paixaorpg | Here, it's her. [completed]

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Here, it's her. [completed]

Character(s): River, Oogie and Larsa~
Content: River enters Paixao and meets Oogie. Larsa comes along and tries to help her flee from him~
Setting: Vanaheim gate
Time: Noon
Warnings: ~~Psychobabble~~None yet.

River feels peaceful when she is asleep. She can still hear the many whispering and yelling voices in her head but they are a little farther away then when she is awake. The voices barely wash over her as she dreams her dreams and the dreams of the others in Serenity. River can see Kaylee through Simon's eyes; beautiful and fragile. If she, he reaches out his hand to touch her, she would run away like a butterfly. Inara dreams of one particular client of hers. She is fond of him, he called her his little butterfly but Inara knows that she is not his. She is her own. His own room. Jayne betrayed his co-workers to have a room of his own, but it is a fair exchange. He has a better pay too and it's not just for himself, it's for his mama too. Mal doesn't remember his mother but--

She wakes up. The dreams fade away from her sight and she blinks her eyes several time to adjust her eyes to the sudden light. Serenity was never so bright. Placing an arm over her eyes, River rolls to her side before fumbling with her hands to get up. She is on the ground, not in her room. Simon would be worried. Once her eyes can see better in the brightness, River looks around herself with sleepy eyes. She can't hear Simon, or Kaylee, or Mal. River can't hear anyone. Then, such beautiful gates, where does it lead to-- where am I? I wasn't here befo--Damn it, my head hurts like he--What should I do? What sho--

River pushes herself off the ground and runs quickly to where the people should be. She heard more than one person so there might be a town, a civilization. Maybe Simon is there, looking for her. Simon gave up everything for her. Everything he had. Here. Not there with him. Here, it's her. Simon worried. She slows down to a walk when she sees a line of people waiting to enter the tall gates. A city, even bigger than a town. She guessed right.

Her feet are sore from running around barefoot but Simon will give her shoes to wear when she finds him. All River needs to do is find Simon and go home, back to Serenity. Daddy will come pick them up, then everything will be alright. She will get better. Simon will be happy. Not worried, happy.

"Name?" the man standing behind the counter asks. River turns to him slowly, blinking once, twice before responding. Just gotta get a few more minutes and my shift is done, what the hell do they need the names for anyway? The man doesn't seem to have any connection to the Alliance, but she must still be cautious or they will take her back.

River smiles sweetly, almost sanely, "Simone River." There, she is safe. Simon will make a name too. Be safe. Have two names. The man scribbles down her name and offers her a blue square object without looking up. River watches him without taking it.

"'s a journal," he mutters, shoving it into her hands. "Write your feelings, secrets, whatever into it. Use it," he explains while ushering her away with his hands. "Welcome to Paixao," he adds as an afterthought. Attention now directed to the journal in her hand, River flips it open while walking away from the gate slowly. Paixao, she has never heard of it but maybe the journal has a map of the system with Paixao in it.

First she finds Simon, or let him find her. Then out, keep flying, away from the blue hands, mustn't get caught.

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Well, well, well, what have we here?

It looked like a gate.

Oogie Boogie inspected the tree design from afar and laughed. They called that a good design? Puh. He could do so much better than that. It needed neon, he decided. Lots and lots of neon. And skeletons. And bats. And dice. And more neon.

But why was he wasting his considerable talent there? After all, you couldn’t gamble at a gate.

Well, he conceded, maybe you could. But there would be no jazz to it, and what’s the point of doing something if it’s got no jazz?

He grinned and turned his attention to the people in line, wondering how many of them he could dupe before he got caught.

Ah, who was he kidding? He was Oogie Boogie, Gambling Boogieman Extraordinaire. He never got caught.

Where he was, how he got there, how he was going to get back to Halloweentown…none of it particularly concerned him. He’d figure out all that boring stuff later, once he’d established the more important facts.

Like where the nearest casino was, for example.

There obviously wasn’t going to be anything out in this grassy waste of space, that was for sure. Abruptly making up his mind, he strode as quickly and proudly as his little legs would take him towards the gate with the decidedly lame design, cutting in front of the first person in line and shrugging off the multitude of dirty looks he received in return. He was Oogie Boogie, after all. These people should be grateful cutting in front was all he did to them.

“Name, sir?” said the decidedly uninteresting man at the gate, who either didn’t notice the minor disturbance or didn’t care.

Oogie decided to make the most of it. “I’m Mister Oogie Boogie,” he replied with his biggest, nastiest grin (the one involving several particularly hairy spiders of which he was quite fond) and leaned in to leer at the man. “And don’t you forget it.”

“Yes, sir,” said the gatekeeper automatically, taking the name down and gesturing towards a booth within the gate. “Now if you’ll kindly go there, you’ll receive your journal.”

Oogie simply stared at the man. This was the first time his biggest, nastiest grin had failed to get any kind of reaction. Was this guy even looking? Heck, was he even alive? All that yellow hair sure didn’t look real to him.

“Well.” He stepped back and gathered his thoughts. “Well fine then.” He straightened up as best he could and marched over to the other booth, taking his little black box and pamphlet and entering the city – his new Bug Day Town, if he had anything to say about it – with all the confidence in the world.

River had taken a seat under an artificial tree a little ways away from the gate. Her feet terribly hurt. She had been checking out the things that the journal can do, figuring out the network, maps and other things already. She doesn't know for sure yet but she thinks that the journal has a tracking device as well. It is something that the rulers of this place would use to track the people in this place.

Closing the journal, River draws her knees closer to her and places the journal to her chest protectively. Maybe she can find Simon through the network, or Kaylee. Suddenly, new Bug Day Town, if he had anything to say about it-- River stands up abruptly, stumbling a little when she remembers the blisters on her feet.

The first thing Oogie saw when he entered the gates was a young girl in a red dress sitting under a tree.

Very short dress. Very pretty girl.

Today was certainly looking up.

He strolled up to her, self-confident in his manly ways as ever. He registered that she was tinkering with some little blue thing, made the connection that it looked just like the little black thing he'd gotten at the gate, and filed that train of thought away to make room for something more important - impending conquest of the feminine persuasion.

"Hey, baby doll." He moved to put his arm around her waist when she stumbled - perfect opportunity. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

With a gasp, River puts her two arms in front of her face, hands forming loose fists and shivering a little. Pretty. No one ever really told her she was, even though sometimes they tell her without saying anything anyway. It, he, is also telling her that. Creepy crawlies, too many. If she hits him the crawlies will go everywhere.

River lets out a sob while looking around anxiously, trying not to look at Oogie. "D-doing," she starts clumsily, "Looking," she looks into his what-might-be-eyes with head bowed. "Looking for Simon," she utters the words slowly and carefully as if Oogie would not understand if she said it quickly.

Simon? Who's this "Simon" chump?

Ah, he got it now. Competition.

Well, he'd take care of that soon. Nobody could stand up to his charms, he was sure of it.

"C'mon, baby," he leered at the girl before him, "I can show you a better time than this Simon guy ever could."

[OOC: Late. Tired. Homeworks still unfinished. Coherency failing. One last (regrettably short) post for the night. Thanks for understanding. ^^]

Simon? Who's this "Simon" chump? Ah, competition. River makes a face at the thought, scared and rather disturbed. Charms. Bangles and trinkets. She doesn't care much for them, never did. Hesitantly placing a hand on Oogie's arm for balance, she takes a few small steps to put a distance between him and herself.

The leer makes her wince, stumbling back a little in slight fear. "No," she whimpers. "No time," she mutters to him urgently, as if it were a secret shared only between them. Turning her attention to her surrounding again, River staggers away from Oogie slowly, looking around as if searching for something. "Find," she tells him without turning around, "Get found. Keep flying. Jayne kills me different way."

Larsa who was still lost caught sight of two people who were quite different from the rest of the citizens, a strange humongous moving potato sack and a confused looking girl in a red dress, maybe lost, like he is. However, after he discerned the situation, he found that perhaps the girl was disturbed by the coquettish flirtings of the potato sack.

Determined to help the girl, Larsa thought asking for directions might be a way to disturb their conversation, and maybe stop the unknown creature's disturbing comments. He walked up to the two people.

"Excuse me, mister. You two look quite unfamiliar to the surroundings. I myself am quite lost. I was wondering if any of you knew the way or is familiar with the place. Or if you do not mind, perhaps we can walk as a party and find our ways around here."

Oogie still didn't understand a word the girl was saying. Random little phrases and strange names - but did it matter, really? She was pretty and that was that. It was only a matter of time until she was his, he was sure of it.

So he was rather irked when the kid interrupted. Didn't he know a work in progress when he saw one? And why was he talking like a dictionary? Parents probably named him Webster or something, he thought dismissively.

Well, he was the Boogieman. There was no kid alive that could resist his charms - or his scares.

He prepared his scariest glare and turned it on the dictionary-boy. "Buzz off, kid."

River whips around quickly when she heard a voice behind her. She did not hear him come closer, which is strange. River hears everything, she can't not. Standing still while fiddling with her hair, River looks on at the properly dressed boy as he makes a lengthy introduction. The boy looks proper, like someone related to the Alliance although he seems too young to be working for anyone.

Tilting her head to the side, her lips form a wistful smile as she looks on at the little boy. One word echoes in her head, his. "Peace," she whispers to him like a name. "I sue for peace," she tells him in an accent similar to his own. River tilts her head to the other side with a smile that is almost sane now, eyes bright and determined.

"The differences between our two lands will fade before the shared dream of men," she explains to him as if it were her own words. Having said that, she smiles victoriously as if she has said something very remarkable.

The man sure was quite intimidating, but Larsa was in no position to stop from his mission to save the poor girl.

However, Larsa could not help but feel very startled when the girl almost victoriously mirrored what he was thinking, his life goal. As if his deepest desires were transparently seen by her. But he was in the middle of a conversation with the sack-like creature and decided not to stop.

"I'm sorry if I seemed like I was bothering you." He thought a while for something to bring up into the conversation, to bring out his attention and give a chance to the girl, to, perhaps flee.

"I was wondering if you were lost too. Perhaps I can know your name?" He said to the sack creature trying to lengthen the conversation.

This was the first kid that hadn't run screaming from Oogie.

This was also the second time today that someone had failed to react to his nastiest, scariest expressions.

Needless to say, he was not a happy boogieman. It really didn't help that his lovely lady was spouting some nonsense about peace.

It was always, however, worth another try.

"I'm the Boogieman," he leered at the kid, inadvertantly answering his question.

The smile melting away from her lips, River looks on at Larsa and Oogie as the little boy tries to initiate conversation with the man, creature, anyway. The little boy wants her to flee but Oogie does not seem to have any bad intention so far, none that she can recognize at the very least. Oogie wants River to be his because she is pretty, isn't that nice? No one wanted her to be on Serenity. Simon does though, most of the time.

Name. The creature is the Boogieman; Bugge, Bugbear, Boggart. If you give him a name, he would be hard to reason with. He will turn uncontrollable and destructive. "No!" She shrieks at Larsa while Oogie was leering at the little boy. Covering her mouth with shaking fingers, River steps back from the two of them slowly. "Horseshoe. Get a horseshoe. Hang it on the door. Don't let it fall," She tells Larsa urgently.

Then, as if she has done nothing out of the ordinary, River steps over to Oogie's side and hesitantly takes his arm with her two hands. "Be yours," she says as if trying to recap what has been told to her before. "Going somewhere safe?"

Larsa could not believe the girl. He was sure the girl wanted someone to protect her, but this boogieman? The girl told him to hang a horseshoe, perhaps, she was asking him to save his life, to leave, to flee from this creature.

"Very well, I apologize for disturbing your conversation, sir. But before all else, may I know both your names?" He was eyeing the girl, there was something about her that was strange and although he could not know her secrets, at the least he wanted to know her name.

Whoa-ho-ho-hooooo! This was certainly an unepected turn of events. Suddenly the girl was his and the kid was getting out of his hair.

Heck, he'd take it.

He turned back to the girl - his girl now - and grinned, a shadow of his leer returning to his face. "Sure, dollface." Depends on what your definition of "safe" is...

He spared one last bit of attention for the kid. "I already told you my name." He leaned over, pushing his face close to the kid's. "Now get lost. You're buggin' me." At this, a large, hairy spider crawled out of his left eyehole and clicked its pincers rapidly, as if to illustrate the point.

Gasping a little at Oogie's grin, River resorts to looking away to some random point to avoid looking into his eyes. Depends on what your definition of "safe" is... River is a little worried, but it is too late to turn back now. Besides, she should go with Oogie even if he is dangerous. Both of them are, after all, they don't belong. This way everyone will be fine. She will be fine too.

River simply watches on when Oogie pushes his face close to the little boy's. She looks at the hairy spider curiously. So many souls. One body, many many souls. Better that way, she supposes, the voices all get together and she can't hear the bad ones. Only a jumble of words, doesn't mean what you think.

"River," she tells the boy. No need to give him the other name, the boy seems trustworthy enough. It is rare to find someone who doesn't scare her with their thoughts. Integrity is surely one of his virtues. "My name is River Tam, little Larsa."

Larsa's eyes widened when the boogieman leaned his face close to his. A spider crawled out of his ear hole. Larsa was not fond of insects, they were not pleasant, and one coming out of a person, boogieman's eyehole was even more unpleasant.

When the girl told him her name, Larsa's attention ran from the spider. He almost shuddered at the whisper of "River". It was not fear that shook him but amazement, or perhaps just the feeling of knowing someone who knows your thoughts so much.

"Very well, I shall not bother your party anymore. I apologize. Farewell then," he said as he withdrew himself from the spider on the tip of the boogieman's nose.

"Yeah, yeah, see ya later kid." Oogie waved him off, muttering "Not" under hsi breath as he turned once again back to the pretty lady he'd started out with.

He stopped short, finally, finally putting pieces together that hadn't been there before. "Hey," he regarded River suspiciously. "The kid never said his name." The look on his face and the tone of his voice were menacing as he reached for her arm. "How'd you know it?"

River's eyes follow Larsa as the little boy walks away from the group. There could be longing in her eyes, although it is mostly unclear. She does not turn to Oogie when he addressed her, looking on to where Larsa was as if she is trying to read something important written on the air. The tone of his voice makes her shudder a little, but it was only when he reached for her arm that she finally turned to look at him.

Meeting his menacing face, River drops her gaze to the ground in confusion. "Words," she tells him, "Twenty-six letters all jumbled together; doesn't mean what you think."

Letters? Doesn't mean what I think? What the heck was she going on about? And why did the only girl around here have to be completely off her rocker?

Oh well. She was a lady and she was pretty. Oogie had to keep reminding himself that. He was really starting to wonder whether she was worth keeping around or not.

[OOC: Lookit that, I fail at substantial posting at midnight. ^^;]

River takes a step back from Oogie, feeling the little sharp pebbles pushing into the soles of her feet. They hurt. She closes her fists in response to the pain, looking down to listen to any clue as to where a space port could be. She is an albatross, she needs to fly.

No voice is telling her where it is, they are all speaking about very trivial things. Dinner at the Ersesat Manor, the dress she bought yesterday, the fight between who and who. River quickly opens her eyes, How much is the ticket to the Central Station? Turning to the direction of the voice, River makes her way slowly towards it. "Station," She says to Oogie from over her shoulders before continuing on her way again.

Station? Where had that come from? How this girl went from point A to point L and skipped everything in between was just beyond him. Of all the dames in this miserable city, why'd he have to get the crazy one?

Wait, station? As in, trains? Some sort of transportation in this crazy place?

Well, maybe it wasn't too late to find that casino after all.

He followed after her - "Whoa-ho, wait for me!" - a huge smirk spreading across his face as rain began to fall.

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Here, it's her. [completed]

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