#mutatedangels

cricket pulled a clean towel from the linen closet and wrapped it around soleil's wet and shivering shoulders. then she knelt down on the tile, cold against her knees, seeping through the thin fabric of her dress, to examine the wound. "well whatever you do, don't lose your lunch on my head." the bitemark was gnarly, deep, puncturing holes around the ankle, bleeding profusely. she stood to retrieve the first aid kit, and while rifling through it for gauze and peroxide, had enough to time to reprimand the younger girl.

"you know you aren't supposed to go out there, this is exactly why," she said, trying her best to sound stern. how she'd imagine a mama might sound. but she had no experience to go on, never had a mama herself. her daddy's rules were enforced with his fists, not his words.

she poured some peroxide on a wash rag, told soleil "this is gonna sting," and dabbed at the bleeding flesh. once it was cleaned up and she could see through the dirt and the blood, cricket furrowed her brows. she was almost positive this bite didn't come from a gator. a gator would've torn her foot right off. she finished wrapping the gauze around soleil's ankle and patted her thigh, all done.

“ when it’s good it’s great, when it’s great it’s a small calamity. ” // for corvus from... i'll surprise you!!

"Sweetheart, you can't be out here living your life in extremes like that," Corvus let out a sigh, absently fussing with his lighter and staring at the device like it had an answer.

After apparently deciding that it didn't, he glanced up again. There was a brief moment of pause. His dark green eyes softened and the firmness of his expression gave way to empathy. He silently put the lighter back into his pocket.

"Sometimes you have to live your life in shades of grey, y'know?" Not everyone is good or bad, not every situation has a right or wrong answer...

He frowned, reaching and shoving some stray hair away from his face, irritation written across his expression at the act.

"Getting caught up in good and bad leaves you so desperate to avoid the bad, you never see the good. So...embrace the inbetween. Don't get lost there, but just don't drive yourself being convinced that the extremes are a safe space. Even the extreme good is a bad place, if you stay there too long. You know, like how people can die from drinking too much water. No water is bad, too much water is also bad, you gotta strike a balance."

He shrugged and adjusted the neck of his hoodie to stop it from pulling at him.

Funerals, weddings, and important holidays. They were the only things that really got her to come back to New Jersey. Even then, weddings were low on the totem pole. Considering this wedding was for one of the oldest friends she ever had, she of course had to go. Well, she was guilted enough into it and then finally decided to go. Nonetheless, she found herself at the airport, and by some miracle, she was early for her flight. 

Sat at her gate, she put her headphones on and grabbed her phone to play some music. Her thumb scrolled to Spotify, but hovered when she saw the Tinder app. She opened it instead and it immediately pulled up messages from the night prior. She smiled to herself, though her sleepy eyes proved she stayed up entirely too late. It was easy to lose track of time when she was chatting with a specific match of hers. 

Chewing on her inner cheek, she paused before deciding whether or not to message him. Her fingers beat her to it before she could think it through. 

[8:15 am] Is it creepy to say I enjoy people watching in airports? It feels like my own little reality show and they don’t even know they’re in it. Makes me wonder what’s going on in everyone’s lives to bring us all here at this very airport. I like to imagine it's all very exciting and dramatic, even though it's probably not.

[8:16 am] Oh, yeah, good morning btw. :)

whoops! turns out when you murder people all over town, you might just get caught. that was the only reason blair was even wandering the southern highways. he made it out of his hometown of robichaux, louisiana by the skin of his teeth, so close to being arrested. luckily, small town sheriffs were stupid pretty much all across the board. so he went from one town to the next, hitchhiking along quiet state routes, and tried to indulge in his hobby as often as possible. sitting in the passenger seat of the stranger's car, blair held the most polite, gentlemanly smile possible—he had a lot of practice, twenty-seven years of being a good ol' boy before he finally learned the joys of death. it was all so easy for him. it sometimes took awhile, but inevitably, someone would give him a ride.

"i really do appreciate, y'know. so many people drove right on by and didn't even give me a glance." blair appeared truly grateful, and he was in his own way. his right hand was in his jeans' pocket, fingering the handle of his switchblade, twitching with anticipation. he knew he didn't look like much, but he was strong. and quick. the act of murder was so kinetic and exhausting but blair could do it forever. that's why he liked to tempt fate. it had been months since he started, and they never even came close to catching him since he left robichaux. kind of boring, honestly. blair became sloppier with each kill because he thought he was a god. the lack of capture proved it to him. even his victims weren't much of a challenge. he started out with the weak, then advanced to stronger prey. he started in the shadows, then became more blatant. he still liked the weak and the shadows, but they just tided him over. "i guess most people wouldn't take the risk of pickin' up a stranger, eh?"

even though he was able to keep up small talk for longer than he cared to, his patience was running thin. he retained his smile as he brought the knife out of his pocket. the blade flipped out. he was still smiling. "guess you ain't too smart then." quickly, he pressed the blade against their neck and used his other hand to press onto their knee, forcing their foot onto the gas with his ironlike grip. "now, don't try nothin'. this ain't my first rodeo, y'know? don't try to drive the car off the road or push me out the door. don't speed to get the attention of some police cruiser. those are old tricks and i'm bored of 'em, you understand? say you understand."

a kiss shared at a masquerade ball. // to emeline from i’ll surprise you!!

kiss me

Hushed voices amid corners. The clink of glasses and fizzing of champagne. A swish of fabric to indicate the high class nuance of a celebrated fashion icon. All those usual suspects for the blonde known to make waves among a crowd. She's usually a guest of honor. A famed face to show off a little vogue, making a statement with an impending turn of her head. Yet she hardly allowed her face to shine tonight. Donning a mask perched over her eyes, Emeline is a radiant mystery among a well established charity event. The type of function celebrities appear at to make a good notch on their do gooder list. She knows the game. Keeping up face is all about actions in public. Behind the scenes is something altogether different. Nobody ever said the ingenue was without sin. As long as she looks pristine in the public eye what's it all matter?

Except eyes were watching. Ever so presently lingering on her that she FELT them. Burning into her back. Enough to swish around to seek out who and suddenly, within one fluttering blink, she feels drawn in. A hand against her waist. The obvious tingle of lips ghosting across her shiny lip gloss. It's almost too sweet. A little on the surprising side. All around scandalous.

She pulled back quickly. Oddly feeling her cheeks heat up, Emeline visibly shook her head. Taken back and downright demanding, "What exactly was that?" The actress is used to kissing strangers. She's used to going behind the backs of other men too. Yet this is even out of her comfort zone.

“ you are a crayon, get out of the toolbox. ” // for tobi from jamie!

Another week, another day where Tobi found herself curled in a ball in Professor Thompson’s office, sobbing because math was making her miserable. She just couldn’t do it. There was something about any of the STEM courses, but particularly anything involved numbers that turned her brain into radio static. It horrified her, especially considering how most of her other courses came so naturally to her.

What she needed was clarity, not the sympathy that her brother often offered her. Corvus frequently tried to remind her that she was worthy, and her learning disorder didn’t make her stupid, and that he would help her...it all just served to frustrate her further. 

So there she was, testing the limits of her waterproof mascara, just a ball of tears and fishnet sleeves in a chair. 

Naturally, Jamie came through with a comment that cut through her myriad of self hatred. She stopped, taking in a shaky breath as she finally looked at him.

Of course.

Why was she trying to jam herself into the expectations of a major she wasn’t even in? 

Tobi let out a broken laugh as she wiped at her face.

“I’m one of those old crayons made in those make your own crayon kits from the 90′s.” She grinned. Despite the tears streaked down her face, it was clear that he had gotten through to her.