I'LL SING AT YOU!

[SKYLARK JAMIE WEST]

So it wasn't in the initial version of the play that Fredric had two peg legs, but carbon-fibre blades would never do. Skylark, it seemed, had a thing for getting lead pirate roles. Not that he would complain with this role, even if wooden clunky things were a touch hard to wander about in. He strapped on the peg leg to his left and another one, but with a 'lion foot', like someone would find on a sofa. The bigger surface area would make it a bit easier for him to run, jump and dance about as he sang without killing himself. He swapped out his everyday clothes for pirate breeches and a bandanna, ragged shirt and cutlass. All that fun stuff. His first role had been as a pirate, surprise surprise. He placed his stuff away in a cubby, heading out to the front of the side with the rest of the cast, making sure to get his balance right. The orchestra was going though the music on it's own, and most of the others were practicing stage fighting in the time before the rehearsal truly started. Or running about in hoop skirts, or any number of things like that.

Sky put himself to walking. It got easier the longer he went on about it, and soon he could move around with ease. Very good. Off to his left, a young man in a fluffy false beard was tyring to get trough the Major General's lines. Skylark did not envy him in that song. It was one hell of a mouthful, but at least it was the sort of song that stuck in the head; that did help sometimes. He muttered his own lines, knowing them through and through. He didn't have to wait long before the dress rehearsal started, among the junior and senior drama students. He knew off in another auditorium another play was going on, but in soundproofed rooms, it was lost on him that evening as he did what he loved. Even if he was cast as a double-peg legged pirate for the rest of his life, he'd never quit acting.

The dress rehearsal went very well. Only the choir had once made a mess, that was was a hoop-skirt-caught-on-step issue that wasn't really that major while the Major General had at it with his quadratics and squared hypotenuses. It all went very well upfront, but there was a trickster afoot. Coming back to his cubby, he found it empty; not even his legs had been spared! A string of curses that very well fit his pirate costume left his lips, and some of the others were doing the same. Every major role had had their costumes robbed. It had happened before, once before, but was a prank all the same. Someone took your real clothes, now go wander around campus looking like an idiot trying to find them. Some people wouldn't bother, but he kinda had to.

He left the auditorium angrily, clunking around in solid wooden things. They were light enough, but off the stage, when he was thinking about where his real legs might be, they suddenly became awkward. He liked jokes, even when he was at the brunt of them, but stealing his prosthetics was a bit too far. To be fair, the image of a "Lost: Two legs, recently waxed" poster did make him crack a smile. "Now if I were some prankster, where would I hide someone's clothes?" Campus was big. He'd better get looking. And so he did, wandering the halls and looking everywhere, getting a couple funny glances. He rounded the corner, almost bumping into another guy with an equally ridiculous set of clothing on. Must be the other play. "Lost your clothes, too?" Skylark asked, taking a step back to look over the newcomer, biting back a laugh.

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words| 675
tagged| Nathan

[Nathan Jacob Evans]

Nathan walked into the backstage area of the theater on the north side of the campus. That was the good thing about going to a school with alot of money, you got two theater on campus; the north and south theaters. Nathan pulled off his sunglasses and placed them in his locker. As Nathan began to take off his street clothes in exchange for his more active clothes, the stage-manager found him and pulled him towards the dressing rooms. "Oh, the dress rehersals start today. It's a good thing you're early, we need to fit you for your costume." she told him as she led him to a small dressing room that contained his costume.

It fit better than he'd expected. The tights and wig were a little itchy, but it was nothing Nathan couldn't ignore. Nathan came out of the dressing room and made his way to the costume designer. Making a few minor adjustments, she sent him to wait while she fitted the last few people. Nathan made his way to the stage where he saw a few of his friends had allready been fitted. There was an ugly old witch, a pre-ball Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, a baker and his wife, and a handsome prince.

It wasn't long before the rehersal started. Everyone looked fantastic in their costumes and everything went over fairly well. A few forgotten lines and and cues but that's what dress rehearsal was for. The rehearsal was over, but the fun was just begining. As Nathan made his way back stage, he heard a scream, then another, then strings of curses, and promises of bodily harm. Nathan ran to his locker and threw it open, only to find it empty. Nathan searched high and low, he looked backstage, under the stage, in the wings, in the seating area, in the balconies, the lighting and sound booths. It was no use, they were no where to be found.

A few brave souls had decided to brave campus in search of their clothes. Nathan decided to join them in the search. He wondered who would do such a thing, untill he realized...it was the Senior prank and it was the drama department's turn to be the pranked. As Nathan made his way out of the building, he realized he wasn't the only one. The other production had been pranked as well. He saw boys in pirate costumes, girls in late 19th century gowns running about campus as well.

Nathan contined in his search, as he came upone another boy he figured was doing the same. The other boy asked him if he was a part of the other play. "Oh, yeah. We're doing 'Into The Woods' I'm Jack from Jack And The Beanstalk." he told the other boy. "You guys must be doing 'The Pirates Penzance'." Nathan said with a smile.

[SKYLARK JAMIE WEST]

Well, should anyone come to inspect the campus, be them from the state or who-knows-where, they would be in for a surprise. It did figure in his mind how that would work out, having done many of the public practical jokes himself. They might finds random clothing hidden (or displayed) in a trophy container, only to see a pirate, or, it seemed, Prince Charming to go running around in search of them, followed by a lady in hoopskirts and a witch, who, upon finding her clothes were strung up in the trophy cabinet, would shriek and lunge for them. Yep, that would be funny to tape and watch, though finding the clothes in question would generally be tougher than that. Some were probably in the bathrooms, maybe a couple in the swimming pool...Skylark dearly hoped his legs weren't in the bottom, because swimming was nice, but very difficult for him to manage. He'd never make it to the bottom of the deep end.

Off the deep end was how they seemed at times, but despite being quite ambivalent about the prank, he was always willing to talk to someone else. Running into this fellow gave him an opportunity to do just that. Either he's be the sort of actor that was fun, or just way too serious. Those sorts were great actors on the stage but never really...decent people. Okay, no , they were, but not the sort Skylark could just goof off around. Fun and serious was good...after all, acting was just grown-ups playing pretend in front of other grown ups. In that sense, it was just a juvenile thing to do, no need to get old and stuffy about it!

"Pirates we be." Skylark nodded, stepping back a little to take a look at the other boys costume. It was quite nice indeed. "Well, Jack, you do look quite fine, but a bit out of place." He remarked with a grin, resting a hand against the hallway wall. "What sort of clothes are you looking for? I'll give you a hand as I look for my stuff, might help the process some." He looked down the hallway, spotting no real giveaways for clothes, and laughed. "It's kinda like an Easter egg hunt!" Only, please lord, don't let them have spread individual articles all over the place! "I'm Skylark, by the by."

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words| 439
tagged| Nathan

[Nathan Jacob Evans]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Skylark!" Nathan said cheerfully. "Let's see, I'm looking for a pair of light wash bootcut jeans, a maroon polo, a gray t-shirt, and uggs. Yes, I said uggs." Nathan said, chuckling slightly. Just then, little red riding hood came skipping down the hallway with the big bad wolf close on her heels. They were acting as though the play was going on, not seeming to care that they were in the real world now. Nathan gave a smile and a small wave as they passed by. "They are crazy, simply crazy. They've brought such fun to the production." Nathan said with a smile.

"So, would you like to join me in my search for the missing threads? Maybe we'll end up fiding something else that's been long since missing, like Jimmy Hoffa or the captain of the football teams brain." He joked, laughing heartily at it. This certainly was turning out to be quite a puzzle. "Now, if I were clothes...where would I hide? Other than the usual places." Nathan mused aloud. "Oh, what're you looking for Skylark? We can tackle two birds with one stone if we each know what the other is looking for."

[SKYLARK JAMIE WEST]

Skylark watched little red riding hood run with deep amusement was Nathan mentioned what clothes that had been taken from him. "Uggs? Really, honestly?" The blonde young man snorted, but it wasn't in an 'you're dumb' way but an amused way. "All right then, Jack without his beanstalk." He watched as the Major General dashed out of a lecture room, holding a T-shirt. "Crazy about cuts it!"Someone had gotten something of theirs, at least. They'd probably all fall into character at some point or another, just for the hell of it. If they were going to look like fools, they may as well have fun doing it!

Skylark laughed at the mention of the football team's captain's brain, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm up for it, but I don't think we'd find his brain anywhere, ever." If the dude had a brain. Skylark had never really liked football. He'd always been a track-and-field sort of guy. Or hang gliding. That would be fun to try! Bungee jumping would be, too, now that he thought about it. He was a daredevil, what more could he say? The worst that could happen was he died, he supposed, but really, it was always worth a try. It's not like he feared losing limbs - okay, so he did have a bit of an issue around large machinery. But he'd already lost some limbs, been there, done that. might as well have a shot at what could be a lot of fun.

"C'mon." He set off down the hall, looking around as Nathan spoke. "Me, I'm looking for some black basketball shorts and a bright green T-shirt. No shoes, but I do need my legs back." Skylark peeked out the window while gesturing down at where calves and feet should have been. "They're black with a stripe of blue on them, a bit over a foot long, because I will be damned if I have to spend the next few days in peg legs...aw shit. Dude, look at this!" He motioned for Nathan to come over to the window. "That your polo?" He asked, pointing out at where one hung in a tree.

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words| 425
tagged| Nathan

[Nathan Jacob Evans]

"Of course uggs! You'd be surprised how comfy and cool they are." Nathan informed his now friend as they walked down the hallway. He was really enjoying Skylark, the young man was fun to be around. "So, Freddie, how do you the Pirates? I've always dreamed of doing the play, but I've also dreamed of doing Into The Woods. It was a hard choice which to audition for." Nathan said as he looked up and down. Comming to a curve in the hall, Nathan found a very important, but emberrassing, peice of clothing. A pair of navy blue briefs were draped neatly over a potted fern. "Well isn't that lovely?" Nathan grumbled as he reached for his underwear. With no pockets, he was forced to carry them around on his search.

"A little known fact about him, he's most certainly bisexual. I can't tell you how many times myself, or a gay friend of mine, has been flirted with and slash or been offered to hook up with him." The guy should just be lucky that no one he slept with liked to talk. Oops, they did. As they went on they encountered other actors looking for their clothes, and the majority of them had been somewhat successfull. The Major General had found his t-shirt, the wicked witch had found her jacket and her flats, and Nathan had found his underwear. You know, you'd figure I'd find something else by now. Not that my briefs aren't important...it's just kinda weird walking around with them. Nathan said with a giggle.

As the mysterious old man came rushing by with a pair of track pants, Nathan slipped into character for a few laughs. Take care, milky white! There are spirits in these woods! The pair continued on their search, but found nothing usefull. Not that Nathan could complain, he certainly was enjoying talking with Skylark. Skylark informed him of what he was looking for, but Nathan quickly forgott as Skylark found his polo. There it was, hanging from a branch on a tree. Nathan burst out of the door and made a running lead for it, catching it on the fly. He did a victory dance, then made his way back inside.

"Thanks for noticing that, Skylark! I'd have totally missed it. Nathan thanked his new friend. "I can't wait to find the rest of my missing clothes. These tights are getting kinda itchy." As the pair came upon the pool area, Nathan peered in the window. Spying a pair of black shorts hanging from the diving bored, Nathan walked out to the pool. Seeing something shiny at the bottom of the deep end, Nathan realized he had also found Skylarks legs.

"Ummm, Skylark, I found your shorts. But...I also found your legs." he said, pointing down to the pool.

[SKYLARK JAMIE WEST]

"Pshhhh. Gimmie running shoes any day!" Skylark sook his head again. Not his type of footwear, though he'd never really been into footwear. Not for most of his life, anyhow. Who needed footwear when you didn't have feet, persay? Running shoes and a pair of dress ones were all he needed, on the occasions he had to, no ifs and or buts, wear shoes. Which wasn't that often. The 'no bare feet' sign tended to be ignored in his case. "It's going well. I can't say it was too hard of a choice which to audition for in my case. I always liked The Pirates of Penzance, so to actually do it- dude!" Skylark stopped talking and started laughing when Nathan pointed out his underwear. Why the kid didn't wear his underwear in costume was up for debate. It was not a debate Skylark wanted to get into. "That's just art." He laughed as Nathan grumbled and picked it up. Apparently, this years pranksters had gone all out to cause mayhem.

They went on with their search, watching actors run around to find their clothes. "That would explain why I haven't got any girls as of late. They think I'mma steal the boy they got their eye on, perhaps?" Skylark joked in response to the comment. Ahaha. That would be awkward if he ended up in a situation like that with a dude. Really. But whatever floated some people's boats, he supposed. The conversation was fun, anyways. He pointed out the clothing and watched Nathan run over and jump for it. If his legs were up a tree, he'd strangle something. Climbing and swimming, two things that weren't so easy.

"At least they didn't string up your underwear!" Skylark laughed. "Now that, that would suck." They moved along to the athletics oriented areas now, closer to the pool. Skylark could smell the thing. Nathan was a couple steps ahead as he peered into the window, then went in. Skylark followed. He saw his shorts hanging from the diving board, and then saw the metallic glimmer as Nathan pointed it out.

"Fuck my life." Skylark grumbled. He quickly regained some sense of humour, and grinned. "Well, I guess Freddie shall be walking the plank." He knew his peg legs would float, but he'd be hopeless on a ladder without them, so he scaled the diving board, and hobbled out onto it. He bent down, grabbed his shorts...and slipped.

Typical. Completely and totally typical. Skylark fell into the water almost upright. He went down deep, and made a grab for one of his legs, but his peg legs, being wooden, yanked him back up and after some flailing, he was soaked and floating on his back. He paddled back over, lower limbs all but useless to him just now, and pulled himself out of the water. "Peg legs. Pirate floatation devices." He laughed grimly, and took them off, putting them ontop of his now soaked shorts. "Wish me luck." He slipped back into the water, and then under it, trying to paddle down to his legs. He thrashed what leg he had almost like it was some dolphin tail, but couldn't quite reach before he had to surface. Three more tries yielded the same results. "Nathan," He called rather sheepishly. "Could you lend me a leg, dude? I can't reach mine! Or throw me a weight or something, so I sink good and proper!" Putting on his wooden legs would only make it possible for him to dive again and again, but they jerked him up too fast for him to make any real progress that way.
"Pleaaaaaaaaase?"

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words| 695
tagged| Nathan