Light of May ::: an original roleplay

Who: The Normandin Pack.
Where: The Normandin house.
When: Mid-afternoon.

No one was going to be happy about this. None of his siblings, not the uncles who would filter in from their various residences, and certainly not his parents. That certainty was a constant presence in the back of Mason’s mind as he got out of his car and swung the door shut behind him, palming his keys as he headed for the house’s front door and let himself in without knocking or ringing the bell. Long gone were the days when he would have done either as a simple courtesy, Robert Normandin had to have those constant reminders that his position of Alpha was long gone and belonged to his eldest son now and Mason picked out his father’s scent nearby as he crossed through the house to the kitchen.

Coffee. He needed coffee.

It wasn’t long after his arrival that others started to trickle in, gathering in one of the house’s large reception rooms with refreshments of various types arranged by Linda because she had nothing else to do with her time other than give the help instructions to put together plates and make sure everyone had a drink. Mason let his mother busy herself and waited until everyone was present before he made a start on what needed to be done.

“I know this was last minute,” he said, standing in front of the grand fireplace so that all eyes were turned his way, the seating arranged in such a way that he was their natural focal point, “but thank you all for coming.” That was a simple courtesy he was going to extend, albeit in a level firm tone that did nothing to invite any sort of discussion or retort from those gathered. The energy in the room was tense, uncertain. They knew something was coming but weren’t sure what. “I’m sure you all felt the effects of what we can only assume was some sort of magic the last few days,” he went on. “What the point of it was I can’t even begin to guess and I don’t care to. I brought you all here to inform you of a change in the state of things that came to pass during those few days.” No time like the present. Mason just had to say it, get it out in the open so they could react and then move past it. They were going to hate it, hate him very possibly, certainly the redhead to whom he was now permanently attached and bonded, but that was too bad.

“Kiley Ricks and I are now mates.” There it was. Plain and simple, the information now theirs to deal with as they saw fit. Within reason, of course.

Who: Mason and Kiley.
Where: Cherryblossom Place; Mason’s apartment.
When: Morning.

There was no alarm that went off to trigger his return to the waking world and it was a slow and steady recovery of consciousness, nothing special about it at all to signify that anything was out of place. More often than not he didn’t really need that alarm, Mason was more than capable of getting himself out of bed but as he started to stir and the sounds of the world beyond the windows and walls of the apartment started to creep in at the edges of his awareness, the subtlest shaft of light from the morning sun landing across the surface of the bed in which he lay, he knew something was different. The warmth of the bed itself, the sheer comfort he felt, made it difficult to care but as the minutes ticked by and sleep relinquished its hold on him piece by piece things started to settle, his mind shook off the dust of slumber and started feeding him information about where he was, what needed to happen that day, and with whom. There was someone else in the bed, too.

Not that unusual, really, it wasn’t the first time Kiley had shared his bed and last night wasn’t the first time they had--

Wait.

Mason’s eyes opened and he rose up onto his elbows, bringing his chest off the mattress while being careful not to disturb Kiley’s arm where it had come to drape across his back at some point during the night while they were both asleep. At some point he had rolled over onto his stomach, evidently, and she had nestled in close to his side. Without even needing to look beneath the sheets that were draped over them both Mason knew one fact with unwavering certainty: neither of them were wearing any clothes.

They had slept together. More than once.

“Oh my God.” It was so quiet it could scarcely even be considered a whisper and just for a moment Mason pressed his face into the crumpled pillows on his side of the bed before lifting his head again and lifting one hand to lay it gently against her bare shoulder, a light touch coupled with her name in a soft hushed tone meant to rouse her from sleep slowly and carefully.

Something had happened to bring them to this point. Mason just wasn’t entirely sure yet what that something was.

Who: Kiley and Mason
Where: Mason's apartment
When: Morning
Note: This post has a good chance of wandering into some NSFW territory. ;)


( All this love, love, love in the dark. )

Who: Mason and Kiley.
Where: Starbucks to start with.
When: Late afternoon.

No one who knew Mason Normandin could accuse him of being a hopeless romantic, certainly not on the surface where the whole world could see him and judge him for his words and behaviours. As much as any other member of his family he had a reputation to uphold and Mason did his part with that as much as any other Normandin, perhaps more so in his opinion, but there were times when that image meant very little to him. As he pulled his car to the curb and let the engine die he knew this was one of those times, when the opinions of the rest of the world meant absolutely nothing and all that mattered was the thoughts and feelings of one other person.

Kiley was due to finish work any minute now.

This was the point where Mason always debated whether or not to go inside or just to wait out by the car. Without even realising he had stepped out of the vehicle and onto the sidewalk and now he stood by the car with his keys in his hand not entirely sure of what to do with himself. Go in and wait for her to finish while her coworkers all stared at him and whispered their little rumours amongst themselves where they thought he couldn’t hear them? Or wait out here for her to step out and avoid the whole thing but perhaps seem nonchalant to those same people inside?

Before he could decide exactly which option to go for -- not to mention whether or not he actually cared one bit about what those inside thought of him or their relationship -- the very person he was waiting for stepped out of the door and into the cool October air. Mason felt the smile cross his face instantly and he strode forward to meet her. “Hey, you,” he said, still smiling. “I was just about to come inside.”

Who: Kiley and Mason
When: Flashback to a few weeks before Christmas, 2008
Where: The streets of Scarlet Oak


( Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need? )

Who: Mason and Nicci
When: Morning
Where: Mason's place

Nicci was trying not to be annoyed with Mason. No, really! He and the twins had just been through an ordeal, and they were all going to probably have pretty different ways of dealing with that. Hell, the whole family had to deal. Nicci's method of dealing had been hovering back and forth between the twins' hospital rooms and threatening anyone who tried to stop her in the most explicit way possible. When all of her brothers were released, Nicci had even gone back to the family home and slept in her old bedroom. She had not fought with either of her parents. She was doing her part. And Mason should have been, too. She'd asked around, and the rumors were all that he'd been strictly staying in the company of the redhead mutt. Nicci's rampage of anger was only overruled by her overwhelming concern for the twins. She tried to tell herself it wasn't true. As alpha, he had other responsibilities first. He should have checked on the twins, and asked about the pack, and... I'm not thinking about this, Nicci told herself, as she pulled in front of Mason's apartment building. She could give a little for once, only because she was worried about him, too. Didn't that selfish bastard realize there were other people in the world who gave a shit about him?

No matter. She'd go to him. She could do that. It killed her a little on the inside, but a lot of things she did on a daily basis had that effect on her. What was another crack in her shell in the long run? Getting out of the car, Nicci headed inside and went straight up to Mason's door, giving it a slightly softer version of her patented 'open this door and bow before me' knock. Softer because of the recent trauma, not because he was her brother and technically, her alpha. Because before anything else could be done, she had to give him back the pack. And take another crack in her shell.

Who: Kiley and Mason
Where: SOHS
When: Early morning


( Just keep following the heartlines on your hand. )

Who: Mason, Micah, Evelyn, and Bryce.
Where: Feeding Frenzy, middle of the ocean, surrounded by sharks. Yay.
When: Right after this.

By some miracle that probably had more to do with sheer determination and the desire not to die out here, between them they had managed to get Mason up on the makeshift raft and keep him there. The group’s one and only werewolf wasn’t exactly happy to be the one on the debris, especially given how much bigger he was than the wood upon which he was now supported, but he had understood Bryce’s suggestion enough to know that arguing was not only pointless but downright stupid. Sharks were attracted to blood and he couldn’t very well angle himself to keep his wounded side out of the water the way Micah had held his hand up until the blood had stopped. Therefore it made the most sense for him to be on the raft, as much as he wanted one of the kids to be up on there, as much as he believed it was better suited to any one of them given their smaller statures. None of that mattered now, not when he needed to keep from attracting more of them with his blood in the water, and after managing to get up on the wood he had done what he could to help whoever it was beside him at the time bind -- or at least pad and therefore apply pressure to -- the wound. Mason had lost track of things for a while.

That probably had a lot to do with how exactly he had missed Evelyn applying the wards to everyone, himself included. For a little while there he sort of drifted in and out of awareness, not losing consciousness exactly but definitely distancing himself from the reality in which they had found himself, even if it wasn’t intentional on his part. His mind kept wandering to the same thing, or rather the same person. Red hair, green eyes, a bright and happy smile, her voice a phantom echo in his ears that had him starting back to full consciousness only to find her nowhere nearby. All things that was a relief. As much as he wanted to make sure Kiley was all right he didn’t want her anywhere near here.

Thankfully his start back to awareness hadn’t been too obvious, physically. He was still balanced on the board, looking up at a sky growing increasingly dark. Stars were coming into view now. Mason blinked a few times, trying to wake up properly, and then turned his head to find the kids close by. “Anybody see anything yet?” Mason was still the chaperone in the group and that meant he had every intention of keeping track of the situation, as best as he could anyway from where he had come to find himself, figuratively and literally.

WHO: Micah, Evelyn, Bryce, Mason
WHEN: Who knows?
WHERE: Middle of the ocean in a parallel dimension made by psycho faeries (AKA Feeding Frenzy!)

SPLASH.

A movie trope insists that splashing someone with water in the face will wake them up. Micah had no idea if this trope was 100% realistic, but it certainly applied to this very moment. The impact of the water hitting him at full force jolted Micah awake from...from...Micah struggled to remember as he struggled to keep his head above water. Being California-born, one would think Micah was a stellar swimmer. This was not the case. He could swim in the sense that he could kick and flail his arms to get from point A to point B, but staying afloat in water was not something that made sense to him. Someone had once said to pedal your legs like you were riding a bicycle. Micah didn't get that. And it didn't work. Kicking his legs as hard as he could, Micah tried to get his bearings. He'd happily just been passed over for Homecoming King (not that he'd expected to win unless Carrie!blood was involved), Hyemi was pouting at him for losing, and he'd tried to think of something to placate her when even thinking had become difficult. He remembered hitting the ground and looking at Hyemi's feet and then her face as they both slipped into unconsciousness. Speaking of...

( Tell them I'm going fishing. )

Who: Mason and Ben.
Where: Normandin territory.
When: Early evening.

( It was all very well and good saying they didn’t have a problem with weres but it usually came with the unspoken caveat that they remained in human form because that was what people were most comfortable with. A were was no less dangerous in human form, they still had advantages over humans whether or not they realised it for themselves. )

Who: Mason and Jameson.
Where: The police station; the break room.
When: Mid-afternoon.

( It wasn’t often they caught sight of an undercover cop in here. )

Who: Mason and Kiley.
Where: Kiley's house to start.
When: Around midday.

( What was it they said about teaching an old dog new tricks? )

WHO | Harper & Mason
WHERE | Police Department
WHEN | Late at night

( So you guys like being ass hats, or is that just part of the job description? )

Who: Mason and Maxwell.
Where: The Normandin house.
When: Afternoon.

( Mason did care what others thought, and he would not have his own family looking down their noses at him. Figuratively speaking, of course. Being the tallest member of the family, it was hard for the others to do that literally. )

Who: TJ and Mason
Where: A random bar
When: Evening
What: Guys night

This was definitely needed. TJ had a long week, but he really couldn't complain about it. He'd been able to invite Andy over for a cooking lesson. It had gone well despite their little kitchen disaster. And now his new pet was named, so that was something. Shaking his head, he parked his car and got out, locking it behind him as he headed into the bar. Like Isaiah, he was picky when it came to eating out. It came from being a chef. But he had chosen the place for his guys night with Mason and at least they had good pub food here. That was something.

Mason wasn't there yet, but TJ got them a couple of beers and found a table in the line of sight from the entrance. He sipped and thought back to his evening with Andy. She was incredible, her curiosity causing him to smile. There was an innocence there. And he really liked when he got to kiss her at the end of the night. It was in that moment of remembrance that he pulled out his phone and shot her a quick text. Cheesy, yes, but he didn't care. He took a sip of his beer and waited for Mason to arrive.

Who: Mason and Corwin.
Where: The police station.
When: Around midday.

( Corwin would be an Alpha himself one day, Mason could already sense that as much as he was sure Kiley could, but he was much too young and weak to challenge the Normandin Pack leader now, and as such, in no position to make any kind of demands. )

Who: Mason, Orion, and Odin. [PLUS NPC Legionaries!]
Where: The bridge.
When: Early evening.

( Drawing and levelling the weapon, he squeezed the trigger. When the thing kept coming, the shot to its chest not even so much as slowing it down, Mason fired again, and then again. )

Who: Mason and Kiley.
Where: Kiley's house.
When: Morning.

( Without even taking the time to duck inside his apartment to shower and change clothes, Mason was turning the car around and heading out again. Kiley wouldn't care if he was wearing fresh clothes or that he might carry scents of last night's run with him. In all honestly it didn't even cross to his mind to do either thing. He just wanted to see her.  )

Who: Mason and Robert (NPC).
Where: The Normandin house.
When: Early morning.

( Even now, Mason felt no shame for the way he had chosen to take command. )

Who: Kiley and Mason
Where: Kiley's house --> pack lands
When: Afternoon


( Who'd have thought you'd be carrying me? )