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 Clara Regenbogen In retrospect, it might have been a tad reckless to come into the library only an hour or two before school let out, but something had been bothering me about it all day. It felt like an inch, and every time I looked away and back again, the itch got more intense. I wandered the stacks for a long time, too long, and now I'm cursing myself for not figuring it out sooner. Whenever I look away, the words on the spines of the books are apparently rearranging themselves into some kind of message. A blink later, the titles are back to normal, so either something magical is going on, or not sleeping last night is starting to get to me. I haven't been able to piece the message together yet, but there are definitely not this many books with the words “fear” and “Clara” in their titles. Of course, that's when Joanna, that busybody, decides to come and poke around. She brought her school books, so hopefully she's just here to study, rather than look for me. Either way, it's best if she doesn't see me. It's obvious I'm eventually going to have to tell her to stay away from me; the girl is as determined as I am. But with something weird going on, and more importantly, with huge bags under my eyes, messy hair, and no shower for a day or two, now is really not the time. Thankfully, I manage to avoid Joanna long enough for her to leave. It's almost fun, dashing from bookcase to bookcase, diving under desks, running down hallways a split-second before she turns the corner. It's like we're competing again. And, as usual, I win. I breathe a sigh of relief, and then almost run into Ms. Müller as I turn around. No doubt she is ready to lay into me for missing class for a week. Oh dear. "I can explain," I blurt out instinctively. And smoothly.
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Dec 8, 2015 19:59
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 07:31 |
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Clara Alright, Clara. Time to be the best at lying. "Run away?" I ask incredulously as I suddenly remember to lean on my crutches a lot more. "Oh, no no. I'm here working on a project for Ms. Acker's class. I have missed a few days of class too, to be completely honest, but things have been so hard at home. Thank you for the kind offer, but I'll go back myself." I finish with a brave and proud smile. Charm roll, I assume? Talking my way out of this: 2d6+4 13
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Dec 9, 2015 03:54
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Clara "Of course, of course. Have a good day, Ms. Müller." I limp away with all the patheticness I can muster, then, once I turn the first corner, hoist the crutches onto my shoulder and bolt. I promised I would help Mr. Schulz clean up the place before the evening rush, in exchange for the couple times he's let me crash there. I don't go back on my promises. That being said, I'm a little reluctant to do it, not because I mind a little labor, but because I might run into Gretchen or one of the other magical girls there. I like them, some of them a lot, but every time I see them something weird and/or bad happens. I didn't want to deal with that today, so I got sidetracked at the library. That clearly didn't work out so well, so I might as well go do it. I don't necessarily have to see Gretchen if you want to keep us separate for now, I was just trying to think of something to do that involved an NPC relationship.
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Dec 10, 2015 17:09
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Clara Crossing the Wall was a bit of a problem even for a magic badass like me, but I made it. Hello, West Berlin. And Gretchen! Of course one of them would be here today. Best to see what strangeness is in store. She's very likable, at least, so a smile comes easily to my lips as I greet her, even if she does seem angry. “Hello Gretchen! You're certainly here early. Do you need some help with that door?” I say as I stretch my legs casually. I was joking, but now I'm starting to get curious; could I break a door down? One of the many questions I have now that my legs are working again, and better than ever. I hope I get the chance to find out eventually. "I take it Mr. Schulz isn't here? I came to do some work for him." Orbs fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Dec 10, 2015 |
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Dec 10, 2015 17:32
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Clara "That's terrible! What do you mean they won't 'let' you see it? If it's that important, I say we go in and take it. Plus, by then the Dog should be open, right?” I grin at the idea of busting into a police station, and then notice Paige walk up as if she's in a daze. "Hey Paige!" I call. "Whatchya got there?" I watch in stunned disbelief for a second as Paige just casually opens the door, then moves to lock it back up despite us standing right there. "Well," I say slowly to Gretchen, "she could leave it open, but let's go get whatever the police have first. If she comes with us too, we'd be unstoppable! What do you think, Paige? Want to help Gretchen find her best friend?"
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Dec 10, 2015 19:15
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Clara "Okay, here's the plan," I say, crouching down to sketch a diagram in some gravel. "Gretchen, you go in and distract them. Maybe make a big scene." I draw some cute, stylized versions of our heads, and then draw a line from Gretchen's to the front entrance. "Then Paige and I will go in through windows in the side—" two more lines from the other heads, each going to opposite sides of the building— "to flank. That way, if one of us gets spotted, the other will have a better shot. Then we sneak through commando-style to wherever they keep the evidence. Probably behind that 'do not enter' door. Once we find it, I don't know, make a bird call or something. Ca-caw!" I nod triumphantly over the finished diagram, making sure to give the girls time to study it. I'm in my element here; this is just like calling a sports play. "Any questions?"
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Dec 11, 2015 17:51
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Clara "I mean, only if we get caught. But ask yourself, what's more important to you, living your life free of trouble, or finding Heidi? If these guys were keeping me from something I needed, no amount of trouble in the world could stop me from doing everything in my power to get it."
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Dec 11, 2015 18:02
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Clara I assume Paige wandering away without a word means she's getting into position (she's odd like that, and I accept it), so I do the same. If I maneuver my crutches just right, I think I can get this window open. Begin the play! Sneak into the police station: 2d6+3 11
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Dec 11, 2015 19:07
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Clara I've come this far. I can't turn back now. At the very least, I can provide a distraction so that Paige has an easier time getting in. I'm already halfway in the window when Gretchen turns the corner and caws at me. What the...? Uh oh. Abort! I leap away quickly and start running. I'm sure whoever was there got a good look at me, but hopefully the fact that I live in East Berlin will keep them from tracking me down. “Gretchen!" I exclaim as I come up to her and Paige, though still on the balls of my feet, ready to move. "Do you have it? If you do, we should probably vamoose. I might have gotten spotted.”
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Dec 13, 2015 04:24
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Clara “That was fun, right girls?" I say, putting my own arms around both of them too. "Nothing like a good struggle for justice to get the blood pumping.” Then, along the
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Dec 14, 2015 01:14
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Clara “That's so cool!” I say to Paige, then a light bulb goes off over my head. “You know, we could really use something like that. None of the hexenkinder would be able to hide from us if we had keys that could go anywhere!” Then, as I notice Ilya standing in front of the bar, “Hey Ilya! What brings you here? Don't you live on the other side of the wall too? That thing is such a pain, am I right?”
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Dec 15, 2015 20:04
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Clara “Yeah, but it's a lot more fun now that I can jump the wall like a pole-vaulter though.” I grin and do a couple jumps up and down. It feels so good to be able to use my legs for what they were meant to do. Then I start craning my neck to look at the rest of the stores on the street. “So, maybe this is just me, but it seems like the bar isn't the only place closed. Not only here, either. It was like that on the east side too. Am I crazy? Is there some holiday I forgot about?”
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Dec 17, 2015 05:45
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Clara "It'll be okay, Paige!" I say, folding my arms. "The deliveries are just stuff. Objects. We gotta find Gretchen's friend. That's what's really important. Anyway, if the notebook doesn't say anything useful, I like Ilya's suggestion. Those creepy Soviets probably have all sorts of records about everybody. Um, no offense." I clear my throat a little and scratch a sudden itch on the side of my head. "So, yeah. Does the diary have any clues?"
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Dec 22, 2015 20:32
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Clara "Then there is only one thing to do, my friends. Let's find this fiend and see what they know!" I don't exactly shove the other girls along, but if our group hug happens to turn into me herding them toward downtown, then my strength and eagerness can't be helped, I guess.
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Dec 30, 2015 08:08
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Clara I knock louder and louder, then add a kick for good measure. "Grr. Stop getting in the way of our investigation!" I growl to the door. Once the knocking goes on long enough to make it clear nobody is going to open up, I try to open it. Is it locked? If not, I'm barging in like a genius.
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Jan 4, 2016 06:43
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Clara "Ha! As always, we are victorious. What wrong should we right next? Uh, maybe we could all go celebrate first though. Somewhere has to be open in this town."
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Jan 21, 2016 20:37
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 07:31 |
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Clara I'm halfway through the door before Gretchen's words stop me. Oh yeah. I guess she is acting kind of weird. In my defense, I don't know Heidi that well, so maybe she's like this a lot. "Yeah, come hang out with us!" I say with a not-at-all nervous chuckle. "Let's go get a drink or something."
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Jan 25, 2016 04:53
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