River Morris's Story

"Pre-Cal at 3, Ballet from 4-7, Dinner at 8, Meds at 8: 30, Homework at 9, Bed at 10" River recited her schedule in her head, and a few times out loud to keep in memorized, her morning medication sometimes made her forgetful.

Her life since the incident had been planned out to the minute. School, Dance, Home, Bed. That was all she did. She had no friends, not anymore, not like she used to.

As she walked down the hall, her books clutched to her chest like it was the only thing keeping her tethered to this world, her dark stringy hair hanging down over her face, her head down watching her feet mostly, she recalled a time when she was different, better, sane.

They said she was kidnapped, taken away for three days and it must have been so horrible that her mind turned the ordeal into a fun, fantastical place she called Whims. She was so convinced that, that's where she was, that they placed her in a home, institutionalized her, put her on drugs that for a long time she didn't feel like she needed, but now she dependent on them. Then the thoughts of the rainbow haired girl entered her thoughts.

She had friends before, she saw them as she strode down the hall, they were there, or at least she thought they were there, the only person who still believed was Helena, but people thought she needed to be on the same drugs River was on as well. Helena was the only one to believe her, back her up, but River's parents decided that, she wasn't allowed to speak to Helena, for fear of a relapse.

River always liked Helena.

Then there was Nathan, he was always nice, a wonderful artist, they believed that it was partially his art that fueled River's fantasy, she wasn't really allowed to speak with him either, beyond the occasionally hello, and then there was Sabrina, who was as normal as they come, sure she had an imaginary friend as a child but she grew out of it, like any normal child would. Her parents liked Sabrina but she was always busy, and so was River, since she came back home, she didn't have time for friends and things like that. She had to stay focus.


She made her way to her locker and began switching out books and notebooks, reciting her schedule a few more times, thought she cast a few longing looks toward her old friends

She missed them.

Lena walked in through the corridor, with her shapeless sweater and untidy hair, bag slung over her shoulder and deliberately left open so as to allow the little avian toy to 'see' out. She looked over to catch sight of a few of her "targets" some of the people she was going to reclaim for Otherworld.

She took a very worn out looking book from her bag and turned her attention to that, deciding not to dwell too much on the whole thing right then, not in the least because she felt a tiny little grudge in spite of herself.

The redhead was quite intelligent, but her grades rarely seemed to reflect it. She tended to coast along on passable but not exceptional by any stretch. Creative writing was something she tended to score well in, but her readings were outlandish enough to draw the derision of most of her classmates.

Not that nearly any other aspect of Helena didn't already draw derision.

As she was juggling her books, the girl could hear a few giggles from behind her, as a couple of other students stood against the opposite wall, whispering and making pointed looks in her direction.

And, like always, Helena shrugged it off. You had to make sacrifices, after all. And, soon it was going to change. They would come back. She believed it. She had to.

Lena was walking past the lockers when she caught sight of River, standing there getting out some books. In some awkward effort to appear personable, the young redhead lifted her hand and waved, a little more enthusiastically than perhaps was needed.
---

On an edge of Otherworld where the trees began to die away to rocks and waste and the sky became streaked with oranges and reds, stood the border of the Mechanized Minster, home of the angel Cadriel....or at least whatever that creature might have become.

On the horizon was the cathedral, dark and towering. Before it stood a chaotic sprawl of smokestacks and blast furnaces bathed in a red, demonic glow. The workers, mechanical figures with bird-like heads, guided the molten metal from the base of the furnace into molds, under the grim, sightless gaze of the statues and grotesques now perches precariously amongst the twisted iron.

For all the hellish light and noise outside, within the Cathedral it was dark and cold, the stone walls rising high up into a smoky gloom near the roof. Some light peaked in through the breaks in the stained glass windows, but it seemed to do little to permeate it over all. The place seemed to absorb the light that touched it.

The wing of the owl hung from the frame by some copper wire and hooks. The Angel crouched before it, staring at it and looking between that and the twisted amalgamation hung from the ceiling. It didn't look right. How very frustrating. E hopped down from her perch and walked across the stone flags, watched nervously by the Gargoyles. These creatures, flawed results of her own attempts to craft working wings, were hideous-looking chimeras of flesh and machinery, once Otherworld residents before taken away by Cadriel's mechanical men. Now they stood bound to the Angel's will, and as such were also permanently subject to her unpredictable whims.

"It's wrong. Again." she muttered irritably.

"Madam, you summoned me?"

Her gaze snapped round to the long walkway from the main door, catching sight of the bloom of fiery light of the Sentinel's eyes in her periphery. The strange, spindly, equine thing stood as tall as at least two of her, its pike even greater in height, though upon being certain it had garnered her full attention, it bent forwards in a rather theatrical bow.
"I believe I have an appointment with someone that your....counterpart wanted to arrange."

Her hollow grey eyes regarded the thing was puzzlement for a long moment before something seemed to click.
"Yes. Yes...I..I think I know.."
She scrambled over to the far wall, where an envelope had been deftly pinned straight though the flag by a rusted splinter of metal. Gingerly Cadriel pulled it free, and held it out to the thing, which delicately opened it up, nodded, and strolled back towards the exit.

Cadriel, for her part, had no interest or curiosity in regards to what it said, even if, in a technical sense, she was the one who wrote it. She lost time, and things would happen. The less she had to do with it, the easier things tended to be overall. She wouldn't imagine she would do anything particularly untoward anyway...and she had far too much to do.

The Sentinel meanwhile, walked with purpose along the cracked roadway with the letter in its hand, mulling over the details on e more time.

Horsey

It's time to send a message.
I've made some very special arrangements for you.
When you get this make your way to the Stormtrap Flats as quickly as you can.
You will find someone there that I know you've been very keen to spend some time with.

Love, E.

Rain
"I'm walkin' on sunshine, oooh," a bright, cheery voice sang. "I'm walkin' on sunshine, and don't it feel good!" Rain was skipping along, singing at the top of her lungs. Where had she heard this song before? She kept singing, the question bouncing around in her head as she turned a corner and bumped into someone. She abruptly stopped singing, staring down at whatever creature had blocked her path. It was a small dog-like creature, but it's fur was bright blue. She smiled a bit. More creatures had inhabited her realm after her Dreamer had called it empty. Her smile dropped, now glaring at the creature in front of her. She remembered where the song had come from now. Her dreamer's world.

"River," she hissed the name, not in anger but as if saying it actually hurt her. Ever since the girl had stopped talking to her, nothing was right. Sending the dog a glare, she picked it up by the scruff of its neck and carried it to the edge of the hovering land. Her world had once seemed whole, but now was cracking and broken. Cliffs were everywhere, dropping off into nothingness. She didn't even know what was at the end of the nothing, if there was an end. The dog whimpered in her grip. Rain blinked, looking at the poor creature and the cliff, for a moment feeling horrified at her previous action. She had been about to toss the thing off. Why?

Startled, she took a step back, before remembering that the creature only existed because of River. And River was gone. How dare it stay when the reason for its existence had abandoned it? In a split second, the cold deadliness in Rain's eyes was back as she swung her arm and tossed the thing off into the abyss.

"Sayonara!" she yelled, her voice happy as every despite the coldness in her eyes. Feeling pleased, Rain wiped her hands off on her pants and went back to strolling through her land. She was bored now. Boredom wasn't right. Frowning, she tilted her head, looking around. Oh, I know! she thought, eyes widening. I can sing a song! That's always fun.
Without a second thought, Rain began to sing again, completely forgetting her actions in the past few minutes. "I'm walkin' on sunshine, oooh!"

~~~~~~
Nathan
Being at school on time wasn't really something he did anymore. So now, standing in the hallway, he wasn't sure what to do. Locker. That's where people usually go. He started to walk to where his locker was, before realizing he didn't remember what number it was. Even if he could just spot it by memory, he had no idea what the combination was. He hadn't used his locker all year.

"Wonderful..." he muttered, standing off to the side and out of the way of the mass of students roaming the halls. He still felt awkward. He considered just walking back out the way he came, but what good would that do? Sighing, he wandered off, trying to find something to occupy his time. When did classes start? There were a lot of students now, so it had to be soon. Hugging the wall, Nathan made his way to the school library. As expected, no one was there. Nathan actually sighed in relief after settling in a chair in the corner of the library, hiding away from the world. The librarian was no where in sight, and he'd rather keep it that way. While he was sure as hell used to being scolded, he liked to avoid it when possible.

Nathan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He wasn't even sure what he was doing anymore. He felt constantly numb and bored, yet did nothing to change it. It was like having a war inside him, one side demanding he do something and the other stopping him from even trying. Why was he even doing this anymore?

His thoughts drifted to his old group of friends, and how much they'd changed. He kind of missed them. No, he really missed them. But for some reason he couldn't bring himself to talk to them. Things felt different now than when he was younger. Nathan knew why, but he didn't want to think about it. Instead he wondered where the others were, what they might be doing. Sabrina was probably surrounded by people who adored her. Helena and River probably kept to themselves, like he did. He felt kind of bad for them though. While for the most part he had inflicted his solitude on himself, he was pretty sure that wasn't the case for them. Then there was Aaron, who seemed to be as goofy and bold as he used to be. Though Nathan did notice something was off with him whenever he saw him.

Frowning, Nathan realized he'd been paying a lot more attention to his old friends than he realized. He thought he'd ignored them completely, cutting them out of his life. But some part of him must still be attached, because he seemed to remember little things about them that he noticed without even realizing it.

Suddenly the bell rang, causing Nathan to look up from his slouched position and get up. For once, he was going to go to class on time.

River noticed Helena's excited wave, and a small barely visible smile touched her lips. Her hand rose up but then she stopped herself. She wasn't allowed to speak to Helena. She had to put away all things childish. River's hand dropped and she turned away as the bell rang.

CRASH!
Schizoid." laughed a group of kids, after they knocked River's books from her hands as she was making her way towards class. The tiny girl only reached down gathering her books in a neat pile as they teased her some more. "I heard she went nuts and killed a bunch of people, but couldn't remember any of it that's why they let her go." said a blonde girl with too much make up. "I heard she was kidnapped and killed the guy that did it." said boy with enough product in his hair to fill a hole in a dam.

River tried to ignore them as she gathered her books, clutching them closely to her chest. With her head down she tried to walk by them but they blocked her path.
"Hey, are you bulimic? You are skinny." said another girl, pinching River's arm.
River winced. "Please stop." She said quietly as she tried to maneuver out of the way.
"What's that, Psycho?" said the boy, pushing her back against her locker.
"Is that what the mental hospital gave you to wear?" said the blonde girl. "Because you must be crazy to wear something like that?" They all laughed.
River was dressed in a cream knit dress, that hung just below her knees, a long pink tank top underneath and her favorite brown riding boots. River was really skinny but not due to lack of eating, she just was. "Excuse me, I have to get to class." she whispered as another girl grabbed her hair. "Ew, Why is your hair all stringy, two words, Shampoo and Conditioner." They all laughed again. River pulled her head away, getting fidgety. An anxiety attack was well on it's way. She reached in to the messenger bag she wore and fumbled for her medication. "Oh, Psycho needs her meds!" Said another boy, bleach blonde. He snatched her bag from her and dug inside, finding the medication bottle. "Whoa, I can't even pronounced this." He laughed, the blonde girl grabbed the bottle from her. River started to panic. "I need those, please give them back!" she cried, tears and sweat brimming her eyes and moistening her cheeks. "If you can catch them!" The blonde girl shouted, and the began playing 'hot potato' with her medication. River whimpered, trying to catch the bottle, but to no avail. She didn't have time for this, this would throw her schedule off severely.

Down the hall from the commotion with River, Sam stood at an opened locker, glancing over only briefly enough for his gaze to flit between Helena and River before he returned his attention to what he was doing without any change in his blank expression.

It was easy to predict where that was going. Helena was as soft-hearted as ever.

He lifted onto his toes to peer into the top compartment of the locker, then stood flat again to rummage through the backpack hung inside. Only, this wasn't Sam's locker or his backpack. During the quietest hours of the school, he took the opportunity to test rows of lockers for whichever locks were broken. There were always plenty, and many students didn't report when they were assigned a broken lock because they assumed no one would bother to test the locks. But Sam tested them.

When he picked out a locker to pilfer through, no one paid attention to which locker was actually his enough to know any better, and checking a locker after the bell rang almost guaranteed he wouldn't be caught by the locker's real owner. By then, a majority of students had taken their seats in class to avoid the risk of being late.

So he worked nonchalantly - and unhurriedly, despite having only a minute or so before he would be late. He didn't look concerned.

Sam drew out a paper bag lunch, opening the top to glance inside at the contents and then rolling it closed again to drop it into his own backpack, which sat discreetly on the floor at his feet. This was his routine for obtaining lunch most days. He tried not to hit up the same locker more than once, though, so as not for the theft to become such a consistent problem that the victim would care enough to want to catch him.

Life wasn't easy, was it? Nathan came to this conclusion on the way to his class, when he spotted River getting harassed by some kids. At first he didn't think much of the small group until he heard psycho being thrown around. Not long after that he'd spotted River, looking on the verge of panic.

"This is my life," he mumbled, walking away from his classroom. So much for being on time. Something like a smile popped up on Nathan's face, the thought being genuinely funny to him. 'Cause god forbid I'm late. No one really paid him any mind as he walked up to the group. Even standing right next to some sneering blonde girl, he got no recognition. He worked hard to not be noticeable, but really, this was ridiculous.

River started digging in her bag, kind of frantically really, but whatever she had grabbed was quickly snatched from her hands. "Oh, Psycho needs her meds!" some boy said, sounding thoroughly amused with himself. Nathan felt slightly annoyed, but was more concerned with getting these kids to break up whatever bully circle this was. When River started asking for her medication back though, he felt something in him snap. Maybe it was just the fact they used to be friends and she was crying, maybe it was because he hated bullies- considering he was bullied himself up until recently. Pills were tossed. The blond girl beside him caught them. Before she had a chance to toss them to someone else, Nathan snatched her wrist, 'calmly' prying the pills from her hands.

"Leave the girl alone," Nathan hissed. Yes, he actually hissed it. He wasn't very good at social norms anymore but an upside was he was good at being unnerving. The blond girl looked startled to say the least, as if Nathan had just popped up out of no where. Really? When blondie finally seemed to catch up to what had happened, she nodded, seemingly ready to back off. But one of the guys of the group suddenly spoke. "What, you're friends with this psycho?" he half yelled, obviously meaning it as an insult. Nathan paused, not sure how to reply to that.

"No," he finally said, turning to look at the guy who spoke. "I'm not. Now get lost." The guy looked at him like he had two heads. He would have laughed, in not for the fact he knew why the guy was gawking. For one, while they were about the same height, the guy obviously was a lot stronger than him. And on top of that, Nathan was alone. Nathan tossed River her pills back before flipping off the guy who'd spoken to him, grinning when he saw the guys outraged face. Until said outraged guy started walking towards him. Then Nathan bolted, only running faster when he heard the guy running after him. Shit.

Even after zipping up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, Sam lingered, watching expressionlessly. A boy had slipped closer to the scene - probably half the weight of the biggest guy of the group harassing River. The boy looked familiar, but Sam didn't look closely enough to bother trying to recognize him.

He shut the locker door and leaned against it to watch the scene, looking like he could use some popcorn. It was only a couple of minutes before the boy who had moved past was sent running in the direction he had come. Sam's dark eyes followed after him - then shifted for the next runner in line, the much larger boy.

With a lazy couple of strides from the lockers, Sam stuck his foot out just enough to catch the stranger's, dropping him to the floor. "Oops." There was zero concern in his tone, and it came in little more than a murmur. He only took a single, casual step back before the other boy had scrambled back to his feet, grabbing Sam by the collar of his shirt and pushing forward to shove him against the lockers - to which Sam made no effort to flee or retaliate. His newfound captor was much taller and larger than him.

Yet, a small smile crept across his lips as he stared up into said captor's face.
"What the fuck was that, you little shit?" But Sam made no reply, only smiling like there was something he found funny about being pinned to the lockers.