Fandom Divergent: Faction Before Blood // RP Thread

[Nerdy.]

Cassidy "Cas" Wickham || 16 || Initiate || Erudite Transfer

Cassidy was filled with a lot more courage and strength after taking her lull, and the plan she had begun to formulate in her mind was looking greater and greater as she walked, almost skipping to the dorms. Her body felt light as air, her head felt fuzzy and warm and yet still had a crisp edge around everything. Her body tingled like it had been dipped in pop-rocks, but at the same time it wasn't yet painful, although it was very annoying. Her head was thankfully free of migraines, a necessary thing for the plan she had formulated for this evening. She began to hum as she walked to the dorm, eventually popping in her ear phones so that she could listen to some good rock music as she made her way quickly and efficiently. She wanted to prepare her own body for what was to happen, and she wanted to prepare stuff for Griffon as well. She was delighted to find that the Dorm was empty, it was that time of day, where nobody hung out in the dorm unless they were exhausted or very lonely, she continued rocking her head to the music as she walked in and towards her bed, eventually grabbing some clothes and slipping into them without worry of who was around. She decided to wear black jeggings with real pockets, a long sleeve black shirt with a black leather jacket over top. Inside the jacket she made sure to put medical supplies, only light and minimal ones like sanitizing wipes, tiny scissors, bandages and the sort. She also put her last pain meds in it, frustrated that she hadn't grabbed any more. You'll have to grab some after this ordeal, there's no time now. She thought to herself, checking the time again and nodding to herself, although it wasn't yet at the time where they would need to rush, it was slowly ticking by and she knew that soon enough they would need to rush, if Aya and Griffon weren't here soon. She lay down on the bed, having just slipped on her sleek black boots to match her outfit, and closed her eyes, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth slowly, as if blowing out a candle. She counted the beats with her fingers on her thigh, 1, 2, 3, 4. As her body calmed down she got herself up, and ruffling through Griffon's stuff she laid him out a similar outfit on the bed. All black, warm, and flexible. She needed his body ready to run. She made sure to pop a little notebook in his pocket so that he could write anything down once it got back to him, or she could write stuff for him if she thought he was going to forget. Just as she'd finished laying it down and had just gotten onto the bed again, the doors opened and the familiar sound of people entered the room, not only the familiar sound of people, but specifically Griffon and Aya's charming voices gently bounced around the empty room. Cassidy wasted no time as she popped her head out with a wide smile. "Hi guys! You were quick! Hey Griff I put some clothes on the bed so we could be matching, we need to go though so it would be great if you could get dressed now." She said, walking over and gently squeezing his arm, before letting go as he walked over to grab the clothes and get dressed in the bathroom. As he left, Cas looked at Aya. "Well, I hope you had fun with him all day, seems like you two are really getting along. I expect an announcement at some point." She joked, although even as she joked she felt the tiniest of pains hit her heart, thinking of the fun she used to have flirting with Aya all the time. She could still do that, there was nothing and nobody stopping her, and Griffon wouldn't be mad, he never had been and never would be, but Cas couldn't do that to Griffon, not when he was so happy. He didn't even need to tell her, she could just see in his eyes that he was so happy. Aya was everything to him right now and Cas didn't want to take all of that away from him. She was certain that she was first in his mind, and had no worries about anyone else. She would give up a lot for Griffon and already had, but it was all because he had already done that so many times over for her, he couldn't remember but that didn't matter, she could.

Griffon was clearly uncomfortable as he made his way out of the bathroom in his attire. "Griffon you look so cool! We look adorable matching. Kind of matches with you two Aya, since you and I always wear black it isn't too hard though." She laughed for a moment as Griffon walked over and let her know that he was ready to go. "We will catch you later Aya, see you soon! If anyone asks where we are please just let them know we're on a date. We will have our phones on us!" She said as she waved goodbye to Aya and the two of them walked out of the dorms. The walk was simple, Cas was in a hurry so admittedly she was rushing Griffon on just a little bit. They didn't talk much for that portion of the trip, maybe they were nervous, or maybe they were excited? Griffon spoke up, wanting to clarify the reason for this date, and Cas quickly put a finger ot his lips. Fear trembled up her back for a moment and a shiver covered her body. What if someone was watching or listening for her parents? What if it was her parents? What if... She shook her head, it wasn't safe to talk here, much too risky, too many places for someone to be hiding, too many places for planted microphones. Cassidy walked off again with Griffon close behind her, she walked in front so that he wouldn't try to guess her facial expression, because she was sure that even she wasn't hiding her apprehension all too well. This visit was going to be terrifying. That's why she didn't want Griffon to actually meet the parents, she was scared they would kidnap him, or hurt him, or somehow turn him against her. That's why they had to use her ability, it was the only way for everyone to stay safe. Finally organized in her own mind, Cas began to keep an eye out for little secluded areas that were part of bigger more communal areas. Finally she found one as they were nearing one of the exits and Griffon would have kept going if Cas didn't grab his arm and tugged him in the direction she was in. That's when she got very serious, eyebrows lowering and eyes narrowing, she lifted her hands and began to sign very quickly. "What we are doing tonight is very dangerous, you need to be careful, and that's why I think we need to bodyswap." She signed, watching as Griffon took that suggestion and immediately freaked out, signing back that he wanted to meet his parents, not just see them. Immediately frustration bubbled up within Cas as her plan began to crumble away, and she rubbed the thigh of her jeggings with her thumb, deep in thought it took a few moments for her to figure it out. "Fine, we will swap bodies so you can meet them in my body. I'll watch over the whole thing in yours. Just.. .be careful okay? Don't let mum touch you, don't talk about yourself, or rather Griffon, and pretend to be me. If they think were are both down here they will tear Dauntless apart. Say that Griffon is dead.' She said, watching as Griffon nodded with every word she signed. Eventually Cas, after making sure he knew what was happening and making him sign it back to her, she pulled him close and nuzzled her body into his chest. Warmth flooded her body and she felt a sense of overwhelming peace. Griffon was here. She was here. Everything would, hopefully, be okay. Summoning the energy within her, as if she were about to scream, she felt her entire body tingle and burn, her mind began to feel lighter than air, and her stomach lurched in the spot, making her regret anything she might have eaten that day and hoping Griffon wasn't feeling the same. Grip tightening she finally rele4ased the pressure and felt her body rise up as if it were at the very top of her head, and then suddenly it whooshed down her neck and torso and out through her hands into Griffon's body. Process completed.

-

Immediate discomfort was evident to Griffon. It was so unusual that Griffon always found that he didn't really find it unpleasant for a while. Cassidy's body felt so good, it was stretched and warmed up from something, he could feel the muscles and joints were unusually active and warm, and he could feel the small amount of sweat she had built up. Arms still around Cas in Griffon's body, he felt an immense amount of pleasure as usual from the physical contact with his sister, even if she was in his body. He could not describe it as missing something, as he couldn't tell what it was like unless he was swapped with Cassidy, and that was happening less frequently now than it ever used to. Finally though the two separated and took a look at each other. Griffon felt like it was looking almost like into a mirror when you looked back at your old body. It was alive and Cas always enjoyed using his body, the size and comfort difference was phenomenal. "Where do I go? What do I do?" He asked, and watched as Cas explained everything to him quietly, no longer using sign language due to needing to go over to the other side. He listened as Cas explained, remembering how strange it was to hear your own voice come out of a different human being, and how strength everyone else wasn't sure who was here at the time. As Cas spoke quickly and effiiently, he remembered the perk of using Cassidy's body. The ability to retain memories, at least until he was back in his. This would be ideal for what was going to happen tonight. He understood Cas even if he didn't know everything. She wanted him to say Griffon was dead because then they wouldn't look for Griffon and he would be safe. He wasn't offended that Cas believed she was more capable than he. He couldn't imagine that to be wrong, she was the most capable person he knew, and family doesn't split. As they walked Griffon had to get used to Cassidy's legs again, walking with a slight wobble as the smaller and lighter limbs and body made him clumsier than usual. It didn't take long for them to reach the end of Dauntless and Cassidy disappeared in moments. Griffon wasn't even sure when and how, as he swung Cassidy's head around, dark hair waving over his eyes foreignly and heart rate feeling different, faster, more severe feeling. He couldn't even feel his own heart beat when he was in his body. He recalled Cassidy saying she was going to watch, but he had wished she would say goodbye. He was getting nervous, and he wasn't sure what the parents were going to be like at all. They could be evil, they could be kind, they could be different than either he or Cas remembers, although he didn't remember anything, and they could be some mix of eve4rything. Griffon continued walking, obediently keeping an eye out around for any people or birds. He didn't actually end up seeing the bird until his foot sagged slightly into the body of a dead pigeon. A little bit of disgust and sadness moved him, and he resisted the urge to pick the body up and move it away. This was the sign Cassidy had said and he needed to follow the sign. She said to stay here.

Griffon stayed, it felt like an hour as he stood there, whereas Cassidy could have told him that it was actually only ten minutes. But out of the darkness two figures appeared as if they'd been there the whole time, and Griffon's mind began to hammer as strong as Cassidy's heart was against her chest right now. Dark brown eyes widened and nimble, sweaty fingers began to grip the jacket's hems. A tall, dark spanish man appeared with a more pale, dark haired female next to him. Griffon was taken aback as he realized the simulation he'd had was right, the woman he'd seen in that sim was his mother. Excitement bubbled up within at the idea that some of his memories were returning and somehow he was actually meeting his parents. A nervous smile planted itself on Cassidy's face, and Griffon swallowed hard through the nerves. He could feel sweat roll down his brow and he wiped it off with an almost surprised look, having forgotten normal bodies sweat so much. "Hi..." He said, listening as Cassidy's voice rang out clearly in the night, and his ears heard it perfectly. He hoped Cas could see him from where she was. The man and woman looked at him. "Cassandra?" They said, surprise just as evident in their voices.

 

[Wolfiee]

Initiate

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Griffon & Cas Nerdy. Shay Sanctuaryforall1

Aya.

Aya was simply enjoying herself; it was almost like Christmas Day when spending time with Griffon. His memory often left him not remembering a single thing which was unfortunate though it seemed to be improving lately. However it left some things grand in his mind like trying the coke and burger seeing his reaction brought such a warmth in her she had to cover her face for a moment. She could feel herself blushing lightly mainly due to the pure happiness she felt spending time with Griffon. A cinnamon like taste that was an interesting way to put it yes he was right now that she thought about the way coke tasted. “Though yes the correct word for the well way a coke tastes or how it bubbles in your mouth would be fizzy! It’s certainly an interesting drink, don't you think.”she said, since many drinks don't have a fizzy effect. Aya then went back to her own meal having opted for a grilled chicken salad with french fries on the side. She sat there enjoying her meal while watching Griffon a warm smile on her face then her smile widened. “I’m glad you enjoyed your meal. Of course we can do this more often. We can do it with just ourselves or next time even invite Cas and Fable.”she said knowing how much Griffon cared for his sisters. Then as if she had been manifesting Cas it seemed Griffons phone was ringing. He pulled it out looking at it before quickly showing it was Cas calling him his soft tone of asking if it was okay to answer had her nodding quickly.”Of course.”she said. However it didn’t take long for Cas to be put on speaker and the first words out of her mouth had them both blushing. She was glad her long black hair could cover her face at times as she hid behind it for a moment letting her face cool down from this being called a date. Aya soon looked curious though as Cas brought up a point about Griffon having made plans with her and she hoped he hadn’t forgotten. “It’s okay Griffon sometimes things slip the mind easily.”she said and heard Cas confirm as well. Even Aya and Cas forgot about plans, sometimes needing reminding it must be harder for Griffon who had actual memory issues. Soon Cas hung up with the promise of them making it to her soon. “No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed all the places! I enjoyed them as well and yes we should do it again sometime.”she said with a smile. She thought about it then nodded, needing to head back to the dorms anyways.”Of course!”she said about going with him.

The two of them finished their meals rather quickly thankfully they had already been eating a bit before Cas called so they didn’t have to eat that much faster. It was nice just walking alongside him with their conversation of different art supplies, how the weather would soon be turning different and a few other random things that simply filled the time as they walked. Their pace fast but not enough to bother either of them so they soon found themselves back at the dorms when they couldn’t see Cas outside they headed in seeing her. “You two be careful okay it’s getting dark out also Shush.”she said to Cas as Griffon went to get dressed and she mentioned about waiting for an announcement . When Cas teased her about them always being careful she gave her friend a look then they both ended up laughing. Soon Griffon returned wearing a style of clothes he didn’t often wear but he still looked good. “Have fun!”she said to him as he followed Cas out of the dorm. Once he was gone she headed over to her bed placing her belongings into the space meant for her. She remembered suddenly where she had left a pack of her favorite colored charcoal. In the training room grabbing just her phone she headed back to the facility figuring she could grab them then head back to the dorms. Though thoughts of Shay suddenly filled her mind wondering if the other raven haired woman was doing ok. She had been extremely pale this morning not to mention how she had passed out previously the day before. The thoughts filled her mind until she pulled her phone out deciding to call her. It wouldn't hurt to check on her. However she stopped in her tracks hearing a phone ring and lowered her own phone from her ear while listening. The sound seemed to be coming from the bathroom so she headed that way before carefully opening the door.”Shay?”she called inside wondering if she was really in there.

coded by natasha.

 

[Aviator]

Ghost // Male // Age 18 // Officially Unemployed // Erudite to Dauntless​

As Ghost tracked Cassidy out of the climbing gym and through the compound, he warred with his conscience. Cassidy strode past the Pit and its mouth-watering aromas of fried-to-a-crisp chicken and fresh-caught shrimp piled high with grits. Then past the Chasm, the bottom of which was obscured by rainbow-speckled clouds of mist, the water’s thrum reverberating up cavernous walls of stone. Ghost recognized the route they were taking; Cassidy was heading back to the initiate barracks. He knew he had no business poking his head in there. He had followed her under the assumption that Cassidy was sneaking away to get high, but now it was clear that her social battery had been drained and she just wanted to be alone. Unless she had plans to smoke with whoever else was inhabiting the barracks at the time, which wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. But then her drug habits were arguably less worrisome if it was a social thing.
Feeling guilty for suspecting her of substance abuse and feeling dirty for invading her privacy, Ghost was just about to turn around and head back to the gym when Cassidy pressed her phone to her ear. He heard the bubbly exclamation of her greeting someone close to her. Ghost frowned. Damn, had Cassidy ditched Bloom and him to go on a date? As she spoke, her voice audible to Ghost but not her individual words, Cassidy’s posture shifted. She stood up a little straighter, walked a little faster. It was clear that she was walking with purpose to some destination. Ghost drew to a stop, conflicted. If he continued following her, it really was spying for selfish ends. Cassidy swung around a corner and out of sight. Urgency sizzled through Ghost. Well hell, I’m already in balls deep now, he sighed in convenient resignation. His mind was made. He wanted to see who Cassidy’s date was, assuming that she was heading directly to a rendezvous with whomever she was speaking to. Ghost hadn’t paid Cassidy much attention throughout initiation before today, so there was no reason that she should prioritize spending time with him, but he still wanted to know whom he’d been passed up for.
If I were her and I knew you were following me, I wouldn’t wanna spend time with your skank ass either, Ghost thought, his critical internal monologue. He took the next corner quickly, apprehensive that Cassidy might have gotten away from him in his moments of indecision. And slammed on the brakes when he saw that she was standing just several arm’s lengths ahead, fumbling with a water bottle. Having neared dangerously close, Ghost made to retreat around the corner—just as Cassidy pulled out a plastic baggie filled with glittering silver powder. Pinching the edges together to create a narrow chute, she dumped the baggie’s entire contents into the water bottle, so that a gurgle of dusty water spilled out of the top.
Ghost’s heart felt like a wasp under a shot glass. He ducked back around the corner, his breath coming in erratic gasps as he pressed his back against the wall. Holy shit, Cassidy wasn’t just getting high on weed. She was tripping out on lull or a similar high-caliber drug. I knew it, Ghost thought shakily, dearly wishing for Cassidy’s sake that it wasn’t true. She’s a junkie too. The addition of that little “too” nudged a dangerous thought into Ghost’s mind. He hadn’t taken a hit of lull since this morning, just after he’d woken, and it hadn’t been as big a hit as he was used to, because his stash was getting low. He’d have to make a point to acquire a new supply tonight. As he waited for Cassidy’s footsteps to resume down the hall, he sent a quick text to Bee, his new plug after Amadine had gotten nabbed last month. Hey sweet B, can ya boi get some takeout tonight? Same spot as usual. Prayer hands emoji. Excellent.
No voices greeted Cassidy upon her arrival to the barracks. Ghost frowned. From the way she’d been hurrying here, she looked as if she were running late. It was possible that her date wasn’t until later in the day. But it was also possible that Cassidy had arrived before him or her. This thought occurred to Ghost just as two cheery voices, one male and one female, rang off the walls, crescendoing as their owners approached. He flung himself behind a tarnished bronze statue of the venerable first leader of Dauntless whose name Ghost couldn’t remember, a barrel-chested man with a face that had eroded into a lopsided lump. Hoping that the two newcomers would enter the barracks rather than walk past them and spot him, he held his breath, sneaking a glance around the statue only when he heard the whoosh! of the automatic barracks door slide open. Aya and Griffon.
Ghost remembered Cassidy letting Griffon’s name slip during her mindless babbling after her fear simulation, and then the guilty look that her face had immediately frozen into. He inwardly swore. He felt like a fool for not having guessed that Griffon was Cassidy’s mystery date. Aya too, Ghost thought, the jealousy that he might have felt toward just one suitor giving way to amusement. If Cassidy was a lull junkie, was she going to push lull on her friends, too? And if so, should Ghost intervene? He realized that reporting them would cause them even more trouble than they were about to get themselves in, so that wasn’t an option. What could he say to convince them that taking lull—unlike milder, less addictive hallucinogens—was legitimately dangerous? Especially when, unbeknownst to the initiates, Ghost knew from experience. Experiences that he engaged in every day. Just yesterday, he would have been obligated by the rules of his job to report Cassidy for witnessing what he had. Whether he actually would have or not was up in the air, but Ghost had no such obligation to ensure Cassidy’s safety now. Yet he wanted to, and he didn’t want to do it by involving anyone who might jeopardize her future in Dauntless.
He waited behind the time-crumbled statue of the Dauntless leader until Aya exited the barracks, strolling back the way she’d come. He waited until it was just Cassidy and Griffon alone in the barracks but not talking to each other, leaving Ghost’s mind to ponder what they were doing. He waited until his legs were cramped from crouching for so long, until his fingers twitched restlessly for a knife to twirl, a deck of cards to shuffle. For a joint to smoke.
Finally, just as Ghost was concluding that Cassidy had fallen into a drug-induced sleep—she’d taken a shit-ton and a half of lull if she had really drunk that whole bottle—she and Griffon emerged from the barracks. Cassidy had changed into sleek, featureless black attire that swathed her body in shadows, the darkness only broken by the blazing red of her eyes. Griffon wore matching clothes. Together, they resembled a pair of cat burglars, like they were trying so hard not to be noticed that they were doing a glaringly conspicuous job of it. Dread sank into Ghost’s stomach like a rock. Oh no, Cassidy. What are you about to get your stoned-shitless self into now? Please don’t tell me we’re robbing a bank, dressed as you are like Thief Number Three in a low-budget heist movie. Not trusting Griffon to supervise the girl he was probably hoping to get some from, Ghost put his head in his hands and breathed. Once, twice. Was he really doing this? What was he about to get himself into?
He waited until Cassidy and Griffon rounded the corner, their shoulders close enough to brush. Ghost had never seen Cassidy comfortable enough with anyone else to initiate physical contact before. Stepping on the throat of his irksome conscience telling him that he couldn’t unsee whatever he was about to see, Ghost stood and pursued the pair of initiates.

 

[Nerdy.]

Griffon Cassidy || 18 17 || Initiate || Abnegation Transfer

Cassidy fiddled with Griffon's hearing aids while she waited, she could see Griffon in her body was waiting patiently, or seemingly patient, by the dead pigeon. The way he held her body always disturbed her, it wasn't how she liked to view herself, but she was able to handle it because she knew that it showed the difference between her and others. Nobody could hold her body like she could. She for a moment wondered whether she should have told Griffon to be careful with her body due to the drugs she took beforehand, but she doubted he would notice. The things he was going to be feeling would be such a strong mix of emotions and stress and fear that he would likely think that was all there was in there. Plus, their bodies were so insanely different that he might not have noticed even if he were calm. Cassidy had very much enjoyed using her parkour knowledge with Griffon's body. Although hers was much more acrobatic and good for stealth and nimble activities than Griffon's, she knew for a fact, even more than Griffon did, that his body was built to endure. Not only was the lack of pain nerve endings useful for climbing and scrambling over buildings, but he was also just very good at it, he had once been trained for the same things she had been trained for, the difference was his mind had forgotten, but not his body. His brain still held the necessary memories of using his body parts in such ways, but he simply lacked access to visualize the memories in any form. Thus he never really used these skills, which was a shame, Cassidy thought, as she finally finished working the hearing aids perfectly and replaced them in the ears. Suddenly the dull, almost silent world around her was brought back, and she heard everything which such strong clarity and strength that she almost ripped the hearing aids back out, but she quickly gritted her teeth to get over it. She wanted perfect hearing, because she needed to know everything that was going on around her. She needed to know if someone was sneaking up on her, she needed to keep an eye and ear on Griffon, and if she had been followed by any unsavoury parties, or her parents had been as awful as ever and had prepared some kind of stupid ambush then she needed all of her senses at full alert. And in the chance that she and Griffon needed to swap again, she needed him to have this same ability. Thankfully the hearing aids were working wonderfully, and she pulled out Griffon's phone that was in his pocket, she was grateful to see that it was in a call with herself. When she had transferred into Griffon she had called his phone and answered when she was in his body. Then she had turned both phones into recording mode, so that they both recorded whatever they were going to hear in this conversation, interaction. She wasn't about to let Griffon talk to them without her being able to hear him, she needed to make sure they weren't lying to him, weren't tricking him or manipulating him, and she needed evidence, for if anything should happen. She was just as unsure as Griffon was, about what might happen tonight, but she knew her parents more than he did, she remembered them when he did not, and so she was taking no chances. From her hearing aids she heard the sound of shoes on concrete, and using her eyes to check where Griffon stood she saw him using her foot to draw circles on the ground, his hands clasped together and rubbing the skin. She sighed softly, glad that she had muted her phone so that Griffon wouldn't hear anything and her parents wouldn't be able to either; It was clear Griffon was nervous, and she understood, but she hoped he would be able to hold it together well. She had done as much as she could to put things into place to protect her, and although it was straining to be in someone else's body, she had taken enough lull to give her a boost so that she wasn't beginning to be in a terrible amount of exhaustion or pain. She knew that swapping back later would be awful, but she hoped the lull would still be enough in her system to help her get through it. She was grateful for it now, as she watched with anxiety bursting in her heart.

That's when the two of them sauntered out, as Cassidy lay Griffon's body gently down on the rooftop, blending in with the dark of the concrete and being as close to the floor as possible, she narrowed her eyes in disgust at the two of them. Brennon and Lorelei Garner. Rage boiled within Cassidy, and she clenched her jaw and fists as she watched with dark eyes. She could hear their footsteps in her ear, as she had connected the hearing aids to the bluetooth of the phone so she could listen in easily, a trick she'd learned a long time ago that was super useful, not only did it mean she could listen in even if she had to take her eyes off of Griffon or had to go further away, but it meant that she would remember everything a bit better, especially since she was recording it and could listen to it later. The fact was that she had to take as many precautions as she could while in Griffon's body, she couldn't injure it because she knew that the body wouldn't feel it and thus could become very injured or sick due to an injury. She also had to be careful with not exerting too much because Griffon's body can't sweat, and then of course the hardest part, the memory troubles. It had been interesting when she had first started swapping with him after reconnecting at school, she had thought it wouldn't transfer to her because they were different people, different minds, different souls... But his brain was too badly damaged from the injuries that it wasn't just to do with the mind, but with the body. Another reason she hated her parents, for the way they had ruined Griffon's life. How he managed to stay so content and happy was beyond her, she would die if she couldn't remember everything. She wouldn't be able to operate. But Griffon had so much trust, whereas Cassidy did not. She trusted Griffon and only Griffon, at least... in all things. She trusted other people with other things. The silence in her ears began to be awkward, and so she was almost glad when she heard her voice say "hi" as Griffon nervously greeted his parents. Then, a name she hadn't heard in a long time came through, and she shivered as she heard her father speak her old name. Cassandra. Memories flooded into her as she lay there watching, memories of her father calling her name as he needed her, memories of him training her and then beating her when she wasn't living up to his expectations. Memories of him forcing her to work for him, to go out as a child and do those horrible things, to hurt other people, to steal, to vandalize, to manipulate. She remembered hating hearing her name from his lips, hearing how he honeyed her up in front of others only to beat her when she made the tiniest mistake or spoke out or back at him. She still carried the physical scars, but it was the emotional ones that hurt more. He was as good as dead to her, and seeing his face and hearing his voice only solidified that in her mind. Her mother on the other hand was slightly different, although Cassidy held little love for her mother, she had always bonded much better with her than with her father. Whereas Brennon had only seen failure in Cassidy until she had exceeded his expectations, Lorelei had seen almost a copy of herself in Cassidy, and had devoted much time into getting her to study. Whenever she wasn't physically training with Brennon, or doing a job, Lorelei would read to Cassidy, and then when Cassidy was able she would give her books to read, and would force her to give such detailed reviews of the book so she knew she was reading them. Cassidy had read so many books in her lifetime it was a wonder she could remember that much information, but she was grateful for that. At some points it had made her almost enjoy that time, but then she remembered everything else about Lorelei, the cold nature that she showed affection, the way she belittled Griffon, the way she didn't care at all about the wellbeing of Luke when he was in the womb, and when he was out. The fact that she had let him die. Lorelei may have had less evil interactions with Cassidy, but that didn't blind Cassidy to her mother's evil qualities, rather it showed the manipulative and destructive nature of her.

Cas heard as Griffon spoke, and although she wished she could be the one speaking because she would speak much better than he would, she knew it ultimately didn't matter. They hadn't seen her for 6 or 7 years, they didn't know how she spoke or to what level, for all they had known she had been dead, and Griffon too. They were basically strangers now. Why did you want to meet them Griff? This is so bloody dangerous. She thought as she clenched her teeth again, every time her parents looked around she wanted to flinch away, but she knew that would look more suspicious, instead she lay as still as a rock, deciding that it was better to commit to her position than to try to move every time they looked around. Thankfully she was well hidden, it was dark, and she was far enough away that you would have to specifically stare in this position to find her. She listened as her parents asked questions. "What happened? Where have you been? Where's Griffon? Why did you call us here? What do you want?" Every question made Cassidy more nervous as she listened to Griffon reply, just desperately praying that he wouldn't give anything away. But thankfully, because he was in her body, he was having no problem remembering things, and although his answers were not the most steady and prepared, he was saying what she had told him to say, and was avoiding talking about things she'd told him to. She could also see that he had made sure his body wasn't too close to theirs, having stepped back a little bit when they had come closer to look at him, or who they thought was Cassandra. The fake concern in their voices was so easy to hear that Cassidy rolled her eyes, or Griffon's rather, and hoped Griffon could hear it to. She hoped he wouldn't think they were genuine, because she knew they weren't. All they wanted was Cassandra back so they would have another minion in their scheme. She had only known so much of it as a child, but she had listened, she had read, she had figured things out. She knew they were scheming, she knew it had to do with the faction's leaders, and she knew they wanted factionless to be powerful. She may have agreed with them in certain points of their philosophies, but she took offense at the way they tried to do it. Cassidy had no problem with power, she liked power, she also had no problem with offending people, she had a history of using people, and didn't care all that much truly about others. But she wasn't evil, she didn't kill people, she didn't torture them, she didn't seek to destroy others. Use them for her gain and desires? Yes. But she tended to pick people who either deserved to be used, or people who enjoyed it as much as she did, like Randi. Or Ghost. Cassidy's mind sidetracked, almost zoning out to the voices in her ears. Ghost was someone who she assumed would enjoy that type of life, that type of friendship or relationship, and he had certainly sounded as such during their interaction today, but she wondered if that was true to the core. He seemed fun, a lot of fun. She wondered if she missed a chance in flirtation with him today, having been so distracted with what was going to happen. As she thought about that she quickly realized that she had zoned out and had missed a portion of what was being said down below. Shit. She thought to herself as she tried to refocus, being unable to remember anything that was said and now even struggling to remember anything that had been said before that too. As if her brain was suddenly using the lull again for benefits and also frustration she was suddenly aware of her surroundings a lot more than she had been. Her eyes marked another person on the far end of where she was looking. At first concern hit her, but then she remembered her deal with Cheglok. He had promised to get her parents here with minimal information given to them, he had promised that he would have some people watching as well, and that his bar would be a safe haven if she needed escape. Of course everything came with its own price, some of it she had paid, a dirty feeling washing over her as she tried not to think of that, and some of it was to be paid in the future, at their demand. It was a lot to ask for, and yet they enjoyed picking people up for favours, it gave them power, and Cassidy hated it, but she wanted to do this for Griffon's sake. So she tried to figure out if it was Draven or Cheglok, but from this distance she couldn't tell, she could only tell that it was a person who was tracking this same operation like she was, and was specifically over there to be hidden from the view of Brennon, Lorelei and what they would assume is Cassidy.

That wasn't the only person she saw as her eyes distractedly noticed so much around her. A sense of foreboding caused Cassidy to move from her position, still listening through the hearing aids but no longer watching Griffon, she quietly moved around the roof, making sure that nobody was up there with her, and then when she was certain of that she scanned the rooves around her, and then the alley ways. That's when she noticed the familiar figure, one she had just been thinking of, one whom she had been with not too long ago. Cursing her idiocy at letting herself be tracked she felt fear and frustration as she looked at the figure of Ghost. Making sure Griffon's body was still entirely hidden from outside eyes, she watched him with dark eyes. What the hell is he doing here? He followed me didn't he... She thought.

Interacting with: Ghost Aviator

 

[Wolfiee]

Divergent

location

Avalon mansion.

mood

Wary.

outfit

outfit over here.

mentions

Randi and Ajax Sanctuaryforall1

Rhysand(Rhys).

Rhysand listened to the plan that Randi had come up with about how they would look for clues in the Avalon mansion. He wondered if it would have been easier to text Briony and see if she could be of help with that situation. Though maybe Briony wouldn’t want everyone to see how upset she was missing her twin it was a very dauntless thing to not want to show weakness. It especially was true from the higher up families and the Avalons were one of the most powerful families around. So he followed Randi swiftly knowing they would need to be quick and not get caught by anyone. It was rather interesting seeing Randi know where a hidden key was to get within the Avalon’s home however he knew Randi was friends with the twins so maybe not that surprising. Rhysand followed her swiftly inside keeping his steps light so as to not make any sounds as it wouldn’t do well to be caught in such a powerful family's home. It seemed to show on his face as Randi was suddenly reassuring him that everything would be ok and where she would be. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly.”Alright I’ll trust you and I’ll take pics of anything that seems suspicious or as a clue.”he said before watching her head off. Once she was out of sight he moved along, starting to look around himself.

This place was massive and very beautiful. His aunt's place was not nearly as nice as this but then again she was on the higher ups charts as well. That’s how she had been able to get Fable’s name changed within a day. It really did well to have power in high places around here. He needed to focus so he began looking around for anything he thought might be of use to help find Blair or give a hint about where she could be. He continued searching around keeping his steps light so as to not alert anyone that might be within. The male felt the inkling of Rafe and Rain on the outer edges of his consciousness knowing they were somewhat aware of the situation. He guessed Rafe was being on the alert in case he needed to step in and he knew Rain felt bad about what happened earlier still. Rhysand ran a hand through his hair ignoring the feelings for now as he heard Randi’s voice and a man. It sounded younger than the twins' father so it must be one of their many brothers. Though as the tone grew heated his money was on it being Ajax as even the twins couldn’t stand him at times. He crept carefully so he could hear more of what was being said and just in case Randi needed him. Of course he knew Randi could handle herself especially against someone like Ajax though it never hurt to be careful. He made it closer, moving so Randi would be able to see a glimpse of him and signal to him if she needed help or for him to do anything. Hell it might be easier if he snuck up behind Ajax and just knocked the man out so of course he stayed hidden enough for now.

coded by natasha.

 

[Sanctuaryforall1]

Randi

Mood: Concerned/Angry

Location: Avalon Mansion

Interactions: Rhys, Ajax, mentions Blair

A flicker of movement towards the top of the stairs caught her eye as Randi glared down at Ajax. Clearly the disturbance had made itself known on the lower level of the house seeing as Rafe was now sneaking up the stairs as silent backup. The blonde was grateful for the gesture that he was willing to jump into the fight if needed but she wouldn’t want Rafe to get into trouble. Ajax was a piece of shit but he held a certain amount of sway that could make life difficult for others. Randi would prefer that malice be directed her way rather than Rafes when she had been the one to drag him all the way out here. Keeping an eye on the young man who was sprawled on the ground before her, the blonde felt little to no sympathy for him, a rare thing for Randi. A single hand clutching his nose as Ajax did his best to prop himself up using the other hand. His pale gaze burned with hatred as he spat at her feet, clearly determined to show just how much respect he lacked for the young woman. “You broke my nose you bitch!” Ajax growled and looked like he was about to lunge at her like some feral animal.

Randi did not flinch or drop his gaze for even a second as he seethed. Not when he spat at her, and certainly no when he spoke. “Let’s just say I did you a favor. Now you have a face to match your shitty attitude.” Randi replied with a smooth tone that sparked with the flames of rage boiling within her. “Now do us both a favor and listen closely this time. Have you seen or heard anything of Blair?” Her tone remained calm but the platinum blonde's jade gaze was made of fire as she kept her eyes locked onto Ajax. “And don’t lie, you know how much I hate lies.” She added as she loomed over him, her stance unwavering even as he finally began to get to his feet. If he did anything to her she would fight back and she knew with Rafe watching from the other direction that Ajax was outnumbered. Besides, even if it was reckless Randi couldn’t help but feel that she didn’t have much left to lose. She had lost the only family she had left, she had lost her home, she would not lose Blair too.

“I haven’t seen her, you psychopath.” Ajax snarled at her though his tone did nothing to intimidate her. He opened his mouth like he was about to add some horrible comment similar to his prior statements but clearly thought better of it as Randi fixed him with a firm glare, almost begging him to finish his thoughts out loud. She didn’t care what others thought of her, she had been trash in the eyes of so many due to her lifestyle and the rumors spread about her ever since she was small. But she would not permit Ajax to speak ill of Blair in front of her, not when Blair wasn’t there to defend herself.

“Fine.” Randi huffed after a long moment. “Come on Rafe, we will look around then we will leave. If Ajax has a problem with that he can take it up with someone who cares.” She stated firmly as she nodded for Rafe to join her. It would be better for the two of them to stick together at this point. Turning abruptly away from Ajax, Randi waved for Rafe to join her as she entered Blair’s bedroom to begin her search. The duo searched high and low in as much of the house as they could access but in the end had come up empty. Ajax of course had retreated into his room which Randi was grateful for but it didn’t make her feel that much better when they had nothing to show for their hours of detective work. “Shit Blair, where could you have gone?” Randi sighed as she placed a file back onto the cushion of a chair in the study before turning to look at Rafe. “Anything over there?”

Wolfiee

code by Stardust Galaxy

 

[Wolfiee]

Briony Avalon

Initiate

location here

mood here

outfit here

interactions

interactions come here

Briony had caught the bracelet easily looking over his name on the small plastic hospital band. She nodded some knowing full well that he wouldn’t want to talk about whatever it was in public. He definitely wouldn’t want to talk about being hurt in front of Phillip so she didn’t push him to. When he joked about interrupting their date she rolled her eyes as both herself and Phillip instantly said it wasn’t a date. She let Phillip introduce himself more and about how he was now part of the instructors crew. “Come on and join us and you can get yourself something new to wear.”she said, eying his outfit which seemed like it did need to be replaced soon. Once he agreed to join them she relaxed a little, something seemed off about Maverick and she didn’t really want to leave him alone right now. So she was glad when he decided to join them as they started heading into stores it was easy chatting with Phillip as they let Mav just listen in. Her gaze flicked to him a little worried but she could always talk with him later alone from everyone else to make sure he was really ok. They soon made it to one of the clothing stores her gaze looking around debating on what to try on. She heard Phillip and looked over only to snort with laughter at his choice.


“Well it will certainly make you stand out.”Briony said, letting her eyes take in the full effect of the paint splatter outfit. She shook her head thinking it suited him in some way. Though suddenly it was her turn to try on an outfit. She raised an eyebrow at the choice.”Well ok.”she said with a small laugh before going and trying on said outfit. When she came back out she flushed a bright pink when Phillip told her to strike a pose. She did however part of her felt embarrassed having Maverick watching her striking said pose in an outfit she usually wouldn’t wear. However it seemed like Philip had also picked an outfit out for Maverick to try on. So she watched for a moment before waiting for him to come back out with it on. When he did she couldn’t help but give a playful wolf whistle.”Looking good Mav! Maybe we should all buy our outfits.”she said amused. Briony stopped to look at her phone.”Oh shit it’s almost time for me to meet up with the others. “She said before typing up some quick texts. “Get your ass to the bar or else ~”She sent to Chris first. Next a quick message was sent to Aubrey. “See you soon! I’m heading to the bar now.”she sent before looking back at the others. “I would invite you two. However I’m pretty sure neither of you want to hang out with Chris and Aubrey.”Bri said of course Phillip loved his brother but hanging out at a bar with your younger brother wasn’t always fun. She also knew Maverick hated Chris so there was that as well.

coded by natasha.

 

[WanderLust.]

Maverick Maddox// Instructor// 18 Years Old// Dauntless Born
Interacting with: Briony Wolfiee and Phillip Nerdy.
​

The normalcy of it all felt strangely comforting. Being here with Briony and Phillip as if he hadn’t just been rotting in a hospital bed a few hours ago… It was nice. Maverick was content to mostly sit and listen to their conversation, not feeling any particular need to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. As Phillip and Briony looked around the store for unique outfits and statement pieces, Maverick trailed his fingers along a rack of dark colored working boots, very similar to the ones currently falling apart on his feet. The smell of new leather and fresh linen was everywhere, and Maverick found himself trying to remember the last time he had actually bought any clothing. Most of the items he owned now were hand me downs from Caspian or stolen from the lost and found. He did have one leather jacket at home that he was particularly fond of, but his collection of black and gray shirts took up a majority of his wardrobe.

After finally selecting a pair of boots in his size, he couldn’t help but overhear Phillip talking about the other instructors. Admittedly, he was a bit shocked to hear that Ghost had been fired. He would have to inquire into those circumstances the next time he saw his involuntary roommate, although he wasn’t entirely sure when that would be. Ghost and Maverick did a stellar job of avoiding each other as much as two roommates could. He followed the pair around carrying the boots he intended to buy in his left hand, the color draining from his face when Phillip suggested that he try on a blue suit that looked like it came straight from Erudite. Maverick was not the type of man one would normally see dressed up in anything fancy or colorful. He preferred his muted tones and comfortable work clothes. But alas, Phillip and Briony both insisted that he join in on their little fashion show. “Alright give it here” Maverick sighed, reaching for the suit and disappearing into one of the dressing rooms to fiddle with the ridiculous amount of buttons and zippers on the fabric.

When Maverick finally emerged from the dressing room he looked immaculately uncomfortable. Afraid to move or inhale too sharply lest his muscles tear through the fabric of the formal attire. However, as uncomfortable as he was… he had to admit, he looked… surprisingly good. “I know I know… I clean up nice.” he winked at both Briony and Phillip, giving them a smoldering look and running his fingers through his hair as if he were some kind of male model, before chuckling with laughter and unbuttoning the suit. “If you ask me I think I could’ve rocked the paint splatter outfit better than Phillip.” he grinned, finally starting to feel like his normal self again. The pain in his chest had started to dim, and he was sure once he got some decent rest and some food in his stomach he’d feel less tired and worn down. His ears perked up when Briony explained that she was going to meet up with a few of her friends, including Christian Parks… her twin sisters now ex-boyfriend and he couldn’t help but tense.

After changing back into his clothes and tossing some cash onto the counter to pay for his new boots, Maverick made his way back over to the pair, still in the process of tugging off his old boots. He debated keeping them for a moment, but wasn’t sure what he would do with a pair of worn out boots anyways, deciding to toss them in the trash. He bent down to tie up his new boots, “you sure Christian is the best company to keep, Bri?” he mumbled, low enough that Phillip wouldn’t hear but loud enough that his point would be made to her. It was no secret that Maverick didn't care for Christian Parks, especially after he had to step in to break up a fight with the initiate which resulted in him injuring Blair. Maverick had a sneaking suspicion that that hadn't been the first time Christian had injured Blair, but he had kept those assumptions to himself. Now though, he suspected Briony was going to get herself put in the same position, and he bristled like a protective older brother.

 

[Aviator]

Ghost // Male // Age 18 // Officially Unemployed // Erudite to Dauntless
​

Ghost followed Cassidy and Griffon out of the Dauntless compound. Beyond the perfectly manicured lawns and white picket fences of the Dauntless elite, to streets where stop signs were bent at forty-five degree angles, rusted chain links leered like a mouth with teeth bared, and litter-strewn mulch blanketed sidewalks. It was the kind of neighborhood that Ghost would feel naked venturing into without a hair-trigger pistol or long knife, both of which he fortunately had. It was the kind of neighborhood that he’d spent his early adolescence in after his parents had died and their felonious fortune had been confiscated before he could inherit it.
There were several possibilities why two initiates had come all the way out here, but none of them were legal. Ghost’s first suspicion—from experience—was a drug deal. His second was edgy but ultimately harmless hoodlum activities: vandalism, spray-painting, slashing tires for fun. If these were his only conjectures to Cassidy and Griffon’s intentions, he would have confronted them and ordered them back to the compound immediately. But there was a third possibility—far-fetched as it was—that stayed his hand. He didn’t even have quite the words to express what he thought Cassidy and Griffon might be up to, but that was half the point. He had never expected to encounter Anika Vex, ordinary initiate until she wasn’t, in an Erudite chemical plant a week and a half ago, that day when the memory serum had failed to work on Obadiah Parks and he and Fable had had to scramble to get a new one. And then he never would have expected her to attack him, as if Anika’s presence in the factory was a classified secret that she couldn’t let Ghost escape with.
He knew the possibility of Cassidy and Griffon’s shady excursion being connected to Anika’s even shadier excursion dangled by the thinnest of threads, but Ghost couldn’t expect to learn that which he wasn’t supposed to know through polite inquiry and small talk. Sometimes you have to take an advantage by force to get ahead in the world. He lurked a generous distance behind Cassidy and Griffon, which was necessary as they entered more and more abandoned territories. He ducked behind dumpsters and crumbling stone foundations, using the black mirror of his phone screen to catch flashes of the only two moving human beings in the urban no-man’s-land. Overhead, the light guttered and died as a behemoth of a cloud rolled in front of the sun, threatening thunderstorms like a grim premonition of doom.
If the pair of initiates exchanged words, he was too far away to hear it. So Ghost was at a loss for context when Griffon, without pausing or changing his pace, veered away from Cassidy as smoothly as if it were a choreographed sequence. Cassidy barely glanced in his direction as he did so, continuing along her original course. Ghost faltered to a stop. Was this an intentional trick so that he couldn’t follow them both? But that would require them knowing of his presence, which neither initiate was supposed to. And if they did… Would Ghost be walking into some kind of trap by going further?
An ember of stubbornness burned through him. I’m not afraid of two kids who’ve been in the warrior faction for a grand total of a month, he thought bitterly. Refusing to let himself be intimidated, Ghost locked eyes on the long-legged black smudge that was Cassidy. He had originally come out here to ensure her safety, after all. Cassidy Wickham, who bantered playfully during races and smoked up before fear simulations. Griffon he’d spoken maybe two words to and frankly didn’t give two shits about. Unless Griffon’s existence prevents Cassidy from noticing me, Ghost thought with a slightly psychotic smirk. Then I care a lot about ole Griffiti. With the best intentions, of course.
He tried to keep both Cassidy and Griffon within his field of vision for as long as possible, at least until Griffon waltzed behind a convenience store missing one of the letters in its name. Ghost was fixated on a tattered-looking pedestrian who had stumbled onto the street, a balding woman with saggy jowls muttering unintelligibly to herself, when a flash of motion made his gaze return to Cassidy. She had snagged her foot, and after catching herself and turning halfway around to glare at whatever she’d tripped on, she simply stopped. On a corner of cracked sidewalk where the adjacent lamppost was a hunk of twisted metal. Her foot tapping in little anxious flutters. She appeared to be waiting for something… or someone. Silhouetted against the roiling clouds, her hair whipping in the wind of the oncoming storm, Cassidy resembled some avenging spirit in a cautionary tale.
And then, as if it were something out of an Edgar Allan Poe story or a Batman comic, a vein of lightning forked through the sky instants before the world flashed white. Thunder cracked. And then, when the unearthly light receded, a man and woman were exiting the dilapidated convenience store, heedless of the stifling humidity that was soon to break. With her hair blown back from her shoulders, the female figure bore such a striking resemblance to Cassidy that Ghost did a double take. Or rather, Cassidy resembled her, because upon closer inspection, this woman was the initiate’s senior. As if hearing Ghost’s thoughts, the woman’s head snapped in his direction. He threw himself behind a thick-trunked tree, his heart taking off like a spooked horse. Ghost wasn’t afraid of Cassidy and Griffon, but he didn’t know who the hell this mysterious middle-aged couple was, and why they were rendezvousing with an initiate in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. He seriously hoped that the physical resemblance to Cassidy was legitimate, and the semi-darkness and distance weren’t just playing tricks on his eyes. Hopefully, the woman was a mother or older sister, and Cassidy didn’t need to check into the psych ward due to her stranger danger meter being horribly out of whack.
Ghost could hear voices, but over the whistling of the wind, he wasn’t close enough to hear words. And he hadn’t followed Cassidy and Griffon for several miles just to let it end here in a tangle of half-baked theories and questions. Keeping to the shadows, he tiptoed out from behind the tree and edged toward the narrow alley formed between two fast food establishments. The ground was a minefield of black trash bags with the contents pulling at their seams, broken glass bottles, mops and buckets, dented beer kegs, and stamped-out cigarettes. Ghost’s lip curled at the nauseating smell, but if he strained, he could hear what Cassidy and—
A flicker of motion emerged from behind a trash can. Ghost pivoted like a dagger on its point, one hand reaching for the Beretta at his belt. One shadow detached itself from the others and raced along the cluttered ground with inhuman agility. Ghost reeled backward, adrenaline pumping through him. His hip bumped into a heavy aluminum can, which he barely registered as the furry shape shot between his legs, mewling indignantly. It was a menace, a piece of darkness come to life, a killer with a knife and— It was a cat. An orange and white one bolting out of the alley, its scruff bristling.
Although the danger had been averted, the damage had been done. The trashcan teetered dangerously in the wake of Ghost’s collision with it. He felt like he was watching the world come crashing down in slow motion, seeing the trajectory of the trash can falling before it happened. But he was helpless to stop it as a wooden beam caught him behind the ankles and sent him fighting for balance. The half-full trash can toppled to the ground with an explosion of sound, bouncing upward slightly and thudding twice more before rolling to a stop at Ghost’s boot. Its aromatic contents spilled across the alleyway, creating an obstacle course. The voices outside the convenience store cut off abruptly. In the sudden silence, Ghost heard his heartbeat in his throat and tasted fear like metal in his mouth.

 

[Nerdy.]

Charlotte "Charlie" Stark || 20 || Medic || Dauntlessborn

Charlie listened to Vex as she bound her wrist up tightly but not too tightly as to cut blood flow, truly a masterful bind. She listened with empathy and compassion as she heard about the boisterous girl, and she imagined it clearly as if she were seeing it herself. Little Vex, running around chaotically as if to emulate the guards she saw, having to be patched up lovingly by her uncle. It was a beautiful fantasy that Charlie had wished for, not for herself but for Aubrey, it was the fantasy she had tried to create for Aubrey, and the lie she had managed to maintain for most of Aubrey's life. But it had all eventually come crashing down on her, and the little girl who had once been her affectionate and loving sister was now a horror driven girl with an alcohol problem and who avoided her like the plague. Worry gnawed at Charlie as always, but at the same time came pain, hurt and frustration; Anger. Although she had lied to Aubrey all her life it had been for her good, and although she could see why Aubrey had started out trying to work for Jeremy for Charlie's good, there were too many things that had been said to Aubrey to tell her that she was wrong. Yet Aubrey had persisted, and Charlie wondered if it had been primarily to do with Jeremy offering her such a strong career option, and now she wondered whether Aubrey would still take it. Technically she'd done her job as requested by the Dauntless leader, and had done it well. She shook her head as she tried to zero in on the conversation she was having with Vex. "I'm glad you had such supportive family members, I'm sorry about your uncle though, I hope you feel a part of him as you're here in Dauntless." She said with sadness lacing her voice. She watched as Vex smiled at her, a soft smile that shone through her eyes. Charlie felt almost uncomfortable by that smile, by those eyes, but there was no good reason for that, and she chided herself inwardly for even thinking those thoughts, Vex had just shared with her, and she was going to respect that. Everything about Vex had only shown her to be a lovely, sweet, charming girl. As the two finished their interaction, Vex mentioned needing to leave, and Charlie nodded. "Well be safe, thank you again for helping me." She said. She waited till Vex had left before testing out her wrist. Even with the bindings around it she winced painfully each time she used it even in the smallest movement; it was broken. That wasn't good. Let's hope you don't need to do any life saving procedures today. She thought to herself as she finished cleaning her infirmary and eventually sat on her office chair for a moment, before turning to her desk to write. There were things she hadn't yet written down, things about training, people's progress, injuries and supplies used, everything. It was always good to keep a written accord of everything so that you could find it if you needed. Once she was finished with that though she pulled out a couple of books for her own personal reading. A French novel, Les Miserables, although reading it in French, having already read it in English. It made reading slower, but helped her in learning a new language. Another book she had was on heart conditions, one that she had been reading with her heart set on helping Caspian, it had since gone unread after his death. Lastly there was a book on drug addictions, the causes, symptoms and treatments for them. There were too many people who had drug addictions and conditions because of that.

Charlie read for a little while, but soon she became twitchy and nervous. Every sound in her infirmary sounded like a person walking, every tiny sound caused her to jump and spin around to check if someone was in the room. Her heart rate was increased, her chest almost painful because of that, and her head felt dizzy from the stress and pressure. Eventually she couldn't handle it, not even with earphones in, and she pulled out her phone, looking at the contacts in there she hovered her finger between Bloom and Ghost. Although she wanted to see Ghost, as she hadn't really seen him properly since this morning, she was also still feeling a bit nervous about how their experiences had been that night. Plus, she wasn't sure if she should mention Jeremy yet. Her finger finally tapped on Bloom's name and picture, and she opened her messenger to send a quick text. "Hey Bloom, I'm really bored and am feeling a bit lonely. Are you free? Could I come join you with whatever you're doing?" She sent. As she waited for a reply, she flicked through her old messages and pictures. They were mostly pictures of Darcy, and occasionally a picture of Ghost would be in there, same with others like Bloom and Phillip. She looked at once picture of Ghost with a smile, a warm excitement bubbled in her chest as she looked at him. How is he actually my boyfriend? She thought with a smile and a blush, it was bizarre to think that it was true, and she felt very special and happy, more than she could express at times. She had no idea how she would have dealt with the death of Caspian if Ghost hadn't been with her in that time, of course she relied on Bloom too, she knew she couldn't have coped without Bloom, or Sasha. But Ghost had helped in such a unique way, a way that only a male could have done. Caspian had been one of her only male friends, and had been the only male whom she'd had somewhat consensual romantic relations with. Thus when he died, she felt like so many pieces of her had died with him, so many firsts, so many memories, and... things even she didn't want to think about and blocked from her memory, but still mattered. With Ghost, she felt like those parts hadn't died but had simply moved on, lived on in different ways. Ghost made her feel much more like a woman than Caspian ever had, yet she wished nothing more than for Caspian to come back. She knew that was impossible, one could not raise the dead, but she wished it anyway. Sighing softly she was just about to put her phone away when she got a reply, Bloom of course said she could join her, and told her where she was. The rock climbing place? Charlie had tried a few times but it wasn't quite her favourite activity. "I'll see you soon." She said with a smiley face. She quickly went to turn the lights off in the infirmary before she remembered to grab her bag. Not only was it filled with first aid equipment that she always liked to keep on hand, but it also had Ghost's gun. The one he'd given to her to keep as her protection. Shame covered her as she recalled Jeremy today, and how she could have maybe done something if she'd... No.. even with the gun today she couldn't have done anything, he was too smart, had kept her in the public eye. But she would keep the gun. If it came to it, she would shoot him.

Charlie took a deep breath and finally exited the infirmary. Immediately she was ill at ease. Even though this area was not somewhere she would expect Jeremy to be, she knew it was somewhere that he would expect her to be. Tense in all ways inside and out, she began to briskly walk in the direction of the rock climbing place. Tight fists clenched her bag, nails dug into skin, jaw clenched so hard it was cramping, eyes wide and dry, head pounding, heart pounding, skin on fire, mouth dry, breathing rapidly through her nose. It was a miracle she wasn't inducing a panic attack or a flash back. The world around her felt like an ice prison, cold and echoing, her footsteps sounded like gun shots, loud. Everything within her prayed that Jeremy would not be around here, that he would not be near, everything in her prayed that she would get to the place quickly, that she would not have to be alone any longer today. Charlie had to walk alone for at least ten minutes, and most of that time there was not another single soul around. This was the training district, so usually initiates would be around, but charlie had not seen many while she walked, and she was glad but also even more frightened. As she got into the middle of the Dauntless compound she began to breathe slightly easier, seeing that there were more people about, going shopping, tattooing, eating, it was busier now than it had been before. She looked around for a moment, taking a slight break to catch her breath, being out of breath from the panic and stress that was flowing through her petite body. Dark eyes scanned the room, always on the lookout for the mountain that was her father, but thankfully he was nowhere in sight, which meant he wasn't here. He couldn't exactly hide. She was only slightly relieved, knowing that he could truly be anywhere, but only having a slight amount of comfort at not seeing him. As she stood there it was like a glowing light when she noticed familiar faces exiting a nearby mall. As if her feet started walking without her meaning to she stumbled and rushed over to them. At first she thought it was Briony with some friends, but as she got closer she could no longer see Briony, but she did see Phillip, Maverick and Honey. Surprise jolted her as she stopped in front of them, watching as they both turned to look at her, Honey bounding up for scratchees on her head. "Hi... I... saw you from afar and wanted to say hi. Are you okay Mav?" Charlie asked, having not been able to see him much since the funeral. He shrugged, and answered vaguely. She nodded, hands still on Honey's head, comfort coming from that position. "I was... just on my way to go see Bloom, if you two wanted to join me?" She asked, hope shining in her eyes. If she walked with them she would be safe. She would be safe. Safe.

Interacting with: Bloom Sanctuaryforall1 Maverick WanderLust. Phillip

 

[Nerdy.]

Phillip Parks || 19 || Soldier/Trainer || Dauntlessborn

Phillip felt more and more uncomfortable hanging out with Maverick and Briony. He loved hanging out with Briony, and usually he felt so comfortable it was awkward for everyone else. But Maverick threw his vibe off, he was so... morose that Phillip often felt like his energy got more depleted as he stood near the hunk of a man. It wasn't that he didn't like Maverick at all, honestly he thought the man was very good looking, seemed like he had potential for fun, and yet Phillip himself had not seen it. Maybe it was Caspian's death that had spiraled Maverick into this place, or maybe he was just in a dark place regardless... or maybe he really was this kind of person, but Phillip felt every inch of himself want to go and do something else with someone else, or at least with Briony and not Maverick. Not wanting to be rude or to just ditch he stayed with, that was until Briony mentioned she was going out. A sigh left his lips as she mentioned she was going to hang out with Chris and Aubrey, although Phillip loved those two he had no desire to watch them all get drunk together. "Yeah you're right, I don't wanna hang out with a bunch of kids anyway. Be safe though and don't do anything I wouldn't do." He said, wiggling his eyebrows at Briony and trying to rub her head in a teasing way. He saw that Maverick wasn't joking quite as much, also saying he wouldn't join, but pulling Briony aside to say something to her. Phillip ignored them for the most part, giving Honey some treats from his pocket and using the time that Maverick was talking to Briony to go and buy the paint splattered outfit. It would be good fun for parties and worst came to worst it would be fun pajamas. As he sauntered back to where he had left Briony and Maverick, he found only the tall hunk standing there, with the beautiful blonde nowhere in sight. Phillip needn't have asked where Briony had gone, as Maverick answered before he could ask, saying she'd already gone off for her fun. Phillip nodded his head, his dark curls bouncing upon his neck and past his ears. "Right, well... I guess we can part ways too now." He said, although they both walked to the exit of the store together, since they were nearby the exit.

No sooner had they gotten rid of Briony, to both of their dismay, when another woman walked into their company. A familiarly petite and dark skinned female pattered up to the two men, her dark hair rolling over her shoulders and her wide eyes open and hopeful. Charlie stood there, a smile on her face and yet fear in her eyes. Phillip watched as she petted Honey as if she were scared she was going to disappear, and he immediately felt bristles on his neck, looking around to see if anyone had been chasing or following the gentle medic. But maybe he was just imagining it, as he saw Charlie stand up and speak to the two of them. "Well I do love going to see Bloom, and your company is not to be denied either." Phillip said with a flourishing bow, getting a slight chuckle from Charlie's mouth. They both turned to see what Maverick would do. Whether he truly wanted to, or had nothing better to do, Maverick agreed to tag along, and the three of them made their way towards the rock climbing area in Dauntless. Phillip had gone rock climbing a few times with Bloom, but he had not become nearly as experienced as she. He was a good physique for it, but he lacked the incredible resolve that Bloom and so many others had. He enjoyed the easier and more colourful walls, rather than the bare ones that only were beatable by insane skill. As they walked Phillip stood close to Charlie. "So... is Maverick technically still a trainer? I don't know what happens when trainers go off and just turn back up again." He said. Charlie nodded along, obviously quite surprised to having seen Maverick. She answered back to Phillip that it would be good to have him, no matter what the reality would be. "You're right. With Ghost off it is not ideal to just have you, me and Bloom, plus Mav seems like he'd probably be a good trainer." He said, whistling slightly at the muscular build that Maverick had. He bent down lower to Charlie's ear. "You got a bit nervous when you saw him, are you going out with him?" He asked. Charlie was so shocked she almost tripped him over in her stopping, and quickly shot him an embarrassed look, her face red, but also clearly telling him no. He wasn't sure what to believe, obviously something about Mav made her uncomfortable as well, or maybe he was reading into everything way too much. Just like how he figured Briony didn't want him to go to her bar time with Chris and Aubrey, rather than him not wanting to go. He probably would have had just the same amount of fun, however... He wondered. Briony and Chris, would that ever be a thing? He couldn't complain if so, but also... Chris had been with Blair for most of initiation now, and had only just broken up, so to get with him now would be ballsy.

Charlie didn't talk too much, Phillip got the idea that she was more just happy to have male company around her. As a smaller woman she was prone to having people come at her more than he or Maverick would have. He highly doubted that Charlie would be able to protect herself should an attack happen. But with two men with her she was safe and could walk without fear or panic. It wasn't a particularly long walk, but it was mostly boring, due to the quiet conversations and the strange tension in the air. Phillip was over the moon when they finally reached the place, and they all entered. Phillip looked around him, enjoying the bright colours that he could see in the beginners area, but that wasn't where Bloom would be. He sighed as they went further away from the kids colourful section and closer to the harder more professional areas. That was when they bumped into two more faces. Bloom was there, doing a wall already, and there also was Lainey. Phillip at first didn't even notice Lainey, he had his eyes glued up at Bloom, quite happily enjoying the view. He only realised Lainey was there when Charlie said hi. "Lainey, I don't think we've properly met. I'm Phillip." He said with a warm smile and a charming wink. He shook her hand, giving it a little squeeze for a moment. She was a nice looking girl as well, although, Phillip had to remind himself that he had made a personal deal with himself to uphold the "No sleeping with initiates " rule. He had just gotten this job, and it was far better than his normal job, so he didn't want to lose it in his first week. As Charlie spoke with Lainey, or maybe Maverick was too, Phillip watched Bloom with awe, enjoying how her body moved so well, how everything worked together, and how she just made those massive and incredibly difficult walls look like child's play. As she finally made her way down and caught eyes with Phillip she smiled and trotted over. "You're so good at those walls" He said with a grin. "Bit out of left field but do you have plans tonight?" He asked, walking with her back towards the others, though slowing down so she could answer.

Interacting with: Maverick, Lainey WanderLust. Bloom Sanctuaryforall1 Briony Wolfiee

 

[Sanctuaryforall1]

Bloom

Mood: Encouraging

Location: Rock Climbing Gym

Interactions: Lainey, Charlie

The climb had been exhilarating and the exact thing Bloom needed at the moment. Even when she made it to the top of the wall and looked down to see Ghost and Cas departing she was on too much of climbing high to take offense. She had already figured that the start of her climb would be the end of their little get-together for the day so as Ghost slipped out the door behind Cas, Bloom simply began to make her way down from the top of the wall. Her descent was a mixture of scaling back down and letting the ropes lower her depending on what she felt in the moment. Sooner than she would have liked her feet hit the floor and she was back on level ground in front of the beastly wall she had just conquered. Unclipping her harness the long-legged brunette was just stepping out of the rig when a familiar voice sounded behind her. “Lainey! Hi!” She greeted with genuine warmth threading her tone. “I wasn’t expecting to find you here. Do you climb?” Bloom inquired, growing more and more excited at the idea that another initiate would be into rock climbing. The next few minutes consisted of pleasant conversation in which Bloom learned Lainey hadn’t done much climbing and Bloom shared some tips and tricks with her, much like she had with Ghost. “Would you want to give it a try? I can set you up on one of the easier walls.” The brunette and scarlet-haired instructor offered, her gaze warm and inviting. When Lainey made a comment about not wanting to be dropped Bloom smiled playfully and gave her a jokingly offended look, “I promise I will never drop you.”

It didn’t take too long to find a nice beginner wall for Lainey to start on. It wasn’t a kid's wall by far but was an easy climb for most to get a feel for the sport with. Like any wall, there were more difficult paths one could take or accidentally stumble upon. The latter seemed to be the case for Lainey as she started off her climb strong but soon found herself facing gaps she hadn’t seen initially. From the ground floor where Bloom stood manning the ropes, it was easier to see the next move than from the younger girls' vantage point. Wanting to give Lainey a chance to figure it out for herself Bloom remained quiet until it seemed her help was truly needed. “Lainey! There’s a rock just to your left!” She called up to the girl on the wall. “Lift your knee a bit higher and you’ll feel it jutting out!” Her pale green gaze watched with a shimmer of pride as the young woman above her found her footing and continued her climb. “Perfect job Lainey.” Bloom whispered to herself as she delighted in the sight of the young woman's accomplishments. Once Lainey reached the top of the wall Bloom waited for a thumbs up and began to carefully lower her back to the ground. “So how was it?” Bloom smiled as the young woman touched back down to earth. She listened with an amusement painted upon her features as Lainey answered and continued on about how heights had never bothered her. When the question about Dauntless boys came up the brunette instructor couldn’t help but chuckle. “A good place to start is by bringing up key things all Dauntless guys love.” She began, her words slightly joking but with a hint of truth. “Such as food and dogs. Usually, if you mention one of those you have them wrapped around your finger in a pinch. Some of my favorite hookups came from a well-cooked meal on my part.” She admitted and knew it might be considered oversharing but she wasn’t on the clock right now and honestly was certain Lainey had heard worse after this much time spent in Dauntless.

The sudden buzz of her phone in the side pocket of her climbing leggings gripped Bloom’s attention like a talon. Bloom instantly pulled her phone out, apologizing to Lainey as she did so, and saw a text from Charlie. “Hey Lainey, you are more than willing to stick around and hang out with me if you’d like. Charlie is gonna be heading this way too so we could make it our own little party?” She suggested as she shot her best friend a quick text back telling her to of course join her and informing her that she was currently at the rock climbing gym. “If you have plans with a boy though don’t let me stand in your way.” She added with a cheeky wink to the initiate.

Nerdy. WanderLust.

code by Stardust Galaxy

 

[WanderLust.]

Blair Avalon // 17 // Dauntless Born // Initiate // Divergent
Interacting With: Aubrey Nerdy. Thorn Sanctuaryforall1

Blair wanted to crawl inside of a shell when Aubrey responded, shrinking away from her ever so slightly, but she knew the other blonde was right. Blair’s world might have been crumbling to dust in her hands, but that didn’t give her the right to just disappear. Blair was lucky enough to have a precious few who truly cared about her in this world, and as much as it pained her, she knew a majority of them had probably lost their minds looking for her. Her heart began to ache all over again at the mention of Finn. She could scarcely keep her lip from trembling as she shook her head softly, knowing she must have been shredding whatever small remnant of hope Aubrey had been hanging on to as she practically whispered, “No… I didn’t see him Aubrey, I’m sorry.” There was a time when Aubrey and Blair had been much closer, a time when they knew each other's darkest secrets, and hushed whispers about Finn and Christian had taken up a majority of their time, but everything felt so different now. The girls had grown apart, only to be reunited now in the lingering solace of a shared heartbreak.

The mention of food made her stomach growl embarrassingly loud. Blair hadn’t eaten in far too long, not due to lack of opportunity… but lack of appetite. She had been plagued with nausea and disinterested in just about everything, but for some reason, the smell of the pastry Aubrey handed her made her salivate. She was so hungry that she was sure she could finish all five pastries by herself, but instead she just nibbled at the Amity pastry. Garlic and Herb, Aubrey had been right. Almost immediately after the food touched her tongue, her stomach began to churn itself into a knot, her face paling as nausea took over. Blair swallowed hard, forcing herself to get something in her stomach, absolutely refusing to make a scene. Not now, not when she had just returned. Not when - Blair nearly choked on the last bit of food that was in her mouth as she processed Aubrey’s words, which echoed around in her mind like a ping pong ball bouncing on cement. “Ghost was fired?” She paused, the second part of the sentence settling in. Blair’s initiation score had likely tanked due to all her absences, and she had no one to blame but herself.

For a moment, she began to wonder if she would even still be able to boost her score enough to salvage a spot in dauntless. Had she really gone through all of this just to wind up factionless anyways? She became so lost in her own thoughts of a factionless life that she barely even noticed when Aubrey stood, checking her phone and explaining that she had to leave, she had plans with Briony… and Chris. Her heart simultaneously sped up and sunk into her stomach like a rock, and all she could do was shake her head softly. “I… I can’t. I'm sorry, Aubrey.” She looked down at her hands, laced together in her lap, almost ashamed of the fact that she couldn’t bear to see Christian doing just fine without her. Aubrey seemed slightly disheartened, but nodded in understanding. Just as the other blonde was about to leave, Blair grabbed onto her wrist gently. “Aubrey… do me a favor? Don’t tell them I’m back just yet… I need to talk to them myself.” Blair’s expression was glim and stonelike, a shell of the fiery blonde that had once lived there. Aubrey nodded before she left the pair, and for a moment, Blair debated what to say to Thorn as they watched Aubrey’s bouncing blonde hair disappear into the distance.

Soon enough, her stomach growled loudly again, only this time it wasn’t from hunger. “Thorn, do you think we could get some water?” she asked, rising to her feet unsteadily, a sudden urgency in her voice. Her ears were pounding, her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she began to feel that all too familiar nausea creeping its way up her esophagus. She was going to be sick. Thorn had nodded, all too eager to help, and Blair couldn’t have been more thankful to see him rush away for water. Almost instantly, Blair ran in the opposite direction, her feet carrying her towards the nearest bathroom. There was barely enough time for the door to close behind her as she hunched over the toilet, hastily pulling her hair out of her face as she retched up whatever bits of the amity pastry she had been able to keep down. Tears pricked at her eyes, and for some reason she found Dr. Munro’s voice echoing in her head. ‘Blair, I’m afraid we’re going to have to stop the treatment… there was a certain abnormality in your blood test… we can’t be sure.’ She collapsed against the cold tile wall of the bathroom, pulling her knees into her chest as she whimpered softly.

Blair felt warm hands on her shoulders, pulling her from the bathroom wall so that she was propped up against a warm, solid body. She was shivering, and instinctively nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, not even fully aware that it was Thorn who had come to find her, water in his hand. He pressed the plastic cup to her lips and Blair took small sips, knowing if she chugged it the way she wanted to it would only come back up. The cool water trickled down her throat, and the world came back into clarity. “Thorn, you don’t need to see this. I’m so sorry” She hunched against the wall again, embarrassed and exhausted. “... I don’t know what’s going on with me…” She trailed off, one hand pressed against her forehead, the other still latching onto the brunette for some sort of support to keep her from falling over.​

 

[Sanctuaryforall1]

Fable

Mood: CALM YOURSELF FABLE

Location: Training Center

Interactions: Chris

Her lungs were screaming. Though she had noticed the slight drawback in Chris’s power as he slammed her to the ground and pinned her the fiery-haired young woman had still been winded. Her heart was drumming like a thousand horses in her chest and while part of it was clearly from the intense sparring session she could tell that wasn’t the only reason. The way Chris straddled her now, his stormy blue gaze boring into her, his muscles rippling as he held her down, it made her head feel a bit fuzzy. For a brief moment, ideas began to fill her head, skittering around before racing away as she forced herself to concentrate. Thoughts like the ones she just had, urges that she had to restrain, they were not why she and Chris were here and sparring together. She cared for him of course, she cared for all her friends, but there weren’t other friends she had envisioned in the way her mind just had…at least not since Dante. The thought of the young man who had been her friend and almost more flashed through her mind like lightning and in an instant she could see herself once again pulling the trigger that killed him. She had done it to save Blair…she had done it because it was the right thing to do…right? Yes. It had to have been. As much as Dante haunted her she could not allow herself to doubt her reasons for ending his life. He had become unhinged and dangerous, willing to throw away Blair's life for his own gain. Nothing like Chris who had only just broken up with the same girl Fable killed to protect and who he was trying to better himself for. It was wrong for her to feel any sort of interest in him, that is what she needed to tell herself.

Heartbeats or minutes passed and to be quite honest Fable wasn’t sure which. All she knew was that this fight was not over. While Chris still had her pinned and had a strong advantage when it came to his weight Fable had her own advantages. Going slightly limp in his grasp as though to give the impression of being done or at least uncertain of what to do next the fiery-haired young woman waited for Chris to loosen up a bit. After a few seconds, she felt his grasp on her loosen slightly, clearly still wanting to be ready but uncertain of where the fight was going. That was all the time she needed to use her body and roll to the side, taking Chris with her. They both let out an audible “oof’ as they rolled and when Fable finally managed to top Chris she took her chance and slithered away like an eel. In an instant, they were both on their feet again and Chris wasted no time in rushing her, trying to back her into a corner once more. Fable understood that the open was where she had her best advantage, she needed to be able to move and couldn’t allow herself to be forced towards the walls. Her first few dodges and quick blows to the side went well enough but Chris was no fool and caught on. During one dodge Chris struck lower and managed to slam Fable in the chest hard enough to send her back a few footsteps and almost topple her. As she regained her footing the blonde charged her and Fable twisted out of the way, her movements slower now so she only half dodged him. His large hand still managed to hit her shoulder and Fable jumped back again. She had lost more ground at this point and was getting tired but wasn’t ready to quit just yet. “Nice.” She called to him, appreciating the speed with which he had managed to land that last move. Before anything else could be said Fable rushed forward and feigned to the right only to bolt left at the last second and grab Chris by the arm. Using the momentum she had built up the young woman spun and brought Chris off his feet and towards the ground, doing her best to control the fall so neither of them would get hurt. At first, the move seemed to have gone right but when Fable’s knees hit the ground she fumbled and fell on top of Chris, his arm still wrapped around her shoulder slightly.

“Oh shit!” She gasped as she lay against the well-muscled and shirtless chest of her handsome sparring partner. “I am so sorry, that move wasn’t meant to…” She trailed off as she realized she had yet to get off of him and pulled herself away from him as quickly as she could. Clearly, that move hadn’t gone as planned and by the break in their flow, this fight had obviously ended. “Are you hurt? I didn’t break anything when I landed on you, did I?” She asked as she sat on her knees and looked down at him, her mismatched gaze burning with concern.

Nerdy.

 

[Nerdy.]

Christian Parks || 16 || Initiate || Dauntlessborn

It never ceased to amaze Christian how well Fable fought, for only having come to Dauntless during initiation. From what he knew of her past life in Abnegation it hadn't sounded like a life that involved fighting of any kind, although... something about the way she spoke about it did make him think it involved some type of endurance, but not fighting. Thus it was that he was surprised at how well she picked up fight moves, how fast she moved, how nimble she was and how hard she could hit. As he looked up at her, her mismatched eyes looking down at him almost in horror, and her body freezing and then eventually getting off him as if he were some kind of disease, he couldn't help but chuckle and slowly rise into a sitting possition, looking across at her. "I'm fine Fable, the only thing you broke was my pride." He said, stormy blue eyes twinkling slightly with fun, he watched as she examined his behaviour, not quite believing him, but eventually her shoulders relaxed and her whole body seemed to slump. "Now are you okay? I slammed you pretty hard before." He shot back, thankfully her reply was that she was altogether fine, just tired and a bit sore. Chris nodded, moving his own muscles and feeling the temporary but very familiar feeling of muscle pain and impact pain, they would diminish quickly, but they would ache for a little while. He watched as Fable smiled at his concern, and the way she looked down and her fiery red hair shaded her fair face, shielding her eyes. He might have stayed there, slowly examining her body and chatting with her, if it weren't for the sound of his phone buzzing across the room. They both looked over, unsure of who's phone it was, and so they both got up, Christian made sure to get up quickly, then extended a hand down for Fable. He knew to some Dauntless girls they would have hated that act, and they probably would have pulled him down and started a whole new fight, but he wondered what Fable would do. His hand was given as a sense of equality, and respect, she had deserved every part of his respect and he wanted her to know that. Thankfully she accepted his hand and he briskly pulled her up, their hands slotting in nicely, although sweaty at the same time. Letting go of her hand he began to walk over to where he had left his phone, having to rifle through his hoodie pockets to finally find it. Once he opened it up he was unsurprised to find a text from Briony. A smile planted itself on his face and he looked over at Fable. "Hey I gotta go... I'm hanging out with Briony and Aubrey at the bar. I can ask if you can come too, I'm sure they won't mind..." He offered, but watched as uncertainty washed over Fable's face. He thought about it , and he couldn't recall seeing her with those girls at all during other times, they must not have become friends or even decent acquaintences at this point. Eventually she shook her head, saying she was tired, or that she didn't want to push into something he'd been invited to. Christian didn't pressure her any further, and simply nodded, pulling on his shirt and moving uncomfortably in it, the shirt feeling tighter after having fought, and it stickling slightly to his slightly sweaty body. "In which case, thanks for hanging out with me today, I had a great time. We should definitely do it more often." He said, walking over and putting one gentle hand on her arm. She looked up at him, cheeks slightly flushed and he tilted his head, dark eyes watching hers with a soft smile on his face. "I'll see you tomorrow at training." He said, letting go of her arm and motioning to the exit. "Do you want to walk with me for a bit? Or are you going to do some more training?" He asked.

Whatever Fable had decided, they had eventually parted ways and Christian made his way to the bar. Of course he'd had to text Briony to get an answer out of her to which bar it was she meant, but she did give him the name and he made his way over. It wasn't unusual for him to go to a bar, his brothers did run one, and his friends enjoyed frequenting them so much that he had gone on numerous occasions, but Christian had an interesting fact about himself that he had never had a drink of alcohol, not really. He had been told by the doctors that when he was taking his medication that it would end up developing terrible symptoms, and the one time he'd had even a sip of wine at a family dinner the symptoms had caused such weakness and illness in him that his family had worried about needing to send him to the hospital. After that incident he was banned from having alcohol, and he himself never wanted to. At the time he'd felt no desire to anyway, the drugs having messed up his hormones and emotions so much that he cared for nothing, very little at the most. Entering the bar, having double checked it was the right one, he looked around, using the advantage of his height to check for any blondes that he might recognize. It didn't take him too long, seeing long blonde hair sitting at the bar, drink in hand, head thrown back in laughter, the sound of it trilling the air and ringing his ears delightfully. Briony sounded happy, which was good, she should be happy, rather than sad and worried about Blair. Of course they should all be worried about her, and he was, but he knew that happiness was important to. Moving through the sea of bodies over to her, he was surprised at how many people were in here, it wasn't particularly late yet, only just morphing into evening from the afternoon, but yet there were so many people already crowded in this bar. People were dancing stupidly to the loudest music Chris had heard, and he had to shove past people so hard that he was pushing them and almost knocking them to the ground. Not that they cared much, most of them were already drunk at this point. Finally he managed to make his way to the bar, and getting closer to Briony he touched her on the shoulder. "Hey." He said, as her eyes happily met his. She smiled and jumped up, giving him a hug and then sitting back down, holding her drink and swirling it dangerously close to spilling it. "Is Aubrey coming?" He asked, looking around to see if he could see her. Briony said she was, but that she was a bit further out. Chris nodded, and stood there unsure of what to do, till Briony finally patted the seat next to her and he sat.

As the bartender came over and asked Chris what he wanted, he shook his head. "I'm good thanks." He said, but Briony seemed shocked at this, and waved the bartender to her, ordering something for Chris that he didn't even know the name of. Chris was about to tell Briony he couldn't have anything, something she was usually familiar with, but as he went to do it he hesitated. The reason he'd never been allowed drinks was due to the medical drugs he had been prescribed as a child... but he was no longer taking those, the last time he'd had any was a long time ago, and the drugs would be well out of his system. So... theoretically.. he should be able to have some. He grinned for a second, as he waited impatiently for this drink. A new experience would be fun, something he'd not had... How interesting. "Have you been here long waiting?" He asked, unsure of how long she'd been here when she messaged him. She shrugged, joking that she'd been in here long enough to have a couple drinks and wave off a couple guys. Immediate protection rippled through Christian and he looked around, fists clenched. "Oh? Who and where are they?" He asked, passion fueling his voice. Briony laughed, or rather Christian was pretty sure she was laughing, and she touched his arm, her touch light and ticklish, telling him to calm down. He relaxed a little bit, figuring she must have been joking a bit, and looked as the bartender served him his drink. He picked it up, it was in a funny looking glass and was a couple of colours. "What the hell is this?" He asked, and Briony told him to just drink it and see if he liked it. Chris shrugged and hesitantly brought the drink to his lips. He felt nervousness fill him, but soon he just shook his head and took a sip. Immediate sweetness overwhelmed him, and a warmth that he'd never felt before entered his mouth. Briony laughed, telling him he could drink more than just a sip. Unsure of how much more, he began to drink more of it, letting the sweet and warm juice flow down his throat as he tipped the entire drink back. Briony seemed shocked, but also enjoying herself, and she immediately called the bartender over and ordered something else. Christian put the glass down. "That was tasty." He said, licking his lips. Briony nodded, and as the bartender came back she passed him another glass, though this one was much smaller. "This hardly looks like a drink Bri, it's more like a medicine shot." He said, and she told him it was, just not medicine. He looked at her with a strange expression, and watched as she threw her head back and downed the whole tiny glass, so he did the same. This time there was no sweetness, and he immediately reacted by coughing and spluttiering over the counter. The warmth from that one had been overwhelming, and he shivered from the reaction. He couldn't tell if he hated it, or if he was simply shocked. Briony seemed to be laughing though, so he shot her a smile whilst blinking to figure out what on earth he was feeling. Again she turned to the bartender, ordering him something else. "Briony I probably don't need more..' He said, but watched as she waved his concerns, telling him he should just enjoy trying the things out. Eventually a large glass of foaming beer was handed to him, and he began to sip this one, no longer wanting that warmth to be downed in his throat. "Has your day gone well?" He asked Briony, his eyes swimming as he looked at her, watching as the way she moved seem to be like dancing.

Interacting with: Fable Sanctuaryforall1 Briony Wolfiee

 

[Nerdy.]

Aubrey Stark || 16 || Initiate || Dauntlessborn

A sharp pain resonated through Aubrey as she heard Blair say what she knew she was going to say. No sign of Finn. Her heart ached, her gut ached, something even deeper than her ached. Everything in her body missed him, she missed his smile, she missed his eyes, she missed his touch, she missed his smell, she missed... She ground her teeth together painfully, and clenched her jaw tightly to try and relieve the pain that was coursing through her at the knowledge that Finn was still gone. It was almost by some miracle that her phone buzzed when it did, and she was given relief with talking to Blair by looking at her phone. That was when she realized the tears that were sitting in her eyes but had not yet dropped, as her phone screen was fuzzy, rubbing her eyes quickly with one hand she sniffed and read the message. It was from Briony, she was already at the bar. Perfect. She looked again at Blair. "I'm going out with Briony and Christian, you could come, they would want to see you and know you're safe." Aubrey said, watching as Blair's face went through a number of unreadable emotions before once again landing on sadness and pain. She rejected Aubrey's proposal, and frustration filled her, why would Blair not want to show the people who cared for her that she was back? That she was alive?? "Fine, I'll..." Aubrey was about to say she would tell them, but then Blair hit her with that sentence, and Aubrey almost let her jaw drop in shock. A number of anger fuelled statements washed through her, but somehow she held her tongue, taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and shrugging. "Okay, what the hell." She said. Watching as Blair looked at her with appreciation and possible acknowledgement of the frustration Aubrey felt. "Look, I can help walk you back..." She offered, but Blair denied her help, and Thorn stepped in, assuring Aubrey that he would remain with Blair and help her. Aubrey nodded, not knowing if she would have been helpful at all anyway. "Yeah, whatever, cool... See you later. It was... good to see you Blair. Don't get lost again please." She said, her voice dry and her emotions almost monotonous again. Without much else to say, she swung around and began to walk back towards the train, which would be the fastest way back to the compound. She was annoyed that Briony was going to the bar so early, she had expected it to be much later. But it didn't matter, she was just glad to be going to the bar, as the craving for alcohol began to wash over her again. The desire to see Briony fuelled her, as she ran with what little strength she had and made it on the train easily. Afraid she would pass out, she set a timer on her phone for the estimated time that it would be going past the Dauntless compound, and sat in the middle of the carriage so that she wouldn't fall out if she did pass out. That would be bad. Well.. it would be sad for some, it would do very little to Aubrey anyway. She sat numbly, watching the outside world whizz past, turning into blurs of motion, and everything almost seeming grey scale and lifeless. Sound seemed to disappear, and the world seemed black and white and silent. Except for the ringing in her ears.

A loud alarm erupted in Aubrey's mind and her eyes blinked open with pain and surprise. Although shock ran through her system and adrenaline filled her slightly, it took only a few seconds to figure out it was her phone, and the alarm had indeed worked. Aubrey rubbed her eyes, standing up and steadying herself against the wall as she made her way to the door, yawning slightly. Had she fallen asleep? Passed out? Or had the time just flown by so quickly she hadn't noticed? It was a good thing she'd estimated well, as she could see the jump coming up. It wasn't ideal to wake up and jump, as her body was still slowly trying to get all it's limbs and parts to move properly, but she didn't have a choice, it was now or.... Leaping out of the train, Aubrey felt the sting of the wind on her eyes, and tried to brace herself for the land. Although she had done this a million times without mistake or pain, she felt as her body slammed against the concrete roof, and even though she attempted and partly succeeded in her roll, she felt as the skin on her arms began to fire up in pain, as a graze ran along her right arm and along her right hip also. "F*ck" She swore, as she stood up, her body teetering and refusing to be stable. With pain she began to limp towards the entrance to get down from the roof, not having the physical well being to jump down into the net. She could feel her grazed arm dripping slightly, not much but enough to be annoying, and just ignored it, leaving a small trail of blood drops every now and then. Soon enough she was in the compound, and it was getting later at this point, frustrated at how long it had taken her, she had two options, to go back and get changed, or to go now. Although she knew she should have gone back to get changed, she didn't want to, and couldn't be bothered. Instead, she took off her shirt, using it to wrap around her arm, and just began walking to the bar in her sports bra, which was fairly normal anyway. At some point the arm began to sting less, and the blood had dried, so she tossed her shirt in the bin on the way in to the loud and full bar, and began to look for the two blondes she called friends. It didn't take long to find them. Blue eyes latched on two figures that were dancing pretty vigorously with each other. Briony was red in the face, either from blushing or alcohol, and was pressed up against Christian, Chris was sweating, or rather he looked like he had been, and his shirt was clinging tightly to his well toned and muscled chest. As she walked nearer, Briony saw her and ran over, putting her arms around Aubrey and chirping at her with sentences that Aubrey was only half hearing. A light smile tickled Aubrey's lips and she poked Briony affectionately in the gut. "You're already drunk aren't you? Without me? Shocking." She said, rolling her eyes and looking at Chris who was also making his way over. The taller male looked... different, as his walk was slightly swaying, and his eye somewhat dilated and a joyful smile on his face. Aubrey knew Chris didn't drink, but it appeared he did tonight. "Let me get a drink then I'll join you two, don't do anything stupid without me." She demanded.

Walking to the bar, leaving Briony and Chris, she ordered a few drinks. Three, for herself, and one each for her friends. As her first drink arrived, which was simply a beer, she downed it as fast as possible, screwing her nose up at the taste of the beer, but relishing the feeling of drinking. Something insatiable was within her, and thus when the bartender passed her the next cocktail with extra vodka she downed that too. It was then that the feeling slowly began to recede, and she shivered as she felt the alcohol begin to make her feel much better. Finally the man gave her the three double shots of tequila. Thanking him with a flirty smile and touch to the hand, she paid and waltzed back over to where the two Dauntless born were still dancing. Aubrey didn't think much of the way they were dancing, as it was so normal for bars and clubs, and the fact that their bodies were so close together, moving so simultaneously with each other.... Aubrey simply whistled at them, and watched as they looked over. Briony immediately made some celebratory noises as she saw the shots, and Chris seemed just as eager to have one. "Here, to friends! To this whole f*cking place!" Aubrey said with vigor, as she passed the shots to each person, clinking her glass with them, then downing it. Caring very little about etiquette at this point, as she was simply trying to get as drunk as she could as fast as she could, Aubrey dropped her glass on the ground, listening as it rolled away. Chris and Briony had also downed their drinks, and the three of them began to dance together. As the night went on Aubrey forgot about Blair, forgot that she'd agreed not to tell Briony, forgot that she'd even gone out with Thorn, she forgot her desire for Finn and her search for him, and she forgot her body's failings. She continued to buy drinks, accept drinks from others, and dance with Chris and Briony. The three of them swung together, held each other, grinding was there at some point and there may have been other dudes who randomly came before Chris pushed them away possessively. It was very obvious to anyone around that these three were drunk., although for different reasons. Aubrey was trying, she had to, she felt that she would die if she didn't have a drink. So she had one after the other till she couldn't even feel her body anymore. Chris had simply never had any before, and seemed to be having one whenever one was offered, having never learned how to hold back, and Briony was so much enjoying her time that she was simply drinking too much for fun, and probably to ignore the reality of Blair's disappearance. At some point they stopped dancing and had all flopped down on a large couch in the corner, the loud music blaring and the lights dark and moody, nobody was really speaking sensibly, and instead the three of them were sort of draped over each other, limbs entangled and skin on skin. Christian's shirt had been removed at some point and both Briony and Aubrey were touching it at different points of time, Christian's hands were freely flowing over both girls bodies and there was a lot of tension in the air. Briony kept laughing and leaning close to Christian's face, lips so close they could touch, and Aubrey was giggling like a schoolgirl and draped over Christian's other side, nuzzling into his neck and listening to his heart beat, her body having craved the physical affection.

Interacting with: Blair WanderLust. Thorn Sanctuaryforall1 Briony Wolfiee Christian

 

[Nerdy.]

Cassidy "Cas" Wickham || 16 || Initiate || Erudite Transfer

Griffon had almost forgotten all of Cassidy's warnings as he stood there gawking at the two who had just walked over to him, the wind and crackle of the air was non-existent, and although Cassidy's body quivered with slight cold, Griffon almost felt like he was in his old body again and couldn't feel a thing. These were his parents! His real mother and father, the ones he had no memory of. Some feeling throbbed in his chest but honestly he didn't know what it was, he'd only heard horror stories from Cassidy, and yet he'd always wanted to know, wanted to meet them. It was by some miracle that he remembered the sharp command she had drilled into him. Don't let them touch you. Blinking hard Griffon stepped back as the older woman who he knew was his mother stepped forward as if to reach out and touch what she perceived to be her daughter. As Griffon stepped back there was hesitation, something like anger flickered through the males eyes, and frustration and concern in the female's, but respectfully they did not move closer. There was an awkward silence that hung over them, and Griffon tried to think of what he should say. But it seemed he did not need to be the one to start the conversation. "Where have you been?" The woman asked him, and he blinked, recalling everything that Cassidy had told him before they'd parted ways. "I was in an orphanage..." He began to say, not knowing how else to lie. "But not anymore. I just... kind of live wherever." He finally said, not being very convincing but not knowing how to speak better. He suddenly wished he could hear Cassidy in his ear, that she would tell him everything. He wrapped his hand around his wrist as he watched them with Cassidy's large dark brown eyes. "And Griffon? Where is he?" The man asked, looking around as if he was going to spot him. Griffon paused for a second, confused, he was right here, shouldn't they be asking about? He cringed at his own ignorance, remembering he was in Cassidy's body. "Dead." He said, watching at their shocked expressions. Griffon felt immediate guilt as he saw the sadness in his mother's eyes, and the way his father intook breath and stood there as if in shock and grief. He wanted to come out and tell them it was wrong, it was a lie, that he was Griffon and that Cassidy was also here... But he trusted Cassidy more than them, even though he wanted desperately to trust them. When the question of how was asked, Griffon took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "It was a car crash." He said, his memory foggy but better than most others. "The night we left." He finished, watching as their expressions dropped, no hope for the dead lost that far back. Before he could stop himself, he felt tears spring to his eyes as he looked at them. "It's good to see you." He said, fighting the urge to say it was good to meet them, or good to have memory of them. No... He had to pretend. He knew Cassidy would chide him for saying such things, and even what he did say was not anything she had told him was allowed. But... He looked at his mother and father, how tall and protective his father looked, how commanding and strong, and how smart and nurturing his mother looked beside him, how she seemed to long to reach out and touch him, and how he truly longed to bend to her embrace, to feel a touch he'd not felt in years.

A loud rush of wind caused Griffon to shiver and look around nervously, before turning back to his parents as they spoke again. "Why did you call us here? What do you want?" They asked, confusion clear on their faces. "Why have you waited so many years to contact us? We thought you were both dead!" They added on, some emotion clear in his mother's voice. Guilt swam through Griffon. It wasn't me. It was Cassidy. She said we can't trust you... I can't trust you. I'm sorry. He thought, but instead he forced himself to shrug. "I... Didn't know what to do, I was young and scared and stupid." He spoke, listening as Ciassidy's voice spoke the words out to their parents. "I guess as I have gotten older I wanted to see you again. Wanted to see if you were still alive and well." He replied. He watched as they seemed shocked at this answer, and looked at each other with confusion and yet also some part with happiness. There was some quiet after this, but soon enough they spoke, saying that they were well. "You've grown so much, you are beautiful Cassandra." They said, specifically their mother, as she stepped closer again. This time Griffon didn't step back, as it was only a small step forward that she had taken. "Do you want to come back with us? You would be an amazing help to us, and we would love to have you, especially if you don't have your brother anymore." She said, her voice dripping with honey as she tried to paint a pretty picture. Griffon found himself shaking his head instinctually at hearing her offer, knowing that Cassidy would never forgive him if he accepted it. She'd told him time and time again that he was to stay away from these people, and had graciously let him meet them because she loved him. "I can't... Not after everything that happened. I don't feel comfortable doing that stuff." He said, watching as they both reacted with surprise, having been sure that Cassandra would take such an offer. "You... you hurt us." Griffon said candidly, watching as the two of them seemed to take this accusation with little emotion. "Why?" He asked, memory of what his scars looked like, and Cassidy's scars, and knowing she had told him what they were from. A sigh came out of his father's lips, and the man looked up at the sky. "We needed you to be strong. You and your brother. We needed you to be smart, we needed you to be the best. We have such big plans Cassandra, bigger than anything you can imagine. Imagine a world where living factionless isn't some criminal and lowlife thing, imagine a life where factions don't exist and people can do as they please, not only people but specifically us! Me and your mother, you too! We are superior to everyone else, our abilities and aptitudes are built to succeed where others are built to fail, because they only fit into one mold." He said, arms waving in exasperation. His mother nodded along with what he said, agreeing with it all.

"But, why did you hurt us? I am strong now and nobody has needed to hurt me." Griffon so badly wanted to hear a good explanation. Cassidy was young when they had left, as was he, so maybe she didn't remember everything perfectly. What if she had imagined being hurt by them and it wasn't actually the things she remembered? He looked at them with hope. "Because if we didn't then you would have died out there Cassandra. You and Griffon, just like Luke did. You needed to be strong, and you were always stronger. Griffon was weak in spirit and strong in body, you are strong in spirit, and your body had the ability to become stronger. It's probably why you're alive and he's dead. You see even now you agree with us, you're strong now and nobody has needed to hurt you since then because of what we did, we made you strong before you could even remember." She said, passion deepened feelings. "We did everything for the benefit of our goal, and you were always the integral part of our goal Cassandra. Our way to screw the government, to tear down the factions, to assign ourselves as the rulers of all. We can do it too. We are so close. Join us! Cassandra we would be able to do so much more with you." Every word that she said she moved closer, and Griffon watched with wide eyes. Cassidy was right, they were evil. THey cared only about their agenda, they... they didn't even care about him, about Griffon, their first born son. They didn't care about Luke. They only cared about themselves, and even their fake care of Cas now was to forward their own goals. Tears sprung to Griffon's eyes as he felt the pain of reality settle in to his heart. Why had he held so much hope for people that he had heard about from cassidy? Why had he wanted to meet them if they were truly just evil people? Fear began to strike at him though as his mother suddenly stepped very close, and he reacted quickly, stepping back with a shock at how she'd gotten so close while he was thinking. "I..." He stuttered, but at the last moment he was saved, as a skitter of paws and a crash of something metallic was suddenly heard, and all three people turned to look. Fear sprung through Griffon, had Cassidy fallen off the roof? Had somebody found her? Had somebody found him? Was there an ambush?

Interacting with: Ghost (sort of) Aviator

 

[Aviator]

Ghost // Male // Age 18 // Semi-Competent Thug // Erudite to Dauntless​

There were no voices from the clearing in the wake of Ghost’s mishap with the garbage can. The cat had zipped out of the alley, its tail a tense, bristly line behind it, but Cassidy and her company weren’t buying that a cat had created such a disturbance on its own. And if the man’s ravings for Cassidy to contribute to his vision of a new world were anything to go by, Ghost had overheard some sensitive information. His blood frozen, he pressed his back up against the alley wall nearer the speakers, listening with his thumb on the handle of his Beretta. He didn’t hear the assailant coming. Understandably, they were trying to be silent leading up to an attempted ambush. Strangely enough, it was the smell in the air that cued Ghost to another creeping presence. The air was suddenly suffused with a potent scent like weed, motor oil, and lemon soap all at once, reminding him of an employee in a mechanic’s shop who smoked when he was on break. Ghost held his breath, preparing for an encounter.
Despite the impending danger, his thoughts strayed elsewhere, back to Cassidy’s—mother’s? She had never addressed the woman as such, but Ghost deduced from the conversation that these people had raised her, whatever their relation—aspirations to abolish the factions, and her grand plans for Cassidy to fit into it all. Cassssaaandra, Ghost chided wryly, like a nursemaid tired of reminding a child to hang up his coat when he was done using it. His lips quivered, threatening a grin. Apparently he wasn’t the only one using a pseudonym. Never trust people with multiple, mysterious, or obviously phony names, he internally spoke from experience. Only trouble abounds there.
As if to prove a point, that was his last thought before a long shadow in the shape of a human figure eclipsed the mouth of the alleyway. Ghost flipped the gun in his hand so that he was holding the barrel, brandishing the butt as a striking weapon. While he was sure this group of government-hating radicals was far from innocent, he didn’t believe in shooting a person whose only crime against him was poking their nose in the wrong place at the wrong time. He only applied lethal force when it was justly due. A grizzled man with a hooked nose and all his hair concentrated in the form of a long, graying beard rounded the corner. For a would-be assassin, he was dressed impressively plainly: in a paint-stained sky-blue t-shirt and cargo pants. Ghost didn’t think twice before lunging with his gun, cuffing the man upside the head, fully intending to knock him out without causing any lasting damage.
But only half of that happened. The pistol handle connected with a sound like the crack of a whip, and the man loosed a short cry, half of shock and half of anger. He collapsed against the wall that Ghost had been flattened against, awaiting his arrival. A heavy shudder passed through his body, starting in his shoulders, making his beer belly jump with it. And then he looked up, and his eyes were bright, sharp, and bold as bronze as he fixed Ghost beneath a deadly glare. “The fuck you think you’re doing here, mate, spying on us? There’s consequences for that kinda shit, y’know, and I don’t care that you’re a kid,” he spat in a fast-tempoed accent with rolling vowels. Still maintaining eye contact, the man reached up to swipe at the blood, smearing it across his bald head with his left hand. In his right hand, he held a hammer. He stepped forward and swung it in a tight arc at the side of Ghost’s throat, as if meaning to decapitate him with it.
Fortunately the man was a little disoriented from the blow, because the leg that stepped forward trembled beneath the sudden weight of his body. As such, the blow with the hammer came out slow enough that dodging it was a fairly simple thing. Ghost bent like a blade of grass in a breeze, feeling a swoosh of air beneath his jaw where the hammer should have hit. Unfortunately, he had been banking on his melee strike with the gun to knock his adversary cold. Ghost was in no position to aim and fire even if he’d been willing to compromise his morals about the use of lethal force against the innocent. With limited options of attack, Ghost paused for a millisecond, until the man was stumbling beneath the force of his missed blow with the hammer. And then, hoping to make Randi proud with one of the moves she had shown him in their sparring sessions, Ghost twisted his weight into a leg kick. He caught his adversary in the soft spot behind the knee with a low, sweeping attack that had femur-shattering force if done by a skilled and strong enough combatant. While he heard no such snap, the man’s face contorted into a rictus of pain and he crumpled to the garbage-strewn alley floor, his ability to stand depleted.
“For your little coup to succeed, your friends are going to need to hire better thugs,” Ghost said haughtily as he kicked the hammer away from his fallen opponent. “Real, cold-blooded criminals who’ll slit your throat for side-eyeing them, and not former bikers who’ve grown old and fat on cheap cans of beer. Ah-ah, don’t,” he reprimanded when the man’s fingers went grasping at his waistband. Inside a second, Ghost’s gun was flipped with the business end pointing outward, thumbing back the hammer with a cold click. “Tell Cassandra I said hi. With plenty of XOXO’s. Yeah. Lemme know where those get me, capeesh? She’s a sucker for sending mixed signals, so I need all the intel I can get.”
“I’ll let Cassandra watch while I dangle you by your balls outta window, motherfucker.”
Creative threat, Ghost mused, mentally filing that one away for later use, and hopefully better leverage than the guy saying it had now. “You really think she’d be into that?” he asked with a wild grin, unable to resist the dirty turn his imagination had taken. “Bruh, it is a fucking shame that I’m all out of product at the moment, because you seem like you’d be a hella fun dude to light up with. Aside from being an incompetent thug, of course. I don’t even care so much that you tried to kill me, just that you did it ineptly. ‘Kay, so. This is the part of our conversation where you go nite-nite. Nite-nite!” Ghost bashed his assailant, once again, over the skull with the handle of his pistol. A suspenseful pause. The man’s eyes rolled up in his head. His body teetered before finally flopping facedown onto the ground. Unwilling to exit the alley in plain sight of Cassandra and her parents and potentially more goons at their disposal to throw at him, Ghost went to the other end, blocked off by a soaring chain-link fence. With a few parkour moves that involved scrambling up trash cans and balancing on some crossbeams, he vaulted over the fence and disappeared into the stormy twilight.

 

[Sanctuaryforall1]

Shayla

Mood: Pained & Drained

Location: Bathroom

Interactions: Aya

Sounds cracked like a searing hell whip across Shay’s mind when her phone began to go off randomly. The sharp chime of bells echoing against the metal stall doors and tiled walls leaving the ebony-haired young woman stuck within a sound prison as each note stabbed at her mind. Instantly the young woman fumbled for her phone, gritting her teeth as her brain screamed in agony. She had no idea how her phone volume was even on, she had made sure to turn it off after the events of yesterday. Shay knew her condition well enough to have had the foresight to guard against a situation like this and yet here she was, still somehow stuck within it. Had someone messed with her phone while she was in the simulation? Was it broken? Was she going crazy as a result of her illness? She could never be sure but for right now all she could truly focus on was the shrill screaming of her ringer and turning it off. Finally after what felt like an eon but was in reality only a few heartbeats her fingers managed to find the silence setting and switch it on. Instantly the small device in her hand grew quiet and Shay gripped it as hard as she could before half throwing, half sliding it across the floor and as far away from her as she possibly could.

Despite her desire to clear her mind and melt into a void of nothingness the ebony-haired young woman kept wondering who had even called her. In her panic to silence her device and then to get it as far away from herself as she could manage Shay had forgotten to actually glance at the caller ID. Calls were something she got very seldomly. As part of her reclusive lifestyle, she made it a habit of limiting who all had her number, and those who did have it were usually not people who would call her often. Chris had it because well…he was Chris. It only seemed natural for him to have it because at the end of the day, he was dependable but not reliant on her and certainly not attached. Her father had her number for the rare meet-ups Shay would allow and for him to contact her in case of emergencies and to coordinate plans for the future as well as the occasional and extremely brief life updates. A few doctors had it due to the fact that Shay needed to attend appointments here and there in order to be constantly reminded of how close to waltzing away with the Grimm Reaper she was and of course to get her pain medications. Lainey had it because they were roommates, no other reason, and Shay had been resistant to give it up even then.

As the door to the bathroom cracked open Shay noticed Aya poking her pale face in and gazing around. Her shoulders shot upwards in a flinch as her name was called. Could she get no peace in this place? First Charlie, then Birdie, now Aya. Tilting her head to lean against the cool tiles of the wall Shay heavily considered remaining silent and waiting for the former Erudite to wander off but then a flash of light caught her eye and she noticed her phone screen a few feet away. On the banner that shone brightly, Shay could read a series of numbers making up a phone number that was followed up by the words POSSIBLY AYA. Shit. If Aya had heard her phone in here then Shay’s cover was already blown and there was no way the other girl would wander off without investigating further. Narrowing her gaze and swallowing back the strong metallic and salt taste that still lingered in her throat from her most recent nose bleed Shay’s pale yet full lips parted and she breathed out a tired, “What?” Her tone flat, not angry, not excited, not holding any real emotion. It honestly was completely reflective of how absolutely and wholly drained Shay was at this moment, her already pale skin having lost the slight color that came with health and life, her eyes dull, her movements sluggish.

Wolfiee

code by Stardust Galaxy

 

[Nerdy.]

Griffon || 18 17 || Initiate || Abnegation Transfer

Listening to her parents made her want to gag, not wanting to move her body at this point because she was already in a good position to watch Ghost for a moment, she decided simply to listen, it was turned up pretty loudly so she was pretty sure she would hear if any of them made any physical movements towards Griffon. With every word her parents spewed to him she felt an icy dagger in her heart, an evil desire to rip their throats out and shove it up somewhere unpleasant. She could hear her own voice coming out, although she knew it was Griffon speaking, and could hear the emotion in his voice, the fact was that he couldn't remember the horrors. He couldn't remember anything except her. He wanted to know her parents, he wanted to have an emotional attachment towards them, he wanted to believe there was good in them. Even if there was good in them, Cassidy had decided long ago that their evil and abusive ways had outweighed any good they might have done in their lives, and nothing they could do would ever recompense for it. As they offered her a position back in their world Cassidy watched as at the same time something happened right below her with Ghost. Watching Ghost was like watching a skit comedy act, Cassidy inwardly groaned and wanted to face palm as she watched him react to the cat and tumble, making what could rival the thunder in loud clapping sounds. There was a deadly silence, both right around Cassidy and in the hearing aids, and she felt an uncomfortable dread in her gut as she waited, counting the seconds in her head before she needed to react. She didn't want to leave Griffon's body up here on the roof, she didn't want to leave him here watching Ghost fumble around like a drunkard, but she was also terrified at the fact that she couldn't tell what was happening to her body right now, she assumed nothing, as there was silence, but she couldn't know for sure. With a relieved breath she heard Griffon speak and her parents reply, she was sure they were communicating with those they had brought with, and as she sat there watching she saw she was right. A familiar face entered the alleyway where Ghost was, and Cassidy had to fight the urge to giggle. If that was who she thought it was, then life had not gone to how they had planned. Before Ghost in the alleyway stood Vince, or that's who it looked like anyway, except Cassidy remembered him as a burly and handsome man, not this balding and incompetent fool. My how far people fall. She chided in her head, as she watched Ghost deal with him she chuckled to herself inwardly and stayed just long enough to watch him knock the man out cold. She couldn't hear them, not only because they were just far enough away and they were being slightly quiet, but also because she was still focusing on the hearing aids so that she could continue listening to her parents and their insane plan to take over the factions.

It was a dream Cassidy did share, she would have stood with them too, if she didn't know better. Sure you want the factions to fall, but all so Divergents can rule everyone. Because apparently being a Divergent naturally makes you better than everyone. She felt the urge to snarl at her parents, but instead she silently maneuvered so that she could watch them all again, though this time from a slightly worse vantage point that had a better capacity to hide. She was suspecting that the conversation was coming to an end, an end of it's use for Griffon, the topic had gone so far away from what Griffon had desired, and now she could hear the manipulative way that her mother talked, trying to convince her to come back to them. No. Never. Go to hell. She thought, dark eyes glued to them. It was at this point that it only dawned to her that her mother was so close to her, so close that she could reach out. Fear began to grip Cassidy's heart, no, she couldn't have her mother touch her. With as much effort as she could, she moved from her hiding space and ran to the other side of the roof, caring more about speed at this point than remaining unnoticed, she jumped one building, ran, jumped another, then another, and then entered the building, pulled out Griffon's phone, ended the call, opened notes and wrote "WAIT AT LEAST 20 MINUTES THEN CALL ANYONE EXCEPT ME AND GET BACK TO THE COMPOUND." Then with a strenuous ache in her soul she held her breath and groaned as she let her and Griffon's beings go back into the correct bodies.

---

With a snap Griffon was suddenly in a random stairwell with his phone in his hand. A sick feeling swam in his gut and he felt himself sit down without any thought of doing so, his body shivering and exhausted. His mind was swimming, his heart was beating rapidly, and he knew if his body could sweat then it would. His breathing was heavy and laboured and he put his phone down to rest his head in his hands and breathe. It took a couple minutes for the feeling of sickness to fade, for the foreign nature of his own body to go back to feeling correct and right. It was like waking up from a fever dream, and for him it was always worse. Cassidy said that she always sweat when she had done this for long periods of time and when the distance was much further away and went back to the right body. Because Griffon couldn't sweat his body reacted even more poorly to it, but at least he couldn't feel any pain, just a sick nauseating feeling that always ended up passing. Raising his face to look at the bland concrete of the staircase he was in, he checked his phone, wondering why Cassidy had been holding it. Immediately he saw the message she had written, typed in all Caps, and blaring at him. He understood, and he turned the phone off and leaned back on the stairs, resting his head on the cool wall so that he could think. He didn't even know where to start. He had finally met his parents. It was a surreal experience that he couldn't quite figure out, how was he meant to feel? Cassidy had always taught him to feel hatred for them, she preached their evil ways. Sure, he didn't think they were saints, they seemed slightly malicious and certainly selfish, but at the same time he wanted to believe the best in them, he wanted to give them a chance. He treasured those memories though, as he closed his eyes and held onto what he had seen while in Cassidy's body. He could clearly see her now, his mother, and his father standing next to her. To him they seemed nice, they seemed real, no longer an imaginary evil demon and witch that Cassidy always painted them out like. He wanted to believe Cassidy, and he did, but he also couldn't help but desire to get to know them even more, to let them meet him, rather than them thinking they were meeting Cassidy, or rather Cassandra. But that wasn't for him to do or decide. Cassidy must have had a good reason to switch back, and he was grateful she had placed him somewhere that she deemed safe. He wished he could know what was happening now, that he could watch her and make sure she was safe too, but she had prioritized his well being, as she always did, and he was grateful for that.

20 minutes passed quickly, as Griffon's mind was far off, thinking about the way his parents had offered for him, or rather Cassandra, Cassidy, to return to them. To end the faction system? To tear down the powers that were? Was that really the smartest and best thing? Griffon listened to the rain that was starting to pour down on the tin roof of the building her sat in, how it deafened the area. It was actually quite nice to listen to, and he got wrapped up as he forgot what he was thinking about and sat there listening quite happily to the rain. He wondered if Aya liked the rain, if she enjoyed the sound of it, or whether she didn't. He had to ask her. Picking up his phone he saw again the note that Cassidy had made. I completely forgot about this... He suddenly thought, as he checked the time. Instead of it having been 20 minutes, it was now going on 45, maybe longer. Griffon quickly flicked through his contacts, avoiding Cassidy's name and hovering over Aya's. What was he going to say? He didn't want to ask her to come get him, he didn't even know where he was. He didn't want to bother her if she was doing something, and he had nothing in his head to say, so instead he texted her. "Hey Aya, just thought I'd message because Cas told me I should let you know I'm on my way back. Probably because she doesn't want me to get lost." He sent, and then began to make his way down the stairs. As he listened to the rain it only dawned on him as he exited the building that it meant he was going to get wet.

Interacting with: Ghost Aviator Aya Wolfiee Cassidy

 

[Wolfiee]

Divergent

location

location over here.

mood

mood over here.

outfit

outfit over here.

mentions

Randi Sanctuaryforall1 Lainey WanderLust.

Rhysand(Rhys).

Rhysand stood listening, a small snort almost left him when Randi put Ajax in his place by punching and breaking the man’s nose. He stayed back still listening knowing Randi was just fine for the moment only when his name was called did he head over. His gaze on Ajax for a moment all he knew about Ajax was he was the asshole brother of the Avalon kids. The male didn’t know him personally nor was he inclined to know Ajax on a deeper level. When Randi said they should stick together checking out some areas he nodded his head.”Alright let’s hopefully find something.”he said hoping they found at least one clue. Once they reached Blairs room they split up within the large bedroom seeing if maybe they could find something amongst all of Blairs belongings. Rhysand wasn’t sure exactly what they were supposed to be finding but he was sure it would stick out enough. An aggravated sound came from Randi and she asked if he had found anything at all.

“Well I don’t know if this is anything or not. It’s some address written on just a scrap of paper.”Rhysand said, having just found it moments before hidden. If he remembered correctly the area was rather sketchy but he wasn’t completely sure. He let Randi take the slip of paper to look it over before glancing around a bit more before he felt his phone buzz with a text. Rhysand wasn’t quite sure who would be texting him at the moment so he pulled his phone out. His gaze scanning the message before sending a quick reply back.”I’m tied up for tonight. However I’m free in the morning if you wanna grab a bite to eat?” He sent before slipping his phone back into his pocket. “I don’t think we are gonna find much else here. Plus we should probably go before any of the other Avalons come back. I know Briony wouldn’t care, she'd probably be happy about the help. Though I doubt she will be back anytime soon since she’s out drinking with Chris and Aubrey tonight.”he said having heard their plans earlier.


They decided to look around just a tad more in her room just double checking before they headed out of the place. When they were further away from the Avalons place Rhysand looked at the slip of paper again.”That area is a pretty sketchy one. Do you think Blair might be there? Or at least was going to visit there or something. I know that’s not her hand writing so it’s from someone else.”he said scanning the address again. “We could probably check it out tonight if you wanted since it’s not super late yet.”he said ready for some more searching.”That or we try and hit up some of her usual spots and see if anyone has seen her.”he said since he wasn’t sure where all anyone had checked for her yet. He listened to Randi as she decided on what the next course of action should be. He had already tossed out some options so now it was just figuring out what and how they should go about things.

coded by natasha.

 

[Wolfiee]

Initiate

location

location over here.

mood

mood over here.

outfit

outfit over here.

mentions

Shay Sanctuaryforall1 Griffon Nerdy.

Aya.

Aya’s suspicions seemed to be coming true; she thought there had been sound coming from the bathrooms. Was Shay really in there and if so had she been there this whole time? It had been hours since the testing had ended so why was Shay still here had something happened? When no one seemed to answer at first she decided to call Shay and confirm if it was her or not. The ringing of the phone was like a nail in the coffin of doubt so it was Shay. It only took a few moments for a cool voice to speak all she said was what. Aya blinked she wished she was Cas at this moment. Cas was much more bold and would easily handle Shay though Aya would be fine having gained confidence from all her current and new friends.”Well I know Cas worries about you so I figured I’d check on you. I thought you looked pale after the testing today. Have you been in the bathroom this whole time?”she asked her. She watched and waited for an answer of some kind, not minding if it wasn’t the full truth as long as it was an answer. It didn’t take long for the other raven haired woman to give some inkling of an answer. Aya wasn’t sure if it was the truth or not however it didn’t matter as long as Shay knew she didn’t have to be alone that’s what mattered.

“I can walk with you home if you’d like? Or you can just crash here there are extra beds.”Aya said knowing Shay stayed in an apartment usually. Whatever Shay decided Aya would make sure she either got home safe or to the bed with all the rest of them who stayed in the dorms. She pulled a hair band off her wrist swiftly pulling her own raven black hair up out of the way. Her mind on Cas and Griffon wondering where they had been headed so late though she mainly hoped they would be ok. Aya was sure they would be fine anyways as Cas could handle herself so could Griffon even if his memory didn’t work well his body was certainly capable of combat when needed. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Shay finally coming out of the stall looking more pale than usual.”We could always grab you something to eat as well if that’ll help or even swing by the medics. The one nurse is usually always there.”she said and wasn’t surprised about the medic idea being shot down. She stuck with Shay for a bit just wanting to make sure the other didn’t faint somewhere where no one would find her. There were enough missing people right now she didn’t really want Shay to become the next one. Her phone dinged and she was wondering who would be texting her this late. Then a smile flickered across her face as Griffon letting her know he was okay and on his way back. That was good, it was one last thing to worry about.

coded by natasha.

 

[Sanctuaryforall1]

Vex

Mood: Secret

Location: Café / Infirmary

Interactions: Mentions Charlie

Parting with Charlie left Vex once again free to roam and scout as she saw fit. It was always a good thing to check in on the different pieces in this game, they didn’t have the right to be title players when they were so clearly pawns. Vex didn’t even allow herself the title of a player when she knew full and well that she was merely a tool in the grand plan unfolding before her. Dr. Munro and his associates were the true players, the masterminds that held the world in their hands and would shape it however they saw fit. It was an honor to take part in this mission in whatever way was asked of her. Every fiber of her being craved to be able to serve and please Dr. Munro, letting him down was worse than death and she would gladly endure one over the other a thousand times over. Vex could not remember a time in her life when she would have ever thought to deny the good doctor and his colleagues. Due to the extensive years of ‘programming’ performed on her mind, there wasn’t a single rebellious thought or desire and any memories that might have once existed to contradict her brainwashing had long since been removed or remodeled.

Vex could remember when she was younger Dr. Munro had shared her with another doctor and sometimes on the street she could almost remember her face and features within those around her. For the most part, this woman had been erased from her memory, many core memories involving her either destroyed or altered in order to strengthen her bond towards Dr. Munro, all without her knowledge of course. All evidence that Dr. Tanya De Vries had ever existed within the project, let alone within Vex’s memories had been wiped off the face of the earth. Vex would never know or remember the bold brunette who had been like a surrogate mother to her, who had tried to protect her from the cruelty of these experiments to the best of her abilities. Anika would never be able to recall how Dr. Tanya had held her and calmed her, had realized what they were trying to do to her, and had done her best to stop it. Likely the only memory Vex might truly retain of the woman was the day she ended her life. Once Dr. Munro had gotten all he needed from Dr. De Vries studies and learned of her plans to save Vex by breaking her out and reporting his experiments he decided she would make an optimal target to test his creation out on. Performing the necessary procedures he drowned out what little remained of the true Anika Vex and brought forth the weapon of his own creation. Vex’s first ever true test to assess her loyalty and how well she would follow orders was a target mission with Dr. De Vries as the primary prey for the tiny hunter. Were Vex in her right mind the scene would have been heartbreaking for her. Tanya never begged for her life, in fact, the only thing she worried about was Vex and what Munro had done to her. Though she did not remember it there had been a brief moment of hesitation before the killing blow was landed, a moment in which for just a heartbeat Tanya reached the soul still locked inside of Vex. The moment didn’t last and a heartbeat later Tanya lay dead on the floor and Vex stood relishing her successful hunt. That moment of hesitation had been clocked by Dr. Munro though and after that, he had made sure to double down on ensuring she would never hesitate or risk failing to follow orders again.

Such an important moment in her life and Vex would never remember it aside from the fact that it was simply one of her first kills. Perhaps this was why she had decided to target Charlie so directly when the option on how to kill Caspian had been left up to her. Subconsciously there were bits of the way the young medic behaved, hints of how she looked, and the kindness of her heart that unknowingly triggered something within Vex. Vex would of course never fully realize this but as she parted from Charlie there was a brief moment in which the brunette’s face shifted and aged into someone new yet familiar, someone who made Vex feel a mixture of emotions she was hardly ready for. The instant flashed by so quickly that her feelings never had a chance to show and Vex simply pushed on, returning to her mission at hand. She needed to scout more of Dauntless and perhaps find out some more juicy information that could be used at a later date.

code by Stardust Galaxy

 

[WanderLust.]

Elaine "Lainey" Covington // 16 // Erudite Transfer// Initiate
Interacting With: Philip Nerdy. and Vex Sanctuaryforall1

Lainey mentally rolled her eyes as Maverick and Philip sauntered up towards the rock wall area. Of course, the two gorgeous instructors would end up approaching her when she looked like this… her hair in a messy braid and her brow covered in a light sheen of sweat, not a speck of makeup to be seen on her face. Philip introduced himself as Lainey was tugging her hair tie out, running her fingers loosely through her braided hair so that it fell in loose waves past her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. “Your Christian’s brother right? Good looks must run in the family…” she smirked playfully. She wasn't actually interested in Philip… at least she didn’t think she was. He was undeniably attractive, but she hadn’t really felt a romantic pull towards anyone since Peter. Her heart pinged at the thought of him, a sharp pressure in her chest until she exhaled forcefully.

Lainey looked down at her phone as it buzzed in her pocket. Rhys, unsurprisingly busy. “Sure but breakfast is on you” she texted back with a small smile and roll of her eyes before turning her attention back to the quadruplet of instructors. “Sorry… didn’t mean to crash instructors night out. But apparently I have no friends… and I haven’t been able to find Shay anywhere.” she shrugged. Lainey tried to brush it off as a joke, her own self deprecating humor, but there was a hint of sadness in her voice that she absolutely despised. It didn’t take long for Philip and Bloom to break off into their own little pair… and she sensed that Charlie and Maverick might do the same soon. “I’m actually just gonna head back to my apartment… maybe drown myself in some wine.” She decided, speaking to nobody in particular, although she was sure she wouldn’t be missed.

The walk home was long, and Lainey didn’t particularly like the idea of walking it by herself. As she made her way down the dark stone lined walls of the dauntless complex she folded her arms across her chest. It was unexpectedly cold for a night this early in the season. She let her thoughts stray as her feet made the journey home without her really needing to think about the path. This time of year in Erudite she would’ve been preparing for one of her ballet shows, in fact she probably would’ve been onto her second pair of pointe shoes for the year by now. She wondered what ballet they were doing this year. The more Lainey thought about it, the more and more homesick she got. She had frequently wondered if making the switch to dauntless had been the right choice for her. But the thought of returning to Erudite… to her sister and Peter… that made her stomach churn.

Lainey was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice that dark haired girl walking towards her. Evidently, Anika Vex did not notice Lainey either as the two quite literally bumped into each other. “Oh shit - sorry.” Lainey mumbled, embarrassed for a moment by how little she had been paying attention. “It’s Vex, right?” she paused. Lainey and Vex had both transferred from Erudite, but their paths had never really crossed in their previous faction and surprisingly, this was probably the first time the pair had spoken. Lainey’s family had had quite the reputation in Erudite… and as far as she knew they still did. The Covington’s were practically royalty there… wealthy and powerful. She wondered if Vex even recognized her, although admittedly, Lainey would be glad to leave her family name behind here in dauntless.​

 

[Aviator]

Ghost // Male // Age 18 // Semi-Competent Thug // Erudite to Dauntless​

Ghost walked away from the trash-strewn alley, the convenience store with its cracked windowpane as if someone had initiated a half-assed attempt to break in before being rousted by a police patrol. He headed for the downtown area that was equidistant between each faction’s territory. The middle of the square was dominated by a large fountain of reclining angels, holding fish from whose mouths sprayed arcs of white water that shimmered like pink diamonds in the late-afternoon sunlight. He walked along sleek avenues torn up by too-fast cars, their furious passage causing his sweater to flatten against him, wind whipping his hair sideways across his forehead. Past too-bright neon signs advertising hotel vacancies, discounted daiquiris, and skewers of various fried meats. In no hurry because he seriously doubted that Queen Bee would be punctual for the meeting time that they had selected, he stopped inside a shotgun shack with a long wooden bar and pennants for various sports teams dangling above an impressive display of liquors.
He ordered a double dark and stormy to go and continued on his way, with the growing pool of warmth in his belly oddly offsetting the icy needles in his hand from gripping the too-cold plastic cup. His stomach empty except for the basket of fried green tomatoes he’d bought from a street vendor earlier in his journey, Ghost felt a bubble of giddiness only a few sips in, prompting him to pull harder on the rum-and-ginger-beer concoction. There was a newfound spring in his step as he abandoned the downtown and its blaring hip-hop music, hawkers shouting over one another for attention, and sputtering engines belching up acrid clouds of stench.
With a renewed burst of energy, he deposited the empty to-go cup in a roadside trash can and walked until the crowds grew thinner, until there were only a few people around him, then none. It was a long time later. Sunset was a spilled glass of wine across the horizon, and then night descended in all its dark splendor. Careful not to cut himself, he scaled the rusted fence bordering an abandoned middle school and dropped to the other side, choppy asphalt with jagged rows of weeds pushing through. A dirty puddle of rainwater collected in the base of one twisting green slide, and a swing dangled from a single chain, the other dragging languidly on the soggy wood chip ground. The spring riders jutted up from the ground in horrific shapes that resembled skeletons of the creatures they were supposed to be, a horse here, a dinosaur there.
A flash of motion behind the merry-go-round made Ghost duck for cover behind a slide while grasping for his gun, his heartbeat exploding in his ears. Behind the merry-go-round, the silhouette slapped indignant hands on hips. A derisive scoff escaped from the lips of a girl in her late teens or early twenties. “What the fuck, asshole, you kept be waiting a half hour!” And as soon as those words reverberated through the playground, Ghost felt silly for his melodrama. He straightened and emerged from behind the slide, crossing to where Bee waited for him with one foot jiggling irritably, as if Ghost were a dog that had pissed on the carpet.
Ghost raised his hands in an absent-minded shrug, palms up. Emboldened by the alcohol, he abandoned his usual tactic to sooth over her wrath with glib compliments and surface charm. “How was I supposed to know that this would be the one time you were punctual? Really, Bee. The one time. How long do you think you’ve kept me waiting if we were to sum up every time, ‘cuz I promise you it’d be a lot more’n—”
“If you’re gonna be ungrateful you can take your ass back to whatever hell hole you crawled outta, because I don’t know who else would have waited up for you. We’re not friends, ‘kay?” Bee snapped. She was a heavy-set girl with pin-straight strawberry hair and pinched features, and they pinched further as she glared at Ghost. Her words sent a jolt through Ghost that the alcohol emphasized rather than reduced, so that it felt like he’d missed a stair. It was surprise. Surprise that Bee would wait more than even ten minutes for him. It wasn’t like they were friends, and their professional relationship didn’t exceed a month. He’d only known her since Amadine had gotten picked up by the police. Someone’s really strapped for cash, Ghost suspected. Either you, Bee Bunny, or a bigger fish on the food chain. He had half a mind to announce this deduction to Bee just to goad her, but Ghost couldn’t afford Bee walking away from their deal. Not when he didn’t have enough lull for tomorrow’s hit.
Chastened by the realization that he would have been up shit’s creek if Bee had left sooner, Ghost mumbled, “Sorry to’ve kept you waiting, Queen Bee. Won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, it’d better fucking not,” she spat with enough venom to kill a grown man. He heard the air exit her lips as she took a deep breath, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose as if struggling to reign in her anger. Or another emotion. Ghost couldn’t help thinking that she looked tired, with pasty skin and shadows circling her eyes that weren’t just a nighttime illusion. “Anyway,” Bee ground out, as if her sanity were clinging to that one word. “I have your stuff. The usual, right, ten grams?”
Feeling giggly and playful from the alcohol, Ghost tittered a laugh. “Gee, Miss Bee, you know me so well it fills me with glee.”
Bee’s face shuttered. “Yeah, dude, don’t. Just stop talking, ‘kay? Less is more from you.” She thrust a weighty baggie filled almost to bursting with silver powder at him with her arm extended all the way, as if Ghost were a demon and the goal was to repel him with holy water. When he accepted it, there was already cash in his hand, and he and Bee nimbly exchanged the agreed-upon price. “Shukran, sayidati,” Ghost said gratefully. Bee gazed at him skeptically, just short of a glare, as if wondering whether he was mocking her. Feeling increasingly awkward as the silence stretched on, Ghost thought it best to take his leave, his business conducted. He didn’t want to stay on the creepy abandoned middle school playground any longer than he had to. “Well, you have yourself a lovely evening, Miss Bee,” he said by way of leave.
He had turned halfway around when Bee choked out, “Wait!” It was the reedy twinge of desperation in her voice that caught his attention, like a discordant note from an untuned instrument. Ghost glanced back, a little startled. Bee cleared her throat. “For being such a loyal customer, I have a new product that you’re free to sample.” She reached into the miniature camouflage pocketbook at her side and pulled out a long, slim pen, not dissimilar to the one that Ghost owned. “It’s a new strain of delta nine, a hybrid that combines the best of everything. Here.” She held the pen out to him. “Take a hit. On me.” Her lips spread in a flat smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Ghost stayed rooted where he was, hands dangling by his sides. Something about Bee’s sudden shift of demeanor rubbed him the wrong way, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe it had to do with Bee waiting up so long for him, lashing out at him, and then arbitrarily deciding to reward him. “What’s this change of heart, Bee’s Knees? I thought a minute ago we weren’t friends.”
Her face fell. “We’re not. You’re a client and I’m a seller. And as such I’m giving you the chance to try the latest thing on the market, free of charge.”
“Latest thing on the market, eh? What’s it called and where’s it from? Who manufactures it?” Ghost rested his chin on one palm, adopting a supremely pensive pose.
Bee’s eyes turned to slits. “What’s with the fifty questions? I didn’t invent the damn thing, ‘kay? Just shut up and take a hit, because this shit’s a limited-time offer.”
“Very short limit, if you ask me.”
“No one did, smart-ass.”
“So what’s really in it?”
“Shit that’ll get you feeling good.”
“I’ll hit it if you do. Ladies first.” Ghost smiled chivalrously, pleasantly. “C’mon, Bumblebee. Smoke with your old non-friend of not quite a month.”
Bee’s hands flew to her hips again, head cocked indignantly as if Ghost had requested a table dance. She paused for a tremulous moment, as if the challenge of finding words to express her outrage was too great. Or as if she were backpedaling. “Fuck no. I’m a professional, ‘kay? We have standards. Don’t dip into our own stash.”
“Hell of a time to develop a conscience, don’t you think?”
“Fine, then. You don’t want a free sample? Never fucking mind.” Her voice had pitched louder, wilder, reverberating slightly in the abandoned park. The shift in volume made the hair stand up on the back of Ghost’s neck, suddenly anxious that Bee would get them caught trespassing, if not on the hook for worse. With her gaze fixed on him, she shoved the pen back into her handbag, watching him as if hoping for a last-minute change of mind.
Ghost cleared his throat. When no other words were forthcoming, he said, “You have a lovely evening, Beanie Boo.” He turned to go and luckily Bee did not continue her overloud protests. He eyed the lull that he’d bought for a pretty penny suspiciously, having doubted Bee’s motives with the pen. What would have happened if he had indeed hit it? What would happen tomorrow morning when he took the lull? Unfortunately, Ghost didn’t have the option of going cold turkey and refusing the drug altogether; he’d find out sooner or later.
He hurried past a basketball court, past the swings and the slides, past a small outcropping of buildings with broken shards of window protruding like jagged teeth. Ghost was almost to the chain-link fence and sliding the baggie of lull into his waistband so he could climb, when a low voice rumbled, “You should have hit the pen.”
The voice came from Ghost’s immediate left, and while he was in the process of whirling, a fist hit him like a brick, hard enough to crack his head sideways and make the world go momentarily white. The Wicked Sister that he’d drawn halfway skittered across asphalt with a disheartening sound. Reality was spinning like a carousel around Ghost, his mouth filled with a warm taste like rust. He struggled to peel his forehead up off the asphalt, and when he did, it was to see a pair of massive booted feet standing where his gun had fallen. Strange shapes danced in the darkness as Ghost forced his eyes upward, over three-hundred pounds of rippling muscle clad in a police uniform. A mane like dark seaweed tumbled past his shoulders and part way down his back, and heavy brows angled sharply over his eyes, making him resemble an oversized owl.
“Hit the pen, and we could have done this the easy way,” Jeremy Daniels said calmly as he examined the handiwork of Ghost’s pearl-inlaid pistol. Fear wrapped a hand around Ghost’s throat, stopped the breath in his lungs. His face prickled with an icy numbness as he struggled to push himself to his feet, more disoriented than in actual pain. Alcohol and adrenaline had taken the edge off.
“Instead, I’m guessing I’ll have to break a few bones before taking you in to the station. You drug-dealing criminal types have a habit of resisting arrest. But I can’t pretend I’m entirely displeased at that outcome.” Daniels leveled the gun at Ghost experimentally. “I could shoot you right now, but that would spoil the fun.” He tucked the Beretta away into an empty holster at his belt. “So, boy. Ferris. What a pansy name, that. Anyway, are you going to come quietly, or will you need some persuading?”
His body feeling like it was halfway under the control of some malevolent spirit who felt neither pain nor fear, Ghost stood and drew the most sinister-looking knife in his possession. A gleaming switchblade beauty with a slight sinuous curve to the blade, like the body of a serpent. “I won’t need persuading half as much as you’ll need a hospital and a shoulder to cry on by the time I’m through with you.” His lips drew into a sneer. “Sure you’re up for round two, old man?”