the archer;

With the shrug of her shoulders, Aurora dismissed the concern just as easily as he had done so. Time had been an enemy of hers since high school and followed her still in her inability to gauge its chime. As long as she arrived at places - relatively soon - then all things worked themselves out. “  Leaves?  ” She asked, shaking her hair as a wet dog would its fur, in an attempt to loosen their grip on her stands, “  Are there a lot?  ” Rory went on to ask, unintentionally ignoring his question. She had no clue where they might have come from. 

“ No  not  really,  just  a  few, ”  Henry  replies  politely,  already  regretting  bringing  it  up  for  fear  of  embarrassing  Rory.  It’s  always  out  of  a  silent  protectiveness  if  anything  —  maybe  she  could  have  fallen  over  and  hurt  herself.  His  blue  eyes  quickly  scan  the  bare  skin  of  her  knees  for  scratches  but  find  none.  Relief.  He  gently  brushes  some  stray  leaves  from  the  shoulder  of  her  light  sweater  before  his  arm  is  linked  with  hers  and  he’s  being  led  back  to  the  bored  faces  of  the  teenage  girls  behind  the  stand  he’s  become  too  acquainted  with  already.  At  least  now  he  has  proof  that  he  really  was  waiting  for  somebody,  and  not  just  loitering  like  some  kind  of  freak.  “ Who’s  Ken? ”  He  asks  dumbly,  looking  at  the  chalked  menu  board  pretending  like  he  hasn’t  already  studied  it  ten  minutes  prior  to  now.  “ Ummm  …  I  think  I’ll play  it  safe  today  and  get  the  chocolate  and  vanilla.  But  maybe  we  can  trade  a  spoonful  each? ”

“  No?  ” she asked, lowered tone and tilted head, “  Do I give off puritan slut?  ” The thought of it was comical, especially where she was concerned. Drugs were such a constant in her life that they easily passed as her reason to keep on. Family, which for some may have been the go to motivator, was less common - even nonexistent, she would say. “  I left that position to my ex, but I’m sure I can find a cute little nun outfit if that gets you off… Do I get a discount then?  ”

“ Fuck  no,  not  at  all, ”  Dylan  counters  immediately  with  an  amused  snort.  “ I  don’t  think  there’s  a  person  alive  that  would  think  you’re  any  kind’a  pure,  Val.  Just  didn’t  think  you’d  be  this  mellow.  I  would’ve  expected  much  harder  shit  for  your  psycho  fuckin’  brain. ”  He  takes  a  slow  swig  of  his  drink,  savouring  every  drop.  The  dive  chosen  may  be  cheap,  but  not  cheap  enough  to  sustain  him  for  the  night.  He  bristles  at  Valentina’s  comment,  angling  his  shoulder  away  when  they  scoot  nearer.  “ Nuns  ain’t  my  thing.  Besides,  you  could  come  in  the  door  lookin’  like  prime  Jessica  Alba  and  I  still  wouldn’t  give  you  a  fuckin’  discount. ”

Dylan  can’t  help  but  eye  the  bills  being  waved  –  a  fatal  flaw  perhaps,  akin  to  a butcherbird  attracted  to  shiny,  valuable  objects.  While  he’s  far  from  enthused  to  have  Valentina’s  form  hovering  over  him,  the  small  wad  in  her  fist  placates  him  just  enough  to  tolerate  her.  “ So  this  is  yours  then? ”  He  grunts,  patting  the  pocket  of  his  jeans.  “ Didn’t  take  ya  for  that  kind  of  person,  to  be  honest. ” He’s  careful  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  blonde  as  she  slides  into  the  booth  next  to  him,  the  air  of  danger  that  follows  them  ever  -  present. He doesn't mind danger, rather relishes in it usually, but Valentina is a self - aware livewire. Full of unpredictable electricity. Dylan never knows from one moment to the next if they want to kiss him or kill him. Perhaps both.

LOCATION: Sandy Cheeks Beach WRITTEN FOR: @@brightstvrlights MUSES: aurora + henry

Henry  shifts  his  weight  from  foot  to  foot,  watching  the  soles  of  his  shoes  squish  against  the  pavement.  He  had  been  standing  much  more  attentively,  his  gaze  cast  out  in  front  of  him  rather  than  at  the  ground,  but  after  he’d  had  to  explain  to  two  separate  workers  at  the  ice  cream  stand  that  he  was  simply  just  waiting  for  somebody,  he  felt  it  was  necessary  to  appear  more  nonchalant.  His  mind  has  drifted  off  back  towards  the  farm,  so  Henry’s  unsure  how  much  time  has  passed  when  Rory’s  familiar  gait  appears  in  his  peripheral  vision.  “ Oh hi! ”  He  calls,  as  if  he  hasn’t  been  expecting  this  encounter  all  morning.  “ No  it’s  okay,  I  haven’t  been  here  that  long. ”  Truly  he’s  unsure  how  long  he  has  been  standing  there  now,  and  it  feels  awkward  to  ask  the  ice  cream  stand  people.  “ How  was  your  nap?  And  why  are  you  covered  in  leaves? ”

status: open location: purgatory

Celeste shudders at the sound of bones pounding against the chained concrete, the smell of blood and sweat and death thick in her nostrils as bodies around her erupt in raucous cheers. The banshee has never entertained such displays of grotesque barbarianism; the fascinations humans and supernaturals alike have had with harming each other for sport has confused and plagued her for decades. Tonight is no different. She ignores the look of glee on Rafe's face and his comment, pushing on with her own agenda. "Rafe, please listen to me. You need to stop this fight. If you don't, the outcome will be catastrophic, for more than one person here."

It's very possible that she simply wasn't paying attention, but admitting to something like that felt a little like pulling her own teeth. "Nah, that'd get way too annoying to listen to," she pauses, the corner of her smile curling a little more until it painted a picture of mischief, "We could just get you a little bell instead, cute little collar and all." Endearing. Always endearing, Daniela moves past him to switch on another light, pushing the chair with enough momentum to make it spin, "It's like you read my mind. Putting you through a little bit of pain might actually be a kink of mine by now, it's creeping up on the list, for sure." Hands clap against the chair, pulling it to a stop, "What're you thinking this time?"

"How could it get annoying when you only get one customer a day?" Dylan quips, a humoured glint in his eye betraying the deadpan expression he has painted across his features. He chooses not to bite at Daniela's comment despite the not-so-gentle reminder that he shares DNA with a domesticated family pet. If it had come from anyone else he wouldn't let it go so easily but he's grown a fondness for the brunette, even if she enjoys inflicting pain on him a little too much. "Sorry what did you say? All I heard was kink and I got distracted," he replies, shoulder bumping the side of the chair as it comes to an abrupt stop in front of her. "Honestly, don't know. Give me anything that isn't a dick and balls. I need a distraction."

"I ever tell you that you are a pain in my fucking ass, Frost?" Although, Dylan was probably one of the only people he allowed to get close to him after Maddison ditched him all those years ago. "I told you we had shit we were going to do today," he murmurs. "Do you not remember the things I tell you or do you just not care what comes out of my mouth?"

The smile on their lips widened in response to his comment. Valentina hadn't really told anybody about their evolution the last year, but it was fun to see the reactions from those who did in fact sense their power. It excited them too much. Made them extra giddy, and chatty. "It doesn't do it for us unfortunately," Valentina replies, glancing from Dylan to the water then back again. "Just stand upwind." they spoke, letting out a small laugh while Hunter and Xander hollered as if they'd told the best joke in the world. "We'll promise to keep our fangs to ourself." They weren't lying. Dylan didn't smell appetizing enough for Val to want to take a chunk out of him. Playing, however? Was definitely on their to do list. "We didn't asked to be this way, Dyl. Have some compassion."

"Aww, that's a real shame, Val. Well I'm sure some dumbass camper will come along soon enough for the two -" Dylan is quick to amend himself, noting that Valentina has been seemingly talking to multiple people- "Or however many of you there are to run dry." Previous impatience to get away from the river is replaced with boyish stubbornness, Dylan choosing to plant his feet harder into the ground at Val's request. "I think I'm good right here actually," he states, crossing his arms. "But thank fuck the wind is blowing away from me and towards you, because you smell like a dumpster." He snorts at the idea of feeling an ounce of compassion for anyone, let alone the vampire in front of him and for a moment feels a single shred of gratitude that the creature who jumped him all those years ago was lycan and not some bloodthirsty nightwalker. "You didn't? That's surprising. Thought for sure you would have been first in line at the Dracula wannabe store."

Sawyer had to admit; she also wasn't in the mood to bring up the past especially since she just attended a meeting. Her meetings usually leave her feeling more humble and a tad bit emotional which normally puts her in a mood to let things go and not really talk about them. Dylan and her cross paths more often than they would admit to each other given he's been working on being a musician and she works at the studio.

"Children, right," Dylan responds, scrunching up his nose in disgust. He's never been fond - or even tolerant of kids, even when he was one himself. Too much demanded attention, too much fuss, too much crying. What did they have to be crying about? Try living on the side of the road with the coyotes and the bears at seventeen, Dylan thinks. That would give them something to cry about.

"Yeah, totally." Cas pressed his lips to keep from laughing out loud as they both stared at absolutely nothing. Then again in his years of life he's learned to not judge things too easily. There were things out there that he too was still learning about daily, despite the length of his miserable life. "I couldn't tell you even if you described it to me. I don't really see anything." he finally said truthfully, walking around her and hopping onto the counter as he took a seat. "Maybe some kind of spell or something?"

"Wait, you really don't see it?" Celeste frowns, her gaze switching between Cas and the object. Curiosity threatens to override the tiny, rational voice that tells her to keep her distance - it's not important. "Yeah, it's probably nothing," she muses slowly. But what if it isn't? She shakes the thought out of her head, turning her back on the mystery before it drives her crazy with wonder. If it's part of a larger vision, she'll know about it sooner or later.

Open Starter

"Oh really?" Henry asks with an enthusiasm that aptly matches Aurora's. "I didn't know that. What other fun facts do you have stored up there in that brain of yours?" It's a lie of course, but it's a gentle one. Their long life and fortified tether to mother nature has seen to it that Henry knows all there is to know about the world around them. But Rory's recovery is important, and he'll happily play along so she's encouraged to keep learning. "Oh that reminds me," Henry announces, pushing themselves up from the ground, dusting dirty hands onto pants legs before offering an arm out to Aurora. "I've got something to show you."