A fic I started writing a while back, while we were still playing S1 of our MOTW game, but I don’t think I’ll ever finish it, so I thought I’d post it as is cuz I think it’s cute c:
Amelia knocked on the door, even though it was slightly opened. Still, she heard footsteps approach, and the door opened to reveal Addy standing in front of her.
“Amelia, what are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes falling to her bags. “Where...where are you going?”
“That guy, Jasper, he...he offered me a place at his agency, and--”
“You’re gonna join them?”
Amelia paused, then nodded curtly. “Yeah.”
It took a while for Addy to respond, as though she was processing everything that was happening right now.
“What about camp?” she asked, finally breaking the silence between them. “Are you gonna leave us?”
Amelia nodded.
“Oh...I’m sorry to see you go.” she looked down. “Have you told the others?”
“No, but they’ll figure it out eventually, or once you tell them.”
“So, why are you telling me this?”
“Because...” Amelia began, rubbing the back of her neck, while awkwardly looking down at her feet. “...because you’re my...my friend.”
(i didn’t wanna go to bed without posting this aaah im sorry!)
Addy swears a minute longer and she’s going to faint. A garden party in the middle of summer. While it sounded lovely on the invite, the event itself was proving a sweltering pain.
Her eyes scan for an open tent or canopy for refuge, till she finds a shaded trail down the hedge and wanders further down the gardens. Soon the elegant decorations are far behind her and only the simple beauty of over grown vines and flowers grace her gaze.
A low hanging willow tree casts shade over a fountain and Addy feels a sense of relief. Finally. At least she can have a chance to cool down.
The sight of a figure makes her pause. Jean, the host’s daughter.
Her gown raised just a few inches as she stands in the water. Ankles exposed for, all, just anyone to see! Her hair was loose from all pins and needles and any proper Sunday hats. Large curls framed her face and covered her back and shoulders.
Addy’s eyes widen at the blatant display.
Jean catches her eyes, and smirks. Then winks. “Come to join me?”
Addy opens her fan in her hand fully and covers her face.
Her leg bounced up and down as the car drove down the county road. The trees whizzed past the window, and she barely heard whatever song the radio was playing.
“Ads?” Her mom called. ”You okay, sweets?”
Addy blinked, looking at her mom in the driver’s seat. “Mom, what if they don’t like me?” she asked bluntly.
“Addy, what’s not to like?” Lily asked.
“Ask literally anyone at school,” she said quietly. “That’s why you pulled me out, remember?”
Lily sighed. “We made that decision together,” she reminded, “you know that babe.”
It was Addy’s turn to sigh, and she looked down the road as it curved. “I know. I’m just nervous, I guess.” There was a pause. “Can’t we just go home?” she asked tentatively. “I can keep myself busy. I can be okay,”
“Babe, this is the safest place for you right now.” Lily explained, for what felt like the hundredth time for both of them. “You know summer's busy at the hospital, and I can’t be home to make sure you’re okay.” she paused as she pulled the car over to an unassuming road marker. “It’s only for the summer.”
Addy looked up the grassy hill, to what supposedly was supposed to be a magical camp that would explain everything that Addy had been through. From the absent parent, to the school struggles, to the unsettling feeling Addy always seemed to get when she was alone for too long. The eyes she felt on her would supposedly stop, and whatever monsters she saw-that she had convinced herself were fake-were real, and she would learn how to fight them.
Maybe that’s what she needed. Maybe, if she could learn how to fight them, they would go away, and she could be somewhat normal. All she wanted was to have friends, and all she wanted was a place to belong. Home was great, but Mom was always working. School was a wash; everyone thought she was the weird crazy girl with no friends. Even her babysitters thought she was weird, and kept her at a distance, and they were being paid to be friendly.
“Can you walk with me?” Addy asked, wringing her hands.
“I can’t,” her mom apologized as they got out of the car and started gathering Addy’s bags. “But I won’t leave until you’re up that hill, and wave to me.”
Lily pulled her daughter into a hug, and Addy clung tightly. “I’m scared.”
“Oh, sunshine,” Lily said softly, brushing some hair out of Addy’s face. “It’s okay to be scared. I’m scared too,”
“You are?”
“Of course I am,” Lily assured, bending a knee to meet her daughter’s eyes. “But I know,” she said, taking a breath. “That you are going to be Adaline Streb, my daughter. Who is caring, who is strong, who knows her worth. Who takes care of birds with broken wings and wraps her mom’s arms in bandages just to practice. You are going to be you, and that’s all you need to be. Okay?”
Addy took a deep breath, wiping the tears on the side of her eye. “Okay,”
“I love you, Ads.” Lily said, pulling Addy in for one last tight hug.
“I love you too, Mom.” Addy said into her shirt.
“Okay,” Lily said, patting Addy’s shoulders, and placing her duffle on her shoulders. “Go on, babe. Be great.”
Addy nodded, looking up at the towering pine tree. She looked back at her mom. Her mom, who had crow’s feet and laugh lines too early. Her mom, who wore the loudest scrubs imaginable, just to make her patients more comfortable. Her mom, who always protected her.
“Will you write?” Addy asked, stepping onto the grass, gripping her bag tightly.
Lily, of course, nodded. “Duh, kiddo.” Addy nodded, assured. She knew her mom would write large so she could read it. She always did.
Addy nodded, steeled herself, and marched up the hill.
Addy unlocked the door to Oscar’s-and Rhyder’s, she guessed-house. She had a key of course. She pushed the door open and was immediately welcomed by the Lil’ Bit. He nuzzled up against her hands and laughed, leaning down giving him a good rub.
“Sorry bud, I don’t have any goodies,” she apologized, rubbing his ears. “Where’s Oz, huh?” she asked, “He missed our lunch date,”
Addy stood and walked through the living room, patting Baz on the head in greeting as she passed. She frowned. Oscar wasn’t in the living room, nor was he in the kitchen. It was usually one of the two, unless he was…
“Oh gods,” she mumbled, trudging up the stairs. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the low base of the song coming from Oscar’s room.
Addy pushed door the open to the dark room and leaned on the door frame.
“She break up with you, huh?” she asked, crossing her arms.
A moan was all she got in response. Addy rolled her eyes and pushed off the door, heading over to sit on the edge of the bed. She saw this coming. Rhyder saw this coming. The dogs saw it coming. And yet, she placed her hand on his leg.
“There, there, bud,” she consoled. “She didn’t deserve you,”
“I’ll never love again,” Oscar moaned into his pillow as he readjusted.
“Sure you will, buddy,” Addy assured. She then perked up, “Do you want to do something fun?” she asked. If Oscar were a dog, his ears would’ve perked up. “Do you want to go to that crappy Mexican place and eat a plate full of nachos. I’m buying,”
There was a pause,
“Can we get a strawberry marg?”
“Of course,”
================================
Roxanne McLaughlin did not get jealous. Why would she? She had everything she needed, and could get anything she wanted. She was on track to place in State in Fencing, she was on track to be valedictorian, and she had colleges and universities practically begging for her admission. She had no need to even entertain the idea of jealousy.
So why did she get a pit of envy in her stomach when someone else was taking Elliot’s attention?
She watched the interaction across the room as lecture had ended, and the class had free time to do work. Elliot was leaning so casually on the back of her chair, and she chatted so easily with their classmates next to her. Elliot must’ve said something funny, because the other two chuckled.
Roxie put her pen to paper as she scratched a mistake maybe harder than necessary. The pit in her stomach widened slightly. Why did she feel like this? She didn’t really care about anyone else’s attention?
She did, but not in a way that really mattered to her. So why was Elliot so different?
“Hey Elliot?” She found herself asking, leaning on her hand and looking at the shorter blonde.
Elliot glanced over and smiled widely. She had a cute smattering of freckles gathered around her nose, and they crinkled when she smiled.
“Hey Rox, what’s up?”
“Oh,” Roxie blinked, she didn’t anticipate this. The hesitation was too small for anyone to notice though, only to her. She smiled. “Do you want to come over after school?”
Elliot smiled wider, if it were possible. “Sure,” she agreed.
“Great,” Roxie said, nodding to herself.
=========================================
They had just made camp after leaving Pendrell’s home. The rest were sleeping. Maryim wasn’t. Though not for lack of trying, however. She looked up at the canopy from her bedroll and sighed deeply before wincing. Her bandages had been changed, but it was still rough going. The stars peaked through the dark tree leaves, and Maryim sighed again.
She had died.
She had left this realm.
She saw a god. She saw the missing god.
The one that she and her group of friends were now tasked with finding.
What had they gotten themselves into?
Physically, Maryim was healing. Spiritually…she wasn’t so sure. Her body was here, and so was her mind. But she felt…hollow, in a way. Like something had been taken from her. She just felt colder. Not physically, but it was something she couldn’t place, and it worried her.
Things seemed to be getting more dangerous for their motely crew, and Maryim wasn’t sure how to protect them. That, and Civilization has seemed to have abandoned her. Anytime she reached out, all there was static. She had mistepped with Her, but Maryim had sincerely apologized. Surely Her other followers and faulted in some way. Why was She ignoring Maryim?
She groaned and gingerly turned to her side, playing with a blade of grass. And they had to go to the Capitol to investigate this Red Salt. Whatever it was. Maryim had a sinking suspicion that its grasp went much deeper than they thought. That, and that it was going to be tougher to defeat. And what did it have to do with the plain of red crystals in that plain? Were they connected? How did they connect? Oh! Let’s not forget that she had to eventually face her mother and try to explain ---
Stop. She told herself, squeezing her eyes shut. You’re just tired. And in pain. And your neck is cold. Go to bed.
Maryim groaned once more and buried her head into her headrest.
Addy took a seat on the floor of the dilapidated library. Marcie had walked out to get some air, Stella was holding to Jorlief, who was clinging to her. Ava and Jasper were scanning the USB drives, trying to find details they may have missed. So much had happened in the past 24 hours, and Addy’s mind couldn’t stop racing.
Firstly, her dad was alive? Stealing her away and locking her in a room with murderous paintings that looked way too much like Marcie to be comfortable. Him attesting to the fact that he didn’t want this to happen, but still willingly being a part of it. This being that Marcie, her friend, had to murder her in cold blood to prevent the end of the world. Part of her still thought that the man was an imposter, and part of her wanted so badly to believe that he was real, and that he would change his mind on what he believed had to be done.
The sheer sense of relief that flooded through her when Stella, Ava, and Jasper opened the door was coupled with the impending sense of doom and dread that settled in her stomach when she thought about the blood promise she had made, not an hour before. Along with that, the complicated feelings of a cautious hope regarding the original ritual that might spare her. Addy couldn’t let herself hope too much, because it seemed that things rarely went the way they intended.
Not to mention the fact that Marcie would have to give up her magic.
It was a simple choice, right? Her life versus Marcie’s magic.
The thought made Addy’s blood run cold, because she knew that it wasn’t an easy choice. Not to Marcie.
Marcie’s magic was so ingrained in who she was as a person. Would Marcie be willing to give that up for her?
And if it turned out that the original ritual wasn’t real, or it backfired, or something else happened, then what?
The intended ritual would still have to happen, and she would have to die.
Even if she found a way to escape Lost Oak, escape back to Camp where she was safe, could she live with herself?
If this was true, and she was the one thing that could stop the end of the world, wasn’t it her duty to make that choice? As a hunter, vowed to protect people from the things that bump in the night, wouldn’t it be a simple choice if she could stop the biggest Bump?
If she and her friends were going to die due to awakening of some beast, shouldn’t it be a no brainer?
Logically, yes. She knew this. Logically it made sense.
But Addy so desperately wanted it to not be true. What about her friends? What about her mom? What about Gloria?
Addy brought her legs to her chest and buried her head in her knees.
She knew what needed to be done, if it came to that. But did she have the courage to do so?
