it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta]

pika
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it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta] Jan 21, 2012 18:13:32 GMT -5

Post by pika on Jan 21, 2012 18:13:32 GMT -5

As Lukas barrels down the street in his usual hurry, the different hues that winter paints fly by and blur together into one big cacophony of colors. Slap slap slap his worn-down shoes say, as they collide, collide, and collide again with the snowy, dull-white road. The wind blows by fiercely, pressing against his face and deeming the hat and jackets he wears useless. The cold nips and tears at his bare skin, turning it various shades of pink and red.

He's hurrying to the corner store a few blocks away to acquire some sort of alcohol; these past couple of days have been horrible. Lukas has been constantly haunted by dreams, thoughts and visions of his dead younger brother. Don't forget to emphasize dead. His dead, gone, never-to-return-again younger brother. The store owner is pretty lenient with Lukas, knows that sometimes, it's hard to amble through life without the help of the bottle.

The wind bites so fiercely that Lukas has to close his eyes against its teeth. He could find his way to the store blindfolded with both hands tied behind his back, though, so getting lost is of no concern to him. He hears the snow crunch beneath him, and he feels it sink into his thin shoes and holey socks. It's not long before his feet feel like icicles themselves. He moves faster, now inclined to bring warmth to his feet. So fast, in fact, that combined with his closed eyes, he does not see the girl as they smack together, and both fall into the snow.

The snow melts underneath the heat of Lukas's body, and it soaks into his clothes. He groans as he collides with the ground, and he rolls over to look at the girl that he had knocked down. She is younger, the same age as Lukas's sister. Perhaps they know each other. But again, District 9 is rather large. This scene is rather awkward, and Lukas wants to get away from it as soon as possible.

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Last Edit: Apr 13, 2012 16:38:13 GMT -5 by pika

arise and be all that you dreamed

Rosetta
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it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta] Jan 26, 2012 12:59:52 GMT -5

Post by Rosetta on Jan 26, 2012 12:59:52 GMT -5

Tabitha Laise

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Running gave Tabitha Laise a purpose. W/hen she ran, she felt as though she were doing something. She was helping herself. When she ran, she knew she was getting one step farther away from anything that could hurt her. When Tabitha ran, she let go. She felt exhilarated. The wind was in her hair, playing across her face, seeping through her clothes to caress her tiny body. The world became a whirlwind of color, trees blending into greens and browns, the dull clothing of people mixing into the color of their hair, becoming yellow, red, orange, brown, or even a bit purple. Words, too, swirled into one another, rising noise that was only a chorus to Tabitha’s ears.

And above all, she loved tasting the freshness of the morning in the air. Her bare feet hit the ground, too hardened and callused to feel anything any more, so quickly, she was just a flash. Tabby was the fastest runner in the school, the faster runner in District 9 and everyone knew it. And she was proud of it. Of course, if only they knew why she was running in the first place, things would be much different. The praise would become pity.

Careful to skirt around snow, for that always managed to burn her feet, Tabitha ran into town. In the early morning, the sun rising into a blanket of gray clouds, shops have only just opened. Tabby’s mother was just waking up now and walking into Tabby’s room, just to find her gone, yet again. Just like every morning. Even though she was far away from the house, Tabby could feel her mother’s sigh on her back, prompting her to speed up. It wasn’t that her mother disapproved or anything. She was proud of her daughter’s record in running, but would prefer the girl stay in her bed in the morning. But, Tabby knew better. Sitting and sleeping were bad. She needed to always be moving. She couldn’t be a sitting duck. That’s how people found her. No, she always needed to keep moving and never slow. The world wouldn’t slow, so why should she?

With District 9 becoming a shower of colors, rising scents of bread, fruit, vegetables and other foods from stores, and wind in her face, it was hard for Tabby to pay attention to what was directly in front of her. It was always what was two paces in front of her, not one. Or at least that’s what her mother told her. And so, it was a surprise, although it wasn’t hard, to find herself sprawled in the snow, her body aching from smacking straight into a boy. It wasn’t the first time she smacked into someone in such a manner.

When her hazy vision, from the hasty stop, cleared, she managed to take him in, ignoring the biting cold that was digging into her skin from lying in the snow. He was much older than her and bigger too. It really had just been an accident, but the sight of him tightened a fist in her stomach. The magic of running was gone, and glancing, anxiously, over her shoulder now became top priority. As soon as she scrambled to her feet, her teeth began to chatter, the horrible side-effect of landing in a pile of snow, in addition to her clothes being soaking wet and caked with snow. Swallowing hard, Tabby shot another look over her shoulder before glancing at the boy on the ground. Guilt seized up her chest as she chewed on her lip.

“I’m sorry about that,” she apologized hastily. “I, uh, didn’t see you coming.” She extended a tiny hand out to help him up with, just hoping he’d take it and she could be off again.

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^^Made by the excellent Shrimp!

pika
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it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta] Feb 1, 2012 19:36:16 GMT -5

Post by pika on Feb 1, 2012 19:36:16 GMT -5

Snow continues to seep into Lukas's clothes as he lies sprawled out on the snow. The sun bites down into his eyes, as it has long since diffused the clouds, but the wind is as ferocious as ever. It still whips and snaps at bare skin, at the sides of buildings and at windows, which threaten to burst under the pressure of the wind. Leaves and dirt spiral around in miniature storms of their own.

Lukas continues to stare at the new stranger spread out in front in front of him, and notices that she is indeed young. He knew she was young, but spread out on the ground, all small and somewhat pitiful, she looked younger than she probably was. She looked frail, tired, and fidgety, like something was chasing her. She seemed to be in a hurry, with the way she quickly jumped up back on her feet and didn’t even bother to lay down for a moment. She looked down on him, a bit scared, cheeks flushed and eyes bulging.

“I’m sorry about that,” she apologised , quickly, fiercely, hastily. "I didn’t see you coming.”

Lukas stared at her, trying to figure out what was behind her speed. She seemed to be the type of person who never stops moving, who is always on the go, always on the run. Her fidgeting hands and flickering eyes confirmed Lukas’s suspicions. She extends her hand out, a sign of neutrality and help. Lukas hesitated a moment; he wasn’t sure if he wanted to give her the benefit of helping him. Even a small act of kindness like that is too much for Lukas to provide for a person. But he takes it after a moment. She can’t be that much of a threat, can she?

He stood up, swishing the snowflakes off his face and clothes, and smiled a somewhat legitimate smile toward the girl. He tried to make his eyes light up, tried to show his teeth. But he didn’t feel it in his soul, and so it probably didn’t look right when he did it. He looked down at her, as he was easily a foot taller than her, and moves a bit closer unconsciously.

“That’s alright. Are you okay? You look pretty cold,” he stated, taking in her soaking clothes and wet hair, and then suddenly noticing his, too. “Hey, listen. There’s a little store down the road. It usually has a fire going; let’s go get warm.” He was freezing, shivering now, and he wanted to get nice and toasty. Whether or not she came was not a concern, but deep down he kind of wanted her company. It had been a while since he had had the opportunity to speak with someone outside his family, and he was craving social interaction.

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Last Edit: Apr 13, 2012 16:38:35 GMT -5 by pika

arise and be all that you dreamed

Rosetta
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it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta] Feb 3, 2012 21:21:52 GMT -5

Post by Rosetta on Feb 3, 2012 21:21:52 GMT -5

It’s one thing being cold and running. Running, you may be freezing for a little while, the wind hitting you hard, but then, soon, you dry out and become one with the wind. However, standing still, there’s no getting dry, not “getting used to it.” And so, standing there, Tabitha shivered profusely, quivering like a leaf on a tree in high winds. She also felt anxious. Standing still for too long had that effect on her.

The boy accepted her hand and pulled himself to her feet. Now, standing straight up, she could see how big this boy was in relation to herself. Tabitha had long since accepted the fact that she was tiny, since the day she glimpsed her birth certificate. It still had the doctor’s sticky note on it reading: pre-mature, not expected to survive. But, she had survived. And if surviving meant being tiny, Tabby would take it any day.

She’d always felt the burden of her tinniest. As her classmates grew around her, they turned back towards Tabby, still at the starting line, and shouted the names.

“Pipsqueak!”

“Baby!”

“Peewee!”

None of them were particularly bad, just childish names, but they still stung her. They were the bee stings she could easily scrap off, but still left a mark. However, these names started short when she zoomed past them. When they saw her run. Easily the fastest girl in the District, her running was guaranteed to cause wide eyes and dropped jaws. And when Tabby started running, there was little way to make her stop. Only bodily functions caused her to slow. Not shouting, not grabbing, not screaming. Tabitha was unstoppable. Several times, she’d been approached and asked to join the school track team, but each time, heart racing, she declined. The idea appealed, yes, to further show off her skills, but her skills weren’t for show, really. They were for something much darker, a secret locked away in her insides. And she didn’t like the thought of running around a track. Too confined.

“Hey, listen. There’s a little store down the road. It usually has a fire going; let’s go get warm.”

The offer caught Tabby off guard and momentarily made her stomach lurch. He wanted her to go with him? Suddenly, conversations with her mother flashed through her mind. Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t go anywhere with strangers. Don’t let a stranger take you anywhere. And all of the sudden, Tabby was in that dark alley, his hands over her mouth, around her throat…

With wide eyes, Tabby began to back away from this boy, wet snow in her boots freezing her feet, so that with each step, they became steadily more and more numb. No, no, she would not go with him. Maybe he was leading her into a trap. No, she had to keep running. However, that’s when she was thrown her next surprise. His eyes.

Unlike the man who’d confined her to that alley, asking her…had she seen anything? No, of course not. She hadn’t seen anything. No, nothing. Now, run, Tabitha. Run. He’ll find you one day, but not today. Run. Run. Run. But, not now. This boy’s eyes…they were different. There wasn’t cruel malice glinting in them. There was something else stirring in there. Something genuine. She couldn’t quite place it, but something about it sparked a warmth inside of her. A something she realized she hadn’t felt in quite a while. He wasn’t going to hurt her, right?

Tabby swallowed hard. Could she trust him? His eyes had caught her, dragged her in. There was something about him. The snow kissed her skin and graced her eyelashes, so that when she liked, she could see them melting there, little diamonds. This moment of immobility was making her nervous. She needed to get moving. And she needed to get warm. Her eyes bore into her again and finally, Tabby, swallowed hard, nodded.

“Sure, why not,” she shrugged at him, forcing a small smile. “Lead the way.”

Hopefully it was somewhere safe. Hopefully, it was warm. And hopefully, if need may be, she could make a quick getaway.

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Last Edit: Apr 5, 2012 12:44:18 GMT -5 by Rosetta

^^Made by the excellent Shrimp!

pika
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it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta] Mar 26, 2012 13:37:59 GMT -5

Post by pika on Mar 26, 2012 13:37:59 GMT -5

Cries filtered through the room, clung to the walls, to clothes, to souls. The sheer horror of what had happened stuck to the skin of every person in the room, sticky and thick like honey. Mom, drenched in fresh blood, sobbed on the bed, not willing to let go of the little baby boy that had come and gone so quickly. Adal, they called him; "noble," the name meant. Father sat in the chair, face in palms, body trembling, shaking, wracked with sobs. Lara, the baby sister, shook in the corner. And Lukas, stuck in the middle of it all, felt lost, alone, and utterly hopeless.

The months that followed were to be expected. Mother had completely zoned out, and no longer was able to do much for the family anymore. Father worked longer hours, sometimes not even coming home for several days, preferring to escape the dead auras of the house at a friend's home instead. Lara became the woman of the house, and Lukas became the man. His whole life, Lukas had been told he would never be the man his father was, and that he was worth nothing, nothing, nothing.

"Sure, why not. Lead the way," the light, lilting voice allowed Lukas to focus on the real world, and not the memories and things of the past. But as he looked down at this little girl, who looked so similar to Lara, all he could truly focus on was that dark, metallic-smelling room. He smiled down at her, trying to convey a sense of happiness into it, and hoped she took him seriously. Snow flicked downward onto their hair, their noses, and Lukas's legs felt like they were able to be snapped off like a pair of icicles.

"Um, alright," Lukas muttered quietly, awkwardly, and began to walk in the direction of the little pastry shop down the road from his home. He had been there a couple of occasions, but usually only for when someone's birthday had unexpectedly popped up, and the family had forgotten to give them a present. And that was before Adal. With each passing step to the shop, he walked farther and farther way from the memories that floated around him. They revolved around his head, tickling his eyes and nose and ears and everywhere until he was forced to succumb to their messages and desires. He could feel them now, pressing at his back, trying to catch up to him, trying to make him relive his nightmares again.

"No!" Lukas screamed, suddenly, and twisted around, back in the direction he and the girl had come from. He wanted to yell at the ghosts, the phantoms, go away leave me alone don't come back go away go away GO AWAY LEAVE but instead he whirled around again and began to sprint away toward the shop. He had forgotten about the girl who was supposed to be following him, whom he was supposed to provide help for, but he couldn't stop running now. If he stopped, they'd catch up to him again. And he didn't want them to. He didn't want them anymore.

Last Edit: Mar 26, 2012 13:40:26 GMT -5 by pika

arise and be all that you dreamed

Rosetta
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it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta] Apr 5, 2012 12:46:38 GMT -5

Post by Rosetta on Apr 5, 2012 12:46:38 GMT -5

It’s surprising, really. How swiftly people could change. One minute, their words are clean and soft, pressing up against your skin like silk. The next, they hit you with a frightening hardball. It doesn’t have to be directed at you, stinging words that burn your face, and churn your stomach. The open air can receive the word, but you receive he blow. And it scared her.

“No!”

He had turned now and was facing her behind him, but his eyes stared over her shoulder, wild and feral, as it staring down invisible demons. And suddenly, as Tabby’s eyes widened, she was back, peering down an alley, trying to find the devils that might lurk in there, praying their hands wouldn’t find her neck, their hot, sour breath wouldn’t waft across her face, hissing out threats. And then, he was turning and running away, towards the shop they were going into and she could feel her mental self fleeing from those alleys. One day, they’d find her, drag her into the dark belly of the beast and use steel on her face, chest and neck, but not today. Not today.

Today, Tabitha stood, frozen in shock, watching this boy she was previously acquinted with flee from her, plagued by something she could not see. For a moment, she could only stare, bemused, forehead creased. And then it occurred to her that something as frightening as her own secret was embedding deep within his own mind. Something was pressing down on his brain and it only took a jerk of the head for it to trigger a fit. He ran. He ran from it just like she did.

They were exactly the same.

Feet slapped against pavement, lungs seized up as they attempted to collect enough oxygen to fuel this exertion, hands balled into fists and eyes stared, determined, upon her target. For the first time in her life, Tabitha Laise wasn’t running away from something, but toward someone. Toward someone who might understand her.

“Wait!” she heard her thin voice crying as she ran. He was bigger than her, but she was faster than him and she was up alongside him in an instant, gripping his arm, hoping to stop him. “It’s okay! Stop!”

Never having a voice larger than her pre-mature body, Tabitha was surprised at the force packed into her words, the desperation lingering on their edges. It shocked her so much, she found herself releasing his arm and backing up, heart racing, finally realizing her course of action. Remembering who she was. A tiny runner. With someone after her. Fear grasped at her swiftly, her throat seizing up. What did she know? This boy could be deceiving her. How foolish she’d been to think someone could finally understand her. No one could understand her. She had meddled in things far beyond her years and was now forced to run from the consequences until she became nothing, but steaming shoes.

“I’m sorry,” the frail voice choked out. And she was backing up, hands up to ward off what could possibly come after. She was backing up, preparing to run. Run again from things that didn’t concern her. Run, run, Tabby. It’s what you do best.

It’s all you can do to survive.

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^^Made by the excellent Shrimp!

pika
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it's not [always] rainbows & butterflies [rosetta] Apr 13, 2012 16:37:36 GMT -5

Post by pika on Apr 13, 2012 16:37:36 GMT -5

Lukas stopped suddenly, his feet refusing to move. He stood motionless, sights fixed on the little shop ahead of him, eyes wide open. He breathed heavily, in out in out in out heart pumping blood swiftly and chest heaving. The cold, brisk air tore at his lungs as he inhaled, giving him pain as he caught his breath. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the ghosts, of the sounds and the memories and the blood.

He felt tiny fingers grip his forearm, and he looked down to see the girl that he was supposed to lead. Her eyes, bright with a mixture of fear and exhilaration, stared him down, pleading with him to calm down. "It's okay," she breathed, trying to catch her breath as well.

She let go of his arm, turning away and staring at the ground. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, her voice low and full of doubt. Lukas looked at her, suddenly feeling sorry for her; she hadn't been the one to run away from her thoughts, or from another person for that matter. Thoughts and memories of the past did not haunt her, did not warp and twist her until she no longer could look at the world in the same way. Those things only happened to people like Lukas, who experienced death and humiliation and degradation.

He knelt down a tad, turning her to make her look him in the eyes. "Hey, no, don't be sorry. I'm the one that ran away. I'm okay, you're okay. Let's go, alright? I'll get you something to eat. We're here, anyways." He looked up at the dingy, old shop, which he often found himself entering when he was cold, sad, or hungry. And that's how he felt most of the time.