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She shrugged, "I don't know Seth...I just can't seem to shake this..cloud over me." She rolled over so she was facing him, resting her head on his chest, "I've never felt like this before...I just..don't understand it. I've always been proud of my life and my methods of action..."
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"Maybe it's just that we have the same schedule day in, day out." Seth said running his hand through Serus' hair. "I think we need to take that vacation." He said with a sigh. "I'll go and knock the kids out if you want." Seth said with a smile.
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"I'll take the pleasure of knocking Aria out. I've got a punch or two that I owe her." She sat up, sitting 'pretzel' style while she looked down at Seth, "Where would we go? I'm banned from five of the eight continents you know." She chuckled a bit, "Good times~"
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"Just don't hurt her to much. She still is human." Seth said with a chuckle. "Yes I know, I was thinking Ireland remember?" He asked with a smile. "Ah I have to give Holden back his estate before we go." Seth said going to his pants.
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"I already took care of Solomon's money. He just doesn't know it yet. Maybe it will do him some good to do some work for once." She chuckled, pondering, "I don't think I got banned from there...I do know I'm not allowed in Dublin at least." She glared at him, "Don't give me that look. I was having fun. Alright?"
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Seth pinched his nose, "Serus, you should be glad I love you." He said as he pulled out a contract. He quickly signed his name, "There now he just has to sign it and his $523 million is his again." He said as he made the contract disappear and reappear on Holden's bed. "Are you allowed in Belfast?" Seth asked crossing his arms.
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She was silent as she sorted through hundreds of years of her bans. After a moment she nodded, "Yup..it's just Dublin." She smiled a bit, locating her kids downstairs in the arenas. "And I thought Jaelynn logged a lot of hours when she was younger."
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"Ok good." Seth said as he went to grab a suitcase. "Well Annemarie has nothing else better to do, so she trains a lot." He said putting one of the two suitcases next to Serus. "And the twins are just bored." Seth said with a smile.
Holden pulled into a parking stall, "Now what are your favorite colors? That will help we a lot." He said with a smile as he turned the car off. |
Melody thought a moment, 'Red, black, blue, green, purple, and orange.' She smiled, unbuckling her seat belt and crawling into his lap, 'Remember, you have to carry me the proper way. Mystic displayed it when he dropped me off. I hear some avid collectors are very picky like that.'
She jumped off the bed, grabbing a few of her dresses from the closet, packing them into her suit case. She dug around for a spare hat; the one she had made for the Carnival, and stuffed it in carefully. She closed her suitcase and smiled, "You know, we don't literally have to knock them out. Anne will keep the Twins in line and Annemarie and Jaelynn are fairly close; they'll keep each other company." |
"Ok that does help." Holden said with a smile as she crawled onto his lap. "No offense to you, but this is going to make me look more like a flame. Don't worry I will, I don't wanna upset the balance of BJD collectors." He said as he opened the door and got out. Holden quickly adjusted Melody so he was holding her the right way.
"Fine hun." Seth said with a slight pout as he packed his suitcase. |
"B-but you're more than welcome to..Ill just watch with a smile." She laughed a bit.
Melody nodded, 'I'll let my head drop if I disagree. Okay?' with that, she folded her arms in her lap, her deep blue eyes just staring forward. At least, she didn't need to blink. |
"Ok." Holden said as he walked up to the stores door. He opened it and walked in, he slightly got taken aback by all of the clothing.
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It was rather hard for Melody to not look around, she let her head tilt ever so slightly to the left, wanting Holden to turn that way.
Hearing the tell-tale bell of the door, the owner of the shop hurried out from the back. He came around a small case of various miniature top hats with a smile, "Why hello there~" He tilted his red hat slightly, "What can I do for you sir?" |
Holden turned to the left slightly so Melody could see what was over there. He smiled when he saw the shop owner, "Yes sir, I would like to buy some dresses for little Melody here." He nodded to 'the doll'. Holden smiled feeling out of place.
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He nodded, "Well you certainly came to the right place~ We're the best in all of Wisconsin!" He stepped into the isle, "Is there any particular style or color or such that you're looking for? Or would you rather just take your own tour?" He leaned forward, looking at the doll curiously, "Well, whoever crafted her has amazing skill. You almost can't see the seams! I don't see any joints though...very strange. How does she move then?"
Her eyes scanned the cases as Holden turned. So many pretty dresses~ |
"I would like to look myself." Holden said with a smile. "Ya my friend Azriel is quite amazing." He said running his free hand through his hair. "Well her joints are internal." He said as he gently grabbed Melody's arm and stuck it straight out, and bent the wrist down a little bit. He waited for a moment after removing his hand, he quickly moved Melody's arm back onto her lap so the man couldn't touch her. "Sorry, it's just that she was quite expensive, and I'm not ready for someone else to touch her." Holden said with a smile.
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He stared, fascinated, "I've never heard of internal joints! Astounding!" He made no move to touch her, "Oh I understand completely. Well, I'll let you browse, just give a holler if you need me. Name's Ciel." He smiled then hurried into the back to finish painting the face he was currently working on.
When the coast was clear, Melody smiled brightly, 'He seems nice. At least he doesn't pester.' She looked around with her eyes only, having a feeling that there were cameras. When she signed, she only moved her hands, not her arms. 'I think they're organized by color.' |
Holden nodded as the man walked away, "Yes he does, and thank god. I feel so out of place in here." He said in a whisper. He nodded, he grabbed a red and white dress, "What do you think of this one?" He asked as he went to grab a few more. Suddenly a teal colored dress caught his eye. He rushed over to it and grabbed it, "I'm not going to even ask you." He whispered with a smile. Suddenly his eyes lit up as he quickly darted around the isles, he grabbed a black and white dress, a lilac colored dress, and a black dress with white trim. He paused and looked for the man, he didn't see him. "Do you like these? And we will have to come back in a few days, I have enough to buy just four dresses. So your gonna have to pick out four." Holden said in a whisper.
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Melody wanted to put her hands to her mouth to hide the fact that it was dropped open. She quickly composed herself and closed her mouth. She loved them all, yet the Lilac one was her least favorite. She double checked to make sure they were alone, then began to sign, 'I don't really like the lilac one. I don't think that color would look good on me. Oh! Are there any headdresses you can find to match? Or maybe some hats..for when we come back?'
Hearing things move around out on the floor, Ciel decided to stay by the door, watching the man. Suddenly his mouth dropped, seeing the doll move. Her movements were..precise..was she..signing? Oh my god she is! He had no idea what he should do. He didn't dare call him out on it and scare the man off; he could use a customer. It's been awhile since he last had one. He bit his lip, watching quietly. Too bad he didn't know sign language. |
Suddenly Holden heard the man gasp, 'Stop.' He quickly ducked behind the dress rack. 'I will put the lilac one back, but we have to pay and go. I think he saw you move.' He growled quietly. 'I will have Solomon or Alicia come back and wipe that he saw you move.' He hung the lilac dress up by the purple dresses. He sighed and made sure he was composed, "Ah good your here." He said walking around the corner. "I'm ready to check out." Holden said with a smile.
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Melody quickly folded her hands exactly the way she had them before. As the approached the counter, she focused on an invisible spot on the wall right in front of her.
The man nodded, motioning to the register, "R-right over here.." He was clearly nervous now. He slapped himself internally. Get it together man! You were just imagining things..you've done it before plenty of times. Actually..once. Suddenly he jumped, pointing shakily to the doll, "W-who made her again?" |
Holden kept the smile on his face even thought he was nervous on the inside. He place the dresses on the counter, he bit his cheek when the man asked who made Melody. "My friend Azriel made her." He said with a smile. "Is there a problem sir? You seem a little bit disheveled." Holden said trying to change the subject.
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Ceil cleared his throat. Azriel. Why did that name sound so familiar to him? "E-excuse me a minute..I have to show you something." He scurried back into the tiny room, leaning on the wall once he was out of sight. He took a few breaths then hurried over to a large photo album. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for then hurried back out. "I..I doubt you know of this particular doll, but ever since you told me of her internal joints, it's been bothering me."
He held out the Polaroid displaying a doll standing by one of the racks of his shop, fidgeting with the card tied to his hat, "H-Have you seen that doll at all? Quite a few years ago, a tall woman came in here with that doll. When I asked about her joints, she said the same thing; internal. I could tell something was definitely off about that doll, especially when the woman set her down and it stood on her own. I snapped a picture when I saw my chance, but right before I could, the doll looked at me. I will never forget those burning orange eyes..." he trailed off, shuddering. He took the Polaroid back and set it on the counter, "A-anyway...now that I think about it, the woman called herself Azriel...Strangest thing though, I couldn't remember anything about that day until..now.." His brown eyes glanced to Holden, but he kept them focused on Melody. |
When the man was gone for a moment he looked at Melody, 'I don't think this is good.' He said looking at the door as he waited for the man to come back. He sighed looking st the picture, "No I haven't. " He said as his eyes got wide a tad. "Azriel has those same eyes." He thought to himself. "Th-..that is strange, but my Azriel is only like two inches taller then me." "Sorry Azriel." He thought. "I would like to keep chatting, but I really need to get going. So if we could possibly..." Holden said placing his credit card down.
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Ciel nodded, displaying the counter, "O-of course. I'm sorry to have bothered you with that. Just one last question..does she have really pale blonde hair?" He quickly rang up the dresses, bagging them nicely; leaving the little hangers on them. He took the card and scanned it, motioning for Holden to sign on the digi-pad to the left of him, "Sign please." He couldn't take his eyes off Melody. A lot of her features were so similar to the white haired doll from a few years ago. Very realistic eyes, that soft plastic skin; or so he assumed, and just that over all..creepiness.
Melody was tempted to fidget, but she knew she couldn't She hated this guy staring at her like that; mainly because he was starting to figure out something he shouldn't. She desperately wished that Holden was still a vampire so that he could erase Ciel's memories again. It was so hard for her to sit still while she was under scrutiny. |
"No she has medium brown hair." Holden said motioning to his head. He took the little pen and signed his name. "There you go." He said putting the pen back in the rubber holder. He grabbed the bag, "Thank you very much. I will be back in a few days to get her some hair accessory's." He said with a small wave as he walked out the door. He gently placed Melody in the car, and got in himself. "Ok that was nerve racking." He said as he started the car. Holden gently backed up and sped away.
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Ciel handed him the receipt, "Have a good day." When he was gone, he looked down to the photograph. "I swear I saw that doll signing.." With a shake of his head, he took the picture and went back into the little room, replacing it in the album. When he turned around, he jumped, seeing a tall armored woman before him. He blinked, unable to speak.
Melody nodded, 'It was. At least you weren't the one being stared at. I still like him though, he seems rather nice. He really likes his business. If I'm going to be stuck like this, I might as well make him my permanent supplier. Right?' She leaned back in the seat, closing her eyes. 'I will need Mystic when we get back. For now, I will rest.' Azriel sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Give me the picture Ciel." She snatched it from him as he grabbed it from the album. "Now then, I'll just fix your memories and be on my merry way." She grabbed his face with her armored gloved hand, quickly replacing the memories he had of Melody signing with her just sitting there. When she was finished, she disappeared. Azriel looked to Mystic; who was currently on the floor face first, "What are you doing? When I left you were still on your feet." She went over, not getting a response. She crouched down, and rolled him over, jumping a bit in surprise. He was asleep. Was he really so tired? With a sigh, she picked him up and set him on t he nearby couch. "You have got to stop over working yourself." With that, she went back to the circle the two were currently working on. "This is going to really drain us when we do it..." |
"Yup." Holden said with a smile. "I will tell him shortly." He said quickly rubbing his eyes. He just wanted to lay down and sleep.
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Solomon sighed, looking at his watch. Holden should've been back by now. He needs to eat. He looked up from his watch, sensing Hayden near by. "Crab..now what is she doing..and what the hell is that noise?" He stood, teleporting to the room next door where Hayden was crashing. Instantly, his mouth was to the floor, "Hayden Marie! What the hell is a Harpy Eagle doing here!?" He started at the large bird that was perched on Hayden's tiny arm.
Hayden looked up, quickly calming the bird telepathically, "I dunno...I saw pictures online and I wanted to see one. So I called out to him. He's rather cute, huh?" She giggled, petting the bird on his back, "You're such a cutie~" Before Solomon could ask her where the hell it came from, she answered, "The zoo~" Solomon nearly fainted. He couldn't believe it. Without another word, he simply left the room. |
"Mystic? Melody needs you." Holden said as he pulled into the driveway. When he pulled into the garage he gently slammed his head into the steering wheel. "We are back Melody." He said gently patting her head. He got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side. He picked her up as well as the bag. "Just like you I'm tired." Holden said walking into the house.
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Melody didn't wake up as Holden addressed her or picked her up. She did wrap her arms around him and rest her head on his shoulder; mainly to indicate she was still there.
Mystic was still deep in sleep; giving no response. |
"Mystic? Damn it answer me!" Holden said yelling in Mystic's head as well as squeezing his brain. "I can't even wake up the damn demon." He said with a growl. He walked passed Hayden's room, he heard a loud squawking coming from the room. He quickly opened the door, he closed it when he saw the giant bird. His eye's were wide as he went to his room.
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Melody's arms went limp from Holden's neck for a minute before they tightened again. After he had shut the door, her arms feel completely, her head falling back causing her to start to roll from Holden's arms.
Azriel glanced over, hearing faint yelling. She tilted her head at Mystic, "What? Oh shit! Melody!" She quickly teleporting to Holden. "Melody!" She jumped forward, catching the girl as she fell from Holden's arms, "Gah, I'm sorry about Mystic not answering. Poor man's unconscious right now." She gently lay Melody on the bed, placing her hand over Melody's 'heart'. She closed her eyes a bit, manipulating more Ethereal energy into the girl. |
Holden pinched his nose when Azriel caught Melody, "It's fine Azriel. And I am assuming that you took care of the shop keeper." He said placing the bag next to the bed. "Well if I was turned I would of been able to contact you." He said with a sigh. He saw a piece of paper sticking out from under his pillow, he grabbed it and looked at it. "Finally." Holden said with a smile.
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She looked up after she had finished, "I'm sorry, I didn't think the bum would work himself into a coma..figuratively speaking. I've been meaning to talk to you anyway, I think we almost have a solution for Melody. I can tell you're tired, so I'll leave it at that for now." She looked back to Melody, moving the bangs from her eyes, "She'll be asleep for awhile yet. I will monitor her energy levels while Mystic rests himself. Oh," She quickly, but gently, established a telepathic link with Holden, "If you need anything, we now have a link."
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"Again it's fine. It's not like there is anything I can do about it." Holden said crossing his arms. "I am tired but I wont be able to sleep yet. Solomon's gonna want me to eat again." He said with a small sigh. "Can you tell me anything about that solution?" He asked with a smile. "But if you can, can I go and change into something more comfortable? These damn pants are cutting off my circulation." He said unbuckling his belt. "Thank you for the link." Holden said with another smile.
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She nodded, "I thought you'd like to sleep first, but I can tell you. Go change, I need to monitor her for a moment anyway. Thanks to Mystic's carelessness, she almost separated." She looked down to Melody, analyzing her Ethereal energy.
Melody cracked open an eye, jumping a bit and scooting up against the headboard. After she realized it was just Azriel, she relaxed. She crawled over into her lap, resting against the woman's armor, 'Does this..solution involve me becoming 'normal'?' |
Holden nodded and grabbed one of his bags. He went out the door and to the bathroom. He came out five minutes later in a pair of blue lounge pants, and a white tee shirt. "Much better." He said as he entered the room. He shut the door and started folding the clothes he was wearing. When he was done he walked over to the bed and sat down. "So what is the plan Miss Azriel?" Holden asked looking at her.
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She looked to Melody, then to Holden, "Well, it's basically going to be a routine reattachment, once we get the finagling done. First off, she has to die but we can't just..rip the doll apart and expect her to die, or allow her energy to deplete. We have to use a spell to kill her; that's how I designed her attachment...and..that's as far as we got so far...until we reattach her. It's just the middle that's being difficult. We can't just take her spirit and slap it into another body, it just doesn't work that way. Her Ethereal make-up is already altered compared to a normal spirit, giving us further difficulties. I've only done a doll attachment once, with Ariel; and I never intended to attach her to a real body." She leaned back slightly, closing her eyes, "I suppose I could try to restore her original Ethereal make-up after we kill her..but..I haven't done that before and I don't want to mess up..that's what is really taking us so long; we're being extra careful to get the details right."
Melody frowned a bit as Azriel talked, 'I don't want to 'die' again. It was rather unpleasant.' |
"I see." Holden said pondering for a moment. "You and Mystic will figure it out." He said with a smile. "Now I should probably go and track down Solomon." He said looking at Melody. "Do you want to stay with me or do you want to go back with Azriel?" Holden asked biting his lower lip.
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