#tumble ran around had a healthy appetite even when she was very sick

[awkwardsonicphotos]

Last one for now I promise. One more very hedgehog thing about Sonic. He hides any illness or injuries as best he can.

Hedgehogs are notorious for hiding illnesses from their owners. They will do their best act healthy and strong. Unless an owner is vigilant and knows what to look for, they could easily overlook a sick hedgehog because they are so good at hiding it. (That doesn’t mean the owner is bad or neglectful. Hedgehogs are just scary good at it.)

Unfortunately a lot of owners lose their hedgehogs suddenly because the hedgehog acted the same as they did when they were healthy. It’s a built in prey instinct. They act and look healthy to ward off predators. A lot of times if a hedgehog starts to act sick it may be too late. If you ever suspect your hedgehog is sick always take them to the vet. Don’t wait.

[thehauntrpg-blog]

Name: Iris King-Blair Age Range: 37 Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Occupation: Owner of Great Madam’s Status: TAKEN by jace

You always knew what you were going to get out of your life, your childhood spent tallying sums for your mother’s businesses. Security is a word that you’ve learned to treasure, the opportunities for it few and far between in this town. You think you find it in a man who seemingly had all the money in the world—or at least in Sallybrook, which for you was pretty much the same thing. Soon, however, his money ran out but yours didn’t. Under your hand, the businesses you inherited from your mother turns you into one of the richest people in the town. Other people know you as stingy and uptight, but you don’t much care for their opinion. All that matters to you now are the workers you have under your care, like children you never had. You have their affection and that is all you need in this town.

Dominik: Your husband. You wonder if you ever really loved him now, or if it was only their money that made you drawn to them. Still, you’re comfortable enough that you don’t want to leave them. That doesn’t stop your many affairs, though, and it certainly doesn’t stop you from constantly looking for more than what you settled with.

Antonio: Your little brother. You love them more than anything, always having been incredibly close, you supported them through all of their ventures in life. When they came back to town, you immediately let them move in with you and Dominik, and got them a job working with you at Great Madam’s. They handle the customers and marketing, and you handle the financials and business side of things. It’s a perfect team. It always has been.

faceclaim: Elodie Yung

tw: miscarriage, slight depersonalization, alcohol mention, adultery mention

i.

The first eighteen years of her life were spent in the place she adored most, in the shadow of her mother.

She was always too smart. That’s what her mother always used to say. The cleverest daughter she ever could have hoped for, following behind her, diligently taking notes as her mother conducted business. Iris used to tease her mother that they were as close to gangsters as small town Sallybrook could get, with more money being exchanged than most the town would see in their entire lives. But as her mother laughed loudly at her daughter’s words, Iris grew knowing it was all too true.

Her mother was just about everything on the books, and even more off the books. With a darling little bakery that made the cutest little pies and accompanied by that charisma and charm Iris and Antonio had inherited, it was no surprise her mother had people handing her money before they realized exactly what they had signed on for.

Yet, there was the dark side to her mother that she remembered almost as clearly as that silky sweet voice and that boisterous laugh. She’d witnessed her mother letting someone get beaten for not paying her what they owed or for damaging her good name. Her mother had her sharp edges, and Iris knew in time, she would learn to have those just as she had learnt to have her quick wit and charm.

And maybe being a gangster wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Iris supposed she was more a pimp, a young Madam in the making, but her mother’s collection of businesses, the arsenal of people willing to do just about anything for their family, all felt very “Godfather” to young Iris. Maybe at most, her mother was a loan shark, low on the criminal hierarchy, but high enough to be making more money than necessary.

Perhaps she always took herself too seriously, at least, that’s what her mother would say. But stability was a currency Iris craved, and when her mother’s businesses hit a dry patch, when the brothel wasn’t bringing in as much as they used to, she watched her family’s savings dwindle down to next to nothing. Their life of abundancy seemingly over, and Iris knew she wanted wealth and safety all over again, no matter what. All her mother’s illegal businesses shutdown, and all that remained was the tiny bakery, with the old, closed brothel tucked away underneath. They would remain comfortable, well off enough that they could survive, but Iris was always longing to see them thrive once more.

ii.

It seemed her life could only tumble into a downward spiral, and she’s barely eighteen when the pregnancy test reads positive. It’s a pathetic scene, sitting on the toilet in a bathroom stall, her hands cover her eyes, the test dropped somewhere on the floor. She’s crying so loud she’s sure anyone who entered was drowned out by her sobs, the only sound to rival her are the occasional flushes from the stalls around her. With no money, no plan, and no knowledge of who the father was, Iris had every intention to get rid of the development growing inside of her.

Iris thought she could be sneaky – simply cover her pregnancy behind thin lipped smiles and a feigned interest in her mother’s legal business. Her mother played along, allowing her daughter shifts at the bakery, giving her a small wage. But soon her appetite disappeared and even being around food made her sick to her stomach. Still, she thought she’d fooled her mother, her frequent trips to the bathroom always while her mother’s head was turned. Her mother eventually lets her go, says she’s not ready to handle the bakery, a knowing look quick and pointed, but just flying over Iris’s head.

Her mother doesn’t even feign surprise when her daughter starts showing. It isn’t until they’re sitting in the home office, calculating that month’s intake, when her mother finally broke her silence. “So, you’re keeping it, right?” Her mother asked it so casually, not even bothering to look up from her checkbook, that Iris can only stare, dumbfounded. Her mother finally drew her gaze to her daughter, setting her pin down. She gestured at the small but plump stomach her daughter was forming. “The child, Iris.”

She could only shrug and nod, her eyes wide as fear settled in. Graduation had occurred only three days prior, a nice high school diploma tucked under her bed, and motherhood now waiting around the corner. She felt like those men her mother had talked to, the kind she’d had beaten when they didn’t pay up. But instead of the snap of her mother’s fingers and a set of fists to Iris’ face, she was greeted instead by her mother’s footsteps as she rounded the desk, and her arms wrapping around her. “All is well, love.”

And suddenly, Iris felt, maybe things would turn out okay.

iii.

Things never turn out quite as expected with Iris, and as her stomach grew, something never felt quite right, despite every doctor her mother took her to telling her she was healthy, and everything was going along just right. Perhaps it was the fear that her child would grow and vanish like many children in Sallybrook, or maybe she was surprised by how much she had begun longing her child’s arrival. Iris never knew she could want something so unexpected, something unplanned, something so far from secure and assured, until she had gone to her first ultra sound.

It was July when it happened, when Iris woke up wrong. She felt a twist in her gut, something so wrenching and awful she needed to go to the bathroom. Iris assumed it was just morning sickness, figured it had been from spending too long in the bakery once more. She barely made it out of bed before she collapsed, a pool of blood spilling out all around her.

Her screaming brought her mother to her room, and her mother dragged her to the bath, her mother’s soft coos and the blood-stained bathwater the only things she could focus on as she struggled to remain conscious.

“This isn’t your fault.” Her mother whispered, damp rag on her head. “None of this is your fault.” Iris listened, but didn’t respond, watching the water turn dark, redder, as more blood left her. Iris waited for death to come, to drag her away just like the developing child. But her mother’s whispering, the lit candles and the herbs thrown in the water kept her stable, kept her alive. Her mother hadn’t explained, she hadn’t said why she knew it wasn’t her fault, but with the candles lit, and the soft humming from her mother’s lips, Iris felt as if she knew. Even if her mother didn’t believe it to be true – Iris was convinced this was the Haunt’s doing.

Her child had been stolen before they could even leave her body.

iv.

Life after that morning didn’t feel quite as real. She couldn’t bring herself to care about anything, just a ghost walking around her house, tired and fragile. In the fall, she went to college, intending to get her degree in business, just as planned.

Her mother was excited to see her daughter pursuing things, and Iris called her younger brother as often as she could, hearing of his life, feigning interest in the things that happened to him. She relayed stories of her campus as if she cared about them at all. Iris learned to master raising her voice to sound animated and involved, went to parties and got blackout drunk, woke up with strangers and pretended to be having the time of her life.

But she didn’t feel alive. Not until she met him.

Maybe it was destiny that she would meet Dominik after dealing with such grief. Maybe the universe had decided that she deserved something good for once, after all the pain. Whatever the case, she fell for him hard. She fell for that mysterious gaze of his, the way his eyes seemed to be searching for all sorts of answers. She fell for the way he looked at her and the smile he brought to her lips when he said her name. Maybe the real reason she fell for him was truly the way his pockets seemed to be flushed with cash. She wasn’t sure, but Iris couldn’t deny the way her heartbeat sped up around him, the blush pulled to her cheeks at his gaze. He had made her remember what it was like to feel, and she couldn’t deny how good it felt when she was with him. And he seemed drawn to her and it all just seemed like fate. And Iris knew no matter what they all said, she did truly love him. For a time.

Iris was blinded by this magnificent, pure feeling, that she didn’t think they were moving too fast, despite the look on her mother’s face when she first brought Dominik home. But she waved around that rock of a ring like it was her saving grace, like he was her saving grace. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted Dominik, for all his cash and brains and even his looks. So, she married him, and hoped for once she would ride off into her fairytale ending, the sunset staining their sky orange.

v.

But Sallybrook gave far less than it took.

Iris and Dominik tried the happy newlywed routine, Iris trying so very hard to cling to her love for him, avoiding the way her eyes wandered to others, the people she daydreamed of when with Dominik. Guilt filled her thoughts, and she knew her love for him had faded almost as quickly as it had grown, and as she stared at their wedding pictures she couldn’t feel anything – just another chapter in her life that misfired, execution not as enchanting as the fantasy.

Then his money left, and her guilt vanished, replaced with anger and disgust. Now she was broke and unhappy, and she didn’t fight the feeling that it was all his fault. She didn’t love him anymore, and now she couldn’t even sate herself with the luxury of his money.

She watched her days repeat themselves like a curse someone cast on her. It wasn’t long before she realized she was again with child, and she couldn’t even gather an ounce of happiness before her body trembled and bled, letting go of another child before it could even enter the world.

She decided then, if she could not have all the power, riches, and children she desired, she would at least have her simple pleasures attended to.

So, Iris danced her long nights with her demons, her lips against whiskey bottles, her hands on the hips of strangers. Her charisma was electrifying, they always said. The people she fell for all said she was something so addicting, they just couldn’t get enough. And Iris could only laugh and offer a smile, drowning her failed marriage in alcohol, seeking out extramarital affairs as if they could fill the gaping hole that had grown inside of her.

vi.

She’s not sure what exactly woke her from her lull, perhaps it was the news of her mother’s illness that had her trying to find something else in her life to have meaning. She set her sights on the bakery and brothel her mother would leave behind for her, and she suddenly felt a drive she’d thought she’d lost long ago. Children would never be her future, nor would love and a soulmate to spend her happiest moments with.

No. Her true dynasty awaited in rebirthing her mother’s empire into its former glory.

She got to work almost immediately, gathering the people to work, using the skills she’d learned in her youth, and rebuilt the brothel. From the escorts to the security, she had remade her mother’s world into her own image. It was to be grand and breathtaking, sophisticated and elite – only the best of the best for the best of the best. She trained her escorts with a loving hand and a stern gaze, shaping them into her design.

Iris beckoned her mother to come out one night, led her down the basement of the bakery and revealed to her the brothel, up and running once more. The place filled with high paying clientele and the escorts all sultry smiles and wandering hands. Her mother swelled with pride, grasping her daughter’s hand, telling she knew she would do right by her.

Their family was setting out to be the richest in Sallybrook once again, with Iris leading the campaign.

vii.

But even with all the money in the world, she could not stop her mother’s passing. Every day that passed by her mother paled and got smaller, like she would soon turn to dust before Iris’ very eyes. Her mother had always preferred natural remedies and refused any assistance from the professional medical field that her daughter offered.

So, Iris watched her mother die as her empire rose, her money returning thrice over. When the time finally came to bury her, Iris made the grandest funeral Sallybrook had ever seen. No expense spared, the event was even documented by the local news. It was a grand ceremony, exquisite and beautiful, just like her mother had been. The people most loyal to her mother cried alongside Iris, their quiet stories of the woman she’d been pouring over from the twilight hours to the early morning.

And somewhere in the background, there was Dominik. Her husband who probably didn’t deserve her countless affairs, but who had become something of a relic she kept in her house, like an antique from an era of her life. He didn’t bother her, and she certainly didn’t bother him, and their marriage fell into nothing more than a legal document stashed in their home office.

Iris grew into the shadow her mother had left behind, charismatic enough to get people to say yes before they realize how much they’re paying, and men swinging bats when clientele forget to pay or dare to mistreat her workers. She grew to care for everyone in the Great Madam’s as if they were her own, a collection of misfits and runaways in desperate need of money, attention, and affection, and Iris can’t help but oblige.

Maybe she was meant to lead and protect, and with her cash and power, she intends to do just that. Sallybrook might try to take all it can from her and her own, but Iris intends to take it all right back.