
((OOC: Hope it was okay =) I was thinking, how could she not get a cold after all that? Hopefully Milo takes good care of his poor little germ-pod girlfriend. lol ))
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Apr 4, 2011 10:04:12 GMT -5
Telling my older girlfriend that I was grounded was utterly humiliating. I hung my head in shame as she replied, and did my usual ‘on-the-phone’ pacing act. I would have wallowed more in self pity if I hadn’t recognised the distinct sound of a crappy, cold-ridden voice on the other end. I had never actually had a cold before. I knew what a cold was, though; people had described it to me, and it sounded suspiciously like hay fever, which I could and did suffer from occasionally. “Hey you sound pretty ... no offence, but pretty bad,” I said worriedly, ignoring her words for the moment, but she ploughed on. I paced to my desk, sat down, then stood and went back to my bed. I can’t stay still when I’m on the phone. Annoying, I know. I opened my mouth a few times to speak, but Tara was obviously not interested in whether I had an opinion, because she quickly said goodbye and hung up on me.
“They’re not my parents, y- ...Bye,” I said after she’d hung up. “Yeah, okay. Whatever.” I took the earpiece part off my ear and reattached it to my cell phone before putting it on my desk. She was trying not to get me into trouble, obviously, but she had given me an option at least. She sounded like crap, but I wasn’t too worried that I could catch anything off her. So, how to escape?
I looked around my room. It was a rather large, nice-looking room, and the window was pretty easy to climb out. The problem was that if I went out that way, the huge bull mastiff next door would chuck a shit fit. I shuddered, remembering my first encounter with the huge dog. I had jumped the fence, stupidly ignoring the fact that I could strongly smell a territorial dog. I guess I had been pretty set on just being a rebellious idiot. I hadn’t been in the neighbour’s yard for more than a few seconds before I had been set upon. Sure, he was chained to a kennel, but I’d had to run to get out of his leash’s range. His teeth had clipped the air just behind the end of my tail before the chain had jerked him back. If I had been a fraction slower, I would have lost half my tail. Maybe the bastard would have dragged me back and torn my neck apart. Fucking Christ. The back way was out of the question.
That left the front door. I had gone that way a few times, but Gerard was ever vigilant after my first few escapes. He had started to sleep out in the living room, much to Mauve’s annoyance. “Going somewhere, Milo?” he had said the time he had caught me walking quietly towards the front door at one a.m. I had heard him breathing evenly, and I had thought him to be asleep. Not a bad actor, old Gerard. Caught, I had frozen mid-step. I forced myself to relax. “Yeah...um...so I was just gonna take the trash out,” I shrugged. Gerard’s eyebrow rose. He leaned nonchalantly on the couch. “What a dedicated kid I got,” he nodded. He had stood, patting me on the back as if he was pleased with me. “Gee whiz. If I’d known you were gonna do house work at this time of morning, I’d have gotten you to clean out the kitchen cupboards while Mauve was asleep; it’d be like a surprise for her. You think you’ve got enough energy in you to do it tonight, then?” My face had drained of all its colour. Great, fantastic, fucking Gerard, he had me trapped. “...I got school tomorrow.” “Ah well, your math teacher said you nearly fell asleep in class yesterday, guessing that’s your usual classroom behaviour.” I did have a tendency to zone out during class. Either I found things way too easy because I picked up the concepts faster than the others, or too hard because the technology and historical context was completely bizarre to me. Or because I couldn’t remember high school math and wasn’t interested in relearning it from a teacher who reminded the class often that we were stupid and worthless. Old hag. “Right, yeah.” I nodded, grasping desperately for a comeback. I shrugged and fiddled with my collar. “You couldn’t help reminding me that I’m just a slave, really. Y’know, guess I should mention to Mauve that you and I have this new arrangement going on.” “Don’t try manipulating me in that smart ass tone,” Gerard hissed. “Go back to bed. Tomorrow after school you can clean out the kitchen as a punishment. If you were just a slave to me, I would have beaten you by now, mark my words. You’re luckier than you know.” He sounded pretty serious. I had obeyed him and gone to bed, but not without resentment. I doubted he would actually hit me more than the occasional cuff about the head which I generally dodged, but the man did scare me a bit. I guess that made him more of an interesting challenge to me.
If Gerard was downstairs tonight, I would have to be extremely careful. I lurked around my room for a bit, waiting for them to go to bed, then went to brush my teeth. I listened carefully as I made my way towards the bathroom. After casually cleaning my teeth and deducing that they were actually in bed, I went downstairs. I can walk ridiculously quietly when I want to, and since I was barefoot, it made it even easier. Gerard was not in the living room. Fucking bonus, I rejoiced in my head. But there was no need to get cocky. I had to focus.
The kitchen was my next stop. Tara had wanted coffee, and I was about to rob my adoptive parents blind of their coffee supplies. Oh boy, I was such a badass. This coffee thief was gonna get away with a whole damned jar of it. Gerard and Mauve drank bucket loads of coffee a day; surely they wouldn’t miss it. It took a good twenty minutes (I’m not exaggerating) to get a spare jar of coffee out of the cupboard without making the door squeak. It was mostly due to paranoia; every time I accidentally bumped into something, or the door squeaked, or I swore by accident, I paused to listen. Having extracted the important delicacy for Tara, I made for the door, then had a panic moment. What if they had gotten one of those alarms that went off whenever a person wearing a collar it was programmed to passed by the boundary? Would they dare?!
Another fifteen minutes passed as I searched around the door and then outside for anything resembling an alarm system. I had heard of them; in fact, they existed on my world, too. They weren’t nearly as high tech as they were here, but dogs who went past it got a bit of a zap or a loud ringing sound in their ears. It was an alternative to a fence. I didn’t find anything. I decided to take a risk; besides, what was the worst that they could possibly do? Before, I might have been a bit nervous that Gerard would just do what most people did to their slaves: beat me or lock me outside in the rain. Legally, they had owned me as a slave, though now I was just their legally adopted kid. Maybe he’d whack me, but what more could he really do? What the fuck more did I have to lose on this stupid world? Well, other than Tara, but he couldn’t just have her killed or shifted out of town; I would bump into her no matter how much he grounded me.
With that in mind, I strode out over the grass, cradling the coffee jar. The lights on my collar were flashing occasionally as they always did, but nothing actually happened. Breathing a sigh of relief despite my uncaring thoughts just a moment ago, I jogged down the road, missing my skateboard immensely.
I thought I wasn’t going to bump into any trouble when I finally reached Tara’s place. After all, I had just escaped Gerard and Mauve’s place, and I guess I was feeling pretty lucky. That is, until I actually got to Tara’s door. A light near the entrance to the building blinked on and off, making strange zapping sounds. I tilted my head as I passed it, attracted to the energy it was emitting. Also attracted were numerous insects, and I quickly moved on as a particularly large and aggressive one took offense at my presence. The shadows clung thick and heavy in the hallway leading to Tara’s apartment. I walked slowly, the numerous scents putting me on edge. Up ahead, a figure leaned against the wall next to Tara’s door. He looked pretty casual, and I couldn’t quite make out anything else about him other than he was a bit taller than me, but similarly built. As I got closer, he swung his head around and growled. The hairs on my neck, arms and tail stood up. He sounds...like an angry dog... How could a human make that kind of sound? I slowed my pace and hung back warily, confused by his scent. It was overwhelmingly canine. I guess I didn’t know a lot about the various creatures that could exist, even though I had gone to school with them. His scent wasn’t completely unfamiliar, but here, in this dark, dreary hall, it was threatening. His eyes glowed eerily as he straightened up, looking directly at me.
“You must be Milo,” he said, his voice deep and cautious, almost threatening. I learned later that Eddie was a sweet-natured fellow, but right now, all I could see was a silhouette with glowing yellow eyes and the scent of something big and dangerous. “Yeah,” I nodded, wondering what he was going to do. I didn’t move as he stalked towards me, the way a territorial dog does, his shoulders hunched slightly and his mouth very slightly ajar as if he was subtly taking in my scent. If I did move, maybe he would think I was lying or guilty of something. I had nothing to hide, really. “Well now. Let’s hope you are.” His eyes moved from my face to my collar. I guess he saw my name tag, because he instantly relaxed. Everything about his scent and posture was suddenly inviting and friendly. If he had had a tail, I bet it’d be wagging. A doggy tail, that is; my tail is too long to wag. It waves instead, like a cat’s. I suspected that this guy was a shape-shifter of some kind. Man, that was so awesome.
“Name’s Eddie,” he said, sounding chipper. I raised an eyebrow as he sniffed at my face and slapped me hard on the back in a friendly manner, making me stumble. God he was strong! I regained my composure awkwardly, scratching my neck in embarrassment. Eddie continued, “Tara’s sick, but I bet she wouldn’t turn you away. Come through, come through.” “Sure, alright,” I shrugged. I followed, shoving my hands in my pockets and looking around the place discreetly. I just didn’t like this place, it didn’t smell very healthy. It stank like mould, which always made me feel a bit sick. Yet it seemed she had some loyal friends here. I had already gathered that they protected her, and that, I supposed, was what mattered.
Eddie let me into the apartment, then nodded and closed the door behind him as he left. Damn my sensitive nose; I could smell illness as soon as I stepped forward. I recognised it as something I’d smelled faintly on the way in. It wasn’t anything serious, just a cold probably, but she smelled...vulnerable. Oh, and a hell of a lot like shampoo, soap and very faintly, mud and city. Or maybe that was just the scents in her home. “Tara?” I said softly. She was on the couch. It was dark, so the lights from the television played over her body rather intricately in contrast. “Hey, it’s Milo. Eddie let me in. I bought coffee. I stole it. Ha, ha, right? Tara?” I took a step forward.
((OOC: Eddie hasn’t met Milo has he? I can’t remember. I hope not or ... oops. Milo would definitely find a canine shifter pretty threatening I guess at first. I kind of gathered that he was protective and also that he was a kind person from your post, so I hope I was right.))
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Post by tessa on Apr 6, 2011 2:37:16 GMT -5
I heard him but I ignored him. I wanted him to come over to me, sit down on the edge of the couch, place his hand on my back and cuddle me with his sweet smelling arms until I got better. I'm starting to sound like a sap but its true, thats all I wanted from him. I honestly didn't want sex from him... at that moment anyway. Did I feel sexy? No! Of course not. I had fucking snot dripping from my nose, I had drooled all over my arm, and I could hardly breath. Nothing hotter than making out with a dripping sick woman who could only breath through her mouth, right? Heh, but anyway, so I ignored him for a little while hoping he would come and sit with me. I pulled the towel over my shoulders.
When he continued to talk I decided I would answer him since he had gone through all this trouble to get here. Was I really ignoring him or was I truly just tired? Both? I sat up and rubbed my eyes, yawned, and reached for a piece of tissue to wipe my nose with. Gross right? The room spun under me. Was coffee such a good idea?
"Hey Milo." I croaked, sitting up on the couch so as to give him more room in case he wanted to sit as well. "Eddie let you in? Yeah he's been...guarding my room all night long. Isn't that nice of him?" I cleared my throat and reached for another tissue. I think Eddie brought me some. There was also a mug and some instant soup mix. A little note sat beside it wishing me better, and I think it was from the landlady. She was a nice old woman, sweet natured and just...nice and homely. I liked it here secretly...but I had a feeling that the news they had to give me wasn't pleasant news. Would I think about it too much? Yes.
"How are you? You're not going to get in trouble are you Milo? I would fucking hate it if you got in a lot of shit because of me you know..." I grumped. Then I smiled up at him, a watery, gross, stuffy smile. "but besides that I am happy you're here. I was worried about you. Tell me what happened to you?" I demanded. "I want to know everything. Are you hurt? Are you sick? What did you see? How did going through the portal agree with you? Because it sure as hell didn't agree with me. I think I have to be flat out sober next time..."
I trailed off, gasping a bit, and looked down at my hands. Would there be a next time? He had just been torn from his family again. They seemed like nice people to me. I would miss them...or miss never getting the chance to know them. I wish I had been kinder to him when he first arrived here on Earth. Well, this Earth. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to go through that. How would I help him? Do I go on as if nothing happened? Do I become kinder, gentler...less like me? Should I stop picking on him or do I continue? I think that our relationship was good the way it was and I was still a bit scared to talk about our relationship anyway considering it was just beginning.
I smiled at Milo, and made a funny face as a sneeze crept up into my sinuses and exploded into a loud and unpleasant fanfare which I tried to cover with my arm. "Sorry." I mumbled, stuffy faced and watering eyes. "So... yeah. How are you? I can't believe we got fucking separated."
((OOC: ugh, this post was iffy. Do you want to plot twist and introduce Jackie?))
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Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Apr 11, 2011 10:46:50 GMT -5
Tara sounded even sicker in person. I inwardly winced at the croakiness in her voice. Her energy seemed low to my senses, and god knew how I could tell, but I had always been able to ‘feel’ energy. People, storms, plants, you name it. And Tara’s was pretty crappy. I watched her blow her nose, wondering if a cold was a lot worse than a bout of hay fever. It must be, I decided. Hay fever made my face, arms and throat itch, and it made me sneeze a lot.
Not that I would ever tactlessly (and stupidly) say anything out loud, but Tara was pretty unattractive at the moment; I was grossed out by the thought of kissing her at all, even though I had thought about making out with her all the way here. Still, as icky as she looked and smelled, I was drawn to her, and I wanted to comfort her, to make her feel better. I remembered the time my last girlfriend, Hayden, had gotten the flu. She had been bedridden for weeks, her muscles apparently stiff and aching and her stomach barely able to hold anything down. Even though the smell of her illness had turned my stomach a little and the sight of her lying there had upset me, I had been the good boyfriend, sticking by her all the time and encouraging her. I suppose I had felt useful, and I had enjoyed doing even small things for her such as making chicken soup or telling her worried, nagging mom that she was asleep every time she had called.
I could do the same for Tara. We weren’t exactly…dating…were we? What was this, this thing that we had? Was it a situation where I could stay with her and hand her tissues, hold her hand and kiss her feverish forehead and tell a few lies, reassuring her that she was still hot and sexy even though she looked like hell personified? “Hey,” I replied, looking around a little uncertainly as she mumbled something about the creepy but friendly guy outside her door. I glanced over my shoulder, one eyebrow rising. “Oh yeah, he was um…he was pretty interesting. Good to see people here look out for you.” My eyes travelled to the soup and the note, and I smiled, relaxing slightly. They really did care about her.
“Uh…” I blushed and fidgeted. “Trouble? Nah.” I was lying; I was probably in big shit, but I didn’t care anymore. It didn’t fucking matter. She looked up at me, and I noted how raw her nose looked. Maybe simply from blowing it so much? I let her ramble; she was clearly fatigued, and I didn’t want to interrupt her. Next time… Fate was cruel. Or whatever had dragged us back here was cruel. It had given me a glimpse of my old life, had dangled it in front of me…then it had ripped it away without mercy. I sat down beside Tara, playing with my collar thoughtfully. I had the feeling that I would never get any peace until the fucking thing was gone.
Tara suddenly sneezed. I flinched at the sudden sound, then stifled a laugh at the look on her face. “It’s okay, it sucks that you’re sick,” I shrugged. “Uh…I’m fine, really. But sick?” I looked down at myself. “I guess if you could call becoming a teenager ‘sick’, then yeah, I am.” Was I bitter that she had only copped a cold and I had been grounded and also legally couldn’t drink? Yeah, I was bitter. Not that I held it against her. I was relieved that she was otherwise still (seemingly, anyway) the same Tara. “I’m glad you didn’t like, become a two-year-old or something, ‘cause that would’ve sucked even more.”
I briefly explained what had happened after I had come through the portal, since she had asked.
“And this friendly couple drove me home. They were pretty awesome about it, really. Picking some stray kid off the side of the road, especially a kid with a tail and a government collar. Gerard gave me some stupid lecture or whatever, and then I sneaked out. Mauve though…she helps me out a bit. I feel like a jerk, sometimes, when it comes to disobeying her. I just…” I went silent, shaking my head, unable to form the melee of thoughts in my head into coherent words. “I dunno why we got separated. Stupid thing is, I know some of those paparazzi guys came through too, but none of them landed near me. They’re around somewhere. Even though they’re douches, and they kinda crossed a line with me today, I feel … really selfishly relieved ... that they’re here because they’re part of my home. Part of who I really am, I guess. Californians, from 2011. And well, the darker side of my career choice. One of the many drawbacks. But familiar, nonetheless. It sounds sick, doesn’t it. Really, I wish they hadn’t come, for their sake. But I’m all selfishly uh…not happy, as such, but just…comforted.” I made a face. “Pity it had to be a bunch of wannabe photojournalists working for shitty celebrity magazines, though I saw one dude who might’ve been from a local newspaper. Anyway…it’s probably common to get separated. It’s a huge amount of energy.”
I breathed in quickly, suddenly unwilling to pursue the current topic of conversation. It was too painful. “I…I think our collars drew us back home,” I said softly, my gaze thoughtful. “Just a guess. So what happened to you, then?”
Tara and I continued to talk, ignorant to the events occurring elsewhere in Wonder City. Events which would potentially make my life here a lot easier and the life of someone I loved a lot harder.
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Jackie Milo was barely two minutes out of the door when Jackie stood, nearly throwing her chair backwards. “He can’t go out there alone. Well I mean with Tara, but she’s no protection, what if something happens?” Isolde’s eyebrow rose thoughtfully. Charlie merely looked at her, his golden eyes carrying an agreement. “We should shadow him,” Isolde said. “I’ll go. I’ll stay in my beast form,” Jackie offered. Her parents both looked ready to stop her, but Jackie was a stubborn creature. She would leave either way, even though her parents were alpha and what they said was supposed to go. It wasn’t so simple where they were concerned; sure, it worked nicely in wolf packs and in societies based strongly on honour and loyalty to a crown or leader, but not in a thunder-beast pack raised in western society. “Fine,” Charlie sighed. “You be careful.” “Whatever, don’t worry, I’m pretty good at this now.”
There was another silence.
“We should have told him. Both of you,” Isolde said guiltily. “Because of our error in judgement, Milo is vulnerable and … well, you could have been used to all this as a cub.” “She’s still a cub. I don’t know if I like this,” Charlie said, his gaze intense. Jackie looked away, knowing that she would back down if she kept eye contact with him. She wrinkled her nose slightly. “Nah, it’ll be fine, dad. It’ll be fine. He’s back. I just…I dunno, I feel a bit weird today. I don’t want to let him out of my sight. I won’t be seen either, I’ll use some tricks I taught myself to mask my scent.” “I’m not sure that’ll fool your own brother…” Jackie kissed them both, fire glinting in her green eyes. She grinned encouragingly. “Oh, well, Milo doesn’t even know he can shape-shift or use energy or anything. He’ll just get confused if he smells me. God, I hope I don’t find them making out or something, if he sees me, he’ll be so embarrassed. Must be weird, being a kid again.”
Jackie left the house and stepped between the surrounding wall and a few plants, giving her surroundings a brief look before stripping her clothes off. Her tail grew almost without thought, her spine lengthening behind her. Black fur almost simultaneously covered it as it grew to its right length. She stretched her tail and the rest of her muscles, her movements almost catlike. “Right, let’s go,” she murmured to herself. She closed her eyes and arched her back, soft, downy fur covering her body and thickening into guard hairs. Her muscles and bones began to change, and she dropped onto all fours as her bipedal body structure became that of a quadruped. Jackie bared her teeth as her snout grew out, and she licked those long, sharp canines with her raspy cat-like tongue. The shift completed as her ruff thickened around her neck and shoulders and her claws, half-retractable like a cheetah’s, solidified and sharpened. A creature that resembled a gracefully-featured wolf with definite catlike features stood by the wall. She cast a quick glamour spell, an ability familiar to all fey-kind. She wasn’t particularly adept at the skill, but it wasn’t hard to make herself appear to others as a black German shepherd dog with a dog’s tail and a broader snout. The magically sensitive would see right through it, and Jackie knew that there were a lot of humans with fey or other magical ancestry around, but she had to take a gamble and hope none of them were out and about today.
The sleek creature slipped out of the partially-open gate and made her way down the footpath. She attracted a few looks, but people only saw a German shepherd dog wearing a red bandanna around her neck. The bandanna was part of her clever glamour, and she had also changed her eyes from deep green to common canine gold.
Jackie reached the park just as the first earthquake struck. She had sensed it beforehand, but earthquakes didn’t generally worry her. This time, however, it felt different. It wasn’t particularly strong, and she was a little perturbed to note that the trees just a few yards away weren’t shaking at all. Surely a quake of this magnitude would be felt miles away from the epicentre? Sniffing the ground briefly, Jackie loped forward, scenting her brother and Tara. Her fur stood on end, but she momentarily ignored the nauseous feeling building up inside her to snort derisively. It came out as a ‘chuff’ sound, not unlike a dog or cat sneeze. God, paparazzi? Seriously?
It was time for a little fun. Jackie moved up behind one of the cameramen. They didn’t hear her. One of them was standing a little too close to her jaws, and as they began to harass Milo and Tara, Jackie growled and sunk her teeth into the man’s jacket. “Hey…what the…?” he yelped, but he had more problems ahead of him than some stray dog. Jackie let go, but only because something seemed to be happening ahead of them. She shook herself, trying to dispel the energy building up around her.
Something strange seemed to scream into existence right in front of them. Jackie’s ears perked up, and she prowled nervously, sniffing the ground and whining. She had no time to react as the portal opened. Dread filled her. This was what had stolen her brother… “Milo!” she barked out loud. Milo didn’t hear her. He looked terrified, and Jackie darted forward as some weird light attached itself to his collar and began to drag him. Tara and the media were being pulled forward as well, and Jackie suddenly realised that she was in just as much danger. Later, she would mull over the situation and realise that she could have moved away on time, could have run. After all, the cameraman that she had bitten at had gotten away, the only one to escape. But not Jackie. Perhaps she had wanted to follow him, and so she had allowed herself to be dragged in.
The light wrapped itself around her. She felt both euphoric and sick at the same time; the energy was too much for such a young creature, and she snarled in fear, kicking all four legs and tossing her head back and forth as the light drew her into its gaping maw. Jackie’s mind went blank, and the portal dragged her unwillingly to her fate.
A sorry, sodden creature climbed out of the very same river Milo and Tara had been tossed into. She heaved herself onto the grass ten miles upstream of Hawkeye’s ice cream shop, her chest heaving and her mouth gaping open for air. The bedraggled animal didn’t move for quite some time. She lay there in the dark, an object of wary interest to a fluffy cat which belonged to the multi-million dollar riverside property she was effectively trespassing on. The cat didn’t dare approach, and eventually it lost interest.
She finally stood and shook her fur, then cautiously began to walk, pausing every so often to listen and watch. This place was unfamiliar. Her own mind was unfamiliar. Lost, alone and devoid of human reason, the creature that somewhere deep inside was Jackie began a long walk towards the city. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but instinct pushed her on. She walked through the night, stopping twice to hunt for easy prey. As she reached the city, her natural instincts screamed at her to go in the opposite direction, but something stronger kept her moving.
((OOC: Meh not a good ending, got so tired. Jackie has come through the portal and has become 19 years old, de-aged. But she has also lost her mind briefly too, a form of amnesia, sort of stuck in the animal’s instincts. She’ll recover quickly. Just a momentary lapse. I figure it can happen during extreme emotional trauma as well, or a bump to the head. Hmm when she called out to Milo before in animal form, it wasn’t said in English, but in her own animal language. To other animals, it would translate to ‘brother’ or ‘den-brother’ or ‘kin’, not ‘Milo’ directly, though to Jackie and her family it can mean Milo. We can time skip if you want, to the next day. Or the day after, maybe they go for a walk, she's needing fresh air, and I'll have Jackie approach.))
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Post by tessa on Apr 11, 2011 13:52:57 GMT -5
I can be insecure sometimes.
Like right then, when I was with Milo, sick and lying on my couch, wheezing (because thats the best I could do for a laugh) and smiling up at him even though I didn't really feel like smiling. I covered myself up more with the towel and just looked up at him, studying him, his skin, his hair, his eyes mostly. I loved his eyes. After a while of talking I closed my eyes and rolled over onto my side, assuring him I was still listening and to keep talking, replying here and there with a funny story or light tidbit about my life, nothing too deep and dark though. I didn't have any intentions on going that far into my past but knowing me I would probably let it out one way or another, maybe if we went farther into this relationship.
That was mostly what I was insecure about. I wondered what he was going to think of me when I told him about my past. I wondered what kind of relationship it would be, if we just had some awkward crush on each-other that would dissolve over time or would it become something serious? Was I ready for that? I was certainly ready to stop being alone all the time.
I let him talk and I noticed I stopped talking after a while and resolved to gently nodding or grunting in response as I slipped off to sleep. I think it was possibly the best sleep I had ever gotten, and even though it was probably because I was sick, I also think it had something to do with Milo being there. I listened to his voice until I slept, and woke the next day feeling slightly worse, but more rested.
I spent the entire day drinking water and eating the soup and sat on my ass watching TV. I watched the news for the first time in like, forever, and I laughed at how Canadians told their news. I watched about a half an hour of an American newscast before realizing they were talking about New York, and felt relieved that all of that dark gloomy shit wasn't for Canada. I mean, I know there's dark gloomy stuff on Canadian news (now) but at least they try to balance it out with something positive once in a while and aren't always so grumpy looking. Seriously, Americans need to lighten up a bit. Maybe Canadians are just clowns.
I found myself mimicking the news lady (since we're talking about clowns), and laughed as she constantly was tripping over her not-so-cleverly-disguised Newfie accent. She looked native, though, and I found myself admiring her complexion and they way she had her hair done up. I sighed, betting even she looked good when she had a cold, and reached for another tissue. It was then I found out that abnormals were freed. They kind of danced around the subject, but it was there, plain as could be; the abolishing has been passed. People were pissed, riots were starting. I paused in mid sneeze, tissue held up to my nose.
What did this mean for me? I was free in my own home world? Well, not truly free. I guess I should have been more excited but I kind of knew lots of people would be pissed and it would just be like open season on paranormal hate crimes. Sobered by this news I spent the rest of the night lying on my back, gazing up at the ceiling, contemplating my new life, what it would be like, what I would do without my highschool education. I wondered if that gave me access to schooling, health care or all that other stuff? Would I be compensated? Would they take the collar off? Perhaps they had ID or bracelets or something I could wear instead? What the fuck was going on?
I fell asleep to these thoughts, these questions that I decided would have to find answers to later, and woke to a sunny but still frigid morning the next day. The sun hit my eyes and turned the world red until I opened them and blinded myself. You know, because I didn't have a headache already right? I groaned threw my arm over my face and tried to convince myself to go back to sleep, but I just couldn't. On the upside, I noticed I felt a lot better. A shower and some solid food later left me feeling much more like myself and I could feel whatever it was that was congesting me loosen and disappear. I picked up the phone and called Milo,
"Hey, want to go out for a bit today? I feel a bit better, and I need to pick up a few things. Meet me at the bar in forty minutes? I lo--" I caught myself, my heart racing. What I wanted to say to him, and almost did say to him, was 'I love you', but what I said instead, after a bit of hesitation and an inward groan, was "--will see you soon. Bye."
I leaned up against my counter and pressed my phone to my forehead, eyes screwed shut, heart pounding. "Shit...!" I groaned. I couldn't tell him that! Not that I didn't feel it, I guess I did, but I would have to be way more careful next time. Hopefully he hadn't caught on to my little pause...
The next thing I knew I had to do was visit my boss, and my heart raced the entire way to the bar. What was he going to do? Being ever the optimist, I thought he might let me keep my job there, or something. But no, the pig eyed little bastard fired me. Said I was wasting space now and he hired a human, who actually deserved the money. Now what was I going to do? I left the store after exchanging a few choice words and plunked myself down on the bench in front of the store and crossed my arms, fuming.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
(( OOC: I hope that was okay. I left Milo's departure from Tara's place open ended so you can say Tara gave him the boot or he got home himself. ))
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