Posts by jacksonwhittmore

Yes- anybody who wants to can attend Blair's party

Anastasia Stellan

Anastasia could sense that the woman who had raised a man like Xoem would never do anything to harm Elizabeth in that moment, unless Liz gave her one hell of a reason to. Despite the anger that was radiating off of the older woman, Ana could sense that she was level headed, her mind constantly looping over everything that could possibly go wrong, planning for any and all outcomes. She was not reacting this way out of fear or anger... she wanted to protect these people, in the same way that they wanted to free the slaves. In a way, Xoem's mother almost reminded Anastasia of Kairo. In the few days that she had had to re learn everything she knew about Kairo (and she was no where close to remembering everything) she had begun to understand that much. Even now, she felt safe with him. Had someone asked her to go somewhere alone with him her body would not have reacted with the same trembling and nervousness that she would have a week ago.

She stepped in front of sister almost protectively, "With all due respect Mrs. Mall" she paused, her sudden movements had for some reason caused a wave of dizziness to wash over her. She had been experiencing this quite a lot lately, and had credited it to the fact that her mind was constantly being rearranged, every day she was getting used to change. Soon, however, it passed and she began speaking again. "We do not need your permission to carry out our mission... but we would very much like your help." Ana smiled softly glancing from her sister, to Xoem, and back to his mother who had what seemed like an impressed grin on her face. She wondered how Leia would've reacted to this woman, if she had to guess, she would've assumed Leia would've liked her spirit, the same way Ana did. She didn't exactly radiate maternal energy like Leia did, but she had the same leadership qualities of the general, the same protective instincts.

Having assumed that this was where they would be staying for the night, she slowly slid her heavy back pack off of her shoulder, setting it down on the couch where Kade and Elizabeth were sitting. The bag was filled with many things, luxurious outfits for their missions, a few weapons she had been given from the resistance, and perhaps most importantly her light saber. Right now, all she wanted was to slip in her sleeping clothes and crawl into a bed, however make shift it was. She was exhausted from their travels and she knew that tomorrow would be no easier than today, in fact, it would most likely be harder. Her bright blue eyes flicked towards Kairo for just a moment, in the time that they had been in here his steady presence had been comforting, but now when she looked at him she felt butterflies fluttering around in her ribcage. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady herself. It was all too strange to her, she wondered if she had ever felt these feelings before, the smallest hint of a crush blossoming in her heart. She assumed that she had but she couldn't be sure, not until Kairo showed her.

It seemed Xoem and the others were still engaged in conversation with his mother, so she decided to approach Kairo. She was hesitant at first, her footsteps timid, but soon she closed the space between them, her fingers gently latching around his wrist, although they were not quite long enough to wrap entirely around his large limbs. "Another memory... please... you promised." Her voice was hushed, she could feel eyes on her, though she was unsure whose they were. She stared at Kairo, pleading, longing, in her eyes as she waited for any sort of response from him.

KADE GENESIS

When Ana left, Kade had taken her place next to Elizabeth, his fingers lacing with hers out of habit. Every time he did so he was reminded of the cruel words Snoke had drilled into their heads time and time again, love was weakness. It wasn't true, and yet, it was, in a way. Kade knew that had he needed to protect Elizabeth, his strength would've been immeasurable. There would've been no stopping the force user from destroying anything in his path to ensure her safety. But still, she was a weapon that could be used against him. Were someone to genuinely threaten Elizabeth's safety, the massive form of Kade Genesis would've crumbled at their feet, promising anything to ensure her well being. The thought constantly nagged at him, perhaps it was why he always needed to be in contact with her in some sort of way, he needed to remind himself that she was here, she was safe, and she wasn't going anywhere if he had anything to say about it.

He watched as Xoem's mothers eyes flicked between himself and Elizabeth, the hint of a smile touching her lips. He debated it, allowing his mind to slip into hers unnoticed, although he did not want to push his luck with this woman. He was already thankful enough that she was giving them a place to stay and to rest, and on top of that, she seemed to know this area better than any of them. But he couldn't help but wonder what was going through her mind, perhaps she found it amusing, the futility of falling in love in a galaxy ruled by the unrelenting first order. Perhaps she was reminiscing on a long lost love of her own. He wondered where Xoem's father was, if the man was still alive, or had ever even been in the picture to begin with. Kade himself had never known his real parents, neither his mother nor father, only the poor monsters that dared to take in the two brothers on Sullust. Taking them in was a strong term for what they did, in reality the boys had been more slaves than sons to the cruel people.

"We do have a plan for tomorrow, if it helps any..." he spoke slowly, not sure if he was ready to disclose this information, but realizing he didn't have much of a choice either if he wanted her help. He knew they were behind closed doors and yet still, he lowered his voice, ensuring no unwelcome ears were listening. "The resistance has given us some... " he swallowed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the suit he was expected to wear during the mission tomorrow, "clothes to help us blend in in the city. Our sabers will be concealed... I'm particularly skilled at getting inside people's heads, as is my brother Kairo..." he turned towards Kairo, but it seemed his brother, along with Anastasia had vanished. Kade quickly returned his attention to his own task however, pushing his curiosity to the side. "Kairo, Xoem, and Anastasia will make their way to the slave quarters below the casino, Liz and I will keep watch and ensure nothing goes awry topside." He explained, he hadn't liked the idea of splitting up at first, but it was a necessary evil.

TESSA ROSE VALENCIA

*I don't care if I fall in love with the devil, as long as he loves my the way he loves Hell*

You’re far more beautiful than she is, anyways. Tessa could not stop the pink blush that rose to her cheeks, warmth flooding her skin as he green eyes flicked to meet the liquid amber pools of his irises. She didn’t know what to say at that moment, she fumbled for words, trying to think of something clever, but Donovan had caught her off guard with that compliment, so she simply shut her mouth and tried to hide the girlish smile that blossomed on her lips. When they arrived at Lola’s the first thing Tessa noticed was the flustered look of the hostess, she glanced at Tesa in shock and the younger twin had to fight the urge to bury her face in her hands. Evidently, Esme had done something to bring that blush to the hostesses cheeks, and the hostess seemed to think that Tessa was Esme. She quickly turned to face Donovan, realizing she had left out what was probably an important detail. “Oh um… I should probably warn you, I’m a twin, so if you hear some crazy stuff about me there’s a pretty high chance it wasn’t actually me.” She laughed gently, before waving at her sister, who was sitting next to... a boy. Tessa’s eyes immediately narrowed at that familiar ocean blue, she had definitely seen this man before. Was he one of Esme’s flings? Was she supposed to know who this was? Her mind began racing as she tried to think of where she had seen him before.

Tessa sat down in the booth quickly, sitting across from Esme and avoiding eye contact with both her and her new boy toy. Thankfully the waitress had already brought over four glasses of water and Tessa began sipping away at one even though she wasn’t thirsty. It was an excuse to give her another thirty seconds to figure out what to say, but Esme, of course, always had something to say. Her sister made a joke about them both catching something today, clearly referencing the fact that Tessa had brought Donovan along, and the blonde twin immediately began coughing. Choking on her water she had accidentally inhaled as her face turned a bright pink, “Esme!” she chastised, catching her breath, “He’s just a friend…” it wasn’t exactly a lie. It wasn’t like she had specified that this was a date, they had just met that day, how could they be anything more than friends… if even that? They were just… acquaintances. Save the fact that Donovan was an incredibly attractive acquaintance. Esme wasted no time in introducing herself to Donovan, who thankfully introduced himself in turn. Tessa was already drowning in embarrassment by the time she was introduced to Lucas, the name did not ring any bells. That, combined with the fact that Esme had bothered to introduce him was enough for Tessa to decipher that she was not, in fact, meant to know who this was, despite the nagging feeling that she did know him.

She smiled pleasantly, shaking his hand as he introduced himself. He seemed nice enough, admittedly, he did not really seem like Esme’s normal ‘type’ but perhaps her sister was broadening her horizons in terms of her many partners. “So Lucas… I’m assuming Esme invited you to the party tonight?” Lucas affirmed her suspicions which allowed a tiny smirk to creep to her lips, “So are you going as heaven or hell?” His answer was quite amusing as he leaned in towards Tessa, feigning a whisper as if he were trying to get advice from her on how to impress Esme. Tessa let out a laugh that rang like bells in the air as she nodded enthusiastically, casting a playful side eye at Esme, “Ya… I think that ought to do the trick.” She smiled, winking at Esme. Whoever this boy was, he was extremely different than the kind of people Tessa usually saw Esme with. He spoke again, this time his voice directed at Donovan as he suggested that the other boy come dressed as an angel, Tessa tried to picture his massive form dressed in anything even remotely angelic. Considering his entirely black outfit at the moment it seemed that was almost the exact opposite of how she would’ve pictured him. “Hey… if it makes you feel any better, Esme’s picking out my outfit for tonight so I have no idea what I’ll be wearing.” She grinned, mischief in her eyes as her eyes scanned over Donovan once more, biting her lip coyly.

Her phone dinged and she dug it out of her purse, her heart stopping at the name that flashed across the screen. She quickly opened the text and read it at lightning speed, her heart sinking into her stomach as she tried to piece it together. “Es … you didn’t….?” Tessa shook her head, resenting the fact that the thought had even crossed her mind. Her sister would never do anything like that, word must’ve gotten out from the football team, after all…. He was on the football team and they had invited the whole team. “Aiden’s coming tonight.” She explained, her face falling, somewhat in fear, and somewhat in disgust. Aiden, her horrible ex boyfriend, had somehow managed to weasel his way back into Tessa’s life. She heard Lucas’s voice chime in at this, questioning who Aiden was. “He’s uh…” Tessa blushed, her green eyes flashing to Donovan and then back down at her phone which she clicked off and shoved back in her purse. “He’s my ex… he’s kinda…” she thought for a moment, trying to find the right words before finally settling on “douchey.” with a sheepish smile. “No doubt he’s going to drink all of the alcohol and spend the entire night monitoring the beer pong table.” She rolled her eyes, glancing to Esme for some sort of reassurance. That was when a mischievous smile touched her lips as she turned to face Donovan, “Hey… are you any good at beer pong?” she imagined Donavan and Lucas completely destroying Aiden at his own game, maybe then he would finally leave her alone.

She was reminded once again how achingly sexy Donovan was, the way his muscles rippled underneath his tight shirt. She crossed her legs trying to calm herself down as an unwanted heat rose to her face. She began twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger absentmindedly. Had anyone read her thoughts right then and there they would’ve had blackmail worthy material, thankfully, no such person even existed. Little did she know that one of the only people who could do just that was sitting right across from her at the moment.

LUCAS JACOB REGENCY

*Some angels are destined to fall*

Lucas could not prevent the slight widening of his pupils as Esme asked for his number. Admittedly, he had not expected her to warm up to him so fast, if you could even call it that. At this point, Lucas was under the impression that Esme had far too many walls up to let anyone get too close. He suspected that this was why she kept Jack at a distance, friends with benefits but nothing more, although he couldn’t be sure. He once again cursed the fact that he could not get into that pretty little head of hers. But she thought he was cool… that had to count for something right? Even though she was still calling him ‘new kid’ and not Lucas, he kind of liked it, a pet name of sorts. It would do, for now. He was fully aware of Jack looming nearby, territorial, he could tell that Jack was proud of the hickeys that littered Esme’s skin, and Lucas bit back the warmth of the jealousy that rose in his chest at this, however, his expression remained sly, a small grin touching his lips. Jack would have no idea that Lucas saw him as competition. Although it was evident that Jack was already threatened by Lucas, the slight peck on the cheek that he pressed to Esme’s skin was nothing if not vindictive towards Lucas. He was coming to lunch with her? He cocked an eyebrow, a pleased smirk growing on his face, her words had not seemed like a question… but more of an order.

Lucas watched as she took off almost immediately, headed towards a destination that Lucas had no idea of. He did not want to admit that maybe he had hung back so he could watch the way her hips swayed when he walked, but he certainly wasn’t alone in that desire. In the 18 years he had spent watching over Esme, he had grown accustomed to the looks she elicited from both men and women alike. She was a temptress who was all too aware of the effect she had on people, by the time she turned to ask him if he was coming, he blinked quickly. Forcing himself to tune out the many rather sexual thoughts that were fluttering about the room, most aimed at Esme, but some, much to his surprise were aimed at him. He cleared his throat, shaking his head as if to get the thoughts out of his mind, and followed after Esme. He had never been so thankful that he had taken the time to actually buy himself a phone. It was an older iphone, but it did the trick. He knew any college student today without a phone would raise suspicion. He quickly punched in the numbers to his cell phone, he had memorized the digits the second he had bought the phone. “I don’t think this is entirely fair…” he chuckled softly, “You can text me whenever you want and all I can do is wait…?” he teased, although his smirk indicated that this was all in good fun, he didn’t actually mind it. In fact, it took the pressure off of him, not having to make the first move. Although, with Esme, he doubted he would’ve had to regardless, she liked being in charge, she liked putting herself out there, and Lucas was all too happy to be the target of her advances for once.

Esme, on the other hand, was the target of almost everyone’s advances it seemed. This was made all more apparent by the once over the hostess gave the petite girl. Although Esme didn’t seem to notice, she was too caught up with the happenings of the diner, he wondered if she ever noticed the way people looked at her… the way he looked at her. They sat down at one of the many booths and Esme began looking over the menu. His stomach grumbled lowly, now that he was no longer a guardian angel he actually had to eat…. He rolled his eyes but then quickly averted them down towards his own menu. He allowed his thoughts to wander as he glanced over the many different meals offered, each one sounded more delicious than the last. Tessa would be showing up soon, and he could not stop the way his heart thumped when he heard that. When Esme had seen Lucas in the past, her memories were distorted, altered so that she would not remember Lucas’s face. Tessa, on the other hand, had seen Lucas, on more than one occasion. Most recently, Lucas had been the ‘paramedic’ that pulled Esme from the wreck of her car accident, when Tessa arrived on the scene her eyes had burned into Lucas with a look that almost assured him she recognized him. Of course she did, Lucas had been the hero to Esme’s story one too many times, and Tessa had witnessed this. He wondered when she walked in if she would recognize him, if his entire plan would go up in flames.

Then he realized, Donovan had been meant to rendezvous with Tessa in her Greek Mythology class today. As if on cue he watched as Esme’s mirror image made her way in, and “Speak of the devil…” he almost wanted to laugh at the irony of his statement as his eyes fell on the massive figure of Donovan Morningstar, right in tow behind Tessa. Immediately he turned to explain himself to Esme, “Sorry that’s uh… that’s actually my roommate.” He forced himself to suppress the predatory growl that was growing in his chest as Donovan approached, he wanted to keep the demon as far away from Esme as possible, but it was becoming evident that as his relationship with Tessa grew, his presence around Esme would become unavoidable. He sighed through gritted teeth as Esme introduced herself, and Donovan seemed only too happy to rub this in Lucas’s face. The two boys’ eyes locked together in a stare down until Esme finally introduced Lucas to Tessa, whom he had been trying to avoid eye contact with. He immediately got to his feet, reaching out to shake hands with Tessa whose eyes were clinical as they assessed him. He held his breath, did she know? “Tessa, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” almost instinctively his mind brushed against hers, searching for any signs of recognition, but as far as he could tell, Tessa just felt like she was having some sort of Deja Vu.

Finally, the blonde broke the tension and smiled. Thankfully Tessa was nothing if not sweet, and he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding as she introduced herself in turn. She asked if Lucas would be attending the heaven and hell party that night and he nodded with a grin, “yea, your sister was kind enough to extend an invitation.” he grinned, turning to face Esme with a playful wink. It was not long before the next question arose, what would he be going as? “Well… “ he leaned in as if he was having a ‘secret’ conversation with Tessa, despite the fact that he was well aware all four of them were listening. “If I want to impress Esme I should probably go as hell right? The whole… bad boy thing?” He bit his lip joking before sitting back down in his seat, his hand trailing under the table so that it rested on Esme’s thigh, although he did not make eye contact with her. His eyes then turned to daggers as he switched his attention to Donovan, “Hey, Donovan… why don’t you go as an angel? Come on… a sweet guy like you?” He smirked knowing he was getting under the demons skin and enjoying every second of it.

Skairipa#1899 (discord) If Flyers accepts you I've been DESPERATELY trying to find an end game love interest for my instructor Maverick - I'll attach his form here if you're interested

jacksonwhittmore wrote:

Full Name: Maverick Ashton Maddox -

Name Meaning: "Maverick" - Independant, "Ashton" - of an Ash Tree, "Maddox" - Son of Madoc

Nicknames: Went by the Alias of "Ash" for a majority of his life, when he was younger he would sometimes be called "Mav" but usually just went by Maverick

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Birthdate: September 3rd

Rank: Instructor

Previous Faction: Dauntless

Aptitude Test Result: Dauntless

Appearance: Maverick stands at an above average height of 6'2, weighing in at around 180 pounds. He is lean but covered in muscle, the way most dauntless borns are. Growing up in the Maddox family he was constantly pushed by his parents to be faster, stronger, work harder, but it was never enough. He shares the same charming and dashing good looks a his brother, and he's well aware of this fact and often uses it to his advantage. His eyes are a sparkling grey/blue, completely identical to the eyes of his brother Caspian. Those eyes of his however, are darker than Caspian's... they hide more secrets, more pain, more mystery than the golden boy he grew up with. The brothers also share the same strong jawline, sharp and masculine, equally high and prominent cheek bones and their thick eyebrows that always give away emotions before they can cover them. At first glance, one might almost think the two were twins, apart from Maverick's hair that is. After years of hiding his true identity, he changed both his name, and his hair color, striving not to be noticed as the famously missing, presumed dead, "Maverick Maddox". His once dark brown hair was dyed to look dirty blonde, although anybody that knew him before he changed his name knew that he shared the same dark locks as his brother Caspian only much shorter, once again, the resemblance between him and his brother is almost uncanny.

Height & Weight: 6'2" 180lbs

Body Modifications: Maverick has the dauntless symbol burned into his left shoulder, a mark from when his father essentially branded both him and his brother. They have identical burn marks, that one might mistake for a tattoo at first, but upon closer inspection is clearly a burn.

Physical Disabilities: N/A

Faceclaim: Colton Haynes

Personality: Had you known him as Maverick Maddox, you would've remembered a young boy, a miniature Caspian, who never felt good enough. Maverick followed his brother around like a shadow, the two were rarely apart, always wrestling each other, racing, getting into trouble, all the things brothers do best. He would often hang around the older kids that Caspian was friends with and as a result he was very mature for his age, pushing himself harder than most to be faster, stronger, more dauntless. But suffering the incessant abuse from his father began to get to him, Maverick began withdrawing from friends and even Caspian, often hiding black eyes and bruises, claiming he had simply gotten into a fight. After the fire, Maverick was never the same, and couldn't bring himself to face his older brother, the only other survivor of the fatal disaster, so he let him believe that he had died. He took on the persona of "Ash", a spin on his middle name and a clue to anyone that knew, he had survived the fire, risen from the ashes. He posed as a transfer from abnegation, and made his way through dauntless initiation. Ash was nothing like Maverick, Ash kept to himself, never socialized, and only focused on one thing. Getting through initiation. To most in his class, he seemed like a fighting machine, lethal with knives and guns, but not as dangerous as he was when no weapons were involved. He could take down anyone in his class when it came to hand to hand, and it got him the reputation as a stuck up brute. But inside, Maverick was screaming to get out, to find Caspian, to return to his old life, but he couldn't. It's something that's always haunted him. After finally reuniting with his older brother Caspian, who he found to be in less than peak condition, he took on his brothers role as an instructor. He looks out for himself and a few close friends, resuming his identity as Maverick Maddox has caused him to be reunited with more than a few childhood friends and romances. He cares for everyone he meets, even strangers, and always tries to do good to make up for the one mistake he can never take back. He strives to do what he thinks would make Caspian proud.

Positive Traits: Brave, Caring, Has become confident in himself as the years passed on, smooth talker, quite good with the ladies

Negative Traits: Impulsive, secretive, not quick to trust, can be aggressive if provoked, unsure of who exactly he is and where he fits in

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

MBTI Type: (I've literally been on this site for seven years and still don't know what this MEANS)

Likes: Fighting, girls, water/swimming, adrenaline junkie, reading (surprisingly)

Dislikes: Fire, his father, crowds, cats, being told what to do, being asked too many questions

Habits: Bites his lip when he's thinking, fidgets with his hands when nervous, often avoids eye contact if he see's someone who might recognize him

Fears:

Pyrophobia - Fear of Fire

Agoraphobia - Fear of crowds

Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders

Sociophobia - Fear of social evaluation (not fitting in, not having any friends, being isolated)

Fear of his Father

Fear of something happening to Caspian

Hobbies: Maverick takes runs early in the morning, early enough that he knows nobody will be up to notice him. He also spends a significant amount of his time fighting for money, it's not so much a hobby as a means of getting by. He also can often be found swimming in the river where the water calms, it is one of his only outlets for stress, but he generally only goes at night.

Mental Disorders: N/A

Family:

Caspian Maddox - Older Brother

Maria Maddox - Mother (Deceased)

Alaric Maddox - Father (Deceased)

Backstory: Maverick had a happy childhood for the most part, constantly playing with his brother, living the life that all dauntless children dreamed of, but unfortunately his life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Him and his brother both suffered excessive physical, verbal and mental abuse from their manipulative father, but for some reason Maverick always felt that he was targeted more. Caspian was the golden child, he did everything right, but every time Maverick slipped up or failed to meet his fathers expectations, he was met with beatings that left him bloody and bruised. Caspian helped him get through it, and with his brothers help Maverick seemed to be doing okay, until the night that their father had gotten particularly drunk, deciding to brand both the boys with the dauntless insignia. Caspian was first, and Maverick watched as his brother writhed in pain against the hot metal, and then it was his turn to suffer, screaming as his father pressed the red hot poker into his skin, Caspian held his hand while it happened. The boys were told that it was a symbol to remember where they came from, but they both knew it was a warning, only a shadow of what was to come if they ever chose to leave dauntless, or failed to live up to the family name. That night was the breaking point for Maverick. Once Caspian was asleep, Maverick took the branding iron his father had marked both of them with, allowing the thing to get so hot in the flames that it could start a fire of it's own, and he entered his fathers room. When his father awoke to see 12 year old Maverick standing over the bed holding the branding iron, he threw his young son against the wall, and for the first time in his life, Maverick fought back. He shoved the iron against his father, who tossed the thing aside where it landed on the carpet. Maverick fled, fearing his fathers wrath and slamming the door behind him, not knowing that the door had jammed shut. It wasn't long before the carpet caught fire, and Maverick saw smoke. He panicked, not knowing what to do, so he ran, a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The next day Maverick learned that both his parents had died in the fire that he had unintentionally set, but Caspian was still alive, his brother had survived. The young boy was overwhelmed with guilt, and couldn't bring himself to face Caspian, instead choosing to disappear, the rest of dauntless presumed the boy had perished in the fire alone with his parents, nobody ever found out the truth. He lived with the factionless for a while, they were the only ones willing to take in a 12 year old run away, but when Maverick finally turned 16, he dyed his hair blonde and slipped into dauntless the day of the choosing ceremony, posing as an abnegation transfer under the name "Ash" - a play on his middle name, and a metaphor for what had caused his identity change in the first place. He kept to himself, avoiding making friends or socializing, he excelled at hand to hand combat, but was rather troubled in phase 3, his mind was a dark place now, and allowing other people inside it terrified him. Thankfully, he was able to finish towards the top of his class, a lethal weapon by the time he finished initiation. He still lived under the name "Ash", making a living as a competitive fighter in an underground network where drunks would come to bet on the best fighters where they faced each other in combat. He lived a modest life, in a crappy apartment with a few other misfits, struggling to keep afloat and constantly terrified someone would recognize him as Maverick Maddox, but eventually Caspian found him and pulled him out of the darkness. His older brother helped him land a job as an instructor for the new initiates and he's been trying to do well by his brother.

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Relationship Status: single

Crush(es): OPEN

Past Partners: Maverick has had numerous flings with numerous women but never anything serious

Turn-Ons: long hair, feminine, caring/nurturing type, someone who can see through his defenses, passionate

Turn-Offs: Abrasive personality, stand offish, nagging, extremely short hair, emotionally unavailable

Stats:

Guns- 8

Knives- 8

Hand to Hand - 10

Playlist:

- Changes - xxxtentacion

- Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

- Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine

- Cherry Wine - Hosier

- I see Fire - Ed Sheeran

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KADE GENESIS

Kade stared back at Elizabeth reluctantly, she was quite the stubborn one. Not that he blamed her, he knew that he was too. The light saber argument had become a battle of who would hold their ground the longest. The idea of Elizabeth wielding a saber was both receiving and terrifying. On the one hand, she would certainly be able to protect herself better, but on the other hand, she could hurt herself, or someone else, and anybody who took one look at her wielding such a weapon would know she was a force user. They would not mistake for a simple blind girl, no... this would put a target on her back. But if Kade knew anything about Elizabeth, which he did, he knew that if he didn't go with her she would just go by herself, and he hated that idea even more.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his long cloak, the one he had worn when he was a knight of Ren, if anything, maybe this would convince civilians that he still, in fact, was with the first order. He hoped that would be the case. "Fine..." the word finally emerged from his lips, although it was clear he was not happy about it. "We passed some barters on our way in... I'm sure one of them will have a part smuggled in." He spoke through gritted teeth, hating that he had to reapply this cloak that he had worn when he had caused so much horror. His eyes flicked to the door, waiting. He couldn't hear the voices of Kairo and Ana, they must've gone to bed he figured. "But you need to do exactly what I say out there okay?" he hissed under his breath, he was not taking any chances on this, especially when her life was in danger.

Her small nod of affirmation was all he needed before he took her by the wrist, he could not hold her hand. It would draw attention for a 'Knight of Ren' to be holding hands with what looked to be a civilian. Instead, as they made their way out of the building Xoem's mother had been generous enough to let them stay in, it seemed like he was dragger her behind him. He towered over most of the people they passed, just like Kairo, Kade had the same massive height and strong build. Perhaps this was why some people shied away from him, noting the very red, very lethal light saber that hung from his belt. "The first thing you're going to need is an energy core, then a hilt and a blade emitter." He muttered under his breath. He only knew this because of all the times Snoke had forced him and Kairo to take their light sabers apart only to put them back together again. It was important, he had told them, for a force user to know their weapon inside and out. Maybe Snoke had been right about one thing.

Anastasia Stellan

Anastasia's blue eyes flew open as the memory came to a close. It was beginning to get easier ever time, the puzzle pieces sort of fit into her mind, although it was hard to see the whole picture when she didn't have all the pieces. She felt acid rising in her stomach once more as she turned his words over in her mouth, finally turning to stare back at Kairo. In the memories he seemed different than he was now, in fact, in every memory, he seemed different than he had in the last. It was becoming clear to hear that he had changed more than a little since he had first met her, supposedly months ago. "The first time...?" she spoke softly, although when Kairo's eyes narrowed slightly she realized he didn't quite understand what she was asking him.

"You said that memory was of the first time you were in my room..." she stiffened, nerves rising in her, causing the heat to rise to her face and her cheeks to flush a rosy pink. "were there more?" As far as Anastasia knew, she had never been kissed, the sweetest touch she had ever felt had been from Xoem, who had pushed her hair back and looked at her the way she had always wanted to be looked at. And as much as she felt for Xoem, the two of them had never kissed, not on the lips anyways. From what her mind was telling her, she had never been kissed by anyone, but if Kairo had claimed that first night that he loved her, the night that she had called him insane... she began putting the pieces together, realizing that, in all likelihood, she had kissed the man sitting in front of her.

What more? She wondered, what other things had they done that she could not remember? She hated it, that he remembered everything about her and yet she still felt like she knew barely anything about him. She was radiating frustration waiting for him to answer her question although she wasn't sure she had worded it right. She hadn't simply wanted to know whether or not he had come back to her room for irrelevant reasons, she wanted to know if he had come back for a much more important reason. "Kairo..." She spoke again, hating the way he hesitated in silence, as if he wasn't sure what to say to her. "Tell me." she spoke, her voice was firm but slightly pleading. She had to know this.

Alright, Long story short since I know we have two new comers I think

The initiates have just passed Phase 1 of initiation (physical ability) and are now beginning Phase 2 where they begin to work with their fear landscapes. Today, the initiates kind of just dipped their toes in the water, and faced some of the fears of one of the instructors (Harper). Most of them have woken up from their simulations by now and are heading off for personal time, this is actually a great time for you guys to hop in because theres a party!!! (yay) All of the initiates and instructors are welcome to attend, although I'm sure some won't be. The party is celebrating my character (Blair's) birthday and it's a great place for you guys to kind of get a feel for the other characters and interact! We haven't quite gotten to the party yet, although I'm sure it'll be within the next post or so. If you want to get a response up immediately however, I would say just RP your characters waking up from their simulation (I will try to find where Harper's fears were so you can choose which one your characters faced) and then maybe have them interact with other characters? I'm pretty sure almost all characters are open for interaction at this point, Blair and Chris ran off to the training room, Finn and Aubrey are still in the testing room (I think) there's True and Lizzie - Skairipa#1899 (discord) Maverick is still in the testing room, so if you want to have Bella wake up from her simulation you could have her interact with Maverick afterwards? Does this help any??

Here are Harper's fears - although I'm not entirely sure which ones have already been used

Flyers wrote:

Since we'll be using Harper's fears for the simulation, we need to figure out exactly which fear each initiate will receive. As seen on her form, Harper's fears are:

-Heights (slightly)

-Abuse

-Getting drunk/drunk people (especially men)

-Wild dogs

-Her family being hurt/lost

-Failing

-Weakness

-Losing her sight

-Standing at the edge of cliffs and/or canyons

-Lightning and bad storms

I'll leave it up to you guys to decide which fear your initiates receive, but please no repeats! There's ten fears, so that's more than enough to accommodate everyone.

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I will try to get my post up tonight - Although I don't think I'll be posting with Lydia since @televised is evidently MIA

Damn Griz is one hell of a character - big heart eyes

If a fight breaks out between initiates, Maverick (although slightly intoxicated himself) could probably try to break it up since he's an instructor and I'm guessing Chris might be occupied?

Blair Avalon/ 16/ Dauntless Born/ Initiate/ Divergent

Blair Avalon felt like she was living some sort of dream. Tonight was her birthday, and everybody that she cared about would be here... except for Ares. The thought saddened her a little bit, she was now turning a year older than her big brother had been when he had died. But just like Apollo, Achilles and Ajax, she would go on to live the kind of life that Ares should've had. She smiled softly, tucking a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear before giving herself a once over in the mirror. She was wearing tight. black leggings with a shimmering gold crop top that almost matched the color of her hair. Her blue green eyes sparkled with excitement. Guests wouldn't be arriving for a little while, though her three older brothers were already busting out the alcohol, of course. She was fairly certain Apollo was already drunk when she heard a knock at the door. Her eyes lit up, it must've been Christian. She rushed down the stairs nearly crashing into Achilles who was hauling a massive amount of balloons. She rolled her eyes, her brothers always went all out for her birthday parties. By the time she flung open the front door her face fell, it was not Christian but his brother Phillip who stood outside, "Phillip, hey" she smiled softly, nodding gently as he explained that Chris would be running late.

He asked where Apollo was, the two boys had been in the same graduating class together, and Blair laughed gently. "Come on, I'll show you." She led Phillip towards the bar where Pollo was currently mixing drinks. He handed one to Blair that was a bright pink color, "Happy Birthday Blair Bear" She rolled her eyes at the nickname, a hot blush rising to her cheeks as she took the drink. She sipped at it, it was strong, the alcohol hit her like a brick, but it tasted like strawberries and cream with a hint of peach. Apollo always made the best drinks. She let the boys talk for a bit, before sauntering off towards the door. More knocks came, Charlie and Aubrey, Harper and Finn, even Maverick had showed up, but still no Christian. She was just about getting ready to start socializing with everybody when there was another ring at the doorbell. She paced over to it, opening it to finally reveal Christian and her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Chris!" She threw her arms around him, nearly spilling her drink as she did so. "You're here!" she beamed, nuzzling her face into his chest. He old her that once they got tired they could go to her room and she raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him but didn't say anything more on the matter. Lacing her fingers with his she began making her way around the party.

It wasn't long before Aubrey and Finn approached her. Aubrey was holding a box tied with a ribbon. Blair tilted her head, she had not been expecting any presents. Aubrey wished her a happy birthday and Blair giggled happily, "Thanks Aubrey" She wrapped the other blonde girl in a high hug. The girls had been close when they were little, it was nice to know that her and Aubrey were still friends. Just as quickly as Aubrey had appeared, she vanished. Blair gave a small, knowing wave to Finn before she turned back to Christian. Her eyes blinking sleepily. Maybe the drink had hit her a little harder than she had expected, she wasn't drunk by any means, not even tipsy, but she could feel the tendrils of sleep pulling at the back of her head. "Do you wanna go upstairs?" She mumbled softly, pulling his hands so that they wrapped around her waist. "I think my brothers can handle it from here..." she laughed softly, her eyes flicking to Apollo who was handing out drinks like candy on Halloween. She knew there would probably be questions about where the birthday girl had disappeared to, and why her boyfriend was also conveniently absent, but she didn't care. Let people think what they wanted to think, all she wanted for her birthday was to snuggle up next to Chris and enjoy the rest of the night with him.

Maverick Maddox /18/ Dauntless Born/ Instructor

Despite his better judgment, Maverick had ended up at the party of the little blonde Avalon girl. He had been friendly with her brothers in childhood, Caspian was already asleep for the night, and Ghost was god knows where. His apartment had been completely empty, so he figured he'd go try and find something to do elsewhere. When he arrived at the party, he debated turning around and leaving. There were far too many intoxicated initiates in skimpy clothing for him to trust himself here. But he heaved a heavy sigh, his grey eyes flicking around until they landed on the bar, where one of Blair's older brothers was handing out drinks. He asked for a whiskey on the rocks and immediately started sipping at the rather strong alcohol. Just a little something to take the edge off, he told himself. Today had been difficult on everyone, as much as the initiates hated to go into the fear simulations, most of the instructors hated to watch them. He had never enjoyed other peoples pain or fear. His mind flicked back to Aubrey, how torn up and sad she looked when she had woken up today, immediately rolling herself into the waiting arms of Finn Day. He figured those two were probably an item, and he remembered a promise made to her that they would catch up at some point.

His eyes searched around the room for her token blonde hair, but... no that wasn't her that was Blair. Where was Aubrey? Another flash of hair, only this time it was reddish, a strawberry blonde. Ah, that must've been.... his mind tumbled and turned, searching for her name which he knew was buried in the deep recesses of his mind. He knew all the dauntless borns but this girl was a transfer, from Amity if he was not mistaken. Bella? He decided that was what her name was. She was another one of the initiates who had seen particularly shaken up after her simulation. Having fled somewhere after she woke, he assumed to be by herself. It was what he used to do during his own initiation, clear his head somewhere quiet. His eyes flicked again, Charlie and Harper were standing towards the edge of the group, instructors who... even though they were off duty still seemed to have an eye on their kids, particularly their younger siblings. He chuckled, realizing that Charlie and Harpers younger siblings were quite possibly dating. He followed their gaze and it led him straight to Aubrey and Finn who were sitting on a couch together.

Part of him debated whether or not he should go over there, but where else would he go? Despite that fact that the others his age all seemed to be massed together in one group, he couldn't lie, the thought of making small talk with Harper and Phillip and Charlie didn't sound that appealing. Eventually, it seemed Aubrey's eyes had found him too and smirked with a small wave. She waved him over and he looked down at his drink. Resigned, he took a long swig of the whiskey, finishing it off, and grabbing another one before heading over towards the pair. "Miss Stark" he grinned "How does it feel to be top of the class?" he questioned, taking a sip of his drink as he sat down next to her. He gave a small nod of ackowledgement to Finn as well, he wasn't that familiar with the boy, but he seemed amicable enough. As he waited for Aubrey's answer, he allowed his grey eyes to wander the room once more and again found his gaze landed on Bella. He blinked a few times, the girl was beautiful he'd give her that, but relationships of any sort between initiates and instructors were strictly off limits, so he forced himself to look somewhere else.

Wren's eyes blinked open at the sound of Cedric's voice. She had been sleeping peacefully, wrapped up in the warmest of blankets, her head sunken into the softest of pillows. She was sure her hair must've been a mess, but she didn't care. She rolled over, her eyes landing on the sculpted face of the prince and in the foggy haze of her half sleep state, she grinned like a school girl. "Cedric... good morning" she beamed nuzzling her face into his pillow and pulling it closer to herself as she took in a deep breath. Everything in here smelled like him, clean and luxurious. Slowly, as the light streaming in from the window began to rouse her from her sleepiness, she allowed the events of last night to replay in her head. A puzzled look crossing her features as she realized that it had most definitely not been a dream. This was the second time she had woken up in the Prince's quarters... only this time it seemed, he had woken up before her. She would not have the luxury of slipping out before anybody else awoke.

Her eyes widened and she sat up in a matter of two seconds as she realized what that meant. She had slept in, servants were probably already bustling around the kitchens, preparing Cedric's breakfast for him, what she should've been doing, and here she was, lounging in his bed. "Oh my gosh..." she hurriedly flung the blankets off of her, hastily tying the ribbon of her dress around her waist. She tried desperately to comb through her messy brown locks with her fingers, wincing in pain as she did so, she would've given anything for a brush and a change of clothes. How was she supposed to explain why she was still in the same dress from last night? "What time is it?" There was a slight hint of panic in her voice as she caught her own reflection in one of the mirrors in Cedric's room.

Her fingers gently caressed her own cheek, the once angry red mark left from the slap of the princess yesterday was fading to a soft pink. While it was still certainly visible, it was not nearly as noticeable as before. She turned to face Cedric, a warm blush rising to her cheeks as her thoughts whirled around her head like a tornado, her heart flittering in her chest like a caged bird. She didn't know what to say to him, she didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't even know what he was thinking, she had never so desperately wished that she could read someone's mind. What if he thought last night had been a mistake, what if... what if he did this with servants often and she was just another naive girl who thought that she had something real with the prince? She didn't want to, but her mind wandered to the worst, a frown crossing her delicate features. She stared at him, wanting so badly to reach out and caress his face, to feel his soft brown locks between her fingers, to press her lips against his, but she remained frozen. "Cedric I..." She tried to form some sort of coherent sentences but for the life of her she could not find the words. She looked down at her feet, blushing harder than before.

Anastasia Stellan

Her jaw set at that, his words, try to understand things from his position. The words bubbled up and out of her before she could even think to stop them. Rising to her feet, her voice was nearly at a yell "From your position? How about you try to understand from mine?!" She snapped, it wasn't quite what one would call anger that was lingering in her voice, perhaps frustration was a better word. But even then, it was laced with some sort of desperate passion that she could not place a name to, part of her wondered if she would've been able to place this emotion if she had all her memories back. For a moment she allowed her thoughts to drift to the man that had done this to her in the first place, that had stolen her life from her, or at least a very significant part of it.

Anastasia sat back down, trying to calm herself as she did so. She wasn't angry, that much was clear even to her, she wouldn't even say she was frustrated. She was sad. She was sad and confused and mildly scared that something... someone, so evidently impactful on her life couldn't give her this one thing. "Kairo... you know everything about me. And I'm sitting her...." She paused, taking a deep, terrifyingly shaky breath, as she admitted it. "Trying to figure out the feelings I have for you..." and this was not a lie, she knew she felt something for Kairo, there wasn't a shadow of doubt in her mind, but she couldn't ever place where it came from, only that she was drawn to him.

"Every time you speak my heart starts racing like I've just run a race... I get scared when you're not around and when you are around my .... my chest feels like it's on fire." Her voice was almost a whimper now. "And I don't know what to do with any of it because all I know about you is what I've been able to pull from the few memories I've gotten from you." She was on the verge of disappearing into a puddle of tears but she steeled herself, forcing her blue eyes to raise and meet the liquid amber of his dark eyes, "I know you came back to my room," She didn't know how she knew but she did, tears brimmed her eyes as she spoke once more, her voice barely cracking "When you're ready to tell me why, you know where to find me." There was a finalization to her voice that shocked even her.

Slowly, she stood, making her way out of the room and towards the bedroom she assumed she would be sharing with Elizabeth. She didn't want to kick Kade out, to send him back to his room with Kairo, but she needed her sister right now. Even though she figured it was quite possible that Elizabeth would've preferred Kade's company over Ana's. But when she swung the door open to reveal an empty room her heart started to pound. Where were they? She remembered Xoem saying he would be in the kitchen with his mother. Perhaps Elizabeth and Kade had joined him? She hesitantly made her way down the stairs, entering the kitchen, her eyes landing on Xoem immediately, "X..." she sniffled softly, it was so painfully obvious that only moments ago she had been on the verge of tears, "Do you know where Kade and Liz went?"

KADE GENESIS

Before Elizabeth had even spoken, Kade could sense that something was off. She way people murmured at the sight of him, as though a first order knight would've been anything out of the ordinary in Casino City, a place ruled by the first order themselves. But when Elizabeth began sensing it too, an alarm in his head went off. He immediately stood in front of her, his massive black cape shielding her from the sight of anyone else as she reached out with her mind in an attempt to clarify the presence she was evidently picking up on. He felt an abyss growing in the pit of his stomach, his eyes flicking around, watchful, barely even registering the words that she spoke as he saw a crowd of people rushing towards them.

He immediately reached out his hand to wrap firmly around her arm, but the crowd knocked into both of them with so much force that he knew if he held onto her, he risked injuring worse than the crowd would. She was ripped away from him and he immediately began to feel that ache in his chest. Elizabeth was in danger and it was his fault, he never should've allowed her to pursue this light saber task. He should've done it himself while she was safe at home with Ana and Kairo. She heard her voice, calling out his name, like some sort of hunter his eyes snapped to the direction of the noise, pushing through the crowd like a lion surrounded by feeble gazelles. "Elizabeth!" He could've easily over powered any one of them, his tall form and muscular build stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd, but it seemed he was not the only one that stood out.

The second his eyes fell on Ren, Kade's saber was out in a flash, the simple press of a button causing the blood red plasma to roar to life. He swung it to his left, and then to his right, twirling it effortlessly. People began screaming once the weapon was drawn, thankfully most of them cleared out of the way so that there was nothing standing between him and the monster who's gloved hand now covered the mouth of Elizabeth. He could see Elizabeth, shaking, fighting fruitlessly against Ren's grip and he spoke lowly. "Liz... I need you to calm down okay? It's gonna be okay, I'm not gonna let him hurt you." He growled, as his attention returned to Kylo Ren. "You let her go now and I won't kill you, am I understood?"

He could feel it, the intoxicating darkness, the anger, the rage... and the power that came with it. Any threat to Elizabeth's life only fueled his fire, he could feel his connection with the force increasing, as if this angry passion was giving him more energy. In reality, it very well could've been. But it was dangerous for him to use the force his way, the air around him practically shimmered with power as he summoned it. Reaching out his hand, he threw Ren back with such force that the other cloaked figure landed hard on his back. In a flash Kade was next to Elizabeth, pulling her up and then shoving her behind him, standing protectively in front of her as Ren got to his feet. He stood defensively, ready to take on the monster who dared call himself a man.

Skairipa#1899 (discord) The general rule is that at least 3 people must post in between each of your posts - so I would say you're good to go, also that's entirely up to Floral and elevator love letter about Bella getting caught up in the fight, but if she does I can certainly have Maverick swoop in and kinda help her get cleaned up and stuff

Awesome - I've been having fairly low muse on all of my feral front threads but I will try to get some posts up since I'm essentially stuck in my house while campus is shut down :(

Flyers I had Blair interacting with Christian and Maverick interacting with Aubrey so I can't really post until Nerdy does

Ahh, apologies again. The COVID19 virus crisis is just really killing my muse for everything. By the time I get done with my online school work I’m so tired of staring at a screen that I can’t bring myself to post anything. I swear I’m gonna get SOMETHING up this weekend even if it’s just a couple of my characters

Should get a post up either tomorrow or Monday, super stressed with IRL stuff like flyers said, I’m a college senior doing all of my classes online now and I’m just really exhausted from staring at a screen 24/7

I'm going to try and get a post up shortly, but I'm dead from online classes so I can't promise it'll be lengthy or good for that matter Flyers I think this is just a really hard time to find muse with all the anxiety from the COVID19 situation

Blair Avalon/ 16/ Dauntless Born/ Initiate/ Divergent

As Blair made her way into her room, she was certainly not expecting the sight the befell her. Twinkling light, flowers, soft blankets and cushions, and the intoxicatingly sweet scent of chocolates and flowers. She placed her hand over her mouth in shock, turning to face Christian. "Did you do this?" She broke into a smile, she couldn't believe the lengths he had gone to for her birthday. She began to piece together that this must've been what he had been up to, why he had been so 'late' to her party. "Christian..." she felt tears welling up in her blue eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. Everything was perfect, she would've been more than content to just lay with him and cuddle for her birthday, but this? This was above and beyond anything she had ever expected. What had she ever done to deserve a boyfriend as sweet as Chris?

As he kissed her forehead she heard those three little words that she loved the sound of. Nuzzling her face into his chest, she wiped her eyes, embarrassed that she had started to cry. Nobody had ever done anything like this for her before. "I love you too Christian..." she stared at him for a moment, taking in every single perfect feature, her eyes flicking to his lips for just a moment before she shook her head. "You didn't have to do this, but... It's perfect. Thank you so much." She wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a gentle kiss against his lips. She could've lived in this moment forever. Before she knew it, her kiss with Christian deepened. The passion blossomed in her chest and then they were on the bed. She felt his body against hers, her fingers trailing his muscular body, tangling themselves in his blonde hair. This was the perfect gift, she couldn't have been happier... and then Chris pulled away. Blair was sure she must've been pouting, or that her facial expression seem confused. Why had he stopped? Another present?

Her eyes widened. What more could he possibly have to give her? He explained that it was in the bathroom and she narrowed her eyes playfully at him before getting to her feet and going to inspect the bathroom. When she entered there was a large box, the lid was off, and she thought she heard the slightest sound of movement. She cautiously approached the box, not knowing what to expect. When her eyes finally landed on the contents of the box she let out a gasp and reached for it. The tiniest little white kitten sat inside, with blue eyes that almost matched the color of Blair's own eyes. "Christian... He's perfect!" Blair mused, exiting the bathroom cuddling the tiny feline close to her chest. "I'm gonna name him CJ... Christian Junior" She giggled, sitting down on the bed with Chris. "I've never been this happy in my entire life."

Maverick Maddox /18/ Dauntless Born/ Instructor

Maverick had always had quick reflexes, what was more than that, he liked to think he had a sense of intuition. This was his first time dealing with initiates as an instructor, but he remembered his own initiation class. He remembered the way some of the transfers had been completely clumsy simply because they weren't raised to fight like dauntless borns were. Bella wasn't exactly clumsy, but from what Maverick had discerned so far, she was a bit... accident prone, or just tended to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had been watching her during the party earlier, but had been trying not to. He felt strange watching an initiate like that. He was supposed to be her teacher, not admiring her outfit. Aubrey and Finn had seemed to have resumed their conversation so Maverick had gotten up to get another drink. As he turned away from the bar, glass of whiskey in hand, he felt a small body smash into his chest.

Maverick barely flinched at this, although came quite close to spilling his drink. A flash of red hair and his eyes once again landing on the form of Isabella Quinn, only this time she was careening towards the floor. Almost instinctively, Mavericks right arm reached out, wrapping around her waist and pulling her into him, preventing her from hitting the floor. He had a drink in one hand, and a beautiful red head in the other. The thought brought a momentary smirk to his face before Bella opened her eyes and stared at him, she seemed terrified. What had scared her so much? She was white as a sheet. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He laughed gently, helping her regain her balance as he steadied her, quickly removing his arm from around her waist. He didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. Bella was beautiful, and it was no secret that Maverick's older brother Caspian had gotten involved with inmates before. He did not want his brothers reputation to precede him.

Suddenly, Bella erupted in a torrent of apologies and explanations. Almost too fast for Maverick to actually understand any of what she was saying. She apologized for being awkward, which earned a laugh from him. He vaguely heard something about her wanting to talk to him, and he raised an eyebrow at that. But the redhead continued talking until finally he shook his head. "Hey hey hey, slow down." He tried to come off as friendly as possible, the poor thing already seemed terrified as it was, he didn't need to make her any more nervous. "I know who you are..." He explained, Bella had introduced herself, despite the fact that Maverick was her instructor. Did she really think he had no idea who she was. "Isabella Quinn... Your from amity right?" He questioned. "Maybe this will help" hesitantly, he reached out to push a stray lock of red hair behind her ear. It had been covering her face just the slightest, perhaps that was why she had smashed into him, she couldn't see where she was going. He grinned as he pulled his hand away.