blood in the wine.

To each their own, then.

“You do whatever you want,” she said. That’s the beauty of this place - of course, there were some semblance of “laws”, but it really came down to just common courtesy here, an upkeep of community. “Sera.” She tested the name out. She had a friend Sarah in high school, another cheerleader. Friend might have been a loose term, she was really just someone who let Valentina copy chemistry homework. She wondered what she was up to now - but that thought was pushed out of her mind as quickly as it came. Valentina often just imagined erasing an image away, like dry erase, to remove it. If it lingered too much it would take on a mind of its own, and she would start retracing every name and face she could remember, imagining them being crazy successful and happy… it sickened her sometimes. “Pretty.”

Her dark eyes flickered up to Sera’s face, as if a silent warning not to keep going - but why? Valentina didn’t have anything to hide, she didn’t think. “Sewing? Yeah, you’re basically just using a needle to pull the pieces of fabric together and keep them there. Sort of like stitches. And to answer your question, my boyfriend and I were drunk driving once. And maybe a few people over the years wanting shelter that I couldn’t give them. You have to learn how to be okay with not being a hero here.”

''Has he been, what you call, a hero?'' The blonde wondered out loud, surrendering herself completely to the fluffy material of the sweater. Moaning softly when her fingertips met the softness and she couldn't help bringing it up to her cheek to feel and get lost in the feeling. ''So soft this is, like silky soft baby skin. Has this been of one of those people who wanted shelter? Did you peel their clothes off of their bodies when they died?'' So many questions. ''It would be a shame if this sweater got all dirty... or muddy... or worse..... bloody.'' Sera hummed as she closed her eyes, smoothing the sleeve up and down her cheek in a soothing touch.

“It’s not that they’re taking it so no one can leave, even if you walked it would just… loop you back around.” That’s how it had been explained to Emmett. He had never tried it himself, but he was scared to. What if the woods went on endlessly and he was stuck out there, running into Them without the protection of the walls of the cinema, or of anyone in the town? It was too frightening to think about a prospect like that. “I have,” he said, his pace not too brisk, but quick enough to hopefully pull the thought of violence at the church from her mind. “Where are you from? Before this, I mean.”

Surely anyone could just leave, Sera just didn't want to. She had no reason to go back from where she came from, to that damned psych ward where she was kept between walls with nowhere to go. And she hoped every single day that no one would find her to take her back there. The thought already made her want to pull out her knife, but she gathered herself together and focused on the boy's trail to the supposed car graveyard. ''Before what? Like before coming here? Uhh...'' she wasn't entirely sure about her past, if she should share such information with people she didn't know - with people who could know about her childhood covered by a thing called 'media', according to her previous therapist. ''I'm from a place called Massachusetts,'' there, that should do it! ''That's close to this place, right?'' That's where she was trying to get away from after all. ''Shit, I don't know, I remember being dragged into a car and who knows how long we've been driving...'' before she'd stabbed the designated driver as many times she could and she ended up in town.

margot's laughter bubbled into the cold air, a mischievous thrill coursing through her as she reveled in getting away without being caught. the sound echoed from her perch high in the tree, a ghostly giggle that gave away her hidden position. one last acorn, hurled for good measure, knocked against sera's shoulder with a satisfying thunk. the only damper on margot's fun was sera's lack of reaction—no attempt to dodge the projectiles, no playful retaliation. it dulled the challenge margot could have possibly thrived upon.

"some little yellow glowing fairy sprinkled her dust all over me," margot began dramatically, voice tinged with whimsy. "looked like glitter throw-up... and then it lifted me right up here." laying flat on her stomach, she peeked over the thick branch's edge to reveal herself, fingers clutching the rough bark that had long since shed its leaves for winter. "floated me right up here," she emphasized, patting the branch. "she said if i didn’t give her applause, she’d die !" margot shriveled up in mock agony, performing an exaggerated death scene. "so i didn’t clap," she admitted, lips curling into a devilish grin.

The thought of Tinkerbell having died made the blonde pout when she'd gotten close to the ground and dug her fingers through the cold powder and found absolutely nothing resembling to a tiny winged body. ''Oh no!'' The words were let out with a sob. ''You killed her!'' Sera exclaimed this time, looking up to a whole bunch of branches that made it hard to see the other up there. ''You murderer!'' However cruel her accusation was, her tone was much resembling one of a toddler that didn't get its candy they were wailing for. She stomped the ground with one foot and crossed her arms, sniffling but the tears weren't there.

The two of them twirled each other around and were in fits of laughter all night until they rested on the couch, where they sat while Zale twisted the ends of her hair into tiny braids, so soft under his hands and under the influence of the eye drops. “Was it me?” he asked, smiling. Funny, strange, they meant the same thing, right? Before he started racking his brain to think of the words he said (like he’d be able to remember), Sera explained more.

“Like the Settlement?” he asked. “I haven’t left in my whole two weeks. Everyone’s been very nice to me here. I don’t know where the caravan went, anyway, so I'll stay here for awhile.” He had nowhere else to go, and tried not to think about two weeks ago, when he was roaming around alone and scared of his whereabouts, feeling bad with the crushing weight of being left behind.

''You know...'' she started out when he asked about the settlement, though her head blanking when she wanted to continue and she bursted out into a chuckle, ''I actually don't know.'' The mix of alcohol and joy threw her into a fit of laughter. ''I really don't know!'' She curled up closer to him and rested her head upon his shoulder when her hysterical laughter turned to a mere chuckle again. Realizing what he had said, her gaze softened and she brushed some of his hair back into shape.

''Well fuck ... did they ditch you?'' Sera wondered out loud, her high shifting into some form of sympathy, even when she had a hard time feeling affection for those who once had called themselves her family. Family by blood. It meant nothing to her. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself every single day. ''I think you'll be okay here,'' it was a mere whisper that left her lips, ''anyway - fuck sadness. Fuck people - that's what we get to do here! Fuck and have fun and be free!''

the toxins curling around rationality was creating a fuzz inside stella's mind. it calmed previous worries of earlier days; messy, attending meetings to ease her back on a track she hadn't realized she drove off. recovery. god, life had been all about recovery. grief in many forms. like grief, stella always circled back around. her choice to drink again was when hell entered her life. this town. could people really do any of this....sober ? release was needed for the sake of sanity.

''Maybe I like to take what I can get... there is freedom here I've never had before,'' she confessed with a voice wrapped in lace, Sera hadn't opened up about her past to anyone here. Not really. Whenever she did talk about her past, it was only a glimpse without providing any context and soon she'd close off again. What happened in the past stayed in the past. Locked inside her mind. For only her to remember. To feel and re-experience through nightmares from time to time. ''Perhaps that includes being watched....makes me feel seen,'' when once she had felt invisible, she now craved attention all the more. ''Would you...'' her tone changed to an inviting one, she caressed the woman's hair aside and drew her fingertips across her jawline to her chin so she could have her full attention, ''...like to watch?''

She’d been drinking far more than she would back home, but since the world was ending or whatever, Dee felt it was only necessary. Giggled erupted from her as she bit into her last piece of bread. Having started drinking pretty early, munching on some of the food set out seemed like the only way to lessen the alcohol’s effect. There was the obvious option of stopping her intake all together, but what was the point of coming to the party if she didn’t plan on enjoying it in its entirety. She did have water in between each alcoholic beverage, and ensured to take her time with each pour. Serving another set of drinks, Dilara found the next familiar face and extended her hand. “  I wish I knew enough about what was in the mixture to have a proper offer, but uh- drink?  ” she said with a large smile.

Not to mention, a party was a party - and while Tessa didn't exactly think there was much worth celebrating, a party was something that felt relatively normal in a place that was so far from it. What did it hurt to stop by and check it out? See what all the fuss was about...

She'd been quietly taking it all in when she'd approached, holding out her hands and bowing to her in such a formal manner that Tessa had to sink her teeth into her lower lip to stifle a laugh. When had anyone treated her with such formality? She knew that answer right of the bat - never. Not to mention being treated that way by a complete stranger. And yet she felt oddly flattered, like a high school girl being asked to dance at homecoming.

"Ah-um..." Tessa cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to come up with words that logically made sense and were put in the proper order. "I've - uh - I've never been much of a dancer, really...But - uh..."

''There, hereby you are blessed by the goddesses of dance, of confidence and of rhythm.'' Without awaiting another second, she dragged her by her hand, however gently, towards an open space for them to dance. ''Don't think about it, feel the beat drum, yell, scream, screech if you need to...'' Sera moved to the music that she could feel pounce inside her chest with every drumbeat, she leaned a bit more in and brushed some of the other's hair aside to lowly say the following in her ear, ''...and if you need a little something to feel good, I got you covered too.'' Shamelessly she winked, jumping and dancing around similar to what could be described as a male bird trying to impress a female with their mating dance. Then again, Sera liked to live her new life to the fullest - and with that freedom came also the urge to dance, to fuck, to threaten and to sleep around with whoever she could and set her eye on.

Perhaps that's what this was. Another correction to what she was and wasn't supposed to do.

Her fingers clawed, out of self defense - out of the need to breath - out of aching for air, immediately at Nika's hand that was around her throat. Panic kicked in and made it hard to think, the heat flushed to her face. From the slap, from the lack of oxygen to her brain, and still that voice seeped into her skull deeper than she could've ever thought. That woman's voice held power. Those eyes she stared into, even though she was struggling and still weakly trying to fight back - a habit of a body to do when it was cornered and fighting for life, she could not deny how Nika's eyes were drilling into her. It made something in her tick. It got her to obey when she was let go and heaving for air.

''Please -'' she barely managed to say, the words right there on her tongue but hurting her throat with each syllable she spoke, ''- I'll be good, I'll be good ...'' Sera wept the tears from her eyes that made her vision blurry and caressed her throat. A whimper left her lips.

''... For you.''

Nika reached forward and gently shooed Sera's hand out of the way to caress the girl's neck with her own hand. "Good girl," she murmured. "Smart to listen to me, this will sink in in due time." Nika pulled her hand away, resisted the urge to strike the woman again simply because she could, because broken things were averse to fighting back. It had been Nick's favourite game, when he had been alive, to see how far he could push his abuse without sacrificing loyalty. And that hadn't ended well for him. His skull still sat on her desk for her to talk to him whenever she wanted to.

Nika had to exert her power differently, but it could work. She could teach this feral dog manners and she could teach it to be loyal.

"Come, child." It was accompanied by a gesture as if to tell her to follow. "It's a short walk back to the settlement and if you're out after dark, I'll leave out there to die." She walked away then and found she did not care if the younger girl followed.

''Drink moreeeeee, obviously.'' Her hand had found the woman's shoulder, as to keep her seated on the sofa with her. Candles around them acted as a source of light, which made the party even better in Sera's opinion. It brought her a sense of home - when torches had flickered in the woods, when dozens of candles lit up the altar of the church, when a massive bonfire got rid of dead meat, it reminded her of warmth on cold nights when no one would hold her.

“I don’t know if animals really know the difference,” Ben said, before he could help himself and think of something less blunt to say. It wasn’t even that hard-hitting, but Ben was working on his honesty. “But, uh, no - none of that. It’s probably just going to the diner, or to the ranch so they can do whatever it is they do with the animals for the rest of us.” Surely there was more to the hunting gig than just hunting deer or whatever other animals roamed the woods, but he’d rather deal with this over those creatures that roamed the night. “I’d take my chances with an animal just… being an animal. I can’t fault it for that. I don’t know what the hell those… Things are, so. Better the devil you know, right?”

With that, she'd gotten up and retreated her knife back into her pocket and held the ear in her hands as little blood still trickled down her pale skin. Without giving any more context nor clue where she was heading off now, she walked back towards where she'd come from, never losing eye contact with the other.

A big smile graced her features, reaching her big blue eyes that sparkled in the winter's sun. Without blinking or faltering, she disappeared back into the woods. Back to the grounds she'd gotten most familiar to. Her voice echoed through the snow covered trees, making it hard to pinpoint where it was coming from.

''See ya around, hunter boy.''

Immediately that same hand grabs Sera around the throat. "Hold your tongue, you insolent child." She slowly tightens her hand around the girl's windpipe, her face inches away from the other's. "You want to belong to me? To the tree? Never. Utter. That. Name."

She released her with a shove back and then pressed her hands down the front of her pants as though she was straightening her clothes. A deep breath in to calm herself and then she looked at the woman again.

"Now, you've already caught quite the commotion on arrival. Do you think you can behave yourself at the settlement or should I sedate you?"

Perhaps that's what this was. Another correction to what she was and wasn't supposed to do.

Her fingers clawed, out of self defense - out of the need to breath - out of aching for air, immediately at Nika's hand that was around her throat. Panic kicked in and made it hard to think, the heat flushed to her face. From the slap, from the lack of oxygen to her brain, and still that voice seeped into her skull deeper than she could've ever thought. That woman's voice held power. Those eyes she stared into, even though she was struggling and still weakly trying to fight back - a habit of a body to do when it was cornered and fighting for life, she could not deny how Nika's eyes were drilling into her. It made something in her tick. It got her to obey when she was let go and heaving for air.

''Please -'' she barely managed to say, the words right there on her tongue but hurting her throat with each syllable she spoke, ''- I'll be good, I'll be good ...'' Sera wept the tears from her eyes that made her vision blurry and caressed her throat. A whimper left her lips.

''... For you.''

Revealing the blade with a simple click, a sound simply inaudible by the creaks of the wooden beams, of the wind twisting and pulling at the structure of the building. Placing the blade against the other's throat again only took a second. ''Would this steal your breath, huh? If I made a cut right here? Would that turn you on, my little jester?'' Her eyes entranced to see the other's reaction, her pace of breath only increasing when she pressed the blade just that little bit deeper, making a tiny enough incision that made light skin turn a nice hue of red. ''Like it turns me on too.''

Emmett nodded along. Sure, he could be weird. He probably was a little, in comparison to others, but he was always the weird shy kid in school, in town, so he could settle into this role with ease. But this was an opportunity to lead this semi-vengeful woman away from the church, the safe spot for many; there were already too many places he’d seen that had random blood stains, he didn’t want the church to be another. “This way, I think,” he said, gesturing to the left, to walk further into town.  “They just kinda sit there. Some are really old.” Sometimes he went there for spare parts, to see if maybe newer, nicer car batteries would be able to somehow jumpstart one of the projectors. There were probably better things he should have been doing with his time, that would help more, but he could afford to be a little selfish.

Rubbing her hands together, a naughty grimace had set on her lips again, reaching her eyes when she eyed him with a chuckle. ''We could be like Robin Hood, you and I. Steal from the rich and give to the poor, in the form of gas.'' But first, she would like to see the cars. ''You know,'' she toned down her excitement for the nonsense thieving plans, making way for a somewhat more serious tone, ''I, uhh, have never driven a car before.'' Sera followed him around like a puppy, with a skip in her step, her previous plans of stabbing a pastor having left her head - for now. ''Have you?''