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Post by Nakki on Apr 10, 2009 21:38:01 GMT -5
All was quiet, there in that peaceful hollow in the Reception Area. The sluggish water in the small swamp there ran slowly and thoroughly, pushing against the feet and ankles of a certain blue-haired boy.
Nico pushed his hair out of his eye again as he looked up to the setting sun in the west, then looked back towards the water, feeling something brush against his foot. It turned out to be a minnow, curiously nibbling his toe. He shook his foot a bit, and the tiny fish darted away in panic.
To tell the truth, Nicolai had come to this place partially to explore and partially to unwind. The events from the night before had startled him deeply, especially with that horrible fire that had suddenly appeared.... Nico shook the thought from his head to stop thinking of the flames. He glanced back towards his shoes, at the shore of the small swamp, for a moment, and then returned his attention to the little swamp, stepping gingerly along its sandy, muddy bottom.
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Post by Lexxi on Apr 10, 2009 22:28:05 GMT -5
The dull glow of orange lit the sky in an all too familiar blaze; seeming to catch the treetops on fire like a row of tall green candles. The smell of wildflowers and moist earth drifted on the wind and wove through dead leaves and bushes like an unseen essence searching for something amidst the beauty of nature. All was relatively quiet aside from the chatter of squirrels and the lazy twitter of birds, but a bit further down the path, a small voice could be heard above the dull flutter of a breeze. The high and low tones flowed fluently. It rose and fell with the lyrics and then paused when its owner came to an obstacle only to start up again when she began her steady pace up the old dirt path. It was only when she reached the open that the song halted completely. Bright eyes, blue as the last remaining bits of summer sky, blinked at the sudden lack of trees that left way for a river that gurgled and ran over sleek stones then turned to the sunset above. It looked just like last night.
She could remember the flames as they lapped at the sky and the fear that had swarmed through her, but that was all. All she could recall was the fire. Jacques shook her head in response to the memories she couldn’t quite summon to view. Years had taught her that it was better to just forget them. To move onward. Thusly, she took up walking back down through the woods and along the side of the twisting river. She could see the water and the little fish struggling in the currents. It was strange, something she didn’t often get to see. Half of Jacques’ life was spent passing things by but now she was seeing just how much she needed to take things in. After things had begun to fade from her mind, it all seemed to be passing by much faster.
Jacques looked up when she spotted a bit of movement and felt herself freeze a moment when she saw who it was. She recognized him immediately. Nico. She didn’t do a thing for a moment, simply stared as he waded through the water, then took in a deep breath and moved closer. She was probably doing the stupidest thing of her life, but she couldn’t help herself. Moving to the edge of the bank a few feet away, she cleared her throat a bit. “What are you doing?" she stated quietly.
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Post by Nakki on Apr 11, 2009 7:31:39 GMT -5
Nico suddenly looked up when Jacques spoke, her voice startling him out of his thoughts. He spun around quickly and his eye soon spotted the girl, standing on the shore. When he saw who it was, he relaxed a little, but not entirely; she'd been there the night before, and one of the other witnesses was the last person he wanted to be around right now.
He turned away from her with a disdainful sniff. "Just poking around. Why do you want to know?"
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Post by Lexxi on Apr 11, 2009 8:17:20 GMT -5
Most might have gotten the hint to leave. The hostile tone and the way he removed his eye from her almost at once might have hinted that he did not want her there and that he’d rather be alone. However, Jacques seemed undeterred by his actions and words. She didn’t want to leave, which may have been her whole reason for staying, yet at the same time, knew that if she did leave, things would never get better. He was obviously mad at her and she refused to let it stay that way. Absently clasping her hands behind her back, she gave him a timid smile. “I just wanted to know if you were okay.” It seemed like a normal enough thing to say. From what she could remember, there had been a fire and he had been present for it. That was grounds enough to feel concern for him.
She shuffled her feet nervously and bit the inside of her cheek. There was little chance he would care that she had wanted to check up on him. Did it make her sound weak? Or perhaps it simply made her seemed like an over-worried freak. Either way, she kept herself going a moment longer, just to keep him talking. “I’m not completely sure what happened after the fire started, but I wanted to be sure you didn’t get hurt or anything….” [/size]
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Post by Nakki on Apr 11, 2009 9:13:03 GMT -5
'Wanted to know if you were okay'? Nico thought to himself, his eyebrows knitting a little as a look of confusion came over his face. However, turned away from Jacques, she wouldn't have been able to see such an expression on his face.
Concern wasn't something that was in great abundance in the Galochio family; it was a dog-eat-dog world in that circus, and if you couldn't keep up, you were generally left behind- unless you were indispensable. Luckily for Nico, he was just that because of his curse-casting ability. But still, concern was a thing mostly unknown to the boy, for he hadn't really gotten any since his mother had....
Nico shook himself out of those thoughts again and went back to his wading, stepping farther out in the shallow swamp.
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Post by Lexxi on Apr 11, 2009 9:25:10 GMT -5
The silence was unnerving, making Jacques somewhat wish she had heeded his silent hints to walk away. She listened as the water moved around the boy in quiet sloshing sounds and watched him with a slight curve to her lips. The smile had faded into a frown, her eyes took upon a sense of dejection, and gave a small sigh. It was starting to seem like there was no hope in trying to clear the air around them. Anyone else would have just forgotten it. After all, he had been the one who has caused it. Nico had been the one who had scared her in the first place and started the whole chain of events that had made it come to this, but Jacques wasn’t about to play the blame game. In her mind, it was no one’s fault. Just a fluke that had led to more unwanted events. Summoning up a bit more courage, she stepped forward more toward the edge of the bank.
“Please, I am sorry if I did something wrong. I did not mean to.” She sounded almost pleading as she carefully positioned herself above the muddy slope of the bank and looked at him, a mere arm’s length away. “I don’t remember most of it, but if I did hurt you, I would very much like to make it up to y-” She was cut off by yet another twist of fate. Had she been wise enough to consider the stability of the bank, it might have been avoided, but the moment the ground gave way beneath her, she knew it was too late for that. A matter of seconds and she had stumbled down the bank and into Nico; sending them both plummeting into the murky water with a loud splash that scattered a few birds resting peacefully in the branches above.
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Post by Nakki on Apr 11, 2009 14:53:59 GMT -5
With a sudden squawk, Nicolai suddenly found himself toppling over heavily under the weight of a certain girl. Within moments the two were both sitting in the water, Nico sprawled out on his back with Jacques nearby. Just as Nico was about to say something to the girl, a frog jumped onto his head. It looked him in the eye and croaked before jumping off again. Nico twitched. That was the last straw...
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" he suddenly exploded, looking around quickly in a whirl of blue hair and glaring at Jacques fiercely, his one eye seeming to make a concentrated beam of hate since the feeling had only one eye to go through. "JACK- Jake- oh, WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS! WHY ARE YOU SO- SO INSUFFERABLY STUPID?! ANYONE could have seen that bank was too unstable! Why did you do that?!"
He quickly stood up with an angry huff, striding back to the bank. However, when he spotted his shoes floating in the water, he gave a horrified gasp. "MY SHOES!" He snatched them out of the water with a growl. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO THEM!" He brandished them at Jacques, letting her see the now-soaked and muddied lining and black leather. "Do you have any idea how much these cost?! Ugh...." Nicolai looked at the shoes a little sadly. "These were my favorite shoes..."
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Post by Lexxi on Apr 11, 2009 19:01:24 GMT -5
The water was chilling to the touch, a cold way to force one back into reality or give them hypothermia. She’d fallen right beside him, the water rising in a huge wave around them then falling back like droplets of rain that sparkled in the sunset, and when she sat up, she found herself dripping wet and caked in mud. The fabric of her clothes clung to her with the moister, tight as a second skin and her hair fell over her shoulders in strands darkened and straight. Her headband had fallen askew and now covered her right eye so that, as she observed Nico quietly, she could barely register the depth and distance. It was only when he began yelling that she grew alert to his presence sending ripples over the water. However, it didn’t seem to occur to her that he was mad. She just stared at him, head cocked curiously to one side and watching his every move.
His tone was hostile and furious as he showed her his ruined shoe yet she still didn’t stir. Just stared. One might have seen it as the emotion built up. She tried her hardest to keep a straight face and to take him seriously. To register his scolding and take it to heart to prevent future mistakes, but she couldn’t. He lips curved into a smile and, despite her inner struggle, she burst out in giggles. “We’re twins!” she stated between her laughs; motioning toward the band that covered her eyes much like Nico’s eye patch. Had Nico known, he would have understood that she didn’t remember it, that when he had been yelling, she had been blanking completely; losing reality until it came back as pure laughter. Needless to say, it could easily be taken the wrong way. [/size]
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Post by Nakki on Apr 12, 2009 6:37:35 GMT -5
Nico's face was frozen in a perfect expression of shock when Jacques started to laugh. When she pointed out, "We're twins!" he suddenly noticed the headband across her face. His hand strayed up to finger his eye patch for a second before it fell back down- and balled into a fist.
Now the boy's face was starting to burn- in embarrassment, in anger, in any number of feelings- and he glared at her again. With a growl, he shouted, "You WEIRDO! Did you hear ANYTHING I just SAID!?" It probably wouldn't be wise to get him angrier... or else someone was gonna get paddled a beatdown. Well, as much of a beatdown that he could give to a girl.
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Post by Lexxi on Apr 12, 2009 8:46:59 GMT -5
She blinked. His tone was cold and harsh like the bitter sting of the water running down the length of her skin and all too familiar. Almost instantly, she was reminded of her sister and the way she snapped and barked at her like a rabid junk yard dog. He seemed to morph before her eyes. His hair grew longer, the familiar spirals of face paint formed over his eyes and cheeks, and his face grew sharp and snake-like. Jacques became terrified. The previous night couldn’t have even compared to the thought of her sister angry with her and she cowered back a bit; eyes suddenly welling with tears. Very slowly, she pushed herself up from the water and stood. Her head hung low and she fixed her headband so that it once more covered the length of her forehead, then slowly lifted her gaze back to him. “I’m sorry…” Her tone was quiet and fearful. Jacques didn’t want him angry, she didn’t want him hurt. For some reason, she was desperate to see him smile and it hurt worse than a knife when he spat harsh comments at her like she couldn’t do a thing right.
Just like with her sister, she was eager to see him do anything but yell at her. Though she couldn’t remember in the least what had happened, she knew that it had been her fault and that he most likely had every right to be angry with her. It was always that way and she accepted it. “I’ll make it up to you….whatever I did, I’ll fix it…” she pleaded quietly; beseeching him to lower his rage even the slightest.
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Post by Nakki on Apr 12, 2009 14:19:12 GMT -5
Nico continued glaring at Jacques for a moment, his mouth a thin line and his eye squinted in anger, but after a moment he gave an exasperated sigh and looked away. "Whatever. Go ahead and try to fix it if you want to... I have better things to do..."
He stepped up onto the bank quickly, hopping to the safer ground so that he wouldn't fall in again. There, he paused, and began to wring out his shirt. Maybe if he got enough of the water out, it would dry faster, he was hoping as he did so.
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Post by Lexxi on Apr 12, 2009 20:23:38 GMT -5
It took her a minute to regain her composure. Jacques found herself standing there in the ankle deep water with her head down for nearly 2 minutes just trying to prevent herself from crying. She couldn’t have begun to describe how frustrated she felt. He had let her off with no more than a single scorning comment, but she somewhat wished he had chewed her out. Maybe then she wouldn’t have felt as thought she needed to make it up to him. Maybe then she wouldn’t have felt so horrible. When she could no longer feel the tears in the corner of her eyes, she lifted her gaze to him; watching Nico silently as he let the water run from the fabric of his shirt. He seemed to have completely forgotten her. With a sigh, she sloshed through the water and hoisted herself up onto dry land. The grass didn’t feel welcoming. It didn’t make her feel at all better to be out of the bone chilling water, but actually made her feel more vulnerable.
Jacques bit her tongue to keep control and silently slipped her sash off her shoulders; pouring out the contents to check for damage. A apple, 4 juggling balls, a number of randomly assorted items, and a black silk bag fell out onto the ground and her attention instantly went to the object held in the ebony satchel. Undoing the ties and pouring out the contents, a deck of brightly colored cards fell into her open palm. Tarot cars, luckily unharmed by the water. She shuffled them, turned them over, ran her hands over them, then gave a small nod to confirm that they were fine. Thought it hardly mattered. She knew the only future she had and that was that Nico hated her.
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Post by Nakki on Apr 13, 2009 15:27:03 GMT -5
Nico continued to wring out his clothes, and he glanced at Jacques every once in a while as he did so. However, when Jacques returned to the bank and began to shuffle her tarot cards, his eye did not stray away as it did before. Instead, he watched the cards as they were shuffled and turned, noting their drawings and names. He himself was learning to divine with such cards; he had come into possession of the traditional family deck just last year, and he was still learning to do it correctly. It wasn't really one of his strong points.
Quietly, he kept watching (a little hypnotized, it seemed) as Jacques inspected her cards to make sure they were whole and good. Absently, he wondered how hard it could really be; this simple-seeming girl had a deck and could probably use it, so why couldn't he? This he pondered as he watched her shuffle those decorative cards...
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Post by Lexxi on Apr 14, 2009 18:54:18 GMT -5
Silence ruled the woods as the sun began to set. The last few rays of orange light caught the gold trim of the cards as they fluttered by in in a swift fashion. One by one they fell back into the pile and formed a neat stack until she finally seemed satisfied with their condition. They seemed unaffected by the water that chilled her through and through and Jacques was more than satisfied. If she could have one thing, it would be her cards. However, when she looked up, she saw she had gained something else in the past few seconds of contemplation. Nico was watching her as she shuffled, his one eye observing the fall of the cards and the sparkle of their hand painted designs. It was unexpected to see the least and for a split second, Jacques felt her spirits lift. Perhaps she could manage to save whatever was left of their nonexistent friendship.
“Do you divine cards?…” she asked timidly as she stacked them one last time. When she stood, having replaced her items into her sash, she refused to look straight at him. Staring was rude and she knew for sure he would get angry if she did it. So instead, she focused on the water is it dripped off her skirt in a rhythmic fashion. One drop at a time, touching the earth then absorbing into the dirt.
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Post by Nakki on Apr 20, 2009 6:27:48 GMT -5
Nico hesitated a moment before replying, "I'm learning to..." He watched those cards as long as he could before Jacques replaced them in her sash. He was almost longing to see them again. "What kind of deck is that? I saw a few cards I haven't seen before in there..." he asked suddenly, hoping she'd take the entire deck out and show him.
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