Burial at Sea (ish)

White Rock Lake

A reservoir, White Rock Lake covers 1,254 acres and was once used for a portion of Dallas' drinking water supply. Now that it's use as a water source has been supplanted, the area has become one of the favored recreational locations in the city. The forested shoreline is dotted with numerous small cabins, fishing piers, and sailboat docks.
The lake is surrounded by White Rock Lake Park, which is home to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Running through the park is a 9 mile trail designed for hiking, running or cycling.
Though swimming was banned here back in the '50's, it is still a popular location for area teens who generally enjoy the more deserted areas, using the beautiful backdrop as a makeout spot.


Even in the quiet of early evening, with the sun having set only perhaps thirty minutes ago, the lake is still filled here and there with people running on the trails, people moving around the lake, and people meandering through the botanical gardens. Such a one is Mignonette, who seems to be enjoying the peacefulness, despite the slight chill in the night air. The place has quite a different feeling, in the evening, as the night flowers come out, and the lighting highlights the area. At present, she's settled on one of the free benches, sketchbook in hand, charcoal pencil in the other.

—-

The silence of the evening is about to be disrupted by a splash of color. Fluorescently bright hot pink to be exact. In the form of an off the shoulder, long-sleeved cotton top, decorated with two studded belts around the waist, a black choker chain, black bangle bracelets, large hot pink hoop earrings and to finish everything off? Black spandex with hot pink legwarmers. Attached to the foot of the hot pink body is a pair of roller blades. That are currently careening down the path not too far away from the sketcher. "Eeep! Augh! S'cuse me! Outta the way! I totally can't control these things! Man, like where are the four stabilizing wheels when you nee— OOH BUNNY!" Crashing off the trail, Ronnie somersaults twice. One of the skates goes flying off her foot to land right beside Mignonette.

—-

The sound of a voice brings Mignonette's head up, eyes widening a moment at the costume she's wearing. Oh, to be young again, and be able to enjoy the return to her younger days. The careening woman and the flying rollerblade bring her to her feet, pencil and pad dropped to the bench beside her, as she rises. And despite the fact that the rollerblade is rather close, she'd rather make sure the runaway rollerblader is in one piece, and so, off she goes, moving to try to get into the bushes to see where exactly her fellow garden visitor might have ended up, "Ma'am, are you alright?"

—-

"Totally bogus," says the youthful girl, sitting up shaking her head. "Gnarly though! Where'd that bunny go?" The woman is not ignored, she's just busily scanning for signs of the evil presence that distracted her from the path. While she glances around, the other roller blade is yanked off and tossed on the grass. "Don't like those at all. Totally lame. Not like the totally cool skates I normally have!" Once done speaking to herself she glances at the woman. "Dude, I'm totally rad to the max!"

—-

Well, it certainly takes all kinds, and having spent more than her fair share of time in New Orleans, the home of the wild and wacky, who's she to complain about a valley girl? Like, seriously. "You had me worried for a minute there. I've never been able to manage those rollerblades either. I need four wheels and a brake in the front. Every time I try to brake stepping back, I end up on my backside. Let me go get the other one." She steps back, leaving the woman to right herself, while she goes in search of the second rollerblade, carrying it back over, and picking up the second discard along the way.

—-

"OoO! Yes. Those're like, totally what I need!" Ronnie is up to her feet in a flash, much quicker than a mere mortal would be, and dusting herself off. "You don't like, have a pair do you?" The jewelry is adjusted, the belts fixed so that they hang loosely at an angle opposite of the off-shoulder on the shirt. "I'd totally like, trade you for those bogus things." Her expression screws up a little, nose and brow wrinkling. "Say! Did you like, see an evil bunny hop by? They're trying to take over the world, you know."

—-

Mignonette considers, lips pursed in a thoughtful expression, "I think I might, in one of my storage boxes. I haven't used them in years. And you'd certainly be much better off without those things. A few more falls and they'll have to rebuild the gardens." A break, as she considers the question, evil bunnies. Huh. "Not just recently, but I haven't really been looking. They do tend to come out after dark though. we should go see about those skates." After all, she can't have the poor girl walking around Dallas barefoot.

—-

"Poop. I totally thought I saw one. I have to catch it." Ronnie zooms toward some nearby bushes, peering into them for a long while. "You are like, so not getting away! If I had my basket, you'd already be in it!" The girl obviously doesn't mind being barefoot in the least. "Okay, hoppy evil thing. Come out come out wherever you are! I don't want to like, waste my night searching for you. That'd be like a big suckorama." A light giggle erupts from her as she digs her right hand into the bush. "Suckorama. Aheheheh."

—-

"Do you need a flashlight?" Mignonette, well, look, she's doing the best she can, but this is just bizarre. Still, she doesn't have a great poker face for nothing, and rather than take a step back and start looking for security, she instead pulls the flashlight she always carries in her back pocket when she's out after dark, and holds in out, taking a cautious step forward.

—-

The oddly dressed girl spins, makes a sudden grab for the flashlight, and shakes it once or twice. Then she flips it on and shines it into the bushes. "C'mere, Mr. Rabbit! You and your evil egg laying ways. Totally need to put a stop to that. Vile, vile, evil creature. Trying to take over the world." Her hand flashes into the bush again, and she's dangling a terrified looking bunny by the ears. "Got you! Totally got you!" The flashlight is held out to the woman again, and Ronnie smiles at her.

—-

Egg laying bunnies. Is it any wonder Mignonette feels as though she just fell down a rabbit hole? No pun intended. She withdraws her hand, once the flashlight is accepted, and, yes it works, and seemingly assists, as the rabbit is plucked out of hiding, "I always thought that was very bizarre. Especially around easter time." The smile is returned though, "So, lacking a basket, what shall we do with it?"

—-

"Oh, well there's like, only one way to do away with the evil." Ronnie bobbles her head twice, making her large hoop earrings bounce against her shoulders. "Eat it." Fangs flash out suddenly, her teeth piercing through fur and flesh. The poor bunny struggles for a moment or two but is very quickly drained. When the blood has been emptied from the cute critter, Ronnie licks her lips and then looks around. "Bummer. Gonna have to bury it." She can't be going and lighting fires in the park. King Wil Wheaton wouldn't like that in the least.

—-

Finally, something close to shock breaks that poker face, as Mignonette sees the girl flash fang, something she's never seen a vampire do before, in her limited experience; thank the Lord, or whomever is watching out for the lawyer, because they're not aimed in her direction. Because that would really ruin her day. She watches the feeding in a sort of stunned silence, before she picks back up some thread of the conversation, "I know a place, if you don't mind walking a ways. I don't think they'd like to have the ground disturbed here."

—-

Ronnie would never, ever eat people. They taste like swamp. The bunny is given a shake to ensure that the evil spirit within it has all been drained out. Satisfied that this is the case, she nods. "Rock on! I mean, that'd be great. Don't wanna leave a dead bunny laying around. You know their resurrection date is coming up, right? Gotta take care'a them while you can." The head bobbles again, flashy earrings dancing about.

—-

Mignonette remains on the path, rather than descend onto the slippery slope in the bushes with Ronnie. I mean, it was a small bunny, that can't be filling. But, she doesn't seem too peckish, so the brunette will risk it, "Over by the lake I think would do nicely. There's a lot of dirt where people have walked down the grass, I don't think anyone would much notice it being shifted around a bit."

—-

"Lake." The word is said several times. "Lake. Lake. Lake. Water." Ronnie considers, giving the bunny another shake. "That'll like, totally wash away your sins, right? You'll not need to be burned then." Using the ears to jostle the bunny then, she makes it do a dead little hop. Bounce. Bounce. "They really are evil. Stupid hoppy legs."

—-

"And they get into your vegetable garden, and that's a drag." Mignonette waits for the other woman to join her, finally offering, "I'm Mignonette, by the way, rude of me not to introduce myself. You can call me Coco, if you prefer. Most everyone does. The lake's not far, and it would certainly do for a burial.

—-

"I know, right?" Ronnie eyes the woman, making the bunny bounce a few more times. "Coco, like Chanel?" That she can likely remember, the other name has already floated in one ear and out the other. "Ronnie." Doubtful she'd be known around here so she can give her name easy peasy. "Works for me. I mean, it'll totally take the sin away and then no evil bunny."

—-

"Something like, yes." A shake of her head and a smile, as she starts down the path, allowing Ronnie time to catch up with her, the flashlight out just in case they run into any other critters, and she can put them between Ronnie's fangs and herself, "Nice to meet you, Ronnie. Love the outfit, by the way, I always liked that colour pink."

—-

"I prefer red," Ronnie says somewhat thoughtfully. "My red kilt is at the cleaners though." It's probably really not. It's probably wedged into a suitcase somewhere that has yet to be delivered. "You don't have to like, be afraid of me, Coco. Human's don't taste as good as evil or that bottled stuff." Can't ever remember the name of that either, but at least she knows it exists.

—-

Mignonette continues along the path, keeping the pace slow, flashlight sweeping this way and that, looking over towards the other woman, "Thank you for that, Ronnie. I mean no disrespect of course, but I'd rather I wasn't on anyone's menu." Once they're walking along the better lit part of the trail, she looks over the other woman. Dead or alive, fashion is always good conversation, "Red would suit you, I think. Really nice contrast with your skin."

—-

"Dis-re-what?" Ronnie shrugs, then runs forward at an alarming vampiric speed until she's in front of the woman. "Well, like, whatever. Humans taste totally grody anyway." Bunnies, on the other hand, are obviously quite tasty. Shaking the critter again, she smiles. "It's like, tacky though. I mean, all the vampires wear red and black or something, right? No one has like, any individuality or anything. It's 'cuz you all expect us to look a certain way."

—-

"Disrespect. I don't mean to offend you." A nod, though, as Ronnie confirms Mignonette's safe from the fang, at least with her, though she has to come to an abrupt halt as the woman suddenly appears in front of her, "I suppose most humans expect vampires to be very much like what we've read in stories and seen in movies, and I suppose, the ones who are trying to fit in, maybe they feel that looking the way we expect will help with that." A spot of laughter, "You sound like you have a shopping trip planned. As you certainly don't fit the red and black mold."

—-

"No the stores here are too weird. They don't have any of my clothes." Ronnie pouts at that, then he turns to the bunny. "Do they, Mr. Rabbit? No they don't! No they don't!" She forces the bunny's head to shake back and forth. "Texas is totally strange. It's like, they have all these gigantic televisions, and they have computers, and it's just all wrong." She starts walking again, normal paced, just a few steps at a time. "It's like they totally don't believe it's nineteen-eighty-five. They did a timewarp."

—-

Ah, well, that explains it. The clothes, the speech, okay, not the bunnies, but most everything, "You know there's always shopping online, if you can get someone to help you use the computer. I'm sure you could find a lot of the clothes you like, if you do a little digging." She steps down onto the path turning to head towards the edge of the water, "And we still need to get you those roller skates."

—-

"Online? Like over the phone?" Ronnie just can't grasp any of this new-age stuff. "No, computers are wrong. They should only be like, used for employment. Though, I totally had an iCON before. That was pretty cool." With the track ball and all. "Digging! Right. I need to dig a spot for Mr. Rabbit here." He gets bounced again. There's a bit more of her vampiric speed as she rushes to the lake's shore. Then a hole is dug, the bunny plopped into it, and she's returning to Coco with dirty hands. "Sins will wash away now."

—-

"I'm sure you could find a way to order over the phone. Why don't you let me look around a bit, see if I can find you a place to call for some clothes, and you can see about not fitting in with that red and black crowd." It's still a bit of a shock, to see a vampire moving, but Mignonette, well, while not getting used to it, at least doesn't feel quite like running in fear. After all, the 80s-era vampire seems, well, harmless enough, as much as her kind can be, "Let's get you cleaned up and into some rollerskates." Again, she'll wait for the woman to join her, before she starts off towards the exit to the park, "My house isn't far."

—-

"Iiiiiii don't know. I don't think Wil Wheaton'll like me going home with a stranger." Ronnie furrows her brow a bit. Then again, he might be happy to get rid of her. Who knows? It's hard to tell with the Kingy-types. They generally tire of her quickly. "Buuuuuut~ I guess it's like, not gonna harm anything." Brushing her dirty hands off on her spandex, she nods. "Okay, you've like, got a deal. We'll totally go get those skates, then I'll buzz outta there."

—-

It really isn't a long walk, back from the lake and towards the housing developments, and once the lighting is better, the flashlight ends up back in her back pocket, "Most of my storage is in the garage, so that should be alright. I'm sure Mr. Wheaton won't mind." Whomever that is. Likely NOT the science geek every girl had a secret crush on back in the day, "You won't have to come in."

—-

"Better not tell Wil Wheaton 'bout the bunny either. He'll totally flip out." Probably not, but Ronnie is positive that he will. "So like, you get MTV in your place?" The garage is mentioned, and her expression falters slightly. "Totally. I'll wait right out here then. Don't want to like, invade privacy or anything. That'd be bad."

—-

"Not much privacy to invade, I'm afraid, I only just moved in." The turn down one of the streets in the closest development, and after about a block, Mignonette walks up the driveway to the garage, moving to the small lockbox, and when it's unlocked, using the keypad to open the garage door. And true to her word, the things is filled with neatly arranged boxes. "But your secret is safe with me." Thankfully, all of the boxes are labeled, and she starts looking for the ones marked sports equipment. "I do have MTV."

—-

"Isn't it the bomb? MTV I mean. I totally love that. We have something similar back home, but like, MTV is way more cool." Ronnie seems content to discuss the music video station while the woman goes through the boxes. She'd enter and help, but it's a private space and she can't. While waiting, she starts to hum one of her songs from her stint as a punk-pop mall diva. Even doing a few of the dance moves in the driveway.

—-

One thing that can be said about Mignonette is that she is organized, sometimes to a falt, so it's along the third row that she finds the box she wants. At the bottom, of course. So, with a little bit of moving here and pushing there, she gets the box out into the makeshift aisle, and opens it out, digging around inside. "I guess I'm a bit old, I sort of like VH1 better, it's less radical, I think. And MTV has been showing a lot of television programming lately, not nearly enough music. Aha! Success, as she pulls them out, white and blue, but looking in very good condition. Clearly she was never much of a skater. "Found them."

—-

"… with a turn to the right side of yooooou~ o/‘" Ronnie’s singing stops as soon as Coco starts to talk. "Never got that up in Toronto," she says. "Saw it like a few times when the tour bus came down through here." A pause, a head bobble. "Well not through here. Totally New York though. New York is totally tubular." The skates are looked at. Four wheels and all. "Yippiee! Four wheels! I can totally rock those babies all the way back to the hotel!"

—-

"Would you like to wash your hands before you put them on? There's a sink in here you can use." Mignonette takes care to put the boxes back into the order they were in, before she waves a hand in the direction of the utility sink. "I went to school in New York, and enjoyed it very much."

—-

"Oh uhm, sure!" Ronnie bops her way toward the utility sink, carefully turning on the water and rinsing the dirt off. Generally she would have just thrown the skates on, but since she's borrowing them it seems only prudent to keep them clean. "You're totally awesome, Coco. Thanks for the skates!" Her hands are dried on her shirt, because it's the first thing she finds that has the capacity to dry anything. Then she's zooming back out of the garage road runner style minus the meep meep, and stopping in front of Mignonette. "I'll get out of your hair now though. You're probably totally bored or annoyed by now. It was nice to meet'cha though!"

—-

"Thanks, Ronnie. Been a long time since anyone thought so. Most people find me a bit old and boring. Enjoy the skates, and you're welcome to keep them, I don't see myself ever using them again." She offers a hand, to shake, if Ronnie chooses, before she nods, "I'm neither," she reaches into her back pocket, pulling out a small billfold and pulling out a business card, "Give me a call in a couple of days, I'll let you know if I found any places where you can pick up some new clothes." That offered, she'll allow the woman to be on her way.

—-

The card is taken, but the hand isn't. Ronnie may be slow on the uptake on some things, but she's seen how other vampires act and none really shake hands. "Cool beans! I'll totally keep the card and call you on the telephone!" And just like that, she plops her butt down on the pavement, slips on the skates, and is off. On her hunt for evil bunnies.

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