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astrid

@astrids-galaxy

hiding secrets. Deadwood/UPP OC blog!

65 posts

Jun 30

hi there!

This blog is here to gather research on my (technically) only friend, who happens to be an alien I found in Deadwood's strange, creepy forest. I called them Apollo, you might see it on here too!

–––

I'm known as the loner girl in Deadwood, but you can call me Astrid!

I've introduced myself on Ellane's (@familiarityupp) blog aka my anon tag 💫

I go by she/they, and Apollo goes by it/they!

–––

OOC:

blog ran by @alienalee, and i also run the @lui-duponte blog!!

both the character and i are minors, so no NSFW or anything like that.

have fun with this blog as well :)

tags:

#countingstars - general posts from astrid

#trashbandit - general posts from apollo

#thenightsky - interactions/replies

#unwitness protection program #jrwi #jrwi upp #just role(play) with it #countingstars #trashbandit #oc blog

59m

Raccoon...?

-✉️

did astrid tell you about me? if so i'm having a long talk with her.

Apollo don't be rude with people, i thought you were turning a new leaf!!! :(

…sorry

#thenightsky #trashbandit #countingstars #oc blog #just role(play) with it

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

"they didnt seem to when they were on my blog" (Ellane takes a couple steps toward the pavement)

(Astrid shrugs, walking alongside.)

" They are a creature of many opinions. "

"many dietary options maybe ,," (they giggle at their own joke as they start down the pavement)

(Astrid couldn't help but chuckle.) " you're going to make them mad! but... maybe it does need a few less candies! "

"mm,, no i think keep it as it is, the big round raccoon is cool as fuck" (they bounce the chubky creature in their arms)

(Apollo squirms a bit, letting out a small grumble, but eventually, it decides in not doing anything)

" hm, you're right, plus that way he does bigger patterns in the sky, like a big night light! "

"I mean it is also really cute just generally, like not for any materia lbenefit it is just really cute.."

" well yeah, but it's pretty badass to have a nightlight raccoon, you can't argue with that. "

"no that is so true,, i love it" "id like a nightlight raccoon of my own actually"

" i don't think it'd mind more friends. Apollo's a lonely raccoon, kinda like a winter sheep with spring sheep. Spring sheep don't like winter sheep. "

" even with his species he was the odd one out. haven't figured out why, and they don't talk about it. "

"im still confused by how this thing works,,,"

" that makes two of us... i'm still researching what it can and can't do "

"all i know is it can eat and it can wriggle and i kinda love that,,"

" you also know that it’s cute! "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

"they didnt seem to when they were on my blog" (Ellane takes a couple steps toward the pavement)

(Astrid shrugs, walking alongside.)

" They are a creature of many opinions. "

"many dietary options maybe ,," (they giggle at their own joke as they start down the pavement)

(Astrid couldn't help but chuckle.) " you're going to make them mad! but... maybe it does need a few less candies! "

"mm,, no i think keep it as it is, the big round raccoon is cool as fuck" (they bounce the chubky creature in their arms)

(Apollo squirms a bit, letting out a small grumble, but eventually, it decides in not doing anything)

" hm, you're right, plus that way he does bigger patterns in the sky, like a big night light! "

"I mean it is also really cute just generally, like not for any materia lbenefit it is just really cute.."

" well yeah, but it's pretty badass to have a nightlight raccoon, you can't argue with that. "

"no that is so true,, i love it" "id like a nightlight raccoon of my own actually"

" i don't think it'd mind more friends. Apollo's a lonely raccoon, kinda like a winter sheep with spring sheep. Spring sheep don't like winter sheep. "

" even with his species he was the odd one out. haven't figured out why, and they don't talk about it. "

"im still confused by how this thing works,,,"

" that makes two of us... i'm still researching what it can and can't do "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

"they didnt seem to when they were on my blog" (Ellane takes a couple steps toward the pavement)

(Astrid shrugs, walking alongside.)

" They are a creature of many opinions. "

"many dietary options maybe ,," (they giggle at their own joke as they start down the pavement)

(Astrid couldn't help but chuckle.) " you're going to make them mad! but... maybe it does need a few less candies! "

"mm,, no i think keep it as it is, the big round raccoon is cool as fuck" (they bounce the chubky creature in their arms)

(Apollo squirms a bit, letting out a small grumble, but eventually, it decides in not doing anything)

" hm, you're right, plus that way he does bigger patterns in the sky, like a big night light! "

"I mean it is also really cute just generally, like not for any materia lbenefit it is just really cute.."

" well yeah, but it's pretty badass to have a nightlight raccoon, you can't argue with that. "

"no that is so true,, i love it" "id like a nightlight raccoon of my own actually"

" i don't think it'd mind more friends. Apollo's a lonely raccoon, kinda like a winter sheep with spring sheep. Spring sheep don't like winter sheep. "

" even with his species he was the odd one out. haven't figured out why, and they don't talk about it. "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

"they didnt seem to when they were on my blog" (Ellane takes a couple steps toward the pavement)

(Astrid shrugs, walking alongside.)

" They are a creature of many opinions. "

"many dietary options maybe ,," (they giggle at their own joke as they start down the pavement)

(Astrid couldn't help but chuckle.) " you're going to make them mad! but... maybe it does need a few less candies! "

"mm,, no i think keep it as it is, the big round raccoon is cool as fuck" (they bounce the chubky creature in their arms)

(Apollo squirms a bit, letting out a small grumble, but eventually, it decides in not doing anything)

" hm, you're right, plus that way he does bigger patterns in the sky, like a big night light! "

"I mean it is also really cute just generally, like not for any materia lbenefit it is just really cute.."

" well yeah, but it's pretty badass to have a nightlight raccoon, you can't argue with that. "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

"they didnt seem to when they were on my blog" (Ellane takes a couple steps toward the pavement)

(Astrid shrugs, walking alongside.)

" They are a creature of many opinions. "

"many dietary options maybe ,," (they giggle at their own joke as they start down the pavement)

(Astrid couldn't help but chuckle.) " you're going to make them mad! but... maybe it does need a few less candies! "

"mm,, no i think keep it as it is, the big round raccoon is cool as fuck" (they bounce the chubky creature in their arms)

(Apollo squirms a bit, letting out a small grumble, but eventually, it decides in not doing anything)

" hm, you're right, plus that way he does bigger patterns in the sky, like a big night light! "

Jul 2

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

[As Isaac walks on through the wood, he starts to here a fair amount of conversation through the trees- voices he recognizes, Lui and Will.] [ooc//} turn order goes Me Lui reblogs me and tags Isaac Isaac reblogs Lui and tags Will Will reblogs Isaac and tags me repeat. that okay?

@lui-duponte

@will1amwisp

@isaac-brooks

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

As the group stands before the entropyne, it becomes visibly irritated with their collective lack of composure, slowly extending a stone tentacle toward them, and granting them the first payment for their knowledge; a stone birds head forms on the tentacle, and opens its sheet cut mouth halfway, raining a sharp pink light down on them from its beak.

Regain one d10 sanity, do not go above your max sanity, this is the sanity-based reward I promised, its using its figures ability to calm everyone's minds a little in hopes that yall dont all die without feeding it

@luciaverneshteine

luciaverneshteine

Lucia slowly lowers the flare gun, though doesn't put it away entirely, instead letting it rest at her side, just in case.

( @lui-duponte )

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"Speak, child, your fellows are incapacitated but one sees no reason you yourself cannot converse.""My other, the half that demands a whole, the paler mind, you have encountered it yes?"

@luciaverneshteine

Fucking with turn order a bit due to the bouts

luciaverneshteine

When it begins speaking, Lucia looks around at the others, clearly worried about them, then she points at herself.

"Me..? Oh, uh, the... The white entropyne? Yeah, I spoke with it... It was quite rude... I think it's angry at me, although I'm also kinda angry at it... It hurt my friend!"

( @lui-duponte )

Please- please just make it stop- I can't move-please- (Lui shut his eyes closed, hoping this was just a bad dream. Something he could easily wake up from and forget.)

(But it wasn't. Even though he has a researchers mind, he was still a kid. He wasn't nearly as strong enough as he thought.)

ooc: idk if i reblogged the wrong one last time

@isaac-brooks

[Maybe, if Bella could see him now, she'd be relieved he had finally stopped talking. Stopped complaining. Stopped making fun of her. Stopped being such an awful brother. But maybe she'd silently hope he would stop existing as well. He sure did.]

( @luciaverneshteine ) assuming will's still conked out

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

[noo,, its my turn, not lucia's,,,] "child." "speak to me now." "will you destroy my other."

(@luciaverneshteine)

luciaverneshteine

Lucia turns back to face the others, she looks scared, scared that they're hurt. Scared that she'll say the wrong thing.

"please... Say something guys... Tell me you'll be okay... Please tell me you guys won't leave me too..."

She turns back to the black entropyne, trying to think of what the right answer is.

"I... I don't know... I can't fight. I don't know how. I don't know if I want to... Do you want me to?"

( @lui-duponte )

(Lui opened his eyes once more, and to no surprise, this was not a dream. Upon hearing Lucia’s worry, he took a deep breath, trying to focus on giving reassurance.) We- we’re alright- we just- we got a little scared- but we’re still here-

@isaac-brooks

[He can't. He can't reassure her. Can't tell her everything will be okay, tho he couldn’t do that anyways. Not unless he wants to break the trust of the girl that looks so much like... just like he did with his sister. He simply nods, confirming what Lui is saying. At least he doesn’t have to be the one lying this time. That thought almost makes him feel worse.]

( @norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame )

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

[i will do no more yet, wiwi wants to do something but theyre busy for a lil, please wait for wiwi :3] @will1amwisp

@will1amwisp

@will1amwisp

After a few minutes. William does seem to move a live. His eyes slightly open but he is still… waking up to put it simply. He seems rather— disoriented and his fingers slowly grip Isaac’s jacket, proving that he’s now awake—.

// ooc: #rush response @luciaverneshteine

luciaverneshteine

She glances back at them, giving them a small smile, attempting to make a joke

"good. Good. Don't go dying on me yet... That'd be an awkward conversation with your parents"

( @lui-duponte )

(Lui forces a smile, sniffling. It's horrible. As much as he wanted to investigate and find out more, he's starting to feel slight regret. The people that he cares for, his loved ones, are getting hurt)

Yeah- (He tries to laugh, but nothing comes out.)

I just want to move again...

@isaac-brooks

[Isaac feels William move and immediately pulls him closer, burying his face in his friend’s shoulder. He's gripping William's hair like a lifeline. Like if he lets go William will pass out again, but this time he won't wake up. He can't lose anyone else. Not now, not ever.]

( @will1amwisp ) yay!! you're back!!!

It takes William a few seconds to process what’s going on. He looks at Isaac, then at Lui and Lucia— not daring to look at the entropyne, even if it was hardened stone and back to a less scary form. You know I would’ve preferred not to wake up in the woods.

He sighed. His voice is still shaky, and he’s avoiding looking at the trees and… anything that isn’t a human being. Hey Isaac you don’t— have to hold me that tightly.

// ooc: that I am :P oh that’s horrible foreshaodwing you hurt me wth :( /nm @norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"are you ready to speak and to deal." [there is no comfort in the entropyne's tone, yet its harsh edge is gone too, a creature such as this has felt fear and loss, even if in ways neither side could ever understand from eachother.]

@luciaverneshteine

luciaverneshteine

Now that Lucia thinks the others will be okay, and thinks the entropyne is talking to Lui, she takes the chance to stare at the tablets from a distance, trying to figure out if there's anything meaningful on them.

"what in the world...? What language..."

After staring at the tablets for a little while, she briefly glances back at the others, although she doesn't seem to want to turn her back to this thing at least not for very long.

"Glad to see you awake William...! Would you have rather awoken in a hospital...?"

( @lui-duponte )

(Lui perks up at William's voice, though he doesn't turn around. He speaks in such a desperate tone, there's barely any relief in his voice as he registers that William is awake again.) Will- Will you're awake! Thank god-

(At the entropynes voice, he doesn't know what to respond, but then again, the question is probably not aimed at him. He and Isaac are still suffering. He can still hear the snap of a twig in the back of his mind. He wants it to stop, he wants to cover his ears. He wants to move again.)

@isaac-brooks

[Isaac raises his head just enough to glare at his friend, and then shoves his head back in the crook of William's shoulder. He's insane if he thinks Isaac will let him go that easily. Though, maybe he actually is. Isaac would certainly not blame him.

There's a couple drops of blood on Will's pants, having run down from Isaac's mouth. It's probably also on his hoodie, where Isaac's face is currently pressed against.]

( @will1amwisp )

William waves his hand slightly in Lucia’s direction. I would’ve preferred to wake up at home I guess. I— uh. Is— are you 3 alright?

William turns his head towards Lui, who is still standing there still in the few seconds that Isaac releases him— Are you— why aren’t you moving? Why aren’t you speaking?? What’s— going on? Meh— Isaac..?

William shuts his eyes and just— gives in, he hugs Isaac, holding on tighter. Everything was still slowly registering.

@norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

(The entropyne isnt gonna act here, ima just let yall talk for a round or so)

@luciaverneshteine

luciaverneshteine

"I guess most... people... would prefer to wake up at home... Are you alright? No injuries? Didn't hit your head?"

Lucia fiddles with the flare gun a little with one hand, opening it, then closing it, then opening it, then closing it again. Then, she takes a few steps over to Lui and tugs on his sleeve once before whispering.

"are you sure you're alright? I'm starting to not believe you..."

( @lui-duponte )

(Lui feels the tug on his sleeve, and he only grows more desperate for movement. He wants to lift his arm, he wants to prove he’s alright. He can still hear the snap of a branch, it’s breaking over and over. It’s endless. He wants to cry, to sob, but he can’t bring himself to do it.)

I- I just can’t move- but- but I’ll be able to move soon… last- last time it wore off- last time I could move after- I’ll be fine- (He mumbled, the natural curve of his body making it seem like he wants to curl up.)

@isaac-brooks

[Isaac moves to stand up, but doesn’t let go of Will. Instead just headbutts him when he keeps looking at his phone. Isaac is now half carrying William, half letting him dangle until he decides to find his footing. It's not very hard, William's pretty short.]

( @will1amwisp )

Ow- hey what was that FoRAH. William still tries holding on for a few moments, his legs just kicking as he is just a few inches of the ground. Isaac you dick! Hmph, whatever, carry me then my knight. He grumbled; obviously mocking Isaac.

It’s strange how William is the one making all these funny little comments— more because he doesn’t want to look back at the entropyne and there’s a child. He doesn’t want to scare Lucia.

// ooc: happy 101 reblogs @norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

[the entropyne appears more and more annoyed by the second.] @luciaverneshteine

luciaverneshteine

She looks worried for a moment.

"what do you mean you can't move?! That. Is that a normal thing humans do?

Her expression calms as she stares at the entropyne with an almost completely blank face, tilting her head slightly

"a deal, yes? What are the terms of the contract? Do you have them in writing?"

( @lui-duponte )

No- no it's not a normal thing humans do- at least I don't think so... let's just get this over with, please... (Lui begs, he's desperate to get out of here. He just wanted to get this over with, to be given what he had came for.)

(He didn't want this. He didn't want any of this. William fainted, Isaac can't speak, and Lucia– a child, is the only one who is pulling through. He should've been more cautious. He should've been more attentive. He doesn't want to get them killed.)

@isaac-brooks lui's bout ends in 2 more post/rounds yay!

[Isaac glances towards Lui, stomping to try and get his attention. He's definitely attempting to comfort, giving a weak smile, though it looks rather comical with Will dangling from his arms like a cat. Isaac was sure that, even if this entro-whatever tries to hurt them, they'd be fine. They always were. And they always would be.]

( @will1amwisp ) sorry for taking ages, I had a breakdown lmao

William was kinda just… ignoring the entropyne, so it seemed. When he was on his phone camera he made sure to turn the flash off and was sneakily taking photos. He looked around at the entropyne now that he wasn’t going to go insane looking at it, he sighed.

He just wanted to go home. He was getting really tired of this— and he was itching to hear the entropyne speak to Lui about what it wanted— or what it was to give.

// ooc: no worries! Hope you are doing better now ! Take care dude… @norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

[im gonna be honest i genuinely dont know what to do here, not in a bad way but what would this infinitely old memory eating brain monster from beyond the veil possibly say in this situation other than "IM BORED AS FUCK" ,,,] /lh @luciaverneshteine

luciaverneshteine

"are... What? Why... Are you sure you're okay?!" Lucia tugs at Lui's sleeve again, as if she's trying to figure something out.

She turns to look back at Isaac and William, a small smile forming as she stares at what the two are doing. Then she looks back at the entropyne, again with that blank look.

Ooc// I hope you're feeling better Isaac!!!

( @lui-duponte )

I- I'm fine... let's just get this over with... please. (Lui was scared. Whatever this entropyne was thinking, it wasn't anything to look forward to. Him standing frozen, thinking back to the spell, wasn't helping. Not at all.)

(Lui shut his eyes closed again, trying to build the courage to not talk about how he couldn't move and how he was going to be alright. He couldn't risk not doing anything.) Y-you're the entropyne, right? YOu- You wanted to speak with me-

@isaac-brooks (( i hope you're okay now!!

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"yes." "you are owed." "one called you here to repay that debt, and to from now-on extend it."

"and once youre less... frozen, one will return the page."

(@isaac-brooks i had to interject here ,, still ur turn dw)

[Isaac starts to move, swaying William back and forth, trying to see how long it will take for Will to get annoyed at him. He can't wait to get out of here. He would never leave his friends alone, but he kinda wishes he hadn't decided to join them on this little... adventure. The boredom really wasn't worth it.]

( @will1amwisp ) I'm okay now! Thanks for the concern ^w^

Heyy. Knock it off! William does whatever he can to secure himself, trying to keep himself up rather than falling to the floor and probably smacking his head onto a tree.

We’re in front of a beast right now and you’re messing around!?

// ooc: that’s good :D @norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"One offers three terms in return for your debts. Choose. Information, on the fates of your friends. Clarity, on the powers of your enemies. Power, over that which disturbs you." @luciaverneshteine

luciaverneshteine

Lucia backs away from Lui, making her way over to the two messing around. She rifles through her pocket for a moment and pulls out a few small, round, crystalline balls with what appears to be liquid cores, holding them out towards William and Isaac with a small head tilt.

"bonbons?"

( @lui-duponte )

(Lui suddenly feels his shoulders drop, his natural curve making him lean further in. He can move, he can finally move! He sniffles, rubbing his eyes his sleeve. Now was not the time to cry.)

(His arms fall back to his sides, his fingers flexing over and over again underneath his slightly long sleeves. He looked at the entropyne.) Only- only that? I-

(He pauses, he wants to know more about their so called "enemies", but information on how Norah's condition was... that was much more needed. He loved research, but he cared about his friends much more.) Information on our friend- you- you said that you know something about Norah, right?

@isaac-brooks

[When Isaac sees Lui start to move again, he opens his mouth, hoping that he might've not been any more affected by this than his friend. His voice still doesn't work, of course. Just his luck. Literally everyone but him is free of this stupid fucking madness. At this rate, he'll only start talking again at his own funeral. That would at least be mildly interesting to witness, as opposed to whatever the fuck this situation they've found themselves in right now is.]

( @will1amwisp )

William wrangles himself out of Isaac grasps, he walks towards Lucia, grabbing one of the candies and stuffing it in his mouth. He looks at the entropyne— roughly, and rolls his eyes, he walks over to a tree and leans back against it, examining said photo he took earlier.

@norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"One knows of her fate, Duponte." "one also knows what awaits the yet-ghost's friend."

"One can tell you the fate of each of your relations, if you so say it to be my payment." "One warns you however, once this avenue of debt is taken, you shall hear no more of power or knowledge on that which threatens you."

@luciaverneshteine it is technically ur turn,, but is it okay with yall if i ignore turn order to just get the Lui-Entropyne deal out of the way so that we can finally end this fucking gargantuan RP thats taken like 5 days now ,,,

luciaverneshteine

(ooc//I'm alright with it) @lui-duponte

(Lui looks at the entropyne, walking closer to it.) Yet-ghost's friend? What...? (Everyone nearby seems to notice how Lui keeps on flexing his hands, must be a coping mechanism after whatever the fuck he just went through.)

Yeah- yeah the fate of our relation would be great- do I really get to know all this after a single page from the grimoire?

@isaac-brooks or @norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame idk who to tag rn

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"as one says, taking this info places the child back into debt." "the debt does not end, it simply switches between one side and the other." "do you accept to owe one a payment of knowledge to know these truths?" "one will not call on this debt in any soon time,, but one will expect it."

@lui-duponte just tag me dw !!!

Yes- yes... I just want to know where Norah is, please. (Lui mumbled the beg silently, he doesn't want to be greedy with knowledge, but as long as he knows if Norah's alright, it's alright.) I'll work on the debt, I promise I will.

@norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"look into the figure's eyes, and one will grant you the knowledge of each i have offered." (a large stone shifts from beneath the earth, somehow carving its self into the visage of a huge stone shrillbird, its gleaming pink eyes opening for Lui to gaze into.)

(Lui's body shudders as he watches how the stone carve into a shrillbird. He walks a little more forward, adjusting his glasses before looking at the giant stone. He had to know this. He had know that Norah was alright, that she was just spending time with her family!)

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

(As he gazes into the grand gleaming eyes, images flash in his head.) (the silhouette of a girl, calling out to someone in the distance, the shadowy shape of a man, who vanishes into smoke, it then shows her head shattered by shimmering blue lights, as her figure is dashed into shadowy figments by writhing branches. The image then flashes white, and Lui sees the girl fallen down on the pavement by the road, said road visible in the background like a blurry watercolour, and as red wisps start to surround the silhouette, the first vision ends.) (It isnt entirely clear, as it looks like a shadow play, but Lui can assume the girl is Norah, and the man is Mr Fleetwood.) "A girl, driven beyond her minds limits, is crushed by the hundred hands of a beast from beyond. She lies by the roadside now, dying amidst snow and gravel." "do you wish to proceed onto visions further, or is this girl's bleak fate enough for you.."

(Lui's face drops. He feels like he should've been there. He should've been a better friend. He should've– who's he fooling? He can barely handle being frozen up. He can't fight, that's why kids at school always target him. He walks closer.)

Yes- yes I want to proceed. Can't believe Norah's dad is an asshole...

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"Gaze into ones other gleaming eye, and the child may see the fate of a close ally of the ghost boy."

Ghost boy...? You mean Will? He's- he's not a ghost, his last name just refers to the spirits, you know? The- the Will O' The Wisps, it's really cool- (He stops talking, deciding that he doesn't want to annoy the entropyne further more.)

(Lui looks at the other eye as told.)

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

(he sees a second silhouette, it appears vaguely like a girl. Their head is ringed with gleaming red light like a halo, and unlike the last one, he can see their eyes, clouded and shining a pale red. He sees as a grasping tendril, similar to the branches that attacked norah though noticeably different, loops around their leg as they speak to a young girl, who's arms are ringed with gleaming orange stitch-marks.) (The scene shifts, and he sees the young girl travel down a set of stairs to gaze upon something horrifying, displayed only as a huge, shuddering shadow.) (The shadow leaps for the girl, but the girl is unhurt.) (As the image shifts again, Lui sees the same person, the halo round their head now fading into smoke as shadows of tendrils and birds lunge for them. One of these dark tendrils meets its mark, impaling the shadow through the eye, hoisting them off the ground by this new gaping wound, and then letting them drop to the ground, dead.) (The vision is then subsumed in shimmering orange flames, and he hears a single heartbeat inside his head, before ending again.)

"A friend of the wisp boy is killed by my other, impaled through the eye, bleeding to death on the floor of their home." "Though flames still spark around their heart, the murder is absolute, and its grasping tendrils reach ever further to claim all truth of the life it takes."

(Lui looked at the the vision, his face turning into horror. It made no sense. A revival like this went against his logic, the knowledge he knew. He'd never seen this person before, maybe at school once or twice– but how did they manage to get pulled into this?)

(Lui kept remembering the orange flames, how there was a heartbeat over and over again. How? How did someone come back from the dead?) What- what the fuck?!

(He stumbled back.) How- how?! Did you have something to do with this shit? But- but they're not one of the returned, right? It- the returned had nothing to do with this, right?

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"One does not say the child lives. A burning in their heart yet lives, but the child was killed."

"The Returned are entirely separate from this child's murder, one is sorry to say that this child was impaled by one's paler half, in the presence of another of your group." "The Younger Child was present during the event, but was too weak and too slow to save them." "The embers of solace yet linger in their heart, but make no mistake, Duponte, the child dies."

"The young girl believes the child to have survived, the young girl is wrong, the child dies and dies again, agony and waste, as their knowledge burns."

(Lui stumbles back once more.) But- but how many times will the child die? I mean- it has to stop sometime, right? If it doesn't, they're just losing their memories for eternity! What's the fun in that?

(Lui's practically in horror, someone just dies over and over again. He should've warned them, and now it's costing someone's life.)

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"The child will die. and die. and die." "the child will die until there is nothing left to live." "a spirit's embers continue the child's life, but when one is sustained by the flames of a dying fire, eventually.. all that is left.. is ash."

That's just torture! What- what the fuck?! How can you just let that happen?! That's- that kid is around my age and- and-

How- how could I stop something like that? They deserve to live life like I do!

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"One had nothing to do with it." "Neither did my other, infact." "Would you prefer the child to die, and remain dead forever?" "Ask the wisp boy, would he prefer his friend impaled and left, a husk of any vibrance they once held?"

"These embers grant more than simple life, and one finds the loss of ones originals is worth a life of many lives, a life barred upon by interests most unnatural."

No- no I don't want them to die and stay dead! (His hands go up on his hair, gripping it tightly. He just wanted someone to live. This was a teenager living in Deadwood just like him. That someone deserved to have a life with memories to look back on.)

I just- I just want them to live! To- to have memories to look back in nostalgia and shit!

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"this is the way of life." "the child will shatter for good, or will live with the broken pieces half mended in their mind." "if one wished to prevent it, one should have asked for power rather than knowledge, but foresight is a trait you children strongly lack."

(Lui closes his eyes, yanking his hair. Why does he like knowledge so much? Now some poor teenager gets to suffer because of his stupid need to learn.) Fuck! So what now?! Some- some poor kid gets to suffer?

They never get to get nostalgia when they look at photos! You know how miserable the sounds?! Do- don't you have like a solution or do I need to pay you more?!

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"One is unsure why the Duponte boy acts like this is ones own fault." "as one said, there was no hand of mine involved in either their death nor their revival, an entirely seperate spirit creates this new life." "One can offer this power, but would the boy claim it fair to recieve more than you give?" "The boy feeds the brain scraps and expects it's deepest wisdom." "how despisedly rude." [The clearing shakes a little as the Entropyne grows angry.]

I- I'm sorry- I just... fuck- (He yanks his hair tighter, he's not angry at the entropyne, he's angry at himself. But, then– Norah! Norah she was- she was on the verge of dying, and instead he was worrying about someone he doesn't know? He's a bad friend. He's being a bad friend right now. Norah deserved better than this, better than his shitty caring.)

Can- can you tell me more about Norah? What- where is she? Please- I need to go find her! She- she's on death's door!

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"One cannot." "The Fleetwood is prey to another, a predator of ones kind, and if one speaks directly its acts and its prey,, the Young will find one."

"The Mind has done what it can, the roadside, the branches, blood in snow, that is all one can tell you." "The Young speaks through the trees and it knows ones plans and it is everywhere, through nature and wind it sees one and it holds above all."

What?! At- at this point just tell me how much of a horrible person I am! How- how I'm a bad friend- I just want to know where she is... please. (He yanks his hair tighter. He's a bad person. He craves knowledge more than the safety of his friends. Yeah, maybe he has a big heart, but he's always brought more attention to his researcher's part of his body.)

You know things- and- and all of this- my reactions- I'm a bad friend!

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"One cares not for a boy's self-deceipt." "Whether the Duponte boy lies to himself about his own quality is no care of mine." "Take my gifts, and offer in return when it serves you." "If you wish to save her, banish the dark young." "One can help you no more in finding her while ones predator lives."

I- I... thanks for the information... (He takes a deep breath, stopping himself from yanking his hair any further. His head hurt, but he couldn't tell if it was from yanking his hair, or his endless thoughts.)

norahfleetwoodwhenceshecame

"Is the duponte boy ready to leave, or will he offer more for a second option."

(Lui froze up again, he patted his overalls all over. Did he bring the grimoire? He didn't have it.) I- I don't have another page to give. Can- can I give you something else...?

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

"they didnt seem to when they were on my blog" (Ellane takes a couple steps toward the pavement)

(Astrid shrugs, walking alongside.)

" They are a creature of many opinions. "

"many dietary options maybe ,," (they giggle at their own joke as they start down the pavement)

(Astrid couldn't help but chuckle.) " you're going to make them mad! but... maybe it does need a few less candies! "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

"they didnt seem to when they were on my blog" (Ellane takes a couple steps toward the pavement)

(Astrid shrugs, walking alongside.)

" They are a creature of many opinions. "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

(they just kinda step on and off it for a moment, until it seems to click back into place) "oh yeah- im fine,, does it all the time" (they take hold of the stupid big fat raccoon and squeeze it like a plushie ,,)

(Astird nods, starting to climb down carefully.) " you should be more careful, looked really painful. "

(She eventually placed down on the floor. They looked at Apollo, smiling at how comfy it looked in Ellane's hold.) " they really like you, Ellane, and that's not common! "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

"sure! just chunk em down here!!"

(noteably, its very obvious that Ellane's hypermobility has just caused their ankle to bend over very fucking painfully from the fall, but they appear to be ignoring it :3 )

(She looks down, holding Apollo in her hands.) "uh... you sure you're alright...? you're ankle's bent over, looks like that hurts like hell. "

(Apollo in the other hand seems to climb out of Astrid's hands, making its way to Ellane's hands, their fur lighting up the night in astral patterns.)

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

(Ellane, displaying a strange confidence in their own life for a change, hops straight onto the windowsill, sliding down the drainpipe onto the lawn below without a second thought)

"cmon!! Ill catch you if you fall, i promise!!"

(Astrid seems weirdly uneasy at Ellane's confident manner, considering they weren't acting like this when she got here. But, she shrugged it off anyway. Maybe they were doing it just to get her mind off things.)

" catch Apollo! I can't do that crazy shit with them in my bag! "

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

"soo,, shall we go for a wander?"

(Ellane stands by the door)

" oh, y-yeah! uh, let's not wake up anyone in the house while we're at it, i did kind of sneak it, and i don't know the kid who lives at this house. "

(she chuckles, adjusting the straps on her backpack. Apollo peaked out of the bag, a light glow lighting up the room, almost like a night light.)

Jul 2

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

(Ellane wanders over to the closet, quickly changing out of the very bloodied set of Will's clothes theyre currently wearing, instead taking a pair of his baggiest lightest jeans, and one of his many skull-hoodies to replace the bloodied clothes.)

"Will has so many cool clothes,, also- dont worry, he did say i could take his clothes if i wanted,, im not just stealing."

" thought so... i don't think you'd be stealing, considering you texted him about the idea with Apollo– also sorry about that. "

(She looks over at the room, wanting to see if there were any posters around, taking out another candy from her pocket, letting it fall into her backpack, knowing that Apollo was going to catch it.)

Jul 1

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

"he is,, he has flaws, granted, a lot of them, but hes incredibly cool despite it,,"

"anyways.. i think we should do a little more of this recapping of our lives,, whaddya say we wander down toward the park in the middle of the night,,"

" i mean... everyone has flaws, can't blame him for that. "

" that'd be awesome. "

Jul 1

(A faint sound of a pebble hitting a window can be heard in William's room, after a small moment, a pebble hits harder, and thankfully it didn't damage the window. But, it's hard enough to almost damage it.)

@familiarityupp

Ellane peeks their head out the window, and Astrid would see a kid with a large, reddened bandage over their eye, blood dripping down their chin, looking a little manic and very ill :3 "oh- hi,, are you astrid?" "i can come down there if you want,,"

(Astrid looks up at the window, she winces quietly at looking upon Ellane's injured face. She's wearing a backpack that seems to be almost entirely open, and her grasp around the straps.)

" yeah, i'm Astrid! Uh, are you sure you're not in any pain? You look... " (She trails off, before gesturing a hand over their face in a circular motion.) " no, no- it's fine, i can sneak in, houses like this aren't too hard to climb. "

"houses like this,,, definitely are hard to climb- please be careful.." "im in quite a lot of pain actually but im not dead,, soo.."

(they start to proffer their hand down toward Astrid for when they get high enough up)

(Ellane sees how Astrid starts to climb up in a practiced manner, almost as if it's not something new for her to sneak into a house that's built with a similar structure, yet she's still having a little trouble, maybe because of her backpack.)

" I got a med kit, it should have some pain meds in there! "

// ooc: regular success on climb yay!!

"uh- im not sure thats neccessary,, but thankyou anyhow..."

(Astrid gets a hold on Ellane's hand, their other hand holding the straps of their backpack tightly.)

" no problem! " (She smiles widely, showing her colorful dark blue braces.)

(Ellane yanks them through the window) (Now theyre closer, Astrid could see a stranger expression on Ellane's face,, a weird flickering mix of plain despair and manic excitement,, like the worst thing possible and the best thing possible were happening to them at the same time) "soo,, can i see your guy please :)"

(Astrid's backpack drops carefully, a small thud sounding as it lands on the floor. She looks at Ellane's face, an expression that she couldn't figure out what they were feeling, but considering the excitement, Astrid decided not to ask about it.)

" yeah! they're just a bit shy in this form. " (They pull out a raccoon, larger than the average size, and it also had dark blue fur with astral patterns around it. She gently lets it sit, handing Ellane some candy, and also taking out a med kit.)

" this is Apollo! It likes staying in this form a lot. I haven't really figured out why... maybe because it doesn't want me to get in danger or taken away- "

,,, ohmygoditssocute what the heckk,,, its os cute ohmy,,,, (they eagerly snatch the candy, offering one to the silly little critter, slowly moving to pat it on the head)

" i get cuteness agression from them... their actual form is also really cute in my opinion, but it's quite creepy when they're mad. "

(She chuckles when Ellane snatches the candy from her hand, and they open the med kit, going through the bandages, and taking out the medicines.) " i think it's best to change your bandages, they could get infected, and that's not a cool experience. "

" actually, Apollo used to be really thin, like concerning thin. it's nice to see them like this. "

",, well im glad for it too,, chubby raccoon is like the cutest thing in the world,,," (ellane just keeps trying to feed the chonky fat cute little guy sweets as much as possible) "Oh- yeah,, sure,, but uhm.. its a little difficult to change the eye-one without looking at it ,,,"

(Apollo takes every sweet, taking it in their hands, and eating it slowly, almost as if they want it to last forever. Ellane notices that the further they look into its fur, it's almost as seeing the night sky in itself, almost like a galaxy print.)

(Meanwhile, Astrid moves a bit closer to Ellane with bandages, but not trying to disturb them feeding Apollo. Their posture gives away how awkward she feels in the moment, but still tries to seem confident.)

" sorry if i'm weird... i'm not super used to actually being in a house with another person. i don't... really talk to anyone at school. "

" loser. " (Apollo mumbled, causing Astrid to roll her eyes.)

"why is ur raccoon mean....." "also- no its okay, youre cool,, its like will, hes an antisocial idiot but hes also so lovely,," "would you mind,, changing that one,, i cant look at it."

" their species has something to do with emotions and shit, it's really fucking annoying. "

(As Astrid takes a dirty bandage off of Ellane's head, noticing the hole in their head that seems to expose... bone? They stare at it for a while, before taking a deep breath and cleaning the injury before bandaging it again.)

" you're actually really chill... it's nice to actually talk to someone this calm. also, i don't know how the hell you're not in more pain, and if you feel stuff, i'm going to clean the injury again... it might sting. "

[what astrid sees in specific, is that their eye isnt just hurt, its entirely missing, a hole directly to the bone of their skull sits there instead, and in that hole, sits a small, wiggling Flame, dancing around in its gleaming orange light, not burning on anything just,, floating there,, the bone around it looks clean, and the actual blood running down Ellane's face comes from the many sliced cuts surrounding the hole, the actual wound is entirely healthy somehow...] "i really dont know- ow- okay that- oww dude,," "that didnt hurt as much as- fuck- okay ow- as i expected but,, neither does my eye,,," "i dont wanna look at it yet,, but hows the eye looking?"

(Astrid looks at the injury a little bit more. she looks back at Ellane, shrugging.) " hard to say...? i'm not a medical expert, but i think it'll leave a cool scar once it heals."

" you could flex it to other people, so guess that's a cool thing...? " (they shrug, though she can't help but be curious. She looks over at Apollo, who looks back at them and shrugs.)

hehe,, i like that atleast, looking cool is kinda awesome actually,, so do you reckon ill be able to see out of it again eventually?

(she starts to bandage the injury again, shrugging, it's obvious that she wants to say yes, but doesn't want to lie if they actually won't be able to out of of it again.) " i don't know... maybe once it heals it'll be easier to determine that. "

(Astrid's hands are gentle, but there's a slight nervous shake to them. They're nervous, but still manages to wrap the new bandage like a professional.) " what is this Will kid like...? I only know he's quiet if he's not around his group. I have him in class... I think it was history or something."

"uh- hes.. just really cool,,, i loved knowing him so far even if its dangerous... genuinely i think he and his friends are the coolest people ever.."

(they kinda shuffle the bandage a little with their fingers, getting it a little more comfortable) "I-... uhm.. thanks for this by the way,," "can i hug your guy now.."

" i've seen them around school, they seem really nice... makes me wish i could get the courage to be friends with people for a long time. " (she scoots a little further away.) " a bit stupid, but... it's worth to think about. "

(she looks at Apollo, who looks quite comfortable now.) " oh- don't worry about it, you seemed like you needed company. "

(they look back at Ellane, nodding.) " mhm! you just have to be really gentle with it, they don't like harsh movements."

they slowly reach out, picking up the little raccoon very softly, and giving it a liittle squeeze,, so chunkby,, heavy raccoonm,,,, "its so cuute,,,," "i mean-,, i only became friends with will by being a tumblr anon first,,"

(Astrid smiles, noticing how Apollo squirmed to get more comfortable in Ellane's soft grasp. She couldn't help but chuckle, Apollo looked very cute, and stupid. She took a candy out, letting Apollo lick it while he's in the hug.)

" i guess that makes sense... but Apollo was that one that interacted with your blog. still sorry about that. "

its fine,, it was kinda right anyway so i dont mind too much

" no, no- Apollo's wrong. they're just... being rude because their still new at all the feelings stuff. which is weird considering their species has a lot to do with that. "

"how much do you,, actually,, know about it?"

" not a lot actually- it doesn't talk about its species... it's almost like they're scared of talking about it. " (she looks at Apollo, petting their head.) " maybe that's why he's mean. i'm not sure. "

" they're trying to get better though, so i guess it being friends with me worked. "

"its so pudgy,,, its hard to believe something so soft and squishy could ever be mean,,,"

" me neither... "

" but also that's how i feel with people at school sometimes, they look so nice, but they can be so mean. " (she fiddles with her hair.)

".. to be entirely honest i dont actually remember most of the people from school.. have we met before?? i dont remember it but maybe we did ?" (Ellane would wibble the little raccoon lightly, just checking it its even stll awake)

" I- I think we have...? I'm not too sure. I... I'm really bad with people, sorry. " (she fiddles with their hair a lot more than before, she's a lot more nervous, what if they did know Ellane and just forgot?)

" people at school call me a freak because I don't talk to people... and I eat lunch in the bathrooms. "

"eh thats fine, they kinda do that to everyone" "will's popular best friend broke my nose last year,, we kinda just dont like most of those people even if will does.."

(she nods, already knowing how many assholes there can be at school.) " yeah... they suck. "

" ouch... sounds a lot worse than what they do to me. they just find the stall i'm hiding in, and throw trash in there. it's not cool. "

"you should try eating on the roof sometime ,, the only way up there *is* a caretaker ladder but they barely ever remember to lock it soo,,"

" i- i don't know... " (she shrugs awkwardly, her eyes looking around the room at something focus on.) " i'm scared those people will find that spot too... i'd rather stay in the stalls. "

"that sounds like a logical impossibility,," (ellane flops down on will's bed, clearly very tired, but only now feeling comfortable to lay down now that they arent actively bleeding everywhere)

"soo,, do you wanna do anything??"

" maybe... but it's better than anything in my opinion. i mean, school's not that bad if you don't think about the bullying! "

(Astrid looks over at Ellane, taking Apollo and hugging it, just like a stuffed animal. they position themselves to sit against the bed on the floor.)

" i don't know- do you think Will has any boardgames or any movies we can watch...? "

id have to ask him,, i think they have a monopoly board in the basement but 2-player-monopoly is kinda boring...

" yeah... "

" maybe we can like take care of Apollo? i'm sure they wouldn't mind a little dress-up! " (she smirks, lifting Apollo up to show Ellane.)

i mean,, the only clothes we have are will's,, and i think he might be mad if we put his clothes on a chubby raccoon,,,"

" i don't know... just look at this chonker! how can you resist it? "

(she sits up on the bed with Apollo on their lap.) " but... maybe it's best if we ask him...? "

(they poke Apollo's belly a little, so round ..) "i messaged him now,, i do not think he will let you tho,,"

" if he sees Apollo, i don't think it's possible to say no. "

"i sent him a photo a while back,,"

" oh. "

" well, i think he's going to say it's okay, Apollo's too cute. "

"uhm, no... he said no." "do you wanna go for a walk maybe,, i know its like 4am but still,,"

" right... makes sense. " (she curls up, Apollo escaping from their grasp, and heading back into Astrid's backpack. She's probably being weird. She knows she's being weird.)

" are you sure you want to go on a walk...? you look like someone who should be in a hospital. "

"..." "i already died, astrid." "i wasnt gonna tell you right now but i might aswell." "i died, i am dead? not really, but i did die."

(Ellane notices how Astrid seems to curl up even more, placing her head on her knees.) " i dont care. if you're here you're alive- you're- you're not six feet under. "

" we can go for a walk if you want... and talk. i just don't want to be alone. "

//ooc: lowk started tearing up writing this lol

Ellane sighs, wiping at their singular remaining eye and getting up off the bed "I.. i think im alive, i dunno what happened but,, i dont stay dead i suppose" (they offer her a hand) "lets go :)"

(Astrid wipes her eyes, sniffling, and taking Ellane's hand.) " sorry... i'm being weird- you were dead, and i'm crying over stupid shit... "

(She grabs the backpack, Apollo already inside the bag.) " is there anywhere cool to go here in Deadwood anyways...? "

"nono, , youre okay,, dont worry.. just-,, tell me what youre crying about" (They take hold of her shoulders, their eyes, still cracked with streaks of blood, meet Astrid's directly, the purple glimmer of their irises a clear sign of their continuing life, the first in a little while.)

" i'm weird! i haven't talked to an actual person since like middle school– nobody talks to me, and i can't talk to no one- i- i'm a fucking freak. at least everyone at school says that anyways... "

(she rubs her eyes, though it doesn't help with the tears already building up in their eyes.) " you're cool- you talk to people- for God's sake i didn't even interact with you first, Apollo did! "

" sorry- sorry... i shouldn't be venting my problems to someone i barely know... "

"nono, its cool-" "to be honest, im mostly the same.." "the last close friend i had when i was *10 years old* dude,, granted thats cause shes *dead*. but still" "Will is my first friend in 6 years,, i totally get how you feel"

" same boat– " (she chuckles, wiping her tears. she feels Apollo squirm in her backpack.)

" just... different situation. it's nice you got a friends after that many years... that's good, plus based on his room, it's like he's really cool. "

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