open starter: @aurorabaystarter
where: the corner store
"I'm having a crisis of conscience," he admits, looking rather serious as his eyes fix on the person nearest him. Samir then proceeds to hold up three different bags of Funyuns.
"If you had to choose only one flavor, would you pick the hot & spicy chicken ramen flavor, the chile limon, or the spicy queso?"
"The spicy queso, a hundred per cent." Cirila said, as she tried to balance the three bottles of wine in her arms - while resisting the urge to explain from the beginning that they weren't all for her pleasure. "I mean, flamin' hot would have been better, but I guess your tastes aren't built for that, huh?"
Vera: I know, and I DO love to exude boss bitch energy.
Vera: (It's kind of my brand)
Vera: But just today, I'm not feeling so boss. Bitch? Always.
Vera: Come on. We can people-watch and judge all the patrons who get a little too wasted.
Cirila: I love that for you and I am down for a collab
Cirila: How come? Has something happened? Vent to me!
Cirila: Oh 100%, unless that's us and we end up causing too much chaos and we get kicked out
Cirila: Then we'll head to Oasis
Vera: I have a dilemma
Vera: I want to go do a wine tasting
Vera: but I feel like if I go alone, that'd be one of the most pathetic things I've ever done.
Vera: Will you come with me so I don't drink alone?
Vera: In exchange, you can also have alcohol and my dazzling personality.
Cirila: I don't think it's pathetic at all!
Cirila: It sows you're an independant woman.
Cirila: But I am also very happy to go with you, because I'm in dire need of an excuse to drink wine all day and not be judged.
"Tell me all about it. That's one of the major ways healthcare and law combine, I suppose." He chuckles, feeling for her. Some cases take a lot out of you, and worse, they stay with you. Her comment pulls him out of the spiral, shock on his face but a smile spreads across his lips."Oh! No way!" Not that he has a small following by any means, true crime is alive and well and with his educational spin his persona gets a lot of positive feedback.
"Nah, cafe sounds good." He looks in the direction she's pointing in, giving a nod of approval. "I think I see pie, I'm already sold."
"I sometimes wonder if people really know what its like, to know if you go home and don't do the right thing, then it could be the end of the world for someone, and that's just sad." Cirila admitted, because it was true. There was a lot of pressure that weighed upon her, and a part of her sometimes wished she'd chosen a different profession. "Yeah, it sounded really interesting in fact. Might need to get you in to be a spokesperson for us, you definitely have the voice for it."
She walked towards the direction of the cafe, expecting him to follow. "Pie's always good!"
"I know, what ever are they going to do with me?" Dalton quieried. He was glad the crush of people was over at least, now he could browse a little more in peace.
"There's upselling, but upselling isn't pestering and forming a people crusher machine." Dalton laughed. "I think I might have left my feet back there."
"You know, I might have to take you up on that one. No budget, what do you have in mind?" { @ciriila }
Cirila nodded her head, because she supposed he was right. The fine line between upselling and people pushing had been crushed enough times to the point where a line didn't even exist nowadays. Although, she supposed people had to get there business somehow.
"Depends what you're after, and what the occasion is. Not to sound like one of those people crusher machines, but is this an everyday watch you're going for, or a special ocassion one?"
Checking his phone for a moment before letting out a sigh before putting away his phone and moving forward to clean the bar top off and then looking to his final customers for his shift. "Any final refills or something you want to share? I've got a bit longer in my shift and I want to make sure it's the best for both of us." Marco spoke with a grin on his face, leaning gently against the bar, always giving his best foot forward every night as at the end of the day, he enjoyed his job.
"What, like deepest darkest secrets and all that crap you're suppose to tell bartenders?" Cirila asked, as she sipped the rest of her cocktail. It was a shame the night was almost over and a part of her wished she still had the capacity to stay out later like the good old days. "I think I'll just stick to the refills. Maybe a glass of water? Or anything you have that will get rid of this hangover before it's started."
who: open to all @aurorabaystarter
where: the beach
the early spring ocean air felt like the first breath after being held underwater as it hit his face, a rare moment of reprieve in front of him. cas had been taking longer and longer lunches (half to get away from the prying questions of coworkers and half because he was losing his sense of time lately) and most of the time, they were spent by the water. he wasn't sure why. he'd never particularly gravitated towards the beach; he much preferred sightseeing vacations over ones spent just sitting next to a 'glorified puddle', as he put it.
yet there he sat. and he was slowly becoming a constant black cloud amongst the bright, sunny beachgoers.
a voice suddenly hit his ears as he sat lost in thought, his inky black sunglasses hiding the fact he might have been nodding off. "hmm?" his voice was a low gravel. "what did you say?"
"I said that was close." Cirila repeated, as she pointed towards the bird excrement a few feet away from where the male sat. "You could have had a lot of bad luck then... or good luck, I can't remember which one it is." She continued, as she took out her phone to pause the music idly playing through the headphones strung over her shoulder.
"There's a damn lot of seagulls around here, isn't it. I mean they're a lot nicer than the ones back in Brooklyn, but still full of shit."
open starter: @aurorabaystarter
location: anywhere
Flora looked over at the closest person to her. Unsure of how to start a conversation with them, she came up with anything that popped into her brain at that moment. "If you couldn't be a human anymore, would you rather be turned into a worm or a fish?" It was a great ice breaker.
"Probably a fish. Less chance of getting eaten by a bird or stepped on, I guess. If I stick to the shallows and away from the big fish, I could probably live a nice life." Cirila shrugged. "What about you?"
"They'll take any requests you have as long as it's Irish," Santiago explains over the sound of the band who were currently playing a live rendition of Mandinka by Sinéad O'Connor, "Except Johnny Jump Up. We're not doing that again. Not this year."
"Does Zombie count? I mean it's peformed by an Irish brand, so technically it could be considered an Irish song?" Cirila stated her case, hoping she could actually hear a song she knew the majority of the lyrics too. "Luckily for you, I don't even know what Johnny Jump Up is."
Open starter: @aurorabaystarter
Location: anywhere
Maybe going for a run at one in the morning wasn't a great idea, but after returning from a visit with his family, Harlan's sleep schedule was completely off. He found himself nodding off at four pm, yet here he was, wide awake at one. Something about the streets was just more peaceful at this time of night. That is until he spots someone else and he can feel his heart drop to his feet. "Fuckin' hell.. Scared the shit out of me." He ran his hands over his face, "just endin' your night?"
Cirila walked down the street, coffee in hand. Probably about her third one in the past three hours. She'd been working on a case, and doing research on a personal one of her own, when she'd lost track of time and ending up leaving late. She hadn't expected to see anyone else on the streets, but as she turned a corner, she was surprised to see a male running towards her. Intially, she let out a yelp, but when she could confirm that he wasn't running after her, she could relax.
"Jesus!" She exclaimed. "No, no, well... yes, I just finished work. But I was just on my way to the diner to grab a quick burger or something for the way home. Why are you out late?"
for: open!
location: Outside Aurora Bay Library at closing time
vibe: in which kacey just finished recording his podcast episode and is in need of shaking off the heebie jeebies he gave himself, assume connections (:
"Heyoo!" He greets his company, happy to be out of the quiet and empty recording booth and onto the warmth of the street and with a real living person. As much as he enjoyed what he did, and providing education, even he could get wigged out by the cases he presents or the diseases and causes of death he speaks on.
"Sorry to text so late, it's been a long day but I really felt like I needed to have a real conversation with a real person." He chuckles, longboard tucked under his arm as he starts to head down to the main street of Aurora Bay. "You hungry? Thirsty?"
Cirila smiled towards Kacey, digging her hands into the pockets of her overcoat as she walked alongside him. "No bother, I was just finishing up anyway. Some cases feel like they're going to go on forever." She said, in reference to her job. "That reminds me, someone had your podcast on today at work. It was so weird hearing you through a speaker."
Her eyes peered away the main street, and she pointed to a small cafe. "We could go grab a bite to eat there, or do we want to treat ourselves and go to somewhere a bit more boujee?"
"Gosh, high expectations." Cirila teased, as she ran her hand through some of the garments on an open rack. "As I've said, how are they suppose to get sales if they don't badger the customers into buying stuff they don't need." She laughed.
"Not to sound too much like the people you're trying to get away from, but if you're looking for a new watch, then I don't mind helping you? I've got quite good taste, if I say so myself."
Cirila was born the youngest one of the two, to a family who resided in Brooklyn, New York. They were a traditional family, and Cirila grew up never questioning her parent's love. She did well in school, never top of the class, but above averages grades to get her through.
When she'd started high school, her brother who was two years older than her, began to fall into the wrong crowd. The quiet studious young sister, was faced with having to watch her brother smoke cannabis behind bike sheds and getting into fights in the school parking lot. She didn't know what had shifted this change, other than the friends he had made, but it made her uncomfortable and she began to fear for her brother's safety.
One day, when she'd witnessed her brother take a beating from someone he'd attempted to start a fight with, she came home and told her mother about what she had seen. Her mother told her that she and her father would sit her brother down, and get to the bottom of what had been going on. Except, he never came home.
When Cirila had graduated from high school, her brother had been missing for three years. Nobody had seen him, heard from him, nothing. Someone had said that they had seen her brother leave the school gates that day three years ago, presumably on his way back home. But the trail went cold.
Her mother deteriorated, packed in her job, and spent most of her days at home, crying for her son to return. Her father did the exact opposite, and would take extra shifts at work, then go out looking for their son afterwards till the early hours of the morning. She can't remember when she last saw the two of them in a room together.
It affected Cirila too, but she knew how to hide it well. She was doted on by other teachers and family members, everyone was kind to her, expecting her to breakdown at any second. She liked to believe her brother had just run away and he was out there living his best life. They hadn't always been particularly close, but she loved him a hell of a lot. But the missing person's posters and the constant police at their door with 'updates' - basically leading to nothing, made it difficult for her to keep up that belief.
When it came to applying to colleges, with Cirila being able to maintain her grade average, she decided to study Criminal Justice and applied to Aurora Bay College. She needed to get away, and not be surrounded by the constant reminder that her brother was gone. It upset her parents, but her father understood and allowed her to go.
She graduated with honours, and eventually decided to join the police force, attending the training academy and picking her posting - which she ultimately chose as Aurora Bay. She thought about asking to go back to New York, maybe get an insight into her brother's case, but she knew she needed to set her sights much higher than a police officer to gain access to that.
She bided her time, worked hard, and eventually got promoted to detective two years ago. She hopes one day she'll gain enough experience that she can surpass Aurora Bay and join the Federal Bureau of Investigations. For now though, she is settled, not having to see her brother's face plastered across the town. She doubts anyone here would even know his name, meaning it was a great distraction for her to pretend that she hadn't lost him.
who: open / @aurorabaystarter
where: crescent moon tattoo
"I've never gotten a tattoo before," Adile said, looking at the tattoo parlour as she spoke to the nearest person. "But the sale is super tempting. I can't imagine my parents would be happy with me if I did get one, but they don't need to know about it." Adile didn't spent time talking to them at length and didn't go home at all.
"I think you're old enough to decide for yourself whether or not you get one." Her eyes glanced up at some of the flash designs displayed on the wall that were visible through the window. "That's cute." She said, pointing towards a small love heart. "If you were going to get one, which one would you be thinking of? I can always come in and help you pick."
who: anyone! ( @aurorabaystarter )
where: aurora bay botantical gardens
Coming back here was a mistake, Rina thought to herself as her head rested on the bench. A screenshot of some instagram article had been sent directly from their manager with a not-so-subtle 'Is this you lying low?' message. Surely getting groceries was allowed, did they want Rina to starve? Maybe, but coming back here was punishment enough. Self-inflicted punishment, but still.
Staring up through the trees, the wind rustling the leaves, they barely noticed someone approaching to their left. "Huh? You talkin' to me?"
"I was just wondering if you're planning on moving any time soon." Cirila said, as she glanced around at the almost empty botancial gardens. "I think they're closing soon, or everyone's decided that nature is too good for them and they've had enough of it today." Herself included, however, the woman had caught her eye and she couldn't help but ask the question.
"What are you doing, or did you lose track of time?"
{ @aurorabaystarter }
Where: Pick your own adventure!
Dalton hadn't planned on finding himself trapped in this situation, but pure curiosity and a questionable faith in the ability for people to not drag him into this issue.
He was being dragged left and right by sales people, a pair of eyes quickly turning toward the person on the outside watching.
"What did you expect?" Cirila raised a brow, as she approached him. She couldn't help but enjoy the display of the panicked man infront of her, almost wanting to laugh at the situation. "I bet thse guys work on commission. If you're looking for something in particular, they are going to make certain you find it." She shrugged.
