The House On The Mountain

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potassiumboron

potassiumboron

~I'm drinking coffee on a trampoline~
Original poster
MYTHICAL MEMBER
Posting Speed
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Online Availability
3pm - 1am (GMT / BST)
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  1. Beginner
  2. Elementary
  3. Intermediate
  4. Adept
  5. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Nonbinary
  4. Transgender
  5. No Preferences
Genres
Monsters, supernatural, fantasy, romance, criminality, slice-of-life (modern or set in past, usually with some twists)
And even despite all the reassurance, and all the constant smiles he had been giving off to his cousin, Terry was hardly... in the most stable position he could be in.
Hell, how could he be? When examined, he was hardly able to be truly happy and content, right?
For one thing, there was Seth. All their lives, all Terry had done and all he had strived to do was care for his little brother as best he could. And why? Because, on the basis, they were brothers, and despite Axel now being the caring father figure that was around to give them all the attention he could -helped, no doubt, by Rudie's constant love and care she gave-, but on a more higher level, he had always pitied Seth. Sure, he realised that it wasn't the nicest thing, to pity his brother, and he knew, particularly in recent days, that his brother would hit the roof if he knew how he'd been perceived, but Terry could hardly help it. Seth had always been a victim at school, he'd been cheated on by the boyfriends he'd fallen for - maybe that was his fault for falling in love so quickly, but that wasn't necessarily a bad trait.
Aside from Terry, there was the fact of having always loved Rosemary, and that not being recuperated for all these years he had liked her. Maybe he should have told her, sure, but the constant dread of rejection had prevented him from doing so. Besides, who wanted to date him now? Compared to how he had been before the accident, he was a shell of his former self, and Rosemary? She deserved a hell of a lot more than someone who could barely walk five minutes to the beach without exhaustion and pain kicking in.
Hence, despite the rather beautiful scenery of the beach at evening, he couldn't exactly relax as much as he had formerly intended to, and quietly peered at the girl beside him, at least to recognise that she didn't have to be there with him. She could quite have easily declined the offer of going out, and the fact she hadn't was a big plus point.
"Rose? I... appreciate you coming down here, y'know? I mean, aha... you could have just... gone out or something, I s'pose."
 
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Sinking her hands further in the sand, the witch easily took in the softness between her fingers and let her eyes flutter close. Anyone else would probably be disgusted, though Rosemary reveled in getting her hands dirty. She was born to get dirty, take in the soil and love it, nurture it, like many others did not. Her soul was connected to the Earth, and that's where she felt best. In some other life, she knew she was some botanist, and a gardener in this one. Taking her attention from the sand, she peaked a pair of beautiful green eyes to lock on the other.

She would be lying if she said she wasn't one hundred percent oblivious to Terry's advances until now. Since she was even able to comprehend attraction, til tonight, she just assumed she was too hideous to be loved. Her self confidence had deteriorated when she had asked three boys in a row to dates, or prom, and was always rejected. But, here she was, sitting on a beach with the man who she had no idea had loved her for years, babbling on about his secret attraction for her. She couldn't help but blush.

"Well, I WANTED to be here, Terry. Why wouldn't I? I'll always want to hang out with you, unless I'm working of course. Gotta get some income, hm? And working at the fast food joint isn't doing it for me anymore. Honestly, you're so paranoid." She let out a hearty laugh for emphasis, motioning the other to lay back as well as she stared up at the stars- that of which were half gone due to the light pollution behind them. "We should come here more, you know? I just love the scent of the ocean, something about it is just sort of invigorating."
 
"I always liked the ocean. I grew up here, and my Dad always made sure Seth and I had a childhood we could look back on happily. Like, we always played in the sea-- I met two of my girlfriends here, actually. My only two girlfriends, that is," he laughed, looking back on his former flames with nothing but embarrassment on how he had ever gone to that extremes to date people who were obviously lacking a nice personality. Sarah had been a judgemental cow, who had bullied Rosemary badly, and the other, Chloe, lacking any real passion for anything, and a lack of individuality was something that did turn him off. He didn't necessarily want someone who just agreed with him - sure, similarities were good, but differences were as well. It made a more interesting composition of people, in his case, and that was why he liked -or loved- Rosemary. She was interesting, had her little quirks. But the fact he was physically attracted to her was a major plus point too.

"Anyway, you could have just done some work for the kids. You have that cool thing going on at that school, right? Pack the fast food joint in, work full-time as a teacher. Rose, you're pretty awesome, and kids will love you," he reminded, knowing her fun loving personality was ideal with working with children who needed that as well as stability to grow and develop in a school environment. "I'd have loved having you as a teacher, honestly."
 
"Oh, stop!" She gushed, her cheeks growing beetroot red at the compliment as she abruptly sat up. "I'm really not that good, but even if I was terrible I'd still want to do this, y'know? This is my passion! I want to help other kids appreciate art and creativity in a world where schools just force science and math down your throats. Yeah, they're just as important, but where's the fun and individuality! I mean, we're HUMANS, not a bunch of computers pumping out answers to equations that have been solved millions of times before us. That's the rad thing about art, you know? Everyone does everything differently. One person wont draw a sun the same as the other. Hell, one kid might at glasses while the other might add a funny nose. It's expressive, and cool, and SO unappreciated." Ending her babble/rant, she took a deep breath before smiling up at the other. "Honestly, I KNOW I was made for this."
 
Listening to her, it was obvious just how attracted he was to her, and the fact she was so passionate about something some people just didn't understand was amazing to him. Enchanting, even, and not one second did his eyes ever leave her face, sitting with his knees tucked under his chin as he simply observed her passionate rant with a growing smile, forming dimples indenting both sides of his cheeks.

"I've never been more certain that you'll succeed," he admitted, having always had faith in every single member of his family, and what they dreamt to do, and if Rosemary intended to go on and become a teacher, then he sure as hell was going to support her every single step of the way. "I've never been a good artist, y'know? And my teachers at school just said I ought to not bother, but... you make it sound a lot different. Like it's just an expression and an indication of individualism. Not some forced thing measured by grades... Mm, you'll be an amazing teacher, Rosemary..."
 
Offering a toothy grin, the redhead grabbed her bag to rummage through it to grab a small, somewhat rinky point and shoot camera she had owned for a good ten years now. Clicking it on, he offered the other to take hold. "You should take a picture of us, you know! It would be nice! I could hang it up on the wall in the classroom, show everyone how cool you are. I wanted to do this before, but I didn't have the time... No time better now, then the present, eh? Now, say cheese!"

When the camera flashed, the girl eagerly checked to see the picture. She knew that vampires often- only on occasion- showed up in photographs, but she was desperate and she knew the whole setting was perfect. She was HAPPY, and in her happiness wanted to remember that moment. Noticing the other was a tad faded, she shrugged it off and offered the man besides her a peak. "I'm glad you took me out here, honestly. I got a date set up, I found some really nice shells for Ostara, it just works out!"
 
"I needed to get out the house, I guess. Plus your Dad and Archer probably wanted some time alone," he shrugged, understanding that, given how raw the early relationship was, they probably needed some time to feel comfortable being around one another again, and being a little intimate without the addition pressure of the family eyeing them.

Sighing to himself once spotting his image was faded and blurry, he didn't exactly know what to expect anyway. Every photograph he had taken had turned out that like that, and it was always a source of silent embitterment. He liked being a vampire, sure. It had its perks, and given his half-blood status, the fact he could walk about in sunlight unlike fully blooded vampires was definitely an advantage. But the problem of photographs and reflections was something he had to grow used to, and yet, even to this day, it was always a moment of self-irritation when he was faced with the reality that it just wasn't going to happen effectively.

"It has been lovely," he beamed once deciding that he oughtn't get down and ruin the frankly fantastic half an hour they had had. "Honestly, it's better than me lounging around inside-- I'm going to go find Seth now, anyway. He... He can't just be locked out the house, Rose. He's my brother, and he needs somewhere better to stay than at one of his 'friend's' places."
 
Her bubbly personality cut short the moment Seth's name was brought up. Dropping her smile, she shot a quick picture of the beach before shoving the camera away. "No, Terry. He's chosen this path, and he needs to realize what he's doing isn't okay. I REFUSE to let him live with us any longer, if all he's going to do is eat our food and terrorize our home. It's disgusting, the fact that you and everyone else just ignore how problematic he acts! He's not going to realize what's wrong if we just keep letting him hurt us. I'm doing this for his own good, even if it's harsh treatment."

Getting to her feet, the usually calm Rosemary pressed her fists into her eyes and took a shaky breath before helping the other up. "Let's not talk about this, okay? I don't want either of us getting stressed over something like this. What's done is done."
 
"But he is still my brother, and he's just... misguided," he mumbled, his affinity to constantly defend his little brother something he couldn't quite seem to ever snap out of, as much as he did desperately want to leave behind his defence of Seth, especially after his medication had been stolen, and he had had to suffer a few nights in agony before some more could be bought.

That was unforgivable, sure, but Terry was pretty much a big softie.

"Rosemary, I... just wanna make sure he's safe, so... come help me find him? I can't walk that far without assistance, and I don't want to have to call my Dad off his date with Rudie to have him worry and search the city with me," he mumbled, his eyes and general demeanour nothing short of desperate and pleading, especially when he couldn't even gather the energy to pull himself up from the sand, a defeatist snarl leaving him as he flopped back against the sand. "...Help me up, at least..."
 
"I'll drive around a bit with you, how does that sound?" She suggested, helping him up once again and balancing him on her own weight. "That's it, though. You can't walk to far, and I'm afraid of this part of town at night. The drunkards like to take advantage of women around here, and I haven't finished my self defense training..." Once buckling him in, she offered him a gentle peck on the lips before climbing into the other side of the car. "Okay, you and I are out to find the little twerp huh? We're the investigation team, off to find a future convict."
 
A kiss?

It was fair to say that the boy, formerly a gym-nut who was always working out and refused to show an ounce of bashfulness, had turned his back on his old ways, and was now slumped down in his seat a little, hands covering his raging cheeks out of social embarrassment. He didn't necessarily want his cousin to perceive him differently, to see him as too emotional these days, so hiding it seemed plausible... even if it just drew more attention to his blushing state.

It was only really until he heard her comment that his cheeks heated in more than just bashfulness, slight defence pricking the hairs up on his arms. "He's not a future convict, Rose. He's a vampire who's naivety has made trust a bunch of assholes, that's all... Like fuck am I letting him commit any crimes."
 
"You act as if he hasn't already. Do you forget when he stole yours and Milli's medicine? You know, the medicine you needed to LIVE? Or is that just a faint memory for you? You need to realize that what he did and will do isn't okay! Just... Trust me on this, okay? I don't have high hopes for him, at a-all.."
 
"...He's still my brother," he sighed heavily, mostly of of exhaustion at how repetitive he was being, and he recognised that, but he could hardly just go and turn his back on his brother, especially when it just gave him the perfect excuse to go even further down the rails.

Turning his head to stare out the window sadly at that fact, he rested his forehead against the cool of the glass while staring out in hopes of seeing his brother, even if he did sort of know that he would be dwelling in the darker, less... pleasing areas of the seaside town.
 
"I'll drive for a half hour, okay?" She whispered, starting up the car as she began to drive. In the silence of the ride, Rosemary anxiously flicked on the radio to at LEAST give the car some noise outside of the ocean and the revving engine. With her eyes locked on the road, she made sure to drive slow enough for the other to at least spot something slightly similar to that of their cousin. After fifteen minutes, Rosemary cleared her throat.

"What if he doesn't want to come back, Terry? What if he's completely content ruining his life like this? I don't want to change that for him, if he refuses to learn otherwise."
 
"He won't do that. Deep down, he knows what he's doing is wrong, and he just needs some prompting is all," he huffed tiredly, his eyes religiously locked on any figure he spotted in the downtown area, frowning whenever a physique similar to Seth's never did turn out to be him. "Rosemary, you have to have a little faith in him. I know it's hard, because... you've been hurt by him, an' stuff, but I want to believe in him. If he decides to totally turn his back, I won't keep trying to save him, simple. But he hasn't told me that yet, so I'm gonna keep trying," he said sternly, peering across at her with a sudden determination flashing in his eyes. "Just try, okay? I... I'm determined to bring my brother back, aha."
 
"I HAVE tried, Terry. I've BEEN trying. But after the 20th time of seeing him the way he is, my hope is sort of all gone. I love him, he's my COUSIN, but it's tiring. I have enough stress on me as it is, I don't think I should be using it on someone who doesn't even want to be helped. Let's just... Not talk for awhile, okay? I don't want to start crying." As she spoke, her hands clutched the wheel til her knuckles grew white. Saying she was frustrated was a major understatement, since she was BEYOND pissed. She lost her BEST FRIEND, no, ONLY FRIEND after the move. All she could do was watch him ruin his life.
 
He slumped in his seat, ready to simply take her plea and quietened immediately - the last thing he wanted to do was annoy her and upset her even more than she evidently was, so settled down with head pressed on the window to at least keep watch, even if it was in stark silence.

That was, until, he perked up considerably at the sight of Seth, sat on the steps leading up to a house, and as rare as it was, without any of his friends or even his boyfriend, having clearly been with him earlier on when Rosemary had called. Despite smiling at having spotted his brother, even Terry couldn't pretend he was in a good way - his brother's unique style of harem pants and cute, large jumpers had been destroyed and left in the past. Instead, the boy donned scraped jeans, covered in bits of dry blood, and any shirt his boyfriend lent him. He was pale, with dark rings fitting underneath his dull eyes, though they tended to come alive whenever drugs were involved, at least. There was no secret that he was on something - the jittery paranoia he was overcome with was evidence of some substance being used, at least.

Once forcing Rosemary to come to a stop, Terry leapt out eagerly, ready to collect his brother and force him home and into a hot bath, as protective as ever, though spotting just how bad things were close-up did... worry him further. Seth was practically only semi-conscious, drawling in incoherent sentences and practically slumped against the bushes of the garden, and when lifted up by Terry, did nothing to stop him - it could easily have been a stranger ready to take advantage, and he would have been unable to even recognise it.
 
Despite being more than reluctant, Rosemary too hopped out of the car to assist the boy inside. She told herself it was to help Terry, that's it, even if a part of her genuinely wanted Seth to be happy and healthy. She would refuse to admit that til the day she died, in her mind. Why wouldn't she? The boy was an awful person, after all, and he needed to be treated like one whether they were family or not.

"Come on, I don't want his friends coming to harass us," She whispered, moving quickly to lift him into the back of her car carefully. "I want to go home, come on."
 
"They won't harass us. They just left him out here like this, Rose! They don't give a shit about him," he growled, only now hissing from pain once the adrenaline left and he was sat back in the car, having to physically bite back from crying - vicious cramps in both legs was agony to say the least, though peering back at Seth distracted him a little. "He's... not bad, Rose... Just drive, I'll sort him out later. And I'll fucking sort his boyfriend out too... somehow, haha..."
 
Saying nothing in response, she was in no mood to lecture the other on why hurting others was wrong. She had enough of constantly pestering everyone on what they should be doing and why what they were doing was wrong. Instead, she let herself sizzle out and drive on towards their home, far away from the more shiftier side of town.

She didn't speak until reaching the shared house. Grabbing her magical key, she unlocked the door and promptly grabbed the younger halfling, then Terry, THEN her bag. Locking her car safely, she sighed in exhaustion once closing the door behind them and locking it .
 
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