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 12, 2023 20:50:42 GMT
[For Harland Shaw and then maybe anyone else out for a drink?]
It had been some time since Ferris visited Harland's. Honestly, it had been a long time since he went anywhere in town for pleasure. As much as drinking alone was pleasure. Which was honestly a bit sad in his personal opinion. But rather than stay in his small apartment, he'd decided to venture out among his fellow man to watch the tail end of whatever American football game and then the hockey game. At least some of the previous sentence was true.
Until recently, the biggest downside to living out here was how far of a drive it was to the nearest arena. Even with the Kraken among the pacific division ranks, they were far from his team of preference. But any hocky was better than nothing.
And so it was how he ended up seated at the bar on a rare Wednesday evening off, nursing a local craft beer he was hard pressed to recall the name of. Ferris leaned with his right elbow on the countertop, staring at the tv in the back of the bar and silently tapping the stained wood grain with the coaster that belonged under his half full glass. The bar was busy as usual, people chatting, some getting drug, plenty watching the game. A few folks said hello to the fire chief, but he offered little more than a wave or a forced smile in return, keeping to himself like usual. He reeked of smoke more than usual, and not the life-threatening kind.
Harland was use to a busy Wednesday, usually working the bar by himself but tonight most of the pack was in and the other ten percent were just humans so he had another bar tender as well as cooks. Was he enjoying work? Yes despite the very grumpy look on his face. Sitting two beers down in front of a older couple Harland then approached the Fire Chief, "Do you actually like that?" Harland asked leaning his hip against the ice chest and crossing his arms, "The college kids love it, I think it tastes like an old root mash my Grammy made us kids drink when we was sick," but he wouldn't talk someone out drinking at the bar, the chief of course always received a 50% discount.
After a rather slow day of work, deputy Gemma Tramell was turning in her last report for the day and clocking out. It was mostly a day spent in the office with a few casual calls, mostly requested wellness checks on elderly neighbors and a few speeding tickets, for the most part a rather uneventful day for the woman. Her blue eyes scanning over a few text messages as she grabbed her keys and headed out for the night. On a Wednesday night there wasn’t a whole lot going on in town, but she already knew where she was spending the evening; Harland’s Alehouse.
Being one of the few businesses in town that was owned by a werewolf in their pack, it wasn’t odd for many members of the Shadowridge pack to be seen there. And that’s exactly where Gemma wanted to unwind, and maybe catch up a little bit with Harland, if he wasn’t too busy. In such a small town the drive didn’t take long at all, and Gemma found herself parking and heading inside the bar. Nodding a greeting to the hostess as she stepped inside. She wore a light grey leather biker jacket, a black AC/DC shirt with a slit cut at the neck, tucked into a pair of dark wash denim jeans that hugged her ass and thighs perfectly. A pair of black boots finished off the look, her blonde hair down and looking a bit messy from how she’d styled it that morning.
It didn’t take long to spot Harland Shaw , his scent easy to pick out in any crowd. He was chatting with the fire chief, Ferris Felwinter . She gave a smile as she walked up, taking a seat at the bar and raising a brow. “I’d say it’s alright, definitely not my ‘go to’ drink, but a solid contender when I’m looking for a little variety.” She flawlessly entered the conversation, never one to be called shy when it came to people. Her eyes lingered on Harland a moment longer, before she raised a brow and looked to the fire chief. “Did you guys get that call about the wellness check, the one where Evelin was actually stuck in her basement?” She asked with a raise brow, having heard about the situation, but not sure who ended up being put on that check.
last edited Dec 1, 2023 20:30:56 GMT by Gemma Tramell
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 1, 2023 22:39:34 GMT
The discount almost guaranteed the Fire Chief drank at Harland's over anywhere else when he went out. In town anyway. It was a familiar place, with familiar people and mostly good drinks. He snorted as the owner gave his honest opinion, something Ferris regularly counted on. "The fuck were you when I ordered this then, eh?" he joked. In truth he didn't think it was that bad. But it certainly wasn't going on the list of things he would be ordering again. It just didn't have enough flavor to it, he'd give Harland that.
He half turned at the woman's voice, recognizing the Deputy on sight. But once again he struggled with a name. Like some of the nurses at the urgent care, while he spoke to the woman occasionally, it was usually about work or under some amount of duress. "Deputy," he said, lifting his glass in greeting. At least her opinion wasn't that the beer was shit but... He glanced back at Harland. "It's not something I plan to order again. But you know I prefer to make the rounds." When it came to beer, Ferris had yet to find one he really connected with. He'd try any beer once.
"Yesterday?" He was trying to remember. The name didn't ring a bell, but the basement situation did. "Right, yeah, the neighbors called the non-emergency because they hadn't seen her in two days. On scene we could hear wailing in the basement." Which was why they had the radio open in case something more tense was going on. "She was only stuck there overnight, thankfully. Cat pushed the basement door closed while she was doing laundry." At least, that was the thought. No one else lived with the woman and "Had to kick open the back door. And pay for it. Been a while since I got to do that." He added with a bit of a smile. He'd rather enjoyed showing some of the guys how to do that and thankfully the resident was more relieved to not be trapped in her own home.
Gemma. Little Gem. Very rarely could anyone ever erase the grumpy expression Harland had been molded into since birth but Gemma usually dulled the edges into something softer. Her arrival caught his attention immediately from her scent to her little build moving through the bar, he always saw her, a bit of a smile spread across his face as he pushed off the ice chest starting to pour her usual free drinks. As they discuss their work lives Harland could only return to scowling, not that he was mad it was just his natural disposition.
"You both sound like two horny nerds," Harland commented, aiming to be funny of course joking about inter department chatter, cops vs fire fighter vs ems beef...
“You’re the best, Harland.” Gemma said as he made her usual drink; an amaretto sour. She gave a smile that seemed custom made just for him, soft and sweet with the tiniest bit of a rosey glow to her cheeks. Eyes quickly moving to her drink as she took a sip and looked back to Ferris with a nod. “Yes, that’s the one! Poor Evelin, I know they said it must have been the cat, but she seems to think there might be some sort of entity in the house now.” Gemma shook her head with a bit of an amused smile as she took another drink, then rolled her eyes at Harland’s teasing them.
“Hey, what else are we supposed to chat about, if not the calls we respond to at work?” She clicked her tongue, lifting her drink to her lips again. “What else is there to talk about, aside from the gossip around town?”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 2, 2023 22:01:45 GMT
"Yeah, she mentioned a... entity," he said, tone a bit lower. Whatever the hell that meant. All he could think was 'ghost.' Ferris didn't believe in that in the slightest. But the problem was, now he knew otherwise. Still, he wasn't about to go encouraging the woman or spreading a panic without any proof. "One Lament house in town is enough," he said firmly, taking another drink and looking up at the screen, only to half choke on a laugh at Harland's observation.
Ferris wiped his mouth with his sleeve and set down his near empty beer. "Opposite sort of inter-department relations than I'm used to," he confessed with a snort. Normally it was a lot less consensual and more confrontational. But he liked the change of pace here. "Ah, sure, Harland, what do you suggest?"
"Not work?" Ferris offered. Yes, he had had a lot to say about the incident, but even he wasn't that interested in reliving his last few shifts. Nor was he about to suggest any gossip.
Post by Hillard DuKane on Dec 3, 2023 23:10:20 GMT
The motorcycles could be heard from inside as they pulled up in front of Harlands bar, heads inside and outside turned as the four motorcycles (the pack lead by Hillard DuKane, followed by his first born, the twins doubled up on a crotchrocket, and last his youngest) came to a stop. It was almost an immediate reaction from most of the Wolves, "Smells like a porch of wet dogs," Hillard whispered to his girls as he stepped off his bike which warranted smirks from them, the man had a soft French accent something after 240 years had never faded.
The blonde made a comment in German that made one of the twins joke back in German.
"Girls, be nice, these creatures should be pitied not teased I lost my manners don't stoop as low as your Father to do the same," Hillard scolded them which they all seemed to take with light looks of shame, smoothing his hair back he looked at the blonde, "Remember we are here to be friendly, we don't need this old pack of dogs sniffing around our business okay? What's the rule?"
In different languages they all repeated the same thing, "Hide in plain sight."
Hillard clearly satisfied turned and lead his sisters toward the entrance of Harlands Alehouse. And oh what a entrance old and young heads snapped up at their arrival, these were the Werewolves and thar intensity turned up once they stepped through the door.
The seemingly odd bunch lingered in the entrance but for a moment, "Find a table mon Cher," Hillard whispered to his oldest sister, the blonde, and thats when their paths diverged as Hillard headed toward the bar hands in pockets and sly fox in the wolf den smile besmerched his face as he approached the big fellow.
"Mother Mary, you Americans are bred big here," he tossed toward the big man behind the counter, "Hillard DuKane, I own Los Diablos..wanted to mingle with some true born locals," Hillard offered his hand to Harland as he came to rest beside the woman (Gemma Tramell), "I don't want to assume you are Harland? Pleasure...," he even smiled at the woman and dipped his head at the other man. The scent of human blood was unfortunately saturated by the smell of werewolf blood, pity.
"My sisters, would love some wine," Hillard nodded his head toward the four women sitting in the back at a corner booth, if Harland looked the more grumpy looking twin would waive at him, "I'll pay for the best..."
The sound of approaching motorcycles wasn’t all that bothersome, nor was the general appearance of the group that just entered the bar. In fact, if Gemma hadn’t been a werewolf, she would’ve just chalked them up for being newer to town and familiarizing themselves with the local businesses. No big deal? But every werewolf in that bar could smell the putrid scent of decayed flesh that came from not just the man, but the women with him. They were vampires.
Her immediate gut feeling was to jump the counter to be nearer Harland, whom she knew to have an absolute affinity for the other supernatural beings, but her sense of duty wouldn’t let her be removed from the space separating Ferris from the man who introduced himself as Hillard Dukane. She wasn’t familiar with his name, but his scent… something about his scent didn’t seem all that unfamiliar. He didn’t look like anyone she’d ever seen before, but damn if she didn’t feel like she recognized his scent, or perhaps it was the scent of one of his companions? Gemma couldn’t quite focus.
Not surprisingly; his smile did very little to put her at ease. It wasn’t that she thought the vampires would be bold enough to start anything with so many wolves present, she was mostly worried about Harland. “I’d heard some of the town’s folk talking about a new arrival, but that’s a small town for you; any news travels fast.” She finally managed to find her voice and was even able to produce a half smile, though after taking a good sip from her drink. “I’m Deputy Tramell, though most everyone around here calls me Gemma.” She gave a sort of short wave of her hand, picking up her drink and taking another drink. Eyes shifting between the vampire and Harland.
last edited Dec 4, 2023 14:03:42 GMT by Gemma Tramell
A new tension entered Harlands demeanor, unadulterated hatred, if his teeth were to crush under the weight at which they were clenched together. He fought his natural urges however to just jump over the bar and his pack tear these degenerates to pieces, but he shook its hand, "Yup, I'm Harland," it was a short stiff handshake, as Harland looked toward the "sisters" nodding reluctantly at the one waving at him, "Pleasure, Mister Dukane, thats Gemma as she said and that's the Fire Chief."
Harland smirked or maybe grimaced, "All we carry is the best wine in town, and yeah you'll have to pay since it's such a rare request," he looked toward his other employee, "Nancy get the good wine, yeah?" she could sense the tension rolling from Harland, most of the bar had resumed their drinking but there was a thickness to the air since the arrival of the Dukane bunch.
"And the reason we warm blooded Americans are so big and strong is because whiskey puts meat on the bones," Harland went to cleaning glasses, to occupy his hands, he couldn't look elsewhere at the moment.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 5, 2023 2:19:12 GMT
For a moment, Ferris felt like he was transported to a modern-day western opening.
Scene: Locals chatting in the bar. New blood rolls in from out of town. The dangerously attractive foreigner with full sleeve tattoos rolls into the bar, flanked by four exotic harpies. Tension makes the air inside the bar suffocating. The locals and the newly arrived softcore biker gang trade judgmental stares, but the classic Mexican Standoff is cut short by the protagonist/antihero/villain/hero/all these things, stepping forward with not a grand gesture toward the bartender, but a challenge.
DuKane: Mother Mary, you Americans are bred big here! My sisters [Gestures toward the harpies at the table. One waves.] would love some wine. I'll pay for the best...
Shaw: All we carry is the best wine in town, and yeah, you'll have to pay since it's such a rare request. [Begins polishing glasses] And the reason we warm blooded Americans are so big and strong is because whiskey puts meat on the bones.
Scene Cont.: The bartender hates it, as noted by how he starts stereotypically polishing glasses. The two men trade sharp, but indirect words, jabbing in the hopes the other will start something.
In this story, Ferris wasn't the main character and he knew it. He forgot about his beer order. And it seemed that Harland had too. Pity. Ferris only returned the nod to this Hillard DuKane as he was introduced.
The moment snaps away as Harland mentions him by title, but even the human in the room could tell there was something up, largely because of how often he frequented the bar. Harland had a resting grumpy face, but what he directed first at the stranger and then at the glasses in his hands was not a resting emotion. He snorted. "Not American, but I do like whiskey," he agreed. Between Gemma's shift in stance and Harland's defensiveness, the Fire Chief wasn't really sure what to make of the scene.
"The Mexican restaurant?" Which was in the same shopping center as here. Begging the question of why the impressive motorcycle symphony was needed. Some kind of intimidation tactic, but for the life of him, Ferris couldn't understand what the restaurant owner had against the bar. Besides perhaps a few drinks, he doubted there was much overlap. Maybe he and Harland had a grudge? But they acted like they had just met in person for the first time. "I haven't been in a while. Will have to stop by."
Seung had made a habit of popping into Harland’s bar whenever she had a day off. Partially because there weren’t too many things to do in Sweetwater but mostly because it was the official unofficial meeting spot for the pack. She had rolled up pretty late today since she had been finishing up some work at the shop. Seung had taken the time to clean up after work, letting down her hair and changing into something a bit softer. Something not too flashy, just a dark turtleneck sweater and dark wash jeans. There was a faintly foul smelling bunch of motorbikes parked already. This in itself wasn’t so unusual. She set the kickstand on the Kawasaki and sort of vaguely wondered if it was a group of tourists. She hoped not, only because with winter coming on the more mountain side rides were about to get fairly dangerous for motorcycles. She set her helmet on the bike and casually walked into the standoff. Unlike the others she didn’t show a hint of displeasure on her face. It wasn’t a welcoming expression either, more slight confusion and neutrality.
She might have ignored the death smell filled strangers completely if the man wasn’t sitting in her spot. Between him and the fire chief there wasn't a place to sit next to Gemma at the bar. A bit of a frown did form then. She wasn’t unaware of the weird tension in the room. The look on Harland’s face told her that he was two wrong words away from an all out brawl. Worse than that Gemma seemed a bit uncomfortable. She crossed the bar to sort of vaguely stand near the other woman. Having come in on the local fire chief saying something about the new Mexican restaurant she had no idea what this group of vampires wanted but she wasn’t happy to have her cocktail hour interrupted. "....did I ..miss anything important?" She asked casually and considered ordering a drink but a stressed bar staff didn't make good drinks.
last edited Dec 5, 2023 21:01:26 GMT by Seung Royce
Hillard had struck a nerve and he hadn't even noticed or maybe he had and just didn't care, this little visit was to let the local watch dogs know Hillard and company was here make of it what they wanted. He wasn't here to be the enemy to anyone Hillard DuKane had bigger dreams...for all intentions and purposes he wasn't there to be the enemy, but he could be.
The road to hell was paved with good intentions.
"Deputy, ma'am a pleasure," DuKane obliged the little thing, "I've already met the Sheriff, quiet the character...and yes Chief," his eyes cast over to the man, "Los Diablos, the best and let me just offer all of you fine folk some coupons," he even arrogantly withdrew several books containing discounts, "I'm offering them to all the town officials, business owners, and their families...I believe in taking care of the litter businesses," Hillard flashed an asinine pearly white smile, "Keep the corporate leeches from drinking us all dry," and a wiggle of his eyebrows as someone new joined them asking a pointless question so he ignored them turning back to Harland, "and while I love a good aged whiskey, red wine," innuendo heavy just like the smirk, "Sweet. Filling. Blood of the God's they say..."
If she hadn’t been a werewolf, Gemma wondered if she would have found this vampire more charming. He was all smiles and seemed to be trying to play nice, but that only seemed to upset Harland more. Which set her on edge. She had no doubt Harland wouldn’t risk exposure, but the man didn’t need to wolf out to cause damage. He was more than capable of handling whatever situation should break out. Though as deputy, she would have to try and not be biased. Which was difficult when Harland was involved. She looked up with a smile when Seung joined them, happy for further reinforcements. Though narrowing her eyes at Hillard as he seemed to ignore her.
“Hey, just meeting another local business owner… Seung, this is Hillard DuKane. Owner of Los Diablos. Seung and her brother run Fix-It Auto Shop, she’s the best mechanic in town.” Gemma wasn’t about to stand for her friend being neglected, not after he just spoke of supporting the little businesses. She looked over the coupon book for a moment before sliding it into her coat pocket and looking to Harland with a grin. “I think you forgot the good fire chief’s beer.” She said, taking another drink of her own beverage as she slightly scowled at Hillard’s words.
“I think George Bernard Shaw said it best; ‘Whiskey is liquid sunshine’. But, I suppose you’ve gotta like sunshine to appreciate that.” She finished her drink with that innocent half smile of hers.
Harland replied with a simple, 'hmm', which was code for "I'm keeping quiet or I'm going to break your jaw".
"Evening Seung," Harland tossed out to the younger pup, softening his features for Gemma when she reminded him about Ferris' drink, "sorry Chief," finally breaking from his previously rooted spot to the man his drink.
Finally Nancy was coming back carrying a very cheap looking box of win handing it off to Harland, who suddenly seemed joyous a bit more pep in his step as he dropped a beer off to Ferris and then sat the box of wine down in front of Hillard, "Here friend, the best, and I'll toss a discount on there for you...forty five dollars mister DuKane," Nancy added sitting down four plastic cups, "We don't have no wine glasses though."