paradisa | a do - straight to hell

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murphy macmanus

a do - straight to hell

[the second day in the ballroom finds Murph perched on the little pile of beanbag chairs he's made for himself, his injured leg elevated as he munches on some of the snacks from the tables and watches everyone else try their hand at being all happy rainbows and sunshine. it's still all too weird for him - but he's trying to do right by the dream he and Connor had in town, and adapt so that they can move on with their lives.

as he's looking around, he spots two familiar faces: Cole and the boy from the buffet table, yesterday morning. they're chatting to each other, and he can't help but wonder why the kid's talking so freely with a demon.

half-demon, he corrects himself, with a slight snort - then remembers what Cole had told him, before they agreed to give each other space. fumbling around in the beanbag pile, he finds his journal and cracks it open.

now, how did Carson say it worked --- oh, right. he fishes a stub of pencil out of his jeans pocket and scribbles]

[Phoebe Halliwell]

You don't know me, but someone told me that you could help me answer some questions.

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[She smiles, setting her own pen aside. The accent was certainly a pleasant surprise... though the voice sounded a little familiar, somehow. She just couldn't put her finger on it.]

I'm glad. I know it can be hard to take in. That's one of the reasons we don't really talk about any of this to people back home.

... Well, we don' even have any'a this where I'm from. No magic, no demons, no nothin'. So it's a little hard to swallow. But refusin' to deal with it ain't gonna make it go away. And seems like every time I turn around, the guy's there, so.

[he still doesn't sound very happy about it, though] ... I gotta ask though. Is he a sanctimonious prick t' everyone, or jus' God-fearin' Irishmen?

I completely understand. I felt the same way when I first learned about all of it 7 years ago. I'd be happy to tell you more if you're interested.

[She pauses before sighing. She really has to talk to Cole about manners one of these days]

He... does that. Think of it this way - you know how cats always seem to know the one person in the room who doesn't like cats or are allergic? He can be like that sometimes. He's trying incredibly hard to be good and I think it bothers him when someone doesn't believe him.

Maybe once've settled in a bit, yeah. Couldn't hurt to know more. [he wanders over to the buffet table, journal in hand, to grab himself a soda. Cole's chatting with someone different, now, and he makes note that whoever it is, they sure don't look annoyed with the guy]

Well ... he could've considered that we'd just fuckin' got here before he got a bug up his arse about it, a' th' very least...

No rush. Just let me know whenever you're ready.

Yeeaaaaah he always did have the best timing... [She pauses] How long have you been here?

Little over two weeks, now ... [he fishes a Pepsi out of a giant vat of ice, shakes the water off, and cracks it open]

Spent th' first week in th' clinic, though, so ... I don't think that really counts fer much.

In the clinic? Are you alright?

If it makes you feel any better, about a month after I got here we all woke up on pirate ships. I made my first good friends defending our ship against an attack by other residents who apparently thought we were dastardly pirates.

Oh, aye. They fixed us up, pretty much right as rain now.

... pirates? What was it, a Renaissance fair?

Well I'm glad to hear that.

Aaaand not so much. More like pirates of the 7 seas. We had the stupid outfits, yeah... some people still do, actually. Mine was torn all to hell so I didn't bother keeping it. But we were on actual pirate ships being attacked by guys with muskets. Though it was a resident who shot me... it was a rough week. One of the ships got away without any trouble, at least. They were basically on a cruise ship from what I heard.

... Arright, uh. Phoebe? [he coughs] I'm still new at this whole 'just roll with it' thing, so ... 'scuse me fer askin', but ...

What, exactly, did they put in yer rum?

Never stop asking questions, Murphy. It's when you stop asking questions that you should start to worry. [she chuckles] It's... a bit tough to just explain. The castle essentially transported us all to the ships while we were sleeping one night. We all woke up on them just like most people just wake up, here. In December we all woke up in Paris. We were there for Christmas.

I know it's a lot to absorb but this place kind of defies explanation. I could say it's magic but I think it's more than that.

[he takes a swig of his Pepsi while he digests that, too]

Arrigh'. ... How often does stuff like tha' happen? I mean -- y'think my brother'n I have time t' get used to the usual flavor've crazyass before we end up somewhere else?

There really isn't any rhyme or reason or schedule... But you might have a little while. I've been here almost a year and those were the only big changes. Well, not counting this one. Other things have happened but they were started by people here, not the castle itself.

[She pauses.] your brother's here, too?

Mm. [he'll just ... file that away for later sharing with Connor -- wherever he's been dumped for the next few days]

He is, aye. Name's Connor.

I'm glad. It makes things a lot easier. One of my sisters is here, too. [She pauses] My other sister was here when I got here, but she's gone home, now.

... I'm sorry t' hear that. That's --- I can't even imagine. [and he is, and he can't. considering that he's lived his whole life with his brother at his side ...]

Thank you. It's hard, but it helps knowing that she's back home and not...

[Right. Changing the subject! She clears her throat]

So, uh, what do you think of the place so far?

[he doesn't mind her changing it at all - he hates to think about losing Connor in any sense, even hypothetically. but when he hears her new question, he laughs]

Christ, it's fuckin' weird as shit. ... I'm tryin' real hard not to let it get t' me, but ... we don' have even half've this sort've thing where I'm from. Magic, talkin' animals, wishin' fer things ... I've played Capture the Flag with a fuckin' baby dragon, fer God's sake.

S'why we moved down int'a town already - at least down there it all comes at'cha at a bit slower pace, y'know?

A baby dragon? I haven't met him, yet. I've heard of the ponies, though.

I've stayed in town for a weekend but I haven't thought about living down there. My sister has a house down there. It's nice.

Yeah, he's -- from th' same place as them. Haven't seen any of them, yet though. I'm tryin' to keep my quota down t' one talkin' animal a day. So far it's been him an' the lion.

[She laughs] I'll be nice and not tell you the kind of things I've talked to back home, then.

... wait... did you say lion?

Thanks for th' small favors, I'll take whatever I can get at this rate. ... And aye, lion. Said he'd never seen a talkin' human before, either, so we were even.

Huh. Talking lion. I'll have to keep my eye out for him. That'd be a pretty interesting conversation if you ask me.

Long's he's not tryin' to maul anyone, that's what I was worried about.

Yeeeeeaaaah that would be bad.

Mm.

... So, uh, anyway, thanks fer lettin' me know abou' Cole. I 'ppreciate it. ... Now I just gotta figure out what m' gonna do about 'im.

You're welcome. If there's anything else I can tell you just let me know.

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