Ash and Dust [RUPERT]

[phoenix oasis latimer]

Ravens were odd little creatures. They were beautiful, with their ebony feathers and glittery eyes, but odd all the same. For one thing, they chose the strangest places to hide out, like barn roofs. And, anyway, Phoenix hadn't really thought it possible for her to strike up a friendship with one, no matter how extraordinary it was. It was funny, really; she'd just taken a walk down to the old farm, where nature was, and where beautiful scenery was, and poof! Strings had just... appeared there! Maybe he was looking for tidbits to eat around here, like old seeds or stale bread. He hadn't been successful, though, bless him.

It was a good thing that she'd had a good day the day before this one. Or else she probably would have been working. But, no, today she'd gone down to the old farm. She wanted some privacy, some time to play where no one could hear her, where she wouldn't be judged or paid for her time. More judged than paid, as the case often was. But that was irrelevant. The point was that all she needed today was her violin, and bag of birdseed to keep Strings quiet. She'd made a habit of carrying birdseed around, just in case he popped up at random moments. She was his mutual caregiver, after all. Not his owner, but she cared for him.

She was now perched on the rafters of the barn, her avian companion sat on her one free shoulder, her violin near the other, so that one wasn't exactly free to be sat on. She was just making sure that her bow had enough rosin on it for the sound to be pleasant, and not screeching. A screeching violin was probably one of the worst sounds in the world. When she was satisfied, she gave a little nod, and began to play a song that she kept coming back to - Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. It was one of the few songs that she felt like she related to, even though she'd only heard it in the shops when she'd gone to buy food and sheet music. But still. She liked it a lot.

Outfit: Clicky!
Tagged: Roo!
Notes: :3
Lyrics: The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy

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[rupert george wilfred gibbard]

There was one quiet, little area that made me more at ease than any other place. Torsten and his comrades surely wouldn't ever think of looking for me here. That's what I was hoping. Perhaps, for once, luck would be on my side and I wouldn't be discovered. Not that I'd been properly found for years anyway but there was still a chance. And no matter how small that chance was, I couldn't ignore it; I feared the man too much to do that.

Today was one of the days where I wasn't going to get overly-scared about leaving the house. I think it probably had something to do with how I'd managed to get a near-decent night's sleep and had eaten as well which generally made me feel better about everything. That didn't mean I was going out just for the sake of it, that wasn't ever going to happen, as much as I knew Arthur wanted it to. I hated to disappoint him but it was another aspect of my personality that I was uncertain of how to change. Since I needed to gather some more inspiration and ideas for paintings, I was venturing out to the old farm to see if I could get a few things sketched down on paper so I could paint them properly when I felt comfortable with doing so.

When I'd arrived, I first headed towards the barn. I liked it in there best as it was so sheltered. It was practically like being back home again, except it wasn't as warm, it didn't smell like my brother at all and it didn't have such a homely, secure-ish feeling about it.

I was in for a fright when I walked inside and was greeted by a foreign sound being made by some strange girl. Gosh, what if she was connected to Torsten? What if he'd found my favourite hiding place? I scrabbled backwards and hid behind the door, holding my breath. This was why I preferred to stay inside.

Outfit: Clicky! ♒ Notes: :3 ♒ Tagged: Phee!

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[phoenix oasis latimer]

It'd been a while since she'd really gotten into playing, maybe because she didn't normally just play. Dancing kind of split her mind into two separate parts - one focused on the sound that she was making, the other concentrating on her timing and footfalls. However, she was only playing right now, meaning that her entire brain was centered around the noise that she was creating. She'd forgotten just how much easier it was this way, before she'd incorporated dance into her little show. It was much simpler. But then, sadly, simple didn't earn her keep.

She was quickly jarred out of her near-trance by the sound of approaching footsteps, and almost straight after, the sound of an almost desperate departure. She opened her eyes briefly, just in time to see a dark haired man turning away and scrambling out of the barn. Now, normally, she would have paid this no heed, but... it was odd. No one really came down here. At least, she'd never come across anyone here before. And the way he'd left. It was almost as if he didn't want her to see him. Which was just plain weird. She wouldn't have minded his presence - she would have just ignored him. Unless he tried something.

And then, surprise surprise, that got her mind spinning in a completely different direction. Of course, someone that was going to hurt her wouldn't want her to see them. She knew that this was just Faible talking, that she was starting to taint her thoughts, but she couldn't help it. When one had no home, one learned to be cautious about these things. Someone who wasn't was practically signing their own death warrant. Paranoia, although it was an incredibly weak and irritating emotion, was occasionally useful. It meant that she had a pretty good sense for this kind of thing now.

She put the violin down, the varnished pine of the instrument making a sharp click as it hit the soft, discolored wood that the rafters in the barn were made out of. One of her eyebrows was raised in an almost perfect arc, and (completely subconsciously, of course), her hand went to her hip, where she kept her knife. Then, with a loud and harsh voice, she called out "You might as well come out, you know." She hated the blatant disregard that the person had for the fact that she'd already seen them - it was just downright rude, if you asked her. I know you're there."

Outfit: Clicky!
Tagged: Roo!
Notes: I'm sorry she's a poo.
Lyrics: The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy

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[rupert george wilfred gibbard]

Did I run, or what? But what if she'd sent out a message and now the place was surrounded? Oh gosh. Why, oh why, hadn't I stayed inside today? Nothing ever went the way I'd planned which was why I'd come to have such low expectations of myself and my life. I didn't matter, I was insignificant. Barely anyone got to see me anyway so I didn't need to even act like your 'average' person, however I was meant to achieve that. Arthur could do it and he tried to help me be more normal but I could never quite get the hang of anything. The only things I was any good at were painting and collecting spiders. From what I'd gathered over the years, the latter wasn't a common skill and not everyone possessed a talent for painting either.

For a few moments, I could hear nothing but my own shallow breaths and the whistling of the wind but then I could pick out sounds of movement from inside the barn. Then the woman seemed to be communicate with me - I didn't like the sound of her voice, it vaguely reminded me of Torsten - and I still hadn't decided what I was going to do. Well, she did appear to be the only other person here so I could probably fight her if I really needed to. First I needed to check something. It was a bit of a foolish question to ask but I had to get it out before I lost my nerve.

"Y-you... y-you don't work... f-for... T-T-Torsten, d-do you?" I peeked my head around the door so she'd be able to hear me. I knew I had a quiet voice and my stammering didn't make me any easier to understand.

Outfit: Clicky! ♒ Notes: :3 ♒ Tagged: Phee!

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[phoenix oasis latimer]

Her mind was split down the middle as to what she should do. One half, the half that she usually listened to, was telling her to just ignore it, and get back to her peaceful afternoon off "work". She didn't really think that anyone was seeking her out, coming all this way, just to hurt her. Or even kill her. What would they gain from it, anyway? Nothing. Just a dead body and a potential life sentence in prison. Not worth it, really, just to kill a twenty year old who'd just been minding her own business. She wasn't even sure she'd made an enemy of anyone who'd want to dispose of her, anyway.

However, the other side, the side that Faible lived in and was the more submissive side, told her to go search. Kill, if necessary. Which was weird, because both of the times that Faible had been faced with death or violence before, she'd hidden away in a deep part of Phoenix's mind. And now, that part of her head was encouraging her to go look. Hurt someone, if she needed to. Sometimes, her head was just a horrible, confusing place. It was just Faible's paranoia acting up, which was still quite a rare occurrence. She didn't normally let Faible take over. Unless she was alone, or that part of her was actually making sense. Which, right now, she wasn't.

Besides, she didn't even need to move. The man (who as clearly the man that'd skittered out so quickly) poked his head around the door. He looked terrified. With any other person, that would have struck a chord, pulled on a heartstring. But Phoenix? She'd been alone for too long to trust even apparent fear. Sometimes, the quiet ones were the most dangerous. That was just how it all worked, really. It was a shame that that was how things went. But it wasn't as if she, a single metal borea, could change that. She'd probably get killed trying. So the best thing to do was keep her wits about her.

Still, she couldn't help but frown in confusion at his words. Torsten? What the fuck was a Torsten? Or who, judging by the way that the male spoke about it/them. Her hand moved slowly away from where she kept her knife, her eyes sparkling with a calculative kind of curiosity. "What's that?" she queried, her voice a little softer, although still harsh and a little demanding. "Never heard of it in my life." It was just the honest truth. She wasn't the most sociable of people, though. If she was, she probably would have introduced herself to the man, just to ease him a little. But, no. She wasn't his mother; he could figure out that she wasn't a threat on his own, couldn't he?

Outfit: Clicky!
Tagged: Roo!
Notes: I'm sorry she's a poo.
Lyrics: The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy

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[rupert george wilfred gibbard]

I forced myself to keep still so I wouldn't make a run for it or go back to fully hiding behind the door because there was this person here whom I was attempting to successfully communicate with. I didn't like people looking at me, especially not my face. I felt judged and over-exposed and really, really uncomfortable. This woman didn't seem like a particularly 'nice' person either, which made things worse because it put me more on edge than usual. Well, there weren't many of what I would describe as being 'nice' people around, to be honest so it wasn't actually that much of a surprise.

As hard as I tried, I was unable to look directly at the stranger because, I don't know, for some reason I'd gotten the idea into my head that doing so would make me seem more vulnerable. The only person I dared to make eye contact with was only Arthur, with anyone else it was too awkward and unnerving. I'd been in worse situations before though, like with the bullies I used to grow up with. The woman appeared different from them but still kind of hostile and Torsten-y. But I could breathe and stand up for myself somewhat. And if I could breathe then it was a sure sign that I wasn't going to have an all out breakdown and that was good. Otherwise I got what I guess are sort of like panic attacks but with more crying and general hysteria. I've been like that since before I can remember, I'm not sure why.

Judging by her reaction, it was safe to say that the woman genuinely had to clue as to who Torsten was - either that or she was a very good actress. More to keep me from worrying myself further than anything, I decided to believe her. Her voice sounded just a teeny bit softer now too by I was unsure of what I should make of that. It was a positive thing, maybe? "O-oh. H-he's... he's ju-just s-some... s-s-some g-guy." I let out a shaky, nervous laugh. There was nothing funny at all, I shouldn't be laughing but I was. I kept my eyes down so that I was staring at the dirty floor and could only really see the basic shape of the woman without much detail. I knew that I could've said something that explained who Torsten was but I couldn't find the right words. I didn't like talking about him, not to anyone.

Outfit: Clicky! ♒ Notes: :3 ♒ Tagged: Phee!

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[phoenix oasis latimer]

Some called her harsh. Others called her mean. Almost all called her a bitch. She just called herself cautious, yet outspoken. Come on, a man that randomly stumbles into a barn to skitter away again when he sees a girl the size of a keyhole (no matter how strong she may have been) counted as at least a little bit suspicious, no matter how irrational she may have been being about it. It certainly didn't feel right to her. Because, really, the only instance in which a man of his size would run away from a petite woman like herself would be when he didn't want her to see him. And, well, why else would he want to stay hidden unless it was some kind of bad thing? And, yes, maybe she was overreacting, but still Better to be safe than sorry.

Just some guy. By the fellow's body language, the borea could sense that he was more than just some guy. Why would he be so worried about it? What on earth could this "Torsten" guy possibly have done that would make this man so... jittery? She couldn't deny that it really sparked her interest, but it wasn't polite to be nosy and intrusive, unless it was necessary. She scanned him with her calculative, cold gaze, before simply shrugging it off microscopically and shaking her head. There were some things that she didn't really need to know in life, and this was probably one of them. It was his life, after all. Who was she to poke around in his head, see what went on in there? The thought of someone doing that to her wasn't a pleasant one.

She tilted her head to the side at his laugh, wondering why he was laughing. She was jumping to all sorts of crazy conclusions, like maybe it was something to do with her, or maybe he was fucked up in the head or something. She didn't know, nor was it any of her business to know. "Well," she said stiffly, "I can honestly tell you that there's a lack of male company here. Just you and me, honest." Her tone would probably have been soft, kindly, had she been that type of person. But, no. Her guard was still up, just in case it turned out that this was all an act. She could fight him off easily if she had to, just so long as she was prepared. It would be a lot harder if he wasn't prepared for it.

Outfit: Clicky!
Tagged: Roo!
Notes: :3
Lyrics: The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy

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