Melissa

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

_{Speaking with: Charlie @KaijuBaragon and Summer @Danvers}

As she approached the initiate table, Maggie could feel her stomach begin to turn. Something about the situation seemed so forced- all of the witchlings required to sit together and make small talk. Usually, she preferred social interaction when it was on her own accord, but she’d have to make lemonade out of sour lemons and suck it up. The blonde offered a warm smile to those who had noticed she appeared, but didn’t say anything. She found her seat at the end of the table, mentally thanking the elders for giving her the spot with the easiest escape route, and opened her book once more and continued from where she left off.

It wasn’t long until Sister Deborah approached the microphone and drew attention, including Maggie’s. The girl set down her book on the table (this time remembering to mark the page where she left off) and listened intently, mulling over each word the woman said to the crowd. Although it didn’t seem like it, the blonde was quite excited for her initiation. She was looking forward to gaining a new sense of belonging to the coven and forging her own path, both literally and figuratively. Of course she was nervous, but for some reason, she felt more at ease than anxious knowing that she would be initiated as her family was before her. This would be a new adventure, and above all else an opportunity for Maggie to come out of her shell and mature.

As the elder announced the initiates would be meeting at the house in a few minutes time, she wished she had just stayed over there in the first place. Uaithne just had to come over and guilt her, and she could have avoided all of this had she just stuck with her gut. But it was too late for regret now- she had already seen her mother practically beaming from across the field noticing her daughter socializing. At least it made one of them happy.

A voice calling her name drew the blonde out of her thoughts, and Maggie looked over to find Charlie speaking to her in his lovely accent. It took her a moment to process, but when she realized that he was inviting her to accompany him and Summer back over to the house, she nodded in response. “Sure, I’ll join you.” Standing up and smoothing out her dress, she leisurely strolled to where they were standing, matching their pace as they began to walk towards where she had been hiding out previously.

Summer’s reputation definitely preceded her, and the blonde couldn’t exactly figure out if her compliment was sincere or not. Even though they had known each other for quite a long time and were amicable, Maggie knew that the girl didn’t get along with some people and it was best to stay on her good side. Deciding in her own mind that Summer’s words were genuine (even if they truly weren't), Maggie looked down at her gingham dress and back up to the girl, and smiled. Today was not the day to hyper analyze. “Thanks, I figured that it's a special occasion, so might as well look the part.” After a pause, she motioned to Summer’s yellow and white striped ensemble. “Your dress is lovely as well.”

Looking up at Charlie, as he was much taller than her, she noticed that the fading golden hour sunlight seemed to catch his hair, making it look even more red than it truly was. “So what do you think the wellspring is like? I’ve always wondered.”

Project Untamed

_{Dwayne Freeman, Frankie Allensworth, and Leo Brooks
An @Ejected, @Spooner, and @Melissa Collaboration}

“If either of you gets egg on my hair, I swear to god…”

Leo grimaced as the staff member explained their next challenge, having been led to it by their previously scrambled clue. Did he commandeer the leader position of the group? Absolutely. Ultra competitive and athletic, scavenger hunts and races were certainly in Leo’s wheelhouse. Up until this point though, the challenges had been a piece of cake- menial and brainless, but this… this just seemed too stupid to actually pose a threat to their success. They had all been forced to be at least 6 feet apart in the courtyard, the distance not extremely far but definitely making the challenge a little more than child’s play. However, Leo wasn’t worried in the slightest- the only fear plaguing him was being on the receiving end of a broken egg and having it ruin his brown locks or crisp white shoes.

“Oh don’t be such a primadonna,” Francesca smacked her lips around a large candy pop as she lifted her sunglasses on top of her head. Looking at the large man child with humor-filled eyes. “If you get egg in your hair I’ll help you wash it out. We can wash our hair together,” she winked and popped the pop back in her mouth.

It was then that Dwayne realized that his suspicions from the previous day had been correct: he was gonna have to deal with being the awkward "third wheel" for the entire scavenger hunt.

“Well maybe I should break it on purpose then.” Leo passed the egg from hand to hand until the stopwatch began, and then tossed it to the teammate on his left side.

Frankie gracefully caught the egg and held it up “See nothing to worry about,” she said smugly before looking to her left to the tall dark young man “Hey D, look sharp!” she exclaimed before gently throwing the egg to him.

Dwayne caught the egg with ease, the corner of his mouth slightly tilting upwards in triumph once he did so. Dwayne wasn't too worried about ruining his clothing or hair during the scavenger hunt activity; after all, it would only take a few minutes in the shower or a few Tide pods to remove the gooey substance from his being if it came down to it. "Yeah, it won't be a problem. As long as we're all careful..." As the young man spoke, he shuffled the egg into his right hand and tossed it into the air once more, silently hoping that Leo would catch it.

The dark haired boy opened up his palms to receive, and caught the egg just barely, purposefully contorting in order to put his body out of harm's way. Leo tried to handle the egg as gingerly as he could, but the words gentle and careful weren’t exactly in his vocabulary, so he was trying his best. Weren’t physical challenges supposed to be about strength? With another toss, the egg sailed over to the blonde, a suggestive brow raised on the boy’s face. “Come on, Frankie, I know what those hands can do.”

Frankie caught the egg once again with a smirk “Mmmh” she replied, tossing it quickly to Dwayne without much pause. “Ugh! Has it been a minute yet? I’m over this…” she moaned looking to the faculty member observing them.

“It’s been 20 seconds.”

"You can't just chuck it around like it's a football or something, man. We've gotta be more gentle with it..." Dwayne said as he caught the egg once more and threw it underhand to Leo. "Unless you want to start this all over again and increase the chances of you ruining your shoes." It was after Dwayne finished speaking that the faculty member nearby gave them the signal that they'd reached the thirty-second mark. They were almost there.

Leo rolled his eyes, grasping the egg as it was tossed back to him. He didn’t like being critiqued, not one bit, especially by Dwayne. “Gentle, my ass. We’ve just gotta just be consistent.” The boy advised, continuing with the order they had started with and passing it back to Frankie.

Catching the egg once more, Frankie rolled her eyes giving off her ‘whatever’ vibe. She made eye contact with Dwayne making sure he saw just how slowly she was throwing the egg back to him. Once she had thrown it she crossed her arms in front of her. She was officially over it.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Dwayne simply decided to just stay quiet for the rest of the challenge. It had become obvious to him other the past few tasks that trying to reason with or talk to Leo was like talking to a brick wall. The young man caught the egg with no problem, and tossed it over to Leo in the same manner as he had before. "Heads up." His eyes went wide, however, once he saw Leo begin to struggle.

Leo fumbled the egg in his hands, Dwayne’s throw having been perfect but his own grip too harsh, causing it to crack on the ground and splatter over his shoes and the hem of his jeans. He knew that it was only his fault, but wasn’t going to own up to it as he swore. “Fucking SERIOUSLY!” He exclaimed, face turning red. He had just washed these pants and now he was going to need to wash them again, as well as clean his previously pristine shoes.

Expressions of both amusement and frustration washed over Dwayne's face as he watched his teammate examine the damage that had been done to his shoes. Maybe next time he'd listen.

A deep frustrated sigh left the girl “Are you fucking kidding me, Leo… we had like 5 seconds left!” she stomped her foot on the grass.

The staff member simply shook her head as she handed Leo another egg and the timer started again. He growled as he threw the egg over to his teammate and the cycle began once again. This time around, he was extra careful, and they quickly made it back to the halfway mark without another slip up. But that didn’t mean he was happy. “Okay, one redo was enough so let’s just try not to mess up again.” He tossed the egg to Frankie.

Frankie just caught the egg and threw it along without saying much. She was ready to move on and get this whole day over with. And as soon as the staff member gave them the sign that their minute was up she almost jumped with joy, skipping over to get the next clue. It didn’t take long for the girl to unscramble the letters to get the answer. “We’re going to the lecture hall… let’s go!” she said lowering her sunglasses again pointing with the piece of paper in the direction they had to go.

Thankful that the second round of egg tossing had been successful, Dwayne simply tucked his hands into his pockets and followed behind his two teammates.

As they arrived at their destination, Leo tried to look around to guess what they’d be doing for their next challenge, but couldn’t figure it out. The lecture hall looked completely normal- or so he thought. “So what, we're just supposed to sit here? Take a test or something?” He laughed to himself, sitting down on the top of one of the desks.

It was then that the staff member appeared and informed them that they’d be looking for puzzle pieces around the room and putting them together in order to get to their next location. Simple, yet slightly more effort than Leo imagined the task would originally involve. The male staff member also took the opportunity to reprimand the boy for not using a chair. Leo scoffed, sliding his feet back onto the ground. “Buzzkill.” The dark haired boy muttered under his breath.

Frankie just sauntered in after Leo and plopped herself on the desk where the puzzle pieces were supposed to be assembled crossing her legs looking around. “Come on Leo… the faster you find the pieces the faster we can get out of here and do… other things” the blonde let out a small giggle. But when she felt the disapproving stares from the staff she huffed “Fine!” flipping her hair as she jumped down and started looking for some of the pieces. She quickly found one inside a textbook, and then another taped under a desk. She threw them on the desk where she had been sitting pushing them around trying to figure out where they belonged.

“Other things sound good to me... D, you heard her. You take that side,” Leo pointed to the left of the white board, “And I’ll take the other.”

Trying his hardest to refrain from rolling his eyes in a mixture of annoyance and disgust, Dwayne walked in the direction that Leo had pointed out and began his search. It didn't take him long to find a couple of pieces himself.

Leo winked at Frankie as he strolled over to his jurisdiction, beginning to search for the pieces. He was pretty good at spotting them since they weren’t camouflaged or anything- bright spots against dull looking carpet, desks, and chairs. He effortlessly lifted up a chair with one arm, finding a segment underneath a leg. For dramatic effect, he tried to get the blonde’s attention, pretending to use the chair as he would a weight in a bicep curl. With a wink, he put the furniture back on the ground with a clunk and continued to scan around, spotting another piece tucked away behind the door. “Anyone having any luck? I’ve got two.”

“We have four then,” Frankie said of handedly smiling in Leo’s direction, playing with the gold chain she was wearing around her neck trying to bring his attention to her chest, ignoring the staff member clearing her throat behind her. She rolled her eyes once more “Which means.” She turned to give the observer a look “We need 6 more to finish this dumb challenge!” Frankie rearrange the pieces that they had found to find where they fit. “Any luck over there Dwayne?” she asked without looking up.

"Yeah, I found four on this side of the room," Dwayne said as he walked back to where Leo and Frankie stood, the puzzle pieces in hand. The young man then dropped the pieces off in Frankie's pile before helping Leo search for the remaining ones. "Now we're just missing two."

Leo found another piece thrown carelessly onto the ground, almost as if the staff member was inherently trying to get them to move on faster since he was uncomfortable. The boy figured there weren’t any more in his corner, since he already found three in that spot. So, he sauntered to where Frankie was putting together the pieces, dropped off the one he was holding, and began searching again around where she was sitting. Lifting up a stack of boxes in the corner (which he had no clue what their purpose was) he found the last piece. Tossing the cardboard segment over carelessly, he watched as it landed next to the rest of the pieces. “Well, that should be the last one.”

As the last few pieces landed in front of her, Frankie quickly arranged them together. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out a ten piece puzzle. As she fitted the last piece with the rest, a picture of the pool was sparkling back at her. “I guess we’re going for a swim next?” she questioned the staff member who was scribbling away only answering with a curt nod. “Lucky I wore my bikini under this, huh?” Frankie winked at Leo before swishing her skirt as she turned to exit the classroom.

Leo exhaled loudly, trying to get a hold of himself as he watched the blonde near the door, watched her very closely. “Eh, lucky for some people. I would’ve have preferred nothing at all, but fucking Sol had to ruin skinny dipping for me. That bitch.” He turned to Dwayne, wiggling his eyebrows “Let’s go, Dwayne. The pool awaits.”

"Oh, great." Dwayne said with mock enthusiasm as he began to follow Leo towards the door. "I can't wait." And it was true, Dwayne couldn't wait... for the scavenger hunt to be over.

Meadow University

_{Bastíen Bonfamille @Spooner and Nolan Murphy @Melissa
Location: Nectar’s}

Bastíen stood leaning on the bar polishing off his drink as he watched the first act of the evening take the stage. It was a mousy looking girl stepping up to the microphone getting ready. Darla stood to the side, clipboard in hand checking her watch every few seconds. Bas couldn’t help but chuckle at the neurotic woman- even though there was something endearing about it, Darla really needed to relax.

“You’re certainly in a good mood this evening, Bonfamille.”

A voice brought Bastíen’s attention away from staring at the frazzled gig manager and broke his stare. Instead, he turned towards the source of the voice which turned out to be none other than the star athlete of the MU Hawks team, Nolan Murphy.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” Bas queried, putting down his glass as he turned towards the newcomer. He tapped on the bar to get the attention of one of the bartenders signaling that he wanted another. He leaned his head on his hand as he waited for his drink to be made, eyeing the two pitchers of beer being put in front of Nolan.

“Out with the boys, I take it?” Bastíen asked, flicking his eyes back to Nolan.

The football player smirked, turning to face Bas as he spoke. “No, no particular reason.” Nolan chuckled and dismissed his prior observation, shifting his weight so he stood up just a little bit taller than before. Having known Bastíen for a decent amount of time, he knew that the boy was sometimes quite hard to please, so seeing him with a cheerful disposition was a nice change of pace.

Nolan nodded to the bartender as he placed the pitchers down on the bar, handing him his credit card. “You can start a tab.” The boy had a feeling that he’d be drinking a decent amount this evening, so there was no use in signing the bill now. Running a hand through his hair, he looked back at Bas, nodding in response to his question.

“Yeah, they’re over there.” He motioned to the high top table in the corner where his teammates sat, “We just got off the field not too long ago, it was a rough practice.” Nolan took one of the pitchers and poured a glass for himself, taking a long sip. There was just something about a refreshing cold beer after a long day that helped alleviate any negative feelings he possessed, which was certainly needed after today.

“Oh?” Bastién raised an eyebrow “Daddy coach riding you hard? I can only imagine since he couldn’t lift the probation… even for you.” He took a sip from his new drink.

Nolan smirked, as he knew very well that the dynamic between himself and his father preceded him. Most people couldn’t exactly understand why he played football when his dad was the coach. University was about holding your own and finding yourself and yet the boy chose to willingly spend the majority of his time with his father ragging him on the field. “I mean, between you and me,” Nolan looked around and leaned towards Bas in secrecy, his voice lowering just slightly “He already found a loophole at the administration’s behest, as I’m sure your parents did as well.” He took a step back and leaned back against the bar as he had a few seconds before.

“I might still technically be on ‘probation’, but what the NCAA doesn’t know won’t hurt them.” Nolan used air quotes liberally, taking another swig of his beer. Nolan debated on not telling Bastién further about practice, but the 2 tequila shots he took prior to arriving at the bar said otherwise. He wasn’t drunk- at least not yet- but as alcohol does, it freed his inhibitions just enough for him to reveal more. “But yes, Coach- rather dad can be a bit of a hard ass, especially on the field when it concerns me.”

”Well, well, well nepotism at its finest…” Bastién sighed almost bored, “I would know right?” He said before Nolan could because he knew it was what the athlete was thinking. “You would think that the heads of this fine school could come up with a more… inventive punishment. I mean some of us have security nets that they can’t even dream of… am I right?” He smirked looking over at the table of rowdy football players, who were casting annoyed stares their way, probably wondering where the beers were at.

“I think your boys are getting a bit restless… better get them their drinks so they have somewhere to put their roofies.” he quipped nodding his head towards the gang.

“That makes two of us, I guess.” Nolan replied, taking another drink of his beer and glancing over to his boisterous friends who waited expectantly for their share of the pitcher. They were this lively all the time, the heart of the party in every sense of the word. Every now and again, Nolan felt like he was out of place, too focused on his studies to care. But most nights, like tonight, he joined them in their revelries.

“They can wait, or they can come get it for themselves. I may have paid for it, but that certainly doesn’t mean I have to serve it to them in a timely fashion. They’re used to drinking warm beer, so having it somewhat cold is a treat.” He made eye contact with his friends and then motioned to the pitchers, indicating they were up for grabs if they so desired. He raised an eyebrow at Bas’ choice of a joke. “No roofies- just good ‘ol fashion clean fun.”

“Is that so…” Bastíen murmured plucking some lint from the sleeve of his jacket There’s a few girls around campus that would disagree he continued internally. “Well in that case… enlighten me, what does a group of testosterone-filled football players do for fun?” he asked with that famous sparkle of trouble in his eyes.

Nolan could believe that Bas would stoop so low as to doubt his intentions, and rolled his eyes as the boy questioned his teammate’s motives. Sure, they were known to host a party or two at their house on the edge of campus, that was common knowledge, but it annoyed him that the boy would ever imply such things. “We drink, just like you do,” Nolan motioned to the drink that Bastíen was sipping on. “We socialize, just like you do,” he gestured to the bar around them, and paused. “Well, not exactly like you do.” He corrected himself, silently acknowledging the fact that Bas was alone at the bar.

“Riveting.” Bastíen smacked his lips taking his eyes from Nolan’s friends since the waving hand of Darla caught his eye. The blonde looked panic stricken and mouthed for him to come over. “Sorry to leave you… but I am needed elsewhere.” He said patting Nolan on the shoulder and walked over to where Darla stood stomping.

Before the football player could pipe in another word, Bas had departed, leaving him with a sour taste in his mouth. Nolan scoffed, mimicking Bastíen’s overconfident tone and demeanor, “Riveting.” He chugged the rest of his beer, shaking his head. “He wouldn’t know a good time if it looked him straight in the face.” Nolan tipped the bartender a few dollars cash to ensure the drinks kept coming throughout the night- you always wanted to get on their good side. He grasped the two pitchers in one hand, cups in the other, and walked back over to his friends to continue with his evening.

“Fuck! Bas!” Darla hissed when Bastíen reached her. “The next guy just cancelled! I need you to go on after Fiona!” she spat at him rapidly not even looking at him.

Bas just let out a soft chuckle and grabbed her chin and directed her to look him in the eyes “Of course I’ll save you… yet again” he said planting a quick kiss on her lips. “Just give me a sign when you want me to go on.” he left her dumbstruck and settled at a table next to the stage.

Project Untamed

Dr. Hagerty’s watch read 12:00PM exactly, indicating that the scavenger hunt would commence momentarily. He stood in front of the crowd of students that had formed beside the cafeteria wearing a casual shirt and pair of khakis, his brown hair combed over with a few strands falling into his eyes. The scientist was a little more laidback than his counterpart, and was also a bit younger, which made him more approachable to the teens. For that reason among others, they had named him the Dean of Students, a position slightly below Headmaster Wayman, to ensure he had close proximity and direct line of contact with the test subjects. He oversaw their curriculum, special events, campus “activities” as well as student advising, where the test subjects had one on one meetings with himself as well as other staff members to discuss their “academic progress”. Not only was this a way to ask the subjects questions in a comfortable and unassuming environment, but it was also a workaround to keep tabs on them both mentally and emotionally and contain any issues before things got out of hand.

In terms of incidents, they were doing quite well with mitigating threats to the experiment and nipping things in the bud before other test subjects had the chance to catch on. A few weeks back, a student had an outburst which threatened their credibility, but they were able to sedate him before anyone could notice and understand what had truly happened. It was unfortunate that their technology didn’t allow for total memory loss, as no amount of science could truly understand and predict the outcomes of the complex human mind, so they did their best to supplement where assistance was needed.

Unfortunately, yesterday there had been another occurrence when one of the test subjects, Subject #4, had questioned the staff’s motives and legitimacy. In order to ensure that no other students would follow suit, they moved her back to the lab for reconditioning, disguised as an allergic reaction. Luckily, Subject #50 (known to his peers as Griffin) had just been released from his quarantine and was simply put in her place for the scavenger hunt. Everyone seemed to buy it, and life went on. No harm, no foul.

Dr. Hagerty tapped the microphone that was linked to an outdoor speaker system and began to talk to the crowd of students, his cheery voice and infectious energy ricocheting off the buildings. “Happy Wednesday everyone! It’s scavenger hunt day and I hope you are all as excited as we are. Now, the staff on campus have worked very hard to put this together for you all, so I ask that you give them the respect they deserve and put your best foot forward.” He stated, motioning around to their teachers who were merely observing. Dr. Hagerty hoped they would put in maximum effort; if they were more invested in the team exercise, the better outcome there’d be for research.

“To start, you will be given a clue with a location. When you get to that place, you will be asked to perform a challenge, where upon successful completion a staff member will give you your next location clue. The cycle will continue until you visit all 10 locations and accomplish all 10 tasks, and your last clue will lead you back here. The first team to finish will win a prize, which will be announced at the end of the hunt. Understood?” Dr. Hagerty waited until some students gave lackluster nods and positive responses before continuing. He motioned to his assistant, who began handing out slips of paper to the teams. After he’d seen that all of the groups had a slip of paper, he spoke once more.

“Alright everyone, here we go.” Dr. Hagerty let a smirk play on his lips, pausing for dramatic effect. This was going to be good.

“On your marks… get set… go!”

---

It's scavenger hunt day! You'll work with your team (as best as you can) to complete all of the challenges and hopefully win. The staff seem to be acting more excited than the students, but that's normal...right?

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

_{Speaking with: Uaithne @Tracyarmav}

Maggie watched as Uaithne effortlessly jumped down to scour the bushes for her book- it must have been his height that gave him a nimble advantage. As he reappeared and carefully handed it up to her as if it was made of glass, she graciously took it, thanking him for retrieving it (even though it was his fault she dropped it in the first place). She leafed through the chapters and tried to figure out where she had left off, as unfortunately the boy was incorrect as to what page she last read. Maggie wished she had invested in one of those magnetic bookmarks when she was last at the library, it would have saved her a lot of time in the long run and in situations like this.

After listening to his commentary on the group, she couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. The crowd may have been intimidating, but that didn’t mean that Maggie had an aversion to any of the other witchlings. “I never said any of you were rabid,” The blonde raised an eyebrow at Uaithne, “And I doubt that this evening's events will change that.” Giving up on finding the correct page and closing the novel, she let it rest on her extended legs. “I could theoretically come and sit with everyone, but I doubt I’d be able to make any progress with all of the chit-chat.”

Maggie’s gaze drifted down to the sundress she was wearing at the mention of it, the bottom hem of the skirt billowing ever so slightly in the breeze. “Umm, thanks... I guess.” She replied uncomfortably, unsure of how to take a compliment from someone other than her mother. The girl was not often one to be the recipient of praise based on her looks, so she brushed it off as just him trying to be nice. Quickly desiring to switch the subject, she slid off of the railing, landing on the balls of her feet and clutching her book so as to not drop it once more. Uaithne made a fair point that she would draw more attention showing up late than walking over now- she hadn’t thought about that.

“Say no more, I’ll read at the table.”

Project Untamed

Tyler Jane had arrived at the assembly early, always notorious for being on time and prompt. She sat towards the back of the auditorium, letting her long legs extend onto the seat in front of her and was inadvertently stretching her somewhat sore limbs. As a dancer, she was always finding ways to soothe her overused calves and quads, which is why she found herself more often than not conditioning muscles during class, lectures, and honestly whenever she got the chance.

While she half-listened to Headmaster Wayman ramble on about meal times, she scrolled through the school’s social channels and couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at some of the things her peers were saying. Some mocked their “fearless leader”, poking fun at his choice of outfit or his weird stance at the microphone, and others just complained about how stupid this whole thing was. High schoolers were ruthless, and it made Tyler Jane feel slightly bad for the man. He was trying his best and obviously wasn’t the best public speaker by nature, so feeling guilty, she put down her phone and decided to pay attention for his sake. As she tuned back in, Wayman started talking about the holiday next week, one she had completely forgotten about until he brought it up: Halloween.

As he began to describe how the campus would be celebrating, a distant memory seemed to pull itself to the surface of the redhead’s consciousness and demand her attention. It felt like it was being dragged by weights, held back with resistance for a reason she couldn’t explain. But, nonetheless, it was there. A scene began to unfold inside her mind and it was as if she was just a passive observer.

Tyler Jane found herself in an empty house. A few dim lights revealed an inviting living room, but no one was home except for a young girl who couldn’t have been more than 11 years old. The girl had propped herself in front of a large window facing a suburban street, her long auburn hair having been haphazardly braided, assumedly done on her own. Tyler Jane couldn’t make out her face- it was blurred and abstract- but she knew that it was supposed to be some faraway version of herself. She was a bystander in her own narrative.

Out the window, autumn leaves were piled on the ground, the trees growing bare as the seasons changed. Children paraded down the sidewalks with their parents in tow, dressed up and carrying baskets of goodies and treats. They were laughing and swinging their arms excitedly, clearly elated and enjoying the moment. And yet, the young girl found herself alone, and somehow, Tyler had a feeling that this was the case every year.

Violently snapping out of her daydream, Tyler Jane’s legs slid off the chair and smacked down onto the floor, her shoes echoing on the hardwood. Her eyes quickly darted to her neighbors who gave her strange looks for causing an unnecessary distraction. Returning her gaze to the front of the room, the redhead let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and failed to understand where that image had come from. Was it real? Or was it just a trope the imaginative girl created in her mind in response to the mention of the holiday. Regardless of how vivid it was, or how tangible it felt, she decided to pass it off as only a story and desperately tried to focus on the assembly instead.

Within minutes, Headmaster Wayman had explained the scavenger hunt and dismissed the students to find out their teams on the bulletin boards outside the auditorium. The redhead quickly gathered her belongings and made a beeline for the exit, wanting nothing more than to get out of there and go back to her room.

After arriving at the lists, she scanned for her name and found it alongside the likes of Theodore Wallstrom and Bradley Barron. She didn’t know Theo well, but she had conversed with him once or twice in passing and had yet to really form an opinion about him. On the flipside, she was incredibly fond of Bradley and was excited that she and him got randomly paired together. The two often spent nights in the courtyard chatting and they just clicked well. He was a good friend and surely in a team challenge they’d excel together… or so she hoped.

Now that the unknown of her team had been solved, she continued on her direct path back to the dorm. She’d find the two of them later to chat, but for now, she needed to be on her own. Why was she so startled by that daydream? She couldn’t put her finger on where it had come from and why it was so haunting. Shaking off the anxious feelings that were currently making themselves apparent, the redhead disappeared towards the residence hall.

Meadow University

_{Location: Meadow University Football Field → Nectar's}

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

Most people looked forward to Fridays- after all, it was the end of the week and beginning of the weekend. But, Fridays were notorious for being Meadow University Football’s most rigorous practice day, which meant the players dreaded going to sleep every Thursday night. Their Fridays were always the same year after year- between the hours of 6AM and 9AM, the players strength trained and conditioned as a team, and from 5PM to 8PM they practiced on the field with their coaches and trainers. In between all of this, they were expected to maintain their specific athletic diet and complete all of their coursework. Total, it’s about 6 full hours of working out, more or less, whether it’s in the gym or on the turf.

Coach Murphy planned this strategically, knowing that the weekend was spent slacking off at parties and eating cheat meal after cheat meal. Legally, according to the NCAA, Division I teams can’t practice for more than 20 hours a week, and you can bet that Coach milked each minute he could get, tallying each spare moment throughout the week that the team didn’t use and adding them to Friday’s practice. He was a bit of a hardass, that was for sure.

On this Friday in particular, the players itched for a reprieve, Nolan included. Not only did he have football things to worry about, he also had one of his first practice MCAT exams the day prior and did not perform as expected. Plus, with everything going on as a result of the Great Bash, there was never a better time to let loose and enjoy a break, with alcohol most definitely being involved. But, they still had to get through a grueling practice before the fun could commence.

The scoreboard read 8:05PM and the team should have been off the field five minutes ago, but Coach Murphy pleaded they still had 10 more minutes of allotted time. In true fashion, he was a “I dismiss you, not the bell” kind of guy. Nolan huffed as they completed a few more plays, the exhaustion of the week piling up and slowly deteriorating his muscles and drive.

“Nolan, pick up the pace!” He could hear Coach Murphy- his father- yell out to him from the side lines. “Find an opening and be available for your quarterback!” As a wide receiver, it was his job to get down the field, dodge defense, and be open to passes, so he needed to be quick and strategic. But also, as the son of the coach, he was always needing to surpass his father's expectations. There was no preferential treatment here, in fact, it was the complete opposite of that: Coach ragged on Nolan more than any other player. Not only did Nolan need to be a successful player, he also had to be a successful son.

As they ran the play, the dark haired boy attempted to make a breakaway and allow himself to be open to receive the ball. But he wasn’t fast enough, causing the quarterback to choose another teammate who was in a better position down the field, and Nolan to get tackled as the ball was caught by someone else. The force of being taken to the turf knocked the wind out of him, and he struggled to find his legs and stand up after the play had ended.

“Murphy, that won’t be enough on game day! Get your act together!” He could hear his father shout, not even caring that his son had been sacked and was not moving from his position on the ground.

One of his teammates, Drew, came to his aid, offering a hand and hoisting him up. “You good, dude?” He asked, patting the boy on the back for reassurance.

Nolan coughed instinctively as he found himself upright once again, letting his hands find his knees and taking a few deep breaths to regain his composure. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just so fucking done with this week.” He shook his head, pulling off his helmet and allowing the breeze to comb through his hair.

Drew laughed. “I feel you on that one. Does this mean we’re going out tonight?”

Nolan smirked, “I don’t think that’s even a question at this point.” the boy replied, already knowing that he’d be drinking tonight. As he glanced back at the sidelines, Nolan caught a glimpse of his father, simply staring at him with a look of pure disapproval on his face. The smirk on his lips slowly melted away and guilt panged in his chest. He tore his gaze away and looked back at Drew.

“Oh, I’m definitely drinking tonight.”

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

Less than 2 hours after stepping off the field, Nolan and a few of his teammates walked through the door of Nectar’s, one of their favorite bars in town. They made their way to the back corner and set up shop at a high top table, allowing them to have the best view of the entire place and everyone in it. Without even sitting down, Nolan motioned to the bar, ready to get their night underway. “First round’s on me boys, I’ll get us two pitchers.”

Walking over and pressing his palms on the bar, he leaned towards the bartender and ordered the brews for him and his friends. After he had seen him start to fill the pitchers up, Nolan rotated around and let his back rest against the edge of the bar, looking around to see if anyone he knew was present. It didn't take long to notice that directly next to him was none other than Bastíen Bonfamille, who looked rather pleased with himself for some reason. Deciding to comment on his cheerful disposition, Nolan turned only his head in order to make eye contact with the boy. “You’re certainly in a good mood this evening, Bonfamille.”

Project Untamed

_{Featuring: Leo Brooks @Melissa, Soleil Jamson @Rosalia and Samuel Costigan @HaleyTheRandom
Special guest appearance: Billie Jean Grey
Location: Leo’s Dorm Room}

If you had made the decision to walk into Leo Brooks’ dorm around the time of the assembly, you would have been quite confused. For starters, there were three students clearly not in attendance of the mandatory meeting, as they were all present in the room. Second, there were random articles of clothing strewn across an otherwise spotless floor- a few shirts and a pair of pants had been tossed aside carelessly. And third, the discarded shirts and pants didn’t all belong to Leo.

Sol, Leo, and Sam sat in the center of the floor, a deck of cards having been dealt between them and a lighthearted game of Texas hold'em underway. However, as evidenced by their various stages of undress, this was a round of strip poker. Leo sat with his bare back up against his wooden dresser, chiseled abs on full display as he peeked at his two cards that were pressed against the carpet. He had won the previous round, but had lost the one before that, resulting in his lack of shirt. With a chuckle, he turned to his friends. “So what do you think those losers are talking about right now at the assembly?”

Propped up against the bed, Sam currently was looking at the cards he held in his hands, and comparing them to the three currently making up what people would call the flop. He had a decent chance of winning this round if he got the right cards, but his luck was a little off tonight. He was already missing his jeans, as well as his right sock. With a sigh, he grabbed his bottle of water and took a sip, laying his cards face down.

”No idea. Probably something boring like grades, or a dance or something,” he said, somewhat dismissively. In the split second it took him to realize what he had said, his face lit up in a disgusted sense of shock. ”You don’t think they’d make us have a freaking dance, do you?”

“I wouldn’t be mad if they do…” Sol quietly admitted, her sharp eyes shifting between Leo and Sam for any tell-tale signs that they might be jeopardizing her chances to win. She had already been stripped of the rights to wear her oversized black T-shirt: as evidenced by her bare midriff and black sports bra. The last thing she wanted was to lose the privilege of wearing her dark red gym shorts as well. She needed to win. “You can have a fucking blast at school dances.”

Leo scoffed, “Yeah, that’s cause you and a certain someone would be getting cozy in the corner.” As the dealer, the dark haired boy looked to his friends to see their reactions as he flipped the fourth card over to join the flop as the turn. Since this was strip poker, there wasn’t so much betting as there was just flat out losing, so he skipped the pleasantries and went right for the cards. Leo hadn’t let Sol forget about this morning’s interesting breakfast discussion, especially her mindless remarks that painted a revolting picture of her skinny dipping with Theo. “Forget about a stupid dance, all anyone cares about is the after party... but what about an all school dodgeball competition! I don’t know about you guys, but I’d certainly enjoy pelting foam balls at certain people for fun.”

“Those aren’t the only balls you like to toss around so happily…” came the girl’s quick reply, accompanied by the slyest of smiles. Ever since she let the skinny dipping story slip at breakfast, Leo hadn’t stopped giving her hell about it. And of course, Sol being Sol, she was giving him hell right back. After all the times she’d had to put up with his explicit, cringey stories about that pharmacy blonde she couldn’t stand, it brought her a sense of satisfaction to know that she had her own weapon to repulse him with now.

Sam shrugged his shoulders, putting the cap back on his water. ”I dunno, Sol. Something about being made to dance around with a shit ton of other awkward people doesn't sit right with me. If someone spiked the punch, then I’d go.” As Leo laid down the fourth card, Sam double checked his two, doing his best not to let the enthusiasm show on his face. Did he have a chance at winning this round? ”Dodgeball sounds alright. I always loved making the other team beg for mercy.”

“Now that’s my kind of party.” Leo smirked while Sol rolled her eyes, slipping his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulling out a toothpick to stick in between his gritted teeth. “You and I will have to organize a game, Sam. Show people on campus what’s up.” Without another word, he flipped the last card over, the river. “Fuck.” He murmured as his eyes hit the ace of spades, the card staring evilly back at him. “Alright, what’s everyone got.” Leo looked around, waiting to see everyone’s cards.

Sam was the first to lay down his cards, showing that he had a three of a kind in jacks. ”I refuse to take off my other sock,” he said triumphantly. ”Er… unless one of you guys have a better hand, of course.”

Finally, it was time for Soleil’s blank face to be transformed by an ear to ear grin. “Read it and weep, boys!” she announced, gleefully throwing her cards in front of her to show off the three aces and the two kings that had previously been on her hand. “Your pants come off, your sock comes off and my panties get to stay a mystery.”

“You fucking bitch.” Leo grimaced as his best friend winked mischievously at him, throwing down the two cards he was holding. He had a measly two pair consisting of eights and fours and couldn’t surpass her full house, but he already knew this round was going down the drain when Sam laid down his cards. With an exasperated sigh, Leo pressed his palms into the floor in order to stand up, proceeding to take off his belt and unbutton his blue jeans. He let them fall and bunch around his ankles, revealing crisp white boxer briefs underneath.

Although she tried her hardest, there was no stopping Sol’s eyes from carefully running down Leo’s newly exposed clothing garment. “Hmmmm… I never would have pegged you for a plain white boxer guy, dude. But now I can kinda see why there’s a line of girls trying to get in here,” she joked, before looking back at his face with another mischievous grin. “Teddy’s is bigger, though-- no offense. I’m just glad it’s something nobody else knows,” the young woman added, unable to stop herself from taking another shot at her best friend.

Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Sam looked from one friend to the other. "You guys are gross," he said, removing his shirt. Sam was a man of his word, and he wasn't taking off his other sock. "What if our boy Leo is more of a grower?"

Soleil snickered and shrugged. "Then I guess you'll have to check it out and tell me later, 'cause there is no way I'm volunteering for that kind of research with him."

Sam scrunched up his face in a goofy manner, looking Sol up and down. ”Giirrrllll… you nasty.” The girl winked at him and chuckled.

Leo clenched his jaw and could feel the muscles in his back tense up. He hated being compared to Theo. Sure, Sol was just joking around, but something about being put in the same sentence as the guy just made his blood boil. He could care less about the literal comparison- what was frustrating was the metaphorical juxtaposition of one being “better” than the other. Leo was better than Theo, he knew that he was better, and didn’t need anyone telling him that he wasn’t. Especially Sol. He rolled his eyes, slipping his ankles and feets out of his jeans and throwing them at her.

“You’re right, there is a line of girls waiting to get in here-” Almost as if on cue, his phone buzzed from his nightstand. “In fact, that must be one of them right now.” Leo smirked devilishly and reached to grab it, his expression not faltering when he saw who it was. “Well would you look at that. It is.”

hey dipshit. didn't see you at the assembly. we got assigned bullshit teams, and i might need you to come visit me in prison when I kill erica.

Leo’s brow furrowed as he scanned the list that Billie sent him. A scavenger hunt? Not exactly what he had pictured the all school event to be, but not terrible. He was a competitive guy and always down to win something, so this was alright by him. “We have our answer- school wide scavenger hunt on Wednesday. Billie texted me the teams, it’s groups of three.” He tossed his phone to Sam so he could take a look as well.

”Scavenger hunt? Are they gonna make us hunt for school supplies or something?” A confused Sam caught Leo’s phone, scrolling down to see who he was paired with.”I got Zakya and Hana.” Sam didn’t know too much about the former, but the later had the tendency to make him want to scream. "Hopefully Hana can make some decisions and not be so shy about shit and we might have a chance at winning whatever this is.” He passed the phone to Sol before taking another drink of his water.

As soon as she had the phone in her possession and read the names accompanying her own, Sol impulsively tossed the device back to its owner. If it had been her own, chances are it wouldn't have survived her furious toss against the floor. "This is fucking bullshit…" she growled, once again feeling that familiar anger of earlier bubbling its way back to the surface. "Nick is fine, but Quinn?! It's like they want me to lose my shit. Who the fuck came up with these bullshit groups, anyway?"

Leo shrugged, catching his phone and tossing back in the air just for fun. “Guess I’m the only one here who’s happy with my team? I mean, I don’t really know Dwayne, but I’m with Frankie so who cares.” He smirked, thinking about the blonde who he knew very well- almost too well. As a team they’d probably kick ass, and Leo hoped Dwayne could get on the same page as them. Fit in or fuck off, right? The dark haired boy let his phone fall back into his hands and replied to Billie.

thanks b- don’t worry i’ll post bail if necessary. I got caught up in a game of poker and ended up in my boxers… you should stop by ;)

He threw his phone back on the nightstand and looked back at his friends. “Hopefully this won’t be stupid or a waste of my time- at least classes are cancelled because of it.”

Soleil scoffed and rolled her eyes. "This is a complete waste of time."

Sam shrugged his shoulders. ”I’m with Sol on this one, man. I mean… what kind of crap could this even be? I’ve heard of camps doing scavenger hunts and shit, but… a school?”

Shaking his head, Leo sighed. “Who knows- all I do know is that we still have a few more rounds to play before I’ll be out of clothes to take off.” He wiggled his toes which were still donning white calf socks. “Hopefully I’ll be naked by the time Billie gets here...”

The young woman immediately wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You're fucking disgusting-" she told her friend, grabbing his shirt from the pile nearby and tossing it in his direction before grabbing her own and pulling it back on. "Now put your shirt back on before everyone comes back to the dorm and start asking stupid questions about why our clothes are missing. The last thing I want is for anyone to think I'm one of your whores."

If you wanted to be friends with Sol, you had to put up with her moods from time to time. Right now was one of those times. Retrieving his jeans first, Sam stood up as he put them back on. ”Yes. Heaven forbid anyone think we’re having a threesome.” Buttoning and zipping them back up, he smirked as another thought ran through his head. ”Who do you think would be the dom in the situation?”

"Oh, definitely me. If anyone asks, I took turns pegging the both of you…" Shady replied, smirking at both Leo and Sam as she stood up.

Leo refused and tossed his shirt to the side- it was his room after all and he could do what he wanted! He sat on his bed as the other two slipped back on their missing clothes. “You guys are crazy.” He remarked, running a hand through his hair to make sure it was still intact. “Now get the fuck out of my room before anyone even entertains that rumor.”

"Whatever you say boss!" the dark-haired girl teased before she gave her best friend an impish grin. "See ya," she called out to the boys before walking out the door and disappearing from sight.

Sam shrugged his shoulders and laughed. ”I dunno man. Sounds like an okay time to me.” Pulling his shirt back on over his head, the young man exited Leo’s room as he walked towards his own. “Later guys!”

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

_{Speaking with: Uaithne @Tracyarmav}

Maggie was enjoying the sunshine from her perch on the railing as well as the sliver of shade that the roof provided. She could feel the breeze tickle the back of her neck and gently brush through her short wavy hair as she read, cooling her off from the early summer heat. Sitting on the outskirts of the party was a peaceful reprieve amongst the madness, and Maggie welcomed the quiet wholeheartedly. Although, she did let her eyes drift from the words on the page over to the initiate table once or twice to see if the crowd had dispersed, but it remained, and thus so did she.

Her mother had been over a few minutes prior to reprimand her for sitting on the sidelines, both literally and figuratively. Maggie had promised that she would join everyone in a little bit...but for now, she continued to leaf through page after page of her novel. She’d eventually meander over to see the other witchlings, but she was at too good of a part to put the book down! She was engrossed in the writing and the world seemingly disappeared around her- the setting of the story being the only thing that mattered at the current moment. The blonde was so immersed that she nearly had a heart attack when someone suddenly began speaking into her ear from an extremely close distance. Maggie gasped, nearly losing her balance and accidentally dropping her book into the brush below. Startled, she whipped around to see a familiar face lurking behind her.

“Uaithne! You can’t just sneak up on people like that!” She spoke through gritted teeth with furrowed eyebrows to match, trying to control the mix of anger and annoyance that had quickly bubbled up in her. Maggie attempted to keep her cool, but she wasn’t too pleased that he had decided to be meddlesome and take her by surprise. She didn’t even hear him coming! She sighed, beginning to regain her composure as her pulse slowed. The blonde swung her legs to the outside of the railing, letting them dangle towards the ground.

“Well, it was about a dystopian society until you made me drop it.” Her eyes search the bushes below, attempting to locate her lost book, but she sadly couldn’t see it from a first glance. She’d have to go down there if she wanted to find it. She returned her gaze to Uaithne, letting her negative emotions fade away. “Whatever- how is it over there? Everyone on their best behavior?” Maggie nodded her head towards the table in the distance that held the other witchlings, assuming he had already been over there.

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

As her family’s car rolled down the remote dirt backroad, Maggie sat in the backseat, nose buried deep in a book. She had only started it yesterday and yet somehow, she was already more than halfway done, the stack of pages in her left hand outweighing the stack in the right.

The drive from the Wilson residence in rural Maryland to the coven house was nearly complete, the winding path they were currently on beginning to look familiar. Sure, Maggie was excited about the premise of the summer solstice celebration and her initiation into the coven, but she wasn't all too thrilled about the social aspect. Yes, she had known these kids most of her life, but she still had a hard time interacting with them. They only spent time together when coven meetings came around and she doubted they even liked her. It was sure to be an interesting day and evening, so thank goodness she had at least 10 chapters left of her novel to get her through the event.

“Margaret, are you even listening to me?”

“Mhmm…” The blonde pressed her lips together, indicating she was somewhat paying attention but still not letting her focus falter from the words on the page. Her mother had been droning on for the last five minutes about her own initiation into the coven and reminding Maggie about how important of a day this was going to be for her.

It was at that moment the words on the paper became blurry as they were forcibly ripped away, the culprit being none other than her brother who was sitting next to her. “Mom’s talking to you, nerd.” He spat, a chuckle escaping his lips as he taunted her by holding her book towards the open window.

“Brent, you’re going to make me lose my spot!” Maggie screeched and snatched the book back by it’s thick spine, quickly leafing through the pages and attempting to locate where she left off. She was just getting to a good part and of course he had to ruin it for her.

“Knock it off you two. Can you both at least try to get along today?” Her father begged, pulling into a parking spot and turning off the car. They had reached their destination, evidenced by the throngs of people surrounding the coven house. Turning around to look at his two kids, he smirked. “It’s Maggie’s initiation and the summer solstice, let’s just all try to have a nice time, okay?”

With that, her father opened the door and exited the car, followed by her mother. Maggie quickly followed suit, letting her white keds hit the pavement. She held her book with a vice like grip in her left hand, almost as if it was a safety net. After smoothing out her blue gingham sundress, the blonde let her arms dangle at her sides, the fingertips of her free hand just barely grazing the hem of her skirt. Maggie had originally wanted to wear just the dress on its own, but after the complaints of her mother nearly drove her over the edge of insanity, the blonde slipped on a fitted white shirt with a lettuce hem underneath to appease her. Something about "making a good impression" and all that.

“Let’s hope they don’t throw you to the werewolves, Mags.” Brent snickered, abandoning her quickly to go and find his own friends who were circled up near the tree line. Having been initiated three years prior, he seemed to have a much better grasp on all things coven than she did.

"Not if I throw you to them first." She muttered to only herself as her brother was already long gone. Rolling her eyes, Maggie let her feet tread lightly across the grass towards the designated initiate table she spotted in the distance, glancing around for any excuse not to go over there. Maybe she'd bump into one of her mom's friends or a distant relative and they'd make her tell them how excited she was to be initiated this eve. But once she saw that a small group of witchlings had formed at the table, that was good enough excuse as any, and she immediately turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. Groups weren’t exactly her thing, and she'd much rather go and hide somewhere else than in plain sight.

Instead, Maggie meandered over to the coven house, the maroon and gold façade shimmering in the afternoon sun. Making her way up the rickety stairs and onto the far side of the porch, she propped herself up on the railing and leaned against one of the posts, opening her book once more to continue from where she left off.