i wish my cohorts weren't so dumb.

inspired  by  : shock ( the nightmare before christmas )

⸻      “  I  DON’T  have  long,  so  you  better  have  a  good  reason  for  interrupting  my  break,  ”  she  joked,  taking  a  big  bite  of  the  hamburger  she’d  managed  to  snatch  from  behind  the  counter,  earning  her  a  stern  look  from  flynn.  “  wait,  did  you  find  binx  ?  ”  that  old  fuck  had  been  missing  for  half  a  week,  and  sadie  didn’t  really  worry,  but…  well,  his  old  age  wasn’t  the  only  thing  they  had  to  worry  about.  lots  of  people  might  want  an  old,  half-dead  looking  zombie  cat.  she  was  surprised  he  managed  to  last  through  halloween  here.  “  seriously,  though.  what’s  up?  ”

beckham huffed as he put out his cigarette on the coffee table before flicking the butt into the ashtray. he was feeling a bit odd as of late and couldn’t really put a finger on why. maybe he just needed to talk to his siblings… maybe they felt the same way. 

“sades,“ he started up, looking curiously around their apartment, “do you ever feel like mom is trying to send signals to us from back home?”

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻      SADIE  LEANED  back  in  their  armchair,  squinting  at  her  older  brother.  what  an  odd  question  for  this  time  of  day  --  for  any  time  of  day.  they  made  a  point  of  not  discussing  what  happened  at  home,  promising  this  would  be  a  fresh  start  for  the  three  of  them.  but  maybe  beckham  needed  this  from  her  right  now,  and  she’d  never  been  able  to  refuse  him  anything.

“  what  do  you  mean?  ”  no  sneer,  no  judgement,  just  honest  interest.  it  was  a  rarity  between  them,  their  comments  often  laced  with  something  teasing.  “  did  you  experience  something?  ”

the hot girl could still walk away, true, but she wouldn’t. they both knew she wouldn’t. it showed in the girl’s smirk and in beatrix’s eyes. she made the slightest tilt of her head, her gaze catching the girl’s with a quick wink, like a subtle acknowledgment.

“ daddy issues, ” she repeated, the curiosity clear in the volume of her voice but beatrix wasn’t sure if she should say anything else. that seemed too personal — but maybe it was a joke? — but no, her powerpuff senses were tingling. and they were telling her to not ask more about it. and she was working on this. the whole ‘don’t get into people’s business’ thing. what would her sisters do? fuck!!!! beverly would say something smart and smooth, and brynne would say something equally smart but with much more empathy and — what would beatrix do ? “ aight, you carry those and i’ll just carry you, ” she ended up saying, returning the girl’s smile and internally screaming the whole time. “ thanks, i’m basically like … ‘first man on the moon’ kind of stuff but with being a dipshit. i’m a pioneer. ”

she ran her hands through her hair once more, feeling sweat on her scalp. whether that was from the heat of the club and the partying she’d done earlier, or her nervousness with saying the right thing. “ nothing wrong with some fun nicknames. is that you telling me you want some? ” she smirked. “ and, hey, as long as you’re still talking to me, you can call me whatever you want — ” beatrix’s words came to a halt when she heard her name said like that. 

keep it together. 

sadie teague, sadie teague, sadie teague. three times, like a wish. “ it’s already a pretty cool name by itself anyway. and now that we’re properly introduce : nice to meet you, sadie. ”  she did a little bow, and when she rose up again there was that subtle lift of her lips that wordlessly agreed: yes, you are very hot.

beatrix began to lead them to the building, unable to stop the skip in her step. in the crisp air, she suddenly felt invigorated. “ nothing beats a good pair of converse — i broke my shoes a lot as a kid but when i got my first converse i was like, no way in hell am i gonna break these. ” beatrix took a deep breath, exhaled, then continued: “ what was that thing you said earlier? rear window? is that a saying? ”

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻      IT  WAS  very  much  implied  that  they’d  be  spending  the  evening  together,  the  tension  palpable  in  the  air  already.  the  question  would  be  whether  sadie  was  going  to  keep  in  touch  after  tonight,  what  was  going  to  happen  between  them  exactly.  she  didn’t  repeat  the  statement,  waited  instead  of  beatrix  to  figure  out  what  she  was  going  to  do.  her  interest  in  this  evening  would  rise  or  fall  with  her  reaction,  and  she  got  the  sense  that  beatrix  knew  exactly  that.  her  answer  was  a  good  one;  ignore  the  weight  of  it  all,  turn  it  into  a  little  joke.  they’d  just  met  tonight,  there  was  no  reason  for  them  to  immediately  spill  their  traumatic  pasts,  if  the  other  had  any  too,  but  there  was  something  familiar  in  her  gaze  that  made  sadie  think  it  was  the  case.  “  well,  you  certainly  have  a  very  high  opinion  of  your  own  physical  strength.  ”  oh,  how  she  wished  it  was  possible  to  conjure  up  a  spell  or  potion  to  make  it  impossible  to  lift  her  up,  just  to  fuck  with  beatrix  a  little  bit.  because  she  had  no  doubt  whatsoever  that  the  other  girl  was  strong  enough  to  do  just  exactly  that.  “  that’s  exactly  what  i’m  talking  about.  put  your  flag  there  and  claimed  it  for  yourself,  didn’t  you?  dipshitland,  inhabitants:  one.  ”

she  shook  her  head,  but  the  amused  smile  stayed  right  where  it  was.  god,  it  was  so  stupid,  wasn’t  it?  these  nicknames  that  were  so  obviously  bad  that  they  were  on  the  same  level  as  dad  jokes,  her  insistence  that  she  hated  it  when  they  both  knew  she  didn’t.  “  i  don’t  actually.  unless  you  can  come  up  with  something  better  that  doesn’t  involve  my  appearance,  ”  she  tried  to  say  pointedly,  but  bumped  her  shoulder  into  beatrix’  for  good  measure.  then  she  dug  a  cigarette  out  of  her  jacket  pocket,  lighting  it  with  some  expectancy.  if  this  little  vice  of  hers  that  she  used  to  cope  with  her  fucked  up  life  was  a  turn-off  for  beatrix,  it  was  better  to  discover  it  sooner  rather  than  later.  “  need  one?  but  thanks,  i’ll  just  stick  to  your  actual  name.  i  kinda  like  it.  ”  no,  she  just  liked  the  girl’s  reaction  to  it,  but  minor  details.

“  nice  to  meet  you  too,  beatrix.  ”  okay,  just  once  more,  for  good  measure.  “  are  you  trying  to  curtsy  or  are  your  knees  buckling?  ”  she  couldn’t  resist  smirking,  but  raised  her  head  slightly  in  greeting.  they  wouldn’t  be  shaking  hands.  “  if  you’re  gonna  try  to  kidnap  me,  i’ll  remind  you  that  i  carry  knives  on  me.  your  building  is  looking  shady  as  hell.  ”  she  could  see  exactly  where  they  were  going;  rich  people  had  such  obvious  taste.  “  feel  that.  i’ve  had  this  same  pair  since  i  was  sixteen.  ”  and  still  going  strong,  it  was  kind  of  an  achievement  at  this  point.  “  it’s  a  movie.  about  this  guy  who’s  spying  on  his  neighbours  because  he’s  got  nothing  better  to  do  with  his  life.  ”

“ wait until you hear me try and tell a joke, then you’ll be sorry, ” she taunted. “ i’m not known for mine either, so i suppose we’ll just have to live a humourless existence. ” serena’s voice remained comforting and warm, but she kept a sharp eye on sadie’s condition. if she could, she would transfer her energy to her friend, to give her just enough to last the night and heal. serena placed a cool hand on sadie’s forehead and stroked her hair back gently. “ hold on, ” she whispered, almost like a wish, almost like a spell.

“ you don’t need to be sorry. i’m not, ” she said firmly, in her ever soft voice. the wound now as clean as she could make it, serena placed a bandage on it. miraculously, the wound had slowed its bleeding, and she breathed a little easier. “ … i actually wasn’t doing much when you arrived. i was just lying in bed … trying to sleep, but not really, ” she admitted, a faraway look in her eyes as she paused in her movements. “ i had a feeling something was going to happen. that i needed to open the door, and … there you were. i thought i’d never see you again, ” she added quietly, pressing her lips to a thin line. “ i’m glad you came to me. ” hearing sadie thank her made her heart swell.

they were an odd pair. while serena was no stranger to the unexpected friendships in her life, being friends with sadie felt a little more significant. they were as different as different could be, but something still drew them together. perhaps it was that unknown reason why serena’s healing always worked and her visions led her to always be in the right spot at the right time. she’d lived most of her life avoiding that question. but now that more was happening, and people from her past were coming back, she would need to face it sooner rather than later. the thought, and sadie’s words, made her eyebrows furrow.

as sadie explained the night, she kept herself busy by shuffling on her knees to her bedside drawers and pulling out the ingredients she would need for a poultice. the powdered bark of a slippery elm tree. castor oil. water. she mixed all these and made the yellowy paste in her hands. “ who was he ? i can think of a few things to slip into his morning coffee, ” she murmured, frowning. “ and if your brothers ever heard about this, they’d … ” she trailed off, shaking her head. “ but i promise i won’t tell them anything. other than this … do people generally treat you well ? ”

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻     AT  THIS  point  sadie  should’ve  probably  begged  serena  to  tell  a  joke,  to  say  anything  else  so  that  she  could  focus  on  her  words  rather  than  slip  away  into  unconsciousness,  but  she  barely  had  energy  to  muster  a  smile,  much  less  to  say  anything  with  actual  conviction.  “  i’d  love  to  hear  that,  though,  ”  she  forced  out,  blinking  furiously  a  few  times.  serena’s  cool  hand  on  her  forehead  gave  her  a  bit  of  a  shock,  blew  a  bit  of  a  breeze  into  the  clouds  of  her  mind  so  they  drifted  apart.  “  have  you  considered  a  career  in  medicine?  or  motivational  speaking?  ”  because  shit,  she  was  good  at  this.  who  else  would’ve  thought  to  throw  together  a  bunch  of  meaningless  herbs  just  so  sadie  wouldn’t  have  to  go  to  the  hospital?

the  faint  smile  stayed  there  as  serena  worked,  but  sadie  still  tried  not  to  look  too  hard  at  what  her  friend  was  doing  exactly.  there  was  a  lot  of  blood  involved,  and  though  she  wasn’t  afraid  of  it,  it  wasn’t  a  very  encouraging  sight  when  she  was  on  the  verge  of  something.  “  something  on  your  mind?  ”  they  were  nowhere  near  a  friendship  solid  enough  to  talk  about  their  innermost  thoughts,  but  it  was  worth  a  try  in  these  situations.  maybe  sadie  would  finally  work  up  the  courage  to  let  people  in,  to  let  them  see  her  inner  workings  like  her  brothers  could  instead  of  keeping  people  at  arm’s  length.  “  wait,  really?  ”  sadie  tried  to  sit  up,  finding  it  slightly  easier  than  her  previous  attempts.  “  have  you  always  had  that,  or  did  it  start  here  in  elias?  ”  people  had  found  serena  a  bit  odd  back  in  hallow  falls,  too,  so  maybe  that  was  the  reason?  she  didn’t  really  know,  sadie  generally  tried  to  stay  away  from  people  back  then,  only  doing  what  orion  told  her  and  avoiding  anything  else  that  may  lead  to  a  connection  of  sorts.  it  was  dangerous,  what  she  had  done  now,  but  she’d  deal  with  the  consequences  of  orion’s  wrath  later.

“  you  already  knew.  ”  sadie’s  disbelief  ebbed  away,  because  it  made  a  bit  of  sense.  hadn’t  she  always  felt  slightly  drawn  to  the  woman?  a  faint  smile  from  across  the  street,  fingers  touching  when  handing  over  a  cup  of  coffee,  eyes  meeting  and  sparks  flying.  there  was  something  here.  “  what  else  have  you  experienced?  ”  she  squinted,  ready  to  tell  all  about  her  own  abilities  right  there  and  then.  no  one  knew,  but  maybe  it  was  time.

she  shook  her  head.  “  appreciate  the  thought,  but  he’s  long  gone  by  now.  i  made  a  point  of  not  asking  his  name.  ”  she  inspected  the  bandage,  and,  when  satisfied,  turned  on  her  side  so  serena  would  have  easier  access.  it  didn’t  hurt  as  much.  “  no,  don’t.  they’d  flip  their  shit.  generally  it’s  not  like  this.  i  make  sure  i’m  treated  well,  i  picked  the  wrong  person  this  time.  ”

beatrix might be the one enjoying being told off ( which was a new feeling for her and something she’d have to reflect on later lmao ), but the beautiful woman had to enjoy telling her off too. she could talk all she wanted about how she was only doing this to get rid of beatrix, but they were still here, weren’t they ? and maybe beatrix wanted to see where they would go, because she had a feeling this girl was out of her league somehow — despite how huge trix’s ego was. her ego knew her place in the world, this small world she’d created for herself. in the past, she’d been scared of feeling small —  but now she respected how big other people could be too. the stranger had places to be and cooler people to meet. and maybe beatrix just wanted to savour the moment, to hear more of her voice, and see that sharp light in her eyes, like the cut of a diamond.

jesus christ, i’m so gay, beatrix screamed in her head — for what seemed like the millionth time. why the fuck was she thinking of diamonds ?

“ well, duh, it’s both of those things. dreamboat material right here, ” beatrix pointed her thumbs at herself, the idiotic smile intent on staying on her face. the mention of her dad made her snort-laugh though, and she shook her head. “ uh, no, actually. surprisingly enough he wasn’t a dipshit. he was super nice. is super nice. so judging him is kinda off-limits, ” beatrix made a cross with her fingers. “ all the dipshit-ness started with me. as all legends do. ” and it was true. the dipshit part, at least. no reflection needed.

her hand ignored, beatrix shook her head with a chuckle, choosing to adjust her own jacket in stead. she saw the random jacket plucked from a chair and wondered if the girl straight-up stole it, but it fit her too well. “ oh, so you do want my name ? ” she teased, and then added quickly before she regretted it: “ beatrix. but you can call me trix. i kinda wanna hear those nicknames though. do they rhyme with … hottie ? maverick ? super cool hot girl ? oh, wait, that’s your nickname, ” she flashed her a handsome smile. “ could i have your name too ? ”

“ well, for starters. we gotta come up with how to get there. you okay with walking ? two blocks that-a-way, ” she pointed.

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻        SADIE  HADN’T  realised  she  was  gay  until  it  was  rubbed  in  her  face  one  fateful  night.  it  had  terrified  her,  all  the  implications  and  what  they  would  mean  for  her  future.  someone  had  required  her  services,  and  accepted  her  with  her  lack  of  experience,  her  flaws  and  yes,  her  ghosts.  both  literal  and  metaphorical.  no  one  had  seen  her  like  that  before,  and  though  she  was  embarrassed,  it  was  worse  when  she  came  home  that  night  and  worked  through  what  had  happened  and  how  she  felt  about  it.  terrified,  of  course.  she’d  left  that  person  behind,  and  swore  she’d  always  be  in  charge  after  that.  no  more  risks,  only  situations  she  could  handle.  with  men.  

but  fuck,  beatrix  made  her  want  to  let  her  guard  down  ever  so  slightly.  “  oh,  whatever,  don’t  get  a  big  ego.  i  can  still  walk  away  right  here  and  now,  you  know.  ”  not  that  she  was  planning  to,  as  was  extremely  evident  from  her  tone  and  the  smirk  that  refused  to  leave  her  alone.  at  the  defensive  stance  the  other  put  up,  sadie  raised  her  hands  and  actually,  physically,  backed  off  slightly.  “  no  daddy  issues,  got  it.  guess  i’ll  carry  those  for  both  of  us,  then.  ”  and  she  shouldn’t  have  said  that,  because  now  an  explanation  was  going  to  be  expected  and  required,  and  sadie  was  absolutely  not  able  or  willing  to  give  it.  it  was  a  teague  family  secret.  “  cool,  you  made  your  own  way  into  dipshit  land.  very  admirable,  and  feminist.  i’m  so  proud.  ”  she  tried  for  another  smile  to  recover  smoothly.

“  what,  am  i  supposed  to  come  up  with  nicknames  for  you  all  the  time?  sounds  more  like  something  you  would  do  rather  than  me,  beatrix.  ”  she  let  a  hint  of  something  drip  into  her  voice  as  she  spoke  the  girl’s  full  name.  “  you  know  those  are  terrible,  right?  hottie?  do  you  really  want  to  be  called  that?  ”  she  shrugged  on  her  jacket  --  her  favourite  --  and  headed  out  into  the  cold,  looking  around  and  then  at  trix  for  directions.  “  so  we’ve  established  that  i’m  hot.  ”  and  no,  fuck  that,  sadie  was  not  going  to  blush.  it  was  the  cold.  “  sadie  teague.  ”  she  might  as  well  get  the  dreaded  last  name  out  of  the  way  now,  in  case  trix  had  met  beckham  and  he’d  fucked  her  over  and  ruined  any  chance  sadie  might  have  at  a  decent  night.  “  no  nicknames  from  that,  so  just  sadie  will  do.  ”  

in  lieu  of  an  answer,  she  started  walking  towards  where  trix  had  pointed  rather  resolutely.  “sure,  i  put  on  my  good  shoes  tonight.  ”  her  worn-down  converse,  but  no  one  had  ever  said  shit  about  them.

“ we’ll stay here for now, but if there’s a next time, i’m choosing the joint. deal ? ” she arched a teasing brow, a short laugh bubbling from her lips. the words ‘next time’ echoed around her head. she had so few friends — scratch that, she had so few people she regularly met and wanted to actually spend time with nowadays, it felt almost dangerous to promise a ‘next time …. not when she didn’t trust herself to stay in the moment and not wane. still, she pushed herself to remember where she was. at a coffee shop with a smart girl.

“ hold your horses there, new york, i’m not gonna show you my favourite until you’ve tried a couple of others. you gotta build your palate, ” she said with mock seriousness. then she smiled. “ sadie, huh ? killer name. i guess it’s better than ‘new york’, ” she winked. “ i’m megara. but you can call me meg. i can order our drinks. you wanna tell me what brought you over to my neck of the woods ? ” she jutted her thumb back at the distant building of SK8ES.

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻      AH,  SO  there  was  going  to  be  a  next  time  if  it  was  up  to  meg.  a  nice  surprise  for  sadie,  who  was  already  afraid  that  she’d  fucked  up  whatever  this  was  by  choosing  coffee  that  was  so  below  meg’s  standards  that  she’d  never  want  to  speak  to  her  again.  thank  god  that  wasn’t  the  case.  “  well,  you’ve  got  me  curious  now,  so  yes.  you’ve  got  yourself  a  deal,  meg.  ”  a  slow,  lazy  smile  spread  on  her  lips,  deliberate  so  that  the  satisfaction  was  hidden  a  little  bit  further  beneath  the  surface.  “  we’ll  have  to  stay  in  touch  so  you  can  flaunt  your  superior  coffee  taste  in  my  face,  right?  ”  she  convinced  herself  the  twinge  of  desperation  wasn’t  audible  in  her  voice.

“  build  my  palate?  really?  you  sound  like  you’re  making  that  up.  ”  she  raised  an  eyebrow,  a  little  bit  hopeful  that  this  was  just  meg’s  plan  to  get  them  together  for  more  coffee…  dates?  but  of  course,  sadie  could  just  be  reading  into  things.  as  usual.  and  there  was  already  one  dark-haired  girl  occupying  her  mind,  was  there  really  room  for  another?  “  thanks,  i  guess.  better  than  my  middle  name,  anyway,  ”  she  snorted.  “  sadie  grace.  my  mom  was  hopeful  i’d  turn  out  nicely.  ”  obviously,  carrie’d  been  wrong.  “  surprise  me,  ”  she  replied  with  a  smirk.  “  what,  you  want  me  to  just  spill  all  my  secrets  immediately?  that’ll  come  when  you  show  me  your  favourite.  ”

          Max  realized  that  everyone  had  a  different  definition  of  what  evil  was.   And  there  was  strangely  a  lot  of  evil  people  around.   Or  if  they  weren’t  evil,   they  were  at  least  shady.   Max  didn’t  like  to  judge  people,   but  he  needed  to  be  more  cautious  since  he  did  keep  getting  himself  into  trouble.   “Well,   I  really  hope  so  or  a  lot  of  people  are  going  to  get  hurt  and  it’s  all  my  fault.”   He  hated  that  he  was  involved  in  any  of  this  at  all.   The  Sanderson  sisters  though  were  his  fault,   his  problem  and  he  needed  to  fix  it.   “Um,   well  because  people  are  going  to  get  hurt.   Children  are  going  to  get  hurt.   And  it’s  not  fair.   There’s  having  a  good  time  and  then  there’s  hurting  people  who  are  innocent.   Don’t  you  agree?” 

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻            SADIE  WOULDN’T  classify  herself  as  evil,  not  exactly.  would  she  be  considered  an  antagonist  in  a  movie  about  her  life?  maybe.  but  she  thought  that  she  was  severely  misunderstood,  manipulated  and  straight-up  dealt  a  terrible  hand  by  life,  and  that  wasn’t  her  fault.  it  only  became  her  fault  and  problem  when  she  refused  to  do  anything  about  it  because  she  felt  powerless  --  and  because  she  admitted  she  enjoyed  what  the  association  with  orion  could  do  for  her  here  in  elias.  “  your  fault?  that  doesn’t  sound  so  great.  what,  did  you  do  something  really  evil?  kick  a  puppy?  they  sure  will  get  hurt  if  you  do  that.  ”  she  was  fully  entertained  now,  and  leant  back  casually  to  observe  the  specimen  before  her.  “  i  don’t  see  you  going  around  kicking  puppies,  though,  so  tell  me.  what  did  you  do  that’s  so  terrible?  ”  she  shrugged,  not  wanting  to  make  it  too  obvious  that  she  agreed.  “  depends  on  the  person.  ”

there were numerous things orion disliked. the list could go on and on if he had no one to stop him. but the weakening grip..the lost of power had to be at the very top of the list. since his return to this foolish city, the siblings appear to have forgotten for whom they served. who paid their bills. who gave them with a roof over their impoverished heads. with valentines right around the corner, he figured things would pick. after all, the gears in his head had shifted in a sinister direction, and the fun was just beginning. ..with a little help

“if it isn’t my favorite witch,” orion teased while bumping into the young lady. the very person who was ignoring his phone calls and text messages. 

“must be very busy to not answer my calls, are you trying to hurt my feeling sadie?”​

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻    ALTHOUGH  SHE  was  fully  aware  that  orion  was  the  one  who  literally  kept  sadie  alive  ever  since  she  and  her  brothers  had  arrived  in  elias,  the  worst  thing  he  could  do  wasn’t  to  cut  them  off  and  leave  them  to  fend  for  themselves.  she  had  two  jobs  now,  both  paid  halfway  decently,  and  when  logan  finished  his  education  he’d  surely  earn  more  than  both  his  siblings  combined.  as  for  beckham…  well,  sadie  was  sure  he  could  find  another  bartending  job  elsewhere;  maybe  if  she  was  on  her  best  behaviour,  simba  would  hire  another  teague.  

she’d  avoided  the  casino  on  purpose,  but  when  beckham  hadn’t  come  home  that  night,  she  went  to  search  for  him  foolishly;  he  could  take  care  of  himself,  and  sadie  wasn’t  prepared  for  whom  she  might  find  instead.  “  orion,  ”  she  exhaled,  her  breath  making  little  clouds  in  the  air,  though  it  wasn’t  even  cold.  “  i’m  not…  fuck,  ”  she  hissed,  looking  around  for  a  way  out.  there  was  obviously  none.  “  no.  i’ve  been  busy.  working  on  my  powers,  as  you  told  me  to.  ”

🎃 ⠀  ⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ───────────    there   was   always   this   darkness   inside   jasper   that   he   fought   well   and   hard   to   keep   hidden.   living   in   a   town   with   monsters   and   his   family   being   the   embodiment   of   halloween   darkness   was   inevitable.   yet,   the   skeleton   tried   so   hard   to   drown   it   out   with   light.   whether   it   was   in   the   glow   of   christmas   lights   or   the   laughter   of   kids   throwing   snowballs   instead   of   heads.   it   had   become   hard   to   keep   that   darkness,   that   anger,   at   bay   since   orion   had   poked   the   bear.   he   was   seething.   the   monster   inside   of   him   was   fighting   to   break   free.

eyes   narrowed,   jasper   yanked   the   drink   from   her   and   slammed   it   on   the   other   side   of   the   table.   he   didn’t   have   time   for   her   pestering   ways.      “   don’t   play   dumb,   sadie.   you   and   i   both   know   you’re   not.   ”      jasper   said   simply.      “   the   bug   that   crawled   up   my   ass   is   that   boss   of   yours.   whatever   hell   bent   mission   he’s   on   i   know   you   and   your   siblings   are   tied   into   it.   so,   i   don’t   think   there’s   a   lack   of   a   reason   as   to   why   i’m   picking   on   you.   ”      he   used   air   quotes   around   the   latter   part   of   his   statement.      “   i’m   not   interested   in   hearing   out   or   seeing   a   henchmen   of   oogies.   ”

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻      SADIE  HAD  specifically  set  out  to  avoid  orion  lately,  rather  done  with  acting  like  a  little  errand  boy  for  him,  but  it  seemed  she  was  still  being  blamed  for  whatever  shenanigans  he’d  gotten  up  to  recently.  she  was  tired  and  pissed  off  at  doing  his  bidding  simply  because  he  was  a  big,  strong  man,  and  had  an  insane  amount  of  leverage  on  her,  but  this  was  a  dangerous  game  that  she  could  only  play  for  so  long  until  he  got  his  claws  into  her  again.  but  still,  any  sympathy  she’d  felt  for  jasper  once  upon  a  time  evaporated,  any  sincere  bone  in  her  body  crumbled  into  dust.  sadie  was  enraged,  and  though  she  knew  jasper  had  good  reason  to  despise  her  (  they’d  never  been  on  good  terms,  let  alone  in  elias  )  ,  she  was  furious  at  the  assumption.  “  fucking  hell,  skellington,  ”  she  seethed,  leaning  back  and  crossing  her  arms,  no  trace  of  a  mischievous  smile  she  usually  wore.  “  you  know,  you  of  all  people  should  be  able  to  sense  when  people  are  actually  doubting  themselves  or  their  alliances,  or  hell,  even  making  conversation  just  for  the  sake  of  it.  i  thought  we  had  something,  ”  she  spat,  unable  to  resist  a  good  sneer.

she  rolled  her  eyes  at  his  antics.  jasper  may  have  been  the  skeleton  king  of  hallow  falls,  but  here  in  elias,  they’d  gotten  ever  so  slightly  closer  to  an  equal  footing;  sadie  had  been  practising.  she’d  made  friends,  she’d  studied,  she’d  improved.  she  couldn’t  exactly  call  herself  a  proper  witch  yet,  but  she’d  learned,  and  because  of  that,  she  was  no  longer  intimidated  by  his  outbursts.  orion  was  a  different  matter,  of  course,  but  this  was  something  at  least.  “  thought  you  did  something  there  ?  trust  me,  if  the  three  of  us  were  involved,  you’d  know  the  difference.  from  your  silly  little  outburst,  i’m  deducing  that  he’s  planned  or  done  something  ruthless,  and  if  he  called  on  us,  it’d  have  been  toned  down  slightly.  we’re  here  as  his  playthings  as  much  as  you  are,  whether  you  like  it  or  not.  so  fuck  you,  for  insinuating.  ”

“ is it so hard to believe that i like bad puns ? people are so excited to say them, that’s why i like them, ” she confessed, shrugging with a smile. “ but yes. it’s good that you’re able to keep talking, i’m grateful for that. puns are just a bonus. ” if sadie wasn’t able to keep talking at all, then this would be an entirely different situation. falling unconscious however …

“ i’ll get some nice scarlet fabrics then, ” she joked, catching on from earlier that sadie was getting worried, even if she wouldn’t admit it. “ and then it magically turns brown later on. ” after a pause where she tucked in the fabric around her body so she could be more comfortable, serena added: “ i can always get more fabric, but i’m not sure where i can get more sadie. ”

now stationed next to sadie, she worked on cleaning the wound and bandaging it. “ it’s a paste made from herbs. it’ll help you heal. generally it helps to stop inflammation, but we’re in elias so … i believe it’ll also have a little something extra. ” or maybe the something extra was serena herself. both her and sadie were from hallow falls; they were no strangers to the weird and unexpected. but she could never describe it as ‘magic’ … that seemed like too light a word for a place like their hometown. she was just grateful no one had ever gotten worse under her healing watch. “ so … do you want to talk about what happened tonight ? ” 

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻          “  NO,  IT’S  not  that  hard  to  believe  you  like  puns  in  general,  ”  she  muttered.  even  as  she  believed  she  was  on  death’s  doorstep,  sadie  still  had  this  need  to  prove  herself  (  but  mostly  to  prove  others  wrong  )  gnawing  at  her.  “  it’s  hard  to  believe  you  want  to  hear  mine,  specifically,  since  i’m  not  known  for  my  great  sense  of  humour.  ”  it  was  said  with  a  tight-lipped  smile,  and  no  intention  to  follow  up  with  the  promise  whatsoever,  and  both  women  knew  that.  sadie  had  no  energy  left  to  talk  in  general,  on  the  verge  of  passing  out  --  let  alone  cracking  jokes  and  puns.  they  were  pretending,  just  to  make  her  hold  on  a  little  longer,  because  they  both  knew  the  second  sadie  closed  her  eyes  she’d  fall  asleep,  no  guarantee  she’d  be  woken  up  again  without  professional  medical  help,  and  she  trusted  serena  not  to  take  her  to  a  hospital,  as  per  her  request.

“  seriously,  serena,  ”  she  answered,  her  eyes  darting  around  the  now  messy  room,  “  i  really  am  sorry  about  this.  ”  she  didn’t  even  have  to  gesture  to  the  wound  serena  was  working  on  even  if  she  could,  it  was  pretty  redundant  by  now.  “  i  know  this  isn’t  how  you  want  to  spend  your  evening,  and  i  didn’t  mean  to  end  up  like  this.  ”  she  was  touched,  truly,  almost  tearing  up  at  her  friend’s  words;  mostly  because  she  didn’t  really  think  she  had  any  left  in  this  world.  “  thank  you,  ”  was  all  she  replied,  but  it  was  enough.  serena  continued  on  about  her  herbs  and  sadie  tried  her  best  to  pay  attention,  because  this  was  important  for  her  future  career.  “  i  don’t  think  elias  is  the  reason  it’ll  work,  and  you  know  that.  ”  elias  was  a  queer  town  in  more  ways  than  one,  but  serena  had  done  this  kind  of  thing  before  outside  of  the  city.  “  well…  ”  she  started,  trailing  off  immediately  as  she  tried  to  recall  the  events  that  had  transpired.  “  i  was  working,  and  chose  a  bad  client,  i  guess.  he  had  specific  requests  that  i  wasn’t  really  willing  to  fulfil  --  you  know  how  i  can  handle  most  things,  but  this  was  fucked  up.  and  he  didn’t  take  kindly  to  being  refused.  so  here  we  are.  ”

         THE PRINCESS KNEW RIGHT AWAY  that  the  other  girl's  smile  was  disingenuous ,  nearly  mocking  her  with  bitter  humor .  aurora  liked  to  believe  she  was  fairly  good  at  keeping  her  feelings  in  check ,  except  for  when  it  concerned  her  loved  ones .  as  resilient  and  dutiful  as  aurora  was ,  it  could  be  difficult  to  hold  her  ground  —  especially  at  the  stranger's  last  couple  of  words .  her  expression  changed  from  curious  to  blank ,  violet  eyes  staring  at  the  other  for  a  silent  moment .   ❛ … i  don't  think  i  need  to  answer  that  question .  it  seems  to  me  you've  never  had  a  loved  one  in  danger .  you  wouldn't  understand . ❜  spoken  with  a  gentle  tone  despite  the  sharp  words ,  eyes  looking  the  other  over  for  a  moment ,  aurora  tilted  her  head  to  the  side .  ❛  but  maybe  you'd  like  to  tell  me  what  it's  like  to  be  half - dead  yourself ?  a  life  spent  laughing  at  the  misfortune  of  others  doesn't  seem  to  be  much  of  a  life  at  all …  ❜

*:･ﾟ✧  

 ⸻        “  THAT’S  A  rather  bold  and  incorrect  assumption,  your  highness,  ”  she  answered  with  a  tone  just  as  sharp  as  the  princess’  had  been  earlier,  fighting  to  keep  her  eyes  from  blazing  with  fire  at  the  sheer  audacity.  of  course  she’d  had  loved  ones  in  danger;  her  father  was  a  menace  to  society  and  the  family,  and  orion  wasn’t  above  threatening  her  brothers  either.  although  she  knew  deep  down  he  didn’t  intend  to  eliminate  any  of  them  just  to  get  at  sadie,  it  was  a  constant  burden  on  her  heart  that  she  might  in  any  way  be  responsible  for  what  happened  to  them.  “  i  must  agree  with  you,  though  i  don’t  spend  my  life  laughing  at  others’  misfortune,  as  you  put  it  less-than-aptly.  i  occupy  myself  alternatively  occasionally,  ”  she  mused,  studying  aurora  in  a  calm  and  detached  manner.  “  i’m  just  curious,  is  all.  i  think  it’s  a  little  mean  that  you  immediately  assume  i  don’t  have  genuine  intentions.  ”  not  that  she  did,  or  anything,  but…  well,  they’d  never  officially  met  before,  so  sadie  could  get  away  with  pretending.  “  other  than  that,  being  half-dead  is  pretty  cool.  ”  if  aurora  thought  she  could  get  at  her  by  insulting  her  appearance,  she  was  half-dead  wrong. 

               ❛ OH ,  I SEE … ❜  nevermind  the  confusion  she's  left  feeling ,  puzzled  by  the  fact  that  the  stranger  supposedly  had  things  to  do  and  yet  there  she  was ,  chit  chatting  with  the  everglot  girl .  in  either  case ,  victoria  chose  not  to  pay  too  much  mind  to  those  thoughts ;  they'd  do  no  good ,  especially  if  she  hoped  to  befriend  the  girl .  a  shrug ,  ❛ i  don't  know ,  i  suppose  you  have  a  certain  aura  about  you .  the  kind  of  aura  that  belongs  to  someone  who  can  be  brave  without  being ,  how  should  i  put  this …  stupid .  yes ,  the  line  between  bravery  and  stupidity . ❜  a  good  idea  considering  the  subject  of  their  conversation .  ❛ i  wouldn't  want  to  be  in  any  more  trouble  with  the  dead , ❜  lest  she  ends  up  in  a  predicament  like  victor’s .  a  tiny  chuckle  escapes  her  mouth ,  ❛  yes ,  i  suppose  so  —  most  people  don't  know  each  other ,  until  they  do .  victoria  everglot ,  pleased  to  make  your  acquaintance . ❜

*:･ﾟ✧  

⸻          HER  SEMI-RELUCTANCE  to  help  out  was  obviously  faked,  but  sadie  counted  on  victoria  not  taking  her  hint  because  of  the  exact  fact  she’d  mentioned  before;  the  two  of  them  didn’t  know  each  other,  so  why  would  victoria  know  anything  about  sadie  and  the  way  she  conducted  herself  ?  she  still  put  her  phone  away,  though.  “  well,  i  do  thank  you  for  calling  me  not  stupid,  i  guess.  ”  her  sarcasm  was  blatantly  obvious,  but  if  victoria  paid  any  attention  to  her  demeanour,  she’d  notice  a  definite  change;  sadie  was  actually  quite  proud  she  was  addressed  in  this  manner,  after  her  past  struggling  with  the  education  system  and  basically  educating  herself  instead,  on  both  the  interesting  and  rather  boring  subject  matters.  “  an  apt  description.  i  don’t  think  the  dead  would  appreciate  recklessness,  so  i  suppose  you  really  would  have  a  good  guide  in  me.  ”  it  was  clear  by  now  that  sadie  was  more  than  interested  in  helping  out,  so  she  allowed  herself  a  little  smile  in  response  to  victoria’s  chuckle.  “  sadie  teague,  resident  spooky  girl  at  your  service.  ”

brutalteague​:

“it has a name and i’m holding it just fine.” beckham said with a huff before his grabbed ben up. he wasn’t holding him wrong… at least he thought he wasn’t. reagan taught him how to before but it was all too confusing for beck. “look that’s what you get for thinking.” he said tossing sadie’s keys onto the coffee table before tossing himself onto the couch. he knew they wouldn’t be but he hoped just maybe his siblings might be a bit helpful with ben. patting on his jean pockets beck tried to feel for his cigarettes. “fuck. i think i forgot my cigs in the car.” he huffed, “looks like you two are doing nothing as always.”

“I forgot what Reagan named it.” He got closer now and looked at the baby in his sister’s arms. He had wanted to meet him at least once. His nephew was a prince and that was insane on it’s own without the fact that this baby was Beck’s kid. He never thought he’d see the day honestly. “Right because we haven’t heard the going out for cigs line before.” Logan rolled his eyes. “I’m not expert either but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to smoke around a baby, dumbass.”

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻        THERE  WAS  zero  motherly  instinct  to  be  found  within  sadie,  that  much  was  clear  from  the  fact  that  she  was  now  the  one  holding  the  baby  more  wrong  than  her  brother  had.  she  looked  at  the  squirming,  writhing  kid,  and  sniffed  in  disgust,  deciding  to  push  it  into  logan’s  arms.  “  is  this  the  famed  baby  smell  people  love?  ”  it  was  gross.  but  maybe  it  needed  a  new  diaper.  “  i’m  not  changing  him!  ”  she  exclaimed  to  get  dibs,  taking  a  step  back  --  then  shrugged  and  tossed  beck  her  own  pack  of  cigs.  “  whatever.  i  need  a  smoke  too.  no  offence,  beck,  but  your  offspring  is  kinda  gross.  ”

while nala didn’t know sadie very well, she was almost thankful to see a familiar face as she found herself exploring new places ( so long as said faces weren’t too familiar ). when it came to running into scar, she didn’t want to do that again until it was planned and she was ready. but nala could handle one of simba’s little coworkers easily.

“ took the name of the place a bit literally, haven’t we ? ” she was prompted to ask when her gaze fell to the cat drinking milk on the floor. “but, anyway - thanks. i don’t think i’ve had japanese pancakes before. maybe i’ll give them a shot.”

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻    SADIE  RESISTED  the  urge  to  kick  at  poor  binx  to  get  him  out  of  the  way.  it  was  her  time  with  orion,  still  exerting  an  influence  on  her;  taking  lollipops  from  babies,  kidnapping  people,  that  shit.  not  that  the  cat  would  probably  feel  it  anyways;  most  of  his  nerve  endings  had  long  frayed  and  wasted  away  like  binx  himself,  and  he  barely  noticed  when  people  touched  him.  “  he’s  lucky  to  be  alive,  that’s  true,  ”  she  muttered,  settling  for  a  quick  glance  and  a  pat  on  his  back  that  she  swore  made  it  cave  in  a  little.

“  you  here  by  yourself,  then?  ”  she  felt  obliged  to  ask,  though  it  was  obvious  nala  had  walked  in  here  alone.  she  could  be  waiting  for  simba,  for  all  sadie  knew,  and  if  that  was  the  case,  she  would  probably  bolt  out  of  there  faster  than  the  speed  of  light.  no  thanks.  “  you  look  anxious.  ”  hey,  no  one  had  ever  called  sadie  kind.

✫⌒

she needed to know her name. it wasn’t often she felt this, but all beatrix wanted to do was keep listening to this random girl, even if all she did was tell her she was wrong. she put her hands on her hips, trying to fight the amused smile threatening to grow on her lips. her lips quirked a little bit before she did a big sniff to try and stave off the feeling.

when she lingered closer, beatrix’s eyes flickered, looking her up and down. “ you wouldn’t be the first to try and make me a better person, my miyagi, but props to you for trying. i mean, i’m actually listening, so … ” she shrugged with a smile.

“ … yeah but it’s a little bit working, isn’t it ? ” and the smile turned just that little bit goofy and idiotic, very pleased with herself. she must work in the club or something … though trix had not seen her around before. she made a mental note to remember to ask her that later. the emphasis on ’usually’, had her eyebrows rise, but she knew better than to tease her about that. never let it be said beatrix utonium never learned. she learned when it came to matters of gay interest.

“ i mean, i might … i dunno … light a piece of paper on fire or bust the lights or some shit, if that’s gonna make it more dramatic. ” she’d definitely done that before, and yes, maybe it gave her a temporary god complex. “ but it’s better to just see what they do. right this way … ” she held her hand out to the club exit. “ please fasten your seatbelts, the annoying chick’s gonna make your night, ” beatrix grinned.

*:･ﾟ✧

⸻        SHE  SCOFFED,  but  sadie’s  heart  was  in  this  whole  ordeal  less  and  less.  especially  given  the  offer  to  get  out  of  there  and  do  something  actually  fun,  where  they  didn’t  have  to  practically  yell  to  make  the  other  hear  them,  was  making  her  eager  to  wrap  it  up  and  leave  already.  but…  well,  she  couldn’t  resist  putting  her  in  her  place  just  once  more.  “  oh,  it’s  adorable  that  you  think  i  actually  give  a  shit  about  your  moral  alignment,  but  i’m  just  trying  to  prove  a  point.  and  to  get  you  off  my  back,  mostly,  ”  she  shrugged,  downing  the  rest  of  her  drink  in  one  gulp  and  setting  it  down  on  a  nearby  tray.  “  but  whatever  you  get  out  of  it.  ”  who  knows,  maybe  the  girl  got  a  kick  out  of  being  told  off.  she’d  dealt  with  weirder  people  in  her  profession.

a  small  satisfied  smile  crept  onto  sadie’s  lips,  and  she  threw  her  hands  up  in  resignation.  “  hey,  i’m  still  here  talking  to  you,  so  that  means  something  is  working  for  you.  who  knows  if  it’s  the  voice  or  the  general  determination  to  be  a  knight  in  shining  armour  despite  my  protests.  what,  ”  she  added,  unable  to  resist  a  mocking  tone  of  voice,  “  did  your  daddy  force  you  to  play  with  pink  barbie  dolls  when  you  preferred  toy  cars?  did  that  leave  a  traumatic  scar  on  your  soul  or  something?  ”

she’d  started  walking  towards  the  exit,  ignoring  the  girl’s  outstretched  hand,  and  plucked  her  jacket  from  an  abandoned  chair  (  her  reputation  had  ensured  no  one  would  touch  it;  people  knew  she  had  claws  and  teeth  ).  “  does  the  annoying  chick  have  a  name,  or  can  i  come  up  with  a  myriad  of  nicknames  that  suit  you  much  better?  ”  the  cold  air  outside  bit  into  her  skin,  but  sadie  breathed  it  in  gratefully.  much  better  than  the  stuffy  club  atmosphere.  “  that’s  a  big  promise,  annoying  chick.  we’ll  see  how  far  you  come  with  that.  ”