#manyneverknow

It was mid-day, April 11. By now, passengers had found activities to keep themselves occupied, and the staterooms were largely unoccupied. While Jack was social and enjoyed people, he was also reserved by nature, and had been very tired today. Maybe he was coming down from all the excitement from winning his way home, traveling aboard the newest ship in the world- a luxury for even the world’s most elite men. Maybe he was excited… and haunted.. by the thought of finally going back home.

In any case, when he opened the stateroom to settle in for a quick nap, he hadn’t expected the to see the crying figure @littlebirdbluebird

She.

Was.

Scared.

To.

Death.

Bluebird had NOT meant to end up stuck on a BOAT. In the MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN. The tiny little girl was painfully aware that she had NO chance of getting out of this. She could not swim well to start with. There was no way she was swimming that far. Fish would eat her. Frankly, she was more likely to get snapped up by a seagull, which made her very much not want to be outside.

@manyneverknow

These were the moments where Sara’s League training kicked into high gear. It didn’t matter that the fight was over, it didn’t matter that the ‘mission’ was successful, she still didn’t have the luxury of falling apart. Especially not here, not out in the open. So she compartmentalized, forcing the memory to the back of her mind as she regulated her breathing, hearing the man’s words but not responding to them until she was sitting on the curb, “I’ve had worse.” A flash of three arrows. A flash of falling. A flash of hearing Laurel crying. Once again, she pushed back at the memory before saying, “I cracked the back of my head on the floor. Probably bleeding, likely have a concussion. Nothing that I haven’t dealt with before - appreciate the offer, though.” Still, he insisted, and she waved her hand in the air as if to say go on then. Beneath her blonde hair, he’d find countless old scars. Scars that said she’d undersold what she told him, what she’d endured. “...I don’t have patience for bullies, especially when it comes to women. Next time they’ll think twice. Wonder who else might be in the room with them...”

There were sleepless nights and then there were sleepless nights.

Because some nights, Thomas could find ways to occupy himself. Whether it was plotting a new course, or searching for a new set of jobs for him and Evelyn, or even just whittling, he could make it through until the morning. Until work started. But tonight both he and his wolf were clawing to get out of this claustrophobic cabin, and while he was trying not to toss and turn on the couch, to not wake his sleeping sister in the next room... He turned over once, twice, three times before finally padding towards the front door.

They were out far enough in the middle of the woods where he didn’t have to worry about neighbors questioning his lack of shoes or his speed, where he could just let go. He could just run. And so he did. He took off at top speed, racing through the forest until suddenly... Someone was there. Old. Wolf old and yet...not a wolf. He approached slowly with caution, peering through the trees, waiting to see what he would find.

There were a lot explanations given, the earlier ones lost to a haze of medications and pain. Internal damage. Left knee trapped. Debris that tore her skin to shreds. Surgeries. Endless stitches. At least she had an excuse for not recalling the details.

Now there was a day shift doctor, off the clock, talking her through the next surgery that her knee would require. The reasons, the process, the recovery. The need for consent.

But all she could hear was the deafening silence coming from her mom.

Her dad’s hacking, blood-filled coughs as he tried to revive his wife, begging and pleading for her to stay with him while yelling for Cara and Ari.

Ari. Ari who had been screaming for her sister, pleading with her to wake up, wailing from the pain.

Cara hadn’t been coherent enough to say a word then. She didn’t say a word now.

The doctor eventually left.

" Thanks, its more out of habit than anything. Which makes me good at my job." She remarks, her expression curious yet neutral as she tried not to get bothered by the way he was no doubt sizing her up. She had read some details about this guy who had a rather dangerous reputation but she wonders if he either changed for the better or was he still the same bad boy who was up to no good. She didn't want to judge too soon however.

@manyneverknow

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Cara replied with a small smile. “Is there anything I can get you in the meantime? I can take you on a tour, help you to search for different books, or I can make you a cuppa - although you have to stay in the sitting area with that. Always have to protect the books.” Then he asked her what made her want to work at a bookstore, which seemed like such an innocent question to ask, and yet carried such a weight with it. Still, she did her best not to show it as she responded, “I was saving up money so that I could get my Masters and my PhD in English Literature. I was planning on becoming a professor.”

Glittering, cheerful eyes behold him. "How could I not, Adam? In a world full of crisp Octobers? The wisps of wind playing in the beautifully colored leaves? The splendor of the sunshine as it brushes through a tangle of them as if the leaves were a grandiose stained glass window?" She reaches for his hands, suddenly realizing he cannot see any of it. "Oh, you would love the shades. There's vibrant yellows, regal reds, and daring oranges, and faint greens." She moves softly and and presses a freshly fallen maple leaf into his palm so he can feel the veins running through the paper-thin weaved shape.