Pink Khione

Ember Grove - Reboot

AND

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P A R T 1

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Time: Noon
Location: Alexei's

Alexander took note of Elias. He was either some conspiracy theorist or a problem to be dealt with. However, there was little worry due to the absence of an immediate threat to him and his lesson today. For now he would follow Vivian's lead, as well as study her in order to gauge her suitability as... There were many things that came to mind, but Alexander would keep that solely to himself.

"Let's" Alexander gave her a nod before trailing behind her. In stride, he removed a sleek black pool cue with gold accents along it. He set the case down on a nearby stool and assembled the cue with a serious expression. But once his eyes met Vivian's again, he smiled. "Don't be intimidated. Money can't buy skill... Well not directly anyway." Alexander removed a fat envelope from his back pocket and set it down on the edge of the pool table.

Vivian watched as Alexander swiftly assembled his pool cue without wasted movement, as if it came naturally to him. Not to mention how expensive the cue looked itself, with a sleek shine and gold accents, it looked like he could've been a seasoned player. It definitely didn’t scream ‘beginner’, at the very least. Vivian found it amusing how serious his facial expression was as he assembled it, not noticing that she had been staring until Alexander’s eyes met hers. She flinched reactively, out of embarrassment for getting caught for her lingering gaze.

“I wasn’t-” Vivian almost rolled her eyes when Alexander assumed she would be intimidated in that moment. Where the hell did he get his confidence from, for a self-proclaimed beginner at that?

That’s when Alexander placed a thick envelope on the edge of the pool table by where he stood. Vivian’s eyes gazed upon with intensity, a smile forming on her lips as she pondered on its contents. Even if it was an envelope of one dollar bills, it looked thick enough to cover her rent.

“That’s an interesting pocket of something you have there.”

"I'm glad it has your attention. You don't seem like you would teach a man like myself for free. Or am I wrong?" Alexander maintained his warm smile and laid his cue gently on the table. He knew in his unbeating heart he was right.

Vivian’s lips pulled into a sly smile. “You’re right.” She decided she would reply with the same level of self-confidence as Alexander had shown. “My time and presence are very valuable. Pool expertise even more so. Eventually, I predict you'll agree.”

She made Alexander genuinely chuckle. Despite her status as a human, he did not find her unsettling. She was quite amusing so far as a matter of fact. "And if I do end up agreeing... How much am I paying? How much do you deserve, Vivian?" His hand tapped the envelope twice before it rested on top of it.

Alexander’s question came at a slight surprise. Vivian expected he would have already decided on a price he was willing to pay, but in hindsight, it made more sense for the provider of a service to set the cost. “Ideally, I’d accept whatever you’re willing to spend but let’s see...industry-wise, pros can cost over $100 per lesson or hour. I’ll admit it is my first time teaching, so I’ll go for a modest $100 an hour.” She tilted her head to the side. “How does that sound?”

"Sounds..." Alexander paused with a neutral expression, gazing into Vivian's eyes with his own. He never stopped analyzing those he came into contact with. Never. "...honest." He smiled. "And that's exactly the type of quality I search for in a teacher." Alexander held up the envelope and removed five one-hundred-dollar bills with one hand and tilted the envelope revealing a thick piece of cardboard with his other.

Vivian’s eyes widened as he took several bills out of the envelope. One, two, three...five hundred in total, from what she could see. The summed amount was more than she predicted or asked for, and her skin began to tingle at the greedy thought of what she could spend it on. She almost had to stop herself from reaching her hand towards the bills, so fixated on them that she hardly noticed the cardboard left in the envelope. The cardboard didn’t matter to her.

Her eyes glanced back and forth between Alexander and his hand holding the money as she replied with a sheepish smile. “With payment decided then, shall we begin?”

"Absolutely. I know the basics I think. Shoot the balls into the holes using the stick." Alexander oversimplified.

Vivian chuckled. “Yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

Ember Grove - Reboot

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Time: Noon
Location: Alexei's
Interaction with: Elias @Helo, Alexander @FunnyGuy

“Lives were lost?! LSD??”

Vivian stood next to the men with her jaw agape in astonishment. She hardly expected the incident to be as serious as it was, evident in her light-hearted jokes about it earlier. Alexander’s passionate speech about the whole thing caught Vivian off-guard. There was something strange in the way he spoke—though he appeared not much older than she was, Vivian felt like his manner of speech held an idealistic or grandiose tone. At the very least, it sounded different from casual jargon.

Despite Alexander’s apparent concern for the lives lost last night, Vivian found that his presence at Alexei’s juxtaposed the meaning behind his words. After all, here he was with the intention of playing pool and flaunting his wealth, actions that displayed nonchalance rather than worry. Rather than comment on it, however, Vivian kept her opinions silent in the interest of earning a wage from the wealthy man.

“Well, since it’s an open tab, I will gladly accept the offer.” As Elias walked off, Vivian shouted her order down the bar, “Whiskey on the rocks, Eli! Top of the shelf!”

Vivian turned her attention to Alexander. “Let’s head over to the pool tables.”

Wellington Academy ₊*

Eden Lockhart

e d e n

Eden Lockhart ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ 16 | female | 5’4” | aromantic heterosexual | junior ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Dislikes ♦ romance — she can’t understand it and rather not see romantic acts at all ♦ studying — Eden is not very passionate about learning in general, preferring to spend her time engaging in personal interests ♦ coffee, it’s too bitter ♦ cold weather Likes ♦ horror genre in general ♦ schadenfreude ♦ stuffed animals ♦ switchblades ♦ good photography and cinematography ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ skills ♦ Eden is skilled in photography, whether it is in front of or behind the camera. In her childhood, photography was her solace as it allowed her to view the world in eyes which were not her own, and capture pleasant moments eternally within a single frame. gift ♦ Eden’s gift is a visual intuition or sense of the space around her. Her mind can rapidly visualize her environment and lighting to create an artistic composition for a photo, before having lifted a camera to her face. Similarly, when Eden is the subject of a photograph, she and just as easily imagine what the camera sees of her, and adjusts herself for a perfect photo.

•p e r s o n a l i t y uwu Though Eden’s caretakers would say that her personality is the result of her upbringing, Eden believes otherwise. In the argument of nature versus nurture, Eden is likely a product of both. On the surface, Eden presents herself like an angel, learning early on that smiling often and giving compliments to adults gives her advantages over other children. She relishes in her ability to deceive others, effortlessly brandishing her appearance and lies as weapons. Her habit of lying is not completely malicious, though she does feel rather smug when people believe her. It was a learned behaviour to get out of trouble as a kid and avoid potential abuse. This does backfire every so often when she’s caught in contradicting statements. In a typical interaction with Eden, she seems rather well-adjusted. She’s friendly, cheerful, and gets along with her peers, if not just slightly self-absorbed. She does earnestly like to make friends but she’s not very good at maintaining them, especially when she handles conflicts with a vengeful, temperamental attitude. Her prideful nature is fragile, and she is quick to anger if someone offends her. In some cases, she’s not adverse to using violence if it means she can get her way, and delights in seeing the object of her revenge suffer. owo •h i s t o r y a troubled child Eden’s biological parents gave up their parental rights to her when she was 4. She doesn’t have a strong recollection of what they looked like or what happened during this time, but her caregivers told her it was because they couldn’t financially support raising her. Whether that was the truth or not didn’t matter to her—the only truth she was sure about was that she had been abandoned. In the next several years, Eden would be passed around from foster home to foster home, never staying in a single place for more than a year. Her tendency for violent outbursts made her an undesirable child, and less tolerant families were more than willing to be violent in return. Once she realized this, she slowly learned how to control her outward behaviour for survival, to find a place that would accept her rather than hurt her, though she still had the same anger bottled in her mind. Though she had temper tantrums less frequently, Eden learned new ways to express her frustration. She projected her anger towards her peers—she would rip up her classmate’s notebooks, steal things, and kick and punch people when they upset her, all while lying to the teachers that she did none of those things. More times than not, she’d get away with it, and that would give her a sense of power. Eden first picked up a camera at the age of 12. The foster family she was staying with at the time were lenient enough to allow Eden to play around with their DSLR when she showed interest. Her caregivers were quick to notice Eden’s skill with photography when she quickly grasped how to adjust settings like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed for a shot. Eden became enamoured with the art. She saw the lens of the camera as a doorway to another world. Using this device, she can transform small corners of a room or random arrangements of items on a table look like abstract patterns. Something that looked unseemly in front of her can look pleasing through the camera, if angled just right. Eden ended up staying with this family for the longest period of time, which gave her some stability. However, her disciplinary issues at school managed to get her suspended on numerous occasions, so her foster parents decided to send her to Wellington Academy halfway through her freshman year, before she could get expelled. Since the Academy didn’t have normal requirements to get in, Eden had a chance to enter the school despite her behavioural problems. They figured a unique learning environment would help Eden mature, with the added benefit that they could pass on the responsibilities of parenting to the school. For the first while, Eden focused on socializing. Being extroverted came easily to her — she loved being in the center of attention. However, it wasn’t before long when Eden received her first Weller Moon. She brought her switchblade collection to her dorm room, and someone in her class ratted her out. While a few of them were confiscated, Eden managed to keep a good remainder of the collection stored in her room. Learning that a fellow classmate snitched on her made Eden’s blood boil. She kept her anger contained for the most part, but kept an eye open for an opportunity of revenge. After all, it was only fair that someone paid the price for her lost goods. She found her chance one day, when the target of her revenge was sitting alone in a common area at the school. Approaching her from behind, Eden poured a bottle of acetone over her head, pulled her by her hair and held an activated lighter dangerously close to her face. The target managed to run away and report her, but not before sobbing and apologizing profusely. So, that became her second Weller Moon. People became much more wary of Eden after that incident, though Eden blatantly denied any wrongdoing. After all, it was only her words against Eden’s. The teachers however, started to scrutinize her every move much more, in case the claims against her were correct. Eden’s third Weller Moon was earned on a much less severe infraction—she was caught painting over a section of a wall on the exterior of a school building for a photography shoot. For the remainder of Eden’s high school career, she hopes to avoid getting more Moons so she can graduate. This is not to say that she’d dampen her behaviour, but just not get caught. She still aspires to be a photographer, and sees herself spending most of her time behind a camera. •cottage will be assigned by GM •what did you pack? DSLR camera, polaroid camera and film, some clothes, electronics, a collection of switchblades, lighter, several stuffed animals, and some school supplies. extras Weller Stars: 1 Weller Moons: 3

Wellington Academy ₊*

@Kautalya

awesome! thanks :)

Wellington Academy ₊*

Eden Lockhart

e d e n

Eden Lockhart ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ 16 | female | 5’4” | aromantic heterosexual | junior ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Dislikes ♦ romance — she can’t understand it and rather not see romantic acts at all ♦ studying — Eden is not very passionate about learning in general, preferring to spend her time engaging in personal interests ♦ coffee, it’s too bitter ♦ cold weather Likes ♦ horror genre in general ♦ schadenfreude ♦ stuffed animals ♦ switchblades ♦ good photography and cinematography ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ skills ♦ Eden is skilled in photography, whether it is in front of or behind the camera. In her childhood, photography was her solace as it allowed her to view the world in eyes which were not her own, and capture pleasant moments eternally within a single frame. gift ♦ Eden’s gift is a visual intuition or sense of the space around her. Her mind can rapidly visualize her environment and lighting to create an artistic composition for a photo, before having lifted a camera to her face. Similarly, when Eden is the subject of a photograph, she and just as easily imagine what the camera sees of her, and adjusts herself for a perfect photo.

•p e r s o n a l i t y uwu Though Eden’s caretakers would say that her personality is the result of her upbringing, Eden believes otherwise. In the argument of nature versus nurture, Eden is likely a product of both. On the surface, Eden presents herself like an angel, learning early on that smiling often and giving compliments to adults gives her advantages over other children. She relishes in her ability to deceive others, effortlessly brandishing her appearance and lies as weapons. Her habit of lying is not completely malicious, though she does feel rather smug when people believe her. It was a learned behaviour to get out of trouble as a kid and avoid potential abuse. This does backfire every so often when she’s caught in contradicting statements. In a typical interaction with Eden, she seems rather well-adjusted. She’s friendly, cheerful, and gets along with her peers, if not just slightly self-absorbed. She does earnestly like to make friends but she’s not very good at maintaining them, especially when she handles conflicts with a vengeful, temperamental attitude. Her prideful nature is fragile, and she is quick to anger if someone offends her. In some cases, she’s not adverse to using violence if it means she can get her way, and delights in seeing the object of her revenge suffer. owo •h i s t o r y a troubled child Eden’s biological parents gave up their parental rights to her when she was 4. She doesn’t have a strong recollection of what they looked like or what happened during this time, but her caregivers told her it was because they couldn’t financially support raising her. Whether that was the truth or not didn’t matter to her—the only truth she was sure about was that she had been abandoned. In the next several years, Eden would be passed around from foster home to foster home, never staying in a single place for more than a year. Her tendency for violent outbursts made her an undesirable child, and less tolerant families were more than willing to be violent in return. Once she realized this, she slowly learned how to control her outward behaviour for survival, to find a place that would accept her rather than hurt her, though she still had the same anger bottled in her mind. Though she had temper tantrums less frequently, Eden learned new ways to express her frustration. She projected her anger towards her peers—she would rip up her classmate’s notebooks, steal things, and kick and punch people when they upset her, all while lying to the teachers that she did none of those things. More times than not, she’d get away with it, and that would give her a sense of power. Eden first picked up a camera at the age of 12. The foster family she was staying with at the time were lenient enough to allow Eden to play around with their DSLR when she showed interest. Her caregivers were quick to notice Eden’s skill with photography when she quickly grasped how to adjust settings like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed for a shot. Eden became enamoured with the art. She saw the lens of the camera as a doorway to another world. Using this device, she can transform small corners of a room or random arrangements of items on a table look like abstract patterns. Something that looked unseemly in front of her can look pleasing through the camera, if angled just right. Eden ended up staying with this family for the longest period of time, which gave her some stability. However, her disciplinary issues at school managed to get her suspended on numerous occasions, so her foster parents decided to send her to Wellington Academy halfway through her freshman year, before she could get expelled. Since the Academy didn’t have normal requirements to get in, Eden had a chance to enter the school despite her behavioural problems. They figured a unique learning environment would help Eden mature, with the added benefit that they could pass on the responsibilities of parenting to the school. For the first while, Eden focused on socializing. Being extroverted came easily to her — she loved being in the center of attention. However, it wasn’t before long when Eden received her first Weller Moon. She brought her switchblade collection to her dorm room, and someone in her class ratted her out. While a few of them were confiscated, Eden managed to keep a good remainder of the collection stored in her room. Learning that a fellow classmate snitched on her made Eden’s blood boil. She kept her anger contained for the most part, but kept an eye open for an opportunity of revenge. After all, it was only fair that someone paid the price for her lost goods. She found her chance one day, when the target of her revenge was sitting alone in a common area at the school. Approaching her from behind, Eden poured a bottle of acetone over her head, pulled her by her hair and held an activated lighter dangerously close to her face. The target managed to run away and report her, but not before sobbing and apologizing profusely. So, that became her second Weller Moon. People became much more wary of Eden after that incident, though Eden blatantly denied any wrongdoing. After all, it was only her words against Eden’s. The teachers however, started to scrutinize her every move much more, in case the claims against her were correct. Eden’s third Weller Moon was earned on a much less severe infraction—she was caught painting over a section of a wall on the exterior of a school building for a photography shoot. For the remainder of Eden’s high school career, she hopes to avoid getting more Moons so she can graduate. This is not to say that she’d dampen her behaviour, but just not get caught. She still aspires to be a photographer, and sees herself spending most of her time behind a camera. •cottage will be assigned by GM •what did you pack? DSLR camera, polaroid camera and film, some clothes, electronics, a collection of switchblades, lighter, several stuffed animals, and some school supplies. extras Weller Stars: 1 Weller Moons: 3

test

Hider

e d e n

Eden Lockhart ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ 16 | female | 5’4” | aromantic heterosexual | junior ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Dislikes ♦ romance — she can’t understand it and rather not see romantic acts at all ♦ studying — Eden is not very passionate about learning in general, preferring to spend her time engaging in personal interests ♦ coffee, it’s too bitter ♦ cold weather Likes ♦ list ♦ list ♦ list ♦ list ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ skills ♦ Eden is skilled in photography, whether it is in front of or behind the camera. In her childhood, photography was her solace as it allowed her to view the world in eyes which were not her own, and capture pleasant moments eternally within a single frame. gift ♦ Eden’s gift is a visual intuition or sense of the space around her. Her mind can rapidly visualize the environment and lighting around her to create an artistic composition for a photo, before having lifted a camera to her face. Similarly, when Eden is the subject of a photograph, she and just as easily imagine what the camera sees of her, and adjusts herself for a perfect photo.

•p e r s o n a l i t y uwu Though Eden’s caretakers would pitifully say that her personality is the result of her upbringing, Eden believes otherwise. In the argument of nature versus nurture, Eden is likely a product of both. On the surface, Eden presents herself like an angel, learning early on that smiling often and giving compliments to adults gives her advantages over other children. She relishes in her ability to deceive others, effortlessly brandishing her appearance and lies as weapons. Her habit of lying is not completely malicious, though she does feel rather smug when people believe her. It was a learned behaviour to get out of trouble as a kid and avoid potential abuse. This does backfire every so often when she’s caught in contradicting statements. In a typical interaction with Eden, she seems rather well-adjusted. She’s friendly, cheerful, and gets along with her peers, if not just slightly self-absorbed. She does earnestly like to make friends but she’s not very good at maintaining them, especially when she handles conflicts with a vengeful, temperamental attitude. Her prideful nature is fragile, and is quick to anger if someone offends her. In some cases, she’s not adverse to using violence if it means she can get her way, and relishes in seeing the object of her revenge suffer. owo •h i s t o r y a troubled child Eden’s biological parents gave up their parental rights to her when she was 4. She doesn’t have a strong recollection of what they looked like or what happened during this time, but her caregivers told her it was because they couldn’t financially support raising her. Whether that was the truth or not didn’t matter to her—the only truth she was sure about was that she had been abandoned. In the next several years, Eden would be passed around from foster home to foster home, never staying in a single place for more than a year. Her tendency for violent outbursts made her an undesirable child, and less tolerant families were more than willing to be violent in return. Once she realized this, she slowly learned how to control her outward behaviour for survival, to find a place that would accept her rather than hurt her, though she still had the same anger bottled in her mind. Though she had temper tantrums less frequently, Eden learned new ways to express her frustration. She projected her anger towards her peers—she would rip up her classmate’s notebooks, steal things, and kick and punch people when they upset her, all while lying to the teachers that she did none of those things. More times than not, she’d get away with it, and that would give her a sense of power. Eden first picked up a camera at the age of 12. The foster family she was staying with at the time were lenient enough to allow Eden to play around with their DSLR when she showed interest. Her caregivers were quick to notice Eden’s skill with photography when she quickly grasped how to adjust settings like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed for a shot. Eden became enamoured with the art. She saw the lens of the camera as a doorway to another world. Using this device, she can transform small corners of a room or random arrangements of items on a table look like abstract patterns. Something that looked unseemly in front of her can look pleasing through the camera, if angled just right. Eden ended up staying with this family for the longest period of time, which gave her some stability. However, her disciplinary issues at school managed to get her suspended on numerous occasions, so her foster parents decided to send her to Wellington Academy halfway through her freshman year, before she could get expelled. Since the Academy didn’t have normal requirements to get in, Eden had a chance to enter the school despite her behavioural problems. They figured a unique learning environment would help Eden mature, with the added benefit that they could pass on the responsibilities of parenting to the school. For the first while, Eden focused on socializing. Being extroverted came easily to her — she loved being in the center of attention. However, it wasn’t before long when Eden received her first Weller Moon. She brought her switchblade collection to her dorm room, and someone in her class ratted her out. While a few of them were confiscated, Eden managed to keep a good remainder of the collection stored in her room. Learning that a fellow classmate snitched on her made Eden’s blood boil. She kept her anger contained for the most part, but kept an eye open for an opportunity of revenge. After all, it was only fair that someone paid the price for her lost goods. She found her chance one day, when the target of her revenge was sitting alone in a common area at the school. Approaching her from behind, Eden poured a bottle of acetone over her head, gripped her hair and held an activated lighter dangerously close to her face. The target managed to run away and report her, but not before sobbing and apologizing profusely. So, that became her second Weller Moon. People became much more wary of Eden after that incident, though Eden blatantly denied any wrongdoing. After all, it was only her words against Eden’s. The teachers however, started to scrutinize her every move much more, in case the claims against her were correct. Eden’s third Weller Moon was earned on a much less severe infraction—she was caught painting over a section of a call on the exterior of a school building for a photography shoot. For the remainder of Eden’s high school career, she hopes to avoid getting more Moons so she can graduate. This is not to say that she’d dampen her behaviour, but just not get caught. She still aspires to be a photographer, and sees herself spending most of her time behind a camera. •cottage will be assigned by GM •what did you pack? whatever your character packed and took it to the academy extras theme song, or anything else you may want to add for your character

Ember Grove - Reboot

---

Time: Noon
Location: Alexei's
Interaction with: Elias @Helo, Alexander @FunnyGuy

Vivian’s skin crawled when the older man nodded and smirked at her, prompting an immediate wave of nausea in reaction, though years of working in the service industry trained her to keep a neutral expression regardless of what she felt underneath. A slight panic set in proceeding the discomfort when she thought about how to respond, but the man seated next to him intervened.

His interruption was both a benefit and a burden. While it took attention away from the oldster, Vivian realized her mistake in identifying Alexander and a warmth flushed over her cheeks in embarrassment. She instinctively darted her head around to check the door to the break room—it would’ve been more mortifying if Elias witnessed the entire thing. Thankfully, he was nowhere in sight. It wasn't a solid guarantee but it was assuring enough for Vivian to breathe a sigh of relief as she returned her attention to the real Alexander. Elias’ warning about him completely escaped her mind as he approached, introducing himself with a smirk that washed away the memory of the previous one.

“The pleasure’s mine,” Vivian replied with a smile, stepping out from behind the bar. “Do me a favour and punch Devin on my behalf the next time you see him. He gave me the impression you were some wealthy retiree.”

Elias appeared behind Vivian shortly after, joining the conversation with a cold expression she was unfamiliar with. As he spoke, it began to make sense why Elias was wary of Alexander from the onset. He spoke about an incident from the night before, but his aloof tone sounded juxtaposed to the serious content of his words. From Vivian’s perspective, it just seemed like the two were previously acquainted and that Elias had some suspicions about the attack. In contrast, Vivian was excited to hear more about it.

“An art exhibit attack is news to me—probably the most interesting thing I’ve heard about Ember Grove since moving here.”

Well, that and Alissa’s disappearance, but no one else seems to have noticed. Vivian quickly parked the thought in the back of her mind to bring up to Alexander later. “Please tell me some dumbass tried to pull an Ocean's Eleven and this was some kind of art heist or other-” Vivian stopped herself, realizing the potential victim of art thievery and her employer was standing in front of her. She managed a nervous laugh, “I mean, I hope it was an unsuccessful art heist. Of course.”

Ember Grove - Reboot

---

Time: Noon
Location: Alexei's
Interaction with: Elias @Helo, the old guy next to Alexander @FunnyGuy

Vivian’s smile widened when Eli agreed to adding extra shots to her order. She figured this would make her slightly tipsy by the start of shift, but it wouldn’t be the first time. “You’re the best, Eli.”

Vivian took it as her cue to start heading out of the break room when Elias appeared to have spotted Alexander Drake outside. She quickly collected her things laid out on the table and stashed it away on a shelf by the door. “An acclaimed artist? No wonder he’s rich.” She found it a bit surprising that he was well-known around town, but then again, hard not to be when you were wealthy in a relatively small town. It was more surprising to hear that Elias seemed wary of the guy—she always got the impression that there was little that could scare him. He always seemed to deal with bar fights and rowdy patrons effortlessly.

“I’ll be careful, but I’m sure it’s no big deal.”

With her pool cue in hand, Vivian quickly emerged from the break room and headed towards the bar. Upon glancing at the patrons, she abruptly stopped in her tracks. Fuck. Two men were seated by the bar. She was told that Alexander Drake was some old, rich guy, but was not given any specific description to identify him by. One of two men was certainly old, the other appeared much wealthier—admittedly, Vivian also thought the latter could have stepped right out of the cover of a men’s magazine. Which one of them is Alexander?! After a brief moment of thought, she decided it was hard to judge someone’s wealth by appearance alone, but age was clear to see. It almost felt disappointing to come to the conclusion that Alexander might not have been the attractive guy in a button-down and tie.

Vivian walked up to the older patron. “Hey, I'm Vivian. Are you...Alexander Drake?”

Ember Grove - Reboot

---

Time: Noon
Location: Alexei's
Interaction with: Elias @Helo

Vivian arrived at Alexei’s at noon on the dot. She surprised herself that she managed to be punctual for once, but after some thought, she figured it was certainly easier to be on time when it was worth it to make the effort. Her morning routine was relatively short anyway—after the phone call, Vivian ran her usual route around her apartment building, and grabbed breakfast from a deli at the end of the jog. It pained her and her bank account to pay for breakfast daily, but she would much rather be broke than eat whatever cooked monstrosity she may make in a kitchen. Thankfully, Alexei’s fed her dinner during shifts.

At first glance, the sports bar looked rather sparse. This was usually the case at noon, weekend or not. There were a few patrons here and there and a group of teenagers at the pool tables. No Alexander Drake, though. She took it as an opportunity to put down her things in the break room, and was pleasantly surprised to see Elias checking the schedule.

She approached him with a grin tugging at her lips, as she laid down a pair of sunglasses and a bag on the table. “How’s it going?”

Vivian had brought her personal pool cue with her in preparation for the upcoming lesson. She swiftly took it out of her bag and began to assemble it.

“Before you ask—no, I did not miraculously arrive early for a shift. I got the contact information for some rich guy who lives in New Paeonia because he wanted to learn how to play pool, so here I am. First lesson of many, I hope.” Upon mentioning New Paeonia, it briefly crossed Vivian's mind to mention Alissa again, but she decided against it. She nudged him on the shoulder with an elbow, flashing a smug smile. “He promised to pay for drinks - add a few extra shots for me, will ya?”

Ember Grove - Reboot

---

---

Time: Morning
Location: Ava's airbnb rental
Interaction with: ???

Ava had gone to bed around dawn, but it hadn’t even been a few hours before the sounds of muffled grunting and scraped metal woke her from her slumber. She groaned as she lifted her tired body from the silk sheets, grabbing a nearby night robe to cover herself with as she headed to examine the source of the noise.

In a corner of the basement of the rented home, a body laid slumped on the floor. He was bound with metal chains to a pillar of the house, which clanked whenever he shifted around. The air was filled with a copper scent as blood dripped down his forehead and chin, pooling on the unfinished concrete floors. His haggard panting echoed in the silent, vacant space.

Ava knelt down to the exhausted figure, just out of his fangs' reach. She smiled, speaking softly, almost like a whisper. “I thought we agreed that you’d stay quiet.”

His red eyes gleamed in the dim room, almost brighter than the gentle trickle of sunlight that shone above the captive's head. He glared at the frenchwoman for a moment, then snarled, and mustered up enough strength to lunge towards her, only to be yanked back by the metal shackles. He collapsed back on the floor with a thud. “Give me...blood.”

“Now, I can’t do that, can I? That would be counterproductive to why you’re here.” Ava lightly tapped the battered creature on his nose with her index finger, which he then immediately tried to bite. In his weakened state, he did little more than chomp on air. One of his fangs was missing, and blood still dripped slowly from the wound. Ava had taken the liberty of removing it a day earlier, when he first attempted to take a bite out of her. In truth, in some kind of twisted way, she found it a bit entertaining that his attempted assault made her feel slightly more human, being thought of as prey. The man in front of her, on the other hand, didn’t seem to enjoy being in that position too much. “Believe me, I don’t enjoy hurting others — but you would not need punishment if you were not so...vile.”

The man had ended in Ava’s clutches by simple bad luck. Wrong place, wrong time. If it weren’t for their unlucky encounter, he might have been continuing to enjoy his macabre hobbies. Ava found him in a VIP room of a high-end club the day before she moved to Ember Grove, after following a strong scent of blood to its source. His fangs were sunken into the neck of a young woman, with the bodies of countless others sprawled at his feet and couches next to him, no doubt partygoers from the club’s dance floor below. It seemed that he was gambling with their lives, to see what would happen — some were in the process of turning, others clinging to life with whatever blood remained in their veins. He was willfully drowning himself in a cesspit of his own greed. Ava knew that in some capacity, she was looking at a reflection of what she was, what she could be, and this view of overindulgence disgusted her.

Needless to say, Ava dispatched her own brand of justice unto the greedy vampire, and dragged him with her to Ember Grove. She was sure he would thrive in the quaint, supernatural town, but she had other plans for him. She figured a few weeks looming around Stage C or D would be enough suffering for him to beg Ava to end his misery, and when he does, she would graciously accept.

“Let’s say you agree to be quiet for the next few hours, maybe I’ll give you some blood after. How does that sound?”

He nodded his head slightly.

Satisfied with his obedience, Ava returned to bed.