| abstract
| - Kel: The door opens into a cramped, narrow alley. This close to civilization and their exit, the area around them still looks vaguely like a city. The bricks aren't quite regularly shaped, and the ever-present thorn vines are growing up the walls, covering up the alien graffiti lining them. These vines, along with cables and wires, twine together overhead to make a canopy. Behind them, the alley dead-ends at the door you came out of; ahead of them, it leads into what looks like a labyrinth of similar alleys. Valt: Valt pulls her hood up. "...we're all going to die." Marlin: "We just need to get above it and look at where it goes." Doc Swiftly: Doc barely looks up from his book. "Nonsense. We're far more likely to be recaptured." Fyre: Fyre pricks her finger on a thorn. Bing! Jessie: Jessie decides to react to the AHHHH HEDGE by hiding as much as possible under her jacket. Because a jacket walking around is totally not noticeable or anything. Doc Swiftly: Doc's fingers tighten on the book he is holding, and he begins arcing a bit more, but otherwise seems just fine in this horrible place of suffering ohgod. Kel: After pricking her finger on a thorn on the wall--which is kind of chilly and makes her finger bleed profusely--Fyre learns enough to know that the branch to the left ahead of them is an actually useful path and not just a winding maze. Fyre: "We should go left." Doc Swiftly: Doc actually glances up from his book. "What makes you so confident of that?" Jessie: '...taking a cab could've.. well, maybe we should've.. uhm.. nevermind.' Fyre: Fyre holds up her bleeding finger. "Because I know." Valt: "Are you sure, Fyre?" 'Fyre: "The alternative being standing here and staring... I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't reasonably sure." Jessie: '..well, uhm.. pretty much every way here looks the same to me. As in, er, bad. So.. left is.. alright, I guess.' Fyre: Fyre sucks on her finger, which in no way resembles a phallic action. Valt: Valt pulls her robe sleeves down and balls her fists in the cloth. Just in case. Doc Swiftly: Doc shrugs and puts away the book. "Left it is, then. Perhaps we should have the more..Physically capable..Of us lead." Marlin: Marlin coughs quietly, heading forward. "So, let's go." Jessie: Jessie follows, still mostly under the jacket Valt: HOT FOLLOWING ACTION. Fyre: Hot following and not-phallic finger-sucking action! Kel: As they move forward, the alley ahead of them does indeed turn into a single pathway, while the one to the right looks like it just veers off into nowhere. Soon, they come out onto a rather wider street-like area, the pavement cracked and split by the thorn vines reaching up out of it. The fronts of the houses all look deserted, but a creature that looks like nothing more than an oversized possum scampers off at the sight of them, dragging a bag full of odds and ends. Marlin: Marlin keeps a hand on the hilt of his sword as he apparently leads Kel: The street, well, the street goes right. And left. Doc Swiftly: Doc follows them, hauling a bandaid out of his pocket and handing it to Fyre. It has little lightning bolts on it. Marlin: "Would that thing have headed further in, or out?" Kel: The right way seems to lead deeper into the city. The left way looks like it goes toward the park... if the topology of the Hedge even vaguely matches the real life city, she'd need to head in the left. Fyre: Fyre holds onto it and grins a bit. "I may need another prick in a minute, at this rate." There is NO WAY THIS PHRASE CAN BE TAKEN WRONG. Doc Swiftly: "Probably further in. It looked like something that would live here." Fyre: "Looks like left." Doc Swiftly: "Is your home towards the park?" Fyre: "It's not my... it's not deeper into the city, okay?" Valt: "...she said left, Swiftly. Obviously." Kel: The left quickly leads them to the borders of the park. A way, way, way too high spiked fence separates it from the street, and inside, it quickly turns into an overgrown hedge maze--it looks like the thorns will be fairly unavoidable. Something is... gurgling from deeper within, and what seems to be a foot-long squirrel with sharp teeth and glowing eyes is watching them passively from the canopy. Doc Swiftly: Doc shrugs. Jessie: Jessie stares back at the squirrel-demon-thing. Valt: Valt cranes her head up and locks eyes with the smilosquirrel. Unblinking. O_O Kel: The squrrel thing stares back at them. Doc Swiftly: Doc reaches a hand into a pocket and keeps it there. "Anyone know what that might be?" Fyre: Fyre appears weirdly calm about being in a place of doom with deathsquirrels and gurgling hedges. "Hi, squirrel. thing." Jessie: '..can we, er, not go in there?' Kel: "... yeah, hi." It seems fairly uninterested in Fyre. Valt: "Do you know where we're going?" Fyre: ...did it just talk? Blink. Marlin: Marlin seems nonplussed by it talking. Kel: "I don't know where you're going, but how about you go there?" whispering to Jessie, ... the squirrel seems nervous. whispering to Valt, ... the squirrel seems nervous. whispering to Marlin, ... the squirrel seems nervous. Marlin: Marlin frowns slightly. "Why?" Kel: "Because I'm busy. Not a good place to be hangin' around, you know?" Valt: Valt's eyes blink, complete with Zorak-blink noise. "...switch to decaf?" whispering to Jessie, ....... okay, Jessie ninja-socials it and can tell that it's nervous, but not of THEM, but more of their presence. Jessie: Jessie squints at the squirrel '...er.. we're just passing by. We're not meaning any harm or anything.' Kel: "Good! Good! ... now get to passing." It scampers to the ground and tries to look very concerned and interested with burying what looks like an inch-long claw. Valt: Valt looks with interest at the squirrel, and bends down at a 90-degree angle. "What's that?" Kel: ... the squirrel glares at her with yellow-y glowing eyes. "... just a thing. My thing. ... go away." Valt: "If it's your thing why are you burying it?" Fyre: "...maybe to grow a whole one from the part?" Kel: "... no reason." Fyre: "...so you just decided to go out and bury a thing today. Nice day to bury a thing, I guess." whispering to Doc Swiftly, ... Doc sees that the squirrel seems nervous. Jessie: 'Can we just keep going and get.. wherever we're going, sooner?' Jessie starts fidgeting again Kel: "PLEASE DO." Kel: You are trying the squirrel's patience! Valt: "But it's magic." Kel: ... it glares at Valt again. Valt: "I want to know." Kel: "And it's mine. Shoo." Marlin: Marlin sighs annoyedly and starts walking. Doc Swiftly: Doc shakes his head. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not be attacked by an angry Hedge-creature." Jessie: 'Just let him bury.. whatever that is.. and lets go?' Valt: Valt bends further, jerkily, like someone's cranking her like a car jack. "Show me or I won't leave." Doc Swiftly: "Let. It. Be." Kel: The squirrel hurriedly finishes burying it and sits on top of the pile of dirt. "It's just some thing! Nothing a big person like you needs! Now get!" Valt: Valt straightens up, nods, and keeps walking... until she's a while away, then she turns to look if he's gone yet. Kel: ... it is suspiciously watching her. Marlin: Marlin turns around towards Vault, looking on disapprovingly. "He is a squirrel. They bury things. It's not out of the ordinary." Valt: Valt smiles and waves! Kel: Glaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare. Valt: Smiiiiile. Wink. Fyre: "He's a talking squirrel. I somehow imagine that he might have more motives than a normal squirrel." Fyre shrugs. Doc Swiftly: Doc pulls out The Book of DOooOOooom, sighing. Marlin: "Or maybe he can just talk and it doesn't matter." Fyre: "Otherwise, he'd probably be going 'Oh god, where's my nut, where's my nut!?'" Kel: As soon as they're out of sight of the claw, they hear the squirrel bouncing across the canopy, quickly passing them in the direction they're going. Valt: Valt turns to Doc. "...not here." Valt: "...and he left. Let's go get it." Jessie: Jessie sighs '...now I *KNOW* we should've taken a cab.' Doc Swiftly: Doc, realizing that if VALT of all people thinks the Book shouldn't be used, puts it back into one of his many pockets. He puts his hand back into a side pocket and keeps it there. Kel: The path ahead of them seems to lead into a more open area around the lake. It seems surrounded by an odd variety of plants--lumpy blue peppers the size of a Doc's head, along with a few fist-sized grey nuts that look like stone. The lake looks pitch black, like it was a few miles deep starting inches from the shore, and it's bubbling slowly. A few turtles made of what looks like broken eggshell stroll around, but they don't seem to mind them. Fyre: "It's at least interesting." Shrug. "If you want to go by cab instead, we CAN go back." Valt: Valt bounds back to get the claw! Assuming something terrible doesn't happen. Kel: ... she finds her way to the claw unimpeded. Valt: Digdigdig. Kel: It's a claw! Doc Swiftly: "Oh no.." Jessie: Jessie turns, hearing Valt going back 'Valt! Wait! Be careful!' Fyre: Opportunity! So, do any of these look like interesting fruits? Valt: Valt tucks the claw into a robe pocket and makes her way back to everybody else. Marlin: Marlin frowns. "...what did you do?" Fyre: ".....so, is anyone good at identifying magic items, because I think we just gained one." More of a statement than a question. Valt: "...got the thing. And I am!" Jessie: '...uhm....' Valt: "Something will happen if I put it on, I think." Fyre: "...something? Put it on what?" Valt: "My finger." Marlin: "Then don't do that." Jessie: 'Then.. right.' Valt: Valt watches one of the egg-turtles. Kel: The turtle watches her back. ... but it doesn't seem to be the talky type. Valt: Valt crouches down to watch it closer, arms wrapped around her knees. Jessie: Jessie looks around, hoping against hope that something resembling wherever it is that Fyre needs to go is.. somewhere within sight. ..or at least that nothing large and hungry looking is nearby Kel: ... the lake burbles a bit more. Something *sloshes* in it a few dozen yards out from the shore. Doc Swiftly: Doc points. "We should go that way." Fyre: Fyre glares a bit at the fruit, thinks 'fuck it, I WILL figure out what you bastards are later,' and heads for the exit without paying attention to Doc's comment. Kel: From the looks of things, most of the more human-looking tracks--other than their own--lead toward another path. The lake seems to practically be a crossroads for Hedge traffic, a bit of a worrying prospect. Valt: Valt follows Fyre like a puppy. Aww. Doc Swiftly: Doc follows Fyre. And, apparently, Valt, but that's a coincidence. Jessie: 'Lets go.. er, that way.' Jessie follows Fyre, who was heading in said direction even as Jessie began to speak Marlin: Marlin tries to get at the head of the group again. Kel: Of course, they're barely a few dozen yards down the path when they hear hunting horns and the sudden baying of hounds a distance off. Fyre: Fyre instantly breaks into a run. Jessie: Jessie gets a panicked expression 'ohdeargawdahhhhhh!' Valt: Valt RUNS FOR IT like a bat out of hell, her robe fluttering behind her. Three dots in athletics ftw. Doc Swiftly: Doc pulls his hand out of his pocket, revealing..A 9volt Battery. Marlin: Marlin walks really fast. It's pretty close to running for him. Doc Swiftly: Doc also isn't going full-out. If he was, he could outrun everyone, and that would just be rude. Kel: Of course, the narrow path rips and shreds their clothes as they run, but they have bigger worries. Those dogs are damn fast. Soon enough, a few of them are just within sight--and one looks like it's still halfway human. There are a few warped changelings, prey animals and hunters, with them. One of them has the glowy-eyed squirrel on its shoulder, waving the pack forward. Valt: Valt sticks her hand in her pocket, putting the claw on the end of her index finger. Marlin: Marlin pulls out his sword, glancing behind himself momentarily. Kel: The claw sinks into the tip of her finger. And then it starts hurting. Over the next few seconds, her fingertips bloodily sprout claws. Jessie: Jessie doesn't look back. She's more busy running flat out for the nearest thing that looks like some way not here in the AHHHHH HUNTING PACK AHHHH FLEEE Valt: Valt yanks her hands out of her pockets and curves her fingers, looking over her shoulder to see how close the dogs are. Kel: Of course, now, at the far end of the path, there's a rather confusingly placed Emergency Exit door. Kel: Getting a bit closer to the real world, the dogs are starting to slow down, looking a bit reluctantly at the door--almost frightened. Valt: Valt bustles to the door and shoves it open without going inside herself. Jessie: Jessie heads straight for the door! Fyre: Fyre enters the door, forget that they're scared of it, we'll deal with that later. Kel: A few lashings from the changelings... and screaming from the squirrel... goads the dogs on. One of them crouches down and starts charging down the path. Valt: Valt takes up a GONNA FUCKIN' KILL YOU BITCH stance, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Fyre: Fyre is quite ready to slam the door. If somebody would go through. Jessie: Jessie jumps through the door! Marlin: Marlin waits until everyone else is through, sword at the ready, before passing himself Doc Swiftly: Doc skids through the door, since he doesn't know if any of the bad guys are carrying guns. Fyre: Fyre's tone is possibly a bit terse. "Everyone. Through. The. DOOR." Kel: ... the door closes. They find themselves standing in a theater parking lot. They can hear the rather pathetic sound of an oversized wolf slamming into it with a yelp. Kel: ... and the squirrel is cussing them the fuck out. Well, mostly Valt. Jessie: '...you took his claw, didn't you.' Doc Swiftly: "I am going to kill that squirrel." Fyre: "I imagine she took his claw, yes." Doc Swiftly: "Oh, she definitely took it." Valt: Valt leans on the door, letting her hands dangle. Pointy-ass scary claws! Jessie: Jessie sighs and looks around, trying to figure out where they are NOW Fyre: "...you put the claw on, didn't you?" Marlin: "...why did you put it on?" Kel: The neighborhood is actually familiar to Fyre... since she's come here recently. Kel: It's within a few blocks of where she wants to be. Valt: "...thought it might help." Fyre: "Oh hey. We're in the right spot. Cool." Fyre calmly proceeds in the right direction. Doc Swiftly: "That's..Far too convenient. They seemed scared of this door." Marlin: Marlin looks around. "I see nothing strange." Valt: Valt tries to pull off the claw on the finger she stuck it on. Kel: ... of course, they're all wearing ripped-up clothes and a bit bloody. Jessie: 'They, er, were?' Kel: ....... and Valt is stuck with claws for now. Doc Swiftly: "I liked this suit." Fyre: "Might be because Paul Blart: Mall Cop is playing. eegh." Fyre: Fyre's skirt is a bit ragged on the edges. Stylin, baby! Glad she wore boots... Valt: Valt sticks her hands in her pockets. ...might be useful for the fetch. Jessie: Jessie notices a nice rip on the back of her jacket. 'Aw. This was new, too.' Valt: "...Swiftly." Doc Swiftly: "What, Valt?" Valt: "Write us fixed clothes." Marlin: "...no, don't do that." Fyre: "It's a minor change." Shrug. Doc Swiftly: Doc wonders if writing 'Valt stopped acting like an impulsive child for a week' would work. Doc Swiftly: Decides it would be too big a change. Valt: "...do you want to get questioned?" Fyre: "...Besides, we ARE sticking out a bit here." Jessie: Jessie looks doubtful.. but it WAS a nice jacket.. Fyre: "Er, yes. That." Doc Swiftly: "I'll take a vote. In favor?" Valt: "Yes." Fyre: "Why not." Jessie: '...it shouldn't, er, hurt anything.. but we'd better do it soon, or start moving or something.' Marlin: Marlin grumbles. Doc Swiftly: Doc pulls out the book and writes "And then, mysteriously, they got fixed clothing." in the Book. Fyre: Fyre belatedly wonders if perhaps she shouldn't have been doing the writing, seeing as how it doesn't hate her. Jessie: Jessie is too busy attempting to look normal to wonder about who should've been book writing Kel: ... nothing happens. Valt: "...let me try." Marlin: "Yes, such a wonderful idea. Let's repeatedly abuse the mysterious book." Fyre: Sigh. "You're afraid to do goddamn everything, aren't you?" Kel: Fairly unfashionable, used-looking clothes appear splayed out on the theater parking lot like majestic roadkill. Valt: Valt gently pats Fyre's back. And tries to avoid sticking her with the claws. Marlin: "No. I led the way through the hedge." Jessie: Jessie squints squid-like eyes at Fyre Doc Swiftly: Though, the clothes are probably MORE fashionable than what Doc usually wears :-P Valt: Valt... takes some clothes that fit her, putting them on under the robe, then taking the robe off and tossing it away with a mournful expression. Marlin: Marlin frowns, looking the clothes over. Doc Swiftly: Doc picks up some of the clothing and frowns. So undignified. At least they don't have giant holes in them thanks to Froggy McStealsThings. Fyre: "Of course. Cause there might have been a fight in it." She sighs and grabs a longish coat and pulls it on over her clothes. Covers up the problems, anyway. Jessie: Jessie picks up what could possibly be the ugliest jacket ever. Regards her nice but now torn and a little bloody jacket. SAD SQUID EYES Valt: "...they came from behind." Snicker. Marlin: Marlin keeps his somewhat torn and too tight shirt on, but puts a t-shirt on over it. Fyre: Fyre snickers. "Point." Kel: Poor unfashionable Jessie. Kel: Anyway, Fyre has a good idea of where they need to go to get to her fetch's house. Doc Swiftly: Doc finds a pair of dirty blue jeans and a smudgy plaid shirt. Sighs. Walks behind the group, changes. Kel: And it's only a few blocks. Yay! Fyre: "Next time, someone with an idea of how to carefully word things writes in the book." Fyre heads in the right direction once more. Doc Swiftly: Doc also transfers everything in his pockets over! . . . It doesn't work as well. Jessie: 'Quit being mean! ...we're only like this because you didn't want to take a cab, anyway..' Jessie mutters, now so unfashionable she could.. be fashionable? ...no. Kel: So, they walk through some thrilling and boring burbs to some... more rarified burbs. The houses out here are more spaced apart, with big ol' yards and all that nice stuff. Fyre's fetch's house is visible a good block away, and it looks like the lights are on and her expensive new car is in the driveway. Fyre: "We could have still turned around. It's not a one-way street." Marlin: Marlin stays close to Fyre, since she's presumably leading them. His sword is sheathed once more, this time hidden under the back of his shirt. It makes sense really I swear. Valt: Valt stops, and somehow goes even paler, then swallows and keeps walking. Kel: So, they walk through some thrilling and boring burbs to some... more rarified burbs. The houses out here are more spaced apart, with big ol' yards and all that nice stuff. Fyre's fetch's house is visible a good block away, and it looks like the lights are on and her expensive new car is in the driveway. Fyre: Fyre's eye twitches. She otherwise looks calm. Really. I swear. Kel: With a nice mailbox in front that says 'THOMAS.' Jessie: 'Um.. nice house.' Valt: "...guys. When we go back. Be careful." Doc Swiftly: "Why? Because a psychotic, sapient ground rodent might be irritated that you stole its property?" Fyre: Eye. TWITCH. "Thomas, huh." Valt: "The other door." Jessie: '...seriously, I will pay for the cab. No need to get more squirrels angry at us.' Jessie: '.........' Jessie: Jessie looks at Valt '...' Fyre: "The door closes... it's not like Doc won't be able to get in his room." Doc Swiftly: "Are you SURE?" Valt: Valt shakes her head. "...somebody knock on the door." Marlin: Marlin does so! Fyre: "Yes. I've seen it done before... you're not locked out of your room." Kel: There's an eye at the peep hole. Staaaaaaring at Marlin. She looks a bit relieved, almost. "... what do you want?" Fyre: Fyre is standing out of sight of the peephole. Valt: Valt's standing next to Fyre. Marlin: "Someone delivered a package to my home instead of yours. I think you would like to have it." Doc Swiftly: Doc gets back from the door. Out of a line of fire. Doc Swiftly: Nosebridge pinch. That was old when HE was born. Kel: "... no, no they didn't. You have thirty seconds before I call the cops." Jessie: Jessie is farthest away from the door. Still distracted by the revelation about the other door. Fyre: Fyre sighs and steps forward. "We need to talk." Marlin: He turns to the others and shrugs, stepping away. Marlin: Marlin makes a vague gesture towards his sword, questioningly. Kel: "... I'll talk if it's just you." She's practically shouting to be heard through the door, but hey. Doc Swiftly: Doc is mostly staring at the car. Those still amaze him. Fyre: Fyre ponders a moment and looks back. "If I'm not out in five minutes, do... something." She turns back to the door. "Just me." Valt: Valt nods. Jessie: Jessie frowns but nods. Kel: Fyre can hear the lock on the door click open and the footsteps of her fetch backing away. Doc Swiftly: Doc squeezes Fyre's shoulder, looking unhappy but nods anyway. Fyre: Fyre opens the door and enters, closing it behind her. Assuming nothing explodes.
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