#Thread: Mack

[longislandcharm]

TIMING: June 15th LOCATION: Mack's House PARTIES: Winter (@longislandcharm) and Mack (@realmackross) SUMMARY: It's Mack's birthday! Winter comes over to celebrate but her friend doesn't seem to be in the mood. CONTENT WARNINGS: None!

June 15th. The day Mackenzie Elizabeth Ross was born. It had also become a day she had dreaded considering she was no longer alive. She had pondered a party, celebrating with her Wicked’s Rest friends, but she hadn’t seen them in so long, that she was pretty sure she didn’t really have any anymore. And while Taylor had texted her Happy Birthday and her parents had called, it just wasn’t the same. Then there was Cass, but it seemed as though after their hangout that she had just disappeared. Monty and Kaden (or Dads as she had fondly called them), she was sure was probably busy saving the world. And Winter…the last time Mack had seen Winter had been months ago after they had made up, and she had been attacked by a giant fucking bird.

So in lieu of a party, she had opted to stay buried under the covers in her bed with Jack the cat. The only thing she had left of Elora, besides memories and pictures. Maybe a trip to see Sellama later would be in order, if she could pull herself out of the bed and actually get dressed. But staying hidden away had been so much easier. The world, as Mackenzie had found out since coming to Wicked’s Rest, was more dangerous than ever. And she was part of that problem.

Had it really been months since Winter had seen Mack? They’d talked online, texted here and there, but she hadn’t physically seen her best friend since Christmas and that was a damn crime when they were in the same town. It wasn’t uncommon for the two of them to go long periods of time apart and it hadn’t been intentional this time around but Winter still felt bad about it all. What better way to make it up to someone than to bring over a mini party?

Her car was loaded down with champagne, a few gift bags from Covet Couture, and one of the sweetest cakes she could find in town…made by the bread cemetery, of course. She only held the cake in hand though as she made her way up the drive, Winter knowing the code to get past the gate. Even if Mack didn’t want her to have it she could have guessed it.She knew her that well. It came in handy when she wanted to surprise the blonde. 

Even if she were a little afraid of what she might find sometimes.

Still, Winter walked through the door without a second's hesitation and called out to let Mack know she was there. “Come on bitch, get up and come help me with the car. I know it’s your birthday but I can’t carry it all by myself.” A cat she didn’t recognize came running out of Mack’s room, the medium furrowing her brow as she set the cake on the nearest surface she could find. “Uh, Mack…that’s not your cat….Mackenzie?”

The covers were pulled high over her head, and Mack groaned as Jack weaseled his gray striped furry little body under them and started to rub up against the side of her face. From what she could tell, his fur was soft, but the downside…the number of cat hairs that went in her mouth, she couldn’t feel; both a blessing and a curse, “Jack…stopppppp.” She turned over as the cat continued to rub on her, until he heard Winter come in downstairs. Slipping out from under the blankets, he quickly darted out of Mackenzie’s bedroom and down the steps where he proceeded to rub against Winter’s leg furiously wanting to be rubbed.

When Mack realized he had left, she turned over and pulled the covers off of her face hissing at the sunlight peeking in through the room. Then she heard it. A voice she hadn’t heard in a long time – Winter. And as much as she wanted to curl back up and hide under the covers, she let out a long sigh and slowly crawled out of the bed.

“That is my cat.” Her voice carried through the large house as she padded into her bathroom and ran a brush through her messy hair. When she was satisfied with how she looked, she made her way towards the steps leading downstairs, “His name is Jack. And he’s a little asshole. What are you doing here?” Just before she stepped off the last few steps, she noticed the cake, “What is that?”

“When did you get a new one?” The cat just wanted some affection and Winter, never one to deny a feline of such things, bent down and scooped it into her arms. She started to scratch behind its ear as it purred against her, only looking up when she heard someone enter the room. Mackenzie looked a little worse for wear despite the attempts to brush up on her appearance. It wasn’t her attributes that tipped Winter off but more the look in her eye. Something wasn’t right. How long had it been since they’d truly spoken? Why didn’t she know what was going on with her friend? Why was the appearance of an unknown cat the thing that made her realize all of this? “He seems sweet to me.” She shrugged a shoulder as she continued to stroke Jack’s fur but she did have a cat that could be considered Satan’s spawn herself.

Brows furrowed, Winter turning her head to look back at the cake and Henry standing next to it. He’d tried to put a party hat on but it kept falling through him to the ground so he’d reluctantly come sans the decoration. “Bitch, what does it look like? It’s the sweetest cake the Bread Cemetery has to offer and a surly ghost that wishes he could pull the string on a party popper.” The man had even tried that but his mastery of holding onto objects needed some work. Henry scowled at her, she smiled sweetly in his direction. “He wanted to make things less awkward with you two by being cheesy. I told him it wouldn’t work anyway but he’s still upset he can’t even try.” 

Winter placed the cat back on the floor and started to wipe any stray hair off of her clothes but her head slowly raised to look at the blonde when she fully realized why Mack might be asking. “You do remember it's your birthday, right? The zombie virus didn’t attack your brain, did it? Because there’s more stuff in the car and I would hate for you to miss out on these killer gifts I got you just because you have to eat flesh now.”

“Elora asked for a hat one day, and I thought she said cat, so we kept the cat.” Mackenzie continued to stare at the cake. To say she was surprised was a bit of an understatement. She hadn’t expected Winter to show up out of the blue after months of having not seen her. But now, here she stood in her house, rubbing Jack, like everything was fine, “He’ll turn on you in a heartbeat and suffo-” Mackenzie paused at the word thinking about her time underwater, “Never mind.” Finally stepping off the last few steps, she walked over to get a closer look at the birthday cake.

She couldn’t smell it and there was a slim chance she’d be able to taste it, but the gesture was sweet. But a sort of numbness laid over Mackenzie’s mood. She wasn’t as joyful as she normally was, and even when Winter had mentioned Henry’s efforts, her smile was small, and a quiet nod of acknowledgement was sent in his direction. It was going to take a lot to get a zombie who had been through hell and back all within two months to laugh and actually celebrate.

“Yeah…” Mack looked over at Winter, “I know. Just not much in the celebrating spirit I suppose.” She moved fully into the kitchen and pulled the Fireball out of the cabinet. “Can I offer you a drink, some cake, Fuego Takis, cat food?” She hadn’t kept real food in the house in quite a while, except for spicy and sour junk food. And the brains in her fridge downstairs were pretty much animal now, “Sorry, I don’t have anything else I can offer. People don’t really come over much anymore.”

“Right, because of the hearing and all.” She gestured to her own ear as she continued. “Where is Elora anyway? I thought you two would have been celebrating together.” Winter’s eyes started to dart around the room as if she expected the other girl to pop up out of nowhere. In a way, she did expect just that but all she saw was a cat, a ghost, and a zombie who looked like the world was falling all around her. No redhead with big eyes and a plastered smile was sneaking around anywhere. Oh well, she wouldn’t get any cake then. 

“Suffocate?” The medium finished her friend’s sentence, starting to get frustrated with whatever was going on. If there was one thing she didn’t enjoy it was being left out of the loop and she felt so far out of it right now that she could have been in a different loop entirely. Maybe she was. Maybe Winter wasn’t privy to some of the things going on with Mackenzie because she wasn’t exactly the same as her anymore. Or maybe she was too wrapped up in Elora to really talk to her these days. “I think you were looking for ‘suffocate’. He sounds like Binx. I wonder if they would get along.”

More frustration was added to the mix of emotion she was currently trying to push down. It was Mackenzie’s birthday, she wasn’t going to add to whatever mood the blonde was in by being a total bitch to her. But she did wish that her friend would lighten up a little. The slight nod to Henry had the ghost waving awkwardly, no doubt feeling like he’d overstepped by being there but it wasn’t like he could walk too far away. “You’ll never catch me drinking that shit.” But the comment held less bite than usual as Winter walked to stand next to Mack. She placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder and softly squeezed. “Mack, what’s going on? I thought we were going to do that whole being honest with each other thing.”

When Winter had spoken her name, Mackenzie froze. She hadn’t really heard anyone else say it in a while, and it had recemented the fact that the woman was probably never coming back, “Uh, we…we broke up. She left town about a month or so ago, so it’s just me and Jack here now.” She refused to look at Winter as she limped over to the other side of the kitchen to get a clean glass out of the cabinet. Elora leaving had only been the tip of the iceberg of what she had been longing to tell Winter, and when she tried to get in touch with her, there had been no response.

Setting the glass down on the counter, she unscrewed the lid and began to pour, but zoned out when Winter finished her sentence. Mackenzie hadn’t wanted to remember being pushed off a cliff or feeling trapped under the dark sea water, or worse, killing the men on the fishing boat and not feeling a damn thing afterwards. When she finally came back to her senses the liquid was spilling over the rim of the glass, and at some point, Winter had put her hand on Mack’s shoulder, “Fuck.”

Mack quickly pulled back the nearly empty bottle of alcohol and quickly grabbed a nearby towel, slipping out of Winter’s grip. Tossing the dish towel onto the mess, she started to dab it up, “I tried? But you never answered my message…”

There weren’t many times in life when she felt bad for her own actions or even apologetic for them but she could feel shame coursing through her as soon as the words were out of Mack’s mouth. If anything proved that Winter had been too self involved lately it was this. She didn’t even know that her best friend had lost someone she cared so deeply for. Not to mention this weird limp of hers she had going on. When did that happen? The medium swallowed the thick lump that had formed, taking a moment to push down the onslaught of emotion forming. This wasn’t about her right now. Even if it had been she wouldn’t be too keen on these feelings anyway. She never was. “Mack…”

What did one say to their best friend when they hadn’t been around enough? When they’d missed so much in their life that she felt like a different person than the last time she’d seen her? When that friend was pulling away from the few comforting touches that were offered up? “I’m sorry. I should have been around when that happened. So much has been going on I just…” She didn’t have much of an excuse. With everything that happened with Thea and the move and trying to hone her own skills she’d just gotten caught up in life. 

It was the last comment that made her bristle though, Winter feeling a little defensive at that. “What message? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She hadn’t heard from Mack either. This friendship was a two way street. The medium looked down at her phone and contemplated pulling up her texts or even her messages on various social medias to prove Mack wrong but then she remembered that this wasn’t about her. Her tone softened as she let go of her annoyance and she tried again. “I don’t think I received anything, Mack.”

Mack could’ve been angry, but she wasn’t. She didn’t have it in her. Besides, she knew Winter had her own life to live, just as Mack had been living hers. And while the pair had made up months ago, they lived in a town that was full of more than just who was dating who or who broke up with who. That was a life in the past. Wicked’s Rest, on more than just a few occasions, was a life or death town, and they both had opted to stay here, “It’s fine, Winter. I know you’ve got your own life to live too. I’m not playing the blame game. That went out the door long ago, when we made up in December.”

The zombie finished cleaning up the spilled alcohol and tossed the Fireball soaked towel into the sink. Turning around, she leaned up against the counter and looked at her friend, “I sent it back a couple of weeks ago, but I guess it didn’t go through.” Of course it didn’t. When Jade had chopped off Mack’s leg, she had needed Winter badly, and when her friend never texted back, it hurt, but eventually she let it go. “Like I said, it’s fine.”

Mackenzie looked over at Henry and then downwards as Jack tried to rub against his leg, but had no luck. A small laugh escaped her lips, and she shook her head looking back up to her friend. Though she had been depressed, having someone here with her on her birthday was slowly starting to cheer her up. The longing for something good in her life had made her desperate, and out of that desperation, Mack was just trying to find the good to hold onto. Otherwise, she knew the darkness she was slipping into would eventually take hold, “You…you said something about presents?”

“But it’s not fine.” She was firm as she said that, knowing full well that having her own life didn’t mean she couldn’t be part of Mack's life too. Things came up, sure, but there should be nothing that kept her away when the girl was in shambles. And clearly she was. Winter bit into her bottom lip, letting go of the missed message and the talk of presents to hold onto what mattered; being there. She let Mack finish cleaning up the mess before she moved forwards and wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her into the tightest hug she could manage. It was a good thing Mackenzie didn’t need to breathe. 

She stayed that way for a long time refusing to let go. Mack could fight it all she wanted but the zombie needed this and Winter refused to not give it to her. Her aversion to physical intimacy, her aversion to feelings, it all went out the window while she continued to squeeze the life out of the dead. 

“You’re my favorite person on this planet, Mackenzie Ross. My platonic soul mate, my one and only bestie for life, my feisty little sometimes asshole who I know would fight even death for me. Next time you need me you come bust down my front door if you don’t hear back.” Even if she was taking her phone to get checked out as soon as she stepped foot out of this house. “I would never intentionally leave you on read.” Taking in a breath, she finally released Mack and smiled while rolling her eyes. “Of course you would focus on the presents. They’re in the car with some other things, let's go grab them and then you’re telling me everything.”

Mackenzie hadn’t expected the hug. In fact, it had somewhat surprised her, but instead of refusing, she gave in, closing her eyes and taking it all in. The last hug she had gotten had come from Elora telling her goodbye. But now here stood Winter latched on and refusing to let Mack go, no matter how much the zombie started to squirm. But deep down, she wanted it to last forever.

When she was finally released from the death grip, Mack looked at her friend further taking her in as well as this moment. From all that she had been through recently, the universe was really making it clear that tomorrows weren’t guaranteed, and she didn’t ever want to feel another moment in her life that felt as empty as most of last year and this year had been without Winter in it, “What can I say? I’m dead and boujee. I don’t have all day.”

Playfully pushing past her friend, Mack hobbled towards the front door not waiting for Winter. And before long, she was standing in the driveway next to the woman’s car, “Is it unlocked? What do you want me to grab?” She’d let Winter lead the way, but she was chomping at the bit to see what her friend had come up with in the way of presents. They were probably going to be extra boujee, and she couldn’t wait.

No response to her words sent her smile faltering for a split second, the medium wondering if they had even helped at all. Mack was in self destruct mode, not believing a damn word that Winter was telling her, and she never knew how to navigate this part of their friendship. As much as it saddened her to no end that her words weren't actually being heard, Winter knew it would only be worse in the long run if she brought it up. Or she would bring her down more by pointing it out. Plus, again, this wasn’t about her. So, she let it go like she fought to let go of a lot of things. 

“You have more than all day, actually.” She looked at her pointedly before she followed Mack out to her car, unlocking it as they got closer. “Well, since I don’t trust you to not go through your presents before we get inside you can grab the champagne.” Winter gave her a matter of fact smile and grabbed the bags that contained Mack’s gifts, making sure they didn’t fall open. She wanted to see her face whenever she saw them for the first time. 

Winter was placing the gift bags next to the cake before she spoke again, her eyes going to Henry and then back to Mack. “You know, I can always see if Henry wants to go upstairs for a bit if you don’t feel comfortable. I know things got a little weird with you guys for a minute and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, right?” Henry shook his head to show that he wouldn’t care if that was her choice, the ghost already moving towards the stairs. She wondered if he was relieved himself or if he just felt awkward enough to willingly go without a word.

Mack rolled her eyes. Typical Winter not letting her carry presents, so she reached for the champagne and carried the bottle inside, so Winter wouldn’t accuse her of trying to peek. It almost felt like old times. Them keeping presents a secret for the thrill of the surprise and the reaction. It was nice, and the more time she spent with her best friend, the more she was starting to lighten up. Even if this day wouldn’t solve all her problems, it would at least give her a nice little escape. Something she had been longing for for quite some time.

Following Winter’s lead, Mack sat the bottle of champagne on the counter. It was still chilled from what the zombie could tell, but she had wondered if Winter wanted it in the fridge, “Do you want this in the fridge or…” She looked to her friend, just in time to notice the ghost out of the corner of her eyes. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Henry, but ever since he had possessed her, Mack had just felt weird around him, “Uh, do you want to go turn the tv on for him in one of the guest bedrooms?” Mack felt bad that he was just having to go upstairs and miss all the fun. She at least wanted there to be something entertaining for him.

Finally looking at the ghost as he went upstairs, Mack let her eyes fall, feeling embarrassed, “I’m sorry.” Letting out a soft sigh, the zombie moved to the kitchen and started busying herself with getting plates down for the cake and anything else they might need.

“No, we’re about to drink it.” The ‘duh’ was in her tone as Winter grabbed the bottle of champagne and started to unwrap the top. “You want to pop the cork? Or we could spray it everywhere and really get the party started.” A mischievous glint came to her eye while she lifted the bottle, pretending like she was about to shake it up. “You have three seconds to tell me no.” 

But her playful air started to fade when Mack agreed to make Henry go upstairs. She bit into her top lip, looked over at the ghost, and gave him an apologetic smile. “I think he’ll be okay. He’s a little devastated with Grey’s Anatomy right now so he’s taking a break from tv. Just…don’t mention the name Lexi around him.” She could see the storm coming into the ghost’s eyes, the way they darkened just slightly so that it was a little harder to see the wall behind him. He was very mad at Shonda for that one. The ghost seemed to stomp as he took the rest of the stairs and Winter shook her head at him.

Her attention was brought back to Mack with her apology, her brows pushing together in confusion. “About what? He’s not mad about it. If anything, he feels pretty awkward about it too. But…it did save my life so I couldn’t let him think it was wrong.” Her shoulder lifted in a shrug before she brought the bottle to Mack, lifting it again. “Let’s open this and talk. I think you need it. Go ahead and start while I fill our glasses.”

As much as Mack wanted to be the fun zombie and say fuck it. She didn’t feel like cleaning up the mess. It was hard enough to get her to do anything these days, let alone clean champagne off the ceiling and cabinets. Sure, she was rich and could just pay someone, but she didn’t even feel like doing that. However, she didn’t have to worry about objecting, because Henry distracted Winter. If Mack had been in a better mood, she would’ve thanked him, “There’s something we have in common.” She leaned in and whispered, “Lexi.”

Leaning back, she continued getting the stuff for cake and walked over to sit it down next to their planned meal, while Winter opened the champagne. Of course, the talking had come a lot sooner than expected, but Winter was right. Mack needed to talk, but she didn’t even know where to start, “Okay…well do you want to hear how Elora broke up with me, Jade cut off my leg, or how Caleb pushed me off of a cliff leaving me stuck in the ocean for nearly 4 days?” It sounded like the plot of a soap opera. It didn’t even sound real coming from her lips, but there it was. Out in the open and hearing it like that didn’t seem to make it any easier.

The cork popped just after Mack finished listing off her grievances but Winter didn’t move to fill the glasses. She was just staring at the zombie, horrified at everything. Someone cut off her leg. Someone pushed her off a cliff? “What the fuck, Mack?” Her voice was a whisper, her friend probably not even able to hear it, but she could probably see the expression. “Um…I guess we talk about the leg first?” That would explain the limp, of course, but who the fuck would do that to her? Who hated her so much that they were willing to deform her for as long it would take for the leg to heal? 

Her mouth was still hanging open a little as she moved towards the cabinets and grabbed two flutes off the shelves. Somehow drinking champagne didn’t seem like the right call now but she still poured them each a glass as full as she could for them not to spill. She was going to need the second bottle as well. “Wait, you were in the sea for four days after someone pushed you off a cliff?” Winter’s face contorted, the girl not able to fathom how much of a toll that would take. Somehow, losing Elora didn’t seem as important but in Mack’s mind that was probably the worst thing that had happened to her so far. Especially after…

Shit. No wonder her friend was a depressed mess. “We’re eating the whole cake. I should have brought more champagne. I can uber some in though.” It was time to hunker down, to get into the meat and potatoes of all of this.

Mackenzie watched as Winter’s face contorted into several interesting expressions. As much as she wanted to claim it to be a joke, it wasn’t. No…wait…it was. Her life had become a joke, thanks to the universe. “I don’t know if you know Jade. She’s an uber driver. Or claimed to be…she’s actually someone who knew Brody. She said I stole him from her, but I think she’s just a delulu bitch looking for attention. A fame leech. Anyways, we’ve had some beef going since last summer. Come to find out, she’s a hunter, and she claimed she was going to help me by putting me out of my misery. I kicked her ass, but the fucking bitch pulled a sword on me and chopped off my leg. It took a couple of days max to grow back, but I’ve been stuck with this limp since then.”

Snagging one of the filled champagne flutes, Mack threw it back without even waiting on Winter. She needed it. She needed a lot more. The Fireball was still sitting untouched on the counter, and not thinking twice, she walked over and grabbed the glass chasing the fancy champagne with cheap liquor, “And the sea, yeah. My brain supplier did.” She took another drink of Fireball, before joining back up with Winter. “I think we’re gonna need more champagne, but if the uber driver is that bitch, Jade, you’re going to be a witness to a murder.” The zombie wasn’t playing anymore.

“What?” Again, confusion hit her in folds, waves of it rolling over her over and over. Jade sounded familiar but she wasn’t completely sure about who she thought it could be. It didn’t matter anyway, nothing had ever come from that first conversation. But thinking about her trying to kill Mack, taking Mack’s leg off, left her blood boiling. Winter had never contemplated murder before but she was ready to consider it. There was fire behind her eyes as she downed the drink in hand and poured another, not even paying attention to Mack going to the nasty cinnamon crap on the counter. “Trust me, Mack, if she’s the Uber driver you won’t get a chance.” The fact that these issues started with Brody was just the icing on the cake. 

Brain supplier? The name. The dots were connecting. This was the same guy who stabbed Charlie, she would put money on it. Someone needed to stop this monster. She took a sip of her next glass, noticing her hand was shaking slightly with the anger coursing through her. Why the hell were people randomly attacking her loved ones? “So…two murders then.” She’d already been a part of one with Mack. She might not have done the actual killing but she was the one who’d pulled the trigger in a sense. The only question was whether or not Winter could actually do what it took. The rage inside of her said yes but she also knew that once it cleared away, once the worry for Mack took over again, she wouldn’t be so sure. “That sounds horrifying, Mackenzie. I don’t even know what to say to that.”

Which was weird. Winter always had a solution or something to go with anything someone else said. She wasn’t used to being at a loss and she didn’t like it one bit. “Why would he throw you off of a cliff? Jade just sounds like a jealous bitch but your brain supplier is supposed to be helping you, right?”

Mackenzie didn’t want to admit that it made her a little happy to hear Winter would be right there supporting her, but she didn’t want her friend caught up in anymore murders. Winter didn’t need that. Mack didn’t need that, but it was unfortunately a part of who she was now. A bad trait that she wished she could drop and never be reminded of, but life as a zombie didn’t work that way. And the more bad things that happened to her, the less Mack found herself caring what she did in return. Whether it be self-defense or out of hunger, it was just not starting to matter anymore, and Mack was afraid to contemplate on it too hard, wondering if in some ways, it was her mind compartmentalizing things to protect itself and the immense guilt the woman now felt on a regular basis.

“Yeah, but don’t let yourself get caught up in this shit, Winter. You have a choice.” Mack poured herself another flute of champagne and drank it as if she were parched, “And I don’t know why he’d do it. He’s never acted like this before, but when I looked into his eyes, it’s like he wasn’t even there anymore. I just know I’m probably going to be living off of more animal brains for a while. The men on the fishing boat…they were the exception.” She prayed they were the exception, but there had been a lack of remorse that she had never really felt before, until that day. “Elora…she’s pretty self-explanatory. Apparently some really bad men found her, and she needed to leave to take care of them, but honestly, I don’t think she’s coming back.” She sighed, before forcing a smile, “Your turn.”

“That’s…idealistic of you.” She raised her glass again, staring at Mack over the rim of it. This sip was less bitter than the last, the dryness of it reminding her of the tone she had taken on as she spoke. “Do any of us get a choice in this town, Mack?” She’d been stabbed and then chosen to unleash a feral zombie on someone, she’d pretty much destroyed the house of a sweet girl who’d only asked for help, and she was pretty sure something undead was outside of her house the other night just ambling along looking for its next meal. The idea of it wanting to target her came to mind and what would she had to do then? Sooner or later she would have to kill again, she was well aware of that. Nobody was safe from the things that went bump in the night and Wicked’s Rest was crawling with them…but it was starting to become home. As messed up as that was.

She bit the inside of her lip, not sure if she should spill the beans about Charlie or not. Mack was closer to him than she was so she knew it would only cause her mood to darken that much more. But she couldn’t keep it from her, could she? “Mack, I think he was a demon. At least, if he’s the same guy who…stabbed Charlie.” For all she knew, Mack was already aware of Charlie’s run in. “Charlie said the same name to me when he was talking about who did it. Maybe that’s why he looked different.”

Moving closer to her friend, Winter put a hand on her shoulder and lightly caressed it. She knew how attached Mack could get, she’d always been the one out of the two of them who fell hard, the medium just couldn’t relate much. “I’m really sorry about Elora. I know you loved her. But I’ll be honest, if bad men were after her I’m relieved that she left. You’ve been through so much, Mack, you don’t need that on top of it all.” 

Her hand fell with the words ‘your turn’ as she rolled her eyes, fully intending on saying nothing. But she’d made a promise, didn’t she? She’d told Mack that she wouldn’t hide things from her going forward and if she was anything she was loyal to her word and her friends. Sighing softly, she waved a hand in the air, trying to act like her next words were no big deal. “I almost got someone killed by going after a poltergeist in her house. She’s living with me now. She’s a little strange but harmless I think. I went on a date but she’s disappeared now so I guess I got ghosted. It was awful anyway…at the start. I’m still trying to bring Spirit Speak back but that bitch, Brenda, isn’t listening to me. That’s about it.”

Mack knew that Winter had a point, but Winter had one big thing going for her that Mackenzie didn’t…she was alive. “No, you’re right. But you’ve also got something that a lot of us don’t have here anymore…You’re alive.” Yeah, Winter had ghosts and could see ghosts, but it seemed like this town was crawling with more things than your average run of the mill, bump-in-the-night scary creature. This town was like the Hellmouth attracting whatever it could into its wake, “But I’m not trying to argue.” She really wasn’t, and she was just about to dig into the cake, when she heard Charlie being mentioned, “Wait…what? Charlie got stabbed?” Okay, she really was living under a rock. “Is he…is he okay?”

The idea of cake went out the door and so did drinking anything else, “I haven’t…I haven’t talked to him in a while, so I didn’t know. Really I haven’t talked to a lot of people.” She paused. She had been so wrapped up in her own drama that she felt bad for not seeing how other people, people she was supposed to be friends with, were doing. “And demon…He did seem so much different from the person I thought I knew…” Mack didn’t want anything to do with that, but she also didn’t want anyone else she cared about to get hurt.

Walking over to the couch, Mackenzie sat down. “As long as Elora’s safe…it…it doesn’t matter about me. And why didn’t you call me Winter? You know I would’ve been there in a heartbeat to help you.” Mack glanced back in Winter’s general direction, before turning her back to her again. “You’d tell me if there was more right? You’re not keeping anything else from me…” She looked at the floor. She wanted to be there for her best friend. Wanted to protect her, but how could she if she was in the dark. At that moment, she had felt like a horrible friend. Some birthday this was shaping up to be.

She pressed her lips together with the words, knowing that being dead wasn’t a gift but also knowing that she was at more of a disadvantage being alive. She could still be wiped off this earth at any second, Mack at least had a fighting chance to stick around…perhaps for too long though. Winter would much rather be human, that much was true, but she also needed to take steps to learn how to defend herself if she was going to stick around. Mack was right, though, this didn’t need to turn into an argument especially in a time when they really needed to stick together. So she just nodded, letting it all go. Mack had it worse.

Okay, so she didn’t know. Her brows raised an inch in surprise but other than that she didn’t comment on the zombie’s lack of knowledge here. Apparently she had been stuck in the ocean for a bit. “Yea, he should be fine. He’s still running his mouth online. He slipped into a coma from what I understand but he came to.” Again, she pressed her lips together in an attempt to keep quiet but her words slipped out anyway, Winter bringing her hands together in front of her, her fingers lacing. “I guess that happens when you’re getting your leg cut off and being thrown into the ocean. I think people would understand.” A pause, and then she was speaking again, still unsure about how Mack would take it. “Maybe now is a good time to talk to others again, start surrounding yourself with people so that you’re not in misery alone. It loves company from what I hear.”

Why hadn’t she called Mack? It would have been a lot easier to process almost killing a person with her best friend by her side. She supposed she didn’t want the closest person to her knowing of her failures. It was a lot harder to admit those to someone she cared about. The disappointment in a stranger’s eyes was easier to wave off than that of the disappointment of someone you loved, something showcased many times in her past. “Lil seemed like the best choice because of the ghost knowledge and all. Afterwards I guess I was too busy making sure Thea was okay.” Shrugging it off, Winter went to sit next to Mack on the couch, sighing as her body leaned into the fabric. “I think so? More ghost encounters, I’m in therapy but I have been since I got here, nothing else super major.”

So apparently there was a lot more to the story with Charlie, but he was awake now and that was all that mattered. But Winter was right. Mackenzie was being impossibly hard on herself. It’s not everyday you got a leg chopped off and then got pushed to a watery grave. Most people wouldn’t have survived either of those, but most people weren’t Mack. At least all her years of stunt training and now almost immortal form were good for something right? It was like the power combo when you leveled up in a video game, but it wasn’t really much in the way of leveling up her mental health. That’s where Winter came in, “I guess, and yeah, it really does.”

Feeling the couch shift with her friend’s weight, Mackenzie looked over at her, “Some people are just better skilled for certain things in this town, especially Lil. She helped exorcise a ghost out of me back around Halloween…” What a night that had been. And what an even more day with Thea and the Legos…This town really was weird, “Well, I’m glad you’re doing okay at least. And as much as I want to be the one to be there for you, I get you’ve made your own life here, especially away from your parents and their legacy. I’m happy for you, Winter. I know it hasn’t been the easiest, but I’m glad you’re finally figuring things out. And if I’m being honest, because that’s what this is right? Honesty hour? I’m thinking now might be a good time to part ways with Wicked’s Rest for a while, you know? Just get out and clear my head, but then, for whatever reason, I can’t bring myself to leave just yet.” She paused, looking down again, wondering if escaping for a little while might be the best thing for her. But shook off the thought, “Anyways…Presents. And then cake.” Mack shot Winter a smile. “This is supposed to be a celebration after all.”

Mackenzie awkwardly pushed herself up off the couch and hobbled over to where all the presents had been sitting. Today was supposed to be a celebration of the day she had been brought into the world, and while she hadn’t originally been in the mood, having Winter here with her had been a much better alternative than spending the day alone. For someone who had spent her life in the spotlight, it seemed as though the world had become pretty lonely. But at least with her best friend around, Mack knew that not everything in her world had to be so bleak, and that was a far better present than anything all the money in the world could buy. 

[dirtwatchman]

PARTIES: Caleb Aesil (@dirtwatchman) and Mack (@realmackross) TIME: Current (June 8th) SUMMARY: Aesil keeps getting interrupted by people while doing their dirty work (maybe don't do it in public). This time Mack comes along but the demon is in too much of a hurry to have a real conversation. WARNINGS: Medical Blood tw, Surgery tw

They were in a hurry now. The timeline needed to be accelerated as too many people were starting to see what was going on. Aesil was sure that stabbing the rockstar was a bad idea, especially after they realized they didn’t actually kill them, but now they were certain that people in Caleb’s life were starting to see through the charade. Not that Aesil had been careful as of late. Or at all. Luckily they only needed one more ingredient for the ritual to be performed and Andras would soon be joining them on the Earthly plane. The chaos that would erupt, the fear that would spread, Aesil could practically taste it now. And it was delicious.

The demon had followed the innocent up to a place called Hanging Rock after tailing them for a few days. They had to make sure that this victim was the perfect one, the required criteria being checked off in their mind as the days went. After she had proven to be just what they needed they didn’t want to waste much time which meant carving her up at the top of the steep cliff. Nightfall had taken over as they worked, a clear starry sky overhead, and screams rang out to mix in with the crashing of the waves below them. Such a tranquil moment, relaxing.

They were sad to see it end.

That one ingredient was inside the chest of the innocent, the heart still beating as the victim lay on the ground with their chest open. The human had passed out long ago much to their dismay as even if they were in a hurry there was still time for torture in Aesil’s eyes. They half wondered if they could wait for them to wake up but the area was too public, too open, a point proven by the appearance of a blonde walking towards them.

“Could I get through one murder without the annoying people of this backward ass town coming along?” 

It had been quite a while since Mackenzie had spoken to Caleb. In fact, when she had reached out to check on her latest order of brains, she had gotten no response. But instead of panicking, like she would’ve done months ago, Mack turned to other resources. She knew Monty would be a solid option, even if it wasn’t the fresh human brains she had been used to, but maybe going vegan was a better option – sure, she didn’t prefer feeding on animal brains either, but it was better than killing one, two, or ten other people, because she was desperate. Plus, there was the added bonus of getting to see Sellama Gomez. It would all be okay, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to have some words the next time she saw Caleb. Speak of the devil…

“Hey! Caleb! We need to talk.” Mackenzie had decided to go out to Hanging Rock for some fresh air. The drive had been nice, and it had allowed her to stay close to World’s End Isle. And sometimes, she just enjoyed the view and listening to the water lap up against the rocks below. It was like an escape without having to drive all the way across town to go to some of the nature reserves in the area, but Caleb had been the last person she had expected to see.

As she inched closer, Mackenzie noticed someone laying on the ground. She couldn’t quite tell who it was, but she could tell that something wasn’t right. There was blood pooling around them on the ground and as soon as the zombie noticed it, she couldn’t help but force back the knot that was already forming in her throat, “What…What is this?” She knew he had gotten his brains from somewhere, but she had never expected to see him openly trying to murder someone in a public area, “Caleb, what are you doing?”

Of course she knew him. Why wouldn’t she? Aesil raked his eyes up slowly at the sound of her voice, no ounce of amusement or familiarity in Caleb’s gaze as they stared back at her. They could see the fear forming in her eyes as she took in the scene. They couldn’t blame her. But she’d been trying to put on such a tough stance as she’d called out to who she thought was someone else that seeing her eyes widen caused a slow smirk to spread over their lips. “What does it look like?” They stood, rising to their full height, and stepped over the open chest cavity to inch closer to the girl. So many people didn’t know how to mind their own business. “I’m harvesting a heart.”

They inched closer, their coveted knife pointing towards her with each hand gesture as they continued. “You know, I’m getting so sick of having to explain myself to people. ‘Why are you acting so strange? Why are you looking for things you shouldn’t be looking for? Why are you stabbing my friends in the side?’ Do none of you ever mind your own fucking business? Is that what is it to be human? Curiosity?” Their teeth dragged over their top lip as the frustration built. Yea, this was a public area, but most people would turn around and run if they saw someone ripping another person apart. Why did everyone Caleb know seem so stupid? “It has to be such a miserable existence. Always letting go of your own self preservation just to see what the fuck I’m doing.” 

They glanced back at the body on the ground, their bloody footprints making a trail towards the blonde. They would have to clean those up. She was only causing more time to be wasted. Looking back at her, they shook their head softly. “The question isn’t what am I doing. The question is, what am I going to do with you?”

When she noticed him look up at her, Mackenzie felt a chill run down her spine. Not something that happened very often anymore. And immediately she knew this wasn’t Caleb. This was Wicked’s Rest after all, and anything was possible. But the way he began to inch towards her, knife in hand, had started to cause intimidation to well up in her form. And the look in his eyes, or lack thereof, had been pure murder. His question had left her speechless, but so had his answer and his demeanor, and instead of wanting to confront him about the lack of brains he had been supplying, she wanted nothing more to leave.

“You know what? Never mind. It can wait. I’ve got other places I can go for brains.” Her words came out in almost a choked whisper. Surely this version of Caleb knew about the brains right? He was still a zombie after all. Or so she had hoped. And with every step he took towards her, she took another back away from him, and the body that was laying merely feet away. Maybe she could convince him to go back to his…what did he call it? Harvesting? That was more important than her, “Plus, I’m not sure how long hearts last when someone bleeds out completely, and, uh…um…it looks like your organ donor over there might be losing blood faster than you’d like…” She motioned to the person who was probably a corpse by now, “So, I’ll just…I’ll be heading out now. Sorry, to have bothered you.”

Mackenzie kept her eyes trained on his, and when the opportunity arose, she made a break for it. However, her stupid limp had slowed her down and left her tripping at the most inopportune time. She was really going to have a fucking talk with Jade.

Hitting the ground with a hard thud, Mackenzie grunted in pain as she struggled to get back up. She hadn’t fought, much less tried to train, since the fight with Jade, and now, she was paying for it, but if she had to, she would put as much of her black belt to use as she could, if Caleb threatened to get that close, which by the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes was a real possibility.

 Brains? Another key to the puzzle that was Caleb Ellsworth locked into place. He was supplying other zombies with brains which made the stash of cash he had lying around make more sense. It also explained his overabundance of the organ in his basement. Aesil should have known he wasn’t prepared or selfish enough to keep that many on ice just for himself. Interesting. How many zombies were now scrambling around Wicked’s Rest trying to figure out their next meal? It almost brought a sense of pride to the demon knowing that there were people being murdered even now because of their presence in this man’s life. The chaos that could and probably was ensuing was delicious.

They had gotten so lost in those thoughts that they hadn’t noticed her again until she tried to take off. Prepared to run after her, Aesil only jolted forward an inch or so until she was falling to the ground like the pathetic sack of bones she was. Rolling their eyes, they moved to stand next to her, crouching down as she tried to scramble away. “You zombies are so fucking useless. Almost as bad as the human scum that walks around here.” 

The demon didn’t give her much time to fight before they grabbed a handful of her hair and started to drag her by it, purposefully pulling her body closer to the other lying on the ground. The bloody footprints on the ground were smeared away by her back as they pulled but they didn’t stop until she was sitting in the large pool of this person’s blood, soaking it up through her clothes. “So, zombie, right?” Being one still didn’t mean they knew how to fully dispose of one. The obvious was true, yes, but hacking away at her head didn’t sound appealing and they had no way of producing fire right now. They had to think. 

Their grasp on her hair loosened as Aesil moved to bring their boot to her throat. Maybe crushing it would work? No, full decapitation was probably the only way but it was still a good tactic to keep her still while they thought this through. “You’re right, though, my organ donor is getting cold. I need to get that heart on ice. I have to figure out what to do with you quickly.”

Before she could even put her training to use, Mackenzie felt the man latch onto her hair and start to drag her. Reaching up, she latched onto his hand and arm digging in her nails trying to get him to free her, but it didn’t work. And instead, she was being drug across the ground before being dropped in the pooling blood that was soaking into the grass and now into her clothes. And before she had even had a chance to try and scramble away then, Mack felt Caleb’s boot dig into her throat. Thankfully for her, she hadn’t needed to breathe, but it hadn’t left her much of a choice in trying to get away. Mackenzie did, however, latch onto his leg and once again struggled to try and get it off, but had no luck as she felt his heel dig in deeper.

She was stuck. No place to go, and as much as she tried to scream, it didn’t matter. They were out in the vast open with the ocean crashing loudly against the rocks below. And even if someone had come along, there was a slim chance whoever it was wasn’t going to help. That’s just how people were these days. No one had the courage to stop and help. But instead wanted to film everything on their phones from a distance to try and make a quick buck or be internet famous. And maybe, just like with Jade, Mack had deserved what was happening to her. Maybe this was penance and the universe coming back at her for every life she had taken as a zombie so far. But she didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to completely leave the life she was leading. But, once again, the universe had different plans.

“Please…I won’t say anything to anyone. It’ll be like this never happened, Caleb. And you never have to see me again…” She choked out the words as she continued to scratch and claw at his boot and pants leg, finally looking over to see the person staring back at her with lifeless dead eyes literally giving a coherent Mackenzie an unwanted chance to look death, and quite possibly her own fate, in the eye. 

“I’ve heard that before.” And yet the Rockstar was still going around giving Caleb’s full description to people. They could see it online; they just didn’t have much time to take care of it right now. Hopefully the boring man they had taken over looked like countless others in this town. “But keep begging, it’s always nice to hear.” They were looking everywhere except for her, their attention focused on what the fuck to do with her. There weren’t many options up on a tall cliff, only one, really. Their eyes landed on the edge of the cliffside, boot pressing further into her throat as they tried to reason with this.

On one hand, it would be fun. Watching someone fall to their death as they screamed out their last attempts at clinging to life would elate them. On the other hand, there was no guarantee she would fully succumb to death’s grip this time. She’d escaped it once at least and it wasn’t like she needed air underwater but there were creatures in that water that could do their dirty work for them. It was their best option either way, they didn’t have much of a choice. 

Without a word, they reached down to fist her hair once more, dragging her towards the edge of the cliff slowly to give her time to realize what they were doing. “You know what? This might not get rid of you fully but at least it’ll hurt.”

There was no reasoning with him. He was set in his determination to end her undead life. If this was really it for her, at least she’d made up with Winter. At least her parents knew what she was and still loved her. At least she had gotten to have one last love after feeling like love would forever be impossible after Brody. Hell, she even got to have a pet llama and a cat. And as much as she had tried to fight him, Mackenzie just didn’t have the strength for it. Especially not when he had once again grabbed her by the hair and was tugging her hard.

And then she heard it.

Trying to look beyond her scope of view to see where she was going was nearly impossible. But the sound of the waves crashing down below had immediately given her flashbacks of the day she had been here after meeting Emilio. Mackenzie knew exactly where she was being taken, and in that moment, she started to squirm harder.

She didn’t know what the jagged rocks below would do to her body. Would they rip her apart? Would her back break leaving her stuck until she became nothing but a sack of melting flesh that craved brains madly? Fear had begun to well up, and she started to scream again – tears coming into her eyes, “No, no…please…please don’t do this…Caleb, please. PLEASE!” By this point she was sobbing and kicking. At least with Jade it had been a fair fight, even with the sword, but this…how was he so strong? How could she not break free? Zombies didn’t have this kind of strength unless they were hungry, and he clearly wasn’t hungry. But there was no time to try and solve some strange mystery when her life was literally in the palm of his hands.

They could only smile.

All of the screaming, her pleas, her desperate attempts to get away from them, all it caused was more of that elation to sprout in their chest. It made them want more but that damned stupid clock of humanity wouldn’t allow them to have it. Caleb would be caught sooner rather than later, there was no way around that. But if Andras could be raised before then it wouldn’t matter. The destruction would be the main focus.

They ripped her to her feet by her hair, grabbing her neck with their other free hand as they made her face them, her feet on the edge on the cliff. They wanted to see the fear in her eyes right before she realized she was a goner. “I always thought a person with a little fight in them was more enjoyable to mess with than someone who gave up before their fate was sealed.” They tilted their head, regarding her with interest as everything they wanted to do to make her plea for Caleb’s mercy started to race through their mind. “Too bad you didn’t have enough in you.”

They pushed her back with all the force they could, their smile still plastered to their lips as they watched her fall…fall…fall all the way to the rocky shores below them. The satisfying crunch her bones made were heard even at their height above, even with Caleb’s failed hearing, and it would be enough to keep them in a better mood for the rest of the night as they finished the task at hand. 

[poisonousdelights]

TIMING: Mid-December, directly after this thread. LOCATION: Wicked’s Rest Hospital PARTIES: @poisonousdelights and @realmackross SUMMARY: The hospital should be a safe place, right? Tell that to Mack and Isa. CONTENT WARNINGS: Unsanitary tw

Winter was safe. Yeah, she was going to be in a world of pain for several months, but she was alive. And though it wasn’t exactly what Mackenzie had had in mind when she wanted to talk things out, at least they had been able to. Able to put differences aside and discuss what had happened and why her friend had gone missing for so long. But now, all Mackenzie wanted to do was go home, take a nice hot bath and nurse her own wounds. Sleep would probably come tonight, and she was gladly going to welcome it.

Stepping off the elevator, Mack headed towards the front door of the hospital. As the sliding doors parted and the sun hit her face, she knew with a few good hours of daylight left, at least the drive back to Harborside would be relaxing. Some peace in a day filled with unwanted excitement, but as soon as she made her way out of the building and onto the sidewalk headed towards her car, the unexpected happened.

It was quiet in its attack. Sharp talons coming down and digging into Mackenzie’s shoulders, before briefly lifting her off the ground. Whatever this predatory birdlike creature was that was attacking the zombie, left her kicking and squirming until she felt the talons pull out of her shoulders taking along bits of dead flesh with it. And soon she was on her knees trying to scramble to her feet for safety, but not until the massive bird swooped back down and sank its large fang filled beak into her back taking a chunk with it leaving her screaming out in pain and praying that someone was around to help.

Deersprings wasn’t Isa’s usual haunt but ever since the gingerbread houses had shown up she’d been making excuses to be in that part of town.It was her day off, it was still cold but the sun was out and she didn’t want to be stuck inside her depressing apartment for any longer than she had to be so a jog in her new favorite part of town seemed to be such a good idea when she was deciding what to do that morning. It would have been had she not been completely interrupted halfway through by what she could only describe as a monster attack.

It was hard to miss the gigantic flying thing swooping towards the back end of the hospital parking lot as she passed, the lamia slowing her steps until she made it to a standstill. It was struggling with something on the ground for a second before Isa heard the scream, her feet catapulting her toward the sound without a moment’s hesitation. She came upon the giant bird attacking a woman and her eyes widened when she realized it had already caused extensive damage to this person as it went in on her for a third time.

Oh, god, what could she do? She needed a distraction to get the bird away from her but her mind was drawing a blank until her frantic gaze landed on a considerably large piece of pavement that had been separated from one of the curbs. Isa wrapped her hand around it the best she could before hurtling it towards the bird…and barely skimming the things talon. She watched in horror while the cement sailed down and into someone’s windshield. It worked though. Even if the bird had only been grazed it’s attention was briefly caught by the loud alarm ringing from the car. “Run!”

Mackenzie whimpered in pain as she scrambled to try and save herself from the giant bird-like creature, but she feared without any kind of help, she was done for. At least she’d go out on good terms with Winter. But then she heard it. The sound of breaking glass followed by someone yelling ‘run’, and without hesitating, she took the woman’s advice and started to run back towards the hospital, only to realize she couldn’t be seen by doctors considering she was already dead!

Quickly diverting to the right, Mackenzie started going back towards her car keeping her eyes on the huge bird and on the person who was trying to help her, but immediately, she noticed it had swooped down again flying towards her. However, this time Mackenzie had been ready. Dropping to the ground, she laid flat as the monstrous animal brushed past her and made its way back up into the air.

With all her strength, Mackenzie quickly climbed back to her feet and started running again towards the Mini Cooper. It was just within her reach, but before she could make it, here came the creature again - this time narrowly missing her head and landing on the top of her car waiting for her to come closer causing the zombie to stop dead (literally) in her tracks.

Why was she turning direction? The girl had the right idea at first to run towards the hospital so that she could at least get inside and away from the giant bird, if not to get checked out, but she soon changed course and Isa let out a strangled yell. “What are you doing?” She could have made it inside, could have locked herself away within those walls, and left Isa to deal with this thing but instead the bird was after the blonde again. Which was weird, considering there was another victim right there in front of it.

Why was it so locked on this woman? Shit, she didn’t have time to question anymore as Spanish curse words flew out of her mouth with the bird going after the girl’s head. She was running again, eyes on the bird that was now on top of the car that the girl had been running for as she slowed to another stop next to her. 

It was eyeing the blonde still, paying no mind to Isabela, and it was clear the thing wasn’t leaving without getting what it wanted. Which seemed to be the girl next to her. “Do you have food or something in your pocket? That’s why the deer keep attacking, right? Maybe give it to the thing?” It was crouching low though, getting ready to take off again. She was really hoping to get away from this without having to transform but she was starting to think that wasn’t going to happen. “You’re already bleeding heavily, just give it what you have.”

Mackenzie stood frozen in fear. The huge monstrous bird was staring her down. Its narrowed eyes boring holes into her already dead body. But what could she do? It was blocking her path. She couldn’t return to the hospital, because then they’d find out what she was and probably never let her leave. And the girl standing next to her was convinced there was food in her pocket, but it wasn’t the case, because apparently to this bird, Mackenzie was the food.

“I don’t have food in my pockets okay? I don’t know what this stupid thing wants.” She knew. Mackenzie knew good and well, her mind quickly going back to the Eurynomos and their acid spray that had eaten holes through her body. Except this time it was a massive fanged bird that was tearing literal chunks from her dead and rotting flesh.

Mackenzie remained focused on the animal, and when she tried to take a slow step to the side, she noticed it shifted its weight following her closely, “I could fucking do a dance right now and this bird would follow my every move.” 

No food? Then what the hell did this thing want with this girl? Why was it looking at her like she was a midnight snack just waiting to be devoured? She was just trying to walk around a hospital parking lot, live her life, not become a meal to a homicidal bird. Looking over at the girl, Isa dragged her eyes down the wounds that were already covering her before sighing softly. She knew what she had to do and she should probably do it quickly. The bird looked impatient.

“Alright, look, when this happens don’t freak out, yea? I don’t want to talk about it afterwards, I just want to get this thing away from you and then maybe get you a doctor.” She was well aware that she was most likely confusing the hell out of this poor girl but understanding would come sooner rather than later. It didn’t look like Isa would have time to get undressed though as the bird was starting to move again, preparing to take off from the roof of the car. 

It happened simultaneously. Her body started to twist as scales started to cover every inch of her skin, morphing into a long coiled snake twice as tall sitting as she normally was standing. The sound of her clothes ripping joined the loud scraping of metal as the bird took off into the sky. Isa had just enough time after her transformation to launch into the air and snatch the ugly creature with her large fangs before it sank its own claws back into the blonde, the screech of the animal possibly heard from a mile away. She slung it back to the ground, slamming it into the concrete hard enough to hear a crack sound through the parking lot. The bird struggled under her weight but it didn’t try to claw at her, amazingly it was still trying to get to the other girl. What in the hell did she have that it wanted so badly?

Mackenzie had no idea what the girl standing next to her was referring to, and really, she had refused to look away from the bird that was so determined to make a meal out of her. But then it happened. As fast as the bird pushing itself airborne. One minute, there had been a girl standing next to her, and the next, an overgrown snake, “What the actual fuck?!” Mackenzie’s eyes had grown as wide as the headlights on her Mini Cooper.

Not waiting around long enough to watch A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes playout in front of her, Mack desperately made a trip to her car. With the keys secured in her pocket, she quickly pressed the small button on the door handle, which unlocked the all black car. Long over were the days of fumbling with keys, and she was never more grateful than in this moment.

Slipping inside, slamming the door, and instinctively locking it (even though birds and snakes couldn’t open doors), she watched as the battle between the two oversized animals began to play out in front of her. To say she was rooting for the snake was an understatement. And in the heat of the moment, she had forgotten all about the chunks of missing flesh and clothing on her back and shoulder. Instead, she wanted nothing more than to see this battle play out, despite the fact that she probably should have started the engine and drove away, but she couldn’t leave the girl…snake…person who had saved her alone with a giant bird. If worse came to worse, Mackenzie would run down the winged nightmare with her car.

It was injured from the body slam, that was for sure. Isa was starting to feel bad for the creature that was struggling beneath the weight of her jaw, its body writhing while it tried to get to the blonde. Thankfully, the girl had made it to her car before the bird slipped from her grasp and started to make a sloppy turn for her. It was struggling, Isa’s poison slowly making its way through its body while its injured limbs kept going, and it was time to put it out of its misery. It didn’t take long for the snake to catch up to the bird, her body slithering through the parking lot quickly despite her size. Jaws opened wide, she swallowed the animal whole as if it were a delicious sweet treat that she'd been waiting to devour. 

There. Now nobody had to worry about the unhinged creature.

After sitting with her meal for a moment, Isa’s wide eyes turned towards the car again, noticing that the girl inside of it wasn’t giving off the heat signature that everyone gave when she was in her shifted form. What was going on with this chick? First, a homicidal bird wouldn’t leave her alone and now her heat signature was nowhere to be found. It was one of the weirdest things she’d ever seen, the lamia deciding to stay in her snake form until she was sure this girl wasn’t going to attack her. She’d seemed nice enough, as nice as one could be when they were being torn apart anyway. Which was another thing that suddenly struck Isa as strange. Tears in her flesh like that had to cause a lot of damage…why was she not bleeding out?

Mack sat wided-eyed as she watched the fight go down. It was intense. A big ass bird and a big ass snake fighting to the death right in front of her. She would owe this girl big time, if the outcome was in her favor. She had hoped and prayed it would be. Mackenzie didn’t want anyone losing their life defending her. There was already enough death around her. She didn’t need more – unless it was that horrid bird being de–

Before she could even think the word, she watched as Snake Girl swallowed it whole. Mackenzie had seen videos of snakes swallowing their food whole, but to see it in person was a totally different experience, and one that was kind of gross. However, when the bird was gone, the zombie noticed the snake staring at her. It wasn’t exactly a position she wanted to be in, and while she was tempted to get out and thank her, all she could really do was barely crack the window and yell out of it. She had just been attacked by a giant bird. She didn’t want to be devoured by a giant snake, “Uh…t-thank you…for…uh, you know…eating the bird and all. You’re…a real lifesaver!” It was less than enthusiastic simply for the fact that Mackenzie wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. But you best believe her fingers were ready to roll up the window if she needed to in a moment’s notice.

Isa was scared of the girl in the car but it seemed the other girl was scared of her as well. It was almost amusing that she wouldn’t get out until she realized how intimidating she must have been to someone else. A giant snake that had just been a 5’2 girl was bound to scare anyone. Usually the lamia liked to sit with her meals but two things were telling her to shift back as soon as she could; she was in a hospital parking lot where anyone could come along and the smell of decay was starting to reach her. She wasn’t sure where it had come from or if she’d been too distracted before to notice but it was growing stronger by the minute.

She was sluggish though. The large meal coupled with the cold air around her made her transformation back a slow one but soon she was standing in the middle of the parking lot in all of her glory. Arms went to cover herself up while Isa looked around to make sure no one was watching before she took a few steps closer to the car. “Uh…if you want to repay me maybe I can borrow a hoodie or something? You know…this is kind of awkward and all.” Damn that bird. It could have at least given her some time to save her pants.

Mack continued to stare at the girl. The repercussions of a huge snake sitting in front of her car in public hadn’t even come to mind. It wasn’t until she began returning to her human form that Mackenzie snapped out of the trance she was in. And just in time too, because she now saw the girl, who was once a snake, standing by her car in her birthday suit, asking for something to put on.

“Huh…oh, uh…Oh! Yeah. Um, hold on.” Mack felt safe to open the door again, and without second thought, she climbed out of the car and walked to the back. Opening the hatch, she pulled out a blanket – no spare hoodie in sight, surprisingly. With a swift slam of the hatchback, she walked back around to the girl, “I’ve got a blanket. Will that work?” Blood still barely trickled from her large gaping wounds, but she was hardly phased by it. Too many other things had been occupying her mind at the moment, like a growing hunger that was starting to form in the pit of her belly; which meant it was time to leave, “Can I drive you anywhere? I mean…you did save my life after all.” Well, my death, I guess.

Damn, it was freezing out there. Isa hugged her arms to herself a little tighter while she waited for the girl to grab something. She was still looking around them, wary of the passing cars on the street not far from their spot, but thankfully she somehow escaped this incident without a sighting…hopefully. The blonde grabbed her attention, a sigh of relief leaving her as she reached for the blanket. “Thank you, this is perfect.” The barely bleeding arm didn’t escape her notice when she reached out to take the fabric and carefully wrap it around her to cover up what she could. She really wasn’t sure what was going on as that smell lingered in her nose even in her human form and even though the girl was being nice she still felt the need to be cautious.

But the ride did sound nice. She looked between the girl’s arm, the car, and then back to her face, not really sure what to do. Walking back to Worm Row in nothing but a blanket seemed like such a bad idea but there had to be a reason a giant bird was attacking her, not to mention the weirdness of the arm. Biting into her bottom lip, she made a rash decision before fully thinking it through. 

“If I get in the car with you, I want you to know that I’ve spent time in prison and can take care of myself…if the snake wasn’t enough to convince you of that.” Isa felt the beginnings of embarrassment starting to coil around her but she continued. “I don’t know what’s going on with you. Maybe you could explain a little bit before I agree to a ride.” It wasn’t a question and she didn’t want to say it was a demand even if it was leaning towards that. It was more of a gentle nudge into the direction that Isa wanted this to go.

“Yeah, no problem. I usually have a spare hoodie, but I took it out to wash it. It had been in my car for months.” Mackenzie really did need to clean her car out more often. But sometimes, especially on the days when her mood was lower than the grave she should have been currently laying in, it was just hard to be motivated to do things.

Turning her attention back to the woman in front of her, she listened intently to the request. Mackenzie really didn’t want to tell some stranger, especially one who was a giant ass snake, that she was dead. But she knew there had to be just as many questions roaming around in her head as Mack had in her’s; like the fact that there was such a thing as giant snakes that weren’t anacondas. Or was she… “I can promise you that if you get in the car with me, and I can get you to where you need to be in an ample amount of time that there won’t be the need for your giant snake…to come back out.” What? Mack so badly wanted to follow it with…Oh fuck it, “That’s what she said…Sorry, it was just right there.” She bit at her bottom lip trying to stifle a laugh. But enough beating around the bush. That’s what she said.

With a hard sigh, she decided to just confess. Leaning in closer and looking around to make sure there was no one in sight, Mackenzie spoke, “I’m dead. That’s why my arm is barely bleeding, and I’m guessing that’s why that huge bird thing was after me. But because I’m dead and injured, there’s a little problem. The longer I go with said injury, the hungrier I get. That’s why if you want a ride, you’re gonna have to tell me soon, because I’ve gotta get home.” She looked to Snake Girl waiting for an answer. She hated rushing her, but Mackenzie had already consumed one living human today for Winter. She didn’t need to risk consuming another when she had perfectly good brains waiting for her at home.

She felt her lips quirk up at the joke, Isa instantly deciding that she liked this girl. Having a sense of humor after a giant ass bird tried to kill her? Yea, she was alright in the lamia’s book. But she kept quiet, still wanting to know why the blonde wasn’t really bleeding and why said giant bird was going after her. 

The answer she got was just as crazy as her being a giant snake at will. If this were a year ago she never would have given this girl a moment of her time after hearing that but this was now, this was a time when Isa knew things. Still… “You’re what now?” She was stuck on the dead part as her brain still chewed slowly on the next thing the girl had told her but the sense of urgency in her voice was noted. Besides, she knew after eating and not giving herself time to digest wasn’t going to be comfortable so walking home was out of the question even if she did have clothes. A split second decision was made and she started to walk towards the passenger seat. “You’re going to have to explain this more on the way. What do you mean you’re dead? And why does a burger help you feel better?”

She threw the car door open without even asking if it was okay. The blonde had already agreed to give her a ride, Isa was naked, and she’d said they had to hurry. There was no room for manners. The door slammed, she looked out the windshield and motioned for the other to get a move on. “I’ll tell you about my snake shit too. Let’s go.”

Mack expected that kind of answer. Almost welcomed it, but what she was more appreciative of was the fact that this girl wasn’t losing her shit, because Mack was dead. She clearly didn’t understand that it took more than just a burger to satiate her hunger. That would be a story for the ride home. And Mackenzie was pretty sure that when she said the word ‘zombie’, it would clear up a lot more than trying to actually explain herself detail by detail. However, detail was something she’d expect from Snake Girl, because the last time she had seen a giant snake, Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube were involved. As she heard the door slam, without any hesitation and a ‘let’s go’, Mack spun on her heel and started walking back to the car. The day had definitely been one she wouldn’t forget, between the Winter and Henry drama and now being rescued by a giant snake from a giant bird. But she was just ready to go home, eat, and crash for whatever Wicked’s Rest brought her tomorrow. But first, “I’m a zombie. Now tell me…how are you a giant ass snake? This I need to know. And, on the off chance, do you know Jennifer Lopez or Ice Cube…”

[mackmontgomery]

mack 📲 open.

Mack: Ok real talk Mack: Should I get rid of the blonde Mack: 💇🏼‍♂️ The upkeeps a bitch I might buzz it off

[chxrrypcp]

closed for @nosaintz !

" you want gentle ? wrong fucking address. "

[bountyhaunter]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: A grocery store parking lot / The Keep PARTIES: Mack @realmackross and Daiyu @bountyhaunter SUMMARY: There's a hit out on Mack. Daiyu is the one to capture her. CONTENT WARNINGS: Head trauma ACCOMPANIED LISTENING: Trouble - Cage the Elephant

Mackenzie had hated the feeling of being watched. It was one of her biggest fears, and unfortunately, being dead had only made that worse. Now, people had even more reasons to watch and follow her; especially if they knew what she was…or what she had done. So when Jade had slipped up on her, it had nearly jump-started her heart back to beating again. But that little threat had been taken care of, and that looming feeling of watching eyes had disappeared allowing her to breathe a little easier. Though she was pretty sure the limp she had from her regrown leg was going to be around for a while.

“Trouble on my left; trouble on my right. I’ve been facing trouble almost all my life.” Mack sang out loud as she walked back to her car from running to the grocery store to grab a few things she had decided to pick up on her way home from her shift at Dance Macabre. The parking lot was empty, except for the lone cashier’s car.

As she continued to sing, she popped open the hatchback of the Mini Cooper to put her groceries in, but suddenly stopped singing when she realized she had forgotten something that she had needed, “Crap. Looks like I’m headed back inside, Midnight. I’ll be back out in a minute, and we can blast Cage the Elephants on the way home.” Sidenote: The author would like to mention that Mack was indeed talking to her car.

Shutting the back, she rounded the corner of the small car headed back towards the entrance of the store. Thank goodness for stores that stayed open 24 hours in Wicked’s Rest.

—

Mack Ross had moved up the priority list of the Good Neighbors. Mack fucking Ross. Mack Ross, whom Daiyu had seen in plenty of movies and TV shows, who had disappeared after the death of her fiance, who apparently liked gorging on brains and being very messy and merciless about it. Mack Ross! Who went on killing sprees!

Miracles and strange phenomenon were not out of this world just yet. Maybe next week, they’d be asking her to take out Robert Pattinson because he ironically was a werewolf in reality. (She really hoped not. She’d hate to do that to him.)

Multiple of the hunters in the Good Neighbors inner circle had been assigned to the task. Not only was Ross an acute risk (as she’d been reported to have recently killed again), but also a high-profile supernatural. Daiyu was also put to the task and she took to it with mixed feelings, like she did with all things in her new circle of hunters. She wasn’t sure about the organization’s goodness any more, after all. Keeping a town safe was one thing, but doing so by locking shifting supernatural away was not sitting right with her. Especially not whenever she visited the Keep.

She could abandon post, of course. She could have told Winnifred to go fuck her crochety self and all the others to choke on a bit of popcorn. But she hadn’t, as she was waiting in the wings along with Emilio and whatever allies they could scrounge up. So she was tracking Mack Ross. If she was going to land in the Neighbor’s clutches anyway (and she would, as she had found the organization pretty effective at what they did), then it might be for the best if she was the one to do it. 

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t a bit starstruck, even if all Mack Ross was going was groceries. (Celebrities! They’re just like us!) She was even singing while loading them away, which would be grating in any individual but was something Daiyu suddenly appreciated. What she didn’t appreciate was the blonde moving away from her car. She’d hoped to tail her to what was to hopefully be home, but she could make do with a parking lot. She got out of her car, snatching her club from the passenger seat. It was a weapon meant for blunt force, enforced with studs. She followed Mack as she crossed the lot to the store and had half a mind to go in with her and get a snack (and autograph), but she had gotten distracted enough. And so Daiyu walked quietly but with a pace that ensured she’d catch up with her before she reached the lights of the store.

—

Mackenzie’s hearing was shit. Her eyes were shit. And so to have someone tailing behind her, yet again, and her not realize it was no surprise, especially since it seemed like everything was back to normal in her life. So, like the unsuspecting little dipshit that she was, the actress continued forward as she belted lyrics out into the warm night air, “Trouble on my left; trouble on my right. I’ve been facing trouble almost all my life! My sweet love, won't you pull me through? Everywhere I look, I catch a glimpse of you. I said it was love and I did it for life. I didn't do it for youuuuu!!!” 

God, if only her music career had panned out before all of this bullshit zombie stuff had happened, but in the moment, her need to sing out was only fueling the flames to want to go home and write some more songs. The journal she had was starting to get full, and with that reminder, she figured she might as well pickout a notebook while she was in here to go with the thing she had forgotten.

As Mack continued to sing, and move towards the door, she caught sight of something laying on the ground, but she couldn’t quite tell what it was, and with all the time in the world at the 24 hour grocery store, she definitely had time to pick it up. So, without much thought and the fact that someone had in-deed been sneaking up behind her, the zombie leaned over to grab it, wincing slightly at the tightness in her leg, where Jade had severed it at her thigh, “Fucking Jade. This regrown foot is going so far up your ass the next time I see you…”

—

Daiyu preferred stalking her prey in woods. It seemed more natural that way, more sensible. It felt less like she was chasing creatures that were also human when surrounded by nothing but pure nature — it felt more like the kind of hunt people did in fairy tales and movies, rather than stalking someone in a parking lot like a … well, stalker. But Daiyu made do. Daiyu didn’t think too deeply about these things, because to make these kinds of distinctions was to think too far and deep about her role in this world, and that was something she’d prefer not to.

It was good that Mack was singing. She wasn’t too informed about zombies (except for those in The Last of Us and The Walking Dead, of course) and so wasn’t sure how good their hearing was, but it was a nice way for the famous actress-turned zombie to muffle the sounds of her not-stalker. Daiyu continued straining her short legs to catch up with the other all the while acutely aware of all their surroundings.

And then Mack Ross did something perfect. She bent over. Slowly and with a movement that suggested a level of strain. The timing was like a gift from heaven. (Note: Daiyu was a devout atheist.) She moved forward, swinging her club backwards and aiming it right at Mack Ross’ blond head like she was a ball on a baseball pitch. There was a wooshing sound in the air and she wasn’t as quiet now as she intended to knock the zombie out in one go.

—

Mack had managed to snag the piece of paper that she had spotted awkwardly with her bad leg sticking out at a weird angle, but before she could even straighten back up, she heard a whoosh next to her head just as something hard connected with her temple. With everything going dark really fast, the zombie fell to the ground and crumpled up into a blonde heap.

Everything was spinning when Mackenzie finally started to come too. But something had seriously felt off.

Moaning, the zombie blinked heavily as she tried to clear out the blurriness from her vision, “Wha…” Grunting, she looked around and her mind easily went back to the day Elora had found her after her rampage through town, “Elora…” The name was a weak whisper as she continued to try and find her bearings, but when she realized the redhead wasn’t anywhere to be found, Mackenzie started to panic.

“W-Where am I? Why…why are you doing this?” A dark ooze ran from the side of her head, and she whimpered in pain as her eyes scanned the small cell she had found herself in. All she had wanted was answers, but there currently weren’t any and the longer she went in silence with no return in the conversation, the more she could feel herself starting to grow angry.

—

Wood enforced with metal studs met skull and the blonde went down so easily that Daiyu wondered for a moment if a mistake had been made. She did not wait any moment longer, though, tucking the club underneath her armpit and picking the actress up, slinging her over her shoulder. These were crucial moments — she had to be quick, lest curious Resters started calling her out for carrying around an unconscious Mack Ross.

And so the famous zombie was deposited in the back of her truck and she drove as she often did — wildly and with abandon. Daiyu wasn’t sure how to go about zombie hunting, especially when it came to knocking them out. Killing them was doable (most things died when you chopped off their head), but kidnapping them? Another thing. She tried not to think about it too much, about how it might be kinder to kill her now rather than to lock her up — but maybe Mack Ross would not have to be locked up for too long. Plans were brewing.

She did her job, deposited Mack into one of the empty cages that whispered to all the supernatural fiends out there like a promise. It was hard to look at her now and think her a vicious killer, but Daiyu forced herself to think of the bodies that had been connected to the actress. (It would be — it would be kinder to kill her.) Her jaw was set as she waited for the actress to wake up. This was perhaps the ugliest part of the job and she cursed Winnifred for not being in, as she did such a good job at telling the prisoners what they were imprisoned for. 

Mack Ross awoke and she felt uncomfortable standing there. “Hey — hi,” she said, plopping down criss-cross applesauce in front of the bars. The cell was fitted with some standard needs — a chair, a tap with running water and a sole bar of soap, a toilet. There was no bed, as the undead didn’t need sleep, but there was some flickering light and a bookshelf with tacky, yellowed romance novels and shiny self-improvement books. Mack was gifted a book that blasted a title in red: HOW TO EAT CLEAN AND STOP FEELING DIRTY. Maybe Winnifred thought it would make her stop eating brains. “Welcome to –” Nope. Where was Alistair? He was tall and menacing. Or Winnifred? She was convincing and somehow pretty welcoming. “You’re somewhere safe. Sorry about your head. Tranqs don’t work on …” She shrugged. “Well, you get it.”

Daiyu reached for her bag, pulling out a smaller, ziplock bag with a hellhound brain in it. She pushed it to the edge of the bars, then pulled her hand back. That wasn’t protocol. It had been pretty gross to get the brain out, in all truth, but it was done now. “Oh, right — why. You, um. Killed a bunch of civilians. It’s not safe. So, you know! Now you are somewhere safe.” For the humans. The humans of a town who had no certainty of a normal life. Daiyu tried to think of them as she tried not to ask Mack for her signature.

—

The cell didn’t offer much in the way of comfort and as Mackenzie’s vision cleared, she noticed the book with the red title screaming in her face. This was it. She was locked away in a cell never to see the light of day again. But if she was in a cell, did that mean they knew about Brody? Was she finally imprisoned for his murder? If so, if that was the reason, then she couldn’t really blame the people who had put her here, but an odd wave of relief seemed to come when she heard the explanation, and then it all made sense. The rampage on Wicked’s Rest. A legit reason for her being here at least, and not one that would make national headlines. At least she had hoped, considering this definitely didn’t look government official, and though she was angry, the anger had somewhat ceased knowing she had deserved to be locked away for the monster she had become.

“Right. Yeah. But I think you mean safe for the citizens of Wicked’s Rest right?” The anger had dissipated and turned into something of defeat as she lowered her head. Not paying much attention to the hellhound brain that lay at the edge of the bars. And when she did finally see it, all she could think was how it had solidified how much of a monster she really was. Mack immediately felt like a feral dog being locked in a pound fed only scraps until Death, himself, really came knocking.

Reluctantly reaching out towards the smaller brain, she pulled it through the bars and up to her mouth. Her head was throbbing from the bat she had taken to it, and she knew if she didn’t eat things would get a lot worse, so instead of waiting any longer, Mack stuck the soft matter into her mouth and began to chew, refusing to look at Daiyu.

—

The concept of safety was novel to Daiyu. It was spoken of often in hunter circles, though never as something they experienced themself, but rather something they were made to protect and defend. And though safety was probably a novel concept for the people of Wicked’s Rest as well, it was a thing worth defending. So Mackenzie Ross was right — this was for the safety of the citizens of Wicked’s Rest, of which Daiyu was now a protector. Or, at least, that was how it was supposed to be on paper. In practice, it was too complicated to think about.

She lifted her shoulders, “Yup, guess so.” It was hard to believe the other was a serial killer (or mass murderer – the distinction was always lost on her) but Daiyu knew very well how looks could deceive. “Killed quite a few of them. Citizens, I mean. Not cool.” Because if there was one of the golden hunter rules she followed, it was that she did not kill humans. 

The entire scene in front of her was ridiculous — a famous actress behind bars and at her mercy, chewing on hellhound brain to sate her needs. It should feel awesome, this power that Daiyu held over the celebrity, but she felt rather icky about it all. “Anyway, um — you’re safe here, too. From other things, like the leg and slayers.” That was the whole catch, wasn’t it? The whole purpose of the Keep — to keep the dangerous supernatural away, but to not put them to the blade. She wasn’t sure if she’d feel better if she’d cut off Mack Ross’ head. Probably not, but such was the hunter’s life. Concepts like safety and feeling good were novelties. “Cool. You – wow, real weird. I totally saw you in movies and stuff before. Life can really take a turn, yeah?” Maybe it would for her too, one day.

—

Mackenzie swallowed the brain matter, and without looking up, decided to slide back into the shadows of the cell. She didn’t really want to look at Daiyu anymore or even hear what she had to say. She just wanted to be left alone. It was what was best considering she was either going to die here or spend eternity here, which she prayed didn’t happen if the brains eventually stopped coming.

Her back against the wall now, Mackenzie pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on them. With sad eyes, she kept them on the floor trying not to cry. She knew there was going to be quite a lot of time to think, but just like anybody in her situation, she was going to have to have her time to adjust and get as comfortable as she could, “I don’t really want to talk to you anymore. Thanks for the brain, I guess. Now, please just leave me alone.” It was all she could muster out before turning her body to face away from the hunter and lean the side of her head against the wall.

—

Maybe if she had been in a more petulant mood, she would have stayed around to talk Mack Ross’ ears off — just because she’d asked her to leave her alone. In any other situation, that was Daiyu’s M.O., to go against someone’s wishes when she felt rejected. But this was not any other situation. She’d just kidnapped a former A-list celebrity, put her in a medieval looking cell and offered her a bit of brain in the name of supposed goodness.

This goodness did not feel very good, though. The woman across from her was defeated, hiding her face from her, folded into herself. Though she was by all definitions a serial killer, there was no satisfaction to be found in seeing her behind bars. No glee found in the knowledge that she had succeeded in this all by herself, even though multiple members of the inner circle had been on Mack’s trail. Daiyu had won, but there was no victory be found here. There was nothing good about this. It was something, that was certain — it was a form of cruel justice, a way of safe-keeping the humans that might become the blonde’s meal, but it was not good.

She pushed herself to her feet. “Cool.” A filler word, used when things were far from cool. But what was she supposed to say? She came from a line of people who were good with words, who knew how to twist the proverbial knife into anyone — but in that, Daiyu had always fallen short. She could quip and snap and joke, but she could not manipulate. “See … you around.” It wasn’t a threat, though it might seem as one. It wasn’t a kindness either. It was a statement of fact, and with that spoken, she turned to leave Mack Ross by herself.

[bittcrsuite]

@blcssom liked this post for a closed starter ♡ plot: in source ! muse: mackenzie “mack” akers. 22-26. fashion designer. 

life was so unfair — of course the one person who understood her perfectly had to be the same one that was currently driving her nuts. mack fought the urge to roll her eyes for the millionth time at the other. instead, she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as she spoke. “i’d love to agree on one thing — anything.” despite their bickering, there was nobody she’d rather spend time with. sure, it was a little toxic but she couldn’t get enough. “how do you feel about amusement parks? like, would you happily go on kingda ka with me?”

[prxttythngs]

closed for @wstfl

the picture is a work of fucking art if you ask mack. alex’ prissy little ex photographed with everything on display– her tits still glistening with water from the shower, her form bent over to show the curve of her ass as she reaches to pick up her towel. he took a bunch of photos that night, when the dumb cunt had been stupid enough to leave her window open, but this is by far the best-looking one. what a fucking waste that she’s a prude– according to alex, at least. mack would have never put up with that. in fact– he isn’t going to put up with it. if she wasn’t secretly desperate to be fucked, she would have closed that window. mack: [1 attachment] mack: you look fucking hot like that mack: should i show all your friends? mom and dad too? mack: if you don’t want everyone you know to see, meet me behind the pizza place on 5th at midnight.

[shilohsharma]

starter for: @mackmontgomery location: sharky's

"Okay, I need you to turn down the charm at least three clicks. It's counter-productive to have you as a wingman when you're exuding charisma all over."

[cricketcampbell]

for: @mackmontgomery

where: x and van's backyard engagement party wedding, october 18th.

Cricket hadn't even made it through the announcement of the surprise before she'd burst into tears.

Well, a surprise to most of the attendees anyways. She'd been one of the few already in the know, considering she'd been entrusted with the daunting task of feeding them all--which only felt like the biggest, most important night of her career thus far, but no pressure or anything.

(And that was just on top of getting to witness the love of two people she considered friends on what she knew felt like the biggest, most important night of their lives too.)

After the ceremony, Cricket had stepped away to the side of the house to compose herself. This was her first time leading a catering team like the one that awaited her back in the kitchen, and she couldn't return to them all tear-stained and weepy or else they'd never respect the authority she'd spent all of the prep for cocktail hour working to establish.

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching, she was quick to swipe under her eyes, turning to offer the passerby a polite smile that startles into something more genuine when she sees just who it is who's joined her.

She still hadn't quite wrapped her mind around actually seeing Mack here, a colliding of worlds that didn't feel like they should work, but did. At least to her.

"I swear I'm not having a total meltdown." She assured with a laugh, wiping away at another rogue tear. "But the mother of the groom has already made herself a known presence in the kitchen and I got the sense it wasn't just a one off visit, so. There's still time."

[macaulaymontgomery]

closed starter for: @mackmontgomery location: mack's apartment

After a couple of hours of laying on the couch, staring at the late night Golden Girls reruns and over-thinking, Mac pulled her body up -- wrapping her blanket around her shoulders and shuffling into her older brother's room.

Yawning as she rounds the corner of his bed, she reaches out to jostle his ankle.

"You awake?"

[longislandcharm]

PARTIES: @longislandcharm and @realmackross TIMING: Mid December right after this thread. SUMMARY: After the attack on both of them, Mack meets Winter at the hospital and the two have a heart to heart. WARNINGS: Murder mention tw, Assault tw, Blood tw (brief mention), Unsanitary tw

It was weird. The experience of having someone else lingering inside your body like Henry had. Yet, Mackenzie was aware of everything that had happened. Everything that had gone on and, now, here the young zombie was, once again left alone leaning over the devoured corpse of someone she was forced to eat just to survive. And as much as she wanted to justify it by the attack on Winter, she knew Winter would survive. But this man’s family probably would not.

As she slowly climbed to her feet, Mackenzie glanced around to see if anyone had spotted her. This town had been very strange when it came to witnessing things like this. It was always blamed on animal attacks, and the longer she stayed here, the more she believed that residents just resided in fear and instead of trying to help others, they simply put it behind them and went about their day. Which was what she knew she had to do, if she wanted to live to see another day herself.

Shaky and once again nauseated from her actions, the Hollywood Starlet wiped her hands, smearing blood onto her pants – another pair ruined – and dug her phone out of her pocket. Concerned for Winter, she searched the local hospital, and when she found what she was looking for, she headed back to her car.

A quick pit-stop at home to shower, nurse her own wounds as best she could, and a change of clothes and she would be on her way to see her friend.

“You’re really lucky, Miss Cahya. They just missed the subclavian artery.” She wanted to scoff as the doctor finished up the stitches to her shoulder but what came out was a soft gasp as the pressure of his handiwork started to bypass whatever numbing medication he’d put on the wound. She felt so lucky sitting there after being stabbed in a scuffle with a mugger who was most definitely dead now, and by the hands of her best friend. “Why do doctors feel like if a person isn’t close to death then they’re lucky? This shit still hurts, you know.” The man was taken aback, she could tell, but she didn’t care if she’d hurt his feelings or whatever. The pain medication was doing shit all for her as he stuck a needle in her shoulder over and over to stitch her up. 

“Be nice, Winter. Remember, he’s helping you.” She scowled at Henry’s words but didn’t respond otherwise the doctor might think she needed more than a sling and some stitches. Instead, she looked at her phone to see if Mack had responded to any of her texts. Nothing. 

Most of her frustration that night was directed at the wrong people. She knew that. But the worry and the guilt gnawing through her wasn’t helping. Every minute that passed without a text meant more attitude from her big personality. Henry was eyeing her as the doctor finished up, knowing exactly why she was being a complete bitch to the man just doing his job. He couldn’t spend all this time with her and not get to know her and the moods she could get in. “She’ll call when she can.”

She stayed silent but her heart rate was giving away the nerves that were churning in her gut. The doctor even glanced at the monitor for a moment before he finished the last stitch in her shoulder. After care instructions and follow up doctor’s appointments were discussed before he walked away to get the orders in for her discharge, Winter looked to Henry and finally voiced her concerns. “No one was around when you left her body, right? Like, you don’t think anyone saw her, do you?” The ghost shook his head, trying to be reassuring. “There was no one around, I made sure.” His words didn’t do much. What if someone had walked by after Henry had left? What if the mugger hadn’t been enough to satiate Mack’s hunger? There were so many what if’s that could have come true. She just hoped that Mackenzie was safe wherever she was.

Mackenzie was still a bit shaky from everything that had happened. From a chance encounter with Winter that turned fatal to adding one more human life to her collection, the twenty-five year old hadn’t expected her day to turn into what it had, but here she was, grabbing her car keys and rushing out the door to go check on the last person, she had expected to be interacting with for the day.

As she made her way back to town and towards the hospital, she couldn’t help but run scenarios and conversations over in her head. Could she have prevented Winter from getting hurt? Would Winter have still been alive if she hadn’t run into Mackenzie while she was out shopping? Were her and Winter good now? So many questions, and as she pulled into the parking lot, parked, and shut off the engine on her car, Mack took a moment to just gather her nerves, “She’s your friend, Mackenzie. And she needs you.”

With one final sigh, she got out of the car and made her way inside, “Uh, I’m looking for Winter Cahya?” Directions and a room number in hand, Mackenzie made her way down the hall. When she reached the room, she gathered herself, nervous of how the interaction was going to go. The sooner you go in, the sooner you get this over with…

Raising her hand up, she wrapped softly on the door with her knuckles waiting for the okay to enter.

“What?” Her voice was like venom as she answered the knock. If she could spit out the annoyance that was flowing through her like some sort of acid, Winter felt like the door would have melted away with that one word. Even Henry recoiled slightly, knowing full well that she couldn’t hurt him. It was the stress of the night finally getting to her, her mind racing over where her best friend was at that moment, and it all just seemed to spill over onto the people who didn’t deserve it. No, the one who deserved it should be dead by now. As bad as she felt about that, she kept telling herself that he deserved it. He’d stabbed an innocent person for having a complication with her purse for god’s sake and then proceeded to stab another over and over again.

When she looked up to see Mack walking in, all thoughts of what happened to the other man went out of her mind. She immediately stood from the bed and wrapped her good arm around Mack’s neck pulling her into a tight hug. “Oh my god, I was so worried about you. I didn’t know why you weren’t answering your phone and Henry had to leave before he could make sure you were okay. Are you okay?” 

She pulled back, her eyes roaming over her best friend as if forgetting that she could heal quickly. Especially when she had a meal. “Nobody saw you, right?” Winter wasn’t even thinking about the fact that they had been arguing before the mugger had jumped in. She didn’t care and whether Mack did or not was yet to be seen. All she wanted was to know that her friend would be okay.

Mackenzie could feel her entire body sink down at the hiss coming from behind the door. Did she really want to do this? She had to, right? But that venomous word was a big indication that Winter would be just fine, which was a relief to the zombie. However, nothing between them would ever be resolved if Mack had just up and disappeared again. It was the easier option in the moment, but in the long run, she knew it was a lot more damaging.

With a deep breath, she went through the door reluctantly to find Henry by Winter’s side, still a strange feeling knowing he had just been inside her body not too long before, and with a soft nod, acknowledged his presence despite not really wanting to look at him or talk to him. Her mind was quickly pulled to Winter though, when she felt the numbing embrace of her friend’s hug. Closing her eyes, she took it in for a moment. It had been months since she had been hugged by Winter, and she slowly put her arms around the girl, before pulling away.

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. I can’t really feel much, you know? Perks of being dead, I guess…” Mackenzie could feel her heart breaking once again knowing she had killed somebody now that her zombified experiences were starting to linger in a brain that was no longer fully rejecting the trauma of killing and eating people. “It’s just gonna take some time, but not as long as that apparently…” She motioned to Winter’s shoulder, but the question of if anyone saw her or not, she hadn’t been fully sure, “And I-I don’t know. Kind of a lot going on between being possessed and killing someone else.” Her smile was weak and one that was tired, “Guess we’ll find out later on. But I have noticed that people in this town like to believe heavily in the excuse of animal attacks.”

“I’d definitely call that a perk right now.” Winter looked down at Mack's abdomen where she had taken the brunt of the damage before subconsciously placing a gentle hand on her upper arm. She knew deep down that she’d not want what Mack had to go through just to alleviate pain and healing but damn was it tempting when painkillers weren’t helping to take the edge off. She also couldn’t understand why her friend was being…subdued. Winter knew there was pain underneath those words, a different kind, of course, but Mack was making it seem like it wasn’t too big of a deal. It was a reaction that the medium would have expected from herself. 

She rolled her eyes when Mack motioned to her arm, almost waving it off like she normally would have. But something in Winter told her it was time to stop pushing away the realities that came with being in this town and to start embracing them. She needed to start talking about this stuff and not hold it in anymore. At least when it came to Mack. “I think he said about six weeks recovery. Which is going to suck because I have to wear one of those ugly slings.” It was like she could feel Henry’s eyes roll even without looking at him but she ignored it. “But I’m not dead thanks to you…and I mean dead dead. Not…undead.” 

Which was something they probably needed to talk about. Before the stabbing the two of them had been having a pretty heated discussion and it hadn’t even been close to resolved. All Winter wanted to do was forget about it but sweeping it under the rug wasn’t an option. Mack deserved some answers. “Yea, about the possession thing…I didn’t know Henry could do that. I mean, I knew he could possess people but I didn’t know he was strong enough to do it.” She paused, trying to gather her thoughts before she spoke again. She didn’t want another fight happening. “I’m glad he was able to though. I mean, obviously I didn’t want you coming after me. But I’m sorry you had to…die again for me….and I’m sorry for acting like such a bitch lately.”

“Six weeks will be here and gone, before you know it. Besides, I’m sure you could bedazzle that thing. Or there’s gotta be somebody around here who can.” Mackenzie looked at the sling. It was that deep, yet somehow dull hospital blue, but if anyone could make it work, she knew it would be Winter. The girl just had a certain cool about herself. And even though Mack knew Winter was good at hiding her true feelings, she knew that the girl was probably going to eat up the attention she got wearing a sling around town, which made her let out a quiet snort to herself.

“Yeah, glad I could help.” She let out a breathy laugh. “We may not exactly be on the best of terms right now, but I wasn’t going to let some rando stab you to death. Especially here at the holidays. What kind of person would that make me?” It was a joke she had hoped Winter had gotten. A morbid one, but a joke nonetheless.

At the mention of Henry’s name Mackenzie looked away again. It was a feeling she had only experienced one other time, and that was in the cemetery at Halloween. Thankfully Lil had been nearby to exorcize the ghost out of her (the ghost who had been a complete dipshit, she might add), but Henry was different. Henry was familiar, and it felt more personal and like an invasion of her privacy. She knew why he had done it. She didn’t want Winter being her meal for the day, but it still didn’t make that experience enjoyable, “It’s…It’s fine. I mean, I-I just wanted an explanation you know? Why you just all of a sudden ghosted me? I mean if I knew us not talking for months on end was going to happen, I never would have told you what I told you. I just thought I could trust you…you were my best friend.” Mack set her eyes to outside the window where she thought she caught a glimpse of massive wings, but shrugged it off. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” She looked back over to Winter.

“Right, you’d be a pretty awful human being if you did.” It was like a role reversal, Winter the emotional one who was apologizing and Mack being the one making stupid jokes to try and alleviate the tension. She didn’t like it. Even if Mack was right about her being able to rock an arm sling. She could do it if she wanted to put the energy into it. But that wasn’t important. Right now, what was important was the medium being real with her friend for once. It was such a rare thing that she had to prepare herself by taking a couple of deep breaths in, not ready to get so personal. Even if it was with someone she cared deeply for. 

“I don’t think it’s fine, actually.” She looked at Henry, the ghost seemingly shocked as he stared back at her. She was sure that he was trying to avoid Mack’s gaze just as her friend was doing to him but he became even more uncomfortable after realizing where Winter was going with this. The ghost stood without a word and walked through the door so he could give them some space, careful to avoid the zombie as he went. Maybe occupying someone else’s body was more personal than she realized.

“You deserved an explanation and I didn’t give it to you because…well, you know me. Anything too deep sends me running.” Now she was the one uncomfortable, closing herself off by crossing her arms over her chest. But she was starting to believe that she needed this talk just as much as Mack did. “I was scared, you know? I should have been scared when I first found out what had happened to you but I kept telling myself you wouldn’t hurt me, even in that zombie state you go into. When you told me about Brody it was like…that delusion I was holding onto so tightly shattered.” Winter finally looked at her friend, the vulnerability she was always so scared to show shining in her eyes. “I didn’t want to face that. I didn’t want to face the idea that one day one of us might have to hurt the other one. So…I went ahead and hurt you anyway.”

Mackenzie didn’t know what to say. The day had already been eventful enough, but when Winter decided to open up, all the young zombie could do was stand there and listen. She had loved Winter with all of her heart. The woman had become like a sister to her. But the past several months were hard. No. Impossible. And just when Mackenzie had felt like things were starting to work out for her, life had taken another shitty turn, which included her best friend being the one to run this time. So now, as she stood silently listening to Winter pour her heart out, she honestly didn’t know what to do or say.

Taking in a deep breath and letting it out softly, she looked to the floor. Words were failing her, but she had been appreciative that Henry had left the room. Mackenzie had needed time to process and that meant not having someone who had experienced all the pain and hurt she felt on the inside, standing awkwardly to the side; even if he had been dead.

“I-I just, I don’t really know what to say. The reason I disappeared in the first place was to keep you and my family safe. And when you showed up here in Wicked’s Rest, I was shocked. I mean I know it was coincidental. But it was like having a piece of my life back after everything with Brody - something I never thought would happen again. And we started getting close and things almost felt normal, until the sleepover. And I warned and begged you that things could get dangerous and you ignored me, which I don’t fault you for that okay? I died. And I’m sure, as weird as it seems, you probably were still going through grief - maybe shock, I don’t know. But I thought I could tell you.” She finally made eye contact with Winter.

“I thought we were in a good enough place that I could tell you about…him, and maybe I just rushed it. I don’t know. But then you disappeared and everyone else started to, and I started to hate myself all over again for what I had done to Brody and after touching the flats, and it got bad, Winter, and the longer you were gone, the more it hurt and the more I felt so alone. And I know you deserved time to grieve and mourn and take in the shock of everything. On top of all of your own life stuff. It just really, fucking hurt being in the dark for so long after I tried to talk to you.”

“So you succeeded. You did hurt me. Really badly. But I never wanted you to end up here or to have to see me eating that man – which by the way, since we’re on the topic of honesty, anytime I zomb out now, I can remember every part of it. I couldn’t before. So I remember the look of horror on your face when I couldn’t control the urge of needing food. I remember not having control of my body when Henry possessed me. I remember you giving him the okay to allow me to kill that man. I remember him leaving me. I remember all of it. And I swear to you on every part of my being that I never intentionally mean to go after anybody, if I can help it. It’s just who I am now.” Mack’s face fell, and she let her eyes drift back to the floor, tears sprinkling the linoleum every now and then.

Her arms crossed turned into Winter hugging herself as Mack spoke. It was one thing knowing she was causing someone else pain but hearing how much pain she actually caused was enough to make her feel so ashamed of herself. She should have been stronger for Mack. She should have been able to handle everything that this new life was throwing at her. It was her role. She was the rock that stood strong for everyone in her life no matter what the circumstances but for some reason, with this entire situation, she’d lost that strength that she prided herself on having. “You didn’t rush anything.” 

The words were so quiet that they barely filled the space between them, the girl not even sure her friend had heard them as Mack continued with how she felt. Eyes downcast, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes but this time she didn’t fight them. No, it was time to start being real with her best friend. It was time to let her see that Winter wasn’t always that strong rock that she felt she needed to be. 

The tears fell, along with her pride.

Clearing her throat with the goal of her words at least sounding stronger, she threw a hand up in the air. To anyone else it could have given the impression that she was frustrated but she was really giving in fully to her feelings, a gesture of having no fucks left to give on whether or not Mack saw her as anything but solid. “You were in a good place, you had every right to tell me about him if you trusted me with it. It’s me, Mack. I wasn’t ready for it. But I needed it.” And she had. Winter had needed that delusion to break, she’d needed to know that things weren’t always going to be okay and go her way. She needed to know the danger that came with loving someone who wasn’t completely alive. “I needed you to break that delusion so that I could protect myself if it comes down to it. I hope it never does but with the way I was thinking I was going to let you eat me if you got to that point again.”

God, she hated when her voice broke. That alone was enough to add to her shame but there was no point to hiding herself away anymore. Not with Mack. She’d seen it all already. Still, knowing that the zombie could remember Winter…giving permission, or whatever it was that she’d done, for Henry to let go of mack and eat the other person was a lot to take in. It was another thing to be ashamed of but maybe she could weaponize it for the good of both of them, or at least for the good of Mack. “So…you know it’s not your fault then. It was me. I made that decision to give that guy over to you. You couldn’t control it but I…could have. I could have saved him over you but I wasn’t about to let him live when I knew he was going to destroy so many other’s lives on purpose.” She didn’t want Mack to blame only herself. Winter was the real murderer in this situation.

She took a step forward, and then another until she was right in front of Mack. Winter’s good hand went out to take the blonde’s, squeezing it softly. “But I know now. I know what needs to be done, I know that this won’t be the outcome every time. There’s not always going to be someone who has worse intentions around to bring you back to me. I’m prepared for that reality and…ready to accept it. Because honestly, not having you in my life these past couple of months has been worse than whatever outcome could come in our future together.” That thought hurt but it was something she had to accept.  “Do you know what this means? It means we’re in this together now. Fully…if that’s what you want.”

Mackenzie refused to look up. She couldn’t. She loved Winter with all of her heart, and the conversation between them was digging into an already painful day. The zombie was just grateful she was still in the presence of the woman who could have easily been murdered if it hadn’t been for her taking the brunt of the stabbing. But Mackenzie listened. She listened intently. She took in every word that Winter was saying. Holding onto them in case something else came along sooner rather than later to tear them apart once more. But what she didn’t expect was for Winter to admit that she needed the illusion that everything was okay, to be ripped away from her. That the rug had to be pulled out from underneath her in such a painful way for them both just for the brunette to realize how dangerous Mackenzie Ross really was.

What struck Mackenzie to the core though, was Winter taking the blame for the murder of her attacker. It was the last thing she had expected, but it caused her to let out an audible gasp of relief. One less murder on an overwhelmingly long list that was still growing every time she lost control. In fact, Mackenzie found herself sobbing, which she hadn’t done in quite some time in front of anyone else. The last time had been in front of Alex, ironically enough, when things with Winter had gone south at Monty’s farm.

Quieting as Winter was now standing in front of the ashamed creature, Mackenzie slowly raised her head and locked eyes with the woman. She could barely feel Winter’s hand holding hers, but it was enough to make an impact. She hadn't been this close to her in a long time, “I can’t always promise that this is going to be easy, Winter. Y-You know what I did to the person I loved most in this world.” Tears were running down her pale face, “And if it ever gets to the point where you’re in danger, because of me…then you have to promise me that you will do whatever it takes to kill me for good, because I am not going to be the death of you Winter Grace Cahya.” Her gaze was stern. If saving Winter’s life meant Mackenzie dying, then so be it.

Her best friend sobbing in front of her, the sheer relief of that one murder being off of her shoulders, was everything that Winter needed to show her how heavily Mackenzie’s little rampages were weighing on the blonde. It almost made her angry. Not at Mack but at the people who had the gall to say she wasn’t trying to make things right with the victim’s or their families. What the hell was she supposed to do? Walk up to the mother of someone she killed and say ‘Hey, I ate your son. Hope we can be friends.’ The guilt of every person she killed was clearly eating her alive so in some small way karma was striking down Mackenzie Ross. In her heart, she knew that one day her friend would figure out how to make things right but right now she was still so new to everything that was happening to her. People needed to give her a break.

She quickly wiped some of her own tears away but they were still falling as Mackenzie quieted down, her friend’s words making Winter nod. “I know, Mack.” She’d seen the crime photos that had been released or leaked or however they’d been shown to the world. It was nauseating at the time even when she thought her friend had nothing to do with it but knowing that Mack had been the cause was a gut punch. “I know what you did, Mack, but that’s not who you are. That’s a consequence of what you are and I see a huge difference there.” 

She nodded her head, not wanting to admit out loud that she could one day have to, for a lack of a better word, dispose of her friend. But she’d seen what Henry could do and no matter how uncomfortable it had made the two parties, Winter would take that option over permanently losing Mack any day. It almost made this whole situation easier, knowing that she had another way of stopping zombie Mack without actually killing her. More tears fell, Winter’s throat coated as she started to speak again. “I promise, okay? If it comes down to it I’ll do what it takes.” It’s what she’d been trying to say all along but it was like saying it aloud set it stone, almost as if some sort of fae was in the room making sure to bound this for them. “But I’m done with running from this. Friends for life…or well, a lifetime.”

[noralevin]

closed: @mackmontgomery

location: nora's car

"Mack, if your knee doesn't stop bouncing, I swear to god..."

Nora looked over for a second to shoot a quick glare at her passenger princess for the night, even though the anxiety buzzing in the air wasn't all his. How else was she supposed to feel when Aiden had sent out a drunken SOS and his Find My Friends location put him squarely in the middle of nowhere?

"Is he moving? He better not be moving. Have you tried calling him again?"

[luckylewis]

closed for: @macaulaymontgomery

where: ocean crest rooftop, nov 15th

"Last one," Lucky promises through a cloud of exhaled smoke as his girlfriend approaches him, determined to be in a mindspace where he could actually fully kick the habit in December so that it could be a New Years resolution he would actually keep.

( He's failed to for three years running, but he's naively optimistic about attempt four. )

"You want a drag?"

[as-above-rp]

Cont. From [X]; @save-slot-a

Yue's eyes screwed shut tighter at the sound of an unpleasant beeping sound. His hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and he felt a second arm reaching over him. He hadn't expected Eamon to come home last night, and when he does he usually wakes Yue up. The beeping sound was turned off, but he heard a voice in his ear--a voice that was most certainly NOT his boyfriend. He barely registered the kiss on his cheek, as his groggy brain was still placing where he'd heard that voice before. And what were they on about? Chickens?? Eggs??? Another kiss to his cheek, and Yue felt the mattress shifting as the body got up and left. He finally opened his eyes, blinking at the ceiling....that was farther up than he remembered. He reached to the side where his nightstand was supposed to be holding his phone, only to feel a large plastic box instead. Yue turned his head and found the alarm clock where his phone would be...and an entirely different bedroom than he was used to waking up in beyond that.

Yue sat up, and immediately noticed how heavy his body felt. The next thing was the sheets laying across his lap--not the duvet or cover that he had on his own bed. He screwed his eyes shut, groaning as he struggled to part the cloud over his mind. Had he gone home with someone? That was impossible -- he remembered going to bed in his own apartment! And who was that who had talked to him? They acted like they knew him, at the very least...!

"God damn--" Yue jolted as soon as he heard his own voice. It didn't sound right at all--was he getting sick? He needed to wash his face and get some water in him, maybe that'd help out. He swung his legs over and pulled the covers off, and the sight before him was the most perplexing and anxiety inducing one yet; These legs were thick, pale and hairy--but most importantly, they were missing the tattoos he'd had for over ten years. He checked his arms to find a similar visual discrepancy, this time with more scars and a distinct tan line where a short sleeved shirt might end around the biceps. Yue looked down at his hands, much larger and thicker with callouses than he'd known of. He looked around for any doors that would indicate a bathroom as panic began to rise in his chest. Yue quickly spotted one cracked open and got up, momentarily disoriented by the change in height. His feet stomped across the room, not used to the weight they now carried. He went right to the mirror, and upon seeing the bearded, scarred, tanned face of the kingdom's most notorious villain, Yue knew he was royally screwed. Of all the bodies to wake up in, why did it have to be HIM?

A new panic began to set in as he studied the bewildered expression of The Butcher in the mirror: If Yue was in Mackentyre's body...then who was in HIS?

Well as it would so happen, about the same time that Yue was facing his new out of body crisis, that someone would be waking up to the sound of a phone alarm going off beside their head; waking up alone in an apartment they'd never seen the inside of before....

[townofcadence]

✏️🥺 *Does a little jig in my jester outfit*

✏️ for mun to write you a note

Dances back at you!!!!!

I think you're a lot of fun to talk to!! I think like bishop i had seen you around, but when the monster party rolled up and I saw you I realized who you were and it was like !!!!!! and I had to follow and start engaging!

Then we started talking and your vibes were so good and like the kind of energy and excitement that injects energy into my me, and I had such a good time talking to you every time we have!! I think your characters are also super interesting and I'm glad I get to interact with you and see them more, and i think you as a person are just a blast to talk to and it's been so awesome getting to know you! :3