ₑₘₒₜᵢₒₙₐₗ 𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢

MISS  THE  SMOKE,  @howdisturbed- :
            
            like  a  landline  you  carry.    {  as  far  as  explanations  go,   it  isn't  his  best  work—  but  he'll  take  what  he  can  get.   his  hands  rest  in  suit  pockets  as  he  watches  the  woman  fumble,  nearly  giving  into  amusement  at  her  shock.   adjusting  to  modern  technology  himself  had  been  one  thing;  watching  kris,  cari  and  the  other  strays  fumble  through  had  been  another.  }   it  holds  all  the  information  in  the  world.   a  modern  day  tower  of  babel,   if  you  will —   one  that  idiots  contribute  to.   a  lot.   nearly  eight  billion  people  are  in  there.   

(  @untilends-  )
            
            cell… phone…??   [  cari eyes the object with a level of fear-guided curiosity. with her index finger, she taps the screen and almost jumps when it lights up. ]    all you gotta do is touch it??   my, what on earth do you even use this for???

MISS  THE  SMOKE,  @howdisturbed- :
            
            if  you  wanna  stay  alive,   (yes).    {  he  can't  say  he  has  time  for  this,   can't  even  pretend  to  entertain  it.    his  annoyance  presses  into  agitation  as  she  continues  to  rattle  off  behind  him,   barely  registering  her  words  until  'number  five'  cuts  through.   as  though  on  a  pike  five's  head  swivels,  gaze  cut  into  a  glare  cold  enough  to  solidify  molten  if  given  the  chance.  }   you're  only  with  us  because  of  mara  *insisting*.   need  i  rectify  that  decision,   carolina,   i  will.   with  or  without  her  approval.    ( .. )    most  of  them  are  sensitive  and  no  one  has  a  goddamn  scrapbook  of  childhood  stories.   i'm  sure  you  can  figure  them  out  from  there.  
            
            **   btw.   i  am  so  very  sorry  about  him ,, 

(  @untilends-  )
            
            'n everything you say goes now, huh?   [  cari's eyebrow raises, partially curious and otherwise amused. she exhales through her nose and allows a beat to pass, before settling. ]    fine, you got yourself a deal, mister five. or is it number?   [  her expression changes quickly, humour dropping away when she registers they're nowhere near reaching that level. ]    sorry,,  'm sorry for that one. (…)    but might i at least know when questions are acceptable?   'later' don't always have the same definition for everyone.

I  TRIED  TO  BE  GOOD,  @howdisturbed- :
            
            diego?   {  it's  with  a  short  scoff  that  mara  shakes  her  head,  the  name  just  as  much  of  an  irritant  as  his  presence  is.   while  the  protectiveness  in  cari's  own  annoyance  is  endearing  enough  to  defy  an  uninterested  dismissal,  nothing  can  bite  down  the  reflex  she's  well  adjusted  to. }    he's  a  mama's  boy.  you  know  how  they  are,   pitchin'  fits  when  someone  tells  'em  no.   's  easier  t'  just  do  what  i  want  rather  than  bickerin'  away  the  time.
            
            *    i  am  SPRINTING  with  you,,  hand  in  understanding  hand !  

(  @deathsmaiden-  )
            
            that broody one who's always tossin' 'round little daggers.  [  cari's answer certainly comes disgruntled. her arms are folded over her chest, though nervous fingers fiddle with the fabric of her shawl. ]   who does he think he is??   talkin' down on you like a child who ain't gettin' his own way. mara, you know i won't stand for that!
            
            /  cariego annoyance to lovers…  walk with me!!

I  TRIED  TO  BE  GOOD,  @howdisturbed- :
            
            {  the  weight  of  such  a  fear  makes  something  in  mara  twist  with  guilt.   she  knows  better  than  to  believe  she  can  protect  cari  from  the  world;  their  reunion  had  been  a  disposal,  their  goodbye  a  lingering  understanding  that  not  much  besides  blood  and  impending  doom  could  change  how  they  would  likely  never  see  each  other  again,   yet  the  tired  wish  still  dwells  within  her  like  a  pounding  heart.   she  never  wanted  cari  to  face  the  ultimatum  she  once  had.   a  child  still  bloodied  in  her  newborn  skin,  mara  wants  to  tell  her  the  knife  isn't  as  sharp  as  it  seems.  
            but  it  has  to  be.   if  it  wasn't,   there  would  be  no  way  to  carve  their  way  out.  } 
            i  am.    {  she  finally  answers,   forcing  her  voice  to  the  softness  she  knows  cari  needs.  }    i... they're  a  lot,   but  they're  loyal.   don't  ever  gotta  worry  'bout  anyone  fuckin'  you  over,   just  how  long  it'll  take  for  'em  to  argue  'til  your  ears  bleed.

(  @deathsmaiden-  )
            
            the future prolly has more in store for me than whatever i'm leavin' behind here. a lifetime in a jail cell no doubt.  [  she mutters the last part, tilting her head down. it was her only choice, to go with them. ever since she was little, cari had always wondered about mara's adventures. now she was about to step into one. after a moment of hesitation, cari sighs softly. her questions are that of a curious child, looking with wide eyes for mara's wise assurance. ]   d'you…  are you at peace with the choice you made?   followin' these goons into the unknown??

I  TRIED  TO  BE  GOOD,  @howdisturbed- :
            
            they  are.    {  it's  something  mara  fears  she  can't  hide  when  klaus  is  about,   how  her  voice  softens  with  every  word  spoken  about  him.   since  finding  them  again,   the  idea  of  looking  away  in  disinterest  has  grown  pathetically  laughable.  }   made  me  feel  a  lot  more  welcome  than  the  others  did.   even  took  me  out  t' breakfast.   ( .. )   i  think  you'll  like  him.   
            
            *    true  friendship  is  clocking  each  other's  crushes ,, 

(  @deathsmaiden-  )
            
            klaus.  [  the brunette echoes, eyes lingering more on the way mara's attention seems quite transfixed on the aforementioned, than actually taking him in herself. she tilts her chin up in a curious acknowledgement. ]   i don't think i ever seen somebody quite so……   eccentric—-  i-in a good way. seems way less intimidatin' than the others.
            
            /  she clocked mara immediately just so yk…

(  @ideasorts-  )
            
            oh, thank you!   [  the brunette offers a smile, dipping her chin down to glance at her attire before offering a wave of her hand. ]    pretty name for a pretty girl. name's carolina—-  my friends call me cari. 's catchier.

I  TRIED  TO  BE  GOOD,  @howdisturbed- :
            
            the  day  i  met  them  was  their  dad's  funeral.   can't  say  i've  ever  seen  a  group  of  people  so  excited  to  dump  ashes.    {  with  a  small  scoff  mara  folds  her  arms,   watching  the  siblings  bicker  amongst  each  other  on  the  floor  below.  }    's  a  long  story.   five's  first  attempt  at  convincing  me  involved  gettin'  shot  in  the  lung.    ( .. )    he's  lucky  kris  was  there.    she  convinced  me  t'  tag  along  in  the  long  run.

(  @deathsmaiden-  )
            
            a ragtag bunch'a people, aren't they?   [  still half-dazed and unused to meeting new people, cari brushes off her nerves with a laugh and her hands sliding over her skirt. ]    how'd you end up in their circle?

*   you  should ,,  drop ,, 

— they moved to dallas and cari hated it here. she was biding her time, slowly forming an escape plan. she had no money to her name but she wasn't above getting some by illegal means. cari and beau got into an argument about children again, and cari began to crack. she began to snarl. he moved her away from home minutes after her mother's funeral. he had been nothing but cruel and dismissive towards her. she also knew he had grown suspiciously closer to their female neighbour and worked a few too many late nights to be trustworthy. in that fight, cari threw her wedding ring at him, and he put his hands on her again.
            — this time, cari retaliated. she remembered those lessons from a shadow in the bayou, to fight with her teeth and take no shit. cari fought with her teeth. she attacked and killed her husband in a ruthless, bloody, rage-infused attack. all of the grief, the years of too much labour, it all came out at once. when she came to her senses and fell into a state of panic, all cari could think of was wrapping her husband's body up in an old rug.
            — that's when they reunited. she saw mara dalcais standing in the doorway, the same as she was all those years ago. cari's violent escape would lead her to the hargreeves family and a whole bunch of time travel. but, it was better that than a manchild of a husband.

— her mother's health worsened in the following months, and cari completely shut down. she was just a vessel, going through each day grieving and loving her husband while he merely tolerated her. it felt like her mother's death was a looming cloud that was just waiting to downpour.
            — five days before cari's twenty-third birthday, her mother passed away. she had nothing left. after putting her mother in the ground, beau turned to cari and told her they'd be getting in a car and moving out to dallas. he argued that it was a fresh start away from all of the pain and trauma of new orleans. but cari loved new orleans, it was home, and she didn't want to go. but what did she have left? who was she to refuse her husband?

— cari held onto this wisdom long after she and her mother bid adieu to mara's hideaway in the swamps. cari quietly hoped she might be reunited with the woman she came to see as a big sister. but at the end of the day, she was always a mystery.
            — cari grew up and her mother grew sick. they couldn't afford any good healthcare, but at nineteen she met beau ridley. his father was conveniently, a doctor, and beau promised more years on her mother’s life if cari agreed to marry him. so, at nineteen years old, she did. a man she barely knew who treated her like a piece of arm candy. 
            — in beau’s house, cari walked on eggshells. it was hard to keep him happy, nothing she did was enough for him. but the treatment did work, her mother seemed to be getting better. between making sure her husband never lifted a finger and taking care of her mother, cari was stretched thin. she was tired.
            — at the age of twenty-one, she got pregnant. beau was ecstatic, talking of how excited he was to have a son  (yes, specifically a son). but the stress was too much for cari's body, and she suffered a miscarriage. and that was the first time beau put his hands on her.