As they entered the Lyft, Mariah pulled her phone out, and was mostly occupied with texting the entire car ride. This, of course, definitely highlighted how damn tall she was, since she had to practically fold herself to fit into the back seat. While she wasn't exactly uncomfortable with the group, she wasn't exactly trying to make conversation, especially since she had someone to antagonize...

^{Bye ho
Where you go???
Sis said we gotta meet the rest
Fuck you
Wooooooow
>:( you just leave me???
Fuck you
Okay I'll text you when I'm done
Kk
:(
Why can't I go???
Clingy
No fuck you >:(
Go flex on the beach or something
:(}

Putting her phone away, Mariah rather obnoxiously opened her parasol as they walked up to the beach house, and was rather impressed with it. Bitty Dick Blake really hooked these folks up. She half-thought he was just trying to get the violence to stop by saying whatever. With an impressed hum, she trailed behind Claudette, while looking over the rest of the scenery. Already, Mariah was inwardly plotting to spend some time on the beach here since, basically, this little slice in a rich neighborhood would be reasonably clean and free of tourists. Mental notes made, Mariah turned her attention forward, just as she caught the last half of what Claudette was saying.

... don't tell me something happened while I was gone..."

Being tall enough to not have to lean to get a good view into the house, Mariah raised her brows at the scene before her, squinted analytically, then turned away slightly noting lowly, "Maaaaaybe this ain't a good time to do introductions. Right now? Cause they look a bit, uh, fuckin' distressed." Every single person within eyesight looked as if their puppy had been strangled to death in front of them. Not only was Mariah uncomfortable with the situation, she was outright feeling out of place, and figured Claudette had leader-y shit to do. Wrangling feelings and soothing or what-nots. With a wince and a lowly mumbled, "Eesh," Mariah took a few steps backward and shifted uncomfortably, "Look. I can come back another time cause it look like some feelings happenin' in there."

---

_uwu

Through the ride to a “beach house” Kara was silent. She was thinking about who the nine or ten others were, and the pet alligator? That was weird, but it sounded cute, so she went along with it. Of course, when she got there the whole thing was hell of a lot more nicer than she was anticipating for a bunch of magic lesbians who were up to who knows what. Stepping out of the car and meandering across the sand, it was a pretty nice house. How the hell did a bunch of magical lesbians who were up to who knows what get a hold of some piece of land like that? Oh well, it wasn’t as important as the off brand Mexican stand off she spongebobbed her way into by mistake. It looked like everyone in the coven based on Claudette’s words was right here.

”Uh. Hi.”

---

"... And why is the village idiot making more sense than half the people in the room?"

“I’m not really an idiot,” Maya muttered, rolling her eyes as she forced herself to not rise to argue with Emily who was actually agreeing with her for once… even if it involved insulting her. Because for once she knew she was absolutely right. None of them should have to sacrifice themselves for the rest.

Madison and Emily’s words were the first she heard of Annabelle, since she walked in half way through the conversation… who through process of elimination, she assumed killed Izzy. So not only was Babylon on the loose (but probably far away by now) but the Floridian killer had gotten one of the girls.

“I also want to know who Annabelle is,” Maya said, gritting her teeth to keep her voice level low… there were already plenty of shouted words going around and while she was normally the first to join them, this was serious enough to have her proper attention rather than her often irrational anger. “Apart from the fact that she’s a mass murderer. How come you know about her, and we don’t? I’m not the one to go on about some trust bullshit but if you can’t even tell us about someone killing one of our members, then what the fuck can we do as a group?”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Isla’s eyes widened when Emily very aggressively told her to put down the plant, taking it off her lap and placing it on the floor. She was honestly struggling to keep up with the entire conversation… like, there were so many names being thrown around but she figured she’d been accepted into the group at this point! No one was trying to throw her out again, at least.

“But I also agree with Vashti,” Maya continued, completely ignoring the weird Scotswoman. “DENs could’ve killed us so easily during that first raid, nevermind all the times after that… not that I really trust them,” she just wanted to bang one of them, “but if they were gonna kill anyone, it wouldn’t have been…” she shook her head as her voice broke slightly, grimacing in an attempt to channel anger over any other emotion. “Well, it wouldn’t have been Izzy.”

She opened her mouth to go on, only for Claudette to walk right in. With two new members. Perfect timing.

“Yeah, shit happened,” Maya said, turning her head to look at Claudette and not bothering to tone down the harshness in her voice. “A lot of shit that Lyss has to explain to us. You see-”

“Hi, I’m also new!” Isla chose the perfect time to pipe up, jumping off the sofa to wave. She then blinked right over to the door and grinned at Mariah and Kara. Honestly Mariah’s suggestion that they shouldn’t be here was nice… maybe the three newcomers should leave the old members to sort this out first. “Nice to meet you! But yeah, maybe we should like... wait outside.”

Maya glared holes into Isla’s back for being interrupted, clenching a fist as she collected herself to actually say what she was going to say.

“As I was saying before I was interrupted,” another glare at Isla, “... Izzy’s dead. She was killed by some mass murderer called Annabelle, something Lyss didn’t bother to tell us till right now.”

“So yeah, I’d say something happened while you were gone.”

---

---

“If Liao wanted to wipe us out then she wouldn’t have taken us to the hospital. She would’ve blasted us in Fantasy Land. Still, if we’re in danger then I think it’s time we’re all filled in on what’s what. Because I did join the Coven for protection.”

“DENs could’ve killed us so easily during that first raid, nevermind all the times after that… not that I trust them, but if they were gonna kill anyone, it wouldn’t have been… Well, it wouldn’t have been Izzy.”

Conspiracy theorist Emily was in full swing as she rolled her eyes.

"... Maybe she doesn't want to kill all of us," Emily started, "Maybe Izzy stumbled upon something she shouldn't have... or knowing her, she was having an affair with Liao and she iced Izzy before it could be made public."

Anything was possible with that slut. Emily shrugged as she looked at the two, who seemed to be wholly trusting of the DENS. "Either way, we should not be taking everything at face value, especially from a shady government agency." She left out some of her harsher lines about the Coven being naive and too trusting... mostly because it would fall on deaf ears. She crossed her arms as she looked between everyone in the group.

"None of us asked to be like this and we're just tryna' survive like damn why are there so many things after us?"

Emily looked at her and realized that she was probably all that initiated in all of this magic Coven nonsense. Then again, she seemed a bit... green. Too green for the Coven. In all honesty, Emily can't find a logical reason why she's still even here... unless little Quinn here attracted a girlfriend. Hmph. Disgusting. Either way, Emily had some relatively blunt things to say to her.

"... It's because strange attracts strange, darling," Emily echoed the words of Babylon... which she knew was probably not all that appreciated, but those words made such an impact on her. Emily grabbed onto her brown hair and pulled it off to the side and revealed her sigil to Grace. "Long as we have magic, we're going to be magnets for this kind of shit." She just bluntly answered before she chuckled.

"It's a package deal."

Around this point Claudette came back with the newbies... and Emily crossed her arms as she looked at them. One was a tall, boy-looking, chick that she wondered was one of Madison's friends. She talked with a hood accent and Emily could tell that Claudette, really, picked the wrong time. The other one was a pale looking chick with brown hair that was around her height, who awkwardly introduced herself. Honestly, at this point, Emily couldn't justify bringing more members of the Coven into this.

“... Izzy’s dead. She was killed by some mass murderer called Annabelle, something Lyss didn’t bother to tell us till right now. So yeah, I’d say something happened while you were gone.”

"Augh... Mademoiselle Izumi? She's..." Claudette was honestly shocked to hear about it... she wasn't all that close to Izzy, mostly because she avoided Claudette. Nonetheless, she was a sister and it was shocking to hear her go. "... When did this happen?"

"No clue, but..." Emily turned to face the two new people, then Grace, then Isla with a narrow look. "... I suggest that you all leave while you have the chance, you don't want to get involved in this." She just bluntly said as she crossed her arms. It would make no difference to Emily because people left the Coven all the time. Just look at Kayla! One little deal goes wrong and she drops off the face of the earth! Some leader she was. However, Emily was not looking forward.

However, that was when Claudette realized that she had to step up. "Now, now, now, Ms. Reed, I would not say that," She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "If this Annabelle is the one killing people, then she's not specifically attacking us but instead she seems to be a threat to Tampa as a whole."

Claudette began her little speech as she walked up to the middle of the room and "took the stage". "Which means we are likely better off sticking together than leaving-"

"... Or leaving Tampa," Emily said as she crossed her arms.

"-or turning against each other. I do not know the whole situation with Annabelle, and while it may seem like Lyss knows more than us, we have to remember that she's a veteran of the group and she most likely had her reasons for doing so. However, I do not believe those reasons are valid anymore and she should enlighten us on the situation." Claudette said as she looked at Lyss... truth be told, she didn't trust the DENS but she knew that Lyss was hiding something. She could only hope that Lyss still has the Coven's best interests at heart.

Emily still had her arms crossed as she closed her eyes... before the Coven got a bit too sidetracked, she remembered why she came here in the first god damn place. "... I found a lead on Babylon."

"Oh?" Claudette said.

"Orlando, a family fucked each other to death. Sounds like her," Emily started, "I don't know if anyone forgot-" Because Quinn sure as hell did "-but Babylon is still using Ellie's like a fucking meat suit as she does all sorts of depraved shit with her body. I don't know about you all, but I'm not okay with that. I know you guys already forgot about Molly, but she got abscised and because we sat on our asses that Apparition is God knows where and we're unlikely to ever find it."

By her admission, Emily didn't do anything at the time because she didn't care and she now hates herself for being so apathetic. However, things change. The Coven should change.

---

This… this was why Lyss never wanted to be the “leader.” In her hungover and grieving state, she obviously hadn’t thought over her words. Now, hearing the others react to her this way, she realized that she’d done them wrong. She felt like something was off about herself. She wasn’t feeling the same after the recent failures and tragedies. Sure, she barely knew Ellie and Izzy, but they had become a large part of her new life in Tampa. Maybe it was because she wasn’t supposed to have been in this city for so long. I should have moved on the second the DENs were involved.

The girls had a point. Her inside information from the DENs did look suspicious. She was getting too entangled with them, but was that really such a bad thing? Would they have known of Izzy’s death if not for Liao? Would they know that Annabelle Heart was growing more of a danger to their home with every passing day? No. They would have found out the hard way. When Annabelle would crash through their new front door and kill them all.

Lyss raised her eyes to look at Emily and the girls and felt her cheeks flush. They all looked just as in pain as she’d felt last night. At first she’d wondered why she even felt that way. Yet after talking with Max, and drinking half a bottle of whiskey before bed, she realized that she hadn’t cared for another person in so long that she forgot what it felt like to lose them.

Still, Emily and Vashti had a point. Liao told her that the pictures were too grotesque to see, but Lyss had seen mangled bodies before. She hadn’t asked for the pictures because of the shock of it all. What if she had? Would Liao have shared them with her? Would they have looked like a killing done by a monster or by an extra-normal government agent? Lyss pressed her lips together. She was going to find out one way or another. It was time they tested the DENs. She had to admit that if Liao or even Max was playing with her, she’d fallen for it easily.

But just before she could explain why it happened this way, who Annabelle Heart was, or how she even knew this information about Annabelle, Claudette rolled in with two newbies. Lyss cleared her throat and took this moment of awkward pause to drink the melted ice water that was in her glass. This was the first time she felt so out of place in this group. Even if Maya and Vashti were defending her honor despite their anger towards her. She never felt this way before because she didn’t care what any of them said or did, but now it was different. She’d done them wrong and let her emotions get the better of her. It couldn’t happen again. Especially now that Annabelle was a bigger threat to the Coven than before.

Lyss felt a moment of relief as she listened to Claudette. Her eyes silently thanked the other leader. She agreed that it was time to tell the Coven about the DENs number one target. In fact, she’d planned to do it yesterday until the booze and Max distracted her. Her moment of weakness yesterday, and a few times before that, was what put her in this situation. Then again, if she hadn’t given the DENs an ounce of trust she would have never learned about Annabelle until yesterday. At least she had the information from her first meeting with Max to tell the girls now.

Lyss frowned again as Emily spoke. Annabelle, Babylon, the DENs, what else would come for them next? Her old partners from the market? A giant Michelin man? The old Lyss would have packed her bags and left by now. For some reason, she didn’t have the heart to leave this time. This has just made my headache worse. She thought bitterly before getting to her feet. It was time she got over her own emotions. She always had a clear head when she was apathetic. What she needed to do now was figure out a middle ground. It would start with explaining the situation to the girls.

“Emily… I know that it’s important to find Babylon. In fact, I think she’s the one we should focus on for the time being. She needs to be brought to justice and sealed away from the world forever. Ellie… Ellie’s body needs to be put to rest. The proper way, with a burial.”

Her heart hurt again as she thought of Izzy, but she ignored it.

“I don’t know why this Annabelle attacked Izzy. Maybe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe it was something to do with the DENs. I admit I’ve become too entangled with them, but I’ve also learned more about them in my meetings with Maximil-Agent Cornell- than I could have if I didn’t give them the time to speak.”

“The thing that killed Izzy is named Annabelle Heart. From what I’ve heard, she was a normal girl with no magic until she ran into a man named Saul up north. I’ve looked Saul up, and it seems like he runs some sort of cult following that’s made its way from South Carolina to Tampa. Wherever Saul goes, Annabelle follows him and leaves a trail of blood behind her. It seems like she’s looking for him, and I think it's because she wants revenge. I think Saul has something to do with how she’s become such a monster.”

She sighed softly now and pushed her hair back from her face. “I didn’t tell you about Annabelle because I didn’t want any of us to be put in danger. I used to think that it was the DENs problem, and that we had enough problems of our own. Then Blake fucking Schmidt killed the girls from the strip club, the Outsider attacked… Babylon killed Ellie… and now Izzy is gone.” She looked each girl in the eyes.

“I’m sorry that I waited to tell you. I let myself get distracted, and my emotions got the better of me. I guess… I didn’t have the stomach to tell you so soon after Ellie.” The guilt was eating at her empty stomach, but she wasn’t going to let it shut her down again. She needed to use it to make her stronger.

“What I can do now is promise you that I will do my best to make sure that no more of us are taken by Babylon, Annabelle, or even the DENs. Next time I see Liao or Maximillian I will confront them. I’m going to demand that Izzy gets put to rest properly, and then we are going to hunt Babylon down so that we can do the same for Ellie.”

She looked at Emily now. “Keep looking for leads. Keep us informed. I’m sure you can lead us to Babylon, and we can help you take her down. You’re capable of leading us, Emily, but I think this has to be a group effort from now on, like I’ve said before.”

“I haven’t listened to my own advice lately, but I promise you all that I’m going to from now on.”

---

---

There was something about Alyssa's response that didn't resonate too well with Madison. Of course, maybe it was because the apparent news of the death of Izzy was fresh on her mind (but Emily and Vashti had good points). Everything that Lyss said felt a bit... insincere. Like she was telling them what they wanted to hear - and glossing over the fucking question of the year: "...why the fuck do you seem all buddy-buddy with the very people that attacked us?"

When the new people walked in, Madison could only give them the slightest bit of attention - it was the drag queen that Madison met on the ship and probably another nutty white girl. After Lyss finished talking, Madison just wiped her tears and shook her head. She slid her way out of the room and moved her way into the kitchen and opened the wine cellar. When they got here the wine cellar was fully stocked, and not even a week later the motherfucker was almost empty. Almost. It wasn't entirely everyone else, but Madison helped herself to more than a few bottles. Maybe they can bug Mr. Schmidt to restock it for them.

She grabbed a bottle of Blake's fancy red wine and she quickly screwed it off and immediately put it to her lips and threw her head back. Madison boasted that she could probably outdrink the entire Coven, but lately she's been finding herself getting drunk more and more. Alcohol has been the only relief in her life and her encounter with the Hound was not a good idea. However, she didn't want to miss anything important so she slinked her back into the room. Still, with a bottle in hand, she stopped at a nightstand right next to the entrance and placed her hand down on it as she listened. Madison took another long sip of the wine as she listened to them chatter.

"Luther Saul..." Emily trailed off as the name made sense. She knew that Blake and Saul were buddy-buddy with each other, with Blake donating money to the Forgiven movement for some reason. However, Emily was not entirely sure if this information was entirely truthful. Again, taking things at face value was kinda stupid, especially from a shady government agency (and someone who was trusting enough to believe everything they say). For all they know it's a cover-up for something else... but as Claudette said Lyss was a veteran of the group, so maybe they should trust her. Or maybe it's all bullshit and Emily's earlier theory was right and Izzy was killed and it was a cover-up. Rushing into things and jumping to dumb conclusions was not a good idea, so Emily needed a bit more information. For now, she was going to give Lyss the benefit of the doubt, at least while it was beneficial. The last thing Emily wanted to do was cause a further divide between the Coven... because even she can sense it.

"I will keep my ear to the ground," Emily said.

Claudette awkwardly coughed at the revelation of Annabelle Heart. She, from the look on her face, fully believed that Lyss was telling the truth but there's more to this. More than what she, Lyss, or perhaps even the DENS has seen. Claudette had a feeling that some of the sisters would be inclined to look into this, primarily Annabelle. While a part of Claud wanted to look into it, she had to stay focused on her own ends. After she gets them she can let the Coven go do whatever they felt was necessary. She was hoping that she could pop the question of going to find someone who can cure Afflictions in this meeting.... unfortunately, this was not going to happen.

"I appreciate you and your efforts, Alyssa," Claudette softly answered her. "But please, no more secrets from now on... and that goes for all of you." She, for a moment, sounded like a Den Mother again... but she already resigned herself to that role a long time ago. She looked around the Coven and everyone was in various amounts of grief, and maybe it would have been best to just dismiss everyone so they can get over it. However, the threat of Annabelle got her thinking; the Coven is underprepared for any form of attack. The Outsider showing up was proof as they were almost decimated. If Annabelle is real and she's as dangerous as they're making her out to be.

"Now, I know everyone is reeling over the loss of Izumi and being informed of Annabelle Heart, but I think it's proof we need to prepare better for these kinds of things."

She sighed as she looked among the group for responses and just decided to cut to the chase.

"I'm suggesting that we go out to the woods somewhere and go train with our abilities... because honestly, we could have handled the Outsider better and it was only a stroke of luck we survived that encounter and we somehow got over on Blake."

"... Somehow?" Madison asked with a raised eyebrow as that comment was the only thing keeping her from drinking some more.

"Point is, I'm not comfortable with getting by on chance alone, we need to get better at this... and to be entirely fair the Coven was assembled to explore magic, correct? So far all we've done is shakedown vampires, argue, and try stupid get rich quick schemes. And I told myself as the leader of the Coven I'd try to get something actually productive done for once."

Yet not what I want.

"So, thoughts? Questions? Concerns?"

^{Basic Bitch Beach House}

Mariah nearly lept out of her skin when Isla teleported over. She had a hand on her chest as if to keep her heart from beating out of it as Isla spoke. A quick huff was let out by Mariah as Isla said--

“Nice to meet you! But yeah, maybe we should like... wait outside.”

And of course, this cause Mariah to mumble in response, "What. The fuck. Did you just say? Like-- can a bitch get some subtitles or...?" Now, Mariah had traveled and met a lot of people along the way, English was her primary language, and her mastery of Spanish had come naturally, but she had never in her life heard someone talk like that before. So she was left just standing there, staring at Isla in confusion, before the others in the group started speaking. While yes, she did want to get the hell out of there, she did feel as if whatever was going on was worth knowing. Maybe. So she just shut up and listened.

And by the end of it, Mariah was left feeling like she had just joined the world's worst Gang in a supernatural Gang War. Two bitches dead-- one of which was posessed-- and there was somebody in a Den? All of it jangled around in Mariah's head like the change in a cup she once shook but, this was only momentary, before she decided to just dump most of all into the 'What's that gotta go with me?' bucket internally.

The only concerning thing was the apparent murderer. Okay. Annabelle. Right.
That was a name Mariah knew she simply wasn't going to remember no matter how many times it was said and, as Claudette rattled off the list of the Coven's 'exploits,' Mariah couldn't help but snicker.

"So, thoughts? Questions? Concerns?"

Veeeery slowly Mariah went to raise her hand but then Grace and Quinn happened.

"And I would just like to say...My mind has been all over the place, so I suppose-I will pay more attention now, no more spacing out or having my head up my own ass or pushing a gun to my head. I'll earn some respect before I die fighting, hopefully you'll give me that. Also yeah, cheesy speech. Sorry."

"Bitch, what? Wha-- you jus' gonna steamroll past the whole suicidal ideations thing like it ain't shit? That's how you do? Forreal?" Mariah made a face of profound confusion before waving a hand. "Ay dios Mio-- whatevea--" as a formality she stuck her hand into the air as she asked "--Yea, right, why don't yall just blackmail Blake into gettin' us one of them abandoned warehouses or some shit instead of us goin' to the Meth-head-serial-killer-y woods for practice? Just an idea. But whatever I'll go with yall-- oh and I'm Mariah, by the way." As if it were punctuation, Mariah snapped her fan open, then started fanning herself slightly.

---

"What. The fuck. Did you just say? Like-- can a bitch get some subtitles or...?"

Isla snorted, covering her mouth to hold back laughter at Mariah’s clear confusion at everything she said… because laughing with all the dark talk going on would not go down well. Instead she said, trying to tone down her accent a little and emphasise each word, “I’ll try to talk slower.”

Maya inclined her head as Lyss said they should focus on finding Babylon. She was right, even though the sex crazed demon was probably miles away by now… but they had a much better chance against her than a serial murderer. Especially one that seemed hell bent on revenge against a cult leader. Her head was half hurting from all of the information but she forced herself to listen and commit it to memory.

“Wait, did you say Saul?” Isla piped up, having only half paid attention to the far too long speech but that one name caught their attention. “I’ve heard that name before, I think he was someone important…” she trailed off and ran a hand through her hair. She knew she’d heard the name before, but honestly couldn’t remember the context or why… just that it was something she should remember. But hadn’t. “Nope, I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll remember sometime!”

Maya rolled her eyes, looking like she already wanted to kick the Scottish newbie out but knowing she didn’t have the power too. She let out a sharp breath, trying to bring herself down from the anger she’d been feeling over most of the previous conversation. They’d gotten answers now… Even if it didn’t feel like Lyss had given them any actually useful information. Probably meant she didn’t know anything.

Then Claudette suggested going to train and Maya had to resist the urge to roll her eyes again. Honestly, even if it had been a short meeting so far it had been exhausting and she just wanted to go home... but she'd tag along, because safety in numbers and all.

"Also yeah, cheesy speech. Sorry."

“My god Quinn, would you shut the fuck up,” Maya snapped, having absolutely enough of whatever shit the girl was on about. “Claudette asked for opinions about training not a whole fucking speech about your willingness to die in a glorious battle for honour or whatever shit your on about.”

She shook her head. At least one of the newcomers, who introduced herself as Mariah, didn’t seem so bad… at least she was questioning Quinn’s weirdo bullshit which was enough for Maya to not have a negative opinion of her. Even if she started dramatically fanning herself.

“I think going to some woods to train sounds fun!” Isla piped up with a grin, stuffing her hands back into her pockets. “Unless the words round here really are full of serial killers cause then maybe we should find somewhere else…”

“As much as I’m not into the idea of just going to a random forest, we do need somewhere with a lot of space,” Maya commented, words a lot calmer now that she’d gotten out a bunch of anger by snapping at Quinn. “Since some of us,” her, “have destructive powers that wouldn’t do so well in a confined space.”

As appealing as it was, she didn’t think others would take to getting blasted by her… somewhere with space meant she wouldn’t also deafen everyone else temporarily.

“But, what are your plans for this training? Just go there and use them? It’s pointless if we don’t have any idea how to practice.”

---

---

“Vaati?” repeated Vashti with a huff. It was nice for something she said to actually be agreed upon for once, and she thought that perhaps she was gaining some clout with the Coven. Then again, if she had any clout then Quinn would’ve known her name. Vashti was still a bottom tier witch bitch. She was pretty sure Chompy outranked her. She squinted at the “familiar” sunning by the pool before visibly wincing. Imagine being jealous of an alligator. God, where’d she go wrong?

Right. Meeting a stranger on the Internet to learn magic. That’s where she’d gone wrong.

"... Maybe she doesn't want to kill all of us," Emily started, "Maybe Izzy stumbled upon something she shouldn't have... or knowing her, she was having an affair with Liao and she iced Izzy before it could be made public."

“That’s!” Vashti pointed her finger at Emily as if she were about to object, but then dropped it. She tilted her head as she rubbed her chin. “Possible. I mean, the idea that anyone in DENS was screwing around with any of us is just ridiculous but Izzy could’ve learned something she shouldn’t have.”.

The flash of a grin was covered by her hand, but Vashti couldn’t mask the twinkle in her eye. Izzy’s death could end up being a full-blown conspiracy. How many of Annabelle’s victims were truly government inside jobs to take out enemies of the police state? Perhaps another girl in the Coven had ratted her out. DENS seemed pretty damn capable of finding them. Then again, they wouldn’t really need a mole when they could just track their phones. They should throw all of their cells on a Greyhound bus to New York just in case. Go off the grid, get new identities, move to Cuba, and—Vashti shook her head and returned to reality.

"... I found a lead on Babylon."

Vashti cocked an eyebrow that quickly warped into a look of disgust as Emily elaborated on her unquestionably worse half. Plus, who was Molly? Had a member of the Coven died before Vashti had joined? Vashti frowned as she thought of the potential body count. She was about to voice her concern when Lyss powered through her hangover and spoke up. Normally, Vashti would’ve been all about a cult created monster ripping and tearing its way through Florida, but being somehow involved in all of the carnage made it less fun.

Claudette suggested the Coven train. While perhaps a terrific idea for a majority of the girls, it was the last thing in the world Vashti wanted. After all, her ability wasn’t really the kind she could finely hone. She’d much rather they just focus on finding someone who could remove curses. Her hand was the first to shoot up after Claudette asked if there were any concerns.

At least, Vashti had thought it was. Instead, it stayed firmly glued to the windowsill, biting deeply into the wood. She found herself unable to open her mouth, her tongue pushing against her sealed lips like she was trying to unlodge a piece of meat stuck between her teeth. Perhaps the Leviathan wanted to go to the wood, although Vashti could not tell why. She closed her eyes and listened to her heartbeat. It would be okay. The Leviathan seemed to fear Lyss; her presence would keep it in check.

When she reconnected with reality one of the new girls was speaking. Wait, new girl? Vashti did a double take, her eyebrows jumping as Mariah snapped her fan open. Reflexively, she found herself straightening up as if Mariah had caught her gawking. She looked away so fast that she heard a pop coming from her neck. Her eyes slowly crept back as Mariah continued to talk, her sheltered mind and her conservative, religious upbringing slowly fading away as the girl introduced herself. Vashti smiled at her. It was nice that they had new members. It meant she now wasn’t the only one underneath the fucking alligator.

“Nice to meet you. I like your fan. I’m”—she glanced at Quinn as Maya tore into her and took a few steps forward to block yet another classic Coven meltdown—“Vashti. I’d like to say that our meetings aren’t always like this.” Typically, they went much worse, but there was still time for a bunch of sea creatures to break down the door or a nosy neighbor to call the cops. “I’m sure Claudette was just about to introduce the two of you.”

If she had meant it as a biting remark to question Claudette’s leadership, Vashti managed to keep the venom hidden. She turned to Kara, “No need to be so shy. We’re not as bad as we seem.” Worse, actually, yet Vashti still managed to keep the car salesman smile. “What’s your name?”

---

_uwu

"I'm suggesting that we go out to the woods somewhere and go train with our abilities... because honestly, we could have handled the Outsider better and it was only a stroke of luck we survived that encounter and we somehow got over on Blake."

"... Somehow?" Madison asked with a raised eyebrow as that comment was the only thing keeping her from drinking some more.

"Point is, I'm not comfortable with getting by on chance alone, we need to get better at this... and to be entirely fair the Coven was assembled to explore magic, correct? So far all we've done is shakedown vampires, argue, and try stupid get rich quick schemes. And I told myself as the leader of the Coven I'd try to get something actually productive done for once."

Training...

Kara has done plenty of that, the past year, she was learning about her abstraction. She found ways to turn her skin into solid wood hard enough that she could break large rocks, or make walls with her power. The thing about it was that anything she made seemed to disappear overtime, like the wood was dying. She got pretty good at it, but she wasn’t able to just snap her fingers and make wooden claws, she could do it, sure, but it would take a few seconds. It was like her skin actually evaporated to reveal bark, or something else. Kara actually got to a point where she could make an actual weapon out of wood. Nothing like a sword, but rather a spear or a walking stick. The wood could be snapped if it got shaped the right way, and warped into a walking stick or sharpened at the tip for stabbing something. Oddly enough, once the wood was disconnected from her body, she could shape it. Yet when she made wood erupt from the ground, that didn’t matter. It was strange, to be sure, but Kara wasn’t too worried about that. She still thought it would be important to say something though.

”That could be a good idea. I’ve been..”training” with my stuff for around a year now, but I don’t really understand the supernatural things you guys do. Maybe we could learn from each other?” she was mainly talking to Claudette, since she didn’t exactly know the rest of the people, or Claudette actually, but she seemed to be the closest thing to a leader in this group.

Kara shifted in her spot on the floor in front of the others. ”I just got here, and from what I’ve heard I can’t imagine what you people have gone through, but if you’ll allow me to work towards being one of you, I’ll do what I can to help.” Kara was now talking to the others in the coven, everyone as a whole. She extended her hand outwards and formed wood around her fingertips, in a similar fashion to what she did in the park, for everyone to see. Like an introduction. ”Claudette told me about your troubles, just know, I’m not the FBI. The wood around her hands remained in place for everyone to obverse. Kara’s tone was mellow and smooth, but sincere. She wasn’t here to harm anyone, she was here for peace, if anything.

---

“...why the fuck do you seem all buddy-buddy with the very people that attacked us?"

Lyss felt her body tense as she heard the words. She looked at Madison, but all she could do was press her lips together as she watched her sister leave the room. There was a tight feeling in her stomach and it wasn’t the hangover. She could admit that she hadn’t outright told them why, but she was sure that the girls would give her shit if they knew. She and Maximillian, Agent Cornell of the DENs, had grown close. Too close. What would they say? Would they suspect her of betraying them? She would never, even if it killed her. Yet she still had been in bed with one of them. She’d lose whatever ounce of trust she still had with them.

Lyss slowly returned to her seat and was glad to see that the new girl, the one with the beanie, had gone to talk to the other newbies. This wasn’t a good look for her, but at this point she was glad that they’d also see how unfit she was to lead. When it came to standing up for others and handling life or death situations, Lyss took up the mantle of leader because she naturally acted that way. On the other hand, she couldn’t handle other people's emotions in the aftermath. She’d always been an independent worker and now that she was in a group she realized why she liked the Black Market so much. She’d worked in a group then, of course, but at the end of the day they were only there for the money and not for the companionship. She’d only ever let one into her life and that burnt her too. Would this be the same? Would she end up running from Tampa, from the Coven, too?

She didn’t want to. She’d been on the run since she was eighteen and she was already tired of it. So what could she do to show the Coven, her sisters, that she wouldn’t betray their trust too?

“I will keep my ear to the ground.” Lyss glanced up at Emily and nodded. At least when she looked at Claudette she only saw minor apprehension. With the others, even with Maya, it looked like they’d already begun to distrust her. Lyss nodded again in response to Claudette. The worst part of it all was that she hadn’t kept it a secret on purpose. If she had, it was only to protect them. The guilt she felt when she thought of Izzy, and the fact that the killer she’d kept secret for this long was the one to murder her, was the only reason she didn’t defend herself. Izzy might have stood a chance if she’d only known. Lyss didn’t know much about her, but it could have given Izzy a fighting chance.

She made no effort to agree or disagree with Claudette once she’d finished. It was a good idea to have all of the girls train with their abstractions. Next time a Blake-Schmidt-type sent an apparition their way, or another Babylon, or even if Annabelle did bust down their door, they would be ready to handle it. If they could actually work together, like she had asked of them so long ago, they could walk out of any fight with only scrapes and bruises. They didn’t have Izzy there to patch them up after now.

As her heart once more felt like it was being pricked with a needle, the voice of the newcomer got her attention. It was the girl from Blake’s party boat. The one that had been on the balcony, the stage, and then out of nowhere was there to kick the shit out of Blake in his private room. It made Lyss smirk as she thought of it. Blake’s tiny little manhood dangling before her. Horrifying at first and then almost-piss-your-pants hilarious once she’d taken in the sight of it. She remembered laughing her ass off in one of the nearby chairs while the girls beat him into a slimy pulp. Even before the new girl- Mariah, as she introduced herself- spoke, Lyss knew she liked her after that day. It was nice to see that she’d accepted their invitation to join.

At this point it seemed like everyone was on board with training. She wasn’t too keen to bother Blake Schmidt again for a whole warehouse to practice in, but today she thought it best to sit back and let Claudette and the girls decide. Every time she’d trained as a child, with her cousins, or with her partners from the Black Market, it was in an extra-normal safe community. Now that they were out in the middle of normie land, it would be much harder to do so without getting another video of their abilities put online. This time if she was caught using her abilities in the middle of Tampa, her old “buddies” would definitely know where she was hiding. She couldn’t afford a leak of her abstraction, but she needed to up her game too.

She kept thinking back to her tussle with the Outsider. The apparition’s words had stuck in her mind like glue.
"̵̭͐I̷͉̍ ̵͇̀s̵̞̋ȁ̵̹w̶͚͂ ̵̛̰y̴̘̿o̷͚͋ú̶͓r̷̖̍ ̴̬́a̷̛̺ṋ̷̕c̵̜̈ë̸̘́s̸̫̚t̴̖̃ô̸̝r̶͙̈ ̶̭́s̷̗͐u̴̗͠m̸̼͝m̷̯͗ô̴̧n̵̟̔ ̷̟͊a̴̛̟ ̷̮̐m̴̟͂o̴̮̿ü̷̺ǹ̸͜t̵̳̽a̶̢͒ǐ̵͜n̴̡͝ ̴͈̃ǒ̶̦f̷̭́ ̸͓̃f̶̡͝l̶͍͋ĕ̷͖ș̸̆ȟ̶͔ ̵̮́ã̷̜n̴̙̑d̴̛̳ ̵̝̂b̶̬͒o̶̲̐n̵͎̂ē̴̢ ̴̢̅t̸̳́o̷̬̔ ̸̡͌b̷̪͊a̶̜͆t̸̼́t̴̰̅ḽ̵̽ẽ̴͕ ̶̞̒ḿ̶̻e̶̻͗.̶̧͑.̴͋ͅ.̸̡͠"̷͍̈
Her grandfather and her father alike shared the same power of the Burns ancestry. Her father once told her that she possessed the same power. She’d played with the notion of following in her father’s footsteps before his death, but after he followed her fallen grandfather into the grave too, she’d sworn it off. Was it time to make her father proud? To continue the Burns legacy of necromancy?

All she’d need to do is find a sigil and practice...

---

---

Emily crossed her arms as Quinn and her little girlfriend began talking about... God knows what. Something about dying in combat honorably and Emily couldn't help but roll her eyes. Quinn's supposed to be a bit slow on the draw, but she was talking like some Viking knight or something right now... Has a screw loose or two. Though, she couldn't help but snicker at the irony of Quinn proclaiming that she'll pay more attention but doesn't pay any attention to what their glorious leader was talking about at all. For once Maya echoed her thoughts when she told Quinn to shut the fuck up. She couldn't help but chuckle... and she couldn't help but stir the pot just a little.

"Quinn, I think you need a wrench," Emily chuckled, "Because you got a screw loose."

"That's enough," Claudette stepped in to defend Quinn.

"--Yea, right, why don't yall just blackmail Blake into gettin' us one of them abandoned warehouses or some shit instead of us goin' to the Meth-head-serial-killer-y woods for practice? Just an idea. But whatever I'll go with yall-- oh and I'm Mariah, by the way."

"But, we're witches," Emily answered with a wry grin on her face. "What kind of witch goes to a warehouse to train?" Emily shrugged. She was fully behind the idea of training because she still needs to get off her ass and get a better grasp of her brand new abstraction. She stuck her hand out and created the glowing green tethers that came out of her fingertips and dangled in the air for a few moments. Emily then retracted them and wondered what else she can do with them.

"What we need to do is hit up Mr. Schmidt for some stronger liquor," Madison said before she took another swig of the wine. This fucking rich people ass wine didn't do shit to somebody who drinks stronger shit on the daily. She wiped her mouth as she looked at Claud.... and then decided to put the bottle down. She was fine with training but she was more than certain nobody else would train with her if she was drunk.

Her eyes drifted towards Lyss for a second as she realized that chick was oddly quiet. There was still that thought, that feeling, that impression that there is still something that Lyss is hiding from Madison and the others (but mostly Madison). Even if Lyss spilled her heart out and told them all her secrets, Madison probably wouldn't buy it and assume that she's still hiding something. All this talk about Annabelle, Saul, and the DENS got her worried. Personally, the Coven should just leave Tampa but they still had work to be done... and she had the feeling that whatever was going on in this ratty ass state would follow them.

“But, what are your plans for this training? Just go there and use them? It’s pointless if we don’t have any idea how to practice.”

"Montage." Emily flatly said with a shrug.

"Oh, I have something in mind," Claudette answered with a warming smile. She didn't want to spoil it because knowing the Coven somebody would cheat.

”That could be a good idea. I’ve been... ”training” with my stuff for around a year now, but I don’t understand the supernatural things you guys do. Maybe we could learn from each other?”

"If you want to learn from somebody your ass is in the wrong place," Madison muttered to herself that was likely drowned out by the Coven chattering. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Of course we can," Naturally Claudette was the first to answer... though she noted that Kara didn't introduce. "This is Kara, the newest member of our little Coven..."

"Joy." Emily said as she looked at the girl... she said that she didn't know anything about the supernatural. Well, hardly anyone did.

” Claudette told me about your troubles, just know, I’m not the FBI."

"Sounds like something the fuckin' FBI would say," Madison said with a chuckle.

"I know right?" Emily added on, laughing.

"Girls." Claudette sharply shut them up.

She saw that the entire Coven was behind (or close to being behind) her plan to train. Even if some of them didn't have abstractions that could necessarily be trained. However, the point of this exercise was to help prepare them for future engagements with the Outsider and, while she prayed that Annabelle was one big hoax, Annabelle Heart. Better safe than sorry. What's the worst that could go wrong?

---

The Coven went out east towards Seffner and found a nice good spot in the middle of the woods. Fortunately, due to the whole "Annabelle Heart" nonsense, everyone was staying indoors and trying to avoid places like the woods. Part of Claudette wondered if this was just the calm before the storm. The clouds that were previously overhead were gone and replaced with sunny skies, Claudette wondered if they merely left the clouds behind or they moved on. She sighed as she watched the Coven assemble in the center of the field and stepped out of Madison's car and walked around to the back of the car.

"What's she doing?" Emily asked as she crossed her arms and watched Claudette as she reached in the back of the vehicle and walked up carrying a field flag over her shoulder.

"Alright," Claudette began her explanation. "My idea for training today shall be a simple... capture the flag. I want everyone to split up into two teams, each with their leader, and I want everyone to, well, get the flag-"

Emily stuck her hand out towards the flag and her tethers quickly extended and yanked the flag out of Claudette's hand. She smiled as she triumphantly raised the flag into the air. "Look at me, I won."

Claudette facepalmed and shook her head.

"... Using their abstractions. Except in a way that's not lethal, or harmful, or painful..." It was sad that she had to say this. She looked at everyone as she just said, "You know what, just be gentle as possible. I'm going to let you all decide."

Herik hadn't gotten the peace he wanted to when he went off on his own. He could still hear the girls in the next room arguing for the sake of it. There were a lot of pieces he wasn't sure they should be involved in. Saul and Schmidt weren't there business. Going after whatever Annabelle and Babylon would get them killed. He didn't have anymore time to waste doing side missions. His mother is getting worst by the day. He has two people willing to help him. They have to get a move on. He got himself together and went back into the room in time to hear Claudette mention training. Finally, the thing they should've been doing the whole time. It's useful and he'll learn more about his abstraction.

He hitched a ride with Madison and Claudette to the training ground. Just a field in the middle of the forest. He saw the possibility of it burning down with the Coven around. He hoped it didn't come to that. He shook his arm out before he left the car, Asta appeared at his side. He slid from the seat to the lion and placed his crutches against the car. Claudette pulled out a field flag from the trunk. Ah, yes, capture the flag. He hasn't played that since he was in high school. This wasn't going to end well. Gentle wasn't in the Coven's vocabulary. He imagined the plastic flag in tatters with only the stick left behind.

He didn't hesitate to ask Emily and Vashti to be on his team. Seems like Emily can do something new, which is cool, and he thinks he'll work well with Vashti. The members he knew wouldn't work out were Maya and Madison. They'd argue with Emily the whole time and Madison had a little to drink before they came. He's already injured, he doesn't want to be a casualty of friendly fire or lose from lack of teamwork.

"Considering you have a hard time getting along with most people, Emily, we can't let Madison or Maya on our team. You'll argue the whole time. I think Isla would be a good member. Having her means an easy win, but we won't get much training if she can get it and come back."

---

Kara kept to herself the whole time until they got to the forest. In a way, this vast open mess of leaves and wood meant she was right at home. Maybe someday Kara would learn to shape wood from an outside source, but for now, she couldn’t do such a thing. Claudette explained that they were going to play a capture the flag game. How? That Emily girl somehow grabbed it from her hands quite violently and inhumanely, Kara wasn’t expecting that, and she herself could just stomp her foot into the ground to grab it, granted she’d have to get that Emily girl out of the way, but this wasn’t gonna be hard when her abstraction involved making something that’s really sturdy.

Know what? Fuck it.

Kara made a mental note of that idea, so that when the flag was out of somebody - anybody’s hands, she’d snatch it up near or far. ”Well. Who’s going where?” She didn’t really know anyone, so she was probably the last person to get picked to go to one side or the other. Emily seemed to have an abstraction based on closing a distance, assuming it was just that grappling hook thing she just did. She pondered charging at Emily to knock her to the ground and kick the flag away to trap it in a wooden box, but it seemed to be just a little too early for something like that. ”How do we decide leaders?” It was strange to be in the woods practicing this type of thing. What would happen if something went terribly wrong? How do you explain a supernatural tree impaling your knee when apparently most people can’t even see an abstraction? Maybe this was a part of Claudette’s plan, perhaps she was planning to make the coven a lot more organized and turn it into a more proper “organization” instead of a bunch of idiotic lesbians who practice magic.

”I just got here so I’m probably not good as a captain.”

“I’ll try to talk slower...”
Mariah bowed her head, mouthing the words, 'Thank you,' with a slight smile to Isla. She seemed alright-- anyone willing to slow down their incomprehensible accent was generally alright. Inwardly, Mariah imagined Isla and Hector trying to have a conversation, with both of them constantly saying 'Huh?' back and fourth. Smirking behind her fan, Mariah looked to Emily as Emily told her--

"But, we're witches-- What kind of witch goes to a warehouse to train?"
"Everybody inna 90s movie went inta some kinda warehouse for a trainin' montage n' you absolutely know it," snickered Mariah... And then Emily told someone they were, in fact, going to do a training montage.

“Nice to meet you. I like your fan. I’m Vashti. I’d like to say that our meetings aren’t always like this. I’m sure Claudette was just about to introduce the two of you.”

Mariah smiled warmly at Vashti as Kara stepped forward to demo her powers for the group. To Vashti, Maria went on to tell her, "Thanks, sis-- and Claudette already told me y'all can get a little, uh--" she fanned quickly as she said the word "--rowdy. But I ain't afraid of nothin' like that. It's a lifestyle choice, honestly," she concluded with a melodramatic sigh. She pat her leg, then slid her phone out of her pocket, beginning to text then...

<sup>I need a lift, papito.

Cachate >:(

Wooooow

minutes 5 ok</sup>

When she took her phone out to start texting her ride, she heard Madison say, "--Sounds like something the fuckin' FBI would say."
"Say it louder, sis," Mariah piped up, her nose practically buried in text messages. And Claudette-- oh Claudette sounded straight up like a scolding mom. "Tsk tsk," Mariah went, somehow joining Claudette's scolding despite being part of the problem previously.

As so it was that Hector arrived on his LOUD motorcycle and drove behind Madison to take Mariah to the edge of the woods. He walked with her into them as in, he was the one stepping first into the underbrush, because Mariah figured there were snakes and he would probably shake off a snake bite like it wasn't shit. Plus? She was a dainty princess who's gentle skin could not handle a single twig brushing against it, as evidenced by the reappearance of the Hello Kitty parasol, and Hector going out of his way to keep branches from scraping her.

Hector stood off in the woodline pissing as Mariah walked the last few feet to join the group. So. They were going to play Capture the Flag? Mariah, whilst holding her parasol, decided to double up her escape of the heat by taking her fan out again, as she eyed the other members. One thing was certain-- she wasn't exactly going to participate very well, seeing as she barely knew what her abilities could do, but she wanted to be on the winning team.

"...I think Isla would be a good member. Having her means an easy win, but we won't get much training if she can get it and come back," some beefy guy with a fucking Lion was saying.

"Uhuh--Yeah-- If she on your team? I'm on your team," Mariah told Herik, indicating Isla with a point of her fan, "Cause obviously she the game breaker--" Mariah then told Isla "--I'm on your team, sis!"

---

“Capture the flag?” Maya’s mouth fell open in shock when Claudette arrive carrying some kind of stupid looking flag. “Your idea is capture the fucking flag?”

She shook her head as Emily, so typically, grabbed it with some new dazzling (lame) powers and acted as if she’d already won the dumb game they were going to play. She was so tempted to grab it right off her… but she resisted, because it was better to save her energy for the actual thing. She may not be too fond of the idea but whatever, she’d give it her all (to beat some people into the dirt).

“I think it sounds fun!” Isla piped up with a wide grin, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"You know what, just be gentle as possible. I'm going to let you all decide."

“Whoa,” Maya put her hands up, eyes narrowing slightly as Claudette rattled off a list of rules. “I get not harming each other too much but that seems pretty one sided against those of us that have abstractions that mostly do damage… whatever I’ll try not to hurt anyone”

“Well, I’m going on the team that Emily’s not on,” she said as she noted that Herik was already rounding up a little band. She stepped to the side opposite where he was. She then pointed to Herik, Emily, Vashti and Mariah. “They’ve already got four…” she quickly counted their numbers. “We got enough for six people per team, so I need five more.”

For someone who’d seemed so against the idea at first, she sure was into it… probably because she had a competitive streak and was absolutely looking forward to smashing Emily’s face into the dirt.

Isla had blinked over towards Herik as soon as he said her name, grinning widely. “I can’t actually get it and come back right away… I can mostly just short distance teleport, so it won’t be that easy.” She shrugged. “If that’s alright I’m happy to join!”

"--I'm on your team, sis!"

“Well, I guess that settles it,” Isla nodded to Mariah, before remembering she struggled with her accent and forcing herself to talk a bit slower along with toning down her accent (which was less successful). “Good to be on your team!” She grinned wider. “I can short distance teleport an awful lot, but longer distance is more of a problem for me… so I won’t be able to just win the game for use! No need to worry about there being no training because of that.”

---

---

”Well. Who’s going where? How do we decide leaders?”

"I'm going to trust you all to take initiative..." As bad of an idea that was. Claudette answered Kara as she took the flag back and held it in her hands. Maybe Kara was overthinking a bit but Claudette just thinks that she just needs to get used to the... special type of thinking that the Coven employs.

Well, if she doesn't run for the hills screaming.

"If that doesn't work, I'll choose who goes on what team- but it seems like everyone has worked that out," Claudette said as she looked over her shoulder as Herik and Maya more or less took over for their respective teams.

"I'll be watching the match..." Claudette said to the whole as she walked over to the treeline. "... To make sure that nothing goes wrong. I just have to ask everyone to remember we're training as a group. Not individually, so try not to ruin the match for everyone."

She created a ring of darkness overhead to block the harsh sun rays.

---

---

"Considering you have a hard time getting along with most people, Emily, we can't let Madison or Maya on our team. You'll argue the whole time...."

Emily was totally on board with the first half of Herik's little speech. She was. The last thing that Emily wanted was Maya on her team... though, she thought that maybe having the flying brick on their team would be beneficial. There was something inside of her that just burned at the thought of taking orders from Herik, especially from a junior member of the Coven. She couldn't help but grimace a bit but she had to hold her tongue as she realized that maybe, it'll be beneficial for her in the long run. All she wants is her damn sister cured.

"...I think Isla would be a good member. Having her means an easy win, but we won't get much training if she can get it and come back."

"... No, no, no, please I don't want to deal with that weirdo," Emily said as she desperately didn't want that chick on her team. She didn't even care about winning, she just didn't want her on the team...

“... I can’t actually get it and come back right away… I can mostly just short distance teleport, so it won’t be that easy. If that’s alright I’m happy to join!”

And almost on fucking cue this weirdo appears out of nowhere right at their team. If only Herik didn't mention her first... if only Lyss didn't fucking let them throw her out again but it seems that Claudette's convinced that she's apart of the Coven. You know, despite it all. Emily rolled up into her head and facepalmed, hunched over, and loudly sighed.

"At least we don't have Quinn." Those two are probably off having sex in the woods.

"Uhuh--Yeah-- If she on your team? I'm on your team," Cause obviously she the game breaker--- I'm on your team, sis!"

“Well, I guess that settles it! Good to be on your team! I can short distance teleport an awful lot, but the longer distance is more of a problem for me… so I won’t be able to just win the game for use! No need to worry about there being no training because of that.”

... Aaaaaaaaand, of course, Mariah doesn't help.

Emily stopped facepalming and decided to massage her temples as she realized that she was on a team of mostly newbies... of course. Fortunately, it seemed like some of them had an idea of what to do, but Emily was still unsure of Mariah and the obvious. Mariah because she just didn't know about her and her abstraction... of course she could always ask, however they seemed to be the best good so far.

Even if Emily, innately, just wanted to hit Maya in the face.

"Mar...iah...?" Emily said as if she was unsure of the chick's name, which she was but she wanted to sound at least somewhat nice. "What exactly can you do? Because far as I can tell all we have to do is have Isla teleport to the flag, haul ass, and we cover her... which will be made difficult by the likes of Madison and... Maya."

She shrugged.

"Eh, leave Maya to me."

---

---

“We got enough for six people per team, so I need five more.”

"Four," Madison said with a grin as she placed a hand down on Maya's... before she loudly hiccuped in an unladylike fashion. She wasn't super competitive but she kinda wanted to win because she was certain that they had it in the bag. After all, they had that weirdo teleporter chick. Then again, this was all training. Madison leaned into Maya's ear as she quietly said, "I wouldn't count on Vashti doing anything, you can tell someone who's all-bark in a look." She chuckled.

Though, she did transform into a giant lizard monster... that got wrecked by the Outsider. Madison wanted to ask what that was about but she doesn't care for Vashti enough for it not to get misinterpreted. For now, she was going to help enact her plan to win, which was again, gonna be tough with Isla but there was something that probably only Madison knew about.

"Yo Grace, and the new girl, come here!" Madison called out to Grace and Kara... whose name that she honestly didn't know because she wasn't paying attention when she was introduced. If she was introduced. Either way, she hopefully won't be useless as a lot of the Coven sisters loved to be.

Then she spoke to Maya (and whoever else was there) and talked about her plan.

"Okay, so they're probably going to open up with that teleporter chick immediately warping over to the flag. If I get the flag, you damn well know they're not going to get it back. Problem is my sistas is that I won't be able to get over there in time, but Grace probably can and..."

Then she looked at Maya as she trailed off, unsure of the best way to phrase it. Honestly, she realized that she was going to sound crazy regardless of how she says it, so she'll just say it.

"... And I'm just gonna make a long story short and say I'm going to throw you at the flag."

She shrugged as she looked at Kara. "And what exactly can you do?" Madison knew that chucking a newbie was a terrible first impression to make. With Maya, Madison knew that girl was so batshit crazy that she'd be down for almost anything. Kara? She looks like she needs to loosen up a bit around the Coven... they are far from the most professional people in the world.

---

"Yo Grace, and the new girl, come here!"

Who was this woman? Oh well. She sounded like she knew what she was doing so she went along with it. She didn’t know the other girl at all. She had a few similar features to Kara, that was all she could discern from this girl. The other one, who seemed to be their new leader on this team, however, did not have any similarities to Kara. She sounded just a tad bossy but then again this was capture the flag so you kind of need a boss. Walking over to her and the other few girls, away from everyone as the sky went black over their heads. It looked like that thing Claudette did at the park.

"Okay, so they're probably going to open up with that teleporter chick immediately warping over to the flag. If I get the flag, you damn well know they're not going to get it back. Problem is my sistas is that I won't be able to get over there in time, but Grace probably can and..."

Teleporting? When Kara thought about it, that made sense considering all the weird things she heard today, she never really considered that one though.

"... And I'm just gonna make a long story short and say I'm going to throw you at the flag."

”Throw?” The hell?

"And what exactly can you do?"

”Well, I make trees and wood grow out of myself.” Kara put her hand out for the third time today as the skin along her hands turned rigid and brown, taking on a texture of bark that covered her fingers and parts of her palm. There were no leaves, but her hand looked like a tiny tree. ”It’s pretty strong stuff, I’ve tried breaking it over something really hard a few times, but I’ve never really done something like this with it. She was referring to the whole capture the flag with your supernatural powers thing. ”I could pull it out of the ground too, it that’s not as easy.”

Come to think of it she didn’t know the other three girls’ abstractions either.

”How...are you gonna throw us?”