Sophie has always hated tagging.
It's a necessary part of establishing their turf, she knows. It's the key element of keeping Linh and her crew away, and the only way her gang has of making their mark, no matter how boringly printed their symbol is, after going over the Foster logo with the Moonlark what feels like a million times. The pirates have been particularly testy recently, what with the power shuffle, and it pushed Sophie to reluctantly agree to join Keefe in tagging before their 'chaos patrols', as he had dubbed them. They're all supposed to meet somewhere near the middle of their territory.
She isn't sure who was where, though. Keefe has been sleeping over at the base a lot more recently, but those periods only last as long as his father doesn't notice his absence. Marella is an almost permanent resident, if only because her mama didn't need her for much except drunken booze-bottle aim practice. And Dex... well, he has the best situation of all of them. His parents -- he lives with both, which is pretty rare on the Isle -- are under the Black Swan, the only first-generation gang that seems to care about the kids.
Even if it's only to recruit them, Sophie thinks bitterly.
Despite the tentative truce she and Marella have negotiated not even three weeks ago, Sophie doesn't trust the Black Swan for shit -- they haven't yet agreed on the terms surrounding her gang's territory, and yet they've instantly gone claiming to the Neverseen that they've finally gotten their hands on some of the ever-elusive city grounds. When you add in whatever the fuck they messed up with Jolie and what happened to Sophie's parents? Hah, yeah, no fucking way.
Even though the turf wars are annoying, that was one thing Sophie and Linh's gangs have been able to accomplish: keeping it away from the first-gens. Things with them always seem to loop back to the Neverseen and Black Swan's never-ending war.
Wrapping up her speed-graffiti spree, Sophie hops off the crate she's been standing on. She bumps into two kids on her way to the center: she recalls their names being Jensi and Maruca. Both were so-called 'spares' -- kids with no gangs, in gangs with no territory, or worse yet, gangs under either the Black Swan or Neverseen. Dex has been on her case about recruiting some: the idea is to keep them as backup, instead of involving them in the inner circle that he, Sophie, Marella and Keefe formed. Sophie considered it, she really did, but she just didn't want some Exilium Waywards crawling around their plans against the rebels and pirates.
As always, when Sophie stumbles upon Marella, it's with her signature trail of confused shouts and frightened shrieks following closely behind. She doesn't need to involve herself in what, exactly, Marella has set on fire this time -- Sophie trusts her not to burn down the entire Isle, and that was really all she could ask for -- but it was a good chance to figure out the status on Linh's gang.
"How are the sea-snakes?" Sophie asks, without unnecessary small talk. Straight to the point -- this isn't Eternalia.
"The boys have them covered," Marella replies evenly. Her cheek had the scabbed-over marks of a jagged cut -- so she had gone home last. Sophie, for the millionth time, considers making a visit to Caprise's doorstep. "They're on their way to Alluveterre"
"Keefe's father?" Sophie hops over a rusty barrel.
"No word, he's still camped at the base. I'm pretty sure he's stealing some cloth." the 'for me' went unspoken, glaringly obvious with the jagged cut down her face and the more-than-likely possibility of there being more. Sophie nods.
Eventually, they make it to Alluveterre -- the housing complex where a large majority of the Black Swan first-gens (the ones that didn't have enough influence to get someone to build their houses, at least) went. Dex is already rolling over cots with sleeping bodies when they get there. Sophie knows, at least, he isn't crushing the Waywards, because Exilium is in session and even the ones skipping aren't stupid enough to stay for chaos patrol hours (especially when she and Dex had tipped the rumor mill off through Amy and the triplets). Keefe isn't far behind, the faint smear of blue on his cheek the only hint Sophie has that he'd been tagging too.
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Alliance -- A KOTLC Descendants AU
FanfictionFor as long as the Neutral Territories have existed, the land it inhabits has been called the Isle of the Lost by it's residents. Home to the infamous rebel groups, the Black Swan and Neverseen, it's a place in shambles and ruins. There is little or...
