Post by Nako on Apr 3, 2011 22:09:28 GMT -5
Word count: 2965 and more to come
Characters: Brooke, NPCs and Brandy
Oh yeah.. and PG16 I guess for implied lovemaking and cussing.
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Chapter 1: Ashes to Ashes
Ink. Dust. Blackness.
These were not colors of the Selkie, but they were covering the lands. Very, very few had decided to stay for any length of time in the Selkie lakes, but as the masses attempted to run from the plague, a few families lingered.
Brooke's sister was the first to catch it; she'd been too ill to move, and where little Eliza was, they would stay. Black oil had begun to pool up in drops through her pores, staining her once beautiful fur. She'd stopped eating, and in the end, merely died. They were unable to bury her in the Grave Lakes, and were forced to burn her body and keep the ashes. They were unable to leave once again, a sudden quarantine select to their area being erected. Her father and mother fell ill at once, and they were the worst off. Mother's fur began to fall out. And father… oh poor father. His vomit smelled of ink and he withered.
But everyone was withering around them, and dying. Brooke was sure her own death was imminent .
And now she stood at the edge of the fire, watching the flames engulf the ceremonial shroud that lay over her parents. Around her were many other fires, their smoke turning the sky above them dark. And the ashes… they swirled in the wind, staining the fur, and the tears that fell from her eyes. Her normally vibrant coat was sticky with debris and oil. But it was not from her. It was from the dead that they burned.
The elderly Selkie who tended the fire let out a raucous cough, which the black ooze he extricated from his lungs was hastily wiped on his pants before he resumed his duties. He'd die within the week.
"God help us all." The old man mumbled. That was the extent of the prayer over the dead, of any dead. Brooke wasn't sure if she believed in any god. Certainly not a Selkie one. If there had been one, it was dead now, killed by the sickness that killed her people.
"No." Brooke finally responded. The elderly man glanced up.
"Our God died with the Lakes."
Chapter 2: The Memories Fade
She never did die. A funny thing; it seemed a rare few were immune to the disease. Ironic considering how much she'd committed herself to death. She was from a pure Selkie line for several generations back. She had Selkie friends, Selkie lovers. And they were all gone. The only thing to her name was a single eclectic summer home her mother had invested in, one that Brooke had spent many summers at. When she was younger, she'd hated going there; she'd wanted to stay in the Lakes. The skunk would have been happy to stay there her entire life without ever having to leave. It took her entire Realm dying to send her away. It was ironic now that the place she'd so hated as a child was not her only memory what life had been like before the disease wiped everything she loved out of existence.
Three urns over the fireplace, made from a rare white clay and painted ornately in blue. Custom commissioned by a Villa to enshroud her family's remains in the colors they deserved; the colors that they'd lost when they turned brown and ink ran from their eyes. This way, perhaps Brooke could remember them as they were.
The summer home in Avington became her last memory of old times. The interior was designed to his mother's liking, with ornamentation showing a mixture of Club and Selkie pride. Blue and white… beautiful colors. Brooke surrounded herself in them and kept every ornament and couch clean of dust and debris. She had a small job on the side as well, working a small book keeping job on the side for the local businesses. Plenty of money was to be made. Sometimes Brooke would wonder if it was because she was truly talented, or if they just felt sorry for her.
Brooke missed having friends. Her oasis of memories seemed to fade more and more as the weeks went by, and the very real emptiness in her heart just seemed to keep growing. The paintings of the glorious lakes that were hung in every room were becoming insufficient. The incense and perfumes made from Selkie water were drying out. In her heart she knew that if she stayed there, she'd merely fade with the memories. She'd run out of pickled plums and watercress chutney in the pantry. The linens made from Lakelander cotton would fade and unravel.
She'd have nothing.
This terrified her.
Chapter 3: What a (Wo)Man
Well, it had looked like a girl. Acted like a girl, and had been obviously attracted to women. "She" had grinned over the counter at her in such a way, tossing glances and flipping 'her' mane before going into the back room of the boutique to find her size in the sapphire blue gown. 'She' had been wearing a dress that day. Women were really so beautiful. And Yarrow… Brooke always fancied herself as appearing distinctly female and beautiful especially since she'd attained biped. How could anyone turn her down? After all, she was a rare and beautiful commodity.
The next day, she'd committed to asking the "woman" out. She'd been a tall creature but that was understandable considering she was a horse. But the day she'd went into the boutique, she'd stopped short of what she saw.
The "woman", Brandy, was wearing nothing but a pair of tight pants that were being altered by the Avington skunk/canine that owned the store. Brandy's boobs were nonexistent. It was the flat chest of a male. And.. that… Women didn't have that kind of 'package' in a pair of tight pants. Oh… Suits.
"Oh.. you.. you.. are not a woman." That was a very accusatory tone.
Brandy looked up, only just noticing her. When the equine's ears went back against his head, Brooke had immediately felt bad. The Yarrow looked absolutely guilty, glancing to his employer helplessly.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but if you're going to start spewing manhate, I'm going to have to ask you to lea-"
Brandy cut her off. "No.. no, I'll take care of this, this is my fault."
The Avington stormed off into the back room, but not without throwing a glance toward Brooke that had very clearly held a warning in them.
The Yarrow flipped back his golden mane, a habit that seemed to persist through whatever gender role he was playing. "Look hun, I'm sorry. I really didn't know that you… well. Everyone else in this town knows."
How… awkward. Brooke glanced over her shoulder, half considering just leaving and finding some other place to shop for her dresses. Or maybe even just move. No doubt she just made enemies. Feeling foolish, and certainly not wanting to admit defeat, she looked up at the equine. Goodness, he was tall. "Well, you can't expect me to just know. You were wearing a dress. You had breasts yesterday!"
Now, Brandy was smiling. Mocking her? She didn't like it. "Oh, my 'chicken cutlets'? It's all part of the costume. I pull off a fine lady in these clothes. I have to admit that if I managed to fool you, I feel pretty flattered."
Flattered? Well. It hadn't occurred to her that Brandy had dressed that way because he wished to be perceived as a woman. For a moment her expression went blank, rather dumbstruck by the entire situation. A crossdressing Yarrow male. It should have made more sense in her mind than it did. Weren't they second class citizens in the female dominated society? Yes… being a woman would be the ideal thing. Being seen as a woman being second best. "Well. You do make a convincing woman. But that doesn't change the fact that you've fooled me, and I don't take kindly to being made a fool out of Sir.. er.. M'am.. sir?"
Damnit!
Brandy laughed, a delightful whinnying sound that was infuriating and intoxicating all at once. Her tail lashed and her spines raised, and all in the same motion licked her lips which had suddenly felt so dry. "It's whatever the day calls for, I suppose. I won't take offense to you calling me 'Sir' if it makes you more comfortable." He sobered slightly, quirking a brow and smiling in such a way that Brooke wondered if the horse was using his diamond charm on her. Probably so. "I'll tell you what; have dinner with me tonight, and I promise I'll make up this entire misunderstanding to you tenfold."
What was that supposed to mean? Preposterous! Not a chance in the world!. "… Fine then."
Damn it all.
Chapter 4: A Similar Pain.
The parallels were uncanny. It was what she'd come to find out about the two of them as the weeks went by. The man sounded like an absolute ditz, but Brooke was dazzled by how perceptive and intelligent the former prostitute actually was. Yes.. he'd told her that eventually, during one of those long nights as they lay beside one another after enjoying each other's company. Having no one else to tell, she'd conversed in great detail of her former life. Her struggle. And in turn he repaid her with his own. He too no longer had his homeland, but not in the same way as her. Brooke's land was decimated and dead. Brandy's fate at times seemed even more cruel. It was still alive and vibrant, with family still living and merely a carriage ride away. But they didn't wish to see him. They wanted him dead. For all that Brooke wished to wallow in her own self pity, she could never say that she was lacking in love when she still had her family.
Brandy was hated, and he still found it within his heart to laugh and smile and love. And oh how he loved… passionately and without restraint or concept of what was accepted or proper. His very presence was invigorating. Even more invigorating were his stories of the places he'd been. For living most of his life in the Yarrow, when he'd finally escaped it was as if the world was his oyster. With his employer he'd been to many of the realms to model her clothing. The Highlands sounded so splendid, and the Capital seemed to be a hub of life that rivaled the Selkie's former self with commerce and ten fold the diversity in goods and people.
"I want to see these places." Brooke absently proclaimed one night as they lay intertwined.
"Would be a good idea." Brandy admitted, nursing a bleeding finger absently.
"I told you to watch where you put your hands."
"I was in moment!" Brandy exclaimed, before his face screwed up with frustration. She had been right when she'd told him that particular poison's effects were much more awkward than he'd assumed they would be.
She laughed, running a hand along the diamond on his chest before sitting up in the bed. "Well you've got all day to think about how you should be more careful. Good thing it's your day off."
He was pouting, but she wasn't sure whether she should believe him or not; that diamond ability was amazingly deceptive. "Where have you been wanting to go?"
The skunk shrugged noncommittally. "I don't know. Somewhere other than Avington. I mean… this is the only place I've been other than home. I want to see somewhere new for a change."
"I think it's a great idea. You should do it."
"You wouldn't be sad to see me go? If I go and find myself a little girlfriend in the capital?" Brooke jeered, poking the horse in the ribs. He snorted a laugh in response.
"Would you if I got myself one?"
Brooke snorted in mimicry of his equine sounds. "No." The both exchanged mutual smiles. Good friends. Lovers, but not enough so to settle down. Friends in mutual loss, perhaps. It surprised her though, when the Yarrow cupped her face with his hand.
"Never… never let anyone keep you from living your life. Not me, not anyone."
"I'll write you."
"Makes me glad they taught us whores how to read."
Chapter 5: Walk the Path that Opens Before You.
She'd said she'd wanted to leave, but actually doing it was a lot tougher than saying it. Brandy never pushed the issue; maybe he realized doing it at one's own pace was an important part of it. With work becoming so busy, and a particular Avington woman making advances toward her it was easy to forget those huge plans of exploration and personal growth. It was hard to fathom uprooting again right when she was beginning to make friends. But Brandy was out of town more and more with his modeling career, with little ability to invite her along on company budget. On top of that Brooke wasn't even sure she'd have accepted the invitation. Going out in the world still felt just a little too big for her, and the busy life of a model outside of the safety of Selkies she knew and trusted back from her socialite days at the lakes seemed like going into a war without soldiers. Without a posse to back her up, what was she other than just a sad case from a dying realm?
Well, opportunity has a funny way of showing itself, often in the form of straight up bad luck. She received a letter one day from the Capital, hand-delivered by an Official of the law as a court order to defend her assets that were to be liquidated as payment to a company that funded her parent's bottling business.
"Court? Really? I've never had to go to go in front of a judge for anything in my life!" She paced back and forth in her room, ignoring the smirking equine that watched her from the couch.
"Oh come on, we both know that you can get through this easily enough. There are more than enough people out there providing relief funds to those who found themselves in trouble after the Tragedy. I don't see why you're so worried."
Brooke threw her hands up in the air. "Are you kidding me? I'm going to have to go to the Capital, in front of all those-"
"Non-Selkies?" Brandy quipped.
Pursing her lips, Brooke stopped pacing and shot a glance at the Yarrow equine. "Why are you smiling?"
Brandy laughed, shaking his head. She really hated it when he did that. "You really don't see an opportunity when it hits you in the face, do you?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Remember? A few months ago you were dying to get out of here. Then you got complacent. You fell back into the routine and you got comfortable. And now this falls into your lap and you're just scared. I can't blame you, I was scared too when it happened to me." He stood up, grabbing Brooke by the shoulders before she could begin pacing again. "Brooke, I had to get pregnant before I found it in me to run away from my life. All the wishing to see the world and wanting something more than what I had didn't do me much good until I had something else to fight for. I lost that litter, but until this day I think it happened for a reason. For all the Yarrow birth controls coursing through my system I still got knocked up. I thought I was being punished when it happened to me and when I lost my children but as time went by I realized it was them giving up their life to give me mine."
She tried to stay defiant… but it was a losing battle. Her chin wavered gently and tears welled up in her eyes. "I miss them, Brandy. And this is all I've got left. This house, and this town…"
"They wouldn't what you living in a memory, Brooke. Girl, you've got life and fire in you and you can't let it waste away in this house. Take your memories in your heart, but find your life in the here and now."
With a rush of emotion, the skunk threw herself into her friend's arms, face pressed into his chest as the tears began to flow. "Y-you bitch. Always having to be right."
"Well I hate to say it, but you're a bitch too. And you know what BITCH stands for, right? Babe in Total Control of Herself. And honey, you're about to take control of yourself RIGHT now and rock this situation out to its fullest."
A laugh choked out between the sobs. "You always know what to say."
"Well, I can't help it I have a talent of - tongue."
"Did you just prick yourself?
"Seems to be - case."
Characters: Brooke, NPCs and Brandy
Oh yeah.. and PG16 I guess for implied lovemaking and cussing.
-------
Chapter 1: Ashes to Ashes
Ink. Dust. Blackness.
These were not colors of the Selkie, but they were covering the lands. Very, very few had decided to stay for any length of time in the Selkie lakes, but as the masses attempted to run from the plague, a few families lingered.
Brooke's sister was the first to catch it; she'd been too ill to move, and where little Eliza was, they would stay. Black oil had begun to pool up in drops through her pores, staining her once beautiful fur. She'd stopped eating, and in the end, merely died. They were unable to bury her in the Grave Lakes, and were forced to burn her body and keep the ashes. They were unable to leave once again, a sudden quarantine select to their area being erected. Her father and mother fell ill at once, and they were the worst off. Mother's fur began to fall out. And father… oh poor father. His vomit smelled of ink and he withered.
But everyone was withering around them, and dying. Brooke was sure her own death was imminent .
And now she stood at the edge of the fire, watching the flames engulf the ceremonial shroud that lay over her parents. Around her were many other fires, their smoke turning the sky above them dark. And the ashes… they swirled in the wind, staining the fur, and the tears that fell from her eyes. Her normally vibrant coat was sticky with debris and oil. But it was not from her. It was from the dead that they burned.
The elderly Selkie who tended the fire let out a raucous cough, which the black ooze he extricated from his lungs was hastily wiped on his pants before he resumed his duties. He'd die within the week.
"God help us all." The old man mumbled. That was the extent of the prayer over the dead, of any dead. Brooke wasn't sure if she believed in any god. Certainly not a Selkie one. If there had been one, it was dead now, killed by the sickness that killed her people.
"No." Brooke finally responded. The elderly man glanced up.
"Our God died with the Lakes."
Chapter 2: The Memories Fade
She never did die. A funny thing; it seemed a rare few were immune to the disease. Ironic considering how much she'd committed herself to death. She was from a pure Selkie line for several generations back. She had Selkie friends, Selkie lovers. And they were all gone. The only thing to her name was a single eclectic summer home her mother had invested in, one that Brooke had spent many summers at. When she was younger, she'd hated going there; she'd wanted to stay in the Lakes. The skunk would have been happy to stay there her entire life without ever having to leave. It took her entire Realm dying to send her away. It was ironic now that the place she'd so hated as a child was not her only memory what life had been like before the disease wiped everything she loved out of existence.
Three urns over the fireplace, made from a rare white clay and painted ornately in blue. Custom commissioned by a Villa to enshroud her family's remains in the colors they deserved; the colors that they'd lost when they turned brown and ink ran from their eyes. This way, perhaps Brooke could remember them as they were.
The summer home in Avington became her last memory of old times. The interior was designed to his mother's liking, with ornamentation showing a mixture of Club and Selkie pride. Blue and white… beautiful colors. Brooke surrounded herself in them and kept every ornament and couch clean of dust and debris. She had a small job on the side as well, working a small book keeping job on the side for the local businesses. Plenty of money was to be made. Sometimes Brooke would wonder if it was because she was truly talented, or if they just felt sorry for her.
Brooke missed having friends. Her oasis of memories seemed to fade more and more as the weeks went by, and the very real emptiness in her heart just seemed to keep growing. The paintings of the glorious lakes that were hung in every room were becoming insufficient. The incense and perfumes made from Selkie water were drying out. In her heart she knew that if she stayed there, she'd merely fade with the memories. She'd run out of pickled plums and watercress chutney in the pantry. The linens made from Lakelander cotton would fade and unravel.
She'd have nothing.
This terrified her.
Chapter 3: What a (Wo)Man
Well, it had looked like a girl. Acted like a girl, and had been obviously attracted to women. "She" had grinned over the counter at her in such a way, tossing glances and flipping 'her' mane before going into the back room of the boutique to find her size in the sapphire blue gown. 'She' had been wearing a dress that day. Women were really so beautiful. And Yarrow… Brooke always fancied herself as appearing distinctly female and beautiful especially since she'd attained biped. How could anyone turn her down? After all, she was a rare and beautiful commodity.
The next day, she'd committed to asking the "woman" out. She'd been a tall creature but that was understandable considering she was a horse. But the day she'd went into the boutique, she'd stopped short of what she saw.
The "woman", Brandy, was wearing nothing but a pair of tight pants that were being altered by the Avington skunk/canine that owned the store. Brandy's boobs were nonexistent. It was the flat chest of a male. And.. that… Women didn't have that kind of 'package' in a pair of tight pants. Oh… Suits.
"Oh.. you.. you.. are not a woman." That was a very accusatory tone.
Brandy looked up, only just noticing her. When the equine's ears went back against his head, Brooke had immediately felt bad. The Yarrow looked absolutely guilty, glancing to his employer helplessly.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but if you're going to start spewing manhate, I'm going to have to ask you to lea-"
Brandy cut her off. "No.. no, I'll take care of this, this is my fault."
The Avington stormed off into the back room, but not without throwing a glance toward Brooke that had very clearly held a warning in them.
The Yarrow flipped back his golden mane, a habit that seemed to persist through whatever gender role he was playing. "Look hun, I'm sorry. I really didn't know that you… well. Everyone else in this town knows."
How… awkward. Brooke glanced over her shoulder, half considering just leaving and finding some other place to shop for her dresses. Or maybe even just move. No doubt she just made enemies. Feeling foolish, and certainly not wanting to admit defeat, she looked up at the equine. Goodness, he was tall. "Well, you can't expect me to just know. You were wearing a dress. You had breasts yesterday!"
Now, Brandy was smiling. Mocking her? She didn't like it. "Oh, my 'chicken cutlets'? It's all part of the costume. I pull off a fine lady in these clothes. I have to admit that if I managed to fool you, I feel pretty flattered."
Flattered? Well. It hadn't occurred to her that Brandy had dressed that way because he wished to be perceived as a woman. For a moment her expression went blank, rather dumbstruck by the entire situation. A crossdressing Yarrow male. It should have made more sense in her mind than it did. Weren't they second class citizens in the female dominated society? Yes… being a woman would be the ideal thing. Being seen as a woman being second best. "Well. You do make a convincing woman. But that doesn't change the fact that you've fooled me, and I don't take kindly to being made a fool out of Sir.. er.. M'am.. sir?"
Damnit!
Brandy laughed, a delightful whinnying sound that was infuriating and intoxicating all at once. Her tail lashed and her spines raised, and all in the same motion licked her lips which had suddenly felt so dry. "It's whatever the day calls for, I suppose. I won't take offense to you calling me 'Sir' if it makes you more comfortable." He sobered slightly, quirking a brow and smiling in such a way that Brooke wondered if the horse was using his diamond charm on her. Probably so. "I'll tell you what; have dinner with me tonight, and I promise I'll make up this entire misunderstanding to you tenfold."
What was that supposed to mean? Preposterous! Not a chance in the world!. "… Fine then."
Damn it all.
Chapter 4: A Similar Pain.
The parallels were uncanny. It was what she'd come to find out about the two of them as the weeks went by. The man sounded like an absolute ditz, but Brooke was dazzled by how perceptive and intelligent the former prostitute actually was. Yes.. he'd told her that eventually, during one of those long nights as they lay beside one another after enjoying each other's company. Having no one else to tell, she'd conversed in great detail of her former life. Her struggle. And in turn he repaid her with his own. He too no longer had his homeland, but not in the same way as her. Brooke's land was decimated and dead. Brandy's fate at times seemed even more cruel. It was still alive and vibrant, with family still living and merely a carriage ride away. But they didn't wish to see him. They wanted him dead. For all that Brooke wished to wallow in her own self pity, she could never say that she was lacking in love when she still had her family.
Brandy was hated, and he still found it within his heart to laugh and smile and love. And oh how he loved… passionately and without restraint or concept of what was accepted or proper. His very presence was invigorating. Even more invigorating were his stories of the places he'd been. For living most of his life in the Yarrow, when he'd finally escaped it was as if the world was his oyster. With his employer he'd been to many of the realms to model her clothing. The Highlands sounded so splendid, and the Capital seemed to be a hub of life that rivaled the Selkie's former self with commerce and ten fold the diversity in goods and people.
"I want to see these places." Brooke absently proclaimed one night as they lay intertwined.
"Would be a good idea." Brandy admitted, nursing a bleeding finger absently.
"I told you to watch where you put your hands."
"I was in moment!" Brandy exclaimed, before his face screwed up with frustration. She had been right when she'd told him that particular poison's effects were much more awkward than he'd assumed they would be.
She laughed, running a hand along the diamond on his chest before sitting up in the bed. "Well you've got all day to think about how you should be more careful. Good thing it's your day off."
He was pouting, but she wasn't sure whether she should believe him or not; that diamond ability was amazingly deceptive. "Where have you been wanting to go?"
The skunk shrugged noncommittally. "I don't know. Somewhere other than Avington. I mean… this is the only place I've been other than home. I want to see somewhere new for a change."
"I think it's a great idea. You should do it."
"You wouldn't be sad to see me go? If I go and find myself a little girlfriend in the capital?" Brooke jeered, poking the horse in the ribs. He snorted a laugh in response.
"Would you if I got myself one?"
Brooke snorted in mimicry of his equine sounds. "No." The both exchanged mutual smiles. Good friends. Lovers, but not enough so to settle down. Friends in mutual loss, perhaps. It surprised her though, when the Yarrow cupped her face with his hand.
"Never… never let anyone keep you from living your life. Not me, not anyone."
"I'll write you."
"Makes me glad they taught us whores how to read."
Chapter 5: Walk the Path that Opens Before You.
She'd said she'd wanted to leave, but actually doing it was a lot tougher than saying it. Brandy never pushed the issue; maybe he realized doing it at one's own pace was an important part of it. With work becoming so busy, and a particular Avington woman making advances toward her it was easy to forget those huge plans of exploration and personal growth. It was hard to fathom uprooting again right when she was beginning to make friends. But Brandy was out of town more and more with his modeling career, with little ability to invite her along on company budget. On top of that Brooke wasn't even sure she'd have accepted the invitation. Going out in the world still felt just a little too big for her, and the busy life of a model outside of the safety of Selkies she knew and trusted back from her socialite days at the lakes seemed like going into a war without soldiers. Without a posse to back her up, what was she other than just a sad case from a dying realm?
Well, opportunity has a funny way of showing itself, often in the form of straight up bad luck. She received a letter one day from the Capital, hand-delivered by an Official of the law as a court order to defend her assets that were to be liquidated as payment to a company that funded her parent's bottling business.
"Court? Really? I've never had to go to go in front of a judge for anything in my life!" She paced back and forth in her room, ignoring the smirking equine that watched her from the couch.
"Oh come on, we both know that you can get through this easily enough. There are more than enough people out there providing relief funds to those who found themselves in trouble after the Tragedy. I don't see why you're so worried."
Brooke threw her hands up in the air. "Are you kidding me? I'm going to have to go to the Capital, in front of all those-"
"Non-Selkies?" Brandy quipped.
Pursing her lips, Brooke stopped pacing and shot a glance at the Yarrow equine. "Why are you smiling?"
Brandy laughed, shaking his head. She really hated it when he did that. "You really don't see an opportunity when it hits you in the face, do you?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Remember? A few months ago you were dying to get out of here. Then you got complacent. You fell back into the routine and you got comfortable. And now this falls into your lap and you're just scared. I can't blame you, I was scared too when it happened to me." He stood up, grabbing Brooke by the shoulders before she could begin pacing again. "Brooke, I had to get pregnant before I found it in me to run away from my life. All the wishing to see the world and wanting something more than what I had didn't do me much good until I had something else to fight for. I lost that litter, but until this day I think it happened for a reason. For all the Yarrow birth controls coursing through my system I still got knocked up. I thought I was being punished when it happened to me and when I lost my children but as time went by I realized it was them giving up their life to give me mine."
She tried to stay defiant… but it was a losing battle. Her chin wavered gently and tears welled up in her eyes. "I miss them, Brandy. And this is all I've got left. This house, and this town…"
"They wouldn't what you living in a memory, Brooke. Girl, you've got life and fire in you and you can't let it waste away in this house. Take your memories in your heart, but find your life in the here and now."
With a rush of emotion, the skunk threw herself into her friend's arms, face pressed into his chest as the tears began to flow. "Y-you bitch. Always having to be right."
"Well I hate to say it, but you're a bitch too. And you know what BITCH stands for, right? Babe in Total Control of Herself. And honey, you're about to take control of yourself RIGHT now and rock this situation out to its fullest."
A laugh choked out between the sobs. "You always know what to say."
"Well, I can't help it I have a talent of - tongue."
"Did you just prick yourself?
"Seems to be - case."
