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[adheline]

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1x1 between myself and The Evil Queen

[adheline]

ᴄ ʜ ʀ ɪ s ᴛ ᴏ ᴘ ʜ ᴇ ʀ ----------- ᴍ ɪ ʟ ʟ ᴇ ʀ
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chris | seventeen | male | heterosexual | 5'11" | capricorn | dark brown hair | hazel eyes
father, Henry, 42, real estate | mother, Elizabeth, 38, coroner | sisters, Katie, 11 - Alison, 6
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Having grown up with little sisters, Chris is used to mayhem. They're playful girls, and he's gotten
used to causing a little mayhem with them. Doesn't mean he can't play the responsible part, and
he will when he needs to as the older brother, especially since his parents work a lot. Overall, he
could definitely be noted for how much he cares about his family, and he works hard for them. If
one thing had to be said, though, he certainly loves himself, too, and he has several moments of
just doing what he wants without thinking very much about it. Neither is he good at apologizing.
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+ loyal, caring, studious, good-humored, outgoing | - grudging, impulsive, mischievous, stubborn
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[The Evil Queen]

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[ 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘢 "𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘢" 𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 ] ♦ [ 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 ] ♦ [ 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 ]
[ 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 ] ♦ [ 5'7" ] ♦ [ 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 ] ♦ [ 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 ]

[ mother: victoria, 41, lawyer ]
[ father: daniel, 39, truck driver ]
[ brothers:
samuel, 12
emerson, 7
nicholas, 5 ]

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▬▬▬▬▬ 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙔 𝘽𝙀𝙃𝙄𝙉𝘿 𝘼𝙇𝙇 𝙊𝙁 𝙈𝙔

▰ ▰ ▰ ▰ 𝙁𝘼𝙑𝙊𝙍𝙄𝙏𝙀 𝙎𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙎

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Most people believe Natalya to be either the bravest person they've ever met, or the most idiotic. She prefers to think it's the former. Her life has always been full of adventure. The girl is up for any challenge and loves a good dare. Talya has her curious nature and seemingly fearless demeanor to thank for that. Rules are made to be broken and laws are simply suggestions as far as she's concerned. She wants to see and do everything the world has to offer, and if that means breaking a few rules, so be it.

Even as a child, she had a tendency to push things too far. It had never been too much of a problem until one day, when she was nine, her reckless ways backfired on her. While trying to climb a cliff, she'd lost her footing and fallen to the bottom, hitting her head on the way down. Luckily for her, there was no brain damage. She's still just as witty as ever. However, as a result of her foolish actions, she has permanently lost her hearing. Soft sounds are incredibly hard to hear and loud sounds are unclear and muffled together. At first, it had been difficult to figure out what others were saying. She didn't know sign language either, so for the first year, most people would write out what they wanted to say to her. Now, Talya's been deaf for nearly half her life and is proud to say she's become an expert in lip reading and American Sign Language. While lip reading was never 100% accurate, she felt pretty confident in her abilities to interpret conversations.

Her mother is fluent in ASL as well. She often interprets what others are saying in group situations, when it's difficult for Talya to follow the conversation. Talya's father on the other hand, knows very little sign language. His job keeps him out of town most of the time, so they've never been that close anyway. She's close with her three brothers who have always welcomed her sense of adventure and sarcastic humor. They've all learned a little ASL here and there, but they're no where near fluent. Despite her mother being the most supportive in the family, the two still manage to butt heads a fair amount of the time. Their arguments are usually about Natalya's latest mischievous scheme.

[adheline]

C H R I S T O P H E R
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location⇨ cabin entry and parking

Waking up the morning that would mark the start of their little vacation left Chris with possibly the worst feeling he'd ever started a day with. Lake, cabin, outdoors. Fine. He liked all that. For, like, a weekend. With his friends, a fire on the beach, and a guitar in Danny's hands, one of his better friends who could belt any chorus. Chris couldn't sing, nor could he play guitar, and he didn't feel super keen on sitting in the sand with the sad speakers of his phone blaring a tinny rendition of Tiny Dancer. As Katie would no doubt point out, that would make him a loser. His options, though, were slim. His mom made it clear that this was to be two weeks of family. Which included the neighbors, of course, because they practically were family at this point. By now, Chris is only surprised that they haven't all hyphenated their names to match. A bitter thought, because while the Parkers were a great family and all, he's come to associate the name with Natalya, for obvious reasons. Having anything to do with her is what makes him gag.

Hence, the misery of this trip. Unfortunately, the two families had pretty distinct age groups. The only other person Chris would see for two weeks in his range would be her. He could always rough it with the kids and suffer another one of Alison's tea parties, or endure the mind numbing economical conversation of the parents. And, honestly? Either option would seem preferable. That is, until he got himself in the situation. From experience, he's learned that he'd rather avoid those choices.

The car ride was long, but it was smooth, and his mom was a decent driver. His dad not so much, which landed the greying man in the passenger seat. Chris slid out of the sedan with a grateful groan, stretching out his cramped limbs and stomping out the sting of his numb leg. Below him, the motion unsettled a clump of dirt and pebbles. The pavement ended a long time ago, he remembered the feel of the car transitioning from smooth road to the ridges of dirt and cobble almost an hour ago. Alison made a complaint from behind him, and he reached in to help her out of her booster seat. Katie seemed to have already trotted off to explore. Not that he could blame her. The air carried the fragrance of pine and the crisp lake water, and the cabin, though partially hidden behind trees, was aesthetic in every sense of the word. If he was more interested in simple pleasures, he would probably love this. As it were, he knew he would be missing his games and friends in, oh, a day or two.

With a deep, quiet sigh, Chris edged closer to his parents, who were talking by the hood of the car. "I'll start bringing in the bags," he offered, and his mom smiled gratefully, popping open the trunk with the key fob. "Thanks, you can just pile them in the entry for now. The Parkers should be right behind us." He knew that, of course, the whole leaving of the houses being something of an affair. The only reason they got here first was because his mom loved to speed. Back roads with no police and they may as well have been racing.

Most of the bags were clothes or food, so Chris managed to grab most of them on the first trip, lining them all up by the handles on his forearms and just about cutting off the circulation to his hands, which each gripped another two or three bags. Lifting out of the trunk, he realized he may have gone a little overboard, but he'd already committed. He trudged to the door and dumped everything on the floor, a huff of breath leaving him. Just another few bags, at least, so he only had to make the two trips. Before heading back outside, he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around at the interior. Not bad. The wood was unpainted, but stained dark and grainy. He smoothed a hand across the wall. Not bad at all. There was a push against his side, and he looked down to find Katie glaring down at the bags. "You left mine," she complained, and he smirked. "Could always get it yourself," he suggested, stepping out the door anyways as she scoffed so he wouldn't have to hear any premature chauvinistic tirade of hers. For being so young, she certainly had her fair share of opinions to share when she could get something out of it. Something the schools were spreading, likely.

[The Evil Queen]

[ ＮＡＴＡＬＹＡ ]
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[ location : outside the cabin entrance ]

Natalya welcomed the warm feeling of the sun shining on her skin through the car windows. Shadows from the overhead trees caused colors of orange, red, purple, and blue to flicker behind her closed eyelids. “Dog Days” blared out of her headphones, loud enough for the rest of the family to hear. Florence & the Machine had been one of her favorite bands for years now, helping her to escape from the boring reality of day to day life. No, she couldn’t hear the lyrics or pick out a single instrument. But when it was loud enough, she could hear the beat and feel the vibrations of the music. She loved reading song lyrics and connecting them with the emotions of the song. Of course, by now she’d memorized every word of “Dog Days” and could easily enjoy the music without intensely studying the lyrics.

Without her permission, Natalya’s mind drifted to unpleasant thoughts of what was to come. Two full weeks of spending time with Chris. Oh, joy. Sighing at the thought of it, she knew she likely didn’t have many other options. She was fairly sure the feeling was mutual, although from past experience she knew how these family outings with the Millers went. The adults would head of in one direction, their siblings in the other, leaving the two teens stuck with each other. The rest of the Millers were pleasant enough. Of all of them, why did he have to be the one who was the same age as her? The boy was far too responsible for her liking. But that wasn’t even the worst thing about him. Perhaps the most irritating by far was that he still hated her even after she became deaf, making it difficult to hate him. Which somehow managed to make her more annoyed with him than before. No one else had given her the courtesy of hating her now that she was deaf. Before the accident, there had been classrooms full of people (or at least that’s how her nine-year-old self had envisioned it) who had been annoyed with her reckless spirit and insatiable desire to break the rules. Now though, no one wanted to be the jerk who disliked the deaf kid. Their pitiful smiles only seem to infuriate Natalya, knowing fully well how they truly feel about her. The girl hates to admit it, but she appreciates Chris being openly annoyed with her.

Distracting her from her thoughts, strong colors of orange and yellow flashed in her eyes. Quickly opening her eyes to glare at her mother in the driver’s seat, she slid her headphones around her neck anyway. Her mother ignored her piercing stare, putting the flashlight back into the glove compartment before turning around to face the back seat full of children. “We’re here.” She told them all with a smile, before the woman’s ice blue eyes immediately focused in on Natalya. “Be nice.” Her mom signed while speaking, causing the girl to scoff and roll her eyes. “You always say that.” Luckily for Talya, her speech remained unaffected by her deafness. Although her mother still had her in speech therapy as an extra precaution. The speech therapist was friendly enough, if a bit eccentric. Not that Natalya minded her eccentric ways in the slightest. If she absolutely had to do it, at least the therapist was an interesting woman.

Stepping out of the car, she held the door open for her three brothers, who came tumbling out all at once. Taking in the lush scenery and the fresh air, she couldn’t deny the lake’s beauty. A part of her was looking forward to this trip. Knowing her mother was always a bit more relaxed when they were away from home, she knew she could get away with more here, if only slightly. Her body ached for the thrill of adventure, for the feeling of the cool wind as she dove into the lake. A smile graced her lips at the thought.

Emerson and Nicholas headed off to go explore, with her father calling after them, saying something she couldn’t make out. Likely warning them to be careful. The trunk was already open and waiting when she got to the back of the car. Samuel rushed in front of her to grab his bag, which was overflowing with books. Knowing if it were up to him, he’d likely disappear the next couple hours reading, the dark-haired girl called after him. “Hey, Sammy! Come back to help after you put those up.” He nodded with a look of disappointment of his face before turning to rush into the cabin, barely avoiding running into Chris who appeared to be on his way out. Natalya scowled as she saw him and quickly began grabbing the bags from the trunk to hopefully avoid catching his attention. Nowhere near as happy to help as Chris had been, she unloaded the trunk strictly out of a sense of obligation. Gazing over, she saw her parents already striking up a conversation with the Millers. Grabbing all the bags she could manage without collapsing and leaving the heavier bags behind, she headed for the cabin. Catching a glimpse of her mother signing as she walked passed, she looked just in time to catch the last part of their mothers’ conversation. “Natalya could take a few notes from him.” The woman signed while looking to Natalya with a playful expression. No doubt talking about Chris, admiring the boy’s responsible ways. Yet another thing that annoyed her about him. That her mother wished she was more like him. “Real subtle Ma.” Sarcasm painted her tone, although she gave them a smile as she passed.

It was odd seeing her mother like this, in old hiking boots, blue jeans, and a t-shirt. The same woman who was well known for her impeccable blazers in the courtroom. Her usually styled blonde hair was up in a ponytail today, which had come as a shock to Natalya this morning. Her own long black hair contrasted greatly with her mother’s short honey blonde hair. Over the course of her life, she’d been asked so many times if she’d been adopted that at one point, she started wondering the same. She’s told she gets her black locks from her father’s mother. Even so, she’s still not entirely ready to cross out the adoption theory. It would certainly explain some things.

Walking closer to the cabin, she found herself a few feet in front of Chris. Her smile faltered for a second before she gave him a small, somewhat friendly nod. At the very least she could begin the trip in civil manner. “I take it you’re about as thrilled about this as I am?” Natalya asked as she rested a few of the bags on her leg, watching Chris for his response.

[adheline]

C H R I S T O P H E R
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location⇨ cabin entry

The sounds of people and car doors told Chris that his neighbors had arrived. Vaguely, he could hear Natalya's voice yelling after Samuel, and soon after the boy was skimming by him through the door. Not expecting it, he skirted an extra step to the left and watched the blond head bob into the cabin. Seems that even if he wanted to sneak his way into the kids group to escape the raven-hair beast, they had their own plans they were eager to dive into. Come to think of it, all the kids had gone and disappeared. Chris couldn't spot a single one of them. He remembered that he could get away with that too when he was little, just escape and do his own thing. That had long ago become nothing but a memory of behavior, starting when the girls were born and he had to make sure they weren't wandering into a ditch or something.

Playing big brother came pretty easily to him, though. Plainly said, he loved the girls, and watching after them never felt like a chore. As much of a big sissy that made him in his friends' eyes. Chris made to make his last trip for baggage, stopping once again when he caught Natalya on her way over. Lovely. The toes of his black converse shifted in the dirt while he shifted his weight, eyebrow quirking at the tone of her voice. It wasn't friendly, necessarily. But friendlier than he was expecting. Especially paired with the enthusiasm, specifically the lack there-of, in her statement. He drew his eyes down from the top of her head to the bags in her hands.

Sometimes he got tossed the judgemental question of how he could be so blatantly rude to a deaf girl. Quite easily, really. Her accident sucked, absolutely. He would be the first to sympathize with that. But she was just her, still. The obnoxious girl next door. Nothing about her changed, nor did he feel she deserved the disservice of his exaggerated pity. Time and time again, she proved she could be just as wry and wild as ever. His gaze traveled over her shoulder to their moms, chatting away. His mother, pulling up the sleeve of her cardigan, caught his eye and gave him a look. The look meant to be nice and take some of Natalya's load. Without having to be prompted, he would do so for anyone else. "Just about," he said, dragging his eyes away from the intensifying look on his mom's face. Out of habit, his mouth curved meaningfully around the words. He used to slur everything out with barely a difference in lip movement, but not being able to insult Natalya after her hearing loss bugged him enough to make his lips easier to read.

ASL was harder to pick up than that simple effort, and while he had made a point to learn some, he was no master of the language. He knew the alphabet and decent arsenal of words. Commands, too, he could sign. Some sentences. For the most part, though, he could only clumsily throw together a few words that, while the syntax was dreadful, got his point across. More often than not, he avoided signing around her lest he look like a complete and utter moron. He also didn't want it to look like he learned for or because of her. No, it was definitely because of the elementary school fad when everyone tried to look cool by spelling their name in ASL. Definitely not because his neighbor lost her hearing or anything. Well, they seemed to communicate just fine without it anyways. Not that they interacted any more than necessary.

Chris snuck a peek over to the Parkers' car, seeing the handles of other luggage tufted out from the trunk. If Natalya was distributing a little courtesy, he could too. He still let a little sigh drift from his lips. "Here, I'll help." Finally appeasing his mother, Chris stole a couple bags from Natalya's grip and ducked back into the cabin. He had barely left anything in his own trunk anyways, so he'd have more than enough arm space to help with the rest of the Parker baggage. Katie was still waiting inside with an expectant look on her face, and when her eyes fell to the bags in his hands, she sighed and marched out to get hers. One less bag he'd have to carry, at least. "You owe me a mint!" her voice traveled back to him, and he rolled his eyes.

The three Miller kids had one thing they always had on them. For Alison, that was a mood ring, which she would offer out when people were confused over how they were feeling. There wasn't much science behind it, and it was usually wrong, but slipping the little ring on and watching the colours shift around had a meditative effect that let people figure it out for themselves. Katie had fidget materials galore. Rubber bracelets, stress balls, weird squishy animals. Chris was the mint guy. Never left home without a bag or two of mints on hand, packets of mint gum stacked on a shelf in his room. Made for decent bargaining material with his sisters.

Setting down the bags he'd pilfered, Chris reached over to unzip the side pocket of his duffel, pulling out a bag of mints. He took one out and unwrapped it, stuffing it in his mouth and crinkling the wrapper into a ball, dropping it back into the bag. With only a second's hesitation, he turned and held the bag out in offering towards Natalya before Katie would get her hands on it.

[The Evil Queen]

[ ＮＡＴＡＬＹＡ ]
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[ location : cabin entrance ]

Giving an awkward nod in response while pursing her lips, she silently wished she’d greeted him with sarcasm instead. Natalya was much more comfortable exchanging snarky comments than engaging in small talk with anyone, let alone Chris. If you could even consider it that. She wasn’t sure how she would define what they were doing, but small talk didn’t seem to accurately describe it.

Brown eyes searched for something, anything, she could make some witty remark about. Anything to get them back to their usual bickering. It felt familiar and had become one of the few consistent things in her life. Most things had changed after the accident. Dad became more distant than usual. Taking more jobs out on the road, only coming home for a few days at a time. He hadn’t felt fit for parenting in the first place, let alone being the parent of a deaf child. Ma was terrified. An emotion Natalya hadn’t known her mother was capable of feeling. As it usually did with her mother, fear manifested itself into determination. Soon, she was reading every book she could find on deaf children and had them both learning ASL. Much to the girl’s dismay, she also became more overprotective and rarely let Natlaya get away with the same stunts she used to. Her other two brothers hadn’t been born yet, but Sammy had been four at the time. At first, he hadn’t known how to react and tried to give her space in the months following the accident. Before, he’d been Natalya’s partner in crime. Over the years, he’d taken it upon himself to be the responsible one and stay out of trouble. He still was the most responsible of the Parker children. Suddenly, Natalya’s whole world had changed. One of the few constants were her quarrels with the boy next door.

Of course, she’d noticed the distinct change in the way he’d enunciate words. Out of necessity, she’d become an expert at studying how people speak. Their conversations had gone poorly for awhile, with her being unable to tell the difference between many of his words. Then, over time, she noticed subtle changes in the way his lips moved. At the time, she’d been far too thrilled with the familiarity of their petty arguments to risk teasing him about it.

Unable to find anything to tease him about now, she shuffled the bags in her hands and watched as he spoke up again. Letting out a sigh of relief as he broke the silence, her shoulders slouched momentarily. “Must you always be such a gentlemen?” She asked dryly, hoping to get back to their usual banter. Fully aware this gentlemanly behavior didn’t usually extend to her, she assumed he’d been given the same ‘be nice’ warning she’d gotten only moments ago. Normally, she’d object to him helping her out, but whatever Nicky had put in his bag was causing her arm to ache. Natalya was many things, but she wasn’t foolish enough to turn down help when she needed it. At least not when it was help with simple things like carrying a few bags.

Following behind Chris, she took a moment to observe her surroundings before carelessly tossing all but one of the bags she’d been carrying. She’d brought two bags with everything she’d need for the next two weeks. One, a messenger bag containing clothes and other necessities she’d shoved in this morning, was among the bags thrown onto the floor. The other was a large suitcase serving as a private stash of snacks. This bag, she sat gently on the ground next to the other bags. She wasn’t about give Nicholas reason to be angry with her over crushed salt and vinegar chips. Looking back up, she saw Chris grabbing something from his bag.

Narrowing her eyes and quirking an eyebrow, she stared questioningly at the bag of mints. “You realize if you put something in the mints, they’ll be able to link my death back to you.” Natalya quips even as she reaches out to take one. Unwrapping it, she tosses it into the air and attempts catching in her mouth. Nearly missing, she smiles victoriously when she manages to catch it anyway. One of her many talents, along with making day to day tasks into a game or challenge of some sort.

The boys learned to enjoy chore days when their parents were away, and Natalya was ‘in charge’. The girl uses the term loosely, well aware she was nowhere near mature enough to be responsible for the three young boys. She was great at keeping them entertained though. They loved the games she’d come up with. While mopping, the dining room became an ice-skating rink. Dishes became instruments and walking the dog became a race around the neighborhood. She loved her brothers, no matter how different they were. They all played a role in the family dynamic. Sammy is the responsible one. Constantly shut in his room, doing homework and reading. Em is the shy yet sweet one. Around most people he’s silent, however the Millers are an exception to the rule. They're family at this point, he’s grown up around them. Then, there's Nicky. Natalya’s mini-me without sarcasm. The two of them were partners in crime, figuratively and sometimes literally.

Glancing over, she found Sammy had managed to sneak past them and retrieve one of the heavier bags. She could see him just outside the doorway, walking a few steps only to set it down and repeat the process. It’s no secret the Parker kids aren’t known for their strength, but even little Nicky is stronger than Samuel. Highly amused, Natalya did her best to stifle her laughter as she watched him push it into the corner closest to the entrance. “Hey kid, why don’t you take a break? I'll get the rest.” Tiredly nodding and signing, “Okay.” he walked off to collapse onto the sofa. Despite her previous statement, Natalya showed no signs of moving. Instead, she leaned against the wall and turned back to face Chris. “Any plans for the day?” Her tone lacked genuine interest, but it was the social convention to ask mundane questions about one another’s daily lives.

[adheline]

C H R I S T O P H E R
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location⇨ cabin entry

Chris extended Natalya a sardonic grin as she set down her bags, one of which with the care usually extended to infants. He smirked, figuring it must have something valuable in it. Incense burners. Voodoo dolls. Her weapons of world annihilation. He waited until her attention was on him again so he could respond to her. "Yeah, well, one of us has to act like a functioning part of society." At first, having to wait for her vision to be on him drove him nuts. He could be a little impatient, especially as a child when everything happened. He couldn't toss a comment at her retreating back, or sneer from beside her. Well, he could, but her not being able to hear it sucked all the fun out of it. It wasn't nearly as satisfying to insult the air. Half the fun was her reaction to it.

He waited patiently for her to take a mint, not at all surprised by the hesitance she displays. Somewhat offended, sure. He was, as she put it, a gentleman. Poisoning mints was beneath him. And, honestly, more effort than it was worth. Over the years, he's come up with much more effective ways to get rid of her. He rolled his eyes, pulling back the bag once she'd taken a mint. And, of course she had no make fanfare of it. Couldn't just put it in her mouth like a normal person. His lips curved down when she caught it, hoping that she would miss it and he would have the opportunity to laugh at her.

His own mint started to burn into his cheek, and he realized he'd been zoned out staring at her antics. He shifted it to his other cheek and sucked on it, following her attention out the door. He couldn't remember seeing Samuel move past them back outside, but the thought was tossed in favor of watching with amusement as he attempted to move his chosen bag. He might have taken it off the kid's hands, but sometimes doing that is offensive. He'd certainly heard it back from Alison when he tried to help her out every now and then, because she didn't like to be seen as a little kid. Even though she was. Katie, on the other hand, loved to dish him butler duty. Seemed not to matter anyways, since Natalya took the uncharacteristic kindness of letting her brother rest. Chris would follow through on helping with that, too. If Samuel's constant stop and start was anything to go by, those bags were heavy. And for all intents and purposes, Chris would definitely label Natalya as wimpy. Even if part of that was just said to be mean.

Of course, she didn't seem too intent on following through with her offer to take the load off her brother's hands. He crossed his arms and shifted his stance into one more comfortable. Judging by the way she was lounging on the wall, they would be taking a bit of a break. Katie came back in with her luggage, snatching Chris's entire bag of mints. He turned to stare after her. "Hey!" Unfortunately, she kept marching on without so much as a glance backwards.

Not wanting to run after her, he scoffed and turned back to Natalya with a shrug. "Ah, nothing set in stone. Though I'm not convinced you care," he mused, definitely not missing the flat quality of her voice. "Solitaire, puzzles. Escape plans." He gestured to the parked cars, both trunks still wide open. "Bringing in your bags, apparently. Since it doesn't look like you plan on it." Honestly, though, doing absolutely nothing in a car for several hours made him tired. For some inexplicable reason. Could be the heat radiating from the windows in contrast to the cool air of the air conditioner. Could be the raging boredom. Usually after a time of travel, though, he just hung around for the day.

Tomorrow, he had every intention of getting out and doing things. Preferably away from everyone. Hiking, swimming, drawing the cabin's canoe out into the middle of the lake and sitting there, hand dipping into the untainted water and head tipping back to the cloudless sky. Definitely not sitting around with a deck of cards. Soon, though, he was sure the novelty of the great outdoors would wear right off, and he'd be back in the cabin swiping at dust. Chris tipped his chin towards her. "How about you?" Like her, he had very little interest in what she was doing. If they were going to stand around and delay the unpacking he figured they might as well continue this useless little conversation. One of many to come, he was sure, while they were stuck here in isolation. That is, assuming they couldn't avoid each other. Accounting for who they were with and where they were, coupled with the lack of activities, it was a safe presumption.

The sun dappling through the open door onto the cabin's dark floor is enticing, so maybe he'll move his mundane plans to the deck out back, as opposed to the dining table as he'd planned on doing. Or maybe Natalya had something going on that would tempt him to join her. Ha, yeah. No. Not likely. Anything she had planned would likely kill him. The eldest Parker child was nothing if not unsafe. He could just see her luring him up a cliff and pushing him off. Or worse, not even being the direct cause. He could just slip off himself and she couldn't even be blamed for it.

Chris flit his gaze across the wooden walls, contrasted with a bright sunlight and their partnering shadows between the ridges of the planks. "Don't know how many laws you can break out here, you might need to find a new hobby." Though he's certain she could find a way to cause trouble in an isolated box, should it come to that. It was a gift of hers.

[The Evil Queen]

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[ location : cabin entrance / heading back to the car ]

Natalya shifted her weight to one side and crossed her arms as she worked out what was being said. Buying more time to think of a clever retort, the raven-haired girl simply shrugged her shoulders. “I think I’d much rather be a dysfunctional part of society.” She countered after a moment before glancing back over to him. That’s another thing that’s changed. It takes longer to process what’s being said and then come up with a witty reply. Natalya hated her delayed response time more than she cared to admit, but she wasn’t about to waste energy feeling sorry for herself.

Snickering as Katie stole the bag of mints, Natalya felt a sense of admiration for her. She could see why Emerson had a crush on the young girl. Of course, like any good older sister, she’d teased him about it any chance she got. However, that had been a year ago, and she wasn’t sure if he still felt the same. After all, he had a new favorite color every couple of days. Either way, she hoped some of the girl’s confidence rubbed off on Emerson. Eyes moving from Katie to Chris, her laughter faded to a faint smile.

Narrowing her chocolate brown eyes, the girl slightly shook her head as she heard the other’s plans for the day. “Who are you, my grandmother?” Despite her disapproving tone, she was fully aware how hypocritical she was being. Solitaire had long been a guilty pleasure of hers. On nights she couldn’t fall asleep, she’d reach over for her trusty deck of cards sitting on her nightstand. Round after round, she’d play until sunrise. As long as she could help it, Natalya’s love of solitaire would remain a secret. The image of a girl playing cards alone in her oversized reading glasses wasn’t one she wanted projected to the world. Still, she’d stuffed the lucky cards in her messenger bag before they’d left this morning. While she’d enjoyed playing solitaire most of her life, puzzles were a different story. She’d sooner write an essay on the growth rate of grass than sit down and put a puzzle together.

“And for your information, I fully intend on retrieving the bags.” Natalya answered truthfully as she tucked one leg behind the other. “First, I plan on teaching you a valuable lesson in the art of procrastination. Free of charge.” Natalya said it as though she was doing him a great favor. If anyone was a master of procrastination, it was her. Constantly putting everything off until the last second, it was amazing she’d made it to senior year without being held back.

Turning so her back was pressed against the wall, she sighed as she thought of the day’s possibilities. Natalya realized she hadn’t really thought about it before now. Gazing out the open door, the radiant warmth of the summer sun seemed to call out to her. Picturing the sunlight glistening off the lake’s gentle waves, the corners of her lips slowly curled upward. Her usual plans of chaos were instantly abandoned in favor of a peaceful day out in the sun. There would be plenty of time to find trouble over the next two weeks, possibly even later in the day. “Well, swimming sounds nice.” Yesterday had been spent hanging out with a small group of friends. While she enjoyed their company, trying to keep up and read everyone’s lips for hours at a time could get exhausting. Although, she was far too stubborn to ever admit it. On top of that, Natalya wouldn’t exactly call herself an extrovert. Yes, she loves spending time with her friends, but she also treasures her time spent alone. Honestly, she needed a relaxing day after socializing all day yesterday.

Pushing off the wall with the ball of her foot, she chuckled as if what he’d said was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Clearly, you have no imagination.” Natalya stated, clearly amused, as she took a step forward. “Vandalism, theft, murder, disorderly conduct, and reckless endangerment come to mind.” She deadpanned, lips drawn in a straight line with an unintentionally intense look in her eyes. It was a look that came to her easily, as natural as breathing. The intensity in her brown eyes had become a trademark of hers over the years.

“Alright, well, I’m gonna go get the bags.” Not expecting a response, she turned to walk out the door as she spoke. Really only saying anything because it felt weirder to walk out the door without saying a word.

Doing her best not to draw attention to herself, she walked over to the car, hoping her parents hadn’t noticed her absence. Luckily for her, it appeared Nicky was getting lectured over something. At least she assumed that was how their conversation was going, solely based on her mom’s stance. The woman stood with her hands placed on her hips, a dead giveaway that someone was in trouble. Grabbing the first thing in sight, she hoisted it up and out of the trunk. Almost immediately, she regretted her decision. The cooler she’d chosen was the one carrying all the drinks, along with several bags of ice. It was clearly too heavy for her to carry on her own. Any sensible person would’ve asked for help. Did Natayla? Of course not. No, she was too stubborn to admit defeat just yet. Unlike the other Parker children, she had trouble admitting to her weaknesses. So instead, she proceeded to carry the large blue cooler while cursing under her breath all the way back to the cabin. Her face scrunched up as her arms screamed for her to set it down.

Dropping it on the floor as soon as she stepped into the cabin, she huffed in frustration. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared one last time at the dreadful blue cooler. Heading back to the car, she didn’t bother looking at Chris as she passed him. ”Don’t say a word.” Natalya growled, slightly pausing between each word for emphasis.

[adheline]

C H R I S T O P H E R
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location⇨ between cabin entry and car

Grandmother. Chris scoffed, even if her complaint was worthy. Puzzles and cards were definitely the hobbies prescribed to nursing homes, but for a good reason. They were classics. Engaging to the mind, a sense of accomplishment with a finished image or a good hand. But, ultimately, not exciting enough to tempt the likes of Natalya Parker. Not that he wanted anything he associated with to tempt her. That would suggest they had similarities.

He hummed when she said she planned on getting the rest of her bags, still not sure that he believed her. Though, if she could do something to dispute anything he said, she was certain to do it. At her leisure, apparently. Chris brushed his hair back by dragging his hand through it and then tucked it away in a pocket, staring down at her toes. Her lesson had better be free of charge. Neither was he interested in paying her in general, nor in obtaining lessons in something as useless as procrastination. More than anything, he thought that might be what set them apart the most. He had his sights set right, the way he saw it. He had a vision for the future, his time planned out, and he didn't let little distractions get in the way. If people just did what they were supposed to do, nobody got in trouble. Punishments were a waste of time, so he might as well just get the proper things done to begin with. He could barely even begin to fathom how her twisted mind turned her actions into logic.

She was a mess of an individual, always in trouble, and constantly pushing things off. If he even tried to procrastinate, everything would pile up instantly and he'd be too stressed to function. Natalya seemed completely at ease. If it was an art, an arguable point by all means, she truly was a master of it. He would give her that much credit, especially since it still had a negative connotation.

Natalya's mention of swimming made him look back up. From their position in the door, Chris could feel the gentle sensation of heat on his skin, coupled with an occasional, brief breeze. The lake would be warmed by the afternoon weather, so slipping in would give the perfect relief from the summer heat without freezing his toes off. Evening his breath and tipping back to float on the surface of the deep water, watching a rogue cloud inch across the open sky. Alone, at peace, and ignoring everyone else for a few precious minutes. It was quite an appealing image. One he would rather she didn't put in his head, since he had every intention of following through with his plans of acting like a grandmother for the evening. Now he wouldn't be able to focus on the cards without being distracted by thoughts of the lake. Of course, the time would better be spent if his friends were there too. Splashing each other and tossing an absorbent ball back and forth. Chris definitely loved a calm moment alone, but he was social by nature. Being stuck here with just their families wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for so long, a thought he imagined he would probably be grousing about the rest of the trip.

When suddenly his neighbor moved off the wall, Chris hung back a moment and watched her go. She had that insane look in her eye that, coupled with he extensive list of criminal activity, didn't spell out anything good. It was a look he feared less for her committing anything against him - honestly, he thought with a dash of narcissism that she would be bored without him to harass - and more so for what he would have to deal with in the aftermath. Just to avoid any issues down the line, he'd have to cover for her delinquent tendencies. Take up financial liability or something. Clean up the blood so it didn't ruin the floors.

In his pondering over whether she'd actually committed a serious crime before or not, he hardly noticed that he stuck glued to the wall, zoned out in the direction of the cars. And, subsequently, Natalya. Chris smirked, eyes alight with a self-indulgent amusement. One thing, at least, she didn't quit. His eyes tracked her the whole way back, and he shook his head with a light laugh, pushing his hands innocently into the air. He wouldn't say a word, true to her threatening tone. But he could communicate plenty without the use of his vocabulary, should she choose to actually look up at him.

Figuring he ought to finish up with his own luggage, Chris made his way to the cars. He saw Mrs. Parker with Nicholas, in that stance that spelled trouble, but his parents were out of sight. Likely either hunting down the girls or checking out the scenery, since they hadn't gone by them to get into the cabin. There were two more light bags in his mom's car, so he tucked them over his arm and tugged the trunk shut. Then he made his way over to the other vehicle and tested out one of the bags there. Significantly heavier. It looked like Natalya saved the harder stuff for last, consistent with her art of procrastination. Putting things off until the end. Without much of an issue, he pulled the bag from the trunk and, with his free hand, brought it back to the entry way. He dumped everything on the floor with the rest of the luggage, an ugly spillage of bags and cases. He wasn't sure where everyone was staying, though, so he couldn't exactly shuttle them to the appropriate rooms.

Speaking of. The cabin, large though it may be, might have him sleeping on a pullout. He tried to remember what his mother said about the rooms. His parents had their own room, likewise for the Parker parents. Then the girls would be bunked in a small room, and another room had two sets of bunks. There was a cot to be rolled wherever it was so desired. Chris cut Natalya a glance. Guess that all depended on if they were sleeping by family or gender. He missed his room, one bed for him and him alone. Desk and bookshelves in the corner, dresser and turntable in the other.

"Well, time for this old man to play cards, I guess," Chris mused aloud, not really caring if Natalya was even looking to catch on to what he was saying. He stooped down to the bags, sifting through the pile to locate his. Once he did, he unzipped the duffel and rifled around for a deck. It was the standard red bicycle deck, and he dumped the pile from the box to his hand as he walked away from her to the nearest table. He slid into a seat and thumbed the deck. It was an older set, a little worn on the edges and dull in colour. Shuffled like a dream, though. He braced his knuckled and shuffled, cutting quickly before repeating. Solitaire really was relaxing, so even if it was a grandma hobby, he didn't much mind. The motions were therapeutic in a way, the whole process of the game hypnotic.