singillatim | nature offers a violence

nature offers a violence

NOVEMBER 2023 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — WHITEOUT: Methuselah makes an unexpected early return to Milton to warn Interlopers of an impending monster storm, and boy does it surely come.

PROMPT TWO — A CHOICE: Following the storm, sightings of a mysterious stag prompts a hunt down in the Basin and out in the Outskirts.

PROMPT THREE — REST MY WEARY BONES: While the storm causes a great deal of mess, it also uncovers some far more pleasant surprises. Hot springs.

WHITEOUT

WHEN: Early to mid-month.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: extreme weather; storms; blizzards; themes of survival; possible character cold-related injuries; possible themes of peril.

In the times that he is no longer occupying the Community Hall in the center of town to help tend to the newcomers, Methuselah is out in the wilds. Despite his growing age, he is a hardened survivor, and has been more than accustomed to life living as a nomad, out in the thickest, deepest parts of nature. Sometimes he can be encountered, sheltered in a cave or out in the woods, huddled by a warm campfire, or busying himself with his latest game catch. He seems to be always on the move, never staying for too long, and never coming into town — unless it’s to begin preparations for the latest batch of new arrivals.

To see him returning to Milton outside of these times is a curious sight, and the grim expression he carries is enough to make anyone wary. Even his voice is grave. The warmth and kindness usually found in his expression is gone, replaced with a deathly seriousness. He doesn’t speak in jest.

"I am long used to this world and its weather, even with the changing times to more bitter nights." he will say. "I have seen the years rise and fall, too many to count. Please, I beg that you hear me with this— a storm is coming. Greater than some of you may have ever known. It is in the air, and we must prepare to see it through. We do not have much time. Three days, perhaps. But no more."

He will tell anyone and everyone; encouraging the word to be spread around. He will instruct on what needs to be done, what needs to be gathered. The storm will be long and hard, and will last for some time. With that, Methuselah will begin to prepare the Community Hall as a place of refuge with a stock of food, fuel and water to get through the storm. Interlopers will be free to join Methuselah and bunker down together, or can choose to bunker down on their own in their own homes, or with others.

You have only three days.

And sure enough, the storm comes. Maybe you can notice the signs too: the sudden updraft, the slow gathering of clouds, the drop in temperature, the changes of pressure in the air.

Halfway through the third day, the storm rolls in: a ferocious snow-storm unlike anything you’ve seen before. Even with the fading amount of daylight as mid-winter approaches, the sky turns as dark as night as will stay like night for the duration. Strong howling winds batter the town, and even the sturdiest of buildings creak and groan under the weight. Trees will be felled, some buildings might not fare the storm.

Relentless snow that falls so hard it’s a complete whiteout, and will be impossible to navigate if one were to step outside. Even then, it isn’t advisable. The temperature is bitter, with a frigid windchill. Going out in this kind of storm would be a death sentence. Staying out in it for longer than a half-hour will certainly kill you.

It would be best to wait it out, to huddle around warm fires in the darkness. It may certainly be a test of patience, depending on your choice of place to stay. The storm will last a full week, a stark reminder of what you are, the words you have heard in your arrival: thrown to Mother Nature’s mercy, the Interloper in her design.

But will you persist?

A CHOICE

WHEN: Mid-month, onwards to end of month.
WHERE: Milton Basin, Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: survival themes; themes of hunting; possible animal death.

After the storm passes, there’s a certain kind of hush that falls upon Milton and its surrounding areas as Interlopers are left to pick through the wake. While the temperature certainly doesn’t get that much warmer, there’s days and nights of clear, calm weather — short afternoons of weak sunshine and nights of chilly peace, the moon hung high in the starry skies. Winter is drawing ever-closer, but it’s still for a little while.

In the early evenings, before the sun sets, there’s strange sightings of a particular white stag that can be found roaming the area — particularly down in the Milton Basin. It seems quite elusive, but there’s plenty of Interlopers that have been able to capture a glimpse over the coming days. Even Methuselah himself has seen this beast before, remarking there has long been tall tales of a ghostly stag that roams the Northern Territories and is said to bring good fortune to those who manage to hunt it down.

Perhaps you’re a little low on luck. Perhaps you’re feeling lucky. You’re going to find that stag.

Hunting down the stag, however, will take a great deal of patience and time. You might find yourself waiting several hours to wait for it to appear. Building a snow shelter, or hunkering down in some old shack might be needed in order to keep warm. But if you’re patient enough, and able to withstand the cold for long enough — the beast will soon make an appearance.

In the dying light of the day, it is there. It’s unlike any deer you’ve seen before: tall and majestic, with thick, soft fur of brilliant white. It almost looks ghost-like in some angles, it’s an incredibly beautiful creature. But it seems to have also noticed you, just as you have noticed it. It doesn’t dart away, however. Instead it stands before you, waiting for you to act.

You have a choice: slay the creature, or let it go.

It will not move until you make your decision, holding your gaze until you raise your weapon or until you lower it and give up your hunt. But there is a consequence to either action: if you choose to kill the stag, you will be rewarded with a sizeable bounty of venison. Eating said meat will help you feel fuller for longer, and the meat will keep for far longer than any other deer slain.

However, if you choose to spare the stag, the creature will lower its head, as if bowing to you. Then, it will disappear with a swirling of powdered snow. When you return home for the evening and go to sleep, the next morning you will find a gift at the foot of your bed: a pair of deerskin boots, or a deerskin blanket. These boots are supple, tough and waterproof — allowing for a great balance of mobility and warmth. The blanket is incredibly toasty, and will provide a great deal of comfort in the long nights ahead.

REST MY WEARY BONES

WHEN: Mid-month, onwards indefinitely.
WHERE: Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: n/a.

The storm has blown in plenty of snow to make traversing the area much more difficult, but there’s something else of note that comes with its passing. While the storm has brought much devastation, and some places have been buried in snow drifts, plenty of snow in areas has been blown away, uncovering otherwise lost secrets within Milton. Clouds of what looks like steam can be noted not too far from town, towards the mountains of the north.

If Interlopers head to explore the clouds, they will find old trails leading up towards the mountains. It isn’t a particularly difficult journey, for once, and they will soon discover that the storm has blown away the previously blocked access to a cave. It appears that this is the right place.

The air is warm here, pleasantly so. Warm enough that hats and mittens and coats seem a little unnecessary. One might wonder if someone lives within, and that a great fire is stoked to keep the place warm. But there’s no one in sight, no sounds of life: human, animal or otherwise. If they press on, they will discover that the cave floor is well worn with footfall: plenty of people have come here before, and the reason why is soon revealed.

The air grows even warmer, and more humid. The space opening to reveal small pools of slow-flowing water, warm water. The stone houses a natural hot spring, and following the cave out the other side will lead to another space in the rock open to the air, where there are even larger pools of warm water, perfectly sized and deep enough to bathe in. It seems that this place was frequently used by the people of Milton, where their life of hardship could be forgotten for an hour or two.

The water is pleasantly hot, and incredibly inviting. After so long in the freezing cold without modern appliances and utilities, a natural hot spring sounds like an absolute luxury.

FAQs

WHITEOUT

1. Characters are free to play around with this prompt how they want. Maybe they're dumb enough to go into the cold and get injured or sick. Maybe they're stuck in the Community Hall for the week. Fights might break out as tensions run high whilst everyone's stuck together, or maybe you're actually having a nice time.

2. For those stuck in the Community Hall: there are board games and old school textbooks stored in cupboards. There is also a piano.

3. A floorplan of the Community Hall can be found here.

A CHOICE

1. .... Yes, you can pet the ghost stag.

2. Characters will get one choice only with the ghost stag, meaning they can't keep going back to find it to get extra gifts.

3. If characters can't agree on a course of action, whoever acts first will get their gift. The second character will have a chance to try again another time.

4. If both characters agree on sparing the stag, but players want different gifts (ie. one player wants the boots and one wants the blanket), characters will get the gift the player wants their character to receive.

REST MY WEARY BONES

1. The hot springs will now be a permanent fixture in the Milton Area, enjoy!

PLOTTING POST

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh. Fuck. Yes. Come to mama.

[ Groaned as she sinks into the steaming water, her eyes closing and her arms spread back over the edge of the natural bath. She's been cold before, but never like this, never for this long, the way it's seeped into every part of her. Even her hair feels frozen through, but the mellow heat of the water sends warmed blood flushing through her veins, flooding her cheeks and chest with color.

On arrival, she'd wasted no time in unceremoniously stripping out of her clothes, tugging coat and jacket and shirt and tank top over her head; stepping out of boots and socks and jeans, leaving them all in a haphazard pile with Peacemaker tucked tenderly on top. She keeps her underwear on – her only nod to the sensitivities of those around her – but given the top is a lacy black bra, it might do more harm than good.

Now that she's stripped down, it's easy to see the necklace that she wears: a long chain on which is looped a key inscribed with a Greek word, a tassel, and three small blue beads which look like eyes.

She sighs and relaxes further into the water. ]

Okay. This almost makes it all worth it.

Edited 2023-12-07 01:27 (UTC)

[ There's certainly people she could ask to take her up to the Hot Springs, plenty she trusts enough. There is one... uh, issue, with that. As much as she might wholeheartedly trust the likes of Edward Little or Harry Goodsir, and certainly doesn't doubt they're good, and honourable — it's not entirely appropriate to ask either man. Mostly due to the fact they're.... well, um. Men.

It's totally not appropriate okay. Not when she literally wants to come here for a bath.

But the woman is kind enough to take her there, and Kate feels a little better about the whole thing — given the walk up and stuff. That is until the woman just starts stripping off without much thought and Kate's stunned for a moment, eyes wide and quickly ducking away and— this isn't appropriate either, oh no

She is pointedly avoiding looking at her, her cheeks burning a little in mortification, shuffling off to find somewhere private to change. She'd had to a little searching (and apologized to the empty home) but managed to find a pair of shorts and a tank top (it was once summer here, maybe). She still feels horribly under-dressed, but it'll do to bathe in.

The woman's cursing flusters her a little, but she steps out, her belongings in a tidy pile and places her wash items at the edge of spring. Her face is getting redder, and she just... tries to get into the water as quickly as possible — gasping a little. Oh. Oh, that feels really nice, though. ]

... I feel like I forgot what hot water felt like.

Yeah, me too.

[ Oh, right. The teen. Look, this place is full of dudes, and half of them are nuttier than squirrel shit, so she doesn't blame the girl for wanting the company of another woman to do something as simple as taking a bath. Wynonna doesn't give a shit about co-ed bathing facilities, but even she can get that.

And this chick is meek. Soft-spoken, mild – but it's the mild ones that sometimes turn out to be the most interesting, when they finally decide to let go and let everyone around them have it. Not that Kate seems likely to do that anytime soon.

She's not actually anything like the girl Wynonna met on the bus, but that girl had gone out into the woods alone, only to fall victim to a curse that had nothing to do with her. Wynonna hadn't been able to help her, but she can help Kate get to some hot water so the girl can take a damn bath.

And so she can, too. Wynonna takes a breath and ducks under the water, blowing air out in bubbles from her nose, then surfaces with a gasp and a groan. ]

Somehow, melting snow on a stovetop just doesn't cut it.

[ She wipes her face and blinks water out of her eyes, then focuses on the girl. ]

I mean, there's a lot to be said for a whore's bath, as my buddy John Henry would call it, but this is... yeah. Better.

... Yeah, it kind of sucks. [ In truth, it's honestly really sucked keeping on top of personal hygiene for the last few months. The dorm showers seem like a luxury to her now, she actually misses them — even with their weird water pressure and the fact you could freeze or scald someone in the showers just by using the sinks. There's nothing sadder than taking buckets of water into the tiny bathrooms of the Community Hall — but what else is she gonna do?

She's going to make the most of this, whilst trying not to dwell longer than she has to, given the fact there's other people here and that's mortifying. At least the dorm showers had privacy.

The woman dunks under the water and Kate busies herself with letting her hair down so she can wash it and then, resurfacing— a what bath. She freezes, eyes wide. ]

Um, excuse me— [ Her voice has gone up a little in pitch, thoroughly scandalised. ] A what—?!

A —

[ She opens her mouth to emulate John Henry's laconic drawl — a whooooooooowah's bath — but something in the scandalized way the teen is looking at her makes her swallow the words. Wynonna clears her throat, awkward. ]

You know. A, uh, sponge bath.

[ Saved it!

Figures that the girl who wanted a chaperone for a bath she's taking almost fully clothed anyway would have an issue with that particular phrasing. Wynonna runs her fingers through her wet, tangled hair, then pushes herself half out of the water to rummage through her pile of clothes. Rather than soap and conditioner, she retrieves a little metal flask which she brings back with her as she relaxes into the water: some of the pine wine she and March finally managed to make.

It's not great, but it's (probably) not poisonous. She unscrews the top and takes a drink, then sets the flask aside and relaxes back into the water, watching the girl with interest. ]

Too bad we can't pipe this stuff into town and build some showers, huh?

Edited (max obnoxiousness) 2023-12-22 16:03 (UTC)

You... you couldn't have just called it that? [ She's wincing some more, but the question is... very tentatively asked. Listen, she doesn't want to tick off her chaperone. She's still gotta get back to the town, after that.

And she's absolutely not going to say anything about the flask, even if she does wince again a little bit. Alcohol is... a bit of a touchy subject for her. Still, people have every right to drink if they want. Wynonna is an adult.

So instead she's going to just... mind her business and get started on washing her hair, instead. Sure is nice to not wait on water boiling for it. ]

Given the distance, even with insulated pipes, it would probably be cold by the time it reached town. [ Unfortunately, she's also a bit of a nerd, too. She didn't get that 3.9 GPA for nothing. ] But... it's almost like a reward, in a way. Sure you've gotta hike to it but then that makes it even more worthwhile, y'know?

[ Wynonna shrugs, sending small ripples through the dark water, and takes another sip of the too-sweet pine wine. It's not a good idea to drink in a hot tub -- or hot spring, as the case might be -- but these days, it seems like the only ideas she manages are bad ones. ]

I like a term with a strong visual.

[ That has literally never been the case, but what's she supposed to tell this poor uptight kid? That some people would be surprised to learn that she, Wynonna, could manage any other kind of bath?

That kind of joke killed with the Banditos. But this place is full of Victorians and teenagers and even though they're stuck in a frozen wasteland, she's gotta watch her mouth around almost everybody here, aside from March. That kind of thing wears on a person, especially one who isn't used to watching her mouth at all.

Fortunately, she's soon distracted by Kate's ruminations on the intricacies of plumbing, and her hand pauses with the flask halfway to her mouth, her eyebrows raised, before she visibly decides not to engage with it. Her string of D-minuses back in high school kept her pretty damn far from being anywhere near the top of the class. ]

Yeah, I can't wait to walk a couple miles back to town with wet underwear freezing directly to my ass. But it could be a lot worse.

[ She could be out in that storm again. Alone, this time. She shivers at the thought and sets the flask aside, reaching for her own bar of soap. ]

So, you like staying in the Community Hall? It working out for you?

[ Kate raises her eyebrows at that. She does not even want to get started on the visual, thank you very much. ]

... Maybe it might be a good idea to bring something to wear, next time. At least that way you'll be a lot more comfortable. [ Just a... very gentle suggestion, that's all. Or at the very least, some spare underwear. She doubts there's going to be swimwear in this place. ]

It's okay. There's not much privacy, but I did live in a dorm at school — although I still got my own room. [ Thin walls and shared bathrooms, however. ] But there's other people, so it kind of feels... safe, y'know?

[ She isn't the slightest bit ashamed of being comfortable with the whole 'safety in numbers' mentality. She's a teenager who has no business being in this place. ]

I don't think it's a good idea to find somewhere, and— and like it feels weird, y'know? These are people's homes.

[ She's never quite gotten over that. ]

Yeah, that's definitely what I'll do.

[ Not either go commando on the way home or skinnydip the next time she's here. Somehow, she gets the feeling either answer will scandalize this girl in here with her. How old is she, anyway? Sixteen? Seventeen? ]

Dorms, huh? Must have been a nice school.

[ No dorms at Purgatory High, and the kids couldn't have stayed in them even if there were; they all had to go back and help with the ranches, the farms, the livestock. And the closest thing to a dorm Wynonna had ever stayed in was at juvie.

She's pretty sure Kate isn't referring to anything like that. ]

Yeah. [ Agreeing, before she ducks her head into the water and comes up with it streaming over her hair and face, wiping her eyes as she reaches for her shampoo. ] They were. But those people aren't exactly likely to come try and move back in, and we need shelters.

[ Even as she says it, she imagines some stranger coming across the homestead, taking it for themselves, and has to swallow a sudden jolt of something she can't articulate, but which feels almost like fear. ]

But if the Community Hall's working out for you, good. Not a bad idea to stick together.

[ For Kate. Not her, of course. ]

[ Eighteen, surprisingly. Only just. ]

It's a pretty prestigious private school for seniors, with specializations in the sciences and arts. I was pretty proud to get in. [ Her smile is a little tight-lipped. Proud, yes. Blackwell is a Big Deal. But her time at Blackwell has been far from a happy one.

Her silence as she moves to start shampooing her own hair is telling, enough. She's quiet for a while, frowning. ]

I get it. And like, that's what people keep saying. [ Everyone's dead, they're not. They need it. ] It's just— it's weird. It feels like something out of a creepy film, just taking over people's homes and lives after they've gone.

[ Not that she'd really know much about creepy films. ]

It's not for everyone. [ Obviously she knows who stays in there, and who doesn't. Who makes frequent visits and who doesn't. ] And that's okay. But even if you don't wanna stay, it's a good place to touch base for everyone.

You know what? I get it.

[ It's not enough to keep her from claiming a cabin of her own, but she does get it, and this is why: ]

The place I'm from, everyone who lives there has lived there their whole lives. Their families have been there for over a hundred years or longer.

[ Legacy isn't exclusive to the Earps. Not in Purgatory. ]

It'd be pretty weird to take over their places if they suddenly disappeared or died. Not saying I wouldn't but... I get it.

[ She trails her fingers through the hot water, watching the ripples as they curve off toward the rocky walls of the spring. She doesn't know if Kate witnessed the confrontation that sent her off into the howling storm; she doesn't know if Kate noticed that she didn't come back. ]

Yeah. I don't do so hot in groups. 'Works well with others' wasn't ever the high point of my report card. Not that there were many of those to begin with.

[ She quirks a smile at the younger girl. ]

No private school for me. But my baby sister's smart. Really smart, like you.

It's kind of like that in Arcadia Bay...? Well, there's one particular family. They kinda just... own the town. [ It's not spoken, but there's something in her tone to suggest she's not the biggest fan of the Prescott family. Something in her jaw that tightens a little and she takes a moment to shake it off. ] Where are you from, anyway?

[ She doesn't think she'd asked.

And she'd certainly realised someone had stormed out, mostly due to noting that Lieutenant Little had also gone out after someone. She'd been worried about him, especially when he's already gone out into the storm to rescue Mr Crozier and bring him to the Community Hall. ]

People are hard to be around sometimes. Everyone's different, and you're not always going to get on with everyone. [ She offers with a small smile, shrugging a little. There's something else that she's far more interesting here: ]

You have a little sister? [ Something brightens in her face. ] I have two, both younger than me. I.. I miss them a whole lot, but I don't think I'd ever want them to end up here with me.

[ Kate's expression goes tight and Wynonna thinks of Judge Cryderman, bragging about how his family has been in Purgatory for a hundred and forty years, keeping the peace. Keeping the law. As if he weren't a self-important puffed up piece of shit under Bobo's boot heel. ]

Purgatory.

[ That might not be enough of an answer in this place, she realizes; it's an evocative name. ]

Town way out in the middle of nowhere in the Ghost River Triangle. In, uh, Alberta. It's full of washed up cowboys, ranchers, and re –

[ Nope. ] Uh, really big Wyatt Earp fans.

[ Far better is Kate's question, and the way the girl brightens at her own thoughts. Wynonna latches onto the new topic as she reaches for conditioner, relieved to no longer be talking about the town that hates her. ]

Yeah. Waverly. [ Her smile is softer, and so are her eyes, at the word. ] Oldest sister, huh?

[ That explains some things. ]

[ It's definitely a name that gives her pause, her eyes widening for a moment as she stares — almost wondering if she'd heard that right. It's definitely a word she's thought about often in her time in Milton. Maybe this place of Hell, or Hades. Or maybe it's some kind of Purgatory. She doesn't know. All of them are just... kinda guessing. ]

You're seriously from a place called Purgatory...? [ Just hearing that kind of gives her some serious shivers. Like, yikes. And even where it is and the kind of people there gives off some... spooky vibes. ]

Fans? Is he... your dad? [ She's assuming. Also Fans. Like, woah. ] Your dad's famous?

[ There's a small laugh, endeared more than anything. That's actually kind of cute. ]

Waverly and Wynonna. That's kind of sweet you have matching names. My sisters and I don't. [ She nods at the question of being the eldest: ] And... yeah, they're a bit younger than me. My youngest sister's still in Elementary School, she's only ten.

Yeah, I seriously am.

[ She needs another drink if they're going to talk about where she's from, but the motion of lifting the flask to her lips arrests at what Kate says next. ]

Is Wyatt Earp my dad.

[ She's starting to wonder if the worlds these other people came from never had a Wyatt to begin with, or a Doc Holliday, or an OK Corral, or a Tombstone.

Which would mean they didn't have any revenants to deal with, so hell, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

But Kate is so earnest, and isn't the lack of recognition something she likes about this place? Would it really hurt to tell this sweet kid... just the basics? ]

No. He was my great-great granddaddy. A US Marshal and a gunslinger. He settled in Purgatory for a while.

[ She can still hear Doc's drawl. Wyatt Earp wanted to be a farmer. Thirty seconds in the OK Corral and a gunslinger he was made... ]

I guess the 'W' names are kind of a family tradition. Daddy's name was Ward. I picked Waverly's myself, when she was born.

[ Much better to talk about Kate's family than her own. She finally tips some pine wine into her mouth and says: ]

I bet you're a really good big sister.

No offense, but that's kind of... spooky. Like, I get place names are weird sometimes but— uh, yeah.

[ Listen. She knows her Bible as well as her father (although maybe not as much on the count of he's older and has had far more time to study it, also he's a Pastor) and she's pretty good with academic texts, but something's gotta give. There's a whole bunch of stuff she doesn't know, especially about the world. Even her mother had reservations about attending Blackwell, considering it's... broad mix of students. ]

... Oh. [ So her great-great grandfather's famous. She nods, polite. ] I mean, that's still pretty cool, though? And... that's really nice, having a tradition like that.

[ Also picking her sister's name is so sweet? Kate grins for a moment. ]

I try to be. I'm the one they're supposed to look up to, the one who sets the good example. [ Her smile wanes a little. She has... definitely not been that lately. ] Stuff back home's been... kind of all messed up, lately. It's... a long story.

None taken. There are a lot of reasons to hate that town – the name's just one of them.

[ The scent of her conditioner and the pine wine mix in the steam; it's nothing like any bath she's ever had before, and she really wishes Kate weren't so sweet and curious. She's like Waverly with a clue; wanting to learn everything she can. Wanting to know about other people. Which is why Wynonna clicks her tongue, eyebrows lifting sardonically, her glance sliding away from Kate and toward the shadows that line the walls of this cavern. ] Yeah, we've got a whole bunch of fun family traditions.

[ Killing the same revenants over and over again and rampant alcoholism, to name a couple.

But despite the warmth, the wine, and her own thoughts rolling around her head, her glance sharpens when it comes back to Kate and she sees the girl's shuttered smile. Wynonna does some quick mental math on whether this it's a long story is a gentle request for her to ask, or a similarly gentle request for her to not ]

We've got nothing but time here.

[ Which is as much invitation as it isn't, before she shrugs and starts rinsing out her hair. ] But I wouldn't blame you if you want to keep the long story about messed up stuff to yourself. Not like we don't all have plenty to deal with right here and now.

People feel like that about my town, too. At least mine's got a pretty-sounding name in its favour. [ There's the tiniest smile of sympathy with that. Yeah, it sucks sometimes. Arcadia Bay's a small town, and there's plenty of reasons why people think it sucks.

She's quiet for a while, her lips a thin straight line. She realises she hasn't rinsed her own hair out of shampoo and she still needs to condition it, so she breaks the silence by dunking her head into the water — resurfacing to push her hair back and wring it out a little and wiping the water from her face.

The woman is still much a stranger to her, but she's nice for the most part — Kate's found. The offer is vague, as if it can go either way and Kate's appreciative of that. She's already been sorry to burden it onto others, she feels bad to consider burdening it on someone else. ]

I've only... told one person here what happened. And he was really kind about it, even though it probably kind of freaked him out. He's really good to me— [ It's not hard to work out just who that might be. In amongst those she's grown particularly close to, there's one person she spends the most amount of time with out of the whole town. They're often seen together: he visits her often in the Community Hall, sometimes Kate walks with him when he patrols. She's known Edward Little right from the very start, back when they found themselves equally lost out in the wilds. He knows what happened to her, probably worries the most for her.

Kate inhales, stares down at the water. ]

My life's over, back home. [ It's a startling statement, but it's one she knows is true. She knows what she was doing, what she was about to do — and now she's here. ] Not to be like... a huge drama queen.

At least here... people treat me kindly, and... things can be better which... I know sounds pretty messed up considering what this place's like.

It's not... hiding from what happened but it's... room to not have to only ever think about it all the time, you know?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

nature offers a violence

rest my weary bones — open.

aw ye let's do the thing

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whoops this went heavy into feels territory....