November 2023
In a port far, far away
@nadiacattaneo
The island accent was as subtle as it was varied, but Liv would have recognized it anywhere. She had only been listening for it on every breath, in every town and inn and port, for months now. Wishing, hoping, dreaming the wind would carry it to her and she could find her way back to where it came from. Where she came from. And there it was.
But it was sailing away.
It was unlike her not to think before leaping, but leap she did and think she didn't. Straight into the sea on a foreign shore where the moon was hung high in the pitch black sky and the water would have chilled her to the bone if she hadn't been born dead.
The ship was already nearing a league out at sea with the help of the same wind and waves that worked against Liv. She had never been an exceptional swimmer, even in her fittest form which she remained far from even now, but she had to try. It wasn't like she'd die if she drowned. She'd lived through worse.
That was exactly what she was telling herself when the water pulled her under and held her there for as long as it took to subdue a vampire. When she came to, she was wrapped in netting and expelling half of the ocean from her lungs on deck, with all the dignity of a fish. "Obsidian City," she managed to cough out, before her head lulled back and her eyes rolled to the heavens. She prayed the right ears had heard her. Apparently, she'd had as many enemies on the island as she'd had friends. That, she'd found out the hard way.
Dusty hadn’t come to Port Grave since she’d had the pleasure of snapping a greedy pirate’s neck months ago. It’d been long enough that she’d felt comfortable arriving by train today, meandering around the shops alongside the docks with a wandering eye and sticky fingers. Her satchel was slung across her body, hidden inside the flowy and sheer cardigan she’d donned today, waiting for the perfect opportunity to slip a stolen jewel inside. The ruby necklace had almost been hers, when she’d been caught by a stranger.
Tinder dates, at least in Jess’ experience, didn’t usually start in a place like this. Generally speaking, he preferred bars, maybe a restaurant. It’d only ever been a means to an end. But now, he’d been left with a mess of nerves he wasn’t yet ready to untangle and too many empty hours in his small motel room. He felt untethered in a way he never had before and he just desperately needed human connection.
And that human connection took the form of a pretty girl named Nadia tonight.
Taking a sip of his drink and glancing down at the arsenal of paints and paintbrushes they’d been supplied with, he had his doubts he’d be any good at this at all, but hopeful it would at least be kind of fun. A brief reprieve from his ego beating and abject loneliness. He was beginning to annoy himself with all his internal whining.
“Okay, taking bets on who’s gonna be the first one to paint a dick on something,” Jess said, leaning in as his voice pitched low in a conspiratorial whisper. His eyes scanned the small space, zeroing in on a guy in flannel with a backwards hat currently using the paintbrushes as drum sticks on the edge of the table. “I say it’s gonna be that guy.”
WHERE: on the way in/on the way out of a coffee shop.
WHO: @nadiavem & nate.
It wasn’t until he nearly bumped into her on her way out just as he was going in that he realized he’d forgotten about Nadia Emmerson and the night Verity had left him. The first time. Not because she was forgettable, but because he’d been ashamed. And he was really fucking good at stuffing unpleasant things away in their tidy little boxes and shoving them into the dark and shadowy recesses of his mind, never to be heard from again.
So as he passed her, his eyes didn’t flicker with recognition, his face didn’t change from its bored, blank expression. He simply continued on his way, content to leave the memory of that night where it belonged. And when she didn’t follow him, when he felt no tap on his shoulder or tug on his jacket, he loosed a breath of relief for small mercies and stepped into line.
It was but ten minutes later, coffee in hand and on his way out, that he spotted her. Annoyance simmered within him and he glanced around for another exit simply because he was not in the mood to deal with this. Sighing and scrubbing his free hand down his face, his search for an alternate route proving fruitless, he shouldered through the door and past her without even a nod of acknowledgment.
SUMMARY: The Not-So-Merry Go Round throws some people around.
TW: None
Nessa just found the Carnival so darn intoxicating! She was usually drawn to places of excitement and reverie, but this was something else! The mimes, though a bit unsettling at first, were a blast. The ferris wheel, you could ride it forever! Not to mention the food and the games! She wondered how many of White Crest’s citizens knew who they were really playing games with, but honestly, she didn’t really care. What the squishers didn’t know would only benefit the fae running the booths. Twirling a bit and inhaling the sweet scent of fatty fried foods, Nessa pondered where to go next.
“You’re up, little lady!” A booming voice rang out behind her and a pair or rough hands pushed her up the small, metal stairs. “W-what? Oh! No, I’m not in line-” Nessa’s eyes went wide when she realized she’d inadvertently entered the line for the Merry Go Round, probably the only ride in the entire place she’d steered clear of. Hooves. Way too many hooves. But they were just plastic! It was fine, she told herself as she shuffled over next to a dark haired woman. “You er- you’d think there would be an age limit for these guys, right?” She chuckled nervously, an out of place look of apprehension written plainly across her face.
The carnival, Nadia had decided, would be a damn good place to do a bit of pickpocketing. Crowds of people were always bumping into each other, getting jostled, and, damn it all, sometimes people just lost their wallets in the process. Really, if she thought about it long enough, Nadia was doing them a favor. These people were just going to waste their money on some cheap carnival ride. They were gonna lose it anyway; she was just making sure the money went towards something worthwhile, like new motorcycle parts or bullets or fine liquor. She’d picked two hundred dollars in cash, three credit cards, and five relatively nice wallets in the few hours she’d been at the carnival. The last time she’d been in a place like this had been in Texas about three years ago, so she bought some cotton candy for old times’ sake. Somehow, as she was walking around, she ended up in line for the Merry Go Round. Not her first choice; she liked thrill rides, things that got her blood pumping. But she was in line, so she figured she might as well stick around. The woman maneuvering beside her, her apprehension both visible on her face and coming off her in waves, didn’t startle Nadia too much, and she smiled at the question. “You’d think,” she said, taking a bite of the cotton candy. “This is kind of kids stuff, but maybe it’s a slow day for the carousel. Looks like we’re the only two people they managed to rope in for a while.” One of the workers motioned them forward.
Nessa took a cautious step forward towards one of the less menacing looking mounts, a small purple donkey. Donkeys were at least a tiny but smaller than horses, but just as strong and just as terrifying. She wondered how humans let their children ride these things without fear, but that was only one of the many mysteries of the squishers. “Yeah! Hah! I guess we get the thing to ourselves!” Yayyyy, she thought. At least only one person would be witness to her sour mood. “I bet it’s a short ride anyway. Kids don’t like sitting in one place for long, right?” Speaking more to herself than the other woman, Nessa clenched her teeth and swung a leg over, settling herself into the saddle. “Sorry you got roped into this with me, but it’s nice to have a riding partner!” Nessa hoped her small joke didn’t fall too flat. Oi, was she out of her element.
Oh. Fuck. Nadia didn’t realize she was supposed to actually get on one of the fake animals. Where were the little seats for parents that these things were supposed to have? That was where she wanted to sit and eat her cotton candy and wait for the ride to end so that she could get back to work. She picked a red horse not too far from her new acquaintance’s donkey. Damn, these fuckers were lifelike. The horse was the size of a real one. It was almost like it was breathing at times. Nadia blinked that thought away, she needed to get some glasses. “Nah, kids don’t like sitting still much. Can’t say I blame them.” She did enjoy the small reprieve, though. Even after six years of getting used to it, emotions were overwhelming, and carnivals were full of just as many negative emotions as they were positive ones. The woman next to her, for instance, though muted (probably not human), was feeling more than a little uncomfortable in their predicament. “No need to apologize, babe,” Nadia said with a smile and a wink. “You seem like pretty good company.”
Nessa squirmed in the saddle, trying to force out one of her signature smiles. “Under normal circumstances I might agree with ya,” she chuckled. Nessa had never ridden any sort of animal before. It simply wasn’t something glaistigs did. Not only was it mildly offensive to ride something that had such similarity to her own anatomy, but the beasts were just terrifying. They were huge, they had weird teeth, they had no regard for clothing or manners. Not to mention they could kill you with one kick if they wanted! But these were fine...they were plaster and fake and just a ride. “Sorry, I’m just not a huge fan of horses...or goats. Or donkeys, as it were,” she nodded down to the obscene creature she was straddling. “Hold on to yer horses, lassies!” The worker yelled in an over-exaggerated southern accent as he slammed the ride into motion. Only it didn’t seem to be working right. The main part of the carousel wasn’t moving, however something was lurching forward.
Damn. This girl really was uncomfortable, wasn’t she? Nadia almost felt bad for her. “Hey, don’t sweat it. At least they’re not real, right?” Merry go rounds were kind of child’s play; nothing really intimidating about a couple of shittily painted animals going around in a circle to carnival music playing in the background. But fears weren’t exactly logical. And this merry go round was pretty fucking weird. Nadia’s horse almost felt like it was breathing. That was… odd, to say the least. And when the worker started the ride. “What the fuck?” Nadia yelped as the horse sprung into action, not the ride. She attempted to grab onto something, but… it wasn’t a real horse. She’d ridden a horse for the first time several years ago, after splurging a bit of money to get the Wild West experience. This machinery underneath her seemed to breathe and move like a real animal, but there was nothing for her to hold onto. She jerked forward and gripped the creature’s neck as tightly as she could. “What the fuck!”
A loud bleat escaped Nessa as she doubled forward, attempting to grasp anything to keep her from falling off and being pummeled by the creature’s plaster hooves. “WHY ARE THEY MOVING IS THIS NORMAL??” She screamed and clenched her eyes shut as if that would erase the horror from happening. Judging by the other woman’s reaction no, this was not how merry go rounds usually worked. “Make it stop!” She squealed at the carnival worker who simply laughed in return. At least the things weren’t running off through the rest of the fair, but it was bad enough just galloping along in circles. “How- do you- stay on?!” Nessa looked desperately at her riding companion who seemed so cool and collected only a few moments before.
Gritting her teeth, Nadia attempted to hold on to the make believe horse for dear life. “They’re, uh, not supposed to move like this, girlie,” she forced out as she scanned the beast quickly. Without a mane or bridle to grasp onto, she simply wrapped her arms around the creature’s plastic neck, feeling its muscles twitch under her hands. She felt dizzy, in a way that wasn’t just from the motions of the merry go round. She felt too light. For a moment, terror gripped her as she thought she was being forced from her body, but the pounding of her heart grounded her. She slumped forward a bit before she tried to fight through whatever fatigue was overcoming her. “Just hold on,” she told her companion, focusing on the other woman’s fear and desperation. She turned her head in time to lock eyes with the carnival worker, memorizing his face, his laugh, his smugness. Something in her eye caused his smile to dim.
Nessa clutched her mount for dear life, her claws protruding slightly as she struggled to stay attached. “That’s the plan!!” The beast below her jumped and jostled and Nessa wondered why on earth anyone in their right mind ever rode these things EVER, and especially why anyone would make a children’s ride out of the terrifying creatures. Though she supposed if this ride was a normal one and not bewitched by some sort of magical nonsense it might be a bit safer and more fun. “Turn this off RIGHT NOW SIR!” She screamed, her high pitched voice not exactly embodying a tone of authority. “This can’t go on forever, can it??” Though the ferris wheel sure had lasted quite a long time...Nessa’s stomach began to turn at the thought of being stuck on this thing for hours. “Oh I think I’m gonna hurl…”
This wasn’t anywhere close to riding a real horse, but Nadia managed to hold on. She felt impossibly weak, like she didn’t have a body again, and she kept feeling herself slip a bit as she tried to stay on the ride. “Why are we moving so fucking fast?” she snarled out. “This is a fucking kids’ ride.” A kids’ ride that was moving far too fast and with machinery that obviously wasn’t normal. This had to be some kind of fae fuckery. Or maybe it was just regular, run of the mill supernatural fuckery. But it was a load of fuckery, this much Nadia was sure of. “Can’t last too long,” she said loudly to her companion. Ugh, her head was spinning faster than the ride. At least her pounding heart was a stabilizer. As long as she could feel it, she knew she was alive. She managed to laugh a bit, higher in pitch than normal and a little hysterical. “If you’re gonna hurl, make sure not to do it in my direction, babe. I don’t wanna join you.”
Nessa groaned and threw the woman a look of desperation. “If I can aim, you got it, love!” The glaistig slammed her head against the plastic neck of the donkey and she let out a small, pained bleat. It was like the damned thing was trying to make this whole ordeal as painful as possible. “This- isn’t- supposed to be- a thrill ride!” Nessa LOVED thrill rides. But she usually knew she was going on one before it happened. After what felt like EONS, the beast below her began to lose steam – or so she thought. Loosening her grip for a millisecond, Nessa unclenched her eyes and looked up at the other woman. “I- I think it’s stopping!” As if on cue, the plastic creature gave a final lurch before screeching to a halt, suddenly devoid of all sense of life and motion. The unexpected standstill threw Nessa forward, over the head of the donkey and flat on her ass in the middle of the ride. Huffing a piece of hair out of her eyes, she could have sworn she heard the beast chuckle at her. “Why I oughta-” she warned at the inanimate object.
One thing was certain: someone was gonna have hell to pay when Nadia got off that ride. “Well, it’s certainly,” she said, her breathing harsh, “thrilling.” It felt like she was clinging to the plastic horse for hours, dizziness frequently causing gaps in her memory. She almost fell off two more times, her grip too weak to hold on. When the horse jerked to a stop, Nadia slammed forward. Still holding on, she managed to slide off the plastic horse. She groaned and placed her head between her knees, trying to stop the spinning and ward off the nausea. “Fuck. I need a minute.” Just a minute, and she was going to get up and kick that fucker who was controlling the damn ride in the ass. And maybe the teeth. Guy was gonna be in some major pain before she was done, though. She looked over to her new friend, who was threatening the purple donkey she’d been held captive by. Nadia laughed a bit. “I think you scared him stiff.” None of the animals were moving, anymore. It was as if they’d never moved in the first place.
Stretching and testing her limbs to make sure no damage was done, Nessa tried to glare at the woman’s joke, but she just couldn’t. A smile slowly spread across her lips and she shook her head, pushing herself up to her feet. “Good. Serves him right!!” She chastised the plaster donkey once more, giving it a final slap for good measure before flinching, just in case it decided to retaliate. “I’m Nessa, by the way. Here,” she offered a steadying hand, leading them quickly over to the exit. This had been by far her least favorite experience with the carnival and she didn’t want to remember the night on such a down note. “I can say with extreme certainty that I will not ever be doing that ride again.” Nessa glared at the carnival worker, keeping his face burned in her memory for a later date. Perhaps a week’s worth of fae pranks would change his tune a bit.
Nadia allowed the other woman to lead her off the ride, her head still spinning and her body feeling a bit too heavy. “I’m Nadia,” she said. Laughing, she added, “Nice to meet you. Wish it was under less stressful circumstances.” She took the time to look at the carnival worker, not unlike Nessa. However, where Nessa had glared, Nadia smiled. Soft, gentle, charming with a little something else. She knew how to read emotions and present emotions adequately through facial expressions and body language while still being unreadable. In animals, the baring of teeth meant danger. The worker’s thoughts were filled with snarling dogs as he looked at her, and his smugness was tinted with a bit of fear. Good. He should be afraid. Nadia looked back at Nessa. “I can safely say that I’ve never been on a carousel like that one, but I don’t think I’m gonna risk anything like that again.” Nessa seemed like a nice person. Cute, bubbly. It wouldn’t hurt Nadia to keep her around. She allowed concern to color her voice as she asked, “You doing alright after all that?”
Nessa took a deep breath and raised her arms in a yoga-like pose, centering herself. The plaster donkey couldn’t hurt her anymore. Or anyone else, if she could get back to it when no one was around. She’d be sure of that. She smiled, the expression flooding every inch of her tiny body. “Yes, I think I’m alright. Now that my feet are firmly on the ground,” she specified. The fae wasn’t adverse to being in the air, but she much preferred to have her hooves connected to the earth. Not only was it safer, it helped her feel truly connected to herself. Oblivious to the viciously sweet smile Nadia gave the worker, Nessa threw her arms around the other woman and trapped her in a quick bear hug. “Thank you so much for not making fun of my stupid little fear. I just- I don’t even like riding real horses.” Her eyes flitted back to the purple monstrosity. “Or half horses, at that.”
Hugs weren’t really Nadia’s thing, but she allowed the other woman to give her one, even offering Nessa a pat or two on the back before she stepped away. “Hey, yeah, don’t sweat it. Lots of people don’t like riding big animals.” She, too, glanced at the ride. “And, after that load of bullshit, I don’t fucking blame them. That’s actually right on up there in my top worst experiences in this town.” She gave Nessa a soft smirk. “The company’s the only thing that made it alright.” That, and the amount of money she’d picked up before getting on the damned contraption. See, Nadia wasn’t aching for money. The opposite, really. But she liked having a surplus, and then a surplus on top of that surplus. And she kind of liked picking pockets. It was an enjoyable pastime, and the risk of getting caught added to it. So, despite the fact that she was going to come back and bust the worker’s head open, she was still in a pretty good mood, if a little lightheaded. “Wanna grab a bite to eat? The ride’s around here seem a little touch and go, but carnival food always kicks some major ass.”
Nessa’s face lit up and she bounced up and down, almost as if she hadn’t just been holding onto the neck of a sentient purple donkey for dear life just a few minutes before. “I’d love to! Have you tried anything in the carnival yet?? I’m a pretty big fan of the funnel cakes, especially if you have them add some of those syrupy strawberries on top! And extra sugar! Oh- and the corndogs! I swear, they’re magical. ” Nessa reached out and snaked her arm through Nadia’s. “It may have been hellish, but it’ll be one hell of a story,” she winked, leading them off towards one of her favorite food booths in the fair.
Location: Charlotte, NC - Emergency Room
Time & Date: March 13th, sometime early morning
Status: closed for @nadiaxmontgomery
Not much could make Jaime nervous, and the list of known causes for anxiety in his life was quite short. The newest addition to that list? Hospitals, apparently. When he’d arrived, Jaime had been out of it entirely, in shock and concussed. He still wasn’t feeling his best, a far cry from the charming, witty jokester he was most days, but at least now he was able to get his bearings. With Vera gone for a bit, Jaime felt the weight of his lonesomeness and nerves heavier than usual, and his eyes landed on the girl next door to him, both of their curtains pulled back enough to speak.
“Get out, they said. It’ll be safer, they said,” Jaime spoke up, voice a little hoarse from everything. His eyes were squinted slightly against the glare of the lights, sensitive to everything more than usual. It felt like a massive hangover, which he’d battled before, so he figured he’d be fine. “What they got you in for?”
“Hey there, gorgeous. Thought I’d find you here. Have you been avoiding the bodega? Because that hurts me, a lot that my friend won’t come visit me anymore.”
Getting her text, Derek got up and headed up the stairs to the sixth floor, taking them two at a time. Thanks to his diabetic nature, Derek had a habit of always taking the route that dictated more exercise. He was lazy by nature, so whenever he could, he tried to move around some. Tried being the keyword, of course.
Once on her floor, he went to her door and knocked. He’d brought a bottle of wine with him. He had no idea if this was that kind of thing, but she had promised him dinner and although in exchange for food he was helping her unpack, he still felt obligated to not show up empty handed and so when she opened the door he held up the bottle of wine. It had been something he’d picked up along the way in his many ventures from one of his clients. It was a more expensive wine and Derek, being more of a beer drinker, hadn’t opened it. This seemed like a good occasion for it, however. “I don’t even know if you like wine, but I thought I’d bring it,” he said. “You know, can’t show up empty handed and all that formality.” @dancenadiadance
