#m0rbidity

nothing had really felt quite normal since arriving in portum, but sash thought they'd at least have a safe place to figure out what their new normal was. and it wasn't like they could just leave, go somewhere else to live out eternity. not while their family still lived. not while their memory still lingered. they shake the grim thoughts from their mind as they near cal's, texting íde and then giving a quick knock before walking into the vampire's home. íde isn't far and sasha drops the bag they have down while sitting on the floor so íde has to look down at them and not the other way around. ❝ so i came with some tools but i need measurements for this thing. the sash version of pimp my ride coming up. ❞ a pad, pencil, and measuring tape are taken out as they steal a glance up at the other in between measuring and taking notes. ❝ how's it going here? ❞ talking about serious matters didn't always go over so well with sasha. but they couldn't imagine íde had gone through something like this either, or that she was used to her environment.

sasha didn't have the music blasting but they currently had their watch open on the desk before them, still trying to get their modifications to work inside of portum. for some reason it wasn't and the refused to believe magic was behind it. when they look up, they jump, pushing back in their chair. ❝ i'm still not done with your car. how did you end up with that thing anyway? is it like ... part of your aesthetic? ❞ it might have sounded like a joke from someone else, but sasha held no humor in their tone. a hearse driving around portum seemed the most normal thing to them, actually. it was all the normal human-y stuff that was throwing them, half expecting some kind of alice and wonderland looking mushrooms and unicorns flying about. they stand up and gather all the small parts laid out, putting them in a box. ❝ if you wanna stick around, though, i can finish under the hour. i got a little distracted. ❞ admitted a bit sheepishly.

“HELLO?”  A  few  more  knocks  on  the  car,  no,  hearse  door  hoping  that  Cameron  can  get  the  attention  of  Íde.  They'd  had  limited  time  before  work  to  get  the  others  attention.  “I  was  told  you  know  a  guy  who  could  help  me  with  a  thing.  Wait,  why  aren't  you  at  work?  Late  shift?”  There  was  no  thing,  Cam  was  just  nosey  and  wanting  to  check  out  the  car  that  Íde  called  home.  “Also,  your  latest  review  on  Letterboxd  went  HARD.” 

despite portum being pretty chaotic these days, adelaide had to hold onto the things that made her feel centered and whole as a person. magic had been both a constant wonder and constant burden, making life difficult and incredible. and music had helped her to weather the ups and down, a love passed down to her. she doesn't really care about the possible dangers, or she tries not to as she sits outside with taz, a notebook, and her guitar. she plays a little, humming to herself and making a few adjustments in her notebook after a few chords. ❝ not now, ❞ she notices the blades of grass around them starting to sprout more, taz chomping at them as they do. ❝ please. ❞ she couldn't hear them but hopefully they heard her. she thinks taz is barking at more grass overgrown flora but when the hybrid turns, she sees another passing. ❝ sorry! those are friendly barks, i promise. ❞ luckily the distraction settled whatever she was doing and tries to go back to what she was working on but gets distracted by the other. ❝ you're new right? ❞

while usually a social butterfly, one to be seen throughout town because he just couldn't be home; these days the merman just didn't have the energy for it. the ocean called to him and when he was out of the water, everything felt ... more difficult. his energy spent today was going on meena. it'd been days since he saw the vampire, no returned texts, not at work. now, the anxiety built too much. he wasn't going to just leave her like ... kai doesn't spend too much time knocking, using his spare key, only to be stopped by the chain on the door. ❝ are you fucking serious? ❞ he pushes, to no avail, annoyed at the lack of strength. but gives another, harder push, knocking the lock off. ❝ meena? ❞ there's a change in his voice, heart starting to race with fear and anxiety. a deep breath and head tries to shake off the feeling, but there's a quiver in his hands while he walks around. ❝ meena, ❞ a bit sing song-y, like a child playing hide and seek. he knocks on her bedroom door when he gets there, letting himself sink to the floor to catch his breath and try to think of anything other than the worst possible scenario. ❝ i don't have anything to do today so i'll be out here. and i'm giving you twenty minutes before i go in there to make sure you're alive. ❞ a truth not well hidden in a joke. ❝ just warning you. ❞

When Zamir had decided to stop by The Old Haunt for a night cap, they hadn't accounted for the fact that it was a Wednesday. Wednesday's were reserved for Karaoke nights. A mistake Zamir often made. And usually regretfully so. The cambion was something of a music lover. But drunken singing? Well, maybe not so much. At least...not the way she was doing it. Zamir stared back at the woman in a bra singing her heart out. Rick Astley was certainly...a choice. He had to give her that.

But as he sat at the bar watching this dark haired beauty party it up onstage, Zamir couldn't help but feel a little sense of unsettled familiarity. His expression darkened as the realization seemed to wash over him to the tune of Never Gonna Give You Up. Another one hit wonder. Of course...he had only seen her in pictures. How sure could he really be? Drink in hand, he approached the other just as soon as her song ended. "Excuse me. Are you Meena Patel?"