Ad Astra Per Aspera

Samuel Byrd - 31 - Human

[samuel-byrd-blog]

followthenolan:

When Samuel corrected himself, Nolan chuckled lightly, a hand running through his hair abashed. “It’s nothing, man. You can call me Nolan, it’s fine.” he shook his head. “What brings you into town? Work, school, family…?” Nolan trailed off to let Samuel fill in the blank. If another supernatural had come in and was going to be causing chaos, he’d at least want a little bit of a warning that he could hear from the explanation.

Sam smiled at being forgiven, having practically stumbled over himself to apologize. “Nolan it is then,” he finished with a slight nod of his head. “We actually moved here to get out of the big city? ‘LA can be very... Hectic? And it was starting to get to me, you know?”

“As for why we moved here though? I couldn’t tell you honestly... My girlfriend found the place, found the house and we worked out there would be jobs for both of us in town,” he explained, tilting his head slightly as he thought about it. “To be honest, she was strangely attached to coming here, pretty much refused to even look anywhere else. Either way, it seem’s to have been a good choice so far!”

[samuel-byrd-blog]

“Since you’re here, maybe I could help you.”

“That would be wonderful... I need some flowers for my girlfriend that say, I am sorry I spilled an entire carton of milk on the passenger seat, floor and central console of your Mercedes...”

[samuel-byrd-blog]

ツ

Sam –> Thalia {2:57pm}: Just got to use my new ironing board!!!!! 

Sam –> Thalia {2:57pm}: My shirts have never been so clean!!!!!!

[samuel-byrd-blog]

☎

Sam –> Talon {3:57}: I may have just seen a wolf in my back-yard! Help, what do!

Sam –> Talon {4:01}: Never mind, must have imagined it...

[samuel-byrd-blog]

✆

Sam –> Leila {6:37am}: Ran out to the store, we had no milk… How am I supposed to survive the morning without tea!?!?!?!?

Sam –> Leila {6:58am}: So… I am not saying I did, but on a scale of 1 to that time I nearly fell out of the window trying to clean the outside of the windows in your apartment – how angry would you be if I had spilt milk all over the passenger seat?

[samuel-byrd-blog]

sos--sophie:

Sophie wandered through the town, bag on her shoulder as she searched for something to catch her eye. She needed something new to draw and something about this town spoke to her in a way that made her eyes linger on the beauty of it. Yes, this was the perfect town to get her back into drawing on paper again. She had turned many corners, walked the lengths of many streets, and wandered through the park for the better part of an hour before it hit her. She had no idea where she was. How far was she from the Inn again? Frowning, she dug her phone from her bag, trying to turn it on. Dead. Of course.

This was just her luck. Stuck God knows where while no cars had passed in a long while and no person to see for the last half mile. Stuffing the dead phone in her pocket, she turned around and started to head in the direction she hoped led to either a person or the Inn. A few short minutes later, the rumble of an engine approached and desperation overcame embarrassment over being lost quickly. Waving down the car, she was relieved when he pulled over up ahead. Jogging to catch up, she grinned at the man in the front seat. “I’m sorry to bother you, but could you tell me how to get back to the Inn by any chance? I would have googled it, but my phone’s dead,” she asked in a soft, timid voice, holding up the dead phone as if it could corroborate her story.

The woman who had waved him down was a stranger, but then again that was nothing new, it seemed that for such a small town, West Hollow had a startling amount of strangers... For a moment he stared at the stranger as he tried to work out the best thing to do in such a situation. He was, of course, aware of the potential dangers of helping strangers on empty roads, but he was equally aware of the dangers that could befall somebody out alone on such a road with no idea where they were...

“Sorry, I’m kind of new around here, I couldn’t tell you where the inn is...” he offered, a friendly smile on his face. “But I mean, if you are lost, I can give you a lift back into town? I mean you are pretty far out, and it’ll be getting dark soon?”

[samuel-byrd-blog]

romansmoore:

“Hey, I’m definitely not complaining about more business,” Roman teased. “I totally know how you feel, though. I have way too much free time on my hands, so I always turn to books to keep me from dying of boredom. I’m lucky to work at a place like this.”

Focused on getting the man his change, Roman almost missed his question. Part of him wished he had. “It’s just a lot of hearsay,” he said with a quick shrug. “It’s a small town in the Pacific Northwest, so people are bound to come up with crazy stories. They hear a raccoon in their trash can and think it’s some werewolf coming for blood.”

Sam chuckled at the man's explanation. “I guess it makes sense right? When the town lacks any sense of excitement, people just make some up?”. Sam took his books with a friendly nod before turning for the door. “Thanks for the help man, see you again soon!”

[samuel-byrd-blog]

📖

Sam sat motionless in the living room, having cleared sufficient space. He tried to clear his mind, breathing in deeply before exhaling, trying to keep his mind off of the hundred different things that threatened to spill over into his brain. He’d been trying to succeed in meditating for the past week or so, hoping it might help him with his stress and anxiety... So far, all it had done was give him more time to think, which wasn’t all that bad as far as he was concerned...

[samuel-byrd-blog]

“Can I have a whiskey, please. Double.”

Sam’d had his head pointed down at the glass in his hands as he sat at the bar, quietly thinking to himself as he so often did. Some people might have found it strange that he chose to sit there alone, but after a particularly stressful day, it was a nice way to unwind, to relax in as sociable a setting as Sam could find it easy to enjoy.

“Stressful day ‘eh? Can’t say I blame you,” he smiled.

[samuel-byrd-blog]

“Well how about seeing you here.”

“Well you know, even nerds who read five books in a week can find the time to visit the local bar!” Sam laughed in response, raising his drink in salute.

[samuel-byrd-blog]

*drunkenly shouts your name*

Sam jumped as somebody shouted behind him, causing him to gasp into his drink and spill it all over himself. It had been the reason he had chosen to come here, having seen it wasn’t too busy when he entered… Something told him that was about to change…

[samuel-byrd-blog]

After a morning spent transferring a few items to the college, Sam drove through town at a leisurely pace. He was never one to rush anywhere, always being very particular to leave himself enough time to get where he needed to go with plenty of spare time. He drove with no music or radio playing, the window rolled down as he talked quickly on the phone to his mother. She had at long last demanded an update after they had arrived in West Hollow.

As he got further out from the town center, his eyes focused on a lone figure walking along by the side of the road, taking a few seconds to realize they were waving at him as he drove past. “I’ve... Um, got to go, Mum,” he quickly said before putting the phone down.

Sam pulled the car over a slight distance down the road, waiting for the figure to catch up to the car...

[samuel-byrd-blog]

romansmoore:

“Boy, do they,” Roman chuckled, rolling his eyes for added effect. He found it easier to act as if the entire idea of paranormal activity in West Hollow was ridiculous, rather than act as if the rumors and legends didn’t exist. From his experience, the humans just loved to dismiss their existence with a few laughs and humorous remarks. Made it all the easier for them to blend in, really.

“So  you’ll be taking–” Roman paused to count the books in the man’s arms, also mentally taking a note of which books he’d picked out. “Five books? Not bad; that’ll definitely set you up for the next few weeks.” He tapped away at the register and scanned each book carefully, making sure not to potentially damage them in the process. “I’m sure we have more books that’re either hidden or out of stock, so feel free to stop by next week and I’ll see if I can hook you up with more.” Pressing one last button, the final amount popped up on the screen. “For all these bad boys, it’ll be $56.48!”

Sam pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed across the cash. “Strangely enough, I imagine you’ll see me sooner then that... I don’t know if it’s just the peace and quiet compared to a big city, or my lack of work at the moment but I am finding myself reading a whole lot more than I normally would!”

He cast his eye down at the book about the towns ‘supernatural side’, finding himself strangely interested in it. “So tell me, what do people say about West Hollow? I mean, it seems like a perfectly decent place to me so far!”

[samuel-byrd-blog]

olblackzack:

No wonder the man jumped so high; being new meant that he probably had never encountered the….more than human inhabitants of West Hollow. It wasn’t long before Zack arrived that he realized there were others like him, dead but walking, or even stranger. People with fins, people who drank blood to survive, people who could spark lightning from his fingertips. He even has a feeling that he ran into a demon at a crossroads just last week. This fellow was new, and if he didn’t wise up the poor bastard’d be dead soon, even if Zack didn’t do it.

“Guess we are. Hopefully there’s an inn or somethin’ nearby or I’ll just be plain outta luck. Sleepin’ on benches was not the plan when I woke up this mornin’ but oh well.” 

Sam gave the man a quizzical look at his use of the word ‘inn’. Maybe it was a local thing or something and he simply meant a hotel? He did wonder for a moment what the man was doing out here so close to darkness, yet he didn’t say anything. A small niggling thought at the back of his mind was happy to remind him that he was alone, close to nightfall, with a man who had seemingly tried to sneak up on him. 

Sam’s hands had been in his pockets as he strolled but now they sat at his sides, wary but not overly worried. If the man had meant him harm, striking up a conversation hardly seemed like the way to go about it. “I am sure that theirs a fair few hotels in town? I mean, as I said -- I’m still pretty new so still learning my way around.”

He thought for a moment, trying to retrace his steps. He knew he had only been walking for a minute or two, leaving him no chance of having walked off the small patch of forest behind his house. Meaning this stranger had found his way onto what was his and Leila’s property. For a moment his brain found it strange to even think that, the idea that he owned property and land was strange.

The man had said he was lost though, perhaps he had just wandered here by accident. “Well, I do happen to know which direction I came from. If you want, we can walk back that way and when we reach the road I can help you with a cab?”

[samuel-byrd-blog]

cian-the-brave--cian-the-fool:

Though most would have noted the judgement in the stranger’s eyes, Cian was blissfully oblivious to it all. He hadn’t at all considered that his actions may have come off as odd to the average bystander -though it really should have. If anything, he was just enjoying a little bit of joy in an otherwise annoyingly cold day. He wasn’t used to such cold temperatures, but being able to find a snack that not only tasted good but brought him happiness made facing the cold weather all worthwhile. The male took another bite of his Pop-tart as he listening to the stranger, his words  ever so slightly dimming the smile Cian wore. “Hm.” He took a moment to think about that fact before giving a shrug. “Maybe, but I’ve seen those things in the store. All the ones they have contain animals which I don’t eat. Besides, I don’t think these will kill me -or I hope they won’t, but either way I can’t take them home. My sister won’t approve so I won’t be allowed to keep them most likely.. Have you ever had one of these Pop-tarts? They are pretty amazing. Would you like one?”

As the man took another bite from his pop-tart, Sam found himself resigned to the fact his words would have no effect on the stranger. After all, what kind of role-model was he to follow? And he had never considered the chance that maybe the man had a perfectly valid reason for what seemed to be, sitting and eating an entire packet of pop-tarts. “I don’t think they will kill you, so I think you’ll be okay on that front,” he responded, a smile creeping its way onto his face. He held up a hand politely as the man offered him one, instead, taking a moment to open his aforementioned sandwich. 

“No, thank you for the offer though!” he thanked the stranger. “So, you’re um... Sister? Was it? Won’t let you keep them? Why not just put them in your pocket or something then?” It was only after he had said it that Sam regretted it, simply helping the stranger in his seeming effort to overdose himself on sugar.

[samuel-byrd-blog]

ghvstgirl:

WATCHING AND LISTENING AS HE SPOKE, echo meant ‘ this spot ’, in particular… but she remained quiet when he’d asked, fine with hearing both of his answers, anyway — and as he began to explain, she paid close attention… up until the mention of ‘ smoke ’… which was when the little ghost’s face lit up and everything else pretty much went out the window. did he have cigarettes on him? god, she would kill for one right now… but not, like, literally kill.

carob eyes searched his for a moment… before looking down to his hand as it was extended out to her. echo’s hands were cold. they were perhaps the coldest part of her being now — and because of this, she feared that handshake. one touch and he’d know she was dead.

opening her hand and for a moment, it appeared as though she was going to take his hand… but instead, the girl brought it up in front of her chest and turned it to the sky. ❛ …can i bum one off ya’, sam? ❜ she asked, referring to the cigarettes — her way of a handshake ; fingers twitched lightly as an addict’s would… though she tried to cover it up by moving to brush the hair out of her face.

Sam’s bottom lip tensed slightly as the stranger seemed to ignore his offer of a handshake. She definitely seemed... Off, but harmless enough. At her request he reached into his jacket pocket though and removed the white and red pocket from within, flipping open the lid and removing one before offering it to her with the lighter already in his other hand. “Why not? If I am going to kill myself, might as well have some company right?” he smiled.

He noted that she had yet to tell him her name, which was okay, Sam was more than aware that some people were simply more private than others and held her no ill will for it. “So? Care to tell me what drew you to this particular spot?” he asked her curiously regardless.

[samuel-byrd-blog]

athenaofthesea:

Athena was getting a lot better with recognizing smells, as it seemed to be one of the only ways to guess a person’s race on first meeting - if it wasn’t already obvious by something they did or said. Something on him smelled familiar, like the sea. But it was so faint, she wondered if she’d just imagined it. It was more likely he was close to the sea a moment before than that he was a merman. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Are you new to town?” It wasn’t often she went out of her way to socialize with the locals, but she wanted a distraction and found herself genuinely interested for once.

“Brand new actually,” he responded. “Arrived in town today after a rather long trip... Suffice to say some of my things didn’t survive the journey too well so here I am shopping for replacements... And apparently attacking strangers with home appliances...”. Sam’s eyes briefly drifted off to the side as he contemplated whether an ironing board was actually an appliance or whether it was simply something used in the home. 

“I'm guessing by that question you are one of the locals then? I mean, I don’t know a single person around here yet so for all I know you could be the Mayor?”