Enter Abyss

Chapter 6; A day of shadows.

Before Archer awoke the next morning, Pip took the liberty of sneaking into his bedroom and launching herself on top of him, hearing the air whoosh out of his lungs.

Her cousin then sat up, gasping for air while Piper laughed histerically. "Finally!" she practically shouted in his ear, "I thought you'd NEVER get up." And with that, she climbed off him and walked over to his wardrobe, flinging open its doors and searching through the clothes inside.

"I'm going to stop you there." Archer called out, his voice still raspy from sleep, and lack of that wonderful thing known as air.  "I hereby ban you from taking any more of my trousers."

"I'll fight you for them."

"Pip, they're MY trousers!"

Piper turned to him, putting her hands on her hips, "Well, I've got to wear SOMETHING, and I ripped the last pair of trousers in a street fight last week."

"We're supposed to wear all black today anyway." he replied, sitting up in bed, "It's the Day of Shadows, remember?"

Grumbling, Pip began combing the wardrobe for something black to wear. She hated black; it was so dismal and she looked terrible in it. Plus, the only black thing she had was some stuffy old gown with a corset that made it near impossible to breath. But just as she was hoping to borrow something from Archer, he stopped her. "Pip, I don't want to have to fight you for my trousers." he said grimly, like a soldier going off to war, "But I will if it comes down to it."

And so began a rough wrestling match that lasted for a good long while, with neither of them getting the upper hand. For, while Piper had more experience with fighting, Archer was still strong and he HAD learned a thing or two from his cousin. But just as it seemed like the match would go on forever, Thaddeus came fuming up the stairs. "What in the name of Charious's scraggly beard is going on here?"

Looking up, Pip was distracted for a moment, but it was enough to give Archer the time he needed to pin her to the floor, thus winning the match.

"Ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly, "My trousers are MINE!"

"I'm going to pretend that this is what all normal children do." Thaddeus remarked, rolling his eyes. "Archer, get off your cousin and start getting ready. We'll be leaving in a bit."

Quickly, Archer obeyed like the good boy he was and Pip got to her feet, swearing darkly. She rarely lost wrestling matches and when she did, it didn't stay that way for long.

Thaddeus was looking at her in a disappointed sort of way. Gently, he ruffled her hair and said quietly, "Why can't you behave like a normal girl for once, Piper?"

Shrugging, Pip pushed past him and into her own room which was filled nearly to bursting with bobbles, books, and knick-knacks of all kinds. She wasn't sure WHY she never liked wearing dresses; she knew she could be proper and lovely if she tried... but why do that when she could catch frogs and have spitting contests instead? Or better yet, collect things. While other girls might collect things like bows or ribbon, Pip enjoyed gathering anything that looked interesting. Pieces of coloured glass that she strung from her ceiling, bits of fabric from pretty dresses that she was planning to sew together, thereby making one large dress in a multitude of colours. She had clockwork toys on the shelves of her room, not to mention all the books that wouldn't fit in the library, all crammed into that small space.

Yes, Pip decided, she would much rather collect things than be 'normal', whatever THAT meant.

Going to her own wardrobe, she pulled out the black gown that she dreaded wearing. On the bright side, if she was chosen to be this year's Abyss offering, then she wouldn't have to worry about that dreadful corset any longer. A dismal thought, perhaps, but Pip wasn't in a very cheerful mood.