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 Louis Anderson on Aug 22, 2020 20:08:45 GMT -5
"I'm sorry what? How many?" He asked. Nearly choking on his coffee with the case worker that had called him that morning. It was early, and Louis Anderson was in his kitchen staring out the kitchen window, his bright blues large as the social worker talked his ear off. His mug was up by his mouth, preparing to take another sip.
"Four. We have four siblings that we would like to keep together, I'm warning you now Mr. Anderson their a handful, but your our only option in the area. Your uh....The only one with the experience for these kids." The woman said. So you're putting me in a tight spot again aren't you Lonnie? He thought. He sighed, setting the cup down before he rubbed a hand down his face. "You realize I'm only for emergency's right? The weekenders or for an over nighter." He tried to reason. Four kids?! By himself? "We understand that, but uh....they have a delicate situation." She said. "How delicate?" He asked, becoming uneasy. "Well..." She said slowly. He didn't like this beating around the bush and wished she would just spit it out. He could hear her moving around before it sounded like a door was being closed and then she was talking in a hushed tone to him. "Werewolves. They're werewolves Mr. Anderson. You're the only home within a hundred square miles suited for werewolves." She said a bit annoyed with him.
Holy fucking Artemis....
His breathing began to hike up and he was in shock for a moment, Lonnie's voice calling out to him, asking if he was still there. "Y-yeah. I'm still here. Look-""We can try and find them someplace more permanent but it's gonna take some time. I know your only temporary Lou, but these kids need someone who understands them on a physical, scary time in their life, level." She sighed. Lonnie really knew where to tug on the heart strings... "Fiiiiiine." He groaned, rubbing a had down the middle of his face. "Only Temporary Lon. You know it's just me." He sighed. "We know we know." She said. He could tell her mood was far more chipper then it had been two minutes ago. He took another sip of his coffee, before setting it down on the counter and then began to walk towards his room to get dressed. He'd have rooms to prep before their arrival. "Okay so what can you tell me about them?" He asked. While Lonnie rattled off the information, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide. Some of the stories he got were similar. Drug addict parents, abusive dad, the works. But it was the ones that were suddenly orphans that got him. Every. Time.
Their mom and sister had died in a car accident. One of the kids had been in the accident as well but had survived with minor injuries. 15, two 12 year olds, and a infant. All without a mom, dad, and minus a sister. And they were fucking werewolves. He could only imagine the type of pain a severed bond felt like. Heck he knew it with Ryker on the romantic level, but he never had the bond severed by death before. Maybe he needed to call Paige later after she was over her jet leg...She wouldn't talk to him about it, but he had the feeling she could relate with the kids. If she couldn't, she'd get her kid fix all the same, and maybe help him make sense of four kids.
He hung up with Lonnie twenty minutes later. Going into the room he kept for the infants he put fresh sheets in the crib and and then wandered to the room he had with bunk beds, and idea forming in his head. He had two hours before they'd get there, so he spent that time cleaning the house. It was already pretty clean, but he vacuumed, straightened up, the works. He could hear the familiar sound of Lonnie's van as it came down the street, and he ran a hand through his curly dark hair. Pushing his glasses up on his nose while he opened the door and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt, and came out on the front step, bouncing on the balls of his feet in nervous anticipation.
Post by Mal Peters on Aug 23, 2020 22:55:38 GMT -5
The social worker hadn't said much. Malaika hadn't asked much, to be fair, but still, the lady could have told them more about where they were going besides the fact that it was a small town and the guy was a teacher. Didn't she get that this was their fucking life? Everything about their life had gone up in smoke--she could smell gasoline burning and hear people shouting, red and blue lights were flashing over the interior of the car and everything was wet, everything was blood--and they were starting from scratch. She watched the trees out the window of the van as they vanished past, and her ears popped annoyingly as they drove through the hills, between two towering mountains, and into a rinky-dink little town. It looked old and worn out, to Mal. Was there even any other teenagers in this place? All she could imagine living here were old people. She rolled her eyes and leaned back in the seat.
Diamond kicked the back of her seat, and Mal growled at her as she turned to shoot her a dirty look. Diamond just grinned at her. Ugh. She lay back down in the seat and pretended not to notice the continued kicking. Stupid twerp.
Thankfully the van was stopping before Mal had hit her limit and started cussing out the twelve-year-old. She swung open the door and hopped out, already running around to the other side to get out Chidi before the social worker could. The woman offered to help, but Mal just glared at her and held the baby a little tighter. The woman made a good decision not to argue. Mal carried baby Chi around the car and froze.
She hadn't caught his scent until a little breeze had gone between them, but there was no mistaking it--this guy was a wolf, too. Her head snapped to look at the social worker, who was beaming like she'd planned a great big Christmas surprise for them or something. See, it might have been, any day before last week. But Mal didn't want a new pack. She wanted her real family back, and there was no way she could do that. She held Chidi so tight he started to whine and she finally caught herself. She loosened her arms a little and rolled her shoulders before she walked towards the other werewolf, looking him over as she did. He looked like a nerd. She guessed it made sense if he was a teacher. But was he really going to be able to take care of four werewolf kids from the city? The look on her face was all skepticism.
The twins, on the other hand, were already chasing each other around the yard and yelling something about spit. They were hardly paying attention to the man other than to just barely avoid running into him. Mal rolled her eyes.
"Oi, pups, get your shit together and get over here!"
They did as she asked, surprisingly, running over to stand beside her. Daveon stopped first, Diamond hit him in the back, and both of them wound up in a pile at Louis's feet. Apparently that was the first whiff they'd gotten of his scent, because both of them perked up to give him a closer look.
"Hey wait--" began Daveon, and Diamond finished, "You're like us!"
last edited Aug 23, 2020 22:57:11 GMT -5 by Mal Peters
Post by Louis Anderson on Aug 25, 2020 16:21:00 GMT -5
Despite his nervousness, which they were all going to find out he was just nervous in general right quick, and an easy small smile appeared on Louis's face. Maybe it was the fact he was used to smiling at rowdy children on a daily bases, and that drive to help kids. To help them any way he could and to ensure they got on their desired path, and the fact he wanted to provide a small little slice of happiness if he could. It was part of the reason why he was also a foster parent. It'd been very difficult for him to even become one as he was a young male, and if they found out he was also gay it would have put him in an even bigger pickle, but he jumped through as many hoops as he could.
He waved as the kids started to get out of the car, and nodded over at Lonnie. He spotted the teenager and the baby. He all but shrank away from the look she gave him, his natural nervousness, beginning to make itself known as his bouncing on the ball of his feet just got worse. He looked over at the two rowdy kids, and already he could tell they were going to be a handful. But hopefully....hopefully, their big sister would be able to help. Already she was showing herself useful as she called them over. Lonnie approached the step as well. "Language, Malaika..." She said giving the girl a pointed look, and Louis gave a nervous smile as the twins came over. He blinked as they ended up at his feet, and he found himself pulling his jeans up before he was crouching down to the twins level, once they realized he was a werewolf like them.
A kind smile appeared on his face as he looked at the two. "I am." He said, his bright eyes looking up over at Lonnie. "Lonnie there is pretty good at putting kids with their best matches." He winked up at the older woman, and he caught that blush to her face. Wondering what she was blushing at, he looked behind him to see if there was someone walking by. Huh. Maybe it was just hot out? He pushed his glasses up on his face more. "I'm Uh, Louis. But everyone calls me Loui." He looked between the twins, as his smile widened. "You two must be the twins. Lemme see...." He pointed a finger at the girl. "Miss Diamond?" He turned to point at Daveon. "And Mr. Daveon. You know, your pretty lucky dude." He said looking him as if he had a secret. He leaned in a bit and hooked a thumb at Diamond. "Twin sisters are the best." He told him. "I bet Diamond is just as awesome as my twin." He whispered, even though he knew they all would be able to hear him. He stood up then, finally giving the teenager his attention. "Malaika right?' He asked, holding his hand out to her to shake. His gaze went to the baby and his smile softened. That young and losing his mama... He felt for these kids already. He really did.
He'd shake Malaika's hand gently, yet firmly (because strong handshakes were important) before he's place his hands in his back pockets, and then rock back and forth on his feet. "Well, you guys wanna grab your stuff and come in? I'll show ya your rooms, and we can get settled?" He suggested looking down at the twins, and then at Malaika. "That sounds like a pretty good idea too me!" Lonnie said glancing at the kids. Louis noticed how she was looking at Malaika, and he suddenly wondered if it wasn't the twins he should be worried about. But...It couldn't have been easier on her either. His eyes flickered to that cast of hers. Not easy at all...
Post by Mal Peters on Sept 13, 2020 15:39:30 GMT -5
Malaika rolled her eyes at the social worker's admonition about her language. It was hardly the worst word she knew, and the kids were used to it. Their own dad swore a lot worse than her. She narrowed her eyes as the man crouched down by the twins to talk to them. Louis, huh? Her chest tightened painfully when he mentioned that twin sisters were the best. They really were. And hers was gone for good. She shouldn't be jealous of her own family, but she couldn't help it. Watching the twins play together was equal parts pain and comfort--it hurt that Mariah was gone, but she was glad that these two, at least, were still safe.
She looked from his hand to his face twice before she gave in and shook it. "Yeah. And this is Chidi," she answered. Her grip in the handshake was pretty non-committal, and it was only partly because of the cast. She didn't really do handshakes. Did normal people shake hands? She doubted it.
When Louis suggested they get settled, the twins scrambled to their feet to haul their big backpacks out of the trunk. Malaika, on the other hand, hesitated. "Do you really have room for all of us?" she asked, looking warily back at the house before turning a frown on Louis. "And you're not gonna mind that the twins are rowdy, or Chidi cries? And what if I wanna listen to real loud rap music, or something, are you going to be okay with that too?" Those were hardly her biggest concerns. No, that was the tip of the iceberg. Knowing he was a werewolf too was a weight off her back--she wouldn't have to sneak the kids out at the full moon. But this was her family they were talking about, and she was the only one left to protect them. She needed to be sure.
There was, of course, the fact that she was into girls, but she was a hell of a lot more worried about the little ones than she was about herself. She wouldn't take any shit from anyone, no matter who it was. But the twins and Chidi deserved better.
Post by Louis Anderson on Sept 13, 2020 16:02:42 GMT -5
Louis smiled between Malaika and Chidi, before he watched the twins scramble towards the trunk. He reached behind him and pushed the front door open before he gestured for her to follow him over to the trunk to her things since she had her arms full. Shoving his hands in his jean pockets, he nodded in answer to her question. "Four bedroom, two and 1/2 bath, got a decent sized back yard, the basement got converted into a rec-room. There's a room already set up for little man, another one with a set of bunk beds for Rowdy 1 and 2, and You'll have one all to yourself." He rattled off. "I deal with rowdy teenagers five days of the week for eight hours straight, I think I can handle it." He looked over his shoulder to smile reassuringly at Malaika. This wasn't his first rodeo. He might have been a nervous nelly, but he could handle kids of all ages.
Once at the trunk he arched an eyebrow at her. "So long as it's Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G, and Eminem we're good. I draw the line at Drake though." He winked at her. "Might also request it's turned down for nap time after ten." He threw in, grabbing what he could only assume was the diaper bag and Chidi's gab, slinging the straps over his shoulder. "I should be asking if you guys are going to be okay with my uh-" He a nervous smile appeared on his face as he closed the trunk. "Nerdiness." He said a bit sheepishly. "You guys ever hear about Dungeons and Dragons?" He asked, before walking towards the front door and stepping in. The layout of the house was typical of any ranch style. Major living room with the down a small hallway in the back. there were hallways to the right and left. "Main bathroom, The twins room, and the baby's room are down that way." He nodded to the hallway on the right. "Malaika's your room is down that way, second door on the right." He nodded to the opposite hallway.
The living room was large and spacious. He a large soft gray sectional under the front window and a medium sized television on the far wall. the far wall there was nothing but bookshelves. Ranging from history books, to sci-novels, various tabletop game rule books, and the upper shelves of one bookcase even had action figures and and a small dragon replica. There was a giant metal box that he kept his D & D mini's in. There were some pictures handing up on the walls too. One of his which was of him and Paige about in the same age as the twins doing their best funny impersonations. There was a family photo with Jace and Tuck as well when Paige and Lou had gradutated, but there was also a giant collage frame full of all the kids that Louis had ever fostered. All ranging in ages. He knew all of their names, their allergies, their ages and how old they'd be now, everything. Not one of them was forgotten.
Post by Mal Peters on Sept 13, 2020 19:00:16 GMT -5
Mal trailed along behind Louis, bouncing Chidi lightly on her hip to make him giggle. He took a fistful of her hair and tugged, but she didn't snap at him--she just gently freed his hand and kissed his palm before giving it back.
Hm. That sounded like enough rooms... How did a guy this young get such a big house, anyway? Well, that part didn't matter, necessarily. And she hadn't realized he was a highschool teacher... that was good too. They'd be alright here for a little while, probably.
"Toss in Nikki Minaj and Willow Smith, and if you haven't heard them you're gonna." She answered his list of rappers automatically, cringing inwardly when she realized she'd done it. She was supposed to be untouchable. She straightened up a little taller as he turned back to her. The wink didn't faze her, although she wondered if he did that a lot. The social worker lady seemed to like it well enough. Maybe he'd figured out it made straight girls go all gooey and stop being so harsh on him. He did look a bit like he belonged in some kind of hipster boy band, so she understood why, even if she didn't share the feeling.
She smirked a little when he admitted to being a nerd. She'd pegged that the second she laid eyes on him, so it was no surprise. She'd heard of Dungeons and Dragons somewhere along the line and knew it was some kind of game, and something about dice, but she didn't really know a lot. Maybe she'd seen it on TV or something. She just kinda shrugged in answer as they moved towards the house. It was nice enough, kinda like its owner: clean, bookish, and pretty well organized. The twins ran off as soon as they heard which room was theirs, already arguing about who was going to have the top bunk.
Malaika drifted towards the family photos for a moment, then caught herself. She wasn't going to be here for long, and that wasn't her family. She didn't need to be looking at that. She veered sharply off towards the baby's room, wanting to make sure that Chidi would have a crib with walls, and everything looked safe. She didn't really need to know what her room looked like. No, not her room. The room she'd be sleeping in. She didn't bother saying anything to Louis, he could follow if he wanted, or he could stay there.