#dotdotdottie

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

Gimme Gimme Gimme || Otto, Nadia, Dot, Nic, Alain, and Kaden

TIMING: Current LOCATION: The docks SUMMARY: A deal gone wrong

Otto glanced at his unfamiliar reflection in a broken pane of glass double-checking the glamour runes carved into his collar bones were still functioning correctly. Sunken eyes, a thicker jaw and plain brown eyes looked back at him. Different enough from his day to day appearance that he could pass without someone recognising and the spell would hold for a few hours now that it was in place. Hand-offs were always tricky businesses even more so when you didn’t know the other parties you were involving yourself with so precautions had been taken. Namely in bringing Nadia along as back-up along with a trusty shot-gun. Spells were useful in a pinch but if things went sideways little beat the pure destruction the end of a shotgun could bring about. Unfortunately, tricky business was simply the life of a newfound criminal trying to find their footing in a small town full of strife.

He glanced over at Nadia who carried the delivery in a nondescript brown box padded and covered in protective runes as an extra layer of precaution as they made their way into the boating house on the docks where the arranged trade-off had been arranged. Boats bobbed silently, crusted sea-salt clung to several surfaces and the splosh of water was broken by the occasional bay of a seagull outside. They’d scouted the perimeter already, checking their entrances and exits before heading inside and even then Otto kept to the pillars as cover. He checked his watch and when he spoke his voice was an octave lower, “they should be here soon. Not met this person before…” in other words, he didn’t trust them at all. But then again, you didn’t live in this job if you truly trusted anyone

Adjusting the box to one hand and pulling her hood up a little more, Nadia grinned. This was what she really needed. A good job, the potential for a bit of action, a shotgun on her back, and a revolver at her side. And she was back to being more connected with her body again. She’d been hungry that morning. Hungry. It might’ve been because she’d forgotten that she even had to eat, but it had gnawed at her stomach in the most pleasantly painful way. Even better was that she’d been able to go somewhere and grab herself something without worrying about someone looking for her. Plus, Nadia wasn’t fighting, and she was back to being the one in charge. So she was ready for whatever Otto’s job managed to throw her way. Part of her wanted something easy, a quick drop off, nothing major, maybe a bit of smooth talking if need be. But another part of her wanted some action. She’d be thrilled either way.

As Otto caught her eyes, Nadia gave him a wink. He was a fun guy, from the jobs they’d run together before. Almost as good with his words as she was for a guy who didn’t have a built in lie detector and emotional radar. Plus, his magic was wicked cool. Following him in, she leaned against a pillar and waited. “Cool, cool. Well, don’t worry, as long as they’ve got a pulse, I think I can figure them out.” She could read his distrust like a magazine at the dentist’s office, so she wasn’t feeling quite as blase as she might have seemed. If Otto was worried, she should probably be a bit worried, too. But being a little worried was always healthy. She took out her revolver and opened the chamber, making sure it was loaded. The shotgun was double-barrel, two bullets in. Everything looked good to go.

Everyone had a secret talent. Some people could juggle or burp the alphabet backward. Dot’s secret talent was getting involved in the shadier shit a town had going on. Her other secret talent was being able to do a really fast crab walk. She didn’t like that one as much as she liked getting involved in crime though. She loved that. People would ask her to do jobs and most of the time she didn’t care if she was getting paid or not, though she didn’t tell people that part. She liked the thrill of it. Breaking rules was fun and she liked when she made things inconvenient for other people. She wasn’t a career criminal, not even close, but she never said no to a job. It hadn’t taken long after she moved to White Crest for someone to approach her doing something for them. After doing a couple of jobs, she proved that she wasn’t a complete imbecile and then this job was given to her. It was simple, a hand-off, nothing she hadn’t done before.

Walking to the meeting spot, she was glad that she actually took her gun and knife with her this time. She relied on being a siren far more than she really should. As she saw the two in front of her, she popped her lollipop out of her mouth. Grinning at them, she spoke in a cheerful voice,“Hello, lovelies. Are you here waiting for me?” She might not have been an idiot, but she was never professional. “It’s like we’re all having a little secret party,” She shook her shoulders at them. She considered asking them if they wanted a lollipop, but she only had green apple left and those were her favorite.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Otto lifted his head to eye the newcomer. He didn’t recognise them, but then again he didn’t recognise most people in town on first meetings considering most of them weren’t really memorable enough to truly warrant him paying them all that much attention. But this sort of situation demanded a new sort of attentiveness for a lack of it could cost you so much more if you made the slightest misstep. Yet, that wasn’t the vibe he got from the woman he saw approaching; lollipop and all. It was… intriguing to say the least, her grin was infectious and brought one of Otto’s own about. Cocking his head his eyes sparkled with newfound mischief.

“Seems so darling,” he greeted pushing off the pillar “and it does, doesn’t it? Little rave is just what everyone needs… Let off some steam, have some fun. Shame we don’t have music to set the mood.” He knew Nadia had his back in this, it was one of the few constants he actually trusted in this situation which was saying something, “now as much of a sweet-tooth as I happen to be, I’m curious to see the sweetener to this little party hm?”

Looking at the girl walking towards them, Nadia grinned. Good, a pulse. The other woman’s emotions weren’t nearly as easy to read as Otto’s, but that wasn’t a problem. Nadia only needed a sense of what she was feeling to make sure nothing the wrong sort of shady happened here. Not that there really was a wrong sort of shady. Shady was always fun, even if it went to shit. But, taking in the girl’s appearance, her laid back nature as she had a lollipop of all things in her mouth, Nadia couldn’t help but feel that this was going to be nothing but the good kinds of fun.

“I’m all up for parties,” Nadia said. She jerked her head towards Otto. “This guy throws some of the best, I swear. He might not look like it now, but he’s a fun guy. Isn’t that right, Kelly?” She gave him a wink. She was glad that he trusted her still, even after all that she’d told him. Maybe not completely, maybe not the same way that he had before, but the trust was still there. She could feel it, after all. She hefted the box with their delivery into her arms. “Maybe when all this is said and done, we can actually have a party, to celebrate. Music and everything. And booze. So much booze.”

Maybe she would offer these two her lollipops… They seemed like fun and Dot loved some good fun. She had expected a bunch of people with sticks up their asses who would tell her that she’s too immature to be in this business. The type that took themselves way too seriously. Those people were exhausting at the best of times and she wasn’t doing this to be exhausted. Based on the grins these two had, she liked them so far, but she wasn’t naive enough to forget that this was still a job.

It took quite a bit of self-control to stop herself from beatboxing right there and tell them to dance to the music. Slipping the strap of her bag off her shoulder, she waved it slightly at them. “I think this is the sweetener you’re looking for and that’s what I’m looking for,” She nodded to the box. She liked this part a lot, the anticipation right before a handover. “I know a guy who can get us more than booze,” Dot told the woman, a sparkle in her eyes. Sighing, very dramatically, she continued, “But I guess the job comes first. What was agreed to is in the bag.”

Kaden didn’t know much about the situation at hand, but he knew Nic asked him to be here. That was enough. No matter how weird his relationship was with hunting right now, he wasn’t about to drop his loyalties. If a hunter was in need, one he trusted, he was there. The place by the docks looked sketchy enough, seemed appropriate. “You know what it is we’re looking for, Nic?” he asked, making sure for the fifth time tonight that his gun was loaded properly and ready to go. “Probably a little late to ask for details but if you need all of us here, I’m guessing it’s something big and bad.” He wondered if this was some big monster take down, something like the bounty Montgomery had made a call for a while back. Shit, hadn’t thought about that fucker in a while. The thought of the trophy room sent a shiver down his spine. But he trusted Nic and Alain, despite any differences of ideals they had, would never chop off someone's head and keep it. Which was good enough for him. His brow furrowed as he picked up a sound off in the distance, closer to the boathouses on the docks. Looking in that direction, he saw a small flash of movement and a figure headed into one of them. “Hey,” he whispered, nodding over towards the boathouse. A quick glance back and it was clear where the hunters were headed. Whatever shady shit they were looking for, pretty sure they found it.

While Nicodemus still couldn’t quite wrap his head around what a turn it had been with the Bossman, now known as Roy Chambers, he didn’t question Erin when she told him she might have found a way to figure out what the fuck he was. All he did was agree, make a few calls, then pack up what was necessary before making his way to the agreed upon meeting place. It was gonna be a long night. Shit, it had been awhile since he had worked with one hunter. Let alone a whole gaggle of them. That was just the bounty way. He worked his jaw as he double-checked the edges of the knife he carried. “Reckon it ain’t somethin’ that’s gonna be easy-breezy,” he muttered as he slid it back into its sheath. “But hell, it ain’t ever is.” His fingertips lightly tapped against each other as he cocked his head. Looked toward the same place Kaden had heard the noise. A short nod and a quiet grunt of agreement followed. The calm that settled over him before most hunts began to run its course. “Ain’t no time like the fuckin’ present,” he whispered as he started to move, boots quiet. “We goin’ in quiet or goin’ in loud?”

While Alain was still unsure of why it was that Nic had asked all of them to come here, he was relieved to see that he was not the only clueless one here. It was reassuring to be with familiar faces, and with people he knew he could trust, but some details would have been great. On the one hand, he doubted that she would put them all in mortal danger without warnings, but on the other hand, if the hunter needed back up, this could not be good. “Going in loudly when we have no idea what’s in there, that sounds like a really shitty idea, Nic,” walking beside him, the hunter repressed a yawn. He had managed to get a bit of sleep lately, but he was still having too many nightmares to get rather proper rest. Tired or not, he still would help, because while he never signed up for anything, he had always acted like it was the case. With no idea of what to expect, he had left his sword home and gone for shorter blades, and probably for the best, all things considered.

“Stop yawning, slayer,” Kaden said, giving Alain a small nudge. “Isn’t this your normal hours, anyway? When all the creatures of the night come out and shit?” He was giving the other hunter some grief, sure, but he did kind of hope he wasn’t too exhausted to be here. One mistake on a hunt, especially one like this where the details were sparse and the threat seemingly high, well, that could be deadly. Kaden nodded at the suggestion to keep it quiet as they headed in. There were a few entrances and it was best they split up if they were trying to go for a surprise attack. A few gestures and nods and it was figured out. Kaden creeped up to the side door, listened a moment, and heard voices inside. They seemed occupied. For now. Good enough for him. He did his best to slowly and silently open the door, sneaking through and hiding behind a crate near the entrance. With his pistol in hand, he leaned around the corner to get a better look at what was going on. Three people as far as he could tell. None of them werewolves as far as he knew, either. One guy, didn’t recognize him, two women. The one was also unfamiliar, but the other... Was that… “Nadia?” he found himself saying out loud. Or rather, whoever was in her body. Shit, he didn’t mean to do that. He also didn’t mean to keep walking forward. But he had and he fucking tripped and stumbled over a rope on the ground. Putain. So much for his stealth approach.

They were in the middle of the transaction, the briefcase being opened and the requested black-steel music box embossed with silver images of graeco-figures deifying some strange entity revealed, nestled within a bed of foam to protect it from any harm. “As discussed, acquired and undamaged.” Though not tested, Otto didn’t know what this thing was meant to do but the less he knew the more deniability he had regarding it. Closing the lid once more and clicking it shut the runes engraved across its surface glowed a bright purple before fading from sight once more to prevent anyone untoward tampering with it. “Wonderful, in that case let’s exchange and maybe after this we can all go cele-” but any further remark was cut off, by the sudden intrusion of another voice from a stack of crates nearby. Shit. His eyes cut to the man he didn’t recognise who tripped over the rope in judgemental frustration.

But this stranger’s focus seemed to be on Nadia, recognising her - or recognised the old her most likely. But there were perks to this being the Nadia he’d worked with for so long and on so many occasions. A silent language that a subtle look or expression could convey a thousand messages. So the curious look between Nadia and this stranger and the thin smile that followed spoke volumes. Play him, buy us some time. In the interim, Otto subtly scanned the nearby vicinity for options they could run, but who knew how many more people this dude might’ve brought along. The warehouse might be surrounded.... They had their guns but a firefight was never ideal if it could be avoided.

His eyes passed a few of the boats moored nearby. Maybe if they could rig one up it’d be a decent means of escape… Otto glanced at the other woman unsure if he could trust her or if she’d staged this whole thing. What he did know was he wasn’t going to die because of some fucked over job.

Things were going good. Easy, even. And then Kaden fucking Langley literally tripped his way into the meeting. Nadia pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to maintain her control. But, hey, things were still going well. Just not easy. Well, she didn’t care for easy, anyway. She made sure the box was with the others, and she gave Otto a wink. She knew what to do here. “Heya, Kadie!” she said with a sweet smile, letting it reach her eyes. Nadia Diaz had a great smile. Very charming. Easily disarming. Perfect for getting people to let their guard down, even if they knew they were locking eyes with a rattlesnake. The problem with Kaden was that he knew. He knew what she was, had looked at her and really seen her. He wouldn’t be fooled again. Not for long, at least. But she still had the advantage. He didn’t want to hurt her. Well, actually, he probably wanted to hurt her really, really badly. But he didn’t want to hurt Nadia Diaz. She gave him a wave. “Been a minute, yeah? How’s it going? What are you and your friends doing skulking around the docks at such late hours?” She walked a little closer to him, attempting to block Otto and the other woman to give her partner time to think. She knew the bastard would still be quick on his feet. She just had to play distraction. In a stage whisper, she said, “You know that dangerous people hang around the docks, right?”

For all the things Dot had done, she had never been caught before. Sure, she had gotten in trouble with the cops before, gotten a slap on the wrist for trespassing or some community service for fighting, but this was different. Had he been alone, she would have just gone for her gun, but as Nadia pointed out, he had friends. Her lips pressed as she looked over at Otto, trying to hide the rising panic she felt. She was no professional at this and she knew it. She began to inch towards the door she had come through, bag on her shoulder. The deal wasn’t happening with company. Kaden being here was no good sign. Blanche had liked him, but Dot had never really been around him enough to form an opinion other than ‘fun to make fun of on the internet’. “This is a closed, invite only party,” She chirped, popping her lollipop back in her mouth. “Very exclusive rave you just wandered into and partycrashers are no fun. Unless they’re me, but you’re not me, so no fun,” She rambled around the candy. “So. Shoo.”

Alain had a point and Nicodemus nodded in agreement. “Yup, you got a pretty good fuckin’ point there.” He muttered to Alain as he crouched himself and followed behind Kaden through the door, his own gun drawn and a hand over the knife on his belt. Better to survey the area, get the lay of the land, and--Goddamn it, Kaden. Nicodemus pursed his lips and breathed in sharply. That’s alright, he thought. The rest of them could go around, surprise. And then that was also shot to shit at the word friends. He nodded to himself, resigned. “That’s fine,” he grunted quietly. “Knees gettin’ tired anyway.” The hunter stood and worked his jaw as he walked beside Kaden, pistol resting against his shoulder. He glanced at the briefcase between the three of them. The way it looked, the three of them were all talkers. Time wasters. He sucked at his teeth. “Could save us all some time and fuck off,” he said with a tilt of his head as he took a small step forward. Mediation wasn’t a skill he spent time or money on. “Chattin’ ain’t what we’re here for.”

Alain’s eyebrows raised as he gave Kaden an Italian salute. Of course it was ideal to him for things to be happening at this time of the day, but lately he had had to skip a few cemetery trips in order to rest a little. It would be fine, it had to be fine. Besides, even if he was not at the top of his form, he had to be here for these two hunters. Although that did not mean he would agree with everything they did. Are you fucking kidding me? Breathing out loudly, his eyebrows furrowed as he recognized Nadia. What in the goddamn hell was she doing here? He did not suppose that now would be the time to question her life choices, but from the look on his face, you could get an idea of how disappointed he was. The other two, he did not know, but he was not impressed. “Cute,” he said with a sucking sound of disapproval. Now that their plans of being quiet had gone down the drain, he supposed that the least they could do was not to waste their time trying to have a conversation with these people. “Yeah, let’s get this over with,” he agreed.

Shit. There went the stealth approach once and for all. And it was painfully clear which Nadia he was dealing with. At least he didn’t have to worry about this being some weird hostage situation “Hello Janet,” Kaden replied, using Blanche’s nickname for the ghost with disdain as he stepped out from the shadows, properly this time. He kept his fingers ready on the trigger of his pistol just in case. Nadia was no danger to him, but the ghost, Janet or Cordelia or whoever she was, would kill him without a single remorse. He knew that much. “Funny I could say the same to you. Dangerous and all that. Good thing none of us are out here wandering all alone.” The other hunters had seemingly given up the pretense of stealth as well. He peered around Nadia’s body to get a better look at her cohorts here. “Hey. No one move,” he said, holding his gun up, aimed at the woman trying to make a break for the door in the back. “My invitation is right here so how about you show us what you’ve got there.” Kaden wasn’t sure if these were the calls to be making or what exactly they were here for but if it was to break up something or extract something, it was going to be a lot harder to do if anyone fled. “You wouldn’t want to ditch the party early. We’re just getting started.”

Otto had hoped he could slink away to at least get on board one of the boats, having made it several steps backwards though mindful not to blindly signal his intent or direction with his body language. But as another burlier man stood up behind Kaden holding a pistol he knew this evening was likely very soon going to go to hell in a handbasket. What was it with people and guns? They were so… primitive. But it didn’t change the danger they posed either way. His magic ebbed near to the surface, practically urging him to throw the first shot at these intruders and yet he bided his time. No need to give away his game just yet. He’d purposefully not tapped his reserve at all just in case, always just in case. His leather clad grip tightened on the briefcase handle, shifting it out of the line of sight of these assholes while running through the list of options that were fast running short. Think Nova. One thing they did have in their favour was positioning. These guys were too closely spaced and that tipped the balance in their favour. Maybe if they could carall them some density spells would be enough to immobilise them where they stood. Give them enough time to get the hell out of dodge. The guns were trained on the others for now, that counted for something at least. He took a few more steps, nearing some crates stacked up. Just in case things went sideways, cover never hurt. “Sorry, I was taught better than to hang around and talk to creepy men following me at night. Avidazen.”

“It’s cuter when the kid calls me that,” Nadia said conversationally, one hand on the strap of her shotgun, the other resting near her pistol holster. “Speaking of, let her know I said hey, and I want my gun back.” She pretended to think a bit before she perked back up. “Oh! And tell her next time I won’t fucking miss, ‘kay?” She checked on Otto and the chick that was with them, hoping that the two of them would get out before she had to do anything serious. She took a step towards Kaden as soon as he pulled a gun out. Like second nature, she smoothly pulled her own revolver out and leveled it at him. “Sorry, babe. Put the gun down. I think we both know which of the two of us is more likely to shoot someone, yeah?” Could they not just fucking leave? “Party’s over, folks!” she called out to the people with Kaden. “If you could let us be on our way, that’d be so fucking nice.” She tried to avoid the look of disappointment on… Alain’s (she thought that was Alain’s) face. She needed to stay calm. She needed to keep her cool. She… really fucking wanted to kill Kaden, still. She’d take the shot as soon as they all lowered their guards, and then she was making a break for it.

Bro, Dot was not fucking into this. She was so not into this. “Listen, Kandy, Blanche wouldn’t be happy if you went around shooting her ex girlfriend so like what if you put down the gun and I head out.” Dot loved fights, she really did, but she liked them when guns weren’t drawn. She was pretty out of her fucking depth here. “I don’t want to fight, ‘cause we all who’s gonna win and it ain’t these two,” She nodded toward Otto and Nadia with a shrug. “I mean unless you want me to fight with you guys, would that get me off the hook? I might not be too much help, I’m literally a TA, but I got a gun.That wasn’t a threat to clarify. What do you say Mr. Thickness? Kandy? Tall Napoleon?

Nicodemus wasn’t in the mood. These people talked too fucking much. He sure as shit wasn’t Kandy. Tall Napoleon? Nope. That only left one option. Jesus fucking Christ. He glowered but didn’t move his eyes from the one near the briefcase. He shook his head. “This ain’t a conversation.” His stance shifted and the dirt under his boot crunched. They weren’t going the easy route of just handing off the briefcase, were they? Fine enough. The three hunters had a job to do and they would sure as shit see it through. One way or the other. He spat to the side. His hand tightened around his gun, finger under the trigger guard. A second passed before he took off into a dead sprint. Straight toward the briefcase.

“Blanche? What the fuck does pipsqueak have to do with this? Leave her out of--” Before Kaden could finish, it looked like Nic had the briefcase covered, for now. And he was getting shit started. Great. Fighting was better than talking anyway. “No one leaves til we get what we came here for.” Kaden took a shot at the door, hoping to scare the obnoxious TA lady. Catching Alain’s glance, he gave him a quick nod to her. If he had the TA covered, then that left him free to deal with Janet. He knew Nadia had a gun trained on him and while he had a feeling Nadia would do what she could to save him, bullets fired real fast. He ducked behind a box briefly before taking off towards her. Maybe if he could get there fast enough, disarm her, he could help Nic. If he needed it.

Well shit. Those were the initial thoughts that went through Otto’s mind as Popeye McGee took off in a sprint straight at him. Shoving his hand into his pocket and drawing out a pile of iron filings these were dusted over the briefcase, there was a moment of concentration before an aura of purple seemed to circle the briefcase and seep into its essence with it suddenly becoming heavier in his grip. Backing up towards the dock he extended his arm back fighting against the significantly increased weight “hey now, back the fuck up or I drop it and then nobody gets their due!” With the weight of it now and the water finding it again would be a job for anyone. Not impossible, but more work than whatever this job was worth.

Well those were some crappy nicknames coming from Iago - yes, he had read Othello a while ago - Alain deadpanned as she approached them, probably hoping that she could switch sides like that with no consequences. Considering that she was a skinny woman, and that it didn't take too much to knock someone out (much to most people's surprise), it didn't take much for Alain to get rid of the betrayer and leave her down. Glancing over at the drama queen with the suitcase, the hunter tilted his head to the side and looked over at Kaden to communicate his fed-up-ness with someone, then back at the magician. "You do realize that even if you drop that suitcase, you still have to deal with us next? This doesn't change much for you. Or... Well, it does. It gets things a lot worse."

This was all going to shit. Nadia could see that clearly. Fuck the briefcase, fuck the payment, and fuck that bastard charging at her. It wasn’t particularly smart to run at the woman with a gun trained on you, but Nadia had to give Kaden credit. The guy had balls. Too bad that wasn’t going to save his life. Finger on the trigger, she smiled as he got close and, as she pressed down, gave up control for a brief moment.

Nadia always seemed to be around for the inevitable unhappy ending, and her eyes widened as she watch the bullet from her own gun connect with Kaden’s chest. It was like the cabin all over again. She tried to drop the gun, tried to step forward, but she couldn’t move. She wasn’t really in control at all.

Even though Nadia wanted to gloat, there wasn’t anytime. “Too fucking slow,” she told Kaden before she turned on her heels and started running. “It’s not worth it!” She yelled at Otto, hoping he’d take the hint. They needed to fucking leave.

Kaden was running full out, eyes on Nadia. The gun was drawn, she looked ready to shoot, and Nadia might, but Nadia would never let her. He had to count on that. He had to. He kept running at her. He was sprinting, he almost reached her. Until he didn’t. Something hit him. No. Worse. Something shot him. Putain. Kaden dropped down and screamed out in pain, hand clutching to his chest. Fuck, fuck. Where did it hit? Upper. Near the collarbone. Not heart. Fine. He’d be fine. He hoped. But fuck it hurt. “Fuck off, Janet! I’ll make sure your soul is banished to fucking hell!” He curled up by one of the boxes, hand pressed against the wound, blood spilling out. Aw shit, he saw black at the corners of his vision. He tried to fight it off but he was slipping. He looked around for something to press to the wound, hold it together, so he could hold himself together, too.

The tides were turning fast, one person choked out and a gunshot that echoed across the warehouse with two individuals advancing on his space. Apparently not deterred by the notion of losing the thing they came for. Otto’s eyes slid across to Nadia and then to the pile of cash in the backpack the woman had brought along, with her out cold it was there for the taking. So Otto abruptly dropped the case which hit the ground with a dull thud, shoved his hand out in the direction of the bag and curled his fingers muttering the simple summoning incantation. The bag jerked as if tethered by some unseen force before it arrived in his hand leaving him standing there with the two men making ground fast. His hand shoved once more into his pocket and a scattering of iron filings were tossed out in an arc through which Otto pushed an open palm. The magic radiated in a sudden conical shockwave, reverberating around normal air suddenly growing denser and slowing those that moved through it. Giving him enough time to turn and hightail it after Nadia towards one of the boats. “Unhook the rope! I’ll get the engine!”

Nicodemus breathed in sharply through his nose. If the case went into the water, then the fucker holding it wouldn’t be far behind. He moved with an intensity he hadn’t carried with him before. An intensity that if they didn’t get this fucking job over and done with, there was a lot more to lose. A hell of a lot more. Langley was shot, Alain had knocked someone out, and the two left behind were scrambling. Something slowed his progress and he strained against it, sweat gathering at his temples and the back of his neck. It didn’t matter, he thought, as he continued to brute force through it, muscles and tendons bunched as he worked to push through it. The case had been dropped and as far as he was concerned, he didn’t care if any justice or whatever other asinine bullshit happened. The case was what they came for and it’s what they would leave with. He pushed further, stepped closer. Fuck, he hated magic. Vurals withstanding. Blood gathered between his teeth but it didn’t taste like copper when he managed to get closer to the case. Just a few more steps and his hand would be able to wrap around its handle.

With quick fingers, Nadia untied the rope from the dock, more than anxious to get the hell out of Dodge. But the anxiety, the stress, it wasn’t really hers. She wished she could get rid of it, for good. But at least she had control for the time being. She gave a smirk and waved at the men still left on the docks. Win or lose, it didn’t fucking matter today. She turned around and sank down into one of the boat seats as they drove away, running a hand through her hair and laughing breathlessly. “What a fucking shitshow, huh?” She closed her eyes, not even paying attention to an answer. What a fucking shitshow. She never seemed to get paid enough for these things.

[inspirationdivine]

[pm] Yo are you like legit missing? Or is this a whole 'oh no they found out that i eat people so I have to hide' thing? Send me a cool postcard from wherever you are. I like postcards

[lmao user unavailable]

[big-bad-ulf]

dotdotdottie replied to your post “How do you typically unwind at the end of the day?”

Yes... Play into the lumberjack fantasies

I’m happy in my current work and don’t really aspire to become one professionally, but I’ve gained a lot of appreciation for the art of sustainable lumberjacking while building my log cabin. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though. 

[streetharmacist]

dotdotdottie replied to your post “What would you rather eat- a baby goat, or a matter baby?”

AHHAHAHA

All caps laugh, huh? What for?

[kadavernagh]

dotdotdottie replied to your post: [pm] Hi. I'm a friend of Blanche's. Can I have her...

[pm] I just want to take her on a date and let her drink wine with me :)

[pm] Then you can wait until March 15th. I won’t be convinced.

[bountybossier]

dotdotdottie replied to your post “What's your worst habit?”

Shower beers aren't a bad habit! They're saving time and multi tasking at the highest level

When a shower beer turns into a shower kegger, it might be something of a bad habit. But you ain’t wrong about multi-tasking.

[walker-journal]

OK WHITE CREST!

this is the Post Halloween round up

A lovely...maybe lady, @dotdotdottie​ wants to know about belly buttons

And fuck it, so do I guess because I want to think about something other then carving people apart

Tag yourself White Crest! 

[zahneundklauen-retired]

Brawl Crawl || Dot and Alcher

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @dotdotdottie and @zahneundklauen SUMMARY: Alcher checks out a new bar in town and makes a new friend, who’s just as eager to maim as she is. CONTENT: Violence, Animal (demon, technically) Death, Foul language

The Seven Selkies was an intriguing name for a bar and Alcher liked intriguing things. She’d found-- and met-- a lot of intriguing things in White Crest already, but what was one more? She wanted to get acquainted well with this town, as she had a feeling she’d be here for a while. The air was fresh, the town was full of people like her, and there were plenty of humans and hunters alike to kill. Really, she almost wondered why she hadn’t come here earlier, but for her first foray into America, it was definitely a good one. So she found herself, tonight, at The Seven Selkies thanks to a murmured word she’d overhead in town. A bar just for the supernatural? She could hardly wait. How freeing would it be to be able to just be herself while there? Though, not her true self. Wolves, after all, did not need such paltry things like alcohol and libations. Still, in this form, they were indulgences she would allow herself. Be rigid, her father had said, be fierce. But be kind to your mind. It will lose itself if you are not. 

The bar, she’d noted, was relatively empty tonight. It reminded her of roadside stops and small towns that only had one bar. Not too grimy, not too clean. Neon signs still hung as if it were still a decade ago, and pool tables sat barely used in the corner. Alcher made her way up to the bar and found only one other girl sitting at it as well. She smelled like the sea and alcohol, which, she supposed, was unsurprising for here. “You wouldn’t by any chance know what’s the best drink here, would you?” she asked, sliding into the spot a few chairs down from her. A man at the doors spoke loudly, but she ignored him for now. “I want to make sure I get the right first impression from a bar named ‘Seven Selkies’.” 

Dot liked the Seven Selkies a lot. As she learned more about the supernatural there were in town, the more she wanted to meet them. It had been through some kid in one of her classes that she found herself becoming a regular at the bar. She looked down at the other woman with a grin, “You know I’m a personal fan of the Siren cocktail, but their beers are pretty good too.” She lifted her own beer to show the other woman, “This one is pretty solid if you just want to sip for the night. Any way you go though, Selkies won’t let you down.”

Beer. Now that was something Alcher could get behind. Most hard liquors were too much for her, their tastes overwhelming on her tongue-- but good old fashioned lager was nice. And it reminded her of home. When she waved the bartender down, she motioned to the woman next to her. “What she’s having,” she said, before settling in. There was another shout from the entrance and a few people in the bar glanced over before returning to their nights. “You come here often, then?” she asked, returning her attention to the woman. “I can’t say I’m entirely surprised to find a supernatural bar in this town, but I’m still taking it all in.”

Dot was pretty pleased that this woman decided to order what the siren had. She liked to think she had pretty good taste when it came to drinking now. She shrugged,“Often enough. It’s a good way to make sure I know what’s happening in town.” Ever since that talk about hunters, Dot thought it was a good idea to make sure she kept updated. There was a soft crash from the doorway and Dot looked over before groaning. “This asshole again. You’re in for a show.”

Alcher’s eyes wandered over to the man at the doors. He was making quite the ruckus and her new friend seemed to know him. The bartender set the beer down in front of her and she took it, taking a long sip, before sliding from her chair. “Does he do this often?” she asked, tilting her head curiously, watching him. He was holding something that was squirming in his arms, and it writhed when the man was shoved back by the bouncer. Her head tilted again and concentrated on the smell of the thing. It didn’t have the smell of anything she recognized, no creature. It smelled stale and wet all at once, a musk to it that seemed to encase the man as well. She took another sip of her beer. “What is he holding?”

“Way too often honestly,” Dot replied with a long look at the bartender. At this point, she thought that everyone who worked here wanted to hit the guy at least once. She wished they would. “I’m all for some fun, but at this point I think he just doesn’t fucking get that no one wants him here.” She had told him more than a few times that she wanted to kill him, but he didn’t seem to get why. “It’s fucking demon larva, I think. No one knows how he got it, but he refuses to go anywhere without it and no one wants it here.”

“Really? And no one’s done anything about it?” Alcher asked. Back in Canada, she didn’t frequent bars, but the ones she had gone to were always calm and direct. If you made a fuss, you got kicked out. Her brows furrowed and she picked absently at the paper on the bottle. “Perhaps someone should try another method,” she suggested, eyes narrowing. She could be very persuasive, after all. She turned to look back at the girl next to her. “Demon larva!?” she’d never heard of such a thing. Her father had told them that demons and monsters existed, of course, but never that they were in this world. In their world. Alcher swirled back around. “Well, then-- someone ought to put the poor thing down,” she suggested, standing from her chair, then, and stretching her fingers out before curling them back in. And it wasn’t the demon her eyes honed in on-- it was the nervous looking man, holding the demon as if it were a child. 

But as soon as she started to head over, the man had reeled back and punched the bouncer square in the jaw. Then two other men hopped up, leaping for him-- only to have a bottle smashed over one of their heads. And then, all hell seemed to break loose.

“I tried to but I was told that they didn’t want to end this with violence. Pussies,” Dot complained with a little eye roll. Sometimes violence was needed and this dude wouldn’t get the picture without a little violence. She let out a cackle as the other woman stood, she was sure this was about to be fun and she liked the way this lady was thinking. The bar fight broke out so quickly Dot felt like she had whiplash, but she didn’t stay down for long. She sprung up, bounding after the other woman. She landed a pretty nasty punch on someone who was coming at the other woman’s side. “I got you! You kill the thing and I’ll watch out,” She told Alcher with a giddy laugh.

Alcher’s eyes flicked to the girl before they refocused on the fight. Alcher did not often fight in human form, but she knew how to. She’d taught herself because she’d needed to. And it did come in handy, didn’t it? The younger girl knocked down a man heading to tackle Alcher, and she gave a grin. “I like your spirit,” she said, before leaping between the men who were trying to block the guy with the demon. He was yelling, shouting, his eyes frantic. “Your abomination only demands death,” she said, reaching through. Someone grabbed her arm and she twisted, punching him square in the jaw. “I’ve never been part of a bar fight before,” she admitted, grabbing a beer bottle. Hucked it at another guy heading towards her and watched it smash into his face. “I’m quite enjoying myself.”

“That is one sick line,” Dot laughed as she took in the other lady. The siren really did not get why this dude wanted to keep his weird demon thing alive, it would probably just grow up to eat him. Or sell his soul. The dude would deserve it and she would have been happy to let him have that death, but he just kept bringing it around here. “Bar fights are fun! Just try not to get stabbed! That happened once to me and man, it was not fun.” Dot was a frequent bar fighter, as long as it wasn’t where she worked. Then it was only sometimes. As she got closer to the man, someone stepped in front of her. Really, she knew this move wasn’t a great idea, but she had always wanted to kick someone straight in the chest. “This is Sparta!” She screeched as her foot hit chest. “Oh my god, it worked.”

Alcher grinned-- “Thank you”-- and smashed another bottle across a man’s head. He dropped to the ground like a lump and she stepped over him, finally alone with the cowering man and his demon child. She tilted her head unassumingly, her eyes empty and stern. “Hand it over nicely and I won’t hurt you,” she offered. It was a fair offer, to her. She didn’t want to hurt the man, even if his blood smelled delicious. Behind her, she heard the girl cry out and kick a man square in the chest. The loud crunch of his back hitting wood caused her to glance behind her, and the man took the chance to try and bolt. Alcher turned back to look at him, sticking her prosthetic leg out and hooking his ankle, tripping him. She watched as he face planted, still clinging to his abomination as if his own life depended on it. He begged her to stop, begged her to spare it. Alcher looked back at the younger girl. “Hold him down,” she instructed, “I’ll take care of the creature.”

As the guy went down, Dot watched with glee. The bar was chaos, the bouncers trying to break up the worst of the fights, the bartenders yelling at patrons. No one seemed to be paying too much attention to the two women, caught up with the bigger fights. She pounced on the man, pinning him down. He struggled against her, bucking around wildly, but she held on strong. She was used to prey trying to fight her off anyway. “All you had to do was keep it at home, idiot. Then none of this would be happening.” She looked over at Alcher, “Do it.”

Alcher waited as the other girl held the man down, tilting her head at him. She walked over slowly, in high contrast to the chaos flying around them, and bent down to his eye level. “She has a point, you know,” she said in a low tone, eyes glinting at him, “if you’d just kept it at home, none of this would have happened. I hope you remember this moment,” reached out and pried his arms off the demon easily, yanking it from his grip. She dropped it to the floor and raised her foot, “and remember that this is your fault,” then stomped down hard on the creature. It screeched, cried out, and she stomped her foot again. “There is no mercy in this world,” she told him, lifting her foot once the thing stopped squirming. She picked up the destroyed body, still oozing with what she assumed was blood-- set it in his arms. “Do not forget this.”

In a town like White Crest, Dot had expected to run across more of the merciless, they were far rarer than she had expected. So many people here were bound by some false sense of duty and honor, a sense that probably would have stopped them from killing this creature. As she watched Alcher stomp the demon to death, the siren smiled widely, almost manically,“Anyone ever tell you that you’re cool as fuck?” The fight had since broken up, as if the death of that bug was the finale. The bouncer was barking at them, something about fighting and getting out. Dot looked towards the other woman,“Wanna find another bar with me?”

As Alcher watched the whimpering man retreat in sorrow, she almost pitied him. Whatever that creature was, he had loved it. But it was an abomination, and he’d brought it into this world. Next time, she hoped he’d take better care of his possessions. The girl who had helped her was talking again and Alcher turned to look at her. She gave a pleasant, satisfied smile, even as they were demanded out of the bar. “I have not ever had anyone tell me that, but thank you,” she said as they headed out, “I take it that’s a compliment.” Whoever she was, Alcher liked her. She had something she hadn’t been able to find in anyone else here in White Crest. “And yes-- I would love to find another bar with you.”

[sgtrolandhills]

Dream On || Dot, Roland, & Guest

TIMING: Mid July PARTIES: @dotdotdottie @sgtrolandhills @malum-somnium SUMMARY: Sweet dreams are most certainly not made of these. Dot and a special guest visit Roland’s nightmare.  CONTENT: Some gun usage, vomit tw

Every night since Roland and Marley found themselves trapped in that abandoned house, his dreams always went back to the same place. Dusty wallpaper in a dark hallway that vanished under his touch. Long limbs that seemed endless and always creeping along the ceiling to get closer. The sensation of murky sludge in his boots as they trudged their way through the halls. Skeletons left behind in musty smelling, dimly lit rooms. Marley’s own body slowly decomposing into one of those skeletons as he was forced to watch, trapped in the gunk that coated the floorboards. It kept him tossing and turning with a sheen of cold sweat. The same series of images played over and over in his head every night. Every time it felt too real. As he walked through the hallway, something was different this time. He could hear a familiar voice that wasn’t supposed to be there. “Who’s there,” he croaked. 

This house hadn’t been any place that Dot had ever been in before, but she felt the presence it had. It made her skin crawl. She didn’t like that something as simple as an abandoned house could make her feel so displaced. As she stumbled over something on the floor, she cursed. Her head snapped up as she heard a voice down the hall. Stumbling to them, her eyebrows furrowed. Why was the cop dude here? “Your worst nightmare,” She responded in her spookiest voice. Putting her hand on her hip,“For real though, why are you here?”

His heart thudded in his chest as Roland realized the young woman who had been play fighting with her friends in the street had been here. Why was she here? Was this part of her route? Was she meant to be yet another missing person? No. He shook his head. Marley was already gone and he was sure he was fading quickly, too. She was too young and full of life to suffer the same fate. “You shouldn’t be here,” he grumbled as he desperately pushed each tired limb to move forward. “You need to get out of here.” Obvious statement, but he had no idea which way was out otherwise he’d have saved Stryder. To answer her question, he gestured toward the more decomposed skeletons. “Was looking into missing persons. There’s an animal in here. It’s not-- it’s mutated or something. It’s not safe.”

He was concerned, Dot realized as she watched him. She hadn’t expected that. She had been in much more dangerous situations than an abandoned house. God, she hung out in abandoned houses for fun. “It’s just a house. It’s not going to hurt me,” She replied, a childish tilt coming to her voice. He reminded her of those dads in the colony that got nervous for the first hunt. It would have been endearing if family wasn’t a bitter point in her life. “Why are you here if it’s not safe? You’re probably in way more danger than I am.” She looked over her shoulder then, staring down the hall. “An animal? What’s it look like?”

He shook his head quickly. It wasn’t just an abandoned house. It was a nest. Roland hardly knew how he’d make it out of here alive or why Dot was here to begin with, but it all felt real even if it didn’t make any sense. “No, it’s not a house.” How could he possibly explain it to her? Nothing here was as it should be. They had to get out. “It has all these arms and legs. Crawls across the ceiling. I don’t know what it is.” The panic was evident in his face as he heard the familiar creaking and scurrying sounds of that creature. Instinctively, he jumped in front of Dot though it pained his aching body. “Stay back,” he advised, looking out into the dark, trying to make out the mutated animal while his gun practically shook in his hands. 

Growing up in the Colony had made Dot uneducated when it came to supernatural monsters. They had people within the colony that could take care of issues as they came up and Dot hadn’t been assigned that role. She was raised to be a teacher and teachers didn’t have to worry about the monsters that hid outside of the colony. Of course, being in White Crest had been a very educational experience for this, but she had never heard of a monster with a bunch of arms and legs. As Roland’s hand shook, she scowled a bit, figuring she’d probably have to step in. Her hand went to the back of her pants, searching for the gun she kept there. Holy fuck had she forgotten it? “Does shooting it actually help or should we run?”

Why he was holding his gun up, he didn’t know. It hadn’t done Roland much good so far. At least it would maybe aim any retaliation at him instead of Dot. It’d give her a chance to get the hell out of here before she became this things next snack. The creaking sounds were getting closer and it still felt like his boots sunk further into mud with every step. He shook his head, “Not really, but I’d rather it go after me than you.” He took another step back, trying to squint towards this thing. “We can give it a shot, but this place is like a maze and there’s no light anywhere. 

Some sirens could fight easily with their talons, but Dot had only ever used them when it came to desperate situations. She had learned to know and love human weapons. She liked her trusty gun and knife, they didn’t draw unnecessary attention to her either. Marley would like that. She began to back up a bit as the sounds crept closer and closer. “I think I’d rather try to run to find the exit than fight it.” She didn’t feel like trying to fight a monster that wouldn’t even be affected by a gun.

Normally, Roland would have agreed on the exit strategy, but after searching for an exit for days, it seemed hopeless. Maybe fresh eyes could help. His hopes weren’t high, though. He nodded and gruffly agreed, “We’ll take our chances then.” He swallowed back the lump in his throat. He couldn’t let another person down, especially not a civilian. Letting Stryder down was bad enough and his head was still spinning. He looked over at her lifeless form one last time. Her family deserved the closure, but he’d have to worry about that later. There was no outrunning that animal while hoisting around a dead body. He did grab Stryder’s flashlight and handed it to Dot. “That should help,” he offered grimly before he felt something scratching into his leg. He grunted and shook his leg free. “Run,” he demanded.

For the first time, Dot followed Roland’s eyes to the body next to him. She had thought it would be some random and found herself doing a double take as she recognized who it was. Marley. The one person in this town who knew what she was and wanted to help her. It was like a gut punch. She wasn’t like family, but this was the first person in White Crest who had seemed to get it. “That’s Marley.” She said dumbly as she took the flashlight from Roland. Wasn’t Marley meant to teach Dot how to live this life? His grunt shook her and she looked up to vaguely see the monster coming at them. Letting out a screech, the siren scrambled back,“Yo, what the fuck!” Dot ran, fumbling with the flashlight as she tried to turn it on. “That thing is so ugly!”

How Dot knew Marley, he couldn’t be sure, but it only furthered the guilt Roland was feeling. It weighed down on him and had made it hard to find motivation to escape this hell house. Someone else needing to get out safely was all the push he needed. “I know. We came here together,” he answered solemnly as he choked back a sob. Not that he was particularly close with anyone as of late, but Stryder had been one of his favorite people to work with. He had a soft spot for her. It’s why he had gotten somewhat into the pranking spirit. He respected Marley and found something akin to friendship in her. He may have failed her, but he wasn’t about to fail a civilian, too. He let her run ahead of him, quickly shuffling backwards with his firearm directed at the creature. “It is ugly. Keep running, I’ll be close behind to make sure this thing doesn’t get to you.” 

Shared dreams were always so lovely. The places where they overlapped, where they became more as a whole than the sum of their parts. Kevin let her hand--not a hand--drag over the seams as she drew further in. Her sweet dreamers were there. They burned so bright and lovely. As she found them, she stepped from the darkness, her form fuzzy around the edges, but that was alright. They were running. Scared. “Dreaming darlings,” she called to the pair of them as they came into focus. “Whatever is the matter? Are you in trouble? Let me help.” She cast her attention around. Ah, there it was, the nightmare chasing them. What a curious creature. Kevin followed after Roland and Dot, stepping between them and the creature. “You needn’t run. Take my hands, dreamers.”

Heart pounding, Dot tried to cast out the thought of Marley on the ground behind her. There was nothing to do now and she wasn’t going to die because of someone else. Even if she wished that the mara was still alive. Her head whipped towards the woman. How could she be so calm right now? Whoever this was, she seemed to know more about whatever the hell this was than Dot did and the siren was willing to take the gamble. She grasped the woman’s hand looking at her wildly,“You better not get me fucking killed by that thing for trusting you.”

An unfamiliar yet soothing voice drew his attention away from the creature he tried to tell himself was just a mutated bear. Roland slowly lowered his gun and looked at her curiously. Who was she? He’d never seen her before though Dot being here didn’t exactly fit either. Cautiously, Roland extended his hand and gave it to this mysterious woman. Nothing here seemed right. “Who are you,” he croaked as if he wasn’t desperate enough to follow where she led. He couldn’t help but look back at the animal with too many arms and legs as he hoped it wouldn’t catch up. 

“Why would I do that, my dear?” Kevin’s hand curled around Dot’s and then Roland’s. She hadn’t touched in so long. There was still a fog, a distance between them. Her hands looked like theirs, how lovely. “You may call me Kevin,” she said as she tugged them along. The dream was fraying at the seams, drifting and falling away. The beast was still there, growling in the distance. “Think, my loves, what is real? Find the strings and pull. The creature is of your own making, it will only hurt you if you let it.”

Dot licked at her dry lips, attempting her best to keep up with Kevin. “I like your name,” She told the strange woman, just to drown out the sounds the monsters were making behind them. She looked at the other woman sharply. Find the strings and pull. The siren took a deep breath in, forcing herself to use those focusing exercises her mother made her do as a kid. As she calmed herself, the noise behind her began to dull, the walls began to peel at the corners. She paused, hand reaching forward,“Pull?” She asked the two others with her.

Somehow, this kept getting stranger and stranger. It left a lump in Roland’s throat as he nodded along. “Kevin,” he said slowly. Normally he would have told someone it was good to meet them, but right now, he wasn’t so sure. It seemed she was saving them, but Roland couldn’t be too sure. He listened though and joined Dot in trying to pull the strings of this creature. Much to his dismay, it was working. If only he had known sooner, then maybe Marley would still be with them. Limb by limb, the mutated animal slowly seemed to fade away. “Pull,” he said more confidently this time. “But now what?” 

“Just so. You’re doing so well,” Kevin said, wide smile spreading across her face. What sweet dreamers. They were naturals. So much potential. She gave both of their hands another tug. “You’ve pulled it apart. Now come with me. There’s much to see, much to learn. Things of dreams are changeable, you must simply know how to mold them to your desires. I can teach you.” Pulling them both along, the edges of the dream melted, shifting, the floorboards fading away, turning to dirt, wet sand. Dark water lapped at the shore, Dark Score Lake flooding in. “The water reveals. Go on, have a drink.”

“We’re doing well,” Roland repeated with confusion evident in his voice. This all felt unreal still. Did this house have another strange space within it? He couldn’t quite tell. There was no logical explanation for this. Then Kevin mentioned dreams. “Wait, this is a dream,” he asked with furrowed brows. If it was, all he wanted to do was wake up. Yet he followed Kevin and lapped up the water that was flooding in. It tasted murky, not quite fresh, but somehow still refreshing. The purpose of this was unknown, but he hoped the answer would become more clear. For so long now, he’d been dying to find answers. Maybe Kevin could reveal them. 

Dot had done a lot of weird stuff in her past, but this might be taking the cake. “A dream?” The siren hadn’t ever dreamed like this, her dreams usually far more bloody. The hunter’s kid she had killed haunting them when she didn’t expect him. She followed Roland’s lead, pouring the water down her throat. As she drank she thought over Kevin’s words, it was like lucid dreaming. Focusing on the sand, she dug her fingers into it, picturing it turning the same color as the beaches of home. Looking up to Kevin,“Teach me. I can learn how to do whatever you want.”

Gasping in delight, Kevin brought her hands together. She could clap properly like this, with the hands that weren’t hers. “Wonderful, wonderful, my dear!” The sand shifted, changing beneath Dot’s grasp. What a beautiful dream. “You’ve begun to see.” As Kevin moved forward, reaching to cup Dot’s face, more of it fell away, her fingers changing, bluring into one single mound of flesh. “I’ve so much to teach you, darling,” she said fondly. She looked to Roland, head tilting slightly to the side. “And you, tell me what you see.”

Watching Kevin’s hands shift and change Dot tried to reason that this was just part of the dream, nothing to be afraid of. She looked away from Kevin, back to the water, attempting to visualize the pretty blue of the water she loved and for a moment she thought she could see it changing. Something was floating in the water, a shape in that pretty blue color. As the shape floated closer and closer, Dot’s fingers curled through the sand into fists. Honey blonde hair floated in the water, framing her Aunt’s pretty face. “Wren?” Dot choked out, knowing that the color of her skin wasn’t meant to look like that. The air seemed to drag Dot down as she tried to crawl forward to her Aunt. She was stuck. More bodies were floating up; her cousins, students, parents, friends were all floating to the top of the water to join her aunt. She turned to look at Kevin,“Why are they here?! I didn’t want this!”

 This was all way too weird, but Roland tried what Kevin said. He sipped the water and tried to picture his favorite memory. It was a warm summer day in Fenway park. He had a baseball glove in one hand and a hot dog in the other. The Sox were up by two and his dad was cheering beside him. They’d end up winning that game and his dad would take him out for ice cream after. The murky lake water turned a bright green and he could hear the roar of fans around him. He felt younger and more alive than he’d felt in so long. The energy of the crowd was always contagious in its way. He looked to Kevin and tried to ignore the change in her hands, “I see the Sox playing the Yankees. My dad’s here.” The uneasy feeling that none of this was real and somehow too real lingered, but this was better than being trapped in that house beside Stryder as she withered away.

“It’s alright my dears. Everything drifts. Everything changes. Don’t fight it.” Kevin lifted her arms and the bodies moved. More and more drifted to the surface. For a moment, that was where they remained, still, lifeless. Then, in an instant, each and everyone rose. Their eyes were hollow, empty as they stretched out their arms and grabbed at Dot and Roland. As soon as they found purchase, they pulled. Hard. Kevin took a step back, watching with a serene smile as her dreamers were tugged into the lake. 

Her aunt moved suddenly and Dot let out a screech. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t break free from the hands pulling her. The lake water filled her mouth and the siren finally woke. Dot scrambled in her bed, water streaming from her nose as she spit more out onto her sheets. Shivering, Dot ran to her bathroom, disturbed to see that she looked normal still. She had expected to see something that showed what just happened. What the absolute fuck was that dream?

In a moment, so much of what Roland was seeing seemed to shift and it alarmed him. His dad was no longer full of life and cheering, but he was floating in the lake, lifeless yet again. So many more forms were floating behind him and then they rose. His face paled and he let out a loud gasp as he slowly backed away from the lake. The bodies were coming toward him now and he let out a scream. It awoke him, but he was alarmed to find he was spitting up lake water as he sat up in bed. He choked and sputtered all the dirty water all over his white comforter. He’d have to bleach that later. The bigger question was how the hell his dreams seemed to be carrying over into his waking time. He pinched himself. He was most certainly awake and had no idea what to do. There was no way he was falling back asleep though. He supposed it would have to be an early morning at the station where he could pretend everything was normal.

Kevin awoke slowly, water dribbling from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away idly as she sat up, looking at the town stretching out before her. Though the connection was fainter now, the spell fading, she could still feel them. Her dreamers. Awake. Her limbs felt heavy, aching with the weight of the spell. She wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer. But the connections would linger, she would still feel them, know them. A piece of her had been left behind in each bond, and one day, sooner or later, she would find them again. And with her dreamers, she would once again be whole.

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

@dotdotdottie

Do you just walk away in the middle of their sentences? Just say 'fuck no' and skedaddle?

Sometimes. Or I just start replying to them only in a different language. It usually ends the conversation good and quick.

[inspirationdivine]

[pm] Dude what the FUCK did you do to me? What the FUCK. That was FUCKED UP DUDE

[pm] You’re right. I am so so sorry, I made a terrible mistake. What can I do to make it up to you?

[themidnightfarmer]

Owe you my life || Dot & Jared

Timing: Back before bloody Mary stuff <3

Location: Town somewhere

Tagging: @dotdotdottie & @themidnightfarmer

Description: Jared witnesses a little something he shouldn’t have, and ends up in debt

Triggers: Kidnapping tw, gun tw, 

It was a situation Jared had never been in before. Watching a person be snatched off the street was just not anything you would have been ready for in your life unless you’d had a pretty unhealthy upbringing. The following decision was perhaps not the smartest he could have had either, but no one would ever mistake the nymph for someone with more than a very select few brain cells working at a time. His feet hit the concrete hard as he followed the car, sprinting down short cut after short cut -the kind you learned when you were a truant in your youth. While he didn’t think to call the police perhaps about what he’d seen, he did think enough to not want to be seen easily and recognised by the snatcher. So his glamour changed slightly. He gave himself brown hair and eyes, his face shape shifting to be slightly rounder. Spotting the car having stopped he skid to a halt and dove behind a bush. Watching through the branches at what was going on.

Dot didn’t usually take jobs like this, but she needed the money. She had spent way too much money this month on her friends doing stupid shit. She was the driver and the handler for a kidnapping job. Someone who owed money to the wrong people, Dot hadn’t asked for too many details when it came to the job. As they pulled up to the warehouse, Dot popped out of the van, and told the other two with her to bring the crying man inside. After he was settled in, she sent the other two off to go grab whoever they needed to finish the job. She was working on a research paper with the soft sounds of sobbing around a gag in the background. 

He lingered in the shadows, and watched the initial van to warehouse exchange although unable to hear exactly what was being said. Jared wasn’t the law, but he didn’t think clearly enough to call anyone else. He couldn’t make out anything when they all vanished into the warehouse so -once two of the captors had driven away again Jared figured he’d try his chances getting closer. Should he free the person? Did he want to be involved? Honestly he hadn’t even known this warehouse existed. And he was yet to realize he should call the cops -not that it would have helped as he was one of those locals who didn’t know street names and could only tell you directions from landmarks or lefts and rights. And that wouldn’t help the cops much as he’d taken a few back alleys to keep up. The nymph peered into the door, his eyes catching sight of the tied up individual, and then landing on the last captor left. Direct eye contact in fact. “Shit.” he took off like a shot.

Well, that was unfortunate. Witnesses weren’t exactly in the plan. Sighing, Dot snapped her laptop shut and stood. She wasn’t exactly in the mood for a chase, her hangover throbbing behind her eyes with every move, but she moved. She wasn’t going to fuck up this job over some random. Calling out as she ran, Dot hoped a threat would be enough to stop the dude,“Stop running and I don’t shoot.” The gun that was on her hip gleamed in the light. She was gaining on him, she hadn’t run all through high school and college for no reason. She might kill him either way, but if she didn’t have to deal with cleanup that would be a plus. Maybe she could even get something out of it. 

The nymph was trying to process what he’d seen as quickly as he could, but it turned out running through very uneven terrain took an awful lot more brain power than he was used to. Jared placed his feet as well as he could but it didn’t seem to do him any good, he stumbled often, and his sharp ears could hear footsteps catching up. He was no made for this, the ‘dangerous’ things he encountered he tended to stand his ground with, running didn’t really solve anything with his kids. But people were different, it was never a safe bet to know what their nature was. At the threat of a gun he did stop, he stopped dead and turned with his hands up. “Don’t shoot!”

Huh, it worked. Thank god. Dot had been ready to face the grim reality of having to call someone to help her get rid of the body. Little blessings, she thought as she pointed the gun at the man with his hands up. “Come on, dude, let’s go back.” She’d deal with him by the warehouse so she was nearby the captive. “I’ll deal with you there,” She approached him, keeping a close eye on him as she walked. “What did you see?”

He wondered if he could overpower her in the moment that she gestured him to move back towards where they’d come from. But Jared had never used his full strength on a person before, he didn’t know the limits people could take. He kept his arms up as he started to move with a resigned expression. It was his reality now, he was now in the same boat as the other kidnapped person, only worse was that he was likely expendable since he wasn’t the target. “Does it matter when we’re headed back there anyway?” he wondered aloud before cringing, he didn’t want to be so rude, especially in such risky company but he was having a hard time focusing on his mouth with the gun in his direction. “I mean, I swear not a lot!”

“Yeah, it does,” Dot answered, annoyed. She’d keep this one in the back if he hadn’t seen too much. If he was just a nosy dude who was looking for fun that would change things too. “Well, not a lot, is still some.” She considered the situation for a moment as they walked. She had all the power here. “So, why shouldn’t I just shoot you and get this over with?” She asked. She didn’t want to deal with that, but she sure as fuck wanted to remind him that he had to give her something good to get out of this.

Jared grew a little frantic the closer to the warehouse they got. For some reason the closer the building became the more he felt like he was walking to his death. What use would this person have of him? None. In fact in every movie he’d ever seen of this same scene the witness was most likely to be shot for the shock value for the other captive. His heart sped up to unnatural speeds and he stopped at the door to look at his captor. “Fuck please don’t shoot me, I have kids at home! My kids need me, they have no one else to care for them!”

 He had kids, how tragic. Dot rolled her eyes so hard her headache got worse. “Who will feed your poor children without you. Don’t look into random fucking warehouses then.” She waved her gun around a bit,“I’m asking you one more time, why shouldn’t I just get rid of you? Make it something that will help me. I don’t give a fuck about sob stories.” If he mentioned his kids again, she might just shoot him in the foot for fun.

Was Jared too proud to get on his knees and grovel for his life? No. However, if she wasn’t into sob stories he doubted that would win him any points with her either. Not that his admission of having dependent animals that needed him was a sob story in his eyes. He just didn’t want to leave Nell or Alcher a mess to care for. He had so many new critters on the farm lately he didn’t even know if he could house them all peacefully yet. So he changed tactics. His heart hammered still, but he tried again “I don’t have money, but I do have contacts, I have products, I have services to trade for my life. I…..I could owe you one...I could promise to owe you something?” It was dangerous, but the situation felt like it was getting a little fraught as she didn’t seem to be wanting to barter for long.

A promise. Dot's face broke into a shark smile. She had only recently found out about promises. Now, this was better than she expected. She had assumed she would be getting a few hundred dollars and maybe something cool from this. A promise was much more important to her. “Oh, I’ll take a promise. That means you’re Fae huh?” She asked, knowing that if he was just some human, that promise would mean nothing. “You’ll owe me anything I ask from you?”

Jared was sweating, as soon as she asked for clarification of what he was he knew he’d made a mistake. But at the same time, her knowing was surely the same sort of danger as if she decided to shoot him now. He was gone either way if she wanted rid of him. A promise might buy him time before she rid herself of him, so he had that lovely thought at least. “Yeah I’m fae. I promise-” he swallowed nervously. “I promise to owe you a favour whenever you ask me, in exchange for letting me live.” perhaps his wording would help him. Maybe it would stop her eliminating him later. He could only hope, he was truly confused about how fae promises worked himself. 

Dot hadn’t thought that much would come from this job, but oh how wrong she was. This was an excellent outcome for her. A fae owed her now. She was sure that she would use him for something very fun. “I’ll take it,” She told him gleefully. Waving the gun at him, “Alright, you get to live so get out of here and don’t tell anyone shit.” As long as no one found out that he had been here, she was golden. What a fucking delight of a day this had turned out. 

[adrienharlow]

@dotdotdottie

I braid his chest feathers :) Blanche’s jean jacket is cute though, so I bet you work it

Does Blanche know EVERYONE in town?

Freak.

Yeah, too bad it’s the size of a barbie doll.

[kadavernagh]

[pm] Hi. I'm a friend of Blanche's. Can I have her ID back :) I won't let her do anything bad I just want it :)

[pm] Seriously? No. I wasn’t born yesterday.

[bountybossier]

dotdotdottie replied to your post “<p>Do you have a dad bod?</p>”

Dad bods rise

Are bones and dad bods just your fuckin’ thing or what?

[dotdotdottie]

Worth A Shot || Dot & Nicole

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @dotdotdottie and @nicsalazar SUMMARY: Dot hangs out with her favorite customer and they discuss futures  CONTENT: Drinking, talk of driving drunk

Dell’s was busy but Dot liked when the place was full of people. She could feel the energy in the air and she loved the potential for chaos that the drunk college students brought in. As she poured another shot, she slid it over to the frat kid who had asked for it. Catching the eye of her favorite regular, she grinned at Nicole. “You want a shot too?” She always loved trying to get some of her regulars to take shots, if only because she liked helping them enjoy their night. “I got a few to hang out and chat with you, I think. The next wave of drinks shouldn’t happen for a bit for that group.”

Nicole sat in her favorite spot, obscured in a corner, shying away from the noise college students usually made. She traced the glass in front of her with a finger, keeping her gaze down for the better part of the hour. Until the excited screams by her side got her attention. Her eyes went from the excited guy walking back to his friends with a shot in his hands to the bartender behind the counter. A half-smile reached her lips, noticing the familiar face. Her tongue poked between her teeth briefly, eyes on the bottle. She didn’t remember ever speaking to dot outside Dell’s. But if anything, she preferred it. She liked Dot, and knew that if they had met under different circumstances they probably would’ve never talked to each other.  It was strange to be more comfortable around bartenders and drunks than regular people, but it was pretty much all Nicole could handle at the moment. She shrugged, but raised her empty glass at her. Yes, she could do with a shot. “Celebrating something over there? Or just— the usual dumb dudes”.

Dot leaned her hip up against the wall as she looked at Nicole. She liked how their relationship worked, someone to chat with as she worked was always a good time. Especially on nights where things were quiet and there wasn’t much else to do. Her coworkers were fine enough, but some of them had sticks up their asses with what they talked about. She poured a shot for Nicole with a grin,“Have I mentioned you're my favorite for always being down.” Some of the regulars never changed their routines and it was boring at best. Duncan at the end of the bar always ordered two beers and never got what Dot suggested. “Just a regular night for them. They always act like some big thing is happening for them. Maybe one of them finally got laid.”

Nicole mouthed a thank you, nodding as she watched Dot do her thing. A laugh caught in her throat, eyes narrowing in thought. “Uh—couple times, I think” she grabbed the shot, her fingers drumming against the glass. “That makes it…is it the hundredth time? Maybe hundred and first. Lost count last year”. She tapped the bottom of the glass softly, one swift move later she raised it to her lips, emptying it.  She let the liquor flow slowly down her throat, savoring the burn. She grimaced, clearing her throat before speaking. “And I’ll keep saying… I’m sure you tell that to everyone who’s not a sleaze or a messy drunk”. She spared a glance to the group, nose scrunching up in disgust. “Refuse to believe any of them could land anyone” she didn’t need the mental image. She looked back at Dot, “just started the shift, or on your way out?”.

“It has to be more than a hundred at this point,” Dot told her with a big grin. People like Nicole, though they weren’t friends outside of here, had made the transition to settling in much easier. She had been moving around for months before she finally found a home in White Crest, though sometimes she struggled to think of it as home. She still missed Miami and everything she had been forced to leave there. “So basically you and two other regulars,” Dot shot back, her grin still wide. “Everyone else comes here and always gets fucking toasted. Hard to keep a conversation going when Melody can’t remember what her last name is.” Dot was pretty sure she had slept with one of those guys and maybe a girl or two from that group, but kept that information to herself. “On my way out soon, but I’ll stick around for you if you want me,” She winked.

"Knew it" Nicole nodded in agreement, the hint of a smug smile reaching her face. Glancing down at the counter, she noticed she was almost done with the beer she had ordered. ignoring the empty glass in front of her, she chose to take a swing from the bottle. "Such an honor" she placed a hand to her heart, pretending to be touched. Even at her worst --back when she'd drink until blacking out-- she was never one to make a mess whenever she was drunk. She was usually found in a corner by herself, sulking. But before that, she turned more talkative. "Pretty sure that means I deserve a plaque or something, there--" glancing behind the counter past Dot, she pointed at a spot right above her head, narrowing her eyes. "Sure you got better plans than to stay and chat, no? People to see or..." she clicked her tongue, eyes finding the counter again. She wasn't exactly the best at conversation, even if she was slightly more open after one or two beers.

“I’ll let management know that you requested a plaque. I’m sure they’ll find a nice place for you on the wall,” Dot laughed. Nicole didn’t always match her energy when it came to things, but the siren didn’t care all that much. Plenty of people weren’t able to keep up with Dot. She was just glad that Nicole seemed entertained enough to stick around. She shrugged at the other woman,“I mean I could always go to one of the clubs or try to call one of my standbys, but I don’t have anything wild planned.” She blew out a puff of air,“I got like a hell of a lot of studying to do that I don’t want to.”

“Great, probably the only honor I’ll ever get. I’ll cherish it” she weakly tapped her table to celebrate, but her smile grew. Nicole lowered her gaze, slightly relieved she wasn’t being talked to just out of pity. It helped that she was usually in a good mood when she talked to Dot. Likely made her better at conversations. “For what it’s worth--” she raised her empty bottle, looking at her. “I do appreciate you shielding me from other drunks speaking to me” her lips pressed together into a thin smile. “You might be one of my favorites too-- can I get another one?” her tone was teasing as she slid her glass towards her.  “Ah. School shit--not that I’d be of any help, but what kinda stuff?”.

“It’s a pretty fucking sick honor to have. Anyone who asks you about it is going to be absolutely blown away by it,” Dot winked at Nicole before slipping away to pass someone else the beer they asked her for. Slipping the tip she got away, she returned to Nicole. “I’m your knight in shining armor,” She replied with another small laugh. It wasn't a selfless act though, she was pretty sure Nicole wouldn’t come back if she kept getting annoyed by people in the bar. Dot didn’t want to be left alone without someone cool to talk to. She poured Nicole’s drink quickly, sliding it back. “I don’t even fucking know, Nicole. I can’t pay attention in class half the time because I don’t care about what they’re teaching. I don’t even want to be there half the fucking time.”

At the mention of a knight in shining armor, Nicole rolled her eyes and let out a weak laugh. “Yeah, yeah...guess so. Thought knights were taller...but I don’t doubt you can beat people up”. She listened to Dot complain about school with a frown. “Fuck your master’s. Is dropping out a crazy suggestion?” scoffing, she grabbed her glass. She was in favor of people giving up. In her mind, there was a difference between persistence and just plain torturing yourself. “Join the circus or whatever it is people say these days...y’know I’m not--” pausing, her eyes moved upwards as she tried to remember the word. Actualizada. She snapped her fingers in an attempt to get the words out of her brain faster, “up to date with things”. Spending years as a dormant human  meant missing a great deal of things. Just hearing the word Instagram made her squirm uncomfortable.

“Tall people are overrated,” Dot huffed. She stood at a small 5’4”, but she thought her personality made her seem way taller than that. Even if it didn’t she’d still fight anyone who tried anything. Dropping out of her degree made her stomach squeeze uncomfortably, it was the last real connection she had to her life in the colony. Her family had picked the path for her and she hadn’t ever really needed to wonder what she wanted to do. “It wouldn’t be the craziest thing I ever did.” She just didn’t know what she would want to do after she left. This at least gave her a path to follow. She smiled a bit,“I could become an influencer.”

“Know what? You’re right” Nicole smirked, nodding to herself. “I’ll tell you, reaching the top shelf gets pretty boring” she tilted her glass at Dot, before taking a gulp. “Yeah? Jokes aside, nothing wrong with realizing something isn’t for you” she eyed her curiously.  “Unless you only needed to vent. Also fair” she shrugged, “don’t know you that well, obviously. But you seem scrappy. Like you’ll figure it out, whatever life throws at you”. She glanced up at her, eyebrows furrowed. The word seemed familiar enough, as if she had heard it in passing before. But couldn’t put it in context with Dot’s words. “What’s…” her cheeks felt hot, hoping she didn’t look too puzzled. She was unsure whether to voice her question. “Influencer--what do you mean by that?”

“I’m sure having people ask for help for shit is annoying too,” Dot replied, trying not to be jealous of people who were tall enough they could see what was on the top shelf. Her parents had told her that quitting things this far in was never worth it and she couldn’t help but hearing them now. “One issue is I put a fuck ton of money into this, it would kinda fucking blow to give up now after all that.” Sinking a couple of thousands into this just to drop out made her stomach turn, but staying in the program made her feel just as bad. Dot eyed Nicole for a moment before deciding not to tease her. “Like those models on Instagram who get paid just to be pretty and take pictures with products. I’m pretty enough for that.”

Nicole raised her glass, stopping halfway as she considered Dot argument. “Wait--yeah, you’re right. Lose your patience and shit” she mused, lips pressed together into a thin line. She glanced down, tapping lightly on the table as she heard the woman speak. She grimaced. Money, it was always about that. She despised the power it held over people. Clicking her tongue, she let out a bitter laugh. “Nevermind then, just gotta suffer. How long you got left?” despite her depressing tone, she spared a sympathetic look at Dot. She frowned, wondering what Instagram was really about. She hadn’t heard of the selling aspect before. Curious eyes fell on Dot, taking notice on her appearance for the first time. She couldn’t say she’d ever paid much attention to the way people looked. It wasn’t something she was particularly interested in. “Yeah...guess you are” resting her head on her hand, her eyes stayed on the woman. “Sounds easy. You should do it” eyebrows knitted together, it all sounded so simple.

“At least a year,” Dot sighed. It was fucked how long a year could feel when she was doing something that she didn’t like anymore. She sighed deeply for a moment, before shaking her head. “Don’t know if it’s worth sinking any more money in it though. One of those things where I put so much in, I don’t want to quit, but I don’t want to put anymore in.” She could hear her mother in the back of her mind, telling her that she wasn’t a quitter. Her parents had always wanted her to get this degree. It made it taste even more bitter. She let out a sharp laugh,“Wow, thanks. I’m glad that you guess I’m attractive. Nothing like that to make a girl feel sexy.” She really didn’t need anyone’s praise on her looks, but she certainly hadn’t expected that reaction. “Guess it sounds easier than it really is. The market is saturated with plenty of girls who look like me. It’s like applying to be a bartender in a town full of bartenders. You gotta be really good to make it.”

Concern flashed in Nicole’s eyes when she heard Dot’s sigh. Shit, that was fucked up. She wished she had the right words. But she was certain there was nothing she could say that would change the situation. She offered her glass instead. “Wanna get drunk and forget about stupid shit?”. The heat rising to her cheeks wasn’t down to the alcohol. She leaned back, examining Dot’s face for a moment. Sarcasm dripped from her words, even if she wasn’t always great at detecting it, this time it was obvious. Had she said something wrong? She considered what she had said. No...I don’t. I don’t guess” she had the habit of making things sound vague, never committing. Had she been sober, she would’ve felt mortified. And though she felt slightly embarrassed, she was capable of maintaining her gaze. “You’re obviously very…y’know” she let out a laugh. Going by her confidence, she assumed she didn’t need any explanation, but she felt the need to clear it up.  She saw it every time she was at Dell’s, drunks trying to flirt with Dot. But what she liked most about Dot was her personality. “You are good, though” no guessing this time, she made sure of it. “Pretty sure you’re everyone’s favorite in here” she knew the bar was pretty low, if she asked any drunk they would likely love anyone as long as they kept serving them. “Bet you’d be good at the Instagram thing too”.

A grin broke out on Dot’s face, she could do that. Getting drunk was the best way to deal with hard situations. “You know, that’s a great idea.” She had never been one to care much about drinking at work and none of her coworkers actually gave a fuck. She went to pour them both a shot, pausing as Nicole spoke again. An eyebrow raised and her grin slipped into a smaller smirk. As much as she hadn’t expected the first reaction, this was much more surprising. The Siren wasn’t complaining, not at all, but she hadn’t thought this would be how her shift went. “Well, Nicole, I didn’t realize you thought I was so good,” She teased, sliding the shot to Nicole finally. “Cheers to two hot ladies hanging out together.” She certainly made friends with a lot of her regulars, if only for the fun of it. The tips they gave her helped a lot too. Still she shrugged, pretending to be humble for once. “They just like it here. I’ll send you my handle if i ever decide to go through with the influencer thing.”

Nicole didn’t need many reasons to get drunk. November was the worst month of the year. There, that was reason enough. And if she could help Dot have a better time, it sounded like the right decision. “Yeah, yeah— pretend like... you don’t know” she waved her hand, taking the teasing in stride.  “Oh!— cheers” she lifted her glass to her, before drinking. She knew they weren’t technically friends. Or, were they? Maybe her definition of friendship was outdated. But she enjoyed Dot’s company, and she was easy to talk to, that was more than she could say for most people. She could second guess social interactions when sober. She eyed her carefully, knowing she’d regret what she was about to say. “Should be my last one— I drove here so...wanna make it home in one piece”. She wasn’t sure what a handle was. But she had already embarrassed herself with her little Instagram knowledge, she didn’t want to look like a fool again. Going by context, she assumed it was another word for page. “Great” “she slurred, “can’t wait to see your...handle” a proud, lopsided grin reached her lips.  “Do I… need a page or something to see?”

Shooting back the shot, Dot savored the burn in the back of her throat. It was things like drinking, drugs, sex, and a little bit of murder that made the siren feel alive. She had never been to have the time to enjoy emotions enough to live just off of that, but she could remember she was alive through the burn of adrenaline. Waving her hand, Dot pulled out her phone. “Let me call you an uber. Don’t need you to make a mistake behind the wheel. I can take a lot of blame for a lot of shit, but I’m not gonna with this.” She was a lot of things, a cheat, a murderer, but she wasn’t going to let someone die over a few drinks. No, if someone was going to die, it would be from something glorious. Like her own hands, though she would never think of killing Nicole. No she liked her and Dot didn’t like killing women anyways. “Next time you’re here I’ll help make you a page, if you don’t got one already.”

“Oh… no it’s— it’s alright. I’m very good” her smile was lazy, but Nicole believed it to be reassuring enough. Though the admission of her plans brought some of her natural self awareness back, it still wasn’t enough to change her intentions. She was great behind the wheel. She had to drive through bumpier roads at work. The way back home would be a piece of cake in comparison. And, she always wore her seatbelt. Safety first, right? With the alcohol in her system it was hard to see the flaws in her logic. Even if she could faintly register the mistake she’d be making, thanks to Dot’s words. “But my— I need my truck for…” eyebrows furrowed, she didn’t see much point in arguing when Dot already had the phone in her hand. As much as she wanted to argue, it had never been her strength. She didn’t fancy her chances fighting Dot. Shoulders slumped dramatically, a defeated sigh escaped her lips. “This is why— why you’re the only bartender I like” she rested her head on her hand, watching Dot on her phone. She was annoyed, but her sober self definitely would’ve appreciated someone looking out for her. She failed to remember what page they had been talking for a moment. “Hm? Oh, yes. Don’t have one no…don’t want one, I can barely keep up with that whole town forum shit”.

Dot made quick work of calling the uber, and showed the information to Nicole. “They’ll be here in a few, let’s get you all closed out. You’ll owe me for the ride, but you can settle that up next time you’re here.” She certainly didn’t want to give her anymore reason to stay here longer when she was still thinking of driving. “I’m the only bartender you like because I give you free drinks all the time,” Dot laughed. She brought over Nicole’s receipt,“Time to pay up.” She glanced around the bar, noticing that other customers were starting to slowly fill out. She hadn’t realized it was already that late, but sometimes she lost track of time with Nicole. “Yeah, yeah, Nicole. You’re an old soul who hates technology. I get it,” The siren said amused. “Uber’s here, let’s get you to the car.”

“Right. Thank you?” Nicole’s eyebrows furrowed. That was a good thing, right? No. She was leaving without her truck. She’d have to pick it up in the morning before work. “Hey, that’s not true, you— ”, she bowed her head, not knowing what to say. She didn’t have to go on and explain why she liked her again, Dot was just teasing. She reached for her wallet, eyeing the check. Definitely less than what she should’ve been paying.  She had to be a lot more appreciative of the free shots. “I’m not...that drunk” she didn’t feel so, at least. Eyes narrowed as she stood up, hands raising slightly to try and gauge her sense of balance. She laughed, tapping the counter and sliding the money to the woman. “All good— I’m all good” Not the worst Dot has seen of her, for sure. Could’ve definitely driven by herself, she wanted to add, but one look at the woman discouraged her from it. She waved her hand dismissively, but her smile was grateful. She could walk out and find an uber by herself, couldn’t she? “Thanks for the— owe you one...or ten” she drummed the counter again, “I’ll see you around—good luck with your...school” she looked up, trying to recall their conversation. “G’Night, Dot” she spoke softly, and it was the last she said before disappearing through the door.