* CHANGE

imani jade kingston werewolf alpha veterenarian & dj

[imani-kingston]

*|| STARTER FOR: @deep-calm​

Imani knew she was making bad decisions by being drunk and high. However, she couldn’t say no to an open bar. The Kingstons were known to do it all, especially during any function that’s hosted. This was nothing new and normally she could handle it. However, her purpose was to distract herself from two women: Seiha Takanashi and Fayre Avci. Both relations that she’d fucked up completely in a span of a month of trying to do things right. She knew she liked Seiha...a lot and it was the reason why she came clean to kissing Fayre. However, it didn’t end well for them and she didn’t blame her, especially with the kind of reputation Imani had. When it came to Fayre, she wasn’t mad and if anything, she wanted to preserve their friendship. She was at fault for having to lead her on like that and not make it clear on where to draw the line. Messy. Imani Kingston was messy. 

So this gala served as a distraction and certainly her companion at the bar was one big one with the look he was serving. “Dope get up.” she pointed out at first. “In fact...You’re definitely the best dressed here. Damn...” She then lifted her shot glass and clinked the air before downing it in one go. “Want to join me in the next round? Is tequila your thing?” 

[imani-kingston]

*|| STARTER FOR: @trukingston​​

Imani may be inebriated, but she knew a fool when she sees one. The moment she saw her brother’s outfit, her first emotion was second hand embarrassment. What came after was the sentiment of how much of an idiot he was for choosing to go out like that and on top of that, in public too. Striding over to him, the alpha punched his shoulder as a means to greet him and bursted out into fits of laughter. “You’re lucky that as a Kingston, your face and built makes up for the fucking dumb shit you do.” she said at first. “Why the fuck do you even have a bag? You might as well put that shit over your head to cover up your identity.” Waving a hand in front of him, she noticed something off and she immediately punched his arm again. “Bitch, did you take my stash?”

[imani-kingston]

fayre avci‌:

“Well, let’s hope the dance floor clears up by then, and if needed, you can fuck them up there,” she offered up that space, fully knowing that Imani meant her words. If that fate was met, there was nothing she had to do from her end. “And if they are? What would you do? They’re afraid of you too?” If it came to that point, Fayre would handle it on her own, not that she didn’t trust Imani to do it. She already felt as if she owed her since that night that Imani lodged her when she was injured. She couldn’t ask her to fight her battles again. “Favorites? Well, I know Nicolas had his. He sure had a lot to say about some people here.” She shot her a knowing gaze, a small smirk growing at the corner of her lips to inform her that it wasn’t anything that bothered her. At least not too much. “But there are a few people I do like better than most. Can’t help it if they get more benefits than the rest.” Fayre firmly nodded, not adding much input on her later words. She already felt as if she said too much, pushed too far. She looked away for a brief moment, making sure to not get too comfortable. “Good,” she responded, a little too flat and a little too quick. “I’ve been keeping busy, cleaning up some messes,” which was roughly a friendlier version of the truth. “And yeah, it’s good to have some familiar faces around here, so I’ve been bothering Truman a bit. How about you? How’s everything between you and Tru?” 

Imani smirked, “Dope. I’d appreciate that.” Good to know Fayre understood her and her means. Shrugging, the she-wolf took another drag and embraced the toke before exhaling a puff. “I’d fuck them up too. I know you can take care of yourself, but I wouldn’t mind joining in on that.” She then nodded to confirm the obvious around Church. “To give you clarity, someone called me Nic’s whore and let’s just say they didn’t have the ability to a) come to work and b) speak again.” Messy HR business at that point. The vampire wasn’t pleased with her actions, but she gave him the ultimatum and he ended up siding with her in the end. Her lips widened into a knowing smile as she arched a brow and headed towards her. Imani decided to test the waters between them. She simply wanted to know if there was really a barrier in their relationship. “And am I at the top of the list hm?” Seeing her look away, caused the she-wolf to grin as she tapped away the excess ashes of her blunt. “Great to hear that.” replied Imani, accepting the change of topic. “Better to be busy than bored. Also, good—bother him as much as you want, he’s a little shit after all.” Shrugging in response, the alpha took another hit and paused briefly to ponder on a reply. “...Busy too, from this to the Animal Hospital and pack related things. The tension in Lethe isn’t helping, but we’re doing our best to stay low key. It’s proving to be difficult though, can’t lie. For Truman and I, we’re doing good and haven’t had any major sibling disputes. How about you and Hale?” 

[imani-kingston]

IMANI KINGSTON + The Spring Equinox Gala

[imani-kingston]

fayre avci‌:

A lot of conversations with Fayre were saturated with awkwardness, but that’s mostly because she chose to not engage in them with the same effort as the others. But she was dreading how awkward it was with Imani now. They sounded so formal and detached. But then again, it might be best for her to keep it at that professional level. “That sounds like a lot of the pressure for the guys.” Fayre let out a soft chuckle in agreement, though it sounded more like a sharp breath released than a chuckle. She looked over at the employees on schedule before settling her gaze back at Imani. “No, no one’s been too difficult yet. I think most of them are more relieved with the change, especially since Nicolas was a bit…” She paused in thought of the perfect word to describe him. “Unpredictable. And there’s no one taking all the alcohol from the shelf. I’m just glad and a bit surprised that almost everyone chose to stay and not go.” It saved a lot of work on her end, not having to seek out workers. “Especially you. Heard you were everyone’s favorite DJ here, so thanks. For not leaving.” Her composure and demeanor stayed the same as the genuine words left her pressed lips. Fayre shook her head at the offer. “No, I’m good. Haven’t smoked for years.” 

“Yeah, cause I’ll tell you now I’ll fuck them up at the end of my set if that were to happen.” Best to give a warning to the boss, but she adds in a playful smirk to make it a little light. Fayre knows what lengths she would go to make her point clear. “That’s good. Let me know if they are, some of these fools need to get their shit straight.” A chuckle escaped her lips the moment Fayre described Nic. Unpredictable seemed like an understatement, but she understood the choice of words she chose. “With a completely different management? It’s about time for some change around here. Everyone’s at an equal playing field, unless you play favourites?” She then arched her brow and flashed her a knowing smirk before returning her attention to her blunt and focusing on rolling it up. “Nah, I love what I do. Djing is a nice escape anyways. It would have been different if I was...the other staff.” Bringing the joint to her lips, she lights it up and takes a drag while listening to her decision. With a nod, she decided to bask in the silence as she got high. A moment or two later she broke the silence by asking, “So aside from purchasing this place, how have you been? Long time, no talk. I feel as if you and Truman see each other more often, which is good—he adores you.” 

[imani-kingston]

fayre avci‌:

date: may 23, 2021 time: 8:49 pm location: church for: @imani-kingston​

When Fayre heard the rumor of Nicolas selling his club, she had quickly jumped on the transaction. The effort of being sociable and forceful of selling houses grew tiring, and she found pleasure in giving out orders and staying out of the spotlight of one to one interactions. It was the perfect new job for her. And as of her work so far, she would like to think that French philosopher would be satisfied with it. After checking the payment system was functioning and all scheduled employees were checked in for the night, the hunter lingered out from the back of the bar and headed to the stage, a target in mind. The hunter wouldn’t say that she had been avoiding the DJ, but she had been limiting her encounters and conversations when possible as a way to not bother her. Fayre cleared her throat, attempting to grasp on proper words. “Everything ready for tonight? Or are there any issues that I can help out with?”

Imani knew Nicolas wouldn’t last long, so it wasn’t surprising to see him dip out of Lethe unexpectedly. However, Fayre taking over Church threw her off guard. The two have not had a decent conversation, let alone interaction during their time at Lethe. It was for the best, especially with how things are when it came to her pack, to Seiha and her brother. However, now that they work in the same establishment and she’s technically her boss, the she-wolf kind of had no choice but to deal with her head on. “Yup.” she said with a nod as soon as she made her presence known. “No issues as of yet. So as long as the sound guys don’t fuck up my set, then I should be fine. Hopefully no one’s giving you a hard time though? Nic was a hit or miss kind of owner...” Focusing her attention on the table, Imani preoccupied herself by rolling a blunt, more so to ease her up for tonight. “Want?” she asked. “I can roll you one or we could share.” 

[imani-kingston]

 calliope warren‌:

People always ran towards something or from something, and as much as she hated it, Cal fell into the latter category. She couldn’t be entirely sure, but by the sound of it, the woman before her also did. “Yeah” she agreed with a lower tone, giving a slight nod. She seemed to think her Old Fashioned was good enough and Cal was satisfied with that. “Well, you could, you’re paying for this shit” the witch mentioned with a half-smile. Wasn’t that the first commandment of all businesses? The client’s always right and give them what they want, or some shit like that. “And that would have been concerning for the boss, maybe, not for me”.

“Nah. In this place?” Imani shook her head. This bar was more of a take what you can get kind of ordeal. “It’s aiiiight.” She then downed took a few more sips and shrugged, “I thought it could be both. Don’t you want good tips?” She shrugged, it’s not like she’d know any better. The most work she’d done in a setting like this is DJing at a club. Noticing an urgent notification on her phone, the she-wolf downed the Old Fashioned without a care in the world, before sliding the glass over and decided it was time to head out. “Anyways, thanks for this New Girl and welcome to Lethe. Hopefully this town doesn’t fuck you over like Salem did.” With the fuckery that goes on around here, she wasn’t sure if it was any different. However, she can say that perhaps the chances of her being killed on purpose may be slim. 

[imani-kingston]

seiha takanashi‌:

She remembered how Lethe’s Takanashi Branch reacted after she shifted back to her human form for the first time. Seiha heard how grateful they were and how much of an honour it was to have the main branch’s eldest daughter around. She was sure that they were saying it to make her feel better about this small town, but their words had an opposite effect. She felt indebted to the family for giving her another chance. Though she tried to make the best out of her new chance, she hated herself for the situations she had put herself through. Before the shades came, she thought that she was fine, but she wasn’t and it seemed that the only person who understood that was the woman that she couldn’t be friends with. “I know. I… I just acted… reflexively?” She chuckled nervously. What was she afraid of? 

The councilwoman knew the answer to that. This was the first time that she had ever felt this confused about another woman. Sure, she had messed around before, but at the time, she thought it was just a little bit of bi-curiosity. Nothing so serious, nothing like what she was feeling now. The werewolf was stronger, despite her small stature and to her surprise, Seiha was pushed into the wall behind her. She leaned down and kissed her back. Gently, she tugged at Imani’s lower lip and pulled her closer, wrapping her arms around her neck. If the family knew what she was doing, they’d lose it. Being disowned and exiled were too light for punishments in their eyes, and she was sure that they’d probably kill her. But still, she was willing to face those consequences for this moment.  

“Wow… ok.” She pulled away. “You’re… You’re really good at that.”

Boy was she fucked. Seiha’s response to her kiss was not only worth it, but definitely hot that Imani couldn’t help, but hum in satisfaction as she lowered her hands towards her waist to wrap her arms around her. No big deal, just casually making out right up against her establishment. If the she-wolf had the time to process, she’d literally pep talk herself and advise what the actual fuck was she doing. However, if she wanted something, she’d do what she needed to do to get it and this was the outcome that she was hoping for. 

Once the shifter pulled away, Imani took a step back and regained her composure. She gave the other woman space and waited for her to speak, but after hearing her boost her ego, the alpha chuckled and shrugged. “So I’ve heard and I would hope so.” she mused at first. However, her expression faltered as she pressed her lips into a thin line and crossed her arms as a sense of security. “So uh...What’s mmm...Should we?...Hm...” Where was she going with this? What did they want? Were they even on the same page? “What now?” She frowned as reality settles in and added, “Maybe this was a mistake. I’m fucking up your mindset right now, you’re a clan leader and a councilwoman...You have a lot on your plate and obviously your father isn’t pleased—I just don’t want to fuck up your life when you’ve been trying to gain it back.” 

[imani-kingston]

calliope warren‌:

Cal frowned for a moment before she laughed a little.  Sure, the weather in her hometown wasn’t always lovely and sunny, but Salem’s infamy had little to do with the propensity for rain and thunder in that area. “Well, I’m a witch from a town that’s notorious for having hung witches in the past, so which one do you think it is?” she said with raised eyebrows as she sliced a twist from the peel of an orange and added it to the drink as a garnish. “Trading sunny California for a bleak town in Washington?” she mused out loud as she set the drink before the woman. Sounded like a choice not many would make, but then again, not all choices were easy choices to make. “Well, who am I to judge? We all have our reasons”. Cal was curious, of course, but she didn’t want to pry into a stranger’s life so instead she tilted her chin in the direction of the Old Fashioned “Does it pass the test?” she asked, confident that it was a damn good drink.

"Gotcha.” replied Imani with a slow nod. Well life wasn’t fair and the world sucked in its own way, so she understands why the witch would seek out here. You could be yourself sure, but she wondered if she knew what she was getting herself into. The chaos and destruction that life brought seemed to have followed everyone here as if it was inevitable. “Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do New Girl.” she explained at first. And once she understood, Imani nodded and confirmed, “Exactly, reasons.” She then took a few sip so her drink and took a moment to assess the taste. Shrugging, Imani nods and goes, “It’ll do. I can’t be asking for too much y’know? At least you can make a drink. It would have been concerning if you couldn’t.” 

[johnnyssilverhand]

Don’t come back, you fuckin’ bitch! 

HIGH FIDELITY 1.07, "Me Time" DIR. Jeffrey Reiner

[imani-kingston]

calliope warren‌:

“Good choice” she mentioned as she began to prepare the drink. Why dilute a good ol’ whiskey, after all? She placed the sugar cube at the bottom of the chilled glass and added the bitters before crushing the sugar with bar spoon. “It sounds so cliché, but yeah, sort of”. Salem had an infamous history when it came to witchcraft and unfortunately for her kind, it seemed like history wanted to repeat itself. “Before I left it really looked like a storm was coming” she mentioned with a hint of disdain in her voice. She’d never thought too badly of humans, but the events that led to her leaving her hometown had certainly made her begin to see them under a much more negative light. “Where are you from?” she said as she put a couple of ice cubes in the glass and went on to pour a pretty good dose of whiskey.

Imani nods and watches as the New Girl preps her whiskey. “Are you speaking of a storm that’s literal or figurative?” It was Salem...That area was like a fairy tale gone wrong. To learn that witches did reside there made it all more true to its tale. “Ah, that’s the million dollar question.” mused Imani with a sigh. “I’ve been around New Girl. More of a traveller to put it short. Prior to Lethe, I was in sunny Cali—west coast, best coast y’know?” 

[imani-kingston]

[imani-kingston]

seiha takanashi‌:

Right now, it felt wrong to laugh, like she’d empty her stomach if she tried to really laugh. From the looks of things, she could see that Imani seemed to feel the same way. “I don’t know… Everyone wears a mask, right?” She kept her back turned to her, choosing to limit what she’d notice. Right now, the shifter was sensitive to even the smallest signs of departure; it would hurt to watch he leave. Even though Imani’s words said otherwise, her mind was deep in a dark place, anticipating the worse. 

Seiha pushed her palms into her face and then ran her hands through her hair. The Takanashi family disliked dogs, and Japan had folktales to detailing all the trouble they had with them. Over the years, Seiha guessed that the disdain against dogs moved over to the werewolves too. If she remembered her father’s words correctly, he said that, “shifters were better than the wolves tied to the moon and that we serve a higher purpose.” Seiha, of course, thought he was full of shit, and that was why she had gone back to meet with Imani. She chewed the inside of her cheek and dug her hand into her pockets. She hoped that she had a cigarette or something, but she wasn’t so lucky. 

“What?” She turned when she heard her name and before she could even realize what was happening, she felt Imani’s lips on hers. Her eyes widened and then she quickly let out an apology. “Sorry, I should have been more careful. Nearly locked lips with you there.” But she knew that it wasn’t her fault and she wasn’t mad at what happened. Seiha licked her lips and glanced at Imani’s. “Ehm… I didn’t mean that. Do you want to try again?”

Imani knew a thing or two about masks. It’s how she survived till this day with her brother. No one knew how she truly felt. She always kept it to herself, gave a front for everything. She was an alpha, she refused to break. As such she didn’t say anything as she took the inquiry as a rhetorical question. When they faced each other, the alpha wolf braced herself and expected the shifter to tell her off, that she ruined their friendship. However, she was welcomed with confusion and an apology. “What?” blurted out Imani as she was thrown off by the response. “I did that on purpose Seiha, I wanted to kiss you. If I crossed a line and that wasn’t what you wanted, I’m...” And next thing she knew, the Councilwoman retracted her statement. 

Standing there, the alpha wolf remained silent. For someone who wasn’t into commitment, this was a whole new territory for her—a challenge in itself. She wanted Seiha that was a no brainer and she wanted her to herself. The fact that she almost lost her was...scary. The fear of losing her felt shitty and difficult to process, but Imani was so certain that she didn’t want this outcome. So when the opportunity to try again presented itself, Imani decided to shoot her shot again as she nodded. The alpha backed Seiha up against the wall and closed the distance between them as she leaned up and gently pulled her down for a passionate kiss. Ideally, she’d be more rough, but she was careful and wanted to make this right. Who would have thought she could have restraint? She’d shove it into Truman’s face right at this very moment if she could. 

[imani-kingston]

calliope warren‌:

Cal tilted her head slightly and nodded. She couldn’t claim to know her boss perfectly but at least so far she could say the woman’s description of Terry did sound accurate. “Alright, an Old Fashioned it is” the witch said with a confident smile as she gathered her ingredients: whiskey, bitters, a sugar cube, an orange. “Soda water?” she asked as she raised the can, wondering if the woman wanted her drink straight or not. Cal grabbed a chilled glass and began to muddle the sugar cube and bitters at the bottom with a bar spoon. “I’m from Salem. Lived with a witch community there. You? Are you a Lethean native or another outsider?” she asked mostly to make conversation than anything else.

Imani nodded allowing the bartender to do whatever she wanted at this point. She just needed alcohol in her system and she was fine with what she could get. At the mention of soda water, the werewolf shook her head, “Nah, I’ll take it for what it is.” No use in a chase if she wanted to savour the creation of the half-assed bartender. Learning where New Girl was from, the alpha wolf nodded in understanding and found it intriguing that a witch from Salem stumbled upon here. “So the rumours are true.” she joked. “Did you come here because of the witch hunt?” It was a biased assumption, but she was curious if it was still ongoing like they always were. “Nah fuck that, I’m an outsider.” 

[imani-kingston]

seiha takanashi‌:

“DJ Mani doesn’t just share with the common folk.” She tried to joke, but the sentence rolled roughly off of her tongue. It didn’t sit well with her or maybe she was just uncomfortable with all the uncertainty between them. She shook her head; none of this made sense. Everything that Imani was saying was about them continuing on with their friendship and yet, her stomach hadn’t settled down. She still felt sick. “I didn’t know that… I just thought you had a lot of patience and was just trying to be nice in front of your baby brother.” She frowned. “You’re not-” She sighed. “I’m here, so you haven’t…”

“Ok.” She tapped the cigarette to get rid of the ashes and brought it back to her lips. The hot smoke stung her lungs but she welcomed the distraction. It helped keep her mind off of the uneasiness. “I’m not that insecure… I just, if I’m a hair away from messing whatever up, now’s the time to tell me. I want to keep doing this…” Whatever it was, she wanted it. “Fuck, I don’t even know what I’m saying. I just…” She tried to take another drag, but the cigarette was spent. She walked over to an ashtray and put it out before sighing. Seiha wasn’t ready to turn back to her. Maybe it was time to leave. 

“Nope.” It was difficult trying to joke around when their conversation wasn’t as light hearted as it should be. “Fuck Truman, I don’t change the way I treat people in front of him.” If it wasn’t obvious, Seiha was technically the only individual that she’d invested most of her a time into. Everyone else was just there. “I know you’re here, but...” Her voice trailed off, what the fuck was she trying to even prove? Why was she for once tongue tied when having to explain herself? Hell, why does she have to explain herself? 

“And you think I am? I never said you’re messing shit up. Nothing is messed up between us other than the fact that...” That she wasn’t meant to be with her? Traditionally that is. The last thing she wanted was to get her in trouble with her father, let alone family. She knew what it was like to be the disappointment and how she dealt with it was murdering her own father out of spite. However, if you were to ask her, she’ll tell you that Richard Kingston deserved it. He was never a father to begin with. Snapping out of her thoughts, she watched Seiha walk over to the ashtray, back facing her. Was that it? Fuck, she was never good with words. Imani hesitated, but she knew it was now or never. If she got it all wrong, then she was willing to live with the consequence—even if it meant Seiha having to hate her. At least she wouldn’t have to be confused, let alone be stuck in a predicament that was making her uneasy. Walking up to the shifter, she gently placed her hands onto her waist as she turned her around. “Seiha.” Imani calls out to her and without a second to spare, she lifted her hands to cup the shifter’s face, before leaning upwards and planting a chaste kiss. As much as Imani wanted to continue, let alone deepen the kiss, she wasn’t sure if the Councilwoman felt the same way and so she immediately pulled away and dropped her hands to her side. “Fuck.” she blurted before taking a step back.  

[imani-kingston]

calliope warren‌:

Cal nodded in agreement. She’d already gotten to see most of the town in the past couple of weeks, so that was a testament to the fact that Lethe wasn’t a particularly big place. “Yeah, turns out Terry doesn’t care much that his bartenders can actually bartend” she said with a shrug. She’d been in need of a job and she’d gotten it, the rest didn’t matter too to her and if the bar’s owner wasn’t worried that an unexperienced bartender might drive clientele away, she was even less so. “I make a mean Old Fashioned. And also a pretty good Manhattan” she added with a casual smile. Calliope liked whiskey-based drinks and her experience was narrowed down to what she’d learned to make for herself. Plus the few things she’d been practicing at home lately, just to not fully suck at her job. There was some disdain in the woman’s voice and Cal just made herself smile, grabbing the empty shot glasses to pour what she’d ordered. “Coming right up”. She poured the tequila and then went ahead to prepare the Vodka Cranberry cocktail.

“Mhm, then again the man doesn’t give a shit about anything.” Imani wasn’t surprised, but hey good for this woman. She got a job on her first try here. Raising her brows, she became intrigued at her suggestion and nodded, deciding that she might as well take her word on it. “Alright, then I’ll hold you to that then.” Taking a couple of bills, she slid it over to her before stuffing the tip jar. “Thanks, if it ain’t shit then perhaps I’ll take you up on your drinks. So where did you come from New Girl?” 

[imani-kingston]

seiha takanashi‌:

“Yeah… you’re right… all those things could work.” She wasn’t sure when she last partook in marijuana, but she wished that she had some at this moment. Seiha couldn’t shake the discomfort and she was losing patience with herself. They were good friends, so talking shouldn’t have been so hard. Her stomach continued to turn. Why did she feel so uneasy? She wondered if she was looking at the wrong cause of her symptoms. “I don’t want to get in the way of things… feels like that’s all I’ve been doing since you’ve arrived. I was just so excited to have someone here that knew me…” Talking was hard, but she wasn’t sure how to lie to Imani about this. 

She continued to smoke, taking the time to think about what she’d say. “I’ve always been annoying so… Maybe… Look, I don’t really know what I’m saying anymore. I guess my perception of things was wrong or something.”  Seiha enjoyed being around Imani even when she seemed annoyed. It was like a game to her, but after speaking with her father, he put it in her head that maybe the wolf was more dangerous than she seemed. “I…” She looked up at Imani. An apology? Seiha stared at her and then quietly asked, “Do you want to keep this up?”

“I have a stash, whenever you need.” she casually offered with a shrug. Imani normally didn’t share, but it seemed like Seiha needed something to ease the stress of family expectation and she was willing to help. The more this conversation dragged on, the more the alpha began to realize that there was a shift in their friendship. Why were they acting weird? And then it occurred to her that she was holding onto something that she’d want to work. “I told you, you’re not in my way.” she stated firmly. “Likewise, I was beyond grateful and relieved to know that you were here. You make things bearable and you seriously make my day. I know I suck at expressing myself, but I don’t...I don’t want to push you away.” 

Biting the insides of her cheek, it occurred to Imani that Seiha was important to her. To see them both struggle in trying to find the right words to say spoke in volumes. “You’re not annoying. I mean I say you are, but that’s just me running my mouth. Look, just stop fucking degrading yourself like that. If you were an annoyance to me, I wouldn’t even be associating myself with you the moment I moved here.” Furrowing her brows, she shook her head and asked, “What perception?” Fuck, this was frustrating and confusing. However, Imani slowly nodded as she looked at Seiha, “I want this. If you’re down, I’m down.”