Chapter 4 - Cart Lost
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In the Bingo Hall. . .
2010-01-30 22:06:42: calliaphone falls through the door of the Bingo Hall, sans cart, dungarees, boots and much else besides. Slamming the door shut, she leans on it, whimpering.
2010-01-30 22:07:27: calliaphone mutters to herself, “a shopping bag? what did i ever do t'make shopping bag wanna kill me? good job this door was open.” catching her breath, she hears voices, and hastily slips into the shadows.
2010-01-30 22:16:22: calliaphone peers round the corner, and freezes. people. lots of 'em. looks like this place wasn't empty after all. now what? she can't go outside, there's plastic shopping bags out there, by god.
2010-01-30 22:18:57: calliaphone , if she wasn't hiding, might be seen to be somewhat cleaner than usual, smelling faintly of hospitals, and dressed in nowt but her hat, coat, socks and frilly knickers.
2010-01-30 22:26:55: calliaphone grips her battered, empty rifle, and makes a decision. she can't go out there again. besides . . . is that a kitchen over there? she takes an involuntary step towards it and trips over her feet.
2010-01-30 22:27:15: calliaphone sprawls into the main hall, rifle clattering to the floor.
2010-01-30 22:31:34: Returning Contestant kindigo jumps at the sudden sound, then looks round. “Oh, let me help you up,” she says to the person on the floor.
2010-01-30 22:36:00: calliaphone flinches automatically - but the kittymorph doesn't seem to be attacking. she looks up warily, and accepts the extended paw. “uhh, i, err. . . thank you.”
2010-01-30 22:39:56: Returning Contestant kindigo says warmly, “You're welcome. I'm Kindigo, I'm new to the clan. Nice to meet you.”
2010-01-30 22:41:20: calliaphone regains her rifle and her feet, brushes herself down, and wraps her coat round herself a bit. she looks about. this place looks . . . oddly familiar. she blinks, confusedly.
2010-01-30 22:42:38: calliaphone is reassured by Kindigo's tone. “oh, i, hello. Kindigo. my name's calliaphone. s'nice to meet you.”
2010-01-30 22:50:57: calliaphone looks round some more, still trying to get her bearings. “clan, you say? i'm in a clan hall? but . . . this looks like a Bingo Hall.” she's moving towards the kitchen on autopilot. . .
2010-01-30 22:52:45: Uncle Bernard bellows, “Callia, how are you? You seem discombobulated!”
2010-01-30 22:52:53: Returning Contestant kindigo comments to calliaphone, “The people of this clan all have such fine hats!”
2010-01-30 22:55:52: calliaphone freezes again, almost at the kitchen. she looks round and sees Bernard. she stares. “i . . . ahh. you know my . . .. wait. . . Uncle B?”
2010-01-30 22:56:55: calliaphone tips her flat-cap to Kindigo. “very kind of you to say.” she scratches her head. this is all very confusing.
2010-01-30 23:05:27: Returning Contestant kindigo shifts nervously from foot to foot. “Erm, so, when will Merlin be back? I want to see what she thinks of my sketch of her before I work it into the mural.”
2010-01-30 23:10:01: calliaphone blinks. “Merlin?” that's another familiar name. she notices Kindigo's nervous shifting, and hastily puts down her rifle. “sketch, you say? are you an artist?”
2010-01-30 23:11:51: Returning Contestant kindigo blushes. “Well, art–is in the eye of the beholder–or something, but I like to paint, yes. Would you like to be in the mural?”
2010-01-30 23:14:32: calliaphone likes the sound of this. “a mural? painting on the walls. with colours? oh YES!” she looks more cheerful already, thinking about all the coloured paints there might be in such a project.
2010-01-30 23:16:56: Earth Mage Paul Lo grunts out of a body lapse and make a swift survey of the situation. At callia, he says “Oy, missy.”
2010-01-30 23:20:02: calliaphone jumps, and takes a step back, putting out her hands. “she said i could come in i'm not trespassing honest i'm not!” she tries to hide behind Kindigo, then peers round. waitaminute “. . .paul?”
2010-01-30 23:23:09: Earth Mage Paul Lo waves at callia with his ears.
2010-01-30 23:26:29: calliaphone steps out from behind Kindigo. “Paul . . . Bernard . . . Merlin . . . ” standing in the door to the kitchen, she reaches round absentmindedly, and grabs a bottle of of banana-milk from the fridge.
2010-01-30 23:27:47: calliaphone swigs the milk, and then stares at it. “how'd i know that was. . .nevermind.” she decides the best thing to do is sit down, so she heads to the sofa and curls into a corner of it, swigging more.
2010-01-30 23:28:24: Earth Mage Paul Lo says with a clear voice, “Did you have tea with Horatio, callia? Too much Nutella?”
2010-01-30 23:30:16: calliaphone looks at Paul. “. . .tea? Horatio . . . nutella?” some kind of realisation dawns. “oh god. oh god oh god i didn't did i? i didn't kill the drive? what kind of a person kills the drive?”
2010-01-30 23:31:27: Returning Contestant kindigo looks confused by more than just the conversation. “IS there such a thing as too much Nutella?”
2010-01-30 23:34:13: Earth Mage Paul Lo giggles while gazing at callia. As good of an answer as anything.
2010-01-30 23:37:33: calliaphone turns a little green at Kindigo's question. “umm, well . . . perhaps it's more a matter of how fast you consume it?”
2010-01-30 23:39:18: calliaphone shifts uneasily under Paul's gaze. “oh no, i didn't mean, i mean to say, the drive's a terrible thing and needs a LOT of killing . . . but i don't usually, i mean, i'm not. . .” she gives up.
2010-01-30 23:42:32: Returning Contestant kindigo checks the pantry for any Bruces before rummaging around for Nutella. And maybe peanut butter. “The drive doesn't seem to care if we kill him–er, it,” she calls back.
2010-01-30 23:43:02: Earth Mage Paul Lo giggles even more after callia's reaction; now even his nose twitches along.
2010-01-30 23:55:56: calliaphone sighs, and straightens her flat-cap on her head. “you think?” she's not sure if she's reassured by Kindigo's comment, or. . .maybe it's best not to think about it. she examines her socks, sadly.
2010-01-30 23:57:35: Earth Mage Paul Lo 's brain snaps before he begins humming about a certain person named Despair.
2010-01-31 00:01:57: Returning Contestant kindigo begins humming as well, though not to the same tune. “♪ NewHome is full of newbs,” she sings.
2010-01-31 00:07:59: calliaphone hears music, reaches for her accordion, and stops dead. “shit” she says. “Cordy? Ohmigod. What have i done with Cordy?” she pauses. then gulps. “and Joni. and Darren!”
2010-01-31 00:10:19: calliaphone stares wildly round the Bingo Hall, as if expecting her cart, with all her belongings in it, to suddenly materialise in its usual parking spot. it does not.
2010-01-31 00:12:53: calliaphone whimpers. “and the Blue Label, and my beeyootiful boots, and my dungarees, and everything!”
2010-01-31 00:17:31: Earth Mage Paul Lo builds a small hill of dust of his hand, then blows it in the air.
2010-01-31 00:20:41: calliaphone catches Paul's gesture, and looks horrified. “No! Nononono! They can't be dust, they can't be! I wouldn't have taken them with me to meet the drive. Nutella or no!”
2010-01-31 00:22:42: Returning Contestant kindigo thinks about that. “Maybe that's why they weren't restored?”
2010-01-31 00:25:38: calliaphone looks at Kindigo. “how d'you mean?”
2010-01-31 00:30:07: Returning Contestant kindigo says, “Because they weren't with you? I don't know, Horatio is by definition unpredictable.”
2010-01-31 00:33:18: calliaphone takes a few moments to process Kindigo's words. And then suddenly she seizes her new clanmate into a gigantic HUG. “Kindigo you are a genius. I must've LEFT 'em somewhere safe!”
2010-01-31 00:34:58: calliaphone releases Kindigo, and sits back, frowning. “All i gotta do is remember where.” she knocks back the rest of the banana milk, and grabs her rifle. “I'd better start looking!”
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