#ft. cynthia

[sammiesalazar]

closed starter: @cynthiasoriano location: briar ridge boardwalk

The sun was fading in the sky and they were getting closer to releasing the lanterns and as the moment was approaching Sammie had become a little reflective over the past years. There was a lot to be grateful for in this new life she'd set out for herself, and she was realizing that all the bullshit that had gotten her to this point was likely worth it. It was apart of the journey and who knew where she'd be if those experiences, if that part of her former life, had gone any differently? "What do you think happens to these lanterns once they burn out?" It was Cynthia's encouragement that had brought her to this, more so looking for support than pushing it on Sammie, but she really had been intrigued by the concept. "What if mine burns up dramatically and plummets? Does that mean I'm cursed or doomed?" A smirk hung on her lips as she looked over at her gorgeous friend, one who's beauty was made to glow in the impending sunset.

[sebvora]

LOCATION — Cynthia's Apartment, Downtown.

WHO — Sebastian & Cynthia ( @cynthiafalvey )

Jesus fucking Christ, all of these apartments looked the same nowadays.

It was the only thought that Sebastian could coherently admit was going through his head, about four green tea shots too many into the night as he stumbled drunkenly around the hallways in search of his friend, Pablo’s, apartment.

It wasn’t unoften that the fighter found himself in this position, palm scraping against the wall while he took in his surroundings. Hell, it was how he knew he could go to Pablo’s to begin with, having been too inebriated to make it all the way back to his own place more times than he could count. Honestly, this song and dance was almost expected at this point — from both parties. Have a killer night out. Go to Pablo’s. Wake up the next morning and trudge back to his apartment in whatever skimpy, inappropriate outfit he chose to wear the night before. Same time next week.

Or, the undoubtedly easier option: call Fletcher. But he was all the way out in Bighorn Hills, and wouldn’t do Sebastian much good now as he was struggling to figure out if he was even on the right floor.

As he rounded the corner to find that he hadn’t reached the end, a whole new row of apartments staring back at him, he turned around and tried to ignore the way the room kept spinning long after his feet planted on the ground. Shit. He was never going to find it.

Although, illuminated by light like it was a path sent down from Heaven (or, because the light was on inside, which was the more logical explanation that his brain couldn’t come up with), he caught sight of an apartment with their door ajar and decided, right then and there, that one was Pablo’s. Why else would the door be open? He thought, padding across to push it open further and make his way inside.

He made a beeline for the couch, unceremoniously plopping himself onto it with a groan. His eyes were mostly closed, on account of it being so damn bright in here, but the figure that soon emerged from the . . . wherever the hell they came from — it didn’t look much like Pablo. He groaned once more. “God damn, dude, why do you have all the lights on? It’s like, fucking — the sun in here. The sun's fucking me. What the hell happened to the, like, mood lighting and shit? Every lamp is on.”

It wasn’t. He was just dramatic. He threw his head down on the throw pillow and sighed.

[elifalvey]

LOCATION — Their parent's home in Claret Park.

WHO — Elijah & Cynthia ( @cynthiafalvey ).

The (hopefully) permanent relocation of their youngest son to Providence Peak meant one simple thing for Erica and Rodney Falvey: they could finally try their hand at proper family dinners again. With all of their kids traveling in different directions around the globe — never slowing down, hardly taking a second to breathe — it was easy for Falvey get-togethers to land on the back burner of priorities over the years, save for big holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas that they’d never dare to miss. Elijah could tell that their mother had been ecstatic about it at first, too, busting out truly unnecessary dishware and cutlery that he was surprised had made it to see the year 2024; their father was ecstatic in his own muted way, spending afternoons in the kitchen making sure that all the food was prepared perfectly for the newfound occasion.

In recent weeks, it turned into a much more casual affair. The shininess of weekly dinners wore off — sometimes, the term looser than usual as it meant pizza and a movie in the living room, where maybe one or two siblings were missing from the equation — and they were allowed to use plastic dishware and cutlery again, but it was still just as rewarding.

This week in particular, Elijah had been the first to arrive with Rhiannon in tow. He’d gotten her settled down for a quick nap in his old bedroom (that they turned into a nursery for her now, funnily enough) before he tried to join his parents in the kitchen, except he’d been shoo’d away by Dad who insisted he wasn’t of any help just standing there. After that, he wandered out to the garden, fiending for a cigarette to pass the time with until one of his other siblings happened to show up — or, well, realistically, Nikolas or Cynthia (he couldn’t count on Reggie to not be last, unless a miracle struck).

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long. He’d only been out there for maybe two minutes, tops, until he heard the latch of the gate unhook and he saw his sister pushing through the other side. “Took you long enough!” he chastised teasingly from where he stood on the porch, shaking his head in disapproval like he’d been there forever without company. “Woah, woah, woah — pause.” He sidestepped in front of the screen door, blocking her entrance. “First of all, Dad’s in a mood about the food again, so . . . you know, proceed with caution. He pushed me out of the kitchen for asking him if he put the salt in, which —” He held up both of his hands, as if to say ‘whatever’. “Second of all, have you heard from Reg at all? Do we know if he’s even coming? I brought Rhia as his replacement, just in case.”