[Chloe Rowan Abernathy] !!nightmares!!
Dice Rolled:[ 5 d10 ] 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 (Success x 2 at target 6)
[Elliot] They’re sitting on a bench togther. Elliot looks much the same as she always does, red hair a tangled mess, oversized sunglasses protecting her eyes from the cold winter sunshine. She’s slouching beside her sister, hands shoved into the pockets of her coat. It’s getting colder, but she doesn’t seem to notice. This, after all, is not cold to her.
The Forgotten are eating apples, pilfered from a local mini-mart. Elliot is listening to Chloe’s opinion on what their territory’s weak areas are, her face turned to watch the cars rumbling down the street. Sometimes, rarely, an angry driver lays on his horn, and the metis winces.
[Schala] Schala meanwhile is leaving the local University of Technology that of all things, is situated within Bronzeville…or in its borders. A pair of thick headphones completely encased her ears as he head bobbed…she was skipping a little here and there…doing the Noodle dance, humming now and then. It was hard to believe the blue haired shrimp had challenged Rayne over elder for the Walkers.
Either she had cajones or the more likely aspect of the metis…she was out of her mind.
[Chloe Rowan Abernathy] “We’re missing something, and honestly this part of town’s our weakspot. Stuff always seems to happen here, but I don’t know who is supposed to be watching it. Mister Gambini’s place seems to have some issues, but…”
Chloe takes a huge bite of apple. She bites like a muppet. The girl chews and sits with her Alpha, listening to what she has to say, and sitting close enough that they can talk about these things. Blue hair caught her attention, and Chloe opened her mouth to call out-
Only to look at Eliot, close her mouth, and speak quietly.
“Think she’ll want an apple?”
[Elliot] “We need to set borders, beyond the alleys.” A beat. “We need to know who our neighbors are.”
Chloe takes a bite of her apple and chews. It sounds like bags of gravel being shucked over and over and over with each bite. Elliot doesn’t wince away or ask her to chew with her mouth closed. Her expression remains impassive as ever as she falls silent, head turning to watch the blue-haired Glass Walker.
She doesn’t call out to Schala, but if the girl happens to look their way, Elliot signals the her with an upward lift of her chin, removes her hand from her pocket to beckon her over. Her hands are bone white and painfully thin. The metis’ cheek bones are prominent, but her layers of clothing hide the rest of her stick-like figure.
[Schala] Schala does see them, mostly because she’s a visual person…even if she’s in lalala land with her mp3s streaming from her laptop. Most people made do with a laptop, but Schala enjoyed having high quality music stream from the laptop…even if the battery died much more quickly. She saw the wave…peered and then walked over…she slid the headset off…reaching into the satchel for a moment to hit something and then looked back to Elliot. The eyes peer at the two…narrow some…and then she points her finger.
“….reveal your secrets!”
[Elliot] Behind her sunglasses, Elliot’s eyes narrow fractionally. What the others can see is the shadow that passes between Elliot’s brows, little more than a twitch, a facial tick, and then it’s gone.
She doesn’t respond to the Walker’s demand. She just stares.
[Chloe Rowan Abernathy] “I haven’t seen any formal markers in either Chinatown or here. Though, chinatown has some strange things going on there, and there’s… a…”
Schala got a look. Chloe looked from one metis to the other, then at Schala’s finger in particular.
“You first.”
[Schala] “…awww…no fun. Guess neither of you have seen that video before. What’s up?”
She smiles some, rocking back on her heels and then onto her toes, amusement on her features.
“Waiting on the bus or something?”
[Chloe Rowan Abernathy] She shook her head no, and offered the apple she had been eating to the Glasswalker.
“Want some?”
She shrugs.
“Nah, I haven’t seen videos in ages. Is that from, like, a movie or something?”
[Schala] “Sorta…an internet little skit that I liked a lot. Its called “E-mail”.
She glanced over at the quiet girl and then back to Chloe.
“Nah..I’m good..not a fan of apples.”
[Rory] She’s moving down the street, her head ducked, more interested in what’s in her hands than where she’s going. Fortunately her rage and the swollen moon in the sky tends to keep people out of her way. Random lampposts however…
Her belly is still comfortably full from the left over Chinese they’d shared for breakfast, pilfered from a very nice pair of Fenrir Kinfolk. She’s clean too – freshly showered, clothing washed, though she wears almost everything she owns, all at once. It’s damn cold in Chicago. Damn cold.
She careens off a lamppost, but only barely glances up to adjust her path, and keep moving.
[Elliot] Schala looks to Elliot, who appears content to simply watch the Glass Walker in return, until she says she’s not a fan of apples.
The Bone Gnawer metis can feel her packsister’s approach without looking. There’s a tug along the totem link the three of them share, a tug that grows stronger as the third readhead draws nearer. Elliot’s head turns to watch their Ahroun as she bounces off a lamp post. There is no change in her expression, her head remains turned toward Rory, but her words are for Schala.
“Do you have a pack, Short Circuit-yuf?”
[Schala] “Just call me SC, please? And no…don’t got one.”
She shifts some, feeling like she’s being analyzed by Elliot now.
[Rory] She feels the tug of her pack near, drawing her closer as she continues to pay attention to whatever gizmo she’s picked up on today’s scrounging expedition. She finally looks up though, and offers Elliot a shy little grin. “Hi.”
She glances at Schala and doesn’t interrupt as she moves to the bench, and plops down on the ground next to it, pulling her backpack of and into her lap so that she can get to her tools inside. The pack rattles and clanks – no telling what all is in there. It’s probably best not to ask – as she unzips it and digs around inside. She pulls out a little felt wrapped bundle and unwraps it, grabbing a tiny screwdriver from it, and then goes about dismantling the little box in her hand.
[Elliot] Elliot’s packsisters fall silent around her, Rory with her gadget, Chloe with her apple. One might have thought the younger, livelier girls would bring out their quiet alpha, but there are times when the opposite seems truer. Elliot’s quiet infects the others, instead.
Schala doesn’t have a pack. Elliot nods her head once. If Schala feels like she’s being analyzed by the Bone Gnawer Philodox, she would be correct. Elliot is watching her now, the intensity of her gaze disguised by the sunglasses that hide most of her face.
“We are looking to expand our ranks. Would you hunt with us sometime?”
[Schala] “…hunt?”
Now there was an obvious awkward shuffle.
“…I’m…not good at that sort of thing. Its why I don’t have a pack…I can’t keep up.”
[Rory] She tips her head, looking up at Schala, curious. She doesn’t like being called her deed name, and questions her own ability on a hunt. Rory lifts her hand, rubbing at the side of her nose absently, then tugs her knit hat down a little firmer over her ears.
She is often quiet -though Chloe seems to bring the chatter out in her more easily than most. With Elliot, she is content to simply be near her. Now, however, she asks the obvious question. “Why?”
[Elliot] Elliot falls silent. Her face doesn’t change, but there’s an air of expectancy around her as she waits for Schala’s answer to Rory’s question.
[Schala] “…cause that’s what Gaia chose for me…some are meant to be athletes, others to be rock stars. And I’m meant to be coughing my guts out if I try to run or getting put in a hospital if a car hits me even in my birth form…”
She sucked in her bottom lip…usually no one wanted dead weight.
[Rory] She’s not sure what to say about that, really, and looks up at Elliot, curious as to what she will say. Her fingers fall still for the moment, the half dismantled box in her lap. They understand the disabilities of being Metis, and how they each fight to overcome them – as they’ve their own to work through, some more obvious than others.
They are also called The Forgotten for a reason.
[Elliot] Elliot nods once, again, thinking.
Her head tips slightly to the side as she looks up at Schala. She takes a bite of her own apple, and chews slowly, thoughtfully.
When she has swallowed, she says, “All have their place in the war.” A beat, a glance to judge their privacy, and then, “My name is Elliot, Rises Above, Bone Gnawer Philodox and alpha of The Forgotten. You are skilled with technology. I would like propose a test, if you would be interested in joining us.”
She takes another bite of her apple, waiting for Schala’s response.
[Schala] “…uh…what’s the test?”
Schala looks up, curious now. She wasn’t going to say no…at least not right off. She was always up to a challenge that involved her skills with technology.
[Rory] She smiles, shyly, and adds. “and I’m Rory O’Bryne, Tongue-Twister, Fianna Mull Foon.”
She doesn’t seem to notice the mistake in her phrasing, the words rolling off her tongue as if she hears what she intended to say, rather than what she did say.
She then looks back at the little box in her hands, and continues to work with it once more. It’s as if she can’t keep her hands still, needing to keep fingers busy doing something as she listens, and watches.
[Elliot] Elliot tips her head again, studying the small blue-haired girl.
“There is a house nearby that we wish to hold. A kin to the Furies has agreed to aid us in obtaining ownership through human legal means, however he is male. As none in our pack currently is a Black Fury, I’m hesitant to use the kin’s help. If you can use your computer to win us the deed to our desired home, we will welcome you to Alley Cat.”
[Schala] “…you mean…try and hack up a deed? Well…uh….I could try…but even then, that doesn’t take care of the actual physical deed. Computer work is one thing, but few things involving that sort of thing are wholly electronic.”
She paused a little.
[Rory] She blushes at the mention of the Fury kin, who is reason for her being all cleaned up currently, as he’s taking her to the park later. On a date. And the thought makes her blush harder still.
She doesn’t know anything about houses and deeds and what it will take, so simply listens (and prays the heat in her cheeks will fade…)
[Elliot] “No,” she corrects. “I admit, it has been some years since I have dealt with human laws and regulations, but even years ago many of their files were kept in online databases. Home ownership is a matter of public record, if I remember correctly. I’m asking you to alter those files.”
Rory blushes at the mention of the Fury kinfolk. Behind her sunglasses, Elliot’s eyes flick down to the Ahroun, and back to Schala.
“If you can do that, break into human government files and put ownership of this house in our hands, then you will have a place among us.”
[Schala] “…alright…give me a couple of days then.”
[Rory] She feels the weight of Elliot’s gaze on her and she bites her lower lip absently, and concentrates instead on pulling free a gear from the little box, and study it, before dropping it into the growing pile of pieces and parts by her side.
Schala accepts the challenge, and she looks up and smiles shyly at her.
[Elliot] Elliot nods. “If we do not hear from you by Friday, we will assume you have failed or are no longer interested in our offer.” We, our. Elliot rarely says “I” or “Me” or “My” when referring to the pack. She doesn’t say “we” the way a royal would, but inclusively. She may be their alpha, but Rory’s and Chloe’s opinions are just as important as hers. When Elliot speaks, she speaks for all of them.
It’s not exactly a dismissal, but it’s clear from the way that Elliot’s chin lifts and her head turns away, that she’s finished talking for now.
[Schala] Schala nods, noticing that the bench is not a busstop…she gives a wave and starts to head off…though she pauses to get the address before moving on.
[Rory] Elliot always includes them, which is part of what makes her such a strong alpha for The Forgotten. Since she challenged for the position, Rory’s accepted the change of leadership easily, falling into familiar roles along with Chloe. If asked, she’d say she was Omega, though it’s not really an issue. They are The Forgotten. Together, strong. Elliot takes the lead, but she never lords it – and that’s just fine with Rory.
She lifts a hand to wave as Schala moves off, and smiles up at Elliot briefly, before looking down at her latest tinkering project.
[Elliot] They sit in silence for a while, the cold air biting at exposed skin, tugging at clothing, trying to cut through to bones. Elliot is thinner than either of her sisters, she has spent more time surviving between cities than they have, and yet she doesn’t look uncomfortable. She’s wearing layers to cover her torso, but her jeans, old and in desperate need of replacement, expose her pale knobbly knees. And yet she doesn’t shiver when the breeze tugs at her tangled red hair.
She’s watching people walking on the other side of the street. By the time she speaks again, Chloe has wandered away. Elliot didn’t ask where the Theurge was going. She’ll know, thanks to the totem link they share, if her sister is safe or in trouble.
Her head still turned away, she says abruptly, “You seem flustered whenever Gabe is mentioned.” There is no accusation, nor any sisterly ribbing. It’s merely a statement of fact.
[Rory] The silence is easy, and she is content in it, working with her little, prying apart pieces and parts that she’ll later put together – either in a way that makes it work as originally intended, or into something completely different and new. Only time will tell. She only has a vague idea of who it’s for, at this point in time – it might be for the pretty Fenrir Kin that bought their dinner last night. She’s yet to decide.
And then Elliot mentions Gabe again, and she can’t help it, she blushes, and ducks her head, trying to hide it behind her curls, though she can’t help that soft smile.
“I hike lim. He’s nice to me.” a beat, and a deeper blush. “He missed ke…” Clearly a first for the Metis, all the way around.
[Elliot] Elliot’s face may be turned toward the opposite side of the street, but as it moves to trace the walk of a woman and her child, as Rory’s capped head of fiery curls comes into her peripheral, she stops. Her pale eyes move to her sister, hard and as seemingly lifeless as jade.
Her expression, impassive as ever, becomes stony whens he deciphers that last comment.
“Careful, sister. The Furies guard their male kinfolk fiercely. It would be unwise to become too attached.”
[Rory] She lifts a hand and scratches at the back of her neck, absently. Even in this form her nails are pale, extremely short, and thin – almost as if they don’t exist at all. She sighs, softly, and nods.
“I know.” Her brow wrinkles, and she looks up at Elliot. “I han’t celp it. He’s so…. so…” She sighs, and then flushes as she looks down again. “Perfect. I know they’ll hake tim. But until they do…”
[Elliot] She turns her head to face her packmate at last, she who thinks she is omega in a pack of outcasts. They are The Forgotten, and though she may not agree with the name, there’s no denying that it’s apt. They exist on the outskirts of their society, guarding the cracks and crevasses those who think themselves above them won’t go near.
When Rory looks up, she sees herself reflected back at herself in Elliot’s huge sunglasses. Her wide lips purse into a straight line, the closest her sisters have seen her come to actually frowning.
“The closer you get to him, Rory, the more it will hurt when they take him away from you.” She pauses, watching Rory, but before the other girl can comment, she says, “I won’t stop you if you are determined to see him.”
[Rory] She sighs, softly, especially when she sees the almost frown. Her teeth find purchase along her lower lip again, chewing absently as she takes a deep breath. It hurts her already to think of, that much is clear. It’s a first crush, the first time any man has paid any sort of attention to her, the first time someone’s held her hand, kissed her, treated her like she mattered in a way different than Pack.
“With Gabe… he makes me leel fike I matter to him, like he mees se as more than war, more than bromeone soken.”
It will hurt her deeply indeed when they take him from her – but at least she knows that it will happen. “I know it will hurt. But even a while hith wim is worth it.” She nods, once, decisively as she looks up again. The truth is written clear in her eyes – he’s worth the risk of her own heartache, if only to feel this way for a time. She’s never had anything like it before, not ever.
[Elliot] Elliot lapses into silence. She doesn’t argue, or try to further press her point. She may be alpha of The Forgotten, but she doesn’t use that authority to order Chloe and Rory around, dictating every moment of their lives who they can or cannot spend time with.
Rory thinks whatever pain she feels over this man will be worth what she feels with him now. Elliot nods once. She’s finished with her apple by now. Absently, she digs out the seeds, gathering them into her fist before depositing them into one of her pockets. She doesn’t need to stay with Rory, but she does, quietly guarding her sister while she tinkers.
[Rory] [Thassawrap!]