World’s End | You’re A Bonafide Rarity

somekindafrankenstein:

The base would be home, at least for a little while. Layla hoped she found somewhere that she could settle in for a little while. She was just glad they agreed to put her and Gabe in the same place. She imagined the bitch she’d thrown before, as a nice paper pushing fuckwad had called it, was on her record so they’d just give her what she wanted in that respect. Layla generally didn’t complain much but she didn’t want Gabe in a different base and really he expressed the same sentiment. They were more like brother and sister than cousins and she felt loads better if he was at a base with her.

Plus, it helped to have someone who understood how the vampire thing worked with her.

Everyone at the base seemed sinfully cute, if not a little tame. They all were well behaved. She imagined it might be the first time meeting. Jared seemed like he was fun. She’d lost track of the guy he’d been running around with at some point. She thought his name was Shep. It was an odd name so she wasn’t sure she’d heard it right. Other than that everyone seemed chill. Which was good, but maybe a little dull.

Even Ethan, who she had talked to a little one on one for longer than anyone else was very nice. Drop dead gorgeous, but it seemed like most of the people here were. She appreciated him because she always got worried talking to the base leader about being a vampire. However Ethan, unlike any other captain she’d had, was really accommodating. He made it sounds more like they were working with her, making sure she could do her job and be comfortable and not so much about knowing her place. He even called it a condition, very politically correct. It gave Layla the feeling that made there was more to him than there seemed to be. Or he’d dealt with some interesting hunters. Either way she was thankful.

At the moment Layla was on her own. She was doing her traditional go round of a base. She looked through the open rooms to find one that worked with her. She always tried to find one with few windows, made the chore of taping them all over far easier. Hopefully one with a ceiling fan of some sort for the lack of air movement and room for a fridge. She wasn’t very particular but ever since she got changed she had to be.

She got to one of the room and stopped, startled a little, at the sight of one of the hunters attached to a cieling fan. Her brow furrowed then she followed his eye line down to…a julachid in the base that was just sitting there, tame as a puppy. She still reached for the gun she didn’t have but then she heard Brie behind her and a series of clicks. The Julachid stopped to smile at her as it ran by and she watched it jump into Brie’s arms and then heard the distinct sound of Ethan laughing.

Layla looked back to who she now realized was Shep attached to the ceiling. She tilted her head and bit her lip with a smile, trying not to laugh. “Who let that in here?” She walked further into the room and pointed up at him. “And why are you acting like there’s a whole hive when it was one little cute one?” She grinned up at him and shook her head. “Scared enough to pull an Indiana Jones with a ceiling fan?”

Shep had no idea how a julachid had managed to get into the base. Their security was pretty tight; it had been a long damn time since anything had slipped inside undetected. He’d only gone into a room to dig into one of his many hidden booze stashes. When he’d turned around, there it had been, sitting calmly as you like, like it was waiting for him.

Shep had been a hunter for a while, and he’d faced down a lot of creepy crawlies that were conventionally more scary than julachids. But for several reasons, which he never discussed with anyone under any circumstances ever, julachids were the worst for him. He’d prefer a grimhorn or a hives of Nohrer’s wasps any day of the week.

Swallowing hard, he acted on his first instinct, which was to put as much distance between him and the julachid as quickly as possible. This would mostly involved leaving the room, but the julachid was situated between him and the door. Luckily, Shep had become something of an expert at high-efficiency, all-terrain navigation, more commonly called “climbing up shit real fast like.” He got a running started and kicked himself off on one wall, using the momentum (and his innate Astika reflexes) to push himself up the opposing wall. From there it was just a matter of a few creative turns and jumps, and then he was hanging from the ceiling fan.

Structurally speaking, it wasn’t the best way to go. The fan wobbled a little as he clung to it, and the julachid was directly below him, so if he slipped… Well, he thought to himself, he just wouldn’t slip was all. He couldn’t say the same thing for the fan itself, which looked a lot less steady now that he was hanging from it. Still, it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. His heart was hammering away in his chest, and he tried to stay calm. Of all the things that could’ve turned up, it had to be a fucking julachid.

But suddenly, one of the new hunters had entered the room. The pretty blonde one. Well, there had been two pretty blonde ones. This was the pretty blonde one with the ass like Aphrodite. Or what Shep assumed Aphrodite’s ass looked like, anyway. It wasn’t like he’d ever met the lady, just heard stories about her from his dad. The point was, that on a scale from one to unf, this pretty blonde was like unf plus infinity. Shep smirked despite his precarious situation.

“Layla, right?” he guessed. He hadn’t paid very close attention when they’d gone around saying names. He was more of a visual learner, and he had a hard time paying attention when people were saying words. “Don’t mind me. Just hangin’ out.” The pun hadn’t been intentional, but he mentally shrugged and just went with it. He made a point not to look down, not wanting to freak out in front of his new teammate, Pretty Blonde Sexy Lady with Unfinity Butt. God, he needed to learn her name and fast. The improvised nickname was a mouthful, even in his head.

He was drawn from this pensive philosophizin’ when he heard the very familiar sound of Ethan laughing. The other members of the unit sometimes teased him for his fear of the creatures, and generally he just shrugged it off. It wasn’t like they knew how deep-rooted it was or why they freaked him right the hell out. If Shep had to guess, the julachid (instrument of terror), probably belonged to one of the new people, and Ethan had enlisted the owner in a prank. Which was fine. Shep made a mental note to retaliate later in his own particular fashion.

“Well, I’m guessing that Fearless Leader orchestrated the scheme, but it probably belongs to someone else,” he said out loud, dropping from the ceiling fan as soon as the julachid was gone and landing gracefully on his feet, thank god. He stood and brushed himself off. “And with those little buggers, I ain’t inclined to take chances.” He stuck a hand out.

“Shep,” he said, even though he’d already introduced himself. “And I don’t normally Indiana Jones it. Not indoors anyway.” He grinned.

“Did you need help findin’ anything?” he asked, looking around. The base was pretty big and, if Shep had to guess, had been designed by someone who either had a maze obsession or severe ADHD that rivaled his own. It could be tricksy to navigate if you didn’t know the way.

World’s End | The long and winding road

regardstothesquirrels:

The look on Ash’s face wasn’t lost on Ryan at all. He’d known her almost all her life and even though he wasn’t going to admit it, besides Freddie she was the only and closest thing he had to a friend. He could see through just about any look that she could muster. His eyes went wide when she produced the wad of bills and he took it from her as she walked to him and stared for a few seconds. 

“It might’ve helped a little bit.” He said, his voice having a bit more venom in it than he meant it too. Why didn’t she give this to him before they got to town? Why hadn’t she said something? Why the Hell would she let him take her bracelet, the one that he knew was so precious to her, if she had a roll of bills he could kill someone with in her pocket? After a second Ryan shook his head and let out a sigh.

It was because she didn’t know. 

Ash didn’t know anything about the real world. Though it was damn smart of her not to pull the money out in front of everyone that was downstairs. But she didn’t think to tell him that she had money, that they might need it for something right away, especially a place to sleep or for some food.

Ryan turned a little to look at her when she sat down on the bed, nodding. “I’ll get it back for you, I promise Ash. I’m sorry I had to take it.” He watched her try not to yawn, smiling a little for the first time in a couple of days. He was pretty tired too, but his hunger was a little bit more of an issue than his sleep. Not to mention there was a working shower not fifteen feet from him and it would be freaking fantastic to get a shower and a full belly before sleeping. 

His eyes went wide when Ash said which side of the bed she would take. Ryan started shaking his head right away and stood up. “No…no no no, Ash we are not sleeping in the same bed. We aren’t…I…will sleep on the floor, you take the bed.”

He moved to the edge of the bed again, but this time Ryan tucked the roll of bills under the mattress for the moment. “I’m gonna take a shower and if you wanna fall asleep go for it but, the floor is fine for me. I’ve slept on the floor for years.” Ryan felt his cheeks flushing just a little bit at the thought of sleeping in the bed with Ash.

Sure, he liked her and Gods knew he wasn’t blind, she was gorgeous, but that was the problem. They were both stressed and he was sure that she was feeling more than a little lost and wanted someone to connect with. Not to mention that he might have thought about Ash in a none too polite way once or twice or fifty times.

It just wasn’t a good idea.

Ryan bit his lip and shook his head, stepping away from the bed. He was suddenly desperate to change the subject. “We’re gonna have to buy some new clothes and uh…probably some food and some other stuff. Maybe stay here for an extra night or something.”

Ash ran her finger over her bare wrist, tracing over where her bracelet usually rested. She didn’t realize she was doing it, and when she did notice she stopped. Ryan had said that he would get it back, and she had no reason to doubt him. She flinched when Ryan took the money from her. She scolded herself internally. In retrospect, it made a hell of a lot more sense to give him the money sooner. She’d keep it in mind for next time, she supposed. Anyway, she understood that Ryan was probably just being snappy because he was tired. Well, she guessed he was tired. She certainly was. 

“You don’t have to apologize, Ryan,” she said warmly, smiling. “I trust you. Everything’s gonna work out the way it needs to.” She was perfectly aware that things could go horribly wrong at any minute for any number of reasons. But dwelling on these possibilities wouldn’t help, so she focused on the positive. She frowned at Ryan, furrowing her brow a little.

“Don’t be silly. There’s plenty of room for both of us up here, and I’m not gonna let you sleep on the floor,” she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched Ryan stow the money under the mattress. She really didn’t understand why he was arguing with her. Her frown only deepened as he continued, turning into a full-on pout as she stood.

“Don’t change the subject, mister,” she said, walking up to him and prodding him in the chest. She wasn’t normally this bossy, but that it no way meant that she was incapable. She was a Tanner; it was practically genetic. “Lemme be clear. You told me not to leave your side, so I go where you go. If you sleep on the floor, then I sleep on the floor.” As if proving her point, she sat on the floor, looking up at Ryan.

“Seriously, you’ve been sleeping on floors and crappy mattresses. Just, you know, treat yourself,” she insisted, smirking a little bit. “Anyway, it’s not like I’m gonna try and impugn your honor, mister.”

“But speaking of clothes, we can go out and get them after we eat. And maybe take a nap,” she said, rubbing at her eyes. “You know, if you want. In the meantime, I can wash what we have with us.” She looked around the room, noting the soaps that lined the counter in the bathroom. It wasn’t ideal, but it would at least get a fair bit of the dirt out of their clothes.

(Source: electricinkondigitalpaper)

Crack | World’s End | A Little Shy And Sad Of Eye

somekindafrankenstein:

It didn’t take Riley very long to find a place for food. At most ports there were those little markets. This one was no different. Riley always liked these tight, little busy places better than stores. The stores were so quiet and nerve wracking in comparison. These places people were always on their way as well. Too wrapped up in their own things to notice someone odd, and if they did well they were fellow travelers. The place wasn’t full proof obviously. Nothing ever was, except home. He still preferred markets.

Riley went to a few different places, stocking up on as many things as he could. They would have to mix and match a few things to get Solo’s preference but it wasn’t a daunting task in the least. They couldn’t be picky when it came to food already bundled up for meals. He was loading up for a few days, or trying to. Riley didn’t want to have to split up again unless they had to. Solo was better around people and Riley wanted to keep an eye on him.

After he’d gotten plenty of food and some drinks, and made sure to get something to mix with the whiskey so he didn’t burn through their supplies, he stopped by the bar again. Luckily this time there was a younger woman behind the bar and the asshole from the previous day was nowhere to be found. Riley flirted his way into another bottle bottle of whiskey for much cheaper than the man had charged them before heading back to the hotel.

He hooked his bags over his shoulder as he cimbed the stairs to their room. Markets always reminded him of Alexis. She’d always loved them and had dragged him to them more times than he could count. Of course, for a long time he never even complained. He enjoyed watching her happily searching around for what she needed. He sighed and shook his head when he got to their door. He wondered now if he got enough whiskey.

As he pushed the door open his eyes went to Solo on the couch and he closed the door quietly behind him. Riley just looked him over for a moment one of his eyebrows raised. Half naked again. If it had been almost anyone else Riley would’ve assumed this was a move. Given the fact that it was Solo Porter it really wouldn’t be. Riley still looked at him for a moment, a little sad that it wasn’t a move and headed passed him as quietly as he could.

When he got to the kitchen and glanced around he realized Solo had basically cleaned the whole place in his absence. It was odd but he knew some people stress cleaned. He certainly didn’t but he wasn’t the rule for the world. He started unpacking things with as little noise as possible and was doing fairly well until one of the plastic containers slipped from his hand and his head jerked up to look at Solo first then he knelt down to start picking up some of the things on the floor with a sigh.

At the sound of the plastic hitting the floor, Solo’s eyes snapped open. He’d always been a fairly light sleeper, and he hadn’t been asleep for very long. He turned and lifted his head, smiling at the sight of Riley. Solo stood carefully, making sure that the towel had him completely covered up before he padded gingerly to the bathroom. His clothes weren’t quite dry yet, but he didn’t want to walk around in a towel, so he pulled them on anyway. The white fabric of his t-shirt clung to his skin, but he ignored it, sticking his legs into his still-damp jeans and going to the kitchen.

“Do you need help with anything?” he asked. Most of the time, Solo was the opposite of helpful where kitchen duties were involved, but he was capable of putting food away. The only real problems came when actually food preparation was involved. That usually fell to Emmett or Garrett. Solo’s efforts were better spent setting the table and generally being away from anything that could potentially start a fire. It wasn’t that he was a pyromaniac, but the undeniable truth of it was that food just tended to burn when he was in charge of cooking it.

Noting that there were things on the floor, Solo immediately crouched down to help pick them up. There wasn’t really that much, and honestly, knowing how hard he’d scrubbed the floor, Solo didn’t feel bad when he picked up a stray strawberry and blew it off a little before taking a big bite. It was fresh, he could tell by the juice on his lips, and he turned to say as much to Riley.

Just like the night before, Solo found that he was had misjudged the space between them, and Riley’s face was incredibly close to his. For a moment, Solo just stared like an idiot, strawberry still in his mouth. All he could think about was the night before and how warm and safe he had felt with Riley, how beautiful his friend was, how kind. Then, unsure of where the audacity had come from, he swallowed and leaned forward, briefly rubbing his nose against Riley’s cheek before lightly kissing it. He turned bright red and rocked back on his feet, scrambling backwards as soon as he’d realized what he’d done.

“Sorry,” he sputtered, eyes wide and mortified, “I’m sorry. Riley, I’m sorry. Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” Riley was his friend. He shouldn’t have done that without asking first. God, he thought to himself, you’re so stupid. What were you thinking? You probably freaked him out. Oh, god, what if he’s mad? What if he doesn’t ever want to talk to you again? What have you done, you idiot? He scooted back and hugged his knees to his chest. He’d never done anything like that before, never even thought about it, and now he didn’t know what to do. His forehead fell against his knees, and he very much wishes he could make himself disappear.

“Sorry,” he repeated, peeking up at Riley. “I understand if you’re mad.” By some miracle of God, he hadn’t ducked out, but he could feel the back of his neck starting to prickle. He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, but it wasn’t really his strong suit. He thought about reaching out and taking Riley’s hand to help calm him, but he couldn’t do it, not after what he’d just done.

World’s End | I can tell that we are gonna be friends

somekindafrankenstein:

“Oh I wouldn’t dream of you cleaned up. I like you in the natural state.” She grinned and she knew she was blushing a bit. He didn’t even seem to care that a woman had caught him naked. She found it endearing. She wasn’t one for much modesty herself. Of course the first time she met someone she wouldn’t really go naked, she was a little more modest than that. She reached out to take his hand and shook it with a wide smile.

“It’s nice to meet you. In all your glory.” She winked at him. “Dakota. Last name’s the same as Chat’s.” She let go of his hand and shook her head a little bit. “You’re something else.” A good something else, at least in the way he looked.

“Well, I doubt he would describe me as ravishing, which thank you by the way.” She grinned at him and moved around to her brother’s desk an pushed herself onto it and crossed her legs. “Cause ya see, Isaac Porter, I’m his sister.” She gave him a wider smile. “I doubt he even classifies me as company.” She shrugged a little at him. Then it clicked in her head about his last name. She’d heard it before of course, from Chat and around. 

Porter meant Shifter.

Her smile got a little wider. It wasn’t common knowledge which families were shifters but out on the ocean connections were different. She leaned forward a little and lowered her voice.

“I’m going to assume you’re naked because you’re a shifter right?” There was excitement in her voice. Dakota didn’t get to meet many other shifters outside her family so she was excited. She stuck her nose in the air a little bit. “I’m a shifter too.” She grinned at the blonde man then leaned forward again.

“What’s your favorite?”

Isaac very much appreciated that Dakota didn’t seem shaken by his lack of clothing. To him, it either signaled that she was a very relaxed person or a shifter or perhaps both. He wouldn’t have minded either way, though he rather hoped for both. The important thing, though, was that she hadn’t run screaming from the room, so Isaac chose to focus on that instead.

Well, that and her beautiful smile and stunning eyes. He closed his hand around hers and shook it. On a whim, he quickly lifted it. He pressed his lips to the back of her fingers, grinning as he let go. Tish used to tell him that a true gentleman used to greet a lady with a kiss to the hand. It meant respect, and if Isaac had learned only one thing from being raised by Mama Bear, it was that you treat a lady with respect.

“I should hope that “something else” is a good thing,” he laughed and winked back at her, his hands resting on his hips. He repeated her name in his mind before saying it out loud. “Dakota. Well, your name is just as beautiful as the rest of you.” He supposed that it was a bit of a line, but he didn’t really mean it that way. As far as he was concerned, he was only telling the truth.

When she said that she was Chat’s sister, he didn’t bother to hide his mild surprise. She didn’t really look like Chat, though he himself didn’t look much like his brother. Isaac tried to recall if Chat had ever mentioned having a sister. The man wasn’t secretive, per se, but he didn’t really talk about himself all that much. Isaac suspected that a large part of Chat’s attention was honed in on running the ship. It must’ve been terribly stressful, captaining a ship. But he was quickly distracted by the apparent excitement in Dakota’s voice. Isaac smiled and laughed heartily as he nodded.

“I am,” he confirmed, glad that his guess about her was correct. He hadn’t met many female shifters that he wasn’t related to apart from Albie, and, really, she might as well have been related as far as he was concerned. He leaned in a little, too, dropping his voice. “Tell you what, fair lady. Show me yours and I’ll show you mine?” Without waiting to see if she’d agree, Isaac stepped back and quickly shifted into a large lion. He shook out his fur a little and blinked his large eyes at her, letting out a soft, friendly growl.

(Source: electricinkondigitalpaper)

World’s End | The long and winding road

regardstothesquirrels:

Ryan’s eyes turned slightly to look at Ash as she cradled her hand. He was sure that he hadn’t accidently burnt her, he hadn’t done that on accident in many many years. That feeling of guilt that was starting to become all to familiar stabbed at him again but he didn’t say anything until he spoke again in the town. He watched Ash move her ring and when she slid the one off of her thumb, he took it and slid it on his ring finger. 

It felt strange, he’d never worn any kind of jewelry before and his hand felt heavy but she was right, they needed to look like they were actually married. He mumbled a quiet thanks and moved his hand from her back to take Ash’s hand again, only this time Ryan threaded their fingers together as they walked toward the inn. 

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of inside, Ryan spotted a bar off to one side of them and a desk to the other. A few of the patrons at the bar were staring at Ash a little too long, but eventually they turned back to their drinks. He did his best not glare, but he already felt over-protective of Ash anyway. Even if he didn’t technically want her tagging along, she was here now and he wasn’t going to let her get hurt. 

The clerk at the desk looked up at the two of them, not seemingly surprised by their lack of baggage and difference in clothes. He didn’t smile really but his voice was still polite. “Can I help you two?”

Ryan let go of Ash’s hand, trying his best to smile. It felt weird to smile at a stranger, but he thought he was doing quite well. “We’d like a room for the night please, something to eat too if it’s not too much trouble.”

The clerk nodded, but looked at Ash for a second before turning back to Ryan. “No…not to much trouble. But…uh…you able to pay, son? Can’t have any charity way out here.” 

Ryan’s smile dropped for a second. Shit. He hadn’t thought that they’d have to pay right now. His plan had been to stay and then sneak out before check out time the next morning. It was probably stupid of him to assume that but, he had hoped it would have been easy. Should have known better. 

He turned to look at Ash, then took her hand. He had spotted a bracelet on her arm earlier and, knowing the Tanners, it was actually worth a bit. His eyes caught hers as he slipped it off of her arm, a little apologetic, but he turned and sat it on the counter in front of the clerk. “This good enough?” 

Apparently it was good enough because after the bracelet hit the counter and the clerk realized it was real gold, they got their key quickly and a promise of a hot meal in about half an hour. Ryan opened the door for Ash as they got to the room, seeing that though it was basically just a bed and a desk next to a bathroom. He let out a sigh as he locked the door behind him, then tossed the key onto the desk before sitting on the corner of the bed. 

After a second he looked up at Ash, but spoke quietly. “I’ll get your bracelet back for you.”

Ash twined her slender fingers with Ryan’s and couldn’t help but smile to herself as they walked into the inn. She sternly reminded herself that it was just part of the act so that they could get a room without raising too much suspicion, but it was also kind of nice to share in that with Ryan. She kept her gaze straight ahead, though it occasionally flicked up to Ryan’s face. As blunt as he was with her, and as much as she logically recognized that he didn’t really want anything to do with her, she couldn’t not look at him. Besides, it helped to keep her eyes from wandering around the bar. She could see people looking at her in her periphery, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Uncomfortable, mostly.

The man at the counter addressed them both, and as promised, Ash deferred to Ryan. As soon as his hand left hers, she threaded her arm in his, leaning her head against his shoulder. She thought it would help sell the “happy newlyweds” angle, while also alerting the people that had looked at her to the fact that she was, as far as they knew, spoken for. It occurred to her that some people didn’t care if a person was married or not, but nonetheless she felt a little more secure, if not from the signal, then from the closeness to Ryan.

She looked up at the mention of money. There was the money that she’d grabbed before they’d left, of course, but she wasn’t really sure how much a room at an inn cost. She was about to bring this up, but Ryan was on top of things. He slipped the bracelet from her wrist, and she bit back on her protest. Her brother Robert had given her the bracelet as a gift when she’d turned ten. It was her favorite piece of jewelry, and she never took it off if she could avoid it. It was the one thing that she’d made sure she had before they’d left, the only thing that really mattered because to her it was irreplacable.

But they were on the run, and they had to do what they had to do. So she bit down on her bottom lip and watched with no small amount of sadness as Ryan set the bracelet down on the counter. Ash may not have known how much a room cost, but she damn well knew the value of jewelry, and the bracelet was more than enough to pay for a room and some food. Hell, if what she’d overheard from her father about the value of real estate, they probably could’ve bought half of the inn. It was clear from the way the man appraised the bracelet that he knew it was expensive, but he didn’t understand just how much it was worth, and Ash knew it. She kept her mouth shut. Pointing out the value of the bracelet would only make it harder to get it back later, and anyway it might raise some questions that they’d rather not answer.

She followed Ryan to their room, and though her eyes went a little wide, she thought she did a pretty good job of masking how thoroughly underwhelmed she was. She stepped out of her shoes and stood in the middle of the room, shifting from one foot to the other as she rotated her ankles, feeling a satisfying popping. She offered Ryan a small smile, not wanting to make him feel bad for taking her bracelet.

“You just did what you had to do,” she shrugged, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a roll of bills. “I should’ve given this to you earlier, I guess. It’s probably for the best. It’s not much, but I’m sure people would’ve noticed if I’d pulled it out downstairs. It’s only what I had in my room when we left. Should be just under a thousand. Fifties and twenties mostly, but I can’t imagine we’ll have trouble breaking them down.” She rubbed her arm and looked down at her feet.

“Obviously, getting food and stuff is more important, but if you do find a way to get my bracelet back, I’d appreciate it,” she said honestly. She sat down on the opposite corner of the bed and stifled a yawn. She hadn’t realized how tired she was, but now she was looking back at the bed. She wriggled her nose a little.

“I’ll take the side next to the wall,” she volunteered, looking back at Ryan. “I really don’t mind. And I promise I don’t even kick in my sleep or anything.” She assumed that Ryan wouldn’t want to share the bed with her, but this wasn’t something that she felt was up for negotiation. She wouldn’t dream of forcing him to sleep on the floor.

(Source: electricinkondigitalpaper)

Bourbon Street | Character Profile | Ash Leitner

Read More

Bourbon Street | Character Profile | Beauregard Sheppard

Read More

Bourbon Street | Character Profile | Gideon Sheppard

Read More