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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 12, 2015 13:02:35 GMT -5
While it wasn't the most efficient route, Alex opted to add an hour on their trek to take them through Seattle. They didn't exactly have the time to stop and check anything out, but at least they could drive through and see Allison's old college city. Alex wanted to surprise her anyway, considering she drifted to sleep a good thirty minutes into their drive. She needed to catch up on her Z's, and Alex was happy to jam out quietly to the playlist, so it all worked out in the end.
Four and a half hours out of Spokane found them in Seattle. As they drove through Alex had her sister tell her about the people she knew from her college days. It was one part small talk and more parts considering what sort of contacts they might be able to pull from if necessary. Alex wasn't stupid, they would need help if they were going to take down Dumbledore.
It didn't take her long to reconsider that name and decide to refer to Tiberiu as Voldemort.
From Seattle to Portland they had a good two to three more hours to go, if not a little more depending on how many breaks Allison needed. Alex was always good about travel, being well used to it after all. Allison was a potentially different story.
"Hey, check it out. We're crossing the border," she said as they drove over the bridge from Vancouver to Portland, crossing over the Columbia River. It was almost three thirty, and all things considered they had made good time, avoiding traffic where it could have gotten really bad. Not much longer and they would be in Portland proper, and the investigation would begin.
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:22 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 12, 2015 18:52:33 GMT -5
The car ride went quick, but then it would when you're sleeping through half the trip. After she woke the surprise of practically being at Seattle was well-received and she spent as much time talking about places she would eat, shop, or hang out as potential contacts they could reach. Of course she was also nervous about reaching out to the people she knew and coming off as crazy. She still wasn't entirely certain that she wasn't.
After Seattle she needed a stop just to stretch her legs, use the bathroom and other things but having napped half of the trip she made it with minimal stops. The trip after Seattle was spent talking to her sister, listening to whatever came up from her music and watching the scenery pass.
"...We're crossing the border." Alex's words pulled her from her thoughts and back down into the present, and she turned in surprise to her sister.
"Already? Geez. How long 'til Portland?" Allison made a decent enough passenger and companion, but she was no navigator.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 12, 2015 20:56:42 GMT -5
Alex gestured lazily ahead, tall buildings waiting for them on the other side of the bridge, and from there even taller ones sat on the other side of the Willamette River. "Like . . . five minutes? Portland is right on the border. Lotta people live in Vancouver and work in Portland. Portlandites don't really like those people, because they're not true Portlandians." She seemed to know a fair share about Portland.
"Three things you'll find here, 'lil sis. Bicycles, hipsters, and homeless. Spokane tried to do what Portland did and leave bikes on the streets for public use, but everyone kept stealing them. It actually worked out here," she explained. If they needed a quick getaway at least there'd be bikes? "I don't think I need to explain the hipsters, but Portland is really temperate. It rarely gets cold enough to snow, so its pretty good for the vagrants all season." She was like an encyclopedia for living on the streets.
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:22 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 12, 2015 21:10:31 GMT -5
Allison nodded along as she looked out the window once again. "Did you spend a lot of time here or...?" She didn't mean to imply that Alex had spent time homeless, though as she had gotten older she had come to understand that it had likely happened at points.
"So what's our first stop? Hotel? The place we got a look at Tiberiu?" Allison hadn't spent much time planning ahead for all that she'd given her sister trouble over it. This still felt like half a dream to her, and she also felt very out of her own depth. It's not like a graphic design degree teaches you how to hunt down someone that's on the run and also can summon demons and shit.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 13, 2015 19:46:10 GMT -5
Alex drummed her fingers against the steering wheel, her lips pursed and expression thoughtful as she considered just how to reply. "I spent awhile in Portland, but that was over six years ago. Seven?" She paused to do some mental math then nodded to herself, sure of her answer.
"Place Tiberiu was spotted in was a gas station, so that's not going to be the most helpful. I say we look up a cheap hotel and setup shop?" she suggested, shrugging so not to be the blame if that plan went poorly. "Maybe Tib has some notes in his wallet we can go over. It was all gibberish and math stuff last I looked at it, but now that we know he's the reincarnation of You-Know-Who? Maybe it'll start to make sense." Another shrug, just to be safe.
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:23 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 14, 2015 8:40:17 GMT -5
"He who must not be named..." Allison corrected off-handedly, "We've looked over his notes. They're all.... gibberish. I'm fine with finding a hotel for now though, I guess he can't hurt to look over what we've got. You have somewhere in mind?"
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 16, 2015 12:30:09 GMT -5
Alex shrugged, having not been in Portland in a long enough time to have forgotten some of the details. "Lemme look something up," she offered, pulling off of the freeway and into a shopping center with a Lowe's, Walmart, and Dick's Sporting Goods.
As they pulled in Alex pulled out her phone, relying on her service plan to find them a nearby hotel. Of course there were plenty nearby, but of them none seemed to really fit their price range. Then she found it, the perfect little stop for any hunter; The Oregon Motel, right off the interstate.
"Here, Oregon Motel. It comes with free WiFi,~" she said in a singsong voice. Free WiFi was practically standard all across the board for motels, so if that was the high point of the place, chances were it wasn't going to be that great.
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:29 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 16, 2015 12:34:16 GMT -5
Allison thumbed through her own phone as Alex looked for a place for them to stay, running into much the same issue as her sister. Until Alex found something anyway. "Free wi-fi? Does it come with beds too? Is there really nothing in our range besides a motel, because those are pretty shady. And... don't end well for people in most horror movies I've watched."
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 17, 2015 18:25:37 GMT -5
Bringing the truck back to life, Alex set her phone to navigate to the motel as she pulled out of the Lowe's parking lot. "We're not in a horror movie," she scoffed, even though they probably were. "Think of it as an action flick. The badass heroes are always staying at cheap motels in those."
Allison may have not been used to motels, but Alex was. Correction, Alex was used to living on the streets and sleeping on couches in crack dens during some of her worse moments. The thought of an uncomfortable motel bed was actually a rather pleasant one for the vagrant, and she knew Allison would eventually adapt to the same beat of the drum.
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:30 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 17, 2015 18:45:22 GMT -5
"I mean. We'll see about that." Allison replied to the action movie comment, "...Can there be two 'final girls'? If so I'm pretty sure we're still sitting in horror given how this is playing out. Don't action movies tend to... have more... action-able protagonists." Her habitual wiki-crawls included more than just wikipedia, Allison had lost many a night to TV Tropes as well.
"And if it is an action movie, we could always subvert the stay at cheap hotel part, can't we? It's not like the actors are the ones sleeping on a hard bed between everything." If Allison was a bit whiny here, it was from a life of being coddled by her father and family, especially after the death of Rose and Alex ran off. She was only just coming to face with the starker realities of what they were getting into and the life it would involve until they found this guy.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 17, 2015 19:04:03 GMT -5
Alex continued to drive, navigating the streets of outer Portland with the aid of her smartphone's GPS. What life would have been like with one of those when she was living on the streets . . . Service plans weren't that big of a thing for streetrats. "Are you kidding? We're totally action-able protagonists. Just wait until we catch up to You-Know-Who, I'll show you more action than Die Hard," she stated strongly, quite confident that all would turn out right as it was supposed to, with Tiberiu stopped and them standing victorious.
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:30 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 17, 2015 19:09:14 GMT -5
"Okay. Right, so you're the tough and street savvy protagonist. What does that leave for me? Comic relief?" Allison flashed her sister a grin, all too ready to throw in a corny joke before her eyes widened in realization. "Wait! That means you get the love interest!" As always, Alex seemed to have an easy time both distracting her sister and lifting her mood.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 18, 2015 8:09:26 GMT -5
Alex burst into laughter, shaking her head in denial at all of Allison's crazy claims. "You're my trusted sidekick, the one who saves the protagonist from all sorts of stupid decisions. You're my Samwise," she said with a sage-like nod. "And I so do not get a love interest in this story."
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:31 PM.
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Post by Allison Cooper on Oct 18, 2015 8:26:36 GMT -5
"I don't remember Samwise being very good at the action parts. Mostly he coked and cheered Frodo along." Allison shot her sister another grin, "Awwwh. Embarrassed already? That is the exact attitude you need for finding your love interest in this film! They never want or like each other at first." She laughed again, shaking her head a bit as she turned back to watch Portland go by through the window.
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Post by Alex Cooper on Oct 21, 2015 7:32:29 GMT -5
Portland went by at a lazy rate, the drive to their motel having very little to oo and aa at. In fact the area was rather bland, almost industrial even. They drove by middle to lower class housing and a few businesses, none of it doing much to prepare Allison for Portland, which waa much grander in comparison.
"Sam was a badass, he stabbed the spider and saved Frodo from being an idiot for sailing away by himself," she recalled aloud, with some personal commentary. "The moment I find a love interest you'll be the third wheel. It's in your best interest to prevent me from finding that special someone," she teased.
Friday, October 9th, 2015.
3:31 PM.
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