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Current Music: Anggun - Snow on the Sahara

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Groovy Tunes, Tuesday

This would probably be her last shift here, at this store; if not forever, then at least for now. The child was nearing its arrival, for good or for ill, and Leto knew of her condition, and pieces were falling together. She couldn't see the shape of the puzzle yet. Perhaps she didn't want to.

Meanwhile, the very missed and much-loved father of her child-to-be wished to hear some music, and the Queen of Wonderland was eager to comply. She'd managed to re-create one of her music mixes, the one she'd put together for Antarctica. He was from the desert, but perhaps he'd appreciate the songs nonetheless.

(Leto modded with permission. open, ocd-free.)

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There was a song called 'Snow on the Sahara'. It made Leto laugh.

"I had never seen snow before I came here," he said. "I remembered it, of course, but that's not always the same thing."

He leaned close to Alice, unable to resist the opportunity just to brush his fingers against hers.

"Isn't that odd?" she asked. "Remembering things before you experience them. Does it remove the luster? Remembering a kiss before you knew one, or a friend before you ever met him."

Edited 2011-08-23 20:17 (UTC)

"I've never known anything else," Leto replied. "Few things have been entirely new for me. But I believe there is a difference depending if you choose to see the uniqueness of each moment or the repeating of patters. Both have their place."

Alice paused, then leaned forward, pressing her lips against his cheek.

"Is every kiss shadowed by kisses that came before?" she asked. "And what of our ... child?"

That was possibly the first time she had chosen to use those two words together; it had taken a considerable effort, on her part.

"Your ancestors are accustomed to this process; are you?"

Kate knew Leto had been intending to visit the island, sure, but that little tidbit of information had sort of slipped her mind in between all sorts of more pressing concerns that had come up since then.

So, she was wholly unprepared to see him as she stopped by Groovy Tunes with the intention of checking up on Alice one more time before moving. And so, she pretty much stopped in her tracks about as soon as she was in the door, eyebrows bouncing way up.

"... Oh."

[At this hour, it's a given that this'll be SP, but I could not resist!]

"Kate," Alice said, warmly. She brightened at seeing her friend. It took her a moment to realize ...

Oh. Oh was, indeed, an accurate summary of the situation.

"How good to see you once more," she managed, hoping to sound distant and polite. As if she hadn't seen Kate all summer, should Kate wish to disavow knowledge of this particular mess. "Did you come seeking music?"

Edited 2011-08-23 22:45 (UTC)

Seifer had actually shown up to the store with a purpose, and it wasn't to work. He was after some music to replace his sort-of friend's bad choices in life.

Very bad. Like, the sort of music that thirteen year old girls listen too. Seifer was starting to really wonder if Zell's brain had been damaged during all those pranks when they were kids.

He grinned when he saw Alice and nodded to her. "Hey, boss."

"Seifer," Alice said, offering him a quick bow of her head. "Lo, for you have fortuitous timing. Fate has smiled upon thee this day. Hold out your hands."

Without waiting to see if he did so or not, she was going to toss a key ring at him.

Seifer trusted Alice, as much as he trusted anyone, and held out his hands. And was glad he did when he caught the keys.

"What's up with these?" he asked as he looked them over. He was pretty sure they were to the shop.

Alice replied by resting a hand on her oversized stomach.

"I believe she's soon to make her debut," she explained. "I only ever intended to stay here while she incubated, and that period is rushing towards its completion with a shocking finality. You've been punctual, civil, and you adore music. More to the point, you are here at this moment, and no other employee is. How would you like to be the store's new manager?"

"Um... okay." At least he thought so. He was just made manager, and he was pretty sure that it was because she was leaving.

"So, you're not going to be here after today?" Because, wow, did he have questions. Namely, how the hell to do payroll and that.

"Not particularly," Alice said. "Leto wishes for me to return to Arrakis with him."

Leto was, to use the modern parlance, her babydaddy. She wasn't sure how long she could stay in Arrakis, but there was no reason not to leave with him and go there. The child should be born somewhere, and there was little risk left to the Spice in the air at this late date.

"Being a manager is perfectly simple," she said, as if sensing his question. "Hire anyone who seems competent, use the money from the drawer, and destroy the CDs that are actively destroying music as an art form. Like the ones that say 'Creed' on them."

Somewhere, Chad felt a warm stirring in his heart, and didn't know why.

He thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "Sounds easy enough. And it's not like this job is rocket science."

Not usually. "So, I can blow up that order of Hannah Montana that came in on Friday? Awesome."

"With Our blessing," Alice said. The royal We, and not the pregnant one, not that it mattered. "Not that you require Our blessing. The store is yours, to do as you see fit. You do not answer to Queen Alice, from this moment forth."

Someone, somewhere, was currently in the dark that their worst nightmare had come true. Seifer in charge, scary concept.

"Cool. Thanks for the job. And I hope you and the kidlet do well, where ever you go." Again, very weird to him.

"She'll have family who loves her," Alice said, sounding a touch detached from the matter. "I have no doubt she'll be well, I thank you."

Leto looked up as Kate entered, then turned to Alice, and then to Kate again. He straightened a little.

"You didn't tell me either."

He didn't sound accusing, however, but at least it would hopefully be entertaining to see how Kate would explain herself.

... Well, so much for Alice's attempts at keeping Kate out of it. Not that that was an option she had even seriously considered. She sucked at lying to Leto, for one thing.

For her part, she looked from Leto to Alice to Leto again. "Um." It wasn't the greatest start, but after hesitating, she shrugged a shoulder, a little awkwardly. "Wasn't my secret to tell. Sorry?"

He turned his head slightly to look at her. "In this body, no. But I trust that I can learn."

"Don't be upset with her," Alice said, quickly. "As Queen of Wonderland and manager of Groovy Tunes, I forbid it. If you'd like to blame her, you'll have to leave the premises, and the mother of your forthcoming child will be terribly upset that you're walking outside to yell at her dear friend who has been such a comfort these past few months. Anyway, she did say that I ought to tell you; I was the one who didn't listen."

She wasn't sure one could actually outlaw arguments, but it was certainly worth the try.

Edited 2011-08-24 18:03 (UTC)

"And if she's the same," Alice asked, "then will she know me as well as I know myself? Can I hold conversations with myself, with her acting the part? At that point, do I become superfluous, in the flesh? If she encompasses all of me, then what am I left to myself?"

These questions had never troubled her before, but then, no one had ever threatened to absorb her memories, either.

Leto wasn't easy to lie to, so Kate was excused for that.

Not in the mood for an argument, really, Leto put on a mock thoughtful expression. "I believe I have to obey your orders, then," he told Alice, then giving Kate an amused look.

"She shouldn't be," Leto said. "You haven't consumed enough Spice for that. But yes, was that to be the case, she would." He paused. "You think of the child as a girl."

Kate was still a little tense, but rolled her eyes at that look. "I didn't exactly expect an argument anyway."

Not that she wouldn't have risen up to the challenge, had one occurred. She rubbed the back of her neck, and looked from Leto to Alice again. "So, uh... How's everything going?"

Since they were stating the obvious, already, now seemed like the perfect time for Alice to announce:

"Leto knows of my pregnancy."

Just in case somehow Kate had been hit on the head, or had slept through the past ten minutes.

"I have been meaning to tell you, though I suppose it's a touch moot now."

They hadn't progressed much further than that, so this was also an excellent stalling technique.

"Matilda said she was," Alice said firmly. "When I see her, she has Matilda's face. It isn't fair. She should have her own face, and not Matilda's. You told me you were a desert creature, and you are. Matilda said to leave Wonderland, and so I did. I had to protect her. But Matilda's too young to be an aunt."

This conversation was a little odd. "So am I to understand you've been a supportive friend to Alice?" Leto asked Kate. He hadn't even known they knew each other that well. He definitely approved, however, and might let Kate know that later on.

Leto wasn't going to point out that Matilda was dead.

"Why did she tell you to leave Wonderland?"

"It wasn't safe," Alice said. "Spice, and the unreality of my Queendom. My madness. Fire and sand. You know Alia's fate now. Insanity runs through her genes already. I dashed my own wrists once. She would have been steeped in time folding in on itself, the world transforming around her, the Spice changing her. She would have never had a chance. It may be too late already. She might be doomed."

Leto and Ghanima had one another, and they had still struggled at the brink of madness. With her own weakness in play, and no grounding twin ...

"A friend, anyway," Kate replied, with a quick quirk of a faint smile at the other girl. "I've had the time."

And she was protective of Alice for her own reasons that she wasn't going to go into right here.

"She wouldn't be abandoned and alone. You were. So was my aunt. Fear is what you should be concerned about, not destiny." He tried to pull Alice close.

"Fear is a tool," Alice said, shaking her head. "Fear keeps one vigilant. Without fear, one might be complacent, never seeing the threat. Fear is necessary."

"Your efforts have been appreciated," Alice said, bowing her head in true regal manner. "Must you leave soon, then? I suppose one can't stay forever."

That was, of course, some of what she and Leto needed to discuss, themselves.

Edited 2011-08-25 05:26 (UTC)

"I'm leaving in two days," Kate nodded. "Thursday night, Baltimore to Kansas City, bright and... late." She huffed out a quiet laugh and shook her head at her own nerves. "So, are you guys like -- ? What are you gonna do now?"

Leto looked at Alice. He had offered her to come with him, but the choice was hers.

"A tool is something you control, not something that you let control you," Leto countered. "You wield your blade, not the other way around."

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