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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 6:03 pm
Quote: The Destiny City Reservoir is open year round but without fail always gets the most attention in the summer. It's a nice escape from the big city; it’s a five minute drive outside of the Eastern side of town and features clear water and sandy beaches--although, the sand here is notorious for squeaking when you step on it. It’s a hot spot for all fun summer activities, but recently something strange has been happening under the water. Sometimes, people feel like something is grabbing their ankle, even if they are just wading in the shallow end. In the deeper parts of the water, it gets a little more intense: something has been said to grab onto ankles and pull. People have been warned about dangerous pranks, but so far no one has been caught. In the shallow end, anyone unfortunate enough to be targeted may feel themselves being knocked off their feet and tugged into the water; anyone in deep water may feel a firm grip on their ankle, tugging them lower and lower. Somehow, anyone it targets is freed--either by wriggling and fighting, or because someone intervenes and pulls the would-be victim up. No one has drowned in the lake. Yet. It's impossible to see who, or what, is doing this, but it usually gives up after one failed attempt. Usually. Quote: Note: Giulia claimed an EMERALD Star Charm Summer! It was one of Giulia’s favorite times of the year, even with the heat that came with it- maybe especially because of that. Being fair of hair and skin, the blonde was always slathered in sunscreen, even though she rarely burned. She had been informed it was because of cancer and her brother Lucas, who was in medical school, had set her down for a long lecture on how it didn’t matter if her father had been Italian, because Italians could get skin cancer too. Aidan had needed to sit through the same lecture. At least it was nice to know she was loved. The invitation from one of her school friends last year had left the young Miss Montgomery in a bit of a tizzy; there was going to be a birthday ‘beach’ party at the Destiny City Reservoir, and she was invited!! Her squeal could be heard through the entire mansion, and she had insisted on shopping for a new bathing suit, and a good gift for her school friend, who was turning 12. Not quite as old, of course, as Giulia’s very mature and elegant best friend, but still a great leap forward in Giulia’s blue eyes- she herself would be turning only 11 in July. It was such a huge leap forward. Giulia had wanted to get a two-piece bathing suit because she knew that a lot of older girls in her class had been allowed to wear them. Jada had not agreed. Aidan backed up Giulia, because it was to his advantage to have his twin being respected as a more mature not-adult. Jada still said no. Hope was almost 6, and backed up Giulia’s request in exchange for a Butterfinger and a loan of one of Giulia’s Barbie dolls. Long story short, Jada had won, Hope had gotten a Butterfinger and a Barbie, and Giulia had come into possession of a brand new one-piece bathing suit, just for the birthday party. (Giulia had, however, gotten close to having permission for a two-piece, so she held hope that the ‘not until 13’ could maybe change to ‘maybe when you’re 11’. After the party she’d try again. She had spilled out of the car at the Reservoir, and darted off with a quick goodbye, hauling a mid-sized birthday gift for the birthday girl and a bottle of something for the mom, and threw herself into the festivities. There was barbeque! There was sunscreen! There was water! There was beach volleyball! There was ice cream! People were giving out more of those cute collectible star charms- Giulia had gotten an EMERALD one for her collection! And, last but not least, there was SWIMMING. The last in that list, of course, was the best; Giulia was a very good swimmer thanks to having grown up with a pool. So there was no hesitation, when one of the other girls proposed a contest to go out to one of the deeper parts of the reservoir, in the blonde’s acceptance. She had cheerfully lined up with the other pre-teens and then dove into the water on the call, swimming quickly for the chosen location, where they were supposed to turn around and come back. As she neared the mid-point, Giulia thought she could feel something brush against her foot, and thought little of it; pausing to stop and see what littered the water would just slow her down, and several of the other participants were ahead of her. Pushing through it, she made her way closer and closer to the point where she was supposed to tag and turn back. That was when something grabbed her ankle more firmly, and yanked. Not just pulling her back, like one of the other girls might to get an edge, but pulling her down. That was just mean! Giulia took a deep breath, intending to yell at whoever grabbed her, but as she inhaled and began to open her mouth- her head sank under the water, and her body dragged down, and down…
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 12:55 pm
Eliot headed up to the reservoir for the first time ever. He hadn't been inclined to try it while he was living on the streets (it didn't exactly make for an easy time swimming and not being able to have a place to go to to simply dry off and relax afterwards), but now that he had a place in the Negaverse's barracks, a place he could easily get back to and doze off after a long day of what he considered as some of the best exercise, he felt like finally getting his chance to go was a chance he couldn't pass up. He whistled to himself as he set up his little spot with a nice beach towel he’d managed to get ahold of and washed up, a small cooler with some water and snacks inside, and then tucked his phone into its waterproof case thing he’d bought specially for swimming. Hanging it around his neck, he waded into the water, slowly at first, grimacing as his bright, flamingo-patterned trunks billowed out. He squished them back down so they got wet and stuck to his body quicker and kept going further and further out, until he could finally swim around without his toes scraping the bottom. Sometimes being tall really sucked. Taking a deep breath, he almost dived below the surface to get himself fully wet when he noticed a little girl getting yanked along. He thought it was just a friend of hers—at least, until she went below the surface and didn’t come back up fast enough for his liking. He took a fresh deep breath and swam as hard as he could, eyes burning with the need to be closed below the water, but he ignored the signals, keeping an eye on the girl getting pulled faster and faster, deeper and deeper, by some unknown assailant. With one big push, he finally was within range to grab her and yanked forcefully back, feeling whatever was down there let go. s**t, he was running out of time. If his lungs were burning, the little girl was probably a few seconds away from starting to try and inhale water. He shot them up to the surface as fast as he could, spluttering, coughing, and choking as he attempted to breathe in oxygen quicker than his poor lungs could actually process it. He searched her face desperately for any signs of life—if she was struggling to breathe too much, he’d have to pull her to the shore and get real help, and that terrified him. He wasn’t exactly a trained lifeguard or anything; he was scared he’d ******** this up and make it worse if she wasn’t absolutely okay. He prayed she would be.
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 6:24 pm
Oh dear. Even being an experienced swimmer, Giulia was still getting sucked downwards, and the girl couldn't identify why. Though her lungs burned, and her arms reached desperately for the sky, and her eyes ached from trying to see through the water, there seemed to be nothing there. Was this a rip current? But weren't those only supposed to show up in natural water, like real beaches and stuff? Not a reservoir. Blue eyes caught on someone coming towards her, and she reached out her skinny arms to him, clinging on as the larger person pulled her upwards. It seemed as though almost instantly her leg was freed, and she was able to help him kick to the surface. As they reached the surface she practically climbed onto him, moving as high as she could away from the water line, choking and wheezing, sputtering and coughing up a mouthful of liquid. Her hair was streaming down her face, but she didn't care, both hands clinging to the adult as she gulped in oxygen. One skinny arm relaxed a bit, and she used it to push her mop of hair away from her face so she could breathe more easily. "Thank you," Giulia croaked to her rescuer, "I don't know what happened."
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 6:40 pm
Oh, thank God, she was okay. He shifted them around so she could cling to his back, starting to swim them back to safety. "No need to thank me," he said, using every ounce of strength he had to keep them both above water so she could get a little rest, "I've got you. Let's just get you safe and then worry about the loch ness monster we seem to have, huh?" He tossed her a grin.
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 8:47 pm
Luckily for the erstwhile hero who had saved her from an unfortunate belly full of who-knows-what water, Giulia was fairly light. Her hair probably weighed more than the rest of her, and it trailed behind them in the water like a sad tail as the almost-eleven-year-old clung to him in blatant relief. "There wasn't anything there." her voice was dazed, and more than a little confused. "It was like I was in a current dragging me down, but there shouldn't be a current in the reservoir, right?" Not that she knew much about current patterns in a lake environment. But wouldn't a current like that be from something... bigger? And it hadn't felt like a current should. It had felt like something grabbing. Something pulling.
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 9:48 pm
Eliot chuckled. "Alright. The invisible loch ness monster, then. You never know what creepy things lurk in the deep," he said in a spooky voice, sighing in relief as he finally got to the point where he could stand. He walked far up enough that he could drop off the girl without risking her falling below the surface immediately. "Do you need some water, or snacks, or something, while you rest?" he asked, concerned.
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:30 pm
Giulia had to admit the laugh she gave about his joke about things lurking in the deep made her laugh nervously. Her sister telling her that Krakens had once been real creatures, and looming over her to tell her that perhaps they still were was quite enough ocean horror for her- not that it actually SCARED her, just made her think about all the things that could be real. "I mean," she told the man with a grin, "they estimate only 9% of ocean species have been discovered. And Destiny City is a very special place- no other place like it on Earth." The blonde hopped off of her savior, and clasped her hands together, giving him a polite demi-curtsy. "Thank you for helping me. My name is Giulia Montgomery. I have someplace I can rest, I'm with a birthday party. Can you come with me real quick, though? I want to give you something to say thank you."
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 1:16 am
Eliot glanced around, feeling a little awkward at the show of extreme politeness. "Hey, come on, it's no trouble, really," he assured, "I mean, do superheros get thanks? But it is nice to meet you, Giulia. I'm Eliot. Just Eliot." He'd have to do something about changing his last name, even though the idea filled him with a sense of loss. Unconsciously, he fiddled with the magen David necklace he had on before he shook himself from those thoughts.
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 4:32 pm
"Superheroes don't get thanked enough." Giulia reached up to tug at his arm, noting the way he fiddled with a necklace- a Star of David? "Don't worry, it's nothing major. I'm not going to have someone like... play a trombone or anything or hire a mariachi band to stalk you or something." Small little tugs, and Giulia guided him over to the place where the birthday party was gathered. Grabbing a pen and a napkin, the blonde wrote down a phone number on it, and held it out to Eliot. "Don't throw this away. It's my si- my mom's phone number. If you need anything, call. Like- seriously. You helped me big, so whether you need anything from like... a doctor to a week-long vacation or like... a job... this is an IOU." She was young, but not stupid. "It might not have been trouble for you, but I could have been dead, so. Take it."
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:58 pm
Eliot didn't really know what to do with himself in this situation. Taking his phone from it's protective case, he wrote down the number and saved it as "FOR XTREME EMERGENCY ONLY". "Well, thank you. You didn't need to, but I'm keeping it in mind," he promised as he slipped his phone back in its case. He didn't really feel like swimming anymore, so he bade her a goodbye and went back to his little setup to pack and head home.
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 10:29 pm
Giulia nodded in satisfaction as her Hero took the phone number and said his farewells; when next she went into the pool, she was very certain to stay only in the shallow end.
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