Boring.

Forrest frowned, a faint downward twist of the lips as he saw Jamie’s hands digging. “No.” He said, pushing the book aside and plucking up his other choice instead, “That would be a shame to take from you. You can finish it when,” this passes, “when you feel better.” He said it without leaving room for argument- this would pass, and Jamie would feel better, and they could discuss the novel when Jamie had finished reading it. Forrest wasn’t going to act like anything else was even possible. 

He slid closer to the shifter so that their knees bumped together lightly, relaxing back into the couch. He set the book that had caught his eye, Gwinna, on one knee and flipped it open before setting his hand palm-up on the other knee- not looking up toward Jamie as he did it. “There was a girl named Gwinna. This is her tale, as true as I know, true as I heard in the wind.” He started softly. It was a fairytale- meant to be read to children, but it was one of his favorites and he hoped it would be soothing. All of it was a risk- something in his chest telling him he would scare the other man away, another something there telling him that the man had come here- not anywhere else- for help.

Jamie nodded, leaning forward, his shoulders hunched as he fixed his gaze on the floor. When he felt better...if only he had the same confidence in himself about getting through this thing alive and well. He wasn’t invincible - unlike some of the residence - and if he were to give in to the chaos or whatever the hell it was that had swept over the town, he probably wouldn’t make it out alive. What chance did a crow have against everything that goes bump in the night? 

Forrest’s voice once again broke through his internal battle, the human reading out the beginning of what sounded like a children’s tale. A familiar one, too. He lifted his head, fixing his curious gaze first on the other’s face and then letting his eyes wander to the pages laid out before him. He couldn’t quite read the words and the photos were blurry, but the whimsical illustrations held a certain sense of nostalgia he desperately wished he could place. Staying quiet, he waited for the narration to continue, surprisingly okay with the turn of events. Fairytales brought back nothing but good memories. 

“I understand,” Forrest said with a small smile. He tapped a hand against Jamie’s shoulder as he slipped past, into his home office to grab his own copy of the book, another in his collection catching his interest as he flitted through his shelf. He tugged it out, looking on it for a moment before deciding. He found the other book, stacking it on top before swinging back out the door, back to Jamie. 

“And I don’t mind distracting you.” He commented as he slipped back past, leading toward the living room, setting the books on the coffee table as he sat down, “Have you gotten through it yet?” He asked, referring to the book he’d told Jamie about and slipping his reading glasses on as he sat on the couch. 

Jamie trailed after him without another word, his brow furrowed as he tried once more to clear his mind of the chaos fighting to overtake his strict and methodical train of thought. He wouldn’t admit it was getting harder and harder to ignore the itch, not until he was certain he couldn’t hold it back anymore. Taking a seat, he clasped his hands in his lap, digging his nails into his skin - the dull pain giving him something more to cling on to. 

“Not yet, unfortunately,” he replied, clearing his throat as he brought his focus back to Forrest and his books. “I’ve gotten about halfway through. I was planning to finish the last half tonight, but it seems there’s been a change of plans. Feel free to talk about it regardless, I don’t mind the spoilers.” 

Forrest nodded, his concern for the man growing immensely at how obviously frayed his nerves were. He’d seen people have anxiety attacks before- his office before moving to the Parrish wasn’t exactly part of most people’s plan for their life. This was a bit different, though, Jamie had lit up Forrest’s entire space. 

He stepped aside to let Jamie in, “Yes, of course.” He said. He nodded his head down the hallway, “There’s a bathroom off the kitchen, as well as one right by the guest bedroom, which is the third door on the left there.” He pointed toward it. He looked to Jamie, and clasped his hands in front of himself, figuring it was better to ask than skirt around the topic. “What can I do to help you?”

“If you could just...talk, that’d be nice.” Jamie replied, following Forrest down the hallway, glancing in each direction as the other pointed out key areas. He’d most likely forget later on, his mind preoccupied, but it was well intentioned and he appreciated it. There was a lot to appreciate about Forrest, he’d have to buy him a book or take him to dinner to thank him after all of this blew over. If all of this blew over. 

“I’ve enjoyed our conversations in the past and I figured talking about that other book you recommended would make for a good distraction. Not that I view you as a distraction or anything...I just...you know what I mean.” 

it had all begun too quickly. 

normally a very distracted individual, joel hadn’t realized the odd shift in the air had been a warning. he had been on his way back to his shop from having a late meal at the nearby diner when people began running in the opposite direction. as he rounded the corner onto his street, he was forced to quickly duck behind a nearby fence when multiple creatures sprinted by, growling and looking entirely too mean to be part of the sponsor program. now, he scans the street, looking for any stragglers that the pack of monsters might have left behind. when the coast seems clear enough, he runs out from behind the fence and falls into an anxious sprint. 

nearing his storefront, where he had left jay, he drops the leftovers in his hands and runs to the door. “jay!” it’s an uncharacteristically frantic call, accompanied by the way he haphazardly throws the door open and runs inside. “jay, are you in here?!?” @dxvinechaos​

“Yeah! Where else would I be?” Jay called back, curiosity peaked by the anxiety in his friend’s voice. Abandoning his sketchbook in the back of the store, he headed out to meet Joel. He looked frazzled to say the least, and the eerie sound of several car alarms blaring behind him had him wondering. What the hell was going on? 

HIS EYES BURNED WITH THE REALITY OF THEIR SITUATION. Part of it was from lack of sleep, but mostly? He couldn’t stop himself from losing it here and there, every time he looked at the bed that contained the quiet and unmoving siren. He looked better, or at least Miles told himself that very comforting lie, now that he wasn’t covered in blood and pale with the signs of near death. That didn’t meant anything, though, not really. He shifted, his hand coming to find the rescue’s again, sighing. “Listen.” He had started talking with the illusion maybe it would help, another coping mechanism he didn’t know if he really believed in but he needed something, anything. If not? He would drown himself in sorrow, because the truth was right there in front of him, there was nothing - no one in the world he loved more than this, not even himself. “I really need you to like.” He chokes up again. “Come back, please. I just, I can’t.” He stops, not wanting to let go of his hand to actually wipe his face so he lets his tears fall. “I can’t do this without you, I’m sorry I never told you but please, please.” He emphasized the second please, a little louder, as he attempted to settling himself with a steep breath. @dxvinechaos​

Dying didn’t suit Fish. The siren was always talking, always moving, filled with optimism and stupid jokes that seemed to slip off his tongue before he had a chance to process them. Limbo was the best way to describe where his mind had been since the attack - shifting in an out of consciousness, the pain in his side and chest the only constant. He clung to life like the edge of a cliff, not wanting to give in to the darkness and uncertainty that was the alternative. He had so much he wanted to do still, so much he wanted to see. But above all else...he was afraid. he was terrified. No amount of optimism could block out the dread the thought of leaving behind everything and everyone he loved brought to the surface. 

Perhaps it was Miles voice or maybe it was simple coincidence, but the tides turned and Fish resurfaced, the world of the living once again seeping into his awareness. His eyelids felt like lead and so did the rest of his body, the pain in his chest unyielding and much harder to ignore when he was...awake? Still, he didn’t mind. He was still alive and there was no way in hell he was letting himself go before he told the banshee how he felt. Before he said the words that had been caught on the tip of his tongue for months. 

@dxvinechaos​

Normally he would have opted to play music in the background while he indulged a beer and a fire, but the chaos of the night rising up to the rooftops was more than enough to set the mood for their family get together. He drew the bottle in his hand to his lips, one foot cocked up on the lip of the edge of the roof and opposing hand stuffed lazily in his front pocket of his slacks. His attention was rapt to the scene below, an apparent vampire picking a fight with a beast that favored a big foot. Noticing someone coming to his side, he turned, smiling at Romeo before he pointed downward with the beer. “I was just saying nothing exciting happens in this town, remember?” He laughed, head shaking before he took another sip. “When I bought that stupid cone bra for you.” He dropped his foot to the ground, sighing as he stretched his arms over his head, letting out an overly dramatic groan as his back muscles protested. “Now I’m watching Dracula get beat up by the hairiest dude in the south.” He turned back to his brother, brow furrowing slightly. “Do you want a beer? There’s plenty in the cooler.”

Romeo was impartial to chaos. Death, destruction, fire, blood - it wasn’t his scene but trying to stop it was against his very nature. Things happened, people died, and the world kept turning; what difference did a few hundred supernatural creatures really make? Besides, it was just the event they needed to bring the whole family together at Alec’s. The last time that had happened...well, he was pretty sure it’d been a while. 

“Hey, man, don’t diss the cone bra,” Romeo laughed, grabbing a drink from the cooler and making himself comfortable on one of the fold-out chairs Alec seemed to have procured out of nowhere. His brother had really gone all out for their ‘watching the world burn’ party, something he could admire. The last time he’d thrown a party himself, Pompeii was a few hours from being consumed by Mount Vesuvius,  and even then, he hadn’t been the one gathering food and drink.

“You think Dracula’s got any chance of making a comeback? Five bucks says he walks out of this alive...or as alive as vampires get, at least. Do they count as living?” 

Forrest was far from a sponsor- he felt that as part of keeping himself as unbiased as possible in his job, he couldn’t be a sponsor- he was only ever a rescue because it was required. But when he’d received a call from his newfound somethingship, Jamie- when he realized how bad things were going to get in town, he hadn’t hesitated in offering the rescue a place in his home. He lived just outside of town, and knew better than to try to get involved in the fights of his sometimes-terrifyingly powerful compatriots. This fight with feral ancients was something that Forrest could not contribute to- the best thing he could do is help Jamie stay away from it and keep himself out of the way.- they didn’t need some human getting in the way right now. 

So he’d put fresh sheets on the bed in his guest room, rejecting the stray thought of Jamie sharing his room- not the time- and did a dust up of the rest of his home. He was working on that when he heard the roll of tires in the driveway, shifting to the mirror in his front hall to make sure he wasn’t too much of a mess and moved toward the door to meet the shifter out front. “Jamie.” He greeted, concern coloring his voice but a small smile making its way across his features, “Are you alright?” @dxvinechaos​

“I’ve been better...may I come in?” Jamie replied rather abruptly, in no mood to deal with the pleasantries he’d always found pointless. His head was killing him and there was this itch under his skin, this urge he’d never experienced before - to destroy, to kill. It was unnerving, like someone else was whispering in his ear nonstop, urging him to shift. Graphic scenes of gored corpses and gouged eyeballs phased in and out of his mind every few minutes and it was getting harder and harder to ignore. 

God, he hoped Forrest’s familiar face and some engaging conversation would be enough to keep him from giving in. It’d but a real...damper on things if he ended up going on a killing spree. 

“Thank you for letting me stay over, I’m hoping I don’t end up giving you a reason to regret it.” 

judy hopps :: who would your muse partner up with to solve a crime?

Chano. He’s probably one of Sid’s closest friends and he has a habit of dragging the guy along on shenanigans often anyway. Who better to solve a crime with than his partner in crime?

Forrest bit his bottom lip as the other leaned into his book, taking the opportunity to just look. He’d only met Jamie a short while ago- wasn’t even sure that Jamie was interested in men, at this point, but Forrest was more attracted to the man than he’d have liked to admit. He was kind, intelligent, well-spoken and incredibly easy on the eyes. He smiled as Jamie spoke, a small chuckle making its way out, “I agree wholeheartedly. He could have. But that’s not Tolkien’s style, he tends to ramble about the smallest details- but in that, he has given us one of the most detailed universes in literature.” He noted. “Do you usually wear glasses, Jamie? I’m not sure they’d help, but I have reading glasses with me, if you’d like.”

“I appreciate well thought out lore as much as the next guy, but I think it’s best left unveiled through pertinent plot events rather than unceremoniously dropped on the reader in large chunks. I found it hard to persist through the blocks of text where there was absolutely nothing happening,” he continued, recalling the hours he’d spent reading a paragraph, stopping for a glass of water or a walk around his room, and then continuing on only to repeat the same process a few paragraphs later. 

Jayden - He’s pretty much unaffected and happily watching the world burn while documenting it in his sketchbook for a few paintings in the future. There are only a few people he actually cares about living or dying and he’s confident in their ability to take care of themselves. If he were called to action by one of them hypothetically, he may come and lend a hand for old times sake. He has so missed the chaos, after all. 

Fish - Fish is dying. Miles is there, too, and they’re going to be gross and cute like they always are because they can’t help it, even when imminent death is involved. 

Dallon - Dallon is unaffected, hiding out with Benny, trying not to die, and being reminded over and over again that he is very human and very mortal. He’s scared out of his mind, but he’s trying his best to remain optimistic because screaming and running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off has never helped anyone. 

Amadeus - Unaffected by the Ancients, Amadeus is ready to fight back to ensure the safety of his family and loved ones no matter the cost. If you’ve got a tattoo witch and you want to plot further with him, please let me know because that’s all I really have for him. 

Sidney - Sid is fairly affected by the Ancients as an old ass dragon himself. He’ll probably revert to his less than humanoid state - something he doesn’t do on a regular basis and stay centeral to his shop because his attachment to his material possessions is very strong. 

Jamie - Jamie is very affected by the Ancients, his usual level of anxiety and fear enhancing their hold on his mind. He’s locked himself inside and called his newfound friend Forrest in an attempt to ground himself, but that plan seems to be failing more and more with each passing moment. 

Forrest’s eyes flicked up from his coffee as Jamie’s footsteps drew near, a smile slipping across his features at the drop of the book. “It’s good to see you too, Jamie.” He offered in greeting, a light roll of his eyes. His feet crossed under the table, straightening his posture in the plastic-lined booth. He adjusted his tie unconsciously, chuckling. “I’m glad you didn’t hate it.” He looked down to the book, the notes sticking out of the pages, and back to Jamie, “You wrote notes.” He said, surprise coloring his tone as he reached toward the book, plucking it up and flipping through.

Ruby Light: Are they the sort to wear their heart on the sleeve? If not, why?

Jayden is unapologetic in most everything he does, but that doesn’t extend to more tender feelings like love and affection. Most of the time, he’s not even sure he’s capable of love, but then he remembers how much he cares for Joel and is hit in the face with the fact that there’s still a bit of human left in him after all. 

TLDR; no

belle :: what is your muse’s favorite book?

Bold of you to assume that Romeo reads. His favorite book is probably something by Steven King, I can’t tell you exactly what because he won’t decide for me, but it’s definitely something in that vein. He really likes to listen to audiobooks when he’s cleaning out his rats’ cage or eating dinner, and he gets through a lot of horror. For a while, his favorite book was ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ (hence his rats’ names) but he’s since moved on to newer titles.