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[cantfightmoonlight]

"Cause you've got that whole brooding thing about you. Like you don't care if people find you hot, but half the town is going to anyway. That and I could kinda picture you sitting by a window, sulking," She teased, flashing the blonde a smile of her own as she gave Addie's shirt another playful tug. "I know, but I already tend to try to not live up here," She tapped the side of her head lightly as her fingers continued to graze along the sliver of skin that revealed itself between Addie's t-shirt and shorts. "As much as possible." Her gaze fell down to the other's lips as if to further exemplify her point. Kiraz hated to be left alone with her own thoughts and would much rather be entertaining herself with the pretty blonde before her, who seemed to get her in a way she hadn't been expecting.

"I'm pretty much the asshole of my family, outside of maybe our parents. But they meant well in their own fucked up way, I suppose," Kiraz pressed her lips together. Her shoulders lifted and fell as she quietly admitted, "I think I was just born wrong or something." It was the only explanation she could think of as to why all of her siblings seemed to act so unfazed by what had happened to them, other than her. Sure, she played it off like it didn't affect her, but she also knew her siblings had this deep propensity to care about practical strangers. Even Leyla saw the best in people, while Kiraz saw the worst.

"I think he had an inkling, but knowing is different than experiencing it firsthand, you know? This town is full of death, and I don't know how he's going to handle it, but... I suppose not." She gave Addie a small nod. "Sounds to me like there's a story there. I'm guessing your folks were uptight?" She asked, not that her parents likely wouldn't be similar. She may have grown up middle-class with an alcoholic as a father, but she had a feeling he wouldn't like it if he knew any of his kids did drugs, regardless. "Though, if you'd ask me, there is nothing wrong with liking to indulge yourself," She offered. The corner of her lips lifted ever so slightly at the thought.

Just a sad, rich kid who got herself kicked out of the family because she liked drugs and sex too much."

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Oh, I very much care if people find me hot. As long as those people are women or femme presenting," Addie snorted, shaking her head. "I don't buy for a minute that Bella didn't know she was hot. Book or movie version." She scoffed, swatting playfully at Kiraz. "I do not brood. You seem like much more of a brooder to me. I bet you brood in the rain all the time. It's those big doe eyes of yours. Very disarming. Plus I'm way paler." She shivered again, unable to help herself. Watched the flick of Kiraz's eyes down to her lips. "Yeah," she mumbled, "get that, too." Addie hated being inside her own head, maybe that's what all the drugs and alcohol was really for. Taking a drag of her cigarette again, Addie then leaned closer to Kiraz, before lifting a hand to grab her chin, prodding her to open her mouth. When she did, Addie simply shotgunned the smoke directly into Kiraz's mouth before sitting back, smiling.

"My parents fucked off the moment they could," Addie said, tapping the ash from the end of the cig. "Maybe we're all born fucked up." She certainly had been, too. She didn't think it really mattered, in the end. "Not to sound, like, a fuckin' therapist, but different doesn't mean wrong. But I guess every family has to have at least one. Least it makes you interesting, to me." Not that Addie's opinion really meant much to anyone.

"Trust me, I know. Guess that's why you're supposed to trust your gut or whatever. Otherwise you end up bitten in a dead end town, like me." She gestured to herself. Laughed a little. "More like opposite of uptight. They were as absentee as absentee parents get without disapperin' all together. Left me to raise my two little sisters." She clicked her jaw. "As if I wasn't a kid, too." Addie glanced at her sideways, almost a hint of something deeply ingrained inside of her. Some sadness she just couldn't ever escape. Then she looked way. "Think I indulged a little too much."

[lunahriian]

open starter - @lunarcovestarters location - The Daily Drip

The chatter of patrons and the hiss of the espresso machine adds a calming ambiance to what an outsider might see as a seemingly awkward conversation, or lack thereof. Felicity idly stirs her drink, the usual black tea with just a bit of sugar, eyes drifting around her surroundings before finally settling on the person across from her with a slight, almost shy smile.

"Hey, uh, thanks again for th' invite. T'be honest, I haven't gotten out much since movin' here, or... spoken t'many people."

[axiosawaitaddie]

The hissing espresso machine was about five octaves too high and ten decibels too loud for Addie to actually like anything about what was happening, even with a quad shot red eye clutched between her two hands. She was trying out this other new thing called being social and actually talking to people outside of just wanting to sleep with them. Friends or whatever. People who stuck around did that, right? Fuck, she hated this. It was noon, sure, but that was usually just about the time she was waking up, unless she had somewhere very specific to be, or a job to be on.

"What? Oh, uh, yeah, sure," she shrugged. Really, Addie had just scrolled through her phone and clicked the first name she'd found that wasn't someone she'd fucked and left more than once. That was...a longer list than she cared to admit. "Aren't you a bartender? I thought talking to people was like, your entire job," she deadpanned, though it was supposed to be a joke.

[itsronniebish]

It was really fucking stupid, and selfish, and downright lousy to be this upset about someone going on a date, especially when that someone was a person that Ronnie essentially told multiple times to move on. But here Ronnie was, crying, completely devastated by the thought that Rangi was going to go out and have a good time and it wasn't with her. She got it, okay? She got that it was cruel. She was the one that walked out. It wasn't fair of her to be upset if Rangi was moving on.

She was still crying when Addie opened the door of the van, even though she quickly went through the effort of cleaning up her face. "Fuck," Ronnie said, facing away from Addie for a moment. When she dried her face off on her sleeve, she didn't say anything. Neither of them said anything.

They were both just... really bad at this. Ronnie took the flask and drank. And drank. And drank until it was empty, swallowing the final bitter dregs of it before handing it back. Without looking over at Addie, Ronnie just mumbled, "I... Why are we so fucked up?"

[axiosawaitaddie]

Watching Ronnie drain all her alcohol made Addie itch with annoyance, but she was trying to cut her some slack. She was clearly going through something and Addie was trying this new thing called not being a total asshole in every situation possible. She was sticking around, after all, and pushing away every single person she came into contact with wasn't really doing her any favors anymore. Especially not with Ronnie. Instead, she leaned over and plucked a joint from the tray that sat on the small counter, lighting it up. At the very least, it would help them both relax.

"Absentee parents," Addie answered, holding the joint out to Ronnie. She turned around and hung herself half over the front seats, careful this time not to kick Ronnie as she rolled down the passenger window just enough to make sure they didn't fucking hotbox themselves. The real answer, of course, was much more complicated than that. Sliding back to a sit, she gestured for the joint again. "Or maybe we were just born this way. You were pretty needy as a baby, always crying for your bottle. I remember the first time I held you and mom let me feed you, you drank, like, two whole bottles of milk. And then threw up all over my shirt." She let a beat of silence pass. "It's one of my very first memories." Not her mother holding her or her sitting on her dad's shoulders. "Feeding you."

[yasinlunar]

Denying her own heroism? Yasin could not decide if she was being serious or simply modest. More than ever, it seemed to him that the people of the world were grappling between two extremes—one side becoming more private, and the other more open.

"We differ on Gatsby," Yasin said thoughtfully. You could discuss almost anything in a bar. On this note, the two of them were just barely removed from Charles Babbage's Saturday night soirées. "A farm boy turned decorated soldier turned bootlegger, reinventing himself again and again and succeeding, at least for a time? That sounds brave to me."

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie gave the man a blank stare, face completely unamused. "Gatsby died in his own pool surrounded by no one." She shifted, only slightly. "I don't think he's exactly the brave hero of that novel. Or the protagonist. In fact, I'm pretty there's at least ten literary essays out there declaring he's the opposite." When the drinks were set down in front of them, Addie took her new full glass and downed at least half of it. She'd need it to get through this conversation.

[cantfightmoonlight]

"You know, I think that might actually do it. Quick, take it off, cue the rain, I'll say 'where have you been, loca?' and the next thing we know, we'll be blackout free," Kiraz teased, reaching out to give the hem of Addie's shirt a light tease. "I think I might've lived a little too much out there, hence why I'm here," The corner of her lips lifted slightly as she gave Addie's shirt another teasing tug. Though the reality was hardly as carefree as she made it seem. She had thrown her life away before coming to Lunar Cove. She'd gotten too much blood on her hands to think about going back to her fancy degree and a potential position saving lives in some hospital. But she was resourceful, so she traveled around the world, causing far more damage in the cities she frequented, utilizing the money strange men on the internet had willing gave her. She had one hell of a ride playing the role of a vigilante, only now, if she ever did leave Lunar Cove, it wouldn't only be the hunters she'd have to worry about, but a jail cell with her name on it.

She had turned into a werewolf partially on a whim and partially to convince herself that she still held some level of agency over her own life. That she hadn't just traded one cell for another. That she could theoretically leave if she wanted to, but she also knew deep down that if she had stayed a human, would it really have made that much of a difference? Would she have really been any less trapped? Maybe that was partially why she kept waking up after full moons right along the border of town. Maybe her brain was trying to run, only to time and time again to realize she didn't have anywhere to truly go. "You and I both," Kiraz nodded, linking her pinkie through Addie's as she brought their intertwined hands up to her lips to give the back of it a kiss as if to lock their promise into place.

"Your little sister's a prick?" A genuine laugh broke from Kiraz's lips at Addie's question. "I think that might be exclusive to your sister, but then again, I'm also fairly sure I'm the prick of my only family, so guess every family has to have at least one of them, right?" She offered up with an amused smile. Though, in reality, she wasn't really sure why she'd ended up like such a bitch, when her little sisters had managed to stay so sweet. Every time she saw Leyla, she practically wanted to squish her cheeks. While, Talia, was like sunshine incarnate. Even Yasin was a smiling breath of fresh air. All three of them navigated life far better than most could possibly imagine given their circumstances, and yet, there she was, uncaring, apathetic, and cold. What happened there?

"Yeah... Me too. But I also know he's going to learn about all this shit eventually, you know? Not that I even want to hide it from him." She didn't want to be like her dad and, yet, with Yasin back in town and while her tiptoeing around the elephant in the room while daydrinking, she felt more and more like her old man than ever. "I guess I just don't really want to see what this town winds up doing to him. And yeah. That's me for you." Fucked up. "Your turn. What's your deal?" She asked as she motioned towards the cigarette in Addie's hand as if to ask if she could take another drag of it.

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Hey! Why am I Bella? I was a wolf first, you know," Addie snorted, shaking her head. Actually smiling. Ugh. That was stupid. She shivered against the light touch, even if nothing was happening, just teasing fingers at the bottom of her shirt. Addie gave a low hum, leaning back on the table they were sat on, hand bracing herself upright as she watched Kiraz. There was something more there, something she wasn't saying and probably never would say, to someone like Addie. It wasn't like Addie was trust worthy or anything like that. "Meant more, like, metaphysically or whatever, but--" she shrugged with one shoulder-- "guess I get that." Really, though, there was simply nothing left for Addie out there. All she had was here, even if she liked to pretend she could leave at any moment. In her gut, she knew she couldn't, and not just because she turned into a murderous beast once a month. She took another long drag.

"Hmm. Yeah," was all Addie offered. Kiraz had never seemed like the kind of person who followed authority, and after their last meeting, it had all been cemented. Burying a body did that to a person, she supposed. She just had to wonder exactly how many bodies Kiraz had buried. She had to wonder if she cared that Kiraz had killed, probably more than that one time. When she looked deeper, she didn't think she did. Maybe that was just life.

"She can be," Addie pointed out, "but I think that might just be a family quality. Both my mom and dad are giant assholes, so it's no wonder we all turned out this way. Except Gillie. She was always pretty, uh--" Addie waved her hand around-- "inconspicuous. Nice. Guess the gene skipped her."

Addie tapped the cigarette on the edge of the table to break loose some of the ash before holding it out to Kiraz. "I think if he's here, then he probably already knows about it all. Even before I knew, I sorta...knew. You know?" She shook her head. Quieter, "can't protect them forever." Her fingers tapped on the table without anything to preoccupy them, a habit she'd always had. "My deal? Nothing special. Just a sad, rich kid who got herself kicked out of the family because she liked drugs and sex too much."

[cantfightmoonlight]

If Lennon had thought too hard over the fact that she was still sprawled out on top of Addie, legs intertwined, she too, would've likely scrambled back from her. She knew the song and dance by now to know what it was Addie actually wanted from her and what it was the blonde likely didn't. But, between the heat and the high of what the two of them had just done, Lennon hadn't spared a thought to think of what the two of them looked like under the sweltering sun and instead leaned forward, catching the cigarette offered to her between her teeth rather than her hands. Slowly reaching up to take a drag of it, she tapped the cigarette once against the edge of the bench to knock off any ash before she offered it back Addie's way. "No, but Pizza Joe's isn't too far from here. We could share a booth?" She offered. She would've rec'd the diner, but her sister was still pulling shifts there and the last thing she needed was for Stevie to stumble upon them and what they very well could end up getting up to if their track record had anything to say about it. Though, Lennon wouldn't exactly mind if things happened to go a slightly different change of pace, even if she'd hardly be admitting that little fact out loud.

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie to the cigarette back and drew in a large breathful of the smoke. She held it before slowly letting it go, contemplating the offer. Getting food after a lay wasn't normally something Addie did, but she also didn't usually stick around afterwards and she definitely didn't just lay around smoking a cigarette with them, either. She hummed thoughtfully. "Alright, sure," she shrugged, tapping on Lennon to get her to sit up. "Why not." It wasn't what she did, but she'd been doing a lot of things lately that she never really did before. This place was changing her, whether she liked it or not. "But only if we get garlic knots, too."

[axiosawaitaddie]

with: @itsronniebish where: the van

Swinging the key around on her finger, Addie actually felt kinda good today-- and she hadn't even taken an extra tab of something in the morning. Truthfully, things weren't good, like, in general, but for today, she'd put all of that out of her mind because she'd been out to prove something. To herself, to whoever might be looking-- but, mostly, to her little sister, who kept insisting that Addie was just going to leave her again.

Really, though, even if Addie could leave, she wasn't going to. It never really crossed her mind, once she saw what had happened to Ronnie. Even as annoying as she was, it hurt to see her in pain like this. Dead but not. Alive but not.

Addie had left Ronnie once before, and after their talk a while ago, she was going to try to never do it again. At least, not willingly. Life probably didn't have much patience left for her, thirty had really been her limit before, but now that she was closer to halfway to forty, it seemed a little unreal, like she was just on borrowed time. Like life was just giving her enough time to right whatever wrongs she could before it finally came to collect.

And so, with all of that in mind, Addie had finally bit the bullet and gotten a place to live in that wasn't on wheels. (Don't give her too much credit, though, it was just a motel room for now. One that she paid for monthly, so it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Even if Addie was still allergic to real commitment. A motel room, even paid monthly, meant she could still run if she needed to.) Now all she had to do was tell Ronnie the good news, something she felt only a little smug about.

But all of that smugness went away immediately when she opened the back door and was met with the sight of her little sister curled up in a ball, knees to her chest, sniffling and wiping her face. "Shit," Addie mumbled, tucking the key into her pocket as she climbed in. She nudged Ronnie to scoot over so she could fit, too, and shut the door. She didn't say anything at first, as she settled next to her, just pulled out her flask, took a sip, and handed it over. If Ronnie wanted to talk, Addie figured she would. She always had a habit of trying to hold things in, only to burst with it later and let it all out at once. A Bishop classic, Addie supposed.

[yasinlunar]

He would've not have put it that way, but there was no denying it: they were effective.

"Thanks for the help," Yasin said in relief to his unexpected friend in need. "You're a regular Caped Crusader." He paused to consider the idea. Did Lunar Cove have superheroes...?

By now, anything seemed possible.

"Next round is on me," Yasin added, gaze flicking down to the glasses between them. He too could use a refill now, and it was only uphill from here. "Top shelf if you're so inclined."

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie's entire face scrunched up in disgust. "Furthest thing from it." Addie was the villain in almost everyone's story, probably. At least every girl whose life she'd walked into. She frowned over at him, deeper now, as he offered another round. Her glass was empty and normally she'd jump at the chance for a free drink, even from a guy in a bar, because free booze was free booze. Now, though, the offer came as a reward for her help. She hadn't been trying to help, that person had just been annoying her. That was all.

"Grow a backbone, Gatsby," she told him instead.

[cantfightmoonlight]

Kiraz lifted her head. Her big brown eyes held Addie's for a moment before she gave her a small and understanding nod. "No shit. Though apparently not every wolf blacks out. I guess that makes us special," She grumbled under her breath as annoying as being special seemed to be in this particular moment. "Eh, don't be. I could always turn later on, and I don't know. Being a vampire might sound a little bit better right now in comparison, but you'd have to die, drink blood, and live forever. And while the first two don't sound all that bad compared to breaking every bone in your body every month, I'm not sure yet, if I'd want to be stuck in my own head for an eternity, if that makes sense..." She didn't even like to be stuck alone with her thoughts for an hour as is, often trying to distract herself by whatever means possible.

"Yeah?" Kiraz's face brightened at that. A smile broke from her own lips as she gave Addie a nod. "Okay, fuck 'em. You've got yourself a deal," She grinned as she extended her pinkie out for Addie as though to shake on it. "Yeah... Sometimes reading really is for schmucks," And that was coming from someone who enjoyed to read a good scientific paper now and again.

"Yeah, welp, I happen to know a lot about the whole undead side of life, if you ever want to exchange tips? I can't really help much when it comes to our own species, but the other kind of fangs I've got covered," She offered, having had to learn a lot of what it meant to be a vampire the hard way through helping Talia by trial and error over the years. "Yeah, I get that. My brother just recently came to town, while a part of me is glad he's here another part hopes he doesn't wind up as fucked in the head as I am, you know?"

"Oh, a changeling. It's a faerie thing, apparently? I don't actually know much about them, the fae, but from what I do know, faeries will sometimes swap their kids out for a human baby for some fucking reason? But, basically, my younger sister growing up turned out not to actually be our younger sister, but rather, some fae's kid. Not that she isn't still my sibling. I mean, we grew up together and all, but it also means that we have no idea what happened to my actual biological sister or what the fae did with her, so yeah. My parents kind of lost their shit when they found out."

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie made a disgruntled noise. "What? It just takes practice or whatever? Do I need to take my shirt off for it like in Twilight?" Addie glanced sidelong at Kiraz, brows lifted. "Dying, drinking blood, living forever-- the dream." It was both a joke and not. Truthfully, Addie had never thought she'd see this side of thirty-- nearly thirty-five now-- so every year past was really just borrowed time. It would all catch up to her one day, she knew that. The drugs, the alcohol, the lack of nutrition. Now, though. Now she wondered if it would be this place that would tag her out first. Ironic, in a way. She just nodded, then leaned over and, oddly gently, tapped the side of Kiraz's head. "Then stop livin' up there and start livin' out here." She smiled-- smirked-- and leaned back. Set the cigarette between her lips in thought.

Addie gave another shrug, another nod. "I don't know how all this wolf pack dynamics shit works and, frankly, I don't care to. I've never been all that good with authority, anyway." She took Kiraz's hand, shook it. Held on for just a beat longer before pulling it back. Hummed low in her throat.

"So, are all vampire's pricks or is it just my little sister?" Addie asked, only half her mouth twitching up in a grin this time. There was an honest question in there somewhere, something along the lines of Did dying make her this way? Did she change because of that or because I missed most of her life? It wasn't one he'd ever ask out loud. She preferred keeping those thoughts to herself. She looked at Kiraz again and decided then and there if Gillian ever tried to come to this God forsaken town, she'd turn her ass right back around and make her swear to never come looking again. "Hope he can keep his head on straight then. For your sake, at least."

After another short moment, Addie just said, "That's fucked up." This whole place was just so fucked up.

[cantfightmoonlight]

"Oh, but we could give Lupe such the show," Len teased, though to be fair, she wasn't exactly looking to have to call Zuv or Jia-yi to bail her out of jail again. A smirk couldn't help, but dance across her lips, however, as she watched Addie swear under her breath, making the idea of getting arrested for public indecency suddenly all the more enticing. "Oh, shut up. You love it," She said as she continued to skim her fingertips down Addie's skin, letting herself melt into the other woman's embrace, rather than dwell on that annoying tug from the voice in the back of her head questioning whether Addie actually did love it or if maybe her icy fingers was just another thing to add to the long list of shit wrong with her, even if the only reason her fingers were currently so icy was thanks to a spell she had muttered in an attempt to stay cool.

Pushing her conscience to the back of her mind, Len flashed Addie a Cheshire grin as she hummed out a "bet" before her hands dipped lower, beneath the fabric of the other's shorts.

"Hey, you hungry?" Lennon asked, from where she now lay against Addie on the park bench they had taken over to do a handful of unspeakable things on. She was well aware that talking wasn't exactly something the two of them did together or much of anything outside of a good time. But she figured the question was harmless enough on the off chance Addie wanted to keep things strictly to benefits rather than friends with.

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie was already reaching around into her pocket for her pack of cigarettes when Lennon spoke again. In the after haze of it all, Addie was still coming down from the high, fine with letting whatever contact their bodies were making, even in the sweltering heat of the sun (and the sweltering heat of what they'd done). At least Lennon's body was cool to the touch and that was the excuse Addie gave herself to not immediately push herself up to a sit. She blinked, watching the cloudless sky do absolutely nothing above them, before she found her lighter and flicked it on, inhaling the smoke in a deep drag.

"I'm always hungry," she muttered after a prolonged beat, flicking the ash off the end of the butt, before offering it to Lennon. "Why? You got food around here somewhere, too?"

[gazingatmestarry-eyed]

As Addie was turned away from her in the dimly lit bedroom it was difficult for Sun-Hee to make out her facial expressions, but the growing tension in the room felt palpable. Quietly, she whispered back, "I understand." Which she did in ways she never really spoke about. "I feel most myself when I'm with you." It was a quiet, near inaudible confession Sun-Hee had never voiced out loud before.

The room's emotional high soared as Sun-Hee heard Addie begin to cry. It made her chest ache. The witch pulled the wolf in tighter, hoping to ease the pain. Despite her best efforts, she could no longer let silent tears drip out. Instead, they flooded her cheeks and dampened Addie's neck where her face had buried itself to muffle the sound of her tears as they grew into a sob.

From beneath her hair bloomed her familiar. The red fox glimmered in the dimly lit room as it slipped over Sun-Hee to prod her way beneath Addie’s hands where Jin wiped her tears with her fur.

[axiosawaitaddie]

Fuck. Was all Addie could think. Fuck this and Fuck that and Fuck these feelings. She'd gone fifteen-fucking-years without this ever happening, so why was it happening now? What had changed? Surely not her. Addie was stagnant. She was stuck at seventeen, staring at her own front door and waiting for it to open back up, waiting for her mother to rush out and grab her face and tell her she's sorry and she didn't mean and come back inside, your sisters need you.

But it never happened and so Addie never left that stoop and she never changed and now she was laying in some girl's bed, crying about it. No, not some girl's, Sun-Hee's. Which made it worse. It was worse because it was better. It was better because it was what she wanted. It was worse because it was what she wanted.

Addie didn't mean to, but it was as if her body moved on autopilot. The soft touch of fur to her face, tight arms around her waist-- it was too much. It was too soft and too comforting and Addie didn't mean to but she pushed her hands out and shoved the fox away. "Don't!" she choked. "Don't, don't-- stop it! Stop, I don't-- stop." It was as if her skin were burning, itching, flaking. She wanted to shimmy out of it, to abandon anything that made her feel. She'd spent years unlearning how to feel, walking through like like a shadow, an afterimage of the girl who left that stoop.

But now. Now. She was feeling again after she'd fought for so long not to. And fuck it was so easy to feel. And now Sun-hee was crying, too, and-- Fuck, fuck, fuck. Addie curled herself up into a ball. "Fuck!" she cursed, half a sob, half a growl, half nothing at all but all of everything she felt in one small word. "Fuck, you weren't supposed to see-- this wasn't supposed to ha-happen!" Coke did crazy things to a person, she knew this by now. She'd still done it. "I shouldn't have c-come here." She hadn't known where else to go.

She still didn't move to get up.

[itsronniebish]

Ronnie still thought that Addie was wrong. Addie had never been this mean, fifteen years ago. Then again, neither had Ronnie. They both, it seemed were a product of the world that made them, unmade them, and forced them to walk around putting themselves back together again. Maybe that made it all even worse. How the fuck was she supposed to know?

"The difference is that I didn't know Mom was a fucking liar!" Ronnie said, throwing her hands up in the air. "I didn't know that she and Dad kicked you out, that you didn't just ditch us. You did! I'm not being hypocritical. You were more-- more informed, or whatever." Gritting her own teeth, Ronnie did her best to steady her breathing. "You wouldn't have done shit," she finally said, calmly. "Because there's no way in hell I would have let him anywhere near you. And-- And there's nothing anyone could have done to make me not go out with him." It was all just between her and him. And Cain was a monster; Ronnie wasn't stupid enough not to know that. But he'd made a monster out of her, too. And she didn't want to talk about that shit anymore.

Flinching, Ronnie hunched in on herself, making herself smaller as she listened to Addie talk. Addie was just a kid. Ronnie couldn't help that she'd needed her, though. Fine. Whatever. She'd try not to anymore.

Mechanically, Ronnie shook her head. "No difference. Not a damn thing." She took a step back. "I'm gonna-- Try not to get yourself killed tonight. Sorry I bothered you."

[axiosawaitaddie]

"And I did?" Addie snapped back. "I was fucking seventeen, Ronnie! I loved her, too, you know! I thought-- I guess I was fucking stupid and thought maybe she loved me back! Even with all the shit. Even though I was--" Informed wasn't quite the right word. Observant, maybe. Perceptive. She heard them arguing about her all the time, her father's raised voice, her mom's hushed yelling. She could never quite make out what they were saying but she liked to imagine their mom was defending her, that maybe she was the reason Addie got until seventeen instead of being kicked out at fourteen, the very first time she'd stumbled home high out of her mind and come face to face with her parents. In the end, it hadn't really mattered how Addie felt about their mother, because she was kicked out all the same. Maybe it was just that sense of longing, of want, that she'd gone back when her mother called about Ronnie in the first place. "Whatever. It doesn't fucking matter. You're right. I should've just known better."

Addie, quieter now, softer, maybe even a bit hurt, mumbled, "You still didn't deserve what he did to you."

The way Ronnie flinched made something cold and terrible flip inside of Addie's stomach. She pulled back, stepped away at the same time Ronnie did. The last thing Addie ever wanted to do was hurt Ronnie physically.

(It was far too late to not hurt her emotionally, psychologically. Leaving all those years ago had cinched that forever.)

"I'm--" she didn't say, couldn't. Ronnie wasn't looking at her but Addie could see how her gaze had hardened, like she was trying to push everything down inside again. Just like Addie always did. Fuck, they really were one and the same, weren't they? "Just go back to the van," she finally said, "I'll-- I'll be back eventually."

[darkest-andy]

The heat from between Addie's legs pressed against Andy's stomach, easily felt through the shirt she was wearing, making the vampire groan. Andy's step didn't falter though, as she nudged open the bedroom door with her foot. However, it seemed that Addie was already getting to work on her clothes, feeling fingers tug at the hem of her shirt, dragging it up her back. As Andy leaned over to deposit the other woman back against the bed, she let Addie pull the shirt up and off, revealing small breasts clad in a black lace bra.

The vampire let out an entirely unnecessary breath, chest rising and falling. God she was so hungry. Hungry for blood, for sex, ...for Addie. But first, more clothes needed to go. With perfect balance, the dark-haired vampire kicked off their boots, hands moving to their belt, wasting no time in stripping out of the skin tight jeans.

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie's back hit the bed and she didn't even fumble. Her hands were used to this, her body moving almost on autopilot, as she tugged Andy's shirt off and then her own. Her hands itched to touch, to reach out and grab and take like always, but she stopped herself, watching as Andy stepped back to rid herself of more clothes. "Fuck," Addie breathed, chest rising and falling quickly already, heavy with breath. "You're so fucking hot." She couldn't help the words. Like this, Addie never cared to censor herself or monitor her words. Sex was the time when Addie allowed herself to just let go and not be so controlled all the damn time. Not think about every little thing she said and did and how she came off and what people saw of her.

With her jeans now off, Addie reached for Andy again and pulled her back in, kissing her roughly. She was done talking.

[yasinlunar]

Location ➠ Shipfaced Status ➠ Open (@lunarcovestarters)

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I offered to adjust your app settings."

One mention of Yasin's profession at the counter was rounding to an hour-long inspection of a stranger's phone. "And, uh, you may want to start password protecting your photos." Cat pics, exam cheat sheets, nudes, selfies, PINs...over the years, Yasin had seen it all!

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie did not often-- if ever-- take pity on men. Especially men in a bar. Especially men who had gotten themselves into whatever stupid situation they were now stuck in. At first, it had been funny, watching the man try and teach the other person about how to work a stupid app on their phone. Even funnier when they just kept asking questions-- simple, easy questions that could either be googled or even sorted out with common sense-- and then it had been an hour and they were still there and Addie was on her fifth or so drink, so, really, maybe it was the alcohol that made her lean over, snatch the phone and slide it down the bar top. "Scram, dumbass," she said, "use Google like the rest of us and leave the poor sap alone."

[gazingatmestarry-eyed]

Foolishly, the witch had hoped it would be that easy. That her comfy bed would encourage them both to get some much needed rest. Sun-Hee's eyes even briefly closed, while she enjoyed being close enough to hear Addie breathe. Then, she had to speak.

Shit.

She considered pretending she'd fallen asleep but doubted her companion would allow her the peace. With a sigh she whispered back, "Everyone's like that. Even you." It was true. Sun-Hee knew because she'd heard if straight from the people's inner most thoughts. Even the hardest of hearts had feelings.

Addie's rustling in the bed made Sun-Hee's eyes open. She could tell just by her movements that the wolf was agitated. You're okay. The witch felt the urge to soothe her, but she couldn't bring herself to lie and didn't know if Addie was okay. Her current state was certaintly concerning.

When their eyes met, visibly even in the dark room, Sun-Hee felt a wave of regret that she hadn't at least tried to pretend she was asleep. Silence followed Addie's questions. It wasn't that she was being ignored, but that Sun-Hee didn't know how to answer. At her last question she sighed before slinking closer. "No." Her voice sounded as secure as her arm was, wrapped around Addie's waist. "It has nothing to do with you, baby." The salt water that had been welling in her eyes finally spilled over, as Sun-Hee choked on her last word.

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie's face pulled up into something almost ashamed, if Sun-Hee were able to see it in the dark. Maybe she could. It didn't change the automatic response Addie felt. "I've...never felt like this before." Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn't. Maybe Addie had but had never allowed herself to feel it, understand it. This time, the words, the feelings, came suddenly and overwhelmingly and in her state, she couldn't stop them. "Not since..." Well, high school was a long time ago and really, Addie wasn't sure teenage crushes counted. In her mind, nothing counted.

The silence pitched on and on and on, it felt like an eternity in Addie's drug riddled mind. The anxiety made her hands shake and her muscles clench. She was just being stupid. It's not like this mattered. It's not like Sun-Hee actually liked her or cared about her, just like everyone else in her life. Addie almost spoke up to take it back again, to tell her to forget it, to tell her it doesn't matter because Addie's feelings don't matter.

But then Sun-Hee answered and Addie felt more confused than before. The weight of an arm around her waist made her inhale so sharply it made a strained noise in her throat. Cuddling wasn't something she ever did, not even after sex. Having someone hold her like she was something delicate almost made her feel like shattering. Or tearing the arm off her waist and running away. Or turning around and curling up closer. Her thoughts ping-ponged around her skull like a hockey puck. It made her head throb. It made her eyes burn.

The last word made her finally crack. She let out a sob, thick and heavy in her chest. Just one choked back sound. One slip of her composure, of the persona she'd carried around with her since she was just a teenager, standing in front of her parents as they looked at her with disgust and disappointment. The moment her mind switched from just a kid to nothing matters to protect herself from the hurt.

Surely, she thought, it would just be the one. But she had no filter left, no sense of self, no energy to fight her own mind and keep her walls up, not with how much alcohol and other was still flooding her system. She had no strength left. She let out another choked sound, putting her face in her hands. Hot tears ran free. But she would not lean into the comfort. It wasn't anything she deserved.

Still, she didn't pull away, and that was more than she'd ever allowed herself before.

[cantfightmoonlight]

"Probably," Lennon flashed Addie an amused grin as she swung her legs around Addie's waist and scooted closer so that she was now sitting directly on top of her. "Since when was someone so modest?" She teased, not about to deny the fact that she liked the way Addie looked, leaning back with her beer in hand. "But no worries," She let out a low whistle as her lips brushed across Addie's once more. Her icy fingertips all the while began to trace down the other's woman's skin, stopping just along her waistband as she gave it a tantalizing tug. "I'm sure I could get you to cry out my name with your clothes still on."

[axiosawaitaddie]

"Not tryna be modest," Addie mumbled against Lennon's lips, "just don't wanna--" a shiver ran up her spine as cold fingers pressed to her skin-- "don't wanna get arrested for public indecency. Again." Her own hands settled on Lennon's hips. "Jesus," she breathed, bucking into her touch already. "Your hands are fucking freezing." It felt so nice though, against her scorching hot skin. She finally dropped the beer bottle, hearing it clatter on the ground now that she'd found something she wanted more. It wasn't like her and Lennon really talked much when they were together, so she wasn't surprised. Still, something in her wondered if this was all she was good for, then. She'd always been this way. This was what she did. Why did she feel different about it now?

She tugged Lennon closer and told herself she didn't. Her eyes flicked around them once-- the bench was tucked away in the back, mostly hidden from the mingling crowds around trying to cool down. And, really, Addie doubted anyone would stop them if they saw them. It was Pride after all. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Addie got laid during Pride, let alone in public during the festival.

Nudging her hands up under Lennon's shirt, still on her hips, Addie mumbled, "Do your worst."

[cantfightmoonlight]

Kiraz lips lifted into a smile the moment Addie had agreed with her. A smile that shifted into an actual chortle at the mention of getting some contagious slobber. "Pretty much," She chuckled some more. But any joy in her expression dimmed at the follow-up question. "Yeah," Kiraz muttered under her breath. "I don't do well with feeling trapped, and I guess by volunteering I thought that I could help my friend who accidentally lab wolfed himself from feeling so alone," She admitted with another small shrug. It might've resulted in her feeling even more lonely, herself, then she had before, but she supposed if this whole wolf thing didn't work out, she could always join her sister for a vampiric eternity. "The worst and yeah, well, the blacking out wasn't part of the sales pitch. If I'd known that could happen, I likely would've gone vampire too..."

"Good. He sucks anyhow. He hasn't once checked up on me since becoming a wolf, and I'm fairly certain he has no want to recruit me either. Guess I'm not the 'right kind' of wolf. But, yeah. We are," Kiraz's eyes racked over Addie's and, for the first time since their multiple trysts, softened, and a warm smile tugged once more at the corner of her lips. We. Maybe being a wolf wasn't as isolating as she thought. "Yeah, they're dumb and ancient. They look like they were printed back in the 80s and don't have much in them that are useful outside of, you know, to steer clear of silver."

"Yeah... I think it kind of derailed both of our lives, but she seems happy, so here I am being happy for her," Kiraz pressed her lips together as she gave Addie another small shrug, well aware of the life she might've lived if the supernatural hadn't found its way back into their lives after Leyla had left and, yet, maybe it was how this was always supposed to go. Leyla seemed happy and married. Talia seemed to be thriving as a vampire, and, as for Kiraz, she'd always been resourceful enough to get by, even with raging blackouts and all. "Yeah? She's probably better off. My brother knows to some extent. Our family kind of does, but that's sort of cause, well... my younger sister turned out to be a changeling when I was like twelve or so? There was never really any way to avoid all this, I guess."

[axiosawaitaddie]

Addie grunted. "Yeah, I don't either." Though Addie had never truly felt "trapped" anywhere. She'd felt rejected-- ejected-- even in her own home growing up. Kicked out before she even turned eighteen, even though she was the one person giving her little sisters a parental figure. They were all close in age but the moment Gillian was born, Addie's whole life changed. By the time Addie could form full sentences, she was carrying Gillian or Ronnie around and bothering their mom to feed them when they cried, or change them, or just pay fucking attention to them. She sucked in a large inhale on her cig and shrugged off the memory. "Damn, whoever gave you the sales pitch sure left a lot out." She paused, flicking her gaze over to Kiraz-- there was something close to empathy, sympathy, painting her expression, just for a moment. It disappeared as quickly as it came. "Sorry you got stuck with this shitty life instead of being a cool vampire."

Addie snorted a laugh. "You know what? Fuck 'em. Let's make our own girls only wolf club. And I guess your weirdo friend who turned you into wolf with injected saliva. He gets an honorary pass or whatever." With a huff, Addie smirked. "This is why I never read the pamphlets."

Well, that was more than Addie could say for Ronnie. It didn't really seem like she was happy and Addie didn't know how to help her. She could barely help herself. She sighed, smoke billowing from her nose. "Think that's all we can do, sometimes. Is just...be happy for 'em." She wished she could just be happy for Ronnie, just be happy she was in her life again. Fifteen years of missed time just felt like too much sometimes. Ash fell from the butt of Addie's cigarette onto her boot. She didn't bother to wipe it off. "Probably. She's got a career, a husband, a kid. A fuckin' 401K. I don't want this life to ruin her like it did me."

Tapping her foot, Addie raised a brow as she looked over at Kiraz. "Sorry, a what-ling?"