While most of the Hawthorne family is safe and stuck in a deep sleep in their beloved home, one family member isn’t. Their housekeeping maid arrives to a disaster in Rowan’s room. The bedsheets are torn, as if claws have ripped them apart, blood is splattered onto the floor and onto Rowan’s treasured mirror. The windows are open, but there is no trace of someone breaking in, which issues the question: Does the monster come from within, and was there even one? Is Rowan himself the cause of this mess?
Alongside the missing family member, Valentine’s ruby pendant has disappeared from it’s usual place, but it remains the only missing object in the whole entire house, to be discovered after the maid wakes them with terrified screams.
Written in Rowan’s blood, on the entrance hall’s ground, is the following riddle:
“I have forests, but no trees. I have rivers, but no water. I have hills, but no ground. What am I?”
valentine hawthorne, welcome to the hide & seek! who are you playing with? well, wouldn’t you like to know. your character is missing one family member and one object sacred to them. they can choose to search for either, but the other may get lost in return. (but who knows, maybe they’ll find their way back home on their own). the hawthornes have issued a private search group, search group number 8, in which your character can take part.
please post your character’s reaction to this small plot drop, which can be as short as one paragraph, or as long as you want. you can make two choices for your character: what are they looking for first? can they solve their riddle or not? please include these choices in your reaction response.
“Just go! Begin the search!” Her voice lacks its typical musical charisma. Instead, the tiny Huntress burst past her parents and others summoned to initiate their grand inquisition. “I can take care of myself.” Hadn’t she proved that time and time again? “I’ll focus on the enigma. Go.” The demand isn’t laced with her standard bratty tone. Rather, it holds strength and leaves no room for argument. Without another word, Valentine storms from the living area, clambering the spiraling staircase, with sights set on their hidden war room.
Behind a bookcase in the office, a panic room the size of a trailer lay concealed. Bright lights, rows of weapons, wardrobes of garments. Any and everything a Hunter could desire. With swift ease, she removes her crimson freckled night gown, scrapping it to the sleek metal ground before pulling on a skintight leather top, a high-low skirt, and knee-high boots. Fingers attached a holster around her thighs, one sporting a ruby-encrusted pistol, the other shimmering with silver blades.
Exiting the chamber, she finds her way back to her suite. Digits make brisk work of splitting strawberry locks into braids. Instinctively, she reaches for her grandmother’s pendant, only to recall that her brother hadn’t been the only essential item to go absent. With a pause, her mind flashes to Rowan. The last time they’d spoken… It couldn’t have been the last… She wouldn’t allow it.
Snatching her phone off the nightstand, manacured talons skim across the screen. [TEXT to Natalia]: SOS. Are you safe? You have five minutes to reply. Rowan has been taken.
Rushing back to the office, shifty eyes begin scanning the shelves. “I have forests, but no trees. I have rivers, but no water. I have hills, but no ground. What am I?” “I have forests, but no trees. I have rivers, but no water. I have hills, but no ground. What am I?” “I have forests, but no trees. I have rivers, but no water. I have hills, but no ground. What am I?”
The riddle recites in her head like a haunting spell, teasing, taunting her. “What the hell are you… A photo…” Ivory sinks into the tender flesh of her lesser petal as she yanks several books to the ground. Kneeling, she thumbs them open, flickering through photos, creature guides, journals from Hawthorne’s past.
“I have forests, but no trees. I have rivers, but no water. I have hills, but no ground. What am I?”
“A postcard? Jumping up from her perch, she scampers to her father’s desk, forcing drawer after drawer open in search of the family’s travel book. But as parents and documents flutter around the room, she gives pause. “Wait… I have forests.. but no trees…” Her fingers trace along the sheet. “I have rivers, but no water… I have hills, but no ground.” Yanking it up, the vixen lets out a weak chuckle. “It’s a damn map.” Folding the article, she stuffs it into the safety of her pocket before darting out of the room, heading down the stairs, working on another text. [TEXT to Marlowe]: Where are you? Tell me you’re safe? Stay where you are. Rowan is missing, and I don’t want you getting caught up in whatever is going on.
Bursting free from the manner, the redhead wastes little time in jumping into one of the family Range Rovers, allowing the engine to roar to life. Snapping it into gear, she slams her heel on the gas before jolting to a halt. Glancing at her phone once more, she sends one final text before speeding away. [TEXT to Roland]: Thinking about you in a time of peril. Stay alive. Feat: @blacksheepfms & @peaceworn
