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After yesterday's meeting, Salem had had a private conversation with Aloyisus. Most likely not the smartest idea, especially considering the whirlwind of emotions that she was feeling at the moment. Nonetheless the Guild leader made her way through the halls, back to her office. Pushing the door open, she would sit in the chair. Salem and Aliira met here practically every morning, and Salem was using this opportunity to clear the air once more. Perhaps she would tell her friend about the secret meeting, perhaps not. The actual reason was to delegate, more or less. Salem needed to tell Aliira about Elizabeth’s death. The whole Guild needed to know, actually, but Salem just didn’t feel up to it.

It wasn’t that she was lazy, or simply didn’t want to. It was that the young woman was exhausted: mentally, physically, and emotionally. She just simply couldn’t handle the questions and accusations at the moment, and she couldn’t put off telling the rest of the Guild until she actually pulled herself together. So, Salem had quietly decided that perhaps Aliira would help her out some.

Aliira went about her mornings as usual; checking on the security systems, checking on the young, making sure the kitchen staff were on task, addressing any emails or questions, etc. General maintenance issues that may have arrived in the morning or the night prior after she fell asleep. Satisfied all had been addressed Aliira sighed to herself, knowing now was the time for the morning meeting with Salem.

Heading down a few hallways, absentmindedly walking with her eyes scanning her phone she made it Salem’s door from muscle memory alone. Closing her phones screen she stuffed it in her pocket. She quickly pushed her fingers through her hair, wanting to look presentable. She then pushed her way through the door, casting a soft and sweet smile Salem’s way. She walked over to Salem, leaning down and hugging gently the sitting Salem. She then went to the chair beside Salem and took a seat herself.

”So, what’s on the agenda this morning, Boss.”

Salem welcomed the hug and gave Aliira a small one in return. Come to think of it, Aliira was the only person that Salem would really let regularly touch her. She turned her chair to look at her friend, trying to compose her thoughts. There were quite a few things on the agenda, there always were, but this morning, Salem couldn’t decide on what to tell her second in command first. The issues just seemed to… pressing, all of them important. The nagging suspicion that her meeting with Aloysius only complicated things was eating away at her. As she looked Aliira in the eye, her stomach now had a strange feeling in it; one that if she tried to lie, she though she might puke. All the young woman had ever done was lie: To her parents about where she was, indirectly by not telling her followers everything was going on… Her whole life had practically been a secret. Salem was done with it. ”Elizabeth is dead and I had a secret meeting with Al,” she said quickly, almost slurring her words. Her face would be serious, but as usual, her eyes would give her away with the look of pure anguish in them.

Aliira could tell something was wrong, something was eating at Salem. So her brown eyes just stayed affixed to her face, awaiting what she had to say; a nervousness of her own beginning to unsettle her stomach. But then she heard Salem’s words, and they had been far worse than she dared imagine. She didn’t care about the secret meeting. It held no importance over the fact of losing one of their own. Aliira reached out, taking Salem’s hand in almost a desperate manner. ”You’re… You’re joking, right? Teasing me because I’ve been so worried?” Aliira practically pleaded. Though Salem didn’t need to respond, her eyes gave away the sincerity in the claim

”No…” Her voice trailed in disbelief. Standing up from her chair and pacing around the room, echoing the denying words quietly to herself. Though her movements seemed slow and deliberate, she didn’t seem present. As if she were locked away within herself trying to make sense, but more importantly stay calm. Her powers were connected to her emotions, the faint glow from her fully encompassing tattoo’s beginning to flow in and out of view; like they were being pulled back with each breath. As each moment passed tears began to pool in her eyes, though her expression was one of calm desperation.

It was taking all that Salem had in her to keep it together herself, and seeing Aliira’s reaction wasn’t helping. Salem wasn’t about to condemn her for showing her emotions, however. The tears in her eyes didn’t come as a surprise to Salem. It was no secret that Li was the more openly emotional of the two. Salem had always thought that Allira and herself had always balanced each other. Salem was cold and shut off - a total bitch. Aliira was kind, and motherly, though when pushed to her limit her kind heart could turn ruthless. She watched her friend walk around the room, the mark on her body beginning to glow faintly all over. Salem had always seen a form of beauty in the way the other woman's skin glowed. She felt the need to reach out and give her a hug, though she wasn’t entirely sure if that would make things worse or not. So instead she stayed in her seat.

”I… I’m sorry,” she began. ”Zeke is the one that found her. Circe is the one responsible.” Salem sat there, watching Aliira pace back and forth. She decided to keep her responses short. If Aliira wanted to ask questions, she would give her as much information as she could, but for now, this seemed like the best option.

As Aliira heard the person responsible she felt rage swell within her. Scorching anger searing through her veins. No longer were her marks flashing, now there were fully emblazoned. Her marks burning so bright the glow seeped through her clothes. Luckily she was still conscious of herself, she knew this rage was dangerous.

Suddenly Aliira cried out loudly, dispensing immense energy from her body; the concrete beneath her feet cracking and spidering out under her. The similar glowing energy seeping out from the split ground, though no longer the calm flow. The energy was jagged, vibrating at volatile and irregular patterns.

Slowly though the energy began to fade back into the Earth, her markings beginning to disappear off her skin. Aliira then fell to her knees, sobs beginning to come from her as tears finally fell down her cheeks. Her arms wrapping around her own stomach as she let herself slouch into her own lap.

”I… I should have protected her…” She sobbed quietly to herself. Her fingers gripping strong at her sides, hugging herself tightly; trying to reign in her sobbing and pain.

Seeing her friend in so much pain cause Salem to feel it herself. How could Aliira think this was her fault? Salem was their leader; it was her job to keep them safe, not Aliira’s. Seeing the other woman fall to her knees, Salem would get up quickly from her chair and walk over to her friend, sitting down on her knees as she placed her hand under Aliiras chin, gently turning her face towards her. ”Hey…” she began, her tone quiet and soothing. ”This isn’t your fault. No one could have seen this coming. No one could have prevented it. She died a warrior's death. This isn’t your fault, Li.”

Aliira didn’t resist as her face was turned towards Salem. Her soft brown eyes pained and desperate. She listened to the words, trying to stifle her sobbing. As Salem finished speaking there was a short moment of silence, the desperation for comfort overwhelming. Aliira then moved closer, suddenly throwing herself at Salem. Her arms wrapped swiftly and tightly around the other girls back. Pulling Salem tightly into herself, hiding her face in the crook of Salem’s neck. Her fingers gripping tightly on the back of Salem shirt as she tried to keep herself from sobbing again; though the tears never stopped.

An overwhelming sort of anger filled Salem from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. It had been a while since one of their ranks were lost, and she had nearly forgotten what it did to her friend. Feeling how desperately Aliira was clinging to her, Salem did the same, wrapping her arms around the other woman. Thoughts began to run through her head once more. Why had she really had the meeting with Aloysius? He was the one who proposed it. Was it just some sort of trick? A distraction? ”We’ll avenge her. I promise,” she nearly whispered.

The moment lasted a few minutes. Silent embrace after Salem’s assurance there would be vengeance. As Aliira began to slowly take back control of herself her arms loosened around the woman. She sat back on her heels, resting her hands on Salem’s lap as she looked up at the other.

”We will avenge her. But we need to do this right. We can’t go out there looking for blood. We can’t be seen as a tyrant. We are the good guys, we need to keep our imagine.” Aliira spoke flatly, the pain obvious in her eyes. It was apparent she was conflicted with even her own words. Like she disagreed with everything she said, but she stood behind her words. No matter how much she hated to say it.

Salem simply nodded her head, knowing that Aliira was right. She couldn’t count how many times she would have went out on a murdering spree for vengeance or the like if it hadn’t been for Li’s level headedness. Getting to her feet, Salem would offer a hand to the other woman. ”You’re right. But… we should get going. There’s plenty of work to be done.”

Aliira nodded in response, though she no longer cried there was a deep agony behind her glossed over brown eyes. Taking a deep breath and quickly exhaling, as if she were desperately trying to expel the hurt. She then took Salem’s hand, using it to pulling herself to her feet.

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A collab between @jakeb1993, @SouffleGirl123 & @PureHeroine
Location: Dark Shadow HQ.
Date: 4th August 2017
Time: 9:00AM

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Emily awoke later than most mornings she spent in another man’s bed but this was a different case entirely. It’s one thing to skip out on an awkward ‘next morning’ scenario and to get away with taking stuff with some stranger she’ll never see again than with the man who was essentially her boss. On top of that, Emily was in pain. Serious pain as the strain and bruises (particularly those around her throat and on her knuckles) was taking its toll between having time to set in and the lack of alcohol content to ease it. Emily shifted slightly, expelling a painful groan.

Aloysius usually woke up quite early. However a combination of lack of sleep from the two previous nights, had forced him to sleep in. Having Emily and her warm body so close was also a large contributing factor. He ended up waking up around the same time as Emily, awake enough to here her groans in pain. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around her, gently kissing her neck softly, trying to ease her pain. ”You feeling ok?”

Emily shuttered slightly as Aloysius wrapped his arms around her. No, this wasn't meant to happen. It was a night not a morning but still aching like crazy and finding more comfort than she’d be willing to admit she did none to stop it. ”The lil bitch really pulled a number on me,” she groaned. ”One of the many advantages of being drunk is its ability to numb the pain,”

”Did you have fun though?” Aloysius asked as he cuddled close to her. ”I know that I enjoyed last night. Even if you know… you were very rough” He would chuckle and pull her in closer to him. ”Even if you did almost give me that neck bruise on my own neck”

Emily relaxed in his arms for the time being, it was a temporary place of warmth and comfort but if he were expecting it to go past this moment he’d be out of luck. He wasn't expecting that, right? That was the major difference between her at Ty, she could never commit. ”I did warn you,” she replies in a hushed tone, ”When it comes to the bedroom I always take charge... and I like to play rough.”

”I gathered. This was nice… Rough… but nice. We should do it again at some point in the future. Nothing committed like, just casual” God he had missed this. He had missed waking up next to Ty in the morning and teasing him about his hair, or making him giggle by kissing his body. ”I mean, only if you can’t get a guy for the night”

Emily turns in his arms to face Al, shifting back a bit. Was he really trying to make this a thing? ”Are you trying to replace me with Ty?” she asks. She wasn't sure what to say to such an offer. She kept it to a one time basis, even ‘casual’ translated to a form of commitment for her but, in saying that, she kind of liked the idea of having somewhere to get her fill if things go awry. She was stumped, to say the least.

”Honestly?....” Right now Aloysius was too comfortable to really lie. ”Sort of I guess. Me and him had a very casual, sex whenever you like arrangement. It was really good. And we were free to see other people” He would then look at Emily’s eyes before going down to her neck and eyeing her bruise. ”Did you get the name of the woman that hurt you? You plan on fighting her again?” He asked her.

Emily was stumped, completely unsure what to think of all this ”Let’s… let’s just see what happens…” she replies. At his next question Emily sighs. “Her name? No… I never caught that actually. I guess if I see her again I might? We’ll have to see what comes. I not gonna stop bar hopping though,” she replies

”You know, I could just build a bar here. You would never have to leave this place again. No fights, just lots of drinks” He would smile ”Next time you fight, how about you record it so I can watch?”

”What’s the fun in that?” she asks, looking him in the eyes, ”No randoms to screw and I enjoy the bar fights anyway. Besides, I could make a bar out of my jacket pockets if I really wanted to. Why does this even mean anything to you?”. What was Al’s deal anyway? Was he really trying to commit her? At the next question she chuckles, “I’ll see what I can do,”

”I don't know. I am just lost. I guess. Ty was amazing. I will miss our nights together. I guess I am trying to rebound slightly. Sorry for using you” Aloysius confessed aloud. ”It was amazing though. Maybe we should get up?”

Emily shrugs “That’s the state half of the drunken bastards I sleep with are in. They’re just people I’ll never see again… or not my boss for that matter. It was good though I’m not sure about amazing,” she teases in a way she was hoping would leave him wondering how serious she was. She loved playing mind games with people, kept them guessing. ”Getting up is probably a good idea,” she then muses.

On the way to the door Emily slipped on Al’s shirts lying on the ground, making a mental note to return it later. She then slipped out of Aloysius’ room, closing the door behind her.

Lana had received a text earlier from Aloysius to meet him at headquarters, the message didn't say what it was about or what time she needed to be there by, just that she needed to be there as soon as possible. So there she was, making her way to HQ. She wasn't particularly happy about it, since it was her day off and she had better things she could be doing with her time, but she didn't have a choice.

When she got there she was expecting to see Al waiting in the meeting room, but he was nowhere in sight. Lana made her way around the building, going from room to room looking for him. Finally she found herself on the top floor, where his bed room was located. It was the last place she had yet to look. Just as she was heading there the door open and out slipped Emily.

The first thing she noticed about the red head was the bruises, specifically the rather nasty ones around her neck. "Holy shit Emily, what happened to you? Who did this?" She asked, genuine concern and panic lacing her voice. That's when she noticed something else about Emily's appearance; she was wearing one of Aloysius' shirts. It was then that she realized she had just seen the woman slipping out of his room.

Then all sense went out the window. Lana was furious. Naturally she assumed it was Al who had hurt Em, given where they were and the fact that not two days ago he had made an attempt to kill her. Without a second thought, Lana went marching right up to Al's bedroom door and hit it with a blast, sending it flying off its hinges and into the opposite wall, where it would then break into several pieces upon impact.

"You disgusting, loathsome piece of shit! How fucking dare you lay a hand on her?! Was trying to kill her once not good enough for you?!" These and many more obscenities came flowing from her mouth as she stormed her way across the room to where Al was and landed one of her infamous telekinetic punches across his face.

Aloysius was caught off guard by the sudden decimating of his bedroom door. He had only just gotten half dressed, his shirt the last thing to put on. Shock was his main emotion. ”Lana!?” He said with surprise, but he didn’t have time to say anything else. Lana stormed up to him and threw a punch at midair. His eye widened as remembered what that move was. Without warning, he felt a force smack into his face, sending him flying across the room and into the far wall with a crash, eliciting a large yelp of pain as he did.
”What...what the hell!?”

Emily was left just as clueless as Al as Lana went from just neutrally looking over Emily to blast open the door and racing into the room, fists flying. ”Wait… what?” was all Emily could utter, unable to move but just watch from the doorway as Lana starts ripping the man a new one.

"Don't play innocent with me you son of a bitch!" Lana sent another one of her punches to his gut, before stepping aside, lifting him into the air, and throwing him out the now doorless doorway. Out of which she would soon follow. Al would have landed right by Emily's feet. Lana would then walk over and physically grab him by the hair and yank him to his feet, holding his head up so he could see Emily in all her bruised and battered glory. "You think shit like this is okay?! Then let's see how you like it!" This time she would hit him with a kick to the abdomen, with the same technique as her first two punches.

Aloysius was still clueless as to what was going on right now. Lana had stormed in and had laid down so much hurt in a short amount of time he was practically stunned. Before he could even attempt to get up Lana smashed a attack into his gut, winding him and causing him to cough heavily. ”Fu….ck….Stop” It was too late, Lana had lifted him off the ground and threw with enough force to send him out of the room and landing at Emily’s feet. ”Emily…..tell….her He called out, only to be lifted up by his hair, letting out a small whimper of pain. More heavy coughs followed after the kick to the abdomen hit, causing his body to buck heavily and recoil.

Soon enough Aloysius was thrown at Emily’s feet and she took a small step back, still trying to process what was going on. It wasn't until Lana was holding the man up to Emily she caught wind of it. Aloysius prodded Emily to tell her but the time Emily took trying to process everything the man was thrown to the ground. ”Lana, calm down!” she yells, more to make sure it got through to her then of anger, ”He didn't do anything to me! I got into a bar fight last night, lil bitch who I fought got me good, that’s all,” she explains, trying to keep her eyes on Lana other than the poor man being flung around the room.

Lana was preparing to beat Aloysius down even more when suddenly Emily yelled out to her to calm down, which immediately caught her attention. She was still firmly holding Al by the hair as she looked over at the red head. She didn't want him trying to scamper off like a coward while she was distracted. That is, until she heard Em explain that she was wrong, that it wasn't Al who had hurt her, and that the bruises were a result of a bar fight.

She wasn't immediately convinced though, and suspected Emily might just be covering for him, until she realized that wasn't in her nature at all. Even so, it would take a while for the anger to simmer down enough for her finally release her grip on him. "Then why the hell were you...Oh...shit." It's like a switch had suddenly been flicked in her head, and everything was making sense. She glanced down to the partially beaten man on the ground for a second, and there was a small glimmer of guilt in her eyes.

"Wait, you and Al? Seriously? I didn't think you would ever be that desperate, Em." Lana scoffed as she turned her gaze back to the redhead, any sense of guilt or remorse she had been feeling completely gone.

Emily started off with shrugging in response, ”I’ve done worse,” she replied. Was that true? Likely not if she really thought about it, she’s never really had a boss to do before this anyway but despite that fact Emily wondered if it were really that bad. ”Besides, he’s having trouble getting over Ty and Salem. I had services to offer to help him out so I did. No biggie. He actually meet up with Salem the other night. Wait, yeah, last night he even told me he kissed her, which is like the worse time to tell a woman that. Luckily for him, unlike most women, I couldn't really give a shit about that but it was Salem,” she rambles. She showed no remorse for what happened that night, it’s what she did and Aloysius was a perfectly fine candidate.

Lana's rage was bubbling up at just the mention of Salem's name, but the fact that Aloysius had met with her and even kissed her, was more than enough to flick that switch in her mind once again. "Fraternizing with the enemy now?! And this, not even a week after Ty is gone?! And you had the nerve to accuse me of trying to replace him?! Yet here you are, jumping from one person to the next, as if he meant nothing to you!"

From her hand Lana would produce a telekinetic whip, constructed from her psychic energy. A new skill she had picked up after the power boost from the auction, and something neither of them would have witnessed her use before. The weapon would be confusing to look at. The outline was visible but the center was completely transparent, as though it was there but it wasn’t. Al wouldn't get much of a chance to look at it though, before she hit him across the chest with it several times.

Just like her punches and kicks, her whip would have a knock back effect, depending on how hard she hit with it. The first few hits were mild lashings, but the final blow would have enough force to send him flying across the room into another wall. "You are a pathetic excuse for a leader!"

”It isn’t like that!” Aloysius managed to splash out before getting hit in the chest by something he couldn’t quite see. He could sense it. Really sense it. But alas, whatever it was evaded him. It didn’t really matter as the strikes continued, breaking the skin and leaving some nasty gashes. To make it worse, the strikes were knocking him backwards, and the final strike sent him right back into another wall, causing him to slump down again. His back felt like it was breaking, pain pulsating down his spine as it started to stiffen. Lying there Aloysius began to breath heavy, his rather fragile body struggling to cope with onslaught heading his way. ”We met to discuss Rebecca and Circe”

Lana diffused the whip, she was done with that for now. Instead she picked Al up and pinned him to the wall, applying pressure around his throat, just enough to restrict his breathing a little. "You went there without anyone else's knowledge, not even mine! I'm meant to be your second in command for fucks sake, we are meant to trust each other! What if it had been a trap?! How can you be that fucking stupid Al?! And what the fuck does Circe have to do with any of this?! What, you're ratting out your own people now?! Don't forget you're the one who sent that psycho out in the first place! You know what she's capable of, so whatever she did, is on you!"

She would eventually close the distance between them, getting close enough that their faces were just inches apart. In her hand she constructed a telekinetic blade, and ran said blade from his temple down the side of his face to his jaw, applying enough pressure to just split the skin. "You need to get your shit together Al, start acting like a leader again. Or soon enough you'll find there will be no one left to follow you. And if I ever find out you've gone behind our backs and met with that blue haired bitch again, I'll cut you up so bad, not even your own mother would recognize you. Do I make myself clear?"

As Lana pulled the blade down the side of his face, he could feel a warm, burning sensation following the blade. ”I knew it wasn't a trap… I called the meeting… I asked to meet her Ok. But I get it ok. No more meetings with her. It won't happen again” Al would try and breath and struggled to draw any sort of meaningful breath.

Emily didn't know what to make of any of this, or how to react. She just stood in the doorway, which Lana handing Al’s ass to him. If she were a reasonable person Emily could have told Lana to stop but Emily wasn't all that reasonable, nor did she might seeing Al getting beaten to pulp by his second in command. Eventually Lana dragged the blade along Al’s face and left him in a much worse state than before. She walked over to Lana and put her hand on Lana’s shoulder. ”As much as I’m loving seeing Al beaten worse than last night it might be time to leave him. Or not, if you want to knock him out go for it but I think your moral compass isn’t as corrupt as mine,” Honestly, Emily didn't care too much what outcome Lana decided in this but she did pity Al a bit.

"Good." Lana would release the pressure from Aloysius neck and remove the force that was holding him to the wall, the blade in her hand would also disappear. Seeing as Al was no longer strong enough to hold himself up, she would have to kneel down in front of him to say what she wanted to say next, which is something she wanted only him to hear. Before she said anything, however, she would use her hand to cup his chin and hold his face up so she could look into his eyes. Then she spoke to him in what was quite possibly the calmest tone she had that whole morning.

"This might surprise you Al, but there was a time I actually respected you. Maybe even liked you. Maybe even cared for you. Now all I get is a feeling of disgust whenever I see your face. You're pathetic. But you never know, if you truly try hard enough, you might win my respect back at least." With that she let go of his chin, letting his face drop again, before finally standing up to her full height.

By that time Emily had walked over to join them, suggesting that perhaps Lana leave him as he was, but also letting her know she wouldn't stop her if she pressed on. The green haired women considered it for a moment, but then shook her head. "No, I think Aloysius has learned his lesson." She replied, her eyes harsh as she glared down at him and her tone cold and condescending. "Bet you're wishing you never called me in for a meeting now, hm? It was a good talk at least. Hopefully we won't have to revisit this conversation again though. Because next time, I won't be so nice." With those final words, Lana turned and walked away.

Emily was still rather stunned, with all of this. Her hand brushed the bruise on her throat. Although it was ill-advised Emily had never really had anyone look out for her, not like that. She concluded the woman was a friend now and before long Lana had stormed off. Emily looked at the bruised and bloodied body of her boss and overnight lover. She tugged off the shirt he gave her and tossed it at him. ”Clean yourself up, you look like shit,” she instructs before turning and, unashamedly, walking through the Dark Shadows headquarters and back to her room in just her bra and crumpled jeans.

(Collab between @Cerces22, @Zetsuko, @mmarage)

Joe had awoken in his new apartment. He had finally signed his lease the day prior and unloaded what few belongings he had into its confines. Everything was still packed away in boxes, but it wouldn't take the boy no more than an hour or so to put everything away. It was primarily his clothing, toiletries, books, and kitchenware. He hadn't accumulated much in his twenty years of life, he was careful with his money and avoided making frivolous purchases and heaven's knew that he never received many gifts from others. Though, with what few that he did receive, he made sure to cherish them.

Unfortunately, unpacking would have to come later. Right now, he needed to get ready and head over to the Dark Shadows Headquarters. He... still couldn't quite believe that he was going through with it all. Just a little over half a year ago his whole life changed. He never thought he'd be leaving Maine, let alone coming to New York City to fight against the Guild. But... fate tends to have a bit of a funny habit to play around with people's lives.

Joe sat up in his bed and looked down at the boxes strewn around on the ground. He got up, walked over to the small pile, and knelt down. He snagged a pair of scissors on top of the TV stand that had come with the room, opened them, and then ran the blade down the packing tape sealing the cardboard box labeled "Toiletries", cutting it enough for him to be able to open the box open. He would then repeat the process with the boxes labeled "Clothing". He would grab his shower supplies, his dental hygiene supplies, and his hairbrush. He then grabbed a simple white button down shirt, a black t-shirt, a pair of underwear and socks, a pair of black jeans, and a towel.

He would then walk into the bathroom, carefully carrying everything in his arms. He'd set everything down on the bathroom counter. He'd place his toiletries behind the sink, aside from his shower supplies, which he placed in the shower. He would then pick up his clothing and set it down onto the toilet next to the shower. Finally, he would reach into the shower and turn the handle, letting the water get hot as he stripped down.

He would hop in and out of the shower, taking just enough time to shampoo and condition his hair, scrub himself with the body wash and then rinse it all off. He would dry off his hair and body and quickly slip on his clothes, before walking back in front of the sink and wiping away the fogged up mirror. He would quickly brush his still damp hair down, then quickly rub the stick of deodorant beneath his armpits, before finally brushing his teeth and then gargling with mouth wash.

He walked out of the bathroom once he deemed that he was presentable. He just needed to grab a few things before he could finally leave. First thing he grabbed was his smartphone, something which he had saved up a few paychecks for. In this day and age, it was pretty much a necessity, especially since now he'll be navigating through a whole new and impossibly huge city on foot. His wallet and keys, and then finally, off of his nightstand, a simple pendant.

It had a simple silver chain and ended with a green crystal shaped like a teardrop at the end. It was his most prized possession, something his father had given to him shortly before his passing. He said that it was very important that he kept it, that it was like a protection charm, that no matter where he went, a bit of his father would be with him to protect him. He... always did feel like it did have some sort of mysterious power lying within it. He was almost certain that the crystal would swirl with some mysterious aura inside of it. Though... of course it could have merely been a trick of the light and his desire for what his father said to be true to make him think it was really special and not just a hunk of rock. Either way, it was the sole item he possessed that linked him back to his family.

He quickly clasped the pendant around his neck and rushed out of the door. He had already pulled up the address to the Dark Shadows' headquarters, it'd just be a matter of getting there. Hopefully he wouldn't get lost or anything. It'd be a pretty bad impression if he got lost on his very first day when he had a GPS at his fingertips. After locking his door and starting the GPS on his phone, he began walking to his destination, which, thankfully wasn't too far from him.

Circe sat in her spot at headquarters. Whistling Criminally Insane by Slayer while playing whack a mole that substituted the mole with Mommy Aly created by her magic. Tayla definitely showed her how much fun quality over quantity really was. Though Circes approach was as much fun, it was still here preferred method in dealing with the cockroaches killed humans. Now though she sat with nothing fun to do, or someone to kill.

Joe stood outside the door of the headquarters, a simple, yet unassuming apartment building which appeared to be like any of the other buildings on the street. Something that wouldn’t really gather much attention. Made sense, he supposed, don’t want people to know what’s going on within. He looked back at the street with some trepidation, his hand reaching up to the pendant around his neck and giving it a little squeeze, before finally turning back toward the door, grabbing the handle, and pushing the door open.

Joe walked into the hideout, shutting the door behind him. He could feel his heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. He was really doing this. He was joining the Dark Shadows, he was going to fight the guild. He took a deep breath, and then exhaled before announcing his presence. “Hello? I’m the new recruit.” He called out, hoping that someone would hear him.

Just as Circe violently smashed an Aly replica a voice rang out. A young man wearing a pendant had just announced himself. Circe quickly looked around to see if anyone else was around to greet the new guy. Seeing how she was the only other person in the room brought a wicked smile to her face.

You should kill him, no one knows he is here, take your time, use what Talya showed you last night, hehehehehe. Said the other Circe, she had begun trying to weasel her way back in control, but for the moment Circe had her more… unpredictable side under control.

”Hey, no one else but me and my voices here. Who are you, and what can you do?? She said to the new guy as a stiletto blade of shadows appeared in her hand, using it to pick at her fingernails.

Joe’s head turned toward the voice that rang out throughout the room. He looked the woman up and down for a second, a little worried that she might cut herself with the black stiletto blade. However, he figured that she must do it a lot with how naturally she acted with the blade. He gave a polite chuckle to what he had hoped was a joke. ”Oh, ah… I’m Joe, like I said, I’m the new recruit. I just got in last night. As for what I can do… w-well… right now… not a lot.” He said as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, not wanting to give away too much right now. After all, it’d be kind of lame if Lana had told anyone about that incident and then all he could say was that he could do was… well… make pretty lights.

The blade dematerialized as she finished listening to Joe talk, such a boring name, befitting a boring guy it seems. ”Well if you can't do a lot, why are you here?? We are in the business of world destruction… sorry, domination. There must be a reason why you joined us, unless your a Guilding spy, in which case I should save Aly and Lana the trouble, and kill you myself. You can be one of my new toys, they don't last so long though.” She said with mock dejection.

Joe straightened up, an annoyed expression crossing his face as he looked at the woman, he straightened up. ”T-There’s no way that I’d ever join that organization! I… I might not want world domination or something along those lines… but I do want to take down the Guild. They have no right to do what they do to magi. Their whole organization is corrupt to the core. Believe me or not, but I am not a spy. I… I saved Ms. Lana when some of those Guild dogs jumped her last Winter. They were beating her to death and… well… I couldn’t just stand by and I kind of… sort of… well… blasted them.” He said, his indignation slowly dying as he went on to explain how he had gotten here.

He folded his arms across his chest and looked off to the side, biting his lip slightly. This… story would sound hard to believe, after all, a captain needing help from a random stranger, one that just so happen couldn’t do what he did before. That… seemed shady even to him and he had been there and had indeed done just that.

Circe walked up to the young mage and slowly walked around him. Joe was very unassuming, he seemed timid to her, and easy target. She leaned in and sniffed him and her nose wrinkled.

”You smell… bright?? So you cause explosions?? That could be an interesting ability to have. I am sure Mommy Aly, when he returns from, wherever he may be, he doesn't tell his Captain anything of course. But you smell… wrong how do you make the explosions??” She stopped circling him and waited for an answer.

Joe felt a little weirded out as the woman began to circle him… and then sniff him? What did she mean by “bright”? This one… was certainly an oddball. He instinctively reached up and grabbed onto his pendant, the green crystal shimmering slightly in the dim light of the headquarters. “...Well, it wasn’t explosions… more like… beams of light energy, I suppose. Just kind of… slammed into ‘em. Kind of burned them too, I think. But they were still breathing when I left them, so that’s good. Probably still recovering though, can’t say they don’t deserve that.” He said, mumbling the last part as he kept his eyes on the woman.

Circe listen to the man ramble on grabbing the pendant at his throat. When she heard about the beams of light she stopped breathing. Frozen in place as both personalities processed what he had said. A low hiss escaped her mouth, quick as a snake she uncoiled grabbing him by his clothes, a hand tracing down his face as she brought hers in closer.

”You are a LIGHT mage?!” The words coming out clipped and harsh. ”You come in this place, with your disgusting light magic, you are going to pay for that misjudgement with your life!!” Her hand raised and a wicked serrated dagger appeared. She pressed the blade to his throat drawing a drop of blood.

Luka was returning from an assignment, one that may not have gone entirely to plan if his injuries were any indication. A lot of the damage he sustained while he was out was actually already healed thanks to his magic with only some injuries on his face still showing, namely that his right cheek was split open baring his teeth all the way to his ear in a wicked grin, his skull was showing through in a few places, and his right eye hanging out of its socket. Despite the mangled state of about half of his face he seemed completely unphased, even singing to himself as he cracked parts of himself back together while he walked up to the DS hideout entrance

"Bloody bloody Mary tell you what you just say" Crack
"You been talkin' reckless, you don't want a problem" crack "Murda murda murda there's no running away" crack
"They won't hear you scream in-"

He stopped as he came through the door to the sight of Circe with one of her shadow-blades against a young boy's throat. He didn't recognize the boy but the fact that he was able to get through the door must have meant that he was Dark Shadow and if he recalled correctly Lana had mentioned recruiting someone a while back, this must be him then.

Closing the door behind him he addressed the two "Now Circe, is that any way to greet the new guy" as he walked toward them he took his handing eye and popped it back in, blinking a few times to align it You know bossman doesn't like you scaring off the new recruits, C'mon before you traumatize the poor boy" He came up beside Circe and put one arm around her shoulders and used the other to tip her hand away from the new guy's neck "Terribly sorry about this friend he tried a sort of half-smile despite one half of his mouth being cut open in a semi-permanent grin for the moment "My name is Luka, if this one hasn't told you yet her name is Circe. Might I ask your name?"

Joe had frozen up as soon as the woman had grabbed his clothes and gotten close to him. His eyes widened, he looked like he was a deer caught in the headlights as he felt that knife against his throat. He let out a soft gasp as he felt it dig slightly into his throat, feeling a warm sensation slowly going down his throat. Surely, his blood dripping down his throat and staining into the collar of his shirt.

He was certain that this was how he was going to die. For whatever reason, he had angered this clearly unstable woman, and now he was going to get murdered in this dingy hideout. He silently prayed that someone, anyone would come save him. His prayers were thankfully answered as a disfigured man walked up to them and relieved the pressure of that knife against his throat.
He let out a sigh of relief, relaxing slightly as he looked over at Luka. “I-I’m Joe. I-I’m the new recruit.” He said, his body was still trembling, but he decided to try and take a step back, hoping that Circe would let go of the collar of his shirt

Just as Circe was about to start playing Luka walked in, looking worse than Solomon Grundy. He told her to leave the damned light mage alone, going as far as to remove her hand from his throat. Circe let go of Joe's clothes with her other hand, while a new knife appeared and she flashed it up underneath his chin. Her eyes flicked to Luka, the anger burning in them.

”Listen here, Some Assembly Required he is a light mage!! That magical abomination needs to be removed before it taints my beautiful darkness!! All light must be extinguished.” Circes wild eyes now darting between the two men. She would have to kill Luka if he tried to stop her.

"Well it's nice to meet you j-" Luka was cut off again as Circe took her knife to him. He didn't even flinch is response, he just curled in the arm he had around her shoulder so his fingers were close to her neck, small blood claws threatening to rip her open "Really now? Shouldn't you two be getting along better then? They say opposites attract you know"

He didn't didn't turn his head very far, just glaring at her out of the corner of his eyes and speaking again after a short pause. "We don't want to make a mess of our little lair now Circe, do put your shadows back at your feet." His other hand was poised to strike, he would disable Circe if he had too and she wouldn't stand a chance this close. He just hoped she wouldn't be trouble right now.

With wide crazy eyes darting between Joe and Luka, Circe contemplated all of her options on her next move. She could strike out and kill Joe, but Luka was fast and with his hand at her throat, he could still kill her. She snarled at Luka in frustration as her daggers melted away. She pulled her head back and glared at Luka.

”Just because I like your ability to cover yourself in blood Hush, doesn't mean I won't kill you if given the opportunity. And, Light Bright, best not let me catch you without your blood hound around. Else my dagger will find it's way into your light bulb.” With her threats delivered she turned on her hell and stormed off, slamming the door behind her.

Joe thought for sure that things were going to end in bloodshed, either with himself, or Circe dead… however, she finally stopped and stormed away. He let out a sigh of relief and nearly fell to his knees, the tension slowly draining from his shoulders. “T-Thank you, Mr. Luka. I-I don’t know what I did, honest. I just… talked about why I was here and then she just lost it. I… don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been here.” He said, looking at the disfigured man in front of him.

"Good girl" Luka muttered as Circe stormed off. He brought a hand up and continued fixing himself as Joe started talking to him. "Ah don't worry about it. She's just a little unstable eh, tragic past broke her. The pain and death is all she knows, S'made her violent. Sad but it's cute sometimes.” By the time he was done speaking he'd finally fixed most of his face, his split cheek the only thing left but the grin was real now.

"Anyway, You're the recruit Lana mentioned a while back yes. If your looking for everyone they should be just through there.” He pointed toward another door. "Sorry to leave you on your own but I'm going to see if I can talk that one into not playing skip-rope with your intestines for awhile." On that last note he started walking away from Joe to head through the door after Circe.

Joe nodded as he listened to Luka. He… could kind of understand. He’d seen it a lot with other kids at the orphanages where he had grown up, those who had been in even worse situations than he had been in. They acted out, acted violently, unable to really reach out to others in a meaningful way, and in their frustration with the world, they just lashed out more and more. Though… never quite to the point of murder. That Circe girl really needs some professional help.

He looked over at the door that Luka had pointed out, and then looked back at him as he walked away once more. ”A-Ah, thanks again!” He called out after him, before turning and wandering through the door. Hopefully, this would be the most eventful thing that happened to him today...

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A collab between @SouffleGirl123 & @PureHeroine
Location: Dark Shadow HQ.
Date: 4th August 2017
Time: 10:30AM

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After the events of that morning Emily, who was still bruised and sporting dots of Jordan’s blood from the prior night, went for a shower. Cleaned and fully clothed she went out to find Lana. ”Hey, I know you're a kick ass female who doesn't need no practice but as you made the effort to get out here might as well get some training done, right?” she offers.

Lana was still riled up over what had just occurred with Aloysius, so much so she was no longer in the mood to do anything she had originally planned to do for her day off; which only served to irritate her even more. After a few minutes of pacing around in the meeting room -which she had chosen because she knew no one else would be there- she decided she would head down to the training room and see if she could release some of her pent up frustrations and energy on the dummies.

She wasn't looking for anyone to join her, in fact she would have preferred to be alone, but along the way she wound up bumping into Emily of all people. For some reason, the idea of training with the pyromage didn't actually sound so bad, so when Emily suggested it, Lana nodded in agreement. She liked Emily, she even felt comfortable around her, despite not knowing her for very long. Which was likely because the redhead didn't poke fun at her or treat her like an outsider like everyone, even Ty, did. She also wasn't scared off by Lana's unstable emotions, as proved by the fact that she was still willing to be around her even after seeing her rip into Al so viciously.

“Awesome,” Emily replied, leading the second in command to the large training hall. Show rolled her shoulders as she tied back her ginger hair in a large ponytail. ”I… er… guess I should thank you for the other day, convincing Al I should be captain,” Emily wasn't very good at giving thanks but she felt she needed to, especially with Lana. That woman was her friend, she proved that today especially as she barged into Al’s room. Even if it were ill-advised it was with good intentions, good intentions on Emily’s behalf. No one had really had her back in that regard before.

Lana couldn't help but chuckle a little at how awkward Emily was while trying to thank her, it wasn't hard to tell that the woman wasn't very good at it. "No need to thank me, you more than deserve it, being here as long as you have, and you're obviously strong enough. You proved that in the way you handled yourself with Al." She wasn't very experienced in giving compliments, but she thought she did a nice enough job. "So, did you have anything particular in mind? Personally I've been wanting to work on this new technique of mine, it's quite a nifty little trick I picked up recently."

At Lana’s compliments Emily gave a smile accompanied by a meek ”Thanks,”. She looked at the room around her, she already knew every nook and cranny. Every burn mark, every scratch. Even if she wasn't present half the time, and usually drunk or hungover when she was, this was her home. Had been for years. “Show me this new ability then,” Emily replies.

Lana had secretly been hoping Emily would ask for her to show her, her new technique and when she did she could hardly hide her eagerness to do exactly that. Although technically she had already seen it earlier that day. "Well it's a little difficult to show you, since the constructs themselves are confusing to look at, but basically I can make objects out of my psychic energy." She created a small blade in her hand and threw it at one of the training dummies, hitting it square between the eyes.

Lana’s eagerness made Em chuckle a bit. Although she acted like a mother most of the times she was still young, they both were really. Watches as she waves her hands around for a bit before making a throwing action at the dummy. Although she couldn't see the blade an indent was created in the dummy. Emily’s eyes widen. “Man, that is sooooo cool!” she says, looking between her and the dummy.

Lana grinned triumphantly at the praise Emily gave her, she was quite impressed with the ability herself, but getting that kind of reaction from someone-especially someone she considered a friend- was a big boost to her confidence. "Right? That's just the beginning though. Watch this." She held her hands out, palms facing together, and slowly widened them, generating a small orb of psychic energy in the space between them. Once it was around the decent size of a bowling ball, she launched it at the dummy.

The orb exploded on impact with the dummy's head, creating a shockwave that sent the dummy and anything within a total of 5 meters in radius went flying in all different directions; the closer the object was to the orb, the stronger the impact on that item. It was basically a bomb made from psychic energy. "Pretty cool right?!" Lana exclaimed excitedly while beaming like a little kid in a candy store, she was obviously very excited about her newfound ability and all of its potential. "You know what would be even cooler though? Lighting that shit on fire! You wanna try it?"

Emily just looked in wonder as Lana showed her another use of her powers. Emily had to dodge a flying piece of wood and noted to be careful whenever Lana was ready to cast. That was when Lana gave her the next recommendation. A glint came to Emily’s eye alongside a devilish grin. She started a flame in her hand before proclaiming, ”Fuck yeah!”

Lana's beaming smile shifted into a devilish grin to match Emily's when she agreed to the idea she suggested. She didn't waste any time in creating another orb like in the same manner as the last one. Then she waited until Em had lit it up with fire before launching it at another dummy this time, since the other one had gone flying off. The second time round Lana was a little more prepared though, and cast a shield up in front of them to block any potential projectiles caused by the explosion. It was much more dramatic and fascinating to watch after the flames had been added.

"Okay that was fucking amazing, but I want to try something different this time." Lana created another whip in her hand, just like the one she had used to lash Al with. Once it was fully formed she cracked the whip at the dummy just to show off a little, before turning to Emily and giving her a nod. "Light 'er up."

Emily watched as the blast lashed out, engulfing the surrounds of the mainly invisible orb in flames. It blew out over the area and caused what was essentially an explosion. Emily laughed maniacally screaming. ”FUCK YES!!!” as the explosion blew around the pair, flinging objects in all directions. At Lana’s next object she didn't have to ask twice for Em to carry out that duty. She rushed forward to light it on fire.

Lana looked on excitedly as the fire traveled along the length of the whip, lighting it up with bright dancing flames. "Now hopefully this works." She struck out at the dummy again and watched with great amusement as the whip not only knocked the target backwards, but burnt it too. Of course the burn marks would fade after a few seconds as the dummy was fire proof, but there was still enough evidence to show that her idea had worked. "It’s not as exciting as the bombs, but it's still effective." She gave the dummy a few more lashings before letting the whip disappear. "I wonder what else we can do..?"

Emily watched in amusement. ”You're like a badass, female Indiana Jones,” she points out, moving closer to her friend to stand by her side. ”I wouldn't even know, man, they’re your powers. Where did they all come from though?” she asks

Lana couldn't remember the last time she had had so much fun training. It wasn't exactly very entertaining when she trained by herself but even when she had trained with other members it hadn't been very interesting. It was amazing to her just how much difference it made to have someone around she really got along with. Which is why she was so grateful that Al had brought Emily along to train with them.

"Well, you know that tablet from the auction? At first when Aloysius absorbed all the power, everything seemed fine, but then it became too much for him to handle, and he was forced to pass some of it on to me and Ty. It was after all that happened that I got this new ability, so I guess that's where it must be coming from." It was the only logical explanation she had come up with when she had asked herself that very same question. "Hey Em, this is a bit random but, have you ever flown before? And if not, would you like to?"

Emily took note if the explanation, wouldn't be the oddest thing to happen that week, or to come she bet. At Lana’s next suggestion the cheeky glint returned in the woman's eye. ”I’m in, I’m totally in!” she replies excitedly, tugging the hair tie out of her hair. ”Lift me up, Lana!” she says, waiting for the woman to do so.

Eventually Lana would comply and Emily was lifted into the air. In doing so it did mean Emily practically had no control on her body which she wasn't quite expecting to happen, that was a bit if a set back as she was looking forward to flipping around but the experience itself was something. Once Lana had controlled her to float around the room Emily took advantage of one of the few things she could control and lit herself alight with her flames. The flames danced in the sky and licked the air around her. ”I’m like the fucking human torch but a chic and heap hotter!” she proclaims.

The first thing Lana did was push everything as far aside as she could to give Emily more room to be able to float around in. Then, once she was sure the woman was ready she gently lifted her into the air. She started off slow at first, wanting her to get used to the feeling of flying. She remembered her own first few times weren't that graceful or fun, and she didn't want that to be the experience for Emily.

When Emily lit herself up on flames and made the reference to the human torch Lana couldn't help but laugh. She then laughed even more so at the comments the pyromage made about how she was a chick and much hotter. It had been a long time since she had felt so happy and carefree, and she loved it.

After awhile of simply floating Emily around in circles, Lana decided to make things a little more interesting for her by adding a few loops and twists. Nothing too extreme though. "So, how do you like it so far? Pretty cool right?" She was sure she could have made it even more exciting if she had more space, but she hoped what little Emily was getting to experience was fun at least.

”Very cool!” she replies, extinguishing her flames. She was enjoying herself, she really was, but she was becoming light headed, and alcohol wasn't the culprit for once. Like when alcohol was the culprit, however, she ignored it. Enjoying the moment until Lana had had enough.

Lana kept floating Emily for another couple of loops around the room before she gently set her on the ground again. Before she completely released her to stand on her own though, she would give her some time to adjust. She knew from experience how flying could often lead to feeling lightheaded or in some cases even nauseous. "You know I've never actually flown anyone around like that before. I guess it's good to know my powers can bring more than just pain and destruction."

As she hit the ground Emily stumbled a bit as she gained her bearings. When she finally did though she turned to Lana announcing, ”That was fun!” At Lana’s next reply Emily gave a shrug. ”There’s nothing wrong with pain a destruction. Pain and destruction is fun,”

"Yeah, I guess. Speaking of pain, how are you feeling? Looks like that bitch really did a number on you." Lana asked while taking a step closer so she could get a better look at Emily's bruises, specifically the one around her throat and neck. "I know you like to go out and drink for fun, and I have no problem with that, but I really wish you would be a little more concerned for your own well being, Em. Getting into fights all the time and waking up in different stranger's beds could end up getting you into a lot of trouble someday." She knew it probably wasn't her place to be saying such things, but she would be damned if she was going to let that get in the way of taking care of someone she considered a friend.

Emily sighed ”I guess a little sore? But I’m fine, really, don't worry about me,” she replies, sitting on the ground. When Lana came to the rest of her advice Emily chuckled slightly, it wasn't like she’d never heard that before, ”Lana, it’s lovely how much you care for me, it really is, but I’m already in trouble, like, all the time anyway. This is my brand of fun, I’m not turning back from that,” she replies.

Lana joined Emily in sitting on the floor. "I understand that, but there are some horrible people out their Em, just be careful you don't wind up mixing with the wrong crowd." She knew the pyromage was more than capable of taking care of herself, but that wouldn't stop her worrying.

At Lana’s comment Emily gave a meek smile, ”I don't know if you noticed but I am in the ‘wrong crowd’, have been since I was a teen. I can perfectly handle myself in dangerous situations, I can fight well enough and if things get real bad I have my fire. I do bad things; I sleep with different men each night, I get drunk and I get into petty bar fights. I am the wrong crowd but I love it, I’m not changing now,” she replies. Looking Lana right in the eyes for this part, showing she held little fear or remorse for those actions.

"That's not exactly what I mean by wrong crowd. There are some very sick, dangerous, people out there. I just..." Lana sighed. She could tell just by the look in Emily's eyes she wasn't getting anywhere with what she was saying. "Doesn't matter. It's your life and it's not my place to tell you how to live it. Besides, you've more than proven you can take care of yourself. Just remember if you ever do need any help, you can always call on me. Okay?"

Emily gave Lana a smile, not quite sure on what to say. She’d never really had anyone be there for her before, sure, she had friends but not like this, not someone willing to beat up a guy for her or, quite frankly, really cared that much about her. Not that she blamed anyone for it, she made it easy for people to not want to be closely affiliated with her. She puts a friendly hand on Lana’s shoulder, ”I promise, if I get myself in shit so deep even I can get out of I’ll come to you so you can suffer too,” she replies.

Lana laughed. "That's good enough for me." Though normally she didn't like being touched, and would have pulled away from anyone who tried it, she was willing to tolerate Emily's friendly gesture. Unfortunately, as much as she was enjoying their nice little moment, there was something important they needed to discuss. Eventually Lana would pull away a little, before turning to face Emily head on, with a more stern expression on her face. "Now...you wanna tell me what the hell is going on between you and Aloysius?"

In any other situation it wouldn't be any of her business who Emily slept with, but the case with Al was different. He was their leader, and he was still grieving, if the two of them weren't careful things could get messy and that would be bad for the whole group. Naturally, now that she held so much responsibility within the Dark Shadow ranks, Lana felt it was her duty to try and keep things running as smoothly as possible. So she wasn't asking as a friend, but rather as the second in command.

As her next question was asked Emily’s gaze shifted slightly, her hand dropping from the little of the woman's shoulder that was still in reach when she shifted. She didn't regret what had happened that night but that didn't make it less awkward, especially as the way Lana asked seems more of a questioning from a second in command other than a friend willing to gossip. ”There’s nothing going on between Al and I,” she replies. ”It was a one night stand, nothing more. It’s unlikely it’ll happen again. I was drunk, he was grieving and we were both in need of a fill. We flirted and things happened. That's it. We're not a couple or anything, even a casual one. Long story short, there’s nothing going on between us, we just had some fun last night.“

"That might be how you see things Em, but are you sure that's how he sees it?" Lana knew all too well what effects grief could have on the mind, what kinds of things it could make people do, which they only end up regretting later. She knew how the pain of losing a loved one could cloud people's judgement and drive them to do things they don't actually want to do, and she was concerned that because of all of that, someone might end up getting seriously hurt. "He just lost Ty, who we all know meant a great deal to him, and he obviously isn't in a good mind space considering what he's been spending his time doing lately. Have you even stopped to think how all of this could affect him, and in turn affect the rest of us?"

Em took a long, slow breath. In all fairness she didn't think that deeply about the scenario, she never did. She took consequences as they came other then consider them earlier. She thought back Aloysius’ offer, Lana did have a point. ”Look… he did offer to go casual I guess but I never properly accepted and I mean, he didn't retract it but he did apologise after. I don't think he expects more, after how long we’ve known each other he would be a fool if he did.” She gave a sigh, running a hand through her hair, ”And, honestly, what effect will this have on everyone else, really? What happens between Al and I when we’re alone only concerns us,”

"Thinking he is okay with it isn't good enough, you need to make sure you and Aloysius are on the same page. If you aren't looking for anything else then tell him so he knows. Other wise you run the risk of leading him on and hurting him, and that's only going to make his already poor judgement even worse." Lana didn't want to have to get strict bland pull rank, but if that's what it came to to get her point across she would. She had worked too hard, and the cause was too important to let it all fall apart. "Dark Shadows is vulnerable, and the last thing we need right now is a leader who can't get his shit together."

Emily sighs once more. This wasn't how she did things, ever. What happened, happened, it didn't need to be brought up again. Then again, it was almost always strangers. ”Lana, it’s fine. He knows how I work, I never promised him an ‘again’ let alone ongoing. If he’s being lead on it’s his own fault.” At Lana’s following comment, Emily looked her square in the eyes. ”Dark Shadows has been vulnerable for quite some time. Hell, Aloysius hasn't had his shit together until long before you joined. Any chances of him doing so disappeared with Rebecca. Us sleeping together isn’t gonna change that,”

"I know that!" Lana snapped slightly. She had been hurt a little by Emily's statement, as it was just a reminder of how much of an outsider she really was. Even though that probably wasn't the intention the redhead had had, it still upset her. "That's exactly why I can't just sit here and risk letting things get any worse, because we both know what can happen when Aloysius let's his emotions get the better of him. Regardless of who is doing the leading on, if Al gets hurt because of it, it's only going to make him worse. I just want you to realize that and be more careful from now on. You say you don't plan on it happening again, but that's hardly reassuring when you didn't plan on it happening at all in the first place."

Emily was slightly taken aback by Lana snapping at her, unsure on why that had annoyed so much. In all fairness, at this stage, Emily was really the only one left who had seen all of Al and the Dark Shadows’ stages anyway. With that Emily got up. ”Look, Lana, I’ll do what I can but you need to know I’m just not a careful person, it’s just not who I am. I don't plan these things and I don't think them through but if it makes you feel better I won't sleep with Al again, wasn't gonna anyway, ‘Kay? Good now? Good,“ she says, before walking away.

DS Headquarters August 4th 11 AM

Circe paced back and forth in the room that was supposed to be her bedroom. She hardly used it except to keep a change of clothes if hers were to… stained. But as of this moment, the sounds of a feral animal unleashing it's rage could be heard inside.

”That fucking bastard Luka!! Why did he get in my way!!” Circe screeched, her voice cracking. ”First I am going to kill that little Lite Bright, and then we will see just how much a blood mage really can bleed!!” She slammed the furniture around the room as she ranted and raved in frustration.

Luka was able to hear her through the door. He chuckled under his breath at Circe's anger and, after bracing himself in case something sharp came at him, opened the door slowly and stood in the doorway with a grin on his face "hmhmm, well you'll find that I bleed a lot, but I'm not that easy to kill"

Hearing his voice Circe whirled around towards the door, her eyes widened in fury. She flicked her hand and the shadows produced spikes that stopped mere centimeters from Lukas throat.

”A lightmage, Luka, there is a fucking LIGHT MAGE IN OUR HEADQUARTERS!! It has to die, all light must be extinguished from existence. Then the beautiful, black velvet of darkness can finally have a turn. Think of the despair!! We can watch the little piss ants lose their minds, and than we can toy with them all we want!! Just let me know it now!! No one else knows he is here, if they ask we can say he never showed up!! Let me just hug his throat with my hands, I won't hug him long, just till his legs stop kicking!! Or better yet, let me stab him, just a couple hundred times is all!! Maybe just enough until until his eyes won't open anymore. You can have his blood!!” At some point in her bargaining, Circe started frothing at the mouth a little bit. She hurriedly wiped it away as she looked at Luka, hoping for a yes

Luka smiled and ran a hand over his own cheek, finally closing the wound on it. He slowly pushed the spikes away from him then and stepped past them, coming up to Circe and wiping away a bit of froth she missed with his thumb before putting his hands on her shoulders "You don't need to bargain with me my little shadow. You know I'm more than happy to let you kill them, but you need to know when to do it if you want to get everyone. Bossman's already a bit cross with you for what you did, making a mess in our own headquarters would've gotten you in too much trouble"

If anyone other than Talya or Ty put their hands on her before she got control of herself again she would of lopped off body part. Now only a feral growl escaped her throat.

”Just because I like your ability vampire does not mean I will not kill you where you stand if you ever touch me again. And Aly got one teammate killed, he wouldn't even miss an other. And I won't ever kill a hundred people again while I work under him again, you can promise the whore boss that. And if you don't want to kill the glow sticks keep him away from me!! Now leave. I am going to call Lana, I have something entertaining to talk to her about.” Circe’s smile would of scared even the Joker if he saw it.

"Aww, you do like me" Luka smirked "And you're wrong if you think I care about the light mage, hell kill him and strangle Al with the kids guts for all I care. Just do it when you have a good chance to not be discovered. I like you a lot more than I like bossman, but he's still stronger than you and if he decided you were more trouble than you're worth...well, I guess you'd actually like that kind of mess" Luka sighed and before she could do anything he leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead "hmm well, you girls have fun" he patted her shoulder and turned to leave "you ever want to come along next time I have to melt someone just say so, eh? Da Svidan'ya"

If Luka could see into the room without being in it, he would notice the several shadow daggers that became embedded in the door right where his head was. She slumped on her chair as it materialized beneath her and pulled out her phone. She hit speed dial number two, and a picture of Lana's face appeared on the screen, of course she didn't know her picture was taken. If she saw the candid shots Circe stole of her, she would prob kill Circe, break her phone and kill her again. On second thought, she was relatively sure Lana would do that just to get the crazy lady out of her hair. She waited while the phone rang for her hateful best friend to answer.

Lana was just stepping through the door to her apartment when her phone started ringing. She let the shopping bags in her hands float off to sit on the counter so she could pull the phone from her pocket and answer. Seeing the name "Psycho Bitch" flashing across the screen drew out a frustrated groan. "The hell do you want Circe?" Lana grumbled into the phone. Normally she wouldn't answer, and let the call go to voicemail, since the only reason Circe ever called her was to mess with her. But the pestering she would get if she didn't answer was arguable more annoying in the end. She could always hang up if the call got too much anyway. While she waited for the female on the other end to explain the reason for her calling, Lana made her way over to the couch to sit down so she could at least be comfortable during, what would most likely be, one of the most annoying phone calls she had ever had.

Lana picked up fairly quickly, one of Circe’s slick smiles appeared on her face. A new knife appeared in her hand, than thought better of it. She lit up a smoke and puffed away for a second, if Mommy Al caught her smoking in her room, he would be infuriated, her smile grew thinking about it.

”Lana, dearest, how are you today?? Have you decided to let the fun side show at all??”

Lana lay back on the couch and picked up the remote so she could turn the tv on. Then she sat there, flicking through the channels, not particularly paying any attention to what Circe was saying. There wasn’t anything of interest on, but she wasn’t paying much attention to the tv either, she just enjoyed the background noise. It was also a nice distraction, so she didn’t end up losing it at Circe, especially since she knew that would only amuse her. "Circe, I know you don't give two shits about how I'm doing, so cut the small talk and tell me why the hell you're calling me." Lana drawled, sounding as bored as ever. Everyone who knew Lana knew she didn't care much for small talk, especially not when she knew the other person had ulterior motives.

[Color=pink]”Now Lana, is that anyway to talk to your most favoritest person in the whole world?? You really shouldn't be so mean, doubly after I just had the most [I]interesting[/] conversation with a new recruit. Your name may, or may not of come up in the conversation.”[/color] Circe finished her cigarette and waited for Lana's reply

”First of all Circe, you’re not even close to being my least favorite person, let alone my most. Secondly, what new recruit and what kind of interesting conversation?” Lana didn’t want to admit it, but the crazy bitch had managed to pique her interest a little. She was still frustrated with how long it was taking the woman to get to the point, though. ”And don’t keep dragging it out. Tell me why you’re calling or I’m hanging up, and I won’t answer again.”

She got under Lana's skin which made Circe snicker a bit before continuing on with the conversation.

”There is a new guy…. I don't remember his name, doesn't matter I will kill his glow stick looking ass soon. The mommy part of this conversation with this guy, totally weak by the by, didn't even try and shoot at me with flashlight. Was that he knows you. He said that he, and here's the funniest part, that HE SAVED YOU from getting curb stomped by some guildlings!! Hahahahahaha oh my darkness!! If I wasn't trying to kill him so hard, I probably would of straight pissed myself in the middle of the meeting room!! I can't believe that some Apollo mother fucker had to save you from getting your ass killed!! So Lana, when was it?? Huh huh huh?! How did it feel to be the damsel in distress and be saved by a knight in SHINING armor?!” Circe lost control of herself and started cackling heavily, she wiped a tear from her eye and waited to see if Lana's fun side would come out to play.

It took a second for Lana to click onto what Circe was saying, but between the several light references and the mention of someone saving her, she did eventually get it. She went silent for a while, her blood began to boil at the sound of the shadow mage's laughter and mocking tone. 'I'm going to fucking kill that kid...' The sound of something snapping would be heard, breaking her from her thoughts. When she looked down to see what it was, she discovered the remote she had been holding was now in two pieces. "Shit...Listen, Circe, it happened nearly a year ago. I was drunk, it was dark, and they jumped me in an alley. They got lucky. But the only people that were saved that night were those guildy assholes. If that kid hadn't gotten in the way, I would have killed them...as soon as I got my sense back. And for your information, you psycho fuck, I have never been, nor will I ever be, A FUCKING DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!" She'd lost it, which she knew would only amuse Circe even more, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't going to sit there let anyone make a mockery of her. If only she could reach through the phone and strangle her, then her problems would be solved. She didn't want word of that night getting out to anyone else, least they try and question her authority. Although she would have no issue with putting anyone in their place should they try, it was easier if it didn't get to that. Unfortunately, even though she had the power to follow through with it, she knew threatening Circe wouldn't get her anywhere. She would have to handle this smartly and in a calm a manner as possible. "So, is that it then, all you wanted was to mock me? Or is there another point to this call? If not, I have more important shit to do."

Circe heard the small crunch of something, followed by Lana's explanation of what had happened the night in question. Circe’s smile grew wider as the veiled threats began to stream in. After the tirade was over Circe began laughing even harder.

”Oh Lana, did it happen?! Did you finally go POP?! Please Lana come play with me, we can kill so many people, and if it makes you feel better, you can imagine them as the little Morningstar. Text me, mwah.” And with that Circe hung up and began laughing in earnest.

Lana couldn't even get another word in before Circe hung up, but if she had they likely would have been more threats and curses, nothing really worth saying. By the end of the call she was fuming, she needed to let off some steam. She couldn't do that in her apartment though. She had already had to pay out masses of fees in damage repairs, as well as replace several pieces of furniture, she didn't have money for that anymore. There was one place she could go to let the anger out without any worry though; her warehouse. Well...she didn't own it, but she still considered it hers. Lana didn't even bother to turn the TV off before she got up and left, grabbing a jacket on her way out, and slamming the door behind her.

Place holder for Allison and Aram collab.

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Salem would be the first to arrive to the meeting, as usual. Zeke had some explaining to do. Salem had caught he and Lana talking in the back room of the store just a few days previous, and had overheard quite a bit of the conversation. Salem did not approve of the young man's actions, and wanted a simple explanation as to what the hell was going through his mind at the time. Legs crossed, arms folded, blue-grey eyes hard as stone, there she sat, waiting.

Zeke arrived at the meeting room after Salem, the events of the day before still in his mind. Part of him was nervous knowing that Salem wasn't to happy with him after what happened, and would likely be even less so if she knew about the offer he'd made. He wouldn't be telling her about that one. Seeing Salem as he walked in he looked right at her for a moment before his eyes cast down, nodding slightly and only saying one word in greeting "Salem" before taking a seat in front of her and waiting for her to speak.

In response to his greeting, Salem raised her left brow in an ‘oh, really?’ expression. His greeting very well could have been worse. Adjusting her position in her seat to where she was sitting up straight, she took a deep breath to steady herself. She couldn’t rightfully sear his skin off just yet. ”Zeke,” she responded simply. ”Mind starting by telling me what the other days conversation between you and Lana was about the other day?”

Zeke sighed and looked at her he spoke "We had only just met that day, neither of us knew the other was guild or shadow. We got to talking a bit and when she asked if I was guild I said no, I uh...I didn't want to be known as a member of the guild right away, that was when she told me she was with Dark Shadow and tried to recruit me. I just-in the moment I thought if I went along it could help us get to them, bring them down."

Taking yet another deep breath, Salem would ponder over his words for a brief moment. ”What you’re saying does make sense - I’ll give you that. Your intentions were… good, for lack of better term. But if you wanted to play your boyish game of being a spy, you should have came to me first so we could iron out all the details.”

Zeke nodded "I know I'm sorry, it was just in the moment. Didn't have much chance to think it through" He sighed before continuing "I wouldn't betray the guild to for them, not after what they did. Not for who they are"

She nodded her head. ”So was there anything that Lana said that I should know? Anything that may be remotely useful?”

He shook his head slowly in response "No, I'm sorry. You uh...arrived before anything could really be said" She really had quite the timing back there, yet still he was a bit disappointed with himself for being unhelpful. Of course the other side of him was less...forgiving about her role in what happened, but he was able to keep that to himself this time.

Pondering his words for a moment, Salem pursed her lips before speaking again. ”Well. I’m not sure if she’ll trust you knowing that you’re part of the Guild now, but maybe… just maybe… you could play two ends against the middle here, Zeke. Perhaps convince her that you’re thinking of defecting and gain some information here and there. I’d greatly appreciate that.” It was a somewhat risky plan, but Salem did still trust him to an extent.

Zeke blinked in surprise "y-yes, I'll see what I can do" he assured her "If I manage to see her again" This meant that if Lana did accept his offer for training and Salem found out he could use it as an excuse. He would almost be delighted if it hadn't left him with a new dilemma. Does he now betray Lana's trust again, she may have been an enemy but it was not something he liked doing regardless, or does he fulfill the task Salem is trusting him with and keep to her good side?

”Good. You’re dismissed,” Salem responded, getting up from her chair. ”Oh, and Zeke. Know that if I ever have any reason to doubt your loyalty again, I won’t be this forgiving next time.”