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08/31/2016 12:01 AM 

Through the Looking Glass

Two weeks have elapsed and little progress has been made in the attempted murders of Daric King [THORIN], Keegan McNeil [KILI] and Phillip McNeil [FILI]. In spite of being responsible for the death of Mr. Serafim [SMAUG], Devan Bowman [BARD] has been awarded the ***** for his heroism in defending Daric, Keegan, and Phillip from the unknown assailants who are still at large. Mr. Bowman has returned to the quiet life of raising his three children while Mr. King and the McNeils are eager to be released from Guardian Angels Hospital.
 
Grace Goldbloom [GALADRIEL] has awoken from her second lapse into a coma and at the insistence of her husband, Christopher Goldbloom [CELEBORN], is recovering within the safety of her home. Also recovering is Sheriff Leo Forrest [LEGOLAS] who is struggling to regain time lost while captive by unknown assailants, leaving not only the investigation of the attempted murders but also his abduction to his sister and the town deputy, Tara Forrest [TAURIEL].
 
Trenton Forrest [THRANDUIL] is pursuing his own line of investigation with the aid of his secret allies, believing that Alexander Orton [AZOG] is either involved or responsible in the abduction of Leo. The two are kept from each others throats by the efforts of Tara and Bradley Orton [BOLG]. There is but one thread within this web that can unravel this tale and Uriana [UNGOLIANT] unleashes her new toy, Mai Summers [MERENWEN] upon these two titans.
 
Rumor begins to spread through Middletown of shadow plundering homes and shops alike, indiscriminately while those nearest cowered in sheer terror. The Black Rider seeks that which will restore its Master's power and rain down eternal darkness upon all.

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One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:23 PM

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{ Alex, Brad, mentionings of Leo, Trenton, and Grace } 

Sweat beaded along her skin as she straightened and took a step back, popping the cap back on the Sharpie as she surveyed what had been her bedroom for as long as she could remember, a faint smile upon her features. Undoubtedly, a small part of her was fearful, perhaps even apprehensive about leaving him, however this was vastly outweighed by excitement and hope for the future. A quick glance at her watch indicated she still had three hours to get this stuff loaded and moved to her new loft in town. Tucking the Sharpie behind her ear, Tara set herself to the task of loading the boxes onto the dolly. 

The past two weeks at home had been rather terse. It had reached a point, that in spite of Tara having rescued Leo and him being safe at home, she could scarcely bear to be at home, especially when her father was home, and had instead thrown herself headlong into her work. The nights where she had a shift at Guardian Angels Hospital, Tara would snag a few hours there. However, as was more likely, Tara found herself sleeping at the station as she, Harold, and the others continued their investigation into the attempted murders of Daric King, Keegan and Phillip McNeil as well as the abduction of their sheriff, Leo Forrest. The investigation was proving to be tedious and full of dead ends, yet Tara refused to give up. 

With the dolly loaded, Tara pulled it from her room and down the hallway to the stairwell where she carefully navigated her load down the stairs. Mercifully, Trenton was presently indisposed and did not linger to watch her with disapproval and a surly demeanor while she moved the last of her things out of his home. Ever since their fight two weeks ago, there had scarcely been a civil word exchanged between father and daughter. The night Leo had gone missing, he had made it quite clear that so long as she lived under his house, she was to abide by his rules regardless of how old she was. As it now stood, they had not spoken to one another since the explosive fight three days past when Tara had told him that she had found a place and was moving out. 

Tara paused at the base of the stairs and looked back up the way she had come, towards Leo's room. A faint frown had creased her brow as she thought of her brother. Much of their conversation had turned to a more professional sort as Tara led the investigation into the crash of his vehicle and the subsequent abduction. Even after two weeks, Leo continued to struggle to remember anything that might prove useful. Increasingly, he was spending more and more time with the town psychiatrist, Grace Goldbloom - who as Tara understood it, was recovering from unknown ailments and was no longer seen in town. This peculiar coincidence troubled Tara, but until something more concrete landed in her lap, there was nothing she could do for either Mrs. Goldbloom or her brother. 

With a shake of her head, she turned from the stairway and made her way outside into the frigid winter afternoon. After carefully guiding the dolly down the steps, she immediately set about loading the last of the boxes into her Dodge Charger. After a few minutes, she returned inside to get the last two boxes... 

-----

"Where do you want this one?" 

Tara raised an eyebrow slightly as her lips quirked ever so slightly with a smile. 

"How about in the kitchen, like the box says," she replied drily. Surprise rippled across Brad's face and he strained to check the sides of the box. 

"I swear I checked this one. I didn't see-" he paused as a look of concentration fell over his features. "Wait, you expect me to be able to read this chicken scratch?" 

Settling her weight on one foot, Tara crossed her arms under her bosom and shot him a look that fairly said he better shut up before someone got hurt. "No, I expect you to be capable of reading, period." 

The grin he returned to her was almost feral and she laughed. Wisely, without another word, he turned and started down the hallway towards the kitchen, putting extra effort into the way he walked so that her attention was drawn to his rear. 

"Would you stop that!" Tara shouted after him as she grabbed a stress ball off the table and chucked it after him. He ducked just in the nick of time and the ball soared right on past, bouncing off the box that Alex Orton had just carried into the doorway. Blush colored her cheeks as she started down the hallway towards him, an apology readily falling from her lips. "Oops - sorry dad!" 

Her gut twisted at calling Alex that particular endearment, the unfamiliarity and foreignness of it, yet he had fairly insisted on it. After all, this was the longest Brad had ever had a girlfriend who hadn't run screaming into the night - at least that was how the joke went. 

Tara quickly stooped to collect the ball from the ground and then pressed herself against the wall, allowing the Orton patriarch to pass her by. "That one goes in the master bedroom." As soon as he had passed, she went straight to the kitchen where she playfully swatted at Brad who easily captured her wrist with a grin and gave it a tug so that she fell against him, his other arm snaking about her waist. 

"Careful you don't hurt yourself," Brad said softly, his gaze settling upon her own wherein she saw the rising of darker thoughts drifting through his mind. With her heart momentarily lodged within her throat, she tugged at her own wrist, knowing she never could free it unless he allowed it. 

"Please." The word came out squeezed, as though she scarcely had breath in her lungs. She swallowed her heart back down and tried again, her tone still soft but slightly firmer, more resolved. "Let go." 

The smirk that formed on his lips spoke volumes to her and Tara began to realize for the first time in her relationship with Brad that she was dancing with fire. He could release her, but not without a cost. Within his dark hues, she could see but a glimpse of the thoughts that drifted through his mind, of his wants and desires - none of it being something she wished to partake in, at least not this early in their relationship. Tara rose up on tiptoe and stretched herself to press her lips to his gently, ever aware just how vulnerable such an act left her yet trusting in him. His hand convulsed about her wrist momentarily before he let her go and she stepped back half a step. 

"Thank you," she said with an affectionate smile, knowing that it had cost him to restrain himself for her own benefit. 

There was a knock at the front door and she gave Brad a quick kiss on the cheek before opening her purse on the counter, grabbing her wallet, and disappearing down the hall to the door. Tara took a quick look through the peephole and upon seeing it was the pizza delivery boy, opened the door with a smile.

"Hi. Ms. Forrest?" 

He was younger than her but not by much. It was the rosy cheeks and pink nose from the cold outside that did it. "Yes." 

"You had the large Meat Lovers and medium Pepperoni Lovers, right?" 

"Sure did!" 

"That'll be $28.95." Tara opened her wallet and pulled out two $20 bills, handing them to him before taking the two pizzas. 

"Keep the change!" 

His face lit up and thanked her, him turning from the door as she closed it and retreated back to the kitchen. 

"You two will stay for pizza, right?" she asked upon seeing that Alex had joined Brad while she was at the door. Without waiting for an answer, she set the boxes on the counter, retrieved some paper plates and grabbed three beers from the fridge, looking at the father and son duo expectantly.

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:22 PM

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https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfj6r5tfEf4

Ever have the feeling that you're displaced? That you're living, breathing, walking, talking, but a part of you is missing? That something in the depths of you is out of sync with the world around you? You just know that something isn't right, something isn't the way that it's supposed to be. This is the precise feeling he'd been living with for weeks, ever since his sister found him in those frozen woods. Something wasn't right, something was missing, a hole was gnawing its way through the pit of his stomach, it was expanding outward into his everyday life.

Nightmares, flashes of images skittered through his subconscious mind, echoing the recesses of an atrocity that was just out of his reach. Something that he couldn't grasp onto, something he couldn't quite keep a hold on. Something was missing, a huge gap, but he was of the hope that Grace could help him put the pieces back together. For the most part, he knew the issues, he'd been silent, withdrawn, sullen, and he knew his family had suffered the cause of it too.

His Father had been by his side nonstop, every second that he could be, to the point where he himself began to feel a bit like a child again. Every set of headlights that fell in behind him on a secluded and dark road, it made him wary. The tension in his stomach seized up and he felt as if it might have been them. It could have been the ones that kidnapped him away from the sanctity of his family, of his reality, but since his freedom, he walked the streets of the town like a ghost himself. Sympathy glimmered in the eyes of the denizens of the small town, but when he set back to work on the case that was before him, the more questions he asked, the more he could read what was just behind their eyes. They were sympathetic to his plight, but they were also afraid. They wanted questions answered that he had no idea how to placate. They wanted to know how he couldn't remember, how the one that was meant to keep themselves and their families safe, how could he get kidnapped? If he couldn't protect himself, how could he protect them?

He didn't have an answer for that, he didn't know. All that he could do was adopt a stiff upper lip on the matter. He would do his job, nothing would change, he would hope for the best. After Edward Nightingale had checked him out, bandaged up his wounds, and tended to the appropriate ailments that he'd had, he immediately wanted to get back to work. He didn't want to take any time off, not as they were advising him to do. He'd argued this point with Edward and Adele both. He needed to be out there, he needed to get back to a routine, he didn't need to spend his time trying to figure things out. He could work it out within his own mind bit by bit, if they'd only let him. Against their better judgment and his Father's firm opinion on the matter, he was back on the street. Only with a mild limp now, a limp from the gunshot wound to his lower leg, but it was on the mend.

The only thing that wasn't mending up so nice and new were the bruises in his mind, the gaps that he couldn't fill. The doctor's had said it was due to several striking blows in the head. Amnesia. Concussion. Something of the sort, they bantered on about the synapses of his brain being broken and it would take time to mend the pathways, to make it to where he could start to feel normal again. Though, he only half believed them. The part about being knocked in the head, sure, he could buy that, but the part about him feeling normal again. He kind of doubted it. The reality of his world had been skewed and in that action there was consequence. He wouldn't be the same, his innocence, at least some part of it was stolen from him, shattered, broken, fractured. And the worst part was that he couldn't figure out why. It wasn't simply because he was the Sheriff, no, it felt more personal.. all of it. And familiar in a way that was haunting to him. Far too haunting. It had to be, he wasn't Sheriff when he was younger.

In spite of his Father's incessant questioning; he just couldn't remember. He tried, they both went over the scenario over and over again. Not to mention the fact the death of his childhood friend in the midst of all of it weighed heavily on his heart. On his mind and he struggled with it. What had happened? Was she with him? The only evidence that he had of this was his Father's word that he'd found her information in the passenger side of his car when it wrecked, but he didn't even remember the wreck. That's where the trauma happened, they all said, but still he struggled with it. The dash cam from his charger only showed a chase with a license number, a tag number he couldn't make out, and he'd watched it numerous times. He'd keep watching it and keep a look out for the truck, because it was another murder investigation. And an abduction; his very own.

He was beginning to attribute Alesea's death to the great loss that he was feeling, to that void that was within him, the feeling that he'd lost something he couldn't get back. Something that was keeping him awake at night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4nceLotx1w

Throwing fuel on the fire of the family issues that was going on and he just sort of felt the downward spiral twist him around, like a rough ocean's waves. He'd tried to stay out of the rift that was growing between his father and his sister, but three days ago...it all got out of hand. He awoke to the sound of raised voices in the hallway. His Father's heated words filled his senses and Tara's loud response brought him sitting up from his bed with a frown. It wasn't common for discord to exist under their roof, usually they were all on the same page, everyone worked for everyone else. They all tried to help one another out, but this was something else entirely, something was wrong.

Pulling the sheets off of himself, the first night of real sleep he felt like he'd had, and he was staggering out of his room. They were nearly chest to chest and the waves of anger seemed to roll through him directly, until he came in between the two of them, separating them. Verbal threats were issued to them both as he pushed them apart. The hurt in his Father's eyes was evident as he shook his head and turned away, but Tara stood with tears in her own eyes. Without a word, he turned and stepped away from them both, he knew the outcome. She was going to be moving out...

Sluggishly, he dropped a pen on the pile of papers on his desk. His hand came to rest against his forehead, his elbow against the desk. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips, even the sound of the fountain didn't do much to soothe him at this point, but he scrubbed his hand over his face for a moment. The tension headache was just beginning, but he hadn't quite followed up with the doctors the way that he was supposed to. He knew that Tara had just moved to a new home in town, down at the lake, near to Mr. Bowman. He exhaled softly, glancing at the watch on his wrist, wondering how she was doing. Shifting his gaze to his phone, he slipped his fingers atop of it, nearly hitting the code to unlock the screen. He twisted his lips and made the decision to go check on her. After all, he'd gotten her a house warming gift. He knew that his father wouldn't go and he didn't want the family to completely fall apart.

Reaching down to the large blue gift bag to the right of his desk, he picked it up, heading toward his unmarked Charger, the newest one, to replace the one that had been destroyed. This one was silver, lower to the ground, distinctive. With a faint sigh, he unlocked the door, and slipped into the front seat. In less than ten minutes he'd be there, it wasn't terribly far after all. On the way, his gaze scanned the streets for anything out of place, but he all seemed well in their little world, at least for now. He thought that maybe he could talk his Father into going to see her after he'd been here once or twice, but he couldn't help thinking of them both. How hurt they were with one another and he'd do his best to try to mend the fences between the two of them, if he could at all.

Five minutes later, he pulled up to her new address, seeing her car there. Another one was there... a darker colored SUV and he paused for a second. Something about it was terribly familiar, something causing his blood to roll with a chill, but he exhaled. He knew the vehicle well, it was Alexander Orton's vehicle. Here, with his sister. A frown etched over his lips, but it didn't stop him, he pulled the door open, grasping the gift bag. Sliding his phone into his pocket he exhaled a slow breath, making his way to the front door. Four solid knocks were given on the door and he waited.

The unwelcoming face of Bradley Orton pulled the door open. Startled surprise eased over his features, replaced with cool venom, and a wicked hatred bubbled up inside of him. Something akin to cool anger, something he surmised was due to the rumors he'd heard about him. The two had never truly liked one another. That much was a fact, they'd always clashed and his close involvement with Tara only made this worse. Only, he couldn't put his finger on why, something about the dude just made his stomach turn, it made him want to be violent, even if he didn't remember why. The notion of that silent venom crackled between the two of them without a word, until finally he spoke up.

"Is my sister here..?" The cold articulation of the syllables denoted the displeasure at seeing him, even if it was cordial, the request. He asked him coolly, obvious question in his tone about what he was doing there, when an invitation hadn't even been extended to him yet.

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:22 PM

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{ Uriana, mentioning of Trenton, Leo, Alex, Brad } 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLf9q36UsBk

"Mai..." His voice came echoing over space and time, calling her name over and over again. "Mai!" Desperation. "Mai!" Longing. "MAI!"

Her throat tightened, every instinct inside her silently screaming back to him, begging for him to help her escape this hellish nightmare, yet no sound came forth when she opened her mouth. Instead darkness poured in, bringing with it the choking sensation of a warm, coppery tasting liquid: blood. Violently did she thrash, revulsion churning her stomach, yet she found herself unable to move, hands clawing for her arms and legs, dragging her deeper into the abyss. Yet his voice rang out overhead once more, a faint pulse of light overhead.

"I can help...I will help you..."

Despair welled within her once more as he offered her once more the one thing that would surely kill her fastest: hope. How desperately she wanted to go to him! The light he emanated called to her, as water to a dying man who was lost in a desert. Yet it was not meant to be, for he drifted from her, the darkness growing.

 "I was supposed to save you. I was supposed to...come back for you. I'm sorry, Mai..."

'Come back!' she silently screamed at him, fighting harder than ever against the binding dark which loosened its hold upon her slightly. The light overhead gave pause, drifting back towards her once more, hope surging through her once more. If only she could swim to the surface of this abyss and take his hand... 

"I'm not going to leave you, Mai. Not this time. We do this together...or not at all."

-----

Mai started awake, her heart in her throat as Leo Forrest's words echoed through her mind. Unshed tears threatened to sting her eyes, yet she quickly blinked them away, refusing to succumb to such weakness. While there had been a small part of her that wanted what Leo had offered, there was no way she could ever wholly embrace what it was he wanted her to have. After all, she had been trying to figure out how to ditch him when her uncle showed up. Her brow furrowed and she turned to lay on her side, hazel hues sweeping the dark room. 

Now there was a puzzle she still hadn't been able to piece together. Prior to waking up here with the woman who called herself Uriana, Mai had nearly been found by Alex and his thugs, Leo nearly a prisoner once more before unconsciousness swept over her. How had Uriana come to find her in those desolate woods? It certainly wasn't a midnight stroll through the woods as her home was in the heart of Middletown. Considering the fact that when she had awoken, Leo was nowhere near, Mai had ruled him out. He would have taken her home to his family, not dumped her with a stranger. And it definitely wasn't Alex or Brad for if either had found her unconscious, they would have simply killed her for her betrayal. In the end, did it really matter?

There was a soft knock at her door followed by Uriana's gentle voice. "Mai?"

Mai pulled the blanket more tightly about herself, burrowing into them for a moment before responding. "Yeah - I'm up."

Her door creaked open and Uriana stuck her head in. "Breakfast is ready."

"I'll be out in a few." Mai responded neutrally, repressing the urge to shudder. While Uriana seemed ordinary enough, there was something off about her, as though instinctively, Mai knew that the other woman was far more dangerous than she appeared. After two weeks of tailing the other woman, Mai still didn't know what she did for a living in Middletown. Uriana had no friends and no family so far as she could tell. A world full of mysteries - one Mai wasn't about to spend much more time on.

Winter had set in and nobody was coming or going from Middletown - at least not until spring came in a few months. Even on foot, Mai wouldn't make it far. This winter was supposed to break all sorts of records. No matter how much training and preparation one went through, the human body had limits. She would just have to figure out a way to occupy her time otherwise - without drawing the attention of Alex, Brad, or their merry band of thugs, something she knew would be considerably more difficult to do than most would think. They had eyes everywhere in town. Everywhere that was, except for one place.  

 -----

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p733z6aKwMA

Pain exploded at her jaw as his fist connected, momentarily blinding her and stars exploded behind her eyes. Distantly she could hear her opponent's breathing, the shuffle of his feet, but more importantly, his words.

"Keep your hands up Mai. Next time I'm not holding back."

Immediately she brought her gloved hands back up to protect her face even as she struggled to blink away the stars from her vision. The bleary image of her uncle, Alex, slowly came into focus. He hadn't even broken into a sweat whereas she was drenched in sweat and her body fatigued, begging her to take a break, to go lay down for just a few minutes. She had been at this for hours now, facing off against numerous people as they filtered in through the gym. There had been triumphs but there had also been losses. Her heart thundered within her chest as she struggled to keep her gaze focused on him. Alex was just toying around with her. If this were a real fight, she would have been dead with the first blow. 

He waited a few breaths more, something he was not usually prone to doing, before coming at her again. He feigned a punch towards her head and she danced back half a step, yet she had no sooner done so when he moved so quickly that Mai nearly didn't see his leg as it kicked out towards her knee. She pitched herself forward into a roll, his leg narrowly missing her. The world swam as she rolled and came to her feet, yet she didn't let the weariness of her body stop her. Upon the balls of her feet did she rest, ready to move in whatever direction necessary to defend herself or attack Alex. A moment later, he was before her again and before she could fully register that fact, he was landing blow after blow upon her torso, forcing the air from her lungs in small increments. Blindly, she stumbled backwards and fell, reality exploding into stars once more. Darkness whispered to her mind, seeking to pull her away.

"Get up Mai!" Her uncle was yelling at her, dimly heard over the roars of the onlookers which included her cousin - Brad, the very one whom she had so easily beaten just hours before. He was always delighted in watching his younger cousin face off against his father and today was no exception. Deep down, Mai knew that all these hours spent at the gym in training was to make her a stronger person, so that she could avenge the death of her parents when the time came and no amount of weariness, whether physical or mental, would stop her from being successful. With a groan, she picked herself back up, narrowly dodging another blow by her uncle. There were advantages to being small and lithe, however they would not last forever. Mai could hardly remain a thirteen year old girl forever.

-----

Despite knowing that she could never go home to her family, Mai did not allow this to stop her from attempting to carry out the task Alex had given her. As fate would have it, the opportune moment had presented itself in the form of the youngest Forrest, Tara, moving out of the fortress-like estate. Much of the security systems would be down due to her activities taking her in and out of the grounds. And as painful as it had been to watch the acting-sheriff leave three hours prior, not knowing if she would return that same day or at all, Mai had lain in wait in the hopes that things would unfold as they were meant to be. So when the black Charger had returned an hour ago, Mai had crept in through the open gates and stuck to the outer edge of the grounds, waiting until Tara was safely inside the house to move closer to the estate itself wherein she took up a post behind the blanket-wrapped bushes nearest to the front door.

As she waited and the minutes crawled by, Mai was ever aware that her position was incredibly exposed should either Trenton or Leo return home. Yet luck and fate were on her side as neither returned and when Tara exited, Mai was able to soundless slip inside, leaving no trace of her entrance into the home. Quickly did she seek out a dark and out of the way corner in which to hide. Quickly she breezed through the kitchen and dining room, making her way towards what she hoped to be the back of the house until she came to the laundry room. Mai hesitated, glancing back the way she had come when she heard the front door creak open once more. Soundlessly, Mai slipped behind the door and focused on her breathing as well as straining to hear what was going on. Perhaps five minutes had elapsed before she heard the tell-tale sound of Tara coming back down the stairs with more boxes...

-----

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmC3rJR7E98

There's two things I know for sure:
She was sent here from heaven and she's daddy's little girl.
As I drop to my knees by her bed at night
She talks to Jesus and I close my eyes
and I thank god for all of the joy in my life
Oh, but most of all
For butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer;
sticking little white flowers all up in her hair;

As the music played, Mai and her father danced together. Perched upon the tops of his feet, his firm yet gentle hold upon her wrists kept her from falling off as they moved. Back and forth, in small circles, this was one of the few times that Mai was not bounding from one end of the house to another, full of delightful toddler energy. Though she didn't understand what all the words meant in the song that was playing, it truly didn't matter, for her papa enjoyed dancing with her every time this song came on the radio. Mai leaned back to look up at her father, a knowing smile spreading over her face as the song continued.

You know how much-

"I love you, Daddy." Mai sang with the man on the radio. As ever before her papa smiled back, his eyes shiny with emotion. He stopped then and Mai hopped off his feet so that he could kneel and be level with her. No sooner had he done so than she threw her small arms around his neck, hugging him fiercely.

"I love you too baby girl," he whispered to her, his own arms embracing her gently, almost as though he were afraid she would break. "I love you too."

-----

The distant sound of an engine starting roused Mai from her memories so that she cautiously emerged from her hiding spot. Tara had finished packing and was now leaving the Forrest Estate. How much time did this leave Mai, she knew not, however she would work as quickly as able. Digging the flashlight out of her pocket, she turned it on and immediately set to work. Light swept over the laundry room, her gloved hand sifting through stuff on the shelves. While she didn't expect to find anything here, occasionally people kept things of value in the laundry room. It took her no more than one minute to determine that the Forrest's were not the sort to do this.

Retracing her steps, Mai checked each door she came across and the rooms that lay beyond, spending no more than three minutes in each. Frustratingly enough, there was little that jumped out at her as potentially being of value. Yet when she came to a locked door, her curiosity was piqued. Regretfully, there was no key atop the frame. Mai tried the door once more so forcefully that it shook yet did not budge. Growling, she kicked the door and moved on, taking the stairs up to the second level.

There was something in that room, there HAD to be. Why else would the Forrest's keep a door locked when no one was home? Or did someone not trust someone else within the home? Her instinct screamed for her to go back down and try the door again, to break it down if she had to, yet doing so would leave behind obvious evidence and that was not something she wanted to do. Not when the sheriff resided here and not when the homeowner was someone so cold hearted he had no qualms about killing her family.

The first door she opened washed away all thought of the locked door downstairs. There was something vaguely familiar about this room, yet she knew she had never set foot here before. The phantom of an image glossed over the room. A crib in one corner, a glider and some books in one corner, toys scattered haphazardly about the room. Mai blinked and shook her head so that when she opened her eyes once more, the ghostly image had disappeared. With a furrowed brow, she cautiously entered the room which she realized quickly to be Leo's. Bitter resentment surged through her and Mai struggled to check the impulse to destroy everything she could in here. Jerkily did she set about searching his room, perhaps not as thoroughly as she ought to have, yet there was something about this room that was almost hauntingly familiar. She was jerked back to reality as the sound of a car door roused her, her heart leaping into her throat.

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:21 PM

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In an era of stress and anxiety, when the present seems unstable and the future unlikely, the natural response is to retreat and withdraw from reality, taking recourse either in fantasies of the future or in modified visions of a half-imagined past.

Shadows moved into darkness, intertwining with ferocity. He could feel it coming. One ticking of the second hand at a time. Even though they shared warm conversation over a lovely dinner; they both knew. Half smiles didn't hide the anxiety. Something was amiss. And it weighted his heart heavily, those shadows behind her cerulean hues. He knew.

He knew that she had pulled herself from their bed the night before. He waited as the warmth of her body left him and his heart sank at the thudding sound in the kitchen. It hadn't taken him long to be up and by her side. She was reduced to tears. A nightmare she claimed, but there was more. Much more. And tonight, across from her at their dinner table, the issue needed to be addressed. The tension between the two of them was nearly palpable. He knew her well enough to know that something was weighing on her mind. Something wasn't quite right.

With a sigh, he lifted his red wine, taking a sip from it. Slowly, he set it down. Across the flickering candle's light, he studied her. Leaning his tall form forward, he reached across the table for her hand. The tips of his fingers brushed her knuckles.

"Gracie.." He sighed, worry weighing his tone, "It was just a dream."

Even as the words slipped from his lips, he knew better. She had never had ' just dreams', he had seen the proof of otherwise. She had known him before she met him. So much she had told him so. Despite the differences of their families, they were engaged. And he didn't regret it. He'd never been happier. Except for the feeling he'd had, from the very beginning, that it wouldn't last. Some dark cloud would loom upon the horizon; threatening to steal away their light. Perhaps, this is why he asked her the inevitable question.

"What was it...?"

He inquired of her softly. The tips of his fingers dragged over her knuckles as he let her go. Retreating back across the table, he felt his gut wrench at the thought. The thought of what her answer would be. Though, for her sake, for his sake, they needed to share this. He needed to know. He could not offer a solution to an equation he wasn't aware of. With baited breath, he waited for her answer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4

The heated air from the vent of his car did little to warm him. Cold anger that swarmed through his veins. For more than one reason. Leo was returned, but he could see the difference in his son's eyes. More than innocence had been stolen from him. More than twice. There was no excuse for this. And he knew that the war had only just begun. He wasn't about to blink now, not when the darkness was just starting its descent.

Even though the darkest of night would come; he knew the sun would rise again. The moon would guide them through the shadow. The enemies would be revealed and surely as the stars twinkled high above their heads; they were not alone. Even though, surely, it felt as if that were not the case.

Leo was home, but he was not the same. Tara was unsettled and on this day, she had loaded up her belongings, and moved out. He knew about her house down at the docks. If you could call it an adequate home, but she wanted to be an adult, and she had made her intentions clear. She didn't want or need his help. She would rather live in squalor than be under his roof. So be it.

He sighed. With that sigh came a wash of tension that flowed from him. He didn't notice that he had his teeth clenched, that his muscles were wound taut. The tension was palpable even though he was alone in his car. He'd spent the day, as she moved, tending to other things. Intentionally. The types of snares that would keep both of his children safe in the long run, or so he'd hoped. Even though one of the two of them was adamant about not needing him. Nor his advice. She had taken with the enemy, even if he thought he was overly paranoid. He knew better. Gracie wasn't the only one with second sight. At least she had more of a second sight than he did, only in a separate sort of situation.

It didn't matter how far Tara moved away from him. How many miles she crossed. She was still his daughter. Though, she had made it painfully clear that she did not even want that title. He hoped that in the midst of all of her rebellion that she would understand. Everything that he had done, he had done for his children. The wars that he had fought, the enemies that he withstood and fought against, he did so for their safety.

The hardest revelation was perhaps his very own. He had not been able to protect them. With a sigh, his tall frame sank back into the leather seat. He wouldn't fail them again. Not if he could help it.

Five minutes later, his thumb slipped over a remote in his car. The large gate swept open and he only slowed a little. Due to everything that had just happened, he never left the gate open. Not since Leo's return. It was a little security, but a necessary one. It was the visible part that the outside world would see. The true work was happening behind the scenes, as well it should.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL3U1OASkuU

He knew that Leo wasn't home. He was working. He'd been careful to keep an eye on his son. It wasn't because he didn't trust him. He did. With his very own life. Just as he once trusted Tara. He simply did not trust the rest of the world. Someone had taken him. Someone had kidnapped him. Tried to kill him. Wounded him.

He would find that someone. He would make him wish he had never laid eyes on his home, his family, or his hearth. The lights rose slowly around the house as the garage door did the same. A second later he was parked inside of the warmth of his home. Shutting the car off, he stepped out. And he paused.

Reaching into the back seat he pulled out a brown paper bag full of groceries. He'd managed to stop. Get a few things for the two of them. Things that he knew that they would need. Stepping through the garage door and into the warmth of his house, he paused. Something wasn't right. Pausing on the threshold, he turned his head to look over his right shoulder. It wasn't a noise that clued him in. It wasn't that anyone had left something out of place. He simply felt as if things were amiss. Which, they were. Tara had moved out. She wasn't here; nor would she be. Stepping into the kitchen, he settled the bag onto the counter.

And then he decided to check the house. Reaching around beneath his coat, the tips of his fingers brushed the hilt of his Python. Glancing up toward the top of the stairs, he paused. Reaching his other hand down, he hit the alarm. He secured the perimeter. If someone was here, they wouldn't be able to leave without him finding them. Two beeping noises alerted him to the fact. Carefully, he listened. His instincts weren't usually wrong. Someone was here and he aimed to find them.

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:21 PM

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmE6CCQYar8

'That little bitch..I'm going to kill her.'

Brad hissed out through his clenched teeth, wiping the blood away from a bullet wound in his arm. It had only grazed him, but apparently the Forrest boy hit his mark while standing up for their little Mai. Smirking, he looked down at him. She had failed the test. And it was a disappointment, but it wasn't unexpected. Not entirely. He didn't figure she had the salt to kill the Elven Prince. Or to get the information out of him, after all. He knew. He knew about their childhood experiences. He knew by the way that she would rush up to bed, all those years ago and hide away, pretending to sleep. He wasn't blind nor was he stupid. Just guilty by association. That much was for certain as he stared down at his son now.

The boy had more anger than he had sense. That would get him killed one day, he had no doubt. In order to beat an Elf, you had to think like one. Outsmart one. Be quicker than one. Bolg was none of those things. Which is where he laid his hopes in Mai. Elven, she was, but he had thought loyalty to her 'family' would overrun the need to be near those pointy eared freaks.

He was wrong. The Forrest boy in less than a day had undone years upon years of work. He smirked. Reaching down as Bradley ranted and raved, he grasped him by his arm, sinking his thumb deep into the bulletwound. This produced a yowl of pain from him and a low warning growl. Though, immediately he backed down, after a sharp upward turned glare. He only snarled, baring his teeth, then twisted his hand a little deeper. Fresh rivulets of crimson slipped over his fingers, but it didn't effect him.

"No. You're not. You're going to find her." He said all too calmly. "And you're going to bring her to me. Do you understand?"

Bradley snarled and snorted out his response. Letting him go, he shoved him forward, "Good. Now. Clean yourself up. We have work to do."

TWO WEEKS LATER.

And they did. They had a lot of work to do, but laying low was the best way to roll, up until the way came to them. And it did. In the form of a phone call from none other than Tara Forrest herself. A call that asked Brad for help moving out of the hallowed Forrest home. He could have laughed at this. Lose one wench, gain another. Though, he knew one thing was for certain. There was no room for the competition in this town. And he had a huge thorn in his side. One that his master didn't care for and neither did he. In fact, she was put in this playpen to keep her placated. He had an idea about that though, because frankly, he had a goal, and in that goal he wanted to be finished. He wanted to go back to his OWN playpen.

Even though he could pick off these little losers like flies, just as they were. He simply was growing irritated with the two big fish, one pond scenario. On the drive to the Forrest home, he knew just where to find Mai then. Even though Uriana had claimed her for his own, which he knew. He was more interested in tainting the Forrest girl. There was a light at the end of this tunnel. He could pick them all off at once. One fell swoop, but it wouldn't change the fact that he still didn't know where Trenton Forrest was hiding his own personal secrets and he needed that information.

Well, if they couldn't beat it out of the Sheriff, maybe they could terrorize it out of the Deputy. A slow, toothy grin slithered over his lips at the thought. She'd be more fun to break anyway. That'd be all Brad, he had the hots for her after all. He, himself, was more interested in bigger fish. The kind that would make or break the slavery rule in Middle Earth. Which was coming along swimmingly, now that most of these Elven big wigs were trapped in a spider web.

Leaning back in his seat as the SUV rolled down the dark back roads, he gave a sideways glance to Brad. "Tell me something boy. How do you kill a spider?"

Quizzically, Brad turned his head and looked at him like he was a nut short of a jar of a full jar of peanut butter. He only smirked, curling his knuckles tighter around the steering wheel. The leather of Brad's jacket squelched softly as he shrugged, not picking up on his witty sarcasm.

"Right." He sighed, some intelligent company would be worth it. Maybe he should have picked a better mother for the boy. He wasn't stupid, he was just ruled by anger. Which was his own fault, he supposed. He should have taught him better. Not to be ruled by his nuts or his head. He'd already ripped his heart out. He supposed loyalty was more important than a sharp wit anyway.

"You starve it." He said to him with another wide grin, to which Brad finally was on the same page. He knew exactly what his father meant. If you wanted to defeat the Elves, you had to out smart them. Out think them. If you wanted to defeat a spider, you took away its food, and that meant that you picked these Elves off one at a time.

"I have an idea…" He said to him with a faint smirk, "Forget about Mai. She'll get her just desserts with the spider. I want you to focus on the Forrest girl. Keep her under your thumb. Do whatever it takes, breaking her is more important than you know."

And it would be. He knew the reasons why. With a slow grin, he leaned back into his seat, they were about to become intimate with the little Woodland Guard. And he never missed an opportunity to play spy and awe. Having been invited into the fortress that was the Forrest home, he was like a kid in a candy store. The house was impressive, lush, luxurious, but he couldn't have cared less about it. He cared about the real jewel that was leaving with them. Tara Forrest. 

With each box that they carried out and loaded into the cars, he knew they were a step closer to this all coming down. Here, in this world, she was a strong and independent woman. It was proper and right for a girl her age to have a boyfriend, to move out on her own, to have her own life. So this was normal, but in the real world... it wasn't. She was betraying her Elven heritage and hell, if he could play a part in it, he would be glad to. He had come so far as to be her support system, where her 'Father' obviously hadn't. So much so that she had already taken to calling him Dad. To this, he only offered her a warm smile and a nod. A twinkle in his eye, maybe it was pride, that's what he depicted it as.. or maybe it was something else.

It didn't truly matter. The end would reveal all, but by then it'd be too late. With a faint smirk, as the two kids were distracted, he made his way into the kitchen. He didn't even ask for permission to get a 'drink of water.' Once he was in there, he paused to look around. It was tidy, nearly spotless, and bereft of any kind of human touchings. He could tell it was fake, but it didn't matter. Trenton Forrest probably had his own maid service. No, the man was far too paranoid.

 Popping open the fridge, he leaned inside to look around. After a minute or two of rummaging, he heard Brad's voice calling after him. They were finished loading up the boxes. He snapped the fridge shut and took a step to the sink, turning on the tap carefully. Washing his hands as the two of them came to the threshold of the door frame, he smirked, turning off the faucet.

"I'm coming. Just had to wash my hands." He offered Tara a smile as he stepped toward the door, "Are we ready?"

And it didn't take long until the three of them were off, leaving the Forrest home in their tail lights. Bradley rode with Tara and he was alone with only his thoughts - and he didn't mind that all. Especially knowing what he had just done. He could stand some time to finish his plotting and scheming. Good things come to those who wait and he was patient. At least, for now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySaWSxpb14g

One by one the boxes were carried into her house. Admittedly, he thought it was a dump. Though, who was he to judge? She was claiming her freedom and he would support her every step of the way. Carting one of the boxes down the hallway toward the bathroom, for now he played the good father in law. He could do that, just ask Mai.

A ball came flying toward him as the two kids threw love punches at one another. Raising a brow at her, he smirked as it bounced off of his broad chest. She apologized to him calling him dad and he laughed, as good natured as he could be.

"It's okay, kiddo. I don't think you did any serious damage. I might just live after all." Leaning down he picked up the stress ball and pitched it back to her, going to carry in the last few of the boxes. After it was finished, he made sure that they stayed. To help her go through all of her things. To listen to her grievances should she have any. Which he made it a point to ask about them.

Sitting in the living room with the two of them after their little tryst, he paused while unpacking some CD's from a box.

"Tell me if I'm out of line, kiddo, but .. I just wanted to say. I'm glad you finally have your own place. Something told me we weren't exactly welcome at your old house."

He said it jokingly, but with an edge of seriousness. He truly was genuine, he was glad that she had her own place. The doorbell rang a moment later and she was paying for pizza. Brad gave him a look and he shrugged. They may not like the taste of that sort of food, but it was better than nothing. Soon enough, they'd be feasting on what they enjoyed best. Expectantly, she turned asking them if they would stay for pizza and he smiled.

"It'd be rude not to. Besides.." He reached up taking the beer from her as she handed it to him, "Who can turn down free pizza, beer, and good company? That's not what we're all about in this family."

Using his hand, he popped the top off of the beer and raised it in a salute to them. "To new beginnings, new family, and a new year. I get the feeling this one is going to be MUCH better than the last."

He hid the grin with his beer bottle and took the offered plate of pizza that she brought him. Sitting down on one of the sturdier boxes he gave a look around.

"I have some furniture, tables, chairs, we'll bring them by tonight. Help you get this place all set up, kiddo... in fact.."

Just as he was about to continue another chime of the door bell interrupted him and he took a slow drink from his beer waiting. Bradley said he had it and he stood up, moving that way. He gave a glance to Tara, then back to the door. He could see the anger flow through Brad and he settled his beer to the side. Standing up slowly, he heard Leo's familiar voice. A slow smile tugged at his lips, but he squashed it quickly glancing to Tara to see if she was okay.

Stepping closer to her, he settled a hand over on her shoulder. Just to let her know. He was here if she needed him...

And while they were distracted, he slipped his hand into his pocket and sent off a text. The wheels were starting to spin and he was going to enjoy the ride. 

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:21 PM

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{ Alex, Brad, Leo, mentioning of Trenton}

Tara's lips twisted into a broad smile that almost felt foreign as Alex responded teasingly about the ball hitting him. He and Brad were like a breath of fresh air, hardly the stuffy and ever deathly serious atmosphere that had come to be within the Forrest household. It felt like it had been years since anyone had laughed in that house and she found it to be quite depressing. It was moments like this, with Brad and Alex, that she missed most about her father and brother. But she did not allow herself to dwell on such memories.

-----

"Tara." The tone of her father's voice had been terse, one she had heard a thousand times which always meant she was perilously close to being in real trouble with him. Always before, she had hearkened to it, begged forgiveness and immediately sought to make amends for whatever misstep she had taken. Yet in more recent months, particularly in recent weeks, Tara found it harder and harder to bend the proverbial knee and kiss the floor. Perhaps if Trenton Forrest didn't hover over both Tara and Leo as though they were still small children, things might have transpired otherwise. However with Leo's abduction came an increased vigilance on Trenton's part so that he was nearly suffocating to Tara. 

"What?" The word came from her lips, equally terse but a touch more unforgiving, almost as though it were the warning growl of a wolf. With one word, she had sought to caution him, to not press at her else risk damaging whatever little remained of their relationship. In typical Trenton fashion, he plowed onward.

"We need to talk."

Tara turned towards her father then, struggling to contain her temper. " 'We'-" made air quotes with her fingers. "-need? Or you need?"

She watched the emotions flit across his features and he too struggled to suppress his emotions, to not let them get the best of him. Tara shook her head and spoke again before he could. "There's nothing to talk about, dad. I'm moving out. Period. End of story."

"Won't you at least-"

"NO!" Tara interrupted him sharply, taking several steps towards him so that perhaps a single hand span separated them.

"Please Tara, Leo's-"

"You leave Leo out of this!" Tara fairly shouted in his face. Just as Trenton was protective of her brother, so also was Tara. Her father had an uncanny way about making her feel guilty over something she had no reason to feel guilty for. "My decision is final! I've already paid the deposit!"

She could see the hurt within her father's eyes but she didn't care, at least not while anger burned through her veins. While Tara had contemplated picking a place that was literally as far away from her father as possible, she had elected to stay closer to the city and her jobs. However Tara knew that he owned a fair portion of the land and buildings in Middletown, so she had purposely sought out a part of town where he held no influence and could not use covert means to spy on her.

Tara opened her mouth to say more when she was momentarily distracted by a firm but gentle hand pushing her back from her father. Quickly did she turn towards the intruder, ready to fire off a scathing remark but bit it back when she caught sight of Leo's disheveled form. His lips moved yet Tara found herself unable to hear what it was he had said for a wave of anguish and guilt surged through her then.

Her brother had slept very little since she had found him in those desolate woods and had insisted on throwing himself headlong back into work, yet Tara knew he needed to take time off. Stubborn, like their father, he had refused. Also like their father, Leo had become withdrawn and sullen, leaving Tara feeling bereft, as though she were without the support of her family. Painfully did this wretch her heart so that even the sight of her best friend and brother was too much to bear. It was in this moment that she realized a very small part of her would be glad to not have to see him on a daily basis. 

Tears glittered in her eyes but they did not fall. She glared at her father before whirling and racing down the steps, two at a time, until she reached the foyer. Pulling on a jacket and her snow boots, Tara grabbed her keys and fled the Forrest home, slamming the door shut behind her. The engine of her Charger thrummed to life and within moments, Tara had recklessly peeled out of the Forrest estate, making her way back into town. Once she calmed down, she would grab a few hours of sleep at the station.

-----

Brad and Alex had offered to stay and help her unpack to which she had readily accepted. She needed all the help she could get between working two jobs and sleep. Most of this would probably remain in boxes - at least until she managed to go shopping for furniture. When that would happen, she had absolutely no clue. But somehow, she'd figure it out. Tara was sorting through the Blu-Ray's when Alex spoke. For a heartbeat, she didn't say anything but she sat with her feet tucked under.

"My dad isn't particularly trusting of anyone." She paused, struggling to keep her face composed and forced a half-smile to her lips. As far as she had been able to discern, Trenton Forrest trusted nobody but himself and maybe Edward Nightingale. Once upon a time, she had thought he trusted her but as she grew, it became apparent he did not. An illusion of it only did he offer to herself and to Leo. While Tara had contemplated urging Leo from moving out as well, she knew it was not her place to do so. If he felt the need to do so, he would. Yet her thoughts returned to probing words. Alex was absolutely right. Given the events that had happened two weeks prior, permitting Alex anywhere near the Forrest estate was absolutely the last thing her father would have wanted or permitted. Yet when the time came to move, Leo was stubbornly at work and her father had disappeared entirely. Tara had scarcely seen her father since their last fight and while she was relieved to not be confronted again over the matter, she was hurt that he had withdrawn entirely. 

"I'm afraid he's still wound up over that confrontation on the road two weeks ago," she added, offering a soft, apologetic smile. Trenton had been quite adamant that Alex had taken Leo. To date, there was no hard evidence that supported this yet she said nothing of it to Alex.  She opened her mouth to say something more when the doorbell chimed and she excused herself to answer it. Pizza had arrived. Which she then used in conjunction with beer to get Brad and Alex to stay at least a little longer. When Alex accepted, she smiled broadly at him, popped the top off her beer and raised it in salute to him and Brad.

"New beginnings," she echoed, taking a swig of beer before divvying up slices of pizza for each of them. She followed the two men into the main room and seated herself on the floor, using a nearby box as a table. She had taken one bite and was about to take another when Alex offered her some furniture. Immediately she brightened and felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Her shift at the hospital didn't start until midnight so it would work!

Tara blinked as the doorbell sounded again, a soft frown creasing her brow. Who in the devil could that be? She wasn't expecting anyone... Before she could get to her feet, Brad had done so and offered to get the door. Her eyes followed Brad to the door and even before he had opened it, she had risen to her feet. Tara was startled a moment later as an unfamiliar hand placed itself upon her shoulder though a quick glance showed it was Alex.

"Is my sister here...?" The voice of her brother seemed to echo about her flat and Tara stilled. What was he doing here? Why was he here? Had Trenton sent Leo to 'check up' on her already? At the last thought, anger warmed her veins and she stepped forward and briskly, starting for the front door. If their father wanted to see how she was doing, then he could pick up the phone himself or come see her himself. Of course, presently Tara was more inclined to shoot her father than speak cordially with him. And if Leo agreed to come here on behalf of their father... Tara pulled the door open even as Brad struggled to keep it mostly closed.

"Brad." Her tone was clipped and he picked up on it, dropping his hand from the door and letting her open it. Brad stepped back but did not retreat back down the hall to rejoin his father. He was like a line of vibrating heat at her back, irritating her for the present moment. With an exasperated sigh, she stepped outside and closed the door firmly behind her for at least the illusion of privacy.

Tara had already confided more than she had intended to with Brad, about how she was feeling bereft of her own family and as though they were falling apart yet it was one thing to talk about and another thing for him to witness it.

"What do you want?" The words came tumbling unbidden from her mouth, yet there was nothing she could do to take them back. They were hardly the first words she wanted to say to her brother but she felt hurt by how reclusive he had become - with even her. How many times had she offered to be there for him, whenever he needed, for whatever he needed? He had been through an ordeal and rather than accept help, he had brushed it - and her - away. Whatever had happened to him had changed him, of that much she was certain. She would never get back the brother she had known and loved her entire life - not that she expected he would ever be 100% himself. However he now behaved more like their father than like her lovable brother Leo. Though she would never admit it aloud, this deeply wounded her.

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:20 PM

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGEyqP0744c

It took three beats of his heart and some serious self control to not react instinctively to Bradley Orton opening the front door of his sister's new apartment. An apartment that he hadn't been invited to as of yet, he'd decided to come on his own accord, because he knew that he'd been less of the person that he once was. It was something that entirely he couldn't help, since his return, he'd walked around like a ghost. Some shade and shape of the person that he used to be, but he wasn't quite whole. He knew it and so did the rest of the town, but what could he possibly do about it? He decided to start here, while he didn't really know precisely what had happened between his sister and his father, all that he knew was that he had to try to mend the bridges between the two.

More than that though, he wanted to be sure that she was all right. No doubt, she was, obviously. He heard the irritation in her tone as she said Brad's name and he let his hand drop off of the door jamb in a hateful fashion. This only caused a smirk to crawl over his lips and he lifted his chin a fraction of an inch. He wasn't terribly concerned about the ill intent that her boyfriend had against him. The two of them had never liked each other and he didn't plan on changing that anytime soon, but for Tara's sake, he'd at least try.

At least until she opened the door and he was met with the glaring face of his sister and before he could speak she had blurted out the words she couldn't take back.

'What do you want?'

The hateful syllables fell from her tongue in a venomous swirl and he couldn't help but part his lips to exhale a sharp breath. He was only vaguely aware of the shock and then hurtful expression that had to have washed over his features. For a split second, his poker face slipped, and the betrayal was evident. He felt his eyes widen as he looked at her and he felt the air escape from his lungs. She might as well have struck him, because it certainly felt as if she had. The stinging sensation rolled through him, from the left side of his chest, all the way to his fingertips, and he paused. He stared at her silently for a moment as the snow swirled around them.

For a second, he felt as if he wanted to be anywhere but standing on the front stoop of her apartment. He suddenly regretted coming and he felt like a kid. A howling whirl of noise washed over the rooftops of the building and brought him back to awareness. The frigid air washed him by and he swallowed slowly, glancing away from her, and shifting his weight in the snow which crunched beneath his boots. He swallowed hard once more and sighed, he knew then he wasn't welcome here, and he began to feel as cold as the winter's wind that coiled around them. Worse than that, he felt like an idiot for worrying about her, she was perfectly fine.

What did he want? He thought about it as he looked back to her slowly. He wouldn't waste her time and she'd made her point perfectly clear. She'd not only moved out of the house to get away from Dad, but to get away from him as well. This was her new life and the people she was choosing to spend it with. And perhaps more than not remembering what had happened to him, perhaps more than Alesea's death, out of all of it, this hurt the very worst. It struck him the deepest, because the two of them had always been close. 

Or so he'd thought, but the way that she was staring at him now, the venom in her words, it dawned on him. She didn't see him the same way that he saw her, they weren't equals in her eyes, but he was attempting to be her superior. To slow her down, when all that he had wanted was her companionship.

Someone to hold a lantern for him in these darkest of hours when he couldn't cart it himself. And it was in that moment that he realized that wasn't fair to her either. She shouldn't be carrying his burdens, it wasn't her fault that he was broken, that he was fractured. It wasn't her fault what had happened to him and maybe it was too much of a weight for her to carry. She just wanted to be happy, to have her own life, her own chance at life. She was the one member of the Forrest family that had remained unscathed by the darkness that haunted them all. She'd been free of the demons that lurked in the shadows and he couldn't blame her for wanting to get away. Yet, here he stood.. a grim reminder of all that they had lost.

Though, he couldn't begrudge her her new life. He opened his mouth to speak twice, but no words came out. Not because he didn't know what to say, but because of the pain that silenced his words. Finally, he was beginning to realize why his Father was silent so much. It wasn't because he didn't know what to say, but because of the depth of the wounds that had been dealt to him. And if you opened your mouth to speak in the middle of that pain, the dam of emotions might tear right through that tiny crack and spill all over the place.

 So he took a minute, finally looking back at her. He studied his sister for a long moment as she looked at him indignantly. He cleared his throat then and sighed, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck, an old habit of his that showed that he was uncomfortable. Something that, no doubt, he didn't even know that he was doing.

"Nothing..." He finally breathed out to her, "I just..."

Slowly, he extended the bag to her, bending to set it at her feet. She could take it inside if she wanted or she could leave it right where it was. "I just wanted to congratulate you on the new place, that's all... nothing.." He twisted his lips as he looked at her, "...nothing else, Tara."

He stood there for a moment as the wind bit at him, tearing at him like tiny daggers, and he could almost feel them tearing into his skin. The cold that was gnawing at him, but he was too distracted by the pain in his chest. By what was being torn apart on the inside of him.

"I'm just ...I'm.. real proud of you...sis." He struggled to offer her a faint smile, dropping his hand from the back of his neck.

Feeling the awkward pull of momentary silence between the two of them, he slowly turned away from her, grateful for the ability to do so. For the release from the realization that she wanted nothing more to do with him. They weren't quite on the same page and it was something he'd felt for a good long while, but to have it confirmed was a strong stinging blow. One that nearly stole the wind from him.

"Goodbye, Tara…" He sighed slowly, "Goodnight."

He said it more to the wind than anything else, because whatever she decided from this point forward was her decision. Sure, he'd always be her big brother, but chances were she blamed him for everything that had happened. Just like the rest of the town did and he couldn't blame her. Not truly, so he slowly just kept himself on the move toward his car. With a slow sigh he reached the door and didn't look back. He couldn't. She had made her decision and more than just her words, he had seen it within her eyes. She didn't want anything more to do with him or their Dad. And that was her God given right, he just .. felt bad for letting her down.

If he couldn't protect himself... how could he possibly protect her?

Once he was in the car, closing the door, the anger hit him. More hurt than anger, but the latter was still there, if she wanted to be associated with those Orton boys, then he'd let her. She was an adult, she didn't need his protection. Pushing the car into reverse, he slammed on the accelerator, the tires spinning as it hit the drive. Maybe it wasn't safe, but maybe he didn't really care. What was it going to do? Kill him?

Not likely. Someone, somewhere was keeping him alive, because of what he didn't know. Though, it was a good therapeutic way to get all of that aggression out. And he had quite a bit of frustration. Some of it he didn't know particularly why it was there, but it was. Underlying. Miss Goldbloom had said it was because he couldn't remember what had happened to him, because of the tragedy that he had undergone, because of the atrocity. He wasn't inclined to believe it, but one that he did need to do is have a conversation with his father.

Before all of this happened, he'd warned him about a few things. They'd butted heads over them and he remembered them well. Except now ...it was time to finish the talk. So without delaying it any further, he pushed the accelerator on the silver charger as it lunged forward. The engine growled against the frigid air and it caught traction, speeding toward the Forrest homestead.

It was time they dragged all of this out into the open. It was beyond time they cleared the air and he had to know why. Once and for all. Why were they haunted? Why were they hunted? Why did they have to change their names and hide their identities? Why did his mother die? He wanted to know ... and he wanted to end it once and for all.

And it was time...

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:20 PM

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{ Leo, Alex, Brad }

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScNNfyq3d_w

The young man who had grown into the young man before her had once been nearly inseparable from her, yet in the last two weeks, she had never felt more bereft or lost her entire life. Though Leo could not recall  the details of his kidnapping, it had irrevocably changed him into someone she neither recognized or knew. He looked like her brother but neither acted nor sounded like him. He was a ghost, a shell of the person she had known. So when he showed up unexpectedly, uninvited, Tara had scarcely known what to think. Ever he had been the favorite child of their father, forever obedient and willing to do whatever was asked of him. It wasn't even outside the scope of possibilities that he would ask Leo to check on Tara and report back to him.

So even as her heart softened at the sight of Leo, a small part hoping that her brother and not the stranger who inhabited his body had come to her door, she immediately steeled herself against the reality of the situation: Leo Forrest had changed and not for the better. Rather than cry about it and show him weakness, she embraced the anger that warmed her veins. Clipped were her words, her tone accusatory and hostile. Immediately she regretted it, watching the shock, hurt and desolation fill his expression and dark hues. Her brow furrowed slightly as the heart that beat within her chest twinged painfully. Her own features softened even as he looked away.

Why had she assumed the worst of him? Why had she let hurt and anger get the best of her for even a second towards the one person who had always been at her side and always had her back? "Leo..." she whispered his name, raising a hand to reach out towards him but stopped when he returned his gaze to her, it was with a look that was not inviting. Quickly did she withdraw her hand, instead rubbing it up her exposed arms. Such was her haste and anger that she had hardly thought to put on a coat or, as she glanced towards the ground, even shoes. Feeling the sting of moisture in her eyes, she focused her attention towards the frigid cold that was penetrating her bare feet and struggled to blink away tears.

She looked up at him when after many awkward moments of silence, he finally spoke, stating that there was nothing he wanted of her. The expression upon her face hardened and she gritted her teeth together, nodding her head sharply. Of course he wanted nothing from her. He had made that abundantly clear these past two weeks. Refusing to take time off from working the investigation to take care of himself. Refusing to let her be the shoulder he leaned upon. Refusing to speak to her except to stop her and their father from fighting one another. Her brother didn't need her, perhaps had never needed her and this cut her to her very heart. Though she would never admit it aloud, she needed her brother for he had ever been a guide and sometimes even her voice of logic and reason when she sought to act out rashly.

Given how he had not been himself lately, Tara had begun to wonder if maybe moving out was the wrong choice - especially since it was made in a fit of anger. Usually such decisions were poor ones, however once in a blue moon, it was actually the right decision. At odds with their father and with her brother removed from her, she had only Alex and Brad. Grateful as she was to have their help and support, it wasn't as strong as the bond and support she had once had from her father and brother. Tara struggled to control her breathing, to keep her pulse slow so that she didn't say or do anything else rashly. She glared at Leo as he congratulated her on the place.

Tears threatened to form once more as she thought furiously to herself. Congratulate me? What the hell for?! They were adults for Pete's sake! This was something adults did! She didn't deserve any congratulations!

As tempting as it was to speak her mind, Tara bit her tongue to keep from furthering the rift between brother and sister. Secretly she still hoped that they could and would be as close as they once were...after Leo worked through whatever was eating him. In silence did she watch him turn from her, Tara blinking furiously as she struggled to cope with the sensation that her heart was somehow fracturing...only to shatter into a million pieces  moments later as he said goodbye to her.

Tears blinded her then and she wrapped both her arms tightly about herself, nails digging into the flesh of her upper arms. He had said goodbye. Goodbye was what you said to someone who had died. Goodbye was what you said to someone who was as good as dead to you as far as you were concerned. Goodbye was final. It was the end. It was...goodbye.

And then he left.

Hot tears flowed down her cheeks, her breathing ragged as he walked away from her and back to his car. She watched him, oblivious to the numbing cold, unaware that rivulets of crimson had begun to trickle down her arms, her nails having punctured flesh. None of it mattered for her emerald hues watched her brother who not once looked back at her. She watched until he disappeared into his car and continued to watch until he had peeled out of the parking lot. It wasn't until the glow of his taillights disappeared that a strangled sob escaped her lips, devastation shattering her world.

Leo was gone.

That realization alone was enough to double her over, bringing into sight with it the gift he had set on the ground before her. She straightened and whirled, leaving the gift untouched as she threw open the door and promptly slammed it shut behind her. One blurred glance down the hall reminded her that she had visitors: Brad and Alex. One of them had risen and started towards her and blindly, she went towards him. It wasn't until he spoke that she knew which it was.

"Want me to go beat him up for you?"

There was a brief answering gush of anger at Brad but it quickly left her. Purposely, she walked around him and went to Alex, wrapping her bleeding arms about him tightly as she pressed her cheek to his chest, great sobs racking her body as she cried out her heartbreak, loss and pain.

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:19 PM

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{ Trenton, Brad }

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9GEPqBssVk

The sun had long since disappeared from sight, leaving her little more than the slowly darkening sky overhead to keep her company as she waited for the mysterious Uriana to leave that stupid trinket shop she had already visited three times this week. Mai had gone back after the first trip to take a look but found nothing of interest. Just old things that nobody wanted. Including Uriana. Though Mai was grateful that Uriana had saved her from the winter cold and her Uncle, the kind woman was hardly talkative and divulged little about herself. After the first two days, Mai had given up on asking Uriana questions and took to following the other woman. Which led to where she was now: shivering in a darkened alley, half an eye on the shop and half an eye on the gym across the street.

Stubbornly, she turned so that the gym was no longer in her direct line of sight. Less than two weeks ago, it was not only where she worked but where she lived, bled, and pushed herself. It was where she trained and became the woman she was now...or was two weeks ago. But Mai knew her uncle and cousin. If she went anywhere near her old haunts or attempted to keep to the routine she once had and someone saw her, Brad and Alex would descend upon her like a pack of vultures. Sure, she was quick and could probably get away before anyone could shoot her, however it was best not to take chances.

Mai bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, struggling to stay warm and after another two minutes, caved. That confounded woman wasn't leaving the stop anytime soon and if Mai kept waiting, she'd freeze half to death. Deeper into the alley way did she move, navigating it's twists and turns until she came to Bree Street. Cautiously did she emerge from the shadows and slip into the Prancing Pony, a cursory glance revealing nothing but unfamiliar faces - or at least none that would give her cause to worry. Easily did she slip between tables, making her way towards the back of the tavern where she took a table with her back to the wall. While it wasn't exactly ideal wherein she could hide from sight, it did afford her a view of the entire room. 

Mai had been sitting for no more than two minutes when her breath caught in her throat, her gaze having fallen upon a rather familiar face that had just entered the tavern: Bradley Orton. Every fiber of her being screamed for her to get up and run, yet she knew that if she did so, it would immediately draw his gaze...the very gaze that was slowly roaming every table as though he was looking for someone. Just as she was about to slide beneath the table, his gaze found hers and recognition lit his face, a cruel smile twisting his lips as he started straight for her. Mai half-rose from her seat but stopped when she saw the look on her cousin's face. He wanted her to run. Stubbornly, defiantly, and perhaps even stupidly, she sat back down and kept her seat, glaring at Brad as he took the chair across from her, one hand slipping inside his winter coat - no doubt to retrieve his gun.

"I thought I had spied a traitor. You really should have run, Mai." To his credit, Brad tried to make his tone light and cordial but Mai recognized the glittering darkness within his eyes. She said nothing to her cousin as her mind raced. unless her Uncle had changed policy in the short week she had been on the run, Brad wouldn't start shooting in a tavern full of witnesses. Which meant he needed to get her outside and to a secluded place before he axed her. He spoke then, almost as if he could read her mind. "You're lucky dad wants you alive."

"Alive?" The words came tumbling out well before she had sense enough to remain silent. The surprise and dismay was evident upon her features. Brad wasn't clever enough to think on his own so what he said must be true. When she had unwittingly agreed to help the Sheriff, she had known that this was a possible outcome. Uncle Alex always tidied up the most grievous of loose ends and Mai knew she had screwed up. Badly. If she didn't make a clean break from Brad, then she was bound for an exquisitely painful death.

"How about we head on home?" Even over the murmuring din of the tavern, Mai's keen hearing readily recognized the sound of a bullet being loaded into the chamber of a gun...a gun that no doubt was being pointed at her under the table. Before Mai could respond, a rasping whisper of a voice that made her skin crawl sounded to the left of her.

"Run."

Inexplicably, her table was upended and fell upon Brad, knocking him in his chair backwards. The loud bang of a gun going off silenced the tavern, curious and alarmed faces all turning towards the commotion. Not a single gaze settled on her for all eyes were on Brad who was now cursing, pushing the table off of him as he regained his feet. Not waiting a moment longer, Mai fled the tavern, largely unaware that not a single eye fell upon her as she did so. She ran from the tavern and did not stop running until she was back at Uriana's home along the shore.

-----

Even as she was about to leave Leo Forrest's room, a single item left to lean against the wall in a corner caught her attention. With her gaze fixated upon it, she moved around his bed towards the familiar black curved metal of her bow. Her brow furrowed as she reached out towards it, hesitating a moment before grasping the familiar weapon that was as much a part of her as any other weapon might be to its wielder. That bastard had taken her bow and quiver after all! Neither were lost and her uncle had not recovered them for himself. Relief and anger surged in her, only to be replaced by panic as she heard the distant sound of a car door being shut.

A quick glance at her watch showed that not even half an hour had elapsed since Tara's departure from the Forrest Estate. Either the young woman had forgotten something and returned or one of the men had returned home. For a moment, she hoped that it was Leo so she might finally confront him yet if her track record of luck was any indication, it was likely Trenton Forrest. Her fingers coiled about her bow, lifting it while her other hand lifted the quiver and arrows still contained within over her shoulders. To her chagrin, the straps would need to be readjusted, Leo having a broader chest than she, yet there was hardly time to do so. Soundlessly she moved back to the door straining her ears for any sound either in the hallway or down stairs.

There was a faint crinkle of paper that told her someone was indeed home. Mai struggled to slow her racing heart, trying to decide what options she had available to her. Every citizen had a reputation for being a gun-toting whore - all except apparently Uriana and now Mai with the latter simply being deprived of having an arsenal, everything she owned being at her Uncle's house. Odds were good that whoever was down stairs, be it Leo or Trenton, had a gun on his person. Best case scenario, he was unaware that she was in the home. Worst case scenario, somehow he knew she was in the home. She could either fight, hide, or flee. Whether it was Tara, Leo, or Trenton, Mai was not particularly keen on fighting them equipped with only a bow. A quick glance around Leo's room told her that it would be difficult for her to hide in here...especially if whoever had come home had a keen sense of smell. Which left fleeing. Either she attempted to sneak back out of the house the way she had come and risked being confronted or she opened a window and jumped out from the second story in the hopes that she didn't break an ankle, was heard, or seen.

Before she could decide, two beeps sounded, decidedly closer than she would have liked. Though she couldn't be certain, it almost sounded as though whoever it was was at the base of the stairs which ruled out leaving the way she had come in - at least for the moment. The more important question was was he coming upstairs or staying down? Either way, time was running out. Not keen to any of her options, Mai regretfully stepped back into Leo's room, closed the door as soundlessly as possible and then moved as quickly as she dared back towards his bed, lowering herself to the ground to crawl underneath. Though it would be a tight fit, she could hide here for a few hours until Trenton and Leo were asleep and then sneak out. Hearing footsteps pause outside Leo's door, Mai held her breath and stilled, praying that whoever had come home didn't open the door and if he did, didn't notice anything out of place. 

One Last Time RPG

 

Jan 27th 2024 - 1:19 PM

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No longer recognize the place that I call home
No longer recognize this face as my own..
Somewhere this fate, I lost control...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W7rSvGSL8A

He couldn't be sure which was more apparent as he peeled out of the snow covered driveway and onto the main road. Pain or anger, she had walked out of their lives, content to live with the likes of the Orton's. And truth be told, he couldn't have convinced her that they weren't nice people. She had to find out for herself, but it didn't mean that he stopped loving her, just that he couldn't watch her kill herself. Not when he wanted to kill them, but he had to be the bigger person, he had to walk away. He couldn't get caught up in the pain and the sorrow of losing his sister, but what he could do is demand answers from their father. What was truly going on... why had all of this happened.. and even if the man had none, he knew that wasn't the case.

All of the chaos that had happened in their lives, all of the darkness, all of the death, the kidnappings, the murders, the secrets, the lies, he had to know the truth. Once and for all. So it was with all of this in mind that he was barreling at full speed toward their house now. His heart was beating within his chest at a rapid pace, the adrenaline fueling him forward, but he didn't bother to slow. Expertly navigating the twists and turns of those winding roads, it was a good thing that they were used to the snow up in this part of the world, because he couldn't have turned the roads if they hadn't. Even that didn't matter to him, the chaos within his mind wouldn't be silenced, it couldn't be...

Not without answers. Not without some retribution, not when killers were walking their streets, not when kidnappers were erupting from his past, not when the demons that had forever haunted him were springing to life and they were. They were rising up in misted forms like ghosts to reach forward and claim him for their own.

And his car was speeding as fast as his mind was, because he didn't let up on the accelerator. Chaos was filling his thoughts, whispers in his mind that didn't seem to come from him. And the only place he seemed to find any peace at all was at a seaside inn with an unassuming couple. Miss Caroline had always seemed to be able to soothe the chaos within his heart, within his soul, and offer him enough solace to keep him pushing onward. Especially when the world around him felt like it had tilted, that it was spinning off of its axis and spiraling out of control.

He had never been an angry child, not until the nightmares came, not until emotions erupted that he couldn't find words to explain, not until the world around him seemed to be filled with monsters that didn't exist. His dreams were dark, filled with worlds that would melt away with chaos and death, with great winged beasts that belched acid like fire from their gullets. Screams of the dying haunted him at night and it felt so real that he could smell the sulfur, he could smell the acrid scent of death, he could feel the forlorn despair..

And in this reality.. it was eating away at him. He couldn't stop thinking about it, couldn't stop thinking that he had missed something, that there was some reason for it. Something that he couldn't quite grasp, that felt like it was just on the edge of his consciousness, but that he couldn't reach. With a slow exhalation, he loosened his fingers against the steering wheel as he came upon the familiar row of trees, the trees that were leading to his house. Except, it didn't feel terribly familiar at this point, it felt as if he were the one that was displaced, that he didn't belong here. The woods weren't welcoming to him anymore and his heart was aching for the reality of this, for the realization.

Maybe that's what he really wanted answered by his Father, maybe he just needed that comfort, maybe he just needed something. Something that he couldn't put his finger on..something that he didn't know what it was. With a slow breath and a rougher jerk of the car than he meant to, he slung the vehicle into the driveway, only to find the front gate closed. The property was locked down and to this he upped a brow, reaching onto the steering wheel of the charger, he punched a button and a remote code was sent into the electronic gate. Maybe his father was being paranoid again, but the man was here alone, that meant only one thing. And it was confirmed by the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, something was wrong...

Panic caused his heart to beat rapidly, the tips of his fingers tingled with it and his breathing picked up seconds later. As soon as the gate swung open, he was speeding up the lengthy driveway that led to the house. And it didn't take him long to reach the front walkway. He could tell from the state of the house that it was on lock down, that the entire property was. His dad had only done this once before and that was longer than he could remember and he had never done it when he was alone. It was shortly after he had returned home, after his mother's death, it was when they were only allowed to stay within the living room. He played games with Tara and watched his dad go from room to room, checking for something that he couldn't see, someone he couldn't see, and she was afraid. So quiet that it took him hours to get her to talk, but he never knew why, and to this day he hadn't thought to ask about it. Though, a chilling thought came over him.. maybe it wasn't him that they were after. Maybe it was his Father.

Skidding the car to a stop sideways out front, he reached for his glock that was beside the seat and slipped it into his hand. His knife latched beneath his heavy coat to his hip. Pulling the keys from his car, he hit the lock button, and made his way up to the front door. A rapidly beeping light showed him that the security system was armed and he punched in a code that was unique to him and him alone. The pad of his thumb slipped into an expensive system and the front door unlocked to which he slipped inside. The warmth welcoming him, but the immediate feeling did not, he felt as if there were something wrong. Something was displaced, the shadows were churning and he didn't know why. He felt rather dizzy suddenly and took two steps forward, a slow breath easing from his lips..

"Dad…" He called out, his voice carrying up the steps, "Dad... where are you?"

He heard footsteps up the stairs and slowly he began to go that way, the tips of his fingers curling around the hilt of his gun. He fell silent then, knowing that his own father would be armed, and he had to be careful, but if there were someone else here or his dad were in trouble, he didn't want to alert them more than he had to.

As he reached the landing at the top of the stairs, he saw the door to his room ajar and he slowly stepped that way. A slow breath eased from his lips and he settled his shoulder to the side of the door jamb. Pushing it open slowly, he peered inside, not seeing anything but the familiar outline of his dresser and all the other shapes.. he thought that maybe they were just being paranoid. Pushing the door all the way open, he smirked a little bit, narrowing his eyes faintly as he flipped on the light, there was nobody there. Nothing there.. he stepped into the room and even pulled open the closet to look inside.. nothing there, nobody. Only his clothes, exhaling a faint breath, he slipped the gun into the front of his pants, near to his palm, and he shook his head. Feeling foolish, his instinct had been skewed lately and he knew it..

"Dad....? Where are you?"

Stepping toward the door, he scanned the hallway for him, "I know you're home.. I saw your car...."

Annoyance colored the edge of his tone, but he didn't bust into the house like a bull in a china shop, he was trying to decently look for any threat. Something to tell him that his instincts weren't entirely ruined, that he could feel what was happening, that he knew. That this was reality and not the nightmare that he had been living in for so long.
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