thorns

June "JJ" Jarvis. 21. Hunter.

[jvnex]

myleshart‌:

“Can we get fries after this?” Picking himself up for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Myles pulled at the front of the tank top stuck to him with sweat. He should have known JJ wasn’t going to go easy on him. She was too competitive during board games to not be the same way when it came to this kind of thing. It’s not like he thought her a poor teacher, however. She seemed pretty quick to point out any flaws in his technique and offer tips on how to correct it.

        “— yeah.” She huffed between motions. Her hands always returned to their resting position inches from her face, acting as a barrier. Stray strands of hair were ignored as she focused on the task at hand. “So your brothers took the blessing and you didn’t? Why?” When she first learned of Myles’ past, she truly thought he was lying just to get a rise out of her. That never went well. It was left at the bare minimum of details for a while, but she was curious. So, she bit. “You just... opted out.” And that made absolutely no sense to her. She just didn’t get it. Hunting? Her whole life; she couldn’t imagine it a smidge differently.

[hcrvx-deactivated20200624]

@jvnex

[jvnex]

ashcrdvnprt‌:

If there was one thing he was entirely certain about when it came to the huntress, it was that him evading her personal space would without doubt get him the disgruntled welcome back to the city from a single one broody new yorker that he’d surely appreciate above a multitude of others. “I leave you on your own for a whole year,” he stopped just shy of the table she occupied, the bright red Twizzler caught between his teeth as he snapped a piece off.  Asher having shamelessly wandered past the campus and beyond the handful of cafe’s just beyond when he’d seen her. “And you’ve barely moved.” How he could have so easily sat by as any given time they’d ever spent together had included her with her head in a textbook or her laptop was beyond him, though he supposed centuries of built and honed patience made it a little more bearable. “I wish I could say I’m surprised.”

        Her eyes snapped up to meet the werewolf’s both briefly and unceremoniously. It was hard to process his words as the truth. A year seemed both entirely too short and too long of a time span to describe his absence. All tragedies associated with the city had malformed into an ugly mass of grief in her mind, yet if she thought too deeply about it she could conjure up the most obscure memories from specific events. So, in reality, she felt as though she was stuck in a warped timezone. When the threat had first moved into New York; when they had first struck — it could have been five years or two weeks ago. “Welcome back, Mr. Woods,” she offhandedly threw the nickname his way. “I hope I’m not your first stop. What’s that thing you’re eternally bound to? Family?” She could ignore his flippant comments about her typical routine. School was important; she took it seriously. And when she was so close to being done for good, she needn’t take a break now.

[jvnex]

hcrvx‌:

“One month.” He repeated. This was extremely difficult for him, harder than she could ever really know, but living here wasn’t as easy as it once was either. He knew she could take care of herself, he raised her after all, but things were different now. “I promise, June.” He added. “We’ll get everything ready, but the second this semester is over I want you on a plane out of here. I can’t handle the worry. Every morning you walk out that door I’m not sure you’ll come back, not anymore. It’s killing me.”  

        “I know.” Her hand gripped his wrist in confirmation. She felt odd, like... this was most certainly not something she could argue on, if there ever were one between the two anyway. Hence why she folded her cards so quickly, agreeing only if he’d shorten the length of time they’d have to be away from each other. She desperately wanted it to make sense, but could push that need to the back of her mind for a while until it felt right to ponder about. “You don’t have to worry about me like that.” It was a stupid thing to say to a parent, but she felt as though there was someone looking out for her around every corner in the city. Surely, she could count those she was loyal to on only one hand, barring the Rhodes, but she felt safer than she should have.

[jvnex]

cj-rhodes‌:

CJ shrugged as if to say suit yourself while she finished wrapping her abdomen and pulled a shirt over the bandages. “Believe it or not, this is the only place I’m allowed to be, practically anyway.” She wasn’t allowed back to work just yet, another two days or so and she’d run through the fitness gambit to show her higher-ups that she was more than cleared to get back on the job. Until then, the Sanctuary was as much home as her apartment was and it served as a distraction just then while she wrapped her head around recent events. “I’ll be fully healed in another day or two. Not like I died, right?” Wry smile formed on her lips because they both knew she very well might have. 

        Eyes traveled to the other hunter’s healing wounds, most of which now looked like an internal battle. She couldn’t help it; she was curious as to what CJ had gone through, although their relationship wasn’t one where JJ felt completely comfortable enough to ask for minute details like she wanted. “What about... home?” The obvious suggestion rolled off her tongue, her lips pressed together into a thin line shortly after. “You know, that place you’re supposed to spend at least eight hours of your day?” She raised a brow yet again. Was that to say the eldest Rhodes hunter’s ghost would be haunting The Sanctuary after her death? It sounded beyond believable, which caused the younger of the two to crack a strange smile. “Right.”

[jvnex]

myleshart‌:

Opening his mouth to offer confirmation, Myles again just nodded, swallowed, and turned on his heel to start searching behind them. The snack table in the room had been completely destroyed by the falling debris and Myles dodged around people and piles of rubble to get to it. He swore he could feel his heartbeat against his ribcage, his head was a mess of thoughts and worries but at the forefront was his mission and JJ. The actual table was in half, a large chunk of debris in the middle of it and he was quick to check the legs of them. Not lose enough, there wasn’t time to worry about prying one of them off so instead he dub closer to the middle where the table splintered. Shoving aside broken glass, scattered food, and ignoring the splinters he was sure to get, he grabbed at a piece of the broken wood and pulled hard. Stumbling back from the table from the exertion, he regained his footing and looked to the sizable chunk of wood. Not a stake, but the next best thing. He didn’t really have time to be picky.

 Mission accomplished, all that was left on his mind as he ran back to where he’d left her, was JJ. A mantra of “please be okay” played over and over again as he maneuvered around people. He couldn’t lose her, she had become such a staple in his new life on his own that he didn’t know if he could handle-His thoughts were brought to a halt as he stopped short of her and the vampire. Frozen in place, he felt like he was watching what took place in slow motion. JJ still gripped the pipe and he watched her body recoil from the force of her strike, saw her knee going down towards the floor. The vampire jerked back, the strike landing solidly against its jaw and let out a howl. Blood erupted from it’s mouth but instead of retreating, it seemed to ready itself.

 Myles couldn’t hear himself shout her name over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears.

 And he didn’t hear the cry the vampire let out either as he dashed forward and ran the makeshift stake in his hand through its chest. It didn’t last long because blood gurgled from it’s mouth and he was quick to push it forward and away from them, digging the stake in further in the process. It stepped back and stumbled, fell to it’s knees and then forward. 

Mouth hung open in shock, Myles turned his attention away from it to look at JJ behind him. I just killed somebody. That’s what he wanted to say, almost wanted to lurch forward and regurgitate all of the appetizers he’d had from the table that’d supplied the weapon. “Are you…?” But right now he was worried about her and his eyes went from her to the vampire’s twitching form feet from them. “Holy shit did that really happen.” 

        The disadvantage of being human would not stop her from holding her ground. Truthfully, if she were Myles, she’d have gotten as far away from the altercation as possible. Something told her he wouldn’t do that, though, and perhaps that was the most worrying of it all. If she let a fellow human, one more so than her, die from a vampire who just so happened to spot them in the wrong place at the wrong time, she’d never forgive herself. Death was not a foreign concept to her, nor was pain. She knew them well, like old reluctant friends. Still, the idea of letting them take hold of her kept her going. Her life depended on it. She swung again with as much force as she had, looking to buy herself ample time to run, hide, or even find someone else for the thing to sink its teeth into. She just hoped she didn’t have its prefered blood type running through her veins.

        She felt herself just about to make a run for it after having spotted an opening for a split second, but her eyes narrowed on the figure closing in behind the vampire. The wooden piece ripped its way through cold flesh and an undead body, leaving the creature at their feet with a thud. Its body, grey and withered from what it had been through, looked less threatening than it did before. That did not quell her nerves or knock down the figurative wall she’d built around herself in the process. “You —” at a total loss for words. She tossed the metal pipe to the side, eager to be rid of its then warm surface heated by her palms. Shocked eyes travelled to Myles. He saved her. She served as the distraction while he stole the show, and she couldn’t have been more grateful or more proud. “You really... killed it.” Eyebrows knit together as she attempted to process the string of events leading up to this outcome.

[jvnex]

josette-mastro‌:

“I agree. I actually miss it now that I live in the city; I used to spend a lot of time outdoors back in Salem.” But there was a ton to do outdoors in Salem. It wasn’t a sprawling city like New York though the population far exceeded its square footage like the city. “We should go sometime?” It came out sounding like a question, knowing they weren’t close but wanting to make a friend all the same. 

        “Must’ve been a great history lesson living there, but yeah — I can get behind the idea anytime there’s not a windchill in the negatives.” The wind was harsh, biting at her skin harder than any wild animal she’d ever encountered. Even layers upon layers of clothing proved close to useless when it came down to only her being in the wind’s pathway.

[jvnex]

sloanrivera‌:

“Enemies are a waste of time and more aggravating than they’re worth.” One particular hunter came to mind as she spoke, though Sloan hardly wished to provide him a spotlight. “It’s better to keep a circle of those you can pry information from.” More useful, at least. “Very kind, but I’m sure the city breathes a sigh of relief whenever I vanish. Nonsense and even if I did, I’m a great nurse.” Gesturing towards the door as if in agreement over JJ’s terms, “Dog park it is.”

        “I’ll accept that as your answer.” She pointed while simultaneously gathering the rest of her things and making sure everything was in order before she could step forward to meet the door. “And I’ll believe that when I see it.” First aid as a hunter was a no brainer, although most anything past that could be a mystery. “Good. So, you don’t share much about your life. Not lately, anyway. Come on, get it rolling. I’ll jump in when I have a point to make.” She nodded playfully at the older woman.

[jvnex]

beatrix-tremblay-oakes‌:

Bea smiled as she listened to the brunette, charmed by the young girl. Their interaction may have been rather brief so far, but Bea got a sense that she was rather empathetic. A surprising thing for someone so young. “Oh, my first dog’s name was Bumble. That one wasn’t so creative. It was to go with my name, Bea. Although, I was a child then,” Beatrix replied warmly, introducing herself at the same time. “It is warmer than expected, although neither of us are strangers to cold weather coming from Canada.” 

        A bright smile continued to stretch over her lips. “Bumble,” that was cute; she liked that one, too. Apparently she had nothing but praise for the woman’s ideas when it came to naming her pets. “Bumble bee, yeah. I don’t know, I think it’s neat. There are a lot of names that get reused: Chip, Bella, Lucky — a change of pace is nice.” And she supposed choosing unexpected names like Bumble of all things went over well with strangers like herself. “That’s why you look so comfortable out here.” She offered an earlier observation she’d made. Maybe that’s also why she was so kind and welcoming to a random passerby, or was that a common stereotype thrust upon Canadians?

[jvnex]

thelaurellang‌:

“Who knows,” Laurel shrugged. “I am going to milk it as long as I can and reap the benefits. I am the one stuck to a bed and at the edge of losing it on the next person prodding me when I’m trying to sleep. Have to find someone willing to bend to a little pout or potential blowup,” Laurel stated. “Thanks JJ,” she said in full honestly. “You know before I passed out, Derek helped me which was shocking. If the positions were switched- I don’t know if I would have helped someone else if I was as injured as he was but he tried to help me. We had a bit of a heart to heart- he is in the room next to me. So karma fucking biting me in the ass.”

        She nodded in understanding. “There’s always one or two nurses that’ll fall for that.” Wiggling into their hearts and bribing them with giggles and smiles was a something of a hobby for JJ when she was younger, what with all the time she spent lounging around hospital rooms anytime Liam managed to swallow a quarter or get his fingers caught in a door. The manipulation of it all was an artform. The younger bared teeth in a grimace at the mention of her friend’s sibling, but a soft smile soon replaced it. Laurel was a good person, even if she didn’t want to admit it. “You won’t know unless you’re transported to an alternate universe.” In other words, it wasn’t wise to dwell on it. “But something tells me you would have.” She wondered if her conscience would have let her live peacefully had she not.

[jvnex]

cassie-the-necromancer‌:

“Even if I won,” Cassie confirmed before adding, “It’s not just about winning, it’s about how you win”. She moved her beer to her lips again as she considered what the girl said, “Maybe I will, but not tonight”.

        The hunter’s head bobbed up and down in a nod. “I get it. Integrity’s a prize on its own.” Unneeded attention had always been at the forefront of her mind rather than the glory of victory when it came to The Sanctuary and its matches. She didn’t desire the stares, nor the enemies that came with them. “I’ll be rooting for you.” Maybe she’d even bet on her. The brunette raised her hand in a mock cheers to the other.

[jvnex]

elliotduval‌:

                    “That certainly has it’s appeal,” a timid grin flourished on olive countenance,  though he offered a discouraging shrug, all the same, “I’ve lived in big cities all my life, yet the smog of New York City is a whole other breed, I feel a day trip outside of the city would be the only true escape.” Even Central Park didn’t offer much reprieve, Elliot discovered; the military clad officers finding their way through every crevice and corner of the city. “Please don’t jinx us on that,” he offered a grim chuckle at her final statement, shaking his head in tandem.

        JJ wrinkled her nose in humor. “That too,” with a shrug of her shoulders and a wave of her hands, she agreed. Outside the city felt wrong. That’s what her father wanted. Hell, she felt like that’s what everyone wanted. To be outside the city, as if they’d find a safe haven or a forever home. “Wouldn’t you feel left out?” She asked the stranger with a skeptical glare. The fear of missing out on everything the great city had to offer was incredibly prevalent and palpable. “A few bank heists wouldn’t be the end of us.” It’d take possibly much more to rattle them after what they’d witnessed, haphazardly assuming he was just as privy as she was.

[jvnex]

jonahrhodes‌:

“How is your plant doing? Been to any dances with it recently?” 

        “Ferny’s great, not that you’d know.” She crossed both arms over her chest in a defensive and agitated manner. “He asks about you all the time, but you’re never anywhere to be found. Mister evasive is your new nickname.”

[jvnex]

hcrvx‌:

“What if I agreed to join you?” His words came out as quickly as hers, as if he’d been planning this all along. He wasn’t. Alhough he knew June wouldn’t leave the city so easily, he didn’t think to prepare a persuasive monologue to convince her. “You go somewhere, anywhere, get us set up and after a couple of months I move out there too. It’s a good option.”

        It wasn’t a question of if he’d do that for her. Of course he would, as her father and as her friend. As someone who wanted nothing more than to keep his family safe, after he’d already lost too many. “One month.” She didn’t want to risk being away from him long enough for something bad to happen. Although she was more than willing to, advocating for it, really, to stay in the city together as a family. It was a different kind of insanity. “We have to get everything ready ahead of time.” Organized was their shared middle name, she didn’t have to tell him that. “And I have to finish the semester. I’ll go after that.”

[jvnex]

malchesterfield‌:

                    “A pact for when we find ourselves in that situation again, eh?” Mal drawled out under a scoff, understanding full well such scenario was a spec of insanity if he had ever thus witnessed it; an event that he would surely never undergo again. “Looking forward to it,” he deadpanned, despite the roguish glint in his hues that was deemed perpetual, hand held out in tandem as if in mock agreement to such pact.  

        “If.” She corrected lightly. If they ended up in the dog awful situation again they’d know to keep their paws off suspicious, ancient looking, hand carved boxes. Her hand jumped out to meet his, grasping it for a brief few seconds in agreement. She supposed one good thing came of a chance meeting with the stranger.

[jvnex]

heavenguara‌:

Cece snorted, nodding her head a little. “God knows there’s probably some coffee shop in Florida who currently sells it, for sure,” she pointed out, offering the girl a smile before writing her initials on the cup. She didn’t even have it in her today to get the girl’s name wrong, she’d probably already succeeded some other day, anyway. “Oh? That’s about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, thank you,” a chuckle left her lips. “I’m a coffee snob myself, so I try my best. Good to know he enjoys it. I hope you like yours, too,” she was quick to finish up the girl’s order with the cup’s lid and hand it over.

        “Well, Florida — yeah, you’re right.” The one state she couldn’t argue against. It seemed just the place. “I wouldn’t call him a snob, but I respect that title. He’s more of a... grumpy spectator with high expectations.” She spoke about her father with the utmost fondness in her voice. Her whole life she hadn’t learned to do it any other way. Still, she hadn’t acquired that particular personality trait from him. She was more or less indifferent toward everyday life. “I don’t want to hold up the line, but thanks for the coffee.” JJ accepted the cup gratefully and shimmied to the side to make room for another to place their order.

[jvnex]

hxndrcx‌:

He shook his head, a pertinent reminder that he’d be entirely at a loss without his job. “I’d get too bored, and then you’d have to put up with more than you already do. Sure you want me to file that claim?”  Hendrix wasn’t ignorant to how irritating he could be, most of the time it was entirely purposeful. Riling others up was something of a forte, a pastime that he never let slip between his fingers, the Jarvis family, had never been an exception to such a rule. “No? You’re telling me you’d rather them be here? You can’t watch them twenty four seven, JJ.” A vibrant and bitter monologue that truly only cast flickering memory of how erratic he’d been in his own thoughts before Sloan had found him in the milling crowd outside of the destroyed station come new years. No matter the fact he knew she could handle herself, he’d been entirely distracted, without ever admitting it and he knew that without a doubt, the same collision of torn certainty. Unsure of whether it felt better knowing they were close, or whether that simply heightened the possibility of falling to distraction. “Maybe not, but it has.” Put simply, there was nothing they could do about the position they were in — but they could at least figure out what happened next, if those intent on changing the stance between those attacking them in the first place were willing to do what was necessary. “So what bothers you more, them being gone and safe or the idea of them being here? You’re gonna’ have to figure it out, because the back and forth and being unsure isn’t going to help anyone, especially not you.”

        “Yeah, why not? It’d be the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae.” Metaphorically speaking, having someone bother her at every chance they got would not only be adding to her frustratio and anxiety, but also act as a catalyst for her ever present, always nearing threat of a mental breakdown. She was doubtful it’d ever happen simply because she was too strong to fall victim to the pressure of staying alive. “No, I —” Dark locks of hair fell foward as she lowered her gaze for a moment. She caught herself again, her thoughts running around in circles. Like a dog chasing after its own tail. “I want them to be safe.” Saying it outloud proved to be a mediocre attempt at subduing her own selfish thoughts. “I miss them.” But she truly couldn’t tell if that was the only thing bothering her. As someone who was so in tune with their mind and body, knowing herself better than anyone else could ever claim to, this uncertainty drove her mad. Sadly, she knew that missing her cousins was not enough to wish them back into the chaotic mess that was New York City in present times. Their lives would, oddly enough, mean more to her at a distance. No problem was ever left unsolved in the young hunter’s presence. If something worried her, she did something about it. Although Hendrix’s stern question made her want to push it all away. She nodded, slowly and unsurely. JJ now felt more out of place in her own body than she had in her entire life. Could the twins’ departure have had such a big effect on her, or was she afraid for more than their lives?