Nuages de Violet (a Shared Story exercise)

Fuck. Getting ready to break the incoming mayhem apart, Melissa though, alright. If this goes bad, whoever is dumb enough to get violent first is going to get a very memorable demonstration of MAC and Krav Maga. Attention be damned, I need to break some bones. But looks like Clockwork is trying to be civilized. Not sure if he's going to succeed much longer, but the effort's nice.

edited 2nd Dec '11 9:14:32 PM by KillerClowns

"No." Yomiko rubs her nose bridge. "Needlessly confrontational is when it should be enough to ask you to pipe down just once. Necessary confrontation is when you continue your obnoxious pandering to some wanted audience."

At once, speaking to the man she feels that rush of life coursing through her — Life! That very thing which she feels her Vacation has lacked.. In asserting herself against this pesky man, can't she have a nice flight for the remainder of her time on her Vacation? Just to squeeze out the last remnants of goodness with the time she's got.

(This man is everything but the man to fall in love with.)

"There's an open bar on this plane, I've passed it on my way over - you could take your card game there if you'd like. M'kay? But not here. You're peeving me and some people."

edited 2nd Dec '11 9:29:31 PM by QQQQQ

"You wanted me to stop playing the harmonica."

Wilhelm consults Bianca's list again. No unnecessary cussing. Right.

"Not playing the harmonica and keeping quiet in general are two different things."

Jeez. Now he tries to play passive-aggressive with her. Oh.. whatever. She doesn't have to put up with this - have it your way, mate. (What is with the list he keeps peeking at? Is that excerpted from the 1000 Methods of Annoyance?)

"Oi." Yomiko waves to a stewardess. "Do you mind if you can relocate me to another seat from here? Even if it means going to third-class? I'm not feeling at all comfortable."

edited 2nd Dec '11 9:42:24 PM by QQQQQ

(OOC: Does Yomiko seem unnecessarily rough to you?)

(OOC: Compared to the source material? Yes, I'd say so.)

"Attaboy!" Kali gave Wilhelm a hardy pat on the back. "Now then, where were we? Right, game. Game, game, game... How about Shit On Your Neighbor?"

After a quick check, Melissa said, "well, there's a seat by the emergency doors. But of course, you'll need to be able to handle it if things go wrong." She pointed to an empty pair of seats by the exit, farther from Wilhelm than Yomiko's own seat, and said, "will that do?" Finally, she thought, Clockwork and Crazy at the bar, Glasses by the emergency exit... as long as this flight goes smooth, or Glasses is stronger than she looks, everyone's happy and I can get back to my real work.

While Melissa is obviously very annoyed with her, on account of forcing her to do the job that's supposed to only be a cover, I can see where Yomiko is coming from and can't really blame her. The source material is a mystery to me, so I can't offer a comparison there.

edited 3rd Dec '11 6:51:41 AM by KillerClowns

Matt actually wouldn't mind having someone to talk to, but to say that would be moderately creepy. In addition, listening to music with headphones tells the world, 'I don't feel like talking'.

He put his old Zune away and dug out a book. Braille, of course. The weight of Braille books guaranteed that this would be the only one he could carry practically; the title was only in Braille, leaving it unreadable to most of the passengers. However, mentions of the Valar let him know.

edited 3rd Dec '11 12:19:13 PM by CrystalGlacia

Wait. Bar. Alcohol.

"Maybe we should go to the bar," Wilhelm says. "More room."

Noah could have given the girl an extensive list on places he had enjoyed so far... Paris, Rome... wherever the hell this plane was going to, he hoped it would be nice. However, he was quickly distracted by the dispute over... a harmonica... geez. Giving a 'one moment' sign to Mizuki, Noah stood up from his chair.

"Now, why would anyone have to move places? I think everyones fine here, and I'm sure we can find a way to get along, or at the very least, tolerate each other. I mean, I don't expect us to be sitting around singing campfire songs, but of all the plane journeys recently, I haven't seen a single group of people argue at all. And there aren't even any annoying children on board!"

Okay. This guy? The Traveler? I think I've just found a new friend. Melissa quietly and sincerely said to him, "thank you, sir." She resisted the urge to lecture the rest of them. What they needed was an MTI, not a stewardess. But as ever, best not to attract attention. Besides, her phone was vibrating.

She quietly slipped away and received the call. A hideous mess of static came through from the other side, and she could barely make out words — but not what they were. "Can't read you," she said, "lots of static!"

A pause on the other end, and then very carefully, precisely announcing every word, the person on the other end said, "Sigma. Seventy." He repeated this several times to be certain.

Melissa understood the message. Maybe putting Glasses by the emergency exit wasn't such a good idea after all. "Understood," she said, and the other side hung up. Still, a seventy percent chance... not counting the tendency of her superiors to overestimate the possibilities, of course. Best not to say anything to the passengers for now. She slipped back out to make certain no new mayhem had erupted, and she could continue delivering drinks in peace.

edited 3rd Dec '11 12:56:26 PM by KillerClowns

That Stewardess... Noah was becoming more and more suspicious of her. She was slipping out, apparently to answer a phone, for no explained reason... and she was completely unlike any stewardess he had seen in all the journeys he had been on. A real airplane stewardess would have been much more tired... exhausted, and all round physically drained. But no, this girl had some life in her eyes. He had mostly sat down and tolerated plane journeys... but now, it seemed like a time for him to meet the apparent staff. He made his way over to the stewardess, giving her a smile, and said;

"No problem... you know, me helping out there. It was beginning to get on my nerves. The name's Noah, and your's is...?"

Great. He's asked my name. Well, I can't refuse to give it, can I? "Melissa," she said. "Melissa West." Her voice again genuine, she added, "glad to have you aboard, sir." Then with a wry smile, she added, "normally people leave us to handle all the trouble. You didn't have to help me out there you, know, but... well, you know what they say about how people treat waiters. Applies to us stewardesses as well, I think."

edited 3rd Dec '11 1:08:21 PM by KillerClowns

"You think this is how people treat stewardesses?" Noah had decided then. His suspicions must be right. He was going to confront her... after all, he had nothing better to do. "You're not a stewardess, are you?"

Matt moved to the end of his (empty) row, towards the young man who was now demanding to know if the stewardess was a spy or somesuch.

"Sir, is it too much to ask why you're harassing the poor woman now?"

"No," she said. "I was talking about the rule about how people treat waiters applies to us stewardesses as well. You know, being nice to the service staff is a good indicator of what a person's really like." She sighed and added, "sorry, I'm kinda new to this job. Training doesn't really cover anything, and I really gotta go." Turning to Matt, she added, "thanks for the support. But I can tell he's a bit stressed. I think we all are."

As she passed Noah by, she straightened some napkins and whispered to him, very quietly, "Captain Melissa Kowalski, United States Air Force," and then carried on, humming softly and tunelessly to herself. Hopefully he'd be smart enough to let it go, or at least not make a scene about it in public.

edited 3rd Dec '11 1:21:25 PM by KillerClowns

He knew it. Well, it seemed Noah had found a new pet project for this flight. He didn't even care where the plane was actually headed now, he was going to find out more about this. Of course, it was clear the woman didn't want others to know about... whatever it was, so he wasn't going to draw attention to his now begun investigation. Still, he took solace in the fact that she somehow trusted him enough to tell him. United Sates Air Force... her business must have been important, which meant it involved him. For now, he would leave her alone. After all, this was a... actually, he didn't know how long this flight was, but it was bound to be a few hours.

After hearing Wilhelm, Yomiko decides perhaps she might not have to move at all. She's stressing herself out.. over what? That hope of finding an ideal man aboard, whose romance she may sway herself into? An ever-diminishing hope. People like Donny always seem elusive. Then again, sour fruits only make the sweet one taste that much more sweeter, for those treasures in the world are so rare amidst the rough they can really be called Treasures.

Why did Donny have to die?

The stewardess brushes by her. In the midst, something hard bumps against Yomiko's hip— (what's that stewardess made out of?)

Yomiko looks as the stewardess disappears behind the curtain.

edited 3rd Dec '11 3:57:28 PM by QQQQQ

Noah noticed that the woman who was earlier reading a poetry book was staring at the stewardess as she walked on by. Maybe she's suspicious of Melissa herself... or maybe she's attracted to her. Either way, he wasn't going to say anything, but he decided to properly introduce himself. After all, a woman reading poetry can never be a bad thing.

"Hi, I'm Noah. I couldn't help but notice you were reading from a book of poetry. Is there any Yeats works in there? I've always enjoyed his..."

"Ermm.." she goes, shyly holding her book to her chin, "there's plenty of his poems here." This lad also likes Yeats.. he seems a bit forthcoming about his interests. "You can have a look if you want."

Yomiko holds out her book, as she eyeballs his face.

Noah took the book from the girl, and gave her a smile. "Thanks... people can say what they like about the man, but I enjoy his poetry, particularly those which feature swans... the symbol of immortality." Noah chuckled to himself. Of course, the girl wouldn't understand what he actually found funny, and he intended to keep it that way. Flicking through the pages of the book some more, he noted; "There's also some Wordsworth in here. His poem... Daffodils always makes me quite envious."

"They're beautiful stanzas," she goes. "Wordsworth was recalling his memories of those Daffodils waving in the field. So in a way, you envy his memories." Random thought of the day: He seems fond of Immortality, isn't he?

edited 3rd Dec '11 4:36:08 PM by QQQQQ

"Indeed..." answered Noah, "...I'm amazed at how that claims that he can just think about a time when he saw a group of flowers, and then he would feel better. If only everyone had something like that... but I'm going off on a tangent. I've told you my name, and yet you haven't told me yours yet."

Nice. Glasses and Noah can chat about poetry, and as long as Noah keeps is damn mouth shut, that's one less nuisance for me to worry about.

Poetry was not something Melissa had time or patience for. Her idea of fun involved simple pleasures, like a fridge stocked full of beer and a football game to watch. Or playing a good FPS co-op with her husband — again, with or without a fridge stocked full of beer. Or other things involving her husband... she stopped, shook the thought from her head. Not now.

Leaving such reminiscences for another time, she resumed work, looking for passengers who seemed either thirsty or worth keeping an eye on, again humming tunelessly. As she passed Matt, she said to him, "by the way, nice to see there's a gentleman like you aboard."

edited 3rd Dec '11 4:52:01 PM by KillerClowns

Just my two cents, but a role playing thread is defined by writers controlling one character at a time. If we're writing a collaborative story, doesn't that imply that the writers may control more than one character?