two | video ( open to both courts )

[allures]

[the locket is being carried, facing outwards, around the castle of caer scima. the feed isn't too bumpy, but it does sway a bit, jerking around every so often as effy avoids tripping over rocks or branches. she's fairly far away from the castle, but that doesn't seem to bother her. every so often she stops, marking a tree with a sharp rock, to be sure she knows her way back.]

Okay.

[she stops momentarily to adjust the locket, turning it around so it shows her face. with her free hand, she tucks the rock away in her pocket and holds up one blue feather, twisting it around quickly between her fingertips.]

It really isn't too hard to find these, is it? They're everywhere.

[fortunately, for her, she doesn't seem to be feeling (or experiencing) the effects of the feathers just yet. she's found two already, within the past hour and a half or so. the effort isn't exhausting, so she's enjoying it. it's like an easter egg hunt. she's only doing it for the sake of figuring out boons, though.]

If anyone wants to come looking, text me.

[or they can follow the marked trees outside of the castle. they're pretty in-your-face.]

Oh, and if anyone's by the station, I'd like a few smokes. Thanks.

[and with that, the locket is closed, ending the feed.]

( ooc: feel free to find her wandering about looking for feathers around caer scima! or, alternatively, find her on her way back. whatever works for you :) )

Comments

text;

[greenies]

[ effy you shouldn't be wandering around alone it's dangerous. D:

...plus thomas really kind of enjoys your company. so: ]

It's Thomas
Mind if I join you?

text;

[allures]

[if anything tries to hurt her she'll smash them over the head with a rock ok thomas she's fine gosh]

sure
follow the marks on the trees, they start by the castle

text;

[greenies]

Breadcrumbs. Got it.

[ he is too familiar with that! in fact, he even smiles a little at it, because he and minho used to always do something similar in the maze. mark your path, lay your breadcrumbs, so you'll never get lost.

from where team thomas, minho and teresa have settled a little ways outside of caer scima, it's not too hard to find the forest. the former runner jogs through the trees, tracing marks with his fingers, before he calls out-- ]

Effy? [ --upon seeing her hair. (it's not teresa, it's not.) still, he can't help the dumb swoosh his heart makes at the sight, anyway, and thomas slows down easily, leaving plenty of distance between them. he doesn't doubt effy wouldn't beat somebody up and that definitely includes himself. ]

[allures]

[effy is picking away at a nearby tree with her rock when thomas calls to her. she turns around, tucking the rock away as she does. she wishes she had a cigarette, but she doesn't, so she lets her arms stay at her sides instead. she's so used to holding something between her fingers; it's strange how something that was once a comfort is gone, unattainable unless she travels.

or has someone get what she needs for her.]

Thomas.

[she's -- relieved? something close to happiness floods her, but she pushes it away. it's just nice to have someone she knows come along with her, that's all.]

Ready?

[greenies]

Ready. [ thomas nods his head, and a faint smile crosses his face; he rests his thumbs in the front of his harness and walks up to meet her easily, nice and relaxed--a rare sight for the wild thomas, but. he likes effy. he likes talking to her, enjoys the stark difference between her and teresa (and thank god for it, seriously; thomas wouldn't be able to handle it if they were exactly the same.) ]

Your marks were easy to follow. [ smart, he wants to say, because it was, it really was. ] We used to do it a lot in the maze.

[ without much explanation of what that was, but that's okay, thomas walks forward, waiting for effy to lead the way and matching her pace easily. ] So how many of these are we trying to collect? I won't intrude on your stash any. [ was that a joke. thomas edison did you make a joke. ]

[allures]

[effy gives him a funny look, because she doesn't know what type of 'maze' he's talking about. something dangerous-- she recalls teresa mentioning it once. a near-apocalyptic world, as far as effy is concerned.]

As many as we can. It's a funny Easter egg hunt.

[she walks, almost lazily, looking straight ahead. she found the other feathers by pure luck. one here, one there. she has no idea where to start or where it ends, they just pop up.]

Wouldn't let you have them, anyway. [but she gives him a smile out of the corner of her eyes, not quite looking at him.] Have you found any?

[greenies]

Just one. [ thomas shifts around for a minute, reaching back into the back of his harness and opening the small bag attached to the leather--he pulls out a blue feather, twirling it between his fingers, and shows it to her. ] There was a bird squawking at me when I woke up, and when I tried to shoo it off, it divebombed me.

[ thomas mostly sounds pathetic when he says that, and he winces, mentally, because way to go, tommy. ] But when it was gone I found a feather. The guy at the palace said they were magical, or something.

[ he's a little skeptical of magic, even after being here for a month...oops. ]

[allures]

Because you weren't listening.

[she eyes the feather, nodding. they're all the same color. she pauses on the path, rustling through a few bushes and picking off some leaves before letting them fall to the ground.]

Don't believe them?

backtags lovingly

[greenies]

Apparently not. [ thomas tucks the feather back into the little bag, careful with it--you never know. ]

...Sort of, I don't know. [ he follows after effy for a moment, looking up over her head and down at the ground, watching for more of the little blue feathers, though his tone's mostly conversational. ] There was never anything like this where I'm from. Anything that might have been "magic" was just science.

ayyyy

[allures]

Science isn't magic.

[not even close, as far as she's concerned. she was like him, too, when she first arrived. didn't believe a thing until it was all too real to deny anymore. she had to accept it. or, make herself believe she accepted it. there isn't really any other answer to run to.]

It's true. This is real.

[greenies]

No, it's not. [ he agrees plaintively with that one. nothing WICKED ever did was magic. (if they had magic, maybe they would have been able to cure newt.)

he sighs, threading his fingers back through his harness, and doesn't make eye contact--it's story time. ] I used to be able to communicate with certain people mentally. I thought it might have been a magic power, but it turned out to be a chip in my brain.

[ and then, without speaking: ] Last month, they gave it back to me, no chip required.

I guess it's just taking some getting used to. [ thomas smiles awkwardly and returns to speaking out loud. ]

[allures]

[effy startles, eyes widening in half alarm, half fascination. her mouth falls open and she screams, a short-lasting high noise. hearing voices is never a good thing, but hearing thomas' voice is a completely different matter. this was telepathy, and it scares her a moment.]

Oh my god, Thomas.

[she claps twice for him,]

That's crazy. [a good type of crazy.]

[greenies]

[ he can't help it--a laugh gets startled out of him, a real, genuine laugh, and thomas rubs at his cheek a little bit, smiling. ]

Yeah. I guess it is, huh? [ it was crazy when he first found out, crazy when it came back here, too. ] I used to only be able to talk to one--two people. Now I can use it on almost anyone, as long as I'm sort of friendly with them.

[ translation: thomas considers effy his friend. his cheeks flush a little and he tries to tamp down on his smile a bit. ] So it's just...magic, instead of brain surgery. It's kind of a nice change.

[allures]

Friendly?

[effy slows her step, head canting to look at thomas. of course she's going to focus on what makes him nervous.]

Why?

[greenies]

[ thomas literally blushes straight to his ears, instantly flustered. awkward savior of the free world, thy name is thomas edison. ]

I--I mean. I wouldn't be able to...talk to you like that if we weren't friends. So... [ he finishes super lamely and scratches the back of his head. ]

[allures]

[she understands, and it shows her her face. she nods, brow quirking up just slightly in interest. she considered him something like an acquaintance; a friendly boy who liked to be around her, but not a friend. not yet.

besides, she doesn't do friendship and boys, not unless pandora is involved.

but she doesn't say that. instead, she smiles,]

Right. We'll just have to [she pauses, letting her words trail off] get to know each other.

[greenies]

[ why is that embarrassing, it's really embarrassing. maybe it's effy's tone. or how she looks. or--whatever it is, it reminds him of brenda and teresa at the same time and that is A Lot for our intrepid hero.

clearing his throat, he nods his head, a little, awkward smile on his face, cheeks still pink. ] I guess so.

[ see look he can be funny. thomas would like to get the subject off of himself immediately now please and thank you. ] So--feathers?

[allures]

Yes. Feathers.

[there is a coyness in her smile that seeps into her eyes, and she is already on her way again. it's a mission, really, and she's determined to figure out where more feathers are. if she can't find any more, she's going to be deeply disappointed.]

Keep your eye out. They're tricky.

[greenies]

Tricky how? [ it feels like everything in this place is tricky, though thomas doesn't say that out loud. he's kind of busy trying to hide the dumb look on his face when she smiles at him like that.

girls, man.

hooking his hands easily into his harness, thomas keeps up with her, sharp eyes scanning the landscape for any of the dark feathers. ] Magically, right?

[allures]

Yes, Thomo. Magic.

[hope you like your new nickname, thomas. she keeps a few steps ahead of him, and with one last look over her shoulder, she wanders into the brush, off the path. she's not too worried about bugs, or the like, because really, she doesn't care. she needs the feathers more than she needs to worry about strange bug bites.

she reaches into small piles of leaves and bushes without hesitation, searching endlessly.]

[greenies]

Great. [ the nickname makes his nose wrinkle, but thomas lets it go--in the glade, it felt like no one actually called him "thomas", anyway. (it's a fond memory of his other best friend, really, of teresa calling him tom.) he doesn't mind, and so he doesn't fight it at all.

instead, he follows effy through the brush easily, looking up and away from her looking through the leaves. there's a feather stuck in a branch, high above their heads--thomas, still looking up, gestures at it with his head. ] Effy, look. Found one.

[allures]

[effy looks up, brows furrowing at the feather.

well how the fuck are they supposed to get that. she looks at thomas, frowning.]

Can you climb?