InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "SCHMOKIN"!"

It's Brittany, Bitch | Ερις (eristic) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2017-04-19 20:38:00

Entry tags:

eris, raven, uke mochi

camera's trying to watch us
Who: BB, Alice, & Raven.
What: BB arrives back at the Shinto floor looking for her friend after some unsuccessful searching. She finds many friends, and hijinks ensue!
Where: The sixth floor.
When: Wednesday, April 19.

BB pushed the door open to the sixth floor, eyes casting about for Alice. Following the unsuccessful attempt to get into the weird room in the lobby (none of the keys she'd stolen from behind the concierge's desk worked, oddly enough), BB had spent some time exploring the rest of the building with, of all people, Percy. If the first few floors she'd looked through with Daniel were weird, the rest held even more secrets. Strange that the first and ninth were the same while the rest all held variations; there was no other evident theme to be extracted from the observation. Now, all BB wanted was to make sure the people she'd checked on before were still whole and sound; despite the crocodiles on the Deluxe floor and some of the bogs on the seventh, it didn't seem like the floors held too many dangers.

"Skittles?" She didn't immediately see the redhead; BB had tried the fourth floor first, wondering if the girl was in her apartment, but when there'd been no answer, somehow BB knew to come here to the sixth floor. The tall, orange arches were imperious, almost stern looking, as though they disapproved of her presence, but BB shrugged the feeling off and continued forward. She passed by the giant wall full of plates, her own secret sticking out like it was on fire. No one seemed to have recognized it, for what it was worth, and while she was waiting, she decided to do a little perusing of her own.

heated arguments have led to her having anxiety attacks, a thing she hasn't admitted because thieves should have better nerves and she's just fine jumping off buildings

Jumping off'a buildings, huh? Raven had always struck her as a daredevil, though she wasn't sure that her friend would go that far. Plus, the cool-headed individual never seemed like someone who'd have panic attacks. BB shrugged off the curiosity (rather, filed it away for a later date) and turned her attention to the various items sitting along the baseboards of the hallway. It looked like a lot of junk left behind -- coins, flowers, and food. The latter made her stomach grumble, and she knelt, inspecting what looked like a bowl of rice.

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	rosemary_thyme 2017-04-19 10:04 pm UTC (link)
	"Hey, Brit," Alice said as she came around the side of the fountain near the elevator. She had a little tote with her, a notebook inside filled with different recipe ideas. She hadn't felt so inspired as she had since the floor had appeared but perhaps it was due to the floor making her feel so at peace. "You alright?" (Reply to this) (Thread)

cajunqueen
2017-04-19 10:11 pm UTC (link)

Chris had warned her not to steal from people, a thing that she didn't like but could see the benefit of. Reckless at times and impulsive for sure, but she wasn't stupid, you don't come from her family and get caught easily. Although it still seemed like a missed opportunity, but what could ya do?

Now, stealing the shinnies that had magically appeared in some of the hallways? That was not a thing she needed to be warned about.

It was a stereotype, sure, but people from New Orleans really did tend towards the superstitious. Even worse were the criminals, including thieves. A good general rule was not to steal from anything you couldn't outwit or outrun, and Raven doubted her ability to outwit magic and she sure as hell wasn't outrunning shit with the building on lockdown.

But still. It didn't hurt to look, did it?

Besides this was the third time she had returned to try and yank various secrets from the wall, including going so far as to put both legs on the wall to yank on them to no avail. But someone else was here this time, so that would have to wait.

Oh! Two someones!

Raven hung up for a moment, watching the other girl that she had seen only in pictures on BB's phone and how they interacted. BB was doing something possibly foolish, and maybe Alice would stop her--or maybe they would both show the possible risks behind disturbing things. Besides using them as guinea pigs, she was curious about their dynamic, having only heard about it from one side so far. So she waited in the doorway, hidden just enough behind some of the new architecture to observe for now.

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eristic
2017-04-19 10:21 pm UTC (link)

BB looked up from where she'd been fondling the rice bowl; on impulse, she rose with it, picking up a few grains and putting them to her mouth.

"Why're you hiding?" She answered. The rice was definitely hitting the spot; somehow, even after being left out in the hallway, it was warm. Something on it even gave it a slight tang, though she wasn't familiar enough with food from her own would-be parent culture to have the faintest idea what it could be. All she was wanting in that moment was a fork.

She took a few steps toward Alice, her gait slow and her posture mostly relaxed, though there was a line of tension across her shoulders that spoke to a slight anxiety while in the other young woman's presence. "Doin' a little journalin' on the weird ghosty floor?"

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rosemary_thyme
2017-04-19 10:38 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah..." Alice laughed slightly as she walked toward her friend, slightly embarrassed by her own behavior. "Everything is so strange but, for whatever reason, I find it really peaceful on this floor." She dug the notebook out of her bag and gave it a little shake. "Plus it's been giving me a ton of inspiration for the blog, so I've been trying to get some work done since I can't leave the building to actually go to the bakery."

She paused before her friend and tilted her head to one side. "You okay? You seem a little off...maybe you shouldn't eat the food that's been put out here, I can go make us dinner downstairs." She stepped forward, knocking her notebook against Brittany's elbow.

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cajunqueen
2017-04-19 10:59 pm UTC (link)

Alice was right, BB did seem off, it was a thing maybe easier seen from a distance that her friend didn't have when they were at their old job or just spending time together. Raven wasn't sure if it was the changes in the building or her crush's presence. Personally, Raven was one to feel giddy and too light around people she had a romantic interest in, but maybe BB was the opposite?

Shit.

"Hey sweetness, I don't think that's a good idea, don'tcha' know you shouldn't eat stuff off the floor that's been there longer than 10 seconds?" It was probably rude for her to not introduce herself to Alice, but she was too focused on her friend to remember rules of politeness which she had trouble remembering on a good day.

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eristic
2017-04-19 11:04 pm UTC (link)

She felt fine, no matter what her friends were saying. BB turned on her heel, genuine surprise coloring her face to see Raven.

"Hey Rave! Seriously, it's OK, look, it's even still warm! Almost like someone just made it. Kinda weird, right?" She had no compunction when it came to trying new things, and surely if there was something weird about the bowl, she would have detected it by now, right? BB rolled her eyes at both Raven and Alice's concern, and then switched to better topics.

"Alice, this is Raven, and Raven, well, I'm sure you can figure out who this is," she said with some small dramatics, implying earlier conversations that spanned years and tears and advice from the former party mentioned. BB took a minute to stuff more food in her mouth, never one to avoid opportunities to multitask. "So now you've all met, and yeah! Your floor is crazy, Rave, all those plants??? How'd you even make it out of your apartment?"

She scratched at an elbow, not noticing that it was starting to faintly turn purple and green.

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rosemary_thyme
2017-04-20 07:37 am UTC (link)

Alice's eyes darted up to the other woman joining them and she flashed a smile, ready to introduce herself, but Brittany took command of the conversation and drew Alice's attention back to her. Alice's brow knit as her gaze focused on her friend's arm and then back to her friend's mouth, chewing away on the rice she had grabbed.

"Brit, you should stop eating that now," Alice warned, stepping forward and snatching the bowl of rice from the girl, although Brittany still had a mouthful of food. "I think you're having an allergic reaction..." She looked at Brittany's arm once more then at Raven, an eyebrow raised as if seeking confirmation that she too saw the purple and green coloring of their friend's arm.

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cajunqueen
2017-04-20 12:32 pm UTC (link)

It was warm? Somehow that made it more suspicious, and Raven felt herself rolling her eyes. You knew it was bad when the nomadic lawbreaker was being the reasonable one, although at least Alice appeared to be on her side with this being a bad idea. It didn't seem to be doing much good though, "I climbed actually," She replied distractedly before giving a slight wave to Alice, "Yo, nice to meetcha'" But her attention was focused on BB and the discoloration on her arm.

"Allergic or...something." Her head tilted to the side as she took in her friend's skin, a confused eyebrow raised though her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself stepping towards BB. She took the bowl from Alice's hand in the process, tossing it carelessly over her shoulder without a second glance so she could grab at BB's arm and examine it, twisting it around in the process.

"Damn Brit-brat, you're up shit creek without a paddle, we can't get you to a hospital." Raven poked at the skin experimentally with her finger to see if it was hot or hurt her friend.

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eristic
2017-04-20 01:28 pm UTC (link)

"What are you guys--" She pulled her arm away from Raven's poke, her eyes going wide at the slowly-growing spot of definitely not-human color. She stuck her arm out, waving it as though she could simply throw it away.

"ohmygodohmygodohmygod-" She started vibrantly chanting, her feet pattering on the ground in discomfort as she nearly danced in place. Before all their eyes, her arm continued to change color -- and not only that, it changed shape. Human skin gave way to something sleeker, her fingers melding together to create one form. The whole of it shifted into what almost looked like a plant tendril, until she turned it upside again and revealed a long expanse of suckers in various sizes.

"Holy fu-" She started, her arm waving gently in the air, almost of its own accord. BB's eyes were wide, and stunned, and completely unsure of how to react. The arm had some ideas, though.

It wrapped itself around BB's throat in one quick-jerk motion, quickly starting to turn her face red as it attacked the thing it was attached to.

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rosemary_thyme
2017-04-20 02:47 pm UTC (link)

"Oh my god," Alice gasped, lunging forward to grab BB's arm... tentacle? What the hell was even going on anymore. But she saw it, she saw her friend's arm melt into a sea creature's and move on its own. The dream Alice had with Brittany, the one where the woman Eris was changing shapes, flooded Alice's memory.

"It's like the dream!" Alice yelled, grabbing at the would-be arm and trying to pull it from BB's neck. "Brit, it's like the dream. You could change, you could do things by choice. You can make it stop!"

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cajunqueen
2017-04-21 07:44 am UTC (link)

What dream? What the fuck? Why the hell was BB's arm suddenly a tentacle and trying to kill her, it was hard to say which of those two questions made less sense actually.

There was a pocket knife in her belt, and a leatherman hidden in her boot witha number of tools other than just a short blade because you never know when a screwdriver or ruler could be needed. The latter was in her hand before she could stop it, but she stopped short of flipping out the knife because freeing her friend might mean stabbing her.

Raven was unstable, but not that much, thanks.

So instead she grabbed for BB's elbow, trying to twist the limb away from her friend. A basic hold that she had been taught right around puberty that was usually very effective. You know. When magic wasn't involved, "Try and calm down BB! Focus!" Or something! What the fuck dude?

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eristic
2017-04-21 09:54 am UTC (link)

BB was struggling to breathe, much less follow the advice that Alice was offering and Raven was supporting. Focus? Focus on what?! Her arm was not her arm and it was strangling her and on top of that she was still hungry, but of course that latter thought was certainly taking up a back burner. Her still normal arm was reaching for the other, fingers curling around the tentacle as she struggled to gain some purchase on its round, slippery form. Somehow, it was wet, which made the whole experience worse.

Her face was slowly turning several shades of purple as she tried to concentrate, visions of the dream they'd shared floating through her mind. The thing she'd been, whatever it was, Eris or airs or whatever, had changed shape, though it hadn't seem like it had been thought out; all of it had been at a whim. The only whim she had right then was for it to stop choking her and then...it did.

The tentacle uncoiled from around her neck, BB bending over and sucking in huge gasps of air as she nearly fell to her rump in an attempt to restore herself to how she'd been a few minutes previous. Her arm, of course, did not change back, but the tentacle seemed far less reactive. BB waved her arm again, as though this might dislodge the change, but it did not.

"OK, so," she gasped out, her voice sounding like a cheese grater, "note to self: food on this floor...will do weird shit... to you."

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rosemary_thyme
2017-04-21 10:14 am UTC (link)

Alice let out a large sigh, her shoulders dropping as she stared at Brittany's arm. Glancing at Raven and giving her a faint smile--what an awful way to meet a new person--Alice turned back to her best friend. "It's all the floors, it's this entire apartment," Alice began, stepping forward and around the waving tentacle to stand on the other side of Brittany, she touched her friend's very human shoulder.

"Look, stuff is happening to me too." Alice gathered her hair and pulled it over her shoulder, brushing through it with her hands to produce a scattering of pieces of wheat, golden and bright and as much a part of Alice as anything else. "It's like the dream and it's been happening since Monday. It comes and goes, gets to be more wheat then less. I can't make it appear or disappear, it just does it on its own, but it's all like in the dreams.

"Weird dreams," Alice continued, looking at Raven sheepishly. "Dreams that Brit and I have had where this stuff has happened. And it's not just us, Isobel can make plants move."

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cajunqueen
2017-04-22 11:35 am UTC (link)

Raven wasn't really grossed out by much, it came from rolling around in the mud with boys and her general personality to boot. That, combined with her innate curiosity made her stay close to BB's tentacle arm instead of stepping away. She even went so far as to prod at it without asking, turning it over in her hands for a closer look, "Damn BB, I mean, it's freaky and all but it's also kind of cool."

But Alice's golden hair caught her attention too as she manipulated it until wheat fell from her hair. What the hell. She bent down to pick up a few bits of it, rolling it around in her hands as if to confirm it was real, "On the other hand, I guess we know how to find you if you get lost." She grinned, crazy situation or not Raven could almost always find a way to make it beneficial in some way. It was a family trait.

Alice was certainly a pretty thing and seemed nice enough (read: harmless), though maybe a little innocent. She could see why BB was so caught up in her, although she suspected it was at least partially wanting what she couldn't have that did it.

She stowed her knife again as she spoke, head tilted to the side and an undisguised look of excitement on her face, "Make plants move? Holy shit, that is cool!" These two looked nervous (maybe understandably) but Raven was stuck on how useful something like that could be.

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eristic
2017-04-22 02:18 pm UTC (link)

BB raised her tentacular arm with a frown, still shaking it gently as though she could force the appendage to change to its usual form.

"Hardy har har," she said to Raven's joke, her other hand probing the same as her friend's fingers. The flesh felt different from the rest of her arm; smoother, more elasticity, almost like it was silly putty. She could feel the prods and pokes, which made her shiver, even as the arm seemed to writhe of its own accord.

"Yeah," she added to Alice's semi-explanation. "We've...I've had a couple of dreams where I was...this thing." Something in her head went hmpf as if offended. "It kept changing shape. All kinds of stuff, too, not just like...physical things. Maybe you're right, skittles, maybe I can..." She squinted her eyes in concentration at the arm, willing it to change back to how she'd been before. Then she could feel it, and the barest trace of hope crossed her face.

Her arm started to shift before them, but instead of changing back to its slimmer, tawny-colored former shape, it turned a burnished red that faded to white on the underbelly. The tentacle reshaped itself to something larger, and heavy. BB tipped forward slightly as it became a huge crab claw, her other arm slipping under thick exoskeleton as if she could hold the thing aloft.

"Um, that's not what I wanted," she whined at her arm, as though they'd gotten lost in translation.

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rosemary_thyme
2017-04-22 02:55 pm UTC (link)

"Holy shit," Alice whispered, stepping back with wide eyes to give the claw room. "Does it... does it hurt? What does it feel like?"

She stepped closer, the mixture of hair and wheat still in her face, and looked at the claw. "It's so... detailed. It's real. Have you ever even studied a crab claw that closely? Try... try to change it again, Brit. So long as it doesn't hurt you."

She looked at her friend and reached her very human hand out to take Brittany's only human hand and squeeze it encouragingly. She wouldn't freak out, she wouldn't run away. This was real, as real as the wheat in her hair, and she'd make sure Brittany didn't have a meltdown as she had before.

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