Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Bloom
code by Stardust Galaxy
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Fandom Divergent: Faction Before Blood // RP Thread
code by Stardust Galaxy
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Cassidy "Cas" Wickham || 16 || Initiate || Erudite Transfer
Listening to Cas and Fable talk about their tattoo ideas made Cas really want to get a tattoo. The idea of having such beautiful art on her body all the time, without her having to do the painstaking process of painting it, was definitely a nice thought... however the pain that would be put upon her would be too much to bare. That's why she needed to talk to Griffon, and she supposed she would have to do that on their way, as it didn't seem like people would be parting ways at any point. She knew Griffon would say yes to her, but she had to try think about him, because all he ever did was think about others. He would do anything for her, and Cas had to make sure she didn't ask too much of him, as she didn't have that same selfless aptitude that he did. He truly must have enjoyed Abnegation as it would have suited him splendidly. It would have been perfect for him, and Cas knew that he must have found it hard moving to Dauntless. He wasn't doing badly, in fact he was doing quite well, but it wasn't where he excelled... he excelled at having the opportunity to help people, and to be selfless. Griffon seemed to truly never care for himself, not in a self-conscious way or an insecure way, but because he truly put everyone above himself. Even people he didn't like. She had always found that admireable, even as she failed to do so herself. She couldn't help but categorize people, choose whether they were useful allies or potential enemies, or bystanders. She would figure out who was smarter or dumber than her, who was stronger or wittier, who was more determined or ruthless. It was a list that always increased, though admittedly Cas had a haughty view of herself. She had enjoyed beating Ghost today, it had given her a buzz that would likely last for the entire day, as long as she didn't get a migraine. But... that's what the vape and meds were for. She could deal with it later. She looked as Fable began to show her tattoos and Cas examined them with an artful eye. Although she personally didn't sketch on paper, she had done enough body art herself and watercolour paintings to appreciate art in subtle ways. "I like them, I definitely think you should go with that, it would look really cool." Cassidy said with a nod as Fable told her idea of doing the deer with the arrow in its antlers. After hearing Griffon and Aya both mention that they were happy to leave, Cas nodded and stood up. "I would also love to head off, it would be nice to go past the dorms too, I wouldn't mind grabbing something." She said, as she watched everyone get up and start moving out the door. Trying not to be too obvious, but still wanting to steal some time with Griffon, she held his arm and specifically walked slower, so that Aya and Fable walked up front, and Griffon and Cas walked behind them.
"Griff... Would you help me get a tattoo?" Cas whispered softly, so that only Griffon would hear. Griffon didn't answer for a few seconds, and Cas wondered if she truly had asked too much of him, it wasn't a fair thing to ask, and she would have immediately taken it back, but Griffon answered before she could. "Of course, I'd be happy to." He said, and smiled so warmly down at her that Cas was almost transported to the time when they were children, and Griffon would take her by the arm and lead her around when she was scared. He would smile at her just like that. Always desiring to protect her from any harm. "Are you sure?" Cas asked, beginning to question her own motives and desires, and beginning to have second thoughts about the entire ordeal. Griffon simply nodded, and patted Cassidy's hand sweetly. She sighed happily and drew closer to him. That's when he asked his own question. "Can I meet mum and dad?" He whispered, so quietly that almost Cas didn't hear him... but oh she did. An ice cold shiver ran down her back, and Cassidy tripped over her feet in surprise. Almost instantly a headache began to brew, or perhaps she was only just noticing it. "You don't want to Griff, trust me... It's not safe. There's no point." She said through her teeth quietly, wanting the conversation to drop. Not only did she want it to drop so that she didn't have to think about them again, but she was still paranoid that their mother was somewhere in Dauntless trying to find them. Griffon shook his head. "Maybe not for you Cas, but I can't remember them. I saw mum's face in my simulation you know, and I... I just don't know if its her, and if it is then... I don't know anything about her." Griffon said, sadness laced inside his voice. Cas felt ashamed for telling him he shouldn't meet them, but she just knew that it was a bad idea. It wasn't safe for Griffon to go back to them, especially with him having no memory. He wouldn't remember all the awful things they allowed and did. He couldn't even remember Luke, and how it was their parents who let him die. They'd almost all died at the hands of their parents, but Griffon couldn't remember. Cas wished she could forget sometimes, but remembering kept her alive. "I'll... think about it." Cas finally said as they made their way to the dorm room and began entering it. She turned and looked up at Griffon, holding his hands. "I understand, brother... Will you trust me to think it over and come up with a plan?" She asked. Griffon nodded enthusiastically, and Cas smiled in return.
It didn't take long for people to get the items they wanted, Aya, Griffon and Fable all had sketch books and were chatting about what tattoos they wanted, Cas thought wasn't sure and kept her head down as they walked, thinking to herself what it was that she would get. She didn't want a big tattoo, she wanted it to get on her body as fast as possible. As she gazed upon her brother, watching as he smiled and opened up to Fable and Aya and talked with them happily, she immediately knew what it was that she wanted to have upon her body. She wanted to memorialize something, something that she would never forget and never leave. She knew where she would get it too, after having had so many painful things done to her body, she knew where it hurt the least, and the worst. As they finally got the the tattoo parlour, Cas spent the same amount of time as everyone else, perusing the sketches that the tattoo artists had, and then looking through the sketchbooks of Aya, Griffon and Fable. She knew what she wanted of course, but not... how she wanted it. After looking through the parlour for a while, she finally came upon an artist who mixed celtic patterns into their drawings, and she loved them. She looked for the name of the artist and then went to join the others. "So, have you all picked out something to do?" She asked, eyes bright with excitement and nervousness. "Are you getting one Griffon?" She asked him, curious to what they'd be doing. Griffon nodded, explaining to Cas what it was that he wanted done. The other two answered with what they were doing, and they finally all made their way up to the desk where they asked if their were availabilities right now. As it happened, there were, and everyone was quickly moved to the appropriate chair or table, depending on where it was they were getting the tattoo. As a gorgeous girl took Cas to a chair, she asked her what she wanted. "I would love a celtic style Griffin, on the back of my left shoulder." She said, but before sitting down she quickly added on. "Sorry I forgot to say something to my brother." She rushed over to where Griffon was, and touching his hand she whispered. "Thank you, good luck." She said, and shivered softly at their touch. A second or too passed, before she opened her eyes and replied. "You're welcome." Then walked back to the seat, a little slower than usual, and sat down. Shifting her body in ways that she didn't usually shift it. The tattoo artist asked for her to lean her to remove her sweater, and she did, wincing and cringing at the strange feeling of it tickling her skin. Once off, the artist was happy that she was wearing a sports bra, and so there was easy access to her shoulder. Cassidy leaned onto the bed obediently so that the artist had full access to her shoulder, and closed her eyes, tensing for the pain. This was not going to be fun. But they could do it.
Interacting with: Aya
Wolfiee
Fable
Sanctuaryforall1
Griffon
Wolfiee
Meow
Briony Avalon
Initiate
coded by natasha.
Nerdy.
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Griffon ||
Griffon was glad to get moving. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the diner or the atmosphere and conversation, in fact he rather enjoyed having so many of the people he cared about so close to him at one time. However he found it difficult to give them all the love he wanted to, to make sure he was looking after all of them to the best of his ability, at the same time. He knew Cas and Fable well, and Aya he was getting to know, so he had knowledge on how to hopefully make them happy, bring them comfort, and get them to enjoy themselves and laugh. But at the same time, he was a bit overwhelmed with all of them there. He found at times that his hearing aids would spike with the level of noise in the diner and the fan above them and the conversation between them. He loved this type of activity truly, but when Aya suggested leaving and also popping back to the dorm to get some sketch books, Griffon perked up even more, nodding enthusiastically to her idea. "I think that's a great idea, Aya." He said with a warm smile and kind eyes. Getting up from the table with Cas at his side, he wasn't too surprised when she stayed at his side, arms looped with his and a slow pace. When she asked him the question, about whether he would help, he hesitated. She really wanted a tattoo? A sickening shiver ran up his spine and he shivered, the phantom feeling disappearing in an instant, of course he would help, he was just surprised. "Yes of course." He said, and affirmed it again when she made sure. He would always help her, even with something as unimportant as a tattoo... but maybe it was important. Cas couldn't usually get anything like that, she had no piercings, she had no tattoos, and she could hardly even get her hair dyed due to the fear that the product would be painful to her scalp or body if it got onto it. She had to stay clean of almost everything, the simulations each day were a lot more painful than to the average person, and he knew she envied his inability to feel. Although they both knew that each of their conditions was not something to be envied. It was true that Griffon couldn't feel pain, he could likely cover his entire body in tattoos and never feel pain, but he also couldn't tell when he was injured, he could be bleeding now and he wouldn't know. He could hardly feel human touch, or anything. Cas on the other hand, felt too much. Both sides of a coin, and yet they worked almost perfectly together. He would help her, and he was sure that it would be worth it.
Thinking about helping Cas made him think about his parents. He had seen... somebody in his simulation, who he assumed was his mum. He had... felt like it was his mum, but it had been a simulation, and it was possible that his memory was so bad that it was someone else entirely. But something told him it was. Yet... he knew nothing of her. In his simulation she had been intimidating, but she had saved them. She had found them and saved them. Griffon felt like it was real, and from Cassidy's affirmations after he relayed the simulation to her, he found that it was very similar to some real events, although Cas admitted that if it was when she had that fever, then she couldn't quite recall the details well. He felt like it was wrong though, to not know your parents. He knew his adopted parents, and until recently had felt like they were good parents to him, he knew they had treated Fable worse than him, but he'd always tried to stick up for her respectfully. Now, after finding out who they really were, he couldn't help wonder whether he had taken all of Cassidy's words too truly. What if the opposite was true? What if Cassidy had a biased opinion about their parents and the truth was slightly different? He wouldn't accuse Cas of lying, he knew she wouldn't lie to him, but there was always the ability for her to have misconstrued certain things due to her remembering them a certain way. But it felt so wrong to not know his parents. When Griffon asked Cas whether he could meet them, he didn't even do so selfishly, like some might imagine, but he truly was thinking of them. How horrible it would be for them for their children to have awful thoughts of them. He wanted to find out for real what they were like, if they were good, beautiful and nice, then he would want to open that relationship back up. But if they were truly as cruel as Cassidy made them out to be, Griffon knew that it was important to know that, even if it felt mean. When Cassidy tried to convince him otherwise, he took a tentative step at trying to put his foot down, and truly telling her he wanted to see them. Cassidy asked him to wait for her to plan it, and he agreed quickly, grateful that it would mean he wouldn't need to. He had no idea how to start that, what if they were dead? He hadn't thought about that. They finally got to the dorms, and Griffon went to go get his sketch books, and they exited fairly quick.
Griffon at this point now strode with Aya and Fable, and even as they walked they each held their sketch book, showing each other their sketches and asking each other questions about their sketches and what they were planning for a tattoo. Griffon loved all of them, and he wanted all of them in order to show Aya and Fable how much he loved them, Cas too. As he looked through, he began to think of an idea, and he finally voiced it to them. "Would you two draw something up quick for me? I thought of something I'd like, and I'd like you both to be a part of it." He said. As the two girls nodded, he brought out his own sketch book and passed it to Aya, by this point they were at the parlour, and Cas was already scouting for desirable tattoos. "Sorry if I am taking your time. But could you draw Cassidy's hands, in... sort of this position?" Griffon represented it with his hands, and Aya nodded, quickly drawing Cassidy's hands as if she didn't even need to see it. Griffon had already seen her beautiful works of art where she had artfully drawn people's hands and bodies, so he knew it would be accurate and beautiful. Then he turned to Fable. "Then could you draw a fire on top? And choose the right colours for the flame?" He asked, watching as she smiled, already enjoying his decision. Once Aya was finished, she handed it to Fable and she finished it up with the flame. At some point one of them asked him what it was meant to represent, as they looked at the drawing. "I wanted to have both my sisters in it, Cassidy's hands, and Fable's fire. And I wanted your skill in the artwork, and Fable's creative flow." He said, watching as the two seemed to almost melt at the sentimental adorableness of his deciison. He blushed, as he brought the sketchpad to Cas. "Cas, where should I get this?" He asked, wanting her advice to where he should put it. After thinking for a few moments, Cassidy smiled. "You could have it the same place I am getting mine. Then we would both be having representatives of each other in the same place." She said, and showed him where she wanted to get hers done. Griffon nodded, and went back. He watched Fable and Aya look over his own sketch book too, although he couldn't imagine them choosing one of his. He mostly did landscape portions, floral and some animal sketches. It wasn't amazing, but he enjoyed it. Once they were all in place, Cas finally came over, he had been waiting for her, and she touched his hand. Griffon felt a shiver, and suddenly he relaxed like never before, as all tension dropped and a soothing warmth fell over him. Happily removing his shirt (unusual, given that he was usually rather reserved), he also semi-layed down on a table so that the tattoo artist could get to him. The fact that he couldn't feel a thing, was wonderful.\
Interacting with: Aya
Wolfiee
Fable
Sanctuaryforall1
Cas
Wolfiee
Meow
Divergent
Rhysand(Rhys).
coded by natasha.
Nerdy.
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Phillip Parks || 19 || Soldier/Trainer || Dauntlessborn
Phillip was not upset at all at the fact that Bloom had in fact been feeding his dog treats. He knew Bloom well enough to know the treats she had were likely home-made or bought from somewhere that made good healthy treats, plus he knew Bloom would only spoil Honey in the best way possible. The two of them were quite close, almost as close as Phillip was with Honey, but obviously not the same. Phillip didn't care when people called him names for being so attached to his dog, she had genuinely helped him with fighting his depression, and he would always love her and owe her for their entire lives together. He showered her with love and affection whenever he could. As Bloom mentioned Honey's bandanna, he grinned widely. "Yes, one of the perks of fashionable sisters is that they tend to give me many accessories for Honey, this bandanna is now one of many, I might actually start having to sell some of them, or wear them myself." Phillip said with a laugh, as he thought about the pile of bandanna's he had in one of his drawers at home, all of them Honey's and all of them adorable. One for any and every occasion. As Honey happily gobbled up Bloom's treats, he listened as she reminisced on times they had spent goofing around at parties. "Ah yes, we were not always the most popular at the parties, especially not while doing that." He joked, watching as Bloom nodded and laughed in agreement. "Though I must say that we do make for good dancing partners, if the right music comes on, I seem to remember you jumping on the table once? And I caught you as you fell off?" He said, with a tease in his voice. Bloom gave him a playful push as she reminded him that it was in fact him who had jumped on the table and fallen off, and Bloom had caught him. "Ah yes, very romantic, I seem to recall you patching me up like some old mother goose." He said, and dodged as Bloom tried to elbow him for calling her an old goose. He grinned, wide and toothy, and dodged each swing before Bloom stopped and the two just began to laugh together, all the while Honey barked and bounced between them excitedly. It was good to meet up with Bloom again, since initiation had started, Phillip had not had time to meet up with his friends, soldiers were the most busy during initiation time, not only for Dauntless, but for all the factions. They had to patrol all of them, and it was always the most dangerous at this time of the year, as initiation always came with strange and interesting adventures and inciting events. He was more than happy to have a break and be a trainer for a while, to help out the initiation, his own little brother and the friends he knew. He thought of Randi, Aubrey, Blair, Briony... Many others that he knew and respected.
"Why don't we go for a walk? Honey needs one and I could stand to hear about the initiation and initiates, from your perspective. Tell me all the gossip, sweet Bloom, I know you've heard it, bartending has given you good ears I'm sure." He said, knowing she would deny being a gossip, but would know all the gossip there is to know. "Let's call it our first lesson." He said with a serious look, following it up with a wink and a grin. Bloom rolled her eyes and finally relented, and Phillip grinned happily as they began to walk. "I want to go outside, so Honey can have a run around." He said, and the two began to walk towards the exit. Whilst they walked, Phillip remained respectfully quiet as Bloom spoke about initiation from her perspective, the other trainers, the kids, anything that had happened, the fear simulations, the rankings (from her memory) and the whole ordeal of Warren announcing Ghost's departure and himself stepping in. "Poor old Ghost, I must go say hello to him, my father was not happy to hear Ghost had been fired." He commented, knowing that Obadiah had been a bit in a fit about how Ghost being fired and Warren being hired had been completely out of his control and all Jeremy's doing. Phillip knew there was tension there that was secretive and yet toxic. It was making Obadiah even more cranky than he usually was, from Phillip's perspective. "You said Chris and Blair broke up this morning? You're sure of that?" Phillip asked, listening as Bloom affirmed that she had seen it happen, and explained to him. "That just seems so unlike Christian. He adores Blair." He said, frowning as he tried to picture Christian breaking up with Blair, he loved Christian and part of him felt some amount of joy at hearing that his brother did anything out of his own initiative, but that was just so odd. "But has he been doing well at the simulations? He hasn't had problems with his anger recently?" Phillip asked, as they finally exited the compound and Honey bounded off into the grass, immediately rolling around on some wildflowers and enjoying the sunshine that was there. "It's good to hear about how he's been, I don't see him much during initiation. Tell me some other things about the initiates." He said, and listened intently as Bloom spoke about what she had noticed and picked up on for the initiates and anything that was going on with them. He knew he would have to learn about these things by himself, but he also knew this would be helpful to know. They walked and talked as they came to a field where there was a big expanse for Honey to run, and Phillip took out a ball, lobbing it far into the air and far down the field. Honey took off running, and eventually she brought it back, drool dripping off the ball but a happy smile and a big wagging tail showing how happy Honey was. Phillip would always praise her and pat her extensively when she brought it back, and then would throw it even further each time.
It seemed that Bloom had finished answering all his questions, and Phillip had none left to ask, so this time it was her turn to ask him, about how the other factions were, from his perspective. "Ah." He said, "What a fun subject." He said with great sarcasm and a funny smirk. He laughed as Bloom looked at him funnily and he waved her funny look away. "I jest, but only slightly so." He said, again throwing the ball for Honey, before he leaned on a nearby wall and thought about his recent jobs. "Well, to start with, the factionless have been rather violent recently, almost as if they are being trained and weaponized." He said, thinking to some of the skirmishes he had had with some factionless. "One of the worst times recently was some had been terrorizing a street in the common area, and we were sent to see what was happening and clear them out. Needless to say it got a little ugly, we didn't expect the weapons they had, and well... unfortunately..." Phillip trailed off as he knew he couldn't say what happened next, he waved his hand in the air, and looked at Bloom, getting an affirming nod from her to show she understood what he meant. "It's not the first time factionless have had such weapons, but they were more than efficient with them, and they were nicer weapons than they usually have. Almost like someone was giving and training them." He finished, skipping over the ugly battle that had ensued at the area he talked about. "Dauntless still has a fair number of gangs running around, as you well know, and they have a reasonable amount of peace at the moment, most of them getting a good amount of bribes from the higher ups to be more or less extra security and soldiers for Dauntless. Having them around actually means that soldiers like myself are sent to the other factions, rather than here." He didn't mind this, again having been a regular at the Spartan bar for a while when he was younger, he had no qualm with gangs, as long as they remained mostly peaceful. "Amity is about the same, their crops are doing well although the ones closer to the factionless area are often being raided at night, which means I do a lot of boring night shifts around there. We are presuming it to be more factionless. Abnegation saw a drop in initiates this year, but are still doing well for themselves. Although they too have noted that the factionless are turning up in smaller and smaller groups to get help. Abnegation claims this is because they are becoming self-sufficient in a good way, but they also don't go around patrolling like me, they just see the happy factionless coming to get their soup and blankets." Phillip said, shaking his head at the ridiculous nature of Stiffs. "Candor had a lot of initiates this year, and it's honestly too many for the size of Candor itself, so many of them spend their time in the common area, or even the factionless area. Which means I escort many home when they need it.... And finally Erudite... It's the same old Erudite we always know. High and pompous and thinks they're better than us. Though they've upped their security and are paying more for good soldiers, I wouldn't be surprised if they're developing new serums and new scientific discoveries." He said, finally finishing his synopsis of the factions. "That is all I, a humble soldier, sees though. So what do I know." He said with a shrug and a smile. "I could simply be a moron."
Interacting with: Bloom
Sanctuaryforall1
Christian Parks || 16 || Initiate || Dauntlessborn
Christian listened to Vex with a strong determined look, and his eyes barely left her own. As she held the black thing up, and explained to him what this "termite" was, he tried desperately to listen to each instruction and contain it in his memory. It helped that he was still coming off his lull, as that actually meant he would remember it better. The other drugs he took often blanked his memory, or left everything grey, but lull always sharpened everything for him, at least... he thought it did. Sometimes he couldn't remember everything, but the things he could remember always seemed sharp and in colour. He wanted to make sure that he knew everything they were doing so that he would be able to do it properly and well. He didn't want to make any mistakes or do anything wrong. Dr Munro deserved perfection and Christian would try his hardest to give that to him. He owed him everything, and would continue to, probably until he died. He thought back to Shay in the hospital, and how she was dying, maybe when he was finished with Dr Munro, when he had been cured, he would continue working for him in order to bring some cure to Shay, if that were possible. He would have to ask later. He zoned back into Vex's conversation as she let him know that they were not meant to be detected, and if something happened, Chris was to leave it to Vex and continue trying to get the termite to the correct spot. He could do this, he had to, and he would. With one final run down and Vex making Christian affirm everything back to her, she handed him a mask for him to apply to the lower half of his face. It wasn't special and didn't have any markings, it was just a black face mask. "What will we need this for?" He asked, whether Vex found this a stupid question or not, she explained that if they were caught on camera, or simply viewed by anyone, they needed masks so that they would not be easily recognizable and wouldn't be recognized later. Especially since Christian was the son of the Dauntless leader, it wasn't like he was anonymous to start with. Plus, they needed to make sure these people could not track them back to Dr Munro. Christian nodded happily, agreeing with everything that was said, and put the face mask on, checking his reflection in a broken window pane. Then he zipped up his hoodie, covering his white shirt, and put his hoodie on, thus making him look like any normal kid. The face mask was fairly normal, so it wouldn't draw attention all by itself either. "I'm ready." Christian said excitedly, his heart beating quickly and a fire in his chest. He was excited, more so than he should have been, but he couldn't help himself. This was so important and fun! He had never done anything as good in his life, and he was excited to be a tool for Dr Munro. This was what he was made for.
Vex led the way, and Christian followed to the best of his ability. She scouted out a way to get into the building, and Christian simply watched as she artfully saw a window that was propped open on the third floor. Thankfully this window was on the side of the building that faced another building, and not an open expanse, so they would have some cover. They made their way over, hands in pockets and a lumbering pace as to not draw attenion, and as soon as they were at the building, Vex told Chris to wait as she scaled up the building easily, like some kind of cat, and checked the window, finally opening it up somehow and slipping in. Christian waited patiently and quietly, his eyes not leaving the window for a second, before Vex waved down for him to make his way up. Christian was a lot larger than Vex, so he took a little bit slower than her, plus it was harder to avoid the other windows, he almost put his foot through one, and was glad he had missed it, as it would have shattered and caused a large ruckus. Finding hand and footholds in the wall was hard, having to use window sills, broken pieces and piping, and finally squeezing his body through the window, he rolled into the room, quickly standing and scanning it. Currently there was nobody in this room, it looked like an office, and it was a bit stuffy, hence the window being open. There was nobody here, so Christian and Vex continued forward, with her taking a peek out the door to see if it was clear to go out. Christian caressed the termite in his pocket as they exited the office and made their way quietly through the floor, heading towards the fire exit. That would be the easiest way to the second floor. Unfortunately this building had a fire exit on the inside rather than the outside, meaning it was possible to bump into people there. Vex had said they wanted to remain unnoticed, so Christian found that he held his hand in a fist, ready to knock anyone who came near them, and keeping an eye out for closets to stuff people in. Every time they heard footsteps, Vex would stop Chris and would check the doors and corners to see whether someone was coming or not. Twice they had to rush into a closet and squeeze tightly together, so close that Vex's body was hot and warm against Christian's, and he could feel her breath through his jumper. She was so professional at this, quiet as a mouse, perfect in her ability to hear and see what was coming and what was needed. He found he was inspired by her and in awe of her ability. Dr Munro must be proud to have such an adequate person working with him.
They finally got to the fire exit without issue, and entered it, going to the floor below. Finally this was where they couldn't escape. As they were entering the second floor via the staircase, they were about to check through the small window, when someone opened it and walked straight into them. Christian froze, not sure what to do, but Vex immediately took care of it. She shot him a look, reminding him that the termite was the most important part of what they were doing, and with her eyes she seemed to point at him continuing forward as she dealth with the scientist who had walked in on them. Whether she meant to diplomatically distract them, or use some other force, Christian wouldn't know, as he squeezed past and made his way down the hall. Vex flicked him the scientist's scan car as he went, so that he would be able to enter any of the rooms. That's when he realized how helpful Vex was. Each footstep he could hear sounded like it came from everywhere at once, each room looked identical, and he had no idea where he was going. Anxiety crept up on him out of nowhere, and he felt out of his element. Finally he saw a door that looked only slightly different than usual, and he took a breath, listening as best he could before opening it and entering in quietly. "HEY who are you?" A voice cried out in dismay as Christian turned around to be right faced with another scientist. His mind blanked, and Christian did the first thing that made sense to him. Without warning or reason, his fist flew forward, connecting firmly with the man's face, and a loud crack could be heard in his nose, as Christian's punch broke the man's nose and sent his eyes rolling back in his head. Somehow Christian had the good sense to catch the man, and he immediately realized that that may not have been a good thing to do. What if the room had lots of people in it? What if this was... He looked around, feeling some relief at seeing an empty room with what seemed to be the hardrives. He let out a shaky breath, and hauled the scientist onto his shoulders till he found a suitable place to put him, lying him under a bench. He brought out the termite, his sweaty fingers slipping and almost dropping it. Looking around nervously he finally found the right place to put it, and he plugged it in. He wasn't sure if he was meant to wait, Vex had said that it would fry itself afterwards, but for now was he meant to wait so that it wouldn't be pulled out? What was he meant to do with the person he had knocked out? Had he ruined the mission?
Christian wasn't sure how to get out either, surely they would be found out soon, what was Vex doing? Did she need his help? He jumped as the door opened and a female scientist came in, closing the door behind her quickly. Christian wasn't going to hit her, he couldn't hit a woman, what was he going to do? Just as he was panicking, he recognized her hair, and as she turned to look at him, he could see that it was Vex, in the uniform of the scientist they had run into on the stairs. Strutting over to him she praised his work, and even praised his good thinking at knocking the man out, even though there may have been better places to put him than under the bench. She checked the progress of the termite, then told Christian to undress the man of his coat and clothes, Christian didn't have any reason to argue with Vex, and he did so, feeling slightly awkward but doing so anyway, once he was finished, Vex told him to take his own clothes off, and to get into the new ones. Christian knew it would be a bit of a squeeze, but he obediently began to de clothe, thinking Vex would look away, but she did not. He faltered, but as she waved him on, he kept going. A simple thrill of being next to naked in the presence of a pretty girl made Christian feel jittery and strange, the lull exiting things that may not have usually excited him. He struggled to get into the smaller scientist's clothes, but finally was able to squeeze into the pants and shirt, although his large clumsy fingers struggled with the buttons. Vex came over, her nimble dark fingers working lightly, tickling his skin as they did each button. She helped put the jacket on him, and then gave him a new medical mask to put on, in order to blend in. "How are we getting out though? won't they see we aren't actually scientists?" He asked? Vex laughed, and then passed him a lighter. When Christian looked confused, she pointed to his clothes that he had left on the ground. "Do I..." He could see the seriousness in Vex's eyes, and he sighed. "I really liked those jeans." He moaned as he walked over, beginning to light the clothes. He heard some noise behind him, but ignored it, trusting that Vex was doing fine with whatever she was doing. As the clothes began to ignite, the smoke rising up, the loud alarm went off, and Chris turned around. So this is how they would escape, in the flurry of a fire alarm. He looked around for the person he had knocked out, but he couldn't see them anywhere, Vex must have done something with them. They ran out of the room together, adding to the many other scientist's also running out, funnily enough the water system did not turn on, and black smoke began to bucket out of the room that Chris had started burning his clothes. He hadn't thought they were that flammable.... Maybe it was something Vex had set off, some extra smoke. He shook his head, following Vex as they entered the fire escape with all the other scientists, heading downwards. He hoped he had done well.
Interacting with: Vex
Sanctuaryforall1
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Thorn
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Fable
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Vex
code by Stardust Galaxy
Nerdy.
Nerdy
Charlotte "Charlie" Stark || 20 || Medic || Dauntlessborn
Charlie had managed to remove her own awkward feelings about her strange request to Thorn and also the physical closeness of the two. The song had taken her back to the times when Henry or Sasha had sung it to her, and she had sung it to Aubrey. It had calmed her, and the feel of Thorn's heavy body in her lap, and her hands in his sun warmed hair, had grounded her so nicely, that she felt the most at peace and content than she had in a long while. It felt so right, to sit here so closely with Thorn, that she realized this was something she had missed with Caspian. She had loved Caspian more closely than she had loved any other friend, he had been a genuine life saver, and she was still grieving his loss. But Caspian was also a very typical Dauntless male, he got drunk, he got stupid and sometimes violent, he got touchy and thought about sex and girls much more than Charlie liked, especially because if he was not in the right mind it would also transfer to his thoughts of her. On the whole she had felt safe with Caspian, but there were always certain times, or certain things he did, that made her wary. But with Thorn, Charlie had never felt wary with him before, and at this moment she felt the exact opposite, there was no worries of Jeremy in her mind, no stressful thoughts of initiation, Aubrey, Shay or anything else. Rather her mind was happily singing the song she had just sung aloud, her body was warm and comforted, and she was weighed down not with grief and fear, but with the comfort of a close friend. Quite literally. Thus, when Thorn looked up at her, she couldn't help but feel an immense amount of love for him, nothing more than what might occur between two friend or siblings, but it was there, strong and powerful, it caused a pang for the loss of Caspian, but it also felt like healing, like stitching up a wound. Painful, but good. When he spoke, she listened happily, and felt a warm happy blush alight upon her cheeks. "I wish I had." Charlie said softly, as she wondered how much of Thorn he had gotten from Ophelia. He didn't seem to be like his male relatives, so she had to believe the majority was from his mom. "She seemed like an amazing woman." She mentioned, as she thought back to the few times she had met Ophelia. There were only brief memories, like butterflies flitting around in a forest, it was there but she couldn't quite catch it or remember it properly. Only one memory stayed strong in her mind. "Did you know you came to my father's funeral?" She said, wondering if Thorn could remember that far. She looked away from him, back to the water flowing. "I think Ophelia was close with him and mother... I'm not sure." She went back in her mind, she had been 10 at the time, so had good memory of this traumatic and sad event. She was surprised at how she wasn't tearing up at this, but was speaking quite plainly. "You were probably 6, it was just you and Ophelia. I think you held a small bouquet of daisies, I remember you trying to give them to Aubrey, but I took them, because Aubrey was still in shock." Charlie found the memory coming to her much more vividly than she remember. Little 6 year old Thorn holding a lopsided but adorable bouquet of handpicked daisy's and trying to give them to Aubrey, who just stood there numbly, hands clinging to Sasha's skirt, and eyes open and glued on the coffin, or on the floor. Charlie had felt sorry that Thorn was trying so hard, and had gone over, crouching down to take those Daisy's and thanking him for them. It seemed so long ago, and it was, a decade was a long time, and many things had happened since then.
A silence fell over the two, as they thought of their losses but also their connection. There was a grieving silence of sadness and loneliness, but also that warm comfort of friendship. After a little while, Charlie finally shuffled her body and Thorn took the hint to move his own, and sat up next to her. "Thank you for coming out with me today Thorn. I know it wasn't easy." She said, as they sat there together on the rock, as the day cooled down. "I wanted you to know that I'm here for you. I hope you do know that." She said, reaching out tentatively to place on hand on his knee, a jolt passing through her body as she did so, and tentative eyes searching his for assurance that she was doing a good thing for him. To anyone looking, it may have seemed like two lovers having a romantic date, but Charlie's mind was so far away from that, so much did she want Thorn's healing and her own desire to help him, that the thought was just a distant tiny whimper in a cavern of echoes, deafened by everything else. She removed her hand almost as quickly as she had put it on, and sighed softly in completion, arising from her sitting position, and with Thorn she made her way back to the other rock that still held their picnic food and materials. Surprisingly only a few items had bird pecks in, and Charlie happily left the pieces the birds had already began nibbling on, on the rock so that they could finish their meal once Thorn and Charlie left. Everything else she packed solidly away and once that was all done, Thorn helped her to get back onto the bank, solid ground, and out of the river. "Thank you." She said to him, as he helped her balance and get up on the bank. His hand was warm and steady, calloused but strong and safe. She liked the feel of it, it reminded her of Caspian. Though Caspian had had disproportionately large hands. "We should do this again. I really enjoyed spending time with you." She said, hoping he would say the same, she searched his eyes, looking for the solidarity, and hoped that what she saw was exactly that. "You should come meet Darcy sometime, he's such a ratbag, but I love him." She giggled, as she tried to think of parting words to say. Finally there was that silence again, and Charlie worried that the silence might just eat both of them up. All the feelings she'd been feeling, about losing people close to her, about how few of those close to her she had left, she wasn't sure what overtook her. She rushed forward, dropping everything in her hands, and clung to Thorn tightly. It was a hug of desperation, she couldn't bear to have him go. She needed him to stay. She didn't tremble, as she was not truly afraid, but her hug was desperate and tight. She was sure Thorn was shocked, and maybe he desired her to get off him, but if so, he did not do so. Instead he enveloped her in his arms, and allowed her to stay there as she needed. "Thorn, I just need you to know, that you're so special to me. I... I couldn't bear to have you get even further from me than you already have." She said, hoping he understood what she meant. She let go of Thorn, and took a deep breath, laughing slightly as she picked up what she had dropped to do that. "Sorry, I don't usually do that. I just... sorry." She said, before holding all her items close. "Well, I'll see you another time. Stay safe... please." She said, before turning and walking away, she wanted to check on her mum before going back home, hence why she wasn't walking back with Thorn, she didn't really want him to come towards that area, where his place had burned, where Ophelia had... No, she hoped he would walk back to the dorms instead.
She didn't stay home long, in fact she merely popped in for five minutes, checking that Jeremy had not been by, that Sasha was safe, and asking about Aubrey. After that was done, she picked some of the flowers from outside, and grabbing a spare vase from home, brought that back with her to the place where she stayed with Ghost. While she walked she wondered whether what she had done with Thorn had been good for him, she knew it had been good for her, and selfishly she was quite glad of that, but she couldn't tell truly whether it had benefited Thorn or not. She wanted it to have benefited him, she wanted to help heal him, and she knew it was proud of her to think she could, but that's why she did what she did, to see... to hope... to try. She felt like she had done the right thing in the end, but she couldn't know for sure, she'd just have to keep an eye on Thorn as well as Aubrey, and hope to see a difference in both of them. She felt a tad guilty at spending so much time trying to help Thorn, when she was helping Aubrey only from afar. But she knew Aubrey would have responded very poorly to what she had done with Thorn. Aubrey would have preferred going out and fighting to going out for a picnic. Aubrey responded much better to the Dauntless way of living, whereas from her observation, Thorn responded much more to an Amity way of living. Just like her. They were quite kindred spirits, or at least that's how Charlie felt. As she entered the living area, Darcy was nowhere to be found, immediately alarm came into Charlie's mind, but it was soon swayed as she saw he was curled up sleeping in a box that was almost too small for him. Bringing out her phone she quickly took a photo, sending it almost immediately to Ghost and Bloom. She laughed, giving Darcy a scratch on the head, which was quite hard as he was curled up very tightly and his head was somewhere within his legs. After putting the vase of flowers on the table, she then moved on to the kitchen, putting all the things away she had used and cleaning anything that required, she wondered whether Ghost was home for dinner, or whether he would be getting food out. She felt like he had said he would be home, and she didn't want him to come home to no food, so she thought she might as well prepare something. Turning on some soft jazz music to listen to, Charlie began to happily shuffle around the building, her mind warm and comforted from her time with Thorn, and enjoying the time of preparing food.
Interacting with: Thorn
Sanctuaryforall1
(sort of Bloom and Ghost too)
Wolfiee
Meow
Initiate
Aya.
coded by natasha.
Wolfiee
Meow
Briony Avalon
Initiate
coded by natasha.
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Randi
code by Stardust Galaxy
Aviator
the ghost of pimping past
Ghost // Male // Age 18 // Officially Unemployed // Erudite to Dauntless
A hand closed around his throat before he could draw breath. The muscles protruding from Freight’s tank top rippled menacingly, wrenching Ghost along the wall, and the screaming in his ears cut out all at once when he realized that he was being dragged in the direction of the open window. Fingers of cold air grasped for Ghost greedily as the sill dug painfully into his back. Freight pressed down with all his strength, forcing Ghost to bend backward, slowly as he resisted, over the window. With one arm, Ghost scrabbled uselessly at the hand around his neck, but the other one he threw up offensively. The point of his elbow caught Freight just beneath the armpit of the limb that was extended. Freight grimaced, and his iron grip faltered slightly but not enough for Ghost to thrash his way free. Wind whipped hair into his eyes as he was dangled half out of the window so that he was looking up into an overcast sky.
Suddenly the pressure on his throat eased up all at once, and Ghost’s shoulder blades banged against the window frame as he fell in a coughing heap to the floor. He pried his eyes open to see Randi wrestling with her uncle, latching onto his back like a spider monkey and raining blows down onto his head and shoulders. Freight growled and staggered backward, sandwiching Randi between his body and a shelf. Dishes rattled, and a framed photo of a blond little girl on a green tricycle tumbled to the floor. At first, that was what Ghost attributed the shattering of glass to, but seconds later a distinctive smell like black licorice filled the air. He looked among the fragments of glass along the floor, spotting a cork stopper amid the mess. Dread sank in his stomach as he recognized the smell from the day of that misbegotten job with Blair and Fable, in which they had kidnapped Obadiah Parks and drugged him with a faulty memory serum. His eyes flashed to the discarded needle with which Freight had injected Randi and then to her, rapidly unspooling pieces of a puzzle.
If the memory serum hadn’t worked on Randi, which it obviously hadn’t given her current lucidity, then there were only three possible explanations: Either both samples of memory serum—the one that Ghost had used on Parks and the one that Freight had used on his niece just now—were both defective, but the odds of that were slim. Ghost racked his brain for alternatives. If the Dauntless fear serum didn’t work properly on Divergents, then was it possible that extended to all serums? In which case the memory serum hadn’t worked on Parks because it truly was a ripoff, and this time it hadn’t worked on Randi because, maybe, she was Divergent. Or the third option, which Ghost hadn’t even considered until now: Neither serum had worked because both Parks and Randi were Divergents.
Ghost’s eyes cut back to the carnage as Randi loosed a howl of pain and slipped from Freight’s shoulders, catching herself against the shelf for balance, her other arm wrapping her midsection. Ghost shoved to his feet, ignoring a twinge of pain from his ribs. As Freight loomed over his niece, the slope of his muscles suggesting impending wrath, Ghost thought of the little girl on the green tricycle. Part of him was filled with a morbid curiosity to watch and do nothing. How far would Freight go before he came to his senses? What had he and Randi discussed to provoke such ire from him? Would he really threaten Randi’s life? But as Freight wound his arm back, Ghost decided he couldn’t take the chance of not intervening.
Ghost crashed into Freight’s side with his shoulder leading the way. Freight was mid-strike at the time, and it shoved him off-balance just enough that his punch collided with open air, missing Randi’s face by inches. “Back the fuck off from her.” Ghost’s voice sounded a lot steadier than he felt internally. He spat onto a woolen carpet. “Your fight is with me.” He didn’t have to say it twice. Freight’s face twisted into a sneer, and he blew air out of his nose, like an incensed bull. Randi’s cries of anguish rang through Ghost’s head again. And unlike the first time, when Freight came charging, Ghost was ready to inflict violence.
He waited almost until Freight was within arm’s length of him, and then shuffled a step to the side, crouching close to the floor and kicking out a leg. Just as Ghost had planned, Freight’s ankle snagged on his, tripping him up, and the larger man’s haphazard momentum propelled him two, three more steps forward before he crashed to the ground. With no time to waste, Ghost leapt onto his downed opponent with eager savagery, savoring the pain that echoed through his knuckles with each shot he landed on Freight’s nose, jaw, and clavicle. Freight sputtered and cursed unintelligibly. His face erupted in a fountain of blood, spurring Ghost to hit harder, twisting at the shoulder with each blow, seeking to land the knockout punch and end this gory mess. Freight drew his arms up to shield his head, or so Ghost thought. Until one of them whipped out in a deadly arc and backhanded him across the face, hard.
Ghost didn’t remember being unseated from Freight, didn’t remember hitting the floor. But when he peeled his eyes open, his cheek was pressed against the base of an abandoned vacuum, pushed to the edge of the room. The cuts on his face stung where air brushed them. Every breath hurt, and the effect was compounded when Ghost tried to sit up, the world undulating around him. Pain coursed from his head to his stomach, where a sickly pool of warmth gathered like he’d had too much to drink.
A glassy smash reverberated through the apartment. Ghost blearily lifted his head to see Freight’s knees buckle, and then the big man fell in an unmoving pile to the floor. Light splintered off the shards of glass circling his prone form. Randi brandished the jagged neck of a bottle as the bitter stench of alcohol suffused the room, the woolen carpet soaking with it. With a sudden end to the crashes and growls of carnage, the apartment was unsettlingly quiet. Cars honked outside, a lawn mower purred, and crows cawed to one another, unaware and uncaring of the frivolous doings of humankind.
Ghost clawed at the wall with one arm, using it to lever himself to his feet. He hadn’t gotten fully to standing yet when Randi yelped his name and materialized at his side. Ghost tried to match the stream of sound emanating from her lips with words. She tugged at one of his wrists, and a smear of blood shone along the cuff of his jacket where she’d touched it. “Hey,” Ghost protested, planting his feet as she tried to pull him toward the open window. “B’tween you an’ me, your uncle just took a lotta nasty hits to the head. He may very well have a concussion. How about we help him out a lil’ for when he wakes up, okay?”
Bracing himself to walk, Ghost locked his eyes on the mini-fridge across the room and trudged toward it, one agonizing step at a time. He tried to lower himself gradually to the floor as he opened it, barely catching himself on the door as he collapsed. Ghost extracted a can of beer, cracked the seal open, and as he returned to Freight’s limp form, stopped to pick up a throw pillow from one of the armchairs that Randi and her uncle had been sitting in. He left the beer next to Freight’s hand and squatted as if to place the pillow underneath his head, but stopped short, eyeing the blood matted in Freight’s hair and his gushing nose, clearly broken. Already one of his eyes was purpling, and his jaw was lumpy with swell. Not wanting to touch the man’s head and risk exacerbating the damage, Ghost simply left the pillow next to Freight. As he joined Randi at the window, he turned off the lights, casting the room in soft grays and long shadows. “Okay, now we can go,” he said, slurring a little less now. “Imagine, the day when I’m the only one around with manners.”
Randi bolted out the window and raced down the fire escape as if she expected her uncle to awaken any moment and give chase, but Ghost knew the man wasn’t waking up any time soon. Plus, he was in no condition to run anyway. He took his leisurely time down the stairs, in part to get his bearings and in part to aggravate Randi, noting with satisfaction the impatient little dance she was doing at its base. No sooner had his feet hit the sidewalk than Randi was snatching his wrist again, forcing him to keep up as she zipped down the alley that they’d taken on the way here. As they emerged onto the main street at its end and the simmer of pain in his chest reached a boil, Ghost drew to a halt. “Hey hey hey, stop. You’re gonna dislocate my shoulder, and scurrying around like thief number three in a heist movie will only draw attention to us.”
With a wild gleam in her malachite eyes, Randi reluctantly stopped and turned to face him for the first time. Instead of bickering with him, she unexpectedly started to apologize, words spilling out so fast that they were a blur. “No need to apologize. I’m just sorry that I was probably more of a liability than an asset in there,” he said with a sheepish smile, making his bottom lip split. Shame surged through him, hot as a sudden fever. He had interposed himself in Freight and Randi’s feud to protect her, but in the end Ghost had been the one who’d needed saving. As always, he thought, bitterly remembering the disdainful look Cassidy had thrown him at the end of their sparring session, as if she’d expected him to put up a better fight. How the hell he expected to beat Noah Cologne in their necessary upcoming duel—with real stakes—he didn’t know. But Ghost had been badmouthing him and spreading rumors of his false Divergent status around the Dauntless compound enough that it would likely boil to a head sooner, rather than later.
Probably out of politeness, Randi told him that his assistance had been vital, but Ghost chalked it up to empty assurances. He waved his hand, brushing off the compliment, ready to move on to the next topic. “Hey… how do you feel?” Ghost’s head tilted as he remembered the realization he’d had while slumped on the Roses’ dining room floor, thinking of the sweet, heady aroma of the memory serum. “Do you know what your uncle injected you with?” Randi’s lips pursed, thin as a thread, as if she were only just remembering that part of the altercation. Then she shook her head. “Okay, well, uh… don’t ask how I know this, but it was probably memory serum.” Ghost scrutinized Randi’s face carefully. He had no idea what she and Freight had discussed, but the slight widening of her eyes told him that his theory held water. “Given your obvious lucidity, if it was indeed memory serum, I don’t think it worked. They’re only supposed to make you forget recent events, within a few hours’ span, but they need some time to take effect, for the brain to rewrite itself. Typically the recipient will lose consciousness during this interval, but you didn’t.” Ghost clapped his hands together like a magician before the grand reveal of his trick. “Do you know why this might be, Randi? Before you answer, let’s take a walk.”
Not wanting to break the news of her possible Divergence on Toulouse Street, with its speeding cars and pedestrians wandering from hotels to restaurants to banks, Ghost wrapped an arm around Randi’s shoulders and steered her down the nearest side street. The only store in sight was a small gas station, amid a handful of rundown brownstone houses. As they walked, Ghost gingerly touched his face, rubbing at the dried blood crusted in his beard. From the foreboding cloud coverage, it looked as though it would start raining soon. Which was good, because it meant that no one was milling around in this tiny stamp of semi-suburban hell. “Back to our earlier conversation. I have some thoughts on the matter. Most importantly, that you might be Divergent, which I think you should be aware of for your own safety.” Even though he wasn’t the one endangered by this revelation, Ghost’s fingers twitched nervously, searching for the nicotine vape in his pocket before remembering that it had rolled off the fire escape. He had paused, waiting for Randi to respond. When she said nothing, her eyes locked in a deadpan stare on the road ahead, her lack of shock led Ghost to believe that she had considered this possibility, too.
“I first started to suspect it this morning, during our match in the fearscape. Your ability to manipulate the flames was unconventional, to say the least.” And I’ve seen Blair Avalon do similar things in her own simulations, he internally added. He continued, “But if it really was a functional memory serum that Freight injected you with, there really aren’t many other explanations as to why it wouldn’t have worked on you.” From Randi’s stubborn silence, Ghost gathered that it wasn’t a topic she wanted to discuss at length. Probably because the wrong person finding out could get her killed. Or vanished, at the very least. “Hey, your secret is safe with me. I’m no longer an instructor, so it’s no longer my duty to snitch on you to leadership. And even if it were? Fuck them.” Ghost elbowed Randi conspiratorially as he said this, drawing the smallest of smiles from her. Her smile made his spirit soar with glee, like he’d finally done something right to redeem his lackluster performance at Freight’s. “I’m your friend before I’m anyone’s lap dog. Speaking of which, do you have anywhere to stay tonight? I’m guessing that you don’t want to stay at your uncle’s anytime soon. Don’t read into this too much, okay, but would you like to spend the night at my place?”
Strangely enough, even though he’d said don’t read into this too much, a warm flush crept up Ghost’s neck as he made the offer. The last thing he wanted was for Randi to think that he was making a move on her, especially that he was trying to use her despair as a tool for manipulation. Especially when Charlie now lived in his apartment too and would be there to ensure nothing of the like ever happened. Trying to disguise how flustered he was, Ghost said, charmingly, “You could always stay at the barracks, I suppose, but why would you want to stay in that shithole when you can live in the lap of luxury at chez Ghost instead? Comes with a complementary Spaghetti-O dinner, a tiled Jack-and-Jill bathroom, a decently soft twin mattress, and absolutely shitty cell phone service so you can’t call the cops if someone breaks in.” He gave Randi a flippant wink, smiling at his own foolishness.
Nerdy.
Nerdy
Cassidy "Cas" Wickham || 16 || Initiate || Erudite Transfer
Although Cassidy's body had gone through worse before, this was the most recent amount of pain that it had gone through, especially a pain so unique and specific, so acute and precise. The way Cassidy's body cried out for relief caused her to grip her knees, only causing more pain, but relieving the specified tattoo pain for a moment. The tattoo artist seemed to realize the pain, and stopped, leaning back and asking whether they needed to stop, or whether there was something wrong. Cassidy was quick to shake her head, and through gritted teeth and a smile that was unusual for her, she told the artist to just continue, and that she would be super grateful if it finished faster. It felt so unreal, something so unfelt before, that it was equally as interesting as it was painful. Although the body was familiar to her, allowing this amount of pain and feeling it was so different. She hoped it was worth it, and that they would like the tattoo enough to go through this pain. Because of the pain, the process felt like a torturous long time, as they laid there, tense and hurt, they tried to fill their mind with anything they could. Repeating poems and stories or simply going over how the day had gone. It wasn't really enough, and soon it was all that could fill their mind. A throbbing pain that just washed through the body like being dipped in boiling oil. It was crazy, they knew that it was really just a needle that was barely harming the body, but the way it felt made it so that it felt like someone was sawing her arm off. Every now and then she would look over, just to make sure they weren't sawing her shoulder off, that would be bad. But every time, it was just the tattoo artist, who asked her to go back to the same position. The amount she could hear was also nice, it was interesting, to be able to hear so much more of the room, was that the pain? The layout of the room? Or something else? As she was contemplating this, there was a sudden stop of the pain, although the throb continued long after, and it felt like stinging nettle taped to her shoulder, she checked to see the tattoo artist finishing off and wiping it down. When they were told they were done, she gave a huge sigh of relief, and at once tried to move her arm, the pain that jolted through her body made her shiver and genuinely feel sick. It would likely be painful for a while, the tattoo artist said, but it would go away. Cassidy nodded her head, and wondered how it was for Griffon, being able to get a tattoo with no pain. It must have been heaven like, compared to this, and Cas was fairly sure that it wouldn't happen again. One tattoo was more than enough, plus the body art that Cas usually did on herself was really nice, and felt much better. Cas looked at the others, all of whom were either finished already or finishing up. She paid the artist for the tattoo, and thanked them, before making her way over to where Griffon was. The artist with Griffon was just finishing when Cas came over, and Cas looked over the tattoo, and the placement on the shoulder. It was cool to be able to see it from this vantage point. Griffon was quite fast to speak. "Turn around! I want to see the tattoo!" He said in a very happy and excited voice. Obviously having felt no pain, which meant they weren't experiencing the residual, very painful jolts that Cassidy was. Cassidy turned around, still not having put the shirt or jersey back on, and Griffon spent some time looking at the tattoo with great interest. Cas really wanted to ask something, but kept her mouth shut, knowing that what she would ask would be selfish.
Finally Griffon asked. " How much does it hurt?" And Cas turned around. "Quite a bit, but it is dying down, just a little bit." She said, wincing even at the mention of the constant pain. "Can you handle it?" Griffon asked, and Cas simply nodded, though through the eyes it was easy to see that it wasn't really by choice. Griffon looked sad, much sadder than usual, but also his facial features showed how grateful he was. There were no words that expressed the gratitude, but it was there. There was also hesitancy, and Cas knew exactly why. There was no reason to talk about it though. "The tattoo on you looks really cool. I love it." Cas said, as Griffon showed off his tattoo quite happily. It was when the others began coming closer that suddenly Cas and Griff caught eyes and Griffon was the first to whisper harshly. "We should put our shirts back on..." Cassidy looked blankly, but then suddenly it was impossible not to see what Griffon was talking about. Suddenly a memory of Griffon's scars popped into their mind, and looking at it now, Cas could see the deep (long since healed) whip scars that adorned pretty much all of Griffon's back, it was clear, not hidden at all, and not ambiguous, not only that, but when Griffon turned to look at Cas, they both were aware of how much worse the front looked, Griffon's chest was covered in terrible looking scars, including one deep one right in the middle of his chest. They both knew the reason for those ones, from an outlookers perspective though it would simply look like a nightmare, like a metal grinder had simply had fun on him, though they both knew that most of them were from the car crash. Griffon was faster to put on a shirt than Cas expected, and she began to look over her body, but that's when a shiver went through her, and she froze for a second. A few heartbeats later and she almost collapsed from the pain in her shoulder. She hadn't expected it to be that painful. Grinding her teeth severely, and hoping a migraine wasn't going to follow, she painfully slipped her shirt and jumper back on, not wanting anyone to see the similar whip scars that were on her lower back, except for the large gash on her side. She was usually so good to hide them. She felt a dread in her, as she glanced at Fable and Aya, who were now joining them. Did they see the scars? On her or Griffon? Selfishly she hoped they would only have seen Griffon's, as his were hard to hide when his shirt was off. The tattoo artist hadn't said a word, but now that she thought of it, he probably was used to seeing terrible scarring on Dauntless members, and probably didn't know they were transfers. But Fable and Aya knew who they were, Aya had grown up with Cas, and Fable with Griffon, and Cas was sure that neither of them had ever seen the scarring. Cas was glad hers was not as noticeable as Griffon's, though she hoped that neither Fable nor Aya would ask any questions. The less their past came up, the better. The fact that everyone knew they were siblings was bad enough.
As they all talked about their new tattoos, Cas could hardly focus on anything except the pain. It was overbearing, it was terrible, and it was beginning to make her feel dizzy, and she was developing a migraine. Wavering on the spot, she didn't even notice when Griffon stood beside her and wrapped an arm around her, careful to avoid the new tattoo, and the scar on her side. She didn't respond, and she wasn't even sure if anyone was saying anything to her. Her eyes were glued to the floor, even that was too bright and painful, as her head was now bursting with almost as much pain as her shoulder. This was a terrible idea, and she shouldn't have switched so fast. She should have trusted Griffon... If the unresponsiveness was being brought up by anyone, Cas wasn't aware of it, but soon enough Griffon was leading her away, and they were walking. He encouraged her to close her eyes, and if she were with anyone else she wouldn't ,but with Griffon she trusted him to lead her. Closing her eyes brought her subtle relief, and she sighed as she fought with the pain she was feeling, her legs dragging. She wished Griffon would carry her, but she knew that would look even stranger than they did already. Though she was getting to the point where she didn't care. She walked easily with her eyes closed, having done this before with Griffon and knowing that he wouldn't lead her anywhere that would be tricky to navigate while blinded. Not once did she stumble. It took her a while to figure out where he brought her, as she recognized the direction that they walked. She had expected him to take her to the dorms, or somewhere like that, but instead he took her to the infirmary. He turned the lights on, but only so he could find a lamp, and then once he had turned that on her turned the lights off, and let Cassidy lie on the bed. She sat before lying, so that when he passed her the pain relief, and she was glad when he said he would stay with her. "Thank you Griffon." She said, squeezing his hand as she lay down. Her words were slightly slurred, not unusual when she was having such a bad migraine. "Do you need to switch again? I think I could manage." He asked, and Cassidy hesitated. She wanted to say yes, badly, but she was also used to this, whereas he was not. "No... Not yet." She finally said.
Interacting with: Aya
Wolfiee
Fable
Sanctuaryforall1
Griffon
Griffon ||
The bliss was unimaginable. No pain, no feeling whatsoever. Griffon could not even feel the needle going into his skin at all. He wondered if he'd always been like this, had it always been no feeling whatsoever? Or had there been a point where there was feeling, and that had disappeared? Like his hearing, which he knew he hadn't had forever, and Cassidy had been surprised when she'd found out about it. A result of the car crash, along with the amnesia. He wasn't mad, and although he had a fear of cars and even bridges now, he had no hatred to whoever had been in the car, and had no hatred to the life he was living now. The amnesia was tricky and got in the way alot. But the hearing aids that Fable's family had bought for him were really good, and made it that he could hear basically everything. Without them he couldn't hear much at all, but he was grateful for knowing sign language too. As he focused in on the world around him, he found it quite fun to listen to the sound of the tattooist, and he wondered how Cassidy was doing. He knew she would be struggling through this pain, the pain he wasn't feeling, and some part of him dreaded if and when he would feel it. He really didn't want to, and although felt guilt and sadness that Cas was going through it, he was glad that for the moment he was not. This was like the perfect nap or holiday to be honest. Time flew by so quickly that Griffon was surprised when the artist told him they were finished, and he turned around to see Cas coming over. It was clear to see there was pain, and it seemed like Cas was having difficulty even moving her arm. Griffon looked compassionately at Cas, but said nothing about the pain yet, instead a sudden urge to see the tattoo rose up in them, and they asked to see it. Cas obediently turned around so that Griffon could look at the tattoo. It was exactly how they'd wanted it! The celtic design was so beautiful and curved on the shoulder so well that it looked almost natural to be upon it. The redness made Griffon wary of the pain that Cas was likely in. "How much does it hurt?" He asked, listening as Cas answered, and he could tell they were trying not to give away how much it actually hurt. "Can you handle it?" He followed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to. There was no way. It was while Cas was answering, that his eyes realized how much of her skin was showing. Immediately from the back vantage point they had right now, his eyes lowered to her lower back, and he was alarmed to see the whip scars poking out from her high waisted pants. As he went to speak, his eyes also couldn't miss the large gash scar that was on her side. "We should put our shirts back on." He said quickly, as he slipped his shirt and vest on faster than usual. Remembering as he looked at himself that he was covered in scars, his entire torso in fact. This was one of the reasons he wore such clothes. Cas always encourage him to, and the orphanage had also always told him to. As he looked up at Cas who was still not putting their shit back on, he sighed uncomfortably and winced in apprehension.
There was equal amounts of relief and sorrow as Griffon looked at Cas who was now putting her shirt back on so quickly that he was sure it was causing her immense pain. He should have been faster, so that she didn't feel the need to do it so quickly. How foolish he had been to take off the shirt, although he wondered why she had either. They both knew of the scars, it had just been the heat of the moment and the switch that had confused them both. Now he could see that Cassidy was declining quickly. This had not been a good idea. Of course it was at this time that Aya and Fable came over. It was funny, that Cas and Griffon had both gotten shoulder tattoos, and Fable and Aya had both gotten thigh ones. He was eager to see their tattoos, wanting to praise them and make them feel good about what they got. Plus, he hadn't seen what Aya wanted, and hadn't seen the finished product of what Fable had chosen. As they came closer, and began to converse with them, Griffon was steadily keeping a gaze on Cas, who was silent, and staring at the floor. He tried to be as subtle as possible, as he stood up from his chair and gently pulled Cas to himself, hopefully she would regain herself, but if not, he knew she needed to leave. "Did you want to see mine? Here I'll try to show you, it's a bit difficult with a long sleeve shirt and vest... but..." He unbuttoned his vest and shirt just enough to pull back the shoulder of his shirt, to show Aya and Fable, who both said good things about it. As soon as they were done looking, he buttoned it back up. "And how about yours? I am really interested to see them.." He said, warm brown eyes alight with genuine desire to see what made his friend and sisters happy. Fable and Aya showed them each respectively, and Griffon was quick to recognize the flowers that Aya had now on her thigh. A deep deep red blush flushed all over his cheek, and he found himself genuinely stuttering in response. "Those are... wow... I.. I really love that style, and the mask overtop is so pretty, the flowers are pretty too, like you, I mean... ahem..." He knew that if he could feel right now, he would feel his cheeks burning. "And Fable! That looks amazing, it suits you, and matches your other tattoos. You're becoming a storybook." He laughed warm heartedly. Still blushing and stuttering slightly from his reaction to Aya. She had used one of his drawings! Why? Did she truly appreciate them that much? He had drawn them for her because he saw her as those beautiful flowers, as well as the amazing smart capable fighter that she was. Aya and Fable laughed and smiled at the conversation, but soon it was becoming clear to them that Cassidy was not responding, to anything. She hadn't moved, and her eyes had not moved from staring at the floor.
Griffon was grateful that he and Cas knew both Aya and Fable well at this point. There wasn't so much secrecy needed, although he did hope that they hadn't seen the scars that were upon him and Cas. The two girls looked at Griffon, not wanting to voice their concerns aloud. "I think she's got a migraine." He said, and the two girls caught on quickly, both having experienced at least one other time when Cas had gotten such migraines. As per usual, both were quick to offer their help, and Griffon found his heart squeezing at the love he had for all the girls in his presence right now. "Thank you, but I think she would rather I simply go with her. She... doesn't like being like this with others." He whispered, knowing it was unlikely that Cas could hear, but wanting to be sensitive to her all the same. Aya and Fable nodded, but he could see that it pained them not to help in some fashion. "Both of your tattoos are amazing, and I can't wait to see them on you all the time. I'll see you guys tomorrow if not tonight, I'm not sure how long I'll need to stay with her." He said, again in that same quiet voice that he was using before. "I'm going to the infirmary, just so we have some peace and quiet and access to pain meds." He said to them, mostly to Fable who he knew would likely worry about where he was. When asked whether he knew the way, he nodded. "Strangely enough the infirmary is one place I have memorized, as I've been there frequently enough at this point." He said. He then said goodbye again, and turned, leading Cassidy out. As they had done before, he told her to close her eyes, and led her blindly through the compound towards the infirmary. He was glad that he could remember the way, it meant he had hope to regaining the ability to keep memories he made, and to regain ones he had lost. It wasn't a terribly long walk, but it was silent and sad. He knew Cas would feel terrible when she got over this migraine, and would likely feel very embarrassed and awkward. He hoped she wouldn't continue feeling pain from the tattoo, and wondered whether it had been a terrible idea, it seemed so now, even though it had felt awesome at the time to see her get something she had always wanted but never been able to get. Now it was clear why she had never been able to get it. It was just too much for her body, and as he led her to the infirmary, gave her pain meds and let her lie down, he felt grief at what she was missing. Even though his condition was terrible, and not a good thing, he knew that it was heaven to her. He wished he could do what she did, he wished he could switch with her, but he couldn't. That was not his gift. But he could sit there with her.
Interacting with: Aya
Wolfiee
Fable
Sanctuaryforall1
Cassidy
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Bloom
code by Stardust Galaxy
Nerdy.
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Christian Parks || 16 || Initiate || Dauntlessborn
Chris was feeling exuberant and vibrant and full of adrenaline and pumped up energy. The way Vex looked at him, with wide appraising eyes, and her words that dripped out of her mouth like honey, coating his ego and petting his pride... Oh how he soared on that. His heart leapt in his chest to the point where it felt like it was in his throat, and his pupils dilated and contracted with the mix of adrenaline and lull. Vex had finished praising him, as they both got a safe distance from the Erudite area and somehow Vex had fished out some clothes that looked similar to what Christian had had on before the whole thing. He slipped out of the much too small laboratory clothes and into the more casual Dauntless gear she had gotten for him, and was surprised at how similar it looked to what he had been wearing. How had Vex gotten very close replicas of his clothing? He had seen it burn at the laboratory so he knew it wasn't the same. Vex also got dressed, and Christian felt a little ashamed, as it took him a little longer than usual to avert his eyes. What are you doing? He thought to himself, chiding his behaviour, he was high on lull... but still it had felt wrong... good maybe, but wrong. He wouldn't do that, not when he was trying so hard to be right for Blair. It didn't matter that they were broken up, in his mind and heart he was still with her. As Vex went to leave, Chris rushed forward. "Wait... can't I come? Get some more medication? Testing? Speak to Dr Munro? When will..." Vex placed a soft soothing hand on his arm, rubbing it softly and sweetly, her fingers tickling even through the material. She told him that she would ask Dr Munro when the next time they could all meet would be, but for now she needed to get back to him asap, and Chris needed to go back to a normal life so nobody would be able to trace them or track them or find anything suspicious. Christian wanted to fight her on this, he wanted to demand to see the Doctor, but he couldn't, he knew she was right, as always, and he had to trust her. "Okay Vex, thank you." He said finally, Their eyes held together a little longer, and Chris felt like she was pouring so much admiration into him that he felt inspired, then her hand was off his arm and she was off, disappearing like she was never here.
Christian took a few moments to stretch out his body, before he began the trek home. It wasn't so terribly long, but as the day was turning into afternoon, and the afternoon into evening, he didn't want to be out so late. As he walked, he reminded himself to keep an eye out for Finn, as he knew the boy was presumably missing. He had no idea where he might be, they had never been that close, but he would keep an eye out nonetheless. As he walked though, he got a shock as Blair came into view, marching up to him and calling out his name. Except... it wasn't Blair's voice exactly, and her face.. It was Briony. Christian smiled, as she said she was trying to get a hold of him, he started to pat down his clothes for his phone, but found it was missing. Had he dropped it somewhere? Or had Vex taken it? A bit of fear came over him, but he at least had a reason to tell Briony he hadn't heard from her. "I'm sorry, I don't have my phone on me, I must have left it at home, or the hospital, or somewhere between those two places and here." He added, not wanting to lie exactly. The truth was he didn't know where it was. He avoided the question about where he was, until Briony questioned him further about the smell of smoke and his whereabouts. "Ah yes, I was in Erudite for something, and the building I was in had a fire." He explained, again trying hard not to lie. He hated lying, and he wasn't good at it, sometimes because he hated lying so much people thought the truth he was saying was lies, but those who knew him well knew that Christian didn't lie. When Briony questioned him further about why he was in Erudite, he got sheepish, struggling to explain, but eventually he said "It was to do with my... medical condition." He said, which again... was technically true. Helping Dr Munro and doing this thing for him was helping him, because it meant he would get more treatment from Munro, and would improve, and maybe he wouldn't die? He hoped. As Briony finally let up, Christian felt his shoulders relax and he let out a quiet sigh of relief, not wanting to continue that conversation longer, and not wanting to be caught out on what he had really done. It was intense. But as Briony talked, he felt that anxiety and worry creep up on him. "You haven't heard from Blair? Is she okay?" He asked, only realizing after asking that if Briony couldn't contact her then she wouldn't know if she was okay. He hadn't heard from Blair all day, but he hadn't found that unusual, she had been pretty upset when he broke up with her this morning, and she had ditched training. He didn't blame her, and he felt bad for doing it to her in the beginning of phase 3... but it had to be done, it was the only right thing to do, for the both of them.
As Briony interrogated Christian, he wanted to tell her everything. He liked Briony, they'd gotten off to a rough start when he had first dated Blair, and in fact ever since he had dated Aubrey he had felt a slight bit of animosity from her, but he had always liked her. Now that they were close, Briony seemed to have gotten over whatever it was she'd had against him, and they treated each other as good friends. So he wanted to open up to her, to explain why he did all he was doing. But he knew he couldn't, he just imagined Vex and Dr Munro watching him, and shaking their heads in disappointment, closing the door to this path he had chosen to walk with them. Maybe I can ask them if I can talk to anyone. He thought, knowing that it would be helpful and nice for him. "I don't know where Blair is, she was pretty upset when I broke up with her this morning." He said, watching as Briony nodded, probably having seen some of it herself. He sighed, leaning against the wall of the building they stood next to as he looked up at the clouding sky. "Blair deserves better than me, and if she wants me, then she deserves a better me... that's what I'm trying to do. Breaking up with her was the only way for me to focus on myself without neglecting her, and hurting her more. I can't let her hope for a better me if it doesn't exist. But I am hoping it does." He rambled to Briony, not looking at her, as he didn't want to feel even more emotional than he already did. "Did she tell you I hit her? When I was fighting Ajax? Because I did, it was an accident, I didn't see she had run to stop us, and when I swung I hit her..... I did the worst thing I could think of, the thing I was most afraid of. Do you know what that feels like?" He sighed, his voice trembling just a tad. He could still envision it, still feel the warm skin as his hand swung into her. He had thought of nothing else in the small amount of time he had been on house arrest, but now he had a way to redeem it, but Briony couldn't know that, not the whole thing. "Now I'm trying to better myself. If Blair will take me back when I'm at a place that is good, then that would be awesome. If she doesn't, then I can live at peace knowing she will never be hurt by me again." He said, determinedly, hoping that Briony could understand him and maybe even agree with him. Briony looked on him with what he assumed was compassion, but he could still see her searching eyes, and he wondered what it was she wanted to say, finally she brought it up. Vex. She was asking about what he was doing with Vex. Why? Did it... seem like he was doing something he shouldn't be? "I don't know what you have been thinking... but Vex has just been helping me to better myself. Through gaining confidence and doing practical things to help me, and get out my anger, without using so many drugs." He said, not hiding anything from Briony, she knew that he did drugs, he was sure, and she knew about his anger problems. She was friends with Aubrey and also the twin sister to his girl... ex-girlfriend.
Interacting with: Vex
Sanctuaryforall1
Briony
Wolfiee
Phillip Parks || 19 || Soldier/Trainer || Dauntlessborn
What did Phillip think about the factionless? From his own findings, he was worried more that they were creating an army. "I sincerely hope they're simply trying to form a society for themselves, as I think would be... fair..." He said, knowing that was an unpopular stance to take, but believing that Bloom wouldn't hate him for it. "However... my gut and my fears tell me that it is probably a militia. Which is concerning." He admitted, rubbing Honey's head as he grabbed the ball and tossed it for her. He listened as Bloom began speaking of a young initiate who had been murdered in the factionless area. Bella... Phillip scanned his memory quickly for reference to her, and remembered hearing about her case. He had taken a tiny look at it, and had looked away immediately. He never wanted to see something like that again. He shivered as he thought about it, how frightful she must have been, how terrified and alone. Whoever had done that to her was truly a monster. Although it was being blamed on factionless, there was no way to know for sure, there was no evidence at all, and there was nothing to find in order to investigate further. "Unfortunately there was nothing to go on, I was sent there to patrol and talk to factionless, ask for witnesses, but nobody saw anything, nobody even heard her.... There was nothing at the crime scene, and no information to be found on the body except... well... except that whoever did it was a psycho." He said angrily, through his teeth. He imagined if Christian had been Bella, strung up and tortured, he knew Christian had more chances of fighting off someone who was trying to do that to him, but if you tie someone up well enough, or drug them, or have something to hold them, then they are yours. He felt an intense burning anger at whoever did that, if they had done it to Chris, he would find them and he would kill them. But it wasn't Christian, it was Bella, and as disgusting as it was, there was simply nothing to go on. As Bloom apologised to Honey and began to throw the ball again, declaring that Honey made everything bright again, Phillip nodded enthusiastically, grinning widely and tilting his head to watch his beloved dog race off to get the ball that Bloom had thrown a good distance. "She truly does. Why do you think I keep her around? Brings in all the girls." He teased playfully, winking at Bloom so she would know for certain that he was absolutely joking. It's not like Phillip wasn't trying to get friendly with girls, it was more that he wasn't trying in general. He was quite content for the moment, he had just had a... thing... with Briony, before they both called it off. He hadn't been willing to commit to an initiate because he knew it was wrong, and she didn't seem ready for a relationship anyway. She was fun, sweet, attractive and a good person. But to be honest, Phillip's eyes were mostly for Bloom, if anyone, though if he were to admit that it would be a surprise, usually he simply said he was too in love with his dog to focus on any girl.
"As it turns out, I am a taco guy. " Phillip declared this as if it was some great secret that he was shocked Bloom had figured out. "Ah my secret is gone... For Taco's are like crunchy hamburgers, something strange and yet so beautiful." He said melodramatically, feigning lightheadedness at the thought of tacos. He was waiting for Bloom to laugh, and as tough as she was, she finally relented and laughed, and Phillip laughed along with her. Looping her arm in his, he sent out a deep whistle, and Honey came bounding back, ball in mouth, tail wagging. "Come Honey, let us find the perfect Taco place." He said, as they began their walk towards the nearest one to them. Phillip used his free arm to check that he had his wallet, and was glad when he did find it, having spent a lot of time in the factionless area, or in the dodgier places of any of the districts, he had often found himself without his wallet, and he knew that although it wasn't really bothering him or his father's money, it wasn't a wise thing to do. He was becoming quite the target. So he had learned to keep his wallet in different places, or to only have a wallet for show, and to actually keep all his money somewhere else, like in a breast pocket or something. It was tending to work, although now he was simply losing expensive wallets, rather than any money. Maybe I should buy cheap wallets then... He thought to himself. Honey trotted along beside the duo obediently, staying at a heel beside Phillip without even needing to be leashed or commanded. Every now and then she would whine if she saw something she wanted, or if she bored and wanted to play, but all it took was a pat on the head, a scratch behind the ears or a quick gentle command from Phillip and Honey would be back to being joyful and obedient. She was a good dog. After a short walk of about 5 or so minutes, maybe longer, they finally arrived at a taco joint, with some cringe name that was shown above the door. "Mexi-Taco.... Very original." Phillip said jokingly, laughing at the name. "Ah well, I'm sure the food is better than the creativity, shall we try this place out?" He asked Bloom, watching as she nodded and said it looked fine, lovely even. He wrinkled his nose as he heard her call it lovely, looking back at the place. "If mustard yellow wallpaper, half painted ceiling, century old lights and a door that squeaks is aesthetically pleasing to you, then I guess it's very nice." He said, pushing up his imaginary glasses on his nose as if to take a closer look at the place. "Well I guess it does have real cacti, that is pretty cool. The music isn't half bad either is it. Plus... they actually clean here." He commented, getting a giggle out of Bloom.
Getting inside, Phillip waved at the attendant at the front, as they recognized him and waved him inside. Although he hadn't been here, he knew a lot of people in Dauntless, being part of the security and militia meant that Phillip met almost everybody in every place. Some people he knew more than others. As they found a table to sit on, a nice clean one by a window, Phillip pulled out Bloom's chair like a gentleman, and then sat in his own, Honey lying down between them happily, her eyes closing ever so slightly as if she were going to sleep. Phillip only ever went to restaurants and places that he could take Honey with at this point. As the waiter came round, Phillip scanned his menu as Bloom scanned hers. "Can I get your dog anything?" The waiter asked, it was a young girl, probably 17, and she was wearing a cute Mexican dress. If Phillip wasn't here with Bloom he might have flirted, just for fun, but he was generally polite to his dates (the few he ever actually got) and simply was polite. He could see the young girl was enamored already with Honey. "Absolutely, she would love some water, and if you have any meat that you can't sell but want to get rid of, she would love that too, as long as it's cooked without spices." He commented. The girl nodded and ran off, giving Bloom and Phillip some time with the menu. He poured Bloom a glass of water while they looked it over. "For a taco joint they really do a lot, but I think I'm going to go with a classic, how about you?" He asked, making a mental note to ask for the tomatoes to be removed from his taco. He scanned the drinks as well, as the waiter came back, bringing a bowl of water for Honey and a good portion of simple cooked meat, he smiled as he ordered. "Can I have the classic Taco? As well as a Margarita please. Oh and no tomatoes on my taco please." He said, and looked at Bloom, waiting for her order. As she ordered he smiled, "Oh and can we have a Michelada to share? I've never had one." He said, and the young girl nodded, writing the orders down and rushing off to the kitchen. Phillip leaned back in his chair, his hand falling down to rub Honey's head as she happily ate her meat and then went to sleep on his feet. "Good idea Bloom, this is a nice place. We should come here again." He said, raising an eyebrow in question, hoping that Bloom would in fact take it as a suggestion to go on a date with him. This had been fun, and unplanned, which is how all the best dates happened, but Phillip couldn't help but wonder whether Bloom would legitimately go on a date with him if he asked. Why didn't he ask? Well... Commitment to anything, even a date, was scary.
Interacting with: Bloom
Sanctuaryforall1
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Vex
code by Stardust Galaxy
Nerdy.
Nerdy
Charlotte "Charlie" Stark || 20 || Medic || Dauntlessborn
As time passed, Charlie placed the dinner she cooked into the fridge, as she didn't want it to spoil or go bad. The fact was that she didn't know where Ghost was, what time he may or may not be home, and she had no idea what he was doing. She was fairly certain that if he were to stay out all night that he would let her know, but she also knew he could sometimes forget that she was more or less waiting for him back at the apartment. They had been living together for a week now, and although they didn't spend all their time here, they spent most evenings together, at least portions of the evening's . Ghost was usually off doing things during the day, and Charlie had her hands full with her role as medic, as well as picking up the slack that occurred when trainers kept disappearing. It wasn't that Ghost or Bloom weren't doing a good job, but given that Ghost seemed obsessed with things that happened outside of training (things that Charlie tried not to think about out of fear for them being dangerous), and Bloom being new to the job, she had inserted herself in as a "third trainer" even though that was outside of her role as medic. Now that Warren was apparently joining she thought she would get a break, but given that his joining meant Ghost's firing, it seemed her plate was just as full as it was to begin with. Thus, it was usually Charlie who cleaned all the equipment, and set it up and made sure everything was connected and running smoothly. She didn't mind, but it was definitely a change from her normal role as medic, and it did mean she was busier with it than she used to be. Yet, she couldn't help but enjoy it after coming home from work, and being able to spend time with Ghost and Darcy. It had been a pleasant enough time, both of them living almost as if they wouldn't see the next day, both going to sleep together knowing that they could wake to Jeremy breaking through the door, or not wake at all. Both knowing that every night could legitimately be their last. Yet it didn't make for depressing evenings, but rather it was fun, it was almost loving, it was certainly new for both of them. Charlie had never had this with anyone, her experiences with Caspian had been completely different, and thus this was new and it was an explorative phase for her. It seemed the same for Ghost as well, and she found that fun, it was a nervous excitement that she held every time Ghost came home. It also helped that he was the kind of man that you never knew what you were going to get when he did come home. Sometimes he was serious and focused on something else, sometimes he was very energetic and extroverted, sometimes he was hyper focused on her, sometimes he was talkative beyond compare, and other times he had little to say because he was thinking too much. Sometimes he wanted extended alone time, and other times he sought out her presence. Most nights they slept in the same bed though, it wasn't that they had chosen to from day 1, but it had soon become apparent that the fear of Jeremy coming in the night, and at least Charlie having episodic nightmares and insomnia, that sleeping in the same bed was comforting and meant they both got more sleep than usual. It also meant that they explored a bit more than they might have, and even though it made Charlie blush, she couldn't help but think of that fondly. Something she never would have expected from herself.
The dinner wasn't anything fancy, she hadn't done too much cooking since coming to the apartment, and she didn't like to get in Ghost's way or change around the kitchen too much. But since she was here and Ghost wasn't, that had been her main reason for preparing a meal. Thus, the meal was a simple pasta dish which had an adequate amount of spice to it (she had figure out that Ghost enjoyed spicy foods) and some fish mixed in, as well as a good amount of herbs to freshen it up. It was a dish that could be served up hot or cold, though she personally enjoyed it cold, and thus she was happy to put it in the fridge, she could heat it up when Ghost got home, or else they could eat it as it was. She didn't really mind. It wasn't too long after, but a decent amount of time that Charlie had already gotten onto doing something else (primarily folding her washing in her own room and remaking the bed), that she heard the door open. Immediately a bubble of joy sparked up within her, and finishing folding the shirt she held in her hands, she placed it gently in the correct pile and made her way to her bedroom door. That's when she heard it, Ghost was talking. At first she assumed it was to Darcy, but it was a lot more words and in a different tone than he usually spoke with Darcy. Who had come home with him? She racked her brain, trying to remember whether Ghost had mentioned bringing anybody home. If he had, did he want her to not come out? Would he be okay with them seeing the two of them living in the same apartment? She was relieved to hear that Ghost at least sounded comfortable with the other person, that meant it wasn't anybody threatening. Thus, trusting that Ghost would have let her know if he didn't want her to come out, she opened her door and entered the living room.
The sight she saw was triggering to say the least, and Charlie was mouth open, about to say hello and good evening, when her eyes fixated upon the sight in front of her.
She didn't even see who it was that was with Ghost at first, because the person in question was sitting on the couch, head facing away from Charlie, but that gave her an amazing view of the back of that head. Blood, thick, dark red blood coated the blonde hair of whoever it was sat on the sofa. It was matted and still wet, it was recent. Her eyes lifted slowly, almost as if she was no longer in control but simply being controlled by an outside force, and her eyes alighted upon Ghost, who stood talking to the person on the couch. On Ghost she could count at least a half dozen cuts on his body, and bruises were already beginning to redden and form on him. The way he stood could say a thousand words, and each of them spoke pain, Charlie presumed it to be some sort of rib damage, by the way he was almost curled in his form, even while standing, to alleviate the pressure of standing up straight. But that wasn't what triggered her. The trigger was the thought of why, how and who. Of course she assumed, she assumed it was Jeremy. Jeremy had attacked Ghost, and he had barely gotten out alive. Whoever was with him had gotten caught in the waves, and now Jeremy was heading here and was going to kill them all. It was as if time froze, her eyes wide and focused on that blood and the injuries, her mouth frozen still in the open position, empty of words. No... I'm not ready.. She thought. That's when Ghost caught eyes with her. He didn't seem surprised, but the scanning way in which he looked at her was obviously him discerning why she was standing silently the way she was. That's when he smiled, in fact he smiled much larger than he usually did, and said hello. His voice was heavy and dripping, it was the kind of voice he had when he had taken anything, and Charlie could hear that, but it wasn't processing in her mind. The person on the couch seemed surprised, and turned, and Charlie finally saw that it was Randi, who looked no better, if not worse, than Ghost. If Ghost is acting natural. You should too. He will let you know if we need to run. She tried to let herself know, and she felt a painful ripping in her body (mentally speaking) as she forced herself to smile and say hello to them. "Hi Randi, Ghost.." She swallowed nervously, and closed her door, walking into the living room properly and picking up Darcy, petting his dark fur in order to ground herself. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she tried to figure out what else she should say, they had obviously been through something, but what was it? Was it to do with Ghost? or Randi? or both? Were they in trouble? Was it Jeremy? Or was it not? Ghost wasn't giving her the impression that they needed to leave...
As she stood there, neither Ghost nor Randi offering up any reason to why they were here or to what had happened, Ghost finally declared he would make some spagghetti-O's for dinner, and Charlie numbly didn't respond, watching as he walked into the kitchen, or was he limping? More... that was, as Ghost already had a sort of limp. Or maybe it was just a gait? She looked at Randi, who sat there, obviously a little awkward. "I'll get you some water, and something to help with the blood." Charlie said, as she put Darcy down back in his box, and headed to the kitchen. Ghost was just about to make the dinner he had declared, when Charlie suddenly remembered the dinner as she entered the kitchen. "I... did make some dinner, it's in the fridge." She said lowly, not wanting to speak too loudly. Although her words were only talking about dinner, her eyes were wide with fear and panic, begging Ghost to open up and tell her what was wrong. She couldn't get Jeremy out of her mind. She felt like her heart could jump right out of her chest. Ghost seemed shocked at her declaration, and maybe there were other emotions mixed in with it too, but if so, Charlie was in no mood to discern them. "But... you can make what you're making if you'd rather..." She finished, her voice trembling slightly at the end of her sentence. Please look at me Ghost. She begged him in her mind, and a part of her soul praised as he finally did, his eyes meeting with hers. Whether he could tell her deep panicked state, or whether he was in his own kind of state and wasn't able to detemine it, she couldn't tell. He didn't say anything for a moment but he did reach out, touching her arm and letting her know it was fine. She didn't want to believe him, for some reason it felt like a lie. But she had no choice. She bit her lip, nodding her head at him and trying to calm her beating heart. As he turned, checking what it was Charlie had made for dinner, to decide what he wanted to do, Charlie filled a few glasses of water, and took them out to the coffee table. She grabbed a cloth and wet it as well. "Here's the water." She said, her voice finally becoming back to normal, and her eyes slowly beginning to go back to a normal state, her body calming slightly. Whatever had happened, she just had to trust Ghost in this. "Can I... check your head?" She commented, and as she watched Randi say yes, she couldn't help but notice the wet blood from her hand too. "I'll get you something for your hand too." She declared. Randi turned around on the couch, allowing Charlie access to her head. She began to gently wipe at the blood, peeling back parts of her hair that had dried with the blood, and trying to get a good look at the wound. She knew she should be wearing gloves, but she would get those soon. Being careful not to touch the wound or the blood, she examined it as best she could. "It needs stitches." She finally said, as she gave the cloth to Randi to hold in her hand. "Would you mind if I did some now? It needs to close." She said, not wanting it to bleed any more. She assumed, since Randi was here and beaten up, that she was staying the night. That made sense to Charlie. When Randi said she could, Charlie arose and entered her room, going to her medical supplies and bringing them back out. She put some gloves on, and using some alcohol sanitary wipes, she began to cleanse the blood from around the wound. "I'll focus on this first, and then I want to check your hand." She said, and then I want to check Ghost too she thought, but wondered whether he would allow her, given that Randi was here. Ghost was coming out of the kitchen as Charlie was starting the process of cleaning the wound. "The alcohol is going to make it sting, I'm sorry.." She said, she cleaned it up as quickly and efficiently as she could, then got to work with the stitches. It didn't take long to stitch up, but she was worried it would burst open. "Please be careful with your head, if it begins to hurt anymore I would like to check it again. Now let me see your hand." She said, already feeling calmer now that she was doing her job. The hand wound was almost as bad as the head wound, and Charlie winced as she wondered what had been the cause of all these wounds. "Is that.." She peered at the wound closer, and could see the sparkle of a glass stuck within. "I need to get that glass out, again... I'm sorry about this but it is going to hurt." She retrieved her tweezers from her bag, and began to maneuver in the wound to get the glass. As usual when she managed to get the glass, and pull it out, the wound was agitated and it began to bleed some more. She quickly began to wash it with cleansing water and alcohol wipes. "I'm going to have to stitch this up to, is that okay?" She asked, already retrieving her stitching gear and getting to work as she got the all clear. Whether Ghost and Randi were vibing or chatting at this point, Charlie was mostly obsessed with getting these two wounds fixed, at least to an adequate and safe way so that they wouldn't be endangering Randi's life. She was already worried that Randi had lost enough blood to be endangered, and she was worried they both had other external and internal injuries she couldn't see. Her heart pounded on her, but her mind was clear. She finished with the stitches, and began to wrap the hand. "Now... given the severity of these wounds, if you knock yourself around, you are going to burst them. So please... be a little gentle." She said with a smile, as she packed her medical supplies away, putting the dirty objects and used things in a rubbish bag and sealing it up tightly. She took a deep breath, finally getting some relief as she simply sat next to Randi and took in the moment. "Would you like me to check you too Ghost?" She asked, but got a quick shake of the head and a joke, Ghost laughing at himself and saying he was "fine.". She knew he was lying, but she didn't know why. Was he trying to look good for Randi? Was he trying to hide the danger? Was he wanting to keep all the mood light? Was he wanting Charlie to back off? She couldn't tell. "In that case... would you like to stay in my room tonight Randi? We do have a spare mattress if you'd prefer the lounge, but I just remade my bed. That is... I simply assumed you were staying..?" Charlie stuttered, suddenly realizing she could be misreading everything.
Interacting with: Ghost
Aviator
Randi
Sanctuaryforall1
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Randi
code by Stardust Galaxy
Aviator
the ghost of pimping past
Ghost // Male // Age 18 // Officially Unemployed // Erudite to Dauntless
Now that his apartment had recently acquired not one but two new inhabitants, the postage stamp of a living space was experiencing its most squalid state in history. Pellets of kitty litter were scattered across the floor seemingly everywhere but in the litter box. A variety box of donuts expired a week ago sat on the coffee table. Four vertical ribbons had been slashed into the base of the leather couch where Darcy had recently raked his claws. Cobwebs that no one had seen fit to clean adorned the corners where walls and ceiling kissed. A paper plate sprinkled with the dark flecks of miscellaneous substances served as a makeshift ashtray. The dive’s one saving grace was a sienna candle named Campfire sitting on the dining table, suffusing the room with a heady tang like woodsmoke.
Ghost flashed his million-dollar smile and flourished his hands like a gameshow model ushering in a new prize. “Make yourself at home.” Randi didn’t have to be told twice. She flopped onto the couch, slouched lazily as if she’d just finished a hard workout. In a voice so serious that Ghost almost didn’t recognize it as Randi’s, she thanked him again for letting her stay. Ghost made a soft scoffing sound in his throat, waving off the compliment. “You can thank me over a game or two of cards. Haven’t played all day, I think I’m going through withdrawal,” he said with a playful smile, his words not entirely untrue. He just wasn’t going through withdrawal over cards. Ghost had been thinking of extending Randi an invitation for something entirely unrelated, but with Charlie breathing down their necks, he doubted doing psychedelics was a good idea. How Charlie was still oblivious to Ghost being high for a larger percentage of the day than he was sober, he honestly had no idea. He’d gone to great lengths to hide his stash, taping them to the inside lid of the toilet tank, but he would have figured she’d caught him in the act by now. Unless she already had and realized that bringing it up would have no effect on his habits.
Just as he was rounding the corner of the living room to turn into the kitchen, prepared to get Randi and him some drinks, a thin, long-haired silhouette materialized in the doorway. Ghost had just smoked a bowl before arriving at the apartment, and as such his reflexes were a little sloppier than usual. He didn’t stop quite in time and steamrolled Charlie without meaning to, his nose caving beneath the top of her forehead. “Oww,” Ghost moaned, the sound coming out muffled from behind the hand he’d cupped to his face. He stiffened, nerves drenching him like an ice bath. He knew, logically, that he had nothing to hide—other than some radical political ideologies for which he could potentially never see the sun again—but he’d been dreading this meeting between two of his closest female confidants, one to whom he was committed and one whom he would seriously consider in the absence of the first. As such, Ghost had seen it fit to tell neither girl in advance of the other’s presence so that they started out on an even playing field, letting the chips fall where they may. On either front, it wasn’t a conversation he wanted to start: from explaining the nuances of his relationship with Charlie to why Randi was suddenly sleeping over for the evening.
As she peered through the gap between Ghost’s shoulder and the doorframe, Charlie’s face was so pale that he could see the veins across her cheeks, making her look like a doll made of glass. Oh hell, I messed up, Ghost thought, his fingers rooting for the glass cylinder of his pipe and twisting in the folds of his jacket instead. “I brought a guest,” Ghost said, feeling dumb for stating the obvious but needing to break the silence for the sake of his remaining sanity. He interjected a note of enthusiasm into his voice. “If we find one more, we’ll have enough for a game of spades. You still want to learn how to play, right?” He posed the question with the intent of distracting Charlie, reading the plain-as-day panic in her face but not knowing the reason for its existence. He should have warned her. Guilt stabbed through him, as it did on cue whenever one of Ghost’s choices seemed to be the source of Charlie’s anguish. But it lasted only a moment, a flare of anger chasing its heels that took Ghost aback. Anger that Charlie made him feel guilty and ashamed, even unintentionally so. Anger that she couldn’t just be normal and accept that he’d invited a guest over without asking her permission. After all, not so long ago she’d been just a guest in this apartment, too.
Before she could answer, Ghost nearly lost his balance again, his ankle snagging on something solid behind him as he tried to take a step back. Flailing for balance, he pivoted halfway around, glimpsing a bristling cloud of black fur. Darcy glared and hissed before shooting between Ghost’s legs. In a swift motion, Charlie bent and Darcy pooled into her arms, still looking at Ghost as if to turn him to stone. Ghost hissed back, dodging a swipe as Charlie brushed past him to attend to Randi.
Ghost hovered in the doorway, listening to Charlie and Randi chirp pleasantries back and forth, trying to remember what he’d been about to enter the kitchen for. Charlie had been listening to jazz softly, and Ghost counted the beats between each rattle of a tambourine, the seconds drifting into a short eternity. A hundred thoughts battered his mind but none of them stuck, like snow sliding sideways off a roof. How Charlie’s peony perfume was tempting him in the worst way. Plans to catnap Darcy in the middle of one night and claim that the little monster had run away. The unnatural dryness of Ghost’s lips, and if he couldn’t get a kiss, he’d settle for a cold drink.
He marched into the kitchen resolutely, and as he was searching the cabinet for glassware, he encountered a can with a colorful label. With a snicker at his own idiocy, he remembered that he’d come in here to make Randi the Spaghetti-O dinner he’d promised her. He snatched the Spaghetti-Os, fascinated by the feel of his thumb passing over the grooves in the can. Ghost looked up at the muted thud of slippered feet padding across the floor, his eyes meeting Charlie’s cappuccino ones. It should have been impossible, what with Charlie standing at the opposite end of the kitchen, but Ghost could have sworn he saw his reflection in her pupils, glassy and dry like a corpse’s eyes. The angles of Charlie’s face sharpened, the nose narrowing and the cheekbones hollowing out, and Ghost saw his mother’s dead face staring back at him, her pixie-like features frozen in a deadly rictus. He flinched and dropped his gaze, gripping the side of his ribcage where a spike of pain had knifed between them. “Um… are you okay if I make Spaghetti-O’s for dinner?” Ghost asked, his voice uncharacteristically devoid of inflection.
Charlie’s announcement that she’d already made dinner came right as Ghost wrestled the lid off the top of the can, the aroma of tomato juice making his stomach somersault with hunger. Eyeing Charlie and then the refrigerator with piqued interest, he scurried around the counter and tugged the fridge door open. His wide eyes beheld a long, rectangular dish wrapped in aluminum foil. Eager to discover its contents, Ghost pounced on it and inadvertently shredded the foil in his haste to open it. “Oh, you shouldn’t have,” he purred, closing his eyes and letting the pasta’s alfredo sauce and cayenne pepper fragrance waft through the air. “Well, I suppose carbs are the most important meal of the day, after all.” A home-cooked dinner was a pleasant, utter surprise that Ghost had almost never received when living with Caspian. He was used to eating stuff out of a can, ordering takeout, or dining at the initiates’ cafeteria, where Ghost got a limited amount of free meals per week as an instructor. But neither Ghost nor Caspian had been culinary experts and they’d had very different schedules, making dinner a fend-for-oneself affair.
Ghost procured a plate from the drying rack and plopped a fat square of pasta in its center. As he set it in the microwave, his gaze fell on the opened can of Spaghetti-Os. Wasting food had always rubbed him the wrong way, even food that’d cost only two dollars. The microwave dinged just as an idea occurred to him, hovering and shimmering delicately like a soap bubble, hinging on one thing. Ghost strode to Caspian’s liquor cabinet and was rewarded with half a bottle of New Amsterdam. Ghost was only just starting to enjoy drinking now, but so far he’d done all his drinking at bars or during other night-time excursions. Caspian’s passing meant that the liquor cabinet went unused. Until now, Ghost thought, lips splitting into a mischievous grin. In a tall glass he poured haphazard amounts of both the New Amsterdam and Spaghetti-Os, having no idea what proportions he was supposed to use but with every intention of finding out.
Using a tablespoon to stir, Ghost smiled down at his abominable creation. “You know what? I think I wanna be a bartender next, now that I need a new job and all,” he mused pleasantly. He raised the bastardized Bloody Mary to his lips and took a sip. Immediately his face puckered into a grimace. “It seems my pour was a little heavy-handed,” he remarked half to himself, adding some more Spaghetti-O’s to balance out the surplus of vodka. Somehow managing to balance the bottle of New Amsterdam, can of Spaghetti-O’s, highball glass, and bowl of pasta in a pyramidic formation against his chest, Ghost looked at Charlie and jerked his head in the direction of the living room. “I can continue playing mad scientist out there. Let’s not keep Randi waiting, shall we?”
* * *
After the day’s unrelenting excitement, dinner with Charlie and Randi had been pleasantly uneventful. For reasons unrelated to them, Ghost was absurdly tired after dinner and, after having unsuccessfully delivered Randi a sales pitch to take the guest bedroom, decided to go to bed early. Entering the bedroom he now shared with Charlie, Ghost was in for a series of nasty surprises, one right after the other: The second carpet of clothes scattered around the room had been uprooted. The sea of tangled blankets and sheets had been corralled into strict order. Upon entering Ghost had almost collided with an ironing board, comprising half the standing space in the cramped little room. Who the hell even irons anymore?, he thought, chagrined and wild-eyed and barely able to recognize his own living quarters.
Ghost had initially been overjoyed to find the surprise bowl of pasta awaiting his arrival, but now he looked at the homemade dinner in a darker, more sinister light. Horror coursed through him as he imagined himself married to Charlie, coming home from a desk job every day with a briefcase in hand to find that his housewife had completed a laundry list of chores. Ghost would work a nine-to-five and their house would be enclosed by a white picket fence and Charlie would pick up the kids from hockey practice whenever it was convenient for her. They would spend their disposable income on day trips to indoor water parks and obnoxiously big televisions for which there was no need and then obnoxiously big chairs to accommodate the televisions.
Ghost’s stomach clenched with dread as visions of an interminable future playing little house on the prairie with Charlie haunted him. “I need to take this girl out tomorrow. Desperately,” he muttered to himself as he started undressing. Pain snaked up his torso, and he moved gingerly, easing one arm at a time through each shirt hole. Charlie was settling into the role of homemaker way too comfortably, especially when she worked many times more hours than Ghost now. The idea of a significant other serving him was unnerving; if Ghost made a mess, he expected to at least pay someone else to clean it up. Or just leave it and save money.
As if she’d overheard his thoughts, the slice of light from the crack in the door widened, gold streaming across the floor. The phenomenon about Ghost’s bedroom was that, other than two bookcases with overflowing contents, his room was sparsely furnished, yet still remained in a perpetual state of chaos. The walls were painted pale green but otherwise undecorated, as if its occupant were ready to pack up and leave at the drop of the hat, if need be. The little furniture he did have was dark and outdated, taking the shape of foreboding hunched monsters when all was dark. After Charlie had cleaned up, the sudden burst of light illuminated how empty the room was, stark walls climbing up to a cracked plaster ceiling. Maybe Ghost would get some LEDs to fix that.
Charlie twitched away from the door that she’d just opened, a cacophony of half-formed apologies spilling from her lips. Ghost stood mostly shirtless in the middle of the room, his belt partially unbuckled in his hands, his shirt only hanging on him by the neck hole. Instead of accepting Charlie’s apology or pretending as if she had never walked in on him, his eyes zeroed in on her, and he lifted an eyebrow. “Do you still want to examine me for injuries?” he asked. There was no seductive silkenness to Ghost’s voice. Just a slightly dangerous note, fearless in its resolve, decisive in what it wanted. Willing to do anything to get there. “I’ll let you examine me, but my time is very valuable, you see. I’m afraid it won’t be for free.” Some of Ghost’s razor-honed intensity vanished, replaced by a light-hearted smile that better suited him. “Let’s play a game, shall we?”
Something quivered in Charlie’s expression before it rearranged itself into inscrutability. Ghost prowled a step toward her. “The rules of this game are simple. Whatever you get to examine on me, I get to do the same on you.” He prowled a step toward her and discarded the shirt around his neck, letting it fall in a puddle to the floor. “Sound good?” Ghost smiled like a fox in a henhouse, stopping when he stood only a handspan away from Charlie. Moving slowly, languorously, he enmeshed a hand in Charlie’s hair, piling it all onto one shoulder so that the side of her neck was exposed. Ghost ran a thumb along the elegant curvature where her head connected with her body.
A shudder passed through Charlie’s body like a plucked violin string, and her eyes darted shyly to the ground, just as they did whenever Ghost made even a remotely sexual innuendo. He continued up the same trajectory, but this time not with his hand. He brushed his lips against the juncture of Charlie’s jaw and neck, grazing her earlobe with his teeth. A ragged breath tore out of her and she lifted her chin, urging Ghost on, making her neck more easily accessible. Instead, he disentangled himself altogether from Charlie, retreating a step. Ghost stood with his hands clasped in front of him, making it apparent that he had no intention of touching Charlie again. “If you want me to continue, you’ll have to convince me how much you want it,” he teased. He feigned checking a watch that he wasn’t wearing. “Otherwise the nightly news is about to begin. Hm. Maybe I’ll go occupy myself watching that.” Knowing that she would be unable to resist, Ghost pivoted away just as a big, foolish grin stole over his face. He made a show of looking for the remote to the tiny cube of a television that sat on his desk. One second passed, and then another. And then small hands were closing over Ghost’s wrists, halting his search, and he and Charlie collapsed in bed in a manic fit of giggles.
Last edited:
Wolfiee
Meow
Briony Avalon
Initiate
coded by natasha.
Wolfiee
Meow
Initiate
Aya.
coded by natasha.
Sanctuaryforall1
Pyrrha Nikos Lives On
Fable
Nerdy.
Nerdy
Cassidy "Cas" Wickham || 16 || Initiate || Erudite Transfer
It had taken a lot of medication for Cas to fall asleep, much more than Griffon had been willing to give her, knowing that it was unsafe, but she had begged him, and finally he had relented, allowing her to take as much as she wanted, and watching as she passed out into still dreamless sleep. She knew she was being heavily selfish, but she also knew her brother, and she knew that Griffon desired to be selfless, so she didn't feel as bad, knowing that he wouldn't mind looking after her. Obviously she hoped that he would rest himself, but something inside her knew that he probably wouldn't. But that was for someone else to worry about, as Cas herself slept like a log, no pain or consciousness, not even dreaming.
It was with surprise that she woke to the light of the infirmary, for a moment she was confused, where was she? Why was she here? What had happened? Groggily she began to sit up, holding her head as the remnants of her migraine continued like a far away ache in her mind. Her shoulder stung, a painful reminder of the tattoo she had gotten yesterday. As she began to wake up, tired dark eyes blinking back sleep and sleepiness, Griffon walked over from where he had been dozing on the chair near the bed. Asking if she was okay, she nodded. "The migraine has dulled dramatically, and the tattoo stings but otherwise isn't as bad as I thought..." She said, but as she tried to move her arm, she began to feel it again aching and stinging worse. She cringed in pain, and Griffon's deameanour grew more concerned. She reached out and gently touched his cheek, smiling softly. "It's fine, don't worry. Could you look for some cream that would help with this? I'm sure Charlie has some around." She asked, and Griffon quickly nodded. She began to take off the jumper she was wearing, remembering that it was Griffon's and that she should give it back at some point, and allowed the tattoo some air to breathe. Since they were alone in the infirmary she didn't feel so worried about having it off, but she still bunched it up around her side, hiding the gash and the whip scars around her lower back. Griffon took a while, but soon he was back with a cream that Cas quickly scanned for ingredients. She knew that if she picked the wrong cream, it would sting even worse, but after having a look, she was glad he had found the right one. "Could you take off this bandage, apply quite a lot of cream, and then put a new bandage over top? I think Charlie has some over in that drawer over there." Cassidy pointed it out to Griffon, and he nodded. First he gently took off the bandage that the tattooist had applied, causing Cas to wince even more in pain as it came off her swollen and stinging skin, then he started applying the cream gently to Cassidy's shoulder, which caused her to sigh in relief at the cool soothing feel of the cream, and then he washed his hands and putting the cream back where it belonged, he grabbed a bandage and came back, carefully wrapping the tattoo in the clear bandage wrap and making sure it was stable. Cassidy checked her mobility. "That's much better, thanks Griffon. Let me check yours now." She said, and putting the jersey back on she got Griffon to turn around and take his vest off, and then to unbutton his shirt and only half take it off. His scars were much more severe than hers, and if anyone were to walk in, she wanted to make sure that he could pull his shirt back on quickly. She examined his tattoo closely. "Your one looks really good. Both in design and in how it's healed. I think we can leave the original wrap on." She said, and he put his shirt and vest back on quickly. They were about to start talking about what they were meant to do when the door opened and Aya walked in with surprise.
It wasn't Aya who was surprised, but Cas and Griffon were surprised to see her there. Immediately a small amount of guilt flashed through Cas, she should have told Aya that they were coming to the infirmary, and that she wouldn't feel well enough to return. But unfortunately she had not been a position that was coherent enough to do so. "Good morning Aya." She said, and watched as Aya came forward, showing deep concern and asking if she were really okay. She must have scared them all, with how she dropped out of consciousness yesterday, basically. "Yes, I got a really bad migraine yesterday after the tattoo, I think it set it off. I wasn't able to get up and come back to the barracks, so Griffon stayed with me in here. I'm sorry." She said, genuinely feeling a little bit of sorrow for scaring her friend like that. Cas didn't feel sorrow or apologetic to almost anybody, but Aya was one of the few people that deserved Cas's respect and genuine appreciation. She liked Aya a lot, and it was something she was glad about, that Aya came to Dauntless as well. She had been glad about Lainey too, but now she almost saw nothing of Lainey, as it seemed all her hours outside of training were spent with Beck Avalon, and she saw nothing of her. Which also meant she saw less of Shay too. A tickle of pleasure went over her body, as she thought about Shay, she wondered how she was doing after her episode yesterday. The idea of Shay being dead, or terribly unwell, caused Cas to feel a pain inside her. But she wasn't able to think of Shay for long, as Aya finally moved closer and opened up about what she really wanted to talk about. Cassidy's stomach filled with dread, they hadn't been smart or fast enough. Aya (and probably Fable) has seen the scars. Cas and Griffon looked at Aya, and then at each other. Both of them wondering what to say. Griffon looked upset, like he wanted to talk, but he knew that he would respect Cassidy's lead in this, and also he couldn't trust his own memories, not even the memories of what Cassidy had told him. Cassidy remembered everything, she could clearly remember how Griffon and herself got the whip scars, she remembered the car crash with intense clarity, and she was not going to be talking about either of those things. For one, the whip scars were traumatic in one sense, and she didn't want to mention her parents at all, and the car accident was even more traumatic, it was when she had been separated from Griffon, it was when he had lost most of his memory and hearing and ability to create new lasting memories. Although she felt no guilt over it, it had not been her fault, she knew that it was too painful to talk about, and Cassidy Wickham never cried or showed deep emotion in front of anyone except Griffon. Thus, it took her a long time to collect her thoughts, and Griffon and Aya waited patiently for her to speak. She knew Aya would likely think that whatever Cassidy decided to say was a lie, given the amount of time it took her to speak, but Cassidy would try to keep it honest. She didn't like lying, but she wasn't so truthful that she wouldn't. "You know that Griffon and I were separated as children, he went to Abnegation and I to Erudite. The incident that separated us... was also the reason for the scars." Cassidy's voice wobbled dangerously even at the small mention of the car crash, and she gripped the edge of the bed that she still sat on. "The other scars are mostly surgeries like my appendectomy, and well... Griffon can't remember how he got the ones on his back, and I was too young to remember if it was before or after we were separated." She found herself saying, knowing that most of this was downright lying. She didn't mind if Aya figured it out, she trusted that Aya would understand that it was too personal for Cas to share about. Maybe she would leave it be. Griffon piped up for a little bit, trying to help the story, but otherwise remained quiet, only a pained look on his face. Cas felt bad, she could tell Griffon wanted to open up completely with Aya, but since Cas wasn't, he was respecting her. She knew that if Cas brought it up with Griffon later he might open up more, but she also knew he didn't remember. So she trusted that the story would not waver much from what she said.
Cas sprung up from the bed, a sudden boost of energy from the desire to leave. "Let's get moving, I'm sick of the infirmary." She said, playing on the word sick with a wink to Aya. Aya nodded, offering a suggestion of what they could do. "That sounds perfect, although I must say I really want to change, I am not going out with the clothes I wore yesterday and slept in. Let's head back to the dorms first so I can get dressed. Griffon too." She said, leading the way out of the infirmary, politely turning the light off and closing the door so Charlie wouldn't be worried when she got in. They walked back to the dorms with little conversation, and as soon as they were there Cas grabbed some clothes and began to get dressed. She stood by the bunk, as far back to the wall as possible so that she wasn't being viewed by anyone, and speedily got dressed. She was very good at getting dressed quickly, having become accustomed to having to dress around others due to dance class back in Erudite. Erudite did love their modesty and privacy, but dance classes were usually too big for private dressing rooms, so the girls had always gotten dressed together. Hence, Cassidy had learned how to dress quickly, while hiding her scars. It was why she had come up with saying she had had an appendectomy, so that she could at least give a reasonable answer for the one big gash on her side that was hard to cover up. So thus, she got dressed into some high waisted black jeans, that rose high enough to hide her whip scars and also the majority of the gash. Then she put on a black off the shoulder long sleeved shirt, so that her tattoo didn't have anything rubbing against it (even though it was wrapped) and also so she could show it off. Obviously it didn't look as cool now, being slightly red and swollen and wrapped, but she thought she might fit in even more with it showing. Putting on a pair of black boots with soft soles, she went into the bathrooms to check how she looked. Washing her face and running some water through her hair, she finally decided it was adequate, and exitted the bathroom, going over to Aya who was waiting for her. Griffon wasn't quite finished, having said he wanted a shower and getting dressed in there. It was hard for him to get dressed without people seeing his scars, and he had learned a lot of modesty from growing up in Abnegation, so he almost never got dressed around people. She saw that his phone was buzzing though, and checked it. "Ooh Fable's at a pastry shop! She wants to know if we all want anything. Take a look." Cas said, showing the phone to Aya as they both scanned the options. She quickly sent back a selfie of her and Aya and replied. "Griffon's in the shower but he would love a hot cocoa and muffin, I would love a plain croissant and a ginger tea." Then she passed the phone to Aya. "You say what you want." Once Aya had finished she sent the message, and then added on. "Don't you dare pay for it all, we will be there soon." With an extra angry face so Fable would understand. She didn't like being indebted to anyone, and although Fable was good fun and so close to Griffon, that would make Cas feel even worse. Thus she and Aya waited for Griffon, and that's when Aya spoke up again. Cas's stomach dropped as Aya spoke quietly, asking whether the story Cas had said was true.
"Parts of it..." Cas said, honestly, and apologetically looked at the floor, skimming her boots over top of the concrete. "Thinking about it brings up a lot of really bad memories. I'd rather not be taken back to those times. I envy Griffon sometimes, not having to remember them at all..." She glanced at Aya, and suddenly she couldn't help herself. She had often had a very flirtatious relationship with Aya, and had treated her as a close good friend, whilst also dancing around the possibilities of more. But in the last week, she had seen as Aya's relationship with Griffon began to grow, that Griffon cared for Aya in a way that Cas couldn't. Cas could be exciting, pleasurable and fun, but Griffon could truly care for someone on a level far deeper. And Griffon could commit. Cas couldn't see herself ever committing to one person. She was currently spending a lot of time with Randi, but neither of them were committed to the other. Cas would feel sick if she were strung down to any one person. But she had often desired to keep the flirtatious relationship alive with Aya, it made them exciting and close, and often there was this level of mystery over what might occur between them. But with Griffon now involved, and this undeniable thing that was growing between him and Aya, she knew she needed to stop. And although it hurt her to do so, she wanted to be as kind as possible to the two of them. "You know Aya... Griffon won't manage to say this to you, but he really likes you." Cas finally said. "As far as I can see anyway. I would say I know my brother pretty well." She looked at Aya for a moment, before continuing to stare at the floor, her ears still open and hearing that the shower was stopping, so Griffon would be getting changed. "He's just scared, that he couldn't be good enough with his memory loss. He really struggles to get his feelings out into words out of fear that he won't remember everything, and won't be able to always remember new memories either." She knew it might be wrong to be spilling Griffon's secrets out, but she hoped he would forgive her, and she was certain he would. "I'm not sure what I'm exactly advising, but if you feel anything towards Griffon, then I think you should pursue that. I don't think you would regret it." Cas reached out, looking at Aya as a wave of sadness came over her. She could see the two of them having a lot of fun romantically, but she knew that in the end she would only break her heart. Griffon would only ever mend it. "I love you too much to let you be with anyone else, Griffon is perfect for you... Give him a try." She said with a wink, hope in her heart that she could help make the two people closest to her happy. Just as she finished speaking to Aya, Griffon came out of the shower, dressed in new clothes but holding his ear pieces in his hand. He began to sign to Cassidy, she knew he always felt self-conscious speaking when he couldn't hear himself. "I think they've run out of battery, can we go find Fable? She has the batteries with her, or knows where they are." Cas nodded, signing back to Griffon. "Of course, she's at the bakery waiting for us anyway. Let's go." Then looking at Aya she quickly translated. "Griffon's hearing aids have lost battery, Fable has them so I just told him we're going to the cafe anyway." She said, before they all turned around to leave.
Interacting with: Aya
Wolfiee
Fable
Sanctuaryforall1
Griffon
Griffon ||
Griffon had stayed up for a good portion of the night, he had sat in the chair, watching Cas for a while as he guiltily saw her fall asleep due to the drugs, and then watched her like a hawk as she slept, terrified that her body would begin to stop working due to said drugs. He would count the moments between breaths, and eventually in doing so, he dozed off in the chair.
He woke up with much less shock than Cassidy, but blinking away his own sleep and tiredness, he immediately got up and walked over to his sister, who was now sitting upright in the bed. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Griffon asked, concern deeply heard within him. He listened intently as she spoke to him, and when she asked if he could help her with her tattoo, he agreed immediately, and ran around gathering the right supplies and then applying them to Cassidy's shoulder. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel a surge of love for his sister, as he saw the enflamed skin but the dark almost aggressive griffon on her skin spoke more than words, it showed her love for him in a way he had never asked her to, and he couldn't help but feel so proud of her for doing something so difficult, even if he did help for a lot of it. Once he had wrapped it up, and she had examined his own tattoo, he was buttoning his shirt back on and slipping his vest on over top when the doors opened and he turned around. Standing in the doorway was a face that Griffon couldn't help but feel immediate pleasure and gladness at seeing. Aya stood there, and as Griffon waved and smiled, he saw the concern in her face and immediately he felt a little guilty, they had stayed in here all night. Had Aya stayed up in worry? Had he worried her so much by taking Cas away? He knew that Aya and Cas were close... He should have asked Aya if she had wanted to come... but he knew Cas would have hated it... He bashfully looked at the floor in embarrassment and guilt, not sure what he should be feeling. Aya spoke, asking Cas how she was, and Cas answered quickly and efficiently, not wanting to worry Aya any further. He wondered if that was all Aya would ask, but then came the next question, and silence betook the room. The scars. Griffon seemed to stare into the distance as he tried to think of an answer. He knew already that he would let Cas speak, but all the same, his mind tried to reach back. What could he remember about these scars? The fact that he couldn't feel pain meant he couldn't reach back to a physical memory... There was no physical memory of pain, at least not that Griffon could think of. But thinking of his scars, the ones on his back, always made him clench, a reflex... Had that been what it had felt like? Although he couldn't feel pain, had he been able to feel the impact of the whip? If that's what it was? How he urged to know. Racing through his memories, he tried to remember what Cas had told him about his scars, and he was struggling in this early morning conversation to remember them. They definitely appeared to be whip scars... but... is that what they were? Had he fallen somewhere? Had he gotten into an accident? What about the scars on the front? Those were from the car crash right? He felt pained inside as he couldn't remember. Then there was the shotgun wound, the almost cavern like spot on his chest that splurged out like a star. That he remembered... because of his simulation, but even then, is that what had happened? Or did the simulation simply make something up? As Cas answered, Griffon tried to help, but honestly he had little to add. "I had a lot of surgeries after the.. incident." He said, trying to help Cas without accidentally saying anything that might trigger anyone. "She's right, I can't remember pretty much anything." He said, but he noticed that Aya seemed alert when he had put the "pretty much" onto that sentence, implying that he did remember some things.
As soon as that awkward part was done, the girls suggested leaving, and Griffon nodded, quickly putting things back into the order they had been in when they had come in, as best as he could remember. As Cassidy mentioned that she wanted to get dressed, Griffon also nodded. "Me too, I'd like a shower.' He said, and so the three of them returned to the barracks. As they walked, Griffon could hardly hear anything around him, as he thought to himself. He wanted to open up to Aya everything that he knew about his scars. He hid them out of habit, not out of self-consciousness. He wondered if she thought they were off putting? Or ugly? She had mentioned that they looked severe, brutal, and that was true. Griffon was a lucky boy to be alive, and he had his condition to help partially. The fact that he couldn't feel pain was helpful in the fact that it meant his body could heal without him stressing the injuries and could survive longer in pain that most others. His body didn't try to compensate badly, or anything like that. Of course his condition was bad because if something needed to be treated then he couldn't know this without seeing it, but it was good that when in dire circumstances it would help his body. Finally getting to the showers, Griffon quickly grabbed some new clothes and a towel, and popped into the bathroom. He showered, making sure to try to keep the tattoo out of the water, which was difficult due to the fact it was on his shoulder, and then finished, getting out and beginning to get dressed. He was feeling a little nostalgic today, and so he wore a white long sleeve button up shirt, as usual, but this time he wore his grey vest, that was decorated by small little embroidered flowers. It was a fancy one he had used in Abnegation very rarely, as it was seen as much too fancy and nice for most occasions, only on the most high of occasions was he allowed to wear it, but it had always been his favourite, as he and Fable had picked it out together at a market one day that they had attended. A rare thing, but they had simply noticed it on their way back from school, they didn't even know who had put it on, but had seen the vest and it had been so exciting to pick it out for themselves. He remembered their parents had been upset at them going to the market in the first place, and also upset that they had bought something for themselves, and that it wasn't perfect for Abnegation (it was grey, but it was embellished with the embroidery). He was surprised he remembered all of that, but he wondered if it was because it was such a happy and unique memory... Or maybe he wasn't remembering it right at all... And this was a false memory... He didn't think so, and he hoped not. But he could ask Fable later. He wondered if they'd been punished for it, had their parents hurt Fable for that simple loving act of buying the vest? Had they hurt him? As he finished buttoning the vest and pulling on some simple black dress pants, he suddenly realized he had no idea whether Fable had seen his scars. He raked his memory again, but nothing came up. He felt frustrated as he put on his black dress shoes and grabbed his hearing aids from the counter. That's when he realized something, even as he put them in and turned them on, he couldn't hear almost anything. He began to run the tap, hoping he could hear it, but it was the same dull almost silent noise that he could hear without his hearing aids. How were they out of battery? How had he not noticed? Suddenly he realized... He had left them on all night, since he had fallen asleep in the infirmary with them on. Taking them out of his ears and turning them off, he walked out of the bathroom. Seeing Cas and Aya waiting he walked over, signing to Cas that his hearing aids were out of battery.
As they walked to the cafe that Fable was in, Griffon felt sad that he couldn't join in with the conversation. He had wanted to chat to Aya, to ask to look at the tattoo again, to compliment her on how she looked, to ask if they had worried her and kept her up that night. Obviously they hadn't done their usual meet up in the morning on the roof, due to the fact that Griffon had been with Cas, so he wanted to ask her if she wanted to go later. But alas he was helpless as they walked, only hearing Cas and Aya's voices as dull muffled noises, even when they stood so close to him. He tried desperately to zone in on them, and sometimes he could differentiate a word, if it was unique and they pronounced and annunciated it perfectly. But otherwise he was struggling. He was getting better at lip reading, but it was weird to stare at someone's lips when you were walking, so he wasn't getting any help from that. So he was alone with his thoughts again. It was a muddle of mess in his mind. Thinking of the scars even more... He knew there was a car crash... but which scars were from the car crash? The front ones? The back ones? Were there any others? He knew they were all over his arms too... but... He tried so hard to remember that he was sure he would be sweating if he could. Very few things were coming back to him though, there was a memory of rain... wetness at least if it wasn't rain... and a light? Two lights? A flash? He shook his head as it bothered him, and looked as they neared the bakery that Fable was apparently at. He felt better as he saw it, knowing that either Fable had his batteries or knew where they were and would be able to get them. They entered and he immediately saw her, as he always did, her red hair starkly contrasting her black outfit. He jogged over, waving and giving her a giant hug, smelling the smells of coffee and cocoa around her. Once he had finally let her go, and was looking at her, he quickly signed to her. "My hearing aid batteries have run out, do you have my other ones?" He hoped dearly that she did, knowing that if she didn't it would be a much more quiet and boring and frustrating time without them. He would struggle to keep up with conversation otherwise, and also he would need Cas to translate everything he couldn't pick up from their lips.
Interacting with: Aya
Wolfiee
Fable
Sanctuaryforall1
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