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Post by Vapovile on Mar 27, 2019 19:56:52 GMT
The way Martha stubbornly skipped up the mountainside, falling over constantly annoyed Margaret. Did she seriously have no patience at all?! When they finally reached the house, Margaret warmly smiled at the woman before her. "Hello, it's so nice to meet you." She said warmly. The older doll knew when to put her abrasive personality aside for the sake of others. Most of the time. She inspected the strange wrinkly baby and was instantly suspicious.
"I just tagged along because my dau-I mean, granddaughter spoke so highly of you, and your wonderful baby!" Margaret lied. Why was she now the grandma of this dumb brat?! "Martha, would you please take little angel and show them the formula we brought? I am sure Mrs. Murfee would appreciate a little break." She said, glancing around the house to see if anything else was amiss. They needed to get that baby away from its mother right now.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 2, 2019 23:57:51 GMT
“Only if Mary is okay with it.” Martha held out her hands. Mary hesitated. She looked tired enough she was near ready to drop the baby, but she had seen the way Martha moved. She was not to be trusted with the fragile. “Could you hold Jeremiah instead? No offense Martha, but I’m sure your grandmother has held more babies than you in her life.” She held the baby out to Margaret.
“No offense taken! Why, she even held me when I was a baby! Me and my… dad.” Martha quickly decided which side of the family line Margaret was on. A dad was appealing. She had never had one before. As soon as Margaret took the baby, Mary sighed and took a step back. “I’m going to lie down for a minute. Just call if you need me. Thank you so much. Even if the formula doesn’t work, I appreciate the rest.” She shambled off back to a small room at the back. The entire cabin wasn’t much more than a kitchen, a bedroom, a tiny entrance room, and a bathroom.
Martha lead Margaret into the kitchen and began preparing the formula. While she did, the baby looked into Margaret’s eyes. There was something unreadable there, not the mindless chaos of an infant, but unknowable all the same. “I’m picking up real weird vibes from the kid.” Martha said, shaking the sippy bottle. But when she looked at him, she couldn’t help a smile, bigger and dumber than her usual, from spreading across her face. “But awww, he can’t be all bad! He’s so cute! Who’s a raisin! Who’s a raisin!” Martha tickled the baby’s feet, to no avail. Instead of laughing, Jeremiah looked at her like she was an idiot.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 5, 2019 8:52:44 GMT
A small wave of satisfaction swept through Margaret when she saw that the woman didn't trust Martha enough to hand over her baby. Of course someone would think that, who would trust this dumb kid with a crayon, let alone a baby?! She carefully accepted the kid and cradled it in her arms. "Daaaaaaaaw...who's a good little baby?" She cooed at it. Martha was correct in her assessment...she was getting strange vibes from it as well. When she was confident that Mary was far enough away from the kitchen...Margaret's eyes narrowed.
"Martha dear, I think little Jeremiah could use some fresh air. Could you come out after you've prepared the bottles, please?" She asked politely, motioning her neck to try and hint that she was planning something. Stepping out the side door, Margaret walked several paces down the hill...and placed her hand on the baby's mouth. "Ok, the game is over. Tell us where the real Jeremiah is, and we'll be gentler on you. Don't even try to scream." The older doll whispered. From the view of the house, it looked like she was still just cradling the baby. The last thing Margaret wanted was for Mary to come out and think she was assaulting her baby. Margaret wasn't one for complex plans...so outright confronting the potential changeling was the best way to go, right?!
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 7, 2019 18:55:00 GMT
“Yeah, just let me figure these out.” Martha was carefully reading the instructions on the formula box, making absolute certain she didn’t mess it up this time. The baby in Margaret’s arms stared up at her. They were still brilliantly green, but gone was the suspicion and intellect. Now they had the blank confusion of an infant, even as Margaret covered up its mouth. “Mm?” He sqeaked through her fingers. “Margaret, what are you doing? What if that’s the real baby!?” Martha came running with a bottle of fully mixed formula, splattered with droplets. Jeremiah's eyes lit up and he waved his arms for it. “Look, he wants it! I mixed it good, eh?” Martha proudly puffed up her chest.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 11, 2019 9:30:02 GMT
The disappearance of the intellect made Margaret sigh in annoyance. "There is clearly something wrong! Uuuuuugh...let's just leave this thing here and check out the other place." She said in an annoyed tone. While she did want to smash the baby against a tree to make it fight back...there was that tiny hint of doubt in her mind that this really was a baby. The doll lifted Jeremiah up and moved to hand him to Martha...then paused. She was explicitly asked to not give the kid to Martha.
"Just...hand me the bottle and we'll move out soon." She stated. Would it be too strange to leave this early? Could they just bring the baby to the realm with them? "Any idea how long is enough to give her a rest for? We both clearly don't need sleep." She asked, trying to make some kind of dialogue with the energetic doll.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 11, 2019 21:09:43 GMT
Martha held her hands out for the baby and pouted when Margaret hesitated. She wanted to kick her, but the old bat was still holding the kid. “Whatever, just take the bottle.” She stuck the bottle in Jeremiah’s mouth. He greedily grasped at it, sucking down half the bottle before his eyes narrowed. He pulled the bottle away from his lips and spat. Formula sprayed all over Margaret’s face. “Ahahahahaha! You know, even if he’s a fairy, I think I like him!” Martha took the bottle back and vanished for a second. She came back with a towel just as the baby began to wail.
“Well I don’t want to leave him alone. And there’s no way we can take him with us!” Fortunately, their problem was solved. Mary stumbled out of the house, rubbing her eyes. “I heard him crying! What’s wrong?” She asked, reaching her hands out for her baby. “He doesn’t like the formula. I’m sorry, I thought it would help…” Martha sighed. “Sorry to leave so quick, but, uh, Margaret says that there might be something poisonous in the woods or something he’s allergic to, so we were going to search them for anything dangerous. Right, Margaret?” Martha nudged Margaret with her elbow. “I… okay, of course. Thank you.” Mary held Jeremiah close to her chest and sighed. Martha shuffled uncomfortably. She didn’t want to abandon Mary again, but this was the only way they could truly help.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 14, 2019 9:35:04 GMT
The formula slowly dripped down Margaret's face, a look of fury on her face. While this would only be a minor annoyance with a normal baby..she knew this was deliberate. "...thank you." Margaret mumbled, handing 'Jeremiah' off to Mary and clasping her hands apologetically. "I'm sorry for waking you so early, I wasn't expecting the little guy to not take to the formula!" She said with a smile. The weak explanation caught the doll off guard, but she quickly recovered.
"Erm, yes! We'll stop by before we leave though! Take care, you two!" Margaret waved at Mary as they walked away. When the two were sufficiently far enough away, Margaret turned to Martha and frowned. "Well that was useless! That thing was clearly a changeling! It was focusing on me like an adult for a bit there!" The older doll said. "If only I had some iron..." She mumbled. But that probably would have led to many questions from Mary. Letting out a sigh, Margaret turned to Martha. "Whatever...lead the way to the fairy realm already." Margaret grumbled.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 16, 2019 20:41:54 GMT
“Well now we know what to look for! Look for mushrooms!” Martha began darting through the trees, scanning the ground. Her eyes dug through leaf litter and worms until she found them, little brown caps sticking through the dirt. “I found it! A fairy ring!” Martha brushed away leaves, revealing a whole circle of fungus. She stepped into the middle and pulled a scroll from her pocket. “Stand in the circle with me. The shop owner I bought this from taught me how it works.” She unraveled the scroll and began to read it. “Hi! Ho! Those of green blood! The fair folk I call thee! Guests are we, knocking on your door! We call upon the laws of hospitality and beseech that you allow us into your realm!” The scroll burned up in green flame that spread around the ring and shot up to the sky.
Martha shielded her eyes from the conflagration, and when she dropped her arm, an entirely new landscape lay before her. It was a world of green, from the sky to the thick mat of vegetation all over the ground. There were toadstools so large they could be used as actual stools, fern fronds in purple and blue, and grass that went over Martha’s head. The land was much more flat, with only low hills until in the distance, a single huge mound rose. “Woah… so this is the fairy world.” Martha looked up at a flower bigger than her head with wide-eyed wonder.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 18, 2019 19:48:14 GMT
"...ok...?" Margaret tentatively stepped into the circle and listened to Martha chant the strange incantation. Honestly, she was just surprised Martha could even read. She also shielded her eyes against the bright light, and gazed around at the new world before her.
"So this is where fairies live, huuuuuuuh?" The old doll commented. Everything seemed oversized here...were they just that big, or had they just been shrunken down themselves? Margaret was about to kick one of the mushrooms to see what effect it would have...then brought her leg down. "Probably shouldn't release any spores..." She said in a slightly annoyed tone. Seeing the massive mound in the distance, Margaret pointed toward it. "That's where we probably need to go! I'd prefer not to stay here long, thank you very much." And with that, Martha stood ready to start jogging, making sure Martha wouldn't try to goof off and slide down a leaf or something.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 19, 2019 23:38:53 GMT
“Oh come on, this place is cool!” Martha said, tugging on a stamen dangling from one of the giant flowers hanging from the trees and had a bucket’s worth of pollen dumped on her for her efforts. She spent a few sections sputtering and shaking it off. “Say nothing! That could have happened to anybody!” Martha set her feet in the dirt and took off with Margaret. The two left nothing but trails of dust over the hills as they charged towards the great mound. They only came to a skidding halt when they came to the edge of a rushing river.
It wound as far as the eye could see, not too fast to swim but full of suspicious fish and frogs that looked at the dolls with hungry expressions. Martha darted off the south, then returned in an instant. “Good news is, there’s a bridge! Bad news is there’s a guy on the bridge and he has two heads.” She led Margaret over the hill, where the bridge and its guardian came into view. The bridge was a nice bridge. It was made from the roots of the huge tree that loomed on the others side of the river, a tangled mass forming a solid footing and even a railing on each side. Little buds and flowers grew from the railings, adding some color.
At the foot of the bridge sat what could only be a troll. He had a squat, lumpy green body only covered by a ragged loincloth, shaggy legs so long that his bent knees rose above his two heads. Both of them were warty messes, with long, bulbous noses and tusks that stuck from bulldog lips. The left head was significantly more grotesque, with longer, greasier yellow hair and tusks twice the side, and his corresponding arm was significantly more muscular, gripping a greatsword that looked like a shortsword in his grip. “Don’t be rude to him, Margaret.” Martha nudged the other doll as they slowly approached.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 25, 2019 1:00:14 GMT
Margaret had to turn away to hide her giggling when Martha got covered in pollen. What an idiot! The doll was so distracted by the failure of her partner that she didn’t notice the small cloud of pollen that had been picked up on the wind and blown in front of her, sucked into Margaret’s nose and making the doll’s eyes water instantly. “...erp…” She muttered, before letting out multiple sneezes that practically lifted her feet off the ground. It was lucky Martha was oblivious and had already taken off, though.
“...oh, that was just wonderful.” Margaret grumbled, taking off after Martha. The doll appeared to be faster than herself...but that wasn’t going to stop her! When they happened upon the bridge, Margaret folded her arms in front of her chest and observed the hulking troll before them. She nodded at Martha. “No, I was planning on insulting the thing much bigger than me.” Margaret said sarcastically. Despite the guardian’s ugly appearance...Margaret did appreciate the natural aesthetic of the bridge and the flowers growing along it. It was certainly a nice departure from the horrid desert environments she had to deal with in her timeline.
“Hello! We’re uh...new to the area. Could you let us pass, please?” Margaret asked, trying to appear as nice as possible. Now she was wondering if it were worth it to try and find a way to jump over the river. Could those fish jump high enough to catch them out of the air? Perhaps Martha could be the guinea pig for that one.
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Post by HungryHunter on May 5, 2019 4:32:19 GMT
The troll slowly opened three eyes one by one. “Pay the toll.” It simply grumbled in a gravely stereo voice. “Uh… toll?” Martha asked. “Three falviels! If yer from Maeve’s realm, that seven queens.” The troll patted a rickety wooden box that leaned up against his back, causing coins to clatter. “I, uh, have fifty bucks?” Martha held out her wallet. The troll slowly blinked at her. “Bucks? Eh?” It leaned in to observe the little green leaves she held out.
“No no no. I cannot accept this “bucks”. Fae currency only.” “But we don’t have any! Come on, there must be something else we can offer!” Martha stomped and pouted, considering her chances running past the troll. “Hmmmmm.” The troll slowly scratched his empty eye socket. “A favor!” He finally declared with one head, the other nodding along. “Yes, yes! I am requiring a favor! There is village of rascals, very pesky. They have taken my eyeball and I am needing it back. Fetch me this and I shall be giving you passage!” The troll smiled, a truly horrible sight.
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Post by Vapovile on May 6, 2019 4:42:40 GMT
The troll's menacing smile made Margaret lean back, hoping she couldn't smell his breath this far away. Like Martha, Margaret considered the possibility of rushing past this troll. Surely they'd get past before he even knew what was going on! And what authority did he have to block this bridge, anyway?! But needing his eye back was a reasonable request...missing an eye must be horrible for one's depth perception.
"Hm...and how did they get your eye...? Seems like kind of...hard to steal from someone of your strength." Margaret commented. "And who are these people, and where may we find them?" If the villagers took it for a meal or something, this entire mission would be a waste of time. Hopefully Martha wouldn't do anything stupid while the troll was still being cordial with them.
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Post by HungryHunter on May 8, 2019 23:27:17 GMT
“No, no eat! Just pranksters! Very funny sometimes. Sneaking up at night and stealing organs, very worth a chuckle. But they are not returning it now!” The troll gestured wildly. “They are being directly to the south. They are being in a camp in a hollow. Many mushrooms, very recognizable. Go there.” The troll pointed them in the proper direction. “Guess we don’t have much of a choice.” Martha shrugged. “Come on, let’s go!” Martha and Margaret rushed over the hills again until their feet began to sink into mud.
Martha looked around and saw mushrooms growing from the muck. “They must be around here somewhere.” Martha said, and a quick search proved them right. When she peered over the edge of a house-sized mushroom, she saw that the inside was hollowed out. A party came into view. Fairies played instruments and danced, filling every inch of the mushroom with color and light. They ranged in size from being smaller than dragonflies to taller than either human watching. Martha looked through the party until she saw the eyeball, over in the corner being kicked between pink-skinned pixies.
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Post by Vapovile on May 12, 2019 8:22:30 GMT
The sheer blatant laughing-off of the troll having organs stolen horrified Margaret, who had her jaw slack as he explained. "Wha..." She began, but then shut herself up. It probably wasn't a good idea to seem too out of place here. Shrugging, Margaret took off after Martha.
"What even is this place?!" She asked in frustration when they were sufficiently out of earshot. "Who just steals someone's eyeball?! You know, besides the psychos who made us!" Margaret exclaimed. Why were so many people into stealing body parts and murder?! When they finally got to the location, Margaret grew silent and observed the colorful landscape.
"Hm...I don't know much about fairy culture...so I don't know if we should just walk in..." She mused. "You got any bright ideas?"
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Post by HungryHunter on May 16, 2019 4:44:12 GMT
“I read some fairy stories. I don’t think they’d be happy if we entered a party uninvited. They seem really uptight about stuff like that.” Martha hesitated on the edge of the mushroom. Fortunately, they were soon noticed. More and more eyes drifted to them as they stood there until finally an elf yellow as a lemon came up to them. “Enter, travelers! Partake in my fine drinks and dance to your heart’s content!” The elf offered a drink in a silver cup with a spiraled design to Margaret. Martha shook her head and waved her hands. “Don’t drink it.” She mouthed.
Her attention was turned by a motion in the crowd. They were parting before a woman approaching Martha and Margaret. It was hard to get a read on her height besides the fact she was tall, taller than Martha or Margaret by a good margin. Her hair nearly touched her ankles, tickling them with flames and running rampant over her night-black dress. She opened her eyes as she closed in, revealing herself to have no neatly divided iris, pupils or whites, just a sea of black. “Dance with me.” She said, offering a toned arm to Martha. “...kay.” Martha accepted with a droopy grin.
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Post by Vapovile on May 19, 2019 23:13:09 GMT
The strangely friendly way they were both shown into the party made several warning lights go off in Margaret's head. "Erm...well, thank you." She awkwardly said to the person offering her the drink, taking it and walking across the area. Margaret let out a disappointed sigh when Martha took the hand of the fairy woman and began dancing with her. That girl obviously can't keep it in her pants. Margaret thought bitterly. The strange flaming dress of the woman was something to behold, though. How did she wear that without getting burned, or lighting something else on fire?
Deciding to try and put on a polite face, Margaret decided to try and walk over to the people kicking around the eyeball, slyly putting the drink down on a branch on her way there. Now how to approach these people...? Margaret pondered, looking at the game before her. The concept of kicking around someone's eyeball was absolutely sickening!
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Post by HungryHunter on May 21, 2019 21:22:38 GMT
Margaret was largely ignored as she walked through the party. The fae generally seemed much more interested in Martha as she twirled around the hollow with her dance partner. The tiny pixies looked up when Margaret approached, one stopping the eyeball under his foot. “Hi miss! Did you want to play?” He asked, fluttering his dragonfly wings in youthful excitement. “Whee!” Martha could be heard through the background noise of the party. She sounded oddly tired already.
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Post by Vapovile on May 22, 2019 23:30:05 GMT
This situation became even more strange as Margaret looked at the fae offering her to join the game. "Erm...sure? Is this...normal?" Margaret tried to ask. The thought of her accidently kicking the eyeball too hard and punching a hole in it made the doll wince at the image. Her gaze briefly fell upon Martha, the doll rolling her eyes at how much Martha had abandoned the mission. Looks like it was up to the adults to fix the situation yet again. Perhaps this could just be solved by grabbing the eye when it got to her and bolting out as fast as possible. She wasn't here to make friends!
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Post by HungryHunter on May 24, 2019 3:02:09 GMT
“Normal?” The pixies snickered. “That’s a weird question!” Their rattling chuckles came from all directions, and one rose up behind Margaret to alight on her shoulder. “It’s not something a human would say. Hey, are you from Midgard? Are you?” Another one floated up to her arm from the other side and poked at her with a tiny bronze knife to check the color of her blood. “Hey, why did you come here, mortal?” A blood-red fairy hovered right in front of Margaret’s face, needle-like teeth right in front of her eyes.
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