𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.

𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 and 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 for 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒉𝒒𝒔

[0ut-of-my-head]

Smile, Cihangir. It makes me feel better.

Müjde ©

requested

[melliflvents]

JACKSON.

“but if it’s my threshold, then why am i not feeling anything?” he questioned. science wasn’t jackson’s best subject - he just worked to make sure his grades were good. just because he did well on the test didn’t mean he actually understood everything. “what? i already feel dead in the mornings - if anything, i feel like the lack of caffeine might kill me.”

     he shrugs his shoulders at the question, shaking his head slightly. “i have to be honest with you, i’m no doctor. so i obviously have no idea what i’m talking about.” edric’s assuming he’s probably messed up some of the information because he doesn’t know a lot about it. “i don’t know, i think i heard one time once you’re off caffeine, you feel better. your body produces it more naturally or something.”

[melliflvents]

ELA.

@melliflvents​

SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHY SHE’S HERE OF ALL PLACES. Actually she does, but she’s not yet ready to admit it to herself. She looks at Edric’s house door and she has no idea how long she’s been standing here. Could be a minute, could be five, could be longer eve.  She hasn’t been able to comprehend the news of Doc’s death since it came out. She’s shattered by it, Doc murdered. Murder in the town she’s known as nothing but peaceful and serene her whole life? She’s also scared, never expecting she’d feel unsafe here. She now knows not to leave work late at night, it’s no longer safe. A good part of her wants to make sure how Edric’s doing since the news come out, and another part of her (the part she’s not yet ready to admit to herself) knows there’s a safety that comes with being around him. They’re so far apart right now and knowing it’s selfish of her to want the safety he provides and yet, she moves to knock on his door and takes a deep breath. When he opens the door, she looks up at him. “Edric… Hi.” Her tone is sad and grim. She looks down for a moment, pushing a loose strand of brunette hair behind her ear. “I, um, I’m sorry if I showed up at a bad time… I just wanted to make sure you’re okay, with everything. Are you okay?” Her brows furrow. “Well, definitely not okay, because Doc was murdered, but…” She shuts herself up, realizing she’s starting to ramble. “ – I’m sorry. How are you doing?”

     the news of doc’s murder is still something weighing heavily on the town, and while edric has spent the days following the spread of the news checking in on the people in his life, he hasn’t spent too much time processing it for himself. it’s typical edric, putting everyone else’s troubles above his own, but at this point in his life, he’s used to it. of course he had been tempted to text or call ela, even started walking to her office following work one day but had figured she had too much going on, she probably had people to turn to. he’s sitting in his living room when he hears the knock on his door, a little startled since he hadn’t expected anyone to really come by. so when he opens the door and finds ela on the other side of it, it’s a bittersweet feeling. “hi, ela,” he greets her, knowing that while he should feel excited to see her, he knows the reason she’s here isn’t a positive one. and if it wasn’t for everything that’s happened, he would have thought too much about what it meant when she was standing on his doorstep. “no, no. you’re fine,” he says with a faint smile, but he knows it’s difficult for the two of them, given the weight of the news and the feelings that came along with it. “i’m alright,” edric finally says with a nod, and alright is probably the best way of putting how he feels. he had grown up with doc, plus his mother had been close with him as well. a majority of his days have been just him going over to his old childhood home so that he could check in on her. “how are you holding up?” he asks before looking around. it’s not that he’s on edge, but he slightly is. “do you want to come in?”

[melliflvents]

JESSIE.

“They’re pretty aren’t they.” she hums to herself, a slight smile in the corner of her mouth, “It’s always nice to see when two people’s go crashing into each other– always wished that sorta thing could happen to me, but my boyfriend’s got no patience for wreath making either.” she chuckles to herself– Gil, unfortunately was stuck at home with an ankle in a cast. “You know I bet if you watch that mom of yours long enough, some of her magic will likely rub off on ya.”

     he hums in agreement, the combinations of all the different flowers and leaves were also so pretty, but he just never had the eye for any of it. edric lets out a laugh, nodding his head. he’s sure there are plenty of people who don’t have the patience for it, but at least he isn’t alone. “at least someone understands my struggles then,” he laughs again before nodding. “i wish. i tried when i was younger, but i’m convinced that gene just skipped out with me. she’s always able to do them so quickly, even when i ask her to slow down it still is pretty quick.”

[melliflvents]

ADRIAN.

HE’S GLAD THAT THE GIRL LIVES ALONE, because the idea of anyone else seeing him so shaken is truly an embarrassing thought. adrian’s quick to get inside and collapse on her couch, grunting a bit as he relaxes into the cushions.   “ can i get some water ? ”   he asks, a beat before answering,   “ please. ”   manners, adrian. although he’s stressed and annoyed, that doesn’t make him any less grateful for her help.

     teagan is about to offer him to sit when he does anyways, and she guesses that it would have been obvious that the man needed to sit down, considering how he barely made it to her home. “yes, absolutely,” she says, walking past the couch and going into the kitchen. she pours a glass of water and before leaving the kitchen, she finds the first aid kit and some other things she might need to clean him up. “here you go,” she says with a small smile before pausing for a moment. “do you mind if i take a look at it?” teagan asks, gesturing to some of the cuts. 

[melliflvents]

SAWYER.

“ BECAUSE, MATE, SHE’D PROBABLY LIKE THEM FROM YOU MORE. ”   sawyer won’t pretend to understand edric and ela’s relationship — because he doesn’t — but he’s still rooting for them, what can he say ?   “ when are you two gonna get back together already ? ”

     edric lets out a sigh, finally getting what sawyer was getting at. he shakes his head at his friend, surprised he hasn’t let this go yet. “we’re not,” edric says softly, and the words still hurt a little when he says it. “we’re just friends.” barely that, if he’s being completely honest. 

[melliflvents]

ATHENA​.

“of course you like researching.” she says with a grin, “meanwhile, i’m researching for my richest customer so i can officially stop working and become the middle aged housewife i’m destined to be.”

     teagan can’t help but to laugh at that. “i’m sure one day they’ll walk in. are there any potential ones right now?”

[melliflvents]

ARTHUR.

“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true. Magic’s the only explanation for it,” And if he were about fifteen years younger, he might just believe the sentiment. He likes to think there’s magic in the world. But actually believing it? Well, if it were anywhere, it would certainly be found in the strawberry shortcake of a quaint little town’s summer festivities. “You’re welcome to try and get the recipe, but it’ll never be as good. I’m convinced they add something else in there that they just don’t tell people about. But I guess if they’re all witches, I’d understand why they couldn’t tell anyone about it,” He nods. “While you’re speaking to them, I can try and slip around their backside. Rendezvous at the picnic tables?”

     teagan nods her head in agreement, there has to be something in town that makes it taste so good. she pouts a little at that comment before tilting her head to the side. “i think it would taste just as good, i’m not that awful of a baker.” and she can follow directions of a recipe pretty well. “maybe they can’t tell me, but i’m sure they can write it down.” now she’s grasping at straws to find some sort of loophole. “sounds like a plan to me, i’ll meet you there as soon as i get the recipe too.” because now she’s determined to get something out of them. 

[melliflvents]

GRETA.

           nose  will  scrunch  at  the  comment  .    ‘  normal  is  relative  .  ’    god  ,   greta !  could  you  get  any  more  weird !?   she  asks  herself  ,   knowing  that  despite  living  her  all  her  life  ,   she’s  not  making  very  good  impressions  right  now  .    ‘  you  know  ,   i’m  pretty  sure  it’s  always  the  girl  that  dies  first  that  says  that  .   are  you  sure  you  don’t  want  to  be  the  princess ?  i  heard  they  tend  to  be  survivors  .  ’  

     “well, i suppose you have a point there,” teagan agrees with the other, even if she is a bit different. teagan hasn’t necessarily picked up on it. blue eyes go wide, lips pressed together as she considers it. “okay, well, with that logic, maybe i would like to be the princess. seems like you can handle your own better than i can.” at least she’s self aware!

[melliflvents]

PENELOPE.

 "I feel like I never thought about it when I was kidding doing this, you know. We were just making wreaths and sending them off.“ It had never really seemed important back then, in the scheme of things. "It’s kind of nice to think that someone else who doesn’t know gets to see them. Like every year they know that today is the day the wreaths appear and they go out to look for them.”

     “yeah, me too. i barely even did them too, most of mine never really were in the best shape to float, so we just took it home.” his mom would always tell him he did such a great job, but he realized a few years of that was just her trying to be nice to him about it. “i feel like i’d be confused, why all of a sudden there are so many different wreaths just floating. i wonder if they think it’s creepy or anything.” edric wouldn’t be able to blame them if they did. 

[folkloremsgossip]

is it true we can't leave town? why do you think that is?

        tested  and  confirmed  ,   i  left  town  and  ended  up  right  where  i  didn’t  want  to  be :   the  other  side  of  mainstreet  .   my  bets  go  to  one  of  the  town’s  NEWCOMERS :   all  this  happened  when  they  came  ,   right ?    looking  at  you :    (  @hollisticallyoptimistic  -  @melliflvents  -  @nightmantic  -  @goldenae  -  @incandescentglcw  )  

[melliflvents]

ADRIAN.

HER HANDS ON HIM ACTUALLY DO HELP HIM GAIN HIS FOOTING BACK,  shaking his head quickly at her question. adrian can’t even look at her right now, far too embarrassed about the whole situation, and knows it’d only be worse if he looked back at her and saw pity in her eyes.   “ no, ”   he says, insistent.   “ i just want to get there already. ”   so he can sit down and STAY down, until he’s feeling better. thankfully it doesn’t take much longer to get there, slouching against the wall as she opens the door.   “ you live here ? ”   adrian asks, his attempt at being conversational.   “ alone ? ”

     she can’t help but to wonder if he’s like this all the time, or if it’s just now. if it’s the latter, teagan can’t really blame him; she’d probably be in tears had the roles been reversed. though with the cold shoulder she’s been getting, teagan considers that maybe she would have dealt with this better if she had stumbled onto someone crying instead of being the grumpiest person she’s ever met. she stays silent as they continue, finally, reaching into her bag for her keys. “i do,” she answers, unlocking the door quickly before opening it so he could step in. “my dad’s a few streets over, but other than that, it’s just me.”

[melliflvents]

ARTHUR.

“I’m sure there’s something in there that they won’t tell anyone else about. How else would they get people to come back here year after year?” He looks around the other parts of the festival: the floral wreaths, the music, the costumes. “…Okay, well, people have plenty reason to come here year after year, but if you ask me, it’s all about that shortcake,” He points a finger for emphasis. “You drive a hard bargain. If I get a piece for you, then that’s one less piece for me to eat from my fridge at two in the morning. But…” He pauses, just long enough to hang his head in the air and let the group of people walking behind him pass by. “…I think I’m in a charitable mood today and will give you the second slice that I take as thanks for your distraction.”

     “it has to be magic, i’m sure of it.” she doesn’t really believe it, despite some of the strange things that have been happening, but it fits given their current circumstances. “i can’t blame them. i don’t think i’ve ever tasted one that’s better than that.” teagan smiles as he seems to agree with her, glad that she’s at least gotten a free slice of cake for doing it. “oh, then i caught you on a good day.” she laughs, lips spreading into a smile. “so i’ll just go over and talk to them, maybe even try to see what they put it in it that makes it taste so good.”

[melliflvents]

JACKSON​.

“really? damn, i think you might be right,” jackson replied, thinking on it, not even realizing how much his thoughts were racing (though, in his defense, they were always racing). “why? if i’m really tolerant, wouldn’t that just mean the fourth one would actually work?”

     he’s really not a scientist, and he’s just assuming things, so he doesn’t know if jackson should really even listen to him. “maybe the amount of caffeine in the third one is your threshold or something. and then the fourth one would go above it. but i wouldn’t really recommend it.” just in case he’s actually considering what he’s saying. “you could always go off caffeine. i’ve heard that works sometimes too.”

[melliflvents]

PENELOPE.

Penelope nursed her sangria as she watched the wreaths float down the river. “I wonder where they all end up.” Something he had never really considered before. It had always been an out of sight, out of mind sort of thing. “I bet it’s quite a sight when they all wash up somewhere.”

     “i’ve wondered that before too,” he says with a laugh. when he first saw the wreaths when he was younger, edric always felt bad for working so hard on them and then letting them go into the ocean. but at least now he realizes it’s not that bad. “i feel like people would be confused with just a bunch of random wreaths showing up out of nowhere.”

[melliflvents]

SAWYER.

“ MAYBE WE SHOULD TALK TO HER NOW ! ”   his eyes light up at his brilliant idea, totally ignorant to the fact that edric probably doesn’t want to talk to his girlfriend.   “ i think i saw her over by the food earlier. wait, maybe we should pick her some flowers first. you know, for you to give her. ”   subtly is not his strong suit. 

     edric looks over to sawyer with a shocked expression. him and ela have a complicated relationship, friendship, he never knows what to call it, and because of that, it’s always weird to think of talking to her. “no, no. she’s probably having fun.” plus, he’s pretty sure he can hear his heartbeat in his ears at just the mere thought. “why would i give them to her? it’s your idea.”

[melliflvents]

SAWYER.

@melliflvents​

“ HEY, EDRIC !   you look nice today. you know who else looks nice today ? ”   he doesn’t give him a chance to guess :   “ela, have you talked to her yet today ? ”   talk about deja vu.

     edric doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to sawyer’s bluntness, especially because he’s a person who prefers to talk in circles besides ever getting to the point. “i haven’t seen her yet.” a total lie, he saw her when he first got to the festival and almost stopped in his tracks. “i might talk to her later though, if i see her.”