"wait...you're Serious?" Salem Whispered Before Looking Around For A Moment; There Weren't Any Other

it had been a full week since salem arrived into town. she'd been keeping busy exploring around the various shops and bars, the possibility of running into her ex leon looming over her head in the process. tonight she found herself at los fantasmas, a bar she'd become fond of in her short time here. after spending a good chunk of the night drinking with a few locals she finally mustered up the courage to see leon. she thought about calling him or texting him that she was in town but wasn't hopeful she'd get a response. in his defense though the breakup was pretty bad, she probably wouldn't wanna talk to herself either. in the cab ride over her nerves started to get the best of her and the possibility of leon rejecting her at the door crept into her mind. after stumbling out of the cab and arriving at his door she knocked twice and looked around while she waited for a response. what if he wasn't home? was this a mistake? she thought to herself and not a moment sooner she was surprised as leon opened the door. "um well..." she said stuttering a bit at his response. "i was just casually in the country and thought i'd pop by and say hey." slurring her words a bit as she nervously looked down at the ground.

ten pm. leon sits on the balcony of his godmother's apartment. he faces the ocean and looks at some notes he's written on his phone. mostly lyric ideas. he puts out a half-smoked cigarette when he hears the doorbell. who could it be? he's not expecting anyone. unless it's drew, he probably got accidentally too high again. when leon opens the door, he's surprised to see salem. the woman who broke his heart stands in front of him and it takes him a moment to react. "what are you doing here?" he finally asks.

@cybermuses

salem let out a small chuckle at her response. with all the hand made pottery and jewelry it was understandable to feel a little cautious. "i'm sure you're not that clumsy. but if this isn't really your speed we can do something else maybe? i just thought this would have something for everyone." still being very new to the area meant salem had so much more to explore which made her open to other people's interests and it was nice to be able to make new friends in a different scene. it was a good distraction for her anyways. "seriously i'm open to anything. birdie convinced me to let them teach me about dungeons and dragons and we spent hours the other day playing. at this point in my life im very easily influenced." she said jokingly.

in  all  honesty,  there's  still  quite  a  few  places  aviva  hasn't  explored  yet.  between  working,  and  trying  to  make  sure  her  life  doesn't  implode,  making  sure  birdie  doesn't  kill  anymore  innocent  plants,  or  that  charlie  isn't  rearing  his  big  forhead  back  into  her  life  (  more  on  that  later  )  ,  it's  been  a  bit  difficult  to  go  out  and  do  things.  an  eyebrow  raises  slightly  at  the  sight  of  the  bag.  if  she  was  braver,  she'd  be  able  to  do  the  same  —  but  also,  as  silly  as  it  sounds,  she  doesn't  want  to  intrude  on  her  cousins  house.  it's,  like,  a  respect  thing,  she's  sure.  "i  just  —  i  dunno,  i'm  really  picky,  you  know?"  kind  of.  "and  i'm  afraid  if  i  touch  anything,  it'll  break.  bull  in  a  china  shop  deal,  you  know?"

salem cleared some space on the table for him and shook her head. "you weren't interrupting at all! i'm never going to say no to having someone keep me company." she replied with a reassuring smile. "a true artist? that's new....i've never gotten that before but i'll take it." she let out a small chuckle. her definition of a true artist was someone like her personal hero stevie nicks. "not so much a masterpiece, more so a recording schedule and a lot of boring details i have to jot down for this album. i did start writing a song earlier though so i guess we can call that little bit a masterpiece." salem closed the journal to focus on the other. she'd seen taj around before and knew of him but never really had the chance to actually interact with him. "i'm salem by the way. but besides the smoothie what have you been up to so far today? "

taj had hardly left the house in general anyway. between training for his fights as if he was about to be the next coming of rocky by getting up at 2AM and jogging to crashing around 12PM midday for only 1hour close to 2, taj didn't have the most steady of sleep schedules. it was a big part of why he didn't have many friends since moving three years ago. he made the best of his off days, when he knew he didn't have any fights scheduled and tore away from his two bedroom apartment in spite of temptation. he had ended up wondering about almost like a little puppy in search of adventure and found himself at casablnca blooms and coffee. he was actually trying not to be too obvious glancing towards the beauty in the corner just scribbling away in her notepad. he was so bad at approaching people that if she hadn't suggested for him to join her, he probably would've missed the opportunity. taj was a lot of things, shy was around the 20th of them. he got up trying to remain casual and seem not to eager that someone had noticed him instead of blending in with the dozens of faces. the smoothie in his right hand, he slid into the booth across from her. "I didn't want to interrupt a true artist at her work," he smiled nodding at her journal. "creating a masterpiece in there?"

kianalede: Somebody fix my strap pls

to say salem was surprised when rohan offered to give her a ride from the airport would be an understatement. the two weren’t exactly best friends ( and the thought that they were becoming friends made her shudder a bit ) but salem had a theory that he was trying to worm his way into getting one of those vintage guitars they spoke of. with her bags in hand she made her way to the pick up area and eyed rohan with his book in hand. “pretending to read at the airport to pick up girls is wild.” she said while approaching the other. the two didn’t really know how to have a normal conversation that didn’t invole insulting one another. salem rolled her eyes at his comment as she placed her bags down next to her. maybe taking an uber would have been a better idea. “i don’t always look judgemental, you just do a really great job at irritating me. you think your face was the first one i wanted to see after a ten hour flight?” she replied matter of factly as she made her way to the backseat window to quickly peak in at stevie who she missed terribly. “be gentle with my luggage, it costs more than your little boat by the way.” her hand gensturing towards the bags while turning back to face rohan. 

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closed  starter  for  SALEM  (  @cybermuses  ) location  :  airport  ?  ✈️

-ˋˏ ‏‏‎ ‎꒰ ‏‏‎ ‎🐚 ‏‏‎ ‎꒱‏‏‎ ‎ ──‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎the  sound  of  luggage  wheels  on  the  pavement  causes  rohan  to  look  up  from  where  he's  leaning  against  his  truck,  and  almost  immediately  he  snaps  the  worn  paperback  in  his  hands  shut,  tucking  it  under  his  arm.  he's  not  a  bad  person,  see.  rohan's  world  runs  on  favours  ;  he  might  have  sworn  off  the  idea  of  personal  friendships,  but  favours  ?  he  could  argue  to  himself  that  favours  were  simply  an  investment  in  good  will  because  he  might  need  to  cash  them  in  one  day──‏‏‎   even  if  he  had  to  be  delusional  to  think  that  it  wasn't  obvious  he  had developed something bordering on friendship with the woman  who  had,  if  you  asked  him,  kidnapped  his  cat  into  forced  marriage.  "  sorry,  i'm  not  doing  charity  work  ;  the  taxis  are  over  there,  "  he  informs  her  playfully  (  or,  as  playful  as  rohan  can  get  )  gesturing  her  away.  it's  the  closest  to  a  real  greeting  salem  is  going  to  get,  even  if  he  was  the  one  to  offer  to  pick  her  up  in  the  first  place.  "  i'm  waiting  for  someone.  you  might  have  seen  her  ?  about  this  tall──‏‏‎   "  he  holds  his  palm  flat  in  the  air  in  front  of  him,  "  ──‏‏‎ curly  hair,  always  has  this  look  on  her  face  like  she's  judging  you.  .  .  ?  her  cat  is  in  my  car  and,  much  like  her,  has  an  attitude  problem.  "

salem gave iris a reassuring nod before pushing a few things on the table aside to make room for the other to set her things down. "of course i'm sure! i need to be around people anyways plus i would love the company." she said with a smile. "you're actually the first familiar face i've seen all day if you can believe it." salem had seen iris around town and made conversation in passing but still hadn't gotten a chance to really speak to her or check out the infamous quilpué zoo for that matter. "is your hand okay by the way?" she asked with a bit of concern after eyeing the bandage. "i'm sure handling animals all day poses great risks. hopefully you weren't mauled by a tiger or something."

iris had spent most of her time with... animals. which made great company, at least so she thought, but it wasn't the same as connecting with people. she had been having a hard couple of months, which fuelled her into taking more hours at work with her practice and ignoring everyone else in favour of animals. she had just gotten done with a doctors appointment, her hand slightly mauled by a cat and it was just a precaution to see the doctor but everything was fine and she couldn't even blame the cat for acting out -- it was all just part of the job. now that she was at the cafe she desperately needed some kind of caffeine after her shift. it used to be like this when she was in school, getting a coffee before, and getting a coffee after just to keep her head up. when she gets her cup of iced coffee she has her ipad in hand to do some charting but realizes there's not many spaces left until she eyes salem, and she looks behind her to see if she's talking to anyone else before cautiously making her way over towards the other woman and gently sitting down in the chair. "are you sure?" she asks, "i just wasn't sure if you were talking to me or not. but i'd love to sit with you, of course."

🎈 BALLOON — what is something you've created and/or accomplished recently that you're proud of?

🖤 BLACK HEART — what would you say is the darkest thought you've ever experienced? what do you think caused you to have that thought? have you ever planned on or fantasized about acting on it?

🏹 BOW AND ARROW — if there's something from your past that you'd give anything to go back in time and redo, what is it?

💔 BROKEN HEART — is there anyone in your life you wish you had a better relationship with? if so, how come? what makes this person important to you?

🎄 CHRISTMAS TREE — what is your favorite holiday and why?

🎈🏹 answered here!

🖤 BLACK HEART — what would you say is the darkest thought you've ever experienced? what do you think caused you to have that thought? have you ever planned on or fantasized about acting on it?

"that's crazy, next question?"

💔 BROKEN HEART — is there anyone in your life you wish you had a better relationship with? if so, how come? what makes this person important to you?

"myself definitely. being picked apart about everything little thing for so long does a lot to a person's confidence. being on tv has damn near done irreversible damage to how i perceive myself. i'm trying really hard to be kinder and more patient with myself though."

🎄 CHRISTMAS TREE — what is your favorite holiday and why?

"halloween! i always try to be back in new orleans around that time because the atmosphere is absolutely insane in the best way. i would love to throw a giant halloween party at some point."

salem didn't expect luna to be so upset about parting ways with stevie after a month of being together. she loved that luna enjoyed their time cat sitting and the sadness her friend felt about having to bring stevie back home gave her reassurance that it wasn't too much of a bother for luna. "you can have her anytime you want for sleepovers! she loves you, i think she's secretly disappointed i'm back home so soon. hopefully drew didn't sneak her any gummy worms." salem teased while stevie climbed into her lap. it wouldn't be the first custody agreement she had with someone else and a cat after all. "you know i'm forever grateful that you were able to do this for me by the way?" pausing for a moment she picked up the gift bag she made for while she was in la that consisted of a couple of souvenirs from the museum of death in hollywood. a black dahlia enamel pin and a hoodie with a bed of skulls printed on it might be morbid for some, but for luna she knew it would be perfect. "which is why i got you some presents for being such a huge help." a smile stretched across her lips as she handed the bag over to her friend.

status / closed , ( @cybermuses ) location / salem's place !

               despite   the   month   luna   had   spent   with   stevie,   there   was   still   an   ache   in   their   heart   knowing   when   they   left   salem's   apartment   the   cat   wouldn't   be   coming   with   her.   it   was   enough   to   bring   tears   to   their   eyes   as   they   sat   on   the   floor   watching   salem   reunite   with   her   daughter.   crying   because   she   was   happy   salem   and   stevie   looked   so   at pace to   have   each   other   again,   but   also   crying   because   when   they   would   go   to   sleep   that   night,   there   would   be   one   less   kitty   keeping   her   and   drew   company.   "   do   you   think   i   could   take   her   on   weekends   ?   "   luna   questioned,   wiping   her   tears   for   the   fourth   time.   "   i'm   kidding.   "   the   laugh   was   forced.   "   no   i'm   not.   we   could   work   out   a   schedule   ?   "   a   sniffle   later   and   she   was   shaking   their   head.   "   no,   i'm   sorry.   i'm   being   insensitive.   "

salem wasn't sure what hiyori meant when she asked if she'd be open to an adventure in the woods but salem rarely said no to a spontaneous adventure. when the two ended up foraging in the woods with the foodies club, not even salem could have predicted that on her bingo card for the day. "you got the berries right because they're yellow," crouching down to examine them a little better. "i know for a fact most yellow, green and white berries are poisonous." she could explain why she knew that but telling people she spent a lot of time in the woods ( doing witchcraft with her friends ) as a teenager wasn't something you just sprinkle into conversation. "the mushrooms however are kinda tricky but i usually just play it safe and say they're poisonous if they're white in color or have those little bumps on them. your theory would be a cool story idea though."

( open ! ) starter location -> jardín botánico, foraging with the foodies club.

crouching down in front of a winter bush of unidentifiable berries, right beside a clump of oddly shaped, white mushrooms, hiyori sets her chin in her hands. "i'm a little concerned," she starts, "that the berries are poisonous and the mushrooms will transform us into monsters that the government will then hunt us down to experiment on." she sighs. "this is all i've got," she says, showing the other her pretty woven basket, laid with a checkered cloth, on top of which were a handful of leaves and flowers. she's surprised there's life at all in the cold chilean winter, but she's not surprised as how she was daydreaming in the middle of the explanation of what was okay to forage and what should be left alone. "i feel like i'm going to fail the pop quiz," she remarks. "what did you get?"

KIANA LEDÉ via instagram