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Phoenix Woods

"this thing could get the better of us if we let it."

0 · 2,441 views · located in Greythorne

a character in “greythorne”, as played by partially-stars

Description



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this thing could get the better of us if we let it.
give me a minute - the coronas
somebody to love - queen
hopeless - halsey



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F U L LXN A M E
Phoenix James Woods

N I C K N A M E (S)
Nix, Phee-Phee (jokingly).

B I R T H D A Y
January 13.

A G E
24

S E X U A L I T Y
Asexual homoromantic

E T H N I C I T Y
White Canadian

H O M E T O W N
Greythorne

H E X
#c4a7be



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S T Y L E
Phoenix describes his style as “the emo who grew up”. Primarily, he sticks to a spectrum of black, white, and grey, with the occasional pop of colour coming from band t-shirts. Business school changed him a little, in that it introduced him to button down shirts and jackets. When he’s working or presenting himself professionally, he tends to dress up a little more in that his jeans aren’t (usually) ripped and he makes sure his Vans or Converse are clean. When he’s going out with friends, he’s been known to embrace eyeliner and even occasionally eyeshadow, but day to day, he keeps things a little more conservative.

H E I G H T & W E I G H T
5’11”, 150lb

A P P E A R A N C E
With those blue eyes and a huge, slightly lopsided grin, Phoenix charms people easily. Naturally, his hair is dark, but in search of a change he decided to bleach it and hasn’t looked back. He’s a little taller than average and an average build, in good physical shape thanks to early morning runs. He has a couple of piercings, namely helix, daith , and rook in his left ear. He’s got his fair share of scars, mostly from childhood accidents or dumb teenage stunts, but noticeably there is a jagged scar just above his left collar bone where he was stabbed in the shoulder with a silver knife. It’s still healing but there’s already some scarring from the burns. He has a few tattoos- a forget-me-not on his right wrist, a paper airplane on his ribs, and a tiny tree behind his right ear.



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L I K E S
Unsurprisingly, Phoenix adores coffee, the stronger the better. He took up running a few years ago and finds it does wonders to clear his head. He loves plants, especially herbs and scented flowers. Rock and metal are his favourite types of music. He adores summer and autumn, when the weather is warm and the days are long. Baking is perhaps his favourite pastime and there’s pretty much always freshly baked goods and bread in his apartment.

D I S L I K E S
Phoenix hates winter, the days are too short and he hates the cold. He hates people making assumptions about him. He has developed an aversion to blackberries. He’s a terrible patient and hates being sick. He’d deathly allergic to peanuts and even the smell of them makes him nauseous. Classical literature is a surefire way to put him to sleep.


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P E R S O N A L I T Y
Many seem to think that Phoenix is a little naive. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Phoenix trusts easily, and loves even easier. When he falls, he falls hard, regardless of the consequences. As a teenager, it seemed that he was in love with just about everyone he met. And then he experienced real, raw love, and experienced exactly how much it hurts. And yet that hope still thrived within him. Perhaps naive is the wrong word for Phoenix. He’s just eternally, utterly, unbreakably hopeful. Even when he forced himself to come to terms with the realisation that his love was unrequited, he found hope elsewhere. Even at the worst of times, Phoenix finds hope. He sees the best in people and desperately wants to believe in that good.

But doing that has also hurt him. An abusive relationship in his late teens lasted far longer than it should have done, because he wanted to believe that there was still good there. That he could help the boy, that the boy loved him really. Phoenix holds on to hope far longer than he should, even when holding on is hurting him, even when he needs to give up on somebody for his own good, or even for their own good. He believes that he can fix everyone, fix everything, if he just finds the right way of doing it.

From the outside, it could seem that Phoenix was the more mature, less chaotic one of his friends. But ask his eleventh grade French teacher and she’d tell you he’s just as bad, if not sometimes worse. He was practically raised by Alex’s abuela, so perhaps it’s no surprise they rubbed off on each other. It was just that Phoenix was better at hiding it. He claims they’ve grown out of it for the most part, but leave him and his friends alone for long enough and you might just find the opposite to be true.

But despite all of this, Phoenix isn’t naive or immature. He can read when somebody is attempting to use him, and day by day, he’s getting better at standing up for himself. He’s experienced so much hurt and pain that he knows it’s out there... he just wants to ignore it. He’s business savvy, having already set up his own business at a relatively young age. Some shook their heads at some of the decisions he made, and presumed that it was just that old naivety coming out again, because they cost him money at first. Quite a significant amount of money. But now, he’s making it back. Perhaps not as quickly as he’d like, as he’s scraping pennies together at times, but he’s getting there. He’s intelligent and personable, the perfect balance for the job he’s in. Many underestimate Phoenix, because of his soft nature. But cross anyone he cares about, and he’ll show you otherwise.

He doesn’t talk about the night of the attack, but it affected him more than he’ll admit. He made bad decisions and is afraid that his hope, his determination to see the best in people may have contributed to the events of the night. Nearly losing his best friend terrified him and still terrifies him. The burn in his shoulder every time he moves too fast is already penance for what he’s done, but he’s determined to try and make things better. No matter the cost.



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H I S T O R Y
Phoenix’s family had lived in Greythorne for generations. Magic ran in their blood, and they never left. Often they were too powerful, and couldn’t live among the humans. But with time came control, and Phoenix’s parents decided that they would leave and find their fortunes elsewhere. They were powerful but could easily hide their magic, and they longed to see the world. And then they discovered their two year old son could restore life to flowers with a single touch and made poppies and daisies grow as he played in the garden, without even having to try. Phoenix was powerful at a young age- and would not be able to live among humans.

It wasn’t Phoenix’s fault, and deep down, they knew that. But growing up, Phoenix knew that resentment was there and it was clear. It was only worsened when they’d go on holidays for two, three weeks at a time and leave Phoenix with his grandparents, or when his grandmother became too unwell to look after him, with a neighbour. The one good thing that came of this was Phoenix’s friendship with the neighbour’s grandson, Alex. Phoenix considered them his second, and often preferred, family.

There was no dramatic coming-out speech for Phoenix. He knew, everyone else knew, he didn’t see the point. At the age of fourteen, he got his first boyfriend, and it was public. And so began Phoenix’s long streak of unsuccessful relationships. Phoenix fell in love at the slightest smile, a kind gesture, and it never ended well. By the time he reached senior year, he’d been cheated on twice by different people and had been the result of several pranks. But at the start of senior year, he had started dating Will, and things finally seemed to be going right for him. He didn’t notice the slow descent into manipulative and downright abusive behaviour until it was too late. And even then he stayed, hoping that maybe he could fix it. But when Will went to hit him, less than a week before they graduated, Phoenix stopped him and broke up with him there and then, cutting off all contact.

Leaving to go to college wasn’t really an option, so he enrolled in online classes and worked in a local coffee shop. He learned quickly and before long, was the best damn barista they had. He took on a managerial position and was doing pretty well for himself. Things started to go wrong shortly after that. His parents decided to up and move to follow their dreams. Which was fine, except they told Phoenix this two days before they intended to leave. Their relationship had never been good, but announcing they were selling his childhood home to fund it didn’t exactly make things any better. They gave him some money to try and make him feel better, and he moved into an apartment in town. He met his downstairs neighbour, Matt, and the two of them became friends. And, as often happened, Phoenix fell in love. Their banter often took a veer into the flirty and teasing. They’d been friends for years, with Matt throwing Phoenix a surprise graduation party when he finally finished his degree. And then, out of the blue, Matt introduced Phoenix to his girlfriend. It broke his heart, but what truly smashed it was when Matt confessed he was thinking of proposing.

Phoenix was destroyed. He couldn’t let himself believe he’d been so blind. Suddenly his life felt empty and dull, and he needed a change. So when a local cafe went up for sale, Phoenix went for it. Every penny he had was funneled into the business. He moved into the small apartment above the cafe and spent every waking hour renovating it. It took almost a year, but it was successful from the moment it opened. Things seemed to be going well- and then the attack happened, and it feels like nothing can ever be the same again.


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A B I L I T I E S
Phoenix's magic allows him to manipulate the earth, specifically plants and flowers. As a child, flowers would grow behind him as he ran, and even today, if his emotions are particularly strong, it's been known for flowers to sprout through concrete behind him. He can restore a flower to peak health with only a touch, and he can cause a seed to grow into a fully mature plant with only a little bit of energy. He can also manipulate the movement of plants, including trees. This is the only element of his magic that is potentially offensive, as he causes tree branches to wrap around his target or causes vines to sprout from nowhere and attack or restrain. For the most part, he actually uses his magic to help heal. The plants he grows hold some of his magic. This means that simply adding some raspberries from the bush on his balcony can save a batch of cupcakes about to go wrong, or basil from his windowsill can bring together a dish. If someone is tired, injured, or just not feeling themselves, a batch of his own blend tea and a cookie can do wonders. Of course, with this amount of power comes a number of downsides. Phoenix is extremely sensitive to silver. Momentary contact results in a nasty first degree burn, while prolonged contact can lead to second degree burns. His piercings are in fact stainless steel, not silver. Solid silver causes more damage than silver plating. His powers are intrinsically linked to his emotions, which he has always been terrible at controlling. And despite the fact he can't control it, it still drains him significantly. There are some days where he has no idea why he's so tired, only to discover the plants in his apartment are looking particularly healthy.

T A L E N T S
baking - making coffee - diy - cooking - gardening - business savvy - persuasive - picks up languages easily

S T R E N G T H S
he can add up long strings up numbers in his head and is a budgeting genius at times. he's able to handle incredible amounts of stress and can continue working even while under these conditions. he's an incredible multi-tasker. he's loving and reliable and the friend you can ring or text at any point and he'll answer.

W E A K N E S S E S
while he's great at simple maths, throw in algebra or geometry or anything more complicated and he's lost. he's sometimes too easily pulled in to trouble or lets something go too far. while he works extremely well under pressure, don't expect anything from him for a day or two after the pressure is removed because that's when he'll crash and have to take a while to recover.


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So begins...

Phoenix Woods's Story

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.

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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#cc0460 0 | 0 #8B4513

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rosie 0 | 0 travis



Christmas had been a welcome break from the fear and the tension of the previous attacks. But the peace and quiet had to end at some point, and it ended two days after Christmas, when Neden called her to tell her that Markus had died. It didn’t take long for the anxiety to start seeping back in. Rosie knew it was time to do something. Something that could make people feel a part of something, let them know that they were doing something. So she called another town meeting. Neden was going to update them on the patrols, let them know if or how they could help. Rosie was going to see if there was any more interest in her self-defense class, and see if anyone else had anything to contribute. And more than anything, she was going to try and give everyone hope.

After the holidays things seemed to get back to normal, though unfortunately normal meant people being paranoid and scared of the Branded and the town being vulnerable. Travis had slowly been spreading rumors of another attack to keep people on alert and not to get comfortable, though he did feel bad making people freak out. He was thankful that another meeting awas coming together, would give the town a chance to come together, as well as get some more information for him to report back to his superiors.

Travis set up in the same spot as last time, towards the back of the room and keeping an eye on things, the only thing he had on him this time was the knife gifted to him by Alex. He took a deep breath as people sat down and the meeting was about to get underway. Though a running figure through the crowd caught his attention, Kaylessa. She handed something to Rosie, and glanced at Travis, but didn’t keep eye contact before backing out of the light and people turned their attention back to Rosie.

Rosie didn’t quite know how to react when Kay ran up to her as she was about to start to speak and shoved a note into her hand, telling her she had to read it out to the crowd. Rosie didn’t have time to read it beforehand, and so opened it on stage, in front of the entire town. She didn’t know how she managed to keep herself composed, her stomach feeling as though it had plummeted through the floor. For just a moment, she was tempted to just read out the statement and let what happened happen. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She needed to get his side of the story first. And so she read out the statement, but instead changed the final line.


“Dear monsters of the so called town of Greythorne,

From our recent attack on your encampment and what we have observed, we have seen that you are somehow able to act somewhat like actual human citizens. So this is a letter from us to let you know we will be withdrawing our resources that were used to try to smother you from this world. We will be keeping an eye on all of you from a distance to monitor our new peace.

Also, to prove this to you here is some information. There is a spy amongst you, and has been for an extended amount of time. Providing us figures with your numbers, the details of the type monsters you are, points of interest, and other information so we could have the advantage.

We will reveal the spy in three days.

Sincerely,

-The Branded”


She shot a look at Kay. “Trust me, I’ll explain later,” the look said. She took a deep breath as panicked and angry discussion broke out. “Listen to me.” She said with enough power to make everyone listen. “We cannot let this divide us. For all we know, this could all be another ploy. We need to trust each other. We have to work together, no matter what. Neden will now discuss the patrols, as well as how this changes in light of what we’ve just discovered.”

She didn’t particularly listen for the rest of the meeting, instead staring at the floor and trying to keep herself calm. The minute things wrapped up, she got to her feet and walked up to Trav. “My place. Now,” she ordered, heading straight outside to avoid anyone talking to her.

The letter. Travis leaned off the wall as it was read. He knew nothing about it, where it came from, why it was sent. Especially with the part with them almost blowing his cover. What is their plan here, why would they act like they are giving up? Possibly to make them lower their guard. Trav thought to himself as he watched Rosie take control of the situation. He thought about sneaking out, but knew that would quickly put suspicion on him, more than there already was. People would panic and probably quickly pointing fingers.

As the meeting came to the end Rosie caught Travis’ attention as she approached him, just about demanding him to follow her. He took a look around and followed her out. The two didn’t talk during the walk, Rosie keeping a slightly faster pace than Travis towards her place. After the two arrived, she closed the door behind him, a look on her face he hadn’t seen before. Travis quickly spoke up to try to ease the tension. “I don’t believe this letter, it’s a fake out for us to lower our guards. But if this spy talk is real, we sho-” Travis was cut off when Rosie held out the letter to him.

Rosie could hardly even look at Travis as they walked back to hers, her heart in her mouth. She was furious- both at him and at herself. Because she had never even considered it, not really. She’d let herself be drawn in, just let herself believe he was different, after everything. She let them both in, slamming the door behind them. She was almost hurt when Travis began trying to cover it. She couldn’t even say anything, just shoved the letter into his hands.

“Don’t you dare try and bullshit me, Travis,” she said quietly. “I could have turned the town on you, so the least you owe me is the goddamn truth. Is this for real?” She asked, her voice low and even and too calm.

Travis was surprised how Rosie spoke to him, asking for the truth and if it was real. He opened the letter and saw it was exactly what Rosie had said during the meeting, except for one thing, something that Rosie hadn’t said, but changed.

The spy, Travis Richard Graveson.

He was petrified. They had ratted him out. Just about threw him to the wolves, and it was only Rosie that had prevented it. Trav stuttered for a second before letting the letter fall to the ground as he looked up at Rosie with soft eyes. “Rosie… I…” Travis took a deep breath. “Yes…” He sighed as he confessed the letter spoke truth about him being a spy and working for the Branded. “But Rosie, you have to listen to me. I didn’t mean for any of our friends to get hurt. I didn’t know how amazing any of you were, are.”

Rosie knew it long before he said yes, but that didn’t stop that one word from feeling like a punch to the chest. She raised an eyebrow as he said he’d never meant for any of their friends to be hurt. Our friends, Travis? Are you actually being serious right now? Is that the only part of it you regret? Every single person that died in those attacks was somebody’s friend. They were all people, and you had a part in their death. Don’t you dare say you regret our friends being hurt.” She shook her head, turning away slightly. “So… what was this? Just… a way of working your way even deeper into the town? They don’t trust you, but they trust me, so if they know I trust you, maybe they’ll trust you too?” She asked.

Travis just listened to the retort coming from her, everything she was saying was true. He was responsible for the death of many people in Greythorne. He regretted all of it. The morning after the attacks, seeing not just the bloodshed, but the internal pain and mourning that people wore. Trav barely kept himself together after seeing the misery he had caused. “Rosie, listen. You’re right, I am responsible for all that, and it’s eaten away at me. I regret all of it, I wish I could take it all back, never come to Greythorne and not bring the death that had followed me here…” He trailed off as Rosie turned away from him.

Hearing her question what they were hurt more than anything, after everything that had happened, being with her actually brought joy to Trav’s life, bringing light to the darkness that had been clouding him. “What? No, this. Us. It’s real. I promise. Just listen to me.” Travis said as she reached and gently grabbed onto Rosie’s shoulder.

Rosie felt his hand on her shoulder and for the first time, she snapped. She slapped his hand away and whirled around to face him. “No, Travis. Nothing you can say is going to change my mind. You came here with the sole purpose of hurting people, and you succeeded. Markus is dead because of you!” She yelled, her voice cracking. She took a step back and reached up, undoing her necklace and pressing it into his hand. “Get out of here. You have two days before I tell everyone what you did,” she said. “And if you’re still here then… it’s your own problem.”


Travis took a step back as his hand was slapped away and was quickly met with Rosie yelling at him, he had never seen her like this before. He barely had time to respond to what she had yelled about, bringing up Markus, saying he was dead because of him. Rosie had come to Trav when she found out, and telling him. He was speechless and his heart sank along with a pain in his chest. He wasn’t exactly close to Markus, but they got along well enough, and he was dead because of him. The next thing that came out of her mouth was telling him to leave, that he had two days before she would tell everyone. Travis wanted to stay, say whatever he needed to convince Rosie, but he knew by the tone of her voice that there was no way. He closed his hand around the necklace forced into his hand. “If this is truly what you want…” He said in a low voice, pain building up in his chest.

After stuffing the necklace into his internal jacket pocket, Trav turned around and went to leave Rosie’s place, but stopped and turned back as he opened the door. “Rosie, I lo-” He paused, realizing there was no point in saying the next two words. “Thank you…” Travis said as he walked out and closed the door behind him, keeping his head low as he went back to his place. He had two days to leave, he didn’t want to, but he knew he had no other choice. Travis had realized he had lost the greatest thing that had been gifted to him, not just friends, not just someone that cared for him, but just happiness in general. I’m sorry for everything Rosie, but I’m not sorry for loving you…

Rosie couldn’t even look at him right then. She only stayed in the hall to make sure he actually left. Then when he left, she just sank down against the wall, the tears starting to stream down her face. After everything, she’d really let herself think there would be one good thing in it all. She’d been wrong. She gave herself a few seconds before standing up, brushing herself down. She went to the bathroom to fix her makeup, before taking a deep breath and heading back into town. She had to keep it together. She had to lead by example, and that meant going back out to see if anyone needed her help.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zoe Peña
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phoenix woods
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
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alex garcia
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zoe peña
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outfit : herex|xhex: #6E9ECF
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Greythorne hadn’t been the easiest town to find, especially since Zoe had set out without much direction. That had been- in a word, frustrating, and Zoe had thought more than once that she may be better off just giving up and heading back home. But she’d ignored so many phone calls and followed so many leads, and she just couldn’t give up. She knew, of course, that finding the town was only the beginning, and that finding her brother would likely be a whole other beast. She didn’t have an address for him, or even a phone number. The foolishness of the whole thing really only struck her once she’d already gone through all the trouble and found the town, and at that point she’d gone that far, may as well finish what she’d started.

It took a bit of asking around (people, it seems, weren’t apt to trust just any strange person who, appearance wise, was just some random human that had wandered into the town), and then hardly anyone seemed to know who she was talking about. Zoe’s father had always painted her half-brother out to be some sort of troublemaker, and she had assumed more people would know of him, based solely on that.

Eventually, someone sent her to an address, and the woman that answered the door started laughing at her, which was not the response Zoe expected. Zoe didn’t even get a chance to explain who she was or why she was there before the older woman jotted down another address on a slip of paper and handed it to her, wishing her luck- though what for, Zoe wasn’t sue, and at that point she was getting more confused by the second. It took some directions, but it didn’t take long to walk to the new address she’d been given. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she knocked on the door, “Okay, Zoe,” She whispered to herself, “This has to be it.” She didn’t know what she was going to do if this wasn’t it, but she just felt like it had to be. She wasn’t sure she could handle much more disappointment in one day.

It wasn’t long before the door opened, and a blond man stood before her, and the smile almost instantly vanished from Zoe’s face. “Umm,” She started, not even sure where to start. “I’m sorry,” She looked down at the paper in her hand, eyebrows knit together in confusion, “I must have the wrong address again…” Suddenly all the frustration and disappointment she’d been feeling began to build up like rainwater in her chest, and it wasn’t long before her eyes were welling with tears she couldn’t fight back.

Phoenix had known something was up from the moment Neden and Markus left without Coco. It couldn’t have been an accident, they’d all known that Markus would have probably killed someone to protect that dog. He wouldn’t have left her behind. Not unless he had to. Coco stayed with them that night… and then every night after. Hearing Markus was dead was a shock that Phoenix was still trying to come to terms with. It was an unpleasant reminder of the aftermath of the attacks, that this still wasn’t over. It might never be.

Rosie had called another town meeting to try and boost spirits. Phoenix had already decided he wasn’t going. The last one hadn’t gone so well, and it wasn’t what he needed right now. Instead, he had texted Jaiden to come over later, and told her to bring Violet or Neden if they wanted to come. They all needed the distraction. He was cooking dinner in a bid to distract himself when he heard the knock on the door. Frowning, he glanced back at Alex with a shrug. Neither of them were expecting anyone, because Jaiden would just let herself in. He wasn’t sure who he was expecting to see on the other side, but the girl standing there wasn’t it. He had never seen her before, and his guard was instantly up. And then she took one look at him and started apologising. As she said she had to have the wrong house, Phoenix could see her eyes start to fill up with tears.

“Hey, uh, it’s okay. It happens to the best of us, right? Um… who are you looking for? I know pretty much everyone in town, I can let you know where they live,” he said awkwardly.

Zoe started wiping the tears from her eyes before they even started falling, but she wasn’t quite fast enough. She mentally berated herself for crying in front of a complete stranger; this was embarrassing, and childish, and her father would be disappointed in her if he saw her being so foolish. “Oh, god, sorry. I’m sorry,” She took a deep breath, as if to calm herself; not that it did much good. She didn’t know this guy, and here he was, offering to help her. She didn’t know if it was because he was a good person, or because she was literally standing on his doorstep crying. Either way, she knew she had put him in an awkward position.

She shook her head, “I’m looking for Alejandro Garcia,” She paused, studying the man’s face for a moment before adding,“Though I’m beginning to wonder if he even exists,” Her tone was full of sarcasm; a symptom of the goose chase she felt she’d been sent on. Then, maybe because she felt awkward, she started rambling on, “Thank you so much, for offering to help, and for being kind, and not making fun of me for crying… I’ve had a very frustrating day.”

He waited for a few seconds as she regained her composure, starting to wish he’d told Alex to open the door instead. She took a deep breath and said who she was looking for. Phoenix frowned. There wasn’t an Alejand- oh. It had taken him a while to recognise the name, because he hadn’t heard it in years, and every time he had, it had usually been accompanied with a string of middle names as Abuela yelled at them to stop doing whatever dumb thing they were doing at the time. He smirked. “It’s fine, you got sent to the right place, it’s just… You’ll see. Come in. I’m Phoenix, by the way,” he said. “Alex, there’s someone here to see you!” He called. He wondered who this strange woman was, who he’d never seen in town before, and who still called Alex by his full name. He led her back into the kitchen. “I’ll make some tea!”

Zoe smiled when Phoenix said she was in the right place, after all. She had to admit, she was thrilled, and suddenly more nervous than before. It was going to be okay, though, she reminded herself. Everything would be fine. “I’m Zoe. Thank you so much, again. I-” She cut herself off, shaking her head, “You have no idea how exciting this is.” Phoenix said he was going to make some tea, and it struck Zoe that he was, perhaps, the most inviting person she’d met so far in this town. The place was nice and cozy, and perhaps more cluttered than she’d expected.

Then, who she assumed to be, her brother walked in the room, talking the whole way, “Phoenix’s who’s-” He paused briefly when his eyes landed on her, and he shot Phoenix a look that Zoe couldn’t read, before saying, “Hi…” His tone was slow, cautious. Of course it was, he hadn’t been expecting her, and they’d never met.

Zoe resisted the urge to rush to him, instead she grinned and said, “It’s so great to meet you! You are Alejandro, right?” She shot a sideways glance to Phoenix, “Oh, sorry, do you prefer-”
“Alex.” He interrupted. His voice sounded cold. This already wasn’t going well.

“Right, sorry. I didn’t-” She looked down at her feet, trying to keep her composure, then she put a smile back on her face and continued, “I’m Zoe.” The blank look on Alex’s face told her that meant nothing to him, “Zo-Zoe Peña?” From the look on his face, she wasn’t sure she was ringing any bells there, either.

Alex looked at Phoenix, trying to ask with his eyes who the hell this woman was, and why she was there. Partially because he had no idea what was going on, and partially for confirmation that both of them were equally unaware. “It’s… Nice to meet you, Zoe, but why are you here?”

He saw Zoe’s face fall, as if this wasn’t going according to some sort of plan. “I… I just wanted to meet you. I thought that-”

“Wait,” Alex interrupted, now with more questions and no answers, “I don’t understand.”

“It’s me, Zoe. Your sister. I know we’ve-”

“I don’t have a sister.” Alex interrupted, having lost patience for the conversation.

“Well, actually, you do. I exist, last time I checked.” Alex didn’t find her attempt at humor funny, and after a short (and uncomfortable) pause, she continued, “Did Dad never talk to you about me? Or even tell you?”

“We don’t talk much.” It was a simple statement of fact, there was no acquisition-or even emotion-in the statement.

“Oh…” Zoe shot a pleading look at Phoenix, as if asking him for help. Alex felt a little sorry for her, but then she kept on talking, “I thought you would’ve known. He told me a little about you.”

Alex nodded, and now he was looking to Phoenix for help. This was an… Uncomfortable moment. “I’m sure it’s just… He’s not exactly the greatest, so.” He cleared his throat, “Anyway, it was nice to meet you.” He smiled at her, hoping she would get the not-so-subtle hint that he wanted her to leave.

Zoe’s mind was reeling. She’d only just arrived, and now he wanted her to leave? “Hold on,” There was a bit of desperation, maybe bordering on anger, in her voice. “I thought we could at least get to know each other a little. I’ve spent so long imagining what it might be like to have you in my life and-”

Alex held up a finger, as if to silently ask Zoe to stop talking, and she did, “That’s great and all, but I’m just not that interested.” So many things had happened in the past months, and Alex was still adjusting to many of the changes. He didn’t think he could really handle anything else thrust into his life.

Zoe looked upset, not angry, though. Mostly, she looked like her hopes and dreams were coming crashing down around her. “I came all this way and-”

“Well, I didn’t ask you to!” Alex was yelling, now, having fully lost his temper.

Things escalated rather quickly, and Phoenix wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. Alex’s questioning looks were met with ones of equal confusion from Phoenix, and then shock as Zoe announced she was Alex’s sister. Zoe shot Phoenix a look to help, but he really didn’t know what he could do or say. But Alex clearly wasn’t happy about it, and honestly, Phoenix couldn’t totally blame him. It was… one hell of surprise, that was for sure. But when tempers started to flare, Phoenix calmly stepped in and handed Zoe a cup of tea, before handing one to Alex and wrapping his arm around Alex’s waist to comfort him.

“Shouting at each other isn’t going to fix any of this,” he said calmly, aware that somebody needed to keep a level head before things went wrong.“Zoe, it’s lovely to meet you. But… you’ve got to understand that we had… literally no idea you existed. So… it is a bit of a shock. But,” he said, glancing at Alex, his expression gentle. Alex’s reaction had perhaps been a little harsh, but Phoenix didn’t blame him either. It was just the image of Zoe’s reaction when she thought she’d come all this way for nothing that was sticking in his head. “Let’s not act too rashly either, okay? Stay for dinner, I cooked loads.” He’d intended on giving some of it to Jaiden and the others, but there would still be plenty for them. “Until then, how about we show you around town and see if any of the B&B’s have a room?” He said. There was barely enough room for just him and Alex in the apartment, let alone a third person. And even if there was, Phoenix wasn’t sure he would have let her stay anyway. She didn’t have any real proof she was Alex’s sister, even if Phoenix could start to see certain resemblances the longer he looked.

Normally, Alex would’ve leaned into Phoenix, let himself be comforted, and just let the situation over. He was, however, more than a little upset. A part of him wanted to tell Phoenix to stop being nice, but as Phoenix spoke Alex stared over at Zoe, as if studying her. She was clutching her cup as if it were the only thing keeping her alive, and staring down into the tea instead of looking at either of them. Alex pretty quickly realized he wasn’t fully angry with her. He wasn’t happy about her being there, but she probably didn’t deserve to be yelled at.

Zoe spoke up first, looking over at Phoenix with a small smile, “Thank you,” There was an uncomfortable pause as she slowly looked from Phoenix to Alex, “I didn’t know how to contact you before I came,” She explained, slowly, “If I would have asked Dad, he would’ve just tried to talk me out of it, and I couldn’t seem to find you online.” She sighed, “With the attacks, I wanted to find you, and… I guess I was worried that if I waited it would be too late.” She set her cup down on the counter and said, “I have some pictures, if that helps.” Before rifling around in her bag for a moment, pulling out a few pictures. Family pictures; Zoe at various ages, with her parents. She looked a little like her dad, which was pretty obvious when you looked at the two of them together. She decided to hand them to Phoenix. He seemed calmer. “Maybe I should’ve led with that. I thought it might make things worse.”

“It probably would’ve.” Alex at least sounded calmer, now. He leaned into Phoenix a little, taking one of the pictures and flipping it over to look at the date scrawled across the back. That was his father in the picture, sure enough. He didn’t recognise the handwriting on the back, but it was probably Zoe’s mother’s.

“I know you didn’t grow up with him around,” Zoe said, quickly, “I’m not trying to rub it in that I did, I just didn’t-”

“No,” Alex interrupted, “I get it.” He nodded, “If this goes wrong, it’s not my fault. I will not take responsibility.”

Zoe smiled at him, “Okay, fair enough.”

Zoe was the first to break the silence by thanking Phoenix and explaining that she hadn’t known how to contact Alex. Greythorne was pretty closed off to the world, so it made sense. It sounded like Zoe had really put in a lot of effort to try and find him. When Zoe said she was afraid she would be too late after the attacks, Phoenix found himself glancing away for the first time, tracing the pattern on his mug with his fingers. She’d known about the attacks, had known about the danger, and she’d still come. This… this was clearly important to her. He was startled out of the thoughts as Zoe handed the photos to him. He started to flick through them, smiling a little as he felt Alex finally leaning into him. Alex took one of the photos, and Phoenix silently handed the rest of them to him. They were his to look at, not Phoenix’s. Things seemed to have calmed down, and Alex seemed a little more receptive to it. After a few minutes of looking through the photos, he straightened up a little. “Well then. Shall we go for that walk, show you around town?” He asked, looking between them.

If Alex were being completely honest, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about it all. There were a lot of mixed emotions, and he would have prefered to be able to process them before meeting Zoe, if that was what he chose to do, but he had to admit that he understood it a little better now. When Phoenix asked if they were ready to go walk around town, Zoe opened her mouth to answer, but quickly closed it and looked at Alex. He nodded, “If you’re ready.”

Zoe smiled, nodded, and said, “Yes, I would love that.”

As they started to get their coats on, Zoe complained about how cold it was, which made Alex laugh because, “Did you expect it to be warm in Canada during winter? Zoe had to admit that she hadn’t known what to expect, but before long they were out the door, and showing Zoe what little sights Greythorne boasted: which was mostly where the stores were, or what a building was, or used to be. Admittedly-based on the sights alone-Greythorne wasn’t the most interesting town, but Zoe seemed happy, all the same. Phoenix smirked at Alex's comment as he bent down to put Coco on the leash, glad to see things were already improving. He took Alex's hand with his free hand as they walked, smiling at him.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Zoe Peña 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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The couple days after Christmas was great ad people seemed to get more relaxed and joyful, but it didn't last long. Rosie had come to Kaylessa’s house in the early afternoon, in the middle of her and Hayden messing around, Kaylessa was talking about how she could turn the entire living room into a blanket fort with all the blankets she had stored away and Hayden seemed a little skeptical. When she answered the door she could tell something was wrong by the facial expression and how Rosie stood, she was someone who was mostly bright, but right now she just seemed dark and sad. The news that she delivered Kay never expected to hear/. Markus was dead.

Rosie had told Kay and Hayden about another town hall meeting being scheduled for the coming week, but Kaylessa didn’t want to go. The days after hearing the news about Markus hit her hard and not going out as much. She let Hayden stay with her since he arrived in Greythorne, telling him that her door was always open, but they didn’t do much besides Hayden trying to cheer her up. Kay was thankful to have hime there for her, no one else really was, but she didn’t blame them. Most people were taking the news of Markus’ death badly as well. The only person she really talked to besides Hayden was Zada for a little bit, but it was more so Kay venting about Alex and Phoenix and Zada giving her some advice.

The town hall meeting finally arrived and Hayden had asked Kaylessa if she was sure she didn’t want to go, talking about how she should go out and get some air and sunlight. He was right, but Kaylessa didn’t want to go to the meeting so she just told him she was going to go for a walk near the woods, reconnect with nature and herself. Kay told him to make himself at home while she was gone or to get food, that he didn't need to wait for her.

While Kaylessa was walking she was dragging her feet through the snow as she tried to collect her thoughts, not sure how to handle all this going on. She was surprised when she heard a hiss like sound and quickly figuring out it was someone in the bushes trying to get her attention. The woman silently called her over and handed her a note in an envelope saying to give it to whoever was incharge of their town. Kay looked down at the envelope and when she looked up the woman was gone. Kaylessa was curious about the note and quickly opened it and read it over, it contained something just as shocking as learning Markus’ death, but much more complicated

Kay ran through town, trying to get to the town hall meeting, wanting to talk to someone about this, if it was true or just a scare tactic. By the time she opened the door, she spotted Rosie on stage, and realised she needs to know about this and dodged through the crown and handed her the opened envelope saying it was important

When Rosie read the letter Kay was confused why she didn’t tell the truth, but was quickly met with a familiar face she saw often in school telling her to be quiet and would talk to her later about it. Kay listened as Neden spoke about updates to the patrols and other things to similar to the safety of the town. As the meeting ended though she lost sight of Rosie and Kay just sighed and walked out and through the town heading back home, hoping a little bit Hayden had waited for her.

During her Kaylessa greeted people that said hello to her with a flash of a smile, not really saying much. As she rounded a corner she saw two people walking a familiar dog but with an unfamiliar third person. Alex and Phoenix. As Kay stared at them from a distance, seeing them hold hands, she thought back to the things Zada had talked to her about and how she felt, and what Alex and Phoenix did to make her feel that way.

“Hey!” Kaylessa shouted as she walked towards the group, no smile on her face, but just a serious tone. She finally stopped in front of them. “We need to talk.” She spouted at Phoenix.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Zoe Peña Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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0000P H O E N I X 0 W O O D S 000000000000000000|00000000000000000 K A Y L E S S A 0 V A L V E N
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#c4a7be 0 | 0 #FF4500

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phoenix 0 | 0 kay







Phoenix flinched a little as someone yelled at them, his grip on Alex’s hand tightening for a fraction of a second. Then he looked and realised that it was just Kay. But her usual smile was gone, and she seemed… almost angry. Phoenix had never seen Kay properly angry before. And it… seemed to be directed at him. He glanced at Alex, before remembering Zoe was there. He forced a smile and handed Coco’s lead to Alex. “I’ll be right back, okay? You two play nice,” he said. He walked a short way away before turning to look at Kay. “Is… everything okay?”

Kay heard Alex say hello but ignored him as she just waited for Phoenix, and then followed him until he stopped and turned back to her, asking if everything was okay. “No.” She said short, pausing for a second. “Why did you kiss Alex? And now why are you two, you know, a thing!?” Her voice raised a little, as she scowled.

He knew the minute she spoke that he was right about her being annoyed with him. His stomach plummeted as she asked why he’d kissed Alex. “Kay I- I’m sorry, okay? I just… that night in the graveyard, I wasn’t thinking straight, I didn’t mean to rub it in your face, okay, but we were- I was scared.” He’d tried not to think about it since, because the guilt was too much. But now he had to come to terms with it.

Kaylessa eyes squinted as Phoenix gave excuses, about how he didn’t mean to rub it in her face. “I told you, I told you everything and how I felt!” Kay shouted and gave him a light push. “Why did you just let me tell you everything? Make me look dumb and stupid, I felt pathetic.” Kaylessa paused for a second.

Phoenix didn’t fight back, let Kay push him. He probably deserved it. Why hadn’t he stopped her from telling him all that? He hadn’t needed to know, he hadn’t wanted to know but he’d just let her because he couldn’t say no. He should have said something, but he didn’t. And now he’d probably just ruined their friendship forever.

“Kay, I never meant to hurt you, okay? When you were telling me this, I didn’t think there was a chance in hell that he felt the same way. And I tried to tell you that Aex was like that with everybody,” he said, dropping his voice so that only Kay would be able to hear him. “I don’t know what you want me to do, or say, but I’m sorry.”

Kaylessa scoffed when he said he didn’t want to hurt her. “You didn’t hurt me, what hurt was when I fell out of the tree and couldn't swim. You weren’t there for me then just like you weren’t there for me when I confessed how I felt.” She stared at Phoenix, as her mind went back to the attack, and how Travis saved her from drowning, the same guy being accused of being a spy. “You know what I want? I want you to not be with him, I want you to feel what I felt when I saw you kiss, when I saw you holding each other at the christmas party.”

Phoenix just stared at Kay at her response. This… this wasn’t her. Part of him wanted to reach out to her, wanted to find out what was wrong. But he was also so hurt by what she was saying. The newcomer from the Christmas party, Hayden, appeared, almost from nowhere to take her arm, obviously trying to calm her down. But Phoenix was too angry, too hurt to even acknowledge him. “Kay. I died that night. I’m sorry you got hurt, but I couldn’t be there, because I had just bled out in a graveyard. I told you that Alex was that way with everyone, and you didn’t listen. I’m not saying I didn’t make any mistakes, but this is not all my fault. You have your role in it.”

“Kay, come on. We should go,” Hayden said, pulling on Kay’s arm, trying to get her to leave with him.

As Phoenix talked, Kay noticed Hayden was there but just focused on the man in front of her. “Yeah, you died, but the second you were alive you kissed him. And you know it wasn’t just because you weren’t thinking. If I had healed you, would you have kissed me?” Kay kept speaking as Hayden held onto her arm. “First you destroyed the flower crown I gave him, and then pretended to care about it and fixed it. You pretended to listen to how I felt, pretended to be my friend... “

Some tears started to form under Kay’s eyes as she spoke. Hayden turned her towards him and into a hug, trying to calm her down. “Just take me home, please.” She said to Hayden, muffled into his shoulder.

Phoenix just froze, his anger dissipating. Even through all this, he’d still thought of Kay as a friend. And he’d ruined that. Just like he’d ruined everything else. As Hayden pulled her into a hug, Phoenix took a step back, and glanced at Alex and Zoe. With a chill down his back, he realised that Neden was also there now, and that they’d all seen- and probably heard the whole thing. They were going to hate him too. Everyone was going to hate him for hurting Kay. And could he blame them?

“I’m sorry-” He stammered out, before turning and heading back towards the apartment, needing to be anywhere but there right then.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Zoe Peña
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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxi ain't happy, i'm feeling glad
xxxi got sunshine in a bag
xxxi'm useless but not for long
xxxthe future is coming on

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xxx
Alex let Zoe and Phoenix do most of the talking as they walked through town. He was tired. The nightmares and visions had started again the night Markus died. If he’d been less upset about them, he might have found some poetic beauty in it. Instead, he was just annoyed. He heard someone shouting, felt Phoenix’s grip on his hand tighten, and shot his head to the source of the yelling. It was just Kay. He was halfway through the process of relief when he realized that something was wrong. “Hi, Kay,” There was clearly more he wanted to say, but between Kay ignoring him, and Phoenix handing Coco off to him, the words never left his tongue.

As Kay and Phoenix began to argue, Alex looked over to Zoe. This probably wasn’t the welcome into town that she’d envisioned. When she quietly asked what was going on, all Alex could do was shrug, “I honestly have no idea.” A part of Alex wanted to take Zoe and pull her away from it; this wasn’t any of her business, and it honestly felt like it wasn’t any of his, but something about what he was hearing was connecting dots in his mind Honestly, Neden just about running him over was a welcome distraction.

Neden rambled on for a short while, only really stopping long enough to get Zoe’s name. Alex smiled when they picked Coco up, some familiarity would do the little dog good. She’d been, understandably, upset since Markus died (well, since he left her with Alex and Phoenix, to be exact). She was adjusting, but Alex knew that her whole world had been turned upside down. She missed Markus, and there wasn’t anything Alex could do about that. “We were just showing Zoe around town when we… Ran into Kay.”

Normally he would’ve said more, but Phoenix and Kay were getting pretty intense, and Alex desperately wanted to say something, to try to break it up, but he didn’t even know what was going on. He would probably make things worse, and he didn’t want to leave Zoe there with Neden to watch everything go down. He wasn’t the fondest of her, but she honestly looked like she was witnessing something traumatic. Maybe she was. Thankfully, the argument seemed to end shortly after Hayden stepped in, but then Phoenix just turned and left. Shit. Alex looked to Neden, then Zoe, “Phoenix!” He called out, to no avail.

It became pretty apparent that Neden was going to go after Phoenix, so Alex took Coco back and looked at Zoe, “So, I know we asked you to join us for dinner, but that isn’t happening.” The thought that Alex owed her nothing, and didn’t have to do anything to help her crossed his mind, but that would only serve to upset Phoenix, and Phoenix didn’t need any more reasons to be upset. As badly as he wanted to go after Phoenix and try to make everything better, Alex knew he had some other business to attend to. “Here,” He handed Coco off to Zoe, who was still standing there like she had no idea what was going on. He sent a quick text to Jaiden, explaining that they needed to take a rain check on dinner, if she was still planning on coming, and he started once again down the sidewalk, not bothering to check if Zoe was following behind.

They didn’t talk as they walked, they didn’t talk when Alex bought Zoe something to eat, and they didn’t talk when Alex found her a room to get checked into. Alex almost left for home without saying a word, but he finally spoke up just before he left, “I don’t know how the next few days are going to go. Phoenix is… Upset. Obviously.” Alex paused, trying to decide how much information to share, “He’s not really used to people sticking around when things get rough, and even I don’t have the best track record of being there for him. So,” He sighed, “I’m trying to do better. I definitely don’t deserve him, but I’m trying to.” He shrugged, “I guess… Listen, I’ll talk to you, I guess you deserve that much after the shit show you went through today. But I have to put Phoenix first. I don't know how much he's going to need-or want-me around, but...” He shook his head. He had some thoughts to add, but Zoe didn't need to know, "Anyway, I'll come to you." With that, he left Zoe for the night, and went to carry Coco home.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Neden Isimir Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Zoe Peña Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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Z O E PEÑA
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outfitx|x#6E9ECF
xxxsomething is familiar
xxxlike a dream I can reach but not quite hold
xxxi can sense you there
xxxlike a friend I've always known

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xx
The whole thing may have been foolish, but now that she was here, Zoe was really starting to enjoy herself. She wasn’t sure she had expected to find Alex in some sort of relationship, but Phoenix seemed to be genuinely wonderful, and definitely had a cooler head on his shoulders. Then a woman’s voice yelled out at them. She heard Alex try to greet her, and Phoenix walked a short way away. Not far enough. She half expected Alex to talk to her, walk away farther with her, try to distract her, something. Zoe didn’t know Alex well, but judging by his face, the things they were hearing was news to him, too. Still, she leaned in and whispered, “Ale-Alex. What’s this about?” Only to hear that he didn’t know, either.

She had halfway been hoping that asking about it would remind him that she was there, and that he’d do something. She felt like she was listening to something very personal that she had no right to know, and it was more than a little uncomfortable. She was having some first day in town.

Eventually, someone else appeared-having almost run right into Alex, clearly not paying attention to where they were going. They just started talking, and introduced themself. “Oh, I’m Zoe,” She replied, when asked for her name. She thought about clarifying who she was even farther, but between the argument happening behind them, and Neden welcoming her to town and then picking up her brother’s dog, she had no idea what to do.

“I died that night.” Zoe wasn’t really listening to the argument at that point; she’d been trying to tune it out, but something about that comment hit her ears, and a look of horror crossed her face. She didn’t know a lot about Alex, but she did know that he was a necromancer. Their father had told her as much when she asked why he lived in Canada, so far away from the rest of him. She’d always been under the impression that necromancy was a dangerous and shameful thing, and now she had some strange ideas running through her mind, and she couldn’t help but wonder what Alex had done. She tried not to be too obvious about it when Alex turned to look at her, but she felt like her thoughts were painted across her forehead.

After that, it wasn’t long before things ended and Alex was handing Coco to her. Zoe didn’t mind holding the dog- she was soft and cute and very clearly getting tired of walking. At first, she’d just assumed he was planning on going after Phoenix, but he started sending text messages, and then turned and started walking the opposite direction Phoenix had gone. Honestly, Zoe was planning on standing there until she’d figured out what to do, but then she realized that she had his dog. “Hey, wait!” She hurried to walk beside him, and one look at his face told her not to try to talk to him, so she didn’t.

Zoe quickly learned that the good thing about living in a town populated with a variety of magical beings was that there was always something open. Alex went to buy her something to eat, and when Zoe started to stop him, trying to explain that he didn’t have to do that, he just shot her a look that pretty effectively communicated his desire that she just shut up. So she wound up letting him buy her some dinner, and, since she had Coco, he even carried the takeout bag for her. He was using his phone quite a bit as he walked her through the town, and when they came upon a bed and breakfast with plenty of open rooms, she realized why. She didn’t remind him that all of her things were back at his place. The plan had been to find her a place to stay and bring her back there after dinner, but they’d had to adjust the plan. At this point, she figured she would swing by in the morning to pick it all up on her way out of town. This had gone so badly that she was willing to admit it was a terrible idea to have come in the first place.

Then Alex finally spoke to her, and though she didn’t really know Phoenix and Alex, the words just about broke her heart. They’d lived very different lives than she had, and she was only just realizing it. She wanted to thank Alex for being willing to give her a chance. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t think he was all that bad, and she was sure Phoenix didn’t think he was too good for him. But she didn’t. Instead, she just said, “Okay.” And watched him walk away.

Then she closed her door, sat down, and ate her dinner. She had a lot to reflect on, and a lot to think about.

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Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Neden Isimir
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0P H O E N I X 0 W O O D S 000000000000000000000000000 N E D E N 0 I S I M I R

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#c4a7be 0 | 0 #4f5154

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phoenix 0 | 0 neden



What had come next wasn't something Neden had expected. Once seeing their friends, some semblance of normalcy and possibly even something to help lift their spirits, but that wasn't the case. They simply watched as Phoenix excused himself to talk to Kay, who Neden simply gave a small, awkward wave to as they could tell she was rather upset. But what happened took Neden by surprise. Neden knew that there were some unspoken feelings there, but with the ensuing argument they didn't know what to do or say, if they could even help. Which they highly doubted. This was between Phoenix and Kay, no one else. Neden simply just stood there awkwardly as they put their hands in their coat pocket, waiting for the argument to eventually end. Which, when it did, all Neden could do was sigh, pinching the arch of their nose. "I'll go talk to him...Alex you...You and Zoe just take care, I'll check up on you guys later." They said with a half smile and turned after Phoenix. Neden quickly jogged up to him. Taking a moment of what to say or do, all they did was walk beside him in silence for a moment as they silently walked. After a few minutes, the unbearably awkward silence began to be a bit too much and Neden decided it was best to try to break the silence since the look on Phoenix's face told them everything they needed to know. "Hey uh...Look. I don't expect you to want to talk about...Whatever the fuck that was back there, but...I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to. I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now but, my offer still stands, I guess is what I'm trying to say." Neden said with a small smile, which quickly faded just as almost quickly as it appeared. They knew that neither of them were the closest of friends, but Phoenix needed someone to talk to or at least be there for him, and as much as they knew he probably didn't want to be bothered, something in the back of their head was telling them otherwise.

Phoenix just wanted to go home. He had to hold it together until then, had to just make it home. And then someone appeared beside him, a surprising, but friendly presence. Neden walked beside him for a while, but then they spoke. Their words were almost enough for Phoenix to crack and break down. But he was nearly home, so he just numbly nodded. Having someone there felt nice, someone who didn’t want or need him to talk about it. He knew he’d need to talk to Alex about it later, that Alex wouldn’t let it drop until he did. They reached the door to the apartment and Phoenix cleared his throat. “I, uh… Do you want to come in for tea? Or coffee? I made cookies yesterday, I think we should still have some left,” he said, his voice cracking. He forced himself to try and keep his voice level, tried to keep it together. Everyone probably already hated him, Neden probably wouldn’t accept, they probably just pitied him. He was already expecting them to decline. “It’s fine if you have somewhere else to be. Thanks for walking with me,” he said. Him and Neden had never been particularly close, not really, so he couldn’t blame them for leaving.

Neden gave him a gentle smile and small nod of their head as Phoenix more or less said that it was okay for them to walk with him. Silently arriving at his home, they looked at him as he spoke, it was even more evident now than ever that Phoenix did need someone. Neden softly closed the door and stepped inside as Phoenix unlocked it, asking if they wanted to stay or if they had some place to be it was okay. "I actually don't really have any place to be so, I don't mind, and no thank you is necessary." They said with a small smile looking around the place, "Tea actually sounds nice, Phoenix. But, you want some help?" The angel asked giving him a reassuring smile once more.

Phoenix was, for a moment, pleasantly surprised when Neden agreed to come in. He shook his head as they asked if he wanted help. “No, thanks. But make yourself at home, sorry if you have to move anything,” he said. Usually the action of making tea was enough to calm him, but not tonight. Tonight, it didn’t do anything to help. He handed Neden a mug and dug out the box of cookies, leaving it on the coffee table in front of them. There was a moment or so of awkward silence as he just stared into the tea. “I think I’ve messed everything up, Neden,” he suddenly blurted out. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly needed to talk about it, to say something about it. “I hurt Kay, and I didn’t mean to, but… But now, everyone’s going to be mad, and Alex is going to be mad and… I don’t want anyone else to leave.” Once he opened up, he couldn’t stop, the tears starting to trickle down his face.

Neden gave him a simple nod of their head as Phoenix said he wouldn't need any help, and chuckled slightly as he apologized if they needed to move anything out of the way. The apartment was by no means entirely mess, but wasn't entirely a cleaned to perfection either. After clearing a few things to the side, Neden took a seat on one of the chairs as they awaited for the tea. Which, they returned with a smile once it was finished and served. Neden held the mug in their hands as silence took over the room, before Phoenix finally spoke up. Saying how he was afraid that everyone was angry and upset with him, how he hurt Kay and how he just messed up in general. A small chuckle escaped their lips initially, but a feeling of genuine worry overtook them when the tears started to roll down his face. Neden didn't know what to say or do, if they even could, but they never regretted coming along with him. Phoenix needed someone and while they probably weren't his or anyone else's first choice, they were going to help as best as they could. Neden's hands wrapped around the mug for a moment as they tried to think of anything, anything at all. All they could do was give a soft sigh as they looked around the room before looking at Phoenix, a small pit forming in their stomach. "Phoenix, I...I don't know what entirely happened, and I'm sorry if it makes me sound ignorant but...This isn't your fault. No one can blame one person for this. You didn't want any of this to happen, right? So it's not your fault….Humans aren't infallible...Neither are any of us…" they said softly, looking around once more before finally looking at him again, "I'm not going to judge you on anything, okay? You only have to talk about what you feel comfortable with."

Phoenix appreciated Neden trying to help, he really did. But they didn’t know. He just traced the pattern on the mug with his thumb, just still staring into his tea. “Everyone leaves,” he forced out. “I was the reason my parents couldn’t leave town so they would just leave anyway and leave me behind. Every- every single guy in high school, I was always too much or not enough or just not right. And then my parents left for good and then… and then Cas just left, just left without saying goodbye because I wasn’t good enough for him either, I have never been good enough for anyone,” he choked out, rambling. “And now, everyone knows I hurt Kay, they’re all going to leave too.”

Neden listened silently as he spoke, taking in everything that they could know to help better understand. Not just the situation, but Phoenix as a person. They felt their heart sink when he began to talk about his parents and everyone he knew in high shool. How they just left, like he was nothing. Neden bit their lip as they tried to think of something to say, anything at all. But it was only when Phoenix said the name "Cas" and how "He left without saying goodbye", that Neden snapped back to attention. "Wait, wait, wait!" They exclaimed, slowly standing up as they did so. "Cas? When you say Cas, and He. Do you mean, tall, overly pale and blonde hair?" They questioned, looking Phoenix over. "Basically me if I was a dude? Well, more so kind of like you but...less you?" They gestured rather vaguely to Phoenix overall.

Neden’s reaction startled Phoenix enough to distract him for a moment from everything. He stared at them for a few seconds. What they were saying was vague and yet still made sense. “I… yeah, I think we’re talking about the same person. How… Neden, how the hell do you know him? He was here for like a week and hardly spoke to anyone,” he asked. That had been Cas’ first time in town, as far as anyone knew, but… Phoenix honestly didn’t know all that much about Neden, so it was entirely likely they could have crossed paths somewhere, somehow.

Neden gave a short and awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of their neck for a moment as they were questioned on how they knew Cas. And if it was even possible considering how short of a time he was in town. "Well ya see…" another small chuckle escaped their lips, before sighing as they sat back down. Looking up at Phoenix as they spoke, "Alright, look. I'm about to be real with you on some things, okay? And I swear, I am not bullshitting you." they gave him a look once more before looking around, slowly standing up as they paced the room, "I've know Cassiel, well...Cas for a long time. We have a complicated history, to say the very least. He was part of why I got screwed over and got sent to...Well...Here." they gestured vaguely with a small shrug, "And I don't mean to Greythorne. Much like Cas...we...Have the same general backstory. But, we were a lot alike, but for the most part I am nothing like that douche bag. Where he left you, I would never." Neden said, giving him a small look before turning their back on him for a moment, biting their lip. They hadn't told anyone much of their past before, and the anxiety of it was begining to get to them. Taking a few deep breaths they continued on, "I uh...I've been in Greythorne a lot longer than people probably realize. I don't want to sound like a creep but, I've been watching Greythorne before the first attack even happened, before the patrols became a thing. Well, a known thing…I was there the night of the first one but...If I could have helped stop it, stopped what happened...You losing your friend I...I would have changed so much. I'm sorry, Phoenix.." Neden said softly as they were finally able to look Phoenix in the eyes after their long rambling.

He’d known that there was something… more about Neden after the night in the graveyard. He hadn’t dwelled on it, because dwelling on that night just hurt far too much. But he wasn’t terribly surprised to hear that they’d known each other. He didn’t know if he was relieved or sad to hear that Cas had screwed Neden over as well. He just shook his head a little at the mention of the first attack. “We all fucked up that night, Neden. Most of us had never experienced anything like that. I don’t know how long you’ve been around but I’m willing to bet it was the same for you. I don’t know if any of us could have saved Aurora. We… we all made mistakes and I’ve been trying to figure out how to make them right even still. I don’t know how, and I don’t know if I can, but I’ve got to try, right?”

Neden sighed as Phoenix said that they had all messed up, and as well as how he doubted any of them had ever seen anything like that before. They gave a small smirk and chuckle for a moment, as a feeling of unease slowly crept through. Neden quirked an eyebrow at the mention of the friend that had been killed the first time. Neden hadn't known her very much, like the others in Greythorne, Neden kept at a distance. But from what they saw, her passing was still affecting some. They gave him a simple nod of their head, "All any of us can do is try. From what I've seen in...my...two hundred years on earth, trying to do anything is sometimes all you can do." Neden gave a small smile before it faded away as they looked to the side. "Phoenix I…I have seen a lot of things in my time and, have done some bad things myself but...What's happened to Greythorne can't happen again. All we can do is work together on this. I know I haven't always been the best but, I hope to live up to what Markus...what he wanted. I'm just sorry I couldn't have helped in any way. But if you ever need someone, just let me know and I'll be there." Neden said with a small smile, this one being more genuine than any of the others. "And Phoenix? Fuck what your parents and all those people did to you in the past. You don't need people like that around you. What I'm trying to say is, I'll try my damndest to be there for you, Phoenix and everyone else. Guess you could call me the Fairy Squad Mother, or...well...ya know. We can work on that later." Neden said with an awkward chuckle and smile.

Phoenix nodded, swallowing a little as Neden said it couldn’t happen again. None of them wanted it to happen. He wished he could do more, but he wasn’t meant for combat. He’d learned the hard way that he would just freeze, would only be able to act if it was too late. But Neden’s comment made him smile despite everything. “Thanks,” he said. “Really, I… I mean it. I’m no fighter, even with that cool ass sword,” he said with a smirk. “But… if there’s anything I can do for you, for the patrols… Coffee is on the house and if you need any food after a patrol or anything, ring me any time. I’ll sort you guys out.”

Neden smiled at his comment of not being a fighter. "Not everyone is, and nothing wrong with that. Hell, we always could use another pretty face as our new poster child." they said with a wink and smile. "And you're very welcome, Nix. We'll figure something out. After all, we're all some sort of messy family, right?"

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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ROSIE THOMPSON
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outfit : herex|xhex: #cc0460
xxxwhen you act like this
xxxwhen you get so into yourself
xxxi lose track of common goals
xxxand letting go so i can be all alone
Rosie was been relieved and delighted when Jaiden had taken her up on her offer. Jaiden was spending much more time around Rosie’s, which was making Travis’ absence a little less difficult. The town knew by now, and people had started regarding her with a degree of suspicion. But it had only lasted a day or two until they’d realised she was deathly serious in her warning that if he was found within town limits, he was to be captured and taken to whoever was leading the patrols at the time. A vampire by the name of Evelyn had stepped up to help with the patrols following Markus’ death. A young vampire by all standards, even younger than Rosie herself, but she’d quickly proved herself. And she’d promised Rosie she would only kill him if really necessary. He’d left town after three days. She’d been reassured of that by the spriggans, who seemed to be of the opinion they were much better off without them and that she could do better anyway. Rosie had thanked them for their information and had left it at that.

Training Jaiden had been a welcome distraction. She was trying to keep it as broad as she can, teaching self defense as well as offensive techniques. She’d been taking it slow with the magic, partially because Jaiden was still unsure, and partially because Rosie herself was unsure of how to best train and advise on it. But she was seeing progress. It was small, but it was there, and that was something.

She’d all but stopped giving her classes assignments and tests. Partially so she’d have less to do herself, but also because she could tell they were scared and stressed enough without her piling work on top of it. More than once, her class had gotten derailed as they talked about what was happening. She let it happen, knowing that talking about what was happening was important.

Seeing how scared her students were had prompted Rosie to do some thinking. People were feeling scared all over town, holding their breaths, waiting for something to happen. People needed hope, needed a sign, needed support. There were families who had lost a loved one or who were trying to help a loved one heal. So Rosie had approached Phoenix with an idea, and he’d organized the whole thing in a week. A brunch in his cafe, donation only. All of the money raised would be going to the families that needed it. She had no idea if they’d even make that much, but it was also something to get people out, to get people interacting again.

She woke up a little earlier than usual, showered and got ready. She’d volunteered her services to Phoenix to help keep things running smoothly for the morning, but she’d also accepted the leadership role she seemed to have been handed, and she knew it was important for people to see her there. She found herself ready a little earlier than needed, and decided to make herself some breakfast, figuring that she was going to the cafe to help, not get brunch herself.

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Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia
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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxi hear the voices from the closet
xxxasking me haunting questions
xxxare you happy?
xxxdo you want it that bad?

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xxx
The nightmares had been getting bad, again, though with no obvious meaning behind them. They were unsettling, surreal, and left Alex on edge all throughout the day. It felt almost like something was trying to communicate with him and he wondered if, perhaps, he couldn’t comprehend the messages. This went on night after night; images of pools of blood, hellfire, destruction-all on an endless loop within his mind, every time he closed his eyes. He often woke up feeling as if he hadn’t slept at all, just as he did after his visions. This was the worst it had ever been, and Alex was becoming desperate for even just a moment of real, restful sleep.

It wasn’t unusual for him to wake in the middle of the night, especially after such intense visions of chaos and destruction. What was unusual was the nagging call to go wandering deep into the woods- something Alex would never have considered doing even before the attacks, not at night. Before he’d nearly died, Phoenix had nearly died, before Markus had died. He wouldn’t have gone alone in the dark in the best of times. And yet, there was some unknown voice in the back of his head, calling him, beckoning him in.

Alex knew that Phoenix knew about the nightmares. Phoenix always knew. Hell, everyone probably knew. He was waking up at night again, he was restless, tired, he had dark circles under his eyes. People were staring at him when he went out, wondering what he’d seen. He didn’t know how to tell them that he didn’t know what he was seeing. He didn’t understand it. It wasn’t about the town, or about anyone he knew. Maybe they were about him. If anyone pushed, they all got the same answer; “I don’t know yet.” All he knew was that he saw hellfire every time he closed his eyes, and it scared him. Not that his visions ever didn’t, but these were different; they felt so personal, and they haunted his waking hours.

Alex woke up in a cold sweat, it was dark out, and Phoenix was still sleeping. He checked the time. Two am. Something in him was restless, and it wasn’t long before he found himself slipping out of bed and throwing on some clothes as quietly as he could. Something out there wanted to see him, he didn’t know why, but the urge to go and meet the call was growing in the pit of his stomach with every passing day. He didn’t know why he was going. By all means, he should be ignoring whatever this feeling was, but he no longer felt like he had a choice. Almost as an afterthought, he left a quick note on the counter in case Phoenix woke before he returned.

Couldn’t sleep. Be back soon.

It wasn’t a lie, though it wasn’t exactly the truth. Alex just didn’t feel the need to actually disclose that he was answering some otherworldly call, that would likely just cause Phoenix to panic, and they didn’t need that. Nobody needed that.

The woods seemed different at night. They were harder to navigate, and even with the flashlight on his phone, Alex could hardly see in front of him. This was not a natural darkness at all, Alex knew. He stumbled his way deep into the woods, not even really knowing where he was going. He hoped he would know where he was heading when he got there, but for all he knew he was wandering aimlessly.

It didn’t take entirely too long, though, and he felt in his bones that he should stop. So he did, and he waited. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, and he wasn’t sure of how long he waited for it. It felt like only a moment, but it also seemed like it was longer. Alex wondered, briefly, if the strange sense that time was both moving quickly and not at all had anything to do with whatever magic was making it so unnaturally dark, but the thought passed through his mind as quickly as it entered.

“So you finally decided to come,” A voice rang out from the darkness. Alex couldn’t place it, not familiar, but he’d felt he’d heard it before. Maybe in a dream.

A long moment passed where neither of them said anything, and the disembodied voice spoke again, “I was beginning to think you were ignoring me.”

Alex watched as a figure emerged from the shadows, impossibly tall, with iridescent skin that was constantly shifting and changing under the rapidly increasing moonlight. That… Hadn’t been what he had expected. This being, whatever she may be, was almost beautiful. Horrifying, yes, but beautiful. Alex gave a small smile and, with a voice hardly louder than a whisper, said, “I got lost on the way here.”

What followed was laughter. Beautiful, melodious, horrifying laughter. The sort of laughter that makes you wonder when the person is going to come unhinged and murder you. “The boy has jokes.” The being grinned with teeth sharp like a predator, and not at all like human teeth. She stepped forwards, “I’m here to help you, Mister Garcia. I’ve seen you. So much power, so little control. Death has noticed you too, and I doubt you want that kind of attention.” Alex stood still, careful, as if he believed that would keep him safe. She took that as an invitation to go over her terms. The more Alex heard, the more he realized this he didn’t have many options, if he wanted his life to continue on as it had always been, if he wanted to make sure nothing happened to Phoenix, or himself, again.

He didn’t think the exchange had taken that long but when all was said and done, the sun was rising, and Alex was sure that if Phoenix wasn’t already awake, he would be by the time he’d made it home. This wouldn’t be a problem if not for the ancient sigil carved into his left arm, blistering and bleeding and painful. It was very obviously from a silver weapon, and as such, very obviously not self-inflicted. ”I don’t require excessive sacrifice,” A now familiar voice rang in his head, ”Just a healthy dose of devotion.” Alex hoped that was true, but he knew these sorts of things never came without strings attached.

So he started his walk home, carefully pulling his sleeve down and his coat back on, trying in vain to keep the fabric from sticking to the wound. He knew this wouldn’t heal well, that the scar would be ugly and anyone who saw it would wonder what he’d done to earn it; what could possibly be worth that. Power, and safety. For that, many would do much more. As he walked, Alex felt silently thankful that he’d worn black, and decided that he shouldn’t try to hide this from Phoenix. They needed to be able to trust one another, and this was a big deal. Keeping it from Phoenix wouldn’t do him any good.

And he’d really intended on telling Phoenix straight away, until he’d walked through the door and was faced with the reality of it. He couldn’t do it, and he didn’t know why. Maybe because Phoenix would be upset, or scared, or worried; Alex just couldn’t do it. He knew he must have looked terrible, so he brushed off whatever Phoenix might have said with a quick, “Sorry, Nix, I need to get cleaned up real quick.”

While it wasn’t unusual for Alex to need to patch up some cuts or scrapes after he’d been out, it was unusual for him to refuse to let Phoenix help. But he cleaned and bandaged his arm the best he could. It wasn’t easy, bandaging up his dominant arm on his own, but he did well enough. After changing into a clean hoodie, he went back to find Phoenix, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. “How’d you sleep?”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Trisstana Glasser Character Portrait: Zoe Peña
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Z A D A min ALBAHR
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outfitx|x#78b0ad
xxxdon't do love, don't do friends
xxxi'm only after success
xxxdon't need a relationship
xxxi'll never soften my grip

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Since she’d come to town, Zada and Triss had settled into a comfortable routine. That is to say, they mostly left one another alone, aside from occasional conversation, and sitting together in comfortable silence as they both engaged in their own activities. Triss came and went as she pleased, and they both enjoyed one another’s company if, and when, they desired. They’d consumed plenty of wine, and had many conversations along the way. Zada had enjoyed getting to know Trasstana, even if just a little, and her heart was glad to no longer be so alone. Just having someone nearby, whether she be one of Zada’s sisters or not, made her feel more like Greythorne was where she was meant to be. Would she have had the chance to have met Trisstana anywhere else? Or even someone like her? Like either of them? Zada wasn’t sure. She tended to believe that, no, she wouldn’t have.

She’d received an invitation to the brunch, and knew that between Rosie setting things up, and Phoenix hosting and making it happen, of course she would go. It would help the town, it would (hopefully) help boost spirits, and she would get something delicious to eat that she didn’t have to make herself. She’d mentioned it to Trisstana, but wasn’t sure if she was going to be coming along, too. Still, she spent some time getting ready; she spent the same amount of effort on her appearance every day, whether she was going to the post office or to a meeting where she would potentially encounter the entire town. Hair, makeup, touch up her nails if needed. Zada liked to be the picture of perfection, as tedious as that may be.

Once she was all ready, she went in search of Triss. She knocked on the door of her guest room, waiting for permission to enter the room. She didn’t quite smile when Triss opened the door, but her eyes indicated that she maybe would have, if she was more comfortable with it. “I was getting ready to leave for the cafe soon,” She explained, glossing over pleasantries and getting right to the point, “I was wondering if you wanted to come.” She tilted her head slightly to the side, as if in thought, “If you think you may stay for a while, it would be a good opportunity to meet a few people.” She shrugged, “Some of the people in this town are actually okay.”









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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxi hear the voices from the closet
xxxasking me haunting questions
xxxare you happy?
xxxdo you want it that bad?

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xxx
Guilt started to form in the pit of Alex’s stomach. He tried to keep it from showing on his face, but Phoenix had known him for so long, he could read him like a book. He hadn’t intended to be gone for that long, and he could understand why Phoenix had been worried. There weren’t a lot of good reasons Alex would go out by himself at two in the morning. He took a slow sip of his coffee, and sighed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Sometimes he forgot that the things he did affected others, that people noticed when he came and went and would worry. He’d never been too concerned about worrying Abuela; she understood necromancy and the things that came with it, and was never overly concerned with his comings and goings, so long as she felt like he was (at least mostly) staying safe, and off the drugs. She told him once that her father used to do the same thing to keep the spirits at bay, and that the hope of not having to do the same is why she came to Greythorne in the first place. Alex knew he disappointed her often. He didn’t want to disappoint Phoenix. Didn’t want to hurt him again.

A part of him thought that this was the best time to tell Phoenix, and then he thought about the upcoming brunch, how much work Phoenix had put into it, and how much was still to be done, and he didn’t want to add any additional stress. He was also afraid that Phoenix would be upset; would realize what a hopeless waste of time Alex was. He couldn’t lie to Phoenix, he would see right through it, so he decided to just tell a very condensed version of the truth. “I had the dream again. It bothered me more than usual so I took a walk to try to clear my head and understand it.” All true so far, “Time got away from me, and I had a little accident in the woods,” He held up a hand to stop Phoenix from freaking out before he started, “I’m okay, not badly hurt or anything. I’m fine.” He nodded, more to himself than anything, and looked down into his cup of coffee, “Everything is fine.” He realized a bit too late that he was overselling the fact that he was fine, and he was likely just making Phoenix worry even more, and mentally kicked himself for it. He really wasn’t helping his case.

He was going to tell Phoenix. Later. For sure. At least, that was what he told himself. But as he looked at Phoenix, briefly studying the lines of his face, he knew, somehow, that he wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Maybe he wasn’t cut out for a relationship, he was already keeping secrets. Already worrying Phoenix, was probably going to disappoint him beyond repair. He decided to change the subject. “How are you feeling about the brunch… Thing?” He hoped that would be enough to get Phoenix’s mind off of him, but there was no way of knowing. Personally, Alex wouldn’t have agreed to do it, but that was why Phoenix was the one everyone loved.








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Z O E PEÑA
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outfitx|x#6E9ECF
xxxsomething is familiar
xxxlike a dream I can reach but not quite hold
xxxi can sense you there
xxxlike a friend I've always known

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Zoe didn’t know why she’d believed that Alex would actually keep his word and have a real conversation with her. He hadn’t so much as checked in on her since she’d checked into the bed and breakfast in town, and she was starting to lose her patience with him. She’d heard more from Phoenix (who, by all accounts, was wonderful; just not the person she’d crossed a continent to meet), and she didn’t mind that, but it was disappointing. She knew not to expect too much, and could admit that she was disappointing herself by expecting Alex to want to be her brother and have a relationship with her, but something inside her wasn’t willing to give it up and let go. Maybe it was that she was really on her own for the first time in her life, or that she just genuinely liked the town, but every time she decided she would just give up and leave, something in the back of her head would tell her to just give it more time. One more day. So she stayed, “one more day” at a time.

Phoenix had told her, kind of off hand, about the brunch, and Zoe was honestly really excited at the concept. As it was, she just sat around waiting on Alex to stop being a total ass to her, explored the town a little, and used up a generous amount of her data package watching youtube videos on her phone, so she welcomed the idea of something to actually do. She also thought that, maybe, she could get Alex to sit and talk to her, even if only for a few minutes. Of course, she didn’t know for sure that he would be there, but she assumed he would be. He lived right above the cafe, after all, and Phoenix seemed to be leading up the whole thing, or at least making it possible, so she couldn’t think of a reason for Alex not to be there.

There was a little bit of time before the brunch started, and Zoe didn’t quite feel comfortable showing up early. The last time she’d come by when Alex wasn’t expecting her, she’d gotten yelled at, and she wanted to avoid that if she possibly could. But she was dressed and ready, and feeling a little antsy. She didn’t want to just sit around, so she decided to take a little walk; go the long way, enjoy the sunshine. She hated how cold it was in Greythorne, but she had to admit that it was a nice town. It was cute, the people were (generally) friendly, even if they did seem a little suspicious of outsiders right now. Zoe understood it, though. Still, the fresh air was nice, and she loved looking at the scenery. This was nothing like the desert she had grown up in, and she was happy to be experiencing it.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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PHOENIX WOODS
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxhey, i promise you will be fine
xxxgot the universe on your side
xxxwhen you're out in space
xxxdon't be afraid, no.
Phoenix could see the flash of guilt on Alex’s face and suddenly wished he’d said nothing about falling asleep on the couch. He hadn’t meant to upset Alex, he just knew that he would probably notice anyway so it was easier just to say it. “It’s fine. Probably should have just gone back to bed,” he said with a small smile. He immediately knew he had to downplay exactly how worried he’d been. They’d been friends for this long, Alex knew that Phoenix had a tendency to worry. He’d teased him enough about it growing up. But Phoenix was afraid that he was too much now that Alex was in the same space as him all the time, that he had started worrying even more. And over the past few weeks, it had only worsened even more. And now he was afraid that it had suddenly been too much, too intense.

But Alex at least told him what had happened, and that was something. But Alex seemed to be stressing that he was fine almost too much, and Phoenix was convinced that all of the worrying and stressing had just finally annoyed him. So when Alex changed the topic, Phoenix took the hint, not quite meeting Alex’s eyes. This was what always seemed to happen. He should have known it was coming.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I’m a little nervous. Haven’t really done anything like this before. But I’ve got everything organised, and I’m pretty sure that Rosie will keep everything under control if needs be. I think it should be okay.” He couldn’t stay here in the awkwardness, knowing that as always, he had been too much. He glanced at his phone. He probably needed to start preparing stuff anyway. He drained his mug. “I probably need to go get started on stuff anyway, make sure everything is ready to go. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?” He said, getting to his feet and kissing Alex on the cheek.

He didn’t give himself time to really dwell on it once he got down to the café, starting to work on the prep. If he started to think about it, if he started to dwell on it, he would go into a spiral. And he couldn’t afford that. Not today.






HAYDEN BYRNE
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outfit : herex|xhex: #005555
xxxsee, i'm just trying to find my place
xxxbut it might not be here where i feel safe
xxxwe all learn to make mistakes
xxxand run from them
Hayden was starting to settle into town at this point. People still regarded him with weariness, but he honestly couldn’t blame them. Not after Travis had been exposed as a spy. An outsider was a risk. But the fact that Kay trusted him and that he seemed to be keeping himself to himself seemed to encouraging people to trust him, and that was something. It was a start.

He and Kay had been spending a lot of time together. Her energy was infectious, and her optimism was always wonderful. It hadn’t taken her long to apparently forget everything that had happened that night, but it was nice to see her happy again. She’d been upset over Travis, of course, but that hadn’t gotten the best of her either.

Hayden had seen a poster for the brunch earlier in the week when he’d been out and about earlier in the week getting groceries. He thought it was a lovely idea and that it would be nice to get out for something different, get to know the town a little more. So he swung by Kay’s on his way into town.

“Hey Kay, it’s me!” He called as he let himself in. “So I saw that there’s a fundraiser brunch thing on in town, I was wondering if you wanted to go? It looked like a really cool idea. Oh, and I think Rosie is involved in it? I was talking to her during the week and she was talking about it.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven 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

Image

Kaylessa had calmed down over the last couple days, Hayden staying and visiting her often helped greatly. A lot had gone down in such a short amount of time that it was hard for Kay to take everything in and understand it, her talk with Travis actually helped her as well, and she would miss him very much. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt bad for him, but knew she couldn’t tell anyone that, and even if she did they would bring up all the bad things he’s caused.

Kay found ways to keep her busy, Neden and Rosie and few of the others didn’t want her out as much in the woods, worried that she might get hurt. Though it was more quiet now, so maybe the hunters were truthful in their message about leaving Greythorne in peace, which would be nice. Greythorne was supposed to be a town about peace and where anyone can go to restart and lived a nice life. Recently she had started going through some old boxes of her mothers, not finding much but enough to reorganize and possibly redecorate.

The sound of the door opening caught Kay’s attention and a smile came across her face as she heard it was Hayden. She popped up from behind a small pile of boxes, keeping her smile. “Hey Hayden!” She shouted as she climbed over the boxes and walked over to him as he talked about a fundraiser, and that Rosie would be going. “Oh! That’s really cool, and I should go huh, haven't really been out as much…” She trailed off as her gaze wandered a bit, but shaking her head and looking back at Hayden. “Yeah let’s go!” She exclaimed as she skipped past Hayden and out the door and started heading to town, slowing down so she can walk with Hayden.

The two walked a little to town, Kaylessa swinging her arms with her step and laughing during her conversation with Hayden. As the two entered town Hayden stopped and said this was the location of the fundraiser. Phoenix’s cafe. “What?” She paused as she looked inside and saw people gathered. “This is Phoenix’s cafe. I don’t want to go in there.” Kay said looking down with a small frown on her face. Hayden apologized and explained that he didn't know, but that they should still go and try to have a good time, reassuring all would be okay. She looked up at him and nodded, and entered as he opened the door for her.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Jaiden Price
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A L E X GARCIA
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outfitx|x#3a0a4d
xxxi hear the voices from the closet
xxxasking me haunting questions
xxxare you happy?
xxxdo you want it that bad?

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xxx
The moment Alex noticed that Phoenix wasn’t meeting his gaze, he knew something was wrong. Even while Phoenix spoke, Alex was racking his brain, trying to figure out exactly where he’d gone wrong. He could swear he heard his Abuela’s voice in his head, You lied to him. No, that wasn’t the problem. Was it? Besides, it wasn’t a lie, he just let out a few details so Phoenix wouldn’t worry. That’s called lying. He pushed the thought of his head as he spoke, “I’m sure it’ll be great, just like everything you do.” He was trying to be encouraging, but he wasn’t sure his words meant much. It wasn’t long before Phoenix announced that he needed to go, and Alex nodded. He understood. He smiled when Phoenix kissed his cheek. Phoenix was just tired and nervous, probably. Alex felt bad for worrying him, he’d have to make it up to Phoenix later. “Yeah. I,” Alex hesitated for a moment, brief, hopefully not noticeable, but it was there. He wanted to ask Phoenix if he was going to be okay, tell him he liked his shirt, that he looked great, that he would miss him. But he was still so used to not saying those things, saying them sometimes felt like fighting some sort of instinct he’d carved into the very fiber of himself, so instead he just said, “I’ll see you down there.”

Alex sighed as soon as Phoenix had shut the door behind them. That had been incredibly awkward. It reminded Alex of high school; maybe Katie Chandler was right, maybe Alex wasn’t boyfriend material after all. No, they were just still getting used to living together, they had their different habits and routines, and no matter how long they’d been friends, this was completely uncharted territory for Alex.

Without the distraction of talking to Phoenix, Alex couldn’t ignore the pain in his arm anymore. He wasn’t sure what good it would do, but he still decided to take something for the pain. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep all of his secrets forever: his bandages would need changing, the wound would turn into a scar he would have to explain. It was amazing how quickly Alex had gone from “I’ll tell him later,” to keeping it secret. It was probably easier that way; Phoenix worried so much about everything, Alex didn’t need to give him more reasons to worry.

Alex decided to turn his attention to brunch, or rather, who would be there. He hadn’t had a real conversation with Jaiden in… A while, and it seemed like a good opportunity to try to catch up. Alex knew that Jaiden had a tendency to isolate when she was upset. He remembered when she’d first moved to town, how she’d been back then. He hated to think that she might end up like that again, and though they were never as close Jaiden was to Phoenix, Alex wanted to remind her that he was still always there for her. Alex hadn’t been a very good friend in the past few months, though he didn’t know what to do to fix it. He figured actually talking could be a good place to start. So he sent out a quick series of texts.

To: Jai
come 2 brunch.
I want 2 talk 2 u
pls find me b4 u leave or i will face time you w/o warning


Feeling satisfied with his threat, Alex decided to get ready to head down to the cafe. He finished up his coffee, cleaned up a little, washed the mugs, sat around for a bit. He realized then how tired he was, and halfway considered not going at all. But he’d already texted Jaiden, so he had to get up and go.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Zoe Peña Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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PHOENIX WOODS
Image
Image
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outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxhey, i promise you will be fine
xxxgot the universe on your side
xxxwhen you're out in space
xxxdon't be afraid, no.
Being in the cafe was starting to calm him down, if only because he was distracted. Or maybe it was just a shift in his energy. Moving from being worried about Alex to being worried about the morning. It felt like that was just how his life was now, moving from worrying about one thing to another to another unto the end of time. He'd always been a worrier, but the attacks had only worsened that. Some days, he almost felt normal, others, it felt like it was going to consume him.

But there was to much to do today to let it engulf him. Rosie's cheerful call as she let herself in was just a reminder of that. She was dressed in her usual bright colours, with her usual grin. "Hey, Phoenix! Wow, something smells amazing, you've done a great job so far!" She called brightly.
"Thanks, Rosie. And thanks for agreeing to help out too, hopefully we're going to need that extra pair of hands," he said. She just laughed and raised an eyebrow.
"Trust me, Phoenix, I think we're going to have a good turn out."

She wasn't wrong. When he opened, it seemed to be even a little busier than normal, and people seemed... well, excited. There was more energy in the place than he'd seen in a while, and it felt almost surreal. It was infectious, and he found himself getting wrapped up in it all. It was exactly the distraction he needed, because he forgot about everything that had happened that morning.

And then he looked up and saw Kay and Hayden coming in, and he felt the flash of guilt and hurt all over again. He hadn't spoken to Kay since that night, but it seemed that she hadn't wanted to speak to him either. He shot them both a smile but made himself look busy making another pot of coffee, praying someone else would go deal with them.






ROSIE THOMPSON
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outfit : herex|xhex: #cc0460
xxxdon't make me laugh, i'll choke
xxxjust let me cry a little bit longer
xxxi ain't gonna smile if i don't want to
xxxhey man we all can't be like you
Rosie wasn't entirely sure what she was even going to do at the brunch. But it didn't take Phoenix long to set her to work, getting tables set and menus out and the final finishing touches on decoration. And then when they opened, she rolled up her sleeves and started waiting tables and generally getting talking to people. Phoenix almost looked surprised at the amount of people that showed up, but Rosie wasn't. From what she'd seen, people were desperate for a sign of hope, a return to normality, and that was exactly what this was to them.

People got chatting, got excited, and she could almost see Phoenix beginning to relax as the atmosphere picked up. She turned around as she heard a familiar voice and smiled at Kay and Hayden.

"Hey, you guys managed to make it! And perfect timing before it gets too busy too!" She gushed, giving them both a hug. "And you're both looking lovely, that dress is adorable, Kay! Come on, let's get you guys a good spot," she said, leading them both over to a free table and handing them a menu.

"So, just letting you guys know, prices are lowered just for today but we're going to have collection points around if you want to help raise money for the families of victims of the attack. Enjoy, everything on the menu is fantastic and I would strongly recommend all of it," She said with a grin. "Let me know if you guys need anything!" She called as she left them to it. She turned back around to the door and spotted a newcomer. There was a moment where she looked almost familiar, but then the moment passed and Rosie was pretty sure she'd never seen this woman before, and instinctively, Rosie's guard went up. But she went over to the woman with a smile. "Hey, can I help you with anything?" She asked brightly.





HAYDEN BYRNE
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outfit : herex|xhex: #005555
xxxsee, i'm just trying to find my place
xxxbut it might not be here where i feel safe
xxxwe all learn to make mistakes
xxxand run from them
The walk to the cafe was nice and relaxing as they chatted and joked. It was only when they got to the cafe and Kay's face fell, before she explained that it was Phoenix's cafe. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, Kay. But, listen, it'll probably be fine. And if nothing else, we'll get some good food and have a nice time, yeah?" He said with a smile. She agreed to come in and they were greeted by Rosie, who hugged them both. They chatted for a moment, before she led them over to a table and explained things to them, before departing with her usual smile.

"Hey so... I know you're still upset, but... maybe you should talk to Phoenix. And... maybe apologise. I know he hurt you but you upset him too. And now might be a good time to do it. It doesn't have to be a big heartfelt conversation, he's busy, but.. I think you should say something. I can come with you if you want?" He said gently, keeping his voice low. "You guys were friends before, you can be friends again. Don't let this ruin your friendships."

He'd been doing his best to look after Kay, but he felt like nobody would really be able to move on until they acknowledged it and made an active attempt to leave it in the past. He'd known that Kay was hurt, and he couldn't blame her, but her behaviour that night hadn't been perfect either and he felt like she knew that too. And he knew everyone wanted to just leave it behind and move on.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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KAYLESSA VALVEN
Image
Image
Image
outfit xxxxxxx hex; #FF4500
Image
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

Image

Kaylessa kept a smile on her face as her and Hayden entered the cafe, staying close to Hayden and holding his hand. Most of the time they would leave the house Kay would hold hands with Hayden, she never really asked or knew how it got started, but she just started one day and Hayden never really stopped or pulled her away so she just continued.

As the two of them walked through exchanging pleasantries Kay’s drifting met with Phoenix across the room and he flashed her a small smile before shifting his attention to something else. She looked to her side and noticed Hayden looking at her, probably seeing the awkward exchange of smiles and eye contact between her and Phoenix.

“You’re right Hay… Even if he doesn’t want to talk to me, it would be good to talk to him. He is my friend. I miss him.” Kaylessa said to Hayden, she went to let go of his hand but he tightened his grip and asked her if she wanted him to accompany him. She lifted a small smile and nodded before the two weaved their way through the crowd and over to Phoenix over by the coffee pots.

Kay was next to Phoenix when she tugged on his shirt, though was a little startled when he jumped in reaction to her. “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean to!” She backed up a bit and hunched a bit next to Hayden, looking around a bit before Hayden nudged her. “I, I just wanted to talk to you a bit about what happened…” Kaylessa stuttered a bit. There was a little bit of a pause before Kay spoke again. “I’m sorry. I, I don’t know why I said those things to you and I didn’t mean to make you upset. Just a lot was going on, Markus… Travis… I was just built up emotions and such.”

Kaylessa waited for Phoenix to say something, but just said it was fine. “No… Hayden talked to me and what I did was mean, and I’m really sorry Phoenix. You’re my friend.” She said as she quickly hugged Phoenix and held him tight.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Rosie Thompson Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven Character Portrait: Zoe Peña Character Portrait: Hayden Byrne
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PHOENIX WOODS
Image
Image
Image
outfit : herex|xhex: #c4a7be
xxxhey, i promise you will be fine
xxxgot the universe on your side
xxxwhen you're out in space
xxxdon't be afraid, no.
Phoenix hadn't seen anywhere as full as this or as relaxed as this in weeks, and it felt good to see. Almost all of the tables were full at this point, and there was only one spot left at the counter. He'd hoped people would come out for it, but he hadn't imagined this many would. People were picking back up a little bit of hope, and that was something. He was startled out of his thoughts, however, when somebody appeared beside him and pulled on his shirt. He instinctively jumped away from them. "Jesus fuck-" He cut himself off as he saw it was only Kay, and exhaled heavily, running a hand down his face. He'd been jumpier since the second attack, easily startled by sudden movements out of the corner of his eye.

"No, no, you're fine. I just didn't see you guys come up," he said. He was about to ask them if everything was okay with their food and everything when Kay said she wanted to talk about what had happened. He averted his gaze away from them, not quite able to look Kay in the face. He didn't want to relive that night, he didn't want to relive the night in the graveyard, he just wanted to leave it all in the past. But he couldn't say that to Kay.

He was so caught up in the feeling of not wanting to go back there, in not wanting to think about it, that he just shrugged at her apology. "Really, Kay, it's... it's fine, we all messed up." But she didn't listen to that. Instead, she apologised again and hugged him. Her behaviour that night had been uncharacteristic, and it was nice to see that she was acknowledging that. Phoenix hugged her back, shooting a smile at Hayden, who just smiled and shrugged. Evidently the elf had already had a good influence despite being a newcomer to the town. "Right. You guys better get back to your seats before someone takes them on you, and let me know if there's any issues, okay?" He said. While doing another scan of the cafe, he spotted Rosie talking to a familiar face by the door. He made his way down to them.

"Zoe? Hey, it's awesome to see you! Come on, I've got a spot up here by the counter for you!" He said. He was aware that Zoe's last memory of him hadn't exactly been the best, and Alex had changed the subject every time Phoenix had brought her up, so he was determined to chat to her for at least a few minutes.

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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0000Neden0Isimir 00000000000000000|000000000000000000000| Violet0 Marsden

Fallen Angel | Outfit x|xhex: #a39d9d 0000000000000000000000000000000Revenant | Outfit | xxhex:#2b2a2a

Image000000000000000000000000000 Image






The following days had been a blur for both of them, as well as everyone else. Things had been leading up to the brunch and fundraiser at the cafe, and everyone had been looking forward to it. Well, mostly everyone. Neden would have passed on it, if it hadn’t been for Phoenix and being at his own cafe, Neden knew they couldn’t say no. But it was Phoenix, and after they had been through, they knew they had to. The morning had been a slow one. An almost painfully slow morning. Neden rolled out of bed, and haphazardly dressed thselves in an outfit of clothing they just threw together, not caring if things entirely matched or not. Tying their hair up in a pony-tail and put a black beanie on, Neden glanced in the broken reflection of the mirror once more and sighed. Maybe all of this was a big mistake coming here, to Greythorn in the first place. They were shaken out of their thoughts when their phone buzzed in their pants’ pocket, bringing them back to earth. It was a short message from Violet.

Meet me at the cafe, it’s important. Come early, we need to talk.

Was all that the message read. Neden quirked an eyebrow in response. They didn’t know what or why Violet needed to talk to them about, they hadn’t really talked to anyone in the past few days. Deciding to be a hermit and just give themselves time, to just...Think. Think of everything that lead up to this, and it was something they hadn’t wanted to think about, yet here they were. Greythorn had become their home in the short amount of time that they had first arrived, and nothing was going to change that. At least that’s what they wanted to think. Neden sent a quick text back to Violet in response as they shoved a few things into their pockets, and quickly left for the cafe with an ever growing pit in their stomach.

Alright, will be there soon. Just leaving now. Cya in a bit.

---

The walk to the cafe had been a long one. It wasn’t that they lived far away from the town, it just seemed to go on for miles. Being in their head tended to do that. Neden didn’t know what Violet wanted to talk about, or if it was even really important, or if Violet was just trying to throw them off track. Seeing the small cafe in the distance, Neden tried to cheer up. They didn’t want anyone to see them so distressed, even if their overall appearance may have portrayed otherwise. Neden watched as a few familiar and unfamiliar faces walked in through the main door of the caffe as they grew closer to the building, but stopped as they were a few yards away from the entrance. Maybe they should just turn back and leave now, go back home and just not go. Act like something important came up, but something in the back of their head told them they had to, and that they really didn’t have much of a choice in this. Stepping into the cafe, and seeing familiar faces, who seemed to be in a better mood caused a small smile to crease their lips, but only for a moment. Neden gave Phoenix a small smile and nod of their head as they passed by him and Zoe who were in a small conversation by the front end of the building, not wanting to disturb them now.

Looking around for anyone else they may have recognized, they saw Rosie who was talking to a few different people, giving her a small nod and smile before passing on to the back part of the cafe. Looking around silently, Neden spotted a familiar figure off in the back corner, in a small booth by herself. Taking a deep breath they slowly strolled over and weaved through the dozens of people that flocked to the event. Neden gave a small smile as they neared the table, “This seat taken?” they said with a small, but obviously fake chuckle. Violet simply looked up at them with what seemed to be like dead eyes. “Sit.” she said simply to the Angel. Neden nodded and slipped into the booth, looking across at Violet with a quizzical look. “Everything okay? You haven’t really texted me in a while, nevermind not much before so...I started to worry-” Neden started, but was cut off as Violet shot them a look, one Neden had never seen from her before. It wasn’t one of anger or anything like that. It seemed like one of sadness. As if she had been crying prior to coming here. “Vio...I mean it. If something happened, you can tell me.” Neden said softly, giving her a small and genuine smile. Violet simply shook her head for a moment as she looked down. The two sat in silence for a moment before Violet looked back up at Neden, breaking the silence after what seemed like an eternity. “While I was away, again...I talked with someone. Someone that knows...Things and...Neden...I know. About...Everything.” she said softly, making sure that they kept their conversation low and between the two of them. Thankfully the music playing was helping to drown out most of what they were saying.

Neden was taken a back by the sudden exclamation by Violet. They weren’t expecting this, whatever it was. A genuine look of confusion overcame them as their brows furrowed. Leaning forward to be closer to Violet as they sat across the table from one another, “Sorry, but what? What are you talking about, Vio? You know what? And who did you talk to, nevermind where you went.” Neden said softly. Genuine concern and worry was now forming in their stomach, the more Violet spoke. “I know, Neden...About everything. Maybe not everything, but I know more about you than I did before. I know what you are, and what you’ve done.” Violet said, as her face began to slowly turn redder as tears began to slowly fall from her eyes. Wiping her tears away, she began to talk again before Neden could speak. “And don’t try bullshitting me, alright? I’ve seen the things that you’ve done...I just want to know why. How long did you think you could keep this charade up, Neden? Which, I know isn’t even your actual name.” tears burned behind her eyes as she looked at Neden, which only caused a small pit to form in her stomach. Having to look away from Neden, as even looking at them now became too much. Neden listened silently as Violet spoke, the words hit them like a brick wall to the chest. Neden felt like they couldn’t breathe, like all the oxygen in their lungs had been ripped out violently. Left gasping for air, as they just sat there motionless. Neden tried to think of what to say, anything. Anything at all, but their mind just went blank. For the first time in years, everything was just blank. Neden had no words to say, nothing to even try to say to her. Everything came out left field, leaving them in so much confusion. But worry soon overcame like waves in the ocean.

Neden struggled for a moment to regain the ability to speak as they felt their heart stop for a moment. Shaking their head for a moment as they looked back up at the girl that sat across from them. Neden wanted to just get up and give Violet a hug, apologize for everything. Explain that it wasn’t true, that it was all a lie. But feeling the emotions radiate off of her was so palpable, and real. Violet wasn’t lying, she was telling the truth. She knew, somehow she knew. She knew it all, and Neden didn’t know what to do. Biting their lip for a moment, Neden finally gathered the words to say as they could feel their own eyes beginning to burn, “Violet, I swear...Whoever told you those things...I’m sorry. I want to say that those were lies but...I can’t. I just don’t know what to say to you, I can’t say it’s all a lie and didn’t happen...Even though I wish it was, and never did happen. But I’m not that person anymore. I’m not.” Neden said with a look of sadness that overcame their entire face, leading up to their eyes as they looked around. “It’s all just really, really fucking complicated and a long story it’s just...I don’t know what to tell you or do...I’m sorry, Vio…” they said as they finally made eye contact with Violet, who simply looked up at them in return.

What came next, Neden wasn’t expecting and their heart sank at the words that came next from Violet. “I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry. I just want to know why. Why you lied for so long...You have to tell them. Everyone, Neden. Not just me. They all deserve to know.” Neden felt their heart skip more than just one beat. “Wh...What? Violet, I can’t. I can’t tell them. You’ll know what they’ll do. No one will-” “You tell them, or I will, Neden. That’s your choice. They know and find out by you, where you can explain everything. Or I’ll tell them. What one would you prefer?” Violet asked as she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at the angel that sat across from her. Neden swallowed hard for a moment, looking down and away as thoughts rushed through their mind. Coming here was a mistake, and they knew it. They should have left, but Violet would have told them all anyway. And no one would have been able to trust Neden again. They would have been viewed and seen as a traitor, that simply left before they could have been caught.

Neden exhaled sharply, looking up at Violet as they gave her a small glance, “Fine...I’ll tell them.” Neden slowly removed themselves from the booth. Looking about, they saw that everyone was still scattered across the building, and there was no way that they were going to make it a public display. Neden took out their phone, and after a few moments, multiple texts had been sent to those that needed to know, telling them they needed to talk in the backroom and that it couldn’t wait. Neden simply gave Violet one more look, one of sorrow and regret, before they turned and excused themselves to one of the backrooms, where they would await the others to arrive. A massive pit formed in Neden’s stomach as they stepped into the extra room in the back. It was small, but big enough for more than a dozen or so people to stand in. Neden felt a sudden urge and ran into the bathroom, and emptied whatever the contents in their stomach was. Everything felt like such a nightmare, that everything was out of touch and reality. Like this was some sort of dream or nightmare that had come to life. None of this was supposed to happen, and now they were forced to face one of their fears. Looking in the small mirror for a moment, Neden simply shook their head and exited the bathroom and returning to the backroom once more.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Jaiden Price Character Portrait: Trisstana Glasser Character Portrait: Kaylessa Valven
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T R I S S GLASSER
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Alex had never considered himself to be a particularly annoying person, but plenty of people seemed to think he was. Zada’s companion was… Interesting. Yeah, that was one way to put it. Alex didn’t know her, but if she was anything like Zada- personality wise- he wasn’t sure Greythorne could handle that.

He was almost visibly relieved when Jaiden arrived, as if she’d saved him from the conversation he’d initiated. He shrugged, “I’m not gonna stand outside and talk to you like I’m your secret boyfriend you’re ashamed to be seen with.” He rolled his eyes when she called him a buffoon, letting out an over-exaggerated fake laugh. Time to officially remove himself from this conversation. Apparently every woman in town thought he was an annoying idiot. Upon opening the door, he saw a few things. For starters, it was really busy. That was good. Zoe was already there, which he didn’t really care about, and the last thing he noticed was that Kay was starting to walk in Phoenix’s direction.

He didn’t know for sure what the outcome of that would be, but the last time Kay and Phoenix had talked, it didn’t end well. He turned to Jaiden, “Think you can find us a place to sit? I want to check up on Phoenix real quick. He’s been acting weird this morning. Probably just nerves, but… You know. I’ll just be a minute, I promise.” He ignored Zoe when she tried to wave at him, and started heading for the counter, but the situation seemed to resolve itself quickly enough, with Kay giving Phoenix a hug, so he decided to go find Jaiden, instead.

Triss quickly found a table and was about to slide in after setting her coat down, when she saw spotted Alex walking off, and deciding she would act now. “Hey, I’ll be back. But don’t wait for me if stuff, or whatever is supposed to happen here or whatever gets started.” She said grabbedas she walked away and weaved through the crowd, bumping into a few people who gave her a confused stare from not recognizing her, grabbing a quick drink as she walked.

It didn't take Trisstana long to get to Alex, stopping infront of him, causing the two to bump into each other and the drink she was carrying to spill on her. Alex quickly started to apologize to her before she could say anything. “Oh! It’s fine, my fault it happened. Oh, its you. Alex right?” She questioned as she set down her cup. “Well since we both caused this, mind helping me clean up?” Triss asked, grabbing Alex’s hand and giving him a light smile.

Alex must not have been paying attention to where he was going, because he ran right into someone. “Shit, I am so sorry,” He spoke up quickly, but she was brushing the whole thing off before he could really say anything else. It clicked, then, that this was Zada’s friend. A little bit of fear churned in his stomach at that thought. He was dead.

Then she grabbed his hand, and a small smile spread across his lips, “Oh.” He wasn’t quite sure if what he was feeling was relief or… Something else. He found his eyes looking over her, just to assess the situation. When he realized he was staring, he forced himself to bring his gaze back to her face. “Yeah, you’re… Wet.” Shit, no, that was stupid. “I mean, yeah.” He paused and licked his lips, “I would love to help you.”

Trisstana let out a small giggle and had to keep herself from smirking when he made the comment about her being wet, and smiled when he offered to help her. It had been awhile since she dragged another mythical person, so wasn’t exactly sure what type of effect she would have, but was glad it looked like it was working. “Really? Thank you, should probably get away from the others, don’t want to be in their way right?” She asked, seeing him nod. Triss held onto his hand as she led him away.

Zada talked about how annoying he was, and from Triss’ first interaction with him, she could see why and wouldn’t feel bad about this. Though, he was a moderately handsome young man. As they left the main room and ended up down a hallway she started to get a little excited and antsy, it’s been awhile since she lured a prey away from it’s pack, but she still flourished in the rush it would give her. Trisstana had to concentrate on her claws not protruding out as she got more excited, not wanting to scare him off just yet.

It made sense to go get out of the way, find somewhere else to go. Alex wasn’t sure where they were heading, but in that moment he would have followed her just about anywhere. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt that way about a woman, though a more rational thought may have reminded him of a few reasons he absolutely should change his mind. That rationality never came. All he could think about was the woman leading him, how her hands were soft, and she smelled like lavender and the coffee on her shirt, and how nicely she filled out said shirt.

A thought struck him, then, and it seemed like something he should follow up on. “Hey, uh…” His voice trailed off as he stared blankly in front of him. As she pulled her shirt over her head, that suddenly became the only thing his brain could process. Alex couldn’t seem to decide where to look, but his didn’t seem to want to settle on her’s, or even in the perimeter of her face.

As the two of them got outside, Triss leaked around that no one was really around and turned down the alleyway, going around some boxes stacked that would block the view. When she stopped and looked back at Alex, he started to say something and she could feel him starting to break focus. “I need you to hold this if we’re gonna clean it handsome.” She said quickly as she pulled her shirt over her head and flipped her hair out of her face. Left just wearing her simple lacey black bra.

Triss smiled as she saw his eyes looking over her body, handing over the stained shirt. The cold weather didn’t bother her as the rush from the hunt and her own pheromones were keeping her warm. When Alex looked down at the shirt she smirked and licked her lips as her claws started to extend out and fangs revealed themselves around her smirk. It has been awhile since she did this on land and usually acting out in the waters, but it wouldn’t be too difficult.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Phoenix Woods Character Portrait: Alex Garcia Character Portrait: Zada min Albahr Character Portrait: Trisstana Glasser Character Portrait: Zoe Peña
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Z A D A min ALBAHR
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xxxdon't do love, don't do friends
xxxi'm only after success
xxxdon't need a relationship
xxxi'll never soften my grip

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Zada’s face softened when Jaiden approached; she’d always liked Jaiden, and didn’t mind seeing her. “He always bothers me,” Zada said, completely seriously, “I don’t know why he bothers trying to talk to me in the first place.” She couldn’t say she wasn’t relieved when he went inside, and when Triss suggested that they get a table too, Zada nodded. It was busy, which was great for the victims of the recent attacks, but not so great for finding a table. “That might be a difficult task,” She mused out loud as she looked around the room.

“Phoenix,” Zada said while they walked into the building, “Just opened the cafe not long ago.” She smiled a little, “He’s a good person.” She waved at Rosie as they walked past, reminding herself that she’d have to say hello properly when she looked less busy.

In a stroke of luck, they found an empty spot, but before they sat down Triss said she had something to do, and then she vanished in among the crowd. Sitting alone was exactly what Zada wanted. She sighed as she sat down at the table, drumming her nails along the top in a staccato beat. She wasn’t entirely sure why she found this so upsetting, other than that she had wanted to spend a little time with Trisstana; talk to her, enjoy her company. Maybe that was silly, but she had said she thought she would like to stay a while, and Zada had thought that that meant Triss enjoyed spending him with her. Of course, that was probably just wishful thinking.

After a few moments, she decided to go say hello to Phoenix. She didn’t want to keep him, but she did want to say hello, maybe commend him for doing such a great job at putting the event together. With all the stress and fear the town had been experiencing this was exactly the sort of thing they all needed, and Rosie and Phoenix had made it come together perfectly. She approached with a neutral, but soft, expression on her face. It was well-practiced, and she thought it looked pleasant enough. Maybe not friendly, but it worked for her. She never got around to saying hello.

“-out the back, I think, with a woman with yellow hair,” Zada didn’t stick around to hear how that ended.

This could be bad. If someone went missing, at this point, the people in town would notice. Tensions were already high after Travis was revealed as a spy, and there weren’t very many people in town that suspicion could be pointed at. Zada liked Trisstana, she wanted her to stick around, and she didn’t want the people in town to hate her. It was hard to gain trust in these towns, especially after they’d been attacked. Maybe, if nobody had gotten hurt yet, they could just brush the whole thing off as some sort of misunderstanding. Hopefully.

When Zada reached the alley, she took a brief second to assess the scene laid out in front of her. Under other circumstances, she might have found this amusing. But not now. She hurried forward, "Okay, that's enough." She shot Trisstana a glance that could have been interpreted as anger, but hopefully she would understand that Zada really just wanted her to stop for her own sake. Really, she couldn't blame Triss for going after Alex. It was just the wrong time, wrong place, and the wrong person to choose for this.