ortizrio

[ortizrio]

"Well that could mean anything," Rio lifted his shoulders, "I'm surprised the oil wasn't just dirt then, though it ain't lookin' too good on you, either. The engine was still running?" Maybe it wasn't in quite as shit a condition as Finch was leading it on to be, but still. Rio didn't want to have to be the one to find out with it literally blew up in their faces.

"Well I am not the one with the say on whether or not she gets another appointment," Rio held up his hands in a 'not my problem' sort of gesture. "But if you see her again, I beg you to make sure I'm at a safe but viewable distance of the wreckage."

"With the amount of oil and god knows what else came out of her car." Finch gestured to his shirt, which wasn't as white as when he started the day. "I'm going with no." Finch pushed himself off the wall and towards the car Rio was working on. "She said she brought it five years ago, when I asked her. But I don't fully believe that."

Finch glanced at the car for a moment before he nodded as he looked back at Rio. "Oh I tried to tell her that. But she was all, my husband works with, he will look at it." Finch said with a sigh as he pushed his hand through his hair slightly. "Honestly I think it's going to be a very short bet. You should of heard how it sounded." Finch grimaced slightly. "I'm surprise she made it out of the yard."

[ortizrio]

[ortizrio]

"You don't think she's done it ever?" Rio answered, elbow deep in the engine cavity of a car he'd been working on. After a grunt of effort he straightened back up, leaning on the frame of the car and studying his work before finally casting his eyes over towards Finch. "Shit, how long ago did she buy it?"

He turned, sitting against the edge of the car and grabbing a nearby towel to wipe his hands. "She's gunna run that shit straight into the ground - if it doesn't explode in her face first. We takin' bets on how it goes and when at this point? I'm always partial to a good show."

Finch wiped his hands on the cloth, as he walked back into the work shop. His white tank top, and hands were covered in oil. That was going to take sometime to get off. Finch tossed the cloth onto the closet workbench before he moved further into the garage, it was well past his break time. He was about to head for the break room, when Rio caught his eyes.

"If old lady Chatham asks to get her oil changed." Finch said as he walked over to the other and leaned on the wall. "May I ask that we strongly suggest that we send her else." Finch sighed as he stretched his neck slightly, his body didn't like being hunched over the car for as long as he was. "I don't think she has taken that car to be serviced, since she brought it."

@ortizrio

[ortizrio]

"Evidently not," Rio hummed. "Guess you're lucky you don't work for tips." There was no way Rio would claim to be a saint himself, but he did know how to sweet talk when needed. It was a useful skill to know, after all. Got his ass out of a good number of binds over the years. "Use the fact that they're idiots to your advantage. You can just walk them right into more services, heck are they gunna know the difference?"

A smirk plays on Rio's lips when Micah suggests he take over, leaning on the desk with his elbow and propping his chin in his hand. "I dunno, man. Pretty entertaining watching you fail so spectacularly. You don't even need me, I think I'd like to just sit and watch the show. 'Sides, you're a charming guy. You really think you need to be taught?"

Micah held the clipboard out to the customer for them to sign before he accepted their keys. Micah sighed as he headed back to the desk and looked over at Rio. "When have I ever buttered anyone up?" Micah questioned sat down, putting the keys to the side before he looked through the paper work before he looked up at Rio. Micah leaned back in his chair as he shrugged. "I don't sweet talk Rio, I wouldn't even know where to start." Micah leaned his head back before he sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment. "If people weren't such idiot, maybe I could work on it."

Micah picked up the clipboard and keys, and stood up crossing over to Rio and leaned on his desk. "Do you want this one? Show me your charms?" Micah asked, a teasing smile on his lips as he held the clipboard out for Rio. "Maybe you can teach me some of those skills."

[ortizrio]

"Yeah, I hear ya." It would be a lie if Rio said he hadn't thought the same a time or two - but then again, it wasn't as if the entire supernatural world was immune to flame. Not to mention...most fires weren't as simple to put out as the front lawn catching ablaze by some childish antics, and if that had worn her out...maybe there was more reason than he thought.

Hell, what did he know about witches? But, he wouldn't have thought a little fire would be much of a challenge...

Rio's gaze moves back towards the two kids with their faces pressed to the window. "You got all that under control so we're not going to be coming back for a couch bursting into flame next?"

~~*~~

"Yea...Yes I'm fine," Ruthie patted her hand on her chest to try and calm her racing heart. Normally this kind of thing wouldn't have wiped her out as much but she had already been tired and emotional, and was not prepared to do any spell work at all let along with an element she wasn't very familiar with.

"You know I used to even question why we had things like fire fighters and police officers here since...well...you know," she gestured to herself. The supernatural everywhere including Greywood probably needed more regulation than anyone but she always found it funny that they still tried to follow the same systems as humans. Not to mention that most of the different sects tend to want to police themselves. She couldn't imagine the packs wanting a werewolf dealt with by anyone other than a fellow werewolf. It was mostly the same for witches. "I guess you proved me wrong today. I'm glad I could make things...interesting? That's one way to put it I suppose."

[ortizrio]

Truth be told, Rio had actually liked Llewellyn all those years ago. He'd been good for Amelia, someone who had treated her right and been what she'd needed, what she'd wanted. He'd made her happy. That was all Rio had ever wanted for her.

But then he'd disappeared, wiped off the grid with literally no explanation. Not even a fucking note saying 'peace out bitches' or whatever the fuck. It didn't fit the picture of the Llew they'd known, but there hadn't seemed to be a better explanation. Sometimes, stress overwhelmed. Sometimes, people left. And that was what made Rio angry - he'd been the one who stuck around and witnessed all the hurt and grief that put Amelia through. As much as it didn't make sense, what other explanation was there at the time? The love of her life had disappeared, the conclusion that made the most sense was they were running from her, or the life they'd had - whether that behavior matched the Llew they knew or not wasn't really up for debate when the feelings and emotions were brought into the mix.

And now he just made a magical reappearance in her life with some wackadoodle story that he'd...well, Rio still wasn't even sure what the story even was. That he'd been sucked up into some vortex for ten years with no memory of where he'd been or what had happened in that entire period of time? Crazy things happened in this world, but that just seemed so impossible to grasp. It was too easy of an out for all the hurt he'd left in his wake.

Fuck, Rio really wanted to hit him. But he was so damn pitiful, it'd be like kicking a damn puppy.

He turned away with a string of curses in Spanish on his lips, shaking his head as he walked a few paces away before turning back towards the fucking puppy dog. "You hurt her again and I'll bash your damn head in," he growled. "I don't really care where you've been or whatever explanation you're giving everyone. It doesn't matter. You want to stick to the story that you vaporized for ten years, fine. But you need to understand what that means for everyone around you. You can't just walk back in here and think Amelia's going to fall at your feet or some shit. She's been through enough - so you gotta think about it before you walk back into her life. She's been thinkin' you abandoned her all this time - and that ain't fair."

Nobody out there understood better than Llewellyn himself how absolutely stupid and weak his words were. There was literally nothing the man could say, nothing the man could do-- to prove any of it. All anyone could do, was take his word... All they could do, was blindly trust that yes, he had just somehow wandered back into town ten years after the fact, with no idea where those years had gone. Nothing to show for them. Thankfully, his family seemed to have grasped onto his truth immediately-- none of them seemed to have second guessed any of it, because they knew the kind of man Llewellyn was and had been since birth. He wasn't the kind of man who would simply ditch his responsibilities and disappear, cruelly leaving them all in the dust without even a note of goodbye so the wondering wouldn't keep them up at night. Amelia and Rio... the others who may have known him his whole life but weren't around him as intimately as his family... They had to deal with the absurdity of the story and whatever opinions they carried of Llewellyn-- whether they married that with believing his story, or finding him some dirty rotten scoundrel, it was all out of his hands.

"I thought I could," he finally answered, truthfully, though once again his face gave way to the uncertainties now taking over. Pitiful and sad, really. "But I don't know anymore... Seems to be doing everyone more harm than good," Llewellyn spoke his thoughts aloud, no longer even looking at Rio-- his sight had unfocused just off, as if he was seeing something that wasn't even there. He was picturing all of the people in his life, and the things he'd picked up on in the past two weeks that weren't the same anymore. Maybe everything could have been okay, or at least a clear path forward laid out, if so much didn't feel so different. Ten years... That was like forever. So many big life events could happen in that span of time. That alone could be enough to make anyone feel empty and left behind. Couple it with all the looks and hushed voices-- people watched him differently, they spoke to him differently, they cared for him differently.

Finally, Llewellyn snapped back into focus on Rio's face and he shook his head. "Look, if you want to hit me or whatever-- just, get it over with then," the male stated, no fight in him at all as he simply sat his bum on the edge of that shop's garden wall. Which, funnily, actually put the taller man on better level for Rio to get those licks in. "If it'll make you feel better, go ahead. I won't say anything to Amelia about it."

[ortizrio]

For his part, he was pretty damn good at this whole 'woe is me' act. He spoke Rio's name as if he hadn't said it for ten whole years and it had just finally come back to him, which was rich. When running into Amelia he'd been all 'oh my gosh baby its been days since I've seen you I remember nothing from the last decade, pity me and let me back in.' And he could tell, even if she wouldn't come out and say it, that she was letting the anger start to dissipate and let him back in. She was going to give him a chance.

"You don't know what you were thinking?" Rio repeated, as if that were a clear indication that his whole story was bullshit, that he was fully aware he was playing some gag on all of them, that he'd planned this whole reappearance like it was all a grand scheme to win Amelia back. Sure, maybe it indicated some remorse over the whole fiasco...but then he considered the hell this would put Amelia through, again, and there were no excuses for that. She didn't deserve that and he'd already had to pick up the pieces Llewellyn left behind once.

"She mourned you for fucking years, do you get that? You blew up her life, messed her up real good by just up and leaving her like that. And if you knew a single thing about her you'd never fucking do that to her. So now, suddenly, you think you can just walk back into it like nothing happened? What the fuck is wrong with you, man?"

Things had never been more complicated in Llewellyn's life than they were these days. Which was honestly laughable, considering how much the man used to carry on his shoulders just to maintain that perfect-looking life. He had worked so hard to cultivate the best life and path forward for not only himself, but his family and with Amelia-- there had been a plan. They should have been married and settled in Greywood with one boy, one girl by now. They would have been set with the money made from his NFL career. He could then focus on other things in life, like his magic, and seeing where that would take him. The possibilities had been endless, really.

Now? Llewellyn could hardly figure out what to do with himself. That brain fog had gone away, for the most part. The doctors had been right, that once he started going around people he knew, places he visited, etc-- it started jogging the memories and knowledge. But the problem was, it all still felt like it was ten years ago. The male hadn't yet been able to rectify that he was somehow ten years older... That everyone was ten years older, their lives in completely different states to what he remembered. Basically, his entire life had been blown up in his face and the only thing he couldn't figure out, was how it all happened.

"Whoa--" Llewellyn came to an abrupt stop as someone came up on him quickly, and he focused in on the man with faint uncertainty until his brain slowly came to log where he knew this person from, too. "Rio," commenting his name more to himself, which then brought to mind Amelia because the two came hand-in-hand, right? His heart fell unhappily, and even further once he understood that Rio wasn't there to wish him a welcome back. Couldn't be surprised by it, right? Amelia hadn't been happy with him, either. "I don't know," Llewellyn responded, honestly, trying not to look as dejected as he felt. "I don't know what I thought anymore, I'm sorry."

It'd be a lie to say it hadn't recently started crossing Llewellyn's mind that everything would be better for everyone if he had just stayed gone.

[ortizrio]

Even though Rio had grown up fully aware of the supernatural world that hid amongst the rest of humanity, he'd never been particularly familiar with those outside of werewolves. He knew witches existed, hell he'd even known a few here and there, but never all that well and certainly none that had been so out in the open and bold as the ones that lived within Greywood's borders. It was still a strange experience, seeing the magic in use, the power these people held just beneath the surface of their fingertips.

Or maybe it wasn't really all that much power in the grand scheme of things because this little grass fire seemed like it had taken quite a bit out of the woman. Rio glanced back at the others in his crew freeing the hoses and moving in to extinguish the rest of the smoldering ash, figuring they had it more than under control without his assistance. "Yeah, I suppose kids are like that..." Rio had never been too good at holding his dirty tongue in front of his son - but he also never claimed to be a particularly good parent, either...

He glanced back towards the woman just as she stumbled to the ground, grimacing before stepping forward. "Not a bother, keeps things interesting," he remarked, though he would've hoped for something a little more, entertaining, if he were being honest. "Are you alright?"

~~*~~

It took a few moments for her to even register that she was being spoken to she was so focused on the fire. Putting it out was completely within the realm of possibility but she was starting to completely deplete her energy so as the flames were diminished and only smoldering grass remained, she stopped the spell. Water could finish the job.

"Oh, you know, children pick up the darndest things without us even meaning to teach them. It's like saying a swear word once and they just...keep repeating it. I think I just need a minute," she swayed slightly as she spoke and finally sat down relatively hard on the ground. Her gaze raised to the door where both children's guilty faces were visible in the window. But they were safe. She'd have to have that conversation yet again with them and then let their father know, not that he'd been back to the house since they decided to try a more separate approach. She glanced back up at the uniform next to her, "I'm so sorry to have been a bother."

[ortizrio]

Rio knew her well, better than just about anyone else in his life. So whether she wanted him to know or not, it was easy for him to tell that she's been crying, and it tugged at his heart to see how much this was hurting her. Not that he could blame her in the slightest - Llew had meant the world to her what felt like a lifetime ago.

"Right, of course. Can't forget that incredible detail." Ten years, ten years - people don't just pick up and restart like nothing happened after ten years apart. Was it some sort of crazy distraction? Or was he just trying to screw with Amelia's head? "Is he just...fucking with you? Like this is some sort of joke?" Some joke.

He followed her further into the house, settling down on the couch beside her. As she passed over the bottle there was no hesitation, tipping it to his own lips to swallow down a healthy mouthful. "His sister texted you? The hell could she possibly want now? I mean. It's been ten years. He left you. Seems to me like you got every right to be pissed."

Amelia was practically crying from the moment Rio said he was going to come over. She always felt better when he was around and sure sometimes they riled each other up but he was the person that has been with her through thick and thin so she was relieved when he invited himself over. James was put to bed early with a little bit of a fuss but ultimately she got him down. She grabbed her favorite bottle of tequila from the kitchen, deciding to skip the extra step of a glass, and sat down with her thoughts until Rio came over.

She got up quickly as soon as she heard the knock, not wanting to be alone for a second more. Hearing Rio immediately go into it was enough to make her laugh slightly. If there was anyone who would always match her energy with being upset it was Rio. "I mean you forgot the part where he tried to hug and kiss me but yeah pretty much." Amelia sighed as she sat down on the couch and took a long drink. "I was walking, heard someone calling my name only for it to be him. He was acting like he hadn't seen me in a couple of days not ten fucking years." Amelia handed the bottle over to Rio knowing they could both use it at the moment. "And then now his sister texted me and it was a whole ass mess."

[ortizrio]

Admittedly, the firehouse wasn't super busy in Greywood, typically. Yes, fires still happened and sure, one might argue fires might be more common with supernatural mistakes and mishaps sure to regularly occur with all the witches running around, but those same witches could just as easily put the flames out themselves too, couldn't they? Plus, a good chunk of the population had a higher healing factor than your typical human, so burns and smoke inhalation related problems weren't even that high on the list of concerns. But shit still happened, and Rio would be lying if he didn't love that adrenaline rush that came in with each call he was on shift for.

This one though, as the truck rolled up on the scene, seemed like it was not going to fall into that particularly thrilling category. He hopped down from the rig, glancing towards the woman who seemed almost like she was in a trance, lips moving over nonsensical words. Ah, so a witch was already on the scene, then?

"Looks like you might have this pretty much under control already," he commented as the rest of the crew fell in line, prepping hoses to finish off the job. "What happened?" Since, last time he checked, lawns didn't spontaneously combust. But hey, weirder shit has happened in this town.

Where: Ruthie's house

Who: Ruthie and @ortizrio

Exactly what she had said would happen was happening. Twin witches, even though they were young, were always a handful. And hers were starting to realize they could do things like their mother could. She was going to have to start saying the spells under her breath or something. Basil had overheard her lighting candles and thought lighting a fire was cool. She had already caught him trying to light the candles himself and had talked through why that was a bad idea but she knew it wasn't over.

The twins had just come in from outside and were quietly coloring at the table while Ruthie fixed them a snack when she heard the sirens. She thought to ignore it at first but peaked out the front window to find their front yard on fire.

"Oh my god!" She rushed out the door and started repeating an incantation to remove the oxygen over and over again. She was mostly embarrassed that her children had started something without her knowing.

[ortizrio]

@llewellyn-baxter

He hadn't gone looking for him. Truthfully, he wasn't seeking a confrontation. He'd talked it over with Amelia and undoubtedly they'd revved each other up about the whole thing, but in the end - what could they really do? The asshole had come back to town pitching a story about - well, honestly Rio didn't even get the story. That he just vanished off the planet for ten fucking years and had just reappeared as if he'd never left? Sure. Seems like quite the story to try and redirect attention off your shitty decisions and try and brush the dirt off your sleeves.

I didn't mean to break your heart, Amelia, I just got lost for ten years but it's good I'm back now, no big deal!

So when Rio spotted the guy, a face that he could still recognize even a decade later, wandering the streets in an aimless daze? That spark of frustration lit the fire and heated it right back up.

"What makes you think you can just wander into town and start shit back up like it hasn't been a whole fucking decade since you last showed your face?"

[ortizrio]

@amelialaroche

Rio had been contemplating the news ever since Amelia had started texting him; focusing half on the tasks he was assigned for work and half on what the fuck could possibly be going on with Llewellyn Baxter. He'd seen a lot of shit in his life, but people generally didn't just fuck off for a decade and magically reappear acting like nothing ever happened.

He remembered those days, back when Amelia had been a wreck when Llew had missed plans, stopped returning texts and phone calls. Truthfully he'd always seemed like a good guy from Rio's perspective - and he made Amelia so damn happy. Then he'd disappeared and broke her heart into pieces for Rio to pick up and help glue back together.

As soon as he was clocked out for the day he'd headed straight for Amelia's, no doubt in his mind that he needed more to this story. He was barely in the door before he started asking questions. "So hold on, hold on. You mean to tell me this asshole just walked up to you on the street and said 'hey Amelia, long time no see let's pick up where we left off' or some shit? I need the whole story. Who does that?"

[ortizrio]

Rio was settled at another desk nearby, feet propped up upon it as he observed Micah's conversation - as a completely innocent bystander and not at all for his amusement. It clearly wasn't the friendliest of conversations, but it sure was entertaining. Micah probably wouldn't see it that way, but that was neither here nor there.

He snorted, trying his best to cover it up as Micah tended to the customer that had stepped in to drop off their vehicle. "Listen man, I ain't no saint at customer service, but you gotta butter up the people. Leave it to billing and claims and collections or whatever the fuck to take care of the money shit. Tell 'em what they want to hear and you might even get a nice tip in your pocket for later." He straightened up in his chair, "You sweet talk 'em to their face and then you tell me about how much of an idiot they are."

Micah sighed as he shifted the phone to his other ear as he leaned on the desk. "Look, we told you that just because we gave you a quote. It could be more than that depending on what we find." Micah said as he looked up when he heard the door open. "It's not my fault you are an idiot and didn't read the fine print, you signed it and you agreed to it when we talked." Micah gave the person who walked in a wave before he pointed to a chair. "Either pay up or your hunk of junk is going to the scrap yard." Micah said before he hung up.

Micah grabbed a clipboard off the desk before he rounded the desk and walked over to the chairs where the person was waiting. "How can I help you?" Micah asked as he flipped a page over on the clipboard, scanning it over seeing if had any cars due to be picked up.

[ortizrio]

"Make death proud to take us."

FULL NAME: Rio Ortiz AGE: 36 DATE OF BIRTH: December 12th PLACE OF BIRTH: Monument, CO GENDER IDENTIFICATION: Cis man, he/him SPECIES: Werewolf (born) NEIGHBORHOOD: White Oaks OCCUPATION: Mechanic at Bolt's Auto Repair Shop, Volunteer firefighter FACE CLAIM: Carlos Miranda

WANTED CONNECTIONS | INSPIRATION | HEADCANONS

headcanons

Rio may be a bit misguided and make poor choices, but no one could say he's not loyal.

biography

trigger warnings; drug use mention, sexual promiscuity

Rio was never known for taking the path of least resistance. He learned on the fly and often the hard way, with skinned knees, split lips, and bloody knuckles. He was scrappy and small in his youth, but could stand up against the best of them. See, he had this seemingly wild aggression within him at times, a short fuse that got him in trouble on a regular interval and landed him in the principal's office often; often enough that he carved his name into the corner of the plastic seat (and maybe earned a few extra days of detention for it, too).

He was still young when he was first told of his family's wolf linage and taught better avenues of controlling that aggression that so often made appearances. It gave him even more of a reason to paste on a sly smile when others teased him for whatever reason in class - because he had a secret none of the rest of them had. He could turn into a wolf. He was barely a teenager when he first turned and started running with the Ortiz pack It didn't take too long for him to learn about the wolf that slept within and the power it gave him. Or at least, the power it made him feel he had.

Towards the end of high school and into college Rio started getting into more reckless territory. He could often be found drinking himself into oblivion or dabbling in an assortment of drugs. More often than not he was finding someone else's bed to spend the night in, his dorm room quickly gathering dust. He hadn't really known what he'd wanted to study when he'd first signed away thousands of dollars to the collegiate institution and he left still not knowing the answer to that. But no one could say he didn't have a good time.

Amelia had been in and out of his life since youth; a friend from the neighborhood of his childhood memories, a classmate who kept him somewhat in line, and part of the reason he'd decided to go to college at all - even if he wasted away the years and pissed away the money. When she came to him confused and upset, talking about an attack in the woods and showing him the bite on her arm just after a full moon...well, what was happening to her wasn't the only surprise of that night. Rio helped guide her through the transition as best he could, hoping he could at least ease some of her worries and maybe even help her find the good things about what had happened to her.

When Amelia came to him explaining that she was pregnant, Rio hadn't been sure how to take it. He had certainly never been the type to want to be tied down and was probably the furthest from one's typical 'father figure' image. But she had never asked anything of him more than she knew he could give - she fully gave him an out not to be in the child's life at all if he'd wanted it. But that hadn't felt right. They'd done this together and made this beautiful baby boy - and the minute he saw him Rio couldn't even give a second thought to walking away. He followed her to Greywood to help raise his kid - and he hasn't left yet. So maybe settling down a little wasn't that bad.

“what power did he attain when settling in Greywood?”

Rio developed the ability of mimicry in which he is able to experience and utilize both their power they may have attained in Greywood and the additional power attributes of their species, but he must be in physical contact with the person to do so.