❝ come on in , the water's fine / o , joining . ❞

[NIKOLAI]

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"Your uncle, he ran away from home and never came back. He could be dead for all I know, all because he wanted to roll with gangs. Is that the life you want for yourself?"

His father thought that threatening him with a story about his lost uncle could deter him from living a life on the lam, outrunning danger and escaping death at every turn, but he had been so very wrong.

It had been seven years now since Nikolai, formerly Lachlan, had fled home. Mom was dead, things with Dad grew tenser each passing day... The only reason he could have remained behind was his little sister, Florence. As much of a pest as she could be sometimes, she was a beam of light, the sunshine on his cloudy day. Fuck, he missed her. He could hear her voice now -- "Did you just say that you missed me? What a softie!" Only for her, he was.

Nikolai knew that Florence would be better off with Dad, as much as he grew to resent his old man as a teenager. He hadn't been someone he could truly connect with, even though he meant well and was loving towards his two children. When he tried to sit down and connect with his son, he only ended up pushing him further and further away. Eventually, after Mom died, it became too much and Nikolai knew he had to leave. He had gotten caught up in a local street gang, terrorizing members of the community and stealing and looting and destroying things. Sometimes it had been for profit and gain, and sometimes it had been purely out of an urge to rebel and raise hell. They were kids, all of them, though Nik had been the youngest member at the time.

Now, the gang was gone. Nikolai had set off on his own for, say, a change of pace. He was done wreaking havoc just for the thrill of it. He wanted to seek his destiny and fulfill it, perhaps achieve a higher purpose. This world was abandoned and crumbling, and there was plenty of opportunities to seize.

The young man, tall in stature, steps foot onto the beaten path that leads straight into the city. His uncle would be here; or, perhaps, he wouldn't be. Nikolai knew that Charlie's reign was long over by now, but he still wondered if the man was still living in the city. He'd certainly like to meet him; maybe he would understand him more than his own father would.

Dark eyes survey his surroundings, thick brows slightly furrowing as he looks out for anybody on the horizon. Hm. Nikolai supposes he has to play the waiting game. He could be an impatient, brash man, but he knows that overstepping boundaries wasn't a smart move in a territory he didn't know. Nik wanted to live to see another day, not get jumped by a bunch of... gang members. Or mobsters. Whatever these people wanted to call themselves.

[TEDDY.]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: andale mono; font-size: 6.5pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px; color: #484a4d"]Teddy probably would have been better off if he had run away from Papa all those years ago.

Instead, he didn’t. He placed his bets on the hopes that maybe one day Papa would see him as something more than a disposable being. Years later, and Teddy still desperately hung on that hope because it ought to happen someday, right? The problem with that theory was that some men would never change. They could style their hair differently, wear a different shade of blue, they could even start to smile at the sight of one they would once glower at, but they could never change their principles of life.

Papa was a hardworking man — Teddy would give him that — but anything to the extreme was unbearable. Papa could be unbearable at the worst of times, but Teddy wouldn't dare bark a word at him with the fear that their volatile relationship would eventually crumble. Running away would have been just fine. It would have saved Teddy all the grievances he had to deal with when Papa abandoned him all those years ago, leaving Teddy with absolutely nothing to his name apart from a suitcase of luggage and an old brass saxophone. He could have cut all ties off years ago, instead of partaking in this wild goose chase for Papa’s approval (that he’d unlikely never find).

He would have been happier off without Papa in his life, but Teddy would never admit that.

With Papa’s return, it felt as if his whole life was now balancing on a knife edge. Relations between Papa were fragile. Relations between Micah were fragile. It was as if everything that Teddy had worked on solidifying had unravelled horrifically. If Teddy had run away from Papa all those years ago, he could have been free of this aggravation. But the son would always remain prisoner to his father because he never knew how to let go. Teddy painted thin gray bars of a cage across his skin, and he reached out far. But nobody would notice because Teddy had brought it upon himself, right?

And today he would not be free of Papa as the old man himself remained attached to Teddy’s hip for a lot of the afternoon. He was intrigued by Teddy's work in the nearby prison and all of the free labour The Badlands received by giving the prisoners jobs to do to pass the time. Papa would claim that it was cruel but so ingenious, and that his boys were truly the epitome of a well-esteemed entrepreneur. Teddy would soon offer to show Papa around the prison, but warned that the journey was a small distance away by foot. ❝ Well I got all the way here on foot, more or less. ❞ Papa justified. ❝ I still gotta pep in my step, don’t ya worry. ❞

Along with a small group of Badlanders, Teddy and Giovanni began their short trek out of the city and towards the prison until they spotted an unfamiliar face in the distance. ❝ Hey! ❞ Teddy called towards the man, chin tipped up with a small sneer on his lips, mostly to better see the man against the bright sunlight. ❝ Come see! ❞ He called the man over abruptly, hesitating for a second before he began to approach the man to meet him in the middle. Hopefully the small group of Badlanders accompanying Teddy and Giovanni wouldn’t scare this guy away. Teddy understood that, to some, it was a terrifying sight to come face to face with. ❝ Ya lookin’ for The Badlands? The casino night’s only tomorrow, you know that, yeah? ❞

What Teddy didn’t come to think of was that, whilst a majority of visitors were solely interested in being subsequently screwed over at The Badlands’ notorious casino nights, some people wanted to join the group and involve themselves in that very cutthroat side of the group. The Badlands wasn't a group; it was a way of life.

[Shiloh !]

text

SALEM

ENTRY #01

8.15.16

BL ENFORCER

[div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 333px; min-height: 347px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia; font-size: 7pt; color: #000000; line-height: 99%;"]Guarding Teddy was no longer as rewarding as she once felt it was.

Since Giovani had arrived in town, Salem had taken it upon herself to try and protect Teddy every instance she got. She knew what this man had done to him, even though Teddy refused to see it himself. Both victims of their familial situations, she wanted Teddy to be free of his father similar to how she had been rid of her mother only a few months prior. She often trailed the two, keeping an eye on Teddy's father to try and gauge what he was up to and to make sure he didn't say anything out of line.

Now being around Giovani wasn't the problem. She found herself horrifically resentful of Teddy, though what had happened to her was just as much her fault as it was his. She supposed she despised the fact that he'd never accept the truth, not with his father and not with her, which would eventually lead him to become an estranged father of his own child much like how Giovani was to him. Nevertheless, Salem forced herself to continue guarding Teddy, not out of protection, but out of habit. If she suddenly stopped, she figured, people would start to question her.

She stumbled behind Papa and Teddy, dragging her feet in exhaustion. As they finally made it to the newcomer, she pulled out a flask and began to chug -- this, of course, was another cover up tactic, as the flask was filled with water. She said nothing as she drank, only glared at the newcomer out of the corner of her eye, shooting Teddy a meek glance from time to time. 

VITALS

> overall status: 100%

> physical status: stable.
> physical health: 100%
> physical afflictions: none yet.
> minor injuries: none yet.
> major injuries: none yet.

> mental status: stable.
> current status: stable.
> mental health: 100%
> mental illnesses: None
> mental damage: None

TAGS

━ ━xGENERAL
> Elisa Barone | "Salem"
> Female
> 23
━ ━xAPPEARANCE
>Human
> Dark brown hair that varies in shade, pale, blue green eyes.
> Carries at least 2 cigars at a time, a small handgun, and a small switchblade.
> tall, lanky and a bit awkward physically.
>
━ ━xABILITIES
> N/A
> N/A
━ ━xCONFRONTATION
> medium physically | easy/medium mentally
> non-violent power-play allowed
> no kill | request maim/capture
> ask to attack in bolded, underlined and italicized black
━ ━xRELATIONSHIPS
> Lionel King x Melissa Barone
> UNBORN CHILD
> Half brother Rafe
> Half niece Gigi
> Cat Chrisanthymum "Chrissy"
>Bisexual | no crush
>
━ ━xOTHER
> this text + this color = this meaning

I'VE COME TOO FAR TO SEE THE END NOW

━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ even if my way is wrong

a small everyone. | beware hidden scrolling

[NIKOLAI]

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Voices. He ever so slightly tightens his fist, the brass knuckles he sports digging around his fingers, an instinct he carries from being on his own and having to defend himself. However, Nikolai doesn't directly display any expressions of tenseness or wariness. It's not wise to look on edge if he doesn't have to; he doesn't want to be under any suspicion. Still, it's not unreasonable to keep your guard up around a gang of known mercenaries and cutthroat businesspeople.

Chocolate brown eyes sweep over the crew that's gathered before him. One of the only individuals of note was a seemingly parched woman who immediately went to chug some sort of beverage out of a flask, giving him a death stare out of the corner of her eye. The one addressing him appears to be of high status, if not the leader of this group. Nikolai doesn't know for certain, of course, but he can tell by the way the blonde-haired man dresses and carries himself that he's hot-shit around here. "Hm, not interested in gambling." Nik replies mildly coolly, though not entirely unfriendly. Nik isn't someone who's very charismatic.

The man who first addressed him mentions The Badlands, which confirms Nikolai's successful arrival in the beachside city. So, he had made it. The young adult adjusts the pack of supplies over his shoulder, replying, "Yeah, this is the place I'm lookin' for." Straightening up, he formally introduces himself, "Nikolai. I'm here to join, if you're acceptin' new blood." He lifts his head to display confidence, hoping that by doing so he'll have a better chance of being accepted into the group. He'd be damned if he traveled all this way just to be denied entry.

[TEDDY.]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: andale mono; font-size: 6.5pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px; color: #484a4d"]It was a wise move for the man to remain unassuming yet not outwardly threatening. If Teddy were to be frank, he was quite the fickle character — people would be able to tell from knowing him, and even he was not one to deny that it was fact. If he didn’t like the way somebody looked his way, he’d make that notion as clear as day with his bratty attitude and looks of disdain. But, on the other hand, he took first impressions earnestly and, if somebody seemed to look the part around here, he would be far more obliging.

The real question was whether Papa would agree.

Giovanni barely gave Salem a second glance as he noted the flask she chugged out of. If they had known any better, they would have realised that it was only water. It seemed like the general consensus in this liquor fuelled paradise was that overindulgence on alcohol was in fact acceptable, if not encouraged. Hands resting on his lips, Teddy’s closed lips slowly curled upwards into a hint of a smug smile, eyes scanning across the man’s features thoughtfully. Yeah, maybe he wasn’t a fan of gambling, but he had the image Teddy was looking for. Call him shallow for taking such interest of people at face value when they'd turn up to The Badlands, but in his eyes this was his reputation. His branding.

A hoard of tree huggers and children in bucket hats wouldn’t quite give off the relentless yet alluring vision that Teddy had for this place.

Leaning back ever-so-slightly to glance towards Salem and then Giovanni, his gaze lingered on Papa for a couple of seconds — as if wordlessly searching for his opinion — before Giovanni shrugged and looked to Nikolai. ❝ You’ll be a gamblin’ man in no time. I’ll teach you a way in which ya never lose. ❞ Teddy allowed for Papa to have a couple more moments of Nikolai’s time, the old man twisting his lips into a sly grin before Teddy turned back towards Nikolai to ask, ❝ You much of a fighter, Nikolai? We appreciate the people that know how to work hard. ❞

With his enquiry, Teddy swirled his pointer finger in a wordless attempt to turn the group around to head back towards the city. He simply expected Nikolai to follow; after all, Teddy tended to assume that with his casual flair of authority he would acquire his own fleet of followers. The arrogance, to many, was endearing. To others, it was frustrating at best. ❝ I’m Teddy, by the way. Da Badlands is this way. You can join if ya got somethin' to offer us. We don't welcome freeloaders. ❞