foolishwren | 94. FOURTH WALL

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94. FOURTH WALL

_{[If anyone stops to check their 'Gear in the midst of all the chaos unfolding, they will find an extremely odd text message originating from the 'Gear of Heather Mason.]

[Or more accurately, it's the image attachment that's odd.]}

_{[Apparently, some nurses have stolen Heather's PokeGear and are using it to take Myspace pictures.]

[Wellp.]}

[ooc: Feel free to tag in with any scenario or character you want, it doesn't necessarily have to involve the text message, the nurses, or their godawful duckfaces! GO WILD, just let me know where you want the thread to take place!]

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_{[YES IT DID.]

[It's a good thing Carousel has a docile temperament, because horses meeting isn't always a good thing. But she sees BABY and she tends to like BABIES, so she proceeds to snorfle all over the smaller horse.]

[Heather, meanwhile, looked up to find that her Pokemon was just GONE, which was a bit of a surprise to her. Carousel wasn't normally the sort to run off like that.]

[It's not until a couple minutes later that Heather actually shows up, puffing and jogging towards them across the sand.]}

_{[And the Ponyta is quite timid initially but then seems pretty happy with the attention. He needs to warm up to things, it seems, but is carefully doing the MAMA? thing at this point, blowing air at the large unicorn.]

[When Laura spots Heather, she raises a hand to wave, calling for her attention if she didn't already have it.]}

Hey! Maine!

_{[Cue Heather positively skidding to a halt in pure shock. Because-- WOW. Wasn't expecting to see HER here. ... Again, anyway.]}

Wh-- dude. Washington?

_{[Well, Laura wasn't particularly expecting to BE here again. She hikes her shoulders up a little, but smiles - a bit uncertainly, but that's understandable.]}

Yeah. Crazy, right?

You're-- you're back! Dude!

_{[Too bad it's... not even permanent. This has to be one of THOSE weekends. ... Which means some very unfortunate things, in addition to seeing friends.]}

--shit, we shouldn't be out here. C'mon, follow me!

_{[And with that, she's grabbing for Laura's hand and starting to tug her in the direction of the Pokemon Center.]}

_{[UH okay?]

[Laura allows her to take her hand, though, and makes sure the hold is firm on her end as she follows, for now completely trusting; no questions asked. Because there IS a sense of alarm in that action, and she figures it's better to go with it than fight it.]}

_{[YEP there's alarm all right. This time around, Heather's a little ore knowledgeable than she had been before. And it's not reassuring knowledge. She wants to get somewhere crowded. Somewhere bright and safe.]

[Because it's hard to picture BOB showing up in the midst of a bunch of bustling pink-haired nurses.]}

C'mon, in here!

_{[The automatic door opens with a swish.]}

_{[And Laura goes right through it, making sure Heather's close by, definitely not wanting to lose the one person she's familiar with in all of this.]

[Once inside the Center, though, with the doors closed behind them (the horses apparently left to play outside or something, good thing there's grass) she turns to Heather to ask, and is quite serious but still calm despite the confusion.]}

What was that for?

Just-- just to get indoors, you know? 'Cause it's, uh, air-conditioned.

_{[She's not going to tell Laura that BOB might be here. She can't do that to her. Hell, even thinking about it HERSELF is a little bit freaky, because... well, DUH.]

[She's not worried about the horses-- Carousel is at a high level and is generally a motherly type. She'll take care of the Ponyta. Anything trying to mess with a Thoroughbred-sized unicorn that can shoot flames is just begging to wind up in the hospital.]}

C'mon, there's a free couch over there.

... If you're sure.

_{[or in other words: ... riiiight....]

[This is a skeptical face you're getting, Maine. But she leaves it for now after a searching look at the other girl, then starts to move towards the couch she pointed out.]

[And flops down on it kind of ungracefully a moment or two later.]}

So can I ask you something?

_{[Heather settles down next to her-- not quite so... floppily. She's a little bit tense. But if Laura's HERE with HER she's safe, right? RIGHT.]}

Huh?

Yeah!

'Course!

_{[Laura's not tense, really, but she's still a little ... unnerved. She's doing a job of hiding it though, the same way she used to with Donna or James. Mostly because she's glad to be with someone she knows, again - usually in memeland, you're crowded in with strangers.]

[Heather isn't fooling her though and she turns so she sits crosslegged, facing her.]}

Why am I here?

_{[Not that she REALLY expects a good answer to that, but.]}

_{[For some reason, the fact that THAT'S the question... is sort of a RELIEF. She's not sure what she was expecting to hear, though.]}

Honestly, if I could tell you that, I would.

I've given up wondering WHY people do or don't show up here.

_{[Laura leans forward a little and studies the other girl. Not because she doesn't believe her, but because .. yeah.]}

You know, it's like a dream. That you keep having.

I didn't get a horse on fire last time though.

_{[A dream... yeah. One that's probably not going to last. Although Heather, in this brief little window that she actually REMEMBERS Laura, wishes that it would.]

[She could be happy here-- safe, even.]

[But that would be too good to be true, wouldn't it.]}

Yeah. I know what you mean.

_{[She leans up a little to peek out one of windows to check on the two horses-- and jerks her head towards them.]}

Hopefully you actually LIKE horses. I started out with a fire-breathing dog.

I had a pony when I was a kid, actually. Maybe that's why.

_{[She smiles a little, rolls a shoulder in a slow shrug. But she didn't know Heather had a dog thing. She nudges the topic with respect though, not sure if that'll affect Heather's bit of anxiousness any.]}

So ... fire's a theme. What's with dogs?

_{[Wow... a pony. Heather had never been really INTO horses, but she'd gone through a pony phase just like most little girls. She pauses a moment to think about how nice that must have been.]}

Dogs?

Hate 'em.

Always have. They freaked me out.

...I mean... don't get me wrong, I warmed up to mine when I actually had to like... take CARE of him...

_{[A bit of an idea strikes her and she reaches automatically for Cujo's Pokeball in her pocket.]}

What about you, you're not scared of them, are you?

_{[It had been great, no lie, and she misses that pony dearly.]

[She shakes her head, raises an eyebrow as she eyes that pokéball. Because it's a ball. ?]}

Not unless they're biting.

Good.

_{[Cujo's no biter, except for those painless play-bites that had terrified her for the first few months until she'd gotten used to them and realized they didn't hurt.]

[She tosses the ball up lightly and then, in a flash of bright white light, a mass of orange-and-cream fur and slobber appears, wriggling happily. And he WOULD have gone straight for Laura's lap if Heather hadn't locked an arm around his thick, shaggy neck immediately.]}

This Cooj. He's my starter.

_{[Wow, wait, what the. She has to blink at the fact that a dog just materialized out of a tiny red-and-white sphere, but in the end she seems to accept it without much fuss. It could be because the big tiger-striped dog is sort of distracting.]}

Starter?

_{[She shoots Heather a look and then politely reaches out to Cujo, the way you do with dogs to let them see who you are.]}

He looks kind of firey too, doesn't he?

_{[WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF POKEMON, LAURA. ENJOY YOUR STAY.]}

Yeah! Y'know, the one you start with. Like your pony out there.

_{[Cujo squirms happily in Heather's hold and greets the offered hand with a snort and several dollops from his giant pink tongue.]}

And... yeeeep. You have NO idea how many fires I've had to put out...

_{[Another reason she was scared of him at first. But... well, she supposes putting out so many fires has done wonders for desensitizing her...]}

_{[WILL DO, PROBABLY. ONCE THE WAITWHAT DIES DOWN.]

[Laura allows her hand to get QUITE WET and then sort of dries it by patting his head. She's not very familiar with dogs and doesn't have that easy way with them dog owners have, but she doesn't seem all too fazed - probably since Heather's keeping such a steady hold on him.]}

What does he do, breathe it or something?

_{[This will be a wonderful learning experience, clearly.]}

_{[Heather would rather Laura not be introduced to the world of Pokemon by being crushed under a pile of dog and licked to death, thanks.]}

Yeah! ... And sneezes it.

_{[Again: lots of fires.]}

I'd make him show you but I've already been banned from taking him into ONE Center...

_{[See, this is why Heather is a good friend.]

[Laura kind of blinks cause um okay WELL THEN, and looks back to the dog.]}

... this place is pretty weird, isn't it?