umbrasverdict

[umbrasverdict]

Eyebrows raised at that comment, but Kane didn't say anything in response. Instead, dark eyes reignited in their movement over the other male. So tender- it was a long time since he had met someone who had that air to them without being over done. He felt real. The lingering feeling that the fingers of his left behind made his heart race. Ever-so slightly. One that he chalked up to the alcohol in his system. "Could rip open further, copy that." He echoed and slid his shirt and coat back into place.

A snort came from his advice. "Let me start saying, I believe you. Yeah. Fully. And know that you're right. But if I get a call, I'm there. Regardless. Could be bleeding out and if they need me, I have to be there, unfortunately. Good news is this is the come together time, yeah."

"You become what you're treated as.", Eric jokes, not as light as he usually is. Though can it be viewed like that -- his parents, drawn to the dead, not quite treating their son as preciously as they treat their ghosts, but instead ignoring him, like a normal human would with them. Eric draws a small bottle from the pocket of his worn out leather jacket, pours some onto his fingers and carefully sanitizes them, before gently tapping against the area surrounding the wound. "It doesn't feel warm, or gooey. It's not infected. If you move a lot, it could rip open further again, though." Eric pours more onto his fingers, rubs it in, then stuffs them back into his pockets.

"Shouldn't get you any more problems, though. And it's healing nicely, thanks to my amazing sewing skills." The witch allows himself a soft, joking smile, "I just wouldn't go out in the forest again within the next two weeks, yeah? Give yourself some time to rest."

[umbrasverdict]

"The ones who enjoy it rarely get it. Since its the same for us but the opposite way, yeah," Kane commented idly as the next drink was placed in front of him. He would need to slow his roll. Especially if there was company. He didn't want to get drunk for a multitude of reasons and now there was just one more. "I appreciate they appreciate it. Not for me though. Or you by the sounds of it."

It should probably have been concerning how there was a wave of relief that hit her as the first sip of alcohol passed her lips. But it wasn't something she was about to pay too much attention too. "I get that." Cecelia nodded. "It's the same for me. I told my friend that I didn't get all of this earlier and she looked like she was about to have a cardiac arrest." She rolled her eyes. "Just seems a lot for another old day."

[umbrasverdict]

"Nope. Just making sure you know what you're getting into, yeah," Kane confirmed with a short shake of his head and a shrug to follow. His boot clad foot slid the chair for her out so she could sit down. God, he was such a gentleman. "Can't say I mind. These days are all, more or less, the same for me, yeah."

"I'm sorry, you got a monopoly on the invite to the pity party? I'm allergic to the holiday spirit, my throat starts to close up, it's a whole thing." Sage's holidays were enshrined with Yule tradition that felt hollow without her family, or Wren to share it with. "I doubt you do either, huh."

[umbrasverdict]

Sometimes Kane felt like the monster of the family. Not a hated one, but a created one. The Frankenstein of the Avery family. Made to train and be only the best. Stripped of his personality so all that was left was some neutral bloodlust for creatures and a vague outline of a person in his soul. Caged and let loose when it was needed. It could exhausting to think about. Or even try and let others relate. But there was always his sister. Even if he didn't show it, he knew that there'd always be some understanding there.

Kane ignored the muscles comment. Instead he tried to focus on how the other ended it. A smile, small for any others, but large for him. Kane nodded. With more energy than normal. It wasn't forced, but it was him trying to tell her without hesitation or questioning. "I still love you, yeah. You know I do, Roni. Impossible me not to. No matter what."

THE AVERY'S WERE AN INTERESTING BREED OF HUNTERS, as were any if thought about properly. The Hawthorne's were just as fucked up on the inside in different ways (maybe even not so different), they were just better at hiding it from the public eye. At least the Avery's seemed to have a heart; though, Nica's thought process about the whole dynamic situation was a bit biased and definitely petty. Not that she could even think properly about that now, nor does she want to.

But her and Kane always shared a special connection from the get-go. Complicated, sure, but there was still a sibling love there that couldn't be entirely fought. She is happy to see him, always was whenever the occasion of their meetings stirred and yet, she was usually horrible at expressing it. Because there was always that underlining fear that he knew more than she should about her and her past; an unspoken truth that caused a bit of a wedge between them. At least today, they could put all of that behind them and just enjoy each other's company.

His words cause a single hand to rise, a bit lazily and sloppy before she's gripping upon his bicep, almost sentimental. ❝ You-… you're a- you're a good guy. You're— wow, look at you. Mr. Muscles over here. ❞ As if he hasn't had them for most of his entire life. But then she quickly draws her hand away with a simple, underhanded apology as the back of each hand slides along either side of her hips. She feels bad, honestly. She's supposed to be the elder, responsible sister, looking after him and not the other way around. ❝ Y-you still love me? ❞

[umbrasverdict]

"Something like that," Kane mused. He waited. Waited for her to receive her drink and take the first sip of it. If they were to 'cry' into their beers, they needed said beers to cry into. Even if only he was the one with an actual beer. "Most holidays for me are just normal days with extra decorations. Not in a hatred way, just...stating observations, yeah."

"Perfect." Cecelia nodded as she moved to climb up onto the stool. This whole thing just wasn't something which Cecelia was ever going to be particularly excited about. Sitting in the bar was much more her speed. "Oh really? Sounds like a good tip." She nodded and ordered herself a vodka and cranberry juice. "Sounds like you have experience in this kind of stuff, hm?" She questioned as she glanced to Kane, "This thing not for you either?"

[umbrasverdict]

"Shit. Then pull up a chair," He half slid the stool next to him to her so that she can put herself into it. Pretty little thing needed a cry me a river corner? Seemed dubious. Maybe a fae trap? Dark eyes flagged down the bartender for another. "Waxing poetic into a dark beer helps. Though the poison is up to the poisoned I suppose, yeah."

After Cecelia left Diana, she quickly made her way to the bar. That seemed to be much more her speed at something like this. She raised an eyebrow as she heard the other and turned to look at him, "I dunno. I think this is probably exactly where I want to be." She commented. "The 'cry me a river type of corner' seems much more me."

[umbrasverdict]

There were quite a few people Kane expected to find here. To run into. Especially when he came out of the quieter parts to find solitude in solstice festivities. He didn't hate this holiday; he just preferred this, like most other things, by himself. Were there people he wanted to see? Of course. But he didn't even give himself a chance of a chance of seeing any of them. Especially one in particular-

Shit. Ask and ye shall receive apparently. "Damn. Like a ghost both times, yeah." Kane never really got scared. Or jumped. All the same he was not expecting to manifest the other male. "Got no complaints by any means. Hi, by the way, yeah. It's a little stiff right now, but I know how that goes." Calloused and ink stained fingers reach down and lift up shirt, untucking it from his pants to show off the ends of said wound and how it was healing.

( @umbrasverdict -- The Christmas Market late, in the evening )

Eric finds silence offside the loudly laughing crowd, a cup of very hot tea in his hand, steaming his face, and heating it up. Usually, he blends right in with Westray's visitors, and occupants. Especially when he's transformed into a bird, circling and watching from above. Christmas markets, and Christmas in general, make him feel different. By his side, there is no happy, laughing family. Instead, the mere idea of them showing up makes a shiver trail down his spine, makes his knees weak, and his head hurt.

The Sherwoods are far from being the picture perfect, happy family, and they never even attempted to seem like it. Countless of times they were called to school when Eric looked neglected, and countless of times they did the bare minimum, and then just shrugged their shoulders. Never enough to make him life, but just the right amount of disgust to make Eric feel out of place, wrong.

Though he is not the only Westray native mingling at the market alone -- at least not for now. "How's the wound doing?", Is Eric's entry question as he approaches Kane, "Still all tidy, and pretty?"

[umbrasverdict]

Kane's eyes, trained as they were, shifted to the spaces near them. Already constant vigilance and with his sister acting like this? Add that to the mix. Looking back, the serious shell broke a tiny bit. This was her happy to see him and here he was trying to keep her in line. Maybe that wasn't fair of him. Then again, one of them had to keep their mind about them. Even if the drinks were calling his name time after time. God, he needed a cigarette too.

"Know I'm always here, Vic," Kane half answered. The smile was infectious unfortunately for him. The stoic, broad shouldered Avery loved seeing his sister happy. "Might have? Seems like a mighty more than might have, yeah. Tell you what though, I'm happy to see you too. Especially now that I can make sure nothing too weird happens to you with these sweets, huh?"

THE MOMENT SHE TOOK IN THE REALIZATION OF WHO WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF HER, her eyes widened and brightened with a bit of an excited gasp. Both hands reaching towards him as fingers wiggled. ❝ K! My baby boy, lil' bro… hi! ❞ She's probably never been this excited to see him or at least, she's never let that on before in such a way. ❝ I didn't know you were here, where've you been? Have you tried these cupcakes—? They're awesome. ❞ It takes her a moment to actually register his questions however and when she does, she looks at him somewhat confused.

❝ I-… I didn't take anything, I swear. Scouts honor! I've only had like…. ❞ she starts counting several numbers on her fingers while in thought before saying, ❝ two of these. And a cookie. The cookie might've been laced with something. ❞ They were all laced with something. Not drugs, per say, but with magical properties that probably shouldn't have all been mixed together with the way she had been eating them. They had all come with a warning label, Nica just failed to read them. So she honestly had no clue what she had just consumed within that short amount of time.

[umbrasverdict]

Kane doesn't interrupt. It is quite the different scene to see Noah like this. So cavalier about what could be an embarrassing story for her delivered to him with joy and humor. Maybe it was his own drinks (two meads deep), but the energy between them felt lighter than it had ever before this. Thank the fucking gods for that one. Eyebrows raised, he took a break from laughing along with her to sip down more than just a normal person's sip and return the now empty glass to the bar. Immediately there was another shoved into his direction.

"Real dichotomy there, yeah." Kane's tongue felt loose- easy. It might have been the most he had spoken in some time. "At least that officer said it as it was. Sometimes you have to tell the other that they fumbled and there's nothing to it. Objectively? I've seen you in some outfits and you're incredible when it comes to beauty, yeah- so no part of me is surprised. Messy apartment and child aside. Might even help your case a bit, yeah."

@umbrasverdict -- At the Christmas market

It's her fifth cup of mulled wine, and the more sips she takes, the further she has to lean back against the wall behind her back. Noah releases a giggle, mixed with a snort, when she thinks about the headache that will greet her tomorrow morning, but she could care less, when Kane is finally bearable, and actually funny.

"You have to imagine me, in the most stunning dress you could ever imagine on me, holding a child that looks worse than any other child you've ever seen, standing in an absolutely messy apartment. And then you have to imagine my ex-husband walking in, and he's also dressed to the nines. I thought I was going insane for a second, actually. Then one of the guys asked 'Have you two met?' Like? Have we met?" Noah snorts out a drunk laugh, "One of the officers actually said 'You fumbled' to his face. Imagine that."

[umbrasverdict]

"All of the festivities are outside. This is the cry me a river type of corner," Kane greeted the other that sat down at the bar. The spirit was everywhere but here. Well, there were spirits here, but a different kind. "Doubt you wanna be here for the holiday."

open.

[umbrasverdict]

Good lord, what was with her? The giggling and smiling? Were these laced with something beyond their normal knowledge? What were the effects of euphorics on hunters? Dark eyebrows furrowed more and more as Kane made his way over to his sister.

The greeting of the other at the booth cut short as he stepped in. "Nic, yeah. What is going on with you right now? What on earth did you take?"

Open starter for Westray's Christmas social.

NICA PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE SAMPLED SO MUCH OF FLORA'S BAKED GOODS, though they all looked so delicious, it was hard to resist. She doesn't know that they're laced with magical properties and incantations. Each one different in their own way yet she's had several within the span of an hour.

Her head suddenly feeling a little dizzy, but in a good way. Suddenly her lips broaden into a smile and she's giggling at nothing. Eyes trying their best to look up at the newcomer who approaches the booth, ❝ you sho-… you should try the cinnamon… thingy, it's really good. ❞

[umbrasverdict]

​🇼​​🇭​​🇪​​🇷​​🇪​ ​🇮​​🇸​ ​🇸​​🇦​​🇳​​🇹​​🇦​ ​🇦​​🇹​ ​🇭​​🇮​​🇸​ ​🇸​​🇱​​🇪​​🇮​​🇬​​🇭​? ​🇹​​🇪​​🇱​​🇱​ ​🇲​​🇪​ ​🇼​​🇭​​🇾​ ​🇮​​🇸​ ​🇮​​🇹​ ​🇦​​🇱​​🇼​​🇦​​🇾​​🇸​ ​🇹​​🇭​​🇮​​🇸​ ​🇼​​🇦​​🇾​?

Westray's Holiday Event - MERRY CHRISTMAS -- OR NOT?

Another holiday was just another day for Kane. It just meant more lights in the streets when he was sent to hunt or wandered into the better parts of town for a drink. It was also the sign of the Christmas Market that meant he needed to get along with all of the people he was told to not get along with normally. Made it a confusing mess. Sometimes he was with @mindfullofd4ggers, sometimes he wandered off. See what he could get away with. Wasn't much. Hunters were, after all, good at tracking. Go figure.

As the years went on, Kane found himself in an opinion he often had about anything- he was neutral to the holidays. It felt like the light of the world couldn't quite reach him, but he could watch it. He could entertain himself with the notion of it reaching him one day. That was allowed. Until then, the closest he'd get was standing on the edge, lighting up a cigarette and blending into the dark.

"Yeah. Sure. I celebrate. Who doesn't? But it's not the same way others do. Seems not quite for me. But I show up like the good, prodigal son, shake hands where I'm supposed and end up at the bar. Won't get too drunk in case they need me. They haven't yet. Yeah."

[umbrasverdict]

Westray's Holiday Event - MERRY CHRISTMAS -- OR NOT?

"You look like you're going to a funeral." "Maybe I am."

It was supposed to be nighs of togetherness. The only thing that Kane had together was his appearance. It was one of the few times of the year you didn't find him with ink or oil on his ripped up clothing. If you catch him adjusting his collar, it's because the clothing is new. Nothing yet broken in. That's how he preferred it. So it's likely that you'll see an expression that shows that as he drinks the night away. It is not immediate, his drunken stupor, he needs to taper it out over the night.

It was supposed to be nights of togetherness. Doesn't mean everyone played by the rules. And if something went south, they'd likely call for him.

[umbrasverdict]

Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) dir. George Miller

[umbrasverdict]

Was he? Fuck, that was the question of the...half a century? His whole life essentially. There were some good days in the beginning. Legos were pretty fucking cool. But the lego days were long gone. "You know the girl, daughter of the smarmy, hot guy at the Emerald place? Yeah, one of his daughter, I guess. Odessa? Think that's her name." He was very bad at this. It wasn't good that he trying to be smooth. Kane was coarse and rough-he was sandpaper. This tactic wasn't for him and he cringed inside at the attempt.

Clementine wasn't really sure what it was that had caused Kane to ask her to come and see him but she wasn't going to say no. Something about the other made her think that he didn't ask much of other people, after all. "Yeah, of course. What's up?" She questioned. Though in the moments she waited for him to respond, she took in the sight of him and lent against the counter in front of her. "Are you okay, Kane?"

[umbrasverdict]

This close and he could smell her. It was clean and lifting, something more purposeful than most others around him. The rooms he ended up in at work weren't exactly for spraying cologne or perfume. She was too good at this. The temptations and the lingering pulls. It felt a little unfair, but that was the whole point of his kind right? To even out the playing fields between humans and the non-humans? Was that the way to think about it or was that just seizing a rational thought in a moment where he had very few?

The separation has him breathing, realizing it had stopped there for a second, and sniffing like he had just sneezed. "Might be able to, yeah," His voice was found the second it became about business again. His stained fingers reached out for the picture for a better look. At a glance? Nothing he immediately recognized. "Information for a necklace. This thing dangerous?"

Compared to Kane, Odessa is perfectly clean -- not a single stain on her fingers, not a single wrinkle in her clothes, not a strand of hair that isn't perfectly curled and draped over her shoulders. Her heels are shiny, polished, her makeup is flawless -- maybe that's what's drawing her in, making her heart beat faster. Odessa hums softly. "We're alone.", she points out, "Everyone's already left." Tapping against the files, the Fae allows herself a small, slightly wicked smile. "Those are the files you asked for.", she hums, slowly holding them out for him to take, but not letting go -- "And what do I get, in return?" Cocking her head to the side, curls tumble like water, "You could find something for me, without telling anyone about it."

She takes a step closer, then one more, and one more, until their faces are mere half a meter apart, then whispers, "Could you, Kane?" Odessa snaps out of it, clears her throat, and whirls back around, to walk back to her desk, and hand him a piece of paper, alongside a picture. "This once belonged to a dark witch, that according to my family's archives, was once killed by an Avery. If you can find it..." It's a necklace -- quite obviously enchanted, with how beautiful it is. Gold is clasped around sapphires and rubies, but that's not the point -- "I need it, for personal use."

[umbrasverdict]

"Or you could not be, yeah. Sullen is a slippery slope, guy. Just don't want to see you down the hill with me," The denial of the pain was something that Kane did as well. He sucked in air through his teeth and glanced around the place before turning back to Wren. God, he was bad at this whole pep-talk shit. "How's the girl? The...The ex? I forget what you were at the end there, yeah. You visit her and work out something good?" It was a terrible distraction, but maybe he could talk him around the pain. For at least a little bit.

He wasn't alone on his travels but it had felt like it. Wren had been at war with himself for years. He always wanted to be home. And he had warred with himself about it. He had known that he shouldn't really come back. He had known that it wasn't safe. But after three years, he just needed to be home. Now he was fighting every urge to not bolt again. If this was what his enemies did - what were the people who he betrayed going to do? "I just got the shit beaten out of me, Kane. I think I'm allowed to be a little sullen, don't you?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. "It's fine. It'll be fine."