>> Ivy Langley continued from With Plenty of Money and You
Ivy put her hands on her hips and grinned.
She thought about climbing on a ledge, but she didn't need to, because she was already big. Not very big, because she was still little according to adults, but they were dumb anyway, and she was bigger than Gaelan and Myles, and that was what was important. Also she was wearing a cat ear headband which was super cute and also added like an inch and a half to her height, sort of? She counted it. Being the biggest was important. She wasn't sure why, but she decided that it was, so it was.
"It's time," she said all dramatical-like, "for war."
Ivy had been thinking about this for a while. Like, a whole week. It was that big a deal. Running around the playground doing fun things was fun and all, but it was missing something, and Ivy had decided that something was high drama. Like war, for example. The stories they read had war in them, and she figured she could do that, even if there were only three of them and they didn't actually have anyone or anything to fight against. She thought for a second they could maybe fight each other, but that was a dumb idea. They needed an enemy, and since she was in charge (she was always in charge) she had to come up with one.
"We, the warriors of SkyClan, must fight against," She paused, sorta for dramatic effect and sorta to give herself a second to think of a good idea. And she did, because she remembered a really good word that she'd learned a few days ago, and she thought it probably meant the thing she was thinking about??
"... Our ohpessers!"
Ivy looked very proud of herself as she pointed toward the teachers watching the kids at recess.
"They wanna make us go inside for class. But we belong outside! Wild and free! Cause we're wild cats and all," she finished simply, nodding. "So we gotta go to war. But we can't do any fighty things cause we'll get in trouble. So we gotta be sneaky instead."
This was the best idea Ivy had ever had.
you didn't know me, but he knew me best
april 24th, 2009
you didn't know me, but he knew me best
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Myles hadn't yet reached the point in his life where he would really start to feel oppressed by his teachers, and actually he wasn't sure what that word really meant, even. But he got the gist; Ivy had made them the enemy, and when you made an enemy, you made war. Sneaky war.
"Like spies, you mean?" That was as much as Myles knew about how you could be sneaky in war, now that he thought about it. Most of the time you just blew the other guys up until they gave up and went home.
Blowing the teachers up, or even joking about it, wasn't allowed, as everybody had learned the one time someone in class made a joke about it and got sent to the office and had their parents called. Ivy was in charge though (Ivy was always in charge) so Myles didn't really have to worry about making plans. Ivy would be their leader and he would be the right-hand man, and Gaelan would be the... left-hand man? The other guy who was second-in-command. Myles was always the first second, at least in his own mind.
He needed to get a headband like Ivy's so that they could match. They were cats, after all.
"Like spies, you mean?" That was as much as Myles knew about how you could be sneaky in war, now that he thought about it. Most of the time you just blew the other guys up until they gave up and went home.
Blowing the teachers up, or even joking about it, wasn't allowed, as everybody had learned the one time someone in class made a joke about it and got sent to the office and had their parents called. Ivy was in charge though (Ivy was always in charge) so Myles didn't really have to worry about making plans. Ivy would be their leader and he would be the right-hand man, and Gaelan would be the... left-hand man? The other guy who was second-in-command. Myles was always the first second, at least in his own mind.
He needed to get a headband like Ivy's so that they could match. They were cats, after all.
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."
Gaelan hadn't had breakfast that morning. So when Ivy said "sneaky", Gaelan's stomach started rumbling, very loudly. He looked down.
"I need lunch if I'm gonna be sneaky."
But he looked back up at his best friends, and put his hands on his hips triumphantly.
"But we can eat after we've taken down our oppressors!"
He liked times like this. It reminded him of when he and Dallas and Rumour would all try to be sneaky in their mom's place and get their toys back. But there was a lot more room out here than their mom's place. Gaelan missed them. Their mom probably still went off to the big hotel back in "Clark". Not as big as mommy's hotel, though.
Gaelan's face fell slightly when he realized that they probably couldn't take down the teachers. At least, not now! Ivy probably had an idea though!
"What can we do? The oppressors are so much bigger than us."
Best friends always had great ideas to help each other.
"I need lunch if I'm gonna be sneaky."
But he looked back up at his best friends, and put his hands on his hips triumphantly.
"But we can eat after we've taken down our oppressors!"
He liked times like this. It reminded him of when he and Dallas and Rumour would all try to be sneaky in their mom's place and get their toys back. But there was a lot more room out here than their mom's place. Gaelan missed them. Their mom probably still went off to the big hotel back in "Clark". Not as big as mommy's hotel, though.
Gaelan's face fell slightly when he realized that they probably couldn't take down the teachers. At least, not now! Ivy probably had an idea though!
"What can we do? The oppressors are so much bigger than us."
Best friends always had great ideas to help each other.
Ivy made a face and stuck her tongue out at Gaelan, cause she'd figured out a big word, and she had been happy about it, but Gaelan said it better, which was mean of him. But it was okay, because she liked him, so making a face at him was enough. She looked at Myles, hands still on her hips, with a loud "hmmmmmm."
"Spies. Yes. That sounds good, I like it. We're spies now. Spy cats. Spying on the... enemy."
Ivy thought she probably shouldn't try to say the big word again.
"They are big. You're right. But just cause we're small doesn't mean we can't fight back! We just..."
She thought for a second, because she was kinda starting to realize she didn't actually have a plan. She'd spent a whole week thinking of a storyline, but not a plan. Her eyes flitted around the playground, looking for something that would make her sound smart. It didn't take long before she found something. She grinned again as she looked up into the waiting branches of a nearby tree, parked next to the gate separating the playground from the outside world.
"...We just gotta be bigger."
She tilted her head.
"You can climb trees, right?"
Ivy Langley taking a quick break in Bring It On 3: Misery Olympics
"Spies. Yes. That sounds good, I like it. We're spies now. Spy cats. Spying on the... enemy."
Ivy thought she probably shouldn't try to say the big word again.
"They are big. You're right. But just cause we're small doesn't mean we can't fight back! We just..."
She thought for a second, because she was kinda starting to realize she didn't actually have a plan. She'd spent a whole week thinking of a storyline, but not a plan. Her eyes flitted around the playground, looking for something that would make her sound smart. It didn't take long before she found something. She grinned again as she looked up into the waiting branches of a nearby tree, parked next to the gate separating the playground from the outside world.
"...We just gotta be bigger."
She tilted her head.
"You can climb trees, right?"
Ivy Langley taking a quick break in Bring It On 3: Misery Olympics
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Myles wasn't sure where this was going, but he thought that he liked it. "Um, duh." He was great at climbing trees; he did it all the time at the park that his mom took him to so she could hang out with other moms while Myles and the other kids ran around and played Survivor or American Ninja Warrior. He'd only fallen a few times and had never broken any bones, which made him better at climbing than most everyone else he knew, at least.
He grinned back at Ivy. "I could race both of you to the top of a tree, even. I bet you I could." He looked over at Gaelan and grinned wider. "I'd bet Gaelan's lunch."
Myles didn't think he'd end up getting Gaelan's lunch even if he won -- he and Gaelan both had to get the free meals from school sometimes, which meant that they'd end up with the same stuff unless Ivy had snacks that she only wanted to share with one person, like she sometimes did. Even though Myles was the first second-in-command, Gaelan got the snacks a lot of the time.
That was because Ivy liked Gaelan, but she always said she didn't if Myles teased her about it, and once when he threatened to tell Gaelan, she was so mad that she didn't talk to Myles at school on Friday, so really she ignored him for the whole weekend. On Monday, she had given him all the snacks she brought from home so that he would promise not to tell.
It was too bad that he didn't know anything like that about any of the teachers. That would probably win them the war.
((Myles also taking a detour to elsewhere in the past for a while))
He grinned back at Ivy. "I could race both of you to the top of a tree, even. I bet you I could." He looked over at Gaelan and grinned wider. "I'd bet Gaelan's lunch."
Myles didn't think he'd end up getting Gaelan's lunch even if he won -- he and Gaelan both had to get the free meals from school sometimes, which meant that they'd end up with the same stuff unless Ivy had snacks that she only wanted to share with one person, like she sometimes did. Even though Myles was the first second-in-command, Gaelan got the snacks a lot of the time.
That was because Ivy liked Gaelan, but she always said she didn't if Myles teased her about it, and once when he threatened to tell Gaelan, she was so mad that she didn't talk to Myles at school on Friday, so really she ignored him for the whole weekend. On Monday, she had given him all the snacks she brought from home so that he would promise not to tell.
It was too bad that he didn't know anything like that about any of the teachers. That would probably win them the war.
((Myles also taking a detour to elsewhere in the past for a while))
"Art enriches the community, Steve, no less than a pulsing fire hose, or a fireman beating down a blazing door. So what if we're drawing a nude man? So what if all we ever draw is a nude man, or the same nude man over and over in all sorts of provocative positions? Context, not content! Process, not subject! Don't be so gauche, Steve, it's beneath you."