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Alex Garcia

"I am afraid. Not of life, or death, or nothingness, but of wasting it as if I had never been."

0 · 2,297 views · located in Greythorne

a character in “greythorne”, as played by phosphene

Description

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absinthe | The Sounds of Silence | One of the Drunks
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"Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid."
Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note-Langston Hughes

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i d e n t i t y
xxxxx|| Name || Alejandro Luis Peña Garcia
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xxxxx|| Nicknames || Alex; Preferred, this is what he introduces himself as - various Spanish terms of endearment from his grandmother
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xxxxx|| Gender || cismale
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xxxxx|| Age || 23
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xxxxx|| Birthday || March 19
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xxxxx|| Sexuality || bisexual
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xxxxx|| Hometown || born in Flagstaff, Arizona; raised in Greythorne.
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xxxxx|| Ethnicity || Mexican, Puerto Rican, Spanish
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a p p e a r a n c e

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xxxxx|| Height || 5'9"
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xxxxx|| Weight || 159 lbs
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xxxxx|| Hair Color || Dark brown
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xxxxx|| Eye Color || brown
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xxxxx|| Identifying Features || Alex's arms are littered with the kinds of scars you might expect from someone practicing necromancy, along with a number of scars from childhood stupidity. His newest, ugliest scar, is on his lower abdomen; a horrible, gnarled scar given to him by a silver blade. It doesn't bother him as was supernaturally healed, which is likely the only reason he survived it, but the reminder of what happened will never leave him. His newest scar takes up a good bit of real estate on his left forearm; a sigil carved into his arm as way of marking, him for the pact he's made.
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xxxxx|| Description || Alex is not an intimidating figure; though he stays fit, he really lacks the height and muscle mass necessary for his physique to be considered anything other than average. His hair holds big, loose curls which, at the length he keeps it, tends to fall in loose waves. He keeps it as tamed as he can, but anyone with textured hair will tell you that it's sometimes a loosing battle. Alex's eyebrows tend to give his resting face a sad, thoughtful quality. This, perhaps, makes him look much wiser than he could ever hope to be. While he doesn't dress in the highest fashions, Alex still likes to dress well. He's drawn to dark colors, tight jeans, and crisp, clean shoes; along with a menagerie of accessories. He tends to wear long-sleeves, as he doesn't like showing his scars. In all, he tends to try to fade away a little with his attire, even if his personality makes him stand out.
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p e r s o n a l i t y

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Alex tries to project an aura of being calm, cool, and collected. Sometimes he succeeds, but often times people can sense a deep and profound sense of uncertainty to him. When you’ve lived your life steeped in predictions of a future that may- or may not- come to be, you begin to worry, looking over your shoulder at every turn. His friends have grown weary of hearing his constant warnings. “Be careful,” may as well be a catchphrase. Even he has trouble taking himself seriously, though. When nothing you predict ever comes to be, you start feeling a little insecure. However, after recent events, he's begun to take his dreams and gut feelings more seriously, if only for himself.

Alex often thinks of his friends, and occasionally likes to do things for them. A text on their birthday, a small gift when they’ve achieved something important. He doesn’t normally go for large, grand gestures (though, he has been known to pull them off occasionally), but he does like to make sure the people in his life know he cares about them. Though he can be sarcastic, and will often decry all of a person’s faults, he’s still a fairly good friend. To that end, he loves to crack jokes, especially to ease a troubled mind, and most especially of all when his friends are worried about him.

He’s a big flirt, though his style of flirting can occasionally be a little on the
 aggressive side. Alex knows what he wants, and he’s not really one to beat around the bush to get it. He often flirts with his friends in what he considers a platonic way, and it’s something that most of them just get used to over time. He’s never held down a real relationship, so he doesn’t have much experience in love, and may have some trouble separating lust from romance if he ever decides to settle down.

Alex is very dysfunctional, and some consider it a wonder that he’s even still alive, though he gives credit to his best friend for getting him through his adolescence. His living space is cluttered with useless junk findings from his many traipses through the woods. He is, at best, chaotic and, at worst, a complete disaster. He often speaks without thinking, and the words that tumble out of his mouth often embarrass everyone but him. He seems to have no sense of shame whatsoever, which honestly serves him well.

Lately he's been a little... Fidgety. This is not uncommon, and anyone who's known him for more than the past few years has very likely seen this side of him many times before. Something is very wrong in Greythorne, and something is very wrong inside of him, as well, though he would never admit it. He let all the pain and fear out once, the night of the attack, and he is loathe to express it again. It's only natural for a near-death experience to give way to some trauma, but Alex prefers to pretend nothing happened to him, that night. That he's okay. The town has enough to worry about, they don't need to put him back on the list. He's fine. He's fine. He'll be fine. He just needs some rest, that's all. Just needs a drink. Just needs... He doesn't know what he needs, but he feels like he's missing a part of himself, and like he will never be safe again.

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f l a v o r

xxxxx|| Likes || Alex seems to love food more than anything in the world, and giving him something delicious to eat is an almost surefire way to get in his good graces. He also loves running, and before the attack ran almost every morning, though he’s been scarcely seen outside his house since. He’s never minded dreamless sleep, and has occasionally drugged himself to ensure a restful night with no dreams. He likes to go on walks in the woods, both alone or with others, where he will often pick up rocks and other “treasures” he may find. He won’t say no to most alcoholic beverages, no matter how bad an idea drinking may be. He adores kissing, cuddling, and a few other less than pg activities. He’s been known to partake in... various substances- some more legal than others. He is, unsurprisingly, very fascinated with death, the idea, process, and aftermath of it. He just adores dogs, actually he loves most animals, really. He loves to listen to music, he loves to dance, and he absolutely adores a good party.
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xxxxx|| Dislikes || Alex has a lot of vivid dreams, and over time they all start to meld together, and it becomes hard to tell the difference between visions sent from the dead, and regular dreams. He used to love chocolate, but since the attack on the town, it’s made his stomach churn. He can’t handle criticism, and loathes being talked down to. He neither needs or wants your pity, he had enough people pity him to last him a lifetime. He isn’t a fan of death, or at least, the finality of it. He’s accepted it for what it is, and can appreciate it, but he doesn’t like thinking that he, too, will die one day. He hates being the third wheel, though he’s had plenty of practice. And it isn’t that he dislikes Disney movies, but it seems the only time he ever watches them are with Phoenix crying on his shoulder while they eat ice cream. He’s not a fan of his father, and he’s even less fond of his mother. He doesn’t like the concept of accepting his feelings and emotions like a functional human being, and instead chooses to ignore them all and replace them with humor. Alex is pretty superstitious, and always keeps an eye out for bad omens.
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xxxxx|| Fears || Alex is afraid of commitment and being alone; but most of all, he is afraid of his powers, and how badly they could go wrong.
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xxxxx|| Secrets || Despite what he's always said, Alex is pretty open to the idea of falling in love. | He's only actually tried to raise the dead once, and it didn't go so well. | He has an on-and-off relationship with various drugs, which is a pretty poorly kept secret to anyone who has gotten to know him much at all | He feels himself spiraling out of control again, and feels powerless to stop it | He is terrified of being alone, especially at night, but he's trying to pretend that the attack didn't effect him muchxx
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w i t c h

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xxxxx|| Necromancy || Sensing the dead is no difficult feat; most everyone feels the chill of their spirits in old houses, abandoned woods, on the full moon. Many hear their cries and intelligible moans, but a necromancer makes sense of them. They see them, hear them, call on them in times of need. It is a magic full of ritual and superstition, and for good reason. Nearly every part of necromancy requires sacrifice, from leaving gifts for the dead, to a sacrifice of blood. Some, like Alex, receive visions in the form of dreams. Sleep can thin the veil between the living and the dead, making it an ideal time to impart ideas and knowledge. Knowledge of the present, of the past, and of the future. Ghosts exist on a less than linear path, and while their predictions are often less than reliable, more often than not they carry a warning. The dead, it seems, are not the most optimistic.

Raising the dead is a difficult task, and is best left to groups of experienced necromancers. Still, Alex has been known to raise the odd bird or small forest-dwelling creature out of a mixture of curiosity, and a desire to practice. But small animals are easier to raise than humans, easier to control, and require a less substantial sacrifice.
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xxxxx|| Talents || Language: Alex speaks English and Spanish fluently, and he speaks passable French. Juggling: his friends tell him it's a useless skill, but you never know. Costuming: he's been making his own costumes for the town's fall festival every year since he was young, and they have only gotten more ridiculously elaborate with time.
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xxxxx|| Strengths || Alex is good at drinking, he's not the fastest runner, but he has decent endurance, he's actually a fast learner, especially when it comes to physical tasks.
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xxxxx|| Weaknesses || Silver, being a witch, he has a natural- and literal- weakness to silver, which can cause painful burns on contact. He's not so good at being serious, especially in tense or emotional situations. He doesn't have much of a filter, and has said some... Awkward things to people without thinking.
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h i s t o r y

Alex's grandparents moved to Greythorne when they were a young couple, Abuela was younger than Alex is now, and already pregnant with their only child. They were a quiet family, until Marisol became a teenager; she was a trouble-maker, always up to no good. People have compared Alex to his mother since he was a child, but if they were being honest, he's much tamer. Alex’s mother ran away from Greythorne when she was no more than eighteen years old- Marisol Garcia had met a handsome young witch named Alejandro Peña, and Marisol ultimately decided to follow him and leave her home. The relationship was short-lived, but produced Marisol’s only child, who she named after his father.

From a young age, Alex showed his powers. His parents, being air and fire elemental witches, had no clue what to do with a child who wouldn’t stop talking to ghosts and resurrecting butterflies. Alex’s mother wanted to send him to Greythorne to live with his grandparents, as his grandmother was also a necromancer. His father didn’t agree, and the arguments this caused is what ultimately broke their on-and-off relationship for good. They had their final split the day before Alex's third birthday. He went to Greythorne to live with his grandparents the next year, barely speaking English, but a healthy, though nervous child.

Maria and Luis did their best with the boy, who they raised with as much love and support they could muster, but he was so like his mother. Headstrong and careless, Alex caused his fair share of trouble, though he was rarely alone. Phoenix was almost always nearby; though Phoenix was a little older, having another young witch in such a small town made for a nearly instant friendship- their personalities just sealed the deal. With Phoenix by his side, Alex came out of his shell, though some of the adults in town may have preferred he stay quiet and reserved. His grandparents (Abuela very vocally, Abuelo more passively) adored Phoenix, and welcomed him into their home any time he wanted to visit. The boy's were always the best of friends, and Alex's grandparents could tell from pretty early on that neither of them were straight. His Abuela even has had this idea in her head and Alex and Phoenix were going to grow up, be high school sweethearts, and be happy together forever- preferably right down the street. So, him sitting them down and saying he was bisexual was met with a tentative chorus of, "are you sure?" And "you know we would never think any less of you, no matter what." Which honestly confused Alex, but he just ignored it and went on with his life. He still has no idea why they reacted that way.

He visited his mother at Christmas and over the summers, but he never felt quite at home with her; never felt quite right so far from home. He saw his father more sporadically, and most of his contact with him was- and still is- limited to phone calls. The amount of time he's spent visiting and talking to both of his parents has trickled to practical radio silence over the years, culminating, most recently, with his mother sending him a birthday text a day late.

Alex had his first real taste of personal tragedy at fourteen, when his grandfather passed away. A lifetime of smoking and not caring for his health resulted in a heart attack, and he didn’t last long after that. It was sudden, unexpected, and wholly tragic. It ultimately led to the ruin of Alex’s relationship with his mother, when she didn’t even try to attend the funeral. The two haven’t been able to repair the damage, though they also haven’t tried.

His grandmother took a long time to recover from her grief, and Alex was often left alone to work through his own sadness. He spent a lot of time with his closer friends, but did wind up isolating himself more often than not. That, combined with him growing into his powers, and the stresses of high school became too much for him. One night, he went to bed, and had a vision of death, destruction, chaos, and darkness. He woke to a bedroom full of the dead, come to see him in his hour of darkness. Most people in town remember that cold February night, where Alex Garcia ran out of his home into the snow, wearing only a tee-shirt and his underwear. He was running from something most of them couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, and would never know.

It’s been a few years since then, and Alex has desperately tried to stay in control. He went deeply into himself for a long time, and completely ignored most aspects of his powers, only even using them to participate in rights and rituals with his grandmother. In the past few years, however, he decided to embrace himself and his powers, and to try to create a viable future for himself. He’s now nearly done apprenticing to be a funeral director, and has started to really try to understand his powers, and how to interpret his dreams. Or, he was.

The fall festival is normally a night filled with fun; there are endless things to do, and it's normally the town's collective favorite day of the year. Alex knew something was wrong, but he ignored every rational part of himself and pushed on through anyway. He was normally wrong about those things, anyway, so he had nothing to worry about. That was what he told himself, anyway. That everything would be fine. But he got separated from his friends, cornered by hunters, and he almost died in more ways than one. Now he can hardly close his eyes without being there again, cold and scared and alone. He would be lying if he said he wasn't angry, if he said he wasn't scared. He blames himself for some of it; he knew something wasn't right, and his ignored that. He feels like he should have tried to warn more people, but there is a part of him that knows no one would have listened. Nobody takes Alex seriously. Why would they? He had been the boy that cried wolf one too many times.





writer: nonconformingrole - fc: Diego Boneta - hex code: #3a0a4d


So begins...

Alex Garcia's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven
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P H O E N I X WOODS
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A L E X GARCIA
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hexcode
#c4a7be | #3a0a4d

outfit
phoenix | alex




At first, Alex thought that Phoenix must have been fine. He had to be fine. He’d
 He’d taken down the hunter. He knew it was all just wishful thinking, there was just already so much blood. He felt like he was going to be sick, but nodded at Neden when they told him to do his best with the wound. Phoenix had been apologizing, and as much as Alex would have loved to have a heartfelt conversation, he needed to keep calm in this moment, and found himself repeating words that were spoken to him shortly after he’d been attacked, “Don’t- Don’t apologize. You never have to apologize for this. None of this is your fault.” He wasn’t talking solely about the attack, of course, and maybe Phoenix would understand, but he didn’t really expect Phoenix to be thinking about much apart from the pain he was feeling. “I know you’re in pain but we need to try to stop the bleeding, okay?”

Blood didn’t typically bother Alex, but seeing Phoenix this way was difficult. He hesitated for a brief moment, trying to decide if he should do something about Phoenix’s clothes, but ultimately decided that he didn’t want to waste the time. Phoenix could be more properly bandaged when they weren’t in so much immediate danger. He tried to work quickly, but his hands were shaking-he was scared. He didn’t want Phoenix slipping away, so he decided to try talking to him, “You’re gonna be okay, alright? I’m
 I’m not leaving your side, okay? I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” It wasn’t long before Neden was telling him that he needed to get into town, and they were right, Alex just didn’t know how he was supposed to do that. Not that Phoenix was particularly large, but they were so close to the same size, and Alex was afraid he might hurt Phoenix more.

Before he really got the chance to work that out, though, he heard a gunshot, and suddenly Neden was apologising. At the gunshot, Phoenix flinched a little, but looked around nonetheless. “Neden?” he managed to force out. Alex had never felt more hopeless, or helpless. He didn’t know what he was supposed to, or what he even could do. He heaved a sob, “I’m so sorry, Phoenix. I’m trying, but I know it’s not good enough. I know. I was too late.” He went to brush Phoenix’s hair off his face, but just ended up smearing blood on his forehead.

Neden couldn’t be gone. That wasn’t right, it was too brutal a death, too harsh, too quick. And then Alex was apologising again, sobbing. It hit Phoenix then. It was too late for him. Alex wasn’t going to be able to get him to help quick enough. “Alex...I’m scared,” he sobbed.

Alex didn’t seem particularly phased when Neden walked back over, maybe he was too focused on Phoenix, or slightly in shock, or maybe he just didn’t care, but he genuinely didn’t seem to notice the changes at that moment. He shook his head, “He’s in pretty bad shape
”

His vision had gone blurry enough from the pain and the blood loss that he didn’t recognise the figure that approached Alex. He wanted to yell a warning, but just couldn’t get it out. And then he heard Neden’s voice. Not clear enough to hear what they were saying, but clear enough to know it was them. Was this what Alex meant by seeing spirits? Were they this familiar, this
 soon? But he wasn’t ready to go. He could feel his vision starting to fade, feel himself starting to pass out from the blood loss. Instinctively, he grabbed Alex’s hand, hoping for something to anchor him to reality. But it wasn’t enough. Everything went black.

But only for a second. When he opened his eyes, he was gasping for air, feeling like he’d just surfaced from cold water. Everything looked the same, but he knew it wasn’t. Alex was still there, clutching
 what Phoenix presumed had been his hand, except his body wasn’t there. And Neden-

Neden was there. Neden was there, and they were alive and
 they had wings. Strong, powerful wings. Had
 had they always had them? What had happened to them? The only other winged creature he knew were sirens like Rosie, and Neden wasn’t a siren. They were talking, but the words sounded as if they were coming from underwater. He couldn’t make them out, but he didn’t need to. He could see the tears streaming down Alex’s face regardless. Phoenix reached out, went to put a hand on Alex’s shoulder, but instead his hand passed straight through. “I’m sorry,” he murmured again. He sat cross-legged beside Alex, ignoring the tugging in his gut, telling him to go somewhere else. “I’m staying right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Phoenix had clutched his hand, and then his body went limp. Alex tried to tell himself that everything was going to be okay, but he swore he could almost feel a presence hovering nearby, but he told himself he was imagining it. Even if it were real, this was a graveyard at night, of course there were spirits here: he could see them everywhere he looked. He felt a heavy darkness settling into his heart, but before he could linger there, he heard Kay’s voice, and had she not immediately gone to help Phoenix, Alex may have all but thrown himself into her arms for comfort. When she asked what happened, he shook his head, “There was a hunter, and then
” He took a deep breath, he couldn’t even say the words. “It happened so fast, Kay.”

Then Kay said it wasn’t working, and that was when Alex knew that it was probably too late. For a moment, he felt like the ground had opened up to an endless abyss, and he was falling farther by the moment. Then he remembered something; when he’d been attacked, he’d almost died. They couldn’t heal him, either. He’d been so confused and had wandered away, he would’ve died had Violet not fetched him back from the beyond. He looked at Kay, “Kay, if you can, just keep trying. I
” He licked his lips nervously, “I have a plan.” He didn’t tell her that he had no idea if he could do it or not: he’d not gone fully into an incorporeal plane since he’d nearly died, and he was fairly sure it wasn’t going to be an easy task. He briefly looked around, and though he felt a faint presence to his side, he didn’t see Phoenix anywhere but laying in front of him. He chose to take that as a good sign. “I’ll be back, okay?”

He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, but the sounds of the attack, the knowledge that he had no idea if this would work, the pain and pressure of potentially losing the person that he’d shared so much life with, it was all too much to bare. His heart began to race, and nothing but images of death and destruction filled his head. If he couldn’t pull this off, he knew he’d rather be dead, and if he couldn’t calm down, he knew he would fail. He opened his eyes and looked up to the night sky, pleading silently for some strength. Something inside him knew he couldn’t do it, and just when he’d given up and accepted it, closed his eyes for a moment of private grief, he felt something spark within him. It was familiar and entirely unknown all at once, but he was sure he knew what it was. He could almost feel the earth beneath him calling out to him, thanking him for the sacrifice he’d given. While he knew it wasn’t him, that this wasn’t his doing, there was so much blood on his hands. He didn’t think what he wanted to do required sacrifice, but maybe if he took responsibility for whatever arcane thing the spirits were planning, he could make it through the veil. “Okay,” He mumbled, barely letting the word past his lips. “Yes.” It was suddenly colder than he’d remembered. “Did I do it?” He asked, aloud. He looked ahead, as if to gage Kay’s reaction, but everything sounded like he was listening from underwater, and looked blurry; out of focus. He couldn’t even really see her face. It was, altogether, less disorenting when you weren’t dying, though.

It felt like ages, but was probably seconds, before he turned to the presence to his side. To Phoenix. They were there, sitting side-by-side. For a moment, it reminded Alex of childhood. Sitting in the backyard, looking at the stars far past time for bed. He wondered if they would have done things differently if they knew this was where they’d be. It took a second for him to find his voice, but when he did, he said, “Hey,” He saw his breath evaporating in the air; he was alive, and clearly not meant to be here. “We need to get you back, okay?”

Phoenix could feel his heart breaking as Kay rushed to his side, going to heal him straight away. It was too late. He knew it, could feel it in that constant, growing, almost overwhelming tugging feeling in his chest to go somewhere else. But he wasn’t leaving, not until he literally had no other choice. He could see it in Kay’s expression as she realised it wasn’t working, his wound wasn’t healing. He knew that staying was probably just prolonging the pain for all of them, but
 he wasn’t ready to go.

And then he glanced back at Alex, and saw something like realisation spark in his expression. And then he closed his eyes. Phoenix watched, ignoring the worsening pull in his chest. He needed to see what Alex was trying to do, he needed to know.

And then he heard Alex’s voice, clear as day, not distorted like it had been. Did I do it? What exactly had he been trying to do? Phoenix was about to ask, and then Alex turned to look at him. His breath was a cloud in the air. Phoenix hadn’t even realised he hadn’t been able to see his own breath, but it probably made sense.

“What are you doing, you idiot? This isn’t safe for you, you shouldn’t be here.” It was only then that he fully processed what Alex had said. “I don’t- I don’t know if I can go back. I don’t think I’m supposed to.”

Of course, here there were, Phoenix nearly dead, and he was worried about Alex. “Don’t worry about me,” Alex said, sounding much more confident than he felt, “I’ll be fine, I’ve done this before.” He failed to mention that he’d been nearly dead, and had almost gotten himself and Violet both killed, but he didn’t think those details were necessary. When Phoenix said he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to go back, Alex just shook his head. “We do lots of things we aren’t supposed to, Phoenix. It’s
 It’s what we do.” He paused, briefly. He knew that this place held a powerful sway over the dead and dying, he’d been here before, and he remembered that it was hard to resist, at first. The fact that Phoenix was even still here was a good sign, but if he wasn’t willing to go back himself, Alex wasn’t sure if there was much he could do. Not without some serious consequences, at the least. “Phoenix, I
 I missed you. And, um
” He sighed, “I don’t like life without you around, so I’d rather not lose you today.” He reached out for Phoenix, but let his hand fall to the ground between them, instead.

He smiled a little as Alex reminded him that they had a habit of doing things they weren’t supposed to. That had been their entire lives together. They hadn’t ever listened to what they were supposed to do. But this wasn’t like his mom telling them to go to bed and them staying up playing PokĂ©mon or watching cartoons or whatever. This was
 bigger. Alex’s words made him sigh and look away a little.

“I
 I missed you too, Alex. And I am so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you like that, back at the festival but
 seeing you like that I
 I couldn’t. I couldn’t watch, and I couldn’t help you, and I was so, so scared. And I was so powerless. And
” he managed a small smirk. “And then when it
 happened to me, you still came and tried to save my ass. I just
 it’s so strong, Alex. It’s so strong.”

Alex nodded, “Sorry I couldn’t do more.” He was quiet for a moment, “I didn’t see it in time, or I might’ve been able to stop it.” He sighed, “Or something. I was being selfish, wasting time. You’d think I’d know better, right?” He studied Phoenix for a short moment, as if he was afraid he’d forget his face if he looked away. “I can’t make you come back with me. Well, I probably could, but that would go horribly wrong, and that’s not really the point, I
” He shook his head, as if to force himself to stop talking. Babbling on wouldn’t do either of them any good, so on the off chance that he couldn’t convince Phoenix to at least try to return to his body to be healed, he said, “What happened at the festival wasn’t your fault. I was just angry at the world, at myself; I was feeling hurt, and I felt guilty, scared, and jealous.”

That was the closest thing to an apology Alex could muster, and he hoped it would be enough to ease the burden in both of their souls. “I know what this feels like, it’s horrible, and it’s tiring, and you feel like if you just listen to that pull you can finally rest, but
” He stopped, he could feel raw emotion building up inside of him, threatening to boil over, and he would be in danger if that happened. “So many people in this town love you, Phoenix. We can’t lose you.” He reached out and placed a tentative hand on Phoenix’s shoulder, “I’ll help you, if you’re willing to try.”

It felt
 good to finally be talking like this. They’d never fought before, never had to apologise for anything, and it felt like there was a weight being lifted from Phoenix’s chest. They should never have led it get that far, and he wished they could have had it under different circumstances. But they’d said what they needed to say.

And Alex was right. The constant tug in his chest was exhausting, and there was a tiny part of him that just wanted to
 let go and follow it. But he was far too scared to do that. He didn’t need convincing to try. But before he could say that, the tug suddenly strengthened, almost taking his breath away, almost overwhelming his self control. He gasped a little. “We have to try. I’m
 I’m not ready to go yet. But we need to do it now. Tell me what I need to do,” he said, instinctively covering Alex’s hand with his own, clutching on him like an anchor all over again. The contact made it easier to ignore the almost overwhelming pull, and he grabbed Alex’s other hand almost without thinking.

With his hands in Phoenix’s, Alex suddenly realized he wasn’t fully sure of what to do. It had been so instinctual when it was him, and he quickly tried to think of what to tell Phoenix to do, “I remember that I just had to go back,” He shook his head, “You haven’t gone far, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.” He turned his head to look at Phoenix’s body, and then out towards the town. He didn’t know if Phoenix was going to have the ability to do this on his own, and if he was being honest, he didn’t remember how he’d done it, himself. He didn’t feel like he’d done anything special, but he remembered what Violet had said to him, “It helps to focus on your life, the things you don’t want to lose.” He found himself squeezing Phoenix’s hands, as if he was afraid he would blow away if he let go.

Alex could still feel the raw power from Phoenix’s blood, even as the ground soaked it up; he could feel the pull, right in his chest. It practically called out to him, demanding he do more. It would be rude to waste so much human blood. Besides, there was a nice fresh body, plenty of healthy, robust spirits. And here he was, wasting his time on one that was about to move on. He almost physically shook his head at the thought; Phoenix wasn’t a waste of time, that wasn’t him, but he wasn’t sure where it came from. “Phoenix,” His voice was steady, sure, “Go back. It’s not time to rest.” It wasn’t a request, or even direction. It was almost a command, but gentler. “Thank you for everything, but I still need you.”

The pulling was only getting stronger, to the point that Phoenix was becoming sure that Alex’s hands clutched in his were the only reason he hadn’t gone yet. When he’d first arrived, “back” had felt
 closer. As if he was just beneath the surface of the lake, but now he was sinking, too deep to swim back. But he tried. He pushed back against the pull fighting back. It felt useless, it felt impossible, but he pushed, focusing on that feeling of Alex’s hands in his. And then he heard Alex speaking. I need you. And all of a sudden, the pull was gone, or maybe Phoenix pulled some last strength from somewhere, but he gave one last push-

And opened his eyes, his body reflexively taking a gasp of air and starting to cough. The air was cold against his skin, he could feel his own blood soaked in to his shirt and sticking to his skin, he could feel the steadiness of the ground beneath him. He was back. He was back. He’d done it. The realisation almost made him laugh with relief.

“Alex-” he said, pushing himself upright, ignoring the slight spinning in his head as he did so. “We did it,” he said, still a little breathless, but smiling, smiling so wide.

One moment, Alex was wondering if it was working, or if he should give up and start saying his goodbyes. Then Phoenix was gone. Wait! Phoenix was gone? Panic gripped Alex for a moment, but then he heard muffled laughter, and he knew it had worked. He didn’t know why, or how, but it worked. Phoenix did it. It was when Alex heard a distant, otherworldly rumbling that he remembered just how much danger he was in.

It was time for both of them to go home, if they could. He finally let himself relax, and quickly found himself back in a more corporeal form. He suddenly felt exhausted, all of his muscles sore. Still, he couldn’t resist returning Phoenix’s smile with one of his own, tired as he was. “You did it.” He reached out to hug Phoenix, a part of him fiercely relieved, and another horribly afraid to hurt him. In the end, Alex had him in a firm, but gentle, embrace. “Never do anything like that again, you idiot.”

Phoenix returned Alex’s embrace, but held on as tightly as he could, smiling into Alex’s shoulder. “I’ll try not to make a habit of it,” he laughed, moving away to look Alex in the face again. Alex, who had literally risked his life, and probably his soul, to save Phoenix. And even if he himself didn’t know it, Phoenix wasn’t sure that he had brought himself back at all. There had been a moment where he thought the fight had won- and Alex had pulled him back. He’d literally saved Phoenix’s life. He couldn’t have done it alone. And maybe it was the fact he was still a little dizzy, maybe it was the fact his heart was still pounding with the adrenaline of it all, maybe it was everything about the scenario, maybe it had nothing to do with it. But Phoenix leaned in and kissed Alex, a hand moving up to cradle Alex’s cheek as he did so.

To say that Alex was surprised was, perhaps, an understatement. For a second, he acted almost like he didn’t know what to do. Maybe it was something about the relief of Phoenix surviving, or how this whole ordeal had reminded him of feelings he thought he’d buried and forgotten years ago, but Alex found himself kissing Phoenix back, hands grabbing at the back of Phoenix’s shirt. He gave Phoenix a soft, and almost sad sort of smile as they broke the kiss. “We should go.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “Before someone else almost dies.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven
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KAYLESSA VALVEN
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outfit xxxxxxx hex; #FF4500
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xxx If I'm a bad person, you don't like me
xxx Well, I guess I'll make my own way
xxx It's a circle, a mean cycle
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI can't excite you anymore

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Tears were rolling down Kaylessa’s cheeks as she kept trying to heal Phoenix, and it should have been working but it wasn’t. She couldn’t lose Phoenix, one of her best friends that listened to her ramble and just let her be herself without complaining. All the times of hanging out as his cafe and just sit on the counter and talk while he was cleaning and closing up shop, would never happen again if he would to leave. She didn’t want to even think of the word die or death, she didn’t want to accept it.

It was when Alex said he had a plan and to keep trying. Kaylessa was confused at what he meant, not entirely sure what plan or what he could do that would help Phoenix since she was the one to be known for healing people. Alex then closed his eyes, and Kay could feel as if he spirit wasn’t there. She felt Neden’s hand on her shoulder and turned to look back at them. “What, what’s going on?” She asked, wiping away some of the tears on her face.

The two left in the living world sat there waiting, Kaylessa occasionally trying to heal Phoenix again but nothing coming from it and then just staring at Alex. He looked peaceful at this moment, unmoving and full of serenity. She reached over and gently grabbed Alex’s arm, lightly rubbing it and waiting for him to come back. “Please
” Kay mumbled under her breath and taking a glance back at Phoenix who still hadn’t moved since she showed up. She was scared, she had never really lost anyone close to her before, and the closest thing to that was her mother leaving, but she promised they would see each other again and Kaylessa would be taken care of in Greythorne. Right now she never had a chance to say anything to Phoenix, not even a goodbye or a thank you for being her friend.

But then there was a gasping for air and Phoenix sat up. This scared Kaylessa at first, letting out a little squeak and making her back off a second as she was frightened, but then filled with joy as Phoenix was alive. “Phoenix!” Kay shouted with joy with a smile on her face. He was alive, and she was happy she wouldn’t have to mourn the death of a friend right now. She wanted to give him a big hug and let him know how happy she was he was still with them, but knew to give Alex a chance first, the two were best friends and knew they would be happy. Kaylessa at this point was standing as she filled with joy and energy, but then in one moment that all went away and she froze. Phoenix had kissed Alex, and he was kissing him back.

Kaylessa was confused and full of a whole assortment of emotions. She didn’t understand. Kay had told Phoenix everything, confessed how she felt about Alex even wanting to talk to him about everything, about them. But right now she was frozen in disbelief, not knowing how to feel exactly. Why wouldn’t Phoenix tell her how he felt about Alex? But then she realised it wasn’t his fault. No, it was hers.

Before either of them turned to talk to her, before they could notice how she felt and the tears forming in her eyes, Kaylessa took off running. How could she be so dumb to not to understand what was between Alex and Phoenix? How could she be so pathetic to actually believe Alex likes her the way she liked him? How could she be so stupid not to see that? And many more questions rushed through Kay’s mind as tears fella off her face and she ran, away from Alex, away from the fight, away from everyone.

Kaylessa ran with tears falling down her face, not even taking the time to wipe them away as she pushed through bushes and under branches. She finally had to stop when she entered a clearing at the edge of the lake. She spotted a tree that she used to climb a lot when she was younger a few hundred feet away and darted towards it. Kay looked across the frozen lake, the moonlight glistening off the thin sheet of ice that had started to form with the temperature dropping. She wiped her tears away and started climbing up, eventually maneuvering her body on a long branch that hung over the lake.

Kay sat with her legs hanging off the branch and just staring across the lake. At this distance there was much less screaming and yelling, the gunshots sounded distant. “Why am I so stupid? Of course Alex doesn’t like me. I should have known.” She asked herself in between sniffs and wiping her eyes and her runny nose. She didn’t want to go back into tow, she didn’t want to face Alex or Phoenix with her shame. Violet and Jaiden were even there when Kaylessa was asking Phoenix about Alex, they probably thought of her as an idiot for how she felt.

“Maybe I should run away
 Never come back. No one will miss me, Alex-” Kaylessa was talking out loud when the branch was on suddenly broke, causing her to scream before sending her and the branch crashing through the ice of the lake below. The fall knocked the wind out of Kay so when she went to try to breathe she took in a mouthful of water and accidentally swallowed, her throat burning from the ice cold water. She tried to scream for help but couldn’t get enough air into her lungs, just struggling against the water and the layer of ice above her. Kay could barely fight against the water as her limbs started to feel heavy, her vision started to delude until she finally felt a calmness as she slowly closed her eyes. The last thing to cross Kaylessa's mind was the last word she had said before falling, Alex.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Markus Valegood
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Violet Marsden
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Revanent | outfit : herex|xhex: #2b2a2a
xxxThere's blood in the water but it tastes so sweet
xxxShow me no mercy
xxxAnd let it rain, and let it rain
xxxShow me no mercy



Everything was silent and cold as Violet slowy walked through the woods. An eerily silence with the small buzzing and whispering she always heard echoed through her ears. The wind slowly blew, grazing her skin with its all too familiar embrace. She left the lakeside as soon as she could, she needed to get into town. As she walked, dozens of Hunters appeared from behind trees and rocks alike. Stepping backward she took a deep breath, readying herself to defend herself in any way that she could. One of the Hunters took aim at her with a compound bow, readying the arrow, but was quickly snatched backward and dragged away by some vines and branches. Using that as a distraction as a few of the other Hunters were set upon by more treefolk, Violet rushed forwards and jumped onto one of the Hunter's backs. Using Violet as a distraction, one of the Spriggans formed vines around the Hunter's throats, watching as the life was quickly extinguished as the neck was forcibly snapped. Violet fell alongside the body on the ground, but quickly pushed herself away and behind a tree as another Hunter had taken aim at her but missed, the arrow finding itself lodged into the tree she had hid behind.

Amongst the fight, one of the Hunters ran to where Violet had hidden, and crept along the tree and slowly turned to go in for a grab at her. But when they turned around to the other side of the tree, she was gone. The Hunter looked in confusion, he could have sworn that Violet had ran behind for cover. As he went to walk away, Violet suddenly dropped down from the branches, landing on his shoulders and forcing him into the tree face first. The Hunter swore as he grasped his face as he felt the blood and then finally the pain. "You little bitch!" he exclaimed as he held his nose, trying to ease the pain. Violet simply smiled and gave a small little wave as a cluster of vines wrapped around the Hunter's ankle and forced him onto his back as he was pulled away. A small smile and chuckle escaped her lips, but not for long as she felt arms wrap around her from behind and easily hoisted her up into the air. Violet struggled to free herself as she tried worming her way out of their grasp, "You're the little ghost girl we were told so much about, right?" a female voice spoke up from her. Violet froze in place at the Hunter's words. Someone had been telling them about her? No, about the people from Greythorne as a whole. She knew that there must have been a mole, but who? Thinking it was Travis would have been too obvious and easy, but her gut was telling her something she didn't want to trust. "What...What are you talking about?" she asked, trying to not only get as much information as she could get, but also as a way of distracting the Hunter and get her to lower her guard.

The Hunter sneered as she continued to drag Violet along, "Don't try asking questions, or try to make me feel guilty about killing you monsters. It won't work on-" that was all that she needed. With one swift movement, Violet forced her head back as hard as she could, smacking the back of her head into the Hunter's face as she was talking. Violet found herself falling onto the frozen, snow-covered ground beneath her. Violet gasped for air as she rolled onto her back before she slowly propped herself up as she rubbed the back of her head. It was wet and warm, looking at her hand she saw a small amount of blood. But there was no wound, so why was there-it was only when she looked up at the Hunter that she realized. It wasn't her blood, but the Hunter's blood as her lip was now split as well as a broken nose. Violet smirked, the Hunter looking up at Violet as she spat out a mixture of saliva and blood onto the otherwise perfectly white, snow-covered ground. "You bitch!" the Hunter's voice was somewhat muffled from the now swollen lip. Violet chuckled, "If you want to fight, at least make it worth it." she retorted, raising her hands in the form of fists infront of her face. The Hunter stretched, tossing down her own weapon which was a large knife with a curved edge.

The two looked at each other in silence as the wind blew, the other Hunters were busy at work with their own combat with the treefolk and other supernatural folks that had rushed into the woods to help by this time. After what felt like forever, but was simply a minute, the two rushed at each other. Violet dodged the first swing of the Hunter as she went for an uppercut. Violet gave a quick jab at the Hunter, right on the side next to the ribs, and quickly backed off. The Hunter let out a small groan as Violet managed to hit the weak spot in the armor, "You are going to regret not dying peacefully." the Hunter spat out. Violet couldn't help but chuckle, but it wasn't her normal chuckle. Something about it just felt off, and unnerving which caused a small tinge of absolute fear to hit the Hunter. "You're no normal ghost are you...There's no way that you're a...No. You can't." she said coldly as she readied herself once more. Violet couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow a the Hunter's words. Did the Hunter know what Violet was? And if so, how and why? In the moment, she didn't care for an answer, as much as she wanted one, she could get one later. "You're going to watch, as we kill all of your friends, slowly. And then we'll kill yo-" the woman was cut off from her mini-rant as Violet suddenly rushed her, knocking the Hunter off of her feet and onto the ground. The two fought to out do the other, but finally Violet managed to get the upper hand and wrap her hands around the woman's throat, slowly beginning to squeeze tighter and tighter. Her eyes never breaking the eye-contact between the two. "What's....What's wrong? Afraid of losing more people?" the Hunter managed to gasp out, trying to use her last words as a means of distracting Violet.

Violet simply scoffed as she continued to squeeze the life out of the Hunter, "Fuck....You." Violet finally said, her voice sounding ice cold and void of any life or emotion. The Hunter finally managed to get what she had wanted, a small bit of anger from Violet which had caused her to not be fully aware of her surroundings. The Hunter, in one swift motion, brought her right hand down and into Violet's left shoulder, digging the dagger deep into Violet's arm. Violet let out a pained scream as the knife only dug farther into the flesh and bone in her arm, a dark liquid slowly began to ooze from the wound as the dagger was taken out as the Hunter attempted a second stab. But Violet was too quick, too furious and bloodthirsty and in one moment and flick of the wrist the Hunter went still and silent. Violet didn't know what had happened, all she knew was that she wasn't in control of her actions, not fully by any means. Finally blinking, her vision had returned to normal, as in her angered state everything seemed darker and blurred, almost as if her vision entirely went black. She found herself scooting backward and away from the corpse of the Hunter, turning and emptying the contents of her stomach. Violet had never been one for violent outbursts or hurting someone, but having that small taste of what it felt like made her heart race.

Violet slowly stood up on her feet, looking around the woods. In her small bout with the Hunter who now laid motionless on the ground, she hadn't noticed that the others had been fully dispatched of. Now, now she stood alone in the silent and eery woods. Once that felt like a safe and secure place, now felt otherworldly and unnerving. Her vision began to blur and fade from in and out of her normal vision, to that of a blurred reality. One moment she found herself in the quiet woods, and the next when she blinked there was a dark mist forming around her and then she was gone, leaving a small flock of black ravens in her place. Violet found herself slamming into something hard and cold beneath her when she opened her eyes. Gone were the cold, snow-covered birch trees and soft wind blowing, and now...Now she found herself in a darkly lit, dusk covered victorian designed office room. A simple old oak desk with a large chair behind it sat infront of a curtain covered window, a crackling fireplace was along the cobblestone wall, two chairs were sat infront of the desk that sat across the room, and shelves with countless books aligned the room. She didn't know what happened, or where she was, all she knew was that those faint whispers were growing closer and closer and then finally they stopped. Silently Violet stood in the middle of the room, trying to figure out anything to do, nevermind even say. She had just barely began to open her mouth when the sound of one clearing their throat sounded behind her. Quickly turning around Violet had a look of deep fear and anxiety written on her face when she saw the familiar figure standing behind the desk, hands folded neatly behind his back as he faced away from her. Violet could have sworn she was alone in this room, and then she wasn't. "Who...Who are you..?" Violet barely stuttered out. The room felt cold and empty, despite the crackling fireplace behind her.

The figure slowly turned around, a small smile was placed on his otherwise emotionless face. He was tall, oddly tall and lanky. His arms and hands seemed to be just slightly too long for his body, as did his legs. His skin was a sickly pale color, dark short hair covered his head in a comb-over, with the slightest bit of gray and white patches. His eyes were almost black in nature, void of any sign of life, even the parts of his eyes that were normally white were a solid black, making his eyes seem like a deep and dark abyss. Violet silently looked at him for a moment as she tried remembering who he was, but before she could ask, the man spoke. A soft, yet gravely and almost velvet-like voice sounded. As if it was coming from around her, and not just the man that stood in front of her, "We can discuss who I am on a later note, dear one. But now, now we discuss the promise you made with me. The one about your friends, remember?"







Neden Isimir
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Fallen Angel | outfit : herex|xhex: #a39d9d
xxxThis place is going up in flames and
xxxWe watch and we wait
xxxAnd I think I kinda like the way it
xxxIt burns in my face



Neden watched as Kaylessa had finally arrived at the graveyard, kneeling down next to Alex and Phoenix, as they gave the small group their space. Neden didn't know what to do, for once, they had no idea. All they had to offer was to help the initial bleeding with what they had given Alex to patch it up, but even then that wouldn't have done much. Nothing they could do would help. While they could heal themselves, and others of very minor wounds, this was out of their field of expertise and ability to heal someone. So all they could do was silently stand there and watch, as even Kaylessa wasn't able to help heal Phoenix's injury. Kaylessa was the one that Neden would have brought Phoenix to if they got back to town soon enough, but since Kaylessa met them there first, it brought a small spark of hope back into their heart which had only been extinguished all too soon. "Fuck..." they mumbled softly under their breath at the realization that even a healer like Kaylessa was hopeless in being able to heal. Neden sighed to themselves, combing their fingers through their hair as they tried to think of what to do. Anything at this point would be worth trying. Their attention was taken back to Alex when he told Kaylessa to continue trying to heal Phoenix, and that he had a plan and he was going to try to do something. They gave him an odd look at first, raising their eyebrow with uncertainty by what that meant. But they watched as Alex sat down like he had before, crossing his legs as he sat beside Phoenix. Was this like what he did before? Where he contacted the spirits from the other side just barely an hour before? Neden wasn't certain, but they were all out of ideas and plans, and if this worked...Well, it would be worth it. The Angel simply looked at Alex and gave him a nod, "Just don't fuck this up, got it?" they said with a small smile.

They weren't going to leave them alone as Alex tried his idea out, if things went horribly wrong they'd have no one to protect themselves or get Alex out of his trance. Neden watched as Alex closed his eyes and began to do his thing. It was only the sound of Kay's voice that broke them from focusing on Alex. Neden simply placed their hand on her shoulder when she asked what was Alex doing and what was going on, "I'm not entirely sure...I've only ever seen one other Necromancer aside from Alex and, my best guess? Doing something stupid that might actually work." Neden said with a slight chuckle in their voice. Refusing to move from their spot until Alex and hopefully Phoenix came back, Neden stayed in place. Only moving a few footsteps away as they paced back and forth, their black feathered wings twitched and moved every now and then as anxiety-filled their whole being. Neden never was the anxious type, but in all of their years in the human world, they never experienced something like this. Well...Not on this side of the situation anyway. The angel shook those thoughts out of their head as now wasn't the time to focus on the past, they changed and were no longer that person. In felt like hours passed, while in reality it was only a few minutes when the sound of a loud gasp sounded, taking them out of their trance.

The sight of Alex and Phoenix smiling and making small jokes between the two caused a smile to form on their face as they stepped closer. "You actually did it, you crazy bastard." Neden said as they chuckled, patting Alex on the head as he was still sitting down. Neden was going to speak up and say how they needed to get going if they were able, but much to their surprise, Phoenix leaned in and surprisingly ended up kissing Alex. Normally, they would have been taken aback by it, but considering the stories they overheard and knew how generally close they were, and with what they had gone through it wasn't too much of a shock. "Humans..." they scoffed under their breath. It was only the sight of Kaylessa running off in the distance that caused a small tinge of guilt and anxiety run through them. It still wasn't fully safe to just go running, even if the sound of fighting had gone down. Neden would have given chase to stop her and ask what was wrong, but Neden had more important matters to take care of. Turning back to Alex and Phoenix, Neden gave them a nod and smile, "You two, take care of each other and look out for each other, got it? No more getting stabbed." they mused as they turned, but before leaving they saw a few Spriggans making their way from the town and back to them. They didn't need to exchange words, but most of the fighting was over, only a few Hunters remained and they had come back to check on the ones in the graveyard. "Watch over those two, alright? I'm going to check on the others and I'll report back later. We're going to have one fucking mess to clean up when this is over..." Neden said with a bitter tone. They just had a feeling that while things were going in their favor, they had to have lost some of the townspeople once more.

Neden gave Alex and Phoenix one more look and a small salute of their hand before they took off for the town like a rocket. It was simply just a blur and they were gone. In only a few moments, Neden was back in the middle of town. It was a disaster, broken into homes and stores, bodies of both supernatural and Hunters littered the town, blood and gore covered the streets. A sinking feeling filled them as they slowly stalked the streets, something still didn't feel right. Reaching back into their pocket they retrieved what looked to be a simple silver pen and twirled it in their index finger and thumb as they casually walked down the street. All was silent, and then there was the sound of footsteps behind them, rushing them by the sounds of it. Turning on their heal, Neden pushed themselves backward with their wings and a gust of wind swept behind them as looked up to see a Hunter had come for a sneak attack. A large grin formed on Neden's face and with a simple flick of their wrist, the pen formed into the appearance of a sword, holding it by their side. the Hunter sneered and went in for a rush with two twin daggers. Simply jumping into the air due to the help of their wings, Neden spun and gave a swift kick that landed against the Hunter's face, sending them backwards. With a groan the Hunter slowly got back to their feet, giving Neden a scowl as blood trickled form his now broken nose. "That looks rough." they chuckled, and went in for a swipe of their own, but pulled back last minute, using their foot to knock one of the daggers from the Hunter's grasp. "You're gonna die, you bitch." the Hunter called out through broken teeth and cartilage. Neden simply let out a small chuckle, which only irritated the Hunter more and rushed them. Neden gave a few quick jabs and kick into the Hunter's abdomen then sent him hunched over, gasping for air. Neden approached the Hunter from behind, grabbing him by the shoulder, "Sleep well, dear prince." they mused, "Wha...wha-" the Hunter stuttered, but before he could even utter a word, a fountain of blood emptied from his freshly sliced throat which he tried to stop as he grabbed his throat. Neden watched as the man finally went still and silent as the pool of blood slowly grew around him. Leaving the Hunter, Neden turned and wiped their weapon clean on the edge of their coat.

Silently walking down the street, Neden forced their weapon to retract and take the appearance of a pen once more, placing it in their coat's pocket once more. And instead, Neden pulled out two twin daggers, unsheathing them as they did so. Up ahead they saw three Hunters outnumbering a single individual. Shaking their head, Neden took to the sky, and using their wings rushed one of the Hunters and took him to the ground. Having distracted the other two, the woman had the advantage against at least one of them, taking one out with ease with the snap of the neck and the body went limp as it crumbled to the ground. Neden quickly got to their feet as one of their daggers was plunged deeply into the Hunter's chest. Turning around, Neden finally made eye contact with the woman, she was of average height and build, but with fair colored skin and dark eyes. The things that stood out from making her look like any other citizen, was her long electric blue-green hair, and choice of dark clothing and lipstick. They both smiled at each other, before turning their attention to the remaining Hunter. Neden simply removed the dagger that was used to kill one of the Hunters, "I think you got it from here, love." Neden said with a small smile as they turned away. Hearing blood-curdling screams as the Hunter was set upon by the woman, who dug her fangs deeply into his neck and had her fill of human blood.

Patrolling the streets once more, nothing was to be further seen, aside from one thing that brought immediate concern to Neden. A form was pushed up against a wall. It wouldn't have been a cause for concern naturally until Neden recognized who it was. Quickening their pace they kneeled down beside him, placing their hand by his side, while their other hand was placed on his cheek, "C'mon, Markus. Wake the fuck up." Nedne called out, patting him gently on the cheek. Markus slowly blinked, lipping his lips dryly, trying to speak. Neden simply hushed him as they caressed his hair and face. They needed to keep him calm and keep his breathing at a stable level. "Don't say a thing, ya got it? You need to save your energy. You're not dying like a bitch from this stab wound, you're not that sad of a man, Markus." Neden commented, searching through their pockets for something, anything to help with the bleeding. But then they remembered they gave Alex the gauze to help with Phoenix's injury, "Fuck..." they cursed under their breath. Looking back at Markus, they could tell he was trying to tell them something important, but his words were slurred and murmured. The only thing they could understand was, "In his pocket" and "No one can know". Neden simply nodded and searched through his jacket's pocket, retrieving a vial with a strange colored liquid in it. Neden gave Markus a look over and squinted, they knew what it was, but how Markus managed to get his hands on it, they didn't care. All that counted was that he had it, it wouldn't fully heal what had been done, but the least it would do was prolong the inevitable and give him more time. Popping off the top of the vial, they helped tip Markus' head back enough for the liquid to go down easily enough. Markus cough and sputtered a bit, but he had swallowed the liquid and that's what mattered. After a few minutes, the major bleeding had stopped and Markus had fallen asleep. Neden wrapped their arms under his legs and behind his head, and scooped him up in their arms, and began the long walk back to find somewhere safe for Markus and for everyone else until they knew what to do. But for now, Neden made a promise, and no one else could know what happened. Not until it was time anyway...





Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven
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A l e x Garcia

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Outfit - #3a0a4d

Alex wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting to happen, but Kay running away like that hadn’t been it. He turned to look at Neden, but they seemed content to let her go. Something about it didn’t sit right with Alex, but soon after, Neden was telling him to look after Phoenix. Well, they’d told the boys to look after each other-heaven knows they needed looking after-but Alex had interpreted that to mean that he should look after Phoenix, and that was what he intended to do. Neden left too quickly to thank, so Alex settled on standing up and extending a hand to Phoenix, ”How are you feeling?” He remembered being a little weak, at first, after he’d been attacked. Hopefully a good night’s sleep would help with whatever Phoenix may be feeling.

He also remembered how horrible that first night after being attacked had been, and had no intentions of letting Phoenix ride it out alone. ”You can come back with me,” He worded it like it was an offer, even as he was guiding Phoenix in that direction, ”Besides, I think Abuela would like to have you where she can keep an eye on you.” He had, of course, failed to mention how he would like to keep a close eye on Phoenix.

The walk was pretty quiet. Alex spent it looking out for signs of trouble, and making sure Phoenix was supported and okay. Alex wouldn’t have known what to say anyway, and smalltalk seemed inappropriate. He’d never liked silence much, but he’d been starting to get used to it in the past several weeks. The house was empty when they reached it, though the lights had been left on. About half of the pictures that were once hanging on the walls and displayed proudly through the mains rooms of the house were missing, which only made it look emptier.

Abuela should have been back by now, attack or not. Alex was a little concerned, but his grandmother was probably just out helping her friends. Still, he would have expected her to check in on him by now. She was probably just busy. He decided to turn his attention to Phoenix, maybe helping him would ease the anxiety growing in Alex’s chest. ”Do you need anything?” Of course he did, he’d nearly died. ”I can
 I mean, I’m not much of a cook, but I can get you something to eat,” As if Phoenix hadn’t practically grown up in this house, wouldn’t feel comfortable helping himself. Maybe he didn’t, anymore.

”I could get you some coffee, or
 Tea might be better, you need to get some rest soon
” He felt a lump rising in his throat and felt his eyes fill with tears. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, He had no right, Phoenix was the one who’d almost died. On impulse, Alex wrapped his arms around Phoenix, hugging him as if he’d been lost for years. ”I’m so sorry, Phoenix.” He was, at first, not even sure what he was apologising for, ”I said so many things and I shouldn’t have.” He sighed, ”I don’t wanna be like her, Phoenix. I
 I’m just sorry.” He was talking, of course, about his mother-for as long as Alex could remember, she’d lashed out and ruined every relationship she’d ever had, including her relationship with him.

Alex pulled away, holding Phoenix at arms length, trying to think of what else Phoenix could need, ”Let me
 I’ll get you some water?” He was trying to help, but his head was spinning in a million different directions, and he didn't know what to do, or where to go from here.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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PHOENIX WOODS
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxno i've got nothing to lose
xxxexcept everything you are
xxxi'm not looking at the moon
xxxi'm staring at the stars.
There was a brief, horrible moment when Phoenix thought he'd ruined everything, but then Alex was kissing him back and it felt like everything was right, for a few short moments. Then Alex pulled away and said they should go, making Phoenix laugh a little. But it was as he looked up that he spotted Kay running in to the trees, and guilt hit him like a punch to the stomach. He'd... he'd forgotten she was there and had gotten wrapped up in the moment. There was slightly more urgency in Neden's tone as they told them to look after each other, before disappearing back into the fight.

He took Alex's hand and climbed to his feet rather ungracefully. "I'm fine. A little bit... bit lightheaded but I'm fine," he said. Considering the amount of blood on his shirt and around where he'd been lying, he wasn't entirely surprised that he was feeling a little shaky. He found himself leaning in to Alex for support as they walked. Alex offered to bring Phoenix back to his. And even if it didn't feel as much like an offer as Alex telling him that was what was going to happen. And regardless, that was the only place he wanted to go. The reality of what had happened was starting to set in, and he didn't want to be alone. Alex's place had sometimes felt more like home than home had ever done.

The absence of the photos didn't escape him. He wanted to ask, but one look at Alex's face and he decided against it. Alex started rambling, asking him what he needed. Phoenix could see the tears starting to build in Alex's eyes, so when Alex hugged him, Phoenix clung to him desperately, able to feel the tears building in his own eyes. The lump in his throat made it too hard to get the words out and the tears started to pour down his cheeks. What had Alex been going through? Why hadn't Phoenix fought harder to keep him, ignored the stupid comments and just not walked away?

"You're never going to be like her, you hear me? You're better than she ever was," He swore, the tears still streaming down his face. Alex pulled away and Phoenix had to fight the instinct to pull him right back in for another hug. Alex was still upset, and Phoenix just put a hand to Alex's face. "This isn't your fault. We both messed up, okay? And it's okay now, we're okay now. You made it better. I'm here now and I swear to god, I'm not going anywhere," He said. And he forced himself to smile. "So, I really, really need to shower right now," he said. "But I could kill some mac and cheese or a hot chocolate right now. Or both. You think you can manage that without burning down the kitchen?" He asked with a grin. "And I'm stealing some of your clothes, okay?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Travis Graveson
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KAYLESSA VALVEN
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outfit xxxxxxx hex; #FF4500
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xxx If I'm a bad person, you don't like me
xxx Well, I guess I'll make my own way
xxx It's a circle, a mean cycle
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI can't excite you anymore

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Kaylessa slowly opened her eyes and sat up looking around, her vision was hazy but she could still make out the surroundings. The lake, the trees, the town in the distance; she was in Greythorne, but it wasn’t winter, it seemed more like fall. “What?” She mumbled out loud, running her hands across the grass she was sitting in and ruffling some of the fallen leaves. She was confused, the last thing she remembered was falling into the same lake that was in front of her and crashing through the ice.

”You okay mi Mariposa?” The voice startled Kay, there wasn’t anyone there a second ago and as she turned she saw Alex. “Al-Alex?” She stuttered, surprised, and quickly looking around expecting to see anyone else. She just saw him and Phoenix kissing, and it was just winter. Kaylessa was very confused about what was going on. “But you were just with Phoenix, and we were getting attacked and the kis-” Alex gently put his finger on Kaylessa’s lips and she quickly went quiet as he leaned in closer to her and caressing her face. “Hush, it’s fine my little one.”

A small smile came across Kaylessa’s face and she hugged Alex, squeezing him tight as his arms went around her and he patted her head. This was great, she must of dreamt up the horrible things, a nightmare. Why would anyone ever attack Greythorne, and of course Alex liked her back, she knew the flirts from him were real. Alex pulled back slowly stood up, reaching his hand down to Kay. “Now come on, we have to get going if we want to set up our stand for the festival.” He said with a smile.

Kaylessa went to reach for Alex’s hand but behind him the woods seemed to darken, as if they were disappearing into a black void. “Hurry Kaylessa, take my hand and we can leave.” Alex said again about her going with him but his voice distorted. Then her chest started to feel warm and her throat started to burn. Kay put her hands around her throat as she tried to speak but wasn’t able to, and as she looked up, it wasn’t Alex holding out his hand, but some hooded figure with no face. The figure that lunged for Kaylessa and she opened her mouth to let out a scream but no noise came out. All that happened next was a bright flash of light.

Kaylessa opened her eyes and forced herself to roll over as she coughed up water, barely able to catch her breath. As she finished coughing and finally able to breathe she turned back and saw Rosie handing her her jumper, saying she should wrap up to get warm. Kaylessa didn’t say anything back as she looked around. It was still winter, and she was at the lake. Alex was nowhere nearby, just Rosie and Travis, he was sitting up trying to wrap in Rosie’s jacket. Kay looked back at Rosie and pushed the jumper back. “No.. no I’m-” She coughed a couple more times. “I’m not cold.”

Rosie asked her a couple more times if she was okay and then asked her what she was doing. “Nothing! I was doing nothing. Don’t ask me anything.” She quickly remarked back at Rosie as she looked away, a small tear coming down her face. Rosie softened her voice and got closer to Kay and wrapped her arm around her, telling her it was okay and comforting her. “I-I like Alex
 and Phoenix kissed him
 He knew I liked him
 And Alex kissed him back.” Kaylessa mumbled out quietly into Rosie’s shoulder. Rosie then offered Kay to come back to her place, help her look after Travis and talk to her more, but told her she didn’t have time.

Kay slowly nodded her head as the two stood up and Kay walked over to Travis, Rosie had told her that he saved her life. “Thank you Travy” She said with a half smile rubbing teary face and helping Travis up. The three headed back to Rosie’s place and Kaylessa was happy to get some hot chocolate.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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PHOENIX WOODS
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxam i more than you bargained for yet?
xxxi'm just dying to tell you
xxxanything you want to hear
xxxbut that's just who i am this week
They cried more that night than either of them had in years. Phoenix held it together until he was out of Alex’s sight and earshot, but the shock of seeing himself covered in his own blood was startling, and the realization of what had almost happened- what had happened, if only for seconds, minutes- hit home. And once the levee broke, it didn’t take much for the floods to start again. Just pulling on clean, dry then clothes was almost enough to set him off, but the fact that they smelled like Abuela’s washing detergent, that they smelled like Alex, sent him into floods of tears. Hugging Alex again when he got back into the kitchen. Laughter at Phoenix having to rescue the hot chocolate and the mac and cheese that turned into tears all over again. Phoenix waking them both up when he woke up from a brutal nightmare, already choking on sobs.

It got better with time. Once the shock and the horror and the guilt of the night was over, things got easier. Phoenix thought Abuela was actually going to cry when she came back the next morning to find the two of them sitting in her kitchen as if the past few weeks had never happened. And as horrible as the night before had been, that feeling of familiarity as the three of them sat in the kitchen and chatted and laughed made everything feel so much better. It felt like coming home.

But not everything was the same. It seemed their entire lives had been shaped by dumb, reckless decisions- and Phoenix’s decision to kiss Alex again after Alex insisted on walking him back to his apartment was no different. He realised the minute that he did it that he might have messed up, that he might be ruining everything they’d just fixed. But then Alex was kissing him back, and god, it just felt so right.

Figuring things out at first hadn’t exactly been easy. It was only when they stopped trying to figure things out and just let it be what it was that everything seemed to fall into place. They’d kept it just to themselves for a while. But they had to tell Abuela. Her reaction was
 not what they’d expected. Apparently she’d been waiting for this to happen since they were kids. And after Jaiden “broke” into Phoenix’s apartment at three am to find them making out on the couch, they’d stopped trying to hide it.

After everything that had happened, Phoenix wanted to make sure that nobody was spending Christmas alone. His parents had been planning on coming home for a week or two then- but given that they’d had two major attacks so close together, they were reluctant to, and so were spending Christmas in Australia. Phoenix was oddly conflicted about the whole thing, but didn’t let himself dwell on it. It meant that he didn’t have any commitments and could do something good.

After the chaos that had been Friendsgiving, Phoenix should have been reluctant to invite that many people over again. But after what he felt was careful planning, he was convinced that he would have totally been able to handle it. It took Alex talking him out of it and Abuela offering up her house before he agreed that maybe the apartment was a little small. And he invited people who didn’t have family in town, or who didn’t get along with their family, over to Abuela’s for Christmas dinner, complete with Secret Santa. In return, he just asked people to bring a side, a dessert, or board games for after dinner.

He spent the entirety of Christmas Eve finishing up the last few things he needed to do. It was different to every other Christmas, but not in a bad way. It felt good to be doing something, something that would put smiles on everyone else’s face, and that was what mattered. At half one in the morning, Alex finally convinced him to go to bed.

And even still, Phoenix naturally woke up early. The sun was only starting to rise, the soft light filling the bedroom. Alex still seemed to be asleep, so Phoenix quietly slid out of bed and went to the kitchen. It was still a little strange, having someone else living in the apartment with him. Not strange in a bad way, but just in a way that struck him every now and when he had the place to himself. The apartment seemed smaller, but cosier, feeling more like there was constant life in it. Maybe it was the stones and feathers and other odds and ends that Alex appeared home with that were now scattered over the apartment, or the way that things were just never left in the same way that they had been when he was living alone. And he wouldn’t have changed any of it.

The coffee brewed and a selection of pastries piled on to a plate, he made his way back into the bedroom and put a mug of coffee down on Alex’s bedside table. “Morning, asshole,” he called with a grin. He sat cross-legged on the bed beside Alex, his own mug of coffee in his hands. “Merry Christmas.”





ROSIE THOMPSON
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outfit : herex|xhex: #cc0460
xxxlittle things i should have said and done
xxxi never took the time
xxxbut you are always on my mind
xxxyou are always on my mind.
Nothing had quite been the same since that night in her house. Nothing had happened that night- Kay had plopped herself down beside Kay and Trav and they’d chatted until Kay started to fall asleep. But Rosie had texted Travis the following morning after he’d left to ask him for dinner.

They’d gone for dinner a few times, gone for coffee a few times, but things never seemed to quite work out. She’d kissed him after their second time going for dinner, but it had been interrupted by her phone ringing. And things like that kept happening. Rosie didn’t mind. She liked just going for dinner or grabbing coffee or going for a walk together.

But after the attack, she’d also taken on a more proactive role in defending the town. Well, specifically, in protecting her students. They were taking it in turns to walk or drive some of the younger students home, as well as any of the older students who lived a little further away. When some of her students wanted to learn self-defence, she agreed, on the condition that it was only to be used if they had no other choice. The most recent attack had been bigger, more aggressive, more damaging, and just telling the kids to run and hide wasn’t going to be enough before long. They had to learn to fight back.

She’d been surprised when she’d gotten word from Phoenix, inviting her around for Christmas. Then he had explained what he was doing and that he didn’t want anybody to feel alone, and she’d gladly agreed. She hadn’t been all that surprised to find out that he and Alex were together. She’d felt sorry for Kay, of course, but she could remember what the two of them had been like in high school. She was only surprised that it had taken this long.

It was nice to sleep in for once. Even still, she woke up relatively early, stretching and yawning. Travis was coming around to hers first and they were going to Alex’s abuela’s place together. She reached for her phone and sent him a text, before having a quick shower and getting dressed.

To: Travis
Merry Christmas! Christmas breakfast at my place?





HAYDEN BYRNE
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outfit : herex|xhex: #005555
xxxoh should my people fall
xxxthen surely i'd do the same
xxxconfined in mountain halls
xxxwe got too close to the flame
Hayden had completely lost track of his days over the past few weeks. He’d known that it was close to Christmas, of course, but he hadn’t realised exactly how close it was until he woke up Christmas morning, went out in search of breakfast, and found everywhere closed. It was only then it sank in what day it was.

Something in him had been urging him to try and find this town for a while now. He’d driven all over BC, it felt, before finding himself in the tiny town the day before. He’d arrived into town, and that constant driving urge finally settled, something in him releasing a contented sigh of “here.” He didn’t know why he was here, or what he was supposed to do, but something told him that it was going to be here for more than a few days.

He’d asked the day before if there were any elves in town, anyone like him. The owner of the B&B had shook her head, before going “Oh, wait, we have a half-elf. Her name’s Kaylessa Valven.” They’d written down her address for him. He didn’t know whether or not he should visit, given that it was Christmas Day. But he didn’t have anything better to do, and he figured that if she seemed busy, he could claim to just be stopping by.

But even as he reached her front door, he reconsidered. Maybe tomorrow would be a better time, maybe she had plans today or just wouldn’t want to see anyone. But before he could knock, the door opened, and he was confronted with a young woman, probably about his age, with long dark hair, and big blue eyes. "Uh, hi, sorry, are you... Kaylessa? Sorry, it's just someone told me you're the only other elf- well, half elf in town, and, well, I'm an elf so I thought I should... come say hi. I'm Hayden, by the way. Oh, sorry, are you just heading out? I can... come back?" He rambled.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr
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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxglass sky, killin' time
xxxyou leaned upon my shoulder
xxxand my thoughts dried
xxxdidn't mind

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Alex hadn’t wanted to cry any more in front of Phoenix; after all, Phoenix was the one who’d been attacked and nearly died. But the sheer terror of losing him was a weight that hadn’t left his shoulders. When Phoenix left the room, Alex couldn’t fight back the tears any longer. He tried to busy himself and make the food for Phoenix, and also clean himself up the best he could in the kitchen sink, but a retroactive panic hit him, and before he knew it, everything was going wrong all at once, and suddenly Phoenix was there to save the day, just like he’d always done.

But, really, things could never be the same again. They’d opened the gates and began to unleash emotions that had been building for years, just under the surface (probably very poorly hidden), and there was no going back. So Alex was relieved when Phoenix kissed him again. To him, that meant it was real. There were, of course, some bumps in the road: Alex had no idea how to do any of this stuff, but being around Phoenix had always made him happy, and the new developments in their relationship were thrilling and terrifying and perfect.

Abuela was-of course-thrilled; she already had the wedding planned. That freaked Alex out more than a little, especially when she pulled out an entire three-ringed-binder full of wedding plans. After some (maybe slightly hysterical) prodding, she admitted she’d been planning since 2005. She, also, practically kicked Alex out as soon as she could. Alex was a little offended, he didn’t think he was that bad to live with, he did his own laundry, cleaned up after himself; but he was apparently Phoenix’s problem, now.

Alex was expecting Christmas to be just like every other year: sit around with Abuela, get a text from his mother, disappointment from his father, maybe go see Phoenix if he wasn’t too busy with his parents (usually with dinner or some sort of treat in tow), but the attacks meant a change in plans for Phoenix, and that meant that Phoenix was going to start driving himself crazy to try to do something “nice and special” for all of their friends, which-like friendsgiving- was almost certain to be a bit of a disaster. He kept that opinion to himself, however, and decided to focus on trying to get Phoenix to change his mind about location. Sure, Alex’s childhood home wasn’t the biggest, but it had enough room to host a few people, so with a little insistence, they were able to get Phoenix to change his mind about hosting it at the apartment, at least.

Of course, that didn’t stop the planning, or staying up late to prepare, and Alex had to admit that he had no idea how much work went into this sort of thing. He’d mostly been focusing on picking a good present for his secret santa recipient, and then there were the gifts for the people most important to him, all picked with care, of course.

On Christmas morning, he was woken much earlier than he would have liked, and after a short groan he called out a response of “Oh, fuck off,” Before sitting up and stretching his arms above his head, “Good morning.” He grabbed the coffee from the side table and took a sip before carefully considering the plate full of pastries, picking one and practically stuffing the entire thing in his mouth. “So,” He spoke around a mouth full of food, “Oh, this is good.” Then, as if suddenly remembering he was saying something, he added, “Please tell me you got me something good.” This wasn’t the first time he’d brought up his hope for a good Christmas gift, and it might not be the last. Really, he wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d gotten it, but that wouldn’t stop him from prodding.





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Z A D A min ALBAHR
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outfitx|x#78b0ad
xxxi called it the moonsea
xxxit is a cruel dream
xxxfrom up so high, I can hardly decide
xxxif you're waving hello, or waving goodbye

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After the fighting had subsided, and the attack was over, Zada found herself sitting in her living room, surrounded by strangers. It was noisy, abuzz with the sounds of cell phones ringing and voices checking in on loved ones. She saw joy and grief all bundled together in that room, and couldn’t help but think that they’d all gotten off easy.

She was a little surprised to get an invitation to Christmas from Phoenix, but she was grateful, all the same. He wanted to do something for everyone who didn’t have a family in town to be with, and Zada figured it couldn’t be worse than sitting around her house alone. However, drawing Alex’s name for the gift exchange wasn’t
 ideal. She didn’t even know where to start looking for gifts for him. She’d never had a full conversation with the man, and didn’t intend on starting any time soon. Still, she had to get him something. That was the whole point of it.

Instead of even considering that, though, she mostly spent her time trying to make her house more inviting. Her sudden interest in interior design was mostly for the sake of function: in the event of another attack, she wanted the space to be inviting and comfortable for anyone that may need to take shelter there. It wasn’t much, but it was something she could do to help. She briefly considered asking Travis for shooting lessons, but her pride wouldn’t let her ask for anything from the man, so instead she focused on what she knew she could do. That, and taking long baths. She hated when the lake froze over, she much preferred to swim.

Christmas morning came along with all it’s glory, but no real fanfare. Zada didn’t celebrate Christmas until well into adulthood, and by that point there was no magic to it. Without nostalgia, Christmas was just another Wednesday. She made some breakfast, got dressed, did some reading, remembered she still hadn’t gotten a gift for Alex. She wondered, briefly, (as she looked at the shelf full of books she’d finished and wasn’t planning to read again) if he liked to read. She considered texting Rosie to ask her opinion, she’d taught him in high school, after all, when she heard an all-too-familiar thud on one of the windows in her living room.

She got up and looked out the window, and saw the poor bird laying there on the snow, and then she had an idea. She just needed to make sure she had a freezer bag or something, she didn’t want to risk ruining Maria’s house. She was a lovely woman, even if her grandson was horrible.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Travis Graveson Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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PHOENIX WOODS
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxam i more than you bargained for yet?
xxxi'm just dying to tell you
xxxanything you want to hear
xxxbut that's just who i am this week
Phoenix just smirked as Alex swore at him in response to his greeting. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it hadn’t taken long to get used to it. Then again, he’d gotten the same response any time Alex had passed out on his couch for whatever reason as they were growing up, so he couldn’t say he wasn’t used to it. The same went for Alex practically inhaling the pastry, making Phoenix raise an eyebrow and his smirk widen a little.

Phoenix raised his eyebrows as Alex brought up the present again. He’d been getting this for a while now. Or else Alex would talk about how amazing the present he’d gotten for Phoenix was and try and bait Phoenix into giving away some of the details. In all honesty, trying to find a suitably nice present had been hard. It didn’t help that he was limited to the few shops in Greythorne itself and online shopping. But he’d wanted to find something special after everything they’d been through.

“Okay fine, whatever, you can have it if it’ll shut you up,” Phoenix said melodramatically, putting his coffee back on the bedside table and getting up, going and retrieving the small box from under the tree, before going back into the bedroom and climbing back into bed, pulling the covers back up. “Here.”

He’d found it by chance. He’d been looking in the antique store for something else entirely, but he’d spotted this instead. A small, simple, gold pocket watch. It was in need of a good clean and was perhaps a little plain for some, but it was perfect. Phoenix had brought it to the jewelers to get it cleaned up, and to get a few symbols engraved into it. A sigil for protection on the front and back, as well as Alex’s initials.

“You always like shiny things,” he said by way of explanation with a small shrug, while trying to gauge Alex’s reaction.





ROSIE THOMPSON
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outfit : herex|xhex: #cc0460
xxxlittle things i should have said and done
xxxi never took the time
xxxbut you are always on my mind
xxxyou are always on my mind.
Rosie grinned at Travis’ response to the text, starting to make up the pancake batter. She honestly hadn’t known what to get Travis for Christmas. She wanted to get something nice, something
 different. She didn’t have a whole lot of time to go shopping, but the idea struck her late one night as she listened to some of her records while grading papers

She’d just retrieved the first batch from the pan when there was a knock at the door. She went to let him in and beamed at him as he stepped inside. “Thank you!” She called as they went into the sitting room. She raised an eyebrow at the small box, but eagerly tore open the paper.

“Oh my god, I love it! It’s so pretty!” She gushed, pulling it out of the box and putting it on. It was a little bit quirky too, which just made her love it more. “Hold on, I’ll get you your pancakes and your present,” she said, going back out to the kitchen and plating up some pancakes for both of them, and retrieving the present from where she had it left beside her small Christmas tree.

“It took a bit of work because nobody really
 does this any more, or they do it differently. But when I was growing up, if you really liked somebody
 you made them a mixtape,” she said, handing him the box. “I figured you probably don’t still have a cassette player, so I got you one of those too. Don’t listen to it now. You listen to mixtapes when you get home and when you can really appreciate it,” she said with a grin.






HAYDEN BYRNE
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outfit : herex|xhex: #005555
xxxoh should my people fall
xxxthen surely i'd do the same
xxxconfined in mountain halls
xxxwe got too close to the flame
The energy he got from the young woman across from him was immediately positive. She didn’t seem fazed by his presence at all, already chatting away and inviting him in, asking him to take off his shoes as he did so. The house was warm and cozy and made him feel immediately at home, as did his energetic host.

He glanced at the photo she handed him, of the beautiful woman and the pretty young girl in it. He couldn’t say he recognized the woman, but his village had been small and an entire ocean away. Frankly, he would have been more surprised if he had recognized her.

Even though Kay kept asking him questions, she wasn’t giving him much of a chance to answer. He found her enthusiasm endearing though, and he found himself smiling. He’d taken his life for granted, growing up around people who respected him and almost revered him. He couldn’t imagine not knowing other people like him.

She seemed to suddenly remember something and shot to her feet, darting across the room to a trunk. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but the book she handed him wasn’t it. He untied the piece of twine and began to examine the book, before she revealed that her mother had been exiled and that the other elves who had passed through had ignored her and her questions. There were some elves like that, who believed their bloodline was sacred, that there should never be any interbreeding because they were above the humans. Hayden didn’t know all that much about the humans, but from what he had seen, cutting themselves off seemed like a foolish decision. And kicking people out for falling in love seemed even more so.

“It’s completely understandable. Our people, well, they’re not always the most open-minded. But that mindset is becoming outdated. The elf blood matters just as much as the human blood,” he said with a smile. “So, I can’t answer most of your questions, because as you can probably tell, I’m not really from around here, so whatever tribe or village your mother came from could have done things differently. There’s a lot of
 differences, depending on where they are. See, we didn’t grow up entirely separate from humans, we just grew up around humans who knew to stay away from magic and who knew not to piss off magic users,” he joked. “But there are some who are very closed off, who don’t like the humans at all. I’d say they were some of those that passed through.” He turned his attention back to the book. He recognized some of the symbols on the front- they were the same runes and sigils that ran along his arms. He opened the book and flicked through the pages. He didn’t immediately understand a lot of it, but there was power in this book. It was old, old enough that he wasn’t sure how much of it he’d be able to work out without help, but he could feel the power just by holding it.

“Thank you, Kay. I’m afraid I
 kind of forgot it was Christmas, otherwise I would have come with something for you too.” He admitted, closing the book and putting it to one side. “So tell me, what do you want to know? I don’t have a gift but I do have stories.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Travis Graveson Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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KAYLESSA VALVEN
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outfit xxxxxxx hex; #FF4500
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xxx If I'm a bad person, you don't like me
xxx Well, I guess I'll make my own way
xxx It's a circle, a mean cycle
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI can't excite you anymore

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Kaylessa drifted her gazed after mentioning being discriminated against due to her being a half-elf, but slowly looked back to Hayden as he said it was understandable. He spoke about how those mindsets are becoming outdated, a small smile crept out as he said the blood matters the same, elf or human. She listened as Hayden spoke about how he wasn’t from around here and even so tribes could be different from one another as they are from different areas. That thought hadn't crossed her mind, she just thought all tribes were the same and followed the same set of rules, but it did make sense. Much like Travis told her how different towns had different rules as well, tribes of course would be the same as they were sort of like smaller towns. It was a little upsetting that there were still elves that had those ideals about blood purity being important. They had never met or even given Kaylessa a chance and were already judging her.

Kay watched Hayden flick through a few pages and his eyes move across the pages, she wanted to ask what it was about, but just gave him some silence and time to concentrate and take in whatever information the book was offering. She had asked numerous people throughout the town, even before the elves would come and go, and no one really understood it. She perked back up when Hayden said her name and apologized for not bringing her a gift. “Oh, its fine! Just talking to an actual elf is a gift in itself!” She said with a smile. “Though, am glad the elf is you, you’re really nice and such.”

The elf then asked what Kaylessa wanted to know, though he didn’t have any actual gifts, he did have actual stories. “Hmm
” Kaylessa took a moment to ponder what she wanted to know, she had many questions but wanted to make it count. “Well, could you tell me what it is like being in a tribe and what exactly you did? I heard they were sort of like our town here but more close and how each person has a specific role or job.” Kay leaned forward and sat cross legged on the couch, brushing her hair out of her face.


Kaylessa listened to Hayden talk, giving him her full attention as the two talked for awhile. She had lost track of time until she glanced at the clock and saw she would be needing to head to Alex’s place. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have to get going, we have a Secret Santa thing.” Kaylessa quickly got up and got the small bag with Markus’ gift in it. “Hey! You should totally come! I’d really like you to meet my friends, and be nice to spend more time with you.” Kay asked as she walked past Hayden getting her jacket back on and opening the door. Her mind has been on Alex still, but something about being with and talking to Hayden made her feel better. “Please?”

Hayden eventually caved and the two walked outside, but quickly stopped as he asked her if she needed a jacket or atleast shoes in the cold. Kaylessa giggled a little before answering. “Oh, no I’m okay. I don’t get cold as others do, and I enjoy the feeling of the earth beneath my feet. My mother said I was gifted. I can also heal others.” She said as she took his hand and led him towards their destination.

Outside of Alex’s place Kaylessa saw two friendly familiar people. “Travis! Rosie!” She said outloud as she gave Rosie a hug. She stepped back as Travis asked about Hayden. “Yeah! This is Hayden, he’s an elf, like an actual elf.” She said, grabbing Hayden’s arm. “Hay, this is Rosie and Travis. He’s a human, like the other half of me that isn’t you, and she’s a Siren.” She laughed at Travis' little joke before he knocked and waited for someone to answer the door.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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Z A D A min ALBAHR
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outfitx|x#78b0ad
xxxi called it the moonsea
xxxit is a cruel dream
xxxfrom up so high, I can hardly decide
xxxif you're waving hello, or waving goodbye

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It didn’t take Zada long to find and scoop the dead bird up from the ground. Its red feathers were a tragic, but beautiful, contrast to the snow. Then she put it in a large zippered freezer bag, and wrapped that nicely in a gift bag, complete with beautiful tissue paper and curled ribbon. That would do. Zada then finished getting ready, applying a deep red lipstick to her lips and putting on her coat. The last step before heading out was grabbing the baklava she’d made for the event. Phoenix had asked everyone to bring something and, honestly, you couldn’t have too many sweets at a Christmas party. She also just, really loved baklava.

She took the walk to Maria Garcia’s house at a leisurely pace: she’d left in plenty of time, and there was no way she would be late. She enjoyed seeing the town in winter, even if the beautiful cover of snow came at the price of a frozen lake.

When she arrived at the house, everyone was just standing in a group outside. Zada was a little confused, and shot Rosie a quick ‘what’s going on?’ look, but didn’t bother trying the door. If everyone was grouped outside like this, there must be a reason. She noted the newcomer in the group, but didn’t make a move to introduce herself. She did, however, greet Kay warmly. It wasn’t long before Neden arrived with a
 Comically large bag slung over their shoulder, and it was they that ushered them all inside. The first thing Zada did when she stepped through the door was look for Alex, and when she found him, she said, “Was there a reason we had to wait out in the cold until everyone arrived?”

Alex just stared at her, as if he didn’t have a good answer to her question, and then stood up and attempted to take the baking dish from her, “Here, I can-” Zada didn’t let it go, but instead held tighter to her dish, “I’ve got it.” Alex started to direct her to the kitchen, which she ignored. She knew where it was, she was in Maria’s book club. She went and put her dish with the rest of whatever else was there. All presumably made by Phoenix. She couldn’t help but smile at it all, it really was incredibly kind, and made the town feel more like home, and her friends feel more like family.

She took off her coat and settled down in a chair just in time to listen to Neden’s little speech about presents, and the hats. Zada had no intention of wearing one, and even upon Neden’s insistence that she put it on, just stared blankly at them. She watched as everyone put their own hats on, some with more reluctance than others, and sighed. There was really no harm in wearing the hat, so she carefully perched it on her head, as if to try not to mess up her hair. Still, the whole thing was
 Charming, and she couldn’t help the ghost of a smile that appeared on her face.

She’d never had a Christmas that involved this much gift giving (the years she even celebrated had been more private affairs), and the whole thing really was pleasant. Though she wasn’t entirely sure what to think of some of her gifts, she still gave Neden a small smile, “Thank you, these are lovely.” She decided to go ahead and put the necklace on, even as she thanked Neden for the gifts, partially because the color made her look a bit more festive, and partly to show that she did genuinely like at least one portion of her gift.

After Neden was done, Zada picked up the gift she’d brought, and held it out to Alex, but made no move to take it to him. After a short moment, and a confused look, he stood up and took the present from her. He moved slowly, as if he were expecting her to jump up and bite his head off at any moment. He took the gift back to his seat to open it, shooting Phoenix a wary glance as he sat down. “I drew your name. It made me think of you.” Zada didn’t know what reaction to expect from Alex opening the gift, but pure elation hadn’t been it. She had to admit, though, she was kind of glad he liked the bird.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxglass sky, killin' time
xxxyou leaned upon my shoulder
xxxand my thoughts dried
xxxdidn't mind

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When Phoenix said Alex could finally have his gift, a wide-and goofy-grin spread across Alex’s face. He loved getting presents, and this was no exception. He set his coffee precariously on the bed, grabbed the present, opened it up quickly, and turned the pocketwatch over in his hands a few times; looking it over. He nodded at Phoenix’s explanation-he had always liked shiny things. He opened it up to look at the face, before shutting it back and looking up at Phoenix, a smile on his face, “This is great.” He figured he could carry it at work: he often had to dress up a little more than he would like, and couldn’t wear all of his amulets and other paraphernalia as easily, and he often felt he needed all the protection he could, working with the dead. He leaned over and kissed Phoenix on the cheek, “I’m gonna break this thing, though, I want you to know that. There’s no way I won’t.” Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “Thank you. I love it.” He picked up his cup and took a long drink of his coffee, “You can’t have your present yet, though. I don’t have it. I’ll give it to you at the party.”

He’d had to keep it at Abuela’s, because otherwise he would get excited and give it to Phoenix early, and then he’d have nothing to give on Christmas, and that would be a disaster. They spent a short amount of time talking and drinking their coffee before they had to get going. They wanted to make sure they were there before the others so they could get things set up. Alex also wanted to make sure he had the gifts he was bringing squared away: one for Jaiden (that she was going to love), and one for Travis, who he’d drawn for the secret santa exchange. He’d had a little bit of trouble with that one: he hadn’t known Travis for an excessively long time, and admittedly mostly talked about himself (and the town) when he saw the man. It was probably fine, though. He’d finally decided on giving Travis something he’d found in the woods, which was where he generally went for his gift ideas.

Soon enough they were headed to Abuela’s house, with more foods and baked goods than Alex thought necessary. “What was the point,” He said as they walked, “In asking everyone to bring something, if you were just going to make all of this, anyway?” He wasn’t upset, in fact he found it amusing. He knew that Phoenix just wanted everything to be nice for everyone, but he thought that Phoenix tended to do too much, and stress himself out.

In Abuela’s house, all the pictures of Phoenix were back up, plus new ones that Alex didn’t even know she had. If you didn’t know better, walking into the house, you might just think that Phoenix was her grandchild, and not Alex. Alex couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’re definitely her favorite
” The two spent a little time getting things set up and ready before Alex excused himself to go get Phoenix’s present from its hiding place; and evidently missed the first knock on the door. Everyone made their way inside just as Alex was sitting down to wait for them to arrive. Zada asked him why he’d made them all wait outside, and Alex didn’t know what to say to that. He was a little confused, and he was certainly scared of Zada, so instead he sort of just ignored the question off and tried to help her with the dish she’d brought, but she brushed him off and went to drop it off herself.

He stood still for a moment, face blank as if processing what had just happened. He’d never known how to take Zada, and this was no exception. Soon enough, though, he turned to the others with a charming smile, “I didn’t hear you knock, I didn’t leave you outside on purpose. The door wasn’t locked, though, you could’ve come in at any time.” He noticed the elf accompanying Kay pretty quickly and offered a warm smile, “I’m Alex. This is
 Well...” He paused for a second, not entirely sure how to describe the house, “My grandparent’s house. Welcome.”

It wasn’t long before Neden was ushering them all into the living room passing out hats and talking about gifts. They’d gotten everyone something? Alex put on the hat happily enough; he had to admit that Neden had brought some real holiday cheer with them, even if it was a bit
 Much. Neden announced that they could open their gifts, and Alex did. He wasn’t particularly thrilled with them, but he smiled and thanked Neden. It was a nice thought. But then, there was the last one. Now, a sword hadn’t been something Alex was expecting to get for Christmas. But when he opened it, his face lit up in a sort of childish wonder, and before he could even think about it he found himself saying, “Oh my god, this is incredible.”

Soon afterwards, Alex noticed Zada holding something out to him. He waited a second, and it became clear that he was going to have to get up and go to her. Fine. He didn’t particularly like being treated like some sort of animal or whatever she thought of him as, but he wasn’t about to argue with her, either. He was, frankly, terrified of her, and the careful way he approached, and how quickly he retreated back to Phoenix’s side made his fear pretty evident. She said the gift made her think of him, which made him even more wary, because he knew she didn’t think very highly of him. Still, he opened the bag slowly, looked inside, and grinned widely. He pulled the freezer bag up out of the wrappings and looked across the room at Zada, “Thank you! This is great
 Really, I like it. I can use this.” There was nothing but sincerity in his tone; he was really, genuinely, thrilled. The look on her face dampened his enthusiasm a little. He wasn’t sure if he was meant to not like the gift, or if that was just what her face always looked like, but he decided not to dwell on it.

Alex turned to Travis, grabbing a small box and handing it to him, “I um, I want you to know that I’m about eighty percent sure this isn’t haunted.” The disclaimer came even before Travis had a chance to open up the pocket knife. Alex had only recently felt comfortable enough to go into the woods again, though never far, and nearly never alone, and he’d found it out there while he was digging around for things. He’d cleaned it up the best he could, and just hoped that Travis would like it, or at least not hate it.

Then he gave Jaiden a gift. He had been planning this particular present for some time, it took a lot of effort and time to get everything together to make it perfect. Inside was a fanny pack, since she’d liked his so much. He waited a moment for her reaction, then smiled and said, “The real present is inside.” Inside, however, was just filled to the brim with various different glitters.

He didn’t wait around for her to open it, in fact he started to walk away even as he told her to open up the fanny pack. He handed Phoenix the tell-tale red envelope of a Christmas card, wanting to make sure to give it to him quickly in case Jaiden murdered him. “Merry Christmas, Phoenix.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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PHOENIX WOODS
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxam i more than you bargained for yet?
xxxi'm just dying to tell you
xxxanything you want to hear
xxxbut that's just who i am this week
The smile on Alex's face made Phoenix sigh a little in relief. He knew it was a little old fashioned, but it was still useful, and still pretty. His grin just widened as Alex leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, before admitting that he was probably going to break it. Phoenix just laughed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, trust me, I know that," he teased back. He just picked up the pillow next to him and hit Alex with it as Alex said he had to wait. "You asshole, I should have made you wait too."

They finished their breakfast, finished up the last few things for the dinner, and then started packing up the stuff to bring to Abuela's. As per usual, Phoenix had perhaps over-catered a little, especially considering that he'd asked people to bring food anyway. But, when Alex remarked on it, Phoenix just rolled his eyes. "Because if everyone showed up with sides, we'd have no dessert. And if everyone showed up with desert, we'd have no sides. And if everyone showed up with board games, we'd be totally screwed," he said. He knew that Alex probably knew, he'd probably heard Phoenix muttering to himself trying to figure out who was likely to bring what, before just giving up and deciding to cater for the worst case scenario.

Abuela's was already feeling like home again, the photos back in their proper places. Phoenix hadn't realised how many of photos of him there was until Alex pointed it out, and then he couldn't stop seeing it. He didn't even know how she'd gotten some of those photos unless she'd been on to his parents for them (which, admittedly, was not outside the realms of possibility.) He just laughed in response to Alex's comment about him being the favourite. "It's because I can make her sopapillas and you nearly burned the kitchen down when I tried to show you how," he called as he shoved up his sleeves and got to work doing the last minute prep.

He only realised that the others had arrived when he heard Neden yelling something about wanting to give them all presents, and Zada brushing past Alex with her usual distaste, saying something about him not letting them in, and Alex retorting that the door wasn't closed. A distraction soon arrived in the form of Neden handing him a hat. He grinned and pulled it on as soon as they handed it to him, before spotting a newcomer, someone that he didn't recognise and that was sticking pretty close to Kay, looking a little overwhelmed by the whole situation. "I'm Phoenix, nice to meet you," he said. Alex had rolled his eyes when Phoenix had said he was going to presume that more people than were invited were going to show up, and he'd been right. But he didn't mind. It was nice to see the excitement in Kay's face as she introduced him to people.

He took the small pile of presents from Neden with excitement and attempted to balance the flower crown on top of his christmas hat. That would have been more than enough- and then Neden handed him and Alex "matching presents." He gasped with delight at the sword, looking over to Alex in excitement. "Holy shit, this is so cool!" He gushed.

He just shrugged a little in response to Alex's look as Zada handed over her present to him. She hadn't been asking Phoenix anything about ideas for Alex, so it was much of a surprise to him as it was to Alex. Upon seeing the dead bird, Phoenix shot a look of confusion at Zada. But, of course, Alex loved it, and Phoenix just grinned to himself and shook his head.

"Maybe- before you open that-" Phoenix said, spotting that Alex had handed Jaiden her present. Once the glitter got everywhere, there would be no dragging Jaiden back. "Here. I hope you like it, I... really didn't know what else to get you," He said, handing Jaiden a flat, heavy object. He'd been pestering Alex for ages, trying to get him to help him to come up with an idea, but Alex had initially suggested the fanny pack as her secret santa present, so he'd stopped asking after that. He knew that she'd been having a rough time of it over the past few months, and knew that they probably hadn't helped things by her finding out about them the way they did. So he'd put hours into the scrapbook instead- handwriting some of her favourite lyrics into it, writing out her favourite recipes so she could make them herself, pressing some of her favourite flowers, and finding every single photo they had together over the course of their friendship, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the blurry, and sticking them in to it. "I left some room at the back so you can add more to it if you want."

Alex left to go retrieve Phoenix's present at last- or maybe just to escape Jaiden's wrath. But he was back quicker than expected, handing Phoenix an envelope. Phoenix raised an eyebrow as he began to tear it open. "If this is an IOU I swear to god I'm break..." he trailed off as he looked at the two tickets in the card. Two tickets to an MCR concert. When they'd started announcing dates, Phoenix had said in passing that he'd been so pissed off when his parents didn't let him go when he was a teenager, but that they probably had a point. He would have been a liability, he would have given them all away. Alex hadn't really said anything, but Phoenix had just presumed it was because he'd heard enough of the complaining at the time.

"Holy fuck-" was all he could get out, just staring at them. This... this wasn't even a "local" venue, this was at least a few hours of a drive away. It was probably almost a day of a drive away, if not more. "Thank you so so much-" he managed to get out, wrapping Alex in the tightest hug he could muster.





ROSIE THOMPSON
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outfit : herex|xhex: #cc0460
xxxlittle things i should have said and done
xxxi never took the time
xxxbut you are always on my mind
xxxyou are always on my mind.
Rosie grinned at Trav's reaction. She'd wondered if it was a little bit cringeworthy, if he would even like something like that, so she was glad when his reaction was genuine. They spent the morning together as Rosie made her mom's stuffing to bring to Phoenix's, as she figured most other people would probably be bringing desserts. It was nice, just relaxing with somebody like this, doing their own thing as they kept each other company. She knew that the dinner was bound to be a little chaotic, but honestly, she was looking forward to it.

They left together, Rosie carrying her baking dish and her presents, having given the bag of drinks she'd also decided to bring to Travis to carry. They met Kay outside, and she awkwardly returned her hug as best she could while balancing the dish in her hands. There was a guy, about Kay's age, standing beside her, and Rosie was pretty sure she hadn't seen him around town before. He'd certainly never been in any of her classes. But Kay answered that question by introducing him. "I'm Rosie," she said, also shaking his hand. "We don't get many elves around these parts besides our Kay here, so it's lovely to meet you!" She said. Travis made a comment about them all being weird, and Rosie batted for his arm. She spotted Zada arriving, who shot her a quizzical look. Rosie shrugged a little, before Neden arrived and led them all into the house.

The scene that ensued was chaos. Neden had, of course, brought presents for everyone, but especially Rosie. She beamed with delight at her presents. "Neden, these are amazing, thank you so much!" She gushed, standing up to hug the angel. The rest of their presents made Rosie watch with interest. The swords were... an interesting choice, and she made a mental note to make a bet with Neden later to see how long they could go without injuring themselves with them.

Zada's present to Alex, and more accurately, their reactions to it made Rosie laugh. She stood up and passed a small bag to Zada. "Happy Christmas, babe. It's no dead bird, but..." she said with a teasing grin. She'd gotten Zada a bottle of their favourite red wine, a selection of slightly obscure but interesting-sounding novels, and a hair comb she'd found entirely by chance.






HAYDEN BYRNE
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outfit : herex|xhex: #005555
xxxoh should my people fall
xxxthen surely i'd do the same
xxxconfined in mountain halls
xxxwe got too close to the flame
They spent a while talking, Hayden explaining things to Kay, telling her that he was a healer too. He didn't know why, but he decided against telling her that he was a druid. Maybe it was because he presumed she wouldn't know what it was- or maybe it was because he was afraid she would. He didn't mind it, never had minded the respect his position had earned him, but he liked just being normal for a while.

He had intended on excusing himself when Kay said she was going to meet with her friends- but instead, she asked him to come along. So he went, curious to see more of the town and to see what the other people were like. Upon shaking hands with Kay's two friends- Rosie and Travis- Hayden got two very clear cut impressions. A good one of Rosie- warmth, energy, authenticity. But there was something... off about Travis. Hayden's polite smile slipped for just a moment as he tried to figure out what it was, but then he fixed it back on as if nothing was wrong. He laughed a little as Travis said the people were a little out there- but it didn't take long for Hayden to realise that he wasn't lying.

Inside the house was chaos to say the least. One person was handing out presents left right and centre, and even had some for Hayden. Nobody seemed terribly surprised or upset to see him there, which was nice, making him feel included almost right away. Hayden opened the presents to find a deep green crystal necklace, a book of poetry, and an denim jacket that looked like it would just fit him. Considering that they hadn't known he was coming, he was extremely happy with those presents, and was glad to be engulfed in the chaos of the party. There were, however, a few things he still didn't understand, like why the dark, vaguely threatening woman gave one of the guys- Alex, he had said his name was- a dead bird, and why Alex had seemed so happy about it. The blonde one- Phoenix, wasn't it?- had jumped up to hug Alex and appeared to be fighting back tears. After a few minutes like that, he gathered himself to excuse himself and go finish the cooking.

Hayden laughed a little and leaned in to Kay. "So do you want to tell me a little about all of these people?" He asked with a grin.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Violet Marsden Character Portrait: Travis Graveson
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TRAVIS GRAVESON
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outfit xxxxxxx hex; #8B4513
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xxx Older than water, stubborn as stone
xxx There'll be no forgiveness for all that you've known
xxx Oh these days, oh these days get heavy
xxx Hotter than friction, subtle as sound
xxx There'll be no forgiveness for you to come around

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Travis heard someone else walking up and glanced over his shoulder to see Zada, a little surprised. He knew her thoughts on men in general, and he was pretty sure she despised Alex, so he wasn’t expecting to see her there. But before he could say anything to Zada, Neden walked up carrying a giant bag and quickly greeted them all, then opening the door to and go inside. The door must have been unlocked, but Travis didn’t want to just barge in.

Trav walked inside carrying his present for Violet and the drinks he offered to carry for Rosie, letting her know he was gonna set them out on the open table across the room for people to pour themselves some if they wanted. As he finished setting out the drinks he felt a tap on his shoulder and was greeted by Neden again, holding out a numerous gifts. A golden necklace, a journal, leather jacket and a flower crown, similar to what he noticed some others had but different than the others. “Wow, killer jacket, I like it. Thank you Neden.”

After Travis wrapped the gifts up from Neden inside the jacket and set them aside they wouldn’t be in the way. He took a glance around looking for Violet so he could give her the small book he had gotten for her, but was quickly met with Alex. He had come to Travis a couple days ago asking for a glitter, and lots of it, but wouldn’t tell him what it was for. The thought skipped through his mind for a second that the gift was for him, but was relieved when Alex just handed him a pocket knife, saying it might not be haunted. Trav quickly whipped it open and examined the blade, not exactly dull but would need some sharpening. “This is cool, Thanks bro.” Travis said as he patted him on the shoulder. He then spotted Violet across the room sitting in a chair a little bit away from everyone else.

Travis excused himself from Alex and headed over to Violet, holding the book behind his back. “Hey Violet. So, uh, I pulled your name for the Secret Santa. Don’t really know you so well so I had to ask around about what you might like
” Trav pulled the book from behind his back and handed faded green book to Violet. “It’s a First Edition, not exactly mint condition, but hopefully you like it.” He returned the smile she gave him thanking him. “None needed, just glad it wasn’t a bust.”

As he was pouring himself a drink, Neden spoke up in the center of the room to get everyone’s attention and spoke. “Merry Christmas!” Travis cheered with the whiskey he just poured himself and saw Rosie talking to Zada. He poured Rosie some RosĂ© and carried it over to her, messing with the hat Neden had given Rosie and wrapping his arm around her, and greeting Zada with a smile.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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KAYLESSA VALVEN
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outfit xxxxxxx hex; #FF4500
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xxx If I'm a bad person, you don't like me
xxx Well, I guess I'll make my own way
xxx It's a circle, a mean cycle
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI can't excite you anymore

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Kaylessa was happy with the others being nice to Hayden and greeting him, and the group quickly entered the apartment, dispersing to do their own thing. She quickly sat crossed legged on the floor as Neden spoke, handing out a hat and presents to everyone, even Hayden. She quickly opened her gifts. She gave out an audible squeak as she saw the dress. “Thank you!” Kay watched as the others got their gifts and awed a little bit at what Hayden got.

Jaiden quickly called over to Kay and handed her another gift, explaining she was her Secret Santa. The gifts Jaiden had gotten here were a little bit more than what Neden got her. “I love this art! Did you do this yourself? It’s perfect!” Kaylessa quickly lunged and gave Jaiden a hug from her sitting position before pulling back and flashing a smile at Hayden, though then a commotion caught her attention. Alex and Phoenix. A weird feeling came across Kaylessa’s chest that she didn’t really understand and she thought back to how she told Phoenix her feelings about Alex and then seeing him kissing Alex.

Kay was then brought back out of her thoughts by Hayden leaning against her and asking about the others. “Oh! Sorry. That's Jaiden, she's a witch, controls fire. A little shy but nice to be around, she gave me these!” She showed the gifts Jaiden had just given her. “Neden, the person who gave us the gifts, shes I think an angel? But her wings were different, but still pretty.” Kay paused for a second as she glanced around the room. “That’s Violet. She’s like a sister to me. I think people have said she's a ghost, but she’s alive now. It’s confusing as well.” She then pointed at Rosie, Travis, and Zada. “You met Trav. Rosie is a Siren and the teacher at the school, she taught me in school. Zada is a mermaid, she eats men's hearts , but she's super nice so you shouldn’t have to worry. Though she doesn’t exactly like Alex.”

Kaylessa paused for a second after saying Alex’s name. “He
 Me and him went to school together, and I thought we had feelings for each other
 But I guess Phoenix likes him more
” Kay trailed off for a moment before catching herself. “Oh, sorry. They are both witches as well. Well Alex is more of a necromancer type, while Phoenix works mostly with earth-y things and plants-” Kay was cut off when the door opened and she saw Markus walk in. “And thats Markus! He’s a werewolf, and the person I got a present for. So be right back.”

After getting up and grabbing her sundress and the gift for Markus, Kay hugged Markus. “Hey! So I got you for the present exchange thingy.” She held out the small bag with the homemade dog pull toy for Markus’ pup. “Well, more so for Coco.” Kaylessa quickly excused herself and went to the bathroom with the sundress and changed. When she slid the dress on Kay twirled for a second to see how it looked on her in the bathroom mirror and smiled. Most of her stuff was multicolored and more laid back, but she loved the little stitches in the dress. She quickly came out of the bathroom and went back to Hayden, who had gotten up and started talking with the others. She grabbed his hand and smiled.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxglass sky, killin' time
xxxyou leaned upon my shoulder
xxxand my thoughts dried
xxxdidn't mind

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Alex smiled as he watched Phoenix open the card, though he was also keeping an eye on Jaiden-he knew that he probably deserved whatever pain she would inflict on him, once she got her present all opened. Phoenix’s reaction brought the biggest, brightest smile to Alex’s face. “I told you it was a good present.” Alex happily returned the hug, chuckling slightly as Phoenix thanked him. “Of course. It’s for you.” As Phoenix started to let go, Alex heard Jaiden yell that she was going to kill him. “Okay, I gotta go.” He turned and ran from Jaiden, but there was only so far he could go without heading outside, and he really didn’t want to do that.

So, after a short time, Alex stopped and turned to Jaiden, arms outstretched as if to hug her, “Jaiden, just listen-” She didn’t listen, though. Before long, Alex and Jaiden were both tumbling to the ground. Alex was laughing, Jaiden was not. “Jai! Jai! Stop it!” He brought his arms up to cover his face, as if he thought she was going to start punching him, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It was a joke!”

It wasn’t long before someone had physically restrained Jaiden, and they were both back on their feet. “I guess the glitter was taking it too far.” He shrugged, “I thought it would be funny. Lesson learned.” He looked down at himself, and realized that now he was covered in glitter. “Oh, wow. I’m sorry, Jaiden, I-” He cut himself off as he started laughing again, bringing a fist to his mouth to try and hide the smile, “I didn’t really think it through.” After brushing himself off the best he could, and then just accepting that he was just going to look extra fabulous for a while, Alex decided to rejoin the party. First order of business was collecting his dead bird and putting it in the freezer until they left. He was going to thank Zada again but she looked happy for once, and not at all like she wanted to murder someone, so he decided not to be the one to ruin that.

Instead, he returned from the kitchen with a small paper bag, heading straight for Markus, practically purring out a, “Hey, Daddy.” As he approached, leaning up against a nearby wall in an effort to look cool and composed, “I have something for Coco.” He handed over the bag, filled with Christmas cookie shaped dog treats, “She’s a good girl and I love her.” He leaned in a little closer, “And, listen, I know we’ve been dancing around-” He gestured between the two of them, “You know, for years. I want you to know that it’s fine, I really and truly am over it.”





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Z A D A min ALBAHR
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outfitx|x#78b0ad
xxxi called it the moonsea
xxxit is a cruel dream
xxxfrom up so high, I can hardly decide
xxxif you're waving hello, or waving goodbye

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At first, Zada didn’t outwardly react when Neden said they had something else for her, and to find them later, but she did flash a small smile to them before moving on and looking around the room. A lot of chaos had erupted as soon as Neden finished handing out their gifts, and Zada had never experienced anything quite like it in her time on dry land. She had to admit, though, that she loved it. Something about it all really made her feel like she belonged and, for the first time since she'd left the sea, she really felt like she might have something resembling a family, again. She didn't know that she really liked them all, but she didn't need to.

When Rosie handed her a gift bag, Zada initially just raised an eyebrow but when she opened it up, a genuine and warm smile lit up her face. “Thank you!” She stood up, wrapping her arms around Rosie in a gentle hug, “It’s perfect,” She gushed, “Of course, you’ll have to come by soon so we can drink this, and I'll tell you what I think of the books.” Naturally, she would expect her closest friend to know what to get her for Christmas, but she was honestly thrilled. She pretty quickly sat down and started looking over the covers of the books, admittedly judging them a bit. She always said that she liked to get to know a book before and as she read them, and that was a part of it.

She heard some commotion, saw the glitter in the air, and then Jaiden went running. She was after Alex, though, and Zada just genuinely didn’t care. Jaiden could kill him, for all she cared. As that was going on, Zada saw, out of the corner of her eye, someone new walking in. He quickly turned to check it out, but it turned out to just be Markus. She flashed him a smile: a mixture of relief and, just maybe, a bit of happiness on her face. They weren’t close, but she was comfortable enough with Markus, almost enough to call him a friend.

After Kay had changed into her new dress, Zada walked over to where she sat. She smiled over at Kay, "You looked wonderful before, but that new dress is lovely on you."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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PHOENIX WOODS
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxam i more than you bargained for yet?
xxxi'm just dying to tell you
xxxanything you want to hear
xxxbut that's just who i am this week
Phoenix laughed as Alex pulled away from the hug to run away from Jaiden, who had just been covered in glitter by Alex's present. A distraction, however, came in the form of Markus, who awkwardly handed him two boxes, explaining that he'd pulled his name. Alex opened the smaller box first and laughed with delight at the mug. The jacket, however, was a surprise. He recognised it right away, he was pretty sure he'd complimented Markus on it when he'd been wearing it. "Markus, this is... this is wonderful, thank you so much!" He said.

As he went back into the kitchen, he spotted Alex trying and failing to brush the glitter off of himself and laughed again, shaking his head. He'd tried to talk Alex out of the glitter bomb and had failed, but was glad to see that it had at least backfired somewhat. Everyone seemed so... happy, so relaxed. After the past few weeks they'd had, they all needed it, and it made him happy to see it. He was about to go into the kitchen when he saw Alex, still covered in glitter, heading for Markus. Just Alex's expression made Phoenix smirk and lean against the doorframe, watching what was going to happen. He managed to keep a relatively straight face even as he was just able to overhear the conversation. He sauntered over to Alex, leaning an arm on his shoulder. "Sorry, babe, but... he gave me his jacket. We both know what that means," he said, before kissing Alex on the cheek, winking at Markus, before heading back out to the kitchen, smirking to himself the whole time.

It didn't take dinner long to come together. Someone had started handing around drinks and had kept Phoenix's rum and coke sufficiently topped up as he cooked, calling everyone to the table as he dished up. As Alex had accurately predicted, they had way too many desserts with plenty of leftovers for people to bring home, but he didn't even mind. It felt nice to do something like this, something where everyone was relaxed and happy. Well, Phoenix wasn't convinced that Jaiden had completely given up on killing Alex, but he was pretty sure she wasn't going to do it immediately. As they moved into the sitting room to play some boardgames, he found himself leaning his head on Alex’s shoulder, feeling happy and safe as if he could fall asleep there and then.





ROSIE THOMPSON
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outfit : herex|xhex: #cc0460
xxxlittle things i should have said and done
xxxi never took the time
xxxbut you are always on my mind
xxxyou are always on my mind.
Zada’s reaction to her present made Rosie grin, returning the hug. Zada was honestly like a sister to her and she’d been so relieved when she’d pulled her name. She sat back down and laughed as Jaiden chased Alex out of the room, a glitter bomb having been unleashed upon her. She smiled at Travis handed her the wine and she leaned into him a little as he put her arm around her, sipping the wine. It had been so long since she’d been in a room where everyone was so relaxed, where nobody seemed worried. Phoenix was popping in and out as he cooked, laughing at whatever was going on at the time. Even Markus seemed relaxed.

The dinner was amazing, as expected, with plenty of food to go around and plenty of leftovers too. They were under strict orders from Phoenix to take something home with them, and to take as much as they wanted. They ended up draped across various couches and chairs, playing board games and laughing. Phoenix seemed to be nearly falling asleep on Alex’s shoulder, and Rosie took that as a sign for them to leave. She sat up, stretching a little. “Okay, I think we’re going to leave. Thank you so much for everything,” she said.

“No problem. Don’t forget your leftovers,” Phoenix mumbled with a sleepy grin, and Rosie grinned. She retrieved a box of leftovers from the kitchen, before calling goodbye to everyone again, and waiting for Trav to catch up with her outside. “So
 do you want to come back to mine?”






HAYDEN BYRNE
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outfit : herex|xhex: #005555
xxxoh should my people fall
xxxthen surely i'd do the same
xxxconfined in mountain halls
xxxwe got too close to the flame
Hayden watched as Kay pointed out each of the people in the room. She pointed out the people he’d encountered already- the witch who had given Kay her secret santa gift, Jaiden, the androgynous person who had given Hayden his gifts, Neden- and then started onto the others. There was a “ghost” which wasn’t really a ghost, the human, a siren
 He raised his eyebrows at the description of the mermaid. The woman who Kay had indicated was the vaguely terrifying woman who had given one of the others the dead bird. Even if Kay said that she was nice, Hayden made a mental note to avoid crossing her as much as possible.

Hearing Kay talk about Alex made him a little sad, seeing the expression on her face. But she quickly gathered herself, explaining that he was a necromancer and that Phoenix was an earth witch. And then, to round out the group, was a werewolf, who Kay ran up to to give his present.

Someone started asking about drinks, and Hayden was handed a Coke. He started chatting to the others. When Kay came back, he smiled at her. “You look nice. Your dress is pretty,” he said, with a grin, blushing a little as she took his hand. Then Zada came over to talk to Kay, and Hayden straightened up a little. “You must be Zada, right? I’m Hayden, it’s nice to meet you,” he said, holding out a hand.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven
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TRAVIS GRAVESON
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outfit xxxxxxx hex; #8B4513
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xxx Older than water, stubborn as stone
xxx There'll be no forgiveness for all that you've known
xxx Oh these days, oh these days get heavy
xxx Hotter than friction, subtle as sound
xxx There'll be no forgiveness for you to come around

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Travis sighed a little as he watched the glitter bomb happen in Jaiden’s hand and then again when she dropped it as she chased Alex yelling she was going to kill him. He thought about helping but quickly saw some of the others seperate them, and relaxed as Markus gave in and gave him a slight head nod as a greeting and turned back to talk and laugh with Rosie before food was finally done cooking and the group ate.

It wasn’t long until everyone was done, somehow Kaylessa was the one who ate the most, but sort of made sense as she probably had a high metabolism as well as her healing powers. Travis stopped for a second. Powers
 Supernaturals
 He zoned out, thinking back to why he was here. He originally came to this town to get rid of these people because he thought they were all monsters. But they weren’t. They were just like him, just like humans, and just normal people with normal lives who just happen to be a little different.

And now Travis felt like he actually belonged for once. Yeah he belonged to the group called the Branded, but it was more of work, and maybe some friends. But in Greythorne it was different, he felt comfortable, safe. The people around him weren’t looking to get ahead, but just get by. They were more than just monsters, or just people with powers, but like their own little dysfunctional family, and Travis didn’t want to ruin that. He already had the first two attacks on his conscience and he spelt many nights drinking himself to pass out after closing his shop, or just staying up all night so he wouldn’t have nightmares. But now...

Travis was taken out of his thoughts as Rosie moved a bit, and he helped her up. Not only did he feel comfortable, but he had someone amazing that cared for him, and helped drown out the demons in his head. Trav looked deep into Rosie’s eyes and saw the innocence in her and the happiness behind her smile. He couldn’t help the Branded anymore. These aren't monsters. They were his friends, his family.

Travis walked out of Alex’s place carrying some leftovers and his gifts, then hearing Rosie ask him if he wanted to come over. “God I don’t know, been with you all day, don’t know if I can handle anymore
” Trav said, laughing a little and smiling. “Of course.” He said, giving an actual answer as the two walked back to her place. Talking about the party, laughing at the events that happened. It wasn’t long before they were back at Rosie’s and quickly taking off their jackets and putting down all the things they had to carry.

“I really enjoyed myself tonight Rosie...” Trav said as he gently grabbed Rosie from behind and wrapped his arms around her. She quickly spun around and threw her arms around his neck. She replied with a smile and leaned up and the two kissed, he pulled her in more and held her tighter, before pulling back. But he just looked at her and smiled. Travis lowered his hands and lifted Rosie up and started kissing her again as he carried her through the hallway.






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KAYLESSA VALVEN
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outfit xxxxxxx hex; #FF4500
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xxx If I'm a bad person, you don't like me
xxx Well, I guess I'll make my own way
xxx It's a circle, a mean cycle
xxx Sometimes I wanna fuckin' scream or run away,
xxxI can't excite you anymore

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Kaylessa blushed a bit and smiled keeping her head low as Hayden complimented her and the dress. “Th-thanks.” People complimented her often, but hearing it from her new friend, made her feel warm inside, she wasn’t sure why exactly though. As she was about to say something to Hayden, Zada came over and also commented on her dress. “Thank you Zada! Neden just gave it to me!” She replied, then hearing Hayden introduce himself and hold out a hand to Zada.

“Oh sorry! This is Hayden! He’s an elf, like my mother. He just got here and I wanted to bring him here so he wouldn’t be alone.” Kaylessa said as her hand reactively rested on his leg. “Don’t worry Zada, he’s a really good guy. Not like the other elves that wouldn’t stay long here.” The three of them sat together and talked for a bit before food was finally done and brought out, Kay thanking everyone for cooking and bringing food.

Kaylessa laid down on her back on the floor as she finished eating, stuffing herself full. The food was some of the best food she has had in awhile, so she wanted to enjoy as much of it as possible. But now she was exhausted and feeling really sleepy from the food and barely kept herself awake during some of the games, having her head in Hayden’s lap as they finished the last game of cards and people started getting their things and saying goodbye. Kay stretched and made a small squeak noise as she stood up and said bye to everyone again before walking outside with Hayden.

As Hayden and Kay walked back to her place, she huddled close to him, not because she was cold, but because it just felt right. When they reached the door Kaylessa opened it and looked back at him. “Do, do you want to stay the night here? I wouldn’t mind.” The two walked in after Hayden said yes and Kay started getting ready to go to sleep. She stopped and stared for a second at Hayden. “Do you want to sleep with me?” She blurted out, but quickly gasped and covered her mouth, getting red. “I mean, uh, I have a bunch of blankets on my bed, we could share them
”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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Z A D A min ALBAHR
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outfitx|x#78b0ad
xxxi called it the moonsea
xxxit is a cruel dream
xxxfrom up so high, I can hardly decide
xxxif you're waving hello, or waving goodbye

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Zada glanced over Hayden for a short moment before taking his hand, giving it-perhaps-a firmer-than-necessary shake. She had really come to care for Kay, and wasn’t keen to see him around her so soon after her heart had been broken. She didn’t smile as Kay introduced him, instead she nodded in understanding, “Well, Greythorne is normally a wonderful place to live. With any luck, Hayden will be able to enjoy his time here.” Zada enjoyed the rest of her evening; the conversation ranged from irritating to excellent, but considering the guest list, she expected no less. The food was good, and overall, she had a great time. Zada had never been good at board games, or card games, and found them mostly frustrating, but everyone else seemed (mostly) happy, and she just couldn’t help but enjoy herself, in spite of her constant losses.

It wasn’t long before everyone seemed to be getting ready to leave, some looking more tired than others. She gathered up her leftovers, and as she said her goodbye, made sure to thank Phoenix for inviting her along. It was nice to not be alone on a holiday, for once. Being alone truly didn’t bother her anymore, but something about being included in the festivities just felt
 Nice. When she’d first come to Greythorne, Zada had thought of it as a place that she could live in peace, and nothing more. Nowhere had ever felt like home, not since she’d come ashore. Greythorne came close, but she didn’t think she would ever fully feel at home on dry land.

The walk home was a quick one, and for the first time in a while, Zada felt a small pang of something in her chest. Loneliness, maybe. Or homesickness. She still longed for the sea, even if her life in town was wonderful, her friends amazing. She wondered, briefly, if her sisters would like Christmas, and came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. Her friends in Greythorne did, and they were her family, now.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxglass sky, killin' time
xxxyou leaned upon my shoulder
xxxand my thoughts dried
xxxdidn't mind

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When Markus planted a kiss on the top of his head, Alex couldn’t help but grin. In the back of his head he felt like he’d won some sort of a prize. It had only taken years of teasing Markus, and while they both knew that it was (mostly) not very serious, something in him was still very pleased by the gesture. When Phoenix commented that Markus had given him his jacket, Alex laughed. “Dammit, Phoenix. I thought I finally had a chance!” He was happy, though. He couldn’t think of a better gift from Markus. Well, he could, but there was no way Markus would entertain it.

It wasn’t too long before the food was done, and Alex tried to keep drinks full (but mostly focused on his own) in the time between. Mostly, Alex was just glad to have everyone together and happy. He saw smiles on faces that had been missing them for a while; even Zada seemed happy enough, and Alex wasn’t sure he’d seen her with anything but an angry or perfectly neutral expression before. It was nice to see everyone talking and laughing together, especially after all they’d been through recently. Sometimes all the different conversations and noise felt almost like it was too much, but Alex managed just fine.

After dinner, they broke out the board games, which was fun. Everyone was getting along well, and it was going great, until Violet accused Alex of cheating. This spiraled into a bit of an argument. It was, honestly, amusing, and probably inevitable. Alex never was able to convince Violet that he wasn’t cheating, but she did eventually drop it
 After it was politely suggested that the group should just start a different game. Which was fine, but Alex still insisted that he hadn’t been cheating, and he was offended that Violet thought he was.

Eventually things started winding down. Phoenix had leaned up against Alex’s shoulder, and Alex couldn’t help but smile. He also didn’t dare move; if Phoenix was going to fall asleep using him as a pillow, then Alex accepted his fate and decided to enjoy his new life as a pillow. It was around then that people started packing up to go, saying their goodbyes, and eventually it was just the two of them left. Alex would’ve been lying if he said he wasn’t a little relieved. He was tired, and as much as he’d enjoyed everyone’s company, he was ready to wind down. He rested his head against Phoenix’s for a moment, savoring in the quiet. Which was, maybe, not the best idea at the moment. Because there, feeling safe and secure, heart full of love and happiness and no worries on his mind, he quickly drifted off to sleep.