InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Sonny, this is urgent"

Odin, observer of all realms (hlidskjalf) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-08-06 02:18:00

Entry tags:

odin, white buffalo woman

A Box of Stained-Glass Tears
Who: Kit & Alexa
What: LOTTERY POST WOOO
Where: Lobby of Pax Letale
When: Saturday morning, just after the mail has arrived
Warnings: TBA - but probably low

It wasn't anything unusual as he ricocheted down the elevator to the lobby, picked up the paper from the lobby desk, and swung his keys as he went to check his mail. It was Saturday, and his routine was pretty normal. Coffee, bacon, more coffee, a little work online, then downstairs to get the mail and the paper, then back up for more coffee and poking about the internet.

If he was really lucky, he didn't run into any friendly neighbors who made him feel awkward.

Today was gearing up to be such a day; he'd run into no-one on his floor, no-one in the elevator, and the lobby was blissfully empty. The real disruption came when he opened his mail box and inside the bills and credit card offers was a small, ornate, gold ring. He peered a bit closer at it and was surprised to find the words 'we know' written on it.

He wasn't the sort to panic, but this seemed quite an opportune time to do so. Was it about his hacking? Or someone in the 'friendly' complex who knew about his past? And what did the ring mean? He stood there a moment before shutting the door to his mail slot, unable to move or take his eyes off the ring. It was captivating, and he didn't know why. Familiar, though he had never seen it. His, but it had never belonged to him.

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whitebuffalo
2011-08-06 07:50 am UTC (link)

Saturdays were one of the laziest days to be had in her week. Not the laziest which were reserved for Sundays, but most definitely one of the laziest. Dressed in comfortable sweat pants, a shirt that was two sizes too big and had belonged to an ex-boyfriend somewhere in another city and easy flip flops, Alexa slowly made her way down the stairs and made a beeline for the row of mailboxes. After casting a glance at her neighbor, who seemed a little out of sorts, she finally pushed her key into her mailbox and opened it. Because her mail was still being forwarded from one address to another, it was not a surprise that it was nearly empty.

Save for a little patch of white fur, which was enough. Enough to bring a frown on her face. With gentle fingers she picked it out of the box and as it lay on the palm of her hand, Alexa's frown deepened. Gently, her fingers reached out to stroke the white fur, carefully. As if it was a living thing. But when it was turned over, she could see words burned into the leather.

We know.

Perhaps this was one of those Mag Lite and Taser moments Samuel had warned her about on the beach. For strange things appeared to happen in Pax. So he said. "But know what?" There were no buried skeletons, no juicy details from her past people could dig up.

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hlidskjalf
2011-08-06 07:57 am UTC (link)

The words snapped Kit out of his reverie and he looked quickly at the woman - a neighbor, getting her own mail, someone he'd never met before. He was trying to determine how much of a threat she was and what she knew, while attempting to appear as though this were the most nonchalant morning in the history of his life.

"I don't know anything," he said, curling his fingers around the ring. It felt like it was burning his palm, but he knew that was just psychology. "But uh, what seems to be the problem?" Just act nice. Calm and nice. Non-threatening. She didn't know anything about him. Not a thing at all.

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whitebuffalo
2011-08-06 08:14 am UTC (link)

"We know," Alexa was quick to tell him as she carefully held up her little 'gift' and turned the words burned into the leather, around to face him as confusion was telltale in her eyes. She'd never been one to keep everything to herself and so thoughts were just blurted out. Still, she wasn't eager to just let go of it or worse, throw it away. "But know fucking what? That I kissed Johnny in second grade? That I'm wearing the shirt of my ex? That I'm so glad that this is my day off?" And days off should mean no dilemmas, no riddles and no patches of white fur that felt comfortable and alive for whatever reason.

The alive part alone, should have made her get rid of it, but to do so felt like a travesty. "It's probably just a joke. Or some weird hazing ritual straight out of a sorority." Or not.

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hlidskjalf
2011-08-06 08:33 am UTC (link)

"Oh," Kit said as she spoke. "Oh, oh thank god." He leaned against the wall, rubbing the hand that wasn't clenching the ring against his temple. "I - I thought. Okay, here, look-"

He unfurled his fist and let the ring catch the light; he didn't hold it out too far; he was feeling oddly protective of it. "There's writing on it 'we know' just like yours."

Yes, probably just a joke to the - "Are you a new tenant as well?" If so, that would be cruel. If not, he'd wonder if everyone got one.

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whitebuffalo
2011-08-06 08:42 am UTC (link)

As soon as the ring was brought to light, she already knew that she didn't really want to touch it. To do so, felt wrong. When she strained to read the engraving on it, the feeling amplified, because it seemed to scream out that it wasn't hers.

"Somewhat. I've been busy with work, haven't met too many people." Which was this was all too surprising, at least until she remembered Samuel. It made sense for the one person to warn her of strange things that happened in this building, to do this to them. "Have you met Samuel?" She could only double check to make sure.

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hlidskjalf
2011-08-06 08:59 am UTC (link)

When she peered closer, it took all his strength not to pull back - was he turning into Gollum? It was just a cheap prank, it had to be. When she was done examining it, he snapped his fingers back around it and tucked his hand in his pocket. His heart was racing and he didn't know why, but there was something about that ring.

He frowned. "Samuel ... no, can't say I have," he said, running through the people he'd met during his short time here. "He someone who could know something about this?"

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whitebuffalo
2011-08-10 02:41 pm UTC (link)

"Maybe," Alexa admitted with a small nod. "He warned that strange things happened in this building." Not that she'd seen the janitor yet, not that she'd met many people yet. All she had, was the word of one man she felt she could trust and this strange piece of fur with two words burned into the leather. "Maybe this is one of them." Maybe.

Her conviction that this was all an elaborate hoax, seeped away from her the longer she held it. "Do you feel weird?" Strange how a couple of words could also convey emotions in a casual, offhanded manner.

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