Like a Circus Side-Show [Tattle]

meg.
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Like a Circus Side-Show [Tattle] Dec 19, 2011 2:10:34 GMT -5

Post by meg. on Dec 19, 2011 2:10:34 GMT -5

THEY'RE SHARING A DRINK THEY CALL LONELINESS

"Dialogue!"

[/b]'Thoughts!'[/color][/center]

Rain is wet.

This was the startling discovery that Abe made, perched on a doorstep in front of his families' meat stall, early on a Saturday morning. It was only every fifth weekend that Abe was asked to man the marketplace stall, as it rotated through his siblings. However, it was that fifth weekend that, of course, Ripred himself decided to personally see that Abe got soaked.

Whoever labeled them raindrops,[/color] thought Abe, must really have not been looking propperly.[/color]

These weren't drops. Rain apples would have been more appropriate, looking at the size of them. They smacked the cracked concrete like it was a dance floor, and scurried away with the slope of the floor. Thunder grumbled overhead, threatening more rain. Although that may not have been possible, not more than the amount that was already coming down.

Abe took a bread crust out of his little leather pouch, and chewed it slowly. It was one of the only upsides to having to wake at four in the morning to peddle the families week-worth of ferret meat- whoever was given the arduous task that weekend was also given the leftover bread rations, of which there was never too much. Five hungry teenage boys will eat anything put in front of them, and then some, meaning that there was never enough to go around.

The meat was laid out on the small table in front of Abe, getting wet and not really caring about it, not to the same extent that Abe did. It was sliced into many different cuts- cubes, steaks, bacon rashers. It was amazing, what you could get off a ferret. The Capitol, in particular, found ferret meats intriguing. The district didn't feel the same way. It was normal on a Saturday like this for them to sell nothing at all. But the money that was made when some did sell never was wasted, and so the saturday deal remained a neccesity in the family.

Abe shivered, more to shake off the excess moisture than anything else. It wasn't cold- on the contrary, it was hot and sticky. With each breath he took, the luke-warm air sat in the bottom of his lungs like vast deserts of sticky pudding, something that he had never had the pleasure to taste, but had had the experience described vividly to him many times by his school friends. The air scraped the very front of his tongue, and slid like slime in and out of his lungs.

Spitting onto his finger and using it to wipe a spot of mud off his battered shoes, he considered the idea that it might rain so much that the stall would float away. It was just a silly daydream, of course, but he reckoned that he would do about as much business today if that happened than if it didn't. No sane person would be out in this.

[/size][/font]

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BUT IT'S BETTER THAN, DRINKING ALONE

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Tattletale
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hi um\????

Like a Circus Side-Show [Tattle] Dec 19, 2011 6:33:20 GMT -5

Post by Tattletale on Dec 19, 2011 6:33:20 GMT -5

.// olesa eilowyn victore

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The pitter-patter of the few raindrops against the frosted window pane was taunting Oles, yet she tapped her pencil to a rhythm that she was vaguely aware was off-timed. But she didn't care. Taunting or not, anything else was better than having to hear Aedara's squeamish shrieks on her recent attempt in cooking breakfast. The sound of the minimum rain and light tapping rhythm of her pencil against her newly-finished sketch of her third rainy day scenery may not cover the stupid remarks of her sister, ranging from 'the cooking oil's spilling everywhere!' or maybe the eyebrow raise-worthy helpless comment that was 'that's edible?' Olesa had lost count on how many times she had roll her eyes, but her Mother had been patient with Aedara, knowing that among the two girls, Olesa was the one with more talent in cooking and knows her way around the kitchen (which was a labyrinth in Aedara's eyes) and has the knowledge of edible plants to be used in dishes.

Olesa leaned against the window and let out a sigh of relief once the damp surface cooled her temple. It has been three days that the weather was getting dreary and getting less sunshine. The gray clouds had accumulated and only giving tiny holes for streams of light to pass through, and officially poured down its gloomy tears earlier this morning. She moved so that only the tip of her nose touched the cool glass, and eyed the stables. Luna was inside there. Probably asleep. The grass all around the farm was dressed with fresh dew, and the barn and sheds had drops of rain dripping down from the edge of their roofs. It was a far-fetched sight, but Olesa knew that the fence that separated ~~Olesa and her freedom~~ the ranch and the cliff was buzzing with energy. A couple meters away was the Victore house, a complete opposite. Her Father was asleep in his room, fast asleep from fatigue from working from sun up till sun down. Aside from the wreckage that was now the kitchen, it was a calm Sunday morning in the household.

She didn't notice her Mother shut close the icebox, and say, "Look's like we've run out of meat." She looked at Olesa, who was looking out of the window miserably and longingly. She knew her daughter could never be cooped up inside. She was a child of the outdoors. "Olesa?" Olesa turned around and raised her eyebrows. "Hm?" "You don't mind running out to buy meat, do you?" Aedara spun around and smirked at Olesa. "Ha! She wouldn't want to ruin her hair." Olesa crinkled her nose at her sister, who was as thrice as vain as she was, and smiled at her mother. "I don't. I'll go ride Luna to town." She placed her papers and pen beside her and jumped out of her seat. After putting on her riding boots, she reached for the doorknob when Aedara, who was now a few feet behind her and carrying something that looked like a cape, called after her. "That dress doesn't match with boots. It's disgusting. Here," she threw the piece of clothing in her sisters' direction and Olesa caught it with both of her hands. "You'll need it." She went back to the kitchen, and Olesa looked back, saying nothing but smiled. She held it up at an arm's length. It was a dark green poncho raincoat. She slipped it on and found that it ended exactly in the middle of her thigh. It showed a foot of the blue dress that she was wearing. Once again reaching for the brass doorknob and turning it open, she was greeted by the refreshing cold air. "Buy the ferret kind!" Father bellowed out from the upstairs, and down to the staircase.

She skipped her way from the house to the stalls, disregarding the fact that there was a light drizzle and that each footstep sent up a drop of dew and left water stains on her prized boots (which she spend roughly half an hour everyday in scrubbing all the dirt and filth away from the leather in order to preserve it to a much more longer time ― we can afford to buy a new pair easily, but we can spend it on better things than a pair of shoes). Perhaps the main reason why she wore them around everywhere and with anything was so that everyone could see how well she took care of them. I want them to know that they are mine and I take great care of them.

[/color]

She stopped in front of the dark burgundy-painted oak wood doors of the barn and pulled open the round latches with both of her hands. The smell of hay mixed in with the lingering scent of wet grass and mud reached her nostrils. Welcome home.[/color] She didn't bother turning on the light bulb despite the lack of natural light that used to seep from the cracks of the barn's walls and roof. The Victores has four horses and a foal, including Luna, but they weren't the only occupants ― there were cows and sheep too. All of them were only inside during nights and weather too dangerous for them to stay outside that they might be blown away by the strong wind. But during most of the time, they spend their days outside and in their respective fences.

Olesa skipped a puddle of milk from a bucket that fell down on its side, and stopped at Luna's stall. Surprisingly, the white horse wasn't asleep, and Olesa opened its stall to get inside. "Hi Luna," she said, caressing the horse's white-blonde mane. She grabbed the dark brown leather saddle that hung on a hook, placed in on the horse and buckled it. She got the reins and led the way out of the stall and out of the barn. She hoisted herself up ― with the help of a wooden crate, thank you very much ―[/color] and got hold of the reins. The drizzle had slowly started to progress into small rain, and Olesa pulled the hood up. I am not taking chances of ruining my hair.[/color] She paused for a second, and smiled ironically to herself. Aedara's right. She gave a slight tap on Luna and the horse lightly galloped its way out of the gate. The gate was open, and she knew that either her Mother or Aedara had opened it. Olesa went past through it, and picked up speed towards the center of the town.

The rain was getting heavier by each hoof trampling the wet ground, and Olesa was determined to not arrive back home soaking wet. She leaned in closer to Luna, and the horse went faster, but not as fast as how Olesa wanted it to be. But District Ten had some rules regarding transportation speed ― that meant horses, since there were no other means around here ―[/color] and unless she wanted to be Avoxed, she could only grit her teeth as more raindrops hit her face. A gust of wind threw back her hood, and pieces of hair went astray until her hair was flying behind her. It wasn't immune to the dreaded drops, either. She could feel the cold water drenching her scalp, and couldn't think of a day any more worse when a wet lock of hair slapped her cheek. Olesa couldn't take off her other hand. The last time she attempted that, she landed flat on the ground. Until she saw a stall that she was sure sold ferret meat, she breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the reins to stop Luna. She got off the horse and pulled her damp hair that must have looked like a disaster away from her face. She stood with her back against the stall, and turned around with her eyes on the possibly now-soggy meat. Her eyes grew in disbelief at the sight in front of her. All were drenched in rainwater, like herself. "Don't you have an umbrella or something?" Olesa looked up, and immediately regretted it.[/color][/justify][/blockquote][/size]

I. THE WILD YOUTH

meg.
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Like a Circus Side-Show [Tattle] Dec 26, 2011 17:40:50 GMT -5

Post by meg. on Dec 26, 2011 17:40:50 GMT -5

THEY'RE SHARING A DRINK THEY CALL LONELINESS

"Dialogue!"

[/b]'Thoughts!'[/color][/center]

A few notes of music reverberated from the church that was not 3 blocks away. Normally you could hear the songs quite clearly from the marketplace, but the sound of rain dribbling on the town-house roofs interrupted the melody. Fragmented notes reached his ears, although not enough to put together a song.

What he heard from the church, however, meant one thing. The rest of his family would be out of bed and in church by now. It gave him some amount of satisfaction that his brothers would not be able to enjoy all of the sleep in the world, but would right now be shuffling up and down wooden pews, the hard surface pressing into their butt cheeks. Right now, they'd be listening to the pastor drone on in a language they could only half-understand. Right now, they'd be biting their lips together to stop themselves talking- not because they wanted to respect the service being given, but because they knew the hiding their mother would give them if they so much as coughed.

Still, Abe would prefer church to the market on this dreary day. He didn't mind church- sure, the sermons were dry, and dragged on for a while. Yes, maybe it was almost as hard as the seats were to sit still when you got bored, but some of the stories were good, and the music was always enjoyable. The best part about church, however, was the food. After service, everyone would bring some food- only as much as they could afford- and share it. The baker happened to be a regular attendee, and his left over pastry would hold a place in the Mulligan family conversation for until the next church lunch.

Still, nothing he could do. As much as he wanted to be sampling various bread types, he was stuck here, selling his soggy meat, getting wet. He looked up toward the sky, hoping that the blue-grey would have evened out to grey. Instead, another colour towered over him, different altogether. Girl. A colour that he was completely unfamiliar with, unless he counted his mother. He didn't. Battle axe would have been a better word to describe her.

The girl, as unfamiliar as her gender, sort of hung above the meats, a shocked looked covering her face. Perhaps he had let them get a little too wet.

"Don't you have an umbrella or something?" [/i]She said, her voice ever so proper.

"An umbrella?" Abe replied, trying to remember what sort of implement that was. He remembered a tool that diverted rain from the heads of the district's richer residents. "Oh, right. Well, um, no 'mam. But I do have some lovely ferret meat. Perhaps you'd like some of that instead?"
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[/blockquote][/blockquote]

BUT IT'S BETTER THAN DRINKING ALONE

[/blockquote]

Last Edit: Dec 26, 2011 17:59:55 GMT -5 by meg.

Tattletale
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hi um\????

Like a Circus Side-Show [Tattle] Feb 8, 2012 6:03:45 GMT -5

Post by Tattletale on Feb 8, 2012 6:03:45 GMT -5

.// olesa eilowyn victore

Life was never perfectly good.

This statement, undoubtly coated with a thick layer of annoyance, would seem quite unthankful and self-absorbed, perhaps giving the hint of spoiled rotten. Most especially since it came out from Olesa's lips, who, in comparison to the majority of the population of District Ten, was far well off. Never once in her life had she experienced the hollow feeling in her stomach, hungry from the days deprived of food and only surviving on mere scraps found in the corners of the street ― well, if they managed to find some.

But this was a complete different situation in her eyes (and she certainly wasn't known for making the most just of thoughts, when they're clearly biased by her current state)

[/color] and she, with utmost stubbornness, refused to see her current state in the brighter side of the spectrum. This was no situation to be sickeningly optimistic ― how damned ironic ― when she was the contradictory image, a complete opposite of the human embodiment of sunshine and happiness. Every single strand was soaked until the very tip, and so was every fabric of her clothing.

The rain had no intentions of ceasing, and instead continued to pour more of its bitter raindrops to dawn upon the ground. Her hood was of no use now, it was soaked. She was every inch wet and so was Luna. Olesa squinted up to the drab, crying sky and clenched her teeth as she felt the corner of her upper lip curl in annoyance ― a silent scream of profanity to the gods.

This guy better have an umbrella.

She drew her breath as the guy in front of her started to speak. With a sickly sweet smile of desperation plastered on her face, she drew a hard gulp. "An umbrella? Oh, right. Well, um, no 'mam. But I do have some lovely ferret meat. Perhaps you'd like some of that instead?"

She blinked once. Now twice. His words reached her ears slowly, as if painfully teasing her and milking the situation she was in. As it finally processed at a pace gradually picking up, it became a whirlwind of words made of disbelief. They stumbled on her tongue and finally she broke free from the carved marble smile ― now unfortunately a vivid painting of animated expressions: the quizzical brows, the disbelief in her eyes ― and out it came as a sped-up ramble, too fast to calm.

"Well, you must be joking ― it's pouring here," She lift up both of her hands and felt the drops slip away from her tight grasp, willing to just pull everything[/color] and squeeze every drop out from the heavy clouds and just make it stop already.[/color] "And why, I never asked if you're selling umbrellas, I just ― and those," She jabbed an accusing finger at the meat, "are soaked."[/color][/justify][/blockquote][/size][/blockquote]

Last Edit: Feb 8, 2012 6:04:29 GMT -5 by Tattletale

I. THE WILD YOUTH