reynahendrix

[reynahendrix]

Rebecca Ferguson - 400x640 avatars rpg

[reynahendrix]

taking night shifts suited someone plagued by insomnia. reyna never protested the burdens thrust upon her in this godforsaken town. she followed the unspoken rules, kept her head down, and toed the line. watching over the sleeping town often felt more peaceful than enduring the banality of daytime. at night, there was no compulsion to exchange tired pleasantries about the weather — cold, the food —bland, or the activities — all monotonously the same. small talk was tolerable at best, but the repetitive answers wore thin on her tongue.

most nights were uneventful. the townsfolk stayed hidden indoors while the creatures prowled, taunting at windows and doorsteps. it was difficult to ignore their voices — whispers that slipped through cracks and crevices, knowing secrets only you could hold, weaving tales of a life once free from this waking nightmare. they twisted your thoughts until reason unraveled, leaving you teetering on the edge of madness.

it was a battle reyna endured nightly. she found herself oddly relieved each time dawn broke — a fleeting victory in the unending war. to survive another day was the only prayer they had. if one believed in such a thing. at sunrise, she would return to the abandoned cinema she called home, marking another tally on the wall for yet another day lived. four years of such marks, and it was all beginning to feel bleakly absurd. she sometimes wondered what life beyond arcadia would even hold for her. a return to routine ? perhaps. the thought of a life not governed by survival — one free from the constant threat of annihilation — seemed infinitely preferable, even if it meant solitude.

reyna's thumb pressed against the blade of her pocket knife, peeling thin strips from an apple. the morning light crept in, though sleep had eluded her once again. rest was an elusive luxury. from what was now her bedroom window — once the projector’s perch overlooking the silver empty screen — she chewed on a slice of apple, staring out at the silent theater. it was calmer now than the restless night had been. the crunch of the fruit faded as her knife carved another piece. this time, she moved, her footsteps heading toward the cinema’s makeshift kitchen. sleep was meant to restore energy, but with little of that to spare, reyna relied instead on sustenance.

her steps slowed as she entered the main lobby, halting at the sight of another figure. a woman — new to arcadia. reyna recognized her vaguely from arrival. she opened her mouth to speak, only to pause, swallowing the bit of apple that delayed her words. “need something ? or just exploring ? ” she asked, her tone even, though her gaze lingered. curiosity about the town's few landmarks was understandable, but being in her space — shared or not — felt a touch intrusive. still, reyna managed to temper the thought. closing the pocket knife, she slipped it into her front pant pocket, choosing instead to bite into the fruit. no sense in signaling hostility when there was no immediate threat. for now, she simply observed, her guard lowered but not entirely dismissed.

who: @reynahendrix where: the cinema

Day one she'd killed lost her therapist in an accident that clouded her mind from time to time, ached her bones from when the metal scraps had wrapped itself around a tree and left Seraphine for the most part unscathed. Well, physically. She'd been checked for fractures by a medic as Sera had whistled, hummed and was mentally elsewhere entirely when questions were asked about who she was, where she came from and what happened.

Night one she'd spent on the floor of a jail cell, her legs up on the bench, completely out of her mind and unaware of her surroundings. In her mind she was back in the town she grew up in for the rest of the night and even in the first rays of the morning. The church bells tolled in her head, there'd been the flickering of ignited torches and the whispers of the rituals she'd seen as a kid, right there in front of her eyes again. Like a never ending movie - so wrapped in trauma from the events of her life. Never noticing a thing from the so called monsters that spooked the people inside the sheriff's station as long as the night lasted.

Day two was when she got fetched from isolation by a total stranger. Strange girl with her machete. She never got a machete, all she managed to steal was a pocket knife from the guards in the ward. But she couldn't show jealousy. Must not show jealousy over the new girl in the ward, although she very much did. Oh, how she'd wanted to have that machete. Outside the town slowly had dawned on the blonde, how the buildings - she was once so used to - were completely different from the town she once knew so well. Did they change things up? So many unknown faces she passed by - faces that had completely gone unnoticed by her on day one. Until there was only one face left that made sure to leave a mark on Sera's mind. Nika.

Day five she'd gotten pretty tired of seeing the settlement, of people pretending she was some perfect little sacrifice or some shit. ''These pants fucking itch me, Jane and I hate this vest! Just leave me the fuck alone already!'' Seraphine had spat at the girl that knocked on the bathroom door after she'd just taken a shower and barely got dressed. She tossed the vest at her face when she got out of the door, her hair still a dripping mess. Immediately Seraphine made a run for it, bare feet through the woods to aimlessly go into a direction and see where she'd end up.

For a while she'd been staring at a building, trying to catch her breath in the meantime. She'd only seen buildings like these in all kinds of magazines they got to read in the ward. Never in her life had she been to a theatre, never allowed to. Her brows were furrowed deeply, almost weirded out by this strange feeling that wrapped itself around her ribcage. Was this what freedom felt like? To go wherever she wanted to? To just do...whatever?

Her fingers traced the ticket boot at the entrance of the building when she'd finally gathered the courage to set foot towards it. ''This is so gross,'' she stated the obvious when really what she meant to say was holy shit, this is so cool. One foot crossed the threshold, the other still stood outside. There she stood, in the midst of doubt of entering this place. What if this was another place that wanted to keep her trapped for some time? Well, hell - she was set on sitting in one of those red supposedly heavenly comfortable chairs today.

[reynahendrix]

reyna’s eyes wandered to nika’s hands — so effortlessly entwined with the essence of nature. tt was the coldest time of the year (however time functioned in arcadia) and as she observed the plants bracing themselves against the bitter chill, reyna mused that, unlike humanity, the earth beneath their feet would always endure. they wouldn’t. sometimes, the thought of surrendering to the shadows of the night, letting everything fall silent, seemed temptingly simple. - but that was absurd, wasn’t it ? even as her thoughts branched and twisted like a growing vine, reyna’s gaze remained fixed on the resilient plant.

“nika.” reyna responded to her name in a voice that mirrored nika’s subdued tone. her hands retreated into the warmth of her jacket pockets, while her core selfishly held onto the fading comfort of the coffee she’d downed at the diner minutes ago. nika — beautifully haunting, enigmatic yet disarmingly direct. she possessed an entrancing aura that reyna instinctively knew concealed sharp edges - reyna withheld judgment; distance was safer. in a place like arcadia, curiosity often led to people slipping through the cracks. once they disappeared, they rarely resurfaced.

“right.” conor. death was a fact of life, especially here, but it always gnawed at something primal when it claimed those who had been pillars of support. it was like removing a load-bearing beam, threatening the collapse of everything around it. was this the moment Reyna was expected to offer a polite 'thank you' for the condolence ? 'sorry for your loss' never quite seemed fitting. the thought tangled her mind, her brows knitting in mild confusion. words felt clumsy and inadequate, so she nodded instead, a silent acknowledgment of the loss.

“how are things on your end ?” she asked, steering the conversation to the settlement. it wasn’t genuine curiosity; reyna justified the question as a gesture of neutrality. after all, arcadia thrived on balance, on still waters. disruptions led to fractures, and fractures led to loss.

who: reyna + nika ( @reynahendrix ) where: forest, outside settlement

There were certain comforts that one enjoyed having been in the same place for twenty years, and one of those comforts that there were rarely things or people she didn't know. She traded favors for information like currency, and made a point of knowing each and every guard, scout, and hunter in the town. Nika catalogued people into three categories: Those that could support their cause, those whose complacency could be used to die for their cause, and those that stood against her. Albeit, that last category was scarcely populated but it required very little to hinder her progress.

When it came to Reyna, Nika had yet to categorize her. Which, after four years, was enough of a reason for Nika to pay attention to her. She found the guard mostly kept to herself, but it wasn't lost to Nika the degree of attention that Reyna paid to her surroundings. Ideally, someone like that could be valuable to the settlement, and therefore valuable to the pattern. Those who cannot see must be shown the way.

So it was that on a rather brisk morning, she stood in the intercepting path of Reyna's patrol, cultivating plants while she waited. She had had Zoa quietly observe her for the last few weeks, knew that today, after a coffee, Reyna would walk a perimeter this way. And so when the woman appeared, Nika had been expecting her.

"Reyna," she acknowledged her with a barely perceptible nod. She finished clipping the stem of a plant and stood up. Not one to beat around the bush, the next sentence out of her mouth was rather lackluster in empathy, "my condolences about Conor, he was a formidable guard."

[reynahendrix]

stuck. five letters that formed such a sticky frustrating word. an impossible weight. a word that was like looking for a needle in a haystack. stuck. there was a sense of agreement in the way reyna stayed still on charlie's word. there wasn't any trying of spoken words to reassure the other woman motivationally. hell. they were all stuck. reyna tried to forget those moments her brain tried to make sense of her surroundings. how many times she had ran in the loop of the town until her lungs urged her to give up. -- regardless of how everyone felt stuck in any capacity, reyna did feel for the other. whenever she felt the same, for reyna, it felt like being stuck in a house of mirrors. every direction the same, unsure what was an open door, what was just a trickery of a reflection. some time after a pause, reyna smoothed her thumb over the handle of her mug and nodded. " i took the night shift at my post, - did my rounds before coming here. " god if she could just sleep. " we can go pick out some vhs tapes." there was some disconnect in communication sometimes with reyna in socializing with others, but she was certainly trying. four years had extracted her out of her isolated corner. " i think that's a reason why people make movies...to get out of their own head for a bit." right ? she wondered but didn't explain further. her own childhood had found an escapism in films. charlie seemed to need the medicinal magic of film. a moment where eyes couldn't wander their small walls and be reminded of whatever was troubling her mind.

People do anything here to make this place feel less dull. She wondered if that had been Zoa’s intention when she’d left Charlie behind to saddle up with the cultists. Soured by the conversation that she had instigated, Charlie cupped her coffee mug like the warmth might bring about a sense of normalcy, like they were just two women meeting for coffee to discuss the weather or their husband or literally anything other than the creepy cult or monsters with teeth for a face.

“It’s nothing,” she said, words getting caught in her throat. Charlie cleared it and then took a sip of her coffee before adding, “I’m just… stuck, I think.” Stuck in this town. Stuck in the past. Stuck wishing Zoa had never left her with such uncertainty and confusion. And stuck wishing she didn’t still think about it so much.

The thought of having a distraction piqued Charlie’s interest and she sat up straighter in the booth. A chuckle crossed her lips, and she met Reyna’s eyes. “Yes, please, lets pull me out of my head. it’s getting a little dark in there.” A pause and then, “that is, if it’s okay that I steal you away for the day. Did you have anything in mind?”

[reynahendrix]

her eyes drifted, unfocused— an empty gaze as her thoughts spiraled ahead to what the night lay in store. if she'd bothered to notice anything, it would have been dayn's hand. a sight all too familiar: bloody knuckles. reyna kept silent as the newcomer seated before her stammered out his defense. she couldn't care less who started the fight. “ not much of a fight against someone who can barely stand, ” the guard muttered, exhaling. babysitting duty, again. thirteen years of schooling for a degree, and this was where she’d landed. but then again, arcadia had never been in her plans. what kind of place like this would be ?

we are all fucked. “ there isn’t much daylight left, ” she noted into the still air. escorting them both to medical was out of the question—a risk she knew better than to take after four years here. resting her elbows on her knees, reyna rubbed her hand over her forehead. spending the night with a newcomer and a drunken fool in the bar wasn’t an appealing prospect, but choices were scarce. " what's your name ? " dayn. reyna was aware being a guard. who came in and came out was notable. - but it was his name to share.

experience had taught her to tread carefully around newcomers. they were ticking time bombs. adapting to arcadia’s peculiarities took its toll, and she wasn’t convinced anyone came out the other side of adaptability with their sanity intact. “ think you can sit still while i close the windows ? ” she asked, her voice laced with cautious authority. her gaze held a flicker of unsteady trust—don’t move, don’t provoke. words they’d told her when she first arrived. words she’d failed to heed. “ if you pull something stupid, you’ll put us all at risk. ” her tone hardened. “ - it’ll be more than bloody knuckles you’ll have to deal with. ” a warning about what lurked outside. a promise from the woman who had learned to survive it.

No matter where he went it always seemed to result in him pissing somebody off, or starting a fight somewhere, or something that otherwise got him into stupid kinds of avoidable trouble. The problem was most definitely him, but Dayn refused to take on that kind of accountability.

"He started it, he's the one who's shitfaced," he argued, wrapping a towel around bloodied knuckles, wincing when the sting of alcohol left behind in the fabric hit the open wound. That was one way to disinfect it, apparently. Somewhere in the back of his head, he understood that he had gotten away with similar misdoings in the past, that he had a guardian angel or two looking out for him in the form of inside men on the Milwaukee PD that took pity on him and his extenuating circumstances, but this was a different beast. Nobody knew him here, and he was the newer outsider that was starting up trouble and disrupting the peace... as close to peace as a place like this could get, evidently.

The drunken - or even semi-drunken, but Dayn did serve him at least one - man had his head back with his nose pinched on the far side of the room while Dayn sat in front of a guard (so he had been told), probably here to keep the two of them separated. "C'mon, I'm aware tensions are probably pretty high around here, but starting to tell people how fucked we all are puts a damper on things. So does cutting him off, apparently." *// @reynahendrix

[reynahendrix]

REBECCA FERGUSON as Juliette Nichols in SILO (2023 -) 2 x 07 “The Dive”

[reynahendrix]

REBECCA FERGUSON photographed by JUANKR for Esquire Mexico (April, 2024)

[reynahendrix]

reyna exhaled through her nose, the motion almost like a sigh but too subtle to fully give her thoughts away. charlie's rush of words sent a ripple through her mind, and she nodded once, slowly, as if to anchor the conversation back to some shared ground. " alright, " she agreed, her tone steady and nonchalant, " i'll keep it just between us. " reyna tapped her fingers on the ceramic mug again, letting the warmth pool into her skin as her gaze flickered back to charlie. that tension in her shoulders—reyna caught it, the kind that practically screamed for release.

" the drugs and the sex, though ? " hummed thoughtfully, as if testing how the words sat in her mouth paired with the topic of the settlement. " i wouldn't be surprised. i think people do anything here to make this place feel less dull. " the people out there are more isolated. who is to say what boundaries their sanity breaks..." voice trailed. it wasn't reyna's intentions to sink more concern into charlie. " what do you mean ? " the focus on zoa reeled fixation, and curiosity. if charlie hadn't wanted to stay planted in the conversation regarding the settlement, reyna wouldn't push. - but her mind would revisit.

" might have an errand or two. but..." reyna paused, " i think what you really need is a distraction. something to pull you out of your head for a minute." pushing her back to the booth, mug cradled in her hands she spoke again. " so. we should do something. "

If anything, it was the tenseness in her shoulders she felt might give away the amount of tremendous stress Charlie currently felt under. There had been the trip out in the forest with Conor, the voices that seemed so much more enticing than usual, the fact that every corner she turned she felt prepared to embrace death. The creatures were like vultures circling and Charlie felt her sanity slipping away more and more every day.

This was just one more thing for her to obsess (perhaps unhealthily) over. "No, no," she quickly rushed out, "don't bring it up to the others." She didn't need it going back to Zoa that she was rogue investigating the settlement. "Just wanted to know if you've heard anything."

"I don't know, I just.." she started and then leaned forward, "do you think any of that stuff is true with the drugs and the sex? Last time I saw Zoa..." Her mind strayed and she gave her head a shake, "she was just a bit strange, you know? It's.. It's probably nothing."

"Anyway, please tell me you've got something cool planned today and could use the company."

[reynahendrix]

em’s words about her appearance didn’t sting the way they might’ve from someone else. from the leader, it felt… honest. grounded. like everything else about her. reyna let out a slow exhale through her nose, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. " been busy." a quiet justification the other knew the busy expectations that brought safety. when emery beckoned her closer, offering a slice of carrot, reyna hesitated but eventually stepped forward, plucking a piece from the other woman’s hand. she didn’t eat it right away, instead turning it over in her fingers as she took a pause of appreciation for the nonjudgmental space between them. she followed, quietly trailing slightly behind. her mind was hooked on being shown something of safety, animals, food grown, discovery of something hellishly new. it wasn't any of those things. reyna had pushed the idea of her birthday or any celebration so far out of her that the sight of the lake and the worn blankets halted her feet. all of it tugged at something deep within her, something she rarely allowed herself to acknowledge. she stood stiff. the act of tallying the days to each month passing spent in arcadia hadn't stopped, - it was the hoping she'd get out of here that had. the days turned into existing for the sake of survival. nothing else. a reaction finally cracked. her chest lifted with unsteady breath trying to hold back the salty water that edged in the corner of her eyes. to be cared for, shown some human warmth made her toes want to twitch - run. - but she stood still, overwhelmed by the small act displayed. blinking herself back, reyna splayed her fingers giving emery's arm a small squeeze before she approached the sight of a place they knew well. reyna crouched down, her knees brushing the edge of the blanket as she let her fingers ghost over the bourbon bottle. a nice touch. something about being transparent, and vulnerable felt difficult to share with another being. " you can stay, " reyna said after a moment, her voice softer now, almost shy. " if you want. i… don’t mind. " reyna continued to graze her thumb against the glass before turning her eyes to the water. the tension began to relax in her shoulders. " you should stay. " her words weren't much, but it was as close as reyna could come to saying how much it meant to her that emery had remembered what she forgot, that she’d planned this— it was enough to make her throat tighten, and she quickly looked away, holding the bourbon as a distraction. - twisting its bottled top off and letting the watered down liquid to run down her throat.

When she wasn't needed someplace in town, Emery spent most of her time around the common house. After an eventful morning of helping out with laundry, a simple hole in the wall fix and dragging a faint feeling resident towards the clinic, she'd stationed herself on the porch of the house. The weather was enjoyable enough to stay out. When nights out were taken away from her a little more than seven years, she took advantage of the day as much as she could.

Occupied by a carrot in one hand and her knife in the other, she sliced the vegetable piece by piece and slid each bite simply off her knife with her mouth. The guard's presence didn't go by her unnoticed, not much went by the sergeant unnoticed. Part of the reason why the people had taken to her as a leader of the place. ''Rey,'' she didn't miss a beat when her eyes ran over the woman she once slept so much closer to, only a room apart. ''You look worse for wear,'' Emery was dead honest, though adding, ''but so do I.''

She beckoned her to come closer, to take a piece of the vegetable, to share what was hers with Reyna. ''I know,'' she nodded, eyes heading toward the town. ''It happens.'' They were all just trying to fill their days with whatever necessary. And if Reyna felt like isolating herself, Emery couldn't blame her. ''Come with me,'' she got up from the porch steps and gestured Reyna with a nod of her head to join her for a walk. Away from where people were. To a place not many people came, where she and Reyna had been plenty of times before. A lake not too far ahead in the woods, where some torn and used picnic blankets were awaiting them and a bottle not even half filled with watered down bourbon. ''It's a day late but I figured you'd show up sometime. It's not much,'' it never was but for whatever it meant; ''happy birthday, dear.'' Isolation and alcohol, that was all Emery could gift her. ''I could stay or I could go, up to you. I won't push you.''

[reynahendrix]

Rebecca Ferguson

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, November 2024

[reynahendrix]

reyna watched roux toy with the apple stem, her casual movements making the guard betray any current depth of thought. she stuffed her hands into her pockets, rocking back on her heels. for all her attempts to feign ease, she felt every word caught in her throat, a jumble of barbed wire she had to carefully pull free. finally, she let out a low chuckle that sounded more like a cough. “ poison it ? didn't think i mirrored a hunched, grey-haired witch from a fairytale." a new one. reyna eased a smile before taking a seat - just one step lower from roux's placement. “ apple’s safe. this time.”

roux’s invitation hung in the air, cloaked in humor but unmistakably real. reyna’s smirk faltered, replaced by the ghost of something softer, almost cautious. spend the night ? the idea was laughable -- girl-scouts of sorts - reyna, roux, charlie - but the fact that roux had suggested it at all ? that was harder to dismiss. “ coils look a little cramped for me, ” she deflected, though her tone lacked the sharp edge of rejection. “ committed to my post. ” when was the time slot for sleep ? reyna's day was patrolling the town, her night wide eyed at a post to make sure the town was asleep as peaceful as the conditions would allow. power naps had been a way of life, even if her lids protested. her gaze wandered to the apple roux was now inspecting with such intent, the mention of beer pulling a wry laugh from her. “ good beer, ” reyna repeated, the phrase rolling off her tongue like some sacred relic of a past life. " cold - sharp. beer that tastes like its supposed to be consumed, you mean ? " whatever was distilled in the bar was an abomination. reyna’s lips twisted into something approximating a grin, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. " if we ever get out of this place - first beer is on me. " the words felt almost choked out of reyna. knowing that there was a good chance they'd never reach the promise she spoke. it was too coated in hope. -

Contrary to popular belief, Roux was an incredibly social person — but only as a last resort, never voluntarily. Without a task, hunt, or ritual to perform, she sorely craved the stimuli of an opposite, vehemently against being truly alone for extended periods for the space it gave her mind to fill with unwanted history. Sure, her approach was rarely passive, led by more capricious tendencies — to rile, to provoke, to bother, to abandon — but that was where the best enjoyment and entertainment lay. Reyna was an unexpectedly pleasant source of company, lacking the power-hungry or entirely stringent qualities of other guards; just getting by, changing and adjusting slowly with the times, not because it was desirable but because it was a necessary means to an end.

Roux had been left alone to her own devices, in the middle of re-arranging her tool belt after an overdue clean, when her hand automatically shot up to catch the apple. An exhale of relief. “I hope you finally got up the nerve to poison it,” only half-joking, Roux pressed her lips to the fruit and inhaled the dull sweetness it emanated. To savour now or save for later? Sufficiently distracted, she inspected the waxy skin and bloom of colour; inconsistent patterns of sun and rain leaving their unique impressions after many weeks. Roux hated knowing intimately the conditions which impacted the way things grew, why she had to. Every choice an act towards the betterment of their collective of misfits’ survival, never a day passing that was too leisurely or unloaded. Distantly, she could recall the memory huge plastic containers with shiny perfect fruits piled into pyramids. Nothing out of place nor warped with bruises; nothing unsightly permitted the light of day.

“Well, it's first thing in the morning and I'm looking at your face, so I'd say so.” Her sly gaze appraised Reyna with a fleeting once over, and the suggestion of an immodest smile played across her lips. “You should spend the night, give the coils a try sometime.” A genuine invitation disguised as a ruse; a lure with the trip wire attached that it would mean spending such a night with Roux. Admittedly, the radio station felt particularly haunted, but it was the flurry of incessant activity which made it so inviting. When sleep failed, there was always something to do instead. Her fingertips toyed with the stiff apple stem, imagining what sort of cider flavour could be yielded from the strain of yeast embedded in its skin, microscopic and undetectable without activation. Or something like that — she’d failed science twice in high school and wasn’t about to go to the library to source correct information. “I miss beer,” she mused, considering the lukewarm liquids the local makeshift bar brewed, undoubtedly alcoholic and vaguely tart — but at what cost? Roux had lost all feeling in her stomach after a certain point. Wrinkling her nose, she shook her head of the piss poor comparison. “Good beer. Now that’s a sleep aid.”

[reynahendrix]

reyna straightened her body, the pale sunlight through branches catching her face in fleeting shards. her breaths were shallow, deliberate, and her eyes—a mixture of steel and storm—wide from what haunted her mind. the voice brought her back, tethered her to the moment, though the weight in her chest and the lingering claws in her mind tugged her toward a scream she couldn’t yet release. not here in front of juno.

the others words felt sharp, tinged - and reyna could only sigh out the last unsteady breath. her forearm was held to her forehead trying to keep the sewed seams of herself from breaking. regaining control, " that's the big mystery, isn't it ? " it wasn't. reyna did as many others did in town - follow the rules, stay hidden at night, keep the amulets hung on the wall. her sanity hadn't completely broke...yet.

" thanks, i'll make sure to follow that advice ." voice low, measured, - reyna redirected not giving much reaction to a witted tongue. " you've got an eye for plants, yeah ? " her voice carrying a trace of warmth despite the tension lingering in her shoulders. people of the settlement were their own bundle of mystery. the woods were chaotic - constant. they could swallow you whole. wrap roots around your mind.

Despite the dangers in the woods, or perhaps because of them, Juno had always felt at peace within the trees. Ever since they were a child - it was as they and their family lived. Immersed into the nature that surrounded their little home as if they were one with nature themselves. Gathering and learning from it so that later in life they could help it evolve. All the knowledge they had on plants came from their parents endlessly gathering the children around whatever new plant they came across, to dissect and analyze until they had every fiber committed to memory. 

It only one of the many reasons why Juno found themselves inside of the trees now. Becoming one with their surroundings once more as they navigated the path their very own feet had overtime paved. It perhaps was a little absurd to think it was merely their own, with the plethora of people who came and went from there, but the idea wasn’t too outlandish for them to welcome. They always focused on themselves after all… and lately another. Or perhaps always that other, but Juno didn’t know what to make of it. 

Now, as they found themselves staring at a new plant they’ve yet to have seen before, Juno thought about her. Where she could be. What she could be doing. Who she was with, and whether she trusted them enough to watch their back. The worry was new. Uncomfortable as was every emotion they felt towards Zoa, but worry was the new delinquent. 

Juno heard the crunch of branches before they heard her speak, so they weren’t nearly as taken aback as the other woman came into vision. Amusement cursed through them instantly, driving their previous thoughts out of their head with ease. “How have you made it this long?” Juno wondered, doing their best to avoid the need to roll their eyes. It made no sense to them. They didn’t know Reyna, other than the information they gathered on their own as they assessed the town, but knew they’d been around when Juno arrived. Their memory wasn’t bad enough to have missed it. “You should be more aware.”

[reynahendrix]

reyna wanted to ask why ? it's not like we don't have time. she wanted to say, but only delivered a soft smile in exchange. a community with all the time in the world and simultaneously no time at all. perhaps it was always a fight for more time.

there was something tucked behind theo that reyna didn't understand not having known him beneath the surface. " for what it's worth," nothing at all, or a little nugget of who the woman was. " i never even knew how to play. my father used to have a board. glass pieces." she recollected, something turned somber in her tone. " - i'd just clank them around not really knowing what they meant." lungs depleted whatever unholy breath she was holding in.

" coffee." came a clearing of her throat, and an awkward shift in her stance. " now that's something i know very well. - please." reyna wondered how lonely it felt out here in these walls. if the stillness mirrored being out in the open at night. if theo had just as many nightmares as she did. - though, reyna wouldn't ask. just as she wouldn't dabble too much in the topic of being trapped in a place like arcadia with family. something she'd feel disconnected from.

Theodore glanced up from the glass of water he had been nursing at a table near a stained glass window. The silence of the Church has a kind of strange comfort to it, even though he could never shed the memories tied to a place like this. He blinked, taking in her presence with an unreadable gaze. Hazel eyes moved to the rook in her hand. Mind registering it before he even spoke. Theo rose, the wooden floor creaking softly underneath his feet as he took it with a quiet gratitude. "Thank you, Reyna," he murmured, turning it over in his hand.

His mind flickered to the chess games he used to play with his mentor, and interim father. A comforting routine to keep him tethered. There were unspoken words that lingered, perched just underneath his chin that he wasn't sure if he could articulate. "Yes, it's mine. Not sure how it ended up in the middle of the road, though." Theo met her eyes and his expression softened. They shifted back to the rook, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips, "I don't really play anymore, at least not like I used to."

He hesitated for a moment, something about her quiet and almost elusive presence made him feel a strange kinship. It wasn't often Theo found people who could truly understand the weight that silence held. "I'm glad you found it, thank you for bringing it by." He set it down on the table and it drowned in a sea of red filtered sunlight. "My sister's just brought me some coffee, would you like some?"

[reynahendrix]

charlie's shift sent reyna's lungs to slowly fill with air. the settlement. not a topic any ears could avoid more as of recent. so it seemed. - or perhaps it was just reyna's own mind allowing it all to seep in. her mind couldn't help but slip into the folds of nika first. a leader of a community that had been known of cult-like mysteries. reyna wouldn't dabble much into the judgment. if anything, she envied the isolation - having always been tucked to herself before...seeing the tree.

" i haven't really noticed any focus. " fingers tapped against the coffee mug hoping the warmth would melt away her thin lie. the feeling was rational to avoid getting her feet caught in the thick of the political mud. another slow inhale, and reyna was trailing her eyes over charlie's features. she studied quietly for a moment. colors of blue, and faded green traced the shape of the others eyes wondering what was buzzing charlie's mind. " zoa," she knew. she'd allow the truth to seep out about her thoughts surrounding. it felt safer. " a bit of a mouth on her, but she seems harmless -" it would be irrational to think anyone here couldn't test limitations, and be harmless. reyna knew. she didn't want charlie to stress on. " i can bring the topic up to the others. if you have concern, its worth mentioning -. " reyna slid the toothpick from her mouth, allowing herself to be treated with another sip of coffee. " what makes you think something is going on ? " reyna was wrapped in sworn protection for the sake of their community afterall.

For all the complaints she had about her own job, she suddenly felt like the most blessed person in the world listening to Reyna talk about her night. Few things she tolerated less than drunk people, especially in this town where a) alcohol was scarce, and b) everyone else had to deal with reality, why did certain people get to alter their mindset to escape it?

Charlie chuckled and took another sip of her coffee before putting it down. "You delivered him to his door and no tip? That sounds almost criminal, in my opinion." She mulled over a question she had been meaning to ask the guard, wondered if her intentions would be too transparent. But then she reckoned that with Reyna, it wouldn't matter if the woman could see through her, Charlie would get an answer free of any judgement.

"Hey so," she started before leaning a bit closer over the table, "I know you guys don't really um.. deal with things at the settlement but did you... did you guys manage to look into their leader? Or... Zoa? I think they're up to something up there, I guess I just want to know what the guards think."

[reynahendrix]

location. ⁺ the ranch.

mud scraped from the bottom of her boot as she rested one foot up on the wooden fence. the animals on the other side were left unharmed by the night, and reyna couldn't help but ease into their energy. untouched, unlike the torment that ran through the woman's veins. she came here often, to the ranch, seeking whatever amount of solace she could inhale.

the rain was missing. reyna took a calm breath, hands resting on the rail trying to will the rain to drip out of the clouds. there was a yearning for the way the earth smelled after a fresh rain. maybe it was a cleansing she sought after. some things were too out of reach in arcadia.

there was a momentary glance having picked up jude's waking presence. disrupting her own silence, " morning. " a small nod, and the woman was sliding her body away from the fence to squat beside her backpack. " brought you something. " sometimes when reyna spoke, she was still somehow quiet at times. - her hands pulled out a thermos, brown and silver with some rubbed off brand. she popped the top off before filling it with coffee. instant. probably stale. reyna knew it was shit in any coffee enthusiast eyes, but it was a treasure in a place that didn't have much. " now...don't leave it around just to get cold. actually drink it so you can function. " a weak attempt at humor. reyna tried.

closed starter. // @saintlcss

[reynahendrix]

Rebecca Ferguson

Nensi Dojaka for Calvin Klein 2024

[reynahendrix]

uneventful ? reyna's eyebrows lifted before responding a small, " good. " if she'd elaborate, those nights almost terrified the woman more. where reyna found stillness comfortable, she couldn't help but wonder if it meant something treacherous was brewing. her mind couldn't rest. the woman would rock back and fourth on her toes insistently. her mind was a multitasker - wondering what charlie was previously sketching in her book before she slid into the booth. woke up still here. that was it, wasn't it... " mm " hummed over a sip of warm brew. " turns out.. my night was one level up from uneventful. babysat a grown man with too much to drink over at the bar. " - and then stared up at the ceiling all night once she crawled into bed. the coffee was bound to lift her lids soon enough. " can't put up much of a fight with someone who can hardly stand on two feet. " reyna reached for a toothpick, balancing it between her teeth as she spoke. the warmth of the ceramic mug was soothing enough to counteract the caffeine. " i let him sleep it off before i dumped water on his sorry ass, and dragged him home. " this sent reyna's lips to stretch into a smile. the moment irritated her, but thinking how pathetic it must have been was almost laughable. " don't really dig the babysitting gig turns out. not much of a tip either. "

Habits were hard to break and so easy to make when you were stuck in one place permanently. One of Charlie's less... destructive... habit was to enjoy a bite to eat at first light right before she went for a hunt. The diner was typically quieter first thing as most of the town was probably just now falling asleep for a few hours of undisturbed sleep. The only people that were typically up this early were other hunters, guards, and the freaks that could sleep soundly through the night in the first place.

"Reyna," Charlie acknowledged with a smile as the other woman sat down opposite of her. She closed her sketchbook in an effort to be more present and took a sip of her own coffee. How had the night been? Well, absent of screams in the night for once so that was always a bonus. Plus, Roux and her had been largely undisturbed in the tower though she had felt the strangest feeling of being watched all night. Freaks.

"It was uneventful," Charlie settled on saying, "but I woke up still here so... you know. How was yours? Any cool things happen? Did you have to fight anyone?"