Tris Amden

You should have known The price of evil And it hurts to know That you belong here, yeah Ooh, it's your fuckin' nightmare Martris Amden Head Town Guard of Nightmare

[recklesswolfpup]

While she let the idea of the magic being ‘garlic powder’ stew in her mind, Lyra looked around at the decorations. They were similar to years previous, but each celebration always had something different and new about it while remaining traditional, which was something she loved about the town’s parties. To her, every aspect was magical, especially the garlic powder, because it worked wonders on her taste buds. “Of course it is!”

By the time her steak was gone, her lipstick was as well, so she wiped off the remnants with her napkin and ordered another glass of wine from the server that passed by their table. It was almost time to dig into her dessert plate, a thought that made her smile with pure joy. “I hope we see Toni soon. I stayed home all day getting ready. I didn’t get to see her dress.”

Once her wine came, she immediately took a bite of chocolate cake and had to place a hand on Tris’s wrist and give him a light squeeze to prevent herself from making ridiculous noises. It was so good. Better than what was normally served at the diner. She could hardly believe there was no magic involved in something like this. “Tris, you’ve got to try this. But get your own, please. This is mine.”

[guardbear]

Tris ate his steak happily, glad they’d made it early enough that he’d been able to get a fantastic cut of meat. “I’m sure Toni will be along soon enough,” he said with a chuckle, quickly polishing off his plate of food before pulling over his own small dessert plate.

He knew Lyra’s best friend was currently very upset with him, and he couldn’t exactly blame her for that. While he and Toni weren’t exactly close, he knew it was important for them to get along for Lyra’s sake. If Toni continued to be critical and aggressive, it would no doubt drive a wedge in Lyra’s relationship with one or both of them, and he didn’t want that for either himself or Toni.

“I’m happy with my plate of desserts, sweetheart. If I get the chance I’ll grab a slice of the cake, though,” he told her, slowly eating from his own plate of sweets. For the most part he had picked items that Lyra had skipped, knowing there was a good chance she’d steal from his plate if she decided she regretted picking any of the items.

[unstable-revenant-blog]

“Yeah,” she said, frowning. “I’ll stay close.” She probably wouldn’t if there were someone lurking outside her house. She didn’t take kindly to people sneaking around her property, possibly watching her. She shivered, pulling her jacket close and let Tris lead the way. 

“Who alerted you?” She wondered. She didn’t know if one of the ghosts had noticed, or if someone in town had seen what was going on and got a message to Tris. Either way, she was glad for it. Having the big bear around was always a plus.

[guardbear]

“A passing fairy,” Tris told her, eyes scanning the trees. He noticed her shiver and quickly shrugged out of his jacket, draping it over Rina’s shoulders before she could protest. “He wasn’t sure what it was, or if  you were home. I told him he did right by coming to me.”

He didn’t want citizens getting involved with fights. He knew a lot of them were plenty capable of handling themselves, but he’d rather not have any more deaths on his hands. It was what he and Malachi were around for, after all.

[evelynlagarde-deactivated201701]

You're Not That Big

[evelynlagarde-deactivated201701]

Probationary period was better than get lost, anyway. She nodded, maybe a little too eagerly. Whatever she had to do to prove she could do anything he could.

“Of course.” She nodded again, her hands folded in her lap. “Is there any certain area or street that needs patrolled?” She was praying she wasn’t going to get put on desk duty; that was the last thing she wanted. She needed to be in the action, able to protect and serve at a moment’s notice.

“Malachi?” She raised her eyebrows, curious. “Another guard.” She had a habit of answering her own questions, usually irritating whoever she was talking to.

[guardbear]

“My brother,” Tris said simply. He was a man of few words. If he could say it in fewer, he would. He’d never been a fan of unnecessary small talk.

“Right now, nothing in particular,” he said honestly, stashing her resume in a drawer of his desk, just in case he wanted to reference it later. “You’re new to town?” The more he knew about her, her background, and her skills, the better he could utilize her.

[evelynlagarde-deactivated201701]

You're Not That Big

Evelyn had finally decided it was time to put her skills to use. So here she was, sitting in the Head of the Guard’s office while he looked over her resume and background. She wasn’t an idiot; she’d seen the way his eyebrows cocked as soon as she had told him she wanted to work with the guard. Just because she was a Fairy didn’t mean she couldn’t do the same thing he did. Although he was quite a bit larger than herself. She swallowed back her nerves and sat up a little straighter as his eyes met hers. “Well….?” Along with this being her first choice of employment she also needed it to provide for herself and Harlow.

@guardbear

[guardbear]

Tris really had no idea what to make of the woman before him. He wasn’t sexist by any stretch of the imagination, he knew women could be just as strong as men, stronger even in some cases, especially here in Nightmare. But fairies? Fairies just weren’t intimidating, and a good guard had to be intimidating.

However... he did need help. The quiet peaceful town wasn’t exactly quiet and peaceful anymore. It was a bit more than he and his brother could handle. Having a fairy on the force could be useful, another flyer to help patrol, with powers beyond what he and Malachi had.

When the woman prompted him, he arched an eyebrow at her for a moment before turning his attention back to her resume. She wasn’t exactly experienced, but he had no reason to say no. But just for the impatience he decided to wait a little bit longer before finally setting down the piece of paper. 

“You can join the guard, on a probationary period,” he told her after a moment, nodding slowly. “You’re inexperienced in the field, so you’ll be working closely with me or Malachi. Follow orders, prove yourself, don’t get killed, maybe we can hire you on as a full employee.”

[wcrmwood-blog]

“How thoughtful of you,” she laughed. The sound was bitterness come to life. She circled him, giving his entire being a once-over. If only she were outwardly violent– she’d probably stab him in the thigh. She wouldn’t stoop to his level, though. Instead, she’d play her dirty little games. It was her best attribute. 

It was, however, humorous that he thought this would go public. “Martris, I promise that if the town ever got word of this incident, then you’d beg to be taken in front of the Council.” She let out a sigh. “Keep telling yourself you’re not a danger to her– if that’s what helps you sleep at night.”

[guardbear]

Tris refused to move as she circled him, waiting for her to stand in front of him again. He wasn’t going to fight with her, wasn’t going to give her an inch. He rolled his shoulders, trying to keep his tension down. Now was not the time to fight.

“Lyra has made her decision, and I’m abiding by it.” He wouldn’t hurt her ever again, he’d make sure it never happened. But he knew Freya wouldn’t trust him, didn’t like him, and now she truly had a reason for it. “Are you going to stand here and make vague threats you know don’t intimidate me, or actually do something?” 

[recklesswolfpup]

Lyra was more than happy to get out of the truck, as she still wasn’t fully comfortable with using it, and get into the dinner line. True to his word, Tris had gotten them there before too many others had arrived. Lyra was pleased to be fifth in line this year and looked up at Tris with a big smile. “This means first pick of the cakes!”

She turned back to the line and only let go of Tris’s hand when she was handed a plate and told to head down the buffet line. It took several minutes, but when they finished, she had her main plate full and her dessert plate nearly overflowing. After looking over her shoulder to make sure he was following her, Lyra led the way to an empty table and sat down, excited to dig into her dinner.

“Do you think whoever made this used magic with the ingredients?” She asked as she cut a chunk off of her steak. “Because I can’t come up with another reason to explain why this tastes so good.” If she were any use in a kitchen, she would have known about the magic of seasonings, but all of that was lost on her and she normally relied on the diner to feed her.

[guardbear]

Though Tris wasn’t exactly one for public affections, he actually enjoyed having her on his arm. It had been years since he’d had a proper girlfriend, since highschool, really. He’d never been lonely exactly, he had his fair share of company over the years, but nothing serious, nothing like Lyra.

“Lucky us, hm?” he said with a laugh, taking a plate as it was handed to him and following her along the buffet line, piling his plate high with the food that he knew would be delicious. It always was at these gatherings. His dessert plate wasn’t nearly as full as Lyra’s, but he had decent portions of everything. And overly decent portions of meat. He loved himself a good steak.

“I don’t think we have any magical food. I’m pretty sure it’s just garlic powder,” he teased, getting comfortable next to her and digging into his food easily. He was grateful they cooked the steaks properly, and hummed happily as it nearly melted in his mouth. “Food’s good this year.”

[wcrmwood-blog]

Anger broiled within her, causing little bubbles of red to obstruct her vision. She’d never actually seen red like this, and he had to be the cause of it. Her instincts were telling her to claw his throat, and she knew in that moment that her wolfish instinct was beginning to overtake her mind. She would never give him the satisfaction. 

“All I heard in your statement, Martris, was you attempting to displace my anger.” She began to pace, her arms crossed tightly. “Every other time someone lost control, it was either minor or dealt with.” She held her arms out, a bitter laugh escaped her. “My daughter almost bled out, so here I am dealing with it.” She folded her arms once again, her gaze still unblinking. “Lyra forgave you, great. But what are you really going to do about it? You’re a danger to her.”

[guardbear]

“I am not a danger to her. What happened will never happen again,” Tris told her firmly, refusing to back down in front of her. He understood her anger, and couldn’t blame her in the slightest. He’d her her daughter, her child, for once Freya actually had a legitimate reason to hate him.

“And if you want to drag me in front of the council for a trial, then feel free. But keep in mind that Lyra is the one who is hurt, and Lyra is the one who will be hurt when this gets made public.” He didn’t understand why that part was so difficult for Freya to understand. Hurting him would only hurt Lyra.

[recklesswolfpup]

The way that Tris was behaving about the whole party situation made her inexplicably happy. The way he looked at her, behaved like a gentleman, everything. It was so perfect that she could hardly stand it. It made her feel giddy and the smile that she couldn’t get rid of was starting to hurt her face. She wanted to grab his hand and hold him next to her for a moment so she could kiss his entire face, but  dinner was waiting and she didn’t want to be late.

She climbed into the truck – it proved a little more difficult in a dress than she thought, but thankfully Tris was there to help her – and grinned at him when she was comfortable. His promise to buy her any desserts she wanted was exciting, but she had to remind herself not to take advantage of him like that; he didn’t know just what he was offering. The gentleness he was showing made her heart so warm that it spread all over her body like a shot of whiskey.

Once he was in the truck, Lyra gladly took his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, lipstick be damned. She enjoyed this relaxed side of him and intended to enjoy every minute of his good temperament until she couldn’t stay awake any longer. It hardly made sense to her how they went from having casual sex to being together, but she liked it. She liked him – and lately, she found it harder and harder not to say that she loved him. “I hope you meant it when you said anything for me, because I cannot wait to dance with you later.”

[guardbear]

“I definitely mean anything,” Tris told her with a smile, squeezing her hand tenderly. He enjoyed seeing her happy, and after everything he’d done to her...she definitely deserved one perfect night. 

The dress she was wearing, while gorgeous, showed the scars he’d caused on her. He hated them, hated seeing what he’d done to her. She deserved so much better than him and the beast he was... but he’d do everything to be good to her.

When they reached the party, which didn’t take too long in the small town, Tris packed the truck and hurried around to the passenger side to take Lyra’s hand and help her out of the beat up vehicle, the lipstick smudged on his knuckles a badge of her affection for him. “C’mon. Let’s go get dinner before all the best food is taken.”

[wcrmwood-blog]

   “You hurt her,” her voice was eerily quiet. The rage threatened to quake her words. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists. “You could have killed her, and yet you decide to stay? You’re a danger to her, beast. You want to move on? Tell that to the scars crossing her chest, try to erase the blood she lost, all by your hand.” A scowl of disgust crossed her features.

   “How dare you stand here and just accept what’s happened.” She jutted her chin slightly upward, clenching her jaw as she thought of her next outburst of rage. He deserved every ounce of her anger, plus some. She changed her tone entirely, though. The tension in her stance loosened. The bear still wanted to seem as if he was a good person, and that he was an asset to the town? Freya would change that, no matter the cost. 

   “You still think you’re equipped to be the sheriff? If this got out…” Freya tsked, a devilish smile slowly spread. “No one would feel safe around you.”

[guardbear]

Tris didn’t back away from Freya’s rage, shifting a bit when she called him a beast. It was true, and he couldn’t deny it. He’d hurt her, and he hated it.

“I lost control for half a second, as so many in this town have before, and I hurt her. I will never forget that moment,” the man told her firmly. He wasn’t the only person to have ever lost control of his wild side, he had more than a few scars from Lyra when her wolf was stronger than she was. None of that really mattered, though. He had hurt Lyra, and that was all that mattered.

“I hate myself for what happened, I will never accept it. Lyra wants to move on. Lyra has forgiven me, though I don’t deserve it. But nobody has a reason to fear me. What happened that night will never happen again.”

[wcrmwood-blog]

   “Martris, I’m already trying to not rip your eyes out with my bare hands. It’d be best if you didn’t play stupid right now. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” She cocked her head to the side, her gaze toward him was intense, unblinking. “Go on, give me your excuses.”

[guardbear]

“I don’t have any excuses,” Tris told her honestly. “I only have what happened. And the truth is she wants to move on past what has happened. I’m trying to abide by her wishes, not make things harder on her.

[wcrmwood-blog]

    “You and I have q u i t e a bit to talk about.”

[guardbear]

“Oh? And what exactly did you want to talk about?” He was not looking forward to the upcoming conversation, but he had promised Lyra he would at least try to be civil.

[maliificus]

With a shrug, Theo walked around leisurely and began cleaning at a slow pace. The bar never got extremely busy, especially now with the plague and with the full moon passing, so behind the bar was already spotless. It was just mindless work anymore. 

“Just a few robberies– I killed a guy,” she said. There was a dry edge to her voice, and a smirk to pair with it. “It got wild.”

[guardbear]

Tris arched an eyebrow at Theo’s joke. He knew nobody had been killed, as he would have been the first to know. “I thought we’d discussed there was no killing allowed within city limits,” he said with a smirk, taking a deep drink from is glass.

[recklesswolfpup]

All of his flustered actions had her blushing and giggling. Never had someone reacted in such a way to her, especially when she hadn’t gone for a look that was particularly dazzling or exciting as she had in years past. But the way he looked at her made her feel the anxious fluttering in her stomach again.

It made her feel like that princess or maid girl she read about in one of those colorful books in the library – the one that had a witch mother, or something, that went to a party. She couldn’t remember the specifics of it, but she assumed that the princess felt something like this.

“Thank you,” she grinned and reached for his hand. It was large and warm in hers, and she knew that not even both of her hands could cover just one of his. She stepped onto the porch, shutting the door behind her. It never really occurred to her to lock the door; anyone that would steal from a thief was an idiot and she trusted most people in town. Sort of.

His truck was parked not too far away. She didn’t hate riding in it; she just didn’t understand why she had to when her legs worked just fine. But for this evening, she appreciated that he drove it; her dress dragged on the ground and she didn’t want to ruin it just walking to the party. It was more fun to ruin her dresses while having fun dancing and drinking at the party – or after.

The after was always one of her favorite parts and the way he looked at her left no doubt that she would be enjoying herself long after the celebrations of the evening were over.

“Are you ready to go? Dinner starts in about thirty minutes and I’ve never been in the back of the line.” Usually, she was fifth or sixth to be let into the hall, and she did not intend to let that change this year. “I heard that there’s going to be five desserts this year, not including all of the stands set up outside. Five! Can you believe it?!”

[guardbear]

Tris smiled as he led her carefully off the porch and to the passenger side door. He was glad he had a truck for this, if she’d been in a shorter dress he would have walked with her, but... he didn’t want to ruin her dress. She was gorgeous, and he wanted her to stay that way as long as possible.

“Anything for you, Lyra,” he told her honestly, opening the door for her and helping her up into the truck, he paused as she started talking about the dessert. He laughed, his hand resting on her thigh, admiring how silky the dress felt.

“Well I’ll make sure you’re not in the back of the line,” he assured her, grinning at her excitement over the desserts. “And I’ll buy you absolutely any desserts you want me to tonight,” he leaned into the truck and pressed a kiss to her cheek, not wanting to risk smearing her lipstick, before carefully shutting the door.

He was surprised by how excited he was looking forward to the evening, but it was important to Lyra, and he planned to make it perfect for her. He wanted her happy.

Climbing into the truck, he started the engine and pulled away from Lyra’s cabin. It didn’t take long for them to reach the party, and Tris parked his truck quickly, climbing out and hurrying to the passenger door to open it and offer his hand to Lyra once again.

[recklesswolfpup]

Lyra continued to pace, anxiously cleaning up mugs from the coffee table and straightening the blankets on the sofa. She wanted the place to look somewhat nice for when Tris came. It was so strange for her to feel so anxious about seeing him; she saw him nearly every day.

Perhaps it was because after tonight, there was no more denying that they were truly a couple. Up to this point, they had not gone with labels, as neither of them were too keen on such things. The thought made her stomach churn – but in a good way. She hoped. It wasn’t as if he was the first man she had dated. In fact, she had several boyfriends before. It just so happened that she had never cared about any of them as much as she cared for Tris and it frightened her.

As she waited, she poured herself a small glass of whiskey and downed it quickly, savoring the warmth that spread from her stomach to her heart and through her body. It eased her nerves a little, and loosened the knots that her insides had tangled themselves into. She was more than tempted to have another glass, but didn’t want to overdo it before the festivities, where she often ended up drunk and happy by the end of the night.

Now that she was a little more calm, she sat down on the couch and leaned back and soon as she did so, she heard the knock, signaling Tris’s arrival. Perhaps being so wrapped up in her own mind distracted her from hearing the rumble of the truck, but now, all she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears as she stood and made her way to the door.

One more deep breath and she reached for the doorknob, unlocking both locks before she opened it. She glanced up from the wooden planks of her porch and found herself faced with something she never thought she would see: Tris wearing something other than jeans. In fact, he wore a clean suit that didn’t seem to have a single wrinkle on it and a bowtie. After taking everything in, she smiled, wide and bright. He looked so handsome and it was all because he knew how important the party was to her.

“Hey, you,” she said as she opened the door fully to invite him in. “Lookin’ good.”

[guardbear]

Tris began to feel nervous as Lyra took a while to open the door. Had he shown up too late? Did she leave to the party without him? Maybe he had misunderstood and he wasn’t supposed to pick her up at her home after all...

A feeling of relief washed over him as the door opened. Good, he had come to the right place. At least he hadn’t started the night off with a giant fuck up.

“Hi, Lyra,” Tris greeted with a smile, but the rest of his words died on his lips as he ran his eyes over her. She was gorgeous. Breathtaking, even. She was always beautiful, always sexy, but in this dress? “Wow,” he breathed after a moment, his mind fighting to think of something to say.

“You look... I mean... That dress, and...” He was rambling, shit. She would think him a fool, but then... he was a fool, wasn’t he? Falling for a woman more than ten years his junior, a woman so incredibly beautiful and very obviously out of his league.

He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to compose himself, he needed to say a full real sentence or she’d just laugh at him and find a man who was less of an idiot.

“You look amazing, Lyra. Gorgeous. I just... wow.”

[recklesswolfpup]

The parties in Nightmare were one of Lyra’s favorite things.

She had fond memories from childhood of her mother coming home with sparkling gowns of various seasonal colors for the both of them and classy suits for her brother. When the afternoon hit, Lyra would put on her dress and wait for her mother to come into her bedroom to help her with her hair and makeup, as the parties were the only time she would allow Freya to do such things. By the time sunset came around, mother and daughter matched and Liam proudly escorted them both to the Council Hall and they would have an amazing time celebrating with their friends.

This Autumn Equinox, however, would be Lyra’s first party away from home. She had to make all the necessary preparations herself, as Liam had grown out of his excitement for such things as town celebrations. It was almost sad for her to do her own hair and makeup, as she had never learned, and as she sat at her mirror, she stared at her reflection, feeling lost and lonely without her mother.

Reminding herself that she was independent and capable, she put just enough mascara to make her long lashes stand out and ran a brush through her hair until every tangle was gone. Instead of going for the usual showy gowns she normally wore, Lyra had bought a very simple flesh toned dress that reached the floor and pooled around her feet in ripples of shimmering silk. It was very subtle and went beautifully against her tanned skin and the deep red and orange embellishments of the dress made her look as if she had enchanted fall leaves to act as clothing for the evening.

She took a long look at herself in the mirror and smiled, because she had never felt so beautiful while looking exactly the same as she always had. There was hardly a doubt in her mind that her date would not be impressed with her.

Speaking of…

Lyra glanced at the window and realized that it was just about time for her date in question to arrive. He had promised to pick her up just before sunset and she did not intend to make him wait. She began to dig in her closet for a pair of suitable shoes, as she hated the high heeled ones her mother used to buy for her, and found a pair of plain and flat slip on shoes that matched the tone of her dress almost perfectly.

With one final glance at her reflection, she took a deep breath and went down to the living room, where she began to pace anxiously as she waited for Tris to arrive. Liam was long gone, as he claimed he had a date to pick up himself, so she was alone with no one to chatter pointlessly to to take the edge off of her anxiety.

Hopefully he would arrive soon and they would be on their way to dance, drink, and laugh with their friends. She could only hope beyond hope that no one there – mainly her mother – would ruin this one perfect night.

[guardbear]

Tris had never understood the town’s need for a rather massive amount of annuals events, but the small town, as with so many others, was obsessed with tradition. As Town Guard, and council member, he was obligated to attend, more so than the average citizen.

And while he normally showed up in the most casual outfit acceptable, this time he was going with Lyra, and the ridiculous Autumn Equinox Ball was important to her. His girlfriend. It was weird to think of, weird to say. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since moving to Nightmare, hadn’t been looking for anything serious. But Lyra had happened, and though it was unexpected and made little sense, he wouldn’t trade her for the world.

This was the reason he was putting on a tuxedo and a bowtie before climbing into his beat up old pickup truck to drive to her house.

He hoped the night would go well, that for once in her life Freya would be civilized and not start a fight, for Lyra’s sake. It was an important evening for her, the first day they’d go to a town event as a couple, this would make them quite publicly official.

Lost in thought, the drive to Lyra’s house felt quite a bit longer than it normally did, but eventually he pulled up in front of the familiar cabin and made his way up the steps. From here you could hear the sounds of the starting party, knowing families with young children would have arrived already, wanting to enjoy the festivities before it got too late in the evening.

Taking a moment to adjust his tie, feeling constricted by the formal garments, Tris gathered himself before bringing up a large fist to pound on the solid wood of the door.

[guardbear]

recklesswolfpup:

“If you want. I’m fine with walking, but I know your old legs sometimes can’t handle the hike,” she joked and took his hand in hers and let him lead her to the truck. “Chicken and fresh made chips were on the menu tonight. And I might have got two cakes. Full cakes.”

“That way I don’t have to share my dessert with you.”

“Ah, smart girl,” Tris said with a laugh, holding her hand easily as they walked out to his truck. It was good to have her close, to hear the smile in her voice. He’d missed her. He didn’t even mind her calling him old. He was just glad to have her back, even if he didn’t deserve her.

“C’mon, let’s get you home ‘fore your food gets cold,” he told her, opening the truck door for her.

[guardbear]

recklesswolfpup:

Running as fast as she could, she easily navigated through the maze of trees, tracking the source of the noise she had heard when finally – deer. Standing right there. It didn’t even know she was coming – that’s how fast she was moving and before it could even turn its head, her teeth were in its neck, breaking the bones, killing it.

Tearing the meat right off of the bone eased the edge of the wolf, letting Lyra take control again. She normally didn’t enjoy raw meat, but on a full moon, she could deal with it. That’s when she heard something big approaching. While she had a feeling that she knew what it was, she didn’t feel like taking any chances.

She took a defensive stance over her kill and growled, knowing that if a threat was coming, it would surely turn away…

– but the last thing she remembered before her mind clouding over was seeing Tris and she couldn’t really imagine any other enormous animals in the vicinity. It had to be him. But she wasn’t about to abandon her trophy, even for him. He knew how she felt about food.

Tris lumbered after Lyra into the woods, following her scent trail easily. More in control of his animal-self, he wasn’t interested in hunting, but the scent of blood filled the air as Lyra found her prey.

He scrunched his nose at the scent, feeling a primal hunger filling him. He pushed it away, though, not wanting to join Lyra in her feast of raw meat. She turned and growled at him, taking an aggressive stance over her kill. He huffed in response and sat heavily in the leaves beneath a tree.

Fwump.

He had absolutely no interest in sharing her kill, she was more than welcome to her fair share, though he had no idea why she insisted he follow her into the forest only for her to ignore him in favor of food, but eventually she’d get control of herself and come back to him. He was willing to wait until then.