Test Drive #1

[pathemamods]

ARRIVAL: Your character wakes up in a temple completely naked except for the collar around their neck. Near the spot they wake up is a pile of clothing that is NOT what your character was wearing before they woke up. When they unfold the clothing they will find it's a toga and that there's a pair of sandals under it. Too bad, that's all there is. Perhaps your character is curious and leaves the temple or maybe they activate their device (accidentally or on purpose).

TOGA PARTY: Eros thinks that a party is what's needed to welcome everyone! This event is held on the beach in the Second District and everyone is welcome! Just be sure to wear your toga (HAHA)! There are large silk tents that are filled with pillows for characters to lounge on. There's food (think Greek) and lots to drink! Eros wants everyone to have fun and get to know each other! So eat, drink and mingle!!

NETWORK:Everyone is provided with a communication device that gives them access to an island-wide network. These can be used for so many things! Send pictures of the drunk guy at the bar, your boobs or whatever you want!!

WILDCARD: There are forests, mountains, marketplaces, all sorts of places to go and explore on the island. Ideas for settings can be found on the locations pages!



**TDM threads can be used as your sample in your application! It can also be considered in game canon if it is agreed on by all characters involved in said threads.

CODED BY TESSISAMESS

Comments

[seeingthings]

Richie's eyes widen and then narrow as he starts to stalk his way over to his brother, fingers curling into fists, the words tight in his throat.

"You weren't even there, Seth. Don't go talking like you know how it all happened. I wasn't using her. You're the one that decided that's how it went down."

His voice is firm and slightly pained because that memory is very fresh in his mind, and quite possibly one of the worst moments he's lived through in their long history of violence. Kate suddenly showing up out of nowhere in the middle of his big, grand plan and put the biggest wrench in the works he could think of. Now, he didn't have to just worry about his own ass in order to pull off the rest of what he wanted out of the job. He'd had to get her out of fucking Malvado's clutches and then she fucking piggybacked with him to Scott and couldn't just do what she was told.

He had enough guilt without his brother pinning all the blame on him. It was uncomfortable enough as it was.

Richie barely even has time to look ridiculously offended before he's going off about the Peacekeeper, and he's pretty sure that Seth's about to fucking lose it and go after the first thing that moves.

"No shit, smart ass. Did you figure that out all by yourself?" He takes another look around, trying to get a read on the other people in the room, coming up pretty empty. From what he can tell, they're all in the same situation as them. "How do we know we didn't just get offed and this is, I don't know, some shitty limbo or something?"

It's not like they hadn't pissed off enough people.

He finally looks around Seth, his eyes falling on the girl that was supposed to be dead, confusion and conflict swirling in his eyes. "It doesn't explain why you don't seem to remember the same things I do, though."

[unpreach]

There was something almost achingly familiar about all this, the two brothers bickering with one another while Kate sat huddled on the ground, trying to keep her mind from spinning out of control. The brief flicker of hurt-fueled anger, quickly dissipated under the barrage of Seth’s words, his explanation leaving her as winded as he felt.

They were talking like her death was an accepted fact, like her being here wasn’t proof enough that Richie had gotten it wrong. It might have been easier to reject the idea if some things weren’t ringing true. Hadn’t she only just heard about the very blood well that Seth was talking about?

There would have been a time when Kate would have collapsed under the weight of such a revelation, but with the two brothers arguing back and forth as she tried to process all that she’d heard, something closer to anger coiled inside her chest. Her fingers ran over the cool metal of the gun she had with her, unable to find in it, the same comfort she’d felt upon first spying it amongst the pile of clothes.

“Would you both stop talking about me like I’m not even here.” Her voice sounding all the more frightening for the control she managed to maintain. Oh sure, they were addressing her but it felt like she was being spoken at, rather than to most of the time. They talked like she was supposed to understand what they were saying, about Freddie and Carlos and Scott. They acted like she was supposed to know there were gaps in her memory when for Kate there were no memories to be found.

Kate waited for a moment - almost in defiance of being rushed headfirst into something she couldn’t begin to comprehend - before finally trying to get to her feet, a task that was easier said than done whilst trying to hold a sheet against her body and carry a gun at the same time.

“And maybe if you two would stop arguing with each other for more than five seconds, we might be able to figure out what’s going on.” All this as Kate struggled to keep the sheet from falling down. “Are we going or not?”

[darknstormy]

Maybe it was fear driving the argument--Seth had no appreciation for a setting beyond his control or recollection. Or maybe something else had been burning hot under the surface. Richie acted as if he hadn't just betrayed him. Him, Kate, even Santánico. All in the name of making a name for himself and getting up from under his shadow. After everything, his brother didn't know a damn thing about family.

"Well you sure as hell didn't bother to argue when I said it."

The words quickly left him, venomously. He had no ear for sympathy when it came to Richie at the moment. Seth no longer looked at him with concern the way he had after finding the bank teller his brother decided to kill and put on display. Moments waking up in this... toga party, was the first he had been set on going his own way before Santánico reminded him of the shit storm Richard could get into when on his own.

The younger Gecko only thought about others in terms of himself. Seth couldn't break from that sentiment and continued to shield Kate reminiscent to when they had all first met. Unlike when they first met, she continued to yell at the both of them. It wasn't as if she hadn't earned the right to. Richard gave his take on what could be happening and Seth switched gears to him. "What kind of afterlife's gonna let you carry? What'd be the point?"

Seth dipped his head in a nod to answer Kate and possessively put a hand (albeit, a balled up fist that held rounds in it but a protective hand out of instinct) behind her before heading to what looked like an exit. "Anything that comes at us in a way we don't like, shoot first and ask questions later."

[seeingthings]

"Maybe I knew you wouldn't bother to listen."

Seth had every right to be pissed, Richie knew. The problem was that he'd been pissed himself for a long time. His brother had gone and done a job without him after refusing to do it, and had gotten his ass thrown in jail. The only reason he'd even gotten out was because Richie had sprung him, and while his bro was picking fights in lock up, Richie had lost his fucking shit.

Even when he really didn't want to admit it, Richie needed his brother. He went off the rails without him, and when you hole up in the woods and your only company is a fucking mirage of a hot girl tell you to save her, you fucking listen.

He'd needed his decisions to pan out for him, or it was all for fucking nothing. And when he'd convinced himself that Seth was fucking gone once they'd finished Uncle Eddie's Shangri La, and that he'd never had Santanico in the first place, what else was he supposed to do?

He took care of himself and gave everyone else what he thought they'd want. It was a lie he told himself so that he could get what he wanted while he lost what he needed.

Kate hadn't been far off in that car ride.

"Greek, apparently, if the scenery is anything to go by." They looked like they were standing in the fucking Parthenon. "Which wouldn't have anything to do with my people, if you need the reminder."

Richie's eyes pinched at the corners, but he let his brother play his little hero routine with Kate as he got his own gun cocked and ready, waiting for Seth to lead their way out of there. It's not like she was going to want him anywhere near her.

[unpreach]

"Can we talk about this later." Anxiety threading through her words as she tried so desperately to push thoughts of death from her mind. It wasn't even the idea of being dead that troubled her the most, it was the thought that perhaps Richie was right. What if this was limbo or some version of Hell? She'd always taken comfort in the belief that one day, she'd see her parents again, that God would be able to forgive her for choices, the mistakes she'd made along the way, but if this was it?

With a shake of her head, Kate worked to pull herself into the present, fingers twisting around the threads of material that wanted to blow around in the open air. The gun she held in her hand concealed beneath a layer of white cotton as she attempted a more subtle escape than either of the brothers.

She'd come a long way since the Dew Drop Inn and yet the moment she felt the heat of Seth's hand at her back, it was hard not to want to lean into it. To simply accept that somebody else was here to take control. Wanted to, but didn't. She couldn't after everything that had happened. Not because she didn't trust Seth to steer them out of whatever this was but because Kate had learned the hard way that if you kept letting people take care of you, how did you learn how to stand on your own when you blinked and they were gone?

She looked at him then, the anger fading once more but she was still clearly conflicted. "I'm fine." An aside to Seth as Kate was determined in her own way, to show him that she didn't need him to baby her anymore. She felt like she'd done a lot of growing up in a very short time, and a large chunk of it had been since Mexico. She needed to show him that just because they both happened to be here, didn't mean he had to be responsible for her.

"We're not going anywhere." A revelation, rather than an act of defiance. She'd barely made it several steps before she realized that it was day beyond the confines of this temple. "We both know what will happen to Richie if he goes out there." Something more behind her words that she didn't expect Richie to understand, but Seth would.

[darknstormy]

"Fine by me!" he answered Kate. Now wasn't the time. It should've been enough for her to be there in the flesh but he couldn't easily get over his brother's betrayal. He didn't know who Richie was anymore. Or maybe he never really knew.

Seth was ready to move when the preacher's daughter dismissed his touch. He swallowed thickly and backed away before she could administer a full rejection. Kate pointed out the obvious that he had missed, similar to what Richie had. The place did give a more Roman or Greek feel than anything in Mexico and the sun was out in full force.

With a visibly frustrated look, he stepped up to a nearby waking body who had 'FREEDOM' tattooed across his upper back and used the butt of his revolver to knock the guy out then snatched up the sheet next to the guy. "There. Cover up. Stay in my shadow." The words left him before Seth realized what he said. "Or burn. I really don't give a shit."

The last thing he wanted to hear at the moment was more shit from Richie. "We get out of here and find somewhere else to hide. Not trusting a place I got left in with a bunch of bodies. --Not after all the bullshit we've been through." He looked to his brother. "That good enough or do you need one more?"

He was still agitated and aggravated but the question was genuine. His brother could probably tell by his gaze. Seth only glanced at Richie before continuing a look around for anyone who might give the semblance of a guard or enforcer and an easy mark if the younger Gecko needed more covering.

[seeingthings]

"Nice, Seth." Nothing like punching a naked guy in the back of the head to steal his bed sheet. "All I need now is a pair of these sandals and I'll be the most modest motherfucker in this place." His sarcasm is apparent in his tone as he tries to adequately cover himself. That requires him to untie the one around his waist to actually try and jimmy up something more adequate than just a sheet turned into a makeshift skirt.

"You do realize that's not gonna work considering I'm fucking taller than you. And you better not be suggesting I crawl behind you or something." Nice word choice, by the way. He loves hearing you tell him to stay where he 'belongs.' "You've got me all curious now, was that whole 'we only survive if we stick together' line a bunch of bullshit the second things change or are you just being a dick for shits and giggles?"

Because if he thought that being an ass meant not hearing more shit from Richie, he was so wrong.

That said, his brother still makes sure he has enough fabric to cover himself, so some of the irritation fades, allowing him to give a decent answer for once, meeting his eyes before he answers.

"I don't know if this is even gonna be thick enough, man. It's thin cotton and uv rays are probably gonna go right through it." He's not trying to be difficult here, but Seth gave him an all too real reminder recently that burning up in the sun would be a shitty way to go. "I usually need layers to go out in that kind of sun."

[unpreach]

An audible gasp could be heard as Seth struck the other man on the back of the head, her sympathy for somebody who appeared to be as much of a victim in all of this were, almost enough to make her demand that he give the sheet back. Almost, but not quite. At the end of the day, her concern for Richie’s well-being and their need to get out of there meant the most she could offer the stranger was a grimace and a whispered apology he’d never hear.

She glanced over her shoulder before she had to quickly look away, almost seeing more of Richie (again) than she’d ever intended to and in doing so, caught only the tail end of Seth’s words, her face a mask of disapproval at the harshness of them. She’d hoped, perhaps foolishly, that things might have improved between them since she’d last seen Seth but if anything it seemed like they were worse than ever before.

“Seth.” More urging him to go easy, rather than trying to admonish him.

Anything else she might have said got lost as Kate turned to look at Richie, words that sounded painfully familiar filling her ears. They were of course, because she’d been the one to say them and it took a moment for that to sink in before she turned her gaze back on Seth.

Kate had all but convinced herself that he’d put up with her because he felt responsible for what had happened to her family. That one of the few benefits of her sticking around had been the distraction she provided when he wasn’t checking out completely. It never actually occurred to her that he really listened to what she said, that he’d value her opinion enough to turn around and quote her to his brother.

“You said that?” Her eyebrows crawling up her forehead.

They didn’t have time for her to linger too long on that revelation, however, Richie’s words snapping her back to the more pressing matter.

There was an almost too simple solution to this problem, one that wouldn’t require anyone else getting hurt but no sooner did the thought enter her head, than color bloomed across Kate’s cheeks and she held her sheet a little tighter now before forcing the words out.

“Would one more sheet be enough?” Kate's lips pressed into a line, her gaze flickering away before she pointedly tugged her sheet as if to suggest he could use hers.

[darknstormy]

His mouth opened then snapped shut, the muscles in his jaws flexing with tension. He didn't want to hear one more word out of Richie. The last thing his incredibly self-absorbed brother should have done was make another dig at him.

Seth opened his mouth again when Kate called his name, getting his attention and derailing his wrath just enough to catch what his brother just threw at him in front of her. Great. His mouth snapped shut once more before his head rotated to work out some tension before finally spitting back.

There was a sarcastic smile on his face as he addressed his brother, "As much as I'd LOVE to fucking see you on all fours, Brother--maybe show some GODDAMN penance for your backstabbing bullshit--I thought you'd have some fucking sense to cover up top where our shadows don't reach?!"

He didn't miss Kate's gasp at his method of getting Richard another frock. The way things stood, he expected to continually disappoint her. Seth glossed over all of it. He simmered back while avoiding eye-contact with anyone but Richie who he continued glaring at. Until Kate posed a question to his brother that he (Seth) hadn't already asked.

"If he does, it ain't comin' from you, Princess!" he barked before moving forward and knocking out two more men. Seth moved on instincts, not caring how much bigger the guys were than him. They had obstacles in their path and he'd do what needed to be done. With eyes panning around, he slipped into a pair of sandals nearby that fit. "Now can we figure this shit out and get the fuck out of here?!"

How he kept on was the biggest indication that Seth did repeat what Kate said. He not only used her words but stood behind them. The two could continue to hate him in their own ways but it wouldn't change who he was and continue to be--the one who made the tough calls.

[seeingthings]

"Are you fucking kidding me? I gave you what you wanted! You wanted your fucking money, and when that wasn't enough for you, I let you in on what was gonna be my operation. After you nearly let me burn to death, by the way. If you're waiting for me to lick your fucking boots for sparing me, you're gonna be waiting a long time."

While Seth is off knocking the shit out of more people, Richie's looking down at Kate with furrowed brows and wide eyes. "No!" He was definitely not taking the only thing covering her. He'd run from shadow to shadow if he had to before he made her walk around in her birthday suit.

"I've got it. I'll fucking figure it out." He snatches the extra sheets from his brother, laying them over each other to try and get a layer of fabric thick enough that he's not just gonna disintegrate the second he steps outside.

"I'll have to go slow, stay close to buildings if there are any more out there. If you have to leave me behind or something, just...get her somewhere safe." He doesn't like having to say it, but he's gonna throw that out there anyway. "I'll catch up."

Probably.

[unpreach]

Kate felt like she’d come into a movie half-way through, being told only the most basic of plot points and then somehow expected to understand what was going on. The hostility between the brothers was so thick she felt like she might choke on it, their tension and bickering causing her own anxiety to intensify. If she thought for even a moment that yelling at them might help, she wouldn’t have hesitated but the simmering rage in Seth had reached a level that she’d never seen before and after some of his outbursts in Mexico? She wouldn’t have believed that possible until now.

Regardless of what Seth might have believed? She didn’t hate him. She didn’t exactly love the fact that once again his version of calling the shots involved barking orders and snapping at people but she knew him well enough to know it wasn’t personal, at least not in her case. The truth was, he was probably just as scared and confused as she was only he had very different ways of processing that than she did. He was infuriating, yes. But she didn’t hate him and no matter what Seth thought she should feel about Richie (for reasons she still didn’t quite understand), she didn’t hate him either.

Kate gaped but couldn't find it in herself to gasp as another two men went down, guilt immediately following the relief she felt at knowing she wouldn’t have to give up the only thing she had to keep her modest. Her own sandals were back on the ground where she’d woken up and as tempting as it was to go back and get them, she wasn’t about to delay them any longer than they’d already been. As much as she might like to claim it was out of consideration for their safety, the truth was, she didn’t think this trio could last much longer if they didn’t start moving.

“No!” Kate indignant as ever as she looked from one brother to the other, Richie's words twisting her stomach into knots. This, was exactly what she wanted to avoid, everyone tripping over themselves to protect her like she couldn’t take care of herself. “We’re not leaving you behind. Nobody - is leaving anyone behind. If we have to go slow then we go slow but we’re doing this together.”

It was the most she’s said at one time since all of this begun, but she had that look that both should find familiar by now. The one that promised she was going to make life very difficult for all of them if they didn’t agree to this point. Not that it would technically stop Seth from throwing her over his shoulder and making her do what he wanted but she liked to think she still had a say in all of this.

[darknstormy]

Soon it wouldn't be enough to hit guys nearly twice his size over the head. Richie was pushing Seth to a point where he wouldn't pull punches reminiscent to how it went down at Jackknife Jed's. Instead of yelling, there was a sudden chill in the low octave he spat back to his younger brother.

"We both know that between us, I'm not the one who lets family burn to death."

There was a pronounced way that Seth took his breaths. He wasn't panting but clearly in an agitated state. Pure contempt colored his gaze at his brother. Richie had been the one to abandon him, the one to go against agreed upon plans--costing not one but two lives of people-- “No!”

Kate was all that kept the focus somewhere other than another fight. His glare panned to her but she stood her ground. It wasn't exactly as if Seth was going to argue. They needed to leave. It was what he had said repeatedly. If there would be anyone to stop them, they would've piped up before knocking the last two men out.

"Lights coming in from that side. Stay on the right of us. Hold the sheets over you like you're trying to keep rain off you. Give me your gun," he told Richie as they looked to the exit. Seth looked to Kate. "Pick up what those two have and get some footwear on. We don't know what's out there."

[seeingthings]

Any other time and place and this would have devolved into a fist fight of epic proportions. That said, it would have likely already gone that route before Seth could really go this far, but bringing that up? In front of Kate, of all people?

It has his entire body going rigid, like he's just taken a swift kick to the balls, his breath caught in his throat. His jaw clenches so hard that it's a miracle none of his molars crack under the pressure, and he can feel his fangs pressing down on his tongue as they threaten to drop in his simmering anger.

And then Kate's voice breaks through both of their red hazes, and he's turning to look at her with a strange, private expression on his face. She has no reason to give a damn whether he goes along with them, not really. So is it that she actually does or is there another reason she's so adamant about keeping all of them together?

This time, Richie doesn't argue. He knows when to let something go, even temporarily, and he's lost his desire to bicker. "Here." He hands over the gun and his extra clip, readjusting his makeshift clothes while they wait for Kate to find some shoes.

[unpreach]

And she did catch Seth’s words, confusion stirring in her hazel-green eyes as she saw the effect they had on Richie. She’d thought things between her and Scott had become as bad as they could possibly be and yet watching the way Seth and Richie lashed out at each other. This was so much more than what she’d seen in Seth before they’d parted ways.

Their apparent hatred was what gave her hope at least. You don’t get that angry at somebody who meant nothing to you and while Seth was barely keeping control of his emotions, at least he wasn’t trying to leave Richie behind. It was about the only thing that made being caught in the middle of their venom, bearable; the knowledge that there was still a real chance they could work things out.

Rather than argue with Seth, she did as she was told. The shoes were much too large for her but good enough to keep her from hurting herself and while she glanced in Richie’s direction, Kate can’t quite bring herself to meet his gaze head on; Feeling like she was intruding just by bearing witness to their arguing.

“Let's just go, okay.” Her voice pitched low to Seth as she tried to channel a softer tone. As if somehow that might be enough to quiet his fury.

[darknstormy]

The argument finally came to a stop. Seth had no illusions of it being over, just benched for the time being. They had bigger problems at hand. It wasn't the first time, and probably wouldn't be the last that he and his brother were at odds. ...Maybe not to the extent of their current level of anger but they were still working together for the time being. It'd have to suffice.

One thing that drew his attention aside from an escape (and making sure Kate was covered) were phones--or devices that looked like smart phones with every smock. Seth swiped a few as they made their way out. The gun that Richie gave him with the extra clip were tucked into his makeshift waistband.

He handed off the phones to Kate then grabbed the semi-automatic out of his waistline as they neared what looked to be a temple exit. "Stay close," was the last Seth uttered with a final glance back before stepping into the bright daylight. His eyes squinted to adjust while moving forward.

"Any of this hitting you?" he asked Richie then glanced to make sure no part of his brother was starting to singe. The truth was that his younger brother was right. It was damn near impossible to maneuver in the shadow cast. If his feet were hot in the sun, he could only imagine Richie's.

[seeingthings]

"Not yet."

His voice sounds tense from behind them, Richie bringing up the rear to keep Kate between them. His eyes were already squinting in expectation, the sun bright and high in the sky, and he knows damn well that this is gonna fucking sting no matter how much he tries to avoid it.

And yet, he didn't feel the sting of it, or hear the sound of flesh burning as smoke rose off of it. Just warmth and light, so maybe he'd done a decent enough job.

"Keep going. If it starts to get to me, I can hold it back for a little while."

He kept two of the sheets draped over his head almost like a tent, feeling a little idiotic about the whole thing, and it was fucking hard to keep hold of the thing without his fingers being exposed to the sun.

In fact, he wasn't entirely covered. Sunlight shone on tiny patches of skin as he moved in places he couldn't quite see, and yet it didn't seem to do, well, anything.

[unpreach]

Finally that was something she wouldn’t argue with them about, Kate in no hurry to rush ahead or get separated and so she took what looked like a phone from Seth and fell into step at his heels, the shadow cast by his body at least enough to keep the glare out of her eyes. The hot sun licked at her bare shoulders, felt too hot against the top of her head and she couldn’t help but shoot a furtive glance over her shoulder, half expecting to see the smoke rising up from Richie’s skin like it had with Rafa.

There was nothing, though. Not even a wisp of it and Kate’s footsteps faltered as she found herself staring at him, almost running into Seth in the process. “Are you alright?” But she sounded more confused than concerned. Kate hardly considered herself an expert when it came to Culebra physiology but she’d seen what even minimal exposure could do. The sun was high in the sky and it wasn’t like they had an abundance of shadows to stick to.

With her sheet tucked in place, like a towel, Kate’s free hand reached out to touch Seth’s back, trying both to draw his attention back to Richie and keep herself from steering off course.

“Something’s not right.” But again, it wasn’t a bad difference but it was the kind that they were all familiar with, Kate’s mind going back to another Temple now, the one beneath The Twister.

[darknstormy]

Between listening to Richie and Kate--the tone to their words more than the words themselves, Seth was close to turning around even before Kate's touch. He pivoted in place to look directly at his younger brother. His brow knit together just before doing what was necessary.

He brought one of the guns in hand toward the material in Richie's grip, moving the cover just enough to let sunlight hit his brother's torso directly. "Not a damn thing. Can you even fang out?" Seth curiously asked while staying forever mindful of Kate. It wasn't even a conscious decision, sidestepping and getting between her and the younger Gecko.

"We're in a dream. It's the only thing that makes sense." Seth turned to Kate, hyper-aware of her proximity. Maybe he missed the mark in the height department but he had enough to tower over her just enough where his sense of smell could catch her scent. Kate didn't always seem to use the same shampoo but there was a scent specifically hers.

His eyes watched her intently, fighting the urge to get lost in the gaze of her lighter set. She wasn't dead. Seth didn't want this to be a dream but what else could he think of with her there and his brother not burning up in the sun? Sure, an ideal dream would've had Richie apologizing and the three pulling off a heist but this one had just started. And they each had guns.

[seeingthings]

Richie's brows furrow as well between the two of them suddenly being hyper-concerned about him, only to look down and see sunlight splashing across his stomach. His muscles tense instinctively, his breath catching as he waits for pain, but nothing happens. It's warm, it's bright, and it isn't burning him.

"What the fuck?"

He says it almost softly, though. He'd be lying if he said he didn't kind of miss the heat of the sun, being able to step out into the light. And anyone would be crazy if they said it wasn't a pain in the ass to avoid it. It was a pretty debilitating weakness at times, something they had to accept in exchange for some of the perks of being what he was.

Richie's eyes meet Seth's, flicking to reptilian slits, his mouth opening as he experimentally lets his fangs drop before they retract again. A quick blink and his eyes are blue.

He lowers the sheet around his head slowly, as if waiting for the burning to start, but eventually it settles around his shoulders as he squints his eyes against the brightness, still obviously confused by this as much as either of them.

"It doesn't feel like one." He's looking over at Kate now, too. She looks real, sounds it too. He only looks away once he's halfway through starting to talk to his brother again. "Feel like getting pinched, brother?"

[unpreach]

Kate had to swallow her protest as Seth’s hand moved out to push the sheet aside, half expecting something to shift and she’d see Richie burn from the inside out. A tension radiated through her whole body as she watched, unwilling to even breathe as Richie’s skin was exposed to the searing sun. Nothing. Not even a flinch from him as she heard the audible rush of air when she dared to exhale again.

Maybe she should have been mad, or offended on Richie’s behalf, at the way Seth maneuvered himself between them both but there was a quiet relief that eased the tension in her chest now that she had Seth to all but hide behind. She’d known of course, what Richie had become. It had been the thing that had tormented Seth for so long that she hadn’t been able to escape that reality but knowing and seeing? That was two very different things and the barrier that was Seth’s body, allowed her to brace for the sight of it.

Even trying to be prepared didn’t take the shock out of it completely, a soft inhale of air as Richie’s features morphed and she felt an ache begin to build behind her ribcage, a grief that was hard to fully experience when he wasn’t truly dead. Still, she worked hard to keep it from showing on her face, grateful then that Richie’s focus appeared to be on his brother and it wasn’t till Seth turned back to look at her that she could drag herself back into the present.

Lines creased her forehead as he took her in, her gaze flitting away and then back again and she felt very much exposed with the way he looked at her; like he was trying to find some imperceptible flaw in her existence, the proof he needed that all of this was in his mind. Though why he’d even be dreaming about her in the first place...

“If this is a dream, I’m in it too.” In it, not part of it as she suspected he was thinking, but he wasn’t the only one looking at her now and Kate’s weight shifted from one foot to the other as she struggled with being the focal point of this conversation. "Do I need to pinch both of you." A slight edge to her voice, as if to point out they were doing it again.

[darknstormy]

Seth immediately tucked away both guns and reached for the extra material that Richie had. He took the top layer and wrapped it around Kate's shoulders then took one for himself and left one for his brother to use, not fully trusting what was going on yet.

"We all try to look the same then we'll attract less attention in whatever the fuck this is," he muttered while handing Richie's gun and extra clip back to him. Seth couldn't help but affectionately smack his brother's face twice. Maybe the fangs were still there but they were in the sun. It meant something, even if a dream.

His gaze stuck on Kate right after, offering to take something out of her hands so she could keep the cloth around like a shawl the way the Gecko brothers were attempting to do. Seth held a smirk. "Pinch away, Princess. But who's to say you haven't done just that in a dream before?"

She hadn't pinched him but held his face in her hands. That wasn't the first or last dream he had of Kate. Seth was trying to be logical and probably failing. His eyes had lowered to what she had in hand but eventually picked up and met her eyes with something he worked to keep hidden since their time spent in Mexico.

Somewhere between losing Richie and himself, he needed her. If there was one thing he learned in the past month of being apart was that everyone he needed wound up dead. It was just like Kate Fuller to come back. Seth swallowed hard, biting down the urge to open a can of worms at the wrong time. This was definitely not the right time--even if he had sworn to apologize if given a second chance.

"C'mon. Let's get somewhere that we can regroup and figure this shit out."

[seeingthings]

Richie can see where this is going, and he relinquishes one of the large squares of fabric without a word. If he doesn't need is, Kate can certainly use it. It's no skin off his nose...literally in this case. He takes his gun back, extra clip sliding back into the makeshift waistband, but the weapon itself stays out, and he's actually slightly more comfortable with a gun in his hand and not burning up the moment sun hits his skin.

As his brother's hand connects lightly with his cheek twice, he looks almost surprised by the gesture, his shoulders briefly tensing before they relax, and the whole thing sets him slightly at ease, some of the anger generated earlier fading into the background.

When shit got real, they tended to let the drama fall to the wayside, if only for a little while.

But then Seth turns away to focus on Kate, and Richie's eyes watch his brother like a hawk, analyzing that look on his face, the way he pauses and swallows, and he's not sure it's just about the fact that Kate's apparently not just a corpse after all. Either that, or his brain has concocted one hell of a mindfuck, and he doesn't want to know the implications of that.

"All we've gotta do is move our feet and stop staring at each other."

And with that, he's just gonna move past them and keep walking if they don't start shuffling their feet first. He's got too many things on his mind to focus on just one for any length of time, and it's clear by the distant look in his eye as he passes that it's getting to him.

[unpreach]

She didn’t fight Seth or try to shrug off the gesture, Kate far too grateful to have something more to keep herself covered. Too distracted still by the uncertainty caused by the very obvious change in Richie. The extra sheet better allowed her to conceal the weapon in her hand, her gaze skating over the device Seth had given her as she pondered the idea of calling for help. But who would she call? Freddie was either here somewhere or unable to come for them and the authorities? When had she become somebody who thought of Police and thought ‘Danger’?

She saw it then: The immediate change in Seth, the almost loving gesture of that pat on Richie’s cheek. It was the kind of thing she’d seen them do back in the RV and even then, despite why they were all together, Kate had seen it as evidence of there being real good in these men. Her lips twitched, something like an encouraging smile offered to Richie, Kate’s version of a ‘see it’s going to be okay’.

The shift in focus from his brother to her, saw Kate turn her attention back on Seth. A shake of her head to assure him she was fine as she hugged the sheet around her shoulders. A small surge of warmth went through her at that smirk, something so familiar about it that it caused her mouth to curl and for a moment, she could almost forget the pain that their sudden parting of ways had caused.

A question danced behind her eyes, Kate watching something play out in his mind and despite the circumstances, they found themselves in, she wanted to know more than anything what he was thinking. He was staring at her again, but not like before, not like she was an object in a museum to be marveled at but as if he were finally seeing her this time. Kate’s lips parted, words dancing on the tip of her tongue before it was Richie that put a hold on anything she would have said.

As if a spell had been broken, her gaze fell away, Kate pulling in a shuddering breath of air as Richie started to move without them.

“Good idea.” Was all she could manage to say as she straightened and shook off the emotion that had stirred. One last, lingering look at Seth before she turned away to follow behind Richie now.

[darknstormy]

The spell was broken for the time being. Richie got his wish and the two followed his steps. So many things that needed to be said and settled but Seth continued to hold it all in. Each deserved individual attention. Now wasn't the time. Dream or no dream. They had to move on together and find some answers.

"Two buildings in that direction. Peddler's market or some shit, south." Even with Richie ahead of him, Seth didn't cease from barking directives. "I don't think we're ready to descend on the natives. Let's see if we can get some answers or at least pow-wow at the first building."

Richie had been spot on. Even after leaving the temple, everything had an ancient Roman/Greek vibe to it. Seth wasn't really familiar but he was a quick study. "They didn't exactly give instructions on how to wear one of these things in Animal House. Hopefully whoever's in there can be of some assistance," he quipped with a motion of his head in the direction they should go in.

Whoever could be found inside the structure hopefully understood more than the native tongue. Seth couldn't do more than spout off a few names for traditional greek dishes, at best. He kept close behind Kate and continued to keep a hand at her back as they moved and came to a stop.

[seeingthings]

Richie moves with purpose toward the door of the building Seth indicates, reaching for the handle and pulling it open a couple inches before peering inside. With no immediate threats visible, he opens the door further, keeping it there so that Seth can usher Kate inside before following after them and letting it close behind them.

Despite his apparent ability to walk in the sun, he still breathes out heavily the moment they're shaded from it. Avoiding it has been a constant in his life for awhile by this point, and it's hard to break habits that quickly when they generally mean avoiding pain and horrible death.

He leans his back against the inside wall beside the door, thoughts continuing to whizz through his head as he turns his gaze toward his brother, any sense of anger or fight having entirely left him by this point.

If anything, he's looking for some kind of direction as hypocritical as that might seem. He's completely out of his depth here.

They all are.