Post by GrimGuy on Mar 7, 2007 0:29:56 GMT -5
((I know this is technically a violation of the spirit of this forum - after all, it could just as easily be played in-chat anytime I'm on, as it's only Niobe and Lexa. However, after seeing the resolution of the so-called "Jake's Harem" and listening to "Lying Eyes" by The Eagles, this scene flowed into my brain.
Blame me if you will, but this scene is best read with that song playing.))
Lexa was up; it was nearing midnight, and she'd told Kit she'd be coming to bed late, as she had a few things she had to write. The song Lying Eyes began playing on her iPod, and she began to think about what had happened after dinner, specifically the part involving Niobe coming home with a tear-streaked face and smiling like nobody's business. While the only explanation she gave was that she was smiling because Jake had liked a present the Pyros had gotten him, she felt that there might be something more to it. Still, these were merely motherly worries, and she just began typing to try and cover her thoughts.
City girls just seem to find out early/How to open doors with just a smile/A rich old man, and she won't have to worry/She'll dress up all in lace, and go in style
Niobe stared out her half-open window; she had asked her Dad for a crowbar to fix it, and unfortunately she was only now learning that she wasn't strong enough to use it to force her door the rest of the way open... at least, not without assistance. She sighed, then strained as she began pushing against the window, hoping that the wood could handle being stressed like this.
Several moments of straining later, the window had budged an inch. The inch wasn't enough to do anything but stick her head out if she turned it sideways and flattened her ears, but it was still an improvement.
Late at night the big old house gets lonely/I guess every form of refuge has its price/And it breaks her heart to think her love is only/Given to a man with hands as cold as ice
Lexa continued to write, beginning to sing along with the song. She smiled sadly; unfortunately, the song fit one of her characters for the latest novel idea perfectly, a young woman who had married into old money to keep herself from starving to death, but really loved the young man she had grown up with. House settling around her, Lexa began picturing the two young lovers in her head; for some reason, they came out looking like Niobe and Jake. Pondering this, she put her laptop aside for a moment.
Niobe continued to struggle against the window. It was hard, though, and she could feel the storm-battered wood resisting. Still, she pushed, hoping that eventually it would slide up. The real trick, of course, would be getting it to close again, but fortunately it was a clear night.
So she tells him she must go out for the evening/To comfort an old friend who's feeling down/But he knows where she's going as she's leaving/She is headed for the cheating side of town
Sighing, Niobe rushed downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a stick of butter. When in doubt, grease the frame, she thought as she carried the yellow stick up to her room. Lexa, hearing her daughter's stair jumping, just grinned.
Niobe began rubbing the butter on the window-frame, trying her best to grease it up. The smell was really quite bad, but fortunately there were no real problems other than that. She tested her new-found frame grease, sliding the window down. Down it went easily enough, and up to the sticking point she had earlier... and there it remained stuck; apparently the butter didn't work as well as a greasing agent as she thought.
Lexa, meanwhile, was now humming along with the song as she pondered why her daughter and Maddie's oldest son were playing around as the images in her head. It wasn't merely chance. Perhaps there was something going on, though Lexa currently doubted it.
You can't hide your lying eyes/And your smile is a thin disguise/I thought by now you'd realize/There ain't no way to hide your lying eyes
Niobe strained; the butter was acting more as a hindrance than a help. Besides, its fumes were now intoxicating her, making her gag as she looked around her room for another window. Unfortunately, that one too had been sealed shut by the storm. Sighing, she put her legs into shoving it up. The five-year-old seal resisted heavily.
Lexa, hearing the noise from upstairs, went to knock on her daughter's door. "Niobe? You OK?" she asked.
"Yeah, Mom, just a little bit of a fresh air problem... Decided to try opening my windows for the first time in however long." Lexa smiled, then went back to her writing room.
On the other side of town a boy is waiting/With fiery eyes and dreams no-one could steal/She drives on through the night anticipating/Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel
Niobe continued straining, finally managing to get that window halfway open. She then turned her attention to the other window, whose pungent aroma was no longer so overpowering. Holding her breath and heaving a mighty heave, she pushed it 3/4 of the way open. Sighing with relief, she sat down against her wall and rested. It was hard, she reflected, getting her window open.
Lexa had now begun singing the song; she thought she had a reason. Out of respect for her daughter's privacy, she wouldn't ask, but she would probably tell Kit; if not that night, then some night soon. She smiled inwardly; despite the fact that they seemed so opposite in temper, Jake and Niobe actually looked halfway decent together in her mind.
She rushes to his arms, they fall together/She whispers that it's only for a while/She swears that soon she'll be coming back forever/She pulls away and leaves him with a smile
Lexa wrote another few words of character description, then went to grab herself a cup of coffee. She just smiled and continued to sing along in a voice that, while not as good as Kit or Theo's, was still halfway decent. There was a bit of a lull in Niobe's room; most likely she had managed to actually force one of her windows all the way open. The real trick would be closing it again; she would likely need some kind of grease to do that.
Niobe looked up at the stars. They were shining brightly. It was a good sign, she silently reflected. A very good sign.
You can't hide your lying eyes/And your smile is a thin disguise/I thought by now you'd realize/There ain't no way to hide your lying eyes
Niobe got up, sighed, and heaved at the window a couple more times. Unsatisfied, she walked downstairs, fully intent on making herself a mug of hot chocolate. As she did, she heard her mother singing; she stopped for a moment to listen.
"She gets up and pours herself a strong one/And stares out at the stars up in the sky/Another night, it's gonna be a long one/She draws the shade and hangs her head to cry," sang Lexa, sipping coffee. Niobe quickly made herself a glass of hot cocoa, trying to ignore her mother's song. It struck a little too close to the events of earlier that day.
"She wonders how it ever got this crazy/She thinks about a boy she knew in school/Did she get tired, or did she just get lazy/She's so far gone she feels just like a fool..." Niobe blushed, cursing the teapot and wishing it would hurry up. Finally, it whistled; the water inside was hot enough, she poured it and made her hot chocolate. Smiling, she took the mug upstairs, taking in the aroma. Sure, it was a summer night, but hot chocolate was the beverage of love, and love was definitely what she felt.
Lexa followed slowly. "My oh my, you sure know how to arrange things," she sang in a whisper. "You set it up so well, so carefully... Ain't it funny how your new life didn't change things? You're still the same old girl you used to be." The last line was sung at normal volume; Niobe paused, turned to look at her mother, smiled, and continued walking to her room. Lexa grinned, then walked to her room, humming the final chorus.
"You can't hide your lying eyes, and your smile is a thin disguise... I thought by now you'd realize there ain't no way to hide your lying eyes." She smiled as she continued to her room. "There ain't no way to hide your lying eyes; honey you can't hide your lying eyes..." She smiled, walked into her room, sipped her decaf, slipped into her nightclothes, and went to bed next to Kit, smiling as she cuddled up to him.
Blame me if you will, but this scene is best read with that song playing.))
Lexa was up; it was nearing midnight, and she'd told Kit she'd be coming to bed late, as she had a few things she had to write. The song Lying Eyes began playing on her iPod, and she began to think about what had happened after dinner, specifically the part involving Niobe coming home with a tear-streaked face and smiling like nobody's business. While the only explanation she gave was that she was smiling because Jake had liked a present the Pyros had gotten him, she felt that there might be something more to it. Still, these were merely motherly worries, and she just began typing to try and cover her thoughts.
City girls just seem to find out early/How to open doors with just a smile/A rich old man, and she won't have to worry/She'll dress up all in lace, and go in style
Niobe stared out her half-open window; she had asked her Dad for a crowbar to fix it, and unfortunately she was only now learning that she wasn't strong enough to use it to force her door the rest of the way open... at least, not without assistance. She sighed, then strained as she began pushing against the window, hoping that the wood could handle being stressed like this.
Several moments of straining later, the window had budged an inch. The inch wasn't enough to do anything but stick her head out if she turned it sideways and flattened her ears, but it was still an improvement.
Late at night the big old house gets lonely/I guess every form of refuge has its price/And it breaks her heart to think her love is only/Given to a man with hands as cold as ice
Lexa continued to write, beginning to sing along with the song. She smiled sadly; unfortunately, the song fit one of her characters for the latest novel idea perfectly, a young woman who had married into old money to keep herself from starving to death, but really loved the young man she had grown up with. House settling around her, Lexa began picturing the two young lovers in her head; for some reason, they came out looking like Niobe and Jake. Pondering this, she put her laptop aside for a moment.
Niobe continued to struggle against the window. It was hard, though, and she could feel the storm-battered wood resisting. Still, she pushed, hoping that eventually it would slide up. The real trick, of course, would be getting it to close again, but fortunately it was a clear night.
So she tells him she must go out for the evening/To comfort an old friend who's feeling down/But he knows where she's going as she's leaving/She is headed for the cheating side of town
Sighing, Niobe rushed downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a stick of butter. When in doubt, grease the frame, she thought as she carried the yellow stick up to her room. Lexa, hearing her daughter's stair jumping, just grinned.
Niobe began rubbing the butter on the window-frame, trying her best to grease it up. The smell was really quite bad, but fortunately there were no real problems other than that. She tested her new-found frame grease, sliding the window down. Down it went easily enough, and up to the sticking point she had earlier... and there it remained stuck; apparently the butter didn't work as well as a greasing agent as she thought.
Lexa, meanwhile, was now humming along with the song as she pondered why her daughter and Maddie's oldest son were playing around as the images in her head. It wasn't merely chance. Perhaps there was something going on, though Lexa currently doubted it.
You can't hide your lying eyes/And your smile is a thin disguise/I thought by now you'd realize/There ain't no way to hide your lying eyes
Niobe strained; the butter was acting more as a hindrance than a help. Besides, its fumes were now intoxicating her, making her gag as she looked around her room for another window. Unfortunately, that one too had been sealed shut by the storm. Sighing, she put her legs into shoving it up. The five-year-old seal resisted heavily.
Lexa, hearing the noise from upstairs, went to knock on her daughter's door. "Niobe? You OK?" she asked.
"Yeah, Mom, just a little bit of a fresh air problem... Decided to try opening my windows for the first time in however long." Lexa smiled, then went back to her writing room.
On the other side of town a boy is waiting/With fiery eyes and dreams no-one could steal/She drives on through the night anticipating/Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel
Niobe continued straining, finally managing to get that window halfway open. She then turned her attention to the other window, whose pungent aroma was no longer so overpowering. Holding her breath and heaving a mighty heave, she pushed it 3/4 of the way open. Sighing with relief, she sat down against her wall and rested. It was hard, she reflected, getting her window open.
Lexa had now begun singing the song; she thought she had a reason. Out of respect for her daughter's privacy, she wouldn't ask, but she would probably tell Kit; if not that night, then some night soon. She smiled inwardly; despite the fact that they seemed so opposite in temper, Jake and Niobe actually looked halfway decent together in her mind.
She rushes to his arms, they fall together/She whispers that it's only for a while/She swears that soon she'll be coming back forever/She pulls away and leaves him with a smile
Lexa wrote another few words of character description, then went to grab herself a cup of coffee. She just smiled and continued to sing along in a voice that, while not as good as Kit or Theo's, was still halfway decent. There was a bit of a lull in Niobe's room; most likely she had managed to actually force one of her windows all the way open. The real trick would be closing it again; she would likely need some kind of grease to do that.
Niobe looked up at the stars. They were shining brightly. It was a good sign, she silently reflected. A very good sign.
You can't hide your lying eyes/And your smile is a thin disguise/I thought by now you'd realize/There ain't no way to hide your lying eyes
Niobe got up, sighed, and heaved at the window a couple more times. Unsatisfied, she walked downstairs, fully intent on making herself a mug of hot chocolate. As she did, she heard her mother singing; she stopped for a moment to listen.
"She gets up and pours herself a strong one/And stares out at the stars up in the sky/Another night, it's gonna be a long one/She draws the shade and hangs her head to cry," sang Lexa, sipping coffee. Niobe quickly made herself a glass of hot cocoa, trying to ignore her mother's song. It struck a little too close to the events of earlier that day.
"She wonders how it ever got this crazy/She thinks about a boy she knew in school/Did she get tired, or did she just get lazy/She's so far gone she feels just like a fool..." Niobe blushed, cursing the teapot and wishing it would hurry up. Finally, it whistled; the water inside was hot enough, she poured it and made her hot chocolate. Smiling, she took the mug upstairs, taking in the aroma. Sure, it was a summer night, but hot chocolate was the beverage of love, and love was definitely what she felt.
Lexa followed slowly. "My oh my, you sure know how to arrange things," she sang in a whisper. "You set it up so well, so carefully... Ain't it funny how your new life didn't change things? You're still the same old girl you used to be." The last line was sung at normal volume; Niobe paused, turned to look at her mother, smiled, and continued walking to her room. Lexa grinned, then walked to her room, humming the final chorus.
"You can't hide your lying eyes, and your smile is a thin disguise... I thought by now you'd realize there ain't no way to hide your lying eyes." She smiled as she continued to her room. "There ain't no way to hide your lying eyes; honey you can't hide your lying eyes..." She smiled, walked into her room, sipped her decaf, slipped into her nightclothes, and went to bed next to Kit, smiling as she cuddled up to him.