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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 18, 2008 18:48:47 GMT -5
Jack?
Jack clutched his heart. A one-syllable curse passed through grit teeth and he rolled his eyes. Sometimes the whole 'instant-communication' thing really wasn't worth it. Hearing Vince's voice in your head without warning was a less than pleasant experience.
What? he said moodily.
His grumbling tone was wasted on Vince. We just had a missing persons report come in, and I thought you would be interested. Vince hadn't gotten to know Camilla well during the War, merely acknowledged her use. His voice took on an amused edge. Your.... fairy godmother, I believe.
Jack straightened. Camilla? He considered this for a moment. He remembered her keeping more to herself, very independent. Are you sure? Maybe she's just...
One of her co-workers at the hospital said she missed over three shifts, and apparently, Camilla took her responsibilities at the hospital very seriously.
.....do you have any leads?
Vince paused, and Jack could imagine him frowning in displeasure. Not.... technically. No one knew anything about her plans or even where she lived. I was forced to.... call Johnny. He says he can remember the scent of every woman he ever made out with.
He kissed Camilla?!
This surprises you.
Er. I guess not, no.
I just thought you'd care to know she was missing.
I'm coming, he thought resolutely. Tell me when you get a lead, or get a mark on her location.
A new voice entered their conversation. Sink me, it looks like she walked through the Endless Wastes.
Vince and Jack paused. On foot? they asked in unison.
I'd have lost the scent if she didn't.
Vince sighed and Jack added, I'll be there in a minute.
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Post by Jules on Aug 18, 2008 18:58:24 GMT -5
It had been a week and Camilla didn't look too good. She hadn't had the heart to deny herself the food offered, even though it would've made a nice way to get her message across. But she wasn't exactly happy about being kept in a basement (she'd split three more knuckles). There was a fading bruise on her cheek from where Diaspro had slapped her, but at least the stone woman had pretty much ignored her existence ever since.
She was sitting at the table, finishing up lunch, swishing the food she was too full to eat uselessly around her plate. How'd she always get into this messes?
It was then, as if someone was finally answering her wish that she felt him approach. The lack of a wand didn't impair her sense for her Wards, present or past. Which meant she also picked up on Jasper somewhere upstairs. She sighed. Camilla didn't really want him in the Rissa, even if it meant helping free that horrendous woman as well.
Camilla stood with a well-suffered sigh and trudged up the stairs, knocking on her side of the door gently, hoping Jasper would be the one to answer.
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 18, 2008 19:05:31 GMT -5
Absorbed in a well-worn copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, Jasper barely heard the knock. His brow furrowed and he glanced up from his book. The knock came again, gently, which was a bit surprising. He swung his feet off the table and set the book down marking his place, face-down.
He opened the door, but kept himself defensive, in case she tried to run for it.
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Post by Jules on Aug 18, 2008 19:12:11 GMT -5
No point in running for it now, she'd won, she was being rescued. "Look, someone actually noticed I was missing. They're coming." She didn't need to mention who, since it'd probably piss him off even more. "I-I don't want you to end up in the Rissa, so go, please?" She looked up at him from maybe the third step down (she hadn't wanted him to think she was going to try and barrel past him).
Camilla couldn't not smile, she was getting out! But she was also worried. Would Jasper believe her? Would he be able to convince the others? Not that she really cared about them, so long as he left. But she had the sense that he wasn't going to run without his partners.
"You don't have that much time, maybe about three, four hours? I can't be sure, it's been a while since I've been the rescuer's Godmother."
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 18, 2008 19:18:26 GMT -5
He narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know?" he asked. As far as he knew, she hadn't left the basement. "And why should I believe you?"
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Post by Jules on Aug 18, 2008 19:27:01 GMT -5
Camilla sighed, "How do you think I found this place? I can tell were my Wards are. He used to be a ward of mine and I can feel him coming." It helped that Jack's presence wasn't exactly weak. "And because I'm your Fairy Godmother whether you like it or not and I don't want to have to break you out of the Rissa Grande. Okay?"
She took a few steps up and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Get James, and Diaspro and get out. Leave me locked in the basement if you want. It doesn't matter." She was beginning to feel ancy. Camilla was having a really hard time judging just how far away they were, and the last thing she wanted was for him to come charging him while Jasper was still here.
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 19, 2008 0:15:09 GMT -5
That was unnerving thought. She could sense where he was at any given time.
His brow furrowed in thought. She seemed honest enough, but he certainly wasn't any kind of character judge.
"I believe you can sense whoever they are," he said at last, "but what if you're just saying that to get us to leave?"
And pretending to care if he got caught to soften him to her cause.
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Post by Jules on Aug 19, 2008 0:36:12 GMT -5
She was this close to punching him. Why couldn't he just trust her and go? Her hands clutched a little tighter at his shoulders like she might impart her will through force of contact. "Why don't you wait until they come knocking down your door to believe me? What have you got to loose? Leave me in the basement, I promise I haven't found some miraculous escape route that has eluded me these past seven days."
Except, technically the escape route had found her, and if Jasper didn't get a fire under that ass and move she didn't really know what to expect.
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 19, 2008 0:44:19 GMT -5
Ow, damn-- she had a tight grip for a girl, and those nails. He struggled internally for a few more seconds before caving. "Alright, alright."
Diaspro would kick him out for sure if he was wrong, but he'd have to live with that. Either way, he was out of jail. He tugged a hand through his hair. "She won't believe me..." He turned to leave, breaking out of her hold, and then paused with his hand on the doorknob. He glanced back at her, eyes softening. "Thank you."
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Post by Jules on Aug 19, 2008 0:54:03 GMT -5
Camilla looked up at him a moment before closing the distance between them and hugging him. He was too tall to make it practical to put her arms around his neck, but his high waist was easily accessible, and she wrapped her arms around that. She felt a little like a child hugging an adult but it didn't matter.
"Be safe." She pleaded and pulled away, taking two steps down into her basement. "I need to get a new wand before I can rescue you again." She teased weakly.
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 19, 2008 1:00:25 GMT -5
The hug surprised him. He hadn't had this much contact with another person for a long time. He put a hand on her shoulder, though didn't hug her back. It was probably for the better, he'd most likely crush her.
He managed a semblance of a grin. "I'm a big boy. I can probably get by without a fairy godmother, at least for a little while."
He hurried up the stairs and shut the door. He didn't lock it, but he left it shut for Diaspro's sake. He banged on her bedroom door. "Diaspro-- we have a situation!"
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Post by Jules on Aug 19, 2008 1:03:19 GMT -5
Quite a bit like her, Camilla went downstairs and began cleaning before she got rescued.
Diaspro had been napping again, but she was always careful to not fall sound asleep, because no surprise, she slept like a rock. So it was that hard for Jasper to get her attention and she rose slowly from her steel re-enforced bed. The statue slide over to her door and swung it open before Jasper could pound on it again.
"What?" She snapped.
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 19, 2008 1:16:12 GMT -5
He let his raised fist drop. He wasn't sure how to deliver the news in a believable way, and so decided to entirely skip the part where Camilla was the one who told him.
"Camilla has a rescue party on their way right now."
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Post by Jules on Aug 19, 2008 1:25:58 GMT -5
Diaspro watched him for a frozen moment (looking perfectly beautiful in that single second of stillness). Questions later. "We'll have to leave the bombs here." But then something flashed in her stone eyes. "The twit's actually worth something to someone?" Huhn. That could mean she'd be a valuable bargaining chip. "Go get her."
Diaspro turned around and hurried (for her) to the small writing desk in the corner and wrote up a quick note in precise almost type-worthy lettering.
"We've got Camilla, send a single person to the location indicated by the flare gun. One person or her skull gets crushed."
She called James, who came running. She handed him the note. "Pin this on the door and grab the flare. We're retreating to the dried lake." Which was about half an a hour away.
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Post by Miss Jack on Aug 19, 2008 14:44:34 GMT -5
Jasper waited, perhaps for some kind of miracle, gripping the door frame in both hands. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and wheeled around, back to the basement.
He opened the door, found Camilla. "Diaspro has decided to use you as a hostage," he explained, apologetic.
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