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Quietly, she nodded her head before she wrapped her arms tighter against herself, as if they'd provide extra warmth to the frigid story she was trying to tell.\n\n\"Yeah... it gets worse before it gets better. See...After...After...they brought me back, I-\" She began, but Ricochet cut her off immediately with a stammering yelp of confusion. She had to admit, a lot of the things she was talking about must have thrown him for a loop, but this was probably the most bizarre yet.\n\n\"Wait, wait, wait...wait........wait. Are you telling me, in your time, they can revive the dead?! Could they bring me back?!\" He yelped, his fingers squeezing her's with the strength of wild hope. Sadly, she shook her head, ears peeling back against her skull nervously.\n\n\"N, no...no, Ricochet...they can't. It doesn't work like that. Only under very specific conditions can our technology reverse death, and even then...I...it...you can only be dead for a few minutes...a few moments out of sync with existence. \"Sides...if somebody died, and went to heaven...and then found themselves ripped out of paradise, and placed back on earth...just how pissed off would you be? Anyway...I wake up on the operating table...After...well that was the first time I met Jack. Large scary rabbit dude...kinda like Donnie Darko, but more horrifying...wear's a brown shawl sorta thing....yeah, him. He tries to drag me with him...somewhere...Judgment...but I'm not ready to go...not without Jackie...my twin sister...Spice...So I run. And I run, and run...and while I'm running and he's trying to chase me, they work on Jackie. And we're in sync somehow. Like some sort of bizarre soul link. Cause when they manage to bring her back, I wake up too. And Jack disappears. I ran away from Jack and managed to live. You'd think that I'd accomplished something...\"She hissed quietly through her breath, tears in her eyes while Ricochet let her rest against him. She felt heavy....very very heavy with burden, sin, guilt and sorrow. How she managed to smile was beyond him...\n\n\"But he has all the time he needs...he'll wait. He's been waiting...and searching. Anyway, The News gets wind of what happens. Heroic twins manage to survive drunken murder attempt. Father to be given life in prison. \" She explains, while Ricochet gave an angry snort.\n\n\"Life in some dinky lil' cell? HUMPH! Ma'am, where I come from, We'd du, hung the varmint....right after we broke both his legs, and made 'em walk to the gallows. Sheeet, shootin' yer own daughter...and such...Ma'am, ya'll be happy ta know, if I ever run into yer pappy round these here parts, I'll give him a right mighty fine hello.\" He quipped adjusting his head with the nozzle of his gun. Spark flashed a ghostly twinkle of a smile before her sad story continued, the words trickled from her mouth, loaded with sorrow that made them hang heavy in the air with each passing breath.\n\n\"Media caught wind of it...we were a spectacle. Toys, gifts, all sorts of things bought to the hospital for me and my sister. But the state came too. They wanted to put us in foster homes. Separate us...cause while we were in the hospital, mom was looking after my older and younger sister. She went a little crazy with everything that was happening...tri...tried to...she wanted...the world was too sick. The sickness had invaded our home, and she was going to make sure they didn't get sick either...She tried to poison my little sister. Big sis...Sugar, caught it in time, got her to the hospital, had her stomach pumped. Mom's put into the Looney bin, three of us in the hospital while Sugar watches over us. Only ten, and already in charge of an entire family. My brothers were in college, not even old enough to care for themselves...but anyway. Sugar gets adopted by this doctor...mouse lady. Real smart, real nice...she lived by herself, wanted to nurture someone like her...guess they found a kinship, cause they were always together when they visited. Shine, lil sis, got adopted by this rich family. Suited her just fine, she was a spoiled little girl, and always acted like she was better then us anyway...you know the type...\"\n\n\"And you two ran away.\" Richochet interjected with a burst of enlightenment that made Spark's ears perk. She flashed that glimmering smile of hers again before she nodded her head.\n\"Ran away, because you weren't gonna let them split cha'll up...best alternative to being lonely...I reckon.\" Ricochet explained while Spark nodded her head quietly.\n\n\"Clever boy...while I was in the hospital, Sugar bought me books to read. Anything to pass the time...local library wasn't too far away. She started bringing me magic books, and other stuff, but the tricks grew too easy...and after a while, she started dropping me books in the occult...magic...but a different kind of magic. She'd always get Spice martial arts books, and stuff by Bruce Lee or stunts preformed by Jackie Chan or other stuff....but for me it was always ghosts, and magic and witch craft...one day she brings this old book with a bunch of really neat runes mid way through. I'd been reading enough by now...I could translate...Annnd...\"\n\n\"And that thar was your first magic book... Ya'll been studyin' since you was eight? Sheeeee-it. I woulda thought there was somethin' more to it. Ya know more....dramatic-key. Ya know? Like some rights or rituals or sumthin'.\" Richochet quipped while Sparky grinned sadly.\n\n\"Naw...everything I learned I learned from reading the right books at the right time. Still young enough to believe in magic, had the right words to make it work, and the desire to protect what was the most important people to me- my family. I guess you could say I learned magic for all the right reason...but the spells I weave are ...still...dark. I was an angry little girl...but still wanted them protected above all else. Guess that's why I managed to stay sane or at least didn't start robbing banks and killing people. Dark magic has a habit of doin' that to people...\"She explained. Ricochet nodded his head slowly, letting a quiet grin shape his features.\n\n\"Ya'll woulda made a good bank robber...wish I had you in my time...\" He chuckled, and she gave a quiet, twist of a frown.\n\n\"You were a bank robber?\" She asked. Quickly the coyote frowned and shook his head, paused, and then shook his head again.\n\n\"Maybe...Hell, I don't remember...I don't think so...I don't feel like the type that would...well...maybe. I might have been...but I don't feel like the murderin' type, ya know? Robbin' banks always seemed loud n' messy ta me...\" He said quietly. She nodded her head and rested against his body. Firm. He was strong. Muscular. She almost felt safe around him...almost...\n\n\"Anyway...We ran away. Me and Spice. I used to do magic tricks draw a crowd and she'd pick pockets...then we'd get candy and McDonalds and look for a place to sleep for the night...After a year...I didn't wanna steal anymore...we got into a big fight...separated...it started snowing...I went and hid under a slide at the closet play ground...but it got cold...and colder....and I got sleepy...\" She explained sadly, shivering despite Richochet's warm embrace.\n\n\"Saw him again. \"She spoke before Ricochet could break the silence. \"He was walking towards me...this...sickly grin over his ugly face...like he knew he had me this time...Jack...He knew it...nowhere to go, no one to save me...And that's when these...I don't even remember...but the next thing I know, I'm being carried by someone much larger than me...taking me...somewhere. Somewhere warm. And I remember being half awake, in a bed...and him sitting at the foot, talking...He said...\n\"The art of dying is easy. Glad to see you've mastered it. A far more challenging task, is to learn to live. \" And then he was gone...turns out the person who rescued me was none other then Dazzler...Erm...The Dynamic, Dazzler, that is. I mean, it was just a stage name...her real name was Danielle, but she was the Dazzler at that time...her mother was Dazzler before her,'The Dramatic,' and I...heh...When I was alive... \" She explained while Ricochet simply nodded his head. She imagined he hadn't been paying close attention, but he surprised her with what he said next.\n\n\"You turned out to be Dazzler? And that was the same woman that you bought all them books from? You've got the damndest streak o' luck I'd ever seen!\" He barked. She gave a quiet giggle, which made her ribs burn, but continued her story anyway.\n\n\"I was only picking up the art of magic then...hadn't even cast my first spell yet. I would have come along much further but...the woman who found me was Dazzler...the Dynamic Dazzler...and...I stayed with her for a long time...She started teaching me her stage craft...how to perform...she was like a real mom...the one I never had. She'd had her last performance exactly one year ago- Her husband and son were on their way to see her on stage, got into a car accident an...err...Her...husband and son were...trampled by horses? I guess? What's the closest thing you have to a car in your time? You know what, doesn't matter. They died, she found me, I was a replacement for her lost son... Anyway, she was teaching me everything she knew about being a real magician. Escaping from impossible situations, straitjackets, secret keys, picking locks...all that good stuff. When I was twelve, she was going to teach me how to escape from a real death trap...tank of water and I was locked in chains.\" The wolf chuckled. Ricochet gave a nervous sort of frown.\n\n\"Ya'll...kinda have the two ends of luck, dontcha? Either worst luck, or the best luck...how'd that turn out fer ya...or don't I wanna know?\" He asked quietly, quirking a brow when the wolf sat up from his side slowly and gave a hot snort of disgust.\n\n\"Why don't you tell him how it ended up...\" She snarled quietly, staring off into the distance, her voice lost and far away from him- she wasn't talking to him. Ricochet frowned softly, and felt a twinge of fear roll down his muscular shoulders as a new voice peppered the room with a deep, bass overtone.\n\n\"While her mother revived her with CPR, she set me on fire, and escaped yet again. \" The voice rippled through the room. The new voice- one that Ricochet had only heard once before in his life, and one he thought he'd never hear again- the Grim Reaper. The voice was coming from right behind him, and Ricochet moved in turn, leaping from his lounging position on the couch with a flourish of his duster jacket- he had both guns drawn and cocked while Sparkle lay on the floor, holding her side, where she had gone flying from Ricochet's sudden movement.\n\n\"Thanks a lot, asshole!\" She barked from the floor near the couch. Jack seemed to be sickly amused at the actions, even with Ricochet's guns trained at his forehead.\n\n\"News travels rather quickly down here...I heard you were looking for me, Runner. \" The voice echoed- a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and no where at once- echoing from inside of Jack as if he were an empty shawl and a head.\n\n\"If that were the case, why the fuck weren't you here sooner, Reaper? Urrgh...my ribs... Yeah...course I ran. I wasn't gonna let..Dazzler, ...mom, go through losing another family member...I don't care if it was my time...Guess you...F, finally...got what you wanted...huh Soul Snatcher? You fucking essence eater...I'm the one that slipped through your fingers...Happy to see me finally getting my just desser-\" She didn't get to finish. The world glittered with bright yellow stars from the blow that crashed against her skull, and she went tumbling to the ground, the world spinning wildly about her body before she hit the ground. Jack had backhanded her clear to the floor. From where she was, she could hear two distinct gunshots that went off, followed by a high pitched yelp- and the sound of two pistols hitting the floor.", "writing_bbcode_parsed": ""Worse?" Ricochet caught himself pondering, before the wolf sitting next to him looked up with those dazzling emerald eyes of hers. Quietly, she nodded her head before she wrapped her arms tighter against herself, as if they'd provide extra warmth to the frigid story she was trying to tell.

"Yeah... it gets worse before it gets better. See...After...After...they brought me back, I-" She began, but Ricochet cut her off immediately with a stammering yelp of confusion. She had to admit, a lot of the things she was talking about must have thrown him for a loop, but this was probably the most bizarre yet.

"Wait, wait, wait...wait........wait. Are you telling me, in your time, they can revive the dead?! Could they bring me back?!" He yelped, his fingers squeezing her's with the strength of wild hope. Sadly, she shook her head, ears peeling back against her skull nervously.

"N, no...no, Ricochet...they can't. It doesn't work like that. Only under very specific conditions can our technology reverse death, and even then...I...it...you can only be dead for a few minutes...a few moments out of sync with existence. "Sides...if somebody died, and went to heaven...and then found themselves ripped out of paradise, and placed back on earth...just how pissed off would you be? Anyway...I wake up on the operating table...After...well that was the first time I met Jack. Large scary rabbit dude...kinda like Donnie Darko, but more horrifying...wear's a brown shawl sorta thing....yeah, him. He tries to drag me with him...somewhere...Judgment...but I'm not ready to go...not without Jackie...my twin sister...Spice...So I run. And I run, and run...and while I'm running and he's trying to chase me, they work on Jackie. And we're in sync somehow. Like some sort of bizarre soul link. Cause when they manage to bring her back, I wake up too. And Jack disappears. I ran away from Jack and managed to live. You'd think that I'd accomplished something..."She hissed quietly through her breath, tears in her eyes while Ricochet let her rest against him. She felt heavy....very very heavy with burden, sin, guilt and sorrow. How she managed to smile was beyond him...

"But he has all the time he needs...he'll wait. He's been waiting...and searching. Anyway, The News gets wind of what happens. Heroic twins manage to survive drunken murder attempt. Father to be given life in prison. " She explains, while Ricochet gave an angry snort.

"Life in some dinky lil' cell? HUMPH! Ma'am, where I come from, We'd du, hung the varmint....right after we broke both his legs, and made 'em walk to the gallows. Sheeet, shootin' yer own daughter...and such...Ma'am, ya'll be happy ta know, if I ever run into yer pappy round these here parts, I'll give him a right mighty fine hello." He quipped adjusting his head with the nozzle of his gun. Spark flashed a ghostly twinkle of a smile before her sad story continued, the words trickled from her mouth, loaded with sorrow that made them hang heavy in the air with each passing breath.

"Media caught wind of it...we were a spectacle. Toys, gifts, all sorts of things bought to the hospital for me and my sister. But the state came too. They wanted to put us in foster homes. Separate us...cause while we were in the hospital, mom was looking after my older and younger sister. She went a little crazy with everything that was happening...tri...tried to...she wanted...the world was too sick. The sickness had invaded our home, and she was going to make sure they didn't get sick either...She tried to poison my little sister. Big sis...Sugar, caught it in time, got her to the hospital, had her stomach pumped. Mom's put into the Looney bin, three of us in the hospital while Sugar watches over us. Only ten, and already in charge of an entire family. My brothers were in college, not even old enough to care for themselves...but anyway. Sugar gets adopted by this doctor...mouse lady. Real smart, real nice...she lived by herself, wanted to nurture someone like her...guess they found a kinship, cause they were always together when they visited. Shine, lil sis, got adopted by this rich family. Suited her just fine, she was a spoiled little girl, and always acted like she was better then us anyway...you know the type..."

"And you two ran away." Richochet interjected with a burst of enlightenment that made Spark's ears perk. She flashed that glimmering smile of hers again before she nodded her head.
"Ran away, because you weren't gonna let them split cha'll up...best alternative to being lonely...I reckon." Ricochet explained while Spark nodded her head quietly.

"Clever boy...while I was in the hospital, Sugar bought me books to read. Anything to pass the time...local library wasn't too far away. She started bringing me magic books, and other stuff, but the tricks grew too easy...and after a while, she started dropping me books in the occult...magic...but a different kind of magic. She'd always get Spice martial arts books, and stuff by Bruce Lee or stunts preformed by Jackie Chan or other stuff....but for me it was always ghosts, and magic and witch craft...one day she brings this old book with a bunch of really neat runes mid way through. I'd been reading enough by now...I could translate...Annnd..."

"And that thar was your first magic book... Ya'll been studyin' since you was eight? Sheeeee-it. I woulda thought there was somethin' more to it. Ya know more....dramatic-key. Ya know? Like some rights or rituals or sumthin'." Richochet quipped while Sparky grinned sadly.

"Naw...everything I learned I learned from reading the right books at the right time. Still young enough to believe in magic, had the right words to make it work, and the desire to protect what was the most important people to me- my family. I guess you could say I learned magic for all the right reason...but the spells I weave are ...still...dark. I was an angry little girl...but still wanted them protected above all else. Guess that's why I managed to stay sane or at least didn't start robbing banks and killing people. Dark magic has a habit of doin' that to people..."She explained. Ricochet nodded his head slowly, letting a quiet grin shape his features.

"Ya'll woulda made a good bank robber...wish I had you in my time..." He chuckled, and she gave a quiet, twist of a frown.

"You were a bank robber?" She asked. Quickly the coyote frowned and shook his head, paused, and then shook his head again.

"Maybe...Hell, I don't remember...I don't think so...I don't feel like the type that would...well...maybe. I might have been...but I don't feel like the murderin' type, ya know? Robbin' banks always seemed loud n' messy ta me..." He said quietly. She nodded her head and rested against his body. Firm. He was strong. Muscular. She almost felt safe around him...almost...

"Anyway...We ran away. Me and Spice. I used to do magic tricks draw a crowd and she'd pick pockets...then we'd get candy and McDonalds and look for a place to sleep for the night...After a year...I didn't wanna steal anymore...we got into a big fight...separated...it started snowing...I went and hid under a slide at the closet play ground...but it got cold...and colder....and I got sleepy..." She explained sadly, shivering despite Richochet's warm embrace.

"Saw him again. "She spoke before Ricochet could break the silence. "He was walking towards me...this...sickly grin over his ugly face...like he knew he had me this time...Jack...He knew it...nowhere to go, no one to save me...And that's when these...I don't even remember...but the next thing I know, I'm being carried by someone much larger than me...taking me...somewhere. Somewhere warm. And I remember being half awake, in a bed...and him sitting at the foot, talking...He said...
"The art of dying is easy. Glad to see you've mastered it. A far more challenging task, is to learn to live. " And then he was gone...turns out the person who rescued me was none other then Dazzler...Erm...The Dynamic, Dazzler, that is. I mean, it was just a stage name...her real name was Danielle, but she was the Dazzler at that time...her mother was Dazzler before her,'The Dramatic,' and I...heh...When I was alive... " She explained while Ricochet simply nodded his head. She imagined he hadn't been paying close attention, but he surprised her with what he said next.

"You turned out to be Dazzler? And that was the same woman that you bought all them books from? You've got the damndest streak o' luck I'd ever seen!" He barked. She gave a quiet giggle, which made her ribs burn, but continued her story anyway.

"I was only picking up the art of magic then...hadn't even cast my first spell yet. I would have come along much further but...the woman who found me was Dazzler...the Dynamic Dazzler...and...I stayed with her for a long time...She started teaching me her stage craft...how to perform...she was like a real mom...the one I never had. She'd had her last performance exactly one year ago- Her husband and son were on their way to see her on stage, got into a car accident an...err...Her...husband and son were...trampled by horses? I guess? What's the closest thing you have to a car in your time? You know what, doesn't matter. They died, she found me, I was a replacement for her lost son... Anyway, she was teaching me everything she knew about being a real magician. Escaping from impossible situations, straitjackets, secret keys, picking locks...all that good stuff. When I was twelve, she was going to teach me how to escape from a real death trap...tank of water and I was locked in chains." The wolf chuckled. Ricochet gave a nervous sort of frown.

"Ya'll...kinda have the two ends of luck, dontcha? Either worst luck, or the best luck...how'd that turn out fer ya...or don't I wanna know?" He asked quietly, quirking a brow when the wolf sat up from his side slowly and gave a hot snort of disgust.

"Why don't you tell him how it ended up..." She snarled quietly, staring off into the distance, her voice lost and far away from him- she wasn't talking to him. Ricochet frowned softly, and felt a twinge of fear roll down his muscular shoulders as a new voice peppered the room with a deep, bass overtone.

"While her mother revived her with CPR, she set me on fire, and escaped yet again. " The voice rippled through the room. The new voice- one that Ricochet had only heard once before in his life, and one he thought he'd never hear again- the Grim Reaper. The voice was coming from right behind him, and Ricochet moved in turn, leaping from his lounging position on the couch with a flourish of his duster jacket- he had both guns drawn and cocked while Sparkle lay on the floor, holding her side, where she had gone flying from Ricochet's sudden movement.

"Thanks a lot, asshole!" She barked from the floor near the couch. Jack seemed to be sickly amused at the actions, even with Ricochet's guns trained at his forehead.

"News travels rather quickly down here...I heard you were looking for me, Runner. " The voice echoed- a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and no where at once- echoing from inside of Jack as if he were an empty shawl and a head.

"If that were the case, why the fuck weren't you here sooner, Reaper? Urrgh...my ribs... Yeah...course I ran. I wasn't gonna let..Dazzler, ...mom, go through losing another family member...I don't care if it was my time...Guess you...F, finally...got what you wanted...huh Soul Snatcher? You fucking essence eater...I'm the one that slipped through your fingers...Happy to see me finally getting my just desser-" She didn't get to finish. The world glittered with bright yellow stars from the blow that crashed against her skull, and she went tumbling to the ground, the world spinning wildly about her body before she hit the ground. Jack had backhanded her clear to the floor. From where she was, she could hear two distinct gunshots that went off, followed by a high pitched yelp- and the sound of two pistols hitting the floor.", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Learning to Live (Part 8)", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/plain", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "1", "rating_name": "Mature", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "2", "name": "Nudity", "description": "Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)", "rating_id": "1" }, { "content_tag_id": "3", "name": "Violence", "description": "Mild violence", "rating_id": "1" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "f", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "52" }