---

---

---

The hug was a very, very unexpected response for Britney. The gal was expecting people to throw stuff at her and curse her out, but a hug? That was entirely out of her predictions! It warmed her heart and eased that nervousness she had in coming here. Thus, she returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Eve as she felt her heart get a little warmer...

"... Girl, you're squishing my titties." Britney said with a laugh before releasing her and stepping back, keeping her hands on Eve's shoulders. Everyone, so far, seemed to be receptive to her return, and it made her feel a lot better to follow through with her decision to return to the Coven. And Lynette won't be able to tease her for chickening out.

"It's great to see you, Eve," Britney said before looking her up and down... and she looked a lot different. Almost unrecognizable.

"I almost thought you wouldn't show up. Still, you seem to be doing well."

The first to speak with her was Kali... whom Britney was equally surprised to see Kali. He looked very different from what she remembered and looked dashing in that suit. However, he seemed slightly different in the energy he gave off. From Britney's memories of the old Coven, he was very skittish up until the final battle with the Stygian Snake. She wanted to examine him, but he ghosted - not that Britney blamed him, as the war against the Apparition was... something else.

"You seem to be doing great, too - you look great in that suit."

”Hey Britney. You're late. Meeting’s pretty much over, actually, we're on the way to the strip club now for some much needed fun.”

Next up was Linqian, whom Britney never interacted much with... it was her brother with whom Britney was on excellent terms. However, she heard he was one of Father Wolf's many victims, which was a shame because she kept in touch with the guy and considered him a friend. Britney wondered how Linqian was holding up, but the girl didn't seem to have changed much since the Old Coven - so she decided to keep her distance, at least for now.

"Fashionably late as always, girl!" Britney said with a smile, sticking her tongue out. The grave and dire tone that had overtaken the room was temporarily pushed out... before hitting her three times as hard. Britney sighed as she tried to force some levity, "But, they didn't already ban you from all of them? Shocker."

"Brit?"

However, her face flattened once Britney finally noticed Greyson. The last time she saw him, she told him she never wanted to see him again - and she meant that. It was surprising that Greyson even showed up... even more surprising that he was checking her walls for a crack yet again. Before, Britney was more than willing to let him in... as Greyson's tendrils etched across Britney's barrier, looking for a way in, he would have felt something familiar about it all. Something that reminded him of home. However, Britney was never going to let him in ever again. There was that urge to slap the taste out of his mouth.

Fortunately, everyone dogpiled on him for her.

Britney slapped a hand on her hip.

"Glad to see you haven't changed much, Greyson," Britney said before looking him up and down. "But, what in the world are you wearing? Halloween ain't for another week; take that shit off!" She laughed.

"You're... Alive. I didn't think you would be."

Next up was Jack, being... himself. Britney was shocked to see that he was even alive. She was there to see him off on his little adventure through the All-Verse; that was the last she had ever seen or heard from the guy. She was hoping that he wouldn't blame her if she assumed that he was dead. After all, there are threats in the multiverse, and Jack thought he could do everything by himself. Though, when he talked about the cactus...

"... Hey now, he loved it."

Tayla left, and Britney gave her a wave goodbye, and her vision landed on Luca immediately, trying to cut and run. However, it was unsuccessful as his bag of pills fell apart, and Drake went over to help him... Britney was going to keep her distance from him for now. She figured that the Rot was still adjoined to him, and that well of guilt returned. Her heart started racing as she felt a little weak; her breath sped up as she had to look away. Don't say nothing to him, Brit. You'll only make things worse. Britney thought to herself. Other people in the room, such as Drake and Sloane, were audibly ignoring her, and she knew that it was probably for the best. As long as she would remain in the Coven, she would be a divisive figure.

But, it was all for the greater good.

Auri walked over to her, holding the Butterfly Staff and that trademark smile on her face as she remembered it. "It's great to see that you made it-"

The door flew open, revealing Stormy Carson. Britney remembered him being the shield that tried to protect them all during the Stygian Snake's rampage—one of her most vocal and open critics.

"YOU!"

"... Heh, me." Britney didn't seem to be phased by the threatening display as she turned sideways to look at Stormy. She was certain that she would not be able to talk him down.

"ENOUGH!" Auri shouted. The sound of Auri's staff hitting the floor of the flower shop was impossible to ignore as a wall of glowing butterfly apparitions separated herself from Stormy. Auri herself stepped through the butterflies as if it was nothing, as the butterfly's Apparitions contorted to allow her entry. She walked up to Stormy with that smile and said, oddly chipperly...

"She's here because I asked her to come," Auri started as she touched her chest. "If you're going to be mad at anyone - threaten anyone - then... direct your frustrations, whatever form they may take, at me."

Her eyes drifted around the room as she said,

"And that goes for everyone."

She sighed, spun her staff around in her hand, and stared him dead on.

"I'm going to ask you to calm down or turn around."

Location: Veni Vedi Veni, Parking Lot
@Punished GN, @AtomicEmperor, @FernStone

---

“… The real question is, why the fuck are you two doing this!? I was doing nothing but sitting there, you crazy bitch!”

Alizée smirked, her head tilting to the side as she shot the redhead a glance, all cozy and snug in Alizée's grasp.

"I can't speak for him," she gestured towards Leon, "But I have a quota to fill, you know."

She watched the girls surrounding her carefully, feeling her heart pick up a beat. The atmosphere shifted. Something had changed, she could feel it. The moment she smiled, something felt... off.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone slip out of the strip club. Should she be concerned about an audience?

Void brought her attention back, whispering in her ear, his metallic voice low enough that it wouldn't carry. "Get ready."

Alizée glanced at the Void Heart quizzically, before her eyes settled back on the woman on her car. She started to speak after having some sort of twitch. “… We’re just trying to get some blow so we can party-"

BOOM.

The wind howled. Alizée found herself knocked off her feet, tossed on the concrete like a rag doll. She splayed out, grinding to a stop, her head lifting off the pavement. Almost immediately, she summoned her other phantom hand to cover her and take the brunt of the wind storm. Razor-sharp leaves impaled themselves on the back of the dark hand, and Alizée swore, hissing under her breath. It stung.

Ethereal white caught the edges of her vision, and Alizée scrambled to her feet. Alas, she was a second too late. In her attempt to leap back, her foot got caught in the web.

"Ah, hell!" She cursed aloud, trying to shake her foot free.

But that didn't get her angry.

The girl with the glasses. Staring intently at the redhead in Alizée's grasp. And, the frustrating sensation of an invisible force opening the phantom hand. Without Alizée's permission. That.

That was infuriating.

Near instantly, she unsummoned and re-summoned her free hand, getting rid of the leaves. Like an oversized laser cutting the sky, the dark hand shot toward the girl with glasses, aiming to pummel her into the ground. Whether the girl would dodge or not, the dark hand would shoot straight through, impacting the pavement hard enough to form a small crater, lines cracking across the surface with a resounding crunch.

The moment after the hand impacted, it would rise like a heat-seeking missile, dark fingers outstretched, trying to catch the girl in its grasp. Anything to distract glasses from trying to take the redhead away from Alizée.

"She's mine!" Alizée snarled, her eyes alight with Void Light, crushing the muscular girl in her grasp hard enough that she heard a crack. It might have been a rib. White energy flowed voraciously as Alizée tried to take her victim's energy fully. She just needed more time!

"My turn," Void spoke in her mind, shifting to move in front of Alizée. Two more Void Hands were summoned, like two small cars, and began spinning rapidly around Alizée, Void, and Leon. They slowly moved outwards as they spun, aiming to strike the girls and send them flying into the opposite street.

As the hands spun, red eyes started opening in the sky.

One may ask the question: If a tiger could change its stripes or its colors, would it? Or was there pride in the orange, black and white that made them so striking and so efficient at remaining hidden by the jungle. In their environment, the color may change based on evolution, but the tiger itself as an individual could never have a say in the color they end up. It simply is. So, for such an immediate backlash, especially as he was really only making cursory rubs at the different spheres that crowded the room.
Edict couldn't help that he loved the feeling of touching them; of rubbing against it all and seeing what rippled and what caved in... This Kali shit wasn't good. Brit showing up had left Edict totally vulnerable, and knowing what he did about Kali made him sure that there was going to be something-
He grunted slightly, not having much time to get into any other cracks he was feeling. Luca had split right open seeing Brit, but in the same moment he saw an opening, Kali slipped in behind him mentally. It was a dark room, maybe a dark house. The whole thing quiet, but Edict knew there was an intruder. The gun in his hand shook as he went from corner to corner clearing the building step by step until the basement stairs peered up at him with eery darkness unmatched in the rest of the house.
"Everyone else isn't on their radar... but you."
Edict raised the gun on instinct, and seeing the outline of the darkness begin to writhe behind the fog below caused him to panic. He screamed, shouted, fired the gun several times...

But then Britney was there...
"But, what in the world are you wearing? Halloween ain't for another week; take that shit off!"
Edict couldn't help the reaction of what he had just seen, and tears began to roll down his face as the surrounding peoples continued to shift and shuffle. Linqian was the first to complain, drawing the attention to the action itself before following up with a comment about his and Britney's previous relationship. She didn't seem vulnerable at all, which was fine. It was all fine; he just... Just wanted to feel them. He couldn't explain that the prodding and knocking was just for the sake of it... That was just as creepy.
”If you ever want anyone to drown your sorrows with, I’m here.”
He'd probably think about it...

The chance he had to crawl into Luca's rotten abode similarly faded as he ran off, replaced by another fucking new sphere he had to try and feel in order to recognize. Sloane didn't give him a chance to do so, however. He felt that she had sat and let him prod, which made her reaction much more surprising.
“Your choice.”
At this point, he was still leaking tears as a reaction: The same way the human body sweats to cool, his eyes had to leak to get the things they saw out of his head... But his nose stuffed up, and as he took a snort inward, he felt his hands shake a little.
"Sloane... Come on now. I'm not here to hurt anyone, alright?"

And then that new foreign energy broke in, and it was exactly who he assumed. One of the Jock Squad, just like Sully... Fucking Stormy. Who else to start shit with Britney? But, before he could step in to defend her, Auri raised her voice again to try and get a grip on the situation. He knew Britney wasn't going to want him white knighting for her regardless of his inclination to do so, so rather than pushing it any further, he smiled and laughed. There were still tears leaking from his eyes like a sieve, but his expression seemed to shift and change to reflect his actual annoyance that was beginning to bubble up past his restraint.
"Like this, Sloane... All this? We're all on different pages. All it takes is fifteen minutes, and everyone in this room can be calm, collected, and ready to work together using me as a link. But nobody trusts Greyson. Nobody wants to act like Greyson can help. Priest? No, but... My life is a lot different where I am now. People count on me to mediate and moderate... They call me Edict, like a holy command. But-"
Edict shook his head and tightened his jacket slightly. His eyes lingered on Britney as he started to walk around her before turning to face the group.
"-I'll just remove myself. If it's so detrimental, if nobody's willing to use the resource, you can come find me when you need some money or something. Just like the old days. Better to not hang around with feds and narcs anyway."

Realistically, he wanted to get distance between himself and Kali... The goal at this point was to work outside his range, not make a stink, and try and get what he could out of this visit. He had clients, after all, and their needs had to be met first. He'd scarcely complete anything with a Fed that could dopple him running around nearby. It was all too much, and rather than make any sort of worse impression, he figured he'd just bail. Reset, essentially, and let the people who wanted to seek him out do so on their own time.
"You've got my cell number, Auri. Give it to anyone who wants it."
And he pushed past Stormy, staring at him trying to figure out if he had something to say in Britney's defence before he left. Nah. Auri had it covered, or she didn't. It was her problem, and he knew Britney wouldn't want him involved... Instead, it was out into the breezy St. Portwell street. His driver wasn't expecting him, so the car didn't pull out of the space to come claim him. Rather, he moved across the street and down a few hundred yards to a small library's front stoop. It was closed at this point, so it was the perfect place to stop and have a cigarette, which he still had from Eve. He sat down on the step, leaned back with the cigarette in his mouth, and took a big deep drag before breathing the dragon's smoke back into the air.

Precious fuckers.

Leon immediately kicked himself in the ass for letting Alizée go on about her very special way of negotiating things. He had been behind her when the blast went off, and when Alizée was tossed, she impacted his knee and drove him down to a slide as the gale ceased.
Shit.
He was feeling the effects of the booze still. His legs were weak, and he was spinning around in his own brain fluids even as the fireworks began. The one with the webbing was behind them, and very soon they were dealing with the full surround, leaving Leon in an incredibly strange position. On the one hand, Alizée and he had more than an understanding; it was a kinship developed through years of physically fighting one another and coming to agreements. They felt similar about things, and the whole French thing helped with trust and unity. He loved her like he loved his little sisters, and nothing was going to keep him from protecting her.
But on the other hand, this was stupid. He had no fill-in, no real idea as to why she was even at this bar in the first place. She was being more than reckless; she was being wild. If he didn't know any better, he'd assume she was just looking for a mark and managed to find the absolute worst case scenario... But it wasn't going to get resolved unless one side or another broke off.

"Alizée!"
Leon broke his silence as Alizée began to push her powers forward. Trying to step, he found that his whole right leg was bound to the ground by the strong net. Magical garbage... But, his companion was getting ahead of him. He had to break out, had to stop her, had to diffuse the situation before anyone else showed up and made things worse... He had to get sober.
Fuck it.
There was a low rumble around Edict as his fingers began to snap from position to position; somatic components meant to trigger emotional responses that would in turn loosen the seals within him and allow a greater level of power to flow through him. By virtue of her abilities, Alizée usually won their little spats, but usually she was paying attention to him. This time, he figured he'd be able to do something. He'd be able to protect her from herself.

The first seal was the Spirit seal, its essence filling the inner chamber in which the power culminated. Lelou didn't protest, knowing full well that whatever was coming meant a stretching of the legs. Some time out. He didn't love the prospect, but he and Lelou had to make compromises for one another in order to function without struggle. The give and take was always a tenuous alliance... But, there was no concern as the spirit seal loosened right up. It filled his physical form with magical energy that he figured he was going to need.
"How many times have I had to tell you: If you're hungry and desperate, you come to me! Don't go hunting like this, Alizée! Drop her now!"
He knew what the best defense was against his companion; feed her until she's satisfied, and hope you last. Unlike others, he knew Lelou was plenty of food, and going off his previous assumption that's all he assumed she was here for.
The Earth and Water seals opened further, pouring into the neutral Spirit energy and coloring it a deep golden hue that dictated the further physical transformation of Leon.

His hair faded, rapidly whitening to match Alizée before burning back into a matching color to the energy within and growing further down his neck and back. His size increased rapidly, legs beginning to buckle and turn to digitigrades as he pushed up over the seven foot mark. His upper body; shoulders and chest and arms, began to bulk up more than his already substantial musculature allowed. He didn't let the transformation get much further here: This was to maximize durability. He was making himself juicy. Finally, Lelou had something to say.
Grip and rip: Break it! You need more! Let me kill it finally!
He felt a lashing pain as the Fire seal did its job in preventing an overflow that would drive him berserk, but a small influx did flood in. It was fine: Mixed into the cocktail, it was just a bit more strength he'd have to be careful of. By this time, Alizée had backed off into a somewhat defensive position where the Void was able to whirlwind its assets about in a blanket of protection. With his body saturated, the energy being used quickly sapped the alcohol from his system and sobered him up. The web snapped as he flicked it off his leg, and in a fell swoop he would attempt to rush Alizée in order to give her something far more concerning to think about.
"Drop the fucking Ginger!"
He went low like an Olympic wrestler, squatting and launching himself forward at a low angle hoping to grip her by the legs and disrupt her channeling. If the void decided to focus on him, the unfortunate victim could at least attempt an escape with her companions. They could ask questions later; for now, they had to pull off. Things were beyond too hot.

If he were successful in getting to Alizée and taking her out at the knees, he'd wrap his hand around the back of her head to minimize the chance of deadly injury before power bombing her into the concrete parking lot... As gently as possible, of course. He didn't want her hurt, only to stop and reconsider her actions.

---

"But, they didn't already ban you from all of them? Shocker."

Linqian let out a short laugh, shrugging one shoulder. ”I think they’ll have forgotten me after eight years.”

She stepped away from Greyson when everyone started piling onto him - she sure as hell didn’t want them in her face as well. But something about the way Sloane and Jack talked really rubbed her the wrong way. Sure, Greyson’s little poking tendrils were annoying as shit. She really hated having her mind prodded like the next person… but cursing his Channeler? Come on. That set a precedence Linqian really hated. Who put stuck up bitch Sloane in charge anyway.

It was so bad that Greyson had started crying. Damn. Or maybe that was because of Britney.

Sure, his defence was a bit shaky. Ridiculous, even. Nobody was going to become his docile little followers… But that didn’t mean Sloane could strongarm him. Fuck that.

”It’s not like you need to let him in, Sloane,” Linqian snapped, rolling her eyes. ”Just ignore it, or tell him to piss off. Who put you in charge, anyway? You modify his channeler and then what next, everyone else’s. Fuck off.”

While she was getting pissed at Sloane, Greyson had made his exit. Fair enough. She was pretty tempted to follow him… Honestly she didn’t want to hear what Sloane had to say in response. She didn’t want to hear anything from Sloane, ever.

What would be more beneficial to her? Feds, stuck up bitches and jocks (that she did get on with), or rich shady guy? It was a tough one… Yeah, today she’d choose the latter. She didn’t care about all the Britney drama anyway, let them fight it out.

”Whatever. I’m gonna go make sure Greyson isn’t sobbing in an alleyway somewhere.”

She slipped past Stormy, giving him a slight nod, and out into the chilly outdoors. She pulled her dark grey, fleece jacket close around her and glanced around for wherever Greyson had gone. Ah, there he was, smoking in front of a library. Classy.

”Room for one more?” Linqian approached him. She didn’t actually wait for his response, squeezing in beside him. She rummaged in her pockets for her own cigarette packet (the cheapest you could get), pulling one out before continuing to search for a lighter. Which she couldn’t find. She glanced to the side… It would be easy to ask to borrow Greyson’s, but why bother, when he had a perfectly good lit cigarette of his own.

Cigarette in hand, she leaned forward unnecessarily, and put the end against the burning embers of Greyson’s. She wasn’t bothered about invading his personal space - if he could touch up their minds, she could lean into him like this. Still, once her own cigarette was lit, she leaned back again, taking a long drag of it.

”So, Edict, huh? What, do you run a cult now?” It would explain the priest getup. She took another drag of her cigarette, breathing out the smoke into the cold autumnal air. ”Don’t happen to have any well paying cult jobs, do you?”

It was said lightly, but there was a seriousness hidden behind Linqian’s teasing. She actually did need money. She just wasn’t shameless enough to ask for that, or expect anything for free. Nor did she want that pity… But a job? Edict must have one. After all, he was seemingly still loaded.

It wasn’t something she would’ve considered before. Jinhai disliked Greyson for obvious reasons, and household decisions were always joint. Back then she’d had dreams. Jinhai would become a lawyer and then she could cut back on work, maybe get her GED and go back into education. She wouldn’t have to worry about money so much. But her hopes of a better future had died with him.

As had their minimal savings, spent on his small funeral and her brother’s flights to come over and back for it. Hell, she still had his ashes in her house because she couldn’t afford a plot for them.

Pushing away the wave of depression and harsh reality that had hit her, Linqian sucked on her cigarette. It helped a bit.

”Must be tough for Sloane, spending ten years with a stick up her ass. No wonder she’s so tetchy.” Linqian snorted, as if she wasn’t incredibly touchy too. But unlike Sloane she didn’t act like she was holier than thou, and she wasn’t about to start demanding people’s belongings. She’d just burn them if they really pissed her off. ”She could’ve just told you to fuck off like the rest of us.”

She rolled her eyes, cigarette touching her lips for another smoke. Sloane probably saw herself as the next coven dictator, starting with the least controversial target. That pissed Linqian off way more than Greyson’s mind fondling ever could.

”Anyway… You still planning to go to the strip club?”

---

---

---

Drake rolled his eyes.

This was a waste of his fucking time. Everyone was trying to play nice with Britney like nothing ever happened! Like she didn't ruin Luca's life, and creating more problems in the way of Emily and her sycophant Vashti. Drake didn't so much as look at Britney... however, he felt Greyson prodding him. His barrier was an impenetrable castle that Greyson would have zero chance of entry. Drake was about to punch Greyson in his dumb little face, but everyone else jumped on him - with his big old Ex Britney dunking on him. Even though Drake couldn't look in her direction, he thought that was brutal. Until Greyson starts crying, trying to garner sympathy and leaves, Drake can't help but roll his eyes. Typical.

It was about time for Drake to stop fapping around in this flower shop...

There was the loud sound of pills spilling and other things dropping on the ground. Drake whipped around to see Luca trying to exit quietly - not that Drake could even blame the guy, given that Britney showed up. Drake knelt, picking up everything and cradling it all in his arms.

"Need a hand, bro?" Drake asked, "Are you going to head to the strip club? Need a ride somewhere else?" He asked again.

---

---

"She's mine!"

"Oh no, she ain't!"

Naomi spat back as her eyes drifted over towards Autumn. The psycho had created another hand made of magic and tried smashing Autumn. Naomi's heart skipped a beat as she watched Autumn backpedal and dodge the hand... leaving behind a fucking crater. This bitch was trying to kill them. However, the hand managed to grasp Autumn, and the girl yelped; her glasses hit the ground... but she disappeared in the blink of an eye. Naomi's head darted around until she managed to catch Autumn near the strip club, floating down to catch her breath. Fortunately, she had both of them bound in her webs, the same webs she had in her hands.

She squeezed Jess again, and the girl couldn't even scream! That filled Naomi with a new type of determination to end things with. However, it was at this point that Pearl had taken her side.

"... You couldn't wait two minutes for me to get here?" Pearl asked as she aimed both of her hands at the two.

"Sorry, the bitch is crazy!" Naomi answered.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know," Naomi started, "I think they might be Kaiser Draeger's leftovers. Really getting those vibes from her."

"... Traffic cone! Six o'clock!" Autumn shouted and drew both of their attentions towards the girl who was watching them, smoking a cigarette. Greenwood had a code system that, whenever Autumn spotted an Adept, they would call it out with an object the same color as their Lux. Shouting orange would have been unmistakable. Naomi looked at the girl, knowing she couldn't be one of the Nazis.

However, the girl resumed her attack and summoned two spinning hands, brushing aside cars like it was nothing. These two know nothing about subtly, it seems. Naomi thought to herself as she lept backward, and she saw Pearl backpedal immediately to dodge the attack. Kashmira did the same, while looking at Jess with a worried expression. When her feet hit the ground, Naomi focused and created a net of webs that would ensnare the two hands if they got caught - at least giving them a brief window even if she despawned and respawned her ethereal graspers.

Naomi noticed Amelia simply floating high above the two hands. She cupped her hands together and shouted,

"Falcon!"

The two immediately got what she meant and prepared to give it their all. However, the wolf man turned on his ally...

"Drop the fucking Ginger!"

"... That's what we were trying to get Sabrina, the Teenaged Nazi, to do!" Naomi shouted.

This was when Pearl took the lead... she stepped forward very slowly, raising her index and middle fingers on both hands. She had her left hand pointed forward and her right hand pointed to the right as she advanced... the air started getting cold as diamond dust surrounded the girl, and the air temperature visibly dropped. Naomi knew that Pearl would try and talk to them.

But Naomi knew that they were past that.

"We do not wish to fight! Please release our friend and we will leave! There are more of us on the way, and the Wolfpack is likely on the way as well; there is no way for you to win! We will do anything for our friends. If you do not stop... we will be forced to kill you! And trust me, everyone here has taken a life before, and we will show you no quarter!"

"... Not me!" Kashmira raised a finger.

"Kash, just get down!" Naomi said.

However, Leon gave Amelia just the opening she needed, and from the air she dove Jessica with her hand out as fast as her abstraction could will. Naomi knew what Amelia was trying to do, and all she needed to do was grab Jess, and she could teleport her out of there. It was a risky move, but obviously, the girl couldn't handle everything at once...

Naomi prepped to create more webs to protect Amelia if needed...

@Punished GN@Fernstone@Estylwen@AtomicEmperor

---

Veni Vedi Veni - Backstage

Getting into the club was just another leg of the journey. Going in through the front door was out of the question, between the regulars and the bouncers, an open window slit that was conveniently just wide enough to fit a child was a much better alternative. Clancy had slipped in while some of the night's main attractions were busy entertaining their audience. Music pulsed through the walls, lyrics and rhythms muffled by the physical barriers between the backstage areas and the main hall from whence it they were broadcast.

It looked like he'd wandered into the corridor preceding some of the private booths, but there wasn't anyone around - just the faint scuffing of high heels on expensive carpet, so for a while he sat around, listened in. Nothing all, except perhaps one guy that he caught a glimpse being led towards one of the private rooms, who didn't strike him as a leader, but had some of the hallmarks you'd associate with the trash found with some of the ex-cons that had fallen into the biker crowd.

He wore a red-and-black lumberjack shirt and denim pants, with an almost shiny clean-shaven dome that seemed to reflect the multi-coloured ambient lighting pretty well. The only thing that gave it away was what looked vaguely like a dog's head for the belt buckle, and the fact he was a skinhead at a club associated with a local group of assholes.

Leading him was one of the dancers, a petite girl somewhere between her late twenties and mid thirties, with platinum hair that he was almost certain had been brought on via artificial means. She was clad in black leather, and reminded him of one of those women he saw on the internet who got paid to stamp on men and tell them how useless they were.

He waited a while, caught some glimpses of their conversation. Based on the chuckling and the trash-talk, he was a regular. Her regular - Skinner, she called him. It sounded like they were very familiar, indeed. And then, some noise muffled by a couple of walls.



The girl heard it, it seemed. Her client wasn't so interested. "-just wait here a sec, I'll deal with you in a moment." Footsteps, rapidly pacing away. Clancy caught the outline of the girl disappearing around a corner, probably to see what the commotion was.

Some privacy at last.

This was probably the only lead he'd have. Checking over one shoulder, then forward again, he leaned in through the doorway.

"Everything okay?"

Skinner, the girl's client, was seated on a leather couch with some mood lighting overhead. To make things interesting, he was already partially undressed; his shirt was hanging off a hook to one side, and his denim unfastened in a tangle around his ankles. To make it even more interesting, he was handcuffed by his wrists to a railing behind the couch. Another set of manacles chained his ankles to the legs of the couch.

Now that Clancy had a chance to get a better look at him, the illusion of masculinity had been broken. Skinner was paunchy, and judging by the vague outline across the rim of the guy's head, he was compensating for a spell of baldness that had come in some years too early.

Adding to it all, it was much easier to make out sharp, angular tattoo on the guy's upper torso running from shoulder to pectoral, drawn to resembles thick bolts of lightning and repurposed norse runes. Definitely trash.

"Uhm... I'm lost, mister."

"Go on, get outta here kid. This ain' elementary school." Clancy shut the door behind them, then ignorantly dusted off his palms.

"You deaf? C'mon, I'm being fair. I gotta shout, they will toss your ass out. You wanna look at titties, go look 'em up on your phone." Skinhead wasn't amused. "You hear me?"

"Uh-uh," Clancy shook his head,"I got questions. You're not exactly in a position to drag me, and I think security are a little.... busy. I want to know about your boss, or maybe your boss' boss.. you look too much like dirt to associate with management."

"Fuck you, kid. You seriously oughta get outta here before I slap you upside the head."

"With what?" Clancy waved his palms, "I'm guessing your date has the keys. And I bet neither the cops, or your friends would really love dealing with a chomo."

"Fuck you talkin' about you stupid little cocksucker-" Clancy pressed a finger to his own lips and made a 'shush', "I wouldn't say that too loud, or you're just making it worse for yourself." He whipped out the new phone he'd acquired the other night, shifting into the camera app. It took him a moment to figure out the selfie button.

Skinhead flailed, cursing away - fruitlessly, as the commotion had pulled any would-be intrusions to the main viewing gallery. Clancy leaned in close, posing for a few snaps, placing himself in a few compromising poses. A few snaps and it was done. "Unless you want this getting outside the club, you'll tell me what I want to know."

"You better fuckin' delete that shit, or-"

"Or what?" Clancy cut in, rummaging through the pocket of Skinner's shirt, "You'll dislocate your thumbs to come at me? Make it easy, you spend time with this crowd of losers." He tugged out a switchblade. "I want to know what you know. You play with some real losers, so I'm guessing you know something. What about about the guy they call Judas? What's his uh.. deal?"

"Nunya fuckin' business you mongoloid fuckEAARGH!" A shriek drowned out anything coherent. Clancy had stuck the blade in Skinner's knee. "I asked nicely the first time. And now I'm asking one more time before I decide to..." he twisted the blade in place, causing the man to yelp and flail. "YEARHGFUCKER-!"

"Judas. Wolf guy. What does he want? Where. Is. He?" Another twist. "This kneecap is going to pop out aaany minute..."

"I DON'T KNOW! S-STOP!"

"I don't believe you."

"F-fuckin' psycho kid... I d-don't fuckin' know, whaddya even want with 'em?!"

"Child support, he owes my mom a lot of child support." Another twist, for emphasis. "I'm not really good at this, my fingers might slip and hit an artery."

"F-FUCK, STOP! P-please, I really don't fuckin' know! I'll... j-just lemme tell ya'.."

Clancy kept a couple of fingertips on the hilt of the blade, "I'm listening."

"I-... I really don't know much shit 'bout Judas, I swear. He don't... we don't mess around with him much, you think I'm into that crazy shit?"

"Keep on talking... I wanna know why he's killing people like Ashley Stone."

"Ashley wh-.. what the fuck are you talking about? I don't know about any shit like that! W-why are we even talkin' about this, jesus... bet you don' have a clue what you-" Clancy leaned back into the blade. "FURGHh-f-fine! I d-don't know anything about girls b-but.. hear me out, we all seen he's been meetin' with some weird fucks, they come by t-the clubhouse to meet in private. But we d-don't get into that shit."

"What weirdos are we talking about?"

"I d-dunno, they're into some weird demon shit. Sometimes they want people, I got told to stay the fuck away from them, so that's what I do." Clancy eyed the blade, a dull expression in his eyes, "Uh.. s-ssomethin' about dolls... D-Dollhouse, that's their crew!"

Dollhouse. The penny dropped. That it was a name he'd heard before. It didn't evoke a fond memory.

More questions came.

---

"It goes without saying that if you talk about this with anyone, these-" Clancy waved the phone at Skinner, compromising photos on show, "-will find their way out there. That won't be good for you at all. If anyone asks, you uh... figure it out. Nod if you understand."

Skinner frantically nodded, sweat beading down his forehead and other fluids of varying darkness having pooled around the couch cushion and his feet. One of the sleeves of his shirt had been torn off and wedged in his mouth. The blade had been left wedged in his knee, and had left an ugly picture for how small it was.

The stench of meat, blood and other human odours was almost overwhelming. Clancy turned back to the door, fleding his fingers. He had a starting point, at least, and there wasn't anything left for him here - between the information, some extra cash and a few little things borrowed from Skinner's pocket, he had most of what he came for

On second thoughts.

Clancy turned back for a moment; there was one more thing he needed. He'd almost forgot.

---

Veni Vedi Veni - Parking Lot

---

Slipping back out hadn't been too much trouble, though one of the girls in the back had made a point of reminding him on her way out, "Jasper c'mon, your mom doesn't work here anymore." It was almost funny. Almost.

Except the commotion that had drawn Skinner's date away had spilled outside. Peaking around the corner, Clancy saw a trail of destruction leading out of the main dance hall, overturned tables and broken glass everywhere. And the air reeked of something beyond the overpriced liquor, aftershave and perfume that left their pungent trademarks.

Something surged at his insides, briefly - a sensation he hadn't felt for a long while. He wasn't sure if that was a good of a bad thing. Instead, he felt through his knapsack for security. A couple of phones rating from bad to okay, including the new one Skinner had generously gifted him. And the key. A motorcycle key to be specific.

Could he still ride a bike? The learned motions were there, somewhere deep within him.

Depending on what it was... well, a long time ago, his older brother had taken him out to a road near a quarry to ride on his '31 Indian Scout, a hand-me-down from Uncle... Gerry? Sometimes the memories were a blur - Frank had made Clancy do the run by himself, and he'd almost gone over the handlebars when he hit a rock in the road... except he hadn't, and beat the odds. Lucky for them, really. If their mom had found out, they'd have both got the belt.

He shook the memory off as he stepped outside. Back to the now.

And there it was. Clancy could see a motorcycle parked across the lot, and judging by the profile, it matched Skinner's key. Except there was another problem.

Some kind of tussle had broke out in the lot, and he couldn't make hide or hair of who these people were, save that they vaguely matched the profile of weird demon shit that Skinner had alluded to. But he didn't get the impression these people were Dollhouse, even though they reeked of power.

And an ivory-skinned girl with matching hair, projecting phantom limbs which had no business being attached to a human body. There was no warmth felt in his recognition of that ephemeral shadow, clutching a redhead in its grasp, and there was little doubt it might recognise him... in a fashion.

A kindred spirit of sorts, from the Void. Hunger

One of the others in the opposing group spoke up.

"We do not wish to fight! Please release our friend and we will leave! There are more of us on the way, and the Wolfpack is likely on the way as well; there is no way for you to win! We will do anything for our friends. If you do not stop... we will be forced to kill you! And trust me, everyone here has taken a life before, and we will show you no quarter!"

It occurred to him he was a 12 (and-a-half) year-old boy stood outside the local biker crew's favourite titty bar, in the middle of a fight between powers beyond human mortality.

"Uh... I'm lost." he remarked, to nobody in particular.

Something was uncanny about the boy, and it wasn't the dried blood on his fingertips.

---

Sloane continued to stare at her unflinching reflection in Greyson’s aviators, worried he’d worm away if she broke eye contact for even a second. Her left hand remained outstretched, as still as a sculpture, and her lips drew thin as Jack and Finn offered their support of her. The ruckus caused by Stormy’s arrival—the shouting, the static charge that filled the air when Lux was manipulated, Auri proving why she was an ineffective leader, sorry, “guide and mediator” for a second time that night—caused Sloane to snap her eyes away for just a second. Greyson even remained a blurry presence in her periphery, which made what she saw even more startling when she refocused on him. Her hand snapped back to her chest as if she’d just touched a hot stove.

He was crying. Why was he crying? She looked at him as if he were an alien stepping out of the light pouring from his ship or a sideshow exhibition she’d spent a nickel to see, alarmed but incapable of looking away. She could hardly process his justification, let alone think of a way to refute his ideas, as he immediately began acting like he was the victim here. She could see a way that he was, actually, or at the very least understand why he felt that way. The Coven had always assumed the worst out of Greyson and now she had too. Her mouth ran dry. Perhaps she had been a little too harsh, but she couldn’t take back what she’d said. An apology felt performative if it was in front of a crowd, as if saying sorry was really to boost likability among peers instead of actually meaning it, but she could catch him after.

Still, could he wipe the tears away? She wasn’t against men showing emotion, it was just uncomfortable seeing anyone cry. Go to the bathroom. Hide in a car. Hell, hide behind one of Auri’s stupid ferns, judging by the withered plants Sloane had seen they could clearly do with some more water.

“I'll just remove myself. “

Good.

Shit.

No, wait.

Her hand reached out to grab at Greyson as he walked by, her fingers nearly brushing the fabric of his clothes. She hesitated and in that moment he was out of reach. She put her hands in her pockets, hiding away her Channeler, and cleared her throat. She heard her name and turned to see Linqian rolling her eyes. In her pocket, her hand clenched itself into a fist. Years ago, Sloane and Linqian had an unspoken competition regarding who could act more inconvenienced by the other's existence. Sloane assumed that eye roll was the first serve of their first set, and she was ready to volley back except Linqian immediately chucked her racket and left the tennis court to chase after Greyson, leaving Sloane to clean up so the next singles match could start.

“Aw man, there goes another. We haven’t even moved the chairs to open up the dance floor yet,” she heard Sully joke.

His booming voice scared her migraine out of the bushes where it had been foraging and chasing it right back into her skull. Sloane looked at the door, checked her watch, and looked back at the door. Sully was right: the meeting was hemorrhaging people. She caught sight of Drake helping Luca, could read his antsy ‘let’s go’ energy from here, and then looked around at the people who remained. She heard Linqian’s ‘fuck off’ echo through her throbbing head. What Sloane had mistaken for the typical classless vulgarity that came from a stupid fucking bitch like Linqian had actually been sound advice. Yeah, if Drake was about to bounce then it was definitely time to fuck off.

“Oh good, you’re offering,” said Sloane, practically materializing besides Drake. She didn’t move to help him with Luca’s belongings, although it was obvious that she stole a glance at the prescription bottles. Her eyes settled back on Drake. “I think we have a lot to discuss before we make our next move, don’t you? I’ll buy you dinner seeing as how Auri’s caterer fell through.” Sloane gestured towards the snack table, empty save for the hardly touched charcuterie Simone had proved. “Yours too, Luca. I’d value your input on a few things.

---

---

The relief that washed over Sully when they voted to keep Kali on the island was second only to the relief he felt when Britney stepped through the door. He hadn’t been around when the truth came out, hearing about it instead from Ashely. She had been pretty angry about it at first, although not nearly as angry as the people Britney had hooked up with Apparitions, until Sully came to Britney’s defense with one single question. He’d said, How many of our friends and family would be alive if they had been a, what’s the word, an Abbreviation?” There was no more room for moral debate. It was simple. She’d saved people. End of story.

As he slowly moved to give Britney a proper greeting Sully felt a warm tingling in his head that wasn’t his Sully Sense going off. He paused, trying to figure out what it was. It was the kid who desperately wanted to be popular just for the sake of being popular walking up to his lunch table and laughing at the joke he definitely hadn’t heard. It was the annoying little brother he never had hovering outside of his closed bedroom while he and his friends were inside playing Gamecube. It was the fly buzzing around the room that survived a million swats. It was annoying. Of course it was Greyson.

Sully almost jumped in the dogpile before Stormy basically kicked in the door and proceeded to call Britney out like they were about to have a scrap. Auri was quick to intervene, and Sully moved to back her up. Auri was a good egg, she probably would be able to win Stormy over anyway, but Sully always found that the presence of a tall, broad shoulder, rakishly handsome three hundred pound dude made it easier to convince people to take the path of nonviolence. Sully patted Britney on the shoulder as he passed and smiled widely as he stepped over to Stormy. However, as he smiled he also squared up, making himself appear even taller than he already was.

“Stormy! What are you doing here?” said Sully with genuine excitement that shifted to include a little bit of mustard as he continued. “See that’s how you say it without being dick. Look man I’m glad you’re here so listen: we’re all on the same team. Why don’t you put those lights away, man? People are already on edge enough as it is.”

Sully turned and looked to the group, his welcoming smile faltering for a second as he watched Linqian leave. Greyson had been no big loss, but he had hated seeing Tayla leave and Linqian going hit just the same.

“Aw man, there goes another. We haven’t even moved the chairs to open up the dance floor yet,” said Sully, trying to crack a joke to keep the tension low. The shop felt hot. Maybe Auri had to keep the temperature high like a greenhouse. He opened his arms up wide to offer Stormy a hug. “C’mon man, drop that shit and bring it in.”

Location: Veni Vedi Veni, Parking Lot
@Punished GN, @AtomicEmperor, @Zombiedude101

---

"Drop the fucking Ginger!"

WHAM.

She couldn't breathe. One moment, she had tunnel vision, ready to attack the girls again. The next? On the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Leon was nearly transformed, his familiar features silhouetting the street lights and night sky. He was yelling. Her ears were ringing.

Had Leon just... betrayed her? Walked into her fight and then turned on her.

Frustrated tears penetrated her waterline as she glared up, her eyes full of venom, and hurt.

"Qu'as-tu fait, Loup?" (What have you done, Wolf?)

A nickname from eons ago, reserved only for serious conversation. Leon was one of the few who understood. Surely, he knew she had to do this. The redhead was the chosen victim. She had already switched targets once. Any more fiddling, and Void might strike out. Might make her the victim.

She hissed, her free phantom hand snapping up Leon's leg, pulling harshly. The move was fast and quick, squeezing hard enough that he would ideally flinch, or at least get distracted. If she was successful, she'd pull him up into the air, and away from interfering further.

She wheezed, pushing herself off the pavement. Her white silk shirt had dirt marks on it, and started looking a bit worse for wear. She was missing a shoe, as she had to kick off the web one of the girls had managed to touch her with. And to make matters worse, two more girls joined the... the group. Obviously, a group of girls. Alizée didn't know what to make of this, but in her heart burned a fury. She'd take them all on. It was their fault, not hers. They got in her way. And they would regret it.

Void's phantom hands pulled away before the webs could reach them, halting his blanket of protection.

That was when the air became chillingly cold. Alizée watched a Korean girl approach.

"We do not wish to fight! Please release our friend and we will leave! There are more of us on the way, and the Wolfpack is likely on the way as well; there is no way for you to win! We will do anything for our friends. If you do not stop... we will be forced to kill you! And trust me, everyone here has taken a life before, and we will show you no quarter!"

Alizée was caught up in the speech, but Void was paying attention. As the girl with the wind powers swooped for the redhead, Voi'd phantom hands snapped up, fingers outstretched to clasp the girl like a shark's jaws on a lone swimmer. Quick, and all-encompassing. If she tried to dodge, the hands would follow a little, trying to keep her away from the redhead. Alizée's attention snapped over to the redhead, and pulled the hand back, positioning her behind Alizée, close to Leon.

"Make a wrong move, and I'll snap her spine," Alizée said flatly, giving the redhead another squeeze. She would likely be feeling cold, numbness in her bones, a lack of energy at this point.

"Take her; I want my hands free." She thought, glancing sideways at Void. Without objection, the redhead was transferred from Alizée's hand to Void's. Leon, if he was held, was dropped. Alizée tried to stop the shivering as the air grew increasingly cold. She could see her breath. Feeling her temper flare, her phantom hands were at her sides, racing forward, claw-like fingers ready to trap the Korean girl. Alizée smirked, despite her lips turning a shade of blue, the phantom hands growing in size, inching closer.

Before the Void opened up behind the girls.

Denizens of the horrific darkness splurged forth, sensing Alizée's desire to go all out. A giant, the size of the strip club, was a shadow looming over Alizée, angry red eyes staring at her, begging for her to move so it could drive its claws into her throat.

Alizée froze up.

Her pale hands pressed against her mouth, her breath held. The giant dipped its head down, showing off its sharp teeth. Taunting her.

Her phantom hands dissipated into thin air, followed closely by the dispersion of her aura and Void eyes. She had pushed it way too far. She had attracted way too much attention.

"Uh... I'm lost."

Alizée's head whipped around, seeing a small form enter the scene. A... a child.

Was a child about to witness violence..?

Alizée swallowed anxiously, her heartbeat racing. She wasn't in a position to raise a fist. Not now. The kid had good timing...

Keeping her eyes on the Korean girl and the rest of the group, Alizée spoke, her voice carrying. "Void... drop her."

Void's jagged smirk widened, and his own grip on the redhead tightened. "Make me."

Alizée sucked in a sharp breath. "The hell did you say?"

"You're really terrible at this, you know. Just one victim is all I ask."

"I'll get you someone, you think I'm not hungry too?!"

"Heh... maybe I'll just feast on you this round."

Alizée hissed, spinning to glare at Void head on. "We are not discussing this in front of a damn crowd!"

He moved lazily through the air, a dark grin lighting up his features. "Scared?"

"I said we're not discussing this!"

"Not telling me to shut up? Being so polite all of a sudden?"

Alizée's head twisted sharply, teetering between fear and flaring anger. "...Listen. Why are we here?"

"Don't change the su-"

"The damn Wolfpack! That's why we're here. There's more going on than just our damn nightly strolls, okay?!" Her voice reached a shrill note, practically yelling at Void at this point.

Void stared at her for a long, long moment. His Void eyes narrowed, before, reluctantly, the redhead was dropped.

Finally.

"You owe me."

"I know."

With all four Void Hands dissipated, the presence of the Void denizens reduced. Alizée watched the Korean girl and the rest of the group, seeing if they would try anything now that they had what they wanted. She pressed her hand frustratedly across her face, realizing something. Leon was right.

That's when she remembered there was a child watching them. She turned curiously, staring down at the small, dark-haired child. Her head tilted, noticing the blood on his hand. Had he hurt himself?

Her expression softened, and she stepped forward, stooping down to be eye level with the child. "Hey, are you okay? You look hurt. Let me see your hand."

She pulled out a small handkerchief and hand sanitizer from her purse, putting a bit on the white cloth before reaching for the child's hand, cleaning off the blood. Huh, that was strange. There was no break in the skin. What happened to this child?

She looked at him curiously. "Where are your parents, kiddo? This uh... isn't necessarily the nicest part of town."

Void was staring, completely mesmerized by the small child. He had entirely forgotten about the girls they had been fighting, as if his entire world now only consisted of the boy. Void started doing slow circles around him, basking in some sort of aura.

"I like this one."

---

There was too much happening at once for Simone to all make sense of. Britney's sudden appearance left Greyson's sorry attempt at probing the group cut short. Simone didn't even look in her direction when she finally arrived. The warm feelings she once felt for Britney left her body like snuffing out the last embers in the fireplace. People slowly started filing out the meeting at once. Simone glanced at Auri, not able to stop her facial features from forming into a disappointed look. She had tried her best to rally the group, but honestly, what did she expect out of these lot? It was all beginning to feel a little ridiculous, but ultimately Simone still had her eye on the prize. Father Wolf. What were they going to do about Father Wolf?

She overheard Drake, Luca, and Sloane's conversation about hitching a ride out of here. That seemed to be the direction most everybody was taking. However, jumping into the Wolfpack's den as Auri suggested with extremely limited intel on what they were actually in for sounded about as appetizing as the leftover charcuterie board that barely anyone touched. That kind of pissed her off, only because her mom worked so hard on it. Whatever, if she managed to make it home in one piece, she would tell her that it was a hit, garlic aioli and all.

Kali was only a few paces away from her, so she took his arm without thinking, which felt much different than the noodle arms he had back in high school, but that was besides the point. She dragged him with her over to where Drake, Luca, and Sloane had congregated, her eyebrows hesitantly raised. "Hey, we're hungry too, and I've got plenty I wanna run by y'all. Can we tag along? And don't worry Drake, I'll keep a close eye on this one," she said, motioning to Kali next to her. "We can meet you wherever. My car only fits two, so we'll just follow you."

Interactions: Simone

---

Flower's and Canvasses
Late Evening

---

"You seem to be doing great, too - you look great in that suit."

Of course we do! Suits are a sign of power! This was always more of a you thing. You're right, I'm the half with good taste.
I resist the urge to let out a sigh over myself and as I begin to say "Well it's honestly more of a uni-"

"YOU!"

I get cut off. My head shifts immediately towards Stormy's direction as my hand instinctively moves closer to where I'm keeping the knife.
You'd be better off with the gun. That one doesn't go down easy. I'm not trying to take him down I'm trying to incapacitate him if I have to. What a weak response.
Thankfully I don't have consider any of those options as Auri moves in to break up the situation. Still, the damage was already done. This entire meeting has become chaos. Well, in all fairness at least half of that is my fault.
Don't be ridiculous. It's twenty percent us, twenty percent Grayson, another ten percent Britney's presence, and a whole fifty percent being the fact that this was going to be inevitable regardless. I can't fault those numbers...
Regardless, at this rate everyone's going to leave without a plan. What were they talking about just now? The strip club? Wait don't tell me they intend to go into one of the Wolfpack's hideouts right away right? I look around again, take note of who's going where as all the possibilities start to go through my brain. I can't let that happen. At best the Wolfpack are the ones we're after and we'd be heading into a trap, at worst they're just a red-herring set up by the actual perpetrator that we'll needlessly get into conflict with.
"Anyways, before we start making any major moves I think we-"
MY. ARM. IS. GRABBED.
What?
I look over. It's Simone.
What?
She's dragging me over to everyone. Okay, that's fine. This is actually good. I get it. With a smaller subgroup we can actually get something done instead of just bickering and reacting to the overall situati-

"Hey, we're hungry too, and I've got plenty I wanna run by y'all. Can we tag along? And don't worry Drake, I'll keep a close eye on this one," she said, motioning to Kali next to her. "We can meet you wherever. My car only fits two, so we'll just follow you."

WHAT!?
SHUT UP!
Thanks, I needed that.
What?
Okay, review the situation. You have roughly three to four seconds to respond before this becomes extremely awkward. Simone has dragged you over here. We're all going for dinner even though I brought a perfectly good curry for all of us to- Forget about the stupid curry. Right, my culinary efforts are irrelevant... hah... Still, this isn't bad. If we all meet up at public venue were we can't act out as we please we can at least get some civil conversation done.
You're going to be riding alone with her.
I'm going to be riding alone with her... Wha- Don't you dare start this again.
Right! Right... Focus. Two seconds left. So I'm going to be riding alone with her. She's assuming I don't have a ride which is pretty weird considering St. Portwell's public transit system is actually decent if you know how to use it or... she's... hoping I will just accept the ride without questioning why she's offering it in the first place.
One on one time in an enclosed vehicle with nothing to do until you get to the venue except...
Talk.
She wants to talk to me? After how many years? Roughly ten. HAH! What a joke. But it's not. You're right. Reality is confusing. You have the collective charm of an ameboid. Thanks... It wasn't a compliment you oa- I know. Ah, right, sarcasm, how indirect. Regardless, is this her way of trying to catch up with me or is she just using this as a chance to probe me about my current job in a place where I can't run away? Another chance for you to become compromised and divulge unnecessary information. I know. I shouldn't accept this...
I shouldn't...
But you... want to.
...
Do it.
Wha-
No! Not again! I will not repeat this!
But the mission-
Is something we do to please our superiors but I've honestly never cared about such things. I care about efficiency, and staying true to our desires. If you want to do something do it, the mission be damned. That is the meaning of freedom you spineless coward.
I... wow, thanks I don't really know what to- Also it's been eight seconds. FUCK!
I blink as I finally rush back into the present moment and say, "I- um. Well, if you're fine with having me then, sure, yeah. looking to Simone in this case as if I needed her permission even though this was entirely an impromptu group activity with no organizer.
Truly a smooth operator. Just shut the hell up...

---

Luca shuffled back a bit when Drake approached, trying to avoid catching him in the rotting aura surrounding him. Thankfully he needed to get quite close, and if he got within arm's length of Luca all he'd feel was a small amount of dull pain. It took a while to get really bad for other paranormals.

"Yeah, thanks," Luca smiled thankfully at Drake. Concentrating, he picked up the remainder of his bag... Unfortunately it was useless. He might as well just leave it. He had pockets just about big enough for everything on his jacket. He was truly thankful Drake had picked everything up for him, cause it had been incredibly awkward and if he tried there was a risk of him destroying it all and the floor... Sure, his pills were in plastic containers for safety, but better safe.

Also he'd probably struggle to get back up.

Luca carefully rummaged in the remnants of his bag, pulling out another pair of Spandex gloves and pulling them on. Thankfully they'd been at the bottom and hadn't fallen out... Now he could relax a bit more now, it would be at least half an hour until the polyester fabric fully disintegrated.

"I really need to get a sturdier bag," he joked, shoving another two pairs of gloves in his jacket pockets. Drake had the rest, so all good. Luca stood up and held out his hands with a grin. "'Preciate it... Uh, I won't hurt you like this, the gloves offer some protection."

He coughed awkwardly. That didn't sound weird at all.

"Yeah a ride would be good. I'll come along to the strip club even if I can't come inside, best to have someone on lookout, y'know."

Assuming it wasn't too far away. He could sit in a car for probably half an hour before there were any real issues, and an hour before he started doing some proper damage... As long as kept his hands off everything. Last thing he wanted to do was start destroying Drake's car. It was why he rarely went anywhere he couldn't walk to, only risking public transport when absolutely necessary.

Luca practically jumped out of his skin when Sloane just appeared beside Drake. She hadn't suddenly learned teleportation had she? No, that didn't make sense. She'd just walked over really quickly and quietly, somehow.

"I'll never say no to a free meal!" He pushed down the nerves he felt after Sloane had obviously eyed up his prescriptions. No need to worry about it. Who would jump right to the conclusion that he was terminally ill! Sure, he didn't want people to know he was ill at all, but that was kind of hard to hide. He could explain it away with a chronic illness, genetic even so not to put more heat on Britney (the infighting was already giving him a headache). But it still made him uncomfortable... Ah fuck, he should've just left his medication at home in the first place. Sure, then he might have to deal with debilitating pain, but he was a master at hiding that! Even Olivia struggled to see through it! Perfectly fine till Simone dragged Kali over.

Luca was pretty sure Kali had an idea of his condition. He'd let a few things slip, and the guy just had a way of figuring stuff out. Now, he trusted him, and would've assumed he wouldn't say anything about it... Till today. If Kali could straight up say he was with the FBI what was stopping him spilling about Luca? Not maliciously, but he clearly had no brain to mouth filter!

"I can't speak for Sloane's wallet, but course you can tag along." Luca grinned. "The more the merrier. You too Kali."

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. He'd try and talk to Kali, check the guy was alright.

"But I gotta lay down some dinner ground rules," Luca smiled, acting as if he was about to tell a joke. "First off, no pizza. It really disagrees with me. Second, needs to be somewhere quiet, or where we can sit outside."

"Oh also," he pointed his finger at Drake and Sloane. "You two sit in the front of the car. Well obviously drake will, it's his car, but yeah. Back seats mine, gotta have room to manspread and all."

What sounded like a half joking list of demands was really a list of neccesities for everyone's comfort. He was sure they'd see through it, but it was easier to do it this way. For him. He didn't like when there was pity directed at him.

---

---

Stormy was a bold and protective man. He was willing to forgive people who did bad things when they were pushed into a corner. Even a worm will turn, but Britney ruined lives for years to come. Luca was right here as living proof of that. The shields hanging off of his arms practically radiated a kind of unpleasant, suffocating sensation that only the red Lux users in the shop would be aware of. It was a decade ago. He knew that. But right now, all he could see was the person who hurt others because the had her little god complex. ”How do you-“

Butterflies. Fucking butterflies.

A whole wall of them. That was definitely Auri, alright. Stepping through them, she took the blame for Britney’s presence, staring him dead in the face. Stormy glared down at her, going through a bunch of thoughts right then and there as to wether or not he should be mad at her. And of course, dear old Sully stepped around and took his mind off of Britney as well. They were standing up for her. Sully and Auri were good people. If they thought she deserved a second chance…

”If she makes one wrong move, I’ll deal with her myself.” That was his concession. The shields dissolved into a faint shimmering glow, until there was nothing. He wasn’t the kind of man known for blind rage in any way, so it was easy enough for him to put Britney out of his mind. He could write Britney off as a bad person for as long as she gave no one a reason to think otherwise. But he couldn’t stay mad Auri, or Sully.

”It’s good to see both of you,” he said at last, clapping Sully over the shoulder, with a genuine smile on his face.

---

---

It was almost funny, seeing everyone doglike Greyson. He even broke down into tears. If Greyson was anything more then a face in a small crowd to Jack, then he might’ve laughed or spoken up about the whole thing. But the more important matter was the fact that Auri’s attempt to unify this absolute wreck of a group went about as well as some of them expected. Auri was not Ashley, that much was true. But she could’ve at least tried not to talk about the endeavor like it wasn’t a “family.” That was her first mistake. Everyone digging up their own bad blood certainly didn’t help. Most people seemed to decide that they were done with this for now. They’d likely come around as some point of another. Jack certainly hoped so.

Once people were off to dinner, the shop was quieter.

The ones who stayed seemed to be a bit more willing to entertain this mystery. That was good. Jack needed to have a word with Auri about this, though. So he waited for everything to calm the fuck down.

”It wasn’t a waste of time, calling us here. If I knew we were being picked off sooner, I’d have Father Wolf buried by now. And I know you had high hopes for reuniting us, but we haven’t been a family since we sealed away the Snake. The coven was a family for many of us, myself included, but what we have now is nothing more than memories. The longer we spend dwelling on the past, the less time we have to focus on what is happening right now. Give them time, they’ll return sooner or later, once they’re ready. They won’t let this stop them from finding who is trying to kill us all.”

---

"... Traffic cone! Six o'clock!

Bianca couldn’t hear much over the sound of Alizée destroying the ground, but she did hear one of the opposing girls shout after quickly looking in her direction. What? Traffic cone, but she wasn’t wearing any orange- oh. Bianca unwittingly raised an eyebrow. Someone who could see adept colours? Interesting.

She didn’t have time to dwell on it because both sides were going all out. They really were trying to kill each other- She shoved her hand in her pocket, fingers curling around her phone. There was only so much longer she could stand by watching-

"Drop the fucking Ginger!"

Leon came to the rescue - kind of. Shit, it was getting cold… And that group of girls really did want to kill Alizée (who had they killed before?). Fuck, she could already feel her boss’s boot up her ass, she should’ve called it in right away, it was fucking cold too. It was obvious that Alizée wasn’t about to back down. She was only getting worse, calling all sorts from the darkness. Holding her cigarette between her lips, Bianca’s other hand went for the knife she had hidden in her pocket. If she figured out a spell on the fly, she could-

"Uh... I'm lost."

Suddenly everything deescalated like that.

Bianca withdrew her hand from around the knife. At least Alizée still had some morality left.

Shit. Alizée was approaching the child.

Bianca watched warily as Alizée’s apparition circled the young boy. She couldn’t in good conscience just let this be. If she was recognised by Alizée and Leon, so be it.

It’d probably be fine, anyway! She’d changed a lot. Her hair was way shorter (it’d been almost at her ass ten years ago), she had makeup on which she’d never bothered with before (mostly to make her a bit harder to recognise in wolfpack territory), and she was wearing shades! Practically unrecognisable. Decision made, Bianca dropped her half done cigarette and grinded it into the gravel with her foot.

“Heyyyy kid,” Bianca approached Alizée and the lost kid. She dragged out her words, pulling more of a southern accent - modelled after the most harmless person she knew. It didn’t sound all that bad or fake, definitely not because she practised accents in front of a mirror at home. Hopefully it’d help her not be recognised by Alizée and Leon. “You’re lost? Y’know your parents’ number? You can call ‘em if you want.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, holding it up as if to say, ‘see, I’m not going to hurt you.’

“If not, how ‘bout I take you somewhere safe?” Like a police station. She didn’t quite voice that yet, even if it was (hopefully) implied. They weren’t exactly in a good area. “Lots of fights round these parts, best you don’t hang round here.” She indicated the group of people who’d just been fighting it out. “Loads of dangerous people like ‘em. I’ll get you to the town centre, yeah?”

Bianca then turned to look at Alizée, eyes narrowing behind her sunglasses. She jerked a thumb at the void, voice lowering. “Get that thing away.”

For a while, Edict stared up at the faded night with his cigarette lit. He realized how shitty Grays were just after taking the first drag and was resisting the urge to reach into his pocket and pull out one of his own rolls. He'd grown used to the quality of Louisiana tobacco on a trip down south for the Connection; hadn't looked at a pack of pre-rolls since. Thinking about it more and more made him think about all the other things he could be doing right now, and he reached a hand into his pocket to pull a small piece of paper out. Names...
Nour, Nakamura, Violet, Pink, Hayes... Shayton.
Fucking bikers... No way he was going to that strip club now, not without some sort of disguise or cover. Sycamore Tree gets back together, and he just shows up at a bunch of One Percenters' front door like the game has changed? Bunch of cocksuckers, lowlife fucks who couldn't keep dope out of their noses long enough to be anything more than a disorganized thorn in the side of a sleeping giant. But, connected? That wasn't going to be good for any of them. But Edict couldn't find a bone to care about warning any of them. A few Sycamores chopped down would be better for him. Blood made bad business... Usually, at least.

A figure came from the direction of the shop, stepping between the street lights headed pretty much right for him. Linqian... A face he thought about often, as he crossed airports and saw some exotic looking people but never managed to find someone quite as striking as her. She had beauty certainly, but he remembered she used to joke about Jinhai getting all the brains. He'd only ever seen her use that sort of thing to her advantage even though her fucking attitude was just as good at smashing any good will she scraped together.
Nobody was taking advantage of Jinhai these days.
He grimaced to himself at the dark thought, folding the note into his palm and tucking it hard to minimize the chance she saw anything at all.

”Room for one more?”

"As long as you don't start bitching at me like that, Linqian, you can stoop kid with me as long as you want sister."
She lit her cigarette off his, and he saw the cheap pack. It made his eye twitch, and it was fairly visible as his glasses were up pushing the hair out of his face. He listened to her ask questions, but all the while he stared at the trash cigarette in her mouth until it got to be so much that his hand flicked up and snagged it by the cherry on the end. There was a gentle hiss as he pulled the half a cigarette from her mouth, tossing both it and his own cheap trash cigarette into the street. His first free hand, with the note still jammed tight to his palm, slipped into his jacket pocket and casually swapped the note for a few other items; a small cigarette case and a book of matches. Popping it open, he pulled two cigarettes out and stuck the brown handrolled cigarette back into her mouth. The paper filter was a bit more sturdy than the cotton, and it had a bit more weight overall than something in the pack. He pulled a match and struck it off the cigarette case, lifting and lighting his own before pulling it out and sticking it up to hers to light.

"That's a smoke, ain't it? Low processed, compared to that garbage shit. Should be the fucking standard."
He looked at her, smiled, and took a drag of the earthy warm smoke. Flavorful; not just tar and gasoline.
"It ain't a cult. Still in The Life, just... Keepin' my nose clean, y'know? Makin' way more money than I ever was."
He took another drag, free hand slipping into a different coat pocket.
"Which reminds me, here. My condolences to you and your family: I ain't know if Jinhai had any kids or anything, but you let me know if your family needs any help. I'm here for everyone whose lost someone to this shit so far, I mean that. The priest thing? A little pretentious, I admit, but... Seriously. I'm here to help. This shit is Home, feel?"
His hand comes out of the jacket pocket and holds a small roll of cash up to Linqian. He had quite a few in there, some instant kindling to spark some fires that needed lighting. He figured this was going to be an easy first step. It wasn't hard for him to say one thing and feel a completely different way, to the point that lying didn't really register on his face these days. And if he got caught? Just tell another one. Throw as many darts as necessary for a bullseye.

"As far as jobs though, maybe you can help me out with some shit here in Porty?" he continued his line of questioning and logic.
"After something like that, I gotta just come clean with someone, right? Look; I've been hittin' some serious therapy and shit back East. My Doc is fantastic, and she's really helpin' me understand a lot of what's been wrong with me my whole life, y'know? All this shit with my family, and like comin' to terms with my Moms and shit? And, well, you know she can't really understand what people like y'all can. But, she says that I'm like..."
He sounded really heartbroken about this. He was, on occasion. There were nights he really wanted to be a better man, a more serious and legitimate person. An upstanding individual. But why fight that feeling?
"She says I'm more or less addicted to it. That using my Abstraction is like some... Some j-... Some substance abuser using a drug to get high and escape reality. And, I knew that I shouldn't have come out here like this, but when Auri gave me the call and I thought about how I always wanted to be that better person, I knew I wanted to make things right with you all. I figured maybe if I put on some bullshit heirs or something that everyone would just forget, but..."
He choked up a little bit again, playing off of what happened earlier now.
"I mean nobody bought it, right? So, there's no chance I'll be able to make anything right with anyone now."
He shook his head, hanging it in false shame so practiced and real you'd wonder how an individual can tow such a line and stay sane.

Finally, he took one deep breath.
"So... What I'm really trying to say is that... If you want a job, and you're willing to help me, then I can make sure that something like tonight doesn't happen again, but I can still help. I want you to be my eyes and ears, figure out who else is willing to hear me out and make amends, that way I know who I can really trust in St. Portwell, and who is just going to think I'm the same person I always was. I'm... I'm seriously trying to do this right, Linqian."
Carnegie always taught that to seal a deal, you should consistently use a person's name when directing toward them. It made them feel more inclined to you, warmer, more alert.
"I'm willing to pay for any inconveniences, but... I can probably point you in some good directions so that you can find other likeminded people to back you up quicker, y'know?"

Leon counted himself lucky that the fighting wound down before the Void got any more intense. He was expecting rammifications from his dear friend later on, probably at the price of some of St. Portwell's innocents, which wasn't exactly the kind of thing he wanted. He knew he'd offer himself in their place gladly, letting the thing suckle from Lady Lelou until it had enough that the innocents could live for now. One more night in paradise... Between the two of them, there was enough power to seriously damage the city, and adding in this many Adepts was like adding fuel to the fire.
Still strangely transformed, Leon's massive overstretched hands scratched at the wound the Void had caused. His strange, slightly too long pale face stared out from his golden mane at the Greenwood Coven members gathered about as he addressed them.

"Forgive her... She i-isn't..."
It was dreadfully difficult to speak like this. He could hear and smell so many different things, and there was the everpresent echo of bloodlust itching at the Fire seal like it was a scratch and sniff. Leon stamped his foot down on the ground, spinning to look at Alizée and seeing her doing... Something? He'd heard a child's voice, but didn't smell any children. The blood was fresh, but... More? Where? Inside?
Finally, he grew frustrated, smashing a fist off the pavement and pointing up at the gathered Greenwood.
"Go! Now! Before Judas arrives and we're all in trouble!"

Leon spun, trying to get his massive hands to slip into the proper somatic positioning to channel the energy required to seal himself back up enough that there weren't going to be people up and down the street grabbing their pitchforks. However, he was struggling. He was usually prone to bouts of nausea and weakness after dealing with Alizée's wonderful companion, and rarely did he have the chance to reseal himself when they settled disputes. Usually it was his Handler doing it... Usually Daisy... He had to count on himself now, and took a deep breath. Fingers twisted, and as he released the oxygen he felt everything relax. The leftover essence curled from his lungs in a huff of thick black smoke as his body deflated and buckled back into something of a more natural shape. But, he was still woozey and unsure of what was coming. He didn't even turn back to see if the others cut their losses and ran or not, only moving toward Alizée.

"Petite soeur, viens! Nous devons fuir avant que les indésirables n'arrivent!" (Let's go, little sister! Before the Undesirables show up!)
As he approached her, he looked past and down. A child? The voice! But, as the last bit of truesense left his nose, he grimaced as he looked at the thing.
"Alizée! Not here, Fille, we need to go! We've fucked everything up now, let's go find you a meal in the Temple! Vite!"
He felt a certain amount of distrust and disgust with the child that Alizée was doting over, and there was a gut reaction to want to run from him, like an instinct of distrust.

---

---

Simone pushed against the glass of the flower shop exit, making her way out of the strange chaotic energy that still resonated in the air even as most of the Coven had made their exit. She could sense Kali’s presence following close behind. The crisp outdoor air felt good on her face, like a splash of cold water to sober her up after whatever the hell that just was.

“Well, you really know how to make an entrance,” she said, turning her head behind her so Kali could hear. She surveyed the street, unconsciously checking for any signs of danger. The only thing that stirred was the cool wind kicking up a batch of leaves on the concrete. Keys jangled in her coat pocket before she pulled them out and walked over to where her old Camero was parked. She stuck them in the lock, fussing with it before the lock gave and the car door opened with a low pitched squeak. She climbed in, unlocking the passenger side so Kali could join her.

“Get in, old friend. We’re going for a ride.” she said with a slight smirk. She put the key into the ignition, and the Camero started with a low roar of the engine. “It’s… been awhile, hasn’t it? Little ol’ Kal is a big time officer now.”

She waited until she saw the car that Drake, Luca, and Sloane drove off in and started following closely behind them. “I can’t wait to hear about how that happened. You’ve… changed, Kal.”

”Well, yeah. I had to, to survive.” he would say, his eyes staring off outside the window towards something no one else but him could see. ”I’ve been keeping up with your music though. It’s good. I mean it.” he says, finally turning his back from the window to look at Simone directly. ”Honestly though, I didn’t think I’d ever... see you again.”

She saw him looking at her in her peripheral vision, but couldn’t bring herself to look at him directly yet. Her eyes stayed locked on the road as she pushed a piece of her curly hair behind her ear. “Thanks, it’s about the only thing that keeps me sane nowadays.” she said about his comment on her music. “Well, here I am. I do… apologize for leaving kind of suddenly. Leaving you.” Her eyes finally drifted from the road and to his face. “It seems like you’re doing well, though. But seriously, how did you make your way to the FBI? Never in a million years would I have thought that’s where you’d end up.”

There was a moment of silence. An uncomfortably long moment, but eventually Kali would end up answering.

”It’s not that complicated” he’d say, taking in a deep breath as if he was bracing himself for something. ”When the Coven collapsed, I had nowhere to go. I was back on the streets... again.” His eyes looked away from hers as his expression showed for the smallest moment a hint of something painful before the emotion was quickly buried underneath his newly gained professional facade. ”Eventually, an agent found me. They saw I had... potential, and they gave me an offer. It took me a few years to finish training, a few more to get cleared for working on the field by myself. After that I’ve just been heading from one place to the next, solving problems where I’m needed without anyone knowing. Like a ghost. Funny how that works, right?”

The silence was deafening, but she owed him a little grace to answer how he wanted. “I hate to think of you back on the streets again, but you’re a fighter.” she said, nodding her head. “I’m surprised you’d want to come back here after everything. Even if you’re just on assignment. It probably took a lot of balls to come back. You’ve changed, but so has St. Portwell. I’ve been trying to keep track of what’s going on, but it’s too much. It’s not just the Wolfpack. Tons of other groups keep popping and causing trouble too. Something big is happening. I’m glad you’re here to help.”

“The others, though… I worry about them. For Auri to expect us to come back together again and be a ‘family’,” she said, making quotes with her fingers. “It’s a joke, honestly. I don’t know any of them anymore. I can’t trust them. For some reason, I feel like I can trust you though. I don’t know. Maybe you’ll prove me wrong.” she ended.

”To be honest, I expected things to end up this way.” he would say, his gaze now back at the window again. ”You don’t have to fill me in on how St. Portwell’s changed. Like I said before... I’ve done my own research. The Wolfpack especially isn’t something to be worried about” he says, leaning his back against the car seat as he looks up at the sky through the windshield letting out a sigh.

”Well, that’s how it should have been. They were a bunch of small-time crooks before. I have no idea how they got their abstractions. Still, there’s been no signs that they’ve been using it for anything more than just theft and other minor crimes. Well, minor in the grand scheme of things anyways.” he says. There was a certain look in his eyes as he talked about this. A kind of sharp focus that wasn’t there ten years ago. ”Ultimately, while their rise is suspicious, they have no motive. The 8th street Coven is arguably more suspicious but from what I’ve seen they also aren’t in the mood to start a war right now. If anything... there’s just something else going on. Something dangerous. I just hope I can figure this out before we take any more casualties.” he’d say, his eyes now having one of those stares you might see from a homeless veteran fresh from the gulf war. The kind of look that was staring at something right in front of them that wasn’t even there, haunting them, forever.

Simone’s eyes narrowed on the road in front of her and she shifted slightly in her seat when he started bringing up the others. “So… you’ve been researching us too, huh? Learn anything interesting about me?” she asked, partly joking, partly serious. There were a handful of people who knew her deepest secrets and while Simone and Kali used to be close, she never did divulge the details of her real life to him directly. “What have you been hiding behind those eyes of yours, hmm? How are you?”

”That’s classified.” he’d say with a smirk. A rare joke from the apparent government professional though that smirk disappeared pretty quickly.

”Honestly, I’m not feeling great.” he says looking down at his own hands for a moment, ”Something about this group just brings out the worst in me.” Eventually, he looked back towards Simone. This time he wasn’t shying away at all. He was looking at her directly in the eyes, refusing to break that connection no matter what.

”I haven’t actually looked into you. Or anyone else. My research is limited to potential threats and” he’d take in a deep breath before saying, ”I want to trust you. And... I just hope I wasn’t the only one who thought that time we had together meant something.” There was a slight quiver in his voice at the end. It was hidden, hidden well, but it wasn’t perfect. The armor, at least around her, had more than a few cracks.

She met his unwavering gaze as long as she could before a bump in the road distracted her and made her peel away to keep the tires safely on the road. Her heart started beating faster as she was the one who let the silence linger between them before taking a deep breath and replying. “Of course it meant something. You were probably my closest… friend. I didn’t take that for granted, but I also had my own demons to slay. Things I needed to protect. After that night battling the Snake… I snapped. Running away felt like the only choice I had at that moment.”

Unwanted emotions started to bubble up, first in her gut and then her chest, like this was the thing she has been waiting to get out for the last ten years. She bit the inside of her cheek hard to distract herself from the emotional pain. “I’m telling you, if I can trust you, you can trust me. I’ve got your back. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this.” she said, her breath stabilizing. Though, she couldn’t help the feeling of wanting to stop the car, take his face in her hands, and peer into what was really going on inside him. She knew what happened at the Battle had changed him in more ways than one. Instead, she kept the wheel steady and concentrated on following Drake’s car in front of them.

It took another moment for Kali to break the ongoing silence.

”I know.” was all he said at first, followed by another moment of silence. There was a hint of hesitation, his eyes seemingly wanting to run away from the gaze he himself committed to but eventually they managed to hold firm in their resolution. ”And I don’t blame you for running.” he’d say as one hand went to grab the wrist of the other in an awkward and uncomfortable gesture.

”It’s just... It hurt. It hurt a lot. And I... missed you. A lot.” his voice quivered ever so slightly as he finished that sentence. Whatever cold professional veneer there was seemingly wasn’t enough to hold back the slightest hint of the boy from ten years ago resurfacing, even if it was only slightly.

“I missed you too.” she replied, guilt creeping into her head as she saw a glimpse of the old Kali emerge from the shadows of his new facade. “But, we’re both here now. Together. Let’s just hold on to that for now. We’ll figure the rest out later.” she said. Drake’s car started to slow and make a turn into the restaurant. She followed, pulling into the lot and finding a well lit spot to park. She shifted the car in park and huffed a big sigh, but didn’t get out of the car right away, giving him a last opportunity to air out anything else on his mind.

He gave a nod as he stared ahead towards the Dairy Queen. ”Yeah, we’ve got a lot to figure out after all.” he says before reaching for the door handle, ”I’ll keep you safe Mona. I promise.” and finally opening the door without another word.

---

For a moment, Linqian had thought Edict was staring at her lips for a different reason… One she wouldn’t mind encouraging. That was until he fucking stole her cigarette and threw it onto the street like the garbage it probably was. Her eyes flashed with anger, body temperature rising as the ring on her right hand lightly glowed.

”Oy, why the fuck did-” Linqian’s irate torrent of words was cut off by another cigarette being place in her mouth. It had a nicer weight and feel to it than her cheaper one… but he could’ve waited till she finished it. Well, whatever. Once he’d lit it off her own she took a long drag, relishing in the warmth before blowing it back out into the cold air. It reminded her of the taste of her first cigarette, stolen from her dad and shared with Jinhai in the back alley near their house. He’d hand rolled them too… But she’d only had cheap ones since. Without realising the corners of her lips curved up around the cigarette. ”Mm, you tryna get me hooked on the fancy stuff? Must be nice to be rich.”

She took another drag, almost choking on the smoke when Edict mentioned kids out of nowhere. Suppressed coughs escaped her lips as she managed to catch her breath. Now there would be a nightmare scenario: multiple little Jinhais running around. She loved her brother, truly, but he’d been a pain in the ass as a kid. She couldn’t deal with more cocky smart asses. There was enough on her plate.

”Uh, yeah, thanks,” she said awkwardly. She didn’t enjoy the whole condolences thing. It wasn’t like they could bring Jinhai back, and she’d quickly learned that offers of help were just empty words. None of her friends, few as they were, or relatives had reached out after the funeral. They didn’t actually care. And Edict? Him and Jinhai certainly hadn’t been on good terms. Did he really think ‘this shit was home’? Possibly, but she didn’t. Her lips twisted down into a more typical frown. ”No kids, just a lil brother… Well, he’s an adult anyway.”

An adult she was still supporting, and planned to until he could support himself. Really, he was the closest she’d probably ever have to a kid.

She looked down at the money he held out, a roll of cash like a proper mobster, and raised an eyebrow. ”If this is for a job, I’ll take it, but I ain’t taking pity cash. Not from you, not from anyone.”

Linqian had too much pride for that. Always had. Supporting her remaining family was more important than anything to her, but not to the point of stooping to free cash that could be held over her head. She'd work for it.

Her interest peaked at the mention of helping out here - the only place she could work right now, anyway… But it quickly diminished when Edict went into a whole sob story about seeing a shrink and having an addiction and just wanting to make amends. He had to come clean with someone? Wasn’t that what the therapist he’d seen was for? Was he gonna be paying her for listening to all of this? He even started choking up again and hanging his head in shame… She might’ve reacted if she wasn’t so sick of it already. She didn’t even bother questioning it, or thinking about it, because she just didn't care. She’d followed him out because he was less annoying than most of the people still in that place (Sully and Drake excluded), and because she saw a benefit from it. Maybe that had been a mistake.

Maybe not, if she thought about it a different way. He’d just spilled a lot of shit to her…

”Maybe I should see a shrink if they can work miracles like changing you from criminal to nice guy tryna atone,” she commented dryly when he was finally, finally, done and getting to the point. "Sure, I believe you. You’re really trying to do things right and make amends, I see that.”

Linqian didn’t really look like she was lying, though she didn’t seem to be enthusiastically buying into it either. Did she really believe he'd changed? Well, certainly in some way. Whether it was how he'd said… Well, time would tell. And honestly? She couldn't give less of a fuck. She wasn’t going to bother thinking too hard about it. Linqian disliked the whole brain prodding thing, and had snapped at him for it multiple times, but she'd never been bothered by the other stuff.

Jinhai had been, but he wasn't here anymore.

And the job was pretty much perfect. It didn't require her doing much she wasn't already doing, attending whatever the coven did and feeling them out, and it wouldn't interfere with her other job. Telling Edict whatever she saw or heard wasn't exactly hard - Linqian had no qualms about spilling information that wasn't about her.

She sucked on the cigarette, now half gone, and blew the smoke out slowly.

”Not sure I need the backup,” what was he expecting, her running full spy missions? “But I’ll do it. How much we talking?”

Whatever Hail Mary tosses he was making at this point, it was all done at a target behind a wall he couldn't see through. Not that he could really see the wall either; he was slinging action from miles off and he didn't even realize it until she gave that same kind of dry response that he knew all too well. Between her and a thousand other people who he'd read wrong, it was that same hollow feeling one got picking up desiccated wood.

”Maybe I should see a shrink if they can work miracles like changing you from criminal to nice guy tryna atone,”
Yeah, classic Linqian. Fair enough.

Since she wouldn't take the cash as condolence, which was fairly insulting to him as there wasn't much funny about someone's brother dying, he stuffed his hand back into his pocket. While he hadn't necessarily been the most helpful when it came to loss in the community, he was at least genuinely sorry that things were coming to this whole situation. As genuine as he could be, at least...
He came back out with a couple more rolls, unfurling them and slipping them together before handing over a slightly more substantial stack of cash.
"All business with you... Fine. Twenty-five hundred here, plus another five hundred for you to use if you're going to the club. It's lubricant, capiche? There's two strippers over there too, Pink and Violet or some shit; I already had a tip tellin' me to watch 'em so just be on the lookout for shady shit."

He handed over a business card on top of the stack. It was simple, but poignant: A solitary sycamore sat over the words "Home Grown Exports". Below that, an equally solitary phone number.

"Call that when you want to meet up and fill me in. And hey, if you go to the website, you can order the same tobacco I use: I'll make sure the screening team looks for your name, we'll get you a slick discount. I'm talking farm to paper prices!"

---

---

---

"Oh also," he pointed his finger at Drake and Sloane. "You two sit in the front of the car. Well, Drake will; it's his car, but yeah. Back seats mine, gotta have room to manspread and all."

Drake laughed.

"Go right ahead, bro! Just warning you know there are some "stains" back there, though!"

He laughed again, but he noticed that Simone wanted to drag Kali along... while Drake was open for Kali remaining in the Coven, he wasn't perfectly comfortable with bringing Kali along. With Luca and Sloane (Maybe Simone), they can say whatever they like, but with Kali, they'd have to remain hush-hush. Especially about Sloane and Drake's little deal. On the other hand... Drake could keep a close eye on the guy and ensure that he didn't do anything (well, anything else) weird or crazy. He briefly narrowed his eyes at Simone, before just shrugged and said.

"The more the merrier, let's blow this joint."

He gestured for everyone to come along as he led Sloane and Luca to his fancy Dodge Charger, which they all entered... and Luca, true to his word, manspread. Drake chuckled as he adjusted his mirror and saw Simone's cr in the back mirror, tailing them. It was about a ten-minute drive before they got to Dairy Queen. Drake pulled into a spot, and they got out and walked into the building - Simone and Kali were right behind them. They got in line, and Drake turned to Sloane with a smile as he said,

"I just want the peanut buster, you know. I'm not going to drain your bank account."

---

---

---

"Wait, Grayson-"

Britney saw Edict cry and wondered if she had gone just a little bit too far; he left. There was that urge to go after him, but there was that situation with Stormy threatening her. He wasn't backing down, and Britney devised a strategy to pierce his calve with a wooden spike to slow him down and dip before things got worse. However, Auri and Sully came to her defense and managed to talk Stormy down. Britney sighed in relief, though there was that one thing he said that irked her.

”If she makes one wrong move, I’ll deal with her myself.”

"... Don't have anything to worry about, then." Britney said under her breath as she calmly walked away from Stormy. There was that part of her that wanted to say it out loud, but she knew better than to try and get him riled up again. Eve and the others began to trickle out of the flower store, and Britney wondered if she had come too late - or if everyone despised her that much. However, she had no idea what went on during this meeting or what was even discussed; all she was told was that everyone had decided to go to a strip club. Britney couldn't help but shrug.

"We're going to that strip club, right?" Britney asked. "Good. I could use some titties right now. My car can hold like six people...."

She turned towards Sully, then to Stormy. The last person that was going to get in her car was Stormy - not that he was even going to get in anyway - because Britney was a courteous person, she wasn't going to extend that to someone who threatened her. She then said, "Come with me, Sully, let's catch up,"

She finished the sentence with a wave and gestured for whoever would come along to get into her fancy GMC Yukon.



@Punished GN@Fernstone@Estylwen@AtomicEmperor

---

Veni Vedi Veni - Parking Lot

---

Some of them had converged around him, much to his chagrin. The presence of a humanoid silhouette, like a walking void in the world, had given Clancy some pause, if only momentary. The woman with the ashen hair approached him, but he didn't move or respond.

"Hey, are you okay? You look hurt. Let me see your hand.""

The words were numbing for a moment; he couldn't quite understand why. His attention was on the silhouette circling him, the one that reeked of a familiar, cold presence.

Then, he recoiled - drew his palm back hard to see the blood - the biker's blood - half-smeared off his fingertips. She'd touched him. He'd been oblivious to it for a few seconds, but the realization had sunk in as he snapped back to reality.

"Do not touch me." Clancy's fingers closed inwards, almost into a fist. He shot her a cold glare, his lips creased tight.

"I like this one." The silhouette was talking about him, and that provoked a certain sense of distaste. That's funny, he mused, because I don't like you. A contemptuous "Fuck. You." was all he could muster, barely a whisper - but enough for whatever it was to understand.

He now realized that almost none of the people here were normal, at least not in the traditional sense. All touched by power or harboring power of their own. Possibly even the would-be samaritan, the Latino lady, judging by her generally calm demeanor in all of this. He backed up and shook his head, uncharacteristically impatient "Just get out of my way. I need to go, and I don't have time to wait for you to kill each other."

---

---

It was finally over; the psycho-crazy bitch had let go of Jess, and the girl stopped threatening her - or was it her Apparition that was pulling the strings? Whatever, they quickly ran over to Jess and pulled her as far the fuck away from the psycho as possible. Kashmira knelt and placed both hands on Jess' chest. A green wave of energy overcame Jess, wrapping around her as it mended the various wounds she had received. She had taken a lot of damage... and meanwhile, Pearl, Naomi, Autumn, and Amelia made sure to return the eye contact that Alizée was giving them. Naomi leaned over to Pearl as she whispered,

"... You should put an ice spike through her face like you did to that Nazi bitch."

"I should," Pearl whispered back, "But things are ended."

"... Are we going to let her do whatever with that kid?" Autumn asked with a raised eyebrow. "You know how she was talking about Jess..."

"Look," Naomi said, "I'm not worried about a stupid-ass kid. I'm worried that these two are going to try something else. Amelia, teleport us-"

"I would advise against that," Pearl stuck her nose in. "Someone may recognize our abstractions... and we can not allow that to happen."

"I need time to stabilize her!" Kashmira said, "I've... I've never seen anything like this before!"

"Great," Naomi rolled her eyes. "The Wolfpack are going to be here soon."

"And as far as we can tell," Pearl started, "They have no reason to single us out."

"True,"

"Alizée! Not here, Fille, we need to go! We've fucked everything up now, let's go find you a meal in the Temple! Vite!"

"... HEY!"

Naomi shouted at them to catch their attention. "Hold up! You motherfuckers think you can do all this shit, try to fuckin' kill our friend, then try to kill us for trying to stop you from killing our friend, and then just up and leave."

"Naomi-" Pearl tried to interject.

"Who in the fuck are you two? Who the fuck are you two with? And please don't tell me you're the leftover Nazis."

A big truck pulled into the parking lot, and getting out of the car was Britney Williams and a few others... the giant gal walked over, looking confused as she asked, "... Alizée? Leon?" She looked around at the chaos as she asked, "... What happened here?"

However, Pearl and Amelia's eyes landed on Sully as the two asked, speaking in unison,

"... Sully?"

Pearl took a few steps forward.

"How are you doing, friend? It is great to see you that you are doing well, friend. I'm also sure that Ruby will be happy to see you as well."

---

“Good to see you too, bro,” said Sully, returning Stormy’s shoulder clap with a double pat on the back. It was good to see Stormy. Back in the good ol’ days, that is to say when they all thought the world was going to be plunged into eternal darkness and destroyed by a nightmare snake, Stormy’s presence gave Sully a bit more flexibility when it came to his role on the field. He still got regulated to playing nurse with Jade, but Stormy’s shields kept both of them from having to sprint around after calls for “Medic!” until they puked. Screw it, Sully gave Stormy a third pat on the back solely because of how quickly he was to pull back on his bravado. Maybe Auri and him could lead the Coven in some trust falls to get them all on the right page.

But first, priorities: "We're going to that strip club, right?" Britney asked. "Good. I could use some titties right now.”

“Shit did Eve pop yours by hugging too hard? Can that happen?” Sully laughed, following Britney outside but not before giving Stormy a wave for him to come too. Somebody had to make sure Britney was coming to a full stop and using her turn signals and it wasn’t going to be Sully. He let out a low wish as Britney pointed out her car. Way better than his old rusted out Tercel that, legally speaking, he wasn’t allowed to drive anywhere to the job he no longer had. He broke out in a sprint to the passenger door. “Dibs on shotgun!”

Sully didn’t hate strip clubs exactly, but he never really got anything from going to one and for a gay man he’d been to a lot of them thanks to his old football buddies and current drinking pals. Getting absolutely blackout drunk? Great! Paying nearly double for a bottle of Bud Light because the bartender, somehow, terrifyingly, likely painfully twisted the cap off with their rack? Ehhh. Being surrounded by an ocean of horny dudes? Honestly he’s more of bring home a guy who he could introduce to his mom kind of dude, but still could be fun and maybe Mr. Perfect just enjoys getting glitter in all of his clothes. Oh they’re almost all exclusively straight? No thanks. An all-you-can-eat buffet less than ten feet away from the men’s room and from a single mother premed student named Chastity doing suicide drop? Actually, the food was pretty good.

Naturally Sully more or less told Britney all of this on the ride to Veni Vedi Veni, assuming this was the catching up she had been referring to. It was more fun than talking about what was actually going on in his life, which either amounted to roughly jack shit or straight up self-incriminating. The conversation quickly died as Britney turned the truck into the parking lot of the strip club and Sully’s jaw went slack as he rapidly blinked his eyes. So this was where Alizée had run off to. She hadn’t been running away from the supposed feds, she’d been clearly running ahead to scout out the strip club for the Coven with her little shadow pet thing. And she’d even recruited Bea, the aforementioned Chastity’s little man, and—Sully was grateful he’d resisted the urge to pregame from his Chalice otherwise he would have choked on the beer—Leon, cut better than a hot knife through butter, to work with her.

Then he saw the Crater as well as Jess, the other slab of pure grass fed angus beef, laid out on the ground with Kashmira helping her up while almost the rest of Greenwood stood defensively on the other side of the lot. Sully felt his stomach sink. For starters, it didn’t look like they were all just tailgating in the strip club parking lot. Second, he was gonna have that uncomfortable moment where he runs into one friend group while hanging out with the other. Third, it was kinda that the Greenwood Coven hadn’t invited him out to the titty bar. He would’ve been busy, but still it would’ve been nice to have been included. Sully took his backpack off of the floor and stepped out of the truck, acting like he hadn’t noticed anyone by fiddling with the straps despite everyone being able to see his shocked expression through the windshield of the GMC. It was a foolproof plan.

"... Sully?"

Balls.

“Heyyyy, what’s up guys,” said Sully, his voice hitting a little higher as he sucked in the awkwardness. He coughed, returning the bass to his voice.“Yeah, great to see you too. You all bail on your, uh, high school reunion to eat some wings and see some boobs too? Wait, please tell me Kash ain’t working here to pay her way through med school. Kash! Hey, Kash! Look there is nothing wrong with it if you are, but there’s this website on the Internet called O-oh shit!”

Kashmira wasn’t helping Jess up. She was healing her. Sully completely turned his back on his Covenmates, jogged past the Greenwood Coven, and squatted down next to Kashmira as he pulled his bag off of his shoulder.

“Need a hand, Doc?” said Sully, ready to pull the Chalice out and offer it to Jess as Kash’s go. He turned back and hollered at Pearl and Amelia. “What the heck happened here?”