SELF-LOVE // JOINING

[ELOISE.]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; bordercolor=transparent; width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 125%; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 2px;"]a skip in her step and a smile wide on her face, her backpack bouncing up and down with every movement she made to, what she assumed, was the border. her family had went on without her, planning to make some pitstops before making a return back around to the badlands. she didn't have much on her in terms of trade, only her own belongings, but she did have a lot of the jewelry she had failed to sell from previous pitstops. pearls and beaded necklaces, threaded bracelets with seashell charms; all of these clinked inside of her bag.

eloise was on a mission to see her uncle, and she knew that he had made a semi-permanent home in the badlands. there wasn't much else she knew about the place and, to be fair, the name of it did terrify her ever so slightly. but she trusted his judgement and knew that she would be safe with him wherever she was. eloise came to a halt, her smile growing so wide that her eyes crinkled at the corners. "hello? i'm eloise! i'm looking for my uncle!" she yelled loudly, tightening her grip on her backpack excitedly. she could see faces turning towards her, eyebrows raised in question at her eagerness, but not one approached her. except for one person. someone she had not seen in so long, and god was she happy to see him.

ooc // please wait for vix to respond with river first<3

[RIVER.]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth; width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 14pt;"]River has loved many times.

He wore his heart on his sleeve, displayed for everyone so openly to see. He showed on his face, in his body language. When River loved, you could not ignore it. And more times than not, that was too much for those who gave his heart to to handle.

There was a difference between love and being in love, though. And for River, that was slightly different. Eloise. She was the young daughter to a couple who took River and Sage in when they'd first lost their parents months ago. First, he'd been taken by her beauty but not long after, it became just her, everything about her. The sparks were there, or so he thought. Every little interaction he played in his mind like a record over and over. But in the end, it was never what she thought, as she instead took to Sage.

When Sage wanted to leave, although he hesitated, he was willing. Call him selfish, but it hurt more at the possibility that they could end up together. At least if she ended up with someone new, he'd never have to see it. Even if it meant never seeing her again.

And yet fate seemed to work in funny ways.

River shares a blunt with a fellow Badlander, chatting off his ear as they've done so. He doesn't realize that the other has stopped listening long ago, only agreeing occasionally to make it look like he was listening. It's the voice that makes him stop, a voice he could recognize in a crowded room if he heard it. One that he thought he'd ever dream of hearing again. But it can't be. All the way here?

"Lulu?" There she is, he sees her, off in the distance, long dark hair cascading behind her. Shooting up, he briskly walks over to her, but it isn't long until he's running. "Lulu!" He wraps her into his arms, spinning her around before setting her down. "Is the heat getting to me or are you actually here?"

[ELOISE.]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; bordercolor=transparent; width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 125%; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 2px;"]river and sage held a special place in the girl's heart. they were her best friends, the lights of her life that had brought so many smiles to her face even on the rainiest of days. their company was always met with excitement and love. she could hardly think about a time before she knew the two brothers, it was too crazy to even think about. they were apart of her life, no matter where they had ended up.

but the last thing she expected was to see one of them right here in front of her. she could hardly process the fact she was being swung around in the air, her arms wrapping tightly around river and her face burying itself in the crook of his neck. she didn't want to let go, but eventually she did. as a compromise she held onto both of his hands tightly, squeezing them as she bounced up and down where she stood. she laughed and hugged him once more, closing her eyes and taking in his entire presence. "yes, it's me! this is so crazy, my uncle could have at least told me you were here!" she answered, her heart pounding in her chest.

then a realization hit her. she let go of his hands and tried to look behind him, then looked around at their surroundings for a sign of sage. her cheeks became flushed with embarrassment and excitement and she turned back to river with an expecting look. "is sage here too? i missed him so much," she asked, hoping to see the other boy with every bone in her body. she had always had some sort of crush on the other twin, always finding herself staring at him just a little bit too long or feeling her heart skip a beat when he would say her name or look at her. she was completely oblivious to every move made by river, words flying over her head and longing looks going unnoticed.

[NIKOLAI]

[align=center]

The distant call catches Nik's attention; he can just barely make out the words and he can't help but pray that this wasn't another relative of Teddy's. He didn't know if he could stand another one of the Knope brood joining The Badlands, even further strengthening the family's influence over the region. It just served as a constant reminder that "taking care of" Teddy, as hypothetical as the idea may be at the moment, would prove to be much more difficult than anticipated now that he had a practical army of relatives to do his bidding.

The made man arrives just in time to catch a glimpse of the stranger and one of the newer arrivals, River, interacting. As if one "Golden Retriever" wasn't enough, now there appeared to be two, prancing about and giggling with delight to see each other. Why does Nik always have to arrive when there's a reunion of sorts going on? He has some sort of knack for it, he swears. "Am I interrupting something here?" Whether he was or not, Nikolai really didn't care. As far as he was concerned, this girl was just another stranger and she had to supply her name and business with The Badlands just like anyone else.

[RIVER.]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth; width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 14pt;"]It really is her. Lulu. What he could consider to be his first and real best friend.

His heart skipped in his chest as she held, squeezing his hands as if her life depended on it. But once she took him in again, he didn't  deter. He pulled her in once more with a giddy giggle, sounding nothing far from a elementary school child. "Wait-" He paused, pulling away to look at her, eyebrows furrowing. "Your uncle is here? You didn't tell me your uncle had ties to the Badlands. My cousin runs this place!" 

Had Sage known that, they probably would never have left. Not without fishing information out of Lulu and her family anyway. Where was her family anyway?

He was going to ask, but Lulu got to it first, taking whatever excitement he had and washing it down the drain. Sage. She peers behind her, eyes searching hopefully for his brother. River's face falls, the smile he wore as bright as the sun falling along with his shoulders. Realizing how the disappointment might look, he quickly attempts to stand up from the blow with a clearing of his throat. "Uh... yeah. Long story. He's not here." He says awkwardly, placing his hands on his hips and glancing behind him where someone so happens to be coming. He doesn't know much about him. But he thinks his name is Nick?

A perfect way to navigate away from the question his brother — to save himself from the embarrassment.

"No, not interrupting anything at all!" The smile is back as he waltzes his way over to the dark haired brooding man, wrapping an arm around him. "That goddess right there is looking for her uncle. Do you happen to know a uh..." He snaps his fingers over towards Lulu, awaiting an answer.