TEXT MESSAGE: From: FORMENDACIL

A good friend of mine just died, so I'll be a bit longer than I thought--don't worry, He said He'll be back. If I survive till Day2, I want to vote Boro, cause he's almost as good as Morm that way. And tell Agan that she's not my Esmeralda--though I might be short a Cinderella yet.

OOC: just checking in quickly before bed. Really back on Saturday.

Nienna hears something and looks around. She sees an arrow sticking out of the bar and is unfazed. Some how after living with Fea nothing surprises her anymore.

To Lari she says "... really?... twilight?... really?"

Nienna decides its time to retreat back into herself and her sketchbook as she can only take so much mingling and socialization. She grabs her bag and goes to sit next to Fea, gives her a box of crayons and a coloring book hoping that that will help her become more comfortable.

"Trust me, Boro, had I meant to hit you, I would have. This is, of course, assuming that I was actually the one that shot at you, which I am not nor will I be admitting to," Shasta said loftily.

Nogrod and Greenie entered the pub. Nogrod seemed relieved but a bit annoyed as well - both to Greenie and to himself.

"Now you could have at least sent me an sms or something, right? I was really worried..." he complained.

"But those musicians were such a cool bunch I totally lost my sense of time..."

"Not only the sense of time but also that of direction..." Nogrod put in sarcastically.

"You could have texted me as easily" Greenie snapped back.

"Okay, okay... sorry about that" Nogrod admitted. "Well here we are anyway, all's well that ends well."

"Aren't we only just beginning Nogs?" Greenie grinned.

"Bah..." Nogrod frowned and then smiled, "Let's go meet some people."

To Nienna: "As I stated before, the links were all Mira. And Fea started the references and I was just commenting. Plus now I just texted Alonariel to remind her where we are. She probably will have something to say about all this."

Lari looked around and saw Nog and Greenie walk in. She didn't know how to approach them (really the coffee had yet to kick in) but she waved from her corner. She wondered if anyone was staying in England till the 23rd and would be willing to go to the Henry VIII exhibit with her. She assumed that there was a probability that Fea, Nienna, and Mira would all just tune her out if she started talking about it.

Nogrod saw Lari wave at them and turned to Greenie only to realise she had already gone off.

So he went to meet Lari by himself.

"Hi there! You must be Lari, the shadowy-one? Nogrod at your service." Nogrod bowed low and went on. "It's nice to see you in person indeed - and I do hope that reverse psychology stuff was only something dictated by Sally the last time". He gave a broad smile and sat down to the chair next to Lari.

"So how are you westerners finding our decadent Europe?"

"But the arrow says 'To Shasta with love' on it," observed Kuru. "Either somebody has really bad aim or somebody got the arrow as a present."

"You gave me an Edward Cullen Fantasy Coloring Book, Nienna?!" cried Fea loudly (making it up as she went). She looked down at what was in reality a bunch of Disney villains and picked a handsome shot of Scar on a cliff, pulling out a few earth tones to get started on the rock. "But how shall I color him properly without glitter!?"

Nienna kicked Fea under the table and Fea smiled her thanks for the distraction. She'd traded her gimlet for tea a while ago: tea cups are more functional in shaky hands than martini glasses.

She'd always suspected that martini glasses were status symbols, not because only sophisticates wander around with them, and not because a decent drink in one costs more than the cheap swill most girls her age would consume, but because it is absolutely impossible to hide nerves or shaky hands when you're holding something that attempts, she was certain, to spill itself.

They didn't reveal social status - which was bunk anyway - but they revealed, quite effectively, the comfort level of a person in any given social situation. Martini glasses were an effective measure of confidence or bravado.

Like I said, Fea had switched to tea. Earl grey. (Hot.)

With a crayon in hand, she felt she had a nice solid purpose for being there. Right now, she was coloring Agan a Scar that would surely be better than the one she once sketched for her in the middle of the night and mailed to her. The cost of postage, she'd learned, really wasn't bad at all.

She scumbled in some shadows under Scar's mighty paws, and gave him a loose, effortless sunsetty sky of a background, and tore out the page, folding it neatly into thirds, and wrote "Agan" on it.

Borrowing a piece of blank paper from Nienna, Fea began to sketch Boromir holding an arrow. She thought it seemed delightfully apropos.

Inspired, she flipped the sheet of paper over and wrote in spiky 3D-ish letters, "I wouldn't have missed, dear."

She taped it to the edge of the table, pointed toward Boro, and, with a quiet smirk, returned to Disney.

Ursula? Jafar? Hades? Hm...

The DVD ends with Whither Thou Goest as the last of the many encores. Agan sighs deep. "He's coming to Europe again in the summer. I'm interrailing then and I'd really like to see him again. In Lisbon the best seats are cheaper than my seat (which was one of the worst) at his Helsinki gig. I only need to convince my friends first," she says to Shasta, ignorant of the fuss he has caused.

"Everybody keeps saying that and I can't for the life in me see why!"

The phantom's mobile beeps and he reads Form's message aloud. Aganzir feels compelled to react even before she hears there's something about her, too.
"Aww I'm sorry to hear that. If you reply, send him virtual hugs."
"Ah we shall see... In the end he will probably at least want to burn me."

Suddenly Aganzir grasps what has happened between Shasta and Boro. She wrinkles her brow. "Give the crossbow to me, Shasta," she says in a commanding voice, with a hint of annoyance to help cover the slightly self-conscious tone. Then she realises what she's doing. These people are Downers, not my little brothers, she tells herself. Stop trying to control everything. If Lommy had been there, she would have laughed at Agan and called her a dictator.
Slowly, she lets the muscles around her eyes relax. "Well, at least you guys help me feel at home here." She eyes Shasta and Kuru.

Her irritation is quickly forgotten when Greenie enters with Nog. She rushes to hug her. "Hello bunny! Where have you been? See, everyone's here! There's Fea, and Brinn and Nerwen are somewhere, too. And there's also your dear phantom!" She grins at Greenie's expression and starts walking her through the tables. If she was social earlier, she's even more so now that someone she actually knows well has arrived. She has a bit of a showman streak in her, and as long as there are people who know others worse than she, she has no problem with big parties.

On their way to find Brinn, Agan happens to glance at the papers on Fea's table. "Already preparing for the werewolf game so we can draw our names from a hat or something?" she asks, realising the moment the words leave her mouth that it doesn't make sense. If they were to distribute the roles randomly, they would draw a role from the hat, not their own names.
"No- it's for you," Fea replies, "it's better than the sketch I sent you." She watches Agan fold it open and smile. "Thanks, it's awesome! And don't worry, I liked the sketch, too. I really appreciate it that people bother to draw something for me, usually it's vice versa." Agan looks thoughtful for a while and continues, "I promised to mail something to you, too, and I was planning to take them with me now but I forgot. Ah well I suppose I still have your address, it's written on a piece of paper that is supposed to be on my desk... Only there's a big pile of stuff on it. And the sketch I talked to you about - you remember, the one that dates back to Nog's werewolf? In quality it isn't even close to those you have given me, it was made in two minutes. I'll try to find something a bit better to accompany it, otherwise I'll get a bad conscience."

"Aww," Fea smiled, "You really don't have to draw me things."

She said it to be polite. She meant it, of course, but she was trying to find a way to modulate her voice so that Agan knew that while Fea really truly didn't expect anything, she would, in fact, be delighted if she got something anyway.

"And I'm sure I'll love your sketches no matter how good or bad you think they are. Nienna," Fea added, "did you know that Agan draws?"

"An Edward Cullen Fantasy Colouring book!" Nerwen gasped, forgetting that she was trying not to attract the attention of the crossbow-wielding maniac. "Surely such horror cannot be allowed to exist– and it doesn't," she added, seeing that Fea was actually applying her crayons to a series of Disney pictures. "What's wrong with Disney?"

She did not quite catch Fea's mumbled reply. Indeed, Fea
seemed oddly reluctant to take up her end of the conversation– almost as if she were shy, which was hardly something Nerwen had expected of her– any more than she had expected her to order tea, of all things. Was Fea's extroverted online personality merely a front? Or was the strange situation making everyone act out of character?

Hearing Agan's commanding tone to Shasta, Nerwen decided on the second option.

That should be me, taking charge of things. What am I doing skulking around in the shadows, just because Shasta happens to be running amok with a crossbow? What's the matter with me?

There was only one thing to do. Drawing herself up to her full height, Nerwen ordered, "No. Give the crossbow to me, Shasta."

"What I said," repeated Fea, "was that there's nothing at all wrong with Disney, unless they decide to animate Twilight. And they all live happily ever after," she groaned.

"But, since the topic has changed," Fea looked around amusedly, "I rather think that if we're voting on who gets to babysit the crossbow, it should probably be Nienna. Unless she's a were-librarian."

Fea stuck her tongue out and grinned, sipping her tea, enjoying the mellow flavor of the bergamont.

I wonder where the phantom is, she thought. It's like he ran off right after I walked away from him.

Fea stood up, stretching, and rubbed her sore shoulder. Too many nights of not enough sleep, and her body was telling her that it's not as durable as it was when she was a child. For all that she was a fetus compared to some of her companions (she smiled internally), she was older than several others, and had put her body through more than it deserved. A bit stiff, she palmed the note she'd just written, tape-side out, and walked over to Mira and Lari's table, eying Mira's Dr. Pepper and Lari's Pepsi.

"How's it going?" she asked Stick, casually transferring the note to her friend's back. "Have you guys found Alonariel yet?"

Upon their sleepy head shakes - Fea knew they were recovering from finals - she moved off to greet Shasta, who she'd seen, but not said hello to yet."

She resisted the urge to make sure the note hadn't fallen off of Stick. She doubted it would... she'd applied it with great skill.

I Love Edward, it said, in bubble letters, with hearts.

She'd be modfired for sure.

She snickered to herself, as she got between people and the community crossbow.

"Try not to shoot me, y'all, or I'll be very, very unhappy."

Nogrod came out into the hall where most of the downers were gathered. "I think you all need to come take a look at this."

They all followed Nog into a room, where Boro lay passed out.

"Eww it reeks of booze in here" said Izzy.

"He did have a pretty rough day" said Agan, as she shoots a glare at Shasta.

He lay, face down, half on the bed, and his other half falling off. Nogrod and other 'Downers helped roll him back onto the bed.

"Sleeping pills!" Kuru pointed to the desk, next to the bed.

"Alcohol and sleeping pills don't tend to mix." Shasta remarked, to point out that he had nothing to do with Boro's secret habits. "Let's just go and let him sleep it off."

"I doubt he did that to himself, and I don't think he's going to be waking up." Nogrod said, bowing his head. The rest of the 'Downers let out a big gasp! Lodged in Boro's mouth and, shoved down his throat, lay four chicken wings, still with the meat on the bone.

Lari stooped down to pick up a piece of paper, lying at the end of the bed. She began to read:

We warned you about bringing sports talk into the next game. We told you the consequences, but you did not listen. Now you will die by the hands of the wings, beer, and sports that you admire so dearly.

Yours truly,

In the corner, on mute, a TV was playing the 1998 Rose Bowl, where Michigan defeated WSU 21-16. Boro had brought it on the trip to remember the last glory days of his beloved Wolverines.

Boro was dead.

Oh dear...

Phantom elbowed several Downers out of the way and knelt beside Boro to check his pulse.

"First off, those aren't sleeping pills Kuru- they're Advil. And he's not dead, either! Why wouldn't you check?" Phantom cleared the blockage out of Boro's mouth so he wouldn't choke and whipped out his phone and called for emergency workers.

Over the general noise in the room, Phantom thought he heard Boro half hiss and half snort, as if he were holding back a laugh. Phantom leaned in close to Boro. "You wrote this note, didn't you?" Boro remained silent, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"I won't tell," whispered Phantom. "I can understand wanting to exit in grand style."

"Shut that darn telly, will you" Nogrod said in anguish staring at Boro's body. Just as he was bowing down to pick the chicken wings from Boro's mouth and to try recover him back to life the phantom came in elbowing him away and checked Boro's pulse telling he was not dead.

"Who wants to give him the mouth-to-mouth? I can do the pressing. We must at least try". Nogrod called over phantom's voice only realising there had been a hiss and a snort.

"Oh you son of a..." Nogrod exclaimed - but with a lightened heart.


(OOC: I had already quite written this with a different plot when I realised tp had already made that good...)

"This is so strange," Kent said after finding out Boromir faked his death. "Are things always like this here?"

"I've drawn way too little lately, anyway, I haven't had time. It seems I need a reason if I really want to get something finished. I could try to send them in a week or so." Agan always worked better if she had a deadline. She made a mental note to send a christmas card to Kath at the same time. It was a bit late already.

"Oh now you're making it sound as if it was something big. Well, I am quite fond of drawing and art in general, but I'm still quite an amateur."

"I think the Twilight thing is a joke of theirs. I recall vaguely chatting with Fea and some others on MSN and Fea saying something about one of them and Twilight. But it might have been someone else as well." The thought of an Edward Cullen colouring book amuses Agan about as much as Nerwen's reaction. "You should be careful if you don't want anyone to get a heart attack," she says to Fea and Nienna, her grin revealing fangs that are for certain creepier than Edward Cullen's. She had been one of those kids who didn't let their parents convince them to get braces just for aesthetical reasons. Her sense of aesthetics had maybe been more twisted than it was now, but she liked her teeth nonetheless, especially the two pointy fangs.

Aganzir follows Nerwen with her eyes when she tells Shasta to give the crossbow away. On such a moment it is easy to see how Nerwen ended up choosing the screenname she has. The only thing that doesn't remind Agan of Galadriel is Nerwen's dark hair. I wouldn't like to be in Shasta's shoes, she thinks.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Nogrod's grave voice. Worried, she follows him into the next room. It reeks of male - sweat, alcohol, greasy food, slightly overheated TV. Still, she feels the need to defend Boro when Izzy complains about the smell. "He did have a pretty rough day." Besides, Agan realises, she has started to associate the smell of alcohol to Barrow-Downs meetings. It's not that she wouldn't smell it in other situations, too, it's just that it seems to fit there. It makes her feel cosy. And it is the only concrete thing that unites her memories of previous BD meetings.

Lari reads aloud the note at the end of the bed.

The first words Agan hears after that are "Oh you son of a..." cried by Nogrod in a still shocked but somewhat lighter tone. She notices she's leaning on Nienna, who entered the room together with her, and shaking. Her lower lip is bleeding. She pulls herself together and mutters an apology.

"What an earth is happening? Has anyone called an ambulance? Did someone try to kill Boro? Is he alright?" Aganzir's voice is shriller than usual.

"I shall expect something in my mailbox when I return to school, then. I'll be back on campus a week from Sunday." Fea grinned, knowing she wasn't giving Agan much time at all. Trans-Atlantic mail could be quite slow, if it put its mind to it.

Fea glared down at Boromir. "That's not funny."

For good measure, she kicked him, though not hard enough to hurt him.

She shivered, displeased by the temperature difference between her typical haunts and this place. She'd been cold since arriving, and it was souring her mood.

"You're like a 12 year old playing with a paper-cutter, Boro. If I hear screams, you'd better be missing an appendage. Didn't you ever read The Boy Who Cried Wolf?"

Normally its worse.

Incongruously enough, Kuruharan has suddenly become utterly engrossed with a baby ladybug he just found and is watching it crawl all over his hands, oblivious to the world.

OOC note-

ModGod is sad he hasn't had time to post more, but you all have been doing great. But all things must end, and Day -1 ends in 10 hours. Continue posting cool links, having funny conversations, flirting, drinking, etc. For after this day is over, things won't be quite so... happy. ;)

"I'm fine Agan" Boro chuckled. "You couldn't have let it be for a couple more minutes, Master phantom? I had them going, Nog was going to try and recicitate me." :p

Fea gave him a good kick, and a scolding. She's stronger than she thinks, that's going to leave a mark.

"Oh Fea it was just a bit of fun! I thought with all the excitement yesterday, staging my death would be amusing." Boro tried to give his best sad puppy look, but Fea did not look amused. "If I recall that story correctly, the boy eventually did see wolves, keep that in mind. But, I'm happy to see you are concerned for me, that tells me the next time I'm in trouble I can count on you."

After making sure that Boro was ok and then giving him a good glare or two for scaring them all like that, Nienna goes to find Shasta.

"Don't let me see the crossbow again or it will be mine." She says while looking over her glasses.

Nienna retreats and decides that she is getting quite sketchy and needs very badly to take a shower. She murmurs her farewells and goes out in search of a shower.

OOC:
I'm going away this weekend... I should be able to pop in tomorrow briefly and vote but I won't be around other than that. I will def. be around after that though.

"What's the difference between a baby ladybug and an adult one? All the one's I've ever seen are the same size..."

There were noises. Lots of noises. The thunk of a crossbow bolt, and then wailing and subsequent laughter.

Irked, Mnemosyne stood up on a table. "Okay, so who wants to explain to the recently-struck-blind-and-thus-unable-to-turn-her-disability-into-Suvian-like-powers* girl what just happened? Or, better yet, figure out a way to fix this? And where's Sally? If she's off in some corner snogging someone, I'll do something very unpleasant."

*Totally not jacked from Nerwen. Nossir, not at all

"I'll try my best. And if nothing else, you'll get them before you leave school again."

"That was not the least bit funny, and I would certainly not expect it from someone your age. But yeah, I definitely feel at home now. Who would have thought I can find this quickly three Downers who are just like my brothers?" Agan knew she was taking things too seriously but Boro's little jest had shocked her. "Be careful or I might start calling you by their names."

It was hard to imagine the man standing there, chuckling, was the same Boro she had talked to on the forums; the scary, aggressive werewolf player who had killed her the first time she had been a wolf, had made her a tasty kill on purpose, and what else. She wouldn't have expected something so tasteless from him. She didn't like to get into situations she couldn't control, and hated to be made a fool of. Relax, she told herself and ordered a shot of rum.

Phantom quietly made his way to a corner of the room and opened the second pocket in his backpack. From within its depths he withdrew something flowy and pink.

"Um, Phantom... Is that what I think it is?" asked Mira, approaching from behind.

Phantom grinned and began putting it on.

"Why are you putting that dress on? It looks like something Cinderella would wear."

Phantom merely grinned and pulled out a shiny tiara and placed it carefully upon his head. Finally, from a side pocket in his bag, he produced a package of twinkies, and he began at once to nibble on them.

"What the heck, Phantom?!"

Phantom laughed. "I'm just putting a certain Downer to the test. We'll see if she was lying when she told me something a few months ago."

"You're insane," returned Mira, rolling her eyes as she walked away. Nice legs though she thought.

"Someone my age? What are you suggesting, Agan? Might I remind you, you are the one who thinks I like to go to amusement parks to play with toy trains." :p

"Well, didn't Form talk something about wanting a Cinderella?"
Aganzir steps forward, grinning widely. Her earlier irritation is gone and there's blood on her lower lip again. Although she does have a habit of biting it just for fun, this time she has only been trying not to laugh. She eyes the phantom appraisingly.

"I think I prefer you that way. Even though you forgot the corset," she says and puckers her mouth. "You know, generally I think women look better in a tuxedo and men in an evening gown."

She steps closer and reaches to kiss phantom on the corner of his mouth. "I think you deserve this for your effort. I am pleased," she smirks. When she withdraws, a drop of blood stains phantom's chin.

She turns and walks casually to the bar to get more rum. "I hope someone manages to take a photo of him before he changes. It simply must be posted on I met a fellow BDer."

"Fine, maybe I should have been able to expect it, then, but that certainly doesn't mean you should have done it." Agan's words are more irritated than her voice. She grins and punches Boro in the stomach. That seems to be becoming a habit, too, she thinks. At least he wasn't drinking anything, unlike poor Rune.

Shasta grinned to himself.

My crossbow is apparently a hot commodity. How will I ever thank Brinn enough? They're mistaken if they think they can bully me out of it, though.

When all the fuss regarding Boro was resolved, Shasta was the only person with a disappointed look.

"Hmph. I'm sure he just wanted attention."

Leaving the media room, Shasta went to see what Fea was up to. She wouldn't try to take his crossbow away, he was sure.

Fea, not seeing Shasta moving toward her, sauntered over toward the phantom. She cocked an eyebrow, tucked her tongue firmly in cheek, looked him, quite exaggeratedly, up and down, and drawled, "Nice legs. Wats ur age, chick?"

Isn't he cute?
 

"How did you guys get a glimpse of his legs?" Nogrod asked baffled as he was not quite sure what to say of the sight.

This must be an easter revelation of sorts that just beats me... he thought to himself and ordered one more pint just to get a proof that he was still in some sort of a reality.

Phantom licked his lips and enjoyed the sight of Aganzir walking away. Oh, that was totally worth it.

"Nice legs. Wats ur age, chick?"

Phantom laughed as he recalled one of his favorite Barrow-Downs moment. "That one will live forever, won't it?"

"Yes," answered Fea. "And I still haven't forgotten that it was your fault," she added, punching him hard on the arm. "And really, you can take that off now. You got what you were looking for I'm thinking."

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "So, does this mean I can tell everyone that Fea suggested that I remove my clothing." Fea pulled her fist back for another punch.

That's disturbing on several levels.

"Very easy, Firefoot." Kuru gently dropped the tiny thing into her hands. "When they are that small its hard to miss. I think this one was just born."

Kuruharan decided to take stock.

"Lets see here...nudity, attempted murder, faked murder..."

*SPLASH*

"...oh yes, and cross-dressing," assessed Kuru has he watched the huge bucket of ice-cold water thoroughly saturate the phantom.

He prepared his note pad to record the results.

"I like it. Come on, hit me again!" Boro was trying to regain some of his lost manhood after Agan's blow. Nope, that one hurt..."Alright, alright, I get it, that was a bad prank." he wimpered and fell to his knees "Does anyone else feel like getting in their licks?" :( Boro was glad to see Shasta had left the room, or he probably would have taken the offer.

Bent over, he saw a long flowing gown, his eyes followed up, lo' and behold stood the phantom flaunting his dress. At that moment, everything Boro had ate in the last 12 hours immediately came up and out onto the phantoms pink high heels.

"Really?" Agan's eyes lighten up. Then she realises Boro is merely being ironic. "Oh."

She pats the kneeling Boro on the head. "Come on, don't take it that seriously. No one is angry with-" and she has to step back in order to avoid getting dirty when Boro throws up on phantom's shoes.

"You're being rather intolerant," she points out to Kuru and Boro in a disapproving voice. Talking to little brothers again. "What's wrong with him dressing up like a princess? Would I get a bucket of water on myself if I came here tomorrow dressed up as a cavalry officer?"

She looks around her. "We need someone to clean up this mess."

Nogrod decided it would be wise to get a little farther away from the splashes of vomit, at least if there would be more of that kind and settled beside Gwath to the corner.

"Howdy cowboy! What's up? Nice to see you." But Gwath didn't respond. Nogrod lifted the stetson a bit only to realise Gwath was in deep sleep. Bugger...

Nogrod took a deep draught from the ale and frowned. I might then as well start with my papers... if there is nothing too important going on right now I could as well try to ease my burden from the next days.

Nogrod opened the heavy case he had with him and took the mighty pile of papers to the table scrolling through the different folders. Finally he found what he was searching for. Philosophy, preliminary course, 27 papers... Just light enough for the occasion.

He eyed the exam-paper. The first question was: A) In which manner the question concerning the mode of being of the human mind is related to the question of the world being deterministic or indeterministic? B) Take a stance and make an argument on behalf of your position to the question of the nature of the mind and the world from this perspective.

Nogrod smiled and shook his head taking a sip from his pint. Light enough... he grinned to himself. Why do you always have to paint yourself to the corner with these exams? You could just make questions like "Explain Plato's theory of forms" or "What is Hume's guillotine?", or "How do you spell Nietzsche?"... Well, can't blame but myself - and anyhow I need to get through all of these exams, and not only this one, in the coming days so you better just start.

Suddenly he felt his eyebrows falling down with irresistible force once again. Gah... I'll read them tomorrow.

Mnemo is still staring blindly around, but by coincidence her sightless eyes happen to fall upon the phantomess. Somehow the sheer incongruity of seeing him in drag, combined with a fair measure of poetic justice, shocks her nervous system back into being able to process images.

"Well," she says, "that was weird."