chaos & peace.

“Hey,” PJ said simply when he approached his sister, “Um… how was visiting your mom?” He asked. Saying our mom had yet to come naturally to him. He wasn’t used to and he hadn’t gotten to the point where he felt like he could visit - meet her yet. Now he was just making conversation.

@kinseysimons​

Kinsey wanted to correct him, but knew that it he still wasn’t ready for that. “She’s good,” Kinsey replied. “It wasn’t much different than normal. Reminded me why I left though.” As much as she loved her mother, it was their grandfather that made her feel so inadequate. The lack of her father didn’t help that feeling either. “Not because of her, because of that place.”

“It is about your black eye,” she commented, walking up to the younger girl. “It’s also practice for me. I may be due in a few days but I’d feel more comfortable knowing I can still defend my clan… It also helps knowing that you all can defend yourselves too.”

“Trust me, I’ve been defending myself before I knew about Northknot,” Kinsey replied. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m pretty sure, maybe you should let us defend you for a change, and the soon to be newest member of the clan.”

“Are you going to tell me where the heck you’re taking me?” Kinsey asked, following Lucas. “You’re not going to kill me or something, are you?”

Kinsey took a deep breath after their most recent spar, catching her breath. “Remind me again why we’re doing this? Is this about my black eye awhile ago?”

Kinsey smiled when she opened the door to Caleb. “Oh thank God you’re here, I need help picking out an outfit.”

PJ walked through the bar on his way to get changed and he stopped when he saw his sister, “Hey,” He said, slightly surprised, “I didn’t see you on the schedule today, what are you doing here?” He asked, walking toward the bar instead of the back room.

@kinseysimons​

“Switches with someone,” Kinsey replied. “I’m going to see Mom this weekend and I needed off.” Kinsey paused, unsure of whether or not to invite him too. She figured that she should just in case he wanted to, and said, “I’m uh, sure you can come if you want,” she offered. “Obviously only if you’re ready, if not, I promise I’ll still keep our secret.”

"You mean to tell me that we’re safer, all stuck in this place? That’s outrageous,” Kinsey said to another. 

Kinsey looked around, weaving through the crowd of people. “Hi, have you seen PJ Simons?” she asked the nearest person. Then she heard her name, and she turned, searching for the source.

“No, you can’t hide,” she said as she ushered the young fae to her sit. Alec sat down across from her and looked at the bruising. “What happened? Did you fall?” Getting up, she made her way to her cabinet and pulled out a couple of twigs, mud and flowers before grabbing a bowl to mix them in.

“I got punched in the face,” Kinsey replied. “Unfortunate turn of events at work.”

“Well it’s not something you can easily hide…” Nell admitted after a moment, nose wrinkling slightly. “How did you even manage to get that? It’s frankly stunning Kinz.”

“Some drunk asshole,” Kinsey answered. “I cut him off and he didn’t want to deal with it apparently.”

“Hey, can I get your opinion on this?” she asked the younger woman passing by. Her garden was her pride and joy, but she liked to switch it up every so often. But she couldn’t decide if she liked what she’d done with the flowers. “Which do you like better? This,” Charlotte gestured toward the various colours of lilies and tulips growing. “Or this?” She waved her hand slightly, turning the garden into one full of red and yellow roses.

@kinseysimons​

Kinsey pursed her lips, looking at both gardens. “Uh,” she paused, thinking for a minute. “I think I like the lilies and tulips. It gives me animal crossing vibes.”

“Sounds like an eventful first day,” Caleb replied, trying, unsuccessfully, to make a joke, “Are you gonna tell me I should see the other guy or what?”

“I mean, I thought PJ was going to like beat the other guy, but I kind of stopped him before he could. The idiot was not a good reason to lose your job.” Kinsey paused. “I guess it’s just the downside of bartending.”

PJ couldn’t help but laugh a little after she finished speaking. It wasn’t that he found what she said funny, more like ironic, “Kinsey, you’re talking to an orphan about having abandonment issues,” He pointed out, “I’m not trying to make it a competition but I’m pretty sure I understand that more than most,” It sounded like they a match made in sibling heaven, thoough not for the right reasons. He turned to look back in the mirror, stopping the bleeding as quickly as he could and place ice over it to stop the swelling. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before deciding to say what he did next, “I don’t want your… well, I guess our mother to know yet. I know you said she thought I was dead and would never have abandoned me but I’m not ready for… Like I said, this whole thing has kind of turned everything upside down for me. I need time.”

Kinsey nodded. “I can agree to that,” she responded. “But we should maybe tell her eventually, but we can wait until you’re ready.”

PJ just kinda stood there for a moment, looking down at the first aid kit to try and find what he was looking for but he couldn’t even think about what he needed from it. He turned around and leaned against the counter behind him, crossing his arms, “I’ve been an orphan,” He began, “My whole life. I didn’t go looking for my parents because to me, they were dead. I forced myself to believe they were gone. Maybe that was just easier to accept or maybe I just didn’t care to find out about the people who abandoned me. Then you show up and suddenly I’m not an oprhan. My entire life, everything I’ve ever believed, gets flipped upside down,” He paused and inhaled sharply, “I’m angry. I’m an angry person. I can be violent. I push people away. I shut people down. I close myself off to anything new. If you thought you would show up and I’d welcome you with open arms, you were obviously wrong about that. But you are my sister. I’m not all in but I can’t… I won’t shut this new out,” He paused again, “If you’ll have me.”

Kinsey wanted to agree, accept him with open arms, but there was the part of her that was scared. Kinsey didn’t do good when it came to losing people. People left her, and she was used to that. It almost broke her when PJ rejected her as a sister, let alone ever leaving her. “I just, I want to. I’m just scared. I’ve been left by so many people, PJ. Friends, family, my dad. People who leave me like I’m nothing, or like I’m defective, rather it’s because I’m not full shapeshifter or full fairy, or because how my brain works. You said you were a bad person, but I’m no angel, I have my own skeletons in the closet, and they come back to haunt me sometimes. If I have you, I can’t have you added to that list.”

“Like hell, Kinsey,” Caleb said, moving closer and taking hold of her chin gently so he could get a closer look, “What happened?”

“My first day back at work, some drunk dude punched me in the face,” Kinsey said. “I tried to cut him off.”