DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on Apr 28, 2009 19:58:01 GMT -5
Just down the stream from Nockacraq's Alley, over the fence from the garden that belongs to the mother of all our dogs, through seven forests of everyone's deepest regrets and failures, through the valley's meadow of all our failed deaths; is somewhere just like everywhere else. It has trees, it has animals, it has a geography and a language. This is where Gary lives his days, fighting rabbits and swearing at squirrels. Well, that was how it used to be. Since then Gary has turned to stone, and weather has descended in panoramic view.
Gary was rummaging through a large cluster of daffodils. Their bright yellow petals shivered and laughed as his grubby rough hands tore them from the dirt and stuffed each into it's separate hole, burying their floral sunshine. Gary was trying to work fast. He had to bury the flowers before anyone else saw them and decided to pick them, or heaven-forbid even look at them.
Gary was not tall, and he was rather stout. with a gray-white beard covering his chest like a bib. he wore a conical hat that was starched stiff, standing straight up. It was once gray with the faintest touch of pink but had faded into a very bright red. It was starting to become iridescent. He would need a new hat soon enough.
A fat rabbit was sneaking up behind Gary as he grumbled at the flowers for growing. He bent at the waist, ripping one out, digging a hole, and burying it. Ripping one out, digging a hole, and burying it. Just as Gary caught sight of the fat rabbit behind him between the space through his two sturdy legs, the beast leaped forward and nipped at the back of his leg, tearing his favourite green pants!
Gary fell face first into the flowerbed with an undignified squeal as another rabbit daringly dug up several of the daffodils he had just finished burying. The rabbits chuckled in maniacal unison and ran up a tree. Gary got on his feet and bellowed after them.
Quickly, he tore off all the remaining flowers and stuffed them into a hole that wasn't nearly large enough to fit them all. They protested at having to share a cramped hole. He piled rocks and earth over them, and ran off through the forest. Gary was looking for the path of violet stones he had to walk down to find a new hat. Angry and grumbling about those fat tree-climbing rabbits, Gary the Gnome started his journey.
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Post by starlessnight on Apr 28, 2009 21:22:20 GMT -5
Romeo had fallen into a deep reverie under a half-dead willow tree; the sun had risen and it's rays warmed his cool skin, but only on the surface. His mind wandered endlessly between thoughts of nothing and everything. Of course what else would a vampire have to think about besides everything and nothing what-so-ever? The ground was anything but comfortable and by mid-day the sun was much too hot. His bright blue eyes opened to a view much different than he remembered. Did he wander in his slumber perhaps? It seemed unlikely for it had not happened before; but anything was possible and he knew full well that surroundings did not just change on their own.
The sun was still bright, yet it didn't seem to give off much light where Romeo lay beneath the tree. He stood with a puzzled look and turned about in every direction to get his barrings straight. To his left was a path of violet stones, ones he did not remember seeing anywhere in the city, or it's outskirts before. He moved to them cautiously, things were very out of whack and he needed to level his head before something dangerous occurred.
He trundled along the path until a noise arose in front of him. It was a gruff sound; one an elderly man would make if he were fuming with rage. Yet Romeo saw nothing. He veered off the path and ducked behind some bushes carrying a strange fruit. This fruit momentarily distracted the vampire. They appeared to be average red berries, but upon closer inspection half of every berry was patterned like a checkerboard. Strange, Romeo thought to himself until the noise took his attention again. Through the leaves of the bush he noticed a pointed red cap and a fluffy beard. Certainly this little person couldn't be from the city...
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on Apr 28, 2009 23:53:00 GMT -5
Gary the Gnome walked along the violet path angrily, stumbling as he stomped the ground, cursing at the nasty rabbits and the hole in his best green trousers. He was just in the middle of a particularly savage rant when off to the side he saw a bush of red berries.
Red Berries! Maybe they would be able to fix the colour on his hat.
Gary removed his conical red hat, revealing a small dark green bowler's cap underneath. He reached out and picked a single berry. Upon close inspection, Gary noted that there seemed to be a checkerboard pattern on one side of each berry on the bush. He took the berry between thumb and forefinger, and squashed it. It let out a tiny shrill screech as it burst, exploding with a pink ooze. He turned his conical hat upside-down and started using it to collect them.
One by one Gary picked and squished the berries, each of which gave off it's scream, and he continued dropping them into his hat. He kept picking berries. He removed a particularly round looking one and... how now! What's this? Gary pulled off another, and realized he was staring into someone's blue eye.
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Post by starlessnight on Apr 29, 2009 1:21:55 GMT -5
Romeo fell back in surprise. He had not expected the tiny man to come near the bush. "Uhh.." He looked to and fro, he was taken aback. "I...uh...well..." he stuttered. Certainly this little man was in some sort of angry to-do over something involving rabbits. Tree climbing rabbits at that! His blond and black bangs fell into his eyes masking their uncertainty from the gnome-man. What sort of place had he wandered into?
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Post by Admin on Apr 30, 2009 8:50:59 GMT -5
The sun above burned Pollynda's eyes. It had been nearly thirty years since she had seen the splendor of daylight. It seemed unnatural to her not to flinch and seek shelter from the sun's rays. But this was a peculiar place. The sun didn't seer her flesh, and her vampire sense seemed dulled to almost mortal capacity.
The colours surrounding her were bizarre. Nothing was a typical earth colour. This was surely another world. But how had Pollynda gotten here? Last she knew she was walking through a park in Retermositoa, looking for a late night snack.
Pollynda looked up, hoping to see the sky blue she so loved as a child. Indeed she was dismayed, yet intrigued, to find the sky to be an iridescent purple with clouds of all manner of objectly shape.
She hoped that someone would come along and explain this strange dream world to her.
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on May 1, 2009 12:30:27 GMT -5
Gary frowned and bellowed in frustration. "Gah! Stupid bush fairies! What are you doing, hiding in there you young hooligan?" Gary's eyes were bright, gleaming with irrational fury.
Something on the ground caught his eye. Blue sugar grass! Gary ripped up a tuft of it in his fist and shoved it in his mouth. It looked just like crabgrass, but it was light blue, and powdered with sugar crystals.
Gary's entire personality changed, he smiled sweetly and looked up at the boy in the berry bush. "Dear boy, why have you strayed from the violet path to hide in that bush?"
If not for the blue sugar grass, Gary might have noticed distant footsteps...
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Post by starlessnight on May 2, 2009 14:55:58 GMT -5
Romeo noticed the footsteps, Now who? he thought. "I, uh...I need some help." Romeo managed to breathe. He righted his hair and then slowly moved until he was standing. With nimble steps he approached the gnome and looked down at him. "And I'm not a bush fairy." he stated off-hand.
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on May 5, 2009 18:40:04 GMT -5
Gary nodded with complete understanding. "Of course you're not!" He cooed as two walnuts with silver wings buzzed by. He blinked and looked up. "Whatever is the matter dear boy?"
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Post by Admin on May 8, 2009 1:51:07 GMT -5
Pollynda heard faint voices off in the distance. She followed the sound, as best as she could, to the source. Standing before her was a gnome, and a youth who looked to be about the same face age as herself.
The gnome was a very...unusual sight. But not altogether unexpected in this bizarre world. The boy, however, was fetching eye candy.
"Where the hell am I?" Pollynda asked them both, perplexity clear in her tone.
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on May 8, 2009 4:26:03 GMT -5
Gary looked at the young woman who was questioning him. She was human-sized and lovely. Gary could feel a red snake roping itself around his heart, his brain. The blue sugar grass was starting to wear off. He frowned as a cobbleroo swept by his face.
"Are you a bit dense dear? You're on the violet path! Soon to turn Indigo!" Gary grinned. "Well look at you two! Two fools in an unknown land! Lay off the articulak pollen smoke for Thraw's sake!"
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Post by starlessnight on May 9, 2009 22:02:23 GMT -5
Romeo had no answer for either being. He simply lost all thoughts and stood like a blubbering fool with his mouth beginning to hang open.
After a short while he caught himself and the shock of everything passed and his brains began to tick again. Instead of trying to figure out something to say to the strange little gnome, the vampire turned his attention to the newcomer. "What he said." Romeo offered, jabbing a thumb in the little mans direction.
"Since it seems only the polite thing to do, uh, I'll just introduce myself. My name's Romeo." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth in a little dance. Something he did often when standing around with others; whether he knew them or not.
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Post by Admin on May 10, 2009 6:02:11 GMT -5
Pollynda looked at the male in front of her, mockery clear on her face and in her tone. "Nice," she said in response.
She had noticed Romeo's open mouth and the fangs that had been slightly visible beneath his lips. She quickly ran her tongue around her own teeth to make she she still retained, in this crazy world, the most noticeable mark of her vampirism. She said a silent "Thank Gawd" that her fangs remained.
"My name's Pollynda.
"I was walking through a park in Retermositoa looking for a snack," she looked to the gnome as if assessing his merits as a way to ease her hunger, "when I suddenly found myself in this place. So how'd you get here, Romeo?"
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Post by starlessnight on May 10, 2009 23:21:17 GMT -5
He thought about it and gave a nonchalant shrug. "I fell asleep."
Like a small boy he looked to the ground feeling a bit silly for falling into his revere out in the open.
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on May 11, 2009 2:40:23 GMT -5
Gary was becoming frustrated and impatient. "Are you two done chewing the fat yet? I'm Gary, and DO YOU SEE THE DAMN COLOUR OF THIS HAT?! Bright red! I paid six stone beetles for it! And it turns red! Ha! Time for a new one!"
He grabbed several handfuls of blue sweet grass and stuffed them into his failed hat, along with the berries he had been picking. He ate a few blades as he loaded up his hat. Just enough to put him in a reasonable mood. If he was going to try to help these two melon heads, or at least lead them around, he would need patience and a handle on his wicked ankle-biting-gnome temper.
"Well come on you two. We ought to get moving." He started down the violet path once again before waiting for either of them to answer.
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Post by starlessnight on May 12, 2009 15:58:31 GMT -5
Romeo looked at the short man as he walked away, and then quickly glanced back at Pollynda with a shrug before quietly stalking after Gary. This little gnome seemed to know how things worked around here; so until he found a way back home he would stick to Gary like glue.
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Post by Admin on May 22, 2009 1:04:12 GMT -5
Pollynda was never really one to follow another being but this time should would make an exception. She had no idea how things in this upside down world worked.
Gary the gnome walked ahead of Romeo and Pollynda followed her fellow vampire. She felt like her brain was going to overload because of all the bright colours in here surroundings. Like a pleasant dream and a nightmare mixed together the simplest of objects took on completely different context in this strange land.
After some mumbling by the gnome and some shy glances from the cute vampire boy they passed a stagnate pondle of water. When Pollynda walked past it and glanced at her reflection she stopped.
Before she could stop herself a shrill scream escaped her lips. Staring back at her was the reflection of her true age. A middle aged woman with harsh eyes and thin lips. Crows feet encircled her eyes and her hair was a mundane dirty-blond colour. Her skin was no longer the deathly pale that she so adored. It had become the tennis-club-tan that Pollynda's mother had insisted on for herself. It was a truly frightening sight for a vain gothic vampire.
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on May 22, 2009 1:28:22 GMT -5
Gary had completely forgotten about the swamp of truth. He was so short that even if his own reflection had looked over the water he might not be able to see it.
"No!" He shouted immediately after Pollynda screamed. He ran to her side. If Gary had looked down he would have seen a creature far fatter, wrinkled and hunched over than the real Gary.
Luckily a snagfish leapt up- bright neon green belly with yellow and blue speckle pattern on the back- and dashed Pollynda's reflection to ripples.
"Relax vampire! You're still dead and pretty!"
Gary looked to Romeo. "How you holding up boy?"
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Post by starlessnight on Oct 15, 2009 21:48:17 GMT -5
Romeo was slightly confused. It was just water. He watched as the fish leapt up and marveled at it's brilliant colours. "I'm fine." He said. He decided to follow the fish with his eyes as it disappeared into the lake. When he looked down he was shocked. He did not see his reflection, only a decaying corpse. Instead of screaming he simply asked "Is this what I'm supposed to be?"
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on Oct 23, 2009 11:01:34 GMT -5
Gary sighed and looked at Romeo. "If you weren't preserved in alabaster, that is what you would have become by now."
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Post by starlessnight on Oct 26, 2009 6:37:32 GMT -5
Romeo looked at nothing in particular with fascination. This news was interesting.
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Post by Admin on Nov 19, 2009 11:26:26 GMT -5
"Gary, where are you taking us? I just want to get back to the real world. This places is way to strange for the likes of me," complained Pollynda.
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DolorNoir
Archfiend
4am knows all my secrets
Posts: 1,560
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Post by DolorNoir on Nov 27, 2009 16:11:41 GMT -5
Gary furrowed his brows and continued walking. "Shut up, tall child! We don't have time for this nonsense!" He walked in silence for a moment, stepping out of the way for a man wearing a technicolour dreamcoat. "Besides, I don't know what world vampires come from."
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Post by starlessnight on Nov 27, 2009 20:21:46 GMT -5
"What do you mean what world?" Romeo asked, his innocent eyes clouding with confusion. He brushed away annoying hair before continuing. "WE live in the NORMAL world, you know, with cars and clubs and television." He shuffled along like a child being dragged behind a fast moving parent. "I suppose you don't have any of those things here..." He put a finger to his lips and puffed out his cheeks. "I also don't suppose there are any ... humans here."
If things kept up like this Romeo feared he and Pollynda might starve to death before finding some way back to reality. He looked from one companion to the other and back again.
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Post by Admin on Nov 29, 2009 22:34:41 GMT -5
Pollynda pouted like a petulant child but continued to follow Romeo and Gary. Her stomach was starting to cramp up. It wouldn't be long before she would absolutely need blood. She wasn't an old enough vampire to go long without blood.
As they passed a tall shrub Pollynda picked a yellow leaf from its vibrant orange branches. She idly rubbed it between her fingers, releasing a silver gel-like substance. The gel quickly gathered into a small ball on the tip of her index finger as she watched it. Suddenly it sprouted three eyes and an antenna. It winked once at her before jumping to the ground and rolling away. Pollynda watched it go, slightly less astounded than she would have been mere moments before.
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Post by starlessnight on Nov 29, 2009 23:18:02 GMT -5
With stooped shoulders Romeo shuffled along; he had nothing to say or even think about. This bizarre world was full of surprises, yet offered nothing to the group but the path they were on and this little gnome man they followed. The short and grumpy little being seemed oblivious to their needs and walked ahead at a determined pace. His fuss over his hat seemed nonsensical, why on earth would he prefer a faded one to the lovely coloured one he held?
As Romeo stared at the ground the colour of the path changed from Violet to Indigo. He looked up and could see it change again to a very pure blue in the distance.
"Rainbow?" he questioned out loud without thought.
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Post by Admin on Nov 29, 2009 23:43:37 GMT -5
"Who the fuck cares about a rainbow!" The venom in Pollynda's outburst was nearly tangible in the air. Quickly she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes apologetic.
"I'm sorry Romeo. I get really moody when I don't eat." She dropped her voice to a mere whisper. "Lets jump the gnome, he seems the safest thing to eat in this absurd place."
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Post by starlessnight on Nov 30, 2009 0:08:05 GMT -5
Romeo's childlike eyes widened at Pollynda's outburst, but returned to normal with her apology. Jump the gnome? he thought to himself. He was getting hungry and soon he wouldn't be able to be choosy about a target but Gary seemed their only hope in this world, would killing him be sensible?
Outwardly he shook his head. "No way." he whispered back. His feelings were edging on fear again as he hoped she wouldn't beat him senseless for disagreeing. His kid-like persona caused him to look at the ground, as one might do in the presence of an unhappy parent.
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Post by Admin on Jul 28, 2010 1:34:16 GMT -5
"Ugh, how much longer until we're out of this place." The vibrant colors were starting to feel strange to Pollynda. As the thought crossed her mind she realized how absurd it was to "feel" colours. Yet it was true. As the path before them varied its colours so too did her pathoes.
"Do you think this place ever gets dark," she asked Romeo just to break the still silence.
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Post by starlessnight on Jul 28, 2010 20:38:08 GMT -5
"I hope so. I like colours but this is even too much for me." The young vampire shook his head, sending the tendrils of blond and black hair back and forth over his eyes. The ice blue spheres took the chance to again glance at the stout figure leading them.
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