03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 2, 2023 20:23:28 GMT
"Happy to be of service," he intoned, looking back in the cab to pull out the first aid kit from under the passenger seat. While he would never describe himself as a calm man, he was told that a lot. He supposed his current line of work fit him well. Or maybe he fit it well. "Oh, you're making a funny. Yeah, yeah, shut up," he grumbled, slowly catching her joke of him being in charge of one of the town's emergency services. He wasn't sure if he liked or hated her smile.
He set the kit on the driver's seat, finishing his cigarette first and putting it out before popping the box open. So two smokes in less than five minutes wasn't a great sign of his mental state. Ferris retrieved some gauze and medical tape of his own, rolling his sleeve up gingerly. He was still bleeding, but not nearly so badly. It was enough that he got a bandage started at least, the compression making him wince. This was less about stopping any bleeding and more about keeping it clean and away from his sleeve. "Ranger station it is then," he agreed, chuckling along with her at her mention of emergency whiskey. That's right, he had seen her at Harland's a few times. Being the town's main bar made it a hot spot.
'Good' was a strong word in this situation. "I'll manage," he said, moving the kit to the narrow back seat of the cab. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door, willing to offer Darcy a hand up and in if she needed it but not pushing anything. Had his truck been a manual, then probably he shouldn't drive, but he could more of less drive it one handed and he still felt in control of himself. "How far away?" He'd knew roughly the direction from here, but having never been, he'd need directions.
Ferris could take it whatever way he pleased, Darcy was honestly glad to have him there. A car ride to the ranger station was preferable to a hike there. Plus, she would have had such a rough go of it trying to set her shoulder by herself. And while it hurt like a mother, at least it was back where it ought to be. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Oh, and I’ll be able to get you those reports.. two birds and all that jazz.” Darcy laughed, feeling the lightheadedness coming on.
Darcy accepted his assistance into the vehicle, the blood loss starting to cloud her mind. “I think my adrenaline high is wearing off, mind if we leave the window down?” She felt ridiculous even asking, but she didn’t want to hurl in his truck and the fresh air helped. “It’s not too far from here, roughly three miles up the road, you’ll come to a fork, take the left and about half a mile you’ll see a service road. It’s another mile and you’ll pull up to the back of the ranger station. That’ll be the fastest route there.” She told him while she tried her best to situate herself in the seat without bleeding on it.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 3, 2023 22:59:30 GMT
Ferris only looked at her a moment. Reports? What reports? He opened his mouth to ask as much when it finally connected. Right. they had been talking about the fire before...all this. Before they were charged at by a bear and Darcy revealed she could talk to wolves and then really revealed that she could turn into one. Before they were both bleeding all over his truck. Before he'd switched everything over to automatic emergency mode. That felt like days ago. "On the fires. Right."
He left Darcy to close the door, climbing into the driver's seat and pulling his door closed a bit harder than necessary with his right hand. "Don't you fucking throw up in my truck," he growled. Though he gave no such warning about the blood. It wasn't the first time he'd cleaned blood out of the cheap gray upholstery. Besides, given the choice, he was fairly certain both of them would rather their blood stay in their bodies if they could help it.
While she gave directions, he backed the truck around and then guided it down the muddy gravel 'road' that dipped and zigged and ambled its way down the slope back to what settled for the main road in the area, designated as such largely because it was paved and had fading paint and not for any other reason. Three miles up the road then, which except for the turns, he pushed the speed limit a bit.
"These fires don't have anything to do with this werewolf thing, right?" He wasn't accusing her of anything except perhaps not being truthful with him. He wasn't sure what to think about any of it.
Darcy just nodded, pulling the door closed after Ferris stepped away, already craving the alcohol at the ranger station. Many around the town already knew from how often she frequented the local watering hole, but Darcy was an alcoholic. Thanks to her werewolf metabolism, it took a LOT of alcohol to really do anything to her, so she drank… a lot. Honestly, she didn’t try to hide that, but she did have to play the part at times to keep people from wondering how she could function after all the alcohol she consumed.
Despite how her head was feeling, she couldn’t help but laugh at his statement. “Wait, did you just growl at me? How adorable.” Yeah, the blood lose was definitely getting to her. It was a good thing she wasn’t simply a human, because she’d likely have bled out by now. But she’d manage, she didn’t survive a car crash just to die from a bear attack. Though, a bear attack wasn’t the worst way out. Darcy rolled down the window and let her forehead rest against the base of it. The movement of the air through her curls helped her feel less nauseous. “Don’t worry, I’ve got nerves of steel.” She mumbled softly, her face contorting to wince as a bump in the road jostled the vehicle enough to make them shift in their seats.
Darcy just wanted to will herself not to keep bleeding -as if she could- but her eyes snapped open and she looked over to Ferris at his question. “Honestly, I wish I knew what was causing the fires… it’s older than anything I’ve ever encountered before. It smells ancient, with a hint of canine and fire.” She shook her head, leaning forward slightly to adjust her leg and grimacing at the movement. “It’s not the blood loss talking either, I’ve never dealt with anything like this, none of the werewolves in town have.” She neglected to mention the vampires or sirens, not really feeling it her place to reveal everything.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 4, 2023 0:48:33 GMT
He was pretty sure the blood loss was getting to her. It was a lot of blood. Relatively speaking. Enough he was worried about shock, but she wasn't acting like it. Sure, Darcy was pale and wobbly, but she was conscious and self-aware. And very adamant about not going to the urgent care. Ferris grimaced at her teasing. He didn't know her well enough for them to be talking like this. Then again, maybe she felt she knew him well enough. Much as he wanted to take the bait, he didn't.
He could nearly feel her gaze lock onto him even before he finished the sentence. If he wasn't sure how to feel about her smile, he very much disliked her staring at him, knowing what he knew now about her. But even still, he spared a look over his shoulder back at her as he drove. If this was going to come to a confrontation, he wasn't going to back down.
But it didn't. At least, she didn't deflect anything or threaten him over what he would do if she was involved. In fact, her words were nearly the opposite of what he was expecting. Maybe he had sort of hoped that after learning people could turn into wolves, that all the strange happenings around town would be neatly packaged together. If only it were so easy. "Wait, hold up, 'it's older'? Like...some kind of ancient beast or something? You've seen this thing?" That seemed like an even further conclusion to jump to that whether werewolves were real.
Darcy leaned back into the seat and let her head rest against the frame near the door, allowing her to get a decent bit of airflow to keep her grounded. She looked up at the roof of the vehicle as she spoke, just trying to not focus on the throbbing in her head or the waves of pain that seemed to come and go from her thigh. Talking helped distract her. “I wish, it would make me feel way less crazy if I could have an idea of what to expect. Sadly, I’m working of scent here.” Darcy admitted with slow exhale, just ready to have something to help with the pain.
While the ranger station was equipped for emergency situations, she knew highly unlikely that she’d find much to help with the pain. She’d throw in the suture easy enough, but it would be a bitch and a half the whole time. Then she recalled the surgical stapler, as a recommendation by one of the local nurses in town for emergency cases; the Ranger Station recent acquired one and kept it with the first aid gear. It would still hurt, but it would be faster and she’d run less of a risk of passing out while tending to it. Plus, if she did pass out the stapler was easier to use and she figured Ferris could handle that better than trying to take over sewing her up.
“As a werewolf I have a heightened sense of smell at all times, it’s not always perfect; but it helps. At the location of the most recent fire, I almost missed it at first, because the heavy stench of burnt foliage and a few animals that didn’t escape in time. But it was there, something started the fire.” Darcy trailed off momentarily to take a drink from her water canteen she’d fished out of her pack. “I’ve never encountered that scent before now, and I’ve dealt with forest fires before. These were different.”
last edited Nov 4, 2023 18:20:11 GMT by Darcy Vance
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 4, 2023 20:35:15 GMT
The fire chief let out a breath as he realized her extra information was just as limited. But to have her suggest it was something else supernatural in nature made his skin crawl. Like werewolves weren't enough.
Ferris glanced over at Darcy as she groaned and shifted in the truck. He really hoped she didn't get sick. Largely for having to clean up, but also because that was a bad sign. "The glove box," he said, almost stammering over the words, not exactly wanting to share but at the same time not enjoying hearing her in pain. "It's not emergency whiskey but...there's some painkillers in there." Old prescription meds from getting stabbed a couple years back. He was supposed to have used them all at the time but he had forcibly spaced them out to keep a stash. For...a bad day.
As Darcy drove home the notion of scenting something at the fire, he grimaced, tightening his grip on the wheel. He felt his hands starting to shake. If only it was due to blood loss. He made the turn and was relieved as he saw a road sign for the station.
"Okay, I get," he grumbled. If the werewolf was unsettled about a beast she didn't recognize, he was loathed to find out there was a whole bloody menagerie of strange beasts running rampant in the woods. "Look, Darcy, I have a lot of questions. But right now, 'less those answers help stop you bleeding out in my truck or prevent townsfolk from getting hurt...maybe we hold off on this supernatural shit. Deal?" For his tenuous sanity. He still didn’t trust her joke about turning him. Plus, who was to say her elders wouldn't want more than just Ferris' promise that he wouldn't say anything?
The glove box? Darcy turned her gaze back forward and raised a brow as she opened the compartment and lifted out a bottle of some pretty strong painkillers. On a normal day, she might question why he had his own ‘stash’, but in this moment she didn’t care to press. She was thankful to have something to help take the edge off before they got these wounds addressed. “I appreciate it.” She managed out as she popped one into her mouth and gave a forced swallow, not even bothering with her canteen. She gave a light sigh, just willing herself to stay focused on the task at hand; staying conscious and making it to the ranger station.
Darcy was actually relieved he didn’t want to ply her with questions at the moment, she didn’t know if she had the patience to try and answer many more questions at this time. She cracked a half smile as she shrugged. “Deal.” She offered up as her simple reply as she just focused on her breathing, a little relief setting in as they neared their destination. She didn’t honestly even know what to expect from him when it came to all his questions, but for the time being she was content to simply let him try and wrap his mind around what he’d seen.
Having been raised quite literally by wolves, Darcy didn’t know how it might affect someone to witness a werewolf turn back into a human, especially when they had no clue about the existence of the supernatural entities. “Do you want one of these?” She asked without looking back to him, just lifting the bottle of painkillers and giving a little shake.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 5, 2023 0:44:21 GMT
Just from the way Darcy handled the bottle, he could tell she had questions. But much like her, he was glad she didn't ask.
"No," he said. "Better if I don’t." It hurt, but it also kept him grounded. And it was easier to resist the temptation to do something he shouldn't if he didn't push the line.
Ferris pulled I to the drive for the station and parked as close as he could out front. Hopefully there wasn't anyone else around, otherwise they'd have more questions to deal with. He glanced down at her leg and the blood stained bandage and the floor of his truck. Thank God for weathertek mats. "Hang tight," he ordered as he pur the truck in park and turned off the engine. He quickly put his boots on the ground and rounded the front of the cab to the passenger door, opening it carefully.
"I'd offer to carry you, but I'm down one hand," he said dryly, hesitantly offering Darcy a hand down. He could help her hobble to the door if she needed it but while previously he had been more worried about her passing out, now he wasn't so sure if he should touch her. No, he didn't think she was going to bite him like some wild animal, but he couldn't help but look at her differently.
Darcy simply gave a nod as she put the bottle of pills back into the glove box and let out a steadying breath. She was glad at the speed of his driving and the familiar scenery and scents gave her even more comfort as she knew they’d be pulling up in moments. Darcy also appreciated the window being down, being able to focus on different scents in the wind as they drove helped her from being too focused on the pain.
Within minutes, he had them parked as close as he could manage and gave her a command to ‘hang tight’. She fought off the chuckle that threatened to escape her lips and simply nodded with a grin. At least he didn’t tell her to ‘sit’ or ‘stay’. She could tell the meds were kicking in and she was thankful for that, though not quite a fan of how loopy this blood lose was making her feel. The door was opened and Darcy gave an understanding nod, though the smile on her lips dropped as she gently pushed his hand away and gripped the door to help herself down. He didn’t have the best poker face, not when she could literally smell the change in his body’s adrenal responses. He might not want to openly admit it, but she could tell there was a level of unease he had toward her now.
“It’s fine, I’ve got it.” Darcy said lowly, now not meeting his gaze. Not that she blamed him, but she was a stubborn woman. She’d rather die getting herself tended to than rely on someone else. Okay, so maybe it was more than that. She was hurt, dealing with significant blood lose for a werewolf, and she was feeling incredibly vulnerable. She didn’t just reveal herself to everyone, hell; he was the first human who didn’t know about werewolves that she’d ever changed in-front of. Not to mention she feeling bad for both putting him in a dangerous situation and then having to save him, only to cause him injury.
Darcy stumbled up toward the steps, she was most definitely letting her thoughts spiral and it wasn’t like her. She paused at the door and sighed, looking up for a moment and muttering a few choice words as she looked back to Ferris. “I can’t quite reach the spare key and didn’t bring my keys with me today… it’s on the top right corner of the doorframe.”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 9, 2023 19:03:12 GMT
Ferris pulled his hand back quickly as she brushed him away. He took a step back and simply held the door open for her, wary of being in her way. The tone of her voice put him more on edge with her hurt and cornered animal vibe. He closed the door behind her and followed a few steps behind up the steps to the small building. She was clearly off balance but he left the werewolf to handle herself how she wanted.
He hesitated on the last step when she stopped and started swearing. Keys made sense and relaxed a little, moving up next to Darcy to reach up to the lip over the door frame, feeling the metal key almost immediately. He picked it up and leaned against the door, unlocking it and then returning the spare key to where he had plucked it from. Ferris pulled open the door and held it, watching Darcy limp.
Once they were both inside, he let the door close against his back. Ferris leaned against the door and took a deep breath, trying to keep himself relaxed. Treat this as a normal emergency, make sure Darcy and himself were both okay before he relaxed. Only this wasn't the same. If not for having seen the bear strike her in wolf form and then seeing the claw marks on the same side of her thigh, he would have thought he was seeing things. "Tell me what you need, Darcy," he said, needing to be doing something.
Try as she might to not come off as irritated toward him, she couldn’t help it to a degree. She wasn’t used to being viewed like this. Most of the humans who were privy to her secret, admired her. But then again, they knew a lot more about her and her kind than Ferris did, so she couldn’t completely fault him. But still, it wasn’t something she enjoyed. Sensing his unease and discomfort, Darcy slowly limped toward one of the desks and rummaged through a drawer.
“The more heavy duty first aid gear can be found on the top shelf in that supply closet to your left.” She pointed, but her gaze stayed focused on rummaging through the drawer until she found a tiny key. With a gentle sigh she moved toward a filing cabinet at the back of the cabin and unlocked the drawers. There, in the bottom drawer she pulled out an unopened bottle of Scotch Whiskey.
Darcy held the bottle up, then promptly limped to the bathroom, leaned against a wall and slowly sank to the floor, finding that the easiest method to get her to the floor without too much fuss. She wasn’t so much worried about the blood, she’d clean it up before anyone got back. “Behind the big first aid kit, there should be a second bag that has the medical grade stapler, I think I’d decided I’d rather deal with staple than sutures.” She admitted as she opened the bottle of whiskey and took a longer drink than she probably should have. But she knew she needed to help take the edge off. She began to remove the bits of her flannel from her thigh wounds as she muttered curses under her breath, exhaling sharply as she took another drink from the bottle and then set it at the base of the bathroom cabinet.
“While you’re in that closet, can you bring a stack of hand towels? I’ll buy ones to replace these, but I doubt the first aid kit has enough gauze to use for cleaning a wound this size.” Darcy called out from her spot on the bathroom floor, doing her best not to bleed too much on the floor.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 16, 2023 1:13:37 GMT
Ferris found the closet easily enough, reaching up to the shelf to pull down the box. He paused, hearing her rummaging around for something in the main room and then the sound of a key turning in a lock and a metal drawer moving. Her secret stash of scotch? Maybe best he didn't know the details about where she kept that. He wasn't about to judge, though hopefully she tempered her drinking some. That pain medication wasn't the sort to take while heavy drinking. If any of that even mattered for a werewolf, come to think of it.
He turned around with the medical gear, setting in on a desk and looking about the small office space. It was cozy. Very much decorated like a lodge one would expect to find in the wilderness. Honestly, he had actually expected something more akin to an old-timey outpost, with cowhide upholstery and bear rugs, and a large brick and reclaimed wood hearth. As he followed the trail of blood drops with his eyes, Darcy shouted at him from the next room. Something about a second bag and a stapler? She must mean medical grade. Likely for emergencies even more than the first aid kit, considering how far from town they were. He moved back to the closet to grab that when she shouted about towels. "Jesus Christ, I didn't realize we were married," he grumbled under his breath with an amused shake of his head. Her ordering him around in such a strung-out way reminded him of Murphy and once again he was reminded that maybe how their relationship ended wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to him.
Towels and medical stapler bag under one arm, first aid kit in the other, he stepped into the family style bathroom, being careful to not track more of her blood everywhere. Thankfully his jacket sleeve had stuck to the gash on his arm so most of it soaked into the cloth. He set everything next to her and then stepped over to the sink to wash his hands. "I've never used a stapler, but how bout you relax a minute and let me handle cleaning?" Cleaned up (relatively), he offered to take over with the first aid kit and gauze and some tweezer to remove the larger bits of fabric. Ferris was loath to use the towels, considering the idea was to remove bits of fabric and foreign bodies, not add more.
"You ever fight a bear before?" he asked, voice flat. "I think it went rather well."
While Darcy fought off the desire to enjoy more of her whiskey, she tried to focus on debriding her thigh. Though she couldn’t help but chuckle when she heard him grumbling to himself at her many additional requests. She had yet to tell him that her sense of hearing and smell stayed in a heightened state, even when she wasn’t in werewolf form. But then again, he did ask for things to be sort of ‘paused’. She just shook her head and smiled to herself.
“Thank-you.” She looked down at her hands in her lap rather sheepishly as he walked into the room, though an amused smile still pulled at the corners of her lips. She reached for the bottle of whiskey, though not making any move to open it and take a drink herself, instead she extended her arm to him and offered the bottle. “I really do appreciate your help, and I’m sorry if I come off as bossy… I guess it just comes naturally.” She hoped he’d equate it more to her being female or because they were in her place of work, rather than press for questions on what she meant. She bit her bottom lip as he set to work cleaning the wound, actually glad when he started making small talk.
“Oh, hell no. I generally give them a wide enough girth that they leave me be. But I guess with all the fires and such, they’re more on edge, defensive and territorial than normal.” Darcy shook her head, but chuckled as she looked down at her thigh with a light shrug. “I mean, it could be worse. We’re both alive; I’d call that a win.”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 16, 2023 5:08:48 GMT
He nodded at her thanks but hesitated at her offer of a drink. He probably shouldn't. But he did want to. Mostly because he was starting to feel nervous and it wasn't a feeling he enjoyed. Ferris took the bottle and downed a swallow, wincing as he handed it back. "Not bad," he noted.
"You could say that again," he agreed as she called herself bossy. As fire chief, Ferris was used to being a boss. Not that he felt he had to order people around all that much at the station. During an emergency was another matter, but he was also the flexible sort. More important than his ego or his desire to be in charge was solving the problem. Sometimes that meant taking a step back to help support the team. Or, more often, leading by example rather than delegation. Really most of his leadership experience was ensuring a good workspace and facilitating relationships within his team to make sure everyone was comfortable with each other. Because they needed to be able to rely on the man or woman next to them if they were going to help anyone else in their time of need.
"That was meant to be a joke." It hadn't gone well. But she was right, he would give Darcy that. And it was quite impressive. "But you're right, we are both alive. Somehow." Ferris' hands were steady for most of the work and he forced himself through, but eventually his hands started to shake again like in the car. He leaned back against the sink cabinet and flexed his fingers, holding his hand out in a silent ask for the bottle again. "You got anything to drink here besides whiskey?" He asked, wiping sweat from his forehead and running a hand through his mess of hair. "I...think I need to take a minute," he admitted, "Once we finish...whatever you need with this stapler."