Forum Thread

𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥

There was something a little... Not fun about her sitter's ugly face that made her take a step back. Actually, it was almost... Scary?

"Oh that sounds wonderful. I'm sure the other kids will love to have you. In fact, I know a kid who visits every Thursday and would be very glad to listen to your orders. His name is Harry and he doesn't think the rich should rule over the poors. Silly boy should really be taught a lesson huh?"

She puffed out her chest with pride, hands on her hips. "Of course they'd love to have me! I am amazing, after all!"

It somehow didn't occur to her that this was odd of Luther to say. She just had that big an ego.

Wait...

"His name is Harry and he doesn't think the rich should rule over the poors."
"His name is Harry and he doesn't think the rich should rule over the poors."
"HIS NAME IS HARRY AND HE DOESN'T THINK THE RICH SHOULD-"

Her eye visibly twitched, her fingers slowly curling into fists. She started rapidly blinking.

"HE SAID WHAT?! I SWEAR, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM, I'LL, I'LL!!"

Sofia's mind rapidly put together a genius plan regarding stabbing the kid's dog in front of him, spilling paint all over his clothes, buzzing off all his hair, and breaking his glasses. If he had those. Or... Uh, a dog. She'd work out the details later.

She incessantly tugged on Loser Whale's arm.

"Take me there! NOW!"

The moment he saw the doorknob moving, Valerius tensed up, drawing up covers up to his chest before the impassive face of his every loyal twin, a reflection of everything that he wanted to be, stepped through and his shoulders relaxed visibly. Humming weakly, Valerius reached out to grasp at Valeria's shirt, trembling fingers barely finding purchase on the expensive fabric. The food smelled tempting, his stomach decrying how empty it was with a gurgle, and he needed to take his medicine sooner than later but Valerius was more concerned with gently tugging Valeria down to sit on the bed with him. "Woke up... you were gone..." He croaked, lip trembling slightly. The unspoken plea to stay hung heavy between them

---

It was odd, being back in the outskirts of the city that had watched him grow up. The familiar twists and turns hadn't changed all that much, the increase of grime and debris unsurprising though the slight flooding of the cracked streets made his heart clench. The passage of time was written with calcium deposits on dilapidated walls and the cheers of unfamiliar voices echoing down the streets. But as he rounded the corner, the familiar caved in roof of a run down house calmed his heart and he leaned against the crumbling entryway. Among the rubble, a young boy sat with a toddler in his lap, the lump of flesh babbling away without a care in the world as the older giggled, grabbing those pudgy hands and waving them around in tune to the nonsense being spouted.

"Don't think that welp can understand you quite yet." Ivan snickered, watching his baby brother whip his head around so fast that he was slightly concerned that he might get whiplash. It was worth the bright eyed look that Roy gave him though as the younger scrambled to his feet though not without making sure he had a good grasp on the infant first.

"Ivan! Lay me down and stab me twice, why are you here? Did something happen? I thought for sure the rain would stop before you come calling!" Words tumbled out of Roy's mouth at a mile a minute, questions thrown out that could be answered but Ivan couldn't even find it in himself to be to be frustrated, instead the nostalgia of it all making his smile even fonder.

"Cool the jets, wonder boy. What's with the kid? Did you finally grow enough balls to knock a doll up?" He snickered, peering at the oddly well behaved kid who wasn't even crying despite the sudden new face. Even at a glance it was obvious to anyone that it was highly unlikely that this was Roy's biological child, for one the baby looked nothing like his baby brother, but also basic biology and environmental factors meant that it was all but impossible for his almost 14 year old kid brother to have ever fathered anyone. It didn't mean that he couldn't tease though, finding it hilarious to watch Roy's pale face flush a vibrant red, made all the more notable by his naturally thin skin

Tripping over his words as he sputtered out denial after excuse, Ivan leaned back to unabashedly laugh at his brother's floundering, the protests fading into a pout as Roy realized it was a dig at his expense. "Geez, even getting a job doesn't make a bully a saint..." Roy huffed, rearranging the babe into a more comfortable position. "Nah, this little one was left by an idiot I'd love to have choice words to give who thought it would be a swell ol' idea to birth a whole baby but didn't want nothing to do with her after. Can't be no older than two years and even at that age, Madame was still bellyaching 'bout me." Even as he groused over the reality they had all known from a young age, Roy still held a hand up for the babe to try and gnaw on with a gummy smile.

It was weird, seeing someone who was basically a baby take care of another baby, but even if Ivan hated to admit it, Roy was growing up and this was irrefutable proof of it. Around this time next year, Roy would finally be living with him in the city. They'd finally be out of this ditch poor neighbourhood that had housed them for so long, able to live normal lives. But it also meant that childhood memories would stay just that as the ones who belonged in them grew into proper adults.

It was bittersweet, Ivan reminisced as the baby finally succeeded in chomping down on a pale finger

---

Valeria smiled faintly, sitting down next to Valerius.

"Sorry. You know I'd never go too far, brother."

She gently brushed through Valerius's hair, with her right hand.

"Do you wanna eat?"

---

Luther Waters
Chuckling, and relishing in the chance to have finally landed on the brat's weakness, Luther lead her to the community centre.

It was a nice day out, at least in this part of the neighbourhood. The air was breathable and there was no trace of ash on his tongue. A warm and pleasant breeze rustled the first leaves of fall, tossing them in the air with a rush.

Of course the brat next to him wouldn't appreciate it. She'd probably spent her whole life with perfect days like these.

She'd never listened to the hacking of old miners, or the dying wheezes of a sixty year old grandmother as she passed.

The girl would grow up just as spoiled as she was at eight years old, and die at eighty, or ninety, or whatever the age was that people who could breathe would live to.

Usually he felt angry at the injustices in the world... but right now, he just felt hollow inside.

Wasn't he part of the problem? Sure, he grew up breathing the same filthy air aa everyone else, but he was also aiming to join those upper classes. Instead of playing with the other workers' kids, he'd spent hia childhood drawing in a back corner.

In a way, it was his fault. And he hated mom for pulling him out of that world, for letting him be the kid drawing and losing the inside jokes and back-slaps and all the other laughing kids.

She loved him so much she'd given him a world she'd never been a part of.

And he was about to throw it all away. He didn't have the right to do it.

But he had to. For the young grandmothers of the world, and the little boys in the factoriea who dreamed of green grass and three square meals a day.

Shaking off the troubling thoughts, Luther pushed open the door to the community centre.

---

Xenia Coombs
"You seem to be under the impression that you have a choice in this." Xenia tsked, shaking their head. "Sorry oldie, but you're my rival now and yoi better get used to it. I'll drag you back into journalism if it's the death of me."

Then their head snapped up. "Shh!" They snatched his shoulder and dragged him towards the ground.

---

Nora Mawer
Nora left the ol' Mawer place with a skip in their step. They felt downright sparkly today! The world was their oyster, the possibility of infinite rice pudding was in their grasp, and most importantly, they still had syrup on their face.

It was pretty sweet, getting older and wiser and getting the respect for it! Finally mother didn't pester her about wiping her face every time she went out.

She was free to make her own choices.

I'm free as a bird, she told herself. I can go where I want, do what I want, and could probably get away with making obnoxious squawking noises at people.

This was a good thing. In her dreams, she could be a kid, and in the day she could be an adult. Both worlds were hers now.

She was more alive than ever.

So why did she feel so empty?

---

Dana Volkov
The bell rang, signalling the start of class. Dana tugged daddy's toque down over her ears, trying to avoid the eyes of her obviously staring classmates.

"It's okay," she whispered to fake-Whiskers on her desk. "The teacher'll be here and yhen they won't look at you."

Fake-Whiskers stared sympathetically back, even as his stuffed legs gave out and his body slowly sunk towards her desk. She patted him quickly on the head and he went squash and then was lying down flat.

"Is she talking to it?" Someone in the back whispered.

Dana pretended not to hear, just murmuring sweet things to fake-Whiskers.

The teacher would be here soon... he'd have to be...

---

Noticing that they are speeding up, he sped up as well. After all, he wasn't one to fall behind on a challenge.

Looking at Yu Xuanji's gloomy face, he wasn't fazed at the pessimistic answer. If anything, he didn't expect anything less from the other. Afterall, she is a very... introverted person (?)

"Well.." He scratched his cheeks awkwardly. She wasn't exactly wrong to persay, but it felt rude to call it a babysitter. Afterall, he was basically taking care of himself, except for the fact that someone will come by every-so-often to fill in the groceries and as well as dust the house.

But other than that, it was a overkill to say that someone was babying would it?

"It would be a bit over an overstatement to say that someone is watching over me.. Its more like a guard? Y'know like those knights in a fairytale!" At the sudden thought of those knights in shining armor got Jing Yu pumped up. While he wasn't big on superhero comics like the DC series, he was plenty into fantasy!

---

Xuanji nodded slightly, barely moving her head as the pair continued across dirty streets and roads, passing by some people and shops.

“I know what a guard is. You don’t need to explain it in detail.”

The girl was familiar with fantasy, magic and all that stuff, it had kept her alive for years, whenever she was stressed, under constant pressure or just needing something to relax, reading was her first instinct.

Xuanji is a huge fan of books, yet she never seems to have time to spend enjoying them. With her days filled to the brim with the constant chiding of her parents and mountains of homework, reading was the only way for her to escape it all.

She couldn’t deny the fact that she, as young and naive as she used to be, had once dreamed of a life where everything was more simple, maybe if her brother hadn’t died, maybe then her parents would care for her more. But life was cruel, unfair and no one is equal, no one has never lied, lies made up the foundation of society. The world is complex, and dangerous, nothing can be trusted.

Xuanji trudged on, the smoke filled air passing through her lungs, everyday seemed gloomy as ever. As the clouds parted and the sun emerged, it sent a shiver down her spine.

To her, the sunshine was cold, like the world and everything in it.

Leaning into the touch, Valerius all but melted against his sister as he contemplated the question. He was hungry, yes, but the thought of eating anything seemed unpleasant and made his empty stomach flip in a nauseating spiral. He never kept food down particularly well, but logically he knew that some of his medicine needed a full stomach to work. But a full stomach always made him sleepy and he didn't want to spend all his time sleeping when he could be spending it with Valeria. On the other hand though, not taking the medicine meant more time in bed and Valerius desperately wanted his twin to be able to go out too, for both of them to play in the sun and read all sorts of books. Every morning was the same spiral of indecision and guilt before it ended as it always did.

Nodding slowly, Valerius let his blankets pool around his lap as he reached for the bowl with shaking hands. Theoretically he had enough strength to hold it and feed himself, even if just barely, but what sort of little brother (even if it's only by a few seconds) would he be if he didn't at least try to make the older of the two do most of the work?

---

Tazuna Nagamasa

---

*insert sound of annoying loud bird screeching*

Nghh...god dammit, stupid birds.

Tazuna tugged the vaguely blanket-shaped tuft of fabric over his eyes (as much as he could, anyway). It felt like his mental state had been sitting in the middle a garbage fire for the past, what, five hours or so? That was bad, if he got dark circles around his eyes, then he wouldn't be cute anymore. Stupid ugly birds.

At least he had unlimited candy now though, and he wasn't being slowly boiled to death by the sun. He reached into the not-so-darkness, and fished out a tube of sweet honey, the type that didn't have that gross high fructose corn syrup stuff in it. He'd actually gotten an entire box of that stuff from accidentally falling asleep on a bus, then getting off at a random nice-looking stop and going into the first sweet-smelling shop he could find.

He slurped down the super duper sweet and sticky honey and flipped over, burying his eyes in his pillow. Has it been a week since he washed it yet? Why did washing machines smell so good anyway?

And then he heard more screeching birds, and resigned to covering his ears with his pillows.

---

Quincy LaBeau

---

Quincy LaBeau. The brightest ray of sunshine to ever exist. A girl who would practically bounce out of bed in excitement, happy as a lark and raging to start the day. This morning was no different, as Quincy happily flung open the curtains of her four poster bed, hopping into her bunny slippers and skipping to the bathroom. She quickly cleaned up, before dashing downstairs for breakfast with Big Sis. She greeted Faith with a cheery “Big Sis!” before scarfing down the pancakes Big Sis had prepared.


Faith Alsefrostair

---

Faith smiled tiredly at her sister- in all but blood. She flipped the sizzling pancakes in the frying pan, standing on a stool as she cooked. A jug of maple syrup was brought over in the funny little giraffe teapot, the one she knew Quincy loved. Sure, it was a pain to clean, but if it made Quincy happy, then so be it.

Faith’s parents had been willing to adopt Quincy as their own, but then again, they didn’t really care about much. Filthy rich with more than enough to spare, another mouth to feed and room to give was as easy as winking. Maternal care, on the other hand, or any sort of affection, was something her busy parents were unable to provide- to both her and Quincy. As a result, Faith slowly took on the role of a mother, or “Big Sis”, as Quincy would call her.

“You gotta get to school soon, Quin. Finish up breakfast and run along now, okay?” Faith gently addressed her sister, ruffling her hair softly.

---

Faith remembered the day she met Quincy. Alone, tying bits of broken string together and humming a happy tune, grubby and thin- a fragile flower. And yet…Faith could sense such an overwhelming sense of hope. Of joy. Things Faith herself, in all her wealth and abundance never truly felt. And boy, was Quincy’s story dark. Yet somehow, some way, by some miracle, she’d never lost her spark. And so she took it upon herself to adopt the little Quincy, and be the parental figure both never had

Valeria smiled faintly, taking the bowl and the spoon.

"Remember, this is all to make you feel better, Valerius. Eat well, okay?"

She gently lifted to spoon of porridge to Valerius' lips.

"We can play more the sooner you get better."

---

Aleks didn't even flinched, dropping to the ground before Xenia.

"What are we looking at, kid? You're the expert."

He muttered quietly.

---

Xenia Coombs
"Lookie what we have here! Perfect subject, walking right into camera range." With a grin, Xenia brought their camera up to their eye and rolled their finger over the zooming wheel thing.

It focused on a blurry brown shape. Xenia willed her shaking hands to stop. Tamp down on your excitement for now, Xeni. This is it.

"That," they whispered to Aleks. "Is Jace Mawer. Fourteen years old, precious heir to the Mawer family. Went right off the grid for a few months. Dropped out of school and everything."

The teenager trotted along the path, humming a cheerful tune. Her hands swayed casually with her, almost ss if she were doing some little dance.

Xenia held her breath, zooming right in on the face. Scarred, maybe? Bruises?

Something was around her mouth. Blood!?!?! Were the great Mawers perhaps abusing that precious heir of theirs? Oh if only! What a story that would be?

"Now that would be irony indeed," she mused, thinking about the recent donation the Mawers had made to the Society Against Domestic Violence. It could headline all the papers!

Then Jace Mawer stopped, mid-step.

Xenia froze, stupidly afraid that they'd been heard.

Then the little Mawer dropped to her knees and began... scrounging in the filthy creekbed?

---

𝓢𝓸𝓯𝓲𝓪 𝓔𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 𝓐𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥

What's he so happy about? Sofia wondered with a huff. But there was no time to think about that. She thundered into the centre and practically broke down the doors.

Or... Rather she just rudely shoved them open. She stomped over to one of the kids, plastering a very false-looking smile upon her face.

"Heyyy, YOU THERE! Do you know a kid named Harry?" she demanded. "We could be GREAT friends!"

Her schemes of earlier were momentarily forgotten. All she wanted to know was where that little skunk was.

Aleks continued watching, silently.

"I don't think this is the story you want. I could give you one, if you want."

He muttered, watching carefully.

---

Luther Waters
Luther chuckled, his good mood temporarily restored watching Sofia shake down a hapless little kid. Apparently she made for a fantastic weapon to unleash on the public. But unfortunately, he had a little kid to torture.

"He's usually in the art room," he told her cheerfully. "Wants to take after big brother Luther, I hear."

Yeah right. The little 'art prodigy' just wanted to work on fake mustaches to slap on various statues around town. The mayor's statue had recently developed a floor-length beard which Luther was a little bit impressed by, but he couldn't say the same for the man in question. The mayor had ordered a crack down on the culprit, so little Harry had gone undercover for the time being.

Knowing the kid though, no doubt he'd be finding new and exciting ways to get himself on the bus to juvie.

---

Xenia Coombs
With an excited cry, Jace yanked something free out of the ground. She fell back on her butt and held the thing in her hand up to the light.

Xenia zoomed in, but she couldn't get a good look. Honestly, it just looked like a rock.

What was the Mawers' baby genius doing, grubbing around in the dirt? What had she hidden there? Was it something important? Something related to the Mawer mystery?

They weren't sure if the taste in their mouth was that of intrigue or the leaf that had somehow made its way inside. Gagging and grimacing, they rolled the camera back to the spot where the thing had been buried.

"Trust the professionals, old man." She grinned, not taking her eyes off the bizarre sight. "'Next generation's not as dumb as ya think. When there's a story, we feel it, right down to our bones. There's a taste to mystery, you see, and when you get it, you know it."

---

"Alright. Whatever you say. Man, I just remembered! I'm not supposed to get sidetracked. Damn. We'll, I'm sure Siobahn will get it. Whatever."

He was muttering to himself now.

"I'm only 31. I'm not that old."

---

Xenia Coombs
"Shut up and look!" they hissed, shoving the camera at him. "What sort of journalist are you? Where's your camera, where's your binoculars?"

Huffing, they pulled out their stalker gear, patted their bag back down into the bush, then peered through the lens.

Jace was gone.

"Whatcha up to?" someone asked.

Xenia shrieked, falling back onto their butt. The binoculars thumped uselessly onto their chest as they stared up at Jace Mawer, the heir to the most powerful family in the city... right in front of them.

"Uh," was the best thing they could manage.

Jace grinned. "Paparazzi, huh?" She looked weirdly pleased. "I thought so! When did you guys show up? Here to capture my re-entry into the rugby world? Well you're in luck! I start today!"

---

Aleksandr sighed.

"I'm a retired journalist! God's sake, you brat..."

He flinched when Jace spoke, getting to his feet, brushing off the dust.

"You're Jace Mawer, and I need to get going. Bye!"

---

Xenia Coombs
"You're not getting away that easy!" Xenia hissed, snagging him by the collar and dragging him back to them. "If we go down, we're going down together."

They stuck out their foot to trip him if he tried to escape, took in a deep breath and prepared to lie their a** off.

With a smile, Xenia clasped their hands together. "I'm afraid we've taken a few wrong turns. We're part of the local horticulture club, and we were looking for a er... leafia central...ilius? But then we noticed your finely cultivated bushes here, and my rather unintelligent partner falsely determined it was edible! We only wanted a little taste, you see."

Jace giggled. "That's a cute story!"

"Yep!" Xenia sweated. Great one, huh? You definitely believe it and want to immediately let us go.

"So which magazine do you work for?"

Xenia choked. "Old man, back me up here!" they hissed. "I think we're losing her!"

---

"I work for The Central Times."

Aleksandr said, rather calmly, turning back to face Jace. He extended a hand, smiling.

"Aleksandr Konstantin. I was helping my rather impulsive student here with a story. I do apologize for spying on you. This young girl-"

He accentuated by patting Xenia on the shoulder.

"-insisted on this. I really do apologize for disturbing your peace
"

---

Xenia Coombs
"Hey, why are we throwing me under the bus?" Xenia protested, pouting. "Besides, you're the senior. Senior citizen in fact! You should be taking responsibility."

Jace laughed, eyes focused on the old dude. "Don't worry, I don't care!" They took Aleks' hand and shook it vigorously. "Nice to meetcha! Always a pleasure to meet a few journalists. We'll be friends when we make it big, right?"

"It's... fine that we were stalking you to uncover your family secrets?" Xenia blinked. "You're saying that? You? Jace Mawer?"

"Oh, people follow me all the time." Jace shook it off, still smiling. "And call me Nora! Jace is a bit too stuffy a name for my taste."

"Uh." Xenia had no idea what to say to that. They weren't all that good at human interaction themself, but that was in no way a normal reaction.

What happened? From what she'd heard, Jace Mawer had been snarky, condescending, and downright cold. There'd even been reports of minor bullying in the academy that'd been shut down by plenty of fat cheques, which was how you knew they were real.

---