Thanks for the advice, but I actually have come to find it quite enjoyable. It's got a certain kind of character that you can't find anywhere else. The beer sucks, but that's okay. At least the fried pickles are good. But out of curiosity, what would you recommend?
You got me there, any place that serves good fried pickles deserves at least a little bit of respect. You know, I'm not much of a socialite so I don't really have much to recommend, unless you want advice on how to have a blast while spending your Saturday nights alone. In that case, I've gotcha covered.
Hey does anyone know where to get a cellphone fixed for cheep? Mine's been being weird and the place I usually went raised the price like 50 bucks. [...] Also if anyone knows how to get salt out of a port that would be helpful information too.
Does anybody know where I can find some gauze? Got into a bit of a scuffle last night, after two lovebirds turned over a table and spilled beer all over me at the Wormhole.
Fresh out. Also, maybe try somewhere nicer than the Wormhole next time, you might've been able to enjoy yourself more if you'd been literally anywhere else.
[pm] How about next time instead of trauma bonding we do something normal like... I don't know, whatever normal people do. Funny you mention that - there's not a lot of people who know my secret either. Maybe like [...] one? And it took me a long time to even trust her with it. But don't worry, your secret's safe with me.
[pm] I would love to be like "yeah! that's a fantastic idea!", but in no way am I normal, so I don't really know what they do. Maybe pizza and sleepovers or is that two decades too late? And you mean to tell me, I'm only the second person to know...like...ever?! Be still my little faun heart. You're seriously one of only a handful as well. There's this really fucking old vampire guy that knows about me, but that's because I let my mouth get ahead of my brain like I normally do. But I would never tell your secret to him or anybody. Maybe my sugars though. They're pretty chill, and it's not like they can talk back.
[pm] I used to be pretty good at being semi-normal, not so much anymore. I keep to myself, avoid crowds, and have a huge turtle who thinks he's a guard dog, not necessarily what would be considered "cool". But you know what? I've convinced myself that I don't care. Pizza sounds great, not sure if you'd want a sleepover since I've been told that I talk in my sleep.
Well, not ever, but since my family in this town, yeah. It's the least I could do telling you my deepest, darkest secret after you literally showed me yours. [...] Yes, I'd definitely trust your sugars more than an old vampire dude. I've found that they like to play games. I guess living forever gets boring so they have to spice it up somehow. I'll introduce you to my pets if I can meet the sugars.
You'd definitely be remembered forever, that's for sure. And who doesn't want that kind of fame? There'd probably be T-shirts or something. I'd buy one in your memory.
Right?!?! Maybe if I have enough of an audience, I'll turn it into a little event in The Common. Bring back public entertainment. And yeah I think my Squonkerella may be a bit shy, but I'll know who they are based off of a gut feeling!! Literally!
I think a good public execution would be the best way to bring back public entertainment, but this'll work until then I guess. What's the gut feeling? Whoever can fit into a size small through medium glove first? This plan doesn't seem exactly foolproof but I'm now invested.
ALERT: Wormy sighted recently off the northern shoreline of Wicked's Rest!
According to my sources, he was seen during that big storm the other week. Is it a bad idea to go investigate at night? Probably. But I have offerings for my favorite cryptid boy, and I am going to see if I can spot him. If anyone (particularly my fellow Club Cryptid members) hears anything additional that might aid in the search for Wormy, please let me know.
The grand re-opening of MuertArte will be next month, February 13th. Please let me know if you'd like to donate to artists who lost anything in the fire or if you'd like to purchase a table at the gallery to attend.
Tell me more, I paint a lot and wanna help out other artists however I can. I can't do like super huge donations but what's that about purchasing a table?
Eh- maybe not. Another person asked if it was a grey dog, and once I thought about it, it did look kind of grey. It was just in the shade, so I thought maybe it was an older puppy. I don't think a piano or an anvil are going to fall from the sky and land on me.
Oh shoot, that would be a pretty iconic way to go if you ask me. Rather a piano falling from the sky than something boring like... I don't know, old age?
TIMING: Current
LOCATION: Another Castle/A Mining Cave
PARTIES: Patience ( @patienceandacupofanxitea ) & Drew ( @oceanicblvd )
SUMMARY: In lieu of spending a couple hours in the jam-packed arcade, Patience and Drew become the best of friends while running for their lives from a Penanggal.
WARNINGS: Brief flashback involving parental death
It had been a forced family outing to Another Castle at the request of her dad for his birthday. The perfect feeding ground for a family of fauns, and though reluctant, Patience had found the evening to be rather enjoyable. Video games were pleasurable and the euphoria and high that most humans found in playing them, meant Ants could have a full belly without trying too hard. Plus, birthdays meant cake, and her mom always made the best cakes. But the later in the evening it seemed to get, the more crowded the arcade had become leaving Patience to feel antsier than usual, “I-I’m just gonna step outside for a few minutes.”
Pushing her way through the crowd, the young faun could already feel sweat starting to bead up on her forehead, and by the time she had reached the front door and made her way outside, she had been on the verge of hyperventilating. Thankfully the brisk night air and mostly empty sidewalks had given way to some relief, and instead of lingering too close to the entrance, Patience had decided to step across the street and find a bench in The Common for some peace and quiet.
—
Back in Malibu Drew’s brothers, inseparable identical twins who had the annoying tendency to finish one another’s sentences, had been the local arcade’s top customers because of how often they visited the place. From elementary school when their parents finally trusted them enough with pockets full of cash and a little bit of freedom to walk themselves to the arcade for a few hours and return home when the sun started to set all the way up into their adult lives it had been one of their favorite spots which in turn made it popular among everyone else their age because Curtis and Cooper Hendricks were those guys everyone either wanted to be or be around. Drew herself had never really bothered much with the arcade because video games were a little boring to her–she had a lot more fun being outside experiencing something real rather than staring at a screen for hours. But despite all of that Drew still sometimes found herself standing outside the entrance to Another Castle but never had the nerve to go in. She wasn’t sure if it was the size of the crowd that was always inside or if the memory of her brothers intimidated her too much but she could never get herself to go inside, not even for a moment.
She was just about to make herself push the door open when someone came out and crossed the street to The Common. The stranger hadn’t looked as though she was having a good time, a major difference from the rest of the crowd, and Drew lied to herself and said that she was curious as to why (really, she just wanted to postpone going into the arcade as long as she possibly could). A little ashamed of herself but unable to stop, the selkie made her way over to The Common and sat on the opposite side of the bench.
“Did you run out of coins in there?”
—
Most days were fine, but most days, when she wasn’t dressed from head to toe in a squonk costume, either involved being perched at home with a guitar in her lap, a book in her hands, or her sugar gliders sleeping soundly on her while she watched tv. All relaxing, stress-free activities that didn’t involve hordes of people filing in to play overly loud arcade games or poorly sing karaoke at the top of their lungs. But tonight, even though it had felt like a new record set for not having to find the nearest exit as soon as she arrived, Patience still found herself sitting alone just trying to calm her nerves along with her bouncing hoof.
“H-Huh?” The breathing exercises she was currently partaking in had pulled Patience from the present, but a voice immediately pulled her back, “Coins?” It had taken her a moment until she realized what the question was, “Oh! No. Still have plenty of coins.” She slapped one of the pockets on her jeans. “More like, ran out of air. My will to live. My patience. Which is ironically my…name.” When the faun realized she was talking too much, “Sorry. Um…” Turning to face the other person, she shot an awkward smile in her direction, “What about you? Did the obnoxiously loud arcade games and really poorly done version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” send you running too?”
—
Drew was more than used to rambling by that point, most of the people she’d met in town happened to be ramblers, but one part of the stranger’s word salad immediately grabbed her attention. “Wait, your legal name’s Patience?” She thought for a moment and tilted her head. “Never met someone with that name before, it’s kinda cool.” It was quiet for a short while until she realized that it was her turn to introduce herself and since she’d taken a page from Jenny’s book and forced her presence upon Patience she figured that giving her name was the least she could do. “I’m Drew. I didn’t even make it inside, I saw how many people were already in there and decided that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if I… didn’t. Besides, I would be heartbroken if I had to witness someone ruin Freddie Mercury’s beautiful musical poetry like that.”
This was strange. She wasn’t used to being the one to initiate contact with someone she didn’t know but for some reason it felt nice and normal to do so, almost like she was back home, nothing had happened to her family, and she was still that girl from the cool family that everyone in Malibu knew about. It was nice to pretend sometimes. “I try to avoid crowded places as much as possible–that makes me sound like a total loser but it’s true.” Drew smiled again and looked down at her hands in her lap. “People freak me out sometimes, y’know? I also totally suck at video games so I probably wouldn’t even have that good of a time anyway.”
—
When Drew had called out Patience on her name, she paused; her cheeks immediately turning red. Whether or not it was visible in the faint light from the lamp post hanging overhead, she wasn’t quite sure, but the fast thumping of her heart seemed to ease a little when the other person said it was cool. Most people think it sounds like an old lady name, but you don’t. I like you already. “It’s nice to meet you, Drew.” Patience sent her hand out to give the other girl a good firm handshake, “Yeah, trust me, you didn’t miss anything worthy, except a performance to make dogs howl and ears bleed.” She grew quiet, feeling bad for what she had just said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. But it wasn’t good.”
As the conversation carried on, Patience perked up at Drew talking about avoiding places and crowds. For once, she had felt like she had connected with someone, but the loser part had dashed her hopes slightly. The last thing Ants had wanted to feel like was a loser. Her siblings and, unintentionally, her parents had made her feel like that on the regular, but Drew didn’t need to know that, “Well, I guess that makes me a loser too, because I’m not very good with people. Unless I’m in my costume. Wearing a squonk head all day makes things a little easier, but having a family who reminds you that you’re wasting away your life, kind of drives it home.” She laughed nervously, until something had caught her attention and made her ears perk, “Did you hear that?”
—
Drew shook Patience’s hand with a smile. She’d gotten a lot better at being level-headed around people… or maybe she just genuinely enjoyed Patience’s company. Or maybe it was the fact that the selkie could tell that her new acquaintance was also a tad bit awkward at socializing that made her feel more at ease. Either way, she didn’t feel the need to showcase her typical aggression.
Drew laughed and shook her head. “Nothing wrong with having an opinion, and I appreciate the heads up. If I were to go in there and be subjected to someone thinking they’re this town’s next big star I’d have a lot worse things to say to and about them.” She glanced at Patience from the corner of her eye. “Nah, I didn’t mean that you’re a loser. I mean, you made it into the building and I couldn’t even get past the front doors. You’re a lot braver than me in this context.” And probably this context only, she added to herself. “Wait, wait, wait, I’m gonna need a little more explanation for what you just said. A squonk costume?”
When Patience’s demeanor changed Drew immediately followed suit although she uncharacteristically hadn’t been paying much attention. “I… no? What was it?” She scanned their immediate surroundings just as she’d become used to doing and ruled out any possible dangers. “What did you hear?”
—
Patience wanted to continue the conversation. Wanted to have a normal interaction with someone, for once, that didn’t feel like she was annoying them or driving them away with her incessant talking, but the noise continued to draw her in. Her ears had always been overly sensitive, and being a faun had made that quality stronger than she had ever cared for it to be. Being anxious all the time and hearing things go bump in the night had not been the best combination for anyone, especially herself, “I…It sounded…like a hiss or…” As she continued to let her eyes scan the area, she laid eyes on a pale woman coming directly towards them, but when her eyes shifted downward, she noticed the extremely pale woman with the jet black hair had no…skin or body?
What the fuck?
“Excuse me, ma'am, but, um, I think you forgot to put your skin on this morning? Y-Your hair looks nice though. What products do you use?” Patience’s body began to shake and she slowly started to press herself back inching closer and closer to Drew, “R-Run…Drew…RUN!” Scrambling off the bench, the young faun made sure to latch onto her new friend’s arm not wanting her to become the meal of Bex’s girlfriend.
—
“What’re you -?” Drew followed Patience's gaze to the strange woman and her stomach dropped. Just one night, one night!, she wanted to be able to be normal and not have any weird shit happen to her. She supposed she’d have to move out of town in order to fulfill that wish.
Normally she would have recoiled from a stranger’s touch but she allowed herself to be pulled away by Patience, running as quickly as she could, cursing the fact that she wasn’t near as fast or agile on land as she was in the water. After the initial shock of the encounter, Drew shook herself awake and took over the leadership role–this was, whatever this was, one of the things she’d spent the last three years training for, or so she told herself. Being caught off guard by a sudden threat was nothing new to her, she’d just hoped that she wouldn’t be responsible for someone else the next time she found herself in this kind of situation.
Drew twisted her arm so that she could clutch Patience's wrist and pulled her into a sharp turn, directing them straight for the cover of some nearby trees. She wasn’t great in wooded areas but it was a whole hell of a lot better than being out in the open. “Ever seen one of those before?” She asked as they continued to run and she was satisfied to find that she was hardly even out of breath. The training was paying off. “We can't run forever but we might be able to buy ourselves some time if we make it search for us through the trees.”
—
Patience had never seen such a creature. She had been here her entire life, even living out in the woods for a time, but had never witnessed anything quite as horrific, except for humans. But in that instance, the only thing that mattered was getting to safety, and when she felt Drew take over as leader, it was like a tiny bit of pressure had been lifted off of her shoulders. She still didn’t know what was happening though, what this thing was, or why it had chosen two fairly normal people who only wanted to connect, for its choice of meal tonight. Though she had heard, as a warning from her grandmother, that deer meat was almost always tender, and being a faun didn’t help that underlying fear of being eaten.
When they had made it into the trees, Patience felt herself slowing down. Being a faun had given her an advantage, but it felt like her heart was going to give out from her nerves more than physically tiring out, “No! Who has? Who just goes around the middle of town and forgets to put their skin on?”
She continued to run, until she couldn’t. But by the time she had stopped, she had noticed they had made it back into the woods pretty far, “Well, at least we’re somewhere I’ve explored before. I think if we can put enough distance between us, there’s a cave system nearby that might help us.” She leaned over trying to catch her breath as she let her eyes scan the area.
—
For about the billionth time in her life Drew thanked Jah that she’d been blessed with above average eyesight that allowed her to navigate through the dark woods without running headfirst into a tree. She was in her element and although she knew that at some point she’d crash from the shock and adrenaline, at that moment she was focused and her heart continued to beat at a relatively normal speed. It wouldn’t be long until her sense of false serenity disappeared though, so she wanted to get as far away from that thing as possible.
“It was a fair enough question, shit tends to happen around here that’s not exactly normal. And I don’t take my skin off so I wouldn’t know.” That wasn’t technically entirely true, but whatever. Drew let go of Patience’s wrist and continued to survey the area around them as the other doubled over. She flared her nostrils and attempted to pick up the scent of whatever it was that was following them but there was nothing in their immediate area that was out of place. Still, she forbade herself to relax.
“How the hell do you know about there being a cave system?” She kept her eyes in the direction they’d come but reached out and lightly brushed the tips of her fingers against the back of Patience's shirt. If the other took off running without warning she’d know and would immediately begin to follow.
—
“Yeah, I don’t take my skin off either.” My glamour, yes…Skin…not quite. Patience stood back up, when she felt like her sides weren’t going to split open revealing a heaving ribcage. Drew’s question caught her off guard though. It seemed like it was a normal enough question. Anyone could go exploring in the woods. You didn’t have to be a fae or a faun to know that. Lots of humans got trapped in caves never to be seen again. In fact, she was pretty sure she had come across bones once, “I like nature and exploring nature? Is that weird or something?”
Patience continued looking around. The entrance wasn’t too far. Even with the moonlight being the only light source around, the faun had been in this area enough to know what she was looking for. What she didn’t expect though, was the light brush of finger tips on her back, and immediately, Patience let out a scream of fear, “Ahhhhhh!!!! Oh Gods, something touched me!!!” The faun jumped a decent height off the ground thanks to her deer legs, nearly hitting her head on a tree limb, before landing back on the ground and moving forward to get away from whatever it was, “Is it a bug?! Drew!!! What is it?!?” Swiveling her head around as far as she could, she tried to see what was on her shoulder going in circles, much like a dog chasing its tail.
—
“Oh good, glad we have that straightened out.” Drew shrugged. To be fair it wasn’t that strange that someone enjoyed being outdoors and had taken the time to memorize certain parts of the town because that was exactly what she did at the beach. She knew nearly every square foot including the best hiding spots and even where the fish liked to hang out whenever they didn’t want to be bothered by humans. “No, not weird. Go ahead, do your thing.” A part of her, a very small part, felt bad for alluding that Patience was strange, especially since her knowledge of caves was about to save their lives.
Drew was shocked into silence and could only watch as Patience jumped higher than should have really been possible but the selkie was willing to chalk it up to adrenaline until they were in the clear and she could afford to be scrutinizing.
“Hey. Hey!” She whisper-yelled and reached out to grab onto the other’s shoulders. “No bug, just me! It was just me!” Drew clamped her fingers down with a bit more force, not wanting to hurt her companion who might possibly have the ability to save them both but also wanting to snap her out of her sudden state of panic. “It was just me, I was just making sure we didn’t get separated, sorry! Can we go now, please?! I’m starting to run out of patience… no pun intended.” Note to self, she thought, Try not to startle this one. Also, once we’re no longer being hunted by a skinless freak with great hair, ask Patience if she’s ever participated in long jump because holy shit what was that about?!
—
The tight grip on Patience’s shoulder was the thing she needed to start to calm her nerves, “You’re not alone, Ants. You’re not alone. You have a friend here.” The words slipped out from in between breaths as her heart rate began to slow. Closing her eyes, the faun took in a few deep breaths as she listened to Drew’s voice, “Yeah, yeah. Okay.” She was calmer now, and ready to get back to moving, but the sound of the same hiss from before immediately caught her attention and made her raise up, much like a deer hearing a branch snap in the woods. With wide eyes, she moved her head back and forth trying to spot the culprit, and then saw a shimmer of life off the floating organs that glistened in the moonlight.
“Drew…” Patience’s whisper was a quiver, “She-She’s back…” The cave was their only hope at this point, and the faun had to keep it together long enough to get them there, “Follow me. I know a shortcut.” Putting her warm, sweaty hand over the other woman’s, she held on for both reassurance and to guide her, “This way.” Her movements were hurried and surprisingly agile for someone so nervous all the time. But with the right focus, Patience had been able to get her and her new friend to the mouth of the cave, and without hesitating, quickly pulled out her phone and flipped on the flashlight, “How do you feel about bats? Because there’s a lot of bats in here.” She really hoped their new friend Organa hadn't caught sight of them on their trek through the woods, and if she had, maybe she’d get tangled in a mess of vines or wrap her floaty bits around a stalactite so the bats could feed on her.
—
Drew raised a brow at the word friend but didn’t comment. Unfortunately she’d become used to bubbly people rushing into calling her a friend upon their first meeting yet she still couldn’t for the life of her understand why they would want anything to do with someone as disagreeable as herself. Once Patience had seemed to snap out of her momentary panic Drew dropped her arms to her side and went back on high alert, her eyes landing on the strange creature at the same time Patience pointed it out. She was only half paying attention as she was led further into the trees, not minding the feel of Patience’s sweaty hand because it reminded her that she wasn’t alone and for that she was grateful–there’d been too much fleeing for her life all by her lonesome in the past, it was shockingly nice to be able to rely on someone else for support.
“Bats?” Drew tore her eyes away from the last spot where she’d seen the skinless creature and gazed at Patience with a touch of amusement. “So long as the bats are wearing their skin they’re alright with me. Can we go now?” She’d started to become antsy and knew that it was only a matter of time before her mind caught up with her body and decided that it needed to process everything that was going on. “The sooner the better because you still gotta tell me about that squonk costume.” It was a feeble attempt to distract Patience from the imminent danger but she gave it a shot. Making a clean getaway was a lot easier when both parties were as level-headed as possible and Drew didn’t want her new acquaintance to have anymore panic attacks before they were in the clear.
—
“Yeah…right. I’m sure the bats still have their skin.” Patience nodded nervously as she heard another rustle from some nearby branches; her phone now in her hand and the flashlight turned on. It was their cue to run. Bats, bears, whatever, they would be a hell of a lot better than being strangled by some random low hanging guts. And without waiting any longer, she pulled Drew behind her as a guide into the cave, before letting go of her hand. Thankfully the light on her phone had provided ample guidance, but with Patience’s nervous mind racing, she hadn’t paid any attention to what twists and turns she was making, until she was tucked back into a corner of a cave wall; her skinny little glamoured legs shaking nervously as she tried to catch her breath.
“I-I don’t think she followed us. I don’t hear anything.” Patience’s words had come too soon as a flurry of bats dropped down from the ceiling at the bright light shining towards them leaving the faun to let out a scream, before sinking down to the damp, muddy floor of the cave. The 5’9” lanky fae pulled her legs in tightly as she could while tears slipped quietly from her eyes; her body shivering from fear and the colder temperature of the dark, dank cave.
—
Not to brag but Drew knew that she was an incredibly brave and strong woman. She had to be considering her background. But as brave and strong as she was she absolutely could not stand the thought of being trapped in a cave. Although the bat-filled cave was a whole hell of a lot better than being caught by whatever had chased them into Batman’s lair, that didn’t stop her teeth from chattering or her eyes from going wide. Her nostrils flared as she tried to find a scent that promised another opening where they might be able to escape without being harmed.
I’m fucking scared, Drew thought and laughed out loud, a bit on the manical side, then shivered. I was chased by a skinless… thing and I’m in a fucking cave and I’m scared. She glanced down at Patience who didn’t seem to be doing too much better than she was – she wiped her own face then gently placed her hand onto Patience's shoulder in what she hoped translated as a calming gesture. “You good? We’re still alive so far so I think we’re doing pretty damn well if I do say so myself.” Her voice shook more than she would have liked but she didn’t worry about it too much considering the circumstances. “I guess this is what I get for trying to step out of my comfort zone and introduce myself to strangers.” Maybe if she kept cracking terrible jokes things would get better.
—
Patience knew she had to be brave if she wanted to make it out alive. Drew was right. They had made it this far, and now was not the time to give up. “Think Patience…Think…WWGDD? What would Green Day do?” And then it hit her. Between Drew’s encouragement and her obsession with Green Day, she figured it out! She knew how they would get out! “Having a Blast…Having a Blast!!!”
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she quickly looked up at Drew, “Drew, we’re in a mining cave!!! I’ve been here before. We went down the back entrance. There’s tracks in here from when the caves used to be used as mines! We just have to follow the tracks and we can get out!!!” Patience leaped to her feet, and snatched her phone off the ground, “Come on!” With a new found enthusiasm, the faun led the way out the tunnel they had been in and down to another one that revealed a rusted set of tracks.
—
“Green Day?! Now’s not the time for playlist recommen-” Drew was cut off in the middle of her sentence by Patience's outburst and hardly had time to process the fact that she’d abruptly gotten to her feet and had started off down a new path. Incredibly stunned and still very panicky about their current situation, the selkie stayed behind for a few moments before she was able to demand her feet to start walking so that she could catch up with Patience. The very last thing she wanted was to get lost in a mining cave.
“Hey, wait, wait!” Drew jogged to catch up with her guide and nervously fiddled with her necklace as they walked. “Patience, you have to tell me how you know all this stuff about caves. Why do you hang out in places like this? Don’t you ever get… claustrophobic?" Drew herself was no stranger to exploring underwater caves or squeezing into impossibly small places while swimming either for the fun of it or to avoid danger, but that was different, that was in the ocean. She knew how to navigate her way out of trouble while she was underwater without a second thought because she allowed her instincts to take over but being inside of a cave on land was a completely different story. She didn’t feel as confident as she would have in an underwater cave; she didn’t like that she was having to put blind trust into someone she’d just met.
“I’m not complaining, especially if you’re able to get us outta here, but you see how this raises some questions, right? If… when we get out of here I’m showing you some better hang out spots around town, deal?”
—
Now that they had found the tracks, and Patience had spotted familiar landmarks, she started to ease up a bit, “Look, I-I don’t have a lot of friends, okay? So a lot of my time is spent exploring places, things…There’s a really cool waterfall around here we should check out sometime.” She paused, “I mean, if you want to. If…you want to hang out again after this.” She grew quiet before continuing on with the conversation. She knew this wasn’t ideal. None of it was. Organa was out there in the dark trying to find them, all while Drew was having to put her trust in Patience, “I know it’s not an ideal hangout, but we’re almost to the exit…see?” She pointed to the opening that was just up ahead, lighted by the moon’s brightness, “And I don’t really get claustrophobic. At least not around here, because I know where to go and where not to go usually.”
The faun continued walking forwards, “Watch out for the break in the tracks up here. I’ve gotten tripped a couple of times, and it’s no bueno.” As she kept her eyes forward, she listened to Drew, but couldn’t help but stop at the mention of hanging out again, “Wait…you want to hang out again?” She sent the other woman a smile, and if they had been in better lighting, there would’ve been a gleam in her eyes from the tears that were forming. But the soft moment was cut short by Organa who had found them, “Dammit, Organa! We were having a soft moment here!”
Latching onto Drew’s hand one last time, she began pulling her forward and into a run, “When we get out of here, I want you to keep running, okay?! I have a plan, but I don’t want you to get hurt!!!” When she made it outside, Patience kept her eyes out for her friend, and when the all clear had come, she let the glamour on her deer legs fade, so she could focus all her strength on kicking the wooden beam that held the entrance to the tunnel open. And as she now lay on the ground kicking with all her might, the faun finally heard the wood crack and split in just enough time that before Organa and her floaty bits could make it out of the mining cave, an avalanche of Earth and rock came crumbling down on top of her closing off the entrance to the mine.
—
If there was one thing Drew could understand it was not having a lot of friends. At least, she didn’t have a lot in Wicked’s Rest. Her other friends, her childhood friends, were all under the notion that she’d died in that house fire, they had no idea that she had started it as a way to cover her tracks. At the mention of a waterfall her ears perked up and she nearly tripped over her feet. “Really? Hell yeah I wanna see! When do you wanna go?” She cleared her throat and quickly looked away, embarrassed by how eager and desperate she must have sounded. “I mean, it’s cool. I don’t wholly blame you for being the reason I’m running for my life instead of hating myself for being in an overstimulating, but entirely safe, arcade.” She followed Patience’s gaze and smiled at how close they were to escaping. “I’ve never been so damn happy to see moonlight.”
Drew scoffed. “Uh, yeah, duh. I don’t have a lot of friends either and most of them are just people who won’t leave me alone and insist on calling me their friend. But considering you’re helping me not die tonight I’ll give you another chance at a cooler hangout, but if we end up getting chased by another monster I’m blaming it all on you ‘cause you’re obviously cursed.” She wanted to add another snarky comment but was once again cut off by the reappearance of her newest fear; there wasn’t even enough time for her to make a sarcastic joke about their “soft moment”.
I want you to keep running…
Drew’s footsteps faltered again and she turned toward Patience with wide eyes, except it wasn’t Patience’s voice she heard but her mother's.
Kailani, you need to keep running and don’t look back…
She blinked quickly and shook her head until her mother’s words, the last words she’d ever spoken, faded back to that place in her brain that she liked to ignore. “I can’t… but what if…” Once they were out in the open Drew hardly had time to feel appreciative of the fresh air because she was trying to decide whether to follow the orders she’d been given or stay and try to figure out a way to fight. In the end however her instincts made the decision for her: Patience had a confident look on her face that clearly meant that she had a plan and part of that plan was for Drew to continue running. Knowing that she wouldn’t go too far just in case she did need to circle back and help, the selkie began to run full out, unsure where she was going to stop until the sound of crashing made her freeze.
“Patience?” She called back in the direction she’d just come. She knew that it was stupid to give up her hiding spot but she needed to know that everything was alright. “Patience!” She shouted again with a little more panic flooding her voice. She didn’t like the way everything had gone silent.
—
The faun was worn out from kicking so hard, and she lay on the ground heaving for air, but Organa was buried. There was no way that thing was getting out, and if she had, she probably still would’ve been stuck with her trail of organs. It had been a closer call than she would’ve liked to admit, but for the first time in her life, she had felt like she had done something right. Something good. And though she couldn’t wait to tell her parents, she knew they’d probably lock her away in her room for an eternity. Maybe we keep this little win to ourselves, Ants…A small confident smile fell across her features as she slowly climbed back up on her hooves.
Stumbling forward from her legs giving out, she laughed a little before regaining herself and limping in the direction that her name was being called, “I’m here! I’m okay!” Patience continued moving in the direction she had seen Drew run off to, and though she had tried to pull her glamour back up, she just didn’t have the strength for it, “S-So there’s something you need to know…” She kept hobbling towards her friend’s direction, stopping when her furry ears perked at the sound of snow and limbs cracking nearby.
Under the light of the moon, Patience’s true form gave way. From dainty, furry deer legs dressed in their winter coat, all the way up to her long perked and pointed ears to the velvety looking antlers that sat atop of her head.
—
Drew emerged from her hiding spot, already grabbing for Patience in case they needed to make another speedy get away. “What happened? Where is that thing? Did you-” Finally her brain caught up with her eyes and she took a step back from Patience, looking her over for a long, silent minute.
Then very slowly a relieved smile crossed her face. “Fuck, dude.” Drew rested her hands on her knees and laughed, shaking her head. “You could’ve just said something, it would’ve saved me a damn heart attack! I thought I was leaving just another stupid human behind so that I could get away.” She looked up again and wiped away the few tears that had gathered in her eyes from the laughing. “Look at your legs. Your ears! You’re alive!” Okay, maybe she was a little (a lot) delirious after such a shock. Without thinking she pulled Patience in for a one-armed side hug, still laughing.
“Don’t worry Bambi, your secret’s safe with me. Maybe when you take me to that waterfall you mentioned earlier I’ll show you my pelt.” Drew threw an anxious glance at her companion before adding quickly, “If you’re able to keep my secret like I’ll keep yours. Forever.” She was shocked at herself for openly admitting that she wasn’t technically human either, but there was just something about Patience that made her seem trustworthy – it might’ve had something to do with the fact that she hadn’t bothered going back to hiding her true form.
—
Patience didn’t reveal the truth to very many people. She accidentally had that one time to that old ass vampire guy, but he was about it. But now, Drew knew. A friend knew, and someone she could trust. They had both nearly died together. Why in the world would it be of anyone’s best interest to blab on the other? Patience laughed at Drew’s reaction, but had embraced the hug warmly, “I’m alive! And I was just too tired to try and keep my glamour up after making a pancake out of Organa. These legs weren’t just made for walking. And unfortunately our exit is no longer an exit.” She glanced back in relief knowing they were safe and would live to see another day.
“Hold up…Pelt? Like, as in a seal pelt?” She had heard through the years of people who could turn into seals, but had never met anyone like that. “I can’t wait to see this.” She nudged at Drew playfully with her shoulder. “But your secret is safe with me. Besides, a faun and a seal as the best of friends? I like it! It reminds me of Todd and Copper from The Fox and the Hound.” She unwrapped her arm from Drew, “I thought this night couldn’t get any worse, and then it did. But then it got so much better. Come on, New Bestie. Let’s go home, before something else tries to eat us.”
Hey, is anyone missing a dog? There was this really big black dog wandering through Oldtown this morning. He was just sitting in my backyard staring at me this morning while I was drinking my coffee. I tried to get him to come closer so I could see if he had a tag on him, but he wandered off. He had a chain stuck to his back paw though, so he may have gotten stuck from wherever he came from. So, long story short, if you're missing a big puppy, he was last seen on Foxglove Lane in Oldtown.
Maybe it was an omen, they sometimes people see big black dogs when something bad is about to happen. I'd watch out for anything unusual, it might be indicating the end for you. [...] I'm joking btw. Kind of.
Very important announcement!!! I was at Bigfeet's Adventureland the other day when someone in the squonk costume dropped their little squonk glove D: I now have that glove and would like to return it to its rightful owner!! I will be going around town asking people to try it on Cinderella-style. If it fits, it's yours! Don't fret, Squonkerella. I'm coming for you soon <3 also I'll apologize for sticking my face into your nose ok
Surprisingly that sounds really fun. I don't know many people would publicly announce that they're the person in the squonk outfit but best of luck on your hunt, it'll be fun to watch.
What did I do? What did I do...what did I do...what the fuck did you do Hazel...you stupid, stupid mutt. Ms. Betty should've ended me when she had the chance...
Does anybody know of a good gym? Looking to get back in shape this year.
Come work out with me, I've been in need of a workout buddy for a while. I do get a little intense sometimes but I'd promise not to do anything too extreme.
blakekathryn
dededos
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germansingergirl
janainaart
annaxmalina
discoholicmusic
