[color=silver][right][sub]TIMESTAMP — Tuesday Morning  July 20th, 2021 || After [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5409262]The Five Pieces of Charlie Decker[/url]
[b]FT.[/b] — [color=#E62020]J[/color][color=#E42523]a[/color][color=#E22A26]d[/color][color=#E02F29]e[/color] [color=#DD392F]T[/color][color=#DB3E32]a[/color][color=#D94335]y[/color][color=#D74839]l[/color][color=#D54D3C]o[/color][color=#D4523F]r[/color][color=#D25742],[/color] [color=#CE6148]M[/color][color=#CC664B]i[/color][color=#CB6B4E]t[/color][color=#C97052]e[/color][color=#C77555]n[/color][color=#C57A58]a[/color] [color=#C2845E]S[/color][color=#C08961]t[/color][color=#BE8E64]r[/color][color=#BC9367]o[/color][color=#BB986B]n[/color][color=#B89670]g[/color][color=#B59475]b[/color][color=#B3927B]o[/color][color=#B09080]w[/color][color=#AD8E86],[/color] [color=#A88A91]&[/color] [color=#A3869C]N[/color][color=#A084A1]a[/color][color=#9D82A7]t[/color][color=#9B80AC]a[/color][color=#987EB1]l[/color][color=#957CB7]i[/color][color=#937ABC]a[/color] [color=#8D76C7]B[/color][color=#8B74CD]e[/color][color=#8872D2]l[/color][color=#8570D8]m[/color][color=#836EDD]o[/color][color=#806CE3]n[/color][color=#7D6AE8]t[/color][color=#7B68EE]e[/color][/sub][/right]
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[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/metanoia][img]https://i.imgur.com/QtOS2lc.png[/img][/url]  [img]https://i.imgur.com/5qKZWnt.png[/img]  [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/brutalbx][img]https://i.imgur.com/DGjVitK.png[/img][/url]  [img]https://i.imgur.com/5qKZWnt.png[/img]  [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/venus][img]https://i.imgur.com/wI4Eo9s.png[/img][/url]
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A few minutes had passed since both Poppy and Key left right after each other and all Jade could think about was how she thought she was doing the right thing. Mitena was blaming herself and Jade thought she was doing right by her - and maybe by Charlie too - by telling her it was okay. She still held firm that Charlie’s sister, the one person not tethered to any of the pain, yet at the center of it, had nothing to apologize for. Why would she? She wasn’t to blame for any of the reactions. The anger, guilt, regret - that was all part of a life that was long before they knew Charlie had a sister.

And yet, unknowingly, the reactions she saw were a direct result of the past coming full speed into the present. Jade knew as soon as Mitena addressed him by the name Decky, that was it for him. And she wanted to follow, but what could she do in this situation? Poppy flat out said not to follow her and she didn’t keep her eyes on Key long enough to know where he ran off to. 

As the blonde looked at the two girls across from her, for a moment the blue-green gaze that lacked the raccoon eyeshadow that was trademark to Jade at this point fell on Natalia. Among the entire thing, she had been quiet. She came to understand the Italian girl’s reason for being here more and more. A conversation yesterday that led to Jade finding her first step forward in forever. So what could she be thinking? What was on her mind?

[color=e62020]“I’m sorry.”[/color] Jade finally mouthed after minutes of silence, leaning forward somewhat, reaching for one of the pieces of toast and buttered it with aimless motions. She didn’t realize it until she looked down and the one piece of bread had about a fourth of a stick of butter on it. She chuckled and then felt her throat tighten up. [color=e62020]“I’m really sorry.. To both of you. I let my mouth go too far earlier. I assumed the wrong things. Pops wasn’t ready, Key wasn’t ready.”[/color] Jade wasn’t as ready as she thought…

She kept her eyes down, feeling them start to water and she smiled at her own pathetic state. [color=e62020]“I don’t have any right to assume what they are ready for. How could I when I shut them out for a month because I wasn’t ready to face my own demons?”[/color]

Mitena watched the blonde silently for a moment. A lot had just happened and she really wasn’t fully sure what to make of it. Everything for them was still very raw, very fresh and very real. Tena herself didn’t exist in the scope of their vision twenty-four hours ago but there she was, the lost sister of their Charlie. She didn’t know what she was expecting from the group but she certainly wasn’t expecting this. It was obvious that all four of them had been completely and utterly shattered by her brother's darkest action and they were nowhere near recovered. Taking a deep breath, Tena reached out her hand across the table and placed it on Jade’s wrist. 

[color=BB986B]“I don’t think any of us are ever truly ready. How can we be when we don’t know what the turn in the next corner holds?”[/color] She spoke softly but with assuredness behind her words. [color=BB986B]“You have nothing to be sorry for. Thank you for being honest with me and showing me a piece of your heart. It was very brave of you.”[/color] Mitena leaned back, aware of Jade’s space and hoping that she hadn't encroached upon it. She was always a tactile person and the last thing she wanted was to upset the blonde even further. [color=BB986B]“The others will find me whenever they want. My door will always be open to you all. You were his family, so that makes you mine.”[/color]

Feeling Tena’s hand touch her slender wrist, even though her eyes were watery as the blonde couldn’t hide the fact that her mind had just gone to a dark place, she met the same gaze that she remembered Charlie had in him before his light slowly faded. She hadn’t doubted it since before all hell broke loose, Jade knew she was without a doubt Charlie’s sister. It wasn’t just her eyes or that familiar skin tone or the dark locks. Charlie had a way about him. It was hidden under a bunch of insecurities and uncertainty, but his heart was always there. Jade heard and saw that in Mitena.

Taking a moment for herself to wipe away the tears that had formed, Jade half-laughed. [color=e62020]“I’m not sure how brave it is,”[/color] she half-murmured. [color=e62020]“But thank you, Tena.”[/color] She picked up that piece of bread with all the butter on it and took a big bite out of it. Her mind still felt heavy with so much of..everything, but she needed to eat something. Swallowing part of it, she once again looked at Natalia. She wanted to say something but the look in the former supreme’s eyes was very telling. Physically she was here, but Jade suspected her mind was elsewhere. 

Tena watched the blonde's gaze fall upon her lover who had remained silent throughout the entire breakfast scene. Natalia had brought the native girl such joy and warm feeling in their brief whisper together and part of that was because Mitena felt like she had known the Italian girl her whole life despite only meeting the night before. That was thanks to Charlie and his words. In her brother's manuscript and letters he described her as a sensitive and thoughtful girl, carrying a weight beyond her means. Tena knew why Tal was lost in her own feelings, she knew that her Stargirl held a very important chapter of this book in her heart. Yet she also knew that the words in Natalia’s soul were hers and hers alone to share when and if she was ever ready. 

Mitena drifted her hand behind the Italian girl, slipping her fingers beneath the pale beauty’s shirt and allowing them to softly dance upon her skin. Her mind wandered and she wondered what her brother might say to his heart pieces in a moment such as this. [color=BB986B]"May the stars carry your sadness away. May the flowers fill your heart with beauty. May hope forever wipe away your tears. And, above all, may silence make you strong.”[/color] Tena quoted as she thought perhaps Charlie would have. [color=BB986B]“Chief Dan George of Tsleil-Waututh Nation.”[/color] A bright smile crossed her round face and a small chuckle escaped her throat and lips. [color=BB986B]“I’m such a dork.”[/color]

Although her glassy eyes were locked on the table, Natalia could feel the eyes of both women around the table fixated on her. As much as she wanted to be comforted by Mitena’s touch and the heartfelt, beautiful words she had used in an attempt to soothe her soul, she felt the same old guilt and intrusive thoughts starting to weigh heavily on her shoulders once again. [i]Did she even deserve to be here?[/i] Sure, she and Charlie had been fairly close for at least two years before his passing. But that was nothing compared to the life-long ties he had from growing up alongside Mordechai, Poppy and Jade. She had known him as the thoughtful, caring, perceptive Serpent with a dark humor, a love for books and a penchant for words; who carried the crushing weight of his family’s misfortune and the disdain of the town he called home on his shoulders. The others had known him as something beyond that: the person he was before calamity struck his life again again.

Sitting at this table-- surrounded by three of the people who knew Charlie best and listening to them voice so many personal questions or experiences while contributing nothing-- made the Belmonte girl uncomfortable. Witnessing their heartbreaking reactions made it even worse. By the time Tena was praising Jade for her bravery in opening up her heart, the panicked Natalia was desperately seeking a way out of being the next one expected to bare her soul.

[color=7B68EE]“Maybe we can, um, change the subject or something…”[/color] she tentatively suggested, hoping the two women were just as emotionally exhausted with the scene that had just transpired as she was and would take her up on her offer. 

Over the course of the time at the picnic table, Tena had been noting all of her new lover's looks and gazes. Every subtle movement of her hands and body. She wasn’t just uncomfortable; there was so much more to it and now she knew. Tena could read Tal’s face like it was an open book. It seemed obvious now. Beyond letters and novels and words on a piece of paper. The look in those starry eyes told Mitena everything she needed to know about Natalia and her brother, about how she felt and why she had been dancing precariously on the edge of a precipice ever since his name had come up. Natalia Belmonte, the other girl in the story, had been in love with Charlie Decker, the monster at the end of the book.

Tena could feel, through Natalia’s skin, a shift in her spirit. Throughout the evening, as their words danced around a feeling, through the night as their bodies merged into one, the tribal girl felt her Stargirl’s warmth radiate like a dying supernova into her very heart. Yet there in the cold light of day, where truths lay uncovered by the shade of night, Tal’s spirit had become bashful, quiet and afraid. She didn’t want to be there anymore and it all had to do with Charlie. This brother of hers, this phantom pain, he was long buried but it seemed that the anguish he caused had seeped into the very ground, into the very soil beneath their feet. 

[color=BB986B][i]What’s the plan, Charlie Jay? What’s next in your story?[/i][/color]

[color=BB986B]“Sure.”[/color] Mitena, despite the weight she carried in her own heart, wanted to be able to support Natalia, to support Jade and Mordechai and Poppy. The strength they had was used to get them here, now it was time for her to use her own to help them. [color=BB986B]“Sure.”[/color] She repeated before drying her eyes with the base of her thumb. At that moment, Tena realized how the end of this conversation would come. She realized that when it was all over, they would all go home together and she would be left alone with a wound in her soul reopened. The spirit would test her on this day. [color=BB986B]“So!”[/color] She masked her voice with a wave of joy. [color=BB986B]“What’s next? You want me to take you to the corral so you can check out and maybe ride some horses? You wanna hike the Pronghorn trail? Or maybe you wanna go to the casino or longhouse and get your early morning fucked up on?”[/color]

Natalia pursed her lips together, choosing not to respond right away as she felt another stab of guilt at Mitena's wounded response to her suggestion. Although they barely knew each other and she was actively trying to hide it, she could tell that changing the subject was not something that Tena wanted to do. And it’s not like she could blame her, either. If her brother had done what Charlie had and she was presented with the opportunity to get insight and answers straight from those who knew him best, you could bet that Tal would go to any lengths necessary to get the information she wanted. If anything, she admired Tena’s tact and patience on how she was approaching this whole thing, because she wouldn't have handled the situation with half of the grace Mitena had.

Her sympathy towards the other woman, however, didn't sway Natalia’s resistance to sharing that side of her life story. Talking about her mother’s illness, her goals, aspirations and other thought-provoking topics was one thing. Telling your new lover that the reason your paths came together in the first place was all because of a tangled mess of unaddressed romantic feelings between you and her deceased brother? That wasn’t something that needed to be addressed anytime soon… If at all.

But Tena deserved answers. She deserved to have that glimpse at her late brother's life. Even if Tal didn't disclose [i]everything[/i], she could at least offer her some comfort by telling her the same thing she'd told Jade the day before… On a different day, when she was ready.

[color=7B68EE]“I'm sorry. I… I wasn't trying to be inconsiderate or an asshole when I asked to change the subject,”[/color] the Belmonte girl apologized to both women, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and uncomfortably looking away. [color=7B68EE]"It's just… Talking about Charlie isn't something I like to do. Actually, talking about any kind of feelings isn't exactly something I'm a fan of, if I'm honest.”[/color] She blurted the explanation with an awkward chuckle, momentarily shifting her eyes to Jade and then back to Mitena. They could thank the influence of Tiziano Belmonte for that one. [color=7B68EE]"But if you really want me to, maybe one day I could share some of the memories I have with him-- when I’m ready."[/color] She softly told the brunette, reaching out to wipe the girl's eyes with her thumb before using it to gently caress her cheek.

There it was again; that feeling, striking at Tena’s heart like a bolt of lightning sent down from the heavens by the Thunderbird itself. She leaned her warm face into Natalia’s palm and placed her own hand atop her Stargirl’s. This offcomer girl had stolen into her life like a thief in the dead of night and had cracked the safe that kept a hold of Mitena’s heart. She could tell just how uncomfortable all of this was making Tal and the raven-haired Indian girl didn’t want to keep poking the bear out of a deep fear of upsetting her. Yet her curiosity had not fully been satiated, not even close. 

She didn’t want to be curious but there was so much left unsaid. There were so many unfinished songs in her book. The tribe had done much to raise Tena following her mothers death from cancer and as progressive as some members of the community were, there were still those that clung to the old ways. Both Mitena’s father and her long-lost brother were Craven. They were the unspoken dead that dare not be uttered even in whispers. There was so much of the songstress' past that was a mystery to her, and these strangers from another land might just hold the key to that box of secrets. The problem, it seemed, was that opening that box caused nothing but pain for everyone involved, and it seemed that that pain may not be something manageable.

[color=BB986B]“I would love to know everything.”[/color] Tena began as she cupped Natalia’s hand. [color=BB986B]“But I don’t want to bring you, any of you, any pain or suffering. More so than I already have. You got to have Charlie in your life, whatever that meant to you, and that is yours to share if and when you want. I’ve been waiting for my big brother for twenty years, I can wait a little longer.”[/color]

Looking between the two dark-haired women, Jade knew that somewhere in the glances she caught going between each other that there was an obvious deep connection between them. It was profound, and rivaled one that she herself was starting to find with Anya, her Pancake. It felt like it was something personal. Something that, if anyone knew (not like they were being subtle about it), it would be uncomfortable and awkward to talk about anything with them. Jade understood what that meant. When you found that person that connected you to the world, everything was different. Your outlook on the world was different.

The golden-haired Angel Princess backed her chair out a bit, and stood up. She knew this would alarm the both of them in some manner and Jade immediately put up a hand. [color=e62020]“Don’t worry. I think I’m going to take a walk around.”[/color] She smiled at both of them, but centered her gaze on Natalia. She didn’t say anything, but it was a mutually-understanding, empathetic expression that should tell her everything she needed to know. [color=e62020]“Maybe I’ll steal your suggestion and go to the casino for a bit.”[/color] Jade laughed, shooting Tena a wink.

Mitena smiled. She liked Jade. It seemed, at least to her, that behind the rough leather exterior and mad bad attitude, there was a heart made of gold; just like Charlie had said. She reminded the native siren of her bandmate Ryan. [color=BB986B]“Tell them I sent you and they’ll give you some credits on the house.”[/color] She reached out and took a hold of Jade’s hand and with a genuine smile, Tena mused. [color=BB986B]“Just don’t win too much or they’ll bury you in the desert with the rest of the white folk. Things do come to the Rez to get lost after all.”[/color]

Natalia could decipher without words what the very empathetic Jade was trying to convey. She understood the bond she and Mitena shared. There was no judgment of any kind coming from her. She was offering to give them their space. For that, the Italian girl was grateful yet guilty at the same time. She hadn’t wanted her actions to make Jade uncomfortable to the point of wanting to leave the room.

[color=7B68EE]“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel weird.”[/color] Natalia apologized in earnest, thinking about how she’d said 'sorry' more in the last two days than she ever had in all her life. She knew it was the right thing to do and say, but it didn't make her any less fond of admitting potential fault.

Tena let go of Jade’s hand and then placed her own back onto her lap, ringing her fingers together as she did. [color=BB986B]“I think this whole thing has been weird. I don’t think that’s your fault, Tal. I mean, look at this situation. Feels like some angsty teen drama.”[/color] She tried to laugh. Maybe some levity would be enough to turn the page and continue the story. [color=BB986B]“We should pitch this to a network.”[/color]

Even with the heaviness from the topic of Charlie Decker still thickly hanging in the air, Natalia couldn’t help but snort at Mitena’s comment. If any movie producer or script writer became aware of the tragic history of Edenridge, there was no doubt in Tal’s mind that they’d become billionaires in no time. [color=7B68EE]“With the amount of shit that’s happened in Edenridge in the past, the present and probably the future, they’d have enough source material to last for as many seasons as Supernatural did,”[/color] she joked with a chuckle, turning to Jade again. [color=7B68EE]“Isn’t that right, Jade?”[/color]

Jade felt obligated to let this sudden burst of laughter that came deep from her gut that it made her entire upper body hurt, Jade did so with a smile wider than any that had come before it. God, why was she laughing so hard at that? [color=e62020]“God if we’re comparing it to SPN, then we better not have some pandering ending with whoever our Dean and Castiel equivalents are.That shit made me so irate that I’m still refusing to acknowledge it as the true ending.”[/color] In that moment, Jade just let a small bit about one of her guiltiest guilty pleasures slip, yet she wasn’t hiding from it because why would she?. [color=e62020]“Fuck, guess I just outed myself, but I can’t help it. Sam and Dean-- woof woof! And don’t even get me started on season 3 Ruby.”[/color] Katie Cassidy did a far better job than Genevieve Padalecki ever did and that was a fact. [color=e62020]“But with all of the tragic crap that happens to our town, I’m willing to bet there would be enough for spinoffs and prequels. Even special episodes about what life would be like if the town wasn’t cursed. Now [i]that[/i] would be a sight to see.”[/color]

Tena struggled to contain her laughter. This was her hope. Even if she learned nothing more about Charlie, seeing the smiles on the faces of Jade and her Stargirl was enough to fill her heart. She always remembered her mother cracking jokes and making people smile. She used to say laughter worked just as well as any medicine. Tena believed that was all a con for when her Mom was jabbing some poor kid with a needle at the clinic and was trying to keep them happy as she did. Now, the songstress wasn’t so sure. Now, she wondered, if laughter really was the best medicine to heal a heart?

[color=BB986B]“Just make sure when you sell the rights that a really hot indigenous girl gets cast to play me. Even if I’m only a guest star.”[/color]

Jade laughed again, blue-green eyes going from Tena, to Natalia, then back to the Native girl. [color=e62020]“I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I have it on good authority you’ll make main cast member status by next season. Maybe even in the last couple of episodes.”[/color] 

[color=7B68EE]"Are you kidding me?”[/color] Natalia playfully raised her eyebrows at Jade, a smile dancing around the corners of her lips before turning to Mitena. [color=7B68EE]“The casting agents will take one look at her pretty little face and those gorgeous brown eyes, and they'll send the rest of us packing."[/color] She commented with a genuine laugh, winking at Tena before tilting her chin up and momentarily pressing her lips to hers.

Encouraged by the way her lovely features lit up brighter than the sun outside, the Belmonte girl took the hand closest to her of Mitena’s and carried on with her words, her guarded demeanor softening up. [color=7B68EE]"I know it might not seem that way, but I promise that you haven't upset me, caused me pain or suffering with anything you've said or done so far. Any feelings of that sort that I may be feeling are not your fault. All you've done since we met is treat me amazing, made me feel welcome and like I can trust you with anything-- I don't do that with just anyone. Just because I'm not ready to talk about things doesn't mean that I want to take it all back and forget about you. Shit, the whole reason I came to Blue Hill in the first place was because I [i]wanted[/i] to get to know you. And now that we met, you couldn’t pay me to ever want to forget about you-- [i]ever[/i]. That much I can promise you.”[/color]

Mitena had to fight back the tears again. Natalia’s words were filling her up, warming her body with a feeling of want. The kiss she stole from her lips sent a current of electricity to her spirit. She didn’t want Tal to go. She wanted her to stay at Blue Hill, be with her. Raising her head, glassy-eyed, Tena drifted her gaze between the two women as she held tightly onto the Italian’s hand. In appearance, the two girls couldn’t be more different. But in spirit and soul, it seemed they shared more than even they realized-- all of the outsiders did. Charlie tethered them in ways that Tena did not yet fully understand but hopefully in time, she would. Whenever the quartet decided it was time to go home, to a land that Tena’s ancestors once called theirs, she prayed to the Spirit that it wouldn’t be the last time she saw them. There was still so much of the story she hadn’t read yet.

[color=BB986B]“Thank you.”[/color] Mitena whispered as she wiped her eyes with her free hand. [color=BB986B]“Thank you all for coming and giving me this chance to glimpse into his world, your world.”[/color]

[color=7B68EE]"Thank you for letting us give it to you, sweetheart.”[/color]

The subject of her brother needed to pass, for now. It seemed that Charlie hung over them like both a ray of sunlight and a cloud of darkness simultaneously. It seemed that the two wolves of his soul now walked amongst his heart pieces, waiting to be fed. Perhaps it was best to starve them for just a little longer?

Inhaling sharply, Tena let a wide smile across her face, allowing her natural beauty to penetrate the sadness. [color=BB986B]“So!”[/color] She began. [color=BB986B]“I don’t know when you guys have to get back but you should totally try and do a few things before you go.”[/color] Her eyes sailed towards the house in the direction where Mordechai had run and where Auntie Adora was likely listening in to their entire conversation. [color=BB986B]“Jade, maybe you might wanna take Mordechai to see the wildflowers? They’re just down the way. My Auntie Jenny used to say that they had healing powers. Just breathe them in, you know?” [/color]

It wasn’t that long ago that any form of PDA made Jade’s stomach turn like she was going to throw up, but in the same way that she could see Natalia had changed in just the span of one day spent at this majestic and mysterious reservation, Jade’s own views have been changed about watching others be happy and not be ashamed of it. Mitena was to Natalia how Pancake was to Jade. With the thought of her own, Jade could only smile. 

And at the mention of the wildflowers, that smile turned into a small laugh. [color=e62020]“I swear you must be psychic or something, because we are actually going there today.”[/color] The blonde briefly remembered the subject of the wildflowers and how she wanted to go there not just to have quality time spent with Key, but to help him and herself through this self-discovery journey she found herself in the middle of.

[color=BB986B]“I’m not psychic. I’ve just got some good medicine in the bank.”[/color] Mitena returned her full attention to Natalia and her face softened. [color=BB986B]“And what about you, Stargirl? What am I gonna do with you?”[/color]

Natalia's face broke into an actual smile, green eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. [color=7B68EE]"Oh, I don't know. I mean, I'm sure we can come up with something to do…"[/color] she replied to Mitena, keeping her tone casual so as not to make Jade uncomfortable again but discreetly squeezing the hand of Tena's that she was holding to convey the double meaning of her words to her new lover.

Tena returned Natalia’s mischievous smile with one of her own as she traced the back of Tal’s hand with her fingertip, slowly making her way up her befreckled arm. She briefly looked at the table where sat a bunch of untouched food. She’d have to apologize to Resi when she saw him next. Her cousin didn’t have a lot going for him outside of his food truck and she had specifically asked for a feast for the morning and her new friends. Forrest being Forrest, he gave her everything for free. Mitena couldn’t say she wasn’t famished but the look in her Stargirl’s eyes was making her hungry for something else. 

[color=BB986B]“Look over there.”[/color] Mitena pointed to the open fields and dirt roads that led down to the Reservation. She looked at Jade and then back to Tal, sliding her hand around the alabaster-skinned form of her lover and planting a soft kiss behind the girl's ear as she stared out across the pasture. [color=BB986B]“This is my world. It’s yours too now, if you want it, both of you, all of you. You’ll always be welcome here.”[/color]

The indigenous singer’s doe eyes drifted to the window, to a spot behind Natalia’s head. Sitting perched on a tree branch was a solitary raven. To most, they would simply assume that the creature was scavenging for food and the large feast was an appealing sight to it. Tena locked eyes with the avian, staring into his dark eyes with her own. In her culture, the raven symbolizes creation, transformation, knowledge, prestige as well as the complexity of nature and the subtlety of truth. He is a symbol of the unknown, of the different ways one can see the world. The raven was the keeper of secrets, the truth sought for hidden in the feathers of his wings. 

For a brief moment, Tena wondered if that Raven was Charlie; watching over the pieces of his heart as they searched for his secrets; as they searched for his truth.[/indent][/indent][/color]