Devil's Nest, Monday, 3/10

[bitten_notshy]

Jack was done with midterms, back from New York, and generally feeling almost human again.

It would be nice if the current batch of island weirdness hadn't been making him see (and hear, and, god forbid, smell) a pair of trolls periodically circling the dance floor in a long-running waltz, but he was never going to have anything. At least this time the DJ and Tiny admitted they could see the duo.

[OOC: Open club, no OCD.]

Comments

[not_a_whiner]

"Beer?"

What, why kill a perfectly good routine opening line, right? "Uh... what's up with the trolls?" Kaidan added, pausing halfway to where Jack was sitting to kinda... what.

[throughaphase]

Kitty hadn't made it here last week, so today she came in to see Jack, and was momentarily distracted when she got there. "What's that smell?"

It was probably trolls, Kitty.

[bitten_notshy]

"Hi, Kitty. The island's having fun again," Jack said. "Last week it was voices. This week it's dancing trolls who don't smell so good."

Next week: Active volcano!

[bitten_notshy]

"They came back again?" Jack sighed, glancing to the dance floor before going over to the beer taps. "It doesn't seem to be anything important. Just the island reminding us things are still weird here."

[OOC:Sorry, this posted in the wrong place.]

[throughaphase]

"I'm guessing we're talking about the Barry Plodder-style trolls and not like, the dolls with the weird hair, right?" Kitty checked, wrinkling her nose.

[bitten_notshy]

"If in Barry Plodder they're big, wear skins and don't look too bright -- yes, exactly that type," Jack confirmed. "Though the dolls might show up next..."

[throughaphase]

Cue the wide eyes. "The dolls? Like the creepy murder ones that showed up that time?"

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan shook his head. "I just try not to think about it," he said. Then he paused, and said, "...of course, that just makes me think about it. Ow."

[bitten_notshy]

"I try not to, but sometimes it makes you," Jack confided. "Last week there was one night where I couldn't study because it sounded like someone was practicing drumming right next to my ear."

[bitten_notshy]

"God I hope not," Jack groaned. "I was thinking of the troll kind you mentioned. Those killed people?"

[not_a_whiner]

"Last time I walked near here, I heard someone muttering something about a 'sock gap' and a turtle," Kaidan confided in return. "He seemed pretty upset."

[throughaphase]

"Oh, no! My brain automatically jumped to the creepy dead-eyed dolls that didn't have the hair but did have murderous intent. There might've been trolls in there, I don't know," she said. "This is what the island is doing to me. This is how my mind works now. Thanks, island."

[bitten_notshy]

"I'd be upset if turtles were wearing my socks," Jack hazarded. "But that may not be what they meant."

[not_a_whiner]

"I've been thinking about it," Kaidan admitted, reaching back to rub at the back of his neck. "Does anyone put socks on turtles...? Is that a local cultural thing somewhere, or... I don't know, I need to stop doing this."

[bitten_notshy]

"And yet clearly we don't know what's good for us, since we keep staying here," Jack said. "I'm told there are places in the world where killer dolls aren't a rational concern."

[throughaphase]

"There are! I've visited them. And apparently I'm too dumb to just stay there," she said.

[bitten_notshy]

"I've never heard of it, but that may not mean much, " Jack said cautiously. "People put sweaters on dogs all the time. Maybe turtles' feet get cold. "

He set the lager before Kaidan. "Or maybe we're putting too much thought into shared hallucinations."

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan took the lager and took a swig - hoping it would stop him from thinking about really pointless stuff like this.

Unfortunately, Jack was never a particularly good influence in that respect. "Maybe," he said. "Or maybe... has there ever been a turtle invasion here? Or maybe some kid turned into a turtle..."

[bitten_notshy]

"High five for bing the stupid ones?" Jack offered, holding his hand up. "What brings you by, by the way?"

[throughaphase]

Kitty waited till she'd completed that high five before saying, "I wanted to see how you were doing, after everything that happened and all. A week late, I know."

[justlurkinghere]

"What is that smell?" Yeah, Derek missed that particular event.

[bitten_notshy]

"There was a flood a few years before I came here," Jack said slowly. "Haven't heard too much about it, but maybe the turtles came with it. There must be some kind of history, to go by the general store's name."

He was always happy to be a bad influence.

[bitten_notshy]

"I wasn't around much last week anyhow," Jack told her, shrugging lightly. "No, I'm fine. I'll say no next time Derek invites me back to Beacon Hills since I don't need to be shot at again, but I seem to have healed up. No permanent damage done."

He was ... only sixty percent lying. He could have taken the physical aspect, but Kate had left her mark on his brain.

[throughaphase]

"You got shot at?" Well, that didn't do much for her concern, no.

[bitten_notshy]

"Phantom troll," Jack said, already fixing Derek a glass of water. "They vanish, the smell lingers. Charming, isn't it?"

He might have looked a tiny bit concerned when he glanced at Derek. Maybe. A little bit.