[ohxnxnani]

inspired  by  :  nani pelekai // lilo & stitch

Added inspo! Padme Amidala (Star Wars), Gamora (MCU), Hera Syndulla (Rebels) more coming soon… 

Nani Pelekai // Anna Akana 

4/11/1993

Aries 

She/Her 

Heterosexual 

Chaotic Good 

present !! 

Evermore was a curveball that blindsided Nani. It felt like her carefully constructed life had been kicked down and she was scrambling to pull the pieces together. It was a relief to have a support system around her at least, with David and Jumba and Pleakley. 

The pieces she was able to slot into place included a morning shift at Java Lava and the closing shift at Gusteau’s… Pretty much every day. 

It helped that Lilo was finally becoming more and more independent.

However, Nani has discovered that she has just a smidge of room in her life for hobbies like pottery. There’s nothing as soothing as the potting wheel spinning as she molds the clay.  

future !!

Nani is sick of being a waitress. It’s a fine living, sure, but if she’s ever going to break the cycle they are in, she needs to do something more. She’s got her eye on The Evemore Chronicle’s lead editor position, if she can just get her portfolio up to snuff. 

While Nani loves David, she wants to give herself the space to explore the various folks around town, before she settles for what is comfortable and known. 

Nani wants to be the one taken care of, for once in her life. Whatever that means, she just knows she is looking for it.

taken connections

Lilo Pelekai:  Her baby sister, Nani’s reason for living, but also the biggest pain in her ass. She loves that kid more than life itself and only wants the best for her. 

Mabel Pines: If there’s one thing Nani knows, it’s eccentric, slightly weird kids. In many ways Mabel reminds her of Lilo, and she keeps an eye out for her, even if she has no idea.

wanted connections

Alfred Linguini: The chef at one of the restaurants she works at, Nani has never had a normal conversation with the guy, but he makes her laugh. She’s not complaining.

Duchess Bonfamille: Though she is only thirteen years older than her, Duchess feels so very motherly, Nani can’t help but be drawn to her. She brings a comfort she hasn’t felt since her own mother passed.

[ohxnxnani]

@littlechefinahat

Location: The Snuggly Duckling

Time: early August

Nani was lonely. Missing Lilo, running the support group, putting up posters, searching the woods, all drained Nani. She was finally accepting that this wasn't all just a bad dream when she decided she needed to find some company.

So, a text and some planning later, Nani perched on a barstool, waiting for Remy. Coworkers, friends, she'd begged him for a job when she first came to Evermore, scared and confused. She was grateful he'd taken her on, and a friendship had blossomed.

Spotting him, she lifted an arm in welcome, a small smile finally touching her lips.

[pudgefeeder]

Lilo had never been on her own in her entire life.

She may have been a sad child with no friends, an outcast, a weirdo, an orphan, a pain in all of her teachers' butts, lonely — but she had never been alone. Because she had Nani. When other kids refused to play with her, when her parents died, when teachers didn't understand why she was being difficult and pointed her to the office, suspended her, sent her home with notes about her behavior, she had Nani. When no one else in the entire world tried to understand her, she had Nani.

For the last... however long it had been, she wasn't quite sure... Lilo had been completely and utterly alone.

It had been terrifying. She didn't know how to process such intense emotions, so she simply did not. She went silent and numb. She walked the streets, stared at her reflection in shop windows, pinched at her arm to make sure she was real, ignored the strangers that asked if she was okay. She sat atop her parents graves after so long of wishing she could go back and she felt them with her and she hadn't said a word. As much as she missed them, she had missed Nani more.

All of the feelings she had pushed down threatened to rise again the moment she saw Nani's face, but for once, Lilo felt like she should be the strong one. As horrible was it was to not be there, she couldn't even imagine how worried Nani had been. Wondering where she was, why she hadn't reached out. She had tried. How could she explain she had tried?

"I'm not hurt," she promised quietly, realizing those might have been the first words she had spoken in over a month, but she didn't swat her sister's hands away in annoyance. Instead she wrapped her own arms around her again, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiar smell of her laundry detergent.

She had longed to go home for so long, she had failed to realize that home was not a place; it was a person. It was Nani.

[ohxnxnani]

Nani had heard parents around her say that having a child was like watching your heart walk around outside of your body. The reality of that statement had never been so poignant as when her heart had simply disappeared.

The axis of the earth had tilted, the color had bled out of the world, and was hitting her in a tidal wave, one all her skill with the water couldn't weather. Lilo always had been and always would be everything to her, the single person she was closest with in the whole universe, right down to their very DNA.

"I was so worried about you," Nani wept into the top of Lilo's head. She rained kisses down on her hair, arms locked around her frame. The tears began to subside, her shoulders stilling into an even up and down as she felt Lilo's heartbeat against her own.

She pulled back again, gripping Lilo's hand in one of her own. An officer cleared his throat behind her.

"Ma'am, we really need you to come to the station with us," he explained, tone apologetic. Nani sniffed, straightening her spine.

"No way. I'm taking her home to rest."

[nctquiteshakespeare]

LOCATION: the lucky cat café  FOR: @ohxnxnani

"Nani?" She hesitated by the woman's table, her eyebrows pulling together in an expression of friendliness and empathy. Duchess had gone by Gusteau's in hopes to see her there, but their paths had yet to cross since she'd seen her sister's name among the missing. She couldn't help but worry about how she was holding up... she couldn't imagine if it had been one of her children. "I've been thinking about you, dear. How are you?"

[ohxnxnani]

Picking up some shifts at the restaurant was a great way to distract herself, Nani had discovered. So she'd thrown herself back into the bustle of the job and collapsed back into bed at the end of each day, blessedly exhausted enough to avoid nightmares of chasing her sister but never catching her.

Delight blossomed when she looked up at the sound of her name and found Duchess standing there.

"Duchess!" She greeted with a smile, dropping her rag back into her bucket and drying her hands on her apron.

"As well as can be expected, I suppose. Staying busy helps," she gestured around the dining room.

"How's your family?"

[pudgefeeder]

LOCATION: by the river FOR: @ohxnxnani

They told her she had to come with them, they insisted, but Lilo didn't budge. Her feet remained planted by the edge of the river, watching other people swarming in to hug those around her, some familiar, some not. Never in her life had she stayed put when Nani had told her to, but Nani would be coming here. She knew it. The moment word got out, the moment that Nani caught wind of Lilo's presence, she would get there. Through the traffic blocks, through the mass of people, she would move heaven and hell to get to her. She wasn't about to make it more complicated by going to the police station. That could wait. All Lilo wanted right now was her big sister.

[ohxnxnani]

By the time Nani reached the river, cops were swarming everywhere and one approached her, hand outstretched.

"Ma'am, you can't go through here," he said, voice sympathetic. Nani looked past him, trying to spot her sister in the mass of bodies by the riverside.

"Let me through," she replied, knocking his hand aside and ducking past him. His hand wrapped around her bicep as she tried to hurry forward, pulling her back.

"Get your hands off me!" she roared, whirling and pulling away. "I'm getting down there and finding my sister. Don't you fucking stop me."

The pain and fear and worry from the last two months was a swirling storm in her head, in her heart. Lilo wasn't one to stand still for long, but something told Nani she would be there. Wouldn't move until she got to her.

The man finally let her go, his expression unreadable. Spinning on her heel, Nani marched into the crowd, searching each face.

"Lilo?" she called, craning her neck until she spotted the solitary figure. Heart leaping into her mouth, Nani broke into a run and hurtled toward her sister.

"Oh my God, Lilo," she sobbed, crashing into the shorter woman and squeezing her against her chest. "Thank God, thank God."

Then she was holding her at arm's length, searching her face and body for injuries, cupping a cheek in her hand, pushing the hair from her face. Tears streamed down her face and into the collar of her shirt as she confirmed that she was here, and real, and alive.

[ohxnxnani]

Nani's eyebrows creased further as his eyes closed, watched the rise and fall of his chest.

"Well, Shaggy. I'm Nani. It's okay! We're going to take some time to remember each other's names." she smiled reassuringly at him.

"Well, if you think of something that you need, any time of the day or night, call me. Here's my number," she dug out one of the little cards she'd made up, hoping to have someone to offer it to.

"I've been a big sister slash mom for a long time. It'll make me happy to have someone to fuss over," she explained, hoping that her explanation would encourage him to take it. She held it out, making eye contact.

[norvillc]

"Thank you," he nodded, taking her number gratefully. He wasn't sure he'd ever use it, he would hate to burden someone else. But it was kind of comforting to know that there were other people going through the same thing, even though he wouldn't wish it on anyone.

"Oh, yeah, that's gotta be... weird." He wondered for a second if that was how Maggie felt when he vanished. He sort of doubted she noticed his absence very much. While he loved his sister, and she'd been his only friend when he was much younger and first adopted, they'd never been particularly close. "She seems like a funny kid, from the stories you told."

[ohxnxnani]

"Yeah, she's a hoot," Nani chuckled. "You know, one time she put these spoons she dressed up like her classmates in a jar of pickles and shook it all up because she was angry at them." Nani shook her head, smiling at the memory.

"Lilo's a creative girl. Sometimes I hope she rubbed off on me over the years, but I'm hopeless with anything other than a pottery wheel."

She grinned at Shaggy again, picking her chair back up.

"Well, the custodial staff is probably going to kick me out soon, but it was seriously nice to meet you. Like I said, let me know if you need anything."

[ohxnxnani]

open °•○

It had just started as the seed of an idea. Something for Nani to throw some energy into. She'd printed the flyers, asked Anita to run a special advertisement in The Chronicle, then set up shop at the city hall, arranging the chairs in circles and even asking for donations of food and drink from some of the local shops.

At first, it was just Nani, sipping anxiously at a cup of coffee as the time ticked closer. Then the people began to show up, red-eyed and hunched shoulders, and she'd put her whole being into soothing them, asking their loved ones names, spiraling silly stories about her own lost one to make them laugh.

She hoped it would be enough to at least give some people some hope. This first meeting wound down late into the night, until Nani finally began to pack away chairs and package up the food, promising a next time to those who asked.

"Sorry, can I slip by you? I just need to put this chair over there," she asked, smiling apologetically at the figure in her way.

@evermorehqsstart

[lcstromonov]

Anya hadn't even realized she had zoned out until the woman who seemed to be in charge of this little get-together asked her to move. She had been lost in her mind." There was something so jarring about everything going on. Of missing people and the yearning for answers. Anya felt as if she related to them all and to none of them at the same time. Most days she felt like a lost soul searching for home, others she felt like she was grieving for a person or group of people that she couldn't even remember enough to feel proper sorrow for.

She felt for everyone in town right now feeling as if they were missing pieces of themselves in these missing people. She tried her best to be a comfort for those who felt lost because she knew exactly how that felt.

Looking to the one who was trying to clean up, she offered a small smile. "Do you need any help? I have a feeling that you're dealing with this the best you can on your own, and I respect that, but I don't mind taking some of it off your shoulders."

[ohxnxnani]

Nani smiled back.

"Aw, that's sweet of you. Sure, do you mind grabbing another chair?" She indicated where she'd stacked the folding chairs against the wall.

The other woman's words gave her pause, throat closing as she let the panic and grief she was feeling seep into the edges of her awareness again. Nani took a deep breath, but it was shaky and her eyes welled with tears.

"Thank you," she said softly, putting the chair down to rub her hand across her eyes. "I'm used to bearing the load by myself. So sometimes I can't recognize when I'm about to crack," Nani chuckled ruefully.

"I'm sorry, I put this together so I could comfort some people, and now here you are comforting me."

She smiled at the other woman, lips trembling slightly.

"I'm Nani, by the way."

[ohxnxnani]

Movement at the door caught Nani's attention as she moved among the grieving, the angry, the lonely. Her heart ached still with the missing hole in her world, but she was pouring, pouring, words of encouragement and hope into those around her, trying to patch over the crack that widened a hair every day Lilo's bed remained empty.

Her eyes found the figure lurking in the doorway. She knew Mertle's face of course, having watched the redhead grow right alongside her baby sister. She marveled for a moment at the differences in her features, even as her feet moved toward Mertle of their own accord.

"Mertle," Nani stopped the tidal wave of words, putting a hand out and catching the sleeve of the jacket. Damp under her fingertips, water pooling around her sneakers, Nani didn't know what to say suddenly. She opened her mouth, drawing in a breath.

"Why wouldn't I want you here?" she finally asked, trying to understand the headspace the younger woman was in.

Nani had watched Lilo and Mertle grow up together. Perhaps not always the smoothest of relationships, but the redhead had been around just the same. As much as she loved her sister, Nani had given up hope of their dynamic improving years and years ago. But she kept tabs on the girl, especially once they'd discovered her presence in Evermore.

She may not know who Mertle had lost, but she saw the same pain in her chest echoing back from the face in front of her.

[wildcstwinter]

hearing her name off the other's tongue without scold or ill-intent felt like a foreign concept to the redhead, who had seen nani and the love she had for her sister her entire childhood whilst she was sitting by the phone waiting for her father to call. mertle had envied it; the way they had one another . . . the way that even though they had experienced tragedy, it would always be them against the world. mertle's lips twisted, breath catching in her throat as she turned to stone beneath the other's precautious gaze. for once, mertle wasn't here to be her enemy, and it felt strange. to not face the pelekai's and turn green with envy. firey red with hatred.

fred and lilo were better off without her searching for them. maybe it was morbid to think of it that way, but it made it a bit easier to stand in the other's presence without melting into a sad, pathetic puddle of humiliation.

when the other caught her jacket, mertle turned to stone, stiffening like a startled animal as her metaphorical tail tucked itself further between her legs. " why would you ?? " came her reply, sharper than intended, though the crack at the end of her words weakened the question as she swallowed down the sob that bobbed in her throat. her gaze dropped again, to the sopping clothes she was wearing and the reflective puddle that sat beneath her feet. she could just barely make out her reflection, having forgotten her glasses and not having the strength for contacts. then, her eyes shifted to where nani held her sleeve, lips quivering as she shook her head. a strangled cry gripped at her vocal chords, fraying words as she spoke them, splintering into an almost broken plea for nani to just leave her leave; " i'm not — i don't know why i came here. i'm not going to be much help. i'm pretty much useless. just let me go."

[ohxnxnani]

Nani's hand gripped all the tighter at the words, heart wrenching for Mertle. But now that the slick nylon was in her fingers, she was loathe to let go, allow the redhead to escape back into the rain. Maybe it was a selfish reason that she wanted to tug the younger woman into a crushing hug, that by easing Mertle's pain that Nani would lessen the guilt crushing her. The guilt that she wasn't there for Lilo, wherever she had disappeared to.

"Sometimes we can't stand on our own. God knows that's something I learned raising Lilo," Nani choked out, the ghost of a laugh hovering around the words. And fuck, I'd they weren't so true. Without David, without the folks at the studio, Nani wasn't sure how she would have survived raising her spitfire sister. It takes a village rang true.

"And you don't have to be useful to deserve comfort or understanding," she continued, desperate suddenly for Mertle to stay.

"So no, I'm not going to just let you turn around and walk out of here." Nani released Mertle's jacket, hands instead moving to the younger woman's face, her hair, brushing the strands away from her face.

"Stay, Mertle."

[norvillc]

Shaggy nodded in response, the word fiancée now feeling like it haunted him, bringing him to a line of thought he didn't want to have whenever he thought of their upcoming wedding. Was that all that she would ever be?

"I'm... not sure," he admitted. He didn't know where to begin. It had been hard. He found himself forgetting to eat some days, which was completely unlike him. He mourned her so deeply, and he didn't even know what he was mourning. He didn't know where she was, if she was... okay.

Squeezing his eyes shut, pushing yet another negative thought out of his mind, he took a deep breath before looking at her again. "Shaggy. That's... what everyone calls me, anyway. I... don't remember yours, I'm sorry."

[ohxnxnani]

Nani's eyebrows creased further as his eyes closed, watched the rise and fall of his chest.

"Well, Shaggy. I'm Nani. It's okay! We're going to take some time to remember each other's names." she smiled reassuringly at him.

"Well, if you think of something that you need, any time of the day or night, call me. Here's my number," she dug out one of the little cards she'd made up, hoping to have someone to offer it to.

"I've been a big sister slash mom for a long time. It'll make me happy to have someone to fuss over," she explained, hoping that her explanation would encourage him to take it. She held it out, making eye contact.

[626bxtch]

Stitch was not okay. The moment he couldn't hear Lilo in her room signing Elvis off-key as she got ready for the day, he knew something was wrong. He texted her to make sure she was good and the longer he waited for an answer, the more he started to panic. He remembers exactly how he felt the moment he saw her missing poster. The rage in his heart that he had been carefully keeping caged in breaking free and all he could see from that point on was red. He didn't even remember destroying his room. He was losing minutes, hours, days, being consumed by his rage and his fear and his heartache. All he could think about was Lilo and where she could be and if she was okay and how he could get her back. He was designed to be smarter than most but all he could do was destroy everything in his path as he tried to make sense of losing her.

The one place untouched was her room. He was afraid to go into it. Afraid to rip it to shreds in some attempt to find clues to where she could be. When he had first stepped in, he was determined to find leads and then he saw Scrump and he crumbled. He broke down on her bed, crying into her sheets for what felt like an eternity before just sitting on her bed with Scrump in his hands. He held the doll so tightly to him that he was afraid if he parted with it he would never see Lilo again for real. He had no clue when Nani found him. He was so still it was frightening.

"I'm waiting for Lilo. Because she's got to come home soon....she has to be on her way..."

[ohxnxnani]

The terror that coursed through Nani's veins was slowly cooling into rage too. When people asked her questions about her sister, if she needed anything, gave her condolences, she felt it crawling up her throat with it's hooked claws, ready to burst from her lips and tear someone to shreds.

Each time she'd swallowed it down.

Now she felt it again, clawing it's way up her throat. She loved Stitch as a brother, as Lilo's dearest friend and companion, but seeing him slumped in her bed, holding her baby's precious doll had stirred the monster lurking in her heart.

Nani took a breath in through her nose, trying to stop it. She knew he was hurting just as much as her, that ripping into Stitch just because he was there was not what would help either of them right now.

She stepped into the room and knelt in front of him, putting her hands around his.

"I know you want to believe that, but she's not here. God, I hope she comes waltzing in the front door right now, but no one has seen her. Seen any of them," Nani said, voice wavering. She squeezed his hands.

[norvillc]

Shaggy always figured he'd be equipped to handle whatever life threw at him at this point... as long as he had Velma.

Without her, everything felt so hard. So sad. So lonely. He woke every morning, rolling over, forgetting momentarily that her side of the bed would be empty. And he would have this thought, that she snuck off to work managing not to wake him, or she was in the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee, and about mid-smile it would hid him all over again. She wasn't at work, and she wasn't in the house, and she may very well not be in town at all.

He felt useless. Hopeless. It was ironic that if Velma was here, she would know just what to do. Maybe he was a little co-dependent at this point in their lives, but he'd had her around for so long, he didn't know how to live without her anymore.

Spinning the ring on his finger, he jumped when someone spoke, not even noticing that the room had filed out. He had been stupid to come here, to think he could offer any help at all to those that were grieving when he could hardly drag himself out of bed, when each day he felt like he was walking in a trance. "I— what? Yeah. S-sorry." While most of the meeting had been a blur to him, he remembered some of the comments Nani had made, about the person that she was missing. "Like, I'm sorry about your sister," he offered, mustering up every ounce of energy left in his body.

[ohxnxnani]

Nani sagged a bit as he offered his condolences, setting the chair down to lean against her hip as she reached out and squeezed the young man's arm.

"Thank you. It was your fiance, right? Is there anything you need support with right now?" she asked the questions, trying to commit at much to memory as possible about the folks who had shown.

The turn out had been more than she anticipated, but she was pleased by that. Having the buzz around her, just for a moment, had helped ease the fire in her chest.

"Remind me your name, sweetheart," Nani said, releasing his arm and readjusting the chair.

[wildcstwinter]

the stranger's return of angered words was not something hook was well equipped to handle; not in a way that was socially acceptable, anyways. it wasn't something he had ever acclimated to — defiance — not used to the resistance of his rage or the reflection of it back at him. however, now, the fury was blinding. there was no sense, no reason, no time to fine tune or manipulate how he was perceived for the sake of keeping his agendas hidden . . . all he knew now was the ache of loss and the grief of confusion coupled with the catapult of anger that came in the form of a speared tongue in the stranger's direction.

however . . . hook's gaze lowered to the flyer, the face of a round-faced girl with bulging cheeks as her smile pushed up the apples grinning back at him, the glow of her eyes and the excitement that sparkled in them apparent even in though it was just a photograph. whilst hook wasn't the most empathetic or the most sentimental in the slightest . . . he tightened his jaw and drew back in the pain-struck wolf within long enough to tear his eyes away from the photo and meet the stare of the woman adjacent to him. " you can hang it in the window , " he barked, gesturing with a hand towards the glass. he turned, moving behind the abandoned counter, grabbing a roll of tape from the drawer before slamming it haphazardly atop the counter. " have they told you anything ?? " his tone was sharp, unwavering, stern. perhaps family got a more detailed report than the public . . . and hook knew for certain that zarina didn't have him listed as her emergency contact.

[ohxnxnani]

Guilt flooded Nani as the words flew from her mouth, cheeks flushing red as the shop owner took the paper from her hand and looked down at the picture she'd chosen. A moment frozen in time, Christmas presents cropped from the frame, features as clear as she could find. She'd been working so hard to keep that fiery temper in check, breathing exercises and pauses to stop the flash fire that burned through her veins and sent her hurtling over the edge of her patience.

Nani met his eyes, chin set stubbornly, swallowing hard.

"Thank you," she clipped back, swiping the roll of tape. Her hands shook as she curled the material over itself, meticulously lining up the corners so it would look tidy in the window.

"Nothing useful. The mayor claims he's dumping all his resources into this. The police told me to put up these posters, so I'm sure others are as well. They told me to keep the lights on at night in case she wanders back to the apartment, like she just went for a walk," Nani replied, voice choking on the last sentence. She stopped, breathing deeply and blinking back tears.

"You lost someone?"

More a statement then a question, but Nani pulled herself together and looked up at the shop owner again.

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter: @ohxnxnani !!

fuck, she couldn't believe she was doing this.

shuffling her feet, boots soddened with rainfall, an exhausted and humiliated mertle slipped into meeting room in city hall where nani was holding her — whatever this was. support group ?? search party ?? mertle had no idea. dread loomed in her chest, gripping at her aching heart with an iron force, sinking its talons into the overly tender organ and squeezing as puffy and irritated eyes swept the room.

there were quiet murmurs of condolences, exchanges of sympathies, and soft and lulling conversation that somehow still managed to sound grating on her ears.

she should turn around. leave. she shouldn't be here.

her hood was drawn up over her head, the strings of fred's sweatshirt pulled tight and knotted beneath her chin. the less that people recognized her in this state of pitiful disarray . . . the better.

spotting nani ( who seemed to have spotted her first , like a she-devil who had just infiltrated the holy land ) mertle's eyes widened slightly as it took everything within her not to turn on her heel and hightail it out of the room. it wasn't long before lilo's elder sister was approaching, a small puddle of water that had ran off her rainboots sitting beneath her feet, and mertle suddenly wondered how long she had been standing here. how many others had noticed her. as the elder came up to her, mertle bowed her head, avoiding eye contact.

" i uh, i come in peace. i'm here to . . . i don't know. help or. . . whatever. " despite the dismissal of her words, mertle's voice cracked, scorched from the sobs that had turned her vocal chords to fried wire. emotion and doubt and humiliation crept in, and the red head shook her head, feeling her lower lip wobbling which made frustration swell within her. " i . . . i get it if you don't want me here. i can go. i — actually, i should go — this was a stupid idea."

[ohxnxnani]

Movement at the door caught Nani's attention as she moved among the grieving, the angry, the lonely. Her heart ached still with the missing hole in her world, but she was pouring, pouring, words of encouragement and hope into those around her, trying to patch over the crack that widened a hair every day Lilo's bed remained empty.

Her eyes found the figure lurking in the doorway. She knew Mertle's face of course, having watched the redhead grow right alongside her baby sister. She marveled for a moment at the differences in her features, even as her feet moved toward Mertle of their own accord.

"Mertle," Nani stopped the tidal wave of words, putting a hand out and catching the sleeve of the jacket. Damp under her fingertips, water pooling around her sneakers, Nani didn't know what to say suddenly. She opened her mouth, drawing in a breath.

"Why wouldn't I want you here?" she finally asked, trying to understand the headspace the younger woman was in.

Nani had watched Lilo and Mertle grow up together. Perhaps not always the smoothest of relationships, but the redhead had been around just the same. As much as she loved her sister, Nani had given up hope of their dynamic improving years and years ago. But she kept tabs on the girl, especially once they'd discovered her presence in Evermore.

She may not know who Mertle had lost, but she saw the same pain in her chest echoing back from the face in front of her.

[ohxnxnani]

open °•○

It had just started as the seed of an idea. Something for Nani to throw some energy into. She'd printed the flyers, asked Anita to run a special advertisement in The Chronicle, then set up shop at the city hall, arranging the chairs in circles and even asking for donations of food and drink from some of the local shops.

At first, it was just Nani, sipping anxiously at a cup of coffee as the time ticked closer. Then the people began to show up, red-eyed and hunched shoulders, and she'd put her whole being into soothing them, asking their loved ones names, spiraling silly stories about her own lost one to make them laugh.

She hoped it would be enough to at least give some people some hope. This first meeting wound down late into the night, until Nani finally began to pack away chairs and package up the food, promising a next time to those who asked.

"Sorry, can I slip by you? I just need to put this chair over there," she asked, smiling apologetically at the figure in her way.

@evermorehqsstart

[ohxnxnani]

The missing posters rustled as Nani dropped the remainder of her stack on the table. She rubbed a hand over her face, heaving a sigh.

Maybe a hot shower would help her relax for a bit. Then she immediately felt guilty for the thought, when Lilo was God knows where. Was she hurt? Was she hungry? She swallowed hard, clutching the back of one of the kitchen chairs to re-ground herself.

Whirling on a heel, Nani started down the hallway toward the bathroom. As she passed Lilo's room, she noticed the door hanging open, the sunlight illuminating the room. Hadn't she closed it before she left?

She pushed the door open, heart speeding up, half expecting to see Lilo cross-legged on the bed, looking up at her with an expectant grin.

Instead, she found Stitch. Sagging against the door frame, she cleared her throat.

"What are you doing in here?"

@626bxtch

[wildcstwinter]

open starter: @evermorehqsstart !!

the moment he saw the list . . . james hook felt the earth stop moving. whilst time always stood still with his lack of clocks still in possession of their arms , it truly felt like everything around to him had come to a standstill. a deadly quiet.

zarina was missing.

at first, he hadn't known how to react, sat behind his desk with his jaw locked and his grip on his phone so tight it was a miracle the device didn't bend from the pressure. then, the anger came; blinding, hot, searing . . . like water striking hot coals. each moment that passed was more kindling, more fuel, added to what would soon become a raging inferno. the heat of the flames was burning his skin from the inside out, his breaths jagged and uneven, his anger silent as he sat in his chair — stare focused and concentrated on the font her name was written in. processing , but not really. the reality of it hadn't fully sank in , and gods help whoever was around when it did.

the man knew well how deep her hatred went , how she despised him with everything in her being , but he'd be damned if he didn't burn the town to ash searching for her. hook would tear the earth apart , layer by layer , until he found her.

hearing the bell above his shop's door as it swung open, the man's head flew up, eyes burning a hole through the silhouette of the figure who had walked in. he knew it was early in the day, but as far as he was concerned, the shop was indefinitely closed.

" we're closed , " hook barked, fury licking at his words, feeling the glass of his phone screen whine and creak under the pressure of his grip. then, realizing he could source information from the other, he rose from his seat behind his desk, flying around it, boots making warped wood creak as he stormed out from the sanctuary of his office and into the lowlight of his shop. " — what do you know of this damned list they sent out ?? this better be some kind of bloody fucking joke."

[ohxnxnani]

After the police station, Nani had gone home in a haze, picking out a picture of her sister, just as they had instructed, and printing as many as her little shitty printer could handle.

It was like all the color and life had been sucked out of her as she wandered, ghostlike, handing out the delicate papers with a smiling photo of Lilo in black and white. She'd typed her phone number onto the picture as well, and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Please, if you see her, please call me. My name's Nani, she's my sister."

She paused outside of one of the shops, unsure if she should go in and bother the owner, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask to put up one of her pictures in the window. Trying the knob, she found it open and stepped inside, the tinkle of the bell above her head the only sound.

Nani looked around, nearly leaping from her skin as the bellow shattered the silence of the shop, clutching her papers to her chest before the surprise sparked into anger.

"Well, you better lock your damn door if you don't want business," she snapped back. "And this is no fucking joke."

She shoved one of the papers at him.

"At least it better not be because that's my baby sister on that stupid list."

[ohxnxnani]

•○•°●

Of course Nani missed her alarm this morning. Of course she smashed her knee on the end of the bedframe and hobbled down the hallway to the bathroom, barely pausing for her usual cursory knock on Lilo's bedroom door.

Of course she fought with her hair for far too long, swearing under her breath as she checked the time and hurried back up the hallway to jump into her work clothes.

Rushing back down the hallway, she stopped at Lilo's door, a spike of annoyance running through her that it was still closed. She pushed it open.

“Lulu, I'm leaving. There's leftovers in the fridge for lunch, and I'm off at 4:30.”

Pulling the door shut behind her, she hurried back to the door, packing her bag and rushing down the stairs.

When she arrived at work, bustling in past the empty reception desk, she felt like her chest was about to cave in.

No calls.

Am I having an anxiety attack? She wondered, dropping her bag on her desk and putting her hands on her hips. Taking three deep breaths, she checked her phone.

Flicking it open, she sent a text to Lilo.

Nani took another deep breath then sat down at her desk, flipping open her folder of today's edits.

Call me when you get up - :)

She was so buried in her work that she didn't think twice about the fact Lilo never called. When Anita asked her to come with her to the Mayor's PSA, she jumped up immediately and even forgot her bag on her desk in her haste.

As she stood and listened, marking down his words on her steno book, dread began to crawl up her throat again. Nani forced a breath through her nose, surreptitiously slipping her phone from her pocket.

No calls.

Nani stuffed her phone back in her pocket, scribbling furiously to catch up with what the mayor was saying.

Hey you okay?

Back at the office, the feeling of doom became too much to bear. She knocked on Anita's door and asked to run home. Permission granted, she hurried out and back up the street.

She took the steps two at a time, arriving winded at the landing. She pushed open the door.

The apartment was quiet. Dust danced in the motes of sunlight streaming through the window. Nani walked down the hall, feeling as thought she were in a dream.

Lilo's door was still closed from where she'd shut it this morning.

Nani pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

“Lilo?”

She pulled the covers back from the bed, staring down at the empty mattress.

This is not happening, reverberating through her skull.

Her hands moving of their own accord as she dialed Lilo's number. The phone still attached to the charger rattled on her night stand.

“God, are you okay? You look like you're going to pass out!”

Nani turned and ran, back through the apartment, down into the street, eyes filling with tears as she walked. A redhead with bright green eyes stopped her outside of a business.

Nani pushed away from the girl, still striding mindlessly down the road.

A police officer finally caught her arm and guided her into the station, sitting her down with a cup of burnt coffee and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

@pudgefeeder

She gripped the mug, staring into space.

Where was her sister?