Work Text:
Imelda Pulse was often in places that she should not have been.
It was what she did, really. She jumped into danger, simply because she could. Because it had the possibility of being interesting, of being unique, of being new . But, mostly, because she had had the opportunity to do it at all. Even if she had jumped off a building before- why not try it again? She was Impulse, after all. It didn’t matter if it was new, not really. She was Curiosity, after all. She just wanted to do something . Anything. So Imelda would admit, she got into a lot of accidental adventures. Some would call it ‘trouble’, but it was never very troublesome to Imelda. She enjoyed the adventures she got into, even if she never really considered the consequences of them. Consequences were for those other parts of the brain, not for her. So, yes, this was not a situation that was foreign, to Imelda.
But, this was one instance where she was somewhere she should not have been, without it being her fault at all. Imelda swore it, this time it wasn’t her fault. She was pretty sure, at least.
She hadn’t leapt into danger. She hadn’t willingly gone somewhere strange and dangerous. She hadn’t done anything, in fact. Imelda had simply been walking down the street, and then all the streetlights had flickered, as they so often did in Elias’ Hodge’s brain- and then suddenly, there were no streetlights at all. In fact, there were no buildings at all. Or, at least, no buildings like Imelda knew. There were no brick buildings, no cobbled roads, no rain pelting onto the ground. There were no alleyways, no people smoking in the shadows. There were no lights at all, and yet Imelda could see perfectly fine, because it was light outside. It was rarely ever light in Elias’ brain. And yet, here it was, midday and sunny, wherever she was. There were rows of small, spread out houses, more like huts than anything, and sprawling hills that seemed to go on forever and ever.
Imelda shrugged, picked a direction, and started walking.
She didn’t know what was going on, of course. But who needed to know what was going on, when she could simply enjoy wherever she had ended up? It was simply a unique little place. She had never seen anywhere like it in Elias’ brain at all. So, why not explore it while she could? Imelda slipped off her shoes, and felt the grass under her feet. She had never felt grass under her feet before. She had never seen grass before, at least in reality. She had seen grass through Elias’ eyes, of course, but never through her own. And she had certainly never felt it before. She bent down and ripped some out of the grass, and held it, just because she could. And then she threw it, because she could do that, too. She grinned as she listened to the sound of birds in the distance. There were never birds in Elias’ brain, either. It was certainly unfamiliar. It was certainly odd. It was certainly fun .
Imelda didn’t know where she was. And she didn’t care, not really.
“Excuse me!” A voice called out, and Imelda whipped around.
People? There were people here? Even better! “Yes?”
“You should get out of the grass, you know,” the person told Imelda. He was a deep red shade, and small. Small as Conrad, maybe smaller.
“Oh?” Imelda asked, not moving. “What’s going to happen to me, if I don’t?”
“You’ll get eaten by the wolf,” the kid said, as plain as anything.
Imelda suddenly grinned. “There’s a wolf?”
“Of course there’s a wolf,” the kid said. He frowned. “Where the hell have you been, if you don’t know about the wolf?”
“In a place with no wolves,” Imelda said. “What part of Elias’ brain has wolves in it, anyway?”
“Elias?” The kid asked. “This ain’t Elias’ brain, lady.”
Huh, Imelda thought. She hadn’t considered that. But- why not embrace it?
“Whose brain is this, then?” Imelda asked.
“This here is Ylfa Snorgelsson’s brain,” the kid said. “Are you not from here?”
“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” Imelda hummed. “Now, I’m Imelda. What’s your name?”
“Avery,” the kid said. “Brian Reginald Avery.”
“Right.” Imelda said, not bothering to figure out what part of the brain he represented. Who cared? “Well, then, Avery, where’s this wolf?”
“She’ll show up, if you stay in the grass,” Avery said. “So you should probably leave, now.”
“No, thank you,” Imelda said.
If there was a wolf, she wanted to meet it. She wasn’t even entirely certain on what a wolf was, if she was being honest. Or what it meant for there to be a wolf inside the brain. Which meant she wanted to meet this wolf even more.
“You really, really should go,” Avery said. He stepped forward to- to grab her, pull her off the grass, maybe, but he never actually reached out towards her. “It’s not safe.”
Imelda scoffed. “Who needs safety when you have fun ?”
“You do,” Avery said. He actually did reach towards her, then, but he never touched her because-
Because at that moment, a wolf, the wolf , ran towards them, knocking them away from each other.
“I told you,” Avery huffed.
Imelda just grinned, even as her arm hurt from the fall. So that was a wolf. It was a huge, grey beast, snarling at them- But Imelda thought, that if she stared just right, she could see a face, there, too. A face like she and Avery had. The face of a person, not a wolf. Not that Imelda could look at the wolf all that much, when she was too busy getting thrown around by it. The wolf was snapping at her, but never really bit , so Imelda supposed that that was lucky, at least. Although being thrown into the dirt wasn’t all that nice, either. Imelda did eventually manage to stand up again, and back far enough away from the wolf that it stopped attacking her but- what exactly was going on? There were certainly no wolves in Elias’ brain. It was interesting, to say the least. So Imelda didn’t run, even though she could have.
“Calm down, Effie,” Avery said, trying to pet the wolf’s snout. “Just- come on. Calm down.”
“That’s a part of the brain?” Imelda asked, with a raised eyebrow. “That- that thing?”
“Don’t say that about her,” Avery said, even as he was almost bitten by it. “She’s just scared.”
“Who is she, then?” Imelda asked. Not that she cared, but- it seemed more fun to ask questions than get bitten, at this point.
“This is Fight,” Avery said. He was- he seemed to be calming the thing down, just a bit. Neither of them were getting thrown around or bitten, at the very least. “Also known as Effie.”
Imelda thought back to Ivanna Popoff, Elias’ fight. They certainly took different forms.
“Is she always a wolf?” Imelda asked.
Avery shrugged. “Not always. But most of the time. Especially when we’re scared. But- she didn’t used to be a wolf at all.”
“Oh?” Imelda asked. Now that was genuinely interesting. “How did that happen, then?”
“I don’t know,” Avery admitted. “I have a feeling the king and queen know, but- not me. I’m just a shepard, in this mind. Don’t really do much.”
“And yet here you are, calming Fight down,” Imelda mused.
“Oh, that’s no big deal,” Avery said, with a shrug. “Just what I can do, I guess, to keep this place safe.”
“Seems like a big deal to me,” Imelda said, as watched Avery pet the wolf. It was sitting, now, calm as anything.
Avery just shrugged again. “Well, I’m just gonna be here tending the sheep. And to Effie. Are you gonna stay?”
“No, thank you,” Imelda said, as she grabbed her shoes out of the grass and slipped them back on.
Staying with a shepard and a wolf didn’t exactly seem like an exciting way to spend an afternoon, quite honestly.
“Have a good time with your wolf friend,” Imelda called out, as she began to walk towards the village she could see in the distance.
“I’d really advise staying off the grass, now,” Avery called out, as she left. “Lotsa things lurk in it, these days.”
“Fine,” Imelda huffed, begrudgingly turning to go onto the path.
Once she was far enough away from Avery, she might just go back to the grass. But there was no use getting scolded by a child. Besides, the wolf was sort of boring, now that it wasn’t attacking anybody. So, Imelda stalked off to find something more interesting. Or at least just something to do. Maybe she could find a control panel and press a bunch of buttons. That could be fun. Oh, maybe her key would work in this brain, even though it wasn’t Elias’. Wasn’t that a thought! She could make this person steal something, or jump in a puddle or- Imelda lost her train of thought as she came across another group of people, standing in the road, with a carriage, and horses, and by golly they seemed so old fashioned. It seemed it wasn’t just the shepherd that was like that.
“Hello, there,” Imelda said, waving. These people looked interesting.
Or, at least, they looked rich. Old timey, but rich. One person even had a crown, it looked like. With shiny gems. Oo- Imelda wanted to touch it.
One of the people paused, staring down at Imelda. “Who’re you, then?”
“I’m Stacy Fakename,” Imelda declared. “And who are you ?”
“Duke Innocence,” one of them declared, without a second thought.
“And I’m the Knight of Suspicion,” the other said. Suspicion was staring down at Imelda. “What’s your actual name, then?”
“She said her name was Stacy,” Duke Innocence said.
“That’s a fake name, my liege,” Sir Suspicion said. “She literally said it.”
“That’s just her name,” the duke declared.
Imelda laughed. “I’m Imelda Pulse, actually.”
“Imelda Pulse,” Duke Innocence said, dreamily. “Do you know Imani?”
“She’s missing,” Sir Suspicion said, flatly. “You have something to do with that? I’ve never heard of an Imelda here before.”
“I’m new here,” Imelda said.
“No one’s ever just new here,” Sir Suspicion said.
“Well, I am,” Imelda said. “I don’t even know who’s brain I’m in, really. That kid said Isa’s? Nifa?”
“Ylfa,” Duke Innocence said. “Her name’s Ylfa. And she’s amazing .”
“Who’s brain are you from, then?” Sir Suspicion asked.
“Elias Hodge’s,” Imelda said. “A scientist, in a big city.”
“What’s a city?” The duke and the knight asked at the same time.
Imelda blinked. “Where are you from, that you don’t know what a city is?”
“Where are you from, that you do?” Sir Suspicion asked.
“I told you,” Imelda said. “Elias Hodge’s brain. A big city, with big buildings and lots of people, and cars-”
“What’s a car?” One of the people tending to the horses asked.
“A horse, but made of metal,” Imelda said. That was close enough, at least. She didn’t know how they really worked, anyway. That took too much time. “Next you’ll tell me you don’t have coffee.”
Innocence tilted their head. “Coffee?”
“No coffee,” Imelda said, shaking her head. “No cars. Wolves prowling the brain. What kind of place is this?”
“A good place,” Sir Suspicious said, with crossed arms. “Don’t disrespect it just because it isn’t as interesting as wherever you come from.”
“Well, it isn’t as interesting,” Imelda huffed out. She was getting more and more tired of this place the longer she stayed here. “Goodbye, you people. Goodbye!”
Imelda moved on, once again. That was what she was always doing, after all. Moving on, and moving on, and moving on. There was nothing interesting about staying in one place. That was just plain boring, and Imelda couldn’t stand boring. So, she kept on moving. It was a shame she didn’t steal one of those horses, honestly. They would have been nice. But- well, not even Imelda Pulse could act on every single one of her impulses. It would have been rude, to take their horses. And Imelda didn’t actually know how to unlatch a horse. And- and, well, Imelda had only had the idea after she had walked away. That was the real thing that had stopped her. Well- the next time Imelda came across she’d steal it. Or maybe she would have an even better idea, then. Who knew? Certainly not Imelda. She was at the whim of her own impulses. In the best way, of course. How else could she find so many adventures in one boring place, if not for her impulses-
Imelda’s thoughts were cut off as she bumped into somebody. “Ow,” she said, stumbling. “Watch where you’re going!”
“You watch where you’re going,” the person who had bumped into Imelda said. T
They were tall, and bright blue, and dressed like a farmer. Or- okay, it seemed they were a farmer, considering the wheelbarrow of vegetables they were dragging.
“No thanks,” Imelda scoffed, continuing to walk.
“Hey, lady!” The farmer called out. “You knocked over my vegetables, you can at least help me pick them up.”
“No thanks,” Imelda repeated. She sidestepped around the mess, when a hand grabbed her arm.
“Seriously?” The farmer asked.
“Seriously,” Imelda said, but she couldn’t free her arm, so she was left standing awkwardly in the road.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” The farmer asked.
“I’m Imelda Pulse,” Imelda said, shaking out her hair. “Surely you’ve heard of the Pulses?”
“Yes, yes,” the farmer said. “But only Imani. Never an ‘Imelda’. And she’s far nicer than you are.”
Imelda scoffed. “Nice?”
“All she wants to do is touch frogs,” the farmer said. “And climb trees. And sometimes steal bread, if we’re hungry, but-”
“Well, she’s not here right now,” Imelda huffed. “And I want to do something fun. And picking up vegetables isn’t fun. So unless you know something fun to do around here, I’m leaving.”
The farmer paused, unsure of what to say. And then, he spoke again. “I know something fun to do around here.”
“What?” Imelda asked, suddenly intrigued.
“I’m not telling you,” the farmer said. “Not until you help me pick up the vegetables you knocked over when you ran into me.”
“You ran into me,” Imelda corrected. “And who are you to demand me around?”
“I’m Dee,” the farmer said, still not letting go of Imelda’s arm. “Dee Termination.”
Imelda ground her teeth, thinking. Well, thinking for as long as Imelda thought anything through, at least.
“Fine. I’ll help you pick up your stupid little vegetables,” Imelda said. “And then you have to show me this very cool and very exciting thing.”
“Alright,” Dee said, finally letting go of Imelda’s arm.
She bent down and began picking up the vegetables. It was repetitive, and boring, and mercifully done quite quickly.
“There,” Imelda said, dusting off her dress as she stood back up. “Now, come on. Chop, chop. What’s this amazingly fun thing to do around here?”
“This was,” Dee said, leading Imelda, and the wheelbarrow of vegetables, onto the grass.
“We’re not getting attacked by the wolf again, are we?” Imelda asked. “I already did that.”
“Effie won’t bother us up here,” Dee promised. “Now, come on. Lie down.”
“Taking a nap is your definition of a ‘fun’ thing?” Imelda asked.
“No,” Dee said, but didn’t elaborate any further. “Just trust me and lie down. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
Well, if they promised it would be fun. Imelda lay down on the grass. All that did was give her a view of the bright blue sky and clouds above her. It was so different, from Elias’ mind, she would give the farmer that much. But still-
“What now?” Imelda asked.
Dee just shrugged, from where they were lying down. “Now you watch. Look at what the clouds look like, the different shapes.”
“That’s what you said was fun?” Imelda asked. “Staring at clouds?”
“Letting your imagination take over,” Dee corrected. “Just try it.”
Imelda, begrudgingly, tried it. She looked at the clouds, and watched them. It was boring. It was definitely boring. But if the only other option was walking around the nothingness of this barren village- she tried it. She stared at the clouds, and looked at the shapes they made. Because they did make shapes, Imelda realised, after a few minutes. Different shapes, too. Interesting shapes, even. There was a cloud that looked a little like Hunch Curio. There was a cloud that looked like a bottle of vodka. There was a cloud that looked like Conrad’s cute little hat. There was a cloud that looked like- well, there were plenty of clouds that reminded Imelda of home. Or maybe that was all she was thinking about. Home . But either way, that was what she saw. She saw the train, and the bridge, and the cobblestone streets. She saw rain, and she saw the club, and she saw her key. And it was- well, it was actually sort of nice.
“I suppose it isn’t all that bad,” Imelda admitted, breaking the silence.
“Isn’t all that bad?” Dee asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“Fine,” Imelda said. “It’s kind of fun. And calming. I thought it would be boring- but it was just peaceful. And normally peaceful is boring but- this wasn’t.”
“Everybody needs a little calm,” Dee mused. “Even Impulse.”
“I guess that’s true,” Imelda agreed. “The calm is quite nice, I suppose.”
And then, suddenly, Imelda was back.
Back looking at the dark, foggy sky. Back being covered in rain. Back in Elias’ brain. It was immediately obvious, where Imelda was. Just by how familiar the whole place was. And- and normally Imelda didn’t want familiarity, she wanted novelty and excitement. She could always find new things to do in an old place- but that didn’t mean she always loved that old place. But now, now- Imelda found herself grateful for the familiarity. Grateful for the chance to be back home. Even if she was used to the rain and the darkness and the lack of animals besides Justin- Maybe being used to things wasn’t such a bad thing, after all. There were plenty of familiar things here that Imelda liked. Cars. Coffee. The rain. The people. Most of all, the people. Imelda had missed the people.
But, perhaps not everything in that strange mind had been so bad, after all.
The people there hadn’t been all that bad, really. A little boring, a little slow, but- not all that bad. Avery had looked out for. Innocence had asked questions. And Dee- well maybe Dee had even taught Imelda something. Not that a Pulse needed to be taught a lesson- but everyone needed a reminder, every now and then. And that was what that had been. A reminder. A reminder that taking things slow wasn’t always the worst thing in the world. Imelda found herself looking in the puddles as she walked down the street, seeing what shapes they made, much like how she had watched the clouds before. It was nice, paying attention to the puddles and the cracks in the road. She didn’t think she had ever really noticed them before. Far too excited for the shenanigans of the future, to pay attention to the details of the present. Or something like that.
But Imelda lost her train of thought, again, as she was reunited with her friends.
They all wound up around a table at Fucks’, somehow. Although, they had been congregating around that table a lot lately, Imelda would have to admit. And it could be boring, always sitting at the same table. She had tried every single thing that Fucks’ night club offered. And combined every single thing, too. And yet- Imelda was still there, anyway. Despite all the intrigue and novelty being drained out of the place. Normally, she would be antsy, dying to get out and set off on a new adventure. But today- today she just sat back and listened to her friends. They were interesting enough on their own, Imelda thought, with a smile on her face.
Imelda was back. But maybe she didn’t need to find her next adventure all that soon. Maybe she could just appreciate what she had, in the moment.