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Will's "Pets" (Part 2): Strays

Whether it's an actual stray or just a neighborhood pet out for a walk, Will has probably stopped to have a good long conversation with any cat or dog in town. If any pets don't already have a home, he will 100% try to take it home with him, even though his landlord has explicitly told him to stop bringing home new animals.

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By the end of the raffle, Ana had finished her rather large bottle of champagne and was feeling more than a little tipsy. Yet as the night wore on and the darkness fell around them, she felt herself settling into a peaceful buzz, perfectly content with her arm looped through Gia's while they watched the sky fill with fireflies. It was absolutely stunning, there was no denying that. The company was not half bad either. The two had known each other for so long, Ana almost didn't feel the need to perform, that instinct to put on a mask to hide behind hide, and never let anyone get too close to the real her--if she even knew who that was anymore.

"You look like a child in a candy store," Ana said with amusement. "After all this time, still captivated by a good ol' country fair, are we?" Her voice was teasing, and she pushed against Gia's side. But she understood the feeling. Good--terrible--food, a sky full of stars, and a feeling like the night had just begun. Some things never changed, and this was one of those human pasttimes that had made it through the ages. "I will never understand vampires and food. I suppose desire is immortal, is it?" She was already steering Gia in that direction, toward the funnel cakes and cotton candy and other sickeningly sweet treats.

closed | @unlost (Ana)

The lightless night sky blanketed the town with a heaviness she could not articulate. Anticipation in every breathe the vampire drew. As if time was an orchestra and they'd played until the swell. The fear of what was to follow not divine intuition but anxiety. A monster afraid of the other monsters in the dark. Her hand gave the siren's beside her a squeeze. The release of pressure in tandem with the illuminating of the night. No longer dark but a sky full of fireflies.

Molten mahogany hues followed the light and glimmered the reflection of its incandescent hue. Her eyes growing brighter still as the county fair was lit up, too. Already she could smell the sugary delights. Her mind on funnel cake and the like, but she still asked to be polite. "Where should we start? Rides, food, or games?"

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Ana arrived outside Blank Slate dressed ready for riding--an outfit that was not all that different from her ordinary wardrobe, as it was still all black and made of leather. She had, admitedly, been rather drunk when she'd bid on Rio's basket, and more importantly, she had been determined to beat Song, to prove she could afford anything he could--though this wasn't remotely true. Ana had money, yes, but she was not in the circle that had billions. Still, it was all for a good cause, right? And there was nothing wrong with spending the afternoon with a beautiful woman in leather and a fast bike between your legs.

She took the helmet. "I may have ridden a few times before, but you're welcome to show me again, Darling." The truth was, Ana had learned to ride more than fifty years ago and had kept up the habit ever since. She didn't need the lesson, but she was curious to see this "training" all the same.

for: @unlost - ana where: blank slate, celestial hills

Did her boss know that she had stashed a motorbike in the back store room of the gallery? No. Would they ever find out? Also no. She now stood in front of the gallery, changed from her outfit from the auction into her favourite riding leather pants and a black top, leaning against the building and leaning against the brick wall, two bikes in front of her - her own and one she'd borrowed for the date.

When Ana arrived, she flashed the other woman a smile, tossing the helmet in her hands slightly, before passing it to Ana. "So, do you know how to ride, or are we starting from scratch?"

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Will could see that look in Savannah's eyes--that scared, flighty look, the one Reese sometimes got before she left to set something on fire--a second before they turned white entirely. A siren readying a storm. Will had known from the moment he met her--or, rather, from the first time they'd spoken on the docks--that Savannah was a woman with secrets, a woman with a complicated past and a complicated present. He had hoped one day she'd open up to him, trust him enough to open that box she seemed to keep locked and chained away, but he hadn't pressed, hadn't pushed her to divulge anything more than she was comfortable bringing up on her own. As he'd told her on their first date, it was her call: when she was ready to tell him more, when she was ready for him to meet her daughter, he'd be here waiting.

Devrim had not been a calculated part of the equation. Will had known rationally that there must be a father to Savannah's child, but the man's identity was part of the things-he-didn't-ask-about category, and it seemed Savannah had wished to keep it that way. Will doesn't need to hear all this, she said. Should he leave? Let the two of them hash this out on their own? "You don't have to--" Will started. You don't have to tell me, he wanted to say. You don't have to say anything you don't want to. But she was already talking, the words spilling out in a rush.

Will wished they were alone. Or that Savannah and Devrim had been alone to have this conversation, that somehow it was not the three of them, sitting in this barn, unpacking more than fourteen years of history. Grabbing the bottle of booze, he stood up and brought it to Devrim, pushing it into the other man's hand. "Thank you," he said--for the compliment about their date--"But stop talking." He clapped the man on the shoulder. He didn't think Devrim had meant to upset Savannah--in fact, he was sure he hadn't meant to--but that didn't stop the fact that she was upset, that this history was harder for her to talk about, more painful to recount, than Devrim seemed to have realized.

Will approached Savannah, though he stopped a foot away. He wanted to reach out for her, bring her into his arms, hold her hand, but he didn't want to get any closer than she was comfortable with--not right now, when she was clearly feeling so raw and exposed. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry you felt you had to, but you should know it doesn't change anything I feel for you. I don't care that you were married," he told her. "All I care about is that you're okay. That your daughter is okay. And that you're together. Like you should be. You should never have had to be in that situation, but you were, and you did what you had to. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. But for what it's worth, everything you tell me makes me like you more. The only thing it makes me think about you is that you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. And that your daughter is lucky to have a mom that loves her so much, she'd do whatever it took to stay with her."

"It's not your fault we didn't work out--" He added, nodding back toward Devrim before he returned his gaze to Savannah. "What I think he meant is that your daughter is always going to be the most important person in both your lives, and I understand that. She comes first, always. And that's the way it should be. The rest is in the past, and you can tell me as much or as little about it as you want. But right now, what do you want to do? I can leave if it's what you want. The rain's not going to hurt me. We can both leave. I can go find..." He paused, trying to think of anything that might help her wait out the storm. "Books? A puzzle? I don't know. If you want something--anything--to wait out the storm, I'll get it for you. Just say the word. Or we can sit here in dead silence. We can do that too. If you want, I'll tell you every secret I've got, and then we'll be even. We can do whatever you want. It's your choice."

"I-" Her breath caught in her throat as she blinked between Devrim and Will once more, trying to ignore the way the heat was rising to her cheeks in a mix between guilt and embarrassment at the thought that they had fallen apart because of her, however inadvertently. "Now, that can't be true. I mean I'm sure yall's date was right when I got to town, so-" She chewed lightly on her bottom lip, so that should have been before she had gone out with either of them. She really hoped it was before she had gone out with either of them since she wasn't sure if she wanted to be given the responsibility of anyone being ghosted or having the start of something fall through. It was only when Devrim carried on that her face paled.

"No. But, that's one hell of a technicality and it ain't like you were celibate that whole time either," She countered, hardly about to call either of them cheaters when they had barely been adults at the time. They might not have ever said the words officially that they were through, but they had mourned what had been their relationship.

Except, Devrim didn't stop there. He kept going, running his mouth about their whole dang history, and Sav found herself giving Will's hand a small squeeze back before she slipped her hand out of his and moved to wrap her arms around herself instead. She knew damn well this situation was odd to say the least. It had all the fixings of being awkward, but she had been trying to make the most of it. To skirt by the elephant in the room, given none of them could exactly leave the barn and maybe have some fun. It wasn't as if they weren't all stuck there anyhow and, as strange as the situation seemed to be, it wasn't although they didn't have the fact they all had gone out with each other in common. At least they should be able to get through the evening. Maybe even more if Devrim hadn't started saying stuff she hadn't been ready to disclose yet.

"What are you doing?" She whispered out, sending a pleading look his way to please stop talking. "Please?" She already knew. She knew about the hiking trip. She had found out about the coma already. They had hashed all of this out, hadn't they? Why bring it up now? But, it wasn't just his trauma he was spilling. At the mention of the wedding announcement, her wedding announcement, her eyes began to glow a bright white. The wind around the barn began to pick up, and the rain came down upon the roof even harder as lightning flashed across the sky. Growing up, the women in the Mckenzie household never got mad. They smiled through just about anything and, when they started to feel embarrassed or confronted, they'd simply excuse themselves for a nightcap. Some nights, that nightcap became a double. But, they always seemed to maintain their calm, and Savannah, in turn, had grown up trying to defuse the slightest bit of tension whenever she could. Only now, in the middle of the full moon, with no place to excuse herself off to without growing a tail and the storm above calling for her to use her powers, she found herself not bothering to push aside her feelings.

"No. It ain't alright," She let out a huff as she stood to her feet, locking eyes straight with Devrim as she said, "If you want to talk to Will, you go right ahead and talk to Will, but don't you stand there and act like you're sayin' any of this for my benefit. And if you want to talk about your past, you go right ahead, but don't bring me along with you. We already hashed most of this out and I would've been more than happy to continuing talkin' about it, but there is a time and a place. Will doesn't need to hear all this, but fine. You want to have storytime?" She took another swig of the bottle, before she spun back on her heels back toward Will.

Only when her eyes met his, she found her lips beginning to quiver and quickly adverted her gaze back to the ground as she tried her best to keep her voice slow and steady. "I was an eighteen-year-old girl growin' up down south. I fell in love with a boy visitin' for the summer. Only when I realized I had gotten knocked up, Summer was over and he'd gone home. I tried to call, he didn't pick up. I left a voicemail, never got one in return, and I've recently come to understand why. But, I was eighteen and 'he must have fallen into a coma', hadn't exactly been my first thought. I-" She shouldn't have looked up. Her voice was already trembling, and the moment she met Will's gaze, it made it all the worse. "I didn't want to tell anybody this way. But, yeah. I've been married before. My... My parents... they made it pretty clear that I was a disgrace. How I threw my chances of college away and how the least I could do is not ruin their reputation too, so if I wanted their support at all, I had two options. I could marry a boy of their chosin' who'd pretend to be the father so at least I wasn't the girl in town who 'born a baby outta wedlock' or I could be sent away. They found this program where I'd live with a whole bunch of nuns or somethin' until they could find an adoptive family, and I-" Her voice cracked momentarily as she forced herself to keep going. "I didn't wanna give up Serra, so that's that. I was married. I'm not anymore and neither of us really had much of a say-it to begin with, so trust, it was an amicable partin'," Her eyes darted back toward Devrim, narrowing into slits as she made it abundantly clear to him. "I would've liked to explain on my own time, but... you plannin' on callin' me out for anything else tonight or will that be all, cause let me tell ya, this has been a real hoot and a holler." They were well past awkward and, even with the thought of growing a tail, a part of her wondered if it would be worth it just up and leave the barn.

@devrim-selvi

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Will's hand cupped her cheek, his thumb rubbing a small circle over her skin, tracing the blush that had formed there. His own skin was rough, calloused from years of woodworking, shop class, and training at the fire academy. "I like it when you blush," he said, unabashedly. He liked quite a lot about her--her smile, her laugh, the twang of her accent, and the way the sun reflected off her honey blonde hair. When she repeated the refrain--next time--he grinned back at her, happier than he'd thought possible that she, too, saw a future here. He couldn't know what sort of future or how long that future might be--and he had a bad habit of getting too invested too fast, throwing himself into the deep end and forgetting the very meaning of the word 'casual'--but he liked to think there would, at least, be a second date. And a third. And a fourth--

He helped her up into the pickup. It was clear that the interior of the truck had recently been cleaned, every surface shining, floor vacuumed, but whether he'd done it for her sake or because he liked to keep his truck in order was unclear. What was clear was that the truck had a...homemade sort of quality to it. The seatbelts, radio, and rearview mirror had the distinct look of having been replaced, new parts in an old truck; and someone had written in Sharpie over the dashboard. The words were old and faded, almost unreadable, but they remained as a sign of the times, little notes from high school friends, song lyrics, and quick doodles.

Will wasn't looking at the truck but at the girl now sitting in it. His name sounded better on her lips than he'd ever heard it before, and before he knew it, she was pulling him in for another kiss, and he grinned against her lips and kissed back with fervor. He'd have been content to stay right there, in the driveway of her dilapidated sea-side home and kiss her for hours. But he forced himself to pull away. "Savannah," he repeated. "I like it." He bit down on his bottom lip, trying to stifle his smile and to make his legs move, because he wanted very much to just stand there staring at her. Instead, he closed the passenger door and went around to the driver's side, put the car into gear, and took them to their date.

It wasn't a long drive to the equestrian center. In a few short days, the Rodeo would begin setting up, and the place would be busy night and day. But for this one night, Will had managed to work out a deal and get the place to themselves. He had, after all, promised her horses. "We're not riding tonight," he told her as he hopped out of the truck and came around to open the passenger door. They weren't dressed for it, anyway. "But I keep my promises. And I thought you might want to talk to 'em." There was, also, a table waiting for them inside with candles and dinner, but she'd see that soon enough.

"We'll I'd be holdin' em if I had any reigns to hold onto," She teased back. She smiled up at him, sunlight dancing in her eyes as the corners crinkled with that kind of warmth that made everything feel a little softer. Her arms looped easily around his neck, as natural as breath, and, when he moved to tuck a strand of her hair back behind her ear, she found herself blushing all over again. "Next time it is," She promised him. She had never been the most divisive, especially not these days, when on a moment's notice, she'd be met with some memory from the past. It was hard to tell up from down these days, and yet, the words seemed to slip out without even the slightest sliver of hesitation. Next time, as if they both were certain that there would be.

"Hi," She bounced lightly up and down on the balls of her shoes as she found herself beaming up at him all over again the moment she stepped outside. "I suppose so," She hummed faintly out. Her fingers weaving through his as she let him lead her over to the car, and when he opened the door for her, she propped herself up onto the seat. "Will?" The name fell from her lips as her smile grew all that much more. "It suits you. Will," She drew out each syllable of his name, but rather than shake his hand, her hand grabbed a first full of the fabric of his shirt, giving him a tiny yank back toward her as she pressed a kiss against his lips once more. "I'm Savannah. Savannah Jane McKenzie. But, you could call me whatever you like. Daisy, Sav, Vannah, just anythin' but late for dinner."

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Will huffed out a small laugh, pleased--despite the strangeness of the situation--to hear Savannah's tone grow so shocked in his defense. "We were both too busy seeing you," he told her. He couldn't pretend he hadn't been disappointed; on that first date with Devrim, he'd thought there had been a spark, some real potential, but it had only been one date, and they still barely knew each other. That Devrim was more focused on his child and the child's mother than on new dating possibilities just made sense to Will. He couldn't hold that against him. As for Savannah's question, he shook his head. "You shouldn't be. It's alright," he assured her. He also couldn't pretend that there wasn't a twinge of jealousy there, that part of him didn't want her all to himself, but that wasn't her problem, and it certainly was not something she should feel 'afraid' about.

Any worry he might have had, any unbidden jealousy he was pushing away, was satiated anyway the moment Savannah said she'd want a third date. Thinking her reaction to him taking his shirt off was just a weariness over the water, he checked himself over again and made absolutely sure there was not a drop left. He then draped his shirt over a nearby barrel of hay to dry then listened as the other two explained their situation. His amusement over the unprecedented situation turned into a small frown as Dev spoke of his injuries--which Will had known nothing about--and then of Sav's marriage.

It was a lot to digest and hardly what he'd expected to hear with these two people locked in this small space. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "That both of you had to go through that. And I'm glad you're better." He nodded toward Devrim. "And that you both know each other are alright." He looked to Savannah. She must have felt so alone and abandoned, not knowing what had actually happened to Devrim. Was that why she'd planned to marry someone else? Had she married someone else? If she had, was she divorced? What had happened to her spouse? A million questions rushed through Will's mind, but it didn't feel right to ask any of them just yet.

He took the bottle and took another, rather large sip. "So it sounds to me like we've got one big misunderstanding." Or at least the other two did--or had. Along with a very long history, and the life, their daughter, that they'd made together. "But I don't see any reason it has to be awkward, if you two don't. We've got a good drink, good company, and what looks like..." He pointed the bottle toward the now pounding rain outside. "Quite a lot of time to unpack." He reached for Savannah's hand as she sat beside him and gave it a small squeeze. "It's alright," he assured her. "It's all alright. Right?" The question was directed to Davrim as he met his eyes across the barn.

@cantfightmoonlight

"I-" The words fell from her lips as she found herself biting down on her bottom lip nervously. "I mean-" She was trying to find the right words to clarify the situation only for Devrim to drop a truth bomb. "I'm sorry, yall did what now? You ghosted him? Have you seen him?" Her brows lifted. Her jaw hung momentarily open at the thought that Will had been ghosted and by Devrim of all people. "And now that we're on the subject, if you two have dated too, then what am I so afraid of?" She blinked over at the two men before her now laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and she found herself unable to not chime in.

"Get what?" She asked, not sure she was the one who got it herself, but as Dev reached for the alcohol she happily handed it over. Lord knew they all probably needed it at this point.

But then Will was taking his shirt off of all things and she found herself momentarily stunned all over again. "Oh, sweet baby Jesus," The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop herself, not being able to hide the fact that she was definitely looking as Will used his shirt like a towel to dry himself off for her sake of all things. "Sorta? But not quite," Sav said as she moved to go sit next to Will on the hay barrel, only to pat the other spot beside her for Devrim to join them. "We've," She motioned between Will and her. Her gaze drifting over to Dev as she explain, "Only been on one date so far. This technically makes our second," she snuck a peek over at Will at the thought. "Not that I wouldn't want there to be a third," She admitted. Her cheeks momentarily flushed a light shade of pink before she cleared her throat once more.

"And we've," She motioned between Devrim and herself. "Only been on one date since we used to be together fourteen years ago. So, no, I wouldn't say that we're currently back together, but that doesn't mean I necessarily wouldn't want to be either. It's just all of this is still new, and I dunno if I truly know what either of these things between us even are yet? But, it also ain't like I've been hiding anything. I've been on two first dates with two amazin' guys who just so happen to give me the butterflies, and that's it, so," She leaned back against the hay barrel, not about to be ashamed about trying to meet someone, especially not when they had already met each other. "What I'm hearin' is that we've all been on first dates with each other and, rather than be awkward about it, we might as well all sit and enjoy each other's company, hm? How 'bout it?"

@devrim-selvi

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Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Saint Laurent

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Savannah, Will was realizing, was the sort of girl people wrote songs about: breathtaking and endlessly surprising, the kind of girl that made a man want to be cheesy and romantic. (He'd had his phase of writing very bad poems and songs for girls, but, thankfully, he'd grown out of it.) Like looking into the sun and still seeing the glare behind your eyelids for hours to come, she was the kind of girl you were left thinking about long after she'd left the room. As her arms wrapped around him, he cupped her face in both hands and kissed back. As he'd expected, the full moon last time they'd kiss clearly had nothing to do with the rush of warmth that kissing her invoked because he felt it again now. He bit back a laugh as they pulled away, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "We're getting to it," he promised. "Hold your horses." He winked, the cheesy pun leaving his lips before he could stop it.

"I understand," he assured her. "Next time, then. Or the time after that. Whenever you're ready. And for the record, I like you too. A lot."

Will waited on the doorstep as Savannah ran inside to put the flowers away, yet he could hear what happened within, and he smiled at the ground, biting his lip to keep from laughing at her daughter's reaction. Savannah's words kept replaying in his mind: I like you a lot.

At her question, he nodded and took her hand. "Ready," he said, starting to lead her toward the waiting truck. As he opened the passenger door for her, he leaned against the frame and said, "I suppose I should finally introduce myself then." He put out his hand to shake, like they were meeting each other for the first time. "My name's Will. Will Hawthorne."

Savannah barely gave him a second to finish smiling before she was already halfway to him, her sundress fluttering like a banner behind her. And the moment she reached him, she tossed her arms loosely around his neck and pulled him in for a giddy and breathless kiss. The kind of kiss that made her feel like she was sixteen again. Like they were a pair of high school sweethearts sneaking around after curfew and not two grown adults in their thirties about to go on their first official date. When she finally pulled back, her nose nearly brushed his as she couldn't help but tease, "Yeah, where is this horse exactly, cause I keep waitin' and yet I ain't heard so much as a neigh."

"Wait, really?" Her brows lifted, having not exactly expected that response from him. "Oh, I mean," Sav's cheeks flushed once more as she bit down lightly on her bottom lip, mulling the idea over. "It ain't too soon," She reassured him. "I mean it is a little bit, but what I'm tryin' to say is that I like you, Huckleberry. A lot. I like ya a lot and, if you'd like to meet Serra one day, I'd love for you to be able to and Vanessa for that matter. But, maybe we, ya know, learn each other's first names before you go 'round meetin' the whole family? Might help a bit with the whole interrogation thang," She reasoned, pressing another quick peck against his lips as she ducked back inside the house to place the flowers he'd brought her into a vase. He could probably hear Serra calling out from the steps 'oh, you like him, don'tcha? So when am I gonna be allowed to date?' followed by the 'hush now' from Sav as she slipped back outside, hastily shutting the door behind her. "We ready?"

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Will smiled, unfazed by this display of confidence. He didn't care much about winning. It was being busy that he cared about, and so naturally he'd signed up for just about everything he could physically fit into a day. "I have a feeling that from you, that's a high compliment." He could be wrong, of course, but she seemed like the type of person who didn't say things she didn't mean. He glanced at his horse then back to her. "Not as much as I'd like, but I ride whenever I can. I'm just lucky Leo here--" He patted his horse's head. "--puts up with me. He does most of the work." Sometimes it felt like cheating, being able to communicate with his steed. "And you? You were a natural out there."

"You weren't too bad yourself." The vampire complimented, continuing to stroke Milo's mane. She was too competitive for her own good, she knew this, but that didn't mean she wasn't unsportsmanlike. "Do you ride much? You seem like you know what you're doing, unlike some others." She questioned, interest piqued. "Oh, I plan to." She replied with a smile as she shook his hand - there was only so far her sportsmanlike conduct could go.

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Ana leaned against the entrance to On Pitch. They were not open just yet, the girls inside busy setting up the stage and surrounding tables, but she had expected Ralph to arrive and now watched him critically, eyebrow raised. The truth of the matter was that Ana actually, sort of, liked Ralph. She couldn't tell him that of course--she was not about to tell anyone that, much less someone whose name she'd written on the front door as uninvited to even step into the room. But he was a strong personality, someone who generally seemed to get what he wanted, who made his voice known--someone who never failed to entertain--and Ana could respect that. Respect and friendship, however, were very different things.

"I paid for charity, Darling. I'm not going to ask you to repay that. I am not entirely heartless." She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. The way she saw it, the whole event was a scam; they were not paying for items or experiences but to rebuild the aquarium, and that had been accomplished the moment the billionaires entered the little 'contest.' Ana closed the bar door behind her and stepped out into the afternoon. "Believe it or not, I'm..." She hesitated, as if the next word were physically painful for her to speak. "..impressed. Whatever you managed to steal you should consider a great feat. If it's true, at all, that you did steal something of mine. A foolish, endeavor. One that very well may have ended in your death. I respect it. So where are we headed?"

Closed starter for @unlost Location: On Pitch

Leaning against a wall outside with one hand in his pocket, Ralphie was rolling a quarter through the knuckles of the other, a flourish he supposed he had learned from watching movies. Flipping the coin when it reached his thumb, he caught it in the air before rolling forward and marching toward the door. Ralph sighed.

"So...I guess ya paid for an experience and all, but if ya want, I can just tell ya where the thing is." Of all the people in Lunar Cove, he was sure Ana was among those who were least likely to want to spend time with him. "I can't actually afford to reimburse ya or nothing, but it was for a good cause, right?"

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A few years ago, Ana might have taken his words as a threat. Being told to do anything at all might have set her nerves on end. As it was, she took a sip and hummed softly, a sound that was certainly not a sigh of disgust.

"And don't you have drinks on that little ship of yours?" Ana leaned against the bar, raising a single eyebrow in Song's direction. She had spent a night or two--or more--at Shipfaced, lured in by the promise of drinks and cool water, of the ocean on the horizon the moment she was tired of making small talk with drunken men. She had drinks at her own club, On Pitch, as well, so she should know better than to think the thirsty didn't wander to new watering holes, despite perfectly good booze at home. His words almost made a smile twitch into place on her maroon-painted lips. "Betsy--" She nodded her head back toward the mechanical bull. "--is metal, yes, but she's reliable. Easy money, and easier entertainment." She gestured as, at that very moment, a very large, burly man tumbled sideways off the bull and landed flat on his ass. Ana smiled at the sight before turning back to Song.

"Hmmm, later, perhaps." She twirled her straw through her drink, taking the innuendo in stride. "If you keep these coming. I must admit, it's not bad." It was better than 'not bad,' but from Ana, this might as well have been a glowing compliment, an acknowledgment that maybe he did know a bit more about what she liked than she'd expected him to. "Should I expect to see you riding the real bull then?"

"Try it. You'll like it," He said without a semblance of doubt. This hadn't been the first time the two of them had hung out, after all, and he did happen to be somewhat observant. At least enough to know how she preferred her liquor and, while Seo-Joon didn't often flaunt his money with him currently living at, owning and running Shipfaced, he did in fact have a rather substantial fortune behind him.

Song rolled his eyes lightly in her direction, the motion just short of fond before reaching for his own drink. Without breaking eye contact, he lifted the cup to his mouth and took a long, drawn-out sip. His gaze lingered over the rim, the cool metal brushing against his lower lip as his shoulders lifted and fell into an eased shrug. "I came here for a drink, actually. If I were going to ride anything in here, I don't think it would be some robot bull. But, I'll admit your time was impressive."

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Who: Laurel ( @waywardesouls ) Where: Strawberry Picking

Ana had known the Reed family all of their lives--at least the generation born and living within the last 150 years. That she had bedded Laurel's sister on more than one occasion made her, well, familiar with the blonde bunch, though she had rarely had much reason or occasion to speak in depth with Laurel. As she spotted the easily recognizable blonde hair up ahead, Ana stopped beside the same row of strawberry plants as the Reed sister. Her basket was already quite full, as she had a recipe in mind for the bunch.

"This all would be better with a timer, don't you think?" she said idly. "Competition to see who can pick the most the fastest." So much of the rest of the rodeo was competitive, so why should this not be also?

[unlost]

Ana had come in prepared to hate Billie, to pick apart everything from what she was wearing--which, admittedly, did not meet Ana's high expectations--to her sign. She had built an entire character in her head, someone undeserving of Bex, someone undeserving of being a Siren, yet she didn't really know her at all. When she saw the sign the girl had made, she actually snorted in amusement. What Billie said next was just simply surprising. "You're out here, in the heat, protesting something you do not care about when you could be doing literally anything else, because someone asked you to?"

And just like that, Ana was back to her unwarranted judgment of the poor girl, believing her too soft--though too soft for what, exactly, she still wasn't sure. Life, maybe. "What a horrible waste of time." But wasn't Ana here too? She looked around at the crowd, chanting and raising their signs above their heads, then turned back to Billie. "I'll cut to the chase. I've come here looking for you. I've been wanting to speak with you for some time. Walk with me." She gestured beyond the crowd. "You're doing nothing important here anyway."

Billie had just finished making her "this is a sign" sign, and was standing there, marker still out, when Ana came by. Billie thought that wary was probably the right word for how Ana made her feel. Nervous, like she was in the presence of a far more intimidating predator. Years of ingrained training told her to remain on guard. The softer parts of her that kept trying to develop told her that she needed to relax.

"I eat fish," Billie said, offering up a shrug. She probably would have starved if she hadn't. It wasn't exactly the world's fastest swim from the UK to the US, even if she hadn't been injured at the time. That didn't account for the time that she'd had to live in the water before she'd saved enough money for rent. "Someone asked me to join. I would have felt bad if I said no."

[unlost]

"Generally, Darling, people are quite conservative with that ninth. Precious commodity, the final life, etc. etc.." Yet Ana's tone and expression appeared nothing but interested--even impressed. Anyone who would risk their fleeting mortality on stunts and bad ideas had her general respect. Ana's own life--and feelings on death--fluttered somewhere in the middle, aware that she could lose this particular life and its memories at any moment, but also aware that she had a fail safe to call upon and make sure she'd have another chance.

As Poppy straddled her waist, Ana set her drink aside and gave the blonde her full attention, her gaze curious and smirk growing. "I do," she confirmed. Poppy had been in this very position enough times to know it was true. "Hmm..." Ana pretended to consider the moment seriously. "I'm beginning to see your point. You do have excellent form." She placed her hands on either side of Poppy's hips and pulled her a little closer. "My, my, what a responsible leader you are. Always keeping your eyes on what's important." Her own eyes twinkled playfully. "I think I can find time for that. There is always time for Dolly. You have your outfit all picked out already?"

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Giving a smirk as Ana’s eyes drifted down to her low cut top, while normal girls would probably blush or giggle she just stood there on full display. “Look at you educating me on something new.” She teased playfully, before flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. “What can I say I am like a cat whose on eight lives. I gotta use my last one sparingly. Plus, I’m killer at the mechanical bull.” Telling her with a wink before her ears perked up at Ana’s words. “Oh you want to see me straddle something? Well all you had to do was ask.” Letting Ana finish her drink before she carefully took the bottle and put it next to her. Standing up as she walked in front of Ana and she bent down to the other woman’s level. Teasing her for a minute as her mouth hovered over the other woman’s before she put both hands on Ana’s waist and straddled her as she sat down on her lap. “You better not push me off.” She warned with a laugh. “Although if I recall you do rather like when I’m on top of you.” Brushing Ana’s hair away from her face before she put an arm around the other woman’s neck. “Yeah really. I have plenty of tricks you haven’t even begun to see yet.” She informed her. “Oh you know like you said supreme duties. I gotta make an appearance at everything, but also just wanted to watch you. You know see what tricks I could pick up.” Giving a soft laugh. "Are you competing all week? You know if you get some time you should see me impersonate Dolly."

[unlost]

Who: @moonglowmagic (Poppy) and @damagetalkin (Reese) Where: Poppy's House

Throwing (very small, very light) rocks at Poppy's window did actually make Will feel like he was back in high school. His basket had been a cheesy attempt at early 2000s nostalgia, complete with all the cliched aspects of some of his favorite romcoms--and he had many, being an avid connoisseur of the genre. That Poppy, his sister's best friend and someone he'd known quite literally all his life, had bought the basket seemed oddly fitting, like they really were flashing back two decades, back to the days when Poppy was nearly always sitting in his kitchen or sneaking out Reese's window. That he'd been very unclothed while she bought the basket was hardly that out of the ordinary either; Poppy had always seemed like such an integral part of the family, like another sister, that he'd changed in front of her before--whether by the pool or getting ready for football practice--without too much thought. That, and he had very little shame.

Now fully dressed, Will held a boombox above his head as promised and stood under Poppy's window, waiting for her to come down. It might have mimicked perfectly the sort of movie moment he'd been referencing--if his twin sister wasn't standing beside him. "I still don't know why you're here," he hissed. "Shouldn't you be campaigning somewhere, gathering your--what was it--oh yeah, two million dollars?"

[unlost]

option a

Will had signed up to compete in just about everything he could, and if it involved riding a horse or running around, all the better. When the race was finished, he spoke telepathically to his horse as he rode him back to the holding area and dismounted. You did good, buddy, he told the mount. While they waited to hear the results, he turned his attention to the other contenders. "You were great out there," he said to the woman next to him. "And so were you." He projected the compliment to her horse using his animal telepathy. "May the best racer win." He offered her his hand to shake.

option a where : barrel racing, the rodeo

In the year since the camp fire retreat she had headed to the stables when she could to ride, the racing at the camp having reinvigorated her love for it. So here she was, having just done the barrel racing, her hair windblown and heart racing as she and Milo headed back into the holding area, her giving him excited pats. "¡Lo hiciste asombroso, Milo!" She exclaimed running a hand down his neck before swinging a leg over him and jumping off. Such open, childish glee was rare for her and she relished in it. "We might have won that one buddy." She added, beaming at the horse, rein in her hands and blind to the world.

option b where: chili cook-off

Putting her chili down, she had to smirk, knowing it may cause a little drama when people went to eat it. It was a Frankenstein concoction of chili and birria, with a few Carolina Reaper peppers added in for a healthy kick of spice. Feeling someone inch close to her she ladled a serving into a bowl, holding it out to them, cocking her head slightly: "how do you like spice?"

option c where : mechanical bull, sinners

She was enough drinks in that this seemed like a good idea. Was it? Probably not. Did she approach it with the confidence of a professional bull rider? Yes. "Betsy, if you throw me on my ass, before I win my bets, I will figure out how to turn a mechanical bull into a steak." She mock whispered to the mechanical bull before it turned on. She did far better than she thought she would, before she was tossed up, not even the bump to her ego could wipe the cocky smirk on her face as she walked out of the ring, a little dance to her step as she said: "pay up, I won that fair and square."

@lunarcovestarters