we start with stars in our eyes. we start believing that we belong.
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Post by Samuel Gray on Aug 12, 2017 4:00:50 GMT
after the fire, all that's left is ash and dust
This couldn't be happening. Not again. Sam dashed through the woods around Michael's house that he knew so well from years of exploring, dragging El behind him. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, the trees becoming a blur as he passed them, his shows hardly even hitting the ground. He needed to get away- needed to get El away. They needed to get as far away from that house as possible. The faint sound of approaching combat boots behind them made him turn his head to check- the HBES squad wasn't visible yet, but they were on the way.
Michael had said that whenever he needed one, a portal would appear. His parents had said the same thing- they had chosen a life on this side, though, and it had killed them. Now Michael was gone, too. Sam wasn't going to make the same mistake. Not with El's life on the line. He found himself desperately hoping to find something, a sign that a portal was opening- he needed one. He needed to get them to safety, they were running out of time-
Sam noticed a place where the air was shimmering, and without a second thought, he jumped through, pulling El in behind him. The woods he found on the other side were unfamiliar. He didn't know them. They had made it. Instead of relief washing over him, though, it was grief that slammed into him like a wave. He finally let go of El and put a hand on a nearby tree to keep his knees from buckling.
When he and El had gone to Michael's house to visit while they were on their break, he had never expected this to be happening. They had both been so happy, smiling and joking quietly with each other as they walked up the steps to his house, and then Sam had completely frozen at the door. There had been a strange scent in the air- one he was too familiar with. The scent of death. The sound of combat boots had snapped him out of his daze, and without any sort of explanation, he had just started running. El was probably really confused. She was probably scared. She- wait.
"El?" he called, looking around until he saw her catching her own breath. "Are- are you okay?"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2017 6:08:03 GMT
Her heart was pounding loudly and it felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest. It was difficult to tell if her heart was beating so fast because of the adrenaline or the fact that she didn't exercise a lot. It could have been both since her body wasn't in that much of a good shape to start with. El tried her best to keep up with Sam and she asked him where they were going. What had gotten into him? They returned home on break from college and for some reason Sam didn't want her to go inside the house.
Maybe Michael wasn't home.. but why was Sam running? El didn't want to ask any more questions nor say anything in fear of making the situation worse. Suddenly the two seemed to have entered another world through a portal. Sam let go of El and she took a few steps toward him, hoping that he wouldn't go too far without her. The blonde-haired girl bent over slightly with her hands on her knees, panting from the overexertion on her legs.
"El?"
"Are- are you okay?"
El caught her breath and looked over at Sam, nodding her head in response. Her blue gaze shifted from Sam onto the trees and then back to Sam. "Is this..." she drifted off. "the place dad was talking about?" She turned to Sam and walked over to him, extending out her hand and tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. Her other hand cupped his cheek and attempted to turn his head her way. El gazed into Sam's eyes and asked, "Sam, why did you bring us here?"
Her blue gaze was soft and kind but also held seriousness within them. It truly scared her when Sam ran off like that, dragging her along behind him. She pretended to be brave even though her body was still shaking in fear of what Sam wasn't telling her. El tried to put on a brave face for Sam because he couldn't be the only brave one. They were a package deal and they needed to be there for each other always. Both of them had to be each other's strength.
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we start with stars in our eyes. we start believing that we belong.
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Post by Samuel Gray on Aug 12, 2017 17:40:00 GMT
Sam swallowed thickly, nodding his head at El's first question, his mind still buzzing and his eyes still somewhat unfocused. "Y-yeah. Haven," he said, clarifying as well as he could manage for her at that moment. He wasn't entirely there- a part of him was stuck in the past, 12 years ago, the first time this had happened. It took El's touch to snap him out of his daze and back into reality, steadying his racing thoughts, grounding him here, in the present. This was where he needed to be, even if it hurt.
He moved away from her hand when he suddenly realized the intimacy of the gesture, and after one glance at her eyes, he found himself unable to meet them. He lowered his gaze to the floor and pushed off the tree, legs almost numb but once again steady enough to hold him. How was he supposed to explain this? How was he supposed to explain how he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Michael was dead- that the HBES had been lying in wait, that they would have been killed, too. How was he supposed to explain that after all of this, he couldn't afford to lose her, too.
"I-" he began, not sure what to say, or how to say it. His mind was still reeling from the memory of it, how quickly it had all gone by. "El, I'm- I'm so sorry. I think-" He bit his lip, staring hard at the ground. "I think that Michael is...he's dead. T-the HBES were there- they were waiting in the house, I could hear them- and he- his scent it was-" He swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head, closing his eyes, trying to force the memory of the scent of death out of his head. "He's- he's gone, El. And- they were following us and...I couldn't lose anyone else." He wrapped his arms around himself and looked away. "Not- not again. Not again."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2017 23:45:12 GMT
El slowly pulled her hand away from Sam, letting it fall to her side and lowering her gaze to the ground. "I.. I'm sorry." It wasn't her intentions to make Sam feel uncomfortable by her touch. Honestly, she had no idea what that gesture meant. She wanted him to look at her and there was nothing more to it. "El, I'm- I'm so sorry. I think-" "Hm?" she hummed slightly and tilted her head, looking at Sam with a confused and concerned look on her face. Sam was having trouble telling her something and he seemed to be troubled. El wanted to ask him what was wrong but she waited to see what he would say next. "I think that Michael is...he's dead. T-the HBES were there- they were waiting in the house, I could hear them- and he- his scent it was-"
"Michael..." she uttered. She was only capable of saying his name at the moment. Tears started to form in her eyes and she walked around the tree, trying to hold back the tears. El never liked to cry in front of people but Sam was different, however, she still felt the need to be out of his sight when she wanted to cry. She was scared that Sam would move away from her again if she went to cry in his arms otherwise she would have. She tried to hold the tears back and put her right hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs. Still, her sniffles could be heard from the other side of the tree. "He's- he's gone, El. And- they were following us and...I couldn't lose anyone else." El knew what Sam did was right. Even if they didn't run, they wouldn't have been able to bring Michael back to life.
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Anria is lonely, you meet Anria, yes? Yes
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Post by Anria Liana on Aug 14, 2017 1:57:57 GMT
SEARCHING IN THE DARKNESS WE ARE CREATURES OF THE NIGHT RUNNING FROM THE DAY Her head was spinning.
The night must have come and gone, because she had faint memories of stumbling through the dark, wandering aimlessly until her legs failed her and she had to collapse into a heap of sobbing self-pity. And then there was an image of falling and scraping her long, large white wing against a rather sharp branch, and physical pain dulled by the pounding of her thoughts against her skull.
Laura's- Edessa's face flashed before her eyes, the sight of the limp girl in her arms, the feel of the other's blood slowly seeping through cloth into her hand until it finally, finally stopped. And then the look of horror... fear... disbelief...
Anria pinched her eyes again against the sudden blurriness of her own tears. There was still a streak of Edessa's blood across her left cheek, and her eyes were puffy from the many endless hours crying. Her voice felt horse from screaming at her own reflection in the river water.
Their heads were spinning.
Suddenly she was standing to the right of two people about her age, gasping for breath, apparently from running. Anria's senses were fuzzy and dull, but she could still see the looks of horror and grief on their faces, smell the scent of an unfamiliar forest. They were new to Haven, brand new, seconds new.
Someone they loved had just died.
"I.. I'm so sorry.."
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we start with stars in our eyes. we start believing that we belong.
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Post by Samuel Gray on Aug 14, 2017 18:14:58 GMT
i've learned to slam on the brake,
before i even turn the key. Sam felt his heart break all over again when tears formed in El's eyes. As soon as she started to walk away, he began to reach out to her, but stopped short of actually touching her. Soon she was out of the sight, hiding just behind this tree. Maybe he should have gone around to find her, but he wanted to respect her boundaries- that and it would only hurt him more to see her cry. Instead he leaned his forehead gently on his side of the tree, as though if he stared hard enough he might be able to look through it and see her again.
"El..." he said quietly. "I'm so sorry." There wasn't anything more he really could say. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat when he thougth about it too hard, rubbing his eyes when they began to burn with unshed tears. He sniffled once.
Why did this have to happen? Hadn't they both already lost enough? Suddenly the pain loss of his parents years ago, which had receded to a dull ache, started to increase tenfold, and now with Michael's life added to it, it only hurt that much more. Not again not again not again-
He was forcefully snapped out of his grief when somebody else spoke- somebody he didn't know. Somebody he couldn't trust. Before he could stop himself, he whirled around and snapped at the stranger, his nerves still on end and all rational thought occupied by his mourning. "What?!" he shouted, teeth growing sharper with anger. "What do you want?!" Almost as soon as he caught a look at the stranger, he immediately regretted it, his eyes widening in surprise.
Whoever she was, she was a damn mess. She was shaken up by something, though Sam hadn't any idea what. Her eyes were red. The sharp scent of blood was in the air- and on her. Sam stiffened when he noticed the streak of red on her face.
She had hurt someone. Badly. His features hardened once more, and a feral growl rumbled in his throat. "Stay back," he ordered. He was still wondering whether the better plan would be to switch forms and fight, or to grab El and run again. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2017 23:17:15 GMT
"I.. I'm so sorry.." El believed it to be Sam at first but the voice sounded more... feminine. There was someone there with them! El peeked around the tree to look at the redheaded stranger before coming out from hiding only to go back into hiding except she was hiding behind Sam that time. She didn't act right around strangers and such acts were nervous stutters or she would avoid talking altogether. The shy girl peeked around Sam at the stranger while clutching Sam's shirt.
Oh! I suppose... it's rude to stare. I don't like people staring at me either.. Is she okay? It looked like the woman was also having a hard time. It kind of made El feel a little bit more comfortable around the stranger. They were kind of in the same boat, right? Of course, El didn't know what happened to the woman so their situations could be completely different from each other.
Suddenly, El was concerned for her but she refused to leave her spot. She looked at Sam and spoke in a soft and quiet voice. "U-um... Sammy, I don't think she wants to harm us. It's okay.. We're safe, aren't we?" Are we safe? Isn't the Haven supposed to be here to protect others like Sam? Yes, it was to protect others like Sam from humans like El. When she realized that, she was quiet and decided to let Sam protect her. Why would he let his guard down? He lost Michael and he brought a human into Haven where other half bloods most likely thirsted for revenge against the human race, no matter who was at fault. El knew that she was close to Sam and that he didn't want to lose her, too. She stayed quiet and hid behind her protector and let him protect.
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Anria is lonely, you meet Anria, yes? Yes
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Post by Anria Liana on Aug 15, 2017 0:05:54 GMT
SEARCHING IN THE DARKNESS WE ARE CREATURES OF THE NIGHT RUNNING FROM THE DAY She probably deserved that. Really, as she saw it, she deserved much, much worse than a few snappy shouts and a feral growl. Anria felt little when he shouted at her, and so she just blinked and lowered her gaze.
Haven was meant to be a safe place. That didn't mean it always was. The people that entered it were almost always shattered, and in their haste to collect the shards of themselves, pieces were often glued together wrong. Residents of Haven dealt with their grief, memories, and pain in different ways, some better than others, but no one there had really become whole again yet. And maybe never would.
Anria hesitated a few seconds, looking sleepily down at her dirty shoes, her red hair falling like a tangled curtain in front of most of her face. She blinked again, looked up again without really looking at anything. "I'm sorry," she muttered again in a choked voice, then turned to leave.
There was another voice just then, hushed and maybe even slightly alarmed. It was only by instinct that Anria picked up the sound of the feminine voice, a voice that made Anria pause completely mid-step.
Perhaps Anria looked like she had been expecting someone to speak out in her defense, to say they didn't mind her being around. Maybe she really did feel that way. But her sudden immobility was completely a result of this other, more shy girl's voice.
Anria simply stood there, thinking, numb with duel shock. The two had clearly been through a lot, and for the life of her, Anria could not possible have come up with a valid explanation as to why someone distraught by a loved one's death would want another, maybe even more messed-up individual within miles of them.
After all, who would want a monster to stick around?
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we start with stars in our eyes. we start believing that we belong.
Novice Member
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Post by Samuel Gray on Aug 19, 2017 8:14:25 GMT
i've learned to slam on the brake,
before i even turn the key. Sam was relieved when, for a second, she began to leave, until she noticed El, and stopped mid-step. That scared him, fear penetrating deep into his bones. Something about El, something that she had done, had interested this stranger. Her focus was on El. She wanted something from her.
That terrified Sam. He found himself standing taller, his gaze a little fiercer, silently willing the stranger to back down.
"Safe from the HBES," Sam answered El, making sure to keep a barrier in between her and the stranger. "Not from people like her." The therians who, even in a place that was supposed to be Haven, found it necessary to hurt others. "She's hurt somebody," he told El, his voice a little lower. Maybe the stranger was messed up, but Sam was willing to bet that whoever she'd been with earlier had gotten it a lot worse. Whoever she was, she wasn't in her right mind. That in itself made her dangerous.
But El wouldn't see that. She would see somebody who was as messed up as they were. Somebody who needed help. El was kind- she was compassionate, almost blindly. She was the kind of person to step forward to help anyone, even a stranger. And if she did, Sam was sure he wasn't going to be able to stop her. He would try- he'd object- but he knew he'd melt with one gaze from her and her blue eyes. "She's dangerous, El," he warned her, even though he knew she likely wouldn't care. For the time being, though, he tried to be the best wall between her and the stranger that he could. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2017 1:47:38 GMT
El tried to resist staring at the stranger and it almost seemed impossible to do that. She was very curious of the stranger but she was too shy to greet or approach the woman. Sam reassured El that they were safe from the HBES and that made her feel a little bit better. "Not from people like her." El already figured out that she was definitely not safe there. There could be some therians that wanted revenge on the human race, no matter how innocent one of them was such as El. The blonde wanted to believe that she was safe and she wanted to believe that all of the therians had kind souls. She felt safe in the haven but also felt like she needed to be alert and on guard. However, she was one to trust easily and get herself into dangerous or awkward situations. It was a surprise that she made it to the age of 19 because of how gullible she was and she was too kind-hearted toward strangers. She was a fortunate soul for being protected and saved most of her life. "She's hurt somebody."
"She's dangerous, El."
"How do you know that's not her blood?"
El questioned Sam and shook her head.
"No.. she's not."
El stepped out from behind Sam and attempted to get past him so she could approach the unstable woman. The woman appeared to be a wreck and unstable but El didn't want to be too quick to judge. She wanted to ask the woman questions so they could figure out who she was and what happened to her. Maybe it would all become clear if they all talked it out. Also, El lost a father figure and the woman seemed to be very upset and... broken in a way. El wanted to comfort the woman even though she didn't know her. She refused to the option of walking away and leaving the distraught woman all alone.
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