[Memory] Lock and Key

Palis and Joffrey Jamie find their twin in each other.

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Palis Ainu
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Tue Jul 10, 2018 8:48 pm

Yaris 63, 2715
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the air that crept beneath every door and into every hall of Brunnhold was dry enough and crisp enough to crunch like a dried leaf under foot. Sunshine filtered through the large windows as it had uninterrupted for 63 days now, and it was every farmer in his dangerously dry field’s wish for Anaxas’ dry season to end with even a single, meandering rain cloud shuffling across the pale blue sky.

The halls of Brunnhold were quiet for these few moments just before noon everyday, and, in his seventh year, Palis Ainu had learned to savor it. He had managed to shuffle his daily schedule enough to leave a promising 10 minutes in which the petite boy could sit cross-legged in one of the deep window seats lining the halls of Brunnhold. For a moment, he could give the world two-stories below his perch his full attention without being paranoid of every bully, teacher, and father that would gladly pull him out of the window seat by his hair and harass him. The sunlight streaming over his head seemed to set his strawberry blonde hair ablaze as his hot breath lightly fogged the clear window panes which were cool to the touch.

Outside the window and through the yellow leaves dancing in the late Yaris breeze, the scurrying of students across the dry grass of the campus signaled to Palis that his daily oasis was almost gone. He sighed and began to untangle his slight legs. He wished everyday for just another minute of peace, but at least he knew he’d be back tomorrow, and the day after that. It seemed that a few other students had begun to pick up on this knowledge, too.

Palis yelped as a cold hand grabbed the collar of his green uniform and pulled him roughly out off the ledge of the window seat, causing him to tumble backwards onto the smooth and unwelcoming stone floor. A dull pain throbbed through his bottom as it hit the floor, but the hand did not cease in suspending his jacket. The tightness of the jacket caused his arms to be stuck motionlessly and rather pitifully straight out in front of him. He was barely allowed a moment of discontented unawareness on the floor before he was again hoisted into the air, the hand on his nape slipping away. From his sudden height, Palis was able to glance down at his attackers, as well as his small feet dangling a few feet above the floor.

Below him and just out of reach of his frantically kicking legs were a female and male pair of galdori just about his age who Palis had come to know well in his years at Brunnhold. He didn’t know their names, but he did know their strengths and love of harassing him. The girl stood to his side, murmuring the ends of her Physical Conversation with the Mona under her breath to keep him suspended in the air. The boy, who Palis assumed had pulled him onto the floor, stood with his arms crossed in front of Palis, laughing all the while.

“What’s wrong, Pal-ass? Can’t you use a little magic to get down?” the boy laughed, knowing full well that Palis was not strong in even his own spells.

“M-my specializations don’t allow me anything that will help in this situation,” Palis replied, a wave of mortification growing as he watched students and teachers alike gather around to watch yet another episode of Palis getting what a galdor as useless as him deserved. The other boy reached out and, grabbing a hold of Palis’ leg, pushed Palis to spin him around dizzily.

“Specializations? You can’t do anything, and everyone except you knows it!” the other boy announced as he pushed Palis again. The small crowd laughed and jeered along. Palis closed his eyes, the spinning and height making his head swim.

“Just… just put me down, that’s all I ask,” he said weakly, but his voice was drowned by the commotion. He could feel the sting of hot tears and the tightening of his throat as humiliation swept him, but he kept his eyes shut tightly. They would thrive if they could see him cry.

“What was that, Pal-ass? You’re stupid, but you could at least speak in something other than animal noises!”

“Just put me down!” he shrieked, this time loud enough to cut sharply through the gathered audience. The girl spoke up.

“Sure, we’ll put you down!” she answered in a voice sickly sweet. The sound of a door slamming open and hitting the wall beside it was frighteningly sudden enough to cause Palis to open his eyes. He stretched his arms out as he was slowly floated towards the open door of a thin metal locker-- his own, to be exact. He caught the edges of it and held on as he felt the girl’s magic pushing him in against his will.

“Oh, come off it, Palis. You fit in there last week with room to spare. We know we can put you in there, it’s just a matter of how much force we have to use,” the girl said annoyedly. Palis looked back over his shoulder at the jubilant audience, and, wanting to melt into the walls, he figured going into the locker would at least hide him visibly from his shame. He let go, and the build up of the girl’s impatient pushing slammed him against the inside of the locker, hard. Tears welled in his eyes, half from the mortification, and half from the pain in his mouth as the sudden impact caused him to bite his tongue. He wiped them away as fast as he could, but was soon drowning in the dark as a deluge overtook his oft-emotional face. He was thankful, however, as his feet touched the bottom of the small unit, and he turned around to face the locked door. Alone and in the dark, Palis began to lightly tap on the locker in hopes of a kind, or perhaps just curious, galdor to rescue him from his tiny prison.

tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 2699

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Joffrey Jamie
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Tue Jul 10, 2018 11:00 pm

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Joffrey Jamie was bored. Not in the sense that he couldn't find anything to do - there was plenty he could be doing - but he was merely tired of doing what he had been. Tired of studying, tired of attempting conversation with strangers (it was really just him blabbering on a little too loudly at this point), tired of wandering, tired of stuffing his face. Maybe not tired of that. But he was tired of being bored and bored with being tired of things, so something had to change or he'd be stuck in this loop. The galdor was sure of at least that much.

And maybe he had been saved from this cycle if the gathering cluster of students was anything to go by. It was not difficult, even from a distance, to see what was happening - and in the moment he felt the surge of something not quite excitement, but close enough to it that he'd use such a word for it. A shriek cut through the air, only to be chased by laughter and the distant sound of a locker shutting. JJ was not yet close enough to hear what was happening, stormy eyes widening and brows raising as his steps picked up.

"What're you doing? Let him out!" It wasn't right to shove classmates into lockers! The much taller galdor had never had the courtesy of going through the process himself - he was much too big for someone to attempt that - but he was certain it wasn't comfortable in any way. Not unless people favored those kinds of situations. In which case, he couldn't really judge. But he was sure that whoever had just been shoved into that locker was none too pleased about the matter.

The dark haired boy turned to the locker the tapping was coming from, hands going to the lock before he froze. Combination lock. Well, that kind of soiled things. His hastily thrown together plan was to look somewhat heroic in all of this, but this threw a damper on things, for sure. Clicking his tongue, he tapped back on the locker door.

"You okay in there? Is this your locker? Do you know the combination?"
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Palis Ainu
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Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:48 am
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Race: Galdor
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Wed Jul 11, 2018 7:57 pm

Yaris 63, 2715
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the voicethat emanated from the other side of the closed door caused Palis to jump, hitting his head with a clang on the door. He recognized it as the voice of an older male student, though who it was was not familiar to him. He rubbed at his pained forehead as he cursed his own clumsiness. He could feel the riverbed of his humiliated tears slowly drying in cold lines down his cheeks, and he could taste the metallic and easily recognizable flavor of blood seeping from where his teeth had penetrated his own tongue. He pressed his face against the locker door, and, praying that the male tapping back from outside of the locker was friendly, began to speak through emotional little sniffles.

“I’m okay, just a little shook up, I s’pose,” he answered in a small voice as he intertwined his fingers in the various papers and notes he could feel attached on the locker door.”I— yes, this is my locker.”

And the combination, what was it? That was an unfortunately good question. He knew he had it written down somewhere, but that vague location didn’t help Palis as he frantically tried to remember the combination itself. Did it start with a... 4? No, that couldn’t be it. Clocks, he couldn’t even remember whether the lock was numbers, letters, or otherwise! He never opened the lock, leaving the lock undone at all times because he knew he’d forget the combination if he ever needed it. He groaned hopelessly, afraid of what his potential rescuer might say if he admitted that he couldn’t remember his own combination to his own locker. Then again, it couldn’t be much worse than the humiliation he had already faced.

Palis placed his palms against the cool surface of the door, unable to see even his own hands before him in the sliver of light falling upon him from between the door and the frame. The sides of the locker rubbed his shoulders and held him in place like a claustrophobic hug. He sighed. Even if the stranger thought he was absolutely stupid and worthless, Palis was thankful to know he was at least protected from anything physical inside the sanctuary of his dark cell. He felt the hot air of his sigh rebound off the wall before him and tickle his neck.

“I know this sounds absolutely stupid,” he started defensively. “But I can’t seem to remember the clocking combination to this stupid locker.” He just hoped that his courageous hero would be both kind and outrageously cunning and resourceful, or he’d be stuck, alone and in the dark for ages. He really would rather not be alone in this cleithrophobic instant. Afraid that the mystery voice of his companion would retreat, he frantically began to ramble again.
“You’re not going to leave, are you? Oh, please don’t leave me alone in here! We can figure a way out, I’m sure of it. Say, if you don’t leave, I’ll, well, I’ll owe you one. Whatever you need, I’ll do it. Just please get me out before they come back.” He waited a response, ready to accept sadly that he had already been abandoned.

tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 2699
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Joffrey Jamie
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Thu Jul 12, 2018 10:20 pm

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It would be no lie to say that the tall galdor boy nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden clang. It was quiet in the locker for a moment - something that had JJ furrowing his brows and pursing his lips - before the boy within started speaking. Or well, it sounded like a boy. Maybe? It was a soft voice, but not the kind of soft that JJ would associate with a girl. Maybe this was just a small boy in there; it had certainly looked like a small boy from a distance but sometimes eyes weren't so great with being clear about things. Regardless, they were stuck in there and JJ had to get them out. He'd already made it his duty to, seeing as he had walked right on up to it and it didn't seem like anyone else would do it.

The voice admitted that this was their locker - and then silence again. Nothing for a time and JJ was again left to fidget in front of the locker, fingers twitching over the lock before they stilled and started up again. Wide eyes stared at the locker door as he debated whether or not he ought to ask if the person in there again was okay. They'd been quiet for some time, before another admittance was made: they could not remember the combination. More brow furrowing. How did one forget the combination to their own locker? It was something you used often enough for the code to stick. Bad memory?

"I'm not leaving," he assured them, "I'm still here!" His voice might have been just a touch too loud. Defensive, maybe? But he wasn't going to leave this person in distress - that would be worse than having put them in there in the first place. And the trapped student was right; they could easily work together to find a way out of there. "You don't have to owe me anything, y'know. Don't worry." Of course, the person inside could not see the wide grin on his face, but there was one and it was ear-splitting and if his mother were watching, she might remark that smiling that wide made his eyes practically disappear into little crescent moons.

"You don't have the combo written anywhere? Not on a note or something there? I always write things on notes and stick them in my books so I don't forget, but I think I forget them anyways until it's too late."
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Palis Ainu
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Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:48 am
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Race: Galdor
Occupation: Young politician. Temporarily out of service.
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Fri Jul 13, 2018 1:54 pm

Yaris 63, 2715
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Thankful thathis new companion wasn’t leaving him to starve or die of dehydration in the locker, Palis relaxed as much as one could when they were forcibly trapped in a small, dark box with no room to do anything except stand. He smiled a sad little smile in the dark, and, in a much calmer voice, he whispered back to the boy outside the locker gratefully.

”Thank you for not giving up on some stupid chap stuck in his own locker,” he whispered, a weakly joking tone hinted in his feeble voice. Even though the boy insisted Palis wouldn’t owe him anything, Palis was sure he’d nearly die for his savior if he indeed succeeded in rescuing him in his small prison.

To anyone other than Palis, combination note in the locker was awfully counterintuitive, but, this was Palis, a boy accustomed to being shoved into many a locker. The inside of the locker was the perfect place for a combination. His eyes had begun to adjust to the dark, and, just before his face, he could see the dull patches of white squares of paper attached to the door of the locker. He could tell that words were written on many of them, but the dim light did not provide him enough to see. He reached out began to grab each one that he could see, painfully aware that most of them were completely embarrassing. Notes, drawings, and various other lovely sentiments he had collected throughout his years (he was sure that he had blindly grabbed a quick love note he had written but still hadn’t gotten the nerve to send).

”There are some notes here on the inside of the door, but I can’t read them in the dark,” he called out as he reached for the last note he could see. He could feel about five little slips of paper in his hand.

”I’m going to push them through the crack here between the door and the frame, okay?” he asked, waiting momentarily for a response before adding, ”Just... if it’s not the combination, you don’t need to read the whole thing. They’re private!” He could feel his face heating and reddening as he frantically warned the mysterious galdor to leave Palis his privacy, and he was glad he was inside the locker both so that he could hide his rouge face and so that he couldn’t watch painfully and helplessly as the boy on the other side inevitably read some through his notes.

Reluctantly, Palis began to feed the five papers through the crack, waiting to feel the stranger take hold of the note before releasing it to grab another. Once the five papers were through, he’d wait a moment before asking impatiently in his panicky voice, “Anything? Anything there? Please tell me the combination is there!”

tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 2699
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Joffrey Jamie
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Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:14 pm

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So there was something to the note direction. This was good. This was - dare he say it? - progress. Or something he'd liked to think was progress. His grin widened, if at all possible at this point, as the boy pushed out paper through the small space between the locker door and the locker itself. He said something about being personal and not reading all, but Joffrey Jamie was more preoccupied in making sure none of them dropped or slipped through his fingers. If there was anything personal in those notes - well, they were liable to be read just like everything else.

Now sure that he'd been given all the notes, the galdor shuffled through them. He squinted, skimming one or two a moment before deciding that he would focus only on numbers. Or at least that was what he told himself. Reading someone else's notes could be funny, and this boy's handwriting was neat enough that he could read it. Some weren't notes at all; drawings, maybe a letter that may have been for the eyes of someone important. JJ wasn't about the judge that last one, given the current situation. It wouldn't be surprising if the boy had...less than zero courage when confronting someone he might be remotely 'in like' with.

But, as it was, the notes in his hand were thinning as he let them fall to the ground. He was growing less amused with them and more annoyed as to why there were so many - he didn't even write this many notes. One or two chicken-scratch scrawled notes was his maximum before he stopped paying attention and inevitably moved on from what he'd been doing. It was not quite a wonder he was even still here in front of this locker, reading.

"You're sure this is all of them?" He was down to the last one, and not entirely optimistic that it would have the right set of numbers he was looking for. But this was him speaking before he'd even read them, calling it just in case the boy had begun to get his hopes up. Or maybe he'd already imagined that none of the notes would have the combination and he'd be stuck in that locker for as long as it took JJ to find someone to break into it. And now he was bouncing on his feet, reading over the remaining note before a very pointed "huh" left him.

There on it was the combination and the key to the boy in the locker's freedom. "Got it." That was a lot easier than he expected. Maybe he ought to do something slightly heroic more often if they would all be like. Putting in the combination - and fumbling with the lock a moment - he opened the locker door with a greater flourish than necessary and his wide grin to greet the boy.
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Palis Ainu
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Race: Galdor
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Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:04 am

Yaris 63, 2715
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The lock rattled in the dark, and Palis was suddenly blinded by the light of the windowed hallway. He blinked his blue and brown eyes rapidly as they adjusted to the sudden change in exposure. He stepped tentatively out of the locker with such an awe on his face that could to an onlooker give the impression that he had not stepped out of his own locker in the whole of his short life. Despite the his curiosity about the boy who had saved him, his attention first turned to straightening his green uniform with his persnickety fingers. He then turned his attention to the boy.

The brown-haired boy who had opened the locker was tall, and Palis came just above his shoulder. His grin was wide, nearly hiding his grey eyes with joy. He was vaguely familiar, simply a face in the crowd Palis' mind had committed to memory for no better reason than to leave him with a sense of deja vu now. Taking a moment to reach into the boy's field, Palis could perceive joy radiating in there, too, and he couldn't help the bright grin that crawled to the very edges of his young face. It wasn't often that he met another galdor who actively let such a palpable emotion into their field rather than simple maintaining neutrality, and Palis couldn't help but appreciate the smile. He found smiles the rare little flowers of a desert of serious people; they were always bright, always unique, and unfortunately rare on the faces of many a galdor. He noticed the notes still littering the ground, however, and his smile faltered as red flooded his face. He stooped suddenly to gather them, flipping their faces down to the ground. He swept his arms across the floor as if he were making snow angels in his notes, and he craned his neck up at the boy now towering like a mizzenmast above him from where he perched on the ground.

"Thank you," he called to the boy now towering above him, his voice light in the air like a little bird. He felt his thanks was rather inadequate for what the boy had done. Palis would still be alone and locked in a claustrophobic space without him. He straightened up from where he crouched once he had gathered the notes, and, after shoving them back into the cubby, he shut the door behind him, leaning his back against it and feeling the cool surface soak through his emerald jacket. He turned his attention back to the boy. He reached a hand out to embrace the other's in a polite handshake.

"Palis AInu, he introduced himself whether the boy shook his hand or not. "Seventh form, inside-of-locker regular." He chuckled softly at his own foolishness, running a hand through his blonde hair- a nervous tick he was tirelessly scolded for in the few moments of each year that he was home with his father. He tilted his head curiously at the boy.

"And what might be the name of my noble hero?" he rhapsodized dramatically, his friendly voice hinting his typical joking tone.
tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 2699
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Joffrey Jamie
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Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:53 pm

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The vague familiarity might have worked both ways if it weren't for the fact that Joffrey Jamie rarely paid attention to those around him unless it was for some big deal (or something turned into such by his own imaginings) only to be promptly forgotten by whatever else had happened soon after. A small boy, as he had suspected, was who he'd freed from the temporary prison of the locker.

Who also was quick to get red in the face, something that had him snorting slightly but affected his sunny smile in no real way. He might have helped, if not for how quickly the smaller snatched up the notes. As if JJ hadn't already read a good number of them. As the other came up for a handshake, the taller reciprocated it eagerly. A much larger hand wrapped around the other's, a mental marveling that never seemed to go away at the notice of just how small his Gior-blooded peers were in comparison to him. Like shaking a baby's hand. Or a chicken foot. This thought earned another snort, that he'd dismiss as nothing if asked about.

"Joffrey Jamie Kendrick." There was some excitement in learning that he'd rescued someone smaller, and now confirmed to be younger. Would he need to take the younger under his wing? ( Which would be a terrible idea, but he was full of those quite often. "Ninth-former." A contemplative look crossed his face. "I don't think I've ever been shoved into a locker before." Had he? No; much too big, at any rate.

"Is there a reason you're always being shoved in lockers? Can I help with it?"
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Palis Ainu
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Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:59 pm

Yaris 63, 2715
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The smaller boy beamed as Joffrey Jamie introduced himself. The boy seemed nice enough- he had saved Palis, after all, but he had a laugh that seized him as he seemingly listened to whatever was in his imagination, and it amused Palis. He was a bit confused by the unsourced laughter, but he smiled all the same. Something was obviously funny, but he probably just missed it.

It’s nice to finally meet you on the same side of a locker door,” he remarked with a small chuckle. “Count yourself lucky. It’s cold, dark, and claustrophobic. I wish I was tall enough to not be shoved in lockers, like you.

There were many reasons one such as Palis could be shoved in lockers. He was small, stupid, and so without friends big enough or skilled enough to protect him- an easy target. He had never been completely sure if it was only one reason why he had made friends with the inside of many lockers or if it was a mix of all of them. He had even fought back on occasion, once burning a bully rather severely with a bit of Static fire, but catching someone on fire seemed to only cause more anger for some.

I’m slow and small and not related to anyone powerful or friends with anyone brave. That’s plenty a reason to shove someone in a locker or push them around or pummel them with conversational spells, apparently,” he sighed. “And I-“

Out so soon, Ainu?” a voice interrupted the quiet of the surrounding hall. Palis turned, his heart and smile dropping as he saw the figure. It was the boy who had helped shove him in the locker in the first place, the by who had it out for Palis every since Palis had burned him with a hand of Static. Palis frowned, ready to run away, but, no, he had an ally this time, didn’t he? He looked up at Joffrey with a fearful hopefulness in his face and smiled weakly. He hoped the sheer height of the boy would protect him against the short but stocky golly before them.
tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 2699
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Joffrey Jamie
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Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:56 pm

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While, yes, being shoved inside a locker didn't sound all that appealing, there wasn't much to brag about with his height. (Okay, maybe there was but that was kind of obvious, now wasn't it?) He did miss out on what was probably a fundamental step in developing character - such as the aforementioned being shoved in lockers, but confessing an opinioon like that didn't seem like the brightest of ideas - and who was anyone kidding? JJ was full of not bright ideas.

"Being shoved in a locker probably isn't all bad in the long run. Builds character, doesn't it?" And his grin remained even as he said this. He might have gone the extra mile to put him right back in there if they were on friendlier terms. But even if he had intended to do so, his chances to get the act over with without onlookers had slimmed incredibly with the reappearance of someone that must have been involved in the first instance of locker shoving intos.

"Did you have a set time for letting him out?" A genuine question. He himself would have at most let the boy in there for a few moments at most before letting him out once more. But this was for joking purposes, not for whatever this particular boy had intended.
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