Xander's Cross, Oregon: a small town ringed with forbidding mountains and misty forest. The sky may be gray, but the townspeople are welcoming to people of all kinds...and things that are not quite human as well. Here the native shifters, aliens, werewolves, and witches live in peace. They have yet to find out the new business owners encroaching on the land are also vampires.
The peace has been broken by murder, however, and things in Xander's Cross are about to become quite a bit darker.
Welcome to your new home.
is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?
August 20, 2020
The mayor, Rowan Starkwood, was found dead less than a mile from his home. Rumors say his body was mutilated, but the state of the body has not yet been released to the public.
Post by Robin Skye Eventide on Oct 11, 2020 12:12:21 GMT -5
The little stand that acted as the Xander's Cross Bus Depot was pretty much empty. The small booth, big enough for a person and a TV, that served as a ticket stand, was unmanned today. Instead, there was a kiosk where one could purchase or pick up a ticket purchased online or via the app but it didn't even seem to be functioning. It was by this that Robin waited, just under the awning over a single bench whose dark green paint was chipped and faded with time and neglect. She shifted nervously from foot to foot, peering up the road.
It had only been a week ago that she'd received the call from Social Services notifying her that her two half-brothers' mother had been sent to mandatory rehab and would shortly be remanded to prison. Apparently, her father's name was on the birth certificate and, as he was dead, she was the closest living relative. Two half-brothers, twin teenagers that she had never met. Oh, she had known about them for most of their lives. It had been no secret that Callum Arbor, as her father had been called, had been a womanizer and a serial adulterer. It didn't seem to matter how many times he cheated on her mother, Selene had always taken him back. When it eventually came out that two boys had come out of one of his affairs, Cal had shown as little interest in them as he had in stopping his infidelity. As much as she hated her father, even now, all these years later after his death, Robin could not bring herself to resent the two, innocent children who had resulted from the matter. Still, it hadn't ever been her intention to actually meet them. Not out of spite but, rather...respect? Kindness? After all, she'd been the one to have a father for most of her life, much as she might have oftentimes wished she hadn't. She couldn't imagine that they would ever want to meet her. But it seemed the Goddess had other ideas.
So here she was, waiting to pick up two boys who would, for all she knew, hate her for simply existing, for having the father that they never had. If only they could understand that even having him hadn't been all that great either. From the little of what Social Services had told her if anyone would understand, they would. Once again, Robin looked down at the two photos in her hand. They clearly weren't school photos or candids taken by a loved one. The stark, bland background was enough to know that but the sullen, withdrawn expressions on the boys' faces were the clearest indicator that these had been provided by Social Services. It was those expressions, the causes for them as well as what they might promise for her going forward that worried her the most. What was she doing?
Before she was entirely ready - could she ever really be ready to essentially adopt two teenage boys? - the Greyhound bus came rumbling around a bend in the road through the morning mist. Drawing in a deep breath, Robin sent up a prayer to the Goddess, tugging at her flowy, flower-patterned skirt and a long, loose sweater, tucked some of her wild, wavy blond hair behind her ear before whispering, "Alright...here goes…" as the bus drew to a stop.
Post by Asher Bishop on Oct 11, 2020 12:30:47 GMT -5
36 hours. On a bus. Across the most boring stretch of the 'greatest country in the world'. Yeah...whatever... His brother had made his opinion clear when he'd sold one of the tickets that had been wired to them in Chicago in favor of riding his bike. Though Asher though it was really so he could upgrade Asher's ticket to a better line and straighter journey. Auggie had resented the whole situation. Asher...not so much. Oh, he wanted off this bus. He wanted to get up and walk around for more than 10 minutes at a rest stop. He wanted a shower. He wanted his brother. But, it hadn't all been bad. From the moment the bus had left the depot in Chicago and with every mile grew between himself and that place, it felt as though an awful weight was easing off of him. Each breath came easier than the last and he'd actually slept better on the bus, curled up against the window of the rocking vehicle than he had most nights in their subsidized housing in the city. He'd listened to every song stored on his cheap phone several times over and nearly filled his sketchbook with profiles of Dakota plains, distant city skylines, sunsets in colors ranging from scarlet fire to deepest midnight blue. At every stop, he'd paid out for a local paper and used the pages to do portraits of the characters that came and went from the bus. His sketchbook was almost full to bursting. And still, each breath came easier than the last. For the first few hundred miles, he'd caught glimpses of Auggie on his bike; they'd even met up at a rest stop for 15 minutes somewhere in the Dakotas. But the further they traveled, he'd seen him less and less. In the last 20 hours, Asher hadn't seen him at all. He'd slept worse after that.
It was only in the last half hour that he'd finally started seeing references to Xander's Cross. There was barely anyone on the bus anymore, all of them sleeping. Clearly, they weren't getting off anytime soon. Throughout his journey, as he'd felt only relief the further he got from Chicago, Asher hadn't given much thought to the nervousness lying in wait. It was only as the bus turned that last corner that he felt a cold shiver of unease. What if she- Robin, didn't want them? She'd seemed kind enough on the phone - Auggie had refused to talk to her, so Asher had been the one to take the one and only phone call where she had arranged for their travel. But the two of them had been lied to and let down too many times already to take such supposed kindness for granted. At the thought of his brother, Asher remembered Auggie's promise when they'd parted last - 'I'll be there, alright? I'll be waiting for you when you get off the bus. I swear.' - and felt his nerves ease. So long as they were together, they would be alright. It was the only reason they had agreed to this in the first place, so they wouldn't have to be separated in foster care. Not again.
As the bus slowed, Asher gathered the backpack and duffel that carried all he owned in the world. Sliding on his jacket (the fog outside looked chilly) he craned his neck to look out the windows in search of that familiar profile, the leather jacket, the knit cap over a shock of black hair, the hard jawed expression that was as familiar to him as his own face. But he didn't see Auggie. All he could see was a woman, a woman that looked as different from his brother as a bird was from a frog. That must be her. She looked as nervous as he felt. Asher was so surprised at not seeing Auggie out there that, even when the bus came to a stop, he was slow to move. But move he did, slowly making his way up the aisle to the open doors, his eyes once again finding that woman. Down the steps to the pavement, Asher couldn't look away from her. At first glance, Asher could see no resemblance. But then, he started seeing little details - the freckles, the shape of her mouth, the line of her jaw, the nervous fidgeting. It all seemed familiar. Yes, this was her. Their...sister.
However, seeing his half-sister for the first time in his life was not enough to distract Asher from a single, panicked question- where the hell was Auggie?!
last edited Jan 12, 2021 18:06:32 GMT -5 by Asher Bishop
Post by Robin Skye Eventide on Oct 11, 2020 12:47:51 GMT -5
Oh Goddess, she wasn't ready. No, she was; she could do this. She would do this. Her nervous shuffling quickened into an almost bouncing from side to side as she saw movement through the bus windows and then a figure appear in the open doors. Then she was face to face with a young, handsome boy that seemed as bewildered to see her as she was to see him. Like him, she examined his face for familiar features, and felt a strange thrill of recognition at seeing each one. He looked only a little like her father. Having examined the pictures over and over again until she had memorized each, Robin recognized him at last. A wide smile spread across her lips. "You're Asher." she said with surety. Yes, those deep soulful brown eyes she'd seen only in a photograph were unmistakable. "Hi, I'm...I'm Robin." Even as she gushed these words, she faltered in place, shifting forward, one hand raising as though to extend towards him only for her to jerk to a stop, the hand instead coming to clasp her other in a white knuckled grip. How did you greet someone who was blood family for the first time? Should she offer to help him with his bags? Her eyes darted over him swiftly, noting that he didn't seem to have much. Would he be offended if she tried? Would he think that she thought him weak? Oh, she should have had more of the 'Calmly Chamomile' tea she had mixed the other night.
It was only then, as she finished looking over him that Robin realized he was alone. That there was no one else appearing behind him on the bus. "Wh-" she barely got out before the doors were closing. "Wait!" she cried, her hand darting out, this time to wave ineffectually at the bus even as it shifted back into gear and loudly accelerated up the road, belching exhaust at them. Robin's eyes watered and she coughed, waving the smoke away. Panicked eyes fell to the boy, Asher, "Where is your brother? Where's August?" Wait, Asher had called him something else on the phone. What was it? Oh Goddess, less than 2 minutes into this and she'd already lost one?! How had she screwed this up so badly?! She should have gone to Chicago and picked them up! She was a failure! She was going to be arrested for losing an entire person! Jim Callaghan was going to arrest her! Oh, she needed more than the 'Calmly Chamomile' now...
Post by Asher Bishop on Oct 11, 2020 13:11:56 GMT -5
It didn't matter that the kind face in front of him matched the voice he'd heard on the phone. It didn't matter that her smile made that face even kinder and it was so beautiful that part of him immediately wanted to get out his sketchbook and draw her. It didn't matter that Asher had just taken his first breath of his new home and wished it were possible to draw smell because it was like nothing he had ever experienced before having grown up in the exhaust and smog and filth of cities all his life. All that mattered was that he couldn't see Auggie. He had promised and Auggie never broke his promises. Not to Asher. Not ever. He must have gotten hung up somewhere. Or maybe the bike had broken down though he doubted that. Auggie had a way with mechanics like Asher did with pencil and paper and paints. Still, he didn't think anything had really happened to Auggie, nothing bad, because he would have known. Asher just… knew that he would know if something had happened to him.
So, when she said his name, Asher's eyes connected with hers and, despite his unease at Auggie not being there, found his own lips twitching in response. "Uh, yeah. Hi." Two fingers loosed themselves from the grip he had on the shoulder strap of his backpack (a habit from living in the city) to wave at her awkwardly. She seemed as uncertain as him as to what to do. What was the protocol for this? They should make instruction manuals. He was sure that Social Services had such things though they would probably be more annoying than anything. A cringy step-by-step pamphlet or video. Actually, he was pretty sure he preferred this awkwardness to whatever 'supervised meeting' Social Services would have arranged for them.
Then she, Robin, seemed to realize that Auggie wasn't there. Asher saw the moment she realized it before the bus exhaust ruined that first delicious smell of this place and obscured his vision of her. Asher was used to this and, as she coughed, took the time to look around for Auggie who, it seemed, was still a no-show. Right...They hadn't exactly taken the time to explain to Robin that Auggie had traded in his ticket. Was that something they should have told her now that she was their guardian? Auggie and Asher were unused to having adult supervision and so it hadn't even crossed their minds to give her a heads up but maybe they should have. She looked like she was about to hyperventilate.
Asher opened his mouth to explain and calm her down but was interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle approaching with its familiar rumble-rumble-rattle that even Auggie couldn't seem to tinker away. Immediately, whatever tension Asher still had melted away, his brown eyes lit up as he straightened and began to scan the road for his twin. "He's just late." he murmured by way of explanation without even glancing at Robin, the smile on his face more real and open than the meager one he'd offered her not a moment ago.
last edited Jan 15, 2021 21:29:18 GMT -5 by Asher Bishop
Post by Auggie Bishop on Oct 11, 2020 14:19:34 GMT -5
Shit, shit, shit! He had fucked up. Auggie was late. He'd sat at that diner for hours and could have asked for directions any time but he'd waited until he had fifteen minutes to get there before asking and then the nice (pretty) waitress had offered him food and he'd gotten distracted. Now he was late and he was going to break his promise to be waiting for Asher when his twin stepped off the bus. Now he was risking getting pulled over by the local five-O by gunning it straight to the bus station, exceeding the speed limit at every opportunity. As he approached, Auggie could see the bus already leaving and let out a string of self-deprecating curses inside his helmet, unheard even to himself over the roar of the motorcycle engine and squealing tires.
Finally, he spotted them, first his brother, a figure more familiar to him than his own reflection, standing in front of a stranger that Auggie knew had to be the half-sister. Great. Not only had he broken his promise but he'd left Asher to stand there and meet this stranger for the first time alone. He was the Prize Idiot today.
Coming to a tire screeching halt, Auggie killed the engine and had his helmet off and was dismounted almost within the same heartbeat. Shaking his long, black hair out of his eyes, Auggie's intense green eyes first found his brother under thick, lowered brows in concern. 'Are you alright?' they silently asked. Not bothering to drop his helmet or even take his backpack off or put down his helmet, Auggie strode forward and yanked his brother to him in a tight hug. All at once, Auggie felt his worry and tension and exhaustion fade away now that Asher was here and safe. "I'm so sorry." he murmured, his voice muffled by the fabric of his brother's jacket at his shoulder. It didn't matter, it was only for Asher anyway. Auggie hadn't even acknowledged the woman standing there. Loosening his hold, Auggie drew back just enough to look into Asher's tired but alert eyes, his hands gripping his brother's shoulders. "You okay?" It asked so much more than if he was healthy. Did you sleep enough? Did you eat enough? How are you meeting this person? We can go at any minute... as soon as he found money for gas.
last edited Jan 12, 2021 20:07:52 GMT -5 by Auggie Bishop
Post by Robin Skye Eventide on Jan 12, 2021 20:05:52 GMT -5
With those two words, Robin saw that he was everything she had imagined when she'd seen his picture. Quiet, reserved. Sensitive, even. However, the similarities she had noted with their father hadn't ended with just the physical. That quiet reserve could also be enigmatic and unreadable. Impenetrable. So, the fact that Asher seemed so calm wasn't exactly as comforting as it might have been. Then she remembered August's picture. He looked even more like their father than Asher did. Robin guessed he would be even worse. So long as he got here! So, no, she wasn't comforted or calm; the only thing that could do that would be for her to have two- 2 boys, standing in front of her right now!
Almost as if her demand of the universe to deliver two boys to her was listening, Robin saw Asher's face change right in front of her. The facade melted away and he practically...shone with joy and relief. It was an expression Robin didn't suppose was directed at anyone other than Asher's twin. Following both his gaze and an approaching rumbling sound, Robin saw a motorcycle screeching to a stop nearby. Even before the helmet came off, Robin knew it was him. It wasn't just Asher's expression; the motorcycle, the leather jacket- it all seemed to match up exactly with the sullen, hard, defiant stare of the boy she had seen only in a photo to this point. Of course, he would have a motorcycle. Though it had barely been five minutes, Robin felt something almost… maternal, rise up inside her at the sight of that two-wheeled death machine. When the helmet came off, Robin's breath caught. The resemblance to their father had been clear enough in the picture but, seeing it alive and animated like this, it was as though time had shifted and she was looking at a younger version of Cal Bishop. She could only stare as the boy came forward and hugged his brother. Robin took the moment of his completely ignoring her to breathe a sigh of relief. Besides, the reunion was almost too intimate. Robin felt like a voyeur to something private.
Post by Asher Bishop on Jan 12, 2021 20:36:22 GMT -5
The moment the bike drew up and Auggie took his helmet off, Asher knew that he had been more worried about Asher than Asher had been worried about him. Already his mouth was curling at the corners, smiling at his brother's overprotectiveness when Auggie was the one who drove around as though he was a cat with several more lives to spare. Still, when Auggie hugged him, Asher felt whole. Returning the hug, it felt as though something had been…wrong all this time and was only now set right. He huffed a soft chuckle into Auggie's shoulder at the apology. "It's alright," he said in a whisper. Then, knowing it wouldn't be enough for his brother, corrected, "I'm alright." His tone was firm and remained so when Auggie pulled back and looked at him. Asher's mouth split in a grin at his question and he breathed a laugh, "Yes."
That's when he finally remembered her. Turning his head, Asher found her looking at them with a strange expression on her face. Well, at least she hadn't hyperventilated and passed out. Asher's mouth twisted into that close-lipped smile. See? Auggie was here. She could breathe. Glancing back to his brother, Asher tried to find something to say and ended up simply gesturing toward her. "That's her." Our sister, he added silently to himself. Maybe if he kept repeating it, it would be real to him, it would make sense. Feeling as though he should say more, be more... introductive (?) even though he'd just met her not minutes before Auggie had shown up, he added, "That's...Robin." Their sister.
Wow, that word was still weird. It wasn't like Asher hadn't known about her but knowing and seeing in person, having visual confirmation of the existence of an actual person was different. They'd known for years, ever since their mother went on a drunken rant and screamed about their father and 'his whore' and 'bitch daughter'. That had been when they were about seven? Which would have put Robin around their age. Asher tried to reconcile this person in front of him with the image his mother had painted for years of this person, this 'little bitch' who had kept 'her Cal' from her. Despite the fact that their father probably, most likely, simply hadn't wanted her. The hatred and bile she'd spewed for y ears about this stranger that Asher was just meeting...well, it wouldn't have been the first time their mother had lied and deluded not just them but herself.
last edited Jan 12, 2021 22:08:03 GMT -5 by Asher Bishop