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Post by Kino on Jun 10, 2016 18:17:46 GMT
Julia had frowned with Aul Sol's response. Was he mad at her? She hoped not. He seemed really passionate about everything at his stand and like a real goof ball too, but she had started to warm up to him. She didn't want him thinking that she took advantage of the situation for a free trip.
She shook her head at the thought and focused on the board. But something struck her as he explained what she might hear. "Ghosts...?" She said softly. She knew her parents were dead, she'd watched the car accident from school after all. She suddenly wanted to hear her mom again. "Mom..." She said softly, almost no louder then a breath. She looked down at the board, heat warming and flowing through her fingers and palms. She hadn't noticed the white blaze from earlier, but she felt... whispers.
Whispers everywhere. Soft sounds coming from all around her. She felt and closed her eyes, trapping the start of tears so as to not look so gosh darn foolish today. With her eyes closed, she heard the whispers even more. She desperately wanted to hear something.
Mom, Dad, Hailey... please...
Except there was nothing. The loudest whisper came from behind her. A warmer whisper, but not the one she needed right now. The goop that she had bought went unheard. She suddenly, gently put the board down. She couldn't hear her family.
And she started to cry.
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on Jun 11, 2016 4:06:36 GMT
The goop's unheard whispers mostly consisted of, "Owner! Owner! Hi!" But alas, Julia didn't acknowledge its personhood fully. It started weeping its own bubbling, mewling cries.
Now Aul Sol started crying with her and the goop. A fishy friend and a missing parent? Something was definitely up. The false woman wanted to know more about what swam through Julia's mind. He put the toy sword back on the rack where his other toy swords sat. Both his ears turned towards Julia, Aul Sol bent his knees so he was at eye level. "I'm not sure what happened, but if you need someone to lean on, you've got me. There's no shame in crying." He whispered, even though the dragon in the past had been shamed again and again in the past for that.
Eat a chicken alive? "Well fuck you," is what the people in his hometown said. He didn't have a choice in the matter. Question why someone's on the dinner table? Again, a "fuck you" was delivered right to his dinner plate disguised as a "I'm sure you'll like it if you try it a few more times".
Learning by example, Aul Sol saw only one way to handle his food: with extreme violence, prejudice, and callousness. Julia gave him a chance to change that.
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Post by Kino on Jun 11, 2016 4:17:08 GMT
Julia sniffled, tears streaming down her eyes. "I don't even know why I'm here. I'm taking advantage of someone's money and everyone I know is gone." She stammers. "I.. I just wanted to hear someone again, but I couldn't. N..n..no one came." It seems like after Aul Sol's explanation of the clairaudience board, she had put a lot of stock into hearing someone around her. She felt herself starting to retreat again. Aul Sol was leaning down, opening himself up to her and here she was wanting to run away and curl up into a ball.
And yet she didn't.
She wasn't sure what made her do it, but during that moment of Aul Sol being close enough to touch, Julia threw her arms around him in a hug. She buried her face into his shoulder and cried against him. "Hailey disappeared a few years ago." She whispered quietly, more to herself then Aul Sol. "I lost hope a while ago that she'd come back. She'd taken care of me ever since our parents died in a car crash. She blamed herself a lot, they were coming to the school to pick her up due to a fight she'd gotten into." It took her a few minutes after she stopped talking to calm down a little. Letting go of the false woman softly she rubbed her eyes, wiping away any extra tears.
"I.. I'm sorry for making a scene." She fidgets softly. She looked down at the counter tops, trying to hide the shame on her face, even if Aul Sol said there wasn't any shame in how she was acting.
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on Jun 13, 2016 16:37:50 GMT
Aul Sol petted Julia's back as she told him everything. He frequently rubbed his wet face against her shoulder, even though using another person as a giant tissue was not fabulous. But fabulousness didn't matter right now.
Only compassion did.
Was his previous victim from the convention in a similar situation too? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, his heart shriveled up from thinking about that kill.
"No no, it's all right." The dragon man whispered back. "You aren't taking advantage of their money. They're the ones taking advantage of you. I. I-"
The dragon hiccuped. "I h-had to get food from the streets when I was a kid. Everyone got angry at me when I did. When I got adopted, I thought I wouldn't have to do that anymore. You know how parents always say eat what's on the table?"
"It was that, but worse." He buried his face. The dragon drag queen realized he'd sound deluded if he continued. But like the occult, his past and his feelings were very much not delusions. So he continue he did. "I knew they were innocent, but the choice back then was either my life or my right to call myself upstanding. I chose to sacrifice the latter. My hubby tried being an example for me. But I refused to look. It's not possible for someone like me to make those decisions."
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Post by Kino on Jun 14, 2016 22:09:57 GMT
Julia wasn't going to lie. She didn't understand what Aul Sol was talking about at all. What she did know was that he had suffered a lot, maybe more then she had. She simply held him like held her, letting his tears soak into her sweater. She sniffled and squeezed him softly with her arms. His comment about her being taken advantage of made her concerned. Why did he say that? What did he know that she didn't?
"What do you mean?" She asked after he spoke of her being taken advantage of.
And then he started to spill his soul to her. And the tears fell anew.
"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through any of that. Y..You were young." she said quietly, sniffles cutting off a coherent sentence. "At... at least your husband is there for you. Trust in him a little more." SHe said softly, "Wh..when those you love are there for you don't... don't let them go." She said, letting go of him and rubbing her eyes softly. She tried to hold back another round of tears. She had to be strong for herself.
She'd only let herself cry a little.
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on Jun 15, 2016 1:14:12 GMT
Aul Sol rubbed his nose against Julia's sweater. "T-thanks. It's hard, but I'll try. What's your name, by the way? Mine is Aulk Sol Gest, or Aul Sol for short."
He propped his chin on her shoulder. How would he answer her question without giving away the main event? He couldn't tell her he ate people. Those fluffy, blue ears drooped forward while he thought.
Then, he got an idea! The dragon's ears brushed against hers as they stood straight up. "As for your other question, well... did this guy tell you what his favorite parts? Did he tell you about the people he met from here? Did he show you anything he got from here?"
He petted her back. "Not being able to answer any of those questions would raise alarm bells, at least for me. But, I promise I'll make this one awesome for you. I can make the board work without you having to strain your brain. All for free. I can't do it right now because people here - for some reason - are awfully intolerant of others talking to thin air. Promise to meet me just before the main event starts?"
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Post by Kino on Jun 15, 2016 1:37:28 GMT
Julia blushed suddenly from embarrassment. Here she was, spilling her heart out to a stranger, and she didn't even know his name. She knew it now but before she had no idea. "Umm, I'm.. I'm Julia. Its a pleasure to meet you All.. Aul Sol." It was such a strange way of saying his name.
Now he had her thinking though. There had been something strange about that e-mail that she sort of just glossed over at the time. Her eyes went wide and she suddenly looked back towards the crowd of people. Why hadn't it bothered her until now?
"See you soon..." She whispered to herself, almost as if she was trying to unravel some secret message within the words. "He said he'd 'see me soon' at the end of the e-mail. I didn't really think anything of it at the time though. You don't think... you don't think he's here? Like, he's going to try and do something to me do you?" She asked Aul Sol, as if he'd be able to give her all the answers.
"There were... little whispers from the board. Does it.. does it really work?" She asked him hopeful, "If.. if its just a trick please, just tell me ok?" She asked him meekly, her voice a little weak even if she was trying to sound strong and forceful. Instead it just sounded like she was forcing herself to speak.
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on Jun 17, 2016 22:23:14 GMT
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Julia. And that could be a possibility." Aul Sol said. The dragon drag queen had no idea what this other 'friend' smelled like, let alone looked like. Not to mention, most women that went to the convention never came back. He further avoided clarifying the message by saying, "Either way, I'd stay away from him as far as possible."
Then Julia piled on another question that he couldn't answer straight. Yes, those boards do work, but they relied on his power. Yet, he had a reason for making his wares faulty that wasn't just for the scares and the security clearances. He didn't like people growing dependent on him, regardless of whether those people were friends or food.
He propped his chin on her shoulder before speaking again. "Yes, They do work. They just can't be used to their full potential here until a certain time's passed. If you did everything correctly, then you should've heard some whispering from the goop I'm selling."
The dragon man's ears flattened and tilted forward. "But just saying you heard whispering isn't enough to check. The mind can interfere if you're not doing it correctly. Could you tell me what you heard the whispers say when you used it?"
It's not that Aul Sol couldn't hear the goop. He just needed to make sure that Julia heard the same things he did.
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Post by Kino on Jun 18, 2016 18:01:50 GMT
Julia nodded. "Yeah, I'll do my best to stay away if I see him. Though honestly, its hard to know with how well everyone's costumes are. Yours included. Do you have a sensor or something to help the ears droop when you're feeling sad?" She asked curiously, trying to gear the topic away from the strange 'friend' who dropped her here. She was becoming more comfortable with the drag queen, and as such was becoming more able to articulate the kinds of questions she wanted to ask.
As she listened to him explain that the boards really were working, her eyes lit up a little and she pointed at his ears again. "Like that, see? That's amazing that you can get your ears to move so fluidly." She muses softly, before blushing and clamming up. She realized that she'd just interrupted him, and let him continue without saying anything else.
When he brought up the goop her brow furrowed. "You mean, the board can let me... hear what Goopy here is thinking?" She asked softly, before pulling out the container and peering at the goop once more. She felt bad now, "Were you trying to tell me something earlier? I must have completely ignored you, I'm so sorry." She said gently, treating the goop as if it truly were a living thing now. After all, if its thoughts could be projected through the board, then it must be alive, right?
She shook her head when Aul sol asked what exactly she heard. "I was... to focused on trying to... hear my family that I only heard whispers..." She said, frowning and shoulders slumping a bit. "Sorry."
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ScrambleandClick
Junior Member
Ivershka @ bar|writer's block, Zastech @ photobooth
Posts: 66
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Post by ScrambleandClick on Jun 23, 2016 23:22:37 GMT
Aul Sol nodded his head rapidly. "Uh huh. They're in these." He tapped a hard, dark violet horn next to his left ear. It almost looked like one half of an earmuff, although it had more spikes. "I spent a lot of time messing with several of those moving ear headbands so it didn't need a headband. Went through about -"
The dragon drag queen counted on his fingers. One, two, three, four? Yes, he'd settle with four to keep his cover up. "Four of them. Yeah, that's right. Sometimes I had to start with a new set after modifying my circuit designs. You won't believe how clunky the originals were. They'd be this thick."
He held his talons together to form a pointed cone. "Nowhere near the sleek, elegant ears that'd go with the rest of my outfit."
Aul Sol nudged his head closer to Julia's face until his left horn touched her cheek. The dragon then spoke quietly. "And it's all right if you didn't hear Goopy the first time. You were focusing on something else."
The dragon pulled away from Julia. He grabbed the board and held one of her hands with both of his. "Let's try this again, okay? I know you'll get it right this time."
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Post by Kino on Jun 25, 2016 23:47:45 GMT
Julia was fascinated that his ears were able to act so fluidly. "Wow, that's amazing. It took you a long while to get it all working then?" SHe asked curiously, though her eyes lit up when he mentioned it only took about 4 different attempts to make a solid and smooth design. She was amazed and couldn't help but giggle as his ears twitched a bit.
Although a blush crept upon her cheeks as his horn brushed against her. "I bet they looked really silly being so big then." She giggles softly again, slowly bringing herself back from the sadder mood she had been in earlier. She even brought her hand up and ran her fingers down the length of that horn.
After she was done admiring his horns, she placed Goopy on the counter and gave a soft smile to it, "Ok. I promise to listen for you this time missy." She said softly, unscrewing the top and wiggling a finger against the top of the squishy goop. Aul Sol tugged her hand, guiding it to the board while her other hand followed obediently. She let out a soft breath, nodding as he showed his faith towards her ability to hear goopy this time. She closed her eyes, and focused once more.
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