originally posted in:The New Dojo
[i]"......Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird..
and if that mockingbird don't sing.....
Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring.....
I love you, my little Alexandria."
"I love you momma."
The girl giggled as the woman kissed her forehead, then leaning back to admire the fragile porcelain features of her daughter. Under the layers of covers and elaborate nightclothing, lay a girl of high status.
As she looked, her mother disappeared in a puff of smoke, and she stood outside of a burning country house, lit by the friction of the chaos of a dozen scared souls.
The woman's voice rose in pitch and tone as her cries of anguish -crying for her only family not with her- pierced the smoke and the pain of the humans inside.
"ALEXANDRIA!"
The little girl, covered in blood and dust, tried to speak, but could not. She reached, but her hand was not her own, the fur and paw strange and alien. Alexandria then could only watch in horror as she felt a jerk just between her shoulder blades as a needle found its way into her.
She blinked, and saw whiteness. Dressed in only a thin paper sheet, her diminuative and frail body was covered in blood and vomit, as she had been doing so for a long period of time. Scientists laid her on a table, and ignored her cries for mercy as they ripped her open with scalpels and their knowledge.
The last thing that reached for her was her mother, burned and bloodied and aghast at what her daughter had become, asking one thing
"....Alexandria?"[/i]
Alpha's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up, her hangover burning behind her eyes with a dull ache as she surveyed the inside of her ship. Blood and booze spattered the walls as the remnants of a drunken fight played out in her head, something about.....nothing, it was gone.
She shook her head and went out onto the entrance ramp, sighing. With a shaking hand, her animalistic yet rather doll-like fingers took a cigarette out of the dwindiling pack she always carried, and Alpha flicked her fingers in a single motion as a small flame lit the end of the newly aquired addiction.
Smoke curled from the end and from her lips as she removed the burning rod, and the girl looked out onto the Dojo and the burnt out husk of a city before it with her usual unenthusiastic distaste.
Despite the christmas festivities, she was alone and hurting. Mentally, her mind burned with a hundred memories not her own, not to mention the wrongdoings of her own she had committed. Emotionally, she still stung from the loss of Pandora due to her own mistakes, and her denial of the fact. Yet deep down, she knew she was at fault, no matter what justifications played across her mind.
Physically, she gave up on recording that one. Bruises, aches, and pains all flared up whenever she moved, a side effect of letting her mouth run faster than her brain.
So deep her reverie, that she failed to notice the newcomer. Something that always happened, given the fact that nobody in the Dojo seemed to care about minding their own business.
[spoiler]Open[/spoiler]
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The cigarette's burning ceased as Bedlam walked up and stood beside her, facing the same way as her. He gazed out at the Dojo, hands in the pockets of his dress pants. "I go away for a day and you're starting up a bad addiction? Come on, just enjoy the scenery and breath in that fresh air of nature."
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She crushed the mostly intact cigarette in her hand and sighed, smoke pouring from her mouth as the wind snatched the tobacco and chemically altered distraction away. "Bedlam, what do you want? I just got up and I'm not even properly dressed." It was true, Alpha was dressed only in her disheveled and somewhat matted fur, her undergarments, and a nightgown "Can't a furry get some personal space? Despite the stigma, not all of us lack the concept of it." Despite her obvious wear, she was still up for a quick quip.
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"You'll get personal space when you start taking care of yourself and I don't think you need help anymore." He chuckled, nudging her a little. "And who cares what you're wearing? Still a cute goat girl."
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"Still trying to win over the affections of an overly sexualized furry." She observed dryly "I'm taking better care of myself than Sarah is. I checked her myself for anything, the usual blood screens." She sighed "If you're the legal guardian (hue) of the baby, you might like to know that her kid's safe. Just keep her away from morning sickness meds, tobacco, and alcohol."
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"Not my kid, we haven't been a thing in forever now and I'm not trying to win you over in a sexual way for the billionth time. I can compliment you without wanting sex and I don't get why I have to keep telling you that." He shook his head. "I mean mental health too. You shouldn't think of all your failures...and Pan."
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"You have three seconds to prove you aren't in my head or I will have this craft blast you back into the dust you came from, so help me God." She growled at him "What is my mother's name?" She said, to test him
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"What the...am I supposed to look in your head and answer or stay out like I am now and not? I'm confused..." Bedlam looked over at Alpha in confusion.
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"hmph." She deflated from the attack, and pulled out another cigar. Bruises were visible on the backside of her hand.
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He sighed. "What's with the bruises? And don't light another."
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She lit it anyway, and puffed on the lit cigarette. "Monster's physical resistance is based on their soul/state of mind. Mine's pretty fragile, so my body's following suit. It's nothing." She waved him off, though the gown shifted slightly with the wind and he could see three score more
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He rolled his eyes as the cigarette would die off again. "Well, do you want to talk or anything? It's strange how you went from being so open to me earlier to...this."
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"It's just a hangover." She said, relighting her cigarette. "And monsters can't develop cancer. The worst I'm looking at it emphysema, and even that can be easily treated with a flash-cloned pair of lungs."
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"Still a bad habit..." The burning would just die yet again. "Good to know you weren't actually head over heels in love with me though. That would make it harder for me to help as a friend rather than...more."
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She blushed "Well....I'm seeing someone. Well, seen. I don't know if we're a thing." The wording let her feelings be clear. It was....complicated. "And let me have this one thing. Please. It's this or a train of hookers."
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"Don't do the hooker thing...please. Anything happens I'd rather try and take care of it before you went off getting way too drunk and waste a bunch of money on paid sex." He shook his head. "I just hope this someone actually treats you well and cares. I'd hate to see you hurt again."
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"She's....as close to a bird of a feather that I could find. This girl comes from where I do....and as far as I can tell, is something along the lines of what I am." She said, thoughtfully. Her face retained its ruddy complexion, alerting Bedlam to her activities with this person.......or it was just the leftovers of the alcohol in her body.
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He chuckled. "Just make sure it's not incest. Also, try and guard your heart at least a little bit. You could end up with another person that's not there for you when you need it."
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"I'll keep it in mind." She said, moving to get up...and accidentally flashing him with the underside of her skirt as she waved him in. "C'mon. I'll pour you a drink"
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"Alright, thanks...and maybe put on some actual clothes. If you're doing this on purpose then this is a really sad attempt, may I add." He got up and followed her.
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"I'm not doing anything. And since you mentioned it, I'm gonna sit here in just my undies. To spite you." She said, stripping off the thin gown. The goat then moved to an older-looking bottle of brandy and poured Bedlam a glass, then (half of) a glass for herself.
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Bedlam sighed, taking the drink into his hand. "Why do I have the feeling you're still trying to pull some seduction crap on me? Also, isn't it a little early to be drinking this stuff?"
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"Maybe I am, maybe you're just hoping I am." She said with a shrug. "And there are worse things to do with my morning"
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"In your dreams, I'm hoping for that...maybe. Also, you still have a hangover. You should drink water, Alpha, not more alcohol." He looked over at her with caring eyes. "At least try to get better?"
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"Maybe this is my better." She said with a sour laugh "Anyhow..."
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"Alpha, I say this stuff because I care, I hope you know that." He walked over and gave her a friendly hug, kissing the top of her head. "I'm not trying to be mean, ya goat girl."