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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 14, 2011 16:42:27 GMT -5
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“...of the year!”
::::::::::::::::: "RIIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEER!" Robin yelled, grinning as she spun around on her nearly healed ankle in jubilance. Okay-- so what if she was acting like a five-year-old? It was Christmas Morning for God's sake. It's the most wonderful time of the year! "It's an emmmmmmmmergency!" She shouted, half-singing, as the ball at the end of her extremely old Santa-hat whacked her in the face. Robin paused, setting down her mandatory mug of morning hot-chocolate (no special-occasion necessary), before racing over to the window and sighing in mock-disappointment at the lack of snow (as usual in South-Caroline. Spinning around again, Robin teetered on her heel and gazed at the shut door of that led to River's room. Robin would give the River with a broken leg about 10 seconds to get out here, before Robin would charge in there herself. No hum-bugs allowed on Christmas Morning.
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Post by River Tam on May 18, 2011 6:58:39 GMT -5
RIVER TAM I’ve seen all of creation, but to it I’m incidental But there’s more to this automaton than they will ever know I’m more than just alloys and circuits, I have soul And I’ve got dreams just like everybody else I could conquer the world if I could conquer myself
In her usual black dress (wrinkled), yet barefoot, River walks out of her room, looking over at Robin with sharp brown eyes. She leans against a wall, crossing her arms over her chest.
“What’s the emergency, Robin?” she sighs. Yeah, she knows it’s Christmas. But, in her mind, it’s just another day. For years, she didn’t have the money to buy food most days, let alone splurge on some little trinket. And, on top of that, she had no one to buy a trinket for. No loved ones. That’s not to say she doesn’t still love her family, she just doesn’t know if they still lover her, is all.
God, there’s something wrong with Robin. Spinning around, twirling, waking her up at five-fricken-AM… Christmas must have been a big deal in her house.
River wiggles her toes against the wood flooring, then crosses the room to a small coffee maker that she had asked the kitchen if she could have. She pours in ground beans and water, then stabs the ‘on’ button, watching as dark liquid almost instantly pours out into the waiting reservoir.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 21, 2011 10:14:23 GMT -5
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"I heard the bells on Christmas Day; their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the word repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
::::::::::::::::: Silently, Robin watched River as made her way over to the coffee machine that she had borrowed from the kitchen, slightly aghast by her nonchalant attitude. Oh, well, it didn’t hurt her too much, as Robin scampered over to the counter also, picking up her still luke-warm mug of hot chocolate. Normally, Robin would physically attack and possibly/probably claw the eyes out of anyone who dared to wake her up before at least 9:00 on a Saturday, (which it happened to be) but Robin was seriously hyped up from all the positive feelings of excitement and joy and good-will, that it almost worked as well as sugar itself. Robin would remain as hyped up and excited until the feelings died down—usually around midnight tonight. So, River had better prepare herself. She stepped back and continued to eye River, sipping the coffee-like-remedy. I mean, who needs the caffeinated stuff when hot chocolate both tastes better and works the same way? Finally shaking her head in mock-despair, and looking up to face River—Robin said, “The emergency—is you.” Which was true. At first, Robin had just used this as an excuse to get River out of bed—as to give as present she had bought—but now her mission had changed. River’s nonchalant attitude had sent a rift into Robin’s empathic abilities. It wasn’t a bad thing, as River can’t help what she feels, but Robin had gathered that this girl wasn’t one for Christmas spirit. So… naturally, Robin would have to fix that.
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Post by River Tam on May 23, 2011 7:47:59 GMT -5
RIVER TAM I’ve seen all of creation, but to it I’m incidental But there’s more to this automaton than they will ever know I’m more than just alloys and circuits, I have soul And I’ve got dreams just like everybody else I could conquer the world if I could conquer myself
She rolls her eyes. “Please. December Twenty-fifth is just another day.” River reaches above the counter for a mug, which she sets gently down and pours cream and a bit of sugar into, following quickly with the steaming coffee.
She takes the cup into her hands, swiveling to face her giddy roommate. It’s not that she wants to kill the blonde’s Christmas spirit; she just can’t make herself be happy about something that she had forced herself to ignore.
The first year, while still wandering in England, she had gone and sat in the cut-your-own Christmas tree lot until the man in charge had chased her away. Said she was bad for business. True, she did look scruffy, hair in need of a trim, muddy, barefoot, but she couldn’t help it.
The next Christmas, in New York, she had spent the day purposefully avoiding Times Square, not wanting to see the large, piney reminder of her solitude.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 24, 2011 16:09:11 GMT -5
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"A good conscience is a continual Christmas. ”
::::::::::::::::: "Just. Another. Day?" Pronouncing each word to empathize her disapproval-- Robin shook her head, slowly, mournfully. "I don't know what planet you grew up on, River-- but Christmas-- no matter where you grew up-- is a big deal. Mostly. Except for, like, in Israel? Or am I getting my countries religions wrong...?" Shaking her head to get back on track, Robin gestured to the window where anyone could easily see that it was... snowless. "In order to get your Christmas spirit back on track-- we must fill the air with, well, Christmas spirit!" She pumped her fist into the air, and pretended to listen, closing her eyes dramatically. Opening them suddenly, Robin suddenly raced to the door-- downing her hot-chocolate and swinging her backpack onto her shoulders-- kicking the door open with a mocking practice. "No one but us, and a few all-nighter freaks, is up yet. Good." She bowed and turned back around to River-- head high. "I happen to have met a weather-manipulator who needs a favor..." The girl hinted, nodding rapidly.
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Post by River Tam on May 24, 2011 19:58:44 GMT -5
RIVER TAM I’ve seen all of creation, but to it I’m incidental But there’s more to this automaton than they will ever know I’m more than just alloys and circuits, I have soul And I’ve got dreams just like everybody else I could conquer the world if I could conquer myself
She scowls, struggling to keep the venomous words at the tip of her tongue from spilling out into the air. After a second of composing herself, she says through her teeth, “Times change, Robin.”
River sets her mug back down on the counter, obviously not wanting to go anywhere. She’s perfectly happy to stay here in her room with her books, thank you very much.
Weather manipulator. Yay. Thanks, but no thanks, Christina Ann Robins. She looks straight at the blonde, jaw set stubbornly, feet shoulder-width apart.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 24, 2011 20:03:44 GMT -5
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"I heard the bells on Christmas Day; their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the word repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
::::::::::::::::: "C'mon..." Robin begged. "Please? This would be so, so, so cool-- to get it to snow in South-Carolina! Imagine! White," Robin spun her arms around, demonstrating-- "All around? You've seen snow-- right? I promise I won't have you help at all in the favor-- I'll just dish out 20 bucks, or give the person a 5-Hour-Robin-Energy--" Robin clicked her fingers, blue flame sparking for a moment before disappearing. "--it won't kill you, will it? "Please?" She repeated, holding open the door. "Please, please? For Christmas? To get on it's good side? For the world? For me? For... for..." Robin randomly looked around, eyes settling on her empty mug. "For hot-chocolate? For the little children around the world? For those who lived in Africa before living here-- who have never seen snow? For the sake of living? For the sake of... of..." -she was running out of ideas here- "For, um, for... for... the good will of all men!-- and women!"
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Post by River Tam on May 24, 2011 20:17:02 GMT -5
RIVER TAM I’ve seen all of creation, but to it I’m incidental But there’s more to this automaton than they will ever know I’m more than just alloys and circuits, I have soul And I’ve got dreams just like everybody else I could conquer the world if I could conquer myself
Hey, another reason to not go outside! “Robin, you do know what snow’s made of, correct? And you know how I am around water.”
She feels… Weird. She’s not trying to make Robin upset or whatever, she just can’t let herself get all excited about Christmas again. River doesn’t think her poor little heart could stand running downstairs in the proper morning, getting all excited about a present underneath the tree, looking for a tag that says ‘For River, from Mom/Dad/Simon!’ and finding nothing.
“Christ, Robin! What’s the big deal about Christmas?”
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 24, 2011 20:58:41 GMT -5
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"Remember Christmas. Why? Because you can.”
::::::::::::::::: "Snow is not water-- it's snow," Robin said, pointedly, although she know's what River's getting at. "Snow is fluffy white stuff that's cold-- and fun to chuck at people. And to build snowmen with! And... to build forts, and to sled down, and to ski down... and to make snow-angles in... Yes-- I know how you don't like water. But if your scared of ever getting wet, not that I don't agree with not liking the rain myself, you'll never get out of the house! Think of sprinklers, and showers, and..." Robin's only seen flashes of why River's so scared of the water, but she diffidently gets the fear. Robin's twice over scared of rain and thunder and lightening and stuff too, (though it seems as if River's only afraid of the 'wet' part, which Robin can somewhat deal with) But, c'mon. If Robin can get over her fear enough to join a swim-team, River can step outside and play in the snow-- seriously. Now. To convince River that Christmas is more than just a random day of the year. Hesitating, Robin racked her brain-- searching for the perfect words. "Christmas, in an unrelious sense--" She paused again, thinking. Aw, what the heck? "Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves. ~Eric Sevareid." "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith." "Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself. ~Francis C. Farley." "Christmas is the day that holds all time together. ~Alexander Smith." "Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. ~Janice Maeditere," Robin continued to quote, her brain racking the thousands of quotes that she had memorized in her head. Hoping that at least one would impact River in some sort of way, to unlock something. "As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is. ~Eric Sevareid" "Christmas... is a time, to teach others that we care-- and to teach them that we live on the earth 365 days of the year, and at least one must be spent in friendship, snow, and... and... hope for the next day. ~C.A. Robins." Robin stopped, glancing up at River to see her reaction. Maybe... just maybe...?
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Post by River Tam on May 25, 2011 6:43:30 GMT -5
RIVER TAM I’ve seen all of creation, but to it I’m incidental But there’s more to this automaton than they will ever know I’m more than just alloys and circuits, I have soul And I’ve got dreams just like everybody else I could conquer the world if I could conquer myself
River throws up her hands, rolling her eyes. “Fine, fine! I’ll go. But no snow, got it?”
Oh, if Robin only knew exactly why she feared the water with a power like that of a thousand suns. Then she wouldn’t attempt to cajole her into going out in water-- frozen or not, the chemical makeup of the stuff doesn’t change.
She gulps down the rest of her coffee, grimacing as it scalds her throat, and slips back into her room, emerging a second later with a jacket, already sliding one arm through the armhole.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 25, 2011 17:13:58 GMT -5
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“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
::::::::::::::::: "Yay!" Robin clapped her hands together, reopening the door, and darting out, noticing the significant amount of mental stirring in her mind. People must be waking up... Robin closed her eyes again, nearly walking into the wall as her eyes readjusted. Nope, check that. People's subconsciousness were mentally preparing themselves for waking up, and complaining about it. Oh, well. Robin would be a little less hyper for a few hours until everyone was up. Then it would seem like she was on drugs, or whatnot. Hopefully there would be, by that time, some snow for her to prance in. "This way!" Robin called from half-way down the hall, -already-, sending a pulse of excess energy from her fingertips to prop their dorm door so River could slide out.
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Post by River Tam on May 25, 2011 19:48:08 GMT -5
RIVER TAM I’ve seen all of creation, but to it I’m incidental But there’s more to this automaton than they will ever know I’m more than just alloys and circuits, I have soul And I’ve got dreams just like everybody else I could conquer the world if I could conquer myself
Smiling at her friend’s enthusiasm, she shrugs the jacket the rest of the way onto her shoulders and slides out the door.
“Where are we going, Christina Ann Robins?” Hopefully not off the roof of a building. She should have learned her lesson by now, after her adventure with Kins. Even leaping into a swimming pool can break bones. She wonders if the vivacious blonde had thought to break the surface of the water by dropping something into the pool before she hit the surface.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 25, 2011 20:53:20 GMT -5
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“Christmas: The time for joy, snow, presents, giving, and hot-chocolate, all in one!!”
::::::::::::::::: Robin allows the door to close with an awkward jerk of her wrist, causing to to fall flat. She patiently waits for River to catch up, dancing from foot to foot on the balls of her feet-- curls bouncing. Her head bobs rapidly as soon as the older girl catches up, before continuing down the corridor-- eyes scanning the golden numbers on the door-way-- even though she doesn't need to, already sensing where the weather manipulator was sleeping. Mentally smacking herself, Robin took a sharp turn to the left, teetering on one foot tat the last second before racing down the senior girl's hallway. Turning around, and still dashing, Robin faced River-- nearly tripping over herself as she skittered backwards while talking. "I already told you," she said, lightly. "We're finding a weather manipulator to make it snow-- for Christmas spirit and theme only," she added hastily. "And as my Christmas gift to many of the people here at the mansion. And--" Robin stopped suddenly, giving a door an up and down glance-- double checking with her eyes rather than her head which was beginning to play tricks on her. "We're actually here, right now." And not wasting a second, she rapped on the door, too excited to think about the asleep students inside.
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Post by River Tam on May 26, 2011 19:14:37 GMT -5
RIVER TAM I’ve seen all of creation, but to it I’m incidental But there’s more to this automaton than they will ever know I’m more than just alloys and circuits, I have soul And I’ve got dreams just like everybody else I could conquer the world if I could conquer myself
Christmas spirit and theme. What is this, How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Better not be. River’d end up as the Grinch. As it happens, How the Grinch Stole Christmas was her favorite movie for a long, long time. She owned it in every possible form. VHS, DVD, MP4, you name it. The book was well loved as well. She had a slim hardcover version that she carried everywhere with her. The one thing that might be construed as normal childhood behavior.
Robin’s knuckles rap on the door, once, twice, three times. River bounces on the balls of her feet.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on May 28, 2011 10:13:05 GMT -5
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“Everyone stop and stare. It's snowing!”
::::::::::::::::: It takes a minute, but Robin just stands there, shifting from one foot to the other-- knocking again after a roll of her eyes suggesting that the person inside might've fallen back asleep again. Evetually, the door swung open and a very irritated senior with red hair stared out, scowling. "What do you want? You do realize it's only 6:00, right?" "Yep," Robin replied cheerfully, and quickly explained to the senior what she wanted to accomplish here, for the the island. "Nice idea," The senior yawned, when Robin had finished. "But you do realize that that will take alot of my energy and... you know. Stuff. Time. So what's in it for me?" Robin sparked a finger with a small blue flame in one hand, and a twenty dollar bill in the other. Five minutes later, the senior was twenty-dollars richer, and Robin twenty dollar poorer. Ontop of that, the senior looked just as energetic as Robin had been ten-minutes ago, and Robin slightly more subdued (but not much). "There ya' go," The Senior nodded briskly, smiling as she opened her eyes. "You should-- ah, whatever. You'll figure it out-- right about..." "IT'S SNOWING, OMG-- SARA COME LOOK AT THIS!" A screech came from inside the door that the senior, now properly named Sara, was standing in. "...now," Sara finished, grinning at her perfect timing. "Merry-Christmas." And the door closed.
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