ѕннн! ιт'ѕ a ѕєcяєт! dnp

[Dangerosa]

”Is that so? Then perhaps I’ll have the waffles,” he said with a smile, mostly to himself, as she took a moment to have a sip of her drink. A quick glance at the menu confirmed they would be cheddar waffles with eggs, bacon and sausages. He wouldn’t really call it the breakfast of champions, but as Dalia had said, today was a day for change.

As she began to speak, Ethan found himself further enthralled by the woman seated across from him. To have been able to travel as much as her words seemed to imply must have been amazing; he couldn’t even begin to imagine the stories she had to tell, the sights she’d seen, the music she’d heard — especially in Philadelphia. Other than New York and Chicago, the city he would love to spend some time in had to be Philadelphia if only for the music scene. One day he would have to find the time to see if he could talk to her about any of it. Anything she remembered or, if he was lucky, the chance to borrow a CD she may have purchased while she was in the area.

Adding the sugar to his coffee, he briefly looked up at her in the midst of mixing it all together when she said he was right about something, silently urging her to continue, before taking a sip of his morning brew. He almost seemed to melt in his seat, relaxing visibly, a barely imperceptible sigh of content escaping him after the first few drops of caffeine trickled down his throat. Medium-bodied with a rich flavour with a hint of spice, it left a slight hazelnut aftertaste which was actually quite delightful. It wasn’t too overpowering and was one of the better cups of coffee that he had had in a while. It wasn’t instant, that was for sure.

He took another sip before he put the cup down, feeling as though he had just received an extra jolt of energy to help him feel more alert and focused as the conversation seemed, in his opinion at least, to momentarily take a dip into the stream of a deeper conversation before rising once more to a less weighty topic. The entire process marked by the simple gestures she made with the glass.

What exactly did she mean by that? Was her comment a general one or more specific to either his situation or hers? The moment passed before he could find the words to properly frame a question, but he made a note of it for later. Maybe there would be another opportunity to ask about it.

He had to hide his face, or at least part of it, while taking another sip of coffee when she called him out on his downplaying of his musical skill, lest she see the nervous, slightly shy, smile that was threatening to form. ”Ethan’s fine,” he replied, his voice more confident than his expression.

Meeting her eyes once more, he noted the sincerity in her eyes as she complimented his playing and reassured him that there was no need to leave Blessed Dreams Hall to practice. While it was a relief to know that he wasn’t disturbing his neighbours, there was still that nagging sense of doubt that lingered. He knew there was at least one other person who sometimes listened in on his practices, but she was only a kid and kids were always curious. He was sure that with enough time she would move on to something else.

Looking slightly more alert once she started to talk about her dancing, Ethan eyed her with interest when she hinted at, and then confirmed that she was just as passionate about dancing as he was about music, which made a bright smile form on his lips. It was great to meet someone else who was also passionate about the arts. What's more, one that had been so successful at her craft that she had been able to make a name for herself. Ethan couldn’t even begin to imagine what that had been like to perform to way she had. In truth, he probably would have doubted her had she not spoken with certain wistfulness and nostalgia that he believed couldn’t be faked and the way she walked, seemingly effortlessly, moving with a confident stride yet seeming to glide over the surface of the road.

As she trailed off, perhaps taking a moment to relive the memory before returning to the present, Ethan turned to look out the window, bringing his cup to his lips once more. Dalia didn’t sound like she was planning on revealing anymore about why she had stopped dancing, he wouldn’t pry. At least not right now. He continued to look out the window at the streets that were slowly coming alive with people as the sun slowly inched its way higher in the sky, bringing with it a feeling of warmth, comfort, and, at least here in the bar with Dalia’s words washing over him, serenity.

At her chuckle, he turned to face her again, was burning to ask her what it was like, to describe the experience of performing on the world’s stage a little bit more, and, to tell him what the downside was. He knew that everything did have both the good and the bad and while right now he could see making a career out of music as a way to prove to himself and his parents that it could be done, he did want to know what kind of pressures he might encounter.

After her ordered the waffles with his egg sunny side up and a glass of orange juice to finish, he tilted his head thoughtfully as he considered the stage. It would be a start, but he wondered if he had anything he could play here. What types of music was played here? He would have to stop by one night to listen to what was boing played and hopefully he would have something up his sleeve of the same or similar genre.

”I’m sorry you’re unable to dance professionally anymore,” he said sincerely, turning back to face her. ”Maybe later tonight we can get together and have our own private performance.”

Seize the day, carpe diem, and all that. Maybe it was bold of him, but perhaps it was the coffee, the fact that he was with someone who was so accomplished, or even Dalia’s attitude that made him want to give this a try and perhaps even attempt, in some respect, to see a more carefree, less mysterious side of the woman before him. Despite the sincerity and emotion he felt that he could at times catch in her words or gestures, they were always so quickly veiled by that mystic.

”You said today was a day for something different, so let’s make it special for both of us,” smiling, he continued. ”Music for me has always been rather personal. Even if it was only for the school orchestra, it’s something I try to personalize as much as possible, playing in a way where it feels like I’m drifting, lost in the melody, so I don’t have to deal with the feeling of eyes watching me and ears potentially listening for a mistake.”

Abruptly realizing what he had said, he raised his eyes to hers, before looking outside once more, and leaning back in his seat, drinking in the sunlight and wishing he could take back those words, but it was too late for that. Lost in music and his mouth runs away. "I guess what I'm saying is I sometimes have a bit of difficulty playing for others." There. That was better and more to the point.

"It could be a dance to new beginnings and, hopefully, a new friendship. I wouldn't only enjoy seeing you dance, but hearing more about your days as a performer and your past. If you don't mind sharing that is." His gaze found her reflection the the glass and he watched for any reaction, be it good or bad, to his suggestion.

After three months, the only people he spent any amount of time with were the patrons at work and his coworkers who he saw practically every night. He knew even fewer of his neighbours. Back home even if he didn't know them too well, he had some idea of the names or occupations of those around him. And if he didn't have that, he and his family had a nickname for them based on their habits. Strangely it seemed that in the city where people were forced to be stacked one on top of the other and be in such close proximity to each other they were more strangers then when each person lived individually and was separated by a fence.

The waitress returning with drinks pulled his gaze away from the window and towards her as she explained the food would only be a little while longer. And suddenly, Ethan was looking forward to it and it showed. His first cup of coffee done, he was more alert, more excited about what the day would bring. And perhaps, more importantly, he'd met someone new with whom he could potentially share his experiences, call upon for advice and learn from.

"Is this one of your favourite bars in town? Have to admit, in the months I've been here, I haven't spent much time checking out the city's nightlife. I work most evenings and when I'm not, practicing seems to take over." Shrugging, he looked over the pictures on the wall again, admiring the photographs wondering if they were local talent or simply cheap prints bought at any home decorating store."It would be nice to go out more often, especially with someone who knows their way around."

tab tab tab ⟦ 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ⟧ Dalia tab tab ⟦ 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 ⟧ Bar tab tab

Quote:

Blue Voltaire

[Dangerosa]

It was getting harder and harder to find things out here. The majority of the stores had been picked clean by other scavengers and what remained had to be carefully sorted through to determine if any of it could be salvaged and made useful. There were signs that people were starting to put their lives back together. There were schools, rare though they might be, a few bakeries, stores, and other connivences from pre-disease days, but anything they sold was at an exorbitant price, far more than what he could ever remember buying those same items for back when he was younger. But with war came inflation. With a lack of man power brought on by the disease, the inflation was even more pronounced. If he ever needed anything, he preferred to steal it or easier yet, resort to blackmail or bartering for his goods. Sometimes it helped to have one of the larger gangs in the area.

He had to find clothes not only for the orphans but the other Royals. Yarn for Sonja since she liked to knit and would probably be spending a fair amount of time knitting sweaters and scarfs for people this coming winter. If he could find any electrical material, that would be a boon as they could really work on improving the spotty electrical. It was a miracle that the gird was still as well connected as it was, but it could always be improved. Somehow they would end up back on their feet and they would establish a society on the other side of the walls that would be close to the lives they had all had before.

But until that time came, Zeph would continue to do what he could to keep the Royals safe from the other gangs and the non-infected who would rather see them all dead. Things were going to change though. One day they would all be infected. He would make sure of it.

His was a power that had terrified him when he was younger, one he wished he didn’t have. To think that with a single touch he could cause some sort of illness in someone was the stuff of nightmares. He had been afraid of hugging or holding hands with the family that had taken him in when his own parents abandoned him, but once he learned how to control it, things were alright. There were still times where he was afraid that he might infect someone with a disease worse than GENdisease, but it was only when he wasn’t in control of himself, and that, luckily enough for those around him, was rare. They could thank whatever lucky stars were out there he could hold his liquor.

Now with the power under his control, he could use it to modify the disease that had made him and others like him, outcasts. He could control the disease, strengthen it, modify it, use it to make sure that anyone he infected would survive. He could find a way to give them the disease and then they would know what it was like to go through the pain, fear and isolation that was forced on them because of a virus they couldn’t control.

His jaw set in a hardline, he expelled a breath from between his teeth and straightened from his crouched position. "This is getting ******** no where...". So far the only thing he’d managed to find were a few old pieces of wiring that would probably do no one any good.

Zeph knew that one day this would happen, they would go to one of the old malls and find practically nothing, but there was practically nothing they could do about it. All the resources that came went to the refugee camps first, some of it some times managed to trickle out but it wasn’t enough. Not with the number of toxies seeming to increase every month, eventually there were going to be larger skirmishes between the gangs for supplies. Could the Royals win if it came to a fight? Yes, without a doubt. But he didn’t want it to come to that if all of the toxies, regardless of which gang they were in, had a common enemy : those pampered cats in the refugee camp.

Angrily grabbing his bag, he decided there were a few other places he could check for clothing, fabrics and electrical parts. He had struck out in one section of the mall, but there were others and, if this mall had absolutely nothing left like he suspected he would try someplace else. Either way, he knew that by tonight he and his court would be working on a plan to raid the refugee camp. It was time they learned that they couldn’t just hide behind a wall and expect those on the outside to sit back and accept it. If it weren't for Mer... Zeph absently played with the homemade charm bracelet on his wrist as he did almost every time his thoughts drifted towards his childhood friend. Were it not for the fact that he didn't know where she was or whether or not she was in that camp, he would have signed off on a raid of the camp by now. "Please forgive me." He hated himself for what he was going to do, but there was no other choice.

Unaware that there was someone else in this section of the mall with him, Zeph turned and continued down the deserted hall into another store. Besides, if anyone did try to sneak up on him, he was confident enough that he would be able to protect himself without a problem. He wasn’t just made King because of his good looks.

tab tab 𝔏𝔬𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 mall tab tab tab 𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔥 no one (mer) tab
tab tab 𝔖𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔰 healthy

[Dangerosa]

Anna’s reassurances that it would only be one client and then she would return to him, echoed in his head as he walked down the hallway to see his dolls. He knew he would be fine without her for a few hours, he could survive on his own and scavenge for supplies if he needed them, but he always felt that when she said it was only one client, there would be another who would coming knocking, asking for her services and take her away from him once more. He hated that more than anything. He hated not knowing whether or not Anna would meet that one client who would ask for more than she was able to give and then he wouldn’t have her anymore.

He had two very distinct memories of Anna from when he was a child. The first was when she was giving him his first doll. He didn’t remember that one so well. It was just more emotion and colours than any distinct images. He knew it was the last time he saw her before being locked away by their parents and he knew that he had asked them, begged them, to let him see his sister, until he realized it was pointless and that he just had to remember that she would come for him. It was why she gave him the doll. Her promise that she would always be there for him. And, in part, it was why he continued making dolls. So he wouldn’t feel so alone when Anna wasn’t around. He never felt trapped when he was with them, or helpless.

The second memory was of the day she took him from his prison and freed him. She’d looked so different from the image he had in his head. Her voice was different and he wondered for a moment whether or not he was really seeing her or if it was all just a dream. It was the way she looked at him, held him and spoke to him, that gave him the courage to believe that it wasn’t all in his head and to follow her out the door. Anna was his hero and he looked up to her so much, wished more than anything that he could find a way for them to stay together and be happy without her having to leave for work. But his powers didn’t work like that. He could bring people back to him, kill people who annoyed him, or use his powers to keep things and people safe, but he couldn’t make money grow or make things appear out of thin air no matter what those old magic books said.

Arriving at the first room where he had a few of his dolls playing together, he brightened somewhat. The scene he’d painted in this room was that of a park, more specifically that of a guy and a girl on the swings. He’d seen it in a real park once and had stood to watch them as they laughed and played despite both probably being infected. There was no other way they could be on this side of the wall if they weren’t. They were happy though and the girl’s laugh was so cheerful as her friend swung beside her. He stayed to watch until they were done and started to walk away, hand and hand, and kissed. That was when he had to leave since it was gross to watch them sharing spit. He’d never understand why people liked that.

”Good morning, Lilian. I’m sorry I can’t find your friend. Anna won’t give him to me,” he said as he walked over and fixed her brown hair so that it better framed her face. With almond shaped green eyes and a round face, Lilian was rather cute in his opinion and he had made sure he was able to highlight it by giving her the right makeup. Not too much, but just enough to highlight her natural looks. He had dark eyeliner along her upper and lower lash lines and a light to medium eyeshadow applied, gave her rosy cheeks, and light pink lips. Her dress was black lace, with a black choker to match, and cut out heels. He was quite proud of himself for being able to find the right look for her.

Looking at the empty seat beside her, he sat down and stared to push himself slowly on the swing. ”I promise you won’t have to be alone for much longer. I miss Eric too. You were so happy with him and I like it when you were together.” He kicked at the ground wishing the last doll that was here hadn’t tried to get away. Eric had tried to say that he’d only fallen, but he didn’t believe it. Not with the sad look on Lilian’s face. ”I need to go out to get some stuff done this morning, but then I’ll be back to play with you. I won’t be long… unless I find a friend for you, then it might take a while. I want you to be happy again. I don’t like it when you’re sad.”

As usual, ‘Lilian’ didn’t respond, nor did she move in any way to indicate what she was thinking or feeling. It had been months since she had last been able to move or make a sound and yet Kyrian still believed that he could hear her voice or know what she was saying to him. After a moment more of conversing with the doll, he stood up and went to get a headband with a large satin bow on it to stick in her hair. ”Is that better?” he paused as if waiting for her response and then nodded. ”Okay, I have to wake up the others then get going.” Kissing her forehead, he left the room to go see the other dolls.

The last room he visited was one where he had tried to recreate a merry go round. Or at least half of one. Most of it was painted on the wall to make it look like it was bigger, but there were three dolls that he had seated on three white plastic horses. In the same park that he had seen the couple in, he had also found an abandoned merry go round. Most of it was broken and in need of repair. Someone had even pulled some of the animals out and broken them. The horses Kyrian had taken were damaged too, though he ignored it. He was just happy that he had them and had managed to get them into the room and set up the way he wanted. That had been a challenge and he wouldn’t ever want to go through that again. Seated on the horses were three dolls, smiling as they waited for the music to start so they could begin their ride.

”You’re all so eager to ride the merry go round. One day maybe I’ll be able to go on a ride with you… You make it look so fun!” Winding up a music box he had be given by someone — or rather killed someone to get — he started to wind it up. I’ll get it started for you in just a minute.” Once the key wouldn’t move any further, he took it out and smiled as the music filled the room.

It was a cute, yet sad song and he could really spend all day listening to it, losing himself to the song and imagining riding on the merry-go-round with other kids and having a fun time. Of course, in these day dreams he was always younger, his mom and dad and sister were there with him and he was able to go out in the world like everyone else. He wasn’t sick with GENdisease and there were no doctors or scientists to poke at him with cold tools and needles. He was just… happy.

Watching the dolls a moment longer and imagining he was there playing with them, he turned and left before the music stopped, trying to hold onto that feeling and the sound of the lullaby for as long as possible. He was still humming it to himself, his doll hugged close to him when he found Anna waiting for him. When he saw her, he tucked his doll back in his bag, then grabbed her hand with a smile and started to lead her outside.

”Are you going to leave after breakfast or will you stay with me for a bit before seeing your client? It’ll be easier to get the chores done if I have someone with me.”

Like always, the streets were mostly deserted. The disease had claimed a large number of lives and of those who remained, unless there were non-infected, they were mostly scattered throughout the city. It made getting around easy — as long as you didn’t trip on any broken concrete or trip over pieces of buildings that had fallen down. There was never anyone around to fix any of this stuff anymore. ”I’m sorry I got angry when you said you had to work. I just don’t want you to go just yet. I had a dream you were taken away from me again. I don’t want to lose you.”

Letting go of her hand, he ran ahead when he saw something reflecting the sunlight. Kyrian hoped that it was some sort of metal or tin, something useful, or something he could trade for some pencils or a new sketch book. It didn’t take long to discover it was just trash, which was a bit of a let down. How was he going to prove to Anna that she didn’t have to work if he couldn’t even find one thing that he would be able to trade for his art supplies?


tab tab 「 Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 」Dollhouse ➣ The streets : 「 Wɪᴛʜ 」His dolls ➣ Anna : 「 Mᴏᴏᴅ 」 Hopeful, Nostalgic :「 Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 」100%

[Dangerosa]

Today, like most other days, had been quiet, the only noise that of pages turning, a pen scratching paper as notes were taken, an occasional thoughtful hum and soft classical background music. His office was filled with papers scattered across the desk, a bookcase bursting with books, so much so that there were even small piles on the ground around his workstation and on the corner of the desk. To the right of the bookcase, were notes and pictures that were taped to the wall, important things that he wanted to have easy access to and didn’t want to lose. To his right was a window that looked onto the street where, if his eyes needed a rest from the words in front of him, he could watch people walking by, or, if it was raining, the droplets of rain as they slid down the window, growing bigger as they moved down, only to split into smaller droplets as they reached a maximum size. Pointless entertainment.

His current subject was the founding of Astlin and as such, he had selected a number of books and papers all relating to the time period and had them piled on his desk as he slowly worked his way through them. Although many of the books didn’t exactly have anything to do with Astlin at all. They were about Chimeras, humans, the war, myths that spoke of Chimeras and various other classical sources, and books about different cultures that feature Chimeras in some shape or form. In order to understand how and why Chimeras settled in Astlin, he had to understand the circumstances surrounding their genesis and how the war impacted them. It helped when he was trying to focus on a specific time period if he could take a wide view of the subject matter and then work his way towards the more specific subject, hopefully being able to see the process through the eyes of those who had first settled the city and understand the urgency with which it was done and what the early founders had been trying to achieve.

His notes which were filled with a variety of different coloured inks, arrows and diagrams all helped him piece together what he had read in order to answer the question of how the piece of information he had just read fit in with what he had read previously. Occasionally, there would be a reference made to a document he had looked at when he last visited the archives and to the detailed notes he had taken on it. Sometimes there was a note to look at a sketch he’d made. To some, the notes may have seemed messy and unorganized, but as long as he understood it, that was all that mattered. Besides, he would probably go over this later and make a more organized copy of his notes so he wouldn’t have to keep flipping through pages if ever he wanted to refer to them again.

Once noon hit, he stretched and decided to go on a walk through the city while he ate his lunch. Sitting hunched over a desk was tiring on the muscles, but it was work that had to be done. And, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as when he had to be on his knees most of the day as he examined items in the ruins or traced over certain carvings so that he could have a copy of it in his notes. And the archives were… he could lose himself in there all day despite how much of a strain it could be as he examined documents and tried his best to separate pages that have become stuck together with time.

When the music stopped, and an almost eerie silence descended on the room, he returned to his desk and pulled out a plain white enveloppe that he had received earlier that morning. Honestly, he’d forgotten about it as he’d been far more excited to look through the file he had requested a few days ago, which had finally found its way to his desk. Hopefully it was nothing urgent or that he couldn’t get done after lunch. Today’s readings had been quite interesting and insightful.

The air was crisp and chilly, but with bright skies it didn’t feel all too bad. Still, he adjusted his clothing a little more so he wouldn’t feel the chill then proceeded to his favourite café for lunch. Walking inside, he greeted his favourite barista with a smile then proceeded to make his order : a chicken panini and a cup of coffee. While his order was being prepared, he walked over to his friend for a little bit of conversation and to catch up on how his studies were going, then once he had his food in hand he found a seat near the window to enjoy his lunch and read the letter : a summons from the General.

A deep frown crossed his face as he looked read the letter one more time to make sure that he was actually supposed to have received it. ”What could he want with me…?” he murmured as he reached for his drink. His work couldn’t have gotten him in any trouble could it? With a sigh and a shake of his head, he slipped the note back in his pocket and worked on finishing his lunch and trying to put the summons out of his mind for now.

tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab ———————➤ TIᗰᕮ ᔕKIᑭ

A brief stop back to the office after lunch was made to tell his assistant that he would might be gone for the rest of the afternoon, was met by the same question he had asked himself when he first read the note : what was this summons about? Emmett supposed he would get his answers soon enough and the sooner he got there, the sooner he could get back to work.

Following the winding stone path that ran alongside the water, it suddenly dawned on him just how rare this event was. It wasn’t often that he heard of anyone getting summoned and, if someone did, he expected it to be a soldier or other high ranking chimera. As far as he could recall, there was nothing similar to this recorded in any of the books he had come across so there was really nothing he could have used to prepare himself for what was to come.

By the time the mansion was in view, Emmett was rather nervous wondering what this all meant and praying it was nothing too serious. Steeling himself by the time he reached the entrance of the Mansion and the guard who waited him there, he offered the man a smile that seemed strangely at odds with the feeling of dread that was running through him the longer he stood outside the gates. ”I was summoned…” Emmett’s voice carried a slight upwards inflection, making his statement appear more like that of a question even as he passed the summons to the guard who verified that he was indeed required to be there.

The guard took a moment to read it before passing it back and telling him to proceed inside and present himself to April Garza to be lead to the conference room. Emmett couldn’t stop his eyebrows from shooting up in surprise. The April Garza?!? A glance at the guard’s face didn’t confirm or deny anything, so when he walked inside and saw the blonde standing there with two wolves, appearing rather annoyed, he was even more intrigued. This couldn’t be something that bad if Ms. Garza was here.

”G-good afternoon, Ms. Garza.” His confidence was beginning to return the more he spoke, though the look on her face wasn’t helping him any. ”I’m Emmett Davis. I was told you’d direct me to the conference room.”

Even before he had finished speaking one of the wolves was already starting to make its way towards a staircase. Emmett’s eyes followed it then looked at April whose face remained impassive, then at the wolf who seemed to be waiting for him halfway up the stairs. Right… follow the wolf.

”Thank you ma’am! Have a good day,” he said cheerfully, quickly moving to follow the dark wolf up the steps.

He did wish he could linger a bit and appreciate the craftsmanship of the mansion and the works of art on the wall, but there didn’t seem to be much time for that judging from the looks he got from the animal every time he lingered. Soon enough Jet stopped in front of a door and once Emmett reached for the doorknob, Jet started to make his way back down the stairs. ”Er.. thanks...” Emmett murmured under his breath.

Opening the door, he was greeted with his first friendly faces since arriving to this part of Astlin.

”Hi, Cas. It’s nice to see you here.”

If anyone was going to be summoned, he would have expected Cas to be one of them; he was a strong and capable Chimera and worked on patrol and was rather dedicated to his job. What the two of them had in common Emmett had no idea. And it wasn’t as though their last trek out the to ruins had been a problem either. In fact he believed it went rather well and there was no need to be concerned that their activities were putting anyone in danger.

Seated across from him was a Water Chimera, Audey Ikari. He had a few dealing with her as well, but they were more academic pursuits than anything, the exchange of information and the occasional borrowing of books. He found her just as smart and capable as Cas and her company enjoyable, but he still wondered where she fit into all of this. Still, he greeted her just as warmly as he did Cas.

"Good Afternoon, Audey, it's good to see you again."

Seeing the two of them, he could only imagine that they were called here because they sometimes did work outside of the city. But then Audey and Cas did far more of that than he did and could travel much further if they needed to. It was strange that now that he saw them here, he felt as though he had less of an idea of what the summons was for than when he had originally arrived.

”Do either of you have any idea what this is all about?”

tab tab ᒪOᑕᗩTIOᑎ Conference Room tab tab tab ᗯITᕼ Cas & Audey tab
tab tab ᔕTᗩTᑌᔕ Healthy

ooc://you only really have to read the stuff after the timeskip. got carried away

[mini_kat_xx]

The attacks came suddenly and without warning, but that wasn’t what bothered him. What bothered him was the fact that they knew he was on board. They knew that he was on the Brunhilda when they attacked and yet they had given him no warning. He had no time to prepare. As the first few attacks rocked the ship, he was struggling for balance and, not for the first time, he was cursing the frailty of this human form, one that had no tail to help him keep his balance, no claws to grant him purchase and keep him from stumbling into the bulkhead.

For one brief moment, he was frozen to the spot, the shrill, blaring cry of the alarm, the screams of the other travellers, the screech of engines and metal straining and the concussive sound of the blasts forming a cacophony within his head, preventing him from truly processing what was going on and throwing off his bearings, making him feel disoriented. His already poor vision swam, the scene before him looking as though it was filled with static the images jumbled together. What was normally an advantage had become a handicap.

It was only when one of the panicked travellers bumped into him as they rushed towards the escape pods that he realized he had to snap out of it if he was going to survive. Shaking his head in an effort to clear it, he focused on dimming the amount of sounds that reached his ears and attempting to sort out the sounds he was hearing in order to recenter himself, regain his balance and vision and move forward. He had to get to one of the escape pods.

Soon he found himself in the launching bay and ushered into an escape pod with nine other beings. His lips moved silently as he strapped himself, praying that Charr would stay his hand and not curse him to an afterlife of endless suffering and that Eurwen would preserve his life and the lives of all other beings in the pod and lead them to safety. He knew that sometimes the Rebels captured individuals for ransom or slavery or some other use, and to him, that would be the much preferred outcome. Getting abord a rebel ship would be much better than the possibility of being destroyed however many kilometres from home.

Unfortunately, it was as though the gods had other plans.

The console in the center of the pod indicated that the vessel had been taken over by one of the Alliance soldier. While this news could mean that he might be able to avoid meeting is end in a flash of plasma and an instant inferno in space, it also meant that unless whoever was controlling the ship was killed, there was a high likelihood that they would not be falling into Rebel hands either. That thought was confirmed after a nauseating amount of dodging, weaving, and frighteningly close calls when it began to feel as though the craft was starting to breach the atmosphere of a planet. Turbulence was increasing and breathing masks were dropping from the ceiling as the pressure changed rapidly.

The pod bounced once, hard, and despite being strapped in, his body was thrown violently within the restraints, his head hitting hard against the back of the seat. The first thought that crossed his mind once the craft struck the ground a second time was that he couldn't let his family down. He wasn't going to die off-world. Kyre struggled against the darkness that was quickly overcoming his vision, but the attempt was in vain, he passed out only seconds later.

tab tab tab tab tab TᙎO ᗪᗩYᔕ ᗩᘜO ◦◦◦

”Overall they don’t seem too concerned about an attack, but for a mission this important you'd think security would be a little heavier. Unless there are soldiers hiding among the passengers who I haven't been able to detect, ” Kyre trilled pensively. ”Have you heard anything?”

His friend shook his head before responding, ”No, nothing. And, for your sake, I hope things stay quiet. But you know the rebels will be tightlipped about their plans, especially to consultants.” Duorc clicked his tongue in annoyance. ”Enough business talk. Tell me about the trip.”

For the next few minutes, Kyre filled Duorc in on the beings he had met so far. The amenities of the ship and the various different regions it had to make the trip comfortable and enjoyable, the credits he'd won and lost gambling with some of the other passengers, a potentially new planet that they could exploit for information and other resources, his opinions on some of his fellow travellers. Before he knew it, it was time to say goodbye.

”No matter what happens,” Duorc whistled quietly. ”Be safe. Come back home.”

tab tab tab tab tab ᑭᖇᙓᔕᙓᑎT ᗪᗩY ◦◦◦

The sound of an alarm drowned out whatever words he was going to say and he slowly started to come around, memories flooding back to him. The attack, sirens blaring, the desperation to get to an escape pod, the treacherous flight away from the Burnhilda, the rocky entrance into the planet’s atmosphere, the hard landing. It all came back, and with hit, a dull ache that was blossoming into a throbbing pain at the back of his head, his neck, and his arm. Staring at his arm and waiting for it to come back into focus, he blinked a few times, giving a quiet sigh of relief that he hadn’t been so badly injured that it had caused him to take his base form to save energy. That would have probably resulted in even more injuries and a passenger or two with a wing in their face. And maybe some panic. As far as he knew, Neteris weren't a common sight in Alliance space.

Just behind him a door opened, though he didn't pay much attention to that, preferring the semi-darkness of the pod to the bright light outside. He was still a bit disoriented from what had just happened and needed a second to fully process the situation. Reaching up with his uninjured arm, Kyre pushed his hair out of his face, looking around for the shades that had fallen off during the crash landing. It took a moment for him to locate them, first starting to bend without undoing the restraints, but in the end having to unbuckle himself to do so. The belt caused an uncomfortable pressure along his skin, but he didn't think it was anything to be overly concerned about as there was no difficulty breathing.

Belatedly he realized that someone had spoken, and it took him a moment before he was able to recognize the voice as that belonging to the Lieutenant. Kyre didn't answer Alter's first question as he only just come to and didn't really try to check on the status of the other passengers. It was remarkable enough that they had managed to land this in one piece and he knew that the injuries could have been much worse if they hadn't.

"Where did you say that kit was?" he asked as he slipped on his shades, then swept his eyes over the console as he unsteadily got to his feet. There had to be a symbol or something to -- "Found it."

Bending down he retrieved the kit then as he turned to hand it over, his eyes fell on one of the other passengers. He might as well check on them before he gave the kit up. For all he knew if there were more soldiers who survived, they would use most of the supplies amongst themselves and there would be very little left for those inside the pod.

"Do you need anything from the kit? I... I'm going to check on the others and make sure they're alright."

Putting words into action, he stepped closer to one of the still unconscious survivors and checked for a pulse, then for any bleeding that should be stopped. He might not have any medical experience, but he did know that at the very least if there was any bleeding, especially from large wounds or from the head it should have priority over anything else.


tab tab ᒪOᑕᗩTIOᑎ Planet ??? - Escape Pod tab tab tab ᗯITᕼ The Survivors, Alter tab
tab tab ᖴᕮᕮᒪIᑎG Fearful, Uneasy

[Dangerosa]

Speaking to Dalia, to someone as invested in the arts as he was, was refreshing. Talking about music, or dancing, or even painting, always seemed much more fulfilling when he was speaking to a fellow aesthete. It had been almost half a year since he had been able to feel at ease and fully express himself like this to someone and have the sentiments reciprocated in kind.

He felt the way she had in the beginning : wanting to prove that he had the skills and the talent to make it, to be successful and to make something of himself. It was all so very personal and yet in each performance, the amount of effort and training, the struggle and frustration all all seemed to lead to a performance that was filled with emotion and yet seemed effortless, where playing — or in Dalia’s case, dancing — was second nature. No, first nature. As instinctual as breathing, something that was done without conscious thought or effort. It was in that moment where you felt alive, as though everything that happened before and after a performance was merely somnambulism.

But it wasn’t only that you felt alive as you performed, you exposed yourself, sometimes the darkest most vulnerable parts of yourself, to your audience. An artist gave a part of him or herself to their audience. The audience saw your accomplishments, but they were also the witness to your failings; they saw your greatest joys and they saw your lowest points. An audience could critique or they could judge, pull you up or bring you crashing back down where you fall without the benefit of a chute. Those with a true appreciation for the arts would see your struggles, know what it took to get you to the point you were at, and if ever their critique was scathing, generally, most times he had discovered, they gave you the parachute before pushing you from the plane.

He couldn’t say the same about the non initiated.

As their eyes met, he looked at her not just with a renewed and strengthened amount of respect, but with an understanding only two people who shared a common interests and perspective on a particular subject could have. While playing in front of someone he didn’t know too well had always felt like a bit of a daunting task, especially when he couldn’t just get lost in the string section, maybe tonight would be easier for him. For them both.

”I’m off today,” he sad as he took a sip of his coffee. ”And don’t have anything planed for the rest of the afternoon, so whenever is most convenient for you, just let me know.”

As for where they could possibly go, Ethan paused for a minute and thought it over. The Hall had a lounge, but that was a bit too public and he didn’t believe either of them really wanted to have much of an audience. Then their were their rooms and, if Ethan were honest with himself, his place wasn’t always the most organized. He really should get around to cleaning it, but he couldn’t be bothered. But… since he had been the one to suggest they get together, it only seemed right that he offer his apartment as the place for the dance… and then he would work like hell to make sure it was all cleaned up so she wouldn’t be tripping over his things.

”Unless you had someplace else in mind, we could meet at my place later this afternoon.” And hopefully at a time that would give him a chance to make his place look a little more presentable.

Apparently he was missing out on what could be a rather enjoyable part of life in Kingston. At least judging from Dalia’s response to his question about the city’s night life. But, her description of this bar seemed to hit the nail on the head. The bar was homey. Welcoming. And had a simplicity and a charm about it that was alluring. The booths were comfortable; there were plenty of windows to allow for natural lighting, which made the place feel open; and the art pieces on the wall were interesting enough to be conversation pieces as there was certainly a history to them. And the music Dalia claimed was played at this bar did contribute to that homey feel as well.

The lounge she spoke of also sounded like a place that could potentially be quite stimulating and inspiring and maybe by going there, he would pick up a new trick or two. Sometimes he almost envied the way they were able to perform so confidently. Nodding, he decided that it would be a worthwhile adventure. ”I think I would enjoy going to the lounge with you one night. It sounds like it has an atmosphere I could appreciate.

“As for where I work, I work the Empress. A steakhouse and wine bar downtown,” he clarified, uncertain whether or not she was familiar with it. ”If you’ve never been there, I’d recommend it. Honestly, the food’s great. Pricy but worth every cent.”

For a moment, Dalia seemed lost in her thoughts, eyes closed and perhaps enjoying a song that was audible only to her. Smiling slightly, Ethan looked away to see the waitress approaching with their meals, and quietly thanking her so as to not disturb Dalia too much. Spreading a bit of butter over his waffle, he cut off a small piece of the waffle and egg, curious as to what it taste like together. Seemed like a rather unique combination in his opinion, but it was actually far better than he thought it would be.

The door to the bar opening and closing caught his attention and he looked over to see a girl who looked to be about his age walking in. She didn’t look familiar to him, so his eyes only stayed long enough to watch her walk over to the bar before returning to his breakfast companion who also had her eyes on the stranger. Except looking at Dalia, Ethan had the distinct impression that the two ladies knew each other. Perhaps not that well, judging by the slight furrowing of her brow, but there was some element of familiarity.

Opening his mouth to ask if Dalia was an acquaintance of the short haired girl, he paused seeing her gesture to him, and watched curiously as Dalia called the individual over to their booth. He wondered then if acquaintance was too strong of a word as the girl seemed uncertain whether or not she was really being addressed and took a moment before beginning to walk over to their table.

Dalia’s dulcet tones drew his attention back to her, though her statement had him taking another look at the stranger, his knife and fork suspended in midair. ”Really? I don’t think I remember seeing her before.” Although he could be mistaken. He may have seen her in the halls but it was such a brief encounter that he couldn’t remember it. Regardless, he would be getting acquainted with her now.

”The waffle is actually quite tasty. Never had waffles and eggs before, but it works.” Talk about the food reminded him about the utensils that he still kept hovered, and he cut another piece off to eat and asked Dalia about hers, just as the stranger reached their table.

Up close, Ethan noticed that the girl had a kind face, though she did appear a bit nervous at present. Her voice was lightly accented, which seemed to indicate that English wasn’t her first language, but her words words portrayed a willing and helpful attitude. Ethan smiled back and her and scooted over a bit on his bench to make room.

”Would you like to join us? I think we’re neighbours at Blessed Dreams Hall.” Ethan glanced at Dalia to make sure she would be okay with his offer to have someone else join them. This morning’s breakfast was turning out to be a bit more social than what he usually had so why not enjoy the presence of another person’s company?

”I’m Ethan McCall and this is Dalia Harlingsworth,” he said gesturing to her. ”We would enjoy getting to know another one of our neighbours.”

tab tab tab ⟦ 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ⟧ A Bar tab tab ⟦ 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 ⟧ Dalia and ??? (Hajime) tab tab

Quote:

Blue Voltaire

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Ecchi Pantsu

[Dangerosa]

Ethan hummed a note in curiosity, wondering what the stranger could have been doing wandering the halls at night. Of course it could have been any number of things from work to classes to spending a night in town, but the last didn't seem to be in character for the girl as she approached the table almost timidly and did seem to have an air of innocence about her. Although he could be mistaken. There were those who, although appearing as though they would never know anything about the darker side of life, were quite well versed and knew far more about night life and life on the streets than he would have ever imagined.

But as he continued to eat his breakfast and watch the two women interact, there was something — he just couldn't put his thumb on it — that indicated, at least to him, that he was right to make that assumption about her. She played with her hands and her coat, seemingly nervous, though whether that was simply from force of habit or a nervous tick was something he couldn't be sure about. Still, he couldn't see himself ever being able to imagine her out in a bar or club. She was just too quiet for that.

A moment more of hesitation, a flicker of her eyes between the spot he had offered her and the seat Dalia had offered, had Ethan barely able to hide the slight smile that pulled at the corner of his lips. To hide it, he leaned back in his seat, picking up the napkin and wiping his mouth, momentarily avoiding eye contact with both ladies and looking out the window while a decision was made. If asked, he wouldn't be able to adequately state what it was about that moment that made him have such a reaction. He couldn't even rationalize it in his head except to say that to him it was always easier, he always felt more comfortable sitting beside a peer than someone he believed to have already made something with their life.

Mentally shrugging the thought away, as he put the napkin back down beside his plate, he looked up when he saw the waitress returning with two more glasses of orange juice, one of which Dalia gave to the new girl before proposing a toast to new neighbours. That was something he most certainly could drink to. This morning was turning out to be altogether different from any of the others he had had previously. Instead of a breakfasting alone in his room or at some coffee shop down the street, he was with interesting company. Well he could say with certainty that one of the ladies he was breakfasting with was interesting. The other, he was still trying to decipher and didn't even know her name.

It was only as they each took a sip from their respective drinks that the dots connected and he looked to Dalia with his surprising and a understanding lighting up his eyes. When they'd first made their orders, she had requested an orange juice with 'something extra' added to it. As what returned was a rather fancy looking glass of orange juice, he didn't really think much of it until he caught sight of their neighbour's reaction to the drink. Not quite juice then, and what he had taken for a light blush might just be a result of the drink.

Ethan gave her a brief smile, while Hajime introduced herself and said a little about her time at Blessed Dreams Hall. To be honest, were it not for Dalia pointing out that they were neighbours and Hajime confirming it, he probably never would have known about her. As a neighbour, Hajime was very quiet — they all were to some extent and for that he was grateful. Though he did live on the top floor so if ever there were kids running around in any of the other rooms he couldn't hear it.

"It's a nice to meet you Hajime," he replied with a smile. "All the residents I've run into seem very polite and respectful, and I don't think I could say anything against any of my neighbours." And even if he could, he wouldn't it voice it out loud unless it was to such an extent that he could't tolerate the distraction anymore.

"What brought you to Kingston?" he asked after giving Dalia a moment to comment on what Hajime had said. "Are you studying at the University or looking for a change of pace?"

The purpose of the question was two-fold really. One, to see if his earlier guess about her nightly habits might have some merit; and two, to perhaps see if they had something in common besides their living arrangements. Ethan almost hoped she was a student or college-age so he would have someone he could relate to outside of work. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he did feel that since arriving here, his social circle had decreased enormously. He had met Litia, and by extension Kyler and Jona, and now Dalia, but with all of them he could still feel that there was a slight gap between them. On a certain level he would say that the gap between him and Dalia wasn't much of an issue, but he knew that it would take more time before he could ever really feel as though they were on the same level.

"Dalia mentioned that you seem to be out a lot at night. If you're a night owl, maybe you'd join us one evening downtown." He glanced at Dalia with a somewhat sheepish and apologetic smile, not wanting to put her on the spot too much. "As long as it's alright with you. I wouldn't mind spending more than one evening in your company."


tab tab tab ⟦ 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ⟧ Bar tab tab ⟦ 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 ⟧ Dalia, Hajime tab tab

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Night Mary Annette




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Dun Jihn

[Dangerosa]

Time seemed to move quickly as one by one, the seats in the conference room started to fill up. Besides himself, Cas, and Audey, there was Wren and two other women he didn’t quite know so well. He greeted them all with a smile and a kind ‘hello’, but seeing as whatever theory he may have come up with to explain the reason behind their summons was quickly being debunked, he didn’t offer much more by the way of conversation. All he suspected was that they had each received a letter requesting their presence at the mansion and, as it was unexpected to receive such an invitation from a General, they had each showed up.

Two o’clock came and went without ceremony and a couple of seats had yet to be filled and the General had not made his appearance. Humming softly to himself and leaning back in his chair, Emmett wondered if perhaps he had read the letter wrong, but then dismissed it as it couldn’t be possible that all of them had arrived to the meeting much too early. Maybe it was something that had delayed the General. In that case, Emmett wished he had taken his time in getting here as he could have done a bit more research instead of sitting idly waiting for a meeting to start. It wasn’t that he was impatient really; but just that he liked feeling productive. The silence and sitting here doing nothing, but wondering what would happen next made him feel just a bit more nervous about what was going to take place than he had been originally.

Finally, the door opened to admit a tall, well-built, dark-skinned man carrying a cardboard box. Despite the tardiness, he walked with purpose and had an aura of authority surrounding him. Not so much that it was off-putting, but the man commanded attention. Sitting up a little more in his seat, Emmett’s gray eyes watched the general’s movements trying to discern some clue that could perhaps tell him what this was all about. The cardboard box was plain and ordinary and didn’t do much to indicate what could possibly be in it.

The man was silent for a few moments, before removing a set of folders from the box and starting to take note of who was here and who was missing. Once that was accomplished, the man distributed the folders to everyone in the room and left without saying a word. Curious.

Emmett looked down at the folder he had been given, seeing his name printed on the tab and starting to flip through. Almost instantly, his jaw dropped once he discovered its contents. not only were official and professional documents such as his birth certificate, a copy of his diploma, and the abstract of one of his papers in the file, but more personal and intimate information was included in it as well. There was information about the time he had fallen and broken his leg. Details about his involvement in certain academic pursuits while he was in school. The results of games of pool and darts that he had played against his friends. A brief mention of a few panel discussions he had given in recent months. It was with an almost morbid sense of fascination that he continued to skim through the documents in the folder which detailed elements of his life that he thought were private, right up to what he had been doing during the last few days.

It bothered him just how thorough they — whoever they were — had been in collecting this information and it left him feeling almost nauseated by the fact that he was being watched and monitored for, seemingly, his entire life.

”This is incredible,” he breathed, turning to examine a different page in the folder.

It was unbelievable how much of his life was detailed within these pages, and, as he looked up at the other seated around the table, he could view similar reactions displaced on the faces of those who were there with him. There had to be a reason for this. No, what reason could they have for this? It was as extensive of a background check as he had ever seen and one whose presence he had been unaware of until the folder had landed in front of him.

By the time the general returned, Emmett was eager to start asking questions, especially when he saw that relaxed pose of his. His only worry was that it might be out of place to just ask questions, but that quickly was brushed aside when he realized that they didn’t have a right to be monitoring his daily activities to the extent that they had been for the last few days, if not longer.

”What’s the reason for all of this?” he asked, finding his voice finally. Then, thinking the better of it and softening his tone a little, he added, ”Sir,” deciding that he could be a little more respectful, despite the fact that he felt… rather upset after viewing the contents of the folder.

He didn’t have to wait too long before receiving an answer, though an answer that went around the issue before getting to it directly.

Closing the folder and putting it back on the table, Emmett trained stormy, yet curious eyes at the general and listened to the explanation, biting his tongue to keep from jumping in when the man paused and invited responses from the group. Regardless of what was said, he was going to give them an answer. One that listed the various skills of the others in the room, and had the wind chimera’s eyes softening slightly and looking around, trying to fit the skill that was mentioned to the individual seated around the table. Emmett recognized himself in the list, but couldn’t really tell for certain who had what skill, though if anyone reacted in a certain way when the talent was mentioned, he may have had some indication.

At the end of his explanation, the general finally did seem to answer his question and the answer left his mouth feeling dry. Going outside the cave was something that he was permitted to do because of his research, so that in itself was nothing to write home about. But to be permitted to go to the other side of the mountain range? That was something he had only dreamed about. But… not with these particular strings attached. ‘A team for Astlin’s use’. What exactly did that entail? He was a researcher, an academic, and nothing more. If this were a research based assignment he would be nearly jumping out of his seat in excitement, but as the general went on to explain that there was no refusing this ‘offer’ and that it would involve fighting to a certain extent, all he wanted to do was to have the power to will whatever skills had made him stand out from the crowd onto another.

”Approximately how long will we have to be working together, Sir? Not that I have anything against anyone here,” he flashed a smile, hoping that no one would take offense to his question. ”But, uh, fighting has never been one of my strengths and I do tend to feel more at home among old books and deserted cities than on any sort of battlefield.”

Regardless of what the answer was, Emmett knew that he would try his best not to let the rest of the group down. He just worried whether or not the amount of training the would be getting before being sent out in the world would be enough. If most of them had not seen combat before or had never worked together before, he wondered just how well this was all going to go.

tab tab ᒪOᑕᗩTIOᑎ conference room tab tab tab ᗯITᕼ everyone tab
tab tab ᔕTᗩTᑌᔕ healthy

[Dangerosa]

Were it not for the fact that he was sure that it wouldn’t be appreciated by Hajime and he was nearly positive that Dalia wouldn’t want any attention drawn to it, Ethan would have laughed. As it were, his eyes lit up with a form of laugher of its own and a smile threatened to pull his lips upwards until he looked away from Dalia. That subtle reaction and acknowledgement of being found out was girlishly cute. A charm to it that was attractive in its own right and perhaps even innocently beguiling. Ethan had never really been one to indulge in certain vices — drinks, drugs, coitus — despite the almost overwhelming appeal of such activities to those in his age range. He didn’t quite understand the need to do so or why it seemed to permeate society to such an extent. Dalia perhaps had a reason for such an early morning drink, though what it was, Ethan could only guess : to clear her thoughts, to allow her mind to drift, to feel more submersed in the moment, to maintain that allure of mystic in a setting which forbade the use of smoke. And perhaps it was none of those and something altogether different.

The thoughts came and went in an instant, following the rise and fall of the dancer’s voice as she responded in turn to Hajime, and as they shared a look, he could only smile back and nod, a humming a soft note of agreement to her statement. An environment that was quiet and free from outside distractions was always best for concentrating of perfecting a skill or talent. For that he was grateful to both Hajime and Dalia for being such good neighbours.

Though in the next second, Ethan was blinking in confusion as he heard Hajime's response to his question. It threw him for a moment as he wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to it or to her for that matter, since that hadn’t exactly been the type of answer he was looking for with the question. But perhaps he had worded it badly and it was just a misunderstanding. Ethan was silent for a heartbeat as he collected his thoughts, trying to form his words in a way that would not cause Hajime any more discomfort.

”I’m sorry if the question upset you,” he started, keeping his words measured and his eyes on her face, hoping that she would look up at him again. If she did, she would see the apology in his eyes. He had’t meant to imply that she was born elsewhere with the question.

”I only meant to ask what brings you to BDH. You mentioned that you’re living on your own, so I was asking if it was for school or if you simply wanted a change of pace. If we were to go out one evening as a group, it would be nice to know what your schedule looks like or any activities you enjoy so we can plan on a night that would be enjoyable for all of us.” he gave her a small apologetic smile, then finished off the rest of his drink while thinking of the ways that could have gone better.

It helped that Dalia seemed to smooth over that rather awkward moment in the conversation with a comment confirming Hajime’s invite to spend a night on the town with them. He had an urge to ask, seeing as Hajime was born in Kingston and according to Dalia spent a good deal of time enjoying the nightlife, what places she would recommend, but it bit his tongue and held back on it for now. Maybe later when they actually had something confirmed he would bring it up. For now it was still a matter of if, not when.

Instead, he payed more attention to listening to the soft lilt of Hajime’s voice and being about to make it out over the growing murmur of conversation around him. They’d been in the bar for while a while and it was slowly starting to fill up with more patrons as the city started to come fully awake and show to visitors and residents alike the true nature of Kingston.

As with most cities, Kingston seemed to wake up and come fully alive with the passage of time, coming fully awake for a brief moment when the sun descended and making their way back to their beds by moonset and only a few hours before the sun was to rise again. It was strange and unfamiliar, but wonderful to watch all the same. An excitement building in the air with the sounds of the voices around him that was contagious. A type of energy that appeared lacking in the suburbs, but grew in strength and intensity the closer one went to the heart of the city. It was like a spark that travelled from person to person, imperceptibly through the air and yet it was almost tangible.

That spark, the feeling of being energized, grew as conversed with Dalia and Hajime, even more so when he heard of the latter’s shared interest in the arts. With interests in photography and having studied music and taken voice lessons when she as young, Hajime seemed very well rounded, and, he supposed, perhaps someone who might not look at him as though he grew a second head if ever he started speaking of the influences of Haydn on Mozart.

”I think I would like to see some of the pictures you’ve taken one day. What particular subject do you photograph most often? I can imagine you’d have some incredible shots from the rooftops.”

He couldn't help but smile as she described that feeling of being on the rooftops. Ethan could only imagine that the sense of freedom, and perhaps euphoria, that she got from being up high, was similar in some respect to that which he got when playing music and how Dalia felt when she danced. It was just that incredible out of body experience that one got from pursuing something they enjoyed and immersing themselves in it so completely.

"Maybe, if your schedules allow it, we could visit an art gallery then end the night at one of the lounges in the city,” Ethan gave both ladies a hopeful smile, wondering if that would be one way they could, at the very least, take in a bit of each of their interests and make the most of a night.



tab tab tab ⟦ 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ⟧ A Bar tab tab ⟦ 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 ⟧ Dalia, Hajime tab tab

Night Mary Annette

Dun Jihn

ooc

[Dangerosa]

The preparations had been made the night before, everything that he would be needing to take with him to the desert Kingdom was packed away and ready to be loaded into the carriages. Despite this being a neutral territory, he was insisting on carrying his sword with him. He didn’t care what message it sent to the other kingdoms, he wasn’t leavening Covenell without its familiar weight on his hip.

Earlier that morning he had said his goodbyes to his mother and father, wanting to have the rest of the day to spend time with friends, and then take some time to do a bit of sparring to vent his frustrations at having to be sent to some Kingdom to wed a stranger. He knew arranged marriages were nothing new, though usually if one took place, the two individuals would spend a good deal of time before the wedding getting to know each other. In this case, he knew nothing about the princess he was to marry save for the fact that tying himself to her would end the war.

Refreshed from his bath to clean up after the intense bout of sparring with some of the soldiers, and dressed in some of his most formal attire, his sword strapped to his hip, Lucas took a moment to look out over the kingdom, reflecting on the fact that today was the last time he and his sister would probably be home together, barring any events that would necessitate her traveling to Covenell. He had spent seven years involved in a war with infrequent trips home and now that he was finally able to reacquaint himself with his baby sister she would be taken from him. Could this not have been postponed for just a few more months? For most of his life, the Marina he had known was reserved, shy, she kept to herself and didn’t make waves. Now he was learning that in the years since his departure she had matured, become stronger and more outgoing. It was at times, a bit overwhelming to see a sister who he had always believed would need him at her side, was able to not only stand up for herself, but was flinging herself into whatever life gave her and now living it to the fullest.

Walking over to his desk, he picked up the leather bracelet he had had made so that his sister’s bracelet was woven between the strands of leather. Marina had given him the bracelet when he had left for the war along with a doll that he had kept with him the entire time, tokens to remember her by. Not wanting to lose the bracelet by having it slip out of a pocket, he’d worn it for as long as he could before resorting to wrapping it around the leather binding on his sheath. Since he’d returned from the war, he’d decided to get it made into a bracelet so he could still wear it… and it appeared to have been a wise decision as now she would be taken from him and this was the only way he would be able to keep her close at all times.

A knock on the door singled that the carriages were ready and there was no more delaying this. Regardless of whether or not he was ready for this, it was now or never. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, he wondered if this could possibly be more terrifying than facing down a dragon in battle, and then opened the door, appearing confident for the world and not letting them see that he was not feeling ready in the slightest for this trip.

As expected, there was a servant at the door with his fist raised as if to knock again, but one he saw Lucas standing there, his eyes widened and he bowed. ”Your highness, the carriages are ready. Their majesties will be there to see you and her highness off.”

Lucas nodded and started down the hall when a thought struck him and he looked back at the servant. ”Where is my sister?” He should probably go check on her and make sure she was alright....

As if sensing what he was about to do, the servant quickly shook his head. ”I believe your parents will be attending to Princess Marina, Sir.”

Slowly Lucas nodded and continued outside towards the carriages, feeling as though he was losing his freedom with each step he took towards Naixtza.

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💦 𝐿𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 tab covenell - outside by the carriages
❄X 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 tab tab l no one
💦 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝒹 tab tab l nervous

[Dangerosa]

The sound of someone moving around in his vicinity brought him instantly out of his thoughts. His hand reached for the knife strapped to his side, his body tensed and his eyes searching for the figure. Whoever it was had just made a mistake. They’d had clearly had the upper hand and decided to blow it. However, maybe it was their intention, a brief warning before trying to off him. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had come after him for his crown and he was certain it wouldn’t be the last. He started moving, taking a step to get behind cover and plan his counter-attack when he saw her.

And then it was as though time had stopped. His lips moved to form her name, but no sound came out. Not a day went by without him wishing he could see her again to tell her what a fool he was and how sorry he was for how he’d treated her. And now to see her standing here before his eyes was almost surreal. It had him doubting that this really was his Meredith. For all he knew it could be nothing more than an illusion brought on by someone from a rival gang, or Anna deciding to assume Mer’s form for shits and giggles. Meredith wasn’t infected. She had no reason to be out in these streets. This couldn’t be her… and yet, he refused to move to attack or defend himself from a possible attack. How could he when he wasn’t even sure if what he was seeing was real. And even if this were an illusion or Anna in disguise, he couldn’t hurt her. Not without feeling like he was hurting the one person whom he had sworn to protect.

As she approached, Zeph’s tensed stance didn’t change, but his hand moved away from his weapon while his eyes searched her face. She looked shorter than he’d remembered, her eyes were scared, and yet trusting and hopeful, and her hair was still that vibrant shade of pink that he remembered. There was so much about her that was perfect, just the way he remembered it, better than he’d remembered it. If it were Anna, she had some uncanny accuracy. If this was an illusion… it couldn’t be. If it was he would probably be dead by now. Or his enemies were doing a damned good job at learning his weakness.

At the feeling of her hand on his face, he flinched, stepping back and out of reach. As much as he wanted to stay close to her and feel her skin on his own, he didn’t want this to be a trick. He didn’t want to let his guard down and suddenly lose his life without finding her. It had been years and his luck wasn’t this good. As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, he didn’t deserve another chance. Not after what he did to her… not after he became who he was today.

It was her whispered words, which seemed so much louder in the silence of the deserted mall that had him snapping out of it, finally realizing that the person standing before him was Meredith. His Meredith and not some illusion. Not Anna in disguise. ”You’re really here,” he whispered, as her soft form pressed against his in a close embrace.

His arms wrapped around her tightly and he held onto her as though he was afraid that at a moment’s notice she would vanish and disappear once more. Just holding her in his arms like this, the way he had when they had emerged from hiding after their neighbourhood was ‘cleaned’ and they were some of the last two standing in the nearly empty area they had once called their home. It was then, when they both rose from the rubble, that he had first really noticed that clean, gentle smell, that was so comforting and pure. It was a smell that he would always associate with Mer. The same one that he could smell now.

Once he realized it, his hold on her shifted somewhat and he couldn’t do much more than whisper her name as relief and joy overwhelmed him. And then in a heartbeat, he seemed to realize where they were, how exposed they were, and what he had done to her in the past. Pulling away from her, his eyes searched her face, recommitting every detail to memory, because truly, if she were infected, he knew he wouldn’t have much time with her…. unless… unless he could find a way to help her beat the disease.

”Why the ******** are you apologizing?” he asked, grabbing her arm and leading her into one of the store that would hopefully be out of sight and give them enough cover if they were attacked. ”It was my fault, Mer. It was all my ******** fault. I'm the one who should be asking for your forgiveness.” If he had been better to her, stronger, she wouldn’t have felt the need to leave. If he hadn’t been friends with her, her older siblings would never have felt the need to make sure that they stayed together, she could have stayed with them. If he had never been infected… if he wasn’t a toxie….

”There’s nothing to forgive, b***h. I let you down, I ******** ruined your life,” Zeph looked at her, regret and apology in his eyes. If only he’d been stronger, healthier. ”I couldn’t even keep you safe. What the ******** are you even doing out here, Mer? Please don’t tell me you’re sick.” It was bad enough that he was infected. But for her to be infected too, especially when he wasn’t even sure he had found a way to make sure the virus was effective on adults without killing them, was bad. But he sure as hell wouldn’t let her die.

tab tab 𝔏𝔬𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 mall tab tab tab 𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔥 meredith tab
tab tab 𝔖𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔰 healthy

[Dangerosa]

That was what he was afraid of. If Anna worked with him, they would finish everything so much faster. And then she would go to work and he would be stuck playing with his dolls again. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his dolls, but he would much rather be spending time with Anna than with his dolls. Especially now that they didn’t really talk to him as much as they used to and finding a new doll wasn’t all that easy.

Sometimes it was like he had just traded one type of prison for another. His parents had locked him in a room for years, not even bothering to let him outside for fear that he would infect other people. Anna didn’t use doors or keys, but made sure that he always had a doll to play with and wouldn’t miss her too much when she was gone.

Sometimes he wondered if it was something that he had done wrong. Was this what life outside his room was really supposed to be like? Kyrian could remember drawing trees, and animals and pictures of buildings that he would have liked to visit when he was younger. He’d drawn picture of Anna. Stick figures at first, but slowly getting better at adding details to the pictures, making them come alive on the page because it was only on paper where he could really live out his dreams and get away from the nightmares.

And then there was his doll. His doll that he whispered secrets to. The doll that spoke to him and told him to be strong even when the doctors were poking and prodding at him. Drawing blood for tests and giving him pills to swallow to try to stop the pain. Until they decided that it was time for a test. His doll had warned him that it would be bad — they had never put anything in him before, only taken stuff out. But his parents said it would make him better and he could see Anna again. He trusted them…

Rubbing at the injection spot on his arm, Kyrian stared down at the trash at his feet. Before the disease… what was life even like before the disease? Before he got sick? How would they use junk for art? The rubbing turned into scratching and were it not for the fabric that covered it, he would probably have started tearing into his skin again. Stress caused it. Feeling like he was diving into something unfamiliar, and memories that bubbled up to the surface at the thought of life before the disease.

”I’ll make something amazing out of this, you’ll see,” he murmured as he bent down to pick it up. Kyrian wasn’t sure what he would make with it, but maybe he could find something in a book. There weren’t any museums around. At least none that he’d seen on this side of the wall. Life moved forward for those who were infected, not back. Stores reopened, some services were available. Books were far easier to get than technology. Old paintings were scooped up and sold to those who could afford them… or hoarded by people who had an interest in it. Antiques were salvaged for other uses. Nothing out here could really afford to go to waste.

”Will things ever go back to how they used to be when you were little?” he asked once he finished gathering what he thought would be enough material to create something impressive. ”I want… I want a chance to have what you had. I… I was too little go go to school when I got sick and leaving home didn’t change things.” Straightening, he held onto the strap of his bag, knuckles white, nails digging into his palm, and continued forward, looking for anything that would be of use to both of them. ”I wanna go to school. Just for a day. To see what it’s like.”

He didn’t want to face her. What if she thought this idea was stupid? He wasn’t sure if he’d voiced it before, but as he got older and Anna almost always seemed to be busy with work, he just wished he had something to make his days a little more interesting. He could only learn so much from reading and it was probably the last few books that he’d read through that made him more interested in the idea of school than he had been in the past. He just wanted to be more like Anna… to be like everyone else. ”I just wanna be normal,” he said so softly he wasn’t sure if she would hear. The scars on his arms, the cuts on his palms, the nightmares and the pain that came together with the force of a voice in his head that constantly reminded him that he was different. No matter how many times he yelled back and said that he was fine. Anna said he was fine. The memories also said differently.


tab tab 「 Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 」Streets : 「 Wɪᴛʜ 」Anna : 「 Mᴏᴏᴅ 」 Worried :「 Hᴇᴀʟᴛʜ 」100%

[Dangerosa]

Lucas was finding it a little difficult to get a good read on Drucilla. Though he felt confident in what he was saying, her reaction to his words, which he meant only to try to put her at ease, seemed to be doing the opposite. He wasn't getting the sense that she was feeling more comfortable around him and that she wouldn't feel the need to be anyone else but herself. The warning his mother had given him before he'd departed for Naixtza seemed to echo through his mind with a sterner voice and more clearly this time, but he had no idea how he could be more accepting or what else he could to that would make her feel like he was at least willing to give this a chance and not write it off from the very beginning.

His refusal of her offer to allow Kivu to spy on his sister and her fiancé also seemed to have upset her somewhat. Although she nodded to show she was okay with it, he wondered if she thought that by showing him what she had been able to do during the war, he would reacted differently. Truly, he was impressed with her abilities, both stated and implied, but the war would soon be over, his sister, as much as he did care for her and prayed to the goddesses that she would be happy with her betrothed, had grown up in the years he had left and didn't constantly need to be protected and watched out for, despite the small voice in his head that was calling him an idiot for turning down such a perfectly good offer. He had to just convince himself that Marina would tell him if something went wrong and that it wasn't so much her betrothed that he needed to worry about, but other men with less scrupulous morals.

There was also a sadness to Drucilla. Not knowing who she was without the war to give her existence some meaning had to be rather difficult. There was more to this physical existence than a rank or station, than fighting endlessly in a war. Wasn’t there something she was passionate about? That she cared for above all else? What about her kingdom and people? Wasn’t serving them part of her? He was positive it was and he wondered if maybe there was some way he could help her see that... or remember something that she had been interested in as a child that she might still be passionate about today.

Drucilla’s revelation, momentarily shocked him into silence as he wondered just who this princess would have been were it not for the war. The servant’s arrival was a welcomed distraction from his thoughts though the news he brought with him and the reminder that they would be sharing a room that night had him half tempted to ask if there was any other spare rooms in the castle. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how he wanted to look at it, the moment passed and he continued to walk in silence beside his betrothed until they reached their room.

Walking into the room didn't present much of a surprise, but he would be thanking the goddesses either way for the fact that there was a small sitting area in the room and a couch that looked comfortable enough to sleep in for at least a night. It wouldn't be the best night's rest he had ever had, but he'd slept on far worse.

"I was planning on taking the couch anyway," he said gesturing to it briefly as he moved over to the bed to take a few of the pillows for himself then begin to look around for extra blankets. "Not sure whether to be grateful that we won't be here for too long."

Finding what he needed for the night, he dropped them on the couch and then started to look around the room for his things, finding that most of the items he had brought were already unpacked and placed in the drawers and closets. It didn't look like the trip to Naixtza or the servants had damaged or misplaced anything so that was a relief. It was also reassuring that they didn't decide to place his belongings and Drucilla's in the same closet or right next to each other in the drawers, which was also reassuring. They could still have some measure of separation despite these conditions.

"It makes no difference to me," he replied with a slight shrug, removing his sword from his side and putting it to rest beside the couch so it would be easily accessible to him if something happened in the night. Lucas was sure that some habits he'd acquired during the war would take a while to break and this was one of them. "I can leave the room if you'd be more comfortable." It didn't look like she would require any help getting out of her dress, but with women's fashion, one could never be certain.

Honestly, it really did make no difference to him as eventually they would have to get used to each other's presence. Not that he envisioned that happening any time soon. Slipping the gloves off his hands, he unbuttoned his shirt a bit to make it feel less constricting. He wasn't intending to get changed right here in front of Drucilla, but now that they weren't around anyone else, hd didn't have to appear so formal and uptight and could relax a bit.

"If you have any questions for me or about Covenell, please don't be afraid to ask. I'm not as cold and distant as some stories say," he smiled a little to show he was joking about that last part, though he wasn't entirely sure how much of that was a joke. There were times when he actually was quite distant and it did make it difficult for others to know exactly what was on his mind.

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💦 𝐿𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 tab bedroom
❄X 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 tab tab l drucilla
💦 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝒹 tab tab l trying to relax

[Dangerosa]

Meredith insisting that he wasn’t to blame for everything that had happened, had Zeph looking at her in incredulity. How could she possibly think that it wasn’t his fault that she had left? He pushed her away, he hurt her, and he never did anything to try to make things right. He couldn’t even stop her from walking away that day. He just let her go without a fight. In that last moment when he could have made his strongest argument to try to convince her that she was his world, he had remained quiet, only offering a weak protest and believing that she would come back to him. That she had to… but also remembering that he had thought the same of his parents and they hadn’t returned for him either. Even knowing that he didn’t even fight for her the way he should have.

”Stop ******** saying things like that. You got upset because of me and what I did. No matter how much power I got, I didn’t try hard enough for you. I could have ******** tried harder. Spent more time looking for you. How the hell could you have found one Toxie in all of this?” he waved his hand dismissively to indicate the rubble and debris of civilization that surrounded them. There was nothing out here. Nothing but death, crazies and destruction.

Looking away from her, Zeph’s eyes were constantly in motion as he kept a lookout for anyone suspicious in the area and tried to listen for any footsteps or sounds of someone approaching. Running one of the biggest gangs brought with it paranoia, but what really worried him right now were the other rabid mutts who were running around. Kids like Anna’s little brother who were so twisted by the disease or something else that they couldn’t tell right from ******** wrong and did whatever they felt like for shits and giggles. That was what worried him more than the other gangs. At least those people could be reasoned with.

But avoiding eye contact with her for a moment wasn’t only to keep watch and make sure that they wouldn’t be found and Mer wouldn’t be hurt, but he also had this sense that she had moved on with her life since they parted ways. There was something about the words that she said that made him believe that she had found someone else in that refugee camp, someone important. And once again he was mentally preparing himself for the fact that he might just have to let her go. Besides, there was no way in hell she would like who he was now.

Sighing in relief when Meredith confirmed that she wasn’t sick, Zeph was just about to tell her that she was stupid for coming out here to look for him when she said that she was bringing stuff for the infected kids.

”So you’re the person the brats were talking about. Why the ******** are you coming out here and risking your life? It’s getting harder to find things for the kids, but I don’t want you risking your neck. Just stay in the ******** camp.” But if she was dead set on trying to help and make a positive change, then maybe his words would do nothing to stop her. Mer could be ******** stubborn when she wanted to be. ”Just find a way to get the s**t to me and I’ll take it to the kids. You don’t know these streets like I do.”

The only problem with this plan was that he would have to find some way of getting the goods into the other gangs territories without being found himself. He’d have to call in some favours from his contacts and get them to run between the different groups. No matter what he wasn’t going to let Mer leave the relative safety of those walls. And he would have to make sure that when he did raid the camp, he gave orders for his people to leave Mer unharmed.

”I’m ******** fine, b***h. Follow your ******** advice and don’t worry about me.” Wincing slightly when she continued to ask about him, Zeph turned to look at her again, trying to dissuade her with a look from asking too many questions. How the ******** was he going to tell her anything about him and what he did? If she didn’t hate him now, she’d hate him once she learned about the things he’d done… and what he’s planning.

But those pleading eyes of hers, the same eyes that had always looked up at him and depended on him when they were younger, were hard to say no to. Finally, he answered with a sigh, even if he didn’t tell her, there was no way he could keep it from her for long. ”What the ******** do you think happened? I survived. Found a group of Toxies and we protect each other. There’s no one else.” They were locked out of the remaining pockets of civilization, and no one knew enough about the disease to trust that they weren’t contagious once the worst of the disease had run its course. They all had some sort of power, but unless the power was like his or Fett or the small handful of others that he knew or heard of, they couldn’t kill by transmitting the disease.

”Some of the orphanages you’ve visited are probably under the Royals protection… others aren’t. Which is why I don’t want you in the ******** middle of this. Not to mention the rabid mutts that are just so twisted from the way they were treated when they got sick that it’s ******** dangerous to be out here if you can’t protect yourself. A weapon alone doesn’t cut it anymore, b***h. If you think what I can do is terrifying, just imagine what the other freaks out here can do to you.”

He didn’t want to scare her away from him, but he also wanted to make sure she understood that this wasn’t some exciting and noble thing that she was doing. It was ******** stupid. Why the hell would she give up her safety for something like this? Every time she left the camp she was putting herself in danger. He couldn’t guarantee he could cure her if she got sick and he wasn’t going to take that risk.

tab tab 𝔏𝔬𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 Mall tab tab tab 𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔥 Mer tab
tab tab 𝔖𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔰 Healthy

[Dangerosa]

Ever since arriving in Kingston and finding the job at the mechanic’s shop just over two weeks ago, most of her days consisted of spending all of her daylight hours at the shop then returning to BDH and suffering the web for details about her baby brother and older sister and trying to discover what had happened to them. She’d been running for so long, escaping into drugs or alcohol or computers so she didn’t have to face the fact that she’d lost touch with her family. Her real family. Not the guys on the street. Were it not for Tommy she probably wouldn’t even have started this search.

Tommy was the one who pulled her out of the streets, who taught her how to fix cars and bikes and who helped her get clean. She liked to think she would stay clean and out of trouble if she kept her head down and her hands busy inside the engine of a car… or buried deep within codes and circuits. Although, one of the causes of her increasing fights with Tommy during the last few months was her increasing reliance on technology to stay clean, trading in one addiction for another.

But did it really matter? Not really, not to her. She wanted to vanish, run away and forget her past. Even if it meant reinventing herself again. Though she had grown fond of the pink-haired gothic look far too much to give it up right now. This way, when she looked in the mirror she didn’t see Letitia but Chloe. That’s who she was today and that was who she would remain. No past, no history, no connections. Just her, her computers, and her bikes.

With the sharp click of her adorably cute platform lace up high heel boots with three sets of buckles on the side just cause, Chloe announced her presence to the room, alerting anyone in or near the lobby that she was back from work and looking for something fun to do before she decided to head out again and light up the town.

Walking through the lobby, she made her way to the main kitchen on the main floor. She did have stuff in her room to eat, but there was someone in this place who made the most delicious little treats and, to be quite honest, Chloe did have a habit of walking in there after work and pinching a few of them to take to her room to enjoy. Eventually, she knew she was going to be caught, but until then, she was going to enjoy. It was far better than pizza or Chinese every night.

A smile on her vermillion painted lips, she walked into the kitchen which always made her feel (in addition to some of the other rooms in this place) as if she was stepping back in time. While the bedrooms had been recently renovated, the kitchen evidently and not. It still had that old world feel to it. Like something out of a 60s movie. Now if only they had left some of this old charm in the other rooms. Now that would have been perfect. Then again, she wasn’t going to be staying here long so what was the point? It was just a stop over until she had enough money to get on the roads again. She hated feeling tied down and routine. Her childhood had always been uncertain and even now Chloe felt as though if she got too settled down, too tied into a routine that something horrible would happen and it would toss her world upside down.

Not to mention there was always the risk of her past catching up to her.

As the door to the kitchen opened, Chloe noted, much to her delight, that it was empty save for a solitary figure seated at the table. Was she the creator of those wonderfully delicious meals in the fridge that she had been stealing who was now sitting at the table waiting for someone to walk in with a plate with a side of their delicious food? Well if she was, the redhead was out of luck. Now all Chloe was going to do was take a bottle of water from the fridge, introduce herself to this new person and then go back up to her room and wait a bit longer to return to the kitchen for a treat.

Putting words to action, Chloe confidently sashayed her way over to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, then made her way over to the table.

”Hey there, sweetie,” she sang as she approached with a smile on her lips. ”Why are you sitting all alone tonight?”

It was only as she drew closer that she noticed that the girl didn’t exactly have arms. Well she certainly wasn’t the one responsible for those meals. Unless she had some crazy skill with her mouth and her feet. The thought made her pause and she gave the smaller lady an obvious once over. Maybe the girl did have some crazy skill with her mouth. There were plenty of ways to find out~

”Mind if I join you, love? Work was exhausting and I don’t wanna go up to my room just yet.”

Without waiting for an answer, she pulled out a seat, turned it around so the back of the chair was against the table then sat down with her legs straddled on either side, arms crossed over the top as she looked into the girl’s army green eyes and smiled.

For a young lady it wasn’t the best way to sit, but she grew up with boys who ran wild and some of their habits did rub off on her. Even on her best days she wasn’t particularly ladylike — unless she was trying to trick someone.

”Coolers huh? Guess you had a long day too. The name’s Chloe,” she continued, taking a sip of her water and making a face. Gosh the stuff tasted horrible. ”Can I bum one of those off of you?” she motioned to the pack of coolers with her head as she screwed the cap back on the bottle and decided that she would use the rest of the water to water her orchid.

tab tab 𝔏𝔬𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 Kitchen tab tab tab 𝔚𝔦𝔱𝔥 Reenie tab