What, me worry?
Mindy
"Devil's Berries..." Mindy says to herself after hearing Coralie go on about vegetables. But she focuses her attention on Gill when he suddenly looks down and adds to what Coral says. "Yeah... you don't sound convinced. What's your problem with rivers?"Layla
Layla just froze after watching Heidi have her meltdown. And managed to keep still after watching her change back to Jackie. She didn't really know what to do. All she did was look at her. She watched Carolyn rip into Heidi while she thought about what Heidi said in her rant? What was that about? she asked in her mind, wondering if Heidi is what Jackie says she is or not. While Carolyn was pretty sure about Heidi, Layla didn't know what to believe. Still yet though, the sight of the physical change left her off-put even more. Eventually, that frozen feeling she had dripped away from her, from her neck down to her legs. She finally managed to make herself move over to Jackie and offered to help her up. "A- are you okay?" she asked, still feeling on edge as she wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
The Road
"...There's something weird going on with your parents, Blake..." Val said in a very serious tone. (Yet they still trailed off. Apparently their voice just sounded like that.) "...You need to look into—I mean, maybe you shouldn't, uh, be too up-front about...I could maybe ask my parent about—well, uh, um...I have no idea what to do..." It was almost funny how quickly they collapsed into uncertainty.
"...have you seen anything else weird from them..."
Skating Rink
The employee nodded, took the money, and began making the rather large order. It helped that a lot of what they offered was kept refrigerated inside a display case, including thankfully a large pepperoni pizza. (It was a rather popular order.) She was making pretty good time with the order when something happened.
The sounds of Heidi's sudden transformation into Jackie were accentuated by the sound of a tray covered in the first half of a large snack bar oder hitting the floor.
The pepperoni pizza splattered onto the floor. The nachos scattered, knocking the small cups of cheese and salsa dips that came with them and sending their contents flying into viscous stains. The hot dog bounced once and skidded to a stop about a foot away. Lemonade went everywhere, almost certainly ruining the pants of at least one of the six, and ice followed, sliding much further across the floor and adding a loud clattering sound to the mix.
The employee was too stunned by what she had just witnessed to properly apologize at first. She attempted to speak. Nothing came out, which was probably for the best; if she had spoken, she would have screamed a question that started with the words "what the fuck", which definitely would have made things worse.
Lindon's explanation, while not nearly sufficient to make her feel like she understood what was happening, at least snapped her back to reality somewhat. "Medical—" she muttered, only partially comprehending what was said. She never really managed to fully comprehend it, as that was interrupted by her fully comprehending all the food on the floor.
"Oh my—I—I am so sorry, I'll remake all of that for you..." she said. She started the order over, moving more slowly; either she was being more careful or she was just shaken.
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
For the Horde!
Gill looked up at the girls who were asking about his problem with rivers.
"It's just that... Mama always said that I should never swim upriver. She said it was too dangerous," he sighed. "Avoid the mouth of the river at all costs, that's what she said...." he explained.
Jackie, already on the verge of panic, nearly jumped out of her skin when the employee dropped all of their food.
"No, no, see... she's done it again, she's ruining everything..." she replied. "She's just... she's always... she's...." she stammered, barely sounding lucid. She wanted nothing more than to run home, fly onto her bed and hide. Heidi shouting every single curse she knew inside Jackie's head at the top of her non-existent lungs didn't help in the slightest.
"I need to go home, I need to go home... this is all wrong, I need to go home..." she moaned. "It's happening again..."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Saturday, Little Haven, skating rink - Lynn the quadruplets who just had those pants washed.
The splash of lemonade got Lindon, who looked down at his soaked pants and sighed. "Aw man," Linton muttered, as if it was him who got splashed, and he said it without even looking at his brother. "It's alright, we're gonna go get cleaned up," he added towards the cashier, and the two brothers headed off towards the boys' bathroom.
Meanwhile, Carolyn looked at Jackie with a concerned expression. "We're here to help, it's okay," the red garbed quadruplet said in an assuring tone, placing a hand on Jackie's shoulder. "If you're sure you've gotta go, we can get you out of here. What do you need?"
Also at the same time, Marilyn had gotten up without missing a beat, using the side of her shoe to push the ice cubes on the floor out of the main walking paths, feeling conscious of anyone slipping on them. "We might have to go soon; can we possibly get that order to go?" the yellow garbed quadruplet asked the cashier.
You are reading this.
What, me worry?
Mindy
Mindy wanted to get to the bottom of Gill and his fear of rivers."Dangerous? What do you mean? Mouth of the river? How's it dangerous?"
Layla
Layla just watched as the employee dropped the group's food and made a huge mess. She really felt each of the items dropping, the sounds berating her auditory senses, even felt the coolness of the ice cubes as some of them slid near her feet. She just heard the employee apologizing profusely before she leaves. And she agrees with what Carolyn says. "Yes, it might be best we leave."
For the Horde!
Jackie wasn't paying attention, jumping again when Carolyn put her hand on her shoulder. She stumbled on her feet, barely maintaining her footing, as she backed away from the table.
"I gotta get out of here... it's happening again... she's ruined it... she always ruins it..." she stammered, still not paying any heed to anyone else.
Finally, she moved quickly back towards the front door, shoving people out of the way in the process.
Meanwhile, inside her head, Heidi was still screaming extreme, insulting profanities directed at Carolyn in Jackie's brain, which was definitely not helping Jackie's mental state.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Saturday, Little Haven, skating rink - Lynn the quadruplets who can split up without splitting up.
Carolyn and Marilyn both got the same frown of simultaneous annoyance and concern that their attempt to settle things down completely failed. Marilyn quickly turned and ran after Jackie. "Jackie, wait! Please calm down!" the yellow-garbed quadruplet called after her.
Carolyn looked over at Layla. "I'll stay here to get the food. My brothers will catch up with them once they're done cleaning up," Carolyn mentioned while folding her arms. "We'd be done drying the pants already if this place had better paper towels," the red-garbed quadruplet added in a mildly frustrated tone.
You are reading this.
Toa of Anarchy
Pizza Place
"Hmm..." Coralie leaned on the table and tapped a finger against her chin in deep contemplation. "A mystery indeed. One with three possible answers. Answer Number One: Heading upstream might eventually lead to facing river rapids and harsh conditions shoving a merman back downstream by force. Answer Number Two: Going inland means running into inland people, and Gill's folks clearly exercised prudence when dealing with us humans. Answer Number Three: Merfolk might be exclusively saltwater animals. Now, I'm a physicist, not a biologist, but I know enough about osmosis and salinity tolerance to know that if a fish spends too long in water with too much or too little salt to handle, it could very well be fatal! A few species of sea fish can adjust to freshwater given time, but they're the exception and not the rule.
"...Still!" She put on a bright smile and propped herself back up. "Good thing you have the option of switching to pure mammal now, right Gill? That might mean you can hop into a lake after all. You'd just need to adjust to swimming with legs instead of a tail!"
For the Horde!
Gill blinked and glanced over at Coralie as she gave her hypothesis.
"Mama said it was because of the humans," Gill admitted. "But... is that really true about sea fish dying in fresh water?" he asked, sounding mortified. "And, uh... well... I can't swim as a human. If I swim in water I turn back into a merman," he explained. "I don't know if salt or fresh water makes a difference. But then I've never tried... is there a big body of fresh water I can try it on in Little Haven?"
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Toa of Anarchy
Pizza Place
Coralie grimaced a bit, having realised she'd let her zest for science bring unnecessarily dark content into the conversation, and accidentally tarnished the pure innocence of the sweet summer child present.
"I'm afraid so," she said after a moment with a sheepish nod. "A tuna couldn't live in a lake any more than a goldfish could live in the ocean. Still, like I say, a few fish can go between the two, like, um..." She strained to remember for a moment, squinting and snapping her fingers. "...EELS! Yeah! Eels live in saltwater but they have their babies in fresh! Then there are some that do the opposite, like salmon! Or was it sturgeon? Maybe both, doesn't matter, basically...it's not impossible."
"That's a swell idea! We can be around to spot you, and if you start feeling bloated we'll pull you right out to safety. There's even a big lake over in- oh, wait, no..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I keep forgetting, there are big differences in geography between my world and this one. For one thing, the tide's waaaaay further in back home. Say, Mindy, have you lived here long enough to know where the rivers and lakes are now?"
What, me worry?
Mindy
Mindy just sat there hearing Coralie explain to Gill the possible dangers of sleeping in fresh water. And then Gill saying he turns back into a merman when he goes swimming. "Wonder how a pool party would go?" Mindy says underneath her breath before hearing Coral's question if she's familiar with the location. "No, just been here a few weeks. Still gettin' a feel for things here. There's gotta be a lake or river somewhere. Just gotta look around." She almost suggested they ask some of the locals, but can't help but wonder if any of them find the trio off-putting. The pizza people seem to. And of course with her tendencies scaring away some of the people as well, she figures asking someone might be out of the question.Layla
Layla is worried watching Jackie run out of the skating rink like that. She nods when Carolyn lets her know she's staying to get the food. She starts running after Jackie too. And surprisingly manages to run with agility. Using her senses to avoid people whenever she can. Ignoring the pain in her feet from running in scrawny leather sandals. She just wanted to catch Jackie and fast."Jackie, wait!" she yelled, gaining up on Jackie and getting closer. "Jackie, please stop."
For the Horde!
Gill listened intently as Coralie explained the kinds of fish that travelled inland from the sea.
"Wow... there's so many fish I don't know enough about, and I grew up in the sea," he sighed. "You're so smart, Coralie! You're amazing!" he exclaimed.
Mindy spoke up and suggested he go look around to find a body of water to try swimming in. He nodded enthusiastically.
"I'll go ahead and do that when I've got the chance. But for now, I'm excited to spend time with you two, and try out this pizza you guys have been talking about!"
Jackie ignored Marilyn and Layla, reaching the front door and ducking outside, stepping into the sun to get some fresh air. She took some deep breaths to try and stop herself from hyperventilating, then fought back more tears as she leaned against the outside wall, sinking down until she was sitting on the pavement. She wanted to go home, but she didn't know if she could make her way there in this state.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Saturday, Little Haven, skating rink - Lynn the quadruplets who have a lot of trained skills, but therapy isn't one of them.
Marilyn ran out the door of the skating rink and looked around, soon spotting Jackie sitting against the wall. Marilyn paused for a moment, then approached slowly. "Do you want us to help you get home, Jackie?" Marilyn asked quietly, crouching to be more level with the body swapper. "You can just tell us the address and we can put it into one of our phones," the yellow dressed quadruplet added.
You are reading this.
Fwomph
The Coin Discussion
"No? I mean they seem like just... Regular parents. Like they care about me and we weren't really that bad off. It's just... The split and coming here and putting me in the terribly-run school for kids with powers, that's extremely weird but I don't get how I'm supposed to investigate that without just asking and likely getting no answers!"
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
Pizza Place
Almost as if on cue, a waiter showed up with an anchovy pizza, a pizza covered in random toppings (including pineapples), Coralie's customized meatza, and a can of grape Fanta.
"Okay, who ordered what?"
The Road
"...I mean, you don't really have any other parents to compare them to...they could be really weird and you wouldn't know..."
"...I, uh, just realized I don't know where we're walking to..."
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
Toa of Anarchy
Pizza Place
"D'aw, Gill," Coralie hid her face behind her hand with a slightly embarrassed smile. "I know. But it feels good to be reminded sometimes."
Then at last the pizza arrived, and Coralie clapped her fingertips excitedly. "Oo! That'll be mine," she said, leveraging the meat feast onto the table. "Gill, was yours the anchovy?"
For the Horde!
"But you are!" Gill said, a cheery smile on his face. When the pizza arrived, Gill perked up. At once, Gill raised his arm and waved towards the waiter.
"I had the anchovy pizza!" he exclaimed. "That would be me, yeah!" He helped the waiter set the anchovy pizza in front of himself, looking eagerly at the pie in front of him. He took a huge whiff, closing his eyes and sighing.
"This is pizza...? Smells really good... especially the anchovies!" he sighed happily. He watched the other two to see how you were supposed to eat pizza.
As soon as Marilyn approached, Heidi started cursing in Jackie's head again, her vitriol directed straight at the girl in yellow, and Jackie winced, standing up and backing away.
"N-no! G-go away! You're... you're making it worse! She's..." she stammered, clutching her head. She shook her head, backing away from Marilyn. "S-stop, Heidi! Stop it!" she screamed, before moving to run down the parking lot and get away.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
Saturday, Little Haven, skating rink - Lynn the quadruplets who want to help, but can't.
Marilyn stopped with a dejected look on her face, not trying to go after Jackie. "Heidi still has some influence even when not in control?" the quadruplet thought aloud, holding out a hand for a moment, then giving up. "I hoped she would only be mad at Carolyn..."
Seeing nothing else that could be done, the girl dressed in yellow moved back over to the door of the skating rink, her head hung low.
You are reading this.
What, me worry?
Mindy
"Yo, that's mine," Mindy says about the pizza with the toppings. She just picks the pineapple off the pizza and tuck it all in a napkin. She opens up her grape soda and begins eating her pizza.Layla
Layla just stood there watching Jackie run away. And listening to what Carolyn had to say, she wasn't really sure what to do. She just stands there, sending Jackie running away, looking in her direction, concerned.
Fwomph
The Coin Discussion
"Well, I was heading off back home because averting a classmate's suicide and dealing with a very friendly werewolf is exhausting. And then you just kinda followed me for conversation? I mean I don't want to keep you busy if there's somewhere else you wanna be."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
For the Horde!
Gill watched Mindy start to eat her pizza, and he was getting an idea of how it was done. He picked up a piece, looking it over for a moment and smelling it, before taking a bite. With a grin, he started cheerfully devouring the slice.
"It's... so... good!!" he exclaimed, taking another slice and tearing into it excitedly. Gill was happily eating his fill of the pizza, and when he'd had enough, he smiled at the two girls.
"This evening's been amazing! But it's getting late, and I should probably be getting back home. Thank you two so much! When I was back at home, I grabbed a little something for you guys. I was hoping to see Blake too, but I'll give him his when we go back to school," said Gill, digging into his pockets. In front of Mindy and Coralie, Gill sat what looked like a 17th century gold coin, one for each girl, slightly tarnished but still valuable-looking.
"Go ahead and keep it. Consider it a gift from me to you. You two are the best friends a guy could have," he assured them, standing, then walking over and pulling the two of them into a big hug. After a moment, he let go, still smiling at the girls.
Jackie, legs shaking in her overwhelmed state, teetered over towards the sidewalk, making her way down the street. Feeling a change coming on, she ducked behind a tree and transformed back into Heidi.
"Serves her right, the two-faced bitch," Heidi said, either unaware or uncaring of how said statement could apply to herself. "That place is dead anyway. Let's go home. Might as well get some sleep before you guys drag me to my death in the morning," she muttered angrily, walking in a huff back towards her own house.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
What, me worry?
Mindy
"It ain't Famous Dave's, but it's all right," Mindy said as she eats her pizza and drinks her soda. After the trio finished eating, Gill gives her and Coralie gold coins. She looks it over before saying "T.... thanks" in a slightly uneasy manner. Not really so much because of the coin itself as it is being taken a bit aback by Gill's kindness. For some reason, she didn't feel that right him being nice to her like this. After he pulls her and Coralie into a hug, she just looks at him with a little bit of glumness. "Thanks, Gill. I guess I'll see y'all later," she sets quietly, but still a hint of sadness in her voice. She hops onto her bike and heads back home.Layla
Layla just watches Jackie disappear from her point-of-view. Part of her feels like she should do something. But also a part of her also thought maybe it's best to give Jackie/Heidi her space. She just sighs before heading back home.
Toa of Anarchy
Pizza Place
"Aw, Gilly..." Coralie couldn't help but blush at this gesture of kindness. "You shouldn't have. But you did, and I'm very glad you did."
Coralie returned the hug with a squeeze and a great big smile. Though as the hug broke off, she couldn't help but notice that Mindy seemed a little less unenthused. Still, as Mindy set off, Coralie kept up her own smile and called "Bye-ya, Mindy!" as she waved. Only after she was out of earshot did Coralie cock her head and look perplexed.
"Sadness, huh? Guess she's exploring emotions besides peeved, but why?... Ah well, sure we'll find reasons to pep her up next time." She turned back to Gill. "Thanks so much for this coin, Gill. It's priceless on an emotional AND monetary level! For that, it's going right in the World Trophy Cabinet in a position of pride. It'll look great on a frame between the Stahlhelm and the Chaneque Totem!"
With that, she pocketed the coin, gave Gill one more quick squeeze for the road, and called "See you next time!" as she hurried back to her hover-scooter. After that, it was a simple matter of wending her way up the road, out of town, and along the dirt paths pack to the vacant field, the lonely shack, and the Quantum Tollbooth housed within. Once inside, she booted up the rickety old supercomputers, and stood before the door, ready to step through into home sweet homeworld.
Edited by LizardOfAus on Apr 12th 2023 at 10:02:46 AM
For the Horde!
Gill squeezed Coralie right back, chuckling, then let go, a huge smile still on his face. Only Mindy didn't seem entirely happy; even he could tell that. Before he had gotten a chance to ask her what was wrong, she had made her exit. Coralie also seemed to noticed her glumness.
"You're welcome... only the best for my best friends ever," he told the young inventor. And soon, the trio went their separate ways. Gill began to walk down the street back towards the beach. The beach seemed a lot quieter now than it did when he had left it. Of course, not much could be louder than the commotion that had occurred there hours before.
He looked back and forth to make sure no one was watching him, then made his way down the beach and headed towards his secret grotto. He pulled his shirt and shoes off and deposited them in their hiding places, then waded into the waves. Once he had submerged sufficiently enough to transform back into a merman, he lingered on the surface for longer than he normally would, staring out to sea.
He'd had a wonderful day with his new friends. He and Mindy had swam together along the beach. They had eaten pizza. It was one of the best days of his life. He didn't want it to end. He didn't want to go have to go back to the water, be a merman again... be alone.
He leaned against a rock that was slightly jutting out of the water, just staring back and forth between the beach and the open sea, lost in thought. Before he had realized it, he had been sitting there for close to a few hours, the sun already having dipped below the horizon and the great full moon already having risen in the sky, dappling the sea with sparkles.
With a wistful sigh, he glanced back towards the beach, then dove into the water with a splash, submerging fully and swimming into the depths. Time to sleep the night away. Time to start a brand new day.
Heidi approached the apartment building with a bit of a drag in her step, not looking forward to her first day of school that Monday. She had been assured that she would be driven to school personally by her mother to make certain that she actually went to school, and her father would not leave the signup line until he got word in writing from Ms. Sims herself that she would assure that Jackie and Heidi stayed in school the entire school day. There was no getting out of this one.
Heidi punched in the code and entered the apartment, and at once she was rounded on by a middle-aged brunette woman with a dark green business dress.
"There you are, young lady!" the woman exclaimed. "I told you that you are to let me know wherever you go when you leave the house. You said you were going for a walk and that you would be back by sundown. It's now a quarter til 9 and you had better explain yourself!"
"Chill, chill, Mom!" Heidi exclaimed. "It's not like I disappeared off the face of the fucking Earth. I was meeting some of my classmates," she explained.
"And how many times have I told you to scrub that filthy vocabulary of yours?!" Heidi's mother snapped. "Wait until your father hears about this, he is going to be livid, young lady. Livid!"
"Jesus, Mom, I have a name!" Heidi complained.
"And what have I told you about using the Lord's name in vain?" her mother snapped back. "We are going to have a talk about this, young lady. To your room. This instant! March!" Her mom pointed down the hall, and Heidi stomped in the direction her mom pointed. Heidi's mother marched after her, and waited until Heidi entered her room. Her mother craned her neck down the hall. "Robert! Get in here! She needs a stern talking to again!" With that, she followed Heidi into her room, and slammed the door.
Edited by AllHailThrall on Apr 12th 2023 at 5:43:36 AM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Pizza Place
"Well, again, spinach can be decent depending on how you prepare it? Broccoli though? Eugh! Terrible stuff. Eggplants too. Devil's Berries, they call them on World..."
Coralie paused her usual self-indulgent rambling. She'd just glanced over at Gill, and couldn't help noticing his smile seemed a bit less sincere than before.
"...hey," she said, cocking her head with a look of concern. "Something on your mind, Gill?"