Chapter Text
2002
The marriage of Tyler Falls and Emma Kohl is held in the remains of Camp Redwood. It's a surprisingly informal ceremony, just enough traditional elements to keep LaVey and Mead satisfied. It's fall, the leaves are just starting to change colors, and Tyler's maid of honor is a dead woman.
"This is totally bitchin'," Montana gushes. "How'd you train all those crows to stay perfectly still in the trees?" Tyler follows her gaze to the line of crows, her eyes trained on one in particular. Malphas extends his wings and drops in a formal bow, showing his approval.
"A present from the master," Tyler says. "He and Malphas have a dramatic streak a mile wide."
"Well, tell them they're invited whenever Trevor and I tie the knot. I dunno when it's going to happen, but it will one day." Montana is determined about that much, but she's been flipping through magazines for thirteen years and she hasn't found the perfect ring yet.
"So, be honest, what do you think about Emma?" Montana's gaze flicks to Tyler's wife, taking in the white-blonde hair, the sensual curves and the wicked grin that appears at whatever Sam's said. There's approval in her face when Montana looks back at Tyler.
"I love her, Ty. You did great picking that one." They'd met at Wednesday mass back in the nineties and they've been inseparable ever since. Emma even used some of her contacts to bring electricity and internet to Camp Redwood, keeping all the ghosts up to date. Of course, that hasn't stopped Montana's crew from dressing like it's still the eighties.
"We're going to have our honeymoon here."
"Ugh, why?"
"Because I miss this place." She'd spent five years trapped here, but she can't shake the feeling like this is where she belongs. All those red strings she's tangled up in still pull at her. It's easier to be close, easier still to give in and stay for a week or two. "I miss you guys, too." She wraps an arm around Montana's waist, tugging her into a one-armed hug.
"You've got us, Ty. You always will." Tyler lets out a sigh when she feels another warm body pressing against her side. Emma smiles at her when her eyes flicker open, worming her way into the hug. Soon enough, the rest of their friends have found their way over until they're one giant group hug. "Feel smothered yet?"
"Never."
2016
Tyler Kohl is fifty-five years old (she doesn't look a day older than thirty, thanks very much) the day she meets her newest responsibility, a traumatized eight year old freshly arrived from North Carolina. The little girl has been scrubbed clean and put in fresh clothes, but her cheeks are hollow and her gray eyes shaded. Tyler's seen that expression before, all the ghosts trapped at Camp Redwood had that same haunted look when they first realized they were dead.
Tyler stubs out her cigarette and approaches the girl slowly, giving the poor kid a chance to get used to her presence. Sudden moves around traumatized kids is the best way to make them hate you. Tyler stops a foot away and puts on her best smile, the one that makes all her superiors melt.
"Hi, I'm Tyler. I'm gonna be your caseworker." The little girl says nothing, fingers absently running over her snake's smooth scales. It's wrapped around her left wrist, tight and secure and permeating a sense of foreboding. Tyler kneels in front of her, meeting her gaze. "I'm going to keep you safe, Taylor."
"You can't promise me that."
"I can and I will. We have the same master, dear." Tyler raises her sleeve to show the pentagram tattooed on the inside of her forearm, blood red with black crows soaring around the sharp points. "You'll never have to worry again." Taylor studies her for a long while before nodding, looking back to her snake.
"My cousin lives in LA."
"Yes, but he's not ready yet. Give it a couple of months and then I'll make sure you end up with him. Until then, I've found a home that will take care of you." Tyler leads the girl to her car, smiling a little when she feels Fate twining itself around her pinky, the red string leading to Taylor's heart. Yes, they were meant to know each other.
Five years later, Tyler is safely hidden away in an underground bunker while that traumatized little girl helps to destroy all life on Earth.