"You can't see the town behind the tree tops, the old growth forest surrounds the property in a way that makes it almost feel like it is the only house in the entire world, surrounded by an endless sea of trees."
- @hemoanarchist, The Haunted Harley House
I'm still reading but wanted to sketch a mood with Carlah and Dirk. :)
Carlah when despite everything that's happened and all of her attempts to seperate herself from Viqtor and become everything he isnt, she's become exactly like him. And it's only now in her late adulthood that she realizes how much Viqtor truly loved her and cared for her even though she rejected his care at every opportunity
Carlah Dorian told us about his husband so you should tell us about yours! I wanna scope out my competition and all
If anything were to cause me and Levi to ever split up I'm killing everybody on this fucking continent with my bare hands. If you like to be alive there is no fucking competition, Maggot.
Hey Carlah where'd you get all those scars from? It doesn't sound like you have a kismesis ypu have a mate instead, so probably not from him, but are they all from working in the Devira family or what
Not most of em. Majority are from the Vipers. Lost my horns to the Vipers, lost my eye, lost one of my grubscars, my fuckin' kidney-
I've gotten some new scars in the family, but all I've lost is my hand and some teeth. And I got those fixed with these gold veneers that The Don paid for.
So Carlah level with me, all those extra kids of yours. Is this like a Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends thing where you just pick up the ones no one wants or have you been out there cuckoo birding your husband this hold time with someone else's grubs and he just doesn't question why they don't match him or you
Very funny image, Meat. But no, I'm not gaslighting my husband into thinking he simply forgot four entire egg hatchings and several sweeps of some of the pups lives. He's thankfully much more attentive than that.
I find them in the most unlikely of places- Callum tried to pass through Devira recruitment before the Deputy pulled him out for *obviously* being 16 years old. Viqtor found Ryelan literally eating scraps from the garbage of the restaurant. Jaxton was in an abandoned building in the slums, Alston was literally in a fucking safe- found both of them while I was on a job. And Sami was offered to me by some cavern caretakers when I took over meetings for the Don for a while.
I take them in because who the hell else will. And who's gonna take as good care for them as I am. Callum had problems at home, Ryelan's parents abandoned him in a totally different city like a dog, Jaxton got separated from the people that were taking care of him in a drone raid, and Alston was going to be handed to the fucking Emperor.
I've said this a dozen times, and I'll say it a thousand times more. I'm a stupid emotional bitch. When it matters. And it always matters when it's grubs or kids. I have the ability to make sure no kid goes through what I had to, not even remotely- why the hell wouldn't I take them in.
....I try my best to, at least. But Mira is, unfortunately, almost exactly like me. And I'm starting to get why Viqtor acted the way he did when I was younger. I drove him fuckin' nuts.