Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Nov 7, 2007 21:20:34 GMT
Kira had kidnapped Catch-22 from Jude, although she was pretty sure he had no idea about it being missing in the first place. If Kira got her way, she would have it all read by the next time he went to take a dip in the next chapter, and so in effect, the book would never be missed.
The perfect crime.
It was brilliantly cynical, and for that she adored it. Nothing was better than a satirical, historical feast when she felt tired of the world and wanted to remember it was just as crazy then as it was now. Yossarian amused her in particular- possibly more because of the whole running around naked thing than anything else- but that made her sad too. After Snowden died, and Yossarian lost his nerve... it was just sad. Even if the effects were somewhat comical.
It was that funny taste on the tip of your tongue- black humour was never something she was sure whether to laugh at or cry at. Except Kira hated to cry anyway, because it made her feel vulnerable, so she laughed anyway. But still, it was one of those mixed, mashed up plays on emotions. Sort of. Depending on how attatched you were to the characters. Kind of. It depended on a lot of things. Now she was rambling. Ramble, ramble, ramble.
It'd be nice if her thoughts just froze for a second.
Or stopped altogether.
Something about Yossarian's attitude to war made her think about her own. Kira had long since had a long, terrible aching urge to fight her own battles. Orchid had become her own- and she was willing to lay down her life for it. Did that make her crazy? Logic told her yes. Yossarian would tell her yes.
But she didn't care. The crazy stuff made life worth living.
"What are you reading?"
"Catch-22," she replied absently, turning the page. Then paused. Then inhaled. Then... looked up.
And just like that, her thoughts stopped. Just like she'd wondered about. Just like she'd wanted.
A tall-ish boy stood before her, his thumbs hooked in his deep, dark blue jean pockets. A couple of fresh scars littered his face, and his hair was wildly messy- light brown and windswept. His eyes were large; grinning down at her from behind a pair of green irises, and his teeth were gleaming at her mockingly. He seemed to have grown a couple of centimetres- or maybe that was just her imagination? Her imagination had been known to get out of hand before, after all.
Was he real?
"Don't look at me like that," Deron groaned, and Kira felt her jaw snap shut. "God. Are you that upset to see me again?"
"I... didn't... I didn't expect to see you," she mumbled, then felt her skin turn crimson. "Sorry."
"What for?"
Suddenly, Kira felt a lump rising in her throat, and before she was even aware of herself moving, she had thrown herself upwards and her arms around Deron's neck. They swung dangerously, but Deron managed to keep his balance as he supported Kira, who had buried her head into his chest and was now fighting back tears fiercely.
"Kira," Deron said, sounding a little flabberghasted. "Kira. Get off me. Now."
"No."
"Jeez, you're embarrassing," he said sarcastically, then suddenly, his arms were around her just as tightly. He lowered his lips to her ears and muttered, "You know we're getting stared at."
"Screw it."
"Nice language."
"Screw you, Deron." She pulled away from him, looking up angrily. "What the hell where you playing at, leaving me on my own with nothing but a 'see ya'?"
Now he looked just plain dumbfounded. "Sorry?"
She snorted. "Prick."
"Love you, too."
She snorted again, but this time, it was less cutting than she'd been aiming for. In fact, Kira found she wasn't half as mad as she should've been. She was just happy. Happily confused. Had she gone crazy? Was that what was going on?
It was lovely.
"Deron," she said suddenly, blinking as the background behind him came into focus. "You're inside the school. You're in Orchid Hill. You're in the gardens of Orchid Hill."
He grinned. "This place is amazing, Kira. You probably don't appreciate it as much as you should- but God, it's great. Have you ever looked at the architectural detail put into this place? Or the decor- the grandeur? Why the hell are you guys living in luxury, while I'm stuck in a metal hut?!"
Kira stared at him. "How are you here? Parmida swore to kill you if you ever came anywhere near the school grounds again-"
"Look," Deron grinned, tapping a little metal cube attatched to his shirt Kira hadn't seen there before. She stared at it blankly for a few moments.
"What is it?"
"An I.D. chip," he grinned. "Look. It goes haywire if it's anywhere but on my person within the school. It measures all my vitals- knows all my little DNA ins and outs- it's the perfect, handy little guarantee that I- am me."
"But... why?"
Deron's smug grin couldn't have been any wider. "I'm here representing the SCR."
"The what?"
Deron laughed at her. "What do you think was running through my head while we were apart? While I knew there was a battle going on- a battle involving my village, and people I knew, including my cousin- and knowing I couldn't take part?"
Kira went silent. Oh, god. Of course she knew. Of course she did. The memories of that first battle to rescue Macy still stung- and worse still, Madeleine had now banned them all from Battle Training. Kira was slowly, but surely going insane. She couldn't take the total lack of military training. It was strange that she should miss it, but she did.
Yossarian would tell her she was crazy. The thing was, she- unlike him- hadn't yet lost her nerve.
"Yes," she admitted, bowing her head. "Yes. I do."
He nodded, all trace of humour gone. "Hell, right?"
"Hell, yes."
He half-grinned. "So, I got talking to some of my friends, and after the battle was over, we were dealing with casualties left, right and center. Some of your teachers came down to help, of course, but the students were banned from the village. It was chaos. You would've been shot on sight- but we've cleared all those trouble-makers out of the village now. So anyway, I went around, got talking and made some arrangements with Prof. Hoodham himself."
"For the... SCR?"
"Secret Cardsdale Resistance," Deron said proudly, puffing out his chest. "Well, not so secret, people at your school and in Cardsdale will know about it- but secret enough that the enemy won't. Cardsdale has long since been safeguarded by Orchid- but what's the point in that? No, Cardsdale doesn't have to be that anymore. Cardsdale... can be Orchid's ally."
Kira's mouth fell open. "Deron! That's... that's brilliant!"
He laughed at her reaction. "Yeah, I know."
"And you set this up?" she asked him, completely amazed.
"Not on my own," he admitted. "And I'm not the runner of it, or anything. But I am in charge of the sort of Youth section. And I'm working on a number of projects at once. I was thinking about different things- like a Cardsdale teenagers/Orchid Hill students get together. Or we should try and strengthen some of the weaker aspects of our village. I'm gonna be looking for volunteers from your school soon to come down and help out some families and some people who need it. Any defence Cardsdale needs, it's going to be working with Orchid to come up with. And-" he paused, and shot her a knowing wink- "I'll finally be meeting your pretigious Heads."
Kira laughed. "You know?"
"I know," he laughed. "Head of the Spies? Dang, Kira, I knew you were something else... but I never thought you were that much of something else!"
She laughed again. "You have... free access to the school now, then?"
"Well, I have to run it by Parmida and Hoodham first, but yeah, basically," he smiled, and spread his arms wide. "That news worth the long wait to see me?"
Kira smiled. "Yeah. I guess so."
"Guess?"
Kira groaned, then reached up, and kissed him on the lips. "I hate it that you make me feel silly for feeling cheesy."
"We don't need cheese," Deron said. "We're better than that." Suddenly, he leant down, and pulled her towards him, kissing her with a strange, deep passion that she'd never known before.
All at once, an intense excitement gripped Kira, pulling her closer to him. His warmth was overpowering- and her insides were melting. She'd never felt anything like this before. Nothing of this kind of heat. Nothing of this kind of feeling. And Kira was completely caught up in it; made breathless and strangely out of her mind for it.
Crazy.
But a good sort.
The perfect crime.
It was brilliantly cynical, and for that she adored it. Nothing was better than a satirical, historical feast when she felt tired of the world and wanted to remember it was just as crazy then as it was now. Yossarian amused her in particular- possibly more because of the whole running around naked thing than anything else- but that made her sad too. After Snowden died, and Yossarian lost his nerve... it was just sad. Even if the effects were somewhat comical.
It was that funny taste on the tip of your tongue- black humour was never something she was sure whether to laugh at or cry at. Except Kira hated to cry anyway, because it made her feel vulnerable, so she laughed anyway. But still, it was one of those mixed, mashed up plays on emotions. Sort of. Depending on how attatched you were to the characters. Kind of. It depended on a lot of things. Now she was rambling. Ramble, ramble, ramble.
It'd be nice if her thoughts just froze for a second.
Or stopped altogether.
Something about Yossarian's attitude to war made her think about her own. Kira had long since had a long, terrible aching urge to fight her own battles. Orchid had become her own- and she was willing to lay down her life for it. Did that make her crazy? Logic told her yes. Yossarian would tell her yes.
But she didn't care. The crazy stuff made life worth living.
"What are you reading?"
"Catch-22," she replied absently, turning the page. Then paused. Then inhaled. Then... looked up.
And just like that, her thoughts stopped. Just like she'd wondered about. Just like she'd wanted.
A tall-ish boy stood before her, his thumbs hooked in his deep, dark blue jean pockets. A couple of fresh scars littered his face, and his hair was wildly messy- light brown and windswept. His eyes were large; grinning down at her from behind a pair of green irises, and his teeth were gleaming at her mockingly. He seemed to have grown a couple of centimetres- or maybe that was just her imagination? Her imagination had been known to get out of hand before, after all.
Was he real?
"Don't look at me like that," Deron groaned, and Kira felt her jaw snap shut. "God. Are you that upset to see me again?"
"I... didn't... I didn't expect to see you," she mumbled, then felt her skin turn crimson. "Sorry."
"What for?"
Suddenly, Kira felt a lump rising in her throat, and before she was even aware of herself moving, she had thrown herself upwards and her arms around Deron's neck. They swung dangerously, but Deron managed to keep his balance as he supported Kira, who had buried her head into his chest and was now fighting back tears fiercely.
"Kira," Deron said, sounding a little flabberghasted. "Kira. Get off me. Now."
"No."
"Jeez, you're embarrassing," he said sarcastically, then suddenly, his arms were around her just as tightly. He lowered his lips to her ears and muttered, "You know we're getting stared at."
"Screw it."
"Nice language."
"Screw you, Deron." She pulled away from him, looking up angrily. "What the hell where you playing at, leaving me on my own with nothing but a 'see ya'?"
Now he looked just plain dumbfounded. "Sorry?"
She snorted. "Prick."
"Love you, too."
She snorted again, but this time, it was less cutting than she'd been aiming for. In fact, Kira found she wasn't half as mad as she should've been. She was just happy. Happily confused. Had she gone crazy? Was that what was going on?
It was lovely.
"Deron," she said suddenly, blinking as the background behind him came into focus. "You're inside the school. You're in Orchid Hill. You're in the gardens of Orchid Hill."
He grinned. "This place is amazing, Kira. You probably don't appreciate it as much as you should- but God, it's great. Have you ever looked at the architectural detail put into this place? Or the decor- the grandeur? Why the hell are you guys living in luxury, while I'm stuck in a metal hut?!"
Kira stared at him. "How are you here? Parmida swore to kill you if you ever came anywhere near the school grounds again-"
"Look," Deron grinned, tapping a little metal cube attatched to his shirt Kira hadn't seen there before. She stared at it blankly for a few moments.
"What is it?"
"An I.D. chip," he grinned. "Look. It goes haywire if it's anywhere but on my person within the school. It measures all my vitals- knows all my little DNA ins and outs- it's the perfect, handy little guarantee that I- am me."
"But... why?"
Deron's smug grin couldn't have been any wider. "I'm here representing the SCR."
"The what?"
Deron laughed at her. "What do you think was running through my head while we were apart? While I knew there was a battle going on- a battle involving my village, and people I knew, including my cousin- and knowing I couldn't take part?"
Kira went silent. Oh, god. Of course she knew. Of course she did. The memories of that first battle to rescue Macy still stung- and worse still, Madeleine had now banned them all from Battle Training. Kira was slowly, but surely going insane. She couldn't take the total lack of military training. It was strange that she should miss it, but she did.
Yossarian would tell her she was crazy. The thing was, she- unlike him- hadn't yet lost her nerve.
"Yes," she admitted, bowing her head. "Yes. I do."
He nodded, all trace of humour gone. "Hell, right?"
"Hell, yes."
He half-grinned. "So, I got talking to some of my friends, and after the battle was over, we were dealing with casualties left, right and center. Some of your teachers came down to help, of course, but the students were banned from the village. It was chaos. You would've been shot on sight- but we've cleared all those trouble-makers out of the village now. So anyway, I went around, got talking and made some arrangements with Prof. Hoodham himself."
"For the... SCR?"
"Secret Cardsdale Resistance," Deron said proudly, puffing out his chest. "Well, not so secret, people at your school and in Cardsdale will know about it- but secret enough that the enemy won't. Cardsdale has long since been safeguarded by Orchid- but what's the point in that? No, Cardsdale doesn't have to be that anymore. Cardsdale... can be Orchid's ally."
Kira's mouth fell open. "Deron! That's... that's brilliant!"
He laughed at her reaction. "Yeah, I know."
"And you set this up?" she asked him, completely amazed.
"Not on my own," he admitted. "And I'm not the runner of it, or anything. But I am in charge of the sort of Youth section. And I'm working on a number of projects at once. I was thinking about different things- like a Cardsdale teenagers/Orchid Hill students get together. Or we should try and strengthen some of the weaker aspects of our village. I'm gonna be looking for volunteers from your school soon to come down and help out some families and some people who need it. Any defence Cardsdale needs, it's going to be working with Orchid to come up with. And-" he paused, and shot her a knowing wink- "I'll finally be meeting your pretigious Heads."
Kira laughed. "You know?"
"I know," he laughed. "Head of the Spies? Dang, Kira, I knew you were something else... but I never thought you were that much of something else!"
She laughed again. "You have... free access to the school now, then?"
"Well, I have to run it by Parmida and Hoodham first, but yeah, basically," he smiled, and spread his arms wide. "That news worth the long wait to see me?"
Kira smiled. "Yeah. I guess so."
"Guess?"
Kira groaned, then reached up, and kissed him on the lips. "I hate it that you make me feel silly for feeling cheesy."
"We don't need cheese," Deron said. "We're better than that." Suddenly, he leant down, and pulled her towards him, kissing her with a strange, deep passion that she'd never known before.
All at once, an intense excitement gripped Kira, pulling her closer to him. His warmth was overpowering- and her insides were melting. She'd never felt anything like this before. Nothing of this kind of heat. Nothing of this kind of feeling. And Kira was completely caught up in it; made breathless and strangely out of her mind for it.
Crazy.
But a good sort.
