loose the sails // stare

august vance d7b [Bella]
Career Tribute

517 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Sept 28, 2024 10:26:29 GMT -5

spacin out

loose the sails // stare Jul 10, 2017 19:07:23 GMT -5

Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jul 10, 2017 19:07:23 GMT -5

KOIwallace

Koi, this has to be one of the most ingenious things you’ve ever invented. Simple, yet awesome. Well done. It took some scavenging through the cedar chest I keep at the foot of my bed, but I’d found the horseshoe magnet I was looking for. It’s the size of my palm, black on one end and red on the other. I tie a piece of string that’s about the length of my legs to the bend in the middle, tightening it with my teeth, and presto! I am officially a first-class treasure hunter. All I have to do now is test it out.

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I head out the door to the beach. It’s not far; Mom and Dad worked hard to purchase property close to the water, which has to be one of the only things that I don’t mind about being wealthier than the people around us. Hot sand creeps into my sandals within minutes and wedges itself between my toes. The afternoon sun is oppressive this time of year, and I’m thankful that my white V-neck breathes a little. The breeze coming in from the ocean helps too. Shading my eyes, I search the docks for familiar boats, but I don’t see any. It’s a real shame that none of my friends are around to witness the debut of this spectacular, extraordinary metal detector that was birthed in ten minutes. Eh, but they’d probably think it’s boring.

I fish it out of the pocket of my khaki shorts. Holding the loose end of the string, I release the magnet and it somersaults towards the sand like a yo-yo (yeah, I made one of those once too). Now the trick to this thing is to let the magnet hang really still, right next to the sand, and to take really, really slow steps so you don’t move it around too much. I try to do just that, rolling my feet and concentrating hard. The magnet rotates slowly on the string. After about fifteen minutes I feel like I’ve been slow-walking and concentrating forever with no results, but I look back to see that I’ve only moved twenty yards from the same fence that I passed when I first got here. Still, I won’t let myself be discouraged. It takes at least an hour for that.

Then the magnet stutters and stills, suspended for a second over an invisible object. I let it fall to the ground, marking the spot. My heart starts to race--waiting to see if an idea is actually working is its own unique kind of nervous. I make an X on the ground with my index finger, like a little prayer. Then I brush it away as I scoop into the earth, revealing my prize … a rusty old boat nail. I brandish it towards the sea.

“Eureka!”

As I rub grains of sand off the nail, I can’t help but laugh out loud. It’s not exactly treasure, but my ten-minute treasure-hunting magnet-on-a-string worked and is capable of finding treasure! My mind tours the possibilities. If I can find more magnets, and stronger ones, I can make more of these, maybe even sell them to kids. I could use them to locate more raw materials to work on more projects. Wait. I could recruit an army of small children with my makeshift metal detectors to find nuts and bolts for me. Too ambitious?

I suddenly realize I’m grinning like an idiot, and I smush the smile off my face with my hand. Brushing the sand from my knees, I resume my work with nothing short of optimism, knowing that a rusty nail has to be my bottom, and that it will only get better from here. The next thing has to be better than a rusty old nail, right?

[dars]

Stare
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and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

loose the sails // stare Jul 12, 2017 22:01:18 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jul 12, 2017 22:01:18 GMT -5

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[attr="class","body"][googlefont="Poppins:400"]She was looking for trouble that day.

That was no surprise, though. A number of her sisters would argue that was never a time when Evelyn wasn't looking for trouble. The moment the ship came into harbor her bare feet were hitting the weathered wooden dock, a grin spreading across her face in a flash of crooked teeth. They knew what that smile meant and didn't even bother to try and stop her as she set off toward the beach. She was looking, but they all knew she didn't need to. Trouble clung to her like a second skin.

Pale toes dug into the sand as she put more and more distance between herself and the ship. Her father had once called her a storm-child - worst at sea, but she could do damage on land, too. That was before the ship, before the very thing he'd named her took his life. His words had been prophetic. On land she was a pickpocket, a petty thief at best, but at sea she was a pirate and the ocean welcomed her wildness with open arms. It was why she never went too far inland, sticking to the white, untamed shores of the less popular beaches. Land was an anchor. It couldn't move like a ship could. But there were times when the ship became an anchor, too, so she came here hunting driftwood and beach glass and trouble.

A few figures were spread out on the sand or battling the waves in an attempt to get relief from the sweltering sun, but there was one in particular that caught her eye as the bay disappeared behind an outcropping of land. She squinted against the midday glare, eyes catching on the familiar dark hair and sharp features. She'd seen him before, that narrow silhouette unfolded into a perfect line as he plummeted toward the sea below. They always saw a couple of cliff divers when they came into port, of course. Most of them were daredevil careers trying to prove they were alive as they trained for death, but this one was different. He kept coming back.

"Oy!" Evelyn called out, making her way toward him. Her muscles still jerked against the ghost movements of the ship, steps staggering, and her hair was wild with the brine of the sea. She had no doubt she looked rash and drunk, but she had a feeling he wouldn't mind so much. "Bird boy!"

As she neared him she got a better look at the glint in his hand. Her gaze was then drawn to the magnet hanging from a string in the other. What on...? Evelyn had never been good with putting parts together - she sailed ships, she didn't build them - but she knew enough to eventually grasp the general idea. She met startling bright eyes, arching an eyebrow. "That going to bring in a big fortune? Make your family pretty and rich?"

Her focus narrowed in on the soft pads of his fingers, and she curled her own calloused ones as her smile grew more crooked. "By the looks of it, though, you don't need any help with that. You a tadpole, then?"

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Last Edit: Jul 12, 2017 22:42:01 GMT -5 by Stare

august vance d7b [Bella]
Career Tribute

517 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Sept 28, 2024 10:26:29 GMT -5

spacin out

loose the sails // stare Jul 13, 2017 17:04:12 GMT -5

Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jul 13, 2017 17:04:12 GMT -5

KOIwallace

“Oy! Bird boy!”

Koi looked up from where he’d just dug out his second treasure—a shiny bottle cap, a step up from the rusty nail—to see a pair of long, pale legs tottering towards him. It was the way people walked when they’d been out in the water for a long time. Though he was no seafarer, Koi knew the feeling that sunk in after swimming in the ocean for a few hours, when you could fall asleep with your muscles still resisting the pull of the waves. From the look of the girl, she might have been out there all day. Nose wrinkling in the sun, Koi stood and brushed the sand off his knees.

“That going to bring in a big fortune? Make your family pretty and rich?” Koi’s pleasant smile fell, but he propped it back up. When he caught her eyes darting between his hands, his right one tightened around the bottle cap. ”By the looks of it though, you don’t need any help with that.” Oh, and she deduced that from what, his hands? Whoever this mystery person was, she probably thought she was seeing right through him. Koi smirked. He’d be willing to bet the things he could do with his hands were infinitely more useful than what she could do with hers. What did she use those mitts for, sail ropes? Bar fights? Strangling tuna?

“You a tadpole, then?” Her eyes were striking—almost the same shade as his--but he met them, narrowing his own as if he hadn’t heard her correctly. When her silence confirmed that yes, she had said “tadpole,” Koi realized he had no idea what she was talking about, so he let out a laugh and took a step back. She’d caught him in a really good mood.

“Sorry, can we go back to the part where you called me pretty? That was so sweet of you.” He grinned, running his fingers through his hair and finding that it was so utterly lathered with sweat that he needed to wipe his hand on his shorts, which he did. ”My name’s Koi in case you want to use it, and if ‘tadpole’ is some kind of ship slang, I definitely wouldn’t know it.” The inventor paused, looking her over. Her strawberry hair was eye-catching.

”And what would that make you? A carrot?" He asked, stuffing his treasure and the magnet in his pockets.

Last Edit: Jul 13, 2017 17:11:25 GMT -5 by august vance d7b [Bella]

[dars]

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
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and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

loose the sails // stare Jul 14, 2017 23:36:41 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jul 14, 2017 23:36:41 GMT -5

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[attr="class","body"][googlefont="Poppins:400"]Evelyn rolled her eyes at the comment, sinking her hands deep into her pockets as she shifted from her toes to her heels and back again. Her sisters said her inability to stand still for more than a few seconds was maddening. Her father had always called it endearing. "Name's Evelyn. Not very creative, are you?" After a pause a smile managed to sneak its way back onto her face, and if she'd known him better she would have elbowed him teasingly. "I didn't mean any offense, Bird Boy. Nothing wrong with working on land."

Sometimes, late at night when they were all drunk, someone would confess that they wished their father had been a tadpole. There would be hums of agreement, heavy silence. Evelyn never said anything. She sat in her corner, face in shadow, and stared down at her drink. Pirates they may have been, but her sisters were too good to admit the truth that liked to rear its ugly head whenever that kind of talk came up.

If he hadn't died, they wouldn't have the life of freedom and wildness she loved so much. She cursed that storm every morning but on those nights, tipsy and uncertain, she thanked it sometimes, too.

Stooping down to beach, she smoothed her palm over the sand, though she continued talking to him. "Most of 'em are scared of water. Nothing wrong with that, either. Ocean's a scary thing." Her eyes darted up but Evelyn her voice low, as if she were sharing a scandalous secret. "But you're not scared, are you, Bird Boy? I've seen you jump. Thought maybe you weren't scared of anything." She shrugged. "I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so high. Just thought you'd be a bit more interesting, you know? A bit more daring."

Her fingers finally found what they were looking for and her smile spread again into a wide grin as she stood up, muscles aching after long days of working the ropes and cleaning the deck. Sand stuck to her knees and had settled uncomfortably between her toes, but for her it was nothing unusual. The day she was completely free of sand and salt was the day the world ended.

She held out her hand to him, palm open, to reveal a piece of green beach glass. The ocean had worn it smooth and foggy, but its color was still brilliant in the sun. Her father had always said she had a talent for finding the stuff. When she was younger, she'd spend hours out by the crashing waves until her pockets were heavy and her cheeks were beaten red by the wind. He'd kept a jar for her in the corner of their dining room, so big it had come up to her knees. It was filled to the brim the day he died.

They couldn't take it on board the ship, so she'd simply dumped it into the sea when the time came.

Cocking an eyebrow, she shifted her hand closer. "Looks like that thing can't pick up actual treasure. Shame."

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Last Edit: Jul 16, 2017 18:39:54 GMT -5 by Stare

august vance d7b [Bella]
Career Tribute

517 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Sept 28, 2024 10:26:29 GMT -5

spacin out

loose the sails // stare Jul 16, 2017 19:39:58 GMT -5

Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jul 16, 2017 19:39:58 GMT -5

KOIwallace

Koi stifled a laugh at Evelyn’s eyeroll. “Name’s Evelyn. Not very creative, are you?” It was true; he was terrible at stringing together clever nicknames. All he could think of were red-hair related ones. Red. Flambé. Carrot Top, Ruby, Tomato face? Hot sauce?

"I didn't mean any offense, Bird Boy. Nothing wrong with working on land."
She’d put him on edge at first with that rough, in-your-face way of speaking. Koi had been the victim of that same etiquette more than once from the Careers he’d gone to school with—burly, brainless assholes who attacked with their limited vocabularies and meaty fists for being wealthier than they were. What’s wrong, Wallace? Think you’re too good to fight? His refusal to answer always seemed to make them even more angry.

They all stopped picking on him when he started diving, when they saw he could do it again and again without any evidence of fear. Of course, Koi knew that fear was always there; without it there was no adrenaline rush, no thrill. But the difference between him and them was that he wasn’t afraid to acknowledge his fear, to give it a name so that he could stand against it every time he dove from the cliffs. Instead, the Careers spent so much time training for the Games and trying to prove they were fearless that it was almost as if fear and death were all they ever thought about. Koi simply preferred to occupy his mind with other things.

This one wasn’t like the Careers, either. Sure, she seemed a little rude, but at least she could think of decent comebacks.

”Most of ‘em are scared of water. Nothing wrong with that, either. Ocean’s a scary thing,” she assured him as she bent down to the sand. Her voice held Koi’s attention captive like a trained storyteller’s, and likewise he felt that it was not his turn to speak. It was like she had read his mind when she said she had seen him jump, thought he wasn’t scared of anything. That he’d be more interesting, more daring. As she smoothed more sand aside with her palm, Koi cracked a knowing smile at the crown of her head. Squinting at her slender hands, he began to wonder if she was actually digging down there or just fidgeting. Koi found himself intrigued by the way she hadn’t stopped moving from the time she’d first appeared in front of him, as if her whole body was vibrating with unspent energy.

When she stood up with a wild grin and held out a piece of green glass, its surface frosted translucent by the sea, she caught him off guard. Honestly, he had expected it to be a sand crab or something. Koi had never seen a piece like that with its edges tumbled completely smooth by the ocean, only sharp ones from broken bottles left on the beach. Those ones were garbage, something you only picked up so you wouldn’t cut your foot on it, but this one was unique. “Looks like that thing can’t pick up actual treasure,” she pointed out, offering him the piece. Cheeks reddening, he took it, smoothing his thumb over the concave middle.

Worry stones, that was what Mom called them. It could be any smooth stone with an indent in the center; you rubbed your thumb against it, and your worries would supposedly fade away. She had one that she kept in her pocket, and when she got stressed out, you could catch her kneading the little stone in her left hand under the table. Koi had never paid much attention to superstition.

He swallowed. “You got me there. Not bad.” Closing one eye, he dared to hold the sea glass up close to her cheek, comparing it to her eye color—it was pretty close. “Huh,” he grunted. Then he clasped it in a fist, put it in his pocket with the day’s other souvenirs. His voice dropped low.

”There’s gotta be better treasure out there though,” Koi muttered, nodding towards the sea. ”Better than anything I can find with this—“ he tapped the pocket with the magnet—”or you can find with those,” he glanced at her hands. For a second he was lost in thought, daydreaming of the far off shipwreck the green glass might have come from. It had to have been in the ocean a long time to get that smooth.

A breeze blew in from the water and he clasped his hands behind his head, letting it into his shirtsleeves. ”I just have to know, since cliff diving isn’t up to your standards—what is your idea of daring?” He grinned at her, knowing he’d done his best to imitate the way she had said the word, stretching it out on his tongue.

[dars]

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

loose the sails // stare Jul 19, 2017 22:28:38 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jul 19, 2017 22:28:38 GMT -5

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[attr="class","body"][googlefont="Poppins:400"]Wiggling her toes into the loose sand, Evelyn raised her eyebrows. "I never said cliff diving wasn't daring." She shifted her gaze toward the bluffs at the other end of the beach, eyeing them with a measured amount of respect. On sweltering days, when the sun beat against them brutally and they began to wilt with the heat, she and her sisters would take running leaps into the sea. It was dangerous - if they didn't put enough distance between themselves and the ship, they risked being pulled under and drowning - but Evelyn loved the thrill of it. That moment of free fall was enough to make her limbs ache with the adrenaline. However, cliff diving was an entirely different story. She would never admit it, but the idea of jumping off something that high was enough to push her past exhilaration and into unease very quickly.

She had a recurring nightmare. No one knew about it - Evelyn was a nightmare, she didn't have them - but it ate at her sometimes. Instead of jumping off the ship she was falling, wind and rain pelting like needles against her skin. Lightning would claw its way across an ink-dark sky, splitting the heavens as thunder cracked through the air. Hitting the water always felt like hitting the concrete, shattering her spine. Then she saw the storm rage on through the fractured surface of the angry sea as she sank deeper and deeper, until eventually she saw nothing at all.

Cliff diving felt a bit too close to that. It wasn't the same, but it was close enough.

She returned her attention to Koi. "Digging through the sand with a magnet? That's not daring. Especially because the odds of you finding anything are slim to none." She squinted at him, wrinkling her nose thoughtfully. If any of her sisters were there, they would have cautioned him against that look. Here's trouble, they would warn. But they weren't there, so he was left to fend for himself. "What would you say if I told you I could find us some actual treasure?"

Evelyn knew that it was likely a bad idea. He dressed plainly enough, but she could tell from those hands that he was posh. Hell, his family might have even been one of her past marks. But he was a thrill seeker, and if she pushed past the fact that he was a handsome, well-groomed tadpole and she was a wild child with a tendency for trouble,
she could see a bit of herself in him. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

"Requires getting your hands dirty, though. You going to be okay with that, pretty boy?"

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Last Edit: Jul 19, 2017 23:24:26 GMT -5 by Stare

august vance d7b [Bella]
Career Tribute

517 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Sept 28, 2024 10:26:29 GMT -5

spacin out

loose the sails // stare Jul 22, 2017 20:24:46 GMT -5

Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jul 22, 2017 20:24:46 GMT -5

KOIwallace

“What would you say if I told you I could find us some actual treasure?”

Koi’s eyes lit up. “I'd say, 'I'm listening',” he said without thinking. And what was he thinking? She already knew he had money; what if they weren’t treasure hunting, and in that fiery head of hers she was plotting to take him to some secluded sea cave and hold him for ransom? In front of him was a wild, barefoot enigma who had materialized from the sea and knocked the wind out of him. He knew nothing about her except her name—hell, she could have been a mermaid, for all he knew.

Today, he liked not knowing. There was a blank space in his afternoon that reminded him of the space between his body and the ocean when he jumped from the cliffs. In that space the depth was impossible to comprehend, lasting endless seconds that Koi never counted, and never would. It was that space, not the distance, that made his heart race and his blood beat against his eardrums. The freezing ocean air biting into his bare skin and the night-black water rushing up to meet him were nothing compared to the beautiful, exhilarating simplicity of not knowing when and if he was going to hit the water just right.

What if tonight could be like that?

“Requires getting your hands dirty, though. You going to be okay with that, pretty boy?"

Mom and Dad would have advised him against it, no doubt. Growing up, they advised him against anything with the slightest potential of harm—it was always “Be careful!” and “Don’t do that, you’ll get hurt!” It used to make him so afraid to do anything on his own. All he’d needed was a chance to show them that he didn’t need them to hover over him, waiting to kiss the scrapes on his knees every time he fell down. He hadn’t been brave then, but now, years later, he felt that he was getting there.

Koi smiled at his companion, and was struck by the bizarre impulse to do something to prove he wasn't a stuck up rich kid, something he’d only seen other kids do growing up, poorer kids that were allowed to be dirty. Before he could talk himself out of it he coughed, hawked up a big slimy, salty gob of spit, and spat it (tooie!) into his palm. Would she do it too? Hesitant. he glanced at his hand, then stuck it out firmly in offering to Evelyn. A laugh, half nervous and half eager, bubbled out of his chest.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but yeah. I’m okay with that if you are. Lead the way, Cap’n.”

Last Edit: Jul 22, 2017 20:28:33 GMT -5 by august vance d7b [Bella]

[dars]

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

loose the sails // stare Jul 23, 2017 21:24:36 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jul 23, 2017 21:24:36 GMT -5

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[attr="class","body"][googlefont="Poppins:400"]Evelyn grinned, spitting into her own palm and shaking his hand firmly. "It's a deal. But I'm no captain, Bird Boy."

Not yet.

Her father had always called her a mischief maker, but her sisters claimed she was something even worse. As she led Koi back along the beach toward the bustle of Four's docks, she couldn't help but agree. She didn't just cause trouble. She called it to her, lured it toward others, tempted it in every possible way.

The ancient people had told stories about people like her. The great wars that had decimated the land hadn't quite been able to erase all traces of those tales, told huddled around fires in the middle of the night just like they had been years and years ago. Her sisters liked to compare her to the old tricksters and troublemakers, the ones who caused disaster and chaos. Personally, Evelyn was flattered. Without chaos and disaster, how could there be a story?

They slipped past the bustle of the docks, Evelyn carefully leading him away from where her sisters were no doubt roaming about, and began heading toward the more private shores. Most of Four's population was grouped inland, close to the water but not quite upon it. The beaches had to be saved for fishing and ports. Those who managed to steal a part of the waterfront for themselves were the wealthiest of the wealthy. When they were anchored offshore at night, Evelyn would sometimes turn her gaze toward the lights of those houses, nestled cozily against the shore, and wonder what it would be like to live in one herself.

Silly, of course. She was a pirate, and she could never be tied so firmly to the land.

"Let me know if this one's yours," she murmured jokingly as the neared one of her favorite targets. The sun was just beginning to dip behind the trees, casting the world into muddled amber light and shadows, yet the windows of the house remained dark. "Wouldn't make much sense for you to rob your own home, would it?"

The door was locked, but that wasn't a problem for Evelyn. She swung around the side of her house to a window that they always forgot to lock, yanking it open before turning and raising an eyebrow. "Last chance to wimp out on me if you're too scared."

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august vance d7b [Bella]
Career Tribute

517 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Sept 28, 2024 10:26:29 GMT -5

spacin out

loose the sails // stare Jul 24, 2017 22:52:25 GMT -5

Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jul 24, 2017 22:52:25 GMT -5

KOIwallace

When they’d talked about treasure, Koi had looked to the sea, assuming that Evelyn was planning on taking them to one of the islands within the District’s boundaries. Instead, she seemed hell-bent on surprising him, and led him further down the shore towards the high-end houses, where a handful of people with even more money than his parents lived. Stomach turning to acid, it dawned on him.

We’re breaking into one?

His steps faltered and fell behind Evelyn’s as the weight of the task attached itself to his shoulders. Still, he found that he was moving along in the pale light of the streetlamps that had just begun to illuminate the inland edge of the beach. Whether it was curiosity, denial, or the simple notion of not wanting to seem like a total wimp, he didn’t stop.

And then they were at a window, which the owner had let unlocked, and Evelyn had a funny gleam in her eye. “Last chance to wimp out on me if you’re too scared,” she said.

Koi knew they shouldn’t be hanging around, but he took a second to breathe and look around. Their backs were covered by a tall, perfectly manicured hedge—the rich folks did like their privacy—and he knew that no one would see them. But he felt nervous enough to puke into the hydrangeas. He’d done some things in his lifetime that might have seemed rebellious from the viewpoint of his parents, but this was going a bit too far.

His battling thoughts were interrupted by the muted sound of voices on the nearby sidewalk, and Koi’s heart began to pound. If they came much closer, he and Evelyn would definitely be spotted, and there was no mundane explanation for what they were doing—she was already halfway through the bloody window.

There was no turning back. Koi swallowed, locked his fingers together to give Evelyn a boost.

It was a laundry room window. When they climbed through, the hollow metallic sound of their knees landing on the dryer made Koi cringe. On footsteps light as he could manage (though he was breathing so hard it barely mattered), he followed Evelyn through the kitchen and into the family room. It was clear that she had been here before.

Koi had the funniest feeling that he had, too.

It was dark, but there was enough light to tell that this room was ridiculous. Being mostly utilitarian in his belongings, Koi had never seen so many pointless decorations in one place before. On an end table sat a gilded lamp in the shape of a mermaid, half naked with her back against the sea rock base. The furniture was antique leather, hard to come by, and looked newly upholstered. There were embroidered throw pillows on the sofa, and Koi would be willing to bet they weren’t meant to lay your head on. And on the bookshelves that stretched to the high ceiling, there were a few books, but there were mostly just miniature replicas of ships and sailboats, what seemed like hundreds of them.

”Wow,” Koi breathed. He looked over at Evelyn. “That’s… practical.” But now he didn’t feel so bad about being well-off. At least the things his parents owned had a purpose of some kind, something to make their lives easier. This place was just plain absurd.

A glint of metal caught his eye. These people had so much stuff that they even needed a little junk pan for the middle of their coffee table, a place to throw whatever was in their pockets. On the very top of the pile was a shiny gold watch. They had been looking for treasure, after all.

X marks the spot.

With another glance at Evelyn, Koi reached for it, before he could talk himself out of it. He hadn’t realized how much his hands were shaking until he fumbled it, and his guts lurched as he watched it cascade towards the polished floor—CRACK.

He cursed under his breath. The watch hadn’t shattered, but the sound was deafening in what had been their careful silence. He couldn’t bear to look, but he guessed that Evelyn’s eyes were boring holes into his back as he bent to pick up the watch, stuffing it into his pocket.

There was something else that caught his eye in the junk pan, amongst the odds and ends—it was a wallet-sized photograph of a little boy with blonde curls in a school uniform. The dimples and blue eyes looked achingly familiar, but he couldn’t place a name to the face. Koi turned the picture over and read the name scribbled on the back in blue ink: E. Z. Lanovsky, Jr., first grade. His ears began to ring. No, no, no, they shouldn't have come here.

"Lanovsky," he whispered, eyes frozen to the photograph. "That's Dad's boss."

[dars]

Stare
Retired Staff

3,105 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 15, 2024 23:43:11 GMT -5

and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

loose the sails // stare Jul 25, 2017 21:49:00 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Jul 25, 2017 21:49:00 GMT -5

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[attr="class","body"][googlefont="Poppins:400"]"That's a bit of bad luck for you, then, isn't it?" Her tone was remarkably unsympathetic as she peered over his shoulder at the photograph, squinting her eyes at the pristine blonde boy. His hair was combed neatly, skin spotless. His skin was so blindingly pale it looked as if he'd never seen a ray of sunlight. Toff.

Though she'd never admit it, she'd always thought photos were the best part of housebreaking. Beneath the rush of forcing her way into someplace she didn't belong was a different kind of thrill, one linked more closely to curiosity. It was one thing to dip her hand into the pocket of a stranger and steal his loose change. It was a completely different thing to enter into that stranger's life - to stand where they stood, to breathe their air, to observe the place most precious to them in the world - and then, in the end, to take a piece of it with her. She wasn't very good with people, but she still liked to try and comprehend them.

The photos always offered the best insight. In their own home, there had been only one picture of Evelyn all by herself. She'd been standing on a pier, maybe the docks, and the wind was so strong it was blowing her hair into her face. She'd never liked that photo - it accentuated her mess of freckles, her untamable mane of hair, the gap between her two front teeth. But she'd been laughing in it, so her father had kept it up on their wall. Evelyn liked to compare that photo to the ones hanging on the walls of other houses. In some, the children looked just as wild and sloppy as she did. In most, they were like the boy in the photo Koi was holding - carefully groomed, impeccably dressed, smiling a perfect and appropriate smile. Those kinds of pictures told more about families than anything else.

Evelyn wrinkled her nose at the little boy. "Scrawny little tadpole, isn't he? I wonder - "

"Alice? Did you miss your reservation?"

She froze at the sound of the groggy voice coming from the bedroom. Older, distinctly male. It had happened a couple of times before - she was stumble upon a napping child or a reading parent who'd gotten so caught up in their novel that they'd forgotten to turn on the light - but this time was different, somehow. This time her eyes darted immediately to meet Koi's, her heart hammering so loudly she wondered if he could hear it, too. Normally she would simply bolt for the nearest exit, regardless of whether or not the family member saw her. After all, what difference would it make? They didn't know her. But this time, it didn't matter if the man knew her. He knew Koi.

Evelyn was a troublemaker, a trickster, and she never felt sympathy. But for the first time in ages, something stirred in the pit of her stomach.

She had to get him out.

Her fingers circled firmly around the alarmingly thin column of his wrist, dragging him behind her as she lurched back toward the direction of the laundry room. "We're leaving," she hissed, eyes widening at the sound of footsteps in the hall. "Come on, Bird Boy, move."

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august vance d7b [Bella]
Career Tribute

517 POSTS

Pronouns: She/Her
last seen Sept 28, 2024 10:26:29 GMT -5

spacin out

loose the sails // stare Jul 28, 2017 20:24:20 GMT -5 via mobile

Post by august vance d7b [Bella] on Jul 28, 2017 20:24:20 GMT -5

KOIwallace

Koi was running so fast and so suddenly that his lungs were starting to burn, but all he could think about was what his parents would say about the goose egg that would surely appear on his forehead in a few hours. When they’d heard that voice, he and Evelyn had bolted for the laundry room window, and like a total idiot he had conked his head on the pane as he was jumping out. There might even be a scar, but he hadn’t had time to check.

What would he tell them in the morning when they asked where he had been? He had a perfect honesty record with his parents so far, but this time was going to be different for obvious reasons. “Hey Dad, sorry I missed dinner last night! I lost track of time when I met this random criminal on the beach, and we broke into Mr. Lanovsky’s house. How about you just show me some of that unconditional love, okay?”

Had he seen them? Koi had been so concerned about getting the hell out of there that he hadn’t turned around to see. If he got caught, he was dead meat, and his dad would be too. They could pretty much kiss their upper class lifestyle goodbye. He felt sick thinking about disappointing his parents like that.

But why didn’t he feel sicker? Under all the nerves, it was almost like something had switched inside him when he’d picked up that watch. Back there, in the family room, he had entertained the thought that maybe Evelyn, who was daring and exciting, wouldn’t see him as some lousy layperson.

Then maybe she’d want to see him again. As frightening as this exhilaration was, he couldn’t let it go.

He felt less nervous after the run. When they were far enough away from the house, he slowed to a walk. He knew he had to be getting home, but he was at a loss for words as to how to say goodbye to his strange companion. Tonight had been different from any other day of his life, and he didn’t want to just pretend it had never happened. But he couldn’t talk about it with anyone, except for Evelyn.

They were close to where he lived now. He turned to face Evelyn. “I have to go,” he said. “But you soooo owe me one. You and me, this Saturday, that cliff.” Koi pointed at one in the distance, silhouetted against the waning sunset. “See you there? Unless you’re too scared.”

With a hopeful grin and a stolen watch in his pocket, he backed off down the sidewalk as if nothing had ever been amiss.

Last Edit: Aug 2, 2017 21:19:30 GMT -5 by august vance d7b [Bella]

[dars]