xmadeoflightningx

for: mariana ( @xmadeoflightningx ) location: permanent record, late afternoon

Mariana had been saving up for two things since she started working: tattoos and adventures. Her first had been the wolf on her side to cover her scars. She'd struggled with the sight of them in her teen years and seeing the beauty of the tattoo had really helped her. They were still there of course but over time she'd learn to accept the dark with the light. Even years later it was still her favorite of all of her collection.

starter — hansa charoensuk

Mariana could use a good night to unwind. With wedding season winding down, her schedule was finally freeing up her weekends. The bar seemed like a better place than any for a nice celebration of making it through. Her head lifted as she heard a voice. "Feel free. I have a feeling my friend bailed out anyway." Her head tilted toward the other, "You were just on stage weren't you?"

"I'm sorry to hear that, for what it's worth, I'm sure we would have been great friends in school. I also would have had my brother fight people on your behalf -- he never needed much convincing to argue with people," Rowan said with a little shake of her head. She suddenly felt a rush of homesickness for Quinton. They were hardly a duo like those shown on TV, she would have rather died than call Quinton her "big bro," but they were close and the only person in each other's lives that was always there.

Mariana grins over to her new friend. "Oh I bet we would have been, though I've definitely got the fighting part down. You can probably credit me never getting suspended to my pops. Granted I wasn't always the one who started it but I usually finished it. If I didn't my little brother did." She wouldn't deny that she and Silas had a lot of anger growing up. It didn't help that their worst nightmares had been plastered all over the tv and memorialized for their peers to find online. It was always enough fuel for their fire and Mari was more than happy to squash that fire.

Hearing the front door open, Abe turned around and smiled when he saw his friend before his gaze drifted down towards the dog that was also in tow. It was pretty rare when Toby wasn't around. He enjoyed the dog's company, so he wasn't going to complain about it. Kneeling down, he reached out to give the dog some well-deserved scritches and mumbled some words of praise for the dog. There were times in his life when he thought he should listen to his therapist and get the dog that they recommended, but he didn't think he was fit for that. But he would definitely love on the dogs he did see.

Mariana smiles watching Toby run to Fur-Uncle Abe for well deserved love. There were some days she wondered how many of her friends were only around for her adorable little fur baby. He had a habit of winning hearts. There were even a few days a week he got to chill at the bakery, in his designated area of course. She'd take it though, he deserved all the attention in the world. Tucking her bag across her chest and making sure she had everything she needed for the pupper she grins over to Abe. "Sounds like a great plan, I could use a good trek along the beach. I may have fallen on my hike last weekend so walking along the sand sounds like a safe plan til I'm all healed up." Making her way over to the car her head tilted back to her friend. "So catch me up, how's life?"

"Look at us, being commitment phobic." Romeo half jokes, letting out an amused chuckle. Relationships were complicated, and he was grateful that he had his sister to talk about them or anything else that was on his mind. She had always been there for him since he had joined their family, and he was grateful for that. "Speaking of cakes, you working on anything new and exciting lately? You know I'll taste test."

"Seems like it runs in our family. Though I'm not sure pops would appreciate that. I doubt that's what he wanted to pass down to us" Of course it wasn't their adopted father that had her straying from relationships. Even so long since that night, a mix of nightmares and night terrors still plagued her. Her therapist said it was likely her way of still trying to process it all and they were hardly as frequent as they once were but she couldn't see dragging someone else into her blend of sleepless nights or screaming wake up calls. Inwardly shaking herself from the thoughts she offers him a grin. "I will soon, now that we're out of wedding season its time for some fun creations."

She was unlike any person he had ever seen working at a bakery. One arm partially covered in inked art, the other on its way. He was reminded then of the time he was close to getting a tattoo, and he wondered if it was a sign from the universe. "Boozy cakes sound interesting. I can't say I've ever had one. Do you actually get a little buzz off them?" He curiously questioned, intrigued by the sounds of a booze filled cake. "The Crookie sounds delicious. I'll definitely take one of those. You know what? Add one of the boozy cakes too. Why not?" He looked at all the various baked goods as he walked past a display case, trying to decide if he needed anything else.

Mariana smiles setting down the cloth to pack up his order. Boozy cakes were a fun new addition to their menu that she was pretty sure her friend's got a kick out of taste testing. While wedding cakes were always fun, she couldn't help but look forward to wedding season dying down enough for her to have the time to test out new recipes. "Well I have to strongly advise against eating the whole cake in one sitting, a couple slices can give a nice buzz. Which one would you like? The Prosecco is a good lemon drizzle, the chocolate Guinness is a local favorite. If you come back around holiday season I make a mean Caribbean Rum Cake."

"I don't think anyone's supposed to like high school. If you did, you probably peaked then." He coughed out a laugh. He was grateful high school was over and, given the chance, he'd never want to go back. He didn't even want to go to his class's reunion, truth be told. "That kid's pretty cool. I wish I'd been half as cool at her age." He preened at hearing that he was the favorite uncle. Sorry to Bash but he was never giving that title up. "Wedding cakes, huh?" He wagged an eyebrow at her. "And somehow you tricked me into a shotgun wedding and robbed me of cake."

Mariana nods in agreement absentmindedly, momentarily distracted as her waffles arrive. Her eyes lit up watching the plate slide in front of her and for a good 30 seconds as she reached for the syrup to fill in the little indents even her former husband seemed to disappears from the table. After her first happy bite, his comment about Alicia brought her right back to the table and she grins. "She's going to be a heartbreaker and I can't wait to be the fun aunt who takes her for her first tattoo, with Aria's permission of course. I'm not looking to get murdered by that shorty" Her head lifted up catching his eyebrow wag and she raises her own to him in turn. "I tricked you huh? Is that the story you're going with? Granted I do take any excuse to make a new masterpiece how about one of your very own?"

There was no point in denying his claims. She did take every opportunity to bother him. What kind of former girlfriend would she be otherwise? "You love me," she teased. Grocery shopping finished, Aria pushed the cart towards the check out counters. "Come on, babe, be serious. She's been your girl since the day she was born. Teenage hormones aren't gonna change that. Plus, kids hate their moms during their teen years. I'm sure there's research to back that up. So, really, I'm screwed."

Damien couldn't help but pause at her words, his face flushing a bit. She wasn't wrong. Though they hadn't worked in the past he couldn't deny that those feelings never really went away. He knew she was teasing him but he couldn't help the seriousness in his reply. "You know I do" Following behind her with a soft smile, he snatched a box from the shelf just before they entered the line. "Oh please, we both know that when the real troubles come up she'll run to you. That time of the month, fights between friends, boy troubles or girl troubles..that'll need mom and ice cream"

Cute. Megumi thought as a light scoff escaped from her lips before bringing the glass of whiskey up for another sip. Maybe charm wasn't all lost in men in general. "I've never been into false modesty, but if taking a peak at me makes men run the opposite direction, I guess that say a lot more about your kind than me." She chuckled. His next quip made the petite brunette ease up a little more and relax. "Of course. How could I be so insensitive?" Megumi teased, her free hand matching his by touching her own chest as she bowed her head a little. "Ah, yes. My mistake, Damien. I was drinking alone before you granted me the pleasure of your company. There... Better?" Megumi arched one brow teasingly as she cocked her head to the side.

Damien raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his drink. "That was kind of the point of the statement. Aka Don't get drunk or bother yourself with someone who didn't show up. Clearly they aren't worth it." He smirks at her apology and rolls his shoulder lightly. "That'll do. I supposed I can forgive." He looks down to his glass and nods. "Sure why not, I could use one last one before I give up on this supposed boys night out" His gaze shifted the crowd spotting his friend again and rolled his eyes seeing that he'd moved on to another new target. "Given that I'm doing nothing to assist him other than not telling all his most embarrassing secrets, which by the way is tempting, I'm not sure I'm much of either. Actually I'm waiting to see if he gets slapped"

It was very nice to have familiar faces at group meetings. A lot of times, people would show every other month or so or show up for a few minutes then just never were seen again. That was very worrisome, in Abe's opinion, but he supposed that there wasn't much they could do about that. The meetings weren't required by anyone. They were just there if you wanted them. If they didn't want them or didn't find them helpful, then that was their prerogative. But luckily, Damien was a constant at the meetings. He was always glad to see him and catch up.

Damien took a sip of his coffee looking up to the other. Though he was a regular at the meetings, he came more often in support of the others in the group. He'd transitioned out of the military well, with the support of his family, especially Aria and his daughter Alicia. "I suppose so, boating season has picked up so I can spend much of my time on the water towing people in." He shrugged faintly at his question about the meeting. "Kind of hard not to be heavy, I mean its a space where people can talk about the things they can't really burden civilians with. The coffee trips are lighter, or some of the volunteer trips"

“You really think I remember high school,” Ethan asked, eyebrow quirked. In actuality, he’d been a band kid throughout high school and was pretty sure that he and Mariana hadn’t ran in the same circles even if they’d gone to the same school. She struck him as someone who’d been popular in high school, and so, much more likely to have navigated the same type of social circles as his brother. “Okay, same,” he agreed. Vacation Ethan was night vs day compared to somewhat responsible, adult Ethan. “Actually, I’m sort of between jobs right now.” He hated to admit that but it was the truth. “So, I’m visiting my mom and hanging with my niece. How are you? What’s not on vacation Mariana up to?”

Mariana smirked over to him as she settled back in the booth. "Fair enough, I'm sure there's more than a few memories I've blocked out from that time. Not my favorite years." Taking a sip of her coffee she twirled the cup around on the table. She'd been a new kid to the school who'd had her face plastered around alongside her brother's with a tragic story to boot. Some kids were kind, others not so much. Inwardly shaking herself from the thoughts her head lifted to catch his answer. "I'm sure they both love having your company, Ali always talks about her favorite uncle. No wonder she was so excited the last time I popped in and here I thought it was seeing her auntie. I'm doing well, keeping busy with the season. I work over at Bon Appetreat, typically specializing in wedding cakes"

Special Delivery for @xmadeoflightningx (Mari)

Mariana's eyes flickered over to her phone as it vibrated, the incoming message displayed on her lock screen. She didn't have to look at it to know who it was from. Abe was predictably on time. Where she was a wild child, he was the opposite, his life planned out so well she couldn't resist the urge to throw off his schedule whenever she could. Yet somehow they'd become friends, he didn't seem to mind her shaking up his life and she couldn't help but be grateful for the amount of times he'd managed to get her out of trouble with that level-head of his.