Light of May ::: an original roleplay

Who: Trent and Farren.
Where: Trent’s apartment.
When: Just after midday.

When he’d sent the text the previous night it had been with the intention of reconnecting with his sister, the oldest of the Summers daughters. It had been too long since he’d spent time with Farren and truth be told Trent missed her, everything about her: her wit, her bite, her keen intelligence and sharp sense of humour, the way she told things how they were and didn’t feel the need to wrap people in cotton wool to spare their feelings. For all that she had a good heart, she was a Summers after all, she was honest and considerate and she had compassion as the rest of them did. It was just that she didn’t feel the need to conform to the world around her in order to fit in, she knew exactly who she was and she wasn’t afraid to embrace that, to hell with what anyone else thought. The world could use more people like her, in Trent’s opinion, that sort of brutal honesty could help solve a lot of problems.

With enough food on the go to satisfy a werewolf’s appetite Trent made the last rounds of the apartment to make sure things were tidy, not because he worried that Farren would think less of him for any mess but just because the smallest offhanded comment to their mother would have Camilla knocking on his door to clean things up quicker than either of them could say oops. Trent didn’t want his mother worrying about him, especially now that he had moved out and into his own place, between his job and his somewhat complicated relationship she already worried about him enough. There was no need to make it worse.

Tossing the last of his laundry in the basket to be dealt with later Trent heard the knock on the door and lightly jogged through the modest apartment to answer it, pulling it open and offering his sister a smile as he saw her standing on the other side. “Right on time,” he said, “the food’s just about ready. Come on in.” Not that he needed to tell her she could come in, she already knew that, but he stepped aside and waved her in anyway.

Who: Jenny and Trent
When: Early Afternoon
Where: Scarlet Oak Elementary School

( All she could do now was keep the boy calm while she waited for the ambulance... )

Who: Trent and August.
Where: The Summers’ home.
When: Around midday.

Though he was no longer their Alpha there was no wolf in the Summers Pack, especially those within the core family, the one after which it was named, that would not follow the commands of Martin Summers. There were no exceptions, not even the current leaders, and it was for that reason that Trent had heeded his father’s words and made plans to head to the home where he and his siblings had all grown up in order to speak with his brother. August would be there too, it was possible he had already arrived, Trent knew, as he walked down the path headed for the house at the heart of their territory. Their father was right about this meeting, the older of the twins knew, it made sense for them to get together, the pair of them, and discuss what was to be done about Lotti and Kyle and any others who had been trapped in the high school and might still be suffering from whatever they had experienced within its walls.

For his part Trent was still riled that anything had happened to his siblings at all. Protectiveness ran in their blood, it was a shared family trait, and it was natural for wolves to want to keep their own safe but for Trent it was always going to be fiercest, that instinct, when his family was involved. Venus too, obviously, and he had not yet taken the time to face the question of who would come first if he ever had to make a choice. That was a dilemma he was not yet prepared to give the time of day no matter how important it might end up being. Whatever the answered was it would bring trouble and pain and not just for him. Trent wasn’t ready to face that. Not yet.

Reaching the door he didn’t pause to knock but instead let himself in. Their mother was cooking something, he could smell it in the kitchen from the front of the house, and unbidden his stomach started to growl. Her cooking always had that effect, he had noticed it a long time ago, and he couldn’t help the small smile that came to his face when he heard her voice from the back of the house, greeting him and not even for a second confusing him with his brother. Pulling the light scarf from around his neck and shrugging off his jacket he hung them on the rack inside the door and caught himself looking for his brother’s coat as he did so.

Who: Venus, Trent, August, Star, and Willow (+familiars Raphaela and Haze)
When: Afternoon
Where: Venus' apartment

Texts had been sent and wards had been laid. Venus, with the help of her sister Willow, had spent the better part of an hour coaching Star on what was going to happen. Willow and Star would wait in Venus' bedroom while Venus explained the basics, then Willow and Star would come out and Star would answer any questions they had the best that she could. The most important part was explaining that they were going to make something like a game out of it, and that Star had to pretend that this was very sad, scary, and above all, very serious. And if she did good, they'd order pizzas and Star could have a reward.

Venus had no idea if that was actually going to work, but it was the best they could shoot for. She had the very thin hope that this way, Star might not say anything completely insensitive, and making a bad situation even messier could be avoided. Venus felt vaguely sick, but it was the best she could do. She was just settling back down on the couch when she heard a knock on the door. After mentally checking in with Raphaela that Willow and Star were safely occupied in her room, Venus called out, "Come in!"

Who: Trent and Melia.
Where: The lake.
When: Late morning.

It wasn’t exactly ideal weather for hanging out by the lake but Trent hadn’t come here to enjoy himself. Even with the chill and damp in the air he had come here to think, to get away from it all, take time and be by himself. As much as he loved his family, as much as he loved Venus, there were times when he couldn’t be around anyone and this was one of those times. Distance was what he needed, quiet and space. The lake was the perfect place for that.

So here he was, his feet wet after he had pulled his boots and socks off in order to perch himself on a low rock and let his lower legs dangle in the water. The legs of his jeans had been rolled up but as he watched the water ripple with the breeze he let out a sigh. This wasn’t helping. Kyle and Lotti were still trapped inside the school, they still had no idea what was going on, Venus was still essentially blind. Frustration gnawed at the edges of his concentration with sharp teeth and as he raked his hands through his hair he realised this wasn’t going to work. Something about just sitting there was keeping him from clearing his mind, even with the crisp fresh air and the quiet natural sounds of the wildlife and flora all around him.

Trent shrugged out of his jacket. Reaching up he tugged his t-shirt off over his head. The cool air bit at his skin and immediately he felt a little better. Briefly he felt the familiar rush inside that he had long ago come to associate with a change and he had to quell that, quiet and subdue it, putting it to bed so that he could retain his human form. The wolf side of him was thrown, confused and disappointed, but maybe he would shift and run for a while after he was done. That would help. That always helped.

When he was done his clothes were folded on top of the rock upon which he had been perched, his jacket draped safely over the top just in case the threat in the air followed through and rain started to fall while he was in the water. The lake was like ice around him as he went in, it stole his breath momentarily and for a human there would have been a very real danger of catching something, a bone-deep chill at the very least. Not a werewolf. They were hardier than that.

The real shock came when he waded out deep enough that he could dunk himself under the water completely. Walking in the water had been shocking enough but this was something else entirely, almost painful but in an exhilarating and refreshing way that he was immediately grateful for and appreciative of. When he breached the water again he took in a deep lungful of air and felt lighter for it. Some of those troubles that been weighing on him up on shore had been lifted. It didn’t matter to Trent that they would return soon, all that mattered was that he was able to escape them, if only for a little while.

Who: Trent and Venus
Where: Venus' apartment
When: Evening

Venus had tried scrying last night, but had no luck. She'd been too tired, her head too fuzzy. Her eyes had felt like they were lined with sandpaper, and every time they started to shift out of focus they'd snapped shut on her. She'd finally caved and crawled into bed with Trent. During the day she went back to the school, but she got Trent and left before she started to feel too tired. She was determined. She changed out of her clothes of the day and into an old shirt of Trent's, and grabbed what she needed from the bedside table. A small, mirrored bowl she used for reading. She filled it with water from the bathroom sink, and went back to her bed. She grabbed a large, flat photography book from the shelf, and set it in the middle of the bed. She put the bowl on top of that. She took a deep breath, crawled onto the bed, and went about the slow process of making herself comfortable. She sat indian style in the center of the bed, crouching over the bowl. She forced every muscle she didn't need to relax. She stared into the waters until her eyes shifted out of focus and she saw not the water but through the water. And then in time rather than her own reflection in the mirrored surface, everything started to fade in together.

She concentrated on the school. She needed a focus, and she couldn't choose between Kyle or Lotti, so she kept her terms broader. The gym. She hadn't gone to that school but she'd been inside it for games before. The gym. She needed to see the gym. The gym. The gym. ( The gym. )

Who: August and Trent
When: Early Morning
Where: SOHS grounds

( he was still keeping at least one promise: he hadn’t left the school grounds since he arrived )

Who: Trent and Venus.
Where: Outside the high school, where the emergency services are holed up.
When: Late evening.

The contents of the styrofoam cup in his hand had gone cold a while ago but he hadn’t gotten around to pouring it out and stuffing the container in their small trash bag hanging in the back of the bus yet. His partner had wandered off about fifteen minutes ago to try and get an update, though Trent had told the other paramedic before they’d roamed into the crowd that they were wasting their time, that the authorities would come and find them if and when they were needed. They carried radios for a reason. Still, the other paramedic had insisted and Trent had watched them go with only a small shake of his head.

Being by himself gave him entirely too much time to think and he felt his free hand going for his pocket for the cell phone pushed into the depths entirely of its own accord. With a sigh he finally ditched the cold contents of the cup into the grass over which the ambulance had been awkwardly driven to be parked off the road, a little closer to the school. It would make it easier to get patients to the back of the vehicle when that barrier came down, if they needed medical help, though Trent wasn’t looking forward to the drive off the grass. He heard the liquid hit the grass with a dull splash and fumbled around without looking for the bag, only releasing the cup when he felt the opening and knew he wasn’t going to spill dregs of bad coffee all over the inside of the bus. That left both hands free to work the phone when he successfully retrieved it from his pocket.

Nothing new. As he suspected the rest of his family had, Trent had sent those of his siblings who had attended the dance urgent messages asking them to contact him. When he checked the status of the messages he saw, not for the first time, that they had failed to deliver. Lotti and Kyle’s phones were out of reach. Cupping the phone between both of his hands and resting his chin on them, elbows on his knees as he perched in the back of the open ambulance, Trent turned his eyes on the school, trying to figure out like so many others what it was that was keeping their loved ones trapped inside, and the rest of them out.

Who: Trent and Venus
Where: Trent's apartment (to start)
When: Early afternoon


( Please don't lose the keys. )

Who: Trent and Selena
Where: Ambulance garage
When: Morning


( I'm coming back to my girl by July. )

Who: Jo, Lotti, Venus and Trent
Where: The Broadway bridge!
When: 11:37 and onwards

This march was a very important event in Jo's opinion. It was kind of like they were all telling the nay-sayers "we're here, we're different, get over it" which other groups had been doing for years...and not really getting to have an easier time of life, but there it was. If you asked Jo the only way people would eventually stop protesting against things people couldn't help was if you shoved the truth in their face. And this felt very much like that to her.

She was happy to be with her sister Lotti, to whom everything was awesome and fun. She cheered everyone up with her very presence, what better company could Jo have asked for?

A fun game ensued between them, in which they would smell the people around them and either identify their 'races' or not, depending on whether or not they had smelled that kind of scent before. Jo didn't know many scents, mostly other weres, elementals and psychics - only she couldn't differentiate them by specifics. It was still fun. She was pointing out a were-rabbit ahead of them when the horrible and humongous sound of something blowing up (she had seen enough movies to recognize that noise, surely) sounded behind her. Jo turned around to see what it was, and the next thing she knew she was the one flying backwards, or forward (she wasn't sure) going to drop on her back, very uncomfortably, in pain and coughing over the dust and smoke.

The air around her filled with such smoke she couldn't see much of anything, and her back really ached. "Nnnnyaaaahhhhh what the hell!" She protested, trying to look around her for her sister. "Lotti? Lotti you there? Jesus fuck I can't see a thing."