OC Based Horror! Blooberry/Sackofworms

[Sackofworms]

This will be where we do it!

[Sackofworms]

Christine stumbled through the brush, waving her hand at some frustratingly persistent mosquitos. She was trying to find her way to the town again, although she'd seemed to have taken a wrong turn at some point. Her last bit of her supply was dwindling, so she'd been trying to make it back to town to get some more. Her tangled curls bobbed as she stumbled through the brush, muttering quiet words of encouragement to herself as her feet and legs burned, ripped up by thorns and worn from hiking for hours, so eventually she sits down on an old stump, taking a moment to pluck thorns from her flesh and clothing. 

She heard branches cracking somewhere nearby, and as she looks around, she swears she saw a figure walking a bit away. She tilted her head, trying to distinguish if it was real, or just another hallucination. "Mgh... shouldn't have taken so much I guess." She said to herself, dropping her head to her hands to scrub at her eyes.

[blooberry]

Earnest stood stiffly with reverence and an almost guilty excitement to direct his weapon toward such a marvelous creature. It began grazing, showing off its long, slender, beautiful body, advertising just how well fed it'd keep a whole family. Oh, how he loved animals.

He listened to the hum of the leaves brushing against each other, and readying the weighted bowstring indenting his fingertips, took a deep breath. 

Fwoop.

Earnest released the arrow. Just before he noticed the mumbles of another person turning his fine cuisine into a month living off oatmeal. The arrow impaling a pile of rocks laughed at him. He turned to view the one bold enough to obtrude so far from town and ruin his meal. 

An unfamiliar face.

Earnest hoped to have remained unnoticed enough to bury his silhouette in the business of the foliage to observe her. Click. Earnest pressed the buttons of his camera with a delicacy that could construe his sadistic subtleties as the will of a Samaritan. 

He knows almost every face in town, and has stumbled upon so many living room portraits he's practically studied their family trees. But, she has the face of none of the nieces or aunties in those pictures, or of the secret lovers whose lust and infidelity are held secret in closet corners and compartments. Who are you?

[blooberry]

(lol wait is the text massive 4 u too)

[Sackofworms]

(It is lmao. Don't worry, I struggle a lot with the formatting too 😭)

[blooberry]

(lol whoops, ill sort that out)

[Sackofworms]

Chrissy startled, not unlike the very animals he usually hunted, shooting to her feet just to immediately crumple to the ground as her knees seemed to buckle. She let out a yelp, cursing loudly and looking around. "What? Hello? God don't smite me or something I can go back! Or are you an animal..." She rambled, looking around from the ground, her hair full of leaves and sticks. She didn't seem to notice Earnest immediately, pushing herself to her feet and catching her footing before taking off in an unsure walk again, looking around every step. "Jesus fuck I think this place is haunted... haunted by a... robot ... maybe." She joked quietly to herself, seeming to be making some halfhearted attempt to lighten her mood.

This face was certainly a new one. She wasn't from around here, and if that wasn't obvious from her unfamiliar face, it sure was by her wandering through the woods that were quite infamous. Her face is tan and littered with scratches, her hair, blonde curls, twisted and tangled with leaves and sticks. Her eyes were dark, dark and deep.

[blooberry]

Earnest flinched, but resolved to let the girl hit the ground as he argued with his cowardly incentive.

She’s so… naive. And intoxicated? Something about the way she clumsily announced herself makes Earnest believe those dirtied flyaways and micro-cuts were her own fault. He smiled.

She’s so… naive.

“This isn’t a place for a woman like you,” Earnest stood and proceeded toward her, choosing to speak with a softened tone of voice. Then, he remembered his manners, “Miss”. 

[Sackofworms]

Chrissy nearly jumped out of her skin with an audible yelp as the man speaks, and stopped in her tracks, turning to stare at him with wide eyes. Goosebumps prickle across her skin as she clears her throat. "...why the fuck are you in the woods."
she said slowly, rubbing her arm. 

"You following me? Are you a psychopath or something... following people around the woods ..." her words devolved into unintelligible grumblings as she shifted her weight, her legs shaking. 

[blooberry]

“No, no, it’s okay,” Earnest so slowly steps toward Chrissy, “You’re trespassing on hunting grounds, miss. I will have to personally escort you,” while lying through his teeth. Despite his softness, which is almost motherly, he doesn’t wait for her to permit his hand placing itself on her shoulder. His grip holds her upright as he familiarizes himself with her face, covered in muck and debris that he wipes away with his next hand. Earnest tries to ignore the rush of adrenaline that threatens his inhibitions, but it rises and pulsates after every passing second. It causes him to messily stifle the emotion in his next statement,

“Where do you live?”

[Sackofworms]

Chrissy cringes as he touches her, lightly shrugging against his hand before giving up rather quickly. She frowns at him, her pupils looking like flying saucers in her stark grey eyes. "I didn't see one sign. Your hunting grounds need better signage or something... they're supposed to have signs. Probably." She grumbles, looking to the side before looking back to Earnest, a small smile quirking the corner of her lips. 
"Oh, I live in the Beverly Hills, duh." She snorts, before looking away again, seeming awfully distracted by a squirrel a bit away, watching it skitter around before sighing. "Thats so goddamn cool..."

[blooberry]

(oh oh, i forgot to ask about the time period/location. just so i know chrissy's actually being sarcastic lol)

[Sackofworms]

(This takes place probably around the late 90's to early 2000's! I didn't really have a location in mind just somewhere out of the way really)

[blooberry]

Earnest’s face doesn’t budge. He’s stoic toward her humor, and almost disappointed in it. He finally sees she’s far too out of her mind for cooperation, and there’s not enough patience in Earnest to remain his own version of a gentleman. 

“I don’t want to have to hurt you,” He subtly references the rifle strapped to his shoulder, “It’d truly be tragic if another hunter out here did. You’re fragile, they won’t spare you”. Earnest does a slow once-over, lingering his gaze to take time to admire the scene before him. 
She’s even more disheveled up close and her expression looks like it doesn’t know what to do with itself. Earnest daydreams, for a moment, being able to clean her up, bathe her and have her find comfort in him. He imagined how adorable it’d be to see her all dolled up, excited to show him her new dress, and imagined how much of a safe space her intoxication would be for all the unorthodox interests of his. Like what’d he’d do if that sarcasm ever became a habit.

(Wait! I just reread the tidbit about Earnest you explained. Lost his wife in a hunting incident, might have been his own faultttt?? Bruh i missed that, he’s got some violent tendenciess)

[blooberry]

(LETS GOO, i'm approved)

[Sackofworms]

"I didn't say I wouldn't leave... jeez ..." Chrissy grumbles, looking back at him with an annoyed expression, her brows furrowed and her mouth screwed into a frown. "And I'm not fragile. Or a deer... probably wouldn't taste any good. Not even enough for a cheezeburger..." She pauses, looking suddenly thoughtful before recalling she was mid conversation.

"I can leave. I just came from that way." She gestures vaguely back the way she came. "... Didn't know this wasn't still just woods." She rolls her eyes a little, shifting on her feet before digging in one of the pockets of her skirt, grabbing out a smushed up, half melted chocolate bar, making a face, and proceeding to eat it nonetheless. "I was just trying to find Westyns, the town, y'know? I just think I took a wrong turn somewhere, I didn't even know there were hunting areas around here...
you just hunt deer? I like 'em, I've collected a pair of antlers, made em into a cool headband, but its too heavy, it just falls off."

She seems so incredibly capable of talking about every little thing that crosses her mind, it would be no surprise if she could hold a conversation with a wall. She probably would, judging by her... state.

(I was just about to say congrats!!    )

[blooberry]

(Sorry for no response! I been caught up recently. back on business doe)

[Sackofworms]

(That's alright! I just felt like my last reply was kinda lacking so I wanted to revamp it!   And believe me, I get it, lifes been a mess for me right now haha)

[blooberry]

"I didn't say I wouldn't leave... jeez ..." Chrissy grumbles, looking back at him with an annoyed expression, her brows furrowed and her mouth screwed into a frown. "And I'm not fragile. Or a deer... probably wouldn't taste any good. Not even enough for a cheezeburger..." She pauses, looking suddenly thoughtful before recalling she was mid conversation.

"I can leave. I just came from that way." She gestures vaguely back the way she came. "... Didn't know this wasn't still just woods." She rolls her eyes a little, shifting on her feet before digging in one of the pockets of her skirt, grabbing out a smushed up, half melted chocolate bar, making a face, and proceeding to eat it nonetheless. "I was just trying to find Westyns, the town, y'know? I just think I took a wrong turn somewhere, I didn't even know there were hunting areas around here...
you just hunt deer? I like 'em, I've collected a pair of antlers, made em into a cool headband, but its too heavy, it just falls off."

She seems so incredibly capable of talking about every little thing that crosses her mind, it would be no surprise if she could hold a conversation with a wall. She probably would, judging by her... state.

(I was just about to say congrats!!    )

Earnest's eyes squint, his back straightens and his fists tighten and loosen in restraint--he'll get nowhere if he reacts to that attitude. But, the pretty face he just contemplated seeing in a pretty dress, he thinks would be so beautiful lifeless on the forest floor. Disappointing. This was such an exciting catch.

All that tension is released, however, with an eyeroll as the girl begins her rambling.

"Westyn's?" He interrupts, "I'll take you there". Earnest grabs her wrist and begins walking swiftly through the forest. He treks through the opposite direction from where she vaguely gestured and through shrub, bushes and foliage. He's intentionally avoiding the main road.

(On that note, roleplaying is so interesting because there are so many paths you could take. I think I have to get used to pushing boundaries sometimes, especially with a character like Earnest).

[Sackofworms]

"Oh!" She stumbles along, trying to match his pace on her unsteady legs. "Did I not take a wrong turn then? I could've sworn I've never seen a hunting grounds." Chrissy shoves her hair out of her face, looking around at the mess of trees and brush, the branches and thorns catching at her legs and skirt, which causes an occasional huff, but she continues nonetheless.

She's silent for a few minutes, before she finds the silence unbearable, opening her mouth yet again. "Uhh... who are you, anyway? I've lived here forever and I've never seen you. I know like, everyone in Westyns but I've never seen you before. I know I'd remember your eyes. Very intense."

She peeks around him to look at his face, her wide pupils scrutinizing every feature, like she's trying to see into his brain to understand his thoughts. Her face is dirty, her eyes, green and heavy lidded, drowning in pupils wide as black holes. Her mouth quirks up in an inquisitive frown.

(I agree! It always an opportune time to adventure into new stories you wouldn't try! I hope to try some of that on here someday! Also, would it be okay if I draw an accompanying sketch for occasional replies? I can post them with my replies if you'd like or just keep them to myself!)

[blooberry]

This girl is truly convinced she's by some Westyns. Westyns... Westyns... That name is familiar. 

Earnest halts, and peers through the foliage to examine the main road. He shifts his head around to get a clear shot of the view in front of him, trying to ignore Chrissy's intense gaze, assuming it's merely part of the strange personality she's exhibited so far. But, the attention makes his brow twitch.

"You'd remember me? Are you sure about that?" Earnest does a double take somewhere off in the foliage. "Why don't you tell me more about you? It’ll certainly make this ride go faster,” The anxious swiftness that had Earnest shifting through the forest has transformed into a collective confidence. A charisma that extends itself to his body, as he now holds Chrissy’s hand in his without the firm grasp he used to force her through the forest. He’s walking, slowly, now conscious of the imperfect terrain that could cause her to slip.

“Just this way”. Earnest’s soft tone returned to him, and he cannot peel his eyes from that spot somewhere off in the foliage. 

(Go right ahead! I love a good picture book. Also, are there any details to keep in mind for the accuracy of your story? Like whether or not Westyns IS a town nearby? Or are you alright with me switching it up?)

[Sackofworms]

(I'm okay with whatever! If you have any cool ideas feel free to use them!)

Chrissy follows him at the calmer pace, finding it much easier to keep her footing as they treck through the wooded area. She tilts her head, letting out a quiet laugh, or maybe a cough, before speaking. "I remember like... everyone I meet. Mostly. Depends on..." she trails off, shaking her head before glancing around. "Uh... me, huh? Well... I'm Christine, I'm uh- oh, Anderson. Chrissy Anderson yeah. I'm... 22, I think. Haven't checked the date. Uh..."

Her prior confidence in her babbling seems gone, and the second she's trying to talk about herself she gets fidgety and much quieter. "I'm from Westyns... don't live there though. Live in the woods." she sighs quietly, following Earnest quietly for several awkward minutes before shaking herself out of her slump, looking over at him.

"What about you? You gotta have s'more interesting things to share. Who're you anyways? Maybe I'll know the name." She almost tugs a little at him hand, either trying halfheartedly to free her own or simply just to get his attention to her words rather than the foliage ahead where he stared.

[blooberry]

"Uh... me, huh? Well... I'm Christine, I'm uh- oh, Anderson. Chrissy Anderson yeah. I'm... 22, I think. Haven't checked the date. Uh..."

Christine Anderson. Christine Anderson. Christine, Christine. Anderson, Anderson... He fidgets with the name in his head, scanning for some memory--a pair of sneakers signed with her name on the midsole, a diary entry, some gossip over tea that contained the name. Nothing.

"I'm from Westyns... don't live there though. Live in the woods...What about you? You gotta have s'more interesting things to share. Who're you anyways? Maybe I'll know the name."

"You... live here?" Earnest is taken off guard by Christine's sudden compliance, and Ms. Anderson's solemnness. He glances through the busy leaves again, at the hikers ever-so-slowly making their way through the main path, intruding in his direction. He lowers his tone.

"Christine Anderson, I'm Bishop. Bishop Johnstone. I hunt". Another double take, this one filled with emotion; annoyance, regret, irritation. As if the two smiling to themselves disturbs him.

"I'll drive you to safety," Earnest points toward his green jeep resting on the other side of the main path, blocked by the couple's line of sight. "I can help you, I promise, if you'll trust me".

[Sackofworms]

"No, not here, different woods." Chrissy gestures even more vaguely, seeming to have lost any clue which direction she hailed from by now and not appearing to be very concerned about it. She looks thoughtful, pushing tangled curls from her face as she ponders in her head, before her mouth opens again.

"Bishop? Bishop... Bishop, Johnstone...? nope, nah- nothin'." She sighs, rubbing her eye with her free hand."Uh. Just Chrissy. Or Chris. Christy would be fine too." She shakes her head, taking a deep breath. "Uh... You hunt... cool. I do too but just like... plants. Whats that called? Foresting or something... I don't know." She shrugs. "Hm... you know uh... you know Pete? Or Elaine? Aoifa maybe?" She questions, peering in the foliage to try to meet what his eyes tracked so diligently.

"Oh.. a Jeep. That's cool. I've never been in one." Chrissy squints at the car ahead. "...are we far, then? From Westyns? I swear if I got lost again I'm gonna be so pissed, dude." She scowls at herself, sighing, before slowly reaching into her pocket until she stops herself, letting her hand drop. "Fuckin' Aoife..." she grumbles, seemingly thinking out loud. "... do you have any money I could borrow? Sorry, just figured I'd ask. You uhh... yeah."

[blooberry]

(lmao pls, chrissy's a chore. he should just haul her over his shoulder & get it over with. omg, he shoulda done that all along. i'm a beginner at kidnapping, you see. and maybe earnest too, that's why he's clumsy 😂)

"You.. Know them?" Earnest rolls his eyes and scoffs, wondering why he continues to ask the half-brain any questions. "I fear you're real far from Westyns, Chrissy".

Chrissy, Chrissy. Chrissy Anderson. Wait...

"Real far from Westyns". Earnest's posture straightens, and his brows furrow as he finally recognizes her name. "You're the runaway".