The Age of The Masrui

“And then we drop her off with her now legal grandparents and auntie or maybe her uncle for the night so we can get a decent sleep.” Tobias chuckled, kissing Tesni’s nose. “You’re officially her mama - not that you weren’t already with all you do for but now it’s solid and legaland Charlie can’t just show up and take her if she wanted to because she’s not hers anymore, she’s all ours… ours.”

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“Because I like a light meal?”

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“Maybe for most people… not for people who are broken so badly their jagged edges cut most people they come into contact with… not for a little bird with clipped wings.”

((Guy? I’ll post whenever you need me to))

(( I am ready whenever you are ))

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"I- yeah... yeah. Okay... ours."

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"Yes, exactly." Marlowe hummed cheerfully.

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"If people get cut then they aren't worth your time, your wings aren't clipped they're just made out of stronger stuff now. It takes time to learn with metal wings, but planes can do it so you can too."

Wren shook her head sadly. “Something broke inside me I’ve never been able to get back - I don’t think I can get it back. “The only time I feel less broken is with Willow and the others… or maybe it’s not less broken but they don’t care that I’m broken… Everyone else just wants me to get over it. Thinks I’m using it as an excuse and all that, attention seeking… the horses don’t give a shit.”

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“How do you feel? About all of this? Are you okay?”

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Altair rolled his eyes.

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((What situation you wanting / what’s the relationship like?))

(( I'm fine to wing it and roll with whatever. Sorry, gimme a minute my brother is on one again ))

((No worries!))

(( Yeah so it is up to you - this can be a good influence or a bad one, like drugs and stuff or cutsie. Or both? The only thing I was thinking is that they'd seen each other a few times so the intial footwork is there already ))

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"You're never going to be scary to me ever again now I know you choose to eat a salad over everything else on the menu. I can't let this go, I am sorry."

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"The people that matter won't give a shit either. If you want people to stop caring, to stop thinking it defines you then you need to stop with the broken stuff. If you don't want to be a victim then treat yourself like you aren't a victim."

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"I'm fine. I - I... I'm overwhelmed."

((We can wing it and see how it goes ))

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Robbie - a dark haired, dark eyed bar owner in his mid twenties - collapsed on his couch beside Elliot, handing him over a bottle of beer with the cap already taken off. “So you were saying something about your sister?” He hummed, settling his own bottle between his legs as he moved to tie half his wavy shoulder length hair up off his face before grabbing his bottle back up, turning the tv down whilst they talked. His apartment was clean and tidy, nicely furnished on the decent side of town - making a good living through the place he owned.

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“Me eating salad makes me less intimidating?”

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“You don’t understand what happened…” Wren shook her head. “You - you never will. I’m not just some poor little victim. I can’t help that what happened broke me the way it did… you’re just like everyone else telling me to suck it up.” She muttered, getting to her feet and going toward her horse.

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“What’s overwhelming?” Tobias asked gently. “Talk it through with me, it might help if you talk through”

"No, good overwhelming - not bad overwhelming." Tesni promised, leaning up to kiss him softly. "Only good. Lets go and get Elle ready? I'll get some bread for the ducks."

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"Yes, because you know what else eats salads - rabbits. Cute, little, fluffy bunnies. That is now how I see you." Marlowe hummed with a grin, "I'm going to buy you a key chain, I think. That'd be cute, it'd confuse people too."

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"Right, yeah. Okay then." Nathan groaned, moving to lay on his back and stare up at the tree canopy above without another word.

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"She thinks she can just call me out like that, and then make a joke about it." Elliot muttered, shaking his head in the negative as he had a few swigs of the beer. His gaze fixed in a glare on the television screen in front of them.

“Do you know how fucking traumatising it is not being able to fight someone off whilst they pin you down, hand over your mouth whilst you’re not in control of your body because there’s enough drugs in your system to take down an elephant?! Then after in the hospital, being offered pills that will kill any baby that might already be starting to exist?! But then having to take a pregnancy test a few weeks later just to make sure?! It being joked about at school. You’re the class slut for having sex first - people saying they’re jealous because you ‘swiped your v card’ in first?! I must’ve wanted it, how couldn’t I? He was popular and pretty so of course I really wanted to deep down but I regretted it after so I lied!” Wren snapped then, turning round as she shook. “You’ve not got a clue! It’s so easy for you on your high horse to roll your eyes at me being a victim but you haven’t got a clue!”

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“It’s clearly her way of saying she doesn’t care you’re not straight. It’s sweet she’s trying not to make a big deal out of it. She knows you’re not gonna want to come home to rainbow cupcakes or anything.” Robbie chuckled, wrapping his arm around Elliot’s shoulders.

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“You’re insane.”

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Tobias grinned, nodding before heading into Elle’s room to awake her from her nap and get her ready.

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“Call me back, dumbass. I’m sorry if you felt like I was pushing you…” Erin hissed down her phone to Elliott’s voicemail as she wandered round looking for him, having been to the usual spots already.

"How would I be around Levi's for so long if I wasn't insane?" Marlowe asked with a small shrug, taking a glass of rose when a waiter brought it over and having a few sips. Changing the subject after a moment, "I uh, told Ben we were here to discuss if Dane had gotten in touch to check on Maddox so, I should probably have an answer to that question before I head home - has he? Any update with all of that?"

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Tesni placed the letter down on the counter, taking a photo of it with her phone and sending it across to Karsi with the message: Can you watch your granddaughter tonight please? x

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Nathan just turned his head to the side to watch her as she spoke, letting out a slow breath through his nostrils before asking softly; "What is the correct response here? What do you need from me right now because you're right, I have no idea and I'm not a mind reader. I don't know what you want. I have no clue what you need."

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"Her not making a big deal out of it would of been better by not mentioning anything at all." Elliot huffed childishly, downing half of the bottle and leaning forward to place it on the side. "I don't like discussing it, I don't see any need in it - discussing it is like broadcasting it and broadcasting it just leaves me open to getting beaten for it."

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"Ah, Ri!" A stocky, balding man declared cheerily. Hand reaching out from an alleyway to grab a hold of her wrist and violently pull her into the shadows and push her against the wall. "You've been ignoring my calls, darlin'."

“I need people to just stop assuming it’s as easy as just not being a victim anymore. I need people to stop acting like I can just turn it off. Like being around men doesn’t make me feel sick and my heart race and my legs shake and my skin clammy and I wish to fucking God it didn’t because I want to be okay around people. You’re funny and you like my horse and I want to be okay around you and I am trying so goddamned hard but I can’t control how my body reacts! How it’s taken me months to not want to vomit when I’m alone with you and I know you’re gonna get all offended at that like everyone else does but I wish it wasn’t the case! Everyone keeps telling me to take back control but I don’t have any control! I can’t control it! I can’t just wake up one day and decide to stop being a victim and let go because my body won’t let go of it!” Wren shook, wiping furiously at her eyes to stop the tears from falling.

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“Dane says no. Not whilst River is so heavily pregnant and panicky and wanting him close. He says if Maddox can hit you he doesn’t trust him around River…”

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We would love to, congratulations baby, see you okay?x

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“I just think she wants you to know she knows and she accepts you as you are…” Robbie frowned, glancing over to him. “There’s no shame in it you know…”

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“I told you I’m not - I’m not doing that anymore.” Erin murmured, instantly trying to pull away. “I’ve retired”

(( My lecturers are still nagging me to make adjustments to my action plan when I literally made the adjustments they told me to do earlier so I am going to go to sleep and pretend I never read their emails Night night ))

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"No, no, no. Come on now. You don't get to retire, not just like that - you told me I was special, doll. You said real sweet things to me, you don't get to say that stuff to people and then ghost them. It is very rude." He tutted, grabbing a hold of her face roughly and moving her head to the side to look at her.

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"People need to realise he didn't hit me kind of hit me, just waved his arm around and I was stood there. It wasn't like - there was my face, a big ole target." Marlowe sighed, shaking his head. "If no one does it for me then I'm going to have to start checking in on him myself, Al."

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I'm okay. We're going to take her to feed the ducks and then we'll be over to drop her off. We can talk then x

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"I never said it was easy, you are putting words into my mouth now." Nathan sighed, shaking his head and getting to his feet - wandering over to his horse and putting the saddle back on. "I'm going to go, leave you to it. I think that is what you want but again, it's unclear and I can't quite tell."

“You were implying it was! With your whole just don’t be a victim fortune cookie wisdom shit!”

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I’ll see you soon, love you x

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“Okay so truth is I - I’m on antibiotics. For something that could be passed on you know?” Erin lied smoothly, trying to control her shaking. “I wouldn’t want you to catch it so… I’ll call you back up when I’m all STD free mm?”

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“He sees Faye. She can testify he’s alive and breathing can she not?”

((Night!))

"Okay! OK!  I'm going. Stop screaming at me." Nathan hissed, swinging himself up onto the horse and going to leave.

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Tesni smiled warmly, putting her phone in her bag and heading out of the room. Going straight into the kitchen to grab them a loaf of bread that was about to expire.

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"I-  yeah, she can." Marlowe admitted quietly.

(( New placement today. I may post in break if no one is social in this place if not, I'll post around 4 I imagine ))

((Good luck!))

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“You’re just gonna leave me out here on my own!” Wren hissed. “This was the plan all along wasnt it?! Get me to trust you then fucking abandon me!”

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“Someone’s grumpy.” Tobias chuckled as he followed her into the kitchen with Elle propped up in his arms, the baby scowling sleepily.

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“We’ll then there we go.”

"Come with me then," Nathan answered with a relaxed shrug. "You yell at people and they will make themselves scarce little bird. Why would I sit here to have you scream at me? I can't do anything, or say anything to calm you down right now."

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"She'll cheer up once she has seen the ducks, I am sure." Tesni laughed quietly. "The ducks make everything better."

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"Mm." Marlowe mumbled. "Just how is Faye meant to know what to look out for?"

“She’s not stupid.”

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“Stop painting me out to be unreasonable. I’m tired of everyone minimising every happened like it didn’t trash everything.”

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Elle brightened at the word ducks, leaning over to Tesni with her arms out.

"I've barely said a damn word to you! Scream at me once more and I won't be bothering to speak to you again, Wren. This isnt acceptable behaviour!" Nathan snapped then, losing his temper. "I am not your punching bag! Get on your horse so I can make sure you get home safe, would you?!"

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"See." Tesni grinned, reaching out to take her from him. "Is daddy saying mean things about you, hm?" [

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Marlowe shook her head.

Elle giggled, curling into her as she cooed quietly.

“Such a mommy girl.” Tobias rolled his eyes playfully.

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Wren put her helmet on before getting back up onto her horse without another word.

"Keep up," He muttered, getting onto his own and quickly in a gallop back toward the house.

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"How could I not be the favourite?" She laughed, heading our of the house and toward the park then.

Wren followed behind in silence.

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Tobias grabbed the baby bag before walking out after her.

Nathan loaded his horse into the trailer as soon as they arrived by at the King's, not saying another word to her.

Wren watched him once she turned out her own horse.

"I'd say thank you for the nice ride but..." Nathan shrugged, closing up the trailer and heading toward his car door.

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"Don't bullshit me." The guy hissed, hands gripping on Erin's lower arm as he went to flip her around so she would of been pinned face forward to the wall. "You aren't giving me what I want, then I am going to take it. Now you need to- fuck." he bit off with a flinch as a lit cigarette was pressed into the crook of his neck. Letting go of Erin with one arm to swing it around and catch the perpetrator with his knuckle.

"Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't do that." A tall, slim man with black hair; tattoos covering his arm and neck tutted dismissively as he expertly ducked out of the way. "You need to start treating ladies with more respect my friend, now let her go before I have to stop you, hm?"

“But it wasn’t worth your time, right?”

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Erin let out a small whimper as her head was smacked against the wall, closing her eye to stop the blood dripping into it. Struggling for just a few moments but having gone limp by the time the other man had arrived - accepting her fate and just willing it to be over quickly.