[center][sub][@FernStone] & [@AtomicEmperor][/sub][/center] [hr][hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/8pHp8yI.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/UXAVA6q.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Itw7xdB.png[/img] A [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/191581/ooc][b]Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree[/b][/url] Side Story [hr][hr] [img]https://i.imgur.com/oI5pLwK.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/weyxoMn.png[/img] [/center] [hr][hr] [right][code]St Portwell Halloween Festival[/code] [sub][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5503407]...Continued From[/url][/sub][/right] [color=d1b300]“I don’t mind.”[/color] Trisha wasn’t really in a position to argue about getting some kind of healing. Her face felt like it was on fire, and the onesie sleeve she was holding up to her crooked nose was barely stopping the bleeding. She was beginning to feel a little woozy from it as well. The bees that had been circling Adora gently flew back to her, landing on her shoulders. Their buzzing was still audible and agitated. [color=d1b300]“Healing sounds good- fuck.”[/color] She paused, rubbing her head… which did really fucking hurt. And she could hardly see through all the blood and the swelling of her eyes. Fucking crazy bitch. [color=d1b300]“How far is it? I’m starting to feel dizzy… I might need help.”[/color] It wasn’t entirely a lie, her head was beginning to swim - but she could probably make it to a nearby stall herself. She just wanted to make the most of the sympathy she could gain… Plus, Leon’s attractive younger brother was treating her nicely. She hadn’t experienced that in a while… though she mostly hung around a bunch of rich kids who didn’t care enough about her family name to be scared about it. Casey didn't hesitate scooping the woman up in his arms like a bride across the threshold. Frankly his first reaction was a dip and tip, but he figured the last thing she wanted was a cross carrying like she was part of a rucksack. [color=577d06]“No worries, just stick with me. Lean your head forward, don't worry about the blood. Plenty on the uniform already.”[/color] he replied with a morbid giggle. He didn't have any intention of chatting her up: Vanburen echoed in his head like a plutonium disk in a hollow dome of lead. Radioactive, untouchable gas that would consume him wholesale… That's what Dad said, at least. What transpired was a minute of the most steady and platform-like carrying that Trisha ever would've experienced. The man wasn't just naturally strong, but built like some sort of dozer equipment with thick wide arms that made the perfect crook to lay in. The booth came up fast, and he let Trish back down on her feet. [color=577d06]“I'm just gonna get it, keep your head tilted.”[/color] And then he disappeared into the small crowded food stall, coming back forty-five seconds or so later with a plate of dessert. [color=577d06]“Here, eat up. It'll feel a little strange as your nose resets.”[/color] Trisha was shocked, but not upset, when her suggestion that he gave her a bit of support ended up with her being carried. She tilted her head forward, still trying to staunch the blood flow with her sleeve - it was already all over her too. Her lips twitched upwards at his… joke? She didn’t get it enough to actually laugh through the pain. [color=d1b300]“Thank you.”[/color] Trisha decided to be polite for once, taking the plate and looking at the dessert with a bit of suspicion. She’d been magically healed plenty of times, but never with food. She picked it up and took a nibble… It wasn’t bad. She took a proper bite, then another, and winced as the healing started to kick in. It was never something she’d get used to. The feeling of her nose starting to rearrange itself was almost as bad as when it had been broken. [color=d1b300]“Ugh, a little? It feels [i]really[/i] strange.”[/color] She grimaced. [color=d1b300]“Normally doesn’t feel so bad when I normally get healed… Not that I need it often. This is the first time I’ve been beaten up like that!”[/color] A lie. [color=d1b300]“That b- Adora really didn’t hold back… ugh, not a great first impression, looking like this.”[/color] She gestured to her still very battered face, though her nose was righting itself. She was a lot more talkative now that it wasn’t bleeding everywhere. [color=d1b300]“Leon already introduced you, but I’m Trisha… I prefer that to Ms Vanburen.”[/color] Casey smiled and nodded along as Trisha spoke. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, he did his best to go along with what she was saying so that there was no problem. If Leon trusted him with taking care of this woman, there must’ve been some kind of reason for it: All four younger siblings could at least agree on the fact that Leon didn’t intuit a damn thing in his life. It was all a big calculation, a poignantly aimed shot on someone’s tender flesh meant to break ribs or clavicles or whatever needed to be broken to release the resistance from a situation. Or was it just that he liked the other person better? That was always an option with Leon… [color=577d06]“Well, Trisha… I’m Casey. Casey Richoux, obviously, Leon’s middle brother. I don’t think I ever heard about you when we were kids: Were you part of the Coven? Not like I was or anything, I never got to go fight the Stygian Snake… Had to sit at home while Leon got all the credit.”[/color] He smiled to himself, chuckling and shaking his head slightly. [color=577d06]“And don’t worry about first impressions. First deployment I had, I wound up on a forward in the middle of some God awful territory with nothing much to do except fight club and prank one another. Sergeant Pasqual had dick [i]and[/i] balls out first time I met him… A little scuffle doesn’t bother me.”[/color] As she regained her lost health, the thought easily came to him that she was a beautiful woman for all intents and purposes. Young like him, with the future ahead of them. [color=577d06]“You got any plans tonight?”[/color] he asked with as much casual smoothness as he could muster. [color=d1b300]“I don’t,”[/color] Trisha smiled coyly, brushing back a strand of hair that had fallen over her face and tucking it behind her ear. The bees that had settled on her hair moved out of the way of her hand, and out of sight. [color=d1b300]“My friends abandoned me and aren’t replying to any of my messages.”[/color] This wasn’t a lie - though it maybe wasn’t being abandoned, since all she’d gotten about going to the festival was a mix of nos and maybes, but they were pretty much ignoring her at this point. [color=d1b300]“And I was part of the coven, along with those friends… We stuck to ourselves mostly, so I didn’t really interact with Leon much. He was too-”[/color] what was a polite way of saying this? Normally she wouldn’t care but Casey was attractive, and Leon was his brother. [color=d1b300]“Uptight.” [/color] Trisha laughed lightly. [color=d1b300]“You didn’t miss much. It [i]is[/i] a shame you weren’t in it back then, it would’ve been nice to know you earlier… Well, I guess there’s tonight for that.”[/color] [color=577d06]“Oh, yeah. Lee's always had a stick up his ass. I blame our Dad; if you spend enough time telling a child that God chose them specifically, they're bound for Messiah complexes.”[/color] Casey laughed aloud, thinking about how ridiculous it all was. His memories traced back to his Kindling and his near worthlessness before that. [color=577d06]“Honestly, as much as I knew you guys were doing [i]things[/i], I never could've joined. I was a late bloomer: I didn't Kindle until I was nineteen.”[/color] Convoy, radio, RPG, darkness, agony, screams, blood, fear, regret, rage, courage… Kindle. Devastation. Survival. Fucking promotion. Dead friends. Do it again. Again. Again. Again. Casey finally shook his head, clearing his throat. [color=577d06]“I had to leave home entirely to come into my own. How about you, what's the Vanburen siblinghood look like? Who's the favourite?”[/color] [color=d1b300]“It looks like shit,”[/color] Trisha snorted, trying to stop her lips from twisting down into a scowl - she half succeeded, ending up with a slight frown. [color=d1b300]“I have, what…”[/color] she began counting on her fingers, before shaking her head. [color=d1b300]“I don’t know, far too many half siblings to count. Didn’t matter how massive the house was, it was always noisy. Most of us don’t get on.”[/color] As for a favourite… Well, if the question had been least favourite she could answer that [i]really[/i] easily (a certain bitch whose name began with G). Favourite was harder. There were some she tolerated more than others. [color=d1b300]“My favourite… Well, Ezra provides all the money just like dad did! He’s a bore, though. Probably Sabrina. She let me move in with her and another two sisters when I came back, and she doesn’t bother me much.”[/color] She shrugged one shoulder. [color=d1b300]“Tons of awful siblings aside, being a Vanburen has its perks. These being one.”[/color] She gestured to the few bees still visible. [color=d1b300]“I never kindled, so I don’t know what that’s like, but I did end up with all my bees thanks to something in my dad’s collection. I can’t imagine what it’d be like without them… but it is difficult having to explain why I have a whole hive to any non magical siblings!”[/color] His brow furrowed at the idea that Blinds could see the bees. The term “Fake-Wake” crossed his mind, his days at the Temple rubbing off on him. They didn’t take kindly to Agents; people who relied entirely on their proximity to some sort of Artefact for their magical abilities, even though Orange Lux was the family’s bread and butter. The four of the others had all made their own Artefacts as capstones to their “graduation” ceremonies. He’d avoided that process: Dad was already gone, leaving Mom to deal with the bullshit. She’d just been happy he made it home, never mind that he’d Kindled in that fucking desert. [color=577d06]“Ah, right. The fast track! That works, people have good success with things like that. Y’know for the longest time, since I hadn’t Kindled, my Dad was thinking about courting an Apparition for me to Adjoin.”[/color] Scratching the back of his head, he did his best to stretch that little fact over the quiet implication that it was somehow a “lesser” process. It got far more complicated bringing non-bound Apparitions into the picture, as their divine or otherworldly nature often became reasons to deify them in some fashion. [color=577d06]“But, y’know if we skip out of here, I bet we could find something fun to do.”[/color] He took the plate, watching as the last of the bruising faded away from Trisha’s face. Turning slightly, he pushed it over the nearby table at the booth and grabbed a few napkins. His massive hands were gentle as one slipped under her chin and lifted her face to look up at him. The other dabbed away with the napkins, rain water and bloody remains washing out into the slowly dampening grass and dirt. [color=577d06]“I’ve got some of my buddies from the Corps staying in town, we were supposed to go to a bar later. You’re more than welcome, bees and all.”[/color] Fast track, sure. Trisha held her tongue on her thoughts on [i]that[/i]. It wasn’t like she’d just adjoined and knew what to do. She’d like to see anyone else handle suddenly having a voice in their head (albeit, rarely) and thousands of bees following them. She tapped her head with a slight smile. [color=d1b300]“You lucked out, Apparitions are noisy.”[/color] She barely reacted when he got closer - she’d plenty of experience in that, and people getting closer still - letting him wipe away the remnant blood. It was… nice. Trisha didn’t have many memories of someone actually looking after her. How pathetic, getting affected by something so simple. [color=d1b300]“Mm, going elsewhere sounds good. Nothing fun’s happening at the festival.”[/color] Not quite true, it always got a little wild the later it got, but sticking around for that meant risking seeing Adora again or literally any of the other more violent Sycamore members. One beating was enough for the night (and to garner sympathy later). [color=d1b300]“I’d [i]love[/i] to come along. I’ll send away most of the bees if your friends are blind, though. I’m sure I won’t need them with you around.” [/color] She smiled up at him, before glancing down at her outfit and realising she did [i]not[/i] look suitable for anywhere but a halloween festival. Thankfully, she wasn’t an idiot and had worn clothes underneath. She stepped back and swiftly pulled off the ridiculous looking bee onesie, rolling it up into a crumpled ball. Underneath she was wearing a black crop top and dark green, baggy trousers. Comfortable but not too bad looking… if a bit chilly. The thirty or so bees with her moved from just sitting on her top to hiding in her hair and the pockets of her trousers. [color=d1b300]“Now I can have fun without looking like I murdered someone!”[/color] Casey couldn’t hide the vague disappointment in his eyes as she crumpled up the bee suit. [color=577d06]“Oh, shit… It was cute. I hope you wash it and I get to see you in it again; the whole queen bee thing is…”[/color] He paused, eyes welling up as he realised he was just about to speak his mind. He stared openly for a second, out into nothing before finally letting a smile curl up around his lips. He started to giggle at himself. [color=577d06]“You’re pretty cute.”[/color] And then his genuine full smile opened up, like a warm desert flower in the slowly clearing rain. [color=577d06]“Wherever you wanna be, I’m with you tonight.”[/color] With that big wide grin, he ushered her past the pack of people doing the toga-conga, and onward toward the Ferry to get the Hell off of Cracker Island. Trisha was rendered speechless when Casey called her cute, lips parting slightly and a light blush settling on her cheeks. She'd received a lot of compliments from men, the main reason she even went after them - pretty, beautiful, hot, [i]sexy[/I], but never cute. Had she ever been called cute? She didn't think so… She tried to ignore the warm feeling it gave her. It was still just a compliment. Still, she'd make sure to wash the bee onesie just in case… His grin was infectious, and she couldn't help but smile back. It was more subtle - a small, endearing smile that lightened up her normally sullen face. She didn't even pay attention to the toga-conga filled with people she knew (and disliked) on the way past. Thankfully there was already a ferry at the dock, and it was much quieter than the one she'd gotten there - not many people leaving so early, outside of parents and their kids. She found a spot away from those groups, leaning her back against the railing and turning to face Casey. The decision of where to go was on her… so where did she want to go? She was tempted to suggest just going back to her place, but that was too fast, and she definitely wouldn't want to go back out after that. Plus, she'd have to deal with thousands more bees vying for her attention as well. [color=d1b300]"Why don't we go to one of the bars along the dock? There's a couple of nice ones, I'm sure at least one will be open…"[/color] Her smile widened. [color=d1b300]"Get to know each other better over a drink, beyond the family issues and magic."[/color] Nodding along with her thought, he decided on trying to figure out which bar out of the two dozen on the Harbor Strip to go to. Kings and Queens sucked, The Brettanica was an old person bar, Brick Harbor was a Mafia joint, Drunken Starfish actually [i]burned down[/i] the other night, which was nuts. There was only one place that stuck out in his mind, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he was comfortable there or because he actually thought it was a good place to hang out. [color=577d06]“You been to Tackle’s? The Late n’ Bait?”[/color]