Post by Jude Dorrian on Dec 16, 2007 11:38:23 GMT
"Dakota and Jude," Tameron smiled at them both. "You're like a couple of walking songs."
"I like Jaden better," Dakota decided, looking at Jude.
He rolled his eyes. "I don't. Jude, please."
"And don't y'all call me Mary, either," Dakota shuddered slightly. "Hate it. Everyone calls me Dakota."
Jude smiled. "I know."
"I just can't believe you never introduced us," hissed Tameron, elbowing Jude painfully. "Why not?"
"He was hardly gonna' bring y'all along!" Dakota cried, giggling at Jude.
"Why not?"
Dakota frowned, the giggles falling flat, and arched an eyebrow at Jude. He didn't respond; just stared stonily forward into his porridge. Porridge was disgusting, by the way. But he could never ever get his hands on the Cornflakes. They were always swamped within seconds, leaving him, and his unfortunate breakfast buddies to gorge themselves on paste-like porridge instead.
Oh, the glory of oats.
He was interrupted from his thought trek by yet another painful elbow digging into his ribs.
"You're ghay, you are."
"I love you too, Tammy."
"Oh calm down, I don't mean that gay," Tameron sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes to the heavens. "Stupid ghay. With an 'h'."
"I know."
"Really?"
"No."
"Well, I woulda loved to meet your sister before now," Dakota butted in quickly. "You seem real nice."
"I am real nice," Tameron twisted around in her seat again, grinning at Dakota toothily at the compliment. "More than he can say."
"Your brother's a darling," Dakota grinned. "A real Southern gentleman if I ever saw one."
Tameron's eyebrows rose comically, and her sharp tongue seemed to flicker slightly, as it there was a juicy question just sitting at the very tip of it that she longed to spit out. But, by the way Jude was still poking at his porridge, she took the hint, and swallowed it back.
"Y'all will tell me one day, won't you?"
"I'm happy to tell anyone anything," Dakota cut in again. "Honestly! You can ask me whatever you want! That is-" she glanced at Jude- "with your brother's permission."
Jude's head jerked slightly, and Dakota took that to be her blessing.
"Okay," she smiled, looking at Tameron. "Hit me."
Time to vomit that question right back up...
"When did you and Jude meet?"
"I was... oof. 9 or so. Jude was 10."
"Why do y'all call him Jaden?"
"Because that's how he introduced himself to me," Dakota shrugged. "As Jaden. This whole 'Jude' thing is a complete shock."
"But y'all had a fake name too!"
"No, Jay- sorry, Jude- always knew that I was called Mary. He just called me Dakota for my benefit."
"What benefit?"
"Because people I hated called me Mary, and so I hated Mary."
"Who?"
"A guy called Caleb Hoole, and some of his gang."
"Which is the right name?"
"Probably neither. Maybe I never had a name. I ain't sure."
"Who was Caleb Hoole?"
"Okay," Jude interrupted, pushing his plate of porridge away from him. "I ain't eating that."
The girls ignored him, each leaning towards each other over the table. Tameron's eyes were hungrily fixed on Dakota, and Jude knew what she was thinking. Finally- a girl who was prepared to give her answers that Jude had avoided all his life. Finally- someone willing to tell her the truth about what Jude got up to everyday when he left the Dorrian household.
"Caleb Hoole was an awful, awful man," Dakota said softly, and smooth, clear whisper that Jude only managed to catch because of his hypersensitive hearing and proximity. "He was... I dunno. In his forties or fifties, at least, and he made a trade out of selling magic folk- or more, their magic."
Tameron's eyes were like coins; big, black coins just sparkling with curiosity. "How d'you do that?"
"Think of it like a drug," Dakota said, a little breathlessly. "Once a non-magic person has got the taste for it... well, it's hard to come off it. Us? We're just chock full of this magic stuff; all these chemicals-"
Jude's feet started tapping the floor in an agitated, nervous rhythm. His fingers drummed over the table like it was a piano, and from the looks he was getting, he was apparently making a bit of a spectacle of himself. Pressing his lips together, he forced his digits in submission, curling his hands into stiff fists and straightening his legs into marble.
Dakota caught herself, glancing at him. Tameron rolled her eyes, and shoved Dakota's shoulder.
"Please?"
Dakota brushed her off. She only had eyes for Jude. "You sure y'all are okay?"
"I'm fine."
She didn't believe him, but she let it go, looking back at an impatient Tameron. "Right... so anyway, all these chemicals inside of us- that's magic. Well, that's just the slang term. Don't ask me what it's really called. But anyway- this 'magic' runs in our DNA, directly in-coded into our genetic structure. Depending on the individual, the magic reacts in different ways, and that's why peoples' powers are so diverse. If this sort of stuff got into a non-magic person... it could easily kill them, 'cause their bodies just ain't adapted to it. However, if taken in controlled amounts, their body can adjust and they can experience what it would be like to have powers for up to... oh, I dunno... ten minutes? More?"
"Twelve," Jude muttered, surprised to find his teeth were gritted. A familiar chill was running up and down his skin, making the hairs shiver upright.
"Kills 'em all in the end, though," Dakota said softly, again glancing at Jude. "Eventually, their bodies just can't take the strain of the magic, and it gets at them, and eats at them, and weakens them. But most people can never get off it, even though they know it's killing them. Magic's a hell of a lot more addictive than nicotine."
"And how... how do you get the magic?" Tameron looked surprised too. Her voice was low and awed, and she kept looking at Jude- not in concern- but in curiosity again. Whatever was on Jude's face now, he couldn't help it. All those faces... all those Hoole kids were spinning round his head; haggard, pale and screaming for help.
He'd been so goddam lucky...
"Tameron, leave it for now, okay?" Dakota leaned backwards, tugging her sleeves slightly.
No, it wasn't okay. Tameron was on the verge of something big, she knew it, and she was mad as hell about it. Jude for one, was surprisingly relieved, and grateful to Dakota for stopping where she did.
"I still think we gotta give you a tour of the school, Dakota," Jude said, straightening up.
"No, I'll do it," Tameron said, jumping up.
Dakota bit her lip. "Look, Tameron, maybe I shouldn't have said-"
"Oh, give over, I'm not that bad," Tameron growled, then looked meaningfully at Jude. "Over there."
"What?" he was beginning to clear up their plates.
"Jude!"
"What?" he repeated, looking at her properly.
She just pointed. "It's Lee."
"I like Jaden better," Dakota decided, looking at Jude.
He rolled his eyes. "I don't. Jude, please."
"And don't y'all call me Mary, either," Dakota shuddered slightly. "Hate it. Everyone calls me Dakota."
Jude smiled. "I know."
"I just can't believe you never introduced us," hissed Tameron, elbowing Jude painfully. "Why not?"
"He was hardly gonna' bring y'all along!" Dakota cried, giggling at Jude.
"Why not?"
Dakota frowned, the giggles falling flat, and arched an eyebrow at Jude. He didn't respond; just stared stonily forward into his porridge. Porridge was disgusting, by the way. But he could never ever get his hands on the Cornflakes. They were always swamped within seconds, leaving him, and his unfortunate breakfast buddies to gorge themselves on paste-like porridge instead.
Oh, the glory of oats.
He was interrupted from his thought trek by yet another painful elbow digging into his ribs.
"You're ghay, you are."
"I love you too, Tammy."
"Oh calm down, I don't mean that gay," Tameron sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes to the heavens. "Stupid ghay. With an 'h'."
"I know."
"Really?"
"No."
"Well, I woulda loved to meet your sister before now," Dakota butted in quickly. "You seem real nice."
"I am real nice," Tameron twisted around in her seat again, grinning at Dakota toothily at the compliment. "More than he can say."
"Your brother's a darling," Dakota grinned. "A real Southern gentleman if I ever saw one."
Tameron's eyebrows rose comically, and her sharp tongue seemed to flicker slightly, as it there was a juicy question just sitting at the very tip of it that she longed to spit out. But, by the way Jude was still poking at his porridge, she took the hint, and swallowed it back.
"Y'all will tell me one day, won't you?"
"I'm happy to tell anyone anything," Dakota cut in again. "Honestly! You can ask me whatever you want! That is-" she glanced at Jude- "with your brother's permission."
Jude's head jerked slightly, and Dakota took that to be her blessing.
"Okay," she smiled, looking at Tameron. "Hit me."
Time to vomit that question right back up...
"When did you and Jude meet?"
"I was... oof. 9 or so. Jude was 10."
"Why do y'all call him Jaden?"
"Because that's how he introduced himself to me," Dakota shrugged. "As Jaden. This whole 'Jude' thing is a complete shock."
"But y'all had a fake name too!"
"No, Jay- sorry, Jude- always knew that I was called Mary. He just called me Dakota for my benefit."
"What benefit?"
"Because people I hated called me Mary, and so I hated Mary."
"Who?"
"A guy called Caleb Hoole, and some of his gang."
"Which is the right name?"
"Probably neither. Maybe I never had a name. I ain't sure."
"Who was Caleb Hoole?"
"Okay," Jude interrupted, pushing his plate of porridge away from him. "I ain't eating that."
The girls ignored him, each leaning towards each other over the table. Tameron's eyes were hungrily fixed on Dakota, and Jude knew what she was thinking. Finally- a girl who was prepared to give her answers that Jude had avoided all his life. Finally- someone willing to tell her the truth about what Jude got up to everyday when he left the Dorrian household.
"Caleb Hoole was an awful, awful man," Dakota said softly, and smooth, clear whisper that Jude only managed to catch because of his hypersensitive hearing and proximity. "He was... I dunno. In his forties or fifties, at least, and he made a trade out of selling magic folk- or more, their magic."
Tameron's eyes were like coins; big, black coins just sparkling with curiosity. "How d'you do that?"
"Think of it like a drug," Dakota said, a little breathlessly. "Once a non-magic person has got the taste for it... well, it's hard to come off it. Us? We're just chock full of this magic stuff; all these chemicals-"
Jude's feet started tapping the floor in an agitated, nervous rhythm. His fingers drummed over the table like it was a piano, and from the looks he was getting, he was apparently making a bit of a spectacle of himself. Pressing his lips together, he forced his digits in submission, curling his hands into stiff fists and straightening his legs into marble.
Dakota caught herself, glancing at him. Tameron rolled her eyes, and shoved Dakota's shoulder.
"Please?"
Dakota brushed her off. She only had eyes for Jude. "You sure y'all are okay?"
"I'm fine."
She didn't believe him, but she let it go, looking back at an impatient Tameron. "Right... so anyway, all these chemicals inside of us- that's magic. Well, that's just the slang term. Don't ask me what it's really called. But anyway- this 'magic' runs in our DNA, directly in-coded into our genetic structure. Depending on the individual, the magic reacts in different ways, and that's why peoples' powers are so diverse. If this sort of stuff got into a non-magic person... it could easily kill them, 'cause their bodies just ain't adapted to it. However, if taken in controlled amounts, their body can adjust and they can experience what it would be like to have powers for up to... oh, I dunno... ten minutes? More?"
"Twelve," Jude muttered, surprised to find his teeth were gritted. A familiar chill was running up and down his skin, making the hairs shiver upright.
"Kills 'em all in the end, though," Dakota said softly, again glancing at Jude. "Eventually, their bodies just can't take the strain of the magic, and it gets at them, and eats at them, and weakens them. But most people can never get off it, even though they know it's killing them. Magic's a hell of a lot more addictive than nicotine."
"And how... how do you get the magic?" Tameron looked surprised too. Her voice was low and awed, and she kept looking at Jude- not in concern- but in curiosity again. Whatever was on Jude's face now, he couldn't help it. All those faces... all those Hoole kids were spinning round his head; haggard, pale and screaming for help.
He'd been so goddam lucky...
"Tameron, leave it for now, okay?" Dakota leaned backwards, tugging her sleeves slightly.
No, it wasn't okay. Tameron was on the verge of something big, she knew it, and she was mad as hell about it. Jude for one, was surprisingly relieved, and grateful to Dakota for stopping where she did.
"I still think we gotta give you a tour of the school, Dakota," Jude said, straightening up.
"No, I'll do it," Tameron said, jumping up.
Dakota bit her lip. "Look, Tameron, maybe I shouldn't have said-"
"Oh, give over, I'm not that bad," Tameron growled, then looked meaningfully at Jude. "Over there."
"What?" he was beginning to clear up their plates.
"Jude!"
"What?" he repeated, looking at her properly.
She just pointed. "It's Lee."
