exulcnsis

[exulcnsis]

A faint chuckle escapes Riggs' lips as he watches her walk out of his bar, before he relays a message to his bar manager, taking care of a couple of things quickly before he's heading outside to join her, his hand sliding easily into his pocket as a faint hum leaves him.

"You know I never say no to masks, massages, and wine," he teases lightly, ducking his head to press an affectionate kiss to the top of her head before he's sliding into the passenger seat of her car. Unlike most he knew, he'd never really cared about not being the driver - as much as he liked being in control, whether it was of his bike or his truck, he didn't mind not having that control, leaving it up to her to take them to her house. "What kinda movie are we feelin' for tonight?" he hums lightly, head cocking to the side just a touch as he eyes her. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company tonight, huh?"

riggs felt more like home to her than many had ever felt. in so many ways, he had kept aysel grounded and away from using her own loneliness as a shield, and for that, she was thankful. in all honesty, she wished her feelings could have evolved into something more romantic, because she would have loved to be loved by someone as pure-hearted as riggs, but life had other plans for them.

tapping on his chest, aysel shook her head, as if dismissing his words. "oh no, sweetheart. you're not dragging me into hell with you." she teased. although she knew he was merely joking, and that she could actually afford renovating this place, there was only so much money she was willing to inject in a town as lancaster. maybe in the future, as more of her wounds were healed up she could think about it. "baby, i can do so much more than just tempting." she shot a wink towards his general direction and smacked his ass before turning around to leave the place. "i'll meet you outside, okay?"

it would also give her the chance to decide whether or not to smoke the menthol laying in her jacket's pocket since she had made herself the promise to quit smoking. when riggs finally arrived, she wiggled her car keys at him, then motioned her head to where she had parked. "ready for some moisturizing masks, beard massages and wine, big guy?"

[exulcnsis]

For a moment, Riggs' lips part. Is he about to throw the other male out for asking questions? Not a chance - really, he knew Kieran had followed him out in cuffs, all for defending him and the bogus search done on the bar, but did that mean that the other male had earned the truth? It wasn't really Riggs' place to tell - but he figured, if the other male had done anything, it was warrant some sort of explanation, and not a lie. "Ain't really hide the fact that I'm a Coyote," he starts, nodding towards the door of the bar that leads out front, where his bike is parked. He's never been the type to wear his leather cut while out and about, but when he was riding, it was always on his back, proclaiming him as a member of the club. Grabbing a rag from the bar, he wipes off his hands - dirty from where he's spent the last couple of hours straightening the mess the agents have made of the bar in their futile search. "Guess they took that allegiance as reason to believe I'm doin' somethin' illegal. But that ain't me." That, however, was a lie - of course he had a hand in club business, but it was truthfully enough that he'd never brought it back to the Dive, so he didn't feel that bad about lying about it. "Some people don't understand it - they think we're somethin' bad, I guess. But..." But nothing is ever black and white - something he'd told to Kieran none too long ago in another conversation.

— riggs maddow ; the dive, before opening.

"It was open." He'd heard the heavy steps beneath the man's boots long before he popped out from the back. Kieran stood with his elbows resting atop the bar as he lazily lifted his gaze in the other's direction. From what he could assume, they weren't satisfied with their own evidence to hold him, leaving Kieran to wonder why they'd even been looking towards him in the first place. "So, should I even ask what that was about? Or are you gonna toss some bullshit my way and pretend like you're still nothing but a saint? 'Cause I'll look the other way if you want." He'd followed Riggs out in a pair of cuffs, but for a reason he had no regrets over. In fact, he only wished he'd done more. @exulcnsis

[exulcnsis]

If there was one thing Riggs had, it was a lot of love to give - and he gave that to everyone he surrounded himself with. The Wild Coyotes, mostly, but also Aysel. As much as he liked being alone, he'd inherited his mother's penchant for picking people out and bringing them into the fold of his own family as if it was the most natural thing in the entire world. He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before a faint hum falls from his lips, eyebrow quirking up when she speaks.

"Yeah, I guess I could cut out," he hummed softly. "Especially when ya make such a tempting offer. But if the place burns down while I'm hangin' out with you... You owe me a bar." He was only teasing - Riggs knew his employees were more than capable of surviving a night without him, and there was no real reason for him to worry. Did it stop him? Not really - but he'd allow her to pull him away from work for a night regardless. "You sure do know how to tempt a man, don't ya?"

there was something about the way riggs acted around her that made aysel feel right at home. she wouldn't go as far as saying he was the reason she gave lancaster a second shot, but he was heavily involved in it. although, it took her some time to realize that their relationship should be purely platonic. the attention given by him worked like a charm on her. like a moth being drawn to the flame and making up for all the times she'd been ignored and neglected growing up, hence why, whenever she felt like this—lonely, she'd resort to his company. that was, when her loneliness was on a deeper kind of level, and not just purely physical.

his arm pulled her to him and aysel wrapped hers around his middle, closing her eyes on a second there as she returned the love given by him.

ever since her fiasco of a marriage, bound to be burned to the ground the second it'd started, aysel hadn't wanted to feel like she was someone else's property, but being referred by riggs as his girl, didn't feel tainted. he didn't make her feel like an object. "you could leave this place and come home with me." she suggested with a grin, resting her chin against his chest as she looked up to meet his gaze. "i've got some things i brought from elixir and wine." also beer, but that was a given. at the fear of becoming an alcoholic hanging in the back of her mind, aysel still didn't feel alarming enough not to have a six pack at home at all times. "how about we give this beard of yours a fine treat and spoil ourselves with pizza, hm?" the loopsides grin hang on the corner of her lips at her proposal. "i'm sure these people aren't going to explode this place if you clock out earlier."

[exulcnsis]

"Oh hell yeah," Riggs laughed lightly. "I was even engaged, once upon a time." He was so used to the people around him knowing - mostly because the people he talked to had lived in Lancaster for decades, - that it felt almost foreign to him, to have someone who didn't already know that about him. "Always wanted to settle down with someone, have a kid or two. Ain't never happened, but maybe one day, yeah?" The corner of his lips quirked up, smirking at the other male when he mentioned fatal flaws - did Riggs know what those flaws were? Not really - but he figured there had to be something wrong with him, if the only long term relationship he'd ever found himself in had ended because they just hadn't felt like marrying him anymore. "I don't know man - I'm not the life of the party, sometimes I get quiet and awkward. S'kinda thing some people can't get past, I guess."

Clearing his throat, Riggs did his best to pretend he knew nothing about what was actually going on in the small town - and he thought he did a pretty good job, personally. "Yeah, I guess it is," he starts, before he lifts his shoulders in a brief shrug. "But a hole's a hole, ain't it? If it's deep enough to bury a skyscraper or dearly departed pet hamster, it's still just a hole." His eyes dip down slightly. "Never believed in black and white - figured the entire world was just shades of grey. But no matter how dark or light, it's still grey, ain't it?"

Unable to help himself, Riggs let out a bark of laughter, his head shaking. "I'll give anything a try once, man. I'll be the first to admit that some of my all time favorite albums are the only fuckin' things I like from the band-" Californication from the Red Hot Chili Peppers being the most glaring example, since it was the only album from the band that had songs he liked on it. "I'll be nice if I decide you've got shit taste, promise."

"So, you're the dating type, huh?" He wasn't all that surprised, though, he didn't know the other well enough to make an assumption one way or another. As for what he preferred, the messing around type had always been his preferred method. It was easier for a man who bounced from city to city, town to town, always looking for a new story to carry him away. It made things easier when he needed to take a deeper dive too. "Nothing wrong with that. You're a hero and Mr. Perfect. Gotta say, man, I can't believe you're not locked down yet. Has me wondering what that fatal flaw of yours is." A joke, of course, but his cheshire grin stretching wide on whiskey stained lips.

Sure, small towns made trouble inevitable, but the last Kieran checked, monthly murder wasn't a normal part of that. Petty crimes made sense, but Lancaster was full of surprises much bigger than that. "Hole seems pretty deep here." Surely Riggs had heard the drunken whispers at the bar. Even Kieran had been privy to some of those conversations that weren't meant for his ear. He once again scanned over the man before him, this time noting the look of contemplation. As for what the other could have been thinking about, that was for him to figure out.

"Doesn't make you boring at all. I respect that. You shouldn't ever confine yourself to a single genre of music. I'll see what comes in and I'll hold some stuff that I think you might like. If you don't, then break it to me easy." He struggled to communicate more often than not, but through writing and music, he could say more than his voice could ever spew aloud.

[exulcnsis]

“She opened her compact and reapplied her lipstick. It was time to move on with her life, and she needed to look good doing it. Dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, she realized that might be the only thing of value she ever learned from her mother.”

— Poor Little Daddy’s Girl, Normandie Alleman

[exulcnsis]

The blonde gives a brief nod of her head, a faint hum escaping her lips as she does. "That wouldn't be a problem. It'd basically just be making a duplicate inbox for the tips to be sent to - if we were using something like a Google email account, it'd be difficult, but for confidentiality reasons I created the database in the framework of the website - anyone with moderator approval to post on the website or edit information can assign someone a password and username in order to access the tip box. That way, there's a record of who has access to the tips, if there are any issues. You can check the inbox at any time, as well as whoever gets assigned to keep track of it, or if a new person ever gets that assignment. It's all very adaptive - given the nature of the information, I figured cyber security and accountability was important." To everyone, of course, but her - she had eyes on every corner of the website, but he didn't need to know that.

"I think we'd be well prepared for a launch on Monday, as long as there's nothing you want to change. Color palette, which images I used from the portfolio you sent me - if everything meets your approval, I just have a final scan to do of the code to ensure everything is working properly."

He watched with a calm front, his arms folded before him atop the desk, hands clasped together in a note of interest for what played out before him. He'd asked for her to build him a website, one appealing to the public, but comforting in ways that would add a layer of trust without them realizing it. Her idea, as back channeled as it seemed, was brilliant. Only suggestion? Those tips actually came to him, or he had a level of control over seeing them if he wished. "What if I want a bit of the work? To see what's coming through? Believe it or not, I'm not afraid of a little extra work being put in front of me." He appreciated it though, her creativity, the way she'd taken his ideas and turned into something else entirely.

Xavier chewed at the inside of his cheek, a breath stilled in his chest. Did she believe that he didn't want to put in the work, or was it an easy assumption to make? "So, is it possible that I could have access? To dig through the tips whenever I'm feeling up to the extra work?" Not total control, but some, more than she was suggesting. That way, if anything about the club came in and it was worrisome enough, he'd cut it off before it reached anyone of importance.

"I want to be more than just a good look. I want to make a difference. This," he paused, his gaze darting towards the screen before returning to her, "is a good start. How long will it take to be ready to launch to the public?"

[exulcnsis]

"Oh, I'm countin' on it, darlin'. I fully expect you and all the other Coyotes to be droppin' embarrassing stories in the form of a toast when the day finally comes." And truthfully, he wouldn't have it any other way. There'd be his Lancaster family, telling all the adult embarrassing stories, and his family from back on the island telling all the embarrassing stories from his childhood. The best of both worlds. If that day ever came, that is.

A faint, playful hum escaped his lips. "There's always gonna be one waitin' for ya, Mia. Always a spot at my table for you, too." He was one of the few bachelors he knew who actually cooked proper, balanced meals after all - and while he didn't like to brag, he liked to think he was actually quite good in the kitchen. "Yeah, but she'd have to pay that business to come fix it - an' Riley's birthday is next month. She's savin' up." Sandy had, in fact, tried to tell him not to come fix it - but he'd had too many conversations where she'd mentioned it, complained about it, and promised she'd call someone to come in after her son's birthday had passed - as far as he was concerned, if he was capable, he might as well come fix it. Save her the money, and the waiting, because he liked knowing he could help.

"I know I don't need to say yes. But..." He hesitates for a moment. "The Coyotes are my family. And maybe it's not in the same way, but the people of Lancaster are like family too. Maybe they're the distant relatives you only see at family reunions to me, but... If I can help, I want to." One of his eyebrows quirked up when she said Riggs for Mayor, an easy grin spreading over his face as he did. "Does have a nice ring to it, but... I mean, have you ever seen me in a suit? I don't know if I'm cut out for it."

“Doesn’t mean that’ll make you an honest man buddy, that ship has sail and we both know it.” There was a laugh with her words. This felt good, to be back working, to joke with Riggs. It was easy to get lost in this kind of moments, even more after everything that happened in the past months. Mia hated all the clichés about life being fragile and all but apparently they were also true. “But when it happens,” she said, certain that if any of them was to ever get hitched it was him, “I’m giving a toast.” Riggs was family, a little more than some of the others, someone Mia would have no problems going to war for, no questions asked. Just like he had been doing. “First of all, never push my buttons. Second, just making sure there’s a cold one with my name on it tonight.” In short, she was trying to butter him up, not that she needed to do such a thing. “If only there was some business Sandy could call that would fix her leak. I’m surprise no one ever thought of trying that.” There was a beat before she spoke again. “You know some of them take advantage of you, right? I mean, they’re hoping for it to turn into something else, but you don’t have to say yes to them.” Her words came from a place of real concern, the brunette having his back. “Riggs for mayor, has a nice ring to it. Could be useful too. I’m going to push it at the next meeting.”

[exulcnsis]

Riggs was, without a doubt, was a workaholic. Though he had managers and employees, it wasn't uncommon to find him at the bar on any given night, to the point that it'd become sort of an inside joke among the Wild Coyotes that if you were looking for him, the first place you should look was the Dive - any other place came afterwards. But with that addiction came the fact that it wasn't really all that hard to bring Riggs away from his work when you gave him something else to do.

Her voice draws his attention away so he can focus on her, a lopsided grin spreading over his face as he did. "Well how can I say no when you ask so politely?" he teases lightly, excusing himself before approaching her. He slips around the side of the bar before lazily slinging his arm around her neck, tugging her into his side. "How's my girl? What can I do for you on this fine night?"

𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 — 𝐀𝐘𝐒𝐄𝐋 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐑

— setting: the dive ; evening — availability: closed starter for riggs maddow | ( @exulcnsis )

the best part about running a successful business was not having to be there day and night because she also had a manager and employees she trusted enough not to burn the whole place down in case aysel decided to step out for the night. tonight, was one of those nights, where she just wanted to sit back, relax and not have to think about any of the shit that went down, or that might go down in lancaster at any given sunday.

in hopes riggs might want to join her, the brunette stepped by the dive and smirked upon seeing her favorite guy in the world towering over one of his employers. she couldn't help but chuckle, but aysel leaned over the counter and tapped on it a few times as if to catch her friend's attention. "oi! big guy! might giving me a bit of your attention? a lady's desperate over here." she teased.

[exulcnsis]

"Next time I go for a checkup, I'll see if I can get the doctor to hack me off at the knees, how about that?" It was a joke - delivered in that perfect almost-deadpan way that Riggs specialized in, one of his eyebrows quirking up just a touch as he watched her. Standing at 6'6 - though, if you asked Riggs, he always claimed 6'5 - he was used to people complaining about his height. In fact, it happened almost as much as he complained about the fact that he couldn't find pants long enough for him in a normal store. Or the way that half the time, if he raised his arms, any shirt he was wearing turned into a crop top until he pulled it back down again.

Compared to him, she felt downright tiny, and there was that tiny voice in his head - that protective voice, who liked taking care of people no matter who they were - that raised some sort of instinct he knew wouldn't do anyone any good. She was the enemy, he knew that - and he reminded himself of it before he got overwhelmed. But he couldn't stop himself from adding a quick, "If you ever wanna slap me, just let me know. I'll find you a stool." Or pick her up so she could do it - he was an equal opportunist, if a woman wanted to get into a fight with him, he thought it only fair for everyone to be on a level playing field.

The girlfriend comment, though, had a brief snort escaping the male's lips. "Don't have a girlfriend, so... No."

Maria wasn't expecting to be lifted up and moved and, even more to the point, she wasn't expecting to enjoy it. She knew well enough that they were on opposite sides of things but it didn't stop her from being attracted to certain people. Especially those who would lift her up like she was nothing and shift her entire being to another point without so much as breaking a sweat.

His hands moving from her waist gave her an annoying pang of regret; she really and truly just wanted to drag him off somewhere and climb him like a tree. Shit, maybe she needed to get proper laid or something. Working too hard and not enough time spent having her hair pulled back and her back thrown out; ridiculous.

And Maria couldn't honestly even remember when the last time had been or who it had been with, so she felt even more foolish as a flush ran up her neck, staring up at him and trying to figure out some kind of witty retort. Her mind screamed 'your mom is better!' but the adult (and vice president, you're vp of the sinful ones Maria, get it together) in her curbed that impulse.

"I still say you should try being less tall. Like by an inch or too, I mean you're just a touch too high for anyone to properly slap you in the face at this rate. I think I'd mostly graze your jaw or your chin." She wasn't THAT short but the point was she wanted him to change. Or pick her up again... who knows.

"Does your girlfriend have to climb you like a tree?"

[exulcnsis]

"You'd think," Riggs laughed lightly, head shaking just a touch as a faint hum fell from his lips. "Never been the type to take the chance, I guess. Plus, it'd get weird if I started datin' one of them." And for as fleeting as his romances had been since his relationship with his ex-fiancé, there was always a part of him that hoped he'd end up settling down. Getting some sort of happily ever after, even if he wasn't totally convinced it was in the cards for someone like himself. "I don't sleep around all that much - I like the romance of it all, I guess. Makes datin' families... messy."

Clearing his throat, a faint crease formed between his eyebrows as he tried to think about what he was doing, what he was going to say - and after a moment, he spoke up. "It's a small town - everyone gets into shit. Never really changes, no matter where you are. Just depends how deep the hole is," he says finally. Was what was going on in Lancaster something that ran deeper than that? Yes, but he wasn't going to admit to that - because, as far as he was concerned, it wasn't something Kieran needed to worry about.

Licking his lips quickly and bringing his drink up, he took a sip before a chuckle escaped him. "I don't know, man. I'm big on Bon Jovi and Jimmy Buffett. Other than that, I ain't really someone who thinks about music much. Just kinda throw it on, you know? It happens around me - I guess I'm a bit borin' like that."

He was impressed, though not surprised. Handsome was one of the many words he'd use to describe the male before him. "Isn't it only a problem if they find out?" And the last time he checked, siblings weren't all too quick to kiss and tell, but Lancaster was small and as Kieran had already figured out, news traveled fast. As soon as one person caught a whisper of something, it would spread like a wildfire until it either died out or was proven entirely incorrect. Even then, it didn't stop people from trying to make their own version of the truth.

The journalist watched with camouflaged intent, his dark hazel hues trained on the man before him. Was Riggs as gentle as the legend claimed? Was all that helping of those around him penance for anything terrible he might have, or could have done in life? "Has it always been like that here? People getting into shit?"

According to Mia, it was as much of a surprise to her people as it was to the locals who weren't involved. People like him. Or so she thought. While others wanted to flee from the madness, he wanted to dive in head first. Not even her warnings were grand enough to make him look the other way. This was a job. Jobs got messy and he had the scars to prove that.

"Depends on the pay. Throw me a decent number and I'll have that backroom looking like a showroom of booze." He wasn't all that organized, but the excuse was the best he could give over the truth of where he'd really been. Tucked away in his apartment doing a deep dive on everyone he could. "I had a couple of good finds. Is there anything you'd be looking for?"

[exulcnsis]

Winter rarely thought much about what she did in her day to day when there wasn't a deadline to worry about - she was, generally, found wandering around and finding whatever suited her fancy, and then moving on to the next thing when she got bored. It was easier to find brief occupations than dealing with admit to the fact that there wasn't much in her life that meant anything. At least in the grand scheme of things.

No connections that mattered, no one to miss her if she stayed out all night. Her life, really, was simple. On the surface.

She's caught off guard by the presence of a large dog running up to her, but she can't resist the happy hum that escapes her, knees coming to rest gently on the ground as she reaches out to give the animal a few good head scratches before registering what the other says. "Oh, I wasn't worried a lick about him bein' dangerous," she hums, soft smile on her face as she looks at this Zeus in question. "I love animals. It's... surprisingly not uncommon for them to run up to me. Years ago, I used to be the one catching all the lost dogs in the neighborhood when they got lost and were too scared to run up to people."

. 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑: cemre sunar

location: town's square time: saturday afternoon status: closed for @exulcnsis — winter carver

Going out for a day to take a walk by the town. Sometimes it was hard pretending that everything is normal, Cemre almost envied other people in town that had no clue about what was happening between the clubs. When it came to her, she was constantly worrying if at any point they’d figure out that she was researching them and assume that she was a threat. Hopefully not! She was constantly afraid and, yet, that wasn’t something that refrained her from continuing her personal project. In fact, she appreciated taking Zeus for a walk from time to time because it gave her the chance to pay attention to people in Lancaster, get to know others, learn more about the population that was willing to talk to a stranger.

It was in the middle of paying attention to someone else’s conversation that she only felt Zeus pushing forward which caused her to lose her grip of his leash and watch as he would run straight to someone else. “Zeus!” She exclaimed, watching until he’d stop, inches away from bumping against someone. Promptly Cemre reached closer to the blonde. “I’m so, so sorry. I swear that Zeus won’t bite, unless he feels threatened and that’s not the case. Apparently he really liked you! To the point of wanting to run away from his own owner.”

[exulcnsis]

JASON MOMOA attends the ‘No Time to Die’ movie premiere in London (September 28, 2021).

[exulcnsis]

[exulcnsis]

A faint hum escapes her lips as she gestures to an innocent-enough looking link to the side of his website. "Well, studies show that the longer a case goes unsolved and with no updates, the less faith the public has in the police and detectives. It has very little to do with you, realistically - you take the case to court, any investigating is on the shoulders of the department, but..." She clicks the link to navigate to the page, before a faint hum escapes her lips. There's a proud header above a submission form, proclaiming some sort of PR spiel about Xavier's desire to bring closure to families who may have lost hope - that he's here to listen to all of their concerns. "Attach your name to it, and suddenly people don't see them as submitting their anonymous tips to the police department, but to you. It's totally encrypted and tips are programmed to go directly to the police department, so you virtually have to do nothing. As long as they put some desk duty officer or probie on keeping an eye on it, and sending them to question on anything with validity, you'll get all the credit for any cold case that gets solved... Without any of the work." Winter's smile is bright as she looks at him, shoulders lifting in half of a shrug. "There's also always the option of spending the money to provide them with a few rounds of beers at a local watering hole, to get their willingness to tell anyone they talk to that 'DA Ramzi takes your concerns very seriously', but at the end of the day... That's credit to you that you don't have to work for. I even added an extra layer that automatically discards any IPs more than a hundred and fifty miles away from town, that way if any prankster finds it, we're not overwhelmed with bogus tips."

Everything she told him was true enough, at least - except for the fact that in reality, all of the tips were sent to her - but she'd be more than willing to forward things to the police department. She just wanted to know everything first, in case anything interesting showed up. "Presence wise, it creates a good look for you."

The creation of his social media presence wasn't a suggestion from the club, but it was important enough to maintain if they wanted to keep him in his position for as long as they could. Of course, it would take more than a well made website to gather votes. He had a plan for that though. Tough on crime in all the right ways and what he couldn't cover, he'd offer charm. It was manipulative, but every political game was. It was better him than someone else too far gone to know right and wrong.

"I'm sure we could find something more for you to do, but I understand. I'm sure you have plenty of people wanting your expertise. It would be criminal to take your work off the market." Website design was complicated enough and the career path itself was niche. How many other crafty tech gurus were roaming the streets of Lancaster? Truth was, her skill could prove useful. "I'll remember that."

Without hesitation, Xavier picked up the phone, a quick dial out and a couple of trills later, his secretary's kind voice rang through. A few jokes and a sweet request later, he was turning his attention back to the blonde. His dark gaze shifted between her and the computer screen, a smile stretching thinly on his mouth. "And what would that last piece be?"

[exulcnsis]

— Frank Bidart, from “Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016; ‘The Third Hour of the Night’", published c. 2017

[exulcnsis]

“He searched for the answer in his beer. It wasn’t there.”

— The Summer of Christmas, Juliet Giglio & Keith Giglio

[exulcnsis]

Suzanne Rivecca, Ugly Bitter and True