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 Josie Andrews on May 4, 2021 20:54:54 GMT -5
Sleeping with a mason jar under your pillow is not a comfortable thing to do. And when you're a girl whose entire home is a rented attic, nightstands are a luxury you cant afford. The bookshelf was too far away, the bedframe too low to fit the jar upright, and putting it on its side seemed disrespectful, somehow. Josie settled for taking the jar in the bed with her.
The room was dark and quiet save for the whir of the air purifier in the corner. Her bed was comfortable, more than ever now that every limb was weighted with exhaustion, and she was so sleep deprived she just wanted to cry. She knew that Kale Roemer had said this jar would protect her, but somehow she didn't feel that much safer. She was still watching the darkest corner of the room, waiting for the figure to emerge. She pressed herself back against the wall and pulled the comforter up to protect her throat, curling into a ball with the jar held tight to her heart like a child's teddy bear. And, finally, almost against her will, she drifted into a dark, dreamless sleep.
She didn't wake until her standard 6 am alarm went off the next morning...and then she pressed snooze. She never pressed snooze.
She sat on the edge of her bed at 6:16 am and frowned down at the unimposing-looking spell jar in her hands. That stupid jar had taught her two things: first, she was dealing with a sleep demon. Second, the man who'd accosted her in the diner last night was telling the truth about it working. Both were interesting. Neither was very reassuring to her at the moment.
With a heavy sigh, she set the jar on the pillow to wait for her and headed off to shower.
At 6:57 am, Josie left the house both looking and feeling a bit more like herself. Her low pumps clicked satisfyingly across the hardwood steps, her blazer was buttoned at her bust, and the wing on her eyeliner was sharp enough to cut a man. She smiled thinly and waved at Mrs. Jameson, her landlady, who was out pruning the roses, on her way past.
At 7:21 am, Josie entered her office, set her laptop on the desk, set her travel mug of coffee on the coaster next to it, straightened the pens aligned next to the desk mat, and began her day. Her first appointment was at 7:30 am sharp.
The rest of Josie's day went by smoothly, everything apparently returned to normal by a mason jar and a few odds and ends. She'd never understand magic.
There was just one problem--the receptionist called her desk, sounding a bit concerned.
"Um, Ms. Andrews? There's a man here who says he's here to see you."
Josie didn't have to see him to know who it was--Debra knew everyone in town by name; if she was saying "a man" there was only one stranger she could think of who'd want to talk to her.
"Dark hair and eyes, not too tall, strange accent?"
"That's the one!"
"Go ahead and send him back, Debra, that's fine."
"Alright, dear. You just let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks, Debra. I'm fine, I promise."
last edited May 4, 2021 20:56:12 GMT -5 by Josie Andrews
Post by Kale Roemer on May 4, 2021 22:20:46 GMT -5
Kale's life was getting a bit more interesting again, now that he was in Xander's Cross. Before, he had a strict schedule and was essentially a bodyguard. Always watching, and primed and ready to be unleashed should he need to be. Here? He was going goddamn bored out of his mind and the construction wasn't cutting it aside from giving him a wall to hit if he needed too.
That is, until he met Josie last night. The Sugar fae had a sleeper demon whether she wanted to accept it or not, haunting her dreams. Making it impossible for her to actually sleep, and from how she'd looked last night, Kale gave her a week tops before the thing would finally kill her. If she could survive that long.
Luckily for her, he'd been feeling generous last night. Now, it was time to see just how far that generosity had reached and if it had done what it was supposed too.
Kale had gotten off work a bit early since he'd come in early. After dropping his things off at the apartment he was temporarily leasing, he'd decided to see about a lawyer. If she didn't think he was paying attention, she was in for a wake-up call. It didn't take him long to hunt down one of the only lawyer offices in town. A scan of the nameplates told him which one she was despite never giving him her last name. Josephine Andrews...
After speaking with the receptionist, Kale stuck his hands in his work jeans. Looking like he'd just come from the worksite, with his dirty grey t-shirt, jeans, and work boots. His short hair was half hazard combed to the side. He did his best to pretend that he couldn't hear the conversation between Josie and Debra. A small smirk slowly creeping on his face as Josie described what he looked like, and he forced the smirk into a polite smile as Debra stared at him. Once he was giving the all-clear, he thanked the woman and walked down to Josie's office. He didn't need instructions, he could follow his nose just fine.
She smelled just as sweet as that night before. He gave one sharp knock on the door before he opened it. Not waiting for an "enter" or what have you. "You forgot ruggedly handsome." He said upon entry, closing the door behind him with a click, as a smug look crossed his face. "Might wanna tell Deb her phone volume is a bit too loud, don't want people hearing things we shouldn't." He said the lie easily. Werewolf hearing and all.
Then, as if he owned the place (which is how he treated most things) Kale dumped himself unceremoniously into one of Josie's chairs behind her desk and placed his hands up behind his head. Letting his eyes rake over her for a moment. She certainly did look better than how he'd seen her last night. "Well well, Sleeping beauty, you look much less zombified today." He said, sounding rather chipper as a smug smile settled on his face. He knew he was, but he wanted to hear her say it.
He was right.
last edited May 4, 2021 22:22:35 GMT -5 by Kale Roemer
Post by Josie Andrews on May 4, 2021 22:35:36 GMT -5
Josie's mouth was half-opened to tell him to come in when the door swung right open anyway and Kale barged in uninvited. Well, then.
"You forgot ruggedly handsome."
Her mouth snapped shut and she rolled her eyes. Oh, she hadn't forgotten a single thing. She'd just underestimated the extent of his self-aggrandizement. Had he seen himself? He was covered in dust and tromping dirt into her office, and his hair made it perfectly clear he'd been wearing some kind of helmet not too long ago. A hardhat, perhaps? He must be working on the construction site out in the new housing development. (She did her best to ignore the part where he was, annoyingly, ruggedly handsome, in a certain light.)
"Might wanna tell Deb her phone volume is a bit too loud, don't want people hearing things we shouldn't." The lie left his mouth easily enough, but it landed like a stone in Josie's stomach. She pressed her lips together more firmly against the wave of nausea. He apparently took her silence as an invitation to spew more nonsense at her.
"Well well, Sleeping beauty, you look much less zombified today."
Sleeping beauty? Was that better or worse than Sugar?
She almost groaned at that smug look on his face. She should have just left the jar with him at the diner and gone home. Was a good night's sleep really worth this headache?
...Sadly, it really was. She'd been desperate last night, and fate had tossed this smooth-talking, grinning, oddity of a man into her lap. She'd slept beautifully, soundly, for the first time in weeks. It was glorious. She shouldn't complain, but damn, he made it impossible not to. Just look at that stupid grin!
"Do you have to lie to my face? Just leave things out if you can't tell the truth, at least that won't make me sick," she complained, not bothering to make excuses for her unusual behavior after what he'd done. He had to have guessed what she was by now if he was anywhere near as clever as he thought he was.
"But yes, if you must know, I did get to sleep last night. Like a baby, as they say." She looked almost angry that she had, in spite of the gratitude she couldn't entirely quell. "Well, go on then, tell me I told you so. I can tell you want to."
Post by Kale Roemer on May 4, 2021 22:56:13 GMT -5
Oops. He'd forgotten that little tid bit. Ruby would be slapping him upside the head if she was here right now. Fae and their languages... He'd practically forgotten they could sense lies, and this was going to have to be the last time he lied to Josie, or else he was going to have to get real creative with his truths. He chose not to comment on the complaint of nausea she gave and decided to just continue to grin smugly at her as she confirmed that she did in fact have a good nights rest.
He started to chuckle and shook his head lightly, leaning forward so he could rest his elbows on his forearms, before he pulled a toothpick from his back pocket and popped it between his lips. If he couldn't smoke in here, it would have to satisfy the urge. "I don't operate that way Sugar. If I told you i'd told you so, we'd be in a rather sticky situation and I'd be a lot less pleasant. I'm not going to say it, I wanna hear it from you." He told her pointedly. He wasn't the bragging sort, but he was the sort that made the person admit he was right. Sometimes that was a great deal sweeter to bestow then saying I told you so. Watching them struggle with the words and knowing they couldn't deny it. It was different sort of high all together.
"In other news, what are you going to do 'bout your pest problem?" He asked curiously. Did she have a priest on speed dial she could call for an exorcism? She could sage the vermin out, but she was going to need a keep her particular one away. Already his mind was scrambling at the possibilities, and solutions he could offer and suggest to her, and after a moment of his mind going complete auctioneer at him, he forced himself to hit the breaks. Why was he rushing to fix this so quickly? Why did he care? Again...
He must have been really freaking bored to wanna play with sleeper demons.
Post by Josie Andrews on May 5, 2021 21:34:16 GMT -5
Josie didn't quite understand what he was getting at. He just wanted her to admit he was right? Well, she'd done that. Frankly, she'd never had a problem admitting the truth because she simply couldn't do anything else. Still, if it made him that happy...
"Well then, so you'll be perfectly satisfied: you were right. And the jar completely cleared it up. I didn't dream all night, as far as I'm aware."
Pest problem? That was a rather blase way to put things, but he wasn't entirely incorrect, either. "In the spirit of continued honesty, I'm not entirely sure where to start. I've never been one for religion, and from what I understand, that's what clears out such things, correct? She certainly wouldn't get far trying to exorcise the thing. Her Latin pronunciation would be flawless, of course, but every faith required just that, faith--and she had none. She considered for a moment before adding, "Smudging is the native American ritual to cleanse, but somehow I doubt that would keep this particular creature away for long."
She drew a notebook and blue pen from the desk. "What would you recommend, then, since you're oh-so-knowledgeable?"
Post by Kale Roemer on May 5, 2021 22:46:00 GMT -5
Well when she put it that way it didn't sound as satisfying as it normally would have. He twirled the toothpick in indignation as he leaned back in the chair, resting his arms on either side as he brought a leg up and rested his ankle on his knee. "Glad it worked for you, Sugar." He tilted his head slightly then as his dark eyes watched her. Pleased she was actually taking this serious. If someone wanted her dead, the first step would be finding out who, and dealing with the demon attack dog.
He nodded his head at her question. "Usually that's how it's done." He agreed with her. He'd exorcized a few demons, but not many. Dmitri had always someone else on hand to deal with them. "It's a sleep demon, smudging won't do any good unless you got a shit ton of sage." He went on. "They're particularly dangerous for the fact they can also put people to sleep, and you wouldn't even realize it." He went on to explain. They were real nasty, and whoever was behind this knew what they were doing, or had done their research. Kill the Sugar Fairy and make it look like she'd passed in her sleep.
He watched her dig out the notebook and pen then, and he twirled the toothpick again, swapping it to the other side of his mouth. "Professional opinion, and if you know where you can find one for a good price, I'd get a hunter to do it." He told her honestly. They were the sort that were prepared, were far more knowledgeable then he was, but there was a risk as well. Usually hunters aimed to wipe the mythical population off the map, or a particular species, or whatever their personal agenda was. Most though, in his experience, didn't particularly like demons. It was a shame he couldn't get ahold of Kostya and Mikhail. They'd probably do it for a six pack of O - and not charge Josie anymore than a nice smile.
Freakin Russians...
"Here's your options Jo," He sighed, slightly, leaning forward again. "I'll be straight with you," He continued. "Easiest way, is find out who summoned it and get them to get rid of it. They have to summon the thing each night, or make a contract with it. Break the contract, the Demon won't come after you anymore and move onto someone else until it's banished." Which, wasn't something that was going to be easy. But of the other options, it was the easiest. "Option 2, you find some sort of faith or priest that can speak latin and send it back to hell while trying to keep it from killing you." There was a small grimace of a smile. "Option 3, you home alone your places with traps for it, to make it harder to get you. You put a ring of salt around the bed, line it at windows and door, carve or paint a demon trap on your floor or ceiling, so it'll be stuck. Whatever you can to protect yourself." He suggested.
Post by Josie Andrews on Jun 14, 2021 14:00:36 GMT -5
Josie stared at him, incredulous. A hunter? In this town? Was he serious? Or did he just not hear what he was saying and who he was saying it to? She glanced at the door, wondering if Deb would hear her if she told him off. The woman was human, she was pretty sure, although her cousins were witches. She probably had at least an inkling that Xander's Cross was special...but she wasn't going to be the one to break the unspoken rules of the town. A pity. She kept her mouth shut and let him go on about her options.
1. Get rid of the person who started it. 2. Find a priest to exorcise it. 3. Booby trap her place.
She heard the options, but the first thing that came out of her mouth was a bemused echo of his words. "Home-Alone my place? What is that? Neither of those words is a verb." She squinted at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "I mean, I heard the rest, you mean set traps, but what does my being home alone have to do with anything? Would it not target me if someone else was there?"
She was getting sidetracked. Well, out loud she was--internally she was evaluating her options. Getting a priest in was unfortunately out of the question; anything they did would probably cause her to break out in some kind of allergic reaction as well. It might be worth it to save her life, but there was no telling what would happen and whether or not it would be permanent.
Option 3 seemed more like an add-on. Traps upon traps, boundaries upon boundaries, creating a layer of hassle to keep it from getting to her. But there was no guarantee that would work forever, either. So that left option one. Find who'd done this, and end their contract. Lovely.
Well, that would be interesting...but she still wanted an answer about what in the elsewhere he meant by "home alone your place with traps" seeing as she was going to give it a go.