Outside School
As Vivian was about to leave school for the day, she notices Alex. She wasn't sure if he was going to come back to school the next day after picking up Coralie, but it was hardly proper to ask something like that out of the blue. And she still felt pretty strange about inadvertently uncovering a serious bombshell from his personal life, even if she wasn't trying to do that.
Overhearing Val and the quadruplets, Vivian decided to go over to them.
"I'm up to hang out if you want," she offered the questionably visible and questionably articulate girl. "I don't really have any plans or anything."
What, me worry?
Cemetery
Layla looked around the headstones, not exactly sure what she's looking for. Then the worker (or at least she assumed he was) asked her what she's looking for. Now how will she answer him without sounding like a psycho? A loaded question if there ever was one. On the other hand, this worker does seem a bit too into it. Maybe he's non-judgmental?This might sound like a strange thing to ask, admittedly, she paused for a bit after that statement. But do you have anywhere here that keeps any unidentified human remains? She couldn't believe she just asked him that. But how else could she approach this subject?
Outside Oddity High
"...huh?..." Val seemed confused. "...did she tell you?...I don't remember telling you and you don't really talk to each other...uh, no offense..." they continued, getting a bit nervous towards the end there, the sort of nervous that makes you forget "you don't really talk to each other" isn't something most people would take offense to. They were still a bit flustered when Vivian came over. "...oh, uh, hey...I'm sorry, I don't remember your name, but yeah, you can hang out with us...I don't really have anything planned, so if either of you have any ideas...oh, I should probably let you go tell the teachers whatever you were going to tell them, Carolyn...right?..." Val briefly looked at Lindon, already talking with the teachers. "...it looks like your brother started without you, heh..."
Speaking of which... "Jackie does what!?" said Mr. Morgan, while Ms. Perlman looked sort of annoyed and opened up that notebook she was always scribbling in. Those class periods were a bit of a blur, but, yeah, looking back, the Lynns might remember Heidi never actually came out during Morgan or Perlman's classes. "She...shapeshifts into another person, you said?" said Ms. Perlman. "And...she fakes having another personality?" "Well, what do you want us to do about that?" Mr. Morgan said, in the classic Mr. Morgan tone of voice. "Punish her for shapeshifting? I can't do that, she'll probably shapeshift into someone with an axe or something!"
Wherever Heidi Is
"It's a genetic thing. My mom has it too," said the girl, who didn't seem too bothered by the question. "A lot of people think I'm blind, but I can see fine! Very well, actually." She chuckled.
"So, uhh..." said the girl, obviously trying to think of a conversation topic. "...How's your day been?"
Little Haven Cemetery
"Looking for a potter's field, are you?" said the weird kid, without missing a beat. "All the unidentified stuff that comes through here gets buried under that obelisk." He pointed to a white stone obelisk in the corner of the field. "I don't believe we keep records of what goes under there, so you can't really check that your mournee is under there, but feel free to pray anyway. It'll probably, like, spread around, or something." Geez, if this guy was a worker, he probably should have been fired by now.
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
Fwomph
Outside Oddity High
Before Blake could say lips sealed, Alex had already walked off back to his own parent in a reasonably priced vehicle. Blake hummed for a moment, decided that his commitment to secret-keeping could simply go unsaid and wandered back to where his mom and Gill were.
"Alright so we're over on—"
"So, how'd it go?"
"Just fine, I was just about to give Gill directions home."
"Oh yeah that's easy uhhhh...
"Oak Avenue, house number seven. If you can find the pizza place the intersection with Oak Avenue should be close by."
"Yeah, that!"
For the Horde!
Gill's eyes were wide with excitement. He took in the information that Blake's mother had given him and nodded.
"Thank you so much! I'll be headed over soon then! I've just got to let my friend know where I'm headed," he told her. "This is so amazing, I can't wait to get over there!" He grinned, with a bounce in his step as he turned towards the entrance to the school where Mindy was still waiting. He bounded over towards her and grinned from ear to ear.
"Hey, Mindy! Guess what? Blake's family is talking about taking me in! They've got some paperwork to fill out but I'm going to meet them at their house after school!" he excitedly relayed to her. "Oh, and you wanted to see me after we finished with school, right? About that... thing we talked about in the hall?"
Gill smiled, but he couldn't help but feel his cheeks burn slightly as he looked at her, remembering the conversation they had outside the classroom earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, Heidi sighed a little in frustration.
"Mixed bag," Heidi admitted. "Part of it fucking sucked, but there were a few pretty kickass moments too. Teacher got turned into a— okay that probably won't make any fucking sense. Let's start over. Name's Heidi," she introduced.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
The Volkswagen
Coralie perked up on hearing the sound of Spanish being spoken. The more she heard however, the more she slowed down her packing. With her goggles over her eyes, Alex's mom wouldn't see her squint, as the girl processed whether or not she'd just heard what she thought she heard.
Alex passing the grocery bags snapped her back to reality. "Oh, right! Thanks, dude," she went as she slid the bags under. "It's just every time I packed this scoot in the boot, my dad, he'd never let me hear the end of how it 'needs to be on something' and 'don't let that thing scrape the sides'. Guess it's a good enough habit to stay in."
After a moment or two of packing, and noticing Alex's mom staring at her, Coralie stage-whispered over to the boy. "Hey, Alex? I got about...exactly half of what you two just said. What exactly did she just call me, and should I be concerned?
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who can back up their own position.
Also starring Alex Palencia the werewolf cursing the existence of alternate universe Spain.
Carolyn just stared back at Val, one eyebrow slightly raised. "We're identical siblings," the red dressed quadruplet said, apparently in answer to both Val's question about how she knew, and Lindon starting without her. "Though one second," she added, then turned towards the other conversation.
At the same time, Lindon seemed confused by Mr. Morgan's response. "I don't think she can shapeshift more than just her own body," the blue dressed quadruplet commented, then shook his head. "Anyway, it's not about punishing her for doing the shapeshifting. It's about not letting her use the shapeshifting to escape punishment, or necessarily believing her whole thing about being two people in one body," Lindon then explained.
"We're all in agreement about it," Marilyn added in, at the time that Carolyn turned towards the conversation, as well as Linton, so the two of them could nod to show their affirmation as well. The quadruplets were used to sometimes having to assert their position with multiple of them. "But, obviously it's your decision, of course," the yellow dressed quadruplet added, in a respectful tone, as Linton and Carolyn returned their attention elsewhere.
"Alright, are you still here, Val?" Carolyn then asked, trying to once again find the person of questionable existence.
...
Meanwhile, out at the street, Alex froze at Coralie's question, his face starting to blush an intense red. "I- it's- uh- she's just joking around," he replied quietly, unaware of that actually being sort of the truth. "It wasn't an insult though," the young werewolf added, hoping that would be sufficient and that Coralie wouldn't press for clarification.
Sandra couldn't quite hear them, but could see that they were talking quietly to each other, and of course saw Alex's embarrassment clear as day on his face. She turned forward in the seat, quietly thinking with a, "hmm..."
You are reading this.
What, me worry?
Outside the School
Mindy stood, observing everything going on around her right when Gill finally wrapped up his business with Blake and told her how he's going to live with Blake. Hey, that's great! Nice to see you're finally gettin' a home! And with Queens, too! Been wantin' to get to know him better. Just, well you know... But we'll probably hang together more often now. So it'll work out fine. All three of us, think we'll all have some fun. A lot better than under the sea, right? But then he popped the question about their earlier conversation. She paused a bit, blushing, before looking up to him. Uh, yeah... why don't we go somewhere a bit more secluded? My house? Best to keep it private, ya know? she said shortly before letting out a few giggles. She leaped on her bike and led Gill home. After putting up her bike at the garage, the two of them went outside to the backyard and seated themselves at the table.You know, Gill... you caught me off-guard back at the school. I wasn't really sure if you were gettin' me or not. But you amaze me. I know there's still a lot you gotta learn. But you got those street smarts. You know a lot more than I figured. I think you'll do fine here. But onto the point. I never had a boyfriend before comin' here. Guess I end up scarin' away all the guys. Yet you've been so good to me. I know I ain't always easy to be around. But the fact you can still handle me... well, that speaks volumes. You're such a big-hearted lug and you're pretty good-lookin' too. Heck, yeah, you're right. I do have a crush on ya. No one's really made me feel that way before, ya know? She looked away, her face getting redder with each second.
Cemetery
Layla looked over to the obelisk, while feeling weirder by the second. She's not sure if it's this cemetery worker, what she's wanting to ask, or perhaps a bit of both. Well, I don't know how to put this.... is it possible at all to dig up the remains? I know it sounds strange. But there's something I'm looking for. I know what it is too. I should be able to tell. It's something I've been looking for a long time. She wasn't sure if the worker would cooperate with her. But she needed to know for sure, one way or another.
For the Horde!
Gill's smile widened.
"Yeah... a lot better," he told her. He walked beside her bike, following her back towards her house. Once she set her bike back up, he followed her to the backyard and sat beside her at the table. He leaned on one arm and listened to Mindy explain, and as she did, Gill felt his cheeks burning even more.
"You're the first person I've really gotten to know, my first real friend," he responded. "And I've never had a girlfriend. I've never even seen another mermaid before," he admitted. "But I don't think any girl in the sea is anywhere close to as special as you are. Thank you, Mindy. You have no idea how much this all means to me. Really... it's just... wow... that you think all that about me, it's..." Gill stammered, blushing and almost seeming out of it, a somewhat dopey expression forming on his face. "Oh my goodness..." he sighed, chuckling and looking shyly.
Edited by AllHailThrall on Jan 20th 2024 at 6:54:10 AM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Outside School
"I'm Vivian," the vampire introduced herself. "S'alright, it is only my first day here... Val, yeah?"
Outside Oddity High
"...what?...what does that—" Val didn't get to finish their confused questioning of Carolyn's explanation before she went off to back up her siblings, which just confused Val even more.
As Carolyn stepped away, Val took the time to respond to Vivian's greeting. "...it's also Carolyn's first day here and I remembered her name...yeah, hi, I'm Val..." Val waved at Vivian a bit, one of those little ones where you just raise your hand slightly and then put it back down. "...so do you have any ideas on what we should do...I don't, I don't really do...things...much?..." They looked back toward Carolyn, silently hoping she'd come back to maybe distract from the stupid thing they just said.
And what a thing they saw. Mr. Morgan visibly jumped when all three of the other quadruplets turned towards him and Ms. Perlman at the same time. He started muttering something the Lynns couldn't quite catch in the ear of Ms. Perlman, who looked unimpressed. "Okay, we'll keep that in mind," Ms. Perlman said to them.
"...Yes, I'm right here..." said Val once Carolyn returned, sounding slightly annoyed at her not being able to find them. "...I don't understand what you being identical siblings has to do with one of you starting without the others...or really anything that happened there...but whatever, it's fine..."
Wherever Heidi Is
"Elaine," said the girl, offering a handshake. "My day was much less eventful. Just sorta walked around."
Little Haven Cemetery
The kid narrowed his eyes in a way that was hard to describe, but definitely out of place—like if you suggested to a hardcore LEGO set collector that he should try building something else out of the pieces. "Look, lady, I don't know where you're from, but here, when things die, they stay dead. If you want to look at body parts, take it up with the morgue." He said "morgue" in the tone of voice you'd use to talk about the rival football team.
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who don't think their situation is that complicated, but that it is hard to explain.
"Alright, thank you. That's all we wanted to say," Lindon said, and both he and Marilyn gave a little, respectful bow towards the teachers, then turned and moved closer to the situation with Val and Vivian.
"You don't understand? Well... Don't worry about it," Carolyn said to Val, keeping her tone polite, even if she was being a bit dismissive. "Anyway, Linton's gonna call our parents and see if we're free to hang out," the red dressed quadruplet added, while her brother was doing exactly that.
Linton stood there for a moment with his phone to his ear, waiting on it ringing. "... Hey, mom? A couple other students were asking us about hanging out after school today... Um, I'm not sure, but it couldn't hurt... Okay, sounds good. Lindon and Marilyn will be there soon."
Without a word to each other, Linton and Carolyn handed their school bags over to Lindon and Marilyn. The blue and yellow dressed quadruplets then started walking in unison towards their home.
"Alright, they're going to drop our school stuff off at home and grab some things, then come meet us where we're going," Carolyn then explained to Vivian and Val. "So, do we just wanna go get some food, or find something fun to do?" the red dressed quadruplet then wondered.
Edited by FirockFinion on Jan 21st 2024 at 9:48:16 AM
You are reading this.
Palencia Car
"...Uh-Huh," went Coralie with the deepest of suspicion. With one last furtive glance toward's Alex's mom, she switched herself back to her earlier peppy demeanour. "Right then, homeward bound we go! Well, homeward for you guys anyways!" With a snort-laugh, she shut the boot, opened a back door, lobbed her backpack in, and then all but dove inside after it. Once sat up straight and buckled in, Coralie sat in imitation of a polite little thing, and waited for them all to set off.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, leaving Oddity High, after school - Alex Palencia the werewolf who could probably power the block if you could harness electricity from embarrassment.
Feeling only slightly relieved, Alex got back into the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt, then his mom started the car and pulled out into the street.
"<So, Coralie right? You can call me Sandra, or Miss Palencia,>" Sandra started as she began the drive home, still in Spanish, and occasionally glancing at Coralie in the rear view mirror.
"Um, mom, she can only understand around half the stuff we say in Spanish," Alex awkwardly informed his mom.
Sandra glanced at her son with a raised eyebrow. "<Only half of Spanish? But she speaks English?>" Sandra asked for clarification.
"Uh, yeah," Alex answered simply.
"Oh, well sorry about that," Sandra said, switching to English. "When Alex said you were from another dimension, I assumed you probably used a translator. I'm surprised you speak any languages in common with us," she then explained, before repeating part of her introduction, "you can call me Sandra, or Miss Palencia."
You are reading this.
Palencia Car
"Ah, well, nice to meet you again, Miss- uh, San- Uh...Miss Palencia." For Alex's sake, Coralie resisted the tempting invitation to call an authority figure by their first name, at least for now. "Believe me, I'm surprised as you are that so many versions of the world have English in common, 'specially when other languages aren't so lucky. Mind you, if this were Universe-2, we'd be speaking Japanese right now," she tittered. "That aside, though- my family's from a country that doesn't exist here, and my folks made sure we grew up learning Iberian. That's a dialect 'bout half-way between spanish and, ah...french, I think."
What, me worry?
Mindy's House
Mindy was quite surprised how Gill reacted to her thoughts. Although she didn't really know what to expect since this was the first time she really confessed her feelings like this. She couldn't even help but chuckle herself over how Gill was acting. She slid her hand over his and looked into his eyes. For that moment, all her edginess inside her.... gone. She was more different. More at peace. Something she's never felt before. All reflected with the smile on her lips.Cemetery
You don't understand. This thing isn't dead at all. It's dormant. If I come in contact with it, it will come back to live. Please, you've got to help me, Layla begged the cemetery worker. Feeling desperate, she was debating whether or not to show him the truth about herself. As much as she would hate to, she may not have any choice.
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, on the way to Alex's house, after school - Alex Palencia the werewolf who knows some things, but not a lot.
"French and Spanish mixed together? Oh... My papa would not be happy to hear that," Sandra said, shaking her head, but keeping her eyes on the road. "But then, he never did like being reminded that they're not actually that different," she added.
Alex looked pretty displeased at being reminded of his grandfather, and shook his head as he thought of a way to change the subject. "So... 'Iberian'? That sounds like 'Siberian'... But Siberia isn't close to France or Spain, right?" he then said, glancing at his mother for clarification.
"Siberia is in Russia," Sandra answered simply. "But Serbia is in Europe, though it doesn't border France or Spain."
"Right, and France and Spain border each other," Alex said, glancing back at Coralie. "So I guess in your world, they're part of the same country?"
You are reading this.
For the Horde!
Gill smiled back into her eyes, just gazing happily in her direction. He bobbed his head to and fro, as if he were humming to a happy tune. In fact, he was, in his head. He was so cheery right now that he wanted to sing, but he knew she wasn't the most fond of the effect his singing had on her. His hand turned over, taking Mindy's hand in his, as he gently stroked her hand with his thumb.
"Yeah, Elaine. Good to meet ya," Heidi greeted idly, shaking her hand with a firm grip. "I was gonna head up to the shopping center. Probably gonna end up ditching and heading home soon though, long story," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Outside Oddity High
"...I don't know, I don't really...do things...if that makes sense...I was just gonna go with whatever she wanted to do..." Val said, gesturing to Vivian.
Meanwhile, Ms. Smith's cellphone started to ring...
Wherever Heidi Is
Elaine nodded, as if to say "Yeah, I get what you mean," even though she obviously didn't. "It's that way," she said, pointing toward where the shopping center was from here. "I was considering going down there too, actually. Been craving a few things."
Little Haven Cemetery
The kid looked at Layla with about the facial expression you'd expect anyone to have after hearing that.
"...Yeah, we, uh, we don't do that kind of thing here. Check the morgue."
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
What, me worry?
Mindy's House
Mindy's blood rushed to her head as Gill rubbed her hand. She warmed up like smoldering charcoal on a grill. It was just her and Gill. All her problems forgotten at this very moment as she looked into his face. The more she stared at him, the less she felt. But then, she had an urge. One that strengthened as the seconds passed as it all made her tremble. And now she was like a woman possessed. She had to do it. She moved past his charms and locked his head into her hands like a crab. She pulled his face right into hers and pressed her lips into his, kissing him like her life depended on it. It happened so fast before it dawned on her what she just did. She released him as all she could do was stare at him with her mouth agape. She just made out with her crush. She didn't know what came over her.Cemetery
Layla was getting frustrated over the cemetery worker's lack of cooperation. She had to know for sure what was there. Five years. It was five years since she lost her head. And right now she had the chance to get it back. She didn't want to reveal herself, having people fear her at best. But she was so close. All right, I'll tell you the truth about myself. Just... try not to scream, please. I don't want any more attention than needed. Layla felt like she was about to need a grave for herself right before she reached her veil. She peeled it off, showing the worker the smoking shape spewing out of her neck. I'm a Dullahan. I've been missing my head for five years. And I've heard it might be in this town. Please, help me. I want to live a normal life again. Help me be whole again, please. She expected him to run off screaming, that is if he didn't treat her with hostility.
For the Horde!
Gill just continued gazing, continued smiling. He looked confused for a moment when Mindy suddenly took hold of his face. He blinked for a moment, then his eyes widened as Mindy planted her lips right on his.
Gill's initial shock and confusion at being kissed gave way as he closed his eyes, putting a hand on Mindy's cheek and returning the kiss. Before he knew it, she had pulled away and Gill just stared dumbfounded right at Mindy. His heart was pounding in his chest, his face flushed bright red, his mouth also hung agape.
Gill tried to speak, but he just stammered incoherently, unable to form a sentence. He swooned a bit, leaning on one hand while another touched his lips gently.
He'd never kissed a girl before. His thoughts were a whirlwind of excitement, surprise, wonder. It was quite a magical experience, one he wasn't sure entirely how to process just yet. But it was absolutely clear that he enjoyed it immensely.
"Sweet, let's go," Heidi said, grinning and taking the charge, walking with purpose in the direction of the shopping center. She wanted to get there before she turned back into Jackie and Jackie made them go home.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Fwomph
Outside Oddity High
Well, with Gill having gone off to have talks with his new girlfriend, Blake was... A little bit lost. Everyone was heading off to do things as friends or to brood on their supernatural strifes and he was just... At the car, waiting to go home. The sound of a cellphone ringing knocked him out of the pensive funk, though it wasn't his own.
"Sorry, I have to take this Blake. Feel free to find somewhere to sit, this shouldn't take too long."
"Oh, okay mom..."
With that, the boy sat himself down, leaning against the back wheel of the car as his mom rolled the window back up.
"Hello, Smith residence."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
Outside Oddity High
"Nice to meet you," Vivian says, brushing aside Val's awkwardness. "And I'm kind of blanking on plans too, but we could get something to eat if you're hungry."
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who could go for something simple.
"Oh, okay," Carolyn muttered, seeing that both Val and Vivian didn't have any idea of what to do, so it fell to the quadruplets. "I guess we did kind of just have lunch though, so... Maybe some dessert? We'll see if there's any ice cream places around," the red dressed quadruplet suggested, and Linton was already getting on his phone to search the net for local shops.
"... Okay, got one," Linton said shortly after, then started leading the way, though seemed to be looking more at his phone than where he was walking.
"Come on, we can wait there until Lindon and Marilyn come by with some money," Carolyn said to the vampire and the kid that didn't quite exist, as she followed behind her brother. (Simultaneously acting as a set of eyes for where he was walking too.)
Edited by FirockFinion on Jan 29th 2024 at 12:49:14 PM
You are reading this.
Gill's eyes lit up and he looked ready to sing. He managed to contain himself, but did a little happy spin to release some of his pent up excitement.
"I'd love that! It's so rough and lonely sleeping in a sunken ship... dark and cold and lonesome. Tell me where to go and I can meet you guys back at the house! That sounds amazing!" he cheered, in almost a sing-song voice.
Heidi grunted and furrowed her brow, noticing the strangeness that was this newcomer's eyes. She stayed quiet for a moment, trying to process what it is she was seeing.
Some people had tact, some people knew not to ask what was probably a pretty sensitive question. Some people had a filter.
Heidi was not one of those people.
"Yeah... Well. What the fuck is up with your eyes?" she asked, rather bluntly.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.