And at the sound of her voice, Donny planted his feet next to Raleigh. He didn’t know her, but he was going to. “Well, he seems to be occupied. But I, being the attractive lad I am, can offer you some company at this over-the-top party.” He mused, taking a swig of the ale he had in his hand. “What’s your name?” He asked, finally glancing over at her with his icy blue eyes.
It takes her a second to register that the man was actually talking to her. “Oh, you’re talking to m- right.” Pointing at herself for a a little moment, she gives the other an awkward smile, her cheeks heating up slightly at the sudden attention. “Raleigh.” She answers his question, eyes not quite looking him in the eyes. “You are?”
There was no doubt in her mind that this was the most impressing party that she had ever attended. The Halloween party was already really cool, but this- we’ll this was just ridiculous. In a good way, but Raleigh still felt out of place. Maybe she should’ve made the effort to go home and changed her clothes, rather than coming straight from work but it was too late for that.
Standing with her best friend, she was just about to make a comment to him when he started walking off - probably to the girl that’d been eyeing him since they had arrived. “Jack- Jack! Don’t leave m- and he’s gone...” Standing around awkwardly, unsure of what to do, she took a sip from her drink. “Now what do I do?” She mumbled to no one in particular.
Jimmy sighs, exasperated at his fur ball of a daughter and shakes his head with nothing but fondness. He’s pretty sure there’s no human on this Earth his dog wouldn’t try to lick to death. “Go right on ahead, she’s probably clamming for it.” He stands up, ruffling the fur between Bear’s ears and tries to fight another sigh. “All this dog does is whine for belly rubs, whine for food, and then sleep all day. Living the high life really.”
With a big smile, Raleigh bends down to pat the dog only to immediately get licked in the face. “Well nice to meet you too!” Laughing she wipes her face with her sleeve, she stands back up to avoid another lick, having enough with just the one. “Honestly, that sounds like an amazing life. If I could switch, I absolutely would.” Lifting her eyes back to the dog’s owner, she just shrugs slightly. “I bet she’s great company to have though, even if all she does is whine and sleep.”
Nine years. That’s how long Frankie has been a single father and he has loved every single one of those years and already loves the next lot to come. But God, he is tired. Working one job while hunting for a second, and now Sofia’s to sick to go to school so he has had to stay off work too to take care of her. He doesn’t even want to think about the bills piling up right now due to the hours he’s missing at work. Though Raleigh’s question almost makes him spill all of that stress but instead he gives a tight smile. “Fine.” He’d do his usually shrug if he didn’t have arms full of a nine year old. “Been to the docs this morning, she just has a mild case of the flu. How are you coping with your kids?”
At his response Raleigh just arches her eyebrow and gives him a look. “Sure, let’s pretend I believe that and don’t see how crappy you look right now.” She comments as she rolls her eyes lightly before her gaze returns to the sleeping form of Sofia. “Just be sure she gets lots of fluids in her, making it more fun by occasionally giving her an ice pop - she’ll appreciate those more. If you need me to get you anything, just let me know.” Smiling softly at the young girl, she looks back at Frankie as she takes in his question. “Fine.” She shrugs lightly, her response much like his own. “I mean, it’s all messy but I’m going to fix it so. Or at the very least try.”
Frankie usually slept like shit, but with his daughter catching the flu the bags under his eyes were even worse. Though having been a father for nine years he’s not as panicked over illness as he use to be, but worry still played havoc when the sun set. Sofia has her legs wrapped around her father’s waist, arms around his neck and lightly snoring in his collar bone. While keeping a nine year old steady in your arms isn’t exactly easy, Frankie can’t find it in himself to wake her despite his arms starting to protest at the weight. Seeing someone approach Frankie made a shushing sound as he turns to reveal Sofia’s sleeping face, reddened with fever and a bright red nose to match. “She’s sleeping, and maybe contagious so… mind yourself.” His usual grumpy tone is soft, just light of a whisper as he keeps a hold of his child.
Despite the fact that she loved her job, Raleigh still had to admit that there were a lot of days that really sucked and today was one of those. She’d just heard that she was being forced to split up two siblings and place them in different foster homes, and she hated the thought alone. So mentally she was going down a list of other foster families that she could contact to try to keep the two together. Turning around the corner, her eyes fall on quite the sight and suddenly her thoughts take a break as she heads for the familiar face. Nodding at his words, she just steps closer and gently strokes Sofia’s hair. “The majority of my kids are sick in some way right now, trust me I’m good. But oh the poor girl... How are you coping?” She asks, turning her eyes to Frankie as she notices how tired he looks.
“Bear!” An exasperated laugh escapes Jimmy as his large Newfoundland decides she wants to run off into the wild without him. She was off her collar for two seconds! It’s like having a damn toddler. Jimmy sprints after her, calling her name before the big boulder of fur knocks into the legs of a young woman. “Shit, Bear!” He grabs at her collar and pulls her back. “We’ve talked about this, you can’t bowling ball people.” He turns to the woman and offers an apologetic look. “I’m sorry about her, she just- doesn’t know how to say hi to people without trying to also take them out at the same time.” @raleighlandow
She was just about to take her phone out of her pocket when she was suddenly attacked by large creature. Taking a step back to not lose her balance, Raleigh lets out a little laugh as she looks down to look at the dog. Her eyes move back up to look at the man as he speaks and she just shakes her head, a big smile on her face. “Oh it’s fine, just shows enthusiasm - nothing wrong with that. So no worries.” Glancing back down at the excited dog, she turned back to the man. “Would it be okay if I pet her?”
i swear i just saw CONOR LESLIE out on the streets but it turned out to be RALEIGH LANDOW. SHE was born on JULY 26TH making them only 28 years old. They’re known to be +ADAPTABLE +GOOD-NATURED and -GUARDED -SELF-CRITICAL. They spend most of their time being a SOCIAL WORKER. Rumour has it they’re BISEXUAL, and can be found in QUEENS. You know you’ve found them when you come across CAMERA FILMS BEING DEVELOPED IN A DARK ROOM, A STACK OF CASE FILES COVERING A DESK AND LIGHT BRUISES IN HIDDEN PLACES.
TW: abuse.
History
Born and raised in New York
Raised in foster care, her father was never in the picture and her mother tried to raise her despite not wanting a child but ended up walking away when Raleigh was eight because she just couldn’t do it anymore and she didn’t have the money to raise her
Always tried her best in foster homes, but no one ever wanted to adopt her because they all wanted younger kids and thought she’d be too damaged - got moved around a lot
Actually took it pretty hard and became convinced that she was just unlovable and just accepted that she’d never have a family
At one of her foster homes, and the one she stayed in the longest, she became friends with her neighbour Jack, who ended up her best friend and the only person she’d trust with anything
She did pretty well in school, didn’t really shine in anything particular, but she got decent grades. she knew she couldn’t afford any higher education though and that scholarships were hard to come by, so as soon as she could, Raleigh started doing odd jobs, like helping the old lady down the street, or scooping ice cream at a nearby ice cream parlor over the summer, and every other job she could find.
At seventeen, she met the boy that she was pretty sure she would be with for the rest of her life. He was three years older than her, but he was nice and he told her he loved her and was always there when she needed him, so she was head over heels in love with him and would do anything for him
Jack didn’t like him. Not one bit, and he was very vocal and clear about it, but Raleigh didn’t care and so she didn’t listen
Managed to get some student funding, and combined with all her jobs etc. she was able to afford to go to college where she started on her path to become a social worker - she’d seen first hand how the system worked and failed, and she wanted to help make it easier on other foster kids like her
As soon as she was eighteen and had to leave the foster care system, Raleigh went to live her boyfriend (partially to reduce costs so she wouldn’t have to pay for housing) and that’s when things started going south
It was good for a little while, perfect even, but then little things started happening. just him getting angry when she got home late, accusing her of cheating on him with Jack and naming her all kinds of things. He always apologised though, and things would always get better for a little while.
Then it got worse, a lot worse. The yelling and accusations happend more often and then he started hurting her, especially after he’d had a bit to drink
She blamed herself though and she never told anyone. Even if others would see her marks, she’d just make an excuse and due to her clumsiness, people wouldn’t question her word
Jack was suspicious though and eventually managed to it out of her and then convinced her to leave her boyfriend after a relationship of five years
After the break-up, Raleigh found herself in a bit of a rut and buried herself in her work - the reason behind the break-up isn’t common knowledge though, Jack is the only one who knows the whole story
Got dragged along on a Vegas trip by Jack, where she got dragged around to everything, drank along with everything and that’s how she ended up drunkenly meeting a guy and somehow ended up marrying him that same night - which she doesn’t exactly remember, thinks of it more as a dream, but she still has the ring nonetheless
Personality
Raleigh is an overall optimistic person but does get very stuck in her own head sometimes
She pretends to be a lot happier than she actually is
Finds it easy to stand up for others, it’s just for herself that it’s more difficult
Has some trust issues and commitment issues, she doesn’t open up to people unless she knows for certain that she can trust them which does not happen easily
Always very excited to meet new people though, she’ll be the first one to strike up a conversation
Buries herself in her work and if she gets a call from one of the foster kids, she’ll drop everything immediately and rush towards them
Enjoys photography in the bit of free time she takes advantage of, purely as a hobby though
Wanted/possible connections
The best friend
Roommate
Foster siblings, or just people who she knows from foster homes
Her Vegas husband
Someone she has a crush on and doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do with feelings and it not so lowkey scares her bc last time she had feelings for someone it went badly
Co-workers
Friends in general
People that she met through her ex, who have no idea what really happened so they only know her ex’s side
“Right?” Scarlett replies laughing along with Raleigh biting down on her bottom lip out of habit as this truly was a coincidence that they met again as she the shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I am. It’s not a bad trade-off if I’m being honest.” When Raleigh showed her the pictures she’d taken of her she couldn’t help the smile that blossomed across her face. “Wow, they’re amazing! You made me look beautiful even though I’m not wearing any makeup right now.”
"This city tends to have a way of always pulling through. Well, almost always at least.” It always took her by surprise when she ran into familiar people despite the size of the city, or managed to find just the perfect spot for something by seemingly sheer luck. “Um- you are beautiful.” Raleigh says, a slight offended tone to her voice as if to point out the obvious. “This thing can only capture what there already is.”
“I have never made a dad joke and I plan to never make one.” That would require Frankie to be less grumpy and cold. Jokes weren’t really his thing, his thing use to be causing injuries and now it’s arranging flowers. “They’re paper Camerllia’s. I got her a flower book and the mean love and now- she made me to find some. Which is just- great.” He says the last word flatly.
“Oh thank goodness, because you truly are doing the whole world a favour by never making a dad joke.” She teases him, having already figured out how far she can push him without fully annoying him. “That... is too precious.” She’d already figured out that Frankie was a total softie when it came to his daughter, but that still didn’t stop her from sometimes being surprised at just what lengths the big grump would go to for Sofia. “She really thought that one through. Not going to lie, now I want her to make me a flower crown as well.”
“Shitty blurry photos are my right as a dad.” Though does Frankie frame those photos? Of course he doesn’t. Does he frame the ones Raleigh gives him? He’s not an idiot, they’re covering every bit of surface area on his fireplace in his rundown apartment. “And they’re not even that bad!” To think he use to drive around town beating people up for a living and now he stands here having his photos insulted while wearing a flower crown. He truly got his dumb ass on the right path.
Raleigh nods lightly at his words. “You’re right. As a dad, those are within your rights. Just like dad jokes are, doesn’t mean it’s a good thing though.” She chuckles as she admires his flower crown again. “She did really good on that one, bet she worked so hard on that to make it perfect for you. I think it really matches your personality.”
“Wow-” Chess puts on a pout at his plans for the day being turned down. “Not even a little steal? Like a paddle boat? You’re no fun. And there’s a shit ton of boats, you just gotta know where to go.”
"Oh!” Raleigh exclaims as she suddenly thinks of something. “There’s paddle boats in Central Park!” She smiled excitedly as she considers it more. “Of course, that’d be renting and not stealing.... and it is very cold...”
Raleigh is right, Frankie wouldn’t but he won’t tell her she’s right. “Only because Sofia would be upset over it.” His daughter has grown quite attached to the brunette and Frankie makes a mental note to pick up the pile of drawings Sofia has made for the other the last few days. The adjustment of the crown causes a sigh of annoyance, though there’s fondness mixed in there. “Thanks, what would I do without you.”
Once upon a time, Raleigh was more or less scared of Frankie. Now, she could barely imagine herself being scared of him. Barely. “Sure, only because of that.” She grins, taking a quick sip of her drink. She shrugs a little as she considers his rhetorical question nonetheless. “Without me you’d have a least about a hundred less good quality pictures of Sofia and only be left with your crappy and often very blurry phone ones, probably.”
Aysel did not expect for her joke to be taken so seriously and brown brows furrow. “Er… I wasn’t being serious. He’s huge, I’d never be able to drag his body into the elevator to dump it.”
Realising her mistake and how she sounded far more serious than she was intending to, Raleigh lets out an awkward chuckle. “Sorry, it’s been a long day and apparently I can’t do humour anymore.” She admits, shrugging lightly. “So how is this neighbour creepy?”
Frankie steps out of his far too rusted truck onto the street. Though unlike other days, his dark hair has a new addition… a pink flower crown. His daughter had spent most of the previous day making it and once those big brown eyes blinked up at him with it he was screwed. Even as an ex-gang member he couldn’t tell his daughter no. So, now he’s stuck with flowers in his hair because he double pinky padlock swore he’d keep it on all day. The eight year old has her father wrapped around her finger. Feeling eyes on him, Frankie turns his glare towards the other. “Say one goddamn word and I’ll shoot you.”
Walking around with her camera in tow wasn’t a rare occurrence for Raleigh, she practically spent all of her free time doing so and today wasn’t any different. With her camera hanging over her shoulder, her attention was on the cup of hot chocolate that she was holding tightly with both hands, appreciating the warmth radiating from it. She was about to take a sip when she heard a car door close. Turning, she couldn’t help the big smile that grew as she saw the familiar face. “No you won’t.” She replies easily as she walks over to him and quickly straightens the flower crown on his head. “There, that’s better. You look beautiful.”
“That would be me, ha.” Scarlett agreed letting go of Raleigh’s hand tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear glancing up at the other woman holding a hand out blocking out the sun from blinding her vision as the smile on her face widened at the reminder of the plaster. “Oh, it really helped me I promise, thanks for that again.” Nodding her head listening to other talk dropping her hand from shielding her face picking her pencil back up starting to
"Well what are the odds?” Raleigh laughs. New York was such a big city, so chances to run into someone again seemed slim, but yet here they were. Standing up straight again, nodding slightly to let the other know that she was done, Raleigh took a small step back to look at the picture. “Oh well, I’m glad. I guess you’re replaying me by letting me take your picture.” A smile’s on her face as she quickly switches back and forth between to pictures to notice the differences before turning the camera so that Scarlett can look at them. “What do you think?”
“I know murder is like… frowned upon-” Aysel pauses then sighs dramatically. “Okay fine it’s illegal but it’s only technically illegal if I get caught right? So… with that logic I can one-hundred percent make my creepy upstairs neighbour disappearing… right?” @raleighlandow
At Aysel’s words, Raleigh couldn’t help but frown a little as she thought about it deeply. “I… um.” She started, considering what the other was saying. “To be honest, just to keep your own interest at heart - don’t do it. Just makes a mess for yourself.”
