Agatha Loom

Ironic. Apparently seeking out some oddly morbid murders was too dangerous for the Coven, but not seeking out a literal personification of death for literally no given reason? Regardless, Agatha bit her tongue. She didn't really want to snark at or pick a fight with Madison, especially after she surrendered the floor. At the very least, it was sobering to see the Coven wasn't turning into everyone's personal chore-takers.

"Is there something you had in mind, leader? Because you can't keep calling us here for nothing, some of us have things to do, you know."

"Alright, if we're done with the day's share-and-care, we can get onto the agenda. The only real order of business I called this meeting for, is that I wanted to bring up that we have a new potential member," Agatha began, folding her hands together.

"Just last night I was contacted online by somebody. They said they knew about our Coven, and that they wanted to join with us if we'd let them. Obviously I was a bit skeptical and on guard at first. They said they lived in the area, and were willing to go through whatever initiation we had for them. I told them I'd get back to them soon, but before I went and took them in, I wanted to check by each of you guys first. A vote, I guess. What do you guys think?"

Agatha remained silent, giving each member of the Coven a moment to think before answering. In her own opinion, she was extremely uncertain. While she herself managed to join over the internet, she didn't know whatever thought process the leader at the time used to consider taking Agatha in, so she really didn't know how to judge the merits of a complete stranger. So instead she left it up to group instinct for now. If needed, she'd just change her opinion and use her vote as a tiebreaker if needed.

---

"Is there some sort of bar for entrance that I wasn't made aware of?" Kayla drawled, lazily looking Agatha over with thinly veiled boredom. "A good portion of us simply joined. Some of us, and I don't mean this in any way negative..." she said, her eyes glancing to Herik and Molly, "...Don't even possess any abilities of their own. Do we even need another member?"

There was an unspoken second part to Kayla's question. An insinuation that would likely be picked up by those paying attention around her. Another member that you cant control. Kayla was not the type to openly insult people, preferring to choose her battles and dress her temperament in biting tact that held truth to the statement. She sighed and rubbed her temples a bit. "Madison," she said, her tone ever sharp. "I'll help you." she said simply, not bothering to explained her thought process too much further. Simply put, Madison helped her settle her business and Kayla owed her one... And Kayla hated owing people anything. She turned her attention back to Agatha.

"I see no reason not to give the person the time of day, but calling a vote when we know nothing about them is..." Moronic, stupid, asinine, unintelligent, dumb "...Unwise. I want to see what I'm voting for."

Herik was satisfied what the Hound wouldn't kill them if it wasn't their time to go, but he still didn't want to go chasing the reaper. It could change its mind. If Babylon's taught him anything about ethereal beings, it's that they don't follow rules other than the ones they make themselves. Madison dropped the topic, but he could tell she wasn't going to let it go. He still wanted to help her somehow. Maybe not with the Hound, but even if she confided in him that's all he'd need. He'll approach her after the meeting if he got the chance.

Agatha called the meeting to open. A new member wouldn't be bad. He didn't see why someone else couldn't join. Seemed like they all needed someone to care about them and this new person was probably in need of the same thing. He couldn't turn them away. "I think a new member would be great. The more in our group, the merrier, right?" He smiled, the prospect of a new friend was good.

Elise raised her book up when Keisha came up to her. She rested her arms and the book over Keisha's head and gave her some small pets. She was glad that Sin had made it, and was actually pretty worried about her the previous night. "I am happy to see that you're feeling better, even if you have a limp. I'm sorry I didn't act sooner... I was observing, you see. Would you like to look at my notes?" She asked, holding up her journal. She gave Sin a smile, but it was a forced one. She liked Sin, but smiling was not an easy thing for Ellie to do.

When the question arose about the new member, Ellie was skeptical. She didn't feel like the Coven should be some exclusive club that only lucky suckers can get in to, but she was also cautious of letting in someone like Emily. "Agatha, did they mention anything about themselves? I get welcoming new members but there is historical precedence to be wary of would-be gifts that may just be a trojan horse." She spoke matter of factly, a tone that may seem like she thought of herself smarter than the others. She put her nose back in her book immediately after speaking.



Jessica smiled coyly at Herik. He sure was a nice guy, she wondered if she should ask him a favor at some point, if you catch her drift. For now though, she was a bit more concerned about Madison's search for the Hound, and even more-so by how quickly she dropped it. She raised an eyebrow at Molly's suggestion of finding someone who was dying. Yikes. "Madison, I'll still help you if you want, I have nothing against people keeping their secrets, and honestly seeing puppy grim reaper sounds like an all around good time to me!" She was bluffing a little bit their, of course meeting a reaper would be insane, but still had an air of cool to it.

Agatha asked about letting more people in, Kayla was bored and badass about it, Elise spouted elementary info as if it was some lost fact, and Herik hit the golden buzzer without waiting. "I mean, are we being exclusive now? Let the witch join, I mean why not? They probably want to learn about this stuff, same as us, right?" She smiled again at Herik, wondering if she won any points. Now that's a guy she wouldn't mind giving a reward.

---

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Agatha brought up the matter of letting in a new member and Emily was cringing her fucking eyes out at the mere thought of it. And what was worse was some of the responses to this matter and Emily found herself only seeing sense in what Kayla and (it must be a fucking Christmas miracle) Sin said. Emily sighed as she leaned forward on the table and waited as the floor seemed to agree to let them in without a thought. And that was the fucking Coven's problem right there. They treated this less of a supernatural organization and more of a country club for lonely lesbians.

... Some of us, and I don't mean this in any way negative... Don't even possess any abilities of their own. Do we even need another member?"

Babylon stuck out her hands as if she was presenting something and the pentagram with flames appeared covered in a yellow aura. She had this slack jawed look on her face as she tried to feign concern. She said, "I keep trying to offer them powers but they always run away screaming like this is going to horribly mutate them or something." She chuckled but left it at that. She knew Emily was going to stir the pot real good this time.

"Agatha, I know I try to undermine your horrible leadership at every possible turn..." Emily started off her rant as she stared at the table with her knuckles holding up her face. "... But why are you acting like we aren't going to do anything but take every weirdo that shows up at our door? Like we have a bar to meet because as Kayla said..."

Emily pointed her hand in the direction of Molly or Herik. Honestly, she could be pointing at Madison or Kayla or something and she wouldn't care. "... We have two people without powers."

Then she pointed her hand towards Riley, "... Thugs."

Her other hand went up as she pointed it at Jessica, "... Naive idealists."

Then it went towards Maya, "... Bottom feeders."

For once her gaze actually drifted towards Ellie, "... And many, many, people who have no place here."

Both her hands formed fists as she pressed them against both sides of her jaw and just staring downwards at the table. She simply shrugged as she finished her speech, "So, why bother with the vote. You all are going to accept whatever trash comes our way and ignore the actually sensible people here because... the lonely one offers his hand far too quickly to whomever he encounters."

"... And you're really not going to get their help at this point, hehehehehehe..." Babylon loudly said to Emily to make a point of hers. And also to stir the pot further. "... And I know you all think of me as some sort of sex demon - that's not unfounded - buuuuuut you need to remember that strange attracts strange. Even if we're on the bottom of the totem pole, so to speak, it's only a matter of time until we're dragged into something."

It wasn't long before the bickering started again and Claudette could only shake her head as she raised her hand. The people observing were probably used to her clouding the room with darkness whenever they started arguing. However, she didn't create even the smallest mote of darkness and she sighed as she lowered her hand to the table. Instead, Claudette pushed herself up to her feet as she walked over to Agatha and grabbed her by her upper arm as she firmly said, "Mademoiselle, a word,"

Claudette pulled Agatha along away from the group as the bickering began and Claudette was honestly tired of it. So, so, sick of stopping these arguments in their tracks only for them to start back up the next day. It was like dealing with children except all of them were too old for this. She realized that she was going about this all the wrong way. All the wrong way altogether, everyone was. So maybe, they needed a different approach.

"I am sick of all this bickering and constant fighting among the Coven," Claudette started off as she shook her head, "I think it really has something to do with the leadership and lack of direction in the Coven - and don't get my intentions wrong, I think you are doing an amazing job but maybe you could use a second in command? Perhaps even a third? Another leadership figure for the Coven to help you out. And keep control of the Coven."

Claudette began to explain, "The only place I can see this going towards is Emily and the others voting you out and this cycle will begin again for the next one. And as for the other issue... perhaps we should try to lead the Coven towards working out their issues and maybe having some more bonding? For all honestness, all a majority of the Coven want to do is learn more about magic and find companionship... maybe we give them what they want? Try to tighten the bonds of the group and I think the best way to do that would be to have more fun, yes?"

She sighed, "I know it's a lot, but I can see the growing toxicity in the Coven and I can't stand it anymore."

"Madison, I'll still help you if you want, I have nothing against people keeping their secrets, and honestly seeing puppy grim reaper sounds like an all-around good time to me!"

"Madison, I'll help you."

"Wait, shit?"

Madison had kinda zoned out on the bickering after realizing that the floor disagreed with the plan to go after the Hound. She couldn't blame them. There was the matter she wasn't prepared to share some stuff about herself. It meant a lot that, at least, somebody was willing to help her. "I mean... like the others said it is a lot," She started, "... And I kinda don't know how to find him."

"Just find a secluded place because Houndie is a very, very, shy Lil' pup and if your desire to see him is strong enough; he'll come to you," Babylon explained. "As I said, he knows when you're thinking about him and why... and also he doesn't like coming near me so that probably has something to do with it. I wonder why." She shrugged.

Madison realized that thot-ghost was kind of useful... if she wasn't lying. In all honestness that was all they had to go off of and she was desperate enough to try it. If not then she was going to pay. She wagered the Jaws against her curses anyway. She got off the seat because, in all honestness, she wasn't that interested in them bickering today and walked towards the door.

"If you guys are coming let's go," Madison said to Kayla and Jessica. "Otherwise, I'm doing this alone."

Agatha Loom

Agatha listened to the room's input, over their dismissive bickering to the new member. It might have just sounded like people complaining at her leadership yet again, but Agatha made sure to carefully tally each person's remarks. It might not have been solid and sound reasons, but Agatha counted "What the hell do we even know about them, first of all?" and "Who cares who we let in?" as perfectly valid responses.

Her thought process was interrupted as Claudette raised her hand, her official "everyone shut up" gesture before allowing a blanket of darkness to cover the room... Yet didn't. Instead she stood up and approached Agatha, grabbing her by the arm.

"Mademoiselle, a word."

Agatha was about to protest, before Claudette firmly pulled her from the seat and away from the roundtable, just about the corner.

"Claudette? What's up? Why are--"

"I am sick of all this bickering and constant fighting among the Coven. I think it really has something to do with the leadership and lack of direction in the Coven - and don't get my intentions wrong, I think you are doing an amazing job but maybe you could use a second in command? Perhaps even a third? Another leadership figure for the Coven to help you out. And keep control of the Coven. The only place I can see this going towards is Emily and the others voting you out and this cycle will begin again for the next one."

Agatha listened carefully to Claudette lecture, almost forgetting yet again who was really in charge of the Coven. Which was exactly the problem Claudette wanted to underline.

"I mean, I thought trying to actually organize things would be... Overmanagement, I guess. Just look where trying to throw ideas at the board got me yesterday. We've only ever had one leader or so at a time, no chains of command... But then again, if I managed to get put into a position of leadership, I guess they really wouldn't care who runs the show or how they want to do it. Yknow what? I'd be down for that... Would you mind being my "second-in-command?" She asked. Coincidence aside, if Agatha was forced to hand over her leadership she would've been prepared to hand it to Claudette. She was the person she'd trust the most with a leadership position, and the best bet for helping her lead things.

"And as for the other issue... perhaps we should try to lead the Coven towards working out their issues and maybe having some more bonding? For all honestness, all a majority of the Coven want to do is learn more about magic and find companionship... maybe we give them what they want? Try to tighten the bonds of the group and I think the best way to do that would be to have more fun, yes?"

Agatha frowned.

"Believe me, digging deep into actual magic things is why I joined the Coven in the first place, so I'd love to get around to stuff like that. Companionship..." Agatha paused for a moment, "I really don't know how we can wind all these people together."

"I know it's a lot, but I can see the growing toxicity in the Coven and I can't stand it anymore."

Agatha wheezed through her nose, "Well the reason the Coven is toxic is because it's got toxic people. Emily acts like an alpha-bitch straight out of some 90's high school movie, don't even get me started on Babylon, Kayla's headstrong and acts like she's the leader and even used the Coven to go and beatdown her own vampire problem. Sin threatened to kill me for telling her to stop her summon from nearly killing somebody yesterday-- you want me to keep going? I get what you're bringing up, but I think what we need most is a firmer leadership, like you suggested. We do have fun, and we do bond. We've went out to lunch, hung out at the beach, even just loafed around the same building for who knows how long! If you think fun and friendship would be a better way to lead the Coven, then-- Maybe we should also get Nina or Herik on board with helping to actually run things around here."

Without another word, the trio left the casino behind and they got into Madison's car.

Normally, Madison would be very defensive about letting people from the Coven into her car but she doesn't have time. It'd be completely stupid to fly there, especially after what happened in Greenwood (and she doesn't think Kayla can fly in all of this rain). In her Ford Explorer, she ventured far up north just outside of Tampa... she didn't like coming around this way because of all the rednecks but Babylon said that they needed to be somewhere secluded and what better place would be all these woods.

They ended up at a random park that Madison wanted to visit as she parked the car and the trio got out. (UN)Fortunately, it was raining pretty hard and there was nobody in sight. The rain soaked her outfit and Madison sighed as she walked down the path with the two. There was a lump of fear in her throat because she was about to face down the grim reaper. However, with her two... friends? Are they even friends? Knowing Kayla, she would probably want something in return.

The tall girl came to a stop as she looked over her shoulder, she didn't want to accuse Kayla or anything. However, she knew that with people like Kayla it was better to get intentions clear as day. Even if it alienated them. "Kayla, you aren't just doing this so I'll owe you something in return, right?" Madison asked her.

"... Madison Brown," On the pathway, they heard a dark and intimidating voice as a fog appeared dark as the night. First they saw its glowing red eyes piercing through the darkness then its massive form in the shape of a wolf made out of smoky black darkness.. "... Why have you sought me out?"

Molly remained silent as she sat at the table. Listening to the other either bicker or offer their opinions on the matter of having a new member join. She agreed with the few who stated that they should get to know the person before inviting them in. It was only reasonable when running any sort of club. Hell, they interviewed candidates to join Gyms; getting to know them before casting a vote either way seemed perfectly reasonable.

But then Emily offered her tremendous insight. Truly a gift to the whole congregation. Where did she get her personality? A whole sale at the Bitch-farm? But Molly chuckled softly at the pointing and name calling. It was truly cute how high Emily viewed herself and her opinions of others.

"Let's not forget, Emily, without Babylon your only power would be a God Tier level of 'being-a-cunt'. So please, don't think because people don't talk back to you that it has anything to actually do with you, but entirely because of Babylon." With that final statement she cutely blew a kiss in Emily's direction.

"Now, about the new member. I personally agree that we should get to know them first. Not because of some of the elitist shit some of the others have been spouting. But because it's only a reasonable request to get to know someone before they join a group or club or organization or whatever. I know most of you are eager to be all inclusive, but as we all should truly know already. Not everyone is a bag of rainbows in the extra-normal world. We should get to know this person before we start voting yes or no." With that her attention was drawn to Madison beginning to head out, calling on those who were willing to tag along.

Molly pushed herself up from her chair and headed to the door and stood beside Madison, offering a soft smile.

"I'll tag along. Meeting the Hound could be fun." And with that, she joined the small group out into the parking lot.

Molly pulled herself into the back seat of the Ford Explorer; her eyes casually looking over the group before she wiggled herself into a comfortable position for the ride.

Once they finally came to a stop Molly stepped out into the pouring rain, a soft smile finding her lips. She enjoyed the rain; something about the sound and feel of soft pellets of water rhythmically falling onto exposed skin was reassuring. Something only the living could truly enjoy. As she snapped out of her little blissful state she noticed Madison was already making her way down the path. With a short jog Molly had caught up and was walking closely behind the others.

Molly's steps slowed as she sensed something arriving. Her eye instantly locking on the black mist that slowly forming into the shape of a black, red-eyed wolf. Molly twinged a bit nervously, but seemed to stand rather confidently. Her eyes shifting from the Hound to Madison, curious to hear the girls response.

"... Would you mind being my "second-in-command?"

"Of course," Claudette said, this was the only part of this particular part of Agatha's speech that Claudette responded to. "I think it'll be best because I have a bit more sway in the Coven than most believe and I'll focus on trying to keep the peace." Claudette smiled widely as she agreed. It was going to be perfect because she had some other goals in mind.

"Well the reason the Coven is toxic is that it's got, toxic people. Emily acts like an alpha-bitch straight out of some 90's high school movie, don't even get me started on Babylon, Kayla's headstrong and acts like she's the leader and even used the Coven to go and beatdown her vampire problem. Sin threatened to kill me for telling her to stop her summon from nearly killing somebody yesterday-- you want me to keep going? I get what you're bringing up, but I think what we need most is a firmer leadership like you suggested. We do have fun, and we do bond. We've gone out to lunch, hung out at the beach, even just loafed around the same building for who knows how long! If you think fun and friendship would be a better way to lead the Coven, then-- Maybe we should also get Nina or Herik on board with helping to run things around here."

"Oui," Claudette said with a concerned look on her face as she brought up a very good point. One that Claudette already knew about, however, she already knew where to take this. "Good point, good point, Mademoiselle.... however, maybe we just need a stronger push in the right direction. A few members of the Coven are... dealing with curses. Perhaps we should help them, I'm certain many would be willing to lend a hand... given how Kayla was able to sway them to fight vampires." She said with a smile.

She extended a hand, "Come on, let's try it."

---

"What's up, Madison? Are you in trouble?"

The hound? Lyss's eyebrow quirked. As someone who came from a family of black lux, Lyss was aware of what the Hound was. She turned her head towards Babylon. For once the spirit didn't look mischievous or smug. Her description of the hound matched the way Lyss's grandfather had described it. So why does Madison want to - Babylon asked her question before she could even finish thinking it.

Lyss wasn't phased by Madison's sudden hostility. She was surprised to see that Babylon was intimidated. Who would win in a fight? Babylon and Emily, or Madison and her Jaws? She watched the two carefully and prepared to take action if a fight broke out.

She glanced over at Herik as he voice his opinion. The One-Eye was smart to keep himself out of the Hound's line of sight. He was wrong to think that the Hound would just take one of them for fun. Lyss grew up with her family's philosophy that Death was anything close to a god. He understood the balance between life and death, and only served as an overseer for those whose time had come. The Hound merely acted as a middle man. It wouldn't kill unless Death was close by.

The rest of the group was right. If Madison wasn't going to explain her reason to meet with the grim reaper, why would the group want to help her? Kayla was attacked by her buyers, so naturally the group would want to aid her. What had the Hound ever done to Madison to make her so defensive about this?

Lyss's eyes traveled around the room to read the Coven's expressions. She watched Madison closely and could tell that the girl's earlier gusto was fading. As much as Lyss wanted to help a friend out, there was still a part of her that told her to stay out of this one. It was extremely unwise to piss of the Hound. The only way to keep him around long enough to answer Madison's "question" would be to basically trap him. Lyss would make it pretty easy to do so, but she didn't want to be the reason the Hound was late to greet his next soul. She sat back in her chair and didn't voice her own opinion. Madison would either have to give up, or do it on her own. Lyss just hoped that she would make the right choice.

Lyss sighed softly. She hated to pass up an opportunity to help.

Agatha began to usual briefing. It was the reason they all were meeting, anyways. Lyss looked up at the dusty chandelier above the table and fiddled with her grandmother's ring as she listened to Agatha speak. It wasn't odd to hear that another witch wanted to join the Coven. Was I the most recent to join, or was it Molly? She couldn't remember. The only red flag that Lyss could see off in the distance was that this potential already knew of the Coven and happened to live in the area. Are we that popular?

Kayla, of course, was the first to comment. Lyss agreed with her wholeheartedly. Did they take a vote when they accepted me? Is this person trying to lay low, too? She watched Agatha for her reaction. Off to the side she heard Herik agree. The corners of her lips turned down slightly. Who said that he had any right to vote about this?

A few of the girls agreed. Emily made a few more snarky remarks. Lyss rolled her eyes, even though she agreed that some of the girls (and the man) had voted too soon. "So, why bother with the vote. You all are going to accept whatever trash comes our way and ignore the actually sensible people here because... the lonely one offers his hand far too quickly to whomever he encounters." She had a point, there.

Lyss's eyes followed Claudette and Agatha as they stepped away to chat. The other's comments faded into the background as Lyss tried to hear what the girl was telling their leader. She leaned back further in her seat. Her ears strained as she tried to listen. She really only heard the complaints about the other members and a small smirk appeared on her lips. What would Agatha think of me? She wished that she could have heard that.

It only occurred to her that the others, Madison leading the way, had left the casino. Lyss turned back to look at the remaining members of the group and gave them all a smile. "Well, I'm certainly looking forward to meeting this new member. I don't think it's a good idea to blindly accept her, or him, or them, but you all accepted me. Agatha's certainly the most paranoid out of the group, so I doubt that she hasn't done any research about them. But, if the group doesn't like them, we'll kick 'em out."

Jessica happily followed Madison out to her car. Finding a spirit of death sounded a lot cooler than meeting another witch. She sat next to Molly. She just looked on her phone the way there, not especially used to talking to any of these girls, and Molly seemed a bit out of it during the ride. Jess put her phone away and watched as the raindrops fused and raced down her window. It wasn't long before Jess was stepping out of the vehicle, following Madison. She saw the Beast come almost of a dark fog. "Holy shit... he's so cool..." Jess muttered as she witnessed the large dog.



Sin made some awkward comments about the fight. Elise shook her head, "I'm no fighter. I go along to help people, but I can't take on anyone really. It's fine though, usually I don't have to." After Elise handed her the journal, she seemed interested in her notes, and looked through them for a bit, which made Elise happy. She was glad someone was interested in what she was doing. That's when Sin heard about the new member. She took off toward the table, leaving Elise alone on her roulette table. That was fine though. Elise opened her book again.

---

Without further adieu, the three split off from the Coven to take care of business, much like they had when they went to beat vampiric ass. Kayla held the door for Oleander, and settled herself into the far back row of seats with her dog.

Madison lead them to north Tampa, not too far from where they had bee, maybe a twenty minute drive away- but too the woods. Kayla disliked the woods at night. The woods can be intimidating in the daylight if you don't know where you are and where you're going; at night, well, it's a whole different beast, and Florida- Florida was snake country. She wasn't particularly worried, she knew her passenger would be looking out for her, but the idea of both of them making a mistake and needing to visit the hospital was no small concern. It was raining some, most of the water being dispersed by the canopies up above and her own ability kept her warm. It wasn't the most comfortable she had ever been, but Oleander wasn't being a pain and so she could deal.

"Kayla, you aren't just doing this so I'll owe you something in return, right?"

"Listen, Madison," Kayla said, her tone easy. "You had my back when I asked for help. I have yours. Only difference is that I'm not saying your thing is a bad idea." As Madison had said, even though things had been fine. Kayla snarked, but offered Madison a slight smile. She was used to people thinking any job she needed doing or any idea she had, had some degree of insanity to it. Obviously Madison doubting before hadn't particularly bothered her.

Kayla's attention on Madison was dropped when her other noted something. The sounds of the forest are gone. Kayla quieted to listen, and then there was almost a sensation like a plane depressurizing. She felt her ears pop, and had this odd sensation of having dropped about ten feet. Fog began trailing in, thin at first, but so thick that one could cut it with a knife after a few dozen more yards. Eventually its voice boomed out, speaking to Madison. Kayla whistled a low note, calling a snarling Oleander to her side. She was the further back in the group, and could only just see the giant's form through the fog, aside from its eyes, which shone through the night and fog like search lights. "Jessica..." she warned, her stance instinctually dropping. "...Shut up." Fire began dancing between her fingertips, arching between her digits like red electricity. The entity was gigantic, easily the size of a small elephant.

"I take it back, Madison." she said, her voice low and quiet. "This was a bad idea."

---

---

Maya remained silent during the conversation about a new member because if she was honest, she couldn’t care less if this new person joined or not. It would be nice if they were useful and if not well… they’d be a nice extra shield. But it wasn’t exactly a loss if they didn’t. She did personally agree with Sin though, for the first time in her life, that they should maybe meet the person first. Just to make sure they weren’t some kind of serial killer.

Her hand curled into a fist at the edge of the table at Emily’s derogatory words and her gaze, shielded under sunglasses, flitted to the girl. “Like you’re the ideal person anyone would want to have around,” she snapped, trying to keep her anger under control for once - but only because she was far too tired to properly argue. “If you’d take a moment to pull your head out your ass you’d realise you're just as bad as the rest of us… No, worse.”

She was glad when Riley, even for all her dislike for the girl, stepped in to properly confront the bitch. Even if half of it didn’t make any sense.

"Well, I'm certainly looking forward to meeting this new member. I don't think it's a good idea to blindly accept her, or him, or them, but you all accepted me. Agatha's certainly the most paranoid out of the group, so I doubt that she hasn't done any research about them. But, if the group doesn't like them, we'll kick 'em out."

Maya turned to face Lyss and ignored the annoyance that was Emily, head tilted slightly. “I agree. I’m not too bothered about whether they join or not, but I guess we should at least meet them. There’s only so paranoid we can be… it’s not like we’re an elite group or something.” She smirked. “As much as some people want us to be.”

Kayla was nervous, Madison was too.

The fire that was in between her fingertips told her but Madison merely let out a sigh as she walked forward towards the enormous Hound. He was big as he appeared in the Recollections she saw but even though she knew everything about him, she was still afraid. There was just something about him that was just unnerving. She presented herself as fearless, unflinching, but knew something like him could smell fear. The innate worries in her heart. After she was a few feet away she said,

"... You know what I want," Madison confidently said as her arms hung at her sides. "I want to know if there's any way I can get Jordan Nichols back."

The Hound stood motionlessly for a second, but it raised its black paw to take a step and in the blink of an eye the Hound was no taller than Madison herself. Was he always that big or were her eyes just fuckin' with her?

"... You know she willingly gave herself up?" The Hound asked with a subtle tilt of its head.

Madison looked at her feet as she started to play with her fingers and she nervously said, "... I know, I know... I'll take her place; I just can't-"

"Can't live with the guilt? That's how she felt." The Hound said as she blinked and he suddenly had the girth of a minivan.

"Please..."

"To annul the deal I made with Jordan would require a price you cannot possibly repay," The Hound started as he took steps back. "And even then, if I brought her back all she would want to do is bring you back and then this cycle will go on and on and on..."

"C'mon," Madison tried to plead. "I'll do anything you want. Just hear me out..."

"No, I tire of it," The Hound said as he turned around and walked back into the fog, "The only reason why you know about this deal in the first place is because the Walton girl made a mistake - but she'll learn her folly soon enough."

Madison balled her fist as it was surrounded with a glowing purple mass of glowing bones as the Jaws subconsciously activated. Tears ran down her cheeks as she just stood there with the Jaws around her hand like a glove. Her eyes were closed as she was trying to fight the tears however, the Hound came to a stop as he turned his head around towards Madison unnaturally.

"I can sense your hostility towards me, but riddle me this..." The Hound said as he turned around and grew to the size of an elephant again. "... You already died once. Are you sure you want to risk it all again?"

And that was the straw that broke the camel's back as Madison launched herself at the Hound with her fist cocked backward. She screamed at the top of her lungs as her fist surrounded by the Jaws collided with the Hound's cheek and she sent the thing flying backward down the path. The black fog faded as the Hound was launched through it, however, the entity flipped itself over in mid-air and effortlessly landed on its feet. Its neck was bent out of shape from Madison's punch but it quickly fixed itself.

The Hound laughed.

"... You know you can't win yet you still fight. If you're so set on this path," The Hound started, "At least make it entertaining."

The Hound charged towards the group.



As Riley ranted on and on and on; Emily couldn't help but stare at her with her jaw agape and her brows furrowed. Her gaze danced around the room all confused as every word left this squirrely girl's mouth. When she was done Emily couldn't help but ask.

"... What the fuck are you rambling about?" Emily asked, but she felt so floored by this weirdo's rant that she had to compound it. "No seriously, what the ever-loving hell are you even talking about?"

She pointed a finger at Riley as she looked around at the Coven, "This is what I'm talking about when I say that we have no standards. This girl wouldn't be allowed in any other organization with the way she acts so why should she be let in this one? Some of you-" Emily for once shot a sharp glance Maya's way as she suddenly stopped, "-say I'm worse but at least I'm better than her-"

Her rant was interrupted by a large metal canister that looked like a grenade landing directly on the table in front of her. On the side of it said: GAS. They were raining all from around the group from the sky. Emily looked up and she saw some ethereal looking glowing blue hawks biting the pins off and dropping them on the group like bombers.

"... Fuc-" Emily tried to voice as the tear gas grenade went off and the entire room was filled with smoke. Emily was loudly coughing as she tried to cover her face but her fucking eyes were burning too. She fell over onto the ground as she choked in the tear gas. It was honestly the worst burning sensation of her life as she was coughing over and over again.

But at least everyone else was suffering too.

"... Oh, the joys of not having lungs," Babylon said as she looked around. "I dropped the ball here, I sensed some new extra-normal beings but thought they were your friends soooo-."

"BABYLON SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Emily shouted before she went back to coughing, she had to get out of here. She moved towards the exit covering her mouth but constantly blinking... and tripped over something and landed face-first onto the ground. Glancing back she saw it was the remains of a slot machine and mentally seethed: Fucking Sin.

It was fortunate because three people came running out the door she was heading towards wearing gas masks and body armor that said... Oh no.

FBI.

"FBI! FBI! FBI! F-B-I!" One of them shouted as they waved around an FBI badge like nobody could tell as the biggest and tallest one out of the group walked up and clapped their hands together.

"Alright ladies, I know it hurts," He started, "But it's going to get a lot worse if you don't give up here. So just agree to surrender and I'll get rid of the gas."



"♪ ... I'd let you had I known it, why don't you say so? ♪"

A young man with feminine facial features wearing a suit and tie sung along with the song as he sat on the seat. They were in a room with a lot of computers and he was sitting in the chair dancing. He was facing the computer scene which showed the inside of the casino. A small drone was observing the group from a distance... watching them argue.

"Some witch's coven they are," He said to himself.

However, walking up was Meifeng Liao, wearing a suit and a pistol at her hip. She placed a hand on the back of Trevor's computer chair and leaned in. "... That's them." Meifeng identified them near instantly... after watching that snap a few hundred times she managed to mentally match their body types with the people who were attacking Greenwood. Despite their disguises.

Mainly she recognized Emily G. Reed... the girl who thought it'd be appropriate to burn her clothes off.

"As if it was in doubt!" The male said with a smile, "When I said 'I'd find them', I meant it! Just like how you meant it when you said, 'Trevor if you don't find them in twenty-four hours I'm shoving my boot up your-'"

"Trevor, shut up," Meifeng sharply said.

"Oooooh, I got you using first names now," Trevor said.

Cindy Keagan walked up as she watched the group arguing, "... They don't seem to be the most organized."

"So, Agent Liao," An absolute mountain of a man approached wearing a suit with a square jaw and a relatively well-groomed haircut. "What do you want to do about them?"

"Welllllll..." Trevor piped in as he spun around in the computer chair. "We're supposed to be neutralizing Annebelle Heart but Agent Liao here thought it's more important to bust a buncha wannabe witches." He rolled his eyes as he did jazz hands.

"Trevor..." Meifeng said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Shutting up."

That was when Meifeng reached into a crate and pulled out a tear gas grenade, "I want to know their intentions... bring me their leader and don't let nobody escape." She presented it to Maximilian.

"Copy that," Maximilian said as he took it, "No lethal force, right?"

"No, I am only authorizing taser rounds for now," Meifeng said, "... If they warrant it, then hold nothing back but I want information..."

She glanced over to a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes wearing a suit, "... Agent Page will use her abstraction to tear gas them and then we move in afterward. Like Agent Keagan said; they don't seem to be organized but be prepared for anything. Maximilian, you lead Trevor, Sonya, and Maria in."

"Oh boy, I get to do secret agent stuff!" Trevor excitedly said as Maximilian lightly slapped him in the back of the head as he put on his gas mask. Trevor did the same thing and followed after him.

Helena nodded her head as she closed her eyes and suddenly a massive swarm of ethereal looking hawks materialized out of thin air. They were transparent and glowing blue - filling up the command vehicle.

"Eh-hey, you gotta warn me when you do this shit, Agent Page!" Trevor said as he put his hands up and leaned back away from the bird. "Last time you did this; the birds attacked me."

They quickly grabbed the tear gas grenades and flew out the room... and as they were arguing the bird got into position. Meifeng had her hand up as they all took position around the main floor of the casino and were in every spot to ensure that the entire main hall that they were situated in would be full of tear gas. Probably enough to disorient them.

"Now," Meifeng said as they twisted and pulled the clips and soon enough they were being barraged with gas, and Meifeng couldn't help but smile.

".... We need to save this for later," Cindy chuckled as she watched the mayhem. "I don't know what it is; but watching this never gets old."

"Yes, but let's get ready," Meifeng got up and went towards the exit.

---

Lyss's smile soon faded as Riley started spitting fire towards Emily. She released some air through her nose and tried her best not to listen. What's worse? Going to piss off the Hound, or sitting here with these bombs? She busied herself with examining her nails as she listened to Riley. She'd filed them down a bit after the field trip to Greenwood yesterday and she had to admit that she'd done a pretty good job. She just needed some moisturizer on her cuticles, and they'd look damn near perfect.

She saw Maya turn towards her in her peripherals and set her hand back down on the table. Lyss nodded in agreement as she looked at Maya. "I definitely didn't join this group expecting to be the Avengers or anything. Honestly, I was just hoping to lay low and learn some spells." She shrugged. Her attention was turned towards Emily as the witch turned her attention onto the rest of the group. She stared at her with a blank expression. In Lyss's opinion, Riley and Emily were equal in terms of dependability. It just happened that Emily had an almost all powerful entity in her meatsuit.

The canister fell directly onto the table across from Lyss, and her eyes immediately widened. "Everyone, get down! Cover your faces!" She ducked beneath the table without another word and pulled her tank up over her mouth and nose. She didn't know who had sent in the gas bombs, but she sure as hell didn't want to inhale any of the shit coming out of them. She began to crawl towards the closest exit, but soon the smoke covered her view. Unfortunately, the thin tank wasn't helpful at all. Lyss did her best to hold her breath, but as soon as the gas touched her eyes she gasped in pain. The smoke flew into her lungs and began it's attack.

Lyss wheezed, her eyes tearing up immediately. She could feel the waterworks running down her cheeks and she stopped crawling as she tried to catch her breath. Air. I need fresh air. She grimaced. Fuck! Where's the exit? She closed her eyes tightly, giving them a moment to rest before one eye peeled open and searched through the gas for any sign of a door.

"FBI!"

"Oh-" COUGH. "HELL NO." Lyss hissed. She crawled faster, but her line of sight was interrupted by black combat boots. "Shit!" She looked up to see a black gas mask looking down at her and she growled.

Her lungs were on fire. To the point where she couldn't move any further. She gave up on her escape and doubled over. Her hand reached up to hold her throat as she kept trying to cough the gas out. The gas was fading, fortunately, but with every breath she took in more of it. ^{"What fucking right-"}" She muttered between her heavy breaths.

Her blurry eyes immediately turned towards the big guy with the badge. The one that just told them to give up or suffer longer. They were icy cold, despite the fact that they were squinting to stay open. For a moment she was glad that she had the best waterproof mascara. Her lipstick, on the other hand, she wasn't too confident in.

"You've got us surrounded," she breathed. "What more do you-" COUGH. COUGH. "-fucking want?"

Today was not a good day. No, this weekend wasn't a good weekend for his friends. They fought yesterday, within the group and with vampires, he's hurt, Sin got hurt, Madison isn't doing well emotionally and is now off to probably do something that might potentially get her killed. He wishes he could go, but Babylon said it wouldn't just take a life, doesn't mean it won't do something irreversible. He's sure Emily insulted him, but he couldn't really follow. Something about being lonely, but weren't they all lonely that's why they're here? More infighting today, a lot of harm words and criticisms. He wished they'd all get along. No two people are too different from each other. They all have a lot in common, maybe if they recognized that they'd get along better. They should go to the beach. Unwind, have some fun. Yes, fun is what they all needed right now. Can't fight when you're having a good time. He opened his mouth wide to yell, only to inhale burning smoke that made his eyes teary and red and hard to see.

"FBI!"

Herik got off his barstool and hit the floor. His mother always said to just to as the authorities said and there'd be no problems. He couldn't really see them through his cloudy eyes, but it looked like there four and one of them was big, like probably bigger than him. He's not worried for himself, Herik can take a hit, even if he's rarely not the biggest guy in the room, but his companions are tiny things, even the ones nearly as tall as him.

"Just do what they say!" He called out, then coughed hard into his elbow. Some of the more volatile members might cause more trouble than they're already in and he won't be able to protect them if they need it. Even so, he crawled towards the FBI, maybe they'd see him as more of a threat than his companions. He put most of his weight on his uninjured shoulder, his chest getting carpet burn, he ignored the pain. He didn't do much to protect them yesterday, but maybe he can protect them now.

Jess nodded when Kayla warned her to shut up. She had a habit of being a bit ditsy so just followed the much cooler Kayla's lead. The hound spoke to Madison about deals, and it sounded like Madison wanted someone back. Jess tried to keep up, but the size of the apparition was really bugging her as it seemingly changed its size. Jess was wondering if it was maybe time to go, but that's when Madison attacked the thing. Jess came here as back-up, so she wasn't gonna run away. She flung her sword case off her back and hurriedly got it out. It's steel blade reflected what light there was.

"Extend maximum!" She cried as orange energy burst around her channeler and her sword, extending her sword by 20 extra feet. She ran forward and lunged the energy at the hound. "Madison! Can we win here, or are we dead?" She asked, knowing the answer in her heart. She felt her heart pound against her chest, yet her courage could not waver, not now. She hoped her attack could penetrate and at least cause the Hound to retreat. She looked back at the apparition with a fiery passion in her eyes.



Elise was focused on re-reading her notes and let the arguing be the usual background noise she was used to. Emily probably said something insulting and someone was probably popping off, but it didn't matter. Elise was so focused that she didn't even notice the canister drop by her feet until it burst into a smoke that stung and burned her eyes. She screamed and reactively teleported out. She huddled on the ground behind a convenience store a mile or so away. She had made sure to go to surrounding areas if she ever needed to get away from one of her Coven mates, she was glad she had. She blinked furiously, trying to get the smoke out of her eyes, but it wasn't doing much.

Luckily, her next plan of action didn't require her normal vision. She closed her burning eyes and pictured the hotel in her mind. She saw smoke billowing everywhere. She honed in on where the main table was and popped in. She grabbed whoever was closest and popped back out with them. She was panting already and had to regain her breath. "Are you ok? I'll try to grab more of them in a moment.. I'm sorry." She spoke to the one she saved, even though she was not yet sure who it was.