#dyn. colton marshall.

[notladylikes]

[notladylikes]

she snorts out a laugh, grabs a cigarette from the packet in her hand and sparks it up, tapping the tip of his nose with her finger. “you’re like an old mother hen, ya know,” she says, plopping herself down right next to him. she nudges herself against him, leans a head on his shoulder for a brief moment, letting the silence take reign for a few brief seconds. her voice is soft, but she knows he can hear it despite the thousand other sounds that plague their existence on the daily.

“thanks for always lookin’ out for me.” it’s been that way since she ran away from home, since she came looking for someone who would just stop and listen. rebekah had broken out of the mental hospital not long before she came across the ranch, still clothed in a gown that was far too big and an bracelet around her wrist. 

them marshall boys, they were her family now. elizabeth, was her family. they never judged her, didn’t tell her she was batshit crazy when she started talking about the voice in her head - in fact, they introduced her to a life she never expected and everything just....came into view. it made sense for the first time in her life and she would lay down her own for the sake of these folks.

but that’s enough mush for one day.

she jumps up from where she was sitting, holds the cigarette out to colton.

“wanna go for a lil’ race? or are you, y’know, too damn chicken to face me after your horrible defeat last time, marshall.” 

she wrinkles her nose slightly and barks out a laugh at the look on his face at being called chicken, nearly grabbing a hold of her stomach to center herself. that look was all she needed to see....? hear? whatever it was. and she grabbed her cigarette back and took a few puffs before scuffing it out underneath the toe of her boot. “come on, slowpoke. grandma was slow but she was eighty-eight.” 

HIS  chest  felt  like  it  was  on  fire.  lungs  burning  and  searing  any  muscle  it  came  in  contact  with.  when  was  the  last  time  he'd  ran  so  hard?  he  couldn't  quite  remember.  it'd  been  at  least  eight  months  since  his  last  hunt;  and  tonight  wasn't  exactly  planned  for.  hands  rest  on  his  knees  as  his  head  bends  forward  brows  drawn  harshly  along  his  forehead.  if  a  fucking  lurker  didn't  kill  him  then  he  was  certain  the  few  extra  beers  he'd  let  himself  have  would.  slowly  his  head  raises  to  look  to  rebekah  as  she  too  rests  with  her  back  pressed  into  the  tail  gate  of  his  truck.  she  seemed  in  better  shape  than  he  was  and  for  that  he  was  grateful.  she'd  had  a  foot  on  him  in  the  haul  back  to  the  camp  and  he'd  never  been  prouder.  at  least  with  her  in  front  she  stood  a  better  chance  of  getting  away  if  he  was  to  be  caught.  it  wasn't  likely,  but  after  the  losses  they'd  endured  he  couldn't  take  any  chance.

slowly  he  straightens  his  spine,  tall  frame  coming  to  its  full  height  as  his  eyes  shift  through  the  inky  abyss  outside  the  camp  fire  dwindling  behind  them.  colton's  quick  to  clear  his  aching  lungs,  a  heavy  huff  pushed  out  as  his  ribs  draw  in  before  expanding  once  more.  "  bekah  --  what's  that?  "  his  question  is  soft  as  his  eyes  narrow,  the  dark  stain  slowly  becoming  clearer  and  clearer  as  he  stares.  blood.  she  was  bleeding.  what  the  fuck  had  happened?  "  what  the  fuck,  c'mere  we  gotta  clean  that  we  cant  let  any  of  the  grave  dust  get  in  it.  "  his  boots  scuff  and  crunch  at  the  loose  rock  and  dirt,  a  hand  extending  out  to  grab  her  arm  and  inspect  it  further.  '  stop  fussing  --  this  isn't  my  blood.  '

narrowing  his  eyes  his  fingertips  prod  at  the  stain  before  tugging  at  her  sleeve,  drawing  it  up  over  the  length  of  her  arm  to  spy  a  smooth  surface.  lips  purse  before  his  head  turns  to  look  back  the  way  they'd  came,  why  was  the  lurker  bleeding?  colton  chews  on  the  inside  of  his  cheek  for  a  brief  moment  before  letting  go  of  @notladylikes  arm,  a  hand  coming  to  pat  at  her  shoulder  as  he  shakes  his  head.  "  good.  you're  gonna  be  the  death  of  me  if  those  god  damn  lurkers  dont  get  me  first.  i  hope  you  know  this.  " 

[dirtymercysarchive]

annabel spends her days normally lazing around the ranch, but instead, she spent her day tending to the animals and helping out where she can. what was unexpected was the fact that she cleaned the entire house top to bottom, without being asked.

( she figures it’s the least she can do for being allowed to crash on the couch. ) 

tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, she gulps down a bottle of water, cool to the touch from being taken from the fridge and heaven scent in the dry heat. there is nothing in the fridge, unfortunately, so she goes to find colton who is currently working in the barn.

she watches for a while, stays out of his way, a tilt of the head as he communicates with the animals that are in the stalls around them. there’s a kindness there that she doesn’t see often, that he doesn’t show to most people - but she knows it’s there. to say that the two have a special bond, herself and colton, is quite obvious indeed. he’s like the big brother she never wanted and unfortunately got, since she doesn’t know how to be anything other than the ‘annoying little sister’ in terms of personality.

she makes herself known as he’s shoveling hay into one of the paddocks, swinging the bottle of water still in her grip before offering him some as a sign of peace.

“i cleaned your house, you owe me dinner.” she says, a bright smile spread across her face. she only goes into town on special occasions, and most of the time stays up at the ranch because eden says it’s safer, but there is something that her sister doesn’t know - that colton will take her on runs with him into town and let her explore for a bit, as long as she comes back in one piece.

“i’ll….you know what?” 

she starts, trying to decide what she wants to eat for dinner that night. the rest of the gang is out doing whatever their little heart desires, so it’s just the two of them that are home currently, which means she’s hoping she can convince him for a little evening outing into the town, just the two of them. 

“i’ll settle for tacos.” 

she places both hands underneath her chin and leans it on the gate of the paddock, giving her best innocent and sweet impression that she can muster in this current moment. the look on @thefair’s face is one of amusement, and she feels like she is going to succeed at her current attempts. 

“whaddya’ think?”

[notladylikes]

alessia can usually be found at the diner, taking someone’s waitressing shift so they can have a day off or generally just managing things around there. today, though, she took the day off - considering it was a pretty special occasion, her and colton’s anniversary. they’d been together on and off for years, but seemingly both got their heads out of their asses in time to somewhat settle down together.

grabbing a series of pastries and some food prepped from the diner, she places them all in a basket and goes out to one of the pens where colton is currently working on breaking one’a the horses they just got in at the ranch.

running her fingers through her hair, she smiles as she watches him control the larger, majestic animal with such a practiced ease. he seems to have gotten a good ways with this one already, and it’s only been about three days since the stallion arrived at the ranch.

“hey, handsome,”

she calls out, going to hop up onto the bottom rung of the pen’s bars, leaning her body against the upper portion. “you up for takin’ a lil break with me?” she asks, a tilt of her head as she gestures back towards the old pick-up truck. “got a lil’ picnic planned. figure we head out towards the lake, jus you an’ me for a bit?” she asks, a hopeful look present upon her face.

“i got us some snacks from the diner, and some desserts from that lil’ store on the corner that you seem to love so much,” she says, her voice in a sing-song like tone to try and entice. she bites down on the flesh of her bottom lip for a brief moment before he glances up and she’s smiling wide and bright upon seeing the look on @woodridgehollow’s face. “i’ll take that as a yes?”

[notladylikes]

they're out back by the fire pit, bottles of beers clinking together in an ice chest as one of the marshall brothers reaches over to grab one. rebekah's gazing up at the sky, counting stars on her fingers.

the sound of @theevill's voice brings her out of her stupor back into the land of the living, and it takes a second for her to register what he said before he has to repeat himself.

"you’re welcome to stay, if you want."

rebekah waits a beat before speaking, brushes back a strand of hair and shifts so that she's dusting the remnants of dirt off the back of her jeans. there's a piece of hay stuck in her hair that she removes.

"we gon' have a sleepover for old times sake?"

she asks, brows raised slightly in an amused manner. there's a glint in her eyes that is nothing but mischief, but that's half the alcohol, and the rest is just pure rebekah in full.

"so uh, y'all got any marshmallows inside? cause.....we can make smores, y'know, do it up real good."

there's a childlike wonder etched across her face in the moment