𝚂 𝙾 𝚃 𝙴 𝚁 𝙸 𝙰

[senna_]

❝ 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐎 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

'xxxxshift. american martenxxxlocation. cabin deck/porch --> kitchenxxxmentions. sebastian, josie, averyxxxtags. carsus, vivette, toby
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'Perhaps Kenna was a bit naïve, typing up labels for each of those she shared a home with even though she had only been on Fox Island for a little under a year, but Carsus appeared to catch onto her humour quickly enough. He had even managed to crack a smile, which Kenna presumed was getting extra attention to divert his mind away from her teasing words that had pained his cheeks red. Carsus’s words were short and sweet, but enough to earn a hearty laugh from Kenna, who gripped the wooden rail as she tossed her head back to prevent herself from stumbling backward. “How dare you,” she gasped rather dramatically. “You picked the wrong fight, Mister Howell.” And then she dropped it, allowing the blissful breeze to take ownership of the conversation as it swayed on by. Her eyes remained steady on his person, though. Was it an act of clumsiness, or was he genuinely scatterbrained? She made note of the way his own gaze flitted about, as if trying to seek out the culprit of the rustling crackle that sounded every time a leaf fluttered from the breath of nature. She didn’t dare label him as jumpy, if anything he seemed more in tune with the woods than even the inanimate objects that lived in the treeline, but Kenna was able to pick up on the shift in his mood. His voice, while soft-spoken, seemed to drown out the chorus of birds nearby, and even the ghostly rush of the sea’s waves felt as if it had gone extinct.

____Her smile naturally depreciated, and a solemn look took over, her eyes particularly fixed on him as she patiently waited for him to form the words he felt were most suited for his thoughts. She couldn’t say she was familiar with the area he made mention of, but Kenna didn’t often head out in that direction. The water was beautiful, but her fear of the deep sea was often powerful enough to prevent her from even travelling along the shoreline by herself. It was a stupid thing to admit, and even stupider to bring up to someone like Carsus, who seemed to feel much at home in that very area she shied away from, but just because she didn’t feel comfortable around the big body of water didn’t mean she didn’t understand the serenity Carsus was describing. “I get it.” Her acknowledgment was just as quiet as his original words were. Returning to her original position of leaning against the wooden rail, she lowered her head into her hands once more, closing her eyes for a fleeting second as she tried envisioning where Carsus often spent his nightly visits. She was honest with her response, too: the sound of the ocean was like nature’s version of white noise. Her eyes fluttered open once more, returning back over to glance at him. By now, he was evidently lost in his head, eyes gazing aimlessly out into the forest, posture practically frozen in place. Kenna could see the paleness against his skin, and made note of the way his shirt consisted of slight wrinkles that scattered about the fabric like wormwork, likely from dozing off in it.

____Something shifted, then, something that even Kenna was able to pick up on. Her head tilted in concentration as his gaze molded into a stoic expression, and she was sure that if he were holding onto an object, his knuckles would surely be as white as a fawn’s belly. “I’ll pack you a basket,” she intervened his thoughts – or so she hoped. “A picnic basket. What do you take out there with you? Anything? I know it’s not far from here, but…” Kenna’s voice temporarily trailed off just long enough to offer him a faint smile, which only grew the more she mentally planned out this idea. “Just some snacks, maybe a blanket? I can throw some honey in there for the bear, too.” Her attempt to crack a joke was weak, but she was desperate to lift up the mood. Something told her that packing an overnight bag was the last thing on his mind, but Kenna was beginning to obtain the impression that this method of relaxation he engaged in didn’t always go as smoothly as the way he described it to her, as vague as that had been. It was almost a bit strange that she hadn’t routinely picked up on this habit of his before: night walks – or adventures amongst the trees – had almost become part of her daily schedule, and yet not once had she run into him on his way out. Perhaps that was for the best.

____When he spoke once more, Kenna found herself physically biting her tongue in an attempt to reel her wandering mind back into the moment. It was easier than she was expecting it to be, perhaps because of the grave look on Carsus’ face that managed to hook her attention with ease. While her smile had once again begun to disintegrate, she consciously felt it drop the moment he brought up their sides. It was true, what he had said: Kenna was truly amazed by how easy it was from some of these people to essentially snap their fingers and take on a whole new form of themselves. She wasn’t going to say anything out loud, instead deciding to stick to a simple string of nods. Piping up to exclaim that she understood what he was getting at sounded absolutely ridiculous when comparing the two of them; her shift was surely no more than the size of his paw. She was aware of her own struggles with it, though. She knew about the uncomfortable stir in her chest when the sun fell, when her senses heightened as nocturnal prey roamed about. She was familiar with the unfamiliarity of shifting, of when to and when to not, and more importantly, how. Kenna supposed she was lucky, in some way. She was all too familiar with the untamed hiss of her father’s sharp words, the way both parents addressed her like a wild creature rather than their own daughter. But at least her shifting wouldn’t accidentally cause too much damage, as far as she was aware. It wasn’t like… well, a bear, one of the grand mighty predators of the forest. She opened her mouth, then paused for a fleeting moment, before deciding to speak aloud: “I’m not sure it’ll ever not be strange,” she mused, keeping her gaze fixed on her hands to avoid embarrassment in case she sounded like a complete idiot. “I mean, it’s not like another organ in our bodies or anything. The biology of it is just…” She shook her head as a way to wrap up her sentence, letting a puff of air escape harshly from her lips. Despite having studied environmental studies, this sort of anatomy was something Kenna couldn’t wrap her head around in any sort of way. “Well… If it means anything, I think you’re handling it greatly.” She flashed him a small smile, although she wasn’t exactly confident that it would do much to ease the tension he was battling. “The worst thing any of us could do is pay no mind to it at all, right? You’ve just gotta…” It was Kenna’s time to stumble over her words, and she tossed her hands up as if that would help her formulate her thoughts better. “…Tune in to what it needs. Which, you seem to already be doing.” Her smile remained present, because really, that was all Kenna could offer. If he wanted genuine, accurate advice, Josie was the person to go to about that.

____As much as she didn’t mind listening to him mutter out those thoughts that had been clouding his gaze, as sheepish as she was to admit it, Kenna was a bit relieved when the conversation entered a completely new room. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about that uncertainty of the unfamiliar soul within them, but she had just as many answers as he did, and feeling helpless wasn’t her forte. He had grabbed the door just as she had picked up on the presence of Sebastian in the distance. “Ah! Such a gentleman,” she chirped, taking the door from him. The change in temperature was surprisingly dramatically different as she stepped foot into the kitchen, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Carsus as she flashed everyone else an awkward greeting smile. “Morning,” she spoke a second later, the word tossed out as a general greeting, although it did turn into somewhat of an awkward squeak at the very end as she made eye contact with Josie. Abandoning Carsus’ side, Kenna beelined towards Vivette to give her friend a hug, which was rather awkward given that she was standing and Vivette was sitting. “That looks delish,” she practically gawked at Vivette’s plate, standing straight once again and bounding over to the cupboards. “Carsus, here-” she grabbed hold of two plates and extended her arm for him to take one of them. The cracking sizzle of the waffles Toby was in the process of making made her stomach grumble, and her attention was suddenly all back on her hunger, which she had been battling since the second she woke up.

____ “Toby.” The name came out exasperated, as if she had been holding her tongue this whole time and finally found a way to steal the floor. “Did you see that both Grace and Karissa were eliminated on Survivor? Apparently Grace totally sabotaged Karissa’s plan for one of the endurance challenges, so Karissa was eliminated, but then a few days later Grace was no longer on the show. Some sort of ethical reason, or something rather. I haven’t watched it yet. I knew she was a snake. You can never trust snakes.” Her last statement was spoken firmly, in a matter-of-fact tone, but the second she felt Avery’s intense stare on her, raising her brows silently as she raised her mug to her lips, Kenna faltered a bit. But it disappeared quickly as her eyes settled onto the plate of waffles, and she grabbed one single one, ripping off the corner to pop into her mouth before placing the rest of it onto the plate. “What’s the plan for today?” she asked once she had swallowed the piece of waffle, her comment yet again offered generally, given the small posse that had formed inside of the kitchen.

[chase.]

𝐂 𝐎 𝐋 𝐋 𝐈 𝐄 xxxx ♛
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[ golden eagle ] [ he/him ] [ location - forest ] [ feeling - surprised, curious, content ]


xxxxxxxJesus H Christ, she’s actually going for it. Collie kept the shock internal, leaving his face mostly blank as he listened. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting; but it wasn’t that. Kate opening up hadn’t been a possibility he’d seriously considered before today, and yet here they were, having a heart to heart. In the middle of the forest. Sat on Josie’s truck. Collie rested his chin on his hand, head tilted as he listened intently. Everyone keeps saying that they know how I feel. That was a phrase he hadn’t heard in a long, long time; not since he’d been a feral teenager anyways. That was the bonus he had from the way in which he severed his own ties - no ridiculous sympathy or poorly parroted advice. He blinked at Kate. That kind of sentiment would make even him go stir crazy, god knew how she felt.

Kate died - drowned - and then was resuscitated. Eight men died - drowned - and weren’t resuscitated. The survivor's guilt was rampant, it seemed to plague Kate like mould plagued a damp basement. The brunet held his tongue as she continued, not wanting to interject and prematurely end the conversation by putting Kate off. There were two common types of mentality within the army, he’d that learnt quickly. You had the people that held the weight of the world on their shoulders; feeling responsible for every single person that listened to them. The ones who could do everything one hundred percent correct, but still feel guilt if any outside and uncontrollable variables resulted in casualties. Then you had the people like Collie, the “what’s done is done, get a grip and move on.” type of people. It wasn’t that Collie didn’t care, he did, in fact he cared a great deal - but he viewed his job as black and white. He wouldn’t take the responsibility for anyone’s misfortune unless he had directly caused it. If people died under his command because he had ordered them to run head-first into an unwinnable situation - that was completely on him, and he’d shoulder the guilt that came with whilst kicking himself for his stupidity. If people died because they were doing the job that they had signed up for - that was just life. Collie had never felt solace in placing the blame on anyone other than the individuals directly responsible.

I’ve been unfair. I assumed you knew. That got Collie’s interest enough for him to halt his previous train of thought, head tilted as he watched Kate patiently. Leaving the rolo packet to sit in-between them should she change her mind. “The news?” Collie repeated under his breath. Talk about unlucky. The shifter was silent for a few seconds after Kate had finished, mulling over his words. “That’s what happened, back in the town.” He spoke steadily, putting the pieces together. “Someone recognised you.” He wanted to apologise for putting her in that situation, but somehow he figured more sympathy wasn’t going to help the situation.

Collie looked out into the forest, briefly glancing at George. “I suppose it’s only fair, you’ve told me your story.” He said eventually, rolling his shoulders back into a stretch. “I was in the Special Air Service, not the “main” army.” He admitted, offering Kate a slight smile. “It was easier for me, the SAS aren’t the type of people to publicise anything to anyone, not like the rest of the army anyways.” He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. “Two years ago I let my second lieutenant throw out our timetable in the middle of an op, everyone agreed on it - I just had the final say.” It had been a messy situation; an operation that seemed frowned upon by some higher power with how badly it went. “Anyways, a late evac gave the targets enough time to regroup and our Chinook took a hit - the kind of hit that didn’t give anyone a chance.” Most of the men had been pulled out by the force, nowhere near enough time to grab a parachute - not that it would’ve helped, being exposed in the air was just as much of a death sentence. “Truthfully, I blacked out. I was holding onto the webbing one second, and the next I woke up on the ground. Bruised and a little singed, but fine.” Collie chuckled, though it didn’t hold any humour. “I guess the bird didn’t fancy going down with the ship.” He kissed his teeth, “I died too, assumed KIA according to them anyways. Lost somewhere in the Carpthian mountains with the others. I stayed for a couple of days, just to make sure I was really the only one left.” Fifteen days he’d officially stayed, spent damn near the entire time shifted just in case he was spotted. After eight days the recovery teams were sent in, and Collie stayed just long enough to make sure everyone would be found and returned to their families. As best they could be anyhow. “Couldn’t exactly explain my miracle survival, so I figured I’d find somewhere and start again.”

He thought briefly about sharing his name, but that wasn’t something he wanted Kate to be able to hold over him. Even just teasingly. “Anyways-” he continued, shifting his bodyweight so he could face her properly. “Why do you feel like a murderer?” It was soft but blunt, and Collie winced internally at the delivery of the question. Not that it even made him hesitate to continue on the tangent. “Did you hold them underwater? Tell them to hit an iceberg or something? Survival is never guaranteed in our line of work, everyone who signs up knows that. I don’t know if I’d consider us heroes, but just because you’re not a hero it doesn’t make you a failure or a murderer.” He offered her a sad smile, “You were right, I didn't know about you; but I’m glad you got to tell me yourself. I’m sorry that you’ve been turned into a spectacle, people are cruel. I don’t know the details of what happened, and I won’t press you for them - but if you were genuinely responsible for those deaths, I don’t think you’d be talking to me right now.” He paused his rambling for a second, taking the moment to look towards the birds who’d long-since stopped fighting in the trees. “You died, I’m dead, and yet we’re sat on the hood of a truck in the middle of a forest talking. It’s funny how life works out.” Collie huffed a laugh, a genuine one this time. His own words from this morning playing over in his head. “I don't need to have a heartfelt, sappy conversation.” So much for that. “Screw ‘em.” He blurted, leaning backwards towards the windshield. “Everyone that thinks they have a right to you or your thoughts. You’ve been dealt a bad hand of cards, but they’re yours, and if anyone at the table tries to peek at them you’re well within your rights to punch them in the throat - if you don’t want the attention, call me over and I’ll do it.” Collie uncrossed his legs, opting to stretch them out over the hood instead. If only it was that easy.

[ inventory : multi-tool, phone, burner phone, knife, wallet, lighter, gum, stolen rolos ]

[ tags ; kate ] [ mentions ; none ]

[འབྲོག་ཁྱི]

𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖶𝖤 𝖢𝖮𝖴𝖫𝖣 𝖫𝖠𝖴𝖦𝖧 𝖥𝖮𝖱𝖤𝖵𝖤𝖱 𝖬𝖮𝖱𝖤, 𝖶𝖧𝖤𝖭 𝖶𝖤 𝖢𝖮𝖴𝖫𝖣

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⯭ ⋅ ─── ⋅ 𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑺𝑼𝑺 x 𝑯𝑶𝑾𝑬𝑳𝑳 ⋅

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𝖳𝖤𝖠𝖱 𝖨𝖳 𝖴𝖯 𝖫𝖨𝖪𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖣𝖮𝖦𝖲 𝖠𝖳 𝖭𝖨𝖦𝖧𝖳, 𝖶𝖧𝖤𝖭 𝖶𝖤 𝖢𝖮𝖴𝖫𝖣

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tagging; kenna
mentioned; seb, KITCHEN CREWW
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location; porch > kitchen
shift; grizzly bear

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Kenna laughed from her whole chest, and as clichéd as it was, Carsus couldn't help but think that it was a melody — bright and authentic, a piece of her most candid self that he got to witness. His own laughter seemed disjointed in comparison, like marching drumbeats or notes plucked from the bass strings of an old acoustic guitar that would always crackle and growl with the force of its own reverberations. He caught himself thinking that he would have liked to hear more of her laughter, what it might have been like when she laughed out of surprise, or perhaps even sarcasm. But the moment seemed wrong to tell a worn joke about eating a clock or something else of the sort, and so he contented himself with this one chanced-upon occasion. A treasure to keep.
indentindentindentIt surprised him, just a little, how deeply she listened to the words tumbling from his tongue, especially when they seemed so ineloquent and ill-chosen to himself. He had been desperate to paint a portrait of the cove in order to convey what had so strongly drawn him there, and perhaps he had succeeded, because for a moment Kenna almost appeared to drift away in her thoughts, maybe picturing what he had sought to describe. A smaller smile, delicate and sweet, curved his mouth as she promised him a picnic basket. The thought of him trudging through the ferns with a petite object perched on his arm was almost funny, when he had so gotten used to drinking iron-cold water from a creek, or even casting bait out into the waters to catch fish. It was terribly kind. He nearly blushed again.
indentindentindentident"It's quite alright," he assured. "But I appreciate the thought. I really do." It took a breath to convince himself, or more like gather the courage, but he finally got himself to make the suggestion: "I could show you sometime, how to forage out here. It's easy once you know where to look." It could have been a date. Or not. However she took it. Either way, he kept himself from rambling further about the different plants he had gotten to know, before he had the chance to turn their conversation into a monologue about the properties of dirt.
indentindentindentI’m not sure it’ll ever not be strange. Carsus thought she was right. He had feared that whatever the feeling was that he'd been trying to explain would have been too convoluted to latch onto, but Kenna seemed to catch on quickly. The odd mix of gratitude and relief that flooded into him came as a surprise, but he held onto it. It was a little like a weight lifted, if only in part. Yet just to know that he wasn't the only one battling such a feeling, or at least something similar, already meant quite a bit. And if Kenna could not wrap her head around the specifics of their nature, then it might have been for the best if he refrained from trying. He might've simply split his own head in half with the effort, and it sounded a lot like being back in square one. He had to agree with her: at least they were doing what they could.

indentindentindentAs he held open the door for her, Carsus could feel a presence enter the yard behind his back. A glance from the corner of his eye revealed it as Sebastian, and he was suddenly glad that they were heading inside. Carsus had never found it in himself to trust Sebastian, and considering he rarely found himself so put off by anyone, especially on first meeting, he had taken the gut feeling as a sign that there truly was something the man was hiding. He had only grown closer to Josie over the years, a figure many of the others seemed to look to as someone who was like her right hand, and Carsus could only watch, in the hopes that if something were to happen, he would catch it before it could break Josie's heart. The last thing he wanted was to see her betrayed.
indentindentindentHe allowed the door to fall closed behind them, and the warm air of the cabin rushed to replace the slight chill of the outside. Kenna beelined for the kitchen, and Carsus followed after, watching with interest as she flitted about, greeting the others with that same brightness about her that he had been so fascinated by earlier. It set a a faint flutter into his chest, a feeling that he might have otherwise noted with alarm, but with the eyes of everyone on their arrival, he simply greeted them with a polite quirk of his lips and a few nods of his head. He accepted the plate from Kenna and seated himself at the table, still listening to her speak with interest even as she no longer spoke to him. And in spite of the fact that he had never seen an episode of Survivor.
indentindentindentCarsus had begun to shovel pieces of waffle into his mouth at a steady pace when the question of plans for the day arose. He chewed thoroughly, allowing his eyes to circle around the faces at the table, and when he saw that no one was jumping to offer their thoughts, he swallowed the food and spoke up.
indentindentindentindent"Anyone headed to the spring market thing in Port Davis?" he asked, letting his gaze wander again in the hopes that someone was planning on going. He had visited a few times over the years, and sometimes they'd had newborn lambs there, which had filled him with a near-inexplicable amount of excitement. He really missed lambing season at the farm.

[འབྲོག་ཁྱི]

𝖥𝖠𝖪𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖫𝖮𝖵𝖤 𝖥𝖮𝖱 𝖠 𝖶𝖧𝖨𝖫𝖤, 𝖶𝖨𝖳𝖧 𝖸𝖮𝖴𝖱 𝖲𝖤𝖭𝖨𝖮𝖱 𝖯𝖮𝖱𝖳𝖱𝖠𝖨𝖳 𝖲𝖬𝖨𝖫𝖤

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⸸ ⋅ ────── ⋅ 𝐾𝐴𝑇𝐸 x 𝐴𝑉𝐸𝐷𝑂𝑁 ⋅

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𝘚𝘖 𝘐 𝘞𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘜𝘗 𝘐𝘕 𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘓, 𝘛𝘖𝘙𝘛𝘜𝘙𝘌𝘋 𝘉𝘠 𝘔𝘐𝘋𝘐 𝘉𝘌𝘓𝘓𝘚

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tagging; collie
mentioned; seb
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location; woods > cabin
shift; coyote

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Sitting together on the rusted hood of a truck that belonged to neither of them, Kate listened to Collie with a growing sense of unease. This was what she'd wanted, wasn't it? Someone who could say that they knew what she was going through and not only mean it but be, as objectively as she could judge, correct. And yet a feeling was slowly winding itself tighter in her chest: fear, or rejection, or denial. An utter terror in the face of being seen as who she truly was. It was repulsive in the sense that she wished to throw this moment from her hands, but that was an impossibility. Regret. Why did I say these things?
indentindentA faint nod of her head confirmed Collie's conclusion: she'd been recognised, and the eyes on her had sent her spiraling down without much of a warning. Or, rather, there had been warning signs all morning, but she had ignored them in favour of some semblance of normalcy, because every single day now seemed like a warning sign, with their sleepless nights and feelings that came down like heavy weight. In an irrational way she was jealous of those who lost all touch with reality in their flashbacks, because she was painfully tethered to it. Her reality simply came with a veneer of excessive guilt, as if life on its own wasn't more than capable of supplying it.
indentindentThis was what she'd wanted, and yet it was exactly what she hadn't wanted. But there she was, listening to Collie relate his own story. One that was alarmingly similar to what she had gone through, but all the more baffling in his reaction to it. Kate could not understand his lack of guilt, that grip which seemed to crush her throat in a vice each morning. She wanted to dig it out of him, to grab his jaw and turn him to look at the lives lost as if it would fix anything. Because she couldn't stop looking — not at the eight men at the bottom of the sea, or the career, the meaning to her life, which she had lost over something so... pointless. She had not been driving, she had not chosen the road, but he had not pulled out of a botched mission and it had led to the death of his team. And still he did not feel guilt. It was incomprehensible to her, to the brain that had steeped itself in that very feeling for the past two years.
indentindentAnd in spite of it all, she was envious — envious of him. He had gotten to go somewhere else, where no one knew about him or what he had gone through, and start over. Never mind the publicity that had followed her around like a black dog, Kate had stuck around in the aftermath, with white knuckles and bloody teeth, all the way until she had been discharged and the commanding officers far above her rank had told her to go home. Until then, she had forced herself to witness all the ugly fallout down to the most minute of its details, because it had felt wrong to forget the soldiers, the friends, she had lost and move on as if they were dispensable.
indentindentShe remembered the funerals, all morphed together into one monstrous parade of suffering, remembered having to look the mothers and fathers in the eyes while biting down her own emotions, because no one, let alone them, deserved the burden of having to shoulder her pain on top of all their own. Maybe that pain had become a sort of flail in the months that followed, when she had thought of herself as a coward for going back home, because when she felt in any moment that she deserved to suffer, she would dig out the memory and force herself to look at it, directly, with no kindness to veil all of its cutting edges.

indentindentYet here he was, asking her why she felt the way she did. Shouldn't it have been obvious? What absolution had he given himself that Kate could not even begin to comprehend? Did you hold them underwater? His words were beginning to blur until all she heard was static, and the red, rising anger that had been growing in her chest the entire time. Her eyes left the woods and she looked at him, splayed out on the hood as if nothing mattered, and felt she was seeing him for the first time. She wanted to hold him down against the windshield and crush her hands around his neck. The feeling wasn't much different from those flashes of animal violence that her mind had supplied her with earlier that morning, yet it was something more. Deeper. Larger.
indentindentSlowly, as if she were directing an immense part of herself toward maintaining self-control, Kate slid down from the hood. Her boots hit the soft dirt below with a near-silent thud, and for a moment — a dangerous, ugly moment — she stood there, staring off into the trees and working her jaw, as if she had any intention of not turning that flail toward him and driving away any shred of goodwill. Because not only did it frighten her, but how could she ever believe that she deserved it? When she so stubbornly held on to that guilt, that thorn in her side and the hot iron on her skin. He would taste it too — the blood of self-hatred.
indentindentindent"Have you for a moment stopped to think that maybe all this idiotic restlessness is the result of you ignoring whatever guilt you're supposed to feel?" she lashed out at him, swinging in a wide arch that would have surely struck anyone present, were they not alone. It truly was a sudden realisation, not that she wanted to hurt him, but that she needed to do it in a way that was different from a fist or a coyote's teeth, and she wasn't entirely sure where it had risen from. All of it was confused and shapeless within her, and perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise that this emotion was too. She hated his understanding, and his tolerance. His complicity in this strange, shared kind of loss.
indentindentA step in place and she was facing him, shoulders drawn in anger, a wild animal showing its teeth. She had posited herself as someone looking to be fundamentally understood, and maybe she had believed it for a moment, but faced with the opportunity, she felt awakened to the likelihood that she had been expecting, no, desiring, another rejection — a reason, an excuse, to close off this emotional connection before it could find a place to root. Another piece of proof that she deserved to feel all of it, and more. The wall was back up, the feeling severed. She could feel its headless body trashing at her feet.
indentindentindent"Did you even care about the men you got killed?" It was pure vitriol, a stream of poison. "Did you attend their funerals? Meet their widows? Or did you just take off and forget about it?" Little of what she was saying meant much anymore. She was simply striking again and again, finding comfort in the taste of blood that frothed in-between her words.
indentindentKate turned her back to Collie again, her movements stilted and angry, almost frenzied. She drew a hand across her forehead, drawing the dark brown hair back from her face. The anger was waning now, threatening to be replaced by nothing but pure hurt, and a wave of defeat descended upon her like a knife at her throat. Her body stilled, and she didn't look at him again, having made a decision about leaving.
indentindentindent"At least I've got the courtesy of feeling bad about what I've done." They were words for the wind, quieter, resigned, but they weren't without bite. She was gone a moment after speaking them, having trudged off into the trees with no intention of giving Collie a chance to defend himself.

indentindentThe short walk back to the house felt like a blur, all spent in her head with half-formed thoughts about needing to get out of not just Port Davis, but Fox Island altogether. The trip to town had done it, hammered in the nail of a belief that said she didn't belong, for whatever reason. She wasn't getting better. Wasn't allowing herself to get better. There was no other place she could go but back home again, back to her parents' house on the mainland, and she didn't feel like any less of a coward than she had two years ago.
indentindentIn an eerie silence of more than just words, and enveloped by a determination of someone who had utterly given up on hope, she passed Sebastian without acknowledging him, and rose up the stairs before disappearing into the cabin. Kate went straight for her room on the second floor, closed the door, tossed her duffel bag onto the bed and began shoving her few belongings into it. Leaving with a goodbye — right then, it sounded like a good option.

[chase.]

𝐂 𝐎 𝐋 𝐋 𝐈 𝐄 xxxx ♛
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[ golden eagle ] [ he/him ] [ location - forest ] [ feeling - everything ]


xxxxxxx Collie smacked his forehead against the steering wheel, now finally sat back in the driver’s seat. He bristled, swallowing thickly - his face was flushed and his knuckles were white with how tight his grip was. What a fantastic morning this had turned out to be. Collie had remained remarkably silent during Kate’s outburst - just sat on the hood, head tilted to the side to face her with furrowed brows and thin lips. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t defend himself; a part of him was too taken aback by the sudden spiteful nature of Kate’s words to bite back before she stormed off into the forest. What part exactly had set her off? Hell, what part had provoked her enough to linger for his throat? He didn’t understand. He growled quietly, leaning back as he finally put the truck back into gear, heading to the cabin. Ideally he’d have stayed out for the rest of the day, doing anything but following Kate back to Josie’s - unfortunately Kate had been courteous enough to also mug him off with the responsibility of the truck, the truck that really should be returned back sooner rather than later. A range of emotions filtered through him; anger, disbelief, betrayal, although “hurt” seemed to be the most prominent one. He expected it from some of the shifters - but for whatever reason he hadn’t expected it from Kate. Especially not immediately after she’d shared her own horrors. The resentment she held for herself seemed to also apparently bleed into resentment for other people, or atleast other people who tried to help. A simple “I’m done talking.” Or “Yeah this was a bad idea, we’re finished now.” Might’ve sufficed. Not some borderline psychological warfare thrown straight back at him. The entire ordeal had caught him more off-guard than he’d like to admit. One minute they seemed to be almost bonding and the next minute Collie was being handed blame for a decision he didn’t even initiate. The worst part of it all was that she wasn’t entirely wrong with some elements - as harshly as they came across. No, Collie hadn’t visited the widows or attended the funerals - kind of hard to do when you’re y'know, on the run. From your own damn country. He carded his fingers through his hair tugging on the ends with his tongue between his molars in an attempt to smother the rising anger before he accidentally bent the truck around a tree. “Talk about friendly fire.” He scoffed.


Soon enough the trees thinned out and the wooden cabin appeared, along with- “Fantastic.” He groaned quietly - naively hoping if he kept his head down the blonde man wouldn’t notice him. A mildly stressed Seb stood on the grass outside the cabin, gaze occasionally turning back to the front door as if he was debating heading inside. So Kate was back after all - and Collie’s procrastination had given her enough time to also beat him back to the cabin. Collie had made it not even four steps out of the truck before Seb cut him off; arms crossed and blue eyes filled with concern. He swore under his breath - emotions from earlier starting to resurface at the confrontation. “What are you, her guard dog?” He bit out, huffing a puff of air out of his nose in frustration. It was a cheap shot - Seb had done nothing ill-mannered towards Collie whatsoever, and here he was taking out his frustrations on him. Seb, ever so annoyingly patient and calm, simply watched as Collie hauled the bag of dog food from the bed of the Ford, letting it crumple to the ground.

“What happened out there, Cole?”

Collie, uncharacteristically, wanted to punch him square in the jaw. Between the gentle tone not dissimilar to that of a concerned father, and the ill-timed use of a nickname, he was so not in the mood for this anymore. “Firstly-“ he started, sticking his index finger up as if to emphasise his point, “You are not allowed to call me Cole if you’re gonna act like my dad, secondly-“ he raised his middle finger. “What do you even care? We’re all adults here, and if Eeyore in there wants to live her life in self-induced misery, I for one think we should let her. She’s a real charmer, really.” He kicked the bag of dog food lightly, shoving it along the ground with his boot. “I’m not getting my therapist license anytime soon - that’s for damn sure. What a circus that was.” He added, throwing his hands in the air. His eyes began to burn, and he turned to lean his forearms on the truck bed as he rubbed them. Seb exhaled - it wasn’t quite dramatic enough for Collie to call it a ‘sigh’ but it rubbed Collie the wrong way nonetheless. Being parented was only making him feel more like a child.

“Firstly, you both could be in your fifties and I’d still care, and secondly, you look like you’re about to cry-“
“I am not about to cry-“
“-and Kate doesn’t look any better off. Why don’t you come with me, and we can both go talk to her-“
“I’d rather drown myself.”

Now that caused Seb to sigh. Collie picked up the bag of dog food, dumping it unceremoniously into the blonde’s arms. “You go take that to her for me, will you? I’d love to come with - but actually I need to go find my heart because I’m a heartless monster who is incapable of feeling guilt.” He added sarcastically.

“Collie, I don’t know-”

Seb’s sentence was cut off by a multipack of Rolos hitting him square in the chest, falling to lay atop of the food bag that was now cradled between his arms. “You’re right, you don’t know, so mind your own damn business for once Seb! Please.” Collie near begged, uninterested in Seb playing peacemaker when he hadn't even been there to witness anything unfold - Collie hadn’t even understood himself what was happening until it was too late and he was under fire himself. Admittedly he felt embarrassed - overly exposed at the hands of Kate, and ashamed of his current lack of composure, he didn’t want Seb to see him any longer like this. “I’m sorry, just give those to Tobes for me, will you, please? I’m going to stay out here for a while.”

[ inventory : multi-tool, phone, burner phone, knife, wallet, lighter, gum, stolen rolos ]

[ tags ; kate seb > none] [ mentions ; kate, toby ]

[chase.]

𝐒 𝐄 𝐁 𝐀 𝐒 𝐓 𝐈 𝐀 𝐍 xxxx ♛
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[ dingo ] [ he/him ] [ location - outside cabin > Kate’s room ] [ feeling - like a father ]


xxxxxxxWhat had been a peaceful morning only a couple of minutes ago had quickly turned into another whirlwind of conflict. Seb watched Collie for a few more moments, torn on what to do. Another pleading look from Collie made him relent; and he turned on his heels without another word. He’d never seen Collie that rattled before, he wasn’t even sure he could really get rattled - he hadn’t seen the brunette come close to that in the last six months he’d known him. It made his stomach twist uneasily - at least Kate was a little more predictable in having bad days, although he’d also done a double take as she walked past him - ignoring his greeting. Kate wasn’t particularly talkative in general, but she usually was polite to him, most of the time anyways, and when she wasn’t she usually had a good excuse. Collie was in tatters, experiencing emotions he hadn’t been made to confront in a while, and Kate seemed to be laser-focused on something, and not in a good way.

Seb padded up the stairs, throwing Collie one last concerned look before ducking his head through the doorway. He manoeuvred the bag of dog food so he could steady it with one arm, using his free hand to pick up the multipack of rolos. They were opened - one tube out of the four missing, but that wasn’t his business. He poked his head through the kitchen door. “Good morning guys!” He greeted, and although he normally would’ve stayed to check in with everyone - a distant rustling from upstairs made him abstain from his usual routine. “Toby, your loverboy said to give you these.” He called softly, carefully tossing the packet in his direction. “I don’t know what happened to the fourth pack, but it wasn’t me I promise.” He added - voice drained out as he disappeared up the stairs.

The rustling got louder as he got to Kate’s room, and he frowned in concern. “Kate?” He called, tone as hushed as it could be. The last thing he wanted to do was emphasise to the group that there was an issue - putting a spotlight on Kate would be the last thing she needed. His hand rested on the door handle, and he paused. Going into someone’s room without permission went against his morals - it was a blatant invasion of privacy. Though, what if something’s wrong? The concern for Kate’s well-being immediately overruled his internal compass. After seeing the frazzled state of Collie - a usually scarily happy-go-lucky and devil-may-care sort of person, he wasn’t exactly willing to take a gamble on what sort of state Kate could possibly be in.

“I’m coming in.” He warned at last, pushing open the door and heading inside. He only stepped far enough inside to close the door behind him, wanting to let Kate keep as much privacy as possible. “Sorry, I didn’t-” His voice trailed off as he observed the current state of affairs. A duffel bag was laid on her bed, various objects and garments shoved into it. He blinked a couple of times, taking the entire scene in. After a few moments of silence, he carefully set the bag of dog food on the floor. “So, where are you heading?” He asked finally, his voice soft. He knew the answer - or he was at least pretty sure he did. Whatever had happened between the two had driven Kate to the end of her tether; no one packing for a vacation just shoved their belongings into a duffel bag with no rhyme or reason for what was included.

Seb lent against the closed door, arms once again folded over his chest as he looked at Kate in concern. “I caught Collie outside - he didn’t want to say anything.” He continued, “What happened out there?” The question of “What has he done?” lingered in his mind - but pinning the blame on Collie wasn’t the most rational line of questioning, and the last thing he wanted to do was reignite a smoking wick. Something had happened - something unfriendly between the pair - that was blatantly obvious from Collie’s rather sarcastic and juvenile retorts earlier; a coping mechanism Seb immediately recognised as a way of trying to cover up hurt. Collie’s pride had taken a beating, and although Seb could easily see multiple scenarios in which that was warranted - none of those had included Kate. But yet here Kate was. Her eyes were still slightly puffy and bloodshot; from crying, obviously - not that Seb would point that out to her in a million years. He felt like he’d stumbled into a scene from a low-budget coming of age movie - concerned parent catches their child in the middle of running away. Though it was not a movie, he was not a parent, technically, and Kate was a full-grown woman, not an overly sheltered teenager. Yet here he still was, witnessing it unfold. “I really think we should sit down for a second, if Collie has done something bad enough for you to want to leave - you can tell me and Josie will have him gone by tonight - if something else happened, we can figure it out, I promise.” He tried, offering her a slight smile. “I don’t think that-“ he began, nodding towards her duffel bag “-is going to solve any of your problems, but if tonight you still want to leave, I’ll drive you to the docks and make sure you get on the ferry alright myself.” He offered, straightening up his posture. “May I?” He added, gesturing to the bed to sit down.

[ inventory : n/a ]

[ tags ; Collie > Kate ] [ mentions ; Kitchen crew, Toby, Josie ]

[tawneypelt0504]

✵𝒱𝒾𝒸𝓉𝑜𝓇𝒾𝒶 ℒ𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓃✵
～𝒞𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒶𝓇 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝒻𝓉～ℒ𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃:𝒦𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓃～ℳ𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈: 𝒦𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓃 ℱ𝑜𝓁𝓀𝓈～𝒯𝒶𝑔𝓈: 𝒜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎～

As Vic sipped her coffee she glanced swiftly at the people around her taking note of who was there. Although she wasn't the most social person, she did enjoy sitting down and eating with everyone. The atmosphere was usually lighthearted with plenty of conversation, a wonderful change of pace from the tense sterile atmosphere of her childhood mealtimes. The only sounds were silverware clinking against the fine china with occasional biting comments her parents made towards each other while Vic and her siblings were to eat quietly and not interrupt. This habit had followed her to adulthood as she wasn't one to talk while eating but she didn't mind at least the conversations here didn't make her want to crawl under the table.

As she glanced around the table she noticed Josie giving her a small but brief smile which Vic happily returned although hers was just as brief. Vic was going to return to sipping her coffee but realized Toby was trying to make eye contact with her and motioning to Hank with a whisk. Vic turned her head to the side feeling slightly confused but quickly realized what Toby was asking, and gave him a small nod a smile briefly gracing her face again. She did hold up her finger signaling Hank could only have one, she might spoil him but she took the health of her beloved tank seriously. The Doberman was as strong as an Ox anyway and would definitely be sprinting around the woods sometime later today, also Hank deserved a waffle and the whole world. Even if she wanted to say no there was no way Vic could stand up to the combined puppy eyes of Hank and Toby.

"hey baby" the sudden greeting immediately made Vic perk up and turn around to see Avery. She was happy to see her friend had come into the kitchen to join everyone, even though she knew Avery and Josie had a bit of turbulent history, she wasn't to sure about the details but she wasn't one to pry. Vic had her fair share of turbulent history and understood not wanting to dig up painful memories. In any case Vic just hoped the pair could get along someday, so they could all hangout together but that was probably wishful thinking on her part.

Once she realized Avery was talking to her Vic was quick to look the brunette's way. "Oh I'm so glad you liked it" Vic beamed, a warm feeling filled her chest as Avery told her how much they enjoyed the reading."I might have a few other books on tattoos if you want to read more, or if there's anything else you want to know about" Vic added excitement evident in her voice. Vic had often had difficulty talking about her interest in history with other people as more often than not they thought it was boring and she was weird. So having someone as cool as Avery show interest in the same thing she did helped Vic to feel a little less alone.

Vic let out a small huff out of her nose at Avery's comment "Maybe I could get a full sleeve on both arms, that way I could really disappoint my parents" Vic muttered before taking a sip of coffee. Vic could tell by Avery's tone she was kidding but in all honesty Vic wasn't entirely against the idea, she just had no idea what she would get a tattoo of, in any case Vic could always talk about it with Avery later.

Vic was about to answer Avery about her plans for the day but was interrupted by the arrival of Carsus and Kenna. Vic felt herself tense and glance away not wanting to make eye contact with Kenna. She wasn't sure why but Kenna didn't like her for some reason, and Vic had spent many a night trying to figure out how she had offended the marten shifter. The pair hadn't talked much, so it was hard to say if it was something Vic had said, she wondered if she had accidentally stepped on Kenna while she was in her martin form, and Vic just never noticed. Vic just figured she should just try and avoid Kenna that way she wouldn't bother her or do something to offend her again.

"I was thinking of going out for a hike or something but I might check out the spring market" Vic finally answered Avery although her tone was much more reserved than earlier. Despite living on fox island for three years Vic hadn't ever been probably because she was either researching shapeshifter mythology or exploring the nearby woods with Hank. There was also the problem if Vic having to bike everywhere instead of drive. Although biking to town did give her some great exercise, she wasn't to keen on biking in the common rainfalls of the pacific northwest, something that made her feel right at home as an English native. Have you gone before" Vic asked Avery hoping her friend would want to go.

[འབྲོག་ཁྱི]

.

𝖭𝖮𝖶 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖶𝖠𝖵𝖤𝖲, 𝖳𝖧𝖤𝖸 𝖣𝖱𝖠𝖦 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖣𝖮𝖶𝖭, 𝖢𝖠𝖱𝖱𝖸 𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖳𝖮 𝖡𝖱𝖮𝖪𝖤𝖭 𝖦𝖱𝖮𝖴𝖭𝖣

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🙞 ⋅ ── ⋅ 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐄x𝐇𝐀𝐖𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄 ⋅

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𝘉𝘜𝘛 𝘐'𝘓𝘓 𝘍𝘐𝘕𝘋 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘈𝘕𝘋, 𝘞𝘐𝘗𝘌 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘊𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘋𝘐𝘙𝘛𝘠 𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘋𝘚

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tagging; collie, sebastian
mentioned; avery, vic, toby, kate
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location; kitchen > yard
shift; black panther (amur leopard)

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Hey, baby. It cut like a knife, knowing that it was no longer being directed at Josie. Avery walked into the kitchen and it was like the rug had been yanked out from underneath her feet, a false sense of invulnerability stolen from her. Because Avery had the uncanny ability to unravel her composure without so much as trying, and lord knows what happened when they really tried. Some days it felt like Josie was still trying to wrap her head around what the hell had exactly happened: one day, Avery had meant everything to her, and the next, they'd been like any other two shifters in the house, if one only were to ignore the influence Avery still had on her. It had been a slow decline, it must have been, but where it had begun and when it had ended remained uncertain. Something lingered.
indentindentThat book by Gilbert, that tattoo history one. Josie placed her mug in the sink with enough of a clang to betray her tension. She cringed at herself, then schooled her face back into something less revealing. If it wasn't apparent enough, Josie had more than a few tattoos of her own. That had been their thing, a shared interest. The remark felt pointed. She thought about the snake coiled around her ankle, and suddenly the kitchen felt a little too crowded for comfort. Outside — yes, she would go outside. She wasn't fleeing. It was a strategic retreat. Why start something when there wasn't a real reason to? She was surely reading meaning into things that had none. Besides, she loved Vic like a sister, and had no intention of making her feel like a child of divorce by forcing her to choose between herself and Avery. They could all still care about each other. If only it were easier to remain mature about the whole thing.
indentindentThe kitchen was caught up in enough of a conversation that Josie didn't feel the need to interrupt it all just to excuse herself. She leveled a look at Tobias as a last silent 'thank you' for having single-handedly saved breakfast, and hopefully as a reminder to not leave batter all over the counters once he was done plying everyone with waffles, then slipped out of the room with the characteristic discreetness of a shadow-pelted panther. In the hallway, she nearly ran directly into Kate, who was moving with the linearity and raw force of a freight train — it was almost like she hadn't seen Josie at all. Although a claw of concern dug itself into her, she had long since learned that she wasn't the person to help Kate. Sebastian. Hopefully the man had since returned from his run, or else Josie would have no choice but to leave Kate be and hope she calmed down on her own.

indentindentThe scene that awaited Josie outside wasn't exactly the one she had been hoping for. Surely, Sebastian was there, the back of his shirt still slightly camp from his run, but so was Collie, and he seemed distressed — to put it mildly. It wasn't like him, whom she knew mostly as someone upbeat and a little hyperactive. Whatever conversation they had been having, she had missed the majority of it, and just as she took the porch steps down with a little more speed than usual, a package of something was thrown at Sebastian's chest in apparent irritation. Collie looked absolutely raw, like he had just been flayed and left to lick his own wounds. Josie wasn't sure what to make of it.
indentindentShe had stopped at the foot of the stairs to assess whether it was necessary for her to step in, but as Sebastian turned from Collie — strangely enough, with a bag of dog food cradled in his arms — she resumed her approach. They didn't need to say anything: as she passed Sebastian, they shared a familiar look, like that between two forbearing parents who had just broken up a fight. You go talk with Kate, I'll handle Collie. Josie was aware that her and Sebastian's approaches could be quite different at times, and while he was impossibly kind and paternal, she believed in tough love. As fragile as some situations could be, they were all adults, and she wasn't going to treat them with kid gloves. Mostly.
indentindentCollie and her had had their differences, as in there would be days during which he would go seeking for ways to irritate her, and Josie had a fledgling hunch about what had happened. It was pure speculation, that he might have pushed Kate a little too far, but considering she had seen them taking the truck out earlier that day, it didn't seem all that unlikely. Yet the degree to which he seemed to be coming apart at the seams made her reconsider. In either case, she would need to begin defusing this bomb before there would be additional fallout, and that started with confiscating any items that might have caused serious damage when handled in anger — including the truck.
indentindentThe moment she came within speaking distance of Collie, Josie held her hand out to him.
indentindentindent"Keys," she demanded simply, and as soon as they were placed into her palm, she pocketed them, safely out of reach. In case things were to go sideways, she didn't want him speeding off and accidentally wrapping himself around a tree.

indentindentIt wasn't a strategy she would have recommended to just anyone, but Josie knew Collie to an extent, and so she knew that he had a good heart. He was a mischievous pest when he felt like being one, but he was full of good intentions. Not malice. She gripped his shoulder, the hold firm but grounding, refusing to be swatted away, and looked him directly in the eyes, even as it required turning her face up to bridge the difference in height. Josie certainly wasn't touchy-feely, and so when she extended a kind hand, it truly had to mean something. From up close, he didn't seem all that far from tears.
indentindentindent"I know Sebastian will forgive you the second you apologize," she reassured, then continued, steady and serious, yet filled with her own atypical brand of sincerity, "but try throwing things at me and I'll kick your ass into next week, alright?" It was confidential, her voice low enough that anything said in the space that spanned the length of her arm would remain between the two of them, for his sake. There shouldn't have been any prying eyes on them, knowing most of the others were still in the kitchen having breakfast, but she didn't need anyone overhearing. She squeezed his shoulder, an unspoken affection apparent in the gesture. Josie cared, even if she showed it in her own way. The green of her eyes had no anger in them as she chased down his gaze.
indentindentindent"I'm not sure what happened, and as long as it's nothing I need to get especially upset about, you don't have to tell me. You're both adults, and you're allowed to have an argument. And if it's what I think it is — Kate's blown up on me a couple of times, and it sucks, and it's unfair, but not everyone's so easily fixable. Even if you approach with good intentions. I do think she could really use a friend, but she doesn't seem to know how to deal with that prospect, which I can understand. It's not so easy for everyone. But if you're still willing to try, give her some time to cool off, and if not, then it's not your responsibility. No one's alone here — not even Kate, no matter how much she tries to make that happen. There's a reason why this place exists." She paused. "And a lot of that anger, it's just plain fear. It's much easier to be seen as pissed off than afraid, yeah?"

indentindentJosie finally dropped her arm from Collie's shoulder, and took a half-step back to give him some space to breathe. She assessed his face for a moment, trying to decipher the pain-laced distress that warped his expression. He did seem remarkably hurt. Frustrated with the force of unspoken words, perhaps. Even to an outside observer, it came across as an overwhelming mixture of emotions, and must have felt about the same as boiling water trapped inside of one's chest. Not pleasant, at the very least.
indentindentindent"It's not always easy to see, and this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but there's good in Kate, too. She's not evil. Neither are you. Otherwise, the two of you wouldn't be here — I hope you trust me that much." Almost a year and a half ago, Kate had arrived to Fox Island with an advance warning from a friend — someone who had lived in the house before, and whom Josie took seriously when she had been made to promise to be patient. The weight of everything Kate had gone through not long before her arrival was vast, and whereas Josie might have been faster to set anyone else straight, that wasn't the approach to take with the coyote. Instead, she had checked out a book on how to be a supportive presence for someone struggling with post-traumatic stress. Maybe Collie would be interested in reading it one day, but best not to go waving that in Kate's face regardless. She clearly didn't have the highest levels of acceptance when it came to herself or what she was going through.
indentindentindent"It's not my right to go spreading her business around, so how much did she tell you? Anything at all?"

[harrington]

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𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙴'𝚂 𝙼𝙸𝚇𝚃𝙰𝙿𝙴 !!
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[tags] ; n/a
[mentioned] ; kitchen crew, josie
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» NOW PLAYING: Implosionatic «
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[location] ; room > downstairs > festival
[feeling] ; hungry.

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"campbell, we got two options," you watched valéria sigh, ushering a few men behind her to stand on guard. valéria ferrara - val, as you knew her - was slowly advancing, sending you closer and closer to the back fence of what you presumed was a burger joint. you smelled grease.
"val, c'mon, i've shown you my skills, you've seen what i can do!" you're running out of alleyway here. "give me another week, c'mon," you've got two more steps, tops. "that's when jack lifts my ban-" time's up.
val looks at you. no, you idiot, really looks at you. she's trying to tell you something. "i'm sorry," she mouths.
no, no, she said something more. "i'm sorry..." "i'm sorry" what? "i'm sorry i stole your bagel that one time," "i'm sorry i almost tripped you when we were walking together," ..."i'm sorry i broke up with you"?
wait. "i'm sorry if they kill you."
suddenly, you're small. not because these men tower over you, no: you're the size of the brick you're suddenly standing directly next to. like the prey animal that you are, you run.

indentRichie’s eyes stayed at half-mast until he was finally able to get some caffeine into his system. Ever since he miraculously found himself in Canada (read: he hopped the border), his vices shifted from surprising to anything but; if Richie wanted to be able to function in the morning, he’d force half an entire pot down before stepping outside. After showering, Richie wrapped himself up in a towel, before sitting on his bed for forty-five minutes. “Air drying,” he’d call it, but it was mainly an excuse to force himself to read a book. This week’s choice was Animal Farm. The library book’s margins were covered in chicken scratch, and there were a few dried tears on the pages following Boxer’s death. Richie loved the idea of having a horse: they were truly the rich man’s farm animal. After reading about ten pages, Richie shoved the book back under his pillow. Nobody needed to see him reading that.
indentRichie spent most of his morning outstretched on his bed, not much unlike a cat would. Despite being a glorified mouse, Richie had a surprising amount of “feline traits,” a term he often wondered the sensitivity of. He wouldn’t dare utter it out loud around here – especially since Josie was a black panther shifter. There were quite a few felines on the island, but Josie easily scared him the most. He wasn’t really sure what it was, maybe some sort of fear of authority.
indentAfter he had spent an uncomfortable amount of time just sitting alone in his room with his thoughts, Richie decided his time would be better spent elsewhere; maybe the kitchen would be a good first place to start. Richie was starving. Donning his fanciest pair of fleece pajamas and a white-tank top – why get dressed in your own house? – Richie slunk down to the kitchen, confident that it would be a quick in-and-out operation. If only he could have been so lucky.

indentRichie stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing what sounded like several other shifters gathered in the kitchen. Ain’t that just peachy keen? Richie sighed, turned on his heel, and shifted his attention to the foyer. He’d get food some other time: the last thing he needed right now was to draw attention to himself. It was bad enough being one of the “new recruits,” so-to-speak, but Richie wasn’t particularly liked among the general population. Part of it was intentional: if you don’t get close to anybody here, it won’t hurt when you get up and disappear again, but part of it was just genuine bitterness. Richie would commonly make snide comments disguised as jokes whenever he wanted to express his displeasure for something (so, a lot of the time). He imagined that most people wouldn’t say anything back to him, but that theory continued to be proven wrong the more time he spent here. Surprisin’ comin’ from a place in Canada…
indentIt wasn’t long until Richie’s stomach let out a distress signal, and he was forced with a dilemma: endure stale conversation in the kitchen or venture outside for a fresh snack. Richie strongly preferred the latter. As he skittered outside, his immediate fixation was of the delicious smell in the air. Were those… apple fritters? Richie lept towards the smell, encroaching on a poor older man’s preparations for starving customers. Right, Richie remembered, there was that fair goin’ on in Port Davis. Farmer’s markets and livestock fairs were something that Richie had quite a bit of familiarity with growing up in Nowhere, Wisconsin. It might be nice to wander around and see what the festival could offer, if not just for nostalgia’s sake. As he made his way to the next town over, the older man followed far behind to protect his stock.

[senna_]

❝ 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐎 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

'xxxxshift. american martenxxxlocation. kitchen --> outsidexxxmentions. kate, toby, victoriaxxxtags. carsus --> open
xx─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

'Kenna fell quiet, an unusual sight to behold, as conversation carried throughout the crowded area. Multiple conversations were going on at the same time, voices overlapping one another as their words transferred over to a specific set of ears. Most times, Kenna would find herself talking louder than usual in order to stay present amongst the others, but it was still early to her, and she was hungry. Besides, she was content enough taking a seat beside Carsus to tune into what else was being said; it felt like sneaky eavesdropping, in some way. She set her plate down, then practically glided towards the fridge to check and see if there were any berries that she could sprinkle onto her waffles. Much to her frustration, there was not one container left, and she wasn't willing to attempt to defrost any frozen, bagged ones that may have been lingering within the freezer. She pursed her lips disapprovingly, closing the fridge door with the inside of her ankle before swiping the seat closest to where she was already standing. Her distraught with the berries died down quickly as she thought about Carsus' offer, and in return, a fleeting smile took over. It was easier to dismiss her dislike of deep waters than to thoroughly explain her reasoning, but the offer was nice nonetheless. Kenna was an aspiring country girl; she wanted to enjoy the reality of nature, but really, the second she put any thought into it, her inner city girl came out. Kenna was, to put it frankly, someone who would rush across a pile of mud if she had somewhere to be, but would whine about the stains it left on her clothes the second she acknowledged what she had done to herself. She wanted to try camping, to experience what it was like to sleep under the twinkling stars, but she felt like in order for that to really happen, someone would have to drag her out there themselves. At least Carsus had the strength, in both human and bear form. Maybe he'd be up for the challenge someday.

xxHer head popped up quickly the moment the words 'spring market' were spoken aloud, as if it set something off within her. "Oh my gosh, that's today, isn't it?" She set her fork down quickly, paying no mind to the slight clinking sound it made as it hit the edge of her plate. "I knew there was something happening. I drew a star around the date in my calendar, but never actually got around to writing what it was I was marking done... You are the true star, Carsus." She raised both hands and formed the shape of a heart with her fingers for further emphasis. She needed a better calendar, or maybe even a daily planner... Not that she'd ever remember to consistently use it. "Oh, I'll be able to get some berries there." She spoke the words cheerfully, as if all were aware of her intentions in the fridge a few seconds earlier; as if all - or any - were actually listening to her. Even if that weren't the case, and most likely it was not, her outer monologue didn't seem to bother anyone.

xxShe went back to enjoying her waffle, gaze lowered as she watched her utensils cut into the breakfast treat, until a door slammed, which caused her to practically jump right from her seat. Kenna's eyes shot up just in time to see Kate rush by, her posture rigid even from where Kenna was sitting. Kate's name couldn't even leave Kenna's lips in time; the brunette had already vanished elsewhere. Just as she made the decision to leap up and check on her, in came Sebastian, who first stopped at Toby's side to mutter something about Collie to him before rushing after Kate. With a sigh, this one surely audible, Kenna slumped back in her seat, fixating her gaze on her waffle once more. Toby seemed more interested in the chocolates and what Collie was doing than what she had to say. It was a feeling that unfortunately wasn't new; she enjoyed both Toby and Collie's company immensely, but couldn't deny the jealousy she felt when they were together. She was more than aware that everyone could have more than one good friend, but it was difficult to assure herself she was still one of those good friends at these moments. Truthfully, this was probably why she was so weary with Victoria, whom she was aware was sitting within earshot of anything Kenna had to say. Vic seemed to get along great with the two young men, and yet Kenna was convinced she was holding a grudge against her for whatever reason. Whatever, it is what it is. Kenna didn't have the time - and honestly, nor the patience at this moment - to solve that puzzle. Her mind was quick to once again jump to the spring market. She didn't know much about the farming aspect of it, but she absolutely adored the aesthetic behind it. Cute small business vendors, fluffy baby animals, and loads of hand-made bouquets of wildflowers? It was like a fair filled with people infected by spring fever.

xxKenna hadn't picked up on the increasing tension that shot out like a firework as Avery made herself comfortable somewhat near Josie, but it seemed her timing to pack up and get going happened at an appropriate time. She scraped up the remains of what was on her plate before taking it over to the sink to wash off the sticky remnants of the maple syrup she had poured. "I'm going to head out there before it gets busy," she declared practically the second she was done with her plate. The words were more or less uttered under her breath as opposed to being spoken out loud for all ears to comprehend. Feeling as if it was safe to assume Carsus was also planning on dropping by, given that he was the one to first make mention of it, she reached out and touched his shoulder to get his attention. "See you there?" she asked him, hope lingering in her tone as well as the rounds of her eyes. She paused for only a second or two longer before starting up towards the door, sending a quick wave in the direction of the round table, where most were seated. Usually, Kenna was fond of hanging around bigger crowds. She was antsy this morning, though; seeing cute lambs and possibly treating herself to some flowers seemed far more thrilling this time around.