Counterfeit. Hypocrite. Holy shit.

“I think it’s more than probable,” he replied, although he figured Fin had been at least slightly sarcastic. Not that it made the statement any less true. Seth liked to think he didn’t have as much of a temper as people credited him with, but it was hard to deny that he was more easily aggravated when he met people like this—anyone would have been eager to knock his teeth out, right? It was normal. Justified, even. “I’m sure you can find a map somewhere in town, if you really want to pay it a visit.” As far as he knew, it wasn’t on Google Maps, but then, what use was it to a werewolf? Navigation was almost second nature, in more ways than one. “Twenty-five and a half, right. You know, if you looked any younger I’d say you were twelve. Maybe it’s just your personality.” He certainly didn’t act like most adults he had met.

“Jesus fuck, you brought it up so I thought you might know where it was, shit, sorry,” Fin half groaned at the man.  It was beyond Fin why some people initiated conversation or responded to others if they were going to act like it was such a chore when they could have continued on with their day just as easily. “Well, I’ll make sure to start exfoliating with gravel so I can look a bit more like you when I get to be your age.”

“As much as I appreciate the comparison, I prefer Lydia Deetz, if I’m honest and I think the kettle sounds nicer. You can be the pot.” Tamsin joked, mostly. She wasn’t very good at making those, but it wasn’t like she actually cared much. “Everyone knows LA’s the place to go, but since we’re stuck here. You could always go to the library, there’s not much entertaining there… most good things you have to order and everything else is small town things. Gotta love it.”

“It’s better than Cousin It,” Finley commented, laughing slightly at themselves. “I got that a lot once when I got a little brave and was in the process of bleaching out my hair. It wasn’t a good look.” Fin shifted from one foot to the other, considering the suggestion of hitting up the library. They spent a moment trying to decide if it was a thinly veiled commentary meant to suggest that Fin was a dumbass. “They got any of those good banned books there? Always meant to read more of those.” 

“ Nice to meet you, Finley. Glad we’re acquaintances on this save our town or we’ll riot protest.  ” A grin across her lips as she laughed momentarily before sobering up. “ And hey, if they don’t go for it you let me know and I’ll persuade them. I’m sure they’ll listen to me. ”

“Back at you Cammy Cat,” Fin returned, too used to to the nickname on others to resist the urge to alter it to fit the woman’s name. “So when you are leveling with cosmetic surgeons and leading the town in its latest instance of civil unrest, how are you spending your time?”

“Well, you are certainly sweet. I could even say that you glitter too. Maybe one day you will surpass me.” She teased than when they corrected her, she shook her head at her idiocy. “Wow, ignore me than. That was my bad.” Than she smiled. “I think supreme ruler, your majesty also works.” 

“Well, I’m certain your entertainment would certainly attract some customers. You have a deal. And lucky you that I was already heading towards work.”  

“I don’t glitter, I fucking shine.  I doubt that, Kitty Cat,” Fin insisted.  When she apologized, Fin simply shrugged their shoulders. “Wasn’t the first time, won’t be the last.” Fin smirked as Josie used the extremely formal greeting. “I like the sound of that.” 

“What was the name of that bar again? Don’t believe I’ve been there before, it didn’t sound familiar.”

BREADCRUMBS

Lucifer’s Persephone, she was the sovereign of thistle and thorn. With her lightning-struck hair, and barbwire crown. Coraline Marsh, diaphanous and pale, sauntered at the dense edge of the forest. Her transparency fleeting as she walked past every other tree, forcing feeble bags of human bones to question the validity of their own eyes as they walked by. The wraith of a girl paid little mind to maintain solidity as she plucked the petals of a wildflower; leaving a trail of breadcrumbs deeper into the forest— fearing not what dwelled in the labyrinth. She was one of those things now, after all. “They weren’t laid out for you…” Coraline softly trailed off, sensing a familiar behind her.

Fin wasn’t partial to traipsing through the woods, but after a recent conversation with the town’s premiere junkie (or at least he’d looked haggard enough to be in Fin’s humble opinion), the promise of a ghost town some miles into the woods seemed too good to pass up.  Fin was thinking God for the modern marvel of phone GPS, considering they’d lost their way considerably early on.  That hadn’t seemed to concern Fin, they were able to track their parked car from their phone.  What did make them worry was the trail of flower petals they found walking back--that was creepy. Fin nearly jumped out of their skin when a small voice made it clear fin had company.  “Shit!” Fin hissed under their breath before turning their head to clock the small blonde.  “Sorry, Gretel. I won’t touch ‘em--not trying to get you lost on the way to granny’s house.” It was flower petals in the old fairy tale wasn’t it, or maybe breadcrumbs? 

“Then you won’t mind,” she replied pleasantly since she was now free to do as she pleased with the child. There were no malicious thoughts residing in her mind but she found it rather annoying that she had been forced to deal with it at all. So her hand extended to place her index finger against the small forehead while she pushed ever so slightly. Well, it was a little forceful but it wouldn’t scar the boy for life. “Be gone.”

“Not at all,” Finley concurred.  They couldn’t help but snicker loudly at the sight of the small child being sent away with such an unceremonious, irreverent dismissal.  Finley watched the little kid waddle away before turning their gaze back toward the woman.  “What’d it want, candy? I got some edibles.  They’re gummies, shoulda fed em to the kid before sending it off. Guess it’ll have to wait til the next time.” 

“Glitter bitch? That’s a new one. Mind if I use that?” She asked, laughing a little. “And darling, you are in the wrong town for something interesting. Though I might suggest the Dusk Till Dawn Bar. But that’s only because I work there.” 

“You, kitty girl, might be the glittery-est thing I’ve seen since I got here,” Fin said with a wide grin.  Though the grin faded a moment later as they shook their head. “You’re free to try it out, so long as you credit me. What do you do there? Tend bar? Do a little Coyote Ugly for the customers?” 

“Did they ever go out of fashion?” Samael raised an eyebrow. Clearly somebody had to do a little more research on the obscure sides of society

“Um.... You’re looking at me like the answer is no. So.... No?” 

Tamsin let out a soft sigh, her gaze leaving her book to look up at the person talking. She couldn’t help overhearing them, despite her attention being on the text at hand. “There’s always the next town over if you don’t like it here.” She pointed out, a half smile curving her lips. “Nothing here is truly made for the strange and unusual, go to LA or something if you’re looking for that kind of fun.”

“Are you saying that I’m strange and unusual? You wanna be the pot or the kettle, Wednesday Adams?” Fin questioned when they heard someone respond to their complaint. “Lots of folks feeling the need to remind me this isn’t LA,” Finley mused. 

“Can’t imagine why,” Seth answered dryly, wondering how many other people had been on the receiving end of their chatter. “Sure they do. The town natives aren’t friendly to outsiders, and the outsiders aren’t friendly to strangers. Just the way it is.” Seth snorted, shaking his head. “Not sure what it’d be a metaphor for, either. It just is what I said it is.” Truth be told, he didn’t have the wit—or the patience—for either concept. Straightforwardness had served him better. “It’s called Lovewell’s Creek. Isn’t too far from here, actually. Just a few miles through the woods.” A few miles through very dark, very dangerous woods—for someone like him, that is. To Seth, the area was an apt hunting ground. “I don’t know, eighteen? Nineteen? How old are you supposed to be?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s probably because I’m a pain in the ass,” Finley ventured a guess. It was only a matter of time before the man called them something along those lines anyhow. “Alright, alright, I get it Chuckles, we aren’t gonna be fast friends.” Finley’s expression flattened at the metaphor comment, and ultimately they decided to take that part of the conversation as a loss rather than carrying on with it. “Lovewell’s. Got it.”  Fin frowned when the man guessed they were still a teenager, though upon reflecting for a few more moments Finley’s pride told them to take it as a testament to quality and consistent skin care. “Just because I’m not all grizzled and beat down by life like you doesn’t mean I’m just a teenager or underage. I’m twenty-five and a half.” 

“ That’s the spirit. And by the time you send it, we’ll be ready. ” 

“ That would be Cameron, but please call me Cam. What about you? Got a name?  And in my opinion you’re face ain’t that tragic. But try it out, for all you know it could work. ”

“Sounds very foreboding, I’m sure the authorities will be quaking in their boots. Finley Murphy, but you can call me whatever.” Fin snorted a quick laugh and shrugged their shoulders. “Isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder? I’ll let you know, slip you their card if they go for it.”  

Cam’ smile turned into a full grin, content with the reply she simply gave a shrug. “ Maybe you’ll send the later first. As a warning and when they don’t comply to it then I’ll take the streets and let them know that we aren’t kidding around. Call it team work. ” She gave a nonchalant shrug then. “ Well I guess but people always love a good tragedy and then they’d be so moved by what it happened they will decide to remake the place with better structures. Or they won’t and then we’ll all have to move to another place. ”

“That’s not a bad plan.  While I write my manifesto you can rally the troops,” Fin half laughed.  “And what’s my new team member’s name?” The corners of Fin’s lips lifted into a slight smirk when the woman explained her logic about how folks loved a tragedy. “Maybe next time I go visit my plastic surgeon I can use that argument to have him build some better structures on this tragedy of a face I’ve got.” 

“ Firstly, I’m far more intimidating that I let on. Just because I look like this doesn’t mean I can’t kill someone. ” She half joked. “ Well then go ahead. You write your letter and I do my riot. Let’s see which one gets us what we want. ” Cam smiled then. “ Either way we’ll get what we want. And if we don’t we can always set this damn town on fire ”

“I’m not seeing it,” Fin responded, but they weren’t sure they wanted to be proven wrong. “But I’ll take your word for it. That’s not fair, how are they supposed to get around to reading my letter when you’ve taken to the streets with your insurrection?”  Finley laughed at the third option the woman placed on the table. “Lighting this bitch up seems a bit counter productive, don’t you think?” 

“Sure, but motivation only goes so far. Still not much to do around here, except drink. Everyone figures that out at some point.” Seth himself was relatively new, but he had been in towns like this many, many times before. The outcome was always the same—he was always glad when he finally packed up and left. “The hell would it be an allegory for? Ghost town’s a ghost town,” he said, cocking a brow. “Of course, there’s nothing there, either. Just empty buildings and dirt.” It was a good place to go for privacy, but not much else. He paused, a bit surprised by the sudden defense. “Did you actually expect for me to think you were legal drinking age?” 

“I’ve been told I’m irritatingly persistent, but your concern is endearing.  I don’t know, from what I collect people sure love to walk around and be unfriendly to one another.” Finley shut their mouth to gather more details about the ghost town.  If anything, that was probably how they would spend their next free afternoon.  “Fine, not an allegory, a metaphor--didn’t realize I was dealing with a goddamn English professor.” Fin wished they’d shut their mouth once in a while, especially in conversation where they wanted something, in this case information, that the other had.  “That town have a name?” Fin wasn’t entirely used to being considering young looking for their age.  Of all the feedback they received from their appearance it was usually much more central to their androgyny, and if hadn’t felt so infantilizing Fin might have been flattered. “How old do you think I am?”

“ We could… or we could always riot. A little chaos are the things those people are more afraid of and I’m sure they’ll complied to anything we ask for as long as we shut the hell up afterwards. ”

“Yeah, but the thing is, I was taught how to write my senator a letter in third grade, not how to assemble and move the masses,” Finley pointed out.  “Besides, I don’t think anybody is gonna be too scared of you, kitty cat.” 

“ Sadly no. The town looks worse than it did just ten years ago and it doesn’t look like it has plans of being improved in any way any time soon. ”

“We should draft a petition, write a letter to our local elected representative.”