The Savant

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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Being new to the area caused him to continuously look around the festival and memorize faces and shop names. Everything was busy and the energy was lively in the immediate area. It was relaxing to a point. A way different energy than his workplace atmosphere. He was glad that he could take a break from it for at least a day and enjoy a community-based event.

As another individual walked up, he wondered if this person knew PJ, but he quickly found out that they did not know each other. Other than that, Archer offered a warm and welcoming smile towards the other individual who started to talk to PJ but he continued to look around since he wasn’t directly in the conversation. It seemed like something more on PJs knowledge and he was somewhat distracted by the loud horns and people gathering around a massive truck.

Noticing twenty dollars was being handed to him, he was confused at first, but he connected the dots quickly when PJ wanted sweets and the funnel cake truck had arrived. “I guess I can be a knight in shining armor,” His voice was playful as he chuckled at how PJ referenced it. A knight in shining armor. That reminded him of some people he had to deal with in the past at his job. Being a doctor, you would hear that sometimes. People were grateful for you being a fantastic physician or surgeon. You would truly be their knight in shining armor and it was gratifying to know you helped someone.

Getting funnel cake was not as glorious or rewarding but he enjoyed helping so he began to wander off, “I will be back as soon as I can, that line is getting massive!” He waved the two of them off before disappearing into the crowd. He didn’t disappear as well as others could. His ginger hair stuck out like a sore thumb along with him being one of the taller people on Sanctuary.

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Location With PJ - Going to get Funnel Cake
Time After 3 PM
Mood Content
Interaction @Almalthia

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The man went to his truck to figure out if he had any type of stairs or a black that was lifted or something to help people step up onto the truck. Getting up onto the one wheel and looking down into the bed of the truck. He had quite a few things at first sight though none of them were helpful. Then he noticed he had a platform and he stepped into the back of the truck to move a few things before pulling it over to the edge.

Stepping back over the wall and onto the tire, he let himself fall down onto the concrete and lifted the platform out of the truck. It was somewhat of an awkward platform for him to carry by himself but it would work. Making his way back over to the Reaves' truck, he glanced around and then decided to position it where he thought was best. It was just a wooden platform that was hollow. Every time someone steps onto it, a thud might be heard. “Ya have your stairs!” He called out before removing himself from the area.

Now he needed to go win a bear for Talie. He promised. The man was not keen on breaking promises or having promises broken. They meant something to him. Going over to the game Talie was talking about and looking at the toys they had to offer. The bears or the larger bears were massive. A variety of different toys and different sizes were at hand, all for different amounts of those smurf-like guys you had to shoot. The bear was one-hundred and fifty smurfs because of its size. Each game had twenty-five forty smurfs come around depending on how good of a shot you were and each game was five bucks. Calculating that in his head to figure out if he had enough in his wallet, he had way more than it should cost him even if he struggled with his shots.
Then he noticed something that he thought Nixie would like… a pegasus stuffed animal and now he had to win that too. The worker said that the pegasi are made of different materials and are massive as well are two hundred points. Tommy shrugged his shoulders, “Aah might be he-yah fo-wah awhile,” As he handed over five dollars. The game began with playful music to give you time to get ready to shoot the pellets at the targets.

Twenty little smurf-like guys came out and began to walk themselves across the lands. Some farther and some closer. Some would go behind something for a second or two. Then he began to shoot. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Moving slightly to aim. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! “You are a good shot!” The worker complimented his aim as the little guys all ran away. “You have one hundred points,” He offered the score as he gestured to a few smaller selections, “You can pick out of these and get one of something,”

Tommy shook his head at the idea of that. “I need three hundred and fifty points for what I want,” His tone was playful while giving the man another five before getting ready. As the smurfs began to exit the sides, he waited a few seconds before firing the gun. Ping! Ping! Ping! Moving himself over to the other side. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Repositioning himself to the other side, he was getting them while they were coming out instead of letting them hide behind the hills, trees, and houses. Ping! Ping! The thuds of the little pellets could be heard knocking against the material. The material sounded like a thin piece of metal as he aimed his next shot. Ping-Ping-Ping-Ping-Ping! In rapid fire was able to fire five right in a row as he looked around the area with his gun before firing again. Ping! Ping! The sound was slightly irritating when trying to focus though he was doing pretty well at ignoring it for the time being. Ping! Ping! Ping! As Tommy looked over to the worker with a smile, the worker sighed, “You are better than most. Ninety points plus one-hundred and ninety gets you to a total of two-hundred and eighty points.”

“Aah'm almost at mah goal! Aah should play this game more often,” It was probably impossible for the worker to look any more unenthused than he did at this time. Handing over another five bucks since he needed at least seventy more points to get both items. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Those ones were easy as he looked around before aiming again. Ping! Ping! Ping! Stretching his head to the side, his neck popped, while he adjusted his shoulders and caused those to pop too. He was getting into this. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! The worker seemed to be in disbelief as Tommy shot in rounds without issue. Tommy chuckled in amusement as he took more shots. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! This was pretty easy and fun! He knew he had more than enough.

The worker sighed, “Two-hundred and eighty points plus one-hundred and eighty points. That is a total of four-hundred and sixty points,” The man gestured to the larger animals. Tommy picked the bear and pegasus without hesitation. “You still have one hundred and ten points. The biggest thing you can get is one of these,” The man showed a variety of medium-sized toys. Tommy ended up picking a plushie that he would like for himself, a dog and he was on his way.

That was a really pleasant game and he enjoyed his time at the booth but he definitely wanted to get this bear to Talie and put this pegasus with Nixie’s presents. The man decided that he would be wandering around and attempt to find Talie and give her the prize she was disappointed in not getting earlier. Maybe he would show off his stuffed dog as well. He liked it.

As he wandered around, he was looking out for Talie and he heard her voice before he saw her. Where did that voice come from? Tommy thought as he looked around before he heard it again and it signaled him to Talie’s location, as he walked over with a friendly smile on his face, “Hey rock missy, aah got ya that bear,” The man slightly judged her with the giant stuffed bear in a teasing manner.

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Location By Talie
Time 3 PM
Mood Dryer than what he was and happy
Interaction @PrinceAlexus

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

Taryn Reaves & Thomas Fischer

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Everyone in the crowd seemed to have eyes on them while Jewel, the mayor's assistant, was making her speech. People seemed conflicted on who they wanted to look at. The famous funnel cake that was at the festival each year was finally at the festival and people’s eyes were hungry. “Everyone needs to move!!!” Tommy’s voice projected without issue and that started to get people’s attention to move while he gestured for an officer's help. Him and another officer removed the barricades from the festival border to begin allowing Taryn to drive the truck.

Wanting to move the vessel safely through the crowd, he put his arms around wide and this seemed to get people’s attention to back up. One officer was helping him. “Please move so no accidents happen!!!” The man kept his voice loud and his tone strict so people knew he was serious. Somewhat of an authority form of tone that caught people’s attention. This allowed for the majority of the crowd to move while he was about five to six feet in front of the truck Taryn was handling.

Taryn was in her element. Smiling faces and bright sun. She kept the wheels in their lowest gear, easing off the clutch pedal daintily and letting the entire truck and trailer creep along on its own without any other input. Tommy appeared to have come alive as well though she and Martha had regarded him strangely in his wet clothes when he first approached. However, there wasn’t much time to unravel that mystery as it seemed they had arrived literally, just in time. As the crowd parted for Tommy, she waved out the window with one hand while Martha waved from the other. Martha was clearly ecstatic having been elevated from roadside breakdown to VIP arrival in less than an hour. Her fortunes had been completely reversed.

“Doesn’t this have one of those loud horns?” Martha asked, exuberant.

“You mean this? Taryn gave the overhead cable a yank and the air horns popped off a short, bursting note like a freight train that could almost be felt as much as heard.

“Yes! can I try it?”

Taryn shrugged and waved her hand. “Go for it!

Martha reached overhead and pulled gently at first, not hard enough to trigger the switch.

“Martha, you gotta pull it! Taryn laughed.

To which she did and belted out a long note followed by a second in quick succession. Taryn could see the point was being made and several of the mayor’s assembly visibly flinched as they got closer. “Okay-okay, that’s probably enough.” They were both laughing.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.” Martha howled.

The explosive and energetic noise behind him was not something he was expecting and a slight movement of his shoulders went up while his head went down a little. The blast of the horn could be felt on his back and he chuckled while looking over his shoulder at the two in the giant truck.

As the horn went off once again and he could see Martha was the one pulling it and she looked ecstatic from his position. It seemed to cause many people to jump and skedaddle out of the way of the big truck. The noise was causing the crowd to stir and pay attention to what was happening. People began to chit-chat which caused a wave of chatter to happen amongst the crowd. Everyone was excited that funnel cake was finally here!

“Aah know y'all are excited but ya have to back up!” The man continued to use his outdoor voice while guiding people to make enough room for the truck. Where Taryn pulled up to on the east side allowed them to have a short travel through the crowd and Tommy found himself quickly placed into a blank space with chalk mark letters on the concrete spelling out funnel cake which was where the funnel cake was supposed to be.

Facing towards Taryn, he waved her on and pointed to the spot, “It doesn't have to be perfect. Just has to be en this spot 'n somewhat around it!” Tommy said while walking backwards to the farthest point of the plot and watching as people continued to move around the truck and let it through.

It was quickly apparent that there were just as many people following closely behind the trailer as there were people moving out of the way for the tractor. The small area meant for Martha’s truck and the few portable chairs and tables she brought along wasn’t going to accommodate a full-length semi. The bustle of the crowd was getting louder and closer as Taryn finally came to a stop as the air-brakes hissed again. There was no room for her to back up and even less for her to separate the trailer and unload. It was like being in a small room, quickly filling with water and she had to yell at Tommy over the excitement. “Tommy! I’m not gonna fit in that spot!” She shouted down from the cab. “This is it, this is where we’re at!”.

She turned to Martha, “You can still cook from up here right?”

Martha shifted in her seat a bit, looking back through the side mirror. “I mean I should, it’s just going to be a step up for people.”

“I can let the trailer down a little bit and we’ll find you some steps.” She turned and threw her door open, almost catching Tommy with it before she spoke again, completely unphased with having nearly clobbered him. She waited for him to recover, but stayed on the step to the cab so she would continue to be taller. Someone shouted her name and whistled so she blew a kiss in no particular direction which drew an even bigger response. “I’m gonna drop the deck a little bit,” She said, referring to the already low ride height of the trailer and squinting a bit in the bright sunlight. “She’s gonna start cooking right now. Just get some steps so people don’t trip, ya know?” She cocked her head a little and finally regarded him closely. “And why are you soaking wet?

What else could one do when those words from Taryn rang out. He wasn’t surprised that she couldn’t fit but he tried his best to guide her as much into the festival as he could. Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled, “It will have to do,” Was the given words while he moved out of the way of Taryn’s door. Almost got him.

The man looked up to the woman with his hands on his hips while she ordered him around. “Alright sass. Aah'll git the steps once aah help Martha out of the truck” That first part was said in such a way that rang playful. He gave Taryn another smile before walking around and helping Martha down from the truck and getting her on solid ground. She was appreciative and he decided that he would go find some steps.

Coming back around and raising a brow at the girl still proving to be tall on the step of the truck, “Ya would have loved it. Aah was en the dunk tank, ya just missed it,” Tommy chuckled at giving this information to the younger woman. Knowing Taryn she would have kept throwing and throwing. It would have been torture but she would have at least enjoyed it.

That was when he began to make his way back over to his work vehicle on the west side of the festival because he knew he had extra supplies in there. He most likely had steps or something.

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Collab @Pilatus

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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Children are terrifying… the man continued to think while dusting himself off and reorganizing all of his items. The woman would be more correct to assume that he freaked out because he was being touched than anything else. It wasn’t like he was ready to fight a girl. There were steps before he would fight a girl though if she was in the lifestyle business he is in… that’s free game. That wasn’t an average situation though.

Huffing in almost a humorous way, “Ve have verrry differrrent opinions of zis girrrl,” His words were almost a mumble as he began to reintroduce his suit jacket onto him. Moxi was clearly trying to be nice and not call the random and confusing girl anything mean though the tone of his voice probably exposed how he felt. The suit jacket fully being on and moving his shoulders in it before relaxing completely. He felt a little more comfortable than he did a minute or two ago.

“Da, you should…” The man mumbled these words while glancing over to a random spot somewhere on the sidewalk before his eyes returned to the blonde-haired woman. Still, he found it strange why she walked up to him. Did she want a smoke? Maybe she thought he was someone else and that offended him. He didn’t look like anyone in this forsaken community. If she mistook him for someone else, he will never talk to her again.

I’m Ana, by the way, raising a brow in disbelief. Do women not understand when a guy doesn’t want to be talked to? Are they that oblivious? I hate people… The thoughts processed through his mind before he sighed and decided that he would attempt to be social and friendly when she asked for his name, “Moxi,” He almost sounded like he was defeated when it came to the situation of being introduced to the woman. It was better than that icy cold tone and his hands slid into his pant pockets.

“Do you enjoy games?” The man continued to talk to Ana and his voice seemed to be a little brighter than his introduction while he glanced over to the cornhole game. He just wanted to play cornhole. Maybe she will play it with him. He didn’t know that it was called cornhole or how any of the points were calculated. Were there points? He had no clue.

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Location Near the cornhole game
Time Festival
Mood Settling down
Interactions @The Muse

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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Across the festival, the sheriff had no idea what his officers were dealing with while he was making sure he was more comfortable or as comfortable as one could be soaking wet. Moving around in his shoes felt somewhat gross though he was so used to water filling his boots because of horses or slipping into the lake that it was almost forgettable after a minute.

The deputy was confused and surprised on plenty of levels and decided that he needed to report to his higher-up — Thomas J. Fischer — picking up the walkie-talkie as he called over. “Hey sir, we have a little bit of a problem here on the east side of the festival,” The man was unsure of his words but it would cause communication to at least begin between the two authority figures.

Hearing the walkie-talkie going off in the truck, Tommy leaned over the seat to his clothes that were clean and dry, nicely folded on the seat. Grabbing the walkie without hesitation and reporting over, “Can ya repeat that?” Making sure he heard the man correctly before going into action and making his way all the way over to the east side of the festival.

“We have an issue on the east side of the festival grounds. A late arrival showed,” The man repeated with a sigh while trying to make sure his words were clear through the sounds of the running truck. The truck with funnel cake, the cake everyone has been waiting for.

Tommy sighed when hearing the comment and he closed and locked his truck as he began to make his way over to the part of the festival grounds that needed him. “Is this an emergency?” He wanted to make sure he shouldn’t be running or anything.

The static of the walkie-talkie was irritating to a point, “No sir, only a situation that I feel like you need to approve,” Sometimes he felt like his officers were too scared to make decisions on their own but he understood it being a festival and all. The man made his way quickly over to the east side of the festival without much delay or issue.

Upon approaching the officer he was talking to and the individual in the truck, he chuckled at the sight, “Aah'm not surprised…” Whispering to himself as he shook his head in a calm way that showed he should have known who it was. The man approached the side of the truck where Taryn Reaves was sitting and he allowed a friendly smile to the known face. “Are ya givin' mah officer a heavy amount of trouble?” His voice was teasing to a point and showed he was not having any kind of authority to process here. Placing his hands on his hips while looking into the woman’s eyes.

“What is the problem we are havin' he-yah?” Deciding to just get to the point after his little playful burst and see what Taryn was up to. This looked like Martha’s van and the funnel cake van that was here every single year. This was the late case he was hearing throughout the crowd. People would be excited that it finally showed up, but he was definitely confused why Taryn was driving the vehicle and Martha was nowhere in sight.

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Location East side of festival
Time 3 PM
Mood Good
Interaction @Pilatus

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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After about a few minutes of mindless eating the man felt completely calm or way more calm compared to what he did when Levi asked him if he had a girlfriend. Why did that work him up so much? He had no idea at this moment. Then he caught someone staring at him in the corner of his eyes. Allowing his attention to be shown as the older man walked away. He looks familiar… was the only thing that crossed his mind. Thomas might not realize it though Doctor Fitkau would come to the high school and help the student counselor, especially for severe cases, Thomas was a severe case but they couldn’t do anything without their parents' permission.

Everything in high school was a complete blur except Levi, Nixie, Estella, the Serrano family, and a few other things. The people that were constantly around were unforgettable to him. A few calls to the office were forgettable in the sense of the counselors trying to help without success and having to turn the boy back to the classroom. Small towns didn’t do much for troubled children or difficult personal lives. Sometimes checking in really was nothing in the bigger picture.

That man sparked something inside of Tommy and his brows furrowed while he placed the empty containers of food into the plastic shopping bag and stored it around the foot area of the passenger seat. A rough sigh came out of the sheriff as he stroked a handful of fingers through his hair which caused droplets of water to fall everywhere. CRAP!!! I’m soaking wet. I’m going to have to detail this seat. This was no good. At least it was a work truck and not his personal vehicle. Wait? Should his priorities be the other way around? He had no clue though he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again out of frustration. Then he began to feel the water in his boots that was swelling his socks and pruning his feet.

“This is how ya git trench foot Tommy,” Grumbled to himself as he opened up the truck door and swung himself to sit where his feet were placed on the step down of the truck. Beginning to untie his boots. He poured them out one at a time and slid them back on even though his socks were soaking wet and squishy. He couldn’t change at the moment because he might have to get back into the dunk tank. “Your feet are 'unna hate ya later,” Speaking to himself because he knew it was the truth. The man decided that it probably would be a good idea to run home sooner or at least before the dance and take a shower. Redo himself before coming back to the festival. That would give him more time to put up a mental and emotional wall for future questions that might be asked by Levi. He was good at putting up walls. He has been doing it for years upon years.

Pinching the chest of his shirt, he sighed, as he stepped out of his truck and stretched. Oh god. I’m so old… I’m getting old… He thought to himself as that shoulder that hurt this morning cracked in an uncomfortable way before a shooting pain stabbed into his spine and traveled all the way down. He should maybe go to the doctor and get that checked out. It could be from Nixie’s horse, Jethro always shoving him over. Pushing the man down hills. Nudging him into mud puddles. Charging him into the lake. Maybe it was where he was nipped weeks ago. That nip hurt and could have caused something to happen with that shoulder muscle. Tommy had no clue but he needed to get it checked out and stop ignoring the doctors like he would be entering the depths of hell. Old habits die hard.

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Location By his work truck on the outskirts of the festival
Time 3 PM
Mood Good but soaking wet

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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As he left the side of the mother and child, Doctor Fitkau walked around the festival more. There were quite a few games though he did not see the point in playing them. The children seemed to enjoy them more than he ever would. He would have enjoyed them as a child or a younger man. A content sigh left his lips with a faint smile sticking to his expression as he wandered around the whole area.

Plenty of conversations happened between him and clients and clients' friends or family groups. Most people in Sanctuary were lovely individuals. Almost living in this small town for twenty years and he has not had much of a problem with anyone. There have been a few but that is normal. Not everyone is accepting newcomers and out-of-towners but he was practically a product in the mix of this small little town.

At the moment he was near three individuals and a very out-of-place man was making somewhat of a scene. It caught his attention. The man was interacting with two women. What an odd sight that was playing out in front of him. The man seemed to freak out a bit from being touched by the one and distanced himself before taking out a package of wipes and wiping down his hands. Seems like someone is a germophobe or someone does not like something that had happened in the interaction.

The two girls began to be odd or at least the one initiated an odd behavior. Overhearing some of the conversations before he shook his head and decided to distance himself away from that crowd. Some people are so odd sometimes…

Moving around, he saw two fiery-haired individuals walking through the crowd. Oh! He knew one of them. How could he not? Doctor Graham has been beneficial to this town and a lovely man to work with. The last head doctor for the hospital did not believe in the benefits of psychiatry and how it could help patients and how some patients needed to be on watch for up to seventy-two hours. Doctor Graham had experienced therapy growing up and has shared some of his experiences with Doctor Fitkau. Fitkau was always fascinated to hear about other people’s experiences in therapy, how many therapists they had, and how positive or negative the interactions and experiences had been for them.

Sadly, Archer Graham was one with the statistics, and not all therapists should be allowed to continue therapy. What a nice boy. He thought as he gave the man a slight wave. If he saw the wave or not wasn’t anything detrimental. The older man would maybe tease the man for getting so familiar with the town later. Tease him about the girl he saw him walking with just to get a reaction out of the other doctor. Graham usually wasn’t one that showed many reactions but he could attempt till he got something from the serious man.

Continuing to make his way around the festival, Doctor Fitkau kept analyzing the people of Sanctuary. There was a boy and he knew where his face was from but couldn’t place it. The man was standing there in disbelief and confusion and partially wet. He wondered what happened but he was not going to intrude on such an emotional moment for the young man or did he need an interaction? Standing there, he thought about it then decided against it. He would continue to analyze everyone before making such a decision.

Doctor Fitkau began to continue walking around till he found himself on the outskirts of the festival and he saw the sheriff’s truck. The man in the truck was soaking wet, his head on the steering wheel, as he mindlessly scooped whatever he was eating in his mouth. The doctor’s expression filled with some form of concern while his brows knitted. Poor man doesn’t realize the energy he puts off. Next time when I have to pick someone up from the station or run into him, I will give him my business card, and try to open his mind to help… The man thought before continuing back into the festival.

Once again he was scanning people and seeing what they were doing. The majority were having fun and so much was happening at once that he couldn’t catch everyone with his eyes. There would be faces later that look familiar but not placeable to him. A way of allowing him comfort as he could interact with them more with a common start of, I think I have seen you around, or something similar.

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Location Festival ground
Time 3 PM
Interactions Analyzing people from a distance

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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At first the doctor did not understand what she meant though he thought about it. Beta girl? Then he realized and his face seemed to have somewhat of a surprised look that faded quickly into a warm smile. He was attempting to reassure the woman that he did not mean to cause embarrassment. “I apologize if I caused any embarrassment,” That was not his intention at all but he knew communication could be subjective. He was only teasing because she seemed to know a little bit about betta fish.

Noticing how she bought a basket of balls, he thought she was going to join him in throwing, and she quickly gave it away to a small child. For some reason he assumed that the child was probably hers before he referred to her as Ranger Jones. Oh? A park ranger. How interesting.

“If you want, you can call me Archer,” Trying to offer some personal connection to their discussion and interaction. He knew he needed to work on the difference between personal interactions and formal. Naturally, he would go formal because he worked sixty hour weeks and he had to be formal in his job. Only every now and again would it be non formal because of a patient. Sometimes patients needed more of a friend than a doctor when receiving news.

Throwing another ball in an attempt to get a fish, it bounced around before plopping right into a goldish filled bowl. “I got one. Now we are both going to get in trouble with parents if I get another one,” Playfully nudging the woman as the worker handed up a fish in a small carry terrarium. Then he couldn’t help but laugh at the question. Dancing. How many times has he been told he has two left feet when it comes to that? He couldn’t tell. “Dancing sounds fun, but I have been told quite a few times that I have two left feet. I’m not very good at that, though I will attempt if someone wants to dance with me,” His smile was wide and showed his pearly whites while he tossed another ball.

Tipping her head Nixie smiled. "I'd be happy to teach you." Grinning broadly Nixie continued, "Well there's Phoenix, the formal name. Then there's Jones, PJ, Peegee, Nixie, Nix and Pho. I guess you get to pick which one speaks to you." As she rattled off the nicknames she counted on her fingers. Though she didn't give him some of the names she'd been called. She wiggled her fingers smirking. "Though I am always open to suggestions."

Archer seemed nice and after the day she had a little relaxation sounded good. Getting to open up her circle of friends didn't mean that it was going to be painful.

That was quite a list to pick from and he thought about it. “My suggestion was Betta Fish girl,” He teased the woman before quickly continuing on to picking out of the list of nicknames, “If I call you PJ, you can call me Archie,” He offered even a less formal sense of his name. Archie was rarely used to refer to the man and the only person he knew that would call him that currently was his little sister. That reminded him he needed to call his sister around six, he usually called around then.

“I will try my best to learn a dance from you but I do not know if you can have the patience for a clumsy man like me,” Archer honestly believed this as he rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about the last time he danced. Dancing was something he was never naturally good at. Horrible. The comments about stepping on toes and feet rang in his mind. He always seemed to do that or freeze as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do next. Instead of allowing the motions to flow. He would become choppy.

Laughing Nixie nodded. "PJ is fine and I like Archie. If Betta Girl comes out of your mouth then you'll get Man Buns from me." She wiggled her eyebrows outrageously and laughed harder. "Sorry I needed a good laugh. Don't worry about my patience. I have a serious amount of it. They have classes at the Tavern on Thursdays." She looked thoughtful. "We could use a few more victims," Nixie playfully covered her mouth in mock shock. "Omph partners."

Hearing the other laugh only caused his smile to grow brighter and he couldn’t help a laugh coming out from the comment of man buns as he never heard that one before. “Why man buns?” he had no idea why that would be what she would pick to call him. Was it his hair length? He could see that. This individual was quite pleasant to be around.

“Victims on Thursday?” He seemed to lean into the comment about victims instead of partners after she corrected herself and his smile had a hint of mischievous intent to it. “I might have to stop by and be victimized on a Thursday by the sounds of it. Sadly, I cannot promise anything because of my sixty hour work weeks,” Archer was constantly working and always had something on his plate or he was being called into the ER for one reason or another. It was hard to make plans that were not on his days off and even then… there was the possibility of those plans changing. The medical staff in Sanctuary was grossly understaffed.

Throwing another ball, he got another fish and it was a beta. In another little carrying container. “Now I have two…” He handed the beta over to PJ without hesitation and as a child passed while hanging onto their mother’s hand, he offered the goldfish. The child looked ecstatic to have a fish and the mom looked almost startled then defeated as she continued past and he gave a smile that showed he was saying sorry.

One last ball, holding it out to the woman, “Come on. You have to throw the last one,” He tried encouraging her to do it.

Raising an eyebrow at the ball he was holding, Nixie - newly christened PJ - made a mock defeated sigh. "I suppose it's only fair."

Taking the ping pong ball PJ tossed it a couple of times. Narrowing her eyes she pointed to a gold cup on the far side of the set up. "The gold one top tier on the right. Watch there."

Bouncing the ball twice PJ concentrated on hearing the ball make the distinct sharp staccato tap. It was cheap quality but that was fine and she flicked her wrist to bounce the ball. It came up to chest height and she swatted it. The arch of the ball seemed to slow time to PJ as she watched it. It landed in but only after it ran the rim to release the excess energy. Smirking, she looked back at Archie. "Never said I couldn't hit a ball."

Archer placed his hands on his hips while watching where the woman wanted him to. That golden cup. With the different technique coming from PJ, he was surprised that the ball went into the cup and he chuckled, “That is true. It looks like you got yourself another fish,” The man teased while gesturing over to the ball being in the cup. “Does that mean you pick the kind if you get it in the golden cup?” He was curious.

PJ shrugged, having no idea since she normally avoided these games. "I don't know. I normally avoid games like this." The man running the game harrumphed and handed over a business card that had on the back a voucher for a pet store in town. PJ looked confused.

"You can go in and get a pet of your choice and they'll take off the adoption fee." The older man flipped over the gold cup so that no one else could land a ball in it.

PJ blinked. Jethro would never let her have another pet. Jealous little shit that he was. He barely tolerated Tommy and his horse. Then a light bulb went off. Tommy had always wanted a dog. She'd gift the voucher to her best friend. "Okay that's pretty cool! What do ya say Archie I think we've done enough damage here; shall we move on? I kinda want a funnel cake."

That was pretty cool! At least he did not get the golden cup or he would have to find someone to give it to. He really did not need animals. “Funnel cake?” Was she talking about the famous funnel cake everyone has been talking about for the past couple weeks. Something he was excited to try out. “Let’s move on, funnel cake sounds delicious and everyone keeps talking about it,” Archer brought out a little pamphlet of where all the stands were supposed to be for the festival. It was a single piece of paper with some coloring and symbols. They were not that far away from it either.

---

Collab @Almalthia

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

---

Glancing over his shoulder at the child who was hiding behind him. With how short the girl was, he thought she was a child at first. Then he realized she was older than that. Maybe a teenager? She couldn’t be an adult with how short she was, could she? He was confused on why she was hiding behind him. It wasn’t like he was covering all of her or anything. People could still spot her from behind him especially with her peeking out beyond the crowd. Taking a drag of his cigar while glancing over to the blonde haired woman, he was trying to ignore the red-headed girl at first.

Allowing his attention to fall back onto the girl when she spoke, “Mhm…” What was she hiding from? He didn’t want to be caught up in anything that was not his business. Two strangers were crowding him and one was right behind him. Uncomfortable for someone that is in such a dangerous business. His guard was being put up and his natural alert system was slowly going off.

The crimson haired girl referring to the blonde as udders caused the Russian man to chuckle as he puffed out smoke. Someone has a mouth on them. Maybe she is running because someone is going to teach her a lesson for that mouth of hers. That wouldn’t surprise him. Then she continued to become cruel and his eyes sharpened while the girl seemed to have no self-awareness of herself or maybe her words at all. Disrespectful thing… he thought to himself while he took a step forward to distance himself from the crazed child.

Then the child began talking to herself. She broke her brother's guitar? Egged him on? Huffing out some more smoke, he did not want any part of whatever was happening between these siblings. The girl who was deciding that touching a stranger's back was an okay thing to do in the first place could feel Moxi tense. He was extremely tense. The girl could probably feel the underlying feeling of a shoulder holster for a gun depending on where she touched. The traps were prevalent when pressed against.

“I do not knov zis child, do you?” Moxi had no idea who this person was and the audacity that they had to touch him. Taking about fifteen steps away from the duo. His cloudy blue eyes glared towards him as if he was irritated. He was. Why the FUCK DID SHE TOUCH ME!?! Rang through his head and if looks could kill… Em would be dealing with icy daggers.

Dusting himself off as he took his suit jacket off and laid it over his shoulder. The man took out a small bag of something and it was a package of clean wipes. He began to use one to clean over his hands as he flicked his cigarillo to the ground and stepped on it. “Don’t touch me again,” Moxi’s voice was as cold and icy as his eyes at this point.

---

Location Near the cornhole game
Time 3 PM
Mood irritated
Interactions @The Muse @Viciousmarrow

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

---

Levi still had an arm on him, he would give him that. The attempt to ignore his childhood friend was lost when he heard the Hmph and the man began to take his eyes off the woman who wanted him to win her a bear. Smurfy? What type of nickname was that and while his eyes were coming off her, they quickly locked with one of his officers. The man’s grin told him everything and that caused his eyes to dart back to Levi. The man was standing there.

His eyes followed Levi the whole way till he was looking down at his friend. There was no response to the question. That might have spoken louder than words. Tommy did believe that he wouldn’t ever see Levi again or get into contact with him. All those attempts in university really drove a nail through his heart. He already lost two brothers in his eyes and when he lost Levi, it hurt more than he would let anyone ever know. Would he let him know? He truly didn’t know if he could allow himself to open up to him again. He hasn’t opened up to anyone in years, even Nixie.

Anger shot through his thought process when Levi said that he could say the same for him. I’ve been back in town for about a decade, the thought sounded unpleasant but he held his tongue while staring at Levi. Attempting to process the situation and not allowing his negative feelings to get in the way of the reunion of friends and brothers.

How was he supposed to welcome his friend? He didn’t realize he had so much pent up emotions and his expression began to soften the longer he stared at Levi. All those good memories flooding back in. Every time they sat in the police station chairs together after getting caught cow tipping or when Misses Crooks called on them because they were sinning in her eyes and wanted them off her ‘property’ even though it was public land.

Not noticing the little girl waiting in line excitedly, Levi began to speak, and Tommy found himself emerging into the ice water once again. This time he didn’t freeze. The man shot up and began to pull himself out of the dunk tank. You asshole, you should have been better to him!!! Hurdling the wall's tank and landing on his feet. Water splashed everywhere against the concrete. Maybe the water did the man some good.

“Tony git into the ice tank! Aah’ll be back en forty-five to an hour!” The man waved over one of his officers while beginning to follow Levi into the crowd. Internally cursing himself out for being such an ass. He needed to not worry about Nixie. He needed to not let his walls stand so high that he cannot even see his friend eye to eye.

Batman? Where are all these names coming from today, ran through his mind as well. That was when he stopped for a few seconds as he heard Tony shout, “See you later Smurfy!!” And he rolled his eyes and shook his head before budging into the crowd after the other man.

It took about a minute or two for the man to catch up to Levi in the sense of arms length away. “Hey jackass!” The man did not hesitate to grab his friend's shoulder, quite hard at that, and yank him backwards. This was purposefully to get Levi to spin around right into a hug and that hug was tight. His arms wrapped around the other man as he gave him what is known as a bear hug and somewhat dug his chin into the upper part of his shoulder blade, “Aah missed ya too,”

Levi's body tensed as he was grabbed and forcefully spun around in his seat, his hands immediately curling up into fists as he prepared to duck and swing a right hook into whoever was looking for a fight. Levi was no stranger to fights, although it had been awhile, but his gut instinct was always fight - never flight. Instead of an adversary, Levi was met face to face with Thomas who was completely drenched in water. Before he was able to pull away Thomas pulled him into a tight hug. “Jesus, dude.” Levi returned the hug and wrapped his arms around Thomas, submitting to his clothes soaking in the water dripping off of Tommy. “You were this close to a knockout.” He joked, patting his friends back a few times, his body finally relaxing. Now this was the kind of welcome he had been looking forward to!

Tommy couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face as he lightly laughed at the man’s comment about possibly being knocked out. “Aah reckon aah can take a punch from a city boy,” His tone was playful since he knew he could take plenty of punches. Coming back from university after his father passed so he could raise Junior and Roy —- Roy threw tons of punches till he was able to leave the house. Tommy never punched back. The only time Tommy was punching anyone was in the ring when he was training, boxing, or when he was on the job and had to defend himself. There were a few wild stories of pulling people over, going into a bar call, or so on where Tommy had to fight to restrain.

Pulling away, Levi looked down to check his golden star sticker, "Careful, I don’t want you ruining my trophy. Jeeze.” He patted it lovingly, making sure it wasn’t losing its stick after the water encounter. He laughed and then looked back to Tommy, eyeing the man’s arms. “You been going to the gym, haven’t you?” He reached out to squeeze Tommy’s bicep teasingly, “I don’t remember the last time I was spun around like that!”

As the man began to pull away, Tommy allowed his grip to loosen while he glanced down at the loving pat to the star. He could not help the thought of how there were probably four hundred and ninety something stars just like that one left in the prize bucket yet he decided to keep that to himself.
Glancing down at Levi’s hand when he felt the man grab his bicep, he shook his head in more of a joking way than anything. “Aah’ve bin’ hittin’ the gym since junior year of high scole ‘n majorly since the po-leese academy. Aah’ve always looked weaker than what aah’m,” That was something that he was too familiar with hearing while growing up. Everyone always commented about how he was too skinny. Too lean. Teasing if he could pick things up boys his age could. His muscles didn’t show like others did. They did now but he was lean just like his mother’s side of the family. Maybe a reason his father was so rough on him unlike Junior and Roy who had the muscles that popped when flexed out or toned down. Show muscles.

‘Aah felt lak an ass so aah had to do somethin’” Tommy tried to offer a warm smile that showed a little bit of awkwardness and a bit of shameful hint.

"Well, you are an ass, I’ll give you that.” Levi smirked, clearly playing with his friend as per usual. In truth, he had never thought that Tommy was an ass - it was quite the opposite. Tommy was typically the nicest guy he knew, usually to the man's own detriment. Too nice.

“So you’re the big bad Sheriff now, huh?” Levi’s eyes glanced behind Tommy to take a look at the dunk tank surrounded with police. “Ladies love a man in uniform. You got a girlfriend?” He laughed, looking back to his friend. He had known that Tommy was Sheriff for some time now, courtesy of his mother the town gossip. He had even shot Tommy a call when he found out but the call went unreturned. Levi had just chalked it up to Thomas being too busy at the time, but eventually the time between communication got longer and longer as Levi became more involved with his job at a five star restaurant. Not only that, but his ex-girlfriend in California had taken up a lot of his time as well. Admittedly, Levi had missed his own fair share of calls and texts.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders at the question, “They have bin’ reappointin’ me meh fo-wah about a decade, aah must not be that bad,” The man’s tone was becoming warmer by the second. He was enjoying the interaction he was having with his friend. He missed it. He really did miss it. Levi would never know how much it hurt when he couldn’t get ahold of him anymore.

“Even en an uniform, aah’ve never bin’ great with the ladies…” Was what came out of his mouth and it was humble. It sounded fine. It wasn’t giving any major clues.

“How’s Nix?” He questioned, knowing that Tommy would know better than anyone. “I saw her briefly this morning, but, uh…” He leaned back against the picnic table, wishing he had another beer in his hand at this moment. “I guess she was busy.” He shrugged, “Bringing you breakfast I heard, actually.”

His face seemed to lose all of that warmth and welcoming energy when he was asked about a girl friend. His chest twisted at the thought and his eyes naturally fell away from Levi’s face. How was he supposed to answer that? He hasn’t had a girlfriend since his last one dumped him in college with the comment of my friends knew you were gay, because he wouldn’t do anything intimate with her. He felt awkward about this. Couldn’t he open up to Levi without being judged? No… he would be judged and teased for it.

Now he was thinking of Nixie. She wasn’t even his girlfriend. Stop thinking you idiot… began to repetitively go through his mind. His cheeks began to have a slight shade of pink where the cheek bones were under his eyes.

Levi was bringing up the fact that Nixie brought him breakfast. That was a usual thing. She was always nagging on him for not eating properly or at all. God… was it that weird? Now he felt like it was weird. He would tell her to stop doing that if everyone was getting the sense that they could be a thing. Tommy’s mind began to race. He began to panic. It was getting difficult to breath with all these thoughts in his head and Levi standing in front of him asking harmless questions. They were harmless. Don’t think about them.

Patting Levi’s shoulder with a forced smile, “Aah really do not want to talk about this with ya, Levi, aah’ll catch ya later. Aah need to go eat somethin’,” Tommy practically rushed away from Levi before disappearing into the crowd. You’re so awkwardly stupid… You could have just stopped talking, as he continued to push through the crowd and move away from Levi. Since the man was back, he was going to have to get something else for Nixie’s birthday. Preparing himself to be a third wheel or completely excluded within the next week. This made him sick. It made him want to go home and drink. Maybe he should go home. No one would notice if he disappeared from the festival. It wasn’t like that many people actually cared about him.

Levi frowned as Tommy quickly made an exit, refusing to talk about Phoenix. The reunion had felt good, but it was so brief that it left Levi wishing he hadn’t opened his stupid mouth. Stunned and confused, Levi stayed in place and watched Thomas walk off. What was he supposed to do with that sort of shut down? ’That was weird…’ Levi thought, wondering what had made Thomas so uncomfortable. Did something happen between him and Phoenix this morning or something? His friend had always been a bit awkward, but that felt different. Once again he was reminded that he needed to go find a beer.

Tommy knew that exit was awkward and he was totally regretting opening his mouth. If Levi didn’t ask about him having a girlfriend and bringing up Nixie it would have been fine. Reminding him of the lie that he always tells himself. There is no time for a girlfriend between protecting the town, coaching the kids, and other activities. Drinking. Depression. Multi-hour long showers. Crying. Binge-watching home VHS tapes of him and his mother. His father before the man lost his wife and became an alcoholic.

That was when a dark wave of emotion hit him and he stopped in the crowd while people passed by. It was a lonely feeling. A dreadful feeling. Did he just ruin something? Was Levi going to be suspicious? What if Nixie and Levi get back together and he might have said too much… Would Levi tell him to go away? This stung. That thought stung so much. No. Levi would never do that. Trying to push those emotions down. Way down so he wouldn’t think about them.

The man walked to the grocery store down the street after that and ordered a five dollar meal that the deli had. Making his way back to his truck that was on the outskirts of the festival. Tommy locked himself in it and began to try to focus on his meal. “Aah'm 'unna have to reckon about gettin' nixie somethin' else fo-wah her birthday,” There was no way he could give the items and letter that he wanted to give to her now. That letter took him about six months. Pounds of paper and multiple pen packs later and he felt like he had the best outcome he was going to get with that. Maybe burning it in the fireplace tonight would be a better idea. What would he get her then? Would he still give her the items that were bought and had handcrafted for her? That’s too much… Maybe he will just keep those and hide them somewhere that no one else would find them.

Placing his forehead on the steering wheel the man mindlessly stirred the plastic container of mashed potatoes as he thought about what he was going to do now. The overwhelming urge to go home and drink was the only thing that flooded his mind. Alcohol was being substituted for anxiety and depression medication. It was a vicious cycle at this point and he would always remind himself that he could never tell Nixie that he drank. She probably was suspicious but he knew that she probably didn’t know how bad it was. He just needed to cut his losses but why did he not years ago?

The man continued to mindlessly stir the potatoes before he realized that he had been in his truck, stirring potatoes for about fifteen to twenty minutes —- DING DING DING!!! Those were the bells indicating that it was 3 PM and he had been in his vehicle for quite some time — and he decided that he would eat. Beginning to try to force something into his system. He felt like an idiot at this point. He felt like if he confessed his feelings, he would lose both of his friends. Taking a deep breath as he took another bite of mashed potatoes. “Ya have bin' doin' this fo-wah roughly two decades, give or take, just keep doin' it 'n ya won't lose either…” Tommy didn’t want to lose either of them in the long run. They were his best friends and pretty much his lifelines throughout high school and most of his childhood.

---

Location Sitting in his truck, outskirts of festival
Time 3 PM
Mood Depressed and attempting to eat
Collab @The Muse

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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A flicker of movement was caught in the corner of his left eye and his eyes glared over out of reaction. A blonde-haired woman was approaching and she had ice cream. He did not know her and he was confused why she walked right up to him. Maybe she was one of those extremely friendly locals? He has run into a few of them. Clearing his throat when she asked if was staying away from the crowd for peace and quiet. “Niet…” He calmly replied while scanning the crowd. The noise. Everything was overwhelming to a point though he was used to it at the same time or he wouldn’t have opened Euphoria.

The man began to pull out a cigarillo while the woman continued to start a conversation with him. She seemed stubborn and he glanced at her. Head to toe. Then back up. Analyzing the individual who seemed to be curious of him. “Vhy do you kome if it is overrrvhelming?” That made no sense to him. Wouldn’t you want to stay away from something that disturbed you in such a way? Odd woman.

Raising a single brow as she offered him something and he realized she was offering part of her ice cream. Noticing that there were two spoons in the bowl of ice cream that she had. Waving his hand as he lit the cigarillo and put it in between his lips. “Niet. Niet. Zank you,” Moxi was trying to be pleasant to the pretty woman but he only had so much patience. That patience was different for different people in his life. If she was his. He would not mind sharing something but he did not care for ice cream anyways. She was a complete stranger and the thought of her spit on that ice cream almost made him gag.

“I do not karrre forrr sveets,” That man decided to open up slightly towards the woman to keep communication though he really didn’t know what to say. It felt weird that someone approached him but he wasn’t against it. Just surprised even if his stoic expression didn’t show the surprise at all. “Yourrr offerrr is apprrreciated,” The kinder you were to this man the kinder he would try to be to you. Being proper and gentle in this situation with the woman felt like the right thing to do. He might be a bad guy but he wasn’t necessarily a bad guy. He continued to watch the cornhole game that was going on.

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Location Near the cornhole game
Time Festival
Mood Surprised
Interactions @The Muse