NTWF Mafia II: The Idyllic Village of Wafflenet

[Avery]

"Well, Britknee, go home if it's bothering you so much, that is the logical conclusion."

Um, wow, this historian lady was totes mean. Even meaner than like, Courtknee! Gawsh, Brit was already so sad and scared and now this lady was being so mean and gawsh she was just gonna like, um, sob and cry. Sniffling, Britknee gave still-in-the-purse-Snuggles a pat on the head, then murmured something incomprehensible to Diana before slipping out of the booth. Blinking back sad-tears, Brit surveyed the diner for another place to sit. Like, the bird guy and PYTHON were at one table, along with Ginz and Don Dan, but like, Brit didn't know any of them very well. So like, who else, who else... gawsh, no one! That made Brit even sadder, that in her time of sorrow there was like, no one for her to turn to!

Patting Snuggles again, she skulked over to one of the diner's few empty booths, in the corner near the door to the kitchen. Outside, the rain was hammering so loudly that it was a bit like, alarming. And the lightning that was flashing quite frequently now was supes scary. Gawsh, Brit hoped it would end soon. Cos like, otherwise even if she WANTED to go home as Diana had so snippily suggested, she would be stuck here on account of the horrid weather.

"Umm, Tanya," Brit said as the waitress/cook/et al hustled by. "Could I like, have some more diet waffles? But more cooked this time, please. My last plate was like, totes doughy. I miss Mick, gawsh."

[Tiger]

Mick froze at the sight of a semi-transparent something falling through the ceiling. He ducked behind a large box of coffee grounds. There was a curious absence of panicked breathing, though Mick was certainly panicked. Metastophelous had said to avoid the ghosts - so naturally, less than five minutes into his return to earth, one literally fell from the sky.

He heard a sudden whumph, another, louder thud - and a neigh. If he'd had blood to run cold, Mick's would have frozen in his veins. Fluffle.

The basement felt suddenly claustrophobic and Mick would have sworn the walls were pressing in. Meta's voice cut through the earpiece - "Bid your time, kid!" - but instinct was already taking over, and doing a stupid job of it - he made it to the staircase, as if that was the only possible escape, before Fluffle saw him.

She looked terrified. Of him.

"Fl-"

The pony swung a hoof at him; Mick dodged, and Fluffle scampered up the stairs with a bag of sugar in her teeth. Mick had barely twitched to move when Metastophelous' voice screeched in his ear. "Angelo! Stay! Put!"

Mick whirled away from the staircase, his tail curling up to his chest. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Was it me? I don't remember - I don't - but I wouldn't've..." He squeezed his head between his hands, as if the memories might be loosed from some inner trap. "Meta - "

"Pull yourself together, Angelo!"

"Meta - I have to know, did - "

"Angelo!"

Mick sank to the floor, trying to take deep breaths even though there was no real point to the extra oxygen - the ritualism helped. "Meta...please say it wasn't me."

"Couldn't tell you even if I wanted to, kid." Metastophelous's voice was cold and even. "How much does it matter, anyway? So you pulled the trigger, or you sat back and watched, or your little ménage à trois at the diner made her a target."

Mick heard the faint sound of someone else's voice through the earpiece, followed by Meta snapping, "No, of course that's not what I meant! Angelo - you heard me - I said tryst, right?"

"Meta - you set that whole thing up, didn't you?"

"Angelo, I don't set things up - that's the roleplayers - whom you aren't to ask about - 's job. I just respond to keep character developing and the action moving. And speaking of, you've been at this angsting thing for too long now."

"Well excuse me for angsting! I can't imagine what I'd be upset about, I really -"

"Got a cushy deal, all things considered, mafia-boy. Now if you're ready to wrap this post up - you might wanna take a look at the weather. It's stormin' good out there."

[Gav]

(Ah-ha, life's busy enough that it kept me out of action for most of the round. So should I just jump in now or wave it off till next round and say Birch just overslept?)

[Avery]

May 24, 2013 22:20:44 GMT -5 Gav said:

(Ah-ha, life's busy enough that it kept me out of action for most of the round. So should I just jump in now or wave it off till next round and say Birch just overslept?)

((It's up to you. xD If you want to make a post, you have at least 12 hours before the next round to do so; if you want to wait 'till then, that's alright as well. ^^))

[Alyssa]

Penny was very upset that no one had noticed her cereal messages.

Overpowering even the confusion and despair she had over being murdered was a fierce maternal instinct that threatened to completely consume her mind.
Maurice had been alone for days, and she was beginning to worry about his well-being.
She'd managed to knock over the cage of crickets that morning, so he was set for a few days, but what after that?
He was her best friend, her confidant, her compadre, her bosom buddy, her amigo, her chum of chums, her... she shook her head. She needed to focus.

Writing in the air with someone's leftover Alphabites ("Now made with actual edible ingredients, 87% guaranteed!") was her only idea, and hopelessness and anger began to set in.
Did the universe think this was funny? First her life was ripped from her, and now the dearest thing in the world to her was in danger?
She could do nothing about being dead, but she could sure do something about her cat.

If only she could figure out what.

Before she could find a plate of bacon with which to signal to someone, she noticed that THE PYTHON had taken it upon himself to harass the bird man.
She'd always liked Osi, he was quiet like she was, if not quieter, and she admired that he had such a passion for his feathered friends. Even though cats were natural enemies of birds, obviously.

Interested in how the confrontation would work out, Penny followed unnoticed (due to her ghostly state) as THE PYTHON sat down in the seat opposite Ginz and Dan and then all but ordered Osi to do the same.
Wanting to get a closer look, she shrank down and settled herself in Dan's mug of coffee and waited for the drama to unfold.

Unbeknownst to her, her spectral form began to become visible as soon as she was engrossed in something other than actually trying to become visible.
Strange how things work out, huh?

[Dan]

Don Dan found himself suddenly sitting across from his detestable brother-in-law, and wondered how that could have happened. He had only let his mind wander for a few minutes, hadn't he? But no...it was getting dark outside, too, while the storm outside raged on as strong as ever. He supposed that's what happened when you get distracted...look away for just a few minutes and suddenly the world's on fast-forward. A cursory glance around the diner told him that more people had come in after him, too -- Dove was now sitting with the two women by the door, the historian was petting the wolf absentmindedly, and for some reason Mick had disappeared from his usual perch behind the counter.

Wait. He remembered that one, and confirmed it with an uneasy look out the window, where the boy swung wildly in the wind. Right, that's where the young man went. He grimaced. That's one thing he wished he had been daydreaming through. But it wasn't really daydreaming, he realized. More of a fugue state, his entire body shutting down at the thought of more murder, more death, more violence. At this rate he'd be catatonic by Monday.

Which, he realized, would have been preferable to the situation he was suddenly plunged into.

"Didn't ATTICUS PYTHON tell the two of you not to be around when he's present? Can't you two just go somewhere else? Like an alleyway, or a ditch?"

"Hello to you too, Melvin," Don Dan said coldly. "Nice to see you're treating family with respect in the wake of Penny's..." He trailed off, glancing at his wife guiltily. He'd suddenly become unable to finish that sentence.

He really didn't want to be dealing with Melvin on today of all days. What timing the man had, showing up again the week the violence had started. If he hadn't been this heartbroken by the deaths of the past few days, he would have thought more seriously about the implications of that, but Penny's image swam into his mind and he found he couldn't care less at that moment. With a start he realized that he was gripping his coffee mug too tightly. He relaxed his grip, and frowned in confusion. That was strange. He'd thought of Penny and as if on cue, a flash of his sister-in-law had appeared in his coffee mug. Well that just couldn't be.

"Hey, I thi--" he began, but was cut off by his brother-in-law.

"And you: this is all your fault, isn't it? ATTICUS PYTHON had just found himself a student to pass on his wisdom to, and then you went an killed him. You know, at first, ATTICUS PYTHON was totally impressed that THIS CHICK HE DOESN'T KNOW AT ALL decided to marry the head of the mafia. Totally manly. But then it turned out to be you. ATTICUS PYTHON is not impressed."

He scowled as Melvin continued nattering on about a new student or something, and waving over the strange young man who'd been lurking in the corner. So the paranoia had finally cropped up, hadn't it? He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that it came from Melvin of all people; of course the man entirely concerned with superficial qualities like one's name (why else would he have dropped the truly dreadful birth name for something a lot flashier?) would think he was behind the act of terror simply for the unfortunate nomenclature his parents had decided upon. He'd worried at the first appearance of the mafia that the fingers would be pointed, but the people of this town seemed to look past that, just as Ginz had said, and he was grateful for it. But he admitted to himself begrudgingly this sort of claim coming from this sort of man made perfect sense.

"Well first of all, MELVIN," he began, calling his brother-in-law's name loudly enough that it carried throughout the diner. "If I recall correctly it was the townspeople that killed Mick, and it was because the young man himself was thought to be within the group. Which doesn't exactly reflect well on you for choosing him, does it?" He surprised himself at how quickly he'd managed to come up with a reasonably successful comeback. Feeling slightly emboldened, he continued. "And secondly, if you'd taken even a millisecond to get to know me since I met you, you'd know I'm plenty manLY, okay?" 

Unfortunately, the latter part of his retort had come at a particularly inopportune time, for his voice cracked ever so slightly as the word "manly" escaped his lips.

Perfect, just perfect.

[Ginz ❤]

Rocky’s ghost floated up through the ground, popping up right between Dan and Ginz. He looked at them both, smiled, and handed Ginz a white rose.

"Hello there."

Ginz was perplexed. She rubbed her eyes, unsure of what she had just seen. She had been given a rose by someone (or something) who looked exactly like Alex, but translucent. It couldn’t be him, could it? He was dead. And more importantly, He wasn’t the kind to do that sort of thing, was he?

Before she could respond, he faded back into the ground leaving Ginz and Dan alone again. The rose remained, however, right next to her cup of tea. She picked it up gingerly and looked at it with curiosity. Could it be true? Had Alex come back as a ghost? Ginz had never thought it was possible. Science ruled her life, and there was no scientific explanation for ghosts, so naturally, she didn’t believe in them. However, as a scientist she also had to be open-minded, and after seeing Alex there was no denying their existence.

That realization brought about another more important one for her. Did that mean there might be others, like maybe Penny? Ginz couldn’t help but hope. What she would do to see her beloved sister again!

Ginz was daydreaming about being reunited with Penny, when suddenly there was a lot of movement in the diner. The townspeople had decided to hang Mick, as they were now convinced he was responsible for the crimes. Ginz could hardly bear it, but at least she hoped they were right this time. She and Dan stayed put right there on their booth as it happened.

Later, Melvin decided to join them at their table. Ginz was strangely pleased, as she had actually invited her brother to come visit, and granted, she had had a lot of second thoughts about it, but they hadn’t even spent any time together as a family so far. Of course, it wasn’t the same without Penny. It would never be, but this was the best she could get, so she would take it.

"HELLO, PEOPLE THAT ATTICUS PYTHON HAS NEVER MET IN HIS LIFE," he announced as loud as he could, and then slid into the booth. "Didn't ATTICUS PYTHON tell the two of you not to be around when he's present? Can't you two just go somewhere else? Like an alleyway, or a ditch?" He asked in a whisper, with a frown.

“Nice to see you back home, Melvin, I’m so glad you decided to visit after all!” she said, ignoring the last part of what he said. Ginz was convinced that her brother was a good person deep down, and wanted to make him feel welcome in spite of everything. "If only Penny was here, it would be perf--"

Ginz had to stop herself, because she could have sworn she had caught a glimpse of her sister right at that moment, in Dan's coffee mug of all places.

[Draco]

Rocky, still striking a pose, waits for someone to notice him... When he realizes no one is going to, he once again becomes black and white, and drifts off to a corner. A shadow appears around him, and mushrooms sprout around him. Rocky mumbles to himself, most of which isn't understandable except something about mushroom farming.

[Jayeee]

ATTICUS PYTHON could only frown at Don Dan. He refused to acknowledge him as a brother-in-law, because even worse than two sisters who couldn't even be women properly was a man who lacked masculinity. ATTICUS PYTHON had steered clear of Don Dan since his arrival, because just being seen with somebody whose name suggested such a manly demeanour but in actuality was anything but, was just embarrassing.

With a loud sigh, ATTICUS PYTHON flung his suitcase onto the table, pushing aside the drinks that Don Dan and Ginz had been drinking. He opened the case and grabbed a beer, opening it and taking a long chug.

"Well first of all, MELVIN," he began, calling his brother-in-law's name loudly enough that it carried throughout the diner. "If I recall correctly it was the townspeople that killed Mick, and it was because the young man himself was thought to be within the group. Which doesn't exactly reflect well on you for choosing him, does it?" He surprised himself at how quickly he'd managed to come up with a reasonably successful comeback. Feeling slightly emboldened, he continued. "And secondly, if you'd taken even a millisecond to get to know me since I met you, you'd know I'm plenty manLY, okay?"

At the all-too-loud utterance of his name, ATTICUS PYTHON spat out his beer he'd been drinking, leaving froth all around his mouth. "DUDE," he shouted, slamming his fist onto the table as hard as he possibly could. He looked around the diner suspiciously. "Who the hell is Melvin, anyway?" he asked to nobody in-particular with a forced laugh. He took another swig of beer and leaned towards Don Dan with narrowed eyes. "ATTICUS PYTHON doesn't care if you're the head of the mafia, or married to this fraud of a woman-" he jabbed his finger towards Ginz, "if you say that again, he'll rip your throat out, got it, bro?"

ATTICUS PYTHON sat back and licked some of the froth around his mouth. "Dude, ATTICUS PYTHON must look totally rabid - that's awesome!" He nodded at himself in approval, but his mood quickly changed once more. "Wait, bro, did you say the townspeople killed ATTICUS PYTHON's guy? That is so uncool." He took some time to think about this. "ATTICUS PYTHON bets it's because they don't want another dude trying to steal the spotlight from ATTICUS PYTHON. Gotta love those loyal fans." He looked around the diner again. "ATTICUS PYTHON ACKNOWLEDGES EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. Except those that aren't worthy. LIKE THESE NOBODIES I'M SITTING WITH RIGHT NOW!"

He focused back on Don Dan. "Wait, dawg, did you just try and call yourself manly?" ATTICUS PYTHON chuckled. "ATTICUS PYTHON is rolling on the floor laughing right now, only the doctor said that that will totally ruin the face-" he motioned to his face and flashed a smile, "so just pretend. If you have the capacity to do that in your incredibly manly brain." He chuckled again. "That was totally sarcasm - ATTICUS PYTHON should write that down somewhere."

“Nice to see you back home, Melvin, I’m so glad you decided to visit after all!” she said, ignoring the last part of what he said. Ginz was convinced that her brother was a good person deep down, and wanted to make him feel welcome in spite of everything. "If only Penny was here, it would be perf--"

ATTICUS PYTHON raised his eyebrows. "Did you just talk to ATTICUS PYTHON without permission?" he asked, raising his upper lip into a snarl. "These COMPLETELY UNKNOWN PEOPLE are totally cramping up ATTICUS PYTHON's style." He leaned onto the seats, grabbed as much of Ginz's coat as he could, and wiped his mouth with it. "Thanks, babe, owe ya one," he said as he sat back up again and took yet another mouthful of beer. "Are you still going on about that Penny kid? I'D NEVER MET HER BEFORE, but she sounds like a complete bummer."

ATTICUS PYTHON swung around to face Osi when he ran over to the booth. "Hey there, future-bro." He pointed at the rest of the booth behind him. "Take note future-bro, these are perfect examples of what you don't want to be. The chick is totally uncool, and the dude is even worse, especially if this is the only chick that he can pick up." He shook his head. "Seriously unradical. ATTICUS PYTHON just met these fools. For the first time. Ever."

He gave Osi a thumbs up. "You stick with ATTICUS PYTHON, future-bro, and you'll be picking up the chicks in no time. But remember, those chicks have gotta change for you. That's rule number fifty-seven."

[Avery]

Round: Four
Round Name: On a flooded, hellish night...

What had been merely a nuisance rain in the morning had turned into a catastrophic storm by dusk.

Bullets of raindrops pounded against the saturated earth, turning Wafflenet's dirt roads into impassable bogs and its cobblestone-paved town centre into a slippery, flooded mess. Lightning arced across the sky in threatening bolts, accompanied by deafening claps of thunder. The wind howled viciously, downing tree branches and blowing small-- and some not-so-small-- items about as if they were paper dolls. And all across town, on account of the old, slipshod construction of most of Wafflenet's buildings, water started seeping into basements, so that all of them soon were filled with inches of water that only continued to rise.

Most of the townspeople had been holed up in the diner for the majority of the day, and it was clear that none of them would be leaving soon. A couple of the more hardy had tried, only to return a few minutes later water-logged, storm-blinded, and several of them with scrapes and splinters from flung-about debris. Not to mention, basements weren't the only things flooding: the main street that ran through the town centre was at an unfortunate incline, and rushing waters from uptown had created a quick-moving river. It was only calf-deep, but the water was mixed with a whole lot of mud, and in conjunction with the slick cobblestones underfoot, it was simply impossible to navigate without slipping or being knocked off-balance.

Inside Waffles, No Nets, the townspeople were uneasy. Not only was the street flooded-- and the diner's basement-- but in the past hour or so, a steadily rising pool of water had begun to seep in from the outside on ground level. It was not dangerous yet, but it was certainly alarming. And as the townsfolk each nibbled on their fifth plate of waffles of the day (speaking of which, the diner was starting to run dangerously low on food), they were all a bit... put off, to say the least.

"I hope the rain stops soon," murmured the town hobo, Chet Flash, who was normally barred from the diner but had been let in as an act of mercy. "My poor dumpsters, they're gonna flood."

"Who cares about your dumpsters?" grumbled Sparky Drama O'Llama, who still had not completely recovered from finding two bodies earlier in the day and was in the grumpiest mood of his life.

"ATTICUS PYTHON doesn't understand hobo man's preoccupation with dumpsters! ATTICUS PYTHON knows that taking out trash is a woman's job and--"

ATTICUS PYTHON, nee Melvin Mahb, stopped talking mid-sentence, which was extremely unusual for him. After all, ATTICUS PYTHON was not the sort to just stop talking in the middle of making a point. All of the town turned to look at him, and noticed that he had taken on a sudden, deathly pallor. Beer bottle gripped in one hand, THE PYTHON gasped for breath and opened his mouth, as if trying to complete his statement. But instead, he merely produced a horrid gurgling noise.

Then his eyes fluttered, and with a thunk, ATTICUS PYTHON fell to the ground, his beer bottle shattering as it hit the sticky tiles.

What was more interesting-- and horrifying-- however, was what happened to the spilled beer: as it touched the tiles it sizzled, and steamed, and made the queerest of noises. Certainly not the way spilled beer normally reacted. But then again, the town quickly realised, ATTICUS PYTHON had not been drinking normal beer.

"He's been poisoned!" gasped Tanya.

"The mafia!" shrieked Chet Flash.

"They must have noticed him drinking his own beer all day," murmured Sparky. "And when he wasn't paying attention... they contaminated one of his bottles..."

It's not that the people in Wafflenet liked ATTICUS PYTHON. In fact, most of them would have been thoroughly glad for him to pack up his bags, leave town, and never return. He was misogynistic, chauvinistic, and abusive. He never shut up, and was combative with anyone who dared challenge him. That said, his death by the hands of the mafia scared the hell out of them, because while it had only been ATTICUS PYTHON this time... what if it had been someone else?

Preoccupied with gaping at ATTICUS PYTHON'S body, it took the town a few minutes to realise what else had just gone wrong in the diner: the seeping water, previously an irritant but nothing more, was suddenly, rapidly growing higher. Outside, the rain had picked up even more, see, and was coming down now in almost a continuous sheet. If it carried on like this, soon the ground floor of Waffles, No Nets would be just as flooded as the town centre outside. 

"We should go upstairs," Tanya said as the water sloshed around her ankles. "Everyone, upstairs! Into the attic!"

"Will it hold us all?" asked Sparky.

"It will have to," said Tanya glumly.

And then, leaving ATTICUS PYTHON'S body to the rapidly rising water, the rest of the town of Wafflenet fled up to the attic.

ATTICUS PYTHON/whatever-the-hell-else-he-wanted-to-be-called was an innocent townsperson.

And now, everyone else in the town, you must ride out the storm up in the attic! Hopefully it'll clear up soon, hm?

[Chao]

Kay was so glad she had picked the Waffles, no Nets as her new afterlife home. And as sugar dispenser perched on the counter she had a great view of all that happened.
Yes, it had been disturbing to see the town hang Mick, but seeing that he was back within short time as apparition, Kay was okay with it. Perhaps it was part of being dead herself, but she was much better accepting the deaths of others than she had been when alive. It even made the sight of Mick's still swinging body outside bearable.
And then Melvin went for the big drama. Really, he could be entertaining. At least from a certain perspective. Certainly not Melvin's perspective. Kay had not been able to repress an excited rattle when Mr. Maphia had called Melvin by his real name loud enough for everyone to hear. But then things quickly evolved in an unforseen direction. Something really dramatic. Someone had poisoned Melvin! Dead! She could not believe this nuisance was dead... and given the current situation, she doubted he remained dead for long. She only hoped he chose to return as ghost and was put on the waiting list Pete had mentioned.
Of course everybody thought it was the Mafia again, who was behind this murder, though Kay was inclined to think that possibly every living female in Wafflenet would have been just as likely to have poisoned the beer after all the chauvinistic stuff Melvin had spouted. But perhaps the Mafia had also female members...
Kay was so fascinated by that thought that she had not noticed the rising water until everybody began scramblig up in the direction of the attic. She began to rattle frantically, hoping that someone would have the quickness of mind to take the sugar dispenser with him/her upstairs. After all, she contained sugar... she could help keep people alive up there and cheerful. Besides, nobody wanted soggy sugar. And she did not want to drown here with the corpse of Melvin floating in the water.

[Avery]

Okay, like, from her booth in the corner Britknee's vantage point wasn't great, but like, no one could have missed it as that PYTHON guy started into another diatribe but like, was totes cut off by his own death. OMYGAWSH SO SCARY AHH! And even more like, scary, his beer was totes like, acid or something, what! And even SCARIER, the floodwaters were rising and quickly turning Waffles, No Nets into No Waffles, Please Rescue us with Some Nets BECAUSE WE ARE DROWNING!

The waitress/cook/whatever lady like, suggested everyone go hide up in the cramped, gross attic, which normally would have mortified Britknee. But all the deaths as of late had kind of sort put things into perspective for her and like, she guessed it was better to hide in an icky attic with icky people than um, drown. From her handbag, Snuggles whined, and Britknee gave him a reassuring pat on the head.

"Shh, it's like, okay, Mommy won't let her ickle Snuggykins drown!"

Snuggles licked her hand, and Britknee followed the townspeople as they started to ascend the stairs up to the attic. But curiously, as Brit passed a sugar shaker on one of the tables, it started to vibrate.

"Oooh," Britknee said, enraptured by the shiny, quivering object. "Ooooh!"

Impulsively, even though she like, never ate sugar EVER cos it would make her so ewww and fat, Brit reached out and picked up the sugar shaker. At least it would give her something like, entertaining and shiny to fiddle with upstairs as she and the townspeople waited out the storm.

[Gelquie]

Julie sat by the window, staring mournfully at the flooding outside. To think it had been so calm the day before when it came to weather. Perhaps cloudy, but at least it wasn't like this. On the other hand, Julie thought, perhaps it was to reflect the mood and the chaos in the town.

She hadn't even started to play her instrument. She had just watched another person die right in front of her. She couldn't say that she thought very well of him, but he died in such a grisly manner that it had unnerved her even more than before. For a long while, she wasn't even in control of her thoughts, and the scene of THE PYTHON's slow death replayed in her mind over and over again.

It wasn't until there was a loud clap of lightning that struck nearby that Julie managed to snap out of her thoughts. What was she...? Right. They had all clamored up into the attic, with the water levels rising dangerously and no other way to escape. Sure, they were safe for now, but how long would it last? Would the water levels rise up to the attic as well? Would they even be safe on the roof?

She took some time to listen to the raindrops go pitter patter pitter patter plack plack at high speeds. She wasn't fond of being in the rain, but perhaps she could find a rhythm to the raindrops hitting the roofs and the water below. Pitter pitter pitter patter pitter plack patter... Maybe not to the tempo of the rain, but maybe there was something there. Something that would help. Something that could calm her down... She grabbed her mandolin, took a minute to tune, and then plucked a few chords before pausing and listening to the rain again. A few minutes later, she began to play a tune that she hoped would complement the rain.

"Against the raging waters below
does the lightning crash at it in rage
Encour'ging the high waters to flow
And their anger we just can't assuage.

And so they battle on uncaring
of those in between; humanity,
who stands victim to the storm's scaring
amidst another fatality.

The tragedies we must try to bear
and be to our own selves defending
But still persists just death and despair
Which, much like the storm, is..."

There was another loud thunderclap, and Julie paused before she let out a forlorn sigh. "Unending..."

Julie continued her tune on her mandolin, but she chose not to continue singing for the moment, unable to find more rhymes. Instead, she turned around, looking at all the others in the attic.

[Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff)]

((*refers to last round* Tiger, I thought Mick had lost his memories of everyone he saw? And Penny, Fluffle snuggled you when you were writing with the cereal. Someone DID see you

SORRY ABOUT THE LONG POST ;_; )

Where was this diner?! Fluffle was practically walking in circles trying to find it through the blasted sheets and sheets of rain. It wasn’t cold, it wasn’t wet, but it was annoying. No matter where she looked, everything looked the same. It was a vast expanse of muddy water that was sloshing around, with only faint shadows of buildings visible through the dense rain.

There was simply too much water. Too much water? Fluffle shook her head as she walked. Wasn’t she just thinking to herself that she wouldn’t know where to find haunted water?

Fluffle tried to slip her essence inside the roaring water…and got carried ten steps back. No good. She needed some water that stayed put.

She paused in her search for Waffles, No Nets. What about The Fluffy Bakery? That was taken care of. Fluffle had obtained every kind of insurance for it, including Flood. Besides, the water would never rise as high as her apartment.

((Wow. I am feeling really sad writing that. That she-dog Sandy struck my area…))

At long last, she saw a large, looming shadow in the distance. It was definitely Waffles, No Nets. Fluffle gathered strength in her spirit legs, and jumped, propelling herself through the wall into the ground floor.

Huh. Nobody was there. Fluffle turned her head sideways, confused. She looked around. All the water seemed to be flowing into…

No. Oh FYORA, no. Not there.

She wanted to start a ghost bakery division, and she couldn’t do that without water. The special kind. She could hold it in her fur, provided nothing else was in there, or a regular container, if she could solidify (or ice) the haunted waters.

On the other hoof, he was there. He’d probably try to pull something. Like her TAIL.

On the other hoof…how else was she to get water that wasn’t moving? She was about to tear out some ghost fluff when her hoof touched something in it. These items were faint, and blue, but they were nestled in her fur…Her purse. Her books. Her frosting shaped tinfoil hat. Her paper. Her bow and arrow!

ON THE SAME HOOF, SHE WAS ARMED!

On the other hoof, she was just too scared to do it.

She watched the flowing water for a few minutes, then wondered what it would be like to slide on it. But of course, there would be danger waiting for her in the basement, so no haunting/sliding this part. The only other place she could do so safely was the roof. The roof of Waffles, No Nets, a water slide?

The notion seemed quite grand, indeed.

Fluffle clip-clopped (though it couldn’t be heard) up the stairs, right up to the attic, where everyone was huddled to get away from the storm. THE PYTHON wasn’t there, though. How sad….not really. He had never really taken a liking to ponies or anything fluffy and pink, she’d thought.

Fluffle waved at them and saw her old customers. Britknee. Ginz. Tracy. And all who’d ever come to The Fluffy Bakery. For the first time, she wanted to be cold and wet and keeping everyone warm. The closest she could come to that was snuggling each of them in turn, concentrating on solidifying a piece of her fluff at a time.

Julie was also singing a nice song! Fluffle tossed her a ghost-Bit. She deserved it!

Upon finishing the snuggling, she waved a hoof, then floated to the roof. The mandolin's music floated up to her as well, completely in time with the rain. Water was cascading off the roof faster than she’d ever seen it. Fluffle grinned, took a deep breath, and did her best to haunt the thin layer.

How exhilarating! She was flying AND swimming at the same time! It was a glorious feeling…until she sank into the ground. She couldn't hear the music anymore.

From far away, I mean REALLY far away, a 20-year-old brunette on a laptop shook her head, her thick curls bouncing as she did so. “Really, Fluffle, get it together,” she muttered.

Fluffle was completely submerged, but there was no splash. (Obviously.) Wait a minute. The water was fairly stagnant. Oh, no. Where had she sank into?

Oh, sugar, honey, icy taco, no. Not here.

Fluffle stood up, her legs completely obscured by the water. With one hoof, she took out the container and prepared to haunt the water. With the other hoof, she adjusted her quiver so that she could have easy access to her arrows.

It did not matter that her bow and arrow was not designed for ponies. She could use it well when in trouble.

Fluffle placed the container on the ground and began to spread through the rising water. Ghostly fluff was everywhere. Fluffle, at last, righted herself and slapped the lid on the container. Keeping one eye on the tail peeking out from behind the coffee grinds(which turned out to be a lonely-looking blue discarded plush toy of some sort) she looked at the container. The water inside it was turquoise, and its transparency varied, becoming opaque in one place, then another, then another. Fluffle stuffed the container back in her fluff and nocked an arrow. Her hooves shook but she made sure she wouldn’t lose her grip.

She edged toward the staircase to leave, intent on going straight home...

Stupid conscience. Keeping people company was her job more than anything else. She returned to the attic, wondering what she'd be able to do...

[Tiger]

May 25, 2013 17:50:15 GMT -5 Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff) said:

((*refers to last round* Tiger, I thought Mick had lost his memories of everyone he saw?

((Sorry for the confusion, I know it was vaguely worded - he's forgotten the identities of the mafia members (he still knows the people themselves, just doesn't remember them being mafiosos) so he can't just reveal their identities to the town.))