---

---

The mansion came into view against the dimming afternoon sky. In just a few hours, night would settle over the city, bringing its seething underbelly to the surface. It would signal the start of another hunt, the enemy embodying said corruption, moving in ever-increasing numbers. This hunt, however, would be different. This time, the witches of London wouldn't work alone.

Said witches followed Veronica's brisk steps along the path, towards a pair of elaborate gates. Stopping outside them, Veronica turned towards the group, looking over them with eyes as impassive as her stiff-backed posture. Unofficial and secret as the organisation was, she had to come across as nothing less than professional. "This," she explained, "is to be our headquarters. Our host will be greeting us shortly, and once you've all introduced yourselves, I'll explain tonight's mission." Her voice, although soft, carried and air of respectability.

"And then," a voice chirped inside her head, "it'll be time to see for ourselves what we're all capable of together!" Although the pixie remained in stationary hairpin form, she seemed to buzz with energy. "Good work Vee, keep on with it!"

Lowering her head, Veronica replied in her mind. "First things first. But I won't let you down, Claria. I won't."

A butler approached, giving a courteous bow as he greeted them and opened the gates. Returning the bow, Veronica followed him along the pathway, into the estate. There, a sumptuous living room awaited the magical girls, mahogany sofas and chairs arranged around a table. A maid smiled at the group, placing a tea tray on the surface and setting out cups. "Welcome, do make yourselves comfortable," she said, gesturing to the seating area.

"Thank you," Veronica replied, settling into a chair as she waited. While she herself wasn't one for small talk, this would give the group a chance to relax and mingle before official introductions began.

---

---

Peering out of the window, Lucilla watched the other magical girls approach. Mixed feelings danced through her - that knee-jerk wariness of strangers, and relief at belonging to a group once again. That was, if she truly did. If they didn't find out about her recent past, and if they all got along in any case.

Figures grew clearer as they neared. The leader, the formal-looking strawberry blonde - she had to be the girl Sophia had mentioned, Veronica. The founder of the coven. The coven... It still felt surreal, but she already knew life could be unpredictable, for better or for worse.

"Please tell me they're here! I'm booooored!" Wisp moaned, flitting around in a corner like a butterfly in a jar. "I want to meet everyone!"

Lucilla chuckled. "Now, now, a little patience." Her eyes shifted from the pixie to the window. "Besides, looks like the wait's over." She smoothed out her shirt, tugging at it. She had yet to get used to wearing clothes that fit once again, and to social gatherings. As Wisp whirled around in excitement, leaving trails of purple mist, Lucilla listened to the creaking doors and footsteps that backed up her words.

"Now to see if things are less chaotic than usual," she murmured, heading towards the landing as Wisp settled into ring form on her finger, "or even more so." With that, she made her way down the stairs, to the new team she'd be working with.

The mansion was quite an impressive place for a headquarters, as far as Clarissa was concerned. She remained silent on the way in, carefully studying the other girls in the coven. It was quite a collection of witches who had answered the summons. For this first meeting, Clarissa had dressed as a young lady should. It wouldn't do to make a poor first impression.

Once indoors in the sitting room, she happily took a seat. "Thank you," she said to Veronica before busying herself with studying both her hostess and the other girls in the room. It might be a little much to try and place all of them, but she tried to take in as many details as she could. Unfortunately, she wasn't the best for small talk, and was more the sort to hide behind sipping her tea.

---

Mary couldn't help but gawk a bit at the mansion. This sort of place was even bigger than her family's and spoke of quite a bit of money. She regained her composure quickly enough, at least. Gotta look like you're used to this sort of stuff and all. She really preferred working alone, but something like this big group might be important for a city as big as London. Besides, there wasn't any harm in hearing things out.

Once indoors, she took a seat right in the middle of the couch, and wasted no time in introducing herself to the girls on either side of her. "I'm Mary Anne. It's nice to meet you." Nothing fancy, but it'd do for a start. The easiest way to blow through her nervous feelings was to just push on with even more energy, anyway.

Marilyn

Marilyn looked around the mansion like a kid in a circus. If she didn't know it was owned by a witch she would be probably trying to locate all the valuables that weren't nailed down. But alas that wasn't the case, and as of now they had been anything but rude to her, so she didn't have any reason to piss them off. Besides Khepri was the one that convinced her to join the coven, and she didn't want to ruin it for her, the poor thing liked the place so much she became speechless as soon as they entered the state.

Marilyn wondered what kind of person their host could be, all of them were pretty young, maybe with five-six years of difference between her at the youngest-looking one at most, so would their host be around that age? She probably wouldn't be able to take her seriously if she was younger than her but as long as she wasn't a stick in the mud she didn't really mind. She took a cup of tea and grabbed a random chair to sit in while waiting for introductions to begin. Well, it seemed one of the girls on the couch had already begun the introductions, so Marylin decided to go second "Hello Mary! We got sorta similar names. Mine's Marilyn, nice to meet you all" she said cheerfully as she grabbed another cup of tea.

Alicia was one of the girls there, walking behind Veronica to their destination; a coven that they would use as a base for their hunts together.

She had been recruited to join them via a letter, which didn't really surprise her as she already knew there were other witches out there other than her, thanks to her pixie. To be honest, at first she wasn't sure if she would like doing her job with others, being the introvert that she was. But she figured that it couldn't hurt to try. If she ended up not liking it, she could always leave after all.

So this is the place… She looked at the mansion beyond the gate. Not bad… not bad at all…

She followed the group inside, taking her seat once the opportunity allowed itself. She took the cup of tea offered, drinking it just like a lady would.

Come on now, introduce yourself, she heard her pixie whisper.

Oh, shut it, she replied. I'll wait for the others first.

Don't be shy, the pixie replied with a giggle. They're going to be your new friends after all.

With a huff, she ignored her, opting instead to take another sip of her tea.

The first girl to introduce herself was this girl named Mary Anne. Cute girl, she thought to herself. Probably the constantly ongoing and cheerful type. Perhaps we could get along swimmingly.

The next one to introduce herself was the girl who called herself Marilyn. She didn't know about this one. Seemed like the cheeky, rulebreaker type that she might not be able to get along with.

With a nervous sigh, she decided it would be time for her to make her introduction.

"My name is Alicia Ferdinand." She put her right hand above her chest, giving the most elegant smile she could muster. "And here is my pixie, Aether."

The pixie, who had been standing on her left shoulder, gave a curtsy. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," she said with a smile. “I do hope you will get along with Alicia. She might be awkward and shy at times, but rest assured that she always means the best in her heart.”

Alicia shot a glare to the pixie in response, a small blush appearing on her face. That was completely unnecessary.

Really? I’m not too sure about that, the pixie replied in a cheeky manner.

Not tolerating her disobedience, Alicia flicked a finger at the pixie’s forehead, earning an “Oww…” from the tinier girl.

Such was the interaction the two usually had.

She then waited until everyone else had made their introductions, looking around slightly for any signs of this “host” that had called them here. She wondered what kind of missions they would have, to necessitate gathering this many witches in one place. So far, she had no problem exorcising all the Hydes she had found.

“So, how long have all of you been witches?” Her pixie asked cheerfully once they finished their introductions. “Alicia here had been doing it for around a year or so, and I have to say, she’s already pretty good at it.”

The pixie was now casually sitting on top of Alicia’s cup of tea, with her occasionally taking sips of the liquid as well. Alicia, of course, had taken a different cup of tea for herself.

Alicia scanned the girls out of the corner of her eyes as she took another sip of her tea. Now that her pixie brought the subject up, she too wondered which amongst them were the veterans, and which amongst them were the beginners in their line of work?

Jacqueline fidgeted on the couch that she had chosen to side on upon arriving, this whole thing was so much different from what she usually experienced that she honestly didn't have any idea about how she should react. Mother had always said that if she ever met someone who was from the wealthier areas of London that she should be as polite as possible, the thing was that in this situation where she found herself in a mansion that has more wealth in this single room than her entire street and surrounded by unfamiliar girls who were all older than her.

It made her feel a little self conscious to say the least, so after nervously smoothing out the wrinkles in her cheap linen dress and hoping that she didn't still smell like chloroform from helping the doctor with last night's operation, she put on a smile and stood to introduce herself.

"H-h-hello, my name is Jacqueline b-but my friends call me Jackie....so umm...." the young girl began to flounder as she struggled to figure out how best to save her clumsy introduction. "I...I'm also training to be a doctor so if you need anything just ask me." she finally said as a last minute save.

Lilith swept her gaze across the interior of the mansion, while it wasn't the same as her mansion, it was similar enough so she could relax a bit while waiting for this meeting to really start. Her bright pink gaze moved at the same rate of her body, circling to room to try and gain any kind of foothold with the knowledge she could gain from the room they were placed.

Truthfully, she wasn't fully set on this whole "Coven" thing. The whole thing was kinda iffy in her opinion. Like, she randomly gets approached for some magical girl thing that could very well be some sort of new scam. On the other hand, it would be amazing if this whole thing turned out to not be a scam. Magic? I mean who wouldn't be amazed by the fact? Well, the only downside was the fact that she would probably have to fight some sort of monster in exchange for the powers. Well, from what that annoying fairy thing was saying early she definitely would. A light sigh escaped her lips, maybe it would be good anger management.

Amarantha

What a house.

Amarantha had never been anywhere near a place this size. To think it was all for one family. The mansion could have fit five families comfortably. Six if no one minded floor space. Just the thought of stepping in a place so ostentatious made her want to laugh a little. But she didn't. This was going smoothly so far. Aside from her getting the stink eye from the butler, the other girls had yet to say a word about her situation. But now they were sitting and having tea as if this was just some normal party.

You should speak up. Let them know what you've been about. Her pixie, carefully nestled in the pocket of her gown, spoke inside of her head. To think, a year and a half and she was still getting used to that.

"...a year and a half. Alone." And then she shut her mouth. It answered the question, didn't it? Besides, this group of fancy white ladies probably was not going to let her into their fancy-pants coven. She was fully expecting to be turned out at any minute.

~ Sophia Marjorie Wright ~

The Mansion was beautiful to be sure. Even from those who would be among the 'rich', it was obvious that this place had been recently built or, at least, renovated. The road leading from the front gates, where the future coven met up, to the mansion's entrance were flanked by almost flawlessly maintained hedges on the other side of which was an equally maintained lawn of pure green. A display of British discipline and obsession for perfection, in it's own way. The road led around a fountain to the front door, where another butler waited their arrival. Together, the two men opened wide the doors to let the Witches inside.

"This way, please." said the same man who had welcomed them, after joining them isnide. He proceeded to lead the girls to a large and impressively decorated living room which he called a 'Waiting Room'. Without questioning any of them on their different age groups or social status - not even a weird look - the butler bid them good evening and left. Though it was not the last they'd see of servants while awaiting for the Hostess. One brought tea, while others often came by to change the tea pot to a newer, still hot one, or ask if they were comfortable and even to apologize for the Host's tardiness. Veronica, who remained quite silent and still, sipping tea, seemed quite used to this.

It wasn't long after the guests started to speak to one another that the door behind opened with a bang, out of which appeared first a myriad of children ranging form age 4 to about 8, behind who followed none other than Sophia, surrounded by some of the younglings. The children were disparate, and seemed to belong to any social group. They seemed to be coming from every corners of the British Empire, too, as they were of different cultures and origins. None seemed to care - or at least, not anymore.



"My, my..." she said of a soft voice "Children, please. Do behave, we have guests. Please, it is high time to head into your rooms for the night, is it not?" she said as a rethorical question, aiming at making them admit. Some Butlers came to her rescue in rounding up the children and escorting them out of the room after they had bid farewell and good night to all the guests and Sophia, referring to her very clearly as either Sister or Mother. Once the doors were closed and the sounds of playful children was slowly growing silent behind the door, Sophia let out a sigh not of desperation, but of tiredness.

"I am so very sorry for arriving so late, everyone." she said as she walked up to the front of everyone "Glad to see you, Veronica." as she moved, some of those presents she recognized due to thier more wealthy status.

"Lady Aella." she said, respectfully bowing to her as she moved by. "Oh! Lady Ferdinand, glad to see you have joined us. From what I have heard, you of all people might understand the whim of children is not easy to manage." she said bowing to her, as well.

"Ah! You are a cute one !" Sophia said as she pat the head of Jacqueline, their youngest member, smiling a motherly smile down at her. By that point she was at the front of the crowd.

"Miss Sherman. Miss Crewe. Miss Marilyn. Miss Diop. Miss Crawford." she proclaimed, addressing everyone present "Thank you all for accepting our invitation tonight. I am most glad to see you all here."

Her voice was devoided of any judgement, no matter who she addressed - and that fact was very clear from the very moment she entered the room and from the energy Sophia gave off.

"It was very important to Lady Edwards and myself that as many of you came as possible. I am Lady Sophia Marjorie Wright of the Wright family and I welcome each and every one of you to my estate." she bowed once more. "I will be your hostess while you are here, but Lady Edwards will be the one addressing you as to why we have summoned you here. If you have any questions or anything at all, please do not shy away from asking me."

"It's nice to meet all of you," Mary chimed in. "I've been at this, hm...something over a year, I think. You might've seen me in the papers every now and again." She didn't elaborate further.

"Careful there," Umbra spoke up to admonish her. "You really shouldn't draw any more attention to yourself."

"Oh, why not," Mary argued in quiet tones. "If we're all working together it won't matter, or they'll find out anyway."

Mary wasn't sure if she should get up and curtsy for her hostess or anything, but she was already seated, so that would've been silly anyway. If they needed as many people as possible, whatever this is must be big. But she didn't feel like there was much reason to ask things without hearing what the actual reasons for the coven were. So small talk it was, for the moment.

---

Clarissa really couldn't put off introducing herself anymore, so she finally spoke up. "I'm Clarissa Sherman. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." She actually was looking forward to working with them, at that.

Something one of the other girls had said in her introduction had piqued her interest, so she addressed her directly. "Jackie, was it? Training to be a doctor is an admirable thing. I'm something of an amateur detective myself."

Mary Anne quickly hides her shock at the mention of the word "detective."

Clarissa wanted to ask about how they managed to track down so many witches. The rest of her questions, at least, would probably be answered in due time. "I'd still like to know how you managed to track down so many of us to send invitations," she said.

Marilyn smiled at the pixie of the girl called Alicia "I've been doing this since I was a brat, so, uh, around five years at most I think" she said nonchalantly. Marilin most of the time she wasn't actually chasing around Hydes, but she wasn't going to tell them that of course, besides all that running and sneaking around must be of some use. From the ones that had told the group how much time they had been witches, it did seem like there was a huge time difference between her and them, still, Marilyn hoped they wouldn't rely on her too much just because of her experience.

Overall it seemed like Ms. Wright had gathered quite the colorful cast, from which Marylin had taken special notice on the amateur detective, she was probably not going to approve of Marilyn's money-making ways, and unlike the cops, there was the possibility that she came to the conclusion a witch was the one committing seemingly impossible crimes. Well, that's one positive thing to come out of the meeting, she would have probably never come across her if she hadn't come to the meeting.

On the topic of Ms.Wright herself, she was the textbook definition of a noble lady; kind and polite. Marilyn wasn't even sure if she could have the heart to hurt something, even a Hyde. Yet she did know about witches and had managed to send invitations to everyone here, which considering the size of London and how elusive witches (or at least her) probably were meant it wasn't an easy task. Given that Ms. Edwards was the one explaining the reason for the meeting, she decided to wait until the rest of the witches were done asking, as nothing came to mind.

Hmm, this place is certainly quite fancy…

Alicia had to admit, begrudgingly, that the place might be just a little nicer than her own. It looked to be recently renovated, as opposed to her mansion which was clearly old and weathered. Sure, she could spend a Crown or two to make it look nicer, but truthfully, she didn’t really care. She’d rather save the money, or give it to the orphanage she was funding. She wanted the orphanage to be as nice as possible after all, not like those other sorry, pathetic excuses of orphanages that she had visited, where they would only feed the children grue and give them thin dresses while having a constantly leaking and windy roofs.

Keep them humble, they say? Hah! While they themselves wore gaudy jewelry on their necks and fingers, she thought angrily to herself, thinking of the proprietors and benefactors of said places. That was one of the reasons why she wanted to make an orphanage of her own, just so for once, England could have one decent orphanage around.

She gave a short and respectful nod to the butlers who opened the door. She always tried to be polite to the servants whenever they performed a service for her. She did the same to the maid that poured her tea for her.

"I see…" she replied to Amarantha, who seemed to be reluctant to share more with the group. Understandable, she thought. They were strangers after all. She too felt the same.

She didn't know what Ms. Crewe meant when she might have seen her in the papers. Well, she certainly could not remember such a recollection.

The detective-looking girl then introduced herself as a detective. Well, big surprise there. She almost huffed, only stopping herself out of politeness.

"Since five? Wow, that's really young!" Aether covered her little mouth in surprise, responding to Marilyn. "So you must be really good at it then!" She brightfully smiled at her.

When Jacqueline spoke, Alicia couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows. So young. Is a girl that young suitable to be a witch? Or maybe she just looks young? Hmm…

Didn't look much like a fighter either. Maybe her magic is more about supporting other witches.

That would be a bother. That means her strength would be limited if she were to hunt alone.

As she pondered about the young lady, the door behind them suddenly opened, to a group of young children from 4 to 8, followed by whom she immediately assumed to be the hostess of the place, the one that had called them here.

She told them to go to their beds, which they seemed to readily reply, though they were accompanied by some butlers in the process. It was clear to Alicia that the younglings were fond of her, calling her Sister or Mother.

Well, she certainly has the looks and temperaments for that, she commented.

She then proceeded to greet everyone present, including her, noting her owning an orphanage of her own.

"Well, I certainly don't keep them in my own mansion," she replied in a somewhat dismissive tone. "Too noisy. I'm already tired enough from my monthly visits to them."

Aether giggled. "They love her so much everytime she comes they would be all over her like cute little bees. In fact, once, they were all over her so much they accidentally pulled down the front of her dress! You can just imagine how embarrassed Ali—"

SNAP!

"—Oww, what was that for?" The fairy rubbed her head once more, little tears coming out from her eyes.

"Don't say anything unnecessary," Alicia replied, her cheeks burning red.

With a cough, she looked back to the hostess. "I am grateful for your invitation tonight." She bowed on her seat as well.

She then introduced herself as Sophia Marjorie Wright, and told the group to ask any questions they might have in their mind.

"Alright then," Alicia quickly answered with a stern look on her face. "I'll ask the first question. Why are we here? Why do you need so many witches in one group like this? We can hunt the Hydes individually just fine."

She wanted an honest and straight answer. She was not interested in joining an aimless, purposeless group after all.

"And then, second question. Are we expected to tell everything about our power immediately?"

---

---

Close by the stairs, Lucilla hung back from the others as she studied them. While some eased into the conversation with no problem, some seemed as tense and awkward as she felt, although probably for different reasons. They'd never replace the friends she'd lost, but it couldn't hurt to mingle with them - as long nobody let slip her whereabouts to the wrong people, that was.

In a flash of purple, Wisp turned back into a tiny, flying humanoid. "Come on! Enough waiting around!" she called, darting towards the gathering. "I'll race you there!"

Running after the pixie, Lucilla couldn't help but laugh. "Don't you consider that a win," she said, shaking her head at Wisp. "Not with a head start like that." She sat, helping herself right away to tea and biscuits, past caring if she looked greedy or improper as she munched on a shortbread. Food, something she'd never take for granted again. Like warmth. Gripping a teacup, she revelled in the heat radiating from it.

A smile pulled at her lips as she listened to the others' introductions. "That's quite some experience," she commented. "I'm Lucilla, and I've been doing this for... eh, about four months now." As that reflexive wince of caution about showing weakness kicked in, she shrugged and added, "Good thing it's fairly easy once you get used to it."

A thud from the door halted the conversation. Right away, Wisp changed back into a ring on Lucilla's finger as children spilled out of the doorway, Sophia in the centre trying to calm the chaos. Lucilla chuckled. Pixies, like transformed magical girls and like Hydes, usually went unnoticed by the general public. However, glimpses in the corner of one's eye did happen, children being particularly receptive, hence the inconspicuous trinket forms pixies spent most of their time in. Fortunately, the children in Sophia's care didn't seem to have spotted anything unusual as they followed the butlers out of the room.

"It's ok, I don't blame you," she said, with a grin and a quick glance at the door. At least that had been a distraction from the question weighing on her mind, but Sophia's announcement meant she couldn't put it off any more - especially after Alicia spoke up.

"Good question." Her smile faded as she faced Veronica. "I mean I've noticed we've been cleaning up more scum than usual lately, but surely things can't be that bad?" She clenched her fists in her lap. There hadn't been a rise in those kinds of cases, had there?

---

---

Setting down her tea with a clink, Veronica headed to Sophia's side and bowed to the group. She even gave the smallest hint of a smile. Even with the inevitable tension and uncertainty she noticed in some of the girls, it was still early days. Best to make them as comfortable as possible, although getting to the point was her main priority. "I, too, thank you all for your arrival," she said, before her face turned neutral again as she listened to the following questions.

"Miss Sherman. Many if not all of you must be wondering the same thing," she replied to the detective. "As well as Miss Wright here having her resources, word spreads among the community of pixies as well as that of witches, and as you'll know, they're excellent scouts."

Claria glowed with pride, quite literally as she changed into fairy form in a burst of light. "And considering all that experience, it's safe to say we chose well!" she said, hopping into Veronica's shoulder. "I don't want to be the voice of doom in the middle of a meeting, but yes, strong witches will be very much needed tonight, and in future." Once more, she brightened in more than one sense of the word. "Not that we'll have any trouble as a team!"

A solemn look shadowed Veronica's face. "That brings me to answering your first question, Miss Ferdinand. As Miss Crawford pointed out, our enemies have indeed been growing more numerous lately. Demons, doppelgangers, or as the commonly used term is now, Hydes. Even though most of them are easy to defeat, I'm sure many of you will be familar with what happens when one slips past us and continues to grow."

Visibly shuddering, Lucilla nodded.

"Rather like Miss Sherman here, I too am an investigator, although my domain is that of the occult," Veronica explained. "Based on information gathered so far, it appears we're dealing with not just one such developed Hyde, but at least five, leading a pack of lesser ones no less. The reason for our gathering is to look into cases such as this one, and eliminate the threats before they return to their creators and reach their final stage."

Lucilla clenched her eyelids shut as if reliving a painful memory. "Can't argue that they need to be dealt with as quickly as possible," she replied, "for that very reason. Why, though? Why so many, despite everything we do?"

"That," Veronica answered, "is exactly what we're to find out. And Miss Ferdinand, as for your second question, no need to let on everything until you're more settled in, although it would help if we knew the basics about each other's skils before we start."

She shifted her attention from witch to witch. "Also if anyone has any tracking abilities, that would be most useful."

Jacqueline had been mostly silent as the other girls explained the situation, only really doing anything when Mrs Sophia called her cute which elicited a luminous blush from the girl and a pout that made her seem even more adorable. Closing her eyes for a moment she thought back to the last few months, specifically little pieces of information that she had overheard from the men visiting the brothel and what she had been able to find out from Mr Doctor.

Her mind ran through various pieces of information, from complaints from some of the gangsters about some of their buddies disappearing to reports from the Doctor's coroner friends and an uptick in various strange injuries popping up throughout the city that had seemed rather unimportant to her at the time.

"I don't actually have any tracking skills...but I work for a Doctor and he has mentioned that a lot more people are showing up with strange injuries lately...not sure it that's useful or not." she said fidgeting in her seat, still not too sure if what she was saying was any help, "And I can keep an ear out for rumors if that helps, momma always says that men have loose lips when they visit her."

"Somehow, I didn't consider that," Clarissa comments on the answer to her own question. It would make sense that the various pixies were exchanging information. And largely unnoticed by their partners, at least in her case. She'd have to keep that in mind as a source of information for her own work.

"I can probably help tracking. My magic is focused around enhancing my senses, and I know something about following a trail or following someone in a crowd. I don't have any ability to just find things with magic, though."

Amarantha was surprised to find that many children running around a place like this. Some of them even looked like her; just much smaller. This Lady Wright seemed like the real deal. That was somewhat of akin to a miracle in her book. Between the music and her prescence, she found herself relaxing just a bit more.

At Athena's insistence (re: poking her in the head), she raised her hand slowly. "I can track Hydes. I think I may be able to track you all too. There are some red threads that I can't work out." Athena nudged her further.

"Oh. That's my magic. I work with thread. It's ironic." She wasn't going to explain the irony at this moment.

Lilith returned to bow, looking at the woman skeptically. She hadn't recalled introducing herself. She study the girl, staring at the woman who spoke her name. She felt Ultrice smacking her shoulder, hushed whispers to be more respectful coming from the little fairy. Only stopping after Veronica and Lucilla started speaking.

Hearing the tracking request her mind brought up the abilities Ultrice had spoken about earlier. As if on queue, the fairy piped up. "Oh! Lilith can see into the future a litt-UMPH." Only her muffled protests could be heard as Lilith quickly covered her mouth, it wasn't that she didnt want to help, but she would rather keep her abilities under wraps until she fully figured out what this was.

"Ah!, no I meant it as in I've been doing this for five years, not since I was five years old" Marilyn explained herself to Alicia. She wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic but she didn't want to take any chances. She wasn't even good enough to run without tripping at least once, she would surely have become food for a hyde if she was picked that early. With that out of the way, she listened attentively to Ms.Edwards, Pixies exchanging information was something new to her, but considering how Kephri usually was Marylin probably figured that she wasn't told because she never bothered to ask, much to her annoyance.

So the gist of their task was going to be an extermination job, good. Marylin was sure she could take on a mature hyde by herself, and with the others help the job surely wouldn't be too difficult. She briefly thought for a moment about asking for any kind of compensation, but for once she decided to save it for later. Once the mission was over she would have proved herself to be useful and that could be a bargaining chip.

"I can probably help up with tracking too" she began "I don't know what are the mechanics behind it but thanks to Kephri I can emulate the abilities of insects. Aside from that I could patrol and see if there's anything strange around the city."

---

---

Veronica listened intently as the others explained their abilities, and how said magic could aid them with the upcoming mission. "A range of skills such as yours," she addressed the girls who'd replied, "sounds like it could make our tasks much more manageable. Of course, we'll still need to be cautious, and be sure to work together to the best of our ability." She glanced from Amarantha to Marilyn, that trace of a smile returning. "Speaking of teamwork, hunts won't be the only reason for our gatherings. If there are aspects of your magic you have yet to figure out, this way we can help each other train and learn."

Claria flitted around the room, grinning down at the newly assembled coven. "That's the attitude! And I can't wait to see what you're all capable of!"

In contrast, Veronica's expression became neutral once again. "That," she said, eyes flicking to the slowly dimming view through the window then back, "is something we'll be seeing very soon."



It wasn't long before dusk crept over London, people heading home for the day as, unknown to them, a new kind of activity stirred. It wasn't just that in the rowdy pubs and inns Veronica passed by, either. The reports she'd heard could easily be written off as the ramblings of the drunk, but she knew better.

Glimpses of ghostly figures. Bouts of aggression that went beyond drunken brawls. Attacks by unseen assailants. Disappearances. This was, after all, the perfect place for Hydes to prey on the vulnerable.

"Excess. Paranoia. Anger. Despair," she mused, peering through the dingy surroundings. The stench of alcohol and filth didn't faze her, nor did the air of seediness. She'd long since cast off all self-consciousness while doing her duty - after all, in her transformed state, she'd slip by the average person unnoticed. "The kinds of emotions and impulses that feed and breed Hydes, all in plentiful supply in places like these." Places that, given their experience, many of the witches here would be used to. Then again, sometimes there was no telling where a Hyde would lurk.

"Too bad we're ready for them!" Claria rose into the fetid air, casting a glimmer of light through the murk. "And the more there are, the easier they'll be to spot!"

With a grim nod, Veronica continued along her way. Numbers, after all, weren't just on the enemy's side.

---

---

A purple glow bathed the brickwork as Lucilla raised her candle, looking down the alley with a wry smile. It was ironic, how even after Wisp and Sophia had allowed her to turn her life around, she still belonged in the shadows of London. Now, though, it was to calm the chaos instead of cause it.

If the team worked together as well as Veronica and her pixie seemed to think they would, at least.

"Ready? That we are," she agreed, snickering. "Let's remind those Hydes it's those people's party, not theirs." She gestured to an inn, from which she could hear off-key singing. As she trailed along, she hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. Even with a decent level of faith in her combat ability, teamwork was something she still had to ease into once more. Not that she was the only one who felt that way, judging by some of the other girls' mannerisms. Besides, if things were as bad as Veronica said, they didn't have a choice. Not if she and the others were to stop a repeat of that incident.

Her fingers clenched around the candle holder as memories flashed through her mind. Blood, lifeless forms, a barely human figure hunching over them. That figure, still bearing traits of her friend, writhing in flames. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes as if to block out the scenes. No. It wouldn't happen again, not tonight.

Putting on that smile again, she turned her attention from Clarissa, to Amarantha, to Lilith, then to Marilyn. She knew this network of streets like a home, but this situation called for a precise search. "Looks like a good time to put those tracking skills of yours to use."

Unfortunately, Veronica was all too right about their surroundings. Despair was all around, and even those Witches with special tracking powers would not have needed them to detect this. Hell, even a non-witch would feel it in their bones. Such as the state of things, in this part of town at least. In the dim light provided by the street lamps, people could be seen wandering towards their poisons of choice - or away from them, desperately so.

---

---

The group had been walking for a little while now, after having left Sophia's residence. They had managed to stay together so far, despite some of them seemingly still unsure about this whole covent thing. Sophia could only hope to reassure them with time.

She was one of those who chose to wear the guise of her Witch form for their 'outing'. As this self, she seemed a lot more focused, serious and strong than as her regular cheerful, warm and motherly self.

"This part of town used to be so nice..." Sophia could't help but to think out loud. They were in a part of time that used to mostly house markets as well as one large park. It used to be lively, with lots of people shopping during the day, and lots of customers staying in Inns or walking around later at night. Now, due to influx of people and lacks of good jobs, it was mostly a slum. Storages became houses for the numerous poor families, the market was now empty, mostly, and the park was residence to many without a roof over their head, including orphans. They were close to the edge of the City, explaining the large yet unused land for the park and vast market areas now empty.

Or not entirely - it didn't take long for them to notice a few Hydes walking around. One of them was closely stalking what looked and sounded like a drunk man aimlessly walking around. The Hyde, this one a shadowy tall and thin figure with piercing red eyes and no mouth, was so close behind the man it looked like it was part of it's body. Clearly, it was feeding off of him...until the man fell down, exhausted and asleep. Surprisingly, it then turned around and began walking away.

It was not the only one of it's kind, and they all seemed to do the same thing. Feeding off of nearby targets, but unusually walking away instead of sticking to one target until it's demise or until they were strong enough to go back to their point of origin. Many a Hyde could be seen walking away in various directions; some in the park, some towards the docks, others towards a house district, some more towards a large area where it was mostly storage buildings for companies and, lastly, another group heading towards the center of London.

"Strange." Sophia remarked. She and Veronica knew they were going to be numerous tonight, but did not expect such a peculiar behaviour.

Veronica noted the Hydes diverging like predators that had caught the scent of new prey. "Well that's unusual," she commented, although her face and tone suggested nothing truly surprised her any more. Despite her ever-cool demeanour, she spun to face the others.

"It seems they're drawn to something," she concluded. Theories ran through her mind, not that she could fully launch into them. Time, after all, was of the essence. "We have to make sure they don't reach whatever - or whoever - they're looking for. I know we planned to work together, but if we split into smaller teams, we'll be able to stop them all at once."

Sophia did not waste time agreeing with her covent sister. She did not like the idea of splitting up, but it really did seem there was no choice. Besides, most Witches here were not entirely new.

"I believe Veronica is right. Furthermore, it seems we have five locations to head towards to...and unless I am mistaken, we are the exact correct number for it.

Lilith and Jacqueline could investigate the Park,
Clarissa and Marilyn could investigate the docks,
Lucilla and Mary-Anne, would you head to the housing district?
Veronica and Amarantha, take the warehouses.

Finally, it would leave Lady Ferdinand and myself to head towards the center of town." she said, without missing a beat.

"We should not waste any time. I fear for what those Hydes might be looking for, or who they might hurt."

“Ah, I see…” Alicia replied to Marilyn. “It seems I might have misunderstood your words. Apologies.” She gave her a little nod before taking another sip of her tea.

It seemed most of them were relatively new at their job. She was still not sure how the witch system worked. Was there an age limit for how long a girl could be a witch? Too old and you would just lose your power? Or perhaps they were really the first generation of witches?

She had tried asking things like that to Aether. Alas, she remained tight-lipped on the subject, always dodging the question, before steering the conversation to an entirely different direction.

She listened to Veronica's explanation on why they were gathered there. To her dismay, it was indeed a legitimate threat that needed their cooperation to fight against.

"Not just one developed Hyde? But five?" she asked in disbelief as she leaned forward, slamming her hands at the table, making her chest bounce, showing off her cleavage to the girl. "How could it be so? Haven't we already hunted enough of them?"

She returned her bottom back to her seat, looking uncomfortable and at edge as she started biting her lip, while her index finger played with her hair.

"I have fought a developed Hyde, you know." She suddenly told her. "Barely managed to run away, with my body bruised all over. That power… just a single witch wouldn't be able to deal with one."

Without realizing it, she formed fists with her hands. She wanted revenge. Revenge for what the Hyde had done to her. Not only that she had defeated her, she had humiliated her as well, by destroying her witch clothes in their fight. That damage transferred over to her real clothes, which made her have to return to her mansion wearing a scandalously tattered dress. Thank the Lord no one actually saw her, or at least, that's what she believed.

"This is a serious matter indeed!" she continued, now crossing her arms under her chest. "I agree with you. We have to exterminate them before they grow even stronger!"

When she asked if any of them had tracking abilities, she shook her head.

"Unfortunately, I don't," she answered honestly. "My ability is mobility and combat related. Can’t really track or detect Hydes as you want.”

When Veronica brought up how the coven would also be used to train those who hadn’t mastered their witch power, she commented, “That could be useful, though I myself feel that I wouldn’t need such a training myself.” She already felt confident enough on her abilities after all.

-----
After they were finished with their meeting, they began their night patrols. Everyone there was already used to wandering around in the streets of London, or even outside of it, as their duty as witches required them to do so. Hydes tend to appear in the night after all, like the monsters they were.

Alicia walked calmly in the middle of the group. As usual, she remained vigilant; her eyes darting around back and forth, just so she would not be caught off-guard.

She, of course, like the others, was already wearing her witch garb. She had to be ready to fight at any time after all. However, she had not summoned her mount yet. No need to expend her energy on the summoning process if she had not yet needed it. Best to conserve her magical energy instead.

Lucilla then suggested that those with tracking skills to immediately use their abilities.

“I could do an aerial scout from above,” she offered. “However, I do not know how much I could see through this fog.”

That offer was soon withdrawn however when they found what they were looking for. A group of Hydes clearly draining the lifeforce out of a number of humans.

Urgh, disgusting, she thought to herself. She could never like the way they clung onto a human like that.

She immediately stepped forward, intending to finish them off. But then, Veronica stopped her, as she told her that there was something quite unusual about them.

And indeed there was. Instead of finishing off their targets, they instead simply… walked off after draining just some of their energy.

And they all walked off to various directions afterwards, separate from each other.

It seemed a split up was in order.

“Very well.” She nodded to Sophia’s suggestion. “I can go with you.”

“Be careful,” she then said to the others. “Something’s definitely not right here.”