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?
Harland scratched under his chin, she was in for a whole new world and he was sure she had lots of questions, "Werewolves tend to run in packs, I belong to a pack of older werewolves but it all just seems to help keep order for our kind," if she thought all of this was weird and wild well finding out how to be a comforting Father to a child you never knew existed was just as a wild experience too.
"So.., I'm guessing you ran away from where you were staying? Which was where?" Harland felt he needed to know these things in case authorities came looking for her, "Do you have stuff you need to still get or is those bags all you got?"
It was easier to focus on his questions relating to her situation than for her to try to wrap her mind around the werewolf part of the conversation so she focused her mind on those questions fully. "No, I don't have anything else, just this," she confirmed. "I came from California, near Santa Monica. I was staying with my mom's friends, Tami, but I was headed to foster care in a few days..." she looked up at Harland with worry in her expression. "Please don't send me back. I don't want to go into the system...I'm only two years from being eighteen anyway. P-please..."
Who wanted an older kid anyway? She'd never be truly wanted and if she truly was the creature that Harland believed her to be then it would only makes things even more challenging, and likely dangerous. "I don't even have to stay with you," she said, trying to make it as easy as possible for both of them. She didn't expect him to just drop his whole life to take care of a teenager he never knew even existed. "I could stay at the motel I passed on my way in or-" she was only sixteen, she had no real ideas for logistics.
The drive to the cabin seemed to take longer than it should have, but Gemma knew that was entirely out of her feeling a touch uneasy over whatever this was about. Harland told her everything, so this made her feel off balance. Of course she told herself she was acting ridiculous and she just needed to relax and let him fill in the blanks for her. The blonde turned up her music and exhaled slowly as the jeep rounded a bend of the gravel drive and she saw the familiar truck that belonged to her best friend. Her pace quickened and she took a deep, calming breath as she pulled up beside his truck and parked.
Stepping out of the vehicle, Gemma was met with not just Harland’s familiar scent, but a second one. It was new to her, but there was something vaguely familiar to it as well. This made the blonde furrow her brow slightly as she walked up to the door and, instead of walking in like she might have normally; she decided instead to stop at the door and knock. Waiting for the door to be opened and trying to steady her nerves.
With the revelation that she could potentially go into the system Harlands eyebrows scrunched not in anger but more so disgust, "I'm not going to send you back," he said straight forward without hesitation, she didn't even have to beg, Harland wouldn't have done that to a child that wasn't his. Plus she was nearing the age of her first transformation and Harland felt Sookie told Kenna about him for that very reason because he knew what to do because they were the same kind.
"And you aren't going to stay at no motel, mine or not, no systems and no hotels," he scratched his beard when he heard the familiar approach of his Gem's Jeep, "You can stay with me, if you're comfortable and all, if not," the knock at the door had Harland make a click noise with his mouth, "That's Gem, we all go way back with Sookie, and if you would feel more comfortable with a woman...I'd trust her with my life and then some," he said this as he approached the door and opened it.
His Gem always no matter what brought a soft smile to Harlands usual gruff and rough demeanor and this was no different. She was a rock in his usual world of grump, "Gem, thanks for coming, come on in," he wasn't one to put off things so he thought ripping the proverbial bandaid off was easier, "so..Gem..this is Kenna..Kenna this is m-...Gemma..this is Gem...Gem this is Sookies kid..my...kid..," and there it was he said closing the door and shoving his hands into his pockets.
Harland’s answer was abrupt but it was precisely because of how quickly he answered that made Kenna feel better. At least she wasn’t leaving and being forced into the hands of the government.
Kenna listened as he offered his own house but when also suggested Gemma she couldn’t help by wonder if he was trying to pawn her off or if he preferred she stay. She already knew her preference.
When Gemma came in Kenna watched her with curious eyes though couldn’t help a hint of suspicious that resided in the blues of her irises. She waved at the woman awkwardly, her shoulders up by her ears. “Hey.”
Post by Gemma Tramell on Jun 14, 2024 19:15:25 GMT
Gemma tried her best not to ease drop from outside the cabin, having far too much respect for Harland to invade upon his privacy. But it definitely wasn’t easy. Not when the other scent carried a familiar note that Gemma hadn’t caught in years; Sookie. As close as she and Harland were, once upon a time there had been a third person to their group. Sookie, Harland and Gemma had all been inseparable. Even when Harland and Sookie started dating; they never let Gemma feel left out. So when the pair broke up and Sookie left… Harland wasn’t the only one that had been hurt when she left.
When the door opened, Gemma’s face lit up at the sight of Harland, already feeling such a sense of ease wash over her as he said her name and invited her in. Normally she might give him a hug, but with his guest she didn’t want to seem odd. “Of course, I got here as quick as I could.” She said as she stepped inside, running a hand through her hair as she raised a brow. Her blue eyes leaving Harland’s handsome face and stopping on a teenage girl… who looked an awful lot like a combination of her two best friends when they were that age.
Kenna, his and Sookie’s daughter? Gemma managed not to let her jaw drop, but she couldn’t hide the look of surprise that flashed across her face as she shot a quick look back to Harland, before she returned her gaze to the girl. “Sookie had a daughter… you’ve got a daughter… t-that’s huge! Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Kenna.” Only, she had more questions than anything else now. Namely; where was Sookie? Why didn’t she come with her daughter? She offered a soft smile and a little wave of her own.
Harland nodded, "Yeah just as surprised as I was," and responded looking between the two, "She's going to be staying for a while, until however long she wants...um she knows about me, what I am, what she might be..."
Harland knew there was booze in the cabin so he moved to grab them all a small shot. All of this must have been a real surprise for them all, a daughter, a best friends daughter, and of course the werewolf thing.
As he gathered cleanish shot glasses he continued talking, "I..I..I kinda suggested she can stay with me or if she's comfortable with...uh..with you?"
Kenna chewed on her lip as she studied Gemma. It was clear they were very close, good friends at the very least though Kenna, a suspicious teenager who always assumed the most interesting story to be true, was guessing there was more than just friendship there. It was a bit of surprise though to find out that Gemma knew her mother and that made her feel more comfortable. Of course Gemma was surprised by her existence, that was to be expected. She gave Gemma a small little smile when she greeted her. "Nice to meet you too," she replied casually. She seemed nice enough.
She watched as Harland started to gather a couple of glasses, a small furrow pulled between her brows but she said nothing and looked over to Gemma when Harland also mentioned staying with her. She kept her opinions to herself for the moment, wondering how the woman might react to such a suggestion, especially after only finding out she existed about 30 seconds ago.
“Of course you should be staying, get the chance to see where your mom grew up.” Gemma offered with an enthusiasm she was almost embarrassed by. She couldn’t help it. Kids were exciting and sure, Kenna wasn’t quite a ‘kid’, she should know they were thrilled to have her there. She raised a brow and looked between the two of them for a moment before giving a soft nod.
“It’s whatever you’re comfortable with Kenna, I know you don’t know me and I wouldn’t take offense if you preferred to stay somewhere else. But you are more than welcome to stay with me.” The blonde seemed to be connecting the dots, Kenna was here; but Sookie wasn’t. It made her heart sink a little, as she wondered about the details there. As Harland moved to make shots, Gemma walked over toward Kenna. “Ya know, I think most of the pictures I have from growing up around here are with your mom. And Harland too once he moved to town.” Blue eyes trailed up the frame of the man and she couldn’t help the way her heartbeat quickened. “Do you have any of those old photo albums around here Harland?”
Harland returned with three shot glasses of whiskey, "For everyone, for the surprises of today," he of course was giving Kenna permission to take a shot, he was Father of course so permission granted.
He was glad to have Gem right now, and he was sure his heart was hammering just as hard as Gem's...he was definitely drawing himself closer and closer to her, this moment was surely to bring them closer; they had a daughter and ones their best friends kids to look after now.
"...and Gems right Kenna, we just want you to know you can stay here, fuck the system as the kids say am I right?" he raised his glass and took the shot before nodding, "I do have a few...in fact...one second," and Harland excused himself once more.
Kenna chewed on her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her body as she nodded to Gemma. “Thanks,” she replied quietly. She was pretty sure she’d rather stay with Harland but the reality was that she didn’t know either of them at all so maybe she’d wait for at least a few hours before making that decision.
Her eyes lit up at the idea of pictures of her mom though. “Really?! I’d love to see them!” She said, dropping her crossed arms as a less reserved expression filled her face.
As Harland brought over the shot glasses she took hers and looked down into the amber liquid. She was no angel of teenager. She’d tried beer with her friends and sipped at a couple cocktails behind her mom’s back but she’d never taken a shot and never had a hard liquor by itself. Still, a little half smile lifted her lips that he had even brought her one.
She raised the glass with a brighter smile at Harland’s words and lifted her own glass. “Ya, fuck the system!” She said perhaps too excitedly. Maybe this really would turn out to be pretty cool, inspite of the whole werewolf thing which she definitely had barely wrapped her mind around yet.
She raised the glass to her nose to smell the whiskey as Harland walked away and then realizing there was a chance that Gemma might disagree and take it from her she tossed the whole thing back and swallowed. It burned down her throat and settled in her stomach and her nose scrunched as she started to cough. Oh that was horrible!
Of course, as a police officer she shouldn’t condone underage drinking. But, she could make an exception, especially when she wasn’t on duty. That, and she wasn’t going to even try to act like she couldn’t handle strong liquor at a young age. Besides, Harland was her dad, and if he was giving her permission to take a shot; she wasn’t going to argue.
Gemma accepted her own shot glass, unable to help that sweet familiar smile pulling across her lips at the man, she really liked when he called her ‘Gem’. She could hear how fast his heart was hammering in his chest and in made her want to just pull him into an embrace and tell him to breathe. But maybe not in front of his daughter. “Salute.” Gemma said with a nod, tossing back the shot with practiced ease.
Her blue eyes watched as Kenna made up her mind to take the shot, and had quite the expected reaction to the whiskey. Oh, to be young and trying things for the first time again. “I’m not gonna lie and say it gets better, but you do acquire a taste for one thing or another eventually… the first time your mom tried vodka, I think we were sixteen?” Gemma shook her head gently, an amused smile easing on her lips.
“She was so determined to prove she could take a shot without making a face, but she made such a ridiculous face every time… she had such a way of livening up even our most boring nights.” Gemma’s voice softened as she gave a gentle pat to Kenna’s back. “Breathe through the nose, if you’re anything like Harland; you’ll be handling the hard stuff like a champ.” She gave a nod, then took a step back and moved to sit on the arm of the couch, not trying to crowd the girl.
Harland returned with three photo albums, "I got more at home but these," he offered them to Kenna, "Are all of us when we hung out here after school, a lot of your mom and Gem though, I took the photos and I hate pictures of me," Harland joked before offering Kenna a seat on the small futon couch, "Anyways...Kenna, as you can see we want you to stay. I'm sure you will hear stories from the pack," Harland then looked at Gem and approached her slowly taking her hands in his and gave her a sympathetic look knowing he was going to have to tell her the truth, "Sookie passed Gem, thats...that's why Kenna is here," he felt it'd be easier telling Gem instead of Kenna having to say it again.
Kenna soon got her coughing under control and she listened as Gemma started to talk. When she started telling stories about her mom again Kenna smiled. Her eyes filled with delight but there was a hint of pain and sadness deep behind her eyes. She chuckled as she explained how Sookie was the life of the party type. “That doesn’t surprise me,” she said tenderly as she remembered how her mom had always been so good at keeping things light and fun despite it being just the two of them.
She gave Gemma a grateful smile as the woman sat down just before Harland walked in with the albums. “That’s such a guy thing to say,” she found herself accidentally slipping into a playful tease at the idea of a guy not wanting his picture taken.
She sat down in the center of the futon and flipped open the first book. A sweet smile rested on her lips as she scanned the images before it fell again when Harland told Gemma what had happened. Her eyes remained firmly glued to the page in her hands; Gemma and Sookie as teenagers, hugging and smiling on a futon not unlike the one she sat in now.
When Harland returned with the albums she couldn’t help but gently shake her head and chuckle at his words. “I wish he was kidding, but I swear; you gotta bribe him or catch him off guard to get a candid shot.” She teased with a soft exhale as she watched Kenna begin flipping through the album.
Though her gaze shifted to Harland as he stepped up and took her hands. Of course she didn’t have any issue with him being this close and finding a reason to take her hands, but she could tell from the look on his face that this wasn’t something easy to say. The words left his lips and met her ears, and Gemma couldn’t help but give a slight shake of her head. As if shaking her head could make what he said less than true. “W-what, ho-” She stopped herself from asking, glancing to Kenna and swallowing hard.
She stood, giving a squeeze to Harland’s hands, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek with a pained look in her eyes. Sookie and Gemma had always been inseparable, and when Harland moved to town; it was always the three of them. So when Sookie left, it had killed Gemma. But now she finally understood. Sookie didn’t want Gemma to have to keep something like her being pregnant, from Harland. She moved to the futon beside Kenna, looking at the picture.
“I’m so sorry Kenna, losing anyone is hard; but a mom… losing your mom is like losing part of yourself.” Gemma could relate more than she cared to admit, having lost her own mother while she was in college. “If you ever want to talk or hear stories about your mom, you can reach out to me. Heck, I might even have an old journal or two that she wrote in.”