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 Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:22 pm
Maira was an artist of escape that Houdini would envy. She'd sneaked away from Jess yet again, and was now happily pestering the man on the corner selling caramel apples.
"Why do you put the gloopy on the apples? I don't like to be sticky, and you're making the apples sticky! I'm an apple today, and I say you shouldn't put gloopy on me."
"Kid...d'you want an apple or not?"
"GIMME."
Maira ran in a tight circle, clutching her apple gleefully and chewing at the gluey candy.
"I will plant the seeds from this apple and grow a camel tree," she said to passerby, eliciting a few laughs and a few noncommital grunts.
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:23 pm
Unlike Maira, Amahté did not have to pretend to be Houdini to escape Mary's clutches. After all, a god could go where he liked, whenever he liked, and do as he so pleased, thank you very much! And what he was pleased in doing now was wandering aimlessly down the street, the ground warm against his bare feet.
It was difficult not to be drawn in towards the smell of his own, sweet and tangy and caught against warm breaths of air. His path deviated towards the vendor, nose twitching and curling with each curious whiff of caramel that he took.
"What is that you're putting on the apples?" Great minds think alike.
The man behind the cart was tempted to close up shop. Deadbeat parents, man, letting their children run around willy-nilly on the street. Sigh.
"It's caramel - you know, like...candy."
The small Egyptian boy turned a cheek, eying the vendor with distrust, "And why would you cover up perfection with...with confection?"
I will plant the seeds from this apple and grow a camel tree.
"Impossible!" he continued, as though Maira had been a part of the former conversation all along. He spun on his heel to face the girl, "Camels don't grow on tr-YEE!"
One very high, paranoid shriek later, and the vendor found that there was a very small, very harried boy crouching behind the cart.
"I've been cursed! The undead walk the streets."
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:36 pm
Maira gave a shriek of her own, clutching her apple to her chest like it was a precious treasure and shrinking where she stood.
"Oh, oh, oh!" she gasped, tears welling in her eyes. "Please, I don't want to be near the dead, they'll find the soul in me and take it and use it for their eyes, I don't WANT to see through the dead-skulls, they'll say such awful things and their cobwebby voices will be in my HEAD!"
Sobbing, Maira skittered behind the bewildered vendor, clutching at Amahté.
"Please, don't let them get me! I don't want to hear the cobweb songs, they catch you and smother you and never, ever let you go!"
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 7:33 pm
The young boy's eyes widened in sheer terror when Maira approached, too stupefied by her bandaged form to do anything but stand rooted to the spot. As soon as her hands reached out to touch him, he tore away from his reverie and yelped again, trying desperately to divert her sticky fingers by flapping his arms. It didn't exactly work.
"But you...aren't...dead!" he half whined, desperately even. Again, hysteria seized the child; who on earth wanted his throne enough to send and undead army (read: one sadly confused, little girl) after him? That masked child? No.... Orp-- preposterous! Definitely not his right hand! And then it hit him.
Kaoru. That little witchling!
He cleared his throat, but his knees knocked beneath his kilt, "Who--" his high voice cracked. He began again - "Who sent you!"
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 9:25 pm
"I'm alive," Maira said with a sniffle, wiping her eyes roughly with a raggedy gray sleeve. The scent of her apple distracted her and she plunked onto the ground, toes curling in pleasure as she gnawed at it hungrily.
"I was talking with a bird and it flew away, so I followed it," she said, looking up at the funny boy. She smiled guilelessly, sweet as a newborn. "I like your hair. It's just a little poof on the side of your head, did you know that?"
Realizing he'd asked her a question, Maira blinked and stood up slowly, turning in a circle.
"I was sent by the thing behind the stars," she said dreamily. "It has great bright eyes and it holds its heart in its mouth, and it speaks to me in my sleep. It tells me things, secret things, like why cheese is yellow and chocolate shouldn't be used like toothpaste."
She looked back at Amahté, laughing brightly.
"I was lying! Did you see me? I'm a good liar, except when I'm not. And I wasn't lying, not at all."
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:06 pm
There was a stretch of silence after the oddling girl finished speaking. The scrape of the vendor's cart as it moved a little left-wise filled in the awkward gaps; Amahté simply stared after her, no wide eyes or open mouth. He just stared at her as one would stare at a wall. The only difference was that his eyes were completely focused.
His hand moved to his sidelock as though to make sure it was still there. He wasn't exactly sure whether or not 'I like your hair' from her was a compliment or just...words because it seemed a lot of what came out of her mouth were just words.
...Words strung together with no thought of form. He was not convinced.
"So you're lying? Well, if not dead, then what are you? Because...because you look it to me. Dead, I mean." His nose curled a bit, utterly dumbfounded.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:26 pm
"Stop SAYING THAT," Maira screamed, suddenly enraged. "You'll make me die and then I'll shrivel up and rot and the red rivers inside me will spill, and it'll all dry out and it'll be all-your-FAULT."
She emphasized the last three words with hard pokes to Amahté's chest, looking livid. Breathing hard, Maira stepped away, head snapping from one side to the other. She sucked in a deep breath and it left in a long sigh, her body shaking with dissipated rage. When she opened her eyes again she was perfectly calm.
"I am a girl," she said, staring at Amahté. "I am alive, and I am a girl. And you are being un-nice to me. Maybe I should put little spiders under your skin so they can eat you up."
She smiled suddenly again, laughing like she'd just told the best joke in the world.
"Did you see? I did it again! I lied, I'm a very good liar."
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