#we call her a deer because that’s the closest thing our minds can connect to her appearance

[darkling-er]

Piety Knob || Chapter 1

Summary: In 2017 Juniper Blackwood moves into a small town with her aunt because of a job opportunity thanks to distant family. Juniper was always homeschooled so she's unfamiliar with everything at her new town, and a new school to fit in with strangers. With noone to really talk to, she dwells in the mysteries of the town, while finding out secrets about her family and herself as well..

Parts: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 coming soon

Characters: Piety Knob OCS (see under Piety Knob intros tag)

The car ride from the airport is longer than expected. It's not like I didn't google the whole trip and count how long it would take, but actually experiencing a 16 hour long car ride is way different from theory. Perry, my aunt, is being cheerful without a stop since we packed our things in Chicago to move to the distant little town in Oregon, Detroit.

"We should be near to family, Juniper, you'll see how good it will be for you!" she said when she announced that she got a job in my hometown. I was excited for her, truly, she had such an awful job back in Chicago, her boss was mean to her all the time and she recieved a way too low paycheck after the plus hours she was working.

Finally she got a chance to start over in a small town, with people she already knew and liked so I guessed why not. Why not leave behind the town I grew up in and mostly loved to a place I hardly even remembered other than from my aunt's tales when I was little. At the age of four when people only remember insignificant events like there was a time when a butterfly flew on my mom's shoulder and my dad tried to catch it. Or when I hurt my knee in the backyard and my aunt scolded me for being so wild when playing. Not Perry, mind you, my other aunt, from my mother's side, Primrose.

And here I am in the overheated backseat of my aunt's old station wagon. It smells old, mixed with smells of used leather, overheated plastic and the burgers we ate a couple hours ago for lunch.

It's close to noon, which I can tell from the direction of the sun in the sky - I had to rely on such primitive modes since both my and my aunt's phone died due to lack of charge - which greets us sometimes when it reaches over the tall pine trees that sorround the main road to Detroit.

Perry promised to take me on many trips after we moved in to the Stantiam State Forest.

I look from the phenomenal view to the front seat and ask Perry:

"How is Church doing?" I look to our old tabby, who sleeps peacefully in her carriage.

"Wonderful, after he puked on my best traveling shoe back at the drivers' parkinglot."

Perry says sarcastically but looks lovingly at the cat for a second before turning her attention back to the road.

"How are you darling?" she asks looking at me through the rearview mirror.

"Good." I smile and I believe I manage to convince her because she smiles back and drives happily towards that hellhole.

I practiced smiling like that for a long time before talking to aunt Periwinkle about moving to Oregon. It's not the nature I have the problem with, the lack of city noise. I actually love the idea of being somewhere quiet and nice. Somewhere I can actually breath clear air.

But the thought of leaving my home and the place I was so used to terrified me in a way I never thought it could.

Maybe a repressed childhood fear, I reckoned. Moving meaning to lose something I love, just when I was four. Losing both my parents than having to move to my aunt Perry, who was my closest next to kin. Meanwhile my sister stayed there with Primrose. I never understood why was that, and truly Perry couldn't explain it either, it was some mix up with my father's and mother's last will. That's why I've barely met my sister, Betty or my other aunt. I got a card and some cash for my birthday from them always, with some petty excuse of not being able to visit me and meet. On Christmas it was our turn to go to them, but Perry having terrible pay at her work made that difficult as well.

I'm not saying it's all their fault. We could have called or texted any time, it's 2017 for God's sake. But it was too awkward and forced so we stopped trying to connect with my sister.

Now that we'll move there, I don't really know what to expect from this sudden change. I would prefer to skip any small talk with them, but if Perry will persist, which I know she will, I will try for her sake.

She always put me in first in her life since my parent's accident, it's only fair I try and make it up for her.

Doing all this thinking I only realize that Perry was talking as she calls my name probably for not the first time:

"Juniiii? Earth to Juniper, is anyone home?"

I roll my eyes and smile.

"Of course, sorry I was daydreaming."

She dismisses it with a smirk.

"I was only saying now that you'll attend high school maybe you'll get a chance to meet a boy."

I make an annoyed sound and bury my head in my hand.

"What? Stooop, no!"

She shrugs in reply.

"Or a girl, I don't judge, you know me."

I shake my head and look out the window again.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say any of that."

Perry chuckles with amusement then turns her attention to the road.

"Whatever."

The rest of the trip is boring, we almost hit a deer at one point, which freaks Perry out the most, then Church, who acts wild in her special carriage 'cage'. I on the other hand just want to catch some sleep and recharge my phone so I can return to socialization. Jeez, I'm really one of those people who can't live without their phone for a longer period. Longer meaning hours, it's ridiculous.

I would read something, but all my books are in the new house, we sent the moving truck way ahead so at least when we arrive in the new house all our things will be there.

After what seems like ages I notice an old, mossy sing with the usual welcome messeage. 'Welcome to Detroit, Oregon. Stay for a while.'

"Well that sounds like what a desperate husband would say to her wife when they are having a divorce." I let the comment slip out of my mouth and Perry shushes me but I see her trying not to let out a chuckle.

When we finally reach the house it's already dark and I feel terribly tired after the long drive.

"I want to sleep for a month." i comment as Perry parks the car in the driveway. She nods in agreement and we step outside the old station wagon.

I breath in deeply the summer warm but fresh air and let my body to be free from sitting all day long. I strech my arms and legs with a low growl, then take out Church's cage from the front seat.

Perry is already at the door, all fast and excited even after the trip, like it was nothing to her, just a five minute trip to the store or something.

She lets out an excited squel searching for the right keyes in her hand as I close the car with an exhausted sigh and join her at the doorway.

She looks at me with a grin excited for both of us.

"This is gonna be so great, sweetie! I'm going to make you something for dinner, maybe you can unpack a little in your room?"

"Sure thing, Captain."

She doesn't mind my sarcastic tone as she lets the front door fling open so our new home can greet us.

Periwinkle steps in first and I follow her inside, locking the door behind me.

It's a two story building, all wooden and bricks. It looks cozy, it's definitely bigger than our flat in Chicago.

It has a half-deck to the front door. A garage and an attic. Basically the attic is the second store to the house. My room as Perry told me. Two bathrooms, one downstairs next to Perry's room and one upstairs next to mine.

The living room is open and is connected to the kitchen. Other than that it looks pretty simple, no guest rooms or a cellar. We don't need them anyway.

I like the style of the house. It's like the one from Oregon Trail. The window shutters and doors are painted to a deep green, like the color of the pines around the house.

The moving company did a great job with the furniture, though we mostly left everything behind. We only brought the old couch and the Perry's wardrobe with us. I didn't need anything in my room, all my stuff could fit in three boxes and that was pretty much all I really cared about. Things are just things, the people around us is what matters. My mom used to say that, according to Perry. I like that thought.

I set down Church in the living room and let her out of the carrier. As soon as she knows it's freedom for her she runs to Perry in the kitchen.

I hear my aunt chuckle from next to the stove as I go upstairs towards my room.

It's a narrow stair, followed by a similarly narrow hall which ends in two doors. First I assume is to my room and next to it is the bathroom.

I open up the door which creaks with an eery sound. From the pictures Perry showed me it looked a lot smaller but now stepping into it I immediately smile. It's small alright, but looks cozy with the two windows looking down to the small town and lake, somewhat covered by the pine trees.

My bed is right under those windows, and it has a wardrobe, a desk and a small bookshelf.

I can already imagine stacking up the walls with polaroid pictures I took ages ago in Chicago with the posters of movies I always watch with uncle Gabe. He lives in Salem, so I'm also excited to meet with him more often.

He couldn't help us to move from the airport because he was out on a job, but he called us and said he would visit next thing tomorrow.

I look at the boxes that the moving company put down in the middle of my new room and I start to open the up and unpack my things. Just some clothes, I never was really that into fashion and having a lot of clothes to wear. My books are the next, which I immediately put on the bookshelf above my desk, and some other trinkets, such as my laptop and charger. I search for a place to plug it in my phone.

"Arise!" I say dramatically and put it down to charge on it's own.

Now my main goal is to put on something comfortable and go down and eat whatever is smelling so good downstairs.

I put on a button up shirt which is way too baggy for me, I got it from my dad. Well I found it in a box that had my dad's belongings in it. My mom's stuff stayed with my sister and aunt Primrose.

It covers the short I'm having on and in this summer heat it's perfect and comfy. I run down the stairs towards the kitchen and meet my aunt with a new sense of energy.

"What are we eating, I'm starving!"

She looks at me with a smile and holds up the plates.

"Bacon and eggs.. Right from the locals."

"My precious..." I make a lame impression and we eat our food in less then a couple of minutes.

"I'm gonna go wash up. You should too, and get ready to bed. We have to go into town tomorrow, I have to meet with my new boss and we have to sing you into high school before august starts!"

With no time to argue she heads into the bathroom downstairs and I hear the water starting. I sigh and look at Church who is already licking up our empty plates. I pet her and say to her.

"You are very lucky to not have to go to work or school."

With no response other than some purring I fill up the washer with the dishes. Just as I would head back upstairs to have a quick shower then hit the sack there's a knock coming from the door.

I look toward Perry's bathroom then I sigh and put on a tired smile before going to answer the door.

As the front door swings open the cool air comes inside the house making me have goosebumps all over my body. I hear the sound of crickets and I look upwards to meet the eyes of a stranger.

He looks to be in his late thirties, with slicked back short hair and a small mustache above his mouth. He wears a suitjacket with a v neck grey shirt and some very 'important looking shoes'.

His salesman smile falters for a moment when he looks me up and down and I realize I look like a girl with only a shirt on. I immediately feel uncomfortable for multiple reasons.

"Umm... Can I help you?" I ask because he hasn't said a word yet and I want to close the door on his face already.

"I hope you can. I'm Damian Forrester, mayor of the town. And hereby welcome you and your lovely family to our community."

I nod but I find it extremely odd that he came all the way up here to just introduce himself in the middle of the night.

"I see..." I say clearly uncomfortable under his eyes. It's like he's a robot, his smile never fades or changes on his face.

I'm seemingly being rude as he raises his eyebrows.

"And you are.."

I try to conjure some politeness up, even though I'm feeling grumpy and tired by late night smalltalk. You never see the mayor of Chicago knock at your door to introduce himself and welcome you to town.

"Juniper Blackwood." i say standoffishly.

"Ah. Yes! Rose talked a lot about you coming to town... And your other aunt of course."

I look at him weirdly before asking.

"Then why did you ask my name if you already knew it?"

There's a moment of awkwardness and his unfaltering smile starts to scare me. I can almost see a twitch in his eye like I made him mad, but it's gone before I could interpret it like it was never there.

I hold the door awkwardly and I can't stand his gaze any longer so I look behind him. It's only then when I notice the very expensive looking car and next to it the presumed driver. He looks out of place, wearing similar clothing to a car mechanic, with a name tag on it. I try to read it from the distance but it only has a handdrawn smiley face on it. The wearer himself looks in his thirties, his hair buzzed at the sides, but letting it grow longer. Like he regretted the hairstyle and wants to regrow it. The rest is slicked back, but not like Mr. Mayor here, but more messier, like he used the product on his hair days ago and it's use is growing weaker.

He leans on the car door, looking bored and off to the distance.

Mr. Creepy smile notices my sudden change of attention and looks back at the driver as well.

"Don't mind Marcus, he doesn't have any manners."

At the mention of his name he lazily looks at the mayor and then at me. He doesn't come up to introduce himself or even just to break a smile, he just stands there looking.

Okay, this is getting creepy, it's like looking at Frankenstein and Igor. I think.

As if I had said the joke out loud Igor 'Marcus' shakes his head with a chuckle and looks at his wrist to check the time. Yeah, I would like you two to leave as well.

"So.. You need anything, Mr. Mayor?"

I turn my attention back to Creepy Smiles. He looks surprised at the title.

"No, I just wanted to welcome you to town... Is your aunt in?"

He tries to look inside the house and I know he wants to get invited in, but I am not going to do that. Even if I get a scolding for it later from Perry.

"She's having a shower. We are both very tired actually. We have to do some paperwork tomorrow and unpack as well, so.."

He looks from the house to me again, not forgetting the salesman grin.

"Of course, I'm sorry for the late intrusion. I'm sure we'll meet soon again. My wife is inviting you two to the ball we are having this weekend. Please come, have a laugh. I'm sure you would like my son, he's similar to your age."

I fake a smile, in my head already planning to forget to mention this invite to Perry.

"I surely will." I lie. "Goodnight."

He's ready to leave the porch as he waves goodbye and gets inside the car. The driver looks at me again before entering the vehicle.

"Nice legs." He says with a cheeky grin and I can't help but make a face and shut the door.

Who the fuck... I think angrily and go up to my bathroom. Who the hell invites people to a ball in the 21st century anyways.

With those thoughts I lay in my bed after the quick shower and I quickly fall asleep.

tags: @onl-you

A/N: hope anyone who sees this likes it even just remotely. 😂💕 SORRY ITS ON MOBILE I COULDNT ADD KEEP READING LINK

[kxronin]

Week 13 a short story

Here is part 1 to a short story I am writing

        “TOBY,JOHN lets go! And why do you walk so slow Sarah?” I  said

 “Maybe you should slow down” Toby grumbled.

 “We dont all walk as fast as you do!” Sara remarked. 

          Toby is a big grumbler in other words he grumbles a lot but he can be a very hard worker.. when he puts his mind to it. He is a few months younger than me but he's 15 years old. We've known each other since we were born we grew up the same neighborhood and he has even lived with me for a couple of years.. and we also have been going to the same school. John the oldest one in our family / friend but more like family group is the oldest of all of us he 17 and next month he'll be 18. He's strong and dependable and not scared to do anything. He's also very kind and the reason I know him is because I like his sister Sarah. Well I've known her since we were 5 years old ,we're the same age, and we went to the same elementary School and then moved to the same middle and now we're currently going to the same high School. She is super smart and she's not afraid to stand up for what is right. If there is a kid being bullied at school she's the first one to step in to defend… NO MATTER who it's up against!  By that point usually her older brother sees it and then that's when it all calms down. However there have been a few instances where she had to get down and dirty and fight the person. She can definitely hold her own against most of the guys,even some of the older guys won't mess with kids while she's around. And I guess I should probably introduce myself my name is ATou and I'm 16. I personally don't like talking about myself because I think it's kind of a showboat, so I just repeat what other people think about me: " I'm extremely kind,I'm smart, I'm likable, I play well with others , not afraid to say what the right thing is, I like protecting others, I'm extremely energetic and ready to go the next thing." And that is just about it.

    

       "How far away are we" Toby grumbled again. While Sarah is asking John to carry her on his back. "It's not that far!" I exclaimed."it's just over this hill." As we came down the hill there was this weird Stone gate just sitting in the woods. 

"I found it yesterday while tracking a deer that I shot." I said "We're about 3 miles in the northwestern woods… WHY were you all the way out here! " John asked 

" Well I was running after it the whole time until it came up the hill we just came up.After I got to the top and look down I couldn't see it ,I was right behind it the whole time but all I could see was this weird gate." I replied 

"You drag us all the way out here just to show us a weird-looking stone gate that  doesn't even have a fence connected to it with some crazy writing on it!" Tobe exasperatedly exclaimed.

"There's writing on it?"Sarah asked curiously. 

" How about we just get closer and look at it!" John and I exclaimed simultaneously. 

With two big smiles ,a curious face ,and a begrudging one the four of us got inches away from the big Stone gate. After we looked at the writing ,all over it, for a long time we decided we pull out our phones and go to Google translate. After Google translate didn't work we went to Google images and took a few pictures to see if it would identify what it is or if someone else has seen it before… and it showed nothing.  

   " Well after walking all around it only one more thing to do... We Need To Walk Through It!" I said excitedly.

"What if it falls." Sarah said scarcely.

"we've been walking around and touching it this whole time if it would have fallen it would have done so by now." John said 

"OK, IM GOING FIRST!" I said. So I ran through and as soon as I passed through, I jumped and turned around and said "TADAAA". 

John said " I'll go next then" after he walk through he said "see nothing to worry about."after that Sarah said "okay fine my turn " and came bulldozing through and almost knocked me over. After explaining the benefits to walking through the gate to Toby he finally said "okay I will." See.. that wasn't so har..  !!!!CRACK!!!!!! WHAT WAS THAT!!Sarah Exclaimed 

me ,jumping back turning around and looking from the direction the noise came, there was a big crack in The stonegate that we just walk through . Just as I was about to say "look at the crack  ITS HUGE!"The stonegate crumbled to the floor.

"SEE I TOLD YOU IT WOULD FALL !!!! WHAT IF THAT HAPPENED WHILE WE WERE UNDER IT!!!!" SARAH SAID ANGRILY .

As John was saying that we should leave now I noticed something that is never true for the northwestern woods.

"Hey guys" I said "everybody be quiet what do you hear"

"Nothing" Toby said exasperatedly 

"Exactly "John piped up "northwestern woods are never quiet there is always birds chirping and rustling of the leaves."

"Yeah but do you think the big crack scared all the birds and animals quiet?" Sarah asked. 

"Yeah maybe but there's always a cool breeze that blows all the way through these woods year round." I said. "And it is just stagnant."

As soon as Toby was about to say something all of our phones started vibrating extremely aggressively. VVVVVVVVVVVT. VVVVVVVVT VVVVVVVVVVVT VVVVVVVVT VVVVVVVVVVVT "what is going on"  ask Sarah. As soon as she ask that Toby said "I don't feel so good" and collapsed to the floor after that John sat down and then fell to his side unconscious ,Sarah was falling and I caught her but before I had a chance to ask her what's wrong she was already out cold. When I laid her down on the floor I started to feel it , it was more like a headache painful and Sharp ,everything started to get fuzzy struggling to keep my eyes open I went down on to all fours. Our phones kept vibrating viciously then the wind started to blow and howell creating a vortex of leaves all around us. Struggling to see my phone's screen all I could make out was the word error error. That word and read on a black screen kept glitching to different parts of the screen and then finally it all went black.

…..wake up…. wake up!! … As I'm opening my eyes I get five fingers and a Palm worth of a punch to the gut. OOOOOOFFFF !!! "IM UP " I said gasping for breath. "I told you that would work " Sarah said. 

"Where are we" I said"why aren't we still in the forest and when did we get on this dirt road?" 

" I don't know" said John" I was the first one to wake up and this is where I woke up... we are all laying here"

"Where is here" Toby said in a still complaining voice. 

After discussing amongst ourselves for about 10 minutes we decided we'd start walking down the dirt road until we met someone. Where we were at was nowhere like the Northwest woods there are very few trees and it was rolling hills of flourishing green grass. After walking for what seemed like hours , there was finally a man in  a cart being pulled buy a WOLF the size of a horse! After seeing this we were all speechless. The man stopped because we waved him down but we didn't realize what was pulling the cart till I got close. That's when in my mind I realized we weren't on Earth anymore. The man asked us if we were okay but we didn't say anything until I spoke up asking where the nearest city was. 

"Your not from around here are you?" the man said.

"Not quite" John facetiously said 

"Well the closest town is about 10 hours away from here by foot. But I can take you on the cart if you would like it should only take around 5 hours. I'm headed that way anyways." the man said

So we all got on the cart and started riding. It was silent for the first few minutes and then we went to the back of the carriage and start talking amongst ourselves. We came to a conclusion that we weren't on Earth anymore but we had to find out more information about this new place that we are at. As were riding along we started a conversation with the man asking him about the place where at and where is the biggest city located. He told us that we obviously didn't know much but he was very kind and gave us all the information we needed to know. He told us about the two kingdoms the kingdom that we are in now it's called the zodiac kingdom and have States for each one of the zodiac signs. At the center of all the zodiac States there is what they call the zodiac King which is the capital of the whole nation. The other kingdom is the kaido's kingdom. The kaido's kingdom and the zodiac kingdom are currently at war with each other, and all the outer zodiac States are a complete war zone.he told us that the state that were in are one of the inner four zodiac States closest to the Capitol. And the town that we are going to is the closest town to the capital. It's starting to get dark now and the man turns to Sarah and asks if she can pass him a lamp. She hands him a lamp and then something crazy happened. He opens the lamp door ,snaps his finger and a flame appears on his finger tip and precedes to light the lamp. With all of our mouths to the bottom of the carriage gazing at what just happened he turned and looked at us with a confused look on his face and said: " what are y'all looking at you guys act like you've never seen magic before!" 

                                 TO BE CONTINUED

I'm not going to be able to post the next part of the short story every week but I am going to try to get it all done quickly.

Thank you

[tetrakys]

Five Songs - Chapter 3: La Tortura

I was walking around campus towards the library. Even though the last couple of weeks had been calmer and I was slowly catching up with my thesis, a part of me was still worried and I knew I had to step up my game. Since it was already pretty late I thought it made sense to stay up and pull an all-nighter in the library. By the end of the nigh I was going to at least have completed a draft of the first chapter.

The other day I googled How to pull an all-nighter (yes, this was my first time, I had never been such a meticulous student before) and the first item of the list was, understandably, coffee, lots and lots of coffee. I looked at the time on my phone, it was really late. Damn it, I should have gotten some at the café, no way I was going back there now though. I sighed, the horrible vending machine coffee was my only option. I stopped in my tracks and changed direction, the closest vending machine was in the Art Building’s break room.

I went up the stairs and entered the building. The place gave a really eerie feeling at night. I made a mental note to tell Chani there was no need to travel around the country looking for haunted mansions, she just needed to walk around campus at night. I quickly walked towards the break room but I suddenly froze. I had definitely heard a muffled noise coming from the corridor on my right.

Come on Candy! Don’t be stupid, it’s just your imagination. Yes, of course… but then I heard the noise again. No reason to start panicking. Nothing supernatural was going on here, it wasn’t the first time I heard strange noises in dark places at night and it always ended up being my aunt! It had already happened in this same building at least a couple of times already. I instantly felt relieved, I should look for her and say hi, maybe she would even give me a present!

I followed the direction of the noise and ended up in front of a non-descriptive door I had never seen before. I entered the room without knocking and stopped dead in my tracks, like a deer in the headlights.

“Candy?” said the man behind the desk looking at me confused “What are you doing here?”

I was in Rayan… Mr Zaidi’s office. He was sitting behind a pile of documents, the room was dimly lit by just the lamp on the desk, but I could tell that he looked quite tired and… were those reading glasses he was wearing?

“Candy?” he repeated and I woke up from my stupor, how was I going to explain this? I really didn’t do it on purpose.

“I’m sorry… I was going to the break room and heard a noise and… and…” I was just fumbling for words. “I won’t disturb you any longer” I was about to close the door when he spoke.

“Wait” he said “come in” he pointed at a chair in front of his desk “what I really want to know is what are you doing in this building at this hour of the night.”

I sighed, entered the office closing the door behind me and sat on the chair. However I pushed it back to create a bit more distance between him and me. As if a few inches would make any difference, but I really didn’t trust my judgment when I was alone with this man, and I knew that a desk separating us wasn’t insurance enough.

“I was going to the library to study and stopped to get some coffee” I said looking at my fingers.

He was silent for a few moments and then said calmly “Candy… look at me.”

I hesitantly raised my gaze to meet his, he was smiling at me sweetly “Candy, you shouldn’t be so worried about your studies. You are a serious student and have a brilliant mind, you really have nothing to worry about, believe me.”

“How… how can you be so sure?” I asked surprised and a little flattered by his compliment.

“I am your professor” he replied as if that was a really dumb question “No one knows better than I do. Also, your thesis topic is really interesting, I am sure it’s going to be a pleasure reading it once it’s done.” He smiled and I couldn’t help smiling back at him. A sudden thought seemed to cross his mind because he added abruptly “Go get some sleep now, it’s really too late to study, you can start afresh tomorrow morning.” And went back to study his papers without giving me a second look.

That annoyed me. Had he just dismissed me? For work? It was too late for me to study but he could work?

“Pardon me… sir” I said remarking the last word. He had called me by my first name the whole time, which was perfectly fine since we had decided to be friends or… whatever this was, why treating me warmly one second and cold the next? “Isn’t it also too late to work?”

He looked at me raising an highbrow. I thought he was going to kick me out of his office when he sighed, took off his glasses and said “Touché.”

He got up from his chair, walked around the desk and leaned on its edge, right in front of me. So close that our feet were almost touching and I had to slightly tilt my head to look him in the eyes. “Believe me or not I was actually trying to relax.”

I looked at him doubtful and he laughed a little “it’s not really the type of music people would expect in an Art department.” Only then I registered that he was actually listening to… latin music? “Which is a really stupid assumption to make, as if any art historian is supposed to only love jazz or classical music.” He shook his head. “The volume must have been higher than I thought though… since it lead you to me.”

My heart skipped a beat at the ambiguous way he had expressed himself. He smirked “You should try… you know… latin music is very… sensual. The best way to take your mind off things.”

Was he trying to embarrass me? Well, two could play that game. “Depends on what you are actually trying to get your mind off, otherwise it could be counter-productive.”

He sniggered “Very true. But this is not really the case, isn’t it? Get up, I am going to give you another dance lesson, after that night on the beach we both know you really need it.”

Funny. Was he trying to make me think that all this pent up sexual frustration was only in my head by pretending to act innocently? It wasn’t really his modus operandi, he had always been pretty straight-forward with me… to a certain point. I briefly considered what had happened between us until now. More than once he had admitted to feeling something, a connection, and ended up backing away immediately. He had touched my lips and my shoulders and apologised right away saying it could never happen again. Was he actually playing me?! Was he trying to seduce me wearing me to the point that I would be the one making the first move so that, in the end, it was all my fault? Again, two could play this game, I wasn’t going to give in first. Also, I wasn’t as clumsy as he thought I was.

Shakira’s La Tortura started playing. I moved toward the edge of the chair so that he had to bend down his head to see me, and I looked at him right in the eyes. I raised my hand at exactly the right high to suggest that I would possibly… but then rested it on his thigh, just for a second, and pretended to remove some invisible strand from his trousers. “Fine” I said nonchalantly, quite satisfied seeing that he had lost a little of his composure. I raised slowly and when there were just a few inches of distance between us, looking at him innocently, I said “Teach me whatever you want.”

I saw his green eyes turn really dark. He briefly studied my face, then removed his jacket and placed his hands on my waist leading us towards the centre of the room. There he tightened his grip on me and pushed our bodies against each other. We were joined at the hips and he pushed a knee between my legs.

“Put your hands around my neck” he ordered, and I complied a little flustered. The song was right, this was really a torture, what the hell was I doing? The guy was waaay more experienced than me. Get a grip on yourself I though, he can’t win!

“Start moving your hips, whatever feels natural”

I started moving my hips in a circular motion while he pushed against me, moving us one step forward and one backward. I was basically grinding on his leg while he moved his hands from my waist to my hips. One of my hands started moving up and down caressing his neck and tangling briefly in his hair. The other was bolder. I slowly moved it to the front of his chest and did something I had wanted to do since the first time I had met him. I slid my hand under the obscenely deep neckline of his shirt.

A low growl escaped his throat. “Candy” he said as an admonishment “what game are you playing?”

“The same one you have been playing for a while” I replied.

“Have I now…” he said pensive, possessively cupping my face with one of his hands and resting his thumb on my lower lip. I could read it in his eyes he was trying to make up his mind, so I did the only thing that came to my mind. While staring at him directly in his eyes I wrapped my lips around the tip of his finger and sucked.

This time his growl was anything but low, while he crushed his lips on mine and kissed me with a passion I had never felt before. His hands where everywhere, on my back, my waist, my hips. I tried to keep up while kissing him with the same heath. The moment we came up for air I felt him stiffen between my arms.

“I’m sorry” he said “it’s my fault.”

“What?” I replied surprised.

“I shouldn’t have. We can’t… I can’t…” he left my embrace and started pacing around the room.

“It’s not like you forced yourself on me… I was quite encouraging.” I seduced him so that I wouldn’t end up being the one falling first, but I didn’t like this scenario either. He shouldn’t feel guilty.

“Indeed, but I am the teacher here, I should know better.”

“And now what, we should pretend nothing happened? Business as usual?”

He stopped in front of me, went to touch my cheek but halfway there changed his mind and stopped before he could make contact with my skin.

“This is your final year of university, I shouldn’t rob you of this time of your life. You should be with someone your age, like your co-worker Hyun, or someone else” he said pained.

“Are you really suggesting I should hook up with Hyun?” I was starting to get really angry.

“That’s not what I meant” he replied serious “I just want you to live a carefree life, you shouldn’t hide and lie only to be with someone 10 years older than you, who also happens to be your professor. It isn’t worth it.”

He saw the shocked expression on my face and quickly added “I am not worthy.”

“I will be the one to judge what is worthy my time, tank you sir…” I replied sarcastically “However I won’t stay here bagging you to want me.”

No, I wasn’t going to do that, because I knew he wanted me already, he was just scared. Of losing his job, of ruining my studies… of his past. However, we had crossed a line and there was nothing we could do to go back to that grey area we were before. I didn’t want to anyway. I bet the next classes were going to be quite interesting.

I headed towards the door and, once there, I turned around to look at him one last time and said.

“Thank you for the dancing lesson sir, it was very… instructive. Looking forward to our class on Monday.”

And with a mischievous smile I left the room, leaving him utterly speechless.

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #397

"Nether Rescue, Plucked Phoenix, Pineapple Curl”

[Winston] Dispatches of a couple of wither skeletons that had charged them at the top of the fortress-

[Helm] - forcably guides Legion into the fortress halls, which other than Winston, is eerily quiet - There should no one in here, the battle wiped everyone out. Why are they here?

[Winston] - Just because they were wiped out in the past doesn't mean a few wouldn't come back. For awhile this would be the safest place if there were very few here

[Helm] - frowns, remembering their not to distant past - There are far more than any of us liked, the meanest biggest one commands the rest. They control... Or rather attempt to, the other mob's... And not obeying isn't an option. That's why I left when I had a chance.

[Winston] - Don't worry, I will not allow you to be dragged back into all of this

[Helm] I'm more worried they found Sammn.

[Doc] if there's Someone making trouble here I'm happy to take them out. I don't need the headache of organized hostile mobs.

[Winston] - If it comes down to it, the Matter can take command here

[Helm] The only thing preventing that is most of my kin... aren't the brightest. The Skells spent more time coraling them & getting them to listen than working on more elaborate plans.

[Sammn] - drags herself up & starts trying to figure out a way out. It doesn't take long to figure out she's in a small 3x3 sealed space. Putting her head against the warm wall, she struggles to listen for any sounds.

[Doc] Is following her signal and hir boots ring sharply on the nether brick floor. - I don't think involving Cp is necessary.

[Winston] - For now

[Doc] Rounds on him- no, not ever. If i have to rage around here myself to put things in order I will. I'm not having Cp organize an army under my nose and then bitch about how stressed out he is. I hate to pull this card, but I pay the rent here. He doesn't.

[Sammn] - thinks she hears faint voices, but can't be sure. Not knowing what was surrounding her, she doesn't want to risk teleporting. Drawing her knife, she starts striking the wall, giving off a dull ringing -

[Winston] - I am not arguing with you Doctor, just stating what I know works

[Legion] - has lagged behind, stopping in an intersection. Giving a look toward the others, it hops down a different hall -

[Doc] Glances back- unless you want to be lost you better get your cubic butt back here.

[Legion] - grumbles but slowly hops back -

[Winston] - How much farther Doctor?

[Doc] She's very close... Sammn?

[Winston] Keeps an eye on their surroundings-

[Sammn] - hears something and starts hitting the wall harder -

[Winston] Turns his head towards one of the walls, hearing the thuds- Doctor...

[Helm] - goes over to the wall, listening - What is that?

[Doc] I'm gonna find out- They start breaking the wall away with gusto. - Hang on, we're coming!

[Sammn] - hears louder voices and backs up -

[Doc] Breaks through the wall- Sammn! Are you hurt???

[Sammn] - blinks in surprise - Doc? What are you doing here?

[Helm] - peaks into the hole and sighs in relief - We have been looking for you.

[Doc] Looking for you! You've been missing for days. Your pigman friend and pet bird were beating the fuck out of Legion because they thought it did something to you.

[Sammn] Days? - stumbles out - And why where you beating Legion, Helm? [Helm] Cause since it did this - looks annoyed as they point out her arm with the blackened area on her wrist - you have been acting strange. Then you suddenly disappear and it ran off.

[Doc] Do you remember anything?

[Sammn] I remember thinking I needed to get somewhere I could think without it hurting. - looks confused - But, now... It's started again.

[Legion] Our mark should not be causing pain.

[Doc] Either way, I think we should get out of here.

[Winston] - Agreed, I can hear others farther down

[Doc] Shall we take the fast way now that we're not worried about wrecking or being noisy?

[Helm] Yes, the faster the better.

[Doc] Goes back down the hall a little. And shapeshifts, breaking the ceiling away and then headbutting a wall so the blocks make a crude slope back down to the shore of the lava lake-

[Helm] - climbs out, stopping to help Sammn -

[Legion] - growls and starts hopping it's way down, slipping halfway and tumbling the rest of the way down -

[Doc] Oooch. I'd help you but you said it's not safe to touch you. - they scuttle down the slope and protect the others as they run back to the portal.

[Winston] Traverses the terrain easily-

[Legion] - more grumbling as it rights itself -

[Doc] Picks up a block and uses it to push Legion fully upright.

[Legion] - flails at the block - Cease, we are fine.

[Sammn] - watches them, then turns to look around the area. When she does, it becomes clear there is a large red stain on her side, with several small holes burned into her dress.

[Doc] Sniffs at her. - You are very injured... -They hurry her to the gate- Go inside. I'll go last-

[Helm] - shuffles her ahead and through -

[Winston] Steps through as well-

[Legion] - follows -

[Doc] Shrinks down and changes hir mode to survival again briefly before crossing through.

[Mb] Is loafing on the other side. - Have fun chuckleheads?

[Sammn] - once thru, groans in pain - [Legion] - stares at Sammn's side - The Mark has been triggered again.

[Doc] Do you know what it's responding too?

[Legion] - it's orange eye looks at Doc - She was our Host. What triggers it, we do not know, but it prevented us from taking full control.

[Doc] Geeze... And you said I can't heal it for you...? What if I tried to numb it by cutting your connection to that part of your skin?

[Sammn] I don't know, you can try.

[Mb] How bout you get the fuck out of my place first?

[Doc] Yes, yes. Come on, let's go to my house.

[Winston] - If you do not mind, I will return to my Master's place

[Doc] If you wish, thank you for your help Winston.

[Winston] Nods respectfully before heading off-

[Doc] Offers Sammn an arm and helps her walk the short distance to the side door.

[Sammn] - each step makes her flinch more and more. At the door, she pulls away from Doc. - Stop, stop.

[Doc] What? What's the matter?

[Sammn] When you touched my arm, it got worse. Considerably.

[Doc] Pulls away uncertainly - Am I the one setting it off???

[Sammn] I don't know, it has been hurting on and off as I've been traveling around. Out by my place, it hurts less. Over here, it's constant.

[Doc] Is it proximity to Herobrines in general?

[Sammn] - looks worried - That would make sense, but why?

[Legion] -garble-laughs as it's orange eye glows - It is his Mark, His summoner.

[Doc] So... it's trying to keep you out of the influence of other brines? Maybe?

[Sammn] - looks angry - I am rapidly getting tired of this.... I can't think straight, I can't sleep. I can't remember why? I'm beginning to think it would have been better to just have left me wherever you found me.

[Doc] Looks rather hurt - I'm just trying to help... I think we need to find your friend. And if you're that desperate.... I know a place with no brines and you won't be expected to do anything.

[Sammn] - tries to calm down - I'm not ungrateful Doc, I know you are not the cause of my issues. No one here is. My apologies... I just feel broken.

[Doc] Wilts- I know that feeling all too well.... But my offer stands. No brines.

[Sammn] - shakes head - No. Trying to avoid it hasn't helped, so maybe it's time to confront it head on.

[Doc] I wonder what would happen if you got close to the big summoner?

[Sammn] Big summoner?

[Doc] Points to the high skinny tower behind the shrine. There's a black beacon at the top of it ringed by flaming netherrack- It's mostly full of slime blocks but there's a basic summoner tower at the top and a special reversed summoner TLOT built for Steve.

[Sammn] At this point, I'm willing to try. It's either that or get someone to look at my dreams.

[Doc] Let's try this first and then bug Cp. I wonder if... - Xe calls for Deerheart over the chat.

[Deer] Responds and starts making her way towards them-

[Doc] Waits for hir mate-

[Deer] - Comes out- Yes love?  What do you need?

[Doc] For some reason me touching Sammn is paining her. Sammn? Can you just graze Deerheart and see if it's the same with her?

[Sammn] - reaches out and touches her, then shakes her head - Nothing. Who's the next closest Brine?

[Doc] Well I was thinking... Deerheart? Can you fly Sammn over near the summoner?

[Deer] - Sure, I can do that- She steps away and shifts her shape- Climb on Sammn

This message has been removed.

[Sammn] - climbs on -

[Deer] Flies her up to the summoner- Here we go

[Sammn] - braces herself, expecting the worse -

-At the top of the tower the golden summoner burns merrily and it's diamond echo glitters in the sunlight above the room-

[Sammn] - can feel some weird pull - How close can you get?

[Deer] - I can knock out some of the glass and you can go right in if you want?

[Sammn] Please.

[Deer] Carefully knocks out a couple blocks and gets close enough for Sammn to jump in-

[Sammn] - jumps in and stumbles as the pull gets stronger. Walks toward the golden summoner, each step increasing the pull. Reaching out, the symbol on her side flares bright red and burns her dress over it. Forcing herself to touch the summoner, she screams but keeps her grip. For one brief second, anyone sensative to the summoner feels its pull and it's gone. Sammn releases her grip and plops down, dazed.

[CP] In chat- Who's fucking doing what now!?

[Mb] chat- Stop playing with that fucking thing!!!

[TLOT] chat-  Is someone in trouble?

[Sammn] - blinks a few times then slowly manages to access chat - I think u were right doc that hurt

[Doc] Is fretting. - You called out at least. The summoner does reach beyond the server when it's used intentionally. The only way to increase the range is to.. throw a live animal on the fire....

[Helm] - is freaking out - What!

[CP] In chat- You'd just call me if you did that Doc

[Doc] chat- You're not the only Herobrine that likes a sacrifice Cp.

[Mb] Chat- Yeah, I like a good BBQ.

[Sammn] - closes eyes and hears something, not with her ears. It's a faint voice, fimilar but she can't make out any words. Opening her eyes, she types in chat - Doc I can hear someone

[Doc] chat- That's a good start. Can you get a sense of a direction? Or understand what they're saying?

[Sammn] direction sorta words no

[Deer] Quietly- Sammn?  Do you need help getting out?

[Sammn] - looks up and tries to get up, fails and plops back down - Probably. Don't feel like I have the energy to do much but sit. Sorry.

[Deer] Shifts back and slips inside- It's okay, I'll take you to one of the recovery rooms if you want

[Buff] Peeks up from the stairwell- Is everyone okay up here?

[Deer] - Ah, perfect timing Buff, do you think you can help me move Sammn?

[Sammn] - looks dazedly at Buff -

[Buff] Sure! I'd love to help. - He notices the big bloodstain- You look hurt! I'll be gentle. - He scoops her up as easily as a kitten and cradles her to his huge chest. - Where are we going too?

[Deer] - The recovery rooms downstairs

[Buff] Absolutley! -Starts walking downstairs.

[Doc] in chat- Is everything okay over there?

[Deer] In chat- For the most part yes, I'm having Buff help me move Sammn to a recovery room

[Doc] Good- They glance over- Legion, Helm, you two should still come inside.

[Helm] - darts toward the door in a panic -

[Legion] As you wish.

[Doc] And if you want food ASK. I have pets, leave them alone.

[Buff] Takes Sammn all the way across the house and down to a warm room near the lava pools in the lab.

[Sammn] - is mumbling - The lieutenants needs to move the others .. (mumble) Only the knights... (mumble)

[TLOT] Hears them coming and comes up the stairs with Steve to check on them- Oh dear.

[Steve] Sammn?

[Buff] Poor thing.

[Deer] - I wouldn't get too close TLOT

[TLOT] Okay.... - he stays outside the door to the room.

[Sammn] - mumbles - Take the king out first...

[Steve] Is she dreaming about chess?

[TLOT] I can find out? - He brushes her mind to see what's going on.

- Sees a castle under seige, a flash of people fighting next to mobs, attacking armored people. Normal people are running away. A cowering old man, dressed in red and royal blue, begging. Then what looks like a Steve attacking. Halls rushing by, then a room with 2 figures: a Brine, on the ground with a Notch moving toward them with a glowing hammer. Running, a shield rising and the hammer shattering it while someone screams "no", then nothing -

[TLOT] Uses his abilities to relay the image to Doc and Cp. Steve, Buff and Deerheart also get the gist of it since they're nearby.

[CP] Responds with a sharp mental jab- AM I SERIOUSLY NOT ALLOWED FIVE MINUTES OF PEACE!?

[TLOT] Winces- OOOWWW! Don't fucking do that!

[CP] - THEN STOP INTERUPTING ME!

[Doc] Is at the top of the stairs and unsure how to get Legion down them.

[Legion] - leers at the steps, then sighs - Move, Doctor. - with its tentacles, it tips itself and flop falls down to land surprisingly, upright. Another annoyed sigh and it hops out of the way.

[Doc] Sorry. I feel bad not helping... - They follow it down and then stand with TLOT in the doorway.

[Helm] - comes racing behind, looking for Sammn -

[Doc] She's right here Helm, it's okay.

[Steve] Yikes!

[Helm] - comes to sudden halt seeing her, then turns to sign - Are you sure?

[Steve] OH! - He signs to the pigman- She's just passed out.

[Helm] - frets - I don't like this, but as long as she's ok.

[Doc] We'll look after her.

[Violet] Comes up behind them with a bit of a bony rattle-

[Buff] Tucks the blanket over Sammn a bit.

[Deer] - Just let her rest for now

[Buff] I'll sit with her for a bit. I wasn't doing anything much.

[Helm] - darts over and sits on the floor next to the bed. Then signs to Legion - Don't make me go looking for you demon! I will have Wright rip your eyes off! [Legion] - grumbles, but tucks its tentacles into itself and leers at Helm with its blue eye - As you demand, beast.

[TLOT] No need for fighting or insults. I'm more concerned about Sammn right now.

[Deer] - Come on, we should leave them be for now

[Doc] Stands back so the others can leave the room.

[Buff] Stays with Sammn-

[Steve] Gestures vaguely at Legion- Um????

[Doc] Just don't touch them.

-NK has reached out mentally for TLOT, and upon finding him places a single query that translates to "Where are you?" -

-After a moment it's appended to "I'm ready to take your offer on looking through my memories, if you're still offering."-

[TLOT] Stops placing blocks and responds mentally. - I'm in the desert working on the dinosaur pen. If you want to come over.

[Yaunfen] Is playing with Fru, trying to keep them occupied.

[Waffles] Tries busking on Steve and almost knocks him over.

[Steve] Hey!

[NK] -I'll be over in a minute. Thank you.-

[Yaunfen] What's going on?

[TLOT] Nk needs a hand with something.

[Steve] It's okay Yaunfen, I'll keep working.

-Nk comes trudging over a hill toward the group, A lightfoot is scuttling along after him-

[TLOT] hops up on the wall and points at a small sandhill a little ways away that will let him climb up on the edge of the partially built wall.

[Yaunfen] Peeks over- Hi Nk! [dragon form]

[Nk] -Is quick to make it over, the lightfoot huffs since they can't before taking off- Hey... Yaunfen, was it?

[Yaunfen] Yep!

[Fru] Also wanders close, snuffling around.

[TLOT] You haven't met Doc's kiddo Nk?

[NK] Oh I have, I just wasn't sure if I remembered the name right. -Sheepish look- -Completely calm as Fru sniff snoffs his hair very close up.-

[Yaunfen] Giggles- This is Fru.

[TLOT] A result of my seed bleeding into theirs apparently. Doc says they're a type of redeye?

[NK] Oh yes, I'd say that for sure. Hello Fru. -Calmly pats Fru as Fru sniff snoffs his hair one more time-

[Fru] Gives Nk's hair a lick and makes a face.

[Yaunfen] BAD.

[TLOT] You're fine as long as you don't have candy on your person.

[NK] Oh you're usually fine with Redeyes as is, as long as you have a scarab. -Pushes his now slimy hair back into place.- Now I was here... about your offer to help me with my memories?

[TLOT] Of course. Let's get down on the ground.

[Yaunfen] I can help! - They grab Nk in their paws and put him on the ground gently-

[TLOT] Just hops down and lets his boots take the brunt of the impact.

-The ground of the pen is already the cake dirt blocks form Yaunfen's seed.-

[Fru] Wanders over to menace Steve a bit-

[Steve] Arrgh!

[Waffles] Is having a noisy drink in the little pond of fizzy soda/water

[NK] Well that's an interesting dirt block. Thank you Yaunfen.

[Yaunfen] You're welcome, and they're tasty too! excuse me! - They pad over quickly to herd Fru away from Steve.

[TLOT] Wait, you know about the scarabs too right? We think we found the equivalent on the candy seed. - He takes out the lollipop with the bug in it and shows it to Nk.

[NK] Of course.. Let me see.... Yes, that looks like it'd definitely be one.

[TLOT] Good. They tend to get a bit out of hand, especially as big as they are. Shall we find a spot in the shade to sit down?

[NK] Sure, after you. I'd also invest in making a copy of it, you'll need it if you accidentally hatch any others like that.

[TLOT] Good call. - He motions for Nk to follow and they go to a far corner of the pen where there are a few scattered chocolate wood blocks by the trap door out. He dusts a bit of loose sugar off one and sits on it.

[Yaunfen] Running Fru in circles with a toy like one would a cat-

-NK sits down himself by TLOT-

[NK] So how does it work?

[TLOT] Shrugs- I'm naturally psychic. And being the native here enhances my abilities. -He focuses on Nk and cocks his head slightly, thinking. His eyes seem to get brighter and brighter until they're all Nk can really focus on. He makes a small gesture like opening a door and digs a little deeper, gently poking around in Nk's thoughts.

-There's a thump as Fru bumps into the the wall.

[Yaunfen] Whoops! Be careful!

[NK] I... see.... -His voice trails off and TLOT finds that once he gets to NK's memories he... can't go any further?-

[TLOT] Hmmmm, you have a sort of..blockage...? Like your memories are knotted up. But it doesn't feel alien. More like you've repressed some memories....

[NK] I... had a feeling that was the issue. I could get to a certain point and just... nothing. People with one of these, -He taps a claw against the diamond in his chest- recall their memories differently... Hmm... Can... Can you fix it? Or give me a hand?

[TLOT] Can you be more specific about how you mean 'differently'? I don't want to damage your brain if it's set up in some strange way.

[Waffles] Wanders over hoping for pets-

[NK] I... It's hard to explain to people who don't have their minds set up this way.... Uhh… Here. -He presses at TLOT's mind and a vague impression crosses over, it's NK standing in an empty room, with a single door infront of him. He's confused, as beyond the door is.. nothing?- That's why I.. finally decided to ask for help. I've never just had... nothing, in my memories. It's... disconcerting.

[TLOT] That's helpful for visualization at least... - He tries again, this time seeing himself next to Nk. He guides the other brine closer to the door in his mind. - Perhaps we just need to look at it from a different angle. - He presses on the wall around the door, moving it inexorably backwards until the door is just free standing in the room. He leads Nk around to the opposite side of the door- Now try opening it from this side.

-Now, they can see something blurry through it, It's nowhere near clear or concise, but it seems to make sense to NK as he takes a tentative step through. He looks back at TLOT as though to invite him through that mental door, if he'd like to join him.-

[NK] It's... Hm.... I don't understand why I would have blocked this out...

[TLOT] Gets the feeling strongly - I'll walk with you. They're just memories. - He follows Nk

-They're fuzzy to TLOT, but the longer he stays with NK, the clearer they seem. Memory NK is pacing back and forth in what looks to be a throne room. TLOT might remember it from a picture Prince showed of a younger Mix. So far it seems.. Bland, almost.-

[Tlot] Adds some power to Nk's recollections, trying to bring them into a sharper relief.

[NK] What are... you doing? -He doesn't seem to notice it get clearer, which implies perhaps he was seeing it fine, and TLOT, outsider to NK's mind, was seeing it differently.-

-Memory NK seems downright livid as he paces, glancing at the throne every turn with a scowl.-

[TLOT] Someone seems very agitated...

[NK] Yes... But I don't know why. I can't tell when this was... -He makes a sliding motion with one hand and the memory seems to jut forward, and Memory NK turns to leave.- Well if it wasn't later on.....  -Memory NK walks straight through them both, and NK turns to watch him leave.- Maybe... before?....

[TLOT] Shrugs- It's your mind....

[NK] Or maybe... It was over a large amount of memories... Here, follow. I'm going to skim through... Something had to happen for me to block it out... I don't just go removing access willy nilly… -He starts walking and the memories pass by. There's even one of child Mix being carried over memory NK's shoulder. Still not awful...-

[TLOT] Is just sightseeing, trying not to disturb any infrastructure, he does smile at child Mix though.

-There's... more memories of Mix as a child, just simple things, really. And then the memories start getting.. Odd, structure wise. It's like looking at them through a kaleidoscope...-

[NK] We must be getting close...

[CN] After sending Winston towards Doc has heads inside and goes to his room. He opens the door and peaks in- Firebird?

-Firebird looks up at CN, Hands pausing in picking the blue feathers from his body -

[Firebird] Yes CN?

[CN] Notes the blood welling up where the feathers have been pulled and the feathers scattered about the room- What are you doing?

[Firebird] Removing the feathers, why? - He looks... Bare, with so few feathers. The crest on his head is almost absent, with only a handful of feathers remaining, and his tail is no better.. -

[CN] - You're hurting yourself...

[Firebird] It's fine, CN. Don't worry. What did you come up here for?

[CN] Everyone else is out... And it is my room!- He's trying to discretely type in chat for either Mix or Flowey to come over

[TLOT] This all looks pretty ordinary, I wonder why you blocked it out?

[NK] I... Don't know. But the unstable nature of these memories is... It's odd. Its like I sustained damage to my spell stone. But it's still whole in all these memories.... Maybe if we go straight to the end? - Soon the memories are going by faster than you can make anything clearer out. A flash of Prince, Kraz reclining on a Thorntails back and talking with Memory NK, and then there's nothing. - Oh, that's too far...

[TLOT] You seem to be pretty good at navigating. Are you sure there's something mising?

[NK] I mean... I don't know why else my memory would be messed up... -The memory isn't actually nothing, at a closer inspection it's him out in the void between games. Memory NK lays face down on the "ground"-

[TLOT] Did you just cut it out since you were basically in a sensory deprivation space? That might have saved your sanity being out there so long.

[NK] I... Maybe? But my spell stone is.. Hm. - He bends down to check- oh, it is broken now. Odd. How far....

[TLOT] Yes, I understand it was broken when you were found. Wasn't there some kind of explosion that lodged Prince's bits in other people too?

[NK] That's he thing. I don't know why Prince's were like that. I know I had one but.. Oh, that's already in my hand... -he's poking his own memory hand thoughtfully -

[TLOT] Decides to dig a little deeper and puts a hand on Nk's shoulder to help him remember- It's there... I think you just have to want to know badly enough... - He feeds some of his energy into his brother brine.

-There's a knock on Litch's door-

[Licht] Groans but goes to the door and opens it- Yes?  May I help you?

[Postman] Package miss. Can you sign for this please? - Holds out the little machine and stylus.

[Licht] - Uh, sure- She takes the items and signs her name, but she doesn't remember ordering anything

[Postman] Gives her a rather heavy box and smiles politely before going back to her little truck.

[Licht] Brings the package inside and looks at who it's from-

[EAlex] Waits for Licth to come back in before creeping up. - What is it?

-It's addressed to her from 'Collin Street' -

[Licht] - A  package I don't remember ordering from...- She puts the box down and grabs a small knife before slicing away the tape

[EAlex] Just watching curiously-

-Inside are two red tins with weird designs on the front.-

[Licht] - The hell?- She pulls out her phone to look up what she's gotten and she see's a message which she opens stating that she'll be getting a package- Well that's helpful...

[EAlex] Reads the phone- Oh, this should have been recieved days ago. Doc ordered cakes?

[Licht] - Oh right, they didn't know what a fruitcake was, that's right

[EAlex] Well it looks like one of them is for us. I guess because they couldn't sign for it themselves?

[Licht] - Because they don't have an address

[EAlex] Gives us another reason to visit I suppose. This tin is super heavy. - She levers it open- Oh! It's so colorful!

[Licht] - Yeah, fruitcake can be.  But visiting them will have to wait, I have to be getting to work

[EAlex] Do you mind if I...?

[Licht] - Go ahead, I've had it before

[Firebird] -Picks another feather out-

[CN] Waits nervously, he wants to help, but he has no idea how to make potions, and he doesn't feel comfortable leaving Firebird to go grab some healing flowers-

-It starts to rain outside and there's a lot of pattering as someone rushes into the house and shuts the door-

[CN] Perks up a little and pokes his head out onto the bridge yo see into the main room- Hello?

[Chester] Is soaked and shivering. He's running his shirt through his inventory to dry it.

[CN] - Are you okay?

[Chester] Skitters up towards him a bit and comes onto the bridge- Just got wet. My spider part is fuzzy and it's hard to dry off.

[CN] - Then why not use the lava pool?

[Chester] I was going to. I was just closer to the front door. It's really quiet... where is everyone?

[CN] - Um...  Notch has the baby, and I don't know where Lie and CP are...

-There's a crack of thunder outside-

[Chester] I hope they're okay.

[CN] Shrugs-

[Chester] Looks down and his eyes go a bit wide and frightened- There's... Cn... you didn't hurt them... did you?

[CN] - What do you mean?

[Chester] Is a teeny bit poofy- You have blood on your shoes...

[CN] Looks down- Oh, well, Firebird is hurt!  But...  I don't know how to make potions...

[Chester] Are you sure Lie doesn't have some?

[CN] - I don't know...

[Chester] She's got stuff to do it right? And lots of books?

[CN] - Well, yeah...  It's all downstairs in the workroom

[Chester] Do you want to... Like go and see?

[CN] - I don't know...  What if Firebird does something while I'm gone?  And hurts himself worse?

[Chester] Okay. I'll go. You stay here. - He turns to go into the workroom. He creeps into the shadowed space and the lightning throws his half spider shape in frightening shadows on the wall. He doesn't notice the sleeping figure in the bed, and his teeny claws tap lightly on the stone floor.

[Stevie] Stirs a little-

[Firebird] -Just continuing to absent mindedly pick blue feathers out. Almost all of the back of his head is bare, and his tail is so short. So, so short.-

[Chester] Bumps into the bed accidently with one spindly leg-

[CN] Steps back into the room- Firebird?

[Stevie] Jerks awake- Nether!- He then falls off the bed

[Firebird] -Head turns to look at CN- Hmm?

[CN] - Umm...  One of CP's mobs...  He's gonna try to get a potion for you...

[Chester] Whoops, sorry! I didn't see you there!

[Stevie] - What are you doing?

[Firebird] Alright CN.

[Chester] Looking for some kind of healing potion or a book on how to make them?

[Stevie] - Why?

[CN] - Please stop Firebird...

[Chester] Because the bird NOTCH is hurt- Thumbs back toward's Cn's room.

[Firebird] But....

[Stevie] - Ugh, okay, hang on a minute.  I'll see if there is anything- He gets up and starts digging through the chests near the brewing stand-

[CN] - Your hurting yourself...

[Chester] Taps around a bit nervously. - You're the master's little brother right?

[Stevie] - Er…  Yeah, I am- He looks through a few bottles before pulling too healing potions out, ones a regular potion, and the other is a splash potion

[Chester] Was going to shake his hand but it's occupied with bottles now- Chester.

[Stevie] - Right, anyways here are the potions you wanted

[Firebird] But..

[CN] - Please?  Can't you just wait for molt?

[Chester] Thank you! Oh, sorry to inturrupt your nap too- He takes the bottles and hurries back up to the bridge-

[CN] Hears Chester approaching- Ah!  The potions!

[Chester] Hands them over and catches sight of Firebird- Sir! Do you need a calming draught too? I read someplace birds pluck themselves when they're in distress...

[CN] Looks between the two potions with uncertainty, not sure which to give Firebird-

[Firebird] I'm fine,  the regular potion will do.

[CN] Hands it over-

[Chester] Should I... call for someone? You don't look well at all.

[Firebird] -Takes the potion and grimaces at the taste-

-More rain outside, it's really coming down hard, There'a a bit of clattering as two of the skeletal riders go by on their bony horses. -

[CN] Watches nervously-

[Stevie] Comes up- Everything okay?

[Chester] Gestures nervously to the mostly plucked birdman and mouths at Stevie- What do we do???

[Stevie] - I have no idea...  Probably just leave him be for now so he can heal

-NK's memories flash by, scenes of NK and Prince working together to evacuate the seed, glitchy broken code everywhere, Panic. Darkness. And NK yelps. Their joined memory exploration is cut, and NK covers his face with a soft "Oh."-

[TLOT] Backs away as well. - I think you need a little time to think about this...

[Steve] Rushes over- Are you guys okay? That seemed a bit abrupt.

[Fru] wiggles away from Yaunfen and hops over a low part of the half-built wall-

[Yaunfen] Nuuuu! - Chasing after them-

[TLOT] Pats Nk supportively- you think on this-

[Steve] Is already running after the dragon and the dinosaur- I'll help!

-Not long after-

[TLOT] Opens the door for Steve and the pair of them enter the bar.

[Sam] Immediatly starts fixing them something warm to drink.

[Steve] Cold sniffle-

[Lie] She and CP are curled up in a booth.  Lie has a warm glass of tea and they are warming up after having run in out of the rain- Oh, hey TLOT, hey Steve

[Steve] Takes some coffee from Sam and settles down as well. - Hello you two.

[TLOT] Sorry to inturrupt your non-Aether time.

[Lie] - Believe me, the rain did that already

[CP] - We just can't catch a break...

[TLOT] There's always the beds downstairs...?

[Steve] Parenting is just hard. -toasts her-

[Lie] - No, I'm mostly just cold now

[CP] - So what are you two doing way out here?

[TLOT] A well deserved drink after a harrowing afternoon helping Yaunfen with Fru.

[Lie] - Oh dear, what did Fru do now?

[TLOT] Just went for an unauthorized scamper across the landscape.

[Steve] We think they caught sight of some Lightfoots and wanted to chase and or play with them.

[Lie] - I see

[CP] Pulls Lie a bit closer to himself-

[TLOT] It's always something with wild pets though, isn't it?

[Lie] - Did you see the video I sent to Dawn of Blake?

[Steve] Yeah I did! That was so cute!

[Lie] - How he got in without knocking the crib over I'm not sure, but he keeps repeating the feat

[TLOT] It's love. Dawn said he was a clingy guy. And Aether will probably benefit from his protection later. You know how much trouble little ones can get into.

[Lie] - Especially since she's close to crawling.  She's almost got herself pushed up

[CP] - Yeah, that'll be fun...

[TLOT] Smiles- You know you're excited.

[Steve] Has she said anything else?

[Lie] Laughs a little- I'm not sure, Farfar has her now

[TLOT] Ah, someone else who's settled into his role like a silverfish in a block. - sips his drink thoughtfully.

[Lie] - That he has

[CP] Begrudgingly- It has been useful having him next door...

[TLOT] He loves you guys.

[Steve] Pokes his mate- You should show her the thingie!

[TLOT] Not sure she has the energy right now to finish it my lamb.

[Lie] - What thing?

[Steve] He made a plant.

[TLOT] It's just a sculpture for now, I was going to let you do the honors. If you want.

[Lie] - Uh, sure

[TLOT] I redid that weird fruit you gave me. - He reaches into his inventory. - It was a real pain to get to the edible part. So I made it easier. - He takes out a very strange plant in a large pot. It's got a sunburst of green leaves at the base and a skinny stem like an orchid. From the top three branches hang heavy with pineapple fruit. Just the edible part, cut in spirals that hang down in yellow swirls like minature tornados.

[Steve] We're calling it a pineapple curl bush!

[Lie] - Okay then...  I mean, the vanilla vines curl sooo, it's not that far fetched?

[TLOT] What does vanilla have to do with it?

[Lie] - It's part of the same family?

[TLOT] Crosses his eyes slightly- That's... really annoying....

[Lie] - Real life is weird, and they did mostly  develop in different parts of the world...

[TLOT] Errrgh. - He sets the plant on the table. - either way, it could use a boost.

[Lie] - Alright alright- She puts her cup down, it's mostly empty now anyways and reaches for the bush, focusing her powers of the bright foliage

-The plant seems to sigh under her touch and suddenly plumps up with even more fruit and leaves. -

[Steve] Good job Lie!

[TLOT] Plucks off a curl and slurps it up like a noodle. - Perfection. It's still weird though.

[Lie] - I just thought you'd like it.  It can also be used in a lot of alcoholic drinks

[Licht] Finally gets off work and gets back to her apartment- EAlex?  Everything okay while I was gone?

[EAlex] Is flopped on the couch - That cake is so heavy.... I only had a tiny piece. But I cleaned the kitchen for you.

[Licht] - Yeah, you eat that cake in small amounts, and thank you for cleaning

[EAlex] You're welcome.

[Licht] - I don't have to go to work until late tomorrow, is there anything you want to do?

[EAlex] Well... I was thinking we could... go visiting... I could use the support. It's kind of a big deal for me to.. you know...

[Licht] - You mean the other server?  Sure, we just have to make sure we're back in time for me to get to work

[EAlex] Gets up. - I'm ready when you are.

[Licht] - Just let me grab a few things- She heads for the kitchen and grabs a paper bag, putting some bell peppers inside and the fruitcake- Alright, we can go- She pulls out her phone and dials Doc

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Spurred by Pandemic, Little Shell Tribe Fast-Tracks Its Health Service Debut

Use Our Content

It can be republished for free.

Linda Watson draped a sweater with the words “Little Shell Chippewa Tribe” over her as she received the newly recognized tribal nation’s first dose of covid-19 vaccine.

“I wanted to show my pride in being a Little Shell member,” Watson, 72, said. “The Little Shell are doing very good things for the people.”

Watson has diabetes and a heart condition. The shot brought some peace of mind during a time when that isn’t fully possible. One of her sons is among those who have died of covid.

The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is building its health services largely from scratch roughly a year after becoming the United States’ 574th federally recognized Indigenous tribe. Because of the pandemic, it’s doing it on hyperdrive.

The long-sought recognition came just months before the pandemic took hold, arriving in time to guarantee the right to crucial health care and a tribal supply of protective covid vaccines. Federal pandemic relief dollars are speeding up the Little Shell Tribe’s ability to build its own clinic.

Without the CARES Act funds, Indian Health Service and Little Shell officials said it would have likely taken years using only IHS resources to establish a clinic. The IHS already has a list of new and replacement health care facility projects nationwide estimated to cost more than $14.5 billion, yet it reported in 2019 it receives roughly $240 million each year to get that work done. At that pace, it would take 60 years to get through its current needs.

Now, in Great Falls, roughly 2 miles from where Watson got her shot, a brick building under renovation bears a banner announcing the Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic: “Coming 2021.” The former animal hospital site that the tribe purchased will provide medical, dental, vision and behavioral care, alongside traditional medicine, a pharmacy and a lab. The goal is to open the clinic by late summer.

When Watson drives by the future clinic’s site on her way to work as the tribal nation’s enrollment officer, she said, she feels proud.

“To have a Little Shell name on it, to see the results of what our ancestors had worked so hard for,” Watson said. “It’s their descendants that are now experiencing it.”

The Little Shell have advocated for their place as a sovereign nation for more than 150 years. Although Montana formally recognized the tribe in 2000, not having federal recognition until December 2019 kept it from accessing many vital services and programs.

And without a recognized homeland, the tribe’s more than 5,700 members had scattered across Northern Plains states and Canada. The vast majority live in Montana.

Because of the federal recognition, Little Shell tribal enrollment has surged and its Ojibwe language course has a lengthening waitlist.

But this newfound strength is tempered by the deep challenges of the pandemic. The coronavirus has stalled in-person celebrations and planning in the tribe’s first year of federal recognition.

Worst yet, covid has disproportionately infected and killed Indigenous people nationwide, exposing long-standing health inequities caused by a history of colonization and underinvestment in Indian Country. In Montana, Native Americans make up roughly 7% of the population yet account for 11% of the state’s covid cases and 17% of related deaths.

The Little Shell tribal health care system is so new, it doesn’t have electronic health records set up and hasn’t tracked the statistics.

In October, the tribal nation hired its first health director, who had to create a covid vaccination plan while juggling other immediate needs, such as helping establish a transportation service for members to get to doctor appointments. Setting up infrastructure for a sovereign nation without a reservation presents challenges. The tribe’s service area encompasses four counties — Blaine, Cascade, Glacier and Hill — that together would span an area larger than Maryland. Only two of those counties share a border, so the distances are even greater.

Little Shell members now have access to any IHS facility nationwide, but, until their clinic is ready, some services such as dental and vision care are far-flung even for those close to the nation’s Great Falls headquarters.

“Without our clinic, members would have to drive 118 miles one way to get some basic services — and try doing that in January and February in Montana,” Tribal Chairman Gerald Gray said.

In the meantime, the tribe is partnering with the Cascade City-County Health Department to administer about 100 vaccine doses each week, according to the tribal health department. The effort has attracted tribal members from out of state.

Many questions remain as to how the new clinic will operate. Gray said the tribe has been told IHS will operate the clinic for at least three years before the tribal nation has the chance to completely run its services. Bryce Redgrave, the Billings-area IHS director, said in a statement the agency is discussing the possibilities but “no plan has been finalized at this time.”

Little Shell leaders plan to model the clinic after an Alaska Native-owned nonprofit called Southcentral Foundation that has been emulated by other tribes, including the Eastern Cherokee in North Carolina.

“The model is about treating the whole person and prioritizing Indigenous interventions,” said Little Shell tribal council member Kim McKeehan.

What that looks like for the Little Shell is still being decided, said Molly Wendland, the Little Shell tribal health director. She said one idea is to grow plants for traditional medicines behind the clinic. The tribe also plans to have a smudge room, she said, in which members can burn sage and ask for healing.

Linda Wilmore, 51, a Little Shell member who lives in Great Falls, said the new clinic would mean she wouldn’t put off care such as going to the dentist anymore. Without an option close to home, she said, she has often waited until she’s in enough pain to warrant the three-hour round trip to an IHS health care facility that offers dental care, where her insurance won’t leave her with unwieldy out-of-pocket costs.

She is also excited about having a clinic designed for, and by, the Little Shell Tribe. Growing up, Wilmore remembers her family having to ask permission to use IHS facilities in Montana before state recognition in 2000 guaranteed it.

“You felt like the redheaded stepchild asking, ‘We’re Little Shell, can we use your clinic?’” Wilmore said.

The Great Falls clinic will also fill gaps in care for other Indigenous people in nearby rural communities and the city itself.

Little Shell members who live far from Great Falls are sorting through how to tap into newly granted services or how to access specialty treatment they can’t get at an IHS clinic.

Little Shell member Jonni Kroll, 55, lives in Deer Park, Washington, some 380 miles from the tribe’s future clinic. Her closest IHS alternative is a roughly 50-minute drive. Her first call was to book an eye appointment, only to find the clinic doesn’t have an optometrist.

“So then I go to the next clinic on my list,” Kroll said. “That’s a problem across the board with IHS nationwide, and I think that will affect Little Shell people trying to figure out: How do we utilize this when we are scattered?”

Little Shell people are spread out largely because they weren’t recognized, she noted, and now they’re having to play catch-up to understand how to access the services that recognition ensures. She said members, some of whom have never met, are connecting by phone or online to work through those questions together.

“The Little Shell are so resilient,” Kroll said. “We’ve gotten to the point of federal recognition and so now we find a way to come past that. There are lots of doors that opened, but we have a lot to learn.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

Spurred by Pandemic, Little Shell Tribe Fast-Tracks Its Health Service Debut published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

Spurred by Pandemic, Little Shell Tribe Fast-Tracks Its Health Service Debut

This story also ran on Time. It can be republished for free.

Linda Watson draped a sweater with the words “Little Shell Chippewa Tribe” over her as she received the newly recognized tribal nation’s first dose of covid-19 vaccine.

“I wanted to show my pride in being a Little Shell member,” Watson, 72, said. “The Little Shell are doing very good things for the people.”

Watson has diabetes and a heart condition. The shot brought some peace of mind during a time when that isn’t fully possible. One of her sons is among those who have died of covid.

The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is building its health services largely from scratch roughly a year after becoming the United States’ 574th federally recognized Indigenous tribe. Because of the pandemic, it’s doing it on hyperdrive.

The long-sought recognition came just months before the pandemic took hold, arriving in time to guarantee the right to crucial health care and a tribal supply of protective covid vaccines. Federal pandemic relief dollars are speeding up the Little Shell Tribe’s ability to build its own clinic.

Without the CARES Act funds, Indian Health Service and Little Shell officials said it would have likely taken years using only IHS resources to establish a clinic. The IHS already has a list of new and replacement health care facility projects nationwide estimated to cost more than $14.5 billion, yet it reported in 2019 it receives roughly $240 million each year to get that work done. At that pace, it would take 60 years to get through its current needs.

Now, in Great Falls, roughly 2 miles from where Watson got her shot, a brick building under renovation bears a banner announcing the Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic: “Coming 2021.” The former animal hospital site that the tribe purchased will provide medical, dental, vision and behavioral care, alongside traditional medicine, a pharmacy and a lab. The goal is to open the clinic by late summer.

When Watson drives by the future clinic’s site on her way to work as the tribal nation’s enrollment officer, she said, she feels proud.

“To have a Little Shell name on it, to see the results of what our ancestors had worked so hard for,” Watson said. “It’s their descendants that are now experiencing it.”

The Little Shell have advocated for their place as a sovereign nation for more than 150 years. Although Montana formally recognized the tribe in 2000, not having federal recognition until December 2019 kept it from accessing many vital services and programs.

And without a recognized homeland, the tribe’s more than 5,700 members had scattered across Northern Plains states and Canada. The vast majority live in Montana.

Because of the federal recognition, Little Shell tribal enrollment has surged and its Ojibwe language course has a lengthening waitlist.

But this newfound strength is tempered by the deep challenges of the pandemic. The coronavirus has stalled in-person celebrations and planning in the tribe’s first year of federal recognition.

Worst yet, covid has disproportionately infected and killed Indigenous people nationwide, exposing long-standing health inequities caused by a history of colonization and underinvestment in Indian Country. In Montana, Native Americans make up roughly 7% of the population yet account for 11% of the state’s covid cases and 17% of related deaths.

The Little Shell tribal health care system is so new, it doesn’t have electronic health records set up and hasn’t tracked the statistics.

In October, the tribal nation hired its first health director, who had to create a covid vaccination plan while juggling other immediate needs, such as helping establish a transportation service for members to get to doctor appointments. Setting up infrastructure for a sovereign nation without a reservation presents challenges. The tribe’s service area encompasses four counties — Blaine, Cascade, Glacier and Hill — that together would span an area larger than Maryland. Only two of those counties share a border, so the distances are even greater.

Little Shell members now have access to any IHS facility nationwide, but, until their clinic is ready, some services such as dental and vision care are far-flung even for those close to the nation’s Great Falls headquarters.

“Without our clinic, members would have to drive 118 miles one way to get some basic services — and try doing that in January and February in Montana,” Tribal Chairman Gerald Gray said.

In the meantime, the tribe is partnering with the Cascade City-County Health Department to administer about 100 vaccine doses each week, according to the tribal health department. The effort has attracted tribal members from out of state.

Many questions remain as to how the new clinic will operate. Gray said the tribe has been told IHS will operate the clinic for at least three years before the tribal nation has the chance to completely run its services. Bryce Redgrave, the Billings-area IHS director, said in a statement the agency is discussing the possibilities but “no plan has been finalized at this time.”

Little Shell leaders plan to model the clinic after an Alaska Native-owned nonprofit called Southcentral Foundation that has been emulated by other tribes, including the Eastern Cherokee in North Carolina.

“The model is about treating the whole person and prioritizing Indigenous interventions,” said Little Shell tribal council member Kim McKeehan.

What that looks like for the Little Shell is still being decided, said Molly Wendland, the Little Shell tribal health director. She said one idea is to grow plants for traditional medicines behind the clinic. The tribe also plans to have a smudge room, she said, in which members can burn sage and ask for healing.

Linda Wilmore, 51, a Little Shell member who lives in Great Falls, said the new clinic would mean she wouldn’t put off care such as going to the dentist anymore. Without an option close to home, she said, she has often waited until she’s in enough pain to warrant the three-hour round trip to an IHS health care facility that offers dental care, where her insurance won’t leave her with unwieldy out-of-pocket costs.

She is also excited about having a clinic designed for, and by, the Little Shell Tribe. Growing up, Wilmore remembers her family having to ask permission to use IHS facilities in Montana before state recognition in 2000 guaranteed it.

“You felt like the redheaded stepchild asking, ‘We’re Little Shell, can we use your clinic?’” Wilmore said.

The Great Falls clinic will also fill gaps in care for other Indigenous people in nearby rural communities and the city itself.

Little Shell members who live far from Great Falls are sorting through how to tap into newly granted services or how to access specialty treatment they can’t get at an IHS clinic.

Little Shell member Jonni Kroll, 55, lives in Deer Park, Washington, some 380 miles from the tribe’s future clinic. Her closest IHS alternative is a roughly 50-minute drive. Her first call was to book an eye appointment, only to find the clinic doesn’t have an optometrist.

“So then I go to the next clinic on my list,” Kroll said. “That’s a problem across the board with IHS nationwide, and I think that will affect Little Shell people trying to figure out: How do we utilize this when we are scattered?”

Little Shell people are spread out largely because they weren’t recognized, she noted, and now they’re having to play catch-up to understand how to access the services that recognition ensures. She said members, some of whom have never met, are connecting by phone or online to work through those questions together.

“The Little Shell are so resilient,” Kroll said. “We’ve gotten to the point of federal recognition and so now we find a way to come past that. There are lots of doors that opened, but we have a lot to learn.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

Spurred by Pandemic, Little Shell Tribe Fast-Tracks Its Health Service Debut published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[its-just-like-the-movies]

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (17, C)

The absolute best thing I heard going into The Killing of a Sacred Deer was the specific, Ohio-based dread it possessed to one critic who knew that Yorgos Lanthimos had shot the film in Cincinnati. He also lives in Columbus, close enough that I could theoretically run into him at the Wex, and it was his comments I remembered as Lanthimos’s camera somehow made the architecture of the hospital Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) works at seem even sharper and more angular. Just as quickly, another review calling the film hollow sprung into mind, as we see Murphy and his anesthesiologist friend discuss watches, a conversation we see as the characters briskly walk towards us while the camera tracks away from them. Already the director’s style and mannered dialogue ring odd somehow, and not in the way he surely is hoping for. My friend Jack and I spent the film’s entire run time scouring for anything worthwhile it had to say and came up empty, which feels even more dismaying given how much we got out of The Lobster after one sitting, let alone multiple viewings. But the ideas here are buried under the inflexible stylization of its writer/director, some unplayable scenes, and a tenuous connection to the world at large that makes the unreality Lanthimos is going for seem out of place and poorly contextualized. Congratulations to Lanthimos for being able to sustain a truly unique tone, but it feels restrictive on a story that badly needs a reason for being.

We spend about half an hour - at the very least - with these characters before the plot itself kicks in, as the odd son of a dead patient of Steven’s says that his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and his children Kim and Bob (Raffey Cassidy and Sunny Suljic) will die unless Steven kills one of them himself, all as their bodies starting shutting down along the way. Until now, we’ve seen Steven as this boy Martin (Barry Keoghan) interacting with the closest thing to warmth the film or the cast can conjure up, only for the relationship to degrade once Martin begins following Steven and violating personal boundaries, acting even weirder while he does it. Wife and children are met with all of their bourgeois non-peculiarities, and no one is either given or seizes a chance to make any of the film’s protagonists something more than muted ciphers for ideas about Cruel Fate and Comeuppance and Righteous Vengeance that Cape Fear does with so much insanity and gusto. Worse than that, the film has a hard time clearing up or enunciating these ideas. If we can laud Sacred Deer for being somewhat unpredictable on a scene-by-scene even as the blueprint can only point us one way, we can criticize it for the way Anna is never ever, for no explained reason, afflicted by the strange malady that is killing her children and should frankly be killing her. Longer scenes veer into increasingly unplayable dialogue, and the lies and enigmas swirling around Steve in particular never grow the ironic resonance that Lanthimos wants. Declarations of loyalty and partnership from Anna, bickering among the children as to who will die, a continued insistence on Bob’s status as the favorite and additional prominence from being the first to fall ill, all seemed to point me fruitlessly in the direction that either mother or son will die, while Kim’s romance with Martin seems specifically to combat how little she’s really present in the family unit. I never thought she was going to die, because the film itself seems to think of her as an afterthought.

In terms of unplayable scenes, what would be worse: Telling your son about a horrific childhood sexual exploit with a sleeping relative? Having to jack off a colleague in close-up for information the film undermines as he tells it to you, even if it is true? A story about how people eat spaghetti while you’re wearing cheap boxers and covered in meat sauce? The many horrific stories and absurd statements that litter Sacred Deer have none of the firepower that they’re clearly meant to, and we are left watching the actors not so much struggle with these lines as watch them push them out without any seasoning or creativity beyond what this admittedly unusual tone has to offer us. Alicia Silverstone, cat-grinning and slurring her way through her only scene as Martin’s widowed mother, is the only performer who creates more than one mood or emotion at once while still attuning themselves to the film’s style while everyone else does the one thing that’s asked of them capably and with barely anything else to offer. Meanwhile, no one moves their facial muscles and struggles to maintain their American accents for more than ten words at a time. Raffey Cassidy’s stiff heaving of herself across the floor and somewhat emotive line readings kept me at her attention compared to her other scene partners. I spent whole scenes imagining the actors pitching their characters at a higher volume, trying to actually make them people until certain lines sank the scene completely. As I said earlier, no one else manages to rise their character above anything but a cipher to expound on ideas I don’t think Sacred Deer ever articulates, makes vital, or does anything remotely interesting with. Maybe finding a human person in this script is a futile effort, but why did only Silverstone seem to try?

It doesn’t help, I think, that the world of Killing of a Sacred Deer is so ill-defined in its relation to the world at large. The Lobster’s oppressive rules on coupling and outlandish locations helped create an atmosphere where Lanthimos’s style doesn’t just make sense but utterly thrive, and contextualizes the world so fully that trips to “the city” do nothing to dissipate the film’s tensions. Here we have nothing to go on in terms of where this is, what kind of reality we’re in. Yes, it’s one where a young boy can cast curses without any explanation, but he seems to be an outlier overall. What kind of world are we supposed to take this as, if our protagonists cannot count on anyone to believe their story? Maybe I’m being unimaginative to balk at this, but this is not the stilted camera of The Lobster, nor are our protagonists trapped against the frame like insects stabbed into a display with pin needles. The camera follows them and is followed by them, the world expansive and open even with the angular geometry of every building seeming so much sharper and confining than it would normally be. Instead of a relatively closed setting, we’re in an unnamed city, where this could happen to anyone, except the premise and execution are both too outlandish and too watery to have any gumption or blood or piss and vinegar to back up its convictions. I never cared much about Martin’s quest for vengeance, about Steve or any of his cursed family members. Nothing in Killing of a Sacred Deer is as funny as the incredibly awkward finale, where opera music blares at full volume while a surviving member of Steve’s absolutely drenches their fries in ketchup, without breaking eye contact with Martin, before the whole family just decides to not pay for their food and leave the diner rather than keep eating in the same building as that creepy fuck. The whole film feels like a hollow exercise for Lanthimos to flex his idiosyncratic style, and I wish there was anything for see in this except for how empty it ultimately is.

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Spurred by Pandemic, Little Shell Tribe Fast-Tracks Its Health Service Debut

This story also ran on Time. It can be republished for free.

Linda Watson draped a sweater with the words “Little Shell Chippewa Tribe” over her as she received the newly recognized tribal nation’s first dose of covid-19 vaccine.

“I wanted to show my pride in being a Little Shell member,” Watson, 72, said. “The Little Shell are doing very good things for the people.”

Watson has diabetes and a heart condition. The shot brought some peace of mind during a time when that isn’t fully possible. One of her sons is among those who have died of covid.

The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is building its health services largely from scratch roughly a year after becoming the United States’ 574th federally recognized Indigenous tribe. Because of the pandemic, it’s doing it on hyperdrive.

The long-sought recognition came just months before the pandemic took hold, arriving in time to guarantee the right to crucial health care and a tribal supply of protective covid vaccines. Federal pandemic relief dollars are speeding up the Little Shell Tribe’s ability to build its own clinic.

Without the CARES Act funds, Indian Health Service and Little Shell officials said it would have likely taken years using only IHS resources to establish a clinic. The IHS already has a list of new and replacement health care facility projects nationwide estimated to cost more than $14.5 billion, yet it reported in 2019 it receives roughly $240 million each year to get that work done. At that pace, it would take 60 years to get through its current needs.

Now, in Great Falls, roughly 2 miles from where Watson got her shot, a brick building under renovation bears a banner announcing the Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic: “Coming 2021.” The former animal hospital site that the tribe purchased will provide medical, dental, vision and behavioral care, alongside traditional medicine, a pharmacy and a lab. The goal is to open the clinic by late summer.

When Watson drives by the future clinic’s site on her way to work as the tribal nation’s enrollment officer, she said, she feels proud.

“To have a Little Shell name on it, to see the results of what our ancestors had worked so hard for,” Watson said. “It’s their descendants that are now experiencing it.”

The Little Shell have advocated for their place as a sovereign nation for more than 150 years. Although Montana formally recognized the tribe in 2000, not having federal recognition until December 2019 kept it from accessing many vital services and programs.

And without a recognized homeland, the tribe’s more than 5,700 members had scattered across Northern Plains states and Canada. The vast majority live in Montana.

Because of the federal recognition, Little Shell tribal enrollment has surged and its Ojibwe language course has a lengthening waitlist.

But this newfound strength is tempered by the deep challenges of the pandemic. The coronavirus has stalled in-person celebrations and planning in the tribe’s first year of federal recognition.

Worst yet, covid has disproportionately infected and killed Indigenous people nationwide, exposing long-standing health inequities caused by a history of colonization and underinvestment in Indian Country. In Montana, Native Americans make up roughly 7% of the population yet account for 11% of the state’s covid cases and 17% of related deaths.

The Little Shell tribal health care system is so new, it doesn’t have electronic health records set up and hasn’t tracked the statistics.

In October, the tribal nation hired its first health director, who had to create a covid vaccination plan while juggling other immediate needs, such as helping establish a transportation service for members to get to doctor appointments. Setting up infrastructure for a sovereign nation without a reservation presents challenges. The tribe’s service area encompasses four counties — Blaine, Cascade, Glacier and Hill — that together would span an area larger than Maryland. Only two of those counties share a border, so the distances are even greater.

Little Shell members now have access to any IHS facility nationwide, but, until their clinic is ready, some services such as dental and vision care are far-flung even for those close to the nation’s Great Falls headquarters.

“Without our clinic, members would have to drive 118 miles one way to get some basic services — and try doing that in January and February in Montana,” Tribal Chairman Gerald Gray said.

In the meantime, the tribe is partnering with the Cascade City-County Health Department to administer about 100 vaccine doses each week, according to the tribal health department. The effort has attracted tribal members from out of state.

Many questions remain as to how the new clinic will operate. Gray said the tribe has been told IHS will operate the clinic for at least three years before the tribal nation has the chance to completely run its services. Bryce Redgrave, the Billings-area IHS director, said in a statement the agency is discussing the possibilities but “no plan has been finalized at this time.”

Little Shell leaders plan to model the clinic after an Alaska Native-owned nonprofit called Southcentral Foundation that has been emulated by other tribes, including the Eastern Cherokee in North Carolina.

“The model is about treating the whole person and prioritizing Indigenous interventions,” said Little Shell tribal council member Kim McKeehan.

What that looks like for the Little Shell is still being decided, said Molly Wendland, the Little Shell tribal health director. She said one idea is to grow plants for traditional medicines behind the clinic. The tribe also plans to have a smudge room, she said, in which members can burn sage and ask for healing.

Linda Wilmore, 51, a Little Shell member who lives in Great Falls, said the new clinic would mean she wouldn’t put off care such as going to the dentist anymore. Without an option close to home, she said, she has often waited until she’s in enough pain to warrant the three-hour round trip to an IHS health care facility that offers dental care, where her insurance won’t leave her with unwieldy out-of-pocket costs.

She is also excited about having a clinic designed for, and by, the Little Shell Tribe. Growing up, Wilmore remembers her family having to ask permission to use IHS facilities in Montana before state recognition in 2000 guaranteed it.

“You felt like the redheaded stepchild asking, ‘We’re Little Shell, can we use your clinic?’” Wilmore said.

The Great Falls clinic will also fill gaps in care for other Indigenous people in nearby rural communities and the city itself.

Little Shell members who live far from Great Falls are sorting through how to tap into newly granted services or how to access specialty treatment they can’t get at an IHS clinic.

Little Shell member Jonni Kroll, 55, lives in Deer Park, Washington, some 380 miles from the tribe’s future clinic. Her closest IHS alternative is a roughly 50-minute drive. Her first call was to book an eye appointment, only to find the clinic doesn’t have an optometrist.

“So then I go to the next clinic on my list,” Kroll said. “That’s a problem across the board with IHS nationwide, and I think that will affect Little Shell people trying to figure out: How do we utilize this when we are scattered?”

Little Shell people are spread out largely because they weren’t recognized, she noted, and now they’re having to play catch-up to understand how to access the services that recognition ensures. She said members, some of whom have never met, are connecting by phone or online to work through those questions together.

“The Little Shell are so resilient,” Kroll said. “We’ve gotten to the point of federal recognition and so now we find a way to come past that. There are lots of doors that opened, but we have a lot to learn.”

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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