City of IF

scissorkitty

ChapterEleven

Balancing the tray on his fingertip like the most unlikely of maitre-dees, Liam proffered the steaming teacups with a little bow. His faux-French accent was hideously mangled by his Irish burr.
Madame, monsieur.. yer tea, an it please ye.

Leah giggled, and took the nearest cup, while George picked up the other. Both settled into their seats, and stared at the clear water in confusion.

Uh.. did you forget something, dude? Like.. maybe to put TEA in our tea? George poked a finger into the steaming water and yelped at the sting, starting a second time as the water began to take on a rich, amber colour.

What the fuck?? Seriously.. Leah.. LOOK! Mimicking George, Leah gingerly dipped her own fingertip into the water of her cup, and watched as the water therein took on a deep, mellow hue.

Liam just chuckled, and walked away with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
Oh, aye. Just takes a little steeping at first, is all.

The steamed curled up from the cups in welcoming little wisps, carrying the heady scents of cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla chai. Unable to resist, Leah was the first to brave a sip.

Stop! Leah.. you don't know what the hell is in there!George moved to knock the cup from her grasp, but Leah snatched it from his path with a grin.

Ah, don't be such a scaredy cat! You know I'm a sucker for the weird anyway.. why do you think I spend so much time with you!.. now don't be such a fucking pussy, and drink the damn magical Irish tea!

She happily drained the tea, sloshing it around in her mouth to get as much flavour as possible. George, unable to look away, followed suit- a much less excited look on his face. Within a few moments, both were happily asleep, leaning against each other like a pair of mismatched bookends.

Dina and Liam peeked from the kitchen nook, and laughed.
So are we laying bets on this one, dearest sister? I take the bald one.. oh, aye, the lassie's something special.. but he's much more fun in the long run. You ken I love a good romance!

Um.. you always pick the lovelorn. Fine then, I do take the lassie. She's the one been touched, anyway. Dina turned off the sign outside, and with a wave of her hand, the windows went dark, the cafe looking to all the world outside like just another empty shopfront. Liam, still grinning, threw himself onto a nearby armchair to watch the show, a pint in hand.

Dina and Liam lounged in comfort, warming themselves at the large hearth suddenly adorning one cobbled wall. The other walls, now a painted wood,were set with little bay windows which looked outwards on a pastoral scene suspiciously like the paintings hanging on the walls beforehand, and suspiciously unlike the city space that should have been outside. Leah and George lay sleeping, now on a pile of blankets and worn furs beside the fire. The blaze crackled merrily, marking the passing of time, and Leah began to stir.

Eyes still closed, she rustled and flexed in her sleep, arching her back and muttering. Dina leant closer, rubbing her hands with glee.
I'm set to win this one, brother! You choose the slow horse!

George lay still, a slight smile beginning to lift the corners of his mouth, easing the lines of concern from his face as he slept. Leah continued to writhe, suddenly crying out, a multitude of dark feathers bursting through the back of her sweater dress. Her back appeared to hump and wriggle, and then the knit gave way, dark wings shooting clear to stretch into the firelight, then curl against her back.

Dina crowed with triumph, but her brother laid a fingertip to her lips, smiling widely. Don't be getting ahead of yourself, Dina. My horse mightn't be so slow after all.

George, now grinning from ear to ear, began to gently stroke Leah's wings, putting right each feather, and smoothing the remnants of her clothing into place. Still asleep, he knelt and shifted her into a nicer position, then curled around her, face to face, tucking his arms under her head as a pillow. Leah murmured happily, and mantled her topmost wing over the both of them like a blanket.

The twins looked on, laughing and taunting each other over the lips of their glasses. It seems the pair are evenly matched in the end.. lets see what happens when they wake up.

Phantomfan · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:56 pm Post subject:

Nice!
That actually was kind of cute, the way George cared for her in her sleep...

The Meaning Of Fear · Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:35 pm Post subject:

That was both amusing and fluffy at the same time...

I'm guessing the DP is what actually happens when they wake up...

I say Leah wakes up with a start and accidentally shoves a wing into Liam's face, which wakes him up, then they stop in awkward silence as they recall the contents of their dreams, only to realise where they are.

scissorkitty · Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:37 pm Post subject:

Thanks guys.. i wanted to bring some more emotions into the story.. make their relationship a little more tangible.

AAAAAANNNYWAY... that's only ONE poll suggestion so far.. any others?

Smee · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 5215 Location: UK

To be honest Skitty, I'm a little confused here... hadn't we already polled and decided what would happen from the tea? Was the winning vote for them to simply fall asleep, I didn't see?

This chapter seems to cut (rather) short to simply ask the same question again?

"What happens next" really isn't my favourite type of decision point either, although it is kinda character based combared with the tea one. Meh, they wake up and get rather annoyed with the irish folk, thinking they'd simply been drugged in order to be robbed or something.

Happy Writing :)

scissorkitty · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 5:49 am Post subject:

Hmm. Noted and filed, Smee. YOu make an excellent point!

The decision of the last DP was what effects the tea would cause, and I used my judgement to couch that within them falling asleep. I wanted to highlight the whole magical-ness of the Twins, and the teashop, without our characters' smart assed comments getting in the way of the setting. I suppose I could make a Part B to this chapter to take it to an actual DP! That's a neat idea. I hadn't looked at it the way you're describing, but now that I am.. I can see that it's very much like you say, posting almost identical DPs twice. And, again, I see what you mean about the "what happens next" scenario- I'm not giving a lot of direction here to work with.

I think I will run with that redux chapter idea! So.. stay tuned, then! ;)

Smee · Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 5215 Location: UK

Mwahahahha - more story, and sooner. My master plan worked ;)

Crunchyfrog · Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 3998

Good good! *waits impatiently for part b* :-D

Actually I'm looking forward to seeing what you're going to call this second part, considering the rather interesting way in which you've been numbering your chapters! :P

scissorkitty · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:16 am Post subject:

Crunchy.. uh.. why? Now I'm afraid to look. What did I do weird with the numbers?

... i think any "coolness" that was implied by my numbering process was probably just add brain instead! *lol*

D-Lotus · Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 4123 Location: Hollywood, USA

Dum dee dum. Jest waiting. Still here. :)

scissorkitty · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 2:19 pm Post subject:

HAAA!! okay.. hold on. NOW i see what's been going on with the chapters! HAAAAA! wOW. I guess I just regularly assume, if I've not written for a while, that I must have been on chapter 5!

anyway.. to continue onwards..