world gone mad — return , open .

[cygnus]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; line-height: 15px;"][font=calibri]wren watched the rugged captain return to flintlock through its main entrance. she had conflicted feelings. a lot had happened since they had last seen each other, and varying accounts. he had been to war and back, literally. all she managed to do was unlock the next level of the dramatic family saga. she let him be to greet his family, get inquiries of medical attention out of the way, before she stepped into the light, arms crossed faintly.

"i suppose now would be a bad time to say hello," she mumbled smugly, offering only a hint of a playful smile. she wanted to start things off correctly, of course, but she could not understate the importance of what she had found out while she was away from flintlock lodge. "when you have some time alone, after you've settled back in, we really need to have a conversation," she nodded to him, turning and leaving the room. feeling shaky, but confident, her hopes were high that she would be able to mend things with eddie and the two of them could just get on with their lives.

[benji]

[align=center]

[table]

[blake k.]

  "Can you watch the boys for me Cade? If they start to cry I'll be right outside, ok? Come and get me." She asked after hearing Ida outside. She knew Lottie would want to see Eddie and she didn't plan to go far from the steps of the lodge plus with other members (NPCs) of the lodge around she knew he'd be alright alone for a moment. Well, by those standards he wasn't alone per se but she felt it gave him a bit more feel of being in charge.

So, after quietly asking an NPC to keep an eye on them, she held her newest daughter in one arm as she took Lottie's hand in the other so she could help the toddler down the steps. She knew as soon as she hit the ground to let go and she was right. Lottie ran right for Eddie "Daddy!" followed by rather rushed toddler garble that Blake could only make out a few words: baby, Danny, and Xena.

Cradling the little one in her arms now, Blake walked a bit closer so she knew Lottie would hear her without having to speak too loudly "Are you trying to tell Daddy that Danny came to visit?" she asked, watching the little blonde girl look at her and nod as if it was so obvious. She then watched as she pointed to the baby Blake was holding "That baby Xena" the name sounded more like "ee-nah" since she was little but she did a good job regardless.

"Xena" she corrected with a small smile, though she was clearly glad that their daughter was so excited about her half-sister.

Her attention then, finally, went to the others...but mainly Torrin. She knew where this was headed, why he was being so...Torrin. Blake didn't say anything though, instead, giving him a rather mom-type look that told him to behave himself. She didn't have enough hands to hold him back and hold the tiniest lodge member.

[spoiler=TAGS 4/1]
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 an 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
— 4/1 Had Xena
— 12/05 Lost her best friend, Alfie
— 7/26 Celebrated her 23rd birthday
— 5/31 Had Keiron and Louis; The "Hell Twins"

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 one | Maybe Crushing on no one
    ↳ Involved with Danny Hargrove
▪ Ex-wife of Edmund Stirling
    ↳ cheated on her
▪ Mother of six
    ↳ Thomas and Charlotte Moray (2yrs)
    ↳ Louis and Keiron Stirling-Kegan (10m)
    ↳ Xena Hargrove (0m)
    ↳ Guardian to Danny's son, Cade Hargrove (9yrs)

They wanna make me their queen — interaction
— Physically very hard | Mentally intermediate
— Uses compound 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"]A plethora of new revelations had come about in his absence, and he was soon to discover each and every one of them.

❝ Do you need any medical attention, Ed? ❞ A voice that Eddie barely recognised spoke, the Captain’s head whipping up to peer across at a man stood nearby the doorway of the lodge. His brows twitched into the faintest of frowns; this must have been someone that Blake had welcomed whilst he was away, but then how could he recognise Eddie by face? Eddie straightened, quietly baffled by the person’s snarky questions until he slowly sucked in a breath. ❝ I’m well, thank you. ❞ He returned with a natural aloofness, shifting his weight almost awkwardly before grimaced ever-so-slightly. ❝ Sorry, who are you? ❞ He questioned, near-horrified that a Flintlocker who had never even met Eddie before could act so abrasive towards him.

Little did Eddie know, he had all the reason to be upset.

He barely had the chance to steady himself before the next revelation left him reeling. Wren stepped out, Ed’s lips parting as quiet eyes darted across her features. The same old heaviness in his chest lingered, but it intensified with a twinge of shock that he was actually talking to her again. Ever since her brother’s death, Ed’s guilt was unsurmountable. He could barely blame her if she never wanted to speak to him again, and yet there she stood with her now unwavering presence. Lips threatened to tug into a small, unsure parted lip smile, huffing gently before he mumbled softly in greeting, ❝ Wren. ❞ With her next statement, all he could do was nod before his attention was swiftly diverted to another face he’d not seen in some time.

❝ Benji. It’s been a while. ❞ He greeted, tipping his chin up as a greeting before glancing down towards Henry and Ida. ❝ How about you both go inside? I’ll see the both of you soon. ❞ With eager nods, Ida skipped ahead whilst Henry followed his younger sister into the lodge. As they barrelled into the lodge, Blake soon stepped out to meet Eddie. In one hand she walked Lottie out, the other hand she held a newborn he could only assume was her and Danny’s baby.  ❝ Daddy! ❞ The permanent state of stoic bravado would easily falter at the sight of his children, Eddie smiling bashfully as he crouched down to lift his daughter into the air. ❝ Agh, look at you. ❞ He hummed quietly as he pressed a short kiss to her temple as she babbled on eagerly.

❝ Is that so? ❞ Eddie questioned, Lottie responding with an eager nod of the head before Ed looked towards Blake. ❝ Xena. ❞ Blake introduced, Eddie nodding his head slowly before he said with the utmost authenticity, ❝ That’s a beautiful name. Congratulations, to both you and Danny. ❞ Looking over her shoulder back towards the lodge, eyes darted across those he'd spoken to before looking back to her to assume, ❝ A lot has happened whilst I was away then, 'ey? ❞

[Torrin Latimer]

TORRIN LATIMER

✯ THINK I’LL DYE MY HAIR AND I’LL MOVE TO ALASKA!

space

Torrin’s face contorted into a condescending sort of grimace. ”It’s Torrin. Are you just an asshole, or do you not have eyes? ‘Cause everyone else was able to tell.” He scoffed and covered his mouth with his hand, glancing apologetically at the children and then in horror at Blake. ”Er, sorry. Don’t curse.” He stumbled, shuffling back and forth. He seemed to shrink for a moment, but he still looked angry. He scowled, before turning tail and hesitating just a fraction of a second. Don’t make this about you. He let out a slow, carefully measured breath, and spoke. ”I’m glad that you’re not hurt. Gray is back, too. I’m going to be in the infirmary if you do need anything.” Before stalking off.

space

✯ MALE. FLINTLOCK. MEDIUM. ½ Graytor. REF. BIO ✯

#psychosocial.

[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"]Eddie nurtured his grief, mothered it as if bereavement was the only thing that kept his brother’s memory alive.

The journey back to Flintlock Lodge had been tiresome but it was the final push before he could return home without an abounding burden on his shoulders. Bluestem Prairie had been quashed with a certainty that Edmund was comfortable with, all of Flintlock Lodge had been reunited with the vulnerable members returning from Northstar District after several months, and it was beginning to feel as if he could set normal life in motion once again. The very last task that he, as the captain, had to do was inform associates about the result of the war.

To most, associates solely meant allies in other groups that would have supported Flintlock throughout the fight. But, Edmund was a quiet man who was good at keeping secrets. Flintlock Lodge was far more than an isolated group who looked out for one another, no — there was always more to it. Only family and associates themselves would have been aware of the work that Eddie put into the group behind the scenes, those sly deals between his late father’s allies to ensure that there were many individuals across these parts that would defend Flintlock Lodge. Why? Well, they would be nothing if it weren’t for the Stirling Enterprise; their loyalty was the least they could provide.

And, they ought to know the outcome of the war. Whilst Eddie acknowledged that neither seemed to win, Flintlock Lodge had silenced Bluestem Prairie enough to leave Eddie satisfied. Once he’d tell each and every associate the news, Eddie eventually returned to the mountains on horseback, eyes exhausted and hands cracked and painful from the long days of travelling. Before he would even think of returning to the lodge itself, though, Eddie wanted to make one last stop before he was on his way again.

❝ You would have been proud. ❞ Eddie murmured softly beneath his breath, no ears to listen to those very words as he stood within the silence of the melting snow. A distance away from the lodge lay three men to rest, accompanied with three headstones with three names. Hands clasped thoughtfully behind his back, Eddie’s eyes traced across the very names. Alfonso Stirling. Dominik Stirling. Alfred Stirling. To whom Eddie was talking to, that would remain a mystery, but perhaps Eddie spoke as if he wished all three were listening. He always missed his brothers. As for Alfred, Eddie would forever remain conflicted; he despised his father, but despised even more the way he was slowly becoming him with each passing day.

He stood there for several minutes, vacantly watching the stillness of the ground in which they rested in, before he eventually turned to finish the final leg of his journey.

The horse wearily trudged along as they approached the lodge, Eddie soon stopping to hop off and tie it up outside the barn for Thomas to put away. Eddie hauled his bag over his shoulder, approaching the lodge silently until he heard an eager squeal. ❝ Eddie! ❞

Despite the grief Edmund nurtured, he would not set it free into the world for some unfortunate soul to have to deal with in his stead. Instead, he’d wait until his grief was done with its contemplations before he’d put it aside once again. He’d rise to finish off a day worth of chores, drown himself in whiskey and kiss his children goodnight. Today, he’d put his grief aside as he stopped in his tracks, huffing through his nostrils as he watched Ida bounding over to greet him. Tossing his bag aside, he lifted his little sister up as she hugged him, Henry soon treading over and standing nearby. He shifted in one spot, corner of his lip twitching, as if eager for Eddie’s acknowledgement.

❝ How’s everything been whilst I’ve been away, ‘ey? ❞ Eddie enquired, meeting Ida’s gaze before looking over towards Henry as he lowered Ida back down to the ground. ❝ It’s been good. ❞ Henry replied with a similar softness in his voice, Eddie nodding slowly before peering up at the beauty of the lodge. ❝ Good. ❞ Eddie uttered quietly, relief washing over him as he realised that finally they were all safe again.

He could never let his guard down, though. It was the sacrifice he'd make to ensure everyone remained safe for the foreseeable future.

[Torrin Latimer]

TORRIN LATIMER

✯ THINK I’LL DYE MY HAIR AND I’LL MOVE TO ALASKA!

space

Torrin spent a lot of time outside of the front of the Lodge.

he always had, he’d been notorious for it when he was younger. Always the first to greet visitors, even if they were... less than friendly. always with a smile, too. even if they had weapons aimed at him.

torrin was not smiling.

he acknowledged the warmth of the moment though, and did nothing but drop a few bags of sand a bit too hard outside the doorway before turning with a soft grunt and finding something a little farther away to do. Best to let them have their little moment, he wasn’t mad at the kid.

well.

it wouldn’t be fair.

torrin whipped back around, running a hand through his ashen hair before chewing on his lip and speaking up. ”Do you need any medical attention, Ed?” He hissed in a raspy tenor, narrowing his eyes. ”or physically, are you well?” he seemed to make a point of making a distinction between the two. yikes. someone was in a sassy mood, and it was all so subtle... eddie really couldn’t mention any of it without accusing torrin of something, could he? a class petty.

the man didn’t seem to recognize him either, and that had already started to set him off. didn’t even wave. didn’t even know that torrin was upset with him, even— no, he just didn’t recognize him. and the fact that they were on good terms in eddie’s mind only made that hurt more.

so no, torrin wasn’t happy to see him.

space

✯ MALE. FLINTLOCK. MEDIUM. ½ Graytor. REF. BIO ✯

#psychosocial.