Altered Tundra

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

_{Featuring the snappy kid sister}

As Kavi stood outside, watching Ariel’s car drive off, he stayed there for...well, he didn’t know how long he stayed there. He was feeling good and not just the sort of good that meant he was going to be having a hot date at some point in the future, but a genuine feeling of joy and relief. There never was a day that he ever thought he’d find himself in the position that was in right now: committing to one person instead of playing the field.

When he came inside, a grin on his face unlike any prior times, he suddenly came to the sight of his kid sister waiting for him. Was she watching the entire time? Kavi pondered that, not saying anything to Nikki. He walked around her and started to walk towards the kitchen. By the time he had done so, he heard the sound of her unreasonably-large feet stepping rather annoyingly behind him. When he finally turned around, Kavi, who had all that he needed for a sandwich, rolled her eyes. ”I feel like you’re going to ask me something. So just be done with it so I can get back to making my sandwich.” Kavi just looked at her, wondering exactly what was on her mind.

As per the usual with Nikki, she didn’t speak at first. She kind of circled the kitchen and took a place in one of the high chairs across from him. Much to her older brother’s annoyance, she still didn’t say anything until she kind of hummed. “You know, I heard about that one,” she finally spoke.

“That one? You mean the thing we call ham? Shocking! Can’t believe you’re that observant.” He didn’t bother looking up at her as he constructed his turkey-ham club sandwich.

“Okay Mr. Smartass,” Nikki rolled her eyes at him (not that he saw). “I’m talking about the pasty emo chick who was just here. Serafina or whatever her name is.” She seemed to try and remember her name.

“Ariel. Her name is Ariel. She hates going by Serafina,” Kavi properly corrected her, going back to the fridge to get the dijon mustard.

“Well, whatever her name is, I’ve heard whispers about her."

Stopping for a moment, Kavi looked up at Nikki and, to his surprise, there was a worried expression on her face. Almost as though she wasn’t bugging him because she didn’t have better things to do. “What things?” He asked her. “You’re a sophomore, Nikki. How could you possibly know about a senior, let alone a senior I know personally. Don’t you think these things you keep vaguely referencing would have gone into my ear instead of yours and whoever you heard it from?” He asked her. As soon as he did, Kavi went down to bite into his now completed club.

“Well, maybe if you weren’t so busy trying to two-time her, then maybe you’d know some things about that wonderful girl.” Nikki’s famous fiery tongue spat back at him in full.

Kavi sighed, giving only a small amount of his attention to his sister. Honestly, he was about ready to just ignore her and go back to his room. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with her at the moment. He didn’t know if he was more bothered by the fact that she claimed to know something he didn’t about Ariel or that she had to throw in the most recent of his mistakes in her face. Either way, Kavi was only going to entertain her nonsense for so long.

“Fine. What did you hear from your little group of little hellions?”

“I don’t know how true it is, but I heard from a guy who heard it from his sister who then heard it from their older sister’s friend’s aunt that heard some troubling rumors about Trillian Grey.”

Kavi stood there as his sister explained. “Okay, so what troubling rumors?”

“He has a bit of a temper.”

And in the span of the shortest moment, Nikki lost her older brother’s undivided attention. “Get the fuck out of here. That’s the big thing you had to tell me? The hotshot criminal defense attorney has a temper? That’s barely worthy of a mention, let alone hyping it up like it was some cardinal sin.”

As Kavi started to walk away, Nikki got in front of him. “You didn’t let me finish, pinhead! The rumor wasn’t just about his temper. It was about what he does with that temper,” she had clarified, a rare worried look on her face.

Kavi had known his sister to be a lot of things. She was overdramatic, teased him a lot (as he did to her on several occasions). She could also stretch some truths to bide time for whatever she needed time for, but as he looked into her eyes, this was the first time he could see a genuine worry in her face for anyone other than her family. Something in him told the teen to shut up and listen to what she had to say.

“Nikki, what’s wrong?”

She shook her body a little. “I shouldn’t be saying this cause it’ll probably get back to her, but that friend’s aunt I mentioned? She had apparently treated someone for a broken wrist that looked a lot like that Ariel girl."

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe nothing. Maybe it’s everything, but if Trillian has a temper and can be an asshole to his clients and those who work at his firm, who is to say he could be the same way with his own daughter?”

Kavi didn’t say anything, not to himself and most certainly not to his kid sister. All he did was smile at her and take his sandwich as he went to his room. As the door closed behind him, he set the plate down on his desk where his laptop and Playstation 4 was. He just sat in his chair, head leaning back, looking up at his ceiling. He must have kept his eyes up there for at least ten minutes. He didn’t keep track of the time. The only thing Kavi did was think about what Nikki told him and run it on repeat in his mind. If it was just a rumor, then it was all fine. Ariel wasn’t in any danger and her father wasn’t an abusive prick. He was just a regular, arrogant lawyer prick.

“But what if he wasn’t?” Kavi questioned himself.

He grunted loudly as he leaned forward. The thought of it turning out to be true was not being entertained. If proven to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then could he just sit on this information? What right did he have to do that? Kavi knew he cared about Ariel. He didn’t know exactly how much because they weren’t exactly close like they used to be. The date he’d take her out on at some point was going to be the start of whatever they had between the two of them. So he couldn’t exactly assert himself with something that he’s not even sure was true...

No, he couldn’t do shit right now. And he knew mulling over every detail of a rumor that may very well be just that: a rumor -- nothing but teenager gossip. But, then again, what if it was true?

And that’s when he remembered the bruise. That bruise on her neck. “It couldn’t be...could it?” He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated with all of the back and forth. He couldn’t take it. Not knowing was hard but running back from rumor to paranoia was getting to him. He needed to distract himself for a few hours. Kavi knew just exactly what that was. “Time to kill some zombies on Black Ops!”

And with that, Kavi flipped on his PS4 and was going to have some quality time with his sniper and hopefully get a few undead walkers in the process. It was a lot better than driving himself crazy with the totally crazy idea that Trillian Grey was abusing his daughter. It was crazy…

“Crazy.”

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

_{l o c a t i o n • o l y m p u s a c a d e m y // n a i a d e s l a k e i n t e r a c t i o n s • e m m a & a v e m // a z u r e // k e l s e y // d u s t y n // i a n @Rockette @SamaraJayne96 @NeoAC @MissCapnCrunch @SilverPaw}

From the way their area of the lake was getting more and more people, the more it seemed like this was where the party was at, not wherever Dallas Relo may have chosen. Or maybe it is where he chose the location and he’s simply a little late setting up his own party.

Damien didn’t know nor did he have enough mental energy to care one way or the other. The only thing he could bring himself to give a damn about was the rising number of people who he knew were wary around him and Emma. Which, was to say the people who were always whispering behind his or Emma’s backs were gathering and Damien was certainly trying his best not to seem like he was annoyed. He felt his sister’s rising discomfort as Kelsey and Dustyn arrived. No fault of their own, of course. They were talkers, so he couldn’t really blame them. The one person who seemed to have his sister’s attention was Azure, the girl who had given Damien some of hers.

As he breathed out a small sigh, Damien turned his head and smiled at the group that had gathered. In addition to the Wonder Twins of Trash, two more faces made it to the unofficial party. One was flamboyant and had way too much hair and the other was a bit plain if Damien was being honest. Still, at least it was more than just him representing the males of the school. Not that he minded being surrounded by beautiful women, but any longer and he feared what Emma might do if they dared give him the wrong look. He could already feel her getting agitated again.

He shifted himself into a more upright position, giving Azure a smile. “Oh, I get it. You just had to see me that much, huh?” Damien jokes. Despite his godly heritage, he wasn’t above a humorous moment or two. “But hey, I understand. I know I’m a little too irresistible. Why else would everyone here gravitate to a known Nyx child hotspot?” Damien said that loud enough so the Wonder Twins and Pretty Boy could hear.

Noting what his sister said, he smiled her way. “As they say, Emma: if you aren’t invited to the party, then make the party invite you,” he gave her a small wink before looking back at the others. “So, what sort of refreshments did you bring?” Damien shouted over to where Kelsey was. “Or do we have to beg for you to share? Also, does anyone know where that tool Relo is? He’s supposed to be hosting the party we’re all waiting for, right?”

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Nothing really happening.

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

@Inkarnate Appreciate you letting us know.

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

_{Chasing Rainbows — Bring Me The Horizon — Sempiternal (Deluxe Edition)
I Don't Wanna Be In Love (Dancefloor Anthem) — Good Charlotte — Good Morning Revival
Summer's Gone — Maria Lynn — Summer's Gone (Simgle)
Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix) — Two Door Cinema Club (feat. The Twelves) — Tourist History (Remix EP)
Look Alive, Stay Alive — Highly Suspect — The Boy Who Died Wolf
A Single Moment of Sincerity — Asking Alexandria — Stand Up And Scream
The Dark Secret — Rhapsody of Fire (feat. Sir Christopher Lee) — Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret
Welcome to the Black Parade — My Chemical Romance — The Black Parade
You're The Reason — Eyeshine — Red Stripes, White Lights
A Letter to my Younger Self — Ambar Lucid — Dreaming Lucid}

Wassup

Welcome to our slice of creative hell. You may find your own depression assorted goods on the left. Do enjoy!

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

@Katthaj Are you still interested in making the daughter of hepheastus?

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

_{l o c a t i o n • o l y m p u s a c a d e m y // n a i a d e s l a k e i n t e r a c t i o n s • e m m a & a z u r e @Rockette @SamaraJayne96}

Damien thought about Aiden. It wasn’t because Emma had asked about him. Granted, he was thinking more about Aiden, but the Son of Dionysus was already on his mind. He was trying to remember when the last time he saw him was and if that last encounter was anything worth remembering. To be honest, Damien didn’t not like Aiden. For every annoying trait that Aiden had, Damien could at least admit he wasn’t a boring guy to be around. Whether that was due to him being the literal life of a party or his genuine good spirit, Damien couldn’t say with certainty which one it was. The only thing he knew for certain was Aiden Weinmann was a difficult person to get along with if you didn’t see past his abrasive nature.

When he came to gaze at his sister with the same protectiveness she often showed towards him, Damien knew that if worst came to worst, she could handle Aiden no problem. If anything, Damien would have to protect Aiden from Emma, not the other way around. “As long as he doesn’t get on your bad side, he won’t have anything worry about,” Damien commented, smiling with a grin directed entirely at his sister. “But, between you and I, he’s what most would call a fuck boy. Arrogant, has a too much of an ego, and truly his father’s son.” Damien didn’t realize it, but he cracked a laughing grin when he spoke to his sister.

Soon, on her word, Damien had turned his head away from Emma and to the sight of a third person by the lake. It was clear as day who she was. The aura around her, though different, was familiar. Damien had no idea who she was specifically, but the scent of Hecate was oozing from her to such a degree that Damien smiled and gave her his attention while being mindful to his sister who was ready to assault her if she even so much as took a breath that was without Emma’s permission.

To make sure that didn’t happen, Damien squeezed her hand tight as to assure her nothing was going to happen to him and there was no reason to worry. “Don’t worry, Emma. She doesn’t seem to mean us any harm,” he said quietly, hoping his words would give Emma some reason to withhold her potential assault on the girl near them -- for the time being, at least.

As his crystal orbs locked on the girl just a few feet away, he figured he should at least say something so she didn’t think they were a couple of weirdos who liked being by the lake alone together. “Can we help you with something? You’re giving off some serious stalker vibes just staring at me like that.” Damien tried to be as polite and neutral as he could not only because he didn’t want to provoke this girl in case she was indeed one of the crazy ones, but he also didn’t want to give Emma any further reason to react impulsively. That was his job.

Charity Beach: Paradise Gone [Semi-Sandbox/Superhuman]

---

Charity Beach Festival → Boardwalk

---

Ava had been hard at work both in her day job and when she did what she could to make sure the area she lived in was, at the very least, safe from those who would try to do harm to it and those who lived there. And, for the most part, her actions were received well from the very people she protected. To the community, Ava -- or more popularly known as The Protector -- was a hero amongst them. Anyone from community leaders to the kids could be seen donning imitations of her known outfit.

When she walked around as Ava Mosconi, she felt a pride she had to do her best to mask when she heard people talk about The Protector of Seminole Hill. As highly as she was regarded by the community, law enforcement and local politicians weren’t too keen on the idea of there being a vigilante amongst their midst. Whether it came from the side of those who didn’t like it when someone else did the police’s job for them, put themselves in danger, and made it harder for law enforcement to keep those safe or the side of the anti-Metahuman rhetoric that Ava had seen since moving to Charity Beach, she didn’t seem to be a fan of the police and those who backed the police. There have been a few times where Ava almost got caught.

Key word being almost.

Ava’s days since coming to Charity Beach have been spent working and working. On this particular late afternoon, when she had half of a mind to skip the entirety of the festival, but her mind was changed almost immediately when she had taken it upon herself to check out what the big deal was. The sight of the food, the music, and the amount of space the festival covered changed her mind; so much so that Ava had found herself roaming the streets, grabbing a corn dog from one of the concessions stands as she just roamed away.

At some point, she was by the beach - the boardwalk, to be specific - and Ava smiled. For all of the muggy humidity that South Florida brought, especially for someone like her who didn’t dress appropriately, at least not in the beginning, Ava appreciated the breeze that came with the beaches. She walked along the boardwalk, engaging in whatever fun and games that appealed to her. For the first time in at least a month, Ava had taken a day off.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

_{Featuring Marco and Soleil Castillo}

The one thing that he hated most about having any form of an injury was how he always woke up uncomfortable and in some form of pain. And despite Sonny’s tough exterior and when he inflicts pain to others, when it came to dealing with pain himself, he was, as Drea would call him, a big baby who can’t handle a little pain. He usually would disagree, but boy-oh-boy, Sonny was not in the mood this morning to deal with anything but the other side of his pillow. Anything else could fuck off or wait until it was a little later.

Coming from the bathroom, the sound of a flushed toilet in the distance, Sonny walked rather casually, clad in Pikachu boxers and a Nirvana T-Shirt, he was halfway to his room when he heard the sound of his mother call out to him. She must have heard him wake up, or maybe she saw him and he didn’t see her. Whichever the case, he was at the crossroads where he could pretend he didn’t hear her and hope that he was just hearing things or he could do the responsible thing and go see what she wanted.

Sonny stood in a blind spot from the staircase that led downstairs to the foyer and where his room was. After taking a minute and hearing his mother repeat his name, Sonny let out a sigh and went back to his room. If it really was so important she see him, she could come to get him herself.

Now back in his bed, no more than a minute later as Sonny was finally comfortable, in came his mom - or so she thought she was. Little did she know, he locked his door. A mistake Sonny would soon pay for.

“Jackson Torvald Drake Jr!” Viola Banks screamed, banging on his door until it forced a now somewhat worried Sonny to crawl out of bed.

As he groaned, he unlocked his door. He came to the sight of his mother’s livid face. He scratched his ass and just looked at her with the most annoyed expression he could muster. “Yes, mother?”

“Did you not hear me calling you?”

Pretending he didn’t, Sonny shrugged. “It was hard to hear when you didn’t say anything. Why? What’s up?”

“Marisol’s parents are downstairs.”

“Okay. And..?”

“They want to know where their daughter is,” Viola clarified, resulting in Sonny's complete understanding of her urgency.

Before he said anything, Sonny wasn’t given the chance. The only thing he was able to do was to be forced out of his room in the little clothing that he had on. He didn’t think his mother was actually going to allow him to come downstairs, but something interesting happened. His mother’s sense of urgency had, as Sonny saw, a desperate factor. Like she was more worried about Marisol and whatever her parents were going through more than she cared about how her son looked to company. Luckily for her, he grabbed his silk robe before she yanked him out of his room.

When they reached downstairs and they went into the family meeting room where a somewhat worried Soleil Castillo and a more obvious distraught Marco Castillo sat, Sonny’s father, to the boy’s surprise, was actually home. “Amazing. You’re not out and about.” Sonny managed to say before he felt the pinch of his mother’s finger on his arm. He gave her a nasty look before she gave one of her own. “What can I help you two with?” He asked as genuinely as he could, given the circumstances.

Sonny was plenty cranky and in a lot of pain. Not a good combo when he’s expected to be helpful.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Soleil asked, seeing Sonny’s nasal fracture.

Whether it was his sleep-deprived mind or just the general lack of familiarity he had with Sol (or lack thereof), Sonny found himself not quite prepared for her bluntness, yet he smiled at it nonetheless. “I imagine you know how it happened more than anyone. I lowered my guard and a cheap shot was thrown.” What they didn’t know was Salem actually caught him off-guard, but the hell he was going to let Soleil, of all people, know that.

“My boy, you need to take better care of that face of yours,” Jackson said, shaking his head.

“It won’t happen again, that I can promise you.” That was the absolute truth. Sonny wasn’t going to ever to let Salem Rivera get the better of him again.

“Anyway,” Viola interrupted the men and tomboy of the group and looked at Marco. The older man was well on his way of crumbling and bringing on the waterworks. “Marisol’s parents are worried about their daughter. They wanted to--”

“She didn’t come home last night!” Marco interrupted Viola, looking at Sonny. “Did she say anything to you? Like who she was staying with?” Marco asked.

He scratched his head, looking over to his parents. He couldn’t say it out loud, but they knew what he was thinking and the shrugged at him. “Well, I and Marisol aren’t on speaking terms, as you might know. And if not, well now I’m telling you: her and I aren’t on speaking terms,” he admitted to them, not mincing any words, it seemed.

“But you must know something?!”

“Well…”

“Go on, Sonny,” his mother said to him, the familiar voice she often spoke with when she was about to punish and or berate him.

As he sighed, he found some comfort in Sol and Marco’s gaze. Guilt overtook him as he saw Marco who, for all of his bizarre weirdness, was a good guy. A bit goofy like his own father, but Sonny found his weakness in seeing him in pain. “I don’t know where she is, but you might want to ask her homecoming date, Salem Rivera.” Somewhere deep down, Sonny knew namedropping Salem was a low blow, but he didn't’ give two shits about that freak of nature. “If anyone can tell you where she might be, it’s him.”

When he had told them that, Sonny saw a bit of light return to Marco’s eyes. It was at some point he had stood up and brought the little Drake teen into a hug. Sonny let out a grunt from the sudden embrace but also how his nose scrunched up against Marco’s broad shoulders. It was only a moment, but Sonny swore he could see The Light. Or maybe that was from the chandelier hanging above them. Either way, as soon as Marco realized what he had done, he let Sonny down.

“I’m so sorry, Sonny. Are you okay?” Marco asked, concerned for Sonny's weakened well-being.

The teen gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll be okay. I hope you’re able to find her.” If nothing else, Sonny didn’t want Marco to come over to his parent’s house on the verge of crying again.

As Sonny and his parents saw them off, Sonny waved to Marco, though Soleil didn’t join her husband quite yet. “I know you didn’t ask me, but I’m going to give you my advice anyway. You and Marisol go so far back. Fix it so you don’t lose that friendship for good.” Soleil advised him, her usual bluntness showing a rare, supportive form.

And Sonny just smiled at her. He didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t like he had the words ready, though it made him start to think. Even as he closed the door and started to head back to his room, Sonny still wasn’t sure what to do. Was he really so stubborn that he couldn’t try and make amends with Marisol? Of course, there was a lot that their parents didn’t know. And his mother had tried to get him to do the right thing. Now, Marisol’s mother was doing the same.

As he closed his bedroom door and laid back-first on his bed, Sonny just stayed like that for about ten minutes. His phone was near him. He glanced at it and he still had the photo of the lake where he and Marisol had their first time. That made him go through his photos and saw so many pictures of them from their Junior year. They were so...stupid. The expressions she made and the ones he made him cringe, but also made Sonny laugh.

“So stupid,” he muttered to himself, tossing his phone onto his nightstand and turned to his side. And then Sonny suddenly propped up. Somewhere between almost falling asleep and thinking too hard on some things, he couldn’t very well stay in bed.

So Sonny got dressed. He kept the shirt he had on, traded his boxers for something less cringy and put a pair of jeans on and got his signature orange hoodie. In less than fifteen minutes, he was rushing down the stairs and brushed past his father. “Whoa, where’s the hurry, Flash?”

“Gotta make something right.”

“Oh, okay be sure to tell your--” Before Jackson could get the rest of his sentence out, the door had closed and Sonny was gone “--your mother where you’re going.” And it fell on nobody’s ears but the family dog who was sitting in front of Jackson, whining somewhat. “Fine, you must be hungry.”

Meanwhile, halfway on the road, Sonny drove in his truck on his way to the mall, though as he came to a red light, he pulled out his phone and dialed Marisol’s number, though it went straight to voicemail. “I know you’re ignoring me, but we need to talk. I don’t care how mad you are, but if I meant anything to you, you’ll meet me at the mall.”

As he left that, Sonny took off, speeding towards The Gardens Mall. Whether Marisol showed up or not was up in the air. At most, he could get some quality thinking time.