[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]If someone had told Dino Wayland ten years ago that he would live to see his thirtieth birthday, he'd have been hard-pressed to believe them. His lifestyle hadn't been one to promise longevity and, by the time he turned twenty-four, he'd been actively seeking death instead of narrowly dodging it. Trying to find that long, blessed reprieve in a reckless combination of drink and drug or at the end of enemies' blades, cocked guns, and weaponized Gifts. If someone had told Ashley Wolfe — when he became Ashley Wolfe — that he'd live to see thirty, he'd have been just as skeptical. When he'd first run away from the Guild (and from Dino), he'd accepted he was on borrowed time. He'd given it one year tops until they found him and saw him in the dirt. [break][break]

But the birthdays had come and passed. This marked his sixth one out of the Guild and his second in Los Eurosia. And as always, the first thing he thought of when he blinked his eyes open that morning, was his mother. He thought of the birthday breakfast feasts she'd wake him with as he made his own plate of eggs and brewed a simple cup of coffee. Heard her imagined laugh in the corridors of the retirement home as he trudged through his shift, grinning with thanks at all the well wishes from residents and coworkers alike. [break][break]

She was still on his mind when he clocked out. And instead of driving to his home in West Hook, he'd turned onto the highway out of Los Eurosia. He drove his car a couple of hours away. Stopped at a diner on the outskirts of a small town and then walked several blocks to a completely different diner, where he dipped in and asked to borrow a stranger's phone — someone he'd watched walk in from the parking lot and who had out-of-state plates. Then he slipped into an empty booth in the corner and, after navigating to the phone's settings and toggling off its Caller ID options, he called his Mom. [break][break]

"Hello?" [break][break]

Her breezy lilt cleaved clean through him. As much as he'd feared that he'd begun to forget the sound of her voice, the single word was brimmed with familiarity. He could immediately picture her face, growing gradually slack at the silence that lingered in response. The flit of her warm, brown eyes as they searched the air before her while she listened to him breathe. [break][break]

"Hello?" she repeated, sounding a touch more concerned. "Baby bear, is that you? You coming home?" Ashley's brow furrowed and his breath skipped from his lips. Baby bear. Dane was alive, then? That was even more surprising than his being alive. Fingers trembling, Ashley lowered the phone and disconnected the call. He slipped from his seat and returned the phone to its owner after deleting the number from its call history. Then he walked the several streets back to his car and made the drive home in silence, unable to bear any of the music that the radio had to offer. [break][break]

He made it back to the city in time to change clothes and make an appearance at his coworker's get-together at the beach. He did the rounds, shared a couple of laughs and more than a few beers, played some volleyball, then eventually — once it'd grown dark and everyone was winding down — he broke away from everyone else to walk the shore alone. He toed out of his shoes and socks, cuffed his pantlegs up to the middle of his calves, and ambled parallel to the water's edge, smiling faintly each time the tide washed over his feet. [break][break]

The summer night was warm, the beer held in his loose fingers even warmer (and long gone flat). There was no moon in the sky. It had only been the slightest of slivers the night before and the only light now was from the faint glow of the boardwalk's distant lamps and the pinprick of lonely stars, seeming to shine brighter than usual with the moon's absence. He lifted his head to study them, grin growing wider as he played the tones of his mother's voice again in his head. The further he drifted from the group of people still milling about, now around a started fire, the quieter it became. Until all he could hear was the crash of the sea and his mother's chime: Are you coming home? Hello? Are you coming home?


[break]

Tag: Open![break]
Obligatory birthday post~

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[Gemma Gatsby]

[nospaces] [googlefont=Oswald|Roboto:400,700]

[attr="class","sixShwhole"]

[attr="class","sixShimg"]

[attr="class","sixShoutline"]

[attr="class","sixShextra"]

[attr="class","sixShtiny"]TAGGED:

Ashley Wolfe

[attr="class","sixShnotes"]NOTES:

Sorry this is kind of a mess! lol let me know if you'd want me to change or add in anything!

[attr="class","sixShlyric"]

put your hands up

[attr="class","sixShcred"]SELKIE

[attr="class","sixShright"]

[attr="class","sixShly"]
loaded the bullets with my blood in the rounds

[attr="class","sixShpost"]
That morning her eyes had opened to the very close furry face of Queenie screaming at her. Demanding for food as if today was just any other day. She supposed for the spoiled little feline it was just another day. Another day of eating, running around the house, terrorizing the birds that hopped by the window. But the little alarm that showed up on her phone let her know that it was not in fact just another day.[break][break]

Big D's Birthday sat in the little box on her screen with some little digital balloons next to it. She hardly needed the reminder from her phone. Gemma had been feeling that ball of dread growing in the pit of her stomach since July 1st. Six years ago she would have climbed out of bed at five in the morning and gotten dressed. Grabbed the present she'd spent months finding, some drinks, the specialized cake she'd gotten him, and rushed to his place. All to obnoxiously scream happy birthday and put him in a ridiculous little party hat to celebrate surviving another year. Because Hunters were all on borrowed time. They all knew that. [break][break]

So celebrating that survival of the people you cared about the most was important. Maybe not to everyone but it always had been to Gemma. But now, looking at that little notification on her phone felt like a punch in the gut. Still, she climbed out of bed. She fed her animals, she showered, brushed her teeth, she made her bed. Her body moved with the motions of the day while her mind wandered off somewhere else. She went on a jog, did her stretches, had a smoothie, went to the gym. [break][break]

She called Mona. She'd called Mona every year for the past six years just to talk to her. The woman was kind, loving, and warm. As much as Gemma couldn't stand Antonio she adored Mona. They didn't talk about Dino or his birthday like they used to but it was nice just to talk to her. [break][break]

For the most part her day was normal. Gemma put on a brave face and spent some time with her friends. Mostly going to the mall to shop for a new outfit, getting brunch, and even going for a nice hike. But later on in the evening she went off on her own. Gemma pulled on the new dress she'd bought. And pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She grabbed the wine she'd bought days before from her fridge and went to the store to grab a cupcake and a candle. [break][break]

She drove down to the beach as it had gotten dark. Maybe it was silly for her to be celebrating a dead mans birthday. Maybe he was being too emotional. Too sentimental. But she didn't care. Frustratingly enough she could see some people having their own little party. So she moved further down the beach until the sound of laughter and talking faded into the background. Until there was just the twinkling light of the boardwalk and some lone stars dotting the clear night sky. As she got closer she noticed the silhouette of someone else by the shore as well. But she pulled out the little box containing the cupcake anyway. Who knows, maybe he would want it. Gemma normally didn't eat it anyway. [break][break]

She opened the treats top, pulled it out, and stuck the candle into it before she lit the wick. The little fire caused a soft orange glow in the dim lighting of the beach. "Happy birthday, Dino," she said softly with a sad sort of smile on her lips. Watching the flame dance for a bit as she listened to the waves.

[attr="class","sixShly"]
she's a sweet six shooter she knows how to get down

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[newclass=.sixShcred a] color:#fff!important;font:700 7px roboto!important;[/newclass]

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]Ashley sat for a while, taking idle drinks from his warm beer as he watched starlight blink off the crashing waves and listened to their quiet, lulling roar. He thought of his mother and how she might deal with the day. It'd been over six years since his death. Did they still celebrate his life? Had Mona baked a cake those first couple of years? Looked at pictures of him and whispered things she hoped he'd somehow hear? Did Dane come home to comfort and ache with her? Would there come a year when the day would pass without thinking of him? When the absence would be dull enough that they didn't bother with the fuss? He hoped so. [break][break]

Eventually, he got back up, gathered his socks and shoes in one hand, and started making his way back in the direction he'd come. It was about time to go home. The only one he could go back to. To spend the rest of his birthday laid out in the oversized swing chair in his backyard, patting the dogs and enjoying the quiet and serenity of his life. It was a perfect night for it. [break][break]

As he ambled along the shoreline, mind blessedly quiet, Ashley's gaze pulled to the figure of a lone woman picking her way toward the shore a hundred yards or so in front of him. Even with the absence of moonlight, her solid white dress seemed to glow; cutting the shape of her in a pale blue silhouette against the darkness. She whisked herself slowly toward the sea, pausing at the water's edge, and he watched her with idle curiosity as a small flame flickered to life before her.[break][break]

Even as he got closer, it was too dark to pick out her features. She was short and slim and her hair was pulled in a long, wavy ponytail that fell down her back. The flame before her was a candle, Ashley realized, and was suddenly struck by the notion that the look of her — standing alone before the crash of the sea — was somehow sad. It reminded him of a vigil. Like mourning. And a vague, dull ache tightened in his chest as he neared enough to pick out the shape of her sad smile in the warm flicker of candlelight. Only a couple paces from her now, his eyes lifted from the pull of her mouth to sift about the rest of her face. His step threatened to slow. His chest constricted then completely bottomed. [break][break]

No. No, no, no, no. [break][break]

Gemma.[break][break]

Her name formed on his tongue but his lips pressed tight to keep himself quiet.[break][break]

It couldn't be. What were the odds this was a coincidence? Slim. The world, even just California, was so large. Five years he'd spent traversing the nation, a wanderer unwilling to stay in the same spot for too long in case his step was shadowed. And now... now that he'd finally decided he didn't have to run anymore... didn't have to hide and wasn't being looked for.... that he could make an actual life... they'd found him?[break][break]

Ashley's fingers curled the tiniest bit tighter in the heels of his shoes. But he tried to keep his breathing even and his lazy stride unchanged, giving no indication of being as alarmed or shaken as he was. He could have stopped. Turned on his heel and walked the other way. But that would have been suspicious and an experienced hunter like Gemma would have noticed it. He would have noticed it. It was smarter to pretend nothing was wrong — assuming, of course, that she wasn't intentionally placing herself in his path, having already found him out. [break][break]

If she were to look at him, he suspected — hoped — she wouldn't be able to recognize him with only a passing glance. Not only was it dark but six years of living well, of living peacefully, had changed him. In addition to the obvious differences, like the cut of his hair (shorter than it had been all his life) and the coloring of his eyes, he knew he looked a far cry from the man she would remember. Dino had been at the end of his rope towards the end. Sleepless nights and tortured days had bruised his eyes and kept his smiles tight. When he wasn't hollowed and desperate, or spun-out and stupid, he'd been angry and severe. The contentedness of his second life had changed the look of him very slowly — it took him years to truly notice — but one day, he'd woken up and glanced at his sleepy self in the mirror and found Dino harder to see in the softness to his face or the ease in his gaze. [break][break]

The world seemed to slow as he passed behind her. Close enough to reach out and touch her. Each step seemed to sink him into the sand as if the earth wanted nothing more than to open and swallow him up. But he kept his gaze fixed ahead even as his throat tightened and his heart pounded.


[break]

Tag: Gemma Gatsby [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

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[Gemma Gatsby]

[nospaces] [googlefont=Oswald|Roboto:400,700]

[attr="class","sixShwhole"]

[attr="class","sixShimg"]

[attr="class","sixShoutline"]

[attr="class","sixShextra"]

[attr="class","sixShtiny"]TAGGED:

Ashley Wolfe

[attr="class","sixShnotes"]NOTES:

This is a lot of exposition lol I'm sorry! Let me know if you need me to add anymore or want me to change anything!

[attr="class","sixShlyric"]

put your hands up

[attr="class","sixShcred"]SELKIE

[attr="class","sixShright"]

[attr="class","sixShly"]
loaded the bullets with my blood in the rounds

[attr="class","sixShpost"]
Gemma could hear footsteps behind her. Her ears had been trained over the years to listen to every little things. Over the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore she could hear the sound of sand shifting under someones feet. Probably the man she'd seen before just moving on with his night. She didn't pay much attention to it at first. Her mind too focused on what should have been.[break][break]

She should have been here with Dane and Grace and Dino. Laughing with her sister, keeping Dane from stumbling into the open bonfire, watching the brothers wrestle on the ground while she and Grace made bets of who would tap out first this time. She should have been covering the side of Dino's face in lipstick kisses for every year he'd been alive. While he laughed and pushed her off and told her to stop because it was going to take forever to wash off. Should have watched Dane face the consequences of smearing cake icing on Grace's cheek. [break][break]

Grief settled on her shoulders heavily. As if her own gift was working against her, trying to drag her to the ground. Her lungs felt like someone had them in a vice grip as she breathed a shuddering breath. The first few years after Dino had died she kicked herself for crying. She'd tried to viciously wipe her tears away and grumble to herself on how she spent too much money on her foundation to ruin it now. These years she didn't try to stop the tears from flowing. It was only her, the ocean, and the night sky after all. And that void hardly held judgement for her grief.[break][break]

Six years. It had been six years since she lost a part of her world. Yet it still hurt like the first day. The wound refused to close, refused to heal. Left open and bleeding and spilling her pain, her anger, and her confusion on the ground at her feet. Her bottom lip quivered as her smile dropped and she sniffled. Gemma blew out the candle finally as the steps approached closer behind her. Once again left in mostly darkness as she turned to face the stranger that came up behind her. Her face streaked with tears that glinted slightly from the lights in the distance. [break][break]

In the dim lighting it was hard to make out the mans features but he looked almost similar to Dino. This thought was enough to make her breath catch in her throat. Like the apparition of a ghost before her. But she did her best to push the thought away. Of course he would look like Dino. Her head was heavy with thoughts of him and this was just her mind playing tricks on her. The sweet still held in her hands a small chocolate cupcake. Blue icing along the top with a little piece of chocolate poking out of the top. Dino written across the bottom in little cursive letters with the blue and white candle poking out from the middle. Smoke still swirling from the top of it where she'd blown it out. [break][break]

She used one hand finally to wipe away her tears as she took a deep, trembling breath to try and steady herself. She wasn't going to eat this cupcake. "Hi um," she stopped him trying to offer an easy smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm not going to eat this cupcake, would you want it?" Maybe it was a silly question to ask a stranger but in the dark he still almost looked a little too familiar. While not at all.[break][break]

The last time Gemma had seen Dino alive she'd been holding him on the bathroom floor. He'd drank too much and made himself sick and she had come to hold his hair and clean his face. Sit with him on the cool tile floor and tell him everything was okay. He'd been so tired then. Eyes sunken and void of that spark she'd loved so much. Dark circles and paled skin.

[attr="class","sixShly"]
she's a sweet six shooter she knows how to get down

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[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]Ashley's chest gave a quick, pained squeeze at the unmistakable sound of a sniffle. He tucked the thumbs of both hands into the clasp of his fingers, trying to still the tremble to them. He couldn't stop. Couldn't reach out to her. Couldn't tease a hand through her hair in an attempt to coax out a smile as he'd done hundreds of times when they were children. Or pull her into his chest and settle his chin atop her head as he did when they'd gotten older. He couldn't comfort her. He didn't know her. Ashley Wolfe didn't know her. He shouldn't know how to comfort her. And Dino Wayland, he didn't deserve to. [break][break]

As he passed behind her — hoping and praying she didn't already know who he was and that she didn't care enough to cast a passing stranger even a wary glance — she turned. Ashley's heart leaped to his throat and it took all of him not completely jump from his skin when she spoke, making him pause. He waited for the accusation. The demand for him to turn. To face her and her tears. But she only started a quiet, almost uncertain, greeting and offered to pawn what she had in her hands — a cupcake — off on him. [break][break]

He tipped his face slightly away and let only his eyes shift to regard her. Still, even in a sidelong glance, he could pick out the wetness upon her cheeks. The effort and failing conviction in the quirk to her lips. He knew he should just keep walking. Just shake his head and continue on, not even daring to give her the chance of finding familiarity in his voice as he left her there. Abandoned her again. But, instead, he transferred the emptied beer bottle to the hand that held his shoes, and — without turning any more toward her — reached out to take the cupcake. His fingers brushed over hers as he grabbed it and he pressed them there for a second longer than necessary. As if, somehow, she would feel the comfort he didn't dare say aloud. [break][break]

He knew what the cupcake was — that he'd been right, she was mourning and that the vigil had been for him — even as he brought it before him and turned it in his fingers. Found the name scrawled on its paper in a flowery script. His name. The one he'd shudder to hear spoken or to acknowledge as his own. He didn't have to guess the cupcake's flavor as he noted the treat pressed into the top next to the candle. Chocolate and more chocolate. Like she knew he liked. Guilt tore through him, for a moment stronger and more powerful than the fear. He sucked in a deep, wavering breath and his brow slanted upward; eyes rounding as his chest cleaved. [break][break]

It'd been a good life. He'd had his time. Perhaps he could be content with how much it'd been. Grateful that it'd been so long at all. A part of him had always known, even as he entertained other possibilities, that it would end a lot like this. At least he'd had today. Had heard his mother's voice. At least he was here, at the beach, and could face the past with the crash of the sea to comfort. At least it was Gemma. [break][break]

Steeling himself, Ashley turned to face her square. He let his gaze flit fully about her face for only a second. Just long enough to feel the watering leap to his eyes and to allow his mouth to quirk faintly upward at its corners. Resigned and remorseful. He wanted to drop his shoes and beer and throw an arm around her shoulders. To pull her to him and close his eyes as he tucked the side of his face to her hair. Ask her why she was crying for men long gone. But he only shrugged his shoulders and tipped his head, feeling and knowing that he'd long ago lost the right. [break][break]

"Thanks, Gem."


[break]

Tag: Gemma Gatsby[break]
Don't be sorry, I love it. *v* [break]
Hope this one's alright, give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Gemma Gatsby]

[nospaces] [googlefont=Oswald|Roboto:400,700]

[attr="class","sixShwhole"]

[attr="class","sixShimg"]

[attr="class","sixShoutline"]

[attr="class","sixShextra"]

[attr="class","sixShtiny"]TAGGED:

Ashley Wolfe

[attr="class","sixShnotes"]NOTES:

Let me know if you need me to change anything at all or make any tweaks! Didn't want to move too far without giving you time to respond haha

[attr="class","sixShlyric"]

put your hands up

[attr="class","sixShcred"]SELKIE

[attr="class","sixShright"]

[attr="class","sixShly"]
loaded the bullets with my blood in the rounds

[attr="class","sixShpost"]
If she were being honest Gemma expected him to refuse the treat. Some weird girl alone on a beach at night offers you a random cupcake? Sounds like the start of a bad horror movie. But he stood there instead. Not quite turning to face her which was strange enough. His shoes in one hand and a beer bottle in the other. That at least reminded Gemma of the bottle of wine she had in her bag that was still slung on her shoulder. She'd planned on drinking away her sorrows until she stumbled back to her car and passed out. Even though she hated getting wine drunk.[break][break]

She waited as he silently took the cupcake from her hand. His fingers lingered on hers a bit longer than just a casual brush and her chest tightened. She imagined Dino grabbing her hand and pulling her into a hug. Telling her she was too pretty to cry over dumb boys while he dragged those same rough but always gentle fingers through her dark hair. She tried to brush that thought away and think it was just some stranger being equally weird. Until she heard his voice. An all too familiar voice that made her entire body freeze. [break][break]

No. No, no, no that wasn't right. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. Trying to see past the darkness to his face. "No," she whispered as she let the bag slip from her shoulder and drop to the sand with a dull thud. "No, fuck you, no," her voice cracked and trembled as all she could manage to say was no. Denying that the man in front of her was Dino. Her Dino. But her knew her name. [break][break]

Gemma's hands shook. They hadn't shaken this bad since the first time she took a persons life. She was always calm. Always steady. Still, she lifted those shaking hands to his face and cupped his cheeks in them. His cheeks didn't feel as hollow as they had six years ago. But her finger tips traced the outline of his jaw and over his cheek bones. "Dino?" This wasn't him. This couldn't be him. Dino was dead. She'd mourned for him. Held his mother while they both cried and grieved for him. Dragged his brother out of bars and back home to sit with him night after night while he mourned for him too. Dino was gone. Had been gone for six full years.[break][break]

"It's not...you can't...how?" She was first filled with confusion. Her stomach rolled as she stepped closer, now her whole body began to tremble slightly. "Is this some kind of joke?"

[attr="class","sixShly"]
she's a sweet six shooter she knows how to get down

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[newclass=.sixShcred a] color:#fff!important;font:700 7px roboto!important;[/newclass]

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]Ashley's faint, wistful smile threatened to thin as he watched the recognition filter across her; change visible even in the darkness. Her eyes widened and she went rigid, the bag slung across her shoulder slipping to the sand. He tried not to react — to not wince. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and shaky. Disbelieving. He wondered if it was how she'd reacted six years ago when someone had told her he'd died. Fiercely denying and unwilling to accept it; going cold and hard to try and keep the truth from wounding. He wondered if they'd been gentle with her. Or if, maybe because of who she was and who she was expected to be, they hadn't thought to be. Perhaps someone hadn't told her at all. Maybe she'd simply overheard it. Less kindly and from the lips of people who didn't know him. To whom he'd just been another hunter, killed like so many others. [break][break]

He didn't want to imagine it. The imaginings had kept him up plenty of nights before, especially in the long, harrowing weeks that immediately followed his dying. Pictures of his mother wailing, clutching at Dane's arms as he tried to keep them both standing. His brother's face twitching with the attempt to remain stone; to remain strong for her while he locked his own grief away. Grace and Gemma crawled into bed with one another, arms seeking each other as they buried their tears in one another's necks. The images had haunted him for a long while, playing behind his eyes whenever he closed them and bleeding into his dreams when he did manage some sleep. [break][break]

It'd been years since those dreams, though. Like a terrible wound that time eventually scarred over, the ache had eventually ebbed. And he would only remember the pain of it every once in a while, as if it were an old injury that acted up when the weather went cold. Or when he heard a certain song, caught a familiar scent, or watched a setting sun. [break][break]

But now, as he watched Gemma shudder before him, he felt the wounds threaten anew. Tickle with the promise of something fresh and raw. She lifted shaking hands to his cheeks and his eyes fluttered closed at the first, tentative touch. He ducked his head just barely, almost an admission of guilt, as he allowed her fingers to ghost across his skin and prod about the structure of his face; picking out the similarities that still existed beneath the health he hadn't possessed six years ago. Then his eyes pinched the tiniest bit tighter when she said his name. It left her lips as a question and he didn't want to acknowledge it. Wanted very much to shake his head no and have it be the truth. [break][break]

Letting the shoes still clutched desperately in his grasp slip free, he lifted his hand to curl his fingers gingerly about one of her wrists as she stepped closer, thumb smoothing across where he could feel her pulse fluttering. With a difficult swallow, he finally nodded and let his eyes flicker back open to sift about her face. Wetness clung to his lashes but the threat of tears had passed. "It's me, Gemma," he affirmed, feeling something in his chest want to squirm at the admittance. "That wouldn't be a very funny joke."[break][break]

He realized the tremble to her voice and to her hands had spread to the rest of her and, with a sudden, decided tuck to his lips, he dropped her wrist and closed what little distance remained between them to wrap both his arms around her, careful to keep the cupcake from tangling in her hair as he squeezed her to him. Half-expecting the emergence of anger or a struggle (and prepared to stomach it if it came), he tucked his chin and pressed his lips into her hair. "What are you doing here?"


[break]

Tag: Gemma Gatsby [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Gemma Gatsby]

[nospaces] [googlefont=Oswald|Roboto:400,700]

[attr="class","sixShwhole"]

[attr="class","sixShimg"]

[attr="class","sixShoutline"]

[attr="class","sixShextra"]

[attr="class","sixShtiny"]TAGGED:

Ashley Wolfe

[attr="class","sixShnotes"]NOTES:

This got a little away from me lol let me know if you need me to change or tweak anything!

[attr="class","sixShlyric"]

put your hands up

[attr="class","sixShcred"]SELKIE

[attr="class","sixShright"]

[attr="class","sixShly"]
loaded the bullets with my blood in the rounds

[attr="class","sixShpost"]
Gemma remembered speeding over to Dane and Dino's house as soon as she heard the news. Moana gripping on to her remaining living son while she wailed her pain and grief over the loss of her oldest. She remembered Moana pulling her into her arms and holding her so tightly she felt like her ribs might crack as she squeezed every ounce of breath from her lungs. And she let her. The sheer denial she felt that Dino was gone. Really gone this time. After everything they'd lived through. The years they'd spent fighting to just stay alive. [break][break]

She'd had to be the big sister. She had to be the one to hold Grace in her arms and tell her that everything would be okay even as her world was coming crashing down around her. She'd had to sit with Dane in silence as he tried to stone wall his emotions only for whatever liquor he drowned himself in to bring them bubbling to the surface. She'd had to find her way back to her bed, hollowed and empty. She'd spent hours, days, weeks making sure Moana wasn't alone. Making sure Dane didn't get himself killed too. Making sure Grace wouldn't recklessly run after the first Gifted she got her hands on without planning first. She'd had to be the big sister. [break][break]

For years after Dino had passed she struggled even looking at Dane because sometimes he looked too much like his brother. His face wasn't as sharp and his demeanor not as gentle but sometimes he was there. When Gemma would glare at him for something he'd done there'd be that same spark in his eyes. When he'd get too drunk and she could see the dark circles and the pain pulling to the surface. Dino was there. And every time it made Gemma feel like she was going to break all over again. [break][break]

His fingers wrapped around her wrist. Those same rough but always gentle hands on her skin made tears well in her eyes all over again. She didn't fight as his arms wrapped around her. Gemma buried her face in his chest as her body shook with her quiet sobbing. Staining his shirt with her tears as she clung on to him tightly. Like he might disappear again if she loosened her grip for even a moment. He was right. It wouldn't be a very funny joke. It would be a sick, twisted, and unendingly cruel joke. But that's what she'd thought the day she found out Dino died as well. [break][break]

For a moment she just breathed him in. Felt his arms around her. Heard his heart beat in his chest. Anything to try and find something to prove he wasn't real. Anything to prove all her anger and confusion and grief had finally broken her mind. Then he asked why she was there. That confusion and relief that had washed through her was flooded with her anger. "What am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here?!" She hissed as she pulled back from his embrace. Though she still didn't dare let him go. "Dino it's been six fucking years! We all thought you were dead!"[break][break]

Gemma did her best to keep her voice down. As angry as she was she didn't want the possibility of another Hunter passing by and hearing her talk to him. "Your mother wouldn't get out of bed for weeks! I've never seen Grace cry that much in my life before! And Dane...Fuck!" He's been alive this whole time. Which means he abandoned them. Gemma didn't know which hurt more. Him dying or him leaving them behind. "Do you have any idea the absolute hell we all went through?!" She demanded answers. How could he do this? To her, to Grace, to his mother, to Dane?[break][break]

"How could you abandon us like that? Where the fuck have you been? I- I..." She couldn't finish that sentence. Too many questions and emotions all lumped up in her throat that felt like it was closing shut. She'd been angry for so long and now that grief and anger and sadness all swirled around in her like a hurricane. Her fingers gripped the shoulders of his shirt so hard her knuckles turned white. "Why did you leave me?" Her voice shook and quieted now with the first question she'd been unable to voice the day he died. Her mouth felt dry, her face felt hot with emotion, her eyes stung with tears.

[attr="class","sixShly"]
she's a sweet six shooter she knows how to get down

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[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]She didn't fight him. Only buried her face into his chest and shook. He felt himself hollow at the sound of her quiet sobbing and braced her tighter against him. Felt the overwhelming relief that she'd allowed him to at all. He closed his eyes and tilted his face, planting a cheek against the top of her head and breathing deep. It wasn't unfamiliar territory. They'd shared plenty of tears together in the past. The fit of her against him was something even six years couldn't change. But he'd been afraid for a moment, as he reached for her, that she'd pull away. Her eyes flashing and accusing; mouth twisting with the assertion that he'd surrendered the right. That he couldn't be that person anymore, couldn't comfort her, especially not when he was the reason for her hurt this time. [break][break]

She pulled away from him, not completely but enough; the anger finally rising through the tears as he suspected it might. He let her slip from him, his arms pulling from around her and his hands settling instead at the crooks of her elbows. Allowing her the space she needed but still holding on to her, fingers braced against the back of her arms and thumbs smoothing across her biceps. Finally, the accusations came. She hissed about the fallout his death had caused, pain still evident even in the angry twist to her face and in the cut of her words. [break][break]

It wasn't a fierce battering of fists into his chest like he'd expected, but the words cleaved through him all the same. He almost asked her in a quiet, urgent whisper to stop as she brought to life the imaginings that'd haunted him so long ago. As she made the suffering of his loved ones real. His mother. Grace. Dane. Her, there for it all. But he wouldn't make himself beg her to spare him. He only spread his lips thin and let each hiss drive home. Let them pull at the stitches of those long-healed wounds and fill him with ache. He deserved it. He knew he did. And the grief he felt at hearing it wasn't anything in comparison to the grief he'd made them live through. [break][break]

Eventually, the rage broke. Her fingers tightened in his shirt and she choked. Her last question, spoken so quietly, made him grimace and he knew — somehow he knew — it all boiled down to that. That it was the only question that truly required an answer in the moment. The one she'd perhaps been asking his ghost for years, in moments he should have been there for her but wasn't.[break][break]

Why did you leave me? [break][break]

He'd imagined how he might defend himself before. The words he would say. Then again, he'd always pictured it would be more violent. His body aching and bleeding. His lungs screaming for air as he tried to speak between labored pants only when he could afford to — trying desperately to make someone understand as they tried their damnedest to beat him down and take his life. [break][break]

"Gem," he started softly, voice small and imploring in the little space between them. His lips pulled ruefully, trying to twitch into a reassuring smile but not quite managing it. Sucking in a shaky inhale, he lifted one hand from her arm to cup at her jaw, coaxing her face in his direction and smoothing a thumb across the wet tracks already spilled down her cheek. "You would have lost me either way," he drug his gaze between her eyes searchingly, hoping she'd understand. Maybe hoping she'd forgive him. [break][break]

"If not a pretended death, then a real one." He lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug and shook his head slowly, eyes unmoving from her face. "I was on my way out anyway... I think you probably know that." She'd certainly hauled him from enough dirty bathroom floors in those final months. Pulled his head in her lap and smoothed the sweaty bangs from his face while he shook and moaned and cried. Had gotten as angry with him as Dane did on missions when they had to cover the vulnerabilities he simply didn't bother to anymore (hoping the next Gifted would be able to sink the blade when they weren't looking). It had only been a matter of time back then, until they found him stilled and beyond saving in a pool of his own vomit or blood. [break][break]

"That wouldn't have been any less difficult for you. For Mom or Grace or Dane. It would have been the same. But..." he almost couldn't finish as tears leaped to his eyes and a lump cropped in his throat. His gaze finally flickered from hers as he dropped his head and swallowed. Collecting himself only took a moment, but his eyes were still wet and his lids flickered unsteadily when he lifted his stare back to her, unable to completely meet her eye. "For me?"[break][break]

He couldn't elaborate. Wasn't certain that he even needed to. He simply allowed his lips to pull tight in a wide beam. He was alive. And for six years, he'd lived as he'd wanted to. Had learned how to sleep without needing to numb himself with opioids or lose himself in a bottle. He'd spent nights dozing under the stars, eventually forgetting to do so with one eye open. He'd built a house with his own two hands. Just recently lost the tremble to his fingers when he pulled a knife from the kitchen drawer to cut steaks. He'd loved so many people. And no one had asked him to hurt anyone ever again.[break][break]

"I can't be sorry for leaving, Gemma, I really can't. It was the best and only thing for me. But I am sorry it hurt you."


[break]

Tag: Gemma Gatsby [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Gemma Gatsby]

[nospaces] [googlefont=Oswald|Roboto:400,700]

[attr="class","sixShwhole"]

[attr="class","sixShimg"]

[attr="class","sixShoutline"]

[attr="class","sixShextra"]

[attr="class","sixShtiny"]TAGGED:

Ashley Wolfe

[attr="class","sixShnotes"]NOTES:

Let me know if you need me to change or tweak anything!

[attr="class","sixShlyric"]

put your hands up

[attr="class","sixShcred"]SELKIE

[attr="class","sixShright"]

[attr="class","sixShly"]
loaded the bullets with my blood in the rounds

[attr="class","sixShpost"]
Gemma stared up at him in the dark. Full of six years worth of pain, anger, confusion, and grief. Six years she wandered around feeling lost and hopeless. Every fiber in her wanted to scream. Wanted to cry. Wanted to hit him until her knuckles cracked open. Until he felt every drop of pain he'd put her and Grace and Moana and Dane through. But she was still shaking too much. And part of her still wasn't sure this was real. [break][break]

She'd dreamed about this moment before. After nights curled up in bed. All cried out gripping a picture of her and him together. Gemma had dreamed of him one day walking back into her life. Sometimes in the dreams she'd scream at him until her lungs gave out. Sometimes she would beat him until she couldn't recognize his face anymore. Sometimes she would hug him and cry and kiss him and tell him how much she missed him. But all those dreams always ended the same. He would disappear again and she would have to wake up and face another day. [break][break]

Now though she waited to hear his excuse. Because that's all it could have been right? What possible reason would he have had to leave them behind? The people who loved and cared about him the most. The people who were ready to live and die for him. But as she listened she knew he was right. Deep down she knew. [break][break]

How many times had Gemma sat with him on a bathroom floor while he moaned and sobbed in pain? How many times had she patched him up and told him how stupid he was for not paying attention during a mission? How many times had she helped patch him up after a particularly bad fight between him and Dane for trying to clock out of their lives early? How many nights had he fallen asleep next to her and she stayed up to make sure he was still breathing? She watched him decline over the years right in front of her. From some sweet, bright eyed little boy. To an angry, rebellious teen. To a hollow, mostly husk of a man he used to be. [break][break]

"You could have...you could have told me," she insisted between a hiccuped breath. There'd been some nights they'd sat up together talking about leaving the Guild. Of running off somewhere and starting a new life. Gemma made jokes how she would become pretty little model or singer. Or some sweet housewife with a garden for her to drink her coffee in the mornings and a big in ground pool for her to lay in and tan. Always said how there'd be a room in the basement for Dane and a nice little house out back for Grace. How they'd all be together and live happy, normal, peaceful lives.[break][break]

But those had been quiet secrets whispered between two broken and still hopeful kids. But that hope had died the same day she found out Dino had. Her face still contorted in a mixture of anger, pain, and relief. Her hands moved from gripping his shirt to cupping her palms against his cheeks. Gemma brushed away the wet streaks from his face gently with the pad of her thumbs. "I missed you so much," she choked out with a sniffle. "God, I don't know whether to be angry that you left without so much as a goodbye or relieved that you're okay."[break][break]

But he was better than okay. Even in the dark she could see that. "I needed you, Dino. Dane needed you," his brother wouldn't admit it out loud. But he hadn't been the same since Dino died. Still, her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him into a tight hug. She stood on her toes to bury her face against the crook of his neck as she took another trembling breath. She was still so angry. So full of six years of rage she'd screamed to an empty void. But at the moment all she wanted was to be with him. Because if this was just another dream she didn't want him to disappear just yet.

[attr="class","sixShly"]
she's a sweet six shooter she knows how to get down

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[newclass=.sixShcred a] color:#fff!important;font:700 7px roboto!important;[/newclass]

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]Ashley watched the anger loosen across Gemma's features, relieved that she seemed to accept his explanation. That she could see past the betrayal of his abandonment and know that his leaving would have happened regardless. It wouldn't have felt any less permanent or gutting than it had been but... it had meant another chance for him. [break][break]

She finally spoke, whispering between breathy hiccups that he could have told her. Ashley shook his head, just barely, and let his lips tuck into something a bit more remorseful. Maybe, if it had been only his life on the line. But he hadn't been alone. Jackal had taken a chance on him and he couldn't ask the man to trust anyone Dino knew to keep quiet with their secrets. Or to let him go without protest. To not, one day, say something while stupid and drunk that made someone think. To stifle the want to reach out to him and endanger them both. [break][break]

It hadn't been easy for him either, being alone and without them. Many times he'd wanted to do more than just hear his mother's voice on the other end of a stranger's phone. Longed for the look or touch of someone who knew him and to whom he didn't need to explain himself. Who knew what he was running from and who could understand the tremble to his hand — the restraint it'd taken so long for him to build — when someone pressed in his face. Who might be able to understand, too, how far he'd come from who he was. [break][break]

But then, after years of solitude and traveling, when he first decided to plant roots and make new relationships, he'd realized it was better that no one knew that part of him. The fewer people that looked at him and saw Dino beneath the layers and layers of Ashley — beneath his new name and his new life — the less he had to acknowledge that Dino was still there. So he'd stopped longing so much. Only let himself think of them on those darker, more troubled nights when something forced memories and old feelings from the woodwork. [break][break]

Thankfully, Gemma didn't press the issue. Just lifted her hands to his face again and confessed she didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. "You can be both," he responded quietly, turning to ease his slight smile into the edge of her palm; knowing then that he was willing to stomach anything at this point. Even if, once everything settled, she decided she couldn't forgive him. His tongue pressed hard to the back of his teeth and his lids fell half over his eyes when she added that she'd needed him. That his brother had needed him. [break][break]

I know, he wanted to say. But he only dipped his chin instead, brow knitting with the admission he found too difficult to voice. He'd known he was leaving devastation behind. Had known it was the particular kind of devastation that Dino was the one they tended to turn to for easing. Had known Dane would get worse without him there to temper, diffuse, and placate. To knock him on his ass every once in a while or put himself between him and someone he'd dangerously pissed off. To put himself between him and their father. But he'd left anyway, willing to open that void in their lives, and only hoped they'd pull together in his absence. [break][break]

Her arms circled around his shoulders and she lifted on her tip-toes to bury her face in his neck. The fierce hug was so quick that the cupcake — so far miraculously managed to keep in his hand and not smashed — knocked from a too-slack palm and to the sand. After a moment, he relaxed into the embrace; eyes closing as his arms came around her back and head ducking so he could smother into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Gemma," he breathed into her skin, arms bracing her more firmly against him as he straightened and lifted her from her toes. "You can be mad. You can be whatever you want. I'm just happy to see you." [break][break]

"Honestly..." he chuckled, letting her feet touch the sand again and pulling back enough to look at her, arms loosening so he could grip her upper arms instead. "I thought you were here to kill me." He swallowed as his hands skipped down to her fingers, which he held loosely between them before giving a quick squeeze. He supposed it wasn't too late for that. No matter who Dino had been — who his father was or all the years and memories he had with the Gatsby girls — he supposed he would be a defector first and foremost where the Guild was concerned. One to be made an example of, he imagined; to show that no one, not even the first son of Antonio Wayland, was above a traitor's fate. "I thought, after all this time, the Guild had finally found me." [break][break]

He licked his lips. He figured he'd better ask. As much as he didn't want to. He would need to know what Gemma planned to do now. If anyone was looking for him as it was or if his death had been readily accepted and he'd been forgotten about. Something braced in his chest, attempting to prepare for whatever answers she might have, but then he shook his head. "Doesn't matter," he whispered, pulling his fingers from hers and bending to pick up the bag at her feet. He slung the strap over his shoulder and stepped away to pluck up his abandoned shoes as well. [break][break]

He turned back to her and fixed her with a hopeful look. "Would you let me show you my home? If... you don't have other plans?" He tipped his head and outstretched a hand, hoping she'd consider taking it. "It's still my birthday for another few hours at least. And if I remember right, we used to really enjoy those." His lips pulled and his hand balled between them, pinky extending as if to make a promise. "No more tears. Not tonight."


[break]

Tag: Gemma Gatsby [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Gemma Gatsby]

[nospaces] [googlefont=Oswald|Roboto:400,700]

[attr="class","sixShwhole"]

[attr="class","sixShimg"]

[attr="class","sixShoutline"]

[attr="class","sixShextra"]

[attr="class","sixShtiny"]TAGGED:

Ashley Wolfe

[attr="class","sixShnotes"]NOTES:

Let me know if you need me to change or tweak anything!

[attr="class","sixShlyric"]

put your hands up

[attr="class","sixShcred"]SELKIE

[attr="class","sixShright"]

[attr="class","sixShly"]
loaded the bullets with my blood in the rounds

[attr="class","sixShpost"]
Deep down in her heart, as much as it hurt, Gemma was happy he'd left. Instead of her or Dane or god forbid Moana find him still and cold face down in a pool of his own blood or vomit or both. Or one of them having to carry his limp, lifeless body home after a mission where they hadn't been able to save him in time. At least he was alive. At least she could hold him again and had the luxury to scream her anger and pain and accusations at him. So she supposed he was right, she could be both. She could still be angry and grieving over the six years she mourned his loss. As well as relieved to have him in her arms. [break][break]

She could also be angry at how he hurt not only her and Grace and his mother but at how his loss had affected his brother. Gemma could do a lot for Dane. She could clean him up after a bad night. She could put his head on her lap and run her fingers through his sweat dampened hair until he fell asleep. She could knock him on his ass and attempt to knock some sense into him. But she couldn't be Dino. He wouldn't unload all of his anguish into her arms so readily. He wouldn't unleash his anger on her without hesitation. She couldn't stand between him and his father and take the brunt of Antonio's tyranny. [break][break]

And as selfish as it made her feel her chest had not been large enough to hold everyones pain and grief as well as her own. Gemma had tried to hollow herself out. Had tried to entirely empty her emotions so she could take everyone elses. But she couldn't. No matter how much she'd tried. No matter how much it had made her hate herself. She couldn't pour out the seemingly unending stream of emotions that had erupted inside her when Dino was gone. [break][break]

She hardly even recognized the cupcake drop to the sand as his arms encircled her slender frame entirely. As she felt her feet lift off the soft ground Gemma's lips curled into a smile against the crook of his neck. "I'm happy to see you too," she breathed against his skin. And she meant it. Past all the other emotions that welled and crashed inside her like the waves of the ocean behind them, she was happy. As her feet touched the ground again Gemma allowed her arms to loosen and she felt him pull from her slightly. [break][break]

When he said he thought she'd been here to kill him her brows knit together in confusion before she let out a soft laugh. He wouldn't know. Of course he wouldn't know. "I don't think they would have sent me to kill you," she said with a chuckle in her voice. Maybe Wolfhound or Jackal or maybe even Grace. "I haven't...I haven't really hunted since you left," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "The last actual mission I went on I let the kid go," something which neither her father or Antonio had been happy with. The Gifted had been maybe nineteen with a shitty fake ID. She'd tracked him down to a club, led him to the bathroom under the assumption of him getting to have a moment of quick, carnal fun.[break][break]

She'd roughed him up a little, he'd shocked her until she couldn't see straight, she chased him from the club to some alley and warned him. Told him to leave the city if he knew what was good for him. Because the next hunter that was sent after him wouldn't be so kind. "They paired me up with Dane and I'm not sure if it's to stop him from getting so many other hunters killed or to get me back into hunting."[break][break]

She still hadn't officially made any notice that she wanted to quit all together. It was hard. And part of her thought that maybe, maybe if she continued going on missions she might be able to save another innocent person from losing their life. As he pulled his fingers from hers Gemma found she felt off balance. Panic rushed through her for a split second as part of her expected him to just evaporate right in front of her. She expected to open her eyes to a too bright sun with her head pounding and an ache in her back from sleeping in the backseat of her car. But he didn't evaporate. Instead he leaned down to pick up her discarded bag and his shoes. That was when she noticed the dropped cupcake. Well, so much for not wasting it. [break][break]

"I owe you a new cupcake," she said softly, playfully. As he asked if he could show her his home Gemma paused. If just for a moment. She ached to reach out for his outstretched hand but that panic still settled in her stomach for a moment. Then he held out his pinky in a quiet promise. Just like they used to do. And her lips pulled back into a smile that this time was warm and genuine. "Well, I'd planned on drinking an entire bottle of wine until I stumbled to my car and passed out," she admitted as in a teasing tone. As if he might have interrupted some big plans for her. "But since it's your birthday I guess I could postpone that," she looked up at him in the dark as she reached out.[break][break]

She linked her pinky with his for a moment before she moved to nudge his hand open again to lace her fingers with his. And suddenly it felt like her balance was returned. Gemma moved with him back to the boardwalk with no real urgency. Finding joy in the sound of the waves and the warmth of his hand encasing her smaller one. "So, I suppose your name isn't Dino anymore," she said a bit hesitantly. "What name do I need to memorize now?"

[attr="class","sixShly"]
she's a sweet six shooter she knows how to get down

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[newclass=.sixShcred a] color:#fff!important;font:700 7px roboto!important;[/newclass]

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]Gemma laughed when he confessed his initial suspicions about their happenstance meeting, then informed that she hadn't hunted since he'd died. Ashley's eyes, still trained upon her face, widened just a bit with surprise. Had she... left the Guild? [break][break]

He had to glance away, ashamed at the sudden feeling of something sad and horribly ugly nip to life in his chest. A tame, bittersweet envy. How nice it must be, he thought, to have the option. He presumed her reluctance in those six years had been tolerated much more kindly than his own ever had. Even as he thought it, he hated himself for it. Tried to stamp it out as quickly as it'd flared. If she'd decided the Guild wasn't what she wanted to do with her life, then he could only be relieved that she was able to leave it with less consequence than others. That she wasn't as shackled as everyone else. That she'd been allowed to choose. [break][break]

He returned his gaze to hers, twitching one corner of his mouth upward. "That's great," he said softly, managing to only sound sincere. He was sincere. But then she added that she'd been paired with Dane — in a probable attempt to get her back into the life — and Ashley's slight smile fell. Perhaps she wasn't as free as he'd thought.[break][break]

The pairing made sense. At least from their fathers' perspectives. Working with his brother was almost certainly meant to be desensitizing. The Dane he remembered had been unflinching and enthusiastic in their work. And — because of him — he was accustomed to picking up his partner's slack. To stepping up when someone else stepped back. Finishing the job when someone else didn't have the stomach to and being more brutal than necessary to compensate for their lack of heart. She'd said he'd been getting his partners killed? Ashley inwardly grimaced. He wasn't getting along with others, then? It wasn't surprising but, still, he felt another brief wash of guilt threaten within him. [break][break]

He had always been Dane's partner. Since they were children. It was easy to imagine his brother growing angry when someone didn't know how to cover him as wordlessly and seamlessly as Dino had. When they moved left when they should have — when Dino would have — moved right. When they didn't take to his jokes as well and didn't know how to be when the jobs were finished. Had each little wrongness driven the blade of Dino's absence deeper? Sharpened it into an apathy? Had his brother decided being alone was more tolerable than working with someone who just wasn't him? [break][break]

And if Gemma was paired up with him now, did that mean Dane was here, too? In Los Eurosia? Ashley didn't want to think about it. He really didn't. Just the idea brought cold to his fingertips. A cold that would grow in him, equal parts paranoia and curiosity, until he was completely frozen-limbed — packing up his belongings and running away to yet another city to make that distance uncrossable. Were they to happen across one another as coincidentally as Gemma and him, he didn't think Dane would be as forgiving as her. Why should he be? And Ashley couldn't trust himself, either, to not one night be too sentimental and longing, should he know that his brother's whereabouts were far closer than he'd ever imagined.[break][break]

Gemma took his outstretched pinky with her own and Ashley tried to embrace the thaw of her touch. To quiet the unbidden squirm within him and shove aside his thoughts and feelings as well as keep the misgivings from his face. He didn't want her to know how uncertain everything she said was making him. He wouldn't think about it. At least, not now. No doubt it would be all he could think about soon. But not tonight. A little belatedly, he let a faint grin pull at his mouth at her more teasing words.[break][break]

He turned and started toward the boardwalk, then cast her a backward glance to quirk a brow. "Oh, the bottle of wine can still get drunk," he said, matching her playful tone as he slowed to an easy stroll alongside her. "We could even bake more cupcakes if you wanted to. Don't be surprised, but I've actually gotten very good at it." With everything worrying compartmentalized for later, and with the warmth of the night and the sound of the sea at their backs, it was briefly a simple thing to think of more pleasant days gone by. The highs before the lows. [break][break]

Piggyback races down different California shores. The younger siblings slinging insults and accusations at one another when a stumble in the sand sent them both flying. Cliff-diving. Screaming their glee and joy into open, cloudless skies. Pissing on Dane's foot when he'd been stung by a jellyfish (then rolling when a Google search minutes later revealed the whole TV shtick was nothing but a myth). The four of them winding down as the sun set, toes buried in the sand, drinking beers. Feeling inseparable and on top of the world. Dino had often felt like things could never get better for him than those moments. And for the longest time, they hadn't.[break][break]

As they approached the boardwalk, Gemma asked after his new name. Ashley breathed a quiet chuckle and pressed her fingers, feeling a bit sheepish and also (smaller than that) strangely reluctant. As much as he'd trembled at Dino's name on the air between them, it would feel almost wrong to have her call him anything else. And, from her lips, 'Dino' had sounded much less severe than it'd felt. Softer. As if to remind him that as much as he feared Dino Wayland sometimes, as scary as he'd been to a lot of people, he'd still been loved by some.[break][break]

But, if he planned to show her his home, she would see his name on his mail. And there was no merit in withholding the information at this point. [break][break]

"It's, uh... Ashley?" He scrunched his nose and shot her a comical, wincing glance, as if expecting her to burst out laughing or scoff and ask if he were joking. "I didn't choose it," he quickly added. That was mostly true. Jackal had given him a short list of options. Pre-existing identities that would suit their purposes well. And he'd chosen Ashley from the few others because it had seemed soft, even paired as it was with its accompanying surname. "But it's grown on me."[break][break]

He glanced in the direction his own vehicle was parked then looked back at her. Now more illuminated by the boardwalk's light, he could see that six years had hardly aged her. She was still the same, beautiful Gemma Gatsby that he remembered, with soft, round features, high cheekbones, and big, brown eyes. Only slightly disheveled now by her earlier crying. The familiarity of her features couldn't be unlearned, he supposed, and his lips pulled at the thought. "Do you wanna ride with me or follow in your own car?"




[break]

Tag: Gemma Gatsby [break]
Sorry if this is a huge mess lmao. [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

[newclass=.kestrelflight-text b]color:#2F4845;font-size:8pt!important;font-weight:700!important;font-family:Open Sans, sans serif!important;[/newclass][newclass=.kestrelflight-text a]font-size:8pt!important;font-family:Open Sans!important;[/newclass][googlefont=Poppins][googlefont=Open Sans]

[Gemma Gatsby]

[nospaces] [googlefont=Oswald|Roboto:400,700]

[attr="class","sixShwhole"]

[attr="class","sixShimg"]

[attr="class","sixShoutline"]

[attr="class","sixShextra"]

[attr="class","sixShtiny"]TAGGED:

Ashley Wolfe

[attr="class","sixShnotes"]NOTES:

Sorry this is a bit all over the place let me know if you need me to change or add anything!

[attr="class","sixShlyric"]

put your hands up

[attr="class","sixShcred"]SELKIE

[attr="class","sixShright"]

[attr="class","sixShly"]
loaded the bullets with my blood in the rounds

[attr="class","sixShpost"]
Gemma could feel the hesitance when she told him she'd backed out of hunting. It made her feel bad for mentioning at all. Because she had the luxury to take that step back without the same repercussions Dino would have had. But in as many ways as their fathers were similar they were also different. Grace and Gemma were Warrick's princesses. They were spoiled and given more leniency than Dane and Dino had been granted. How else would Grace be allowed to throw the tantrums she did? How else would Gemma have been allowed to simply reject assignments because she was grieving? But she still hadn't been able to leave the Guild. It still had her in its vice grip like grasp. When he spoke though he still sounded sincere. Which also hurt a little. [break][break]

But that wasn't something she wanted to think about now. They didn't have to talk about the Guild. That wasn't Dino's life anymore. It hadn't been for six years. He'd left for a reason. Felt so strongly that need to escape he left behind all the people who loved him the most. Had Grace, or perhaps worse Dane, been the one to find him things would have gone much differently. But Gemma had always been softer with Dino. He made her softer. And they each expressed their emotions differently. Some more explosive than the others. Gemma tended to turn her feelings inward first. Let them sit and settle, and often times fester, until she had no choice but to let them out. There were still a lot of feelings she was holding upon seeing Dino again that she knew she would have to handle later. That kind of anger and grief always had a way of sneaking up on her. When he hands were idle and her mind left to wander. They always found her. Not tonight though. They'd promised no more tears and she was determined to keep that promise. [break][break]

As he brought up them drinking the wine and baking Gemma laughed. The last time the four of them had gotten drunk and decided to make something it hadn't ended well. She remembered a lot of smoke, a very loud fire alarm, Dino putting out a fire, and her attempting to scold them for ruining one of her favorite pots while trying not to laugh. "When did you learn to bake?" She aked teasingly. Though she supposed he had a lot more time to pick up different hobbies now than he had before. Gemma had always been the baker between the four of them, and even she hadn't been that great at it at the time. [break][break]

She remembered days of screaming at Dane for touching her with flour on his hands or pouring in salt when she told him she needed sugar. Remembered fights for the spray hose while trying to get dishes done and just managing to get water all over the kitchen. Remembered the four of them sitting together in the grass or at the beach eating the mediocre at best food because they were all just starving enough to eat anything at that point. It was always the four of them. Had always been the four of them. And Gemma had thought it would always be that way. [break][break]

But that wasn't what she wanted think about. Especially as they got closer to the boardwalk again and she could properly see his face. While Dino may have thought Gemma hadn't changed he'd changed drastically. His face was fuller. His eyes brighter, if not a different color. Contacts? The dark circles were gone. And his hair..."You cut your hair," she said with a frown tugging at her lips. Gemma had always loved Dino's hair. But that thought was pushed aside as he told her his name. Her brows shot up and she blinked in surprise before a laugh bubbled past her lips. "Ashley? Really?" [break][break]

When he claimed he didn't pick it Gemma was still giggling. "Dino is so much better," perhaps she was biased. But she could at least learn the name for his sake. When asked about vehicle Gemma looked at her car thoughtfully. Most people from the guild knew she'd be here. It was what she'd done for the past six years. Maybe it was best to just go in his car? That might be the safest option at the moment. "It's probably best if I ride with you," she said simply.

[attr="class","sixShly"]
she's a sweet six shooter she knows how to get down

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[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

THERE'S BLOOD ON YOUR LIES

the scars open wide; there is nowhere for you to hide

[break]

[attr="class","kestrelflight-text"]As he'd suspected she might, Gemma couldn't stifle her surprised amusement at his new name. But he couldn't be offended or wounded and only felt warmth nip at his chest at the sound of her familiar giggling. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'll remind you Ashley is historically a male name." He shook his head with a fleeting grin, then quirked a brow. "As for the baking, I would say I got pretty good at it..." he hummed, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "Somewhere between years two and three. After failing to learn a half-dozen instruments and before my brief crocheting phase." He'd had a lot of time on his hands before deciding he could live freely again and had run through a great number of new hobbies and interests. Things he'd always wanted to try (and even more that he'd never thought to). Cooking and baking had been one of the first things he'd really thrown himself at — frozen and instant dinners had very quickly lost their charm. [break][break]

As he studied her in the new light, she did the same, and Ashley smiled beneath her gaze. It was both a conscious and unconscious grin, he realized — a wide, close-lipped beam, far different from the crinkled and toothy smile that'd been Dino's. In the beginning, learning to change his smile had felt strange. Unnatural, obviously. But beyond that, it'd felt silly to practice it at all, when he'd been more than half-convinced the Guild would find him long before he ever found the chance to live easily and smile at all. But he'd gotten used to it. Practiced and practiced until it'd felt easy. Now though, under her observation, the smile felt strange again. Wrong, in such a way he'd never thought someone would really ever know to notice anymore. [break][break]

"Oh, yeah, the hair was the first thing to go," he said through a chuckle, starting them toward the direction of his own car and pressing her fingers to avoid the urge to run a sheepish hand over his head. [break][break]

Jackal had shown him how to dye it; the both of them leaned over the side of a hotel tub, doing their best to keep the water from seeping down into the bandages across their chests. Dino had tried to tell him he'd dyed his hair plenty of times in his life but Jackal had insisted that he knew how to do it well (ouch). Then he'd tweezed and dyed his brows, made him exercise over and over how to take in and out his colored contacts, and then shorn his hair at differing lengths (until at last it was nothing) for the various pictures that would adorn their paperwork. In the years after choosing his identity, Ashley hadn't let it grow once past his ears. And he hadn't missed it. His hair had always been unruly and wild. An untamed mess more often than not. A small representation of those parts of him he wanted to leave behind with his name. [break][break]

"Or well... the second thing to go," Ashley amended with a sly smile, pausing in his step to angle a bit toward her. Walking backward, he slipped his hand from hers to hook a finger in the neck of his shirt, tugging it down to show a peek of the thick, ugly scar tissue that covered the breast where his stag tattoo had once been. He chuckled, purposely not giving himself a moment to remember Jackal taking the blade to his skin. Working quickly and cutting deep while Dino bit at the belt between his teeth, wanting to howl while his body went rigid and trembled. [break][break]

Approaching his vehicle, Ashley let the shirt go and dropped a hand to his pocket to finger the keys there. The car chirped, unlocking, but — without really thinking — he reached again for Gemma before she could begin to slip around toward the passenger side. "Hey," he started, voice suddenly quieter and more serious as he spread his fingers gingerly against her arm. He blinked a couple of times, trying to let his mind catch up to why he'd felt the need to stop at all. [break][break]

Would she really want to see his home? Minutes earlier, he'd simply thought it would be nice. To drink a couple glasses of wine with an old friend as they talked of the past and caught up. To show her what he'd managed to do after so long. What he'd built. Not just the house itself, but his life. Quite abruptly though, he was uncertain. Perhaps it was asking too much of her. What if she stood in his living room, glancing around at everything she didn't recognize, and was only discomforted? Saddened by everything that screamed at her that he was someone else; someone she didn't know anymore? Too easily, he could imagine her... smiling sadly up at him as he excused himself to change his clothes... then running through the front door as soon as he was safely from view. [break][break]

Ashley swallowed, stepping closer. "Are you sure this is okay? We could just sit here for a while... if you'd prefer? Drink wine in your car after all? Or go to a diner instead?"








[break]

Tag: Gemma Gatsby [break]
Give me a nudge for any changes!

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