The Imaginarium

Day 30. And the first day we've posted it on the actual day.

2009-11-30T21:16:39Z

Yeah. More than two thousand words last night, after midnight. More than five thousand words today.

I am awesome.

They made it through the alley without a problem, and after a quick glance at each other's panicked faces, both burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all. "Do you think we lost them?" Forrester asked with a wry grin, causing Ash to giggle more. "Ashy, come on, if the Institute is wandering around here, they're not going to be back at my laboratory. Let's go, we'll be safe. It'll be an absolute cakewalk to get there from here."

She managed to pull herself together with a deep breath as a terrifying realization struck. "Theo." she said, suddenly serious. "She's still in the square, and she might not have seen that the Institute's got its guards running around here yet. We can't go back to your lab, not yet."

He frowned. "Ashwater, we have to. Theo can make it back on her own, she's very clever. She knows how the Underworld works. She'll be safe."

"Yeah, but being safe from the Underworld is different from being safe from the Institute. She's not on her guard from them!"

"And are they even likely to recognize her in that crowd? You or I would be noticeable immediately, every single guard in the place has known one or both of us in the past dozen years. Theo's not recognizable as anything but another street rat. She'll be safe." Ashwater hesitated, her stomach churning with nervous fear.

"Grandpa." She started, speaking softly. He shook his head firmly, and placed his hands on her shoulders gently, looking deep into her eyes.

"Ashy, you can't. Not without putting yourself, and possibly her, in more danger. We'll go to the lab and wait. It will all be okay, you understand?"

"It's not what she would do..." Ash tried, but her grandfather just shook his head again and grabbed her hand.

"Come on now, Ashwater Joy. Your friend will be just fine, alright." He tugged her arm, starting down the street. She almost followed him, until he continued his defense. "And really, putting yourself in more danger, for no clear benefit? That's not what a street rat would do at all, and I'm sure it's not what she would do for you, were your positions reversed. She certainly wouldn't want you to."

Ash jerked her arm away at that. "Are you kidding me? She would definitely do that if our positions were reversed. I mean, she could be more subtle than me, and blend in better probably, and not say anything stupid to anyone, but if she thought there was a chance I was gonna get sunk, she'd make sure I knew cursed well what was going on!"

Forrester laughed, just a short bark, a "Ha!". Ash felt two things all at once; one was her heart breaking at the fact that this was not the grandfather she had grown up with and known and loved. The second was more complicated, a sort of sudden resolve she hadn't known she possessed. Her back straight, her mouth tight, Ashwater became the very picture of determination. Her eyes locked for a moment with her grandfathers. They had the very same eyes, she knew, but in hers there was a firm desire to help her friends. Forrester's had something else in them, it took a moment of looking to see, but as soon as Ash realized...

"Coward!" she spat. "You're just scared they'll haul you back, tell the city you're not dead because you didn't have the strength to change it! I guess that's up to me now, and Theo. And I'm sure as hell gonna go make sure that if she's not okay, that we're sunk together." She whirled on her heel, not bothering to see if her Grandfather was following, and trotted back up the alleyway, furious.

Ash made it out the alley, and edged around to the area where the fiddler had been playing. Theo was no where to be seen --nor the woman she'd been listening to. She grabbed a youth wearing the same green as the woman had been, and asked if he had seen a dark skinned woman wearing a lot of purple. He shook his head and scampered before she could ask any more questions, causing Ash to swear in frustration.

She wandered through the crowd for a bit longer, looking desperately around for a flash of purple clothing, waves of dark hair. But Theo was nowhere to be seen, near as Ash could tell. She tried asking other people, but got no helpful response --just a few glares, and suspicious shoves.

The ambiance of the square had changed with the arrival of the city guard. Where there had once been a forced gaiety, masking tense interactions of rival Nakamas, there was now only withdrawal and hatred. If Ash tried to talk to someone wearing different colours from her, she got scorned. If she walked towards someone not recognized, they would shrink away, not wanting to deal with her. It was easy to spot the squad of guards in the humongous square --people shrunk away as a unit as they passed, not wanting to potentially score their wrath.

A hand fell suddenly on Ash's shoulder, strong and heavy. She squeaked, earning reproachful looks from several of the nearest street rats, and nearly fainted at the fear of it all. Turning revealed it to be only one of the boys she'd seen in the inn earlier that morning. He had an impressive beard, all copper red, and long hair done up in a multitude of tiny braids. His smile was sweet enough though, when she faced him properly.

"I'm Johnann." He said gruffly. "Zan Forrester sent me out here to find you and keep you safe from the guard. Said my life depended on it, hm. Want to do us all a favour and go back to Dissh Street? The festival is all but over for today, the guard sure did see to that."

"Hello Johnann." Ash said absently, her neck craning as she continued looking for any sign of Theo. "And I would not like to go back to Dissh Street, thank you. Not without Theo."

Johnnan sighed. "Didn't want to do this." Ash whipped her head to face him, but it was too late. His fist hit her square on the head, knocking her out in a heartbeat. She was vague aware of being scooped up into strong arms, and then the world went black.

***

Ashwater awoke with a wave of nausea after what she could only guess had been a few hours. She was arranged neatly in a cot pressed into one corner of Forrester's laboratory, her head absolutely pounding. She pushed herself into a seated position groggily, and looked around nervously. Johnann was sitting on a stool a few meters away, reading a comic book. At the sound of her movement, he looked up, and smiled weakly.

"I am sorry about the knock-out. But Zan Forrester said any method needed, and, well." He shrugged, apologetic. "You're important to him, Miss Ashwater. He doesn't want to lose you."

"He can rot!" she hissed, thrusting herself out of bed, and staggering at the rush of blood to her head, causing it to pound harder. "Look, you. I need to go back. I need to find Theo. Hell, why hasn't she made it back here yet, isn't that enough to think about?"

"Ashwater, dearest, I am just positive Theodora will be fine. You saw how easily the music entranced her. She has probably been similarly entranced by a different act." Dr. Forrester walked over with a demure smile, and leaned over to kiss Ash on the cheek, she pulled away. "The festival ends at ten o clock. I am sure Theo will come back then."

Ash turned fully to face him, seething. "Yeah? And what if she doesn't? What if she's already been captured, by the Institute. I'm supposed to just keep sitting here and waiting?" She shoved past him, and dodged under Johnann's arm as he reached out to hinder her passage. Ash had been sleeping plenty close to the lab door, she reached it in a few beats, and wrenched it open to the outside.

And less than a second after she had turned her head to look out her source of freedom, she had closed it again, and flung the bolt home. Neither of the men got a chance to ask what had happened before she had darted up the steps to the narrow catwalk that edged the lab, leaning against the window in bewildered fear. "Those BASTARDS!" She shrieked, and her fury was enough to break the two men from their confused trance --she was joined by her grandfather and his guard in a matter of moments, all three faces peering out the windows to the sight in the street below.

It was a different sort of parade from the impromptu gatherings of earlier. Only one nakama walked --the blue coats of the city guard, sprinkled with the red of the Institute's. They were marching deeper into the town, right down this street, parading some sort of incredible prize, weighed down with chains in the middle of their form.

As they marched under the window, Ash started to seethe. It was clearly Theo, with mud in her dark hair, and an icy glare that looked set to freeze fire. She kept her head up proud as she marched though, and Ash felt her blood boil. She whirled in anger towards her grandfather, pointing angrily at her friend.

"You said she'd be safe. That I shouldn't bother finding her. That the clever street-rat could outwit the guard. Now she's in chains, and it's all your fault."

"Ashy..." Forrester began, pleading.

"No. You let her get captured."

"I did nothing of the sort. It is the law of the city, my dear. Of both cities. If you cannot defend yourself, you are not worthy of defense. She has proven herself not worthy."

Ash froze in anger. Words didn't seem to want to come --finally, she managed to thrash her way free from her grandfather's disarming gaze and hiss, "Fuck you!" before charging down the ladder and through the door that led to the proper house attached to the lab, slamming it rather harder than was truly necessary.

If her grandfather wasn't going to help out Theo any, Ashwater would just have to go and do it herself. She grabbed her bag, sorting desperately through for anything she thought would help. Clothing was next --her fancy frippery traded back for the simple black slacks and top Theo had always seemed to prefer. Her hair got rebraided, and pinned to her head, and then, for a final touch, Ash pulled on dark gloves, and -instead of her own stained white labcoat- she picked up the black traveling labcoat Theo had worn throughout their journey and pulled it on. It was a little short in the sleeves, but the length was okay, and something about it just felt right. Shouldering her bag, Ash opened the door to the lab again, Fully ready for another confrontation with her grandfather.

He was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he had left Johnann again, perched on the stool and waiting. He smiled ruefully as she walked into the lab, a smile which faded at the expression on Ash's face as she walked into the room firmly.

"You gonna let me pass?" She asked cooly, her fury locked down behind a layer of false calm.

"Zan Forrester said I'm not allowed to do that. Again, any force necessary. And there are rooms in the house that can be locked from the outside." He shrugged. "Sorry miss Ashwater. But he's the leader of my nakama. I'm sure as hell not gonna go against orders."

A thought struck Ash, and she locked eyes with Johnann, willing him to understand the weight behind her words. "You say my grandfather's the leader of your nakama? Yeah, well, Theo's the leader of mine. And if you for one second think I'm gonna let her rot in jail, you are mistaken as hell. She has gotten me safely thousands of kilometers away from home, and she's still so smart it makes me dizzy to even contemplate. She still may not like me, but Earth help me, she trusts me, and I am not going to ruin that trust." Their eyes still locked, Ash took one step closer, near enough now for Johnann to deliver another blow. "So stop me if you wish but I am going to save her one way or another, and if there's a force on the planet that can stop me, you sir, well you are not it." One more step closer. "So let me pass."

He hesitated, slightly. "She's really the leader of your nakama?"

"Just me and her. Against all the rest of the world. The odds are already stacked against us, are you gonna make that even worse?"

Johnann hesitated more, looking nervously to the door of the house. "He'll never forgive me."

Ash's eyes softened, pleading. "And if I can't do this, I'll never forgive myself. Please. I need to go save her." She set a hand on his arm, letting all the fear and vulnerability manifest itself in one fragile word. "Please."

He winced and swore. "Fine, let's go. Fast now." He rushed her to the door and Ash slipped through, not expecting Johnann to follow. He did though, and as they started down the street, he pulled her aside down an alley, then across to another street. "They won't take her to the guard headquarters, not if she's truly important. They've got another prison for that --it's supposed to be a secret, but a mate of mind spent a week there, and managed to figure out the location, despite being blindfolded for the trip."

"Why are you helping me?" Ash hissed, suspicious.

He sighed. "Because you're soft and pretty and vulnerable, and I always was a sucker for a pouted lip? Because your friend knows how to heckle, and even if she ain't a pro at it, she can keep her own, and I like fiesty little things that can spar words with me. Because damnit, you're right, and it's not fair to just leave her to rot like that." Down another alleyway, and skirting around a different sort of broad square, this one with a magnificent fountain in the middle. "Because if I'm gonna let you out of the lab, I might as well go with you, since I no longer have any hide worth having. And 'sides." He paused, pulling them into an alcove as a small band of red clad revelers passed by. "You don't have a damn idea where you're going in this city."

"I'll concede that last one, yeah." They rounded a corner, and he skidded to a stop, throwing out his arm to keep Ash from walking any farther.

"We're almost there. You got an actual plan from here? Or you just fucking around and hoping that a noble heart will get you what you're looking for?"

Ash glared at him for a moment before admitting to herself that he was right, and slumping, her shoulders sagging with a sigh. "I don't have an idea. Theo's a damn sight better at this sort of thing than I am. I'm too nice for plans of destruction."

"Hey, don't give up, little bird!" He said, patting her on the shoulder in a somewhat reassuring manner. "We'll sort it out. First things first --we gotta find out what cell your girl is in. With luck, she's in a window'd cell. Which means one of us would only have to edge round the tower, hidden in the moat, sopped wet and knocking at windowsills until we've found your Zan."

Ash frowned, calculating. "I don't suppose I could pout enough for you to do that bit?"

Johnann laughed. "You do know how to swim, don't you?

***

Theo had been lying in bed sleepily with Deidra, enjoying the post-orgasmic haze, when it happened. A dozen young men had burst into the room, grabbing her by the wrists and ankles, and keeping her from struggling. Deidra set briskly to giving them orders, and once Theo was safely dressed again, they dragged her downstairs and out onto the street, where a handful of smiling Institute guards were waiting.

"Theodora Darcy, you are under arrest for crimes committed in our city, and shall be taken back there to be tried in the morning," a sneering official had said, and they dropped chains on her, marching her through the streets like a parade, inciting catcalls and jeers from the people clustered on the streets around them. The jeers did not stop when they crossed along Dissh Street, nor did Theo manage to see Ashwater or Forrester to give them any sort of signal of what was going on. She was half dragged until they reached a squat round building, with an actual shallow moat and a drawbridge to get in.

The Institute didn't waste any time. There were officials there, high level ones of the sort she had seen when they had hauled her in the first time. They flung her roughly into a splintering chair, and peppered her with questions on how to build the weapons they wanted, and solve the problems they had stumbled across. When she wouldn't answer, they hit her, and sent her to one of the dungeons to stay the night.

The cell was small and dank, no longer than two meters on a side. The first thing Theo did was start investigating the tiny window --were it open, she might have been able to eel her way out and into the city beyond. But alas, it was barred, and the bars stuck firm into concrete. If she had her bag, she could figure out a way out. As it was, she looked to be stuck in the cell until the door was unlocked again.

Leaning against the wall was slightly damp, and hard --the window was placed high enough that Theo couldn't reach it without standing on the bench that she supposed was meant to serve as a bed. The dampness started to soak into her clothes, and Theo swore --the cell was chill enough without the added layer of being wet. So for a while, she sat, and tried to think through the information she needed in order to best escape.

Her thoughts were stilled by a hiss coming from the window. Her head jerked up, and Theo saw the last thing she ever expected to see: Ashwater Green's pretty blonde head, stained with mud and smiling like nothing Theo'd seen. Theo was back to standing on the bench in a heartbeat, straining up to bring her face to the bars.

"How..." she began, than shook her head, because it didn't matter how, what mattered was she had hands on the outside, that could help her escape. "I'm almost certain I can fit through the space of the window. I just need the bars to be out of the way."

"I'd settle for a 'thank Earth you're here, Ash!'" Ashwater quipped, but bent to examine where the bars connected to the cement, pushing against them experimentally. "It'd have to be something fast..." She looked around nervously, then met Ash's eyes, biting her lip. "I can't stay here long, the chance of someone seeing me's too high. But I'll look, I've got one of the Dissh Street on my side, I think he can help me find some materials to use, or information."

"Fiddler's Green, end of the row. Top floor. My bag's in the hall closet, it might have some tools that would help. If you see a blind woman there, punch her fucking lights out for me." Theo leaned her forehead against the wall, trying not to think about how easily she'd been seduced. "Thank you Ash."

Ashwater slid a hand through the bars to stroke Theo's hair gently. "It's okay. I'll be back after sunset, if nothing else. Try to mark it if they move your cell?" Theo nodded, once, and Ash withdrew, slinking off back through the moat or some equally fraught path.

Theo sat to think, realizing the slip in Ash's words. Ash should have Forrester to help, yet she had specifically only mentioned 'one of Dissh Street' --Theo had no doubts that Forrester was a member of Dissh Street, and a rather high ranked one at that, but Ash had always before listed him as her grandfather. So something had happened --either he was equally captured, or some kind of falling out.

It didn't matter, she decided. With a shock, she realized something even stranger --at this point, locked in a jail cell, the point of no return, she put far more trust in Ashwater getting her out of there than the man who'd been her hero since before Theo had even known what a scientist was.

"Goddamnit, Ashy." She sighed, sliding down the wall to sit again. "I was doing so well at not caring about people, too. I really do hope to all of earth you'll get my stupid ass out of this mess."

***

Ashwater made it back across the square to where Johnann had said he'd be waiting for her. He had pulled back into another alcove, but he melted out of the shadows when he saw her, and steered her halfway down a bleak alley to talk.

"I found her. She can get out the window, if the bars are out of the way. Do you have any..." he was already shaking her head, and smiled ruefully at Ash.

"Are you really planning a jailbreak? They're said to be very difficult --I only know of two or three instances where someone has ever made it out of the regular prisons intact, much less this dungeon."

"I have to at least try. I think Theo might have some ideas --she said to go to Fiddler's Green, and get her bag. Can you...?" Ash wasn't pleading, not yet, but she was still very aware that this was a man who, earlier in the day had knocked her unconscious and carried her off. She was glad he was helping. She wasn't sure she trusted him.

"Yeah..." he muttered darkly. "So Fiddler's Green sold her. Those fuckers, I wonder how they figured it out, that she's valuable. No surprise though. C'mon, I know a shortcut." They scampered through the city, coming out eventually not far from the Festivus Square. From the sounds filtering past the buildings, it was still extraordinarily busy, with whooping and music.

A quick peek down Fiddler's Green, and Ash was sure she'd found the correct house --Theo had said the top floor at the end of the row, and there was only one house as the street ended that rose high enough to have a top floor, a lofty place painted in faded lavenders. Ash pointed it out to Johnann, and he nodded, looking around the area, before leading her back behind the street, to hopefully come up through the back without much being seen.

The lock on the back door was easily broken --Johnann didn't even seem to notice it, as he shouldered the door open and shut it carefully behind them. Ash crept up the back staircase, freezing at every creak, until Johnann sighed in frustration and slapped her on the ass, the noise ringing. "They're all at Festival" he growled. "And if they hear confident feet on the stairs, what's to suspect that they're not belonging to those who live here, hm?"

When they reached the top floor, Johnann did make her pause though, and both listened for a long while, straining to hear. There was no noise, and Ash was almost disappointed when he broke the lock on that door as well, and revealed that the apartment was empty. Poking about idly, ash found Theo's things in short order, and grabbed them, turning to leave.

"Who's in my house." The front door had opened silent, and the woman standing there did not look pleased. "Be you Robber, know that I am not a woman to cross, and you indeed have crossed me. Ash recognized her as the fiddler from Festivus Square, her eyes were open now, but blind. She tilted her head ever so carefully, her long red hair sliding away from her ear. Any sound, and Ash would be found out.

Johnann walked over, stealthy as a cat on the wood floor, until he was very close to the woman indeed. She turned to him slowly, and he grabbed her by the head. With one swift twist of his powerful hands, he snapped her neck, and her body fell, lifeless. Theo's bag fell to the ground with a thump, as Ash's hands flew to her mouth, barely muffling her shocked squeak.

"You killed her." she breathed, eyes wide with fear. Johnann shrugged, and started walking back towards Ash, to go out the back door. But as Ash backed away from him, he stopped moving, and frowned puzzled.

"She sold out your Zan. What would you have me do, let her live and breathe?" He seemed genuinely curious, as though this had not been a human life he had just taken.

"Yes!" Ash whimpered, staring at the corpse. Tears welled in her eyes, and she willed them not to fall. "She was just an old blind woman, We could've escaped here."

"And then you would have had her on our tail, had her know that someone was working to help your Theodora." He shrugged again, and closed the gap between them, leaning over to pick up the bag. "And she was of Fiddler's Green, I am of Dissh Street. There is no love lost between us, and warfare can happen every day."

"But you killed her." Ash's voice was approaching a whine, but she did not care, this was not how civilized people acted. "Why?"

He laughed, and made a gesture of confusion. "Look, she as good as killed Theo, if we don't get her out of the jail, right? I'm sorry Miss Ashwater for upsetting you, but I'm a bodyguard by nature. Zan Forrester may not be too happy I let you leave, but as long as I bring you back in one piece, I daresay he'll forgive me. If you don't want me to kill people, don't meet people who want to kill you."

Ash sniffled, and grabbed the bag from him, tearing down the back staircase. This was neither something she wanted or was able to deal with right now, not with the stress of worrying about Theo. She regained enough of herself to keep from bursting out the door, and sat instead on the bottom step, sniffling slightly.

Johnann joined her after a few minutes, descending the staircase at a more sedate pace. "She died quickly, if it matters. No suffering." He said softly, and rested a hand on Ash's shoulder. She wanted to duck away from it, but the idea of any comfort was better than no comfort at all, and so she nodded, scrubbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Okay, fine." She sniffled. "I just don't want to deal with it." She opened the door carefully, looking out to make sure no one was coming, then darted out of the building. Johnann was right behind her, his hand still on her shoulder, a poor attempt at comfort.

The sun was beginning to set as they wound their way back to the prison. Ash took a moment to actually study the building. It was made of rough brick, with a low, easily climbed, wall surrounding it. If one did not look too close to notice the moat, and the iron bars, it could almost seem like someone's home. Almost.

"How did you not know the location before?" She muttered darkly, still trying not to think about the murder she'd just witnessed. "Is that not clearly a prison?"

"No, it's clearly a manor house, like any of the others used by Jacob's Gents. They call themselves the higher class, but they're just as much a Nakama as all the rest of us. They're the ones with the blue suited guards what fancy they control this city. A lot of them have prisons attached, but this one is the big one, as far as those go." Ash nodded, and set off towards the wall carefully --the house had no established guards, to feign innocence, but she did not trust the many windows, that could hide many hiding eyes.

She made it into the moat and shoved against Theo's window without a real harassment, though she could not help but feel a thousand blank eyes staring at her back. Theo was sitting calmly on the bench, staring straight ahead when Ash trilled softly, causing Theo to look up, and smile.

The fading light could not hide the darkening bruise around Theo's eye. "They hurt you?" Ash whispered softly, smooshing Theo's bag through the bars. It wouldn't all fit --she had to take out an elegant wooden box and a crumbling book before Theo could properly take the bag and begin sifting through the tools inside.

"They hit me. It doesn't hurt now. I've no doubt they could torture the information out of me if they wanted to, but I don't think they plan on it. Not tonight at least." She came up with a small file, and a jack, both of which she set carefully on the windowsill. "I think...file through here and here, use the jack to expand the space until the bars break..."

"You could melt it." Ash said, taking another look. "It's cheap metal, a lot of chemicals would do it, you just need to find them."

"Yeah, and know what to use, and how much" Theo had begun filing desperately, though she didn't seem to yet be making much of a dent. "Ashwater, I'm rubbish at chemistry."

"Yeah, well, I'm not." She muttered, and checked through her own bag. "I don't have anything here...will you be okay if I leave again, to go find some?" Theo bit her lip lightly, but nodded.

"I'd like the company, but I'd like the freedom more. No problems getting my bag, I trust?" Ash hesitated, causing Theo to look up from her work and catch the red tint to Ashwater's eyes. "You were crying? Oh hell, Ashwater, what happened?"

Ash shook her head. "Nothing, it's...the woman who lived there tried to stop us. Johnann..." she couldn't quite continue, and now it was Theo's turn to reach through the bars in comfort, awkwardly patting what turned out to be Ashwater's ear.

"She was a bitch. Sold me and seduced me." Ash gasped at that, and peered through the bars at Theo curiously. "Oh don't give me that bloody look, she was both attractive and persuasive. And I was being foolish enough to think that there was no way she could be using the situation for gain." Theo paused, flexing her hand. "Do hurry back with the chemicals? Please?" Ash nodded, and slipped away, leaving Theo to keep working, as if her life depended on it. In all honesty, it probably did.

***

Ash was not very long in returning this time at all, and this time she carried a glass vial as cautiously as one would carry a newborn baby or day old chick. "Get way out of the way." She hissed at Theo, and something in her voice warned Theo that this was not an idle request. Ash had procured goggles from somewhere, thick ones with a smokey tint, and before she even opened the vial, she pulled her shirt up over her nose and mouth, covering as much of her face as she could.

Theo watched from the middle of the cell as Ash uncorked the vial carefully, and began to drip the liquid inside on the metal bars, as close to the windowframe as she could manage. The liquid hissed and steamed when it his the metal, and Ash began to wave the smoke away with her free hand frantically. She worked quickly, and before Theo knew it, the bars of the window tumbled into the tiny cell, hitting the ground with a loud clang.

"Oh fuck." both girls managed to say at the exact same time, and Theo paused to grin as she launched across the room, shoving her bag through the window for Ash to take. She could hear footsteps in the hall outside the prison, as she scrambled for a place to put her hands that wouldn't be in the path of the acid, even now eating away at the cement wall.

"You have to wait, Theo. You can't get that on your skin." Ash hissed, but Theo ignored her, hoisting herself up. A fair amount of the acid had eaten far enough through to no longer be a danger, but not all, and she could feel spots scraping across her back and stomach as she forced her shoulders through. Theo heard a guard at the door, and squirmed, cursing as her hips stuck in the narrow opening.

"Run, Ash." she hissed, pushing as hard as she could.

"I can't leav-"

"If you've ever done anything for me, curseit, run." Theo was shouting now, but it didn't much matter. Ash's eyes met her square, and Ash turned, running off into the shadows. Theo pushed again, swearing at the sadist who had designed the cell so that even her narrow hips wouldn't fit. The door behind her flung open, and she felt a hand at her ankle.

"Oh no you don't." Theo hissed through clenched teeth, and thrashed her legs, catching her captor square in the head with a well aimed kick. He released and she thrust once more, this time managing to scrape through. She plunged face first into half a meter of water, but threw herself out, and began to heed her own advice, running desperate in the direction she had seen Ashwater go.

The acid, she had seen, had a peculiar glowing quality as it worked, and as she scrambled into an alley, she spotted another splash of it fading through a wall, and another a little farther along. Theo grinned at the trail, and put on another burst of speed, hoping against hope itself that they could gain safety without being caught again.

"Keep running" she hissed as she caught up to Ash's blonde braid, escaping its tight coil on the back of her head. "We going back to Dissh?"

"You got a better plan?" Ash was panting, forcing herself against the strenuous exercise. Just ahead of her was Johnann, with an easy lope that made it look like he wasn't even trying.

All three made it to Forrester's lab without incident, and Ash was thrown enough by the route Johnann took, that she guessed they had left a trail too complex to be easily followed, especially in the dark. She had thrown the acid away half a kilometer back, silently apologizing to whoever's house was going to find itself with a gaping hole in the morning. And so the two girls staggered into the lab, Johnann bolting the door behind them.

"If this is adventure, I'd rather stay home." Ash panted, clapping Theo on the shoulder. "I've said it before, but you had very better be worth it."

Theo doubled over, whimpering softly. Her hand was pressed hard against a burn on her stomach, as Ash caught sight of it, and the two long ones on her back, she swore, and charged though the lab, grabbing desperately at boxes until she could find something to help. A feather soft powder in lightest blue was thrown over the burns, and Theo fell to her hands and knees, panting in exhaustion.

"That helps. Oh life. You weren't kidding when you said to be careful with that shit." Ash nodded meekly, and Theo collapsed fully at her feet, fainted dead away.

Dr. Forrester Green opened the door connecting his house to the lab, and surveyed the three youngsters. His eyes were angry, but softened when he met Ash's gaze. He sighed, and opened the door further, beckoning them inside. "Come in proper, you might as well. The girl needs a bed at the least, and maybe a doctor from the looks of that burn." Johnann nodded, and leaned down to scoop up the fallen girl, but Ash shoved him aside angrily, and picked Theo up herself, holding onto her tightly until Forrester led them to a safe bed. Theo weighed almost nothing, she realized, just skin stretched over bones. If she'd had any body fat before, three weeks of being on the run had stripped every gram from her fragile frame.

There was a chair beside the bed, which Ash willingly took. Forrester frowned, then motioned back into the house, presumably to go to one of his posh sitting rooms. Ash shook her head once. She did not have to say the words for her grandfather to understand. She would not leave Theo.

He left for a bit, and came back with a slim, dark haired woman who did not speak, but wrapped Theo's wounds in gauze, and nodded her regards to Johnann, standing nervous in the doorway. Forrester had said very little to any of them, which only served to increase the tension of the household. All three could feel it, and feel that they were waiting, waiting to hear the foot of guards on the doorstep, Institute or city, it didn't really matter at this point. As the night wore on, Forrester left again, for sleep, and Johnann's back slipped further and further down the doorframe as sleep approached. Ashwater watched the sun rise through lightweight curtains, Theo's hand held tightly in her own. As the predawn light filtered into the room, she was finally able to doze fitfully, and woke often to make sure she was still safe.

She must've slept fully, for when Forrester entered the room at nine o clock, he had to shake her shoulder hard before she jolted awake. Theo awoke easier, with just a gentle hand laid on her forehead, and Johnann earned nothing but a kick to the ribs, causing his eyes to shoot open, and a scowl to appear on his mouth.

"Good morning, Ashy, others." Forrester turned to Theo and examined her ribs, changing the medical dressing himself. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got beaten up, dragged through a tiny jail window, splashed with acid, and ran three kilometers in pure shaking fear." Theo muttered darkly, but her eyes were free of pain, and she was able to sit up, though she winced as the movement stretched the wounds on her back. "I'm okay. Hungry as a bear, and I feel a bit like I was crushed by an automon somewhere along the way, but okay." She turned to Ashwater and smiled shyly, an oddly genuine gesture. "Thank you. I owe you my life."

"Oh, what was I supposed to do? Just leave you in Institute hands? You're too good a scientist to deal with them." Ash was pleased nonetheless, the slightest blush tinting her cheeks.

"Oh no, Ashy. I know I didn't teach you much about the Underworld, but I can't rightly believe you've never heard the power of those words before." Forrester frowned at Theo, but did not try to argue her away from the sentence. "It is a serious thing, to be owed a life. You've got a favour strong enough to get you anything you'd ever like from Miss Theodora there."

"I didn't do it to gain a favour." Ashwater hissed, causing Johnann to chuckle softly. "I did it because she's my friend, and I wasn't going to leave her, and earth knows, if the Institute got her, there wouldn't be a bloody Underworld anymore in the first place."

Theo reached over, and squeezed Ash's hand. "I thought having friends was beneath a genius like me."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know you still don't like me any. I'm just a pretentious Institute twit, all frippery and frills." She smirked, then sighed, the name weighing heavy on her lips. "Shanna used to tease me for being an Institute brat too. I hope she's okay."

"She's a smart girl." Forrester said, sitting at the foot of the bed. "I've a thought for the two of you though. What now. What on Earth do you plan to do? Still fucking the Institute harder than it fucked you? I think you've seen now that it's not so likely to happen.

"Not from here." Theo agreed morosely. She closed her eyes, and leaned her head back against the wall, thinking. "But we escaped. True, this city's guard and not our own, but two --no three, thank you Johnann-- street rats managed to outwit a hundred guards. We're smart enough that we've got a fighting chance." Her head tilted forward again, and when she opened her eyes, there was the trace of a smirk in them. "What do you think, Ashy. Time to fight back against the frippery?"

Ash bit her lip, and nodded slowly. "If we plan it better this time. You said you had something before, when grandfather asked you...?"

Theo shrugged. "Yeah, well, I've got a mind that knows how to make the most dangerous weapon that could put every Murderer in both cities out of work. And he's got a laboratory, with all this nice lovely equipment waiting to be used. And you've got a lifetime of being in the Institute complex, and knowing where all the potentially weak points are." She shrugged, and smiled. "I'm just saying. Maybe we ought to be able to work something out, don't you think?"

Ash nodded slowly. "Kill the dean, and there's gonna be a miniature power struggle. Kill the captain of the guard, and there's gonna be a miniature chaos. The weapon...could you make a lot of them? Because there might be people willing to hold them, once you have, and willing to do quite a lot of damage if they know it'll take down the Institute."

"I might have a few contacts still." Forrester said, frowning. "Perhaps not, with the average life span in the Underbelly, but there are folks I could call on. And forget the level of street rat, most all of the traveling scientists would be happy to see the Institute fall. I think a complete rehaul might be exactly what it needs right now."

"People remember you, oh 'only true Doctor Green'." Theo added. "Toasts are drunk to your honour, of all the finest booze the city can provide. Hell, I've participated in some of them, the stroke of midnight at the assembly is meant for drinking to the lost. With the exception of the most severe of the Institute haters, you count."

Johnann stood. "Should I spread the word through Dissh, sir? Anyone willing to travel, and willing to fight? It's not so hard to slip out unnoticed, even a lot of folk, as long as we've a place in advance to regroup."

"I'm not sure you'll need to do that Johnann..." Forrester began, but he shook his head firmly.

"You're our Zan. You treat us right, you watch out for us, and you teach us tricks so good that not another soul in the city's even imagined they're possible. We ain't losin' you, sir. Not to another city, and not to the trip between."

Theo hesitated. "It'll be a slower trip, if we've walkers. Looking at the streets, I haven't seen a lot of automons, nor all that many horses. I want to make it to the city as quickly as possible, once we're ready to leave.

"I've got a few spare Automons, and they're not so hard to make, once the engine's been assembled. No one does proper science in this city, but I've got a handful of workers good enough with their hands to try and fake the easier parts of it all. And there are horses, and donkeys, and mules. We can make the journey easier."

"Or you and I could go ahead of the rest." Ash interjected. "I doubt that, even with a clever weapon, we can just stroll up to the front gate of the city and fell the Institute in one quick swoop. I can reach the true scientists --I've a schoolfriend who works for the City Scientific Journal, and I can convince her to place a notice of sorts. The dean'll never notice."

Theo nodded slowly. "And that gives me a chance to talk to Del, and to Artie, and to see who else might be worth discussing this coup with. Forrester, is it possible you could provide me with a list of those who would be willing to meet with me, on the strength of a word from you?"

"Oh, and letters of truth to them as well, not a problem. You're comfortable with Prescott Street, I trust? They remain where most of my old ties lie, though I've a few down Fyssche, and if there are any members of the Kyress Players who were acting a decade ago, I'm sure my name is well respected there. Yes, I think we could get a small army, with the right persuasion."

"You've not been in the city these past six years." Theo said to Forrester, and turned to Ash. "And you've not been in the Underbelly. If we're serious about taking down the Institute, that's persuasion enough. I'm not sure how they'd respond to setting something new up, with rewritten ideals, but the only reason no one's taken over the current system as of yet is because it's been impossible to get a leader strong enough to keep all the rival gangs in line."

"The mere idea that you could unite two nakama against a third is foreign here." Johnann said shaking his head. "Your gangs are very different from us. We will associate, when it comes to Festivus Square or the like, but nothing more. Not if there's even a minute chance that our nakama could suffer for trying to aide another."

"Yeah, well, we get along okay. Most of our gangs started from trying to make it easier to find a single service --so while there's a fair number of sanctioned Whores through the city, the best of 'em are still in Fyssche." Theo shrugged, and pulled her legs over the edge of the bed, about ready to stand. "Breakfast, Forrester? I'm near starved."

"Yes, I've asked Lali to bring something over. Johnann, please do go and see how many I've got willing to take this journey with me. Theo..." he paused, and frowned. "How well do you teach? This weapon, could you teach me how it's made, and some of my brighter minds? That way, we can create the supply while you work as diplomat."

"I could try and teach you, but remember that I've still not made a prototype of my own yet." She frowned. "And that could matter very much so. We need to know we have the weapon, it will help the Underbelly to rally around us, if they're given a clear advantage over those who so overpower them."

"It's no matter, we're not traveling until you've healed." Ash said sharply, gesturing at Theo's wounds. "That acid is not easy stuff to shake off, and a chemical burn can be dangerous. You're luck you didn't catch any in your eyes."

"Fah, I'll be fine." Theo looked across to Forrester. "I need my notebook labelled "Institutional Affairs", and a pen. How well do you think you'll be able to learn from diagrams?"

***
The next few hours passed by in a blur, which then blended into the next few days. Once Theo entered the the lab, she did not come out again, except when Ashwater forced her to sleep, busy working on prototypes, and creating spare automon engines. Forrester had brought in no fewer than half a dozen proteges to learn from him and Theo, they scrambled underfoot working on building quicker ways to cross the forest, and weapons for the journey's end. Less mechanically oriented, Ash had devoted her first day to finding as much of the chemical compound she had used to burn the jail as she could, after noting down the effects it had on Theo's flesh. The next few, she sat at a heavy writing desk, making copies of a letter Forrester had roughed, pleading for help and outlying the beginnings of a strategy for once he had made it to the city. He signed and sealed each one, writing out addresses and names for Theo to seek.

On the fourth day, there was a tremendous bang from the laboratory. Half the household threw themselves towards the lab door, Ashwater foremost among them, to see what had happened. When they stumbled into the lab, the found a cloud of smoke, a small round hole in the wall, and Theo standing there with a handheld contraption and a manic grin.

"We can load more rocks into it. It doesn't break. I've got ideas how to dim the noise. All it needs is a name, and I get an article of my own in the City Scientific." A ripple of applause, which increased when someone came into the lab to inform that the rock had made it through two more walls besides, before stopping, leaving a hole in each.

Later that night, Theo and Ash found themselves alone in a corner of the kitchen, eating something tasteless. "You're going to be famous for killing people." Ashwater said softly, breaking the silence.

"They're bad people, the ones I intend dead. I'm not much a fan of anyone who'll assault me to try and gain information."

Ashwater frowned. "Yes, and there are a few who deserve it, I'll warrant that. But there are those who don't deserve it at all, who just follow orders and get paid. I'd be shocked if I didn't know at least a third of those guards who roughed you up, and my memories are that they are all good men."

Theo frowned back. "And I somehow doubt they're just going to stand down and let the Institute and the Underworld work out their differences peacefully. It'll be okay, Ash."

"No it won't! People are going to die, Theo. Real, live, people. And if we give one of those weapons to every street rat who wants them, who's gonna make sure they kill just the bad ones. Or just the ones in the way. And what happens after? Oh, I'm sure they'll just give back that sort of power to you, no problem." Ash sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I agree they're not doing things right by much of anyone in the city. But the Institute raised me, and I don't want to see them massacred."

Theo chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. "Well, what's the alternative for us? Run? Keep the knowledge secret? Your grandfather hasn't gotten to examine the finished product, but he's looked at the prototypes, and he's looked at the plans. And the Institute was closer than they thought, even when they first asked me how to do it. The knowledge isn't secret anymore. At least this way, I get to decide who gets the result."

"Grandfather is old, and he can't even write a letter, his hands shake so. Burn the plans, Theo. He won't be able to replicate them, and he certainly won't be able to replicate the weapons. I don't want to see innocent people die."

"Who says they're innocent?"

"Who says they're not? Kill the dean, kill half the board. Let the Institute fall. That's all we need. Hell, one assassin and one of those things could do it, we hardly need to raise an army."

Theo stared at the weapon, sitting beside her on the table. "One assassin?"

"And someone who knew the Institute well."

Their eyes met across the table. "Your grandfather would not ever forgive us. Forgive you."

"The great scientists don't let others stop them from their experiments. You've proven it can be made. Move on."

Theo nodded, slowly, the barest edge of a smile creeping onto her face. "Take down the Institute, and watch the city scramble to fill the void. It would certainly be an interesting social experiment. See what happens." She smiled. "Do you think the Automon can fit us both the whole way?"

Ash let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Come on, Theo." She said with a giddy smile. "Let's go home."

Theo calls Ashwater "Ashy" in this section, twice. Both times, I meant to have Ashwater notice. I think she will eventually notice. Important Theo to Ashwater moments seem to get glossed over, though.

I did not actually want to kill Deidra very much. She may be saved in a rewrite. But I do think it helps set Ashwater and her crazy "not having people die" thing up.

I am really kinda proud of myself.

We are between halfway and two thirds of the way done with this story. Shanna and Artie are both going to come back. Madness is going to happen. And hopefully, the bit where Theo and Ash are on the road for ages will be kinda shorter this time.

Also, has anyone else noticed that, exempting my main characters, and I'm not sure about Theo, every single person has turned traitor? I am such a bitch to my babes.

Ee!

~~Let's Do This Thing~~ Sciencocracy
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Day 29

2009-11-30T05:39:58Z

Well, let's see how far we get on the last day, hm?

Ash frowned, leaning back against the nearby wall. "But why? I mean, honestly granddad." Her voice dropped, "What could you possibly get from these people that you can't get at home. You have to watch your back, watch your tongue. People here just want to use you up, and forget the remains. Once you're no longer useful, you're no longer...no longer human even, I guess. Not to them."

He scoffed. "Yes, and the Institute is any better? Think Ashy, I did not raise you to be so naive. Politics as they are, I must speak careful when I interact with the Institute. If my words are wrong, I will find others trying to steal my ideas, or trying to discredit me, or trying to convince me to join in with that which I know is wrong. I would not trust all the Institute with my back and an empty room, their only advantage is that the whole city has their eyes cast that way, so they can't find the protection in anonymity that the Underworld Murderers can."

"Yes, but the Institute as it should be as completely different ideals from the Underworld as it should be. If we managed to return to the proper form..." she trailed off suddenly, as several well dressed guards marched past.

"It's alright." Forrester clearly meant to be reassuring, but the way his voice dropped and he shrunk back slightly did not help Ashwater's sudden nervousness. "They're not likely to be here for us. Every so often they wander through the Festivus Square to make sure the Nakamas are all in line. Keeps the fights small. They won't bother you and Theo any, so long as you don't start a fight."

Ash frowned, as she caught glimpse of a redder uniform among this city's blue. She pointed it out to her grandfather, leaning against him slightly. "And what about him in there. Is he likely to bother Theo and I?"

Her grandfather paled, and said a word that Ash had only ever heard since spending time with Theo. He stood carefully, and started off down the aisle, barely waiting to see if Ash would follow. She did, scampering after him, the remains of their meals forgotten.

***

Let's Do This Thing
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Yeah, I kinda suck

2009-11-29T22:51:01Z

I vaguely feel like the only thing for it at this point is a forced all nighter, where I Just Fucking Write. We'll see if I'm actually that efficiant. And what bribes I can come up with for myself, for what word-counts.

Ashwater was having the time of her life. It was just as well that Theo had been so entranced by the fiddle-woman, as she and her grandfather were winding their way all around the crowd, talking easily about nothing important, something they had not been lucky enough to do for the past six years. As they bought cheap meat on skewers from a street vendor, and pulled off into the edge of an alley to talk, Ash finally worked up the nerve to ask the question she'd been wondering ever since it had been revealed her grandfather was truly alive.

"Why did you fake your death? All your notes, your research, your lab, the Institute...I mean, it was tilting bad before you left, I can see that now, but it was still your baby, they would've listened to you! You were the greatest scientist in all the world --every child wanted to grow up to be you! What on earth could possibly convince you to leave all that?" It was a very impassioned speech, and Ash found herself blushing slightly as she finished.

"Sit, Ashy." he said, patting the ground next to him. Much of the area was covered in mud from the previous squall, but they seemed to have found a slightly dryer patch. "Tell me, dearheart. How much is the Institute associated with the Underworld."

Ash blinked. "Not at all. Very much not at all, the Institute would really rather the Underworld was cleared entirely out. But...you're a scientist. You've always been a scientist, first and foremost."

"Yes, and I've always been a street rat secondmost. I grew up around the morally questionable, and I used their services as much as possible, as long as possible. One of the reasons I originally parted ways with the other founders of the Institute was because they were putting *increasing* pressure on me to not have anything to do with the murderers and whores who had become my friends. So I stepped down publicly, and spent an awful lot of exploring --half the time I was "out on an adventure" I was just down in the Underbelly drinking among friends." He shrugged, unapologetic. "The pressure kept increasing. Eventually it was too much --I faked a respectable death, and some friends from Prescott helped me out of the city."

Let's Do This Thing
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three to the three to the TWENTY SEVEN!

2009-11-29T00:43:39Z

I am so doomed. So so so so doomed. And kinda depressed about that, really. Sigh.

Also, it should be noted that these words go in place of the previous "missing reel" --or in other words, before Theo and Deidra get it on.

All Theo wanted to do was to touch and examine and disassemble and fix. There was knowledge here, real knowledge, and it was alarming how desperately she wanted to get her hands on it.

"With this much equipment...earth, I think I could put together a full automon out of chicken wire and spit in here." She twirled once, giddy with excitement. "Let alone a few dozen copies of that weapon the Institute introduced to me. She turned to Dr. Forrester Green, suddenly intense. "What may I use, Dr. Green? Where do I put in requests for the equipment I need? Do you have refrigerated storage for partial flesh experiments? I mean, obviously we're going to try and take down the Institute first, but I've got old experiments I'd love to be able to work on again." She was talking quickly, and the elder doctor laughed.

"You may use what you will, I keep a mailbasket for runners passing by, I have only a small amount of frozen storage, but it could be expanded with a little work. And for goodness sakes, stop calling me Dr. Green, it makes me feel terribly old and distinguished, and I am neither. Call me Forrester."

"Thank you sir. Forrester." Theo smiled, and began fiddling with whatever was nearest on the counter. Ashwater leaned over her shoulder to look, but it seemed to just be a bit of a mechanical marvel of one sort or another, the sort of science she was least proficient at.

"Now then ladies." Forrester said, setting an arm on each of their shoulders. "We need to discuss what we're going to do in the meantime. If the city guard is investigating the inns, it is a safe guess that they will also be investigating the leaders of the assorted Nakamas, seeing if they can buy or intimidate their way into the information of your whereabouts. I am happy to bluff on your accounts, and I can do a fairly respectable job of hiding you, but I also would prefer not to have to talk to the guard quite yet. To that end, shall we go over to Festivus Square, and see what's going on in the world today? There is often good music and entertainment, and near always a crowd thick enough to hide anyone who needs the anonymity of many."

"But..." Theo took a longing look over the lab, then sighed, coming to the unfortunate conclusion that the crowd would be safer right now. "Yes let's go do that then. Have we a specific role we should play, so as to remain free of suspicion among your underworld?"

Ash shrugged. "I'm Ashwater. You're Theodora. We came from far away, searching my grandfather, after he wrote us letters, asking us to visit? Short, simple, does not involve false names or histories to memorize, and means we've an excuse for our strange accents and custom."

"Exactly right, dearest." Forrester said with a smile, hugging his granddaughter to him. "A simple truth is harder to misremember than a complicated lie, add it will throw some suspicion off the two of you from any significant rival nakamas we encounter."

Theo frowned, but nodded. "There is truth in what both of you have said. I would be surprised at the way your nakamas work if two new girls don't match the description given by the guard, no matter what excuse you give, and are therefore to be considered to be an untrustworthy favor to watch." she tugged at the hem of her shirt. "And I do not wish to impose sir, but if we could perhaps borrow clothing, we would better blend in with the other folk on the street."

"Oh, of course!" boomed Forrester, steering them towards the door connecting the lab to the rest of the house. "And we wouldn't want you wearing those to Festivus Square anyways --black on black would stick out like a sore thumb. No, we need colour, and flash! Half the goal of the festivals is to be seen by all the right people, the other half is to keep an eye out, and make sure you see those who are valuable for you to see."

"See and be seen." Theo laughed. "Harder than a fake name to learn. I've been raised surrounded by the idea that being seen is to be counted as a personal failing." She let herself be led upstairs willingly though. "Ah well, a new way to hide can't possibly be a bad thing to learn."

***

They were ready to go half an hour later, all three dressed in a multitude of colours. Ash had wriggled her way into a skin-tight skirt that cut off at her knees at a daring slant, and a swooshing top with a plunging neckline, both in a cacophony of blues. All her jewelry, and she did wear a lot of it, was copper --jangling bracelets, a long chain around her neck, and multiple rings.

Dr. Forrester had chosen all the warm colours, though a quick look into his wardrobe when looking for something for Theo to wear revealed he had similar outfits in every colour of the rainbow. His pants were made of a loose red fabric, cuffed tight at the ankles, that shimmered gold when the light hit it, while his shirt was loose and flowing and striped in orange and yellow.

Theo had been the hardest to costume, eventually they had made something piecemeal out of draping fabric, and in elegant deep purples. Her pants were similar to Forrester's, though laced with silver instead of gold, and tied at the waist with a broad black silk sash, to keep them from falling down. Her top was just a stretch of slightly lighter, though still very intensely purple fabric that had been wrapped around her breasts, secured at the back, and then looped over one shoulder, creating a gentle falling sash that reached down to her knees. Upon seeing herself in the mirror, she actually took her hair out of its braid, for the first time Ashwater had seen, shaking the dark hair out to cascade down her back in beautiful waves of jet black.

"We look quite dashing. I shall be the envy of every gentleman there, I do expect, arriving with two such lovely ladies on my arms." Forrester smiled to Theo and Ash, and offered up his arms. "Shall we, my dear; Theo."

They walked down the street together, and it was not very long indeed until they were joined by a bevy of other men and women, all dressed just as colourfully as they. Theo was hard-pressed not to stare hungrily at the jewelry on display, true, not everyone wore as much or as expensive as the two Dr.s Green, but unlike the city she had grown up in, wearing jewelry seemed not to be a dangerous proposition at all -hands glittered with rings and bracelets, and multiple necklaces twined around necks clanged and flashed in the midday sunlight.

It was a walk of several blocks to get to the Festivus Square, but they did not have to walk very far between before they started to run into what Theo could only assume were members of other nakamas. The Dissh Street nakama did not seem to have any set colour or marking amongst themselves, but as they passed a particularly grand street, they were joined by a throng of young men, each shirtless and with a red scarf tied tight around one bicep. Another group joined, this primarily of ladies, all clad in a beautiful bright yellow with black ruffles, and carrying silk fans to try and repel an imaginary heat. The nakamas did not socialize with each other, save to exchange snide glances, and well aimed sneers.

The mass of people stopped as they reached another of the larger streets --this one marked as "Fiddlers Green" by an elaborate wrought-iron arch suspended over the streetway. What could best be described as a miniature parade was marching down the street, led by a matched pair of painted youth, pressing the rest of the crowd aside. Some played instruments as they walked, some danced, and some just moved gently, inviting the rest of the nakamas to join them as they walked. Like Dissh Street, they seemed not to have a set uniform, though there was a preponderance of greens in view, which accented the beautiful red hair cascading down the shoulders of more than a few of the musicians and dancers.

Theo's eye was caught almost immediately by a woman holding a fiddle as though it was a baby, treating it with a tenderness that Theo had seen used on few people, let alone inanimate objects. She was not playing, merely cradleing her instrument as though it was more valuable than life itself. From the way the parade fanned around her, she was clearly an important figure, and when they reached the edge of a massive square, it was shortly revealed why.

The members of Fiddler's Green scattered, moving to all the corners of the square, and striking up more music. The woman with the fiddle walked slowly into a cleared square, two more of those painted younglings clearing a space around her. Theo wormed her way up close to the front, entranced by the way the woman stood so stock still, her eyes shut against the outside world. One arm outstretched held her fiddle, the other the bow, and despite what weight there must be, she did not tremble. She had hair of a perfect ginger-gold, curling over her face and down her back, and accented by the deep green of the gown she wore. The gown itself appeared nothing more than multiple layers of paper thin fabric, each as translucent and as lightweight as the previous, yet stacked in a number large enough to protect modesty. Theo was trying to guess an exact number of layers, when the woman played a sharp chord, causing the youngsters to sit, and much of the audience to cease their conversation immediately.

And then she began to play. The fiddle tucked under her chin, she started right off with a glorious intensity, that made Theo gasp with wonder. The notes flowed from her fingers, and she played and played, somehow capturing the song of the wind and the vastness of the Earth in her music. All around Theo, the crowd was beginning to move, catching the glorious melody and moving, dancing of sorts to the song, but Theo stood transfixed, her eyes locked on the movement and the song. The notes flew fast, then faster, and somehow remained audible around the hooting of the crowd and the noise of the square. As she played, the fiddler herself began to move as well, whipping her head down and around, and her body flowing like water, jumping like fire, to fill in the spaces her music left, supply a perfect visual counterpoint.

She played three full songs, eyes held shut against the crowd for each. Ash tapped Theo on the shoulder halfway through the second, Theo was vague aware of her traveling partner's mention of going elsewhere in the square. For Theodora, there was nothing of importance in the world but the music and the musician. As the last chord of her third song faded, the woman gave an elegant bow, and spoke.

"Thank you, friends. If you wish a copper in the hats the younglings will bring you, it will not go remiss. Give old Deidra a chance to drink something, and I shall see if I can't find another tune or three for you to hear." The crowd cheered happily, and coins were tossed into the clearing, ignoring almost entirely the painted children holding out battered felt hats. As the woman--Deidra, she had said leaned against a nearby wall and drank deeply from a leather skin, Theo finally go a chance to catch her eyes.

It did not matter in the slightest. Deidra's eyes were cast with a milky white curtain. The fiddler was blind.

***

Let's Do This Thing
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13 twice is 26

2009-11-28T01:46:18Z

ARG ONLY LIKE THREE DAYS LEFT SHIT SHIT I AM SO DOOMED

"So tell me, miss...miss, I do not actually know your name. I apologize." Deidra laughed lightly, flushing slightly pink.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Theodora Darcy. Theo for short."

"Miss Theodora Darcy. Who are your traveling companions you spoke of --Ashwater and Forrester? Just friends, or something more?"

"Oh, just friends." Theo said, trying not to sound disappointed in the reassurance. "Ashwater and I have been traveling companions for some time now, and Forrester is her grandfather. He...encourages informality." she explained dumbly.

"I see." Deidra took a long sip of her tea, pondering the information. "And you said you dance? I do so like to be friends with dancers. They have wonderful bodies to feel."

"Oh, well, nothing as intense as what they were doing. I mean, where I come from, most dances are done in couples, and sets, not all by yourself and all...leaping about like that. It's more about being a single unit with your partner, not showing off." She paused, and took a long sip of her own tea. "Alright, in the higher classes of society it's about being a single unit. The Underworld admittedly has some showing off.

"You dance with partners? Oh, that must be marvelous!" Deidra smiled wistfully and set down her mug. "It sounds like something perhaps I could do?"

"Uh..." Theo thought for a moment or two. "Yeah, yeah I suppose it is! I think it'd be hard to teach you the set dances, since those have a log of trying to get the figures right, and it's sometimes hard enough to get into the right place when you can see where it is, but I bet you could learn the partner dances, no problem!" At that, Deidra's face brightened, and she clapped her hands together in joy. "Oh, you must teach me!" she exclaimed. "Please, I listen so to the music, and do love to move to it, but I've never been able to share the dance with another before."

"Um, okay..." Theo looked around the small kitchen and out into the living room. "Is it gonna be alright if I move some furniture around? There's not a lot of space to teach in here."

Deidra frowned for a moment, then brightened again as an idea struck. "I've got a better idea --follow me." She led her through the apartment, out onto a back staircase. Pulling a rope suspended from the ceiling revealed an easily unfolded ladder, leading to a trap-door. Deidra was up it in a flash, and opened the trap with expert hands, squirming into the outside air. "Have you followed?" she called down with a smile.

"Yeah, I am now." Theo scrambled up the ladder, and out the trap herself --they were now on the roof of Deidra's apartment, and due to the height of the building and the slope of the city, could see quite a lovely cityscape indeed. Theo strained her ears and eyes off a few blocks, yes, there was the festival, still at full swing. Deidra laughed and twirled, throwing her arms out to the open air with unabandoned glee. Theo had a moment of fear for her, before noting that the roof was edged with a low wall, protecting the blind woman from tumbling over the edge.

"We practise up here sometimes, when we need more space." Deidra said with a smile, then offered her hands, clearly reaching for Theo. "Teach me! I would love to learn."

"Well, probably the easiest for you to learn would be a waltz..." Theo said thoughtfully. "And certainly the easiest for me to teach." She walked up to Deidra, and cautiously arranged her into position. "It's a sort of spinning dance, set to three quarter time. You take a long step, then two shorts, in a ONE two three, ONE two three kind of pattern." She helped Deidra grasp the basic movement without much difficulty, harder was getting her to understand without visual help where to place the feet. Theo wound up holding her much closer than she was used, simply to help steer the dance better.

"No, it's too hard!" Deidra would laugh, before insisting that Theo teach it again. They worked for half an hour or so, by which point Deidra had begun to grasp it fairly well indeed, enough so that Theo felt comfortable moving her through a few more dramatic maneuvers.

"You are wonderful for teaching me this. Thank you." The words were earnest and bright, as they perched on one edge of the wall, sipping water Deidra had fetched from the kitchen for them both. Deidra's hand moved slightly, feeling, until she caught up Theo's free hand, and gave it a warm squeeze.

"Not a problem. I like waltzing. I wish I could do it more like that --usually, there's so many people I mistrust, I fear to truly turn my back in the dance. I have to do a much abbreviated version, or else trust dearly in my partner to keep me safe."

"More like this? What, with a blind old hag who stumbles through every fourth step?" Theo scoffed, and now it was her turn to squeeze Deidra's hand.

"You are a fine dancer. I have danced with many worse, who had two eyes to see by besides. And if no one has told you, then you must believe me, you are most certainly NOT a hag."

"Oh no?" Deidra leaned against Theo teasingly. "And what am I then?"

"Very beautiful. Like your music."

"You flatter me." Deidra paused for a minute, weighing her options solemnly, then leaned her head on Theo's shoulder affectionately. "I am sure you are quite pretty as well."

Theo chuckled. "Naw, I'm all scrawny and boyish. I've good eyes, but I suspect that's hardly something that will make a difference for you." Deidra's turn to scoff, and as she did, she rose, to stand facing Theo.

"Let me be the judge. If I may?" Her hands fluttered towards Theo's face, to brush lightly over the forehead. One slid down to rest at her shoulder, while the other continued its careful exploration. Her fingertips stroked lightly down to Theo's cheek, then up again, to study the curve and bridge of the nose. They wandered up to her eyebrow, and followed out along its path until it could skim around Theo's ear, brushing down to the lobe with a feather-light touch. The hand then moved under the chin and against the neck, and finally, up to Theo's lips, to run the faintest of touches against Theo's mouth.

Theo opened her mouth slightly at the touch, barely breathing. Deidra's hand slunk down to cup her chin, and Deidra smiled, the faintest hint of mischief marking her mouth. "No, I would say very beautiful indeed, Miss Theodora." She leaned close, so close their heads were almost touching, then carefully reiterated, enunciating each of the words clearly. "Very. Beautiful. Indeed."

She kissed Theo then, a hard sweet kiss that made parts of her mind shut off entirely, while others awoke screaming with the full force of Theo's libido behind them. After a moment's hesitation, Theo leaned forward and kissed back, and then became even braver, darting her tongue into Deidra's mouth gently, savoring the taste of her.

They pulled apart slow and somewhat reluctant, both smiling. "Well hello there." Deidra said gently. "You do not seem to have been too scared off at all."

Theo chuckled nervously. "No ma'am, I don't think that was the way to scare me at all, if it was your intention. Though, uh..." she hesitated, then shook her head against the sudden feeling of coming across as too awkward. "I would not mind to know what your intention is for me now. A kiss can mean an awful lot of things, and I'd hate to presume too much."

Deidra laughed merrily. "Oh, you are a direct one indeed. I don't think you'll mind my intentions very much at all, my dear. I intend to take you downstairs to my room, and seduce you, and fuck you." Her face grew suddenly serious. "And then to forget perhaps all about you, once you've given me what I need."

Theo laughed. "Was the dancing perhaps a ruse? I may be disappointed if it was, you should encourage that talent to grow." She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, thinking. "I do not, however, think I would mind so much your plans. Assuming you've ways to keep the diseases at bay? Not...that I think you've diseases, but medicine is occasionally spotty, and..."

Deidra lay a finger on Theo's lips. "I have protection in my bedroom, for when I luck into bringing a nice lad or lady home. And I did enjoy the dancing in truth, though I prefer my exercise in a more carnal fashion. But I am trained to Whoredom, though I no longer label myself thus, and I would quite miss any lost opportunity to bed a willing young thing. There are only so many the city will give me, and I play much the better when my body knows it will be satisfied." she smiled curiously then at Theo, "That's how I played so well tonight. When I hear that particular form of gasp, such as escaped your lips, I know I have found one to be entranced, and from there, it's just a matter of laying a careful trap."

"Well, you hardly needed to trap me, ma'am." Theo stood, taking Deidra's hands sweetly. "I do warn you, I am somewhat out of practise."

They walked back to the trap door, and down the ladder. "To tell the truth, as perhaps am I. We will manage, my dear. And I shall make sure you are returned to your friends in no worse condition than when I stole you."

Arm in arm, they walked to the bedroom, Theo smiling fiendishly. It seemed tonight was going to turn out to be a simply lovely night indeed.

***

Oh how scandalous!

Also, more dancing. I really really *really* like dancing, ayep.

Let's Do This Thing
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Days 24 and 25. Let's get serious, woo!

2009-11-26T14:50:37Z

Huh. Apparently did not actually get around to posting for the 24th. So today you get a DOUBLE DOSE!!!

Or something like that.

Theo turned to the door. The newcomer was a spry old man, with a impish smile. He walked in with a slight limp, and sat at an empty seat next to the boys. "Hello gentlemen, Lali. All well today?" Murmurs of assent and nods, this was clearly a well respected man among these members of whatever the city had to pass as an underworld. Theo studied him curiously for a moment, then felt her jaw drop in shock as she figured out where she recognized him from.

"Hello there. How's the city, friend? And the Institute?" Dr Forrester Green smiled warmly at Theo, who took the only reasonable course of action she could think of when confronted with her personal hero, who was supposed to be dead. She fainted.

***

She came to when she hit the ground with a clatter, jolted by the impact on the hard dirt floor. She pulled herself up with swear, realized how rude she was being, and squeaked, hands fluttering to smooth out her clothes and hair.

"Are you quite alright, miss?" Dr. Green said with a puzzled frown. His long white hair was pulled back in a ponytail, revealing green eyes damnably identical to Ashwater's. He reached out a hand to help Theo steady herself, steering her politely back to her seat.

"I'm fine, yes, hi, Dr. Green, you're supposed to be dead, hello, Ash's gonna be thrilled..." The words tumbled out of Theo's mouth, all faster than she could control, and she winced, blushing fiercely. Finally, she took a deep breath, and smiled as politely as she could manage. "Hello sir." She said simply.

His eyes had narrowed at Ash's name, never a man to mince words, as soon as Theo had admitted to being alright, he had begun to scan the rest of the bar. "Ash? My granddaughter, Ash?" He scowled slightly. "What on Earth is she doing this far away from the Institute?! They were supposed to protect her, curse it."

"Ha!" Just a short bark of laughter, but as soon as he turned his too-green eyes back on Theo, she regretted the noise. She swallowed nervously, willing her hands to stop fidgeting so. "I do not think the Institute is so keen on helping her right now, sir." Theo said, squirming uncomfortably under Dr. Green's gaze. "Shall I go wake her? I hesitate to tell her story without permission."

Dr. Green nodded, and Theo scrambled awkwardly up from the table, her food forgotten. She half scampered up the staircase, cursing her ungainly appearance, and crashed through the door. Ash sat up with a start, and flung a pillow towards Theo, the first thing that had come to hand.

"Damnit Theo, what's wrong?" She hissed, detangling herself awkwardly from the sheets and attempting to look as though she was in a defensive stance. Theo waved her hands in front of her face in agitation, then froze, taking a very deep breath in order to compose herself.

"There's someone downstairs you ought to meet." She said simply. "You might want to get yourself looking as presentable as possible, and fast." A moment's pause, and a smile --"Wear the pearls."

Ash's face was a mask of confusion, but Theo just smiled wickedly in response and shut the door behind her. She leaned against the railing, causing Dr. Forrester Green to look up in confusion. "She'll be just a minute," Theo called to him, waiting for the click of the door as Ash opened it again.

Ash walked out a minute later, resplendent in a soft green shirt and black skirt --Theo hadn't even realized Ash had brought skirts with her on their flight. She walked out towards Theo uncertainly, Theo just smiled sweetly, and beckoned over the balcony rail to the room below.

"Grandfather?!" Ash squeaked, grabbing onto the rail suddenly for support. Theo was moderately annoyed that Ash didn't faint as well, nor did she show any signs of doing so --she scampered down the staircase and flung herself at her grandfather, who pulled her willingly into a tight hug. Theo followed at a more sedate pace, trying not to let her facial features betray the sudden wave of abandonment she felt, gripping her heart with fear. Ashwater did not let Theo have such fears for long though. She was seated beside her grandfather now, sniffling unladylike, and grabbed Theo's hand to drag her over with them.

"Grandfather, this is Theodora Darcy." Ash said firmly, releasing Theo's hand long enough for Theo to manage an awkward curtsy. "She is far smarter than anyone currently at the Institute. And she has knowledge that they want, and so they will stop at nothing to get her under their control, which she doesn't wish to do." Theo sighed very slightly, Lali and Johnann and the other boys were still present, looking on curiously. "What gives the I
Institute the right to try and chase after those who have declined an invitation to work with them?"

The elder Dr. Green frowned. "Nothing at all. The Institute was designed to provide resources and help to scientific minds, not coercion." He held out a hand to Theo, who shook it cautiously, shaking her head to remove the traces of reverence from her eyes. "I take it the fact that you are on the run from the Institute has something to do with Ashy being so far flung as well?"

"We're both on the run." Ash said simply. She started to explain what had happened, when Theo placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently in warning.

"Perhaps we could talk upstairs?" She said softly, meeting Dr. Forrester Green's eyes squarely. He laughed at that, and reached over to ruffle Theo's hair, causing her to duck her head in annoyance.

"Lali? Gentlemen? Nothing passes these doors, understood?" The patrons of the inn nodded, and as one, they stood, drifting towards various entrances of the inn, while still remaining close enough to eavesdrop on the conversation between the elderly Dr. Green and the two girls. "Trust me, Dr. Darcy. Nothing said will go beyond these walls. My gang understands that any information traded is to be considered completely secret, especially if it pertains to me and mine. Now then." He leaned forward, stroking Ashwater's hair affectionately. "Tell me why my favourite granddaughter was forced to run?"

Ash opened her mouth to speak, but was inturrupted by Theo, launching into the standard beginning for stories told among the Underworld of their city. "So, no shit, there we were..." she began, earning a quizzical look from Ash and a hearty laugh from her grandfather.

"No, I suspect you're not suited for the Institute even if they did persuade you to join them." he patted her firmly on the shoulder. "They didn't like street-rats even back when I founded it. How're you sanctioned, hm?"

"Only official sanction is Scientist, and that was made up by a mate of mine. I Run, I Gossip, I've been learnin' how to Act and Heckle. Said mate was a Graverobber, I learned as much as I could without bein' obvious about it. You've got sanctions in place here? I've not gotten enough of a chance to learn the lay of the city yet."

"They don't have the idea of sanctions, as such. I've been trying to teach them thus, but they resist the idea to some extent...

...Prefer to keep trust in their Nakama --what we call gangs-- and assume that anyone wearing their colours is to be trusted, and anyone not is to be feared." He made a vague hand motion at Lali, she nodded and scampered off to fetch a bottle of something ambiguous, and three glasses. Dr. Forrester Green poured them each a drink, and took a long sip of his own before continuing.

"It's an interesting structure --on the one hand, you've got a much stronger group, and each nakama has its own members of each of the core jobs, so you don't need to worry about hiring someone you can't necessarily trust. But on the other..." he ducked his head and smiled apologetically, "I miss the dancing."

"And it misses you." Theo said solemnly. "I must've heard a half dozen toasts to your name at the most recent assembly, and at least one dashing gent admonishing his partner with the words 'What would Dr. Green have said'"

"They didn't seem to like me any." Ash pouted. "And don't tell me they didn't recognize me, you as good as said they did."

"You went to an assembly?!" The elder Dr. Green stood, shouting at his granddaughter. "What on Earth could have convinced you that that was a good idea for you?! You could've been killed! Raped, robbed, murdered and left for the crows to find!" He sat angrily, and took a long sip of his drink. "I can only thank your good fortune you weren't."

Ash looked taken aback, her mouth open in shock. Her grandfather and parents had always admonished her to steer clear of the underworld, but this was not at all the reaction she had been expecting. Theo caught sight of Ash's eyes, close to tears, and tsked, giving Dr. Forrester Green a scathing look.

"She came to the assembly to warn me from danger." Theo said patiently. While she agreed that Ashwater was not at all designed for moving in any form of the Underworld, she also though that Dr. Forrester Green's livid reaction was taking it a bit too far. "She stuck to the shadows until she caught sight of me, and me and mine helped her to escape unscathed."

"Yes, but what if she hadn't found you?" he hissed, worry touching his words. "Ashwater, baby, I hope you understand just how dangerous that could have worked out for you. The Assembly's are not as gentle as they may look, not when the drink and grudges may flow freely."

"I wouldn't have gone if I wasn't looking for Theo." Ash exclaimed. "I knew she was going to be there, that's what several sources had told me." Her eyes met Theo's across the table. "Not your mother, though. She hadn't an idea where you'd gone or when you'd return."

"My mother would not care where I'd gone or when I'd return, so long as I went to school the next morning." Theo muttered bitterly, and shook her head. "She was safe, Dr. Green. Perhaps somewhat an idiot, but ultimately safe. It was early in the evening still, and I doubt anyone present at the time would have been willing to truly damage her, not when it could bring a full scale attack from the Institute. We're clever enough to recognize an uneasy truce when we've got one, and more importantly, clever enough to try not to break that truce." Theo smiled, suddenly fiendish. "Besides, if you asked around, this particular fancy one certainly learned what it meant to be a'courtin' of the Underworld. Lost a string of pearls and a modicum of respect, I'd daresay."

Ashwater made a terrific face in response, causing Theo to lean over and run a hand down her cheek lightly. "There there." she soothed. "The pearls you got back."

"Aye, and what was your new title at the assembly? Sanctioned seductress?" Ash stuck her tongue out at Theo pertly; her grandfather just frowned. "Theo 'saved' me by dragging me out to an alleyway where she could allegedly have her wicked way with me. No one was going to come looking for me after she returned, and no one was going to what, think less of you for associating with a fancy one? You and your bloody reputation."

From there, the rest of the story flowed easily from the two girls, each stumbling over the other to fill in forgotten gaps. Theo told of her brother and the pigeons, Ash of the following Institute and the idea of the weapon. By the time they had finished, most of an hour had passed, and the bottle was beginning to run low.

Dr. Green frowned. "So then, what is your plan in coming here?" he asked. "I mean, the obvious was to get away from the Institute, though if they were truly following that will not long have worked. Have you more a goal, or did you just intend to run indefinite?"

"Oh, we have a goal." Theo said, as Ash blushed and muttered something about running indefinite.

"We do?" Ash hissed, giving Theo a curious look. Theo rolled her eyes dramatically in response, and leaned forward, giving her words added weight.

"The Institute fucked me. I've made friends with a fair amount of the Underworld by now, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you get two choices when someone fucks you. You can sit there and take it." She took a long drink, draining her glass and setting it back down on the table with a click. Theo smiled, suddenly, the sort of smile that sent a shiver darting down Ashwater's back. "Or you can fuck back, a whole lot harder."

***

Further scheming was cut short by Lali bustling up to them and shooing the girls back to their room. "I have to open for business today, unless you'll be payin' for my inn the next few weeks. And Little Frankie just brought me word of a proper fancy sort out in the city now. Said to be checking in at all the inns, and looking for certain guests --a pair of pretty little girls with horses and a mechanical beast." She pursed her lips at Ash and Theo. "It'll be hellish to lie to them, more if they've any of the proper guard along. I like having that coin in my pocket, hm?"

"They can stay with me." Dr. Forrester Green said, rising. "My workshop has certainly has enough space for one more mechanical beastie --what sort of Automon is it then, hm? All you said was that you swiped it from your follower when you sent him scrambling back to meet your brother."

Theo shrugged. "Single person carrier. Looks a bit like a modified Wallace design. Big enough for two if you squeeze, special designed pigeon cages all along the back edge. Though if we're gonna move it, I'd like to do it by as many back routes as possible."

Lali steered them out the backdoor to the stable. "You can leave the horses here for now, loves. I'll make sure they get fed as necessary." The day was starting to go grey with fog, clouds crawling sluggishly across the sky. The fog was good, Theo thought darkly. Meant that it'd be easier to slip off to Dr. Forrester Green's workshop without leaving a trail of too many witnesses.

And so they did, winding across backyards, and spending a terrifying minute crossing the street, one at a time. Dr. Forrester Green assured them that they were okay, solidly in the area belonging to and protected by Dissh Street's Nakama, but there was a tension in his words that perfectly matched the tenseness in Theo's shoulders and back. She was in unfamiliar territory, and therefore until proven otherwise, everyone was an enemy.

They made it to the laboratory seemingly without being caught though, and once inside, Theo forgot even the idea of fear. The lab was small, and compact, and nearly everything she had ever dreamed. Carefully arranged experiments were percolating on long counters, while a full pair of cabinets against the wall contained the finest in scientific equipment --and more, Theo could spot at least two of the mechanical wonders thought to have been long since stolen from the city by the Institute and Underworld alike, and a prototype -no, the prototype for the quick action camera so prevalent in the city.

[TEMPORARY REEL MISSING, BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, SEX]

Deidra set a hand on Theo's shoulder carefully, moving slow enough to keep her touch from becoming inappropriate. "Young man?" she said, in tones as dulcet as those of the fiddle she'd been playing earlier. "Will you help me to put my liebling away and home?" She gestured cautiously with the fiddle, and Theo nodded.

"Uh, certainly." She added quickly, realizing her mistake. "Where do you need to go?" She winced, as she realized the other thing Deidra had said, and shook her head nervously. "And I do not wish to be rude, but I'm a female."

"Oh, my apologies." Deidra fluttered, turning slightly pink. "The case should be behind the stage, my home is a few streets from here." They began to walk, Theo carefully guiding Deidra through the crowd. As the crowd thinned, Deidra began to relax, and smiled towards Theo sweetly. "And do forgive the mistake, young miss. When I began to play, you gasped in a way I am only used to hearing from the gentlemen in the crowd."

It was Theo's turn to blush now, and she was grateful that Deidra wouldn't see the red tint spreading across her cheeks. "You play beautifully." she said. Admittedly, it was an oversimplification of her true feelings, but she suspected that the partial honesty was perhaps more beneficial at the moment. "We're behind the stage --is this your case out on the table?"

"Most likely." Deidra moved forward slowly and ran her free hand over it. "Yes, and thank you." She made a motion for Theo to come closer, which she gladly did. "I am not so good at fitting her in gently. If you would, and seal the case...?" She offered her fiddle out carefully.

Theo accepted it with a sense of reverence. The instrument was lighter than she had expected, and very nearly hummed with the musical power born of being played by truly extraordinary fingers for so long. The case enveloped the instrument in soft padding and hard armor, then closed with a solid click, the closing mechanism snapping shut. Deidra scooped it up, pulling the strap over her shoulder, and groped the open air until Theo once more offered up her arm.

"Thank you." Deidra said. "Now, I need to go up to Sky Street, then down three rows until you reach Fiddler's Green. My house is at the end of the row." She smiled wistfully. "I'm told it's purple." Theo set off, steering Deidra gently alongside the roads, careful to avoid the patches of mud from the previous night's rainfall.

They made it to Deidra's home before either spoke again --it was, as promised, a pale shade of lavender. It was Deidra who broke the silence, to smile sweetly, and thank Theo for the assistance. "Would you like to come inside for a cup of tea?" she offered, unlocking the door carefully.

"Thank you, but I should probably get back to Forrester and Ashwater." Theo admitted, disappointment tinting her words. There was a fierce beauty to the slim redhead, and Theo was loath to leave its presence quite yet.

Deidra scoffed, and grabbed Theo's wrist. "Close the door behind you. The rest of the troupe I'm sure shall keep the both of them quite entertained. You can afford a few minutes to give a lonely musician company, hm?"

"It astonishes me that one as talented as you could describe yourself as lonely. Even without friends, I'd expect a bevy of fawning fans, hanging off your every movement." They had reached Deidra's apartment, unsurprsingly, the walls and furniture were spartan, chosen for comfort and practicality rather than any aesthetic quality. Moreover, it was the cleanest living space Theo had ever seen in her life --nothing was out of place, and when Deidra removed her fiddle and her coat, she placed each immediately into a place set for it, keeping the place as perfectly clean as possible.

The organization was proven sensible just a moment later, when she started to move. Unlike her movements out on the street, which had been halting, slow, and uncertain, she suddenly possessed an incredible speed and grace. Theo watched from the doorway as Deidra moved about the kitchenette with rapid precision, ducking under open cabinets, dodging the stove, and every time reaching exactly where whatever she was looking for was.

"I have some of both fans and friends, not to mention a quarter of my nakama who report directly to me, as well as the rest who I am on friendly terms with." She set the kettle on the stove with a click, and leaned back against the counter with a satisfied smile. "But there are dances to watch, and it is best just to assume that the sightless one can find no pleasure in the sound of the music if she can't also see the movements accompanying. So for parties and festivals, I am often left alone." She shrugged seemingly unaffected, but Theo sensed there was a hidden melancholy behind the words.

"Well, I prefer to be the one dancing, not watching. So I don't much mind keeping you company for now. Theo looked around the room carefully, not wanting to trip Deidra up over a misplaced bag. "Is there a place I can put my things without them being in the way?"

"Oh, forgive me, it's been a while since I've had anyone new to visit." Deidra swooped over, opening an unnoticed door to reveal a closet with spare hangers and a shelf. "You can put your things in there, no worries." Her hands fluttered up to Theo's shoulders, running along her to help remove the labcoat. Once more, Theo was grateful Deidre couldn't see the blush tinting her cheeks --she didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved when the kettle began to whistle, causing Deidre to hand Theo the coat, and scamper back over to the stove.

Theo hung her coat and walked to the edge of the kitchen, clearing her throat as she settled against the counter. Deidre looked over in her general direction and smiled, then finished making the tea.

"Thank you for the audio cue." She said as she brought over the tea, holding out one mug cautiously. Theo took it, and Deidre settled in against the counter next to her, their legs and hips pressed together.

Deidre is a blind musician. The reel missing is short, and I mostly know what I want to have happen in it, I just need to write it. Her and Theo will probably have sex, yeah.

YAY WORDS!

Let's Do This Thing
Today: 1,490/2,451
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I am out of witty titles for 23

2009-11-24T05:07:29Z

Blargaleargaleargle.

In other news, I have *officially* earned the procrastination writers merit badge. That's two separate gaps of three days without writing. Seriously, if I can pull off the novel with a total of eight whole days where I didn't write a word, I get to declare myself a genius at writing.

"What's going on, fancy one?" she asked, already moving to fasten down straps of the automon, tie down all the cargo they had decided to store inside. Ash responded similarly, grabbing the reins of Theo's horse, and working to attach them to the Automon like they had figured out.

"That smoke." she said, forcing calm into her voice. "With the slight purple cast? It's an Institute communication."

"Oh God" Theo swore, one that Ash hadn't heard before, meaning it must be very bad indeed. "What're they saying?"

Ash strained her eyes to make out the particular pattern of short and long puffs. She got as far as saying "Hard to see..." before Theo had dived back into her packs, and pulled out a spyglass, thrusting it into Ash's hands. The magnification helped some, she studied the batches of smoke, cursing herself for not putting more effort into learning the full range of codes available.

"Oh shit." she hissed as a certain pattern made itself clear. "They're talking about me." She talked aloud as she worked out what the smoke said --"Ashwater...camp...two...help...cow? No horse, horse...and that's helper, not help. Oh bloody earth, that's harlot, I think they know we're together."

Theo grabbed Ash's arm roughly, shaking the girl slightly, until Ash faced her. "Look, is there anything we can do to hide our trail below the cliff?" Ash shook her head, lines furrowing her forehead. "Then we best run like the wind, and hope against hope we can make it somewhere we can find safety before they catch up.

Ashwater, smacked her horse on the rump, making it jump and canter to the lead. "Keep up." she called as she went past, and the two girls were off. Personally, Ash wasn't really sure they could outrun the Institute, the smoke seemed to have been at their last campsite, giving them very little of a lead indeed. But she hadn't any better plan. Time to put all her faith in her grandfather's notebook, and the precious maps within.

***

They rode hard, straight through the times when they would normally rest the horses and have lunch. They paused briefly at a stream, providing only enough time to see if more of the Institute's signals could be spotted, and giving Ash the opportunity to switch horses. Until now their path had not been leisurely, but neither had it been frantic. With the Institute a day behind them, and better equipped for a rapid crawl through the woods, it was clear that any dawdling would be a loss for them.

They rode straight on through sunset, causing both girls to notice the hints of cold growing suddenly stronger. The winds were harder here too, and clouds overhead threatened to spill open with rain. They paused under the only tree either could see for miles, both horses breathing heavily.

"Theo, I can't keep switching on 'em." Ash said softly, petting the nearest horse on the nose. "They're strong beasties, but they weren't designed to run this hard, not with my added weight." She half expected Theo to tell her they should split, or otherwise leave her behind, but Theo just frowned, and bit her lip.

"The Institute isn't gonna sleep tonight, is it?" Ash shook her head and sighed.

"Especially not once they gain the cliff. Our tracks are gonna be clear as day, and they've got better horses, and better automons. Hell, they might even have 'em clever enough to track us for them,ones they can set to just follow, no matter how complex our path becomes."

Theo winced, and leaned over the edge of the automon, to stare down at the horses and Ash. "You said they weren't designed to run with your added weight? Think they could keep going okay if they just had themselves?" Ash nodded reluctantly, and Theo switched levers and pressed buttons hurridly. The automon sank into its rest position, and Theo grimaced.

"Gonna be a tight fit in here, fancy one, but it ought to carry us both. Do you think you can tie both horses to the automon in a way that they'll be able to follow okay, without getting into each other's way?" Theo began to take their packs out of the main body of the automon, and attach them to the outside, knotting them carefully and redundantly to ensure everything made it as far as their final destination.

Ash nodded, her stiff fingers already trying to do the knots. "Cursed cold." she hissed, but she managed, and lumbered awkwardly into the seat of the automon with Theo. It was indeed a tight fit --the two girls were pressed knee to knee, and their backs rested against the pigeon cages, for lack of any other space. "At least it would be warmer," Ash thought with a wry grin, and Theo awkwardly incited the automon to start again.

Ash had to admonish Theo twice before the automon was moving at a speed which the horses could keep up with. They kept going down the road, not even pausing when the skies eventually opened --the advantage of the automon was clear in that, so long as their path was straight, no attention at all needed to be paid to the controls, leaving their hands free to do other things. Both rifled through the packs attached awkwardly to the outsides, carefully drawing out blankets to wrap around them in the chill metal beast.

They huddled close together, eventually lapsing into a game of who could find the most creative swears to use on the weather, the fear, and the Institute itself. Ash lost mightily in the last category, even with them irrevocably the enemy, she found herself shocked at just how many slurs the Underworld seemed to have for the Institute and its workers, and suddenly found herself grateful that she had gotten off light with 'fancy one'. As the hour waned, and the silences started to become longer between insults, Theo sighed.

There was almost no light, beyond the soft glow of the automon itself, so it took a minute for Ash to realize that the peculiar position Theo was in was because Theo was biting at her hand. She spoke, pulling her fingers out of her mouth. "Go to sleep, Ashwater. Assuming it's just the one road, I think I can steer, though it's a bitch in this squall. I'll wake you when we need to switch." Ash nodded, and fell into an uneasy rest, her head falling onto Theo's shoulder. The light was too dim anyways, but if one could have seen Theo's face, there would've been the barest hint of a smile.

It was perhaps the shortest Ash had ever slept before she found herself being shaken awake by a Theo who could barely speak she was so exhausted. Theo slurred through an explanation of the controls, between yawns, and Ash put a hand over her mouth. "I've steered automons before." she admonished gently. By the time she pulled her hand away, Theo was unconscious, it now being her turn to rest her head on her fellow traveler's shoulder.

The storm let up finally --Ash checked her clock, revealing it to be about three thirty in the morning. She gazed up, trying to keep her eyelids from fluttering back closed, and was startled with the sight of more stars than she had ever before seen. The plains rolled gently around them, with gentle hills and occasional sharp bends in the road, but not a tree or building anywhere around to block her view. It was a dazzling sight, and enough to give her enough energy to stay awake, for at least a little longer.

They reached the peak of a particularly tall hill, and Ashwater gasped. Just as softly glittering as the stars above, there was the city they were searching for, only a few dozen kilometers ahead. She almost laughed with relief, before a flood of too-rational worry hit her. What if the city had no interest in helping or hiding Theo and herself. They were fugitives, after all, on the run from their own guards. And surely, the guards would appear soon and tell them a story so pretty that any protection offered to the girls would promptly be reversed.

Theo stirred uncertainly, and her eyes opened, taking on the unfocused look they always had as she awoke. Ash pointed, the pale light of the stars and near-full moon providing plenty of illumination for the action, and Theo gasped.

"It's beautiful." she said simply, then stretched, leaning over the back of the automon to scratch the nearest horse between the ears. "Almost there, pretty. We'll find you a stable if we have to swap your friend for it."

"Swap his friend!" Ash said, aghast. "Why the hell would we want to do that?"

Theo raised an eyebrow artfully. "Do you have anything of value we can barter for lodging and protection? You may not have quite grasped this, fancy one, but enough value to trade can get you anything else in the world your little heart desires. Right now, our total value seems to be two horses and an automon -and I am not trading the latter."

"Well who says it's your decision?" Ash stuck her tongue out, childishly. "I helped get it, that means it's half mine." She grabbed her pack and pulled it onto her lap with a smug grin. "Besides, we won't need to swap the horses."

"No?" Theo asked, rolling her eyes. "I mean, we could trade knowledge, but I rather don't want these people to have the weapon building technology either --nor much of anything that would be truly helpful. Call me skeptical, but I don't expect them to truly care for protecting us so much as our information should that happen."

"Oh pish, forget information." Ash opened a smaller bag within her pouch, and tilted it towards Theo, the contents glittering faintly. "Did you not tell me to grab my jewelry when I ran? It took me a minute to figure out what you meant, but once I did...I got everything I could."

"Ashwater Green, I could kiss you." Theo said with a smile, then a fierce blush as she processed the words. "Disregard that. At any rate, assuming you're willing to share your bounty, I think I can find us a place to stay in very little time indeed, once we reach cityside." She clicked on her light, pawing through the jewelry critically.

Ash shrugged. "You seem to have a good idea of what we're doing." She said finally, after a long pause spent watching Theo pull out some of the nicer pieces. "I'm sure I could figure out a way around the city. But I sense that you've a better idea of how to keep tongues from wagging." She laughed, as a thought struck her. "Careful though, Theodora. Their Underworld might be unlike anything you've ever gotten to experience."

Theo laughed, and made a face. "I hope not. Finding it might be a bore, but I've got knives and glitter and knowledge of a few tricks that I'm betting they've never seen before. Once we're in, we're in for solid."

She paused for a long moment, surveying Ash with a critical eye. "Just do me a favour and let me do the talking." she said finally. Ash made a face and shoved Theo, but agreed. A sudden wave of exhaustion rushed over her, and she leaned against Theo with a sigh.

"Wake me when we get there?" Theo nodded, and once more, Ash slept.

***

Theo shook Ash awake as they approached the front gates, and they spent a moment properly composing themselves. This meant letting the horses rest and graze for a moment, figuring out a kludge to let the automon run without a driver, and shaking the leftover rain out of their hair and clothes, doing their best to look at least a little presentable. Theo had made a purse of some of the less sentimental of Ash's jewelry (which seemed often to overlap with the pile of things most valuable), the rest had been secreted back in Ash's pack.

Theo pulled a very crumpled blue-green thing out of the bottom of her pack --it was the labcoat she had worn to the ball. She grimaced, but pulled it on, tugging irritated at the wrinkles. "You best do the same." she muttered to Ash. "At least until we're through the city walls. Whatever the fanciest thing to wear you've got, you best put it on. We'll change back down to the underworld's rags once we're inside."

Ash nodded doubtfully, then emphatically as the secondary reason hit her --Theo was urging the formal attire not just to better bluff their way past the gate, but to make it harder for the Institute to track them within the city walls. If the guard gave the description in terms of something they were no longer wearing, it'd be near impossible to seek them out.

Once presentable, Theo took the Automon on a lead, and Ashwater the two horses. They walked -shuffled, really- up to the gate, and Theo beamed tiredly at the bored young man sitting there. "Mind letting a pair of weary travelers in? We're trying to get away from some 'friends' of ours, so the quieter you can keep us, the happier we'll be." He chuckled and waved them in, swatting Ash on the butt as she passed.

"No worries about how happy you pretty ladies are." He said with a warm laugh, not making any indication to mark them down. "You've certainly made my shift warmer, just by the strength of your smiles." Ash huffed, and would've hissed some ill-mannered response in retort, had Theo not kicked her lightly in the shin.

"Asshole." Ash muttered darkly as soon as they were out of hearing range.

"Oh, agreed." Theo murmured. "And I do hope the whole city does not run on such ill terms. I'm not against selling my body for safety, but I'd rather not if given the choice, and I suspect you prefer to remain unmolested, yes?"

"Most certainly yes." Ash flounced into an alley, stripping out of her formal outerlayer. "What now?" she whispered, looking around in fear.

Theo responded by shedding her own beautiful coat, then walking further down the alley, motioning for Ash to stay with the automon and the horses. She seemed to find what she was looking for, there was the sounds of a scuffle, and a hard thump. Ash drew back slightly in fear, and had gotten to the point where she was once again wondering how far she could make it on her own, when Theo returned, a malicious grin on her face.

"We go another five streets down, then take a left, and go until we reach Dissh Street." She grabbed the automon and began leading it cockily, leaving Ash to rush to catch up.

"What did you do?" she hissed, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Oh, just asked a friendly street urchin. Idiot thought I looked small enough to check for valuables." She flipped out her knife casually, so smooth and quick Ash hadn't even noticed it reach her hand. "I persuaded him otherwise, and suggested that I might forgive his disrespect in exchange for some information. He was more than happy to comply." Another flip and the knife was gone again, back to wherever exactly it was Theo stored it.

They travelled a block down Dissh street, until Theo stopped Ash with an outswung arm. She knocked lightly on the door, and when a tired older woman appeared, slipped her a lovely ruby ring Ash had been given by some visiting scientist or another, and a thousand apologies for the late disturbance. The shine of the gem and the gold of the band was enough to get their horses tucked away in a stable behind the inn, with fresh hay and water to boot, and a room for the two of them. Theo sighed at the one bed, and turned to correct the innkeeper, but she had already retreated back down the stairs.

"Do we give off the sense of being a couple?" she hissed at Ash, but her irritation was half-hearted at best. Both were weary from the harsh ride, and their nerves jangling at the still-present danger of being caught by the Institute.

"Dunno, pretty girl. Maybe all that frustrating attraction is more noticeable than you think." Ash teased in response. Theo turned pale, then pink, and shook her head in warning.

"Don't, not until we know how they treat samsies." she whispered in fear. "Though if she was willing to give us a single bed without batting an eye, it's a good chance they don't mind it so much at all." Ash nodded, and dropped onto the bed, burying her face into the pillow happily.

"We need to set watches?" she muttered, muffled, as Theo locked the door and arranged their packs carefully in a corner of the room.

"Probably not. Window's too small to scramble out of for me, certainly means for you too. Not too much we can do here, even if the Institute comes a calling." She sat on the bed, and pushed at Ash's legs. "Shove over. Just because I'm tired enough to sleep with the horse tonight doesn't mean you get to hog the whole bed."

Ash complied with a wry grin, and snuggled down beneath the covers. "Goodnight, Theo." she said sleepily, her eyes fluttering shut.

"Goodnight, friend." Theo said quietly in response. But Ash was already too far asleep to notice.

***

Theo awoke with sunlight streaming gently though the window and Ashwater cuddled up against her. She detangled herself gently, trying to ignore the traitorous little voice in her head telling her to stay and take advantage of the situation, and crept carefully to the door, easing herself out of the room.

Their inn was designed with a number of upper level rooms bordering a long balcony that wrapped around three sides of the building. The balcony overlooked a common room, with half a dozen or so travelers and street-rats seated below. Theo drifted downstairs quietly, when the innkeeper saw her, she swatted the behind of a scruffy child, who scurried over with a roll and a hunk of hearty cheese. Theo dug in, drifting to a seat close enough to overhear some of the early morning chatter.

"You new here, pretty thing?" A gruff man said with a rough smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He had a lush red beard with multiple braids in it, and long hair in a darker shade of reddish brown pulled back from his face.

"Yeah. Hopin' to find a place to stay for a bit, 'til the Chasers after me lay off. Sanctioned Scientist, some degree of knowledge in Gossip, Runnin', and Heckling. Bummed around a Graverobber for a time, but no practical knowledge, just theoretical." His eyebrow twitched, and he nodded, just slightly.

"Don't know graverobbing, but the rest are all good things to have. Who's the Chaser?"

Theo scoffed. "Do I look enough a fool to tell you without a promise I'll be safe?" she took another bite, and continued. "And do I look enough a fool to expect safety from one I've no tie to?" She surveyed him once, her eyes sweeping up and down. "Hell, I doubt even those with the ties have a trust of you."

His friends laughed heartily, and he flushed slightly -thankfully more in amusement than anger. "You'll do, pretty thing." he said with a guffaw.

"Johnann, are you treating my new friend with ill respect?" The innkeep bustled over and put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "She's to be treated right, hm?"

He ducked his head apologetically, and one of his friends laughed again. "T'ain't Johnann who's giving the abuse." he said with a smirk. "She's a fiery one. Must be that Heckler training."

"Mm, and you'll leave her be, hear? If she wants to abuse you louts, she's more than welcome to. About time someone took you down a notch." Theo blushed slightly at the defense, but smiled. "Now then, you said last night you'd need to stay here a bit love?"

Theo nodded. "Just until I get the run of the area, and sort how hard it'll be for me and my partner to lose our Chasers. We won't hardly be a bother to you, ma'am."

"Well, that's all well and good. Though if you want the run, you'll want to talk to Forrester. He's where all the Disshbrats report to, hm?" She stroked Johnann's hair affectionately. "One of these gentlemen'll be happy to lead you down for a bit of shiny later, I'm sure."

"And do you only get the Disshbrats in here?" asked Theo, forcing her face into the purest picture of innocence.

"Aye, mostly us." One of the boys grabbed Theo's wrist and examined it closely, before throwing it back. "If you're a spy you'll learn to regret it." he growled softly.

"Not by the cut of that coat." said a hearty voice from the door. "Hello traveler. You look as though you've come a long way."

Oh my goodness. Dun dun DUUUUUNNNNNNNN!!!!

Yeah, yay story. Let's kick some more ass with this, hm?

Let's Do This Thing
Today: 3,535
Previous: 30,503
Total: 34,037
 Left to write: 15,963

19 means I love you

2009-11-20T06:30:11Z

And I do love today, I do I do I DO!

Because I wrote six thousand words. Can I just say "Holy fucking shit!" to that? Because damn, that's a lot of words.

The two set out with little delay, though both girls were somewhat reluctant to leave the idyllic waterfall and peaceful lake. Ash fell automatically into the lead, both from having a bearing as to where to go, and due to her better horsemanship. This set the tone for the next several days --they would ride until Ash called a halt, make dinner, and sleep, one girl always awake on watch. They talked, some nights, each learning the other's story. Theo learned about Shanna, who had never treated Ash as just someone else's granddaughter, and about Ashwater's absent parents. Ash learned about Artie, who encouraged Theo's scientific aspirations, and about Theodora's absent parents.

They seemed to have travelled fast and far enough that the Institute was no longer following them, or at the very least, no longer directly on their tail. Theo's suspicions of her brother having sent a follower were slowly confirmed, however --she had been watching behind her as they rode, and spotted many more pigeons as the days went on. One particular night, she decided to check for certain --a careful spiral long after Ashwater had fallen asleep, cautiously exploring the surrounding woods.

She found it first by the faint glow, visible through the undergrowth. She squirmed towards it, as quiet as she could, angling herself half-behind half-in a bush. She peered through, and yes, there indeed was a follower, snoring in a seated automon. One edge of the automon was lined with caged pigeons, huddling against each other for warmth against the chill air --they must have been traveling North, it was getting colder, instead of the warmer summer called for.

Theo froze for a bit, to study the mechanical creature. Mechanics had never been her strongest suit, but she wasn't terrible at them, like with chemistry, and as she examined the shape of the thing, she started to see the edges of limbs. It was a crude beast, designed for walking lightly upon the earth. The shape of the footpads was arranged to provide as little impact as possible, and the body was nothing more than a crude bowl, containing a store of food, the pigeons, and a single young man. No doubt it had cleverly rigged hydraulics --looking close, Theo could see the trace of clockworks as well. The light was faint enough as to not sting the eyes, and it did not seem to attract insects, meaning it had probably been designed to rest in a certain spectrum.

She took as much in as she could, then squirmed back to the campsite, silent as she could manage. She pulled out her notebook and took careful notes, writing down everything she could remember of the automon, and drawing some vague sketches. Finally exhausted, she shook Ash's shoulder to trade watches, and fell fast asleep.

The next morning meant making an important decision for Theo: whether or not to inform Ashwater of their following friend. On the surface, the answer seemed clear, Ash was her traveling partner, and part of trusting your partner involved sharing all information that could become pertinent to your situation, especially when there was danger involved. But Theo had always been firm in the idea that any information untold could not then be spread, drilled into her by dealing with Artie on a few of his less savory days. If she told Ash now, no matter what else happened, Ashwater would know, and couldn't be untold. Even if she was a companion, thrown together on this adventure like this, Ash was still a fancy one at heart, and every scrap of information Theo spilled felt like betraying the people who had most made her feel like home.

Furthermore, Ash had a secret, more knowledge as to where they were going and how they were going to get there than she had let on. Her route went straight from good campsite to good campsite, generally in a Northward direction, but varying by as much as thirty degrees from the prior days direction. Unless she was somehow blessed with an ability to instantaneously know the next good place to sleep, Ash had extra information on their journey. Theo was not willing to give secret knowledge to someone who was holding secrets from her.

Returning to the idea of telling Ash, though, not being in charge of navigation meant Theo had no idea how far away from their destination they were. Maybe Del's follower would get bored or cold and return home before they led him to the old city. But Theo wouldn't bank on it, nor did she particularly want to give her brother that knowledge, especially after he had proved false her trust.

"You're quiet today." Ash remarked as they ate, mushrooms that had been growing in the nights cage and Theo had identified as non-poisonous. Theo stared up guiltily, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm just thinking." Ash nodded, and fell silent once more, causing Theo to smile --it had taken her a few days, but Ashwater seemed to have caught on to the idea that when Theo was thinking, she wished not the distraction of idle conversation. Theo took a minute from her thoughts to study the fancy one --Ash had changed on their journey, and not just in learning how Theo worked.

The day Theo first found her in the cave, Ash had been covered in dirt and fear, her blonde hair matted and tangled. Staying at Del's had freshened both girls up, though the travel had returned them to an earthier state. They were both bathing semi-regularly, when they found warm enough lakes and streams, and started to braid each other's hair --it was easier to create a strong braid on someone else's hair than it ever was on your own. Ash had lost weight, while her curves were still ample, they rested over thicker muscle than before, giving her a healthier look. Her clothes had started to wear thin at the seams and rip; she had borrowed Theo's cadaver sewing kit, leading to thick stitches in her shirt and pants that gave her a patchworked look. Theo wondered if she had ever owned something so rough looking before --it suited Ash, broad stitches mixed with smudges of missed dirt.

Both had luckily so far managed to stay unharmed, save for the natural injuries that came from living in the forest; bruises from sleeping on rocks, scratches from too-friendly branches. Ash took a swig of a vile brown-purple liquid each morning, and began to force Theo to do the same. It burned like nothing Theo had drunk before, but Ash assured her it was just simple chemicals, designed to keep the body free from illness, with some extra stimulants thrown in for good measure. It helped, or seemed to at least, neither girl found themselves falling ill in the increasing cold, aided by the slow accumulation of extra garments.

They were tending to their horses, giving them a quick meal before they set out, when Theo finally chose to speak. "You have secrets." She said simply, looking over her horse's back and up into Ash's eyes. Despite the height difference, Theo could still stare Ash down with a little effort --fancy ones were so easy to intimidate.

Ash met Theo's eyes, and smiled wanly. "So do you." she said finally. "I sleep lightly, I noticed when you left." There was no accusation in her words, just fact. "You've been paying half your attention while riding to something else. What is it?"

"You know exactly where we're going, despite swearing you've never made this trip before. You check a compass each day, and off we go, to arrive at another campsite sculpted large enough for the two of us." Cards on the table, Theo smiled, sweetly. "In the Underworld, we have protocols for such situations."

"Find a neutral party and swap the information through her?" Ash asked wryly, already suspecting that wasn't the answer.

"Whichever makes the mistake of telling first finds themselves dead, actually." Ash frowned slightly, she had thought they had reached past the point where Theo wished her dead. She had no doubts that she would lose in that stalemate, Theo carried knives, after all, and some knowledge of how to use them.

Theo smiled as sweet as she could, and continued. "I don't want nor intend to kill you, fancy one. But you have more information each day than the previous, and I have no doubt that I could somehow reach that should I have enough time to search your belongings. You'd best fill me in and save me the trouble."

"What, decided you've been too nice to me, and need to remind me we are still not friends?" Ash rolled her eyes, true to her word, Theo had not yet informed her that Ash was no longer disliked, meaning it must still be true. "I'll tell you when we camp tonight --show you, really. We've got a long and glorious day ahead of us."

Theo frowned, and grabbed Ash's arm, reaching across both horses to do so. "How close are we." There was the slightest hint of panic in her words, panic and perhaps...fear?

"Two days, I think." There was no use in Ash pretending she didn't know, not if Theo was to be this worried. "And I don't know how long it'll take to find what we're looking for in the city once we're there."

Theo frowned and released Ash, scrambling into her saddle. "Fine then. Let's get moving, shall we fancy one?"

Ash's own mount was smoother, as elegant as she could make it. "You haven't told me your secret, Theodora." Theo did not wince at the sound of her name, but Ash could always tell it bothered her, and there was power in that. "If it's important, I wish to know."

"I'll tell you." Theo half smiled, though it did not reach her eyes. "When we camp tonight." She snapped her reins, startling her horse from tearing at the grass. "Shall we?"

Ash nodded solemnly. "We shall."

***

They rode in utter silence until the first break, when they came across a small stream suitable for watering the horses. Theo slid off her horse more awkwardly than usual, and stretched, swearing under her breath at various aches and pains. This in and of itself was odd, Ash noted. Theo had been getting better at riding, and complained less.

"Sleep badly?" she asked, sitting primly on a rock and leaning back to take in the thin sunlight. Theo shook her head and sat just-too-close next to her, their hands behind them touching. Ash felt something press against her hand, shielded from view by Theo's own hand.

"Don't say anything." Theo breathed, her voice just barely carrying to Ash's ears. She replied to Ash's question in more normal tones, "Yeah, something about sleeping on rocks and moss just makes me uncomfortable."

Puzzled, Ash brought her hands to her pockets, chancing a glimpse at what she had been given. It was a folded piece of paper, with "read while riding" scrawled on it in a messy hand. She dropped it in her pocket, and smiled at Theo, who casually edged just far enough away to remove all points of contact between them. "You don't like rocks and moss? I figured they'd be wonderful after alleyways and street corners." Theo gave Ash a patient glare, and their banter continued for a few minutes, before they saddled up.

They had been riding no more than a minute or two before Ash's curiosity got the best of her. She unfolded the note, keeping it hidden in her lap, and scanned it, slowly puzzling out the messiest words. When she had finished, she blanched white, but nodded once, deliberate, to let Theo know she understood.

The note was short, but chilling. It read:

Dr. Green:

This close to the city, I fear it's too dangerous to not tell you we are being followed. My brother is apparently an ass. I have some information about the automon being used by the gentleman in question, we can disable him late tonight, and run, run fast, and with as little trail as possible so to lose him. If you can find an earlier campsite, please do --we'll need the extra sleep. In the meantime, subtlety. He may very well be watching us, and not just following.

Apologies for the scrawl, have never written a letter while on a horse before.

Love and kisses
Dr. Sc.Sci Theodora Rachalin Darcy

Ash smirked at the signature, both the sarcasm implied in the "love and kisses" and the gall Theo had to have to sign herself as a Doctor before she'd even finished second school. She could mock the Institute all she wanted, it was still a hard school to finish, and technically the only place in the city where one could get the title of doctor --either by completing third school there, or being awarded the title for a particularly impressive Scientific Achievement. Additionally, there was a glyph next to Theo's name --Ash recognized it after a few puzzled moments as being a Scientists Mark, used to identify notebooks and equipment as shortly as possible. Again, not something your average twenty year old would be entitled to use, especially as they were traditionally only recognized once you had been published in the City Scientific Journal, something Ash herself had yet to mange. She folded the note again, and slipped it deep into a pocket --if nothing else, should they both survive, it would be a wonderful tool to knock Theo down a few notches.

When they stopped close to noon, to feed the horses and themselves, Ash surprised Theo by slipping her a note in response. Ash draped an arm around Theo's shoulder, jestingly begging for a bite of sandwich, when Theo took Ash's hand firmly to move the arm, she was handed a folded scrap from the back of one of Ash's notebooks. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly as she realized she'd been beaten at her own game. Once saddled, it was her turn to unfold the note in her lap and read:

Prospective Doctor and Most Notable Lady Scientist Sc.Sci (?) Theodora Rachalin Darcy:

was as far as Theo could get without rolling her eyes, though she did smile for a minute, enjoying the title (ridiculous though it was).

Thanks for the information. I think there may be a potential place to lose him not far from here, just a few hours more. How lost do we want the boy, anyways? Without a compass, he may well be doomed to wander an eternity without finding your brother again --or anyone else for that matter.

And trust deserves trust, so have my secret in return: My grandfather made this trip, on multiple occasions, apparently as a pilgrimage. He kept a detailed travel journal, I've been refining the information provided and following his path. I trust him implicitly to not lead us astray --after all, I inherited the journal with his other notebooks after his death, meaning he must've returned from this journey intact. I shall show you the journal when we camp, should our situation allow it.

With all due respect (little, I assure you)
Doctor and More Notable Lady Scientist Ashwater Elizabet Green of the Forrester Green Scientific Institute; Granddaughter of Dr. Hunter Forrester Green

Theo had to will herself not to laugh as she read the closing, especially when she reread and noticed the difference in their titles. She practically drooled at the thought of such a journal; she was unsurprised that Dr. Green had kept such a thing, most Scientists did, but it had never occurred to her that Ashwater would've been the recipient of his logs after his death. She smiled wryly to herself --she had already come to realize that Ash was safe from any damage Theo would deliver, no matter how she threatened-- but even if she hadn't been, this would've assured Theo protected her until they had returned to their city, and Theo had gotten a chance to read the firsthand accounts of Dr. Forrester Green's experiments.

She pouted slightly as she glanced at the letter once more, realizing that Ash had done a much nicer job of writing while on horseback, and had managed to write in a formal script rather than a scientists blocky hand as well. Ash had drawn her own glyph at the bottom, Theo could recognize it as being modeled after Ash's grandfathers, yet still distinctly her own. For a moment, she debated writing another letter in return, but discarded the idea, as it was really just a childish escalation of insults, taking revenge for the mock of the word "prospective" before her titles and the little respect given.

She settled herself on pulling out her adventure notebook again, and attempting to sketch more of what she had seen of the automon, and better figure out how to deconstruct it. After their tag-along had been taken care of, she could freely dream of the journals by the greatest scientific mind in history.

***

They did camp earlier that night, though Ash had the presence of mind to not stop their journey suspiciously early, instead stretching the time to their destination by setting a gentler pace than the last few days. They had been travelling gently downhill for several days now, now they came to a cliff wall, dotted with switchbacks and slim caves. It was not so tall a cliff as to be impossible, but Theo still raised an eyebrow as they came to it.

"It won't work if it rains, but you can colour me impressed." The had slid into the cliff, in a rough hewn corridor wide enough for them to ride side by side, and stretching towards the sky. They rounded a bend and found a sandy cave, with the remains of a campfire pushed towards one side. "And we've got company in the past. Shall I go gather firewood while you feed the horses?"

Ash nodded. "And I'm hoping that it's likely enough for us to come out and see as to keep our watcher from emerging from the tree-line." she muttered under her breath, "Still, care to sit in the sunlight and talk of the world before we turn in?"

Theo nodded, a smile at her lips. "Discuss strategy, being far enough away to remain unheard. Sound will echo while we're in here, but there's enough of a wind as to keep our words away from his ears once we rest." She trailed out to the trees, making a great point of gathering wood. She kept an ear tilted out, hoping to hear the signs of their follower, but he was too clever for her to catch, and she did not manage to find a proper placement for him before she returned to the cliff.

Ash had moved rocks out of their cave, seats arranged to give them a view of the trees, it took little energy to start the fire and roast fish they had caught over lunch. They talked quietly but efficiently working out their plan. Ash noticed Theo scanning the sky on several occasions, but did not ask why until Theo nodded firmly with pursed lips.

"What's going on?" She asked quietly, serving out the fish.

"You ever hear of a messenger pigeon?" Theo asked quietly. Ash looked again at the sky above the trees, and caught sight of just a dark speck, moving back the way they had come, clearly a bird of some sort. "Yeah. Makes me wish I knew more of how they worked. He had almost a dozen of them, and room for more if they were packed --do messenger pigeons return to the sender?"

"I don't know." Ash admitted. "We don't use them at the Institute, we sent automons and horse couriers. I never knew pigeons could carry messages. That's interesting to know."

"Do me a favour, fancy one, and pretend you still don't know." Theo sighed and slumped against the wall, the sun had set and night was falling. "Or if you do know, please don't tell the Institute. It is getting hard enough to Run messages, do not lose us our other routes for letters as well. The Gossips would have a fit."

"What precisely is a Runner?" Ashwater asked. "I think I've figured out what your Gossips do, and the term Whore is rather self explanatory, but I doubt that a runner is named just for being talented at the act."

Theo stared, and shook her head. "Man, you're young." She said finally. "Or perhaps this is just a sign that Runners are even less welcome in the Institute walls than they've been telling us. Runners are deliverers, they bring packages from one person to another, as fast and direct as possible. They used to make a steady trade bringing your lot chemicals, and items from the forest --they keep good relations with the Roving bands out there.

"I'm not young!" Ash exclaimed, glaring. "I'm twenty-six!"

"And have never heard of the use of a Runner. Your grandfather practically founded Prescott St --they're the best in the business, though nearly every gang has a few of their own-- he was so friendly with them. The advantage of Runners is that, to become sanctioned, you must swear secrecy. I've heard stories of those who break that. Never a pretty result."

"Sanctioned? And grandfather never mentioned his associations with the Underworld. I mean, I know he had them, but they're not exactly public knowledge. He did not write much at all of them in his journals."

"I'm not surprised, from what people say of him. Del's reaction was rather the minority --even among the Underworld, he is generally revered. He treated us very very well, far better than his successors in power at the Institute ever did. The truly noble scientists as we see them ensure us the privacy we need to work. No records." They moved fully into the cave, as though to sleep, but had agreed that both would stay awake until it had been long enough to clear their trail.

"And sanctioned is far more important than any other title one can get in the city, at least as far as we're concerned. Becoming a Doctor takes some work and some connections. Becoming sanctioned takes trust." There was a reverence in the word far beyond normal. "You have to be good at what you do, and so good that others recognize it, and are willing to vouch that you're just that good." She shrugged and smiled. "The Sc.Sci in my signature is not a real sanctioning category --it would imply that I was sanctioned as a scientist if it were. Artie bestowed the title on me at last year's assembly, after he'd had a few too many drinks."

Theo studied Ash over her glasses. "It's a pity too that sanctioned seductress isn't a real title either, as I had at least two people propose it after I dragged you off. The assembly tends to lead to that sort of thing --I still maintain that that was how we got the very idea of a sanctioned Heckler, to antagonize the Actors."

"You hardly seduced me!" Ash felt herself blushing at the memory. "You kissed me -not too well, if I remember right, and dragged me off. Quite romantic, it was."

"I kiss perfectly well when I am actually doing so." Theo replied, sounding a little insulted. "When I kissed you, it was pure farce, what would be expected of someone in that role. And I told you then, I dragged you off to save your hide and my face."

"Yes, because being seen talking to a fancy one would be just terrible for your reputation." Ash rolled her eyes, then leaned forward suddenly as a wicked thought struck. "And if you kiss so well, then prove it, hm? It felt like my mouth was being assaulted by a brick, it was so rough."

Theo froze for a minute, causing Ash to smirk to herself. As much as Ash enjoyed it, it was rare to leave the younger girl completely speechless, and each time it happened, she felt she had scored a point in some unknown game between them. Theo swallowed once, nervously, and took a deep breath, letting it out in a slow sigh.

"My brother and I have two very significant things in common." She said finally. "Both are secret, but to different degrees; the first is only somewhat secret, being that we are each more drawn to the Underworld than to the Institute, despite having a life lined up for the latter. The second is completely secret, and in my case, known by less than half a dozen people in the city."

Ash frowned, worried by Theo's serious tones. She had learned better than to question tangents, the way Theo's mind worked was circular, and if she just asked the right questions, she would gain both the background and information she needed. "And that secret?"

"You're a very pretty girl, Ashwater. That was the very first thing I noticed about you, that you were very pretty, and very solidly a girl, in cut of clothing and style of hair."

Ash puzzled over the compliment for a moment. "Thank...you?" Theo sighed, and leaned forward, pressing her lips lightly against Ash's. The prior kiss had been fast, rough, and domineering, no point but to get Ash to comply with Theo's wishes. This was exact the opposite. Theo's lips were soft and gently against Ashwater, moving slowly and tentatively, seeming almost to be looking for permission of some sort. Ash pulled away in shock, causing Theo to pull back in response, turning away.

"That...was different," she said quietly, confusion tinting her voice.

Theo made a noise of frustration, and slumped against the wall. "You really don't get it, do you fancy one. The second trait my dear brother and I have in common is that neither of us has a preference for the opposite sex. You're frustratingly attractive, and that frustration is all the more so because you are so utterly oblivious to my life as to be idiotic." She stood, a hint of pain in her actions, and walked to the edge of the cave, as far from Ash as she could get while still staying hidden from view of the forest.

"I assure you, this will have no impact on our professional relationship."

Ash placed a hand to her lips, wondering about what had just happened. "I assure you, it won't matter. I've worked with colleagues who've wanted me before --in a few cases quite badly. I don't begrudge them their feelings, just as I don't begrudge you yours." Ash stood, and walked slowly towards Theo, who was standing with arms crossed, her head just resting against the wall of the cave. "Theodora." she said softly, laying a hand on Theo's shoulder. "It's okay. Really." Theo made no reply, causing Ash to sigh, and drop the hand, leaning against the wall next to her. "And the only way for me to stop being so frustratingly oblivious to the point of idiocy is for someone to teach me."

"Do not." seethed Theo through clenched teeth "Play with me, Ashwater Green. If you are fine with me, that is fine, and good, and all that we need. But do not encourage interest that has no way of working, and do not hurt me because you are trying to be nice."

Ash glared. "I'm not playing with you, and forgive me for trying to be nice. Shall we just pretend that this conversation never happened, then? That I don't know something about you that I suspect your parents even did not know." Her voice softened, "That you don't trust me."

Theo whirled to face Ash at that. "I don't..." she snapped, then trailed off at the words. Her eyes locked with Ash's, and Theo had never looked so vulnerable. They closed for a moment, and when opened, the emotion was gone, back to the cool disinterest Theo tried to maintain. "I think that this would be an excellent conversation to ignore in future interactions, yes." She stalked towards the entrance, and looked out towards the forest intensely. "Now, I believe we were going to go make my brother suffer?"

Ashwater followed quietly, and tried to ignore the subtle voice in the back of her mind that suggested perhaps it would not be a bad thing if this did have an impact on their professional relationship, after all.

***

As determined, Theo slunk to the forest first, to make sure their watcher remained free of suspicion, Ash watched her go nervously, until she saw a flicker of light, not dissimilar to that of a battered steel lighter being turned on. She scurried towards where the light had been, slowing as she entered the forest and began to creep through the trees.

She could see a dim blue glow just ahead, and had to stifle a scream as Theo grabbed her arm from behind. She hoped the light was enough so that Theo could see her glare --judging by Theo's smug grin, it was.

They surveyed the scene. Ash had never seen such a crude automon, it was barely more than a seat with legs. Theo whispered a plan into Ash's ear, and Ash nodded, readying herself. Theo spent a few moments messing with the automon's controls, then flipped out her blade and pressed it to the sleeping man's throat.

"Up." she hissed gruffly. He scrambled to his feet awkwardly, Theo pushed him roughly towards Ash. He stumbled and almost fell, Ash grabbed his arms and held them tight behind his back, imprisoning him. Theo turned to face him, brandishing her knife with a scowl. "Pigeons. They coming back?"

"I haven't the faintest-" Theo slapped him, hard, and Ash gasped. She looked towards Theo, worried. This had not exactly been the plan.

"Neither have I, 'swhy I asked." Theo waved her knife as she spoke, fury clouding her words. "Pigeons. Are they coming back? And if so, to the automon, or to you?"

He whimpered, but something in Theo's expression led him to speak. "They come back to me. Know me, can't teach you." He swallowed nervously. "Don't hurt them? Please? They're my babies, they never did nothin' wrong."

Theo smiled cruelly, then leaned over to pat the man down. She took a roll of paper and a pen from his pockets, then thrust them towards him. "I won't hurt the pretty birds, if you cooperate. Write me something. Quick now."

"Wh-what?" he stammered, taking the paper as Ash released his arms, He swallowed nervously, Theo was casually flipping her knife open and shut. "What do I write?"

"Anything." snapped Theo, "Anything long enough to be a letter to Del."

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs" Ashwater interrupted, causing Theo to give her a scathing look. "Just write it. I haven't had a good meal in days, and those pigeons look just delicious."

The man whimpered softly, and scrawled the words down. Theo ordered him to frame the words as he would a letter to Del, he tearfully agreed. Once he had been thoroughly quizzed on what Del knew of the girls' travel, Theo deigned to let him go, checking to ensure his bag contained only food. "We're not entirely without mercy" she hissed at him. "That might be enough to get you back to Del on your own two feed. I'd run fast though." She sent him off the way they'd came, with a harsh swat on his ass, making him yelp and indeed run, crashing through the trees.

"You didn't have to threaten him so." Ash hissed as the noise of his flight faded. "He was scared enough to cooperate."

"No he wasn't. Not without proof we were serious." She pulled out her flashlight and shown it on the controls of the automon, fiddling. "Hold this. Anyways, I'm not the one who threatened to eat his precious pigeons if he didn't comply." She grabbed Ash's hand, steering the light slightly. "What was that nonsense you had him write, anyways? Foxes and dogs?"

"It's a sort of wordplay." Ash shrugged, "Sentence that contains every letter of the alphabet. I figured that would be most useful for forging notes." Theo pulled the paper out of her pocket and studied it for a while before nodding, looking impressed.

"Clever trick. Well done fancy on-aha!" Theo flipped a switch and the engine of the automon started purring, so gentle it was almost impossible to hear. She pulled herself into the seat and pushed at more buttons --it rose, causing the pigeons to all start cooing in alarm. "Shh-sh-sh" Theo murmured distractedly, she flipped another switch, and the automon froze, its claw like feet digging into the ground. Theo leaned over the edge and held her hand out to Ashwater. "Light please?"

Ash handed it up reluctantly. "Have you ever even steered an automon before?" She asked in annoyance as Theo led the mechanical beast to begin walking back towards their camp. The creation moved quickly, and Ash found herself having to jog in order to keep up, which only increased her annoyance --as did Theo's gleeful laugh in response.

They reached the camp in only a few minutes, and Theo prompted the automon to resume its seated form. For how rough its exterior was -all unpolished metal and exposed hydraulics- it moved extremely smoothly, and Theo was able to dismount without any trouble at all. She patted the side twice, and grinned at it with unsurpassed glee. "I think we should name it Forrester!" she chirped.

Ashwater stared. Theo had chirped, Earth, she was practically bouncing. Clearly if she had driven an automon before, she'd never been lucky enough to own one. Ash leaned cautiously over to study the controls -though they were just as unrefined as the exterior, they looked familiar. She could certainly operate this thing, if Theo ever let her near it.

"Do you recall what you suggested when I said we should name the horses?" Ash said patiently, moving her gaze from the machine's controls to the eight caged pigeons within. "You proposed we name them Dinner and Lunch. Why such a change of heart for something that is far less likely to come when you call it?

"There's a thought, for the next time I've got something that responds to sound." Theo sat next to the automon, and leaned against it happily. "I didn't think we'd actually get it, I was sure I was going to have to disassemble it and leave it to rust."

"Spoils of war. What are we going to do with it, you can't both drive the thing and ride your horse I suspect." Ash sat thoughtfully on the rim of the automon. "And for that matter, what on Earth are we going to do with all these stupid pigeons?"

"Use 'em for false messages, sent out one at a time. There's not that many, we'll be out of them soon." Theo chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "Dunno about my horse. Is there a way to hook it to the back of the automon?"

"Not and walk through the woods -it'd be impossible to manage the terrain." Ash paused as a thought struck. "Although... I think my grandfather mentioned a road of sorts. So long as we're not hiding from the Institute anymore, that'd help us increase our distance, by a fair amount." She rose and grabbed her pack, rifling through for the precious journal. "Yeah...'the top of the red cliffs is smooth and well packed and winds into a road...tomorrow I learn where it leads.' -yes, these are the cliffs, so once we're at the top of them, we should be able to bring both the automon and the horses with us." Ash looked up the twenty or thirty meters to the top of the cliffs. "Assuming we can get both the automon and the horses up there in the first place."

Theo leaned over her shoulder to read, staring intently at the notes. "Well, cliffs shouldn't be too difficult, if I'm remembering right from this afternoon. We can send them up one at a time, and come back for the third thing." She yawned, and rested a hand on the book in reverence. "Take first watch? I'm exhausted, all of a sudden." Ashwater nodded, and Theo crawled into her pile of blankets to fall fast asleep.

"It's just as well," Ash mused. Her mind was far too busy sorting out the day's events for her to sleep yet, anyways.

***

The cliff was indeed not difficult to scale, the switchbacks were almost two meters wide. They were long though -halfway up, the ledge broadened, and they paused. Judging by the movement of the sun, they'd been climbing for almost an hour.

Theo peered cautiously over the edge. "I don't like leaving the automon down there." she muttered, pacing nervously. "What if Del's spy didn't really run? He could be coming back for it!" Ash sighed and looked at the trail ahead. She hated to give in to Theo's paranoia, but Theo had a point.

"I don't like it either." Staying well away from the ledge, Ash began to rifle through packs. Finally, she came across a short length of rope, which she tied to the bridle of Theo's horse, and the back of the saddle of her own. "You should go get it. I can bring both horses like this, once you've caught up to help me with the turns." Ash regretted the words the moment the light came on in Theo's eyes. Rather than backtrack the switches like a sensible person, Theo slid over the edge and dropped to the ledge below. "You're not..." Ash started, but Theo was already lowering herself again, causing Ash to bite back the words with a sigh.

Theo more or less made it down the cliff unharmed, and climbed into the automon with a whoop that echoed up to Ash's ears. She made it back to where Ash was waiting in no longer than thirty minutes, giddy with excitement. With her on the automon, rather than being unskilled on a horse, they were able to make surprisingly better time, and reached the very top of the cliff in only another forty minutes.

Ash shaded her eyes and looked out towards the wood below. A column of familiar smoke triggered a hint of a memory in the back of her mind. Traveling with Theo had increased her vulgar vocabulary nicely, and Ash used several of these swears now, causing Theo's head to snap up in alarm.

Ash's grandfather's journal is from a pilgrimage he made to the old city. Hence the perfection, and the fact that it's in the right order.

Yeah, of course Theo wears glasses. She always have.

OHMAN, DRAMA!

Also, apparently Theo's a lesbian now. Cool.

Let's Do This Thing
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Day 15. Let's ignore all the skipped days, yes?

2009-11-19T14:25:00Z

Hurf to the Durf and equal somesuch.

Have some more words. :|

Let's see if I can reach my halfway point today, aiee!

Theo nodded, and trailed back towards the ledge entrance of the cave. "Tell you what. I'll go get some firewood and the like, if you put together some beds for us --there are blankets in the pack of things I stole from my brother." Ash rose, and set a hand on Theo's shoulder.

"I'm already damp. I know what firewood looks like. Lemme go get it, you put beds together and see if you can't make some fish appear like yesterday morning. I'd rather not dig into my packed food unless it's the only choice."

Theo hesitated for a moment, attempting to stare out of the falls. "Don't stray far" she said finally. "And do try to be subtle with your tracks this time. We know we're being followed now."

"Because it's impossible for anyone to track a pair of horses." Ash's tone was sarcastic, but she nodded, and continued more somberly. "I'll be careful." She slipped out, leaving Theo to see about catching a few fish.

Ashwater returned twice, both times with an armful of wood. She was set to go out a third time, but Theo threw a fish at her, and told her they had enough. While Theo built the fire, Ash dug through her bags to find anything to offcut the blandness of the fish.

"I'm going to grow sick of these if we keep this up." She muttered, as they chewed at the fish in a subdued sort of fashion. It was at least two hours past sunfall by now, and both girls were rapidly approaching exhaustion.

"Oh don't worry. I'm sure if we travel far enough, we'll stop having fish, and you can grow sick of something else. Sandwiches, maybe, or soup."

"Oh, is that what you were drinking the other night? I wondered." Ash leaned back against the wall, wrapped only in a blanket --after she had come back the second time, Theo had covered her eyes with one hand and ordered Ashwater to strip. Theo had changed as well, into pants several centimeters too long that she had pulled out of the pack of things stolen from her brother, and no top --just a cloth band tied tight around her breasts, pulling them flat. The chill of the air and water was cut by the fire, making the cave almost comfortable.

"What, thought I was enjoying something that'd warm the belly, not fill it?" Theo shook her head sadly. "Didn't have the coin to buy anything good, didn't want to settle for anything poor. She sighed, and stretched, leaning back onto her hands. "I'd kill for some good alcohol right now. I should've swiped some from Del."

"You drink a lot for a second schooler. I thought it wasn't legal to serve someone who hadn't graduated alcohol."

Theo laughed. "Yes, the Underworld cares very deeply about that. Also, we make sure to respect the fact that it's not legal to sell tainted meat, that whores have to be over twenty, that information should be spread freely, and not held in reserve or blackmail, and that if someone else has something pretty you can take from then, you shouldn't hold a knife to their throat." She frowned, thinking. "That reminds me." Grabbing the strap of her pack with one hand, she dragged it closer, rifling through lightly. She pulled out a string of something, and tossed it at Ashwater, who caught it awkwardly.

It was Ash's string of pearls. She smiled, feeling bittersweet, and tucked them into her own pack. "You didn't sell them? I didn't think I'd ever see these again."

"Your grandfather gave you those, after your grandmother died, and no longer needed them. I would not be so crude, nor would I ever find a good enough value for their worth." Theo picked up her own fish, and tore into it with her teeth, as though knowing the history of Ash's necklace was the most nonchalant act in the world.

"Thank you." Ash said softly. Her grandfather had given her the pearls --each of which he'd found himself, in his exploration of the infinite river-- just a few months before he had died. She had tried to wear them every day, since. "Most people would not be so kind."

"I'm not completely without sympathy. Besides, the memory of your grandfather would never let me hear the end of it, did I not return them."

"What, the memory of my grandfather? You never knew him." Ash tried not to sound bitter, this was something she had heard on more than one occasion, others dearly touched by her grandfather and his work.

"No, I never did." Theo took another bite of fish and chewed thoughtfully. "I only wish I did. He was a great man."

Ash was surprised Theo didn't continue the statement --"unlike you, fancy one". She nodded in response. "That he was. I think he would've liked you, Theo."

Theo's responding smile would stay in Ash's memory for the rest of her life.

***

Theo patiently and sarcastically explained the concept of watches to Ash, until Ash threatened to beat her, then curled up to sleep, leaving Ash to read from her grandfather's diary for a few hours. When she couldn't keep her eyes open again, she poked Theo in the ribs, then fell asleep herself.

Theo tended to the fire for a bit, then pulled out her Adventure Journal --she hadn't actually written anything in it. So she sat for a bit, writing short notes of what had happened thus far, what things she had stolen from her brother, and how likely it was that they were being followed.

She couldn't be positive, of course. Her brother had promised her 24 hours, and maybe he was even reliable enough to have been telling the truth. But Theo doubted most of a decade of being the leader of an Underworld gang would have made Del any more reliable than he had been living with his parents and sister.

Ultimately, her reasoning came down to two things: a pigeon and a hunch. The hunch was from the way he'd said he wasn't blackmailing her, asking her to build the weapons for him. She had an awful lot of power in her knowledge, and that was likely to make her extraordinarily popular among anyone who realized the potential of that knowledge. The pigeons were more abstract, and based on half formed memories that were only just now being fitted together. Del had started out as a Runner and a Gossip, two occupations that involved getting a lot of very private information. He had always liked pigeons. And somewhere in the years after he left, Theo had learned that there was a breed of pigeons designed to actually deliver messages. She hadn't ever bothered to think that this was a thing he was using, but it made an uncommon amount of sense.

Especially as she had seen a single pigeon flying above the trees while riding today. There were birds in the forest, sure, but she had yet to see a wild pigeon -they were so very a city bird. So maybe there was a message delivery pigeon just loose in the woods, flying away from them. And maybe they were being followed.

She debated briefly going out to search --they had been stationery for several hours, if their follower was alone and clever, he would be asleep by now. She mused on that for a moment -they might need to do that, if something more threatening than just being followed occurred, slip out after an extended stop. Searching would involve going back out past the waterfall, and leave Ashwater alone. The first would involve getting wet, the second...Theo frowned, startled by how quickly Ashwater had shifted classification in her mind. She had been nothing more than a pretty bit of frippery, another fancy one to easily ignore, but even as she first stumbled across her form two nights ago, Theo had realized that Ash had to be something more. Ashwater was her traveling companion now, and Theo needed to stay with her if only because she knew how horses worked, and where they were going.

She chuckled softly to herself and hung her head. Befriending a fancy one, the Underworld would be so upset with her. But then again, the original Dr. Green had been thoroughly embroiled with the Underworld life, and he had led to the rise of the Institute in the first place. While his granddaughter was clearly more pampered and higher-class than he had ever been, she was showing herself to be surprisingly competent.

"And," Theo thought with a sigh, "She's the one who knows where we're going." She just hoped that Ash wasn't making it all up somehow.

***

Author's notes are for people who aren't hells behind on word count.

Let's Do This Thing
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BACK ON TRACK FOR FOURTEEN!

2009-11-15T05:08:51Z

I did not get as much as I wanted written today, but it's still staggeringly more than I've done the last four days. So woo that!

"So, building weapons to wipe out the Underworld. Such a strong and noble goal. Who will provide the less savoury services for them then, hm?"

"Oh Del, you truly are out of touch. With Dr. Green's death, a wave of reform swept. The Institute is trying to find its own way to provide all the services of the Underworld. They write a proper newspaper, graverobbers have been sanctioned, so long as the meat is clean, they've tried to make a company of Runners of their very own. About the only thing the Institute isn't able to replace is the Whore's Guild, and I'm sure they'll design something for it. Well shaped automatons, or somesuch."

Del chuckled, but nodded. "I've heard of some of the reform, I'm not stupid, and I employ Gossips for a reason. I hadn't realized it had gotten to such an extent..." he shook his head to clear it "No matter. I negotiated a very specific swap with you, little sister. How do we win?"

"You don't." interrupted Ashwater flatly. "The Institute will make their weapons eventually, Theo is smart but not the only person with intelligence who lives in the city. And once they've got them, you're dead, you and every other one of your like."

Theo wrapped a hand around Ash's mouth. "Please don't talk of things you know nothing about, fancy one." she pulled away, disgusted, and glared at Ash. "You licked me!"

"I'm neither a child or an imbecile. I may not know all of how the Underworld operates, but I grew up surrounded by Institute politics, and was taught what to watch for when I was very young indeed. This is what the Institute will do, and they've got internal structures in place-" Theo sighed, deeply, and Ash felt a pressure on her leg, Theo's hand squeezing pointedly.

"Internal structures to protect them, sure, but there's nothing designed to protect against a full-out intensive attack." She turned to her brother "Preempt their war. Use the next few weeks to build an army of allies and claimlings, however you need. Get a spy into the Institute if you can. Knowing you, double team, keep your boys safe while swapping information of the other gangs movement. Use your Whores as Spies, bed your minor enemies to gain information to strengthen against a greater one."

"What about this idea." Del said smoothly, a languid smile. "What if I get someone who knows how to create the weapon the Institute wants, to make the weapon for me instead. This was a labspace, I'm sure it can become such again."

Theo shook her head. "Would that I could, and be sure of being on the winning side. It takes ingredients I don't know how to create, and equipment entirely impossible to find outside of a scarce few private labs. Making your home back into labspace won't do a whit of good." She paused, and glared.

He met her glare with a level smirk. "Don't worry, little sister, it was not full blackmail. Not this time." He rose, beckoning the girls to follow. "Horses, I promised, and twenty-four hours to run. I've got plans half formed already --are you sure you don't want to watch them grow?"

"Oh brother, I do not hate you so to endanger your life like that. The Institute will return, still searching. I would not believe that they have no other spies, and even if they don't, any gang could make a small mint reporting us to their masters. No, Ashwater and I are to run, and see how much of the Institute's resources we can tie up in merry games of chase."

"Thank you then, for that." They reached the house, and continued along to the stables, where Del brought them a fine pair of matched geldings, strong muscle and glossy coats. "And where will you go?"

"We're square, brother. I'm not giving you more information to barter away." Del laughed in response, and hugged his sister close. "Good luck."

"To you as well, baby sister. Be well. It was nice to see you."

A single salute, and Ash and Theo mounted, heading farther into the woods, continuing their flight. Del watched them go, then entered the house, grabbing a barely noticeable boy out of the shadows.

"Your silent Automon. Two girls, on horses. Follow. Send reports with the pigeons, as often as you need. I must know where they've gone." The boy nodded, and slipped outside, fading just as rapidly against the light as he did the dark.

"Twenty four hours safety, little sister?" Del muttered. "It has been long indeed since we crossed paths, should you think me to honour such nonsense." He grabbed the arm of one of his favoured boys, and smiled evilly. "Call me a meeting, dear one. We've a war to plan."

***

They rode more or less straight, getting as far from the city as they directly could. There was not a road, per se, but there was the barest traces of a path, wide enough for them to ride along in single file. Ash was immediately amused to learn that Theo was simply terrible at horseback riding; when they stopped to water their horses, she simply had to comment.

"Why'd you request a form of transport you couldn't use?"

Theo glared, which was entirely expected, and made Ash smile as sweet as she could. "Faster than walking, and Del doesn't own automons. Bloody hell though, it's hard work to ride all day."

"Sure, haven't you ever done it before? How'd you get around the city in first school?" Ash leaned against her horse with a smile, rubbing his mane fondly.

"Automons, mostly. I took my physical credits in dancing and tumbling, rather than the equestrian arts." Theo half glared at her horse, who was greedily guzzling water from the stream they had come astride. "I don't particularly care for animals. Machines are easier to operate, and work longer." Her horse tossed his head, and Theo stuck her tongue out at it, pertly. "Present company excepted, silly beast."

"So that's how you learned to dance." Ash mused. Her horse was finished, she pulled herself back up. "I wondered, you looked absolutely lovely when I first saw you at that party."

"I did not" Theo grunted, and awkwardly made her way back into the saddle "Learn how to dance at school. I learned the figures of the dancing, and what a basic waltz looks like, but it was hardly actual dancing. I learned how to DANCE from Artie mostly, and a little from Del, when he was still around." She started to navigate her horse back onto the path, but Ash breezed past to take the lead.

"Lemme break trail a while, it'll be easier on you. Besides, I've more of an idea where we need to start going." She snapped her reins lightly, and her horse began picking his way through the trees at a fast walk.

"How do you know where we're going? All you've said is that the old city is away from the new. That's hardly direction, there's nearly 200 degrees of forest around the city."

"Leave that to me. Who's Artie? Was he the one in the wolf mask you were waltzing with?" Ash recognized that the change of subject was not particularly artful, but she had spent most of the last day unable to steer the conversation how she'd like, and she wished to change that.

"Why does it matter?" Theo muttered, bitterness creeping into her words.

"Because I like to know something of my traveling companions. Is he a lover? The Institute notes on you imply that you haven't got a lover." She paused, turning back to catch Theo's eyes. "Or friends, really."

"Your notes are, I'm sure, comprised of the information you can wriggle out of teachers, as my parents would assure you I've friends, and many. They're wrong, but I do have associates, and some of those would notice my extended absence."

"Associates, of course." Ash turned back forward, ducking under an extended branch. "Having friends would be beneath such a genius as you."

The sound of hoofbeats behind her ceased messily. Ash went a few horselengths before she realized, and turned, pulling her horse to an easy stop. "Yes?" She called back to Theo.

"I don't see where you get the idea that friends would be beneath me. True, I tend to look more towards my work than to the people around me, but I am not against the idea of being on friendly terms with someone, should such a person present themselves. My peers were too often preoccupied, and I've always experienced some form of age gap with them, due to being placed in higher level classes. But they were not particularly enemies." She frowned. "To tell truth, I interacted with my classmates very little, one way or the other. I could perhaps tell the names of more of the denizens of the Underbelly than members of my school."

"Should such a person present themselves?" Ash laughed, "Yes, and then they have to fill out the proper application, right? Prove that they're intelligent enough for you to deign to talk to them? And I'm sure when you find such a person, they'll come straight to you, and you'll immediately pick up on it, rather than present to you equal ignorance you show them."

Theo froze, watching overhead for a moment, then began to ride again, slowly closing the gap between them. "And I'm sure that this is the point where I haughtily state that I do not need friends, and over the course of our journey, you prove me wrong, and we bond. It would be delightful." She frowned at Ash, who encouraged her own horse back into a walk. "I don't get lonely easily. I prefer to work alone, and I rarely miss people. On the occasions where I do just need another human to interact with, I go see Artie, or go wander up and down Fyssche street until I figure out which of the brothels is having a party that night. Drink something dangerously nice, talk politics or science or sex with a group of drunkards I've never met, and trail home at four in the morning."

"A healthy lifestyle, I'm sure. Partying at brothels? Tsk tsk, do your parents know?"

"Oh, shut up, Ash," was Theo's response, but there was a hint of a smile behind her words. "And my parents did not. My older brother flunked out, came out, and got kicked out in rapid succession. So long as I earned good grades in school, and didn't bring strange girls up to my room, I could get away with anything I wanted in comparison."

"He flunked out? Of what, second school?"

"Yeah, when he was sixteen. It's been about a decade since I last saw him, I was only nine at the time."

"Oh." They rode in silence for a time, before Ash picked up on exactly what Theo had said. "Wait, came out?"

Theo raised an eyebrow at Ash's back. "You didn't really believe his story about his clan just splitting along male and female lines, now did you? Not with all those attractive young men just gallivanting around being eye candy."

Ahead of her, Ash flushed pink.

***

Somewhere in the day, Ash misjudged how long they had until sunset, meaning it was past dusk and getting into full night before she finally spotted what she was searching for. Thin moonlight filtered in between the trees, as she pulled her horse up with a smug grin.

Theo nearly walked her horse into Ash's, swore, and strained to see through the trees. "What've we got, fancy one? Is that water I hear?"

"Yeah, a waterfall. I'll have to check to be sure in the morning, but I think we're exactly where we need to be." Ash dismounted and started to lead her horse forward carefully, they edged out of the woods into what was truly a beautiful little clearing.

The half moon shone over an ample clearing. Most of the space was taken up by a glittering lake, though there was easily enough room to tether the horses on the grass surrounding. The lake filtered out into a tiny stream on one end, nearly directly across from it was an eight or nine meter fall, with the water misting out. The structure of the fall was such that there was an overhang about two meters above the surface of the water --if this was indeed the clearing her grandfather had talked about, there would be a hidden rock path just below the surface of the water, and an ample cave shielded by the fall.

"It's pretty, but open." Theo said softly, leaning wearily against her horse. She examined the area again, and frowned. "Cave behind the falls?"

"That's the hope anyways." Ash yawned, and stretched. "What do you think, should we leave the horses out here to graze? They'd probably be more comfortable than being surrounded by cold stone."

Theo sighed, and frowned, her brow furrowing slightly. "Makes an easy target. Clear proof that someone's here, for the Institute to find. But you're probably right, they would be more comfortable here..."

Ash walked around the lake until she came to an ancient willow, long since overbent. She led her horse beneath, and did something mysterious with reigns and ties. "Here, I'll tether yours too. It'll be at least a little more obscure to observers, yeah?" Theo nodded, and grabbed her packs, walking up to the miniature cliff where the water was tumbling down in torrents.

Ash joined her after a moment, and drew the unfortunate lot of being the one to grope against the wall until she found the start of the overhang, soaking herself in the process. Theo laughed gently, and wisely waited until Ash had found the easiest way in, before scrambling through the wall of water herself, hunched into her coat. They walked along the ledge for a few meters, then Ash felt the defines of a larger cave.

"Here we go" she called over the roar of the falls, and entered fully. She had a flashlight in her pack, she fumbled it out, casting weak light over the sparse cave. It was not large, at all, but large enough to stand, and dry but for the first few handspans from the edge. She dropped her packs down at one side, and stripped herself of her labcoat, investigating what other clothes she had that were sopped.

"You're not sleeping wet, right?" Theo too had removed her coat, and was using it to towel off her hair, she had not gotten nearly as soaked.

"Was that sympathy? From you?! Theodora Darcy, I didn't know you cared!" In the dim light, Ash caught the faintest edges of a smile, masked by distaste.

"Yeah, well, I want to eat at some point, and dry, and both those things are easier achieved with someone else to share the work. Won't have that if you catch your death of cold." She frowned as she pulled out her own flashlight, and a small piece of machinery, tilting it back and forth. "Shit. More likely than I'd hoped, too."

"What, cold? What is that?" Theo held it up, surprised.

"It's called a barometer. Enough practise and it can be used to guess the weather -fair accurate, too. The weather is going to change significant, and soon. Probably rain, and that will make it colder for a few days." She sighed, and stared at her coat. "I hope it's waterproof enough..."

Ash picked it up and examined it. "It should be. And if not, I have at least a few blankets designed for temperature control. I don't intend to have you catching your death of cold either, hm?"

So! I feel like I should be writing about this, but considering that I actually wrote like...the last sentence and a half post midnight (and therefore on the fifteenth) I really just wanna get back to the writing. WOO!

No, Theo doesn't *know* they're being followed by Del yet. But she kinda suspects it.

WOO!

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...It gets hard (10). It gets harder (11).

2009-11-14T06:11:30Z

It's the very start of the 14th. I didn't write a word on the 12th or 13th --after I've slept, when it's really today, I'm gonna go to Diesel and chill for a couple hours and write.

They slipped out through a window on the far end of the building, and from there into and down a close-by tree. Theo was a little surprised at how easily Ash descended the tree --something about it seemed to set her incredibly at ease. From ground, the trio walked a bit into the woods, shielded from view by all but the most obsessive of watchers. Del had found a weeping willow, that he had set up to allow a meeting spot, close-guarded and secret. Theo smirked at the blankets piled in a corner beside the trunk --perhaps not just meetings occurred here.

"So then, little sister. Tell me how you really prompted a war between the bastards and the undertrodden?" Ash made a noise of objection, but at the matched pair of raised eyebrows, kept her silence.

"The Institute is building weapons. You know how easy it is to give them the slip, to catch them unawares, to keep them out should they venture into our turf in any group fewer than ten. They don't particularly care for the Underworld, nor our advantage on home territory. And what they want made will demolish that advantage.

"They tried to hire me. Somewhere in my schooling, some connection was made, and I was mentioned to the Institute as being uncommonly clever, a blank slate, smart enough to build whatever they needed in true scientific fashion, without having to waste further time and energy in schooling. And none of those pesky Institution ethics they try and grow into their students. It would've been so easy for them if I just shut up and complied."

"Something tells me that "shut up and comply" wasn't your reaction." Del's grin was sardonic, he looked proud of his sister in spite of himself.

"Not hardly. Something closer to 'No, thanks, and that wouldn't work anyways'."

"And then you went home and ran the numbers a dozen times, changing variables until you could get the math arranged such that it would work anyways."

"I'm flattered, I didn't think you ever paid attention to me when I was working on homework. Yes. Yes, that is more or less exactly what happened."

"And the Institute knows that you know how to make their weapon?"

Theo hesitated, and for the first time, actually looked to Ash to provide an answer. Ash shook her head, and shrugged, noncommittal. "I don't think they do." she said, mulling over the possibilities. "Or at least, I don't think they know that Theo already knows...do you already know?"

Theo just laughed. "It took me an hour and a half. I'd need to do some experimentation --I think the potential building supplies for the casing wouldn't actually be strong enough, but yes. Yes, I know how to make your weapon. Child's play."

Ash rolled her eyes, and continued. "But if they don't know that she can already make it, they know that she could figure it out, given a little bit of time and incentive. Hence the reason she is so very important to the Institute right now."

"And you're important because you're the granddaughter of 'Doctor' Forrester Green?" There was mock in Del's words when he said the title, both girls chose to ignore it.

Ash laughed. "Oh, no. Oh, definitely no. I'm not important at all, except that I know everything the Institute does about said weapon. And that it's my fault we delivered the knowledge and the information to someone who wasn't actually a part of the Institute at all. And most important at all --that said civilian knew well enough to run and far, before the Institute could appear at her doorstep and take her in the night. No, they're not after me because I'm important. They're after me because I wronged them, and that just won't stand." Her eyes met Del's darkly. "Johnny will have had a quiet death, compared to what's in store for me."

Del mulled over Ash's words, then frowned suddenly. "You told Theo to run?"

Ash shrugged. "I told her there were those after her, and that vanishing might be prudent.

A/N: Hahhahahahahahaahhafuck. Seriously. *seriously?* From Time Travel to Teleportation to Weaponry. Fine. Whatever. Let's just be consistent from here, okay? Gawds.

Yeah. Yeeeah. It's time to take a deep breath, roll up my sleeves, and kick the ass of this fucking story. Sleep and babysitting first, and then I will own it.

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Number Ni-ine!

2009-11-10T18:37:56Z

I feel like it's been forever since I worked on this, since I did it all before dance, and Due South, and sleep, and class today. Soyeah. It kinda has --greater than 12 hours, easy.

Also, whee, finally getting back up to what I consider a "good" amount of writing.

Oh, also, trigger warning: Del beats one of his minions to death in this bit. Brutally, though I've no idea how well I wrote that. So, you know, kinda textually NSFW.

Theo awoke to the sounds of Ashwater trying -and failing- to move silently. She groaned once, and rolled over, wrapping the pillow around her head.

"Shh!" There was a tenseness to Ash's voice, and Theo realized with a start she was pressed up against the doorframe, her ear at the keyhole. Theo swore under her breath, and squirmed out of bed, moving as silent as she could to join Ash. Ash waved her away, meaning Theo had to find an alternate way to listen downstairs.

Her first thought was the window --she reached it, then froze as she stared out to the front of the laboratory. A bored looking youth in an Institute labcoat was holding the reins of a snuffling horse, and guarding four others. Theo backed away as carefully as she could, and surveyed the room, weighing options.

Under the beds was not realistic --the beds were converted counterspace, and as such, more than a meter off the ground, and without any way of hiding beneath them. There were some old storage boxes in the room, but not enough, and not any way to hide two full grown adults --or even one. The window would've been an option, if not for the guard, and Theo didn't want to risk going outside the room --sure, you couldn't see this hall from the downstairs common area, but it would be far too easy for a single guard to slip up and watch the hall.

Her eyes cast upwards, and she felt an eyebrow raise in curious amazement. Her brother had never been scientifically inclined, but he had had a healthy appreciation for idle engineering, especially when it came time to hide things. The lines of the ceiling invoked a pattern she hadn't thought about in years, not since long before Del had moved out. She followed the pattern to a corner above her bed, and nodded, working out the last logistics.

She set a hand lightly on Ash's shoulder and jerked her head to the corner, Ash made a vague hand gesture, that probably implied annoyance of some sort. Theo ignored it, and walked to the corner, standing on tip-toes on the bed. She was just barely tall enough to reach the ceiling, she pushed up a hidden panel, fidgeting with it until she found the direction of the slide. The ones at home had been designed to hide drinks, love letters, and money --hopefully this one would have the strength to support a human being.

Ash came over as she saw what Theo was doing, and stood, looking into it. "It's too dark to see" she whispered softly "Is it safe to go up?"

"Maybe." Theo answered tensely. She rifled through her bag until she found her flashlight, and gripped it between her teeth. "Gimme boosh" she muttered, and Ash complied, linking her fingers to give Theo a step up.

The first thing Theo noticed was cruicial --a carved hand hold, and another, leading deeper into the area. There was nothing up here, save a long extinguished lantern, and a space about six feet long and three feet wide. She moved slowly, testing the support beams, but none even creaked --Del had clearly gotten better at this. Theo pulled herself fully into the space, and turned around awkwardly, wondering if Ash would be too much. She didn't get a chance to wonder too long, though --after a short delay, Ash had pulled herself up with surprising strength, and was worming her way in beside. This time the space did creak, causing both girls to freeze, but held. Ash pulled herself as small as she could, leaving Theo to attempt to close the trap-door.

"Hurry." whispered Ash frantically. "I don't think your brother could keep them downstairs much longer. They sounded insistent"

"I'm just worried that they'll spill the beans of why we're really running." She closed the trap with a grunt, and sneezed and the cloud of dust it stirred. "Del will not be impressed if he learns there's a bounty on our heads. Why the hell are they still chasing us, it's not that important, is it?"

Ash shrugged. "It could be. There's the old city. There are supposedly other cities. If we had that sort of technology, we could expand into them, gain their scientific knowledge without much work at all. The Institute would be extremely pleased to see that happen. I don't wish it to be so, it's unfair, not swapping knowledge, but coercing it."

Ashwater's noble rant was cut short by the sounds of boots on the stairwell. Both girls froze again, Theo already noticing the hundred places where her muscles had started to cramp in the tight space.

"Really, I've no idea what you're referring to." Del's voice, somewhere below them, and the sound of a door flying open. Theo shut off her flashlight, leaving the two girls in almost total darkness, forced only to listen to the sounds below. "I've almost forgotten what a girl is, it's been so long since I last saw one."

"There's another question for you then." said a gruff voice that Ash recognized as one of the captains of the Institute guard. He was one of the nine on that level, only one man was truly higher ranked than he --the commander of all the Institute's guards. "Why don't you have any ladies about, hm?"

"When I ascended to power in this tribe, I had a bit of a scuffle with my co-leader. We split, and with her went the women, with me the gents. You can look up Ms. Sharyn Kawa in the Underbelly, if you insist upon confirmation." Ash felt Theo move slightly, to cover her mouth with her hand, then shake with silent giggles --clearly, there was a story inside this apparent lie.

"Unfortunate. All the ladies, hm?"

"They objected to some of our power divisions. You know how women can be." In the dark above, both Ash and Theo glared daggers at Del.

"Mm, of course." There were sounds of shifting in the room below, then the entrance of another few pairs of feet.

"We've checked every room on this level, sir. No sign." The boy reporting sounded young, his voice just past cracking. Theo scornfully doubted he'd even finished second school before joining the guard.

"And they don't seem to be in here, either. Hm. Perhaps my information was wrong." The guard sounded more than dissapointed, he sounded angry, the sort of anger that was only barely held in. "What, did you lie?" There was the sounds of a scuffle, and a yelp from one of Del's boys.

"Oh, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny." sighed Del. "What have you been telling these nice men?"

"Yes, Johnny. Didn't you tell us there were a pair of lovely ladies just who we were looking for here? What made you lie like that?" Johnny, whichever he was, was whimpering now, softly -Ash couldn't exactly blame him, neither the guard captain nor Del sounded particularly charitable.

"They were here, I swear they were. Dr. Green, and a short dark girl. Just like you said to look for. I brought them in here myself! They must've run durin' the night --Del helped 'em, he must've, the dark one's his sister, really."

"Your sister? Interesting! Did you help your sister run, out the window or the door which can clearly be seen from where this idiot was supposed to be watching?"

"I've not seen my sister in years. She stayed with my parents when I...left the city. Is she in trouble? With you? I'm shocked, she was such a slut for the Institute when she was younger. No offense, of course."

"None taken, of course" said the captain in a voice that rather implied there was offense in Del's words, and he knew it. "Well, Johnny-boy, if you're so certain that our quarry came here, where do you think they are now?" The whimpering increased in volume.

"I apologize for the confusion, sir." Del said in sardonic tones. "Do you need anything else of me? If not, I suggest you continue on your way, if the girl you seek really is my sister, she's liable to keep you on your toes."

"No, you're right." The captain sighed, there was a sudden grunt of anger and the sound of impact --Johnny yelped again, and moaned. "Stupid idiot! Lost us a spy, and for what?! Nothing, huh?"

"Yes, about that." Any trace of good humour in Del's words had disappeared. "Please do me the favour of telling your higher ups that I do not take kindly to spies amongst my boys. I have no interest in subversion those that pay well more than half my Runners wage. Do not make me have to decline so many of my patrons, just because they work for your Institute."

The guard just laughed darkly. "Do a better job figuring out your spies then, silly boy. I've heard how your factions fight --I wouldn't be surprised to learn Johnny here was hardly the only one you've got watching your moves. There's profit in taking over your gang, isn't there?"

"You know more of Underworld politics than most. I'll admit to being impressed." There were the sounds of movement towards the door. "You seem to be forgetting one of your party." Del called after them.

"The spy? He's useless to us. Think of him as a present, to remember that the Institute only wants to work with you, not against."

Del laughed. "Say hello to my sister when you find her. And tell her she's an idiot, whyever you're seeking her." The door closed, and the footsteps receded back down the stairs. There was a pause of a few moments, then a blood curdling noise, as Johnny screamed his throat raw.

Ashwater could deal with her muscles continuing to cramp, she decided. Anything would be better than seeing what exactly was going on out there.

***

The screaming went on for some time, then diminished into sobs, and whimpers, and finally silence. Ash had long since buried her face in her hands, though Theo had her head tilted to better listen, intrigued at just what actions prompted what noises. After the silence had gone on for several moments, there was a deep sigh.

"Theodora Rachalin, I am going to kill you. Out. Now. We need to talk." Theo squeaked, undignified, and attempted to undo the trapdoor, her hands slipping at least once before she finally hauled it open. She half fell, half tumbled out onto the bed, blinking at the influx of light. Ash was able to see her reaction at whatever had happened to Johnny -Theo froze for a moment, her eyes wide. There was the barest flash of fear before she returned to her cool facade --Ash was not altogether sure she wanted to see exactly what had happened yet.

What had happened was blood, and lots of it. Del had methodically beaten Johnny to death, destroying his limbs in the process. What lay unmoving in the doorway was barely recognizable as human, it had been so mashed. Del himself was livid, his skin pale and eyes wild. There was blood on his hands, splattered onto his face and clothes, mixed through his thick hair where he had clearly run his hands along his head. In one hand, he held a rough club --probably the leg from an old chair or table.

"Brutal." Theo said finally, not yet able to bring herself to meet Del's eyes. She was familiar with the Underworld, sure, and how they worked. But this was more than she had ever had to see up close.

"I will not tolerate spies. I will not tolerate falsity. I don't think he loved me, not really." Something seemed to snap in Del, and he looked up, at that, his eyes lost. "He was supposed to love me, little sister. Why didn't he?"

"Because sometimes money is worth more than love." She sighed, and moved out of Ashwater's sight, to sit next to her brother. "I'm sorry. And thank you, at least, for not calling us out." He shrugged, and shook his head, to clear it. When next he turned to her, there was a modicum more of sanity in his expression.

"I am not pleased that I had to, Theodora. You led me to believe you ran, and that was it. You did not imply that there would be those who would chase." He sighed. "Look, you might as well come down too, fancy one. It'll be harder for my sister to lie if I can watch your face."

Ash edged down, keeping her eyes closed as she landed on the bed. She scooted to the edge, and opened her eyes carefully, focusing intensely on the two siblings. In spite of herself, she whimpered when she caught sight of Del, and the amount of blood he had acquired.

"You're an absolute wuss, fancy one." Theo muttered darkly. "It's just a corpse. Besides, I thought you worked with resurrection."

"There's a different between strange corpses for resurrection and a bloodied heap that was talking half an hour ago." She made a face at Theo. "Forgive me. I'm a delicate flower of a fancy one. Blood just turns my stomach, don't you know."

Del laughed at that, and leaned forward to ruffle Ash's hair. She gasped and grimaced, but held still, and to her credit, did not whimper at the thought of having another's blood in her hair. "You'll do, fancy one. Work harder on that sarcasm, you'll take little sis down eventually."

"Truly, having your approval gives my life meaning." Ash muttered, causing even Theo to crack a smile. "Theo, we should go." That caused Theo to actively look taken aback, she gasped in shock, and stammered for a moment, before meeting Ash's eyes fully. The two girls stared at each other for several seconds -Theo was clearly looking for something, though Ash couldn't quite tell what. She must have found it though, as she nodded, and began to rise.

Del's hand on her shoulder brought her swiftly back to her seat. "You go nowhere before I know what's going on. There is an incredible profit to knowing the war before it happens, and I intend to take full advantage of that."

"I can't tell you." Theo said simply. Del crossed his arms, and artfully raised an eyebrow at her. "And I'm not going to, brother, this is dangerous. I was telling the truth when I said there was liable to be war. The Underbelly just doesn't realize how soon that war will come."

"What can we do to prepare, then?" You've made the mistake of blessing me with the knowledge advantage. I intend to use that advantage to the fullest extent." Theo wavered, and Del shook his head. "I almost did tell. You owe me." There was an unprecedented amount of power in the words, enough that Theo noticeably winced.

"And this will square our debts?" She asked, though her tone was not particularly hopeful. Del nodded, just once, and she sighed. "Fine. But you give us twenty four full hours before you even tell your boys what's going on. I want a head start." She paused, and frowned. "And a horse. Two horses."

"You tell us how we win this upcoming war, and I'll get you the horses. Twenty four hours is granted regardless. C'mon little sister, surely I'm not so horrible to you?"

"Information coerced is not the same as information freely given, asshole." Theo sighed deeply, and Del laughed. "Is there somewhere safer we can talk?"

He nodded. "Let's go for a walk, pretty girls." He led them to the door, stepping artfully over the corpse. "He's an idiot anyways, if he truly thought I couldn't help you escape without a watcher noticing. How stupid would I have to be to have only the front door as an exit, hm?" Theo laughed in response. Ash was too busy doing her best not to look at the once-human mass.

***

By the way, in case this isn't completely clear, Del is a homosexual. He likes boys. That girl he mentioned, Shayrn something? She is a lesbian. They figured that using each other as a beard might be helpful --so while the story he told the guard wasn't actually true, if the guard talks to Shayrn, she'll back 'em up.

The chair leg is, in fact, the chair leg of truth.

YAY BEATING PEOPLE TO DEATH YAY!

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Lucky number Eight!

2009-11-09T17:16:32Z

Man, it was so frigging nice outside on the eighth, *and* I had a date promised with B.Dan. Which I maintain makes it all the more impressive that I got more than two thousand words down --not a lot more, but it's a start, and a damn sight better than the last three days.

"No, I don't. Not if I cannot avoid it." She rested her head on her arms for a moment, lost in thought. "I never knew of this old city. That is information that could prove shockingly useful, and I never even dreamed it." Theo buried her face in her arms, and made a nose of frustration.

Ash stammered, taken aback. "H-hey, it's okay. You're not expected to know everything, I mean, what, you're how old? Nineteen?"

"I'm twenty," growled Theo.

"Fine, twenty. I mean, that's pretty obscure history. I know most of my classes in second school were just about the City and some of the more famous scientists of the era. I don't think I had a class that talked at all about pre-City history until I was into my third or fourth year of Third School."

"Yes, but it's useful information." Theo stood, a rush of limbs, and snatched up her bag. "If this old city has scientists, if they have information we can use, people we could use...we could create the teleportation engine before the Institute ever does. Enough work, we could make sure they never do." She turned to Ashwater, and grabbed her hands intensely. "This old city could save us entirely. This is critical information, and I had no idea." She looked down, and dropped Ash's hands abruptly. "Take me there?"

"Well, I mean, it's not like I've been."

"Yes, yes, your great grandfather came from there and settled. But you know more than I about how to find it --just following the road east long enough brings you to scientific settlements out where it's safer to indulge in dangerous experimentation. The road ends though --where after that?"

Ash smirked. She had gotten to the point in her grandfather's journal where he had determined to undergo this same adventure. All they had to do was follow his instructions, and she was sure they'd be there in no time. She patted Theo on the shoulder. "You just leave the directions to me."

Theo's infuriated scowl was possibly the loveliest sight Ash ever had seen.

***

It was longer than Ashwater remembered to the end of the road, where the settlements lay. Of course, that had been a very long time ago, when she was a young girl that she had last visited, and she had been on a horse that trip, but even so, the woods seemed to go on forever, without even the benefit of changing scenery.

Every kilometer or so, Theo would force Ash to help her scale a tree, so that she could get a bearing on where exactly the road was relative to their position, They meandered slightly, now closer, now further to the road itself, but always on a route roughly parallel. When Ash suggested that they could quite plausibly walk the road itself, Theo shook her head --too likely to get caught by an Institute patrol riding helter-skelter up the path.

They walked well into the afternoon, to the point where Ash was beginning to think past the ache in her muscles to the worry that they wouldn't have a place to stay the night. The woods stretched out in a multitude of directions, they were unlikely to be found unless the Institute had found their trail, but still Ash worried about finding a spot secure enough to keep them protected.

Finally, after Theo half slid, half fell out of a tree, Ash grabbed her sleeve. "Are you planning to stop tonight? I do not want to be sitting fruit for the Institute, nor travel at night if it can be helped."

Theo smiled, and patted Ashwater's cheek condescendingly. "We're almost to where we need to be. About a quarter of a kilometer away, in that direction." She pointed, a route that would almost certainly intersect them with the road. Ash raised an eyebrow in question, but Theo only clicked her enigmatic smile up another notch.

Their path did intersect with the road, but it was not the road as ever Ash had seen it. The road outside the city was identical to those inside -well paved with close-fit bricks, and strong mortar. This road was stone, cracked and twisted, with grass and moss growing thick through the middle of the path. It looked as though no one had traveled this way in years, and Ash said as much.

"No, it gets travel. It just gets the sort of travel that tries not to leave much track." Theo examined a cairn of pebbles hidden in soft grass at the side of the road. "Good, that's what I thought."

"What is?" They were on the road itself now, picking their way away from the city. It wasn't actually significantly easier terrain than the forest itself, though at least there was more sunlight trickling down to light their way.

"The current occupants. I've got contacts with them." Ash stared at the cairn --six pebbles, in a rough pile. If Theo hadn't drawn attention to it, she never would've noticed it in the first place.

"So, who are the current occupants?" Ash drew close to Theo as they progressed down the path, at least in the forest, their backs hadn't been so very exposed.

"The Delboys. They're safe -mostly just Runners, a few Gossips and Robbers. But one of their higher ups owes me a favour, though it's possible I won't even need to invoke it." Theo stopped abruptly, and threw an arm back to prevent Ashwater from walking any further --Ash, unprepared, walked straight into it, and scowled.

"Now what?" she muttered, frustrated.

"Now we wait. This is the edge of the patrol, they'll be more likely to give us favour if we do them the service of waiting, rather than try to sneak into their territory."

Ash looked all about, but saw nothing to mark it as a border. "We're not sneaking through? But what about the Institute"

Theo laughed. "God no, we're not sneaking. And don't worry about the Institute, Del hates them more than most, and his boys echo that hate. It'd have to be a very high price indeed to get them to cooperate with those Institute bastards."

"Perhaps you've missed it, but I'm one of those Institute bastards. And I'm damned to be recognizable. What makes you think their not just going to shoot us on sight?"

"It's tempting, sure." The boy dropped out of the tree and locked eyes with Theo for a moment. He frowned, studying her closely, then suddenly broke into a grin. "Theodora Rach! You bitch, it's been ages!" He gathered Theo in a hug, and she laughed. They held the embrace for a moment, then pulled apart, both resuming their previous caution.

"Ashwater Green." Theo said with the barest smirk, "I'd like you to meet my older brother, Delano Jacobs."

***

Theo and Del were clearly siblings, once Ash had been given that connection. They had the same dusky skin and shifting blue green eyes. They could have been twins, save the fact that Del was at least a quarter-meter taller than his sister, though he looked not to weigh a gram more. Theo locked eyes with him and whispered "I need help" which made him laugh mercissly, but lead the two girls back to the -apparently now abandoned- laboratory that made the furthest edge of the City boundaries.

They took seats at a long table, and Del sent a pair of the underworld boys milling about the place to go and get something for the girls to drink. It took Ash only a moment to notice that they were indeed the only girls in the place, though the way the boys shifted, it was impossible to tell how many others there were. Theo nodded her thanks, and took a long sip, Ash hesitated, but followed suit. Surely, Theo's own brother wouldn't think to poison them?

"First things first." He said, sitting across them and taking a swig from his own drink. "How's mom and dad?" There was a bitter note in his voice, giving it a mocking quality.

"Dead." Theo said simply. "And they wrote you out of the will."

"Good and good." he muttered, causing Theo to shrug. "What, sis, you do not expect me to give them sympathy, not after they cast me out so?"

"Watch your tongue brother, she's one of mine by circumstance, not choice." Ash glared, but Theo ignored her gaze, taking a long sip. "I don't wish her to have all knowledge of me so quick."

"Right, because it's a terrible thing, me knowing anything." Ash spat the words in anger, and was shocked to see Del hide a grin in another swig of the liquid. "I am so sure to turn you-"

Theo hissed, cutting Ash off. "Perhaps you'd better let me explain our situation to my brother, before you say anything more, hm?" Under the table, Ash found her leg being squeezed by Theo, a not-so-subtle warning.

"Turn you in where?" Del asked, leaning forward. His smirk, Ash noticed, was the same as Theo's.

"Turn me into Jaysen --there has been trouble in the Underbelly, these last few days." Her eyes locked with Del's, no sign that she was spinning a lie. "We have quarreled -he claims that I owe him money, or the return of equipment. I tell true that he has not given me such equipment as billed, and therefore owe me nothing."

"You're on the run just for that? Shit, sis, I know you better, you're too clever to get involved in Underworld fraud." His eyes were pressing, looking for more.

"Yes, but apparently I'm not too clever to get involved in brewing war." Del's eyebrows shot up in response, and Theo nodded. "Between the Underbelly and the Institute. This one's fault, but I led her into it." Theo jerked a thumb at Ash, who made an affronted sound.

"Interesting." Del sat back, his eyes sliding to meet Ash's gaze as well. "I'd not heard of war, last the Gossips visited."

"Had you heard of a high up fancy one visiting a low down party? The Institute will not take kindly to one of theirs so noticeably associating with one of ours." Del nodded, just once, and snapped his fingers elegantly. A moment later, a newsrag was pressed into his hands, the same one Artie had shown to Theo.

"I wondered if that was you, little sister. Such pretty eyes. Who's your wolfy friend, anyone I need to be worried about?" Theo snorted, undignified, and shook her head. "So a fancy one came to one of our assemblies. And the Institute will of course not be please. And now the fancy one is gone --did we kidnap her, then?"

"She ran of her own accord." Theo said flatly. "The Institute intends to punish her for associating with us, and chose to skip that punishment. I too am running, our paths happened to cross. Which brings us here."

"So it does." Del leaned back languidly to study the two girls. "Tired of always being in the public eye, Miss Green?"

"Doctor, please." Ash wasn't sure why Theo was lying so, but this at least was something she could -and would- fight. She severely doubted either Theo or Del would stop insisting on calling her fancy one so derisively, but if they were going to use her name, she'd rather they use appropriate titles as well.

"Doctor Green, then. Oh, what a face, Theo." Del laughed, and more at Theo's blush. "I didn't know you took your grandfather's name. I admit to being curious --just trying to emulate his fancy ways?"

Ash glared, but her response was cut short by Theo setting her mug down with an angry clunk. "Do not speak ill of Doctor Green." she hissed, locking eyes with her brother. "He was the last great scientist this world has ever known."

"Oh yes, very great indeed. I especially like that great work he did in creating the Institute. Very impressive, that."

"Oh shut up, Del. He didn't intend for this to happen, I bet he'd be furious to see what was done in his name. Dr. Green was a good man, and a good scientist!"

They locked eyes, both standing, each trying to stare the other down. This was clearly not the whole of the argument, words had sprung too easily to their lips for it to be the first time they had fought over this.

"So, you've heard our story, will you grant us safe haven for the night?" Matched blue-green eyes, with matched fury turned to face Ash, who tried to smile away the interruption. Del bit his lip, but nodded, turning to address Theo rather than Ashwater.

"I'll have my boys prepare a room. What kind of brother would I be if I couldn't grant my little sister at least a night, hm?" He clapped her on the shoulder, and smiled, faking cheer. Theo's smile matched his, as she shouldered her bag.

"Thanks a ton, bro. We'll just take that, and be out of your hair in the morning." Del beckoned to one of the omnipresent boys scattered about the room, he snapped to, and led them up a staircase. The room he led them to was sparse, utilitarian and contained only one bed --Theo swore and hissed to the boy that they were not lovers, thanks. The boy stammered, but found them a better place to sleep.

Ashwater managed to fall relatively quickly to sleep. As soon as she was fully unconscious, Theo stood up and slipped to the door. She had the feeling there was unfinished business for her to deal with.

***

You may notice that it doesn't *quite* line up with the previous segment. I did some smoothing and pulling together --Ash and Theo have officially decided to go to the old city. Theo was forced to admit she doesn't know everything!

Theo's brother may have just been because I wanted to make a terribly obscure joke regarding my favourite president.

Yes, he's gay. Yes, his boys are various stages of "concubine". Yes, yes, they're all of an age, jeeze. No, I'm not quite sure what the scandal was between him and his parents, but that might've been it.

Last names are totally arbitrary. I feel there's a sort of vague sense that females get named for their mother and males for their father, but every once in a while, something bucks that trend --note that Ashwater is named for her grandfather (and her mother).

YAY STORY!

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Sic Seven Tyrannous

2009-11-08T05:07:55Z

Another day that was kinda a wash, especially considering that I didn't even get started on writing until about ten thirty PM. I got some words down, and more importantly, I'm starting to be in a groove --I can get more done before I eventually fall asleep.

"I'm a little surprised you don't know Thessler. He's the one who disproved secondary-orbital overlap a few months ago --you must have seen the issue of the City Scientific Journal which discussed it."

Theo blinked, her eyebrows jumping a centimeter or two in surprised. "I did, I'm sure, but chemistry's not my discipline of choice. I did not know you read the City Scientific."

Ash laughed. "I think my grandfather would resurrect himself in anger if I didn't. My earliest memories of him are of watching him read the Journal in the evenings. When he was home, of course." Ash made a face at Theo, "Besides, how else am I going to know what's going on? The idiots at High Science wouldn't know a real discovery if it hit them with a fish."

Theo blinked again. The firelight was dim, but Ash could almost swear she could see the edges of a smile.

***

They talked a bit longer, before Theo requested sleep. There was a faraway look in her eyes when she asked Ash to take watch, something that Ashwater couldn't quite puzzle out. Ash was happy to oblige though, even if it meant she wouldn't get traveling again until the morning.

As Theo fell asleep, Ash dug through her bag for something to read. She pulled out one of her grandfather's journals, figuring that his notes would be as interesting as anything else she could do. She opened it to the first page, and was startled to learn that, instead of being an experiment journal, like she had expected, it was a travel diary. Her excitement grew as she began to read the first few pages --this was the diary her grandfather had kept before he had even found his way to what he had later named The City!

She read for hours, her eyes straining at the cramped handwriting and archaic terminology. Finally, she drifted off to sleep, the book pressed to her chest. If she hadn't had a plan coming into the woods, this book might be all she needed to find a plan for getting out.

Ash was awoken by a kick in the side, making her grunt and double over. She untangled herself from her coat to glare angrily at Theo, who matched her intensity perfectly. "What was that for?" Ash hissed. At the end of last night, she had begun to feel that perhaps Theo was not all bad after all. This was clearly not the case.

"You fell asleep" Theo hissed right back. "With a raging fire, and potentially a lethal force on our trails. You have no idea how lucky we are that nothing went wrong during the night."

"I was tired!" Ash pouted, indignant. "And you were asleep, I don't see what the fuss is."

"The fuss? Look, you were supposed to be on watch! Keep me safe! I can't travel with you if I can't trust you're not going to get me killed."

"I thought you didn't want to travel with me, anyways." The fire was down to coals, Ash frowned at it. "I don't see what the worry is, none of our things were close enough to the fire to catch. And it burned out safe anyways."

Theo sighed. "Well, I'm certainly of the opinion that I don't want to travel with you now." She did something with the coals, causing it to spark up again. "Can you keep this from going out while I go fish up some breakfast? Or are you planning to fall asleep again?"

Ash glared. "I know how to feed a fire, thanks. I'd say enjoy your breakfast, but how are you going to fish again without a net?"

Theo rolled her eyes. "I was going to offer to find you something too, but I think I'll just leave you to your own defenses, then." She grabbed her bag huffily, and stalked to the mouth of the cave, where she slunk out towards the riverbank. Ash stuck her tongue out at Theo's retreating back, then immediately regretted the gesture. She so very shouldn't have been stooping to the level of a second schooler.

Ash spent the next few minutes reading more of her grandfather's diary, only barely keeping an eye on the dwindling fire. It would serve Theo right if it went out. She was inturrupted from her spite, by Theo's slight form suddenly diving back into the cave, scrambling back to where Ash was as quickly -and quietly- as Theo could manage.

"What's wr-" Ash started to ask, but was inturrupted by Theo thrusting a hand over Ash's mouth, and holding a finger to her own lips. She moved, as silent as a shadow, to the fire, and carefully banked it back down to coals. Ash was annoyed to see Theo set down three small, but meaty, fish besides the fire to begin cooking. Her food beginning to prepare, Theo crept back to Ash's side, and leaned close enough to whisper, near-silent.

"The Institute has sent out tracking parties. I've could hear them blundering out there in the woods, the fools." She looked scornful, but there was a note of carefully controlled panic behind her words. "Hopefully they won't find us. But I think being silent for a bit will help."

Ash nodded carefully in response. A dark part of her brain wondered if this wasn't some trick Theo was playing, to mock her, or cease their argument. But if it was a trick, Theo had gone to great lengths to create a frightened gaze, a scrambled rush into the cavern. And even now, she was far too tense for it to be a joke --she huddled over the fire, doing things to the fish that Ash couldn't quite see, but there was a rigidity to her movements that was not normally there.

They stayed silent for a fair amount of time --long enough for Theo to cook the fish to satisfaction. Despite her earlier vitriol, she offered one to Ash, and helped her carefully peel off the scales and skin. Ash was beginning to relax, when she heard voices outside the cave, over the current of the nearby river. She froze midbite; beside her, Theo had done much the same.

They stayed frozen for what seemed to be an eternity. It could not have been very long at all though, before the voices started to fade, and both girls could relax muscles tensed to aching.

"So, we're being followed." Ash said finally, speaking quieter than usual. Even if the voices were gone, she wasn't altogether sure she wanted to risk her normal volume.

Theo nodded glumly. "Or being searched for, or tracked. Hopefully, we're not being actually followed, and can make some real distance away from the city." She tore the last bit of flesh from her fish, and chewed distractedly. "Which reminds me" she added with a gulp. "Do you have any thoughts on where we should go?"

"What, you've decided to trust me again?" Ash finished her own fish, and arranged the bones in a neat pile, trying to ignore how empty her stomach still was. "Or have you decided you trust me less out of your sight."

"Now there's a thought, I wouldn't put it past you to be stupid enough to try and turn me in. It might work, too. You could claim to have chased me, let yourself back to being the darling of the City." Theo sorted through her own bones, placing some into her bag, and making a pile of the rest. She sighed, sounding surprisingly exhausted. "No, I don't trust you. But my point from last night still stands, fancy one. There is strength in numbers. And at the very least, there is someone to split watches with. If you can learn how they work, at any rate." Ash made a face at that, and Theo smirked. She made a face of her own, an impressively gruesome thing, and Ash found some of her irritation sliding away.

"Right, and maybe you can learn how to actually cook fish over a fire so they taste good. I think I've got some sodium chloride in my bag, for starters."

"I didn't have to share." Theo muttered darkly, her cheeks pinking the slightest amount.

"No, and I appreciate it." Ash stashed the diary in her bag, and stood. "I actually do have plans for where to go, if you don't. I figure our best bet is to head back to where we once all came."

If that ending sounds familiar, it's because I'm about to work in something I wrote a bit earlier. And then Theo and Ash can start their excellent adventure!

Mmm, fish.

NO I DID NOT STEAL EVERYTHING EVER FROM MERCEDES LACKEY SHUT UP.

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Day of the Devil! (6666666666!!)

2009-11-07T05:33:37Z

Grah.

If yesterday was hard, today was torture. I just Did Not Want To Write. I spent the afternoon being idly distracted (okay, gyrik_22 is at least partially to blame for that) and the evening at a play. I wound up in mikaverleth's room, to try and be a #LOFNOTC with her, and got a little bit of writing done, but another housemate joined us, and there was gossip for hours.

I'm unimpressed with myself, but you know what?

I still got something down.

Theo frowned slightly, and there was silence for a moment. "The death of my parents implies to you that the Institute would not be afraid to try and leverage power over you by murdering yours as well?"

Ash wiped at her eyes angrily. If she had ever wanted to cry, here was not it, not in front of the cold-hearted Theodora. "Don't be stupid," she sniffled, "My parents are safely retired from the Institute. They've never done anything subversive, and my mother is the daughter of the man who started it all. They're not going to do anything to them."

"Obviously. People think well enough of Miss Green and Mr. Darkstone. Murdering them would be a terrible move, politically." Theo patted Ash's shoulder awkwardly. "There there." The words were flat; Ash couldn't tell if Theo was honestly trying to be sympathetic and falling short, or mocking Ash's pain.

"Carefully now, don't get all touchy-feely with me." Ash muttered. "I'll start to think you like me."

"I'll let you know if you prove yourself to be not a waste of a beating heart after all. In the meantime, you can rest assured that I don't like you, at all."

"Yeah, which still brings me back to my question." Ash took another substantial bite of sandwich, and chewed slowly. Theo didn't seem affected by being forced to wait, but it still made Ash feel better. "If you so deeply dislike me, why are you sharing my cave."

"I already told you, I'd rather not continue walking through the woods, in the dark. I see no reason to put myself in what could be needless danger --if the Institute proves to be following my trail, I'll press myself overnight, but not until then if it can at all be helped." Theo sighed, and reached for her own bag, pulling out a soft waterskin. She took a swig of whatever the contents were, and held it carefully, not ready to return it to her sack.

"There are other caves. You've already mocked my ability to move undetected through the woods, do you really think I could've noticed your oh-so-certainly invisible trail? So what is it, why me. An extra chance to mock? Going to slit my throat when next I sleep? Use me as a hostage when the Institute catches up to us?"

"No, I'm planning to cut you into bits and supplement my food supply." Theo rolled her eyes sarcastically and took another swig. She paused for a long time, looking past Ashwater rather than at her. Ash sighed, and made a motion for Theo to continue. Theo cleared her throat and sighed.

"There is strength in numbers, however little, however few." she said finally. "All the reasons you suggested are possible, and save the throat slitting, I would not hesitate, but more important, it is March and it is the woods. The weather has gained enough ground to let rovers begin to band, and while they never hesitate at one, it is possible they'll look askance at two." Theo finally met Ash's eyes. "And you got me into this, I do think it's fair I expect you to get me out."

"That's fair, actually." Ash paused to stretch, teasing out the meaning in Theo's words. "What do you mean rovers?" she asked finally, not able to guess otherwise.

Theo frowned. "Rovers. People who live in the woods, in groups. They trade with the Underworld sometimes, and some of the Rover-gangs are affiliated with some of the Underworld ones."

"You know an awful lot of the Underworld for being such Institute potential. The poor do not wind up in your second school. You clearly don't need the contacts, not when you could be building up actually useful ones"

"What, actually useful in the Institute? Yeah, those sure will help me aspire my dream of sitting on my ass and pretending to do science. Surely you are not so much a fool that you think the Institute is the pinnacle of scientific research in this area."

"Yes, but I'm also not so much a fool as to think that your street-rats are scientists." Ash sighed. "The only real scientists anymore are the ones we never see. Drift into the city, share reports, drift out."

"Löfellmann, Mikaverlath, Kyress, Lofnotc....I would recognize more by their work than by their names I'd expect."

Löfellmann is a close friend's last name. Mikaverlath is Corey's elljay handle. Kyress is one of my last names --Sor Kyress-- and Lofnotc (Pronounced loff-not-kuh) is a twitter cult started by Amanda Palmer. Sometimes I just want references, and sometimes those are very silly.

Yes, they're in the same scene as yesterday. This cave is lasting for fucking ever.

Shockingly, they're gonna go be travelling adventures. THIS STORY IS A BUDDY COMEDY, GODDAMNIT!

Hopefully more words for you tomorrow.

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On another topic...

2009-11-06T05:20:33Z

In the middle of writing today, I began to hyperfocus on the word count, and stop caring about the words. This was a bad, and I needed to take a moment to break the habit of recounting the words every ten minutes.

So I stepped back, and added a few paragraphs to Loose Ends

They swam out to the ship after the sun had set, both the pirates helping Penta to make the swim with muscles that were both aching and numb. They climbed up the sea-side, Penta making a fool of herself by collapsing as soon as she hit deck.

Andrew vanished just after, off to his quarters for a well deserved glass of wine and a warm towel. Chessie dragged Penta to a stark barrack, hammocks strung at three levels across the sides of the room. Penta was ordered to strip, wrapped in a blanket, and shoved roughly into one of the lowest hammocks, ordinarily, she would've paid better attention to what happened to her things, but she was honestly so tired she couldn't notice.

She awoke feeling ill, not aided by the roll of the ship. Vaguely she remembered having been brought downstairs --there were no windows on this level-- and at the thought of having to climb a ladder, her stomach nearly turned itself inside out. She resisted the urge to vomit, barely, and staggered towards the door at one end of the room.

She found herself in a short hallway, with blessedly, a ladder right next to the door she had exited from. She hauled herself up sloppily, and squinted at the bright sunlight, using a hand to shade her eyes. Her arm looked funny --she moaned as she realized the pale green tint she was looking at was her skin being off-coloured, and not some form of clothing. Penta was crouched on the ladder, stark naked.

For a moment, modesty seemed as though it was going to win out, but then the ship rolled particularly hard, and she gave up on any thought but hauling herself onto the deck, and staggering to the railing. She emptied her stomach of what little it contained, and rested, trying to make her eyes focus on the rolling sea below.

Fabric was draped over her shoulders, and she turned weakly to see Chessie holding back laughter. "Are you alright there, mixed-breed? Never been on a ship before?"

"Is it always this terrible?" Penta pulled the cloak around her, feeling her cheeks flush slightly. She could hear sailors behind her, this was not the most auspicious of ways to meet her future crewmates.

"Naw, most folk get over it given a day or two. Sea-legs, we call them. Hey Shon! A bottle for the lady, hm?" The last was directed towards the sailors, Penta forced herself back from the railing enough to turn and see.

"So it is a lady then!" Shon had skin like Chessie's, soft and rubbery, but tinted a dark brown instead of light pink. His hair cascaded around his face in waves of green, moving not unlike the way vines would, draped free in the breeze. "We did wonder." He handed Penta a bottle, and motioned to drink; nervously, she complied.

"Yes, and that's why I put her in the ladies bunk, you daft man." Chessie rolled her eyes, and Penta couldn't help but smile --between the act of vomiting and the strange liquid, she was beginning to feel ever so slightly more aware, though still shakey at the movement of the boat. "Penta, this is Shon. You'll approve, he uses earth magic, like you're used to."

"And fire?" Penta asked, surveying the strange man. He was very tall, and stood stock still, taking no notice of the movement of the ship on the waves. He shivered once, and shook his head.

"My people fear the fire, and right so. It has taken much of our world from us. Does the earth and the fire go together in your world?"

Penta nodded. "The..." there was no word for Rogue, not in common, so she approximated with what she had earlier heard Andrew and Chessie say. "The Rogues use those two elements. Felans use water and air."

Scintillating, I know. But hey, it's writing, and it's writing I haven't done before. I'm proud.

Remember Remember

2009-11-06T05:16:37Z

This is the first day where it was really really hard.

If I was doing exactly the minimum, as of this morning, I'd be a day ahead. I didn't need to write. I didn't want to write. And I knew that if I didn't write, that if I stopped now, it'd all be over.

Fuck that noise. Not when I started the day less than 1500 words from the First Big Milestone --10k.

Obviously, the next few steps she took were going to be extraordinarily important to her well being. While Artie's place could still be considered a safe haven, for the time being, she wasn't altogether sure she wanted to put him at such a risk --especially not as he was associated, however obliquely, with the fancy one from the tabloid. Her lab was no longer an option. Her house certainly wasn't. And while she hadn't bothered to stop by the school and see how it was, she also wasn't foolish enough to go do so --she was far too recognizable there.

This meant she was going to have to be some degree of on the run, a fact that both frustrated and thrilled Theo. All her life, she had dreamed of being a true Scientist, the kind that went out and had adventures and got lost and scraped and dirty out in the true world outside the city walls. True, in her dreams, she had been rather better equipped, rather than just having whatever happened to be in her bag at the moment, and really, generally she hadn't been on the run away from the city so much as returning a glorious hero, but an adventure was an adventure, and this would have to do.

Thinking of her bag, she set it onto a nearby desk, and carefully emptied it, to assess what exactly she did have as equipment. Black pants, shirt, danceboots, hat, and outdoor labcoat. In her pockets, there was her money and ID, housekeys -no good, now, but perhaps they could be used later for scrap metal- her current catch-all notebook, a battered steel lighter, and several pens. Her bag contained two more notebooks, the one with her reanimated flesh notes, and one that her proud father had given her yesterday morning to take Institute notes in. Several dozen more pens, Theo was always losing them. A few pieces of random scientific equipment, plus a telescope. A volume on resurrected flesh from before the founding of the city. A carefully bound box containing six vials of H.West re-animate, commonly accepted to be the most useful chemical compound for resurrected flesh experiments known to the city. Some money, a sandwich wrapped in plastic, her formal green-blue labcoat, and a string of pearls.

She put it all back in the bag, noting it down on the third page of her Institute notebook. She crossed out the word Institute on the front cover, and with a wry grin, wrote "Adventure" instead. If nothing else, at least this way she wouldn't be surprised when she found herself in the middle of one.

The Adventure Notebook shut with a nice snap, and she stashed it as well. The edges of a plan were beginning to form in the corners of her mind. She needed to escape the city, as soon as possible, and see if it was possible to make a go for it in the surrounding woods --easier to move in and harder for the Institute to search.

Before anything else though, it was clear that Theo needed to find some food.

***

[Reel potentially missing here. I want to keep with Theo, but it's been like two days since I checked in with Ash, and I figure I ought to see what she's been up to. Theo gets food and other things, and sneaks out. Maybe excitingly, but probably, she just cuts through the underbelly gates.]

***

Ashwater stood on her doorstep, shaken. The wolf had walked her to the door, then turned without even a goodnight. It was all so maddening --both Theo's apparent carefree additude, and the idea that she could be in danger with the Institute. She had been raised in the Institute, for Earth's sake! These people had known her from an early age, they wouldn't reject her, not for this.

She made it to the top of the staircase, and opened her door. As soon as she walked in, Shanna launched herself at her in a mess of limbs, wrapping tight around her in all directions. "Woah, hi, it's good to see you too." Ash tried to laugh, lightly, but it fell flat. "What's wrong?"

"The Dean was here, half an hour, maybe more ago. He was looking for you. Said it was important, wanted very badly to know where you were." Shanna's voice was as echoing as Ash had ever heard it, she was clearly distressed to a point where the idea of splitting herself was an impossibility.

Ash felt herself pale. Sure, she could have a perfectly legitimate reason for not being home, but she really doubted the Dean would accept it at anything other than face value. "What did he say about when I came home?"

"That you should go visit him. In his office." Ash chuckled darkly, the Dean's office was close to the center of the Institute. It seemed unwise to let herself get trapped there, not between multiple layers of walls and guards. "Ashwater, what is going on."

Shanna pulled away to look at her, four dark eyes brimming with concern. Ash sighed, and pulled her back into the hug, squeezing briefly before pulling apart and beginning to bustle about the apartment, grabbing things to take with her. She spoke as she worked, "Remember that girl I mentioned? The second-schooler, smarter than the Institute? They brought her into their fold today, told her secrets, tested her on them, asked for help." Her entire jewelry box upended into the box, no use sorting between value and junk, sentimental and frippery now. "She refused. She refused, and left, and went home."

Shanna walked quickly to Ashwater's chest of drawers, pulling clothing out and piling it on the bed. "And the Dean was livid?"

"And the Dean was livid. Not at first, not while there were still people around. But I walked past his office, on my way home. And he was...apoplectic, I think is the only word for it. I don't know that he realized I heard, but he was fuming over her rejection. And said something about not letting such valuable research loose in the city." There was a sharp intake of breath from Shanna, and Ash nodded.

"I'm sorry, Shanna." she said softly. "I know you hate Institute politics, I'm sorry you have to be in this. And I hate to ask this, but..."

"Then don't ask. I'll cover for you to the ends of the Earth, Ashwater. You have been good to me in ways that most people are not, you have not treated me as a freak, or insisted on treating both halves as separate when they are clearly not." Shanna moved briskly off to the kitchen, bringing the half-filled traveling bag with her. "Where will you go?"

"I hadn't thought that far." A few scientific notebooks. One history. An old diary that Ash couldn't bear to part with. Her bag was near bulging, but as she wrestled a canvasilk blanket in, she felt she was near ready. As her eyes swept the room, they fell upon the bottom shelf, in the very corner.

Everything her grandfather had ever written. All his lab notes, all his letters, a few photo albums. Far more than a bag's worth of books and papers, but far too valuable to possibly leave behind. "Shanna!" she called in a panic, and both heads snapped around the doorframe. "Shanna, what do I do with my grandfather's notes? I can't let the Institute have them, I just can't!"

"How fast can you sort? Leave anything that's gone public, bring anything that you can't afford to lose. I'll protect the rest for as long as I can."

"And when you can't?" Ash was already frantically on her knees, rifling through the notes.

"Fire pretty." Shanna said simply, and Ash winced. Tears started to run down her face, at the idea even of her grandfather's notes burning, but given the choice between that or giving them to the Institute?

Let them burn.

***

Both her travel bag and her standard pack were overstuffed, slowing Ash down slightly, but she still made reasonably good time through the sleeping city. She tried not to think of the long pause between herself and Shanna, and the way Shanna had held herself as she said goodbye. Instead, she forced herself to think of the next step, the next few steps. She was running blind, sure, but the weather was surprisingly good for late March, and she had supplies enough to survive outside the city.

She froze as she came to the city walls, this was something she hadn't thought of. A bored guard sat beside the gate, there to check the identity of everyone going in and out. Ash had her Institute ID, it would let her out no problem, but then there'd be a record of her leaving --an easily checked, easily found record. The longer the Institute was confused as to her whereabouts, the safer she was. Her coat was her actual labcoat, long since stained past white, but still light enough that she hadn't a hope of sneaking by unnoticed.   The sun was beginning to rise, proving the day to be beautiful indeed. The guard scanned the streets, then, checking his watch, walked inside the walls for just a moment. Ash didn't think twice, she just smiled at her unexpected oppertunity, and scampered through the gate.

"OY! YOU THERE!" Every bone in her body froze at the guard's call. Her hair was bound up in a scarf, and she wore nothing with the Institute's name on it, but her eyes were recognizable, and many of the guards had been playmates to her younger self. Weighing the options, Ash decided not to turn around. Instead, she bolted, shouldering her pack and thudding towards the forest. She heard a whistle blast behind her, and pushed on as much extra speed as she could, trying desperately to get out of the cleared area and into the forest before the guard could get organized enough to come after her.

An arrow whizzed by her ear, and her eyes near popped out of her head with fear. Any falter in her step was lost, Ash ran harder than she had ever run before, throwing herself between the trees. She scrambled forwards a few meters, then stumbled, flying facefirst over a log. She crashed into the ground with a sickening thump, and the world went black.

Ash couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes, the world was still in pre-dawn light when her eyes opened again. Her head ached, as did most of the left side of her body. Slowly, shakily, she pulled herself together and chanced a look back.

She could barely see the wall, the forest was so close grown. She heard no shouts, or whistle blasts, or movement --evidentially, the city had decided that someone leaving unidentified was not enough of a problem for them to bother chasing her down. Rolling into an aching crouch, she looked to see what had felled her --her bag had caught on a snag in a log, and momentum had easily taken care of the rest. The bag was dirty, but thankfully unharmed.

Ash continued as fast as she could move, not caring how much of a trail she left. She walked forwards, paralleling the main road to the city; vague memories from long ago walks with her grandfather were what she was steering by, there should be caves not too far away. If nothing else, a cave meant a place where she could get some necessary sleep.

She made it to the caves without further problem, and after two false starts --the first smaller than she thought, the second filled with bats-- she found a place where she could settle to sleep. She curled up in a corner, aching and exhausted, and fell straight to sleep without dreams.

***

It took Theo almost no effort at all to escape. One edge of the city was defined by what was called the infinite river, a body of water so large no one knew where it ended or how to cross it. Much of the underbelly was against this edge, and if you could skulk through the underbelly without harm, it was child's play to reach the point where the city wall ended, and walk around it. There was a guard-station, of course, but it was never staffed --the Institute sent guards every once in a while, or tried to at least. The clever ones refused the post. The brave ones were never found.

Sitting at the worn desk for the guard was a member of Kyress Street, a Gossip by the pen in her hair and the notebook across her lap. Theo popped up her collar and pulled her hat low over her eyes --should a gang dare to try and start taking names, it would be seen as a dangerous play for dominance-- and passed unmolested, simply by dropping a coin onto the table as she passed. She walked up to the edge of the woods, and stopped, taking a deep breath.

There was nothing particular tying her to the city, but still, it was sad to leave it. The first step into the woods seemed to have marked her, no longer a pampered city scientist she was now something purer something more True!

Her path paralleled the curve of the city wall --she had never been in this bit of the forest before, and wanted to gain more familiar ground before she settled on a final path. She was deep enough in that she only caught glimpses of the wall, but not so deep that she felt worried for stumbling across members of the Underworld, engaging in business too dirty to do in the city itself. She needn't have worried, however, the Underworld was much asleep after the decadence of the previous night, and the path she sought was already there, from countless unknown people walking this way before. Within a few hours, she had made it near halfway around the city, close enough to see the main road ahead.

She paused for a minute, to think. The main road would be the fastest way to travel, there were supposedly waystations on it, and places to hide. But it was also blatant, and much was visible from the city towers itself, and anyone with a fast horse or automaton could traverse in an hour what would take her a day or more to walk. Perhaps the best bet would be to continue parallel, this time to the road rather than the wall. She surveyed the area, approaching close enough to scan the field between the forest and the wall.

A glint of red a few meters from the forests edge caught her eye. She sifted through her bag until she found her spyglass --it was just a children's thing, but strong enough to see at least this far-- and focused her eye on it. The red was revealed to be a feather, fletched to a stick. There was an arrow in the ground, one the colour of the Institute guard.

Theo swore softly. Someone had been through this way then, and gotten themselves shot at. While it was very plausible the guard was too busy to bother with tracking down a runaway, she couldn't quite afford that chance, and if one of the trackers came across Theo, it would be extremely difficult to explain why someone would wander in the forest alone -especially as the sun was so close to setting. She swapped tactics then, going perpendicular to the road, headed towards what she believed was one of the greater rivers that fed the infinite one.

It took little effort to find it, the noise as it roared over rocks was guide enough. Once there, Theo resumed her original direction --away from the city-- and continued walking, being cautious of the added danger the noise provided. The sun really was setting now, and she was vaguely aware that she should find some place to sleep, rather than pick her way through the forest in the dark. Luckily, not far ahead were some caves, Theo could see their openings darker than the shadows from the setting sun.

She picked one at random, and got about halfway in before she spotted something lumped in the back corner. Curiosity won over fear, though she flipped open her knife regardless. Theo crept slowly forward, inch by inch, until she was right next to the lump. The dim light from the cave entrance wasn't even enough to see the colour, reluctantly, she flicked her lighter, providing light just long enough to identify whether she had found a rock or a bear.

It was neither. Light revealed the curve of a face and a wisp of blonde hair. Theo had no doubt that if she pulled back the eyelid, the eyes would be description-defying green.

Theo made a sound of disgust. Even escaping the city hadn't freed her from the presence of Ashwater Green.

***

Ashwater awoke about an hour later, going from the edges of consciousness to full awake in the matter of a moment. There was a fire going, a little more than a meter away from her position, one that she decidedly hadn't set. She scrambled back against the wall, her hands grasping desperately for anything to use as a weapon

"Oh, you're awake." The voice did not actually sound particularly pleased, but at least it wasn't threatening. Theo moved enough into the light so that Ash could recognize her sharp profile and perpetual scowl.

"Where did you come from? How did you find me?!" Ash was near shaking -Theo probably didn't intend to kill her, or she would've while Ash slept. But still, she had considered the caves secure, it was a shock to learn they weren't.

"Laughably easy." Theo said with a roll of her eyes. "I was just following the river, but it would've been simpler had I not been. You do know you left the most blatant trail possible out there, right?"

Ash frowned. "I did?"

"I found it when I was getting firewood. I mean, I don't know how to track, I couldn't say confidently that it was you who wrecked the woods, but it was certainly something large and clumsy."

"I am not that clumsy!" Theo just raised an eyebrow in response. "I...am not usually that clumsy. I had my bag, and I've been up for hours, and..."

"Whatever." Theo leaned against the wall of the cave. "So then. Now what."

"Last I checked, you didn't like me." There was a bitter note to Ash's words, but she felt it was warranted.

"I don't like you."

"Yes, exactly. Which makes me wonder what exactly you're doing here in my cave."

"It's not exactly your cave." Ash rolled her eyes, but kept silent, willing Theo to continue. "Look, I didn't want to keep on walking, not through the woods, in the dark. The caves looked empty, I was sadly mistaken."

"You could've left when you found me in here." Ash grabbed her bag and began to rifle through it for something to eat.

"Correction, I could've stolen anything useful from your packs, and left you here."

Ashwater made a face "Yes. Of course. Forgive me for letting my morals cloud my predictions of your actions." She pulled out one of several carefully wrapped sandwiches, and nibbled at a corner. "You could've continued your thieving ways, and then left me. But you didn't. Why not?"

"I find it interesting that you call it a question of morals. Were I properly equipped for an ambiguously long stay in the woods, there would be no question --leave you alone and go find my own cave. But being as I'm not so prepared..."

Ash swallowed her mouthful of sandwich and shook her head. "That doesn't make it stop being morally wrong to take from me. You know -or at least suspect- I'm in the same ill situation as you are, else I wouldn't be here. I too have to survive on my own for an ambiguously long time. I should not be made to suffer for your ill planning."

"Oh, it was hardly ill planning." Theo met Ash's eyes cooly. "I had been planning to bluff my parents into providing supplies. It's the sort of plan that works better when your house hasn't been burnt to a crisp, and you been left a presumed orphan." There was no emotion at all displayed on Theo's face.

Ashwater's third or so thought, after a rush of sympathy for Theo and of anger at the Institute, was to be annoyed at how calculating Theo was behaving. She showed no signs of grief or mourning, just staring at Ashwater levelly.

"That must be terrible for you" Ash said flatly, trying not to let too much sarcasm into her voice. For the first time in Ash's experience, Theo laughed honestly, no cruelty or mocking in the sound.

"You're a bitch, fancy one," she said with the faintest hint of a smile, "I didn't know you could be sarcastic." Ash stammered in response, her face flushing at Theo's amusement with her. "In honesty, it does not really matter for me. My parents were there, nothing more nor less. I am somewhat more annoyed by my source of income being cut off than losing that particular bond."

"I'm the bitch? Have feelings, you freak. I don't know what I'd do if my parents die..." Ash trailed off as the realization hit her in the face. "Oh no" she whispered, her mind reeling.

3592 words. And I fought like hell for every single one of them.

Is it gonna get better? No, I'm pretty sure that tomorrow's gonna be a whole hell of a lot worse. I'm gonna want to stop. To slack. To not have it open in a corner of my desktop. To play video games, fuck off, hey, it's the weekend!

But I was too stubborn to give into that today. Let's see if I can keep that streak going tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

Fifty thousand words? Yeah, and each and every one of them is going to be my bitch.

Let's Do This Thing
Today: 3,592
Previous: 8,708
Total: 12,303
Left to write: 37,697

DAY FOUR! FOUR FOUR FOUR FOUR YOUUUUU!

2009-11-05T05:56:44Z

I feel like today was really light, despite topping 2000 words. Butyeah, here you go. Is two different parts of the story again, since as I was walking to class, I determined I wanted to force Theo to admit that she didn't know something, and break her brain a bit. It takes her down considerably more than a notch, and yes, I will rewrite it to be better at some point.

Soyeah,

Artie returned to the party a little under an hour later, his face passive. Theo found herself sickened by the attentions she got in the meantime, compliments on her new necklace, said with lecherous grins and unnerving undertones. One of the leaders of the Prescott Street Runners even took the time to pull her aside, and ask what had happened. There was a sway in his movements that told Theo he didn't really care, so she let herself spin a bawdy tale of forced submission.

Not all the underworld was so oblivious, however. Theo caught dark looks, and thoughtful stares on more than one occasion --it was comforting when Artie returned, even as they stayed far enough apart to minimize gossip, she was always aware of his presence in the clearing, and on more than one occasion, noticed him drifting closer as she talked to someone particularly bothersome.

The sun was gaining ground as they finally left, bathing the city in frail dawn light. They weaved their way back to Artie's place --sure, Theo would sleep past the start of school tomorrow, but if anything Ashwater had said was true, it didn't really matter much. Theo nestled into a lumpy couch in the corner of Artie's one room, and fell almost immediately asleep.

She woke past noon, her mouth tasting of drinks she hadn't realized the potency of, and her head pounding slightly. There was a momentary confusion --always, when she awoke in a bed not her own-- but it was broken as she spotted her formal coat crumpled on the floor, a string of perfect pearls draped over it. Artie was nowhere to be found in the room, meaning he was likely to be outside tending shop. Theo packed the coat and jewels into her coat, and debated her next move.

She reached for the door handle, and had barely jostled it when something impacted the outside of the door, hard. "Stay in there, you mangy construct fuck!" bellowed Artie, and Theo paled. Artie had hidden people before, old friends and lost souls. She had been in attendance when the Runners had come searching for a rebel one of their own once, and the reaction had been almost exactly the same --the boy had tried to open the door, and Artie had slammed it, keeping him solidly inside. If she was getting the same treatment, there was someone outside asking questions about her.

She slunk back to the corner in response, wedging herself in the minimal space behind the couch. Hopefully, it was just Runners or Gossips, trying to piece together the mess of last night --someone fooled with Artie's excuse, not smart or brave enough to try and gain access to his room and do a proper search. But if the Institute was really after her...she tried to think, her notes had never mentioned her association with this particular Robber, though anyone examining her research would be sure she was dealing with at least one. Had the Institute searched her room, they would've found nothing --she tried to keep it sparse to a degree implying no one even lived there. It would not be too difficult to identify her lab though, all the public laboratory houses required your full name when you wished to rent from them. From there, they would certainly affirm she worked with Underworlders --not a crime, per se, but frowned upon by those who wished to see the Underworld properly demolished.

Her thought were cut short by the door opening abruptly and shutting with a harsh click. Every muscle in Theo's body froze for a moment, until she heard Artie sigh, "It's alright, girly. Just a Gossip, asking if I knew the name of the pretty little bit in today's tab'." He sat on the couch, and Theo kneeled, bringing their heads nearly level. "I convinced him to leave a copy. Said it was a good picture of me."

The picture on the front of the underworld run "newspaper" --not that it served to distribute news as much as threaten blackmail, reveal scandals, and incite fights-- was indeed a good picture of Artie. The photographer had caught him looking straight at Theo, his hand still on her waist from the end of their waltz, and a look in his eyes and frame that could either be described as protective or predatory. Theo was looking instead to her side, at Ashwater. Ash was half in shadow, but still distinctly a fancy one, if nothing else, the fact that she openly wore jewelry would've marked her as one of two things to anyone with any experience of the Underworld --either incredibly dangerous, or stupid. There were enough smash and grab thieves on the streets that you didn't advertise your wealth, not if you didn't want to lose it.

"It's a good picture of you too, girly. Shows off your pretty coat." It did indeed --Theo had bought that coat from a street vendor last year, enjoying the deep pockets and fantastic shimmer. It was too nice to wear to most of the underworld events, but the big dance was something else, and paired with a plain black shirt and slacks, it seemed much less flash. The masque had been a last ditch resort, it had spent much of its life covered in sequins and in a corner of Theo's attic, until she had repurposed it for her own use. The picture was a good shot of Theo, she looked strong, rigid, and dashing. But more importantly, and more distressingly, she looked straight at a fancy one, and an important fancy one at that. She was not nameless to the Underworld, by tomorrow, this tabloid and all the others would know her name, and she'd have to lie very well indeed to convince them that her relationship with Ash was no such thing.

"Shit." Artie nodded in agreement. "Artie, I gotta bail. I can't get you in trouble, for this, it's not your problem."

"You gonna go back home for a while, let it all blow over?" He helped her out from behind the couch and she shouldered her bag.

"Home's not any safer, and for all the same reasons --the wrong people are gonna see that article, and as soon as they know it's me, they're gonna be out for my blood. How's the street today, busy?" He leaned out the front door and shook his head. "Alright, with luck I'll see you again sometime." They had never hugged, practically the only physical touch Theo and Artie had ever indulged in was a clasped hand over deals, or the occasional dance. But this might be the last time, and though Theo didn't exactly care for Artie, she respected him, and all he had done for her.

He solved her indecision by leaning forward and kissing her on the forehead. "Be well, Theodora. I'll miss having your coin rattle in my pocket".

Theo made it halfway home before she realized it was the first time she'd ever heard him use her name.

***

Theo started out by trying to check her labspace, but she couldn't get closer than two streets away without encountering a perimeter of temporary fencing and board security guards. Hundreds of people, many of whom she vaguely recognized as also renting labspace, were milling about, complaining to each other in loud voices about the inconvenience. She wasn't really surprised, though the loss of data this represented was personally catastrophic --she kept back-ups of the most important information, but if the Institute could link her to her lab, they could certainly link her to the safety deposit box where she kept them.

She expected more of the same at her house --security guards, fencing, and angry neighbors not getting the answers to their questions. As she rounded the last corner onto her street, keeping tucked out of the way, she froze. There were none of these things to greet her.

Her street was as normal, save for a burnt out husk where her house should have been. It smoked slightly, implying that the fire still smoldered, and apparently had been in such a state long enough that there weren't even spectators watching anymore. Theo felt her jaw slowly drop, it's not as if it was a particularly nice house, but it had been where she had lived for her entire life, and she was a little shocked to realize how badly the loss of home had struck her.

After checking in all directions as best she could to ensure there really was no one watching, she approached. She could see rough outlines of some of the furniture, but anything smaller than a sofa had burnt to a crisp. There was no sign of her parents, but there was a crisp white envelope, held steady with a rock in the space where her front door should be.

The envelope had her full name on it -Theodora Rachelin Darcy- and contained a folded piece of paper. Theo's eyes narrowed, she didn't recognize the handwriting, and her instincts started screaming at her to leave this place. She placed the envelope in the pocket of her scruffy black traveling labcoat, and set back off towards the shadows, wanting to get several streets away before she bothered to look.

She curled up in an anonymous bookstore, after walking hard for nearly a quarter of an hour. She had let her hair down, to hang loose and wild over her face, in the hopes of masqueing her eyes and giving her just the slightest bit more of a defense. She sat cautious in the dark corner, though most used bookstores were sought as a sanctuary from the rest of the world, there was always the potential that the owners would not be immune to a greased palm if anyone asked about her. Her hands were shaking as she unfolded the paper, a fact that both startled and annoyed her.

The paper was a copy of her parents' will. At the bottom, in red ink, the same unfamiliar hand had written four words besides her name. "Ineligible to receive inheritance" .

For the first time in six years, Theodora started to cry.

***

It was not as though she had particularly cared about her parents, or thought remarkably highly of them, but they had always tried to do their best by her, so long as that involved paying little attention, and they had gifted her from an early age with as much freedom as she possibly desired. Theo was really quite annoyed with herself, after she had gotten past the initial shock, and dried her eyes on the hem of her coat as quickly as soon as she had stopped her sniffling.

"We could try running to where we all came from" Ashwater suggested.

"What, the city?" Theo gave Ash a look that implied she should Ash was clearly ridiculous.

"No, back to where we all came from before the city. Humans didn't just start there. We migrated, groups of us, until we got out to the infinite river and built the city here. I mean, there might be no one left where we started, but it's worth a shot. The city is a land of pilgrims, and if you pay attention, more keep coming in and joining us. It'd be easy. All we'd have to do is travel East until we found where they come from, found the old city."

Theo frowned. "The old city?"

"Did you never learn history? My great great grandfather migrated from there, and my great great grandmother, and almost certainly your ancestors as well. They were running, and this is where they found other people, and so settled. You know the underbelly, you should know it was here before the civilized people were."

There was a very long silence. Finally, Theo spoke. "I did not know that."

Ash smiled at the bitterness behind the words. "You do not say that phrase often, do you."

Theo glared, which Ash met calmly. Finally, she ducked her head and sighed. "No, I don't. I thought I knew everything worth knowing, but here is information that could save my life and I didn't have an idea. Arg, I'm so stupid sometimes!" She buried her face in her arms, and didn't respond again to Ash for the rest of the night.

Some Author's Notes!

No, I did not spell "Racheline" incorrectly. I spelled "Rachalin" right.

Constructs are made of body parts or clockworks or whatever. They make pretty good servants, if you can control 'em.

Yes, I was careful to make sure that that *was* the first time we hear Artie call her by her name, and not just "girly".

Look, it's a scienceocracy. Of course everyone wears labcoats all the time.

If you've been paying attention, you'll note that six years ago was when Dr. Forrester Green died.

Halfway through writing the second bit, I realized that the old city was what I had called the place where the dance was held. So I arbitrarily changed that to the underbelly in the middle of a paragraph. Look, this is what editing is for, okay?

Let's Do This Thing
Today: 2,053
Previous: 6,655
Total: 8708
Left to write: 41,292

LET'S CONTINUE TO DO THIS THING! (day 3)

2009-11-04T06:26:26Z

Wrote a couple thou words, most during class and the space between getting dinner and going to Diesel. Stuff happens! Plot continues to be a thing used by other people.

Ashwater knocked --pounded, really-- on the door, crossing her fingers for Theo to be awake. When the door was opened, however, it was a matronly woman, clad in a dressing gown, and much older than Theo --obviously a mother.

"Um...hello there." Ash stammered, unsure at how to deal with this unexpected challenge. "Is Theodora Darcy home? I need to speak to her."

"She's out with friends, I'm sorry. She said she wouldn't be home until much later. Shall I let her know you called?" Ash squirmed. Maybe Theo was out safe. And maybe she decidedly wasn't.

"No, it's rather urgent...do you know where I could find her?" Nevermind that the stubborn second schooler would be shockingly embarrassed to be dragged away from her friends, and possibly just plain wouldn't go...but Ash needed her right now, and Theo was not going to be safe without going on the run.

"I'm sorry, she didn't say." The mother started to close the door, and Ash gaped.

"What, your daughter is out in the city somewhere and you don't even know where?"

"We trust our daughter to make wise decisions. She brings home good grades, and we reward that by trusting her on her own. She is twenty years of age, after all."

"So you don't have any idea? Any names of friends? Anywhere I could even start looking?"

Theo's mother shook her head. "I'm sorry, no." The door shut with a snap and Ash had to resist the urge to haul off and slam her hand against the doorframe. "You are the worst parent ever!" she seethed.

A scruffy looking man with half his teeth missing grabbed her ankle through the porch bars. "I can tell you where Theo is." he slurred, a goofy smile on his face. "I know real good. Just need somethin' nice from you."

"Fine. Take me to her. Now." Ash yanked out a few marks from her wallet and shoved them roughly in the hobo's face. "Please, it's important."

The hobo laughed, wheezing into a cough. "You don't have enough money to make me take you there. She's with the bad 'uns, at the ball. The underworld ball, where the whores and druggies go to play!" he continued coughing and shuffled off --for a moment, Ash was tempted to haul off and hit *him* instead of the door, but the effort involved just wasn't going to be worth it. Instead, she winced, and turned. If it was an underworld ball, it was going to be held where the underworld was strongest. She had to go to the old parts of the city, the parts built long before the Institute was founded, and the scientists began to redesign their world to be a more effective and practical fit.

"You better well be worth it, Miss Darcy" Ash hissed, and headed deep into the city where she'd never been before.

***

It was dark, and it was dirty, and there were less homeless on the streets than even the nice parts of the city --though Ash couldn't decide whether that seemed like a good thing or a bad. Every time she found someone, she greased their palm and asked how to get to the Underworld ball. Most just laughed, but they would point her in further, and soon, she began to hear the strains of music and the clatter of conversation ahead.

It was not something Ash had ever seen before, nor something she ever particularly wanted to see again. The ball was being hosted in the husk of a burned down warehouse, with the doors to the bordering buildings flung open. All the light was provided by rough burning lanterns, contributing to the cloud of smoke and dust kicked up by the revelers. Some wore masques, and many wore costumes --subversions of scientific garb and high class suits. All around the edges of the square were clumps of people drinking and laughing, and Ash noted more than a handful of couples edging off towards one of the actual buildings.

The center of the square was dominated by dancers. Ash watched them for most of a dance before she realized that they were doing a dance she recognized. But the graceful movements and patterns as people walked through the square figures were unrecognizable --the sedate walk had turned to skipping, and the polite figures turned crude. Gentlemen danced with gentlemen, and ladies with ladies, and in the midst of their turns and bounces, they would kiss with rough abandon -or more!

The dance ended with a flourish, and the dancers whooped and screamed their approval in obscenities and jeers. The musicians howled back insults at the crowd, and struck up a waltz. While much of the dancers slid back to the edges to fortify themselves, fully three dozen couples remained, in varying degrees of dancing and groping.

Ash found her eyes drawn to one of the couples highest on actual dance maneuvers, a tall gentleman in a wolf's mask, and a delicate slim girl in what looked to be a close-tailored lab coat that shimmered green and blue as she twirled. Her black hair whipped around in a braid through a particularly fast spin, and Ashwater caught glimpse of the edges of her face, half obscured by a black velvet masque.

It was Theo.

Judging from the demographics of those dancing, there would be nothing wrong with what Ash wanted to do. She pushed forward, stumbling for the first time into full light, and grabbed the wolf's wrist. "May I cut in?"

"Cut in? Oh lookit that, the fancy one's all done lurkin' in the corners." Ash turned to a languid street-rat, his hair spiked out in all directions. His eyes were rough red -he was not sober- and his hand clenched a bottle of dark beer in one hand.

The wolf growled in the back of his throat, a surprisingly true noise. As Ash's head whipped back around to face him, Theo finally caught a proper look of her. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, and Ash saw the wolf's hand tighten protectively around Theo's waist.

"I need to talk to you. Please." Ash stepped forward to take Theo in her arms. The wolf and Theo exchanged a long look --only after Theo gave the most imperceptible of nods did he let go of her, and let Ash step in.

Theo immediately took the lead. "I don't like you." she hissed. "I don't like you at all, and I don't like you being here."

Ash bit back a retort, and simply nodded. "You don't have to like me. You just have to trust me. You're going to be kidnapped. And killed."

"Which one of us actually knows how to blend in here?" Theo's hand skimmed lightly along Ash's waist as she moved her into a turn. When Ash was back into form, Theo shook her head. "You're not even armed. Believe me, I'm safe."

"Not here, you idiot." Irritated, Ash tried to retake the lead position, but found herself forced into an unknown figure instead. She stumbled, her feet refusing to go quite as Theo wanted, and winced. "Where the hell did you learn to dance?"

"Why am I going to be kidnapped?" Ash noted out of a corner of her mind that Theo had steered them to a more abandoned corner of the lot, she could hear moans of pleasure from just outside the ring of lantern light.

"The Institute doesn't like that you're smart enough to reject them." Ash sighed. "It's my fault, really, I pressed for you to be the one we used, without knowing enough to know exactly what we planned to use you for."

"Your fault is unsurprising." Theo's face was impassive. "So they are going to murder me for rejecting them? What is it that I know and shouldn't?"

Ash blinked, dizzied both by the spin of the waltz and the rapidity that Theo had grasped what was going on. "The time travel theory--"

"--I was looking at that actually, it's less impossible than I previously thought--"

"--Yes, the Institute was counting on that. They were fair sure you, out of everyone, was smart enough to put two and four together and get six. They know the beginnings of the answers they want, but not enough. You may not yet, but you could, if you looked hard enough, if we gave you all the information." The waltz drew to a close, and Theo turned Ash in a gentle twirl.

"Fine. I appreciate the warning. I still don't like you, and I don't like that you've put me on full view as associating with the darling of the Institute." Theo stepped slightly further into the shadows. Her hand was still on Ashwater's arm, drawing her back as well. "And Karlos was not the only one who noticed we've got a fancy one here."

Ash swallowed nervously. "A fancy one?"

"Your dean has not been good to us. Used to be an easy buck, volunteering for scientific experiments, to find equipment. The 'robbers never used to get checked for tainted meat. The Runners could get anywhere they wanted in the city, so long as they were in uniform. And whores never used to have to skip the Third School when makin' their rounds." Theo's eyes met Ash, the same shimmering blue green as her coat. "The Underworld is not happy with the fancy ones. I'm not the one most likely to get killed here, not tonight."

Ash's words echoed Theo's --"I appreciate the warning." She glanced around, trying to see who was watching, and Theo shook her head sadly.

"Damn my conscience." she sighed softly. Ash didn't get a chance to ask before Theo wrapped her hands around her neck and leaned up to give her a sultry kiss. When Ash tried to struggle away, Theo dug her nails into the soft flesh dangerously. She pulled away after a moment, smiled sweetly, and grabbed Ash by the strand of pearls around her neck. "Come now, pretty!" she said, just a touch too loud. "Let's see if a fancy one like you really does have any worth."

"What are you doing?" Ash hissed through clenched teeth. Eyes had turned to stare at them, as Theo dragged Ash along, using the pearls as a leash. Ashwater could feel her cheeks flushing scarlet.

"Shutup, you pretty little pet." Theo raised a hand to slap Ash, who winced inadvertantly. "You wanted to know what it was like here, well you'll certainly find out tonight!" Theo gave a tug and dragged her further out of the light, towards an alleyway squeezed between two close buildings. They made it halfway before Theo let go with a disgusted shove, and spit angrily on the ground.

"What the HELL was that?!" Ashwater was practically livid, both at the humiliation and the pain.

"You wouldn't have made it out alive if I hadn't. And my reputation wouldn't have survived intact if I hadn't."

"I don't give a fuck about your reputation -lives are on the line here!"

"Yes, yours and mine." They reached the end of the alley, and Theo whirled to glare at Ashwater. "Look, if the Institute really is out to get me, I'm going to need people who will let me hide, not sell me for a cheap buck. They have to think I'm one of them, and if I rape an Institute girl, there's not going to be a question." She frowned, her eyes sweeping over Ash's frame. "Which reminds me. Your pearls, and your wallet please."

Ash's eyes were wide. "You're robbing me? Rape and robbery, is that really how the underworld runs?"

"The powerful parts, at least. Don't make me pull a knife on you to make you give them up, a few of them are still sober and cynical enough to not believe me without proof."

"I thought you were better. Isn't that why you rejected the Institute? You had a sense of ethics?"

"Oh, she does have a sense of ethics, missy." Ash jumped at the growl behind her, though Theo remained unfazed --of course she was unfazed, she could see down the alleyway still. "She's got a sense of ethics, and that's why you've still got on that pretty dress and that pretty pretty necklace." Ash turned slowly, it was the wolf she had seen earlier. "Dyou got a damn good explanation, girly?"

"I got a damn good explanation. And you might just have leverage over me for every social for the next century, damn the Institute." Theo sighed, and grabbed the back of Ash's necklace, undoing it deftly. "Thanks."

"But...I don't understand." Ash whimpered. "I never hurt you, I was never going to. I'm on your side."

"Fancy one, you're on the Institute's side. And you're an idiot for coming here out of masque." The wolf met eyes with Theo again, one of those long gazes that seemed to swap volumes of information. "I'll walk her home. I slipped off unnoticed, if you wanna go back."

Theo sighed at Ash's expression, or perhaps the threat of tears Ashwater could feel beginning to well. "Look, it's simple. The Underworld hates the fancy ones. You wouldn't have gotten back out as easily as you got in --torn apart for sport. I'm not powerful, but I keep a fair number of folk out there in easy coin, no one's gonna steal my kill, not if they don't want to deal with a full out row. I come back with your pearls and a satisfied grin, I mark myself as just that much more dangerous. And I mark you as someone who's been taken care of. One more from the Institute."

"What, and tomorrow when I'm alive and well, they won't figure out your plan?" Theo laughed. in response, harsh.

"Ashwater Green, go home, put as much jewelry into a bag as you can, and run. Because if I'm a wanted woman, and I'm not where I'm supposed to be, the Institute's gonna figure out someone tipped me off. And when the tabloids get posted tomorrow, with pictures of the jewel of the Institute dancing with some labcoat wearing gutterslut, someone's gonna look hard enough to put two and two together, and you're gonna be just as dead as me."

"A wanted woman?" the wolf frowned.

"It's been nice workin' with you." Theo said gravely. "Institute's got me on their blacklist. I'm too stupid to join 'em, and too smart to let live otherwise."

"Need a place to stay?" He seemed honestly concerned, though Ash wondered how much of that was calculating how exactly to profit best from the interaction.

"Just the night." Theo turned, "And anyways, once those pictures get posted, you're gonna be a danger to the Institute anyways. Can't have our perfectly raised house-brat off cavorting with undesirables, now can we?"

"How are you so sure about pictures, any...ways..." Ash trailed off as both Theo and the wolf burst out laughing. "Fine. Fine! Fuck, where do I go?"

Theo shrugged. "Damned if I know." She draped the pearls around her neck and fastened the clasp. "It's not my problem. Bye fancy one. Have fun." She turned, and sauntered back up the alley, a spring in her step.

"C'mon, where do you live. Sooner I can get you dumped off, sooner I can go make sure girly's okay." The wolf's tones were gruff, he grabbed her arm and began walking briskly back towards the civilized parts of the city. Ashwater didn't bother arguing. Her mind was still too busy reeling at Theo's words.

I intend to write a little bit more at the start up here, giving an establishing shot of Theo's house. And the fact that she has hobos living outside her house. Making the hobo *slightly* less random. SHUT UP, IT'S WRIMO. I AM ALLOWED TO USE PLOT DEVICES!

Um, wherever the fuck this is set, it is kindof a scientocracy. No, that's not a real word. Butyeah. Scientists are the ruling class, or at least, the Institute is thus

It...gets weird, somewhere in the middle here. Whatever.

Underworld dancing is to the fancy ones dancing as Scottish Country is to English Country, or something like that. The Underworld has steps, and more flirting. The fancy ones are ALL ABOUT the mathematical patterns, and lookin' purty.

THE STORY IS GETTING SOMEWHERE, IE, I WANTED IT TO BE A BUDDY COMEDY IN THE FIRST PLACE! SWEET!

Also, I will probably eventually replace time travel with something else, but it makes a good be all end all for science.

Let's Do This Thing
Today: 2,575
Previous: 4,080
Total: 6,655
Left to write: 43,345

LET'S DO THIS THING! Day 2

2009-11-03T16:58:30Z

I wrote a LOT more yesterday than I did the day before. I also, if you don't read my twitter, did not have anything even resembling a plot, and bitched about that endlessly. I will probably continue to bitch about that endlessly. Until I find a plot, and rewrite the entire thing, at least.

Of course, the grand majority of students in the class were practically salivating, hanging on to the "doctor's" every word, though whether that was due to her ample curves or fake prestige, Theo couldn't tell. She made a point of digging out her design book and working on the plans she had been making for a resurrected flesh human --sure, it had been done before, but not recently, and she was convinced she could come up with a more functional design. The class flew by around her, and she was startled by the ring of the bell.

"Let's all thank Dr. Green for coming in!" Her teacher, Miss Chevley smiled inspidly at the class, who whooped and hollered. People rose from their seats, a few sane souls wandering out to their next class, but the majoirty clustering around the bodacious blonde, asking questions and begging attention.

"Miss Darcy!" The words were not a statement, but a demand, Theo winced in the doorway, and turned slowly back into the room to face Miss Chevley. Miss Chevley merely smiled, though the expression was clearly faked, and beckoned Theo over. "Hello Miss Darcy. Did you enjoy Dr. Green's discussion of the institute?"

Most of the other students were starting to leave, and Theo was suddenly painfully aware of the precense of the blonde just a few feet away. "It was a very good discussion, I'm sure, but I have no plans to attend the institute at this time." She smiled thinly at Mrs. Chevley. "Just let me leave, damn you" ran through her head.

Dr. Green gasped. "No plans? But, but..." she fluttered over, all aghast. "Oh, Sabrina, this is the girl you mentioned, yes? My dear child, if your talents are anything close to what they are rumoured to be, you would be a most welcome addition!"

Mrs. Chevley --Sabrina, apparently, Theo hadn't ever known that-- frowned slightly. "Yes, Theodora is indeed a talented student. Most especially in the realms of biology and physics, though I'm told she has hardly a head for chemistry. But she's always been...convinced she was too good for your Institute." Theo felt her teacher's eyes burn through her. "You would do great things. It is a great school."

"So I'm told" Theo muttered darkly. She curtsied to Miss Green, and smiled fakely at Mrs Chevley. "But I plan on an alternate path once I've graduated second-school. And I apologize, but I really must get to class." She turned, and stalked darkly to the door, irritated that Mrs. Chevley had thought to call her out specifically to the flighty representative of the failing Institute. Sure, she had never really gotten on well with Mrs. Chevley, but she had thought them to have a truce of sorts --she shut up when they used the older, less effective methods in class, and Mrs. Chevley didn't fail her on tests on principle.

She was stopped in the doorway once more, this time by a firm hand on her shoulder. It was of course, lily white, and nicely manicured --it just wouldn't do for the fake Dr. Green to have chemical staining or scars from a mechanical accident atwixt her pretty fingers. Theo turned, ready to just give up on politeness, and found herself locked in those green eyes.

"Piecemeal flesh resurrection, correct? Your notes looked interesting, but I think you're forgetting the difficulties of meeting minor arteries and veins. Perhaps you may want to get your arms and hands from the same source, so you don't have to match at the wrists?" Dr. Green squeezed past, and walked down the hall, leaving Theo for a moment, agape.

She shook her head as the students of Mrs. Chevley's next class started to press past her. The doctor was wrong, of course --using the same source for the arms and hands would defeat the very purpose of matching the most talented body parts together. Plus, Theo was sure she had a better technique for connecting blood vessels than the old method of sewing them together. The bimbo probably didn't know a thing of what she was talking about --she was probably just parroting the latest issue of High Science or something.

Secure in her superiority once more, Theo strode off to her next class.

***

"Really Ashwater. A high school student?" Ash nodded, her mouth full of hairpins as she quickly braided her hair. She caught the last bit of it, and turned to the dean of students, her eyes matching his firmly. He scowled. "A high school student. Completely untrained --and from the sounds of it, has no interest in even joining the institute at a level where we could use her help."

Taking the last of the pins from her mouth, Ash matched his scowl stubbornly. "I'll figure out something. Full ride, maybe -she looked poor. But I've talked to all her teachers, and she's far more clever than any high school student has any right to be. And she's a perfect match for what we need --few friends, doesn't get along well with her parents, a loner...if anyone's going to be okay with just leaving all of this for however long it needs to be, it will be her."

"Yes but..." the Dean sighed. "Ashwater, honey, this is a big job. We need the best, and we need them to be trained to be the best. Potential is meaningless if we have to stop every twenty minutes to answer inane questions that would've been covered in her freshman core classes. I mean, I'm sure she's talented, her file seems to indicate that, but she's so...rough!"

"Rough? Yeah, and who do you propose? A recent graduate? Someone in their senior year? There's no one here who actually knows how to create, everyone just does what their told and repeats the experiments from a thousand years ago."

"There are plenty of innovative students in this class! You don't even know them, you're so busy with your job--"

"--My job?!" Ashwater interrupted, trying hard not to scream or swear. "I'm sorry, is that my job of looking pretty and getting stupid rich boys to get into the Institute? Because lately, that's all I've been doing. I haven't gotten a chance for my own experiments in months!"

"Your JOB." the Dean explained tersely. "Is public relations. You are a public mouthpiece of the Institute. Your JOB is to establish us as a desirable third-school option, so that we have the largest pool of applicants to choose from."

"My job is to look pretty and earn you money. You asshole, this isn't what my grandfather would've wanted at all." Ashwater turned and stalked out of the office, immediately regretting the action. She was the youngest person in the employ of the Institute by at least a dozen years, and had a hard enough time getting respect without throwing tantrums. She would've felt worse to go back in and apologize, however, so she instead stalked out to the gardens, darkly pleased by the numb cold and the dead plants scattered about.

"Geeba, I'm an idiot." She sat on a cold marble bench, pleased at how destructive she felt. Her voice pitched high in mocking "My grandfather wouldn't have wanted the Institute like this. My grandpa always said. My grandda made this institute. Dr. Forrester Green --my grandfather." A fat tear fell on her hand, and she swore, rubbing at her eyes. "A stupid useless idiot." she muttered, and sniffled. "Yeah, great job, Ashy. Convince the Dean that you've got the maturity of a twelve year old, he'll be sure to support your decisions then. Stupid stupid STUPID!"

She sighed, burying her face in her hands. For probably the billionth time in the six years since he had perished, she wished her Grandfather was still alive.

***

Ashwater stayed outside for as long as she could bear it, ignoring the part of her brain that pointed out quite reasonably the using the cold to punish herself wasn't really all that much mature than storming out of an argument. As her nose stopped running from the tears, and started running from the weather, she went inside to get her bag from the office and go home.

The first thing people always noticed about her apartment was the size. Being the grandchild of the most prestigious scientist to ever live in this city, people always expected a spaceious affair, possibly with clockwork servants or flashy genetic-hybrids lounging about as pets. Her apartment was small though, and shared, making the space seem even tighter. Half of Ashwater's housemate was lounging across the pile of cushions that comprised the furniture in the social room, reading a book of fairy tales and taking copious notes --the other half sounded to be in the kitchen, making tea.

"Heyla, pretty." Ash called, setting her things in her room. "How're you?"

"A damn sight better than you, dear. You never did learn how to cry well, did you?" Out of the kitchen bustled a dark skinned woman, her hair shorn so short as to leave her almost bald. She held out a cup of tea. "You need this more than I do, don't you?"

"No, I'm fine, really." The woman on the cushions rose and walked to stand next to herself, Shanna had been born twins, but one had drowned at age thirteen. Having a parent who worked in the Institute was not always a blessing, as Shan could attest --they hadn't been able to save the girl's mind, but they resurrected her body, splitting Shanna's consciousness between the two bodies. It was highly experimental at the time, and no one had since bothered to figure out how to reverse the effect, leaving the girl stretched across two halves. At least she didn't tend to forget which eyes she was looking through, and crash into things anymore.

Shanna passed the cup back and forth between herself, taking long sips. Four eyes stared curious at Ash, and she sighed. "You're not gonna let me up until I tell you about what an idiot I am, are you?"

"No, probably not." As comforting as it was that Shan trusted Ash enough to speak from both voiceboxes at once around her --her natural mode of speaking-- it always caused a slight echo and dissonance in the back of Ash's brain. Despite having lived together for most of the last decade, there were still some things that were very hard to wrap her brain around. "So?"

"I...had an argument with the Dean. And he rubbed me the wrong way, and I stormed out."

"Mature."

"Shut up. I just...he frustrates me so much! He's too stupid to see how badly the Institute's doing right now, and he just doesn't care, not about it, not about the students, not about science..."

"Just about profit, and making sure more young men get accepted than female." Ash's head snapped at that last bit, and she frowned, eyeing Shanna nervously.

"What do you mean? The Institute accepts the best, it doesn't pay attention to physical characteristics..."

"They released the latest student roll list today, for the spring semester. We took the liberty of going through the list to check, but yes. The split between natural males and natural females is growing wider. I've been noticing this trend for several years, though I'm afraid it's getting worse as time slips by."

Ash sighed. "We?" she asked, not knowing what else to say in response.

Both heads nodded, in unison --it was always lovely to watch Shanna work in tandem with her two bodies, though she tried to avoid doing it around others. "I'm getting better at doing separate things with separate halves. Hence the tea."

"Yeah, I noticed. That's wonderful, Shan." Ash ran a hand comfortingly along one of Shanna's cheeks. It had taken time to stop feeling guilty about only showing affection to one body at any given point, but Shanna had eventually convinced her that hugging each body didn't do anything to her but give her two hugs.

"What was the argument about?" Shan asked, each body taking one of Ash's hands and leading her to sit between them on the cushions. Ash winced slightly at the stereo vocalizations, and Shanna blushed slightly. She froze for a moment, determining which body was which, before having the body closer to the fairy tales return to the book.

Ash turned fully to face Shanna's free half before responding. "I...parts of it are secret, and I wish I could tell you, but...you know how the Institute is."

"Stubborn, unyielding, and idiotic. And once they have an experiment, they will stop at nothing to see it through."

"Right, and heaven forbid there's even the slightest chance of someone stealing their research. Well, they need someone extremely clever to do the next bit --they're smart enough to know that, despite not being smart enough to do it themselves. For a Scientific Institute, there are an awful lot of morons. But Sabrina --you remember Sabrina, she's working as a second-school teacher?-- has a student who she claims would be perfect, and I met her today, and...she's got it. She really does."

"A second-school student smarter than the whole of the Institute. Smarter even than the professors, perhaps?"

"Oh, you know how the professors are, Shan. It's like when we were there, but the bad ones have just gotten older, and the good ones have just left. Really, the Institute is getting to be a bit of a joke. But it's more than just smarter, she has an idea of how things work that none of the professors do. According to Sabrina, she teaches herself, or uses the old texts to learn --Sabrina showed me some of the girl's tests, and their just fantastic --she knows shortcuts that I had to beg Grandpa to teach me, and still only half understand some days."

"But she's a girl child, and your dean doesn't seem to have an interest in using such things for delicate experimentation." Ash winced again at the accusation of sexism, and shook her head.

"She doesn't want to join the Institute, and the Dean doesn't want her anyways, because she's too young. He'll understand if he meets her, but she's so stubbornly against us...I don't get it. Every one of her classmates practically swooned when I introduced myself. She just rolled her eyes."

Shanna laughed. "And what does this girl look like? Like you? Or like your grandfather."

That caused Ashwater to pause. She was still in her work outfit --a long swishing skirt and tight green shirt that her breasts threatened to spill out of. Sure, she wore a labcoat, but it was ornamental --pristine white, without the faintest of rips or wear. Her grandfather would've laughed, and shooed her out of the lab if she had tried to experiment in such clothing. "She's short. Shorter than me, and she's slim enough that I was scared of breaking her when I touched her. And dressed like Grandfather on an adventuring day, all brown and pockets and scowl." Ash frowned. "Could I have scared her off?"

Shanna shrugged. "She sounds like she is not a beauty queen. You may have made her insecure there alone. Though if she truly is clever as well as intelligent, she may very well think you're an idiot."

"I am an idiot. I am supposed to be an idiot. I am supposed to smile and nod and encourage children to come visit our school, yes isn't that nice. I'm the granddaughter of Forrester Green, and nothing else matters, now does it?" Ash sighed. "She probably does think I'm an idiot."

Shanna hugged her. "You're more than just some man's granddaughter, my dear. But the role you are paid to play is not the same as the role you are meant to fulfill, and that is not always to your benefit."

Ashwater slumped back. "I suppose you're right. I just wish I didn't have to always worry about being the mouthpiece. I've got cousins, why can't one of them be the jewel of the Institute?"

"Because you were your grandfather's favourite." Shanna said gravely. Ash signed, but nodded. She was right.

***

Theo sighed as the graverobber flopped against the door in a disheveled sort of manner. "C'mon, Artie." she begged. "Nothing in fresh? I don't even care what parts!"

He shook his head. "Sorry girly. Ain't nobody died in my neck of the woods. Means there ain't no parts." Artie didn't really rob graves, of course -the name graverobber was just a holdover from days past. Most would've called him a Mortician, of sorts, but when Theo was twelve, and attending her first funeral he had introduced himself as a graverobber with a bawdy wink. And like his archaic counterparts, he did specialize in selling bodies -whole and in parts- to those who'd pay.

"Damn your ethics!" she muttered, and he laughed. Artie's ethics were the only reason Theo travelled most of the way across the city to see him, instead of going to one of the three or four closer robbers. While it was against the law to sell "tainted meat" --corpses who hadn't been processed by the police to ensure a non-homicidal death-- when robbers got too backlogged or too greedy, the bodies would vanish faster than the officials could check 'em. And once a body had been used in an experiment, it almost never could be linked back to the original owner.

"Why you so hellbent on fresh meat, girly? You know I cryo everything as soon as it gets in. Three or four weeks ain't too bad --good for decomp experiments, yeah?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to run decomp, I want to run piecemeal resurrection! Artie's laugh was not comforting. "Oh shut up. I'm close to putting it all together, I know I am!"

"Tell you what, girly." Artie patted her sweetly on the head, earning himself a scowl. "You playact a lady for me in three weeks, I'll call you the second my next few are done process. Deal?"

Theo groaned at the idea, every few months, Artie got invited to a graverobber's social, and since his stubborn pride wouldn't let him show up single, he swapped her favours for showing up as his date. Three weeks from now was the Royale Assembly --not that the graverobbers had royalty-- and he had been asking her every time for near a month.

"It's an underworld dance, Artie. I hate the underworld, they're all scum!"

"Eh, I'll keep you safe from the bad ones. And the good ones would be good for you to know, wouldn't they girly? Dr. Green used to show at all the good parties. We know how to find the things he can't." Graverobbers had been legalized a few decades back, meaning they were technically no longer part of the underworld, but the job was often filled by romantics, people who found the idea of selling the dead dark and appealing. But Artie was right, the rest of the underworld could be of use --certainly they could get her chemicals and equipment faster than going through official channels.

"Okay, fine, but you have to call me for the next five, at least. And hold them for me, if I tell you."

He smirked. "Can do, girly."

"And Artie, can't you get a girlfriend already? I hate getting all grunged up for these things."

He just laughed. Strangely enough, graverobbers almost never got girlfriends.

***

"So, dear, how was school?" Theo sighed, she would much rather have taken her dinner to her room and eaten there than answer her mother's questions, but, such antisocial behaviour would be labelled as "bad", and she would have to go visit the cooing psychologist, who urged her to discuss her feelings.

"It was lovely. After school, some friends and I went to the movies. We're planning another formal dinner soon, I'd appreciate something to contribute to funding it." The lies slipped off her tongue one by one --after all, they were the same lies Theo had been telling her mother since the very end of first school. Her parents were richer than they were smart, which meant that the money given to her to attend movies, dances, and parties went instead to paying Artie, or buying back issues of scientific journals. Every once in a while, Theo thought about trying to make friends, but she was one of the oldest in her class --her parents had foolishly believed in giving her a "childhood", just another way they tried to compensate for paying little actual attention to her-- and so she hadn't started school until the latest she possibly could, at age six, being dumped into a classroom where everyone else knew the basics they had been taught, and not the semi-complex science she had been teaching herself.

They had let her into the higher level classes, eventually, and she had zipped through second school --this was technically her third "last year". If it hadn't been for the fourteen year requirement, she would've been long gone to some decent third school or starting out on her planned scientific explorations.

"So, I hear that your school had a representative from the Institute today. What do you think?" Theo's father was just as vapid as her mother --if it wasn't for the prestige in joining the Institute, he wouldn't have cared at all.

"Oh, I doubt they'd take me. She was nice enough though."

Neither parent noticed Theo's rolled eyes.

***

[REEL MISSING OR SOMETHING. SERIOUSLY, IT IS HARD TO GET TO THE ACTION!]

A/N: First school = until about age 11, Second school = until about age 20. Third school happens after. Theo is in the last year of second school. You are required to get fourteen years of schooling, most of it happens with a 7/7 split, but some parents drop children immediately into first school, in the hopes that they'll be able to faster get through third school (college).

"Reel Missing" is a term I picked up from artemisfowl2nd. It means that, eventually, I will write that bit, as I know what I want it to do, but I can't figure it out just now.

Yes, the dance Artie is inviting Theo to is just an excuse to write in some quadrilles. Yes, Artie is much older than Theo --The's about 19 or 20, Artie's in his late thirties. Ash is 26. Shanna is 28 or 29 or early thirties.

Shanna is awesome and hard to explain --she's a hivemind, essentially. The two bodies she controls move primarily in tandem, over the past half dozen years, she's started to actively work at separating what she does with which half of herself. Her eventual goal (though she's not ever told anyone this) is to get herself separated enough that she can actually start to develop separate personalities for the separate bodies. She's not really hopeful that this will work, though.

Ash is ultimately an optimist, and kinda spoiled, though she at least realizes this. Theo is deeply a cynic, and thinks that's just because she's smarter than everyone else. Artie is scruffy but trustworthy. Shanna is completely fucked up with regards to social interactions, and knows it, and tries to sort it, but has very up and very down days.

And for visual reference, Shanna is black, Theo is essentially Indian (black hair, blue-green eyes, dusky-copper skin), Ash is completely Aryan (the blonde hair/green eyes didn't cue you?) Artie is Italian --dark hair, a lot of five o clock shadow, swarthy skin. I don't quite know who besides Theo and Ashwater are going to be important characters yet.

And of course, "Indian" and "Italian" don't do jackshit, as I don't have a setting yet. I'm pretty sure I'm not writing towards Earth, and I think it's tilted a few hundred years back (note the lack of internet). I don't *think* there's going to be magic magic, just technology that is essentially magic. Ash may still have some sort of telepathy, we'll see.

YAY STORY!

Let's Do This Thing
Today: 3,642
Previous: 438
Total: 4,080
Left to write: 45,920

LET'S DO THIS THING!

2009-11-02T17:47:05Z

So, this is my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel. Until I figure out an actual title for it, I'm going to do the same thing I did with my 2006 novel, and just name it after the first thing I wrote down in the file.

Or, to be specific "Let's Do This Thing!"

This is yesterday's output --no, it's not much. The first section is the rough beginning of the story, the next bits are my original description of Ashwater, which I decided is instead much more fitting for what Theo looks like, and a confession that Theo makes to Ashwater at some point much later, once I actually get the story turning into a buddy movie, like I kinda want it to.

Soyeah.

She walked into the room, her carefully contained enthusiasm threatening to bubble over. "Hello!" she chirped -yes, chirped really was the only word to describe the intonation, made with a bright smile and wide innocent eyes. She continued, her voice not dropping. "My name is Doctor Ashwater Green, of the Forrester Green Scientific Institute. That was my grandfather, of course." she added the last bit almost as an afterthought, like perhaps she had forgotten the fact.

Or like perhaps she thought it would be obvious, though she looked very little like her grandfather. He had been broad shouldered, tall, and muscular -from back when the scientists had to be competent enough adventurers just to get their experimental components. His granddaughter had grown up pampered, though -the toast of the Institute. She had generous curves, broad hips, and blonde hair that cascaded down her back in waves. The only similarity was the eyes -both her and her grandfather had the same sparkling green eyes, just full of life and creativity.

Theo rolled her eyes. The bimbo was here for a very specific purpose --to drag people to join the cushy "scientific institute". She'd yet to see any proper scientific knowledge revealed from there since Dr. Green --the ONLY Dr. Green, she thought with a cynical grin- had passed away, six years ago. No, these days the Institute was simply an excuse to part wealthy teenagers from their parents money. It promised nice rooms, spacious labs, all the chemicals and equipment you could ever need...which wouldn't be a problem, except most of her peer group was too dumb to figure out how to use it on their own, and for all the prestige the Institute attracted, it had very few actually good teachers in residence. All the TRUE scientists who had been invited to join had declined, in the interests of being able to do their work out in the field, like they were meant to. So the teachers at the Institute were generally too old to have any fun, or too young to really know what they were doing. Definitely not the place for her.

She was short -short even for a woman- and slim enough that she looked to break if you breathed too hard. They had the same dark hair though, worn back in

Your grandfather was my hero. I wanted to be you. I wanted to be you from the moment I knew he had kids, from the moment I knew he had a granddaughter not much older than myself. Every parade, every celebration, everything you hated about being put up on display, I wanted.

ENJOY!

Let's Do This Thing
Today: 438
Previous: --
Total: 438
Left to write: 49,562

The Lazarus Problem

2008-07-26T06:28:09Z

Soyeah, I have a pony now. Swing made him for me!

I wrote this story in order to introduce him to the Snowtown canon, where katter!Sor goes off to play.

Enjoy!

***

The Lazarus Problem:

The Katters had a problem.

Her problem was small and fairly round and red. It had a tan patch on its forehead and glittery eyes. Four hooves, and a black and red mane, and a long black tail.

It had a name too. Lazarus. Lazarus the -she hissed at the mere thought- the pony.

If it had been just a pony in general, at the pony farm or independently owned, there wouldn't have been a problem. It's not like she harboured any specific animosity against ponies in general. Just this one specifically.

Because this one, this pony, belonged to Sor.

***

Sor had procured the pony a week earlier, refusing to give any information on where or how she had gotten it. It's not like it really mattered -if someone had sold it to her, The Katters would wreck their business. If it had been a gift, she would kill the giver. No, the Katters didn't care where it was from.

She cared where it was going to. Pony hell, or heaven, or purgatory, or wherever dead damn ponies went. Katters was going to kill this damn thing, and prove to Sor once and for all that she could NOT HAVE A PONY.

She was going to kill it. Hell, she *had* killed it. One small problem --the fucking thing just wouldn't die.

***

She had started by shooting it. When that hadn't had any lasting effect, she had snapped the things neck. Twice, even. She had followed that up by hanging the damn thing, but as soon as Sor got it down, the pony had been back to its nefarious living ways. Kat's most recent attempt was to sprinkle poison into the pony's food, but all THAT had achieved was Sor moving the makeshift stable to somewhere more secret --in rather a huffy manner, too.

So the problem remained. Sor had a pony. And it was alive. This could simply just not be.

The Katters cracked her knuckles. Good. A challenge. She *loved* a good challenge...

Fox Run --notes and a beginning

2008-06-18T05:19:12Z

Fox Run:

He pets me, his hand sliding down my back. Of course he does, I earn him money. That's the only reason why he loves me. I don't think he knows I know.
We're at a party. I recognize a good number of the other subs from my races. That pig tries to splatter mud in your eyes, that horse is skittish in water. The only subs I don't recognize are the other foxes. I don't race against the other foxes. Who would watch it?
A tidbit, oh how kind. I chew on the treat restlessly, until my eyes meet those of the fattest pig I've ever seen. Oh, delicious. The glory of the races, the thrill of the races, I would trade in a heartbeat for the chance to eat a pig. I catch myself before I start to drool. If I drooled on my masters second skin again, he would likely get rid of me. And then there would be no love and no treats. More important, then there would be no racing.
I flinch away as a horse snuffles at my head. My master swats the horse away, and another master comes over to apologize. The horses master. I stare at the horse, wishing I could look haughty. Subs are not permitted to look haughty.
::I'm sorry.:: the horse says to me. ::I did not mean to make your master angry with me::
::You snuffled at my head. I didn't like it:: I stand, carefully on my masters lap.
::I didn't mean to upset you.:: The horse does seems genuinely sorry. He is very good at Communicating emotions as well as just words. ::I just wanted to meet you. My master says that I race against you tomorrow.::
I tilt my head to the left. I am not so good at Communicating emotions, and so must use body clues whenever possible. ::Your master told you that?::
::Of course. Who else would tell me that?::
::Does your master not have lesser masters?::
The horse paused for a long moment, to stare patiently at his master. Our masters were talking ambically, now, apologies having been made and accepted. The horse wickered quietly, causing his master to turn to him.
I do not know whether I or my master is more shocked that his master has responded to this inturruption. A sub is never to inturrupt his or her master. It is not done.
His master turned to both of us, and let me hear his words. :"I'm sorry...you don't talk to your racefox directly? I confess, I find that strange":
My master did not let me hear my reply, as fit our relationship. The horse narrows his eyes at that. Strange beast, to expect that courtesy from a master.
:"Oh pish-tosh. You people and your determination that the racebeasts should be treated like lesser beings. What's so bad about treating them like they have brains once in a while? It's not like they don't.":
My master picks me up at that and places me on his shoulder. I catch glimpse of the horse's master as we leave. He looks hurt.

***

It is a race day.
It is a race day, and to my left there is a pig, and to my right there is the horse from the night before.
::Hello.:: he says, and I start.
::You talked to me::
::Yes. Why wouldn't I?::
::You're not focusing for the race.::
He wickered, sounding like a laugh. ::I'm as focused as I get. It's only a race.::
I stared at him.
::..Is something wrong?:: he asked politely.
::It is never -just- a race.::
::Sure it is. Even if I do not win this one, there will be other races.::
::But surely you will be punished for losing!:: I had caused many other subs to be punished. It was something I was proud of. It was also something that scared me.
::Nope!:: The horse looked smug. I had never known a sub to look smug.
::You will not be punished?::
::My master thinks there are more important things to worry about.::

*************

Fox Run is a story based on a dream. It's not meant to be a BDSM analogy, I swear.

I think what it's going to be is a story about revolution. It's also not meant to be a racism analogy, though it's probably going to sound a lot like that. I don't think the sub population are going to demand civil right as much as realize that they're able to have them.

One thing I am pleased about the story thus far, and I hope you noticed, is that the horses master refers to subs as raceanimals, not subs. This is pretty much unheard of kindness --the master population knows damn well that subs are intelligent and sapient, and if they choose, they can talk to them, they just don't. Subs are lesser beings. *Everyone* knows that.

As an interesting side note, that horse is possibly the only named sub --I haven't gotten far enough for him to ask Fox what her name is, and to tell her that his name is Hercules. Both will be surprised by the other's answer --Hercules forgets that most subs are not treated like people, as he is, and Fox is utterly boggled by the idea that a sub would be referred to by a name and not a species.

None of the above actually occurred in the dream. The dream was strictly a portion of a race.

Races in the world of Fox Run are a Very Big Deal. Each race takes place between one each of a pig, a fox, and a horse. Somehow, this is fair --horses are not as powerful in Fox Run as they are on Earth, I think, and the racetrack always goes both through flatlands, where pigs have an advantage (apparently pigs are *very* fast on flat land) and through woods, where foxes have an advantage, due to their agility. I do not know what sort of terrain horses have an advantage on yet, but the course will go through some of that too.

Fox (as I call her, but of course that's not her real name) is one of the best racefoxes in the area, however large it may be. She is nearly as fast as some pigs, and can swim almost as well as a horse (I think water is where horses are strongest.) And she is very, *very* good at climbing. I know this direct from my dream --I/she had to climb a ninety degree section of path, digging my/her claws into the mud to pull my/herself up.

Fox is unnamed, officially establishing that as a trope in my total sorcy!canon. The quintessential example is the heroine of Royal Blue Eyes, who is neither named nor described anywhere in the story. I keep flirting with the idea of making the RBE heroine gender ambiguous as well, but the pentultimate murder in that story currently relies on her being female. The two stories don't actually have anything in common besides that fact, I just thought it was interesting that I have such a thing for unnamed leads.

The only other thing I feel like saying right now is a note on Communicating. All beings in Fox Run can Communicate with one another --essentially just your generic speaking mind to mind. Communication is marked by double colons before and after the words Communicated, ::like so::.

When speaking to your own species, all species speak normally, with the standard quotation marks. If something is marked by just quotation marks, it means only members of that species can hear it.

When talking to a group of both your own and other species, all species use a combination of normal speech and Communication. That is marked by a colon followed by a quotation mark before the words, and the reverse after. Hercules's master commonly uses this method of speech, another thing that marks him as unusual. Usually this sort of communication only occurs in groups of assorted subs.

I think that's all for now.

K.Whimsy
MOOP!

Writing Dump...from the PAST!

2008-05-14T19:20:59Z

Hey kiddos, it's shitty poetry day here at the Kattales!

Well, not just poetry. In short, I'm cleaning through my giant evil stack of papers, and I've decided to try and whittle it down to a reasonable number, by recycling things liberally. But some of the things I want to recycle have words I'd like to save. And if I'm typing them up anyways, I might as well post them here, yeah?

[Authors notes in brackets. Warning, I left all grammar and spelling as it was on the original. Considering some of this dates back to middle school and perhaps earlier, this may have rendered things unreadable on my part. We'll see.]

*************

Dear Emily

How is my duckling? Please tell your mother that I am very sorry I had to leave. I have joined an actors troupe and we will be visiting Ztotzty in a week. Wanna come? I'm dying to see how old you've gotten.

Hugs and Love
Ar

[This was a bit from a sci-fi story I was writing. I have no idea how you pronounce the word 'Ztotzy']

*************

Once upon a time a long long time ago there was a beautiful, old crane who lived on a mountain. the old crane was very lonley because she had no friends except the wind and that made her extreemly sad. One day when the wind asked her why she was so sad she just looked at the wind and said that you were great company but she missed childrens laughter. And that gave the wind an idea. The next day the wind did not come to see her and she started to cry. She cried until suddenly she hered the beautiful music only cranes can make. She looked up and saw that the wind had brung children for her. And they all lived happily ever after.

[Written in middle school. I think I was going to make an origami mobile with lots of pretty cranes or something, and this was the story to go with it? I got nothing.]

*************

[Hokay. So, I'm going to lj-cut this one, because it's an incredibly shitty poem about cutting yourself.

Seriously, if self-injury bothers you, scares you, or will trigger you, don't read this. If incredibly shit-tastic middle school emo bothers you, scared you, or will trigger you, again, don't read this.

And the standard disclaimer: I never intentionally cut myself, ever. I'm dead serious when I said that, I think about it occasionally (Even as recently as in the last six months) but I've never actually done it. I really really don't know why I wrote this, other than 'I was depressed and wanted to'.

The knife is silver soft and cold
it's held against my skin
then slowly as if in a dream
I press the knife in

My eyes drop with tears
As I slowly slit my wrist
The blood slides down my pale white arm,
it's blood that won't be missed

Blood and tears mix and mingle
Blood and tears are my pain
Blood and tears let me die
As I try to kill my pain -again
Blood and tears fall before me
As I try to end my life again

[Even though the meter on some of this is epicfail, past!me somehow managed to figure out that the ending it had was complete shit and rewrite it. Still complete shit, but at least slightly less so.]

*************

I am a bossy cow, kid.
because my name is bossy
I will boss you around, kid
because my name is bossy

I was going to be named Bessie, kid
but my name is now bossy
It changed because I said so, kid.
so my name is bossy

My cousin was the first one kid.
the first one to be named bossy
We was named by Keith kid
and we've all become bossys

there are lots of us in the world kid.
Lots of cows named bossy
but I am the bossiest cow of all kid.
for I am the best bossy.

so bow to me I am the best kid
I'm the boss bossy
I have the biggest additude kid
I am the ruler of BOSSEYS

[So, we have this cow, Bossy. The original Bossy belongs to Keith Baker, creator of Eberron and my uncle. During the Big Trip in 2000, our Bossy came along, and I was very into the rivalry between the two cows. So, I wrote my Bossy a poem. Yeeeah, shut up, I was...ten.]

*************

FeoKessiGryfWrenLarkOwnRobiFinch +Spaaaaarooooow!

The Vambry Birds

M-Gryffin (17)
F-Feonix (14)
F-Kestrael (16)
F-Wren (12)
F-Lark(twin) (10)
F-Owl(twin) (10)
F-Robin (9)
M-Finch (7)
F-Sparrow (6)
M-Hawk (23)

Mom - Janna
Dad - Dionyssius

[Pretty clearly a story idea I never did anything with. Done during my most recent trip to Disney World --end of ninth grade, maybe?

There was a period of time in early high school where I was very big on making family trees. That probably spawned this, at least a little.]

*************

K.Whimsy
MOOP!

katarina_tales @ 2008-01-28T18:23:00

2008-01-28T23:48:31Z

College. Ah, college, the best of the best, the greatest of the greatest. Where you go to find yourself or lose yourself or change yourself. Just as long as the you coming out is not the same as the you going in.

There are magik based schools in every dimension of the Spectrum, but one school towers above the rest, in terms of prestige. You get accepted to the Sorcyrium* and suddenly every backwater magician knows your name.

See, the trick with the Sorcyrium is that they only take the best. You can't bribe or threaten your way in and it doesn't matter how connected you are. If you can figure out the application (which is a whole test by itself) and send it in, you've just been given the same chance as every other majik user in the Spectrum.

I somehow made it. I'm the first registered Tonya healer to ever show up at this place, and they don't know WHAT to do with me.

I'm also the only person at the entire school who's not utterly thrilled to be there.

Don't get me wrong, I love that they pay the tuition and I'm sure they'll train me right. But it's the end of the first day of classes, and I've just had to deal with the same stupid thing six times (And it'll happen thrice more tomorrow, I suspect.) I get into class. The teacher asks us for our name and discipline. I say I'm a Tonya and the entire class breaks up. If I'm lucky, it's hushed whispers and giggles behind hands. If I'm not? Well, in my Gen. History class, I had a guy shout "Who let the slut in?". Even the teacher started snickering, it was really empowering.

So, I'm sitting here, alone in the corner of the dining hall, picking at a plate of garlic mashed potatoes and french toast (don't judge me by my comfort food.)

A scrawny boy with electrifying blue eyes walked up and gave me an awkward little wave. "Anyone sitting here?" he asked, with an exaggerated smile. I recognized him from my Empathy class and sighed.

"I'm not actually a slut, I'll have you know. I don't have very much sex at all, as I actually specilize in sorting out sexual trauma cases. Even if I were more of a whore, I don't give out my services for free, and I choose my clients exceedingly carefully."

He blinked, and set his tray down across from me. "Okay. I'm gay, and, being a direct descendent of the Arbi monarchy, I'm even less welcome to sit anywhere than you are." I raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Arbis, they were widely recognized as one of the worst ruling classes in any dimension, ever. They had been bad enough that a sizable conspiracy had formed, and organized a complicated time travel saga in order to assassinate the king who had started it all off.

The boy sat, and extended a hand. "I'm Nicholas, but please, call me Nich." I shrugged and shook his hand.

"I suppose I'm not going to make any other friends here. I'm Hikarenn, call me Kari." He grinned and dug into his food. "Alright, I suppose we might as well get the awkward stuff out of the way first. How the hell did an Arbien prince get into the Sorcyrium?"

"If you spend all your time being avoided by other people, you'd read a lot too. I'm a pure Spellen, I've taught myself as much as I possibly could, and apparently it was enough to get accepted here. My turn for awkward questions, just how old are you anyways, and how in the Spectrum did you get into Tonya-healing?"

"I'm not THAT young!" I cried indignantly. "I'm twenty-three, and a pure Tonya. I've been working with victims of sexual abuse for...fifteen years now? Yeah, fifteen. My mother runs a brothel, and one day one of her ladies dragged in this broken little bit. I was brought over just because we were about the same age at the time, but I actually managed to pretty much stabilize the girl. That's when they realized I had Tonya-power, so they just kept me doing that until I hit my One and Half, and then I went and learned the rest of it." I shrugged

"Past five years have been turning tricks and going to a Mundi college. Only just cracked the application code last year, and somehow actually got admitted. Kinda wish I hadn't."

Nich nodded, and took a long sip from a mug of tea. "Right with you there. You at least can pretend you're just hot, there is no spell in the Spectrum that is able to hide my eyes."

"I can just pretend I'm hot? I thought you said you were gay."

"I am, but you OOZE sex. Hell, you could be a whole different species and I would be attracted to you."

I bopped him on the head with my empty tray, and stood. "Whatever. In all truth, I'd really rather not stoink what may be my only friend here. Anyways, I'm going to go do my homework, care to hole up in the library and be an outcast with me?"

He stood as well and winked bawdily. "Thought you'd never ask."

*yes, I am that egotistical. :D