MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON Aug 5, 2023 22:46:36 GMT

They were supposed to come together for this mission. Topher frowned as he looked at his text messages and was left on read. It seemed their fight had been enough to make her shirk her duties too. He'd keep his mouth shut to Alphonse about it though. They were supposed to keep their whole partnership a secret, so what could he say? That they got into an argument because Topher got pissed that she had another partner? That this thing they had managed to develop into more than just a fling for Topher? That they were both jealous, selfish people? Well, Topher was at least. It left him feeling stupid as he sent another desperate text Camellia's way.

Look, I'm sorry, ok. Is that what you want me to say? I'll say it and mean it. I fucked up.

He continued to nurse his drink as he finally looked up at his phone to eye the target he was supposed to be tracking. The man to his side kept chatting him up, a former one-nighter, and Topher didn't even bother to pay the man the time of day. He wasn't interested, and he made that apparent. As he turned his head to watch the target, the man had slipped something into his drink. For once, he fell unaware and raised the drink to his lips.

And then the room started to sway.

He knew this feeling. It wasn't the first time he'd been drugged. Topher stumbled off of the bar stool and teetered a bit. One step at a time, he just needed to move. His feet felt weighed down as he staggered towards the bathroom. In the meantime he was all too eagerly followed by the man who had joined him at the bar. While he tried to get away, he stumbled over tables and chairs, unable to muster the strength to get up. So he did the next best thing and shoved a finger down his throat in an attempt to purge the drug from his system. Vomit spewed onto the tiled floor as he reached for his phone and desperately called the first contact that came up. Which was unfortunately still Camellia. Once she finally picked up, he spoke, slurred and out of sorts.

"Cam, you need to come fuckin' get me..."

If she somehow managed to understand him over the vomit and saliva-coated speech as he did his best to fight off the roofies. But it was too late for him as his body finally gave out. The man at the bar was all too eager to begin to drag him off.

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Camellia Lemaitre

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red

scarlet dove

she/her

January 21

Laverre City

bisexual

assassin

grunt

5'10" height

from the very beginning you have utterly failed to take action.

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POSTED ON Aug 6, 2023 2:03:15 GMT

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Camellia sat in her room, a window cracked as she huffed and puffed on cigarette number... well, honestly, she had no idea how many she'd lit at that point. Charred butts were extinguished and scattered across the ash tray, some laying abandoned on the floor as she stared ahead blankly at the TV.[break][break]

She was comprehending nothing as the news in Kalos went on and on. Her knees were pulled up to her chest as she leaned back against the bed, sitting on the floor seething.[break][break]

Why the hell was she still mad? That fight happened hours ago. It didn't fucking matter! And why was @topher so upset that she'd been sleeping with someone besides him? Wasn't that apart of their arrangement?[break][break]

They weren't a couple. There was nothing more than friends with benefits going on between them. This was stupid.[break][break]

A vibration went off on the floor, the screen of her phone lighting up with a message. Camellia's eyes drifted over, spotting his name on the message. She scoffed, rolling her eyes and refusing to even pick up her phone as she light another cigarette.[break][break]

However, moments later, her phone began to buzz again. This time, a phone call. TOPH 💦🍆 lit up the screen. Camellia let out an aggravated groan, snatching it from the ground and putting it to her ear.[break][break]

"What part of me ignoring your texts do you not understand—" she began to bark at him, only interrupted when she heard his slurs across the line.[break][break]

BEEP BEEP BEEP.[break][break]

That was enough to change her mind. In no time, Camellia was hunting down his location, the bar she was supposed to meet him at for their mission, and storming in like a mad bull.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@topher

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

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POSTED ON Aug 6, 2023 15:06:19 GMT

It came as no surprise that by the time Camellia reached Topher’s location, she could see his body dragged by an unfamiliar presence. The man flashed her an innocent smile as though he tried to play off his shenanigans. ”My buddy got a bit too drunk here is all.” But as he realized the fury in her eyes, he knew that he found himself between a rock and a hard place and know full well that Camellia wasn’t simply a passerby. He held his hands up as he dropped Topher’s leg, the fixer’s body limp as the limb fell against concrete with no resistance. The stranger fled, and fast. A shame Topher wasn’t awake to offer his fellow number any assistance in dragging his body anywhere but this God forsaken place.

—

It was hours before he even managed to stir. Topher sucked in a breath as his body jolted up, memory still good and foggy. But as he began to take in his surroundings, he realized one important factor: none of this seemed familiar to him. He searched for his phone, for his keys, anything that might have been on his person. Breath hitched as his mind raced to the worst possible conclusion: that yet again in his life, someone had managed to take advantage of him both physically and emotionally. His breaths became loud as he tried to ground himself. There was no use, he allowed his mind to tick further and further away from a logical standpoint. But moreso, he felt hurt that Onze – no, Camellia – couldn’t reach him in time.

Hands raised to his face as tears threatened to spill over. When would he learn that no one really, truly cared? That he was just another tool to be used? He felt disgusting, filthy, and ashamed. A process he always managed to feel after moments like this. It reminded him of where he came from, what he once was. No more than a helpless child. In a fit of frustration, he grabbed the lamp on the nightstand and sent it across the room.

A shame he didn’t smell the smoke that lingered just beyond the balcony. He would have had his answers then and there.

⚰︎ divider made by milky!
Camellia Lemaitre

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red

scarlet dove

she/her

January 21

Laverre City

bisexual

assassin

grunt

5'10" height

from the very beginning you have utterly failed to take action.

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POSTED ON Aug 6, 2023 17:38:09 GMT

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The man holding @topher had no idea what was coming for him. He'd messed with the wrong person and the wrong group. And since Camellia had rested her gaze on him...[break][break]

Well, now it would at least be simple enough for her to begin to track him down and pay for the crimes he'd committed.[break][break]

"I suggest you leave now before I decide to end you right here and now," the assassin growled, her hand beginning to drift to her hip. He didn't know what was there.[break][break]

And he'd live for another day, until she caught up to him.[break][break]

[break]

Dragging an unconscious body was definitely going to raise suspicions through the security cams in her apartment building. But Camellia had decided to take Topher there rather than her room at the REVOCS headquarters due to a few reasons: her room there was storage primarily. She valued her privacy.[break][break]

And she did not want to run into another number or Minuit and explain why she was carrying an unconscious and drugged Trois back to HQ.[break][break]

So she hacked into the security system to her building, removing the proof of her suspicious behavior and smoking another pack of cigarettes angrily. Camellia's blood was still boiling even after hours of the event happening.[break][break]

She gave Topher her bed, sitting on her balcony to avoid stinking the room, as she furiously typed to research that individual with him. Thinking of all the ways she could torture him and make him suffer before going to meet his maker. Until she heard stirring, and panicked breathing.[break][break]

Camellia almost left her cigarette burning, hastily putting it out as she hurried back to her bedroom. She found him, anxiously looking around and panicking, unable to find his phone and keys that were just inches away on the nightstand.[break][break]

"Topher, breathe. It's me. I'm here," she said softly as if he was a wounded animal, hesitantly to come and sit on the bed and touch his arm. Guilt flooded her, wiping away the anger that had been burning through her veins. "Se calmer. Je suis la (Calm down. I'm here). Camellia."

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@topher

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♡

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POSTED ON Aug 6, 2023 21:22:31 GMT

While typically Camellia's touch would have been a welcomed one, his state of panic heightened his senses to something akin to that of a cornered rat. He ripped his arm away as he quickly shuffled away on the bed. His mind wasn't completely there, and as he looked at her, all he could see was a ghost of the past. Breaths came out in panicked, choked gasps as post-traumatic stress overclocked his reactions. Chest heaved with even more desperate sobs as he couldn't even make out the figure anymore. His fear raised in a crescendo as he shouted at the figure.

"DON'T TOUCH M--!"

His words died in his throat as his brain finally registered her voice, but more importantly, her name. Chest still heaving for air, his expression sooned softened from its galvanized state. His throat felt dry, but his stomach felt like it was about to purge itself. Topher mustered the ability to swallow somehow, and coughed a bit as his body attempted to relax. Despite how he began to slowly calm down, he kept the distance between the two of them. Eyes closed to both help the sobs that racked his body subside as he lowered his head.

Silence other than the sniffles that racked his frame.

Topher gripped a bit at the blankets that barely covered his legs at this point. What could he say? Camellia had a front row seat at seeing him at his lowest. He hated this, he thought he buried those demons years ago. Why did he feel so disgusting? His chest burned as he began to slow his breathing, desperate for the gasps of air he'd taken before. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Topher broke the awkward silence.

"You came."

Somehow, those words sounded so deprived of hope. But even moreso, they sounded more like a question. But the question that he really wanted to ask was simple: why? He finally lifted his head and spoke again.

"Where are we?"

⚰︎ divider made by milky!
Camellia Lemaitre

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played by

red

scarlet dove

she/her

January 21

Laverre City

bisexual

assassin

grunt

5'10" height

from the very beginning you have utterly failed to take action.

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TAG WITH @camellia

POSTED ON Aug 6, 2023 21:39:33 GMT

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Camellia flinched, pulling her hand back like she'd touched fire. It wasn't like someone, anyone, to startle her and bring so much shame and fear in her heart.[break][break]

Seeing @topher sobbing and looking at her like she was some sort of monster, even if she wasn't the one his fear was directed to, made her blood run cold. Truly, she had no idea what to do but sit back, offering him space as she scooted to the foot of the bed.[break][break]

And while he took his time to calm down, she didn't look at him. Camellia was silent, her small hunting knife coming in her hands to dig under her nails idly to give her something to do. Because she couldn't stand just sitting there in silence.[break][break]

Her teeth bit into her cheek, perhaps a bit aggressively as she tasted a metallic tang on her tongue. "I did."[break][break]

Her gaze looked over her blade, down to the wooden handle. She didn't know how to navigate this. And with his reaction to her earlier... she wasn't sure she wanted to find out how to navigate it.[break][break]

"My apartment. I was letting you sleep it off while I took care of a few things," Camellia mumbled, flipping the blade back against the handle, shutting it. She tossed it to the floor, leaning against the wall her bed was pressed against while remaining at the very end.[break][break]

Still refusing to make eye contact.[break][break]

"Do you want some water?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@topher

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notes

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POSTED ON Aug 7, 2023 20:26:46 GMT

"Yeah, please."

His voice fell soft, like that of a child who knew he had done something wrong. Topher sucked a breath in and closed his eyes. His head was pounding from just a bit of everything. He still felt sore from the way his body had crumpled to the ground, and the added stress piled on top of everything just made his head feel like it was about to explode. Once Camellia came back, he offered another quiet thanks as he took the bottle and began to down nearly half of it right off the bat.

He owed her an explanation, at the very least. She deserved that, right? His hand tightened around the half-emptied bottle and crinkled it a bit. Where did he even want to begin? Topher finally looked over at her, bold enough to finally meet her eyes for what seemed like hours.

"It's not the first time that's happened," he stated flatly. "I don't want to burden you with the details yet, but..."

A pause in his words. A moment of hesitation, but he steeled himself.

"Maybe that's why I'm like this, why I set myself up for disappointment and hate myself for it later. Why I feel filthy and disgusting."

Topher kept his hands to himself, still not ready to reach out yet physically. His mind was still reeling itself in, and he didn't want to force himself through something he wasn't ready for in that moment in time. Though eventually his eyes softened.

"But you help me forget, even if it's just for a moment. Maybe I'm just afraid that you'll forget me."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!
Camellia Lemaitre

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played by

red

scarlet dove

she/her

January 21

Laverre City

bisexual

assassin

grunt

5'10" height

from the very beginning you have utterly failed to take action.

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196 posts

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TAG WITH @camellia

POSTED ON Aug 7, 2023 21:23:13 GMT

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Camellia was gone as soon as he said yes, at his beck and call. And in a matter of moments, she returned with the water. She sat back on the bed as he drank, though this time she was a little bit closer to him. She still gave him his space, but there wasn't as much distance this time.[break][break]

She sat with her legs crossed, allowing him to take his time. Though, she began to interrupt him. "Topher, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. You don't owe me any explanation," she insisted, her gaze coming to fall on him.[break][break]

This wasn't the man she knew. He seemed so broken and defeated. Whatever he'd gone through before, as he continued on to speak to her, it affected him deeply to this day. And it hurt Camellia to see him like that.[break][break]

There was also a pit of anger blossoming in her chest again. Now, she was absolutely determined to kill that man at the bar.[break][break]

There was a sigh through her nose, and her eyes trailed back to the balcony. She could hear birds chirping outside, a few Pokemon making noises on the ground below. As if nothing happened. She placed her hand closer to him, not touching him but a silent offer if he wanted to take it.[break][break]

"I'm not good at this... comforting people or making them feel better. I've been trained to destroy and kill. That's what I'm good at doing." How many times had she broken someone's heart because they'd fallen for her, and she didn't feel the same way?[break][break]

Topher was different. She just didn't know how to convey that.[break][break]

"I won't forget you, Toph. I'm sorry I hurt you. And ignored you. If I was there, this wouldn't have happened." Camellia paused, swallowing her pride. "You and I are partners, and I should've been there, despite our disagreement."[break][break]

She leaned back, her head hitting the wall. "What are we?" she echoed a question that he'd once asked.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]@topher

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POSTED ON Aug 7, 2023 23:45:18 GMT

The question struck a different chord this time around. What were they indeed. His eyes left her momentarily as he felt the smallest dip in the bed. With her hand extended, it seemed much more enticing. She offered him the opportunity to make contact this time around. And somehow, it helped ease him. He had a say in the matter for once. A hand reached out to her own, slowly but surely as he finally dared to move closer. It was a hard leap of faith, but he knew he had something waiting to catch him down at the bottom this time around.

"I think the answer is so simple that we never thought of it in the first place," he attempted to extrapolate. "Us. Plain and simple: we're just us."

What did that 'us' mean? By the tone of his voice, he didn't insinuate on anything. Topher finally dared to look up at her, but this time his eyes seemed to train on her lips. They seemed so warm, so welcoming, and so enticing. He felt himself inch forward, but soon came to a halt. What if it wasn't something Camellia wanted? It wasn't long before he took a deep breath and simply settled to rest his forehead against her own. Despite everything, he tried to seek comfort in the only way he really knew how.

But it felt so wrong to crave something he never really thought he could have. He took a shaky breath in and squeezed her hand for a sense of reassurance.

"Stay with me, just a little bit longer."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!
Camellia Lemaitre

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scarlet dove

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January 21

Laverre City

bisexual

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grunt

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from the very beginning you have utterly failed to take action.

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