have you seen ( Elby Marie Russo, she/her )? They look a lot like ( J.ess A.lexander ). The ( 29 ) year old ( stuntwoman, survival expert, vlogger ) is so ( resourceful, adventurous, gregarious ) but I heard they can also be really ( stubborn, erratic, moody ). Can you believe they’ve been in town for ( just arrived )?! They live in the ( Port Carroll  ) neighborhood and kind of remind me of ( espresso shot, warm beach sand, hands dirty from digging, heart-shaped bruise ). If I was asked, I’d guess that they were ( Most Likely to Backpack Around the World ) in their yearbook for the class of ( 2015 ).
BIO ↓
Named after Isola d'Elba, the youngest of the Russo siblings knew how to surprise her family before she was even born. From the first "it's a girl" in Neil's and Lucia's family, and her spontaneous decision to introduce herself to the world three weeks too early, Elby Maria Russo seemed to wear this trait like a badge of honor. Growing up with three brothers and being an only daughter, she had been spoiled and pampered, and happily served as the glue that the family needed so much sometimes.
Elby was much more than a bright smile and big blue eyes, even though the first words she usually heard were "She's so beautiful!" which implied that her looks were all she needed, from a very young age. She was the scratches on her knees, a purple spiderweb turning green and yellow under her eye when she climbed a tree to see if a pile of pillows could cushion her landing. She was her first broken bone at the age of 7 and a thousand-dollar prom dress, paired with her grandmother's emerald earrings reflecting the lights of New York streets as she snuck out with her friends for their own afterparty. She was the laughter that could turn into tears with a mood swing that she hated within seconds.
And yet, most people still seemed to see a pretty girl from an influential family, like a decoration in family portraits. She should be a model or an actress because the camera loved her so much!
Elby knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life, and the plans did include cameras, but not like others thought. She wanted adventures, wilderness, and everything untouched by human hand. Nanu Gio taught her that beauty could be everything that made her breath hitch; like nature, it could be delicate or it could be violent. She would listen to him speak about it for hours as she sat on the floor, watching Elio paint, or when she followed them to the Museum of Art. "Everything can be beautiful," she would conclude. Like a painting, she didn't need a frame to fit, especially not someone else's.
Slowly, she built her own brand, starting from a little YouTube channel, then climbing to the stars from there.
As a stunt woman, she has doubled for notable Hollywood names.
Elby didn't expect a best-selling debut as a writer, but it was motivating and she's currently working on her second book.
He wrinkled his nose in response to her blatant display of affection. She kissed him on the cheek like she was 9 instead of 29. Regardless of his attempt to play it cool, he was glad she was here.
“Ya’ didn't miss much,” he shrugged. “This place is always putting on some kind of event.” The artist was convinced these people never grew tired of each other. They were always celebrating or had an excuse to party.
“Sure, I'll show ya’ a good spot.” Elio led his sister down the path towards the water. Dodging drift wood and debris blown in by the storm, he found a deserted stretch of stand that stretched as far as the horizon.
“Watch for broken bottles,” he warned. To say the beach was a mess was an understatement. The hurricane had shrunk the walkable path with high tides and wreckage. Chunks of wood littered the sand and dozens of iridescent seashells dotted their path.
“So,” Elio started, unsure how to tactfully ask the question that had been spinning in his mind since their phone call. “No offense, but why'd ya’ come to Carroll? It can't just be because of me.”
Elby grinned at her brother as he offered a good spot to check out and just hummed to confirm that she'd be careful.
"None taken," she chuckled. "I know it's not the most obvious choice but... Maybe that's why I chose Carroll." Elby sighed as they walked, eyes scanning the sand to ensure she wouldn't miss a single pretty piece of seaglass or shell, but the truth was she just felt safer looking away as she pondered her reasons. Not that any of her thoughts were top secret.
"I didn't feel comfortable where I was... No familiar place could give me the restart I needed. Not with my ex blowing up my phone like a stalker, not-..." She paused. "Not when I've run out of excuses why you had been avoiding me, because you love me and you'd never abandon me in vain..."
His brows came together some, though a smile was still on his face. "Turn off.. no, Elby, it's just not you," Grayson explained, as to why the entire moment had taken him out. "I'm just.. not used to you saying things like that," or acting that forward. It felt like she was playing at someone she thought he wanted her to be, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
As her head rested in on his chest, Gray's hand came to encircle her arm in a loose, but meant to be comforting, grip. Holding her steady for the moment, until she regained whatever confidence she needed to keep plugging forward. "It's not a big deal," he murmured for her ears, wanting her to know she hadn't done anything wrong. There wasn't anything for Elby to beat herself up over. Definitely not over him, that's for sure.
A grin came back to his face. "Good, 'cause I want to be around you too," he told her, readily. Truthfully. And maybe he hadn't thought about that until he saw her again here, in Carroll. It'd been a while since they last had their run-ins. Now was as good a time as ever to have another, right? That sounded mighty fine to him. So, he found both her hands and walked backwards towards the dancefloor, unwilling to take his eyes off her. "You can be sure," Grayson told her, pulling Elby in closer and putting arm around around her waist, to keep her there against him with no apologies, "that I'll be yours tonight." His face hovered in close to hers, forehead to forehead, nose-to-nose just about. "I've missed hanging out with you, Elbs," he told her softly, the other arm coming in around her, nice and snug, not even caring if this song was for something higher tempo.
The explanation and reassurance he gave her were enough to help her forget what she said and how it made her feel. Especially his comforting hug - this was something that could erase her memory in an instant, and she liked it. Little slip-ups were forgiven; her confidence didn't suffer much. "Maybe I should say it more often," she teased, chuckling at the idea. Some things really didn't sound like Elby at all.
She let Gray guide her to the dance floor, taking careful steps backwards with her arms wrapped around him almost clingily. "I've missed it too," she admitted, even though it seemed a heavily guarded secret a moment ago. It wasn't so easy with his face so close to hers anymore. "Let's catch up a little bit... We've got the whole night. And maybe we'll do it again sometime soon."
Natalie looked at the woman who had answered her and, although she was trying very hard to remain professional, she let out a short laugh. "My ex also fits that description perfectly, but let's not insult dogs," she added, still unable to contain the smile that kept appearing on her face. She approached the girl and shrugged as if all hope of finding the thieving dog had vanished. "The dog didn't have a collar, so he's probably a stray. The only other thing I remember is a white tie around his neck and one floppy ear." She raised an eyebrow as if hope had been reborn within her, and spread her arms, losing it again. "No one knows the dog, yet he took human bones that could be key to the case."
Elby laughed; the stranger had a point. Dogs didn't deserve this comparison! These jokes bought Elby an extra second to get used to the idea of actual human bones being scattered around the very town she lived in. Maybe if she hadn't seen how cruel nature could be, she would be more shocked, but she had seen so much already and even found a dead body during one of her hikes. A guy has fallen to his death, and no one even knew he had left rock climbing. What a horrible memory it was... — She nodded at the description. "I'll ask around. I don't know this dog either. Or maybe..." She hesitated. "I'll have to check something, and I'll let you know. Maybe I have seen that dog," she added, oh-so-mysterious.
"Do you live here? Or just arrived in Carroll because of the case?" Somehow, a neighbor making this discovery sounded less scary...
All it was.. was a friendship between him and Elby. She was a big stunt double movie star and he just managed a strip club. How they met was just as random as actually seeing a chicken cross the road. Elby did help when he had relationship troubles which did actually come in handy.
A picnic outing was just what he needed to spend his day before another night of work. Promised pizza and beer. Letting Pongo by the leash, Pongo wasn't one to just take off but if he did, it wasn't far. Smiling as Elby greeted Pongo and then giving Elby a side hug.
"Blond lager. Nice choice." He said bringing his bag from his shoulder and pulling out some other snacks as promised. "This guy, allergies?...no he eats all treats." The dog only couldn't have the typical food that would actually kill dogs..grapes, chocolate etc..At least he had knowledge of that but he tried not to give him much human food other than typical blueberries, watermelon or strawberries.
Of course, she had regular Guinness too, in case blond was garbage... But she doubted that was possible. For a beer connoisseur she was a biased fan of Guinness; for a reason, she liked to believe. She started getting their picnic ready, smiling over at Ryker. "Oh, he's a vacuum cleaner then? Great, I need you in my kitchen," she joked. The dog didn't get it but wagged his tail anyway. "I've got some beef jerky, it should pass for a dog treat." It sure did.
"You know... I once taught a dog how to pick berries straight off the bush. First I taught them it's safe to eat berries, and then I showed them where they grow."
"You seem pretty cool Elby. I mean it. And I'm not just saying that because I like your cat." They had grown to get to know each other since being neighbors, friends even. "My last neighbor wouldn't even say hi to me. Just hide like a hermit, but I think I just got lucky having you as a neighbor." Pistachio had rubbed up against Colton and he gave him a little pet. "And I never thought I'd like cats."
Elby laughed at the reassurance; it sounded like something she must have told Ryker about Pongo at some point! She was back from her business trip and pizza with her favorite neighbor sounded exactly like something she was in the mood for.
"Thanks, Col! For this compliment and for looking after Pistachio." She grinned, because she simply had to ask "Tell me more about the previous owner! Because I've obviously met him and I think I have my own theory..."
"Absolutely!" Anything to get Ronnie's name out there even more. If it were up to Aspen her friend would be as big and famous as Valentino some day.
There was something about feeling hot as hell and dancing with another woman who was also hot as hell, Aspen closing some of the space between them so they could dance against each other, an arm lowering to snake around one of Elby's shoulders. She could feel the eyes on them, and she so why not give them a show?
"What would you say if it was your ass I wanted to squeeze right now?" She'd leaned in to whisper, grinning against her ear. The dance floor was the one place she truly left her reservations at the door.
Everything went smoothly as Aspen agreed to give Elby that contact, and they just giggled, dancing so carefree. Nothing could distract them from their dancefloor mission, not even an A-lister's butt or one of those K-pop idols blowing them a kiss simply because she was having fun and felt like expressing it that way.
"What??" Elby laughed like she had heard the funniest joke and looked at Aspen, but... "Maybe you should?" The shock didn't last long because who could say No to a little fun when their energies matched so perfectly? She laughed again, but both hands on Aspen's hips served as a sufficient confirmation: Elby would not mind.
hera would, every now and then, slip out of the kitchen to have a proper look at the display—cakes, pies, biscuits and all the wee treats laid out neat as you like. sometimes it was to restock, other times just to spark a bit of inspiration—she loved a good bit of innovation, she did. a true irish soul, a kitchen fairy as her gran used to say, and she wore that title with pride. that’s when she spotted a girl sittin’ on her own. a soft, knowing smile touched her lips. without a second thought, she picked up one of her favourite pies, added a generous scoop of ice cream, and brought it over.
“ ah, sometimes it’s nothin’ to do with a breakup at all… ” she began gently—though, truth be told, more often than not it was. “ but even if it is? ah sure, what of it? we don’t fuss over that sort of thing here, love. ” her smile warmed, bright and kind, before she turned to grab two cups of freshly brewed coffee, beans roasted just right. “ d’you fancy a wee chat, then, pet? ”
Going through an uncomfortable reminder of her pre-Carroll moments didn't have to be so bad. Elby was surprised to see this thoughtful and generous pick-me-up kit, and it might have done most of its job before she even tasted the delicious-looking dessert. She smiled at the redhead with the warmest, most sincere thank you. "You're right. Maybe I just feel responsible for how I made another person feel, and-" No, that was against the rules: we don’t fuss over that sort of thing here, remember? Elby chuckled, unable to stick to this upside-down smile when someone was being so kind to her, so she shifted in her seat to find a more comfortable position and looked at the other with genuine gratitude. "Sure; I'm still learning to never mourn things that weren't good for me. Why is it so hard, it's so against our nature...!"
“Okay, I’m way too curious now.” A smile tugged at the corners of his lip, Nathan finding her amusement contagious. “I have to know what he said.” Nathan stopped mixing his drink and glanced up at the sound of her snorting, his eyes bright with glee. He sat still, almost expectantly, his jaw dropping in disbelief, scoffing at the audacity of her ex. “He what? Is he insane?” Nathan laughed. “Him asking is almost as weird as showing up to a wedding with your ex. He can’t be okay.” He shook his head in amusement and took a sip of his drink. “Oh! Wait, is he asking about the wedding thing this weekend?”
"No, no, thank god he's not anywhere near Carroll." She laughed a humorless laugh, but as soon as she saw Nate's face, a smile was back on her face, and her chuckle sounded happier. "I think I attract some freaks, I gotta admit..." She grinned. "Speaking of the weekend... Are you going? I'll be there for sure." With someone else, if anyone. Definitely not her crazy ex. "After that, I'm going to Miami for a week. Work."
