Distraction Zone

[Philomel was coiled behind Marta's house on the beach, a tight unhappy ball of serpent as she carefully manipulated the computer perched on a rock, perusing the community and beginning to get a sense for what had happened to its members this time. That it was a virus was clear, but what, precisely, had happened...of this she was less sure.

But figuring it out paled in comparison to the girl who'd be dropped off, she hoped soon. She wasn't sure what she'd be able to do for Luna while she was like this, but having her here was definitely better than letting her remain in her home, afraid and alone. No doubt about that.]

I went in sssearrrch of otherrr drrragonsss today--I mussst admit, it wasss good to get away frrrom Philip and the otherrrs. They mean well, I know, but it is ssstill...ssstifling, I sssuppose, to have to sssit underrr their ministrrrationsss day afterrr day.

I wasss unable to find any, however, whetherrr becaussse there are none in the arrrea or they had assssumed the Mime. I'd alwaysss sorrrt of asssumed that the drrragons could detect each otherrr even when they are hiding from usss--I definitely ssssee differrrently now--but perrrhapsss not.

I will look again tomorrrow, if only for the chance to fly once morrre.


((She hasn't realized the virus is mostly over yet, poor thing.))

Flying, rrreally flying, isss...

Therre arrre no worrrdsss.


((Literally. I think this is Philo's shortest post ever. XD;;))

Oh dear, the past month has been...overwhelmingly busy. Between everything we've been doing preparing the revisions for The Anatomy and Behavior of Dragons for the publisher, Philip's attempts to organize excursions to more dragon-populated locales, and...the wedding...I have had hardly the energy to log on to here. It's been almost distressingly long!

Alas, I suspect I have little energy even now for an in-depth account of what I've been doing. I hope things quiet down marginally once we have the manuscript sent off--I'd like to take a few days to myself, to relax and perhaps work on some of my paintings. Sketches and studies I've been able to complete with efficiency, but I have no time for proper paintings, on any subject.

Perhaps I should plan a vacation for myself...

((Let's see if I can get this muse back. :|))

Philomel's room in Marta's house was not a room proper--it was a converted study, covered in papers and art supplies, the bed a cot tucked against the wall. It was a rather nice cot, as such things went, and she was well used to it by now, but it was a narrow berth when there was just one person in it.

She was a fairly sound sleeper, as these things went, but certainly not the kind of person who could sleep through the sudden appearance of someone else in her very small bed. She came awake all at once, rather bewildered, and in trying to sit up and turn and determine what it was that had pulled her from her sleep, fell right out, dragging half the blankets with her and landing with a yelp.

Something caught her wrist, and she stared blankly at the length of colored silk wound about it. "Wh-what?" she muttered, with striking intelligence, eyes lifting to her bed and it's new inhabitant. "What's this?!"

( [Dragon Quiz--cut IC] )

...Hmm.

IC anonymous meme for Philomel, Blackout, and Mikaela. Have at them!

Back to work today! Word came in last night that there was a dragon sighting a few towns down the coast, so this morning we left to investigate. Normally we do not bestir ourselves, but it sounded possible that the creature was hostile.

It turned out to be worse than hostile. It devoured three dozen head of cattle in the night, and was joined by a female this morning, shortly before we arrived.

There is nothing quite so terrified as dragons engaging in the mating frenzy. There was, of course, nothing we or any of the villagers could do, though we did discouraging them from attempting to drive the dragons off--that could have resulted in disaster. And we remember to bring both cameras, so we were able to photograph the whole thing and film a portion of it. As far as we know, it's the first time anyone's caught a feeding frenzy on film.

Looks like we'll have some novel information to keep us occupied for a while.

The physical symptoms have all wholly disappeared, much to my relief. Unfortunately, I think it'll be longer before I can convince Marta and Baodelio that there truly is nothing going on between Philip and I.

Marta picked up on it--she's thoroughly convinced I'm pregnant, and she's got the others convinced as well. She and Baodelio are convinced that Philip's the, ah, father, and refuse to listen to protests from either of us.

Absolutely ridiculous, of course. I've never...I mean, I couldn't, not with...

He's old enough to be my father. He is a wonderful man and I adore him, but I couldn't ever do that with him.

I hope this passes soon. The earlier I've recovered, the earlier we can convince them there's nothing between us.

Still feeling ill; my condition's hardly improved, and I've noticed I'm spotting off schedule. Marta's dosing me on painkillers. They help with the headache and the, ah, other pains alike. If I'm not showing improvement tomorrow or the day after, I suppose I'll ask the others to contact the doctor.

At least I know I'm not pregnant.

Rosa lingered about the compound for two days after Dr. Connors visited. It's the longest any of them have ever stayed--Philip and I were with her nearly every moment we were eating or sleeping. She deigned to converse with us quite a bit more, and we took some quite extensive footage of her preening her wings and chanting on the beach.

I think perhaps I shouldn't have worked so hard, however. I seem to have caught something of a stomach bug--none of the others are presenting symptoms, but they've quarantined me in my room until it's passed. I only regret that I can't seem to keep down the soup Baodelio's been making. It's rather delicious.

Dr. Connors, are you quite well, currently? I hesitate to suggest the possibility, but if you carried something over, I could treat myself more effectively...

Much to Philomel's embarrassment, the first time Dr. Connors had been brought to see her, the promised dragons had been...sorely lacking. Still, she'd introduced him to Philip, Marta, and Baodelio, and though the beasts themselves had been absent, there were still enough notes, photographs, recordings, and illustrations to keep them well occupied for the duration of his visit.

But all the disparate parts still did not begin to approximate the whole.

So she had pledged to notify him as soon as a dragon was sighted in their area, with the hopes that it would linger long enough for him to get there. And when Marta had crept into her room to shake her awake early this morning, she knew the time was ripe. Not only was there a dragon in the area, it was Rosa, who was by far the most accommodating dragon any of them had ever met.

So she'd put word out on the community*, waited for acknowledgment, and now she was waiting for him...and she was very excited.

((*Pretend this happened. >.>;;))

And heeere's another~! I'm gonna go against the flow here--instead of 20+ things for one character, you get ten about Philomel and ten about Blackout. Because they were both a lot harder to do this for than Mikaela, for some reason.

( 10 Things You Didn't Know About Philomel )

--

( 10 Things You Didn't Know About Blackout )

Comment with what characters you play, and I'll let you know what my characters think of them.

For those who may not know:
Philomel St. James (this journal)
Blackout (death_chopper)
Mikaela (know_sacrifice)

Technically I play Tulio (listen2thevoice), but I've been mega-fail with him so far, so I'll leave him out. D:

I seem, as of Christmas, to have come into possession of a large basket of kiwis. I...haven't had kiwis in quite a while.

Thank you, Genie.

I hope everyone's holiday went well!

Tomorrow's Christmas. Marta had Philip and Baodelio decorate the patio with strings of lights, and Jim appeared out of nowhere to harass them. I've never seen anyone take lights back down so fast as two men trying to fend off a dragon.

I've been recruited to help cook. Marta's apparently decided that we are to postpone work for a couple of days, to relax. Given how we tend to relax, I suspect the work will continue, if in a more informal sense. We can't help but discuss dragons when we are all together, and with Jim sighted so recently? I do not think we will be able to resist!



...Perhaps I should call my mother.

I think...I'm feeling a little better.

((I know we didn't actually do the RL yet, Gillette-mun, but I'm assuming it ended on a positive note. 'S all good?))

I...there must be something wrong with me.

He's...gone, completely enough that he may as well be dead. It feels like it, anyway, and I know that's irrational but that's how it feels. As if he died.

By all rights, I should...I don't know. I don't know how I should be feeling, what's the right way to grieve, because I've never lost someone this close to me before, and even if I had...I mean, his...he's still alive. He's not Demyx, but he's still alive. He's...

Regardless. However I should be feeling, I find myself...I have an engagement, this Saturday, and I am quite looking forward to it. And it feels like...like I should not...I don't know. I'm having trouble articulating myself, of course.

I don't. I don't know what to do. Perhaps I should...

I think I shall see if Philip and the others have any more notes they need me to transcribe. That should...allow me to simply not think for a while.

There is a dragon on the community! An intelligent and well-spoken one!

He's not from my world, clearly. The fact that there are distinct dragon breeds is evidence enough of this; the dragons here, best as we can tell, form a single species with incredible individual variation. Still, the fact that sentient dragons do exist on other worlds--well. It's...I don't know, affirming, somehow, I suppose.

I--oh, he is a dear; his name is Temeraire, and he was very polite to me. And I--!

I am so excited. People have told me before of dragons on their worlds, but they have generally been described to me as beasts. Fascinating to learn about, of course, but a bit disappointing in the face of the dragons here. But Temeraire...he is something again, a true sentient. It is absolutely delightful.

I must tell the others!