what about that?┊departure to nd (O)

[MAXINE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 350px; text-align: justify; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.4; color: #6B6953;"]the night and morning had been busy as they prepared the three wagons for the trip to northstar district. the nonstop preparation helped max keep her wandering thoughts anchored to the ground, there was no doubt that this was the best idea for the most vulnerable people of flintlock, and she was happy to help in any way she could, even if that meant being away from her siblings and eddie while they stayed back with the war going on. even with the reassurance she felt that she was doing the right thing, there was still a dark hole growing in the pit of her stomach with doubts that something was going to go wrong. she tried to keep the thoughts out of her head, trying to look on the brighter sides of things as she did her best to remind herself to be optimistic. at least bowie was going to be tagging along as well, he always made it easy for max to forget about bad things going on with his extroverted personality.

the sun was beginning to peek up over the mountains and trees, the sky looking like a painting that had the most beautiful shades of orange and purple. as they loaded the last bit of supplies into the wagons, max's attention was focused on the sky for a minute, all of the worries momentarily leaving her body as she began to relax. she knew the feeling wasn't going to last, but she enjoyed it while it happened. there was a group surrounding the wagons now, full of parents and family members saying goodbye to their loved ones before they would leave.

max turned back around to face them, her eyes scanning the group before they landed back onto joey and seb. joey was holding rosie in her arms, a more than displeased expression on her features that max was making her saying goodbye to her before they left. she walked over to them, stopping in front of seb first as she gave him a tight hug. "try not to miss me so much, [i]mom."[/i] he did his best to try and lighten the mood, earning a huff of laughter from max as she lightly punched his arm when she finally pulled away from the hug. "that's going to be unlikely," she hummed, pushing some of his hair out of his face before straightening out his coat, a habit she tended to pick up on when she was beginning to grow anxious. "i'll see you soon, richie, okay?"

before she could even turn to say her goodbyes to joey, her younger sister was already shoving rosie off into seb's arms, which he happily accepted by covering her cheeks in little kisses, cooing at her as he began to say goodbyes to her as well. finally, max turned to joey and wrapped her arms around her as well. "i'm going to miss you." she said to her lightly before finally letting her go.

// basically!! just a thread for the Soft Moments of family members saying goodbye to the kids n evacuating to nd!

[ASPEN B.]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; font-size: 11px; font-family: calibri; letter-spacing: .6px; color: #494949;"]bowie's never been much of a fighter, he's more scrappy when need be, to protect himself. he can hold his own, sure, but going out on behalf of someone or something else? no, not really his wheelhouse. so, he's more than willing to pack up and take children out of harm's way. max being his partner for it is just a job perk, he's felt a bit... off around her recently, sensing something going on between her and edmund; that'd also explain his distaste for aspen. it made him take a step back, though, he's never liked people who got in-between others.

the morning is full of packing the three wagons they're taking, making sure they'd have enough supplies but also enough space for all the kiddos. the crowd grows as their time to leave creeps closer and closer, families hugging and sending their love. bowie keeps a bit of a distance, not having much that's staying behind and not wanting to take the space from anyone else. he busies himself with triple checking everything's secure and trying to count the little heads that would be in his and maxine's care.

in his scan, he spots the van dorens having their goodbyes. joey took little time passing off her daughter to hug her sister. she has a tight lipped smile, focusing on not crying, " miss you too. you're perfect for this job. " the younger one says. a few moments later, she takes in a deep breath that hitches in her chest, then she turns and disappears. bowie sighs lightly before looking closer to the wagons and the one's closest to them,

“ [color=#80bfff]i can put any of their things on, then load up the little one whenever you're ready, “ he offers gently, trying not to rush any of it and also take as much stress as he could off of parents. he just hopes he can keep the children happy during the time in northstar... they shouldn't have to worry about shit like this.

[blake k.]

She was very much protective of her kids, but knowing they weren't going to be with her? Still made her worry. The hell twins were put on the wagon already - with the number of kids she was helping put on, she figured it would be easiest to do this in two parts. She came back out, helping both Tommy and Lottie down the steps and then over to the wagon, smiling at the npc who had her two boys before looking at her older two. She figured they needed...a better explanation.

"Where we goin?" "You and your brothers are going to go on a little trip, ok?You'll get to make new friends and see the ocean" "Ocean?!" "Yes! Maybe you and Tommy can go see it and you can try to find mermaids like in the books we read" there was an eager nod from her two-year-old girl, making Blake smile and look at her son. She just hoped someone would be able to understand him because Lottie didn't...completely. "Tommy, love" she muttered as she got his attention, then trying to explain what was happening the best she could. She made sure to mention the ocean and that Henry and Ida would be there too.

"Listen and both of you behave. Lottie help Tommy if he needs it, ok?"

[spoiler=TAGS 12/10]
Sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise — general
▪ Blake Adrian Kegan | Blake, Blakie | open to nicknames
▪ AFAB | Identifies as Genderfluid | she/they
▪ 23 | Born July 26th | ages real time
▪ combat | member of Flintlock Lodge

Tired of all these cameras flashing, sick of being poised — physical
♦ Health: 100%
— They stand at 5'9" with semi-long wavy ginger hair. She has a rose tattoo and a few scars from past events. She's closer to an athletic build and is on the thinner side. She has a broad Australian accent as she's originally from Adelaide, Australia.
— minor injuries: n/a
— major injuries: n/a

Now my neck is open wide, begging for a fist around it — important events
— 7/26/40 Celebrated her 23rd birthday
— 5/31/40 Had Keiron and Louis; The "Hell Twins"
— 4/26/40 Thomas and Charlotte turned 2

Already choking on my pride, so there's no use crying about it — personality
— I like to think Blake is a good example of the whole "strong, independent woman" thing even if she doesn't identify as a woman. She has a short temper and what I gently put as homicidal tendencies. She will gladly fight someone, regardless if they're bigger than her or not. However, she's also rather maternal and is more likely to protect a child than anything. Her maternal side has massively shown itself since the twins were born, though that leaves her more violent side to be overlooked or forgotten.
— Maternal, "Strong Independent Woman", Protective
— Violent, Homicidal Tendencies, Short Tempered

I'm headed straight for the castle — relationships
▪ Ryan Kegan x Katherine Kegan
▪ Pansexual | Panromantic | Polyamorous
▪ It's complicated | Crushing on no one | Maybe Crushing on no one
    ↳ Involved with Danny Hargrove
▪ Ex-wife of Edmund Moray
    ↳ cheated on her
▪ Mother of Thomas, Charlotte (2yr), Louis, and Keiron(6m) Moray
▪ Currently pregnant, due in April

They wanna make me their queen — interaction
— Physically very hard | Mentally intermediate
— Uses combound bow and arrows
— Also skilled in hand to hand combat
— No killing and ask before major injuries or major interactions
— To attack, [member=9567]Noccy[/member] & attack in #B34600
[/spoiler]

[EDMUND.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]If there was one thing that Edmund would ensure with the utmost certainty, it was that he’d refuse to let a vulnerable person die because of him. Ever since Alfie’s death, it was becoming clear to him that no one here was immortal. How foolish had it been for Eddie to disregard that life was fleeting, and take for granted every moment he spent with Alfie? And now, it also became clear that Flintlock Lodge was no longer safe, especially for the vulnerable who most certainly could not possibly deserve to die, let alone bear witness to the destruction that may take place in Flintlock territory.

It was already killing him, the thought of being away from his children and not knowing when he’d be able to see them again, but he knew that evacuating the children to Northstar District was the best way to protect them. Eddie would never be able to cope if the next person he’d bury was one of his children. Northstar District was the safest place for them to be right now, and Eddie knew that Mickey would ensure that the children were all protected. If Mick had not been in Northstar District, then Eddie would have felt a lot less at ease that he was now about this decision.

He stood as he watched tearful parents saying goodbye to their children, whilst other Flintlockers bundled up the elderly in blankets for the long journey to Northstar. Eyes shifted over to where he saw Blake dealing with their children. He swallowed hard; he’d leave his farewell to them for last. First, he cleared his throat before glancing over towards Henry and Ida as they walked over with their bags. ❝ Ready? ❞ Eddie asked his youngest half-siblings, Henry nodding and Ida confirming with a hum. ❝ Could you put my hair in pigtails so that I look pretty for the new people? ❞ Ida hummed, then holding her arm up to provide two elastics around her wrist.

Eddie frowned slightly before taking the elastics, ❝ Okay, quick— ❞ She turned around, Eddie leaning down slightly to tie her hair up just the way she wanted it, before Ida turned back around with a smile. ❝ Okay! ❞ ❝ Okay? ❞ ❝ Mhmm! ❞ ❝ A’right, let’s get you to the wagon then. ❞ Eddie took the bags from Henry and Ida, stowing them away before helping Henry into the wagon. ❝ Why can’t I stay and fight? ❞ Henry questioned with an utterance. Only two years short of being old enough to stay, Henry was frustrated that Eddie refused to allow him to stay. He wasn’t ready to fight. He wasn’t ready to die.

Picking Ida up to haul her onto the wagon, Eddie raised his brow as he then looked towards Henry. ❝ You need to look out for your sister though, don’t you? ❞ Henry sighed, understanding Eddie’s point before he obliged. The farewell was short. The two children were old enough to understand what was happening, and comfortable enough to be sent away for a little while. After all, they were used to being passed around like second-hand goods. It was the sad reality of being a Stirling child.

Next, Eddie actively searched the crowd to find Maxine. After all, with her role as a caregiver, Eddie wasn’t going to be able to see her for some time, too. The thought alone was heart-breaking to him, but Eddie knew that his love for her was unconditional. He didn’t have to see her every day for his heart to feel that glimmer of peace whenever she was on his mind. In fact, the thought that she’d be safe in Northstar District was the greatest consolation of all. ❝ Hey, ❞ Eddie spoke as he found her, hand gently touching her shoulder to catch her attention.

As they came face to face, a small smile tugged at his lips for a moment, gaze searching hers, before he began, ❝ You— ❞ He stopped himself, slowly nodding his head in thought. He was never good with words, but by look alone it was clear just how much he appreciated her for the sacrifice she was making. Even though he’d miss her like crazy, at least she would be safe — that was all that he could ask for.

In their months of beating around the bush, never quite making their romance known as they’d only show affection behind closed doors, never did Eddie think that he’d make a move in front of such a big crowd like this. With their romance being nothing more than mere rumours to other Flintlockers, this would make it apparent that there was definitely something going on between them. With both hands carefully raising to cup her cheeks, Eddie leaned in to press a slow, gentle kiss against her forehead before he eventually pulled away. ❝ You’ll be in my thoughts. ❞ The softest Eddie would be was when he was around the woman he loved. The world was harsh and unforgiving, but she made surviving it worthwhile.