• Type: Short story.
• Trigger Warning(s): None.
• Characters belong to: crimsonalloy.
• This is an excerpt. The full version can be found here.

The smell of macaroni and cheese fills the tidy apartment in the early evening hours, a radio in the kitchen blaring the country’s current top tracks while a young woman makes her way back and forth across the room. She’s currently in the process of drawing up a sketch; a machine she would build if somehow she ever ended up rich, and flits between the papers and the stove where two pans are bubbling away.

Blue eyes are fixated on the sketch, while cherry blossom-coloured hair that easily reaches her waist is pushed back over her shoulders to stop it from falling in the food. Two red bows are pinned in her hair, while some bangs fall in her face but don’t entirely cover her eyes. She wears a pink tank top and some baggy, black sweatpants with black and red socks poking out from underneath. Her regular boots are propped up beside the apartment’s front door, while her fingerless gloves are cast aside on the coffee table in the living room.

The two pots for the macaroni and the cheese sauce are simmering on the stove. Ariel has measured out enough pasta for both her and her housemate when he returns from class, giving them both a hearty meal. Speaking of which, he is already late coming home. He must have gotten sidetracked on the way back. At least that gives her time to cook the meal for the pair of them without needing to rush.

She reaches across to stir the sauce with a wooden spoon, using her free hand, whilst her second continues to hold the pencil. Her hips are swaying in time with the music, head nodding to the beat. Ariel wasn’t trying to dance but finds herself caught up by the melody, and due to being alone in the apartment, she feels like she has a chance to without the potentiality of being laughed at. She isn’t exactly the best at dancing, after all.

Being so distracted by her three tasks, Ariel doesn’t hear the front door as it clicks closed. Entering the apartment is her housemate, Cerule - a smartly dressed man in a blue three-quarter length jacket and a red bow tie, which matches nicely with his red eyes and blue hair. He wears white trousers and black, thigh-high boots, along with a pair of black gloves, though it isn’t particularly cold outside. He’s carrying a few shopping bags into the apartment - most of them from their local food store, but one stands out from the rest.

“Hello?” he calls, and though he gets no response from inside the house, Cerule can tell that someone is home from the smell of the food and the sound of the radio. Putting the bags down on the floor for a moment, he takes off his jacket and hangs it up before kicking off his boots - lining them up against the wall beside Ariel’s.

Retrieving the bags, he makes his way into the apartment, following the sounds of the radio. As he moves into the kitchen, Cerule is greeted by the sight of Ariel dancing. She’s moving back and forth between the stove and the countertop where her sketches are strewn about; oblivious to his arrival, she’s even begun to hum along softly to the music.

For a few moments, Cerule watches with an amused smile on his face. But when he finds that the bags are starting to feel heavier and heavier in his grip, he decides to clear his throat loudly and places all the bags - minus one - upon a free countertop. He puts the last one

• type: Character backstory.
• Trigger Warning(s): Minor character death.
• Characters belong to: Inquieta.
• This is an excerpt. The full version can be found here.

Jordan was born on June 6 in San Diego, California, USA, to parents Mark and Linda Frayne. He was given the middle name 'Skyler' in memory of a late cousin on his mother's side who passed before he was born.

Jordan had a normal childhood. His parents were loving and nurturing and provided him with everything he needed to thrive and grow confident in himself. His parents found their child drawn to musical toys and often saw him singing along to the radio or making up songs on his own. They encouraged this, along with his enjoyment of other artistic hobbies, and gave him all he needed to be creative as a child.

Mark worked as a builder, while Linda was an estate agent. This gave them a solid income, and they never needed anything. In fact, they often extended help to Mark's brother, Scott, and his wife, Cynthia, who found themselves struggling for money due to medical issues and poor employment opportunities.

Although this aunt and uncle lived in San Francisco, Jordan's family frequently got together for events and gatherings. Despite living in different cities, Jordan and his cousin Cory shared a close bond. Born just over a year apart, they were the perfect playmates. Their shared interests and similar appearances often led to them being mistaken for brothers, further strengthening their bond.

Jordan completed high school with average marks. Although he didn't fail any classes, he also didn't have outstanding grades, except for one subject: performing arts. He fronted several plays put on by the school, using his natural acting and singing talents to easily perform in front of crowds. Jordan even put together a couple of bands during his teenage years. However, none of them ever got anywhere—primarily because the other members were not as dedicated as he was to the projects.

He was well-liked by his peers and was one of the popular kids in high school. He had a lot of friends from all different scenes and walks of life and tried his best not to belittle or bully people like some of the other popular students did.

During his final years of high school, Jordan made a bold decision. He set his sights on Los Angeles, the 'capital' of the creative and performing industries. Inspired by the success stories of many celebrities, he was determined to carve his own path in the world of arts.

Convincing his cousin, Cory, to join him in LA, Jordan rented an apartment together in Santa Monica, and they attended the same college—though for different subjects. Jordan frequently encouraged Cory to pick up the bass guitar at home and play along to songs while he sang, despite the younger of the pair not being nearly as interested in music as Jordan was.

Although his parents supported him financially while in Los Angeles, Jordan often busked in the streets for extra money and enjoyed doing so. He enjoyed it so much that he quickly decided to attempt another band and asked Cory to join him in the adventure this time.

• Type: Character backstory.
• Trigger Warning(s): Minor character death, violence, supernatural creatures, werewolves.
• Characters belong to: Inquieta.
• This is an excerpt. The full version can be found here.

When he was old enough to work the bar, he became a firm favourite bartender of customers. He worked there for many years until he reached age 25 when everything changed for him.

One very early morning at that age, after the tavern had closed its doors, Enzo was taking the trash out back when he witnessed a man being attacked by a werewolf in the area behind the tavern. At first, he didn't believe his eyes, but then his mind kicked into gear, and he jumped in to try and rescue the man - despite being terrified of the creature. What he didn't know was that the man being attacked wasn't a regular civilian and was actually a monster hunter who had been taken off-guard by the werewolf.

Throwing the loaded trash container at the werewolf, Enzo did his best to try and scare the creature off - yelling and waving his arms. However, it turned on him instead and launched an attack. It managed to swipe Enzo across the face, barely missing his eye, before biting down on the arm Enzo used to try and protect himself with. Before the werewolf could do any more damage, the severely wounded monster hunter managed to shoot and kill the werewolf using a silver-tipped crossbow bolt, effectively saving the bartender's life. But before Enzo was able to get to the man, he fell unconscious and despite the town's best efforts, the monster hunter didn't make it.

This left Enzo with new questions, and despite attempting to return to everyday, civilian life, he found himself unable to. He quit his usual life a week later, and began researching into the world of supernatural creatures.

Eventually he tracks down a freelance monster hunter known as Gregor Oakley and begged them to employ him as an apprentice. They reluctantly agreed, and took him on under their wing. He began to learn more about supernatural creatures and monsters, and things were going well until the next full moon rolled around. Gregor hadn't begun teaching Enzo about werewolves yet, believing that he only needed to learn about the lesser creatures until he had proved he was capable of dealing with them. So, both Enzo and Gregor were taken off-guard, neither of them having realized that Enzo was afflicted until he involuntarily shifted in the middle of a job. Not being able to take on two supernatural creatures at the same time, Gregor was killed, and Enzo woke the next day in a new place without a semblance of a clue as to what had happened.

He returned to the area that he last remembered, only to find it cordoned off by town guards - Gregor having been part of a 'brutal wolf attack'. The scene made Enzo think back to the night behind the tavern, the injuries that the monster hunter had sustained, and the way that the werewolf shifted back into a human form after it had been killed. With a little more research, and the burning bite scar on his arm, he quickly connected the dots and figured out what had happened that night.

Not knowing what else to do, he begun trying to find methods to cure the curse, but came up blank. All he can come across are ways to potentially stop himself from transforming, and since then he wears a pressure point, silver bracelet that's inlaid with a moonstone on each wrist, as well as keeping a sachet of combined salt and dried wolfsbane on him in case the bracelets get damaged or otherwise fail him. He mostly keeps them and his bite scar hidden underneath long shirts and armour, and tells anyone that sees these things that the bracelets are for good luck, and that the bite mark was from accidentally angering a dog during his childhood years.

Since then, he began to verse himself in the world of monster hunting, teaching himself all he could about different monsters and creatures, and how to deal with them.

• TYPE: Character appearance.
• TRIGGER WARNING(S): None.
• CHARACTER BELONGS TO: Inquieta.
• This is an excerpt. The full version can be found here.

Evelyn's hair is naturally a dirty blonde and is thick and full in volume. She has let it grow down to just past her shoulders like her mother; her hair becoming slightly wavy like her father's. Usually, she lets it hang loose, but should she know she's going into a dangerous situation she will tie it back into a pony-tail.

While her hair colour more resembles that of her father's, her eyes are a light grey in colour - the spitting image of her mother's. In fact, all the members of her mother's side of the family share the same colour of eyes. Her teeth are mostly straight, and though one or two may be crooked, it's barely noticeable while she's talking. Her ears are slightly pointed thanks to her Half-Elf blood, though are nowhere near as prominent as that of a full Elf's.

Her skin tone is fair, and seems to always burn before lightly tanning when exposed to too much sunlight.

When it comes to body shape, Evelyn's would be classified as a mesomorph. This means she has a medium frame that's somewhat rectangular in shape, and she's more capable of putting on muscle than fat. She stands with an upright posture at 5'6", and weighs 135 lbs which puts her at the lower end of her ideal weight for her height and age.

Noticeably, she has a scar that crosses the lower right side of her jaw - almost reaching her lip. She has no tattoos or body modifications, however.

Typically Evelyn can be found wearing clothes that are dark in colour - a mixture of blacks and maroons, clearly following in the footsteps of her mother. In fact, the black and red cape that she dons once belonged to Helena when she was actively adventuring - meaning that it's somewhat tattered, with a number of rips, tears and holes that seem to have attempted to have been mended over the years.

Underneath the cape, she wears a set of fine, dark clothes. Mostly black, with red and gold accents. She wears black leather, lace-up boots that reach up to her shins.

While adventuring, she tends to wear a set of chain mail armor. It's lost its shine since being crafted and has plenty of scuffs and marks across it from a variety of different fights over the time that she's had it.

Her cape is held together with a pin that resembles the symbol of Tymora, and she can also be found wearing a necklace of a tiny rapier.

Two shortswords are sheathed at her belt at most times, along with a belt pouch and two small flasks for any potions that she may need. She also likes to keep two daggers tucked into her boots for emergencies.

• TYPE: Character appearance.
• TRIGGER WARNING(S): None.
• CHARACTER BELONGS TO: Inquieta.
• This is an excerpt. The full version can be found here.

Lori stands 5' 7" (170cm) tall and is at the lower end of the average weight for her height - even though she has a solid build. She stands upright without a slouch and has a somewhat rectangular-shaped body.

Her hair is naturally brunette, though it is bleached and dyed frequently to be a hot pink colour. It's cut messily - in the style of what some would consider being a 'wolf cut' - a mix of a shag haircut and a mullet, with shorter, choppy layers on the top and long, choppy layers around the sides and back, with it reaching to just above her shoulders.

Lori's eyes are hazel, and she has fair skin with no easily visible beauty marks, freckles, or scars.

She has frequented a piercing shop many times over the years. She has several ear piercings - including hoops in her lobes, studs in her upper lobe and tragus, and an industrial piercing in both ears. On top of this, she has a ring in her right nostril and lower left lip. Although she has many facial piercings, she has no tattoos.

Regarding makeup, Lori wears heavy black eyeliner and bright blue eyeshadow, along with a couple of pink streaks across her cheeks for the sake of it.

Typically, Lori wears a custom-made black studded leather jacket with fringes along the arms and inlaid with a leopard print pattern. It's a typical 'punk' jacket and probably is a little cliché for her, but she loves and wears it anyway. Underneath it, she sports a black and white abstract printed tank top.

To match, she wears some regular-fit black jeans, which are slightly washed out and splattered in a couple of places with white paint. Her jeans have several straps and a lace-up section on her upper right thigh, though it's merely for design.

As for footwear, she wears black steel-toed platform boots with numerous chains hanging from them.

Almost always, she also wears black leather studded, fingerless gloves and a multicoloured, red, white and black bandana tied around her neck along with several necklaces - including the necklace which grants her those powers. However, she tends to keep that one hidden underneath her shirt.