lcngstcryshcrt

[lcngstcryshcrt]

She froze to her spot on the sidewalk, heart throbbing in her throat as she watched David come toward her. She had to be dreaming, hadn't actually gotten out of bed this morning.

But when his arms went around her and she heard his voice, she finally unstuck and her arms went around him in return. She sucked in a shaky breath, burying her face in his shoulder as tears welled in her eyes.

"When- How-" she stuttered against his shirt, voice thick with emotion. Nani's battered heart constricted, then eased at last, familiar scent and voice and face all washing over her in a wave of comfort, of knowing that a piece of her was finally home.

She tilted her head back, hands coming around to touch his cheeks, run her fingers through his hair. She would never have dared touch him like this back home, but everything in the last months had brought into stark reality just what exactly she wanted and how much she was avoiding living her life.

"I can't believe you're here," Nani finally broke, the sentence coming out more as a sob as the tears began rolling down her cheeks.

@david-kawena

It was just a regular Thursday morning.

Nani was just walking to the office, swinging her briefcase with a lightness in her heart that she hadn't felt in a few months, the cool air sneaking down her collar to kiss her collarbones and send shivers racing up the back of her neck as the wind plucked her hair, shoving it back over her shoulders.

It was nothing like the brisk wind off the ocean, tinged with salt, but it still felt good to turn her face into the breeze, breathing deep and feel like it was cleansing her heavy soul.

Nani's eyes opened and landed on a familiar figure coming up the sidewalk toward her. She froze in place, lips parting in surprise and for a moment, thought she might have to pinch herself.

Because there was no way that this was her David walking toward her, face so familiar that her heart twisted as though it was trying to flee her chest.

All the air left her lungs in a whoosh, then pulled back in sharply as she gasped,

"David?!"

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@david-kawena

It was just a regular Thursday morning.

Nani was just walking to the office, swinging her briefcase with a lightness in her heart that she hadn't felt in a few months, the cool air sneaking down her collar to kiss her collarbones and send shivers racing up the back of her neck as the wind plucked her hair, shoving it back over her shoulders.

It was nothing like the brisk wind off the ocean, tinged with salt, but it still felt good to turn her face into the breeze, breathing deep and feel like it was cleansing her heavy soul.

Nani's eyes opened and landed on a familiar figure coming up the sidewalk toward her. She froze in place, lips parting in surprise and for a moment, thought she might have to pinch herself.

Because there was no way that this was her David walking toward her, face so familiar that her heart twisted as though it was trying to flee her chest.

All the air left her lungs in a whoosh, then pulled back in sharply as she gasped,

"David?!"

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@evermorehqsstart

"By all means, make yourself at home," Max muttered, clicking the front door to his little apartment shut with a hair more force than necessary.

"It's not like usually friends let someone know if they're dropping by or anything."

He brushed past the kitchen table, grocery bags rustling as he lifted them onto the counter and began putting away the items, slamming the cupboards and fridge door to emphasize his annoyance.

"How did you even get in here?"

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@pirxtefairy

Terence dragged his front door open, staring at Zarina standing on his doorstep. He swallowed hard, suddenly extremely unsure about this whole situation.

As soon as he'd found out Zarina was back in Evermore from... Wherever they'd all been, he wanted to find her and ask her to start working on the dust problem with him again. The issue he'd run into was that he didn't know how to contact her. It wasn't like they'd swapped digits or anything like that, and there wasn't a community of mail-talent fairies to help deliver messages like there was back home.

So he'd done some pro-level stalking and figured out her address from her library card and stuffed a letter in her mailbox before he went into work one day, his request and his number scribbled on a piece of notebook paper.

And he'd been truly surprised when he finally received a text from her agreeing to let him in on her experiments.

Terence cleared his throat, opening the door a little wider and sweeping an arm to invite her in.

"Hey Zarina. Thanks for coming."

[lcngstcryshcrt]

Nani snapped awake as the warm body slid into the seat next to her, turning her torso to face the newcomer. She gaped for a moment at the bright, open face looking back at her.

"Um, hi," she replied, blinking hard to push back the haze of exhaustion still clinging to her head.

"Not drunk," Nani chuckled nervously. "I can't say my track record with redheads is the best, but I'll take your word for it."

She glanced around, wondering where the waiter had gone, hoping this young lady wouldn't burst her bubble of mystery she'd be trying to cultivate... Which probably had burst the moment she fell asleep like a rookie. She probably had drool on her face too. Nani ghosted the back of her hand across her cheek to check, sighing as she felt moisture come away from her face.

"Thanks for waking me up," she finally replied, a smile that was more a grimace flashing across to her new companion.

"I'm Nani and I probably do need to go home."

This place was definitely not somewhere Anna belonged.

The smell of smoke was stifling, at least for someone that was never around it, and though she was a bit naïve and often saw everything through rose-tinted glasses, even she could admit that some of the people here, the way they were eyeing her, was enough to make her skin crawl.

She wasn't sure why she was here, if she was being honest; she had no experience with casinos, but gambling sounded like fun, and she loved a challenge. The machines certainly were not what she was expecting, and she'd already blown through all of the money she planned to spend within ten minutes, trying not to think the worst and believe the slots were rigged.

Admitting defeat, partially because she promised herself she would stick to budget and mostly because she was feeling a little nervous, she was heading towards the door when she spotted Nani and stopped, worried about leaving her there.

"Excuse me," she spoke, raising her voice as she slid into one of the empty seats, clearing her throat, "excuse me! Hello! Are you okay? Are you drunk? Do you need help getting home? I promise I'm not a kidnapper. I know redheads get a bad reputation, but I do have a soul, and I like to think I'm always using it!"

[lcngstcryshcrt]

Haku's chest constricted at the kindness in her touch. How long had it been since someone had touched him with gentleness, with care? Yubaba's touch was always in anger, a palm connecting with cheek, a cane connecting with leg or shoulders, forcing themselves not to wince, to stand with their back straight. Haku would not be cowed by the woman who held his contract.

They leaned against Saal, legs wobbly and head spinning.

"Indeed, with your help I believe I can. I just need to... Get my bearings," they replied, throwing out a hand to also brace themselves against a nearby tree. They swallowed hard.

"Beautiful night for a walk," they mumbled, pain and relief turning to delirium as they took a few steps to the next tree, fingernails digging into bark to try and relieve the weight from Saal's shoulders.

with a tilt of her head , saal dismissed his apology with a swipe of her hand through the air ; " recklessness is just a result of impulsive curiosity . natural instinct . " feathery touches grazed his cheeks , brushed the sweat-soddened strands of hair that framed his face , grazed the outskirts of the various ailments that ornamented his flesh — her lips twisted , eyes glinting with concern .

" easy , " she chided as he shifted his weight , wrapping a firm arm around his shoulders and bringing his weight into her side . she could smell the perspiration wafting off of him , salty and sharp — assisting with the removal of foliage from his head as she held firm with her other hand .

" just saal , " they corrected , giving him a shake of her head . " — and feeling embarrassed isn't necessary , i'm happy i found you . you've got. . . well , you've got a lot of lacerations i'd like to look at . treat , if you'll let me . do you think you can make it to the motel by foot ?? "

[lcngstcryshcrt]

The panic racing through her veins cooled to frustration as she heard Lilo respond, whirling to find her staring into the lobster tank. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sucked in a deep breath.

Deep down, Nani knew she was being completely unreasonable. All the work she had done over the years to find some semblance of chill was slowly coming unraveled the deeper and deeper she sunk into her guilt over the situation. And the more guilty she felt, the angrier it made her, because Nani knew she didn't need to feel guilty because they were dealing with powers beyond what she could even comprehend.

Nani also knew that Lilo was the victim here. And yet...

"I wish you wouldn't wander off like that," Nani huffed, storming over to her sister and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Lilo had adapted to life back in Evermore pretty well, or at least she told herself she had. She hadn't given it much thought, knowing that too much of that would cause her to spiral. The truth was, she felt pretty numb to it all, but it was a coping mechanism, and even she knew that eventually, that bottle inside of her would get shaken up, the cap would come off and it would not be pretty.

She hadn't meant to step away from Nani, in her own little world as she wandered in the opposite direction, drawn to (no surprise) the live lobster tank.

She wasn't sure how long she was standing there, her palm pressed to the glass, when she heard her sister shouting her name. "Over here," she called back, waiting until she heard her footsteps approaching before she spoke again, never taking her eyes off of the crustaceans. "We should rescue one."

[lcngstcryshcrt]

Max glanced at Wendy sideways, trying to gauge what level of truth he was willing to spill without lying to her.

"Not joking," he finally replied, "I was a royal guard back where I came from. Who knows who's in this strange town."

He laughed, but it sounded strained even to his own ears.

"She's definitely not into me, dashing as I may be," Max continued, bumping Wendy's elbow with his own, "But it's something to keep in my back pocket."

He frowned into his glass again, thinking of his brief interaction with Rapunzel at her shop, the moments where she stared at him like the memories were close to surfacing...

Max shook himself, turning back to Wendy with a smile.

"Anyway, enough of my day-dreamin'. What's new with you?"

"In the fictional sense I have plenty. Though the most common practice is true love's kiss...which I have a feeling that is not an option for your situation." Wendy thought it was an odd question, but she was learning Evermore was filled with odd things. "You are joking, right? Do you know any princesses? Should I know about any royalty here?"

[lcngstcryshcrt]

"I wonder if someone out there is close to cracking the magic," Terence wondered, thinking of Zarina and her experiments, his own desires to bring pixie dust to Evermore and solve that problem for his friends.

What would having that type of power do for them here? How much more ground could they cover if they could fly from place to place instead of being stuck on these Clumsy legs and feet for everything.

"Did you notice any surge in strange occurrences before or after?" he asked Dani, turning back to her with an encouraging smile.

"I could see that, especially if somebody pissed off whoever's doing this somehow. Got too close to the truth. Maybe they took someone close to them, or maybe it was one of the victims themselves." She mused.

Dani had most of the names memorized at this point, having tried to figure out if there was some connection between everybody. Of course the most obvious connection was they all lived in this same town, but other than a few over lapping friends she couldn't find much else out. Then again her resources weren't very vast so her 'research' in it of itself was pretty flawed.

"That's so true, we definitely shouldn't expect this to just be some one off event! We've gotta keep our eyes out for anymore strange phenomena."

[lcngstcryshcrt]

The human part of their brain registered the voice, clocking familiarity. Relief washed over Haku as they closed their eyes, leaning into her delicate touch on their cheek.

"Sorry," they whispered, trying to get their arms underneath them again. "I was just... being reckless." Their mouth felt so odd, trying to speak and form normal words as though their jaw was still working around the pearly razors of the beast's fangs.

Leaning heavily on Saaliha, Haku maneuvered into a sitting position, lanky legs stretched out in front of him as he raised a hand to his head, finding the leaves sprinkled among the locks and plucking them out, more for something to do with their hands than any sense of vanity.

"Thank you, Miss Saaliha. I'm grateful you happened along, though embarrassed," he sighed, giving her a small smile. "I don't usually... lose control like this."

saaliha was out for a walk , enjoying being enveloped by the chill whisk of the night air as it brushed past her ; sighing at the way ran across the exposed skin of her face and billowed her hair . she sucked an inhale through her nostrils , expelled it through parted lips , and let her feet wander off the sidewalk and onto the fading green of the grass that steered off towards the familiar terrain of evermore's woods .

it was the sound of ailment that then captured saal's attention , ears pricking like a hound's as she knotted her brows and turned her gaze in the direction of the sound . a crumpled man lie upon the earth , ornamented with various scars and budding scarlet beads that accessorized each tear in his flesh . upon finding his face , saaliha recognized it to be haku , jaw tightening as she quickly advanced towards him before dropping her knees to the carpet of grass below .

" haku , " she whispered , half in greeting , half informing herself just who he was. a tender hand reached out , feathering the carving of his face , lips puckering into a perturbed pout ; " haku. . . what happened to you ?? " she'd have to get him to the motel . it was about a ten minutes walk , and she quietly began a visual inspection to see if she believed he could even manage that . " i'm here . i'm here , haku . do you feel as if you're about to lose consciousness ?? can i help you sit up ?? "

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@pudgefeeder

Tinny music wafted above Nani's head as she pushed her cart down the bread aisle, hunting for Lilo's preferred brand of bread as always.

She'd begged Lilo to go to the store with her, desperate to keep her baby in sight as much as possible. It felt like the early days, when she was alone with a four year old, anxious to leave her alone or with someone for fear that she wouldn't be there when she returned.

Spotting the packaging at last, Nani steered her cart over and began pulling the loaves from the shelf, finally glancing back over her shoulder to check on Lilo -

Who was nowhere in sight.

Panic overtook Nani before she could stop the tide, abandoning her cart in favor of racing back down the aisle, work boots squeaking on lineolum as she skidded into the main aisle of the store, calling,

"Lilo?!"

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@evermorehqsstart

Location: Moonlight

Black heels clicked against the floor as Nani prowled across the game floor. Her eyes darted from side to side, assessing the patrons around the tables, fingering the dark chain of her favorite purse, trying to decide if she would approach anyone.

If anyone looked like they might be able to help her, or put her in contact with someone who knew where she could gain some power to protect her little ohana here in Evermore.

She finally slid into a seat at a dining table, ordering a drink from a passing waiter and continuing her scan of the crowd.

As she waited, exhaustion began to creep over her, sitting still in a plush seat. Her nights had been less than restful, anxiety sending her back to Lilo's door every few hours to listen for her breathing, to crack open the door and check that her form was still under the covers. She napped when she could, but even still, she couldn't keep this up forever.

Before she knew it, Nani's eyes slid shut as she rested her chin on her hand and began to doze.

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@wildcstwinter

The knock echoed as Nani stepped back from Mertle's front door and rubbed her hands up her arms briskly trying to retain feeling in the fridgid air.

She hadn't seen hide nor hair of the redhead since everyone had mysteriously returned, so focused on making sure Lilo was settling back in, and barely getting any sleep as anxiety drove her out of bed every other hour to tip-toe down the hallway and make sure her baby sister was still there.

"These goddamn winters are going to kill me," she muttered as she stomped her feet and blew into her hands.

She turned back to the door, suddenly struck with the thought that maybe Mertle wasn't even home. Maybe she should have just texted her instead of coming over without warning like a total weirdo.

Nani bit her lip, contemplating the door for a few moments longer.

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@wildcstwinter (saaliah)

Pain wracked Haku's body, their curved form curled around the base of a tree, blood leaking from a myriad of cuts and slashes from their mad dash through the woods, desperate for escape or nothingness.

Haku transformed, groaning with their human mouth, so suddenly devoid of fangs and whiskers, slim fingers digging into soft dirt below the brittle leaves.

They pushed themselves onto their hands and knees, head hanging as they tried to gain their bearings. The beast, on high alert these days, sensed someone approach before Haku's human body did, and they turned their head.

"Help," they murmured before their arms gave way and they sprawled back among the leaves.

[lcngstcryshcrt]

@nowimthebadguy

Booted feet hurried across the road, bee-lining for a familiar figure. His mind flashed back to Rapunzel's hesitant, confused smile in her little shop, compared to the vibrant woman he'd come to love and felt a stab of fury as he bounded up onto the sidewalk.

But what the hell was she doing here, and what did that have to do with this whole mysterious town, and his friend's initial disappearance?

"Gothel," Maximus nearly growled as he finally reached the woman, eyebrows drawn together and jaw and fists clenched. "What did you do to her?"

[lcngstcryshcrt]

°•○ - KIM & SWIZZ

Babe.

Kimberly Ann Possible, the girl with a million nicknames, had never been called babe before. She felt her heart burst into a million butterflies at the endearment, breath catching in her throat with the need, the desire to hear it roll off Swizz's lips all the damn time.

"Are you sure you want... me?" The question was almost a whisper, nimble fingers stilling, splayed against Swizz's abdomen.

"Because I want you in whatever capacity you'll have me."

Then she was applying pressure, maneuvering their positions so Swizz was on his back now, straddling his waist as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his sternum, rolling her hips experimentally. One hand dipped, brushing a fingertip down the zipper, taking the cool metal tab with it.

°•○ - KIM & SWIZZ

Love was a word that had rolled so easily off Kim's tongue her whole life. Love for her parents and the Tweebs and Ronald and Wade and Monique. Kim was someone built to love and love big and love loud.

Sorting out her emotions with Swizz had been a long process. Confusing and exhilarating, and usually she would have blurted her confession by now.

She was so determined to keep things casual, to be cool and relaxed, not her usual intense self, afraid to push him away with her eagerness.

Tiny gasps escaped Kim's lips, back arching ever so slightly off the cushions. She met Swizz's gaze, sparks going off all over her body, from the trail of his mouth all the way down to her toes.

"I must have been on my best behavior for the universe to put us together," she wondered aloud, cheeks flushed as her hands roamed across Swizz's shoulders, trailing down his spine and running a finger along the waist of his pants until her fingers stumbled over the button.

Kim met Swizz's gaze as she popped the button, a nervous smile ghosting across her mouth.

[lcngstcryshcrt]

Haku slid into the seat beside Lottie, giving her a wan smile and catching the bartender's attention with two raised fingers.

"Miss Charlotte," they replied, leaning their forearms on the bar. "It's a pleasure to see you as always."

They nodded their thanks as the bartender slid a glass in front of them, studying the contents instead of the look on Lottie's face.

"I wouldn't say 'okay', but I am here," they finally replied, sipping from the glass and finally looking over at the young woman.

"Were you... Also taken?"

Haku wasn't really even sure why they asked. They hadn't spoken to any of the other... Survivors? Hadn't sought out sympathy or closure or healing.

Haku didn't deserve to feel at peace for everything they'd done for Yubaba.

LOCATION: any bar ?? FOR: @lcngstcryshcrt (haku)

Lottie didn't frequent bars to drink; at least, not usually. She often would come by for an hour or two in hopes to meet Mr. Right, despite all the times that had simply not happened. Tonight, though, she was here for a drink. Everything felt heavy lately, Tia was so busy she felt like she hadn't seen her in awhile, and she was lonely. Bringing her glass to her lips, her eyes flickered to the side, landing on Haku. "Hey, darlin'," she greeted him softly. She hadn't seen them since their return, hadn't been by the spa, hadn't wanted to add to whatever stress they may be dealing with... but she had worried. Gesturing to the open seat, she offered a small smile. "You doin' okay?"