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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Mar 30, 2008 21:18:31 GMT
For some reason, Russ was scowling. "No, it's not alright-" Madeleine's eyes turned to him, flasing like knives. "Russ," she snapped. "I think you've said enough." Jack hadn't forgiven her fully - she knew that. And she hated it - not because she thought that he should have; after all, Madeleine was the one who was in the wrong. And she hated that, too. It was all part of not wanting to screw up. Not to make mistakes. But she just kept making them. And right now, she didn't want to deal with Russ. "You can't speak to me like that," he snarled, eyes darkening. "Yes, Russ, I can," she growled. "And I don't want to do it again, so just stop." For a moment, it looked like he would fire up at her. And maybe she wanted to. Maybe Madeleine wanted an argument, something to get mad at. But not now. And thankfully, Russ backed down, and stayed silent, turning his eyes to a pretty girl by the fireplace. Madeleine glanced up at Jack again. "But he's right, for possibly the first time in his life." That got a smirk from Russ, which she ignored. "It's not okay. For a few months now, since Marius found out, there's been no reason not to tell you guys. And I... I am sorry." She had to break off at that point, because she couldn't get any more words out without babbling. So she just stayed silent and rested her head on Lee's shoulder.
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Apr 9, 2008 19:20:25 GMT
Already, Lee had the feeling he didn't like Russ. As Madeleine's head moved, Lee's own turned, and he kissed her gently on the head; a hushed whisper coming from his lips, one so soft he doubted anyone (even Jude) other than Madeleine heard it. "You're already forgiven." Straightening up slightly, he tilted his head as he looked up at Russ. He'd asked enough questions. It was Lee's turn. "What made you come and join Orchid Hill, then?" he asked him. He knew, from Maddie, just how hard the gypsy lifestyle was to get out of. Madeleine came here for a reason- for Shaun- but what reason would Russ have for leaving something that he was so obviously proud of?
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 9, 2008 19:40:18 GMT
A very good question. Lee's whisper, as soft as it had been, had comforted her beyond reason. Squeezing his hand gratefully, she glanced back up at Russ, who was shaking his dark head slightly. "Honestly?" he asked, a slighty sheepish expression on his face. "Honestly," Madeleine commanded. "You're well-known for that, after all." He glanced down at her (he was still standing), with a small grimace. "All right then. Honestly, my mum got sick of me and made me come here as a mixture of relief and punishment." Madeleine shook her head. "What did you do this time?" After all, Russ had done lots of things that annoyed/upset his mother. Imogen frequently threatened to ship him off somewhere, but after Oliver's leaving, that would leave her on her own - somewhere she didn't want to be. Besides, Russ had never backed down on refusing to go before. "Couple of fights," he muttered darkly. Madeleine raised an eyebrow, and it didn't go unnoticed. He scowled. "Alright then, more than a couple. But I agreed to go for a couple of reasons... family ties-" Madeleine grimaced at that point "- and I have my own reason for getting back at Marius." Oliver and Shaun stood between them, silent holograms. Madeleine shivered slighty, but Russ was looking at the others. "So, why did you come to Orchid?"
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Apr 13, 2008 9:58:30 GMT
... ah. Yes, well. He probably should've seen that one coming. The silent reprimand from Kira was only one vicious look; if Lee had blinked, he would've missed it. But Lee knew exactly what that hard glint in her eyes was telling him. Russ may be brutally honest; but the fact was, most people were a lot less so. Madeleine had just proved that point, hadn't she? And Orchid Hill... Well, they were alright. After all, there was a default answer. "Because it was a good school." Her face was an even smile again. "A great one." "Y'all don't get opportunities like this at other magic schools." "Exactly," his own voice chimed in last. "That's exactly right."
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 13, 2008 10:37:03 GMT
Russ's smirk was broad now, eyes glinting with humour. "I agree. You don't get opportunities like this. Where else do they train you to fight for the cause at-" Madeleine closed her eyes. "If you don't agree with it, Russ, you can keep your opinions to yourself, at least while you're here." Russ grinned. "No such thing as free will anymore?" Madeleine rolled her eyes. "You're an ass." He laughed. "Yes, m'am, boss." "Call me 'm'am, boss' again and-" "Would you prefer Cap'n? Commander?" She had to smile. "Get out." Russ casually leaned back against the fireplace. "Real tyrant, this one. What's she like as a Head?"
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Post by Jude Dorrian on Apr 13, 2008 10:49:34 GMT
"Well, hell, she let me call her ma'am," Jude couldn't help but smirk at Maddox. "Am I really that charismatic?" Kira rolled her eyes at him. "Not quite charismatic enough to get us onto the field." "Oh, sure," Jude nodded, looking up at Russ. Something told him that in Maddox's dear friend he'd find an ally. "I'm a Spy, as is Kira and Lee. According to Maddox over there, we're allowed to Train, but not to fight- well, we were," he pulled a slight face, "I... er... happened to get us all kicked out of Training when we sneaked onto the front line." "Isn't she lovely?" Kira's tone was slightly more vicious than his own.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 13, 2008 11:01:52 GMT
"Your own bloody fault," Madeleine muttered. Russ's eyebrows had been climbing steadily higher the whole time Jude had been speaking, and now he was turning to Madeleine with a look that was a mixture of incredulity and disgust. "Is that really your call?" Madeleine shot a look at Jude. "Well, that story wasn't exactly true." "Enlighten me, then." "Well, they were allowed to fight, but I wouldn't let them into the front line for a number of reasons-" "'Number of reasons?' Jesus, Madel, where'd that way of speaking come from?" She glared at him. "They'd only been in training for five weeks, they weren't prepared; they're not Warriors, Jude's younger sister was too young - I don't allow anyone under thirteen to fight, and I wasn't going to put them in any more danger than they needed to be in. They were lucky they were allowed in at all." Russ rolled his eyes. "It's not your call to say who is and isn't allowed to fight-" "Actually, Russ, I think you'll find that it is." His eyes fired up. "If they want to fight, you should let them fight!" Madeleine sat forward in her seat, rage bubbling in her blood."I was-" "Defence line? Sure, Madeleine, sure. That's letting them-" "You weren't in my place; don't judge." "If you can order, I can judge. Just because you have some authority doesn't mean you're better than any-" "I didn't say that!" "You're ordering-" "Oh, go to hell, Russ," she said darkly, outraged. There was a pause, in which Russ glared at her just as darkly, the determined, irritated glint in his eyes identical to hers. He broke the pause with a gruff "I can't smoke in here, can I?" "No," Madeleine said, slightly tersely. "You have to go outside." Russ sighed. "d**nit."
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Apr 17, 2008 15:59:15 GMT
"Actually..." Kira smirked slightly up at Russ as she spoke. "Pupils aren't allowed to smoke; full stop- especially if they're Warriors." "Full stop, full stop," Jude mused. "Why not just say period? Y'all are freaks." "Same to y'all," Kira retorted, and with one giggle the conversation was suddenly back into full swing; and Lee, Maddie and Russ were just bystanders. Lee smiled weakly at Russ, already eager for him to leave. "Go on outside, and just make sure you don't get caught. A detention on your first day wouldn't make the greatest of impressions."
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 17, 2008 16:22:39 GMT
As Kira had told Russ that he couldn't smoke, Madeleine could hear the muttered curse coming from him, before he tuned out of Kira, Jude and Jack's conversation, and turned to Madeine incredulously after Lee spoke to him. "You're kidding; I can't smoke?" "You can get away with it today," Madeleine told him. "You're not officially here yet. After tomorrow, though, I'm going to have to enforce the rules. I told you why you're not smoking earlier." Her tone was final, stern, stating 'no questions'; but Russ shrugged it off. "So if I smoke, you're going to send me to Hoodham?" "I can punish you first; it's only if it recurs." He snorted. "Like you'd dare, cuz." Madeleine slumped back on the chair, silently cursing Russ inside her head. He'd said he wouldn't tell... Lying.... Still, there was a comfort in that the others were engrossed in conversation; they wouldn't hear. Lee, however, had definitely heard; she could tell that from his face... "I thought you were going to let me break that particular news in my own way." He didn't even look apologetic. "Whoops." Madeleine scowled. "Just get out and smoke." "Yes, m'am," he said cheekily, before lazily strolling out of the room, once again attracting all female eyes to him, even smiling at one girl on his way out the door. Madeleine glanced at Lee, biting on her lip.
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Apr 17, 2008 16:28:25 GMT
... 'cuz'? Lee stared after Russ for a few seconds, before his eyes flickered to Maddie in confusion. 'Cuz'- what the hell? He didn't mean... no. Of course not. That was crazy. It must just be some weird... childhood nickname, or something. The other option was out of it. It must be. ... right? "Er, Maddie?" he said finally, "did he mean... are you... cousins?" "Is who cousins?" Jack turned around curiously. "You and Kira? Yes, mate, well done." "No," Lee shook his head. "No, I mean... Maddie and Russ." Jack's eyebrows shot up as he surveyed her. "Are you?"
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 17, 2008 17:07:53 GMT
Madeleine winced at that. "Em... yep," she replied, slightly painfully. "Russ is my... dear cousin..." Ha! "And as you might have already guessed from his little comment at the start of this conversation, he's also my ex-boyfriend." God, those sentences sounded so wrong when they followed straight after each other. "And before you judge, Russ and I didn't meet until we were twelve, and I didn't learn that he was my cousin until after we started dating. To cut around a complicated family history, my dad hasn't been in contact with his brother for ... seventeen years, so obviously I didn't know Russ was his son." Her parents had known, but they'd never seemed to find it important that she know about a cousin - the only first cousin she had, seeing as her mum was an only child. But then again, their whole family history was so d**n complicated, it probably was forgivable. And Madeleine had the suspicion that her mum was never able fully to accept that her brother-in-law was a conman... Then again, could she blame her?
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Apr 17, 2008 21:02:07 GMT
Well, it was unexpected. He was surprised, but, quickly, he reminded himself that it was pointless to be surprised. After all, gypsies lived a different sort of lifestyle. It was perfectly acceptable, wasn't it? And... and what with monarchs like King Henry VIII and states like Alabama... well, nobody could really say what went and what didn't. In fact, Lee was on the brink of laughing it off with a, "What's the big deal?" when Jack said the worst thing he possibly could've given the situation. "Ew... Lee, that's like you and Kira!" ... oh god.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 18, 2008 15:14:56 GMT
"Ew... Lee, that's like you and Kira!" Madeleine immediately swung a well-practiced foot out at Jack's leg, well aware that after her secrecy, she wasn't exactly entitled to kick him... But that needed punished. Madeleine had never, ever thought of it like that. Alright, she kept it quiet because she knew how other people would take it, but to compare her and Russ to Lee and Kira... that was disgusting. "It definitely isn't like that," Madeleine said, resisting the temptation to sink further down in her seat. "No, no... just... no. We didn't meet until we were twelve, and we've never been close as cous... as cousins, it's not like that at all."
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Post by Jack Trove on Apr 18, 2008 16:10:53 GMT
It was exactly like that, even if she didn't want to admit it. Rubbing his now bruised thigh, but retaining his smirk, Jack gave Lee a wink. "Sorry, mate," he said, clapping him on the shoulder, "probably should not have gone dare." Lee nodded weakly, his expression a complete blank. "And Madeleine," Jack directed his smirk towards her. "I may just have apologized if you hadn't have kicked me. Thanks for the bruise." Kira, too, hadn't escaped the trauma of the moment. Her expression was a complete mirror of Lee's, and as one met the other's eyes, the simultaneous shudder made them look more like brother and sister than Jack could ever have imagined possible.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 19, 2008 11:25:32 GMT
Madeleine scowled at him. "Would you believe, I'm not sorry for that in the slightest." She glanced over at Kira and Lee, and had to suppress her shiver as the irrepressable image came into her head. She could honestly say that she had never hated Jack so much. There was a silence. An awkward silence. Awkward turtle, swim, swim... She smiled slightly, shaking the notion out of her head. "If I go now, can I trust that there'll be no wisecracks behind my back?"
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