must be the season of the witch

You are encouraged to complete your threads, but you can either wrap them up or drop them and discuss anything that happened if that’s what you prefer. The admins are preparing the next plot drop, but it will not be posted until the NPC interaction is done. 

THE SORCERESS 

full name: Arabella Diana Byrne

faceclaim: Abigail Cowen 

age: 19

birthday: October 26

gender: Cis female

pronouns: she/her

four traits: Charming, resourceful, self-destructive, snarky.

worst fear: Bringing harm to her friends with her magic.

favourite horror movie: The Silence of the Lambs

occupation:  Waitress at Karma Café and Bridgemead student

living  situation: Old Seraphina Ambers’ Residence in North Bridgemead

major: Photography

BIOGRAPHY

Trust. What a funny little concept, perhaps even poetic. Anchored in the blind faith one has for those they care about the most; trust is supposed to be something you harvest and grow through little acts of love. What a shame it also happens to be as fragile as crystal. It’s a tale as old as time, a marriage that wasn’t meant to be, a father who left without looking back and a brokenhearted mother who never looked forward. Maybe it was because Arabella took after her father’s wild mane of red hair, or perhaps that inexplicable aura of power that no child or teenager should possess, but for some reason her mother always kept her at arm’s length. She wasn’t necessarily cold, but there was a tangible distance that no one would expect between a mother and a daughter. For years Arabella was able to find comfort inside the walls of her grandmother’s house, an old lady with a wit as quick as a fox, and the ability to offer the most helpful (unsolicited) advice you could imagine. Her mom didn’t seem too enthusiastic with the bond they shared, and she made it known, however, she never made much of an effort to stop it either. All in all, life was as good as it could be, given the circumstances. It was Jessica Mooney’s disappearance that changed everything.

Arabella was a bright, happy kid, the lack of affection from her mom was outweighed not only by her grandmother’s presence, but also by the close knitted group of friends she happened to make in school, AJ and Jessica meant everything to her, a connection so strong she would often picture it as a silvery string that tied them all together. When Jessica didn’t show up to school that morning Arabella shouldn’t have given it much thought, but all throughout that day there was this nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that she just couldn’t shake. Days passed, Jessica was officially declared a missing person, and no one was willing to give the girls any information. That’s when the nightmares started. Images that changed too fast to make sense of them, unintelligible voices whispering in what seemed like ancient languages, a harrowing scream, and then… eerie silence. The dreams kept going on for years, she was terrified and only ever told AJ about them, it was embarrassing not being able to fully explain how she knew they were about Jessica. After a particularly hard night, her mom decided she needed to see a professional, grandma was completely against the idea and one scream-match later, Arabella was looking at splotches of ink printed on paper and answering rather invasive questions from a stern looking lady. Arabella was not allowed to see much of her grandma after that, and eventually the nightmares stopped altogether.

It was the middle of winter break on her senior year when her grandmother passed. Seraphina Ambers left behind a house full of memories and relics, the will said Arabella was to inherit it all, her mom however, convinced her that selling the house would be a better idea, she could finally afford out of state tuition and make a life away from Bridgemead. The redhead was going through the attic, the one part of the house she’d never been in, it smelled like dried flowers and there was candlewax dried up on the floorboards. The walls were lined in bookshelves that looked awfully old, but it was the table next to the window what caught her eye the most. Sitting on top there was a big, carved, wooden box, Arabella opened it carefully, and slowly emptied its contents. A silver dagger, a stone mortar, a deck of tarot cards, a blue velvet pouch filled with glimmering crystals and stones and lastly a book. A book bounded in black leather and embossed with the same carvings that were on the wooden box. A book that somehow looked older than anything she’d eve seen in her life, the pages were yellowed, almost see-through, and the writings on the first few pages looked antique and ornated, definitely not her grandma’s handwriting. Her eyes, wild with curiosity, ran through the pages: “Spell to cure a sickly child, Ritual to purify what’s been corrupted, Dream infusion, Binding spell” and so on, it was like something snapped inside of her, suddenly the answer rolled out of her tongue with such ease. “Witch”.

Arabella spent weeks connecting all the dots. Years of notebooks scribbled with funny little poems written up while bored in class, she would later recognize, what she thought were her own words, in the ancient pages of her family’s book of shadows, spells that somehow had been within her all along; why her grandma exclusively called her by her middle name, Diana, roman goddess of the moon, known in European lore as Queen of Witches. So many things through her life that she’d called coincidences, felt a lot more like fate now. That’s how her journey began, with an insatiable thirst for knowledge and determination to master all this power she had been denied until now. If you asked Arabella, she’d tell you she never felt more like herself than when she managed to call on all four elements for the first time. A sense of confidence she’d never experienced before.

The one thing she kept from her friends, is the one thing she longed to share the most. There was no easy way to throw the words “witch” and “magic” around, no matter how true she knew it to be, Arabella could imagine the incredulous faces of her friends, and the hurtful remarks people would make about her, she couldn’t lose them too, she’d lost too much already. It seemed almost serendipitous that when the gang confronted THE BETA about their pulling away, that they ended up confessing a pretty supernatural thing, the redhead accepted it without questions, after all she had a secret of her own, and with that, for the first time, she showed her friends a glimpse of what she could do.

THE BETA

full name: Dylan Frye

faceclaim: Jordan Fisher 

age: 20

birthday: May 3

gender: Cis man

pronouns: He/Him

four traits: Hot-tempered, indecisive, observant, eccentric

worst fear: Hurting someone when he’s in wolf form

favourite horror movie: Us – he likes movies that make him think

hometown: Bridgemead, Massachusetts

living situation: Living at home in North Bridgemead and commuting to school for classes

major: Physiology

BIOGRAPHY

Dylan Byrne always felt like an old soul, not really connecting to the people around him in elementary school because he felt like they had nothing in common, and was always annoying everyone by asking a million questions about the world around him.  He’s always been a bit of an oddball, preferring to sit outside in the rain so that he can smell the dirt and the trees and pretend that he himself is a plant, rather than playing video games or going to dances, or whatever it was kids his age did.  When he was 12, his parents sat him down and told him the truth about their family.  They were werewolves, which meant that he was 110% carrying the gene.  He was completely surprised, but not entirely shocked.  In fact, the most shocking thing to him about the entire conversation was that nobody knew when the change could happen – there was about a five-year window.  Dylan had listened with a silent interest about all the things that were going to happen to his body, both through puberty and as he changed into a werewolf.  After that, he started to devour literature on supernatural creatures, mostly to satiate his curiosity.  His parents couldn’t (or wouldn’t) confirm or deny the existence of any other creatures in Bridgemead, and it was the question unanswered that lit the fire of fascination for Dylan.

If there were werewolves in the town, there had to be more supernatural creatures out there.  It wasn’t exactly a secret that freaky things happened when people had their backs turned, or in the dead of night, but there were never any explanations offered by town officials.  For as eccentric as Dylan can be, he is incredibly intelligent, though not in the most conventional way.  He prefers to question the way that things are, and think outside the box.  Because of this, he tends to be quite observant, noticing things about the world around him that others might have missed.  Throughout most of his high school career, he lived his life on edge, wondering when his transformation might happen.  He always wanted to play football, but was afraid to in case he accidentally wolfed out in the middle of a game – even though his parents assured him something like that would never happen, he was definitely not going to let himself get into a situation he regretted later.

When he met a small group of friends who finally had something that Dylan could connect to – searching out the supernatural – he started to form deep connections and come out of his shell.  Of course, as soon as he started to make friends, his body decided that it was finally time to make the change, and Dylan was horrified.  As much as he thought he was mentally prepared for it, and as much as his parents had tried to help him be ready … he just wasn’t.  At first, everything felt incredibly heightened – he started exploding at things that he wouldn’t normally, eating everything in sight, and was amazed at his increased strength and smell.  For someone normally so observant, it was difficult to not remember an entire night of his life the next morning, and it made Dylan feel unsettled.

It’s not that Dylan shies away from his nature, in fact, the scientist in him takes a quiet fascination in the changes made to his body during the full moon.  It just scares him that he can’t remember everything in the morning, and the mood swings throw him off.  The last thing that he would ever want is to hurt somebody when he isn’t in control.  Being pensive normally, Dylan’s default is to introvert into himself, and after his first transformation, he started to pull away from his friends, ignoring their calls and dodging their plans.  He should have known that AJ would never let him disappear silently into the night, and after a big blow up, he finally confessed the truth about him to his friends.  There was no point hiding it, really, if they were going to be dredging up everything supernatural in the town anyway.  Feeling accepted by the group once his secret got out cemented the bond, Dylan finally felt like he belonged, and was determined to be as loyal to his friends as they had been to him.  As soon as Dylan met Jordana, he tried to be her friend, feeling like they could truly connect on a deeper level because of their shared nature.  Quite honestly, Jordana snubbing him hurt Dylan’s feelings, but he still wanted to look out for her, eventually convincing AJ to involve her in their group.

Deciding to go to university after high school graduation, he eventually chose a science career, choosing to study physiology because of his fascination with the body and how it works.  He wanted to study the body in every way that he could, secretly hoping that it might help him understand his own nature more.  If he completely understood the physiology behind the human body, what was stopping him from researching more into the physiology of his werewolf gene?  Along with being a physics student at Bridgemead College, Dylan is a junior member of the town’s pack of werewolves.  His parents would like him to get more involved, but quite honestly, Dylan would rather be a beta than an alpha.  He doesn’t like to be the center of attention, and besides, he has enough going on with school, his pack duties, and working with his friends to uncover the truth behind their town.  He wants to make sure he’s there for his friends when they need him.

Dylan likes taking the role of beta in their group, and would definitely rather follow orders and support his friends from behind the scenes than be the one at the center.  He looks to AJ for direction a lot, often following her lead.  Dylan likes to help Finley out, and once he has enough information, will often tell them every observation he has.  Despite being snubbed by Jordana, he is determined to keep an eye on her.  As the group has grown, Dylan has found himself really happy that he’s finally found a group of like-minded people, and finds that their shared interest makes it easier for him to connect to them.  However, as the group grows, so do the personalities, and it’s only a matter of time before Dylan’s temper flares up and he butts heads with someone, especially around the full moon.  As he’s typically the hungriest group member, Dylan is also usually the one to bring the snacks.

THE HERMIT

full name: Kendall Decker, aka Kenny / Decker

faceclaim: Emma Mackey

age: 19

birthday: April 21

gender: Cis woman

pronouns: She/her

four traits: Short-tempered, impulsive, aloof, perceptive

worst fear: That they’ll reach a head in their investigation and her sister will turn up dead

favourite horror movie: The 1986 Texas Chainsaw Massacre

occupation: Working at a thrift/antique shop in the town square

living situation: She lives with her father in her childhood home

BIOGRAPHY

kendall is the youngest daughter of bridgemead’s police chief and a school teacher. there wasn’t a day that she and her sister weren’t being dragged all around town - whether it was to watch their father play in a charity softball game along with the rest of the station, or helping their mother organize and run a food drive down at the high school. given that her parents were a crucial part in bridgemead’s  development into the town mayor tilley had always wanted it to be, there was nary a town sanctioned event that the decker children weren’t in attendance. though it was evident from a young age that kendall wasn’t at all like her sister, audrey. she remembers watching the older girl go out for clubs, and any and all extracurricular’s she could. this made her the better known decker daughter, kenny happily taking the backseat to watch her sister thrive enough for the both of them.

despite their completely opposite demeanors, the decker sisters were incredibly close. with only a 3 year age gap, their parents were pleased that they seemingly found a sweet spot that allowed the two to get along. kendall was mostly interested in the arts - with enough books to create her own library, a stash of antique records, and practically every article of clothing stained with paint. audrey was a senior girl scout, and when she was older, a cheerleader. she was the top of her class, on the fast track to any ivy league college that was lucky enough to receive her application. she was the perfect daughter, in any parents’ eyes. but thankfully for her, she didn’t get the brunt of this. in fact, both of her parents were incredibly loving to the girls. and though she loved them both equally, kendall had always considered her mother so much more than just a parent. they were inseparable, practically best friends.

so it doesn’t come as a shock that when her mother is diagnosed and swiftly loses her battle with breast cancer, kendall’s entire world is turned upside down. at this point, the girls are 13 and 16, and it’s a massive loss not only on their family, but the town of bridgemead as well. but the world kept on turning, and business continued as usual while kendall remained in the same spot, retreating even further into her own solitude now that her mother was taken from her too soon, and so unexpectedly.

years come and go and kenny can still very distinctly feel the hole her mother left in her world. try as he might - and believe me, he tries - her father can’t seem to patch it up. days fade into months, and life just goes on. audrey graduates and kenny is soon to follow, though their plans - with no surprise - differ greatly. audrey was on her way to harvard, just close enough to home to keep tabs on kendall and their father, but just far enough to enjoy her newfound freedom. kendall opted for a gap year to get some work experience under her belt, scoring a job at a thrift shop located in the town square. weekends where audrey came home were one of the few things kendall looked forward to, but the weekend of her disappearance had already felt off to the younger sister. all audrey could talk about was a party that was being held in hawthorne forrest, which already sparked some red flags. come to find out she was reuniting with some friends from bridgemead high, ones that had never impressed kendall enough to even learn their names.

audrey left after giving kendall’s hand a reassuring squeeze - three times to say i love you, something their mother had always done to them. and after that night, audrey was gone. her disappearance triggered the same pain and loss for kendall that she felt the night her mother died. she made her father promise to never stop looking for her, no matter how many nights they came back empty handed, how many leads ended up fruitless, and how much time passed. the few things she loved were being torn out from under her like a rug, leaving her to fall on her face, grief stricken and alone every time.