Welcome! This is a private RP between Belle and Hot 2 Trot. Unless your name is in the title, please don't post, but feel free to read along!

Age: 19?

Personality/Background and everything else xD:

Cole through his “humble beginnings” often looks at life the wrong way. Often getting into fights with the other street boys to make a name for himself.

He’s very protective over what the little he has and friendships. He may often appear tough and rude towards people he just met but only shows his true personality towards close friends, the only ones he trusts.

True personality: Cole is soft, he’s gentle, he cares about the smallest detail and the things that make his friend happy. He’s often helpful towards animals but humans are another story. Nothing in his nature shows happiness towards humans he doesn’t know. Every human other than (name) is a threat to him.

Cole has had to endure hardships which have created a sense of “despair” within his life. He will not usually have a smile across his face unless he is with his friend from childhood (name).

Despite that pain he endures every time he wakes up to the world, Cole hopes for a opening in the world, one where he could become something meaningful, someone powerful, someone who people think about and care about.

Cole focuses on survival and keeping (other character name) safe. He has taken on the responsibility of looking after her which has caused new feelings to arise. Feelings he can’t hide for much longer.

Oki done one part xD

Appearance:

Coles is very tall for his age. He has a muscular build and often gets told he’s older than he looks, the world ages a soul.

He usually has soot in his face due to the area’s he wanders for food. His dark browns eyes are often hidden under his hoodie. His olive complexion is rarely seen, and Cole himself has forgotten what he truly looks like. He has black hair and a mark across his cheek and eye from multiple blows to the head during a fight.

His arms are covered in scratchers and wounds. “Battle wounds” he likes to call them. He is partially blind in one eye because of a fight.

Background:

Tessa, through her “quiet resilience,” often fades into the background. She has never been one to fight for attention, never one to demand more than what life has given her. She watches, listens, and understands far more than she ever says.

She’s protective over the small joys she finds in life, over the people she holds close—especially Cole. She may seem timid and unsure around strangers, hesitant to speak, hesitant to trust, but those who truly know her see the warmth she keeps hidden. Only a select few ever witness the softness in her voice, the light in her eyes when she feels safe.

True personality: Tessa is gentle, she’s kind, she cares about the smallest moments of happiness in a world that rarely gives her any. She notices the little things—how someone’s hands shake when they’re nervous, how the wind shifts before a storm, how a stray cat hesitates before accepting food. She is endlessly patient with animals, with children, with those who need care, but humans she doesn’t know are a different story. She keeps her distance, wary of their intentions, never offering trust easily.

Tessa has endured hardships that could have broken her, yet she still holds on to hope. Unlike Cole, she does not carry despair on her shoulders—she carries quiet determination. She does not always smile, but when she does, it is genuine, reserved for those who truly matter.

She often finds herself watching over her friends—patching them up after their fights and keeping her distance from those who started them. But her focus is always on protecting them in her own way. More than anything, she looks out for Cole, not just from others but from himself. Diffusing tensions, stepping in before things spiral—it’s a skill she’s learned well, one she holds onto tightly, especially when it comes to someone who has been by her side for as long as she can remember.

Appearance:

Tessa is finely built—years of hard work in the slums gave her some muscle, but never enough with food so scarce. She’s not the tallest, standing at around 5'4, though from a distance, her long legs and narrow frame could almost pass for 5'8. A very, very far distance.

Background:

Tessa grew up in an incredibly loving but unfortunate family. Living with her two brothers, her mother and incredibly poorly father, they struggle to make ends meet. She works hard to provide where she can for her family, although spends much of her time chasing after Cole - making sure he doesn't somehow get himself (And her brothers, actually) killed.

-

Cole glanced around the street noting any small details that seemed out of order. When everything seemed right he burst into the sunlight, its rays hitting him like a thousand knives piercing his skin, he quickly, without causing too much attention on himself, ran towards a nearby stream. He paused cautiously before moving towards the stream and filling a bottle he had found on the road. Looking around the small creek, he found his mind thinking about Tessa.

He planned on finding her after he finished here but even that couldn't stop the thoughts that entered into his mind. He briefly brushed them aside while screweing the lid to the bottle shut.

Turning sharply and standing up, he stepped backwards in surprise, face to face with him was someone, a human. They were near 'his' stream. He quickly composed himself and stepped closer, "Leave" he growled his voice barley a whisper, his eyes flashing with anger. The boy turned his heels and ran the other way wailing, "Weakling" Cole murmured.

He puffed out his chest in pride and slowly started making his way to Tessa. The day was already beginning to feel warm, so Cole stayed in the shadows of the run down buildings keeping a watchful eye for any more humans.

He found Tessa and quietly as to not distrub her too much, sat down. "Morning Tessa" he cheerfully smiled toward her. Whenever he was around her, he felt happy. It was different to any other human. He actually cared which may seem normal for a human to do but for him caring was a hard chore but it came naturally when he was around Tessa. He turned the bottle in his hand multiple times before placing it on the ground and looking up at her.

Tessa moved through the winding paths of the little "village" that had sprung up around her home, sticking to the shadows where the air was still cool. If you were out before ten, the heat wasn’t so bad. Extra cash, extra food. A simple enough job—delivering meals from the corner shop to the ones who needed them most. And if she was lucky, she might be able to sneak a little something home for herself. Every bit helped.

Most of the people she delivered to were friendly enough, which made things easier. She didn’t mind the work, really. But before long, she was done for the morning, slipping into a narrow alley on her way to meet Cole. Lately, she’d been thinking about him more than she cared to admit. What kind of trouble had he found this time? Had he been keeping his head down? Had he eaten anything? Or would he show up bruised and battered again, looking like he’d barely made it out of some scrap alive?

That boy would be the death of her.

How he was still breathing was beyond her. The fights, the reckless choices, the way he always left her worrying—it wasn’t smart. And he sure as hell wasn’t careful about it, not the way she wished he would be.

She found a quiet spot, away from the worst of the slums, where a wrong glance could end you. Back to the wall, no need to keep checking over her shoulder. When a familiar warmth settled beside her, she felt the grin creep onto her face before she could stop it. A bottle clinked onto the ground next to her, and she hummed, tilting her head as she looked him over.

"Morning to you too," she chirped, eyes scanning him carefully. No bruises? No fresh scrapes? She let out a small, amused huff. "No fights today? No near-death experiences to patch up?" Her voice carried a teasing lilt, but in truth, she wouldn’t be surprised if he had some sort of wild story up his sleeve.

Cole returned his gaze to the ground and sadly said, "No not yet, but the day is still fresh" he grinned at Tessa and moved a little closer. "Sooo...How's work going?". He honestly loved hearing about Tessa's but he could never tell her that. Cole tried hard, very hard to stick a job, earning what little money he could but everywhere he tried it was always about serving people. Serving food, serving drinks, serving, serving, serving. Cole was sick of it. Dealing with humans was hard enough but having to give them stuff they wanted, well that was basically torture besides he didn't mind searching for food or stealing... something he honestly wasn't proud of but had to do to survive. He sighed and looked up at Tessa, their eyes met briefly, her deep dark blue eyes piercing his heart. He unscrewed the lid of the fresh creek water and took a small sip, he then proceeded to wash his hands which showed his olive skin, a rare occurance to see under all the mud. How he longed for a shower, a warm shower with lots of soap. There was a community shower in the slums but it was cold and usually filled with people.

Cole looked up slowly and noticed a man walking up to them. Cole stood up and placed himself in between Tessa and the man. He hated fighting in front of Tessa but he made a vow to not let anyone near her who looked like harm.

Idk how far I can take it with rules and stuff)

+++

Cole watched intensly his body tensing in position. The man threw the first punch which Klaus managed to dodge but barley. He stood up to his full 6'2 in height and looked the man square in the eye before throwing a punch. The man crippled over but wasn't finished. He stood back up and drew out a k*ife and thrashed it across Cole's forhead before running off. Klaus fell down on his knees holding his hand on his forehead trying to stop that bleeding. "I'm alright" he said when he noticed Tessa coming closer. "Got another battle wound" he said trying to crack a joke. He watched Tessa check his wounds, he felt like reaching over and grabbing her hand but he couldn't, 'I'm not man enough' he said to himself, which is probably the reason why he kept fighting, to show Tessa he could look after her, he could protect her. He brought his thoughts back to the present and focused on the bleeding. The air was growing thick with heat, sweat now stuck to Cole and he sat back up trying to control his head spin. Focusing on Tessa, he , for the first time' noticed the way her hair shone in the sun, "Sorry" he said when he realised Tessa had caught him staring. He grabbed the water bottle and washed his face with from the bl*od.

Normally you can take it wherever you want as long as it's done tastefully aha)

-

Tessa watched with disinterest as Cole strode toward the man, her expression unreadable. Same old story. But the second the older, rougher-looking man pulled a knife—slashed him with it—then bolted, that disinterest shattered into pure panic.

The moment Cole hit the ground, she was on him, moving fast, eyes wide as she scanned him for the damage. Her hands found his forehead, pressing down in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. She shot him a glare, though it was shaky at best.

"Yeah, not funny," she muttered, yanking her jumper over her head and pressing the fabric against the wound in place of her hand. Hopefully, it would absorb the blood and the sweat already gathering on his skin. Really, really not funny. And absolutely not necessary.

"You're very clearly not alright." Her voice had already slipped into that familiar, frustrated tone—firm, exasperated, but laced with something softer. "Why do you do shit like this?"

He didn’t answer. Just stared at her. And when she noticed, catching his gaze lingering on her, she wrinkled her nose, shaking her head.

With a sigh, she shifted onto her knees in front of him. It would be easier to just walk away, to let him deal with the consequences of his own recklessness. But that wasn’t how things worked. If they got into trouble, they hid. They didn’t sit there waiting to get hit again.

She exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair to push it out of his face before offering her other hand to him. "We need to get that cut covered before you get an infection," she said, her voice quieter now. Softer.

Klaus sighed and slowly stood up, the bleeding had finally stopped and so seemed his nonsense. He faced reality and found a piece of old cotton from a jacket that barley survived a day. Winding it around his head, the pressure somewhat relieving, he picked his way towards the creek with Tessa, the same one he was at earlier that morning. He looked into the crystal clear water his own reflection scaring him a bit, his face, bruised, dirty. "Must be my parents bad genes" he muttered to himself. All he had ever known was his blood caked, mud ridden face. To be honest he was sick of it, sick of the fighting, always trying to impress Tessa, the need to be someone important, but he couldn't stop. Catching one last glance at himself in the water he looked up at Tessa and quietly said, "I'm sorry". It usually happened. He would say sorry, stop fighting for the rest of the day and then get right back at it the next. It was a burning desire to make himself known, to feel the power. He slumped down against a tree, his hand running across every wound and scar. This was the only time Cole showed weakness when it was just Tessa and him. Weakness didn't hurt unlike fighting, in fact it was relieving, sorta like a therapy lesson. Klaus was sure Tessa was sick of it, his constant fighting. Today was different though this was the first time Cole had ever had someone pull a knife out on him, this was the first time he knew it wasn't a fair fight and that death was a possibilty. It was always an option for his opponent to choose but would rarely be possible but reality hit and it hit Klaus hard, harder than he liked. He looked up at Tessa her caring eyes straining for hope. Klaus longed for that, desperately. To have some hope for the future.