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 Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 6:42 pm
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Kaleb yawned. Despite the sleeping issues from adjusting to college life, he was faring pretty decently on his own. Classes were going well so far, he was enjoying the peace and quiet of his own place, and the weather had been beautiful. Even preparing his own meals was easy enough, though he did occasionally forget one here and there. Now if only he could regain the equilibrium that granted him a full night's rest...
He was headed back to his small apartment from the grocery store, and turned the corner to take a short cut through a small park when another yawn came over him. This one so wide his eyes watered up, and he covered his mouth with the back of one hand. It was in that moment, blindly stepping off the sidewalk and into the park, that he felt the first raindrops on the back of his neck.
The freckled teen glanced up sharply, and felt his heart sink into his stomach. It was dark and rainy. The buildings on one side of the park were crawling with vines, the other was nonexistent, a deep thicket of thorny vines curling around choked trees sat in it's place. Kaleb had only ever seen places with this horrible atmosphere in those awful nightmares, yet here he was, standing there with a shopping bag in hand like the nightmare had crept into his waking life.
His first instinct was to get back to the safety of his apartment, but he couldn't go through the park. Not like this, it was too dark, and unknown things rustled in the dense foliage. He turned on his heels and stepped back onto the sidewalk. Fear churned in his stomach at the thought of having to take the long way around, but he headed forward through the rain anyway.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 9:19 am
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Shiloh was fairly acquainted with the Otherworld at this point.
Thankfully for him, he seemed to be alone. More times than not, Beel would find and accompany him during his time here, but the fetch had blessedly left him be. Maybe he hadn't noticed his presence here yet. Maybe he wanted a break. Shiloh surely needed the break, anyway. Being a noble was (even though he hadn't done anything with his status) exhausting, to say the least. Having a corpse creature serve under him when it had once tried to kill him was even worst.
But that was neither here nor there. Things in Ashdown had been strange with the weather, and truth be told... Shiloh thought to look to the mirrored realm for answers. Unfortunately for him, there weren't any to be had; or at least, he wasn't looking in the right places. He sighed as he walked, a canopy of leaves hanging over his head to shield him from the rain. Pitcher plants dangled from the makeshift roof, overflowing with the water as he meandered about.
It was then that he saw an unfamiliar face; some blonde man who looked rather thin and small and unassuming, and the posture immediately made him think of Jamie. Then again, Jamie had been doing well to stand up for himself, be braver, get stronger. It made Shiloh proud, but it also scared him knowing his friends were getting just as involved; not to mention, he wasn't sure if he could always be there to protect him. That made his heart twist.
Good semantics aside, it wasn't like he could just leave this guy to his own devices. Of course, if there was anything the Otherworld taught him, it was that the most unassuming were often the most dangerous. He chewed on his already red, raw bottom lip. He could defend himself if it came down to it.
Then again, this was Shiloh "Awkward" Beaumont, and approaching someone out of the blue wasn't exactly his best skill. Hell, given the events at the faerie ball, Shiloh wasn't sure he even knew how to speak to people anymore (people who weren't Jamie, Thorne, people he could trust). Stealth wasn't exactly a strong suit either, and so the blonde tumbled through puddles with loud splashes, crossing the street to come behind the strange visitor.
"Uh, hey?" He called out awkwardly from behind the man, "You ain't from around here, huh?"
word count: 406
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 12:05 pm
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When he heard the splashing behind him, Kaleb was afraid to turn around. He clutched at his bag of groceries like a security blanket, his knuckles white from the tension, and his mind was flooded with imagined horrors coming after him. The panic almost sent him into a run, but then he heard the voice call out.
It was a young voice, and the casual-sounding question gave the freckled teen a moment of pause. One critical second of reflection that kept the fear at bay long enough to turn around. The source of the voice, still noisily splashing through puddles towards him, was a fairly normal looking guy. Maybe around his own age even. Although the other youth looked a little... awkward or uncomfortable with the situation, he didn't sound particularly concerned about the sudden change in environment.
Kaleb came to a stop, making no attempt to keep the rain off himself or his groceries. He was already soaked.
"I - No, not really, I was just trying to find my way back..." he trailed off, not sure whether the other young man was referring to this cold, rainy place, or the normal waking-day Ashdown he had been in just a minute ago. Either way it was accurate. Kaleb weakly held up the rain-splattered plastic bag as an attempted explanation.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 5:35 pm
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By the looks of this panicked young guy, he definitely wasn't supposed to be here. Maybe he was dreaming? That, or he had accidentally wandered in. Shiloh knew both methods of entry all too well. He blinked his blue eyes curiously, rubbing his fingers at the deep purple circles that hung underneath them, marking his perpetual exhaustion.
White plumerias saw it fit to root around his feet, trying desperately to poke up his legs. He scratched his ankle with the heel of his shoe, the flowers falling off and decaying and trying to regrow again all at once. Shiloh didn't look too bothered by the happening, all things considered. It was pretty normal to him at this point, and given those who would wander into Otherworld... most of them seemed pretty accustomed to them at this point too. Then again this guy didn't seem so... aware of where he was.
New visitors. They had this look of fear and confusion constantly etched onto their face. Shiloh was pretty good at picking it out.
"S'alright." he said gruffly, hands in pockets as he slouched over to the guy, "You uh, do know where you are, yeah?" his voice was patronizing, though it wasn't on purpose by any means.
"We call it Other Ashdown. Otherworld for some. Others don't like that." he looked up at the rain as it fell, his expression squinting. "Most of the s**t here won't mess with you if you don't mess with it. Course, I'm pretty sure most things here can smell you borderline pissing yourself at the same time."
word count: 669
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:06 pm
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The sad part about Kaleb's recent experiences was that the growth of plants on people and animals was reassuringly normal. Bad things were dark and gloomy and threatening, not growing flowers. That and they preferred to scare him over outright insulting him. He wasn't THAT terrified! At least, not anymore. Running into another person was reassuring, especially since that other person was relatively calm in this strange, dark environment.
"It's... not a dream," he replied in a confused tone, his cheeks turning pink. "It's never changed like this before, I'm pretty sure I'm awake. I still have groceries." Kaleb's expression held some serious doubts though, like he was trying to convince himself rather than explain his presence to the other guy.
He followed the other teen's line of sight upward, getting raindrops on his glasses. "Why is it here? Right now, I mean, I've only had nightmares of it before..."
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:46 pm
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"So you just walked in? That's kinda weird..." Shiloh mused aloud to himself. Not that it was uncommon, but if the guy didn't know where he was... it was likely he was newly awakened to Other Ashdown. By the end of his conversation, Shiloh was nodding, that thought all but confirmed. He sighed, frustrated, but not with Kaleb. How many more people was this world going to draw in?
"It's.. it's hard to explain." he paused, biting his lip, "Why it's here, I mean. This place." he motioned widely with his hands, the movement all mock grandeur. "S'better if you dream. Them you can't get hurt here."
He took a few steps towards the man, the plants at his ankles trying to follow him. He stomped them out. They stopped growing. Arbitrarily, he reached forward to 'punch' Kaleb in the arm, the physical contact light and painless. "Definitely not a dream... for you anyway."
"I take it you don't know how to get out then?" Shiloh started to walk past the blonde, but he looked over his shoulder in conversation, eyes tired.
word count: 851
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Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 4:29 pm
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"I guess, yeah," Kaleb confirmed nervously. "I just stepped into the park and..." He gestured in the direction of the park in question, where the old paved path he knew was instead broken up by plants and winding into the dark thicket.
The flower-growing teen's words made sense, he knew about being there when he dreamed. And already he was starting to get a first hand example of why dreaming was preferable, not once in his previous visits had the rain chilled him so fast. He was slowly learning about this town's magical nature in a way that was much too up close and personal, he hadn't yet dug up any books that gave him insight into this situation.
Although calm enough when approached, Kaleb did jump and flinch back quite dramatically before he realized the mock punch held all the ferocity of a kitten's paw. "I-I don't, I'm not even sure how I got in," he stammered quickly, embarrassed all over again by his frightful reaction.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2016 6:06 pm
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Shiloh gave pause at Kaleb's reaction, but almost immediately a s**t-eating grin blossomed on his face. It wasn't malevolent or sarcastic (smarmy, perhaps), but it was very obviously humored. The posture, the physique; it was sort of charming in a way. It reminded him a lot of Jamie, being as meek and jumpy and mousy as he was.
Well, he wasn't really that way anymore, but Shiloh could definitely remember a time when he really thought about it. Those were the sort of people he found relatively endearing... well, now anyway. Before he probably found them annoying or pathetic, but Jamie morphed his views well enough on that front. "Relax, I don't bite." he actually managed to laugh, though the sound was quiet like a low rumble of thunder, not loud and obnoxious and brash.
"Sometimes you just walk in. I haven't really figured out how to get in on purpose yet either." he looked slightly miffed, but then shrugged it off, "I mean, I can get out really easily, but..." how would someone like Kaleb react to a fetch? Beel wasn't the most accommodating looking creature, what with being a manipulative nightmare-inducing corpse monster.
He shrugged again. "...we'd have to find my ride first."
word count: 1,056
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 5:05 pm
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Although some people might have been offended, being laughed at by one of their peers, Kaleb found the other young man's attitude almost reassuring. When people were too nice, too accommodating, sometimes Kaleb worried about what they really thought. He fretted over what they might be too polite to say to him outright, and worried that friendliness was just a cover for all those sharp edges that would tear his character apart the moment his back was turned. But so far this youth wore those mocking edges out in the open, and they really weren't as sharp as Kaleb might have feared.
It took a moment before Kaleb realized the stranger had gotten a few steps ahead, and it was with an abrupt start that he jumped into motion and followed.
"Your ride?" He asked, silently wondering why anyone would want to get into this place on purpose. The rain was colder than he remembered from the dreams, already his fingers felt stiff from having to carry the groceries, and he was trying to suppress a shiver. He quickly switched the bag to his other hand, and clenched the colder one to his chest in an attempt to warm it up slightly. He was hoping the aforementioned 'ride' was a car, or something else that would provide some shelter from the weather.
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Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 4:25 pm
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"My ride." Shiloh nodded, "He's an ugly son of a b***h, but he's useful for certain things." The noble looked around the expanse of the otherworld, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets. "So don't let him spook you—if we find him—he talks big but he's harmless."
Well, "harmless". He did have the ability to reach into your head and pull out your deepest fears to the conscious level, which wasn't very fun. Actually, it was quite debilitating. Still, he wouldn't dare use it on Shiloh; nor would he use it on any of Shiloh's cohorts, because then there would be consequences, and Beel was nothing if not an utter chicken s**t.
Flowers peeked out of cracks in the pavement. Others seemed to grow on top of the cement, leaving behind damp footprints. The leaves and the vines and the plants withered whenever Shiloh's feet lifted from the floor, but the signs of decay remained nonetheless. "Usually he refuses to leave me alone when I'm here, so it's sort of weird that—"
A thick, gravel-like voice cut him off, echoing from behind the twosome. "What's this? A friend? Did you finally give in and take a tithe?" Shiloh spun around (ever dictated by his reflexes), only to sigh at the sight. A vaguely humanoid creature stood there, roughly five foot five with skin that was gnarled and stretched and dried out like leather. His face was that of a corpse, eyes nothing but hallow sockets, no lips to cover the bizarrely white teeth. Despite this, the creature smiled, a grin that seemed to stretch ear to ear. He held up his hands defensively, five digits on either hand but fingers longer than normal—uncanny, unusual, but definitely not the weirdest thing about a weird corpse creature.
"I'm never taking a tithe." Shiloh had reiterated this probably a hundred times before, and it was obvious by the exasperation in his voice. "That's Beel. Beel, this is...?" he looked to Kaleb, realizing he was short a name. "...some guy. Don't be a d**k."
Unfortunately, Beel's interest in the boy had all but diminished at "he's not a tithe". "Whatever..." he hissed petulantly, pouting, "And he has such a pretty face, too."
word count: 1,426
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:10 pm
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It was a good thing Kaleb was forewarned, not just that the other teen's 'ride' was ugly, but also that it might just be around. He whirled around when that awful voice grated into existence behind him, and then cringed back at the sight of the corpse-like creature. If he didn't know the two strangers were somehow affiliated, that thing would have sent him running. It wasn't quite human... but it had enough resemblance to be completely unnerving.
He didn't even mind being introduced as "some guy". It was a fair enough description, and hardly as much of a concern as the creature's comment on his face. Did it appreciate a nice, horrified expression?
Kaleb rubbed at his face, trying to school it into something resembling mere nervousness rather than outright panic. "S-sorry," he murmured, his teeth chattering slightly from the cold and wet. "I'm Kaleb, it's... nice to meet you."
Perhaps the last part sounded a bit forced, but Kaleb was not known for his ease in social situations of any sort. All he knew was that pleasantries had to be observed, even when a creepy grinning corpse-thing was involved.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2016 11:03 am
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"Oh, Kaleb." Shiloh took this roundabout introductory in stride, "Neat."
Beel still didn't seem all that impressed, his sunken sockets of eyes (or perhaps lack there of) boring deeply into the newcomer. "Are you sure?" he practically purred to Shiloh. He was practically drinking in Kaleb's weakness. It would be such an easy life to replace, to grow into, to become human again and—
"No." Shiloh seemed exasperated for a moment, but mostly like he was in control of the situation. He wasn't bothered, not deeply, "Sorry, Beel's a royal d**k." he clarified, "But he won't do nothing. He's too scared of me."
The fetch scoffed, but said nothing.
"Anyway, think you can get us back to Ashdown?" He sidled over to the fetch with his arms crossed, look on his face saying you'll-know-what'll-happen-if-you-don't. Beel wrung his hands together under the stare. "I'd really appreciate it."
It only took a few beats more of silence before Beel finally cracked, throwing his spindly withered arms up into the air dramatically. "Fine, fine!" his voice rasped from the heightened volume. "Stop looking at me that way just—ugh—give me a moment..."
"Fetches can travel between the veil real easily." he told Kaleb. "Oh yeah, did I ever give you my name? It's Shiloh."
In an instant, Beel seemed to have produced a... portal? The air in front of him shimmered uneasily, the way heat waves warped the surrounding space. "Au revoir." He told the pair sarcastically.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 3:56 pm
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Once again, the only thing keeping Kaleb's feet firmly planted was the other teen's blasé approach to the frightening creature, and the whole situation in general. It definitely seemed like Shiloh, who's name he almost missed during the interaction, was higher up in whatever order determined what could pick on what in this rainy, cold Ashdown. Even the request to travel held a commanding note, despite being phrased as a question.
Still, Kaleb didn't like how the creature looked at him, even when he glanced away he could practically feel the stare. He didn't want to stay long enough to find out why he was receiving such scrutiny.
"That will take us... across the veil? Back home?" Kaleb asked hesitantly, the words feeling foreign on his tongue.
Melancholies Sorry for the short tag, getting my feet back under me. @_@
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:19 pm
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"He doesn't really look like it, but yeah, he can get us home." Shiloh confirmed this with a nod, watching as Beel did his... well, whatever the hell he was doing. Shiloh could sometimes use doors as mediums to return home, but Beel had a much better grasp on magic. The shimmering air seemed to give and tear, a milky white portal forming in its wake.
"Yes, I'm usually the one that has to fetch his a** when he wants in here." Beel said with a huff, though it was hard to tell if he was actually inconvenienced or not. Either way, it sounded like he expected better of Shiloh.
"Whatever." Shiloh didn't seem bothered by the sarcasm. "Anyway, after you." He said to Kaleb, not usually so polite, but also not too keen on leaving him behind with Beel.
Grey Dragon nope it's ok! Sorry for lateness |
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:12 pm
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