Theorosa's Bridge [open]

[valarie]

She thrived on the big leads, the juicy bits of gossip that had the potential for great stories. This time was no different, her heart started racing as she saw it, another police report of a drowning that was eerily reminiscent of the four other drownings that had been discovered in the same area in the past month alone. Her fingers stilled on her keyboard as she read the report, the soft clicking of the other reporters keyboards barely registered in her mind as she focused in, grabbing her notepad to write down a few names and other details.

This was just the sort of lead she had been hoping for, she thought as she yanked on her jacket before grabbing her purse and notepad. "Got a lead on a story, boss..." She yelled back to the editor before letting the door close behind her.

After a 30 minute drive, passing the time singing loudly and offkey to the radio, Valarie found herself in the area marked by the first drowning victim. The only sounds she could hear after she shut off her car's engine and got out, was the gentle sound of rushing water from the river up ahead. The water was so clear she could see the small pebbles on the bottom of the river floor. Her eyes scanned the river's edge all around her.

"There's got to be a clue here somewhere." She said to herself, she tended to talk to herself quite abit when investigating a case, it was one of her many quirks. In this case, she simply refused to believe that this many drownings in such a short amount of time was coincedence. Something had happened here and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

[lachlan]

Sometimes it takes balls
to be a woman.

Even when appearing as a female, Lachlan tended to dress in a more masculine fashion unless the occasion called for something a bit more feminine.

Right now she was wearing green khaki cargo pants that were a little baggy on her thin frame. A thick belt strung through the loops around the waist would appear to be a fashionable accessory. The pants themselves came down past her feet, dragging on the ground. The pants were meant to fit a man, as was the black hooded sweatshirt she wore unzipped over a too-long white racerback tank top.

Good thing oversized is in style, she thought as she walked along the road beside the river.

The one thing she'd had to wear that wouldn't be able to conceivably carry over to her male form if and when she changed back to it was a pair of sneakers. She'd have to make sure she wouldn't have to walk too far in male form in that case, since she'd have to be barefoot.

Lachlan didn't have any business here. Not officially. She was merely observing the world, seeing what everyone was up to. She'd gotten a heavy sense of death from this area in passing and now she'd returned to investigate further.

There were many wandering souls here. She could sense them all, even if not all of them were strong enough to show themselves. A few of them weren't aware that they were dead. Another was angry and wanted some sort of revenge. Someone or something had been killing people. One soul in particular had only been there a short time.

Even more disturbing than the fact that these people were all killed by the same thing as far as she could tell, they were all still there. Why hadn't they been collected by a Reaper yet? Had they all been killed in so short a timespan that no one had come for them yet?

Before she could think much more about this, a car pulled up and stopped several yards ahead of her. Lachlan narrowed her eyes as the engine quieted and a young woman climbed out of the driver's seat.

"What's this, now?" she muttered, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The woman approached the riverbank and peered down at the water as Lachlan approached. The woman seemed too busy with whatever it is she was doing to take notice of Lachlan.

"There's got to be a clue here somewhere," the woman muttered.

Lachlan tried not to startle her.

"Hello?" she said, tilting her head inquisitively.

She wasn't sure how she'd go about explaining what she was doing there, but she'd think of something. She'd even tell the truth if she thought it was necessary. Whether or not the woman would believe her would be the kicker.

[valarie]

Valarie put her notepad and pen in the back pocket of her blue jeans, as she leaned down closer to the river. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she leaned over, trying to get a closer look, but nothing seemed unusual about this part of the river. Frowning, she tried to think back to what the articles she'd seen had said about this area. She was missing something, she just couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The blonde was so deep in thought that she didn't hear any signs of anyone approaching until a woman's voice came from behind her, causing Valarie to jump slightly, before she stood up and turned. "Oh...hello." Great, this person probably owned the land and was going to ask what she was doing here.

Think, Val, think, there's got to be some good excuse, besides I'm a reporter and I'm snooping around because I think there's something unusual about this river. "So, uh, nice day." Oh well, that was brilliant.

[lachlan]

Sometimes it takes balls
to be a woman.

The woman jumped a bit when Lachlan spoke. There really was no way to avoid startling people sometimes.

"So, uh, nice day," the blonde said.

She seemed a bit nervous and caught off guard. She could almost see the woman silently hoping Lachlan wouldn't ask questions.

"It is," Lachlan agreed.

She looked out at the river with a troubled expression. She felt death, sorrow, and despair all around her here. It was a horrible feeling that wouldn't leave her until she was far away from the river.

"I'm sure you don't want to tell me what you're doing here. But I don't suppose you're just admiring the view," Lachlan said. She studied the woman for a moment before saying, "Don't worry. I'm not here to make you leave or ask you questions."

She sighed, looking up and down the road. It didn't seem like it was heavily traveled. She was sure they were probably trespassing on something and hoped no one would come along to scare them both off.