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Intermezzo I


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I will be gone for the remainder of the day and probably a good portion of tomorrow so I am opening this thread for those of you who wish to do some posts or role playing covering the two day before the Fair/Party.

feel free to post have fun

 

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Epilogue: Over the Rainbow

The Jauntsen Twins

If Sean had known his thoughts from earlier that day would have been a topic for debate in Devin's later the following day, it would have dropped him dead.  There he sat though, Devin, looking out over the hills and mountains of Montana from a well lit clear black night sky riddles with millions of possibilities and worlds where the children didn't have problems like they did on Earth.  Despite his seething hatred for the home he never bothered giving a chance, he could never deny how gorgeous the landscape was, day or night.

It never was a difficult task for either of the siblings to climb up onto the room of their home.  Right off from the back patio on the second floor the roof angled just right so that one could simply hop from the railing to the roof and walk to the rooftop.  On almost any given warm evening their parents could find one or both the twins up there looking out over the horizon talking about the days events.  Neither really entertained any friends, just pawns in their grand schemes, but on a rare occasion Marissa and Courtney would be up there babbling away an evening.

Tonight Devin was simply relaxing after a getting home from the hospital.  Dr. Cook had said 'first thing in the morning' which apparently meant 'sometime around two or so'.  Marissa went and picked up his Ducati for him from Bunnie's which only made half the student body want her more when they saw the tropeworthy 'hot chick on a motorcycle'.  Most in people in Shelly had no idea she could ride.  The clear night air seemed to do wonders for his thoughts as he recounted punching Chet in the face.  He was in no denial about being a bully to the other students, or that his temper made him a point of conversation in more than one rumor mill, but lashing out at Chet was out of character, even for him.  Even in his three ears of earning the reputation as a bully in Shelly, he'd never really had a violent outburst like that, hell, he didn't need to, picking on the other kids just made them all scared and that made his job easier.  But lashing out like that?  That wasn't him and although no one seemed to believe him, he didn't remember actually doing it.

Snapping from his thoughts at the sound of his sister approaching, he offered her a smile and a slight nod in greeting.

"Hey.  Figured you were up here," Marissa said, sitting next to him on the layers of blankets they'd dragged up here.  The Jauntsen's insanely expensive home thankfully had a roof that was an an absurdly low angle, just enough to keep the rain sliding off to the ground below.  Between her finger was a long, slender cigarette which she lit and took a drag from as she got comfortable beside him.

"Mom smoking again?"  He asked, knowing the answer already.

Marissa nodded while taking another drag and blowing a plume of white smoke up into the trees.  "Yeah, same hiding place.  You know how she is: not very original.  Dad's has her super stressed lately.  They were fighting since you got home.  As always Dad wants to send you to military school and Mom says it's just a phase."  She shrugged and inhaled again.  "You know how it is around here, dad's drinking in his man cave watching ESPN.  I gave mom a Valium and she's well on her way to forgetting tonight," she chuckled.  "And most of tomorrow."

He just nodded in understanding of everything she'd just said.  The two simply sat there in the warm night air and let the complete silence wash over them.  It was rare in their daily lives that they were ever able to enjoy the simple pleasure of quiet.  Between people texting them constantly or their parents yelling at them or each other, silence was a rare gift in the Jaunsten household.  Devin's knees were pulled close to his chest and he rested his arms on them.  He looked out over the horizon as Marissa quietly enjoyed her cigarette to calm her nerves.  He could here a soft crackle of the cherry each time she inhaled.

"Why?" He finally said with no context.

A bit perplexed Mari shook her head at him, like asking a question without saying a word.  When he didn't really reply she finally spoke up.  "Why, what?"

"Emjay, I've been a dick to all of those guys, since we moved here.  Yesterday though... I could've died."  His voice was soft and filled with the contemplative tones of a teen lost in though.

"No," Marissa shook her head furiously.  "No, don't go making this into some kind of life changing event, Deej!  Those losers didn't do anything for you except record it and try to capitalize on embarrassing you.  Chances are to use to blackmail you into leaving them alone this year.  Sure, you got Chet in the face pretty hard, and that'll warn them to keep clear of you, but don't fool yourself into thinking they did out of the kindness of their hearts."

"I'm not sure," he shook his head this time.  "I mean, Marissa, really, what do we gain from dominating this school?  These kids are lame, to say he least, after three years, we've done nothing but rule over a kingdom of mouth breathers, idiots, dope dealers and traps.  What have we gained?"

"Well, the alternative is associating with them," she inhaled the cherry flared in the dim light.  "And we both know that's not happening.  We have our clique of people Devin.  We stay with ours and they stay with theirs playing their Digi-Poke's and jerking each other off at their table games.  And my god, have you seen what they eat at those games?  Jesus Christ... it's a wonder their not all dead or diabetic."

He laughed.  He knew she was looking out for him, she always did, but he didn't seem to have it in him at the moment to buy her story.  Maybe it was the fight with the Chet, or the seizure or his dad threatening to send him off to school elsewhere, but lately he just didn't seem to care about the stuff he cared about a few months ago.  Everything about Shelly he hated but the misery he was inflicting on others wasn't making him feel any better.  He was just dragging this emptiness and uncertainty around with him.  "I don't know, I just... maybe at the party-"

"No, Devin, leave them be."  His sister flicked the ash from her cigarette and gripped his hand with her free one.  "They don't need us bothering them.  Leave them alone, they have plenty of friends."

"We don't." His reply was so on the head that Marissa faced one of the rare moments where she had no counter point or swift and decisive solution.  He was right and that cold, simple truth of it.  For all their popularity and money and status, the Jauntsen twins were the only two kids in Shelly without a single friend to call their own.  They both simply grew quiet and looked off at the stars while Marissa finished her stress relief.

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Fight For Your Right To Party

Jase Bannon

Preparations were (mostly) easy.  After scouting the ground with Sara the day before, Bannon went back and spent the morning clearing some space and digging and setting a bonfire.  A couple of extinguishers and sand buckets were easy enough to come by thanks to his Dad's stores - Bannon was not so reckless that he'd risk a bunch of morons setting fire to the Rez - and he set those aside, figuring he'd get Sara or Lilly to help him transport them down.

Booze was likewise easy.  Jase didn't have an I.D... but he knew plenty of stoners who did, and would help him out for some cut-price product.  He didn't get too much from one source, figuring that it was worth spreading the purchases across several individuals, even bribing one guy to bring a case of Captain Morgan and a case of Jack up from Great Falls.  It set him back a bit, both in cash and weed, but the fire had been lit under Jase's brain and he wasn't quitting now.  If any of his sources got curious, he'd just shrug and tell them that he was branching out to include non-smokers in his client base.  The way he saw it if they knew of a party with a bunch of high schoolers, odds were good some of these dubious figures (read: skeezes) would want to come and prey on the young meat.  Bannon was cold, but not that cold.

Then it was game time, and Bannon slouched his way to the usual spot to wait for the Lilly Uber service, sitting on a fence post and smoking a well-earned roll-up. As the strains of "Walk This Way" and a familiar rattling engine came to his ears, he hopped off the fence and stubbed the cigarette out, giving Lilly a short wave as she came into view.  Freshly showered, wearing a clean t-shirt and jeans, and with his hair even (somewhat) finger combed, Jase was obviously in good spirits as he clambered up into the passenger seat, a fact that Lilly did not miss.

"Battle plans all going well?" she asked as they pulled off again, heading to pick up Sean.  "We've not heard from you since you ran out with a hair up your tail end yesterday."

"Going very nicely."  Jase replied, giving her a sideways smile.  "Not only is Sara's location ideal, I've got the Mantis to A: bring the party people and B: agree that we're all off limits for her tormenting tomorrow night.  Booze is set, fire pit is dug...  Yep, it's going well."  He grinned, relaxing back against the set.  "We're going to have a blast, Lilly."

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Fight For Your Right To Party

Lilly Pryor

Lilly ejected the Aerosmith tape, uncertain where it even came from, and popped in a different tape, within a few seconds the music started, which seemed to bring satisfied smile to her lips as she drove down the rode with her window rolled down. Her hair was tired back in a no-nonsense ponytail, which along with a bun, was common for her, to the point that even her friends could hardly remember her hair ever being down. She had on a pair of jeans and a black shirt that had text printed on it in white;

GAMING IS NOT REAL LIFE!
If it were, I would have already killed you and looted your corpse.

She listened to Jase and nodded with a slight frown.

"Mari and her clique? Great. Sounds like a blast..." she said very sarcastically deadpan. "I hope you don't get caught." she finished.

"You aren't going?" Jase asked.

Lilly shrugged as she casually watched the road, considering how to explain how she felt about the whole party situation while grooving along with the music.

"Well, yes and no. I am all for a party, but this is a bit out of the norm. Firstly, it's a party with underage drinking and drugs, beer and weed at the very least. I mean, you should know by now that I'm not one to judge. If people want to drink or get high, that's their choice. It is just something I have no desire to do right now, not to mention weed smells like skunk roadkill and beer smells like rancid... whatever. Anyways. But this is also sneaking onto the Res and throwing the party essentially just to cheese off the Sheriff.

On top of that, if Lona gets her way, people are going to be getting seriously messed, be it drunk, or high, or both, and that is not fun to be around when you are sober. Half the time there aren't even non-alcoholic drinks.

And then, on top of that, I am the daughter of the head of a Lt. Col. that is head of security for the base. If I were to get caught, there would be hell to pay." she explained and then reached down and while resting a forearm across the top of the steering wheel, took the cap off her bottle of water and took a swig.

"Like, Hauling stuff there beforehand and back out afterwards is one thing. I mean, I have a truck and will help a friend, of course. But the actual party? Ehhhh." she shrugged, leaning on her forearm that sat across the steering wheel.

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"You're not wrong."  Bannon replied after a short pause to collect his thoughts  "At least, not wholly."  As if in answer to Lilly's sidelong glance, he shrugged.

"Yeah, this started as a way to say 'fuck you' to Sheriff Allister.  But it's changed since then, taken on a life of it's own."  He half-turned on the seat, facing her.  "Sara took me out to see the spot she mentioned.  It's great, Lilly.  I saw that and I just felt like this was something bigger than flipping Cade's dad the bird."  Jase paused, wishing he still had a cigarette in his hand.  He wasn't used to discussing emotional topics, or the way he saw the world.  He hesitated, then went on.

"It's like...  This is something I can do that's for me and those I choose, you know?  Everyone's always telling us who we should be, how we should behave, what we should and shouldn't do.  Even when the 'dults ask that bullshit "what do you want to do with your life" question it's only so they can get in the driving seat and steer you."  He gazed out the window as he spoke his eyes distant now.  "Maybe not your folks.  But most people are just like that, if they give two shits at all."

"So anywho, this is something I choose to do, for my own reasons.  Part of that is to give something back to you guys."  He shrugged uncomfortably.  "I mean, you all put up with a lot of my shit.  I'm not the easiest guy to get along with.  I'm not even a particularly nice guy.  I live the way I live and do what I do to keep people at arm's length, but you guys... I care about."  He paused.  "Some of you, anyway.  Kinda."

"Uh-huh."  Lilly looked sideways at Jase, who wasn't meeting her eyes, a little smile on her lips that spoke volumes as to how much of his bull she was buying.

"So..."  Jase glanced her way, then looked out the window again.  "I'd like for you to come.  I've already arranged plenty of soda and shit.  There'll be beer for the plebs, and some decent booze for the VIPs - which includes you and the others.  I'm not planning to get wasted: whatever Lona wants to do is on her.  I just want to get a buzz on and hang out with the people who've convinced me not to burn down the school yet."  He let that hang in the air for a beat or two.

"Also, my weed smells awesome."  he ventured with a slight smile.

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Lilly listened as she drove. She nodded at times and shrugged at others, waiting for Jase' enthusiastic explanation of the site and party and everything to finally pause so she could respond.

"Uh, huh. Your weed might 'smell awesome' to somebody who likes weed and the smell of it, but for the rest of us who do not find the scent of a skunk 'awesome', it's not all that enjoyable." she teased back with her mildly goofy smile, one of the traits that 'humanized' her, for lack of a bitter word. For her age her physique was impressive, strong and athletic, yet still feminine. Added to that was her causal attire, very limited use of makeup, and her near constant ponytail which added to the 'she does not even realize how hot she is' vibe she had going with her friendly demeanor, and it just made it even moreso.

"And yeah but... it's like it's not for 'you and those you choose' anymore. You brought in Marissa, dude, and that means she brings in her flunkies and crowd and 'popular' kids. As soon as you did that... I dunno. It seemed like it stopped being about us." she sighed. 

"It's just... I dunno." she with a shake of her head that sent her ponytail dancing along her upper back as she shrugged her shoulders.

 

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"Shit."  Bannon's tone was equal parts weary and defeated as he leaned back, straightening on the seat to face forward, his face losing some of it's animation.  "I brought in Marissa because she could guarantee that the party would have attendees, because she knows how to network and keep it from the ears of the 'dults."  He shrugged.

"Look, I suck at this selling schtick.  I don't have the patience.  I like you, and think the party would be better with you there, and that you could have fun if you wanted to.  That's my pitch." he stated. The shutters came down over his eyes, his face adopting it's habitual stony mien. "If you want to come, you've got a VIP invite.  If you don't, I get it."

With that he fell silent, gazing out the passenger side window, withdrawing into his own thoughts.

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Lilly bit her bottom lip lightly at Jase's withdrawal, though she did her best to hide it once she was conscious of it. She thought he was just doing the party as some anti-authoritarian thing to throw in the Sheriff's face, but now could see it meant a lot more to him. He was trying to apologize and do something nice for his friends, in his own way, which is the most she had ever seen him come out of his shell, and she had more or less ripped it apart without thinking of it from his point of view. Now he was a bit hurt, even if he wouldn't admit it.

She leaned down, somewhat dangerously perhaps, to rummage through the small cardboard box of cassette tapes and rose up again, elbowing Jase in the arm.

"Dude." she said as she replaced the cassette in the player. "Chill. I'm just bustin' balls. I mean, it can't go too perfectly." she laughed as the music began to play.

"Of course I'll be there. After all..." she said, pausing a moment for the lyrics to start, which she sang along to (if one could call it that), with a big smile,

♪♫ You gotta fight! ♫♪
♪♫ For your right! ♫♪
♪♫ To paaaaaaarty! ♫♪

She would accept the gesture he was going through a lot of effort to put forth and go the party. He was a friend and trying to show it, and things like this were how friendships were built. Her presence might keep some of the football team from getting too crazy, which would be good as Chet would already be out until the start of school most likely. Who knows? It might actually end up a good time and help bring them all a bit closer together.

 

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He winced at the singing, but the defensive hardness left his eyes even if he didn't quite smile as he glanced back at Lilly.

"Busting my balls.  Right."  he said with a narrowing of his eyes, the faint crinkling at the edges betraying the humorous slant of his words.

"Totally, dude."  Lilly put her hand over her heart and gave him her best open and honest look, which to be fair was pretty heart-melting - a fact which Jase could appreciate even if he was (mostly) immune to it.

"Lilly..."  he said, looking her in the eye for a long moment, his own gaze deep and inscrutable as he let her name hang on his lips.  For a wild and crazy moment, Lilly feared he might be about to admit to a crush on her, or something like that.  Not that it would be terrible - god knew she'd seen that there was a thoughtful, even sweet side to Jase - but he was Bannon and a friend and it would complicate things and he was a criminal and she imagined her dad giving him the Speech and Jase flipping out-

"Just don't sing."  Bannon said flatly, but with a faint sparkle in his eye as he turned back to look out of the window.  "There's not enough beer in Toole County to keep people at the party if you sing."

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Intercut

Crossroads Correctional Faciity

Shelly Montana

The Warden was a toweringly huge African-American, at first glance you would think he was fat but those who had seen him working out in the staff gym knew better. His face set in it's permanent scowl (except when he saw or thought of his wife or daughter), he rubbed a big meaty hand across his shaved scalp front to back and stared at the body on the slab in front of him. The body garnering so much attention was in such horrendous shape as to be unidentifiable. In fact lying there as it was, it didn't even look human.

"The others?" The Warden's deep voice held no emotion.

"Twenty two, sir, " the guard answered. Jack Massy was the senior guard captain at the prison and the longest serving staffer. "We have the injured ones in the clinic the rest are in solitary. They should be out for another thirty forty minutes. From the gas."

The Warden looked at Massy, it was an annoyed look which made Massy swallow under that baleful gaze. "Who gave the order to deploy the gas?"

Massy swallowed again. After the last incident, which had turned into a full bore riot, the prison had had, secretly, special gas dispensers with a special tranquilizer gas installed in all of the enclosed areas where prisoners could congregate, mess hall, library, gym, showers. All which was if not illegal was unethical to say the least. "I did, sir."

The Warden stared for several more seconds then turned away to gaze once more on the corpse. "Good, we don't need this shit to get out of hand again. Jack, you make sure your boys that were involved know that they need to keep there mouths shut, and keep those assholes in solitary until we can get them interviewed. I gotta make some phone calls."

With a sigh The Warden reaches out and pats Massy on the back then leaves the clinics small morgue and walks back to his office, thoughts heavy, to make those phone calls.

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11 hours ago, Bannon said:

"Lilly... Just don't sing."  Bannon said flatly, but with a faint sparkle in his eye as he turned back to look out of the window.  "There's not enough beer in Toole County to keep people at the party if you sing."

Lilly's eyes went wide, glancing off the road to Jase as she crossed an arm across her in mock injury.

"Dude! Harsh!" she whined with an over-exaggerated hurt and dejected look on her face.

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Spoiler

I will be working on the session two intro and posting it either today or tomorrow If anyone wants to add something here, don't wait. I won't lock it immediatly upon starting Session II but it will not remain open indefinitely.

 

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Other Lives
Sean Cassidy And The Gamers

"Marrizigal the Azure Doom exhales a crackling stream of actinic blue lightning, the harsh light flashing about the cavern." Over the low, but drumming beat of the battle music that issued from the blue tooth speakers Sean had placed under the big table in the middle of the Wright poolhouse, Sean made a rough, cackling hiss, mimicking the sound of electric death. Standing up and reaching over the DM screen, he traced the path of the cone of lightning. "But once more the elixirs of lightning resistance Bannon's Alchemist provided you all stopped the devastating breath weapon from being near instant death. Make saving throws guys."

Bannon, Charlie, and Lona made their rolls, two of them using the Sean's app on their phones, the other using physical dice, the digital and actual clatter of rolling dice blending together. Bannon and Charlie groaned while Lona made a satisfied grunt. 'Sorry guys," Sean said, not sounding sorry at all, "but even with the potion, that's 26 damage, only 13 for you, Lona."

"I'm down," Bannon drawled, tipping over his miniature on the grid map, then grabbing a handful of kettle chips. "Didn't have time to recovering from getting critted last round by the tail slap. Guess Herpes the dragon got tired of the grenados."

"Don't worry, I'll revive you on my turn," Charlie replied. "I still have a spell slot left."

Bannon gave Charlie a short nod while Sean turned to his newest player. "Cora, it's your turn."

"Um, right, okay," Coraline said, stammering a bit. The night had been going well, Sean and most of his players being understanding of the newbie. But the dragon and the smaller beasts under its command were almost dead after a long and tremendous fight and she didn't want to mess it up now. "Can I feint or something to give Lilly's barbarian an bonus on her attack?"

"You can, Cora. There's two ways for you to do it in this case. You can use the Help action, and the next person to attack will have advantage. Or, as a Battlemaster, you can use the Distracting Attack Maneuver. You attack, and if you hit, you do an addition 1d10 damage and give the next person Advantage. Don't forget, you also have Inspiration from the Bard, letting you add 1d10 to a roll."

Sean arched an inquiring brow at Cora. Cora glanced around the table and the consensus from the rest of the gamers was Distracting Attack. "I use Distracting Attack."

"Roll."

Almost tentatively, Cora took up a die, then rolled. It bounced across the map, finally landing on an 8. A miss, but by how much? Sean's face gave nothing away. "I'm using the Inspiration die." A d10 followed the d20, bouncing off it and spinning, spinning.... and stopped on a 10. "Yes!" She rolled the damage, face screwing up in disappointment. "Almost the lowest I could roll, even with the extra die."

"Still you hit and did damage. With all the wounds the bands have inflicted on it, and collapsing the cave mouth so he can't escape, the Azure Doom is incesnsed. His maw opens wide, showing more teeth, and longer teeth, than should be possible, then clamps down over Kamala Drix's shoulder and shield arm and flings her across the cavern into the wall."

Sean told her how much damage she took and Cora pouted. "I'm out too."

"Um, bandages? We still have uses of the healer's kit. We can still fix this," Charlie said, not quite as certain as he had been.

"Lilly, you're up. All the drakes are down."

Lilly grinned as ferociously as her barbarian likely was. "I take a flying a leap off the ledge and bring my greataxe down on the dragon's damned head!"

"Go for it."

Lilly took up two twenty-sided dice, rattling them in her hand and giving them a blow, then rolled them across the table. Bounce, bounce, bounce...

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sean had gotten a ride with Lilly, as had a few others. Walking over to the poolhouse, Sean gave the pool a dubious, melancholy glance as he skirted it. He hadn't gone swimming since he was ten and his condition had made itself known. He wasn't sure if he missed it or not. He wasn't sure if he wanted to find out. He'd gone to Great Falls earlier in the day to get some new tops and underwear that fit properly. His plain green shirt was fitted and the v-neck was low enough to threaten to show some cleavage, but it wasn't overly tight and with a proper fitting bra, his boobs actually didn't look as huge and he felt less self-conscious, but he was in no way ready to wear a swimsuit.

He was still waiting on a number of online orders to arrive and had only started trying to tailor some of his older clothes to fit better.

The pool house was nice, a finished version of what his barn could end up being, though obviously the design would be different. Still, he was proud of the work he and his dad had done on The Barn.

Clara it seemed already have bowls and plates and utensils set up for snacks and food. Even the grill was on standby. Sean scrunched up his nose in irritation. Clara wasn't playing in the Campaign and Sean was used to the gamers themselves taking care of the snacks and food. Clara was being entirely too... useful, too... there. And she was entirely too used to having things her way. Sean could see her hands twitch whenever someone moved something from her precise arrangement.

When the game started in earnest, Sean tried to ignore Clara, who seemed to try to do the same for the gamers. It didn't go particularly well. Clara would be in her room, then leave, and enter the main area, for one reason or the other. It was her home, so they had no right to complain, but still it was a growing aggravation having someone there who wasn't part of the game. More than once, Sean almost asked Clara if she wanted to sit in on the game, he'd give her one of the villains to play, but every time he looked her way, it seemed she had an expression of subtle condescension on her face, as though they were children instead of the same age.

Well, fine then!

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"TWENTY!" Lilly crowed, reaching out to pick up the plethora of dice for the damage roll.

Sean shook his head with a chuckle. "Don't bother with the dice," Sean said, then stood up, tipping over the figure of the blue dragon, his voice going dramatic. "With a roaring leap, the barbarian cleared more distance than seemed possible and brought down the greataxe with explosive strength. The broad, curved blade bites deep between the huge dragons eyes, great gouts of blood welling up with the tang of ozone and iron. Marrizigal spasms violently, flinging the barbarian from its head. Its long tail sweeps in a wide arc, knocking half the party from their feet."

Sean tapped something on his laptop, and there was a wailing, lizard-like roar. Sean tells how much extra damage the dragon caused in its death throes, another of the party going down, then continues. "With an electric sigh, the dragon finally goes still, its riven head hitting the ground with a metallic thump, coins of its hoard scattering all over. The Band has succeeded. The last of the Dark Lord Devlin's three dragons has been slain. While his legions of goblinoids and orcs still vastly outnumber the defenders of the frontier city of Pale, he has lost a tremendous advantage, like aerial siege weapons. And the horde from the dragons will be a great use in building up the defences of Pale... if you so choose. Once you guys manage to clear the cave mouth of the rubble provided by Bannon, you'll have to see if the carts and cart drivers are still around. You guys won't be able to haul all this back yourself, even with the bag of holding."

Sean smirked as he began packing up the miniatures, taking a quick glance out the windows. Even with the long summer days, the sun was well below the horizon, the sky gone deep blue and purple turning to black, speckled with stars. Sean pressed his hands to the small of his back and stretched.

"I think that's it for the night guys. I'll write up an update for you, telling you what the haul is, and anything special in the horde. I presume, there will be the Detecting of Magic?"

"Of course!" exclaimed more than one.

"Right. Charlie, you get Bannon up and stabilize Cora, but I think you guys will need at least a short rest before doing much else. And don't forget, the cave mouth is blocked and you are all out of cussers and other explosives. You don't think air is a problem for now, but it might be if you guys take too long and you aren't sure how long the cart drivers will stick around, despite what they said. Or what might find them while you guys are stuck in the dragon's lair. Tell me what you guys want to do, and I'll add it to the update for next week."

Sean nodded at Lona, and then over her shoulder at where Clara was lurking by the galley kitchen and the remnants of snack and food that weren't at the big table. "Thanks for hosting us, ladies. Hopefully The Barn will be ready next week, so things can go back to normal."

Spoiler

If people have names and/or classes for their D&D characters, mention them in the OOC thread, and I'll add them into the post as needed.

Mala - if you need me to edit anything on Clara's behalf, PM me on the site or in Discord, and I'll try to get that in tomorrow

 

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After-Action

Jase & Clara

As the others clustered around the mostly-devoured snacks and excitedly talked over the game, Bannon scribbled a few notes detailing what his character would be doing and passed them quietly to Sean with a nod.  Then he got up and strolled away from the table over to the galley kitchen, helping himself to an as-yet unclaimed Coke and a mostly-eaten bowl of kettle chips with a nod to Clara before sauntering outside into the summer twilight.  Of the gamers at the table only Cora, being new, was unused to this.  Bannon was a textbook introvert:  however much he enjoyed taking part in the escapades of the group, he liked his solitude after a gaming session.

Once outside he stretched, breathing in the warm evening air before moving to the edge of the pool.  A moment's contemplation led to several moments of him removing his boots and socks before he sat on the edge, dangling his bare feet in the water.  Tapping a roll-up from it's case he lit it with a snap of his lighter, then relaxed as he took a deep drag, eyes watching the play of light on the surface of the pool, his thoughts elsewhere.

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Several minutes later the patter of bare feet on concrete announced the arrival of someone that clearly didn't know the unspoken rules of the group.

"You can swim, if you want. The pool is heated." Clara sat down and dangled her own feet in and glanced at his cigarette curiously. "That doesn't smell like death on fire. What gives?"

As far as overtures of friendship went, it was uniquely and awkwardly Clara.

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The last time Bannon had been disturbed post-game, he had simply given the offending party the silent treatment until they (Charlie) had wandered off, Sean commiserating and explaining the nature of the beast to him.  Jase had a way of ignoring people so completely that they could even doubt their own existence if exposed to enough of it.  This time, though, his gaze moved from the pool and focused sharply on Clara.

He didn't know Clara.  That is to say, he knew of her, mostly by reputation and Lona's occasional muttered imprecations.  She had struck him as someone who considered themselves too good for others - which he could relate to in a sense - but she seemed to want to stand out, whereas he just wanted to be left alone in relative obscurity.  Lona had told him once that Clara had an actual folder with a Life Plan in it which she constantly referred to, which struck Jase as decidedly unhealthy if not borderline psychotic.

But she had agreed - agreeably even - to host this night's gathering and had gone all-out with the snacks and drinks, something which the perpetually hungry Bannon (he was at that stage of growth) could appreciate.  He wasn't sure if she'd done it just to show up Lona, or for some other reason - but with her now approaching him in an awkwardly friendly fashion he was aware that perhaps Miss Perfect was lonely on her cloud.  Plus, she'd commented on the tobacco, and Jase was enough of an artist in temperament that he could give some slack to someone showing appreciative notice of his work.

"Might swim another time.  No trunks." he replied, his gaze studying her for a moment longer before dropping back forwards to watch the light dancing on ripples of water.  After a pause, he added  "It's not commercial.  No additives, fiberglass, formaldehyde, or other crap.  Bred from a mix of strains, organically grown, cured with light smoke and heat."  He took another draw, smoke curling from the corner of his mouth as he gave her a slight smile.  "It's still not the healthiest habit, but a hell of a lot better for you than store-bought shit."

On a sudden impulse, he offered the smoldering roll-up to her, an impish cast to his smile.

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The Ridge

The Night of the Game

Sara paused, hands on her hips, looked out on what Jase and she had taken to calling the Party Camp, and smiled. Everything was in it's place, the fire pit was ready and there was a good supply of wood, the big plastic trash cans that Lilly had hauled up in her truck were strategically placed around the site and they hoped that people would use them, and she had just finished marking off the place where they wanted people to park. Jase had told Marissa to tell people to car pool but they figure there would be a lot of cars.

Like Jase, she felt that this party was somehow important., hell before this she never would have even considered going to a party much less help throw one, yet here she was. She looked at her watch, an analog expedition by Timex her dad had given her for her last birthday, it was almost 8:30 and the sun was sinking behind the mountains in the west. Too late to go to the gym and she didn't want to anyway. She would have to listen to Art bitch at her for missing her training. Not that she could blame him after all she had blown off training and working out all week, another thing she couldn't explain.

She looked at the time again. They would be in the middle of their game by now, having fun. She wondered what that would be like to just hang out and play stupid games and ...not be alone.

She walked over to the dirt bike she had ridden up today, started it up, gave the camp one last look then headed back down to Shelly and home.  She'd stop at Bunnee's first and get something to take home.

Tomorrow would be a first.

 

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Clara blinked at the offer, startled by someone thinking she might be a smoker. She stared at the hand-rolled cigarette for a moment, then took it and puffed lightly on it. She was not a smoker, clearly, but at least she hadn't taken a large drag and then hacked up half a lung. She did cough a few times and handed it back to him. "Thanks, but...," she coughed again, smoke tears welling in her eyes, "I don't think it's quite me, even all organic."

She waved at the pool and shrugged, "And you don't need trunks, at least according to my father." Her words took on a lower tone and a French accent, " 'Americans, always so terrified of the human body. Mon Dieu!' " She flushed and winced, realizing that she'd just told a classmate she barely knew that her father was fine with him swimming naked in her pool. She cast around for something else to try not to embarrass herself with. I can give an hour long speech in front of politicians and academics for a scholarship or award, but I can't talk to freaking Jase Bannon without making an idiot of myself. Maybe Lona's right and I'm some robot with screwed up code. 

"So," she ventured a bit timidly, motioning to the nearly spent roll-up, "where do you get that? A specialty store or something?"

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"Or something."  Bannon replied enigmatically, placing the roll-up in his mouth and popping the tab on the can of soda, offering it to her companionably.  He had wondered if, when offered the cigarette, Clara would screw up her pretty nose and make 'ick' noises, or politely decline, but though obviously not a smoker she'd gamely had a taste.  Somewhere in the icy mechanism of Jase's mind, an abacus bead shifted in Clara's favor.

"America seems a very Puritanical country in a lot of ways."  he commented as Clara took the can of Coke and sipped.  He spoke around the cigarette dangling from the corner of his lips with the ease of much practice.  "And then you watch a recording of 'Girls Gone Wild - Spring Break Edition' and realise that our collective psyche is all kinds of screwed up.  It's like everyday society represses people, especially young adults - tells them 'Thou Shalt Not' about all sorts of trivial shit, but floods their heads with pop stars and Kardashians and scandals and gossip... and then they explode like a shaken-up can of soda and get left with vomit everywhere, teenage pregnancies, school shootings and hand-wringing shame."

He took back the can as Clara offered it, taking a gulp of soda.

"I'll bear in mind what you said about the skinny-dipping though." he remarked, his expression it's usual deadpan save for the glint of amusement in his eyes, smoke drifting from his nostrils in lazy wisps.

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Cade wasn't looking forward to the talk with his dad he knew was coming.   There probably wasn't any avoiding it,  but he steeled his resolve.  His friends were important to him, and yeah some in the circle did tend to act out, but it was normal for Teenagers, wasn't it?

Still his dad had been more on edge lately, he'd even snapped abit at Haruka, which of course had sent her running to Cade, which made things worse, He sat in the Living Room, home alone for the first time in awhile, Haruka was over at a friend's, studying for a test on Thursday.

His dad was actually due home earlier than his usual tonight, and Cade meant to go ahead and have the talk when it was just them.  He hoped his dad had a better day, because Cade was at least trying to start this being aggravated.


Ian Allister pulled the big Sheriffs SUV into the drive next to his wife's car. He noticed that Cade's jeep was parked in it usual place on the second drive he had had poured last year. He sat there in the drive the engine clicking as it cooled. He had lost his temper today, hell not just today but a couple of time over the last couple of days. Ever since he had gotten called out to the prison by the warden, Ian Hess, Coraline's father, who had dumped a huge mess onto him that he still didn't know what to do with.


And then there was Cade showing up at that circus at Bunnee's the day before with Coraline Hess. He knew the two had become friends but he really hoped that that was all. He really didn't need his son dating a girl who father was a man he didn't like or trust.


Ian exited his truck and went into the house and saw his son sitting there in the living room. The rest of the house was quiet.


"Hello Cade, where's your mom and sister?" Ian asked as he took off his hat and gun.


"Miss Sinclair and Hailey came and picked them up.  Mom's helping Miss Sinclair bake for the fair, and Hailey and Haruka are helping them while they're at it." He smiled  "And probably sneaking early samples too, knowing the two of them."  His sister and her best friend each at a serious sweet tooth.


"So for now, and probably till after seven or so, it's just us."  Cade had the weather channel on, with the volume not muted, but quite low, a habit admittedly he'd picked up from the old men he knew, as well as his dad.  


"How's the town today, dad?"


The Sheriff grunted and walked past his son to the hallway to the bed rooms where he locked up his gun then he went into the kitchen and pulled a beer from the refrigerator and looked for dinner. "What are we supposed to do for dinner," he called? Not finding anything and not getting an answer he went back into the living room.


"Whats got you all serious, son?


"You wanted to have a talk, Dad.  We haven't had it, and now's probably the best time.  No Haruka to defuse it and put it off, no Mom to try to calm you down.  We can talk, about whatever it is you want to talk about, and it stays just between us."    Even as he spoke he went to the cabinets and got out the rice cooker and some Rice.  "I can cook while we talk.  Nothing much like Mom and Haruka, but some rice, and some chicken tenders if you want."  He hadn't been planning on a big meal and this was simple enough he could manage.   He got the oven preheating for the tenders, and got the rice ready.  "Unless you want to order out, we don't have much that's simple to cook."


He knew things had been on his Dad's mind, and he didn't think it was really just about Devin and Bannon.  There had to be more to set him off.
"We can go pick something up at Bunnee's I guess, put that up and come sit down," Ian said as he pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat himself. After Cade had put the food and utensils up and sat Ian took a swig of his beer. "First of all your not in trouble and I am not mad at you. What happened at Bunnee's was... upsetting for everyone. But having said that I have noticed that several of those kids you hang out with have become some what unruly and downright disrespectful. Now I know that teens will be teens I was one once myself and I wasn't always a perfect angel by any means, but If i'd have ever spoken to a deputy much less the sheriff like those two boys spoke to me yesterday, I'd have had my ass hauled to the jail and my parents called down to get me and have a good talking too. Of course these days we can't really do that anymore, mores the pity.


The Jauntson kid is just a special problem that will have to work it's way out, but that other one, the Bannon kid, he is trouble and I don't like you hanging out with him. Now I am not telling you who you can be friends with, I am not trying to run your life. You are almost an adult, and I know you have a good head on your shoulders and more importantly I trust you." He finishes his beer. "Just be aware Cade that his activities have not gone unnoticed. And that is all I will say on that." He pauses to get up and throw the beer bottle away


Cade listened to what his father said, and nodded.  The less they said about what Bannon did, or didn't do, the better, it was less he'd have to feign ignorance of or lie about.  Of course he heard all the rumors, but he'd never done any of it around him, so Cade didn't particularly have an issue with it.  There was the party being planned of course, but Cade was simply going to make his appearance and then leave, nothing more.
"Both of them have issues with any sort of authority, and well you pretty much personify that here in town Dad.  I can say just hauling them like that would have been a bad mood, sure to really ear their ire, and likely to have caused way more problems than it will ever solve.  I'll see if I can mention it to them, but I can tell you it won't amount to much.  Being your son, I'm just as bad as you in the eyes of the rebels here in town."  He had a reputation for being a straight arrow, but at least he was a quiet one.


He sat down with a coke, and took a draught of it, savoring the taste from the cold glass bottle.   "Is that really all there is to talk about?  You've been on edge for a few days at least.  Mom and Haruka are worried too.  I know you hate upsetting them as much as I do, so you probably haven't spoken to them about whatever's going on.  You can talk to me  Dad."   Cade sounded alot older than he was, perhaps is was the influence of his grandfathers and Mr. Bancroft on him.    


"No that isn't all," Ian said sitting back down, "Coraline Hess. I know you sort of befriended her when they moved here and that was a good thing, I can imagine how hard it is to be different from most everyone else and around here and an outsider too. And let me get one thing clear It isn't because she's black, but I've , we've noticed that you seem to spend a lot of time with her and, well,' he looks awkward, "I don't trust her father or the company he works for. And I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to get involved with her."
Cade looked at his dad, and cocked his head.  He clearly hadn't heard him right.


"You think Coraline and I are involved?"   Cade shook his head.  "No Dad, we aren't.  We're good friends, and yeah she just joined the group of us who play games together but it's just a friends thing Dad."  Dating Coraline hadn't even pinged as an option for him, and he was abit shocked by the fact his parents actually thought they were.


"I mean yeah I like spending time with her, but that's not how our relationship is.  I do want to ask since we're being honest, what about her dad and his company makes you distrust him?  I mean he's got more rules than you do, and seems to be a pretty okay guy from my limited interactions with him."


Ian sits back and wonders if he and Miyako, had misread things. After a moment he decided he had to give his son the benefit of the doubt. "That not anything you need to worry about son, just keep your interactions limited. What you see isn't always what you get." 


Ian scraps his chair back and walks toward the living room entrance. "Why don't you text your mother tell we are going to Bunnee's and see if she wants us to pick something up for her and Haruka." He stops at the door and glances back at his son, "And one other thing. About that party, I wasn't busting your friends balls. I was trying to warn them so they would warn the rest of those clowns. I don't want to have to bust any of you kids and more importantly I don't want any of you getting hurt, or worse."


"I can't imagine any of us going to Chet's party, especially after Devin broke his nose."  He added in reply.   he quickly shot off a text to his mother, asking if she just wanted them to pick them up something for dinner tonight, and what if anything, they wanted.


"You know I do all i can to just keep playing baseball.  I wanna go pro eventually, going to stupid parties isn't exactly part of that.  I mean yeah it's the "In" thing to do, but I never really cared for that.   That's got no bearing on how I play ball."  He wasn't like so many, teens, he knew what he wanted from life, and did what he could to make it happen.  Drinking, smoking and other self-destructive activities really didn't have a place in that, in his mind.


Ian nodded , "Alright then lets go get something to eat."

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Clara blushed cherry-red this time but her eyes were on the main house when she said, "Always the 'do as I say, not as I do,' that's for sure." She looked down at the water for a few minutes, comfortable with the silence that settled over their small corner of the estate. He's right, too. It's like adults dive for contradictions just for the fun of it. Do they just get bored, or something? Does living for decades and decades just make you go crazy? At least every once in a while? 

She pulled her legs up, resting her head on her knees, and looked back at him, her expression curious and assessing. "Why do you do it?" she asked, flicking her hand back towards the pool house. "The game, why do you play it? What's the point of it?" Her directness was often interpreted as overbearing or arrogant, but Clara simply didn't see the point of taking a half hour to work around to saying something that could be said in two sentences. She'd learned to make small talk with adults in the right circumstances, but like so much that adults did, it made no sense to her. Jase seemed more like her in that respect, leaving her comfortable enough to indulge in her curiosity. He seemed less likely to roll his eyes and declare her some emotionless robot than Lona, at least. 

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Friends and Fans

Lona Wilson


Teagan’s bike was not only nicer looking than Lona’s old bike, it was also higher performance. She found that out when she coasted down the slope to Donovan Reddington’s farm and hit the brakes at the bottom. The sudden response from the bike nearly pitched her over the handlebars, and she had to fight so she didn’t wash out on the gravel. By the time she had it under control, Hannah stood in the door to the RoadHouse, watching with mild concern. “She gonna buck you off?”
 
“Maybe. I’m still getting used to it,” Lona admitted as she dismounted and wheeled over to the renovated bus. “Are you guys going to the fair?”
 
“Of course,” Hannah said, walking over to loop a companionable arm over Lona’s shoulder. “Wanna bike over with us?”
 
“Yep!” she said, just as Grady bounded down the steps, carrying Hannah’s Native flute case with his violin case over his shoulder. “Wanna play with us?”
 
“Naturally!” Lona replied, delighted at the invitation. Even splitting tips three ways, they should make bank, plus there were few people she enjoyed playing with more than the Reddingtons’. “Oh, and hey, do either of you know the chords for God’s Country?”


~  *  ~  * ~ 

Grady tilted his head as the last notes of the guitar faded away on the YouTube video. “You need to make it your own, Lona,” he said. “It’s a song that works best for a deeper male voice.”
 
“Maybe a little softer, a little more melancholy,” Hannah advised, her fingers playing over the flute as if she were playing a song only she could hear. Her eyes were distant, looking beyond the fairgrounds setting up in front of them. “Blake Shelton goes for powerful and prideful; you have the voice to make it nostalgic instead. To make it a true song of praise for a way of life and a land.”
 
Lona nodded, pulled her guitar into her lap, and started to play.

 
~  *  ~  *  ~


 
“Hi again.”
 
Lona looked up from her almond butter and homemade strawberry jelly sandwich (all organic as Hannah had made it for her) and grinned when she saw her fan. “Hi! You’re here!” And I am a dork.
 
“In the flesh,” he said, adjusting his cowboy hat over his unruly hair. “Looking forward to your show.”
 
“Thanks,” she replied, as Hannah and Grady continued to play, though Hannah’s head was turned toward them and a slight smile curved her lips.
 
He is cute, Lona thought as she realized she was smiling stupidly at him. “I’m Avalon.”
 
“I know.” He grinned, showing perfect teeth. “I’m Luis.”
 
Lona shifted her sandwich into one hand and offered the other to shake. “Nice to meet you.” Desperately, she struggled for something else to say, to keep talking. Ask him about himself!  “So what are you doing at the big Toole County Fair?”
 
“My family shows Paints and Quarter Horses.” He turned and pointed toward the small city of trucks and trailers that had sprung up in the open area next to the fair. “We come every year. I saw you sing with that other girl last year, but I guess you’re solo now?”
 
“I am,” Lona said, trying to deflect her sadness and irritation at Clara. 
 
Luis hesitated and said, “Sounds like I should be saying sorry about that.”
 
“It was just that we used to be really close. Clara, the other girl I played with.” Lona felt her fingers picking out chords on her bread out of nervous reflex and she forced them to stop. 
 
He nodded. “Sorry.” They were quiet for a moment, and Lona covered her awkwardness by finishing your sandwich. He asked suddenly, “Hey, do you ride?”
 
“Uh, you mean, horses?” Lona asked, her eyes going wide. “Not since I was ten.”
 
“Then you’re overdue,” he said, offering her a hand up. “C’mon.” 
 
Lona glanced at Grady and Hannah. The latter gave her a thumbs up and raised her eyebrows in clear support of this activity, while Grady said, “Go have fun. We’re good.”
 
She’d forgotten how damned big horses were until she was standing next to one with Luis leaning out of the saddle, offering to pull her up behind him. “I’ve got you,” he said with so much confidence that she wanted to believe him. So she took his hand and grabbed the saddle, and jumped when he said “three”.
 
The horse, named Ángel Aureado, shied to the side but otherwise didn’t move as Lona scrambled up behind Luis. “I’m not sure where to put my hands,” she admitted, panting slightly from the effort of the climb. 
 
He grinned at her over his shoulder, and she realized that he had thick, beautiful lashes that framed his brown eyes perfectly. He reached back and took her hands, his rough skin warm, and placed them on his hips. “Hold on,” he ordered, and Ángel lurched into motion. Lona bit back a yelp of alarm and held on tightly.
 
They rode for half an hour, loping around the perimeter of the fair. Lona managed to relax halfway through the circuit, figuring out how to roll her body to move with the horse. She tried to commit every detail of the ride to memory; the gait of the horse, the hot sun and the way the light glinted off the buckle on Luis’s hat.  
 
When he trotted back to their trailer, and older man was waiting for them. He was clearly Luis’s father, and he scowled like an authority figure. As they stopped, he started to speak in Spanish. Luis answered him in the same, sliding off Ángel and reaching up to help her down. Whatever he said made the man stare at her for a long moment before he said one more thing and disappeared around the corner of the trailer.
 
“Did I get you in trouble?” Lona asked, chewing on her lip ring.
 
“Nah,” he said, “he just wanted to know that I was being careful with Ángel. Let me brush her down and I’ll walk you back.”
 
They were almost to Grady and Hannah before Lona summoned the courage to say, “So my friends are throwing a party after the fair opening. Would you want to come? See what passes for nightlife in Shelly?”
 
Luis grinned at her. “I’d love to.” They traded numbers so they could make arrangements later, and Lona went back to her music feeling a little hopeful for the first time in a long, long time.
 


~  *  ~  *  ~

 
On the ride home, she stopped at a yard sale she’d seen that morning. There wasn’t any clothing of interest, but she peeked into a paper bag out of curiosity and grinned. It was full of the kind of comic books that Cade liked so much.  “How much for the comics?” she asked the man in the folding chair.
 
He leered at her. “It’s manga,” he told her haughtily. “A bit of everything from BL to Hentai.”
 
Cade will love this stuff, Lona thought happily. “Great. How much for the whole bag?”

 
~  *  ~  *  ~

 
Lona rolled her eyes repeatedly as Clara made it clear that she wasn’t leaving them alone. She hovered around the group, offering food and being the perfect Hostess (Lona wondered if she were practicing for something for The Plan). 
 
The worst part though was Clara’s poorly feigned haughtiness badly hiding her curiosity. This is my thing! she thought angrily at the other teen. Still, she didn’t confront Clara about it right now, as all it would do is ensure that she stuck her nose deeper into the game.
 
Instead, she focused on helping to kill the drakes, clearing the adds with backstabbing and disengaging as rapidly as possible. Learning all the rules for the rogue had taken her time, but she was glad because it meant Cora could be the fighter she’d picked as her first character.
 
After the game wrapped, she slipped into her bedroom and grabbed the sack she’d bought earlier. Sidling around the edge of the chatting group, she tapped Cade on the shoulder, ignoring the butterflies that circled in her gut as she drew his attention to her. “So I was yard-shopping today,” she said as casually as she could manage, “and I found those comic-- er, banga stuff you like to read.” She passed over the bag with a proud smile. “There’s a bunch of them in there, so you’ll have plenty to read. I just hope you don’t own too many of them already.”
 

Yeah, it’s all erotic Boy Love and hermaphordite Hentai, as Lona doesn’t know what the terms are and don’t look too closely at the covers. Sorry, Cade!

😜 


 
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INTERCUT

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION

SHELLY MONTANA

The Doctor was fuming, two days, it took them two fucking days to get the video from that fucking greasy spoon, video that his project paid for. All because they couldn't put the state of the art wireless cameras in the goddam place because the neon fucking lights interfered with the fucking feeds so they had put fucking video recorders, Recorders for gods sake. Whoever the fuck authorized that was going to be cleaning sewers in New York next week. Two fucking days. The Doctor pushed the elevator button impatiently several times. He was so sick of this god forsaken shithole of a town. Finally the elevator door opened and he stomped out and into his office.

It didn't look like a doctors office no indeed it looked more like the secret headquarters of the villainous mastermind in a James Bond movie. It resemble that possibly because of the incredible hi-tech computer system built into the half moon desk that looked like it was made of glass or perhaps it was the giant aquarium which was full of exotic fish and was built into and took up the entire face of the wall the desk faced. As The Doctor walked to the desk the office lit up with a soft blue light and classical music began to play from hidden speakers.

The Doctor sat and swiped his hand across the surface of the desk a 3D image appeared in the air in front of him where the screen of a computer would be. he swiped again and again and more screens materialized showing medical readings, x-ray images, and a large detailed image of an MRI scan. That one he grasped the edges of and widened to almost three feet. then he produced a flash drive tapped the desk and a receptacle popped up, in went the drive and it closed.

In front of The Doctor the video from Bunnee's Burgers played. He ran it forward to where the fight began and watched it intently. He swiped his hands and the veiwpoint changed again and again he watched it from multiple angles expanding and rotating the screen and view playing it slow backwards and forwards. After nearly an hour he grasped the screen and split it in to and focused each screen on a different part of the video. He watched the fight in super slow motion. On the left the screen showed the Kids at the table with their food and drinks, the screen on the right showed Devin Jauntson and Chet Walker. He watched and adjusted the speed again slowing it even further. He watched as Lilly Pryor, the star athlete of the local school moved to intercept Devin Jauntson seven tenths of a second before Devin threw his phone. He froze the video of Lilly at the moment she first moved and played the view of Devin again slower and then slower. he froze it at a specific moment and isolated that moment and played it over and over each time painfully slower until he was certain what it showed.

The Doctor sat back, crossed his arms and held his chin with one hand. He looked at the large image of the MRI particularly at the area which showed brain activity.

Spoiler

a little intercut scene to remind y'all that this is weirder stuff and not one tree hill

 

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4 hours ago, Clara Lys Wright said:

She pulled her legs up, resting her head on her knees, and looked back at him, her expression curious and assessing. "Why do you do it?" she asked, flicking her hand back towards the pool house. "The game, why do you play it? What's the point of it?" Her directness was often interpreted as overbearing or arrogant, but Clara simply didn't see the point of taking a half hour to work around to saying something that could be said in two sentences. She'd learned to make small talk with adults in the right circumstances, but like so much that adults did, it made no sense to her. Jase seemed more like her in that respect, leaving her comfortable enough to indulge in her curiosity. He seemed less likely to roll his eyes and declare her some emotionless robot than Lona, at least. 

"It's fun."  he said with equal directness.  "Okay, that's the simple answer, so how's this:  It's a social activity I can tolerate, with people I can at least tolerate if not like.  It started with Sean - he and I got along okay, and he talked me into trying out a session with him, Cade, Lilly and Charlie.  I enjoyed the problem-solving and tactical aspects, and even though I found the play-acting side of to be eye-rolling it was at least done in good fun, like people knew they were being silly and didn't care, you know?"  He drew a last puff on the roll-up, then dropped the stub into the mostly empty Coke can and set it aside as he exhaled a warm cloud of fragrant smoke.  "These days, I even get into the play-acting a little myself.  I like the sense of my actions being woven into a greater story."

"I mean, I could get all profound about the sense of connection and shared experience, about being part of a peer group I choose for myself rather than have forced upon me by the school system, about the value of escapism in which I take an active part instead of passively sitting and accepting society's mass-produced escapism.  I could, but that's all me over-applying the rationalisation of logic to a course of action my emotions have already steered me on - I enjoy this thing, and I mostly enjoy the company of the people I do it with."  He leaned back on his hands, lips curving in a faint smile as he looked up at the sky.  "Though they might find that hard to believe."

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"Why?" Clara asked. "I mean, why do you think it's hard for them to believe?" She'd never really interacted with Jase before - she knew him by reputation only, and while that reputation said he was a mediocre student, weirdo, and mostly mute, this one conversation was enough for her to file that under 'mostly bs' - he was kinda weird, but not a bad weird so far. Just his vocabulary alone  was enough to tell her that he wasn't as dumb as people thought and he spoke just fine during the game and right now with her. 

She shook her head and added, "I don't think I could do that. The play-acting, I mean. I'm not really all that creative." She closed her eyes and sighed, "Besides, Lona would probably dump a bucket of pigs blood on me or something if I tried to actually do something with her. She made that quite clear months ago."

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"I'm not that creative in that way either."  Jase shrugged, his eyes still on the sky.  "Sean says the hobby has a little something of everything, which explains it's wide appeal.  I'm inclined to agree.  And as for Lona..."  He turned his gaze to her, light hazel eyes catching glimmers and reflections from the pool as they stared straight into hers.  "It's not up to her.  It's up to you if you want to play, and Sean whether he wants another member of the group.  Lona does not get a say, I don't get a say, Cade doesn't get a say."  Bannon's tone was calm, even callous.  "You and Sean are the only ones who count."

"You think some of them were happy to see me there?  It was Sean's choice to bring me in.  Now..."  Jase ate a kettle chip, his hawk-like gaze still piercing Clara's a moment longer before it released her, his focus travelling to the surface of the pool.  "Sean might decide he doesn't want to risk drama at the table.  He might - but he's not that kind of guy.  If you express interest and he thinks you're in earnest, then he will handle it if Lona makes a fuss.  He sticks to his guns when it counts."

He munched a couple more chips as Clara absorbed that.

"And as to your question..."  he said, shrugging.  "I'm pretty sure at least a couple of the group don't like me much.  It doesn't bother me so long as they can tolerate me as I tolerate them, and we can enjoy the game together."  He paused for a moment, then went on.  "If you want my opinion, you should ask Sean to join in.  Better to try it and decide it's not for you than miss out on something fun.  "  He stood, bowl of chips in one hand, boots tucked under his arm and the empty soda can in his other hand, and gave Clara a slight smile.  "I'm going to see if Lilly is ready to head off yet - your place is nice, but I don't think we're at the sleepover stage just yet."

With that he ambled off, wet feet leaving prints on the paving, neither hurrying to get away nor giving the impression he was waiting for her to come along.

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