· · · 》𝙈𝙄𝙎𝙁𝙄𝙏𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙈𝘼𝙉𝙃𝘼𝙏𝙏𝘼𝙉

[huskybaer.]

-

[chase.]

𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫 xxxx ♛
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[ newbie ] [ he/him ] [ location - warehouse ] [ mood - concerned, friendly ] [ 1,159 words ]

Jasper listened patiently as the brunette spoke, his head was tilted in interest as he kept his gaze on Zig’s face. His eyebrow cocked in surprise, Ziggy had taken the hit for Fox? Jasper chose to not think about the fact that Fox stole things. It was necessary, Jasper knew that. Hell, Jasper himself had stolen on occasion, but he couldn’t quite shake the guilt of it as easily as some of the others could. He wasn’t innocent by no means, he’d be a fool to think he had the moral high ground compared to the others - but he tried to live by the law. “That was selfless of you, risking yourself to protect a stranger just because it looked like he had others depending on him. I’m not surprised he offered you a home after. He’s one of the kindest people I’ve met, I think almost everyone in here would agree that we owe him our lives.” Jasper responded. Ziggy wasn’t what he expected, from the outside the boy looked like a feral cat. A wild animal that knew no manners and would lash at you without warning if you so much as breathed wrong. Jasper was pleasantly surprised to find that Ziggy was actually a kind boy, quiet, a bit slow, but seemingly friendly. Jasper shuffled on the floor slightly, back protesting at the hunched position he was currently sitting in. “I’m sorry I haven’t really made the effort to speak to you before, you seemed like you wanted to be left alone. I’m always around if you want the company, I don’t mind it.” Jasper smiled gently, carefully looking over Ziggy’s carving. “Have you had a chance to get to know many of the others yet?” Jasper laughed quietly, leaning over to playfully nuge Ziggy. “Got any favourites?”

The warehouse door creaked open, and Jasper turned to see Layne walk in. The right-hand man did not look particularly thrilled with life right now, and Jasper watched for a few more seconds; tempted to go and see what was the matter. He didn’t have to, as Fox also appeared through the doorway and the pair started to talk amongst themselves a mere few seconds later. Jasper got a bit uneasy, he wanted to know what was wrong. The lights in the warehouse had gone out whilst he was talking to Ziggy, and he briefly glanced back at the boy to see if he knew what was going on before the door creaked open again. Jasper did a double take as he watched the mayor’s son walk through the door. The hell had happened to him? He definitely wasn’t in those clothes when Jasper woke up. He looked like he fit in more now, though the paleness of his skin was a bit out of place - he didn’t look like he’d had to work outside a day in his life. Only by following Elias’ gaze did he realise that Shiloh and Red had also entered at some point. Why was everyone starting to flock inside? Jasper didn’t have much time to ponder on the question, instead wincing as the rich boy went to shake the medic’s hand, only pulling away at the last moment when he realised that this was not the right setting for something so formal. Jasper was too embarrassed for him to laugh, and instead turned his eyes back to Ziggy. It felt wrong to watch the other lad make a fool out of himself. “Seems like the warehouse is the place to be, hm?”

He didn’t get the chance to continue their conversation, because another newer face joined them. Jasper smiled at Joelle as she sat down, he liked the woman. She was kind, friendly and made an effort with people. The tall man once again shifted, shuffling along the floor so he could face both Ziggy and Jo, not wanting either to feel excluded. “It’s no problem Jo! You’re welcome anytime.” He replied, “You doing okay?”. She was newer than him and Ziggy, but she’d still been here for a fairly substantial time already. It had been a bit of an adjustment getting to know her, she wasn’t used to the streets like he and Ziggy had been, but they were all somewhat new to the trinkets. They had that in common at-least. Thankfully Jasper had been with them for almost three months by now, so whilst he wasn’t nearly as knowledgeable or experienced as the other members - he had still been confident enough in himself to talk to the newer members and try to help them settle.

Jasper held his breath as Jo leaned into Zig’s personal space. His image of Ziggy had been changed after a short conversation, but he still wasn’t sure what would set the boy off. Jasper always preferred to be overly cautious than to presume what people were and weren’t comfortable with. The entire idea of ‘it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission’ didn’t resonate with him much. Fortunately it looked like he didn’t have much to worry about, as Jo reigned herself in on her own accord, blushing and apologising. Jasper wanted to reassure her that it was fine, put a hand on her shoulder and tell her not to worry - but it wasn’t his place, it was up to Ziggy to decide where his boundaries were.

The blonde eventually turned her attention to him, and Jasper leant forward, resting his arms on his knees so he wouldn’t sit so tall compared to them both. “Oh no, don’t apologise Jo, it’s alright.” He reassured quickly, taking his glasses off and folding them into his pocket. “We were just talking about everyone, I was trying to see if Ziggy had any favourites yet.” He answered, chuckling gently. “I suppose we’re not really the ‘new kids’ anymore. Not with all these new faces, anyways. Elias turned up last night, and then there’s the man in scrubs and another new woman I don’t recognise that turned up this morning.” Jasper paused for a second, looking around at everyone in the warehouse again. “We’re getting popular apparently. Who knew we were ahead of the trend?” It seemed pretty much everyone was inside now, which wasn’t exactly a common occurrence unless it was at night. Maybe Jo would know what was going on considering she had been outside? He’d ask later, he didn’t want to immediately use the poor girl for answers. “What about you Jo, do you have any favourite people yet?” He teased lightheartedly, rocking slightly side to side. Jasper wasn’t sure who his own favourites would be, there were certain people he gravitated more towards. Shiloh, Fox and Layne instantly came to mind. They were some of the more logic driven members, and that made them very easy for Jasper to relate to and get on with. Jasper was friendly to anyone that approached him, but some people definitely made him more nervous than others.

[ inventory : glasses ]

[ tags ; ziggy —> ziggy, jo ] [ mentions ; fox, layne, shiloh, elias, ian, imogen ]

[senna_]

𝐅𝐎𝐗

[ ❝𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐈❞ ]
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rank. trinkets leaderxxage. 21xxpronouns. he/himxxlocation. warehousexxment.|tags. layne --> open

Fox was away from Elias now, yet he still felt trapped inside a hunter’s snare. Being indoors wasn’t helping the restlessness, either; Fox enjoyed spending time in his warehouse, for that was, after all, home to them all, but right now, he felt extremely cooped up. Mother Nature’s dark stormy clouds of aggression were swirling in on them now, like a hurricane ready to strike. Fox’s fingers flexed open and closed as his mind fought to push away the walls caving in on him. Layne’s presence always soothed him, and while Fox would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a bit better when catching the hazel eyes of his close one, he couldn’t rid the tension entirely. Layne was right. Layne was always right. But at this time, in a frenzied state and more than desperate to propel a brick right into the nearest glass window, hearing Layne defend the imposter struck him wrong. The redness in his face hadn’t dimmed down since his unnatural explosion, although it was tinted with shame, rather than pure boiling vexation. Fox didn’t want to think about his actions. It was a childish act to do, but it was easier to focus on the goods than on something he did out of stupidity. Truthfully, Fox genuinely was unsure of why he loathed Elias as quickly as he had ─ there ought to be more to the story than just the chapter on their family history. Perhaps it was because of the way he immediately scattered bait for Layne to show interest in, or maybe it was because of the way he reeked of privilege. Whatever the case was, Fox was (mostly) willing to give him another shot ─ for Layne’s sake ─ but something told him it would be a challenge to do a complete turn-around. Too many city folk. It seemed more and more tension curled around his muscles every time a new face appeared. Fox almost wanted to wonder how long it would take before the energy was squeezed right out of him. He was always up to take in a new face if he caught them struggling, despising the idea of leaving one to hopelessly fend for themselves, but it was starting to catch up to him now. He didn't dare let this show. A leader could never show his weakness, after all.

x'xHis dark eyes seemed to have found interest in an arbitrary spot on the wooden floor, and if Layne didn’t know him the way that he did, it would have appeared as though Fox had blocked out the boy’s voice completely. Only when Layne offered him a small object did Fox face the brunette. Layne wasn't a softie who melted at the sight of a small pout, and Fox knew he wouldn’t fold at some flattering nickname Elias purred his way. But he did have a heart, and clearly, he saw something in Elias that Fox failed to register. “He still seems too desperate,” Fox muttered under his breath, rolling the tool over once before dropping it back into Layne’s hand. “No rich kid likes to beg.” He left the negativity at that; there was no point getting back into that stuffy mindset. If anything, it was as if Fox's inner child was grabbing hold of the reins. Defense Mode was always his go-to growing up. Elias was out of his hair for now, and Fox could focus on what needed current attention: the incoming storm. Layne had noticed it too, given how quickly he hurried Fox into the warehouse. Even though he was still on the topic of Elias, Fox sensed his mind was distracted, just as Fox’s was. He failed to return the smile the Right-Hand offered his way, as if the muscles in his face were too stiff to even twitch. “Right,” was the best he seemed to be able to muster. His throat felt as if it was closing every time a thought about Elias kicked in, determined not to spit out any word or even sound that related to the rich boy. Feeling a slight burning in his throat, Fox surrendered, sniffing in frustration as Layne touched his shoulder. For once, Fox didn’t take a moment to meet his eye. His own gaze was now directed out the thin glass window, staring at the billowing mist that lapped at the tops of the trees.

x'x “Go,” Fox finally instructed with a firm nod of his head, flicking his gaze towards Layne, who was already backing out of his space. “I’ll send for some others if you need help.” Part of him wanted to follow Layne, but a bigger, more logical sense knew he needed to gather the other Trinkets and get to work. Thankfully, by the time Fox managed to steady his vision and snap out of whatever faulty headspace he was in, the majority of the group had situated themselves inside the warehouse, suddenly making the building appear far more narrow than it actually was.

x'xLayne’s body was seemingly devoured amongst the bodies of their fellow Trinkets, many of them evidently anxious at the vile energy the upcoming storm was transporting in. People became shadows, their voices blending together into an unpleasant harmony. As if being guided by the austere wind, Fox moved so lightly that it was almost as if he floated towards the electrical box. He flicked the light switch once. Nothing. He flicked it again, this time with less patience. There wasn’t even a glitch-like spark willing to show itself. Fox closed the small metal door that kept the wiring safe and slammed the side of his hand against it. “Damn thing,” he muttered under his breath, as if he had been sanguinely expecting it to do its job. That’s a good one. Regardless of how many times it had been tinkered with, it worked on its own terms. Right now, with yet another storm rolling in, getting overhead lighting had about the same percentage as Roman holding off on smoking for an entire day. Some things around here naturally seemed to appreciate the buffering stages more than anything else.

x'x “All right,” Fox called out, making his way towards the makeshift kitchen in a hurried march. Without hesitation, he pressed the palms of his hands onto the countertop and hoisted himself up, standing at his full height with the soles of his shoes on the counter so that he easily towered over the rest. He had been begging someone to go attempt to find a blowhorn, confident it would catch everyone’s attention so much easier, but they had yet to greet luck’s munificence. He let silence consume him for a fleeting second, watching with what could be taken as a rather unimpressed expression plastered on his face as the bodies below him awkwardly staggered, with few eyes catching sight of his appearance. Sighing, Fox raised his index and thumb to his mouth, delivering a shrill finger whistle to round up everyone’s attention. “Mother Nature’s having another rough day, and she’s takin’ it out on us again. We’ll have to go get out our supplies before our good ol’ warehouse has the chance to play the game of ‘will I flood today’. Not to panic, this’s happened before. Just don’t leave the warehouse ─ the wind isn’t the friendliest.”

x'xHis brown eyes skimmed over the familiar faces, trying to catch a glimpse of their various expressions. With the gloomy weather and little lighting, though, it was nearly impossible. He was staring at shadows. “Buckets, tarps, extra blankets… Get what you need’ta get.” He didn’t announce this, but spoke it as if he was having a casual conversation. Fox trusted his Trinket family, he knew that even though they enjoyed tinkering with their inner child, they were trustworthy when it came to the serious situations they found themselves in. All of them knew their comfort levels, and they knew where the equipment was scattered should they need it. He wasn’t too concerned with them. If anything, he was more worried about the damage they would find afterwards.

x'xLeaving it at that, Fox popped himself off of the counter, swiping his hands together as if he had just done work out in the garden. It didn’t take long for streaks of rain to shimmy down the windows. He sucked in a breath, then quickly turned his gaze elsewhere. The best thing to do was to stay calm, especially because he was aware that not everyone felt comfortable in these scenarios. He himself shuffled towards one of the old wooden cabinets, fishing out two small buckets they stored inside. As if this was part of his every day routine, there was no hesitation in Fox’s strides as he placed them below two of the windows, in case it started to leak. There seemed to be a new puddle located somewhere in the warehouse every time it rained. Murmurs flooded the warehouse, and he tried to block them out, attempting to assure himself that they were simply from casual conversations. Gaze locked straight ahead, Fox brushed past a few Trinkets, making a beeline towards the solo love seat in the opposite corner of where he was currently standing. He stopped at his bed on the way over, dragging a notepad out from under the sheet, then tucked himself into the chair, figuring it was best to start his future plotting while he was stuck indoors.

[deco.]

𝐈𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐱
tags: jo ﹣mentions: fox, elias, layne, jasper, ziggy, shiloh n/a - location: warehouse idk - role: office admin
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A moment to yourself seemed to be rare these days. There was no time to evaluate the interaction she had previously before a familiar face rushed up to her. The immediate over familiarity sent alarms off in Imogen’s head. Her cover was going to be blown on the first day, perfect. Jo’s lack of awareness was astounding at times. Not that Imogen could hold it against her, Jo had somehow infiltrated her shielded exterior and found a spot in Imogen’s list of tolerable people. A very exclusive list. A small snort came from her nose upon Jo mentioning ‘signing up.’
“I wasn’t granted the luxury of signing up.” She said, rolling her eyes. After this “infiltration mission” was done, a month-long vacation was moving up on her list of priorities. “Though, I could say the same to you.” Jo’s tolerance for dirt was no surprise, Imogen had witnessed her obsessive need for things to stay tidy on more than one occasion. Either Jo had some huge motivating factor to be here or she actually wanted to help. A mystery she would have to solve another time.

Jo’s next sentence was fresh out of her mouth before someone else sauntered up, Imogen raised an eyebrow at his introduction. Innocent but cautious. Like the others, he was not so quick to trust. Considering the amount of people the Mayor had requested caution was the expected reaction. “You’re the infamous Fox I’ve been told about.” She replied, eyeing him. So he was their leader, she could certainly see it with the way he carried himself, plus the way he spoke. “Imogen.” She greeted, her lips curving upwards. Imogen shook her head, catching the glance between Fox and Jo, “What’s prettier than revolution?” She winked. She knew her statement could be seen as suspicious, Fox didn’t seem stupid. Far from it. Her words were more of a lure, something to try and keep him curious. A key to open a door for future interaction. Fox left just as quickly as he appeared, distracted by two others returning. Imogen shifted herself around to watch him walk away toward another man and Elias, who seemed to be rather disheveled. She shook her head slowly, “I wouldn’t get too wrapped up with that one.” She spoke, sounding like a disapproving father. She knew how Jo could get when it came to love, Fox didn’t seem like he would stay committed or at least, from their momentary interaction that was the vibe she got from the leader.

A splash of water hit her cheek, her gaze shifted upward taking note of the nasty gray clouds rolling in, Jo was able to voice her displeasure with nature faster than was and Imogen found herself being dragged inside. More and more people had moved inside, the obvious storm brewing had brought more groups together. Some faces she had missed upon her arrival were present. Jo seemed eager to greet them, so eager that she didn’t even bother to invite Imogen along. A sarcastic remark was brewing in her thoughts, one that she thought would be best suited to stay inside. Deciding to not stand in the middle of the entrance like a sim she opted to follow Jo. Jo was clearly well acquainted with everyone already, which was perfect for Imogen. Jo liked to talk which meant conversation would be easy. Conversation meant connections, so thank you Jo for being a blessing in disguise.

Imogen stood beside Jo, listening to the conversation to be had between her and Jasper. There was nothing of interest to her, except the name of the other man who was there. Ziggy, he seemed to fit in with the group. The two of them did, actually. There wasn’t much time for her to dwell on her thoughts as Fox called out to the group, he had hoisted himself on top of the counter. He certainly carried himself with a good amount of confidence, she could commend him for that. Now, what didn’t exude confidence was the announcement of the chance of flooding. How these people haven’t died yet was beyond her or how no one was sick was an even greater achievement in her mind. The weather was probably their worst enemy and yet they made due. Imogen admired the trinket’s tenacity. Yet, she still couldn’t grasp why they were willingly living in such harsh conditions. If one of them were to get sick or suffer something worse, would they be able to survive? She doubted it but stranger things have happened. This scenario seemed movie worthy. Upon hearing her name, she snapped out of her thoughts - her group had been announced. Hopefully things with Shiloh would go better this time around, perhaps with this material gathering session she could prove her worth to the woman.

(wc.801)

[senna_]

𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐄 𝐕𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐍

[ ❝𝐌𝐀𝐄❞ ]
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rank. city's journalistxxage. 20xxpronouns. she/herxxlocation. paddock —> warehouse xxment.|tags. kimmy

Maisie didn’t have to verbally say anything to know that Kimmy wasn’t at her best. Stargazing, cloudgazing ─ whatever someone wanted to call it ─ wasn’t a new thing to their friendship, but considering the only type of cloud was a raging puff of smoke, she took the gazing wasn’t a positive sign. She shot her friend a quick tight-lipped smile as their hands connected, deciding it was best to remain quiet until Kimmy felt ready to speak what was on her mind. Kimmy was one of the few ones that managed to successfully rope in Mae’s patience ─ or, at least, had the ability to force Maisie to stay put, even if she was antsy on the matter. Kimmy’s attention meant a lot to her, and Maisie clung to every word she offered as if it was her last few breaths of air. Over time, avoiding the act of pushing her into speaking and instead soaking up the silence shared with the artist friend became as easy as breathing itself. Maisie knew better than to pressure her into speaking, because eventually, words would fall from Kimmy’s lips. Of course, that didn’t mean their conversations were carried out as quietly as the wait to start them. Between passionately debating various subjects, or gushing over something or someone, they were often reminded to lower their voices when out in public. Maisie missed those moments. There was so much she wanted to ask Kimmy, so much she wanted to talk about. Unfortunately, giggling and gossiping like they were teenagers didn’t really seem to have an appropriate gateway here.

x’x “Look at you!” Maisie voiced in what could almost be taken as a teasing gawk-like tone. “Miss Popular. I’m sure they all fell in love with you.” She wanted to press further, to ask what they discussed, or how Kimmy felt about each one of them, but she bit her tongue instead. The look on Kimmy’s face indicated that was all she had to say about them. Maisie’s excited smile faded slightly, pressing into something of more sympathy. She knew her friend wasn’t the most comfortable here, and who was to blame her? Mae herself was waiting for the adrenaline of being in a new environment to wash out of her body. She didn’t want to think about the aftermath; how long would it take before she was on her knees begging to go back home? She supposed it was far easier being here with familiar faces. Kimmy’s smile always lit a comforting flame inside of Maisie. It certainly wasn’t home, but Kimmy being around helped make it feel a bit more like it.

x’x Her eyes connected with Kimmy’s chocolate-coloured ones, holding her gaze steadily as she practically murmured the last name. A brow raised, but Maisie said nothing on the matter. As much as she adored Drew, she figured chatting about this kind of stuff around him wasn’t the best act to make. Kimmy wasn’t as close to Drew as Maisie was, anyway. And this was certainly the sort of topic she wanted to excitedly share with just the two of them.

x’x A snort of a rather unattractive laugh followed Kimmy’s sudden change in posture, and Maisie hoisted herself upright, as well. The thought of ticks was practically revolting. “Probably,” she admitted, trying to shrug it off casually, although she made no attempt to hide her scampering gaze. Those nasty little things ─ calling them creatures didn’t seem suiting ─ were the bane of her existence. She had had one attach itself right under her eye as a child, and she was convinced that was enough to stir up a great deal of trauma regarding them. The last thing she wanted was to catch lyme disease, as well. The whole idea of having some pin-sized monster burying into her skin made her want to squirm out of discomfort. Out of instinct, she drew her legs up close to her chest, trailing her hands down her exposed skin on her lower legs ─ just in case. She’d outwardly deny being turned off by them, likely insisting she had no problem and that they were only little buggers, but it certainly wouldn’t take much to catch the hot lie. You’re really going to have to do better at hiding those feelings. Maisie was determined to prove herself, and she couldn’t do that by anxiously prancing around the long grass.

x’x Still, her light eyes grazed over whatever parts of her body she could see when Kimmy helped her up. They closed as her friend brought her in close, drinking in the fresh fragrance of fabric softener and lingering floral perfume ─ a natural scent, one that made Maisie wonder if Kimmy had been skipping out and about in the meadow nearby. “Absolutely,” she returned, her voice muffled by Kimmy’s shirt. “I’ve got so much to tell you. And I want to hear everything from you.” Despite being housed in the same location, with all the new activity occurring, Maisie felt like she was miles away from her dear friend. Holding her close was a comforting way to reassure her that everything was okay. That everything would be okay. She kept her grip firm so she wouldn’t lose Kimmy, as if half expecting her friend to take off in a gallop towards the warehouse. A smile played at her lips as she watched Kimmy’s camera swing peacefully against her neck. Kimmy wasn’t Kimmy without her camera.

x’x Maisie was taken by surprise as her friend then stopped abruptly in her tracks, nearly colliding with Kimmy’s shoulder. “Ohhh no. I look ─” Maisie couldn’t even get her protest out, Kimmy was already holding the camera up. Quickly switching gears, she pressed her cheek against Kimmy’s with a bright smile, although it dropped and a flash of horror took over the moment her friend lowered the device. “I probably look like a zombie. You looked good, though. You always look good.” Her hands went up as if to dramatically shrug, falling back down to her sides a second later with a defeated nod of her head, as if the weeds in her hair was true validation of what she had just said. “The brightest idea,” Maisie echoed with a grin, pointing up towards the lifeless sky, whose dark clouds were battling amongst one another. “Sorry, that was terrible.”

x’x As soon as the words left her lips, she felt a droplet of rain kiss the tip of her nose. Several followed within a heartbeat, and she let out a shriek. “Hide the camera!” she gasped, taking their hands before pushing off into a run towards the warehouse. She was grateful it wasn’t far, although it was extremely obvious that they had just been attacked the storm. Maisie practically slammed the warehouse door behind them, running her hands through her hair before turning to Kimmy, eyes gleaming. “God, I love the rain.” She flicked her gaze out towards the majority of the group, shuffling out of the way of the doorframe. “Now what?”

[senna_]

𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀

[ ❝𝐁𝐑𝐈❞ ]
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rank. trinkets strengthxxage. 20xxpronouns. she/herxxlocation. warehousexxment.|tags. aleko, ian —> open

Brielle couldn’t deny feeling a bit impressed over the fact that the newcomer had a bit of fire to him. Delight surged through her, appreciative that he was able to easily toss himself into the pit of dark teasing. The sharks were circling, but he was avoiding their snapping jaws. “Brielle, actually,” she corrected with a slight tilt of her head. “The Mister Men and Little Miss gang skipped this part of town. Tragic, right?” Her eyes narrowed in what could almost be taken as a challenging way as he taunted them, using his truck as the gateway to their choice of distress or freedom. “I’m far happier staying out here than drowning myself in fancy perfumes,” she shrugged in return, fighting to keep the nonchalant expression on her features. Realistically, yes, this was far from an ideal permanent living setup, but all the Trinkets knew that crawling back into the city would result in far more torment than dealing with a leaky faucet and unpredictable lighting. They had attempted to make their presence known over there before. Brielle was pretty sure it sliced the warriors within each and every Trinket, because there had not been talk of returning since. It was probably better that way. Brielle missed her mom dearly, but there were far more pros out here alongside her newer makeshift family. Going back to the city would be like tossing a wild animal into captivity and expecting it to behave as if it had been raised by proper rules its whole life. Nothing good would come from it.

x’x Ian was a bit squeamish, Brielle noticed. His weight shifted after no more than three or four seconds, and he couldn’t seem to figure out an appropriate spot to rest his hands. “Fantastic!” she clasped her hands together in an overly enthusiastic way. “Between the Bear, the Fox, the Sparrow, and all the curious coyotes that come lurking by, you’re all set!” A grin lit up her features. In actuality, wild animals tended to stray far from their home, which wasn’t much of a surprise, given their noisiness. The last animal to come in had been one of those opossums that lived in the alleyway closer to the market; Brielle distinctively remembered Red’s cooing and Fox’s warning to keep her hands away. She snickered under her breath. There wasn’t a day that passed without a pinch of chaos around here.

x’x Her brows raised upward as Ian pretended to act hurt when she shot him a nickname. “Wouldn’t even take it as a compliment?” she retaliated. “Ian, how very humbling of you.” A girlish grin tugged at the corners of her lips when he held out his hand. Obvious it was to check for any fallen raindrops, the action spoke for itself, but she couldn’t resist slapping the palm of her hand against his own, as if he had been reaching for a high-five. She didn’t move for a heartbeat or two, planting her feet to the ground as if she needed to feel the rain for herself in order to take off, but Ian was quick to glance back and Bri suddenly felt obligated to follow. Pushing off, she trotted behind the two of them, gaze skimming the nearest window before entering the building.

x’x Sound immediately ascended, hushed voices strumming an off beat for her ear drums to pick up on. She crossed her arms in a casual fashion, leaning beside Ian as soon as she was comfortably inside the warehouse. She let her arm brush against his own, as if to silently ensure him she had nothing against him. Or perhaps it was in response to his muttered comment about the rest of the group. “We’re all pretty close with each other, actually,” she informed him, tilting her head in a yes… and no way when he implied why they were all uptight. “You should see the way some of these monsters sleep. Storms just aren’t exactly our friends. More bad than good.”

x’xHer lips pursed together as Aleko stepped up, eager to drag Ian away from the current scene. Just as he was passing, Bri reached out and smacked the Trinkets’ upper arm. “Keep it PG,” she warned, her words a direct connection to her observation of Aleko boldly checking Ian out earlier. She was joking, although her low tone and lack of facial expression fought hard to say otherwise. The moment the two left her, her face dropped, and her hands crawled up her arms a bit further, hugging herself tightly as if she was lonely. She failed to catch sight of Bear and Roman, and all her other good friends were preoccupied right now. Sighing to herself, Brielle let the back of her head hit the wall, and she closed her eyes.

[ꜱᴀʟᴇᴍ.]

☀ 𝚁 𝙴 𝙳
{tamsyn beaumont}
older member I location; warehouse I mentions; layne+fox+aleko I tags; shiloh+elias I w.c; 690
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as red moved back a bit closer towards shiloh, she slowly rested her head as gentle as she could on the other woman’s shoulder. she listened to her confirm what she was saying and thinking, giving red a little bit more of a reason to relax. she could hear thunder rumbling, seemingly getting closer, and she saw litte drips beginning to slip through the cracks of the warehouse roof. it was going to be a long night. when shiloh asked where red thought they all came from, she simply shrugged her shoulders slightly. ”no clue. maybe they’re all looking for charity work.” she responded, with a clear tone of slight distatse. “i think we’re becoming famous… or infamous.” red hummed in agreement as her eyes anxiously scanned the building, looking for familiar faces in what seemed to her like a never ending sea of people. to be honest, there could be only four people in a room and she’d still feel this way. except for the other trinkets, of course. the redhead had been there long enough and gotten close enough to all of them to feel comfortable around any number of the misfits; they were family after all. but why were all these new people here? the majority - if not all of them - looked.. normal. something the trinkets never were.

before red could say anything else, she felt the presence of another body coming a little closer to them. the woman immediately stood up straight and her gaze snapped onto none other than the boy she had seen earlier in the day. the boy who had been curled up in a corner against a wall. hm. this should be interesting. red thought to herself, bringing her arms up to her chest, crossing them as she did so. she raised an eyebrow at him when he mentioned that fox had told him to find her. strange. what did fox want her to do about this person? she was beginning to fidget, for some reason she felt.. was it anger? it was difficultfor red to distinguish emotion from emotion, it seemed she was feeling every single one at one time. but then, she watched as the boy - elias, he said his name was - began to reach a hand out to shiloh but stop mid action and bring it up to his neck. immediately, her gaze softened and her body relaxed once again. then, she nodded. ”that’s me! nice to meet you elias. this is shiloh.” red nodded her head in the other woman’s direction. her response was delayed, it left a short silence but she thought it was better late than never.

the redhead listened as he began to ramble; talking about how he was new [as if it weren’t obvious to her and shiloh], how he’d never seen a storm such as the one they were experiencing in that moment, then apologising for that fact and for interrupting them, then moving on from that altogether and talking about layne, fox and aleko. a small giggle rose in her throat as he finished speaking and she watched his eyes nervously flipping between the two women. “that would be aleko. i hope he didn’t give you much trouble, he can come off a little strong sometimes,” she responded, “he’s lovely though, we all love him dearly.” red offered elias a warm smile, and took a second to study him, trying her best not to make it obvious. as she did so, she noticed a tattoo on his arm; a dinosaur. not just any dinosaur though, a spinosaurus. her eyes widened.

“i love your tattoo.” she said simply, her eyes fixated on it for a few seconds. then, when she finally looked back up, she was smiling ear to ear. “i dont have a dino tattoo yet, but i do have a shark!” red lifted her sleeve up slightly to show elias the hammerhead that looked as though it was swimming up her arm. shortly after, she brought her arm back down and her cheeks flushed a light pink. that information wasn’t asked for, red. she thought to herself.

[avicularia]

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐇
med. enthusiast || 21 years old || tagged; red, elias & imogen // fox, aleko & ian [mentioned]
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xxxShiloh felt something warm against her shoulder and glanced down to find a tangle of red hair leaning against her. Not many of the trinkets felt comfortable enough around the medic to get this close, and she was often left to her own devices. Instinctively, she protectively wrapped one arm around Red. At the same time, a round of thunder rolled overhead, causing her to jump. Hoping her companion hadn’t noticed, she forced a small laugh out at her comment. “We do look like a charity case, don’t we?” With their broken windows, leaky roof, and lack of many basic commodities, Shiloh could see why others might look at them with disdain and pity.

xxxBefore she knew it, Red had righted herself, and Shiloh dropped her arm away. Following her eyes, she found a man walking toward them, talking about Fox and his assumption that he’d found Red. She watched apathetically as he reached one pristine hand toward her before pretending he hadn’t been about to shake her hand. Either he’d seen her hands and decided against messing up his flawless skin with her paint-covered fingers or he realized shaking hands wasn’t a gesture most of the trinkets would frown upon. She nearly laughed at the thought. To her surprise, Red began to engage him in light conversation. Shiloh was a little more hesitant, taking a backseat to their polite remarks.

xxxAt least, until they mentioned Aleko. She straightened slightly at the mention of his name. The description did match him, and since they’d already met, what was the harm in giving this man a name? But Shiloh still felt uneasy about freely offering this newcomer any information about her beloved family. It didn’t help that the rain was now pattering against the tin roof, some spattering inside as it found the holes overhead. She might have been concerned about the fact he said he was out of it the night before, but he seemed perfectly alright now. If there was a problem, surely Fox would have sent him after her instead of Red. “You don’t look like someone Aleko would bring home,” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

xxxHer dark eyes took in the revealed tattoo of the hammerhead shark. She thought of her own adorning her shoulder, intricately drawn flowers crawling from her collar bone down to her elbow. Shiloh made no move to show hers off, not caring about his opinion of the art embellishing her skin. Another woman strode up to them, this one just as out of place but at least familiar. Imogen. Perhaps Shiloh had been a little quick to judge, since the immaculate woman still stood before her, standing out against the dirty backdrop. Her head dipped in acknowledgement toward the woman as she attempted to keep an eye on Red and Elias, fearing the woman was being far too trusting, despite having shared very little.

xxxAt least, she thought to herself, Elias looked far weaker than the strengths. He’d be met with an unconquerable force if he attempted anything. She was mildly comforted by this thought. Offering Red another weak smile, she broke into their conversation. “I’m going to start putting the buckets out,” she said. “If you two would like to help,” she motioned to Imogen and Elias. “There’s a stack of them over there.” She pointed at one darkened corner cluttered with rusted buckets. “I’ve marked the floor with x’s where they go. At least, that’s where they needed to be the last time it rained.” She was sure the trinkets thought her mad when it rained, as she always made a full check of the warehouse, adding or subtracting any taped crosses that needed to be fixed. However, mold was a real concern, especially in their living conditions, and it gave her something to do when the intrusive thoughts broke in.

xxxSeparating herself from the trio of others, she moved away from the corner she’d mentioned and off toward the stairs. “Hold on, I’ll grab flashlights. It’s hard to navigate in the dark.” For Red and Shiloh, it would have been easy enough to find where they needed to go, but she doubted Elias and Imogen were familiar enough with the layout to not fall in one of the holes in the ground.

xxxHer office was nothing more than a set of drawers and a thin piece of plywood bolted to four wooden legs, which she called a desk. She’d made it as comfortable for herself as possible, ensuring the ceiling directly above this area was free of holes. Pulling a drawer open, she nestled Ian’s car keys inside, removing two flashlights she kept there. Anywhere else, and the batteries inside them would have disappeared. Shiloh clicked the button to make sure they turned on, and they loyally produced their dim beam of light. Muttering to herself about the storm, she plodded down the stairs and back to the small group.

xxx“Here you go,” she offered, handing one flashlight to Elias and the other to Imogen, hoping Red wasn’t put off by this. “You don’t have to help, but try not to get hurt. It’s a… hazardous area, and I don’t want any extra work.”

[tawneypelt0504]

☽𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬☾
𝐎𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫|𝟐𝟐 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝|𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞|𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐧𝐞, 𝐅𝐨𝐱,𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞,𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧,𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫|𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬:𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰

Cass was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of something landing next to her mattress. She raised her head confused and noticed the Snickers. Cass looked at Sparrow, and then back at the Snickers bar. She narrowed her eyes unsure why she was being offered the candy bar. Was the redhead trying to bribe her or something? Part of her was tempted to refuse it her stomach reminded Cass she hadn't eaten all day. She was quick to grab the chocolate from the floor in case Sparrow suddenly changed her mind. "Thanks" Cass responded with a curt nod, and she started to nibble on the chocolate.

Cass couldn't help but give glances to Sparrow. The redhead seemed familiar but Cass couldn't place where she'd seen her before. Sparrow was a new member along with her older sister Celeste who seemed to be the gentler of the pair. Cass wasn't sure what to make of Sparrow, she seemed to take great joy in teasing her for whatever reason but Cass didn't care about it. She had more annoyances in her life like a certain pair of strengths who had barged in on her having a peaceful moment.

As Cass ate she looked around and took note of Fox and Layne entering, clearly in deep conversation. With all the storm clouds gathering outside it wouldn't take a genius to know the Trinkets had their work cut out for them this evening. Once Fox started speaking Cass turned toward him and gave him her full attention. She wasn't happy about the extra work she and the rest of the Trinkets would have to do Cass wasn't one to openly complain about their situation. Even though it was hard sometimes...okay a lot of the time, Cass appreciated her life here and the people in it.

Cass decided to take care of patching up windows especially since some of those holes came from her crows. Cass finished the Snickers and stood up brushing herself off studying Sparrow for a moment "So you ever fixed windows before". As much as she would like to have worked alone this job required someone else to help. Sparrow seemed competent and willing to listen to her. While she waited for Sparrows response Cass began formulating a few plans for how they could fix the windows. She would need to check their supplies to see what she had to work with. Cass was confident she could work with anything they had. She was ready to slap some duct tape over the holes and call it a day if necessary.

[chase.]

𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐬 xxxx ♛
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[ mayor’s son ] [ he/him ] [ location - inside warehouse ] [ mood - friendly ] [ 1,695 words ]

There were a few moments of awkward silence before the redhead finally spoke up. Oh thank god, this was Red after all. He glanced at the other woman as Red nodded to her, Shiloh. Okay, that was two more strays he now knew. Fox the leader of this ragtag gang, Layne the right hand and brother, Red the friendly sacrifice for new people and Shiloh - he had yet to figure out what her role was in the group. He had heard of Bear and Roman, and apparently the man he had run into was named Aleko. Five faces, seven names, that was a decent start. “Admittedly I did think he’d clock me at first but he really helped me out there, I still need to go and thank him when I get the chance.” Elias admitted, looking over at the man in question. He was with the man in scrubs, the doctor, from earlier, seemingly introducing him to people. Jasper and Ziggy were the only two names he caught above all the murmurs in the warehouse. From where he was stood he could see that one of the figures on the ground was significantly taller, despite the fact he was currently hunched over awkwardly. So the tall man was Jasper, and then that left the other boy sat near Jasper to be Ziggy. There was someone else sat on the floor near the other side of Jasper, but all Elias could see was a slither of light coloured hair. Blonde maybe? It was hard to tell with the lights out and the natural light going dimmer by the second. It wasn’t important, there’d be time for proper introductions later - for now it’d be better use of his time to befriend Red and Shiloh.

Red smiled warmly at him, and Elias returned it easily. Fox was definitely onto something when he directed him towards Red, the girl was seemingly very friendly and attentive. That was good. If he could befriend her then he’d stand a better chance at fitting in with the others. She took a moment to study him, and Elias was suddenly hyper aware of what he looked like. He was used to being glanced over - people often sizing each other up in the council rooms, but he was always dressed to a T. No scuff marks, perfectly tailored clothes, trained and confident expression. This was… new. No fancy clothes or cocky smile to hide behind, just Elias. His breath hitched as her eyes widened, but to his surprise she complimented his tattoo. That was a first. Elias was dead silent for a few seconds, at a loss for words as his mind struggled to piece together a sentence. She liked his tattoo? It was a dinosaur for Christ’s sake. What self-respecting politician’s son got a tattoo of a spinosaurus down almost his entire arm? He had showed the ink to barely anyone before today, and he’d spent months mentally preparing to be humiliated for it. But here he was, face to face with a benevolent little redhead who seemed absolutely thrilled at the artwork. His cheeks felt warm, and Elias blinked slowly as his brain caught up with the situation. “Thank you Red, I appreciate it.” He replied, genuinely smiling. The woman rolled up her own sleeve, revealing a very delicate and aesthetic tattoo of a shark, Elias flicked his gaze between her tattoo and her face. “Oh wow, that’s amazing - really nicely done, the lineart is so precise.” He murmured, “You’re a fan of hammerheads then I take it? I like sharks, I’m partial to reef sharks and whale sharks, but I do think all of them are stunning in their own ways.” He replied, easily getting lost in the conversation. “Though you’d think I’d favour megalodons given this, maybe I should add one and just start a whole underwater scene, bring a mosasaur into it and everything.” He joked quietly, motioning to the prehistoric creature swimming down his arm. Shiloh cut into the conversation, and Red brought her arm down. Oh, right, they were supposed to be preparing for a rather rough storm - not gossiping about dead reptiles or overgrown fish. He turned his attention fully to the other woman, expression turning more serious. He wasn’t here to play around, he had to make use of himself. He glanced at Red, expression softening a bit in somewhat of an apology before listening to Shiloh.

‘If you two would like to help.’ For a brief moment Elias thought Shiloh was talking to him and Red, but the woman motioned elsewhere. The boy looked out of the corner of his eye, and almost flinched when he saw Imogen standing a couple steps away. When the hell had she gotten there? The woman apparently had the stealth of a panther - either that or Elias’ observation skills were dangerously slacking today. There were two options, either he greeted her with gritted teeth and a clenched jaw - choosing to either pretend to not know her or giving away to the others that he did, and thus then risking compromising whatever cover story she had came up with - or he could take the safer but more juvenile route of just not properly acknowledging her. Elias wet his lips, tilting his head in Imogen’s direction and offering her a short, polite nod. Juvenile route it was. He’d talk to her some other time, preferably after the storm had cleared and they’d be able to be alone and out of earshot of the others. Right now he just felt suffocated, his father was so untrusting of Elias’ own abilities, he had literally sent someone to keep watch over him. Elias wasn’t some unruly animal that needed a keeper for Christ’s sake, he could manage himself just fine.

“Of course I’ll help.” He confirmed, taking the object from her hand. He rolled the metal cylinder over in his palm a few times, unscrewing the back to look at the batteries before reassembling it with ease. He expected to see tinfoil packed in, some cheap MacGyver contraption in a bid to stretch their dollars; but no, apparently the trinket’s could stretch to some working batteries. “Torches? That’s prepared of you. Do the lights go out often here?” He asked shiloh, clicking it to see if it would work for himself. It was dim, either the torches were a poorer quality or maybe the batteries were on their last legs, but Elias wasn’t going to comment on that - he’d likely already insulted the group enough by accident. He tossed the torch to his other hand, directing it towards the floor behind him - a few ‘x’s’ marked with tape getting caught in the faint beam. “I see what you mean, that’s a smart idea - did you come up with it?” Maybe Shiloh was similar to Layne, she somehow seemed even more untrusting towards him than the other man did, but they seemed to share the same intelligent and logical way of thinking. Well, from what Elias could gather from his very limited interaction. So far it seemed he’d be able to mentally group some of the trinkets together, the brains and the brawn seemed like the two most obvious categories for now.


Elias shuffled over to start picking up some of the buckets, briefly checking them over to see if they’d corroded to the point of uselessness. It likely wouldn’t go down well if he started using buckets peppered with holes - he didn’t want to be the reason the floorboards started to rot. He wasn’t familiar with wet rot, that was probably the concern of the help back at his father’s house, but he imagined it’d be hard to repair or treat. Elias frowned, placing a bucket down over the tape - this entire place seemed like one massive hazard; a house of cards waiting to topple down. He glanced back at the buckets and then flashed the torch back to the floorboards, drawing his eyebrows together. “Have you guys got enough buckets to cover every mark, or do you know which ones are the most severe?” He asked, looking over at Shiloh. There was obviously some routine and organisation in the warehouse, but not nearly enough to make Elias feel at ease. Patching the roof seemed to be the best solution, but the supplies needed to do that were probably expensive - and people actually needed to know how to do said repairs. If the right hand man couldn’t read, god knows what intellectual hinderances the rest of them suffered with. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Elias breathed in slowly, maybe once he’d helped these people prepare for the storm he’d find a window to stand and watch the sky out of.

His focus returned to Red, and the curly haired boy found himself padding softly towards her. She didn’t seem the most at ease in their given situation, not that it was hardly surprising. He readjusted his satchel, mulling over his words. Red had been kinder to him than anyone else so far, she deserved the same pleasantries back, despite their difference in background. He twirled the torch in his hand, smiling softly at her. “Earlier, when we spoke about the tattoos, you said ‘yet’, have you got any specific species in mind for when you get one?” He asked curiously, running a hand through his curls. “Fox mentioned something about bonding over dinosaurs - I’ll be honest I didn’t think he was being that serious.” Elias explained, still grinning slightly. “Sorry for rambling, I just haven’t had the chance to talk to anyone who likes similar things, and I couldn’t help but notice you don’t seem the most, comfortable, right now.” Elias paused, was that too blunt? “Sorry if that came off wrong, we’ve only just met, I don’t mean to overstep.” He glanced around once more, “Is this everyone then, in the warehouse? There’s more people than I thought there’d be” He commented, trying to see if he recognised any more faces. “I suppose no one wants to be out in the storm in these conditions.”

[ inventory : satchel, books, lighter, cologne, pens, newspaper ]

[ tags ; red, shiloh, imogen ] [ mentions ; fox, layne, aleko, ian ]