#p:cora

feat: @corabones​

Edgar no sabía bien como es que había terminado enamorándose de Cora, pero sin duda admiraba muchas cosas en la menor. Y ahora habían empezado una relación de forma secreta por lo que la familia Bones quería y pensaba sobre los traidores de sangre —¿no tendrás problemas por esto?— habían quedado de verse después del entrenamiento de Quidditch del mayor y este había terminado un poco tarde 

The mission went south.

It happened sometimes; there were too many unknown variables, too many moving parts, not enough information. Things couldn’t go their way every time. Objectively, Jaxon knew that. The thing was, Jaxon wasn’t very good at thinking objectively.

He’d seen bad things before, from that first memory of twisted metal and screams cut off before they were finished. You’d think he’d be used to the scent of blood in the air. He wasn’t. Not yet. One day, maybe, he hoped, but not yet.

He was still wired, sitting on his bed with his knee bouncing up and down until his roommate threatened him with a painful death to sit fucking still, at which point Jax figured it was time for him to take off. He wasn’t sure where he was going until he was standing in front of the door, bottle of whiskey in hand. 

He’d never had much of a relationship with Cora. They knew each other, of course -- Hudson was too small for them not to -- but they’d never really talked. He didn’t think it mattered. She’d been there, too, so Jax figured she would be about as interested in talking as he was. But he didn’t want to drink alone, and he knew that if anyone could help him with that, it was Cora.He raised a hand, knocking once.

The need to be able to drive himself had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. After being picked up off Amity by a shiny, silver Porsche, ​Reza​ had realized that this trend couldn't continue. Of course, any argument he'd made to his father about needing a license had fallen on deaf ears as he insisted that while Reza still lived in his house, he'd abide by his rules, which meant no driving license. Of course, that had also meant no tattoos, no sneaking out after midnight and no getting arrested but Reza had already broken all three of those rules so what was one more, really? The complete stranger who had kindly offered her assistance in teaching him was perhaps not the best option but it was quick and he didn't need his father's permission for it. Not to mention that Marley's unnecessary comments had made him stubbornly pursue a stranger, just to prove a point. And so here he stood at the edge of Ashkent High's parking lot, hands stuffed into his pockets as he waited for the pickup truck, students glancing at him through their windows as they passed. The little killer cult rumor regarding him had quieted considerably but he knew that it was still spreading. Whatever. As soon as he learned how to drive he could get away from this stupid place without needing a lift from someone.

Cora-Lynn smiled to herself as she drove to the high school, an awful place Cora was enterally grateful she never had to suffer through. Pressing the pedal of the stolen truck to the floor, she groaned as the engine did the same, struggling with the high speeds Cora was used to driving. She'd had her pick of the lot when she grabbed this piece of junk, but somehow watching the boy learn to drive stick in a piece of shit was much more entertaining to the vampire than picturing him behind the wheel of some sleek BMW. She pulled into the lot, ignoring the stares of teenagers as they parted ways to allow the rumbling truck to pass. She rolled down the window when she saw the boy she'd met online standing with his hands shoved into his pockets practically exuding angst. "Hop in kid, we gotta go somewhere less crowded for this shindig to work!" Cora popped the locks up, cranking the old window back up before settling herself back into the driver's seat.

Reza didn't need to see the truck to know that it was heading this way; he could hear the pained rumbling of the engine from down the street. As the truck rolled up beside him, he couldn't help but imagine what Kloe would have thought about this far from sleek car. He couldn't have cared less about which type of car he got to drive, really; as long as it moved and somewhat functioned, he'd make do. The window struggled to roll down, revealing the smiling, young woman. Her voice was thick with a southern accent, which Reza found pretty charming, and even made her more trustworthy in his mind. Southern hospitality and all that, right? He rounded the car, pulling the passenger door open with a squeak and slamming it shut with an even loader groan of metal. "Alright." His voice was loaded with some excitement, and maybe the slightest hint of anxiety from literally getting into a car with a stranger, but Reza wasn't backing out now. "I'm Reza, by the way."

Cora-Lynn grinned, eyes wide and full of excitement. The boy smelled delicious. She reached over, grabbing his hand and shaking it. "Cora-Lynn, but you can just call me Cora. Pleasure to meetcha!" She threw the truck into gear and maneuvered their way out of the crowded lot, kids throwing puzzled glances back at the strange woman who'd just taken away one of their peers. Cora wondered briefly if this Reza was one of the popular kids she'd heard about in all those teen movies. "Since you're not an established driver and sticks are pretty tricky, I figured we'd go somewhere more outta the way." She turned onto a dirt road, one that led straight toward the Bend. "Hope y'all don't scare easy," she teased with a wink. "The roads back here are much better on the truck." She pulled off to the side once the last of the buildings faded behind them. Unclipping the seatbelt, she hopped out of the truck, leaving the door open. "Hop on in, kid!"

Reza: The super hyped attitude was uplifting and definitely helped ease ​Reza's​ initial worries about this idea. Was it really that far-fetched that there existed people in Ashkent that wanted to be kind just for the hell of it? "Sounds like a pretty good idea," he agreed with a low chuckle. Even though this car seemed ready to fall apart, he wouldn't want to crash it into anything, or less preferably, anyone. Dark eyes roamed the familiar streets they passed until people became more scarce. Reza watched her energetically hop out of the truck before following suit, albeit with less enthusiasm. What if he completely sucked at this? What if there was no way that this lady would be able to teach him anything? Pushing those doubts away, he warily walked around the car, glancing at Cora-Lynn as he raised himself up through the door. It slammed shut behind him and his hands wrapped around the worn out steering wheel, his feet warily resting as far away from the pedals as possible. He waited for Cora to join him inside, eyes rapidly moving over the dashboard. "So... what now?"

Cora-Lynn walked around him, taking a large whiff before jumping into the passenger seat. She had to wait. The Liberator wouldn't be happy if she just went around eating people who could potentially become sympathizers. Reza was most definitely human, though she caught the after scent of something distinctly inhuman. Whether or not that was from him or their surroundings though, Cora couldn't be sure. She took a steadying breath, shoving her hunger down for the moment. She didn't have enough information yet. "Well turn the ignition on, silly goose!" Cora grinned, pulling the seatbelt across herself. "And you gotta check your mirrors, make sure you can see everythin' you need to. Adjust the seat, the wheel, anythin' you need to make sure you're comfy." She settled herself into the worn leather seat, letting her icy skin absorb some of Reza's residual warmth. "Then, you're gonna use your left foot to press the clutch down and get ready to shift into first gear." The boy who'd seemed so pumped for the lesson before now looked amazingly anxious. It was rolling off him in delicious waves and was sorta adorable. There were a whole lot more terrifying things in the truck than the prospect of driving it, not that he knew that. "Keep your foot on the clutch and slowly- real slowly! take it off and push on the accelerator at the same time. Same time, same speed." She showed the boy with her hands, one hand pressing down as the other raised at the same time, mirrors of each other.

Reza felt a faint blush crawling up his cheeks, very much thankful for Cora's upbeat attitude. Once again, he found himself relaxing merely because of the kind twang to her voice and the endearing insults. Alright, he could do this. Just slow and steady, nothing to worry about... A few moments were spared for adjustments and Reza could feel Cora's gaze on his face, although the ravenous glint in her eyes went unnoticed, his focus on the task at hand. With everything adjusted with minor awkwardness, Reza settled into the seat. He shot her one last glance before finally daring to place his hand on the key, twisting it and startling just so as the engine clunked to life. Holding onto the key for a moment longer than was necessary, he finally let go, surprised to find that he hadn't screwed up. Plenty of time for that, however. Hands clutching the steering wheel, he once again looked over at Cora for reassurance before his eyes turned to the road ahead. ​Alright. Just do it slowly...​ The engine revved as he gently pressed down on the gas, the car stuck still, followed by what sounded like the engine keeling over and dying. Reza's eyes widened; he'd killed the engine by screwing up the clutch, anxiously releasing it too early. "Shit."

Cora-Lynn smirked when the truck stalled. She leaned back against the seat, rolling her head to the side, eyes on Reza. "It's okay, darlin'. Happens to everybody their first time." Cora winked, teasing again. Tension rolled across the cab of the truck and she wondered if the boy was this nervous all the time. From what she'd seen of his profile online, he seemed to be almost cocky, not wound this tight. "Just shift back into neutral and start from the beginnin'." Cora watched him carefully, her eyes zeroing in on a faint mark across his neck, a very familiar set of puncture wounds, just barely visible under the collar of his jacket. "Just let 'em go at the same time, that's the trick. And practice." Her words were distant, spilling out on autopilot while she examined the bite. Oh, so he liked to play on the dangerous side? That would explain the hint of a scent on him. Not in his blood, but from someone else who had an interest in it. Cora grinned, her hand automatically rising up, slowly making it's way towards his neck. The kid already had an eye for vampires, no one would think anything if he happened to go missing…he'd probably never encountered one like her before. She rarely left a meal unfinished and she definitely never left them in one piece to walk around after. Her hand brushed the side of his neck just as he threw it into gear, the truck lurching forward.

Reza let out a deep breath and nodded. He was being ridiculous. Cora wasn't going to snap just because he screwed up. His eyes were locked on the road ahead with enough intensity to be completely oblivious to the pair of even darker eyes zooming in on his neck. At a painfully slow pace, Reza attempted the same thing as before until finally, he found something of a halfway point where without warning, the truck rolled forward. Reza smiled triumphantly, not daring to break his focus as he slowly added pressure to the gas pedal, hands gripping the steering wheel and then something cold brushed against his neck. In a knee-jerk reaction, Reza tensed up and his foot pressed hard against the pedal, the engine whining from the strain as it lurched forward for a few feet before the engine gave up. The car jerked to a stop and he scrambled to put his back against the door, watching Cora warily. "What was that?" he asked slowly, even though he knew fully well that she'd just brushed her hand against his neck, conveniently where the fading bite mark was located.

Cora-Lynn jerked her hand away, her face a mask of indignation. "What was what? You almost had it!" She flipped her hair out of her face, narrowing her eyes at the boy who seemed to be attempting to melt into the truck door. "You had something on your shoulder, I was brushing it off. I think it was a spider," she said flippantly. "Didn't want you to get spooked when you were doin' so well!" She settled back into the seat, glancing back down at the gearshift. "You ready to try again? And try not to be so jumpy this time. Promise I won't save you from a spider again," she held out a pale, thin finger. "Pinky swear."

Reza sheepishly shifted back into a normal position in his seat, offering an apologetic smile to Cora. "Sorry," he murmured awkwardly, straightening his back in an attempt to act like the adult he constantly wanted to be viewed as. "I'm just a bit twitchy from the driving, I guess. Scared I'm going to crash the car, somehow," he joked, lips twisting into a small smile. He left out the fact that after his previous experiences with... well, everything, in this town, he ​did​ find it necessary to be slightly on guard. But he was overreacting and, subsequently, making a fool of himself. Finally, once and for all, he rid himself off his nerves, no longer radiating nervous anxiety. He hooked his pinky with hers, the skin cold against his own, and gave a tiny, amused quirk of his lips. This time, the car crawled forward pretty smoothly and Reza strangely enough managed to shift it up a gear. "Guess third time's the charm." He smiled, a genuine quirk of his lips, as he was actually driving, albeit under every legal speed but still. "Thanks for doing this, by the way," he added, eyes locked on the vast dirt road ahead. "It's not like you had to so this is... really nice of you."

Cora-Lynn giggled, the sound flirting with the lines of sadistic and endearing. "If you crash this car, there's nothin' to worry about. It's not like it's a BMW or anythin'! Plus ya won't get join' fast enough to do any damage." He seemed to relax a bit and their pinky promise was sealed. Reza had determination, she had to give him that. She relaxed against the leather, kicking a foot up on the glove compartment, grinning as her student managed to successfully switch into first gear. "You got it!" She punched a fist into the air. "Don't thank me 'till you can do it on the first go. Or downshift. Or shift up again. Ooh, let's go faster!" Her eyes flicked to his neck again, wondering if he was one of those fang bangers. Her nose wrinkled at the thought. "I think I mighta missed the spider before it gotcha."

Reza: Cora's excitement only amped up Reza and his confidence grew despite the various things she was counting up that he had yet to learn and then master. This was a start and it wasn't a completely crappy one. She hyped about going faster and Reza laughed, glancing over at the dashboard and then at Cora. "Something tells me you're a bad influence," he joked lightly, eyes returning to the road. They were only moving at like 12 miles per hour so he ​supposed​ speeding up a little couldn't hurt. The needle in the tachometer raised slowly until the engine sounded like it was struggling, at which point Reza managed to somewhat roughly shift up, the car lurching forward before resuming it's steady pace. His grin only seemed to be widening as the speedometer crawled up to 30. "What? Where?" Reza moved a hand up to his neck, rubbing at the skin before realizing that she had to be mistaking the vampire bite for a spider bite. "No, that's not... it's..." His hand returned to the steering wheel and he unwittingly picked up the speed. "It's not that kind of bite, actually." Now to see whether his temporary instructor believed in Ashkent's supernatural population.

Cora-Lynn grinned, her eyes alight with fire. "Aw honey, I'm a great influence." The truck continued to roll forward, deeper into the forest and farther from the safety of town. Deeper and deeper into the heart of where the Liberator and his ideas thrived. There was another lurch and the truck slid into second gear. Another success. Cora patted an icy hand on the boy's shoulder. "Look at you go!" His hand ran along his neck, fingers fluttering over the wound. Cora looked at her student with keen interest. So he knew what had bitten him. "Oh? Does someone like livin' on the dangerous side after all?" She asked, her tone knowing and curious. The kid had peaked her interest. He'd be a pretty good snack, but an idea flickered into her head the moment she saw the bite. Either he was some freak who got off on fucking creatures like her, willing to put themselves into harm's way for the cheap thrills and as such, would make for a delightful meal, or he could have an actual respect for them. Maybe even want to be one of them. She had plenty of people ask to become one of the undead, not that she could turn anyone herself, but it was pretty common around kids Reza's age. And housewives that were bored and caught up in their romance novels.

Reza didn't jerk away from the sudden touch this time, instead appreciating the literal pat on his back. It was nice, just generally achieving something and getting recognition for it, even if it was from a slightly weird stranger. Cora's response proved that she knew exactly what had given him those puncture wounds and it was a relief that he wouldn't have to prove anything. "I don't think it's that dangerous," he replied honestly, his interest in Cora now doubled. She clearly had some experience with the supernatural which meant that she probably knew things that he didn't. Not to mention the fact that he liked having 'aware' people around. "That they're that dangerous. Not really," he added for emphasis, after a small pause, speaking the truth. He'd argued this with Marley, Ana and even Taylor but none of them seemed to share his opinion. Of course, he wasn't completely naive as to think that each and every vampire was a decent non-human being, as those two that had attempted to spike his drink had proved, but he just believed that the ratio wasn't that much higher than the ratio of humans that did inconceivable things. And here no one was condemning humans for their existence. "I take it you have some experience with... these type of things, then?" Reza pushed, slowing the car in order to better pay attention to the conversation without accidentally running into a stray tree

Cora-Lynn brought her other foot up to the glove compartment, her toes bouncing on the hard plastic. He didn't think they were that dangerous? She giggled again, her eyes trained on Reza. She'd let herself go a bit longer than usual without feeding and the gnawing in her stomach was becoming apparent. But she was still in control. Sometimes Cora liked letting herself starve a bit. It meant less planning and more fun when she finally did give in to the cravings. But she had to be more careful around here, now that she was under the Liberator's wing. "I wouldn't be so sure, darlin'." The vamps he must have met were the kind that were more than willing to be lazy and feed in clubs or play into teenage fantasies. The ones who kept to the straight and narrow, aligning themselves with humans rather than taking their place above them. "You could say that," Cora grinned, her eyes darkening. "Do you get those special kinda hickies often?"

Reza had to wonder where they were heading as the car slowly made its way closer and closer to the woods. He considered just pulling over but something told him that Cora would have wanted him to continue; almost like a gut feeling made stronger by her current choice of words and the way her eyes were getting darker. It was a feeling of mild unease, like he was being cornered by her gaze. But he'd had enough of embarrassing himself today, not to mention playing the victim for the last few months. He wouldn't be cowering from Cora's slightly malicious smile, which was miles away from the endearing one she'd worn at the start of this pseudo class. His fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel. "No, it's..." Reza trailed off. My first one? That sounded horribly cliche and judging from the way Cora was giggling, she'd surely find that amusing as well. "No. Not really." He paused. "Do you know where we're going?"

Cora-Lynn felt the unease creeping through the cab of the truck and it was like air to her. She breathed in deeply, letting Reza's scent drift through the air as he made up his mind what to say next, continuing deeper into the woods. The trees were thick now, small bushes beginning to grow over the dirt road. "No, not really," she smirked, echoing his answer. "But that's half the fun!" She burst out laughing, pulling her feet up underneath her. "So what made ya wanna get one now? Didja like it?" She stared at him hungrily, though whether it was for food or not, it was anyone's guess. If there was a chance he did want to change, she could arrange that and then they'd have a brand new member of their cause. Hell, the kid probably had a ton of friends who felt all angsty and that the didn't belong in the boring, disgusting life of a human.

Cora drew in a deep breath, raising more suspicion than had already settled in ​Reza's​ mind. This type of behaviour, complete with the ravenous look in her eyes, was very familiar to him and honestly, he was surprised he hadn't caught on sooner. Her interest in the vamp bite only made it that much more obvious and really, he had to wonder how he'd managed to actually get a vampire to teach him how to drive, out of all the people and non-people in Ashkent. The sudden outburst of laughter was slightly unnerving but strangely, he found himself cracking a smile. Cora's attitude was contagious, plus, he hadn't gotten a chance to talk about the bite to anyone since it wasn't exactly a topic he could casually bring up. "I dunno," he murmured, almost shyly, trying to focus on the progressively worse road as well as the conversation. Was this really safe? He barely knew how to drive... "I just... met a-" A pause. "-someone. At, uh, Dance Macabre. Wasn't really a decision as it was a spontaneous... thing." The car jerked over some tall grass and Reza's knuckles whitened as he gripped the wheel. Just go slow, it's fine... "And it was... yeah. I mean, I did. Like it." ​A lot​. He glanced at Cora from the side of his eyes. "So, what type are you?"

Cora-Lynn rolled her eyes. Dance Macabre. Of course. She would never set foot in the place, it's clientele much too easy and below her to even try, but looking at Reza, it made a bit of sense. How disappointing. And humans wondered why they were being picked off, eaten and dismembered. They all but lined themselves up for the slaughter, just as they should. Trees continued to thicken as they continued away from civilization, closer and closer to Dark Score Lake. Cora couldn't help but think just how easy it would be to devour the boy. He trusted a complete stranger, even when she directed them into the most dangerous and secluded parts of town, even when it had become apparent she was no ordinary driving teacher. "And who wouldn't?" Cora could hear the longing in his voice, the words he left unsaid. If he hadn't liked it, would he still be here? "That's rude." She stiffened, narrowing her eyes. "You don't just ask someone what species they are." The eretich leaned back, her muscles relaxing. "But probably not the kind you've ever seen before." She grinned, her eyes glinting in the low light.

The atmosphere changed suddenly, following ​Reza's​ question but at this point, he didn't really care. He was already deep in the woods with a stranger who happened to be a (probably) ravenous vampire so what did it really matter if he was a little rude. Still, the narrowed eyes boring holes in the side of his head weren't really making driving easier. Thankfully, she didn't seem ​too​ offended by his blunt question as Cora quickly relaxed back into the seat. Reza peered into the dark. Wasn't one of the lakes in this general direction? That would be nice and ominous and not at all threatening... Reza swallowed thickly, still keeping his cool, nervous tension fighting the instinctual interest. He couldn't help it; Cora was poking at his intrigue with her vague answer and it only made him want to know which type she was. Something human-like, obviously, but aside from that, it was hard to tell. "Why shouldn't I ask?" he pushed carefully. "I'm just curious. It's... fascinating." A pause, during which he glanced at Cora curiously. "And I've seen a few kinds." Most of them only in research or books but still.

Scott looked around his bedroom, boxes in piles along the walls. It was so ... bare. It made Scott feel sad-- no, not sad. Sentimental. This was where he’d grown up. His childhood was spent in this room. So much had happened in this room and this house. Friendships had been spent here. Relationships. The positives and the negatives. His life changed and changed over and over here and now Scott was saying goodbye to the room.

It felt liberating to be leaving and moving in with Derek and Cora. Scott thought of his mum, but he had to just trust that she would be okay. He’d move out eventually and he couldn’t stay forever. And he could always visit. Tears fell down his face but he was smiling.

When Athea's dad found out she hasn't been taking her medication, he forbid her from ever going out that late, and she almost instantly threw a fit. Just because she was still bumping heads with her therapist and refusing to be controlled by anyone didn't mean she had to stay at home all the time. Eventually, her protests wore him down and he agree to let her out at least tonight under the condition that she'd start to take her medication again. She wouldn't be caught dead taking those things, but she wasn't an idiot and she knew how to play her cards well. 

13 - our characters working together

It was... difficult for them to get along when they needed to get something done, but he knew that no matter how stubborn Cora was, they needed to work together. "Come on. Just work with me here okay?"

He shook his head in frustration. How were they ever going to work together to take down the stupid Brotherhood if she acted like she didn't trust him? How would they be able to work together at all? Why couldn't she just go along with his plan.

25 - a letter from my character to yours

Cora,

I know you didn't want me to leave Beacon Hills again, but I had to. It wasn't because I wanted to leave you behind, or Wren, or anyone else that is important to me. I needed to do this. I needed to fix things, and the only way for me to do it was to leave.

I promise that I'll be back. I won't be gone forever, but it won't be a short trip either. She's a big girl, but please take care of Wren for me. And Rhy. I know she's still hurting, and while she may pretend that she's okay to show face, I know she's not. She needs friends right now, both of them do. Promise me you'll take care of them, and assure them that I'll be back.