Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

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". . .Sure. Let's do that."

"Hold on- Don't you dare. . ."

Earl threw his hand into the center of the table. Ken and Vizz looked confused while the others groaned.

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"Does he do this often?"

"No, but it's annoying every time."

Vizz and Ken looked at each other, then back to Earl. Katie pushed her wings back with her shoulders and grabbed all the cards on the table. She shuffled them up, and dealt everybody back up to five. Katie stared at her hand, and thought for a little bit.

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"You know, we ARE playing a game, Katie. While we're young, right?"

"You can't be lucky forever, Earl. I'll prove that when I kill you for your sass someday."

Katie threw in more coins. Jude put her cards face down on the table. Ken threw a small handful of coins into the pile. Vizz threw in an even bigger pile. Seb threw in a slightly bigger pile of coins. . .

Earl put his hands on top of his pile of coins, and shuffled them forward into the center of the table. Katie hissed angrily, and clicked her beak.

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"Uh- He didn't look at his cards."

"I get the feeling he is the kind to not look at his cards until it's time to show em."

"Yeah, he's kind of an asshole that way."

"Your luck will not hold out forever, Earl. I am also all in."

"Uh. . ."

"Fold, Ken."

". . . Okay."

"I am in."

"What, really?"

"I think I have a shot."

"I like this one! I'm also in. Here's my pay for today."

Earl began to stack all the coins up based on type. Katie clicked her beak angrily again, and flipped her cards over.

Ace, Two, Three, Queen, Jack - All Clubs, Flush

Katie looked particularly pleased with herself. Ken made a face. Maybe they had a better hand? Jude sighed happily, however. She folded, so she didn't have to show her cards, but was clearly very sure she made the right decision. Very safe, that one. Vizz let out a small hissing whistle under her breath which was successful in getting Katie's attention like she wanted.

Six Spade, Six Diamond, Seven Club, Seven Diamond, Seven Heart - Full House.

Katie narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, and looked at Vizz. Katie didn't like to lose. Especially when she suspected that someone just 'out-cheated' her. Viss flicked her tongue in an adorable manner and leaned back in their chair. Sebastian sighed. He regretted his decision, and his cards showed why.

Two, Eight, Nine, Ten, King - All Diamonds, Flush.

Seb then turned to look at Earl. Earl was now making two piles of coins. He was stacking them perfectly. Slowly. Agonizingly. Someone probably said something, but he was busy. He had to do this. It was important. So Seb reached over and grabbed his cards and spat a truly vile curse in a language that only he and Earl knew. It's part of why Earl liked Seb. It wasn't HIS language by any stretch, but he learned it. Seb liked to learn things.

Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace - Royal Hearts Flush.

Katie let out a strangled, furious squawk and the feathers around her neck puffed up and she gritted her beak. Jude patted Katie on the shoulder.

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"You knew you was gonna lose that one."

"No! I did not! He does not ALWAYS win every time he does something stupid! You will starve to death one of these days, Earl! I will take every last coin you own and I will throw them off into the CloudSea just to spite you!"

"You would NOT. You like money and shiny things too much to do that, and Earl wouldn't starve. I think he's proved enough times that he knows what he's doing."

*INCOHERENT HISSING*

"Does he do this often?"

"NO. Sometimes he just gets the one card he needs to win! This is why I do not play cards with you people anymore!"

"I thought it was because Jude threatened to toss you out a window if she caught you cheating again."

"JUDE ALSO CHEATS."

"Well- Yeah. Of course."

"Wait, was everybody cheating?"

". . .Well- Yeah. Of COURSE."

". . . I wasn't cheating."

"Oh! Oh, right! You wouldn't! Let's see what you got!"

Two Heart, Three Spade, Four Club, Five Club, Six Heart.

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"Ooh. That's good! Natural luck?"

"Who, Ken? Not often. He just likes to charge ahead into things without thinking. That's his muse. He's obsessed with finding his true 'freedom'."

"I like them even more! I suppose you're already dating Miss Vaugen."

"Huh? What? No?"

"Reaaaaallyy~? That is a SHAME. Tell me, Kenny, how does Alison feel about strong, passionate mechanics?"

"What?"

"Stop, Stop, Stop! Ken is a dope, we are in a relationship!"

"But that means Alison is still free, righ-"

"NO! It's a very special thing we have! The three of us! Together!. . . She's mine, back away, mountaintop."

"Aww. You're cute. I bet you weigh less than a cannonball."

"I will grind you into rubble."

"I'm afraid I will have to decline. My apartment does not allow pets."

"HISSS-Ssssss?"

Earl shoved a small pile of coins in front of Vizz. About a quarter of the pile. Another quarter of the pile, he split up into two smaller stacks, which he gave to Katie and Seb. Then Earl gave Jude one of the larger coins.

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"You're all too noisy. You're making it hard for a man to enjoy his hallucinogens. Alice is still asleep- so let's play another round. Okay?"

"I do not need your PITY COINS, Earl-"

"They are not pity coins. They're your buy-in for the next round, right? Unless you didn't actually go all in, because Seb forked over his pay for the day, and I put my rent up for the pot. . ."

". . . I hate you, Earl Viscount."

"I hate me too, Katie. Not much longer left, through."

". . ."

"Hey, thanks, Earl. Just try not to pull another stunt like that, yeah? I haven't eaten tonight yet."

"Don't lose next time, idiot. I didn't even do that because I wanted to. Alice's voices told me to do it. They must be my lucky charm. . ."

"Okay-Hey. No lucky charms at the table then. Deal?"

". . .Well, I'm not going to be able to get rid of them, unless they go away of their own volition. But I'll try not to tap into their infinite power to do fuck all with a deck of cards."

"So you DO know Alice's name?"

"And what exactly were you talking about anyway there? It got kinda- Uncomfortable."

"If it got uncomfortable, why did you bring it up?"

"Because I wanted to know. So I asked. Simple as that."

"Can't fault that! Still, it's not a conversation topic for right now. I'd like to enjoy my game."

"Alright Alright- Sorry I brought it up. Later, Ken. Alright? How about you deal this time?"

". . . Uh- Sure. Pass me the deck. Same game?"

"Absolutely same game. I like this one."

Earl reached into his pocket, pulled out a pouch, reached under his hat, and retrieved a slip of paper. He began rolling some strange blue leaves into the paper as Ken began dealing the cards. He rolled it up and stuffed it into his cigarette holder. Jude helpfully extended her right arm, a little flame popping out of her thumb.

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"Thanks, Jude. So. Kenny's muse is 'Freedom'. What about you, Vizz?"

"It's Viss."

"Oh just answer the question, Vizz. You tell me, and I'll give you the dirt on my friends here."

"Earl, you garbage human, I wish more people were as unlikable as you- I'd feel less bad about taking all your money."

"Katie's Muse is Avarice, if you couldn't guess."

*SCREECH*

"My Muse is True. I'm constantly in pursuit of the truth, after all."

". . . I'm- Uh- I'm Intense, I guess."

"Yeah you are."

"Do you just naturally make everything you say sound like you're flirting with someone, or is your muse like- Lust or something and you're just too embarrassed to admit it?"

Ken was dealing out cards- but Jude stopped him, because he was counting out five and giving them to each person. Katie clicked her beak in amusement at that, as Ken started over again, after re-shuffling, and dealing one to each person, starting with Vizz, and going clockwise again.

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"No- I don't know what my Muse is. I don't particularly care. It caused me enough trouble as it is. So I keep it locked up in my head with useless thoughts. When I tried to kill Alice- My darkness was known as Envy. So I don't even know what the good half to that would be. The muse of Acceptance? Maybe it really would be a Muse of Lust or something. That would be convenient, if it would make Alice or Ken actually notice me.

"Man, you are just all knotted up in it, aren't you? I can't even tell what you say is a lie and what's truth. That's not healthy for you."

"I didn't even know muses had a 'dark side' or a 'light side'. What's the difference?"

"The difference is when you merge with your own darkness, it consumes you, and you become driven with a need to destroy everything, including yourself."

". . .Merge?"

"Heh. Looks like the new kids have been up to some interesting things. I didn't know deviancy could extend to muses as well. . ."

"I-I-It's not like that! They don't have a defined gender or body even!"

"I think I'm the only one here who actually cares about that sort of thing, anyway. Katie's too busy rolling around in her money, and Seb is too busy being a good person."

"I will have you know that waitress you keep hitting on has been going out with me for dinner after work about twice a week now."

". . .Why didn't she say anything?!"

"Because she didn't want to break your heart, I guess?"

"Why didn't YOU say anything?!"

"I don't own her. Not my business what she tells other people about her personal business, and you never ask me anything. . ."

The chatter kept on going. Earl tuned it out into a dull fuzzy hum. The world around him began to fray at the edges, and bits of color came into his sight again. He missed the colors. It was such a bother, seeing the world in literal black and white. Well, not entirely. The tiny numbers on the back of his right hand, slowly ticking down, were red. That's why he liked having the colors around. It drowned out the ticking.

So Earl decided to just tune out everything for now. He wanted to think, without that damn doomsday clock ticking away in his heart. He tossed in coins. Played cards. Whatever they were talking about out there was probably super interesting, and incredibly stupid. Not that he thought THEY were stupid- but sometimes people could just- talk about the most inane crap. Nobody seemed to actually want to talk about the very obvious interesting bits about say- how Viss attempted to kill Alice? And the weird jealous hoarding of Alice and Qhen to herself? And Qhen either doesn't get it, or has a heart of stone.

Earl thought about Alice. He'd want to talk to Eli after the place closed. That guy didn't know any more or less than anybody else about Muses- if you could put information into mass, anyways. I guess if you wrote it all down, Eli might know a little more. But his knowledge was also completely different. They all brought different snippets of knowledge to this table, and right now, he had questions he wanted answers to.

What was up with Viss and Qhen? Were their muses vastly different from their own? Probably. Katie, Judith, Sebastian and himself all manifested in vastly different ways.

Also this Alice girl. Who was she? What was her muse? And why was it so hard to meet her gaze? Earl's muse did not like her. Earl's muse was afraid. Which was interesting. Earl's Fatalism was usually just, you know. Depressing. That's the other reason for the drugs. And the Alcohol. And the Escapism. It's really hard to be surprised by anything, when you know the date of-

Earl suddenly kicked away from the table, knocking over his chair, scattering coins and cards across the surface- luckily nobody had a drink with them right now. That got people's attention. He still couldn't hear them though. They were just buzzing in his ears. Blurs of color and sensation, screaming at him incoherently through the darkness. He stared at the back of his right hand. He shouted something at them that made them stop. He got up. Okay. No- Need answers. Earl will trade information, but Earl needs answers.

He stumbled out of the room, and into the next room, throwing the door open. He reached over, grasping blindly a few times before realizing that his depth perception was all messed up. He began shaking Alice, who woke up confused, and a little terrified at this person shouting at her incoherently-

(X) ฬђ๏ คгє ץ๏ย
(X) ฬђคՇ ђคשє ץ๏ย ๔๏ภє
(X) ђ๏ฬ ๔๏ ץ๏ย รՇ๏ק เՇ

Suddenly, Earl was asleep. Unconscious. Knocked out cold. The back of his head stung. That was probably Judith's doing then. He must have been freaking out something bad- she barely pulled her punch.

Right. Answers. YOU LOT!

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"COME OUT! COME OUT HERE! FACE ME! I DEMAND ANSWERS!"

( Earl Viscount, you are being irrational. )

"Shut up you. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Alice's GHOSTS! Come down here and talk to me! Alice eludes all literary explanation! She's like a Non-Entity! No-one, and I mean NO-ONE Comes and just shows up and sets my clock to midnight like that! What kind of devil are you?!"

( Earl- )

( I will handle this. )

Suddenly, Earl was aware of how alone he was. In a dream-like state, his brain was scrubbed. He was uniquely, and for the first time in decades, lucid and clean. The empty white void stretched on in all directions. There was a table. Chairs. A number of them. But only one was pulled out. In it sat a roughly humanoid-shaped cloud of ice-cold fog, wearing a grey cloak.

( Please. Have a seat. )

( ) Have a seat.
( ) Have a seat?
( ) Have a seat!
( ) Don't. . .have a seat?