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Post by Frodo on Mar 2, 2005 17:34:16 GMT -5
I reached the dining room, and looked around in awe. Everyone was here. Okami appeared, Gator was behind me, Rain behind him, and Jaid at my side. I was relieved when I saw him, but just couldn't bring myself to say so. Besides, what would he think??
A long mahogany table stretched out, with an aged and slightly worn white tablecloth thrown helter-skelter in the middle. Plates had been set out, with cutlry. Strange, I thought. Is it really going to be that fancy?
The chairs were antique, looking quite victorian. A cobweb-blanketed glass chandelier cast feeble light over the room. A double-take told me it wasn't eletric. Tiny candles burned in the crystal sconces.
Everyone was here, and wanting to eat, but all trying to be polite. Gator perched at the head of a tall stool, grooves worn into it from use.
I jumped as a voice echoed around. "Come in, Sit down!" I searched for the source, and found it - a tiny old man at the very end of the table, in a red, winged chair. He wore a Navy wasitcoat and cloak, draped about his shoulders as if it were a part of him. He was thin and old, with wild, white hair, and a small pointed beard. Two piercing black eyes fumbled over my appearance. "Make yourself at home! "And you must me Kiri," he added in an undertone to me.
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Post by Frodo on Mar 2, 2005 17:35:03 GMT -5
OOC: Wee! I made page numba 5!
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Post by Fafmimbaki on Mar 2, 2005 18:25:36 GMT -5
OOC) Ah-ha! I knew Okami had to be from Japan! *Pats self on head* You're such a smart girl Andrea. *Then why aren't you doing any better on your math! Dad shouts from behind* Ahhh! Go away! *Runs away*
We entered the dining room, I sat at my accustomed stool. The old man greeted Kiri and introduced himself. The food came in. Mmmmmmm, bacon. I love bacon. It's almost as good as barbecued lamb-plant. But definetly not as deliciously sweet as tree-goose. Thinking of tree-goose made me wish that master lived closer to the ocean, so that we could eat it more often. After the first course, BLTs, the old man began to talk to Kiri. It eased from pleasantries of what she thought of this place, how she was doing in school, what her interests were, to more important business matters of everything she had learned about mythical critters and her opinion about good and evil. i could tell by her expresion that she was getting puzzled and beginning to wonder things about the old man.
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Post by Frodo on Mar 2, 2005 18:46:12 GMT -5
His speech was a little unclear to me at first, due to his accent. "Come sit next to me!" he said. He beckoned to the chair at his left. "Come sit." I did so, and as the food was brought out by a rumpled, grumpy cook, my Uncle shot questions at me. "Interests?" he said, the tangle of eyebrows raised. "I like to write," I said fidgeting a little. The sandwich on my plate looked out of place in the formal dining room. "And I play soccer." "Your stories? What are they about?" Again, the curious look. "Ah, well," I glanced around the room, looking for reassurance from something. No had ever read my stories, and I was afraid that when I told him what they were about, he'd want to read them. "I write Fiction." "Interesting. What kind of fiction?" "Fantasy Fiction." I gave in. "With Griffins and Knights and hidden castles." The Uncle threw back his head and laughed deeply. I smiled, just hearing him. "You have foresight?" he said, a glint in the black eyes. "WHAT?" "Foresight. It is not uncommon in youths of your type. They just do not realize it, and therefore the skill goes undetected, and is lost before the age of 22." He nodded, and dabbed at his mouth with a linen napkin. "I just write weird stories! That's all!" The conversation was getting a little too strange for my liking. "Yes," he said, "But here you are, in a castle, with a dragon, the wolf creature," he inclined his head curteosly at Okami, who took no notice, "banshees, and many other surprises." "Aha," I said weakly. The sandwich didn't look appetizing anymore. "May I read one of your stories?" he asked. "Um, my door is locked. So, not even I can read my stories." I could feel my face getting hot. It was a lame excuse. "Not anymore," he said. "I only locked it becuase the Banshee was coming in. If she had come in through your window, your room would have been torn to rubble. Jealous creatures, they are." He pulled out a long pipe from his waistcoat. "A story, please?" I reluctantly got up from my chair. Just then, the Grandfather clock went off for noon, echoing around the hall. "Odd," he said. "Should have been an hour ago."
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Post by Gimli on Mar 3, 2005 16:38:01 GMT -5
OOC: giggle oh this is great!
sitting on the barstool next to the kitchen i sat and watched, Kiri must be wondering what exactly was going on here, Uncle had to explain to her what he did (I had called him uncle since i was little my dad worked for him) and why well, why we were all here. this must be rather odd for her, and american, to be experancing all of this anyway. he asked her aobut her intrests and hobbies, after looking defensive about it , i turned away and put my dishes in the sink. not wanting to really stay and be part of the conversastion i retreated to my room agoining the library. entering my room, i went to the bookshelf and drew out a book of heavy black leather here is where i kept my thoughts and where i drew my thoughts. flipping thru the pages i found what i was looking for mom, tall and lithe, blueish green hair surround her smooth, girlish face, her ears peaking out between the wisps that fell in her face, we never knew exactly what type of creature we were all we knew was that we traveled and roamed. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great granfather had decided to call us the people, with are pointy ears and the fact that we could see for miles and that we could tell the future kind of put us in a class of our own, not to metion the fact that we tended to have blue or green hair. Sighing I set the book on the table beside my bed, i straightened my hair and went back to library to work on the 5 th shelf Uncle kept on un-organizing it.
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Post by goldberry on Mar 3, 2005 20:58:21 GMT -5
I stood in the dining room near Kiri. When she sat down next to her uncle, I retreated to the doorway of the room. When he began questioning her about things, I left. I wasn't gonna let myself become friends with her, I decided firmly. It was too dangerous. All these creatures, all of the strange stuff, it would distract me from college. And being friends with the guy's who employs you niece wasn't a wise idea as far as I could see. I walked back to my house, all the while thinking about how unnerved Kiri had looked in the dining room. I couldn't get it out of my head. I kicked open my door, frusturated. And froze on the spot. Dad was home. He was on the floor, half concious, a bottle of beer in his hand. Crack was strewn acroos the floor. It was empty. I let a few choice words escape my mouth. Manuerving myself so that I was between him and the rifle, I told him flatly, "Get out. Now." He rolled halfway over. "Why? S'my house. You're a little b******d. You get out." I reached behind me, grabbing ahold of the rifle. "I'll give you to the count of five." I warned him. "I'm not movin'." I swung the gun around, and aimed it at him. "I told you once, I'm not gonna say again after this, I'll just shoot. Get. Out. NOW!" He just gave a slurred laugh. "You won't shoot me. You're like your w**** of a mother." I saw red, but swung the gun so that it was no longer pointing him. I shot at the floor near him. I figured out a technique that allowed me to do that without the bullet bouncing into something else. My father scrambled up, but didn't leave the house. "Lemme guess. Swas a warnin' shot." I leveled the gun at a place just above his shoulder. I pulled the trigger again. This time he just sat down. "You're not gonna shoot me. I told you that. Stupid brat." Something snapped inside me. No, I wouldn't shoot him. But I wasn't gonna put up with this anymore. I kept the rifle trained on him and moved slowly towards the cupboard. Grabbing my backpack, the remaining apple, and a change of clothes, I walked back towards the door. "Whatcha doin'?" he spat. I adjusted my backpack and tucked my clothes under my arm. "I'm leaving. I can't stand you anymore." He stumbled towards me. "You can't leave. I gotta have somewhere to stay while I'm in the area." His words were barely understandable. I dodged him and ran around the corner. I watched him stagger out the door from behind a scraggly pine. He looked around, shrugged, got halfway back into the hut, and passed out. Quickly, I made my way back up to the castle. I had no idea where I was gonna go, but I figured I needed to tell the old man that I couldn't work for him anymore. Pausing on the way, I stuffed my extra clothes into my backpack on top of the text books. I hoped taking them wasn't considered stealing. When I got back to the castle, it looked to be shortly after noon. Steeling myself, I opened the door, and walked towards the dining room. I had left them eating lunch and maybe they were still in there.
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Post by Fafmimbaki on Mar 4, 2005 9:45:42 GMT -5
Jaid left, he looked a little sad, in the middle of lunch. I knew he was going home, to that terrible home of his. The rats had told me his father had come last night. If figured that he'd be back. I finished my lunch and went to wait for him at the door. I only had to wait for about a half hour. He came in the door, a stubborn look on his face, and then he stopped short, startled to see me in the middle of the foyer. "Going anywhere?" I asked. "I can't stay, I have to quit, I just came to finish lunch..." "No, you're not leaving. Don't you have to finish college? Don't you need money? Where will you go? Where will you live? Who will hire you with your high school grades? How are you going to get there? What will you eat? No, You're not leaving. You will live here. Go to the dining hall, we will talk to the master about this." He stuttered and protested, but I circled around behind him and pushed him ahead. I banged open the doors, Master was still talking to Kiri. They looked up, suprised at the noise. "He's staying here." I announced, "Does anyone mind that?" "No I'm not! I'm...." Jaid protested. Master held up his hand for scilence. "Jaid, she must like you to insist you stay. I would think you should be honored and oblige her. I for one don't mind. And the castle has never been in better condition since you came. I will arrange for you to stay if you wish it. You will always have a home here. Now come, sit, and finish your lunch."
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Post by Gimli on Mar 4, 2005 11:04:19 GMT -5
Why was it that I knew all the secrets? using foresight or whatever it was called i knew they were still eating, and that jaid ran away from home basically because of his father, don't even get me started on his father. I hate this gift sometimes.. Uncle once again had been leaving newspapers in his books how was he going to get anything done with newspapers in his books? shrugging my head, silently complaining about men and there horrid habbits of being messy, i turned to the next asile. I knew all the secrets and why it was so strange here. And i hated the fact that i knew, the fact that i knew more then the gator and Okami and all the rest i knew more then everyone here except for uncle but thats because these things these weird things all happened to him, and the reason that the castle was weird was him. Yes it was good to know so then you wouldn't be so supprised to know that you had a vampire for cook, and stuff like that but it also was very unerving. I set down the books lifted my leather book from the pocket of my bookeepers apron and went to the window seat to right the most current events of the castle down.
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Post by goldberry on Mar 4, 2005 14:34:59 GMT -5
I stared in shock at Kiri's uncle. "Uh...It's really nice of you, sir, but...I can't stay. I just came to say that I was quitting the job. I- I may be able to get a dorm at a college." I glared at the dragon. "My grades aren't that bad. I got a full scholarship, you know. I could get another one if I had to." I turned back to my employer. "But I can't stay. I'm not gonna wait for my father to keep coming around. He'd try and find me, cause for some reason he thinks I'm a source of income. I can't and won't stay. Thanks, but no. Kiri, it was nice meeting you. You too, Ms. Okami." With that, I turned around and walked back out the door. I had no idea where I was going. But I was leaving.
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Post by Frodo on Mar 4, 2005 17:35:53 GMT -5
The doors slammed open, Gator nuzzling Jaid's back, so he'd be forced to step forward. The Dragon and my Uncle talked for a little, and in the conversation - "Jaid, she must like you to insist you stay. I would think you should be honored and oblige her. . ." - I realized that Gator was female. "You're a girl dragon?!" I screeched, almost bursting out laughing. And all this time! But now, her intentions made sense. Logical, motherly. Duh! I wanted to smack myself.
Jaid spun around angrily, and left. Why was he leaving? I thought he lived here. "Jaid!" I yelled after him. My chair crashed to the floor, in my mad scramble to hunt him down. "Jaid, where you going?"
I found him just outside the gates, looking out over the mountains. The castle was set on a hill, and you could look for miles. I stopped short, not wanting to disturb him. "Jaid?" I whispered. He didn't turn around. "Jaid, please, tell me whats wrong." I touched his shoulders, lightly, and came around to see his face.
His eyes were deep, and sad, like pensive pools of dark light. "Please," I said, keeping my hand on his shoulder.
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Post by goldberry on Mar 4, 2005 17:49:04 GMT -5
I just looked at Kiri. "I can't stay. I just can't. I can't stay in a place that would like it better if I were dead. I've done it for nearly 20 years. I'm not gonna do it anymore. Listen to me. I'm pathetic. Standing out here having a pity party for myself because I finally found the guts to up and leave and get away from all this junk." I smiled wryly. "I told my mom once that I'd see the world. I guess now I get to. Are you gonna go in?" Kiri shook her head stubbornly. "Not unless you come in with me. You don't have to leave. It's just your way of thinking. Look, I know- " she seemed to reconsider and simply told me, "Come on. It can't be that bad."
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Post by merry on Mar 4, 2005 18:05:30 GMT -5
i got up and falowed Kiri out. i could hear them talking Kiri was trying to convence Jaid to stay. i called to jaid " you have a point, it's never a good thing to stay were your not welcome. thats why i left japan. just keep in mind you welcome here." they both looked at me confused and not knowing what to answer. " i figured it's best you know that." i turned and left. one needs to make his own deshisons I thought to my self
OOC: sorry again about my spelling.
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Post by goldberry on Mar 4, 2005 18:19:26 GMT -5
I watched as Okami walked back up the wide steps of the castle, sending a silent thanks with her. I turned back to Kiri. "She's right, isn't she? About being welcome in places. That's why all of these strange people work for your uncle. That's why he hired me. And that's why he brought a teenaged niece whom he'd never met to live with him, isn't it? Because the castle welcomed people? Because he welcomed people?" I glanced out the gate. I would have a home here. Suddenly if felt like a ten pound weight had dropped off my shoulders. There was nothing to stop me from staying here but myself. This place wasn't like the town, or even like the college campus. I gave Kiri a genuine smile, though it didn't reach my eyes. "You're right. There isn't anything to keep me from staying. Thanks, Kir." I turned around and followed Okami's footsteps back into the castle. I found her and Ms. Rain in the library. Poking my head in, I told her, "Thanks." And walked off, somewhat sad, but knowing that the mood would pass.
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Post by Fafmimbaki on Mar 4, 2005 20:01:43 GMT -5
He left, i started to go after him, but master stopped me. "No, he must make this decision on his own. Let him go. What do you think he will choose?" he asked me. "His mind is muddled, all confused. I hope he will stay." I stared longingly out the door. "Then how about you go fix a room for him." The idea perked me slightly and I dashed off to go fix a bedroom, close to Kiri's, just the way he would like it.
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Post by goldberry on Mar 4, 2005 20:26:31 GMT -5
Halfway down the hall, I heard a sound like the one the dragon had made when she repaired the bed. Turning, I followed my ears. Again only halfway down the hall, Kiri found me. "Hey. It sounded like Ms. Dragon is taking over my position of fix-it. Wanna come see what she's doin? I'm curious." I don't know why, but I was glad she had come back in after me, instead of staying outside alone longer.
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