frenchtoast | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvulxN8hY6o

[For someone who's slept on a floor for a decent time of her life, waking up on a lawn chair was a bit of an improvement.

Waking up in a lawn chair in front of a house in a place that was CERTAINLY not Melbourne, and probably not even Australia, ISN'T.

She pulls herself off the chair and cracks her back, looking down at the keys that had fallen to the ground when she stood. It's safe to assume they probably belong to the house behind her.

A moment of dilemma comes and goes (does she try to open the door? Does she run screaming down the street for help?) before Petunia walks to the front door, stopping just short of knocking when she notices the envelope with her name.

Papers and weird looking phone deice thing has now been placed in her inventory.

The papers are read.

And re-read.

And re-read again just to make sure.

She didn't remember signing a lease. What was this about a family? What was a credit card?? What was this about a family?

A pinched herself three times in various places on her arm before deciding this wasn't a dream.

It took another 5 minutes of quiet panicking before Petunia finally got around to actually trying to get into the house. Just walking in seemed rude, even if it was supposedly her house, and there was supposed to be someone else living there. What if she was walking into some kind of weird trap?

Petunia decides to knock instead. And won't stop until the door is answered.]

[ With Lili gone, Cyril's stuck with the kid, Nunnally, on his own. Lili was the nice one between the two of them, the kids usually got jittery around him and... well, promptly left. It was kind of odd, actually, but Lili had been the only one who stood for the majority of the time. She was quiet, but hey, she did the whole wife thing well. Firm but kind, good tea, good food, good with people, good with the kids. He couldn't complain. Thing is, now she's gone, so he has no idea what he's in for. He's seen some bizarre people here, and he's gotten some bizarre kids. The one who just showed up in the closet and went looking for fishing gear stands out.

He's still got some time before he goes off looking for something to do, after school is fairly boring since Sex Ed is mostly just a discussion class. Because Cyril likes to talk about himself. Honestly, it's a boring routine. He'd choke a man for Petunia back right now, there's not much to do without someone reacting to every little thing.

Just lounging on the couch, watching god knows what for the nth time, there's a slight pause in his schedule as there's a knock at the door. ]

I'm comin', I'm comin', hold your horses.

[ Unlocking the door, he's imagining it's Nunnally back from school, or something, maybe a neighbor, or the mailman, or something. Something completely normal and boring. He is so bored.

It isn't something normal, though -- he gives the "guest" a once-over, a squint, squats down to her level to look her in the eye, and even raises a finger to poke at her with, weakly.

Holy shit, it's Petunia. ]

... Well, well, well. Look what the cat coughed up. Petunia... Can't say I was expectin' this.

YOU! [The shriek comes out before Petunia can even think to stop it. On one hand she's so glad to see someone she knows.

On the other hand, the person she knows is Cyril. Living in the house the paper says she bought. The paper that says she was put in with a family and married and stuff.

Petunia looks at the paper.

She looks at Cyril.

She turns on heel and tries to walk quickly away]

[ Petunia, you know better. Once Cyril has spotted his prey, he won't back down. Some fancy footwork and he slips past her and blocks the path, slipping one hand around her shoulder. You're stuck, princess. ] How rude, sweetie, to leave in the middle of a conversation. I'll forgive you though, if you tell me what that lease says.

[ Deja vu. Has he done this before? .... Nah. ]

Edited 2012-12-08 09:56 (UTC)

[THIS ISN'T A DREAM IT'S A NIGHTMARE. Her shoulders tense and come up defensively, her eyes locked on Cyril like a cornered mouse]

L-lease? [in the time it took Cyril to move around her, she'd already forgotten about it.] Oh! [She lifts the lease up, glad for the distraction, and scans it again]

Uh. I live here or something and I have a credit card and a-- [She holds up the phone in her other hand] This thing.

None of this makes sense.

It's all pretty overwhelming, I don't think anyone can blame you. The basic gist is this guy is dropping us in this gated community and there's no way to get out. [ He shrugs. He's gone over this a million times -- it probably shows in how he says it. He's been here about five months now, after all.

He gives the lease a scan, too, just to be sure, and as he does, he realizes something. Well, the name Elkwood ain't too bad. ]

This here says you're leasing it, which means... [ he points at the lease, a long pale finger tapping it twice before he smirks wider. ] Just call me Mr. Cyril Elkwood.

[She frowns at the lease, puzzling over this] If there's a gate there has to be a gateway, right? [Pause]

Well, I guess if it was that easy, people wouldn't be here...

[She follows his finger with her eyes and freezes.

Cyril...Elkwood?

That'd mean--]

AAUUGGHH! [Another shout and Petunia shoves at him, flailing a little to get him away from her] No! No way, I refuse! Denied! Rejected!

I'm leaving--I'll scale the fence! Where's the ladder!? Homes have ladders!

Do you think it's really that easy?

[ He'll let her go, but then he'll grab her sleeve and pull her back, trying not to be too rough -- he's not really mad. Anyone who knows what Cyril does and is capable of would have that reaction, probably. He can only imagine what Meredith and Elijah are going to want to do to him. At least he won't be bored anymore. ]

Listen to me. This isn't some normal gated community. The guy in charge? He can do anything he wants. If you want to climb the fence, go ahead, but you'll just end up inside again. There are people from different times and worlds here, and this isn't the first time you've been in Holly Heights, dollie. Don't remember that, though, do you? If you don't believe me, turn the phone on. You can ask other people, who are just as stuck as you and I are, Petunia.

[ He casts a look at the smart phone, and then he nods to the door. ]

Come inside. It's where you'll be living, anyway, so you might as well get used to it. Afterwards, you can meet Nunnally.

[ He takes a few steps forward, but then stops and gives her a look.

He's not gripping that hard, so she could, probably, run away. Then again, he wouldn't have such a light grip on her if he were lying... and he's pretty positive he can catch her and drag her inside if he needs to. He hopes he doesn't have to, though. ]

[It feels like a little much to take in--it is a little much--but at least he's let her go. She stands there a moment absorbing this, her head swimming.]

Different times and worlds...? [her voice is weak with disbelief, her gaze going to the phone in her hands. It wasn't even connected to anything, how was she supposed to call--

She shakes her head. If this place can draw people from different times, surely it can make a phone like this.] ...Okay.

[She still can't quite bring herself to believe this 100%, but she did just wake up on a lawn chair in an unfamiliar place with a lease saying she was supposed to live here. As crazy as Cyril was she couldn't think of a reason why he'd be hind all of this. This seemed like a lot of planning and work, when Cyril was more the type to just waltz in, shoot someone in the face and then walk out.

Silently she follows, face set in a worried expression. What the hell had she gotten into this time!?]

[ As crazy as Cyril is, he likes doing things quick. In and out is his method, and the quicker, the better. Besides -- he isn't contacted that often with a kidnapping job.

He takes her inside, leading Petunia by the arm. It's a normal house, really, no one saw fit to change anything. There's a couch and on the coffee table adjacent to the couch is a laptop, his laptop. He's still getting used to it and mostly uses the webcam function, but the text function isn't too hard to figure out. It's open to the network, already, though the tv is also still on. Not exactly a den of fun. ]

All right, let's see... I guess I should show you how the phones work first. [ He pulls out his own smart phone, a slim black thing with a big screen that still makes him squint in suspicion. He gives her a relatively quick run down, being sure to explain with a few demonstrations. He shows her texting, shows her how to use the camera, how to access the network, and anything else he knows is basic shit you need to know to survive Holly Heights. It's not much, but he can do that much. He even shows her how to post and respond to posts, though by the time he reaches that point, he already sounds bored. ]

If that don't explain it enough, I'll show you a page someone wrote up for the community. It probably explains all this shit more readily than I can, but that's the basics. You got about five thousand starting money on that there card, so use it wisely. You'll have to get a job, and we got one more kid slot open, so be ready for that. I think that's about it, or should I be even more generous and answer any questions you might have, sweetie?

[All she can think is that it's surprisingly neat for Cyril's place, and no Landon in sight to be cleaning up after him.

She follows the explanation as best she can--it all sounds so unreal and complicated. She hopes it'll get easier with practice.] A job? What kind of job can I ge-

HOW MUCH MONEY!? [She drops the phone, the papers, everything and stares at him in disbelief, before quickly scrambling to pick up the card. She crouches on the ground, staring at the card like she's just found the holy grail.]

I've never had that much money in my life... [Petunia's voice is faint. She might actually fall over.]

...Five thousand. [ Is she....poor? Huh. He guessed it, but. ]

Don't go spending it all in one place, you'll hit the gutter sooner like that. You can get a job pretty much anywhere here, just say you want it and it's your's. [ he shrugs again. ] I'm teaching at the high school and conducting the tram on the weekends.

[The revelation that Cyril is teaching is enough to pull Petunia from her reverence of the credit card to stare at him.

She says nothing but her "what the fuck you're a WHAT a TEACHER oh god those poor kids" is probably quite clear on her face]

[ It's Sex Ed, calm down. (More like Mr. Cyril's Girlfriend Studies) ]

What? What do you want?

N-NOTHING! [If she shouts it loud enough maybe he'll believe her.

She quickly changes the subject, picking the papers up and setting them on the coffee table, then picking the phone up and looking at it.]

I talk to people with this? The--cam, thing? Should I do it now?

[ Petunia.... ]

Yes. It's pretty easy once you get it down. [ It took him like ten seconds to figure it out. ] Do whatever you want.

[ ... He'll just intrude. ]

[She plays with it a moment before managing to turn it on, jerking a little in surprise]

Um. [She looks aside to Cyril] What do I say? [she looks back and smiles sheepishly] This is a little weird.

Hello! I'm Petunia Elkwood. I'm new here, I suppose... I don't really understand everything here, but I guess I have to get a job? And this card thing is supposed to have a lot of money on it-- it's more money than I've ever seen! It's kind of amazing, I can't believe it!

...Though I guess it's kind of pathetic to admit that out... loud.... [She trails off, embarrassed and looks to Cyril again]

What am I supposed to say now?

Edited 2012-12-09 01:19 (UTC)

Anything you want. Why not ask about some of the weirder shit that's gone on? Anyone wanna tell her about the babies everyone just kinda got one day? Or the skeletons that walked around? Or the birds everywhere that would attack cars and shit? She doesn't take it from me, her husband, you see...

[ He has such a shit-eating grin on his face right now. ]

Babies? Skeletons!?

[sjkdhg Her face burns hot and she shakes the phone, along with the wbecame, at him] Don't say it like that, it's creepy!

[Realizing she's probably making the people watching this sick or something, she hastily stops and rights it, huffing lightly.] I'd like to know more, yes.

Don't listen to Cyril. I feel sorry for everyone he teaches...

[Petunia looks thoughtful a moment] I think that's all I have to say. [Wearily, she adds] Do you have anything else to say...?

Hmm... no. Well, then... This is the newlywed Elkwoods saying hello, and tata!

[ You can hear the KA-WINK onomatopoeia as he winks at the camera. ]

Cyril! [She shuts the webcam off with a huff

yes let's do that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvulxN8hY6o

i wrote too much i'm so sorry sobbb

nEVER STOP WRITING I LVOEYOU

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I'll leave it here and we can continue on Petunia's post?

Re: I'll leave it here and we can continue on Petunia's post?