AlteredTundra

Edenridge

_{TIMESTAMP — After Part 4: Dare}

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When the door closed behind them, Stacy registered another sound like something being pressed against the doors. This wasn’t her first time playing 7MIH, so it was probably something like a chair or an object of some kind that was sturdy enough to hold the doors shut (in case those inside wanted to leave early).

Stacy had to admit, she wasn’t in the best headspace. She wasn’t typically the type to be eager for this specific game, but especially after the near national disaster, her heart hadn’t stopped beating itself out of her chest. Simultaneously, it was also going crazy because of a small moment between her and Sal. When he grabbed her hand, guiding her away from the group and into the storage room, she smiled.

Salvatore was the main reason her night wasn’t plagued by the anxiety and panic that often tagged each other out whenever Dylan became temper incarnate.

Hugging one arm against the other, her right hand gripping her left elbow (and the inner part of her arm), Stacy had looked at the latino boy. For a few moments, which probably felt eternal for both of them, she had been trying to find the courage to say something - anything - so it wasn’t just painful silence between them. “Sal..” She breathed in a way that came off hoarse. She coughed and tried again. “Thank you. I mean, for what you did out there..with my phone.” A timid smile crept on her face.

Placing both of his hands behind his back, Salvador began to ring his fingers in nervousness. It was things like this that made much of his family question his worth as a Montero. Rey, Cass, Rico, Ley…hell even Max; all of them were known to have been the embodiment of the Latin lover stereotype. His father and his grandfather exuded confidence, they commanded a room and they both held power in the plan of their hands like a normal person would hold an apple. Sal was none of those things. He was a lanky nerd who loved Mass Effect and Dungeons and Dragons. In this type of moment, any other member of his family would have Stacy up against the wall and they would be making out right there.

Sal couldn’t bring himself to do that.

It was obvious even before the truth or dare fake that Stacy was a little uncomfortable. He noticed it when they were talking prior. Then seeing those messages from this Dylan guy only reaffirmed the boy’s suspicion, she and an abusive boyfriend. Of course, he could say something but coming up in a business like the one his family ran, he understood the value of secrets, the good and the bad ones. “It’s ok. It was kind of satisfying telling Bronagh no. I get the feeling she doesn’t hear that very often.” He returned her smile. “You ok?”

She half-giggled. It made her smile less timid, increasing only slightly. She kept a soft gaze on him. She didn’t hide the fact that she wasn’t okay. Stacy was almost certain that everyone in the room, especially her sister who seemed to want to do something, saw, even if it was at face value, that she was petrified. And she was. Dylan wasn’t a monster, but he could be nasty. Stacy always thought she could manage him. Do what he wanted and maybe the storm that lived inside him wouldn’t rage on as long as it did some days.

“I guess I’m not very good at hiding it, huh?” The brunette laughed, looking down at her feet, licking the empty air in front of her. It took her a few moments to bring her head up. When she did, she just sighed. “I guess…well, I mean you probably saw the notifs. My boyfriend, Dylan…he’s…he’s not..” Just speaking his name made her incredibly tense, but Anastasia just kept persistent. “He’s not a bad guy. You know…he just has anger management issues. You know…sometimes when I don’t answer his calls, he becomes…difficult.” She knew what she should say: that he yells at her. Throws fits and blame her for what he’s feeling and how he’s feeling, but she just couldn’t. Or maybe she wouldn’t?

Sal didn’t really know what to say. He was absolutely disgusted by the fact that this Dylan creep seemed to be massively controlling. Flying off the handle when she forgets to return a text? That was awful. What he also didn’t find pleasant to hear was the dreaded B word; Boyfriend. Stacy had a boyfriend. Even though he had already figured it out. Although he had already seen the photos and the messages, that didn’t make it sting any less. For Sal, despite the adventure that he had had since arriving in town only that morning, the best part about it was talking and hanging out with Stacy.

He clicked his tongue as he brought one of his hands to mess with his already a state black hair. “You know Stacy, erm, well, shit.” He let out a little sign as he tried to think of what the best thing to say was. “So I grew up with a lot of bad guys, you know? The type of guys who seem nice and will thank your mother for a home cooked meal and then they’d leave the house and rob an old lady on the street, you know? What we see when we meet people, when we like them and love them, it’s not always right. It’s…my point is if a guy is making you sad or hurts you in any way, then you really need to look inside and decide how much you value yourself. Because in the end, if you don’t value yourself, they won’t value you and they will treat you like dirt”

Sal brought his other hand up and placed them both behind his head. “Does that make any sense? I don’t know, your relationship is your business and I just want you to know that I value you and your privacy and that’s why I didn’t show them the messages”

The brunette gave a slow nod, a frown on her face as it was clear she took his words to heart. They hit hard but she knew what he was trying to say. She always thought that maybe if she was different and more like Katie, or even Mika, then maybe he wouldn’t be so terrible to her. Stacy always and probably still kind of does blame herself. Blamed herself because of what Dylan did and how he treated her. Thought maybe if she did that he’d get better over time.

But he hasn’t. Any time she took time for herself, he’d want that for him. Any time she would voice any opposition to the things he did or what he said to her (or at least what she tried to say), he’d fire back at her. Or talk sweetly to her. It was never enough for him, but deep down, she loved Dylan Doyle. But maybe Sal was right. Dylan, if he loved her like she did him, why would he be like this?

She felt so conflicted, but one thing she knew for certain was how, for the first time in months (not counting when she got to spend time with Mika last month), tonight she felt genuinely happy. Perhaps part of her didn’t want Dylan to ruin that.

Slowly, as she felt her chest beat even faster, she pulled her phone out and unlocked it. Silence filled the storage room, but it was with a purpose. Stacy went to her messages. “Message one, 7:55:.Stacy, why didn’t you answer? It’s late. I just want to know you’re okay.” She spoke almost robotically. “Message two, 8:22: Come on, Stacy. I’ve called three times. Answer me.” She read it off and the tightness in her stomach, the way it turned, twisted, and left her feeling gutted only increased. “Three more like that, but it wasn’t until five minutes before we played truth or dare until he left another: Stacy, call me back now! It--” She struggled to read it out loud. She read it, of course, but only in her head. The language he used, the tone she knew he was intending - it was all like before. Her hands were holding her phone and they were shaking as she remembered. She had to…no, she wanted to. She wanted Sal to know. “It’s getting ridiculous now. It’s like you don’t love me and after all the things I’ve bought you..” When it was all done, even though she hadn’t realized it herself, Stacy was in tears. A hot stream poured down her face. The man she loved…he did this so regularly that it had become her normal and maybe she was just reaching a breaking point.

“He can be so good to me, but when he’s like this…” Stacy dropped to the floor on her knees. “I don’t know what to do, Sal…”

This was utterly heartbreaking; Salvador hadn’t even fathomed when he first laid eyes on the beautiful brunette that she had such pain weighing her down. Then again, he himself was carrying a lot of weight as well but his pain was of a different kind. He had only met Stacy that afternoon but he felt connected to her, like he had known her all his life and he hated seeing her like this. Sal kneeled down in front of the young girl and pulled her into his chest. “It’s ok..” He spoke in an almost whisper even though at this point he had forgotten completely about the outside world. “We’ll get you through this. I’m not sure how yet but we’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Initially, she wanted to resist Sal. Initially, she felt guilty, but she was nearing her wit’s end. With Dylan. With keeping it all bottled up. She spilled more about her relationship than she had with anyone. She kept this pain bottled up for so long, yet she felt almost obligated - like she needed to tell Sal. She had only known pain from boys. Either through her sister getting all of the attention or crushing on Adam Callahan who lived down the street. But with Sal, maybe for the first time, it’s like he actually saw her and not just as Katya’s twin sister, but the genuine her. Maybe that’s why she told him.

She leaned into his embrace, wrapped arms under his, allowing herself to be even more vulnerable with Sal than she had been. For once, she could just be herself with a boy that didn’t feel like she had to apologize. His voice relaxed her, making her smile through her hot tears that poured down her face. Hugging him allowed her to feel safe. All the weight she had been carrying around seemed to have disappeared the moment she allowed herself to forget about it, even if it was just for this moment. “Sal…thank you. Thank you for everything..” She managed to say, her voice was frail and hoarse. There was so much going through her head right now, but she didn’t want to think about it. She just wanted to live in this moment for as long as she could.

“I haven’t done anything, you’re taking these steps on your own.” Salvador held her closely and tightly. He didn’t know everything but he did know he wanted to keep her safe. He softly kissed the top of her head reassuringly, his eyes drifting towards the door. Through that thin piece of wood were kids playing games, kids having fun. However on their side, Stacy was opening her heart and letting it all out. It was funny, this whole thing was designed to bring them closer together through an act of physical expression, yet Sal and Stacy had found themselves growing closer through an opening of the emotional floodgates. This was supposed to be Seven Minutes in Heaven but had definitely turned into something more. “I got you Stacy.”

Edenridge

_{@LovelyComplex@BrutalBx@metanoia
Timestamp: After Go Go Swerve Arcana PT II: Boo
FT: Sal Montero, Aves Kaine, Rosie Drake, and Anthony "Oz" Osso
Bron Milligan, Stacy Čapek, Marco Brady, Katie Čapek}

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Around two hours or so after Ozzy broke through the floor, the assorted Midnight Society members and the spare parts had settled in with some blankets and booze to watch a scary movie. Oz of course had to explain that he had snuck in through the cellar to try and get into Swerve and had pushed up the wrong floor tile, thinking it was the trap door. The Metal Lord had tried to make it home to Violet through the storm but he ended up with a flat tire so he texted her to say he was going to the store. He also had to apologise to Stacy for scaring the living daylights out of her. Now he was sitting there strumming the guitar he kept stashed at Swerve and listening to former Co-Supreme Bronagh Milligan of all people detail her love life.

“Waitwaitwaitwait,” The Dungeon Master perked up. “You are telling me that not only does your boyfriend not care about your OnlyFans or the fact you screw other people, he is also a ninja?” Oz was dumbfounded as his fingers plucked away to the tune of Guns and Roses seminal classic, You Will Be Mine.

Bron had gotten rid of Oz’s jacket and was now just sitting in her bra and tiny denim shorts and feeling herself. She enjoyed the attention her body got, she worked hard for it by God! Plus the booze they had swiped from Mr. Kaine acted as a great heater so she was no longer feeling the cold. “Yeah Tommy’s awesome. Love didn’t let me down with that one.” The online model mused. “He’s currently rehabbing a really bad knee injury but he’ll be back in the dojo soon, kicking all kinds of ass, looking sexy as hell as he does it too.”

The blonde’s eyes drifted to the other side of the room and the two youngsters Salvador and Stacy, engrossed in conversation. It was adorable to see; the chemistry was there and palpable. “They’re so cute together.”

After the movie, Katie decided to stretch her legs and found herself intrigued by the song Oz was playing. A Guns and Roses classic, which was about as on-brand for that crazy-haired maniac as anything else would be. The only thing that she’d think was more on-the-nose might be something from Metallica. It was a good song, though, so she wasn’t complaining much. As she neared the busty blonde, she heard her mention something about a couple. She followed the blue gaze and saw how Stacy and that Salvador boy were still talking.

She smiled. “And definitely a much better match for her than another boy from Pinehurst.” She didn’t want to ruin the image that Stacy had a boyfriend. She wasn’t that kind of girl. Katie knew her sister and knew that she wouldn’t willingly show interest in another person unless they had something special about them. When the moment passed, Katie turned her own blue gaze on Oz, shifting it into a glare. “You better apologize to her when you have the chance. Damn near gave me a heart attack hearing her shriek all of a sudden.” Not to mention the timing was almost too coincidental. The more Katie came to Edenrdige, the more that name it has - the most cursed town in the USA (that was it, right?) - seems to hold a lot of truth to it.

“I will, I will. If I didn’t Vi would have my balls in a marinara sub” Oz stopped plucking his guitar and placed it down by his feet. He wished he was home with Violet and taking care of her but at least she was safe in the house. The family was safe too. He had left his father at the office with a bottle of whiskey and a cigar, Bobby and Sienna were back at the house with Clari and by all accounts Ricky and that dumb dog of his were a few blocks away at Rochambeau. They were safe. Didn’t change the fact that Ozzy wanted them all together just to be sure. “Hey Aves!“ The leather-clad insurance agent called out. “You heard from McDungus?”

“Talked to him a couple hours ago,” Avery sat on the butt pillow criss-cross applesauce and shoveled cold popcorn with a mix of Buncha Crunch in her mouth, “Gave him a premium video for his wank bank. Wasn’t a long back and forth though, let’s see… I did see him earlier this afternoon before all you trolls — actually scratch that, that’s when you and I sent him,” she gestured with her head toward Sal, “on an adventure. Dude we spend too much time together. Which reminds me,” she turned her head to look at the almost lovers in their own private world, “Did you ever find Dal? How is she?”

Oz didn’t really want to admit it since it ruined the few cool points he had but he was worried about Clay. Not only was it his job to be out in the maelstrom and make sure people were safe but all the recent new letter business involved his friends. It was a somewhat unwritten rule beyond cracking a joke that the Arcana crew didn’t mention Clay’s other side, his Elite side. Sometimes it was hard to fathom that the idiot who could barely open a can of beans without spilling it just so happened to be one of the most popular guys in town yet he was not ashamed to be seen with the riff raff and the nerds. Clay was a good guy, he didn’t deserve all the stress. “I’m sure he’s fine”

Avery gave Oz a knowing glance, understanding where he was coming from. She kept a smile on her face to mask her own worry, especially while they were in the company of their big Swerve family. Not just him, her, Violet, Clay, and Rosie. Avery was never one to ruin the vibes, if she had to deal with something, she’d deal with it quietly so that everyone else could have a good time. “We can always give him a call? Or…” she glanced at Marco, who now worked for Clay’s dream woman (and sorta girlfriend now). They could always get Marco to call Cat. That was doing the most, wasn’t it? She needed to stop feeding on Oz’s energy. Anxiety was not a good look on her. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

Salvador almost didn’t hear Avery address him, too engrossed and lost in conversation with Stacy. “Oh, oh yeah!” The young boy from Miami shook away the tunnel vision, realising he needed to actually speak to other people and not just the pretty girl he wanted to marry, “She was ok. We played a game so that I could convince her to come back! I won! You guys have some really weird customs and I’m into it.” He scratched the back of his head lightly as a look of confusion fell onto his dark face. “I also met…I’m assuming her sister? She was a lot.”

“Dal’s sister?” Marco had been half-absentmindedly listening to the conversation at hand as he sat on the floor nearby. He had one of the early volumes of Naruto in his hands, resting in his cross-legged lap. First appearance of Rock Lee, when he wiped the floor with Sasuke. Good times.

But he zoned into the conversation when heard Dal’s name be mentioned and paid attention. “You must mean Lolly.” Deep in his gut, Marco felt some guilt come to the surface, causing him to partially frown. He needed to get with Lolly and catch up. Maybe a League sesh. It’s been too long. “She seems like it but she’s honestly really sweet.” He laughed after he let that slip. “Don’t tell her I told you that. She’d probably kill me in every way possible.” Or just go on a profanity volley. Marco didn’t know which was worse. “But If she’s a lot with you, then that must mean you passed all the vibe checks…uh, Salvador, was it?” He tried to remember.

“Yeah it’s Salvador, most call me Sal.” The Latino furrowed his brow slightly. “No it wasn’t Lolly it was…what did she say her name was?” He thought back to the scene, to try and place it. He remembered being outside of the Davies-Drake home. He knocked on the door and when it swung open he was greeted by a small girl with messy blonde hair, smudged makeup, wearing nothing but a barely covering her modesty, Alice in Chains shirt and a massive joint hanging from her painted lips. “Addie! She said her name was Addie!”

“That sounds about right,” Rosie chimed in, leaning over from behind the counter. Just like Marco, she had something she was casually reading too, though in her case, it was a lot less family-friendly than early Naruto (Rosie could see part of the cover in his lap). “Thank god you’re not a chick, Sal. She might’ve climbed you like a tree. Or just mention how hot you were.” She hummed thoughtfully.

And it was then, as Rosie went on a half-tangent, that Marco realized he had it mixed up. It’s been a long, tiring day. Marco was worried about Danny, about his family and about whether or not they were safe in the storm. On top of everything, he wasn’t exactly listening in on the conversation, not enough to where he got the whole story. He quickly glanced at Sal. “Sorry, my bad. I got her next door neighbor confused with her sister. Still equally big personalities, though.” He chuckled nervously, almost grimacing at the unfortunate moment in his future when/if Lolly found out what he said about her.

“Lolly should be next on your list anyway, buddy. Marco, why don’t you introduce Sal to our Dagger? The rogue in our campaign.” Avery suggested as she grabbed her phone to text Clay and check up on him. Now that Oz had mentioned it, Clay had been awfully quiet. He at least texts her every couple hours. It was getting around that time.

To: McDungus
Hey dude, you found shelter? Are you safe?

Avery Kaine

Little did Avery know Marco had never physically met Lolly. They had gamed together constantly but during her Midnight Society days, they always missed each other by seconds at Swerve. She’d leave, he’d come. She’d arrived and he’d already be long gone. They might’ve seen each other in the halls when she gave Q, Dal, and Dean a surprise visit but whether he knew that was his gamer friend or not was dependent on if he knew how she looked. Dallas was really the only one who could walk in and out of the Andersons house freely. It was wild because Marco knew her so well. They had been friends for years. And yet because she was a NEET — no higher education (she was homeschooled), no employment, or training — unless you forced her to go out, the likelihood of meeting her wasn’t high.

The Dagger? Well shit that was badass. Sal nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah! Absolutely! Let me know whenever you want to do it Marco and we can go on a quest for the dagger!” If he was being absolutely one hundred percent honest with himself, the last ten hours had been the most that Salvador had felt alive since his mother died. His quest to bring together the fractured Midnight Society was filling him with a joy he hadn’t felt in so long. And the talks with Stacy, they were the icing on an already sweet cake. For the first time in over a year, Sal was happy.

“Great idea, Aves!” Marco grinned. And he really did think it would be a great idea. Honestly, he hasn’t been able to see or even talk to Lolly as much lately, but that’s mostly because of how little free time he’s had in recent weeks. Occasionally they’d play a game or two on his days off, but not like how it was before. Between work, Danny (and Danny’s grueling workout regime), Marco just couldn’t find the time to sit down for a few hours, play a few games of ranked, troll some of the salty players, and laugh about it with Lolly. He never went too far into it, but he missed that. He missed her. “Does tomorrow work for you? Where are you staying at?” Marco asked Sal.

“Oh!” Salvador had to pause to think. Where were they staying? His father had bought a nice house somewhere at the top of town. It was a nice four bedroom, white picket fence sort of place. “Oh yeah, we just moved to a house on Scott Street.” The young nerd clenched his fist in triumph as he remembered where he now lived. He was a golden god.

“Oh this sounds like so much fun!” Stacy commented, her bright smile and giddy giggle shining a light on the room. From across the room, she saw Katie looking over and smiling at her sister. “But why is she called The Dagger?” Stacy asked, looking around the room. Really anyone could answer since it seemed almost everyone but her and Salvadore were aware of why.

“Because she stabs people in the back,” Avery bluntly answered as she placed the bowl of popcorn to her side. There was a moment she briefly glanced at Sal who kind of announced his status of wealth without intending to. He was one of the filthy rich ones. Noted. Resting her hands on her knees, still sitting on the floor, Aves continued, “In game, I mean. Not like in real. Lolly is too forward to be an actual back stabber. We call her the Dagger because in our long running Dungeons & Dragons campaign, she played the rogue. Rogues are sneaky sneak. Stab stab. It’s just some nerd shit they made up when they were in highschool.”

Grabbing her phone, she pulled out a picture of the Midnight Society at a Renaissance Fair where Eloise was dressed as her own version of Robin Hood, but instead of arrows, she held two fake daggers and looked like an absolute menace. A tiny one at that! Aves showed the picture to Sal and Stacy. “That’s her, the little Filipino. Sal’s already met the blonde, that’s Dal, the Sword, or in less nerdy terms, the knight. The tall scrawny boy is Dean, the Shield. See, he plays a Druid but his gameplay has always been on the defensive side, so instead of calling him nature boy or tree hugger, it just fit to make him the Shield. His defensive play is spell based rather than actually holding a shield. Like with bark armor, absorbing elements, or bonding with beasts. I’m probably getting carried away and all this is flying over your head,” Avery chuckled at the blank stare that Stacy was giving her. The problem with being a geek was that more often than not you got caught up rambling about things that the other person had no knowledge on, therefore talking their ears off. “Anyways! The last guy, that’s Quinton Woods. He was their dungeon master and their best friend. Their fearless leader. Him, well, dying just really… messed them up, I guess.”

As dark as it was to mention the tragedy of Midnight Society, if these kids were serious about being part of Edenridge, they needed to learn fast that everyone they saw was fractured one way or another, and that in order to survive the storm, you needed a family. Your chosen family to make you feel a little less empty on the inside. She wasn’t going to dance around the dark when Edenridge was one of the gloomiest places on Earth.

Suddenly the excited wonder that had consumed Stacy’s face disappeared at the mention of the one that died. Stacy had never been great with this sort of stuff. It’s not that she didn’t know unfortunate things happened to people, but it brought up some unpleasant memories. Mika probably thought she didn’t remember those days, but she did. The days where Katie tried protecting her from the screaming matches her father and Misha got into. She tried to black it out, but every so often they came back. “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have asked…” She dipped her head down as the auburn-haired girl fiddled with her thumbs in her pockets.

Katie, like the protector she was, let out a sigh and turned her attention to Avery. She wasn’t mad or anything, but she could see how clearly bothered Stacy was about all this talk about death and despair. “That’s dope, that you’re all named after weapons. I’ve even dabbled in D&D some but I’ve never got a rad name like Dagger or Shield. So lame if you ask me,” the blonde complained, souring her expression momentarily before she shook it off. “Might be fun if you have some spots open.” Katie chuckled, looking around the room. Her gaze centered on Bron and Rosie for a few moments, noticing just how Rosie couldn’t take her eyes off of the busty barbie even with the current topic. “Honestly this place beats the shop in Pinehurst. Adam might have my tongue for that, but it’s the truth. The vibe here is reason alone to keep me around. So if or when a spot opens up, I want in!” She announced more than stated and that’s just who Katie Capek-Zima was.

“Yeah I’m not doing that,” Bronagh waved her hand dismissively before taking a sip from her solo cup. God, a solo cup? Reminded her of college. She was definitely the odd one out here. This was not her world and she had just stumbled through the looking glass like Alice in Wonderland, she was even wearing powder blue denim for emphasis. These nerds wanted to play games, she had a game from her world that would shake things up. She had been an annual player of a thing called Dare Night whilst at college and that was always a good time. Maybe she could do something like that to get these little shits where they were too hesitant to go. “You guys wanna talk games, here’s a game. Truth or dare and we’ll play it in a world you dweebs can understand.”

Bron climbed onto the chair she had been sitting on, her long limber frame towering over the peasant subjects. “Here’s the deal. I am the Dare Mistress. I will be asking you all truth or dare and I will be the one dictating how far this goes. The field is not open for question, all I need is a volunteer to be the first.”

Oz, intrigued, started strumming a medieval type of melody on his guitar, surveying the group. “And thus, to continue on their mythic quest, the remnants of the Midnight Society and their new allies must venture forth into the woods of temptation, said to be the home of a beguiling Druid pagan who challenges the very decency of man with her wicked ways. Tales are told that any man or woman who sees her, shall succumb to her thrall and be forced to play her deadly game.”

“Yeah sure let’s go with that,” Bron shrugged.

As Rosie had rolled her eyes at Oz, Marco looked between Bron and Oz. The latter was so interesting and weird and, if Marco was honest with himself, kinda cool. The way he could just come up with that in such a dramatic fashion had impressed him to the point where the young Brady man stepped forward. Truth or dare was a game he had not touched since the early years in high school. Kylee had sort of dared him at that tragic party at the Carlisle house with Danny. So he was used to it somewhat. So what could go wrong?

“I..” His throat was dry, so Marco coughed, putting his left hand over his mouth so he didn’t spread any germs. “I…volunteer as tribute!” He raised his other hand.

Continuing to play the tune on his guitar, Ozzy returned with his Dungeon Master voice. “And low, the first to venture into the Woods of Temptation to meet the Druid was the Staff. What challenge awaited him in the dark dark forest?”

Fuck it. Bronagh would play along. When In Rome, eat pasta. That was the saying, right? Opening her arms wide, her body enticing and seductive, the younger Milligan sister tilted her head.

“Play with me Midnight Society, play with me. If you dare!”

Digimon: The Parallel Visage

So sorry for the overdue post, but finally there is mine intro for Damian! Promise going forward i won't take nearly as long. ♥

Digimon: The Parallel Visage

"Sonofa--" Damian's head was ringing, like a bunch of aluminum soda cans being shaken in a garbage back as fast as they could be in his head.

There was a lot missing from Damian's recent memory. As he lay awake on the floor, the redheaded knucklehead, admittedly, had been conscious for a few minutes now. When he woke, he didn't know if he was the only one of the other three that didn't know where they were. Damian sure as hell had no memory of falling nor being near any damn forest.

Damian was an urban kid. A City-Slicker. Born and raised, he lived and (not yet anyway) died for the streets. He always got into fights, which might explain the headache he was currently suffering through. For all he knew, he got into a fight, overestimated the odds, and some bullies in his neighborhood thought it was a hilarious idea to take him to a forest (or wherever this place was), and just leave him there, possibly concussed and all.

"Well, that did make sense," Damian muttered. He looked around in all directions, noticing something bizarre about the sky. It didn't look like it should. He couldn't place it, though. "But that doesn't." Damian talked a lot to himself when he didn't know what was happening around him. A bad habit that, like the best action franchise of all time, died hard.

As he shrugged his shoulders and got up to a seated position, it had just donned on Damian like he had smashed his head into a brick wall (like he did that one time he wasn't paying attention when he was on his board).

"Oh crap, my board!" In a panic, he looked around and saw his legendary board was to his side. And a moment later, he checked his bag. Everything of value was in it: his phone and his reserves of an assortment of chips and small cans of pop. "What a relief." As he sighed, he stood up only to realize...something was moving on his shoulder. He didn't know what it was, but as he saw pointed yellow main-like flesh parts consume one shoulder and what seemed like a brown-ish tail wrap around his neck, supporting itself on it, Damian blinked as they met eyes.

And then it blinked back at Damian.

Damian didn't know how to handle this situation. It had the face of a lion but without all the parts that made a lion...well, a lion.

And then the crimson-haired misfit looked around and realized he wasn't the only one with a...friend. "So, it's not just me then." He spoke loud enough for the others to hear him, looking at the two girls and the other dude. "Does anyone know what these things are? Or better yet, how come my head feels like it's on fire? Oh and why can't I fuckin' remember why I was laying down?" Damian wasn't usually so inquisitive, but given the circumstances, it felt appropriate to play 21 questions with a few strangers and their little creatures.

Edenridge

_{@LovelyComplex@BrutalBx@metanoia
Timestamp: After Go Go Swerve Arcana PT 1: Whiplash
FT: Sal Montero, Aves Kaine, Rosie Drake
Bron Milligan, Stacy Čapek, Marco Brady, Katie Čapek}

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The flashing of lightning and the boom of the thunder were growing louder and louder as the evening drew on, only matched by the resounding pound on the window of the heavy rain. Salvador could see that a few of the local buildings had suffered power outages but he had managed to brave going out into the storm for a few minutes to isolate the power to Swerve Arcana. He had disconnected it from the Edenridge grid so that if the worst happened, Swerve could be a beacon of light, a nerdier batcave for the assembled Justice League.

Sal wouldn’t even be in Eden if not for the events of the previous year. He didn’t want to be in the hotel business like his parents. He was supposed to be in Stanford, studying engineering. That was where he was supposed to be. He had a knack for it. Yet one night in Miami changed all that and now he was here with his father and sister, opening the first Encanto that wouldn’t have his mother’s finger prints on it. Salvador had chosen to defer for a year after his mother’s death but the way things were going, it was starting to look more and more likely that he may not end up going back.

The reason the Montero heir was messing around with Swerve’s electricity was because the group had decided to host an impromptu movie night and Salvador had offered his services to get everything up, running and connected. It was partially because watching scary movies in a raging maelstrom seemed like an awesome idea but it was also because he felt the need to impress that pretty Stacy girl. ReyRey would know how to do it properly, he oozes cool. Cousin Rico had that charm and Max had a vibe. Sal didn’t get those genes like the rest of the family.

“And we are live from Swerve Arcana in sunny Edenridge, Massachusetts!”

“Cool,” Avery came out of the break room with two giant bowls of popcorn. She had already brought out other snacks that could give someone diabetes if you over indulged. An assortment of candy, brownies and cookies her mom made, and cans of sodas of everyone’s choosing. Pretty legit set up they had thanks to her parents always wanting to be stocked on junk. She loved her parents to death but they lacked self control. Too much of a good thing could get you killed. They were at the age they had to think about these things. Were they going to? Of course not. They were kids at heart and gave no fucks. Stressed her and her sister out. Avery wasn’t going to complain though because it was going to be dinner for all these nerds stuck at Swerve with her.

There was a blanket laid out on the floor and a blanket meant for warmth (the ones she used in her dad’s office), a butt pillow, and four beanie bags, three claimed by Bron, Marco, and Katie. Katie was here lurking this whole time and it was discovered that Stacy was her sister, so that was pretty neat to find out. Avery knew Katie, not Stacy but she hoped that would change now that Stacy found her way here. Swerve could use more regulars.

By process of elimination, she imagined Rosie was going to take the beanie by Bron. Rosie would not waste an opportunity like this to snuggle up close to a hot babe and as her good samaritan, fellow raging lesbian friend, she would allow it. Speaking of Rosie, she was going through her dad’s movie collection (all unceremoniously in a box) in the other room, deciding what spooky scary movie they’d watch tonight. Stacy was fiddling with the fuzzy blanket on the ground which left the butt pillow and the small patch of blanket beside her open.

Bringing her attention to Sal, catching him staring at the girl on the blanket, Avery proclaimed, “I call dibs on the butt pillow,” before placing one bowl of popcorn on the blanket. This was her gentle way of suggesting the spot by Stacy was all his. She knew a lovesick puppy when she saw one. She brought the second bowl to Marco, before calling out to Rosie who was still in the main area, going through the movies (or should be), “You good RoRo? What options we got?” They were just about ready to kick this movie night off.

And as it just so happened, Rosie was not, as she should have been, going through the movies. Her mind was elsewhere. Anywhere Bron walked, Rosie’s eyes followed. She had to make sure, above everything else (yes even the possibility of no electricity) that she saw where the blonde bombshell was sitting so she could aptly take the spot next to her. But she had to be cool about it. Rosie made a fool of herself in the first impression.

This was her redo. It had to be her redo.

“Right..The movies!” Rosie took a quick through the box, astounded at the amount of male-appealing movies. Not that she was complaining because there were a lot of hot heroines in those films. She just wished there had been more variety that were more to her liking. She did enjoy some adult anime from the home of anime, but probably not meant for a movie night. “There’s a big selection - most of them are superhero movies. Like anyone’s surprised.” Rosie laughed, wondering what they should go for. Dark Knight Trilogy? Maybe Phase One of the MCU? That was always a safe bet. “Sooo…what are we in the mood for? Marvel? DC? Maybe some lesser known, proud nerdom flics? Got Star Wars in here too.” Rosie turned her attention on the group, looking at Marco. “Well? You probably have the best all around tastes. What ya feeling?”

“Hey Danny. I hoped to catch you but the storm must be interfering. Just wanted to call so you knew I am somewhere safe. I’m at Swerve. Looks like I might be here until after the storm. I hope you're safe too, babe. Love you!” Marco hung up, frowning that he didn’t get to talk to Danny for even a couple of minutes. He missed his boyfriend, especially with the storm. Hopefully he was safe somewhere. Didn’t matter where, either.

“Marcoooo!” Rosie repeated out to the lost-in-thought Brady.

“Huh?” Marco returned to the main area and saw Rosie point to the box of movies. She repeated what she said and he just shrugged. “I’m good with whatever!” Marco admitted, taking one of the bean chairs, as did the other, less-abrasive blonde, Katie, who Marco was happy to know was her sister.

“Jesus fuck--” Katie cursed, looking directly over at Avery. “Aves, doesn’t your dad have any non-mainstream films? Maybe something not too PG? We’re all adults…more or less. We want blood! Or at least I want blood. Give me some horror or maybe Alien? If you got that.”

“He does, but it wouldn’t be in that box,” Avery shrugged and strolled to the door, “Dad keeps the horror shit in his office.” Why? She didn’t really know. Was it censorship or was he simply possessive over his horror film collection? “It’s weird he’s okay with ecchi being out, and even horror comics, but his spooky movies are locked tight.” Right next to his booze. “I’ll be back and grab a couple of films.” She pulled out the keys and twirled it in her fingers. “You kids behave now.”

Bronagh finished texting her boy in Pinehurst, a smile on her face. She missed him and she knew he would be worried about her in this storm. Tommy was so sweet when he wanted to be. Putting her phone down, she glanced around the room at the group that had gathered in the walls of Swerve. They were definitely not her usual crowd but they would do in a pinch. Her soft green eyes fell upon the girl sitting on the floor as she slyly watched the boy fiddling with the fuse box. Those two had been giving each other the eye since they had all walked through the door and that was saying something considering Bron was still shirtless and showing off her boobs, though the other girl, Rosie, she had very much enjoyed a handful of her chest full of wonders.

Pulling herself to her feet, Bron picked up a loose denim vest that sat on a nearby table and placed it over her modesty; the brand on the breast read “OZZY”. “I heard booze.” Flicking her blonde mane over her shoulders, the youngest Milligan hurried after Avery. Alcohol was just what this party needed. If they were going to be stuck all night then they needed to make it memorable.

“So you’re a mind reader, I see,” Avery scanned the thicc girl in all the right places up and down, wondering how she translated the horror collection to the booze cabinet. Avery could’ve sworn she didn’t say that part out loud. “How old are you?”

“Old enough, my befreckled bestie of the evening,” Bron placed her hands in her newfound jacket pockets and walked close behind Avery towards the office. “And yes I am a mind reader, I know exactly what you’re thinking right now.” Her soft green eyes took in the comic book girl's figure. It was curvy in a different way, far more natural than Bron’s more athletic build. It was enviable to most for sure but it was hidden beneath some khakis and a black loose dress shirt though the crop top showed a toned stomach and some big ol biddies. Avery was nerdy hot and Bronagh was into it, at least for tonight.

Hiding her amusement behind a faint smile, Avery glimpsed at the blonde babe beside her looking at her with her big, caramel eyes. Sweet, voluptuous thing she was, and not the usual clientele at Swerve. She exuded confidence, both sexually and mentally. Her walk had an extra bounce to it, which was nice to watch. Her hips swayed from side to side and with that glint in her eyes, Avery could see it a mile away. Through her prolonged eye contact, her open body language, and how she crept ever so closely the further they walked away from the game room, she saw a motive.

Avery wasn’t your average nerd. She had a ladies’ man for a best friend and for those who knew her in highschool, they knew she’s been around the block. Getting a read on the situation was elementary, pursuing anything beyond flirtatious comments, now that was a challenge. It wasn’t that Avery was bad at the game. If anything, she was a smooth criminal in the dating field. After highschool, her morals started to kick in and she found herself unable to sleep around without thinking of every reason why this person wasn’t right. It was a curse. She hated it. For now, while they were alone, she’d play along. She didn’t want to be a buzzkill. “And what’s that?” She tossed the store keys high in the air before snatching them back into her hand, like a baseball.

“You’re thinking that I’m smoking hot and that if you weren’t madly in love with some girl who you consider unobtainable that you’d lock this office door with us inside and we’d be doing something incredibly bad but also oh-so-good while the kids played their games and watched their movies.” Bron overtook Avery and span on her heel, leaning against and blocking the office door with her body. She parted Oz’s vest slightly to reveal more of her cleavage, running her fingers down her breast to her toned stomach whilst licking her top lip. “And I would rock your world sexy.”

This was one of the bolder encounters Avery has ever experienced. Everything that was Bron was pure, unadulterated sex. Not her usual cup of tea, but much appreciated. With an unchanging expression, Avery watched her, her blue eyes following the blonde’s fingers run down her glowing, delicate skin. The girl had a good body. She’d give her that. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was wearing Oz’s vest, maybe this advance would’ve been harder to dodge but that vest was a clear reminder of where they were and what they shouldn’t do.

Bronagh slid her hands into her back pockets and smiled brightly. “So what kind of booze does your old man have in there?”

“Beer and juice in the mini fridge, hard liquor in the cabinet. Mom likes fruity shit, hence the juice,” Avery directed, before making her way to her father’s desk, sitting on it, and crossing her arms, “Nothing against you, Bron. You’re stupid hot and I full heartedly believe you when you say you’ll rock my world,” Avery complimented, her smile grew at the warm presence that validated her existence. At least from this encounter she knew that she was a catch and that one day, she’d find a girl just for her. A girl that enjoyed her company and would want nothing more than to be with her.

Leaning a bit on the desk, watching the other woman saunter around the office to fix herself a drink, Avery casually explained, “I’ve outgrown one night stands and shit. You said it yourself. I’m stuck on a girl I can’t have. She actually rejected me today. But hey, she was open to a friendship, at least,” Avery shrugged at her luck and disclosed a piece of her heart, the lonely part, the one that never really had a special someone, just fleeting moments, “Doesn’t change I want something with substance, you dig?” This wasn’t a rejection per say, it was more an open door for them to get to know each other first but Avery wasn’t dumb. She knew Bron was looking for a good time, not a long time.

“I feel you baby, don’t worry,” Bronagh didn’t feel any shame or sting from Avery’s rejection; quite the opposite actually. It was nice to see that true love and wanting still existed in the world. What she had with Tommy, whatever it was, was her own thing. They were open to sleeping with other people as many times as they wanted as long as they came back to each other. It worked for them. “Offers there though, you wanna taste, I’ll be your main course.”

As she fixed them both something from the hard liquor cabinet, Bron warmly smiled at the other girl. “You know Clay talks about you all the time? I can see why. My cousin is an idiot but he has a good heart. So if he trusts you…” the blonde handed the other girl a glass and offered up a toast. “Then I can already tell I lucked out when I found the only unlocked door on this street.”

Salvador nervously tapped the wall as he looked at the seat next to Stacy. Fuck should he take a shot? She was so beautiful but what message did that send? Trying to flirt with some girl your first day in town? Then again he had spent the entire day trying to bring together a group of strangers so that he could join them in a game of DnD. Weird ass day. Sal made his way to the girl on the floor and took the cushion next to her. “Mind if I sit here?”

Stacy was finding it difficult to truly understand how…different most of the people here were. In the time she had spent here, talking to them (as much as she could), Stacy was still in awe in how unique everyone was. Most of them were loud and obnoxious, so it was no surprise how her sister bonded with them so much. She was just like them, but they all seemed so nice. Even the one who was…exposed. She honestly tried to not look directly at…them, but they made that a next to impossible task.

So the brunette kept her eyes forward. As she did, however, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Taking it out for a brief moment, she saw it was from Dylan. Immediately the smile that Stacy had on her face disappeared. Dylan’s face appeared on the screen.

Stacy froze. Every part of her body went numb to the point that she didn’t realize she had let it go to voicemail. She didn’t want to think about what would happen, what Dylan might do. But she didn’t want it to show. Katie would see and she knew how Katie felt about Dylan. He wasn’t the kindest of boys, but Stacy loved him. She loved him so much, but he had a temper. She tried…she wanted to make him not be so mad at her all of the time. And as a result, she had just made things worse.

As she felt her heart beat so fast and her stomach felt like it was pulling her down into the dark place any time she thought about Dylan’s vile side, she didn’t even hear when Salvador had asked her something. She absentmindedly mouthed “Yeah..” And when she realized, she came back to Planet Swerve. “Oh no, I’m sorry!” Immediately she looked to him. Of course, one look from him and the worries about Dylan seemed to fade away. She couldn’t place it, but whenever she gazed on his face, most, if not all of her troubles didn’t seem so bad. “Go ahead! Nobody’s sitting here. Or at least I don’t think so. They probably would have claimed it by now, right?” Her blue gaze looked to Sal for the answer.

“I’d imagine they’re all just fighting each other off to try and sit next to you, so while they’re doing that I’m just gonna slide in and steal you….I mean steal the spot for myself.” Such a smooth fucking operator, Sal; where was Rico or ReyRey when he needed them? One of his cousins would know exactly what to say to a girl in this situation. The young Montero was enamored with the young girl he now sat beside but based on the way her phone had been blowing up and the image of a guy’s face he had just seen, she definitely had a boyfriend. Though her reaction definitely wasn’t one of joy when he appeared on the screen, if anything it was fear. “So, I’ll take it that this isn’t your usual crowd?”

Stacy half-laughed. “Is it that obvious?” She said with a partial blush, looking at Sal. “My sister is the token nerd of the two of us. I mean, I don’t mind some of the stuff, but I don’t get super into it like Katie does.” Just thinking about how heated some of her conversations have gotten with her friends was enough to make the girl shiver. “But I like the movies. Hemsworth is a hunk.” Stacy giggled.

Logic would tell Sal that he had now bore witness to two red flags. Not only did Stacy obviously have a boyfriend but she also wasn’t really into the nerdy shit that the rest of them were. Logic would tell Salvador that he had been barking up the wrong tree and picked the wrong sister. Logic would say that but at that moment, Sal was not using logic. If his lothario cousins had taught anything to the geek it was to just go with his gut, consequences be damned and his gut was telling him to talk to Stacy.

“The movies are cool, not massively accurate but that’s ok, I’m not some kind of die hard.” Yes Sal, go straight for the nerd talk with this drop dead gorgeous girl who's actually willing to talk to you. “You know I just moved here? Like literally this morning and I actually said to myself that they need to make a movie or a show about this place. Most haunted places in America some call it. So many stories, have you heard any of them?”

Stacy made a noise of visible confusion as she tried to think of any. This really wasn’t her area of expertise. She loved reality television. She liked cheesy romcoms and the occasional Keanu Reeves movie, but when it came to spooky folktales about a town that was apparently cursed, it showed on her face as she frowned at not being to come up with much. “Katie is the one who would know more about it, but she told about one. The Basilisk.” She had to admit that particular story, myth, urban legend, or whatever you wanted to call it, was her favorite. “Like, apparently this person, sometimes depicted as female, sometimes as a snake person, once took out an entire bar full of people with nothing but a metal milkshake straw. Pretty crazy, right?” She could actually feel herself getting excited the more she thought about it.

“Well that’s badass,” Sal was extremely intrigued by this Basilisk character. They were mythological snakes and his family ran the Serpent gang. Coincidence? Absolutely not. “I did some research into the scary stories of this town when I knew I was going to move here. You wanna hear one?”

Now he had her curiosity. Stacy didn’t know a lot about Edenridge. Her brother pretty much made that impossible. Part of her didn’t understand why. Stacy would be lying if she didn’t say she was curious about it. Ever since she and Katie were sent to live in Pinehurst to live with their uncle and the cousins that lived on the adjacent houses in a cul-de-sac, Stacy always wondered why there and not with Misha? She didn’t ever bring it up because it felt like an issue that Misha never wanted to talk about because he never mentioned it. The few times they got to see him wasn’t enough. Stacy was selfish in thinking this, but part of her was tired.

But with all of these thoughts going through her head, centering around her brother and Edenridge, she wanted to know more. Even if it was just one horror story about it. “Yes please!” The brunette earnestly said, leaning a few inches closer to Sal, giving him all but her undivided attention to the Mexican boy. There was just something…calming about Sal. Something she couldn’t put her finger on. She almost felt like she was safe in a room of mostly strangers with him nearby.

“Ok!” He smiled enthusiastically as the room became alert to Sal as he prepared to tell them a tale. Marco, Rosie and even Katie offered the new found Edenite their undivided attention. Getting to his feet, Salvador hit the dimmer on the wall and turned the lights right down before taking his seat back next to Stacy. When he had met Dallas earlier that day, she had informed him that the group she was a part of that Sal himself was trying to join, had a few sacred rites. They didn’t just play Dungeons and Dragons or online JRPG’s, they wove tales and told stories, all of which must be done in the dead of night. “I submit for the approval of the Midnight Society, The Hauntings of the Rose Motel.” He began using his scariest voice.

“When the Rose Motel first opened its doors in 1903, many believed it would be the boom period that Edenridge needed. Little did anyone know that the hotel was a cover for a sadistic serial killer known only as the Magus. In every room, a death trap designed to maim, torture and eradicate everything that a person ever is, was or could be. Every suite told the story of a lost soul. He had secret tunnels that lead all under Edenridge where he would store the bodies of the damned. Some even believe that there is at least one corpse under every home in town. Then out of nowhere, poof, he was gone and the motel passed from person to person, no one ever managing to uncover the Magus’ secrets despite the fact that the Magus was said to have left behind an apprentice to carry on his diabolical work. The Rose Motel fell into disrepair and became home to drug pushers, the homeless and high school parties. Which carries our story to 1987.”

Salvador grabbed his phone during the pause in the story and quickly searched for something. A grin crept up upon his face and he lifted the phone up for everyone to see; the smiling image of a young woman “Siobhan Heather O’Brien was seventeen and had her whole life ahead of her. Cheerleader. Prom Queen, a Foundling. By all accounts, she was a sweet, kind natured woman. She didn’t want to venture to the Rose Motel that fateful October night but her younger brother Brendan was desperate to go to a party there and being the good person she was, Siobhan didn’t want to let the youngster go alone. At first it was just like every other party, booze, drugs, sex but nothing wild. Then the lights went out and the cops showed up. Everybody ran and Siobhan found herself in the manager's office. Nobody knows exactly what happened next but the prevailing theory is that Siobhan found herself in the arms of the Magus’ apprentice. He then proceeded to drive hooks into her wrists and chain her to the wall. He skinned her alive and left her there, escaping through the Magus’ hidden tunnels. Siobhan’s body was found a day later, the police and her younger brother Brendan who led them back to the more to find her. The poor boy would forever be traumatized and would grow up himself to be a serial killer himself, drugging and murdering prostitutes. Every room tells a story and some say that on any given night, when the teenage revelers descend upon the Rose Motel, you can see Siobhan standing in the window of the manager's office, warning them to leave lest a fate similar to hers befalls them. As for the Magus apprentice, it’s said he lurks in the tunnels, wandering and waiting for some poor soul to open a hatch and descend into his pit of darkness so that he can continue his masters work.”

It was not just Stacy whose attention was hooked by every word the boy next to her said, but the ears of Marco and Katie honed in on it too. Katie in particular had been eavesdropping on the conversation ever since Salvador had approached her sister. Katie was so naturally protective over her younger sister (they were separated by five minutes), so she had big sister eyes ever since the boy took the seat by Stacy. She didn’t like Dylan, but Stacy was too emotionally sensitive to hear the truth. Sal seemed like a nice person and clearly a fondness for stories that really stuck to your gut. Katie found herself intrigued the more he spoke.

Following Salvador’s final word, a huge flash of lightning and a boom of thunder rattles the very walls of Swerve Arcana. From beneath the large projector screen that the gang had set up earlier, a floor panel shot off across the room like it had been fired from a cannon, crashing into a standee of a clown for an upcoming horror release. A soaking wet figure emerged from the newfound hole in the floor, groaning and surrounded by a monstrous sound of what can only be described as the devil's white noise.

While Katie, Rosie, and Marco were looking over at the figure, a mixture of intrigue, slight panic, and anxiety (respectively from the three of them) on their faces, Stacy gasped so loud it sounded like a shriek, jumping in the butt pillow she sat on and had unknowingly wrapped her arms around Sal, almost clinging to him as some form of protection. She was shaking, the combination of the horror tale and the outside weather amping her panic to 100. “Who is that? Is it Magus?” A panicked Stacy asked.

The shrieking banshee that was Stacy Čapek set alarms fast in Avery. In a matter of seconds she grabbed her father’s revolver out of his desk, gestured for Bron to follow her, and the two girls hurriedly made it back to the game room.

Bronagh balled up her fists as she charged behind Avery. She was nowhere near as adept a fighter as her cousin Adam or her boyfriend Tommy but she had taken enough private lessons from her boy toy that she was comfortable and confident enough to whoop more kinds of ass than that Cold Stone Austin guy from that wrestling show.

Before barging in, Avery peeked through the crack only to see a familiar silhouette. With annoyance written all over her face, Aves mumbled, “Fucking really, Oz?” She kicked the door open rather unceremoniously and undimmed the lights. “We have a front door for a reason.”

Blinded by the sudden illumination, Oz covered his eyes like a creature of the night suddenly being exposed to blazing hot sunlight. He hissed as he backed away slightly. Once his dark eyes had adjusted, the heavy metal god bared his teeth and turned his hands into claws. “Boo!” He let out a howl of laughter before peeling off his wet jacket and tossing it over into a corner. “It was locked! The fuck are you little morons doing in here anyway?”

Bron’s soft green eyes widened at the stranger, whom she recognised from her days in school. He was a year below her but everyone in her class knew about the crazy Meeks head who seemed to have a cult of nerds that worshipped the ground he walked on. Even now, four years later, he was still a ducking basket case.

“I was about to get me some fucking pussy Oz!” Bronagh screamed. “Prepare to die you absolute basket case!” Throwing off the jacket that she now realised was his, the blonde barged past Avery and the youngsters wrapped up in each other’s arms on the floor with her fist raised high as Oz backed away towards the rear wall.

“Oh shitsticks”

Delbrook Academy Senior Year

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______________________________________	______________________________________________________________________________________ Location: Home Interactions: Buzzkill McGee (Malu - NPC) ______________________________________________________________________________________

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”Kyle, breakfast!” Malu, Kyle Vass’ younger sister of two years called for her brother, angry feet going up each step, turning a corner as she made a beeline for her idiot older brother’s room. “Dumbass! I said it’s breakfast time!” Not having any respect for whether or not he was still asleep, but knowing her brother like she did, he was. The turquoise-colored door flung open, slamming against the wall behind it.

But to the surprise of the younger Vass girl, Kyle wasn’t here.

“Seriously? He’s up before seven?”

As a genuinely shocked Malu was about to exit the typically messy pig pen her brother called a room, curiosity and her typical nosey personality took over as she looked around, going to the window and she saw Kyle going for a swim.

“HEY KYE KYE!”

As Kyle was mid-jump into the pool in the Vass home backyard, he heard that godawful name and immediately rushed up above the water. “Maluuuuuu! Come join me for a quick swim before school!” Kyle did the backstroke, shirtless a she always was during swims (and generally he always wore no shirt while at home), he swam with very little care.

And that’s always been the flow of Kyle’s life. Like the backstroke, he never was the type to care much about anything that didn’t bring him joy. He loved his sister, but she was a buzzkill sometimes. And so very vulgar. It was so shocking how someone with such a big brain could be such a big pain in his ass. He didn’t want to let that ruin his vibes, though. Kyle loved to look at every positive of every situation that came his way. Waking up before seven was just one of them.

Oh, he hated waking up so early, but what really made it worth it was being able to catch a swim right before school. Had he woken up an hour earlier, then of course, Kyle may have been able to venture to the beach and really do what he loved.

Surfing and food were among two of many things that brought him joy, but as long as he was able to be near water, no matter how chemically-based they were, he’d take advantage of it.

Kyle got out of the pool, grabbing the towel that was on the sidewalk, near where he exited from, he dried most of his body off. It took him an extra few moments to get his silky hair completely dry and an additional half minute to completely dry his lean body and hairless legs (Kyle liked to shave). As soon as she finished, he saw his sister walk his way with that typical nasty expression on her face.

“Why so sour, little sister?” He asked, bearing a smile, proving yet again he was the complete opposite to his little sister.

“Did you not even hear me earlier?” As Kyle shook his head, Malu sighed with great frustration. “Breakfast. Now.”

He thought about joking around, but she had him at breakfast. That swim he just took had worked up quite an appetite. “Well, why didn’t you say so?"

Malu was seconds away from smacking Kyle over the head, but before he could, Kyle tossed her his damp towel and ran towards the house. He knew exactly what was for breakfast: rice, some steamed salmon, and fried eggs. If there was anything his parents knew how to do the best way possible, it was making the best breakfast every day. Whether it was on a rainy day, which in Long Beach, really didn’t matter much because it was hardly like most places, or now on a late summer morning when he had worked up quite the appetite, Kyle was going to pig out to the point his sister would likely kick him in his exposed shin.

One was not like the other.

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^{Location: Delbrook Academy - Homeroom, then fredommmmmm!
Interactions: The Castillo Twins! @LostDestiny
OTD: ♛}

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“Freeeeedommmmm!” Kyle called as loud as he could.

As he left homeroom, he didn’t think that torture would ever end. He had the shortest attention span, especially after he heard that there was going to be a carnival. And with food trucks galore.

God, he loved this school so much.

Eyes as wide as they could go given…well physics (not that Kyle ever absorbed as much as left him whenever Malu tried to tudor him). He ran his way to the lacrosse field and, if there was ever a moment where Kyle Vass would become like a real-life anime character, this would be the time. As food-obsessed as he can be most of the time, there was just something so cathartic of looking at the rows (or was it lines?) of food trucks all around. School could be hell, but right now, Kyle felt like he was in heaven.

For a few minutes, Kyle roamed around. He didn’t have any specific direction or interest he was aiming to go for, or at least not right now. He felt overwhelmed by a lot. By the games. By the food trucks. By the people. Not overwhelmed in a bad way, though. Actually, he was enjoying himself a great deal. Kyle loved things like this. He didn’t go to carnivals a lot. Whether that was due to the amount of surfing he did both for the surfing team and his own personal pleasure or the amount of time spent filming stuff for Tik Tok and his Youtube account, Kyle didn’t have enough free time. But he always made it for his friends.

Wait, speaking of. “Where is the gang? Soy? Maria? Marco? Oh, Danny too!” Kyle said out loud, thinking as he always did…out loud. He looked around and around and around. And his head was spinning right round to the point where he had to take in a few deep breaths. “Focus, Kyle. Focus.”

He’ll just text them.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Kyle was going to text them, but then he saw a couple of them by one of the food trucks. The one that was apparently selling pretzels. “That’s a good place to start!” He didn’t have a plan yet, but Kyle was going to do a tour of all his favorite foods: fried and baked stuff with cheese and grease. Pretzels would be the first on that agenda.

As he ran over, which for him wasn’t an issue. Kyle liked to run. With his long legs, he cleared a great distance with relative ease. “Yooooooo!” He called out, waving an excited arm at the gingersnaps! “M-Squared! How’s it hanging!” As always, Kyle was grinning widely at them. “I was literally about to text everyone in the gc and then I saw you two! I’m so happy!”

Digimon: The Parallel Visage

Hey sorry, kinda dropped the ball here. I had every intention of posting by now but a lot of things just kept getting in the way, but I'll try and get something of a post up for this as soon as I can.

Edenridge

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_{T I M E S T A M P — Evening (4:40-5:30ishPM) || After Useless Musings}
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Somewhere inside, Jade felt guilty for taking a leave almost as soon as their stuff was deposited into Adora’s home. She felt guilty because after so long of leaving not just Key but Poppy in the dirt, as soon as they were free to roam around, she exited stage left…somewhere. Truth of the matter, Jade needed some time alone. She needed some breathing room. She needed to gather her thoughts away from Poppy, away from Key, and away from Natalia. She was suffocating to the point where all of the compartmentalization she had made about what she was feeling versus…everything surrounding this trip: from Charlie to Charlie having a sister to the fact that, honestly, she wasn’t ready to face them.

That’s what took Jade to the backyard patio area of Adora’s house. She was still somewhat nearby the others, but far enough that she could think and breathe in peace. For the first time, Jade took in the sights. She stood at some edge but saw the surroundings for the first time. It was breathtaking. At face value, it wasn’t much to look at, but there was something about it - something that Jade couldn’t explain - that made her feel relaxed. It wasn’t just relaxing for her stress levels (which had been abnormally high since this morning), but she would even say spiritually, she felt something.

And Jade wasn’t a spiritual person. Or if she was, she’d much prefer the Prince of Darkness to the big person up top. But this was different.

She pulled out a cigarette from a pack of Marlboro 100s Red that she had in her back pocket and popped one in her mouth. Lighting it, she stood almost solemnly. These moments alone gave her some time to think. As she huffed out a big puff of smoke and she glanced at the sky. It made her mind drift to the storm. She wondered if Pancake was safe. Somewhere inside, Jade also felt guilty for not telling her she was leaving. She just hoped Anya was okay, safe, and out of harm’s way of the storm.

Frowning slightly, she heard some noise from behind her. Jade was always on her guard - except for those Sunday morning dates with Anya where she didn’t have to be - so when she heard what sounded like footsteps, Jade jumped in place defensively only to notice the artist formerly known as Queen Bee of Edenridge High, Class of 2020 was behind her. “So what? You needed some time alone too?”

You could say that,” Natalia said with a small smile, settling on one of the royal blue lawn chairs in front of the fire pit with her trusty blue makeup bag in her arms. After a brief catch-up with Adora in which the two women lamented the end of Tal's relationship with their hostess' nephews but were happy it had been an amicable split, the young woman had been quick to barricade herself in the bedroom she had shared with Creed and Jokes during their Blue Hill visits. Spending over an hour in close proximity to Charlie's friends had left her muscles tense and her nerves shot with anxiety, leaving her with no other choice than to pop a few Valiums and lay down in an attempt to self-soothe. She kept an ear out for the voices of the rest of the Southies, waiting for the moment in which they faded away. And once she determined the other guests were gone, Tal embraced the opportunity to find comfort in solitude and the cool, fresh mountain air.

“Poppy and Boa gone?” Tal asked Jade, occupying herself by loading a dose of freshly-grinded weed onto her trusty galaxy purple glass pipe. She hadn’t expected to find any of the Southies still at the house, but a part of her was grateful that it was Jade and not Poppy.

She watched Natalia claim one of the chairs and with a slight shrug more for herself, a sort of ‘might as well’, non-verbal reaction, Jade took the one opposite of her. There was something awkward in the air. Jade didn’t know if it was how she was feeling, how Queen Belmonte was feeling, or just the fact that she didn’t really know Natalia enough to feel comfortable around her, yet in her current state, she preferred her company to anyone else’s right now. The guilt for ditching her friends and family was still eating away at her, so maybe that’s why she felt this way.

“Yeah, it seems like it. I don’t know where to, though. I just came this way to get some air.” Jade absentmindedly said. She wasn’t even looking at Natalia - not really, anyways. She casually took a couple puffs of the cigarette, blowing the smoke into the air as she found herself leaning back into the chair.

The Belmonte girl snorted. "Honestly? There's not enough air or oxygen on this Earth that'll make me feel any less stressed about all of this," Natalia told Jade, pulling out her zippo lighter from the makeup bag and flicking it open.

Jade brought her gaze to Natalia. There was something eating away at her and now was as good of a time as any to say it. “You know, this might be rude, but honestly I always thought you were kind of a bitch. Not a bitch like Lanie Lancaster. That one was insufferable. More bitch like ‘oh she might ruin my day if I get in her way but probably be friends with me too’ kind of bitch.” As she rambled on, Jade inhaled another puff of smoke. “Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. Feel free to ignore me and get high if you want.”

Natalia's face lit up in a smile at Jade's comment. In a town full of secrets and lies, the blonde's honesty was quite refreshing. "You're not that far off in your assumption," Tal admitted, placing the pipe to her lips, flicking the lighter on under the pipe and allowing the flame to light up the weed. She took a long, deep drag from the pipe and released it in a steady stream of smoke before continuing. "I'm not proud of some of the things I've said and done throughout my life, or the way I've acted in certain situations. I've felt hurt, I’ve felt lonely, and I’ve been scared to show any signs of being weak or vulnerable-- which I'm not saying to justify anything, by the way-- so I've lashed out in ways that hurt people I care about," she explained, her mind immediately jumping to Danny, Niles, and even Kylee during the last time she saw her-- people who hadn’t deserved her harsh treatment even if they had knowingly or unknowingly hurt her with their actions.

Jade just had to chuckle and smile at the response she got. She was smiling because, as much as she hated to admit it, she was the same way (more or less). Jade was horrible to a few people. Some not so memorable, but one in particular, one Roddy Callahan, had always stood out. Some days she wished she had made amends with him, and apologized for being a grade-a bitch to him. He developed feelings for her and, instead of trying to see if she did too (she might’ve), Jade split like it was nobody’s business.

“Seems we’re cut from the same cloth.” Jade laughed again, leaning forward, flicking her cigarette that was no larger than her fingernail into the unlit fire pit at the center. “Well, at least you have the balls to be a bitch to people to their faces.” Jade stayed leaning forward, her arms positioned over her thigh (just an inch or two shy of her knee). Her gaze was down closer to the ground than it was level or at Natalia. “Me? I’m a coward. I run away, hide, and keep even those closest to me at arm’s length at a time.”

The dark-haired girl immediately scoffed and raised her eyebrows. "Did you not see the state of my room when you guys came over earlier? What do you think I've been doing the past two weeks?" Tal confessed, taking another pull from her pipe. "All I remember about the last fourteen days is getting high, getting food and falling asleep. I made sure to only leave my room when everyone else wasn’t around because I didn't want to explain myself to anyone. Fuck, I even deactivated my socials and everything so people wouldn't be able to message me ask me about things. Which, from what you're telling me, looks like you can relate to as well."

Jade laughed again, slightly nodding. “That obvious huh? Guess you weren’t queen bee for nothing.” Another small chuckle escaped through her lips as Jade’s gaze remained on the firepit. The thoughts of the past immediately flooded her mind as though the fires from hell themselves consumed her, burning away whatever peace the Angel Princess had achieved in the journey here. “So as you so aptly guessed, you aren’t the only one who said--” Jade leaned back and flipped the bird in no general direction “--to the world. I was never that active on any socials. Think all I have is a Reddit account but even that’s not used very often. But the whole not answering messages and calls? Yeah, I fucked off for a whole month. Didn’t matter who it was: my Aunt Zippo’s family, Pops, Key, even Mikhail Zima reached out once or twice.” She laughed, thinking about HB and how even though they didn’t talk that much, he still cared enough to reach out. “I didn’t care -- I couldn’t care. That whole night at the Carlisle House…”

As Jade had finally looked up at Natalia, as she saw the Italian girl smoke her pipe, her emotions swirled inside. Swirled to the point where she felt that familiar vice grip of that night take a hold of her. Unlike that night, however, Jade had made some peace with it. “Instead of leaning on my friends - my family - I couldn’t face them. Every one of them who knew said I wasn’t at fault. And part of me understands that. Too many things were at play and it’s not like I could do anything to stop ReyRey from what he did to Charlie, but I never said anything until that night.” Saying it out loud was difficult for her. She thought she might talk this way with Poppy, but guilt prevented Jade from feeling strong enough to talk about this with her or even Key. Somehow doing that with Natalia, someone she had barely any connection with, was easier. “Despite that, you had a connection with Charlie too. I can’t imagine how it was for you, having to hear everything.”

Natalia was quiet for a while, listening to Jade elaborate on the way she’d coped with things and feeling a strange sense of consolation. She wouldn’t have guessed that she and Jade dealt with their problems in similar ways: pushing her loved ones aside. Not just that, but she wouldn’t have thought that they shared a similar feeling regarding their failure to help Charlie during his time of need. However, when the conversation shifted to her potential connection to Charlie, the Italian girl’s demeanor reverted back to its usual high guard.

"He was my dealer. That's all it was," Tal answered curtly, shifting her slightly tearful eyes away from Jade and to the pine trees surrounding them as her body tensed up. Flashbacks of the moments shared with Charlie throughout the years jumped to the forefront of her mind, each one more meaningful than the last, all culminating in that fateful day in which she witnessed his premature demise swiftly delivered by the hand of Sly James and his bullet to the Native boy's head. Before their excursion to Carlisle and the old high school, Natalia had compartmentalized and suppressed the memory for nearly two years. But after that night, the visions of her former lover meeting his end haunted her dreams, and only the pills and the weed knocked her out enough to avoid the nightmares that followed.

The blonde found herself narrowing her blue-green eyes at Natalia the moment that she saw her gaze drift away from her own. Jade knew it all too well that, on the southside, if you had a dealer, they were more than that. But at the same time, as much as she wanted to assume, if she were in Natalia’s position, she’d hate for anyone to assume something that might not even be true. What Charlie became after a certain point, as much as it kills her to assume it, he became like a stranger to her.

“Sorry, I didn’t…” Fuck, Jade was terrible at this: the awkward apology for her own damn assumptions. She kept her eyes on the former queen even if she didn’t want to look at her. “It’s just, in the Southside, we don’t really view dealers as just that. I get you’re a Northsider, but you strike me as someone who is more Southie than Northie. Hell, my own dealer, Sunshine, he’s someone I’ve known for the longest time. Ever since I met Key since I was thirteen, I’ve always been close to his crew. Sonny is the one who gave me some pills. Still got 'em with me just in case I needed a pick-me-up.” And at this rate, Jade would probably need them sooner than later.

The Belmonte girl remained silent once more, pondering her options. Here was an opportunity to come clean about her involvement with Charlie Decker with someone who seemed to carry the same guilt she did. Jade had been open with her so far-- more so than Tal would have ever imagined considering they’d been strangers just mere minutes before. And she had also shown vulnerability in the things she’d disclosed and the way she had disclosed them. But was Tal ready to do the same?

"I guess you could say we were friends," she lied, taking another puff from the pipe but still avoiding the blonde's eyes. She was afraid they would contradict the words being spoken-- that they would reveal she and Charlie had been drawn to one another, and that they'd been more than friends at one point in time. "I started buying from him after Niles Sinclair and I stopped being friends. One of those times, he noticed I wasn't being myself. He offered me a joint, asked me what was wrong, and we got to talking about it. It was nice." Tal admitted, the ghost of a smile on her lips as she remembered her first real conversation with Charlie Decker: the one that started it all. "We had smoking sessions and deep talks about this and that a few more times after that. He was honestly the best person to talk to if you wanted to dig deep into the meaning of things. It was one of the things I enjoyed most about him."

Jade didn’t expect this to happen. Honest to every damn God and spirit around, Jade didn’t see herself having a conversation about Charlie with someone she not only didn’t have a close connection with, but someone who had the same experiences that she did. She was experiencing a lost feeling that she hadn’t felt in years. Any time that she thought about Charlie Decker, it was always met with profound sadness, mixed with regret and pain. All of that from the last two years of Charlie’s life and how very little she talked to him. She was going through her own shit, as he was, but...

But Jade wished she had reached out. God, she wished more than anything that she would have just said hello. Have another go at it, but it never happened. And while he was gone, he wasn’t forgotten. This very moment was proof of that.

“I bet you were the one to start it off, right?” Jade smiled and laughed, remembering how Charlie was at that game before the party. “He had a way about him. For someone so wise beyond his years and a love for literature, he sure sucked at getting his thoughts out.” Somewhere deep down, Jade wished things had been different that day. At the game.

Natalia turned to look at Jade for the first time since their common friend had been brought up in conversation. “I mean, you’re half-right. Charlie wasn’t really one to talk about himself in detail much-- at least with me. He’d drop breadcrumbs about things he was going through here and there, making it sound almost like a riddle you needed to decipher to find out what he really meant. But starting the conversations? That was all him.”

Now that she took the time to really think about it, Charlie definitely knew more about her than she ever did about him. It wasn’t for lack of trying, because God knew Tal certainly tried her best to offer him the same shoulder to cry on he gave her. But Charlie always found a way to circle topics back to her or shift them in a different direction. Maybe if she’d tried harder, pushed further, dug deeper… Maybe he would have finally bared his soul enough to protect them all from what came after.

“That sounds about right.” Jade said absentmindedly, switching from half-smiles and neutral expressions in the course of a few moments. She remembered conversations she had with Charlie. Conversations that, even before that horrific night where everything changed, what Natalia said… “Charlie never did like to talk about what was on his mind. Or what was happening with him. I was one of his best friends at one point and even I knew very little about what was really happening in his life.” Saying that out loud felt like she was stabbing herself in the gut repeatedly. To actually say that she may not have known Charlie at all, that…

That was a reality check Jade never thought she’d face, least of all with somebody that she didn’t know had such a profound connection with him.

Hearing Jade admit that Charlie wasn’t very open with her did ease some of Natalia’s conscience. While she still wished she would have tried harder to earn his trust, it was a little comforting to know that it hadn’t been just her. Unfortunately, knowing what she did now and how it all ended, hoping that he’d had someone to confide in even if it hadn’t been them, was futile.

Jade felt the curious cat poke its head and there was something she needed to ask. “When was it that you had started having these talks with him?”

“March of Sophomore year,” Natalia responded without hesitation, taking yet another pull from the pipe. “I started buying from him almost as soon as we got back to school from winter break, but we actually started talking in March. Why?"

“I'm just thinking about him. About everything.” Pain surfaced in her voice, forcing her to fall silent, but Jade was still smiling. “I guess when things around me and, I suppose everyone else too, were happening all at once and I started to lose touch with him, that was around the same time you…and he started talking. I think I’m happy he found someone to talk to, even if he didn’t admit much to you about what he was going through, it seemed like he felt safe around you.” In truth, that’s the best way Jade could look at it. Her biggest regret was not doing more, but at least he had somebody. She had made her peace with most of it, but unintentionally so, this had opened up some old wounds for her.

The green-eyed girl swallowed the lump forming on her throat, getting misty-eyed once more as even more memories of her time spent with Charlie bubbled up to the surface. “Not as safe as I felt around him,” she heard herself confessing. “I cared about him so much-- more than words can ever say. In high school, I was surrounded by a ton of people. I had one or two friends that I trusted, but Charlie was the only one who really saw me from the beginning. He gave me one look, and that’s all it took for him to know what kind of mood I was in. He made me feel heard. He knew what to say to make me feel like I was worth a damn when I thought I couldn’t see it myself. He did so much for me-- hell, he did so much for so many people--, and none of us could do anything to save him--” Out of nowhere and before she could stop herself, Natalia dropped her pipe in her lap, hid her face between her hands and started to sob.

Without even thinking about it, Jade left the chair she was in, going close to Natalia. She was on one knee. Her hand was gently resting on Natalia’s shoulder. The Angel Princess was at a loss of what to say because she didn’t think there was anyone else other than herself and Poppy who felt this way about Charlie. Who held such a deep regret for not being able to help him. Jade held her own shortcomings with Charlie so harshly against her that even before the shooting, it crippled her. And after, in addition to so many other bad events happening in succession, Jade couldn’t deal.

That’s when she started to turn to drugs to help her cope with all the internal pain she kept clinging onto. Pain reminded her that she was still alive but the drugs and alcohol helped numb her worst thoughts, yet made her feel worse about herself. “Natalia…” Jade spoke softly, though she felt her voice crack with the mix of emotions that she thought were buried in her voice. These emotions stemmed from thoughts that she thought were resolved. “I’m…” Again, she got choked up. The roles were reversed right now. Natalia was where Jade was last month. “You’re not alone, Natalia.” Jade squeezed her shoulder.

As tears started to slowly flow down Jade’s face, smearing her racoon eyeshadow, Jade gently pulled the Italian girl into an embrace as she wrapped her arm around the girl’s lanky shoulders. “I hope you know that. Me, Poppy, Key, and you -- we all feel the same hurt. What we couldn’t do right by him, we can by his sister.” Maybe for the first time, Jade could understand the true importance of this trip. She spent so long from the moment she found out to the car ride to the Reservation stuck in her head, but Jade saw it now. What this was about was not to just protect Charlie’s sister, but redemption for the four of them.

Natalia nodded in acknowledgement, still sobbing but gratefully leaning into Jade’s compassionate embrace. This was the first time that she had ever disclosed part of the depth of hers and Charlie’s relationship to anyone. Be it out of fear of being judged, concern of their bond being misconstrued or guilt at the potential part she had played in the grand scheme of things, nobody else had known the very real feelings she’d had for the deceased boy. From the moment she’d witnessed his tragic death, the Italian girl had compartmentalized their memories together and locked them away in the depths of her mind, unwilling to deal with her emotions even during therapy. The Carlisle incident had served to chip away at the defenses she’d put in place since that fateful day in late August of 2019, but today was the first time she’d been forced to confront her feelings about those high school experiences she’d suppressed as a coping mechanism to her trauma. And, as much as Tal didn’t want to admit it, sharing a part of her story with someone who could relate did ease some of the heavy load on her shoulders.

Maybe that’s what Rhonda Decker had wanted for them all along.

𝘿𝙀𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 ⌜ᴀ ɢᴏᴅ ʀᴏʟᴇᴘʟᴀʏ⌟

curiouser & curiouser

_{location: The Olympic Club
interactions: Athena | Heimdall | Xipe Totec
mentions: The Death Family | Artemis | Hati}

---

Heimdall could barely believe his eyes as he looked down at that graphic scene before him. Two divine children laid dead in a broken bloody pile as if they were mortals. He felt a chill go down his spine as his mind began to race through the possibilities that this could lead to. Not only was it bad enough that the victims in this scenario were Greeks, but they were the children of Hades and Persephone. Though Heimdall had never met them personally, the few stories he had been told by Athena cleared all doubt of how they would respond.

Heimdall crouched down, his eyes shining just a bit as he observed the bodies as best he could. Though the large amount of blood covered the finer details he was still able to make out some obvious facts. One was that Zagreus had put up a fight before being killed, the other detail was that the two children had been dead long before they ever touched the ground. Heimdall's eyes grew wide however as he noticed a small detail hidden on their body, there was a small clean cut like one left by a knife or blade of some kind. Heimdall looked up to the shattered skylight for a brief moment before standing and walking away from the scene. ‘I need to find Athena and fast’

His walk around the event was a long and purposeful one. One filled with scanning everyone who entered and exited, of the mortals and divine alike. It was easy to fall into a sense of… boredom when attending the Festivals Hera hosted yearly. Nothing exciting going on, enough to hold his attention at least. But it wasn't necessarily entertainment Xipe sought while stalking through the throng of bodies, rather someone. Xōchi had announced she would attend and yet he wasn't able to spot her. And when the bodies fell from the sky like the first heavy raindrops of a summer storm, he felt fear for the first time, believing one to be her.

After statements were made, divinities leaving after being dismissed he noticed Heimdall searching the scene; he would wait until they needed his expertise. They always did. Taking a glass of champagne and sipping it slowly he made his way to the bodies laying at his feet. Pools of blood stemmed from the young before his eyes, like roots of a weed it spread along the ground beneath them. His golden gaze sharp, examining the substance at a crouched level. Unlike other cases that had come across his desk, he would need to think with the mind of a killer. A simple enough task for Xipe Totec.

When his gaze turned up to look about the room, still bustling with too many bodies for his liking, he noticed that Heimdall was making his way towards the Wisdom goddess. _{'They would be spilling what they know soon enough,'} he thought to himself and snatched up a few pieces of broken glass; a makeshift slide for him to use and examine at a later time.

Athena had returned to the scene of the crime and it was definitely a slow process, but progress was being made. She had the blood from the bathroom and she spotted Xipe Totec near the bodies of her cousins who were still laying motionless on the ground. She didn’t have much of an opinion on him but she didn’t trust him enough with the vile of blood that was in her purse. This would need to be kept in-house.

“Heimdall,” she greeted him, casually glancing around the ballroom. “Any updates?”

“No way it was an accident. Beside even the setting and the falling part, the boy had scarring on his knuckles from a fight. My guess would be an altercation with the perp.” Heimdall paused for a second as he looked across the room seeing that the grieving Hades and Persephone had already been escorted out of the building. “Whoever did this, did it to send a message to your uncle and aunt.” Heimdall paused for another moment before turning back to face the goddess of wisdom. “How about on your end?”

“That’s what I deduced as well.” Athena hummed, seemingly to agree with what Heimdall had deduced on his own. Did Artemis tell him about the blade yet? Probably not. Not much time had passed and that was the sort of thing to tell when there weren’t so many ears that could hear of it. Athena wanted to divulge it now, but now wasn’t the time.

She sighed out far more dramatically than she thought she might. “Unfortunately it’s not anything good. Anteros was distraught but not for reasons pertaining to the case. Apparently Pothos is missing. I was actually on my way over here to tell you--” Athena was cut off mid-sentence as she spotted the usually-snake-like Xipe, who always had a habit of slithering behind people appear out of nowhere behind Heimdall. Her partner hadn’t noticed but she did and the wisdom goddess folded her arms over her chest, glaring at him but decided to say nothing as her eyes said enough.

Like a second shadow Xipe was there, hands in his pocket as he observed and listened to the goings on between the detectives. A type of social hierarchy going on between them, and if Xipe was any kind of mortal that wallowed in his feelings too much, he might have even been hurt by the clear and blatant exclusion he was feeling. But he wasn’t and he didn’t. He stood there, head held high, although his laidback and relaxed posture spoke volumes of someone with other thoughts on their mind.

“Seems as though this is more than just death... targeted individuals, perhaps?” His eyes danced, the muscles around his lips twitching up into a small smile, “I would think that because it was their first time back into the world of the divine, they would have been the best ones to off. And in such a fashion as they did? Tsk. The craftsmanship of the wounds and… display of their bodies could use a bit of work.” The way he spoke, like a master of their craft critiquing the works of a novice. So haughty and with distaste. Except, Xipe wasn’t upset about it, rather he saw the potential and wished to inform the killer of all the points they missed.

He didn’t know the Children of Death all that well, hell, he only really met Melinoë - an interaction he enjoyed. Having a domain over madness must be thrilling. Xipe was clearly only there for a few reasons; his affinity with blood would help - or at least they think so, and he was drawn into the commotion a pair of dead divinities offered. Truly a delightful end to what could only have been boring in comparison. “Do tell us though, Athena,” he dragged out, circling the pair of them like a vulture, “What is the significance of your niece’s disappearance? Clearly it wasn’t the killer, otherwise she'd be as dead as the others." Xipe couldn't choose between hiding his enthusiasm and looking unfazed by the whole situation, but with everything unfolding before him he was finding the latter very difficult.

Athena could never place it, but there was always something so unnerving about Xipe. His unwarranted commentary about the specific way bodies were carved up, the odd excitement he always seemed to show when talking about fatal blows, and just his energy rubbed the wisdom goddess the wrong way. That’s why she didn’t want to tell him everything she found out. She wasn’t even going to tell Heimdall everything. She was simply going to inform him of the updates that happened on her end. She wanted to take this opportunity to inform Heimdall about the norse sword, but Xipe was the last person she wanted to be privy to that knowledge.

Athena hated to admit it, but there was some merit to his questions. Pothos, to her knowledge, was not as connected to the murder of Hades’ and Persephone’s children. The crime scenes were different, as well. Zagreus and Macaria were murdered in a dramatic fashion. Intended to create a scene. Pothos was taken, presumably in the bathroom amidst the chaos. “She was taken in the bathroom - the one I just came from. Blood everywhere. There was a struggle. Not sure if it was god or mortal.” Athena knew she had to be careful with her answers and what pieces of information she wanted Xipe to be aware of (for a myriad of reasons). “Perhaps a stalker? Someone following her and used the disarray of the murders to take her?” Athena thought out loud, more for Xipe’s benefit. Indulging him in this may satisfy him enough so that he would stop digging.

Heimdall felt a small chill run down his spine at the way Xipe described the bodies and their injury almost as if he was a judge or a displeased instructor. Even being a Norseman Heimdall had standards when it came to such things. Sure he and his kinsmen had killed plenty but they usually had an honor about it rather than whatever atrocity this was. There was no sense of honor or reason to this killing, more like that of a serial killer or just a deranged madman. Of course though it could never be that simply as now a person had gone missing.

Though he could feel the tension between them, Athena and Xipe made good points about the kidnapping being unrelated to the murderers, in a direct sense anyway. “We should make sure everyone else is accounted for in some capacity. The last thing we need is more people to show up missing with everything going on. Especially on the off chance that this all is connected.”

His face contorted into that of a twisted grin. A Cheshire cat who caught a taste of the cream; as it were. "A stalker, hm?" He toyed with the words in his mouth, as if they were something new and delicious he was trying out for the first time. Weighing how it sounded before he spoke more on the thought. "Perhaps. Though, safe to say that whoever it was doesn't want her dead. Just gone. Might have even posed a threat she didn't know she possessed herself."

Xipe halted his firing of the two, nodding along with what Heimdall said, about checking on everyone's whereabouts and cross referencing them; that was more their style. The Flayed One simply sought out for himself, to gain answers for what he needed - not what others desired. It's worked out for him well so far. This time would be no different. Though this tine, he supposed, if he wanted to be kept in the loop he would need to play nice with his fellow immortals.

"Before I go, have you thought that maybe with her absence it was a ploy to pull attention away from one thing only to throw it at another?" He hummed aloud as if to prove a point. "There are many a people who have quite the scandalous history with Ares. It wouldn't be too far a stretch to believe this was done in a way to get to him," and without another word, the Aztec turned on his heel and began to make his exit, waving back towards his colleagues, a wicked grin on his face, hand in his pockets, encircled around the blood slides there.

When Xipe was gone, Athena sighed out, a mixture of relief, tension, and ire built up. She never liked him, but his talents were useful. That didn’t make her feel any better when he was close to her, but she recognized he had his uses. “As much as I hate to admit it, Xipe has a solid point. Pothos being taken could be something that may be used to target my brother.” There were too many angles to consider, but she knew that was one she could certainly handle for herself. Of course, this meant talking to Ares, which, of course, was never something she was keen on doing.

“But Heimdall, there is another matter we need to discuss. Not here, though. Let’s go somewhere… more secluded. There is a matter I need to discuss with you.” Athena started walking, looking back momentarily to make sure that Heimdal was following.

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Heimdall could a small part of the tension leave the atmosphere with the departure of Xipe as he heard his partner let out a held breath. While Athena spoke to him about her brother, Heimdall nodded along, understanding the hesitation she had about talking to him. He could understand where the wisdom goddess was coming from in that regard, from the bits that she had told him about her past in Olympus, her and Ares had a strained relationship at best. If he was being honest it wasn't too far off from his own relationship with his brothers or his own father for that matter. Heimdall quickly threw out those thoughts once he heard Athena asking him to move to a more private area for whatever she needed to explain next.

With a slightly concerned look on his face he nodded and followed behind her. As they continued to walk further and further away from the main plaza where the guests were gathered, Heimdall began getting a sinking feeling in his gut. Finally their journey came to a stop once Athena had led him up the roof far away from any possible listener and by the looks of it where the bodies came crashing from above. Heimdall could feel something bad was coming, rarely had he ever seen Athena like this before, of course she was always serious about her work, but this was something that exceeded that.

Athena didn’t like to waste any time and less so when it was about something important. As much as she had wanted to talk about why she was leading her partner away from the main plaza and to the top of the skylight on the roof where the bodies had originally fallen from, she couldn't risk it, especially if Xipe had suddenly decided he was going to follow them. And for that reason, she needed to wait until they were alone.

“I do apologize for the over dramatic silence, Heimdall. It is not who I am. I like to get to the point, so I’ll spare you any more of it.” With a deep sigh, Athena came out with it. “During the investigation, particularly when I came to the roof at the request of both Hati and Artemis, which of course they put me in charge of the investigation. I’m not complaining. They know I’m really the only one for the job, but there was a weapon found at the scene of the crime. Right over there--” She gestured to the skylight, “--A weapon of Norse origin: Dáinsleif. It was the sword that killed my cousins.” Athena stood with arms crossed, feeling both anger at that fact and some apprehension. She didn’t know much about that blade other than it was norse and a formidable blade.

Heimdall paused for a second as he thought about what Athena had just said. If this truly was the work of a Norse blade then it was no wonder she wanted this to be kept in secrecy. “I haven't seen that sword in a long time. The last time I saw it I was still the watchman and that sword was still on the hip of its original owner.” Heimdall paused for a moment as he thought back to the days of old trying to think of the best way to explain what the blade was. “Well it's no ordinary sword that is for sure. It was forged long ago by the dwarfs and placed with both a curse and a blessing. The sword was said to never to miss its target, but if the blade is ever pulled from its scabbard it must cause bloodshed.”

Heimdall took a second allowing the information to settle with Athena as he took a few steps closer to the skylight that had been broken. Paring down he could still see the broken bodies of the two children lying lifeless on the tile floor looking up at him. Nodding slightly as a sign of respect to the dead Heimdall turned around to look back at Athena. “What worries me most however is the fact that they simply left that thing here. Besides trying to start a war between our houses, I don't want to imagine what they could have that could match that in power.”

Athena stood pensively, listening to every word her partner spoke about the sword and about what it could do. He described it as a blessing and a curse. Athena could see why that was so. A weapon like that was sure to bring great victory in battle. Athena had only what Heimdall told her and the little information she had beforehand about it, which wasn’t much. She didn’t know about it having a curse - only the name, origin, and rumors. These rumors were nothing compared to this sword causing death anytime it was unsheathed.

“Heimdall, what kind of hold does this sword take over who holds it? Is there anything else you can tell me about this sword. How does the curse work?” Seldom did Athena find her without the answers, but as much knowledge as Athena has about weaponry, about strategy, and about most things war-related, she is not Ares. She hated to give her brother any props, but the fact was that this was bordering on being out of her wheelhouse. She is not so desperate to seek him out…despite having her own reasons of needing to speak with him.

“That's about as far as my knowledge goes unfortunately. I don't remember anything about controlling people or how exactly it worked. All I know is that we are dealing with a weapon on the same level as my fathers spear or my brother's hammer. It never misses and is magical like the others as well” He paused for a moment as he looked at Athena, his face still holding a serious look with the slightest bit of worry mixed in. “So what is going to be our next move then partner? Cause i agree that this needs to be kept on a need to know basis or else a war is going to break out between our houses and lines are going to be drawn.” Though he dreaded the idea and believed they could solve this before time ran out, Heimdall couldn't help but get a dark feeling looming over them that threatened to tear both their pantheons asunder

“I was afraid you would say that.” By all Gods that she knew about, she dreaded this more than any potential war that may break out. Athena was hoping there was some secret Norse knowledge that Heimdall, the Watcher, would know of, but it seems this blade was one that had a reason to be feared. Whatever secrets it held was out of reach of not one, but two intelligent deities. That part angered Athena the most. The fact that, between Heimdall and herself, the most they put together was that Dainslief was of Norse origin and when it was unsheathed, it needed to taste blood. And that it can kill what is divine. The most dangerous fact of it all.

“Our next move is simple: solve it before another life is lost.” Athena had the habit of speaking arrogantly about impossible-to-solve cases. Particularly when the clues were nowhere in sight. “I know it won’t be easy, but between us, Artemis, and even that bothersome wolf, Hati, I have a feeling the pieces to this puzzle will reveal themselves somewhere. Until then, we work it like any other case.”

Xipe stood at the entrance of the roof, listening intently to the detectives. A mysterious, god-tiered weapon used against the divine? How inconvenient. This posed some real issues to his kind and though he wasn’t opposed to death and the natural - or unnatural - cycle of life, this was anything but welcomed. Especially seeing as how there could be more out there. There was no way a person as twisted as this would halt after just two kills. No. With the reaction it’s garnering, they will want more. Xōchiquetzal flashed across his mind and in one fell swoop he was descending the stairs, two at a time, cell phone already to his ear and dial tone playing on a loop.

Delbrook Academy Senior Year

I wholeheartedly blame @Venus for this >_>

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Drea Banks || Delbrook Academy

_{"I consider myself flawed and fabulous because perfect doesn’t exist and normal is boring.”}

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_______________________________________ N A M E Andrea Jacquiline Banks ∞ Drea(common nick) ∞ Andi(less common but accepted) ∞ Jackie(reserved for special people) ∞ AJ (also accepted) ∞ Kitten (don't you fucking dare) A L I A S E S @BankonIt @AJ.banks A G E 17 || June 4th ∞ Gemini (Sun) || Capricorn (Moon) || Libra (Ascending/Rising) G E N D E R Cisgender female S E X U A L I T Y Bisexual - no lean and Drea likes it that way C U R R E N T C I T Y Lakewood, California E T H N I C I T Y German, Hungarian, English _______________________________________ A P P E R A N C E Height: 5’3" Weight: 105lbs/48kg Hair: Dirty blonde || Curly; typically straightens it Eyes: Green Body Type: Petite || Lean and toned due to contant physical conditioning Body Marks: Earlobes are pierced. Clothing Style: Sporty and flirty, Drea's style is a mix of crop tops, tanktops, midriffs, loose yet stylish T's for upperbody wear. She has a sense that's mixed of jeans, frilly skirts, tight skirts, and short shorts. She has shoes for most occasions and might have an obsession with them. || x x x x x _______________________________________ R E L A T I O N S H I P S T A T U S Single Crushes . . . Flings . . . Past Relationships . . . F A M I L Y mother: ∞ Violet Jessebelle Banks-Carver || 42 || Realtor || FC: Natalie Dormer father: ∞ Jackson Torvald Drake || 40 || Co-Ownder of Asgard Fitness; member of the Fallen Angels Outlaw MC (Boston Charter) || Divorced since 2009|| FC: Jensen Ackles step-father: ∞ Dr. Franklin Carver || 47 || Cardiothoracic Surgeon|| Married since 2018|| FC: Malcolm-Jamal Warner younger step-sister: ∞ Alyssa Carver || 16 || Junior at Delbrook Academy || FC: Samantha Logan younger brother: ∞ Jackson Torvald "Sonny" Jr || 15 || Sophomore at Delbrook Academy || FC: Dylan Everett P E T S ∞ Lemonade (1 year old) - Female Persian Cat ∞ Sunshine (6 months old) - Male golden retriever _______________________________________ H O M E S W E E T H O M E House Room _______________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________ L I K E S ✔ Exercising - her body is a temple of sorts (details to come) and, honestly, Drea just loves hitting the gym, weight room, the track - really anything that gets her blood pumping. ✔ Coffee - she has a bit of a caffeine addiction. She prefers her coffee sweet over bitter (yuck!) ✔ Protesting/debating issues important to her - or rather, debating. Whether equality, getting caffeinated drinks for the cafe, or winning petty arguments with her brother, Drea just loves debating ✔ Lemonadeeee - he loveloveloves it! ✔ Pizza and wings - don't let her size fool you! Drea can put down more than her fair share of wings. Bonus points if they're spicy! D I S L I K E S ✘ Bigots, sexists, racists - pretty anyone who is discriminatory towards anyone for non-valid reasons. ✘ Being late to school. Her perfect attendance record is kind of important to her and usually whenever her brother has it in his hands, she grows increasingly annoyed with him. ✘ Sour flavors. Just ewwww! ✘ Tiff's obsession with boys - she loves her to death, but sometimes Drea worries for her bestie. ✘ Being underestimated. Let's just say that Drea loves when people try and think less of her because she's a short girl. She loves any chance she can prove them wrong. ____________________________________________________________________________ P E R S O N A L I T Y Strong-willed → determined → compassionate → easy-going → independent → loyal → stubborn → passionate to a fault → impatient ____________________________________________________________________________ Strong-willed, determined, and someone who is always fun to be around, Andrea Banks is that one girl who will both embrace you when she sees you in the hall (if you're close enough to accept hugs as a greeting) or put you in your place. She his fiercely independent and stands up for what she believes in. If it's unpopular, then it's unpopular, but you'll never catch her backing down from a verbal showdown unless valid counterarguments are presented. To her friends, she is the very same way but her dedication and innate stubbornness make her hell for whoever hurts those she considers close to her. Whether it's her girls, Sonny, or her stepsister who she is positively close with, she'll fight you 5'3" stature and all. Her fire burns as brightly for her friends as it does for standing up for what's right. Maybe she's a tad idealistic, but in today's world, how could you not be? On the down side, Drea has been known to let her mouth do more talking than it should. She doesn't know when to let others speak. She goes on tangents about various subjects ranging from social issues she's passionate about to her pride in her family and friends. She might even go on about some show she's obsessed with. Probably why she and Tiff mesh so well. They both can't seem to shut up, though in the latter's case it's mostly about boys (much to Drea's partial annoyance). ____________________________________________________________________________ B I O G R A P H Y Andrea's life is, for the most part, not a simple one to explain. Whenever she tries to tell people it, they look at her like she's insane or just flat-out lying to them. It's not her fault that her father is in an outlaw biker gang in Boston while her mother and stepfather (and his daughter) live with her and her brother in Long Beach, but that's just how it is. Truth be told, Andrea Jacquiline is the oldest child of Jackson Torvald Drake and Violet Jessebelle Banks. She has a younger brother (two years younger to be exact), who is named after her father: Jackson Torvald Drake Jr, though he prefers and aggressively insists being called Sonny. For the first ten years of her life, her parents were happy together. They were high school sweethearts. Both of them grew up in Boston. He came from a family of military vetreans and her mother, Viola, came from a family of realtors and lawyers. Their union seemed to just...mesh. At least for ten years. At some point after he was honorably discharged because of an injury (nothing too physically limiting), Jackson fell into a deep depression. That depression made him fall into some illegal activity - particularly the Fallen Angels of Boston/Edenridge. Viola tried to make it work, but the knowing of her ex-husband's life and how he made his money was almost too much. She worried about the kids and what dangers they might be in, so they split amicably. He maintained a large part in their lives, but for the kid's safety and Viola's sanity, she moved Drea and Sonny to where most of her family lived (as of the time they split) in Long Beach. Drea was eleven and Sonny nine years old. It wasn't all bad. Jackson got the kids in the summer under the condition that his brother, Hunter, was around at all times and Viola got them the rest of the year (save for every other holiday). Being split between two homes on two different ends of the country was difficult for Drea, especially because she was absolutely her father's little girl. Still, she understood (some of it because her parents kept some truths away from the kids for their own safety) that this was her life. She made the most of it. And over the next couple of years, she really came into her own. As a kid growing up in Boston, she was always active and had done gymnastics for as long as she could remember and she kept with it even to this day. She used that background to find an easy fit with the cheerleading team at Delbrook Academy. She leads the team (maybe?). In her current life, Drea loves her father, but she isn't like Sonny who has made life difficult for their stepfather, Franklin Carver. Her younger brother is a brat who can't accept their life. Even in six years Franklin has been in their mother's life and has been nothing but amazing to not only them, but trying his best to be a secondary father to both of them, Sonny hasn't accepted it. Drea shrugs at it because she absolutely loves him. All she ever cared about was her mother's happiness and even though part of her has always wished Viola and Jackson could have stayed together, things had to be like this. Besides, Lissy is so cute and amazing! The literal sister she wished she had. ____________________________________________________________________________ S C H O O L I N F O G R A D E Y E A R 12th - Senior G P A & A V E R A G E 3.8 || B+ average with a few A's thrown in there. E L E C T I V E C L A S S E S Gymnastics & Women's Studies E X T R A C U R R I C U L A R ∞ Cheerleading Team ∞ Debate team T R A N S P O R T A T I O N Drea drives a 2015 BMW 4 Series 428i Convertible that has a white exterior body with a red interior that was a gift to her by her step-father. P L A N S A F T E R G R A D U A T I O N Drea has #goals. She wants to get accepted into an Ivy League school: Yale and Meadow are her top picks with a state university being her safety. She wants to get a degree in political science or something where she can fall back on it if cheerleading doesn't pan out (yes she plans on joining the cheer squad of whatever college she gets accepted to. From there, the world is her oyster. She just has to get through senior year first. ____________________________________________________________________________ A F T E R - S C H O O L I N F O E M P L O Y M E N T Due to her extremely busy schedule with debate prep, cheerleading, and trying to balance it all with school and having friends, Drea does not work like most would. She does get a monthly allowance of $300 for keeping her grades up, but she also works part time on the weekends at the mcdonalds near her house. F A V O R I T E P L A C E S ∞ The Pike Outlets ∞ Santa Monica Pier ∞ Junipero & Hunnington Beach (for the view) ∞ Long Beach Rescue Mission ∞ Disneyland ∞ Birdcage Coffee House to feed her coffee addiction R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S ∞ Drea considers herself as a mental wellness guru of the cheer team. Take that as you will. ∞ She is the oldest of the Carter-Banks family, so making sure her younger sibs aren't mistreated and/or do what they're told is one of her top priorities. ∞ Debate team and making sure she doesn't fall short ∞ Protecting Tiff at all costs ____________________________________________________________________________ O T H E R Favorute song of the month is Unholy by Sam Smith and Kim Petras Growing up, in addition to her mother, Drea had always looked up to women who were icons like Rosa Parks, Joan Jett, Hayley Williams Drea has been practicing gymnastics for most of her life, which she brings to her cheerleading duties, as well as doing some fun routines on TikTok Drea volunteers as much as she can. Whether it's at a soup kitchen, the YMCA club near her house, she believes in giving back and helping those less fortunate than her. Drea and Sonny spend the summers and every other holiday in Boston with her father While Drea isn't someone with nerdy interests per se, she does enjoy watching Marvel and DC movies. Why? Because of all the hot people. Drea has a secret obsession with Pixar films. Incredibles and Toy Story are her favorites. Drea enjoys cooking and even has her own special recipe for lemonade. T H E M E S O N G Confident by Demi Lovato Face Claim: Brec Bassinger - | ##eac55d