Firgures Up Ahead Moving Through the Trees

[kitchen_maid]

Amy knew when she married Perry that she was never going to have what you might call a surfeit of privacy.

On the other hand, this is the first time since she was a very small girl that she's tried to fall asleep with an audience keeping watch over her.

There's a faint sliver of light through the doorway that Amy keeps opening her eyes to watch. X, Parker, Meg, Scorpius, and Bruce are in the breakfast room, just on the other side of the ever-so-slightly ajar door. ("You do not have to worry. I will hear you," X had said, when Amy had expressed surprise at how little the door is open. "Heartbeats are difficult to muffle. It is okay.")

Amy rolls onto her other side, which at least means that she can't see the light through the doorway.

On the other hand, she can now see the side of the bed where her husband isn't. Perry has removed himself to the seventy-third best bedroom. He would much prefer to be here, but he found it quite impossible to refute the logic of Parker and X.

"Helloooo, you're the King," Parker had said.

X had been slightly more diplomatic. "We will bring her back. You know I do not lie. And people will need to know where to find you. If there is an emergency. While we are gone."

Perry probably isn't sleeping any better than she is, Amy supposes. On the other hand, Perry probably isn't even trying to sleep.

Amy sticks her head under the pillow, but there's not enough air.

She rolls over again, takes a deep breath, and starts counting backwards from one hundred.

Come on, Amethyst. Just fall asleep.

Comments

[alsoagreengrass]

Destroy?

Scorpius knows the birds are only made of bits and pieces, but -

Isn't everyone just sort of made up of bits and pieces?

(He killeddestroyed a broom once. An old broom. But - That's enough for him. These birds...)

"Er - We don't - That's not - I don't think, uhm - I know a spell!

"It could camouflage us. Maybe they won't see through it?"

[parkerlee]

"For all we know, they're just here for decoration, just like the trees."

Unless the trees are primed to attack, too. In which case, Parker's going to be a little more worried about them.

"If we can camouflage quickly, great. But we don't want to let Amy get too far ahead of us."

[noteful]

"I think I have to agree. They're not attacking us, and they ignored us until we threw something at them. If they're a warning system, then at this point the warning has almost assuredly already been given.

"And I'm quite sure that Laura still knows where Amy is, but we don't know what she's headed toward. She could go through something we won't be able to open or follow her through. We probably need to stay close.

"Camouflage and keep moving. That's my vote."

[master_bruce]

Bruce is somewhat bemused at everyone's level of care for clockwork creatures, but has to acknowledge that it's probably him that's the weird one in this group. Well. Him and X. So he just shrugs.

'We don't need to actually take a vote, right?'

He's a tad worried by Amy no longer being in sight.

'Let's just do it, and move along.'

[cutting_edgex23]

X flicks a quick glance in Bruce's direction. It is accompanied by a one-shouldered shrug.

Civilians are occasionally very strange, even when they are friends.

So it goes.

"Okay," she adds, after a moment.

And then, attention transferring to Scorpius --

"Quick is better."

[alsoagreengrass]

"Quick, right."

Scorpius snaps to attention and hurries his way down the line, muttering the spell and bopping everyone over the head with his wand.

(A bit like a fairy godmother might do, really.

If gifts from fairy godmothers felt like raw eggs being smashed on your head and going down the back of your shirt.)

"Done," he whispers, as everyone starts to slowly blend in with their surroundings.

But then he tosses out another spell or two. A spell to muffle their sounds from outside ears, especially. Because what good is a Disillusionment Charm if they can still be heard traipsing through the woods?

[parkerlee]

Parker shudders a bit at the thick cold feeling going down the back of her neck.

"Okay, let's go."

She's not too worried. She knows that Laura is a good tracker. But she'd really feel better if they were sticking close to Amy.

Parker squints a little, peering over the heads in front of her.

"Is it just me, or are the trees starting to thin out a little bit up ahead?"

[noteful]

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.

"I think they might be."

It's kind of hard to tell.

The lighting here is . . . odd.

[master_bruce]

OK, that feeling from the spell is weird. But hey, he's no stranger to camouflage.

'Maybe.'

He's keeping more of an eye on the rear, really. He knows X has the front. This place is eerie; beautiful, but altogether too quiet. And the light reflected off the gold and silver leaves is alien enough to make him double-check what would normally be instinctive reactions.

'Lets step it up.'

His turn to glance to X.

[cutting_edgex23]

X would react to the feel of the spell, but there are worse things than feeling an egg smash on the back of your head.

She will remember for next time, though. If there is a next time.

Then she meets Bruce's gaze, holding it for a second before she turns and starts moving again, following the scent trail that Amy left behind her.

"It will be more relevant when we are certain. The light."

And if people thought she moved quietly before, it's got nothing on how quietly she's moving now.

And that may be why, as she moves past him, she says to Scorpius, "Thank you."

Or maybe it's just because they don't have to worry about the birds anymore.

[kitchen_maid]

The trees are thinning out, though only temporarily. The path has brought them to a large cleaning, perhaps fifty or so yards across.

They will arrive just in time to see Amy vanish back into the trees on the far side it it.

At the center of the clearing is a single massive tree with golden leaves.

While the rest of the trees in these woods are utterly still, the leaves of this one are moving faintly, as if it is caught in a breeze no one else can feel.

[alsoagreengrass]

Now that is a rather big tree.

Scorpius pauses, not thinking about falling behind or keeping up with Amy at the moment, to blink at it.

It's just rather pretty? In the clearing, with its leaves moving like that. A bit hypnotic, really.

(Think of what could be done with a tree like that!)



Scorpius shuffles forward, toward it.

[parkerlee]

"Oh, shit."

No way can that vaguely mesmerized expression be a good thing.

Parker makes a grab for the back of Scorpius' shirt. (She really doesn't want to have to explain to.....someone that she took him to Ambergeldar for a short holiday and then allowed him to get eaten by a tree.)

"Guys, I think maybe we shouldn't look directly at the....whoa."

The moving branches are kind of pretty, aren't they?

[noteful]

Meg isn't directly looking at anything; she has her eyes closed.

Granted, that probably isn't going to work as a permanent solution, since she's not remotely wild about the idea of trying to move though these woods without seeing where she's going.

And even with her eyes closed, she's improbably aware of that tree.

Meg puts her left hand over the bracelets on her right wrist and focuses on the feel of them.

And still . . .

"That tree really wants to be looked at."

It's very tempting to do so.

[master_bruce]

...this can't be good. He feels his gaze drawn towards the thing, and drags it away. Nothing that exerts influence like that is to be trusted.

'Come on, everyone. Just keep walking. Watch the ground.'

He wants to go over and see what it's doing, and how. If it's sending off some kind of pheromone, it could be useful to make into a serum. He takes a couple of steps towards it, before shaking his head and pulling himself back.

'If you feel it getting stronger, start to run.'

[cutting_edgex23]

X does not sigh.

Her eyes have been closed since Parker's warning. And X has some practice in saying 'no' despite overwhelming habit. And instinct.

But just to be sure --

snikt

"This will be more efficient."

Beat.

"Probably."

Everyone can give up one strip of shirt to the cause, right?

Because X can tie a mean blindfold.

"I can lead. It will be safe. Comparatively."

[alsoagreengrass]

What, now?

Scorpius has no idea what the others are talking about.

And honestly? He doesn't care much right now what they're saying. He's going to climb the tree.

As soon as he shrugs Parker off of him.

"You lot go on ahead. I'll catch up.

"I think it's singing to me, anyway."

[parkerlee]

Shrugging Parker off might be easier said than done. She's been told she has a hell of a grip.

Of course, she can't quite make herself turn away from the tree either, so at present they are forming what is effectively a very short conga line.

"Yeah. It's sort of like....slow dance beat combined with Barry White."

Presumably, other people might hear different.

"Meg?" Parker sounds slightly desperate. "If I ask nicely will you slap me?"

[noteful]

Meg opens one eye just enough to get a blurry-through-her-eyelashes orienting view.

And then she takes two steps toward Parker and slaps her, not hard, but hard enough.

"You're welcome," she says, and closes her eyes again.

Okay, so they've got a hypnotizing, singing tree to deal with. Maybe if they try to block that out . . .

"It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog," Meg sings.

Well, sings is a very generous word. Meg is tone deaf, and she couldn't carry a tune if someone gave it handles. And as she's very aware of that fact, the first line is a little hesitant.

But, hey, there's nothing to counteract the silent siren song of an ominous tree like an off-key rendition of a Beatles classic, right?

It's worth a try, anyway.

"It's been a hard day's night, I should sleeping like a log."

[master_bruce]

'...it's been a hard day's night, I sh...'

Wait, what?

No no no. He shakes his head, and looks to X because he has no idea if clones are affected by trees the same way as the rest of them.

'Can you...when I get home to you, I find the things that you do...'

(He doesn't even like the Beatles that much.)

A wire is pulled from his belt.

'I don't think blindfolds are going to cut it. Scorpius, stop! X, if we're linked together, could you drag everyone forward? If necessary?'

If she can't, they could be in trouble. Only - when he looks up to see if Amy is still in sight, it seems like the urge to follow her is stronger than the pull exerted by the tree.

He looks back to X to tell her.


'I find the things that you do, will make me feel...alllll riiiight.'

[cutting_edgex23]

X's eyes are closed, but she can hear perfectly well. Only her semi-permanent lack of expression keeps her from wincing.

(Sorry, Meg.)

Bruce singing is very strange -- moreso than any of the others -- but if it helps, it helps.

She hears the quiet sounds as he pulls the wire from his belt. She also hears the tree, even if she cannot see it.

But if X is possessed of one thing, it is the determination that she decides what she does, not anyone else. Not anything else.

And what she has decided to do is protect her friends. All of them.

"Yes." Her response is clipped, even as she reaches out to take the wire from Bruce, fingers brushing against his as she does so.

"But I do not know if I will be able to be careful. If people struggle."

Then she goes to corral Scorpius and Parker. Aside from the singing, they seem to be in the most danger.

It helps that she can hear their heartbeats, even over all the singing.

All the singing.

[alsoagreengrass]

"This isn't necessary," Scorpius says from the ground with his face in the dirt. Because after trying to get away from Parker - who knew she had a grip like that, huh - that's where he's ended up.

"Honestly. They're the mad ones, with their singing.

"Uhm. I'm okay now? Really."

But, considering he is still trying to wiggle his way toward the tree, even after being corralled and blindfolded? Well. He's a lying faced liar.

He'll need to be pulled along for just a bit.

[parkerlee]

Parker is sitting on the ground, one hand wrapped around Scorpius' ankle.

Her own blindfold is not yet in place and she's eying the tree.

"Uh. Guys?"

The tree seems to give a little shudder and shake off a cloud of glittering leaves. The don't fall to the ground, but hover in midair like a flock of birds or butterflies.

"I think we should get the hell out of here."

[noteful]

"You know I work all day, to get you money, to buy you things . . ."

Meg opens her eyes, because, yeah, all right, she can't see the tree with them closed, but she also can't see anything else, and she kind of thinks she might need to at this point.

That is a very worrisome cloud of leaves.

And she doubts the Lennon/McCartney songbook is going to be much help with them.

Meg's not sure what kind of a weapon you use on a cloud of glittering leaves (some kind of enchanted rake, maybe), and she knows she doesn't have anything with her, but she checks her pockets nevertheless and comes up with a small first aid kit and the twig she broke off one of the golden trees earlier.

She pulls the latter from her pocket, because she's not sure about the wisdom of keeping it at this point.

"And it's worth it just to hear you . . . huh."

Meg stops singing, and stares at the twig in her hand. The moment it was out of her pocket, and in front of her, she stopped feeling anything at all from the tree at the center of the clearing.

"Huh."

Cautiously, Meg moves the twig to the side. The moment it's away from her body, she can feel the pull of the tree again. She hurriedly moves it back.

"Birnam Wood."

Well, if Orpheus's approach won't work, they might as well try MacDuff's.

"I think . . . I think maybe it thinks I'm a tree now," she says, trying not to be aware of the utter absurdity of that statement. "Like, maybe it 'sees' the leaves and stops looking.

"Try it," she says, to Bruce, who is currently closest, holding out the twig.

Maybe they can make like a tree and leaf?

[master_bruce]

He blinks at her.

'Uh...'

There may be an urge to sing something at her in response to that, but he has enough awareness to sit on it. He takes the twig/

'...how 'bout that?'

Wow. OK. They need twigs. He jogs over to the nearest tree, picks another twig, and then tosses the spare to X.

'Give that to Scorpius before he gets eaten, or turned into a sapling or something.'

It only takes a minute to grab enough for everyone. No idea what might happen with the hovering leaves though.