#appalachian 4

[chaotic-starlight24]

Yeah, Natalia is probably right

Tw: badly drawn gun

[chaotic-starlight24]

AFAGGWBEUWBWGABBW

Appalachian Four - Chapter 3, Expedition Failure

Word Count - 1.6k

Character Count - 8794

CC Excluding Spaces - 7411

Summary

In this chapter, the group creates their final plans and heads into the unknown called the Appalachian Forest, yet their plan is ruined by quite a simple mishap.

Happy Reading! C:

As the sun began dripping down past the horizon, the group was finishing up their half-melted slushies. Ideas had been bouncing around them and Emmy-Lou had started a journal on all their notes. At the moment, little writings had been scrawled by Natalia and Emmy about the mysterious forests. They were ready for tomorrow. Nash was whining about how he STILL didn’t want to be sacrificed. He couldn’t accept that they were just joking around.. Or were they?

Emmy Lou held out the paper, staring over the extensive print on the rectangular sheet. “All this writing and we’ll probably lose it in that forest within ten minutes.”

Zoiee looked up and replied with a simple nod of her head and a “Yes. Exactly.”

Thoughts of the unknown raced through their minds, and the look of anxiety on their faces arose from their subconscious.

“So.. Are we gonna like.. Die?” Nash remarked, the look on his face which seemed to say, I don’t really want to do this anymore.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Nathaniel said, patting him on the back.

“Your gravestone should already be in that yard, pal,” Natalia laughed, looking right at Nash’s panicked expression.

“Yeah, it’s got your name written all over it. I can see it now.. Nashville Michael Thompson,” Emmylou mentioned, the look on her face intimidating Nash more than he already was. (He’s afraid of girls.)

“That is not my middle name!” Nash said, his face turning red.

“Don’t deny, Nashville Michael Thompson.” his brother replied.

In the background, Zoie was in the process of swinging her bat, Frankie, against a sack filled with flour that was tied to the tree she climbed, yet only got halfway up because her mom called her up for dinner.

“Hey guys, I’ve gotta go.” She announced, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

“You know what, maybe we should all go home. I think that we should get some rest.” Emmy-Lou decided.

Natalia stretched and let out a yawn, “Yeah. The sun is setting and I think our parents want us all home. The expedition is not till tomorrow.”

Everyone said good nights and headed off to their homes. Though it was obvious what everyone was thinking. What did I get myself into?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, the group collected at the weeping willow next to the library. Natalia, Charlie, and Emmy-Lou were early risers so they were already preparing as the rest began to arrive. Next, Nathaniel came with a backpack and with Nash who was practically being dragged along. Finally, Zoie and Lillian made it.

“Hey guys!” Zoie said, Frankie in hand, swinging it around in a fashionable manner.

“Howdy!” Emmylou, Natalia, and Charlie said simultaneously.

More of a natural thing to say. Lillian was just standing there with her usual smiley face and star stickers on her face, along with her blonde ponytail flowing down her back. The friends, now somewhat prepared for the day, were ready to go out into the forest. It was time.

“Let's go guys!” Natalia said, waving her hand.

“Grab your weapons!” Emmylou said, holding out her black pistol that had pink accents that she had painted on herself, and pointed it at the bag of other weapons. Charlie picked up an axe. Nathaniel picked up a dagger, and threw it across the room aiming for the sack of flour, yet all he did was jam it into the library wall.

“What were you trying to do there, Nathan!” Natalia said, rolling her eyes and resting her face on her hand.

“My best!”

They snatched the dagger out of the wall and covered it up with an extra sheet of paper, because nobody will ever know.. Right?

“Fine, I’ll take the rope!” Nathaniel harrumphed, stretching it out.

Emmy looked at Zoie to get a weapon out of the bag, but Zoie just lifted up Frankie and swung it in a circle. Then she looked at Lillian to pick up a weapon, but she shook her head no.

“Lils, you have to pick one,” Zoie said. “It’s too dangerous out there to not.”

“I know, but I’m not great with weapons,” she replied.

”Take this!” Natalia shouted, tossing her an orange BIC lighter.

She caught it, and then continued to ask.. “How..?”

Emmylou rushed over with a sigh. “You really don’t know how to use a BIC lighter? Them things been around for twenty years and your parents STILL haven’t taught ya?”

LIllian nodded.

“Yeah, suppose so,” she said, pressing all the wrong buttons, so any way that she would try it wouldn’t work.

Zoie ran over and grabbed another lighter from the bag.

“Here, Lils,” she said, flickering the lighter until a small orange flame arose from the little hole. “Now you try.”

Lillian tried it and all that came out was a few sparks.

Natalia sighed and dragged a hand across her face, “Harder! Press it harder!”

Lillian followed the instructions and then a little flame came out of the lighter. “I did it!” she shouted, jumping up and down in excitement.

Meanwhile, Nash was tossing a black pistol up and trying to catch it in a cool way. Luckily the guard was on.

“NASHVILLE MICHAEL THOMPSON YOU PUT THAT DOWN THIS INSTANT!” Charlie shouted, smacking it out of his hands.

“Pleasseeeeeeee! I want a cool shooty shooty!!!” He said, snatching it back and holding it like it was his child.

“Nash, take it. But if I hear a gunshot go off as a ‘funny’ joke, it's confiscated,” Emmylou said, sighing.

Nash loosened his grip on the jet black pistol and flashed an annoying grin at Charlie who just held her hands to the sky.

“Thank youuuuuuu!” Nash looked happier than ever.

The group went on, passing each other weapons. They all came to their consensus of what weapons they were bringing out into the forest.

“Let’s go guys!” Emmylou hollered, waving them along.

They explored around behind the library and found an entrance to the forest behind the library. All they needed to do now was climb over a branch and then they were across. They went inside the forest and began hiking through the brush, weapons in hand. The sharp thorns stabbed into their legs, yet they had to carry on in silence. They didn’t really want a six-legged cat or a grafton monster following them, did they?

“Hey guys, if we survive this, I’ve gotta rodeo tomorrow. Y’all wanna tag along? I’m barrel racing and roping.” Emmy-Lou smiled nervously, her southern accent coming through.

They all needed something to get their mind off the forest so the group gave an agreement. That was their motivation to not be eaten by some huge cat.

The rustling in the bushes around them was unsettling, but that wasn’t stopping them. Along the way, they found unnatural stick formations, fallen trees, and heard strange whistling and name calling. The whistling came again, and yelled, “Nathan! Natalia! Help!” in the voice of Zoie. The strange part about this is that Zoie was standing right next to Nathaniel and she had spoken few words within the past five minutes, and none of them were Nathaniel! Natalia! Help!

Emmylou put her arms out, turned around, and stopped the group from wandering any further. They all looked at each other with anxious faces.

In a low voice, she said, “Ignore it, it's a Mimic. If we ignore it, we won’t die.”

“Okay!” Nash said, cheery as ever though the grin on his face had a tinge of nervousness.

Nash never seemed to take things seriously, which was not always the best asset.

Zoie and Charlie exchanged a hesitant look. Natalia took a deep breath. The forest was definitely taking its toll on the group. Yet they pressed on.

As they continued treading through nature, sounds started increasing, and they were all slowly becoming more and more anxious. Lillian felt the sounds were a sign to leave, but Emmy-Lou and Natalia insisted they hadn’t finished their study just yet. Nash slowly became more aware of his surroundings. When little taps happened, he turned around and pointed his weapon at the direction it was coming from. Just behind him, a squirrel ran by, scaring him half to death. He fired his gun and ran out of the forest.

“DAG NABBIT NASH!”

“DINGBAT!”

“SO STUPID!”

“IT WAS A SQUIRREL NASH!”

“GET BACK HERE!”

Too late, he had already left the forest in pure terror.

They all chased after him, angry. When they reached the end of the forest, they found Nash standing there, unguilty. They all started shouting at him to do better next time.

“Ok, ok!” he said, defending himself,“I’m a little new to this! Plus, I was forced to be here!”

“Fair point, and no, you weren’t. You were actually begging to tag along.” Nathaniel shrugged.

Lillian shivered, “But I don't think it's safe for him to be carrying a firearm...”

“There's gonna be other chances, I guess.”

They walked inside, adding locations to an abnormally sized sheet of paper that they took from their school. All the landmarks and forms they found were on the paper now. They all were still a little bit upset but they couldn’t help but think.. Maybe it wasn’t a squirrel? They decided to focus on the future instead of the past, and decided to just focus on tomorrow’s rodeo at the Elikan Central Arena.

“So.. Rodeo?”

[kitchen-spoon]

southern Nights

Pre Season 4 Steddie set Post Season 3:

After the mall fire Robin's parents take her out of Hawkins to go visit family in August so Steve is left to cope without her after spending nearly every day and night with her. So he turns to Eddie who he had been becoming friends with all summer leading up to the fire.

Eddie has to leave Hawkins in August too to go live out in Kentucky with his grandmother (Wayne's mom) at her farm until school starts back up again. He offers for Steve to come with him because he doesn't want to go alone and he knows Robin is leaving and doesn't want Steve to be alone.

Initially Steve being his stubborn self refuses but eventually he relents and agrees to come. They drive out together and once they are there Steve calls Robin Everynight after dinner while Eddie's grandma's cat Bruce sit in his lap and gets attention and pets.

It takes them about a week and a half to start fooling around together after all the tension they had been building at the start of the summer. It Happens for the first time after they smoke weed together on the porch and Eddie teases Steve about hogging the joint because he is spaced out and says "Never learn how to share baby?"

One Night Steve cuts Eddie’s because it was in his face all day and getting in the way and Eddie had been quietly grumbling about it at dinner. He does it at the kitchen table after dinner and its the first time they kiss without having sex. A few days later Eddie gives Steve a small stick & poke star in return.

Steve always insists on sleeping alone in the guest room even after they start fooling around. Eddie hears Steve’s screams when he has nightmares, he always waits until he hears Steve leave his room and go to the porch to check on him and sit with him.

Steve refuses to sleep with Eddie because he sleeps with a little stuffed lamb from his childhood and is embarrassed about it. It helps with his nightmares though. One night Eddie finds it and Steve gets really embarrassed and tries to hide it but Eddie doesn’t let him. They talk and Steve starts sharing a bed with Eddie and bringing the lamb (Cloud) with him. One night Steve falls asleep first and Eddie see’s how Steve rubs its ear against his lips to sleep.

Wayne comes down for the last week of their stay to help move his mom from the farm and back into her home for the winter.

One night Steve has a nightmare and wakes up where it turns into a panic attack. Eddie finds him kneeling on the lawn in front of the porch head in his hands rocking while he mumbles to himself barely breathing. It's when Wayne was coming so he pulls up and sees that and goes to Steve and recognises that it's PTSD. Steve is mumbling about a plan so Wayne plays along with it, assures him it worked and they are safe it's over.

While Wayne is there for the last week they try to be sneaky but he catches on and calls them out when he catches them being all sappy in the kitchen. Steve is cooking dinner and Eddie comes up behind him and wraps his arms around his waist and kisses him. Wayne *ahems* in the door frame and they split a part, Eddie is out to Wayne so he is more embarrassed but Steve is scared. Wayne is like calm down boy, I knew it the night I got here.

[powerlineprincess]

Just 4 Today. NC. K.E.A powerlineprincess

[purkinje-effect]

Thinking again how it would feel infinitely more realistic if any given installment of Fallout included multiple Pip-Boy models. Like, 2000, 2000-VI, 3000, 3000-IV, etc etc. Why is there only one model type visible in a given installment? Design simplicity? Surely, like how some people have the newest iPhone, and others still have their fifteen year old Razr, different models could've gotten scavenged. One area ever only getting a single model distributed feels... so unrealistic in a hyper-capitalist setting.

More NPCs should also have one. I know they're supposed to be incredibly rare (and potentially difficult to refurb/restore) but that doesn't mean it's prohibitively impossible for a non-Vault Dweller to have one. Esp. when NPCs on multiple occasions will insinuate you must've killed someone for the one you're currently wearing, or at the very least, someone died for you to get it.

I really wish we could see someone with a jury-rigged refurb Pip-Boy that's held together with bubblegum and spite. Someone whose Pip-Boy only works if it's plugged into a terminal. People with a newer or older model than the one your character's been given at the beginning. Being offered more chances than just the Pimp-Boy to change which one you've got.

It's kind of disappointing that 76 doesn't have Pip-Boy skins that make them look like other models, or even plans that let you craft other models that you can skin. (My line of thinking with this is many things--e.g. the Secret Service Underarmor, Binoculars, Jetpacks, etc.--come in multiple colors/patterns, but instead of recoloring the base one, you craft a new one. The ATX recolors for the Ranger Outfit feels pertinent precedent too somehow, but I can't put a finger on it.)

Anyway. More Pip-Boy variation within a single game setting pls.

[thorsenmark]

A Tree Lined View at Lower Otter Creek Overlook (Blue Ridge Parkway) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the north and upstream while taking in views of Otter Creek along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is at the Lower Otter Creek Overlook. I decided to use the creek as the waters flowed by with trees on each side as a leading line into the image. The forest of trees are the backdrop for this setting.

[hellfirecvnt]

Y'know, I Knew a Guy Like You.

Pt. 1: "Meeting"

Eddie x Y/N (but Y/N talks like Theo Von)

Author's note: I have no idea where this will go. I don't plan on making it smutty, but I've never been opposed to it. I'm going to reference Theo Von's stand up and also just general odd goings ons I've witnessed, caused, or been a part of as a borderline-trailer-trash woman of the deep south. Not everything I mention is true, but most of it is. 💀

I kinda want this story to be interactive, so feel free to submit suggestions and shit for them to get into.

Trigger Warnings: Drug Use!!! Drinking, General Bafoonery, Crime!

(The thing about Tom Cruise and the crack is true. I was in 5th grade with her, but it wasn't Tom Cruise, it was the Jonas Brothers. 💀)

It's been about a week since you up and left your small hometown in the furthest corner of the bible belt you could stand to live in. You weren't really made for big cities, so you decide to cut halfway across the country and plant some new roots in Indiana.

You're not some fuckin' high roller, you didn't come out here with a job, let alone the ability to live somewhere by yourself. You met your now-roommate over two years ago at a Heart concert. Her name is Robin. The two of you made plans to move in together last spring and after a few failed attempts, Robin finally found a small house off to itself with two large bedrooms. She's been giving you time to get settled in, but now she's starting to pester you about coming out with her friends.

"Come on, you have to meet Steve at least," she clings to your arm, ever-comfortable after the years of sending letters back and forth as often as possible.

"Steve the one with the hair like a uh, like a fuckin' mess?"

"Yeah, that one."

"I don't about, Rob. It sounds like I might bully him probably." You shrug as if you feel genuinely sympathetic at the fact that you'll be mean to this person you've never met.

"That's all I do. Come out with us tonight, pleaseeeee!" Robin releases a pleading wail and much to her satisfaction, it works.

"Oh my god, fine! Lower your voice, dude. You're gonna get up both killed."

"What?" Robin furrows her brow.

"The not deer."

"Okay, I'm not doing this with you again." She stands and makes her way over to her room. "I'm gonna shower and get ready, don't bail on me."

"Like you bailed on me when I sent that turtle in the mail?"

"Y/N, it did not arrive alive. It was dead and wet." Robin's eyebrows upturn as she recalls opening the rancid package.

"Yeah, I didn't uh, didn't think of that..." Your voice trails off as you remember the day you placed a turtle into a box and mailed it to Robin. It was never alive, you found it dead. It never occurred to you that she believed it was supposed to be alive. "They told us in grade school that the police had to open incriminating packages and to not try to send our parent's methamphetamines in the mail to Tom Cruise because a girl in my town did that and her dad went to jail."

She stares at you in silence for a second.

"You thought the cops were gonna intercept your turtle?" Robin sighs.

"Yeah, thought the pigs would have to deal with it." You still don't plan to explain the full story to her.

Robin disappears to get ready and you finally decide to rise from the couch and get dressed. A few moments of staring into the mirror and you finally start to feel like your face belongs there. A new place and such a big move seem to have you a bit more on edge than usual. You make your way back to the living room you share with your friend and she emerges from her room just seconds later.

"You look great!" She beams.

"I fixed the stains in this shirt with a tie dye." You point to the spots that now blend into the grey and black dyes swirling your shirt.

"You fixed the stains with more stains."

"You're a smart lady, Rob. I like it." Your words make Robin blush. Though her feelings for you are platonic, she had a pretty big crush on you when you first met. The distance and meeting Vickie simmered it down into a casual friendship.

The two of you get into your car and she gives you directions to Steve's parent's house. Robin tells you about the pool and the huge living room. She mentions some friends from California are coming to visit and how you'll really like them.

"You said it was just the whore."

"He is not- well... okay, look. Please don't say that when we get here."

"It's not a bad thing to be a whore. Everybody got something, he got that."

"I think I regret doing this," She jokes.

"Me too," you smirk as you swing the door open and step out of the car.

The two of you walk into the large, well-kept abode and Steve meets you both in the foyer.

"Y/N, Steve." Robin introduces the two of you before running off to find the others.

"Hey! You're Robin's friend from-"

"Yeah, that one." You cut him off in the name of regional ambiguity.

"Well, everyone's this way." Steve starts through the foyer and into the living room that connects to the backyard via two large sliding glass doors. You look around for a moment, taking in the luxurious home. You're more used to a double wide on a dirt road at a dead end, but this was nice.

You become distracted by something hanging on the wall. Nancy and Robin are deep in conversation while Steve disappears into the kitchen. There are people outside, but you're not sure who they are, so you don't go exploring. You continue to stare intently at the frame on the wall.

"They're my grandad's war medals." Steve appears behind you suddenly, causing you to jump.

"I knew a guy back home that had some of these all over his wife beater. He'd pick up, like with his arms, any kid he could catch and threaten to chew on 'em."

"What?" Steve looks down at the beer in his hand he brought to offer you and wonders if you even need it.

"It was fine, he didn't have teeth anyway. Dunno what the fucker was on about, most days."

"What are you saying?" Steve squints his eyes as if it'll help him hear or understand you better.

"You promised you wouldn't do this!" Robin scolds you playfully from the couch. Nancy, who has yet to speak to you at all, stares with a certain hint of distaste.

"His name was Clayman. You think we'd call him Clay, but we all called him Man." You finish your story quickly and turn to face Robin. You notice a new person standing in the sliding doorway, though you aren't sure how long he's been there.

"Uh, Rob, are you smoking with us?" The curly-haired man gestures over his shoulder to the other strangers outside. Robin springs up from the couch, but quickly turns an apologetic look to Nancy.

"I'm sorry, Nance. Give me 20 minutes," she grins stupidly and turns to you. "Y/N, come on!" You don't hesitate to go where the drugs go, a gift and a curse. Or whatever.

"Whoa, man. Who's this?" A brightly dressed man with long, straight hair smiles and waves at you after asking.

"Guys, this is Y/N. We met at that concert in-"

"It was a good show- a really good one. A feature, if you will." You smile brightly, interrupting for continuity's sake. Hey, that's just the same joke as last time. You nod as you're listening to them introduce themselves. The brightly dressed man is Argyle, Johnathan is the quiet one, and the curly-haired guy is Eddie.

"We were just talking about if Bigfoot is real or not. What do you two think?" Argyle, less awkward than Johnathan and louder than Eddie, takes the floor.

"I'm not convinced." Robin states, flat out.

"Hell yeah, he's real. I knew a guy back home that used to disappear for weeks on end and when he came back he had an entire Hefty bag of hair. It was all the same hair. It all came from one guy."

"What if it came from a bunch of the same kind of animal?" Johnathan promptly pokes a hole in the theory.

"Man, you find an alpaca with that curl pattern, you call me."

"Well, what about when everyone was claiming they saw the ghost of that kid that god stomped to death by a deer?" Eddie asks, a little too casually.

"Hey dude, what the fuck?" You ask with a shocked smile, in disbelief at the blase manner he's mentioning this grisly death.

"He really did. They kept telling him to leave it alone," he explains.

"That definitely was not a deer." You straighten your posture as if something is about to happen.

"No!" Robin demands, but her yells fall on deaf ears.

"Then what was it?"

"A not deer."

"Don't get her started!" Robin.

"What's a 'not deer'?" Eddie squints.

"It's not a fuckin' deer, I'll tell you that right now."

"You are. You are telling us right now." Argyle nods as if he's taking in important information.

The group takes turns hitting and passing the large, skillfully rolled joint. You notice that the only person with a tolerance like yours is Eddie. Even Argyle and Johnathan tap out before it's over. Robin had gone back to chat with Nancy a while ago.

You and Eddie are so deep in conversation, you don't notice Argyle and Johnathan wander inside to take shots with Steve.

"I had a grandma once that did a whole spoonful of heroin and then backflipped in place. God rest her soul." You recall the events like it was yesterday. "Yeah, she died like, an hour later."

"Oh." Eddie is stunned silent by the last sentence.

"Happens to everybody, I guess." You say, causing Eddie to think you mean doing heroin and a back flip. "But it's fine because the trash fire that afternoon turned blue for five whole minutes and uncle David swore it was Granny. Y'know? And that's God."

"You don't really strike me as the religious type." Eddie's struggling with the urge to laugh and genuine concern for where you came from.

"Oh, buddy. I'm not. It's just ingrained in my mannerisms now. You don't hold that many rattle snakes and deny Christ. Except I do because I got bit several times. They swore I was the Devil, but I think I just shook them snakes too hard."

Eddie, though wildly confused by you and this "culture" you seem to be from, is infatuated. Every story, every anecdote. He likes to try to imagine where the story is going before you finish, because anything he imagines couldn't ever be off the wall enough to compare to what you actually say.

"Y/N, you ready to head out?" Robin appears in the sliding glass doorway and smiles. It's only now that you and Eddie realize you've been sitting here talking for a few hours. You say your goodbyes, careful to linger a little longer on Eddie as you walk out with Robin. The moment you're both in the car, she glances at you knowingly.

"Eddie looks like he enjoyed getting to know you." She smirks.

"Yeah, I like him. You're friends are really nice. He didn't even flinch when I told him about Granny."

"... You should.... You should stop telling people about your Granny."

"Nope."

"So, the whole metal head thing is doing it for ya, huh?" Robin beams as she returns the conversation to Eddie.

"Yeah, I like my men kinda ugly. Like I like a dude that looks like a balled up napkin. I want the skrunkliest motherfucker I can find."

"Wow, incredible. And Eddie reads that way to you?" Robin can't wait to relay your description back to Steve and Eddie.

"A real dime, I thought." You smile pleasantly. "When are we all getting together again?"

"As soon as you stop telling people about 'not deer.'"

"You have got to stop dimming my light, Robin. I swear to God."

[opens-up-4-nobody]

I can't express to you how much I adore Weaver Márquez. The ghost in the static. A mystery not a puzzle. A person gone but still taking up space. A thing still leaving marks after it's gone.

[puppy-stevee]

one night when eddie's high and a little drunk he gets his acoustic and sings willie nelson's "cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other"

[legitalicat]

So what if I told y'all....

That with the help of the most amazing @foxyanon, I can start bringing Sims content to you all? Specifically, for the following loves:

Aegon Targaryen ii

Jacaerys Velaryon

Aemond Targaryen

Sihtric Kjartansson

Finan the Agile

And I mean...what if I told you it could be cowboy/Appalachian as well as polyship content?

What if?

[gobbluthbutagirl]

not me going on the wikipedia page for ingles after namedropping it in the tags of that self checkout meme because i forgot Which 6 states it’s in and seeing this

like oh my god should we throw a party? Should we invite jd vance

[chaotic-starlight24]

Chapter 5~Appalachian 8

Word count: 3.3k words

Summary: The gang joins to bond and create and observation house

TW: Buck being an absolute butt

Note: Check out other chapters at @wise-wolfie!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buck arrived by horse at the library. If Natalia was there she probably would have made a sarcastic comment on him “ridin in style”. But only Emmy-Lou and Lillian were there. Nathaniel and Nash had track & field. Natalia had cross-country. Zoie had a softball game. And Charlie had soccer. Emmy was relieved that Lillian was there at least. 

“Alright, the objective today is to get the observation house up.” Emmy-Lou decided.

Her and her dad had built up a platform on the edge of the forest, just enough to be safe. Still, no one should be there at night. The basic frame was also built but the rest would have to be done by the group.

Buck shielded his eyes from the sun glittering through the trees, “Only wanted me here to be the muscles, huh?”

“N-no! I-I mean we! We wanted you to be here! Ha ha!” Emmy stuttered out.

Lillian raised her eyebrows with a smirk, “I’m gonna grab some tools!”

Emmy-Lou tried to stop her but she escaped her grasp and jogged to the house.

“What? Nervous to be here with me?”

Emmy decided to channel some of Natalia’s sarcasm, or try to at least, “Nah, you should be nervous to be here with me!”

Buck gave her a strange look, but shrugged and started pulling wood up to the platform.

“Uh…Do you need railing too?” Buck inquired, looking hesitantly over the edge of the rickety platform.

Emmy stroked her chin, “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“I’ve got a hammer, screwdriver, nails, and a wrench!” 

Emmy, Buck, and Lilly looked over the strange assortment of tools. Where would they even start? 

“You know, I’m pretty sure Nathan is pretty good with tools.” Emmy commented.

Buck sighed, “Well, he’s not here right now.”

“And Nash is ok with a hammer, I think.”

“Once again, not present.”

“And Zoie-”

“IS NOT HERE!”

They really had no idea what to do. But Buck grabbed a saw nearby and started measuring wood. He could do that at least. Lilly grabbed the screwdriver to start putting the rail together. And Emmy went to grab more useful tools.

“I guess we can make do with this.” Buck decided.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It turns out, no, they couldn’t make do with that. The railing was a bit wonky looking and the wood was crooked. Yet they had only been working for an hour or so. But thunder was rumbling through the mountain, and rain had begun to drizzle. It turned into a pour and they decided to move to Emmy’s dad’s workshop. It was really an old garage that even as a workshop barely was used. 

Buck rested his head on his hands, “If your friends can’t come today, we aren’t going to get anything done today!”

Right then, Nathaniel showed up soaked to the bone with Nash and Charlie behind him.

“Hey guys, stuff got rained out.” Charlie noted.

“You guys are gonna get sick! I’ll make hot chocolate.” Emmy warned, stoking up the wood stove.

Nathaniel tried to shake his hair, making little droplets shower the floor and walls. At that moment, Natalia and Zoie walked through the door.

“Dude! I didn’t ask to be rinsed off!” Natalia complained.

“You were already wet!”

“And?”

Zoie grabbed a nearby towel and dried off her legs and arms, “Well, what have y’all been up to?”

“Trying to work on the treehouse, but it didn’t quite work…” Emmy admitted.

Nathaniel crouched down and observed the railing pieces. Then tsked. 

“You didn’t even cut these straight! What were you doing? Cutting it with wavy scissors?!”

Buck grinned sheepishly, “I didn’t have the right equipment.”

Nathaniel gestured to the array of tools on the wall and sighed. Then got to work measuring the boards. Emmy backed away as Nathaniel focused onto the (badly drawn) blueprints. He would probably figure it out. Natalia and Zoie were in a discussion over the notes journal with Charlie butting in occasionally. So she joined them.

“Emmy, shouldn’t we start focusing on specific creatures or something?” Charlie pointed out.

Emmy looked over the map that Natalia had scrounged up. There were pins and strings connecting pictures of different creatures.

“Yeah, good idea Charlie.”

“I think we should focus on mothman.” Natalia continued.

“But the grafton monster might have more to uncover!” Zoie persisted.

“Alright, alright! How about we look at the evidence for both and then we decide as a team?”

“Fine.” Natalia grumbled, crossing her arms. 

Lillian joined the table with the hot chocolate Emmy had forgotten about and looked over everything.

“I’m not so sure about this, guys.” she voiced, “It looks…unsafe?”

“Like you didn’t know that before?!” Emmy retorted.

Natalia rolled her eyes and jumped as her gaze drifted to Nathaniel and Buck, “Uhhhh, that’s a LOT of wood. Where did you even get all of it?!”

Buck was laying in the middle of the ground with wood scattered around him. Nathaniel was still sitting at the work table, cutting away busily.

“He’s pretty focused! I honestly don’t know how he multiplied all the wood.” Buck remarked.

“Uh, Nathan?” Natalia asked hesitantly, “You good?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, yeah I’m fine.” Nathaniel startled, not taking his eyes off his board.

Natalia looked back at Emmy and shrugged.

Nash came up and tapped him on the shoulder, “Whatcha working on?”

“Oh, I’m making a sandbox.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah! I got done with the boards for the treehouse and wanted to build something else. A sandbox would probably be of use for someone!”

“Sure…”

Buck got up and stretched out his arms. It must have been a lot of work sitting on the floor.

Natalia slowly pulled Nathaniel away from the table, “How about we take a break from…that.”

Nathaniel glared at her but slowly took off his protective glasses. Then joined them all at the table.

“Ok, shall we take a vote?” Emmy suggested, “Raise your hand for the Grafton monster.”

Zoie, Charlie, and Nathaniel raised their hands.

“Mothman?”

Natalia, Buck and Nash raised theirs.

“Well Ems, you’re the tiebreaker.”

Emmy looked at both parties and observed the photos. Mothman is kind of powerful and if we find him he could fly away with someone… But the Grafton monster is rarer…

“Um…uh…”

“How about we flip a coin?” Emmy smiled nervously.

Natalia raised an eyebrow and Zoie sighed. But Buck pulled out a quarter.

“Ok, heads for Mothman, tails for Grafton.” Emmy decided.

The coin was thrown and flipped for what seemed like an endless amount of time. Then once it landed, it began to roll out the door.

“Are you kidding me?!” Nash groaned, then he chased after it.

He picked it up with a sigh and suddenly screamed. In the forest, a cloud of moths had formed. They were making a hideous screeching noise. Nash fell back into the garage and Buck hurriedly pressed the door button. Charlie rushed to lock the doors as Natalia grabbed a rifle off the wall. The cloud got closer and closer as it began to form a humanoid creature. Finally the garage closed. 

“I don’t think it can leave the forest boundaries…” Zoie squeaked. 

But then the creature started moving closer to them, flapping its wings and caterwauling. Natalia opened a window and aimed at it. Then she aimed at the ground with the rifle and shot. The loud bang scared the creature as it flew up and back into the forest. Nathaniel was still laughing at Nash until he realized how badly Nash was hyperventilating. Then him and Charlie went to check on him.

“Well, I’m not sure we can handle mothman.” Emmy said, eyes wide open. “But he’s our main opposition.”

Natalia silently nodded and placed the rifle down. Zoie quickly kneeled down beside Nash as he was still breathing hard. 

“He’s gonna make himself unconscious if we can’t calm him down.” she concluded, “Do you guys know any way to make him relax?”

“Well if it’s a panic attack, if someone brings him down to earth he should stop.” Natalia suggested.

Charlie and Nathaniel started to try and tell him he was ok and comfort him which seemed to be working.

“Nash, it’ll be okay, just breathe,” Emmy said, grabbing some water for him. 

“Ems, I don’t think he’s going to want to go back into the forest…” Lilly predicted. 

“Yeah, I’m not sure how well our group in general can handle the creatures,” Natalia remarked, “unless we can get our game together. We need to learn to stay calm. I can’t be the only one with my head on tight in situations like this.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Buck appeared from the back of the workshop, “Well, that was a doozy!”

Emmy sighed, what was she going to do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gang had started work on the treehouse walls with Nash and Lillian staying in the workshop. They sat to keep watch and just so Nash wouldn’t be completely alone. After a couple days break, they were ready to be productive. That was if Natalia, Nathaniel, and Zoie weren’t trying to have a speed walk competition. But they needed the fun, so Emmy didn’t yell at them. Buck was putting the roof together and trying not to fall. He had been a helpful member to the team. It’s a good thing Lilly invited him.

“SEE! You have got to admit I won!” Natalia insisted with her arms crossed.

“Sure you did,” Nathaniel rolled his eyes, “I’ve got longer legs than you. I’m also a track runner so I’m definitely faster!”

Zoie was leaning against the tree with a grin. She was the true winner but watching the two bicker was pretty fun. 

“You know, as the marker for the finish line I could just tell you?” Charlie sighed.

“No! You’ll just lie because you like her better!” Nathaniel argued.

“Ok, ok!” Emmy interrupted, “I think we should get back to work.”

Natalia stuck out her tongue and went back to constructing the ladder. Then Lilli strided up to them.

“Charlie’s sitting with him now.” 

“Is he still a nervous wreck?” Buck cocked an eyebrow.

Natalia gave him a side eye, “Uh, yeah. He just almost got caught by MOTH-MAN!”

“And? Haven’t y’all been almost caught by these creatures before?”

“Well, traumatizing events like that scare even the best of us…” Nathaniel answered, his voice quivering slightly with anger. 

“But it’s been like 2 hours, the dude can stop freaking out.”

“Fall off the bull and get back on amiright?” Buck laughed, until he realized no one else was laughing.

“Just cut it out!” Emmy-Lou butted in, shushing the two with a smack across the forehead.

“Yeah, politely shut up.” Natalia added, “Anyways, Nathaniel, can you come help Zoie and I with the ladder?”

Nathaniel nodded but glared at Buck and followed after her. At that point, Buck was fuming, but he didn’t want to start problems. He looked over to the side to see Emmylou mouthing, Stop.

His eyes rolled, and at that point they were the only two in the room. 

“Look, Buck, I get where you’re coming from, and you two both were in the wrong, but just don’t make him mad next time. He’s real small and gets mad like a little baby gremlin when you irritate him,” Emmy said, trying to lighten the mood. Buck laughed, knowing he towers over that gremlin. (He’s only three inches taller.) 

“You’re right,” Buck said. 

“How about we go work a little more? We can finish the observation house by tomorrow if we get everything right” she replied, fixing her hair. Buck nodded his head and they walked out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why would he ever say that?!” Nathaniel fumed, “I know Nash overreacted or whatever but he’s pretty new to these-these legends! He was never interested in this stuff! He just joined to be with friends!”

He swung Charlie’s ax into a tree. Natalia inched a bit closer to Zoie.

“Look, my brother may be annoying but at least he can say he has seen mothman and just stared into the face of danger!” Nathaniel tore a hand through his hair, “What can that Buck guy say?! He fell off a bull a couple dozen times?! He is as new as Nash is to this! All of us are!”

“I know, Nathan. But he’s just learning our boundaries. Otherwise I would have fought him myself.” Natalia assured. 

Zoie nodded in agreement, “We’ll get used to him. Maybe we can all gang up on him if he keeps being rude.”

Nathaniel sighed and rested on the ax. 

“Now I don’t think we need more wood…” Natalia proceeded, carefully taking the ax away. 

Nathaniel made a noise of agreement and grabbed the ladder. Zoie then took the back of it and carried it off with him. Natalia pressed a finger to her temples and breathed out. Hopefully this group could stick together. If they couldn’t deal with each other they definitely would not make it in and out of the forest alive.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, there it was, the observation house finished. All they had to do now was furnish it. They had some little sticks nailed to the walls to act as shelves. Preferably for their weapons. They made a little window inside of the house, which Nathaniel had sawed out a medium sized square, and Charlie had stolen some extra fabric from her Mom’s sewing kit to work as a curtain. 

“Fetch your sleeping bags,” Emmylou said, tossing a rolled up sleeping bag into it. 

Everyone grabbed a sleeping bag from the garbage bag filled with an unnecessary amount of items. Charlie, who always seemed to have a sharpie on her, wrote her initials on the bag that carried her sleeping bag. She passed it around. On the bags, it had these initials written. 

B.H  (Buck Holloway)

E.L.H (Emmy-Lou Hendrix)

N.H (Natalia Hart)

L.S (Lillian Starry)

NAT.T. (Nathaniel Thompson)

NAS.T. (Nashville Thompson)

Z.M. (Zoie Morganwood)

C.C. (Charlie Catz) 

“Alrighty! Boys on this side and girls on this side.” Natalia ordered, “A curtain will separate us for the night.”

“What, don’t trust us?” Buck rolled his eyes.

Natalia rolled her eyes even more dramatically to make her point, “What? Volunteering for the guys to sleep on the porch?”

Nathaniel and Nash shook their heads violently and made silent threats at Buck.

“Wait, why are we sleeping out here?” Lilli inquired, already diving into her sleeping bag.

“It’s called an observation house for a reason. We’re making our studies and writing down what we observe,” Emmylou said, throwing down a pile of paper to write notes on. 

“These are for observations we make.” Buck’s eyes went wide and his jaw seemed to drop to the floor. The only thing in his mind was, THAT MUCH PAPER?!?

“None of y’all talk in your sleep do you?” Natalia quipped, braiding her wavy hair neatly, “Or walk? If so, you're getting shoved out either way.”

Buck raised his hand, “Sometimes I recite Shakespeare cause I fell asleep during class when the teacher was reading Hamlet.”

Natalia gave him a disgruntled look and nudged Emmy, “Ems, your new boyfriend or whatever is starting to get real annoying. You best teach him some manners or somethin.”

“He’s NOT my boyfriend,” she replied, nudging her back harder. 

“But I could be,” Buck smirked, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Natalia didn’t find this very funny, but Emmy was trying to pretend that she wasn’t totally freaking out. 

“Well you won’t,” Emmy responded, smacking him. 

Nash cocked his head to the side, “But you-”

“SHUT UP.” Emmy quickly interrupted.

“How about we play a game?” Charlie suggested, “21 questions  to get to know everyone better?”

The group made sounds of agreement, and Zoie claimed first pick.

“Ok, Charlie, let’s start off easy. What is a fun fact about yourself?”

“Uhhhh…Well I’m blue-yellow colorblind?”

“Oh! Do you see the world super differently?”

“Well, I don’t know what the world should be like so…no?” 

Silence followed. Natalia’s eyes were darting around the room. Nash and Lilli were playing rock, paper, scissors, shoot. 

“Are we going to continue?” Nathaniel urged.

Zoie shrugged, “If you ask the question.”

“Ok, uh…” he looked around until his eyes landed on Emmy, “Let’s get this game going at a little higher stakes. Is your crush in this room?”

Emmy went rigid. Everyone in the small room turned their attention to her reddening face.

“That’s a little…far?”

“Don’t you have to answer?”

“Yeah…NO COMMENT!”

Several muttered something along the lines of that works and moved on.

Emmy suddenly pointed to Lilli, “What was the weirdest thing you've ever done to grab someone’s attention?”

Lilli took a solid 5 minutes to come up with an answer, “I would have to say the time I crawled through the ceiling to get Leo’s attention. I fell through and it hurt, but now we’re dating so…”

“Y’all, how about we focus on juicy questions.” Natalia interrupted, “To make this more fun. I’ll pick.”

“Buck, who is your biggest celebrity crush?”

Buck blushed hard and glanced at Emmy, “uhhhhhh…Reese Witherspoon…”

Natalia laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes. Zoie and Charlie were also giggling.

“Hey! Blondes are pretty!” he defended.

He looked around for a distraction and gestured in Nathaniel’s direction, “Hey! Who do you think is the most attractive in this room?!”

“Me, obviously.”

Everyone started laughing in response, and the only one who wasn’t was Buck. He opened and closed his mouth a few times but eventually shut it. Nathaniel shrugged it off. 

“My turn I guess, Nash?” he continued.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you scared of girls?”

“WHAT!” Nash sputtered, “WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT????”

“You legit called Zoie a “tall, petrifying woman” whenever our group met up for the first time.”

“I THINK THAT’S JUSTIFIED!”

Zoie gave a fake offended look and gasped. 

Then she gazed into his eyes, “You should be scared. I eat children.”

Nash scooched closer to the back wall. So did Buck.

“Alright y’all, it’s 12:00 so I am going to head to bed.” Natalia announced.

The group paused. 

“Ok?” Buck retorted, “You’re not my mom, the rest of us can stay up and party while you go have a “good night’s rest”. Stop trying to take on the leader role, kay?”

Lilli audibly gasped. Emmy’s mouth hung open. 

“Buck Holloway I swear on your life, pretty boy,” Emmy whispered under her breath, “you shut that nasty ol’ mouth of yours if you want to live.”

“What’d you say? Wanna say it again?” Buck clapped back, looking at her in the eyes as if he was about to slap her. 

“You don’t give me that look, pretty boy.” 

Buck got up and walked right up there ready to slap her, yet Natalia ran up and grabbed his arm. 

Natalia shuddered in a breath of rage, “Stop if you know what’s good for you. I’m trying to protect us. I’m the one here to make sure these people survive. YOU are new! So if you’re gonna mouth off to us and be plain rude you can step out into the forest. I don’t know what Ems ever thought of you but I know what I think of you.”

“And what are you gonna do about it? I’m not scared of that ‘dark and scary’  forest of yours! And I ain't scared of you either! Nothing you can do will scare me.”

Natalia looked him straight in the eyes, and punched him across the face. He reeled back into the wall, holding the side of his face with a look of shock.

“Now DON’T GO SO FAR TO LAY A HAND ON MY FRIENDS! You better fix that attitude of yours or step your butt into the heart of the forest and NEVER come back!” Natalia shouted in his face.

Buck quickly nodded and took a seat in the corner. 

“That is another reason…” Nash whispered.

“Now, I think we should head to bed.” Natalia smiled.

The rest of the group nodded as well, squirming into their sleeping bags. All hoped for a peaceful night of rest.

[chainuuser]

family photo!

[tigerop]

genuinely like to imagine horangi experiencing graves' Y'all'd've'f'I'd've bullshit, staring, and just turning heel and walking off.

[powerlineprincess]

2024 K.E.A powerlineprincess©️

[shutterandsentence]

4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” -- John 9:4-5

Photo: Covington, Virginia