when: early february
where: the last drop
with: @herwildwhisperâ
It burned Nora to call someone for help. She'd stared at the keys taunting her from their location on the dashboard in her locked car for a good twenty minutes before cursing and whipping out her phone. She might have tried a locksmith, but the whole being as drunk as a skunk put a pin in that plan. Nora couldn't even blame the liquor filling her up for her mistake. If anything, she had never been more grateful. Vodka kept her brain fuzzy and the shadows away. She needed that, especially after her phone call with her sister. Nora hadn't wanted to answer her, but guilt won out after the third try, and she'd picked up.
She still heard her sister's teary voice hours later.
Nora was grateful when the headlights from Mar's car flashed in her face, even if embarrassment still hummed low under her skin. Fingers crossing that her co-worker wouldn't think too poorly of her, she tried to straighten up as gracefully as possible in her current state.
"Sorry to call you so late." Nora focused hard on keeping her voice from slurring, blinking repeatedly and forcing a tight smile. "I really appreciate you comin' to get me." -
DATE:Â Winter, Mid-January
TIME:Â mid-afternoon
LOCATION:Â Blackrock Forest
STATUS:Â OPEN
Outside, the winter calls to them night after night. The body theyâre in is wrong, too naked and blunt and clumsy. Itâs time for them to return to it. They want to go home.
It takes their body a horribly long time to fix itself. They have a long slash across their ribs that is the ugly pink of a brand new scar and at night Grey presses their hand to it and quietly thanks it for not being a wound. It burns when the cold hits it. Everything burns at first. Their body is upset with them for letting it get hurt, and for forcing it to stay in this clumsy two-legged form for far longer than it should have had to. The shift is more painful than usual but even then it feels right, like the burn of a muscle begging to be stretched. One moment they are one two-legs and the next they are not. And then they are running. The world is rushing forward to meet them, bright and complex and solid beneath their feet.
They raise their nose to the air and breathe. Theyâve been separated from their pack for so long. They want to be with their family again. They want to see Will and everyone else. But before they catch the scent of another wolf, they smell blood. Being on four legs comes with many benefits but wise decision making has never been one of them. They follow the trail. Their first thought isnât of the many bad things the blood could belong to, but of their pack, hurt.Â
-
Nora curses and pulls her torn glove off, scowling viciously at the blood welling up from her palm. She hadn't been paying attention - too caught up in the day's events to spot the snow-covered rock in her path. She'd stumbled over it, throwing up her right hand to steady herself on a nearby tree. She might have kept her footing, but she'd been unlucky enough to grab a jagged branch, slicing open her palm through her glove. Glaring down at the red seeping from the gash, she's unable to stop the overwhelming feeling of heartache that'd been building on her for days.
Her P.I. couldn't give her answers, the police were growing tired of her constant badgering, and the longer she spent in this town, the more Nora felt like she was losing her mind. Do any of you even care? She'd finally exploded earlier at the lead detective, shouting so loudly that every single eye in the precinct landed on her before storming off. She'd hoped that hiking in the forest would give her a moment of reprieve, but Nora couldn't seem to escape bad luck even there.Â
The sight of blood dripping onto the white snow catches her attention, shaking her into action. Nora pulls the first aid kit out of her ranger pack, kneeling down in the snow to wrap her hand. It isn't too deep a cut, and the stinging keeps her mind focused on the task at hand instead of the futility of her mission. For a brief moment, she's almost grateful for it despite her earlier annoyance. That is until she notices the wolf.Â
Sadie never used to feel so out of sorts in her hometown. She knew these streets better than anyone, could name just about everyone who had ever lived inside the townâs boundaries during her lifetime, but ever since she saw Hickory transform, she couldnât help but be on edge just walking through the town, especially as the weather turned colder. So lost in her thoughts of trying to reconcile the Blackrock she grew up in with the one where children went missing and acquaintances turned into wolves, she didnât notice the figure until she almost bumped into them. âOh, Iâm sorry!â she exclaimed, taking a hasty step out of the way to narrowly avoiding running into them. âAre you okay?â
The pit in Nora's stomach was back - a deep, dark void threatening consume her from the inside out. It had manifested last night when she couldn't sleep, and no matter how much vodka she'd tried choking down, it refused to fill. If anything, she'd only made it worse by listening to her saved voicemails - falling asleep sometime around 5 with the sound of Addison's excitement about her new friends still ringing in her ears. Almost running into the woman on main street was her fault, a shitty mix of sleep-deprivation and her hangover leaving her mindless like a zombie. As she stepped back - trying to avoid bowling her over - Nora stumbled over her own feet, landing hard but luckily on the bus stop bench. Â "Yeah." Her cheeks colored, briefly matching her hair before she forced herself to take a breath. With the chilly breeze chasing away the heat in her cheeks, she shook her head at the girl.Â
"Actually, I think that might have been my fault. Got lost daydreaming." She racked her brain, trying to remember if she'd met her before. The locals were all starting to blend together - a collage of lies, secrecy, and frustration. "Sorry about that."
đ :  your muse notices that my museâs shirt is open  &  goes to â fix it â .
đ :  my muse sees yours all dressed up .
đȘ :  my muse is  â forced â  to sit on your museâs lap  (  due to a lack of chairs ,  faulty seatbelt , etc .  )
đ :  your muse makes a suggestive joke but my muse actually acts on it .Â
TV Tropes: Dark and Troubled Past, The Unfavorite, Amateur Sleuth, Â Bully Hunter, The "I Love You" Stigma, Always Save The Girl (family edition)
HISTORY - TW: underage drinking, underage sex, drug use, alcohol poisoning, self-destructive behavior,Â
Thereâs not a lot of things you could consider remarkable about Nora Ryker. Born the middle child in an upper-middle class family in Washington, she grew up comfortable - never wanting for food or clothing, but nonetheless dissatisfied. The middle child syndrome was strong in this one, as Nora often found herself fading into the background when compared to her older brother and younger sister. She received decent enough grades in the beginning, but not enough to compare with her younger sister's constant advanced classes. She might have placed silver at her district's cross-country running meets - but who would sit through that when her brother was going to state as star quarterback? Her parents loved her, they did, but between three kids and two full time jobs? They just didn't have time for the middle's tantrums. After a few years of struggling to make herself seen, Nora decided that if her parents weren't going to give her attention - Â she would find it elsewhere.
Nora was twelve when a sophomore gave her her first taste of beer at a joint middle-high school track meet; and despite the way it tasted, she liked the impressed looks on her classmatesâ faces. She learned early that the more daring you were, the more attention others would give you - and Nora couldn't get enough. Choked down gulps of beer graduated into quick shots of vodka, with Nora clenching her eyes to get past the burn in her throat. Liquor turned to weed when she hit eighth grade, and losing her virginity followed shortly after. She barely remembered the act itself. but she remembered the greedy, almost desperate way that he touched her. For that brief (brief) moment, she was the most important thing in the world to someone, and she loved it. As her siblings continued to try and earn their parents love and approval, Nora made it her mission to earn their disapproval. Boy, did she earn it.
If it was offered, Nora tried it. Liquor, drugs, sex - even harmless petty crimes, she did it all. Had anyone asked what prompted this change, she wasnât necessarily sure that she could explain. All Nora knew was that the older she got, the more that void in her chest became harder to fill. By the time her parents noticed the changes in their daughter, it was too late. She started to push it overboard, sleeping with anyone (even her sister's boyfriend), and injecting anything into her body. She even wound up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning a few times. Her parents didn't handle their middle daughter the best either; the sounds of their past screaming matches still coming to mind every now and again. Once desperate for their attention, Nora now felt suffocated by them now. The more they pushed, the more she acted out, and the fights didn't end when Nora left for college either. All it did was turn into constant texts and phone calls.
Forestry was supposed to be a throwaway major, something to get her degree in so her parents would stop threatening to cut her off. Her adviser suggested it because she had grown up camping in the mountains, and Noraâs lack of interest was starting to wear on her. What no one expected was that Nora would fall in love with her major. The core classes were a boring joke, but the trips out into the wilderness actually eased some of the hollowness in her chest. She became less concerned with trying to earn love, and more concerned with the preservation and maintenance of parks. Nora couldn't seem to graduate fast enough - Â with her overwhelming enthusiasm landing her an internship and then an eventual job with Mount Rainier's Park Service. She lost herself in those tall trees, going in one person and coming at another.
Truth be told, Nora doubts her life would have changed at all if it weren't for her niece showing up one day at her doorstep. Barely 16, Addison was all hard edges and secrets - filled with a type of emptiness that Nora recognized immediately. Of course, she was a little surprised by the arrival - Nora might have settled things with her sister over some past issues and visited every once in a while, but she'd never felt particularly close to her niece. Not initially. Still, she gave her a place to sleep, and a free meal whenever she wanted - without even batting an eye. Nora's sister seemed more than happy to leave her problem child with her problem sister.
With Addison, Nora understood that it wasnât attention she was seeking but understanding. Itâs what Nora had wanted in the end, after all. She never asked any prying questions, never stormed into Addisonâs room to search for drugs, and most importantly - she didnât demand answers to why Addison felt the way she did. Nora knew that it was a hard question. Truth be told, it was also nice having someone there to come home to as well. She was no longer the Nora fighting to find herself in other people, but every once in a while sheâd still feel the barest traces of loneliness. She might not have sought to soothe herself with other people anymore, but itâd be a lie if she said having Addison around didnât help her as well. The two of them formed an easy, silent companionship. Nora didnât try to lock Addison down when she made the decision to leave, but a quiet part of her heart went with her.
Nora hasnât let herself cry once about Addisonâs disappearance - refusing to give in to despair. She can feel it flickering at the corners of her mind, but what good will crying do? Addisonâs parents could spend their days praying for a savior and begging for their âbaby girlâ to come back, but Nora wasnât just going to sit around. Nora was always one to act, and right now is no different. Her rougher edges might have smoothed out with time, but thereâs still a hellion under her skin... and her trip to Blackrock isnât going to be a short one.
CONNECTIONS:
*Note, Royan cannot think of any in-depth ones right now, so she's going to keep it short and sweet and just word vomit in a stream of consciousness. Â If you had plotted a connection with the previous Holly and would like to keep it, please hit me up! I am open for anything
Any original ideas! As stated above, I'm open for anything! Bring the pain! Bring the drama!Â
Roommates - She needs a place to stay. Motels are expensive and she knows she's going to be here a while so would anyone like to sublet to Nora? [OPEN]
Bully Hunter - Nora hates bullies. She may not be the warmest person in town but Nora came to the rescue of this person, stepping in when something was going wrong.  [OPEN]
Coworkers - Luckily for Nora, being a former ranger has its perks in Blackrock. I was looking to have her transfer to this department to keep her money flow going so any other rangers, game warden, interns would be welcome connections [OPEN]
The Pack - This one is really open to anyone in the pack, esp folks that were close to Addison. Despite being far away, I like to think that Addison still kept in touch with her aunt. Nora's been her confidante for so long, so I want to say she would have known maybe one or two names? [OPEN]
Horny on Main - I have yet to be horny on main with either character, so if someone wants a one-night stand/sexual tension with Nora, I love it. Sex has always been a big distraction for her, so why the fuck not? Personally, though, I don't see Nora sleeping with anyone under 29-30 with light exceptions depending on the FC because some FCs just look too young for me to feel comfortable pairing with someone Nora/Amy Adams' age. [OPEN]
SUSPICION - This person just really causes all the warning bells in Nora's head to go off. They know more than they're telling her, she's certain, and she will get the truth from her even if it kills them her. [OPEN]
Short Connections I will keep adding to:
Drinking buddy.
Confidant - knows what she's going through and sympathizes with.
status: open to everyone
location: twilight cinema, early november
All of his bones ache. That he knows for sure, even if Ansel is one for dramatics. He lays out dramatically on the bench, the smell of popcorn and dust saturating the air. Not one smell was more familiar, and it was just faint enough to not make him nauseous. He would nap here if he could, but some movie theater attendant was not happy with him last time. Plus Twilight Cinema was his favorite spot to get away, so he couldnât risk the threat of getting an unneeded banned for life punishment. He feared that may be coming true as he felt a presence loom over him. Â âI know Oscar, I know.â Â Ansel, as graceful as ever, rubs his eyes as he sits up. âIâm not sleepinâ, just waitinâ for the theater to- Oh.â He stops in his tracks. It wasnât the old usher standing in front of him. âSorry, thought you were someone else.â
âOscarâs taking his break in the alley right now, so I think youâre safe for a little while longer.â Nora quirks an eyebrow at the youth sprawled out on the bench. She should have just minded her own business and continued waiting for the theater to open, but that isnât Noraâs style. Plus, thereâs something familiar about the man in front of her. Nora doesnât know if itâs her mind playing tricks on her or if sheâs seen his face before.
