forum Weekend At the Overlook CLOSED (3/3)

Started Feb 08 by @korixkj

tune

Al gave Joseph a playful glare before she began walking towards the map on the wall. Simon stayed by Josephs side as Al scoured the map for the name of the trail

Ama was on laural's laptop, laural on her phone, searching local records and the nearest library's catalog for information on the missing girl's family

Chris got to work on looking for the girls family, sending a text to Laural on anything that had any information, even if it was just a news clipping.

Joseph smiled at Simon as he finished his coffee and then did some stretches, he figured he would just trail behind Simon and Al, watch thier backs.

Al turned back to Joseph and Simon and smirked at the two boys. "Found the trail. Lets head out" She said, moving toward the door, trailed by Simon

Soon, Laural had found the address of the missing girl's aunt, the one the innkeep had said she hiked with often. She texted the rest of the group the address, and scheduled a text for an hour after they left. If it sent, it would tell the group they were in trouble. If they weren't, Laural would delete the text before it sent. Then, she and Ama headed to the aunt's house. (We should probably do one interaction before the other, if you want to do yours first )

Joseph moved and held the door open for the other two, raising an eyebrow at Al's smirk, having no idea why she did that. Maybe because he liked Simon, … and everyone else, Simon just vibed with him best is all he figured. He was used to ignoring his thoughts about others, which is what it is.

Ama and Laural arrived at the aunt's house soon after, though they stopped to pick up some fruit for the aunt. They didn't want to seem rude, and a fruit basket seemed… Friendly, at least.

The woman who answered the door was older, maybe in her early 40s, and a bit disheveled. She wore a robe, a T-shirt, and pajama pants, and slippers. Her hair was dark in a messy bun. Her face looked.. sad. Just sad. Like there had been something more there once, but now it was missing. "Can I help you?" she asked softly

Laural smiled softly. "Hello, ma'am. We heard about your niece, and would like to look for her. I don't want to get your hopes up, as we are only amateurs, but we will do our best to find her, and any information you can give us will help." She said, matching the woman's tone.
Ama nodded. "We know how it feels to loose someone, and we want to try our best to reunite you with your niece."

The woman furrowed her brows. "Why?" She asked almost sharply. She didn't slam the door but shut it a lot more. She seemed reserved, bitter maybe.

Laural held out the basket. "Like my sister said, we both know how it feels to loose someone. We want to help find anyone we can, prevent the loss of others. If it hurts too much to talk about, could you point us towards information that might be helpful?"
Ama nodded along with her sister.

The woman closed the door, which she had only opened a crack anyway, a chain lock visible on the inside. It only took a moment for the door to open fully, the woman stepping aside to allow them in. "My name is Camille.. her name was Leiara…" The innkeep had pronounced the girls name Lee-ara, but Camille pronounced it Lay-ara.

Laural smiled warmly at Camile as they stepped inside. "Leiara is a beautiful name. My name is Laural, and my sister is Ama. We brought you fruit, as something sweet always helps us feel better about remembering. We heard that you liked to hike with Leiara?"

She smiled softly, taking the basket and setting it on the living room coffee table as she brought the sisters in. She sat herself on a nice armchair, gesturing them to the couch. "Thank you.. We used to go hiking every fall break since she was 7.."

Ama sat down. "That sounds really fun. Were you both outdoorsy?"
Laural sat as well.

"We were.." She replied. "We liked to document the plants and flowers we found" She replied. The smile on Camille's face was far off and distant

Laural smiled. "It sounds like you two were really close. Do you still hike?"

"Not since I lost her" Camille replied

Laural nodded. "That's understandable. Were you with her that day? When she disappeared? From what we can tell, she just… Was gone? She didn't run away, or get kidnapped, she just disappeared. Is that… Correct?"

She nodded. "I took her out as I usually did. We found a random trail and did our thing. When I turned around to take a picture of a willow tree.. and she-" Her voice caught as she teared up and she paused. "I'm sorry.. she was just.. gone"

"We can take a break talking about this. You could tell us about your first hike with her. Talking about happy memories with those we miss often helps. Or, if you are ready, was there anything at all there? A dropped wallet or water bottle, or even something like a burn mark, discoloration of the ground, or something similar to tree sap?" Laural asked, kindly.

She sniffed. "Sap.. just a bit near the maple tree she was standing beside.." Camille murmured

Laural nodded. "Thank you, this information will be a lot of help. Why don't I give you my phone number, you can text me if you find anything else out that might help, or if you just need to talk?"

She nodded. "okay.."

Laurel nodded, and Ama offered a hug to Camille. "I'm sorry you lost your niece."
(She's so sweet)

She hugged back. "Thank you for trying to find her.." Camille murmrured