Birthright

Who: Annie, Tasha
What: Explanations
When: Present, Afternoon
Where: Cafe
Warnings: None

( The Here and Now )

The 'decorating' was complete, the dimensions and purpose of each space now optimised and the various areas resplendid in the accoutrement worthy of a celebration of Samhain - the time when crops were harvested, cattle were returned to the low pastures from the highlands, the annual cycle of life was being celebrated and the veils between worlds were at their most revealing.
( Angharad made her way from room to room... )

Who: Annie & Hanna
What: Subterfuge
Where: Nevada Desert
When: Present
Ratings/Warnings: Low

( Little Green Men )

Who: Radek & Open
What: Triage
When: Night of Bones mayhem
Where: M&M Cafe
Ratings WIP

( Who's first? )

Who: Annie, Celeste, and Ronnie
What: Burger Battleground
When: Current Late Evening
Where: McDonald's in Searchlight
Ratings: Language / Violence / Grossness
Status: Complete

( Late Night Cravings )

Who: Annie, Radek
What: Sharing Resources
When: Early Afternoon
Where: M&M's Coffee
Ratings: General

( Most Suitable )

Who: Annie, Derek
What: Information Exchange
Where: Las Vegas, Blindeye Diner
When: Present
Ratings/Warnings: TBD

( This Place Is Weird )

[thread complete]

To: R Jeppersen
Fm: A Robinette
Subject: Nevada Area Bureau Assistance

( available whenever you need )

Annie’d had… not a great night. Getting blind drunk on cheap beer was never a good idea. By the time she managed to drag herself to her laptop to dig into her email, she had a blinding headache and was desperate for an early bedtime.

Her mother’s words were ringing in her ears, hours after the phone call she had made in trying to puzzle out all she had learned in recent days.

“Vampires? You stay away from that mess, you hear?” her mother had said over the line, voice sharp and alarmed. “We can’t help what we are, baby, but they’re something all the worse. They gotta kill people to stay alive. That’s all they are. Killers. Don’t you get involved.”

( Getting Involved )

To: Special Agent Robinette
Fm: Special Agent Booth
Subject: Assistance for Dr Radek Jeppersen

( Good afternoon Annie, )

Who: Derek Mitchell, Annie Robinette
What: More Questioning
Where: Las Vegas, T-Shirt Kiosk
When: Present, Night
Ratings/Warnings: General

( A Few Questions )

Who: Wren & Annie
What: Interview RE: Recent Crimes
When: Present Day
Where: Iris, Las Vegas
Ratings: Language

( Uh Oh, It's The Feds )

Sometimes, Annie thought, it was possible to let yourself get too excited by a new idea or undertaking. She hadn’t wanted this position outside of Vegas, but she had steeled herself to it; she had made the decision that no only would she not give up her badge -- like they wanted her too -- but she would take this bullshit position they had given her, and she would make it a resounding success.

There would be some dead ends, of course, but there were always bodies to be found in the desert. She was sure of it; she would clear some of these cases and get back in the Bureau’s good graces, at least long enough to get her the hell out of this dead end and back into real work that actually mattered.

The enthusiasm had died off months ago. No one wanted to play ball. She could smile and lay on the sugar, or she could flash her badge and get angry, none of it mattered. She might as well not even be there. It was complete stonewalling on all sides.

( A Familiar Face )

Who: Annie
What: Workday
When: Day of 'dusting'
Where: Her Home (Searchlight)
Rating: Language

In grade school, Annie had to read Out of Dust. It was relatively new on the young adult scene and her teachers had been all aflutter in getting granted forty free copies of the book from its publisher, so of course it had been subject of all of her grade’s language arts studies for a full semester. Annie was a city girl at heart, born and raised in Philly, and never quite understood the imagery the book’s author had used, lines about walls of dust in the air, piled up high against walls and fences, blinding anyone who might dare venture out. It didn’t make sense to Annie, a child of apartment blocks and skyscrapers that cut to narrow streets winding around the city.

She was pretty sure she understood it now.

( MISSING: Kayleigh Miller )

Who: Annie Robinette, Derek Mitchell
What: Slingin' Tees
Where: Vegas
When: Present Day, Night
Ratings/Warnings: None

Derek rubbed his hands together briskly. It was his favorite time, showtime. At 9 PM, his shift started and he relieved the other vendor, a bored teenager with rolling eyes. He had just fed, so the vampire was feeling on top of the world. What better place to be than in the middle of the action? What better job than to provide tourists with a happy little reminder of better, glitzier times?

“Hey folks,” he waved at people passing him by. “You won’t find a better souvenir than the one you can wear. It’ll never get dusty on a shelf. Open those wallets and spread the wealth.”

He held up a black t-shirt featuring the Statue of Liberty presiding over Vegas, ready to shoot a pair of not-completely-to-scale dice. “Classy, gender-neutral, offers a nice drape.”

Derek gestured to a woman approaching on his left. “Perfect for the office or leisure.”

[Thread complete.]

Repetition and routine, Annie believed, were the key to staying sane in the face of adversity. She woke up at a reasonable hour each morning, showered and dressed, had a healthy breakfast, brushed her teeth, and started her day.

It tended to go downhill from there.

By roughly ten in the morning, Annie was camped out in front of the television, the Xbox fired up, and a rapidly increasing stack of empty soda cans on the table beside her armchair. On particularly bad days, there would also be an ever-growing pile of Twizzler wrappers, the colorful bits of plastic often drifting to the floor unnoticed.

( Battle Royale )