RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on Oct 30, 2022 17:05:02 GMT
 Closing the textbook, Riley shoved it back into his bag. He ground his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, trying to rub away the gritty feeling that always came from spending too long with his head in a book. Over the last couple of years Danny had been there to drag his head out of them. He’d always been glad enough to shove them aside for a while. School wasn’t the most important thing in his life anymore. He had Danny, the pack, even his parents as they’d slowly seemed to start changing. Mystic Falls might’ve been the sort of place to take a lot from people, but it had also given him more than he’d ever expected.
A quick glance at his watch showed that Danny was late. Just a few minutes, but even that wasn’t like him. Maybe his hangout with Scott and the others had gone a little long, although he was pretty sure they’d had classes to head to. Riley fished his phone out of his pocket, lighting up the screen to see if he had any messages – nothing. It was only a couple of minutes. By now Danny was probably jogging across campus, figuring it would only be a couple of minutes. The apologies would come as he came around the corner by the food truck, all smiles, so easy to forgive.
Riley zipped his bag up and stood. It wasn’t impatience, he hadn’t inherited that from his mom, thank God, just that first shiver of nerves that he needed to ignore. The brand had been on Danny’s stomach for months and nothing had happened yet. There was a ticking clock on it, Danny had assured them of that, but with each passing week he’d allowed himself to believe a little more that this curse wasn’t going to come true.
Blue eyes flicked from path to path in this corner of campus. No running figures, no sign of Danny. The shiver grew just enough that he started to move restlessly. A glance at his watch. Closing in on ten minutes now. Those alarm bells were ringing harder now. It was probably nothing, he was worrying for absolutely no reason here. He pulled his phone back out, shot Danny a text, then Scott. One of them would answer and he’d feel like a complete idiot for panicking in the first place.
He started to pace in front of the food truck, ignoring the looks from the others queueing up to grab lunch before they had to rush off to afternoon classes. Each second that passed felt like a year, the five minutes he gave it before he checked his phone again, like he wouldn’t have heard the ping as a message came in an eternity.
Nothing.
Alright, now he was allowed to panic. He knew the others had when they’d realised he’d gone missing. They’d searched for days before they’d ended up at the quarry, just in time to see. Nope. No. That wasn’t happening here. He’d sworn that he was going to find some way to save Danny from this, that he wouldn’t lose him and he was holding onto that hope.
With worry biting at his gut, he started down the path in the direction of the dorms. Surely he was going to run into Danny coming in the other direction. A dead phone battery, that was all. His footsteps sped up as he headed in that direction and he had to haul himself to a stop when he almost ran past Ben. He wasn’t from Beacon Hills like the others, but with all that had happened in town it was like those little knots of friends had all started to merge together. ”Hey, Ben!” Grabbing his arm, he tugged him to a stop. ”Have you seen Danny? We were meant to meet for lunch, but he hasn’t shown.” It was just panic, born of the dread of the thing that was coming, but it had bitten hard enough today to become a terror Riley couldn’t shrug off.
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BEN WINCHESTER
Hunter
Special Child
Posts: 310
Age:
22
Status:
Single
Played by:
Emma
Last seen Oct 24, 2024 23:32:20 GMT
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Post by BEN WINCHESTER on Mar 22, 2023 23:10:58 GMT
 Time seemed to be flying by right now and Ben wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. It had been years since he had arrived in Mystic Falls and found his dad and ever since then he had been doing his best to have some balance between hunting and living a normal life. It wasn’t always easy but it was important to Ben. He had become a hunter after he and his mom were attacked and his mom was killed and he didn’t regret that one bit but dying the day that he saved Brooke and being brought back had made him realise that he didn’t want to miss out on all of the experiences that other people his age got to have either. He wanted to do both and that might sound selfish but it was the truth. He’d had to enrol in school when he arrived in town so he didn’t draw any unwanted attention to himself but now he was working his way through college because he had decided that he’d wanted to further his education and spend some time with his friends at the same time. Before Mystic Falls he had befriended other hunters and there were a few people he had encountered along the way who were around his age that he had ended up becoming close to but otherwise he had been on his own for the most part. Now he had plenty of people around that he cared about and Ben knew that he wouldn’t have it any other way. Focusing on school was easier when he hunted in his spare time because he knew that he was still helping others. Ben knew that there were other hunters in town but he didn’t want to leave it all to them. Hunting was something that he was good at but Ben knew that he wanted to be more than that. He wanted to have a career outside of hunting as well so he was doing his best to make that happen. Before his mom died he had enjoyed school but he had taken a break for years while he was trying to track down his dad and his mom’s killer. It had taken him a long time to get caught up but Danny had helped him and so had Stefan and he was beyond grateful to both of them for that. He knew that he might not have formed some of the friendships that he had done if he hadn’t stayed in school and Ben didn’t even want to think about that. Making his way across campus, he came to a stop as someone caught hold of his arm and he was surprised to find that it was Riley. “Hey Riley, is everything okay?” he asked. There was a time when Ben had felt like a bit of an outsider but over the years he had befriended some of the kids who grew up in Mystic Falls and some from Beacon Hills so by now he knew most of them pretty well and right now he could tell that Riley was worried about something. It didn’t take long for him to reveal what that was and Ben shook his head. “No I haven’t but I can help you look if you like,” he offered. He knew about the curse and he had been trying to find a way to break it but so far he kept drawing a blank and he knew that it was the same for all of them. “Have you tried calling him?”RILEY PARKER
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RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on Apr 8, 2023 16:45:09 GMT
For months Riley had tried to avoid listening to that tick-tick-tick of the clock in his head that was counting down the days he had left with Danny. It wouldn’t have done Danny any good to look at him and constantly see that fear that he was about to lose him in his eyes. They were filling their days with what they could, spending as much time as they could together, building the sort of memories the two of them could hold onto afterwards. It hadn’t been easy, that noise was a constant companion, driving him crazy while he slept, leaving him waking in a cold sweat some nights, reaching out across the bed to reassure himself that Danny was still there, still breathing. Now it was deafening him, pounding in his ears along with his pounding heartbeat.
Was this what it had been like for Danny on the night he’d disappeared? That anticipation of him showing up, minutes counted down until it started to becoming strange that he hadn’t showed. Phone calls and texts unanswered, that desperate search of the streets that would’ve turned up nothing because he was already in a cave with a baby vampire. Maybe if Scott had answered him the panic would’ve bled away but left alone with it Riley had every worst case scenario running through his mind. What was the last thing he’d said to Danny? Had he told him he loved him before they’d parted way for morning classes?
The questions were like bee stings to the brain as he broke into a jog. His still silent phone was clutched in his hand, his gaze sweeping the path in front of him, lingering on every knot of people he passed on the way. Nobody he knew, no Danny, no Scott, not even a glimpse of Stiles, who’d surely known how to knock his brain off of this vicious loop he’d got himself caught up in. It was getting harder to breathe, panic setting in so deep that he almost choked when it finally registered that he’d almost run straight past Ben.
Riley skidded to a stop, tugging at Ben’s arm to reel him in. He wanted to lean over, plant his hands on his thighs and breathe all this panic out, the way he’d once have caught his breath during gym. Now he could physically withstand almost anything but this was possibly more than he could handle emotionally. ”I don’t think so,” he admitted as he straightened up to look at him. That burn was already pricking at the backs of his eyes. They’d spread word of what was to come among their groups of friends, hoping that maybe someone would figure out a way to break this curse. He didn’t have to choke the words out to Ben.
He swallowed hard, nodding at Ben’s offer. Looking was what he needed to do. If this was just him panicking prematurely then Danny would still be heading towards where they’d been, they could stay on that path, run into him part way, laugh all of this off. ”I’d appreciate it,” Riley said honestly as he nodded in the direction he’d been heading. ”I tried sending Danny a message, Scott too. Neither one of them’s responding. I think they were meant to be together earlier. It’s not like Danny to be late.” He pulled his phone again, his hands shaking slightly as he thumbed it into life, tapping on Danny’s number. Each ring echoed harder in his chest – he wasn’t picking up. Riley shook his head at Ben. ”You know what happened with him? What if this is it? What if the darach finally found out where he was?” Panic clawed at his heart like it had claws, shredding any certainly he had that Danny was going to show up any minute.
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BEN WINCHESTER
Hunter
Special Child
Posts: 310
Age:
22
Status:
Single
Played by:
Emma
Last seen Oct 24, 2024 23:32:20 GMT
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Post by BEN WINCHESTER on May 19, 2023 23:46:08 GMT
Ben had almost forgotten what it was like to live in one place for more than a few weeks at a time before he made his way to Mystic Falls but this time he was settled and the truth was that he wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere. He had found his dad and uncle in the town and he had made a lot of friends there over the last few years. Ben wasn’t sure that the danger in Mystic Falls was ever going to subside completely so chances were hunters were always going to need to stick around in order to keep the residents safe. Ben had learned a long time ago that not all supernaturals were bad like some hunters liked to think, in fact most of Ben’s friends these days were supernatural and he knew that he couldn’t class himself as completely normal either. He was a Special Child thanks to the fact that Azazel had fed him his blood when he was a baby so Ben knew that he perhaps had more in common with those who were supernatural than most hunters would ever feel comfortable with. For a while Ben had felt scared of what he was but Henrik had given him a necklace which helped him keep his abilities under control and he was grateful to him for that. He was also grateful for the fact that he had managed to find a balance between hunting and being a regular guy. That was something that he hadn’t had while he was travelling, he was only a kid at the time but he had been so focused on hunting and finding his mom’s killer that it hadn’t even occurred to him that he was wasting his life. Dying had been a real wakeup call for him and ever since then he had been throwing himself into school and friendships more than he had done before. He still hunted, of course, but it didn’t consume him the way it once had done and the truth was that he was much happier this way. Now he had the chance to help the people who had come to mean a lot to him during the time that he had been living in Mystic Falls and right now it seemed that Riley was the one who needed his help. Ben was instantly worried when Riley said that he didn’t think that everything was okay. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Riley this flustered and the offer to help look for Danny was out of his mouth as soon as he had heard what was going on. “It’s not but that doesn’t mean you need to panic. He could have just been held up,” Ben assured him gently, not wanting Riley to immediately assume the worst when there could be any number of explanations. Watching as Riley tried to call Danny again, Ben’s expression’s expression softened and he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You can’t think like that, we’re going to find him,” he assured Riley. Whatever was going on he hoped that there would be a simple explanation for it and that Danny would show up soon with an explanation for what had happened but only time would tell. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he dialled Scott’s number and was relieved when he answered. “Hey Scott. I’ve got Riley with me, Danny was meant to be meeting him but he hasn’t turned up. He isn’t with you, is he?” he asked, his heart sinking slightly as Scott said that Danny had left him a while ago. “Thanks Scott,” Ben said, pocketing his phone again before turning to look at Riley. “Scott was in the middle of replying to you. He said Danny left him a while ago but he’s going to get the word out and get as many people looking for him as possible. We’ll find him. Where would he be likely to go?” he asked, hoping Riley had a few suggestions they could try first. RILEY PARKER
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RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on Jun 23, 2023 15:21:54 GMT
Getting to spend a handful of the best years with his life with Danny were more than he’d ever thought he had, but they weren’t enough. It was greedy, Riley knew. Some didn’t get even that, but once you’d had a taste of something so special, there was no walking away from it without looking back. Danny had wrung a promise out of him to move on when something happened and he’d agreed, never believing that they would lose him. They’d lost people before, but more often than not Scott and the others had come through at the last minute – saving lives, keeping the people they loved with them. It was a string of miracles and Riley had found himself holding onto the hope that Danny would get a miracle too. They were going to track down the darach behind all of this, the brand would vanish from his boyfriend’s side and they’d get married. That was the future they were supposed to have, not these endless bouts of panic when something felt off and the nightmare seemed to be close enough for him to touch.
Riley was sure that his fear was almost palpable in the air, but Ben wasn’t reacting to it. He was a point of calm in the maelstrom of his thoughts and he clutched for that with both hands. Maybe if Ben was convinced than Danny was fine then this was just him panicking at a near invisible hint of trouble. Breathing hard, he was shaking his head. Knowing what he was like, Danny would’ve made sure to let him know that he was running late – probably. ”Maybe,” he admitted tightly. The tight feeling in his throat broke with a huff of what might’ve been amusement, but felt closer to hysteria. If he was wrong then he was going to feel like a complete idiot. ”It’s hard not to with what was going on. Danny was sure whoever marked him was gonna turn up eventually. That sort of stuff doesn’t just go away, does it?” Ben had been hunting, like his dad, before he’d come to Mystic Falls, that meant he had experience in ways that most of the rest of them couldn’t even imagine. If he swore that this wasn’t what he was thinking, he’d believe it.
Mentally grasping for the hope that he was just losing it, Riley scanned the path ahead of them as Ben pulled his phone out of his pocket. There were still people moving through campus, looking a little like ants when they were in the distance, but not one of them caught his eye like Danny always would’ve done. Ben’s voice pulled him back, his heart giving a mule kick like thump beneath his ribs. Desperate for something other than an he’s gone from the muffled voice on the other end, Riley dragged a hand down his face. Pleasepleaseplease. ”He’s not there, is he?” he said hoarsely, knowing that he hadn’t misheard what Scott had told Ben.
Cursing under his breath, Riley dropped his hand away from his face. ”I guess I wasn’t wrong to try and raise the alarm." Something was wrong and they had a chance still – not like when Niklaus had taken him. Then he’d been in the tomb with Grace before anybody had even realised he was missing. They’d had no way of tracking him. They’d have the campus covered in a few minutes, people using every tool in their arsenal to track Danny down. ”If he wasn’t coming straight to me?” Riley raked his teeth over his lower lip, shaking his head before he tried to think. ”He’d have driven then maybe. If he stopped on the way it could’ve been at the library, or the coffee truck. He wouldn’t have left campus, not when he knew I’d be waiting right here for him.” Not when he knew how fast panic might set in. Danny was conscientious, he knew that his friends, his boyfriend would worry.
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BEN WINCHESTER
Hunter
Special Child
Posts: 310
Age:
22
Status:
Single
Played by:
Emma
Last seen Oct 24, 2024 23:32:20 GMT
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Post by BEN WINCHESTER on Jul 16, 2023 17:53:55 GMT
If becoming a hunter at thirteen had taught Ben one thing, it was how to stay calm under pressure. He could tell that Riley was terrified right now and Ben couldn’t blame him but he knew that both of them losing it right now wasn’t going to do Danny any good. He was a good guy and he didn’t deserve any of what was going on right now, nor did Riley. Ben had been trying to find a way to stop whatever was coming for Danny but he hadn’t been able to find anything about the curse and it was frustrating to say the least. For Danny to have disappeared like this now it could be tied to the curse but it could also be something else entirely so Ben knew that he needed to keep a cool head for Riley’s sake and help him find out the truth. “No, it doesn’t just go away. If Danny thinks whoever it is will find him eventually then he’s probably right but that doesn’t mean that they’ve found him now,” Ben assured him gently. There could be any number of explanations why Danny hadn’t shown up and even though it would be easy to jump to conclusions and think the worst, Ben knew that he had to make sure first. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Ben called Scott and after a short conversation he found out that Danny had left him a while ago. Scott had sounded just as worried as Riley was, it wasn’t like Danny to disappear like this and Ben had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach but he knew that he needed to ignore that for now and focus on the task at hand just like he did every time he went out hunting. “No he’s not but we’re going to find him,” Ben assured him, placing a hand on Riley’s shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. There was a time when he had never thought that he would find himself with friends like these, after his mom died he was so focused on killing the vampire responsible and he had heard from other hunters on the road that all supernaturals were evil but he had learned differently before he had even arrived in Mystic Falls and he knew that there were other hunters in town who knew that as well. A lot of the supernaturals he had met in Mystic Falls were good people and Ben was proud to call them his friends so he wouldn’t hesitate in helping them out when he could. “You weren’t wrong. Scott will spread the word and there will be people searching campus for him in no time just like we’re going to do,” Ben promised. Whether or not they would find Danny in time if this was the curse catching up with him remained to be seen but Ben wasn’t going to give up hope. “In that case we’ll try the library and coffee truck first. Chances are someone there would have seen him,” Ben said, knowing that those were places that were as good to start with as any. “Try and stay strong, we’ll find him.”RILEY PARKER
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RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on Aug 17, 2023 21:01:54 GMT
They’d done everything they could to make sure that they weren’t just watching the clock, wasting the time that they did have, but Riley had heard the clock ticking all the same. When he’d been taken none of them had known it was coming. Klaus Mikaelson had exacted his little plan without warning, not giving Danny and the pack long enough to find them and stop what was happening before it was over. This was torture in comparison. You knew something was out there, you could see that warning about it flushed red against the skin that should’ve been perfectly smooth. He wouldn’t have been surprised if it started to flash in the end, the countdown measured in the rapidly quickening beats of Danny’s heart.
Picturing it, Riley shook his head, trying to agree with Ben’s reassurances in a way, but failing. He knew somewhere deep inside that it had finally happened. There was a sick dread he’d never felt before, it was enough to almost drive him to his knees. ”There’s a chance it is though, and if it is, the more time I try and pretend like it’s not, the less chance we’ve got to help him,” Riley said hoarsely. If it was nothing but a misunderstanding he would cry with relief, apologies spilling out while he held onto his boyfriend. It would mean he could hold onto him and could tell him again that he loved him. There had to be a next time for that.
The call should’ve been a relief, the proof finally that he was just taking this way too far. It wasn’t though. He didn’t need to hear every word out of Scott’s mouth to know it was bad news. Tears burned their way into Riley’s eyes, he drew in a shuddering breath, trying to will them away – he needed to stay strong now – but they remained. ”I believe you,” he whispered. The horrible question was what state they were going to find him in. Riley touched Ben’s arm, grateful for the comfort his friend was giving him. ”The pack will get out there. I think Stiles should maybe call his dad…” The sheriff probably wouldn’t look for someone for at least 24 hours after they’d gone missing – Danny was an adult after all – but Stiles’ dad knew what his son was a part of, he’d start searching immediately.
Pulling himself together, Riley started scanning the path in front of him again. He tried to figure out the quickest way to where Danny likely wasn’t. If the campus was a little more empty he could’ve put on an extra burst of speed to check them. It was still daylight though, there were too many people around to reveal himself. ”I’ll try,” he promised. The quivers were still there in the pit of his stomach though, waiting to swallow him up again. ”Library first, it’s closer. Maybe someone there’s seen him too. Did Scott say who’d seen him last? Did he know?” Danny would’ve been in contact with people all day, the same way he had been him. Someone had to know where he was coming from, what route he would’ve taken here. That should’ve been the first place they checked, but they were without a breadcrumb trail now. Riley just shouldered his bag again, checking that Ben was with him before he started to jog in the direction of the library.
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BEN WINCHESTER
Hunter
Special Child
Posts: 310
Age:
22
Status:
Single
Played by:
Emma
Last seen Oct 24, 2024 23:32:20 GMT
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Post by BEN WINCHESTER on Oct 29, 2023 19:17:42 GMT
It wasn’t easy living with anything hanging over your head but Danny had been branded some time ago and from what the guy had said it was a death sentence. They had all been working to try and find a way to stop whatever had been killing Danny’s family from catching up with him as well, Ben included, but every time it looked like they were getting close to something they always seemed to come up short. The fact that Danny had disappeared now wasn’t a good sign at all but Ben knew that he couldn’t let Riley give up hope. He and Danny deserved the chance to have their happy ending, they had been together for years and they had managed to get through so much together but they were one couple that Ben was rooting for and he knew that the others all were too. “We’re going to find him, Riley, you’ve got to believe that. Whatever’s going on here we’ll figure it out.” Henrik had managed to bring Riley back after Klaus sacrificed him for the ritual and he had done the same for Ben after he’d died. Ben hadn’t ended up on the Other Side, he had ended up in Heaven and somehow the warlock had managed to bring him back from there so he hoped that Henrik would be able to do the same for Danny if this really was the end of the line for him. He hadn’t told Riley or the others about his own experience of dying because the truth was that it had never come up but he knew that if he needed to now then he would. “Scott’s already on it and I’ll ask my family to start looking for him too,” Ben nodded, knowing that the more people they had out there looking for him the better. Ben wasn’t sure whether they would find Danny alive or dead but either way they weren’t just going to leave him alone. Unlocking his phone, he shot messages to his dad, uncle and Bobby sending them a photo of Danny and asking if they could look for him before doing the same with the rest of his hunter contacts. If they even knew who the darach was it would give them a starting point but they didn’t know anything about them and that was what made it so difficult. “Alright, library it is then,” he agreed, knowing that it was as good a place to start as any. “It sounded like Danny left Scott to go and meet you so he didn’t know if anyone had seen him after that. Scott said he’d start by tracing the route that Danny would have taken to find you. There’ll be some sign of him and we’ll find it,” he said gently. “Can you see anything that looks out of the ordinary?” he asked as they started jogging in the direction of the library, his own eyes scanning their surroundings looking for anything amiss. This might not be the right place but if it wasn’t then they would just have to figure out. “Did Danny say anything to you the last time you saw him? Was he acting strange at all?” he asked, not sure if there had been anything to give away that something was about to happen that Riley might not have picked up on at the time. RILEY PARKER
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RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on Oct 29, 2023 20:34:55 GMT
Every time Danny had reassured him was suddenly running through his head. He knew Danny had never believed that they’d manage to break the curse and had wanted to prepare him for when it happened, but he’d never let him lose hope that they would. It had felt like they needed to stay positive for him, but suddenly faced with the possibility that maybe now was the time, Riley realised he wasn’t ready. They should’ve been able to have their wedding, to make those promises to one another that would go far beyond the usual til death do us part. They’d come through that part of it all once and he would’ve given anything to make sure they didn’t have to again.
Riley pressed his lips together, nodding as Ben tried to get him to focus on the hope that they would find Danny one way or another. Did he fully believe him? No. Had he believed Danny when they’d talked about what would happen? As much as he possibly could. ”We need to be ready for whatever might’ve happened,” he said hoarsely. They meant getting in touch with Henrik for what worse case scenario. He’d helped them out before. Danny wasn’t the same as he was, he wasn’t a wolf, but he believed that Danny would end up on the Other Side the same way he had and that meant that they could bring him back – the same for if he ended up in Heaven (there was no way he was believing there was a chance that Danny would end up anywhere else). This wasn’t done, he wasn’t ready for the worst to happen and the shakes that had his hands trembling were the proof of that. God, he couldn’t break down now while Danny might’ve been out there needing their help.
”Thank you,” Riley managed hoarsely. Ben’s family were hunters, usually that would’ve scared him just a little (he’d seen that cold side of Mr Argent enough to know how they could be), but right now that was a plus for them. It meant that they knew how to track people down. Riley pulled his phone from his pocket, staring at it for a moment as Ben messaged his family, then started to punch in a message himself to Tatia. She had been there with him when Klaus had taken him, he’d told her when the brand had appeared on Danny’s side, she’d tell the others, anybody she knew could perhaps help now.
He still shook a little as he put his phone away again, but he was starting to settle as they began to move, to actually look for Danny. ”If he ran into someone, maybe he would’ve stopped to talk, but he wouldn’t have lingered too long … unless they needed something…” But then Danny would’ve messaged him. There was no way he would’ve let him worry and he would’ve been aware that he would start tying himself up in knots with everything that was going on. Riley drew in a deep breath that started to chase the tears that burned in his eyes back. They were wolves, if there was a scent left behind one of them would be able to trace it. Riley shook his head as he scanned the path ahead of them. ”Nothing,” he managed hoarsely. ”If he was I wouldn’t have let him out of my sight. Everything seemed normal, it was just gonna be like any other night. We were going to meet up, get something to eat. Put the books aside for a while.” His nose wrinkled as he thought about it. He sniffed in a breath that had him frowning. ”What is that?” Riley was sure he could smell something on the air that had his hackles rising.
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BEN WINCHESTER
Hunter
Special Child
Posts: 310
Age:
22
Status:
Single
Played by:
Emma
Last seen Oct 24, 2024 23:32:20 GMT
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Post by BEN WINCHESTER on Feb 25, 2024 18:20:46 GMT
Ben couldn’t even begin to imagine what it had to have been like for Danny and Riley having the curse hang over their heads all this time. Ben had always worried about losing his friend one day and he knew that the others had been worried as well but it was Danny’s life on the line and Riley was in love with him. Ben had been fortunate that when he’d died it had been quick and he had at least been able to say goodbye to the people he loved before it happened. Danny had seemingly disappeared and in a way that made it that much worse. There were plenty of people in town who had died and been brought back, a lot of them by Henrik, but Ben knew that he still would have much rather spared Danny from going through that at all if possible. As Riley said that they needed to be ready for whatever might have happened, Bens expression softened. “You’re right, we do. If the worst has happened then we’ll ask Henrik for help, he’ll be able to bring him back,” he said gently. Henrik had managed to bring him back from Heaven and that was something that Ben hadn’t thought possible. He was one of Azazel’s Special Children so he had demon blood running through his veins but somehow he had still managed to find peace and Ben was sure that if Danny wasn’t on the Other Side then that was where they would find him. As Riley thanked him, Ben shook his head. “That’s what friends are for,” he said, offering him a small smile. “I’ve sent Danny’s photo to my family and I’ve also asked every hunter I know to be on the lookout for him. If they see anything, they’ll let me know,” he assured him gently. One way or another they would find Danny, Ben was certain of that. He hadn’t been able to find out anything about the darach or the curse that had been placed on Danny’s family back then but when it came to finding an actual person, that was very different. Mystic Falls was a big place and so was Whitmore but the more people they had looking for him, the better. “Who are you messaging?” Ben asked, not sure whether Riley had reached out to Stefan or any of the others who had been in town for longer than they had yet. “He would have let you know if was going to be late so something else must have happened.” Ben had received a few texts from Danny in the past letting him know if he was going to be even just a couple of minutes late but normally Danny got everywhere a little early so this really wasn’t like him and Ben would be lying if he said that he wasn’t worried as well. He knew that he had to stay strong for Riley, though, because it looked like the boy was only just holding back tears and Ben knew that he didn’t want to make it worse for him than it already was. “Sounds like a nice night,” Ben nodded. It was a shame that it had been interrupted but there was still hope that it might be able to go ahead as planned, even if that hope seemed to be getting slimmer pretty quickly. As Riley spoke again, Ben’s head whipped up. “I can’t smell anything but there’s signs of a struggle over here,” Ben said as he crouched down and ran his hand over the broken vines covering the ground. “If Danny was here then it looks like he put up a hell of a fight.”RILEY PARKER
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RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on Mar 27, 2024 19:34:47 GMT
”He’s done it before,” Riley said hoarsely as Ben suggested if the worst had happened, Henrik could bring Danny back. If it hadn’t been for Henrik he wouldn’t have had those extra years with Danny in the first place. Maybe it would be too much to ask for it to happen again, but if the darach had finally found Danny, he had to. There hadn’t been enough time to come around to the idea that there wouldn’t be a way through this. Tears blurred his vision as he studied the path ahead, forcing him to blink them away just to be able to see clearly. God, he hoped that they’d turn the next corner and Danny would be right there, walking towards them. He’d feel like an asshole for raising the alarm unnecessarily, but he’d happily apologise to everybody for a decade if it meant that Danny was still here with him.
The pack, their friends, had spent months trying to stop this day from every happening. They’d banded together, researching, trying to find some trace of the darach and the original problem to find a solution. Now it felt as though the sand in the hourglass had run out and they hadn’t even realised it was happening until it was too late. ”I still wanna say thank you now,” Riley said tightly, returning Ben’s smile, even though it felt like he was going to crack like an eggshell as he did it. ”I don’t know if I’ll be able to later.” Once upon a time hunters had felt like something to worry about, but now they were another net out there, hoping to catch some sigh of Danny. Riley nodded slowly, his fingers gripping his phone tightly. ”That’s good … they’ll be out on the streets. Maybe some of them know about this darach, maybe they’ve got some way of finding him.” Because everything they’d tried so far had failed. Riley looked up from his phone screen as Ben asked who he was messaging. ”Tatia,” he said hoarsely. ”She was there when I was … she has connections in town. The Salvatores. The Mikaelsons.” He knew deep down that Klaus had nothing to do with this, but maybe he knew something that would help.
Ben’s confirmation that Danny’s silence had to be a bad thing had the pain in Riley’s chest growing again. They all knew what the worst case scenario was and none of them would leave him hanging like this. Someone would have said something, if there was an innocent explanation. Riley raised a hand and swiped it under his eyes, glad that the tears were being held at bay for the moment, even if it was a fight to keep it that way. ”Maybe his phone died, maybe he had car trouble. I need to think good thoughts,” he muttered, as though that positivity would make a difference. The hope that he was wrong and he’d still get the night he’d planned with Danny cut through him like glass shards in his chest. ”It’s going to be,” he promised. ”I keep promising to learn to cook for him, but I was still putting it off. It’s always easier to just eat out.” Especially when the Grill came with such happy memories this days.
The change came so fast that Riley felt as though the ground had been pulled out from under his feet. He’d been able to smell something, but there was so much more than that here. Ben was already crouching, running his hand over broken vines on the ground. ”I was right,”{/b] he managed on a gasp. ”Danny? Baby?” Riley’s voice rose as he turned in a tight circle. The parking lot looked empty, the ground around it disturbed the way Ben had pointed out. ”It’s mountain ash. It’s everywhere, I can taste it in the back of my throat. He fought back. That’s a good sign right?” He was already searching the bushes around the edges of the lot, as though Danny might be hurt, hiding in the only cover he could find. This was the first sign, positive or negative. There had to be more.
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BEN WINCHESTER
Hunter
Special Child
Posts: 310
Age:
22
Status:
Single
Played by:
Emma
Last seen Oct 24, 2024 23:32:20 GMT
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Post by BEN WINCHESTER on Apr 26, 2024 22:26:45 GMT
“He has. He brought you back and he brought me back too,” Ben nodded. He knew that things had been tough in the past but Henrik had managed to bring Riley back when Klaus killed him during the ritual and he brought Ben back when he died after the mine collapsed. Magic could do incredible things and Ben knew that there had to be a way that it could be used to bring Danny back as well if the worst had happened. He didn’t want to think that Danny might be gone but it was clear that Riley was scared and the curse had been bound to catch up with Danny sooner or later so there was a definite possibility that this was it. He knew he couldn’t risk saying that to Riley and making it worse, though, so he knew that he had to keep it to himself. There was still a chance that Danny might have just been held up and they might end up finding him all apologetic about being late so Ben knew that he needed to try and stay positive and make sure that Riley did as well. Losing someone you loved was never easy, Ben had found that out when he lost his mom, and he knew that he would do everything he could to spare Riley from experiencing that pain. They hadn’t managed to find out much about the curse that plagued Danny’s family but it seemed really bad and Ben honestly hoped that it hadn’t caught up to Danny at last. They had all been trying to find a way to stop the curse and save Danny but every lead seemed to end up coming to a dead end and it had been frustrating to say the least. He knew that Danny deserved better and the sooner they found him, the better the odds for him were. “In that case you’re welcome, I’m glad I can help,” Ben assured him gently. The others could have frozen him out for being a hunter they didn’t know but they hadn’t done, they had become his friends and he knew that it was a genuine thing rather than being just because he and Allison had known each other for years. They were people he could count on and he knew he wanted to make sure they knew that they could count on him too. “Maybe. If they do then we’ll know soon enough,” Ben nodded. He had already reached out to his contacts before to see whether they’d heard of the curse that plagued Danny’s family and none of them had heard of it but tracing a darach was different and if any of them knew about one being nearby then Ben was certain they would share the information. As Riley said he was messaging Tatia, Ben nodded. He’d heard that she had been used in the ritual too and something like that had to forge a bond that others would probably never understand. “That’s a good idea. The more people we have out looking for him, the better.” It might be a false alarm but if it wasn’t then Ben knew it would be a case of needing all hands on deck so they might as well start now. “Exactly, there could be any number of reasons behind this. It’ll probably turn out that his phone died and when you get back home he’ll be there waiting for you,” Ben said gently. He really hoped that would be the case but he knew that it might not be. It didn’t hurt to try and think positive, though, and Ben knew that Riley really needed that right now so he had to try too. They were both worried about Danny but Ben knew that this had to be so much worse for Riley. He’d been living with this hanging over his head just as long as Danny had and he was the one who would be left behind if the worst happened. “Eating out is definitely easier, I’m with you there,” he nodded. “You’ll have plenty of time to learn to cook after graduation anyway, there’s no rush,” he added. One way or another Riley and Danny would have a future, Ben honestly believed that. Looking down at the broken vines on the ground as Riley called out to Danny, Ben nodded as Riley asked if the fact that Danny had fought back was a good sign. “It is. This is Danny we’re talking about, you know he’ll always fight with everything he has to make it back to you,” Ben assured him. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about that and he hoped that Riley knew it too. “It looks like they’re leading that way, let’s go take a look,” he said, nodding in the direction of the trees that lined the campus. RILEY PARKER
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RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on May 11, 2024 15:33:18 GMT
Practice made perfect. That was what everybody said, including his parents. They’d always told him he’d grow used to moving around eventually, as though it was just a work out that you had to eventually conquer. It had seemed like complete bull crap then and it was probably just as stupid to think of bringing people back from the dead that way, but there had to be some truth to it. Henrik had brought him back, and Ben, Allison and Tatia too. It had to grow easier each time he did it, the process faster. That should have relieved the fear of Danny being trapped on his own somewhere for days. Alone, waiting for them to pull off the miracle that would bring him back to them. Danny had already spent enough time with the curse hanging over his head, it needed to stop now.
Riley’s smile faltered as he nodded at Ben’s words. The entire pack had always been close, but knowing what was coming for one of their own, it was like they’d drawn together even more over the last couple of years. They’d all been investigating, trying to work out who the darachs were, how to stop them before the curse claimed Danny’s life. It might all have been for nothing now, but they would draw together now too. ”Maybe we should be looking for them here too,” Riley said hoarsely. He couldn’t break off of finding Danny now, he wouldn’t want the others to either, but they could look at those around them. The thought had Riley twitching. Anybody passing them could have been the person to snatch Danny away from him. It left him feeling sick as he stared down at his screen again. The message to Tatia was tapped out quickly, probably full of mistakes. ”Someone must have an idea about who’s causing trouble in town. They’re old, they know people…” Maybe some of them had even known Danny’s ancestors or who this line of darachs were. With the right questions, maybe they could have figured it out before someone had taken Danny.
Hope had grown more slippery with every passing minute. Ben was trying to encourage him to keep it up. He just couldn’t though. Riley’s teeth sank into his lower lip, his nod halting, dying out quickly. ”God, I hope so,” he whispered. It seemed like more and more of a stretch now though. Danny wouldn’t leave him worrying like that, trusting that he’d somehow psychically figure out he’d headed home instead of to meet him. One of the others was bound to check the apartment, they wouldn’t let the chance slip by. Without Ben, Riley knew he’d already have been in a full panic. With him here he was laughing weakly, dragging a hand over his face. ”It always feels like there needs to be one. We knew after the ritual that…” That their time together wasn’t guaranteed. He’d just always desperately, greedily hoped for so much more.
That hope died the moment they found the spot. The broken vines showed that Danny hadn’t gone down easily, he’d fought. Danny had always been one of the strongest people he’d ever known. He’d embraced what he was and that meant he wouldn’t be … hurt too easily. ”He’d try and get to back up maybe,” Riley croaked, frantically looking around the two of them. ”Without his phone maybe he’d run to get to somewhere with people around.” Most people didn’t want to be seen getting blood on their hands, with people around maybe the darach would be scared off. Only the fight hadn’t gone in that direction. Riley broke into a jog, heading for the line of trees. ”Danny? Danny!” His throat hurt, but he bellowed his fiance’s name anyway. ”We should call his phone again, see if we can hear it.” With a shaking hand, he pulled out his phone and stopped dead as he saw the shattered remains of what had been a tree. Something, someone had torn it apart, the wood thrown around like shrapnel, peppering the ground and everything else around. ”Could he have…” Done it. Survived it. This was getting worse and worse.
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BEN WINCHESTER
Hunter
Special Child
Posts: 310
Age:
22
Status:
Single
Played by:
Emma
Last seen Oct 24, 2024 23:32:20 GMT
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Post by BEN WINCHESTER on Jun 28, 2024 0:31:32 GMT
Ben knew that Riley and the pack had spent the last few years wishing that this day would never come and the truth was that Ben had done as well. They had all seen so much over the years but to think that someone they cared about could be taken by a curse that went back generations had seemed so surreal. Ben knew that it was possible, he had seen too much while he was hunting to ever dismiss the idea, but what he didn’t understand was why someone had cursed Danny’s family in the first place. If they were anything like Danny then they would never hurt anyone and Danny certainly wouldn’t do but now it seemed that he had gone missing and the most logical explanation for his disappearance was that the curse had taken him at last but Ben knew that he didn’t want Riley to lose hope. He and Riley had both been brought back from the dead so they knew that it was possible but Ben still hoped that it wouldn’t come to that for Danny. Dying was something that Ben wouldn’t wish on anyone and it was clear just how upset Riley was so he refused to give up hoping that there might be another explanation for what was going on here and that Danny was going to end up being just fine. As Riley said that maybe they should be looking for the Darach as well, Ben shook his head. “Not right now, Danny needs to be our main focus,” he said gently. “We’ll look for the Darach once we’ve found him.” If something had happened to Danny then they couldn’t afford to have their resources split between looking for him and looking for the Darach, they needed as many people out there looking for Danny as they could. “You’re right, they do know people. Hopefully they’ll be able to find out something or at least point us in the right direction.” Ben knew that Tatia would have already asked them if they knew anything about a Darach or the curse on Danny’s family but this was different. This time they could help search hopefully and they would certainly be able to cover more ground. Ben sent quick texts out to Stefan and his other friends as well, as many people as he could think of to help in the search for Danny. When he first arrived in Mystic Falls it had seemed like there were a couple of distinct groups but over the years friendships had formed and it was almost like they had become one so he knew they could count on them. “So do I,” Ben agreed as Riley said he hoped it was just that Danny’s phone had died. “Don’t give up hope.” He knew that the worst might have happened but they didn’t have any proof of that right now and Ben didn’t want Riley to end up losing it before they knew for sure. He couldn’t blame Riley for being upset or worried, his boyfriend was missing and Riley had had the curse hanging over his head for just as long as Danny had and that was sure to take a toll. “I get it, a lot has happened over the last few years but the two of you are going to get your chance to have a future together. I know you will,” he said gently. If anyone deserved it then it was Riley and Danny, that was for sure. As they found what looked like the site of a fight, though, Ben’s heart sank. He knew that Riley was right, Danny might have tried to get to backup but from the looks of things the Darach was dangerous and if they didn’t care who got hurt in the crossfire then chances were Danny would have tried leading them away. “He might not have wanted to risk anyone else getting hurt,” Ben said as he crouched down by the tracks leading away from the school. Ben took off after Riley as he broke into a jog and he did his best to ignore the way his heart ached as Riley called out Danny’s name. Ben nodded as Riley suggested they should try calling Danny’s phone again but when he spoke again only for his voice to trail off, Ben gave Riley’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Hey, let’s not go jumping to any conclusions either way. Give his phone another try,” he urged, needing Riley to have something else to focus on rather than losing all hope. Giving Riley some time to do just that, Ben busied himself with looking over the tracks leading into the woods so they would know which direction to follow. RILEY PARKER
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RILEY PARKER
Werewolf
Posts: 325
Age:
23
Occupation:
Postgrad Student - Environmental Sci.
Status:
Engaged
Partner:
Danny Mahealani
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 20:16:50 GMT
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Post by RILEY PARKER on Jul 4, 2024 17:29:43 GMT
His mother’s temperament was something Riley had definitely not inherited from her. Maggie Parker was fierce, a real fire cracker who refused to mince her words. When he’d only been five or six he’d seen her reduce half a theatre company to tears at a dress rehearsal. Perhaps she’d had a point, although at that age he hadn’t been able to understand it, but she hadn’t spoken calmly to explain it. One second they play had been happening on stage, the next moment his mom had been rushing down the aisle, colour high in her cheeks, her voice cracking out in a way that had even him curling up tighter in his seat. If Maggie had been the one here she’d already have been calling for the darach’s neck and maybe she would’ve had a point. Riley had never wanted to see blood on his own hands, or anybody else’s, but if there was something he’d leaned since he’d become a part of the pack it was that sometimes you had no choice. There were evil things out there that wouldn’t stop until they were dead.
That dark future felt like smoke on the horizon for now. Like a forest fire that you knew might eventually reach you. Riley nodded sharply, pain lancing through his throat as he swallowed. ”We’ll find him. Danny can’t have gone far.” If there was any sign of violence near one of the gates into the Whitmore campus then the alarm surely would’ve gone up by now. Still the silence didn’t sit well with him. The longer it stretched it, the more he worried about Danny. Knowing this was coming didn’t mean that they’d prepared enough for it. How could they have done when they had no idea when or how this moment was going to happen? ”They need to be doing that now,” Riley said hoarsely as he looked up from his phone. ”It’s going to happen quickly. This isn’t gonna be some drawn out argument. The darach wanted Danny dead, they’ve already killed people in his family before.” The brand that had appeared on Danny’s ribs had proved that time was ticking down. They’d still been hoping that they would find some way to stop the clock, but no matter how many people had helped, it had come to this.
Riley puffed out a watery breath as Ben told him not to give up hope. ”I’m trying,” he promised, only it was harder said than done. They were both praying for a good outcome to this, but with each passing minute it was harder to hold on to the thought that this was just a dead battery or Danny had been waylaid by a friend. One corner of Riley’s mouth lifted wanly at Ben’s promise. ”Please tell me you’re some sort of a secret psychic and you already know the outcome of this.” It was a weak joke, but if Ben had told him it was true he could’ve clung on all the harder to that future. They’d had their lives together planned out. The wedding, a trip back to Hawaii to see Danny’s family. A home together in the town where they’d been happy. All of that seemed to be crumbling now and the thought of it vanishing entirely terrified him.
God, he hated being right. The moment they found the disturbed ground, Riley felt his eyes burning with tears. Desperation welled up in his stomach. While he’d been waiting for him, Danny had been fighting for his life. Riley’s hands gripped the sides of his head as he turned in a circle, like he could stop his brain from exploding the way his heart threatened to as it pounded in his chest. ”He didn’t want anybody else getting hurt by what was coming for him.” Danny had known they were all ready to involve themselves in this fight, but like it had been planned the darach had struck while Danny was alone. Not caring if he was in danger now, Riley ran, following the path of the fight towards the woods. ”I think it’s too late to stop doing that,” he panted. His hands shook as he took his phone out of his pocket. His gaze locked onto the remains of the tree, shattered by some sort of invisible power. ”Come on, Danny, please pick up, please…” The phone rang again, just like it had before, no answer coming, just the faintly tinny tune of its ring tone. ”Can you see it?” he asked Ben. Hitting the dial button again, Riley spun around, trying to track the sound.
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hope to see you in the discord! 
