Chase knew that there were a lot of things that him and Kelsea needed to figure out, and maybe part of him was avoiding that because he was terrified of rejection again. With everything that they had gone through - it was the last thing that he wanted to happen. After taking Milo for a walk, Chase watched the pup scamper off as he went to find Kelsea, since they found themselves at each others places more often than not. Coming up behind her, Chase wrapped his arm around her. “Hi, baby.” He whispered, placing a kiss to the side of her head. “Hope you missed me.” The actor teased, even though he hadn’t been gone too long. “Do you want to go out with me to dinner?” He paused for a moment. “Or we can stay here and make something.” @ballerinikelseanicole
it happened in the quiet hour. that thin, pale slip of morning when the underland pretends to sleep, though nothing down there ever truly does. it was the time she liked best. the crowds had thinned, the smoke had settled, and the neon had dulled to a soft static hum. her shift at snake eyes casino had just ended, and the city’s bones felt calmer, gentler... safer. or so she thought.
mavis vaduva slid out the back entrance with the confidence of someone who’d walked these streets her entire life. she tugged her coat over her sequined dancer’s costume, heels clicking on the wet pavement. behind her, the casino’s exhaust fans rattled, blowing out the stale scent of liquor, perfume, and adrenaline.
she didn’t look tired, as vampires rarely did, but she looked ready to be home. ready to slip into her small apartment above the apothecary, kick off her shoes, and sink into a coffin she’d customized with purple velvet she definitely couldn’t afford.
she hummed under her breath, something soft and old from her mother tongue, a habit she’d kept since childhood. the kind of thing she only did when she felt alone.
and for a moment, she was.
the alley behind snake eyes was narrow and strangely warm, lit by a single flickering sign that buzzed like an irritated insect. mavis didn’t mind it. she knew every shortcut, every crack in the stone, every shadow with teeth. she walked them nightly. they respected her enough to leave her alone.
but something felt off. subtly. wrong in a way that made her skin prickle. she slowed. the air tasted different... emptier. the humming neon lights overhead dipped, dimmed, then steadied again. most wouldn’t have noticed. but mavis always noticed things like that.
she paused, slipping one hand into her coat pocket, fingers curling around the tiny charm her father had given her years ago. she told herself she was being dramatic. paranoid. maybe even hungry. she’d been working a double; her body was running on fumes and instinct.
still her eyes lifted to the mouth of the alley. the street beyond should’ve been busy, even at this hour. the underland never shut down, never truly silenced itself. yet the usual hum of life: the music from the bars, the distant roar of arguments, the shuffle of nightworkers was muted now. muffled. as if buried under several feet of dirt.
her fangs itched as she stepped out of the alley and onto the cobblestone road and froze.
the street was almost empty. a few lamps flickered. mist drifted along the ground like spilled milk. but no voices. no cars. no drunks stumbling home. it was the underland stripped bare.
“okay,” she murmured to herself, “that’s weird.”
she began walking, faster now. each step echoed too loudly. the apothecary wasn’t far. three turns, up the hill, and across the street. but she only made it halfway up the hill. something shifted in the fog ahead. small at first. a ripple, barely visible. she stopped, weight tipping onto her toes.
“who’s there?” her voice was steady, though her stomach dropped with recognition. the underland had monsters. she was one of them. but this this wasn’t a monster she knew.
the fog parted and there, at the crest of the hill, stood a silhouette. at first she thought it was a person. maybe a customer from the casino. maybe a drunk. maybe nothing to worry about. but as it stepped forward, the mist seemed to cling to it, dragging behind like a cloak.
a shape too tall. too still.
mavis instinctively stepped back. then another step. the another. the charm in her pocket began to heat against her palm.
“i’m not interested in trouble,” she called out. her fangs slid fully down now, unbidden. “go bother someone else.”
silence. the figure tilted its head.
the lamps behind her sputtered and went out one by one, plunging the street into layered darkness. she shifted into a defensive stance, muscles coiling tight. she’d fought before... brawls with the occasional underland creature who mistook her small size for weakness. but, the thing before her didn’t move like something alive. didn’t breathe like something dead. it blinked out of existence. just... gone.
mavis took one startled step backward and collided with something behind her. cold fingers clamped around her upper arms. she gasped and twisted, nails lengthening, ready to rend but the world spun violently sideways.
the fog surged upward like a wave swallowing a shoreline. shadows stretched and snapped like ropes pulled too tight. the strange figure... now impossibly close. held her as easily as if she weighed nothing. her vision blurred, darkened at the edges, warped like heat haze.
“no!” she snarled, kicking hard, but her body lagged, slow and syrupy, like someone had injected exhaustion straight into her veins. her head lolled as the street around her dissolved into a smear of gray.
the last thing she saw was the crest of the hill. the abandoned lamps, the empty street, the mist curling in on itself like it was laughing.
and then... nothing.
authors note: hello. yes, i am sad to say that mavis vaduva has gone missing without a trace. but, that does not mean we cannot tie up previous threads. i'm not going to be posting any new threads for the moment. maybe a couple replies to previously posted starters but nothing past that. i want to keep her hidden to move the plot along but also want to be fair to those i'm currently writing her with and finish what we've started.
Over the past few days, Gigi had been feeling anything but herself - she was more exhausted than usual, and slightly on edge and grumpy. She had a short fuse with Khai more than a couple of times because her daughter wouldn’t listen to what she was saying. The model knew it was because the little girl was excited to be spending Thanksgiving with someone new, and they were going to have a little adventure together as the trio. The blonde just hated the fact she was feeling this way - and potentially ruining their first family holiday together, but no matter how she was feeling, Gigi always knew to push it back down a little more. To be there for her daughter and put on a strong face. She wanted Thanksgiving with Austins family to go perfectly - for it to be one for them to remember, since she envisioned many more years of this to come. Life with Austin was good, it was easy - and Gigi knew that relationships did come with some tension, there were going to be moments where they didn’t quite agree with something, especially now that they were planning on living together. It meant truly getting to know each others quirks, there was no hiding the things that they tried to when it was just spending the night, even if it was several nights in a row.
Now that their vacation had started for a few days and Gigi woke up feeling like she was going to vomit, she made her way to the bathroom, as quietly and as quickly as she could - not wanting to disturb her boyfriends sleep. It was going to be a long day for the both of them, no matter if it was family they were spending it with. Closing the bathroom door, the blonde found herself hunched over the toilet, emptying whatever contents there was and trying to figure out what she’d eaten differently from Austin and Khai to be feeling this sick. If Khai was feeling poorly - Gigi would have known about it because she would have gotten woken up in the middle of the night to a grizzly five year old. Flushing the toilet, Gigi quickly rinsed her face with water, trying to feel a little more awake before heading back to bed. Slipping into the covers and feeling Austin move beside her, the model shifted closer to him, needing to feel the comfort that only he could provide. “I can feel you breathing on my neck.” Gigi whispered - having got to know the difference between Austin being awake and asleep. “You should get some more rest.” @austvnbutler
━ Me perdoei, eu estava distraída e não prestei atenção no que disse. Poderia repetir, por favor? ━ perguntou a professora à MUSE, com um sorriso simpático e encantador desenhado nos seus lábios carnudos e rosados.
Dakota was in a hurry on a Tuesday morning. The only time when she could relax was during the flight but even there she was impatient, always shifting in her seat, unable to focus at the game she was playing on her Nintendo. As soon as she went through the passport check, she almost ran to the luggage area, waiting impatiently for her suitcase to appear. It took only five minutes, but it felt like an hour. However, when she finally saw it, she grabbed it and paced out of the building. She waved at the first taxi she could see and told the driver her desired address. And as soon as Eddie's home address left her lips, she could feel butterflies in her stomach.
She missed him dearly. And it probably wasn't a good feeling considering they both agreed to keep it no-strings-attached when it first happened. However, since Cheree was spending more and more time with him, his presence grew to her and she got used to him always being around. Add those strong arms of his and soft kisses and she was slowly getting addicted. So the feeling probably wasn't good, but the idea of seeing him in a few minutes felt amazing.
The pink haired woman soon found herself standing in front of his door, knocking on it. She was only hoping that he'd be home and wouldn't mind her showing up. But his messages the night before were promising and so she pushed the worries away and just eagerly waited for the door to open.
Tommaso não era religioso, mas nos últimos dias, andava suplicando a qualquer entidade disponível para que o livrasse da sensação estranha que o consumia: a mesma sensação que o fazia seguir os passos de um colega específico, alguém que na verdade o tirava profundamente do sério, mas que também andava atravessando seus pensamentos após alguns ocorridos específicos. No final das contas, pegou-se observando @unholyangelo de longe várias vezes, ignorando-o inconscientemente ao vê-lo aqui e acolá, apenas porque devido a transformação recente, sentia todo seu corpo extremamente vulnerável. Sobretudo no que dizia respeito a seu autocontrole, que poderia não ser tão bom caso se aproximasse muito do vampiro naquela noite. Por isso preferira evitá-lo, agora repousando sobre os degraus da escadaria, entretido com os botões de seu colete enquanto na outra mão brincava com seu isqueiro. Até seus sentidos indicarem justamente a presença ques ele menos desejava naquela ocasião. — Se você veio aqui para dar nas minhas ideias, meu amigo, sugiro que volte depois. Não é mesmo uma boa hora pra olhar pra sua cara.
Julia was done with feeling alone all the time. She was running from place to place, working 24/7 and not even enjoying her young life. And it was just too much when she decided to do something about it. She posted publicly, that if anyone wants to take her on a date, she'll say yes. And the only person who replied was, to her biggest surprise, Max. The person she would never think would want to take her on a date. But he did and so she decided to give it a try. The blonde had no idea if they'd click but one date couldn't be a bad idea. And so she dressed up in black cocktail dress, put on her favorite red stillettos, made her hair and make up and as soon as seven pm hit, Max was standing in front of her house, looking handsome as always. "Hey, Max." She smiled at him sweetly.
