#anyway i found a like two and a half year old warmup i did of a little waiter laslow

[honeydots]

flirty waiter

[chuckling-chemist]

Everybody Needs Somebody

((They say a picture’s worth 1000 words so I wrote 3750 because I can’t draw and then rushed the gag itself. Also probably the only thing I’ve really written of all this that I’m posting, be it here or anywhere, since my interpretation of the ball being at a swanky hotel was incorrect, but also everything else is only like....debatably relevant? All 1.5 other pieces, that is. idk, might another short piece or two but this one was certainly a vanity project written in the early hours of the morning in post-Stardew Valley Christmas hazes that is only getting posted to make myself feel better, for some sense of “welp did the thing I said I was going to write 6 months ago and here it is” type of thing.

Anyway there’s a lot of silly references in here so kudos if you pick them all out))

Joilet tapped his foot impatiently from behind their practice room. He hadn’t meandered much around the crowd of the ball -- ignoring the current charges against him, high class crowds weren’t his scene -- but current security was still enough to make him worry. Brownblood host or not, he knew enough have true highbloods stalking around as guards. Bouncers who Joilet’s certain were watching him and recognized him the last time he did a sweep of the temporary hivestem. After their performance, Joilet and Akroid were going to have to peel out immediately.

At least they were paid upfront this time upon meeting him in person the night prior. In cash.

Though, to be fair, the Blue Brothers shouldn’t have been paid. A friend of theirs in similar line of work, a brownblood named Elliah Fagane, performed last sweep and she was slated to perform again. She was perfect for the job, a good little songbird who kept complaints she had about anything to herself and was the perfect paragon of elegance and grace -- lowblood or not. The Blue Brothers, meanwhile, were two midbloods (Joilet was a stocky cobaltblood while Akroid was a lanky tealblood) who both had a penchant for getting into trouble. Under normal circumstances, the two of them alone -- much less the whole band -- would ever be asked to perform for a traditional socialite of any caste. But, they needed the money and so Joilet was able to pull a quick favor from her to have her drop her spot while simultaneously recommending them as adequate replacements. He accepted, playing as if he knew who the two of them were the whole time. He told them how much of a fan he was of their “country and western band”, how Elliah “just wasn’t the sound he wanted”, and how excited he was to get some “representation of their own people’s music, in a more palatable fashion” in the setist. 

He was partly right: once they performed a cover of Stand By Your Rail at a dive bar, pretending to be an actual western band. He’s pretty sure this guy wasn’t aware of that, but an attempt was made. At least.

Their tight, uniform appearance also helped matters. Despite the different castes and heights, Joilet and Akroid looked the part of a two person midblood group with a backup lowblood band. Same black sunglasses that cover up half their face, same black fedora hooked onto their respective short horn (Joilet’s left horn, Akroid’s right), same unruly hair covered up by said hat, same black suit and skinny black tie. Sure, Joilet’s other horn broke off during his stint in prison while Akroid’s just hooked off again and Joilet’s sideburns were unkempt, but otherwise? Perfectly uniform. If the host had any questions of their legitimacy, they were quickly quelled after seeing the two of them in person the other night and, to Joilet, that spoke just as much as their actual skill level.

Joilet glanced over to Akroid. Damn teal looked as unflappable as ever behind those dark sunglasses. It was him who got them in this whole situation in the first place. Akroid, the idiot who picked him up from the big hive at the start of the perigee with a pipe dream of getting the band back together. The idiot who resisted arrest for public intoxication from the drones all because he was a former felon himself, starting them on this stupid honkbird chase in a desparate bid for cash. Akroid, the idiot who helped get his ass out of prison in the first place, all due to whatever strange desire for the other’s companionship they developed over the sweeps.

Fuck him.

Akroid must have caught his gaze because he gave a short smile and a thumbs up. “We’re doing good,” he said. “Remember, we’re on a mission from God.”

Right. The mission from God. Joilet found himself relaxing almost instantly. He distinctly remembered the out of body experience he had upon visiting one of those criminal infested freeports before departing; where, if he hadn’t talked to the God (Joilet didn’t believe the clowns held any sort of stranglehold on the concept of godhood), he certainly talked to a god. If nothing else, they made it this far without a single hiccup they couldn’t solve in their plans. It’s hard to believe someone’s not looking out for you when you escape a chase by driving through a busy mall and still make it out on top. Without their current employer hearing any of it.

“And what if God lets y’all get caught again?” their saxophonist, Marini, asked. He was a skinnier rustblood, long curly hair that went down to his mid back and oddly pointy teeth for such a red caste. “Leavin’ us high and dry again like when Joilet got hit.”

“We’ll be fine,” Akroid said. He shifted the sleeve of his suit, pausing in his speech to check the time on his watch. “Just follow our lead and look like nothin’s wrong.” 

The rustblood let out a huff with a brief shake of his head, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he asked, “How much longer do we have anyway?”

“Ten minutes,” Joilet answered. “We got ten minutes.”

“Well good.” He removed his saxophone off the neckstrap and set it on the stand. “I drank way too much Faygo. Gotta piss.”

“Then go piss!” Akroid’s stone face cracked into a distinct scowl. “Geeze, you don’t gotta announce everything. Just get back before we perform.”

Their drummer, another rustblood by the name of Barkay, stood up as well. He looked about the same age as Joilet, with curly hair partially that was obscured by his dark green visor. Barkay looked about as respectable as anyone of his caste could, with a dark red dress shirt and black tie.

“I’m goin’ with him.”

Joilet blinked harshly behind his sunglasses. “Okay? It’s the damn ablutionblock. Do what you need to.”

They apparently didn’t need to be told twice. The two trolls were out the door before Joilet had a chance to add anything else.

“You’d think his bulge was on fire,” Joilet finally said. His gaze swept around the rest of the band rapidly. They were quiet. Somber. Hell, if he didn’t know any better he’d have mistaken the lot of them going off to war, not performing for big money at some fancy gala-thing. “You think he’s gonna bail?”

“Marini? Nah. He was the only guy we didn’t have to pester who was workin’ at that diner. Been itchin’ to rip on that sax.” Akroid smirked wryly. “And doin’ it here? In front of all those rich pricks? I’d worry more ‘bout yourself. You gonna choke?”

Joilet snorted. “ ‘Course not. We’re in too deep.”

“Didn’t seem like that a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah well….” Joilet trailed off. Akroid wasn’t wrong. Joilet had panicked. It seemed like every jackass out to get them were outside waiting for them. And Akroid, bastard he was, simply reminding him that those jackasses hadn’t got them during the rest of the sweep brought him back. 

Not like he’d admit it out loud.

“Had a moment of panic’s all. Then I remembered this kid’s probably being a nervous wiggler about staffing with his first year. Nothin’ else.”

“Uh-huh.” Akroid’s smirk widened a bit, giving Joilet the sudden urge to punch it right off his face. But not now. They were too close to their goal.

They stood in comfortable silence for a few more minutes before a new figure came out from the curtain, an indigoblood with short, cropped hair in a suit matching his caste walking next to Manini and Barkay. That was the guy who’d be ushering them on, sure, but he’s almost certain it hadn’t been ten minutes. Did something happen?

He glanced back over to Akroid, who just shrugged. Figures.

“Are you ready?” the indigoblood asked. He had some smile plastered on his face in some attempt to be friendly, but it didn’t look friendly. The offset, sharp teeth broken off at odd angles gave off a distinct predatory vibe.

“I dunno, did they get their break?” Joilet said.

Barkay grinned, giving the two trolls a thumbs up as he walked seat. “I got what needed done. No worries.”

The indigoblood’s face split wider, if that were even possible. He beckoned Joilet and Akroid with an open hand, unmoving until the two of them actually started following him through the narrow hallway. “Excellent. Let’s get moving then. Your stage is set, guests are waiting...you wouldn’t want to disappoint such eager crowds I’m sure. They could get aggressive.”

Joilet refrained from mentioning he passed time in prison by performing old classics, and just how dangerous some of those trolls were. Hell, he even learned a few new songs thanks to an actual country musician of a brownblood involving being stuck in prison. Aggressive wasn’t a problem. It was authority. 

“Got it.”

“Good.” He stopped in front of a door, giving them a nod. “You can go ahead and enter through the door. Hopefully you don’t need any final warmups?”

“We’ll be fine,” Joilet said.

The indigoblood nodded. “If you’re certain. I shall return at the end of your set.” He opened up the door. “Best of luck.”

The two of them exchanged a look. “We don’t need luck,” Akroid said before disappearing through the door.

Joilet followed suit, giving the inidgoblood a curt nod of acknowledgement before adding, “We’re on a mission from God.” 

As he walked through the door, he was immediately greeted with a dark blue curtain in front of them with a short opening to the left of them where he could catch the smallest glimpse of the piano on a raised platform. Nothing else. The piano obscured most of the view of the crowd beyond them. He imagined it was exactly the same on the other side.

It was a small exit. But it would be perfect for escaping out.

He wondered if Akroid was thinking the same thing. Probably. There was no way to tell, no way to properly read his expressionless face their last moment of respite before their performance and subsequent frantic escape before anyone did a serious background check about who they were. Still, there was a twinge in his gut that his partner in crime agreed.

When they exchanged one final nod in solitude and took their places in front of two microphones, Joilet had a feeling he was right.

As soon as he made it, he did another quick scan of the room. It was blue. Blue tablecloths covered the guest and dessert tables. Blue curtains shuttered the ball off from the outside world. Blue lights in the punch bowl made the ice snowflake sculpture inside look blue. And if it wasn’t blue, it was white. White tree sculptures adorned with white lights twisted around each marble pillar. Vases of white flowers topped every table. A white rug ran down the center of the ballroom. Small, white lights dotted an otherwise dark ceiling to give the loose impression of stars or snowflakes down onto the dance floor.

Even the trolls did nothing to break it up. If the dress didn’t match the owner’s blood color, it was a distinct blue or white with sparkles or shimmers. White lacing and white boas perfectly match the white boots and white dresses. The flashes of gray due to the high cut of many of the dress slits managed to break up the coloration more than anyone matching caste color. 

Thankfully, the heavy blue-white combination made the distinct pinks, purples and blacks of those on their tail easy to spot. And oh boy, were they available -- even more so than earlier. Joilet wouldn’t be surprised if their host figured out about them at some point, but not early enough to cancel and reschedule so he let these brutes in instead. Burly indigo and purplebloods in suits stood along the edges, away from the crowds with their arms crossed in rapt concentration of the two of them. Standing next to the dessert table were a series of inidgobloods all dressed in formalized cowboy outfits, complete with stetsons, glaring at them -- the very same western group the Blue Brothers once impersonated. A few particularly annoying “seadweller master race” types in colorful gowns and military pinks stood in the back next to cobalts in military regalia, quite possibly from some local, non-drone law enforcement they managed to pick up to defend themselves. On the other side of the cobalts were a few subjuggalators who definitely were full into the “highblooded landdweller supremacy” in full face paint and religious purple clown robes. Both were groups the Blue Brothers have antagonized, whether it be intentionally with the seadwellers (they deserved it), or accidentally (turns out subjuggalators don’t like lower castes hearing the voice of their god, whatever god answered Joilet and Akroid notwithstanding). It was, however, the first time Joilet’s ever seen the two work together for a common goal. Traditionally the two groups go at it worse than a bad kismesis. He was almost proud that they were able to perform such a feat, though he wasn’t sure if the pride was directed at the supremacy groups or himself for bringing them together.

He let out a slow breath. Only one thing to do at this point. Start.

“One. Two. One, two, three, four.”

The band kicked off with the sound of upbeat horns while the two trolls gave a short dance around the mics for a few bars. After which, while the intro kept repeating, Akroid grabbed his micrphone and said, “We’re so happy to see so many of you lovely trolls here tonight. We would especially like to welcome the esteemed members of Kilran’s hired law enforcement who have chosen to join us at the 12th Perigee Ball here tonight. We hope you all enjoy the show and hope you remember that no matter who you are and what you do to live to try and survive, there’s still some things that make us all the same. You, me, them--” Akroid looked directly toward the back of the room toward the cobaltbloods assisting the supremacists with a disappointed shrug “--everybody. Everybody.”

And from there, it was Joilet’s turn. With the second mic in hand he started singing their opener, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love. It was a speedy tune, possibly a little too fast for what their host was intending, but they sounded perfect and that’s all that mattered. The band’s hits fell right within the pauses in Joilet’s vocals, and Akroid knew exactly when to come in to accent with his deep baritone. Each transition into the next part of the song was smooth, from pointing to various people in the crowd at the you, you, you, to Akroid seamlessly whipping out his harmonica to accent Joilet’s singing the pre-chorus.

There were a few scattered cheers of appreciation, but for the most part these people weren’t dancing. Only one way to change that.

As they gave a pause in vocals to allow for a harmonica solo, Joilet started through a complicated dance twisting around the band members, ducking and weaving through saxophones and trombones while he turned this way and that. It was finished with a cartwheel across the front end of the stage, landing him right in front of the microphone for the next verse.

It was the opening some of the trolls -- lower castes mostly, but he caught flashes of higherbloods in the mix -- needed. The dance floor segment had all sorts of trolls, be it single or paired off in some fashion, dancing in whichever way they fancied. Akroid must have led them into a rhythmic clap too, judging by the trolls unwilling to dance instead clapping and even chanting at every repeat of you, you, you. He caught the leader giving them a death glare. Joilet ignored it.

At the next verse, Joilet swung on his heel back toward the band. He pushed his outstretched arms down toward the floor in an overemphasized quiet down for the crowd, and every instrument dipped off except for a cymbal hat to keep time and the grooving bass guitar.

It was Akroid’s time again. He moved right toward center stage, mic in hand and announced, “You know people when you do find those special trolls for any quadrant, you gotta hold that ‘rail, hold that ‘sprit, love him, squeeze him, love her, please her. Signify your feelings with every gentle caress or angry glare. Because it’s so important to have that special somebody! To hold. To kiss. To miss! To please and squeeze!”

Akroid dropped into a kneel on the stage, as if enraptured with his statement, as Joilet finished out with the chorus. He didn’t stand back up until the harmonica came back in. He rejoined Joilet in the back for the end, and the two mimicked each other dancing on the balls of their feet as the band played out.

When the last note struck, the two of them landed simultaneously on one knee, head down with their hand holding the brim of their hats.

Two songs left. Then they bolt. They could do this.

Their performance of Soul Man was just as energetic. This song was pretty much entirely Joilet’s, so he let Akroid dance around the stage now. He could catch the other troll jumping up and down, legs moving so loosely and briskly they may as well be jelly. He only cut in for parts of the chorus, letting that deep baritone accent Joilet’s raspy vocals.

In only a few short minutes Soul Man ended and their final song, Sweet Home Gusthollow opened with swift guitar licks in a short solo. As the rest of the band kicked in and Joilet sang out the first few bars, Akroid raised his hands up to lead those listening in a clap. Barkay joined in as well. He raised his own drumsticks high above his head, tapping off the beats until those in the crowd kept time on their own.

As the first verse ended, Akroid took hold of Joilet’s mic. “Six and three is nine. Nine and nine is eighteen. Look there pupa partner and see what I’ve seen.” He nudged Joilet and pointed toward the cobalt in the back standing between the supremacists. Shit. Another look and Joilet realized he knew that troll. He was one of the wardens of the prison he was released from. But he also noticed at his angle, with the growing crowd of dancers and listeners, they might be able to slip away. After all, the stage wasn’t raised. The only reason he could still see the warden was thanks to the gaps down the main walkway.

The two of them waved confidently at him as they continued through the chorus. Even with the distance, he noticed the cobaltblood drag a thumb across his neck.

It struck Joilet numb for a few seconds. Good to know where he stands, he supposes. 

The two finished out the chorus with a flourish, letting the band take over. Joilet turned over to Akroid, offering out his hands to dance. The other troll accepted, and the two pranced right off the stage and into the crowd, swinging around as Marini moved center stage to crank out a solo. With the focus off them, they were able to swing right back onto the stage and through the small opening to the area behind the stage. He could still hear the band, but it was muffled. 

“You think that creep’s waitin’ for us back here?” Akroid asked. 

“I sure fucking hope not. Could do without running from his slimy ass too.”

Joilet whipped open the door, ready to run from whoever Kilrun left to deal with them back here. What they were greeted with instead was a troll leaning on the nearby wall wearing a tight, long sleeved red dress that pooled onto the floor. Yellow and orange flowers, though Joilet wasn’t sure what kind, outlined her skirt. A large, black wide brimmed hat wrapped outlined in string lights covered her whole face. When the door closed, they looked up, revealing a noticeable pair of fins and tyrian pink eyes. 

A fuschiablood.

“So...you must be the two trolls I was informed of.” She gave the two a grin filled with those sharp seadweller teeth, just as predatory as the indigoblood earlier, but for some reason it didn’t feel directed toward either of them. “Ran into your two bandmates earlier. He gave me a heads up you might be headed back this way before you run off.”

“Who the hell’re you?” Joilet asked.

“Call me Mayola. You two pissed off those buncha entitled rich fucks who think they’re better than everyone else right?”

Joilet and Akroid glanced at each other in silence. “What about it?”

“I’d like to bring you and your band on for Sandyhorn’s next festival. You two would make a great fit.” She pulled a thick envelope, quite obviously stuffed thick with cash, out of seemingly nowhere and handed it to Joilet. “Consider this a down payment. You’ll get the rest when I see ya there.”

Joilet thumbed through the money, eyeing her. This was a lot. More than he they could’ve gotten from this gig alone. “Yeah sure. Sounds like a deal.”

“Hey, just one problem.” Akroid jutted his thumb out toward the direction of the ball beyond them. “All those goons seem to have caught on our tail and we can’t perform unless we get outta here without goin’ to prison.”

Her face brightened. “Oh well that’s an easy one. Here, follow me.” She pushed herself off the wall and sauntered toward the door, that red dress almost appearing to shimmer in the dim lighting. With a quick motion of her wrist, she opened the door into the back of the stage. Only a few further steps in, and she leaned down and pulled at a small hitch in the floor. A trapdoor immediately popped up without a sound.  “Found this out the other day when I couldn’t sleep. Should lead outside without a hitch, though you might have to go through some sewers.” 

She looked up at them, eyes wild and filled with pride, catching the two troll’s equally bewildered and ecstatic expressions. “You’re brilliant!” Akroid exclaimed. “Amazing! Fantastic! Wonder--”

She held up a hand. “Save your praises for later. For now...just think of me as today’s savior.”

[vesperione]

She Didn’t Understand

I HAVE 100 FOLLOWERS ON TUMBLR, THANKYOU, AND I ALMOST HAVE 800 ON INSTA LMAO W H A T does that consider(thecoconut) me famous in the starkid community can someone confirm? Anyways heres a fanfiction I wrote be prepared for death

Don't leave she thought but she couldn't control him; he wasn't property. She held her head in her hands as she collapsed against a nearby tree. He was going to go and destroy the meteor. That part was simple. But there were harmonies surrounding her. What was the point in trying to survive if Paul wasn't even here? It was unlikely he'd even make it back. He only had grenades. She watched as he ran away full speed. There was a throbbing pain in her right leg. She didn't even want to look at the wound. Every time she moved her leg, it felt like 4000 burning knives were being pressed into her thigh. She cried out. She couldn't help it. "Vera, we've got another one!" How long had it been since he'd left? The sun was setting and a general in black uniform approached her. "This won't hurt." She smiled and knocked the girl out.

Emma awoke in hospital, with her leg in a cast. The general was sitting by her bed. "Ahh, hello Kelly. Seems you woke up." Who's Kelly? "We can't allow any connections to be made to you and Emma Perkins the girl who died tragically in the Hatchetfield Disaster." Shit. He hadn't made it out had he? She nodded. She'd adapt. "I'm just joking. Paul destroyed the meteor, but currently, PIEP are clearing out the remnants of the spores. Everyone else affected is here as well. Welcome to Clivesdale Hospital, Emma. Now, I'm Colonel Chaffer and I have all the details on what happened fully." And she handed Emma her phone. How did the general get a hold of Emma's phone? On the screen was a news broadcast.

I'm Rachel and this is Ron and we interrupt this programme with an emergency announcement. On the 26th of October 2018, a meteor crashed through the roof of the starlight theatre before the touring cast of Mamma Mia! were to perform. About half an hour precisely. Scientists were baffled by this mysterious meteor that had crashed for it was definitely out of sync with the rest of the meteors seen that night. Even though scientists are still researching it, they do know one thing. The DNA inside the spores latched on to one person by the name of Brendon Jinks, who was doing vocal warmups. Brendon Jinks was set to perform as Sam Carmichael in this very production of Mamma Mia. The DNA evolved inside of Brendon's bloodstream, killing him instantly. The spores then latched on to his corpse, allowing the meteor, which we now know was the mastermind, to control his body. Because Mr Jinks was singing when he was killed, the spores had evolved specifically to be a musical disease. It could have been anything. Brendon then killed the rest of his cast members and stage crew. Those who took their seats early were also killed. This disease soon spread from one side of the island to the other. Paul Matthews, an IT worker at CCRP Hatchetfield, ended the entire thing. Here's the thing, he didn't like musicals. Probably still doesn't and honestly Ron, I don't blame him. At 6"3 it wasn't too hard to spot him either. Paul entered the old starlight only to see the meteor sitting centre stage. We have since found out that Paul was once here watching a local production of Godspell last year. According to our parallel services, they told us that he managed to destroy the meteor. Unfortunately, Paul will have changed by now. CCTV footage that we have been given to release shows several people from Hatchetfield swarming around Matthews. Some of these include from the left, a picture flashed on screen, Bill Simmons, Ted Harris, Nora Davis, Professor Henry Hidgens teacher of Biology at Hatchetfield High, Anneliese Liat the Greenpeace Cassever often located outside of Beanies and Isaac Davison the manager of CCRP Technical. The picture then turned into a video. And if you see, centre stage, that is Mr Paul Matthews dear viewers. The audio turned on. Paul... he was singing? He was...infected. It cut off just before he threw the grenade. The last thing Emma saw from the video were all the people in the meteor walking towards Paul, clutching on to his clothes. Tears brimmed her eyes. She looked up but Colonel Chaffer was no longer there. She sighed and threw her phone down. He was singing and dancing. She was pissed. The apotheosis was a horrible thing but the fact that because Paul hated musicals made him an easy target and they made him sing and dance enraged her and she couldn't figure out why.

What seemed like hours but realistically was actually 34 seconds passed and the door clicked open. She expected to see a nurse. It wasn't. It was Colonel Chaffer. "Sorry for disappearing so suddenly, Miss Perkins, we had an urgent matter to attend to. Oh, the urgent matter was a visitor. Would you like me to send them in?" She gave a half assed shrug. She didn't know who it was and she didn't really care. She nodded and her footsteps seemed to vanish from the room. There was a soft knock at the door and she looked up. She should have smiled but she didn't. She should have felt happy but she didn't. He approached her bed. "I saw the news broadcast." She said bluntly. He sat down on the chair beside it. "What broadcast?" "Oh don't act like you don't know." She snapped looking back at him. He had a gash on his cheek that wasn't too big but so big to that it was noticeable. "I...don't?" Frustrated, she played the broadcast and thrust her phone into his hands. "You said you wouldn't be in a musical. And there you are. Singing. Dancing! Why didn't you fight it off!" "So you think I didn't. You think I...wanted to be like that?" Paul was confused as hell. Why was Emma all of a sudden so pissed with him? He didn't want to be reminded about what happened and here he was, watching himself almost die on CCTV footage. He was famous now, apparently, when all he wanted to do was go back to being regular Paul from CCRP Technical Hatchetfield. "You seemed to be having the time of your life." Emma sighed, sarcasm lacing her voice. "Emma can you look at me please?" So she did. "I fought tooth and nail to survive. I didn't know the CCTV was still on, I just assumed it had been turned off. I promise you I'd have never done anything like that willingly. Why do you think I'm here? Because I almost died in the process. You've been out for 2 weeks you know that? I was only in here for 2 days as they extracted the remaining spores. The spores were fascinating. Under UV light they were a shimmering blue. But to the human eye they were clear, like air particles." 2 weeks. She checked the date. Shit. It had been two weeks. "Paul I'm so sorry I didn't believe you I just..." "Don't apologise Emma, I can see why you did it." And he smiled at her as she rested her head on his chest. "But I still hate you." "yeah I gathered."

[virginiawoolfcub]

Thought that instead of posting pictures of ballet dancers and swans I should actually...post some writing. So here’s an excerpt from The Cygnets.

---

Finally, we arrived at the studio, a simple brick building like the others on the block. The only thing different about it was the interlocking B’s on the door.

Valentine unceremoniously pushed open the door and we followed him inside and up the stairs to the top.

“Wow,” I said, “Lebedeva sure likes being high up.”

“She told me once that she spent her childhood in a shitty damp half-basement in Moscow,” Olga explained. “It traumatized her. She still never goes to the basement if she can help it, that’s why Val has free reign over her wine cellar.”

I filed that information away for future reference as we reached the changing rooms. Valentine veered left into the men’s room, and Olga and I went into the women’s room opposite.

It was a long rectangular room, with one long wall lined with makeup tables and lighted mirrors and the other with a warmup barre and several windows, blackout curtains drawn over them for our privacy. Along the short wall next to the door were lockers, each labeled with a student’s name, and along the opposite wall stood several changing booths with privacy curtains. Olga ducked into one of these to change, and I busied myself with putting on the layers of padding I wore inside my pointe shoes. First I put medical tape around my little toe, taping it down against my foot. Then I put two small gel caps over my first two toes, a layer of thin gauze over my toes, and a larger gel cap over that. Having done that, I put on a pair of nylon stockings - dance tights weren’t cheap, so I saved mine for shows - and took my old pointe shoes out of my bag.

“You can’t wear those,” Olga said, coming over to my makeup table by the door. “Lebedeva won’t let us start the new year with old shoes, she says it’s bad luck.”

“These are the only ones I have,” I said. Back home I had made one pair of pointe shoes last for at least a year and a half, often two years at a time - these ones still had at least a few good months left in them. 

“Check your locker,” Olga said. I opened the door of the locker bearing my name, making a mental note to buy a lock later, and found several boxes printed with the all-caps Bloch logo, and at least a dozen packs of high-quality dance tights, along with bobby pins and hair elastics.

It felt like Christmas morning. I carefully took out one of the boxes and opened it to reveal perfect brand-new shoes. Olga smiled.

“Take a picture,” she said. “This is the last time they’ll ever look that nice.”

“I know,” I said, crossing the room to the door. When I slammed the toe of one of the shoes in it, Olga jumped.

“Jesus! You know, I’ve got a hammer in my bag, I would’ve let you borrow it if you’d asked.”

I shrugged. “I’m used to doing it this way. It’s faster.” I continued pounding the shoes until both toes were soft and moldable, then sat down to shape them to my feet. 

Valentine poked his head into the room. “What on earth are you two doing in here?” he asked.

“Julia was breaking in her shoes,” Olga said. “Literally.”

Valentine raised his eyebrows and crossed the room to perch on the windowsill. He lit a cigarette and offered the pack to Olga, who shook her head as she hammered the toe of one of her new shoes.

“Are you sure you should?” she asked. “I mean, Lebedeva is going to run us hard, you want your lungs at full capacity.”

“My lungs haven’t been at full capacity in years,” Valentine said, grimacing as he stubbed out his half-finished cigarette. “I just needed a nicotine hit anyway,” he added. “Withdrawal headache.”

“I keep telling you, get a patch,” Olga said.

“I’m allergic to the adhesive.”

“You’re a hypochondriac, is what you are. What about a vape?”

Valentine recoiled. “Do you really think I want to be known as the sort of person who vapes?”

“Lebedeva vapes,” Olga pointed out, pulling a sewing kit out of her bag.

“When Lebedeva vapes it looks mysterious and glamorous, like she’s a disgraced Russian countess or something. I would just look like an asshole. Julia, your stitching on those shoes is absolutely god-tier, any chance you’d help me with my shoes?”

I set aside one finished shoe and picked up the second one. “Sure. You just need elastics, right? That’s like three minutes of work, I’ll do them after I finish mine.”

“Bless you,” Valentine said and ducked out of the room to get his shoes.

While he was out, I asked Olga the question that had been on my mind since I met them. “So are you and Val...how long have you known each other?”

“We’re very much not dating,” Olga said. “Val’s gay and I’m...eh. Doesn’t matter. We met two years ago, we both moved in with Lebedeva early. Well, he was already there when I arrived, I don’t know when he actually moved in. We just...got on, from the start. Lebedeva says it’s like we’re tuned into the same weird radio frequency.” She snipped the thread on one shoe and pulled out a lighter. “Need some help cauterizing your ribbons?” she asked. “I’m very good at it.”

“Sure,” I said and handed my shoes over, getting up to get a pair of soft shoes from my locker. When I came back, Olga handed me my pointe shoes, the ends of the ribbons now perfectly sealed off.

“Thanks,” I said, sitting down on the floor to try on my shoes just as Valentine returned with his. “Sorry,” he said. “I forgot my locker combination.” He returned to his perch on the windowsill.

I stitched the elastics on my shoes, then repeated the process for Valentine’s. When I handed them back, he put them on and went to the barre to stretch. “Thank you so much,” he said. “When I do them they start fraying after like a day.”

“No problem,” I said, putting on my own shoes and sinking into a split on the floor. Olga went to the barre too, and bend backwards so far that her ethereal-blonde ponytail brushed the floor.

“That’s just creepy,” Valentine said. “Spines should not do that.”

Olga straightened up, then folded forward, nose to her knees. Valentine shook his head. “Weirdo.”

We spent another hour or so stretching in near-silence (aside from occasional loud pops from our joints) before other students started filtering in and Valentine left, blowing us a kiss on his way out.

Pip sat at the makeup table furthest from the door to stitch her pointe shoes and pulled a pale pink lipstick out of her bag.

“Where did you get that?” Kate, another one of the new students, asked. “I thought MAC discontinued that color years ago.”

“I have my ways,” Pip said. “It was my mother’s signature color, and when she heard they were discontinuing it she bought up our local shop’s entire remaining stock. Then a few years ago she had some kind of mental break, stopped wearing makeup and jewelry and dyeing her hair, and fucked off to some kind of yoga retreat in India, so now I’m stuck with enough of this stuff for three lifetimes.” She quickly applied the lipstick and pursed her lips. “It’s kinda grown on me though.”

“It suits you,” I said. It did - the floral pink popped against her creamy skin and dark curls.

“Thanks,” Pip said, sewing a ribbon onto one of her shoes. 

[agent-houdini]

Drowned | pt. 1

in which i revisit this but... with lies and lessons. 

here’s your major warning for drowning, and ptsd?? tbh because i am sorry, whiskey, but you’re gonna get broken. 

part one of two.

Houdini was... a secret, to say the least.

A secret weapon, a secret lover -- 

Well, not that much of a secret. Not with the way Whiskey looked at her. Champ could read it a mile away.

It was why he had to address something... very seriously.

"Agent Houdini --" he started, that usual half-smile on his face as he leaned back in his chair. 

Houdini had warmed up to Champagne in the last year, despite most of her instincts telling her that he'd leave at some point or another.

"I have something that.. may be of importance for you."

"Huh?" Her nose wrinkled. She wasn't sent off on fancy missions, nor requested for fieldwork. She quite liked her office views and training lessons for agents new and old, and her days of surveillance were usually rather relaxing. 

"I need you to help us with the new recruits."

"Don't I already do that?" Houdini tilted her head, hands in her back pockets. Champ chuckled; she looked like she could be his daughter with the streaks of grey popping through her hair. Whiskey would about die if he heard his boss admit that.

"I did a little diggin' on ya, seems to me you used to be a lifeguard?"

She nodded; it was a job before things really turned sour in her life, before college and before... well...

"You need someone to watch the pool for their training? My cert's outta date but --"

"I know you didn't go through their training, but there's something we do a bit differently at Statesman. I'm surprised Whiskey hasn't told you about it yet, it's his favorite test for the large group," Champ explained, sitting up in his chair. "But we do a bit of teambuildin' with our large group. It's nice to shock them into workin' together."

"Explain, sir."

Champ chucked at the formality. "We do a bit of drownin'. Not real drowning, that would just be bad publicity. No one would ever want to join their ranks if someone died every time we went looking for new recruits. An' I understand that you used to do that sort of thing during your lifeguarding."

Houdini paled slightly; yes, she pretended to drown, but... "I was fully conscious the entire time."

"Don't sweat that part. We usually used one of our Seal friends, but seems to me they've been called away for their own work and can't help out. Ginger watches your vitals the entire time, you will never - and I mean, never - be in harm's way," he explained, elbows leaning against the desk. "I just know out of everyone in this entire organization, you're our best candidate."

She blinked for a moment; for once, Champ confirmed that she was good at what she did. Houdini nodded, chewing on her lip as Champ smiled softly.

"I don't mean to press you. But the timing falls just right; and don't you worry about Jack. I'll take care of him personally."

Houdini's paled face soon turned tomato-red; clearly, the secret was out. Champ had, in reality, known for months with the way Jack wouldn't shut up about their new 'find' and how she managed to drive herself into being better at just about everything.

"I -- uh --" she stammered, biting into her cheek.

"Don't you worry about a thing. If you're comfortable, go meet with Ginger down in the training center. She'll go over everything with you. I'll go make sure our Silver Pony gets taken out for a ride." Champ grinned, placing his hat back on his head. 

Houdini nodded and scrambled out, her cheeks hot as she made her way towards the training center. Hopefully, Champ did mean he'd take care of things with Whiskey... if he found out she'd be drowning, well...

--

"Darlin'! There you are. I was lookin' for you, what --" Whiskey said, bending down to press a kiss to Houdini's lips after checking the hallway was clear.

"Champ said he needed you for something!" she said, pulling back.

"I know, that's why I'm headin' this way, but what's the rush?" His thumb stroked her cheek and she felt her heart hiccup in her chest.

"He said it was urgent you saw him, that's why. I don't know much, only that it may be a day or two," Houdini said, looking rather worried. She hated lying to Jack but.. it was for his own good. He panicked enough when she was going out for surveillance.

"What? It didn't sound so urgent to me..." he objected, thumb still stroking gentle circles into her cheek.

"You should go see what it's about, Jack. I gotta go check on that video file I asked Ginger for." Houdini hopped up and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, her hand lingering against his forearm before skipping down the hallway.

Whatever Champ told Houdini wasn't sitting right with Whiskey.

--

In just under an hour, Houdini and Ginger had crafted an identity, a background, and even a file within the Statesman computer system as a potential trainee. 

"This way, everyone else involved will know," Ginger said, and Houdini nodded in agreement. "Speaking of knowing. Did you want to be alerted when the water would be rising?"

"No. I want to have as much of a genuine reaction as possible. Me knowing would just make things seem suspicious if someone in there knows what to look for," Houdini said, shaking her head. 

"You're giving these recruits way too much credit, but I know you'll be fine. We monitor trainee vitals anyway, so there won't be any reason to hide the tracker."

"Great! I'll go pack a bag --"

"No need, we provide everything for trainees. You just get to pick a color..." Ginger chuckled, "though I assume it'll be purple?"

"You know me so well."

--

"Listen, I'll be back sometime tomorrow night. Champ just wants me to fly out towards some area in Montana. Eastwood will keep you company tonight, okay?" Whiskey said, practically shouting over the sounds of the hangar.

"I've told you a thousand times. I'll be fine." Houdini retorted, putting her hands on her hips.

"Make sure you don't go too hard on those new recruits!" Whiskey added, chuckling. 

"I don't see them for a few weeks, Jack. Be safe."

"See you soon." 

With the chatter around them, the couple quickly shared a goodbye kiss hidden behind the wings of the Silver Pony.

Houdini prayed he'd be back after everything was said and done.

--

"Good evening, everyone. My name is Ginger Ale, and welcome to Statesman. You have been selected to be among the best in our nation, to serve and fight the unknown. This training will not be easy - for some of you, it may even mean death. Remember what got you here, your drive, and you will be successful. But know, only one of you can take the title of Agent Vodka..."

Ginger greeted the agents with a persona that felt right at home, her high-tech clipboard tucked under her arm. The expectations, as well as the procedures for failure, were also swiftly explained. Recruits of different backgrounds, ages and clearly from across the country relaxed as soon as Ginger left the room, moving to unpack their given belongings. 

"Quite the techie they've got --"

"I think the term is Quartermaster?"

"Oh, so like Q! I knew this place was James Bonds-y when we got here..."

Houdini had to restrain herself with her reply; "I think what you're looking for is Mission Impossible."

"You think they've got masks? I'm sure they have to, I mean, it is --"

The few male agents discussing what agency Statesman was most like were cut off by Ginger's voice over the loudspeaker.

"Wake-up is at 0700 tomorrow. Be ready for anything!"

Houdini chuckled at how cheery Ginger sounded. 

--

Morning came as quickly as the rest of the day had gone; Houdini wondered where Whiskey had flown off to and when he'd turn back around. Hopefully, it'd be another full day - late at night - when he would return. The recruits went off running as a warmup before heading to the firing range. In the back of her mind, she wondered when Ginger would trigger the button. While they were sleeping seemed to be the best case and really get them by surprise...

It wasn't until after lunch, when they were handed books and binders, did the other recruits quiet down. Tim, Jared, and David seemed to be unable to keep their mouths quiet about the theories and themselves. Amanda and Imani, two of the four female recruits, organized a small circle and welcomed Houdini into it, binders and books surrounding them.

"I think we should stick together. We all seem to have a good set of skills and good heads on our shoulders," Amanda smiled, glancing over at the group of three men.

"I think they're all former Marines. That's why they found themselves so easily," Imani commented, shaking her head.

"Well, let's get reading. I'd feel better getting a chunk of this work out of the way," Houdini smiled, opening her own copies as the other women agreed.

--

Whiskey, speeding along in the Silver Pony, noted some odd markings on his map along with some curious radio chatter. Something about 'Eden's Gate' continuously repeated, as if a warning. He quickly called it in before being given the command from headquarters to turn back; the phrase seemed questionable according to the few in the command station. It pinged a few searches with even more questionable material; Whiskey hummed to himself as a chill slipped down his spine.

"Good t'know, folks. Be sure to send Champ this info. Whiskey, out."

--

Ginger watched from the control room, tapping away at her clipboard. It was past dinner, and many of the agents were winding down in their beds. The day seemed to take a toll on them, meaning it was nearly time. 

--

"Champagne, sir, we've got a message for you pertaining the work you sent Agent Whiskey out for?" One of the radio comms said, paging in from the control tower.

"Go ahead."

"We're clearing him for landing now. We tried to reach you earlier, but that Montana business is much messier than expected. Key phrase 'Eden's Gate' popped up over radio chatter multiple times. Seemed better to return than to engage in their airspace."

"Keep him away from the training center. That is an order."

--

"Ginger, we've got a situation --" Champ had paged in just as the water began to rise. Most recruits were asleep, some with their arms and legs hanging off the edge of the bed.

All vitals appeared on one of the larger screens, beeping away happily. It was important to monitor Houdini's, given her role in tonight's production. Ginger ignored Champ's page as she watched carefully, waiting for the water to safely and completely rise before responding.

The water had reached the bottom of the mattress as the speed doubled. No one had reacted yet, many still fast asleep.

The door to the control room swung open and Whiskey wandered in, helmet under his arm. "Well, seems to me I'm gettin' a good show tonight!" 

Ginger slammed end on the pager and snapped around. "What are you doing back? You know you shouldn't be in here."

"Seems that our Montana problem is a bit bigger than expected. Works out better this way, now I can get a show before dinner! Where's Houdini? She should really see this for herself. Girl's lucky she never..." Whiskey dropped his helmet, staring at the screen where he saw Houdini's name and picture along with normal vitals.

"Ginger, what in the fuckin' hell is Houdini doing on this monitor?" His tone was harsh, sharp against the soft waves of the rising water.

"Whiskey, I told you, you can't be in here..." Ginger warned. 

"Ginger, you best not be playing any fuckin' games with me." His heart was pounding, matching the rate of Houdini's on the screen as she jolted upright, water up to her neck.

"Whiskey, listen --" Ginger pleaded, trying to pull his attention away from the window and the screens. "Listen to me. Everything is fine, this is just routine and you know that --"

"Don't you fucking do this! Stop the water right now. She can't be in there, she --"

"Jack."

He was getting frantic, pressing his hands to the glass, looking for any signs of his girl.

The water was rising up faster, soon swallowing the room up. The recruits struggled, and many only looked out for themselves as they swam towards the mirror. Houdini felt her own panic rise as she took one last breath, head bobbing against the ceiling before the room was completely filled. 

"Damn it! Give the controls to me, Ginger. I'm getting Laura out of there."

"No, you're not." The Quartermaster replied sternly, watching as Houdini was left on the other side of the room, her leg tangled in the sheets as she tried to swim away. 

Her hair had fanned out around her, dark and inky as Jack watched in absolute horror, unable to stop anything from happening. Houdini's vitals slowed, a cue for Ginger to prepare the draining system. No one managed to break the mirror, which would have dropped them into a smaller holding room; surprising, given a few of the recruits and their skills.

Jack clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles turned white.

Not again.

He couldn't watch the one he loved fade away - but he couldn't turn from the window. His upper lip twitched and he nearly bit the inside of his cheek off as the water level slowly dropped, Houdini's body floating back down. Jack felt sick to his stomach, watching as the recruits realized she had been drowned, and knowing that they did nothing did not help their case as prospective agents. He would have rushed in and grabbed Laura if he knew Ginger wasn't waiting with the tranquilizer hidden in their watches... instead, he kicked the lone chair across the room, leaving a dent in the wall.

“Fuck!”

"You can meet her in the medical wing," was all Ginger said before leaving the room.

[halothenthehorns]

GRYFFINDOR VS RAVENCLAW

"I really think we should go to bed after this chapter," Lily voted, glancing at the clock for a moment and taking a worried glance over at Remus, who was rubbing furiously at his eyes; and not for the fate of Scabbers she knew.

"It's a bit early," Harry disagreed, clearly not noticing the same thing but still eying the book with undisguised hope. She could tell something was bothering him, but the fact that he hadn't voiced it out loud meant whatever it was he knew he couldn't fully discuss without having a headache. She didn't press him for it, but instead said, "well, it would do us all some good to turn in for the night, we've had a rather long day I think." Knowing it would come up again at the end anyways, she went on and started her chapter without anymore protest.

Ron and Hermione's friendship seemed to be over.

They all winced in horror at what this could really mean. If Ron and Hermione really never did makeup for this then that would mean that Harry would have to choose one of his friends in the end, a fate no one was hoping for. Harry was so distracted by this that it finally clouded over his annoying little insistence Scabbers wasn't dead at all and gave him something new to focus on.

They were so angry at the other, Harry wasn't even sure how they could begin to make up.

"Can't rightly blame Ron," Sirius frowned, "but I really hope he cares more about Hermione's accident then Scabbers fate."

"You saying if I'd let my owl eat yours you'd forgive me?" James couldn't help but tease.

Sirius pretended to deliberate for a moment before asking, "did he try to attack mine several times before he'd done it?"

"Yes," James agreed at once.

"Then absolutely not!" Sirius cried in mock outrage, turning away and crossing his arms as dramatically as he possibly could.

"You two put on a good show," Remus snickered, "but I'm afraid the two who needed that lesson aren't here. Good try though."

Ron was insisting it was all Hermione's fault for never having taken Crookshanks trying to eat Scabbers seriously,

"Which she really should have back when she bought him," Lily sighed loudly before Sirius could say anything.

and Hermione told Ron to try looking under his bed rather than blaming the rest of the world.

"Really Hermione?" James groaned. "She can't really believe that! You don't think Ron tried that before he came tearing down the stairs?"

Hermione was insisting Ron was overreacting, those hairs could have been there since their break,

"Yeah, I'm sure Ron just cuddles with those in his bed, never would have made sure to get rid of them," Remus rolled his eyes.

and how Ron had hated her cat ever since it crashed into his head at the store.

"Well yeah," Harry scoffed, though his own distil at how daft Hermione was being was minimal to how upset he really felt at his two friends possibly losing their friendship.

Harry was on Ron's side, and tried to give Hermione the facts, but then Hermione lost it at Harry too.

"Urho," Sirius winced, already knowing Hermione's attitude was likely to spike.

She screamed at Harry for always siding with Ron, that everything was just her fault.

That left all five of them shrinking into themselves a little, realizing they may have been picking on Hermione a little too much this year on top of everything else she's been dealing with.

Ron was very torn up about his pet,

"Saw that coming," Lily sighed in pity, knowing quite well how much someone could care for their pet.

and Fred chose the wrong way to cheer him up by reminding Ron how he always called him useless,

"Ron was just doing that to complain, I highly doubt he meant it," Sirius winced, the twins clearly weren't doing a very good job of cheering their brother up this time.

and how he'd been getting old for how long? It was kinder this way, one bite and he hadn't felt a thing.

"Merlin, none of the Weasley's really know what comforting someone means do they?" Lily sighed.

Ron was still depressed as he reminded Harry that Scabbers had once bit Goyle.

"I do," James brightened at once with a wide grin.

"The rats proudest moment to date," Remus agreed fondly.

Fred agreed that the scar on the Slytherin's hand would be a testament to his life.

Sirius couldn't help but snicker, feeling like now the twins were on the right track to making Ron feel better.

Then Fred added on Ron could just go and buy another rat whenever he wanted.

"And that just killed it," Sirius huffed.

Harry decided to get his friend's mind off of it by giving him that promised ride on his Firebolt.

"If that doesn't cheer him up nothing will," James perked up at once.

Ron agreed he'd like to try and shoot some goals,

"Wonder if Ron's going to try out for the team next year?" Sirius grinned, remembering how Wood was going to be gone at the end of the year which would leave a place open for a bodily enthusiastic player.

and so they left for the pitch, finding Hooch who was just as keen at Harry's new broom as anyone.

"But of course," Remus nodded in complete understanding, "she's as much a nut as any of us."

She spent quite some time fantasizing about some of the other models as well, telling how a flaw of the Nimbus line was that they began to drag after a few years,

"Something I've noticed," James agreed with a roll of his eyes, a few things coming to mind he'd like to try and improve upon that.

and an older model called Silver Arrows, which they'd stopped making.

"Really?" Sirius asked in surprise. "Guess that must have stopped not too long from now."

"Better cling to them while you can then," Remus frowned.

She kept going for so long that it took Wood cutting in asking if they could get to their warmups.

"Oh, but she was enjoying herself," Lily giggled, finding this just as mundane then if James had gone on like this, but at least it was keeping their mind on more pleasant things.

Wood began by telling Harry about the startup Ravenclaw team, the Seeker of whom was Cho Chang.

Harry felt a funny sort of swooping feeling in his gut, quite apart from the little tick of his memory being replaced with yet another name he was sure he felt some kind of connection to. The feeling was so foreign though that he didn't think long on it.

He hadn't been expecting that, as she'd been in the hospital wing for something, but Wood scowled as he told of her recovery in time clearly to his displeasure.

"The horror," Lily scowled, her annoyance at Wood still managing to grow the longer this carried on.

He then said that the best model that team had was a Comet Two Sixty, which paled next to Harry's Firebolt, then he got them all in the air.

"What an enjoyable pep talk," James rolled his eyes.

Harry finally got to live his dream and soared through the air, where his broom responded to the lightest of touches, and went so fast the rest of the world blurred.

All four boys sighed, more pleased than they could ever put into words that such a broom could exist, and also silently agreeing Lily was hardly putting the right amount of enthusiasm into describing this momentous event.

He flew around so fast, he spun from one end of the field to the other, dive bombed the ground, then shot off into the air just as fast.

"Mom," Harry half groaned half laughed, "nothing happened, I didn't fall off. Quite sounding like you're reading about me riding on a dragon."

Lily gave him a maternal glare, like 'I'll worry as much as I want to young man' but she did marginally relax, which is why she may not have noticed Harry's odd little frown, trying to understand why he'd used that particular comparison.

Wood released the Snitch then, and Harry gave it a few moments head start before darting around and catching it seconds later.

James was bouncing around in unrestrained glee, unable to put into words how happy this was making him. His son finally being able to properly enjoy flying around on the best broom like he should have been able to do all the way back during his first year.

He released it, turned away again, and when he came back found it not moments later and made another easy catch.

"That's it," Sirius declared, "Lily needs to give up the book now, there is no way you should be able to read in such a bland tone of voice about something so momentous."

"I'm proud Harry's doing so well," Lily rebuked, "but I'm not going to feel any better about this until he actually manages to get through one bleeding game without something awful happening."

Sirius huffed and grumbled she was missing the point while Lily decided to ignore him.

Wood was nearly crying in pleasure, saying if they played like this there was no way they could lose, then he hesitated and asked Harry about his dementor problem.

"He's certainly in more control of it," Remus nodded encouragingly when he saw Harry look hesitant at the question.

Harry agreed, keeping to himself he wasn't at the level he'd like, but saying aloud he could handle it.

"You'll do fine," James soothed at once. "I am positive that shouldn't happen again, but if it does you are more than prepared for it this time."

Fred convinced the lot of them it wouldn't even be a problem, Dumbledore would go mad.

"And there's that," Sirius nodded in agreement, his ill feelings towards the headmaster not lingering too much on this subject, he liked to think he still had faith in the man to do this simple task.

The rest of the team turned to leave, but Harry stayed out a bit later so Ron could have his go, while Hooch had fallen asleep in the stands.

"Oh she's doing a great job at guard duty," Lily scowled in annoyance.

"You're in a bad mood," James noted lightly, "you do know there's nothing for Harry to be guarded from."

"I know," Lily snapped, "I just don't appreciate her taking her job so lightly."

Ron looked like he was going to explode from happiness as Harry handed the broom over,

"Perfectly understandable," Sirius nodded.

and spent as much time as possible flying through the air, only stopping when Hooch woke up and told the boys off for not waking her up and telling them to get back to school.

"Well she's quite the killjoy," Remus smirked, noting Lily only looked marginally happier at this.

They walked off, still chatting happily, when Harry spotted the eyes.

Sirius couldn't help but startle happily, suddenly wishing Ron wasn't there, suddenly hoping against hope he might finally be getting his chance to really talk to Harry.

Harry froze as he looked at the glowing orbs, but Ron dragged out his wand and used the Lumos spell, spotting Crookshanks.

"Damn," Sirius scowled, his anger possibly a little more than was necessary at his want being dashed because of that cat, his actions in eating Scabbers not exactly one hundred percent forgiven even if it was in his nature.

Ron lost his temper at once, trying to chuck the nearest available rock, but he hadn't even swung when the cat disappeared again.

"Least he was smart enough not to do that," Remus sighed, knowing it would only make problems worse if Ron really had hurt Hermione's cat.

Ron stamped off in a temper now, exclaiming how Hermione still wasn't handling this, and that cat had probably been eating someone else's pet as dessert. Harry wasn't really listening anymore, too ashamed at his automatic reaction in thinking that had been the Grim.

"If only," James grumbled, knowing he'd have much rather that been another Sirius sighting then a rekindling of annoyance.

The next morning Harry went down to breakfast encircled by his team while he carried his broom, all of the players seeming to think the Firebolt needed an honor guard.

Sirius' bad temper only increased when he realized yet again he was getting skipped off of a Quidditch chapter.

When they entered the Great Hall, Harry's good mood increased when he caught sight of the Slytherin team.

James was willing to let it go that he hadn't gotten this chapter just to hear about this one small moment of pleasure.

They made it to the Gryffindor table, where Wood had Harry put the broom in the center of the table.

Lily couldn't help making a little 'tsk' of annoyance at these boys fawning over a broom like this, admittedly projecting a lot of her bad feelings of Harry and Ron continuing to treat Hermione the way they were on anything associated with the game.

Several admirers from other houses came over to have a look, including Percy's girlfriend from Ravenclaw house Penelope. Percy made the joke she shouldn't sabotage the broom while she looked it over.

"Well if she does, then Percy's dating a girl far more interesting than he is," Sirius snorted.

"You're an idiot," Remus told him pleasantly.

He told the others that they had a bet running on today's game, ten Galleons to the victor. Before he joined Penelope at her table though, he quickly told Harry that it would be good if he won, because he didn't have ten Galleons.

James couldn't help snickering a bit at that, having no doubts in his mind his son would win and that wouldn't be a problem.

Then a less welcomed person arrived, asking if Harry could handle that broom.

"Far better than you could," Sirius sneered.

"Sadly I wouldn't be all that surprised if Malfoy actually came to school next year with a Firebolt as well," James frowned.

Harry returned he was more than confident he could, and Malfoy shot back that he hoped they'd installed a parachute on the broom, so that when dementors appeared he wouldn't fall as bad again.

"And that joke is still not funny," Remus rolled his eyes in contempt.

Harry wished Malfoy could install an extra arm on his broom, to catch the Snitch for him.

Which caused all four of them to release a gale of laughter for that comment. Lily couldn't deny hers one bit, as even if she is agitated at her son for the way he was acting, she'd be a right hypocrite for not admiring his mouth right then as often as she shot back at anyone who annoyed her.

Malfoy sulked away, and the Slytherins converged on him, probably to make sure that was a real Firebolt over there.

"Damned right it's real," Sirius puffed out his chest in pleasure.

They left for the stadium then, the weather absolutely perfect for the gameday,

"Lily I don't think you truly understand how lucky you are," James huffed, a touch of envy gleaming in his eyes at his wife getting this match.

Lily was still studiously ignoring them all.

but it didn't stop Harry from keeping his wand on him as he dressed in his Quidditch uniform.

"Something you really should do more often," Remus nodded in approval.

"Still blows my mind they don't do that at all," Sirius chuckled.

Lily eyed them for a moment before explaining, "I'm actually quite happy Harry's never had to do this but once before. Remember that the schools not living in the same era as we did."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a curious look before nodding in understanding.

Harry couldn't help but wonder if Lupin was in the stands today.

"Well I should hope so," James scoffed, "as far as I could tell, he's not got a reason to miss it this time."

Remus grinned as well at what he only hoped was an absurd question, of course he would want to come, or he would now. In this rather bleak future where he hardly seemed able to hold a conversation with Harry, well if Harry didn't catch sight of him it would only chalk up to another heartbreak.

Wood tried to give his speech, but all he could really manage was to encourage them to play like they had in practice the other day, then they went out.

"Wood's pep talks have actually gotten worse over the years," Sirius snickered.

Harry sized up the other team as they met on the grass, and couldn't help but notice his opponent Cho Chang had long dark hair, and was rather pretty.

Lily's tone finally changed from mild indulgence, to outright joy and glee at this. That was calm though compared to the boys reactions, who lost it and began laughing at once, despite Harry's berated face and mutters that they could shut up now.

"Sorry Harry," James gasped, rubbing at his ribs and hardly looking sorry at all. "I won't deny I've been dying to find out the first girl that would catch your fancy."

"Epically since one of your friends is a girl," Remus nodded in agreement with a stupid smile still plastered in place.

Harry blinked for a few moments before going even more red and spluttering, "wh-Hermione? No, no way. She's like my sister or something, it's nothing like that."

"Alright," Sirius waved him off, hardly sounding like he meant it as he said, "we get it, just amused us is all."

Still giggling slightly herself Lily decided to keep going while Harry was still more embarrassed than argumentative on the subject.

She gave Harry a friendly smile when she spotted him, which caused Harry to have quite a different nerve jump then the game.

"I'm positive it is," James muttered in agreement, giving Harry an obvious wink Harry chose to ignore.

Then the whistle was blown, and they were in the air, Lee Jordan doing his normal commentating.

"Always worth the listening," Remus nodded happily, easily remembering this boy's previous commentaries.

Jordan started off by commentating about the Firebolt, noting it was a world class broom, but McGonagall cut him off by snapping that he was supposed to be talking about the game play.

"I find this very relevant for the match," Sirius snickered.

Jordan didn't pay it much mind, still talking about some of the many perks the Firebolt had, and McGonagall cut in again.

"I never get tired of that kid," James laughed, knowing he'd be just as bad about endearing this broom if he was commentating.

He relented then, stating the score. Harry was only half listening as he followed his own job, finding Chang was keeping on him rather then doing her own search.

"Tailing's never a bad idea," Sirius nodded, his eyes narrowing as he continued mentally mapping out the game with every little detail Lily gave.

Harry could tell she knew what she was doing, always cutting him off and keeping him from making any kind of beeline.

"And keeping him off guard to boot," Remus praised at the girl's obvious skill.

Then Harry spotted it, a flash of gold near the center field.

Lily couldn't deny it anymore, her voice was spiking with just as much excitement as any of the boys as her son continued to show his prowess at yet another swift sighting of such a tiny little object. Yes, she was still ticked at her son for the way he'd been treating his friend, but she could never deny how proud she was of something he was so obviously good at.

Harry tried to go for it, but a Bludger forced him to swerve away,

"Oooh," all the boys groaned, the couch nearly shaking with them they were all bouncing in place so much.

"S'alright Harry," James said at once when he saw how annoyed his son looked, "you've still got the better broom, you'll still get there in the end."

and the Snitch took its chance to disappear.

"Rats," Sirius muttered, snapping his fingers but low enough Lily had no reason to stop.

Jordan couldn't help but notice all of this, returning to talking about how the players just couldn't match up against Potter's superior broom, and McGonagall lost her patience as she shouted at him he wasn't getting paid to advertise brooms!

"For some odd reason, I think McGonagall's a little upset herself," Remus snickered.

"What on earth would give you that idea," James cackled.

Ravenclaw was starting to win out in points, and Harry was starting to get jumpy as he realized if Chang got the Snitch first, they'd lose.

"Come on Harry, you can do this," Sirius muttered with absolute faith.

Then he saw it again, the Snitch was fluttering around their team's goal post,

"It's got to be a sign," James grinned wickedly that his son must have just set another record for spotting the snitch again so fast.

Harry made to go for it again, but then Cho was there right in front of Harry and he had to madly swing out of the way to avoid her, much to Wood's displeasure as he yelled at his Seeker to stop being a gentleman and knock her aside.

"He really is a lovely one," Lily grumbled in just as much agitation as anyone when Harry was once again cut off from his victory.

In the mayhem though, their ball was once again gone. Harry changed tactics then, deciding if she wanted to try and keep up with him he'd make it a chore.

James didn't hold back his laughter one little bit, going wide-eyed as a child at the mental joys of watching his son soar through the air like this.

Then it happened again, a flutter of wings and his eyes locked onto the Snitch on the Ravenclaw end, and Harry pelted towards it, and so did Cho.

"She's lucky she didn't smack into the ground," Remus muttered in admiration of the girls own skills at keeping up with Harry for so long.

They were racing forward, but Cho was a little bit closer when something caught her eye, and she screamed in fright as three dementors,

"Are you kidding me!" Sirius howled in outrage, nearly getting to his feet and all enjoyment gone in a single moment of frustration. "Dumbledore couldn't bloody-"

Lily wasn't listening, wasn't giving him the chance to go on a full blown rant for two reasons. Mainly, she was too anxious to see the results, to make sure Harry would get to the ground safe and sound again. Also because, she randomly noted Harry had felt them before seeing them every other time, why hadn't he this time? Were the effects finally beginning to wane?

were coming towards them, but Harry hardly gave them notice he was so focused. He yanked out his wand, performed the Expecto Patronum spell as something with a distinct silver shape came shooting out,

All five of them couldn't help but beam with pride, Harry hadn't been able to produce something so substantial since his first try, and this time he hadn't even felt the side effects of it!

but didn't glance at his handiwork as his hand still holding his wand curled around the Snitch in victory.

"Yes!" The room cried with such jubilation the parents felt lucky someone had yet again thought to silence their room from the baby's so that it wouldn't wake him. They couldn't help it though, it felt like it had been far too long since they'd really had a chance to just be truly happy about something, and the winning of Harry's game was definitely something worth celebrating. The boys spent quite some time interrogating Harry on every little detail he remembered that the book may not have said. Lily watched on with great enthusiasm and her two cents in whenever she could, but it was also she who demanded they get back on track and finish this chapter. Even Remus, who looked ready to fall asleep before she even finished, looked like he wanted to protest but Lily kept going anyways leaving them to forcefully fall silent.

The game was called, and the stands erupted as everyone began screaming with pleasure.

Harry sunk back to the ground only to be swarmed by the fans,

Lily couldn't help but sound like the proudest mother in the world in that moment, for the first time in her life angry that Hogwarts didn't allow outsiders, like parents, to attend these games.

Percy could be spotted muttering to himself about finding his girlfriend who now owed him money,

"So glad that little issue was resolved," Remus' laughter doubled at that random little thing being picked out.

but one voice made itself known by whispering in Harry's ear that he had made quite the Patronus.

"Can't imagine who would praise you for that," James nearly vibrated in pleasure when he realized Remus had managed to make this game. He wouldn't even be too surprised if Harry managed to catch another shot of a black dog scampering away.

Harry turned to find Lupin, beaming but clearly shaken.

"Shaken?" Lily asked curiously.

"Maybe the dementors freaked him out too?" James offered with a clear shrug saying he really was guessing, mostly because they'd yet to seem to have that effect on him before.

Remus couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't in fact a little shaken up at seeing a ghost in the air after all these years. On a different position yes, but Harry would be nearly indistinguishable from James from that vantage point, he'd probably been having some happier flashbacks to sitting in the stands in his younger years, next to Peter and cheering their friends on.

Harry was bubbling as he said how he hadn't felt the dementors one bit, and Lupin looked almost disappointed to burst Harry's bubble as he told Harry those hadn't been dementors.

"What?" Was muttered all across the room, most of them still too excited to really be listening to what Lily was saying exactly.

He pulled Harry away and showed him that Malfoy was plenty put out now.

"He didn't," Lily muttered in disgust.

"He did," James nodded, his face twisting with dislike.

"Not that it really matters," Sirius said with bright-eyed glee, "because whatever stupid thing they thought was going to happen not only blew up in their faces, but I'll lose my damned mind if someone doesn't tell them off for that, like Remus for one."

Remus couldn't help but nod in fervent agreement with this, but couldn't help but wonder if someone else already was by his own rather laid back attitude about it.

Him, Crabbe, Goyle, and the Slytherins captain Marcus Flint were all dressed in the black hoods posing as dementors, but were now crumpled on the ground being told off by a furious McGonagall.

"Sweet justice," Sirius crowed, actually getting to his feet and bouncing around with unrestrained glee. Lily was too busy giggling at his antics to tell him off and they spent another long few minutes before Lily finally came back to reality and kept going breathlessly.

She was disgusted with the lot of them trying that stunt, and only slightly calmed down when she saw Dumbledore heading over.

James kept muttering things like, "beautiful," and, "perfect, sweet karma," under his breath with a manic grin still in place.

Ron had to wrestle his way out of the crowd to come over and see, and nearly fell down laughing as Malfoy was still half stuck in his robes.

"Perfectly understandable," Remus nodded with glee.

George called Harry back to the rest of them, telling that there was going to be a party!

"Oh boy," all of the old Gryffindors lit up with excitement. Even Lily, who never put much attention into Quidditch games, never denied the chance to enjoy one of their parties.

It was like they'd already won the Quidditch Cup;

"Well considering how long it's been since Gryffindor has really been able to celebrate like this, you can't really blame them for going a little stir crazy," Lily laughed.

every person from the house was buzzing in the common room, and after disappearing for a time, Fred and George came back with treats for everyone, dipping them out of a bag with the Honeydukes logo.

"Right out of me own heart," James praised, smacking his lips and suddenly having the childish desire to go back in time and relive his own similar parties.

Angelina asked how they'd managed that,

"Magic," Sirius said in a goofy tone of voice, making Harry laugh all the harder at their antics.

but the question got lost in the crowd and no one really seemed to care as they all dug in. Harry spotted one person who wasn't getting into the festivities, Hermione. She was curled away in the corner reading.

"Are you kidding me," Harry gasped. "How on earth could she- did she even go to the game!"

Lily was frowning all over again, all amusement drained right out of her as she once again was reminded of just how alone the poor dear probably felt right now. She didn't however turn any of those bad feelings towards Harry again, recognizing how truly upset he looked that his friend was so clearly out on her own like this.

Harry forced his way over, past the twins who were now juggling to the crowds amusement,

James and Sirius couldn't help but be just a little envious they'd never thought up to try that routine.

and asked her if she'd even come to the game? She said she had, though her voice cracked a bit.

"Stress," Remus frowned in concern.

While she was happy the house had won, she had to read her book by Monday.

"That whole book, by Monday?" Sirius demanded with a raised brow. "I somehow doubt Burbage assigned that."

"Wow, so Hermione is still trying to outdo everyone in the class on top of everything," James said in pity.

Harry tried to convince her to put it down and join the fun, hoping that Ron would be in a good enough mood to put their issues behind them,

"Well I certainly hope so," Lily grumbled.

but Hermione refused, saying she still had over four hundred pages left.

"Then why is she in the noisy common room?" Remus demanded, wondering if that wasn't perhaps her plan and she was actually trying to get her friends attention.

Then she scoffed that Ron wouldn't want her to.

"Then tell him to get over it," Lily snapped, "she needs to go over there and say it's high time they talk this out right and proper."

Ron picked that moment to say as loudly as possible that he wished Scabbers were still alive, he loved these treats.

"Timing," James scowled, personally thinking he may have even said that as a low blow at Hermione, he didn't think he'd put it past Ron at this point.

Hermione burst into tears.

All of the boys started, suddenly leaning away from the book as if it were a crying girl too. Lily took the moment to give them all dirty glares for that reaction before continuing with unrestrained pity.

Harry tried to say something, but she ducked the book under her arm and ran up the stairs.

"Damn," the boys cursed, now knowing Harry had no way to go after her and really comfort his friend, Harry was clearly at least trying.

Harry stormed back to Ron and told him off for that, and Ron shot back he might apologize if she even acted like she was sorry.

"How much more does he want, she bloody just burst into tears in front of everyone!" Sirius gaped.

"I'm thinking Ron might be holding a bit of a grudge," Remus muttered softly, at least catching Sirius' attention who nodded in understanding.

Harry couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't some kind of backstory to that comment since it also made James look away in a rather guilty way but Lily still wasn't giving them much of a chance to discuss anything.

The Gryffindors only ceased when McGonagall came in and told them it had been enough, and to get to bed.

"Well she's just a right killjoy, least that hasn't changed," James muttered sourly.

Harry and Ron went up the stairs, still happily dissecting the game,

"We would be too if Lily wasn't such a killjoy," Sirius snarked.

but they did eventually fall asleep, and Harry had an odd dream.

"Because your dreams have always been so pleasant before," Remus snickered a bit, wondering if this one would be Quidditch related, at least that wouldn't be so bad.

He was walking through a forest, his Firebolt over his shoulder,

"Now this is a strange dream," Sirius laughed, knowing in any normal circumstances Harry would be riding that any given chance.

following something silver through the trees, though it stayed too far ahead for him to see it properly.

"Guess Harry really wants to know what his Patronus is to," James smirked, this being the only thing that made sense to him.

He tried to run and catch up, but still wasn't making progress, the sound of hooves getting louder.

"Hooves?" Lily reread in surprise.

"Think he's chasing after Buckbeak or something?" Sirius wondered, remembering how Harry was supposedly helping with that beast in his free time.

He was jolted awake though, by someone screaming at the top of his lungs 'no!'

Lily may not have shouted that as loud as the book implied she should have, but it was definitely loud enough to startle the others who had just been so invested in that dream, Harry hardest of all. He had been trying to so hard all day to ignore this sickly feeling that something bad was going to happen on this day, and he'd even gone to bed so surely he must have been wrong this time, this didn't bode well...

He tried to pull back the curtains around his bed, and heard the sound of his door being slammed shut.

Lily felt a cold chill crawling up her spine, wondering who on earth would go slamming the door like that right then.

The other boys had woken as well, all of them calling out sleepily what was going on, while Ron was scrambling around in bed, part of his hangings torn.

"Torn?" Remus muttered, wondering if Ron had perhaps damaged them in his nightmare, what else could it be?

He was looking around everywhere, white faced with shock as he stammered it had been Black with a knife!

Sirius fell back against the couch for all the world looking like he'd just been stabbed himself.

Lily had to blink hard several times to convince her eyes she'd really just read that while ignoring the fevered chill that made her lean in close to Harry on impulse, but she was being stupid of course. Sirius would never really hurt any of those kids, least of all Harry, he'd obviously just brought the knife for defense while he finally figured out how to get in there and...and what? There truly no longer seemed like a logical explanation to explain away a mad man's actions for this nonsense, because no one would really think it a good idea to go into a crowded boy's dormitory in the middle of the night just to talk to Harry. That didn't even begin to explain why he'd rip up the hangings on Ron's curtain...

Remus came out of his shock first, taking a moment to give a glance at Sirius before snapping at Lily, "keep going, I'm sure Ron was just having some sort of nightmare," while rubbing furiously at his chest.

Lily swallowed hard, wondering if Remus really did believe that, but gave no counterargument and only hesitated another second because she wasn't even sure if James and Sirius were still listening, they looked like they'd just closed off from the world. Her only real reassurance was a glance over at her son, who was frowning in utter frustration. That look meant that he was trying to remember something though, there still wasn't a single trace of fear in her boy at this, so there must be something they were all missing.

They tried to tell Ron it had just been a dream, but Ron was adamant that he hadn't ripped up his bed, Black had been here!

Remus felt physically torn, wanting to agree with Dean that Ron may have just done that himself, as implausible as that was it was still better than the alternative. Then his mind kept reminding 'heard a door slam shut.'

Then Ron jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, waking every boy along the way it seemed as he reached the common room to find trash still littered about in the dying fire.

'The house elf's are slacking' was the first thought that finally reentered Sirius' mind, and that random little tidbit finally put some color back into his skin, though in no way seemed relevant to anything so he pressed his lips together hard to stop himself from interrupting what he kept hoping was just some really elaborate and not funny prank done by the twins.

The twins came stumbling in, rubbing sleep out of their eyes and asking if they were still going to party?

Then Sirius winced so horribly James and Remus had to wonder if his heart had just skipped one too many beats. This really did sound bad, nearly as bad as the time they'd stopped speaking to him all those years ago, but it wasn't the same thing now! Sirius had just, just... and none of them could still come up with a thing.

Percy barged in, telling them all to get back to bed while putting his badge in place.

"Trust me, I think we all know by this point," Harry muttered to himself.

Ron tried to tell his brothers Black had been in his room, had a knife over him, and Percy said that he was being ridiculous.

Remus quickly opened then closed his mouth, unable to break the long drawn out silence with some dumb comment in true Sirius style.

They stood there arguing for a few moments before McGonagall returned.

"How would she know so fast?" Harry blurted out a little too loudly, causing all of them to jump since Lily had nearly been reduced to a whisper by this point she was so fearful of what she was reading.

James startled hardest of all, he'd clearly still been in shock, but in an effort to brush it off he exclaimed, "I'm positive there's something so the Head of House knows when someone's in the dormitory who's not supposed to be. At least it would explain those times we snuck in and a Head of House would appear a few seconds after we left."

Lily waited a moment longer, almost praying someone else would have something to say about this that would delay her reading, but no one did and the sticky silence had returned the moment James had got done speaking.

She turned on Percy first and told him off for allowing this to continue,

Sirius gave a huffy little noise, like he dearly wanted to make some sarcastic comment to that, but his mind was still floundering over a nightmare of a future no one could answer and he just couldn't get the words out.

Percy huffed back he hadn't okay'ed this, it was just Ron having a nightmare.

Remus made an odd sort of noise. He dearly wanted to make the comment that he felt bad for Ron and nobody believing him, but that would mean that he did believe him, and he was still banking on the fact that Ron really did have a nightmare, because otherwise...

Ron shouted at the top of his lungs he hadn't dreamed that! McGonagall still told him it was impossible, Black couldn't have gotten past the portrait.

Sirius flinched like he'd just been struck. He wanted that to not be answered, would have given all the money in Gringotts for Lily to keep going and say of course that hadn't happened because he really didn't know the password, but already scenarios were running through his mind of all to easy ways he could spy on current Gryffindors to get that password. Surely though, if he was thinking like this now, he couldn't be so mad then that he'd even pull this stunt, right?

Ron was insistent though, so she stepped out to check herself.

This time it was Harry who had to fight back the impulse to mutter 'poor Ron' because he knew deep down that Ron hadn't been having a bad dream and he really wished these people did believe his friend. Of course that didn't help the current mood in the room one bit, who were all practically paralyzed at the endless implications to Sirius' mind set in the future.

She asked Cadogan if an adult male had come in recently, and Cadogan agreed at once.

Remus shuddered and leaned back into the couch, grumbling something that Sirius had no desire to make out the exact words of, because he either wouldn't believe them or he'd truly lose his mind in the next few seconds if this continued train of thinking really was leading his friend somewhere he knew he'd die before going.

McGonagall was as shocked as anyone to hear it, asking why he'd been let in. Cadogan explained he'd had a list of the passwords.

James said something so foul Lily's first instinct was to grab her wand and scrub his mouth out.

She didn't though, none of them did as they remembered not that long ago about how Neville had somehow gotten a list of passwords, and had somehow lost them. Then again, that begged the question how Sirius had gotten a hold of those? Had Neville managed to lose it on the grounds somewhere and Sirius had just happened to come across them? Circumstances of that aside, it still didn't answer the deranged question of what he was doing?! If his true purpose was to see Harry, then he was going about it in the worst and most criminally implicating way possible, which meant that the last line of reasoning really was Sirius had lost his ever loving mind. Lily had to suck in a long, deep breath and control every impulse in her not to continue throwing worried looks over at Sirius as she finished.

McGonagall stepped back in to ask which student had been stupid enough to write down passwords and leave them around.

Lily finally found a whole new emotion to scowl at, never finding it okay for a teacher to publicly call out a student and insult him like that. Of course it wasn't nearly as bad as when Snape had done it and she recognized McGonagall was stressed out of her mind right then but it finally gave her a chance to keep going without sounding like she was reading a death warrant.

Neville had no choice but to raise his hand.

"Give me that," James snapped at once, hands shaking nearly as bad as his voice as he violently flipped to the next page.

[skye-penderwick]

So there I was, scrolling through tumblr and I see a random prompt list and instead of, you know, working on my other WIPs, I latched onto the prompt of “my guitarist quit the night before the gig and supposedly you’re really good” but of course I changed that up. A lot. And here we are.

(Ngl also slightly inspired by Spider-Man 3 cause that’s literally all I could visualize during this)

“What do you mean we have a new singer?”

Jeffery looked over at the guy who would be playing the string bass that night.

“What happened to Sidney?”

“She got sick and had to cancel. But she called in to a friend apparently and found a replacement.”

Jeffery sighed. “I guess that’ll have to do. She’s not one of the dramatic types that changes the set every few seconds is she? Cause then we’re going to have issues.”

“I don’t think so.” Keenan shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Sidney just said that she was really talented and was up to try singing here.”

“Wait. Are you telling me she hasn’t sung at a jazz club before?”

“No. I haven’t.”

Jeffery turned to look at the small girl who had just entered the club. She looked up at him, daring him to dismiss her.

He cleared his throat. “Um excuse me, but how old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

He blinked. He hadn’t expected her to be that young, although Sidney was only twenty. “Alright then. What’s your name and how do you know Sidney?”

“I’m Elizabeth and Sidney and I took music lessons together a few years ago. We kept in touch once she graduated high school.”

He nodded. “Alright then. Well this is Keenan, Henry, and Michelle who goes by Mick. I’m Jeffery. Would you like to join us for soundcheck?”

Elizabeth nodded, her dark hair swinging around her as she walked over to the side of the stage.

“Sidney sent me the set list after I told her I would cover for her. I looked it over but is there anything else you want me to do?”

Keenan, and the brass duo of Mick and Henry, looked at Jeffery.

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. Sid usually stores her music in the cubby that’s in the second column, third from the bottom.”

Elizabeth nodded and scanned the cubby area grabbing the music when she found it.

“There’s also stands over there if you want to set it down. Singers don’t usually have stands but seeing as you’re covering last minute and never sang in a jazz club before, you’re more than welcome to use one tonight.”

Elizabeth grabbed a stand and placed it slightly to the right of the mic, close enough to reference it if need be but far away enough that it could be ignore if she wished, a subtle way of letting Jeffery know that she didn’t need it but was humoring him anyway.

While she adjusted her mic, Jeffery looked at the rest of the small ensemble trying to gauge their opinions.

Mick and Henry stood next to each other, holding their horns and looking at their music, but still whispering. Knowing them, Jeffery figured they were sizing Elizabeth up and betting if she was as good as she thought she was.

Keenan caught Jeffery’s eye and the two shared a silent conversation, both wondering how Elizabeth was going to do in Sidney’s role and if she was the drama queen they both feared.

He looked back to the center of the stage to see Elizabeth looking at him.

Jeffery swallowed. “Let’s begin.”

He made eye contact with the others and counted off with a nod of his head.

The four instrumentalists began the first piece, their usual opener since few were in the club when they would begin playing.

Jeffery looked over at Elizabeth as her cue was coming. She gripped the microphone and looked to the empty seating area as if it was already full of people. And then she began to sing.

If Jeffery didn’t already have this song nearly memorized, he was sure he would’ve royally screwed up. As it was, he heard Keenan play a wrong note and Henry cut out for a beat or two.

Her voice was beautiful: rich and full. Jeffery could tell that she was more of a Broadway singer than jazz but the untrained ear would never know. Her voice captured all the emotion behind the piece yet fit perfectly into the mix of instruments behind her, not washing them out but taking her place as just another member.

They finished and the group looked at her. Elizabeth saw all the eyes on her when they didn’t go right into the next song. She blushed and stared at her feet.

“Are you sure you’ve never played in a jazz club before?” asked Jeffery.

“I wasn’t allowed to until after I graduated high school,” she murmured.

“Well I can say for all of us, that that was really impressive.” The other members nodded. “Let’s finish our warmup shall we?”

They continued through, spot checking their set list and making sure Elizabeth knew what to expect.

“Alright guys.” Jeffery checked his watch. “We have twenty minutes until the club opens up and we start playing for an audience. Do whatever you need to before then. Eat. Use the bathroom. Grab a bottle of water. I’ll see you guys back up here in fifteen.”

The group dispersed into the little club, doing whatever each one needed to do.

Jeffery remained on his piano bench and pulled out his phone.

Hey Dad. Are we in need of any more singers?

A minute or two later he got a response.

Not in any desperate need but it might be nice so Sid and Layla don’t need to play as much. Why?

Sid called in sick today and had a friend of hers come in instead. She’s pretty talented and depending on how tonight goes I was thinking of offering her a full-time spot.

Send me a video of her performing and I’ll think about it.

Jeffery closed his phone and looked around the little club. His dad owned it and Jeffery had played here since he was a teenager. They brought in outside musical acts every once in a while, but also had musicians employed by the club to play most nights. The groups shifted around and there was usually a new combination of people playing each night. Adding in Elizabeth would help ease the stress on the singers, if she did well in front of an audience and wanted to sing here regularly that is.

The rest of the band returned and messed around with their instruments. Jeffery checked his watch. One minute till six.

He made eye contact with each person on the stage and nodded as they all got into position to play.

He counted off and they began, playing for an empty room that slowly began to fill.

They played their first set and took their first ten minute break. They would play a set for roughly a half hour, break, and then repeat the process until eleven when the club would close. They would put on a background track of music until the live performers would start again.

It was during this first break when Jeffery walked over to Keenan.

“I need a favor.”

Keenan gave him a side look while he drank his water.

“I need you to get a small clip of Elizabeth singing tonight.”

Keenan looked at him. “Why?”

Jeffery sighed. “Because I suggested hiring her to my dad and he needs clip of her singing. I don’t ever stop playing so my best option is having you do it.”

He smiled. “Okay.” Jeffery handed over his phone and went back to sit on the bench.

They began their second set which went much like the first, except now they had a nearly full audience and a steady stream coming in and out.

During their second break, Jeffery walked over to Keenan who smiled and handed his phone back.

“I hope this is good and I hope your dad makes the right choice. Personally, I’m in favor of Elizabeth joining.”

Jeffery agreed. She had gotten more comfortable during the second set and began to do her own spin on the songs that they played, fitting in well with the rest of the group.

He returned once more to his seat and sent the video to his dad. He turned off his notifications and set his phone on top of the piano and looked out over the crowd.

His eye caught a woman just walking in. She wore a white blouse and black skirt, bright against the dim scenery. Her blonde hair was slightly messy but it didn’t seem she cared.

She was gorgeous and Jeffery watched her as she made her way through the club and took a seat in the middle of the second row. She smiled at something ahead of her and Jeffery wished he knew at what.

This was the one problem with playing: he saw so many people come in and out and he never got to speak to them, unless they were regulars or made a point to talk to him. This woman, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, would just be another nameless face he would never know the story behind.

A throat cleared and startled Jeffery and he glanced around to see Elizabeth and the rest of the band looking at him, waiting for him to count them off.

He shook his head and began the next set, but his eyes kept drifting to the blonde woman as he played. She sat there and intently watched Elizabeth as she sang, a faint smile appearing when Elizabeth took the chance to highlight how good of a singer she was.

Most patrons at the jazz club stayed for about a set and a half, possibly two, so when the woman didn’t leave after their fifth set, he was surprised.

Keenan slid onto the bench next to him. “So what has you so distracted tonight?”

“What?”

“Dude. You’ve been out of it the last couple sets. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve been present this whole time.”

“Sure you have. It’s not like you’ve been staring at that blonde girl the moment she walked in.”

Jeffery gaped at the man sitting next to him. “No, I haven’t.”

Keenan stood up and patted his back. “Yes, you have. And if she is still here by the time we finish playing, you’d better talk to her.”

Jeffery watched as Keenan returned to his place on the stage and picked up his bass.

He looked back at the woman who sat in the audience as she put down her phone and waited for the new set to start.

Even though Keenan said to go talk to her, Jeffery knew that chances of her staying that late were slim, so he put that brief conversation out of his mind and focused on playing once more.

The time drifted by and it neared the eleventh hour. The band wrapped up their last song, and Elizabeth thanked the remainder of the audience. Some people left and others stayed waiting for their checks to arrive.

Keenan, Mick, and Henry all went about putting their instruments away as Jeffery checked his phone for the first time in a few hours.

He had received a reply from his father.

She’s incredible. Feel free to offer her a spot.

He smiled and looked up from his phone only to see that Elizabeth had disappeared.

He made eye contact with Keenan who mouthed “blonde” at him.

What?

Oh right. The blonde woman had stayed the rest of the night and Jeffery was supposed to go talk to her. His thoughts of needing to find Elizabeth had caused the other woman to vanish from his mind completely.

He looked around to see her still sitting at her table.

Keenan clapped his hand on Jeffery’s shoulder.

“Go talk to her man. I expect to hear about it tomorrow. Have a good night.”

And with that Keenan was off and Jeffery left with the daunting task of walking up to a person and talking to them.

He glanced around and still couldn’t see Elizabeth anywhere. He sighed and made his way off the stage towards where the blonde woman sat.

He was a few tables away when she stood.

Jeffery then caught sight of Elizabeth meeting the woman and the two of them smiling at one another.

“Um, excuse me Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth turned to look and him as well as the blonde woman. He was close enough to see that her eyes were bright blue and seemed as if they stared into his soul.

He cleared his throat. “You sang phenomenally tonight, Elizabeth. My father is the owner of this jazz club and on his behalf I would like to offer you a job as one of our singers.”

Elizabeth gaped at him as if she didn’t understand what he was saying.

The silence between them became long when the blonde woman spoke up. “Batty, this man just offered you a job. What are you going to say?”

“Batty?” Jeffery glanced between the two of them.

His voice seemed to snap Elizabeth out of her trance. She glared at the blonde woman. “My name is Elizabeth.” She turned back to Jeffery smiling. “I’d love to work here. Thank you for the opportunity.”

“You deserve it. You’re incredibly talented. Come back here tomorrow around four and we can figure out the terms of your employment.”

Elizabeth was now beaming. “Thank you! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

She turned back to the blonde and then immediately focused back to Jeffery.

“I’m so stupid. Jeffery, this is my sister Skye. Skye, this is Jeffery the guy who played the piano.”

Skye stuck out her hand. “Pleased to meet you and excuse my little sister’s poor manners.”

“Hey!”

Jeffery laughed and shook her hand. “They’re excused. Are you a jazz fan yourself?”

“Me? No. I don’t have a musical bone in my body. I came here tonight because Batty needs a ride home and I wanted to make sure no creeps followed her out.”

“I sincerely hope I’m not on the creep list them seeing as though I did kind of follow her.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. On second thought, you now are on the list,” her eyes narrowing although she smiled a little. “I’ll interrogate you later after I hear Batty’s report.”

“Hey. I’m right here!”

He looked at the two sisters.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “At home my nickname is Batty and that’s what my family calls me. Professionally, I go by my full name, Elizabeth. Someone routinely forgets that,” she said with a pointed look at Skye.

Her sister shrugged. “Sorry. Force of habit. Besides if you did get kidnapped, Batty is much more unique.”

Jeffery couldn’t help but smile. “I have to say, I am with Skye on this one. Batty is better.”

Skye now grinned and looked at her sister. “See? I’m right. Like always.”

Elizabeth/Batty rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. He’s just agreeing with you because he thinks you’re pretty.”

Jeffery and Skye both stared open-mouthed at her.

“I-I don’t –“

“He doesn’t – “

They both looked at each other and looked away as they made eye contact.

“Skye just give him your number and Jeffery ask her out. You know that’s what you both want to do.” She looked between the two of them and shrugged. “Oh well. I’ll just give you Skye’s number when I see you tomorrow. Goodnight!”

And with that Elizabeth/Batty pulled a dumbfounded Skye towards the door.

Jeffery watched them go and then blinked a few to times to realize what was going on.

He hurried out the door to find them a few yards down the street.

“Wait!”

The two of them stopped as Jeffery caught to them.

“You don’t seem like the kind of girl who wants to get asked out so here’s my number and text me when you feel like it.” He handed Skye a piece of paper and watched as she put it in her pocket.

She swallowed and looked up at him. “Thanks.”

With that she turned around and began walking away. Elizabeth/Batty winked at him before following and Jeffery made his way back to the club to lock up.

He heard a gleeful cry of “He nailed your personality!” and harsh shush behind him and looked back to see Skye staring at him as they turned the corner.

Maybe he would have something to tell Keenan tomorrow.

[pbandjesse]

Today was the day of selfies. I felt real cute all day. It was beautiful  out today and I felt great. My ear is aching a little bit right now but I'm in a good mood.

I slept well last night. I woke up at 8 and felt good. I laid in bed for a little while playing with my phone. But I got myself together and showered and such. I really didn’t want to cook but I really needed to eat. I made a poached egg and some hashbrowns. Which honestly sounds really good right now so I might cook that up after I post this.

I just got distracted by youtube for like a half hour so I'm back.

I left the house at 920 to catch the bus. I got on and was a few minutes later then expected but it doesn’t take me long to put my skates on anymore so it was fine. Niky actually beat me there which almost never happens. Warmup was fun. We took those videos I posted earlier. I can do those turns cleaner but I was being goofy. I'm going to try to take more videos going forward. It was a lot of fun but Niky told me she isn’t able to do the recital so I'm a little bummed about that. But its okay! I'm still going to do it and I'm really looking forward to that. I hope the other adult is nice.

We had a substitute and she was great. It was fairly empty at the rink today, I'm assuming because the last day of the world figure skating competition was today, so we had lots of attention. The sub was really all about technique and we learned about arms and shoulders. We practiced some new interesting things. I didn’t fall but I almost did a few times because she made me do two foot turns properly. Which is real scary for me. It was a really great lesson though and I felt real happy after.

After me and Niky got our skates off I went and checked with the woman who’s running the recital about when the rehearsals are and if I needed to buy tights. But she's wonderful and said she would provide them to me because she's just happy to have an adult.

I headed over to catch the bus. Dad texted me to call him when I could. So once I got home I did that. It was some good news about my taxes. So I might actually have money for moving? If I can really budget well maybe.

I had lunch and cuddled with sweetP. He is being real lovey today. At 1 I biked to the studio. It was so beautiful out today. I was able to just wear my regular tights and not double up. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do in my studio so I just started poking around. But then Michaela came up to see what I was doing and asked if I could come help her gate her wax. So I jumped on that just for something to do.

We walked up there and worked on getting her piece ready for dipping. If she's going to pour with us she has to be done by Tuesday. While we were there we found the adorable note from Don posted above. I cleaned up the wax booth a little while we were waiting. And I told Michaela all about figure skating and the scoring system. Its so weird to me that I'm into a sport. Like never in my life have I even given a quarter of a fuck about sports, but like I have favorites and understand scoring to a degree, and its just bizarre to me. I sort of wish my parents had pushed me to more sports like figure skating or made me continue with ballet when I was younger. Instead of soccer which I hated more than anything and didn’t understand anyway.  But they were just doing their best they couldn’t have known what I would want when I grew up.

After wandering around the school for a little while me and Michaela headed back to the studios. I still didn’t want to do anything or have any inspiration or drive and it was so pretty out. So I decided to bike around. I followed the 11th street bike path and found a park with a swing. The swing was really rusty and loud though so didn’t swing very long. But the 8 year old next to me said I was cute and had a real cool bike. and when I was taking a picture of my feet he started yelling cheese so I pretended to take a picture of him to. A sweet heart.

I biked around and it eventually looped back home. I had a snack and rested. I mostly did that for the afternoon. Around 5 I took a really wonderful bath with the lavender bathbomb Jess gave me. washed my hair and shaved my legs. Its been a really nice day.

Tomorrow I'm going to go to ballet and then the studio. I think I’ll do some paintings? Watercolors? Maybe. I don’t know what to do with myself because I don’t have any art plans until Monday and really I should be working on my paper but I'm waiting for feedback before I change to much. Some time off to rest isn’t terrible though.

I hope you all have a good night and take care of yourselves. Its supposed to be an even more beautiful day tomorrow!

[naveendop]

Footloose in Munnar

The Advertisement

My #MunnarMarathon story goes back to the day I was in Munnar to shoot a music video on January 18. We were shooting at a beautiful tea estate where I came across a poster about the #MunnarMarathon. It was to be held on January 28, a Saturday. Some of my friends have participated in marathons. They would talk about how they met all these new, amazing people while running together. The poster of #MunnarMarathon intrigued me. I decided I want to run. I was excited.

So I got back to my laptop, went through the website and called the friendly people who were organizing it. There were four categories which I could sign up for. A 7 km run for fun, the 21km half-marathon, a 42km full-marathon and the ultra-marathon, a tremendous 72kms. I thought for a moment, and signed up for the half-marathon. I asked my friends, who had run marathons previously, how to go about it. They said I would need some amount of training to be able to run a 21 Km course. Training!

I wondered, would I really need to train to run 21 km? I’ve been running since I was a kid. And I felt I had been quite active even in recent years: I had trekked all the way to the #Everest #Basecamp for #YevadeSubramanyam, a feature film for which I was shooting along the trek. It sounds a little pompous now, but at the time, I sincerely thought i did not need, or rather no one needs any training to do these things. We all know walking, running. We’ve been doing these things since we were kids.

The trek to the #Everest Basecamp during the shoot was one of my best experiences. I realized that when you trek, you just shut your mouth and keep walking, enjoying every step you take or at-least pretend you enjoy it. Somewhere along the way you will reach your destination of the day. This experience did its part to reinforce my confidence to finish what I had signed up for on an impulse. Yes, Training

Time passed by and suddenly I realized I was only a few days away from the #Marathon date. I didn't have any running shoes. My darling pro-basketball athletic wife helped me pick some really good running shoes. I thought this was it, now I can go win this thing. I started running to every place. I did all my chores running as well. Two days before the Marathon I even ran around a stadium nearby for about an hour. My legs warmed up, my thighs started aching. I continued to walk everywhere and made it a point to go and take the stairs all the time. I read somewhere that actor James Stewart always takes stairs irrespective of how many floors he has to climb. And that's all the exercise he ever did. I would keep remembering that during my walks up the stairs.

To Munnar

Finally, the date arrived. The travel to Munnar from Kochi, where I stay, is a story for another day. Anyway, I ended up reaching Munnar at 12 in the night on the 27. Took some random hotel which was close to the #HATC( High Altitude Training Center) and the Marathon meeting point and crashed with an alarm set for 4:30am. Jan 28, On Your Marks I diligently woke-up on time and got ready with my running attire all dazzling and new. I would be lying if I said the thought of winning the marathon didn't cross my mind. I had been over confident about this from the start. I walked to the marathon meeting point, it was still dark, the sun just about giving an earthy tinge to the sky, a beautiful filter. It was not so chilly for #Munnar.

I asked around where I can get my BIB tag for the race. There were bunch of people already in-line finishing up their forms for the same. Most of them were Navy Trainees from the Kochi port, some old men came along and some young chaps, a mixed crowd. I collected my BIB. I was number H379, the digits added up-to one. I was super pumped thinking that it was going to be my position in the marathon. I came out to collect my bag and a strikingly fluorescent #MunnarMarathon t-shirt. I saw many more people warming up in their best running attire, sprinting around, doing pushups, squats and all their regular exercises. They seemed like they eat, breath and sleep marathons—pros. Serious and all focused in there look and demeanor. At this moment, another thought pops in my head, "Hey the no.1 of my total wasn't for the position, it was for first time marathon runner".

Get Set

There were a lot of people out there, old men, people in their 40's, 30's and 20's. The Marathon was going to start at 6:30 and i had some time to kill. I observed the people around me as I sipped on my Katham chai (Jaggery tea water). I did some of my own warmup exercises and saw the route of the marathon. I was somehow amused, looking at the pro marathon runners going through their protocol to get ready for the run. I spotted some first timers like me, who were looking at the pro runners in similar amaze.

There were many service men from all the defense sectors bumping into each other and exchanging niceties. They all seemed like naturals, born to run the #marathon. Around 6:00 am there was a call out for everyone who was running the half-marathon to the stage. To my surprise, there was a fitness group from Kochi that was on the stage and had some dance numbers lined up. They extended the stretching exercises to make them look and feel like dance moves. I feel I’m not such a bad dancer my-self, but i wasn't able to follow the stretches transform into the dance moves. I tried what I could and by the end of the last song, I was all warmed up.

The smiles and laughs of the dancers gave a good vibe. We all walked to the start point, and to add to the surprises cricketer Sreesanth walked through the crowd. He joined us to sway the flag for the run to begin and promote his new feature film. His producer, the villain from the film, and his lead lady were all out here for promotions. There were some group snaps being taken when everyone crowded to get a glimpse of the sportsman-turned-actor and get a picture with him. For a moment everyone forgot they were there for a marathon. I am a cinematographer myself and have never fancied taking or being part of posed pictures with celebrities. I was watching all this happen around me. Go

Finally, the whistle blew and hop, hop, hop, the runners went through the starting point, I followed, with my slow and steady pace. I knew from my experience that I shouldn't sprint and rather just keep it slow and steady. I remembered the apt cliché—the tortoise and the hare story. "Slow and Steady wins the race," I said to myself.  After a few trots, I felt a bounce on my back. It was the bag and the t-shirt I got from the marathon organizers. I tied it tighter to my back to keep it from bouncing and continued my run.

This Is Munnar

The beginning few kilometers were a straight line run through the city and the path took a turn to go off-road. The sun was slowly breaking through the clouds. Everything around had a cold blue tint, the kind of color-grade I would give for an early morning effect. I could see tall trees, hear the birds chirping and felt the early morning breeze. I realized I was in the middle of #Munnar in its best natural environment with zero traffic and people. It was peaceful.  

I love hearing the birds chirp. The higher branches of the trees were catching some golden sunlight. I saw some birds fly up the trees to bask in some of that warm early morning light, as if it was their ritual to get ready for the day ahead. I continued steady, and saw some gorgeous trees with the #sun rising behind them. And I couldn’t resist. I quickly grabbed my phone from the bag and click, captured the snap of the tree. I love nature, in every form. Another cliché, but it stands true every-time. Its amazes me whenever I least expect it. I was starting to look at the cloud formations in Munnar, believe me every place the clouds come in different shapes and sizes. I was like click, click, click. Everything was looking pretty. “

Hey hold on watch before you click and don't forget to keep going forward,” I thought. I wanted to see what was around every corner of the curvy road. I came across a small road leading to someone's home with some wood stocked at end of the road. As I cross these homes, I see thin smoke starting to rise from their chimneys; breakfast. I found another gorgeous old tree which was like a gate to a house up the slope next to it. The sky was a gorgeous blue by now.

Surrender

The beauty had arrested me, I was walking at a snail’s pace. The morning light played magic on the textured roofs of houses. I forgot to run. How simple and elegant the colors of the windows of these homes were in contrast to the blue sky. I was finally in Gods own country, enjoying his lovely color schemes, breathing through them, watching constantly changing lighting patterns, the complementing western ghats of Munnar and of-course the tea plantations. To my fellow marathon runners, my awe became contagious. Some of them forgot to run too, taking pictures of this gorgeous morning canvas. I was sure I did not need any prize any more. I had already got mine through walking and absorbing Munnar. This being a photo blog, you can see the moments I just had to take a picture.

I saw this tombstone nestled in a cosy corner with a charming view of the mountains. When I was grading the image, i was like let's keep this grade black and white. It felt right. I didn’t disturb the tombstone much, took my picture and moved on with my walk. I saw a quaint little temple next to a really tall tree. I loved the contrast of the heights, the skies and the clouds offered a lively background for the setting. I discovered that marathons are run together with friends as well. I spotted three such people walking together and chatting there way through the walk. I saw a moment in there.

Walking along, there were a lot of homes of tea plantation workers. A man was observing the runners, a kind smile on his face. I fell in love with the small wooden bridges which help you cross little streams of waters, there were plenty of them on the route. I was in no hurry to finish the marathon, it had to be finished within five hours. I had time. I saw some lovely red flowers overlooking an off-road path which leads into the forest. Next time, I might take that road to see where it leads to.

Where there are people, there will always be the man’s best friend. I spotted one of those guys looking down at the road at all fluorescent clad t-shirt runners. He barked to make sure they don't enter his territory. A lovely community hall with equally pretty gate stared at me. Simple and sweet, it didn`t need any other decor to make it pretty. An interesting looking tractor growled past me, it had a lovely contrasting yellow color. I spotted same #tractor about four times in my entire marathon.

The morning had begun for everyone, the birds, the dogs, tractors, chimneys, cows , tea plantation workers and the marathon runners. The cows were munching their way into the fresh, dew-covered grass. I guess they wanted to chew on the cud later in the day under a tree's shade. One cow was already chewing on the cud, basking in comfortable posture. There was a beautiful school tucked into the mountains. It looked like a perfect setting to play and study.

I had discovered during my mountain trek in Nepal that if you are tired, walk around a hill and suddenly you realize the entire terrain has changed, like a breath of fresh air. Here in Munnar it was not so much of a terrain change, but you were welcomed by some friendly engineering college kids waiting with some refreshments. They had volunteered to help the marathon organizers. You would also find them going around in jeeps for medical help. I love machines which you can ride and tractors have been one of favorite vehicles. Every chance i got to ride my grandpa`s farm tractor, I thoroughly enjoyed the power in the steering. One such driver who loved his machine was out here in the middle of my marathon route. He had just come out of his home by the road to clean the silencer of his tractor.

I saw this beautiful sea of flowers covering an entire football field. Purples, whites, reds, yellows and different shades of green. I was amazed at how beautifully they had arranged themselves all along to fill any empty spaces. A few more steps, and I see the tea plantation women with plastic netted baskets on their heads walking to work. They always have a smile on their face.

The path followed through a small village, I passed by their panchayat block, And it was not just humans. Dogs too started on their morning walks to catch-up on their friends in the neighbourhoods. I followed one of them to discover a bunch of three friends catching up and rolling over. A confession here, I love to just observe dogs playing with each other. I remember filming two of my puppies when they were growing up for their first thirty days. At this moment, my phone decides to give up on its charge, there I was, a cinematographer without his lens.

I continued to walk as I couldn't suddenly motivate myself to run. By now i had reached the half point of the marathon. We had to take a U-turn from where I saw so many of them already on there way back. I took my U-turn, picked up some refreshments—peeled oranges and small bananas—and continue my brisk walk. One chartered account from Kottayam caught up with me and initiated a conversation. He drove from Kottayam with a friend of his, who is far behind in the marathon. I thought I was one of the last ones but, I guess not.  He said his friend wasn't in shape. The last adventure trip he had taken was in a forest in Shimla about 20 years ago. And he really wanted to catch-up on those lost years and trails. He was asking some generic questions. I came to know that his son and daughter-in-law had moved from Kochi to Hyderabad and were practicing law. And here, my wife and me had moved from Hyderabad to Kochi. I guess life has a subtle way of balancing itself around. Back On Track

He suggested we run for a while and I kick-started my run again. Now, I didn’t want to stop, I just kept running at a constant pace. I ran for about 60 minutes straight. I could feel the pressure on my knees and thighs, they were starting to ache. If I were to stop now, i wouldn't be able to finish this marathon. I surprised myself. By and by, I actually started over taking people. There was a rhythm that I reached, my legs in sync with my heartbeat. I could feel the joy of running now, unhindered, free.

I was enjoying the run of the marathon for the first time during the day. It reminded me of the harmony with my motorcycle and the highway during one of my trips to the #MahaKhumbmela. I realised, once you find the rhythm, you don't want to stop, it takes you on it’s own wings. I was enjoying the pain and pleasure of running and continued straight for about 8-10 kms. By now I had finished about 17kms. One of the volunteers told me I was just 4 kms away and I kept running.

The Climb

One more curve along the path and I see a steep uphill. It seemed pretty daunting suddenly. Like how a treadmill slowly comes to a stop, it was like that for my legs, the running slowly came to a halt and the walk up the hill continued. I walked and walked, it seemed like a long time. I didn’t see any volunteers giving water or refreshments and I needed them badly now. I didn’t see them in line of sight but i saw a board which said water in one kilometer.

It felt like the longest kilometer I have ever walked, all of it up the hill. When i think about it, i think the marathon guys deliberately put a one kilometer signboard for water, which was actually two kilometers in distance. Across another turn, finally I see the water guys. It seemed like the best view, I had decided I would take a break there, had two full cups of water and finished a banana and an orange. People I had left behind were catching up and I looked at the ones who were still down the slope. I continued to walk and jog intermittently. I passed by a construction site where the workers were trying to cheer me to run, but I was too exhausted by now. One of them suggested a shortcut to get to the main road. For a second I thought about it, but shunned the idea.

Music’s Over

Another curve, i see the main road and i start hearing the buzzing road, a running generator of a hotel next to the road and all sorts of sounds. They diluted my hearing capabilities. The sounds became noise. At the same time, I happy I was nearing the finish line. I missed the birds chirping. I missed all the greenery, and the thought of what lies around the curve was lost. It was honking cars, bikes, motorcycles, every possible sound you could hear. I was also hearing the music which the Marathon guys were playing at the HATC grounds. I was just about hundred meters away and I could see some kids at the finish line cheering and welcoming whoever was nearing the finish line.

You Should Try

The walk became faster and I acknowledged the kids with a smile and took my final step onto the finish line. It made a beep sound which reconfirmed that I have taken the last step of the 21.1kilometers half-marathon. One of the kids was waiting to put a medallion around me. It said "If it was easy, everyone would do it". Whenever I look at it, I think, everyone still can do it. All you need to do is keep going forward. The only training you need is to train yourselves to keep going ahead. I would say to any other marathon taker, "It’s easy, Everyone should do it".