#paracsmic

breathing in and out, inhaling tobacco and exhaling the smoke, she has music playing in her ears - soft sounds of some band her sister turned her onto. she likes these early morning times, when the sun is just settling into it's space above the world and light is beginning to illuminate everything around her.

while rori isn't the best of artists, she is capable of doing small things, and landscapes are something she's found kinship with over the past few years.

sometimes she incorporates people she sees along the way, working them into the background of the shot. today it's a male, hands pushed into his pockets as he walks down the street, pacing ever so slightly back and forth. part of her is curious as to whatever his deal is. she does not approach, not just yet.

turning to a new page, she sketches something - feeling as if there is a darkness surrounding this stranger. she can't tell why, but she sees something lingering in the space above him, clinging to his back like a monkey he didn't ask for. tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, she rips it from the book when finished and leaves her things behind as she rushes towards him, braids bouncing in the wind behind her.

"dude?" 

whilst junior is kind of just bobbing along, eating some jerky and stepping loudly on branches that come underneath his feet.

eleanor's been bitten by bugs, swears she might have stepped in poison oak, and has had to pee for literally hours now. she refuses to go in the forest, she's a lady for christ's sake! a huff of breath escapes her lips when she starts to fold the map up haphazardly, before shoving a crumpled piece of paper into her pocket of her hoodie. the flashlight begins to flicker and she curses underneath her breath.

the sun has passed beyond the horizon, and they're now in a state of slowly approaching darkness. it appears as if junior doesn't really care - he's just paying attention to something or other going on in his head.

that is. until he speaks.

"this  is  the  last  time  i  go  anywhere  with  you ." eleanor rolls her eyes, smacks the butt of her flashlight against her hand and watches it illuminate the path before them. "let me guess," she says, glancing over in his direction.

"you're out of your favorite snack. now there's nothing left but crumbs and something you claim your sister forced you to take, am i right?"

eleanor was appreciative of lulu packing most of his snacks - that meant there were at least some options that had to be healthy in there. maybe she could swipe a bag of carrots or nuts from him when they finally settled down. it looked like they were going to have to hold up somewhere in the woods.

unless they fancied walking through them all night to get to where they parked the car. that is...if either one of them could remember what direction in which they parked their car. 

a bug flies in front of eleanor's face and she squeals, nearly tumbling back onto her haunches when she manages to land just right and a pain shoots through her ankle. just her fucking luck. the sound of a long, drawn out whimper of pain and a grimace spread across her face is enough to alert junior that something is awry. she may have exaggerated just a bit to get his attention.

of course he's just standing there observing her. maybe he's thinking about how long they stay in this forest, whether or not she'd be good enough to cannibalize. she could honestly see that going through his head.

"you gonna help me up or what?"

they told her they’d pay a pretty sum for this portrait, and truth be told, they needed the money. things were going okay for the moment, but with the rent spike on their apartment, lulu was afraid of getting behind on bills. she bites down on the inside of her cheek, feeling a jolt of pain in the process and a tinge of copper on her tongue. 

it seems to give her the spark she needs because she starts working furiously on the canvas, and a few hours pass before she realizes it.

it’s half-past midnight when she finishes, and junior still isn’t home, but just as she reaches for her phone to text him, he comes through the front door looking a little disheveled, of course, but that’s natural for her brother.

 placing the canvas in an appropriate spot to dry where it won’t get knocked to the floor, she collapses onto the couch beside where her brother is sitting, feet up on the coffee table.

“have you eaten?” she asks, a curious side glance in junior’s direction. the question had her trying to remember when the last meal she had was, and as if on cue, her stomach rumbles as well. might as well order the two of ‘em some food, cause she’d be damned if he thinks she’s cooking something this late.

eleanor : did you bring any weapons?

junior : can cheetos count as weapons if you throw them hard enough?

eleanor : that depends, are they the flaming hot kind? 

aurora is not used to people that don’t talk around her, but micah is the exception. she sees something in him, a desire that is brimming just underneath the surface. something she saw reflected in her own past, he wants out. out of this world, out of a certain situation? that she doesn’t know.

but then all of a sudden things change, and he’s not himself, not exactly, but something altogether different. there is a dark aura that situates itself around him. it plagues her minds with thoughts of despair. 

and she wants nothing more than to be able to rid him of these dark mind-controlling thoughts. she saved herself with the help of others. maybe he needs a support system. that much she can do.

she asks, waking up from what was a pleasant nap before she was rudely interrupted. a huff of breath escapes her lips as she glances around, only to see smoke beginning to pour from the front of their vehicle. walker has gone and pulled over on the side of the road, out of the way of incoming traffic. unbuckling her seatbelt, rhiannon clambers out to stand beside him, getting a face full of smoke as soon as he opens the hood of their old busted up honda.

"i think...somethin's wrong."

she says, and he flashes her a look of no shit, sherlock. she simply rolls her eyes, before leaning in and trying to clear some of the oncoming smoke by waving her hand in front of it. much to no avail, she can't clear the air of the incessant fog created by something inside their vehicle.

hands on her hips, she begins to pace. the sun is setting and there is no one on the road at this time - they haven't seen another passenger for a few miles now. she bites down on the edge of her fingernail and glances over at her brother, shoving her opposite hand into the pocket of her jeans.

cell service was a no-go at this point. they'd lost that once they started towards the mountains. when they left home, they didn't have much of a plan, except to escape the constant glare of anyone and everyone. killing wasn't in their blood, but that didn't mean they weren't accused of such. she shifts from one foot to the other before reaching for walker's spare flashlight in the glove compartment.

"i think there was a town a mile or so back. we could go there, maybe find some help?"

she can't make heads or tails of it, but it looks like some kind of fighting bullshit. was it that mortal kombat thing he wouldn't shut up about last weekend?

"hey, asshat," she says, shoving an energy drink in front of his face, waving it around until he grabbed it in his own fingers. "wanna get high?"

she asks, a mischievous look spread across her visage. the brunette waves a hand in front of his face before pulling some kind of fruit roll up from one of the many boxes of treats she'd appropriated from the pantry. their step-mom was always buying the good shit for her own kids, while they were left to fend for themselves.

but when the wicked bitch of the west wasn't home, allura raided the cabinets and snuck things into hers and her brother's bedrooms, for safe keeping, of course. she could blame it on the chubby kid, if the ole bitch wondered where all the good shit went.