|
Post by cyrillen on Feb 9, 2006 14:37:14 GMT -5
I doodled this just now. Kinda bad, I know, but I like it. ^___^;;; XDX XDX XDX PWN.
|
|
|
Post by Ikkin on Feb 9, 2006 14:38:01 GMT -5
I doodled this just now. Kinda bad, I know, but I like it. ^___^;;; Heh, that's just too great! XDDD Works cited...! jXD Who's the one in the hat? The name's too smudged, so I can't tell...
|
|
|
Post by Stal on Feb 9, 2006 15:12:06 GMT -5
Heh, that's just too great! XDDD Works cited...! Who's the one in the hat? The name's too smudged, so I can't tell... Supposed to be Wandy. <.<
|
|
|
Post by Tracy on Feb 9, 2006 15:46:11 GMT -5
I'd obviously like it more if I was in it ;3
|
|
|
Post by Kiddo on Feb 9, 2006 17:11:39 GMT -5
It was my fault, of course. Everything is my fault. This is the NTWF and I am Crystal, mistress of the undead penguin hordes, second in command of the ninjas, and eternal scapegoat. In this case, however, we didn’t have to invoke the scapegoat rule as I wholeheartedly supported the motion to send Kiddo to investigate the underdeep. There are some things in life that warm my little stab-happy heart and sending my best friend to her certain doom is one of them.
I’ll be honest though. We didn’t think Kiddo would die down there, even if it were a well-established tradition. At worst she’d come back severely traumatized and that was what we were all aiming for. If her emotional state were wrecked enough maybe she’d be too paranoid to ever fall asleep at a staff meeting ever again. This was why Pat made us mods. We’re just brilliant like that.
Kiddo returned from the underdeep late in the evening of the next day. I had indeed burned the feathers like she had asked but apparently it wasn’t needed.
“Remember, I bet ten gallons of brain bleach that she got lost,” Wanderer said as the fox-phoenix trudged towards our mod squad HQ.
“Pffft. You don’t even have ten gallons of brain bleach.”
“Hey, hey,” Tracy interrupted, “She’s bleeding. Should we be concerned?”
The mods all crowded around the window. Sure enough, a rough bandage had been tied around one arm and I could see where it had soaked through.
“No idea.”
There was silence when Kiddo entered. She simply collapsed in the nearest chair, still holding her spear, and stared at the ground. The mods crowded around her.
“So,” Spot prompted, “What’d you find?”
“Lots of demons. But I think those were from my own head.”
“Doesn’t look catatonic to me. Pay up,” I whispered to Rider.
“Can I write you an I.O.U.? My crew threw all the sake overboard last week.”
“Typical pirates.”
“So, what about the noises?” Patjade had taken over the prompting.
“Eh. Linny was right. It’s the pipes.”
A long silence.
“Um, I was just kidding,” Linny said, “The underdeep doesn’t have pipes.”
“Well, it does now.”
We just all looked at each other. I suppose Kiddo decided that she’d been the butt end of a joke long enough, or something, because she just stood and walked away. Someone said something to stop her. At the door she announced something about a bath and a shower. Then she left and I realized I hadn’t seen her eyes once during that.
“That was odd,” I finally said, “I guess we did traumatize her.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Stal added, “Normally when she’s reporting an adventure she launches into a full-blown explanation on what happened and what didn’t happen complete with itemized lists, diagrams, and a works cited page.”
“Nice one Crystal. You broke one of our admins.”
Of course. Everything is my fault.
“I vote Crystal as the person to bring her sake and a teddy bear and sing her back to sleep when she wakes up from nightmares tonight!”
And before I could speak, every hand was in the air, and I was nominated fox-phoenix nannie for the night.
I found Kiddo later that evening, after I reasoned she had enough time to recuperate. Finding people in the ninja HQ is easy. Just look for shadows through the rice paper walls. Kiddo’s is quite distinctive due to the tail, ears, and wings. She was in her room, just sitting on one of the cushions near the low table. I entered and smelled tea. There was a strange scent to it though and I wondered just what brew she had made, or if she’d forgotten to take it off the heat and steeped it too long.
“Hey,” I said, “You okay? We didn’t mean for you to get hurt, yanno.”
She absently touched her arm. I noticed that it was no longer bleeding and freshly bandaged.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You’ve been really quiet which is odd. Tell me what happened. You said something about demons.”
I sat down opposite her and reached for the teapot. She placed a hand over the top and I let go again. Fine. She can have her tea to herself.
“Just something from my subconscious. That’s all. Nightmares. Had a bit of fighting and then I got lost before I found the source of the noise.”
Dangit. I owed Wandered ten gallons of brain bleach now. Idly, I wondered which members I would have to extort to get that much together.
“Are you going to be alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Listen, I wasn’t able to fix the voice. It’s kind of odd and I don’t think one person has a strong enough will to stop it. Two might do it though. Tomorrow, would you go back down into the underdeep with me? It won’t be so bad with more people and we’ll be able to stop this for good.”
Voice?
“I don’t know, we should talk to Patjade first.”
Kiddo shrugged. Took a sip of her tea. I wrinkled my nose. Definitely burnt – or something.
“That’s fine. I’ll let you do that; I’m very tired. But really, just us two should be able to handle it.”
She glanced up at me, smiled. Now, a small fact about Kiddo. Her eyes are colored not by pigment but by shape. That means that her eye color will change according to the light. Usually, in the muted light of the ninja HQ they’re a mild gray-blue-green. However, when she looked at me, they were emerald. Brilliant, blazing emerald.
“Right,” I said, feeling a bit detached from the situation, “I’ll go talk to her now. G’night Kiddo.”
She nodded and I left. Behind me, she continued to sip her tea in silence.
I told Patjade everything. All that she had said and all the things that seemed out of place. The tea. The eyes. Her remote mood. And Patjade listened to it all, and decided to throw me to the wolves. Errr, foxes, I suppose.
“If something is wrong with Kiddo we need to find out what it is,” she said, “and you’re the closest person to her. She might confide in you or you might discover what went wrong in the underdeep.”
“Or I could be dragged into a horrible trap filled with things that want to rip out my bones and eat them,” I said, “Question. Do the standards for modly conduct allow me to run away screaming and abandon Kiddo to a grisly fate?”
“I’ll leave that to personal discretion.”
That’s how, bright and early the next morning, I found myself saddled with a rather somber Kiddo, carrying a lantern, and heading towards the entrance to the underdeep.
((yes, this is featuring an all-mod cast. You all said you wanted to know what goes on in the mod squad after all...))
|
|
|
Post by Stal on Feb 9, 2006 17:24:17 GMT -5
“Yeah, definitely,” Stal added, “Normally when she’s reporting an adventure she launches into a full-blown explanation on what happened and what didn’t happen complete with itemized lists, diagrams, and a works cited page.” ....ROFFLE!!! XDDDD Keep up the good work, Kiddo. This story is great so far. Tense, and yet hilarious!
|
|
|
Post by Kiddo on Feb 9, 2006 17:25:53 GMT -5
“Yeah, definitely,” Stal added, “Normally when she’s reporting an adventure she launches into a full-blown explanation on what happened and what didn’t happen complete with itemized lists, diagrams, and a works cited page.” ....ROFFLE!!! XDDDD Keep up the good work, Kiddo. This story is great so far. Tense, and yet hilarious! Writing Langley's Ark has given me a lot of practice in mixing humor and adventure.
|
|
|
Post by Rider on Feb 9, 2006 17:40:12 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]XDDDD I <3 you, Kiddo.[/glow]
|
|
|
Post by Ikkin on Feb 9, 2006 17:46:33 GMT -5
Great job again, Kiddo!
I love the idea of the diagrams and works cited page... even better the second time! XD
I sense impending doom for the mods... cool! j;D
|
|
|
Post by Zylaa on Feb 9, 2006 21:21:19 GMT -5
And the english teacher voices of the last three years echo through my head: "This is an example of what? Yes, dramatic irony, good job." This is so wonderfully freaky. Although it's a tight race... what's funnier, the story or Stal's doodle?
|
|
|
Post by Crystal on Feb 10, 2006 3:45:56 GMT -5
XD I'm trying to decide whether I should be happy to be included or slightly afraid, because I just have this feeling there are bad things that are going to happen. “Question. Do the standards for modly conduct allow me to run away screaming and abandon Kiddo to a grisly fate?” I love you, Kiddo.
|
|
|
Post by Kat on Feb 10, 2006 5:24:38 GMT -5
Fun! j;D This is so awesome. Keep it up!
Stal - awesome drawing. XDDDDDD
|
|
|
Post by Stal on Feb 10, 2006 9:22:34 GMT -5
XD I'm trying to decide whether I should be happy to be included or slightly afraid, because I just have this feeling there are bad things that are going to happen. “Question. Do the standards for modly conduct allow me to run away screaming and abandon Kiddo to a grisly fate?” I love you, Kiddo. It's a story written by the infamous Child Dragon and you just "have this feeling" that bad things are going to happen? I'd be preparing for the freakin' apocalypse, if I were you.
|
|
|
Post by Kiddo on Feb 10, 2006 12:38:47 GMT -5
XD I'm trying to decide whether I should be happy to be included or slightly afraid, because I just have this feeling there are bad things that are going to happen. I love you, Kiddo. It's a story written by the infamous Child Dragon and you just "have this feeling" that bad things are going to happen? I'd be preparing for the freakin' apocalypse, if I were you. Is my reputation for doing horrible things to my characters really that strong? On second thought, don't answer that. But hey, at least they all had happy endings, right! (cause the neo-censors would smite me otherwise...)
|
|
|
Post by Dream on Feb 10, 2006 13:22:49 GMT -5
It's a story written by the infamous Child Dragon and you just "have this feeling" that bad things are going to happen? I'd be preparing for the freakin' apocalypse, if I were you. Is my reputation for doing horrible things to my characters really that strong? On second thought, don't answer that. But hey, at least they all had happy endings, right! (cause the neo-censors would smite me otherwise...) *Dream's VERY faulty and minuscule Sarcasm Radar gives a questioning blip.* Didn't one of them have her house burn down or something? And... numerous other stuff I'll remember later. Anyhow, great chapter. For some reason the idea of the crew throwing the sake overboard made me giggle.
|
|